The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1894-02-28
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S SUM-
DAY SERMON.
Subject: "Rubies Surpassed"

Proverbs viii, II.
b You have all seen the precious stone com.
monty called the ruby. 1t is Of deep red
color. The Bible makes much Of ii. 1t
glowed in the first row OF the high priest 9
breastpiate. Under another name 1t stood
In the wal. OF heaven. Jeremiah compares
the rudd7 cheek 1.-THE Nazsrites to the ruby
Ezekiel points 1t out in the robes OF the king
of Tyre. Tour times does Solomon use it as
Ia symbol by which to extol wisdom or relig-
ion, 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
persplration of the goddess Ge. The thun-
derstone was supposed to have dropped from
a stormcloud. The emerald was said to
have been made OF the firefy. The lapis
lazuli was thought to have been born OF the
CRY of an Indian giant. And modern min
eralogists say that the precious stones were
made of gases and liquids. To me the ruby
seems like spark from the anvil of the set
ting sun.
The home of the genuine ruby is Burmah.
and sixty miles from its capital, where lives
and reigns the ruler. called "Lord OF the
,Rubies." Under q careful Governmental
guard are these valuable mines of ruby kept.
Rarely has any foreigner visited them. When
a ruby Of large value was discovered, it was
brought forth with elaborate ceremony,
procession was formed, and, with all ban
,nered pomp, military guard and princely at
'tendants, the gem was brought to the king 8
palace.
OF great value is the ruby, much more so
than diamond. as lapidaries and jewellers
will tell you. An expert on this subject
writes, IA ruby OF perfect color weighing
five carats Is worth at the present day ten
times as much as diamond OF equal weight.
tIt was disaster when Charles the Bold lost
the ruby he was wearing at the battle OF
Grandson. It was q great afluence when
Rudolph II Of Austria inherited ruby from
his sister. the queen dowager. Itwas thought
to have had much to do with the victory OF
Henry v. as he wore 1t into the battle OF
Agincourt.
II is the pride OF the Russian court to own
the largest ruby OF the world, presented oy
Gustavus III to the Russian Empress. Won
drous ruby! It has electric characteristics,
and there are Hshtnings compressed in Its
double six sided prisms. What shall call
IT. II is frozen fire! It is petrifled blood !!
In all the world there Is only one thing more
valuable, and ytext makes the comparison,
f.Wisdom Is better than rubies."
But it is impossible to compare two things
together unless there are some points OF sim
ilarity as we'll az Of difference. l aa glad
there is nothing lacking here. The ruby is
more beautiful In the night and under the
lamplight than by day. 1t Is preferred for
and burn and flash as the lights lift the dark
ness! Catherine of Aragon had on her finger
a ruby that fairly lanterned the night.
Sir John Vaudeville, the celebrated trav-
eler OF 400 years ago. said that the Emperor
of China had a ruby that made the night as
bright as day, The probability is that Solo
mon, under some Of the lamps that illumined
his cedar palace by night, noticed the pecu-
liar glow OF the ruby as it looked in the hilt
Of sword, or hung In some fold of the up
iholstery, or beautifed the lip of some chalice.
while he was thinking at the same time of
the excellency Of our holy religion as chiefly
tssWisdom Is better than rubies."
oh, yes, It is good thing to have religion
Hhile the sun of prosperity rides high and
everything is brilliant in fortune, in health,
in worldly favor. Yet you can at such time
hardly tell how much Of it Is natural exuber-
ance and how much Of it IL the grace Of God.
But let the sun set. and the shadows ava
lanche the plain, and the thick darkness o.
sickness or poverty or persecution or mental
exhaustion fill the soul and fill the house
and fil the world then you sit down by the
lamp OF Gods word, and under its Light the
consultations OF the gospel come out the
peace Of God which passeth all understand :
ing appears. You never fully appreciated
the Divine Lamp revealed their exquisite
ness. 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 MISFORTUNE
OF the $50 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. It was originally pro-
posed to call the Presidents residence at
Washington .'The Palace or 'the Execu-
tive Mansion, but after 1t was destroyed IN
the war Of 1914 and rebuilt in was painted
white to cover up tho marks Of the smoke
and FIRE that had blackened the stone walls.
Hence 1t was called "The White House"
Most Of things now white with attrsctiveness
were once black with disaster.
What the world most needs is the colsola-
tory, and here it comes, our holy religion,
with both hands full Of anodynes and seda-
tiyes and balsams, as in Daniels time to stop
mouths leonine; as In Shadrach's time to
cool blast furnaces; as in EzckiePs time to
console captivity: as in st. Jonl's time 20
unron an apocalypse over rocky desolations.
Hear its soothing voice as it declares :
"Weeping may endure for night, but 10y
cometh in the morning." ''The montains
shan depart and the hills be removed, but
My loving kindness shall not depart from
you" Whom the Lord loveth He chas-
teneth." sThey shall hunger no more,
neither thirst any more, neither shall the
sun light on them, nor any heat, for the
Lamb which is in the midst of the throne
shall load them to living fountains of water,
and God shall wipe away all tears from their
eyes"
The most wholesome thing on earth is
trouble, II met In Christian spirit. To make
Paul what he was it took ship wreck, and
whipping on the bare back, and penitentiary,
and pursuit OF wild mobs. and the sword OF
decapitation. To make David what he was
it took all that Anithophel and Saul and Alb
salon and Goliath and all the Philistine
hosts could do against him. It took Robert
;Chambers's malformation Of feet to make
him the literary conqueror.
It was bereavement that brought William
Haworth, of Wesley's time, from wickedness
to an evangelism that won many thousands
for heaven. The world would never have
known what heroic stuff Ridley was made of
had not the fires been kindled around his
feet, and not liking this slow work he cried a.:
at cannot burn. Let the fire come to me. !
cannot burn" Thank God that there are
gems that unfold their best glories under the
lamplightI Thank God for the ruby
. Moreover, am sure Solomon was right in
eaylng that religion or wisdom Is better than
rubies, from the fact that thing is worth
what 1t will fetch. Religion will fetch solid
happiness, and the ruby will not. In all
your observation did you ever find person
thoroughly felicitsted by an incrustment oi
Jewels? As you know more OF yourself thar
any one else, are you happier now with
worldly adornments and successes than be
fore you won them? Does the picture tina,
cost you hundreds or thousands ofdollars OF
your wall bring you as much satisfaction a.
the engraving that ut the expense OF S5 wa!
hung upon the wall when you first began tt
! keep house2