The Penn's Grove record., 1899-09-08
ment Hymn" he composed Is resoundpg
vet through all Chrlstanhnm

" music, Tue oWiss singing societies, the
Exeter hall concerts, the t~riennial musical
convocation at Dusseldorf, Germany. and
Birmingham, England, the conservatories
OF music at Munich and Leipsic, the
Handel and Haydn and Harmonic and
Mozart societies of this country, the
academies of music in New York, Brooklyn,
Boston, Charleston, New Orleans. Chicago
and every city which has any enterprise.
Now, my friends, how are we to decide
what is appropriate, especially for church
music Z There may be II great many differ
ences OF opinion. In some ofthe churches
they prefer n trained choir; in others, the
old style precehtor. In some places they
prefer the melodeon, the harp, the cornet,
the organ. In other places they think these
things are the Invention OF the devil. Some
would have a musical instrument played
so loud you cannot stand 1t, and Others
would have 1t played so soft you cannot
hear it. Some think a musical instrument
ought to be played only In the interstices
OF worship and then with indescribable
s~oftness, while others are not satisfied I'M
less there be startling contrasts and STAG
cato passages that make the audience lump.
with great eyes and hair on end, as from a
vision OF the witch OF Endor. But. while
there may be great varieties Of opinion In
regard to music, 1t seems to me that the
general spirit of the Word OF Sod indicates
what ought to be the great characteristics
of church music.
And l remark, In the first place, a
prominent characteristic ought to be
adaptiveness to devotion. Music that may
be appropriate for n concert hall, or the
opera house, or the drawing room, may be
inappropriate In church. Glees, madrigals,
ballads may be as innocent ms psalms in
their places. But church music has only
one design, and that Is devotion. and that
which comes with the toss, the swing and
the display, OF an opera house is a him
drance to the worship. From such per-
formance5 we go away saying: "What
splendid execution Did you ever hear
such a soprano2 Which OF those solos did
you like the better?" When, II we had
been rightly wrought upon, we would have
gone away saying: "0h, how my soul was
lifted up In the presence OF God while they
were singing that first hymni 1 never had
such rapturous views OF Jesus Christ as
my Saviour as when they we're singing
that last doxology."
j remark also that correctness ought to
be q characteristic OF church music. While
we oil ought to take part In this service,
with perhaps a few exceptions, we ought
at the same time TO cultivate ourselves in
this sacred art. God loves harmony, and
we ought to love 1t. There is no devotion
In q howl or q yelp. In this day, when
there are so many opportunities OF high
culture in this art, l declare that those
parents are guilty Of neglect who let their
sons and daughters grow up knowing
nothing about music. In some OF the Eu-
ropean cathedrals the choir assemble
every morning and afternoon of every day
the whole year to perfect themselves in
this art, and shall we begrudge the halt
hour we spend Friday nights in the re.
hearsal OF sacred song for the Sabbath?
Another characteristic must be spirit
and life. Music ought to rush from the
audience like the water from q roek-clear.
bright Snnrklnn n all IVA ntbpr m RI NJ
the church service is duh. do not have the
music dull. With so many thrilling things
to sing about, away With all drawing and
stupidity. There is nothing that makes
me so nervous as to sit in q pulpit and
look of on an audience with their eyes
three-fourths closed aud their lips almost
shut, munbling the praises of God. Dur
ing one of my journeys I preached to al
audience OF 1000 or 5000 people, and all the
music tuey made together did not equal
one skylarki People do not sleep at q cor
onation, DO not let US sleep when we come
to q Saviour's browning.
Again, remark church muse must be-
congregational. This opportunity must
be brought down within the range of the
whole audience. A song that the wor-
shippers cannot sing is Of nc more use to
them than n sermon IN Choctaw. What an
easy kind of church 1t must be where the
minister does all tho preaching, and tie
OieO4o ~ Al pay liS tEt CuDlL All
the singingl There are but very few
churches where there are two hundred
n forty and five singing men n singing
women"
In some churches 1t Is almost considered
a disturbance IL a man let out his voice to
full compass, and the people get up on tip
toe and look over between the spring hats
and wonder what that man is making all
TINT noise about. In Syracuse in a Presby-
terrain church there was one member who
came to me when l was the pastor OF an
other church in that city, and told me his
troub'e-how that rs he persisted In sing
ing on the Sabbath day a committee. made
up OF the session and the choir, had come
to ask him II he would not just please to
keep still You have no right to sing.
Edwards used to set apart whole
days for singing. Let us wake up to this
duty. Let us sing alone, sing in our fami-
lies, sing III our schools, sing in our
churches.
l want to rouse you to a unanimity in
Christian song that has never yet been ex-
hibited. Come, now clear your throats
and got ready for this duty or you will
never hear the end of this. Inever shall
forget hearing a Frenchman sing the
"Marselllaise" on the Champs Elvsees,
Paris, Just before the battle OF Sedan in
1870. I never saw such enthusiasm before
or since. As he sang that national air, oh,
how the Frenchman shoutedl Have you
ever In an English assemblage heard q band
play "God Save the Queen2" II you have.
you know something about the enthusiasm
of q national air. Now, l tell you that
these songs we sing Sabbath by Sabbath are
the rational airs of the kingdom o. heaven,
and II you do not learn to sing them here,
how do you ever ez pect to sing the song OF
Moses and the Lamb? 1 should not be
at all IL some Of the best anthems
of heaven were made up OF some OF the
best songs of earth. May God increase
reverence for Christian psalmody and
keep us from disgracing 1t by our indifer-
ence and frivolity.
When Cromwells army went into battle,
stood at the head OF 1t one day n gave
the long meter doxology to the tune OF
the "0ld Hundredth, +" and that great host,
company by company, regiment by regi-
ment. division by division, Joined in the
doxology:
God, from whom all blessings nowj
Praise Him all creatures here below;
Him above, ye heavenly host;
Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
Aud while they sang they marched, and
they marched they fought, and while
hey fought they got the victory. Oh, men
and women OF Jesus Christ, let us go fnto
ali our conflicts singing the praises OF God
and then, instead Of falling back, as often
do, from defeat to defeat, we vi be
marching on from victory to vfetory.
''Gloria In Excelsis" is written over many
organs. Would that by our appreciation
the goodness of God, and the mercy OF
Christ, and the grandeur of heaven, we
could have "Gloria in Excelsis" written
over all our souls. "Glory to the Father,
md to the Son, aud to the Holy Ghost, as
It was in the beginning, IS now and ever
shall be, world without End. Amen!"