The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1892-03-23
A HAVEN OF SAFETY.
Rev. DR.. Talnage Disoourses on the
Refuge of Religion.
An Earnest Appeal to People of All
Ages and Every Character-Now is
the Accepted Time and Not
Moment should be Lost.


religion to people OF oil ages and every
variety of character. His text was Eze
kiel xvii, %: "a goodly cedar. and I'M
der it shall dwell all fowl of every
wing" Mr.. Talmage said:
The cedar of Lebanon is royal tree.
1t stands six thousand feet above the
level of the sea. A missionary counted
the concentric circles, and found one
tree thirty-fve hundred years old-long-
rooted, broad branches, all the year in
luxuriant foliage. The same branches
that bent in the hurricane that David
saw sweeping over Lebanon, rock
to-day over the head of the
American traveller. This monarch of
the forest, with it's leafy fingers, plucls
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. o, what a fine
place for birds to nest in! In hot days
they come thither-the eagle, the dove,
the swallow, the sparrow and the raven.
There is to many of us a complete fas-
cination in the structure and habits OF
birds. They seem not more of earth
than heaven-ever vacillating between
the two. No wonder that Audubon,
with his gun, tramped through all OF
the American forests in search of new
&c hou
in finding the track of n bird claw in
the new red sandstone. There is enough
OF Gods architecture in snipe's bill or
q grouse's foot to confound all the uni
versities Musicians have, with clefs
and bars tried to catch the sound of the
nightingale and robin. Among the first
things that child notices is swallow
ut the caves, and grandfather goes out
with handful of crumbs to feed the
snowbirds. The Bible is full of orni-
biological illusions. The birds of the
Bible are not dead and stuffed, like
those of the museum, but living birds
with fluttering wings and plumage.
behold the fowls of the air." says
Christ. "Though thou exalt myself as
the eagle, and though thou set thy nest
among the stars, thence will bring
thee down." exclaims o badiah. ''Gavest
thou the goodly wings unto the pea
cocks?" says Job. David describes his
iesolation by saying: II am like peli-
can of the wilderness; l am like an owl
of the desert; | watch, and am as a
sparrow alone upon the hOusetop."
"Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth
her appointed time; and the turtle, and
the crane, and the swa How observe the
time of their coming, but my people
know not the Judgment of the Lord
30 says Jeremiah.
Ezskiel 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 a
goodly cedar, and under it shall dwell
all fowl of every wing" AS in Ezekiels
time, so now-Christ is a goodly cedar,
and to him are flying all kinds of PEG,
ple-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 ONE. OF the
eighteen hundred and ninety-two years
that have passed since Christ came
about sixteen hundred have been WASTED
by the good in INSTRUCTED eff orts. I'm
til Robert Raikss came, there was nc
organized effort for saving the young
We spend all our strength trying tC
bend old trees, when little pressure
would have bsen sufficient for the sap
ling. We let mon go down to the very
bottom of sin before we try to lift then
up. Ii is great deal easier to keep {
train on the track than to get it OF
when it is off. The experienced roins
man checks the fiery stssd at the frs
jump, for when he gets in full swing
the swift hoofs clicking fire from tn,
pavement, and the bit between hi
teeth, his momentum is irresistible. l
Is said that the young must be allowed
to SOW their wild oats" have noticed
that those who SOW their w lid oat
seldom try to raise any other kline
of crop There are two opposit,
destinies. If you are going to HEAVIER
you had better take the straight roaC
andSnot try to so to Boston by the wa,
of New Orleans. What is to be tn,
history of this multitude of young PEG
pie around me to-day? l will take 20,
by the hand and show you glorious
sunrise. / will not whine about thi
thing, nor groan about it; but come
young men and maidens, Jesus want
you. His hand is love; His voice i
music; His smile is He aven. Religion
will put no handouts on your wrists
no topples on your feet no brand oil
yonr forehead.
/ went through the heaviest snow
storm l have ever known to see a dyin,
girl. Her cheek on the pillow was a
white as the snow on the easement
Her large round eye had not lost any o
its luster. Loved ones stood all aroun,
the bed trying to hold her back. He
mother could not give her up; and on
nearer to her than either father o
mother was frantic with grief. said
Fanny, how do you feel?' 60" sh
said, happy! happy! Mr. Talmiage
tell all the young folks that religion
will make them happy" AS l came on
of the room, louder than all the sob
and wailings of grief l heard the clear
sweet, glad voice of the dying girl
Good night; we shall meet again o
the other side of hesriver." The mex
Sabbath we buried her. We bough
white flowers and laid them on tn
coffin. There was in all that crowde
church but one really happy and de
lighted face, and that was the face O
| hmm OH wish thnt 1nnr,. 1r,r- ~.