The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1893-01-12
BIRDS IN THE BIBLE.
Rrv. pR. TALMAoE,s sERMoN
Behold the Fowls OF the Air, Says the
Scriptures. Lessons of Their
Flights. The Spirit of God
Gentle Dove.

a. hAIi behoio me JoWfS OF the dfrl'-
There is silence now in I'll our January
forests. except as the winds whistle THROUGH
the bare branches Our northern woods
hre deserted concert halls. The organ lofts
~ the temple OF nature are hymnless Trees
which were full OF carol aud chirp and chant
are now waiting for the cominy back of
rich pumes and warblng voices. solos.
iuets, quartetes, cantatas and To Deun,s
But the Bible is full OF birds nj all soasons
snd prophets and patriots aud apostles, and
Christ Himself. employ them for mornl and
religious purposes NV text is nm extract
from the sermon on the mount. and perhaps
u was at a moment when a flock Of birds
tlew past that Christ waved His hand toward
hem and said. behold the fowls 81 the nirr'
Aud so in this course of sermons ON C;oi
tNtry"here | preach 10 you this third ser
mon Conce rning the Ornithologv OF tho
Bible or, God Among the Bir1s.
Most OF the other sciences vou may study
or not study as YOU please. Use your own
~ lgment exercise your own taste But
ibJut this science ot ornith1loyv we have
10 option. The divine command is nositive
when il saws in my text. Behold the fowls
u the air" That is, stulv their habits
Examine their colors Notice their speed
see the hand Of God in their construction.
" IS easy Tor me to obey the command of
The text, for ! was brought up among the
fa,o of wings and from boyhood heard their
matlns at sunrise and their yespcrs at sun.
oct.
Their nests have been 10 me a fascination
and my satisfaction is that never robbed
one OF them any more than would steal q
-hli from n cradle. for a bird isn Child OF
The sGy. and its nest Is the cradle. Tnpv are
almost numau, for they have their love. an
tate', annitiCs ana untipathics, understand
JOY and grief. have con iugnl and maternal
instinct, wage wars and entertain icalou ic..
cave language Oi tIeir own and powers oil
association. Thank God FOR BIRDS anl shic,
Iull Of theml ~ j. useless to ex1ec5 TO IN .
ierNtand the Bible unless we study natural
lis'ory.
FIVE hundred and ninety.thre, times does
he Bible allude 10 the facts OF natural his.
.ory, and do not vendor that it makes 50
many ollusluns orutholoEicll The skies
aud the cavcrns of Palestine are friendly TO
be winged creatures. and so many ny and
'oost and nest and hatch IN that region that
inspired writers do not have far TO 20 70 Get
irnltholoyic1l illustration OF divine truth.
There are over forty species of birds rccog-
iizeh in the Scriptures.
Oh. what "A variety of WINS in PALESTINE
The dove the robin. the eagle, the clrmc-
ant or plunging bird, hurting itself from
~ 20 wave aud with long beak clutchiny
o urey; the thrush, whicn especially dis.
lE,, crowj, the partridge: the hawk.
|u,u and ruthlus. lowering head 10 wind
ward while watching COR prey: the swan. at
iorne among the marshes and with feet so
constructed u can walk ON the leaves OF wa
or plants: the raven, the lapwiny. mulolor.
jus ana III the Bible dcn1uncel as inedible.
bulgu II has extraordinary heIddress:
he stork; the osslrage that always
lad habit of dropping on na stone the turtle
hVd lifted and so killing 10 for food and
III one occasion mistoos the bald head of
fschylus, the Greek poet for "A white stone,
and dropped u turtle upon it. killing the
nmous Greek: the cuckoo. with crested
1eal and crimson throat aud wings snow
apped, but too lazy To build its own nes..
iuu 80 having the habit of depositing its
'Cg in nests belonging to other birls. the
1.utjay, the grouse. the plovcr, the magpic
,ss ,, s,nsisher ich3eca9 which !, the carl
'At.sed'r IA ere mdsSp, the harrier, the
gihd,I; udd Vsl, ey, tlJi.L....s .ida. ,.ls,,,J.
icavengers, with neck covered with repulsve
fown instead ofattractive fcnthcrs:the'uuar-
'elsomo Startling; the swallow, n wing mile a
minute and sometimes ten hours m success.
Hou; the heron, the quail, the peacock, the os.
rich, the lark, the crow, the Kite the bat.
he blgckbird and many Others with al
'oiors all sounds, all styles o, flight, ali
lablis, all architecture of nests leaving
1othiug wanting IN suggestveness They
we're al the creation placed ali around on
Inc rocks and IN the trees and on the ground
% sercupte Adams arrival. Tney took
heir places on Friday, as the first man was
made on Saturday. Whatever else he had
or did not have, he should have music The
irst sound that struck the human ear was a
birds voice.
Yea, Christian geology-for you know
there Is Christian geology as well as an in
idel geology Christian geology comes in
and helps the Bible show what we owe to
he bird creation. Before the human race
mt tNCrlH fl,u a.
Dy reptiles and by all sorts of destructive
monsters-nlllons of creatures, olthsome
and hideous. God sent huge birds 70 clear
the earth OF these creatures before Alan
and Eve were created The remains OF these
birds have been found imbeddel ia the
rocks. The skeleton of one eagle has been
found twenty feet in heiI Iht and fifty feet
from tip of wing to tip OF wing. Many ar.
mics of beakS and claws We're necessary 20
clear the earth Of creatures that would have
destroyed the human race with one clip. I
like TO find this harmony of revelation and
,cience, and 10 have demonstrated that the
God who made the world made the Bible.
Moses, the greatest lawyer OF all time and
great man for facts, had enough senti-
nsnt and poetry and musical taste to well
some the illuminated wings an tho voices
1iviney drilled into the first chapter of
jenises How should Moab, the old ship.
carpenter, 600 years OF age, lind out when
The world was III again for human residence
after the universal freshstG A bird will
tell ana nothing else can. No man can
,ome down from the mountain TO invite
Noah and his family out TO terra hrma, for
the mountains were submerged As a bird
tirst heralded the human race into tho
world, now bird will help the human race
back To the world that had shipped IA sea
that whelmed everything,
Noah stands on Sunday morning at the
window of the ark IN his hand n cooling
dove, so gentle SO innocent so atfectionate,
and he said; Nov, my little dove, fly away
over these waters, explore and come back
and tell us whether IL is safe to land" After
long flight it returned hungry and weary
and wet, and 10y It's looks and manners said
10 Moan and his family: The world is not
III for you to dissmhark' Noah waitel a
week. and next Sunday morning hG let the
dove fly again for second exploration, and
sunday evening Il came back with leaf
that mad the sign OF just having been
pucket from living fruit tree. aud the
bird reported the world would do tolerably
well for bird 90 live in, but not yet sufh'
GENTLY recovered Tor human residence.
Noah waited another week, and next Sun
day morning ne sent out the dove on the
third exploration, hut II returned not. for i;
found the world 30 attractive now IL did moi
In "a pa UaI aputu fhpu fha