The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, April 20, 1892, Image 7
REV. DR. TALMAGE. !
i
THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S SUN i
DAY SERMON. >
i
I tfnbject: "The Three Tabernacles, *
Story of Trials and Triumphs."
/ crsxT: "Let us make three tabernacles." ?
?Luke ix., 33.
I Our Arab ponies were almost dead with ,
jfatigue, as, in Dec?mber, 18S9, we rode near a
jthe foot of Mount Hermon in the Holy <j
'Land, the mountain called by one "a ,
[mountain of ic?," by another "a glittering
'breastplate of ice," by another "the Mont ?
IBlanc of Palestine." Its top has an almost 0
unearthly brilliance. But what must it E
have been in the time to which my text re- a
fers? Peter and James and John were on c
jthat mountain top with Jesus when, sud- p
denly, Christ's face-took on the elow of the n
aoondiiy sun. and Moses and Elijah, who ?
tad been dead for centuries, came out from j.
the heavenly world and talked with our ^
Baviour. What an overwhelming: three? ?
Moses, representing the law; Elijah, repre- s
eenting the prophets, tai l Christ, represent- j
Ing all worlds. il
. Impetuous Peter was so wrought upon by j,
the presence of this wondrous three, that,
?without waiting for time to consider how 0
preposterous was the proposition, he cried
oot "Let us make three tabernacles?one t
for Thee, one for Moses and one for Elijah." f
fWhwe would they get the material for g
Jbuilding one tabernacle, much less material j,
enough to build two tabernacle?, and still i n
less, how would they get the material for Q
building three? Whore would they get the Cl
hammers? Where the gold? Where the ^
silver? Where the curtains? Where the jr(
costly adornments? Hermon is a barren v
peak, and to build one tabernacle in such a j
place wouid have been an undertaking be- jj
yond human achievement, and Peter was
propounding the impossible when he cried ^
out in enthusiasm, "Let us build three taber- n
nacles." tj
And yet that is what this congregation n
has been called to do ana nas aone. las c
first Brooklyn Tabernacle was dedicated in ?
1870, and destroyed by fire in 1873. The ^
second Brooklyn Tabernacle was dedicated ^
in 1S74, and destroyed by fire in 1889. The a
third Brooklyn Tabernacle was dedicated in a
'April. 1891, and in that we are worshiping c]
to-day. W hat sounded absurd for Peter to
propose, when he said on Mount Hermon, in
(the words of iny text, "Let U3 build three
tabernacles," we have not only done, but in
the mysterious province oi God were compelled
to do. ?
I announce to you this day that we ar? at
las-'-, a church, in smooth waters. Arrangements
have been made by which our *
financial difficulties are now fully and satis- J
factorilv adjusted. Our income will exceed
our outgo, and Brooklyn Tabernacle will be ?
yours and belong to you and your children
after you, and anything you see contrary to T
this you may puc down to the confirmed ?
habit which some people have got of misrepresenting
this church, and they cannot)
***' - r L? 1.1 r a
nop. yy nen 1 came kj orguuiu * u?us w ?
mail church and a big indebtednesa We f'
have now this, the largest Protestant church g
In America, and financially as a congregatiou
wo are worth, over and beyond all indebtedness,
considerably more than f150,000.
I have preached here'twenty-three years, M
and I expect, if my life and bealth are cou- ?
tinued, to preach here twenty-three years tl
longer, although we will all do well to re- q
member that our breath is in our nostrils, tl
and anj hour we may be callod to give an ?
account of our stewardship. All we ask for S
.the future is that you do your best, contrib- tl
Jnting all you can to the support of our insti- ?
tutioas. Our best days are yet to.come; our bI
greatest revivals of religion, and bur might- st
lest outpourings of the Boly Ghost We o
have got through the Red sea and stand to- tl
J ? ?>>? KonV- cUnninff thn cvmhftla P
uajr UU bUO VKUM MMia. ?
of victory. ?
Yes, twenty-three years have passed since ti
I came to live in Brooklyn, and they have C
been to me eventlul years. It was a pros- C
trated church to which I came, a church so C
fiat down it could drop no farther. Through r
controversies which it would be useless to
rehearse it was well nigh extinct, and for a c
long while it had been without a pastor. c
But nineteen members could be mustered to n
sign a call for my coming. a
As a committee was putting that call be- c
t fore me in an upper room in my house in t
{ Philadephia, there.were two other commie- *
I tees on similar errands from other churches 2
< in other rooms, whom my wife was enter- t
\ taining and keeping apart from unhappy t
collision. The auditorium of the Brooklyn 1
church to which I came defied all the laws o
of acoustics; the church had a steeple that u
"was the derision of the town, and a high
box pulpit which shut in the preacher as *
though he were dangerous to be let loose, h
or it acted as a barricade that was uanoces- d
sary to keep back the people, for they were b
so tew that a minister of ordinary muscle q
could have kept back all who were there. a
My first Sabbath in Brooklyn was a sad s;
day, for I did not realize how far the church c
was down until theo, and on the evening of s
that day my own brother, through whose s
t pocket l entered tha ministry, died, and the f
tidings or nis decease reacaea mraiv uuwi u
in the evening, and I was to preach at half v
past seven. But from that day the blessing t
| of God was on us. and in three months we c
, began the enlargement of the building. Be- o
fore the close of that year we resolved to
construct the first Tabernacle. It was to be d
a temporary structure, and therefore we t
called it a Tabernacle instead of a Temple, b
>TF hat should bo th9 style of architecture c
.was the immediate question. I had always a
thought that the ampitheatrical shape would v
be appropriate for a church. o
Two distinguished architects were em- t'
ployed, and after much hovering over de- n
signs they announced to us that such a w
building was impossible for religious pur- p
poses, as it would not be churchly, and tl
would subject themselves an 1 us to ruinous n
criticism; in other words, they were not si
ready for a revolution in church archi- ti
tecture. Utterly disheartened as to my n
favorite style of architecture, I said to the
trustees, ".Build anything you please, and I *
h must be satisfied." But one morning a p
V young architect appeared at my bouse and c
\ asked if we had yet selected a plan for our a
\ church. I said, "No, and what we want we p
\ cannot get." "What kind of building do you c
I want?' he asked. And taking out a lead a
Vjpencil and a letter envelope from my-pocket, d
an less tnan u minute oy a iew curveu lines v
12 indicated in the rough what we wanted. c
I^But," I said, "old architects tell us it can't ii
be dona, and there is no use in you trying." t
Ha said, "I can do it. How long can I have a
to make out the plausT" I said, "This even- i
ins at & o'clock everything is to be decided." s
.. At 8 o'clock of that evening the architect t
presented hi3 plane, end the bids of builder (
and mason were presented, and in Ave rain- t
utes alter the plans were presented they ]
were unanimously adopted. So that X 1
would not be in the way of the trustees dur- 1
fng the work I went to Europe, and when I <
Sit back the church was well nigh done,
ut there came in a staggering hindrance. ,
;We expected to pay for the new church by ;
the sale of tbe old building. The old one
had been sold, but jusc at the time we must 1
have the money the purchasers backed out
and we had two churches and no money. ?
