Connecticut western news., 1893-04-27
TWENTY-FOUR YEARS
DR. TALrAeE's ELOQUENT ANTWERP
 SARY SERMON.

DR. TALhAGE'S ELOQUENT ANTWERP
 SARY SERMON.
 Brooklyn Pre-eminently an Intellectual Centsr-How Those Shrewd and Talent cd Newspaper Men Spread the Gospel Evsn While Aiming at Their Own Aggr
 BROOKLYN, April 23.-Rev. Dr. Tal- mage today preached his twenty-fourth anniversary sermon. Subject, "A Brook lyn -Pastorate." The occasion was an unusually interesting one, and the great audience was visibly impressed during the services. Over the pulpit in flowers were tho figures "1s69" and "1893." The text was Revelation iv, 4, 'And round about the throne were four and twenty seats, and upon the seats Gaw four and twenty elders"
 This text I choose chiefly for the nu- morals 1t 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 ev- cry pulpit Is throne of blessing or blast ing, 8 throne of good or evil. And today In this my twenty-fourth anniversary sermon A years come and sit around me, and they speak out in reminiscence of gladness and tears. Twenty-four years ago I arrived in this city to shep- hsrd such flock as might come, and that day carried in on my arms the in- fant son who in two weeks from today will help ordain to the gospel ministry, hoping that he will be preaching long after my poor work is done.
 A MARVELLOUS WORK.
 We have received into our membership over 5000 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 blessed and saved. Although we have as a church raised q, JOG, ,OOO for religious purposes, yet we arc 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 crowd ed into this room and the adjoining rooms we are confronted with the ques- ton 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.
 4 apprehension is abroad that the fnancial ecigency of this church is past. Through jouYnalistic and personal friends q breathing spell has been afford ed us, but before us get are financial ob- Ngotions sc1ich must promptly be met, or speedily this house of God ,oiu go into scorldlv sses and become 'theater or q concert haH The $1s, ,0O0 raised cannot camcel foating debt of $140,0O0. Through the kindness of those to aohom sce arc indebted e60, 900 ,roa.ld set US for evcr Jrec. Tam glad to say that the case is not hopeless. We are daSly ia receipt of touching evidenceso of practical syn.pa- thy from aH classes of the community and from 0H sections of the country, and it ,cas but yesterday thdt by nag oaon haad | sent tor contributions gratefully received nearlv 50 acknowledgements east, aoest, 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 return to the spiritual. This morning the great ness of Gods kindness obliterates every thing, and if I wanted to build groan do not know in what forest would how the timber, or from what quarry would dig the foundation stone, or who would construct for me an organ with 8 tremolo for the only stop. And so this morning occupy my time in building ono great, massive, high, deep, broad, x>sr Ho1 1n1r ;oh Txr fha view of the last 24 years think it may be useful to consider some of the char acteristics of a Brooklyn pastorate.
 DEMANDS OF A BRoOKLYN PAsToRATE.
 In the first place I remark that 8 Brooklyn pastorate is always difficult pastorate. No city under the sun has a grander array of pulpit talent than Brooklyn. The Methodists, the Bap- tists, 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 15 minutes walk of sermons which Sau- rim, and Bourdaloue, and a John M. Mason, and 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 8 Bethune and Cox, and 8 Spencer, and Spear and Vinton, and Farley, and Beech. CT, not mentioning the names of the mag niicent men now manning the Brooklyn pulpits. So during all the time there has been something to appeal to every mans taste and to gratify every mans preference.
 Now, let me say to all ministers of the gospel who are ambitious for Brooklyn pulpit that it is always difficult pas torate. If man shall come and stand before any audience in almost any church in Brooklyn, hewill find before him mer who have heard the mightiest themes discussed in the mightiest way. Yor will have before you, if you fail in an ar gument, 50 logicians in fidget. If yor make slip in the use of 8 commercial figure of speech, there will be 500 mer chants who will notice 1t. 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 navigatton & 1t will be place of hard study. If yor are going to maintain yourself, you will find a Brooklyn pastorate difficult pas torate.
 THOSE TALENTED JOURNALISTS.
 remark still further, a Brooklyn pas torate is always conspicuous pastorate The printing press of the country has nc greater force than that on the seacoast Every pulpit word, good or bad, wise ol ignorant, kind or mean, is watched. Th' reportorial corps of these cities is an or ganized army. Many of them have col legiate education and large culture, ani l.l A<>-