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BIBLE JEWELS

Chapter 1 - My Jewels

Malachi iii. 17.

This is what God calls His people. He is speaking of all true Christians – of all persons who really learn to love and serve Jesus – when He uses this language. It is wonderful to notice how many different kinds of things God compares His people to in the Bible. In one place they are compared to trees, as the cedar (Ps. xcii. 12), or the palmtree (Ps. xcii.12). In another place they are compared to flowers, like the rose and the lily (Canticles, or the Song of Solomon ii. 1). Again they are compared to the stars (Dan. xii. 3), and to the sun (Matt. xiii. 43). In one place they are compared to the sparkling dew-drops, that stand so thick on the flowers of the garden, on a fine summer morning, and make the whole garden look so fresh and beautiful (Micah. v. 7). In other places they are compared to the light which the sun is pouring forth all the time, and which enables us to see the many wonderful things with which God has filled the world around us (Matt. v. 14). They are compared to the dove, because it is harmless; to the lamb, because it is gentle; to the lion, because it is bold; and to the eagle, because it is a noble bird that tries to get above the world, and to rise far away up toward the sun. But, in this passage from the prophet Malachi, God compares His people to jewels. He says "They shall be mine in that day when I make up My jewels." Jewels are considered to be the most valuable things that a person can have. Sometimes they are made of gold and silver, and sometimes of pearls, or diamonds, or other precious stones. Kings and queens, lords and ladies, and other great and rich people put jewels on their fingers, round their necks, or in their bosoms, and wear them for ornaments. And just in the same way God says His people shall be to Him for "a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty" (Isaiah lxii. 3). What a blessed thing it will be to be one of the jewels in the crown that Jesus wears, or to lie in His bosom shining like a diamond! And yet, if we really love and serve Him, He tells us in this text that we shall be His jewels.

There are a great many precious stones mentioned in the Bible. Each of these may be considered as representing some important part of Christian character or duty; and it seems to me that if we take up these jewels they will furnish us with an interesting and instructive subject for a course of sermons. This subject, then, we may call – Bible Jewels.

In our present text God's people are compared to jewels. This first sermon will lead us to consider some reasons why Christians are like jewels. I wish now to give you three reasons why they are so.

In the first place, Christians are like jewels, because jewels are very beautiful.

God never made anything that looks more lovely than some jewels do. When you hold up a diamond, in the light of the sun, or even of a lamp, and move it about, it flashes and sparkles most beautifully. And if we had a number of them together, as they are sometimes seen in a monarch's crown, or a lady's head-dress, in a strong light they would glitter and shine so, that we could hardly bear to look at them. They would seem to have little rainbows dancing all about them.We should see all the colours of the rainbow glittering and sparkling there. But these beauties are not in the jewels so much as in the light which shines upon them. If it were not for the light, you would see nothing of the beauty. Suppose it were as dark as midnight here; I might hold up ten thousand diamonds, if I had them, and yet there would be no beauty for you to see. Not a trace of brightness would sparkle in one of them. We sometimes read stories about dark caves, in which great jewels are put up, instead of lamps, for the purpose of lighting them up. But this is a mistake. Jewels have no beauty in themselves. They have no power of their own to shine. It is only when light, outside of themselves, is thrown upon them that their beauty can be seen. But when the bright beams of the sun shine upon them they appear very beautiful.

And just so it is with Christians, who are God's jewels. They are very beautiful. But this beauty is not their own. It does not belong to themselves. It all comes from Jesus. When they learn to know Him, and love Him, and serve Him, they become like Him, and this is what makes them beautiful. Jesus is called in the Bible "the Sun of righteousness." He gives light to His people, just as the sun gives light to the world. He shines on the souls of His people, and this makes them look beautiful as diamonds and other jewels do, when the sun is shining on them. And the stronger the light is that falls on a jewel the more beautiful it appears. If, instead of the light of a lamp, you hold a diamond in the beams of the sun, it will sparkle with a hundred times more beauty. And so the nearer we get to Jesus, the more we know of Him and love Him, the more beautiful we shall become.

You remember what we read in the Bible about Moses. He went up to the top of Mount Sinai once, and he was there for forty days, seeing Jesus all the time, and talking with Him. And, when he came down, his face was shining with so much brightness and beauty, that the people could not bear to look at him. The sight of his face dazzled their eyes, like looking at the sun. Moses had to put a veil over his face, and cover it up, before the people could come near enough to talk with him.

And, you remember, too, what we read in the New Testament about Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. His disciples looked at Him, just as you and I have sometimes looked at, what is called, a dissolving view, in a magic lantern. They saw a wonderful change come over Him. The appearance of Him, which they were accustomed to see, melted away, and another form, or appearance, gradually took its place. His face grew brighter and brighter, till it was shining with a light above the brightness of the sun. His clothing changed too. It all turned white, and kept on growing more and more pure, till it was whiter than the spotless snow. And Jesus underwent this change, and put on this beautiful appearance, on purpose to show us what the beauty is which He intends to put on all His people. Yes, my dear young friends, if you and I are true Christians, we shall be made, at last, to look just as Jesus did when He was on that mountain. Jesus will come into our world again. He will come to gather His jewels together. This means that He will come to raise His people out of their graves, and take them to be forever with Him in His heavenly kingdom. And, when Jesus comes to do this, He will appear just as His disciples saw Him on the Mount of Transfiguration. And all His people will be made like Him then. They will all be wearing the same snow-white garments that Jesus wore on the mount. Their faces will all be shining brighter than the sun, as His did. Oh, how brightly God's jewels will sparkle then! How beautiful they will appear! We often see great beauty, now, in flowers, the rainbow, the sky; but it fades while we look at it, and very soon it is all gone. Even the beauty of the Transfiguration did not last. But the beauty that Jesus will give to His people, when He comes again, will be lasting beauty. It will never fade. On the contrary, it will grow brighter, and brighter forever. Jewels are very beautiful. This is one reason why God calls His people jewels.

But jewels are very valuable; and this is another reason why God calls His people jewels.

It is because of their value that we call them precious stones. Very often a single jewel will be worth more than many a rich man's whole fortune. You remember the Bible speaks of a man "finding one pearl, of great price, and then selling all that he had" in order to purchase that pearl.

We read of a nobleman in England, some time ago, who had a suit of clothes made to wear on special occasions. It was what is called a court-dress. He only used to put it on when the king had great companies of the nobility at his palace. But there were so many jewels on that one suit of clothes, that it was worth one hundred thousand pounds.

A young friend of mine, now traveling in Europe, wrote home the other day that he saw, while visiting the royal gallery in the city of Dresden, a necklace of jewels that was said to be worth four hundred thousand pounds. In the same place is a small casket of jewels, valued at about four millions sterling.

But to show you what very valuable things jewels are, let me tell you about some of the most celebrated diamonds in the world.

One of these is called the Orloff diamond, or the Grand Russian diamond. This is about as large as a walnut. It belongs to the Emperor of Russia. Its luster is very fine, but it is a little defective in shape. It is valued at over one hundred thousand pounds. There are two stories told about this diamond. One is that it used to belong to a Persian prince, who called it "the Moon of the Mountain." It is said that somebody murdered the prince, and then stole all his jewels, and among them this great diamond, which, after many changes, came into the hands of the Empress Catharine, of Russia, and has since been kept in that family.

The other story is that this beautiful gem was once used as one of the eyes of an idol, in the temple of Brahma. I don't know what he had for his other eye. But certainly one of his eyes must have been much brighter, and more beautiful than the other. Well, there it was, for many a year, flashing and sparkling most splendidly. The fame of this wonderful, bright-eyed god spread all over the country. A French soldier, in the garrison at Pondicherry, made up his mind to try and get it. He deserted from the army. He went to the priests of this temple, and professed his desire to become a convert to the worship of their god. He remained with them a long time, till he gained their confidence, and was appointed to some post of duty about the temple. Then he watched for an opportunity and got into the temple all alone one night, when he climbed up on the shoulders of the idol, gouged out his bright-jeweled eye, and went off with it. He escaped to Madras, and sold it to a sea-captain for fifty thousand francs. After passing through different hands, a Greek merchant finally sold it to the Empress Catharine. The price she paid the merchant for ti was about one hundred and fifty thousand pounds cash down, five thousand pounds a year as long as he lived, and also a title of nobility.

There is another great diamond, called the Austrian, or Grand Tuscan diamond. It has belonged to the family of the Emperor of Austria for many generations. It is cut in the form of a rose. It has nine sides, each presenting a star with nine rays. But is has a kind of yellowish tint, which makes it less valuable than it would otherwise be. Yet that single jewel is supposed to be worth between one and two hundred thousand pounds.

Another of the celebrated diamonds of the world is called the Pitt diamond, or the Regent. It is not the largest, but is said to be the most perfect and beautiful diamond in Europe. When it was cut, or polished, it took two years' time to do it, and the work cost above three thousand pounds. The fragments broken off from it in cutting were worth many thousand pounds. It is called the Pitt diamond, because, when first brought from the East Indies, it was bought by Mr. Thomas Pitt, the grandfather of the celebrated English statesman of that name. It is called the Regent diamond, because, when Mr. Pitt sold it, it was bought by the Duke of Orleans, who was then the Regent, or reigning Prince of France. When Napoleon I. was Emperor of France it belonged to him. He used to wear it on the hilt of his sword. Once he had to pawn it to raise money to pay his soldiers. Now, it is set in the crown of the Emperor of France, and sparkles beautifully there. This one jewel is worth a quarter of a million of pounds.

Another famous diamond is called "The Star of the South." This belongs to the King of Portugal. There is an interesting story connected with the finding of this precious gem. A good many years ago, you know, Brazil, in South America, which is now an independent government, used to belong to the King of Portugal. In those days three men had done something to offend the king. As a punishment they were banished to a place in the interior of Brazil. They were never to go home again to their families, but were to stay there till they died. The part of the country to which they were sent was very rich in gold and jewels. Every river rolled over a bed of gold, and every valley was a sort of diamond mine. But they could not live on gold. And jewels would not take the place of their families and friends; and so the banished men were very unhappy. They longed to go back to their homes. But how could this be done? It occurred to them that if they could only find some very rich mine of gold, or some very large, valuable jewel, perhaps the king would pardon them and let them go back to their homes. Then they went to work. For six long years they toiled on without success. But one summer there came a long, severe drought. It hardly rained all the season. The stream, near which they lived, dried up. They went into the bed of the river to dig for gold. While digging there they found the largest diamond they had ever seen. It was over an ounce in weight. They knew it was exceedingly valuable. They were filled with joy. They ventured to go home with this precious gem. They sent it to the King of Portugal in Lisbon. He was so delighted with it that he pardoned the men and let them stay at home. This was the famous "Star of the South." The king had a hole bored through it, and used to wear it round his neck on holidays. It has since been cut into a beautiful eight-sided jewel. In a French work on the subject of jewels, which I have, it is said that this diamond is supposed to be worth the surprising sum of three millions of pounds.