, By the help of God and the indomitable g
and unparallelei energy of our trustees I
(here and there one of them present to-day, 1
but the most in a better worla), we got the i
jbuilding ready for consecration, and on t
September 25, 1870, morning and evening I
dedicatory services were held, and in the i
'oftnmfvjn +ho#>hi?dr*m witK snrMfc and millfci- I
tudinous voices, consecrated the place to 1
;God. Twenty thousand dollars were raised a
that day to pay a floating debt. In the
morning old Dr. Stephen H. Tyng, the
glory of the Episcopal Church and the
Cbrysostom of the American pulpit, preached
sermon which lingered in its gracious
effects as long as the building stood. He
; read enough out of the Episcopal prayer
book to keep himself from being reprimanded
by his bishop for preaching at a nonEpiscopal
service; and we, although belonging
to another denomination, responded with
heartiness, as though we were used to the
liturgy. "Good Lord, deliver us!"
During the short time we occupied that
building we had a constant downpour of
religious e wakening. Hosannah! Ten million
years in heaven will have no power to
dim my memory of the glorious times we
had in the first Tabernacle, which, because ?
of its invasion of ths usual style of church
architecture, was called by some "Talma^e's
Hippodrome,' by others, "Church of the
Holy Circus," and by other mirthful nomen"intnfo
'Rut it was a hiiildmor nerfect for
acoustics, and stood long enough to hava its J
imitation in all the large cities of America '
and to completely revolutionize church arch- I
tecture. People saw ttiat it was th"? common
pen* way of seating an audience. 1
Instead of putting them iu an angular I
church, where ezch one chiefly saw the back 1
part of somebody else's head, the audience
irere arranged in semicircle, so that thay
?uld see one another's factw, and the auditorium
was a great family circle seated
iround a fireplace, which wa9 the pulpit. It
an iron structure, and we suDDOsed fire
jroof, but the insurance companies looked
it it, and after we had gone too far to stop
n its construction they declined to insure it
uccept for a mere nothine. declaring that,
>eing of iron, if the inflammable material
>etween the sheets of iron tooic Are no engine
lose could play upon it. And they were
ight. During those days we educated and
ent out from a lay college under our charge
ome twelve hundred young men and
vomen, many of them becoming evangelists
ind many of them becoming regularly orlained
preachers, and I meet them in all
arts of the land toiling mightily for Gol.
One Sunday morning in December, 1872,
he thermometer nearly down to zero, I was
in my way to church. There was an ezcitenent
in the street and much smoke in the
>ir. Fire engines dashed past. Bat my I
nin i was on the sermon I was about to
ireach, until some one rushed up and told
ne that our church was going up in the same
ind of a chariot that Elijah took from the
anks of the Jordan, That Sunday mornng
tragedy, with its wringing of hands and
rozen tears on the cheeks of many thouands
standing in the street, and the crash
hat shook the earth, is as vivid as though
t were yesterday. But it was not a perfect
3SS.
All are anxious to do something, and as
n such occasions sensible people are apt to
o unusual things, one of the members, at
he risk of his life, rushed in among the
alien walls, mounte 1 the pulpit and took a
lass of water from the table ana nrouznt it
1 safety to the street. 80 you see it was
ot a total loss. Within an hour from
lany churches came kind invitations to ocupy
their buildings, and hanging against a
imppost near the destroyed building, beDre
12 o'clock that morning, was a board
rith the inscription, "The congregation of
Irooklyn Tabernacle will worship to-night
1 Plymouth Church."
Mr. Beecher made the opening prayer.
?hich was full of commiseration for me and
ly homeless flock, and I preached that night
tie sermon that 1 intended to preach that
lorning in my own church, the text consrning
the precious alabaster box broken
t the feet of Christ, and sure enough we
ad one very precious broken that day. We
ere, as a church, obliterated "But arise
nd build," said many voices. Another
rchitect took the amphitbeatrical plan of a
hurch, which in the first instance was neo
jsarily somewhat rude, and developed It
ito an elaborate plan that was immediately
dopted.
But how to raise the money for such an
zpensive undertaking was the question?
rpensive not because of any senseless
dornment proposed, but expensive because
f the immense size of the building needed
} hold our congregation. It was at that
ime when for years our entire country was
affering, not from a financial panic, but
rom that long-continued financial depression
rhich all business men remember, as the
loud hung heavy year after year and comlercial
establishments without number went
own. Through what struggles we passed
tie eternal God and some brave souls to-day
am ember. Many a tima would I have gladr
accepted calls to some other field.
u& I could not leave the Qocic in tne wuaere$p.
At last, after, in the interregnum, having
'crihiped in our beautiful Academy of
tusic, on the morning of February 22, 1S74,
ae anniversary of the Washington who conuered
impossibilities and on the Sabbath
sat always celebrates the resurrection, Dr.
lyron Sunderland, Chaplain of the United
tates Seaate, thrilled as through and
irough with a dedicatory sermon from
la^gai ii., 9. "The glory of this house
sail be greater than that of the former,
xith the Lord of Hosts." The corner stone
f that building had bean laid by the illusrious
and now enthroned Dr. Irenssus
'rime. On the platform on dedication day
it, among others, Dr. Dowling, of the fiapist
Church, Dr. Crook, of the Methodxst
Jhurch, Mr. B^eecher, of the Congregational
Thurch, and Dr. French, of the Presbyterian
Ihurch. Hosannahl Another 935,000 was
aised on that day.
