The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1886-07-02
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
An Interesting Discourse On '.The
Battle For Bread"
IAe Ravens Of Gods Providencs-rhs In.
1nity Of Divine Resourcee-The Great
Home Question Not Home Rule
But Home Maintenance.


Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage. in Q recent
sermon at the Brooklyn Tabernacle, tool
Tor his subject 1.-THE battle for bread" The
text was:
And The ravens brought him bread an d
nesh in the morning, and bread and fiesh in
the evening.-Kings, xvii.,a
DR.. Talmage said:
The ornitbology of the Bible Is Q very in
eeresting study. The stork, which know
eth her appointed time; the common SPAR
rows, teaching the lesson of Gods provi-
dence; the ostriches of the desert, by care
less incubation, illustrating the reckless
ness Of parents who do not take enough
pains with their children; the eagle, SYM
bolizing riches which take Wings and fly
away; the pelican, emblemizing solitude:
the bat, a fake CT the darkness; the night
hawk, the essifrage, the cuckoo, the lap
wing, tie osprey, by the command of God
In Leviticus, flung out of the worlds bill of
fare. / would like to have been with Au-
dubon as he went through the woods with
gun and pencil bringing down and sketch.
Ing the fowls of heaven, his unfolded port.
folio thrilling all Christendom. What
wonderful creatures of God the birds are I
some Of them, this morning, like the
songs of Heaven let loose, bursting through
the gates of Heaven. Consider their feath-
ers, which are clothing and conveyance at
the same time; the nine vertebre of the
neck, the three eyelids to each eye, the
third eyelid an extra curtain for gradual.
ing the light of the sum-
Some of these birds scaveugers and some
Of them orchestra. Thank God for the
Qual's whistle and lark's carroll and the
twitter of the wren-called by the ancients
the king of the birds, because when the
fowls of heaven went into a contest as to
who could fly the highest, and the eagle
swung nearest the sun, a wren on the back
OF the eagle, after the eagle was exhausted.
sprang up much higher, and SO was
called by the ancients the king of birds.
Consider those of them that have golden
crowns and crests, showing them to be
feathered imperials. And listen to the
humming birds serenade in the ear of the
honeysuckle. Look at the belted king
fisher, striking like dart from sky to
water. Listen to the voice of the owl,
giving the key mote to all croakers. And
behold the condor among the Andes. bat
Ting with the reindeer. 1 do not know
whether an aquarium or aviary is the best
altar from which to worship God.
There is an incident to my text that baf-
nes all the pathological wonders of the
world. The grain crop mad been cut off.
Famine was in the land. In the cave by
the Brook Cherith sat a minister of God,
Elijah, waiting for something to eat.
Why did he not go to the neighbors?
There were no neighbors: it was a 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 a flock of
birds approaching. Oh, il they were only
partridges, 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" prove them to
be ravens. They whirr around about the
prophets head, and then they come on
duttering 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 q
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 it 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 nv text ought to have been |
"Arabs, $50 it would have read: |
s'The Arabs brought bread and flesh in the |
and bread and flesh in the even. |
ing. Anything, but admit the Bible to be |
true.
miracle is gone. Go on with the depicting |
process, but know, my brother, that you
sre robbing only one maa-and that 10
yourself-of one of the most comforting,
beautiful, pathetic and triumphant lessons
In all the ages. I can tell you who these
purveyors were: they were ravens. can
tell you who freighted them with pro-
visions: God. can tell you who launched
them: God. l can tell you who taught
Them which way to fly: God. can tell
you who told them at What cave to swoop:
Sod. can tell you who introduced raven
b prophet and prophet to raven: God.
There il one passage 1 will whisper in
your ear, for would not want to utter it
aloud lest some one should drop down
nnder its power:
II any man shall take away ON the words
Df the prophecy of this book, Go d shall take
away hts part out of the book OF life and
Dut 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
It the lip Of every soul hungering for COM
Tort.
On the banks Of what rivers have been
He great battles Of the world! While you
IRE looking over the map of the world to
answer that, I will tell you that the great