The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1889-11-06
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIvTNE'S SUN.
DAY SERMON.
Subject: "The Baptism of Fire"

Acts TX, "a.
The Rev. T. De Witt Talmage, D. D.,
preached at the Brooklyn Academy of Mu-
sic, his first sermon after the destruction of
the Brooklyn Tabernacle by fire. His au-
dience was of vast size, and pubic interest
was extraordinary. The opening hymn was:
God moves In mysterious way
His wonders to perform.
he plants His footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.
DR.. Talmage's subject was 1.-THE Baptism
of Fire. and he said:
But, Paul, have you not enough affiction
to move you? Are you not an exile from
your native land? With the most genial and
loving nature, have you not, in order to be
free for 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 stinging
neuralgias, like thorn in the flesh? Have
you not been mobbed on the land, and ship
wrecked on the sea; the 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 mem 1t was not because
he was a hard nature Gentlest woman was
never more easily dissolved into tears. he
could not even bear to see anybody cry, for
in the midst of his sermon when he saw some
one weeping her sobs aloud, "What mean ye
to weep and to break mine heart? for l 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,
II will not be diverted from the work to
which have been called by any and all the
adversities and calamities."
think this morning express not only my
own feelings but that Of every man, woman
and little child belonging to the Brooklyn
Tabernacle, or that was converted there, or
comforted there or blessed there, when 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 I say that, I do not mean that we
have no feeling about it. Instead of stand
ing here to-day in 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 thse, o 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. I believe that a
hundred thousand souls were born there.
They came from all parts of the earth and
we shall never see them again until the books
aTe OPeneu WY, suS! oui CiiuuIeu "eio
there baptized, and at those altars our young
men and maidens took the marriage VOW,
and out Of those gates we carried our dead.
When from the roof of my house last Sum
day morning at o'clock saw our church in
flames, I said: ''That is the last of the build
ing from which we buried our De Witt on
that cold December day when it seemed
all Brooklyn wept with my household" :"
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 clambering oil
over the ruins, and I could kiss the
ashes that mark the place where it
once stood. Why, now that I think Of
it, I cannot think of it Us an inanimate
pile, but as O soul, q mighty soul, an
indeStructible soul. I 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 Haydn, and Mozart, and Men
delssohn, and Beethoven were at the gates to
welcome it. 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 us. We will not turn aside one
inch from our determination to DO all we can
for the present and everlasting happiness of
all the people whom wo may be able to meet.
None Of 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 to myself: docs this mean
that my work in Brooklyn is ended? Does
this terminate my association with this city,
where have been more than twenty years
glad in all its properties, and sad in all its
misfortunesN 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 contributions say
ing: "Go forwardw
have made and now make appeal to oil
Christendom to help us. We want all Chris
receipt Of every contribution, great or small,
with my own hand. We want to build
larger 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
forever impossible. Would not I be sorry
spectacle for angels and men if, in n church
built by 1sraelites and Catholics, as we'll as
all the styles of people commonly called evan
gelical, should instead Of the banner Of the
Lord God Almighty, raise 1nttering rag Of
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. answer, it all depends on the contri.
buttons sent in from here and from the ends
of the earth. I say now to all the Baptists,
that we shall havein it baptistery. say to
all Episcopalians, we shall have in our services
as heretofore at our communion table por-
tions Of the Liturgy. say to the Catholics
we shall have q cross over the pulpit and
probably on the tower. I say to the Metho-
Of mighty thunderings. I say to all denomi-
nations we mean to preach religion Ns
wide as heaven and as good as God. We
have said we had total loss But there was
one exception. The only things we saved
were tho silver communion chalices, for the
happened to be in another building, and I
take that fact as typical that we are to be
in communion with all Christendom. Il be-
ieve in the communion Of saintsw
think, if all the Brooklyn firemen and all
insurance companies should search among
those ruins on Schermerhorn street, they
would not find splinter large as the tip end
of the little finger marked with bigotry. And
as it is said that the exhumed bricks Of the
walls of Babylon have on them the letter N,
standing for Nebuchadnez2ar, l declare to
YOU that if we ever get a new church the let
ter we should like to have on every stone
and every timber would be the letter
c, for that would stand both for Christ and
Catholicity. The last two words uttered in
the old church on Friday night, some Of you
may remember, were "Hallelujah! Amenm
The two words that utter now as most
expressive of my feelings in this our first SER
vice after the Baptism Of Fire, are Halle
IuJahl Amen! 'None Of these things move
me-"
considerations. The first is, that God rules.
In what way the church took fire do not