The following Sunday 328 souls were reeived
into our communion, mostly on
onfession of faith. At two other commulions
over 500 souls joined at each one. At
nother ingathering 828 souls entered this
ommunion. and so many of those gathered
hrongs have already entered heaven that
re expect to feel at home when we get there.
Ivlmyl Won't we be glad to see theru?
he men *nd women who stood by us in days
hat were dars and days that were jubilant!
losannah! The work done in that church
n Schermerhorn street can never be
indone.
What) self sacrifices on the part of many,
rho cave almost till the blooa came! What
lallelujabsI What victories! What wedingmarchesplayed
with full organ! What
laptismsl What sacramental What obseuiea!
One of them on a snowy Sabbath
fternoon, when all Brooklyn seemed to
ympathize, and my eldest son, bearing my
wn name, lay beneath the pulpit in the last
leep, and Florence Rice Knox sing, and a
core of ministers on and around thd platorm
tried to interpret how it was besc that
ne who had just come to manhood, and
nth brightest worldly prospects, should be
aken and we left with a heart that will not
ease to ache until we meet where tears
.ever fall.
That second Tabernacle! What a stupendous
reminiscence 1 But, if the Peter of my
ext had known what an undertaking it is to
mild two tabernacles he would not have
iroposed two, to say nothing of three. As
n anniversary sermon must needs be sornerhat
autobiographical, let me say I have
tot been idle. Daring the at&niling of those
iro Tabernacles fifty-two books, under as
lany titles, made up from my writings,
-ere publisoed. During that time also I was
ernutted to discuss all the great questions of
le day in all the great cities of this conti*
ent, and in many of them many times, bodes
preaching and lecturing ninety-six
irnea in England, Scotland and Ireland in
inety-four days.
Daring all that time, as well as since, I
ras engaged in editing a religious newsaper,
believing that such a periodical was
apable of great usefulness, and I have been
a?:i I
constant coniriuutor uu u??i9|?)iiiio buu
eriodic&ls. Meanwhile all things had beome
easy in the Brooklyn Tabernacle. On
, Sabbath in October, 1889, I announced to
ay congregation that I would iu a few
reeks visit the Holy Land, and that the offlers
of the church had consented to ray goog,
and the wish of a life to me was about
o De fulfilled. The next Babbath morning,
ibouE 2 o'clock, or just atter midnight, a
ember of my household awakened me by
aying that there was a strange light in the
iky. A thunderstorm had left t&e air full
>f electricity, and from horizon to horizon
everything seemed to blaze. But that did
lot disturb me, until an observation taken
:rom the cupola of my house declared that
the second Tabernacle was putting on red
ivings.
I scouted the idea and turned over on th?
pillow tor another sleep, but a number of
szcited voices called sie to the roof, and I
1. j I?I- ?ka ni'/tk#
went up ana mw vicat tjr uouuou iu vuo ui^u?
the fiery catafalque of our second Tabernacle.
When I saw that I said to my family.'
I think that ends my work in Brooklyn.
Jurely th9 Lord will not call a minister to
raild three churches in one city. The buildup
of one church generally ends the usefulles*
of a pastor. How can any one preside
it the building of three churches?" But
>efore twenty-four hours had passed we
vere compelled to cry out, with Peter of
ny text, "Let us build three tabernacles."
?v e must have a home somewhere. The old
ite had ceased to be the center of our congregation,
and the center of the congregaion,
as near as we could find it, is where w?
low stand.
Having selected the spot, should we build
m it a barn or a tabernacle, beautiful and
iommodioas? Our common sense, as well as
>ur religion, commanded the latter. But
vhat push, what industry, what sk>"JJ. what
acriflce, what faith in God were necessary!
impediments and hindrances without num>er
were thrown in the way, and had it not
>een for the perseverance of our church offi:ials,
and the practical help of many people,
ind the prayers of millions of gooi souls in
ill parts* of the earth, and the blessing of
Umighty God, the work would not have
>een done. But it is done, and all good
1 4.1 j 4 s?1
JOUJJiO wuu UCUW1U bUU bu UO'DUI'H iWl 1U binu
learts, if they do not utter it with their lips,
'How amiable are Thy tabernacles, 0 Lord
?f Hosts!" On the third Sabbath of last
Vpril this church was dedicated. Dr. Hamlin,
>f Washington, preaching an insoirinz sernon,
Dr. Wendell Prime, of New York,
iffering the dedicatory prayer, and some
ifteen clergymen during the day taking
>art in the services. Hosannah!
How suggestive to many of us are the
vords spelled out in flowers above the pul>it?1-1869"
and "1802" ?for those dates
>ound what raptures, what griefu, what
*
m struggles, what triumphs. r mention It as a |
matter of gratitude to God that in these
twenty-three years I have missed but one
Sabbath through physical indisposition, and
but three in the thirty-sir years of my ministry.
And now, having reached this
twenty-third, milestone. I start anew. I
have in my memorandum books analyses
of more sermons than I have ever yet
preached, and I tiave preached, as near as I
can tell, about 3380
During these past years I have learned two
or three things. Among others I have
learned that "all things work together for
good." My positive mode of preaching has
sometimes seemed to stir the hostilities of all
earth and hell. Feeling called upon fifteen
years ago to explore underground New York
city life, that I might report the evils to be
combated, I took with mo two elders of my
church and a JNew r ork police commissioner
and a policeman, and 1 explored and reported
the horrors that needed removal and
the allurements that endangered our young
men. There came upon me an outburst of
assumed indignation that frightened almost
everybody but myself. That exploration
put into my church thirty or forty newspaper
correspondents from north, south,
I east and west; whioh opened for me new
| avenues In which to preach the Gospel that
otherwise would never have been opened.
