The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1898-06-25
WHAT rs THE CHURCH
Rev. DR.. Talmage Declares that
Opinions Widely Differ.
Ne Kndeavors to Show What It Should b
"A Practical. Homely. Helpful
Agency for All within
Its Influence.

Rev. t. Dewitt Talmage, in the follow.
ing sermon portrays what the church
should be to its disciples. The text is:
Send thee help from the sanctuary.-Psaln,
TX, 2
II you should ask so men what the
church is they would give you so diff
ferent answers One man would say
-'It is a convention of hypocrites. An
other: at is place for gossip, where
wolverine dispositions devour each
other" Another: 1T is a place for
the cultivation of superstition and
cant" Another: st is an arsenal
where theologians go to get pixies and
muskets and shot" Another: sit is
an art gallery, where men go to ad.
mire great arches, and exquisite fresco,
and musical MARBLE, and the Dantesque
in gloomy imagery" Another man
would say: 1T is the best place on
earth except my own home" IF /
forget thee, o Jerusalem, let my right
hand forget her cunning"
Now, whatever the church il, my
text tells you what,ft ought to be-a
great, practical, homely omnipotent
help. Send thee help from the sanct-
uary." The pew ought to yield rest
fulness for the body. The color Of the
upholstery ought to yield pleasure to
the eye. The entire service ought to
yield strength for the toll and struggle
of everyday life. The Sabbath ought
to be harnessed to 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 jostlsd, gets
abused, gets cut, gets insulted, gets
sighted, gets exasperated. BY the
time the Sabbath comes he has an ac-
emulation of six days of annoyance,
and that is starveling church service
which has not strength enough to take
that accumulated annoyance and hurl
1t into perdition. The business man
sits down in church headachey from
the weeks engagements. 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 graciously diverted. The first
wave of the religious service ought to
dash clear over the hurricane decks,
and glad and heavenly emotion. "Send
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.: IL
must sing; l am only practicing for the
Heavenly choir" Music on earth is a
reh earsal for music in Heaven. If you
and are going to take part in that
orchestra, it is high time that we were
stringing and drumming our harps.
They tell US that Talberg and Gott-
schalk never would go into concert
until they had first IN private re-
hearsed, although they were masters
of the instrument. And can it be that
we expect to take part in the great
oratorio of Heaven if we do not re-
heafse here?
But 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 l ZOO
people will give more volume of sacred
song than an American audience of2 900
people. do not know what the reason
Is. Oh you ought to have heard them
sing in Surrey chapel. l had the OPP
ortunity of preaching the anniversary
Il think the ninetieth ami versary-
sermon in Rowland Hills old chapel,
and when they lifted their voices in
sacred song it was simply overwhelm-
ing, and then in the evening of the
same day, in Agricultural hall, many
thousand voices lifted in doxolgy. 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 oil the laboring
throng,
And Heaven was won by violence of song
Now, am no worshipper of noise,
but l believe that IL 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 IMAM IL HAS now. why HOU Jake
this part of the sacred service and lift
1t where it ought to be. All the an
noyances of life might be drowned out
by that sacred song. Do you tell me
that it is not fashionable to sing very
loudly? Then, say, away with the
fashion. We dam back the great Mis-
sissippi of congregational singing and
let few drops of melody trickle
through the dam. 1 say, take away
the dam and let the pillows roar on
their way to the oceanic heart of God.
Whetherit is fashionable to sing loudly
or not, let us sing with all possible en-
phasis.
We hear 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 a
help, practical help. In order to do
this we must have only few hymns.
New tunes ana new hymns every Sum
day make poor congregational singing.
Fifty songs are enough for so 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 re-
ononaac lat N talta N hint from that