Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1892-04-09

An interesting and Instructive Hoview
OF tho History of the Three Tabor
nnclcs That Have Been tho Homo of
tho Doctors Church.
BROOKLYN, April 3.-This is festival
day at the Tabernacle. DR.. Talmage is
celebrating the twenty-third anniversary
of his settlement in Brooklyn. In white
flowers embedded in green at the back
of the pulpit stood the inscription, "1SG9
and 1882" DIR. Talmage's subject was
The Three Tabernaclcs, II Story of
Trials and Triumphs," and his text, Luke
tx, 80. Let us mako three tabernacles. !"
Our Arab ponies were almost dead
with fatigue, as, i'll December, 1885,. we
rode near the foot of Mount Her1non, in
the Holy Land, the mountain calledAby
one IA mountain of ice;" by another, "a
glittcling brcastplate of ice;" by another,
1.-THE Mont Blanc of Palestine" Its Top
has an alnoGt uncarthly 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 Cnist's face
took on the glow of the MONDAY sun,
aud Moses and Elijah. who had been
dead for centuries, came out from the
heavenly world and talked with our
Saviour. What an overwhelming three
Moses, representing the law; Elijah,
representing the prophets, and Christ,
representing all worlds.
lmpctuons Peter was so wrought upon
by the presence of this wondrous three
that. without waiting for time to con-
slider how preposierous was the PROPOSE
ton. he cried ont, LET us make three
tabernaclcs; one for thee, one for Moses
and one for Elijah" Where would they
get the material for building one taber-
nacle, much less material enough to
bnild two tabcrnacles, and, still less,
how would they set the material for
building three? Where would they get
the hammers? Where the gold? Where
the silver? Where tho curtains? Where
the costly adornlnentss Hermon is a
barren peak, and to build one tabernacle
in such place would have been an I'M
dertaking beyond human achievement.
and Peter WAS propounding tho impossi-
bic when he cried out i'll enthusiasm.
Let us build three t;Ibernacles.
And yet that is what this congrcga-
ton have been called to do and have
done. The first Brooklyn Tabernacle
was dedicated in 1870 and destroyed by
fire in 1872. The second Brooklyn Taber-
nacle was dedicated in 1874 and de-
stroyed by fire in 1882 The third Brook
lyu Tabernacle was dedicated in April.
1851. and in that we are worshiping to-
day. What sounded absurd for Peter
to propose. when lie said on Mount Fer
mon, in the words of my text, "Let US
build three ts,bernacles." we havo not
only Gone. but in the mysterious provi-
dence of God were compelled to do.
We have been unjustly criticised By
people who did not know the facts,
sometimes for putting SO much mnney.
not giving rs much as we ought to this
or that UNCONVENTIONAL project. and no
explanation has yet been made. Before
get through with the delivery of this
sermon and it's publication and distribu-
ton, | shall show that no church on
earth has ever done moro magliticently,
and that no church ever conquered
more trials. and that no membership
ever had i'll it moro heroes and heroines
than this Brooklyn Tabernacle, and !
mean to have it known that any individ-
ual or religious newspaper or secular
newspaper that hereafter casts any re-
Election on this church's fidelity and gen
crosby, is guilty of a wickedness for
which God will hold him or it respon-
sible
One year it was sent out through
syndicate of newspapers that this church
was doing nothing in the way of liberal
ity, when we had that year raised S94,-
600 in hard cash for religious uses.
There has been persistent and hemi
spheric lying against this church. We
hayo raised daring my passionate, foT
church building and church purposes,
$99S 600, or practically million dol
lars. Not an Irish famine, or Charles
ton earthquake, or an Ohio freshet, or
Chicago conHagration, but our church
was among the first to help. We have
given free seats in the morning and
evening services to 24O.000 strangers n
year, and that i'll twenty years would
alnout to 4,S0U,UG0 auditors. We have
received into our membership 5,357
members, and that is only a 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
ncighborhood in Christendom, and are
regularly translated into nearly all the
great languages of Europe and Asia.
The sy7ldicates having charge of this
sermonic publication Informed me few
days ago that my printed sermons every
week. il this and other lands, go into
the hands Of 25,OO0,000 people. During
the last year, am authoritatively i'll
formed. over 1900 different periodicals
were added 10 the list of those who
make this publication, and yet there are
ministers of tie Gospel and religious
newspapers that Systematically and in
lustriously and continuously charge
this church with idleness and selishness
and parsimony.
call the attention Of the whole earth
to this outrage that has been heaped
upon the Brooklyn Tabernacle, though
!, more consecratcd, benevolent and
splendid convocation of men and women
were never gathered together outside of
heaven. have never before responded
to these iniustices and probably will
never refer to them again, but l wish
the people of this country and other
countries to know that what they read
concerning the selfishness and Incidence
and lack of bcnevolence and lack OF