Years passed on and I preached a series
of sermons on Amusements, and a false report
o? what I did say?and one of the sermons
said to have been preached by me was
not mine In a single word?roused a violence
that threatened me with poison and dirk
and pistol and other forms of extinguish*
ment, until the chief of Brooklyn police, i
without any suggestion from me, took possession
of the church with twenty-four po
llcemen to see that no harm was done. That
/woltanusnt i-inonoH mnntT riruira whlnh T an- I
tared for preaching the Gospel.
After awhile cam* an ecclesiastical trial.
In which I was arraigned by people who did
not like the way I did things, and although I
was acquitted of all the charges, the contest
shook the American church. That battle
made me more friends than anything that
ever happened and gave me Chistendom and
more than Christendom for my weekly
audinnce. On the demolition of each church
we got a better and a larger church, and not
a disaster, not a caricature, not a persecution,
not an assault, during all these twenty*
three years, but turned out for our advantage,
and ought I not to believe that "all
things work together for good?' Hosannah 1
Another lesson I have learned during these
twenty-three years is that it is not necessary
to preach error or pick flaws in the old
Bible in order to get an audience; the old
Book without any fixing up is good enough
for me, and the higher criticism, as it la
called, means lower religion. Higher
criticism is another form or infidelity, and
its disciples will believe less and less, until
many of them will land in Nowhere and
become the worshipers of an eternal 11 What
is it." The most of these higher critics seem
to be seeking notoriety by pitching into the
Bible. It is such a brave thing to strike
your grandmother. The old Gospel put in
modern phrase, and without any of the
conventionalities, and adapted to all the
wants and woes of humanity, I have found
the mightiest magnet, and we have never
lacked an audience.
Next to the blessing of my own family I
necnnnt the blessinc that I have always had
a great multitude"o? people to preaoh to.
That old Gospel 1 nave preachea to you
these twenty-three years of rav Brooklyn
pastorate, and that old Gospel I will preach
till I die, and charge my son, who is on the
way to the ministry, to preach it after me,
for I remember Paul's tnunderbolt, "if any
man preach any other Gospel, let him be
accursed." And now. as I stand here on my
twenty-third anniversary, I see two audiences.
The one is made up of all those who
have worshiped with us in the past, but have
been translated to higher realms.
What groups of children?too fair and too
sweet and too lovely for earth, and the Lord
took them, but they seem present to-day.
The croup has gone out of the swollen throat
and the pallor irom the choek, and they have
on them the health and radiance of heaven.
Hall, groupsof glbrified children! How glad
1 am to have* you come back to us to-oavl
And here sit those aged ones, who departed
Eh 13 lire leanns, au awtui vacancy in noma
and churoh. Where are your staffs and where
are your gray locks, and where you stooping
shoulders, ye blessed old folks? "Oh ?' they
say, "we are all young again, and
the bath in the river from under the throne
has made us agile and bounding. In the
place from whlcn^we come they use no staffs,
but scepters!" nau, racaarsana motners ii\
Israel; bow glad we are to have you coma
back to greet us. But the other audience I
see in imagination is made up of all those to
whom we nave bad opportunity as a church,
directly or indirectly, oC presenting the
Gospel. Yea, all my parishes seem to come
back to-day. The people of my first charge
in Belleville, New J srsey. The people of my
second charge in Syracuse, New York. The
people of my third charge in Philadelphia.
And the people of all these three Brooklyn
Tabernacles. Look at them, and all those
[ whom, through the printing press, we have
invited to God and heaven, now seeming to
sit in galleries above galleries, fifty gallleries,
a hundred galleries, a thousand galleries
high.
I greet them all In your name and in
Christ's name, all whom I have confronted
from my first sermon in my first village
charge, where my lips trembled and my
knees knocked togethef from affright, speaking
from the text, Jeremiah i., 6, "Ah, Lord
God, behold I cannot speak, for I am a
child! "until the sermon I preach to-day from
Luke ix., S3, "Let us make three tabernacles,"
those of the past and the present, all
gather in imagination, if not in reality, all
of us grateful to God for past mercies, all of
US sorry Tor miaimproved opportunities, au
hopeful for eternal raptures, and while the
visible and the invisible audiences of the
present and the past commingle, I give out
to be sung by those who are here to-day, and
to be sung by those who shall read of this
scene of reminiscence and congratulation,
that hymn which has been rolling on since
Isaac Watts started it one hundred and fifty
yfears ago:
Oar God. oar help in &ges past.
Oar hope for years to come;
Our shelter from the stormy olist.
And oar eternal houe.
WORDS OF WISDOV?
Avarice ia a greedy egotism.
Morning is the rosebud of day.
Love is an unforgetable emotion.
wnats money wituoui. nappmesnr
Marriage is materialized moonshine.
Youth brightens as it takes its flight.
Stubborn audacity is the last refuge ol
guilt.
Women are weapons of offense and defense.
No man ever loved a woman while he
was busy.
The hardest headed man was born witb
a soft spot.
No mun can be a hero when his liver
is out of order.
Manners are the final and perfect flowei
of noble character.
It is not always the man who looks like
a fooi who is one.
I There is no time in life when books do
not influence a man.
It is gentle manners which prove so irresistible
in women.
It is hard to find fault with people
who think just jib we do.
To endeavor to forget anyone is the
certain way to think of nothing else.
Little minds are too much wounded by
little things; great minds sec all, and arc
not even hurt.
Blessed be mirthfulness! It is one of
the renovators of the world. Men wili
let you abuse them if only you will make
them laugh.
The moment a man finds a contradiction
in himself between his amusements
and his humanity, it is a signal
that he should give thein up.
Every man who can be a flrst-rato
;something?as every man can be who is
;a man at all?has no right to be a fifth'rate
something; for a fifth-rate something
lis no better than a first-rate nothing.
??;v .7-"
SABBATH SCHOOL
INTERNATIONAL LKSSOitf FOP
APRIL 24.
Lesson Text: "The Lord Is My Shepherd,''Psalms
xxiii., 1-6?Gold*
eiiText: Psalms xxiil.,
1?Commentary.
