Newspaper Page Text
- ‘ a * - ? -
N&UTJIIL II POLITICS & RELIGION—-DEVOTED TO ART, SCIENCE, LPtJC ATION > MORALITY AND THE ADtANCEMEMT OE SACRED MUSIC*
B F. WHITE,
CAUIPBELLiTOUf. —€. HI., Original , by Wm. E. Haskins.
jsrr iiiS
~ rgrjljzJrJzjLrJ^
Come, we that love the Lord, Join in the song with sweet accord. And thus surround the rbrone.
ADDRESS,
Delivered hy the Rev. Jeremiah Clarke
before the South western Musical Con
veniion of the Stale of Georgia, at their
first Anniversary Session, held at Cedar
Creek Church, Marion county, on the
Bth December, 1854.
’I feel myself highly honored, Respected
Auditors, in beiug-called upon to-day, an
‘occasion of importance, to deliver your first
anniversary address. I shall not attempt
: nnv display of oratory, or trick of rhetoric,
hut shall endeavor ‘.o speak in that maimer
which mav he, in a degree beucfieial to us
all. Excue me then, when I say that I
shall appeal to the Holy Scriptures kn
foundation of my believing that
that which has not a foundation there,
should never be practiced or taught. J
therefore design as a subject, the words 0 f
the Psalmist, as recorded in the first ver e
of the 147th Psalm-: Praise ye the Lord,
for it is good to sing jtra'rees unto our G o d,
dor it is pleasant, and praise is comely.”
Here doubtless the Psalmist, in consider
ing the great power, condescension, and
mercy of Jehovah, calls upon the people to
praise him, and to sing praises unto our
God. In another place he is more specific
and calls upon all his host, yea, even ex
tends his entreatiesto the beaveto of heav.
ens, and to unite in singing
the
-, s add
\v
11 a U
Mp J£r , ■'*> Sk
‘JB p~aist
and
manner H
being shoW^^H^H^K
sth. And praise is pleasant
and elegantly adapted to the worship of
Ist. What is Praise.
Praise is ihe acknowledgment of some
perfection seen in another with a commen
dation of the same. Praise may be ex
pressed in words, in acts, and in hymns of’
adoration. This last kind of praise is that
“to which the Psalmist had allusion, for. to
the second clause of the verse, he says. “ It
is good losing praises unto our God.” And
tn fact this is the general way of praising
■one who is supposed to he a God, The
‘heathen themselves account it as the prop
er method of praising their supposed deities;
and even the poorontutored Indian delights
to sing songs of praise to the Good Spirit,—
‘This method of praising them seems to he a
natural gilt, with which the commonality
-of mankind are endowed. Yea.it is o*eu
as much so as the powers of speech; and
this we think evident from the fact that,
tall people, nations, aud languages practice
‘•it. But some will ask, Do you think
singing is natural and therefore should not
’be improved ?” No; we mean that it is
-natural and therefore should be improved.—
It would be nonsense to speak of improv
ing anything that was not natural. What
‘would you think if a man were to say
that he was sending his sou to school to
-give him mind, would you not think b ; m a
•deranged man? But there would he much
tphilosophy in sending a child to school to
iiix.prove his mind.
Every talent, we may argue then, that
God has giveu us, should be improved, and ■
none other. Man mu-t have an intellect, j
the parent stock, before he can improve it. j
Tile orator must have been endowed with
the gift of oratory before he could have im
proved it. The poet must have been one
by nature, before he could have been taught |
to swell his numbers in immortal lays. In
short, science itself is hut a knowledge of |
that which before existed; language was i
certainly in existence before a grammar;]
calculation before arithme'ic ; and many ;
sougs had already been sung to God before
the science was inveuted or the “Sacred
Harp” blessed our people.
As God has endowed man with every
thing necessary to praise Him, with “ a bo
dy to be presented as a living sacrifice holy
4iud acceptable; aud with a tongue, though
now unruly, untameable, a fireiu itself, and
is itself set on fire of hell, to sing his eternal
praises ? and it is for the misbestowrnent of
these that he will be called into judgment.
It will be necessary for us to point out the
proper province of praise as we know
nought Os the science of music, which brings
us to our second proposition, ** That the
TOE ORGAN.
Superintendent. }
being we prßise*hould be worthy io dignitv
of character.”
