The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1892-12-29
GOD AMONG THE STARS.
TALMAGE DISCOURsEs ON THE
ASTRONOMY OF THE BIBLE.

"A Trip to the Upper Stories OF Gods
House--Whatt the Stars Tell Us
OF God and His Greatness
The Birth OF Astronomy.
BROOKLYN, N. Y, Special-Rev. DR..
Talmage preached the first of the
promised series of sermons on God
in the natural world as disclosed in
the Bible. The subject chosen for the
initial sermon was 1.-THE Astronomy
OF the Bible, or God Among the Stars"
the text being from Amos tx. 6: "It
is he that .buildeth his stories in the
heavens. Preceding the sermon the
great congregation sang Isaac Watts
hymn: -
The heavens declare thy glory, Lord,
In every star thy wisdom shines.
That is frst-rate poetry from Amos,
the herdsman. While guarding his
f1ocks at night, he got watching the
heavens. He saw stars above stars,
and tho universe seemed to him like q
great mansion many stories high,
silver room above silver room, silver
pillars beside silver pillars, and WIN
dows of silver and doors OF silver,
and turrets and dOmes OF silver rising
into the immensities, and the prophet's
sanctified imagination walks through
that great silver palace of the universe,
through the first story, through the
second story, through the third story,
through the twentieth story, through
the hundredth story, through the
b thousandth story, and realizing that
God is the architect and carpenter
and mason of all that upheaved
splendor, he cries out in the words of
the text: cit is he that buildeth his
stories in the heaven"
My hearers, it is time that we wi
dened out and heightened our relig-
ious thoughts. In our pulpits and
Sabbath classes and Christian work
af all sorts we ring the changes on
few verses of Scripture until they OK
cite no interest. Many OF the best
parts OF the Bible have not yet been
preached from or indeed even noticed.
Hence to-day begin q series OF ser
mons, not for consecutive Sabbath
mornings, but as often as l think it
best for variety sake, on the astron-
omy of the Bible or God among the
stars, the geology OF the Bible or God
among the rocks, the ornithology of
the Bible or God among the birds
TIE ichthyology OF the Bible
or God amongst the fishes,
the pomology OF the Bible or God
among the orchards, the precious
stones OF the Bible or God among the
amethyists, the conchology OF the
Bible or God among the shells, the
botany of the Bible or God among the
flowers, the chronology Of the Bible
or God among the centuries. The
feet is that we have all spent too
much time on one story of the great
mansion of Gods universe. We need
occasionally to 60 upstairs or down.
stairs in this mansion; downstairs
and in the cellar study the rocks, or
higher stories, and learn the meaning
of the text when it says: cit is he
that buildeth his stories in the heav-
en-"
THE BIRTH OF ASTRONOMY.
Astronomy was born in Chaldea.
It's mother was astrology, or the
science of foretelling events by juxta-
position of stars. The Orientals, liv.
ing much out CT doors and in very
clear atmosphere, through which the
stars shone especially lustrous, got
the habit OF studying the night heav-
ems. In the hot seasons caravans
journeyed chiefly at night, and that
gave travellers much opportunity of
stellar information. On the first page
of the Bible the sun and moon and
stars roll in. TIL sun, a body nearly
100000 miles in circumference and
more than $4,000 times as large as
our earth; the moon, more than
1900 miles in diameter. But God is
used to doing things on such an on
nipotent scale that he takes only one
verse to tell of this lunar manufac-
ture. Yea, III three words all the 9th
er worlds are thrown in. The record
says, '"rhe stars also!" 1t takes whole
pages to extol the making of a tele-
scope or microscope or magnetic
telegraph or q threshing machine, or
to describe fine painting or statue,
but it was so easy for God to hang
the celestial upholstery that the story
is comprised in one verse-"God made
two great lights, the greater light to
rule the day and the lesser light to
rule the night. The stars also!" AS
tronomers have been trying to call
the roll of them ever since, and they
have counted multitudes of them pas
sing in review before the Observable
ries built at vast expense, and the
size and number of those heavenly
bodies have taxed to the utmost the
scientists Of all ages. And God finishes
all he has to say about them in three
words-"the stars also" That is
Mars, with it's more than 100000
square miles, and Venus, with it's more
than 100000 square miles, and
Saturn, with it's more than 19,OOO,-
100000 square miles, and Jupiter,
with it's more than 24,OO0,OOO,OO0
square miles, and all the planets Of our
system of more than IS, 900, OOO,O 900
square miles, and these stars of our
system, when compared with the stars
OF the other systems, as a handful Of
sand compared with all Rocky Noun
tains and all the Alps. 1.-The stars
also!' For brevity, for ponderosity,
for splendor, for suggestiveness Tor
.,,bl;ro;t1, ro;loI IN cY1hliritv ithaca