The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1904-10-20

rebuke Of their backsIiding, Meth.
odism put her ban on card-playing
Christians. These men OF God were
too tremendously in earnest for the
alter going or any other form Of
worldly amusement. They had
heard call aDd answered to It,
They had received message and de-
clared it. They had mission and
how were they straitened until twas
accomplished. To every seductive
call of Sanballat ana Tobiah and
eastman these brave Nehemians had
but one response: Il am doing a
great work and / cannot come down,
The class meeting heard their testi.
mony. The prayer service echoed
their fervent prayers. The camp
meeting glowed with their fervor-
They maintained the family altar:
they read their Bibles and hymn
books and the Life of Carvasso and d
church paper, as necessary to renew
and nourish a true spiritual life,
They knew whom they had believed.
2. They sung their experience.
They were nourished on Wesley =
hymns. One test Of true faith is
its singableness. Try to put the FIVE
points Of Calvinism into song! Isaac
Watts never wrote a hymn on uncon.
ditional predestination, and John Cal
vim never gave the world one on any
theme. The horrible decree" is fat.
al to the spirit Of song. But Charles
Wesley was a singing evangelist. He
was set for the defense of no formal
creed, but tuned his harp to the ex-
perience of redeemed sinner, rejoic.
ing in newfound forgiveness and a
SURPRISING love- The majesty Of
God, the wondrousness Of divine love,
the SURPRISING grace Of our Lord Je,
sus Christ, the freeness and fullness
of redemption, the efficiency Of the
Holy Spirit, the curse Of sin,the pangs
Of penitence. the JOY of pardon, the
blessed consciousness of adoption in.
to the divine family, the terrors Of
nell and the glories of heaven-the1e
were the themes Of Wesley's pen and
these the burden of song on the lips
of Methodists for more than a cen.
fury The hymn book Of the church
mas been the conservator Of doctrine
and experience 1t is a textbooks of
salvation
1t was an ill-omened day for our
Methodism when these modern dit.
ties, began to supplant scriptural
hymns in the service of the churzh
It began in the Sunday School; hin
gratiated its way into the pray9f and
class meeting; it has captu,ed the
citadel OF the public serviceffn many
Of our rural churches; and great
generation has grown fup which
knows not Joseph--is More familiar
With Fannie Crosby than VITA
Charles Wesley, and WITH which
Rock of Ages" and "Jesus Lover Of
Ny SOUP have been suppIanted by
the rolIicking revel of Captain jerks
of the Horse Marines" This is no
wholesale and indiscriminate arraign-
ment Of all modern church music and
songs; it is-a plea that we prove all
things" Z odhold. fast to that which
is good" HE trouble has arisen
from the rage for the new, which is
largely frothy, sentimental, unreal
There are some good modern songs
there is more of good modern music;
but the mass of that which has beer
inflicted upon dong suffering public
is trashy, silly, possessing neither
good poetry nor sound sense. Par
don me il do not cite illustrations;
/ should almost be sure to hurt some
ones sensitive feelings. win Civ,
one, because think that it is nov
obsolete at least | hope so. 1t wal
popular twenty-five or thirty years
ago
20 golden hereafter, thine ever.
bright rafter
Snail shake with the thunder of sane
titled song"
If that is not unsanctified ncnsense
am at a loss to know wEat it woul,
be. And this is a type of much tina
our Sunday Schools are singing, t,
the exclusion of the hymns Of tn.
church. Our new hymnal is prop''
ed for the holidays. We are assure
that it will contain the choicest o
the old and the best Of the new
Welcome the day of its appearing
And thrice welcome the day when tn,
.hymnal shall be the song book in al
our services! That win be the open
day of revival that will sweep ia,
land as none since Pentecost, whel
the church becomes a singing evan
gel, voicing genuine scriptural ax
perience in psalms, and hymns ant
spiritual songs, which have in then
sound sense, good theology and tn,
efficient energy Of the Holy Ghost!
3. the early Methodists told thel
experience. They were mot asham
ed Of the gospel" They knew
Whom they had believed and wante,
others to know as we'll They wer,
not afraid Of their own voices. The,
Sung Justify" as John Wesley ex
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