Another of these celebrated diamonds is called the "Koh-i-noor," or Mountain of Light. This now belongs to Victoria, the Queen of England. It is said to have been found in the mines of Golconda, more than a thousand years before the birth of our Saviour. During all these many centuries it is said to have been in the possession of different rajahs, or princes, in India, and many stories are told about it.

Once an Indian prince had conquered another. The conquered prince owned this gem, and wore it in his turban or head-dress. The conqueror saw it flashing in its beauty there. He proposed to the conquered prince that they should exchange turbans in token of friendship. The poor fellow was very unwilling to do this. But he knew it would cost him his life if he refused. So he made the exchange, but lost that splendid jewel.

There was another occasion when one Indian prince had conquered another in battle. The conquered prince was known to be the owner of the Koh-i-noor. The conqueror invited him to his palace. When he came, he was told that he never should go out again till he gave up his jewel to his conqueror. He had expected this; and to be prepared for it, he had a counterfeit, or imitation of the real jewel made. This he pretended to be very loath to part with, yet finally gave it up. Then he was set at liberty. The other prince was delighted to think of his great treasure. But when he gave it to his jeweller, to set it for him, he told him it was a counterfeit, and not the real jewel. Then he went to the palace of the prince who had deceived him, and tried to find the great diamond. He ransacked the palace from top to bottom, but could not find it. At last one of the prince's slaves told him where it was hid, and the "Koh-i-noor" - the "Mountain of Light" - was found hidden away under a heap of ashes. But at last the English army conquered a part of India called the Punjaub. The prince of that country owned this celebrated diamond, and he was obliged to give it up to the Queen of England; and now it shines and sparkles among the crown jewels of that kingdom. It is worth about a million and a half sterling.

Now we see, from what has been said, how very valuable jewels are. But perhaps some of you are ready to say, "Well, what is all this to us? We have no such jewels as these."

Nay, but you have. Every one of you has a jewel worth more than the Koh-i-noor, and the Star of the South, and all those costly gems put together. I mean by this your soul. The soul of the youngest child here is worth more than all the gold and silver, and all the diamonds and rubies, and gems and jewels in the world. Jesus said that if a man should gain the whole world, and lose his soul by it, he would make a very bad bargain. Jesus knows what the soul is worth, for He made it. And when it was lost He paid the price that was required to redeem it, or save it. That price was His own precious blood. He shed this on the cross for us. And this shows us how very valuable our souls are. This is a very good reason why God should call His people jewels. He does it because they are very valuable.

The third reason why Christians are like jewels is because they are hard to polish.

Many diamonds, when they are found, have some stain or speck upon them, and they almost all have a rusty sort of coating, which must be taken off before their real beauty and brilliance can be seen. But this is a very hard thing to do. You know the diamond is one of the hardest things in the world. It is harder than iron, or steel, or stone. It is so hard that it will write on glass. It is so hard that nothing can be used to polish it but powder made out of diamonds.

The men who polish diamonds, and other jewels, are called lapidaries. 'Lapis' is the Latin word for a stone. And a lapidary means one who works in jewels or precious stones. If we should go into the workshop of a lapidary we should see a great variety of machinery, which is used in polishing jewels. Most of these are solid wheels made of hard wood or iron. They are about and inch or an inch and a half thick, and about a foot wide. They are like thin, small grindstones. They are so arranged that they can be made to turn round very fast. Then the diamond, which is to be cut or polished, is fixed very tight on the end of a piece of wood, so that one side of the diamond at a time can be held very steadily against the wheel while it is flying round rapidly, just as you have seen the scissors'-grinder hold the scissors he is sharpening, against the grindstone. But the diamond is so hard that this grinding sort of work has to be kept up a long time before the polishing is finished. It takes months of this sort of work to polish a diamond. The Pitt diamond, of which we have already spoken, took two years to polish it. So you see that polishing jewels is very hard work. And this is a very good reason why Christians are called jewels; for they have to be polished, too, and it is hard work with them, just as it is with jewels.

When we become Christians we are like diamonds, as they are found in the mines. There are specks, or stains, on us, which must be removed by polishing. These specks and stains mean the bad habits we have formed, which must be broken up; or the bad tempers we have indulged, and which must be overcome. But there is one great difference here between diamonds and Christians, or between men's jewels and God's jewels. When a man is polishing a jewel, the jewel cannot help him. It has nothing to do. But if we are God's jewels, when He is polishing us we must help Him. There is something for us to do. And God won't carry on the work of polishing us, or making us better, unless we try to help Him. Let me try to show you what I mean.

Edward Norton was a good Christian boy. He was one of God's jewels. But there was quite a large spec on this jewel. He had a bad temper. A little thing would often make him very angry. He was fond of reading about the great conquerors spoken of in history. His mother tried to show him how he might become a greater conqueror than they. Every morning, for a whole week, she made him repeat this verse, "He that ruleth his own spirit is greater than he that taketh a city." At the same time she taught him to pray to God for grace to help him to resist the temptation to get angry, and for power to rule his own spirit.

One day, after they had been talking about this verse, Edward was playing with some boys. A dispute arose between them. One of them called Edward a fool, laughed at him, and made fun of him. In a moment Edward grew red in the face. The fire began to flash from his eyes. He was just doubling up his fist, and raising his head to strike a blow, when he suddenly stopped. He thought of what his mother had said about conquering his spirit. In a moment the silent prayer went up from his heart, "Lord, help me to overcome this angry spirit." God heard that prayer and helped him. No angry blow was struck. No angry word was spoken. He ruled his own spirit. And when he went home and told his mother about it, she threw her arms round his neck, and kissed him, and told him that he had gained a more glorious victory that day than any that Alexander, or Cæsar, or Napoleon ever gained. That was true. And when Edward Norton was resisting that temptation, and trying to overcome his angry temper, he was helping God to polish one of His jewels, and remove an ugly spec from it.

Let me tell you now about another little boy who helped to polish one of these jewels. This boy's name was Willie. He was trying to follow Christ. The spot on this jewel was not that of an angry, but of a selfish spirit. He liked to have his own way, and indulge, and please himself better than any one else. One Saturday Willie came home from school and said they were to have holiday for a week. His mother told him that on Monday afternoon she was going to send their man Dennis with the wagon to a village six miles off, and that if he were a good boy, and the weather were fine, he might go along with him. Willie was delighted with the prospect of such a fine, long ride, for he loved riding very much.

The next day, while in church and Sunday school, Willie could hardly keep from thinking about that ride, and wishing that Monday afternoon would come.

On Sunday evening, while sitting by his mother, he said, "Ma, the minister talked to us in Sunday-school today, about self-denial. And he said that the more we denied ourselves, for the good of others, the happier we should feel. Now is that really so?"

"It is, Willie," said his mother. "The Bible tell us, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive;' and that we must 'take up our cross daily, and follow Christ.' "

"Then, ma, I feel that I have been a very selfish little boy; for I don't like to deny myself at all. I ate all those oranges myself, the other day, although I knew that Johnny Maloney would have been very glad of one, for he had just got over the fever, and I remember how good they tasted when I was getting well, after I was sick last year."

"I'm glad, Willie, to find you have been thinking of this matter. If you wish to find out whether the minister's words are true, try it for yourself. Do something to deny yourself, the first chance you have, and see if you don't feel happier for it."

Well, Monday morning came. It was a bright, clear, beautiful day. Willie was in fine spirits, thinking about the ride he was to have on the afternoon. The morning seemed very long. He thought it never would be gone. He did not know what to do with himself all the time. He got tired of staying in the sitting-room, so he thought he would go into the kitchen and see Mrs. Maloney, the washerwoman.

"Ah! master Willie," she cried, "how well ye're looking this morning! And what a fine colour ye have in yer cheeks! Here's me poor Johnny as pale as the sheet I'm washing, ever since the faver left him. The docthor says he ought to take a ride now and then, and go out into the country a bit; but the likes o' me that has to wash for a living can't do that at all, at all."

A sudden thought darted into Willie's mind; and hardly stopping to answer, he hurried out into the yard. Then he walked up and down awhile, with a slow step. His face had an anxious and troubled look. A great conflict was going on in Willie's mind. The question was whether he should indulge himself, or deny himself. It was a conflict like that famous one which the great Cæsar had on the banks of the Rubicon. All at once he stopped walking, and came to a dead halt. He planted his foot down firmly on the bricks and said, "I'll do it. I'll do it."

Then he ran into the house. "Ma," said he, "Johnny Maloney is downstairs; and he looks so pale and thin, that I think the ride into the country will do him more good than it will me; and as there is only room for one I'm going to let him take my place, if you are willing."

"Most certainly, my dear boy," said his mother, as she clasped him in her arms, and gave him a hearty kiss. Willie flew to tell Mrs. Maloney of his decision; and when the wagon drove up to the door, he stood nobly by while Johnny was lifted up on the high seat by the side of Dennis. As he watched them ride out of sight, both smiles and tears were seen on Willie's face. It seemed doubtful, for a while, which would gain the day; but at last he dashed away the tears, and the smiles got the victory. Then he went cheerfully away, and spent the afternoon in doing some errands for his mother.

At night Willie's mother was sitting by the side of his bed before he went to sleep. She put her hand fondly on his little curly head and said, "You have made me very happy, dear Willie, to-day, by trying to practice so soon the lesson we were talking about yesterday. It was a great act of self-denial for you to give up the ride which you had been expecting with so much pleasure. But tell me now, Willie, do you feel happier or not for staying at home to let Johnny go?"

"I feel happier than if I had taken the best ride in the world, Ma. And you say it made you happy, too; and I know Mrs. Maloney and Johnny were happy; and so only think how much happiness it caused. I'm sure I don't want to be selfish."

Willie slept very sweetly that night. What a noble little fellow he was! If he kept on in that way he would soon get the stain out of his jewel, and have it looking very bright and beautiful.

But these jewels are not always polished only for the sake of removing specks from them. They are often cut, and polished on purpose to make them look more beautiful. If a large diamond is to be put on the crown of some great king, it is only by cutting and polishing that it can be made to shine with all its brilliance. When you look at a diamond, you see that it has many faces or sides. These don't belong to diamonds naturally. When they are found in the mines they have none of these smooth faces. They are then like little pebble-stones, without any particular shape. These smooth, even sides are made by the jeweller, or lapidary, by grinding, and polishing. And they are made on purpose to make the diamond look more beautiful. And just in the same way God cuts and polishes His jewels, in order to make them shine more brightly and beautifully in the crown of His glory in heaven.

