Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-11-02
SOLOMON IN HIS GLORY.
VISIT OF THE QUEEN OF SHEBA
TO JERUSALEM.

iOIe Jus sermon ne eApOunUeu cnapter
OF the Acts of the Apostles. The opening
/ hymn begins:
! Grace! IT'S a charming sound,
Harmonious 20 the ear.
Heaven with the echo shall resound,
And all the earth shall hear.
The text was taken from !. Kings,x., 7:
'Behold the half was not told me-" The
! following is the sermon in full:
| Solomon mad resolved that Jerusalem
should be the centre of all sacred, regal and
commercial magnificence. He set himself
to work and m0nOpOliZed the surrounding
desert rs u highway for his caravans. He
built the city OF Palmyra around one of
4 the principal wells OF the East, so that all
the long trains OF merchandise from the
East We're obliged to stop there, pay toll,
and leave part OF their wealth in the
hands Of Sol0mon's merchants. He
named the fortress Thapsacus of the
chief part of the Euphrates, and put IN
der guard everything that passed there.
The three great products of Palestine
WINE, pressed from the richest clusters
and celebrated all the world over
| oil, which in that hot country is
the entire substitute for butter and lard,
and was pressed from the olive branches
until every tree in the country became an
! oil we'll, and honey which was the entire
/ substitute for sugar-these three great
/ products OF the country Solomon export
I ed; and received in return fruits and
! precious woods, and the animals Of every
cline. He went down to EziOn-geber
and ordered a feet OF ships to be con-
! structed, oversaw the wOrkmen ana
| watched the launching OF the hotilla
which was to go out on more than a
/ years voyage to bring home the wealth
] al fhn then kuo4un world Ia hoard that
| the Egyptian horses were large aud swift,
and l0ng-maned and round-limbed, and he
/ resolved to purchase them, giving $50
apiece for them, putting the best of these
horses in his own stall and selling the
| surplus to foreign potentates at
great profit. lie heard that
there was the best of timber
on Mount Lebanon and he sent out 1S0,-
600 men to hew down the forest and drag
the timber through the mountain gorges
to construct it into RATS to be fiOated to
Joppa, and from thence to be drawn by
oX-teams twenty-five miles across the
country to Jerusalem. He heard that
there were beautiful flowers in other
lands. He sent for them, planted them
in his own gardens, and 10 this very day
there are flowers found IA the ruins of
that city such as are to be found in no
other part Of Palestine, the lineal descend
| ants Of the very flowers that Solomon
planted. He heard that in foreign groves
/ there were birds OF richest voice and most
| luXuriant wing. He sent out people to
catch them and bring them there. and he
! put them into mis- cages.
Stand back now aud see this long train
Of camels coming up to the Kings gate,
and the OX-trains from Egypt, gold and
silver and precious stones, and beasts of
/ every hOot. and birds OF every wing, and
| fish of every scale. See the peaoOcks
/ strut under the cedars, and the hOrsemen
/ run, and the chari0ts wheel. Hark to the
/ orchestra. Gaze upon the dance. Not
stopping to look into the wonders Of the
/ temple, step right on to the causeway and
| pass up to SOlOmOn's palace. Here
we fnd ourselves amid collection Of
| buildings on which the King had law
/ ishe0 the wealth OF many empires. The
/ genius OF Hiram, the architect, and of the
! other artists is here seen in the long line
I ot,cOrridors and the suspended gallery and
| the approach to the thTone. IracerIed
window opposite traceried window.
/ Bronzed ornaments bursting into lotus
ana lily and pomegranate. Chap
| tiers surrounded by network Of
/ leaves in which imitation fruit seemed
suspended as in hanging baskets. Three
! branches---sO Josephus tells us-three
/ branches sculptured on the marble. SO
/ thin aud subtle that even the leaves
| seemed to quiver. A laVer capable Of
/ holding 800 barrels OF water on 600 brazen
Oxheads, which gushed with water and
/ filled the whole place with GOODNESS and
| crystalline brightness and musical plash.
Ten tables chased with chariot wheel and
lion and cherubim. Solomon sat on a
throne of ivory. At the seating place OF
the throne, On each end OF the steps, a
brazen lion. Why, my friends, in that
place they trimmed their candles with
snufers of gold, and they cut their fruits
with knives OF gold. and they washed
their faces In basins OF gold, and they
scOOped out the ashes with shOvels Of
gold, and they stirred the altar fires with
tOngs Of gold. Gold reflected IN the water.
Gold flashing from the apparel. Gold
blazing in the crown. Gold, gold, gold
OF course the news Of the ailluence OF
that place went out everywhere by every
caravan and by wing Of every ship, until
soon the streets Of Jerusalem are crowded
with curiosity-seekers. What Is that
long procession approaching Jerusaleml
l. think from the pOmp or 10 there must be
royalty in the train. I smell the breath
OF the spices which are brought as pres
ents, and hear the shout OF the drivers,
and see the dustcOvered caravan show
ing that they come from far away. Cry
the news up 10 the palace. The Queen Of
sheba advances. Let all the people come
out to see. Let the mighty men Of the
land come out on the palace
corridors. Let solomon come
down the stairs Of the palace
before the Queen has alighted. Shake out
the cinnamon and the saffron, and the
calamus and the frankincense, and pass
Il into the treasure house. Take up the
diamonds until they glitter In the sun.
The Queen Of Sheba aliRhts. She enters
the palace. She washes AT the bath. She
sits down NJ the banquet, The cup.bear-
crs bow. The meats smoke. The music
trembles IN the hall and through the cor
ridOrs, until IL mingles In the dash OF the
waters from the molten sea. Then she
rises from the banquet, and she walks
through the cOnservat0ries, and she gazes
on the architecture, and she asks Solomon
many strange questions, and she learns
about the religion Of the Hebrews, and she
then and there becomes q servant Of the
Lord God. She Is overwhelmed. Sho be-
gins 10 think that all the spices
she brought, ana an the
precious woods which are
intended 10 be turned into harps and
psalteries and into raillngs for the CAUSE
way between the temple and the palace,
and the $780, 900 IN mOney-she begins 70
think that all these presents amount 10
nothing In such a place, and she Is almost
ashamed that she has brought them. and
she says within herself: 81 heard a great
deal anOut this place and about this Won
derful religion OF the Hebrews, but 1 hnd
II far teyond my highest auticipations. l