The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1892-04-20
THE TABERNACLE,
The Brooklyn Ship Has Buffeted Many
Storm,
But Il Now Sailing Upon . CLASSY Sea-
Hosannas the Feature Of an Interest
ing Sermon by Rev. T. Dewitt
Talmage, ID. ID.

DIR. Talmage's subject Sunday was:
1.-THE Three Tabernacles: A Story OF
Trials and Triumphs," and the text
Luke tx, SO: LET us make three tab
ernacles."
Our Arab ponies were almost dead
with fatigue as, in December, 1889, we
rode near the foot of Mt. Hermon in the
Holy Land, the mountain called by one
"a mountain of ice;" by another "a gilt
tering breast-plate of ice;" by another
"the Mont Blanc of Palestine" Its top
has an almost unearthly brilliance.
But what must it have been in the time
to which my text refers? Peter and
James and John were on that mountain
top with Jesus, when, suddenly,
Christ's face took on the glow OF
the monday sun, and Moses and Eli
jah, who had been dead for centuries,
came out from the heavenly world and
talked with our Saviour. What an over
whelming three Moses, representing
the law; Elijah, representing the proph-
els, and Christ, representing all worlds.
Impetuous Peter was so wrought upon
by the presence of this wondrous three,
that, without waiting for time to con-
slider how preposterous was the propo-
sition, cried out: "Let us make three
tabernacles: one for Thee, one for
Moses, and one for Elijah" Where
would they get the material for build
ing one tabernacle, much less material
enough to build two tabernacles, and,
still less, how would they get the ma
terial for building three? Where would
they get the hammers? Where the
gold? Where the silver? Where the
curtains? Where the costly adorn-
ments? Hermon is barren
peak, and to build one tab
ernacle in such place would have been
an undertaking beyond human achieve
ment, and Peter was propounding the
impossible when he cried out in enthu-
siasm: "Let us build three tabernacles."
And yet, that is what this congregation
has been called upon to do and has done.
The first Brooklyn tabernacle was dedi-
Gated in 1874 and destroyed by fire in
1872. The second Brooklyn tabernacle
was dedicated in 1874 and destroyed by
DIRE in 1889. The third Brooklyn taber-
nacle was dedicated in April, 1891, and
in that we are worshiping to-day. What
sounded absurd for Peter to propose,
when he said on Mt Hermon, in the
language of my text, "Let us build three
tabernacles," we have not only done,
but, in the mysterious providence OF
God, were compelled to do.
We have been unjustly criticised by
people who did not know the facts,
sometimes for putting SO much money
in church buildings, and sometimes for
not giving as much as we ought to this
or that denominations project, and no
explanation has yet heen made. Be-
fore get through with the delivery of
this sermon and its publication and dis
tribution, shall show that no church
on earth has ever done more magnifi-
Gently, and that no church ever con-
quered more trials, and that no men,
bership ever had in it more heroes and
heroines than this Brooklyn tabernacle,
and I mean to have it known that any
individual or religious newspaper or sec
ular newspaper that hereafter casts any
reflection on this church's fidelity and
generosity is guilty of wickedncss for
for which God will hold him or it re-
sponsible. One year it was sent out
through syndicate of newspapers that
this church was doing nothing in the
way of liberality, when we had that
year raised $4,000 in hard cash for re-
ligious uses. There has been persistent
and hemisphere lying against this
church. We have raised during my
pastorate for church building and re-
ligions purposes, s99s, 900, or practically
81, 100000. Not an Irish famine,
or a Charleston earthquake, or
an Ohio freshet, or Chicago
confagration, but our church was
among the first to help. We have
given free seats in the morning and
evening services to 100000 strangers a
year, and that in twenty years would
amount to 100000 auditors. We have
received into our membership 5,357
members, and that is only small por-
ton of the number of those who have
here been converted to God from all
parts of this land and from other lands
Under the blessing of God, and through
the kindness of the printing press, my
sermons now go every week into every
neighborhood in Christendom. and are
regularly translated into nearly all the
great languages of Europe and Asia.
The syndicates having charge of this
sermonic publication informed me a few
days ago that my printed sermons every
week, in this and other lands, go into
the hands of $1,000, 900 people. Dur
ing the last year, lam authoritatively in
formed, over 1900 different periodicals
were added to the list of those which
make this publication. And yet there
are ministers of the Gospel and rel:-
gious newspapers that Systematically
and industriously and continuously
charge this church with idleness and
sel6shness and parsimony l call the
attention of the whole earth to this
outrage that has been heaped upon the
Brooklyn tabernacle, though more con-
secrated, benevolent and splendid convo-
cation of men and We men were never
gathered together outside of Heaven. !
have never before responded to these
injustices, and probably will never re-
fer to them again, but | wish the peo-
pie of this country and other countries
to know that what they read concern
ing the selfishness and Incidence, and
lack of benevolence and lack of mission
airy spirit on the part of this church, is,
from top to bottom and from stem to
stern, falsehood-dastardly falsehood-
diabolical falsehood. What is said