The Globe-republican. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1889-1910, 1892-03-24
The Tabernacie Pulpit.

The Tabernacle Pulpit.
DR.. Talmage's subject was the refuge
offered by the Christian religion to peo-
pie of all ages and every variety Of char
acter. His text was Ezekiel xvii, %,
"A goodly cedar, and under it shall
dwell all fowl of every wing"
The cedar Of Lebanon is royal tree.
1t stands 5000 feet above the level OF
the sea- A missionary counted the con-
centric circles and found one tree 3, 500
years old-iong rooted, broad branches.
all the year in luxuriant foliage. The
same branches that bent in the hurri-
cane that David saw sweeping over Leb-
anon rock to-day over the head of the
American traveller. This monarch OF
the forest, with its leafy fingers, plucks
the honors of thousand years and
sprinkles them upon its own uplifted
brow, as though some great hallelujah
of Heaven had been planted upon Leb-
anon and it were rising up with all its
long armed strength to take hold of the
hills whence it came.
Oh, what a fine place for birds to nest
in! In hot days they come thither-the
eagle, the dove, the swallow. the spar
row and the raven. There is to many Of
us complete fascination in the structure
and habits of birds. They seem not
more of earth than Heaven-ever vacil-
lating between the two. No wonder
that Audubon, with his gun, tramped
through all the American forests in
search OF new specimens. Biologists
have spent years in finding the track OF
birds claw in the new red sandstone.
There is enough Of Gods architecture in
snipe's bill or a grOuse's foot to con-
found all the universities. Musicians
have, with clefs and bars, tried to catch
the sound of the nightingale and robin.
Am9ng the first thing that q child no.
tees is swallow at the caves, and
grandfather goes out with a handful of
crumbs to feed the snOwbirds.
The Bible is full of archaeological allu-
sions. The birds of the Bible are not
scum, but living birds, with futtering
wings and plumage. behold the fowls
of the air," says Christ. Though thou
exalt thyself as the eagle, and though
thou set thy nest among the stars, thence
willI bring thee down" exclaims Obadiah.
''Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the
peacocks?" says Job. David describes
his desolation by saying. II am like a
pelican of the wilderness; 1 am like an
owl of the desert; l watch and am as a
sparrow alone upon the hOusetop."
''Yea, the stock in the Heaven knoweth
her appointed time; and the turIle, and
the crane, and the swallow observe the
time of their coming; but my people
know not the judgment of the Lord''-so
says Jeremiah.
Ezkiel in my text intimates that Christ
is the cedar, and the people from all
quarters are the birds that lodge among
the branches. st shall be gOOdly
cedar, and under it shall dwell all fowl
of every wing" AS in Ezekiel's time, so
now-Christ is goodiy cedar. and to
Him are flying all kinds of people-yOung
and old, rich and poor, men high soaring
as the eagle, those fierce as the raven.
and those gentle as the dove. ''All fowl
of every wing"
First, the young may come. Of the
eighteen hundred and ninety-two years
that have passed since Christ came. about
sixteen hundred have been wasted by the
good in misdirected efforts. Until Robert
Raikes came there was no organized effort
for saving the young. We spend all our
strength trying to bend old trees. when a
little pressure would have been sufficient
for the sapling. We let men go down to
the very bottom Of sin before we try to
lift them up. 1t is great deal easier to
keep q train on the track than to get it
on when it is off. The experienced reins-
man checks the fiery steed at the first
jump, for when he CATS in full swing, the
swift hoofs clicking fire from the pave
ment and the bit between his teeth, his
momentum is irresistible.
1t is said that the young must be al
lowed to sow their wild oats" l have
noticed that those who sow their wild
oats seldom try to raise any other kind
OF crop. There are two opposite des-
TIMES II you are going to Heaven, you
had better take the straight road, and
not try TO go to Boston by the way of
New Orleans. What is to be the history
of this multitude of Young people around
me to-day? will take you BY the hand
and show YOU glorious sunrise. l will
not whine about this thing, nor groan
about it, but come, Young men and
maidens, Jesus wants you. His hand is
love, His voice is music, His smile is
Heaven. Religion will put no handouts
on your wrist, no hopples on your feet.
no brand on your forehead.
went through the heaviest snow
storm have ever known to see q dying
girl Her cheek on the pillow was white
Is the snow on the easement Her large,
round eve had not lost any OF its luster
Loved ones stood all around the bed try
ing to hold her back. Her mother could
not give her up, and one nearer to her
than either father or mother was frantic
with grief. said, Fanny. how do you
feel?" ''Oh!" she said, ''happy, happy!
Mr.. Talmage, tell all the young folks
that religion will make them happy"
As came out of the room. louder than
all the sobs and wailinSs Of grief. heard
the clear, sweet, glad voice Of the dying
girl. Goodnight; we shall meet again on
the other side of the river" The next
We buried her. We brought
white flowers and laid them on the
coffin. There was in all that crowded
church but one really happy and de-
lighted face, and that was the face of |
Fanny. Oh, wish that now my Lord |
Jesus would go through this audience
and take all these flowers of youth and |
garland them on his brow. The cedar is
. fit refuge for birds of brightest plu- |
mage and sWifteSt wing Sea thov 1v, |