1. "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not
want" Inasmuch as this psalm come3 between
one that describes thedea?h and resurrection
of the Christ, and one that speaks
of the fullness of the earth belonging to the
King of Glory, it looks as if this, too, was a
kingdom psalm. It is one of the most helpful
and practical of all the psalms for the
daily life, but we are constantly enjoying
kingdom truth by anticipation, "it is true
for us now in a measure, but the fullness of
fulfillment is yet future. David knew how
he cared for his sheep, how he fed
them, protected them, led them and
all but laid down his life for them. He
firmly believed that in much greater degree
Jehovah as a shepherd cared for him.
He is the good, great, chief Shepherd, who
actuary laid down His life for the sheep,
rose again from the dead, knows all His
sheep by name, seeks them when they go
astray, will never lose one of them, and
when He appears in glory will reward all
the under shepherds who have beefl faithful
Lo Him (John x., II, 14, 27-30; Heb. xiii., 20;
Luke xv., 6: Pec. v., 4). No good thing will
He withhold from any who are truly Hi?,
tut will supply all their needs according to
His great riches (Ps. lxxxiv., 11; xxxiv., 10;
Phil, iv., 19). To believe heartily and live
daily upon this one verse would bring joy to
many a sad heart. A statement like this
toac aoes not ormg us joy ana peace 13 simply
not believed. As to what the chief Shepherd
will do for Israel when He comas in
His glory read Isa. xl., 9-11; Ezek. xxriv.,
11-23.
2. "He maketb me to lie down in green
pastures; He leadeth me besido the still
waters." Or, as in the margin, pastures of
tender grass and waters of quietness. VVhen
sheep lie down in good pasture they must be
abundantly satisfied, and with quiet water
close at hand what more can they want?
What glories of millennial blessedness are
here foreshadowed for Israel! and they shall
dwell safely and none shall make them
afraid (Ezek. xxxiv., 13-15, 28). ? No more
hunger nor thirst, and the Lamb in the
midst of the throne shall feed them and
shall lead them into living fountains of
waters (Rev. vii., 16, 17). But what about
the believer now? Jesus Christ Himself is
not only our Redeemer, but He is also our
green pasture and fountain of living
waters. "He that eateth Me shall live by
Me." ' and "He that eateth Mv flesh and
drinketh My blood dwelleth in Me, an d I in
him," and "the water that I shall give
him shall be in him a well of water springing
up into everlasting life" (John vi., 56,
57; iv.. 14).
3. "He restoreth my soul; He leadeth me
in the paths of righteousness for His name's
sake." He is the great restorer, and when
He comes again He will restore all things of
which the prophets have spoken. Then a
King shall reiga in righteousness and princes
shall rule in judgment. Righteousness shall
be the girdle of His loins and faithfulness
the girdle of His reins (Acts iii., 21; Isa.
xxxii., 1; xiM 5). As to present experience,
as He is the only Saviour, so He is the only
restorer, and all our dealings must be person
ally wittt mmseir. oaivaaon, once ours,
cannot be lost. He gives ^imself to us and
He is ours forever; and where He truly begins
a work He will carry it on (John x., 27,
28; Phil. L, 6). But a very little thing may
interrupt our communion and cause us to
walk in darkness. The least turning from
righteousness will cause a cloud between
our souls and Him; but as all clouds are
earth born, let us live in the heavenlies
where we belong (Epb. ii., 5, 6,) and wa may
have uninterrupted communion. Or if a
cloud arose through our failure to abide
in Him, one truly penitent lock to Him and
He will restore our soul3 to conscious fellowship
with Himself and not a cloud between.
4. "Yea, though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death 1 will fear no
evil, for Thou art with me. Thy rod and Thy
statt they comfort me." Possibly there is a
reference to the awful valley of death that
shall be in connection with tho judgment
upon the enemies of Israel when it shall require
seven months to bury the dead. (Cojjpare
Ezek. xxxix., 12; Joel iii., 2.* In those
days Israel, the rod of God, shall be His
comfort (Ps. ixxiv., 2- ex., 2; Jer. x., 10;
Mic. vii., 14) As to the pi e<ent experience,
we can rejoice that the sting oi deatD, which
13 S1Q u our. IT , u-7-vM;, uob uecu taiou
away. Sin stung Jesus to death, and left its
sting in Him, so that death cannot now
harm any child of God. We may never die,
but, like Enoch and Elijah, be translated
body and soul (I Cor. xv., 51, 52). But
if Jesus snould yet tarry awoile and we pass
out trom the body for a little season, the
promise will be as good in death as it has
neen in life. "I, the Lord thy God, will
hold thy right hand, saying, Fear not I
will help thee1' (Isa. xiiJ, 13) To die is gain,
to depart and be with Christ is far better.
Absent from the body is present with the
Lord (II Cor. v., 8; Phil, i., 21, 23). Not for
one moment will the Saviour leave us, so
that abiding in Him there may not even be
a shadow. Many have found it so, and found
it sunshine all the way.
5. "Thou preparest a table before me in
the presence of mine enemies; thou anointest
my head with oil; my cup runneth over."
Following for a moment the kingdom line of
truth we turn to Isa. xxv., 6-9, and at the
very time of the overthrow of Israel's enemies
we read of a great feast for the people
of Go.l. Zjch. xiv., ani Rev. xix., maybe
read in the light of this with great profit.
The anointing speaks of priest* and things,
and suggests I?a. lxi.. 6 for Israel and Rev.
v., 9, 10 for the church, in connection with
Ps. ex., 4 for Him who i3 both King of Israel
and head of the church. As to the daily li fe
of the Christian, enemies are everywhere,
seen and unseen, but the soul that has
learned to feed on Christ has a continual
feast, even in the prosence of his enemies, as
He delighted in the Father's will and made
that His meat and drink (John iv., 34; vi.,
3S). Let us do likewise and our cups shall
run over
6. "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow
me all the days of my life; and I will
a wen in ine nouse ot uuo uoru iwravoi .
Israel shall dwell safely in her own land;
they shall obtain joy aud gladness, and sorrow
and sighing shall flee away (Isa. xxxv.,
10). The church shall dwell in the New Jerusalem,
the glory of God will lighten it and
the Lamb be the Jight thereof (Rev. xxi., 23).
