Connecticut western news., 1898-06-16
A PRACTICAL HELP.
REV. DIR. TALMAGE TELLS WHAT THE CHURCH OUGHT TO BE.

Ns CHURCH OUGHT 10 BE.
 Tho Eminent Divine Says the Congrega-
 tion Should Sing and That Few Hymns
 Are Enough-sermons Must Re Simple
 and Forceful-Prayer Is Helpful.
 Copyright. 1898. by American Press Asso-
 WASHINGTON. June 12.-f people un- derstood religion to be the practical re- enforcement that Dr. TalmaSe says 1t IS in this sermon, the number of Christian disciples would be greatly multiplied; text, Psalms xxx, g, "Send thee help from the sanctuary"
 If you should ask 50 men what tho church is, they would give you 50 diff ferent answers. One man would say, Ut is a convention of hypocrites. An other, Ut is an assembly of people who feel themselves great deal better than others" Another, Ut is a place for gossip, where wolverene dispositions devour each other" Another, Ut is place for the cultivation of superstition and can't" Another, Ut is an arsenal where theologians go to get bikes and muskets and shot," Another, Tt is an art gallery, where men go to admire grand arches and exquisite fresco and musical warble and the Dantesque in gloomy imagery" Another man would Say, "It is the best place on earth ex- rept my own home. '" "If I forgot thee, 9 Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her icunning"
 Now, whatever the church is, my text tells you what it ought to be-a great, practical, homely, omnipotent help. "Send thee help from the sanctu- lry" The pew ought to yield restful- ness for the body. The color of the up holstery ought to yield pleasure to the eye. The entire service ought to yield strength for the moil and struggle of everyday life. The Sabbath ought to be harnessed to all the six days of the week, drawing them in the right direc- tion. The church ought to be magnet, visibly and nightly affecting all the homes of the worshipers. Every man gets roughly jostled. gets abused, gets cnt, gets insulted, gets slighted, gets exasperated. By the time the Sabbath oones he has an accumulation of six days of annoyance. and that is starVe- ling church service which has not strength enough to take that accumulat- cd annoyance and hurl it into perdition. The business man sits down ill church headachy from the weeks engagements. Perhaps he wishes he had tarried at home on the lounge with the newspa- pers and the slippers. That man wants toSbe cooled of and graoiously 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. "Send thee help from the sanctuary"
 ls Sanctuary Help.
 In tho first place, sanctuary help ought to come from the music. A woman dy- ing, in England persisted in 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: II must sing. lam only practicing for the heavenly choir. '' Music on earth is rehearsal for music ip heaven. If you and are going to take. part in that great orchestra, it is high time that we were stringing and thrunming our harps. They tell us that Thalberg and Gottschalk never would go into concert until they had first in pri 5ate rehearsed, although they were such masters of the instrument. And caQ it be that we expect to take part in the great oratorio of heaven if we do not rehearse here2
 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 1000 people will give more volume of sacred song than an American audience of g, 900 people. I 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 1t was simply overwhelm- ing, 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.
 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 might be drowned out by that sacred song. Do you tell me that it 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. I say take away the dam and let the pillows roar on their way to the oceanic heart of God. Whether it Is fashionable to  sing loudly or not, let us sing with all possible emphasis
 i.t Musio In the Church.
 We hear great deal of the art of singing. of music as an entertainment,
 of music as a recreation. It is high time we heard something of music as help practical help. In order to do this, we must have only few hymns New tunes and new hymns every Sunday make poor congregational singing. Eff ty hymns are enough for 50 years. The Episcopal church prays the same prayers every Sabbath and year after year and century after century. For that reason they have the hearty responses. Let us take hint from that fact and let us sing the same songs Sabbath after Sab- hafh 0Sr1u fy, t},ot xuaxy <a,, xr,< no,,,,x <<,