Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1893-05-05
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
Tha Eminent Brooklyn Divin0'S Sum-
day Sermon.
Subject: "a Brooklyn Pastorate."

-FOUR ana tlCenCQ SeUCS ana upon ute Se@Cs
satU four and ttOenty elders. "-Revelation
w., 4.
This text / choose chiefly for the numerals
it 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 every pulpit is 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 reminIscence OF
gladness and tears. Twenty.four years ago
/ arrived in this city to shepherd such flock
as might come, and that day | carried in on
nv arms the infant son who in two weeks
from to day will help ordain to the gospel
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
small portion of the multitudes who COM
ing from all parts of the earth, have IN our
house Of God been blessed and saved.
Although we have as church raised 81, 100,-
600 for 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 6OOO or
1000 people crowded into this room and the
adjoining rooms we ara confronted with
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.
A misapprehension is abroad that the
financial exigency of this church is past.
Through journalistic and personal friends
breathing spell has been afforded us, but be-
fore us yet are financial obligations which
must promptly be met, or speedily this house
of God will go into worldly uses and become
theater or concert hall. The Sl2OOO
raised cannot cancel a floating debt OF.
$4,000 Through the kindpees Of those to
whom we are indebted 100000 would set US
forever free. am glad to say that the case
is not hopeless. We are daily in receipt or
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 81
Acknowledgements east, west 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 the spiritual.
This morning the greatness OF Gods kind
ness obliterates everything, and if wanted
to build a groan l do not know in what for
est I would 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. And SO this
morning I occupy my time in building one
great, massive, high, deep, broa !, heaven
piercing halleluiah. In the review Of the
last "a years 1 think it may be useful to
consider some of the characteristics of
Brooklyn pastorate.
In the first place remark that Brook
lyn pastorate is always difficult pastorate.
| No city under the SUI has a grauder array
of pulpit talent than Brooklyn. The Metho-
dist, the Baptist, the Congregntionalist the
Episcopalans, 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 o
Bourdalone and john M, Mason and a
George Whitedeld 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 homietics, an electricity Of
eloQuence that struck every time it flashed
from the old pulpits which quaked with the
| powers of a Bethune, and a Cox. and
| Spencer, and Spear, and a VintoD, and
Farley, and a Beecher, not mentioning the
! magnificent men now manning the BroOSlyn
! pulpts So during all tho 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 pastorate.
| If 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
mightiest way. You will have before you,
! If YOU fail in an argument, fifty lo9iclans In
/ ma za Sill m II
commercial figure of speech, there will De
500 merchants who will notice it. If you
throw out an anchor or furl sail in the
wrong way, there will be ship captains right
| off who will wonder if you are as ignorant
Of theology as you are of navigationl So
it will be place Of hard study. 1t you
are going to maintain yourself you will
find Brooklyn pastorate difficult pas
torate.
remark still further, Brooklyn pasto-
cate is always conspicuous pastorate. The
printing press of the country has no greater
force than on the seacoast. Every pulpit
word. good or bad, wise or ignorant kina
or mean. is watched. The reportorial corp;
of these cities is an organized army. Many
of them have collegiate education and large
culture. and they are able to weigh Grafton
or address or sermon. If you say silly
thing, you will never near the end Of it, and
If you say wise thing it will go into per.
petua multiplication. There is no need oil
decrying that fact Men whose influence
has feen built by the printing press speu1
the rest Of their lives in denouncing news
papers. The newspaper is the pulpit on the
wing. More preaching done on Monday
than on Sunday. The omnivorous, all eyed
printing press is ever vigilant.
Besides that q Brooklyn passionate is
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. and their business troubles and
by the time they nave greeted their ranIIIe;
in the home circle they have forgotten all
about Wall street and Broadway and the
SHAMELESS. If they commit business sins 10
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
lvn to spend the Sabbath, or part OF it in tn
persons of their repreSentatives-Some o!
them fresh from the sea. They have just
Ian led, and they want to seek the house o.
God publicly to thank the Lord for Their
deliverance from cyclones and fog banks OF
Newfoundland Every song sung, ever.
prayer offered, every sermon preached II
New York and Brooklyn and all along thi
sea coast in some shape goes all roun'
the world. A Brooklyn pastorate is a
the greatest altitude OF conspicuty.
Again l remark that Brooklyn pastoral
is characterized by brevity. bethink my
self Of Tut three ministers Of the gospel nov
preaching here who were preaching when
came to Brooklyn. Most OF the pulpit