The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-03-25
He Talks Plainly I'm Parting from
His Congregation to Take Up His
New Work i'm Chicago.
ONE AFFECTING SCENES
KIND WORDS FOR CHOIR MEMBERS
AND CHURCH OFFICERS.
Mr.. MiIburn Gives His Reasons for
Leaving His Work Here-A Ser
mon Full of Interest.

Rev. Joseph Anthony Milburn delivered
his last sermon as pastor of the Second
Presbyterian Church yesterday morning
before the largest congregation the church
ever held. Several hundred extra chairs
were used and people were seated to within
touching distance of the pulpit in order to
accommodate the extraordinary number
that were DESTROYS of hearing the eloquent
divine's last utterance as an Indianapolis
minister. The members of the quartet, Mrs.
Lottie Administering, Soprano; Mrs. Alice
Fleming Evans, alto; Mr. Z. f. Miller, ten
or, and Mr.. Louis ]. Dochez, bass, were in
splendid voice and sang with such power
and expression that Mr.. Milburn was
moved to speak his words of praise to them
before he had intended to do so. Mention
ing each of the singers by name, he told
them with evident feeling how greatly he
appreciated the valuable service they had
rendered him. II cannot tell you how L
hove enjoyed Mr.. Hansen's exquisite play
Ing OF the organ" said the minister, "and
Mrs. Raschig, 1 love Mrs. Raschig most
tenderly. l am very fond of all of you"
one OF the most enjoyable features of the
service was Mr.. Hansen's admirable work
on the pipe organ. His rendition of his
own arrangement of the simple hymn, God
BE with You Till We Meet Again" and of
The Pilgrims Chorus" from 'Parsifal,"
the former IN offertory and the latter a
postlude, were commented upon after the
service as bits of brilliant execution.
LAI FACTS.
Mr.. Milburn's leave taking with his con-
gregation was not the commonplace affair
that such an event ordinarily is. His SER
mon was not devoted to words of honeyed
fattery and fearful "reminiscences. Ca the
contrary, with characteristic candor and
with the simple sincerity that has endeared
him to his people, he told the congregation
the traits Of character he admired In them
and also the faults that needed correction.
The discourse was a mastery one, couched
In elegant diction, and was delivered I'm a
straightforward, forcible, eloquent style
that carried deep conviction. Mr.. Milburn
TOOK as his text L Chronicles, xxi, 5, And
David said, Solomon, my son, is young and
tender and the house that is TO be builded
Tor the Lord must be exceeding magnihcal."
he preached entirely without manuscript or
notes, as follows:
David, the great king and psalmist, had
two great ambitions. His first ambition
was TO give Israel supremacy among the
nations. His first ambition was to make
Israel the dominating power politically. His
second and higher ambition was 10 build
a mouse TO the name of Jehovah, but his
career as a soldier had made ii impossible
TO fulfill his ambition as a spiritual seer.
for God Inhibited him building a temple to
His name and in His honor because he was
a man of war and because his hands were
red with blood. But so strong was his am
Dltlon and desire that this house should
be buflded. whether he built il himself or
no. that he gathered around him all man
ner or Workmen, cedar from Lebanon, one
hundred thousand tons of silver and one
hundred thousand tons of gold, iron for the
nails and for the doors-everything that
would be used in the way of building he
made preparation for, and then he called his
son TO him, who was TO be a man of peace,
Solomon and said: Solomon is young and
tender, and then he tells him that he must
build this temple of Jehovah that has been
his dream, and he says: Remember When
thou buildest IL 10 build il so thai il will
be exceeding magnifical.'
a CHRISTIANS AMBITION.
"Thi ambition that was the ambition Of
David in regard to the old temple of Israel
should, for a stronger reason, be the am
bition of every Christian in regard to the
church OF Jesus Christ, our Lord. We
should so build that the temple Of Christ
will be exceedingly magnifcal. And L
think that this is true from a physical point
OF view. 1 know there are many who de-
plore these great buildings I'm which Chris
tians worship; they deplore the money
NS III
ture. / think that is a great error. L think
that IL we can build great buildings for the
state and great buildings for commerce,
yet more stately should We build to the
eternal God, who is the ruler over all. We
should give To Him of our best i'm matter:
we should give TO Him of our best I'm art.
But still this Is unimportant and Jesus of
Nazareth himself was God without any
temple TO worship Him. They drove Him
out of His temple, and then He went into
the fields TO worship God there. And the
CarlV Christians had no chnrpn fn u-orchfD
in, no great, noble architecture TO dome
them and to cover them while they sought
to bring their lives in touch with God, but
they worshiped in the darkness and they
worshiped in the catacombs, and so the
important thing is, not TO build magnifcal
in matter. but to build magnihcal in spirit.
We are to build the house of God maies-
tically and magnificently in the matter of
faith and nope and grace and tenderness
and beauty and love. In this way we are to
glorify Jesus Christ and in this way we are
to make Christ's name and nature potent 10
save the world.
Now let us consider what this magnif-
cent church Is. And first let me say to you
that II must be a. church actuated with a
great faith. We are living in times when
man has become conscious of his own
greatness. He Is coming TO understand the
meaning OF the words spoken so long ago
by st. Paul, that have been buried so long
and that he has not had the genius ana
the faculty to interpret, Man the heir of
God and joint heir with Christ He is be-
ginning TO assert his power, he is great In
| relation TO nature. he rules the waves. he
rules the seas. he rules the streams. he
rules the hills. he almost rules the very
laws of God and makes them tributary to
his needs. He has risen TO greatness in
his political genius. for who, two hundred
| years ago. would have dreamed that there
could have risen upon this earth an en-
| pire of almost one hundred million of peo-
pie held together in solidarity by the CO.
hesive power of freedom? What a great,
what a vast. what a wonderful stride has
man made In his political genius and his
political faculty. How great. too, his
| philanthropy I'm these latter daysi
MR.. CARNEGIE'S GIFTS.
81 am not prone. as many are, TO wax
sentimental over Mr.. Carnegie's giving. !
still believe that it would have been better
for him 10 give a little all along the route;
L still believe ii would have been a wiser
thing from an economic point to have dis
tributed his large wealth among those who
had labored for him so faithfully and SO
| long. But. whatever may be the real status
OF Mr.. Carnegie's gfvings ethically, there
Is one thing we must all admit-they arr
| certainly monumental and they certainly
are colossal. He has given at least in a
great way. he has given like a monarch. he
has given like a lord.
w do everything in a big way in these
latter days. Now. / also want you TO build
this church up magnihcently by living out
My heart gets depressed as I think OF the
thoughts that men think OF God. of tn,
thoughts that men think towards Jesus
Christ our Lord. Of the thoughts that meI
think OF and towards men. The great sir
IL not TO be an agnostic and 10 admit IN