The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1893-02-02
AT THE TABERNACLE.
DR.. TALMAGE RESUMES HIS SERIES
ON GOD EVERYWHERE. Z

His Idea OF tho Twelve Stones Mentioned
by st. John as In tho Foundation of tho
Wall of the Now JerusaIem.
BROOKLYN, Jan. 22.-Dr. Talmage
returned from his southern tour OF preach
ing and lecturlng for ten days in Ken
lucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia
and South Carolina, and resumed his
course of sermons on God everywhere.
Having preached on "The Astronomy
of the Bible; or, God among the Stars"
1.-THE Chronology Of the Bible: or, God
among the Centuries" ;""Thc Ornithology
Of the Bible; or God Among the Birds, ="
he today speaks of "Thc Precious Stones
of the Bible; or, God Among the Ame-
thysts." Subject, 1.-The Wall OF Ilea
ven." Text, Revelation XII, 10, 1.-THE
foundations Of the wall of the city were
Sarnished with all manner Of precious
stones."
Shall be frank and tell you what are
my designs on You today? They arc TO
make you homesick for heaven; to con.
sole you concerning your depm ted
Cm lstian friends by giving you some
iden of the briliancy OF the scenes in
which they now comminglc; to give all
who love the Lord a more elevated idea
as TO where they arc going to pass the
most of the years of their existence, and
to SGT all tho indifferent and ncglcctlul
to quick and immediate preparation, that
they may have it likewise.
Yea, it is to induce many OF our youn"
people 20 study volume Of God tha
few ever open, but without some &C.
into uyii h luhi 10 4,
understand the Biblc--l mean the prcc-
lous socnes, their crystaljzation, THEN
powers of retraCtion, their cleavage
their fracture, their lustcr, their phos'
phorcsence, their transparency, their in
finity of color and shape, and what they
had to do with the welfare and doom OF
families and the destiny oinations-aye,
the positive revelation they make OF
God himself.
My text stands us in the presence OF
The most stupCndOus splendOr of the
universe, and that is the wall of heaven,
and says OF Its foundation that they are
garnished with all manner OF precious
stones. All the ancient cities had walls
for safety, and heaven has a wall for
everlasting safety. You may say thai
n wall made up OF all manner OF precious
stones is fgm ativc, but you caunot un-
derstand the force and Significance of
the figure unless you know something
about the real structure and color and
value Of the precious stones mentioned.
Now Ipropose this moaning, 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 DIN INC i'll 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
most of us have all our lives been stand
ing. We begin clear down at the bot.
tom and where the wall begins.
The first layer of the foundation
reaching all around the city and iol
1900 miles, is layer of jasper. Indce,
there is more of Jasper in the wall o
heaven than OF any other brilliant, be
cause it rot only cOmpOscs Il part OF The
foundation, but makes up the chief par
OF the supcrst ucturc. The Jasper is
congregation Of many colors. 1t il
brown; it is yellow; it is green; it is YER
million; ii is red; It's purple; it is black
andis so striped with colors that mucl
OF it is called ribbon jasper.
1t is found in Siberia and Egypt, bu
it is rare in most 10 IDS and ofgrcat value
for it is SO hard the ordinary processes
cannot break it of from the places where
it has been deposited. The workmcn
bore holes into the rock OF iaspcrs, then
drive into these holes sticks OF dry birch
wood, and then saturatc the sticks and
keep them saturat ed until they swell
enough to split the rock, and th@ iraT-
meDts are brought out and polished and
transported and cut into canoes and put
behind the glass doors OF museums.
The portraits of Roman cmperors
were cut into it. The finest intaglio
were cut INTO it. The finest intaglio ever
seen is i'll the Vatcan museum, the
head OF Minerva in .jaspc by divine
arrangement Jasper adorned the breast
plate of the high priest in The ancient
temple. But It's most significant posi-.
ton is where 1t glows and burns and
darkens and brightens and preach.
es from the lowest stratum o
the wall Of heaven. Glad am
that the very first row OF stones in
the well OF heaven IS Jasper IN ,lan)
colOrs, and II you like purple IL is pur.
pie, and il you like brown 1t is brown
and if you like green it is green, and i
you like ocher yellow it is ochcr yellow
and if you like vcrnlion it is vcrmillon
and If you like black tits black. 1t suy.
gests to me that heaven is place of ali
colors-colors OF opinion, c0lors of creed
colors OF skin, colors Of taste.
But we must pass up in this inspcc.
ton OF the foundations OF the great wal
OF heaven, and after leaving the iaspc,
the next precious stone reached is sap
phire, andl sweeps around the city
1900 miles. All lapidares agree il
saying that the sapphire Of the Bible i:
what we now call laps laHuh. Jol
speaks with emotion of "thc place 0
sapphires," and COG thought 50 mucl
OF this precious stone that he put il il
the breastplate Of the high priest, com
manding, 1.-THE second row shall be M
emerald, sapphire and diamond"
The sapphire Is a blue, but varies
from taintest hue to deepest ultramarinc
1t is found a pebble in the rivers of Cey.
lon. 1t is elsewhere In compact masses
Persin and Thibet and Burmah and
New South Wales and North Carolina
yield exquisite specimens. It's blue Is
seen in the valley Of the Rhine. Allc.
I