The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-06-13
RELIGION OUGHT TO BEAHELP
TALMAGE DECLARES 1T 4 PRACTI-
CAL REINFORCEMENT.

Body. the Upholstery Pleasing 10
the Eye and Entire Service Ought
10 Weld strength for the Turmoil
and Struggle OF Everyday Life
Helm Ought Also to Come From the
Music
Washington, June Eff people under
stood religion 10 be the practical reinforce
ment that DR.. Talmage says il is in this
sermon. The number of Christian disciples
would be greatly multiplied. Text: Psalm
20; >: Send thee help from the sanctuary
If you should ask fifty men what the
church Is. they would give you fifty differ
ent answers one man would say IT
is a convention of hypocrites." Another.
at is an assembly of people who feel
themselves a great deal better than 9th
ers." Another, 1T is place for gossip,
where wolverine dispositions devour each
other" Another IT is a place for the
cultivation of superstition and can't" An
other. 1T is an arsenal where theOlogians
so to get pixies and muskets and shot"
another. 1T is an art gallery, where men
20 TO admire grand arches, and exquisite
fresco, and musical MARBLE, and the Dan
tesque in gloomy imagery" Another man
would say, 1T is the best place on earth
except MY own home IF l forget thee,
O Jesusalem, lei my right hand forget her
cunning"
Now, whatever the church is, my text
tells you what il ought to be; great,
practical, homely, omnipotent help. Send
thee help from the sanctuary" The pew
ought to yield restfulness for the body.
The color of the upholstery ought to yield
pleasure to the eye. The entire service
ought to yield strength for the MOL and
struggle Of everyday life. The Sabbath
ought TO be harnessed 10 all the six days
Of the week drawing them in the right
direction. The church ought to be a
magnet, visibly and nightly affecting all
the homes of the worshippers. Every man
gets roughly jostled, gets abused, gets cut,
gets Insulted gets sighted, gets eXasper-
ated. BY the time the Sabbath comes he
has an accumulation of SIX days of an
noyance, and that is a starveing church
service which has not strength enough to
take that accumulated annoyance and
hurl ii into perdition. The business man
sits down in church headachey from the
weeks engagements. Perhaps he wishes
With the newspapers and the slippers
That man wants 10 be cooled off, and gra-
ciously diverted. The first wave of the
religious service ought to Dash clear over
the hurricane decks. and leave him drip
ping with holy and glad and heavenly
emotion. Send thee help from the sane
tuary."
In the first place, sanctuary help ought
10 come from the music. A woman
dying in England persisted in singing
80 the last moment The attendants
tried to persuade her to stop, saying il
would exhaust her and make her dis
ease worse. She answered, Il must sing
I am only practising for the heavenly
choir" Music on earth is a rehearsal for
music in heaven. If you and ] are going
to take part in that great orchestra, il is
high time that We were stringing and
drumming our harps. They tell us that
Thalberg ard Gottschalk never would go
into a concert untn they had first in priv
ate rehearsed, although they were such
masters Of the instrument. And can it be
thar we expect to take part in the great
oratorio OF heaven If we do not rehearse
here?
But I am not speaking of the next
world. Sabbath song ought to set all the
week TO music. We want Tot more har
mony, not more artistic expression, but
more volume in our church music. The
English Dissenting churches far surpass
our American churches in this respect.
An English audience of 1900 people will
give more volume of sacred song than
an American audience of 1900 people.
do not know what the reason is. Oh, you
ought TO have heard them sing in Surrey
Chapel / had the opportunity of preach
ing the anniversary-I think the ninetieth
anniversarY-sermon in Rowland Hills
old chapel and when they lifted theii
voices in sacred songs it was simply over.
H1a-H. fv.rrs I ~. -
same day. in Agricultural Hall, many
thousand voices lifted in doXology. Ii was
like the voice of many waters, and like
the voice of many thunderings, and lik,
the voice of heaven.
The blessing thrilled through all the labor
ing throng,
And heaven was won by violence Of song
Now. l am no worshiper of noise, but
believe that if our American churche
would with full heartiness of soul and full
emphasis of voice sing the songs of Zion
this part of sacred worship would hav
tenfold more power than it has now VIII
not take this part of the sacred servic
and lift it to where il ought TO be. All tn
annoyances of life might be drowned on
by that sacred song. Do you tell me tina
ii is not fashionable to sing very loudly
Then, / say, away with the fashion. w
dam back the great Mississippi OF congre
Bdt1Oudl SilSlnS, ana Jet a lew drops q
melody trickle through the dam l say
take away the dam, and let the billow
roar on their way to the oceanic heart c
God Whether it is fashionable TO sin
loudly or not, let us sing with all possibl
emphasis
We hear a great deal of the art of sins
ing, of music as an entertainment, of mt
sic as a recreation. 1t is high time "
heard something of music as a help
practical help. In order to this "
must have only few hymns. New tune
and new hymns every Sunday make poo
congregational singing. Fifty hymns al
enough for fifty years. The Episcopi
Church prays the same prayers every Sal
bath, and year after year, and centur
after century For that reason they haN
the hearty responses. Let us take hin
from thar fact, and let us sing the san
songs Sabbath after Sabbath Only
that way can we come to the full force
this exercise. Twenty thousand years wi
not wear out the hymns Of William Gov
per, Charles Wesley, and Isaac Watt
Suppose now each person in an audient
has brought all the annoyances of the la
three hundred and siXty-five days. Fiji 4
room to the ceiling with sacred song, an
you would drown out all tlrose annoyanc
10