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SUBJECT: 01a GREAT DIAMONDS
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GREAT DIAMONDS f44
In the forefront of all stones is the diamond an exceedingly precious stone.
There are only six very large diamonds known in the world: these are
called the paragons. I have here some of the largest diamonds — in model,
not in reality, I am happy to say; for I am afraid my house would not be
very secure if I had the real diamonds in this case. I cannot make them
visible to you all, but I will briefly describe each one as I show it.
The REGENT f45 or PITT diamond, is said to be one of the most beautiful
gems ever found. It was brought from India by an English gentleman of the
name of Pitt, and sold by him to the Duke of Orleans, Regent of France:.
who placed it among the crown jewels of France. It is now [1870] set in
the hilt of the sword of state of the Emperor Napoleon.
The KOH-I-NOOR f46 is not nearly so large as the Regent, but it is of a much
more beautiful shape.
The ORLOFF f47 diamond comes next, and a very beautiful one it is.
I have said that there are only six paragons, six of the finest diamonds, and
I fear that the Church of God has not many paragons in it. There: are many
stones in the Church, and they are all “precious.” “They shall be: mine,
saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels.” f48 It will
be a great mercy if you and I can be paragons in the Church. There were
seventy disciples elected by Christ; twelve were chosen out of the seventy
to follow Him; three out of the twelve were taken apart to be shown the
glory of God; but there was only one who was called “that disciple whom
Jesus loved.” f49 Let us, therefore, strive to be useful followers of Christ,
and let us pray that He may have many paragon jewels who shall shine
brightly in His crown for ever.
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My next illustration I draw from the hardness of the diamond. The only
way to cut a diamond is by a diamond: diamond dust must be used if the
gem is to be cut. In like manner, the best way to understand Scripture is by
Scripture itself. One of the best commentaries; in the world is that which is
“wholly biblical.” Students of the Word, I pray you, study the Bible by the
Bible; cut the diamond with the diamond; use the light of God in God’s
light: “In Thy light shall we see light.” f50
Diamonds are not all of one shape; in a natural state the crystals are of
various forms, and are further altered in the process of cutting: their colors,
too, vary greatly. Each stone has its own peculiar character and consequent
value: some are more precious, others less so. So is it with the people of
God: they are not all alike; but each has his or her particular character, as
diamonds have their color, from, and value.
It is commonly believed that in Heaven we shall all see ;alike, because it is
written, “They shall see eye to eye;” f51 but this does not mean “all alike.” It
means that, as in a great walled city, with so many watchmen on guard,
that they would be able to see one another, and on the approach of a foe
spread the alarm all around; so in Heaven we shall “see eye to eye.” It is
not possible that we should be all alike in Heaven; for we can never
become infinite, and without that there must be. diversity.
One believer rejoices in one view of the Word of God, and another in
another. Perhaps you, my dear friend, are a ruby, while another is an
emerald; this Christian is an opal, and that one a jasper. This diversity will
tend to make Heaven more glorious, and the breastplate of our Great High
Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, more resplendent.
Diamond dust is very precious: you might very soon make a fortune if you
were allowed only the sweepings from the lapidary’s wheel in large
workshops. The KOH-I-NOR, was originally much larger than it now is, but
was reduced in cutting.
The odds and ends of time are precious: little spaces of time, like the
intervals between dinner and class, or when waiting at a railway station,
are, like the dust of the diamond, all precious. How many chances have
been wasted of doing good service for ,our Lord and Master because we
have not seized the passing moments, “gathering up the fragments, that
nothing be lost.”
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Diamond dust is like truth: no matter how small the truth is, it is worth
dying for. Everything that is true is essential. True, every truth is not
essential to salvation; but all truth is essential to something. Sweep up the
diamond dust, then; treasure it, for it is very precious.
Now what is a diamond? Suppose it is one worth two hundred thousand
pounds — and some of those I have mentioned are said to be worth more
than that — yet it is nothing but a little solidified gas. This diamond may
fitly represent the whole world, with all its pomp’s, and vanities, and
pleasures, and glories. Puff! it’s gone into thin air; death turns; it all to gas.
