Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1893-01-27
REV. DR.. YALMAGH.
eth Eminent Brooklyn Divines Sun
day Sermon.
sahl Ct. erhs wan Of neaven.n

oarning your departed Christian friends hy
giving yoa some idea OF the brilliancy OF the
scenes in which they now conminele: to
give all who love the Lord a more elevate
idea as 10 where they are going TO pass the
most OF the years Of their existence. and to
set all the Indifferent and neglected 70 quicS
and immediate preparation, that they may
have It likewise.
Yea, il 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 10 understand
thelBiblf-i mean the precious stones their
capitalization, their powers of refraction,
their cleavage, their fracture. their luster,
their phosphoresence. their transDar sncY,
their infnity Of color and shape, and wnat
thew had to 90 with the welfars and doom
Of families and the destinv Of nations-lye.
10 positive reve alton they make OF Col
Himself.
nv text stands Us in the presence Of thu
most stupenious splen Tor Of the uaiverSa.
and that is the wall OF heaven. and SAYS Of
its foundations that they are garnished with
all manner OF precious stones. All ths
ancient cities hsd walls for safety. ami
heaven has wall for everlasting safety.
You NAV SAL that wall made up of all
manner OF precious stones is igurativs, but
you cannot understand the force and signii-
canoe of the figure unless you know some
thing about the real structure and dor and
value Of the precious stones mentiOnel.
Now, propose this morning, 50 lar 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 20 scale soma OF the heights. We
shall only ges part of the way NJ, but better
that than to stay down on the stupid level
where the most OF us have all our lives been
standing. We begin Gear down at the bot
tom and where the wall begins.
The first layer OF the foundation, reaching
ali around the city and for 1907 miles, is
layer OF jasper. In leei there is more Of
Jasper in the vail of heaven than Of any
other brilliant. because it not only composes
part OF the foundation, but makes u the
chief part OF the superstructure. The jasper
is q congregation of many co.Ors. 1t Il
brown, it is yellow, it is green. il is vermil-
ion, it is red, il is purple, 1t Is black, and Is
50 striped with cO.O-s that much OF It is
called ribbon jasper.
II is found in Siberia and Egypt, but it is
rare in most lands and OF great value. for It
is 50 hard the ordinary processes canno.
breakit of from tle places where II has
been deposited. The wOrkmen bore holes
into the rock of jasper, then drive Into these
holes sticks Of dry birch Woo, and then
saturate the sticks and keep them saturatel
until they swell enough to split the rock. and
the fragments are brought out and polished
and Transported and cut INFO canoes and
put behind the glass doors OF museum.
The portraits OF Roman emuerOrs were
cut into IT, The finest intagiio ever seen l.
in the Vatican museum, the head OF Minerva
in iasper By divine arran yenent JiSpef
adorned the breastplete Of the high priest ID
the ancient temple. But its most significant
position is where iJ giows ana burns and
darSens and brightens and breaches fro ~
the lowest stratum OF thu wall OF hcaV ,if.
Glad am ! that the very irst row OF stones
In the wall OF heaven Is iasDer o. many CO..
orS and il YOU like purple ~ Is purpIe. am
if YOU like brown il Is brown. and il you Ike
green il is green. AMI It you ike ocher vel.
low il IS ocher yellow. anl If Y0l Ike Yer
million It is vermiliion, and if YOU like
back it is black. 1t 81 sgesss To ms that
heaven IS place OF all co ors -co.ora OF
opinion. co Ors Of creed, co.0rs OF sSin, col
ors Of taste.
But we must pass uD in this inspection Of
the foundations OF the great wall OF heaven,
and alter leaving the jasper the next pre-
cious stone relched Is sapphire and IL
sweeps around the city 800 niles. Al l1pi-
laries agree in saying that the sapphire OF
the Bib.e is what We now call laps lazhh.
Job speaks with emotion OF Tine place OF
sapphires.n aud Col thought 50 much ~ r3is
precious stone that He put it IN the breast
plate of the hi Il priest cOnman linz. "In-
second row shall be an emerald. sapphire
and a diamond.