However talented a man may he? what
ever. and how great may be the peculiari
ties of his mind, yet if *he lark dignity of
character he Will not be commended. If
he associate freely and indiscriminately with
the low aud vulgar, he will soon be spurn
ed by the lowest of the low, aud tire basest
of the base. We do vro*t mean by dignity
otcharacter, that kind of demoeraticul aris
tocracy which exalts one above his fellow
creatures, but that principle which makes
one bend, or aspire to every thing ft a
honorable, yet too high-mtoded to trf i
vice, orcondesceUd ton mean action.
a being as this the vicious fear, and gmTtr
men love and extol. He that possesses
tbis to infinite perfection is God ; who, tho’
He never associates with wo. nor can He
look upon it with the least alloWWncc, yet
unstoops himself from the * heaven of heav
ens,’his high throne, to relieve the distress
ed, and to remove suffering from the hearth
stone of misery-; and spurns not, though in
finite in ail his perfections, to acknowledge
the redeemed sons of Adam as His children.
It is right then that we should .praise
Him, and sing aloud in commendation of
His many virtues. Let us praise Him who
is worthy and never let our voices be heard
praising the Devil who is a bondman-, a
slave, reserved in chains for the judgment
of the last day, by such songs as ‘Jimmy
long Josey,’ or low, vulgar and obscene
songs.
The goad Lord alone is worthy, and
stands pre-eminent iu dignity of character.
Who, ther,f would our delight io praise
j such a being? Even a man of this sort is
j commended for his virtues how mueh toore
should we join fa eternal anthems of praise
to Him, who, in this and every other point,
is perfection.
Thirdly, we remark i The being Vv*
praise should be perfect in goodness and
mercy.
He that is noted for a love to his fellow
rnn-n, who spends his pilgrimage as did
Howard, the great philanthropist, in the
cause of humanity, relieving the distressed,
souihing ihe afflicted, and administering to
the cares and wants of many, well deserves
praise. And in fact goodness and mercy is
the last manifestation tow nrd its that w e are
likely to forget. IT an an had taken one of
us, as a helpless orphan, led. clothed, and
administered to our every Want, and then
should have taken upon himself the patron
age of us through life, our hearts would be
continually warm ingratitude towards him.
In fact, it would for any
one to speak aught agai^^mim; and equal
ly would we praise the Wai> who, when we
owed au amount that we were utterly Una
ble to pay, would pay our debts for us and
cancel all claims against Us. Such a being
as this well deserves our praise. But God
has done infinitely more for its t han ell this;
He has given us life, for *iu Him we live,
move, and have our being;* He sustains
our lives, Biid from our earliest infancy has
vouchsafed to be our sword, shield aud pro
tector. to provide for us, and satisfy our real
wants. In short, from the cradle to the
grave, His goodness, long suffering and for
bearance are plenteously manifested.
But He has done far more for us than all
this, while wb wers in debt to Him for a
violation of His sacred tow, deserving
death, with nought to pay. frith nothing in
any degree to liquidate Hie claim of justice,
I He sends His Son. His only begotten Son
j into the world, that he might expiate for
: the sins of his childten. that he might cancel
the debt, and save from death, death eternal.
The manner of his coming too should
strike us with a sense of his goodness and
! merry. He comes, not eurobed in regal
pomp, panoplied by a host of the angelic
j throng, nor surrounded by the sweet singers
iand musicians of heaven; but he is con
j ceived of the Holy Ghost,—-born of the vir
gin Mary in a Manger—cradled in an ox
trough—unknown among the world's elite
and unsnrrounded by wealth-like pomp or t
worldly splendor. Truly and emphatically,
may it be said of him, “ He took upon hint
self the form of a servant
His short career of unmitigated suffering,
exhibits to us his great goodness and mercy*
The poorest of the pool* —a stumbling block
—an offence, a reproach among men, a
hame every where spoken against, with no
continuing place, with no abiding city, with
no pillow on which to recline his head, he
sojourns a stranger to earth —a pilgrim
from the skies- Imagine the deep agony of
his soul s he sweats great drtp of blood
Hamilton,\G:t. Wffitesday, April S, 1855.
in the-garden of Gethsetnane; aud last of
all, behold Him extended upon the accursed
tree between two outlaws; the sun veiling
her face from the sight, the temple rent in
twain, the earth seized with-spasm, tossing
to aud fro; and then think, that all this
was done for-the benefit of the lost and ru
ined sons of A'dam, and for the redemption,
of all that believe, and surely* you will say
with me that such goodness aud merry is
unparallelled. Truly may it he said, that
at the cross truth and righteousness meet
together, justice and mercy kiss each other.