Sometimes we see good Christian people who have very heavy trials which they are obliged to bear for many years. And when we see them bearing those trials we often wonder what it is all for. But the meaning of it is that God is using those trials just as the lapidary uses the files and wheels, to polish His jewels so as to make them brighter and more beautiful in heaven. There was that poor beggar at the gate of the rich man, of whom we read in the New Testament. He was left to be so poor, and to have all those dreadful sores, not because God could not help it; He could easily have made him a rich man and have kept him from having any sores at all, if He had pleased. But he was one of God's jewels, and God was making use of his poverty and beggary and sores, in order to polish that jewel and make it shine more beautifully in heaven.

I was reading lately about a Christian woman who was kept on a sick bed, entirely unable to help herself, for twenty years. She had no use of her limbs. She was blind and dumb, and suffered dreadful pains. She lost her father and four brothers, and was left alone in the world. Yet she was always cheerful and happy. Before she lost her voice, she used to say that she would not alter any of these trials if she could, because God sent them, and He knew what was best. She was one of God's jewels, and He was using all those trials to make her happier and more beautiful in heaven forever. And if this is the way in which God prepares His people for heaven, then they may well be compared to jewels, because they are hard to polish.

My dear young friends, I want you all to love Jesus and serve Him. Then you will be His jewels. And every jewel must be polished before it is fit for the jeweller to set it in the ring or crown for which it is intended. And it is just so with God's jewels. They all need polishing. And the church and Sunday school are God's workshop. God is like a great jeweller or lapidary. In every church and Sunday-school He has jewels which He wants to have polished. And He makes use of ministers and teachers to help Him in polishing His jewels. But then the jewels must take hold of the work and help, too. The hymn we sometimes sing, says:-

"There is something in heaven for children to do."

And that's true. But there is something for you to do here too. You are God's jewels. But you need polishing. This is hard work, and you must help to do it, or it will never be done. You must find out what your bad habits or bad tempers are, and then try to overcome them. These are the specks or stains on your jewels. And these must be polished off. The speck on Edward Norton's jewel was a quick, angry temper. We have seen how he tried to get that polished off. The speck on little Willie's jewel was a selfish spirit. We have seen how he tried to polish that off. In the same way you must find out what the speck is on your jewel, and try hard to get it polished off.

Little Georgie was a boy only about five years old. He was trying to love Jesus and be a good boy. He was one of God's jewels; but there was a speck in it. Georgie's fault was that he would get sulky and be obstinate. One day he had been doing something wrong, and his mother had to punish him for it. This made him very sulky, and it took him a long time to get over it. Every night, when he had done saying his prayers after his mother, she used to teach him to pray in his own language; to speak freely to God and tell Him all that he wanted. So on the evening of this day Georgie remembered how wrong he had been, and he thought he must pray about that. And he did it in this way. He said: "O God! bless Georgie, and give him a new heart. Don't let him be naughty again, never; no, never. Because you know when he is naughty he sticks to it so. Help him to give up easy, and make him a good boy, for Jesus' sake. Amen."

That was the way in which little Georgie tried to get the stain off his jewel. And that is the way in which we must try. Let us find out what our spots or stains are. And then let us pray to God to help us while we try to polish them off. And then, when God comes to make His jewels up, we shall be gathered among them and shine beautifully in heaven forever.

Chapter 2 – The pearl

"One Pearl of Great Price." - Matt. xiii. 46

A pearl is a very beautiful jewel. It is generally round in form. Sometimes it has a tapering shape, something like a pear. Its colour is a rich, soft, pure white, tinged with some of the colours of the rainbow. You know that the pearl is only found in a particular kind of oyster. In old times, people used to have very strange ideas about the way in which they were formed. Some thought they were drops of dew, made hard in some strange way, and so turned into precious jewels. Others thought they were the eggs laid by the female oyster. Others thought that when the oysters were injured, drops of liquid, like tears would ooze out, on the inside of their shell, and these would turn into pearls. But we know now that they are formed just in the same way as the inside shell of the oyster. This is the reason why some beautiful shells are called pearl-shells. The inner lining of these shells is called "mother-of-pearl." This is used to make knife handles, and paper-cutters, and ladies' card-cases, and work-boxes, and many other useful and ornamental things. If a grain of sand, or a small bead, is put into the inside of a pearl-oyster shell while the animal is yet alive, and left there for a year or two, it will become a pearl; that is, it will be covered all over with this beautiful pearly substance. This shows us clearly the way in which pearls are made.

Many years ago there was a learned man in Sweden who found this out about pearls. He told it to the King of Sweden, and proposed that they should establish a manufactory of pearls. The king was greatly delighted with the idea. He gave him a large present, to show how much he was pleased. Then he sent to the East Indies, where the best pearl-oysters come from, and got a large quantity of them. With these they formed a bed of pearl-oysters in one of the rivers near the sea. They put little beads in the shells with the living oysters, and thought in this way they could make as many pearls as they wanted. But it did not succeed. They made a few indeed, but found that it cost more to make them than they were worth; and so they gave it up.

The pearl-oysters are found in many parts of the world. But the principal place is near the Island of Ceylon, in the Indian Ocean. The pearl is one of the most beautiful of all the jewels. The smaller pearls are worth from ten to twelve shillings each. A necklace of pearls, as large as peas, will sell for different prices, varying from two hundred to three thousand pounds. Sometimes a single pearl will be found, of very large size, which will be truly "a pearl of great price." The largest pearl now known in the world, and the most perfect in colour and form, is about an inch in width at the broadest part, and about an inch and a-half long. It is like a small pear, and is said to be worth fifty thousand pounds.

We read in Roman history about Queen Cleopatra. She was a very beautiful woman, and very rich; but very wicked, and very foolish. One night she gave a great feast, in honour of the celebrated Roman general, Marc Antony. She had two of the most valuable pearls then known in the world. They were both alike, large, round, beautiful, and perfect in shape and colour. Each of them was said to be worth one hundred thousand pounds. Well, the story is, that in order to show how rich she was, and how much she thought of that brave soldier, she dissolved one of those valuable pearls in vinegar, and gave it to Antony to drink. I do not believe the story, but it has been told now for nineteen hundred years; and, if it be true, then that Roman soldier had the most costly drink that anybody ever had. Only think, nearly one hundred thousand pounds at a draught! It must have tasted pretty strong of gold, or silver. The mate of that beautiful pearl of Cleopatra's afterwards fell into the hands of Augustus, the Roman Emperor. He had it split in two, and used it to ornament the ears of the statue of the Goddess Venus. What became of it afterwards no one knows.

Now it is because the pearl is so beautiful, and so valuable, that Jesus is compared to this jewel. He speaks of a merchant-man seeking goodly pearls. Presently he "found one pearl of great price, and went and sold all that he had and bought it." Jesus is called a pearl because He is so beautiful - so precious. He is called "the Pearl of great price," because there is no one else like Him. I wish to give two reasons why it is proper to speak of Jesus as "the Pearl of great price."

The first reason is because He was hard to get.

I don't mean by this that it is a hard thing now for you, or me, or anybody that wants this pearl to get it; for this is not hard, at all. It is very easy. But what I mean is, that Jesus had a hard time to make it so easy for us to get this precious pearl.

For instance, suppose I had a small box here full of pearls. And suppose I should say to you, "Come to me, my dear boys and girls, and I will give each of you one of these beautiful pearls." It would not be hard then for you to get a pearl, would it? No. You would only have to walk a few steps from where you are sitting, to come up to me, hold out your hand for the pearl, and it would be yours. That would be very easy. But suppose after you had got your pearls, I should say to you, "Now, my dear young friends, I want you to take great care of these pearls, and prize them highly, for they were very hard to get. Just listen, and I will tell you what I had to do before I could get them for you." For we will suppose that I had been to the pearl-fisheries and had got these pearls for you myself. And the things which I describe myself as doing, are just the things which somebody has to do for all the pearls you see shining on ladies' headdresses.

Well, then, in the first place, I had a long voyage to make. I had to sail many thousands of miles across the seas till I reached the Island of Ceylon, in the Indian Ocean. I went to the pearl-fisheries off the northern part of that island. There I got into a boat along with the fishermen. By-and-by we came to the fishing-ground. It is away off to sea. The water was very deep. The pearl-oysters were far down at the bottom of the sea. The only way to get them is to dive down to the bottom, fill a basket with the oysters, and get pulled up again as quickly as possible. Well, I had to put off nearly all my clothes; a basket was hung from my neck, to put the oysters in; a big stone was fastened to my feet, to make me sink quickly; and, holding on with one hand to a rope, fixed round my body, the men in the boat lowered me down to the bottom. Oh, how many dangers there were! At one time the current almost dashed me against some sharp, jagged rocks. Then a whirlpool came near drawing me in; and just as I got my basket full of oysters, and made signal to the men in the boat to pull me up, I saw a huge hungry shark coming towards me as fast as he could. How glad I was to escape his terrible jaws! Well, I got safe up with my oysters.

The next thing was to open them, and find out how many pearls were in them. And how was this to be done? Perhaps you think, why, in the same way in which we open our oysters - with a knife. No; that is not the way. That would spoil the pearls. I had to spread them out in a trough, where the sun would shine on them; and then wait till the shells opened, and the fish died, and their bodies all decayed and turned putrid. Then I had to wash off as much as I could of the decaying matter, and go feeling round among what was left for the pearls that were in it. The smell was horrible. The work was the most disagreeable that could possibly be. That is the way in which I got my pearls. That is the way in which all pearls are got. And so I might end as I began, by saying I want you to prize these pearls highly because they were hard to get.

