The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1892-04-06

uO elIccU, cAcepD, llke ulltO u cOdKou
Turkish towel, the rubbing down by
which improves circulation and pro
duces good health. But this continuous
Misrepresentation Of my beloved church,
in the name Of Almighty God, de-
nounce, while l appeal to the fair
justice is done this people, who, within a
few years, have gone through q strug-
gle that no other church in any land or
any age has been called to endure, and
l pray God that no other church may
ever be called to endure, viz: the
building of three tabernacles. ask
the friends of the Brooklyn taber-
nacle to cut out this sermon from the
newspapers and put it in their pocket
books, so that they can intelligently
answer our falsifers whether clerical
or lay. And with these you may put
that other statement, which recently
went through the country and which
saw in Detroit, which said that the
Brooklyn tabernacle had hard finan-
cial struggle, because it had all along
been paying such enormous salaries to
its pastor, DR.. Talmage, when the fact
is that, after our last disaster and for
two years, gave all my salary to the
church building fund, and l received
SO, 900 less than nothing; in other words,
in addition to serving this church gratu-
itously for two years, l let 1t have
50, 900 for building purposes. Why is it
that people could not do us justice and
say that all our financial stru ggles as
church came from doing what Peter, in
my text, absurdly proposed to do, but
which in the inscrutable providence OF
God, we were compelled to do-build
three tabernacles.
Now, feel better that this is off my
mind. The rest of my sermon will be
spun out of hosannahs. l announce to
you this day, that we are at last, as a
church, in smooth waters. Arrange
ments have been made by which our
financial difficulties are now fully and
satisfactorily adjusted. Our income will
exceed our outgo, and Brooklyn taber-
nacle will be yours and belong to you
and your children after you, and any
: thing you see contrary to this you may
put down to the confirmed habit which
some people have got Of misrepresent-
ing this church and they cannot stop.
When came to Brooklyn, came to a
small church and big indebtedness
We now have the largest Protestant
church in America, and financially as a
congregation are worth, over and be-
Ill sx1a 10 lxy
r more than s15O,000.
l have preached here twenty-three
years, and l expect, IL my life and
health are continued, to preach here
twenty-three years longer, although we
will all do well to remember that our
4 breath is in our nostrils, and any hour
we may called to give an account Of our
: stewardship, All we ask for the future
a is that you do your best, contributing
e all you can to the support of our insti
i tutions. Our best days are yet to come
our greatest revivals of religion, and
; our mightiest outpourings of the Holy
Ghost. We have got through the Rec
c sea and stand to-day on the other banl
), clapping the cymbals Of victory.
u Do you wonder that last Sabbath
asked you in the midst Of the service u
y rise and sing with jubilant voice tn
. long meter doxology:
Praise God from Whom all blessings flow,
IT Praise Him, all creatures hepe below,
IT Praise Him above, ye Heavenly Host,
Z Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
L Yes, twenty-three years have passe'
Is since came to live in Brooklyn, ant
1. they have been TO me eventful years. l
n was q prostrated church TO which
=, came, church so fat down II coul'
e drop no further. Thropgh controver
d sizes, which II would be useless to re
is hearse, Il was well-nigh extinct, and 70
70 long time IL had been without pas
e tor. But nineteen members could b
sr mustered to sign call far my coming
N As a committee was putting that cal
Is before me in an upper room Il
ID my house in Philadelphia, ther
le were two other committees o.
L. similar e,rands from other churche
As in other rooms, whom my wifi
Y, was entertaining apd keeping apar
In from unhappy collision. The aud
as torium of the Brooklyn church TO whic
lg / came defed all the laws of acoustics
ID the church had a steeple that was tn
d. derision Of the town, and high bo
OF pulpit which shut in the preacher a
IN though he were dangerous to be lie
h. loose, or II acted as a barrieade tha
Il. was unnecessary TO keep back the pee
as pie, for they were so few that minii
IN ter of ordinary muscle could have keI
10 back all who were there. My frs
I'd Sabbath In Brooklyn was q sad day, fc
10 / did not realize how far the churc
I'd was down until then, and on the ever
s, ing Of that day my own brothel
he through whose pocket l entered th
sn ministry, died and the tidings {
As his decease reached me at o'clock
he the evening, as was TO preach Mt 7:s'
d. But from that day the blessing OF Go
ms was on us, and in three months we b
,r. gan the enlargement Of the building
ly Before the close of that year we N
n solved to construct the first tabernacle
Ii. II was TO be a temporary structure
lie and, therefore, we called 1t taberni
W Gle instead OF temple. What shoul
rv be the style Of architecture was the In
20 mediate question. had always though
~ that the amphitheatfical shape woul
n. be appropriate for church. Two di
is tinguished architects were employees
ho and after much lowering over design
re they announced TO us that sue
us building was impossible for relii
n. ious purposes, as 1t would not
&c churchly, and would subject themselv'