A man might die for his friends but trot for
his enemies. Jesus Christ died for his en
emies. Here then is a proper object of
perfect praise. Such a mauifestation well
might wondering Angels see and praise, but
it is for the redeemed sons of Adam, to see
him in a light that angels cannot see- him,
and praise fti mint Ira t toamrer that angels
can never praise him.
O, Christian Brethren! when I think of
the’ cross us Christ, and the -good Wv claim,
from it, it astonishes me that Ve can ever
“ mock Him with a solemn sound upon a
thoughtless tongue.’’
We think we have now called your at
tention to the only befog, that is worthy of
praise, and what constitutes him as a prop
er “oijcct of our commendation.
We now hasten, fourthly, Io Consider in
what manner should He be praised 1 :
And upon this part of our subject, much
is needing to he said to counteract that list
less, and inattentive method of singing at our
Schools. God is our creator. and is ns
high above us .ay is the. abqve the
earth ; nua as ucfr : , Ween IVeupprrmeb him
In either in prayer,or in it Vohg
Vo bis great’ name, we should do it with rev
erential care, and not with uqcnuth mirth
and jollity. The best manner, however, of
praising him is better cesertbeil by his own
Word, “ Vviih the spirit and understanding,’
1 making melody in yout herrts unto the
Lord.’ He should always be! praised with
thoughtfulness and seriousness. If this
were to be the case, bow pleakant wotilri be
our singing school and our church meeting,
where eVery heart would beit iu unison,
and eVelry tongue but express the inner
emotions of the soul-.
It does appear strange that ban can make
a solemn mockery of the hymns of praise
to bis own benefactor. And yet it is too
true, that our schools have too much be
come a place for courtship to the young,
and a place of idle chit-chat. This ought
not so to be; remember, m-yyoiHtg friends,
that you are preparing to fill the places iu
vocal music as well as every thing else of
your fathers’ aud sires; that y< u must raise
and siug our songs at church* and O, how
important it is that you do it w ith solemnity
aud with Godly fear.
A word to teachers. Teachers, you
have ihe guardianship for the time being, of
your pupils; will you teach them the sa
credness and importance of this study 1—
Will you teach them that they should praise
him in earnestness? Will you teach them
to maintain as profound silence while in
session as if they wore listening at a sermon?
If you will, glad would I be to attend your
school, and hear the glad voices of your
pupils praising with solemnity auo cheer
fuluesss that God whom 1 hope I love and
adore.
Fifthly, and lastly i Such praise is‘Come
ly,’ and elegantly adapted to the worshib of
God.
David says, to sing praises unto the Lord
is * pleasant and comely.* It is pleasant
for one whose heart is warm in the cause
of Christ, to praise his name and to declare
his goodness towards Him. But how pleas
ant and comely is it for Christians of one
heart and mind to sing with the spirit and
understanding thte songs of Zin. I have
always thought that good singing was the
life of a congregation, and that it added en
ergy and beauty to the war ship of Go<t,—
If the singing in our schools was done with
due reverence and Godliness, how comply
would it appear ? truly would it then bo
pleasant losing praises unto the Most High.
But when weconsidei sacred thusic carried
to its more proper sphere, the sanctuary of
God, with a proper spirit it cheers up the
drooping spirits of a so I diet; of the cross, as
does the heating of a drum a soldiers’ heart
almost faint with fear, How* toy young
hearers. O let me ask, can yu sing with
thoughtlessness and idle mirth, songs to ‘hat
Savior, through whose blond your life is
granted unto you, together with all ihe priv
ileges and blessings which you enjoy; and,
O Christians, how* can you praise bino list-
les'sly, hy whom your life has been ransom
ed ft nm eternal and you have Rdeti
made an heir of God. and a joint heir with
our Lord Jesus Christ, and to shine as the
sun in ihe kingdom of your Father. But I
must now bring my feeble'remarks to a close.
My oßjeeChas been to do good, and if J
have done it. my most sanguine expecta
tions are realized. May God ble-s you. and
ever enable you to praise Him with the spir
it and understanding.
RUSSIAN AY?AIR*,
INTERESTING FROM RUSSIA.
The Policy ok Alexander Hi
Sphiltd Add css to the Senate—Not on inch
of Russian Territory to be Surrendered.
[Correspondence of London Chronicle.]
Paris. March 28.
The rumors of a pacific disposition orn
the part of Alexander 11. have been made
stronger to-day by the announcement made
in the Cologne Gazette . that a Russian note
arrived at Berlin ou the I7tb, renewing the
pacific declarations already made by the
new Emperor, with an assurance that he
was ready to submit existing treaties to an
honorable revision.
