Milford chronicle., 1893-06-02
A GLORIOUS TRIUMPH.

"A
BROOKLYN Tabernacle today 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 elsewhere, our 1000 of floating
church debt is forever gone, and this house.
which, with the ground upon which it
stands, represents $4,000, / this day re
consecrate to God the Father, God the Son
and God the Holy Ghost. A stranger might
ask how could this church got into debt to
an amount that would build several large
churches. My answer is, Waves of destruc-
ton, stout as any that ever rolled across
the Red sea of my text
Examine all the pages Of church history,
and all the pages of the worlds history, and
show me an organization, sacred or secular,
that ever had to build three great struc-
lures. two of them destroyed by fire. Take
any of your biggest life insurance conf
panies. OF your biggest storehouses, or your
biggest banks, or your biggest newspaper
establishments and let them have to build
three times on the same foundation, and it
would cost them a struggle, if not demoli-
ton. NY text speaks of the Red sea once
crossed, but one Red sea would not have so
much overcome us. 1t was with us Red
sea after Red sea. Three Red seasl Yet
today, thanks be to God, we stand on the
shore, and with organ and cornet in alb
sence of a timbrel we chant: "Sing ye unto
the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously.
The horse and his rider hath he thrown into
the sea-"
But why the great expense Of this struc-
ture? My answer is, the immensity of it
and the flrmness of it. 1t cost over S34, 900
IL .-A-. n,nf1
reaching as the foundation does from street
to street, and then the building Of the house
was constructed in a way, we are told by
experienced builders who had nothing to do
with it. for durability of foundation and
wall such as characterizes hardly any other
building Of this city To the day Of your
death and mine, and for our children and
grandchildren after us, it will stand here a
house OF God and gate of heaven.
For me personally this is a time of glad
ness more than tongue or pen or type can
ever tell For "a years had been building
churches in Brooklyn and seeing them burn
down, until felt I could endure the strain
no longer, and I had written my resignation
as pastor and had appointed to read it two
Sabbaths ago and close my work in Brook
lyn forever | felt that my chief work was
vet to be done, but that could not do it
with the Alps on one shoulder and the
Hymalayas on the other. But God has in
terfered, and the way is clear, and l am
here and expect to be here until my work
on earth is done
Why should 1 want to go away from
Brooklyn2 l have no sympathy with the
popular sentiment which defames our be
loved city. Some people make 1t part Of
their religion to excoriate and belittle the
place Of their residence, and there has been
more damage, financial and moral, done to
our city by this hypercriticism than can
ever be estimated The course of our city
has been onward and upward We have a
citizenship made up of hundreds of thou
sands ui as good men and women as inhabit
the earth, and ! feel honored in being
citizen Of Brooklyn and propose to stay
here until join the population in the Silent
City out yonder, now all abloOm with spring
howers-sweet types Of resurrection
- THANKS TO GOD AND KIND FRIENDS.
NV thanks must be first to God and then
to all who have contributed by large gift or
small to t,is emancipation. Thanks to the
men, women and children who have helped
and sometimes helped with self sacrifices
that know must have won the applause
Of the heavens If you could only read
with me a few of the thousands OF letters
that have come to my desk in The Chris
tian Herald Office, you would know how
deem their sympathy, how large their saerl-
Zee has been II have sold my bicycle and