The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1891-04-30
DIR. TALMAGE'S SERMON.
SAVING WISDOM COMPARED TO A
PERFECT CRYSTAL,

Capitalization of Mercy.
New YORK, April 19.-The eager
ness to hear DR.. Talma Gc's sermons
at the Christian Herald services on Sum
day evenings in this city continues un-
abatcd. AS usual there was this even
ing dense mass Of people waiting out |
side the Academy Of Music long before |
the hour for commencement and every
seat in the huge building was occupied
in few minutes after the doors were
opened. Dr. Talmage had preached to
an immense audience in tho morning in
the Brooklyn Academy Of Music. Ills
text was: 1.-The crYstal cannot equal it'
Job. xviii: I.
Many Ofthc precious stone of tho Bibles
have come to prompt recognition. But
Tor the present l take up the less valua-
ble crystal. Job, in my text, compares
saving wisdom with specimen oft topaz,
An miidel chemist or mincralogist
would pronounce the latter worth more
than the former, but job makes an in
teligcnt comparison, looks ut religion and
then looks at the crystal and pronounces
the former rs OF lar superior value to
the latter. cNclaming in the words of my
text, "Ihe crystal cannot equal it,"
Now, 1t is not part of my sermonlc
design to dcprcciatc the crystal, whether
1t be found in Cornish mine or IIartZ
mountain or Mammoth Cave or linking
among the pendanta of the chandeliers.
The crystal is the star Of the mountain;
II 1t is tho queen OF the cave; it is the ear
drop OF the hills; 1t finds its heaven in the
diamond. Among all the pages of ma
tmal history there is no page more in
terestlng to me than the page crystallo-
graphic. But | want to show YOU that
Job was right when, taking religion in
one hand, and the crystal in the other,
he declared that the former is of lar
recommending it to all people and to all
ages. declaring: "Thc crystal cannot
equal it, In the first place | rema ri
that religion IS superior to the crystal in
cAaclncss. That shapclcss mass 0icrys-
TAI against which your accidcntly dashed
your foot is laid out with more exact
ness than any earthly city. There are
SIX styles OF crystallization and all of
them dvincly ordained. Every crystal
has mathematical precision. Gods
geometry reaches through it, and il is
Il square or it is rcctanglc, or it is Il
rhombold or in some way it hath 4 math-
cmatical figure. Now, religion beats
that in the simple fact that spiritual ac-
curracy IS more beautiful than material
accuracy. Gods attributes arc exact.
God'S dccr@cS exact. Gods manage
mcnt OF the world exact. Never count
ing wrong, though Inc counts the grass
blades and the stars and the sal ds and
the cycles. His providcnccs never deal
Ing with us prcpcndicuiarly when thos
rrovdcnccs ought to be obliuuc, nor
lateral when they ought to he vertical,
Everything in our life arranged with
out any possibility Of mistake. Each
llle siN-sdcd prism. Born at the
right time; dying at the right time.
There arc no ''happcn-so's" in our the
ology. If l thought this was Slip
shod universe would 80 cfazy. God
Is not an anarchist. Law, order, SYM
mclcry, precision, perfect square, a
perfect rcctanglc. Il Scrlcct rhOmbOid, a
perfect circle. The cdyc Of Gods robe
"igoVernment never trays out. There
are no loose screws in the worlds ma
chmery. 1t did not just happen that
Napoleon was attacked with indiyes-
ton at Borodlno SO that he became in
competent Tor the day. 1t did not Just
happen that John Thomas, the mission
airy. on heather island, waiting fer an
outht and orders for another misSiO lary
Tour, received that outfit and those or
dcrS IN box that lloatcd ashore, while
the snip and the crew that carried
the box were ncv cr heard OF. The bark
mg OF i. w. Robcrtson's dog, he tells
us, led to a line of events which brought
nm from the army into the Christian
ministry, where he served God with
World-rcnowncd usefulness. 1t did not
merely happen so. | believe in a par
tcular providence. ! believe Gods ee-
omctry may be seen in all our life more
IN,,N i, ,Inllz
JOB was right. 1.-The crystal cannot
equal It,"
Again | remark that religion is supc-
rior to the crystal Transparency. We
know not when or by whom glass was
lirst discovered. Beads Oft have been
found i'll the tomb of Alexander Severus.
Vases OF it arc brought up from the ruins
OF llcrculaneum. There were female
adornmcnts made out OF il 5000 years
ago-thOse ad0rnmcnts found now at
tachcd TO the mummics of Egypt. A
great many commentators believe that
my text means glass. Wha. would we
do without the crystal? The crystal IN
the window to keep out the storm and
let in the day-thc crystal over the watch
defending its delicate machinery, yet
allowing us to sec the hour-thc crystal
ol the telescope by which the astrono-
mer brings distant worlds so near he can
inspect them. Oh, the trlumphs of the
crystals in the celebrated windows of
Roucn and Salisbury? But there is
nothing SO transparent IN n crystal as
III our holy religion. 1t is transparent
religion. You put 1t to your eye and
you see man--his sin, his soul, his
destiny. You look at God and you see
something of the grandeur Of his charac-
ter. 1T Is transparent religion. Inlidcls
tell us it is Opaque? DO you know why |
they tell us it is opaque? 1t is because |
they arc blind. The natural man receiveth |
not the things Of God because they are
spiritually disccrncd. There is no trouble
with the crystal; the trouble is with the
eyes which try to look through it. We
pray for vision, Lord, that Our eyes
might be opened. When the cye-salye