Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1902-09-06
THE SONG OF The LORD
Sunday Discourse By DR.. Chapman. the
Noted PastOr.EvangeIist.
II Our Hearts VIII But Sing Right Christ VIII
Help Us TO cOuntsract Our Bias TO Sin.

~ New YORK CIrY.-The Rev. DR.. J. NIL
bur Chapmans sermons continue TO excite
the p-O,oIndest interest and to give the
greatest satisfaction 10 that large number
OF American people who demand a strik-
ing discourse for weekly reading. The
popular pastor-evange,ist has prepared the
following sermon Tor the press. 1t Is en-
titled The Song OF the Lord" and is
preached from the text. The song of the
Lord began also H. Chronicles %: ~
The difference between the 2sth and :he
10Th chapters OF ii. Chronicles presents 70
us an illustration of that difference winch
we frequently see in the church As she
passes from times OF enthusiasm To days
OF depression and back again, and Tor
which there seems To lie no human eNp.a-
nation. So also Is it the picture OF many
families where the cody father has an I'M
godly son and an ungodiy father a cody
son. which is entirely contrary TO the rules
which in our Own house we have deter
mined should abound. So also Is il pic
ture OF many individuals who after weeks
and months and even years are found reg
ularly III the house OF God the most devout
of worshipers. and then suddenly stop un-
able almost to explain to themselves how
they have lost interest and why their zeal
Is quenched. The wicked reign OF AhaZ
and the reign OF his righteous son Hezc-
kiah thus furnish us with practical illus
y tration.
Ahaz was the eleventh k.1g OF Judah.
the son Of lothian. His example was holy
and his reign was peaceful and prosper
Gus. Not so OF his son He was a gross
ido.ator. actually sacrificed his children TO
the gods. remode.ed the temple that it
might be fit Tor ido!atrous Uses and owned
chariot horses that were dedicated to the
son. Upon all of this the judgment of God
falls but because of it the condition OF the
people is something dreadful. lie Is Al IL
lustration OF the power OF sin. First. in its
infatuation. We ind him rohbing the
palace and plundering the temple. places
which had always been sacred both To the
king and to the people, but which he pre-
sents dishonored in the 2lst verse OF
the 18th chapter. to the king OF Assyria,
but somehow sin seems always to present
the same sort of an infatuaton To those
who walk for any length OF time in its way.
Second, in its degradation. There could
be no worse sin than that described ii
verses 81 and y OF the 18th chapter. where
Ahaz gathered together the vessels o. the
house OF God. shut up the doors OF the
house, and in all the cities OF Judah made
high places to burn incense 10 other gods.
A picture very much like IL Is found IN
the 9Th chapter of Daniel the Sd and 5th
verses, where the temple vessels are taken
by the king and used in midnight reyclry.
when suddenly the fingers OF mans hand
are sScti WEiliUS OfA iuC Nda4. AitoG Az
weighed in the balance and found want
ing" However, it is true that any man
who uses his powers OF body or OF mind 20
sin is as dcfiantly sinful as was Ahaz the
= king.
Third, in his death he is picture o: the
end OF sin. He died when only thIrty-six
= years of age an untimely death. and he
sleeps in a dishonored grave, for they
would not bury him in the tombs OF the
kings, a perfect illustration of the text,
''Sin when it is finished brings forth
death" In the city of Paris in burning
letters of fire 4 certain place OF dangerous
sin greeted the passer-by with these words,
all of them written in fire, Nothing to
pay" but he who enters in through the
door will find that the wages OF s:n Is
death. This has always been ,rue. Heze-
kiah. the son of Ahaz. began TO reign
when ne was twenty-five years cd. In
his parental heritage he had everything
against him. but his mothers name was
AbiZah, and she was the daughter OF
Zechariah, man who had understanding
in the views OF God. This is undoubtedly
the secret OF Hezekiah's goodness. Boys
frequently 20 right when their fathers are
wrong bat when the mother Is wrong very
rarely 90 they walk in the paths OF recti-
tude
Ii.
For sixteen years there had been TO song
in the temple. This was a great loss, be-
AAt always peS!l
toned 20 sing from the time at creation
when the morning stars sang together aud
all the sons OF God shouted for Joy TO the
marching through the Red Sea whore the
sons of Israel were led b. Miriam in the
singing. and the birth OF the Saviour where
the angels were the choir. the last supper
where the Lord Himself was one OF the
singers. up to the new heaven and the new
earth where they sing the new song the
world has had much TO do with music. The
Is ftemp.e service when men lived in right re-
lations with God and the house was clean
was beautiful. Some Psalms were written
u-dn the tempe in letters OF gold. and the
people chanIod them TO the accOmpani-
ment Of the coIsecrated instruments the
antilhonal choirs answered each other. "a
for example, i'll the 24th Psalm. one choir
would say, Lift M your heads. . We
gates. even hit them up. we everlasting
doors, and the King of glory shall come
in, and the other choir would respond
Who i this King OF glory only to have
the other SINGERS reply. The Lord o:
Hosts, He is the King OF glory But ;or
sixteen years there had been no song.
First. why was this! The best espla.
nation Is given IN the 2sth chapter of H.
Chronicles, the oath and 18th verses
"And Ahaz gathered together the vessels
of the house of God. and cut in pieces the
vessel of the house OF God. and shut up
the doors OF the house of the Lord, and
he made him affairs in every corner oil
Jerusalem. And in every several city OF
Judah he made high places TO burn in.
cense unto other gods and provoked to an.
ger the Lord God OF his fathers" There
is many a life to-day without song, and
to all such | give my message. The reason
for this is found in the fact of sin. We sin
in our outward acts. but God can keep Il:
from that if we will let Him and give It's
the song once more. We sin in our de
sires. but He can remove these desires il
We will but perTni. Him to do 80, and OF,
affections may be set on things ABOVE We
SIN IN our motives, but IL we are His there
Is new pivot to our life. AM he motives
which were most impure may become pare
indeed. We have also i bias 20 sin which
comes TO US with oar bir.h bu; He ear
coanteract il ii we viii give Him the right
to DO 80. Ii one coud throw a stone uu
gh enough it would come to the place
equipose. where the law Of gravita.ion
lid he overcome by the high .aw which
LIS upward. aad so if NC did nut Weld
cur se,ves to Christ as we ought we would
come 20 the place where He wouid over.
power the weakness OF our nature ami
what we doubtless need Is song to-day
II may be the old song we used to sing. IL
IL natural to everybody TO sing the p.ow
boy As he follows his pillow, the shepherd
as he keeps lBs flock in the mountains. the
sailor on the sea and the traveller on the
plain, they all sing. At 4 critical moment
in the battle of Waterloo when the soldiers
were wayering Wellington found out n ,yas