The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-06-17
A PRACTICAL HELP.
REV. DIR. TALMAGE TELLS WHAT
THE CHURCH OUGHT TO BE.

Eminent Divine Says the Congre-
CATION Mould Sing and That a Few
Hymns Are Enough-SermOns Must
He Simple and Forceful-Prayer fs
Helpful.
Copyright, 1898, by American Press
Association.)
If people understood religion to b
the practical reinforcement that DIR.
Talmage says it is in this III 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 the
church Is, they would give you so diff
ferent One man would say
I Is convention of hypocrites." An
other, 1T is an assembly of people who
feel themselves a great deal better
than Others" Another, TT is a place
for gossip, where wolverine DISPOSE
lions devour each other" Another, ut
is a place for the cultivation Of super
StitiOn and can't" Another, 1T Is an
arsenal where ~theologians go to get
pixies and muskets and shot" Another,
1T is an art gallery, where men go to
admire grand arches and exquisite
fresco and musical MARBLE and h
Dantesque in gloomy imagery" An
ClucI IIdli "Ould say IL 40 kAC OSoS
place on earth except my own home"
IF 1 forgot thee, o Jerusalem, let my
right hand forget her c~unning!"
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-
ary." The pew ought to yield restful-
ness for the body. The color of the up
holstery ought to yield pleasure to the
oua VTNhn nntira carvYinn or hit fn uiaI1
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 in the right direc-
zion. The church ought to be a magnet,
visible and nightly affecting all the
homes of the worshipers. 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 hat is a starry
ing church service which has not
strength enough to take that accumu-
lated annoyance and hurl it into per-
6ition. The business man sits down in
church headachy from the weeks en-
gagements. Perhaps he wishes he had
tarried at home on the lounge with the
newspapers and the slippers. That
man wants to be cooled off and gra-
NAOAolJ L II INNs Al AloN ~
h 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"
SANCTUARY HELP.
In the first place, sanctuary help
ought to come from the music. "A wo-
man dying in England persisted in
singing to the last moment. The at
tried to persuade her to stop,
saying it would exhaust her and make
her disease worse. h answered: Il
must sing. I am only practicing for
the heavenly choir" Music on earth is
a 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
u harps. They tell US that ThaIberg
and Gottschalk never would go into a
concert until they had first in private
rehearsal, although they were such
of the instrument. And can it
he 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,
hut more volume in our church music.
English dissenting churches far
surpass u American churches in this
respect. An English audience of 1000
people will give more volume of sacred
than an American audience of
I, 900 people. / do not know what the
reason is. Oh, O ought to have heard
them sing in Surrey chapel! I had the
of preaching h a%nniver-
think the ninetieth anniversary
in Rowland's Hills old
chapel, and when they lifted their
voices in sacred song it was simply
overwhelming, and then, in the even
ing of the same day, in Agricultural
hall, many thousand voices lifted in
doxology. lit was like the voice of
many waters, and like the voice of
many thunderings and like the voice
of heaven. ,.,
'ftl1!TErxyiUT
The blessing thrilled through all the
laboring throng,
And heaven was won by violence of
song.
Now, 1 am no worshiper of noice, 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 pow
err thar it has now. Why not take this
part of the sacred service and lift 1T to
it ought to he? All the annoy
of life might be drowned u by
that sacred song. Do you tell me that
it is not fashionable to sing very loud
ly? Then, I say, away with the fashion.
We dam back the great Mississippi OF
congregational singing and let a few
drop of melody trickle through the
dam. I say take away the dam and let
the rbillows roar on their way to the
oceanic heart of God. Whether it is
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
of music as an entertainment,
music as a. recreation. 1t is high time
heard something of music as a help,
a practical help. In order ito do this we
must have only a few hymns. New
tunes and new hymns every Sunday
make poor congregational singing. Fiji
ty hymns are enough for SO years. The
church prays n same pray
ers every Sabbath and year after year
and century after century. For that
reason they have the hearty re-