And Jesus may be called "the Pearl of great price," for the same reason. He was hard to get. I mean by this, that He had a great many hard things to do before He could become "the Pearl of great price" to us. The hard things that a pearl-diver does, in getting pearls, are nothing compared to what Jesus had to do, before He could be our friend and Saviour. He had to take a long journey. He came from heaven to earth. It took Him thirty-three years to make this journey. He had to strip Himself of the glorious garments that He used to wear in heaven, and put on the garments of a poor man. The pearl-diver has to plunge into the depths of the sea, where he can only stay two or three minutes at a time. When Jesus came into our world, it was like plunging into a sea, not of salt water, but of dreadful wickedness; where He had to remain, not for a few moments, but for many long years. And He met with dangers and trials here, worse than the rocks and the whirlpools, and the terrible seamonsters which the pearl-diver has so much reason to be afraid of. He had to meet with the sharp tongues of wicked men, and they are worse than sharp rocks. They ridiculed Him. They called Him all sorts of bad names. They put a crown of thorns on His brow. They tore His back with cruel scourges. Not only wicked men, but wicked spirits gathered all about Him, to worry and persecute Him. These were worse a hundred times than the sharks and sea-monsters that threaten the pearl-diver. It was this which made Him feel such dreadful pain and sorrow, in the Garden of Gethsemane, that He sunk down to the ground and that bloody sweat came out all over His body. Oh, how hard that must have been! And then they drove the big, rough nails through His tender hands and feet. They fastened Him to the cross, and let Him hang there till He died, a lingering, torturing death! Oh, how hard that must have been! This was the price at which this Pearl was got for us! What a price that was! Nobody can ever calculate how much that price was! Jesus may well be called: the Pearl of great price," because He was so hard to get. This is the first reason.

The second reason why Jesus may be called "the Pearl of great price" is because there are so many uses that we can make of Him.

If we had the most beautiful and valuable pearl in the world there are only two things we could do with it; we might wear it as an ornament; or we might sell it, and spend the money. But if Jesus - "the Pearl of great price" - is ours, it is hardly possible to tell how many uses we can make of Him. I have been preaching the gospel for almost thirty years. All this time I have been trying to tell about the many uses that poor sinners, such as we are, can make of Jesus. And yet, so far from getting through with all there is to say about Him, I feel as if I had hardly begun. We can make use of Jesus for everything that our souls need. We can use Him for meat and drink to our souls; for clothing, for ornament, for medicine, for help, for strength, for wisdom, for riches, for pardon, for peace, for light, for joy, for life and, in one word for everything. Here now, I have mentioned fourteen different uses that we can make of Jesus. I might increase this list to as many hundred. And then, if I should live long enough to preach a sermon on each of these fourteen hundred different uses to be made of Jesus, still the half of this subject would not be told. And if this is so, then we need not wonder that true Christians love so much to sing that precious hymn, which says -

" How sweet the name of Jesus sounds

In a believer's ears;

It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds,

And drives away his fears.

" It makes the wounded spirit whole,

It calms the troubled breast;

'Tis manna to the hungry soul,

And to the weary rest."

But let us look more closely at two or three things for which Jesus is of use to His people. One important thing is for protection.

We live in a world where we are exposed all the time to a great many dangers. We cannot protect ourselves from these dangers. But Jesus can protect us; and this is one thing that makes Him of so much use to those who love Him.

You know that before the invention of gunpowder the things that men fought with were swords and spears and arrows. Then, before going into battle, the soldiers used to put armour on, of steel or brass. This armour was to protect them from being killed or wounded. But this life is like a battle-field. We are in danger here all the time. We need protection. Jesus can put a sort of invisible armour round His people, to protect them.

Many years ago there was the celebrated minister in Scotland, whose name was John Know. He had a great many enemies on account of his faithful preaching. Some of these tried in many ways to kill him. When taking his meals in his own house he always used to sit at the head of the table, with his back to a particular window. One night, when they were going to sit down to supper, it came into his mind, all at once, not to sit in that chair himself, and not to let any one else sit in it. He could not tell why, but he insisted upon that chair being left empty. In the midst of supper a gun was fired. The ball went right through that empty chair, and buried itself in the foot of a large candlestick on the table. Then they all saw why it came into Mr. Knox's mind to leave the chair empty that night. Jesus had done it. That was the way in which He put His invisible armour about His servant for his protection.

Let me show you how Jesus put this same armour round one of our brave generals during the American Revolution, and protected him. This story is told of General Schuyler. He had a great deal to do along the Hudson and Mohawk rivers, where the English generals had hired the Indians to fight on their side. General Schuyler was a very brave man, and he had always been a great friend to the Indians, so that they both loved him and feared him. But the English officers wanted to get him out of the way, and as he never seemed to get hurt in battle, they hired two men - one a white man, the other an Indian - to waylay him and murder him. The time was set; the two men hid themselves in a clump of trees which the general was accustomed to pass on his way home. They waited and watched awhile. By-and-by they saw the general coming along the road. He was on horseback, and alone. Now or never was their chance. The men looked to the priming of their guns. They raised them to their shoulders. They took aim. In another moment the general would have been a dead man. But, instead of firing, the Indian lowered his gun to the ground. He pushed the white man's gun aside; - "No," said he, "I cannot see him killed. I've eaten his bread too often." And so the general rode on to his home in safety, little dreaming what a narrow escape he had just had from death. Thus you see how Jesus put His invisible armour around him and protected him. One of the things for which Jesus is of use to His people, is for protection.

Another thing for which Jesus is of use to His people is for guidance.

It is a sad thing to be lost in a wilderness, where there are no roads, and not to know which direction to take in order to get out. What such a person needs above all things, is a guide; some one to show him the way to take in order to get safely home. Now, we are in this world, like travellers who have lost their way. We have lost the way to heaven, our Father's house. And what we need is guidance; some one to show us how we can get there. If we had all the pearls in the world, they could not help us in this matter. But Jesus, "the Pearl of great price," can. This is one of the ways in which He can be of use to His people, and this use is of great price. Sometimes Jesus guides His people by His example.

Howie Malcolm was a little boy about six years old. He lived in the country. Once, in the middle of winter, he went to spend the day with his cousin Robby Darwin. Toward the close of the afternoon Howie's father came to take him home. The ground was covered with snow, and as they were about starting Howie said, -

"The snow is so deep, and it is a long walk; won't you please to carry me, papa?"

"No, my dear," said his father; "I have a particular reason for wishing you to walk. But I will go before you, and then, if you will follow in my footsteps, the snow will not seem so deep. But don't turn aside to the right hand or to the left. And don't try to make a path for yourself over the hill, for that which I am showing you is the only one to lead you home."

Then his father went before him, taking short steps, so that the little fellow could easily follow him. And while he kept treading in his father's steps he got on very nicely. But by-and-by he saw a holly-bush a little distance from the road. He thought he would just like to pluck off a branch to take home with him. Then he started for the bush; but pretty soon he was sticking fast in the deep snow, and was obliged to call his father to come and take him out. He did so. He set him in the right path again, and told him not to turn aside, but to keep treading in his footsteps, and then he would be safe. So they went on a little farther. Then he thought he could get home by a shorter path than his father was taking. So he started to make a short cut across the fields. But pretty soon he was fast in the snow again, and his father had to come once more and take him out. After that he followed the guidance of his father till they reached home. And when they were sitting by the fire in the evening his father told him that the reason why he did not carry him home was that he wanted to show him how it was that Jesus guides His people to heaven. "When I walked before you, Howie," said Mr. Malcolm, "you could see my steps in the snow, and, by following them, you found that you were brought safely home. And just in the same way Jesus came into the world to be our Guide. He walked before us to show us the way to heaven. As the Bible says, "He left us an example that we should follow His steps." Our work here is to be following the footsteps of Jesus. And when we are trying to be like Jesus, - to think, and feel, and speak, and act as He would do, - then we are "treading in the blessed steps of His most holy life;" and if we follow on in those steps we shall be guided safely through this world to heaven.

But, besides guiding His people to heaven by His example, Jesus often guides them out of their troubles here, in very singular ways.

Some years ago Lord Wellington had an English army in Spain, trying to drive the French out of that country. A battle was fought at Talavera. In the 42^nd Regiment of Scotch Highlanders, belonging to Wellington's army, was a sergeant whose name was McCullum. He was wounded so dangerously that he was reported among the killed, though he was not killed. His wife, with her little boy, had followed the army as nurse in the hospital. But she had been very ill, and died about the time of the battle. Now, what was to become of that little boy, left alone among strangers, in an army marching through a foreign country? What could you expect, but that he would be left to perish? But God put it into the heart of a kind officer, connected with the army, to take charge of him. When the army went back to England, supposing that the little fellow's father was dead, he tried to find out if he had any relations. But he could not find any. Then he thought he would put him into the Military Asylum at Chelsea.

When the little boy's father got well, he tried to find his child. He inquired everywhere for him, but could hear nothing of him. He was afraid he should never see him again. But he used to pray every day that God would take care of him, if he were still alive, and would guide him so that he might find him.

One day the person who had charge of the little boy, was going to the office of Lord Huntly, in London, to get an order for his admission into the Asylum. Just before he reached the place, he saw a Scotch soldier a little ahead of him. He hastened up to him and said, -

"My friend, do you belong to the 42^nd Regiment of Highlanders?"

"I do, sir."

"Were you present at the battle of Ralavera?"

"Yes, sir."

"Do you know anything about a Sergeant McCullum who was killed in that battle?"

"I did not know any man of that name who was killed there; but pray, sir, tell me why you ask that question?"

"Because," said the officer, pointing to the child, "that is his little boy whom I brought from Spain."

"O sir," said the man, "he's my child;" and rushing towards the boy he clasped him in his arms, and cried, "O Jamie, Jamie! don't you know me?" What a happy meeting that was! And how mercifully God had guided that father so that he should find his lost child. Guidance, therefore, is one of the things for which Jesus is of use to His People.

And then He is of use to them for comfort.

There are a great many sorrows and trials in this world. And when they come, we need comfort under them. But if you are sick, or in pain, or if in sorrow for the death of your father, or mother, or some dear friend, it won't take away your pain, or help you to bear it, or comfort you in any way, to have a string of pearls tied round your neck. A common pearl cannot give any comfort then. But Jesus, "the Pearl of great price," can. He says in the Bible, "As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you." What a sweet promise that is! Nobody can comfort like a mother. She is so gentle and kind! She knows just what to do to make us feel better, when we are sick, or in trouble. I said nobody can comfort like a mother. But that was a mistake, for Jesus can; yes, and better even than any mother. Sometimes we have troubles under which even a mother cannot comfort us. But we never can have a trouble under which Jesus cannot give us comfort.

When the celebrated Whitefield was preaching in England, a gentleman who heard him was thrown into great distress of mind. He felt as if his sins were so great that they could not be forgiven. He could not eat. He could not sleep. He could not attend to his business. It seemed as if he could die, unless he found comfort. One evening the Countess of Huntingdon, an excellent lady, who was in company with him, heard him say to a friend, " I am a lost man. My sins never can be forgiven. I am a lost man."

"I am glad to hear it; I am glad to hear it," said the Countess.

"It is very wicked of you to say you are glad that I am a lost man," said he.

