The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1893-05-31
MOSES AND MIRIAM.
A Day of Rejoicing in the Brooklyn
Tabernacle.
II We Never Shouted Victory TIL We Got
Clear Through the Struggles OF Lilo
We Would Never Shout At ALL
~ DIR. Talmage's Sermon.

This was one of the greatest days in
the history of the Brooklyn tabernacle.
The music, instrumental and congrega-
tional, was of the most joyous type: the
hymns, the prayers and the sermon
were celebrative of the entire extin-
guishment of the floating debt Of S140,-
900, accumulated from the disasters
which required the building Of three
immense churches Text, Exodus XIV,
20, 81: "And Miriam, the prophecies,
the sister of Aaron, took timbrel in
her hand, and all the women went out
after her with timbrels and with
'ances. And Miriam answered them:
Sing ye to the Lord, for He hath tri-
umphed gloriously; the horse and his
rider hath He thrown into the sea-"
Sermonizers are naturally SO busy in
getting the Israelites safely through
the parted Red sea and the Egyptians
submerged in the returning waters
that but little time is ordinarily given
to what the Lords people did after
they got well up high and dry on the
beach. That was the beach of the Red
sea, which is at its greatest width two
hundred miles and at its least width
twelve miles. Why is the adjective
''red" used in describing this waterP
1t is called the Red sea because the
mountains on it's western coast look as
though sprinkled with brick dust, and
the water is colored with red seaweed
and has red zoophyte and red coral.
This sea was cut by the keels of
Egyptian, Phenician and Arabic ship
ping. 1t was no insignificant pond or
puddle on the beach of which my text
calls us to stand. hear upon it the
sound of tambourine, for which the
trimbrel was only another name-an
instrument of music made out of cir
cular hoop, with pieces Of metal fixed
in the sides of it, which made jing-
ling sound, and over which hoop a
piece Of parchment was distended, and
this was beaten by the knuckles of the
performer.
The Israelites, standing on the beach
of the Red sea, were making music, on
their deligerance from the pursuing
Egyptians, and hear the Israelitish
men with their deep bass voices, and |
I hear the timbrel OF Miriam as she
leads the women in their jubilee.
Rather lively instruments, you say,
for religious service, the timbrel or
tambourine. But think God
sanctioned it. And rather think we
will have TO put little more Of the
festive into our religious services and
drive out the dolorous and funereal,
and the day may come when the tim
brel will resume its place in the sane
tuary. But that which occupied the
attention of all the men and women Of
that Israelitish host was the celebra-
ton OF, their victory. They had crossed.
They had triumphed. They were free.
More wonderful was this victory and
defeat than when the hosts Of Richard
overcame the hosts of Saladin at Azotus,
than when at Bannockburn Scotland
was set free, than when the Earl of
Northumberland was driven back at
Branham Moor, than when at the bat
tie Of Wakefield York was slain, than
when at Bosworth Field Richard was
left dead, than when the Athenians
under Miltiades at Marathon put the
Persians TO fight, for this victory Of
my text was gained without sword or
catapult or spear The weapon was a
lifted and prostrated sea. "And Miri-
am, the prophecies, the sister Of Aaron,
took timbrel in her hand, and all the
women went out after her with tim
brels and with dances. And Miriam
answered them, Sing ye to the Lord, for
he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse
and his rider hath he thrown into the
sea-"
Brooklyn tabernacle to-day feels
much as Moses and Miriam did when
they stood on the banks Of the Red sea
after their safe emergence from the
waters. By the help of God and the
generosity of our friends here and else
where our $4,000 Of floating church
debt is forever gone, and this house,
which, with the ground upon which II
stands, represents $4,000, this day
reconsecrate to God the Father, God the
Son and God the Holy Ghost A
stranger might ask how could this
church get into debt to an amount that
would build several large churchesf
Ny answer is, Waves Of destruction,
stout as any that ever rolled across the
Red sea of my text.
Examine all the pages Of church his
tory and all the pages Of the worlds
history and show me an organization
sacred or secular, that ever had to build
three great structures, two of them de
stroyed by fire. Take any of your big
gest life insurance companies, or YOU
biggest store houses, or your biggest
banks, or your biggest newspaper es
tablishments and let them have TO builc
three times on the same foundation
and IL would cost them struggle ifnot
demolition. My text speaks Of the Rec
sea once crossed, but one Red sea woult
not have so much overcome us. Itwai
with us Red sea after Red sea. Three
Red seasl Yet to-day, thanks be u
God we stand on the shore, and will
organ and cornet in absence Of tim
brel we chant, "Sing ye unto the Lord
for He had triumped gloriously; th'
horse and his rider hath he thrown int
the sea-"
But why the great expense Of thi
structure2 My answer is the immensit.
of IL and the firmness Of IT, II cost owe
ss4, 900 TO dig the cellar before one ston
was laid, reaching as the foundation
does from street 10 street, and then tn
building Of the house was constructs
in way, we are told by experiences
= 4. 4 -. 49, I,.. ..rtkl. "a