The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1897-10-09
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
An Appeal for More Hearty Con-
gregational Singing.
Music Commended by God-The impress
siveness OF Sacred song-lt Has Power
20 Soothe Perturbation OF 70
Arouse Action.

Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage, in the fol-
lowing sermon, rallies the churches to
more hearty congregational singing.
1t is based on the text:
It came even to pass. as the trumpeters and
singers were one, to make one sound TO be
heard In praising AMI thanking the Lord-u
Chronicles, W, ID
The temple was done. 1t was the
very chorus of all magnifcence and
pomp. Splendor crowded against
splendor. 1t was the diamond neck
lace Of the earth. From the huge
pillars crowded with leaves and flowers
and rows of pomegranate wrought out
in FURNISHED metal, down even to the
tongs and shutters made out OF pure
gold, everything wac as complete as
the God-directed architect could make
1t. 1t seemed as if IL vision from Heaven
had alighted on the mountains. The
day for dedication came. Tradition
says that there were in and around
about the temple on that day 2OO,-
900 silver trumpets, 40, 900 timbrels and
10000 singers; SO that all modern
demonstrations a: Dusseldorf or Bos-
ton seem nothing compared with that.
AS this great sound surged up amid
the precious stones of the temple, 1T
must have seemed like the river Of
life dashing against the amethyst OF
the wall of Heaven. The sound arose.
and God, as if to show that He was
we'll pleased with the music which His
children make in all ages, dropped into
the midst OF the temple n cloud OF
glory so overpowering that the otficiat-
ing priests were obliged to stop in the
midst of the services.
There has been much, discussion as
to where music was born. Think that
NJ the beginning, when the morning
STAYS sang together and all the sons of
God shouted for JOY" that the earth
heard the echo. The cloud on which
the angels stood to celebrats the crea-
ton was the birthplace of song. The
stars that glitter ut night are only so
many keys of celestial pearl, on which
Gods fingers play the spheres. Inani-
mate nature is full of stringed and
wind instruments. Silence itself-per-
feet silence-is only musical rest in
God great anthem of worship. Wind
among the leaves, insect humming in
the summer air, the rush of billow
upon the beach, the ocean far out
sounding its everlasting psalm, the
(bobolink on the edge of the forest,
the quail whistling up from the
grass, are music. While visiting Black
wells island. l heard, coming from
window of the lunatic asylum, very
sweet song. 1t was sung by one who
had lost her reason, and l have come
to believe that even the deranged and
disordered elements of nature would
make music to our ear il we only had
ucuteness enough to listen. / suppose
that even the sounds in nature that
are discordant and repulsive make har-
mony in Gods ear. You know that
you may come SO near to an orchestra
that the sounds are painful instead of
p!easurable, and | think that we stand
so near devastating storm and fright
full whirlwind, we can not hear that
which makes TO Gods ear and the ear
OF the spirits above US a music as com
plete as it is tremendous.
propose to speak about sacred mu-
sic, first showing you its Importance
and then stating some OF the obstacles
to its advancement.
| draw the first argument for the i'm
portance of sacred music from the fact
that God commanded it. Through
Paul lie tells US to admonish one
another in psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs; through David He
cries out: 'Sing ye To God, all ye
Kingdoms of the earth" And there
are hundreds of other passages might
name, proving that it is as much a
mans duty to sing as it is his duty to
pray Indeed, l think there are
more commands in the Bible to
sing than there are to pray. God
not only asks for the human voice, but
for the instruments of music. He asks
fT the cyInbal and the harp and the
trumpet. And i suppose that in the
last days of the church the harp, the
lutte. the trumpet, and all the instru-
ments of music that have given their
chief aid 10 the theater aud bacchanal,
will be brought by their masters and
laid down ut the feet of Christ, and
then sounded in the chur"h's triumph
on her way from suffering into glory.
Praise Ye the Lord' Praise Him
with your voices. Praise Him with
stringed instruments and with organs.
l draw another argument for the
importance of this exercise from the
impressivcncss of the exercise. You
know something of what secular mu-
sic has achieved. You know it has
made its impression upon govern
ments, upon laws, upon litera ture,
upon whole generations. One inspir-
ing national air is worth $4,000 men as
q standing army. There comes time
in the battle when one bugle is worth
a thousand muslsets. In the earlier
part of our civil war the government
proposed to economic in bands of mu-
sic, and many OF them were sent home,
but the generals in the army sent
word to Washington: You are making
a great mistake. We are falling back
and falling back. We have not enough
music have to tell you that no ma
ton or church can afford TO severely
economic in music.
Why should we rob the programmes