The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1893-04-22

Aud while the heavens are laundering
terror. the Divine voice proffers mercy
and the soul comes under the broodina
care of the Almighty las hen gather
eth her chickens under her wing.
The wings Of my text suggest
warmth, and that is what most folks
want The fact is that this is cold
world, whether you take it literally OF
| iiguratively. We have big fireplace.
called the sun, and it has very hot
fire, and the stolsers keep the Goals vel.
stirred mp, but much of the year we
can not get near enough to the fire.
place to get warmed. The worlds ex.
tremities are cold all the time. Forget
not that it is colder at the south pole
than at the north pole, and that the
nrctic is hot so destructive as the ant
arctic. Once in awhile the arctic will
let explorers come back. but the ant,
arctic hardly ever. When at the
south pole, o ship sails in, the
door of ice is almost sure to
be shut against its return. Sc
life to many millions of people at the
south and many millions of people at
the north is prolonged shiver. But
when say that this is a cold world, !
chiefly mean fguratively. IT you want
to know what is the meaning of the or
binary term of receiving the "cold
shoulder" get out OF money and try to
borrow. The conversation may have
been almost tropical for luxuriance of
thought and speech, but suggest your
necessities and see the thermometer
drop to fifty degrees below zero, and in
that which, till moment before, had
been warm room. Take what is an
unpopular position on some public
question, and see your friends fly as
chaff before a Windmill. As far as
myself is concerned, have no word of
complaint. but I look off day by day
and see communities freezing out men
and women of whom the world is not
worthy. Now it takes after one and now
after another. 1t becoms popular to de-
preciate, and defame. and execrate, and
lie about some people. This is the best
world ever got into, but it is the
meanest world that some people ever
got into. The worst thing that ever
happened to them was their cradle, and
the best thing that will ever happen to
them will be their grave. What people
want is warmth. Many years ago .
man was floating down on the ice of
the Merrimac and great efforts were
made to rescue him. Twice he got hold
of plank thrown to him and twice he
slipped away from it, because that end
of the plank was scovered with ice. and
he cried out: For Gods sake. give me
the wooden end of the plank this times"
and this done, he was hauled to shore.
The trouble is that in our efforts to
save the sonl there is too much cold
ness and icy formality, and so the inn
periled one slips off and floats down.
Give it the other end of the plank.
Warmth of sympathy, warmth OF kindly
association, warmth of genial sur
roundings. The world declines to give
it, and in many cases has no power to
give it, and here is where Christ comes
in, and as on a cold day, the rain beat
the hen clucks her chickens under her
wings, and the warmth of her own
breast puts warmth into the wet feath-
ers and the chilled feet of the infant
group of the barnyard, so Christ says
to those sick and frosted and Disguised
and frozen of the world, come in out
of the March winds of the worlds crit
icism, come in out of the slect of the
worlds assault, come in out of a world
that does not understand you and does
not want to understand you; / will
comfort and will soothe, and will be
your warmth, ''as hen gathereth her
chickens under her wing" Oh, the
warm heart of God is ready for all
those to whom the world has given tho
cold shoulder.
But notice that some one must take
the storm for the chickens. All! the
hen takes the storm. l have watched
her under the pelting rain. havo
seen her in the pinching frosts. Almost
frozen to death, or almost strangled in
the waters, and what fight she
makes for the young under wing if a
dog. or hawk, or man come too
near. And so the brooding Christ
tdheS Juc StOrlu IOT us. nudt uOOu Oh
anguish and tears that did not dash
upon His Holy soul? What beak of
torture did not pierce His vitals2
What barking Cerberus of hell was not
let ont upon Him from the lzennels2
What He endured, o, who can tell,
To save our soulds from death and hell.
But now the summer day is almost
past. and the shadows of the house and
barn and wagon shed have heightened.
The farmer, with scythe or hoe on
shoulder, is returning from the fields
The oxen are unyolxed. The horses are
crunching the oats at the full bin. The
air bewitched by honeysucklc and wild
briar. The milltman, pail in hand, is
approaching the barnyard- The fowls,
keeping early hours, are collecting
their young; 'cluck!'' s'cluck!' 'scluck!''
and soon all the eyes OF that
feathered nursery are closed. The BACH
elors of the winged tribe have assembled
to their perch, but the hens, in a moth
erhood divinely appointed, take all the
risk of slumber on the ground. and
all night long the wings will stay out.
spread and the little ones will not utter
a sound. Thus at shutdown, low
ingly. safely. completely the hen
broods her young. So, if we are
the Lords, the evening of our
1.fo Ill V,l-o l~o<. - Az L. :