Set your affections on those things which time cannot destroy, which
eternity cannot impair.
There is a very beautiful story connected with the “SANCY” or “DE
SANCY” f52 diamond, which is said to be worth about eighty thousand
pounds. It is a comparatively small stone; and if I were stupid enough to
wear such ornaments, I could wear it on my finger, if set in a ring.
This stone was sent on one occasion by the Baron de Sancy, to whom it
belonged, to his king, who was in ‘want of cash, and had proposed getting
a loan of f40,000. The diamond was to be the security; in fact, to put it
plainly, it was “to be left at the pawnbroker’s.”
The Baron gave the stone to a trusty servant to take to the king. The
servant disappeared, and people suspected that he had gone off with the
diamond; but his master declared that he knew his servant too well to
believe such a thing possible.
After some time the servant’s body was found, a little way from the road:
he had been murdered and robbed. The Baron commanded that his clothes
should be carefully searched for the missing diamond; but it could not be.
found. He then ordered that he should be cut open, and the diamond was
found in his body. He had swallowed the gem, which he had been unable in
any other way to conceal from the robbers.
We should carry the truth of God within ourselves, in our hearts; so that if
we were dissected, there would be found the truth of God in our innermost
being. You remember that the Psalmist said, “Thy word have I hid in mine
heart, that I might not sin against Thee.” f53
As I have already said, the “REGENT” diamond was; in the hilt of the sword
of that unregretted gentleman, Napoleon I f54 I am sure a greater blessing
21
than his departure from this life could scarcely be conceived. He forgot to
take his sword with him when he was defeated at Waterloo, and the sword
was taken by the Prussians, and now belongs to the Prussians, who are, no
doubt, at this very time [1870] looking after a descendant of that
gentleman who first handled it. Give me the treasure that my foeman can
never take from me.
Our Queen’s, crown is a beautiful emblem of the stability and pureness of
her reign. From almost all the crowns of the potentates of Europe stones
have from time to time been taken out, and counterfeits inserted in their
place, the original stones being turned into cash. But in Her Majesty’s
crown there is not one false gem. It is so with the King of kings: not one
false professor will be found among the elect on the last great day of
account, but only those who are really precious in His sight.
Of all the projects of modern engineers, the most wonderful, in my
judgment, is that of the tunnel through the heart of Mont Cenis. To bore
through an Alp for a distance of more than seven and a half English miles is
a labor far exceeding the fabled exploits of Hercules. Hannibal and
Napoleon rendered themselves famous by crossing the Alps; but what shall
be said of the genius which forced a passage through them? One great
achievement was the invention of the perforating machinery; for it requires
to be powerful enough to make its way through rocks harder than granite:
iron and steel are ineffectual in this case. A thousand years might have been
spent in vain attempts to bore and blast this rock with the ordinary means;
but the difficulty has been overcome; the tooth which can eat into the
mountain has been discovered. For the ordinary boring machinery, engines
are employed in which the steel teeth are replaced by diamonds. Black
diamonds set in a ring bite into the rocks and open the way for the blasting
powder. Hardness does the work. The diamonds, of course, are small, but
they are hard, and therefore they will not yield; the mountain is compelled
to give way before them. Resolution wins the battle.
This is like a well-instructed, persevering Christian man, who finds
difficulties lie thick in his path. He has learned that however hard a thing
may be, a hard resolution will cut through it. He therefore keeps on, and
on, and on, till at last he overcomes the difficulty. I believe it was the
President of the United States, when he was at the head of the army, who,
in reply to the inquiry, “How are you getting on in the war?” said, “Well,
we are keeping on, pegging away.” And so the Christian should keep on
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“pegging away.” The “peggers-away” are the men who do the work, after
all; a little bit to-day, and to-morrow, and so on, and on, and on; “never
say die, “but keep at it, and you will bore through a difficulty as hard as
Mont Cenis.
I should have said, there are two sets of these diamond drills at work, one
on each side of the mountain, working towards each other. It puzzles one
somewhat to make out how they are going to meet after all. f57 If they do
so, it will be a mark of great skill on the part of the engineers.
