Orange County observer., 1905-05-18
THE PULPIT,
A SCHOLARLY SUNDAY SERMON BY
THE REV. DR.. JOHN LOVE. JR.
Subject: The Mystic stone.

Asbury Park, N. 1.-THE Rev. DR..
John Love, Jr.. preached on "The Mys-
tic Stone and the Broken Image" in the
First Baptist Church here. He took as
bis text David ii:34: "a stone cut out
without hands which smote the i'm
age" Dr.. Love said:
In the poem called "Giles Corey" the
great author has said: "Do you believe
in dreams? Why, yes and no. When
they come true, then believe in them,
when they come false l don't believe
| in them" This is doubtless fair ex-
preston of our own feelings concern
ing these mysterious visitors in our un-
conscious hours. Whatever harmony
there may be between them and events
which thereafter tranSpire we can
never be sure at the time that they are
| prophetic.
In the Old Testament economy, how
ever, dreams We're a recognized method
OF divine communication with man.
kind. Not only were Abimeloch and
Jacob, Joseph and Solomon thus ad-
dressed from heaven, but the prophets
received revelations in and through
them, designed for the warning, the
comfort and the instruction of the race.
Few dreams narrated in sacred writ
are of such profound interest as the
one of which our text makes mention.
In the second year of his reign "Nebu-
ehadnezzar, the king of Babylon,
dreamed dreams wherewith his spirit
was troubled and his sleep brake from
nm." 80 profound was the impr ession
made upon him, so agitated his mind
on awakening, that he commanded the
presence OF magicians. astrOlogers and
@fcerers, who we're supposed to pos
sesS the powers Of Interpretation. The
ufeam OF the king had, however, so far
sOne from him when the wise men en-
tered into bis presence that he could
give them no hint of it's nature. Not
wen tne bare outline remained, only
tne sense of terror and the fear Of i'm
pendlng III. With the cruelty peculiar
~ himself he demanded that they
sloaid at once reproduce the dream by
uelf mystic arts and give the correct
interpretation. Protest was in vain
anu anu IN the heat of his passion he
,1.ceu the decree of death On all the
WISE men OF the kingdom.
a.; nanlel, the prophet, captive at the
tal snle IN Babylon, learning of the mani
$50 +es.o OF the king, petitioned for an ex
sonali nstoli OF time and promised the
sTusn' sU1fl, los Interpretation. 1t was al
TMnel nol:l crisis. but from the quartet o.
M nallie! and his three companions wen
GoS ~ ery that reached the very heart O
An any "a; anu Won the secret that nullifiet
nnin4Ls lnlamous decree. Within the ap
f'a,.eu tbo ae tlme the prophet is ready TO
snbpe bplesence chamber of the king. Al
eIL.uaSsador eIna~ from heaven. he brings il
tH" 1'f outline, by his vivid description
tus e mystical image which had dis
zar 'eu a the slumbers Of Nebuchadnez
AZ Az, ma ana then interprets it's significanc
Of tha aS oe traced in the second chapte
r. tue th oook Of Daniel, verses 81 to &c
tho 'ne nt mead OF gold" was represente,
Of Nah-s Natnsoom of Babylon, the do,nai
Tho e.ghuchadnezzar ..hIadne for forty five years
6ns ., oieast and arms Of silver sign
AND '1e kingdom in which the Mede
knou ferslans held sway. and wa
aupWra as as the Nedo-Persian reign, il
Cv,ul CSulated 1a by Darius, the Mede. an
ailian.,t ailiius, tne Persian, between whom q
kjn~aooee kjoe mad been formed. The thir
thishso thiuon represented by the "belly an
fonndo VI BRASS" was the Grecial
yiot0d riued by Alexander the Great on h
n@,ory nproay over the last of the Persian en-
ever Inc Joy Of his conquest, hoy
boss't.w was mingled with sadness. fo
wor1a w1lns that he had conquered ii
"lu' "thans' lie sat down and wept becau
auer" -1o' anotuer world to co
The aahs infgr fourth kingdom symbolized,
Iron image, by 1.-The legs and feet
Roma IS commonly believed to be II
becamnna kingdom. Toward its close
ins mt out weak and disintegrated, bran,c
by tba 1ut INTO ten kingdoms. represent
har5dn1ee due ten ter toes of the image It con
tory Sot, be shown by an appeal to II h
succaSsi avM exactly all the events and t
spers1on spectrs11 Of events symbolized in t
eoncpnt.dlIm eal image came to pass. but ,
ai6csnneerate our attention on the $
0uee of the mystic stone whi