"I repeat it," said she, "I am heartily glad of it; because it is written ' the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which is lost.' "

The gentleman burst into tears, and exclaimed, "Oh, how precious those words are! I will take my lost soul to Jesus and He will save it." So Jesus comforted him.

Some Bible distributors in going round their districts once gave a Bible to a poor woman. A long time after, in going round again, they met her, and asked her what she thought of the Bible. "Think of it?" she said, "why, I would not part with it for all this world can offer. Since I have had this Bible I have passed through many great trials. And in those trials my Bible has given me more comfort than all the riches in the world can give. I have found Jesus there. He has pardoned my sins, and given me the hope of going to heaven, and there is no comfort like that." So Jesus comforted that poor woman.

Jesus may be called "the Pearl of great price," for two reasons. The first is because he was hard to get. The second is, because there are so many uses that we can make of Him. We have spoken of three of these. He is of use for protection, for guidance, for comfort.

Oh, how I wish, my dear young friends, that you all had this "Pearl of great price"! Let me tell you one more story, in closing.

Some years ago an English merchant was engaged in business in the island of Java. He got very rich there. He married a lady of that country, and returned to England. This lady could not get used to the customs of the English ladies, and was not very happy here. She spent most of her time in playing with her children, whom she loved very much, and in decking herself out with her pearls and jewels, of which she had a very large and costly collection. She would often call for her jewel-box, and spend hours in looking at them and holding them up to see them sparkle in the light. These jewels were her treasures. Her heart was set on them, and she had little happiness beyond what she found in them.

One day her old Scotch nurse, who was a good Christian woman, was in the room. The lady said to her; "Nurse, I think England is a poor place."

"Why so, ma'am?" asked the nurse.

"Why, I look out into the streets, and don't see any ladies with jewels on. Now, in my country all the ladies are covered with diamonds and pearls. We dig into our hills and get gold and silver and precious jewels. You dig into your hills and get nothing like them."

The nurse said, -

"Oh, yes, ma'am, we have a pearl in this country, ' a Pearl of great price. ' "

"Have you, indeed, " said the lady. "When my husband comes home I'll get him to buy it for me. I would part with all my other pearls to get that valuable one.' "

"Oh!" said the nurse, "this pearl is not to wear. It is not to be had in the way you think of. It is a precious pearl indeed; and they who have it cannot lose it. They are at peace and have all they wish for."

"Indeed!" said the lady, astonished.

"What can this pearl be? I must get it, if possible. "

"This pearl," said the nurse, in her simple way, "is the Lord Jesus Christ, and the saying that He came into the world to save sinners. All who truly receive this saying, and have Jesus in their hearts, as the hope of glory, have that which makes them rich and happy, whatever else they want; and so precious is Jesus to them that they count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Him."

It pleased God to bless the nurse's words. Her mistress was led to seek a better treasure than her box of jewels. She became a Christian. She found "the Pearl of great price." Soon after, the lady died; and on her death-bed directed that all her jewels should be sold, and the money which they brought be used to send the knowledge of "the Pearl of great price" to those who had never heard of Him.

My dear young friends, try to find this precious Pearl. It is of great price. It will be worth more to you than all the gold and silver - and all the gems and jewels in the world!

Chapter 3 - The diamond

"And the Second row shall be .. a Diamond." - Exodus xxviii. 18.

These words refer to the breastplate of the Jewish high-priest. This was made of fine linen, and beautifully ornamented with threads of gold, and other threads of blue, purple, and scarlet. It was made square, each side being about a span long. In the front of it were four rows of jewels. The first row was a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle; and the second row was an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond. The diamond is only mentioned in three places in the Bible, and this is one of them. And I have taken this passage for our text to-day only because it contains the word diamond.

We have talked about the reasons why God calls his people jewels. And then we have considered Jesus as "the Pearl of great price." Now I wish to talk about the different kinds of jewels. And I begin with the diamond, because it is one of the most valuable of jewels, as well as the most beautiful. Suppose now, we have a beautiful diamond here. We may consider this as representing a Christian. Every true Christian is a spiritual diamond, one of God's jewels.

Let us look at this diamond and see what there is about it on account of which a Christian may be compared to it.

And the first thing about the diamond to notice is its hardness.

It is one of the hardest things in the world. You may rub it all day against a pebble-stone. You may keep on rubbing till the pebble is all ground to dust; but it won't leave any mark on the diamond. You may get the hardest file that can be made, and rub it on the diamond till the file is worn as smooth as glass; but it will not hurt the diamond in the least. It will bear a great deal of rough handling, without being scratched, or injured at all.

And Christians are just like diamonds on this account.

They can bear trial or hard treatment without being injured by it. Job was one of God's diamonds. Satan said if God would only let him take Job in hand, and bring heavy trials upon him, which would be like rubbing a diamond with a file, he could mark him, and injure him, in such a way as to show that he was not a true diamond. He got a hard file, and rubbed him very severely with it; but it did not hurt him at all. He killed his children and destroyed his property; he took away his friends, and his health, and left him in poverty and in misery; but he could not make Job give up loving God, and trusting Him. If you can only make a scratch on the surface of what is thought to be a diamond, that shows it is not a true diamond. A real diamond is so hard that no file can ever make a mark, or scratch upon it. And Satan found that this was the case with Job. He rubbed away on him with the file of affliction till he got tired; but he could not make any mark upon him to show that he was not a real diamond. He had the hardness of a true diamond. He had power to bear trial.

And Satan did the same thing with the early Christians. He used persecution as a file. In those days Christians were put in prison; their property was taken from them; they were thrown to the wild beasts; they were burned; and tortured, and put to death in many ways; but even these things could not make them give up loving Jesus, and being Christians. Those terrible persecutions were a hard file to be rubbed with. But the Christians of those days were real diamonds. They had the hardness of the diamond. They had power to bear trials without being injured by them.

And all God's spiritual diamonds have this hardness. God gives to true Christians the power to bear trials.

I remember, some years ago, making a visit to Wilkesbarre in America. A day or two before I arrived there, a dreadful explosion had taken place in one of the coalmines. Several men had been killed, and others had been burnt so badly that they were not expected to live. I was sent for to go and see one of those poor men. When I entered the room where he was, what a sight I beheld! There sat the poor man in a large arm-chair. He was wrapped all round in blankets and these were wet through with linseed oil and lime-water. The flame of the explosion had burnt off his clothes, and scorched his body from head to foot. His hands and his head were swollen to nearly twice their natural size. The skin of his face and hands were burnt crisp, and looked just like the skin of a roast pig. A person stood by him bathing his face and hands with a mixture of linseed oil and lime-water, which was put on by a feather. He was suffering dreadfully. It was difficult for him to speak, because the skin of his face was so hard and stiff. I stood awhile and looked at the poor man with great pity. My heart felt very sad and sorrowful for him. I thought to myself, "what shall I say to this poor fellow to comfort him, if he is not a Christian?" I hardly knew what to do. At last I said, -

" My friend, there is nobody like Jesus to give us help and comfort when we are suffering from pain and sorrow. I hope you know Jesus?" I hardly expected any other answer than a groan, to tell of his misery, and that he had no comfort. But presently he managed slowly and indistinctly to say, -

"Oh, yes, thank God, I do know Jesus. he is my only comfort now."

You can hardly tell what a relief this was to me. Then I sat down by his side and talked to him about Jesus. He seemed to feel the truth of all that I said. He had the hardness of a true diamond. Jesus gave him power to bear his trials patiently. Under all his terrible sufferings he found peace and comfort in Him. And not long after, he died, in great bodily pain, but feeling happy in the love of Jesus and in the thought of going to be with Him forever.

But there is another thing the diamond can do, on account of its hardness, besides bearing rough handling, without being hurt. It can make marks that cannot be rubbed out.

The diamond, you know, will cut glass. You have often seen the glazier, when a pane of glass was too large, put his rule upon it, draw his diamond across it, and cut a piece off, almost as easily as you or I could cut a piece of paper off with a penknife. Take a diamond in your hand, and you can write your name on a pane of glass. And when it is once written there, no one can rub it out.

Now, when we become Christians we are like diamonds in the hand of God. And when we do anything to show our love to Him, it is written down on the book of God's remembrance. And the good works of His people (written in that book) are like names written with the point of a diamond on glass; they never can be rubbed out.

The Bible tells us that a large part of the heavenly city, the New Jerusalem, is composed of gold, and that gold is clear as glass. It is transparent; you can see through it. What a blessed thing it is to think of having our names, and everything we do for Jesus written there, so that they never can be rubbed out! Every little movement made with the point of a diamond on glass will leave a mark there. And so everything we do for Jesus, no matter how little, will be written on the golden glass of heaven in such a way that it cannot be rubbed out.

We read in the New Testament about the woman who came to our Saviour before His crucifixion, and poured the ointment on His feet. The disciples found fault with her; but Jesus took her part, and said that wherever the gospel was preached in all the world, the good deed she had done should be known and mentioned to her honour. She made a mark then that will never be rubbed out.

One day the superintendent of a Sunday school in Philadelphia was going along near Third and Dock-street. He saw one of the large boys belonging to his school coming out of a drinking saloon. The boy's name was George Simpson. As the superintendent passed by he raised his finger, and shaking it gently he said, in a kind, but serious way, "Take care, George, take care." Some ten or twelve years passed away. He had forgotten all about it. But one day a very genteel-looking man came up to him in the street, and, bowing to him, said, "I think, sir, this is Mr. P., who used to be superintendent of such a Sunday-school?"

"That is my name, sir, but I don't remember you."

"Don't you remember a boy named George Simpson, who used to belong to your school?"

"No, I cannot recollect the name."

"Well, sir, don't you remember meeting him one day, coming out of a drinking-place near the corner of Third and Dock-street, when you shook your finger at him and said, 'Take care, George'?"

"Oh, yes, I remember that."

"Well, sir," said the young man, "I am George Simpson, and I want to thank you for what you did and said that day. It was a little thing, but it saved me from ruin. I was just beginning to go in the drunkard's ways. But something in your words and manner made a great impression on me. I gave up drinking. Not long after I joined the church. Now I am living in the West, and am quite well off; but, my dear sir, I owe it all to you."

Here you see how that superintendent was, like a diamond, making a mark that never can be rubbed out.

Some years ago, a missionary in India, in going through a village, left a copy of the New Testament in the shop of one of the natives, that any person coming in there might read it. A great many read it. They talked about the new religion and wished to know more about it. At last they sent a committee, of the most intelligent men of the village, to the city of Scrampore, where the missionary lived, who left the Testament, in order to learn more about the religion of Jesus. The missionary went and preached to the people of that village. A number of them became Christians, and several of them were appointed missionaries. They preached the gospel through that part of the country, and great numbers were converted through God's blessing on their labours. It was a little thing which the missionary did when he left the Testament in that village, but in doing so he made a mark that will never be rubbed out.

