Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1893-01-09

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~ ont Of the gloomy valley 10 the sun
NY mountain. Never an eagle orooded
with such love and care ever her young
az Gods wings have been over as
Across what oceans Of trouble we have
gone in safety upon the almighty wingsl
From what mountains Of sin we have
been carried and at times have been
borne up far above the gunshot OF the
world and the arrow Of the DEVIL 1
When our time on earth u closed On |
these great wings OF God we shall speed
with infinite eaickness from earth's
mountains 10 heavens hills. and as nom
the eagles circuit under the sun men on
the ground seem small and Insignificant
as hzards on rock, 50 all earthly things /
shall dwindle into speck. and the rag /
ing river of death so far beneath viii /
seem smooth and CLASSY as Swiss lake. l
Itwas thought in ancient times that an /
eagle could not only molt its feathers in !
old age. but that after arriving TO great |
age it would renew its strength and be-
come entirely young again. To this
Isaiah aliudes when ne says: "They that
wait ON the Lord shall renew their
strength They shall mount up with
wings Of eagles" Even so the Christian
in old age will renew his spiritual
strength. He shall be young in ardor
and enthusiasm for Christ, and as the
body fails the soul will grow in elasticity
till ut death it will spring up like glad
dened child into the bosS,n of God.
-. cfnHv
that Job says, ''His days Fly as an eagle
that hasteth to its prey" The speed OF
a hungry eagle when it saw its prey a
score Of miles distant was unimaginable.
1t went like thunderbolt for speed and
power. So fly our days. Sky minutes,
each worth a heaven. since we assembled
in this place have shot like lightning into
eternity. The old earth is rent and
cracked under the swift rush Of days and
months and years and ages. Swift as
an eagle that hasteth to its prey" Be
hold the fowls Of the air! Have you con-
sdered that they have, as you and
have not, the power to change their eyes
50 that one minute they may be tele-
scopic and the next microscopic, now
seeing something mile away and by
telescope eyesight, and then dropping to
its food on the ground, able to see it
close by and with microscopic eyeaght?
THE SWALLOWS AT TIE TEMPLE.
But what senseless passage of Scrip
turs that Is, until you know the fact,
which says, ''The sparrow hath found q
house and the swallow nest for herself,
where she may lay her young. even thine
affairs, o Lord of hosts, my king and my
Godr' What has the swallow to do with
/ the affairs of the temple at Jerusalem?
/ All, you know that swallows are all the
world over very tame, and in summer
time they used to fly into the windows
and doors of the temple at Jerusalem
and build nest on the altar where the
priests were offering sacrifices.
These swallows brought leaves and
sticks and fashioned nests on the affairs of
the temple and Matched the young spar
rows in those nests, and David had seen
the young birds picking their way out
of the shell while the old swallows
watched, and no one in the temple was
cruel enough to disturb either the old
swallows or the young swallows, and
David burst out in rhapsody, saying,
1.-THE swallow hath found q nest for
herself, where she may lay her young,
even thine affairs, o Lord Of hosts, my
king and my God!"
Yes, in this ornithology of the Bible I
find that God is determined to impress
upon us the architecture of . birds nest
and the anatomy of q birds wing.
Twenty times does the BibN refer to o
birds nest-"Where the birds max their
nest" "As bird that VANDERBILT from
her nest" Though thou set thy nest
among the stars" 1.-The birds Of the air
have their nest" and SO on. Nests in
the trees, nests on the rocks, nests ON the
affairs.
Why does God call rs 80 frequently to
consider the birds nest? Because it is
orcof the most wondrous Of all styles
of architecture, and lesson Of provi-
Dental care which is the most important
lesson which Christ in my text conveys.
Why, Just look at the birds nest, and see
what is the prospect that God is going
to take care Of you. Here is the blue
birds nest under the caves Of the house.
Here is the brown thrasher's nest in q
bush. Here is the bluejay's nest in the
orchard. Here is the grosbeak's nest on
tree branch hanging over the water, so
as to be free from attack. Chickadee's
nest in the stump Of an old tree. Oh,
the goodness Of God in showing the
birds how to build their nest!
What carpenters. what masons, what
weavers, what spinners the birds are!
Out of what small resources they make
50 exquisite home, curved, pillar5d,
wreathed. Out Of moses. out OF sticks,
out of lichens, out Of horsehair, out
of spiders web, out OF threads swept
from the door by the housewife, out
of the wool of the sheep from the
pasture field. Upholstered by leaves
actually sewcd together its own sharp
bill. Cushioned with feathers from its
own breast. <Mortared together with the
J gum of trees and the saliva of its own
tiny bill. Such symmetry, such adapta-
ton. such convenience. such geometry
of stTrcturei
WHEN WE SHALL FLY.
Surely these nests were built by some
plan. They did not happen Just so. Who
drafted the plan for the birds nest'
Godi And do You not think that If he
plans such house for chafinch, for an
oriole. for bobolink. for sparrow. hc
win see to it that you always hsve
home? ''le are Of more value than many
sparrows.' Whatever else surrounds
you. you can have what the Bible calls
'the feathers Of the Almighty Just