The goodness and mercy of the Lord shall
fill the whole earth; we shall see it and eujoy
it in all the vigor and freshness of eternal
youth if only we are redeemed by the pi toious
blood of the Lamb. As to the present
life "He who spared not His own Son bat
delivered Him up for us all, how shall Ho
with Him also freely give us all thuti?'J'
And inasmuch as all things are for oar
sakes, and working together for our good,
and He will never leave us nor forsake us,
how can it be anything but goodness and
mercy all the way along to all who are the
house of Christ??Lesson Helper.
Greece has within her borders
little more than 2,000,000 people, but
there are some 10,000,000 of Greeks
in the world, chiefly in the Turkish
Empire or in countries bordering on
it. Epiras and Thessaly and the Island
of Crete are decidedly Greek in
i n n mm (to nnrt svmnafchv. while
iuuftuuftv r- * ?
conflicting claims are made by Greeks
and Bulgarians for preponderance in
Macedonia and even in parts of Roumania.
Greece's great past makes
her people ambitious of a great future
and they never cease to dream of
once more having Constantinople as
the national capital. That will probably
ever remain a dream, for Russia
and Austria bar the way. But the
present crisis at Athens probably involves
some secret move regarding
the carving up of Turkey which will
be revealed beforo .loner.
circ did ?tan u?.v
Jones?You didn't get out to the
meeting last night?
Brown?No. Circumstances over
which I had no control prevented me
"That so? What were they?"
"Twins."?Exchange.
V - -f
" . * /
RELIGI0US_READIN6.
HOLD THE TRAIN.
((AfiiJowi tpa mlac fhp trfiin ftf R ^
"But can't you make it. sir?" she gasped.
"Impossible! it leaves at three,
And we are due at quarter past."
"Is there no way? Oh, tell me, then,
Are you a christian?" "I am not."
"And are there none among tbe men
Who run the train?" ''No?I forgot?
I think tbe fellow over here,
Oiling the engine claims to be."
She threw upon the engineer
A fair face, white with agony.
"Are you a Christian?" ''Yes, I am."
"Then, 0 sir, won't you pray with me,
All the long way that God will stay,
That God will hold tbe train at B ?"
" 'Twill do no good; its due at three,
And"?"Yes but God can bold the train,
My dying child is calling me,
And I must see her face again;
Oh, won't you pray?" "I will"?a nod
Empbauc. as he takes his place.
When Christians graup the nnnd of God
They grasp the power that rules the race
Out from the station swept the train
On time?swept on past wood and lea;
The engineer with cheeks aflame,
Prayed, "O Lord, hold the train at B !'
Then flung the throttles wide, and like
mAliotao Af fhn nldtn
OUUic f&iaiib uiwnoiti Vi
With panting siden ana mighfy strides,
Past hill and valley ? wept the train.
A half?a minute?two?are gained.
, Along those burnished lines of steel
wis glances leap, each nerve is strained,
And still he prays with fervent zeal.
Heart, hand and brain, with one accord,
Work while his prayer ascends to heaven.'
"Just bold the train eight minutes, Lord,
And I'll make up the other seven."
With rush and roar through meadow lands,
Past cottage home and green hillsides,
The panting thing obeys bis hands,
And speeds along with giant strides.
* # + #
They say an accident delayed
The train a little while; but He
Who listened while His children prayed,
Iu answer, held the train at B
?TNcw Orleans Picayune.
HELPING THE MINISTER.
Wallace is seven years old. Ever since he
nrnn fhrp*. he has been a Sunday school boy.
He loves Sunday school; but, till lately, has
not liked going to church.
It was so much pleasanter he thought to
stay at home, as he was sometimes allowed,
with mamma, who is an invalid, and listen
to her stories from the Bible and 4,Our Little
Ones."
One day last spring a great change came
into Wallace's life; his papa, a machinist,
was suddeuly killed.
When thenext Sabbath came, Wallace
asked ''Mayn't I come home after Sunday
school and stay with you?"
But his lonely, heart-broken mamma had
the courage to any, "No, my ton. Remember
papa will not be there todav; and when I
the minister looks from bis pulpit, and sees
the empty seat, it may trouble him. I think
he will like to see you in papa's place."
So that morning, at the close of Sunday
school, the little man went at once up-stairs
and took the seat his father bad occupied
from week to week, with rare exceptions,
for years back.
After, service he harried home to tell his
mother: "I guess I helped bim a litte,
'cause he came and spoKe to me."
Since then, every Sunday, Wallace feela
that he has a place to fill in the church.
When, sometimes', the ushers brings stran?
A - 1 ?1 ?? U/vt? Kw tV?o Hnnp
gers to mac pew, me muc uv; vj m. .w.,
standing up makes bis slender figure very
small that tbey may pass in; but never gives
up "papa's beat" to auy one.
Not only tbe pastor, nut many of us, while
our hearts ache with pity, feel confident that
such a boy, with such'a mother, wi.l some
day take bis good father's place in the church
and tbe world.?[National Baptist.
SOUR APPLES.
To show how tbe joy of religion is proportioned
to the dfgree of it, I sometimes teli a
story. It is a parable most instructive, and
fully to tbe point, and therefore I cannot
help repeating it. It is a story of a man in
America who was fond of growing the
choicest apples. He asked his neighbor to
come up to bis orchard and taste his apples
which be greatly praised as the best in the
world. He asked bim again and again, and
still the friend did not come. He therefore
hinted that there must be a reason for bis
refusal. Well," said tbe other, "the truth
is, that one day as I was driving by your
orchard, I saw an apple or two that had
dropped into tbe road, and [ picked up one
and tas'ed it. and it was out of sight the sourest
thing in all creation. I am very much
obliged to you, but I have had enough for
one lifetime."
'Oh," said tbe owner, "do you know I
went forty miles to buy those sour apples,
and I planted them all along the hedge; for
I thought they would be good for the boys,
and keep tbem from picking and stealing,
they are a fine sort for that particular purpose.
But if you come and see me, I will
Jead you inside the orchard, and you w-ill
find a sweetness and a flavor which will fill
your mouth with delight." "I see," said the
other, "I see." Do you also see my drift?
