The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1889-10-24
BAPTISM OF FIRE.
SEARCHING AMONG THE RUINS.
Ta,msge Tells the Lesson OF the De,
s,ruction of the Tabernacle

,hc Brooklvn Tabernacle by fire. His au-
Sierce was of vast size, and public interest
,.os extraordinary The opening hymn was.
God moves in a mysterious way
Ne ni plSnts Wts I. footsteps in the ooa
And rides upon the storm.
mr. Tolmage's subject was "The Baptism
nj Fire, and he said
nut Paul, have you not enough alIliction
% move youg Are you not an exile from
your native landy With tho most genial and
Living nature have you not in order 10 be
srse Tor missionary Journeys, given yourself
10 celibacy? Have you not turned away
tron, the magnificent worldly successes that
ncnld have crowned your ilustrious geniusp
Tsye YOU not endured the sharp and stinging
nsuraicas. like thorn in the ileshp Have
you not been mobbed ON the land, and ship
ywrecked on the sea- the sanhedrim against
con the Roman Government against you all
ibe world and all hell against youg
"Iybat of thntY says Paul "None of
,hos, things move mew IL was not because
be was hard nature. Gentlest woman was
never more easily dissolved into tears. He
c,uI not even bear to see anybody cry, fo-
IN tbe midst Of his sermon when he saw some
one weeping her sobs aloud. "What mean ye
90 wepp and to break mine hearty for | am
ready not 10 bc bound only, but also 10 die at
Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus"
What then did Paul mean when he said,
"Nonc Of these things move meP He meant,
81 will not bc diverted from the work TO
which have been called by any and all the
adyorsitics and calamities."
think this morning express not only my
own feelings but that Of every man, woman
and little child belonging to tho Brooklyn
Tabernacle or that was converted there, or
comforte1 there, or blessed there, when look
toward the blackened ruins OF the dear and
consecrated spot and with an aroused faith
Is,l Non aT hng
things move me-
When | say that, / do not mean that we
have no feeling about t. Instead of stand
ipr here today in this brilliant auditorium,
Il would be more consonant with my feelings
10 sit down among the ruins and weep at tho
words Of David: "lf forget thee, y Jerusa-
lem. let my right hand forget her cunning"
why. let me say to the strangers here to-day
in explanation of the deep emotion of my
flock, we had there in that building sixteen
years Of religious revival | believe that
hundred thousand souls were born there.
They came from all parts of the earth and
we shall never see them again until the books
are opened Why, sirsl our children were
there baptized and ut those altars our young
men aud maidens took the marriage vow,
and out Of those gates we carried our dead.
When from tho roof Of my house last Sum
day morning az o'clocl; | saw our church in
flames ! said: That is the last of the build
ing from which we buried our De Witt on
that cold December day when il seemed
all Brooklyn wept with my household ~
And il was just as hard for you to
give up your loved ones as for us to give
up ours Why, like the beautiful vines
that still cover some of the fallen walls
our affections are clambering all
over the ruins, and | could kiss the
ashes that mark the place where it
once stood Whv, now that | think of
of q.
pile, but as a soul, a mighty soul, an
ndestructible soul. am sure that majestic
organ had n soul, for we have often heard IL
speak and sing and shout and wall, and when
the soul Of that organ entered heaven think
Handel, and Haydn, and Mozart, and Mem
delssohn, and Beethoven were at the gates to
welcome 1t. so do not use the words of my
text in heartless way, but in the sense that
we must not and will not be diverted from
our work by the appalling disasters which
have befallen u.s. We will not turn aside one
inch from our determination 10 do all we can
Tor thopresent and everlasting happiness of
nlthe people whom we may be able 10 meet
None ot these things move me- None of
these things move YOU
When looked out through the dismal rain
from the roof Of my house and saw the
church crumbling brick by brick and timber
by timber, | said 10 myself: "Does this mean
that my work in Brooklyn is cndedg Does
thlS terminate my association with this city
where have been more than twenty years
glal m all It's properties and sad in all it's
mstortunesP And n still small voice came
70 me, voice that is no longer still or small
but most emphatic and commanding through
4 pressure Of hand, and newspaper column, and
telegram and letter, and contributions say
ing: Go forwardw
have made and now make appeal TO all
Chrlstcndom TO help u.s. We want all Chris
tendom TO help, and will acknowledge the
receipt OF every contribution, great or small,
Nlth my own hand. We want to build
srger and better. We want it a national
church, IN which people of all creeds and all
NATIONS may find home. The contributions
already sent in make a small hearted church
spectacle FOR angels and men il, in a church
% pun ny lsrdelltes and Catholics, as well as
AZ the Styles OF people commonly called evsn-
Yehcal should, instead of the banner OF the
i-or1 "od Almighty raise iluttering rag Of
sulall sectarianlsmy III we had three hundred
'nousahl dollars we would put them all in
"' s'eaV monument TO the mercy of God
People ask on all sides about what we shall
ould. answer, IL all depends OH the contri.
buttons sent in from here and from the ends
" the earth. l say now to all the Baptists,
.mr Ia1 we snail havein II a baptistery. / say TO
M Eplscopalians, we shall have in our services
- heretofore at our communion table por-
s~s Oh the Liturgy. / say to the Catholics
shsl nave cross over the pulpit and
tooaOly on the tower. | say 10 tho Metho-
sIsl we mean 10 sing there like the voices
mighty thunderings | say 10 all ,lenomi-
a1ons' we mean TO preach religion as
iuo Us heaven and rs good as God. We
ave sad We had a total loss. But there WINS
.v eAeeption. The only things we saved
e',.,' the SILVER communion chalices, for they
1pPeined 10 be In another building. and I
,o H, 'lat lact al typical that we are to be
on'ulunlon with all Christendom II be-
7 ~ ~ the communion OF saintsr
'lilk, II all the Brooklyn firemen and all
ulahce companies should search among
~ p runs ON Schermerhorn street theV
Iuu ,il it hot ilnd a splinter large as the lin end
.e httle finger marked with bigotry. And
~ iS Sild that the oxhumed bricks of the
IN OF Babylon have on them The letter N
nnhg Tor Nebuchadnezzar. | declare IN
We should like TO have ON every atone
every timber would be tba latter
tboliIuaat at would stand both for Christ and
4 old aiy, ihe last two words uttered in
,% ra rnurch on Friday night, some of you
Tbe ta'e .l We're "Hallelujah! Amen y
A,rassi'.o words that l utter now as most
eS,se SS,ee OF my feelings in this our first SER
mi sa tne baptism OF Fire are Halle
"'en' None OF these things move
ass, are Kept in this mood by two or three
what , lions The first is that God rules.
way the church took fire l do not
hi us n,s been charged on the light
es Wei, the Lord controls the light