It is a grand thing when two Christians are engaged in the same good
work, one at one end, and the other at the other; for they will surely meet
soon, and celebrate their victory over every obstacle.
To the earnest Christian nothing is impossible, God being his helper. If his
work be difficult, he only becomes the more resolute. With a diviner ardor,
and a more concentrated mind, enterprises are accomplished which before
baffled every effort. The more severe the self-denial, the more intense must
be our love to Christ; the more obdurate the hearts of men, the greater our
zeal for their salvation. “There is nothing so hard,” said Bernard, “but it
may be cut by a harder.” May our faith and love be the diamonds with
which rocks shall be pierced, and a highway made through the mountains
and hills for the Lord our God.
You have seen a brook with steppingstones across. There is one stone
here, and another there, and a third farther on near the other side. If you
are not careful how you step from one to the other, it is very likely you
may get wet-footed and even splashed with mud in crossing.
There was once a row of stepping-stones in a brook, and one dull day in
November one of them was heard to murmur, — “We :are very
unfortunate to be in this spot, all in the water, wet and miserable.” “Ah,
well,” said his neighbor, “there’s one consolation; we always manage to
keep our heads above water, and that’s a great deal more than many can do
this bad weather.” “But,” said the first speaker, “I should like to be great in
the world.” “Why so?” replied the other. “For my part, I’m glad to think
that we’ve made many folks happy when they have crossed the brook by
our help: they’re always glad that they have got over without getting their
feet wet.” So the steppingstone complained no more, and the water went
merrily rippling on, sending up for them a song of gratitude to God.
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Stones, again, are used as boundary marks of countries, towns, and
parishes. Have you ever been present at the “beating of the bounds,” and
were you one of the small boys whose services were in request on that
occasion? If so, you will remember it to this present moment. It used to be
the custom to bump the small boys of the local charity-school against each
and every boundary-stone and post in the parish. Then if any doubt or
,question should arise in after-years as to the boundaries of the parish, any
one of the bumped bound-beaters would be able to bear witness and say, “I
speak from experience, and am certain that so-and-so is the boundary.”
It is a good old custom to teach children the Catechism: bump them against
it again and again. Never mind whether it is interesting or not; bump them
so that they may never forget it.
Farmer Jones has a field on his farm which joins Farmer Smith’s “twenty
acres” on one side. If the one grows peas on his side, and the other grows
wheat, they will know the bounds by the cultivation of the ground. It seems
to me that the boundaries of theology will be better marked by practical
working than by anything else.
Stone-breaking often furnishes us with illustrations. A minister once
stopped by the roadside where a man was breaking stones. “Ah, my
friend,” said the minister “you get through your work more quickly than I
do with mine; for, you must know, I’m in the: same line of business that
you are.” The man looked up and said, “I see what you mean, sir. You are
trying and trying to break stony hearts, and I am breaking these stones one
after another. I think the reason you don’t succeed is because you don’t go
to work as I do.” “How’s that?” asked the minister. “‘Why,” said the man,
“you see, sir, I go down on my knees to Break these stones.” Yes, the poor
stone-breaker was right: the only way to break hard hearts is to go down
on our knees, and intercede with God for them.
Some stone-breakers are of a very different kind. I mean those gentlemen
who go out with a little hammer and a bag, searching for geological
specimens. They climb about among the rocks, and chip away at them,
knocking off little bits here and there, quite enjoying the work; and, at the
same time, the man from the workhouse sits breaking his heap of stones,
and doesn’t think it at all an enjoyable occupation. There is all the
difference in the world between doing what you are obliged to do, and
doing what you choose to do. Some persons engage in Christian work
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because if they did not do so, “Mrs. Grundy” would talk; others do it
because it is to them delightsome work to serve the Lord.
