The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1898-06-23
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IA ]. Ina -GE's s ER M @ N.
N HELPFUL RELIGIoN.'' Is ASH,
SUNDAYS SUBJECT.
From the Text, Psalms, Chapter XXX,
Verse 2, as Follows: send Thee Helm
From the Sanctuary Of tho Lord.
1t you should ask fifty men what
the church is, they would give you fifty
different answers. One man would
say, 1T is convention Of hypocrites. z
Another, 1T is an assembly of people
who feel themselves a great deal bet
ter than Others" Another, 1T is a
place for gossip, where wolverine dis
positions devour each other" An
other, 1t is a place for the cultivation
OF superstition and can't Another,
1t is an arsenal where theologians 90
to get pixies and muskets and shot y
Another, 1T is an art gallery, where
men go to admire grand arches, and
exquisite fresco, and musical MARBLE,
and the Dantesque in gloomy imagery"
Another man would say, ct is the best
place on earth except my own home"
II forget thee, o Jerusalem, let nv
right hand forget her cunning"
Now, whatever the church is, nv
text tells you what it ought to be; a
great, PRACTICAL homely, omnipotent
nelp. Send thee help from the sane
tuary." The pew ought to yield rest
fitness for the body. The color of the
upholstery ought to yield pleasure to
the eye. The entire service ought 10
yield strength for the moil and strug-
gle OF everyday life. The Sabbath
ought to be harnesed to all the six
days of the week, drawing them in the
rlght direction. The church ought TO
De magnet, visibly and nightly at
tecting all the homes of the worship
ers. Every man gets roughly jostled,
gets abused, gets cut, gets insulted
gets sighted, gets exasperated. By
the time the Sabbath comes he has an
accumulation of six days of annoyance,
and that is starveling church service
winch has not strength enough to take
mat accumulated annoyance and hurl
II into perdition. The business man
sits down in church headachey from
the weeks engagements. Perhaps he
wishes he lad tarried at homo on the
lounge with the newspapers and the
slippers. That man wants to be cooled
on and graciously diverted. The first
wave OF the religious service ought to
dash clear over the hurricane decks,
and leave him dripping with holy and
glad and heavenly emotion. 'Cend
thee help from the sanctuary"
In the first place, sanctuary help
ought to come from the music. A
woman dying in England persisted in
singing to the last moment. The at
PENDANTS tried to persuade her to stop,
saying it would exhaust her and make
her disease worse. She answered. 81
must sing; am only practicing for the
heavenly choir" Music on earth is
rehearsal for music in heaven. If you
and l are going to take part in that
great orchestra, it is high time that
we were stringing and drumming OUT
harps. They tell us that Thalberg
and Gottschalk never would 90 into a
concert until they had first in private
rehearsed, although they We're such
masters of the instrument. And can
it be that 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 not more
harmony, 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 one
thousand people will give more volume,
of sacred song than an American audi
ence of two thousand people. I do,
not know what the reason is. Oh, YOU.
ought to have heard them sing in Sur
reg chapel. I had the opportunity Of
preaching the anniversary-T think the
nlnetleth nniversary-sermon in
Rowland Hills old chapel, and when
they lifted their voices in sacred song
it was simply overwhelming; and
then, in the evening of the same day,
in Agricultural Hall, many thousand
voices lifted in doxology. It was like
the voice of many waters, and like the
voice of many thunderings, and like the
voice of heaven. ".
The blessing thrilled through all the
laboring throng,
And heaven was won by violence of
song. go .'.5
Now, am no worshiper of NOISE
but believe that if our American
churches would with full heartfness Of
soul, and full emphasis of voice sing
the songs of Zion, this part of sacred
worship would have tenfold more
power than it has now Why not take
this part of the sacred service and lift
= it to where it ought to be. All the
annoyances of life might be drowned
out by that sacred song. Do not tell
me that it is not fashionable to sine
very loudly? Then, say, away with
81 foc VIC do hoo