Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1898-06-18
A PRACTICAL HELP.
Rev. DR.. TALMAGE TELLS WHAT THE
CHURCH OUGHT TO BE.

CHURCH OUGHT TO BE.
The Eminent Divine Says the ConGrega-
ton Should Sing and That a Few Hymns
and Forceful-Prayer Is Helpful.
Copyright. 1895. by American Press Asso-
ciaton.l
WASHINGTON, June l2.-1f people un
derstood religion to be the practical re-
enforcement that DR.. Talmage says it is
III this sermon, the number of Christian
disciples would be greatly multiplied;
text, Psalms Xxx, 2, Send thee help
from the sanctuary.
! If you should ask so men what tho
church is, they would give you so diff
fcrent answers One man would say,
1T is convention of hypocrites. :" An
other, at is an assembly of people who
feel themselves great deal better than
others. Another, 1T is n place for
gossip, where wolverine dispositions
devour each other +" Another, ut is a
place for the cultivation of superstition
and cant. F." Another, 1T is an arsenal
! where thcologians go to get pixies and
muskets and shot. u Another, 1T is an
art gallery, where men go to admire
grand arches and exquisite fresco and
musical MARBLE and the Dantesque i'll
gloomy imagery Another man would
say, 1T is tho best place OIL earth ex-
ccpt my own home. If forgot thee,
o Jerusalem, let my right hand forget
her cunninp!"
Now. whatever the church is, my
text tells you what it ought to be-a
great, practical, homcly, omnipotent
help. "Send thee help from the sanctu-
ary." The pew ought to yield restfnl-
ness for the body. Tho color of the up
holstery 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 to all the six days of the
week, drawing them i'll the right direc-
ton. The church ought to be magnet,
visibly and nightly affecting all the
homes of the worshipcrs. Every man
gets roughly jostled, gets abused, gets
cnt, gets insulted, gets sighted gets
cxasperated. By the time the Sabbath
comes he has an accumulation of six
DAYS of annoyance, and that Isl starve
ling church service which has not
strength enough to take that accumulat-
ed annoyance and hurl iii into perdition.
The business man sits down III church
! headachy from the week. engagements.
Perhaps he wishes he had carried at
home on the lounge with the newspa-
pers and the slippers That man wants
! to be cooled off and graciously diverted.
The first wave of the religious service
ought to dash clear over the hurricane
! decks and leave him dripping with holy
aud glad and heavenly emotion. "Send
thee help from the sanctuary. :"
j Sanctuary Help.
In the first place, sanctuary help ought
to come from the music. a woman dy-
ing in England persisted i'll singing to
the last moment. The attendants tried
to persuade her to STOP saying it would
exhaust her and make her disease worse.
She answered: 81 must sing. lam only
practicing for the heavenly choir. "
Music Oh earth is rehearsal for music
in heaven If you and l are going to
take part in that great orchestra, 1t IS
high time that we were stringing and
drumming our harps. They tell us that
Thalberg and Gottschalk never would
20 into concert until they had first Ill
pri ate rchcarsed although they were
such masters of the instrument. And
can it be that we expect to take part Ill
the great oratorio of heaven If we do
not rehearsc here?
But am not speaking of the next
world. Sabbath song ought to set all
the week to music We want not moro
harmony, not more artistic expression,
but moro volume IN our church music.
The English dissenting churches far
surpass our American churches i'll this
respect. An English audience Of l, 600
people will give more volume of sacred
song than an American audience Of
2, 900 people. do not know what the
reason is Oh, you ought to have heard
them sing in Surrey chapel | had the
opportunity Of preaching the anniver-
sary-I think the ninetieth anniversary
sermon in Rowland Hills old chapel,
and when they lifted their voices in
sacred song it was simply overwhelm-
ing, and then, III the evening of the
same day, in Agricultural hall, many
thousand voices lifted i'll doxology. 1t
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 labofng
throng,
And heaven was won by violence of song.
Now, am no worshiper of noise, but
believe that if our American churches
would with full heartiness 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
m1RQI Do QTOWuCu OuU ny oiiip HACASeA
song Do you tell me that 1t is not
fashionable to sing very loudly? Then,
I say, away with the fashion. We dam
back the great Mississippi of congrega.
tional singing and let few drops OF
melody trickle through the dam. say
take away the dam and let the pillows
roar OH their way to the oceanic heart
of God Whether it is fashionable to
sing loudly or not, let US sing with all
possible emphasis
Music In the Church.
We hear a great deal of the art OF
singing, of music as an entertainment,
of music as recreation. 1t is high time
we heard something of music as help,
a practical help In order to do this, we
must have only few hymns New
tunes and new hymns every Sunday
make poor congregational singing. Fiji
ty hymns are enough for 90 years The
Episcopal church prays the same prayers
every Sabbath and year after year and