National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1886-06-21


How shall give food, clothing, aud educa-
tion 70 those who are dependent upon meY'
oh, II God would help me to-day tn assist
you in the solution Of that problem, the
happlest man In this house would be your
preacherl have gone out on a cold morn
ing with expert sportsmen to hunt Tor
pigeons; | have gone out on the meadows |
10 hunt for quail; have gone out on the |
march TO hunt for reed birds. but this |
morning am out for ravens.
Notice in the first place In the story OF |
my text that these winged caterers came to |
Elijah directly from God. VI have com.
manded the ravens that they feed theen |
we find God saying in an adjoining passage. |
They did not come out Of some other cave. |
They did not just happen to allght there. |
God freighted them, God launched them,
and God told them by what cave to swoop. |
That is the same God that is going TO supply
you. He is your Father. You would have
TO make an elaborate calculation before
you could tell me how many pounds OF food
and how many yards OF clothing would be
necessary for you and your family; but
God knows without any calculation. You
have plate at his table, and you are going
10 be waited on, unless you act like
pound .saucily the plate and try to up
set things. God has a vast family,
and everything is methodized, and
you are going to be served II you
will only walt your turn. God has already
ordered all the suits OF clothes you will ever
need, down to the last suit In which you
shall be laid out. God has already ordered
all the food you will ever eat, down to the
last crumb that will be put in your mouth
In the dying sacrament. IL may not be Just
the Kind OF food or apparel we would pre-
fer. The sensible parent depends on his
own judgment as TO what ought TO be the
| apparel and the food OF the minor in the
no
sugar and CONNECTIONS" "Oh, no." says
the parent, "you must have something
| palmer flrst.n The child would say: "Oh,
| give me these great blotches OF color I'm the
| garment" NO." says the parent, "that
wouldn't be suitable"
Now, God is our Father, and we are mi
nors, and he Ia going TO clothe us, and feed
us, although He may not always yield to
| our infantile wish for sweets aud glitter.
| These ravens OF the text did not bring
pomegranatts from the glittering platter of
King Ahab. They brought bread aud meat.
God had all the heavens and the earth be-
fore Him and under him, and yet he sends
Elijah to have It. Oh, be strong, my
hearer, In the fact that the same God Is
going TO supply you. 1t is never "hard
times" with Him. His ships never break
on the rocks. His banks never fail. lie
has the supply for you, and He has the
means for sending It.. He has not only the
cargo, but the ship. II II were necessary
lie would swing out from the heavens
flock OF ravens reaching from his gate to
yours, until the food would be lung down
the sky from beak TO beak, and from talon
to talon. ... ..-
Notice again in this story Of the text that
the ravens did not allow Elijah to hoard up
surplus. They did not bring enough on
Monday to last all the week. They did not
bring enough one morning to last until the
next morning. They came twice q day and
brought just enough for one time. You
know as well us l that the great fret OF the
world is that we want q surplus--we want
the ravens TO bring enough for fifty years.
You have more confidence In the Fulton
Bank, or Nassau Bank, or Bank OF England,
than you have in the royal bank Of heaven.
You say: Gan that is very poetic, but you
may have the black ravens; give me the
gold eaglesn We had better be content
with just enough. If in the morning your
family eat up all the food there is in the
house, do not sit down and cry and say: 81
don't know where the next meal is to come
FROM" About 8 or or Z o'clock in the
morning just look up and you will see two
black spots on the sky, and you will hear
the tapping Of wings, and instead Of Edgar
A. Poe's insane raven alighting on the
chamber door-'only this and nothing
more'-you will find Elijah's two ravens
or the two ravens Of the Lord, the one
bringing bread and the other bringing meat
-plumed butcher and baker.
God is Infinite In resource. When the
city Of Rochelle was besieged and the In
babltants were dying OF The famine, the
tides washed up on the beach, as never be.
feed the whole city. God Is good. Their,
is no mistake about that. History tells u;
that in 1856, In England. there was a great
drought. The crops failed; but In Essex, or
the rocks, in aplace where they had neither
, sown nor cultured, a great crop Of peast
J grew until they filed q hundred measures
and there were blossoming vines enough
! promising as much more.
but why go so farP can give you {
family incident. Some generations bach
there was a great drought In Connecticut
+ New England. The water disappeared from
D the hills, and the farmers living on the hilli
drove their cattle down toward the valley
and had them supplied at the wells ant
, fountaiBs,of the neighbors, But these, after
, a while, began to fall, and the neighbori
j said TO Mr.. Birdseye, Of whom shall speak
+ ''You must not send your ilocks and herdt
down here any more, our wells are giving
7 out.n Mr.. Blrdseye,.the old Christian man
; gathered his family at the altar, and witt
his family he gathered the slaves OF thu
household-for bondage was then in vogu,
I in Connecticut-and on their knees befor,
I God they cried for water, and the family
) story 10 that there was weeping and grea'
Q sobbihg at that altar that the famil.
Q might not perish for lack OF water, ant
Y that the herds and fiocks might not perish
!, The family rose from the altar. Mr.. Birds
s eye, the old man, took his staff and wake,
r out over the hills, and In a place where h
I had been scores OF times without noticing
4 anything particular, he saw the ground wa
a very dark, and he took his staff and turne
(; up the ground and water started; and h
1 4. A.. n a. -. 4. "a.
: and they brought pals and buckets unit
0 all the family and all the Jocks and tn
herds were cared for, and then they mad
Q troughs reaching from that place down I
3 the house and barn, and the water flowed
u and II ia living fountain to-day.
: Now, l call that old grandfather Elijal
: and call that brook that began to ro
a then, and Is rolling still, the brook Cheritl
: and the lesson 10 me and to all who hear
u is. when you are in great stress of clrcun
: stances pray aud dig, dig and pray, and pra
a and dig. How does that passagegoP 18th
It mountains shall depart and the hills be n
n moved, but my loving kindness shall ne
o ism, II your husbandry fail, look ont fC
o ravens. IL you have In your despondenc
II put God on trial and condemned Him {
II guilty OF cruelty, move this morning Il
p new trial. II the biography of your III
II Is ever written, VIII tell you what the fri
y chapter and the middle chapter and II
. last chapter will be about, II II is write
y accurately. The first chapter about mercy
h the middle chapter about mercy, the la
70 chapter about mercy-the mercy that ho'
h cred over your cradle, the mercy that wi
70 hover over your grave, the mercy that wi
4 cover all between.
Again, this story OF the text impresses n
n that relief came 20 this prophet with u
u moet unexpected and with seemingly Ia
10 possible conveyance. II Il had been rob
1t iedbreast or a musical meadow lark or
10 meek turtlsdo or sublime albAtroas tn
0. had brought the food TO Elijah, II won
le not have been so surprising But no.
IL wus bird so fierce and inauspieate that v
TX have fashioned ono OF our most forceful al
A | rapulsiva vgordE ont ~ it-raVennua Th