The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1894-03-15
"RUBIES SURPASSED"
Rev, DR.. Talmage Draws " Pointed
Comparison.
The Value of True Religion to Its Pos.
SCISSOR Far Greater than ALI
Earthly Riches that Do Not
Satisfy the Soul

savings of Solomon, was delivered by
Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage in the Brook
lyn tabernacle. The text was:
Wisdom is better than rubies.-Proverbs
viii, H.
You have all seen the precious stone
commonly called the ruby. It is of
deep red color. The Bible makes much
of it. 1t glowed in the first row of the
high priests breast-plate. Under an
other name it stood in the wall of
Heaven. jeremiah compares the rud-
dy cheek of the Nazarites to the ruby
Ezekiel points it out in the robes of the
king of Tyre. Four times does Solo
mos use it as symbol by which to eX-
tol wisdom, or religion, always setting
its value as better than rubies.
The world does not agree as to how
the precious stones were formed. The
ancients thought that amber was made
OF drops of perspiration Iof the goddess
&c. The Thunderstorm was supposed
to have dropped from storm-cloud.
The emerald was said to have been
made of the FREELY. The lapis lazuli
was thought to have been born of the
cry of an Indian giant. And modern
mineralogists say that the precious
stones were made of gases and liquids.
To me the ruby seems like spark
from the anvil of the setting sun.
The home of the genuine ruby is
Burmak, and sixty miles from it's capt.
tai, where lives and reigns its ruler,
called, Lord of the Rubies." Under
careful governmental guard are these
valuable mines of ruby kept. Rarely
has any foreigner visited them. When
ruby of large value was discovered it
was brought forth with elaborate cere-
mony, a procession was formed, and
with all hammered pomp, military
guard and princely attendants, the
gem was brought to the kings palace
OF great value is the ruby, much
more so than the diamond, as lapidaries
and jewellers will tell you. An expert
on this subject writes: "a ruby of per-
feet color weighing five carats is worth
at the present day ten times as much
as diamond of equal weight" 1t was
disaster when Charles the Bold lost
the ruby he was wearing at the Battle
of Grandson. 1t was great aff1uence
when Rudolph II. of Austria inherited
ruby from his sister, the queen dow
ager. 1t was thought to have had much
to do with the victory of Henry v, as
he wore it into the battle of Agincourt
1t is the pride of the Russian court to
own the largest ruby of all the.world,
presented by Gustavus III. to the Rus
sian empress. Wondrous ruby! 1t has
electric characteristics, and there are
lightnings compressed in it's double
six-sided prisms. What shall call it?
1t is frozen fire! 1t is petrified blood!
In all the word there is only one thing
more valuable, and my text makes the
comparison: Wisdom lis better than
rubieS."
But it is impossible to compare two
things together unless there are some
points of similarity as well as of differ
ence. am glad there is nothing lack
ing here. The ruby is more beautiful
in the night and under the lamplight
than by day. 1t is preferred for even
ing adornment. How the rubies glow,
and burn, and fash as. the lights lift
the darkness! Catherine of Arragon
had on her finger ruby that lam
termed the night. Sir John Mande-
vile, the celebrated traveller of four
hundred years ago. said that the en-
peror of China had ruby that made
the night as bright as the day. The
probability is that Solomon, under
some OF the lamps that illumined his
cedar palace by night, noticed the pc
culiar glow of the ruby as it looked in
the hilt of sword, or hung in the up
holstery, or beautiied the lip of some
chalice, while he was thinking at the
same time of the excellency of our
holy religion as chiefly seen in the
night of trouble, and he cries out:
'Wisdom is better than rubies.'.
Oh, yes, it is a good thing to have
religion while the sun of prosperity
rides high and every thing is brilliant
in fortune, in health, in worldly favor.
Yet you can at such time hardly tell
how much of it is natural exuberance
and how much of it is the grace of
God. But let the sun set, and the
shadows avalanche the plain, and the
thick darkness of sickness, or poverty,
or persecution, or mental exhaustion
fill the soul, and fill the house, and I'LL
Vic "oIlus lncH you SlI down OV tie
lamp of Gods word and under its light
the consultations of the Gospel come
out; the peace OF God which passeth
all understanding appears You never
fully appreciated their power until in
the deep night of trouble the Divine
lamp revealed their exquisIteness.
Pearls and amethysts for the day. but
rubies for the night.
All of the books of the Bible attempt
in some way the assuagement of mis-
fortune. OF one hundred and fftv
psalms of David at least ninety allude
to trouble. There are sighings in
every wind, and tears in every brook,
and pangs in every heart. 1t was
originally proposed to call the presi-
dents residence at Washington '"rrhe
Palace" or THE Executive Mansion.
but after it was destroyed, in the war
of 1914, and rebuilt, it was painted
white to cover up the marks of the
smoke and fire that had blackened the
stone walls. Hence it was called THE
White House." Most of the things
now white with attractiveness were