The Opelousas courier., 1890-08-16
REV. DR.. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DlvINE's SUN
DAY SERMON.
Subject; san Troublts Part"

TEXT. "IheTe PGS q TGtno0O roma
about the throne."-Revelation w., 8.
As, after might of fearful tempest at sea,
one ship, more stanch than another, rides on
unchanged among the fragments Of spars
and hulks that float about, 50 old Noah's ark,
at the close of the deluge, floats on over the
wreck Of a dead world. Looking out of the
window Of the ark, Jod sec the pianks of
houses, and the sheaves Of wheat, and the
carcasses Of cattle AMI the eorpses of men.
No tower is left to toll the burial; no mourn
ers to form in line CT procsssiop: no ground
in which to bury the dead. Sinking a line
twenty-seven feet long, you just touch the
tops of the mountains. GhastIiness and hor-
rorl The ark, instead of walking the sea,
like a modern ship, in majesty and beauty,
losses helplessly; no helm to guide; no sail to
Bet; nc shore to steer for. Why p~rotract the
when they might in one dash of the wave
have been put out Of their misery?
But at yonder spot in ths horizon we see
colors gathering in the sky. At just the OPP
posite point in the horizon other colors are
gathering. | find that they are the two but
tresses Of an arched bridge. The yellow, the
red, the orange, the blue, the indigo, the
the whole structure is hung into the sky, and
the ark has a trinmphal arch to sail under.
An Angel of Light swings his hand across
the sky, and in the seven prtsmatic colors he
paints with pencil of sunbeam the. ~everlast-
ing covenant between God and every living
creature. God lifted up that great arched
bridge and set it over his own head in the
heaven. John saw it, for he says: eThere
was a rainbow round about the throne"
] notice that none but the people who were
in the ark saw the rainbow It cast its shadow
clear down into the water where the people
were buried, and lighted up the dead faces
with a strange radiance, but they could not
- a a o. A-f- 4lznA -n1 ~ r. load F~rrn
in Christ, the Ark, will see the o~verspanning
glories of the throne. Hence you had better
get into the arki As you call your family out
at the close of the shower to show them the
sign in heaven, so | want you all at last to see
the grander rainbow rounda about the throne.
Look therer said Noah to his wife, sat that
bow in the clouds; and. Shem and Japhet.
look lookl-the green, the yellow, the red,
and the ~orangem l should not wonder if
some of your children in the good land should
| after a while cry out to you, HLook, fatherl
look, mother there is a rainbow round about
the throner' YOU had better get into the
ark, with all your families, if you want to
see it.
noticed also that the chief glory of God
comes after the rain. No shower, no rain
bow; no trouble, no brightness Of Christian
consolation. Weavers are sometimes, by
reason of their work, dusty and rough in
their apparel: and so it is the coarse clad tenn
pest, whose hand and foot swing the fhuttle,
that weaves the rainbow. Many Christians
| are dull and stupid and useless, becauise they
have not had disaster enough to Wakh them
up. The brightest scarf that heaven makes
is thrown over the shoulders of the storm.
| You cannot make a thorough Christian life
out Of sunshine alone. There are some very
| dark hues in the ribbon of the rainbow; you
must have in life the blu as well as the
orange. Mingling all the colors of the for.
-a- -oy,oc a rvIi4n 1i,rh$s ou1 ~ faEoe all
the shades and sadnesses and vieissitudes of
life to make the white lustre of a pure Chris
tian character.
Your child asks you: s'Father, what
makes the rainbow, and you say: sit is
the sunlight striking through the rain
drops Therefore / wondered how there
could be q rainbow in heaven, sine there
are no storms there; but then / conclude that
that rainbow must be formed by the striking
Of heavens sunlight through the falling
tears of earthly sorrow. When we see a man
overwhelmed with trouble, and his health
goes, and his property goes, and his friends
go, / say, Now Wa shall see the glory OF tod
in this good mans deliverance." As az Nj
agara Falls I saw. II day, ten ainbow
spanning the awful plunge of the cataract,
SO over the abyss of the Christians trial
hover the rich hued wings of all the promises.
/ notice that the most beautiful things OF
this world are to be preserved IN heaven.
When you see the last color fade out from
the rainbow of earth, you need not feel sad,
for you will seq the rainbow round about
the fhrcne. That story about the worlo
burning up has given me many a pang;
When / read that Paris was besieged, ]
said; aNow the pictures and statues IN the
Louvre and Luxembourg will be destroyed
al those faces of Rembrandt, and thost
bold dashes of Rubens, and those enchant
ments of Raphael ON Ii and those stat
x.oe ~ Cnnnxyn - Ba1t ie III nOf n more mel
ancholy thought that ruin is to come upon
this great glory of the earth. in which TIT
mountains are the chiseled sculptures, ant
upon the sky, In which the TRANSPORTATION
OF sunrise and sunset is hung with loops ant
tassels of fire?
/ was relieved when l found that the pict
ures had been removed from the Louvre ant
the Luxembourg, and I am relieved nov
when I think that the best partsof this earI
are either to be removed or pictured IN Tn
good land. The trees must twist IN the las
hre-fhe oaks, and the cedars and the NAPLES
but in heaven there shall be the trees OF III
on the bank of the river, and the palm tree
from which the conquerors shall pluck thei
branches. The Hudson, and the st. Law
renee. and the Ohio shall boil in the las
fame, but we shall have more than thel
baa,,tv in the river of life from under til
tI,roSe. The daisies, and the portulscas, an
tha roses of earth will wither in the hot sirot
RI III the Judgment, but John tells of the gal
lands which the glorihed shall wear, an
there must be flowers, or there could De Q
garlauds
The rainbow on cur sky. which is onl
the pillow of the dying storm, must be n
n II but then. glory be 70 God s'there
= rainbow round about the throne" | hav
hut to look up to the radiant arch above tn
throne Of God to assure myself that the mos
glorious things Of earth are TO be preserve,
In heaven. Then let the world burn, all tina
!, is worth saving will bs snatehe1 out OF To
fire.
I see the same truth set forth in the twelv
foundations Of the wall Of heaven st. job
. announces the twelve foundations OF Tn
red; the second, OF sapphire deep blue
the third, q chaicedony-a varied beauty
the fourth, emerald-a bright gree
color: the fifth, s~ardonyxa blnis
I white: the sixth, sardius--red and fiery q
{ seventh, chrysolits-golden hued; the eight
!. beryI-a blush green; the ninth, p
! pale green mixed with yelloW' ane tent
{ eleventh. iacinth-fiery as the sunset; g
! twelfth. amethyst. But these precious ston
! are only the foundation of the wall OF ne
9 ven-t6e most inferior part of it. On the Il
Z of this foundation there rises a mighty WI
!. OF iasper-of brilliant yellow and gorgeo
!, crimson. Stupendons cataract OF colo
Throne of spiendor and sublimityl
You see that the beautiful colors viii.
d are the robes Of glory to earth are to
2 forever preserved in this wall of heave
i Onr skies of blue. which sometimes seem
Is most TO drop with richness of color, shall
s plori6ed and eternized in the deep. everia
= Ing blue OF that fiery stone which forms
q second foundation OF the heavenly we
The green that sleeps Oh the broo
: snrsa5s i'll banners on the mountain Il
@ shan be eternized in the emerald that for