What different opinions people have about things! I have heard a story of a
geologist traveling in Scotland, hunting for specimens. He was quite an
enthusiast; and as he explored and examined the various strata, he would
knock off a piece here and a piece there, and then examine it, and put it
into his bag, saying, “I believe that’s just such a specimen as is described in
‘Lyell’s Principles of Geology’.” Well, he had filled his bag after a good
deal of pleasant toil; and as it was rather heavy, he got a Highlander to
carry it on for him to the station. Sandy was lazy and the bag was heavy; so
he opened the bag and looked inside. Seeing they were only a few bits of
stones and lumps of rock, he shot them all out by the roadside, and walked
on with the empty bag. He knew there was a newly-macadamized piece of
road near the station, and when he got there he just filled up the bag with
road-stones. The geologist’s state of mind, When he looked into the bag,
“may be better imagined than described.”
To turn to serious matters: how easy some people think it is to imitate a
Christian character, and indeed it may appear so; but in the end nothing
will be hid: the mask will be torn off.
Now I take up the sling and the stone again, for a very different
illustration. It is said that slings were first used in the Balearic Isles. The
little boys in the Majorcas — I suppose they were Minorcas then — used
to have their breakfasts put up on a beam, and they had a sling and a stone
given them; and if they could not knock over their food, they had to go
without. You do not need to be told that this capital practice soon made
them very expert in the use of the sling.
The best: way to make your boys men is not to cuddle and coddle them,
but to make them work. That is a grand old rule in the Bible, — “that if
any man would not work, neither should he eat.” f58
I have a little implement here which the juniors ought to regard with
veneration. This is a tinder-box, a rather complicated apparatus, used by
our ancestors to produce a light. You have to scorch or burn some rag,
which is then tinder; this is to be the nidus of the spark to be developed
into flame. Now strike the steel with the flint, till you get a spark, and then
gently blow upon it till you get a good lot of sparks. Then apply your
brimstone match, and there you have your light.
25
Many a young- man looks as dull as that flint when he comes to the
College; but by rubbing against the steel of tutors, he emits beautiful
sparks. When you get a spark of grace, encourage it; blow on it gently,
following the example of Him
“Who’ll never quench the smoking flax, f59
But raise it to a flame.”
A few years ago, having to pass near Knaresborough, I went to see the
celebrated “Dropping Well.” f60 [Here the lecturer held up what was to all
appearance a solid piece of limestone.] This stone in the shape of a bird’s
nest illustrates what is going on every day at Knaresborough and other
places. I asked the persons in attendance to put a bird’s nest under the drip
of the water at one of these places, and there it is, turned into solid stone.
Drip, drip, drip; the water of the petrifying well fell upon it, and turned it to
stone.
I was shown a great number and variety of petrified articles. Not only
birds’ nests, but birds, and shoes, and hats, and even stockings, have been
turned to stone under the continual dropping of the water.
Even so have I known men get under the drip of the “dropping well” of the
world, and they have become quite changed characters: they do no good;
they are turned to stone. The only way of preventing the action of this
terrible “dropping well,” is to live near to God, and have much communion
with Him.
Here is a piece of asbestos. This substance, as you know, may be put in the
fire, but can never be consumed. The Romans used to make tablecloths of
this singular mineral; and then all they had to do, after using them, was to
throw them into the fire, and they came out beautifully white and clean. So,
the Christian shall not be consumed, but only purified, by the fires of
affliction.
We have all seen milestones set up by the roadside in the country to mark
the distances.
Once upon a time, a coach which very often passed a certain milestone
stopped and said, “Aren’t you tired of standing there so long?” The
milestone retorted, “Aren’t you tired of running about so much?” “But,”
said the coach, “you see nothing of life, while I run about and see all that’s
going on.” “Well,” said the other, “you couldn’t move unless you were
26
drawn. All your movements are owing to a power stronger than your own.
Besides, I have heard that coaches get: robbed sometimes, or overturned. I
am quite content to be a milestone, usefully employed in pointing out to
travelers their whereabouts;, and how far they are from their journey’s
end.”
Here is a piece of mosaic, made up of very many minute pieces of
differently-colored stones. There are divers sorts of Christians, and very
various are their gifts, graces, and spheres of service: if they were only
ranged as they should be, what glorious mosaics they would make!
