The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1892-04-14

uh'tltu"tllS IT. Is 10 Dulli IWO laDSrna-
les he would not have proposed tMo O,
% say nothing of three. AS an auni.
ieTSary sermon must needs be some
What autobiographical, let ne say [
nave not been idle. During the stand
ng OF those two tabernacleS lifty-twO
books, under as many titles, made up
from my writings, were published.
During that time also | was permitted
To discuss all the great questions of the
day III all the great cities of this conti-
nent, and in many of them many times,
besides preaching and lecturing ninety
six times in England, Scotland and Ire
land in ninety-four days.
During all that time, us we'll as since,
l was engaged in editing Il religious
newspaper, believing that such peri
odical was capable Of great usefulness,
and have been constant contributor
to newspapers and periodicals. Mean
while all things had become easy in the
Brooklyn Tabernacle. On Il sabbath
in October, 1889, announced to my
congregation that l would in a few
weeks visit the Holy Land and that the
officers Of the church had consented to
my going, and the wish OF 4 lifetime
was about to be fulfilled. The next
Sabbath morning, about o'clCck or
Just after midnight, a member of my
household awakened mo by saying that
there was a strange light in the sky.
n thunderstorm had left The air fun of
electricity, and from horizon to horizon
everything seemed to blaze. But that
did not disturb me, until an ObServa-
ton taken from the cupola Of my house
declared that the second laberuacle
was pdt'ing OH red wings.
scented The idea and turned over on
q clHnn I'm
Der of excited voices called me to the
roof, and went up and saw clearly de-
fined in the night the fiery catafalQ'le
II our second Tabernacle. When | saw
that | said to my family: 81 think that
ends my work in Brooklyn. Surely the
Lord will not call Il minister to build
three churches in one city. The build
ing OF one church generally ends the
usefulness of a pastor. How can any
one preside at the building Of three
churches?" But before twenty four
hours haG passed we we're compelled to
cry out, with Peter Of my text, .et lis
build three tabernaclts." We must
have Il home somewhere. The old site
hH'l ceased to be tie center Of our con-
gr"galion, and the center Of the con-
HrCGatlOn, as near as we could find it,
is where we now stand.
iIaving selected the spot, should we
build on 1t barn or Il tabernacle, beau
'ltul and cOmlnOdlOuS? Our common
sense, as well as our religion, command
ed the latter. But what push, what in
dratry, what skill, what self sacrifice.
what faith in God were necessary. In
ptuimrntS and hindrauces without
number We thrown in the way, and had
1t lot been for the perseverance, Df our
church officials, and the practical help
nf M Z
llCuS Of good souls in ali parts of the
earth, and the blessing of Almighty
GHl the work would not have been
doue. But 1t is done, and all good peO-
pl" who behold the structure feel in
Their hearts, If they do not utter it with
their lips, "IIow amiable are thy taber-
nH:ies, o Lord of Hosts" Ga tie
third sabbath OF last April this church
w',s dedicated, DIR. Hamlin, Of Wash
ln>ton, preaching an inspiring sermol,
Df. Wendell Prime, Of New York, Offer
III" The Gcdicatory prayer and some III
ten cirrGymen during the day taking
palt in the services. HoSannah
!ioW sug2estiveto to many OF US are the
words spoiled out in flowers above the
puIpit--"lS69" and "IS92"-for those
dates bound what raptures, what griefs,
what struggles. What triumphs. / men
ton 1t as il matter Of gratitude to God
that In these twcntythree years | have
missed but one Sabbath through phySi-
cal lndiSpOSitiOn, and but three In the
thlrty-$iX years of my ministry. And
now, having reached this tW cuty-third
m;irSt"ne, | start anew. have in my
memorandum books analyses of more
Scrmous than | have ever yet preached,
and have preached rs near as | eau
tell, about 1880.
During these past years | have learn
ed TWO or thee things. Among others
nave learned that "all thingS work TO-.
grther tor good. My positive mode of
preaching has sometimes seemed to stir
the hOStilitieS of all earth aud he!I
Feeling called upon fifteen years ago TO
explore underground New YORK city
HE, that might report the evils to be
comDated, took with me two elders of
my church and a New York police com
missioner and Il policeman, and | cx-
pioIed and reported the horrors that
Lecded removal and the allurcments
tilat endangered our young men. There
came upon me an OutDurSt OF assumed
i"dIglIation that frightened almost
everybody but myself. That explora-
uoh put into my church thirty or forty
newspaper correspondents from north,
south, east and west; which opened for
me new avenues Ill which TO preach the
Gospel that otherwise would never have
Dcea opened.
ears passed on and preached Sc
RES OF sermons on ADJUSTMENTS, and a
false report Of what | did say-and one
OF NE sermons said to have been preach.
Ell by me was not mine in a single word
--loused violence that threatened and
with poison and dirk and pistol mo
other iorlaS Of rxtinguishment, until
Tie chief OF Brooklyn police, without
any suggestion from me, took posses
sloli OF the church with twenty-four
pohcemen to see that no harm WAS done.
mat excitement opened many doors,
"'lch | entered for preaching the Cos
pei.
After awhile came an ecclesiastical
trial, In which | was arranged by prO-
pie who did not like the way did things
and although was acquitted of all the
charges, the contest shook the Ameri-
can church. That battle made me more
TRENDS than anything that ever hap.
pened and gave lie ChristendOm and
more than Christendom for my weekly
audience. On the demolition of each
church we got a better and Il larger
church, ard not q disaster not q cari