Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1892-11-04
REV. DR.. 7ALMAGH.
The Eminent Brooklyn Divine'S Sun
day Sermon.
Subject. ..rlvinr Southwark

Subject, "Flving Southwark"
TEXT: The store la the ,dren knOUsN
her appointed times, and the turtle. GRs
the craze. and the s,callolU observe the tim
or their coming; but my people know not III
judgment of The Lord."-Jeremiah viii.
When God would set fast beautiful
thought He plants it in tree. When HI
would put it aacat He fashions it into q
hsh. When He would have IL glide toe all
He molds it into bird. My text speak.
OF four birds OF beautiful instinct-thI
stork, of such strong affection that it /,
allowed Familiarity to come, in Holland an,
Germany. and build IFS nest over the door.
way; the sweet dispositioned turtledove
mingiing in color white and black anC
brown and ashen aud chestnut; the crane
with voice like the claug of a tru mpet; ths
swallow, swift as dart, shot out of the bow
OF heaven. falling, mounting, skimmin :,
sailing-four birds started by the prophet
twenty-five centuries ago, yet flying on
through the ages, with rousing truth under
glossy wing and in the clutch Of stout claw.
l suppose it may have been this very season
OF the year-autunu-and the prophet out
OF doors, thinking of the impenitence OF the
| people OF his day, bears q great cry over
head.
WV lOu huOW IL II no CdcJ iuttl< lOi Jus
with ordinary delcacy of eyesight to look
into the deep blue of the MONDAY heaven,
but the prophet looks up and there are
Hooks Of s;orks and turtledoves and cranes
and swallows drawn out in long lines for
light southwark. As is their habit, the
cranes had arranged themselves into two
lines. making an ANGELA wedge splitting
the air with wild velocity-the old
crane, with commanding call, bidding
| them onward, while the towns, and the
| cities, and the continents slid under them.
| The prophet, almost blinded from looking
! into the dazzling heavens. stoOps down and
| begins to think how much superior the birds
are in sagacity asout their safety than men
about theirs, and he puts his hand upon the
| pen and begins 20 write, THE stork in the
heavens knoweth her appointed times, and
| the turtle, and the crane, and the swallow
! observe the time Of their coming; but my
people know not the judgment Of the
! Lord
II you were ia tine field to-day, in the
/ clump Of trees at the corner OF the field you
would see convention OF birds, noisy as the
| American congress tho last night before ad
! journment, or as the English parliament
! when some unfortunate member proposes
more economy in queens hous shold-a con-
vention of birds all talking at once, moving
]
migration; some proposing to 60 to-mor-
row, some moving that they go to-day,
| some moving that they 60 to Brazil, some
! TO Florida. some to the tablelands Of Mexico.
| but all unanimous in the fact that they must
| 20 soon, for they have marching orders
from the Lord, written ON the first white
sheet Of the frost and in the pictorial OF the
| changing leaves.
There is not a belteI kingfsher, or a
! chaffincb, or a fire crested wren, or
/ ploveT, or a red legged partridge but ex-
/ poets TO spend the winter at the SOUTH for
the apartments have already been ordere
! for them in South America or in Africa,
and after thousands OF miles of fight they
/ will stop in the very tree where they spent
/ last January. Farewell, bright plumagel
Until spring weather, away Fly on, great
haud Of heavenly musicians Strew the
continent with music, AMI whether from
northern fields, or Carolinian swaUp7. or
Brazilian groves men see your wings or
hear your voice, may they bethinS them
/ selves OF the solemn words of the text, The
stalk in the heaven knowth her appointed
times, and the turtle aud the crane aud the
swallow observe the time OF their coming;
| Tut my people know not the ju igme1t OF
the Lordr'
propose, so far as God may help me, this
morning, carry out the idea Of the text, TO
show that the birds of the air have more sa-
gscty than men. And begin by particu-
lar lng and saying that they mingle music
with their works The most serious under
taking of a birA's life is this annual travel
from the HUDSON to the Amazon. from the
Thames TO the Nile. Naturalists tell us that
they arrive there thin and weary and plu-
mage rufiled, and yet they 60 singing all the
way; the ground, the lower line of the
music; the sky, the upper line OF the music;
themselves, the notes scattered up and down
between.
1t is good sign when you hear a work
man whistle. 1t is better sign when you
hear him hum a roundeay. IL is a still
better sign when you hear him sing the
words OF Isaac Watts or Charles Wesley.
A violin chorded and strung, if something
accidentally strike it, makes music, and
suppose there is such q thing as having our
hearts so attuned by divine grace that
even the rough collisions OF life will make
heavenly vibration | do not believe that
the power of Christian song has yet been
fully tried l believe that if you could S0ll
the ''Oid Hundrer' doxoiogy through Wall
street it would put an end to any financial
disturbance l believe that the discords,
and the SORROWS, and the sins of the world
are to be swept out by heaven born halle
luiahs
Some one asked Haydn, the celebrate
musician, Why he always composed suca
cheerful music. Why he said. IL can't
do otherwise. When l think OF God my
soul is so full Of joy that the notes LEAP
and dance from my pen wish we might
all exu't melodiousy before the Lord.
With God for our Father and Christ for
our Saviour, and heaven for our homa, and
angels for future com 1anionS, and eternity
tor lifetime we should strike all the notes
OF JOY. Going through the wilderness OF
this world let us remember that we are on
the way to the summery cline OF heaven
and from the migratory population; flying
through this autumnal air learn always to
keep singing.
Children Of the Heavenly King.
AS ye journey sweetly sing
Sing your Savioar's worthy praise,
Glorious in His works and ways
Ye are travelling home 10 God,
In the way your fathers trOd;
They are happy now. and we
Soon their happiness shall see.
The church of Col never will b9 tr-
umphant church until it becomes a singing
church.
20 further and remarG th 1t the BIRDS OF
the sir are wiser than we in the fact that
in hair migration they fly very high Dur
ing the summer, when they are IN the
fields they often come witlin reach OF the
gun, but when they start for tho annual
fight southwark they take their places
midheaven and go straight as an arrow to
the mark. The longest rifle that was ever
brought to shoulder clnnot reach them.
Would TO God that we were as wise as the
stork and crane in our fight beavenward!
We fly so low that we are within easy range
Of the world the flesh aud the devil We
are brought down by temptation, that
ought not to come within mile OF reaching
US.
Oh, for some Of the faith o; Ge)rse Mul.
Ter, OF England, and Alfred Goodman, once
Of toe church militant now OF the church
triumphant So poor is the type OF piety in
the church of Col now that men actually
carlcature the idea that there is any such
thing as higher life. Moles never did be-
Heve in eagles. But, nay brethren. because
we have not reached these heights ourselves,
.hall we deride tae fact that there are any
such heights.
A man was once talking 10 Brunei, the
famous engineer, about the length OF the
railroad from Lon lon to Bristol. The en-
cineer said: ut is not very great. We
shall have after a while steamer running
-. Nau- XOrty Il tav lofph Oh