The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1893-01-25
aTHE WALL OF HEAVEN"
Theme of Discourse by Rev. T.
Dewitt Talmage, d. D.
Graphic Description Of the Precious
Stones Composing the Foundation OF
Heavens Wall = The Eloquent
Preacher Wants to Make
His Hearers Homesick
for Heaven.

mage preached recently on ''The Pre-
cious Stones of the Bible, or God Among
the Amethysts." Subject: ''rhe Wall of
Heaven" Text: Revelation xxi, 10:
''The foundations of the wall of the
city were garnished with all manner OF
precious stones"
Shall be frank and tell you what
are my designs on you to-dayP They
are to make you homesick for Heaven;
to console you concerning your de-
parted Christian friends by giving you
some idea of the brilliancy Of the scenes
in which they now commingle; to give
all who love the Lord more elevated
idea as to where they are going to pass
the most of the years Of their exist
ence; and to set all the Indifferent and
neglectful to quick and immediate
preparation, that they may have 1t
likewise Yes, 1t is to induce many OF
our young people to study volume OF
God that few ever open, but without
some acquaintance with which 1t is inn
possible to understand the Bible. l
mean the precious stones; their crystali-
zation, their powers of refraction, their
cleavage, their fracture, their luster,
their phosphoresence, their transpar-
ency, their infinity of color and shape,
and what they had to do with the well
fare and doom of families and the des-
tiny of nations; aye, the positive reve-
lation they make of God Himself.
My text stands us in the presence OF
the most stupendous splendor of the
universe, and that is the wall oil
Heaven, and says Of its foundations
that they are garnished with all man
ner of precious stones All the ancient
cities had walls for safety, and Heaven
has wall for everlasting safety. You
may say that a wall made up OF all
manner Of precious stones is figurative,
but you can not understand the force
and significance Of the fgare unless you
know something about the real struc-
ture and color and value Of the precious
stones mentioned. Now, propose this
morning, 80 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 at
tempt 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 Of where the most OF us
have all our lives been standing. We
begin clear down at the bottom and
where the wall beghA
The first layer Of the foundation
reaching all around the city and for fif
Neen hundred miles, is layer of jasper
Indeed there is more Of jasper in thu
4, wall of heaven than OF any other bril-
liant because it not only composes I
part OF the foundation, but makes NJ
the chief part Of the superstructure
The jasper is congregation Of man!
colors II is brown; 1t is yellow; 1t !
green; 1t Is vermilion; II Is red; 1t
purple; it is black; and so is stripet
with colors that much of 1t is calle'
ribbon jasper 1t is found in Siberi
and Egypt, but It Is rare in most land
and Of great value, for II Is so hard tn
ordinary processes cannot break 1t OF
from the places where II has been dc
posted The workmen bore holes int
the rock of jasper; then dive into thes
holes sticks Of dry birch wood and the
saturate the sticks and keep them satu
urated until they swell enough to spii
the rock, and the fragments are brough
out and polished and transported an
cut into canoes and put behind th
glass doors of musenma The portrait
of Roman emperors were cut into Il
The finest intaglio ever seen is in tn
Vatican museum, the head OF Minerv
in jasper. BY divine arrangement ja'
per adorned the breastplate of the hig
priest in the ancient temple. But II
most significant position Is where
glows and burns and darkens an
briVhtens and breaches from the loves
strata Of the wall Of heaven. Glad al
that the very first row of stones !
the wall Of heaven Is jasper of man
colors, and II you like purple 1t Is pui
pie, and II you like brown tits brown
and II You like green II is green, and
you like ochre-yellow II is ochre-yellov
and II you like vermilion It isvermilior
and II you like black 1t is black 1t SUI
Rests TO me that heaven is place of a
colors-colors Of opinion, colors I
creed, colors Of skin, eolors Of taste.
But we must pass up in this inspe
ton of the foundations of the great wa
of heaven, and after leaving the jqppe
the next precious stone reached is sa
phire, and It sweeps around the city d
teen hundred miles All lapidari
agree in saying that the sapphire OF u
Bible Is what we now call lapis lazul
Job speaks with emotioD of "the place
sapphires," and God thought 80 muc
OF this precious stone that He put II
the breastplate OF the high priest, cor
manding: "The second row shall
an emerald, sapphire and diamond
The sapphire is a blue, but varies fro
faintest hue TO deepest ultramarine;
is found a pebble in the river OF ceylo
,Itis elsewhere in compact masses Pc
.sia and Thibet and Butmnh and Ne
South Wales and North Carolina vie
exquisite specimens It's blue eye
seen In the valley Of the Rhine After
burial Of thousands OF years It has be'
,brought to sight In Egyptian mon
,ments and Assyrian cylinderA At Nc
Cow and ST Petersburg and Constant
nople, I have seen great nasses OF u
sapphire commonly called lspis lazu
The closer you study its veins, the mo
enchanting, and l. do not wonder N
the sapphire Is called into the found
,tion OF the. wall OF heaven. It makes
strong stonAl forj the fourdatio
k,..,it 4. Aha hardeat of all mi