The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1897-09-30
lAhMAGEso oERmOn
The Famous Preacher Talks
ST
Of Sacred Music.

Of Sacred Music.
y Is
= s,is
| Saws God Calls for Songs of PraIsc-The
Duty OF All Congregations to sins-Music
in the household
Rev. T. Dewitt TaEfiage, in his sermon pre-.
pared for this week, rallies the Church people
| to moro hearty congregational singing, and
draws valuable lessons from the use of sacred
music The text is from Chron, 5: 10: 1t
| came even to pass as the trumpeters and singers
| were one, to make one sound to be heard In
praising and thanking the Lord"
! The Temple was done. 1t was the very
chorus of all magnif icencc and pomp. Splendor
crowded against splendor. From the huge
pillars crowned with leaves and flowers and
rows OF pomegranate, wrought out in FURNISHED
metal, down even to the tongs and snutfers
| made out Of pure gold. everything was as COM
pIete as the God-drected architect could
make it,
The day for dedication came. Tradition says
| that there were in and around about the Temple
| on that day 100000 silver trumpets. 10000
! harps, 10000 tmbrcls and 100000 singers.
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 a
cloud of glory so overpowering that the offici-
|
! Of the services
! | draw the first argument for the Importance
of sacred music from the fact that God COM
mauded it, Through Paul, he tells US to adj
momish one another III psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs; through David he cries out:
Sing ye TO God. ali ye Kingdoms Of the earth. J"
! And there arc hundreds of other passages |
might name proving that it is as much q
mans duty to sing as it is his duty to pray. God
| not only asks for the human voice but for the
instruments of music.
Praise ye the Lord," Praise him with
yonr voices. Praise him with stringed instru-
euts and with organs.
draw another argument for the Importance
of this exercise from its inpressiveness. You
know something of what secular music has
achieved. You know it has made its impress
sion upon Governments, upon laws. upon lit
erature, upon whole generations. One Insplr-
ing National air is worth 10000 men as a
standing army. There comes time in the
battle when one bugie is worth thousand
muskets.
Many of you are illustrations of what sa-
cred song can do. Through it you were
. brought into the kingdom of Jesus Chris.
You stood out against the warning and the
argument OF the pul Pit, but when, in the sweet
words of Charles Wesley or John Newton or
Toplady, the love of Jesus sung to your
soul, then you surrendered, rs armed castle
that could not be taken by host lifts its win
dow TO listen to a. harp trill
There was q Scotch soldier q wing in New
Orleans, and Scotch minister came in to give
him the consultations OF the Gospel. The man
turned over on his pillow and said Don't
talk to me about religion" Then the minister
began to sing q familiar hymn that was COM
posed by David Dickenson. He sang it to the
tune of Dundee, and 4every body in Scotland
knows that and rs he began to sing the dying
| soldier turned over onthis pillow and said to
the minister: " Where did you learn that?"
| why" replied the minister, "my mother
taa ghs me that" $50 did mine" said the
dying soldier and the very foundation of his
heart was upturnsd, and then and there no
yielded himself to Christ Oh it has an ire
sistible power! Inthef's sermons have been
forgotten, but his Judgment Hymn sings on
through the ages you'd to God that you
wonld take these sengsbf salvation as messages
from heaven.
! have also noticed tie power of sacred song
to s6othe perturbation. You may have come
in here with great many worrinents and
anxetics, yet perhapss in the singing of the
first hymn you lost them all. You have read
in the Bible of Saul sid how he was sad and
angry. and how tho boy David came in and
played the evil spirit out of him. II you have
anxeties and worriments try this heavenly
charm upon them. Do not sit down on the
bank of the hymn, but plunge in, that the
devil OF care may be brought out of you.
1t also arouses 20 action. Do you not know
that a singing church is always a triumphant
church, 1t is amazing how some people with
voice enough to discharge all their duties in
the world, when they como into the house of
God have voice to discharge this duty. /
really believe if the Church of Christ could
rise up and sing as it ought to sing where we
have a hundred souls brought into the king
dom of Christ there would he thousand.
But / must nov speak of some of the OBJ
staces in the way of the advancement Of this
| sacred music, and the first IS that it has been
impressed into the service of Satan. am far
from believing that music onght always to be
positively religious. Refined art has opened
places where music has been seculari1ed, and
lawfully So But every observer has noticed
that this art, which God intended for the i'm
provement OF the ear, and the voice. and the
head, aud the heart has often been impressed
into the service Of error.
Another obstacle has been An inordinate fear
of criticism. The vast majority of people
singing in church never want anybody else to
hear them sing. Everybody is waiting for.
somebody else to do his duty. If we all sang
then the inaccuracies that evident when
only few sing wonId be drowned out God
asks you to do as we'll as you can, and then if
you get the wrong pitch or keep wrong time
He will forgive any deficiency OF the ear and
imperfection of the voices.
The voice of contrite. broken heart, al
though it may not be able to stand human
criticism, makes better music to Gods ear
than the most artistic performance when the
heart is wanting.
Another obstacle in the advancement Of this
art has been the erroneous notion that this
part of the service could be conducted by dele
CATION Churches have said 80, what an
easy time we shall have. The Minister will
do the preaching, and the choir will do the
singing and we will have nothing to do" Ny
Christian friends, have we a right to delegate
to others the discharge Of this duty which God
demands of US?
Music ought to rush from the audience like
the water from rock--clear, bright, sparkling
| If all the other part of the church service is
dull, do not have the music dull. With SO
many thrilling things to sing about, away with
all drawing and stupidity! There is nothing
makes me SO nervous as to SIT in pulpit and
look off on an audience with their eyes three
fourths closed and their lips almost shut, num-
bling the praises of God.
In order TO proper discharge of this duty,
let US stand up. save as age or weakness or
fatigue excuses us. Seated in an easy pew we
cannot do this duty half well as when. up
right, we throw our whole body into it. Let
our song be like an reclamation of victory.
You have rightyto sing. DO not surrender
! your prerogative.
| We want to rouse all our families upon this
subject. We waubi each family of our congre-
| CATION TO be q singing, school. Childish petu.
lance, obduracy aud jntractability would be
| e,n,bod &c had ,,,oro sin .n0 in ba bouSa.