The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1899-07-05
Dr.. Talrage Discourses on Bible
Mathematics.
A FAVoRlTE NUMBER WITS
The Divine Mind. Take Care OF
the Present, Says the Great
Divine; God Will Take
Care Of the Future.

in this sermon in very unusual way
Genesis ii, 3, God blessed the seventh
day"
The mathematics Of the Bible are no.
iceable; the geometry and the arlthme-
tic, square IN Ezekiel, the circle
spoken of in Isaiah, the curve alluded
to in Job, the rule of fractions men,
toned in Daniel, the rule Of loss and
gain in Mark, where Christ asks the
people to cipher out by that rule what
it would profit man if he gain the
whole world and lose his soul. But
there IS one mathematical figure that Is
crowned above all others in the Bible.
1t is the numeral seven, which the Ara
bians got from India and all following
ages have taken from the ArablanS; II
stands between the figure SIX and the
figure eight. In the Bible al the other
numerals bow to it. Over 800 times It
is mentioned in the Scriptures, either
alone or COMPOUNDED with other words.
In Genesis the week is rounded into
seven days, and use my text because
there this numeral IS for the trst time
introduced in journey which halts not
until in the close Of the book OF Revela-
ton its monument is built into the wall
Of heaven in chrysolite, which IN the
strata of precious stones is the seventh:
In the Bible we find that Jacob had
to serve seven years to get Rachel, but
she was we'll worth it, and, foreteIllng
the years of prosperity and famine IN
Pharaoh's time, the seven fat oxen were
eaten up Of the seven lean oxen, and
wisdom is said to be built or seven pill
lars, and the ark was left with the Phil
istines seyen years, and Naaman, for
the cure Of his leprosy, plunged in the
Jordan seven times; to the house that
Ezekiel saw in vision there we seven
steps; the walls of Jericho, before they
fell down, were compassed seven days;
Zecheariah describes stone with seven
eyes; to cleanse leprous house the
door must be sprinkled with pigeons
blood seven times; IN Canaan were over
thrown seven nations; on one occasion
Christ cast out seven devils; on noun
tain he fed multitude OF people with
seven loaves, the fragments left filing
seven baskets, and the closing passages
of the Bible are magnificent and over.
Whelming with the imagery made up OF
seven churches, seven stars, seven can
diesticks, seven seals, seven angels
and seven heads and seven crowns and
seven horns and seven spirits and seven
rb;o1e ord seven nlapues and seven
thunders.
Yes, the numeral seven seems fav-
orite with the divine mind outside as
well as inside the Bible, sor are there
not seven prismatic colors? And when
God with the rainbow wrote the COM
forting thought that the world would
never have another deluge he wrote 1t
on the scroll of the sky in ink Of seven
colors. he grouped into the Pleiades
seven stars. Rome, the capital OF the
world, sat on seven hills. When GOD
would make the most intelligent thing
on earth, the human countenance, he
fashioned it with seven features
two ears, the two eyes, the two nostrils
and the mouth. Yea, our body lasts
only seven years, and we gradually shed
1t for another body after another seven
years, and so on, for we are as to our
bodies septennial animals. So the
numeral seven ranges through nature
and through revelation. It is the num-
Der Of perfection, and 50 !! use it while
speak Of the seven candlestlcks, the
seven stars, the seven seals and the
seven thunders.
The seven golden candlesticks were
and are the churches. Mark you, the
churches never were and never can be
candles. They are only candlesticks.
They are not the light, but they are to
hold the light. A room in the night
might have in it 500 candlesticks and
yet you could not see your hand before
your face. The only use Of candle
stick, and the only use Of a church IS to
hold up the light, You see it is dark
world, the night of sin, the night Of
trouble, the night Of superstition, t1e
night of persecution, the night OF rnv-
erty, the night of sickness, the night
Of death: aye, about 80 nights have IN
terlocked their shadows. The whole
race goes stumbling over prostrated
hopes and fallen fortunes and empty
-four barrels and desolated cradles and
dsathbeds. How much We have use for
all the seven candlesticks, with lights
Glazing from the top Of each one Of
them! Light of pardon for all sin.
Light of comfort for all trouble! Light
of encouragement for all dependency.
Light Of eternal riches for all poverty.
Light Of rescue for all persecution.
ght Of reunion for all the bereft
Light Of heaven for all the dying! And
thet light is Christ, who IS the light
that shall yet irradiate the hemis-
pheres.
But mark you. when I say churches
are not candles, but can6lesticks, cast
no slur on candlesticks. | believe IN
beautiful candlesticks. The candle
sticks that God ordered for the ancient
tabernacle were something exquisite.
They were dream Of beauty carved out
of lo7eliness. They were made of ham
mered gold, stood in foot of gold and
had six branches of gold blooming all
along in six lilies Of gold each, and lips
of gold, from which the candles lifted
their holy fire. Ana the best houses
in any city ought to be the churches
the best built, the best ventilated, the
best swept, the best windowed, and the
best ehaadeliered. Log cabins may do
in neighberhoods where most of the
people live in log cabins, but let there
be palatial churches for regions where
many Of the people live in palaces:
Do not have better place for yourself
than for your Lord and King. Do not
i've in a parlor and put your Christ IN
Kitchen.
These seven candlesticks of which |