The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1892-10-22
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
The Wings Of the Seraphim and
What They Stand For.
Lesson OF Humility by Reason of Our
Imperfections-BTore Reverence for
Holy Things the Need Of
the Time.

IOllOW1ng Irom among MS diScOurSeS
delivered in England for presentation
to his American readers this week. 1t
is based on the text:
With twain he covered his face; with twain
ne covered his feet. and with twain did he fly.
Isaiah, vi. 2
In a hospital of leprosy good King
Uzziah had died, and the whole land
was Swallowed with solemnity, and theo-
logical and prophetic Isaiah was think
ing about religious things, as one is apt
to do in time of great national bere ave-
ment, and forgetting the presence of
his wife and two sons, who made up
his family, he has dream; not like the
dream of ordinary character, which
generally come from indigestion, but
vision most instructive, and under the
touch of the hands of the Almighty.
The place, the ancient temples build
ing, grand, awful, majestic. Within
that temple throne higher and grander
than that occupied by any car or sui
tan or emperor. On that throne, the
eternal Christ. In lines surrounding
that throne the brightest celestials, not
the cherubim, but higher than they; the
most exquisite and radiant of the heav.
emily inhabitants; the seraphim. They
are called burners because they look
like fire. Lips of fire, feet of fire. In
addition to the features and the limbs,
which suggest human being, there
are pinions, which suggest the lithest,
the swiftest, the most buoyant and
most inspiring of all intelligent crea-
tion--a bird. Each seraph had six
wings for different purpose. Isaiah's
dream quivers and flashes with the pin
ions. Now folded, now spread, now
beaten in locomotion. with twain he
covered his feet, with twain he covered
his face, and with twain he did fy."
The probability is that these wings
were not all used at once. The seraph
standing there near the throne over
whelmed at the insignificance of the
paths his feet had trodden, as compared
with the paths trodden by the feet OF
God, and with the lameness of his To-
comotion amounting almost to decrepi-
tude as compared with the Divine veloc-
ity, with feathery veil of angelic
modesty hides the feet. ''With twain
he did cover the feet"
Standing there overpowered by the
overwhelming splendors of Gods glory,
and unable longer with the eyes to look
upon them, and wishing those eyes
shaded from the insufferable glory, the
pinions gather over the countence.
with twain he did cover the face. "
Then as God tells this seraph to go to
the furthest outpost of immensely on
message of light and love and joy, and
get back before the first anthem, it
does not take the seraph a great while
to spread himself upon the air with
unimagined celebrity, one stroke of the
wing equal to ten thousand leagues of
air "With twain he did fly"
The most practical and useful lesson
for you and me-when we see the
seraph spreading his wings over the
feet, is lesson of humility at imper-
lection. The brightest angels of God
are SO far beneath God that He charges
them with folly. The seraph so far be-
meath God, and we SO far beneath the
seraph in service we ought to be
plunged in humility, utter and COM
plete. Our feet, how laggard they
have been in the Divine service! Our
feet, how many missteps they have
taken. Our feet, in how many paths of
worldliness and folly they have walked.
Neither God nor seraph intended to
put any dishonor upon that which is
one of the masterpieces of Almighty
God-the human foot Psychologist and
anatomist are overwhelmed at the won
ders of its organization. The Bridge
water Treatise, written by Sir Charles
Bell, on the wisdom and goodness of
God as illustrated in the human hand,
was result of the forty thou
sand dollars bequeathed in the
last will and testament of the
earl of Bridgewater for the encourage
ment of Christian literature. The
world could afford to forgive his eccen-
tricities, though he had two dogs seated
at his table, and though he put six
dogs alone in an equipage drawn by
four horses and attended by two foot
men. With his large bequest inducing
Sir Charles Bell to write so valuable
book on the wisdom of God in the
structure of the human hand, the world
could afford to forgive his oddities.
And the world could now afford to have
another earl of Bridgewater, however
idicsyncratic, If he would induce some
other Sir Charles Bell to write book
on the wisdom and goodness of God in
the construction of the human foot.
The articulation of its bones, the lu-
IRRIGATION of its joints, the gracefulness
of its lines, the ingenuity of it's carti-
lagos, the delicacy of its veins, the ra-
pidity of its muscular contraction, the
sensitiveness of its nerves. l sound the
praises of the human foot With that
we halt or club or march.
1t is the foundation of the
physical fabric. 1t is the base of
a God-poised column. With it the
warrior braces himself for battle. With
1t the orator plants himself for eulo-
GUM. With it the toiler reaches his
work. With it the outraged stamps
his indignation. Its loss an irreparable
disaster Its health an invaluable
equipment. If you want to know its
value ask the man whose foot paralysis
hath shriveled, or machinery hath
crushed. or surgeons knife hath ampu-
tated. The Bible honors it. Especial
care: Lest thou dash thy foot against
a stones" he will not suffer thy foot
to be moved" "thy feet shall not STUN