The free press., 1893-05-11
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
1aE BROOKLYN DIvINKs sun
DAY SERMON.
Subject: "a BROOKLYN Pastorate'"

Il uentions-namelv, four and twenty. That
was the number Of elders seate aroun1 the
throne OF God, but that is the number OF
wears seated around nv Brooklyn ministry.
and every pulpit is a throne OF blessing or
blasting. a throne of good or evil. And to-
day in this my twenty-fourtn 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
my arms the infant son who ln 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 1000 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 a church raised 81, lO0,-
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 are confronted with
the question whether shall go on with my
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 destroye by fire.
A misappre hension 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 vet are financial obligations which
must promptly be met, or speedily this house
of God will go into worldly uses and become
a theater or concert hall. The Sl2, 900
raised cannot cancel floating debt of
$40, 600. Through the kindness OF those to
whom we are indebted S60 900 would set us
forever free am glad to say that the case
te We daily rpcRlDt 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 50
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 II wanted
to build a groan L do not know in what for
est / would hew the TIMBER or froEl what
quarry would dig the foundation stone, or
who would construct for me an organ with
tremelo for tha only stop. And 80 this
morning occupy nv time in building one
great massive, high, deep, broa1, heaven
piercing halleluiah. In the review of the
last "a years | think it may bs useful to
consider some of the characteristics OF
Brooklyn pastorate.
In the first place remark that a Brook
lyn pastorate is always a difficult pastorate.
No city under the sun has grander array
of pulpit talent than Brooklyn The Metho-
dist, the Baptist, the Congre3ntionalist. 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
If vuhioh Sanrin and a
Bourdalone, aud a John NJ. Mason and a
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 homiletics, an electricity of
eloquence that struck every time it flashed
from the old puipits which quaked with the
powers of Bethune, aud a Cox, and a
Spencer, and Spear, ard a Vinton, and
Farley and a Beecher not mentioning the
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 all ministers of the
gospel who are ambitious for Brooklyn
pulpit that it is always 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,
IL you fail in an argument, fifty logicians in
fidget. Ii you make a slip in the use of a
commercial figure OF speech. there will be
500 merchants who will notice 1t. II you
throw out an anchor or furl a sail in the
wrong way, there will be ship captains right
off who will wonder if you are as ignorant
Of theology az you are of navigation. So
1t will be place of hard study. If you
are going to maintain yourself, you will
find a Rrnhly1Xyn rnast fa an r.aG-
torate.
remark still further, a Brooklyn pasto-
rate is always a 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. kind
OF mean, is watched The reportorial corps
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 a silly
thing, you will never hear the end of it. and
II you say wise thing it will go into per-
petual multiplication. There is no neei of
decrying that fact. Men whose influences
has been built by the printing press spend
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, a Brooklyn pastorate 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, and their
snxieties. and 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
shamhes 1t they commit business sins in
New York during the day, they come over
to Brooklyn to repent of tnem.
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, Australia-coming to Brook.
lyn 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 ths Lord for their
deliverance from cyclones and fog banks off
Newfoundland. Every song sung. every
prayer offered, every sermon preached 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 brevity. l bethink my