All around the outside of religion there are
sour fruits of prohibitions, rebukes, repentances,
and self denials, to keep tbe hypocrites
out. Have you never seen how long
*" " M t?olinrtnii ft}*!
lb V pilll Hieir IHCtrs, ua 11 men >?.e.vu
rot agree with them? and that is because
tuey Uuve eaten the sour appies on the outskirts.
But, oh! if you would come near to
the faith and joy which are in Christ Jesus,
if you would give all your heart to heavenly
pursuits, you would find it quite another
thing/ Then would your heart "rejoice
with joy unspeakable, and full of glory."
OUR DEBT TO MISSIONS.
Why should you fee! a special interest in
foreign missions? Because of your special
indebtedness to them. This is one of the
many replies which rmy be given to that
question. Perhaps it is a reply which many
have never considered. You may thank God
for the long line of Christian ancestry from
which you have sprung. You may jro back
to the very times of the Reformation, and
count among the heroes of those days some
whose blood is Htlil coursing in yuur
But go further tban that. Imagine fifty of
your ancestors in a continuous line, gathered
in your own home. Let them stand 9ide by
side around tbe walls of one of your rooms;
first your grandfather, and so on to the most
remote. Now what group Lave you before
you? While the nearer part of the line embraces
the Christian ancestors of whom you
boast, at the farther end they are a line of
savages, ignorant, degraded worshipers of
Thor and Woden and the other gods of the
Holland marches, tbe German forest", the
Scandinavian mountains, or tbe British
Isles. Never were there more absolute
heathen beneath the sun. And what has
transformed that line into the beauties and
graces of Christianity which you enjoy? It
was the arduous," perilous, self-denying
labors of missionaries from the shores or tbe
Mediteranean, traveling tbe entire breadth
of Europe on foot, clambering over its
mountains, toiline through its weary forests,
sacrificing comfort and often life, that they
might proclaim to those wretched savages the
love of God in Jesus Christ. Never were
there more devoted missionaries. Some of
them have left their names on the scanty
annals of the church, but the most of them
left no record on earth, but a shilling one on
highYou
shall meet tbpm there, and mnv learn
from their lips the debt of gratitude you owe
the foreign mission work they wrought,
whose influences have reached even down
' T'"1" """ "Ail funnv fhflt:
10 your snivutiuu. nun wu j?u->-rv
debt lietter than by doing what you cun to
bring other heathen to the same sweet hope
in Christ which you enjoy? "Freely ye have
received, freeiy give."?["Christian Iutelligencer.
urifftnrt or raDles.
The superstition of the yellow
donkey of India, the story of the
swi.ft ass of Eastern Asia, the ass
of Dionysius and many other marvelous
ass stories, ~re all survivals of
that curious form of religious worship,
the adoration of the ass' head.
Kothtng sharpens the arrow of
sarcasm bo keenly as the courtesy
that polishes It; no reproach is like ,
that we clothe with a smile and pre- ,
?ent with a bow.
WILD DUCKS!
POINTS ABOUT THESE BIRDS OP
A IK AND WATER.
Three Groups of Ducks?Facts For
Duck Hunters?Fatal Curiosity
ot Canvas-Backs?Nests
of Ducks.
UCK8 are cosmoirmvo^n.
Few crea5flV*
I31 t"re8 pervade ao
ft' 'li/fl JmaD7 continents or
ff' ml ft 1/1 t.hrivp in mich #>t.
flL It !{ fh~Mf tremes of climate,
w .Wj The mallard is the
WhtoW" 8ame bird in EuWSSs^V
trope, Asia and
^America. Few
JM hifds, too, are better
? adapted to two elements.
We might
say "fly like a duck" as well as
swim like a duck," for I doubt if any
pigeon can pass a blue-winged teal down
wind. Endurance? From Labrador to
to Florida just for a change of air and
back again within a fortnight if the case
is pressing.
We have three groups of ducks, according
to the naturalists: 1. Hind toe
simple; these are the river ducks, all
vegetarians, and they never dive for food
?to these beloug the mallard, pentail,
teal, etc.?sexes much unlike. 2. Hind
toe lobed; these are the sea ducks?
purine fish frncn. crustAr.panfl?diviner for
them?but using also some grasses,
celery, etc.?canvas backs, eiders,
scoters, etc. 3. Bill narrow and notched
to keep the fish from slipping the wrong
way; these are the fish ducks, knowu as
mergansers?beautifully plumaged ducks
not often shot with us. Of course this
paper cannot go into description of
species. All ducks have strainer-like
teeth, a soft bill, with a horny nail at
the tip. Divers, with which they
WOOD DUCK.
are sometimes confused, have no
teeth, and a horny beak throughout.
Geese have the scales on the shins hexagonal
(reticulate), while those on the
ducks simply lap, like a shingled roof.
Perhaps to the hunter the most interesting
trait of the duck is the regularity
of its migrations ana its persistent fondness,for
certain feeding grounds. There
are places were ducks feed and places
where they do not, though ordinarily
one cannot see why one is not so good as
the other.
But there are times when ducks are
everywhere and anyone who shoots may
have a fine day's sport with little preparation.
Sometimes to a favorite roosting
place on a large pond they come
whistling in between sunset and dark.
Then take a stand, a strong shooting gun
of good weight and bore, the best powder
and the largest shot your gun will
pattern well, and reach out for any duck
that you can see the color-markings on.
Hold well ahead. It is fall and flight
combined, remember, as he sweeps to
the water's surface. Six to eight feet is
not too far if the range is long. The key
to success may lie largely in concealment.
Never dress conspicuously. If you can,
keep y$ur drab coat outside, and for extra
warmth put on more woolen under*
ii i-Mi-J
wear. dkuik iow u aujr tuaou ui
wounded float, for most ducks?especially
teals and red beads, circle again
over fallen friends, even after they nlay
have gone miles away. On dreary days,
with a northwest wind threatening cold
or snow, ducks leave the prairies, fields
and ponds for the sheltered creeks and
4'hug the lee shore in a storm." It may
be well to remember that ducks are said
always to alight against the wind, and
that you are moie likely to kill if you
Are just as they are about to drop than
if you wait till they have settled.
