The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1892-12-21
ASTRONOMY oFTHE BIBLE,r
The Subject Of q Sermon by Rev.
T. Dewitt Talmage, D. D.
On tho First Page OF the Sacred Book the
I Sun, Moon and stars Roll In-Then
the Scriptures Flash with tho
Aurora Borcaiis or North
ern Lights.

f
The following discourse was preached
by Rev. DR.. Talmage at the Brooklyn
tabernacle, being a first Of a series Of
sermons on God in the natural world as
disclosed in the Bible. The subject
chosen was ''The Astronomy of the
Bible, or God Among the Stars" the
text being from Amos, tx; 8: "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 .
Inat Is first-rate poetry from Amos,
the herdsman. While guarding his
hooks Mt night he got watching the
heavens ne saw stars above stars'
ana tne universe seemed TO MIN ike
great mansion many stories hign' silver
room above silver room, silver pillars
'Desioe SILVER pillars and WINDOWS Oh
sInS'f' ana turrets ana domes OF siiver
risIng ,nto tne immensities, ana .ne
'propnevs sanctined imagination Walks
'nrougn tnat great silver palace Oh tne
universe' unrougn tne hrse story,
.niouRn inc seconu STORY, .nrougn ene
'nno Story snrougn tne swen.ietn
sSory 'nrougn tne nunoreuon sDory,
snrUu.n .ne sneusanaen sory, anu
reaiizlng mat ooo Is the arcn.ec., anu
.aipen'er anu mason Q, al .nas up
neaseu spienuor' ne cries ouv III sne
wor.s ol .ne teAt; ~ Is nc .ha'
pu,lu.'h MS s.ories IN tne heaVen'
my hearers ~ Is time tnat we VIC
eneu oue ana heignoenea our reiiglous
.nouenA IN our puiP,'s anu our eao,
oa.l oiaSSes anu Snr's'ian "orA VI al
sores we ring ene cnsnges on iew
selses VI scripture un'., 'ney eAci.e no
,meress many Oh Vne pest par's Oh 1he
nipie nave never YET oeen preacned
from, OF lnueeo never no.'ceu' hence,
Vouay Oesin . se,'es VI eernons' no.
iof eonseouIise oaoua,n .nornnss' o.'
as u.s., oi'en as ~ .n,nH ~ oes. ior var,e'y
Ssne' G On 'ne As'ronoiny Ui 'nv pipie, OF
uou anong .ne ooars' .ne 0eoioBy "
Ine n,o,e' OF zoo among 'ne nosKsi ene
orh,.noiogy Oh 'ne oiDie, or uou among
the birds; tne ichtnyoiogy Oh the bioie'
OF uou among 'ne lsneSi 'nc romoiogy
Oh tne D,oie, OF uoo among 1ne Ut
cnaros' tne Precious stones Oh tne
bioie, or uoo among tne Ametnysts;
tne Oouchology Oh tne bioie' OF uoo
among the Sheiis; the Botany OF tne
bioie' OF eod among tne Flowers; tne
Chronology Oh tne biole' OF goa among
the centuries Inc iact Is that we all
nave spent TOO mucn time on one story
Oh tne great mansion Oh dods universe
we need occasionally 70 go upstairs or
downstairs In this mansion, downstairs
and In the cellar, stndy the rocks, or
upstairs ana see uod In some Oh the
higher stories. and learn the meaning
OF tne text when ~ says: It ne thas
puiideth his stories IN the heaven
Astronomy was born in Chaldea. Its
mother was Astrology, or the science of
foretelling events by Juxtaposition OF
stars. The orientals living much out
doors and in very clear atmosphere,
through which the stars shone especi-
ally lustrous, got the habit OF studying
the night heavens In tho hot SEASONS
caravans journeyed chiefly at night,
and tha. gave travellers much oppor-
tunity OF stellar information On the
first page OF the Bible the sunand moon
and stars roll in. The sun, body near
ly three million miles in circumference
and more than twelve thousand times
as large as our earth; the moon, more
than two thousand miles In diameter.
But God Is used TO doing Things on such
an omnipotent scale that He takes only
one verse TO tell OF this stellar and lunar
manufacture Yea, In three words all
the other worlds are thrown in. The
record says: Tho stars alsol" IL takes
whole pages for man to extol the
making Of telescope ora microscope or
q magnetic telegraph, or threshing
machine, or to describe the fine paint
ing or statue, but 1t was 20 easy for God
TO hsng the celestial upholstery that
the story is compassed in one verse:
God made twogreat lights, the greater
light to rule the day and the lesser light
TO rule the night The stars alsol" As
tronomers have been trying 10 call the
roll Of them ever since, and they have
counted multitudes Of them passing in
review Of the observstories built at
vast expense, and the size and number
Of those heavenly bodies have taxed
TO tho utmost the scientists Of all ages.
ButGod finishes all He has to say about
them in three words, The stars alsoi"
That is Mars, with its more than fifty