The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1893-01-11
GOD EVERYWHERE.
DR.. Talmage breaches a Sermon
on the Ornithology Of the Bible.
The Doves which Made isaiah Think OF
Great Revivals and Great Awaken
ings-The Hand of God in the
Construction OF the Fowls
OF the Air.

Dr. Ialmage QlScOurSeu ldSb ounudy Oh
the "0rnithology of the Bible; or, God
Among the Birds" The text was, Mat
thew vi, 2O Behold the fowls of the
air."
There is silence now in all our Janu.
ary forests exceptas the winds whistle
through the bare branches. Our north
ern woods are deserted concert halls.
The organ-lofts in the temple OF nature
are hymnless Trees which were full
of carol and chirp and chant are now
waiting for the coming back OF rich
plumes and warbling voices, solos,
duets, quartets, cantatas, and Te De-
ums But the Bible is full Of birds at
all seasons, and prophets and patriarchs
and apostles and evangelists and Christ
himself employ them for moral and re-
ligious purposes. My texts an extract
from the Sermon on the Mount, and
perhaps it was at moment when a
flock Of birds flew past that Christ
waved Ills hand toward them, and said:
Behold the fowls OF the air." And So |
in this course Of sermons on God every |
where, preach to you this third SER
mon concerning the ornithology OF the
Bible, or God among the birds.
Most of the other sciences you may
study or not study, as you please. Use
your own Judgment, exercise your own
taste. But about this science of orni.
thology we have no option. The divine
command is positive when it says in my
text, ''Behold the fowls of the air. )"
That is, study their habits. Examine
their colors. Notice their speed. See
the hand of God in their construction.
1t is easy for me to obey the command
Of the text, for was brught up among
this race of wings and from boyhood
heard their mathis at sunrise and their
vespers at sunset Their nests have
been TO me fascination, and my salts
faction is that never robbed one Of
them, any more than / would steal a
child from a cradle for bird is child
Of the sky, and its nest is the cradle.
They are almost human, for they
have their loves and hates, affinities
and antipathies, understand Joy and
grief, have conjugal and maternal in
stinct, wage wars, and entertain
jealousies, have language OF their
own and powers Of association. Thank
God for birds and skies full of them. II
is useless TO expect TO understand the
Bible unless we study natural history.
Five hundred and ninety-three times
does the Bible allude to the facts'of nat
ural history, and do not wonder that
1t makes so many illusions orlithologi-
cal The skies and the caverns oi
Palestine are friendly to the winged
creatures, and so many fly and roost,
and nest and hatch in their region that
inspired writers do not have far to &c
to get ornithological illustration Of df
vine truth. There are over forty species
OF birds recognized in the Scriptures
o, what variety OF wings in Palestine
The dove, the robin, the eagle, thu
cormorant, or plunging bird, hurting
itself from sky TO wave and with lonl
beak clutching its prey, the thrush
which especially dislilses crowd, th'
partridge, the hawk, bold and ruthless
lowering head 70 windward Will,
watching for prey, the swan, at hom'
among the marshes and with feet 81
constructed it can walk on the leave
of water plants, the raven, the lap
wing, malodorous and in the Bible de
nounced as inedible, though II has ex
traordinary head dress, the stork, tn
ossifrage, that always had a habit @
dropping on stone the turtle 1t ha
lifted and so killing II for food, AID o.
occasion mistook the bald head c
Eschylus, the Greek poet, for n whit
stone and dropped a turtle upon Il
killing the famous Greek, the cucko,
with crested head and crimson throa
and wing snow-tipped, but too lazy
build its own nest and so having th
habit Of depositing its eggs in nests b.
longing to other birds, the blue jay, th
grouse, the plover, the magpie, th
kinghsher, the pelican, which is u
caricature of all the feathered creation
the owl, the goldfinch, the bittern, d
harrier, the bulbul, the osprey, Il
vulture, that king OF scavengers, wit
neck covered with repulsive down Il
stead Of attractive feathers, the qua
relsome starting, the swallow flying
mile minute, and sometimes ten hou
In succession, the heron, the quail, Il
peacock, the ostrich, the lark, Il
crow, the kite, the bat, the blackbir
and many others with all colors, q
sounds, all styles Of fight, all habit
all architecture Of nests, leaving nothii
wanting in suggestiveness They we
at the creation placed all around {
the rocks and in the trees and on q
ground TO serenade Adams arrivi
They took their places on Friday,
the first man was made on Saturda
Whatever else he had or did not haS
he should have music. The first soul
that struck the human ear was birC
voice.
Yea, Christian geology (for you knc
there is a Christian geology
well as an infdel geology, Christi
geology comes In and helps the BIZ
show what we owe TO the bird creatic
Before the human race came into Il
world, tho world was occupied by N
tiles, and by all styles Of destructl
monsters, millions OF creatures Loaf
some and hideoua God sent huge biz
TO clear the earth Of these creatures
fore Adam and Eve were created. 7
remains Of these birds haye been fou
imbedded In the rocka The skeleton
one eagle has been found twenty feet
height, and fifty feet from tip Of wi
70 tip Of wing. Many armies Of bel
and claws were necessary TO clear
earth OF creatures that would have
stroyed the human race with one cl