Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1892-03-07
A GOODLY CEDAR.
CHRIST THE ONLY REFUGE FOR
PEOPLE OF EVERY SORT.

BROOKLYN, March G.--The congre-
cation at the Brooklyn Tabernacle
this morning sang with felwor the
hymn beginning
My faith looks up to thee,
Thou Lamb Of Calvary.
DR.. Talmage's subject was the ref
uge offered by the Christian religion
to the people Of all ages and every
variety of character His text was
Ezekiel xvii, 90, "a goodly cedar, and
under it shall dwell all fowl of every
wing"
The cedar of Lebanon is a royal
tree. 1t stands six thousand feet
above the. level of tho sea. 4 mis-
sionary counted the concentric cir
cles, and found one tree thirty five
hundred years old-long rooted
broad branches, all the year in luXu-
RANT 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
its leafy fingers, plucks the honors of
a thousand years and sprinlzlcs them
upon its own uplifted brow, as though
some great hallelujah of heaven had
been planted upon Lebanon and it
were rising up with all its long armed
strength to take hold of the hills
whence it came. Oh, what 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 o complete
fascination in the structure and habits
of birds. They seem not more of
earth than heaven--ever yacillating
between the two No wonder that
Audubon, with his gun, tramped
through all of the American forests
in search of new specimens. Geol-
ogists have spent years in finding
the track Of birds claw in the new
red sandstone. There is enough of
Gods architecture in a snipe's bill or
a grouse's foot to confound all the
universities. 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 at the caves; ;
and grandfather goes out with a
handful of crumbs to feed the snow
birds. Tho Bible is full of ornithslog
ical illusions. The birds of the Bible
are not dead and stuffed, like those
of the museum, but living birds, with
fiuttering wings and plumage "Be-
hold tho fowls of tho 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 Obadiah.
"Gavest thou the goodly wings unto
the peacocksS" says job
David describes his @esolation by
saying II am like a pelican OF the
wilderness; | am like an owl of the
desert; / watch, and am as q sparrow
alone upon the housetop." 'FYea tho
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 Judgment Of the Lord"
so says jeremiah
Ezekiel in my text intimates that
Christ is tho cedar, and the people
from all quarters are the birds that
lodge among the branches Itshall
be n goodly cedar, and under it shall
dwell all fowl of every wing" Asin
Ezekiel's time, so now--Ch1'ist is q
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 tho raven
md those gentle as the dovo-"All
fowl of every wing"
THE YOUNG MAY COME.
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 mis-
directed efforts. Until Robert RailIes
came there was no organized effort
for saving the young We spond all
our strength trying to bend old trees
when 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 q great deal easier to keep train
on the track than to get it on when
it is off. The experienced roinsman
checks tho fiery steed at the first
jump, for when he gets in full swing
the swift hoofs clicking fire from tho
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" !
have noticed that those who SOW
their wild oats seldom try to raise
any other kind of crop. There are
two opposite destinies. If you arc
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 mul
titude of young people around me to-
day. will take you by the hand
and show you a glorious sunrise. /
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 nc