Here is a whetstone, used, as you know, to sharpen scythes. In the olden
times they used to present a whetstone to a man who was reputed a great
liar. “Why?” say you. It was supposed that he must have used his wits so
much in the last lie he told, that they would require sharpening up a little.
May we always keep to the truth, and never want a whetstone for our wits.
I never heard but one lie that I liked. “Now, Pat,” said a man of very
doubtful character, to an Irishman, “if you can tell me the very biggest lie
you ever told in your life, I’ll give you sixpence.” “Sir,” replied Pat,
“you’re a gentleman and a Christian!”
I think that this whetstone is very like Mr. Rogers. f61 The scythes that
come into the College often get blunt, because they have a deal of mowing
to do; and I like to hear Mr. Rogers sharpening them up. Tink-a-tink, tinka-
tink: you know the sound of the scythe against the stone.
We are most of us familiar with this friend of our youth [holding up an
ordinary school slate]. It reminds me that in childhood I used it for various
purposes; sometimes for drawing upon. Alas! the people of that time were
very obtuse; my talent was not appreciated: so it was necessary for me
after drawing an object to write its name underneath, thus, “This is a
horse,” “This is a house,” and so on; a fact not without suggestiveness.
I have met some good people who, refusing to be called Baptists, or
Methodists, or Episcopalians, label themselves “Christians.” This would
seem to cast a reflection upon other denominations to whom the name “:
Christian” is common. Moreover, it does not inspire confidence in those so
styling themselves. If I were to see a man approaching me labeled
conspicuously, “This is an honest man,” I should at once button up my
pockets.
27
A very foolish man had at his doorstep an awkward stone that people were
always falling over. So, being grieved at this, he set a lantern on the stone
to draw attention to the obstacle. Do you see any connection between that
stone and the Church Catechism? The Catechism tells us that people are
“born again” in baptism, and a great many other things that are not true;
but the Evangelical clergy put a lantern upon the stone, and say, “Yes; it
does say that white’s black; but it does not mean quite that; there’s a
different construction to be put on the words.” That is how they talk. If the
man had used a little common-sense, and dug the stone up, and cast the
stumbling-block out of the way, he could have used the, lantern to far
better purpose. And so these, Evangelical clergymen could better employ
their time in rooting out the evil than in apologizing for it.
An illustration might be drawn from the use of plaster all over London. I
am always glad to see the stucco come off; for then it shows that, after all,
the house was only built of brick, though it was a good imitation of :stone.
This age is an age of stucco; everywhere men are trying to make things
look like what they are not.
Stones are often a blessing to the land. I have heard that in one of our
English counties some of the farmers cleared all the stones from their land,
and they had worse crops that year in consequence.
A very small stone is not a small thing when it is in your boot; and so a
very small evil may injure our traveling to heaven.
There are stones on the Alps which contain gold; but: in such minute
quantities that it would not be worth the labor needed to turn it to account.
You have, perhaps, heard the story of the block of stone that had a friend
called the chisel. The stone complained, “You use me very badly, my
friend.” “No,” said the chisel, “I only do as I am bid.” “Ah!” sighed the
stone, “I do wish you would leave me alone.” The chisel began, by the aid
of the hammer, to cut away at the stone, which again complained. “Why,”
said the chisel, “don’t you know what’s to become of you?” “I wish,” said
the stone, “I was like that beautiful statue over there in the corner; it is
beautifully carved, and rests there quite quiet and peaceful, while I am
being constantly ill-used.” “True,” replied the chisel;” but you should know
that it has passed through the same process that you are now undergoing.
You cannot be at rest like that statue until you are properly prepared; and
the very kindest thing I can do for you is to be unkind, and cut and carve
28
you about as much as possible.” When the chisel had done it, work, and the
block of stone had thus become transformed into a beautiful statue, it was
very grateful to its friend the chisel for all it had done. I do not think this
fable needs any comment.
