The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1893-05-10
REV. DR.. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINES SUN.
DAY SERMON.
Subject: IA Brooklyn Pastorate."

TEXT: ANA TOInu uOOuC tte C1TOte tVeTt
four and t,uentp seats, and upon the seat
I su1p four and t,centy Observation-Disclosures
iv.. 4.
This text choose chiefly for the numerals
It mentions-namely, four and twenty. That
was the number Of elders seated around the
throne Of God, but that is the number OF
yesrs seated around my Brooklyn ministry.
and every pulpit is throne of blessing or
blasting, throne Of good or evil. And to-
day in this my twenty-fourth anniversary
sermon "a years come and sit around me,
and they speak out in a reninlscence OF
gladness and tears. Twenty-four years ago
I arrived in this city to shepherd such dock
as might come, and that day l carried In on
my arms the infant son who in two weeks
from to-day T 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 membership
over 5OcO souls, but they. 1 think, are only
small portion of the multitudes who, CON-
ing from all parts Of the earth, have in our
house of God been blessed and saved.
Although we have as church raised 81. 1Oo,-
600 for religious 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 5000 or
1000 people crowded into this room and the
adjoining rooms we are confronted with
the question whether shall 60 on with my
work here or go to some other field. What
an awful necessity that we should have
been obliged to build three immense
churches, two Of them destroyed by fire.
A misapprehension is abroad that the
financial exigency Of this church Is past.
Through journalistic and personal friends
breathing spell has been afforded US, but be.
fore US yet are financial obligations which
must promptly be met, or speedily this house
of God will go into worldly uses and become
a theater or O concert hail. The SR, 900
raised cannot cancel floating debt of
$40 900. Through the kindness Of those to
whom we are indebted $50, 600 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 it was but
yesterday that by my own hand sent for
contributions gratefully received nearly 50
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 dismiss the
financial subject and return to the spiritual.
This morning the greatness Of Gods kind
ness obliterates everything, and If wanted
to build groan do not know in what for
est would hew the timber, or from what
quarry I would dig the foundation stone, or
who would construct for me an organ with
a tremelo for the only stop. And so this
morning occupy nv time in building one
great massive, high, deep, broad, heaven
piercing halleluiah. In the review Of the
last "a years think it may bs useful to
consider some of the characteristics Of
Brooklyn pastorate.
In the first place remark that Brook
lyn pastorate is always difficult pastorate.
No city under the sun has q grander array
of pulpit talent than Brooklyn. The Metho-
dist, the Baptist the C6ngregntionalist, the
Episcopalians all the denominations send
their brightest lights here. He who stands
in any pulpit in Brooklyn preaching may
know that he stands within fifteen minutes
walk of sermons which Saurin, and q
Bourdalone, and John M. Mason and a
George Whitefeld 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 sur
charged with homiletics, an electricity Of
eloquence that struck every time it flashed
from the old pulpits which quaked with the
powers of a Bethune, and Cox, and
Spencer, and Spear, and a Vintop, and
Farley, and Beecher, not mentioning 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 preference.
Now. let me say to all ministers Of the
gospel who are ambitious for Brooklyn
pulpit that it is always difficult pastorare.
IF man shall come and stand before any
audience in almost any church in Brooklyn
he will find before him men who have heard
the mightiest themes discussed in the
mightiest way. You will have before you
-. 1Nprs nfovac in,
q fidaet. If you make slip In the use Of
commercial figure Of speech, there will be
500 merchants who will notice it. If you
throw out an anchor or furl sail in the
wrong way, there will be ship captains right
of who will wonder if you are as ignorant
of theology as you are OF navigation! So
it will be place Of hard study. II you
are going to maintain yourself, you will
find Brooklyn pastorate a difficult pas.
torate.
lremark still further, Brooklyn pasto-
rate is always a conspicuous pastorate. The
printing press Of the country has no greater
force than on the seacoast. Every pulpit
word, good or bad, wise or ignorant kind
or mean, is watched. The reportorial corps
Of these cities is an organized army. Many
of them have collegiate education and large
culture, and they are able to weigh Grafton
or address or sermon. II you say a silly
thing, you will never near the end Of 1t, and
# you say a wise thing it will 90 into per-
petual multiplication. There Is no need of
decrying that fact. Men whose influence
has oeen built by the printing press spend
the rest Of their lives in denouncing news
papers. The newspaper is the pulpit on the
wing. More preaching done on Monday
than on Sunday. The omnivorous, all eyed
printing press is ever visilant.
hat Ia
always conspicuous in the fact that every
boiy comes here. Brooklyn Is New York
in its better mood. Strangers have not seen
New York until they have saen Brooklyn.
The East River IS the chasm in which our
merchants drop their cares, and their
anxleties. and their business troubles aud
by the time they have greeted their families
in the home circle they have forgotten all
about Wall street and Broadway and the
shamhles If they commit business sins in
New York during the day, they come over
to Brooklyn to repent of them.
Everybody comes here. Stand at tho
bridge entrance or at the ferry gates oa
Sabbath morning at 10 oclock, or Sabbath
evening at o'clock and you see north,
south, east, west-Europe, Asia, Africa,
New Zealand, notwithstanding to Brook
lyn to spend the Sabbath, or part of 1t in the
persons of their representatives-soms of
them fresh from the sea. They have just
landed, and they want to seek the house. o.
God publicly TO thank the Lord for their
deliverance from cyclones and fog banks off
Newfoundland. Every song sung, every
prayer offered, every sermon preached in
New York and Brooklyn aud all along this
sea coast in some shape goes all round
the world. A Brooklyn pastorate Is at
the greatest altitude OF conspicuity.
Again l remark that Brooklyn pastorate
ischaracterized by brevity. bethuk my
self of but three ministers Of the gospel now
preaching here who were preaching when
came to Brooklyn. Most OF the pulpits
around me have changed seven or eight
times since my arrival.