Very much, of course, of the chance of a
peaceful solution to the Eastern question
must depend on the personal feelings of
Alexander IL. and on how far those feel
ings may be ‘mods'rafe'd of pmbiUered by
t*he necessity of adhesion to the traditional
policy of Russia, sanctified, as it must be,
both in the eyes of prince and people, from
the observance according to it by a line of
imperial ancestors, aud hallowed, also, hy
almost uninterrupted success. On this sub
ject. a letter from St. Petersburg!), of the
10Hi, in the Conshtutionnel , says?
I have already given you to Un’d'erstaMl
that no hopes ate Yrnterfftined here of aby
change of system in the policV of Russia’;
Every one feels assured that the Emperor
Alexander has not ascended the throne of
his father w ithout having well studied and
comprehended the system, which the Em
peror Nicholas followed so obstinately. I
am assured on good authority that the
Emtp'eror Nicholas, onhis death bed, dis
cussed with his son the first measures of the
new government, and that their opinions
were not in accord ou the subject of the
manifesto. Ther.*,'is, iu fact, a very essen
tial difference, as regards Russian policy,
between the manifesto 9T the Emperor
an’d that of hTs,SoVi. The Emperor Nicho-
Ifes freVer failed to place the question of re
ligion pVoTnireusly forward, and made the
grandeur of Russia subordinate to it; and,
according to him, the attacks of Europe
were more particularly directed against the
orthodox Church. In the manifesto of his
son, on the uontray, the religious question
is passed over in silence, perhaps from a
fear of still further increasing the fanaticism
of Hie pe'opr®, or from a w ish to remove
wliat might be an ototacle to peace. It is
e’eriain that an injuction of moderation has
been imposed ou the Senate.
On the other hand, a letter from the same
place, of the date of the 9th, gives the fol
lowing extract from the address of the Em
peror Alexander, 00 receiving a deputation
from the nobility?
\ solemnly swear that I will not give up
a single inch of Russian territory to our
enemies. I shall take good care to preVent
their further penetrating on the soil of our
country ; and never, never—toay my hand
w ither first—will 1 affix my signature to a
treaty which shall bring the slightest stain
On the national honor.
His Majesty’s address to the officers 0!
the Guards, upon tho latter taking their
oath of allegiance, it is Said, was of the
same warlike character, and was delivered
in a tone of energy aud vehemence that ex
cited considerable attention.
We have received the St. Petersbnrg
journals of the 13tn of March.
The Journal de St. Petersbourg announ
ces the artival at the Prussian capital of
Prince Peter of Oldenburg, of ihe Archduke
Willi im of Austria, of the Grand Duchess
Dowager of Mecklenburg Schwerin, of
Prince Charles of Prussia, and of the Duke
WHUam of Me'cklenhurg Schwerin,
The St. Peteisburg Gazette publishes an
imperial letter, thanking the inhabitants
for their sympathy on the occasion of the
death of the late Emperor. ‘l’he Gazette
also publishes the following :
The Grand Duke Cohstantine is relieved
from the functions of Adjunct of the Chief
of the Staff-Gen'ehal of the Navy, and in
his quality of Grand Admiral will have the
direction of this Ministry of Murine, with
the rights atid prerogatives of a Minister,
retaining his other functions and dignities.
Aid-dfe-Camp General Prince Menschi
koff is believed, at his request, on the ground
of ill health, from the chief command of the
land bud sea forces in the Crimea, from his
functions of Chief of the general staff of the
Marine, and of those of Governor General
ofFruland, retaining his rank as Aid-de-
Cnmp General and member of the Council
of the Empire.
General of Artillery, Aid-de-Carnp Gen
eral Prinfce Gortschakoff IL, commander in
chief of the artoy of the South, is appointed
commander in chief of the land and sea
forces in the Crimea, with all the rights,
powers and prerogatives of a commander
in chief in times of war, and retaining the
chief commaud of the army of the South.
t VOX,. 4—NO. S.
IMPORTANT DIPLOMATIC MAN
, \ iFEsTo. , . ; t ;
We have received from Vienna Cctftil
Nesgelrode’s note to the ministers of Rus
sia at foreign courts. It professes to be,*
manifesto to Europe of the.intentions en
tertained by tbe new Emperor, and. is the
first official paper w hich has appeared on
the subject. The following is a translation:,
•, • S'r.Petersburg, March ID, 1855. x
My despatch of the 2d fast., w ill have.im
fornted you of the accession of his Majesty
the Eropetor Alexander2d. I also, .at the
same time, had the Ifon'or of sending you
the manifest” of our illustrious sovereign, is
sued on the first day of his teign.
