If I justify myself, mine | I will pray yet against their own mouth shall condemn wickedness. me. Job ix. 20. St. Peter glorifies God I will give thanks unto Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made : marvellous are Thy works, and that my soul knoweth right well. My bones are not hid from Thee though I be made secretly, and fashioned beneath in the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being imperfect and in Thy book were all my members written; Which day by day were fashioned when as yet there was none of them. THE SEVENTH FOUNDATION. Chrysolyte. HE wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The seventh, chrysolyte. -Revelation xxi. 14, &c. The word Chrysolyte indicates in the Greek tongue a stone of golden tint; and has therefore been supposed to stand not for that gem which we so designate, but rather for the topaz of modern nomenclature: while in the list of celestial foundation stones, the name topaz is equally conjectured to stand for what we now term Chrysolyte. Wherefore both jewels being according to either arrangement alike chosen, it scarcely seems of grave detriment that I should endeavour without further complications to describe each gem according to the name it now bears amongst ourselves; not pursuing further the question of identity. By Chrysolyte then, we understand a stone of pale yellowish-green hue, transparent, translucent, and of goodly lustre. Fair as it is, and meet for a bride's ornament, yet does iron enter into its composition; iron, which stands for might of irresistible dominion. (See Rev. xii. 5.) Chrysolyte is of two sorts; the precious, and the common. Precious Chrysolyte is found, though not usually, yet sometimes in masses which equal in bulk a turkey's egg and such, although minute indeed among earth's multitude of stones, appear when jewels are in question exceptionally huge. And from this bulk and that component iron we can, I think, draw a twofold emblem first, of the supremacy of that inherent power by which the sole Head and sole Foundation Rock of the Church subdues the world: 'He shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: "-and secondly, of the dignity of that "Cephas, by interpretation a stone," whose unexampled confession of faith won for him an unexampled blessing. Even common Chrysolyte is beautiful. Invested with various shades of green it more or less resembles an olive in tint; and shares the harmonious name of the fruit, being called Olivine. Thus, while the iron of the nobler Chrysolyte speaks not of peace but of a sword, the humbler more abundant kind preaches that peace with which the sword of the Spirit is not at variance; that peace of God which the world neither gives nor can take away. As touching mystic virtues, vain superstition has assigned a protective influence to Chrysolyte. Nor hath God forgotten to be in very truth thus gracious: I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.-Isaiah xli. 13. THE YELLOW LAG. High head, firm root. HOUGH blossoming as well both earlier and later, the Iris group specially belongs to the month of June. It constitutes a family uplifted of head, stately of aspect, eminently uniform of design; in colouring rich, widely varied, and delicately harmonized: lovely indeed are those shades of tints which promote it to share a name with the rainbow. Let us take for our subject the Yellow Flag or Iris, which frequents river banks, marsh lands, and pools; not disdaining to unfurl even from ditches its golden standard, adorned with rare gradations of texture and pencillings of colour. That which it craves is water and thence, whether presented to it in sweet running shallows or in cups of stagnant ponds, it sucks uncontaminated nourishment, thriving on food convenient for it; swaying and stooping amid shifting winds and ripples, yet steadied by its great creeping root as by an anchor. Three is, so to speak, the dominant number of the Iris. The petals of the blossom are three; the inner petal-like structure is threefold, each section terminating in a cloven or double tip delicately notched along the edges. In September the stalks appear decked, in lieu of flowers, with green capsules from two to three inches long; each of these forming a triple vessel, and containing in three divisions many pale brown seeds. The foliage shoots up stiff and erect, of a clear green; often overtopping the blossom which, emerging from a green sheath, may yet on its lower stem attain a height of some two feet. The leaves, shaped like so many swords, stand edgeways towards the flower stalk. The Yellow Flag lacks not medicinal properties, and yields a black dye: its berries supply a flavour which has been deemed palatable. Yet were these things not so, this Iris by its mere intricacies of beauty would still, without speech or language, declare to us the glory of God, and no less than the firmament would show us His handiwork. Can the flag grow without water?—Job viii. 11. I followed Thee, my God, I followed Thee To see the end: I turned back flying from Gethsemane, Turned back on flying steps to see Thy Face, my God, my Friend. Even fleeing from Thee my heart clave to Thee: Constrained, yea chained by love which maketh free; Followed along Thy course. |