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1 In rising to address the congregation this afternoon, a brief passage of Scripture is suggestod [suggested] to my mind, as the basis for such remarks as I may make. It is the latter part of the seventh verse of the fourteenth chapter of the Book of Revelation, and reads as follows: "and worship him that made heaven and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." Believing with the ancient Apostles that no prophecy of scripture is of any private interpretation; but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost," and that "all scriptures were written for our profit and learning that we through faith in them, might have hope." I am firmly convinced that the words of the text have a profound significance; for although it is acknowledged that the sacred writings contain the most sublime language, and furnish the most poetic quotations, still I do not believe that those holy men sought to round off their sentences, simply for the sake of the music they would afford to the ear of the reader; but that beneath all the poetry and sublimity of the language, there is a beautiful meaning to every sentence recorded, involving the most important truths for the benefit of mankind. In order to reach clearly the correct significance of the passage we have read, let us first consider by whom it was uttered, and inquire into the circumstances under which it was recorded. History tells us that the venerable Apostle John who wrote the Book of Revelation, was sentenced by the Emperor Domitian of the Roman Empire, to be scalded to death in a cauldron of boiling oil; that this cruel sentence was carried out as fully as it was in the power of men to execute it. The cauldron of oil was heated to boiling heat, and the great apostle was submerged in the scalding fluid, but through Divine interposition he was delivered like Daniel from the "lion's den," and Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego from the "fiery furnace," by the power of that God, whom he served and obeyed; so that he suffered no harm and simply looked like he had been anointed. The cruel Emperor was so enraged at this wonderful deliverance, that he instantly sentenced the doomed Apostle to banishment on the Isle of Patmos. While in exile in accordance with this sentence, St. John was made the happy recipient of the most wonderful visions of things to come to pass in the future history of the world. Enwrapped in heavenly vision he beheld, among other important matters, an "angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation and kindred, and tongue and people, saying with a loud voice, "Fear God, and give glory to him, for the hour of his judgment is come," and then the words of our text, "and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." Thus then we find this text was the enunciation of an angel; and as the time when this angel was to come is plainly shown to be at a most important crisis of the world's history, "the hour of God's judgment," it may well be supposed he did not waste time in poetic fancy or simply the elegant rounding of periods, but that every word he uttered carried with it a depth of meaning, and was in every way calculated to impress those to whom he was sent, with the importance of his message. What then was his reason for using this particular language? Why did he not close without uttering the last words? Or why did he not call the attention of earth's inhabitants to some other peculiarity of the Divine greatness? First because it is customary with the Lord and his angelic messengers to generally give some reason for the requirements made by them; God is ever willing to show his children why we should obey his commands, we find his doctrines reasonable; his requirements reasonable, and his revelations reasonable; hence the angel added by way of reasonable argument, "and worship him that made heaven and earth, and the sea and the fountains of waters." But why did he not call attention to some of the great things in the unseen wo

2 Then think of the richness of our fields, of the mineral wealth in these huge mountains, of the beauties to be seen and studied in the floral creation, of the grandeur of earth's scenery, and the capacity of the soil to support its wonderful population, think of what is on the earth's surface, and consider what is discovered in its deepest recesses; and when the inquiry arises as to the originator of these blessings, and men of science and reflection ask who and what is the controlling power that bestows and regulates all these things, the loud voice of the angel comes down through the ages, "Worship God who made the earth! Then there is the mighty ocean that covers such a large portion of our globe. Now, some people have thought that there was too great a proportion of our earth covered by water; but scientific men, who have thought deeply on this subject, declare that if there were any less, there would not be sufficient to furnish moisture for the fertilization of the land. Here, then, is an element prepared, from which, through the action of the atmosphere, the moisture is drawn up into the clouds, and, what is very wonderful, it is not emptied out in torrents, to ravage and destroy by its furious impetuosity, our fields and gardens, but is carried in the clouds as they are gently wafted by the wind, and beautifully distributed in grateful showers, to refresh and nourish the crops of the husbandman. Then, again, see the provision for preserving those large bodies of water, called seas, so that they may not become putrid and malarious; they are strongly supplied with salt, and thus turned into brine, which preserves the water in a wholesome state. Upon the surface of the seas are the vessels of the commercial world, laden with treasure, and down in those almost unfathomable depths are found endless varieties of the finny tribes, that delight to dwell there, and are so useful to man. The sea is their home, from the smallest specimen that floats near the surface, to the huge leviathan that lashes the ocean in his fury. They are perfectly adapted to live there, and the element is specially fitted to supply their necessities. Then, too, beneath its surface we discover beauteous and precious gems for the adornment of the person; providing even for the pleasures and fashionable tastes of "them that dwell on the earth." And when we ask what intelligence and beneficent power has provided for our happiness, we still hear the voice of the angel as he cries, "worship God who made the sea!" There is still another branch of the subject to which we must briefly refer, and that is the "fountains of waters" What can be more delightful than a fountain, or spring of pure waters? Up in these glorious mountains which have inspired the Saints with a love of liberty, we can see and hear the rippling brook as it escapes from a bright, cold, pure spring in the nook of a canon [canyon] or the crevice of a rock! How is it formed and sustained? We find that through the process of evaporation before alluded to, moisture is drawn from the oceans and lakes up into the clouds; some of these clouds pass over the mountains, and deposit sheets of snow, and showers of rain in the canons [canyons] and on the mountain sides. These sink into the crevices between the rocks, and here and there burst forth in bubbling springs of fresh water which feed the rivulets and streams, and form the creeks that descend to the land in the valleys, then pass into rivers and finally return to the bosom of the oceans and lakes from whence they came, there to be again preserved till again evaporated. But one peculiarity we should notice here, and that is, the water in these springs is fresh and sweet, although the bodies of water from whence it is evaporated are salt. Here we live on the borders of the Great Salt Lake, yet did you ever notice any saline flavor to the springs and streams sustained by the evaporations from the lake? No, and yet this is a body of water having the strongest saline character in the world! What a glorious provision to have pure f