The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1890-11-20

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. The flap of an eagles wing
has death in it to every thing
it strikes. There are birds whose
wings are packed with strength
to fly, to lift, to destroy. So the
wings of God are strong wings. Mighty
to save. Mighty to destroy. l preach
Him-''the Lord, strong and mighty
the Lord, mighty in battler' He
tapped His wings, and the antediluvi-
an world was gone. He tapped His
wings and Babylon persisted. He
tapped Ais wings and Herculanehm
was buried. He tapped His wings and
Napoleonic dynasty ceased. Before
the stroke of that pinion fleet is
nothing. An army is nothing. An
Empire is nothing, A world is moth
ing. The universe is nothing.
King, eternal, omnipotent, He
asks no council from the thrones
of Heaven. He takes not the
archangel into His cabinet. He
wants none to draw His chariots, for they
are the winds. None to load His bat
teries, for they are the lightning. None
to tie the sandals of His feet, for they
are the clouds. Mighty tosave. Our ene-
mics may be strong, our sorrows vin-
lent Our sins may be great But
quicker than an eagle ever hurled from
the crags a hawk or raven, will the
Lord strike back our sins and our temp
tations, if they assault us when we are
once sea D on the eternal rock of His
salvation What blessed 5hing it is
to be defended by the strong wing Of
the Almighty! Stronger than the peli-
cans wing, stronger than the albatross
wing, stronger than the condor's wing,
arc the wings of the Almighty.
| have only one more thought to pre-
sent, The wings under which Ruth had
come to trust were gentle wings. There
IS nothing softer than feather You
have noticed when a bird returns from
fight, how gently it stoops over the
nest. The young birds are not afraid
of having their lives trampled out by
the mother-bird; the old whip-poor-
will drops into its nest of leaves
the orlole into its casket OF
bark, the humming-bird into its
hammock of moss-gentle as the light.
And also, says the Psalmist, He shall
cover thee with His wing. Oh, tho
| gentleness of God! But even that fig
ure does not fully set it forth; for
! have sometimes looked into the bird s
nest and seen dead bird-it5 life hav-
ing been trampled out by the mother
bird. But no one that ever came under
the feathers of the Almighty was trod
den on.
Blessed nest warm nestl Why will
men stay out in the cold to be shot OF
temptation and to be chilled by the
blast when there is Divine shelter? More
beautiful than any flower l ever saw
are the hues of birds plumage. Did
you ever examine it? The blackbird,
| floating like fake of darkness through
the sunlight; the meadow-lark with
head of fawn, and throat G velvet and
breast of gold; the red f1amingo flying
over the Southern swamps like spark,
from the forge of the setting sun; the
pelican, white and black-morning and
night tangled in its wings-gives but
a very faint idea of the beauty thai
comes down over the soul when on il
drop the feathers of the Almighty Here
fold your weary wings. This is the
only safe nest. Every other nest will
be destroyed. The prophet says so
Though thou exalt myself like the
eagle, and set thy nest among the stars
yet will l bring thee down, saith the
Lord of Hosts" Under the swift
wings, under the broad wings, under thc
strong wings, under the gentle wings o
the Almighty, find shelter until thes,
calamities be overpa5t Then when vol
want to change nests it will only b.
from the valley of earth to the height
of Heaven; and instead of "the wings
of dove," for which David longed, no
knowing that in the first mile of Their
flight they would give out, you will Le
conducted upward by the Lord God 0
Israel, under whose wings Ruth, the
beautiful Moabitess came to trust.
God forbid that in this matter of e err
nal veal or woe we should be NOR,
stupid than the fowls of heaven; $50
the stork knoweth her appointed time
and the turtle, and the crane, and thu
swallow observe the time of their going
but my people know not the Judgment
of the Lord.