The first thing about a diamond, on account of which a Christian may be compared to it, is its hardness. It can bear rough using, or trials, without being injured; and it can make marks that cannot be rubbed out.

The second thing about a diamond, on account of which a Christian may be compared to it, is its brightness.

The diamond is the most brilliant of all the jewels. It shines with more brightness than any other. And the reason why it does this is, that when the rays of light fall upon it, God has given it the power to reflect them, as it is called, that is, to throw them back, or scatter them. The diamond does not keep to itself the light that God sends it, but gives it back that others may see it, and enjoy it. In this respect the diamond is like a liberal-hearted Christian. Jesus said to His disciples, "Freely ye have received; freely give." This is just what the diamond does. It gives up freely the rays of light that God freely bestows upon it. And this is what makes it look so bright and beautiful. And so you see that when Jesus said, "Freely ye have received, freely give," it is about the same as if He had said, "Be like the diamond which gives back again so freely the light which it receives."

Now, put a piece of coal side by side with the diamond. How bright and beautiful the diamond looks! And, in comparison with it, how dark, how ugly the piece of coal is! The diamond, shining so beautifully, and scattering its light around for the benefit of others, is like a liberal, generous-hearted Christian. And the piece of coal, keeping all the rays of light it receives to itself, is like a selfish miser, always trying to get all he can, and to keep all he gets. Jesus said. "It is more blessed to give than to receive. " A diamond and a piece of coal are the best illustration of this.

Now, let us take one or two examples of liberal Christians, and see how they shine like diamonds, and then look at one or two selfish misers, and see how ugly they appear in comparison with them.

Lady Huntingdon was a noble Christian woman who lived in England some years ago. She was not very rich, considering that she belonged to the nobility. Her income was about £ 1,500 a year. She lived in a very plain way, spending as little money as possible on herself, and giving away all the rest of it in doing good to others. She founded a college to educate ministers and supported it herself. She built a number of chapels in different parts of the kingdom, and supported ministers in them to preach the gospel. She was like a diamond shining brightly, and scattering abroad for the good of others the blessings that God gave to her.

John Wesley, the celebrated Methodist minister, was a most generous and liberal Christian. When he first began to preach, his salary was thirty pounds a year. He found he could manage to live on twenty-eight pounds; so he saved two pounds, not to keep to himself like the coal, but to scatter among others like the diamond. The next year his salary was sixty pounds. He still lived on twenty-eight, and gave away thirty-two. The third year his salary was ninety pounds, and he gave away sixty-two. The fourth year his salary was a hundred and twenty pounds. But he still lived on twenty-eight pounds, and gave away all the rest. This was being like the diamond, indeed!

Some years ago there was an excellent minister in France, by the name of Oberlin. One day he was reading in the Old Testament where God told the Jews that He expected them to give a tithe, that is a tenth, of all their property to him. Mr. Oberlin said to himself, "Well, I am sure that I, as a Christian, have three times as many blessings as the Jews had. If it was right for a Jew to give one-tenth of his property to God, surely I ought to give at least three times as much." So he made up his mind to do this. Out of every three pounds that he received, he laid aside one to give to God and the poor. he kept on doing this all his life, and God blessed him for it, and he always had as much money as he needed.

These Christians were like the diamond. They were liberal, and scattered or gave away the blessings God gave them. This makes them shine and look beautiful as the diamond does. When we think of them there seems to be a brightness round them like that of the diamond.

Now, let us look at one or two examples of selfish, miserly people, who keep all the money they get, just as the coal keeps all the light that shines on it.

Some time ago there was a miser who lived in England, by the name of Dancer. His income was nearly four thousand pounds a year. Besides this he had immense sums of gold and silver stowed away in different places where nobody would be likely to find it. He never gave away a penny to anybody; and he never liked to spend the least trifle for himself, if he could help it. He used to wear an old hat, which he had kept for nearly twenty years. One day, a lady who knew him, met him in the street, and persuaded him to buy another hat. He would not be so extravagant as to get a new one, so he finally concluded to buy a second-hand one from an old Jew. He gave him a shilling for it. But the next time the lady saw the old miser, she observed he was still wearing his old hat; and, on inquiring about it, she found that the hat he gave a shilling for he had persuaded his servant to buy from him for one shilling and sixpence. So he made sixpence by the sale and went on wearing his old hat. In cold weather he used to lie in bed most of the time, so as to keep warm and save the expense of a fire. He never used snuff himself, but always carried a snuff-box about him, and when anybody offered him snuff he would take a pinch, but, instead of using it, would open his box and put it in. When the box was full he would sell it, or exchange it for farthing candles. These were the only lights he had in his house, and these were never used except when he was going to bed. He seldom washed his hands or face except when the sun was shining. Then he would go to some pool or stream near where he lived, and wash himself, using sand to save soap. When he was washed he would lie on his back and dry himself in the sun, because it was not worth while to go to the expense of a towel. He never would have his shoes cleaned, because rubbing them with a brush helped to wear them out. After his death, cups and jars and jugs were found stowed away in different holes and corners about his house, filled with gold and silver coin, and his greatest happiness, while living, was to take these out, count them over, and then put them carefully back.

There was a miser in Russia, some time ago, who was so rich that he sometimes lent to the emperor a million of money at a time. he would barely allow himself food enough to live upon. He used to keep his money in casks which were buried in the cellar. His chief dependence for the protection of this treasure was upon a very fierce dog, who was kept chained up all day, and then at night would guard the house by barking loudly all the time. But at length the dog died. The poor rich man did not want to go to the expense of buying another dog. Besides, if he should buy one, he could not depend upon him to keep awake all night. So he thought he might as well be his own dog, and actually used to keep awake all night, and go about the house barking as loudly as he could in imitation of his faithful dog.

A piece of coal does not reflect any light. All the light that falls on it is swallowed up and kept to itself. This is what makes it look so black, so dark and disagreeable. Selfish, miserly people, such as we have just been speaking of, are like coal in this respect. They don't reflect, or scatter about them anything they receive. Whatever God gives them they swallow up and keep to themselves. And the sparkling diamond and the dull, ugly-looking piece of coal, are not more different from each other than liberal, generous-hearted Christians, like Lady Huntingdon and John Wesley, are different from such selfish, miserly people as those just referred to. The brightness of the diamond, or its power to reflect or scatter light, is the second thing on account of which a Christian may be compared to it.

But there is a third thing connected with diamonds, on account of which Christians may be compared to them, and that is, the way to find out counterfeits.

There are many counterfeit diamonds. Men can make imitation diamonds. And these often look so very much like the real, that it is difficult to tell one from the other. And then God sometimes makes stones that appear so much like diamonds that hardly one person out of twenty can tell the difference between them. Sometimes even the merchants who are engaged in buying and selling diamonds can hardly tell a real jewel from an imitation.

Some years ago a free negro, who lived in Brazil, wrote to the emperor telling him that he had found an enormous diamond, - the largest that had ever been seen; and he asked the privilege of being allowed to come in person and present it to the emperor. One of the emperor's carriages and an escort of soldiers was sent down for him. The negro rode up to the palace in great state. When he arrived he threw himself at the feet of the emperor, and presented to him the diamond. He was astonished when he saw it, and so were all the nobles in the court. They examined it with great care. They weighed it, and found it was about a pound in weight. Then they began to calculate how much it was worth. Judging by its weight, they found it would be nearly fifty millions of pounds. No wonder they were glad, and made a great ado over the coloured man who brought it. Then the large diamond was put carefully away, in a strong chest, in the emperor's jewel-room. That room was locked, and soldiers appointed to guard it night and day.

About that time an English gentleman visited the emperor. He was known to be an excellent judge of diamonds. The emperor invited him into his jewel-room to see his great treasure. The strong chest was opened. The huge jewel was brought out. He looked at it. He took a diamond ring from his finger. He drew it across the surface of the large jewel. It made a scratch. This showed it was no diamond at all. The emperor's fifty millions of pounds all melted away like a castle in the air. The poor negro who brought it had to trudge home on foot. "It is not all gold that glitters." It is not every bright stone that is a diamond. One of the ways to tell a counterfeit is by trying to scratch it. A real diamond cannot be scratched. Another way is by putting it beside a true diamond and comparing them together. And so, if you wish to tell if a person is a true Christian, you must compare him with Jesus, and see if he is like Him. Jesus was gentle, loving, and kind. And the Bible says that "unless the same mind be in us that was in Christ Jesus we are none of Him." This means that unless we are like Him we are not true Christians.

I remember hearing of two boys who were brothers. The elder was named George, the younger Charles.

"Hallo, George," said one of his schoolmates to him one day, "I hear your Charley has become a Christian; is that so?"

"I don't know, " said George, "but I mean to find out."

Now George was going to apply some test to Charley's character, just as a jeweller would do when he wanted to find out whether a particular stone was a real diamond or a counterfeit.

One time he broke his kite, just before he was going out to fly it. At another time he trod on his toe when he was going past him. At another he cruelly threw a stone at Charley's pet dog and sent him yelping to his master.

Charley was naturally a very passionate boy. George knew very well, that formerly any one of these things would have roused his angry spirit. George could see that Charley felt these things very much, but still he kept his anger down. His fist was not clenched; his eye did not flash; his tongue did not scold as it used to do. Charley bore these trials patiently. And when George met his friend again, he said, -

"It's true; Charley is a Christian. I know it, for I've tried him."

And then there is another way by which you can tell a real diamond from a counterfeit. If you put them in water, the diamond will still look bright and shine; but the counterfeit, instead of shining, will look dark and dull.

The Bible compares affliction or trial to water. And you can easily tell a true Christian from a counterfeit by seeing how he acts when affliction comes upon him. If you go through an orchard, in summer-time, you will see some of the fruit dropping off, whenever the tree is shaken by the wind. And if you examine the fruit that falls off, you will find it all spotted and unsound. The sound good fruit is not easily shaken off. In spite of all the shaking the tree gets from the wind, the good sound fruit hangs on, and only drops off in the autumn when it is ripe.

But true Christians, like real diamonds, shine brightly even in the water.

