The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1886-07-22
TALMAGE's SERMON.
An Interesting Discourse On 'The
Battle For Bread"

The Ravens Of Gods Providenoe-The In
Unity of Divine Resources-The Great
Home Question Not Homo Rule
But Home Maintenance.
Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage, In e recent
sermon at the Brooklyn Tabernacle, took
for his subject "The battle for bread" The
text was:
And the ravens brought him bread and
fiesh in the NOR ring, and bre ad and flesh in
the evening.-Kings, xvii,&
DR.. Talmage said:
There Is an incident to my text that baf-
fles all the pathological wonders Of the
world. The grain crop had been cut of.
Famine was in the land. In the cave by
the Brook Cherith sat minister of God,
Elijah, waiting for something to eat.
Why did he not go to the neighbors!
There were no neighbors; it was wilder
ness. Why did he not pick some of the
berries? There were none. If there had
been they would have been dried up.
Seated one morning at the mouth OF his
cave the prophet looks into the dry
and pittiless heavens. and sees flock of
birds approaching. Oh, if they were only
pal-tridges, or If he only had an arrow
with. which to bring them down! But as
they come nearer he finds they are not
comestible, but unclean, and the eating of
them would be spiritual death. The
strength of their beak, the length of their
wings, the blackness of their color, their
loud, harsh 'cruck! cruck I" prove them to
be ravens. They whirr around about the
prophets head, and then they come on
huttering wing and pause on the level of
his lips, and one of the ravens brings
bread, and another raven brings meat,
and after they have discharged their tiny
cargo they wheel past, and others come
until after while the prophet has enough,
and these black servants of the wilderness
table are gone. For six months, and for a
whole year, morning and evening, the
breakfast and a supper bell sounded as
these ravens rang out on the air their
"cruck! cruckw Guess where they got
the food from. The old rabbins say they
got 1t from the kitchen of King Ahab.
Others say that the ravens got their food
from pious Obadiah, who was in the habit
Of feeding the prosecuted. Some say that
the ravens brought the food to their young
in the trees, and that Elijah had only to
climb up and get it. Some say the whole
story is improbable, for these were carniv-
orous birds, and the food they carried
was the torn flesh of living beasts,
and that ceremonially unclean, or it was
carrion, and it would not have been fit for
the prophet. Some say that they were no
ravens, but that the word translated
''ravens" in my text ought to have been
translated "Arabs," so it would have read :
ssThe Arabs brought bread and flesh in the
morning, and bread and flesh in the even
ing. Anything, but admit the Bible to be
true.
Hew away at this miracle until all the
miracle is gone. Go on with the depicting
process, but know, my brother, that you
are robbing only one man-and that is
yourself-of one Of the most comforting,
beautiful, pathetic and triumphant lessons
in all the ages. l can tell you who these
purveyors were: they were ravens. I can
D tell you who freighted them with pro-
visions: God. can tell you who launched
them: God. can tell you who taught
them which way to fly: God. can tell
you who told them at what cave to swoop
God. can tell you who introduced raven
to prophet and prophet =, raven: God.
There Is one passage I win whisper In
your ear, for would not want to utter il
aloud lest some one should drop down
under its power:
nm no col be oxvo f,ov kt,a rds
Of the prophecy OF this book, God shall TAKE
ava y hts part out of the book of life and
out of the Holy City.
While, then, this morning we watch the
ravens feeding Elijah, let the swift dove
Of Gods spirit sweep down the sky with
divine food, and on outspread wing pause
at the lip Of every soul hungering for com
fort.
On the banks of what rivers have beer
y the great battles of the world? While 20,
are looking over the map of the world t,
answer that, will tell you that the grea
conflict to-day is on the Thames, on tn,
Hudson, on the Mississippi. on the Kenne
bee, on the Savannah, on the Rhine, on tn
Nile, on the Ganges, on the Hoang- Ho. I
Is battle that has been going on for si1
thousand years. The troops engaged in i
are one billion four hundred million, ant
those who rave fallen are vaster in mum
bers than those who march. 1t is a battl
for bread. Sentimentalists sit in a cush
Toned chair, In their pictured study, witt
their slippered feet ON damask ottoman
and say that this world Is great scene O
avarics and greed. JIG does not seem so &
me. If it were not for the absolute neces
sites of the cases, nine -tenths Of tn
stores, Factories, shops, banking houses O
the land would be closed tomorrow. VIII
is that man delving in the Colorado hills
or toilinS in New England factory? o
going through roll of bills in the bank
or meesuring fabric at the counter
He is champion sent forth Il
behalf Of some home circle that ha
to be cared for, in behalf of som
church n God that has to be supported
In behnH Of some asylum of mercy tina
has to be sustained. Who is that woman
bending over the sewing-machine, or car
rying the bundle, or sweeping the room
or Needing the garment, or sweltering a
the rashtub? That is Deborah, one Of tn
Lords heroines, battling against AmaIe
kitisN want, which comes down with irol
chariot to crush her and hsrs.
The great question with the vast ma
jorfsy Of people to-day is not "home rule,