The Opelousas courier., 1890-11-15

wonder why the mother does not comeback.
ALL she has CONS for food. Aftsr . while
there is q whirr Of wings, and the mother bird
stands on tine edge of the nest and the little
ones open their mouths, and the food il
dropped in; and then the old bird spreads ont
her feathers and all is peace. So sometimes
God leaves ts, He goes OF to $50 bsesd for
our soul, and then He comes beck after a
while to tho nest and says, sAOpen thy mouth
wide and ] will fill il. % and He drops into 1t
the sweet promise of His grace, and the love
of God is shed abroad and we are under His
wings-the broad wings Of the Almighty.
Yes, they are very broadl There is room
under those wings for the sixteen hundred
the invitation too large, for there is nothing
mora awkward Il an to baVe more gtssts
than Recommendations I know IL. Tho
seanen's friend society is inviting all the
sailors. The tract society is inviting all the
destitute. The Sabbath-schools are inviting
all the children. The missionary society is
inviting oil the heather. The printing
presses Of the Bible societies are going night
and day, doing nothing but printing invita-
tions TO this great gospel banquet. And are
you not afraid that there will be more guests
than accommodations? No! All who have
been invited will not half I'LL up the table Of
Gods supply. There are chairs for more.
There are cups for more. God could With
one feather OF His wing cover up all those
who haye como, and when He spreads u
10th wings they over all the earth and all
the heavens.
Ye Israelites, who went through tho Red
Sea, cosno unferl Ye multitudes who have
gone into glory for the last six Thousand.
years, come under! Ye hundred and forty.
Jour thousand, and the thousands OF thou
se-is, como un1eri Ye flying cherubinl
and a%Tcisang2l, 1ol3 yocr' Ese.c1s3 and come
under! And yet there IS roomi Ayln God
would have Sill the space under the wings
occupied he rnust mako other worlds, and
people them with other myFiads, and have
other resurrection and iude n1ent days, for
i"@a'ier t;'as all space. broader than thought,
wide as eternity, from tip to tip. are the
wings of the Almighty Oil under such
provisions as that can you not ~rejoice2 Come
under, ye wandering, ye weary, ye troubled.
re SHINING. ye dying souls! Come under the
wings OF the Almighty. Whosoever will
cosns let him come However ragged, how
ever wTetched, however abandoned, how.
ever woe hegone, there is room enough under
the wings-undar the broad wings Of the
so magnificent In its provision! I love to
preach it. It is my life to preach it. It IS
my heaven TO preach it.
/ remark, further, that the wings under
which Ruth came to trust were strong wings.
The strength Of a birds wing-of q sea fowi's
wing for example--you might guess it FROM
the fact that sometimes for Eve, six or ssvem
days it seer1s to fly without resting. There
have been oondors in the Andes that could
overcome an OK or a stag. There have been
eagles that have picked up children and
swung them to the top of the cliffs. Tho
flap Of an eagles wing has death in 1t TO
everything it strikes. There are birds whose
wings are packed with strength lofty, to lift,
to destroy. So the wings OF God are strong
wings. Mighty TO save. Mighty to destroy.
Ipreach Hina--theL Lord, strong and mighty;
the Lord, mighty in battle!n He tapped
His wing, and the antediluyian world was
gone; He aapped His wing, and Babylon
persisted. He fappsd His wing, and Hereu-
laneum was buried. He tapped His wing,
and the Napolonic dynasty ceased.
Before the stroke of that pinion a feet is
nothing. An army is nothing. An empire
is nothing. A world is nothing. The uni
verse is nothing. King-eternal, omnipo-
tent-He asks no counsel from the thrones
of heaven. He takes not the archangel into
His cabinet. He wants mona to draw His
chariots. for they are The winds. Mons to
load His batteries, for they are the lightnings.
Nonsto tie the sandals Of His feet, for they
ara the clouds. Mighty to save. Our enemies
may be strong, our sorrows violent, our sins
may be great. But quicker than Oh eagle
eYer hurled from the csags q hawk or raven
will the Lord strike back our SINS and cur
temptations it they assault us when We are
once seated on the eternal rock Of His saliva
ticn. What a blessed thing it is to be de-
Tended by the strong wing Of the Almighty
Stronger than the pelican's wing, stronger
than the aLbatross wing, stronger than the
condor's wing are the wings OF the Almighty.
Ihave only one more thought to present.
The wings under which Ruth had come to
trust were gentle wings. There is nothing
softer than a feather. You hav noticed
when a bird returns from fight how gently
it stoops over the nest. Tho young birds are
not afraid of having their lives tranapled out
by the mother bird; the old whippoor.wiil
drops into It's nest OF leaves, the oriole into
its casketo bark, the huInnaing bird into its
hammock of moss-gentle as the light. And
so. says the psalmist, He shall cover thee
with His ring. Oh. the g~entlcness of Godi
But even q ESUfe 4-~- -e-~~ .---.,
for ! have sometimes looked into the birdss
nest and seen o. dad bird-itS life having
been trannpIed out by the mother bird. But
no one that ever came under the feathers OF
the Almighty was trodden on.
Blessed nesti warm restl Why VIII men
stay out in the cold TO be shot of temptation
and to be chilled by the blast where there is
divine shelter? More beautiful than any
flower I ever saw are the hues OF q birds
plunlage. Did You ever examine ita The
blackbird, floating like a fake OF darkness
through the sunlight; the meadow lark, with
head cf fawn and throat of velvet and
breast of gold; the red fiamingo, flying over
the southern swamps like sparks from the
forge Of the setting sum-; the pelican. white
end blacg-morning and night tangled in ito
wings-give but a faint idea OF the beauty
that comes down ever the soul when on u
drop the feathers Of the Almighty.
Here fold your weary wings. This Is tha
only safe nest. Every other nest will be de
stroyed. The prophet says SO: Though
thou exalt myself like the eagle, and set thy
nest among the stars, yet will / bring thee
down. saith the Lord OF Host5.D Under the
gwift wings under the broad wings. under
TIE SUroDg wings, uIlder the genus wings On
the Almighty find shelter until these caIan1.
titles are overpast. Then when you want to
change nests it viii only be from the valley
Of earth to the heights Of heaven; and instead
of ssthe wings Of q dove,s' for which David
longed, not knowing TINT ID the first mile of
their flight they would give out. Won viii be
conducted upward by the Lord God of Israel,
under whose wings Ruth, the beautiful
Moabitess. came to trust.
God forbid that in this matter OF eternal
veal or woe we should be more stupid than
the fowls OF heaven; tfor ths stark know bh
her appointed time. and tho turtle, and the
crane, and the swallow observe the time OF
their going; but my people know not the
judgments OF the Lord
@r5EaEa