The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1890-10-01

wide and I will fill it,n and He drops into it
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
millions Of the race. You say: "Do not get
the invitation too large, for there is nothing
moro awkward than to have more guests
than accommodations" 1 know it. The
scanen's friend society is inviting all the
sailors. The tract society is inviting all the
oil the children. The missionary society is
inviting all the heathen. The printing
presses Of tho Bible societies are going night
AMI day, doing nothing but printing invita-
tions to this great gospel banquet. And are
YOU not afraid that thare will be more anasts
than accommodations? No! All who have
been invited will not half fill up the table Of
Gods supply. There are chairs for more.
There are cups for more. God could with
who have como, and when He spreads out
both wings they cover all the earth and all
the heavens.
70 1sraelites, who went through the Red
Sea, come underi Ye multtudes who have
gone into glory for the last six thousand
years, come underl Ye hundred and forty
four thousand, and the thousands Of thou
sands, come under! Ye flying cherubim
and archangel, fold your pinions and come
under! And yet there is rooml Ayl II God
would have all the space under the wings
occupied he must make other worlds, and
people them with other myriads, and have
other resurrection and Judgment days, for
broader than all space, broader than thought.
Wlde as eternity, from tip to tip. are the
wings OF the Almighty! Obi under such
provisions as that can you not rejoices Comt
under, ye wandering, ye weary, ye troubled
ye SHINING, ye dying soulsl Come under thu
wings, OK the Almighty. Whosoever viii
come let him come. However ragged, how.
over wretched, however abandoned, how
ever woe begone there is room enough under
Almighty! Oh, what q eospell 20 glorious
SO magnificent in its provision! love to
preach it. 1t is my life to preach it. It is
my heaven to preach it.
l remark, further, that the wings under
which Ruth came to trust were strong wings,
The strength Of birds wing-of sea fowls
wing for example-you might guess it from
the fact that sometimes for five, six or seven
days it seems to fly without resting. There
have been condors in the Andes that could
overcome On OK or O stag. There have been
sg she a e en5 Bs5sd sp OF q9 9ns a fs fna
aap Of on eagles wing has death in it to
everything 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.
Ipreach Him-''the Lord, strong and mighty;
the Lord, mighty in battler' He tapped
His wing and the nntediluvian world was
gone. He tapped His wing, and Babylon
persisted. He tapped His wing, and Hercu.
laneum was buried. BE tapped His wiag,
md tho Napo1onio drpoo%v oaoead
Before the stroke Of that pinion fleet 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 none to draw His
chariots for they are the winds. None to
load His batteries, for they are the lightnings.
None to tie the sandals Of His feet for they
are the clouds. Mighty to save. Our enemies
may be strong, our sorrows violent our sins
may be great. But quicker than an eagle
ever hurled from the crags hawk or raven
temptations IL they assault Us when we are
once seated on the eternal rock of His saliva
ion. What blessed thing it is to be de.
tended by the strong wing Of the Almighty
Stronger than the pelican's wing, stronger
than tho 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 we're gentle wings. There is nothing
softer. than feather. You have noticed
when bi. d 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 whippoor-wiI
drops into its nest Of leaves, the oriole into
its casket Of bark, the humming bird intoitS
hammock Of moss-gentle as the light. And
SO, says the psalmist, BE shall cover thee
with His wing. Oh, tho gentleness Of God
But even that figure does not fully set forth;
for have sometimes looked into the birds
nest and seen a dead bird-its life having
been trampled out by the mother bird. But
no one that ever came under the feathers OF
the Almighty was trodden on.
Blessed nestl warm nest! Why will men
stay out in the cold to be shot Of temptation
and to be chilled by the blast where there is
divine shelterf More beautiful than any
flower ever saw are the hues Of a birds
plumage. Did you ever examine it2 The
blackbird, floating like flake Of darkness
through the sunlight; tho meadow lark, with
head of fawn and throat Of velvet and
breast Of gold; the red famingo, flying over
the southern swamps like sparks from the
forge Of the setting sun; the pelican, white
and black-morning and night tangled IN It's
wings-give but faint idea Of the beauty
that comes down over the soul when on it
drop the feathers of the Almighty.
here fold your weary wings. This Is the
only safe nest. Every other nest will be de-
stroyed. The prophet says so: Though
thou exalt thyseIf like the eagle, and set thy
nest among the stars, yet will ! bring thee
down, saith tho Lord Of Hosts" Under the
swift wings, under the broad wings, under
the strong wings, under tho gentle wings OF
the Almig ghty find shelter until these calam.
ities are overpast. Then when you want to
change nests it viii only be from the valley,
Of earth to the beights of heaven; and instead
of 'the wings Of dove" for which David
longed, not knowing that in the first mile OF
their fight they would give out, you will be
conducted upward by the Lord God OF Israel,
under whose wings Ruth, tho 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; ''for the stark knoweth
her appointed time and tho turtle. and the
crane, and tho swallow observe the time Oh
their going; but my people know not the
judgments Of tho Lord"