The Penn's Grove record., 1891-05-08
RET. DR.. lALNAGES SERMON.
me Brooklyn Divfns's Sunday
sermon.
Subject : "THe NeW TABERNACLE"

and therea sycamore shadows IL. Here ant
there a willow dips into it. 1t was only {
l.ttle over waist aeep in December as l wadeC
through ii, but in the months of April anc
May TIE SHOWS on Mount Lebanon thaw and
How down into the valley, and then the Jor
dan overfiows its banks. Then it is wide
deep, raging and impetuous. At this season
of the year | hear the tramp of forty thou
sand armed men coming down to cross the
river. You say, why do they not go NJ
nearer the rise of the river at the old camel
ford? Ali my friends, 1t is because it is not
safe to 20 around when the Lord tells us to
go ahead. The Israelites had been going
around forty years, and they had enough OF
1t. do not know how it Is with you, my
brethren, but | have always got into trouble
when | went around, but always got into
safety when | vent ahead.
There spreads out the Jordan, a raging
torrent, much of it snow water just come
down from the mountain top; and | see some
OF the lSraelites shivering at the idea of
plunglng in, and one soldier says to his com
rade, Joseph, can you swimr And another
says: "lr we get across the stream We will
get there with wet clothes and with damaged
armor, and the Canaanites will slash us to
pieces with their swords before we get up the
other bank" But it is no time to halt. The
great host marches on.
The priests carrying the ark go ahead, the
people follow | hear the tramp of the great
multitude. The priests IA now come with
in II stones throw Of the water. Yet still
there is no abatement of the flood. Now they
have come within four or five feet of the
stream; but there is no abatement of the
Hood. Bad prospect 1t seems as IL these
lsraelites that crossed the desert are now go
ing to bedrowned in sight Of Canaan. But
Forward" is the cry. The command rings
all along the line of the host. "ForwardT
Now the priests AVE come within one step
of the river. This time they lift their feet
from the solid ground n put them down
INTO the raging stream. Nc sooner are their
feet there than Jordan flies.
On the right hand God piles up a great
mountain of floods; on the left the water
flows OIL toward the sea- Thegreat river for
not being able to flow over the passing Is
~raelites, pile wave on wave until perhaps o
sea bird would find some difficulty In scaling
the water cliff. Now the priests and all the
people have gone over on dry land. The
water on the left land side by this time has
reached the sea-; and now that the miracu-
lous passage has been made, stand back and
sec this stupendous pile of waters leap. God
takes His hand from that walls of floods, and
like a hundred cataracts they plunge and
roar in thunderous triumph to the sea.
How are they to celebrate this passages
Shall it be with musici / suppose the trum-
pets and cymbals were ell worn out before
tulS. Sidil IL De Will DdunefS WAVING! TN,
no; they are all faded and torn. Joshua
cries out, II will tell you how to celebrate
this-build a monument here to commence
rate the event." and every priest puts a
heavy stone on his shoulder and marches out
and drops that stone in the divinely APP
pointed place. 1 see the pile growing in
height, in breadth, in significance; and, in
after years, men went by that spot and saw
this monument, and cried out one to another,
in fulfillment Of the prophecy of the text,
"What meant We by these stones?"
Blessed be tod, He did not leave our church
in the wilderness! We have been wandering
about for a year and a half worshiping in
the Academy of Music, Brooklyn, and the
Academy of Music, New York. And some
thought we would never reach the promised
land. Some said we had better take this
route and others that. Some said We had
better go back, and some said there were
| sons of Anak in the way that would eat us
up, and beforethe smoke had cleared away
from the sky after our tabernacle had been
consumed, people stood on the very site of
the place and said: This church will never
again be built" We came down to the bank
OF Jordan; We looked of upon the waters.
