Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1894-02-23
"RUBIES SURPASSED"
Rev, DR.. Talmage Draws a Pointed
Comparison.
The Value of True Religion to It's Pos
SCISSOR Far Greater than All
Earthly Riches that Do Not
Satisfy the Soul.

sayings OF Solomon. was delivered by
Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage in the Brook
lyn tabernacle. The text was:
Wisdom is better than rubies.-Proverbs
viii. II.
You have all seen the precious stone
commonly called the ruby. 1t 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-
toll wisdom, or religion, always setting
its value as better than lubies.
The world does not agree as to how
the precious stones were formed. The
ancients thought that amber was made
of drops Of perspiration ,of the goddess
Gle. The Thunderstorm was supposed
to have dropped from 4 storm-cloud.
The emerald was said to have been
made of the freely. The fapis lazuli
was thought to nave 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 see!Tss like spark
from the anvil of the setting sun.
The home of the genuine ruby is
Burmak and sixty miles from its CAPT
tai, where lives and reigns it's ruler,
called, Lord of the Rubies." Under
u careful governmental guard are these
valuable mines of ruby kept. Rarely
has any foreigner visited them. When
IL ruby of large value was discovered it
was Drought forth with Ella borate cere-
mony, Il procession was formed, and
with all hammered pomp, military
guard and princcty attendants, the
gens was brought to the kings palace.
OF great valse is the ruby, much
mere SO than the diamond, as lapidaries
and jewelers. viii tell YOU. An expert
OF 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" It was
e, disaster VIXEN Charles the Bold lost
the ruby he WIS wearing at the Battle
of Grandson. 1t was a great afduence
when Rudolph II. Of Austria Inherited
a ruby FROM his sister, the queen dow
.ager. 1t YVES thought to have had much
to do with the victory OF Henry V, as
he wore it into the battle of AgincouTt.
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. Woudrous ruby! 1t has
electric chara cteristics, and there are
Ugh Things compressed in it's double
six-sided prisms. What shall call it?
1t is frozen fire! It is petrified blood!
In all the word there is only one thing
more va,ua BILE, and nay text makes the
comparison: "Wisdon is better than
rupieS.'
But it IS impossible to compare two
things together unless there are some
points O. similarity as we'll 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 flash rs the lights lift
the darkness. Catherine of Arragon
had on her finger Il ruby that lam
termed The night. Sir John Mande-
vile, the celebrated traveller of four
peror Of China had q ruby that made
the night as bright as the day. The
probability is that Solomon, rnder
some Gf the lamps that illumined ais
cedar palace 10y II i%ht, noticed the pc
culiar glow of the ruby as il looked in
the hilt Of sword, or hung in the up
holstery, or beautifed the lip of some
chalice, while he was thinking at the
same time OF the excelieney of our
holy religion as chiefly seen in the
night of trouble, and he cries out:
"Wisdom IS better than rr1ies.'
Oh yes, it is a, good thing to have
religion while 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 exuberaace
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 fill
the world; then you sit down by the
lamp of God S word and under its light
the consultations of the Gospel conse
olt; the peace of God which passeth
AL understanding appears. You never
fally appreciated their power Until in
the deep night of trouble the Divine
laap revealed their eXquislteness.
Pearls and amethysts for the day, but
ri bies for the night.
Ala of the books .Cf the Bible attempt
in some way the aSsuagement of mis-
fortune OF one hundred and fifty
psalms of David at least ninety allude
so troable. There are sighings in
every wind. and tears in every brook,
and pangs i'll every heart. 1t was
originally proposed to call the presi-
dents residence at Washington The
Palace" or The Executive Mansion"
out after il was destroyed, in the war
of 1914. and reasailt, it was painted
white to cover up the laarks 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 attraetiyeness were
once black with disaster. What the
world most needs is the consolatory,
and here it coEaes, car holy religion,
with both hands fall of ano-
drneS. and se6atiVps. and balS&ms. as
in Daniels time to stop mouths leon
inc: as in Shadrarl'S tune to cool blast
furnaces: as in EzekieIs time to con-
sole ca otivity: as n st Johns time to
enroll al apocalypse over rocky desc
lationS. Hear its soothing voice as it
declares: Weeping may endure for