Year: 1866




And we see steps have been taken toward
getting ont Of a new LYNN Book. This IS
a subject Of c8ngratulation, if they viii SEQ
that Dr. Watts is allowed his appropriate
share Of the work, and that some OF the old
hymns are pnt back which do not appear in
+ the present Presbyterian hymn 5ssak. \ nd
while they are at it. for the sake Of all there
Is sacred IN music and blessed in the idea of
+ singing praises unto the Lord, let the As
sembly Get Of a deiiverauce up0u the
mothud Of performing that branch Of the
worship of the living God. Let gentlemen
/ OF the Assembly who may attesd any one Of
our leading churches ON today, listen to the
+ singing, and say what they think Of it. Sup
pose the officiating minister should give
+ ont the One IIundredtd Psalm, Second
/ Part" Before Jehovah's awful throne, etc
The choir begins, and what do they sing
Nobody on earth save themselves can tell
as follows: Bwhe-ot-ye0--ha how
a--lth nah yatbi0a, who-o-o with aha re
whoye, etc, etc through t. the closing
stanZa Of this grand old psalm, tearing TO
shreds IN the most barbarous manner, some
of the strongest aud most musical words in
the Saxon tongue. What q pity, what a
/ shame, what sin, thus to mangle Gods
praise Can itn0t be remeaied IN some way
We would not say, split up your ORGANS and
melodeons and break up your ch0irs. No.
not just that; for we love the music made
on the organ even, when it and the choir
adapt themselves 20 The singing Of the con-
grecati0n, but not when, alter much eXtraor-
dinary practice, to make performance, the
congregation Is neither expected nor desired
to take part In, they take themselves away
of IN some corner or other, or as in most Of
churches, up stairs, separate and apart from
the w0rshipers to do their praising God by
the job, perhaps as the lowest bidders. No,
we want no such mOckery. Give US rather
the old fashioned clerk to give out the
Psalms for all to sing But this need not
be. Let the choir sing such tunes a5 the
people-who expect to be better singers when
they get to Heaven, and to have a new
song put IN their mouths can sing with
out being professional singers or music
teachers. We love to join the congregation
IN songs Of praise, and can sing very much
to our own satisfaction If not edification
when some good brother pitches and car
ries the tune anywhere in the latitude of
musical civilization, and the whole people
Join In singing any Of the plain, smooth,
good old tunes that our mothers aud grand
mothers went to heaven trying to the last to
whisper; but when we must wait to see
whether that trained row of elegant musi-
clans who stand in front Of the organ and
behind the people, and who do the praise
Of God by proxy, viii accommodate US
!
and throat-spllttlng opera, we beg to be ex-
cused. We saw an old father IN Israel. who
had been an elder for forty years, take his
seat in one Of our churches, not long since,
and when thatpFecious old hymn, that every
BODY loves so much" 4 las wbv did nv
Savior bleed, etc.-was announced from the
pulpit, the old gentleman quietly wiped his
sPectacIes, and finding the place, awaited
the usual" blowing of steam from the or





tune be had Tor so many years been singing;
these same touching words, too, way off in
the country church far away from the ad-
Tanced ideas OF city religion, when, 10 a
sweet screamin voice skccEed away up yOn
der, twittering and triliing, to the utter
amaZemontcf the old christian. when boom
boom! exploded u great cannon-like sound,
coarse and hoarse as the breath of Boreas,
and here they both came wheeling and whirI-
ING and lninZling and gurgling around about
in every possible confusion Of foreign sound,
every now and then waiting for the instru-
ment to " catch breath, till finally, the old
elder getting lower and lower IN his seat,
quietly closed his book, took off his glasses,
and, folding his hands, appeared waiting for
the next part Of the show We never shall
forget the disappointed and mortified expires
sion which sat upon that old man s face.


The same sad look Of farewell forever





turns from the grave Of a departed friend
was there. Nothing could be palmer than
what was written upon the sOrrOw wing face
of the grey-haired patriarch, rs he closed
the book upon his favOrite old hymn, with
the thought that now he had come to the
city to live he must give up his plaiD sim
pie notions Of worship which used to glad
den his heart so, and let Strakosches and
Picklehominies do the praise part Of his
-l,s ! la
called to Join in with the congregation
which VIII never break up and which would
again gladden. his heart with the glorious Old
anthems supposed too homely for modern
refinement in sacred music, so-called.


Notmany weeks ago IN this city-after q pow
erful appeal to sinners from the pulpit
call was made for those who wished to be
prayed for, to come forward, to the . anxious
bench" and a request that the brethren
would sing Am | a soldier of the cross 2
and it did appear to rs that there would be
perfect rush for the altar, but no! Why2
They undertook to move sinners by the arr
tistie wooing OF the organ and trained choir,
and instead Of that warming, heavenly spirit
which never fails to accompany that good
old hymn when sung with an earnest, zeal
Gus, Christian viii, every impression OF a
spiritual character, made by the powerful
and convincing discourse, was utterly dIssl-
pated aud cold sensation passed over the
CONGREGATION No sinner went up to be
prayed for. and the meeting was a failure.
/ We have heard an anecdote Of a church IN
Scotland where desire was expressed by
some Of the congre 1ation 10 introduce
/ Bassviol into the Worship, and some oppo-
/ sing it, at length a. Eote was taken, and it
/ was agreed to by q small majority. Sure
enough the next Sabbath, the Bass-viol was
on hand, and the performer and singers all
/ in place When the venerable minister,
who had taken no part whatever in the pre-
/ yious discussion, or vote upon the question
Of the Bass-viol, rose and with great gravity
said: I" let US compose our minds, while we
sing and fiddle the praises Of the Lord in
1 the ilty-Grst Psalm


That was the end Of the fiddle question IN
thatchurch, and so ietit be IN all our churches
unless the instrument and tie choir can be
made useful in leading and aiding the con-
greaation, and not IS now, in too many IN
stances, employed FOR no higher purpose
than to stop the mouths Of the pi0us but not
I artistic singing people, and 10 give exEi-