Charlotte messenger. [volume] (Charlotte, Mecklenburg Co., N.C.) 1882-18??, 1886-07-17
DR. TALMAGEO SERMON.
THE BLACK SERVANTS OF
THE SKY.

anu tno ravens brought Him
bread and flesh in the morning, and bread
and flesh in the evening. "-1 Kings, xvii. SO
The ornithology Of the Bible is most in.
teresung study. The stork in the heavens
winch kuoweth her appointed timen The
common sparrows, suggestive of the Divine
providence The ostriches of the desert, by
careless incubation reminding one of the
tecklessness of some parents in regard to
eneir children The eagle, suggesting the
lcnes that take wings and fly away The
2eiican, emblemizing solitude The bat, a
lake OF the darkness. The nighthawk, the
es5nrage. the cuchoo, the lapwing the
osprey, by Gods command in Leviticus flung
'ut oI the worlds bill of fare. / wish could
nave been with Audubon as he went through
me forests Tith gun and pencil, bringing
aown and sketching the fowls Of heaven, his
1nfolded portfolio thrilling all Christendom
What wonderful creatures the birds are.
lheir voices this morning seemed like songs
OF heaven let loose and bursting through the
Gates Look at their feathers, which
) are clothing and conveyance at the
same time. Consider the nine vertebrA of
the neck. Consider the fact that each bird
uas TO each eye three eyelets, the third eyelet
cur tain for gradual ng the light of the day.
Some of these birds scnvengers and some of
them orchestra. Thank God for Quails'
whistle and larks' CAROL and the twitter of
HE wren, by the ancients called the king of
prds, because when the fowls of heaven went
nto contest as to which could fly the high
'st and the eagle swung under the SUM-
wren on the back of the eagle sprung up still
higher, and so was called the king of birds.
Consider those birds that have golden crowns
and crests, showing that they are feather i'm
perials Hear the humming-bird serenade
the ear of the honey suckle. Look at the
belted king-fisher striking like dart from sky
to water. Hear the voice of the owl giving
the Keynote to all croakers. Look atthe con-
aor amid the Andes battling down the rein
deer, when, its eyes destroyed, the poor crea-
ture goes tumbling over the rocks. cannot
tell whether aquarium or aviary is the best
altar from which to worship God. But in
my text there is an instance that battles all
theornithological wonders of the world The
grain crop had been cut OF. Famine was in
The Land. A minister of God, Elijah, sat at
the mouth Of cave by the brook Cherith,
waiting for something to eat. Why
didn't he go out to the neighborS? There
were no neighbors. 1t was wilderness.
Why didn't he go out and pick berries!
There were no berries and if there had been,
hey would have been dried up by the
brought. One morning this man Of God,
seated at the mouth of the cave, is looking
mp into the pitless heavens when he sees a
lock Of birds approaching. Oh if they were
only partridses and he had an arrow with
which TO hring them down. But, as they
rome nearer, he finds they are not comestible,
but unclean and their eating would be spirit
ual death. The length of their wings the
strength of their beak, the blackness Of their
color, the loud, harsh 'tcruok, cruck'' of their
voice prove them to be ravens. They fly
around the prophets head round and round,
and then on a fiuttering wing come to the
level of his lip, and one raven brings the
bread AMI another raven brings the meat,
and having discharged their tiny cargo, their
wheel away and other fiocks of ravens come
until the prophet is satisfied and these black
servants of the wilderness table are gone.
The breakfast bell, and the supper
tell, sounded for six months and
some say for twelve months calling the
prophet up to get his food, while these ravens
lung the sounds on the air: "Cruck, cruck,
truck" Guess where they got the food
wtfom. Some say that they got it from the
kitchen of King Ahab Some say that they
got it from Obadiah Some say that these
iavens brought the food to their young in
the nests in tho tree tops, and Elijah had
only 10 climb up and get it. Some say the
whole story is improbable, and that this
Hesh must have been the torn flesh of living
animals, and therefore unclean, or it was car
ron, and then unfit for the prophet. Some
say that the word in my text translated
ravens ought to have been translated
"Arabs:;' SO that the text ought to have
read: "And the Arabs brought bread and
flesh to HIM in the morning, and bread and
! nesh to him in the evening." Anything but
admit the Bible to be true. Hew away at
this miracle until all the miracle is gone; go
On with your work of depleting; but, my
snd that is yourself, of one Of the most beau
tiful, comforting, blessed, triumphant lessons
If all the ages. l can tell you who these
pnrveyors were. They were ravens.
IAN tell you who freighted them with
provisions. God. can tell you who
launched them. God. / can tell you who
told them which way to fly. God I can
tel you who told them at what cave to
swoop God. l can tell you who it was that
introduced raven to prophet, and prophet to
I'D Her 70 mfr rfnfrrvro
which ought to give in whisper lest, ut
tering it in louder tone, some one might
drop down under its power. The passage is
shis-'He that taketh away from the words
of the prophecy of this book, God will take
lway his part out of the Book of Life, and
out Of the Holy City" Standing then this
morning and watching the ravens feed
. Elijah, / hope the dove Of Gods spirit may
twoop down the sky, and with outspread
wing, pause at the lip of every soul hungry
Tor comfort. On the banks Of what river
have the great battles of the world been
ioughtl While you are examining the map
Of the world to answer that, will tell you
ON what banks the great conflict of to-day is
being fought. On the Thames, on the Hud-
son. on the Mississippi, on the Kennebec, on
the Savannah, on the Rhine, on the Rhone,
on the Nile, on tho Ganges, on the
Hoangho. It is battle of six thousand
years. Eleven hundred million troops are
engaged, and the number of the fallen is
vaSter Than the number OF those VINO march.
It is The battle for bread. Sentimentalists,
seated in armchair in pictured study, with
slippered feet on damask ottoman, tell us
this world is great scene Of avarice and
greed. / don't believe it. Take all the
necessities out Of the case, and nine-tenths Of
I tie stores. he shops the factories, the bank
n ing houses Of the earth would be closed to-
"A morrow. say take the necessities out Of the
faW no is that man toiling in Colorado
mike. " 10 New England factory, or count
iag out .l,a roll 0f bills in the bank, or meas
I ring the fabric on the counterl He is a
4, iampion gaine forth for some home circle
m At needed 10 Be- cared for; or in behalf OF
~ church OF God that must be supported,
in behalf Of an asylum Of mercy
tn must be sustained. Who is that
wa an bending over the sewing machine, or
carr. ing the bundle, or mending the gar
inenf, or sweltering at the wash tubl That
IS deborah, that's one Of the Lords heroines
going cut AGAINST Amalakitish want that
comes down with iron chariot to crush her
and hers Jhe great question OF this day Is
not the question Of Home Rule, but whether
there will be any home to rule; not q ques-
fiou Of tariff but whether there shall be any