Precious Stones--Diamonds

Precious Stones—Diamonds

Great Diamonds 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 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 is not nearly so large as the Regent, but it is of a much more beautiful shape. The Orloff 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." 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." 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. 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."

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 colours, 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 colour, form, and value.

It is commonly believed that in Heaven we shall all see alike, because it is written, "They shall see eye to eye;" 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-Noor 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."

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 pomps, 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" 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 £40,000. 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." As I have already said, the "Regent" diamond was in the hilt of the sword of that unregretted gentleman, Napoleon I. I am sure a greater blessing 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.

State Crown of England. 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.

Crown of England. 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 labour 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.

The Boring Machine Employed in Making the Mont Cenis Tunnel. 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 "pegging away." The "peggers-away" are the men who do the work, after all; a little bit today, and tomorrow, 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. 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 ardour, 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.