Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1897-01-20
REV. DR.. TALMAGt,
Fhs Eminent Divine's Sunday
Discourse.
Subject: ''The Song OF the Drank
ards"

ards"
TEXT: st was the song Of the drunkards"
Psalms Xix, H.
Who said that? Was it David or was It
Christi 1t was both. These Messtanio
Psalms are like telescope. Pull the tnstru-
ment to a certain range, and 1t shows you an
object near by. Pull it to another range, and
it will show you objects far away. David
and Christ were both, each In his own time,
the song of the drunkards. Holiness OF doc
! ,rine and life always did excite wicked merri-
ment. Although David had fully reformed
and written psalmody in which all subse-
| auent ages have sobbed out their penitence,
his enemies preferred to fetch up his old
/ career AMI put into metric measures sins
| long before forgiven. Christ who commit
ted no sin, was still more the subject OF un-
holy song, because the better one Is the more
iniauity hates him. OF the best being whose
voico ever moved the air or whose foot ever
touched the earth it might be said:
The byword OF tho passing throny,
The rulers scoff, the drunkards song
The earth fitted up for the human race, In
congrafulation the morning stars sang
song. The lsraeiitish army safe on the bank
Of the Rad Bea and.the Egyptians clear un.
der the returned water, Moses sang song.
One of the most important parts Of this great
olt book is Solomon's song. At the birth OF
our Lord the Virgin Mary and old Simeon
AMI angelic prima donnas in lowering clouds
sang a song. What enrichment has been
| given 10 the worlds literature and enjoy
m-nt by the ballads. the canticles. the dis
canis the dittie5 the roundelays the epics,
the lyrics. the dithyrambs! But my text
| calls attention to u style of song that l think
has never been discussed upon. You some
times hear this style of music when passing
saloon. or n residence in which dissipation
is ascendant, or after You have retired at
night you hear it coming out OF the street
from those who, having tarriet long at their
cups. are on their way home-.he ballad of
the inebriate, the serenade Of the alcohol
izei. or wha, my text calls the song Of the
J drunSards.
For practical and saving aud warning aud
/ Christian purposes I will announce to you
| the characteristics Of that well-known
cadence mentioned In my text. First ]
remark that the song of the drunkards
is an old song. Much of the music of the
world and of the church Is old music.
First came the music OF percussion, the
| capping cynbal, which was suggested by
! u hammer on an anvil, and then the sigh
| ing of the wind across the reeds suggested
| the flute, and then the strained sinews of
the tortoise across its she'll suggested the
| harp. But far back OF that, and nearly
| back as far rs the moral collapse OF our
| first parentago il tie song Of the drunk
! ards. That tune was sung at least 4243
| years age, when, the deluge past, Noah
came ont OF the ark. and, as il disgusted
| with toe much prevalence OF water. he took
| to strong drink and staggered forth. for all
ages the first known drunkard. He sound
ed the first note of the old music OF inebri-
acy. An Arab author of A. d. 1910 wrote:
/ "Noah, being come out OF the ark, ordered
each Of his sons TO build a house. After
f, ward they were oIccaDied In sowing and In
planting trees. the pippils and fruits OF
which they found in the ark. The vine alone
was wanting, and they could not discover Y.
Gabriel then informed Them that the devil
had desired it. and, indeed. had some right
TO it. Hereupon Noah summoned him to
appear in the field and said to him: 'Oh, &C.
cursed! Why hast thou carried away the
vine from me?' Because, replied tho devil,
1T belonged to me- Shall part 1t for your
said Gabriel. Il consent, said Noah, and
will leave him fourth That Is not suffi-
cient for him. said Gabriel. Well. will
the other That is not sufacient yet.' re-
sponded Gabriel. He must have two-thirds
and thou one, and when thy wine shall have
boiled on the fire until two thirds are gone
the remainder shall be assigned for thy use'"
A fable that illustrates how the vine has been
misappropriated.
