The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1889-10-30

day, his tlrst sermon since the destruction
of the Brooklyn tabernacle by fire. 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;
He plants his footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm"
DR.. Talmage's subject was: "The Bap-
tism 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 Attic
ton 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 world
" successes that would have crowned
your illustrious genius? Have you not
endured the sharp and singing 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?" saws Paul. "None OF
these things move mew 1t was not be-
cause 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 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: Il 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 feeling. but that OF every man,
woman, and little child belonging to
Brooklyn tabernacle, or that was converted
there, or comforted there, or blessed there,
when l look toward the biackened ruins
OF the dear and consecrated spot, and with
an aroused faith in a 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
it would be more consOnant with my
feelings to sit down among the ruins
and weep at the words OF David: eff
/ 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 six
teen 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 fha hoOlc ora OOaua6 Whu ciru
our children were there baptized, and at
those affairs 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 Sunday morn
ing at 3 o'clock | saw our church in
flames, | said THAT is the last of the
building from which we buried our De
Witt on that cold December day, when it
seemed all Brooklyn wept with my house
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 clambering all over the
ruins, and / could kiss the ashes that
mark the place where it once stood. Why,
now that | think OF ii, | cannot think of it
as an inanimate pile, but as a soul, a
mighty soul, an indestructible soul / 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
Hayden, and Mozart, and Mendelssohn,
and Beethoven were at the gates to vel
come il. So do not use the words of nv
text in a heartless way, but in the sense
that we must not and viii 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 Tor the present and everlast-
ing happiness OF all the people whom we
may be able to meet. "None of these
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: Does
this mean that my work in Brooklyn is
ended? Does this terminate my associa-
ton with this city, where | have been
more than twenty years glad in all its pros
perities and sad in all its misfortunes?
And still small voice came to me, avoice
that Is no longer still or small but most
emphatic and commanding, through pres
sure OF hand, and newspaper column, and
telegram, and letter, and contributions,
saving: "Go forward -
| have made and now make appeal to
ali ODIlSIenUOm 10 nelp us. w e want all
Christendom 70 help, and Will acknowl-
edge the receipt of every contribution,
great or small, with my own hand. We
want to build larger and better. Wewant
1t a national church, in which people of
all creeds and nations may find home.
The contributions already sent in make a
small-hearted church forever impossible.
Would not | be a sorry spectacle for
angels and men if. in a church built by
Israelites and catholics, as well as all
the styles OF people commonly called
evangelical, / should, instead OF the ban
ner OF the Lord God Almighty, raise a
fluttering rag OF small sectarianism? If
we had 100000 we would put it all in
one grand monument to the mercy
of God. People ask on all sides
about what we shall build. / answer,
il all depends on the contributions sent
in from here and from the ends of the
earth. say now to all the baptists that
we shall have in it a baptistry. / say to
all episcopalians we shall have in our ser
vices as heretofore at our communion
table portions of the liturgy. / say to
catholics we shall have a cross over the
pulpit and probably on the tower. sac
TO the methodists we mean TO sing thery
like the voices of many thunderings. /