Let me tell you about a Christian who was put very deep in the water of affliction, and yet continued to shine to the very last. I refer to a negro, who was a slave in one of the West India islands. He was afflicted with a terrible disease which the physicians did not understand. It broke out in great sores, which spread over his body. His fingers fell off. It went into his head. He became blind, and his eyes seemed to rot away, and pieces of his skull came out. His feet were affected in the same way and rotted off. His sufferings were dreadful; and yet he was not only patient under them, but often really happy and joyful in the thought of soon being with Jesus in that world where there could be no more pain or suffering. Here was the real diamond, shining brightly in the water of affliction.

"The last time I visited him," said his minister, "I could not bear to look at him. I only stood at the door of his chamber, and talked to him, and prayed with him."

"How do you feel to-day, Robert?" I asked.

"O massa !" said he, "me two eyes gone; me two hands gone; me two feet gone. No more but dis ole carcass left. O massa ! de pain sometimes too strong; but Jesus help me. Most over now." And so he continued till he died. That was a true diamond. The shining in the water proved it.

Now we have spoken of three things about diamonds, on account of which Christians may be compared to them. The first is their hardness. The second is their brightness. The third is the way to find out counterfeits.

My dear young friends, pray earnestly that Jesus may give you new hearts, and make you true Christians. If you do not become real Christians you will only be like common pebble-stones. You will be good for nothing. But if you love Jesus, and become His servants, you will be His jewels, - real diamonds.

Chapter 4 - The ruby

"For Wisdom is better than Rubies." - Proverbs viii. 11.

This jewel is called a sardius in two places in the Bible. One of these places is in Exodus, the other is in the Revelation. In the former it is spoken of as being the breastplate of the Jewish high-priest. There it occupies the first place in the first row of jewels. And when St. John is giving us his beautiful description of the heavenly city, the New Jerusalem, in the last two chapters of the New Testament, he tells us that the foundations of this city were of precious stones. Then he mentions the twelve different kinds of jewels as going to make up those foundations. The ruby was the sixth among those foundation-stones. The ruby stood first on the breastplate of the high-priest, and sixth among the jewelled foundations of the heavenly city.

The name of this jewel comes from the Latin word, "ruber," which means red. And this name is given to the ruby because of its colour. The ruby is a jewel of a blood-red colour. The reason why the ruby was called sardius was because it used to be sometimes found near the city of Sardis, in Asia Minor. It is sometimes called a carbuncle. This means a little coal, and the ruby often shines like a little coal when it is burning and all in a glow.

The next thing for us to inquire about is, what the ruby represents? We may regard it as representing love or charity. And then the question is, what is there about the ruby on account of which love or charity may be compared to it? We shall find our answer to this question when we look at some of the things which people, in old times, used to think the ruby could do. There are three of these that we may speak of, on account of which the ruby may well be compared to love.

And the first of those things which people used to think the ruby was good for, was to cure sorrow.

In former times people used to think that a ruby had the power of driving away sadness from their hearts, or of curing their sorrows. But this was not so. If you have ever so many of the finest rubies that anybody can find, they would not be able to give you any relief from pain, or any comfort in sorrow. But if you have the Bible ruby, the love of Jesus in your heart, there is nothing in the world that can cure sorrow, or relieve pain like that.

"What do you want?" asked a gentleman one day of a poor man whom he was talking to, and whom he knew to be a Christian. "I only want three things," said he, " and I find them all in Jesus. I want to be in Christ, I want to be like Christ, I want to be with Christ." That man would find his love to Jesus a real Bible ruby. It would cure all his sorrows. If it did not take them away from him, it would comfort him under them.

Some time ago a gentleman was conducting a meeting for boys in London. After he had spoken to them for some time, he said, "Now, boys, before I stop, I want all of you who feel really happy to hold up your hands." He looked for a moment, but there was only one hand held up. The owner of that hand was a stout lad about seventeen. He was a poor boy, dressed in coarse clothes, and all blackened with soot, for he was a chimney-sweeper. He had to work hard, and live on very plain food. Yet his hand went up in a moment, and his bright, beaming eye showed clearly that he understood what he was doing when he lifted up his hand.

"And what is it that makes you happy?" asked the gentleman.

He answered at once with his voice, as clearly as he had done before with his hand,

"Loving Jesus, sir."

He had this precious Bible ruby, and it cured his sorrow, or made him happy.

Two girls were going to a neighbouring town, each carrying on her head a heavy basket of fruit to sell. One of them was murmuring and fretting all the way, and complaining of the weight of her basket. The other went along smiling and singing, and seeming to be very happy. At last the first got out of patience with her companion, and said, "How can you go on so merry and joyful? Your basket is as heavy as mine, and I know you are not one bit stronger that I am. I don't understand it."

"Oh!" said the other, "it's easy enough to understand. I have a certain little plant which I put on the top of my load, and it makes it so light I hardly feel it."

"Indeed; that must be a very precious little plant. I wish I could lighten my load with it. Where does it grow? Tell me. What do you call it?"

"It grows wherever you plant it, and give it a chance to take root, and there's no knowing the relief it gives. Its name is love, the love of Jesus. I have found out that Jesus loved me so much that He died to save my soul. This makes me love Him. I try to show my love by serving Him. Whatever I do, whether it be carrying this basket or anything else, I think to myself, I am doing this for Jesus, to show that I love Him; and this makes everything easy and pleasant."

That girl had found out the great secret of being happy. She had a ruby heart, a heart of love to Jesus; and that cured her sorrows and made her burdens light.

The stories I have just told you show us how a heart of love to Jesus will help to cure our own sorrows. But if we have this ruby in our hearts, it will help us to cure, or relieve, the sorrows of other people too.

One morning a wealthy farmer was kneeling down with his family at prayers. Among other things he seemed to pray with great earnestness that God would clothe the naked, feed the hungry, relieve the distressed, and comfort all who were in sorrow.

A poor neighbour of his sat on the door-step listening to that prayer. He was in distress and sorrow, and had come to ask relief. He was an honest, industrious, hard-working man, who was trying to support his family by his own labour. But for some time past he had been in trouble. His wife was sick, and, not being able to hire a nurse, he was obliged to nurse her himself. This, of course, prevented him from working, and earning any money. His family were in want of bread, and he had come to his rich Christian neighbour, to ask him for two bushels of wheat, promising to pay him out of the first money that he earned.

As soon as the prayer was ended he went in and told what he wanted. But the wealthy farmer shook his head. He said he was sorry, but he had a large sum of money to raise, and he wanted all the wheat he had to get it with. The tears were trickling down his cheeks as he walked slowly away.

As soon as the door was shut, the farmer's little boy said to him, -

"Father, did not you just ask God to clothe the naked, feed the hungry, relieve the distressed, and comfort the sorrowful?"

"Yes, my son; but why do you ask that question?"

"Because, father, if I had all your wheat I'd help God to answer that prayer by giving some to our poor neighbour."

In a moment the poor man was called back. The wheat was given to him, and he went home, feeling comforted.

That rich farmer had let the ruby fall out of his heart; but his little boy put it in again, and then he was able to cure or relieve the sorrow of his poor afflicted neighbour.

The first thing that people used to think that a ruby could do, was to cure sorrow. The second thing they used to think it could do was to shine in the dark.

They used to tell a great many stories about rubies and other jewels, being employed, instead of lamps, in dark caverns, to give light, just as if they had power in themselves to shine like so many little suns. But this was a mistake. If you carry a ruby, or a diamond, or any other natural jewel, into a room that is entirely dark it won't shine at all. You may lay it down by the side of a piece of coal, and you could not tell one from the other by the looks of them.

But it is different with the Bible ruby. Real love to anybody, and especially the love of Jesus - and this is what we compare the ruby to, - will shine in the dark. And when we speak of love shining in the dark, we mean that it gives us help and comfort in trouble. It will make us able to do and suffer things that we never could do without it. The Bible tells us that "many waters cannot quench" love. Waters here mean troubles, or afflictions; and when we hear about people bearing their troubles bravely, either out of love to Jesus, or love to anybody else, then we see a Bible ruby shining in the dark.

A little boy, six years old, had a sad fall and broke his leg, and was carried home on a litter. His poor mother, who had long been sick, and was confined to bed, was very much distressed when she knew of it. She tried to get up, but fainted, and had to be put to bed again.

The injury done to the little boy was very great, and when the doctors came to set his broken limb and dress his wounds, he suffered a great deal of pain. But during the whole operation he never uttered a single cry. All the persons present were surprised at this, and one of them asked if he did not suffer much.

"Oh, very much," said he, gently; but I was so afraid of giving pain to mother that I tried to keep from crying."

That little fellow had a ruby heart, and there we see it shining in the dark.

There is a story told of a certain king of Lydia, in old times, whose name was Croesus. He was supposed to be the richest king in the world at that day, and this has given rise to the common saying, "as rich as Croesus." But he had the misfortune to have a son who was dumb, or unable to speak. His childhood and boyhood had passed in the splendid court of his father. But during all those years he had never spoken one word. Then dreadful troubles came on his father and the country over which he reigned. The Persians were his enemies. They were very powerful. They defeated the army of Croesus and took him prisoner, together with his unfortunate son. The Persian soldiers were plundering the city. One of them was just going to kill the king, not knowing who he was. His poor son saw what that soldier was about to do. The thought of it was more than he could bear. He loved his father with a very strong love. That love did for him then what all the skill of the physicians had never been able to do. In his effort to save his father, it broke the string which had tied his tongue, and he cried out, "Don't kill him! That is the king!" That young prince had a ruby heart, and here we see his ruby shining in the dark.

Not long ago a gentleman was walking down Marketstreet. As he passed along in front of one of the stores he saw a man taking packages of dry goods from a box which had just been opened. The son of this man was standing by, with his arms spread out to hold the packages which his father was taking out of the box. A little fellow, the friend and playmate of the boy, was standing near, looking on. Presently, he thought the boy's load was getting too heavy, and he said, -

"Johnny, don't you think you've got as much as you can carry?"

"Never mind," said Johnny, in a pleasant, cheerful voice; "father knows how much I can carry."

How beautiful that was! Johnny had a ruby heart towards his father. He loved him, and trusted him; and when we think of him, he seems like a ruby shining in the dark. That is just the way we ought to feel towards our Father in heaven. The Bible tells us that He "considers our trouble." He knows how much we can bear a great deal better than Johnny's father knew this about him. If Johnny's load had happened to get too heavy for him, his father was not able, in a moment, to make him strong enough to bear it. But our heavenly Father can do this, and He has promised to do it. He says in one place in the Bible, - "As thy day so shall thy strength be" (Deut. xxxiii. 25). This means that whatever load he puts upon us, He will always help us to carry it. Let each of us think of Johnny's words, - "Father knows how much I can carry." Let us try to have a ruby heart of love and confidence towards our Father in heaven, and then when trouble comes upon us we shall find that our ruby will shine in the dark. The second thing that people used to think a ruby could do was to shine in the dark.

