The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-11-20
DIR. TALMAGES SERMON
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE BY THE NOTED
DIVINE.
Subject: Good or EVIL Returns to Bless or
Blast-Actions May Make the Circuit
of Many Years, But Come Back to Us
They VIII.
Copyright, l9J1.l

| WASHINGTON, -. S.-1ii e"i@ SSNA
DR.. Talmage shows that the good or evll
Isaiah ri, %, 'It is He that sitteth upon
the circle of the earth
While yet people thought that the
world was fiat and thousands OF years be,
! fore they found out that it was round
| Isaiah, in my text, inrimated the shape
of it-Got sitting upon the circle OF the
earth. The most beautiful figure in all
| geometry is the circle. God made the uni
verse on plan of the circ ie
There are in the natural world straight
lines, angles, parallelograms, dlagonais,
! ouadrangies, but these evidently are not
| Gods favor:tes. Almost everywhere
where you find Him geometrizing you lind
the circle dominant, and if not the circle
| then the curve, which is circle that died
young. If it had lived long enough 1t
would have been full orb, a periphery.
An ellipse is a circle pressed only little
too hard at the sides.
! Giants causeway in ireland shows what
| God thinks of mathematics. There are
over $4,000 columns OF rocEs-octagoaai,
hexagonal, pentagonal. These rocks seem
! Every artist. has his molding room where
he may make fifty shapes, but he chooses
one shape as preferable to all others. l
will not say that the Giants causeway
was the worlds molding room, but | do
| say out Of great many figures God seems
to have selected the circle as the best.
''It is He that sitteth on the circle OF the
earth" The stars in a circle. the moon
in circle, the sun in circle, the universe
in circle and the throne OF God the CEN
ire of that circle.
Appreciation of this would correct the
architecture of churches, whose shape is
often O defiance of divine suggestion.
When men build churches they ought to
initiate the idea of che Great Architect
and put the audience IL circle, knowing
that the tides of emotion roll more easily
that way than in straight lines. Six thou.
sand years ago God flung this world out of
His right hand. But He did not throw it
out in straight line, but in curviinear,
with leash of love holding it so as to
bring it back again. The world started
been rolling on through regions of moral
ice and distemper. How long it will roll
God only knows, but it will in due time
make complete circuit and come back to
the place where it started-the hand OF
God-pure and Edenic.
The history of the world goes in cir.
Gle. Why is it that the shipping in our
day is improving so rapidly? A scientific
shipbuilder says it is because men are
initiating in some respects what the small
wits deride, the old model Of Noah's ark,
as it really was according to the account
given. Great ships have we now, but
where is the ship on the sea to-day that
could outride deluge in which the heaven
and the earth were wrecked, landing all
the passengers in safety. two OF each kind
of living creatures, hundreds OF thousands
Of species?
Pomology will go on with its achieve
ments until after many ceutnrles the
world will have plums and pears equal to
the paradisaical. The art of gardening
will grow for centuries, and after. the
Downings and Mitchells of the world have
done their best in the far future the art OF
gardening will come up to the arborescence
Of the year l.
If the makers of colored glass so on i'm
proving they may in some centuries be
able to make something equal to the east
window of York minister, which was built
in the year 1890. We are six centuries be-
hind those artists. But the world must
keep on toiling until it shall make the
complete circuit and come Up to the skill
of those very men.
II the world continues to improve IN
masonry, we shall have after awhile, per-
haps after the advance Of centuries, NOR,
tar eQual 60 THAT Wl!cn 1 sd" III thS naH
of an exhumed English city built in the
time of the Romans 1000 years ago, that
mortar to-day as good as the day in which
it was made, having outlasted the brick
and the stone I say, after hundreds OF
years masonry may advance to that point.
II the world stands long enough we may
have q city as large as they had in old
times-Babyion. five times the size OF Lon.
don. You may go into, the poltterles OF
England and you find them making cups
and vases after the style o. the cups and
vases exhumcd from Pompeii.
The world is not going back. On, no;
come around to the styles of pottery
known so long ago as the days of Pompei!;
The world must keep on progressing until
it makes the complete circuit. The curve
is in the right direction: the curve Will
keep on until it becomes the circle.
Well, now, what is true in the material
universe is true in Gods moral govern
ment and spiritual arrangement. That Is
the meaning of Ezekieps wheel. All com;
mentators agree in saying that the. wheel
means Gods providence. But wheel Is
OF no use unless it turns, and il 1t turn 1t
turns around. and il it turns around 1t
moves in a circle. What then? Are we
parts OF a great iron machine whirled
around and around whether we will or
not, the victims OF inexoraoie fate: No!
So far from that I shall show YOU that we
ourselves start the circle Of good or bad ac,
tions, and that it will surely come around
again to us unless by divine intervention
it be hindered. Those bad or good actions
may make the circuit of many years; out
come back to US they will as certainly as
that God sits on the circle OF the earth,
.Je!ebe!, the worst woman OF the Bloie
Ii Macbeth
from her picture-slew Naboth because she
wanted his vineyard. While the dogs were
eating the body of Naboth Elijah, the
prophet, put down his compass and
marked a circle from those dogs clear
around to the dogs that should eat the
body of Jezebel. the murderess. "lmpossl-
blc!" the people said. That will never
happen" Who is that being flung out or
the palace window? Jezebel. A few hours
after they came around: hoping to oury
her. They find only the pains OF the
voured Jezebcl and the dogs that deyoured
Naboth. Oh, what swift, what an awful
circuit =, 49,.
But it is sometimes the case that this
circle sweeps through a century or through
many centuries The world started with
q theocracy for governmect-tnat Is. God
was the president and emperor OF the
world. People got tired of q theocracy.
They said: 1--WE don't want God directly
interfering with the affairs of the world.
Give us a monarchy" The world had
monarchy. From a monarchy it is going
to have a limited monarchy. After awhile
the limited monarchy will be given up
and the republican form of government
will be everywhere dominant and recog..
nized. Then the world will get tired OF
the publican form of government, and 1t
will have an anarchy, which Is no govern
ment at all.
And thea all nations. finding out that
man is not capable of righteous.y. govern
ing man, will cry out again fer thsocracy
and say, ,"Let God come back and conduct
the affairs of the world