Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1893-04-29
REV. DR.. 7ALMAGE.
The Eminent Brooklyn Divine's Sun.
day Sermon.

Subject: "a Brooklyn Pastorate."
TEXT: "And round about the throne uer,
four and ttcenty seats, and upon the seat.
saic four and tacenty Observation-Disclosures
w., 4.
This text choose chiefly for the numeralS
10 mentions-uamely, four and twenty. That
was the number Of elders seated around the
throne OF God, but that Ia the number OF
years seated around my Brooklyn ministry.
and every pulpit is a 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 "Reminiscences oil
giadness 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
ministry, hoping that he will be preaching
long after my poor work is done.
We have received into our membership
over 5000 souls, but they, think, are only a
small portion of the multitudes who, conn
Ing from oil parts of tina earth, have Ia our
house of God been blessed and saved.
Although we have as church raised 81 101-
w Tor 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
1OO0 people crowded into this room and the
ADJOINING rooms we are confronted with
the question whether shall go on with my;
work here or 20 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 misappreheDsion is abroad that the
financial exigency of this church is past,
Through journalistic and nersonal friends a
breathing spell has been aft oriej us, but be-
fore us yet are financial obligations which
To- Ia az
of God will go into worldly uses and become
theater or a concert hall. The $4,000
raised cannot cancel a floating debt of.
SAC, COO. Through the Kindness Of those to-
whom we are indebted $50, 900 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 so
Acknowledgements east west north and
south.
Our trust is in the Lori who divided the
Red Sea an ma ie 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 everyth :, and il Z wanted
TO build groan do not know in what for
est wonld hew the timber, or from what
quarry would dig the foundation stone or
who would construct for me an organ with
tremelo for the only stop. Aud SO this
morning occupy nv time in building one
great. massive, high, deep, broa !, heaven
piercing halleluiah. In thu review of the ,
last "a years | think it may bs useful to
consider some of the characteristics of a
Brooklyn pastorate.
In the first place remark that a Brook
lyn pastorate is always difficult pastorate.
n pdR ha has L.
OF pulpit talent than Brooklyn. The Metho-
dist, the Baptist, the Congregntionalist, 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 a
Bourdalone, and a John M. Mason and
George Whitefield 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 homiletcs, an electricity of
eloquence that struck every time it flashed
from the old pulpits which quaked with the
powers OF Bethune, and a Cox. and a
Spencer, and Spear, ard Vinto1, aud a
Farley, and Beecaer, not mentioning ths
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 ali ministers OF the
gospel who are ambitious for BROOKLYN
pulpit that it is always difficult pastorate.
Ii 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
mghtiest way. You will have before YOU
II you tail in an argument, fifty logicians in
hdget. Ii you make slip in the use OF a
commercial figure OF speech, thers will bs
mar .ttr ante ,r,kx1.
throw out an anchor or fur sail in thu
wrong way, there will be ship captains right
Off who will wonder il you are as ignorant
OF theology az you are of navigation! So
it will be place of hard stu iy. Ii you
are going to maintain yourself, you will
ind Brooklyn pastorate a diff ,ut pas
torate.
remark still further, Brooklyn p,sto-
-ate Is always conspicuous pastorate Tho
printing press of the country has no reater
force than on the seacoast, Every pulpit
word, good or bad, wise or ignorant KIM
or mesn, is watched. The reportorial corps
OF these cities is al organ zsd army. Many
OF them have collegiate education and large
culture, and they are able to weigh Grafton
or address or sermon If you say a silly
thing, you will never hear the en- of it, ami
if you say a wise thing it will go into per-
petual multiplication. There is no nee of
has been built by the printin, press spsnt
the rest OF their lives in announcing news
papers. The newspaper is the pulpit on thu
wing. More preaching done on Monday
than on Sunday. The onnivorous, all eyed
printing press is ever vigilant.
Besides that, a Brooklyn pastorate Ia
always conspicuous in the fact that every.
body comes here. Brooklyn is New York
in its better mood. Strangers have not seen
New York until they have seen Brooklyn.
The East River Is the chasm in which our
merchants drop their cares ami their
anxieties. AMI their business troubles. and
by the time they have greeted their families
In the home circle they have forgotten all
about Wall street ana Broadway and the
shamhleS Ii they commit business sins in
New York during the day, they come over
to Brooklyn to repent of them.
Everybody comes here. Stand at the
bridge entrance or at the ferry gates on
Sabbath morning at 10 o'clock, or Sabbath
evening at o'clock and you see north,
SOUTH, east. west-Europe, Asia, Africa,
New Zealand, notwithstanding to Brook
Ign to spend the Sabbath, or part Of it in the
persons OF their representatives-some of
them fresh from the sea. They have just
landed, and they want to seek the house OF
God publicly to thank the Lord for their
deliverance from cyclones and fog banks of
Newfoundland Every song sung, every,
prayer oIereu, every sermon preache1 IN
New York and Brooklyn and all along this
sea coast in some shape goes all round
the world. A Brooklyn pastorate is at
the greatest altitude OF conspicuity.
Again | remark that Brooklyn pastorate
is characterized by brevty. / bethink my
self of but three ministers of the gospel now
preaching here who were preaching when I
came to Brooklyn. Most of the pulpits
around me have changed seven or eight
times since arrival
Sometimes the pastorate has been brief
for one reason and sometimes for another
reason. Sometimes the ministers of the Cos
pei have been too god for this world, and
heaven has transplantei them. Sometimes
they changed places by the decree of their
denomination. Sometimes they came with
great blare OF trumpets proposing to carry
everything before them. and got extin-
guished before they were distinguished.
Some got preached out in two or three years
and told tue people all they knew. Some
n..4L~ sJss. Sc. Ill a saJrG time WORK
which it takes great many years to do.
Whether for good or ba reasons Brook
lyn pastorate Is characterized by brevity,
not much of the old plan by which minis
ter of the gospel baptized an infant, then re-
ceivei him into the church, after he had be-
come an adult married him, baptized his
children, married them and lived on long
enough to bury almost everybody but him.
self. Glorious old pastorates they were.
Some of US remember them-Dr. Spring,
Peter Labaugh, Dominic Zabriskie, Daniel
Waldo. Abram Halsey.
IT, Al. r