The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1892-12-20
AMONG THE STARS.
DIR. ZAEMXGH BREACHES ON BxBLE
"ASTHONOMY."
The Bible Flashes Like an Aurora Bore
alis-Lt IL Time We Widenod Our
Religious Thoughts.

Brooklyn, December 1S.0Speciai.) --Rev.
DR.. Talmage today preached the first of the
promised series of sermons on God III 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
9:f: 1T is he that buildeth his stores IN the
hayens" Preceding the sermon the gTeas
congragation sang Isaac Wattss hymn:
The heavens declare Thy glory, Lord,
In every star Thy wisdom shines.
That is first rate poetry from Amos, the
herdsman. While guarding his hocAs at
night he got to watching the heavens. he
saw stars above stars, and the universe
seemed to him like q great manson MANY
stories high. silver room above silver room,
silver pillars beside silver pillars, ana WIN
dows of silver and doors of silver, ana tur-
yets and domes of silver rising into the I'M
mensities, and the phophet's sanctitied inlaSl-
nation walks through that great silver pal
ace of the universe, through the first story,
through the second story, through the third
story. through the twentieth story,
through The hundredth story, through
She thousandth story, and realizing that 600
is the architect and capenter and mason OF
all that upheaved splendor, he cries out IN
the words OF the text: 1t IS he that Dulld-
eth his stories III the Ravens
My hearers. it is time that we Wldened oub
and heightened our religious thoughts. III
CIT nu,nits and Sabbath classes and Christ
ian work of all sorts We ring the changes
en- a few verses OF scripture until they eA-
cite no interest. Many OF the best parts OF
the Bible have never yet been preached from
-. x,,~;-o1 Efpppa I today
begin a series of sermons, not for consecu-
tive Sabb:, IN mornings, but as often rs 1
,biuk il best for yariety's sake, on the as
tronony Of the Bible, or God among the
stars the geology of the bible, or God
among the rocks the orIlltholoSy or tne Di-
BILE. or God among the birds, the lcnthyolo-
w of the Bible, or God among tue hshes, Tue
pomoIogy of the Bible, or GOD among Tue
orchards. the precious stones OF the bipie'
or God among the ametbysts, The cohchGio-
~ OF the Bib, or God among the shells,
"mong the flowers, the chronoi-
pgy Of the Bible, or GOD among
The centuries. The fact is that we have all
spent too much time on one story OF the
great mansion of Gods universe. We need
occasionally TO so Up stairs or downstairs
in this mansion; downstairs and III the eel
lar study the rocks. or upstairs and ee COO
fl some Of the higher stories, ana learn 'he
sneaning Of the text when 1t says: IL IS ne
Astronomy was born IN Cnaldea' 1's
mother was aStroiogy or the science OF l9Ea-
telling events by juXtlposluon OF stars Inc
0rientals, living much out OF DOORS; ana III
81 very clear atmosphere, through Nnlch Ine
stars shono eSpecially lustrous, got the hab-
il of studying the night heavens. IN the
hot seasons caravans J0urneyed cmeny at
might and that gave travellers nuch OPP
portunity of stellar information. on Tie
FIRST page OF the Bible the sun and moon ana
stars roll in. The sun, body nearly tnree
million miles IN circumference and more
tnau twelve thousand times as large as
our earth; the moon. more than TWO Chou-
sand miles III diameter. But S.ou IS USED
TO doing things on such an 6mmDotent scale
that he takes only one verse TO tell Oh th!s
stellar and lunar manufacture. lea III
three words all the other worlds are thrown
In. The record says, the stars as0! 1T
takes Whole pages for man to eXtoI the
making CT 4 telescope Or microscope or
magnetic telegraph or tbresnng m2cnIbc,
or to describe 4 fine painting or statue, nuG
it was SO easy for Sod to hang the celestial
upholstery that the story is compaSsed IN one
verse: God made two great lights, the
greater light to rule the DAY ana the lesser
light to rule the night. The stars also.
Astronomers have been trying to call the
roll OF them ever since. and they nave
counted multitudes OF them passing IN re-
view before the observatorles built at vast
expense, and the size ana number OF those
heavenly bodies have taxed to The utmost
The scientists Of all ages. But God finishes
all He has to say about them in three words
The stars also" That is Mars, with It's
more finn fifty-flve million square miles.
and Venus With its more thdn one hun
Crad .Gd nine-0ne million square miles.
and Saturn, with its more than nineteen
billion square miles. and Jupiter. with us
more than twenty-four billion square miles,
and ali tie planets Of our system of more
than seventy eight billion squara miles
and these stars of our system, when com
pared with the stars Of other systems, as
q handful Of sand compared witt, Rocky
mountains and MI tie Alps. The stars
ulso.' For brevi;y. for ponGerosity: for
spleDdcr, for suggeStiyenesS. fer subhlnIty
piled on subiimity, these words excel all Che
human speech ever uttered, or human I'M
agination ever scared after. THE sars
alson'It is Put In as you write 4 postcript-
something you thought Of aftefwards--as
hardly worth putting iDto the body Of 4 let
ter The stars also.
EC2l or r. yCur Bibles. and after awhile
the Iiibla flashes With the aurora bOrealis
or northern lights that strange illumination
as mysterious and underlined now as when,
in The book OF jon it was written: Men
see NOT The bright light which is IN the
cloud. Fair weather cometh out OF The
north While all the nations supposed thar
the earth was built On Il foundation OF some