Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1893-04-28
TABERNACLE PUL PIT.
DR.. TALMACE breaches A
CHARACTERISTIC SERMON.
"a Brooklyn Passionate" the Subject of
Last Sundays Discourse-"And
Round About the Throne Were Four
And Twenty Seats.


great audience was visibly impressed dur
Ing the services. Over the pulpit in flowers
were the figures, "lo69' and 'lS93." The
text was, Rev. 4: 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 nu-
merals it mentions, namely four and
twenty. That was the number of
elders seated around the throne of
God. But that is the number of years
seated around my Brooklyn ministry,
and every pulpit is a throne of bless
ing or blasting, throne of good or
evil. And to-day in this my twenty
fourth anniversary sermon, twenty
four years come and sit around me, and
they speak out in a remini scence 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 on rmem ber-
ship over five thousand souls, hut 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 81, 100000 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 six or seven thousand
people crowded into this room and the
adjoining rooms, we are confronted
with the question whether / shall go
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 per-
sonal friends n breathing spell has
been afforded us, but before us yet are
financial obligations which must
promptly be met or speedily this house
of God will go into worldly uses,
and become theater or a concert
hall. The $4,000 raised cannot
cancel floating debt of Sl4O,-
600. Through the kindness of
those to whom we are indebted, $780,
900 would set us forever free. am
glad to say that the case is not hope
less. We are daily in receipt of touch
ing 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 fifty ac-
acknowledgements East West, North and
South.
Our trust is in the Lord who divided
the Red Sea, and ''made the noun
tains skip like lambs" With this
paragraph | dismiss the financial
subject, and return to the spiritual.
This morning the greatness of Gods
kindness obliterates everything, and
if / wanted TO build groan, do not
know in what forest | would hew the
timber, or from what quarry / would
dig the foundation-stone, or who would
construct for me an organ with a
tremolo for the only stop; and so this
morning | occupy my time in building
one great massive, high, deep, broad,
heaven-piercing hallelujah. In the re-
view of the last twenty-four years
think it may be useful to consider
some of the characteristics of Brook
lyn passionate.
In the first place, I remark that a
Brooklyn passionate is always diff
cult pastorate. No city under the sun
has a grander array of pulpit talent
than Brooklyn The Methodists, the
Baptists, the Congregationalists, 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 SER
mons which a Saurin, and Bour-
daloue, and a John NJ. 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
surcharged with homiletics, an cleo
tricity of eloquence that struck every
time it flashed, from the old pulpits
which qualed with the powers of a
Bethune, and Cox, and Spencer,
and a Spear, and Vinton, and Far
ley, and a Beecher, not mentioning
the names of the magnificent men now
manning the Brooklyn pulpits. So
during all the time there has been
taste, and to crafty every mans pref
erence.
Now, let me say TO all ministers of
the Gospel who are ambitious for a
Brooklyn pulpit, that it is always a
difficult pastorate. 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, if you fail in an argument,
fifty logicians in fidget. If you make
a 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 he ship captains right
off who will wonder if you are as Ig-
norant of theology as you are of navi-
cation! So you will be in a place of
hard study. If you are going to main
tain yourself, you will find Brooklyn
pastorate difficult pastorate.
1 remark still further, a Brooklyn
pastorate is always conspicuous
pastorate. The printing press of the
country has no greater force than that
on the sea coast. Every pulpit word,
good or bad, wise oraignorant, kind
Or mean, is watched. The repor-
torial corps of these cities is an or
gained army. Many of them have