Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1893-04-24
TWENTY YEARS
DR.. TALMAoE's ELOQUENT ANNIvER-
sARY SERMON.


Csntsr-How Those shrewd and Talent
Cd Newspaper Men Spread the Gospel
Even While Aiming at Their Own Aggr
BROOKLYN, April 23.-Rev. DR.. Tai
mage today preached his twenty-fourth
snniversary sermon. Subject, "A Brook
lyn Passionate" The occasion was an
unusually interesting one, and the great
audience was visibly impressed during
the services. Over the pulpit in flowers
were the figures 1850" and ''1S98." The
text was Revelation iv, 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 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, 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 "reminiscences
Of gladness and tears. Twenty-four
years ago I arrived in this city to shep-
herd such flock as might come, and
that day carried in on my arms the In
FAINT 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, I 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 81 100000 for religious purposes,
yet we are in the strange position of not
knowing whether in two or three months
we eshall 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 l shall go on with my work
here or 60 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 erige,,cy of this church Is past.
Through journalistic and personal
friends breathing spell has been afford
ed us, but before us get are financial OBJ
legations ,ohich must promptly be met, or
speedily this house of God soiU 90 into
,Uorldly uses and become a theater or
concert hall. The $4,000 raised cannot
cancel floating debt Of $4,000.
Through the kindness of those to sChom
,ce are indebted CSC, 900 icould set US for
ever free. lam glad to say that the case
is not hopeless. We are daily in receipt
of touching evidences of practical sympa-
thy from all classes Of the community and
from all sections of the country, and ii
sOas but yesterday that By my o,un hand I
sent for contributions gratefully received
nearly 80 Acknowledgements east, ,cest,
north and south.
Our trust is in the Lord who divided
the Red sea and made the mountains
skip like lambs" With this paragraph
dismiss the financial subject and return
to tho spiritual. This morning the great
moss Of Gods kindness obliterates every
thing, and if wanted to build a 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
ono great, massive, high, deep, broad,
heaven piercing halleluiah. In the re-
view Of the last "a years think it may
be useful to consider some Of the char
acteristics Of Brooklyn pastorate.
DEMANDS OF A BROOKLYN PAsToRATE.
In the first place remark that
Brooklyn pastorate is always difficult
pastorate. No city under the sun has
grander array of pulpit talent than
Brooklyn. The Methodists, the Bap-
lists, 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 Is
minutes walk of sermons which Sau-
rim, and a Bourdaloue, and 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 tho powers of Bethune,
and a Cox, and a Spencer, and Spear,
and Vinton, and Farley, and a Beech
er, not mentioning the names of the mag
nifcent 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 all ministers Of the
gospel who are ambitious for Brooklyn
pulpit that it is always a difficult pas
torate. II man shall como and stand
before any audience in almost any church
in Brooklyn, hewill find before him men
who have heard the mightiest themes
discussed in the mightiest way. You
will have before you, II you fail in an ar
gument. so logicians in fdget. If you
make slip in the use of commercial
q 6sxr.ra ~ ov,oaoh thara will ba 6O0 mer-