Some of the sympathy hat was expressed
turned out to be snow water melted from the
top of Lebanon. Some said: "You had bet
ter not go in; you will get your feet wet"
But We waded In, pastor and people. farther
anu IdrtltT, anu III Soul0 way, Une LOFu only
knows how, we got through; and tonight /
go all around about this great house, erected
by your prayers and sympathies and sacri-
fees, and cry out in the words Of my text:
what mean ye by these stonesY'
1t is an outrage to build a house like this,
so vast and 50 magnificent, unless there be
some tremendous reasons for doing it; and
SO, my friends, l pursue you tonight with
the question Of my text, and / demand of
these trustees and of these elders and Of all
who have contributed In the building of this
structure, "What mean We by these stnnesf'
But before / get your answer to my question
you interrupt me and point to the memorial
wall at the side of this pulpit, and say, "Ex-
plain that unusual group Of memorials,
What mean you by those stonesf' By per-
mission of the people OF my beloved charge /
recently visited the Holy Lands and having
in mind by day and night during my alb
sence this rising house OF prayer, I~bethought
myself, what can l do to make that place
significant and ~gloriousr
On the morning of December the Sd NO
we're at the foot of the most sacred mount
ain of all the earth, Mount Calvary. There
is no more doubt Of the locality thar of
Mount Washington or Mount Blanc. On the
bluff Of this mountain, which Is the shape of
the human skull, and 50 called in the Bible,
THE place of the skull" there Is room for |
three crosses. There I saw a stone so sug.
RtStlNt L Ibiltl 4 uoWh tuo Eul hnu GIhuh-
ported it. 1t is at the top of this wall, q
white stone, with crimson veins running
through 1.-THE white typical Of purity the
crimson suggestive of the blood that paid
the price OF our redemption. We place 1t at
the top of the memorial wall, for above all
in his church for all time, in sermon and
song and prayer, shall be the s~acsafce of |
Mount Cavalry. Look at it. That stone was |
one OF the rocks rent at the crucifixion. That
heard the cry. at is finished Was ever
n church on earth honored with such
q memorial |
Beneath it are two tables of stone which
/ had brought from Mount Sinai where the
law was given. Three cainels were three |
weeks crossing the desert to fetch them. |
When at Cairo. Egypt, l proposed to the
Christian Arab that he bring one stone from |
Mount Sinai, he said, W can easier bring |
two rocks than one, for one must balance |
them on the back of the camel" and | did |
not think until the day Of their arrival how |
much more suggestive would be the two, be- |
cause the law was written on two tablet OF |
stone. Those stones marked with the words |
Mount Sinai" felt the earthquake that shook
the mountains when the law was given. The |
lower stone of the wall is from Mars Hill, the |
place where Paul stood when he preached |
that famous sermon on the brotherhood of |
the human race, declaring 'God hath made |
one blood all nations"
Since Lord Elgin took the famous s~tatuary
from the Acropolis, the hill adjoining Mars
Hill, the Greek Government makes it impos-
sible to transport 10 other lands any antiq-
ujties. aud armed soldiers guard not only
the Acropolis, but Mars Hill. That stone 1
obtained by special permission from the
Queen of Greece, a most gracious and bril-
woman, who received US as though we
been old acquaintance, and through
Mr.. Tricoupis, the Prime Minister Of Greece.
and Mr.. Snowden. our American Minister
Plenipotentiary, and DIR. Manstt, our Amer
lean Consul, that suggestive tablet was
from the pulpit of rock on which
preached. Now you understand why
We have marked it THE Gospel" Long az
ter nv lips shall utter in this church their
last message, these lips of stone will tell OF
the Law, and the Sacrifice, and the Gospel
This day / present them to the church anil
TO all who shall gaze upon them. Thus YOU
have my answer TO the question, What
mean you by these stonesT
But you cannot divert me from the cues
of the text as | first put it. have in
these four memorials on my right
hand, but thera are hundreds of stones in
these surrounding walls and underneath US
n the foundations. n rising above US in
he towers. The quarries of this and trans
ltls atic countries at the call Of crowbar and