The sapphire IS a blue, hut varies from
faintest hue 70 deepest ultramarine. II j.
found pebble in the rivers Of Csyi0n. l.
IS elsewhere in compact masses. Persia and
Thibet and BurDa5 and New South W ale,
and North Caro- ina Yell exquisite speci'
mems. It's blue eye is seen in the valley oil
the Rhine Alter q burial of Thousands o.
years it has been brou sht TO sight in Esyp
tian monuments aud AssYrian cyIin iers.
At Moscow aud 81. Petersburg an on
stantino2e ] have seen great mass Is Of this
sapphire, commonly called lapis laz1i. Ihs
closer you study its veins the more euchant-
ing, ana do not won Ter that the sapphire
IS called into the fOun iatiol o, the wal OF
heaven. IL makes a strong stone for the
foundation. for it is the hardest Of all min
erals except the diamond
Sapphire based on jasper blue sky over
a fierv sunset. -; John points to it IN Rev.
citation and Says. The seconi sapphire,
and this suggests 10 ma that though our
earth and all its furniture OF mountains an }
seas ami atmospheres are TO collapse All
vanish we will Throughout all etern ty have
in some way kept the most beautiful o.
earthly appearances. whether you take this
sapphire OF the second layer as literal or
iigurative. The deep blue of our skies ami
the deep blue OF our seas must not, will NOT
be forgotten. 1t a thousand years after the
world has gone TO asnes you or l want TO
recall how the earthly skies lookei in a sum
mer noon or the midocean in a calm, We
will have only to look at the secont row OF
the foundation of the wall of heaven.
On, am so glad that st. John told u
about IL, The second, sapphire" While
we are living in sight o. that wall spirits
who have come from other worlds and wnO
never saw our earth will visit Us ami We
will visit them, an1 some time we will be- in
conversation about this earth when it was
yet afloat and aswing, and W. shall want to
tell them about how it looked at certain
times. and then it will be a great OBJECT
lesson for all eternity, and we will say 10
our visitor from some other world, as We
point toward the wall Of heaven, lit looked
like that stratum OF foundation next to the
lowest" John, twenty-irsI chapter au1
nineteenth verse. "fhe second sap 1hire'
step higher and you come 70 coal
cedony, another layer in the fo1 ldatioI OF
the wall and the running 1900 miles around
the heavenly city ChalcedOny Trans
lucent. A divine mixture Of agates and
Opais and comedians. Striped with white
and gray Dashed Of pallor b.ushing into
red aud darkealng into purple. Ice a nj all
the Hebsides hOl forth beautiful specimens
Of chalcedOny
But now we must make swift ascent 10
the top OF the foundation wall, for we can
NOT infinitely examine all the layers, and so,
putting one foot on the ch9lcsioay OF which
ne have been speaking. we spring TO the
emerald. and we are one-thrd of the way
TO the top OF the foundation, for the fourth
Ncw is emerald. That, | would Judge. is
Co.'s favor Il among &c rs. because it holds
what seems evident Is His Ia vOriie color on
"artb the green. since that is the color most
widely diffused across all the eartG's cont.
nents-the grass, the foliage, the everyday
dress OF nature. The emerald Kings use
It as seal TO stamp pronunciamentos. The
rainbow around the throne of God is by
st. John compared TO it.
COnquerOrs haY We considered il the great
est prize to capture. What ruthlessness
when the soldiers OF Pizarro pounded it with
thsi' Farmers. Eneraiis have had much
TO Do with the destiny Of Mexico. Five OF
them were presented by Cortez TO his bride.
one OF them cut into the shape of a rose an
osner into the shape Of trumpet. another
into the shape OF a bell with tongue OF
pesrl. and this presentation aroused the isal-
ously Of the throne and caussi the conse.
quent fall OF Cortez. Bat the depths OF the
SEA were decorated with those efneralis, for
IN a shiQwrecS they went down of the coast