The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1897-10-06

know ,bata singing church is always a
triumphant church: II q congregation IS
Silent during the exercises or partially silent.
:, j the silence Of death. II when the
HYMN is given ont you hear the faint hum
Of here and there q father and mother IN
israel. while the vast majority are silent.
that minister OF Christ who Is presid-
iQS needs TO have very strong constitution
: :: 1e does not get the chilis. lie needs not
only The grace oi God, but nerves like
whalebQne Ii IS amazing how some people
with voice enough 10 discharge All their du-
ties in the world when they come into the
house OF God have no voice 10 discharge ms
duty. really believe that if the church OF
Christ could rise mp and sing as 1t ought to
sing where we have 100 souls brought into
the kingdom Of Christ there would ne l"u''.
How was it in olden time. Ca.'et&n SAID,
Luther conquered US hy his songs
Bat mast now speak Of some 0: the on
S;acles in the way Of the advancement OF
O.; his sacred music. anG the first Is that II
has been impressed into the service OF sa-
IAN am far from believing that music
OUGHT always 10 be positively "eligious. be
fined art has opened places where music has
been scrutinizei, and lawfully 50. Iae
drawing room, the concert by he grauhca-
f;on OF pure taste and the PRODUCTION OF
harmless amuse,ut nj and the imorovement
Of talent. have become very forces N the ;ld-
vaucement O; our civilization. Music has as
much right 10 laugh IN Surrey gardens as It
has 10 pray in st Paul's. In the Kingdom
OF nature We have the glad rhng OF ine
wind as well as the long meter psalm Of the
thunder. but while ali this is so, every ob-
server has noticed hat this art, which God
intended for the inrovemeut OF the ear, and
the voice. AMI the head, and the heart, has
cften been impressed into the service OF
error. Tartiui, the musical composer,
dreamed one n gnt that satan spatched from
his ha. i al instrument and played upon 1t
something very sweet-a cream that has
often been fulfilled in our day the voice aud
the iuStrum ,Hts that ought to have been 1e-
voted TO Christ are captured from the ehurch
and applied tc the purposes Of sin.
Another obstacle has been an lrordinaie
fear o.: criticism. The vast majority OF peo'
p|e singing in church never want anybody
Else 10 near them sing Everybody IS
waiting for somebody else 10 do his duty
II we all sang. then the inaccuracies that are
| evident when only few siag would be
drowned cut. God asks you 10 10 as well
as you can. and then il you get the wrong
pitch or keep wrong time he will forgive
nnv de:ciei.cy Of the ear aud imperiection
Of the voice. Angels will not laugh If y'H
should lose your place n the musical scale or
come in st the bar behind. There are three
schools Of singing, am told-thS German
scho !. tie Italian school and the Fceoci
school OF singing. Now, would like to add
q fourth school. and ihat IS the school OF
Christ. The voice OF coEt-ite, broken
he&rt. s;though it may be able to stan1 hu-
man criticism, makes better music TO God :
ear than the most artistic performance when
the heart is wanting. God calls on the
beasts. on the cattle. on the dragons TO
praise him, an& We ought not 10 be behind
The cattle sud the dragons
Another obstacle in the advancement OF
this art has been the erroneous notion that
this part of the service could be conducted
by delegation. Churches have said, ''oh,
what an easy time We shall have. The min
lister will DO the preaching ana the choir
will do the singing, and we will have no n
ING 10 do" And you know as well as |
that there are great multitude Of churches
all through this land where the people are
not expected to sing. The whole work Is
| done by delegation of four or six or ten
| persons, aad the audience are silent. In
such az hureh in Syracuse an old elder per-
sisted in singing, and SC the choir appolnted
/ = committee 20 90 and ask the elder If he
| would not stop You know that IN many
churches the choir are expected TO do ell the
singing, anu the great mass of the people
| are expected to be silent, and If you utter
your voice you are interfering. In that
church they stand, the four, with opera
glasses dangling at tnelr SIDE, singing 'aocA
of fages: cleft for me, y With the same spiri'
that the night before on the stage they 10, toos
their part IN the Grand Duchesse OF
don Giovanni
Nv Christian friends. have we right tc
deiecate 10 others the discharge of this
dutv which God demands of US: Suppose
| that four wood thrushes propose to do al
the singing some bright day when the
| woods are ringing with bir3 voices. 1t is
decided tina: four wood thrusbes shall dc
all the singing Of the forest. Let all other
voices keep silent How beautifully the
four warbIe! It is really fine music. But
how long will you keep the forest still:
Why, Christ would come into that forest and
| look up as he looked through the olives, and
ne would wave his hand and say, ''Let
everything that hath breath praise the
Lord and, keeping time with the stroke o!
| inpumerable wings. there would be 5,oCo
bird voices leaping into the harmony.
Suppose this delegation Of musical perfor'
mers were tried IN heaven. Suppose that
four choice spirits should Try to DO the sing,
ing Of the upper temple. HNsh now thrones
ana commons anu Princ,Pat''les' Da'tu
be still, though you were 'ne sweet slnset
OF Israel Paul, keep quiet' tn0ugn you
have come to that crown OF re- o!c.ng. h.Ca'
, ard Baxter, keep still, though THIS IS the
| Saints Everlasting Rest. Four spirits now
do all the singing. but no" long would
/ heaven be quiet. How long? "ua!!e!ulah.