The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1880-08-19
e1lanen1rs.
REV. 7. DEWITT TALMAGE.
SPIDERS WHO WEAVE THEIR
WEBS UPON THE WALLIS
Lessons Of Small Things -Inslgnlhcance No Ex
cuse fer InactlOn'
sUBJECT-"sPIDERs."


A sky full of stars; shining from year to
year, calls out not so many remarks as
the blazing of one meteor A whole
flock of robins take not so much OF our
attention as one laundering bat dartlng
into the window on a summer eVe
Things of ordinary sound and sight and
occurrence fail to reach us, yet no grass
hopper ever springs up in our path, no
moth dashes into the evening candle, no
moat ever floats in the sunbeam, no
barnacle on ships hull, no burr on a
chestnut, but would teach us lesson if
we were not so stupid, God, in his BIZ
BILE, sets forth for our consideration the
lily, the snow fake, the locust, the au-
rora borealis, and the ant-hills. One Of
the sacred writer's, sitting amid the
mountains, sees hind skipping over the
rocks. The hind has such a peculiarly
shaped foot that it can go over the steep
est places without falling, and as the
prophet looks upon that marking of the
hind's foot upon the rocks, and thinks
of the Divine care over him, he
saws: "Thou makest my feet like kinds,
that l may walk on high places" And
aanother sacred writer sees the ostrich
leaving its egg in the sand Of the desert,
and, without any care Of incubation,
walk of; and the Scripture says that is
like some parents, leaving their children
without any wing Of protection or care
In my text, inspiration opens before us
the gate CT a palace, and we are induct-
ed amid the pomp of the throne and the
courier and, while we are looking around
upon the magnifcence, inspiration points
us to a spider plying it's shuttle and
weaving its net on the wall. 1t does not
call us to regard the grand surroundings
of the palace, but to solemn and earn
est consideration of the fact that: "The
spider taketh hold with her hands and
is in Kings palaces"
1t is not very certain what was the
particular species of insect spoken of in
the text, but 1 shall proceed to learn
from it;
First-The exquisteness of the divine
mechanism. The Kings chamberlain
comes into the palace and looks around
and sees the spider on the walls
and says; away with that intruder"
and the servant of Solomon's palace
comes with his broom and dashes down
the insect, saying: "What loathsome
thing it is!n But under microscopic in.
spection find it more wondrous of con-
struction than the embroideries on the
palace wall and the upholstery about the
windows. All the machinery Of the
earth could not make anything 80 deli
cate and beautiful as the prehensile with
which that spider clutches itg prey, or
as any of it's eight eyes, We do not
have to 60 far up to zee the power of
God in tapestry hanging around the
windows of heaven, or in the horses
and chariots of fire with which the dy.
ing day departs, or to look at the noun.
tain swinging out its swordarm from un.
der the mantle of darkness until it can
strike with its Cimeter Of the lightning
love better to study God in the shape
of a fy's wing, in the formation of a fish
scale, in the snowy Whireness Of a proud
lily. love to track his footsteps in the
mountain mass and to hear his voice in
the hum of the rye fields and discover
the rustic of his robe of light in the
south wind. Oh, this wonder OF divine
power that can build a habitation for
God in an apple blossom, and tune
bees voice until it is fit for the eternal
orchestra, and can say to the hrthy:
'Let there be lightw And from holding
an ocean in the hollow of his hand, goes
forth to fud heights and depths and
length and breadth of omnipOtency in
dew drop, ard dismounts from a chariot
of midnight hurricane to cross over on
the suspension bridge Of a spiders web
You may take your telescope and sweep
it across the heavens in order to behold
the glory of God, but l shall take The
leaf holding the spider and the spiders
web, and bring the microscope to my
eye, and while l gaze and look and study
and am confounded, I will kneel down
in the grass and cry: Great and marvel
GUS are thy works, Lord God Almighty"
SeCond-Again, my text teaches me
that insignihCanCe is no excuse for mac
ton. This spider that Solomon saw on
the wall might have said: 81 can't weave
web worthy of this great palace, and
so | will not work my spinning jenny"
Not so said the spider, "The spider ia
keith hold with his hands," Oh, what a
lesson for you and mel You say if you
had some great sermon to preach; if you
only had great audience to talk to; if
you had a great army to marshal; if you
only had constitution to write; if there
were some tremendous thing in the
world for you to do, then you would
show us. Yes, you would show usl
What if the Levite in the ancient tenn
pie had refused to snuff the candle be.
cause he could not be a high priesl2
What if the humming bird should refuse
TO sing it's song into the ear of the honey
suCkle because it can not, like the eagle,
dash its wing into the sun2 What if the
raindrop should refuse to descend be-
cause it is not a Niagara? What if the
spider of the text should refuse to move
it's shuttle because it could not weave a
Solomon's robe2 Away with such folly
lf you are lazy with the one talent, you
would be lazy with the ten talents. II
Milo can not lift the calf, he never will
have ths strength to lift an OK. In the
Lords army there is order for promo.
zion; but you can not he General until
yCu have been Captain, Lieutenant,
ana a Cloloue,'. 1t is step by step, inch
by inch, stroke by stroke that our chris
tan character is buided. Therefore be
content to do what God commands you.
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