The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1893-04-26
A BROOKLYN PASTORATE.
DR.. Talmage Preaches His Twenty
fourth Anniversary Sermon.
some Of tho characteristics of Brooklyn
Pastorato- Review of the Work OF the
Past Twenty-four Years = The
Financial Obligations Rest
Ing Upon the Tabernacle.


Brooklyn Tabernacle, was made the
occasion of the following discourse by
the distinguished divine, who chose for
his text Rev. iv., 4:
"And round about the throne were four and
twenty seats, and upon the seats saw four and
twenty elders"
This text choose chiefly for the
numerals it mentions, namely four and
twenty. That was the number of eld-
ers seated around the throne of God.
But that is the number of years seated
around my Brooklyn ministry. and
every pulpit is throne Of blessing or
blasting, n throne of good or evil. And
to-day in this my twenty-fourth ami
versary sermon, twenty-four years
come and itaround me, and they speak
out in reminiscence of gladness and
tears. Twenty-four years ago ] arrived
in this city to shepherd such flock as
might come, and that day carried in
on my arms the infant son who in two
weeks from to-day will help ordain to
the gospel ministry, hoping that he
will be preaching long after my poor
work is done.
We have received into our member
ship thousands of souls, but they, !
think, are only small portion of the
multitudes who, coming from all parts
of the earth, have in our house of God
been blest and saved. Although we
have as church raised million and
one hundred thousand dollars for re-
ligious purposes, yet we are in the
strange position of not knowing
whether in two or three months we
shall have any church at all, and with
audiences of thousands Of people
crowded into this room and the adjoin-
ing rooms, we are confronted with the
question whether | shall go on with my
work here or go to some other field.
What az awful necessity that we
should hive been obliged to build three
immense churches, two of them de-
stroyed by lire.
A misapprehensio is abroad that the
financial exigency Of this church is
past. Through journalistic and per-
sonal friends breathing spell has been
afforded us, but before us yet are finan-
cial obligations which must promptly be
met or speedily this house of God will
go into worldly uses, and become the
ater or y concert hall. The $4,000
raised cannot cancel floating debt oil
$4,000. 1Arough thekindness of those
70 whom we are indebted, 500, 900 would
set us forever free, ! am glad to say
that the case is not hopeless. We are
daily in receipt Of touching evidences
of practical sympathy from all classes
of the community and from all sections
of the country, and 1t was but yester-
day that by my own hand sent, for con-
tributions. gratefully received, nearly
fifty Acknowledgements east, west,
north and south
Our trust is in the Lord who divided
the Red Sea and made the mountains
skip like lambs" With this paragraph
1 dismiss the financial subject, and re-
turn to the spiritual. This morning
: the greatness Of Gods kindness oblit-
crates everything, and II | wanted to
build groan, do not know in what
forest would hew the timber, or from
what quarry l would dig the founda-
ton stone, or who would construct for
me an organ with Q tremolo for the only
stop; and 30 this morning occupy my
time In building one great massive,
high, deep, broad, heaven-piercing hal
leluiah. In the review of the last
twenty-four years | think ii may be
useful TO consider some of the charac-
teristics of Brooklyn pastorate.
In the first place / remark that a
Brooklyn pastorate is always difficult
pastorate. No city under the sun has
q grander array of pulpit talent than
Brooklyn. The Methodists, the Bap-
fists, the Congregationalists, the Epis-
copalians, all the denominations, send
their brightest lights here. He who
stands in any pulpit in Brooklyn, preach
ing, may know that he stands within fif-
teen minutes walk OF sermons which a
Saurin, and Bourdalou, and John
M. Mason, and George White6eld
would not be ashamed of. No city
under the sun where poor sermon is
such drug on the market
For forty years Brooklyn has been
surcharged with homiletics, an elec-
tricity Of eloquence that struck every
time II flashed, from the old pulpits
which quaked with the powers of a
Bethune, and Cox, and Spencer,
and Spear, and Vinton, and Farley
and Beecher, not mentioning the
names of the magnificent men now
manning the Brooklyn pulpits So
during all the time there has been
something TO appeal TO every mans
taste and to crafty every mans prefer
ence.
Now, let me say TO all ministers OF the
gospel who are ambitious for Brook
lyn pulpit that II is always difficult
pastorate. II man shall come and
stand before any audience in almost
any church in Brooklyn he will find
men who have heard the imightiest
themes discussed in the mightiest way.
You will have before you, II you fail in
an argument, fifty logicians in fidget-
II you make slip in the use of a COM
mercial figure Of speech, there will be
five hundred merchants who will notice
IL. II you throw out m anchor pr furl
a sail in the wrong way, there Will be
ship captains right off who will won
der II you are as ignorant of theology
as you are of navigationl So IL will be
place Of hard study. II you are going
to maintain yourself, you will find q
Brooklyn pastorate a difficult pastorate.
! remark still further, a Brooklyn
pastorate is alwaysa q conspicuous pas