Democratic messenger., 1892-04-09


gle because it had all along been paying
such enormous salaries 10 its pastor. DIR.
Talmage. when the fact is that. after
our last disaster and for two years.
gave all my salary To the church build
ing fund. and received $1,000 less than
nothing. In other words. in addition Ia
serving this church gratnitouSly for two
years. let il have S'i 900 for building
purposes. Why is it that people could
not do us justice and say that all our
financial struggle aS church came
from doing what Peter. i'll my text. alb
surdlv proposed To do. but which, in
the inscrutable providence of God. we
were compelled to do-huild three taber-
naclcs.
Now. feel better that this is off my
mind The rest of my sermon will be
spun ont of hoSannahs. | announce to
You this day that we are at last, as a
church, in smooth waters. Arrange
mcnts have been made by which our
financial difficulties are now fully and
satisfactorily adjusted. Our income
will exceed our outgo. and Brooklyn
Tabernacle will be yours and belong 10
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 misrepre-
senting this church and they cannot stop.
When | came To Brooklyn came 10 a
small church and big Indebtedness.
We have now this the largest Protestant
church in America. and financially as a
congregation we are worth. over and be-
yond all Indebtedness. considerably more
than $ljO.0OO.
have preached here twenty-three
years. and expect. if my life and health
are continued. To preach here twenty
three wears longer. although we will all
do well To remember that our breath is
in our nostrils. and any hour we may be
called to give an account of our stew
ardship. All we ask for the future is
that you do your best. contributing all
you can TO the support Of our ins .itr.
tions. Our best days are yet to come:
our greatest revivals of religion and our
mighticst outpourings of the Holy
Ghost. We have got through the Red
sea. and stand today on the other bank
clapping the cymhaLs of victory
Do won wonder that last Sabbath |
asked you i'll the midst of the service to
rise and sing with jubilant voice the
long meter Doxology:
Praise Ciod from whom all blessings flow.
Praise him. all creatures here below.
Praise him above, ye heavenly host,
Praise Father. son and Holy Ghost.
/ Yes. twentythree years have passed
since | came TO live i'll Brooklyn. and
I they have been To me eventful years. Ii
was Frustrated church To which |
came a church SO fiat down il could
dropno further Through controversies
which il would bc useless To rehearse il
was well nigh extinct. and for y long
while it had been without "A pastor. But
nineteen members could be mustered To
sign call for my coming As com
mittee was putting that call before me
/ in an upper room in my house i'll Phila-
dolphia. there were two other committees
on similar errands from other churches
I i'll other rooms whom my wife was EN-
tertainug aud keeping apart from un.
happy collision.
I The auditorium of the BROOKLYN
church To which came deiied all the
laws of acoustics; the church had
steeple that was the derision of the
town. and high box pulpit which shut
I in the preacher as though he were dan
gerous 10 be let loose. or il acted As "A
barricade that was unnecessary 10 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 IA sad day.
for did not realize how far the church
was down until then. and on the evening
of that day my own brother. through
whose pocket entered the ministry.
died, and the tidings of his decease
reached me al q o'clock in the evening,
and was to preach at half past =
/ But from that day the blessing of God
was on MS. and in three months we began
the enlargement OF the building. Before
the close of that year we resolved to
construct the first Tabernacle Il was
to he temporary structure. and. there
fore. we called il tabernacle instead
of a temple What should he the style
Of architecture was the immediate ques-
ton. | had always Thought that the
amphitheatrical shape would he appro-
pirate for church. Two distinguished
architects We're employed. and after
much lowering over designs, they an
nounced 10 Us that such building was
impossible for religious purposes. as il
would not be churchly. and would sub
ject themselves and us To ruinous criti-
cism: in other words, they were not
ready for a revolution in church archi-
lecture.
Utterly disheartcned as 10 my favorite
style of architecture. | said To the trus-
tees. Build anything you please and
must be satisfied" But one morning "A
Young architect appeared AT my house
and asked if we had yet selected a plan
for our church said. mo. and what
we want we cannot get. What style
Of building do you want" he asked.
And taking ont Il lead pencil and Il let
ter envelope from my pocket, in less than
q minute. by few curved lines. indi-
rated in the rough what we wanted.
But, said. .'old architects tell MS il
,..a Lc iOic. and there Is no use in your
trying He said: Il can do it. How
long can have to make ont the plans?"
| said, This evening at = o'clock every
thing is 70 be decided"
At o'clock of that evening the
architect presented his plans and the
bids of builder and mason were pre-
sented, and in FIVE minutes after the
plans We're presented they We're unani-
mously adopted. So that | would not
be in the way of the trustees during the
work went to Europe. and when got
back the church was well nigh done
But here came in staggering him
drance. We expected TO pay for the
new church by the sale of the old build
ing. The old one had been sold, but
just at the time we must have the
money the purchasers backed out. and
we had two churches and no money
BY the help of God and the indomit-
able and unuaralleled .ner1V of our