The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-10-21
TALMAGE In A THEATER.
Last SUNDAYS BLAZE THE THEME
OF HIS SERMON.

Things Move Me-"
BROOKLYN, Oct. 20.-1he Rev. T. DEWITT.
Ialmage, u. D., preached at the Academy
OF Music this morning, his first sermon after
the destruction of the Brooklyn tabernacIs,
by fire. His audience was of vast size, and
public interest 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. Ialmage announced tonight that the
trustees OF his church had purchased prom
erty, 100 by 200 feet, on the corner of CIin-l
ton and Greene a7enees, for the erection of
new tabernacle. The ground will be-
broken on Oct. 2S.
DR. Talmage's subject was 1.-THE Baptism
Of Fire, ana he took as his text Acts Xxx.
a. None OF these things move me-" Hs
said:
But, Paul. have you not enough affiictiou
to move youi Are you not an exile from
your native lande With the most genial
and loving nature, have you not, in order
TO be free for missionary journeys given
yourself to celibacyl Have you not turned
away from the magnificent worldly sue
cesses that would have crowned your
illnstrous geniusf Have you not endured
the sharp and stinging neuralgias, like a
thorn In the heshi Have ycu not been
mobbed on the land and shipwrecked ON
the sea; the sanhedrim against you, the
Roman government against you, all The
world and all hell against you!
What of thatq says Paul, "None OF
these things move meln II was not because
he was Of IA hard nature. Contest woman
was never more easily dissolved into tears
be could not even bear to see ANYBODY cry.
forain the midst OF his sermon when he saw
some one weeping her sobs aloud, ''Wha5
mean ye TO weep and to break mine hearth
for am ready not 70 be bound only, but
also TO die at Jerusalem for the name OF ths
Lord Jesus What then did Paul mean
when he said, None of these things move
me's He meant, IL will not be diverted
from the work TO which have been called
by any and all the adversities and ca
lamities"
think this morning / express not only
my own feelings, but that of every mau,
woman and little child belonging to Brook
lyn tabernacle, or that was co verted ther q,
or comforted there, or blessed there, when
! look toward the blackened ruins of the
dear and consecrated spot and, with ara
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 to-day in this brilliant auditorium.
~ Oo LlOTS CDubDuhnb WIN my IeHl-
ings to sit down among the ruins and weep
| at the words of David: "If l forget thee, o
| Jerusalem, 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
at those altars our young men and maidena
took the marriage vow, and out of those
gates we carried our dead. When from the
roof of my house last Sunday morning at
B O'Clock saw our church In flames, I said.
That is the last of the building from
which we buried our De Witt on that cold
December day when il seemed all
Brooklyn wept with my household.
And 1t 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. Why,
now that L think Of 1t, / cannot think OF
ID as an inanimate pile, but as a soul.
q mighty soul, an fndestructible souf.j
| am sure that majestic organ had a.
soul, for we have often heard it speak
and sing and shout and wall and when
the soul OF that organ entered heaven I.
think Handel, and Haydn, and Mozart, and
Mendelssohn, and Beethoven were at theii
gates to welcome It, So / do not use the'f
words OF my text in a 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 US. We will
not turn aside one inch from our deternli-
nation to do all we can for the present and
everlasting happiness OF all the people
whom we may be able to meet. ''Nona OF
these things move me. None Of these things
move you"
When i looked out through the dismal
rain from the roof of my house, and saw
the church crumbling brick by brick and
timber by timber, l said to myself; Does
this mean that my work in Brooklyn is
ended! Does this terminate my association
with this city. where have been m pre- than
twenty years glad in all its prosperities,
and sad In all its misfortunesG And still
small voice came to me, voice that Is no
longer still or small but most emphatic and
commanding, through pressure of hand.
and newspaper column, and telegram and
letter and contribution, saying: "Go for-
ward p
have made and now make appeal to
all christians to help us. We want all
chris tendom TO help, and / will acknowl-
edge the receipt of every contribution, great
or small, with my own haud. We want to
build larger and better. We want it q
national church, in which people Of all
creeds and all nations may find a home.
The contributions already sent IN make q
small-hearted church forever impossible,
Would not be a sorry spectacle for angels
and men If, in church built by Israelites
and Catholics as well as all styles of people
commonly called evangelical, / should.
instead of the banner of the Lord
God Almighty, raise a fiuttering rag Of
small sectarianism. IL We had three hum
dred thousand dollars we would put them
all in one great monument to the mercy of
God. People ask on all sides about what
we shall build. 1 answer, 1t all depends on
the contributions sent In from here and
from the ends of the earth. l say now 70
all the Baptists, that we shall have In it q
baptistsry. say to all Episcopalians, we
shall have in our services, as heretofore, at
our communion table portions OF the
liturgy. | say TO the Catholics, wa
shall have cross over the pulpit and proba-
bly, on the tower. say 10 the Methodisfs,
we mean 10 sing there like the voices or
mighty thunderings. ! say TO all denomis
nations, we mean 10 preach religion as
wide as heaven and as good as God We
have said We had q total loss. But there
was one exception. The only things ne
saved were tho silver communion chalices,
Tor they happened 10 be Ia another building,
aud take that fact as typical that We arc