Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1893-01-20
REV. DIR. ?ALMAGH.
The Eminent Brooklyn Divine'S Sun.
day Sermon.
sub,ect. "God Among the Birds"


There is silence now in all our January
forests except as the winds whistle through
the bare branches. Our northern 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 p,umes and warhlng voices, solos,
duets, quartetes. cantatas and lie Deums.
But the Bible is full Of birds at all seasons,
and pronhets and patriots and apostles, and
Christ Himself, empoy them for moral and
religious purposes. My text is an extract
from the sermon on the mount. and perhaps
it was at moment when flock OF birds
few rast that Christ waved His hand toward
them and said. "Bebold the fowls Of the air"
And so in this course Of sermons on Col
mon concerning the Orn'tholoyy OF ths
Bible; OF, God Among the Birds.
Most OF the other ;cienceS you may study
or not study as YOU pease. Use your own
judgment, exeIc Sc your own taste. But
about this science Of ornithology we have
no option. The divine command is positive
when it SAYS in my text, behold the fowls
Of the ARP That is, stu ~ their habits.
Examine their coiors. Notice their speed.
See the hand OF God in their construction.
1t is easy for me to obey the command or
the text, for was brought up among the
race of wings and from boyhood heard their
mathis at sunrise and their vesperS at SUM-
set.
Their nests have been to me fascination,
and my satisfa ction is that | never robbed
one of them any more than would steal
child from cradle. for a bird isa child OF
the sky, and its nest is the cradle. They are
almost human, for they have their loves and
hates, affinities ami antiuatbies, understand
Joy anu grief, have conjugal aud maternal
instinct, wage wars and entertain jealousies,
have a language of their own and powers of
association. Thank God for birds and skies
full of tbeml 1t is useless to ex JecS to un.
derstand the Bible unless we study natural
history.
Five hundred and ninety.three times does
the Bible allude to the facts of natural his.
tory, and do not wender that it makes So
many illusions archaeological. The skies
and the caverns of Palestine are friendly to
the winged creatures, and so many fly and
roost and nest and hatch in that region that
inspired writers do not have far to go to get
pathological illustration of divine truth.
There are over forty species of birds recog-
nized in the Scriptures.
Oh, what variety of wings in Palestines
The dove, the robin. the eagle, the corno-
rant or p.unging bird, hurting itself from
sky to wave and with long leak clutchin5
its prey: the thrush, which especially dis.
likes crow; the parrridges' the, hawS,
bold and ruthless lowering head to WING
ward while watching for prey: the swan, at
home among the marshes aud with feet SO
constructed it can walk on the leaves OF wa
ter plants: the raven, the lapwing, malodor'
Gus aha in the Bible denounced as lnedible,
though it has extraordinary headdress;
the stork, the ossifrage, that always
had habit of dropping on stone the turtle
il had lifted and SO killing it for food, and
on one occasion mistoox the bald head Oh
Eschylus, the Greek poet. for a white stone,
and dropped turtle upon 1t, Killing the
famous Greek; the cuckoo, With crested
heal and crimson throat and wings snow
tipped, tut too lazy to build its own nest,
and so having the habit OF depositlng us
eggs in nests belonging to other olris'; Tue
b.uejay, the grouse, the piover, the ma 5pie,
the Sinefsher, the pelican, which is the carl
cature of all the teathered creation; the owl,
the poldfncb, the Dittern, the hirrier, the
bulbul, the osprey; the vulture, that king OF
scavengers, with neck covered with repuislye
down instead of attractive feathers the quar-.
relsome starting; the swallow. flying mile a
minute and sometimes ten hours In success
sion; the heron, the quail, the peacock, the os-
tricb. the lark, the crow, the Kite, the bat,
the blackbird and many Others, with all
co.ors. all sounds, all styles OF flight, ali
habits, all architecture OF nests. leaving
nothing wanting in suggestlveness. Iney
were at the creation placed all around on
the rocks and in the trees and on the ground
to serenade Adams arrival. They TOOK
their places on Friday, as the first man was
MADE on Saturday. Whatever else he ha
or did not have, he should have music. The
first sound that struck the human ear was
birds voice.
Yes, Christian geology-for you know
there is Christian geology as well as an IN
fdel geology-Christian geology comes IN
and helps the Bible show Wat we owe to
The bird creation. Before the human raca
came into this world the world was occuple
by reptiles and By all sorts of destructive
monsters millions Of creatures. loathsoni
and hideous. God sent huge birds to clear
the earth OF these creatures before a lam
ana Eve were create !. The remains o. Onesa
birds have been found lmoedde1 IN tn'
cocks. The skeleton of one eagle has peer
iound twenty feet in height and NY lee'
from tip Of wing TO tip OF wing. Many ar
mics OF beaks and claws were necessa y TX
clear the esrth or creatures that would have
DESTROYED tle human race with one clip.
] ike 20 find this harmony OF revelation an
science. and to have demonstrated that Tn
God who made the world made the Bible.
Noses. the greatest lawyer OF all time an,
great man for facts, hal enough sentl
and ages. swift as an eagle that haStetf
TO his prey" Behold the fowls OF the air
| Have you considered that they have. as yo'
| and hava not, the power to Change tner
eyes SO that one minute they may be tele
scopic ami the next microscope, now seem
something a mile away AMI ny telescope
4
| the ground, able to see IL close Dy anu "io'
microscopic eyesight?
But what senseless passage OF ocrlptuf'
/ that is, until you know the fact, wnlca say
/ tine sparrow hath found mouse ana ln
! swallow a nest for herself, wnere sue ma
! Law her Young. even thine affairs, y Lord o
Hosts. nv King and my Gol' What has Tn
/ swallow 10 do with the affairs OF the tempt
, at Jer lsalem? All, you know that swallow
are a.! the worl over verV tame, anu
summer time vhey usei to fly Into tue WIZ
dows an doors OF the temple at Jerusalem
ami build nesG Oh the altar Wnsre III
priests were offering sacrifices
These swallows brought leaves and stcS
snj tashionei nests on the affairs OF the ten
ple and hatchsd the young sparrows IN tho:
nests. and David had seen the young oirc
picxiny their way out Of the she'll wnile ca
old swallows watches, and no one IN u
tenple was cruel enough to disturb eitne
the Old swallows or the young swallows, an
David burst out IN Rhapsody saying
swallow hath found nest for herselr, Whei
She NAV law her young, even Thine aitar
o Lord of Hosts, my King and my tou
What carpenters, what masons' VI" p
vysavarS what spinners tue birds areI VI
OF what small resources they make SO e.
ou,s'ta a home. curved, pillarsd, wreatheC
6us s of MOSES o out Of Sticks, out of licaen
ont Of horsahair, out Of spiders web, OUT
threads swept from the door by the mouse
to take possession OK the resuscitated planet
SO the human race were saved by bra
WING tnr, attenlntinr to land too soon. the