Once upon a time there lay side by side, in a jeweler’s window, a diamond
and a ruby. The ruby said to the diamond, “How lovely you are! You seem
to flash light like the sun.” “Ah,” said the diamond, “but it is the art that is
spent upon me that causes all these beauties.” “Well,” said the ruby, “I
cannot see any beauty in myself; I cannot reflect light as you do.”
“Brother,” replied the diamond, “I have been looking at you with
admiration and envy, and wishing that I had your beautiful color, and
lamenting how pale I seemed beside you.” In the jeweler’s mind there had
been some doubts whether these were valuable stones; but there was no
doubt about the matter after hearing that conversation.
The last use to which a stone can be put is as a tombstone. If any one puts
a gravestone over us, the less said about us the better: our name, our birth,
our death, and a godly text; but no fulsome flattery. Some gravestones
have very much flattery on them, and the sooner the epitaphs are illegible
the better. “Where do they bury all the bad people, father?” asked the boy
in the churchyard; “they are all good people here.”
In the churchyard of Horsleydown, Cumberland, there is a monument to a
man and his wife, “which is an instance,” says Mrs. Stone, in her “God’s
Acre,” of the extent to which irreverence may be carried. It is a shocking
production, certainly; but though shocking ! For a man’s wife, it might be
put over some of us in spirit if not in letter. I’ll read it to you.
HERE LIE THE BODIES
OF THOMAS BOND & MARY HIS WIFE.
She was temperate, chaste, and charitable,
BUT
She was proud, peevish, and passionate.
She was an affectionate wife and a tender mother,
BUT
Her husband and child whom she loved
Seldom saw her countenance without a disgusting frown,
Whilst she received visitors whom she despised with an endearing smile.
29
Her behavior was discreet towards strangers,
BUT
Imprudent in her family.
Abroad her conduct was influenced by good breeding;
BUT
At home by ill-temper.
She was a professed enemy to flattery,
And was seldom known to praise or commend;
BUT
The talents in which she principally excelled
Were difference of opinion, and discovering flaws and
imperfections.
She was an admirable economist,
And without prodigality
Dispensed plenty to every person in her family;
BUT
Would sacrifice their eyes to a farthing candle.
She sometimes made her husband happy with her good qualities;
BUT
Much more frequently miserable with her many failing’s;
Insomuch that in thirty years’ cohabitation he often lamented
That, maugre all her virtues,
He had not on the whole enjoyed two years of Matrimonial Comfort.
AT LENGTH,
Finding that she had lost the affection of her husband,
As well as the regard of her neighbors,
Family disputes having been. divulged by servants,
She died of vexation, July 26, 1768,
Aged 48 years.
Her worn-out husband survived her four months and two days,
And departed this life Nov. 28, 1768,
In the 54th year of his age.
30
William Bond, brother to the deceased, erected this stone,
As a weekly monitor to the surviving wives of the parish,
That they may avoid the infamy
Of having their memories handed to posterity
With a patchwork character.
I think that Mr. William Bond ought to be ashamed of himself. At the same
time, I think a good many of us might have “buts” in our memorials. It
should be our effort to get rid of the “buts.” Nevertheless, I wish all
blessing to “Newington Butts.”
GREAT DIAMONDS
ft44 To illustrate this division of his lecture, Mr. Spurgeon held up a
morocco case containing facsimiles in crystal glass of the thirteen most
remarkable historic diamonds. Looking down to those who occupied the
lower platform, he facetiously remarked: “To let you see them would be as
difficult as showing you a basin of soup without spilling it.” The case was
lent to Mr. Spurgeon by his friend Mr. John Neal, the well-known
silversmith in Edgware Road.
ft45 See Appendix H.
ft46 Appendix I
ft47 Appendix J
ft48 Mal_3:17
ft49 Joh_21:7-20
ft50 Psa_36:9
ft51 Isa_52:8
ft52 Appendix K
ft53 Psa_119:11
ft54 Appendix H
ft57 The mountain was pierced through and through on December 25, 1870,
a few months after this lecture was delivered.
ft58 2Th_3:10; 1Th_4:11
ft59 Isa_42:3; Mat_12:20.
ft60 See Frontispiece
ft61 The revered Principal of the Pastor’s College at that time.