The Penn's Grove record., 1892-03-11
REV: DR.. TALMAGF.
THE BROOKLYN DfVINE's sun,
DAY SERMON.
Subject; "Reiigion's Refuge"

TEXT: "A qood'y cedar, and under i
shall d.oeH all JOs0t of eoery 0ing."-Eze
kiel xvii, %.
The cedar Of Lebanon is a rovaI tree I
stands six thousand feet above the level Of
the sea. A missionary cou1ted the conren
trio circles and found one tree thirtv-flv,
hundre years old - long rooted. broat
branches, all the year in luxuriant foliage
The same branches that bent ia the hurrl
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 hon
ors OF a thousand years and sprinkles them
upon its own uplifted brow, as though some
great hallelujah of heaven had been planted
upon Lebanon and 1t 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 inI
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
fascination in the structure and habits OF
birds. They seem not more OF earth than
vacillating between the two.
No wonder that Audubon, with his gun,
tramped through all of the American for.
ests in search of new specimens. Biologists
have spent years in finding the track OF a
~ &c" IA tIV y" Itu bdIlNSJClts I L IEIt
is enough of Gods architecture in a snips's
bill or a grouse's foot to confound all the
universities. Musicians have, with clefs AMI
bars tried to catch the soundo of the nightin.
gale and robin. Among the first things that
"A child notices is a swallow at the caves, and
grandfather GOES out with a handful OF
crumbs TO feed the snow birds.
The Bible is full of pathological allu-
sions. The birds OF the Bible are not dead
and stuffed, like those of the museum, but
living birds, with futtering wings and plu-
mage. behold the fowls of the air." saws
Christ. Though thou exalt myself as the
eagle, and though thou set thy nest among
the stars, thence will | bring thee down.
exclaims Obadiah. "Gavest Thou the goodly
wings unto the peacockg' says Job. David
describes his desolation by saving, ~ am
like a pelican of the wilderness; l am like
an owl of the desert; l watch aud am as a
sparrow alone upon the housetop." "Yea,
the stork in the heaven knoweth her ap-
pointed time; and the turtle, and the crane,
and the swallow observe the time of their
coming; but my people know not the juig-
ment of the Lord"-so says Jeremiah.
Ezekiel in my text intimates that Christ
Is the cedar, and the people from all quar-.
tiers are the birds that lodge among the
branches. at shall be a goodly cedar. and
under it shah 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 people-young and old, rich and poor,
men high soaring as the eagle, those fierce
as the raven, and those gentle as tn dove.
"Al fowl of every wing"
First, the young may come, OF the eigh-
teen hundred and ninety-two years that
have passed since Christ came, about six
teen hundred have been wasted by the good
in misdirected efforts. Until Robert Raikes
came there was no organized effort for saw
ing the young. We spend all u strength
trying to bend old trees, when a little pres
ure would hav been sufficient for the sap
ling. We let men go down to the very bot
tom Of sin before we try to lift them up. 1t
is a great deal easier to keep a train on
the track than to get 1t on when it is off.
The experienced reinsman checks the fiery
steed at the first jump, for when he gets in
full swing, the swift hoofs clicking fire from
the pavement and the bit between his teeth,
his momentum is irresistible.
1t is said that the young must be allowed
to SOW their wild oats" | nave noticed
tina those who SOW their wild oats seldom
try to raise any other kind of crop. There
are two opposite destnies. If you are going
to heaven, you had better take the straight
road, and not try to go to Boston by way OF
New Orleans. What is to be the history of
this multitude of young people around me
today l will axe you by the hand and
SUpW you II kIUI tuu5 SunIlse. L va ibb
whine about this thing, nor groan about il,
but come, young men aud maidens, Jesus
wants you. His hand is love, His voice Is
music, His smile is heaven. Religion will put
no handouts on your wrist, nc hoppies on
yourfeet, no brand on your forehead.
Invent through the heaviest snowstorm l
have ever known to see a dying girl. Her
cheek on the pillow was white as tine snow
on the easement. Her large, round eye had
,,Hf Lost anu ~ ifa luStav nuaI nnaG Sfnnl
all around the bed trying to hold her back.
Her mother could not give her up, and one
nearer to her thar either father or mother
was frantic with grief. l said: 'Fanny,
how do you feelY' 'Ohr' she said. ''happy,
happy, Mr.. Talmage, tell all the young
folks that religion will make them happy"
As l came out of the room, louder than all
the sobs and wailings of grief, l heard the
clear, sweet, glad voice of the dying girl,
GOOD night; we shall meet again on the
other side of the river" The next Sabbath
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 delighted face, and that was the face of
Fanny. Oh, l wish that now my Lord Jesus
would go through this audience and take all
these flowers Of youth and garland thsm on
His brow. The cedar Isl fit refuge for birds
of brightest plumage and swiftest wing.
See, they fly! they Hyi IAN fowl OF svers
wing"
again, / remark that the old may como
You say, Suppose a man has % go O,
crutches; suppose he ia blind; suppose he 4
deaf; suppose hat nine-tenths OF his life ha,
been wasted" hen answer: Come will
crutches. Come, old men, blind and deaf
come to Jesus. II you would sweep you
hand around before your blind ey es, the first
thing you would touch would be the cross
IL 10 had for a. araN al 49, $500. a.. H.,
grown old without religion. There taste il
gone. The peach and the grape have lost
their flavor. They say that somehow fruit
does not taste as 1t used to. Their hearing
gets defective, and they miss a great dea
that is said in their presence.
Their friends have all gone and everybody
seems so strange. The world seems to 20
away from them and they are left all alone,
They begin to feel In the way when you
come into the room where they are, and they
move their chair D~ervously and say, II hope
l I'M not in the way" Alasl that father an /
mother should ever be In the way. When
You were sick and they sat up all night rock
Ing you, singing to you. administering to
you, did they think thai you were in the
wayf Are you tired of the old peopieY DO
you snap them up quick and sharpi You
will be cursed to the bone for POUR ingrati.
tude and ~unkindnessl
Oh, how many dear old folks Jesus has
put to sleepi How sweetly He has closed
their eyesl How gently folded their armsl
How He has put His hand on their silent
hearts and said: REST now, tired pilgrim.
1t is all over. The tears will never start
again. Hush hushT' So He gives HIS be-
loved sleep. l think the most beautiful OBJ
iect on earth Is an old Ch~ristian-the hair
white, not with the frosts of winter, but the
blossoms of the tree of life. l never feel
sorry for a Christian old man. Why feel
sorry for those upon whom the glories OF
the eternal world are about TO burst? They
are going to the goodly cedar. Thou III
their wings are heavy with age, Goo shall
renew their strength like the eagle. aud they
shall make their nest in the cedar. 'Au
fowl of every wing"
Again, the very bad, the outrageously
sinful, may come. Men talk of the grace OF
God as though it were so many yards lonl
and 50 many yards deep. People point tC
the dying thief as an encouragement to the
sinner. How much better it would be &c
point to our own case and say. 'lf Goi saved
US He can save anybody" There may BIZ
those here who never had one earnest word
said to them about their souls. Consoles
me as putting my hand on your shoulder
and looking In your eye. God has been good
10 you. You ask, "How do you know
tbatf He has been very hard on me,
Where did you come fromf' "Home.'
Then you have a home. Have you ever