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There are few organs in the Presbyterian Churches of the United States. And the number can not be increased without a contest. Many of the more thoughtful and prayerful members in every congregation will oppose their introduction with firmness, or submit to with regret. And their introduction will be retarded by every improper use of them in churches that are furnished. The common-place argument in favor of organs, is that they are an elegant accompaniment, and an aid in singing the praises of God in the great congregation. But when serious Christians observe that the praise of God is delayed, by the preludes and interludes fully as long a time as the praises themselves occupy, they will suspect that the instrument was introduced for other purposes than to aid devotion. And especially when they hear a tune (stolen from the opera, perhaps) played on the organ after the benediction is pronounced, on the Sabbath, amidst the under-talk and confusion of a retiring congregation, and without vocal music or any accompanying praises, they will begin to fear that the organ was not intended and is not adapted to aid devotion. They will gradually come to the conclusion that the organ is, like the dance, not sinful in itself, but so prone to evil that those who desire not to be lead into temptation ought to shun it as they do all dangerous companions. And serious Christians have a right to ask what is a breach of the Sabbath, if this disorderly farewell, after divine service, is not?
A father rises from family worship on Sabbath morn or eve, and as the hum of conversation commences, and the children begin to prattle, he observes his eldest daughter to open the piano, and hears her strike the notes of the latest piece of music. Can he for a moment suppose that it is intended or adapted to aid his devotions just closed? Or could he be charged with being righteous over much if he should remind his daughter that it was the Sabbath? But this breach of the Sabbath is to the other, as a neighborhood wrangle is to a war of nations. And it is a question of no little importance whether these instrumental essays without singing, after the sermon is finished and devotions closed, have not a tendency to dissipate seriousness and counteract the good effects of the word of God.
Simplex
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