The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1893-06-09
MOSES AND MIRIAM.
a Day of Rejoicing in the Brooklyn
Tabernacle.
If We Never Shouted Victory Till We Got
Clear Through the Struggles of Life
We Would Never Shout At All
DR.. 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-
punishment of the floating debt of $780,
600. 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 a timbrel in
her hand, and all the women went out
after her with timbrels and with
dances And Miriam answered them:
Sing We 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 water?
1t is called the Red sea because the
mountains on its 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
piece of parchment was distended, and
this vas beaten by the knuckles Of the
performer.
The Israelites, standing on the beach
of the Red sea, were making music, on
their deliverance from the pursuing
Egyptians, and l hear the Israelitish
men with their deep bass voices, and l
/ 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
viii have to put d 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 ali 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 Frustrated 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 We 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 it
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 churches?
My answer is, Waves of destruction,
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 your
biggest store houses, or your biggest
banks. or your biggest newspaper es-
Establishments and let them have to build
three times on the same foundation,
and it would cost them struggle if not
demolition. My text speaks of the Red
sea once crossed, but one Red sea would
not have so much overcome u.s. 1t was
with us Red sea after Red sea. Three
Red seas, Yet to-day, thanks be to
God. we stand on the shore, and with
organ and cornet in absence of tim
brel we chant, ''Sing We unto the Lord
for He had triumped gloriously; the
horse and his rider hath he thrown into
the sea"
But why the great expense of this
structure? Ny answer is the immensely
of il and the firmness of it. 1t cost ovel
1900 TO dig the cellar before one stone
was laid, reaching as the foundation
docs from street to street, and then the
building of the house was constructed
in way, we are told by experienced
builders who had nothing to do with it
for durability of foundation and wal
such as characterizes hardly any other
building of this city. To the day Of
your death and mine, and for our chill
dren and grandchildren after us, it will
stand here house of God and a gate
of Heaven.