Again, this song of the drunkards Is an
expensive song. The Sonntags and the
Ptrspa Rosas and Missions, and the other
renderers of elevated and divine solos re.
ceived their thousands of dollars per night
IN coliseums and academies of music Some
OF the people of small means almost pauper-
ized themselves that they might sit a few
evenings under the enchantmeut OF those
angels Of sweet sounds. 1 paid 81 to hear
Jenny Lind sing when 1t was not very easy to
anori the 81. Very expensive ia such music,
but the costliest song on earth is the drunk
arts song. 1t costs ri n OF body. 1t costs
ruin OF mind. 1t costs ruin Of soul. Go
right down among the residential streets OF
any city and you can find once beautiful and
luxurious homesteads that were expended In
this destructive music.
The lights have gone out in the drawing
room. the pianos have ceased the pulsation
of their KEYS. the wardrobe has lost its last
article OF appropriate attire. The Bel.
shazzarean feast has left nothing but the
broken pieces of ths crushe chaiicss. There
1t stands, the ghastliest thing on earth, the
remnant OF dru1kari's home. The cost
lest thing on earth is sin. The most expen-
sive of all music is the song of the drunk.
ards. 1t il the highest tariff of Nations-not
"a protective tariff, but a tariff of doom a
tariff of woe, a tariff OF death This evil
whets the knives of the as5as5ins, cuts the
most OF the wounds Of the hospital, makes
Necessary most of the aImshouses. causes the
most OF the rawlings OF the insane asylum
and puts up most of the iron bars OF the
penitentiaries. II has its hand to- day on the
throat of the American republic. II is the
raskmaster of Nations, ani this human race
croucheS under its auathema. Tbs souy OF
the druukards has for its accompaniment
the clank of chains, the chaItering teeth OF
poverty, the rattle OF execuIioner's s.afYoid
the creaking door of the deserted horne the
crash of shipwrecks and the groans OF en-
pires. The two billion twenty million dol
lars which rum costs this country in a wear.
In the destruction of grain and sugar, aud
the supporting of the paupers, and the
invalids and the criminals which strong
drink causes, is only IA small part OF what
is paid for this expensive song OF the drunk.
ards.
Again, this song of the drunSarjs is q
multitudinous sony-not solo, not duet,
not quartet, not sextet. but millions ON
millions are this hour singiu. it, Do not
think that alcoholism has this field all to it
self. II has powerful rivals in the into1ican
OF other Nations-hasheesh and arrack. and
puiQus and opium, anil quavc and mas,ic
and wedro. Every Nation, barbaric as well
as civilized, has its pet Intoxicsnt. Fhis
song OF the drunkarts is rendered in Chinese, |
Hindoo, Arabian, Assyrian, Persian, Mexi- |
can--yea, all the languages. All zohes join
IT. No Continent would be large enough for
the choir gallery IL all those who have this
lbretto in their bands should stand side by
side 10 chant the interna ional chorus. her |
throhgs are just learning The eight notes OF
this deathful music, which is already mas
tered by the orchesir ras in full voice under |
the batons in full swing. All the musicians |
assemble ed at Dusseldorf, or Berlin. or Bos, on |
peace jubilee, rendering symptom es, re-
QUEENS or grand marches of Mendeissohn or |
wagner, or Cnoptn or hanuei, we're 1nStR-
niflcant in numbers rs compared with the |
innumerablo throngs, hosts besides hosts, !
gallery above gallery. who are now pouring |
forth the song OF the drunkaris.
Years ago. standing before . bulletin |
board in New York on the night of Presi- |
Dental election day, rs the news came in
AM the choice of the American people
was finally announced there were people in
the streets who sang roistering and frivolous
songs But in the street one man, in deep,
strong, resonant voice, started, to the tune
ot"Old Hundre Praise God, from whom
sll blessings fiew," and Soeea-an up and
down the street the voices Joined In the do1.
ology. May God speed the day when the
song OF rescue and salvation shall drown
with an overwhelming surge this mighty
song Of the drunkards!
Notice that the second noun OF nv text
is in the plural Not ssdrunkard," bat
"drunkards.' 1t would be dull work to sing
that song solitary aud alone II is generally