Virginia gazette. [volume] (Williamsburg, Va.) 1893-192?, 1899-07-01
BIBLE MATHEMATICS
DR.. Talmage Discourses on the Num-
eral Seven.
A ravorite Number with the Divine
Mind-TRkc Care Of the Pres
emit God VIII Take Care
OF the Future.
Icopyright. 1899. by Louis <lopsch.l
Washin gton. jun -.

tne BlDlc are DN Ut. 1lfaoEc presented J.
in this sermon In a very unusual way.
Genesis IL, 3; God blessed the seventh /
day."
The mathematics of the Bible is no.
ticeable; the geometry and the Rrith-
metic, the square in Ezekiel, the cir
Gle spoken OF in Isaiah. the curve al
luded 20 in Job. the ruie Of fractions
mentioned in Daniel. the rule Of loss
and gain in Mark. where Christ asks the
people TO cipher out by that rule what
q 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 IL is the numeral seven. which
the Arabians got from India and all
following ages have taken from the
Arabians IL stands between the fig
ure six and the figure eight. In the
Bible all the other numerals bow 20 H.
Over 300 times IL IL mentioned in the
Scriptures. either alone or compound
ed with other words. In Genesis the
week is rounded into seven days. and
usS r1y text because there this nu-
neral Is for the first time introduced in
a journey which Aalts not until in the
Slose of the book OF Revelation its mon
ument 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 hac
20 serve seven years TO get Rachel. hut
she was well worth IL. and. fOretelling
the years Of prosperity and fami.e in
Pharoah's time, the seven tnt oxen were
eaten up Of the seven lean oxen. and
u.
pillars. and the ark was left with the
Phihstines seven years, and Naoman,
for the cure OF his lsprosy, plunged in
the Jordan seven times; TO the house
that Ezekiel saw I'm vision there were
seven steps; the walls OF Jericho, be-
fore they fen down, were eonpassed
seven days; Zechariah describes a
stone with seven eyes; 10 cleanse a
leprous house the door must be
sprinkled with pigeons blood seven
times; in Canaan were overthrown
seven nations; on one occasion Christ
cast out seven devils; on a mountain he
fed muntitude OF people with seven
loaves, the fragments left filling seven
baskets. and the closing passages of
the Bible are magnificent and over
whelming with the imagery made zap
OF seven churches. seven stars, seven
candlesticks. seven seals. seven angels
and seven heads and seven crowns AID
seven horns and seven spirits and seven
phials and seven plaques and sever
thWnders.
Yea. the numeral seven seems a IA
vorite with the Divine mind outside IA
well as inside the Bible. for are ther'
not seven prismatic colors2 And wher
God with the rainbow wrote, the com
fortinC thought that the world woulS
never have another deluge He wrot'
it on the scroll of the sky in ink OF sever
colors. He grouped into the Pleiade
seven stars. Rome, the capital OF th
world, sat on seven hills. When Coz
would make the most intelligent thin,
on earth, the human countenance, IL
fashioned it with seven features-th
two ears. the two eyes, the TWO nos
trils and the mouth. Yea, our bod
lasts only seven years. and we grad
ually shed IL for another body after ar
other seven years, and so on, for W
are as TO our bodies septennial animal:
So the numeral seven ranges throug
nature and through revelation. Ii
the number of perfection, and so l us
II while / speak of the seven candle
sticks, the seven stars, the seven sea-
and the seven thunders.
The seven golden candlesticks wer
and are the churches. Mark you, III
churches never were and never can
candles. They are only candlestick
They are not the light, but they al
to hold the light. a room in the Nigh
might have in IL 500 candlesticlxs an
yet you could not see your hand b
fore your face. The only use OF a cal
dlestick, and the only use Of churc
Is 20 hold up the light. You see ii
dark world, the night OF sin. the nigl
of trouble, the night of superstitio
the night of persecution, the night
poverty, the night of sickness, Il
night of death; aye, about so nigh
have ixterlocked their shadows. III
whole race goes stumbling over pre-
trated hopes and fallen fortunes al
empty -four barrels and desolate CT
dies and deathbeds. How much '
have use for all the seven eandlesticl
with lights blazing from the top
each one of them! Light of pard
for all sin. Light of comfort for
trouble! Light of encouragement
all dependency Light of eterr
riches for all poverty! Light of r
cue for. all persecution Light OF
10 a., on che hereftf Ifplt