The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1889-10-25
BAPTISM OF FIRE,
What DIR. Talmage Says About the Old
Tabernacle, and q New One that
is to he Grander and Better.

Tabernacle, and New One that
is to he Grander and Better.
BROOKLYN N. Y, Special.-The Rev. T.
Dewitt Ta!mage preached his first sermon
since the obstruction of the Brooklyn Tab
ernacle by fire at the Academy of Music.
His audience was of vast size, and public in
terest was extraordinary. The opening
hymn was:
GOd moves in a mysterious way
his wonders to perform;
lie plants his footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm
DIR. Talmages subject was "The Baptism
OF Fire. and he took as his text Acts XXX, "a,
"None of these things move me-" He said:
But Paul, have you not enough affection to
move you? Are you not an exile from your
native land? With the most genial and low
ing nature have you not, in order to be free
Tor missionary journeys, given yourself to
celibacy? Have you not turned away from
the magnificent worldly successes that would
have crowned your illustrious genius? Have
you not endured the sharp and singing neu-
not been mobbed on the land and ship
wrecked on the sea; tue sanhedrim against
you, the Roman government against you,
all the world and all hell against you?
What Of that?" says Paul, "None of these
things move me?" 1t was not because he
was hard nature Gentlest woman was
never more easily dissolved into tears. He
could not even bear to see any one cry, for
in the midst of his sermon when he saw some
one weeping her sobs aloud, what mean We
to weep and to break mine heart? for am
ready not to be bound only, but also to die
at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord
Jesus" What then did Paul mean when he
said, "None of these things move me?" He
meant. 81 will not he diverted from the work
to which l have beeu called by any and all
the universities and calamties.'
think this morning l express not only my
own feelings, but those of every man, WON
an and little child belonging to Brooklyn
Tabernacle or that was converted there,
or comfOrted there or blessed there, when l
look toward the blackened ruins of the dear
and consecrated spot and with an aroused
faith in loving God cry out: "None OF
these things move me-.
When say that, do not mean that we
have no feeling about it. Instead of stand
ing here tcdayin this brilliant auditorium it
would be more consonant with my feelings
to sit down among the ruins and weep at the
words of David: "If forget thee, o Jerusa-
lem, let my right hand forget her cunning"
Why, let me say to the strangers here today
in explanation of the deep emotion of my
flock, we had there in that building 6 years
OF religious revival. l 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, sirs! our children
were there baptized, and at those
marriage vow, and out of those gates we
carried our dead. When from the roof of my
house last Sunday morning at O'Clock l
saw our church in flames. l said: ''That is
the last of the building from which we buried
our De Witt on that cold December day when
hold" And it 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 clam ering all over the ruins, and l could
kiss the ashes that mark the place where it
once stood. Why, now that think of it, I
cannot think OF it as an inanmate pile but
as 81 soul, q mighty soul, an indestructible
soul. | am sure that majestic organ had
soul, for we have often heard it speak
and sing and shout and wall. and when
the soul OF that organ entered heaven
/ think Handel, and Hayn, and Mo-
Fart, and Mendelssohn, and Beethoven we're
at the gates to welcome it, So did not
use the words ofmy text in a hcartless way,
but in the sense that we must not and will
not be diverted from our work by the ap-
paling disasters which have befallen US. We
will not turn aside one inch from our de-
termination to do all we can for the present
whom we may be able to meet. None of
these things move me None of these th in
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 to myself 'Does
this mean that my work in Brooklyn is
ended? Does this terminate my association
with this city, where have been more than
20 years glad in all its prosperities, and sad
in all it's misfortunes? And q still small
voice came to me, a Voice that is no longer
still or small, but most emphatic and com
handing. through pressure ofhand and news
contributions saying: Go forward!'
l have made and l now make appeal to all
Christendom to help us. We want all Christ
endom to help, and | will acknowledge the
receipt of every contribution, great or small,
with my own hand. We want to build larg-
er and better. We wantit anationaI church,
in which people of all creeds and all nations
may find home. The contributions already
sent in make IL small-hearted church forever
impossible. Would not be sorry specta-
Gle for angels and men if, in church built by
Israelites and Catholics, as we'll as all the
styles of people commonly called evangelical,
l should instead of the banner of the Lord
God Almighty raise afluttering rag of small
sectaranism? If we had $500, 900 We would
put them all in one great monument to the
mercy of God. People ask on all sides about
what we shall build l answer, it depends
on the contributions sent in from here and
from all the ends of the earth l say now to
all the Baptists, that we shall have in
it bartistery. l say to all Episcopalians,
we shall have in our services as heretofore 1T
our communion table portions Of the liturgy
l say to the Catholics, we shall have a cross
over the pulpit and probably on the tower
I sax q the Methodists we mean to siner