The free press. (Poplarville, Miss.) 1890-19??, 1893-02-02
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINEs sun
DAY SERMON.
Subject, .'The Wall of Heaven"

Shall be frank and tell you what are my
designs on you today They are to make
YOU homesick for heaven: to console you con
corning your departed Christian friends by
giving YOU some idea of the briiilancy OF the
scenes in which they now conmln2ie; 10
give all who love the Lord more elevate
idea as 10 where they are gong 10 pass ele
most OF the years OF their exisVshct, anu -
set all the indifferent and neglected to quick
and immediate preparation, that they may
have it likewise.
Yea. it is TO induce many of our young
people to study a volume OF God that few
ever open. but without some acqua ntance
with which it is impossible to understand
the Bible-L mean the precious stones, tnelr
Capitalization, their powers OF reiractlon,
their cleavage, their fracture their ulster,
their phosphoresence, their transparency,
their infnity of color and shape, and what
they had to do with the welfare and doom
of families and the destiny of natlons-1ye,
~ positive revocation they maze or Go1
Himself.
u, text stands US in the presence of tho
most stupen1ous sp!endor OF th9 universe,
and that is the wal Of heaven, an says OF
its foundations that they are garnlsaed with
all manner of precious stones. All the
ancient cities had walls for safety, AMI
heaven has wall for everlasting safety.
You may say that wall made up OF all
manner Of precious stones is tguratlve, but
You cannot understand the force ana slgnlh-
canoe OF the figure unless you know some
thing about the real structure and color and
value of the precious stones mentIoneI.
Now. | propose this morning, so far as
the Lord may help me, TO attempt to climb
not the wall of heaven, but the foundations
of the wall, and ask you to join me in the
attempt to scale some OF the heights. We
shall only get part of the way up, but better
that than to stay down on the stupid level
where the most of us have all our lives been
standing. We begin clear down at the bot
tom and where the wall begins.
The first layer of the foundation, reaching
all around this city and for 1903 miles, is a
layer OF jasper. In ieel there is more OF
jasper in the wall OF heaven than of any
other brilliant, because it not only composes
a part of the foundation but MAKES W the
chief part of the superstructure. The jasper
is a congregation OF many co,ors. 1t Is
brown, it is yellow, it is green. it is verni-
ion, it is red, it is purple, it is blacF, and IS
so striped with coior5 that much OF It Is
called ribbon jasper.
It is found in Siberia and Egypt, but it is
rare in most lands and of great value for it
is so hard the ordinary processes cannot
break it Off from tIe places where it has
been deposited. The worAmen bore holes
into the rock of jasper, then drive into these
holes sticks of dry birch wool, and then
saturate the sticks and keep them saturated
until they swell enough to split the rock, aud
the fragments are brought out and polished
and transported ami cut into canoes AMI
put behind the glass doors OF museums.
The portraits of Roman emDeror5 were
cut into it. The finest inta Clio ever seen is
in the Vatican museum, the head of Minerva
in jasper. By divine arrangement jasper
adorned the breastplate OF the high priest in
the ancient temple. But its most significant
position is where it giows and burns ana
darlens and briShtens and breaches from
the lowest stratum of the wall of heaven.
Cad am that the very first row of stones
IN the wall OF heaven IS jasper o. many COZ
ors and il you like purple 1t is purp,e, AMI
if you like brown it is brown, and il you like
green it is green, ami if you like ocher yell
low it IS ocher yellow, AMI if you like YER
million it is vermillon, and il you like
black it is black. 1t sug gests to M that
heaven is a place OF all co'orS-c1lors OF
opinion, co ors of creed, colors OF skin, col.
ors of taste.
But we must pass up in this inspection of
the foundations of the great wall of heaven,
and after leaving the jasper the next pre-
cious stone reached is sapphire, and it
sweeps around the city 1870 mles. All lapi-
dares agree in saying that the sapphire OF
the Bibe is what we now call llpis lazuli.
Job speaks with emotion of "Fne place of
sapphires.' and Col thought 50 much of this
precious stone that He put it in the breast
plate of the high priest conmaniing. "Ths
second row shall tie an emerald. a sapphire
and diamond
he sapphire is a b,ue. but varies from
faintest hue to deepest ultramariue. 1t is
found pebble in the rivers OF Ceyion. 1t
is elsewhere in compact masses. Persia and
Thibet aud Burman AMI New South Wales
and North Carolina yiel exquisite speci-
mems. Its blue eye Is seen In the valley of
the Rhine. After a burial of th0usau Is OF
years it has been brought to sight in Egyp.
tian monuments and AssYrian cyiin lers
AT Moscow aud ST. Petersburg an | Ton-
stantiuope have seen great masses of this
sapphire, commonly called lapiS la2uii. The
closer you study its veins the more enchant-
ing, ami | do not wonder that tAe sapphire
is called into the foun iation OF the wall OF
heaven. IL makes a strong stone for the
foundation, for it is tue hardest of all min.
erals except the diamond.
Sapphire based on jasper, a blue sky over
a fierJ sunset. st. John points to it in Rev.
citation and says, The secon1 sapphire
and this suggests to me that though our
earth and all its furniture OF mountains AMI
seas ani atmOsp lereS ara to COLLAPSE an
vanish we will throuyI1u all eSern ty have
in some way kept the m1,t beautiful o.
earthly appearances, whether you take this
sapphire OF the second layer as literal or
fi2uraiive. The deep blue of our skies AMI
the deep blue OF oar seas must not. will not,
be forgotten. Ii thou.au years after the
world has gone to aS1ei Vol or | want TO
recall how the earthly skies !oDSe in sum
mer noon or the midocean IN a calm, We
will have only to Ioo6 at tle secont row OF
the fjundatioa of the wall Of heaven.
a 50 " to-