This document expresses his Majesty's
profound sense of the importance of tjbe du
ties w-filch “heis called so futfii, .Those du
ties have been imposed on him by Divine
Providence in the midst of severe trials.—
ascending the throne of his ancrstois, he
beholds Russia involved in n war, the like
of which occurring in anew reign history
cannot pioduce.
Our illustrious sovereign accepts these
trials, trusting iu God, confiding securely in
the unwavering devotedness of his people,
and filled with religious reverence for the
memory of his much loved father.
In a child like trpint of piety he- ncccTfe
as tiis heritage two obligations, which, in
bis eyes, are equally sacred. ‘I he first de
mands from his Majesty the employmeut of
all the power which the will of GqcJ 4i
■placed ip his hands for the defence and in
tegrity of the Honor of lipssia. The second
imposes on his Majesty thq duty of steadily
devoting his care to the completion -.of that
work of peace, the bases of which were
sanctioned by the Emperor Nicholas.
Faithful to the ideas w bicb predominate
in the last dispositions and arrangements of
his illustrious father, the Emperor has rs
-and confirmed the instructions With
‘which the ’plcmpoteniiary of Russia had
beet) provided, from December until thp
time when the Vienna conferences were to
have been opened, In this way the inten,-
tious of the Emperor Nicholas are certain
to he fulfilled. Their aim
To restore to Russia and Europe the
‘b ossings of peace.
To confirm the freedom of worship and
the welfare of the Christian people of the
East, without distinction of .rife,
To place the immunities of the Principal
ities under a collective guarantee.
To secure the free navigation of the Dau
•ubeU f— tT U.o iVaue.ctf pJI nations.
To put an end fa the rivalries of thegreat
Powers respecting the East, j,n such mln
ner ns to preclude the return of new compli
cations, . , . ,
Finally, Vo cPYne to an understanding
with the great Powers respecting the revis
ion of the treaties by which; they have rei
cognized the principle of closiug the
Dardanellts and tl.ie Bosphorus, and iu this
way to arrive at an honorable settlement.
A peace concluded on such a basis as this,
since it would terminate the, ,ca.fotoi|lgi IqT
war, would call forth the blessings of all
naiious upon the new government, jtussie,
however, feels deeply, and all Europe must
acknowledge the fact, thgt the hope of a
restoration of peace Would prove vain if the
conditions of au adjustment Should overpass
that just limit which a sense oif the dignity
of the crown led our aughst ford to fix irre
vocably. . , ; , j
Tbe Emjjeror will wait tranquilly until
tbe cabinets called to deliberate in com-,
muu with Russia on this question of unfa
versa! interest for ail Christendom t.hall de
clare the views by which their policy will
be guided. ‘ . .
Our august lord will eh ter upon these,
important deliberations in a sincere spirit
of concord ; this is the declaration which f
am expressly commissioned by bis Majosty
to make to you.in his o am*.
‘I he general instructions with which you
are provided, prescribe to yob the course
which you aro to continue to follow in youi;
intercourse with the governments to which
you are accredited. The Emperor, in conv
firming you in the post to which you were
appointed by the grace of his illustrious f&t
ther, relies implicitly ou your fidelity and,
zeal. It is his desire that on all occasion*
your conduct and language should bear wit<
ties 3to Abe loyalty with which Russia re>
gards obligations involving fidelity to treaties
—to its constant desire to live on good
terms with all allied and friendly
and, fiually. to its reverence for the inviola
bility of tbe ri hts of every State, as well aa
its firm resolve to maintain intact and make,
respected those rights which Diviue Provi
dence has entrusted to the Emperor in to&£
king him tho protector of the hpnor of tbq
nation. You are instructed to bring this to
the knowledge of the Court at Which you
hud the honor to represent the Emperor
Nicholas of glorious and much beloved
memory. NESSELRODE.
ADDRESS OF THE~CZAR ALEXAN
DER IL, TO DIPLOMATIC CORPS.
The following is the address delivered bv
tbe Emperor Alexander 11. to the diploma
tic corps on the 7th tost :
t am persuaded, geutlemen. that all your
courts feel sincere sorrow at the misfortune
which has befallen us ; I have already re
ceived proofs of it from all sides; they have
greatly moved cue, and 1 stated yesterday
to the Ministers of Prussia aud Austria hojr
much I appreciated them. I solemnly d*-