Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1892-04-09
REV. DR.. TALMAGE.
The Eminent Brooklyn Divinss Sun
day Sermon.
Subject; THE Three Tabernacles, Story
of Trials and Triunphs.''

fatigue, as, in December, 1889. we rode near
the foot of Mount Hermon in the Hc..7
L1nd. the mountain called by one ga
mountain OF ice," by another "a gIitterine
breastplate OF ice" by another 'the Mon,
Blanc of Palestine Its top has an almos;
unearthly brilliance. But what must il
have been in the time TO which my text re
fers? Peter and James and John were on
that mountain top with Jesus when, sud
denly, Christ's face took on the glow of the
MONDAY sun. and Moses and Elijah, VINO
had been dead for centuries, came out from
the heavenly world and talzei with our
Saviour. What an overwhelming three
Moses, representing the law; Elijah, repre-
senting the prophets, and Christ represent
ing all worlds.
lmpetuous Peter was 50 wrou yht upon by
the presencs of this wondrous three, that
without waiting for time to consider how
preposterous was the proposition, he cried
out, Let us make three taoernacles-one
for Thee, one for Moses and one for Elijah !"
Where would they get the material for
building one tabernacle nucd less material
enough to build two tabernacles, and still
less, how would they get the material for
building three? Where would they get the
hammers? Where the gold? Where the
silver? Where the curtains2 Where the
costly a!ornments? Hermon is barren
peak, and to build one tabernacle in such
yond human achievement and Peter was
propounding the impossible when he cried
out in enthusiasm, Let us build three taber-
nacleS "
And yet that is what this con yregatiou
has teen called to do AMI has done The
first Brooklyn Tabernacle was dedicated in
1870, and destroyed by fire in 1872. The
/ second Brooklyn Tabernacle was dedicated
in 1874, and DESTROYED by fire in 1889 The
third Brooklyn Tabernacle was dedicated in
April, 1891, and in that we are worshiping
to-day. What sounded absurd for Peter to
propose, when he said on Mount Hermon. in
the words of my text, Let us build three
tabernac,es," we have not only done. but in
the mysterious province of God were COM
PEELED to do.
Iannounce to you this day that we ara at
last, as a church. i'll smooth waters. Ar
rangements have been made by which our
financial difficulties ara now fully and salts
factorily adjusted. Our income will exceed
| our outgo, and Brooklyn Tabernacle will be
yours and belong to you and your children
after you, and anything you see contrary to
this you may put down to the confirmed
habit which some people have got of mis-
representing this church, and they cannot
stop. When came to Brooklyn came to a
small church and big Indebtedness We
have now this, the largest Protestant church
in America, and financially as a congrega-
ton we are worth over and beyond all in
debtedness, considerably more than $780, 900.
| have preache here twenty three years,
and expect, If my life and health are con-
tinued, to zach here twenty-three years
longer, althd we will all do well to re-
member that our breath is in our nostrils,
and any hour we may be called to give an
account of our stewardship. All we ask for
the future is that you do your best, contrib
uting all you can to the support of our insti-
tutions. Our best days are yet to come; our
greatest revivals of religion, and our might
lest outpourings of the Holy Ghost. We
have got through the Red sea and stand to-
day on the other bank clapping the cymbals
Of victory
Yes, twenty-three years have passed since
| came to live in Brooklyn, and they have
been to me eventlul years. 1t was a pros
trated church to which | came, @ church so
fiat down it could drop no farther. Through
controversies which it would be useless to
rehearse it was well nigh extinct, and for a
long while it had been without a pastor.
But nineteen members could be mustered to
sign call for my coming.
