The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1893-02-01
REV. DR.. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINES SUN
Day SERMON.
Subject: "The Circle of the Earth"
preached at Atlanta, Ga.)

TEXT: "E is He that sitteth upon tn
circle of the earth."-Isaiah xl., %.
While yet people thought that the worlc
was fat, and thousands OF years before they
found out that it was round. Isaiah, in mJ
text, intimated the shape OF it-God Sitting
upon the circle of the earth. The mos
beautiful figure in all geometry is the circle.
God made the universe on the plan OF 6
circle. There are in the natural worlc
straight lines, angles. parallelograms. dag
onals, auadrangles but these evidently are
not Gods favorites. Almost everywher
where you will find Him geomotrizing you
end the circle dominant, and 1t not the
circle, then the curve, which is circle that
died younr. If it had lived long enough 1t
would have been e full orb-a periphery.
An ellipse IS circle pressed only little toe
hard at the sides.
b Giants Causeway; in Ireland, shows what
God thinks OF mathematics. There are over
85. 900 columns of rocks-octagonal, hexa-
ronal, pentagonal. These rocks seem to
fave been made by rule and by compass.
Every artist has his molding room, where
he may make fifty shapes. but he chooses
one shape as preferable to all Others. will
not say that the Giants Causeway was the
worlds molding room. but do say out Of a
great many figures God seems to have SCI.
ected the circle as the best. 1T is He that
In a circle, the moon in circle. the sun in a
circle, the universe in circle, the throne Of
God the center OF that circle.
When men build churches they ought to
Initiate the idea OF the Great Architect and
put the audience in a circle, knowing that
the tides of emotion roll more easily that
way than in straight lines. Six thousand
wears ago God flung this world out OF His
right hand, but He did not throw it ort in
!. ;,b< l;pa b,,t o,,ruilipaor xyitt O 1aaco
of love holding it so as to bring it back
again. The world started from His hand
p1re and Edenic. It has been rolling on
Through regions OF moral ice and distemper.
How long it will roll God only knows, but
Ut will in due time make complete circuit
and come back to the place whence it started
the hand Of God-pure and Edenic.
- The history Of the world goes in q circle.
Why is it that the shipping in our day is
improvins so rapidly? It is because men
are initiating the old model Of Noah's ark.
"a ship carpenter gives that as his opinion.
Although so much deridei by small wits,
that ship Of Noah's time beat the Majestic
and the Etruria and the City Of Paris, Of
which we boast so much. Where is the
chip on the sea to-day that could outride
deluge in which the heaven and the earth
were wrecked, landing all the passengers in
safety-two Of each kind Of living creatures,
thousands Of species?
Pomology will go on with its achieve.
ments until after many centuries the world
will have plums and pears equal to the para
disaicaI. The art of gardening will grow
for centuries, and after the Downings and
Mitchells Sf the world have dons their best
in the far future the art Of gardening will
come up to the arborescence Of the year !.
If the makers OF colored glass 50 on improv-
ing they may in some centuries be able to
make something equal to the east window Of
York minister, which was built in 1890. We
are six centuries behind those artists, but
the world must keep on toiling until it shall
make the complete circuit and come up to
the skill Of those very men. g.
II the world continues to improve in ma
soury we shall have after awhile. 'psrhaps
after the advance Of centuries, mortar equal
to that which'I saw last summer in the wall
OF ali exhumed English city, built in the
time Of the Romans, 1900 years ago-that
mortar to-day as good as the day in which it
was made, having outlasted the brick and
the stone. I say. after hundreds Of years,
masonry may advance to that point. IL the
world stands long enough we. may have q
city as large as they had in old times-Baby.
Jon FIVE times the size OF London.
| You 60 into the potteries in England and
you find them making cups and vases after
the style Of the cups and vases exhumed
from Pompeii. The world is not going
back. Oh, no; but it is swinging in circle
and will come back,to the styles Of pottery
known so long ago as the days Of Pompeii.
The world must keep on progressing until it
makes the complete circuit. The curve is in
the right direction; the curve will keep on
until it becomes the circle.
Well, now. my friends, what is true in the
material universe is true in Gods moral
government and spiritual arrangement.
That is the meaning Of Ezekie's wheel. All
commentators agree in saying that the
wheel means Gods providence. But wheel
is Of no use unless it turn, and 1t it surn
it turns around and il it turns around it
moves In circle. What then? Are we
parts of a great iron machine whirled
around whether we will or not, the victims
of inexorahle fate: No! So tar from that.
shall show you that we ourselves start the
circle Of good or bad actions and that it will
surely come around again to US unless by
divine intervention it % hindered. Those
bad or good actions may make the circuit OF
many years, but come back TO US they viii!
as certainly as that God sits on the circle OF
the earth.
Jezebel, the worst woman Of the Bible,
slew Naboth because she wanted his vine
yard. While the dogs were eating the body
Of Naboth, Elisha the prophet put down bis
compass and marked circle from the dogs
clear around to the dogs that should eat the
body Of Jezsbsl the murderess. 'lmpos.
!sibleP the people said; 'sthat will mover
happen" Who Is that being flung out of tho
palace windowf Jezsbel. A few hours after
they came around hoping to bury her. They
skull. The dogs that devoursi Jezsbel and
the dogs that devoursd Nabothi Oh, what
q swift, what an awful circuit!
But it is sometimes the case that this circle
sweeps throuS Sh a century or through many
centuries. The world started with theoc.
racy for government-that Is, God was the
president and emperor of the world. People
got tired Of theocracy. They. said: 1--WE
don't want Col directly interfering with the
affairs OF the world: give US a monarchy"
The world had monarchy. From mon.
archyit is going to have limite monarchy.
After awhile the limited monarchy will bs
given no, and the republican form o. gov.
ernment will be everywhere dominant and
recognized. Then ths world will get tired
OF the republican form OF govsrnmsa sat and
1t will have an anarchy. which is no govern
ment al all. And then all nations, fin ling
out that man is not capable OF righteously
governing mau, will cry out for q thsocracy
and say: "Let God come back and conduct
the affairs OF tbs world"
Every step-monarchy, limited mon
arcy, repu uoliciaism. anarchY-only differ.
,ut steps between the first theocracy and the
last theocracy, or ssgments OF the great cir
cie OF the earth on waica God sits. But do
not become impatient because you canuot
zee the curve Of events. and therefore con-
,lude that Co.'s govsrnm ant is going to
break down. History tells us that in the
making OF the pyramids it took 1000 men
swo years to drag one great stone from the
quarry AMI put it into the pyramids. ..
d. Well, now, It men short lived can afford