Of course it is well to have a retriever
when shooting duck9, but there are times
when it is too cold to use one much without
great cruelty, especially if he cannot
be allowed exercise. A waterspaniol is
good, a Chesapeake Bay dog better, but
if only occasional hunter your bird dog
should be trained to answer. The best
I ever saw was a pointer though that was
certainly exceptional. You are apt to
give your hunter rheumatism with much
of this sport. Always reshoot a wounded
duck till disabled, and do not chill or
di?pnurft<Tfi vour doer bv a loner, useless
?0" 9/ O W
chase, unless you are training a puppy.
Wounded ducks often take to the grasi
and hide deftly, when any dog that can
trail will prove useful.
It is well to learn to know by the style
of flight whether ducks are alighting j
near or going on by. If the flocks are
high?all tending the same way, maintaining
a constant attitude, shape, and
steady wing beat, you had better stay at
home that day, but if they swoop down
and up, break their graceful flock<shjpe
and change direction often, then it is
not "vainly the fowler's eye might mark
thy flight to do thee harm," aa Bryant
has it, for they intend alighting some- |
where Lear. One, too, should know j
something of the habits of individual '
species to be able to hunt them successfully.
This can only come of experience.
While all ducks feed promiscuously huddled,
the various kinds soon Hock together
iu their flight. Mallards may be
known by their size, pintails by the tail
plumes, teal by smallness and rapid wing,
wood duck by conspicuous markings and
?n.~_~ u_ morlo Tuhen friflht
UllJUo t?jr iuc ov/uuu liiu^w ? c ?
ened or the peculiar whistle of the wing
or curve of flight. It requires clo3e observation
tor all this. America is so rich
in her varieties of this game that it takes
an expert to classify many species of this
game after they are in hand.
Canvas-backs, have a curiosity liko (
that of the antelope of the plains, apd
can be induced sometimes to swim near
shoro by the display of some bright,
moving object. Little dogs are sometimes
trained to roll ludicrously in view I
of flocks, while the hunter lies in waiting.
This is a trick said to have been :
learned lrom the fox, who practises it
upon the ducklings. Mallards decoy
readily; so also do leal and red-heads, i
and all may be caused to come lower i
down by use of some of the excellent :
calls that can now be purchased. Some-j
times flocks can be made to swerve fori
ther in shore by placing some conspicuous
object far out, which they avoid, and tha
hunter in cornfield shooting,- which is
very uncertain sport, can sometimes tie
his horse for similar effect. A few decoys
well arranged are, of course, a great
help, but on water never set their heads
a a ^
UUWU vr 1UU. a uuua uiiicio iivui w
horse in this respect as well as others..
If you know favorite resorts build,before
the birds come, blinds of brush of cornfoddcr,
or sink a barrel flush with the
rtr&tl .f:A
HALLARD DOCK.
*' . 1
surface. Fine aport can sometimes be
obtained by having someone row you
around among the little swampy estuarioa,
especially in the spring after the mallard*
have paired bat not yet departed. In
shallow reed beds or among the wild
celery you can often wade out in high , i
rubbers and have some good shots.
The wood duck, which, like the poor,f <
is always with us, does not decoy well,
and its call is simply inimitable. la
sneaking along the banks of stream!"
watch well the bends or pools near a
large log. The "water-gap" is a favorite
place. So far as my knowledge goei
cms 13 me oniy UUSK. mas pervuta awaj
irom its neat, so you can look well on
over-hanging branches or logs projecting
from the water. It nests in trees. The
black duck also breeds in the South,anl
the butterball also breeds in trees. The
gad-well breeds anywhere, bat Alaska
and the Northwest are favorite resorts o?
most of the species. I have frightened
the pintail from her nest on the
praries of Dakota, whence in sad
plumage, barely able to fly, she betook!
herself to the lakelet that is always near.!
Hybrids of this bird and the mallard I . ;:i
have been frequently taken, and it ho*
been proved that these breed among' ~f
themselves. On these Northwestern'
lakes the young are found abundantly in
the middle summer, whore they thrive,i
and grow adept at hiding among the
reeds.
The style of duck nests vary with that 'fh
species, but with a fow exceptions they
are all lined with feathers from tha
birds'breast. The blackhead has only;
a few rude sticks, while the nest of the
eider is at the other extreme of comfort.
At first this downy lining is exclusively ;J
from the mother's plumes, but when thai
rapacious down hunters exhaust that thai
TEAL.
drake "bares his breast" in tho interest >|
of posterity. The eggs of all ducks are
unusually from six to tea?much like the
domestic birds iu coloring?with only;
one brood a year iu the Ugh latitudes.,
Perhaps those nesting in the South may
raise a second brood, but I hare seen no
rccord of it.?St. Louis Republic.
Trees Growing on a Court- House Tower
a numhftr of fine vounsr maples are
growing and flourishing on the courthouse
tower at Greensburg, lad., 135
feet above ground. For years they bavo
grown and multiplied, and recently began
to put forth the first leaves of returning
spring. There they hare stood unprotected
from the scorching rays of the .'/A
summer sun and the cold a&d freezing N<j
blasts of winter. No human band has
ever watered or cared for theiu. They
have depended solely on the element*
for their nourishment. .. f
A short tirno ago, says the New York
World, tb? court-house was repaired,
and tho architect decided that the roots
of the largest tree, which is about twelvo
feet tall and three Inches ib diameter at .- *
the butt, were loosening the heavy sand*
stone cappings of the tower. He d/>- ?
clarcd that in tho interests of public 3
safety and the future welfare of the
tower the tree must be removed. At
soon as the intentions of the architect
became known the citizens protested
against the proposed action, and in responsc
to the popular wish the grovo '
was left untouched.
THE TRESS OS THR TOWBK.
How the trees cam? to ^row on tbi?
elevated and unproductive spoc is
problem that has never been satisfactorily
solved. The tower, as stated, is
135 feet high, and is composed of solid
brick and stone masonry. The top is
covered with heavy sandstone bedded i?
cement. The prevailing theorv is that
seeds of the maple were' cirried either
by birds or the wind and deposited
in the crevices of the masonry. Hera
they sprouted and, watered by the de*
and warmed by the sun, gre>vand flour-i
ished like the proverbial peach. j