Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-08-30
SITTING ON THE CIRCLE.
TAIN AGE DELIVERS ANOTHER
SERMON AT THE HAMPrONS.

Men Bailding Churches Urged 20 Imf-
tate the Great Arohitect-The History
of the World Burning in "A Circle-Bad
Actions Sure to Come Back with the
Circuit of Years.
THE dAMPToNs. Aug. 29.-The Rev.
DR.. T. Dewitt Talmage's text to-day was
Isaiah XII, %: ''It is He that sitteth upon
the circle of the earth" Following is the
sermon:
While yet people thought that the world
was fiat, aud thousands OF years before
they found out that it was round, Isalan
in my text intimated the shape OF 1t! COO
sitting upon the circle OF the earth. Inc
most beautiful figure in all geometry is
the circle. God made the universe on the
plan of circle. There are in the natural
world straight lines, angles, parallelo-
grams. diagonals, quadrangles; but these
evidently are not Gods favorites. Almost
everywhere where you find Him geome-
arizing. YOU md the circle domi-
nant, and If not the circle then
the curve, which is cir
Gle that died young. If 1t had lived
long enough it would have been full ORB,
a periphery. An ellipse is circle pressed
only a little too hard at the sides. GIANTS
Causeway IN Ireland shows what God
thinks OF mathematics. There are over
$4,000 columns of rocks-octagonsl, hex
agonal. pentagonal. These rocks seem TO
have been made by rule and by compass.
Every artist has his moulding-room where
he may make fifty shapes, but ne chooses
one shape as preferable to all the others.
will not say that the Giants Causeway
was the worlds meulding-room, but do
say. out of great many ngures God
seems to have selected the circle as the
best: 'EIt is He that sltteth on the circle
of the earth" The stars IN circle, the
moon in a circle, the sun in a circle, the
universe in circle, and the throne OF God
the centre Of that circle.
When men build churches they ought
to initiate the ideas OF the great Archi-
tect and put the audience in circle,
knowing that the tides of emotion roll
more easily that way than in straight
lines. Six thousand years ago God flung
this world out of His right hand; but He
did not throw it out in a straight line, but
curvilinear, with a leash of love holding
it so as TO bring it back again. The
world started from his hand pure and
Edenic. 1t has been rolling on through
regions of moral ice and distemper. How
long ii will roll God only knows: but it
will in due time make complete circuit,
and come back to the place where 1t
started-the hand OF God-pure and
Edenic.
The history OF the world goes in a cir
Gle. Why is 1t that the shipping in our
day is improving so rapidly? 1t Is be-
cause men are initiating the old model OF
Noah's ark. A ship carpenter gives that as
his opinion. Although so much derided
by small wits, that ship OF Noah's time
beat the Etruria and the Germanic, Of
which we boast so much. Where is the
ship on the sea to-day that could outride
q deluge in which the heaven and the
earth were wrecked, landing all the pas
sengers in safety, two of each kind of liv-
ing creatures, thousands of species, Po-
mology will go on with its achievements
until after many centuries the world will
have plums and pears equal to the Para
disaical. The art of gardening will grow
for centuries. and after the Downings
and Mitchells Of the world
have done their best, in the far future the
art of gardening will come up to the ar
boresceuce of the year one. If the makers
of colored glass go on improving they may
in some centuries be able to make some
thing equal to the east window of York
Minister. which was built in 1890. We are
six centuries behind those artists, but the
world must keep on toiling until it shall
make the complete circuit and come up
W TIE shiII VI tuOoC vel uChs II bnC
world continues to improve in masonry
we shall nave after while, perhaps after
the advance OF centuries, mortar equal
TO that which saw in the wall OF an eX-
bumed English city, quilt in the time of
the Romans sixteen hundred years ago
that mortar to-day as good as
the day in which it was made, having out
lasted the brick and the stone. say, after
hundreds OF years Masonry may advance
to that point. Ii the world stands long
enough we may have CITY as large as
they had in old times. Babylon, five
times the size OF London. You go
into the potteries of England and you find
them making cups and vases after the
style of the cups and vases eXhumed from
Pompeii. The world is not going back
O, mol but IL is swinging in circle aud
will come back to the styles Of pottery
known so long ago as the days OF Pom
peii. The world must keep on progress.
ing until it makes the complete circuit.
The curve is in the right direction. The
curve will keep on until it becomes cir
Gle.
Well, now, my friends, what is true in
the material universe is true in Gods
moral government and spiritual arrange
ment. That is the meaning of Ezekieps
wheel. All commentators agree in saying
that the wheel means Gods providence.
But q wheel is OF no use unless Ii turn
aud if it turn it turns around, and if il
turn around it moves in a circle. What
then! Are we parts of a great iron ma
chine whirled around whether we will OF
not, tue victims of memorable fatef No
SO far from that, shall show you that
we ourselves start the circle of good OF
bad actions, and that it will surely come
around again to us unless by
divine Intervention il be hinderea
Those bad or good actions may make the
circuit ofmany years but come back to III
they will as certainly as that God sits or
the circle OF the earth. Jezebel. the wors
woman Of the Bible, slew Naboth because
she wanted his vineyard. While the dogs
were eating the body OF Na5oth, Elisha
the prophet, put down his compass anC
marked a circle from those dogs cleal
around to the dogs that should eat the
body OF Jezebel, the murderess. "lmpos
siDlep; the people said, 'that win never
happen" Who is that being flung out o
the palace window? JeZebel. A few
hours after they came around, hoping Il
bury her. They find only the palms o
her hands and the skull. The dogs tina
devoured Jezebel and the dogs that de
voured Naboth! Oh, what swift, wha
an awful circuit!
But It is sometimes the case that this
circle sweeps through century, OF
through many centuries. The world
started with theecracy for government
that is, God was the President aud Em
theocracy. They said: ave don't wan
God directly interfering with the affair,
of the world: give us a monarchy The
n mr. "A Ia