As committee was putting that call be-
fore me in an upper room i'll my house in
Philadelphia, there were two other commit
tees on similar errands from other churches
in other rooms. whom my wife was enter
tanning and keeping apart from unhappy
collision. The au iitorium of the Brooklyn
church to which | came defei all the laws
of acoustic; the church hal steeple that
was the derlsiou of the town, and a high
box pulpit which shut in the preacher as
though he were dangerous to bs let loose,
or it acted asa barrica1e that was unneceS-
sary to keep back the people, for they were
so few that minister of ordinary muscle
could have kept back all who were there
My first Sabbath in Brooklyn was a sad
all
was down until then, and on the evening of
that day my own brother, through whose
pocket 1 entered the ministry, died, and the
| tidings OF mis- decease reached me at 8 o'clock
| in the evening, and ] was to preach at half
past seven But from that day the blessing
of God was on us. and in three months we
| began the enlargement of the building. Be-
fore the close OF that year we resolved 10
| construct the first Tabernacle. 1t was to bs
a temporary structure and therefore we
| called 1t Tabernacle instead of Temple.
| What should be the style of architecture
| was the immediate question. | had always
| thought that the ampitheatrical shape would
| be appropriate for church.
Two distinguished architects were en-
/ ployed, and after much lowering over de-
/ signs they announced to us that such a
building was impossible for religious pur-
! pose, as it would not be churchly, and
criticism; in other words, they were not
| ready for a revolution in church archi-
/ lecture. Utterly disheartened as to my
| fayorite style OF architecture, | said to the
| trustees "ouild anything you please, and |
| must be satisfied" But one morning a
/ young architect appeared at my house ana
! asked if we had yet selected plan for our
/ church. said, "No, and what we want we
cannot get "What kind of building do You
J wanty' he asked. And taking out lead
pencil and letter envelope from my pocket,
in less than minute by few curved lines
| indicated in the rough what we wanted.
But" / said, ''old architects tell us it can't
be done, and there is no use in you trying"
/ He sain, Il cali do If. How long can | have
to make out the plans?" l said This even
ing at S o'clock everything is to be decided. u
At 8 O'Clock OF that evening the architect
presented his plans and the bids of builder
and mason were presented, and in five min
utes after the plans were presented they
were unanimously adopted. So that
would not be in the way of the trustees dur
ing the work | went to Europe, and when
/ got back the church was well nigh done.
| But there came iii a staggering hindrance
| We expect I'd to pay for the new church by
| the sale o. the old building. The old one
| had been sold, but jus5 at the time we must
| have the money the purchasers backed out
and we Ia / two churches and no money.
By the help of Gol AMI the indomitable
| ana unparalleled energy of our trustees
| there and there one of them present to-day,
! but the most i'll better world, we got the
building ready for conservation and on
September Is, 1870, morning and evening
! dedicatory services were held, and i'll the
afternoon the children. with sweet and multi
| ;udlnous voices. consecrated the place tt
Col. Twenty thousand dollars were raised
that day to pay floating debt. In the
morning old DIR. Stephen H. Tying, th'
! glory of the Episcopal Church and the
Chrysosto ii OF the American pulpit, preached
a sermon which fingered in its graciou
effects as long as the building stood. Hi
read enou n out of the Episcopal prayeI
book to keep himself from being repri
maude1 by his bishop for preaching at non
Episcopal service; and we, although belong
ing to another denomination, responded with
heartinesS. as though we were used to tbs
liturgy, ",iood Lord, deliver usm
During the short time we occupied thai
building We had a constant downpour OIL
relglouS Weakening. Hosannahl Ten mil
non years IN heaven will have no power to
dim my memory of the glorious times We
mad in the first Tabernacle, which. because
OF Its invasion of the usual style of church
architecture. was called by some "Talmage's
Hippodro re- by Others, Church of the
holy Circus" and by other mirthful none1-
ciature. But 1t was building perfect fos
acoustics, aud stooi long enough to have its
imitation i'll all the large cities OF Americ
and to completely revoiutionizs church arch
lecture. People saw tlat it was thu con-
mon sense wayof seating an audience.
Instead OF putting them in an angular
church, where elch one chiefly saw tls back
part of somebody elses head, the au iiencs
were arranged in semicircle, SO that they
could see ons another's faces, an ths auii-
4