REFLECTIONS FOR DANCERS.
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WHILEwe were in Carlisle, Kentucky, in May, we learned that Bro. Reynolds, who was engaged in an interesting meeting a few miles off, had announced that he would preach ondancingon a morning. As we had no appointment for preaching that morning, Bro. Jones proposed to take us to the place to hear Bro. Reynolds. On arriving we found a good audience in attendance, and Bro. Reynolds prepared for his work. He pressed us to address the people, but we declined on the ground that he had announced his subject, the people had come to hear him, and that we were interested in the matter and desired to hear him. He then entered upon his work.
Bro. Reynolds is aself-mademan, and not a man notmade at all, but made in the genuine sense, an effective and telling man. He is a cool, deliberate and pointed speaker; speaks with perfect ease, and interests an audience from first to last. He is simplyhimself, and imitates no one. We decided before he was near through his discourse to write out an epitome of it, but one thing after another has hindered us till weeks have passed, and we took not a note, and we fear now that our article will be but little more thanan article about the discourse.
MOTTO.“Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.”I. Thess. v. 21.
MOTTO.
“Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.”
I. Thess. v. 21.
This means totestortryall things, consider their claim, and determine which are good. Hold that fast.
Exod. xv. 20, we find an account of dancing: “And Miriam the prophetess, and the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.” Several things are to be noticed in this dancing. 1. It was in daylight. 2. The women alone danced. 3. It was a religious exercise, in rejoicing over their wonderful deliverance from Egyptian bondage and the pursuit of their enemies, and to the praise and honor of God. They were religious people, praising and honoring God.
Exod. xxxii. 19, we have an account of dancing: “And it came to pass as soon as he” (Moses) “came nigh to the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing, and Moses’ anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.” We are not informed who danced in this instance, but the whole procedure was idolatrous. The shouting and dancing were in devotion to the molten calf.
Judges xi. 34: “And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came to meet him, with timbrels and with dances, and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter.” 1. This dancing was in daylight. 2. One female danced alone. 3. She simply danced in joy to meet her father, and her dance was soon followed with a terrible calamity.
Judges xxi. 19–21: “Then they said, Behold, there is a feast of the Lord in Shiloh, yearly, in a place which is on the north side ofBeth-el, on the east side of the highway, that goeth up from Beth-el to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah. Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards; and see, and behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances, then come you out of the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.” This dancing was in daylight. The females alone danced. We are not told what the object of the dancing was.
I. Sam. xviii. 6: “And it came to pass, as they came, when David was returning from the slaughter of the Philistines, that the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of music.” 1. This dancing was in daylight. 2. The women alone danced. 3. It was rejoicing in view of a special favor of God.
I. Sam. xxx. 16: “And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad upon all the earth, eating, and drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah. And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day; and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, who rode upon camels, and fled.” In this case the dancing was with eating and drinking, and for amusement. It was revelling. They were not religious people, but the wicked, and the calamity soon came upon them.
II. Sam. vi. 12–14: “And it was told King David, saying, The Lord hath blessed the house of Obed-edom, and all that pertaineth unto him,because of the ark of God. So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom into the city of David with gladness. And it was so, that when they that bear the ark of the Lord, had gone six paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings. And David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was girded with a linen epod.” This dancing was in daylight. David alone danced. It was a religious exercise, in devotion to the Lord.
I. Chron. xv. 29: “And it came to pass, as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came to the city of David, that Michal, the daughter of Saul, looking out at a window, saw King David dancing and playing, and she despised him in her heart.” This dancing was in daylight. David alone danced. He danced as a religious exercise. It was not dancing for amusement.
Psalms cl. 4: “Praise him with a timbrel and dance; praise him with stringed instruments and organs.” Also, Psalms cxlix. 3: “Let them praise his name in the dance.” This also is a religious exercise.
Eccl. iii. 4: “A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.” We do not remember the point made on this. We have seen from the Scriptures already cited, that in the former ages, when they danced as a religious exercise, it was always in daylight, and in no case promiscuous dancing of men and women together, and thetimefor it was when the Lord had wrought some great deliverance or brought some signal, given some great victory.
Job xxi. 11–18: “They send forth their little ones like a flock, and the children dance. They take the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at thesound of the organ. They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave. Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways. What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit should we have if we pray unto him?, Lo, their good is not in their hand; the counsel of the wicked is far from me. How oft is the candle of the wicked put out! and how oft cometh their destruction upon them! God distributeth sorrows in his anger. They are as stubble before the wind, as chaff that the storm carrieth away.” Here we have a terrible description of the dancers for pleasure, amusement; of their godless character and utter ruin.
Mark vi. 22: “And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said to the damsel, Ask of me whatever you will, and I will give it to you. And he swore to her, Whatever you shall ask of me, I will give to you, to the half of my kingdom. And she went forth and said to her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. And she came in straightway with haste to the king, and asked, saying, I will that you give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist.” Here we have a fine sample of the taste, the spirit and refinement of the dancer and her mother. What had John the Baptist done that his head should come off to gratify the mother of a dancing damsel? John had said, “It is not lawful for you” (Herod) “to have your brother’s wife.” This insulted Mrs. Herod, and she sought and obtained revenge through her dancing daughter and a rash vow of the king. What a reward this fordancing and pleasing the king—the head of the best man in his kingdom, a prophet from God! This was dancing for pleasure, for amusement. This dancing for amusement, pleasure, is revelling, and excludes from the kingdom.
Gal. v. 21: “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like; of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in times past, that they who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” Bro. Reynolds gave a definition of the word “revelling,” and the original Greek wordkomos, which it represents, which we have not at hand and do not recollect; only that dancing for pleasure, amusement, with eating and drinking, is revelling, and they who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. He also made a happy hit on the clause, “such like”—that is, “revellings andsuch like”; that it included the plays of folly, the innocent games for amusement, etc.
We are sorry that we have forgotten so much of the comment and so many of the good points in the discourse. It was in grand contrast with much that we have. He is not trying to determinehow much folly and sinwe can practice and still be saved, buthow fully men and women can be saved from all folly and sin. The Lord strengthen his hands and the hands of every other man walking nobly in resistance against the demoralizing influences now upon us.