The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-05
TALMAGES SERMON


to sing praises to God and utter in tune
 ful words the love of Christ for all men.
 And these are they whom David set
 over the service of song in the house of the Lord"
 Now, why did David appoint musicians over the service of song in the temple? First. because music is a combination of beauties in sounds, and no man can truly
 come to the higher Christian life until
 he learns to appreciate the beauties of
 all Gods creations. God does not simply
 say to man: "I am God, creator and
 ruler;" but he says, "I want you to mo- tice that l have made everything beauti-
 ful in it's time" Thus Jesus bade us look
 at the lily or the wild flower of the field
 and observe the care with which God
 had produced masterpiece in colors. He
 makes the leaf of that wild flower so beautiful that artists for centuries have tried in vain to reproduce it's harmonies. Oh, the marvellous blending of colors in the leaf of one little daffodili Then think ! of Gods architectural What is the cathedral of St. Peter in Rome or the
 cathedral at Cologne, or any other archi- tectural masterpiece, in comparison with the grandeur of the Alps or the beauties
 of the Grand canyon? Gods love of beauty shows itself here, as it does in the flowers that are in these gardens again preparing to make the world a ! works that He loves beauty and are sure that when we strive to make His wor- ship sweet and harmonious with His gift | of voice and with musical instruments we are pleasing Him.
 Is not the voice of a great congregation 1 lifting it's song in praise like the sound of many waters? Have you ever mo- | ticed how many times the Bible tells us l to sing the praises of God? Not once, | but many times, is the commandment given Sing is the word. Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. When the time of worship which we spend in the Lords house is so precious, would God be willing to waste any of the time of church service in singing if mu- sic was not divine means of spiritual
 grace? Yes, hereafter we must look upon music as a preacher. We must reVerently consider our hymn books as second only in importance to the holy Bible itself. God has placed His divine approval and
 indorsement upon them.
 The Importance of Music.
 Why does God honor sacred music in the salvation of men? This fact should be easily analysed when you open any hymn book and begin to sing the grand c songs which have come ringing down tLe corridors of the centuries. What is the keynote of nine-tenths-aye, ninety nine-hundredths-of the hymns that are sung? Gods wrath? No. It is Gods love- Of course, there are some of the ol, hymns which contain warnings to the sinner, but in nearly all the hymns that we love the central magnet of our affec- tion is the story they contain of the cross and Gods protecting care for His chil- dren. Hell and the terrors of future pun ishment may lift their red lights of warn ing. but it is only the cross of Christ that can make men cling to God as a heavenly Father. Just read over the favorite songs of your hymn book and see if what I say Is not true. And this is the reason why the song which is sung after the sermon often does more good than the whole sermon upon which the minister has expended weeks of labor. Why? Because the preacher too often wields the gospel bludgeon. He is bound to declare the whole counsel of God, and sometimes it must sound harsh. He says:
 'The end of sin is death, and God will not by any means accept the impenitent." Then some sweet throated songstress arises in the choir loft and lifts up her
 voice in praise to Him for His mercy in redemption. As this sweet message of Gods love wings its way to the heart of the worshipers men say, q will do this
 not because I fear hell. but because
 Christ died for me and because Christ loves me-" Was not this fact demon