Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1893-03-10
REV. DIR. TALMAGB.
TIE Eminent Brooklyn Divine'S Sun.
day Sermon.
Subject, "eod Among the Shells"


onychd. Exodus XXX, "a.
You may not have noticed the shells OF
the Bible, although in this early part of the
sacred book God calls you to consider and
employ them as He lied Moses to consider
and employ them. The onycha OF nv text
is q she'll found on the banks of the Red Sea.
ana Moses and his army must bave crushe
many OF them under foot as they crossed
the blsected waters, onycha on the beach
and onycha in the unfolded bed of the deep.
shall speak OF this shell as a beautiful and
practical revelation OF Coz, and as true as
the first chapter OF Genesis and the last
cnapter Oh Revelation or everything be-
tween.
Not only Is this shell, the onycha. found
at the Red Sea, but in the waters of India,
IL not only DELEGATES the eye with its conyo-
buttons OF beauty, white and lustrous and
serrated, but blesses the nostril with a pun.
gent aroma. This shellfsh. accustomed to
feed on spikenard, is redolent with that
o1orous plent-redoIent when alive and re-.
dolent when dead. Its shells when burned
bewitch the air with fragrance.
In my text Tod commands Moses to mix
this onchya with the perfumes of the altar
in the ancient tabernacle and I propose to
mix some of its perfumes at the altar of
Brooklyn Tabernacle, for, having spoken TO
you on the Astronomy Of the Bible; OF,
God Among the Stars;;* the Chronology Of
the Bible; or, God Among the Centuries, )"
the "OrDithology Of the Bible; or, God
Among the Birds" the "Mineralogy Of the
Bible; or, God Among the Amethysts"
the .1chthyoloyy of the Bible; or, God
Among the Fishes" l now come to speak Of
the Conchology of the Bible; or. God
Among the Shells"
1t is a secret that you may keep for me,
for have never before told It to any one,
that in all the realms of the natural world
there Is nothing TO me so fascinating, so
completely absorbing, so full of suggestive.
ness, as shell. Whatf More entertaining
than bird. which can sing, when shell
cannot sing9 Well, there you have made
great mistake. Pick up the onycha from
the banks of the Red Sea or PICK up bivalve
from the beach OF the Atlantic Ocean and
listen, and you hear whole choir of marine
voices-bass, alto, soprano-in an unknown
tongue, but seeming to chant as put them
TO my ear, "The sea is His and He made it,"
Others singing, 'Thy way. o God, is in tae
sea-" others hymning. "Heruleth the raging
Of the sea-"
what" says some one else, 'does the
shell impress you more than the star% In
some respects, yes, because can handle the
shell and closely study the shell, while /
cahnot handle the star, and If j study it
must study it at a distance Of millions and
millions OF miles.
"What," says some one else, fare you
more impressed by the shell than the
flower" Yes, for it has far greater var:e-
ties and far greater richness OF color, as l
could show you In thousands of specimens,
and because the she'll does not fade, as does
the rose leaf, but maintains its beauty CEN
Of <l,n@
which the hoof of Pharaoh's horse knocked
aside in the chase of the Israeiites across the
Red Sea may have kept its luster to this
hour. Yes, they are so particolored and
many colored that you might pile them up
until you would have wall with all the
colors OF the wall of heaven, from the jasper
at the bottom to the amethyst at the top
Oh, the shells! The petrifiei foam of the
sea. Oh, the shellsl The hardened bubbles
of the deep. Oh, the shells. which are the
diadems thrown by the ocean to the feet Of
the continents. How the shells sre ribbed,
grooved, cylindered, mottled, iridescsntl
They were used as coin by some Of the Ma.
tons. They were fastened in belts by
others. and made in handles of wooden i'm.
plements by still others. Mol!usks not only
of the sea, but mollusks Of the land. Do you
know how much they have had to do with
tuo WOllu IuSy SdNeu lie CuuAC
OF God from extingushment.
TIE Israelites marched out Of Egypt
2C00, 900 strong, besides focks and herds,
The Bible says 1.-THE people took their dough
before it was leavened, their kneading
troughs being bound up Ill the clothes on
their shoulders They were thrust forth out
of Egypt and could not tarry; neither had
they prepared for themselves any victuals."
Just think Of iti Forty years in the wilder
ness. lnfidelity triumphantly asks, How
could they live forty years in the wilderness
without foodf You say mama fell. Oh.
that was after long while. They would
have starved Fifty timss before the mamma
fell. The fact is, they were chiefly kept
alive by the mollusks Of the land or shelled
creatures. Mr.. Fronton and Mr.. Sicard
took the same route from Egypt toward
Canaan that the Israelites TOOK, and they
give this as their testimony.
Although the children OF Israel must
have consisted of about 2, 000. 600 souls, with
baggage and innumerabe fiocks and herds,
they were not likely to experience any in
convenience in their march. Several thou.
sand persons might walk abreast with rhe
greatest ease in the very narrowest part Of
the valley in which they first began to file
off. IL soon afterward expands to above
three leagues in width. With respect to
forage they would be at no loss. The
ground is covered with tamarisk, broom,
clover and saint foin, of which latter
especially camels are passionately fool. be.
sides alm2st every variety OF odoriferous
plant and herb proper for pasturage.
The whole sides Of the valley through
which the children of Israel marched are
still tufted with brush wood. which doubt
less afforded food for their beasts, together
with many drier SORTS for lighting fire, on
which the lsraelites could with the greatest
case bake the dough they brought with them
on small iron plates, which form a constant
appendage to the baggage of an oriental
traveller. Lastly, the neroage underneath
these trees and shrubs is completely covered
with snails OF a prodigious SIZE and Of the
best sort, and, however uninviting such a
repast ought appear to us, they are here es-
teemed great delicacy. They are so pleuti.
full in this valley that it may be literally said
that it is difficult to take one step without
treadiug on them"
So the shelied creatures saved the host Of
Israelites on the march to the promised
land, and the attack Of infidelity at this
point is defeated by the facts, as infidelity is
always defeated by facts, since it is founded
on ignorance. In writing and printing our
interrogation point has at the bottom mark
ike peilOu anu over 10 nourlsn ike Jne
swing OF Transfers whip, and we put this
point at the end of a question,
but in the Spanish language the interroga-
ton point is twice used for each question.
At the beginning of the question the inter-
rogation point is presented upside down,
AMI at the close of the question right side
up When infdelity puts question about
the Scriptures, as it always indicates igno-
rance, the question ought to be printed with
two interrogation points one at the begin
ning and one at the close, but both upside
down.
Thank God for the wealth of mollusks all
up and down the earth, whether feeding
the Israelites on their way to the land flow
ing with milk and honey, or, as we are bet
ter acquainted with the mollusks, when