THE TABERNACLE by M. Wood

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · May 24, 1877

THE TABERNACLE.

By M. Wood

The interest manifested by the Bostonians several months ago over the coming and preaching of Mr. Moody continued to the close. Thousands and thousands flocked to the Tabernacle to hear and see the great revivalist. Hundreds were turned away daily unable to obtain even standing room in the immense building. Long before the hour of opening the doors, thousands congregated around the building, waiting admission, enduring the pelting rain or the chilling northeast blasts, to say nothing about mashed toes and bruised limbs occasioned by the impatient crowd. Those nearest the entrances must have suffered the most excruciating pain by being pressed against the walls of the Tabernacle; and some received nearly fatal injuries in this way.

That the reader may judge somewhat of the immense crowds of people which impatiently waited an entrance to the Tabernacle, I would state that in seven minutes from the opening of the doors, over seven thousand individuals had passed within the building. Mr. Moody has completely won the hearts of the people, not as Absalom did, but (as they say) by his straightforward, practical, Bible truths, such as the following, for instance, which I extract from his sermon as published in the Boston Journal of April 27, 1877. His discourse was upon the ten commandments, which are represented as weights. He says,

“Now let us put in that next weight,—Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. How many are there in this assembly that love and reverence the Sabbath day? There are some who tell us that we have got away from the old Puritan idea into a liberal Christianity, that the Sabbath was made for man, and he should make the best use of it. ‘Let us have our institutions open, let us go out driving; a Sunday spent in the fields and with fast horses is better than a Sunday spent in church.’ Let me say right here, my friends, any nation that has given up this Sabbath has soon gone down. The only hope of this republic is to hold on to the Sabbath. It will be a dark day for this country when it gives up the Sabbath. A few years ago I was in France, and it was hard to tell when it was Sabbath. Everything went on as on any other day. I talked with some of the workingmen, and they said the poor man had no day of rest. Now look and see where France is. A few years ago it stood among the first of the nations, and now it is gone down, like Italy and Spain. It gave up its Sabbath, and God gave it up.

“If this nation gives up the Sabbath it will not be long before we go down. May God bring our nation back to the old Puritan ideas of the Sabbath. We do not want our trains running on the Sabbath. I do not know but that is the reason why railroad stocks have gone down. I do not see how a Christian man can put his money into a railroad that is running trains on the Sabbath. They say that business is important, but how much has Boston got by putting money into Western roads that run trains on the Sabbath? The time has come for Christian men to take a stand and withdraw from railroads that run Sunday trains. I think there is power enough in this country to preserve the Sabbath, and if not, I think the quicker we find it out the better. It will be a dark day when we give up the Sabbath, and give up to the foreigners and infidels that are trying to break down the Sabbath day. May God sink that truth into every heart.”

Can ye not see whither we are drifting?

M. WOOD.