The third thing that people used to think a ruby was good for was to keep them from harm.

People used to carry a ruby about them as a sort of charm. They thought it had some secret power to ward off danger. It was just the same kind of feeling that the heathen in Africa have, when they carry greegrees round their necks, or put them up in their houses to protect themselves from what they call the witches. More than a thousand years ago, there was a great king called Charlemagne, or Charles the Great. He was King of France and Emperor of Germany. He was a great soldier, and gained a great many victories. He used to wear one of these jewels round his neck, and he never would go into battle without it. He thought it kept him from being hurt. And when he died he ordered it to be buried with him. It is said that jewel remained in Charlemagne's coffin till the time of Napoleon Bonaparte, and that he took it and wore it till towards the latter part of his life, when he gave it away. But no common ruby has any power to protect people from harm. It is only the Bible ruby that can do this. If we have a ruby heart towards God, - that is, if we love Him and trust Him, - it will be like a charm that we shall carry about with us, and which will keep us from harm. There is one sweet passage in the Psalms which proves this. It is Ps. sci. 14. Here God says of every true Christian, - "Because he has set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him." Here you see how God promises that a ruby heart of love towards Him shall really be like a charm to keep His people from danger. David could understand the meaning of that promise very well. When he was a young man, for ten long years Saul, the King of Israel, was trying to kill him. David was a poor man then, and Saul used to chase him all over the country. He used to go after him with a whole army. Sometimes he tried to catch him when he was shut up in a walled town. Sometimes he would hear that he was in a particular cave, in the side of a mountain, and he would get his army to surround the whole mountain, and feel sure that he should get him. But he never could do it. God's promise was fulfilled to David: "Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him." David had a ruby heart, and it was like a charm to him; it kept him from harm.

The same was true of Martin Luther, who brought about the Reformation, more than three hundred years ago. The Pope of Rome wanted to have him put to death. And Charles the Fifth, the Emperor of Germany, the most powerful monarch in the world at that time, wanted to have Luther killed too. Those two great men tried all they could to kill Luther; but they never could do it. Luther had set his love upon God; therefore He delivered him. Luther had a ruby heart of love towards God, and this was like a charm to keep him form being hurt.

And God is taking care of His people who love Him, at all times, and in many different ways.

I was reading lately about a missionary in India, who had a ruby heart of love towards God, and of the way in which this acted like a charm to keep him from being hurt.

He was preaching one day to a crowd of people near a heathen temple. Not far from where the missionary stood one of the priests of the temple had a large white elephant, which the Hindoos look upon as a sacred animal, and to which they are in the habit of making offerings. The voice of the missionary preaching about Jesus, drew the attention of the crowd towards him. The priest, with his elephant, was left almost alone. He thought he should not get much money that day, and this made him angry. So he determined to let the elephant loose upon the missionary, so that he would either be driven away or trampled to death. The huge beast moved towards him; but on his way he broke of a great branch of a tree as though he needed a weapon, and then he hastened on towards the missionary. Some of his friends who stood near urged him to go away. He said to them - "Remember Daniel in the lion's den, and don't be afraid."

Then he went on preaching. The Hindoos, who were standing round, watched the elephant, expecting to see him strike the missionary to the earth. They were greatly astonished when they saw the animal walk up to where the missionary stood, quietly lay down the branch at his feet, and go away without offering to do him the slightest injury. He stepped on the branch which the elephant had brought him. This was like a platform for him to stand on, so that as he went on preaching he could be seen and heard better than before. When the priest saw this, he was still more angry. He directed the elephant to him again; but he refused to go. The missionary then raised his finger, and said to the priest, - "You want your elephant to kill me: take care lest God should turn his rage against yourself." This made the priest more angry than ever. He resolved that the missionary should be killed before all the people. He ordered the elephant again to kill him. He stormed at him and even struck him to make him go. But this made the elephant angry. He was not used to be treated in that way; instead, therefore, of rushing on the missionary, he turned quickly round, threw the priest upon the ground, and trampled him to death with his broad heavy feet. Here you see how the God, on whom the missionary had set his love, delivered him. That missionary had a ruby heart of love to God. This acted like a charm upon him. It kept him from harm.

And now, before closing, I want to show you that when boys and girls have ruby hearts, so as to be loving, and gentle, and kind to all about them, it will act like a charm to keep them from getting hurt.

Johnny Curtis and his sister Mary lived in a quiet village in New England. There was an old drunkard in that village, whom most of the children were very fond of teasing. He had formerly been a very wealthy man, and used to ride about in a beautiful carriage. But he took to drinking, and this ruined him, as it will do every one who indulges in it. He had lost all his property, and had become a poor, miserable drunkard. He used to be known as Captain Nicholas Beers. But now the boys used to run after him, and call him "Old Nick." One day little Mary Curtis came home from school before her brother. Soon after she came in, her mother said, -

"I wish Johnny would come in; I want to send him out to get me a skein of blue silk to finish Lotty's hood with. Mary, my dear, look out of the window and see if he is coming."

"Cannot I go, ma?" said Mary, " it is early yet, and I will hurry back quickly."

"No, my dear, not on any account; for Capt. Beers, or 'Old Nick,' as the boys call him, has been reeling about the village all the afternoon, with a troop of rude boys about him. He is very apt to throw stones, or anything he can lay his hand on when he is drunk, and he might hurt you."

"If that is all you are afraid of, ma, you had better let me go, for Capt. Beers won't touch me; he is never cross to Johnny or me. He is only cross to those who tease him. I always speak kindly to him, and say, 'Good-morning, Capt. Beers,' and he says, 'Good-morning, Miss Curtis.'

One day, he walked all the way to school with me, and talked as pleasantly as anybody. Miss Bruce, our teacher, says I gave a secret charm which keeps him from hurting me."

"I'm glad to hear it, Mary. How did Miss Bruce know about your 'secret charm,' as you call it?"

"Why, mother, one day the poor old man was shaking his big stick around, and threatening to catch the first little boy that came near, and put him in the mill-pond, because they had torn the brim off his old straw hat. The boys were running up to him as near as they dared, and calling out, 'Hurrah for old Nick.' 'Three cheers for old Nick, president of the Temperance Society.' The more they hallooed, the more angry he looked. I saw him, and began to cry, for I could not get home to dinner without passing close to him. Miss Bruce saw us and called us back, and said, 'Now, John and Mary, do not cry or be frightened; I will teach you a secret charm, that will keep the old man from hurting you. Walk slowly along, and look him right in the face, and say, 'Good morning, Capt. Beers.' I trembled like a leaf when we came near him, and could not speak a word, but Johnny spoke up loud, just as Miss Bruce told him. Instead of hurting us, he said, 'You're nice, civil children; so I will not hurt you.' I was so pleased when we got past him! and, from that time, I have not been afraid at all. I always speak pleasantly to him, and so he does to me. Now, mother, may I not go for the silk?"

"Yes, dear, I'm not afraid to trust you, now I know about that charm."

Mary put her bonnet on to go to the store. She was almost afraid when she came in sight of the old drunkard. He was standing on the steps of the store. His face was red and angry; his hat was off, and his gray locks were blowing in the wind, while his hand held a stick, which he was brandishing wildly in the air. They boys had been teasing him till he was almost crazy. But Mary took courage. She knew how much her mother wanted the silk, and that it would be too late when Johnny came back from driving the cows from pasture; so, choking down her fears, she said, "Good afternoon, Capt. Beers." "Good afternoon," he said, and tried to make her a bow. When he saw her coming back from the store, he said, so that all the rude boys could hear him, -

"Make way for little Miss Curtis! She's a lady, - and so was her mother before her."

That little girl had a ruby heart, a loving, gentle heart, - and it was a charm that kept her from being hurt.

Now we have spoken of three things which people used to think that the ruby could do, but which we know that the Bible ruby can do. The first is, to cure sorrow. The second is, to shine in the dark. The third is, to keep us from harm.

Let us all pray to God to give us ruby hearts. Let us ask Him to fill our hearts with love to Him, and love to all about us; and then we shall have this Bible ruby. It will cure our sorrows. It will shine in the dark. It will keep us from harm.

Chapter 5 - The Amethyst

"An Amethyst." - Exodus xxviii. 19.

This was the ninth jewel on the breastplate of the Jewish high-priest, or the last jewel in the third row. In the foundations of the heavenly Jerusalem, it was the last of the twelve jewels spoken of.

The amethyst is a very precious jewel, and very much admired. Its colour is a mixture of blue and red. It is a rich purple, very much like the appearance of a bunch of ripe, dark-coloured grapes.

The name of this jewel comes from the Greek language, and it means not to intoxicate, or not to make drunk. The amethyst is the temperance jewel. The boys and girls, and men and women, who make clear, cold, sparkling water their principal drink, should take the amethyst as their favourite jewel. In old times people used to think that if they only had a cup made out of an amethyst to drink from, they never would get intoxicated. And if they only carried one of these jewels about them it would have the same effect. They thought the amethyst was a charm against intemperance, and a cure for it when men fell into this dreadful habit. What a blessed thing it would be if this were so! Then this jewel would be worth its weight in gold, and ten times more than that. It would be the most precious and valuable of all the jewels. It would be worth more than the pearl, and the diamond, and the ruby, and the emerald, and the sapphire, all put together. If this were so, I would be willing to go to the very ends of the earth if I could only get enough of these precious jewels to put one round the neck of every boy, and every girl too, in this school, and every man and woman in this church. That jewel would be the most useful and valuable thing that could be given to any one. Oh, how I wish that the amethyst really had this power! How I wish it were able to keep people from becoming intemperate! But it cannot do this. It is only the Bible jewel, which the amethyst stands for, that can do this. And what is the Bible jewel that may be compared to the amethyst? It is the fear of God. This is the real temperance jewel.

And when I speak of the fear of God, I don't mean that we should be afraid of God, as a slave is afraid of his overseer, who stands by with a whip in hand, ready to lash him the moment he stops working. I mean that we should feel towards God just as a loving child feels towards an affectionate parent, or kind friend, when he would almost rather die than do anything that that parent or friend would not like to have him do. This is a sweet, loving, pleasant feeling. It makes the person that has it very happy. It is the Bible jewel that will keep us from a great many evils, and especially from the terrible evil of intemperance.

I wish to speak of three ways in which this Bible jewel - the true amethyst - the fear of God - will be a temperance jewel to us. In the first place it will keep us from learning to drink.

And when we speak of drinking, in connection with the subject of temperance, we do not mean drin