The Globe-republican. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1889-1910, 1893-01-27
DIR. TALMAGE'S SERMON.
MANY LESSONS DRAWN FROM
THE FOWLS.

6urpf9olnY Frequency of A!lusions 10 Birds
In the Scriptures and Always to Teach
an important Lesson Ornitholosy 1,
Surely . Divine Science.
God Among the Birds.
T.. Talmage having preached about
the Astronomy of the Bible; or, God
among the Stars" and the Chronology
Of the Bible; or. God among the Cen.
,uries." discoursed on the 'Ornithology
II the Bible; or; God among the Birds.
Ehe text was Matthew vi, 90. behold
the fowls Of the ARR
There is silence now in all our January
forests, except rs 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 wait
ing for the coming back of rich plumes
and warbling voices, solos, duets. quar-
tets, cantatas and Te Deuma But the
Bible is full of birds at all seasons, and
prophets and patriarchs and apostles and
evangelists aud Christ Himself employ
them for moral and religious purposes.
NV text is an extract from the sermon on
the mount, and perhaps it vas at mo-
ment when q flock of birds flew past that
Christ waved His hand toward them and
said, 'sBehold the fowls of the air!" And
so, in this course of sermons on God
everywhere, preach to you this third
sermon concerning the ORTHODOXY 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 ornithol-
ogy we have no option. The divine COM
mand is positive when it says in nv text.
'BehoId the fowls of the air!" That is,
study their ha bits. Examine their col
ors. Notice their speed. See the hand
Of Ged In their construction. 1t is easy
fer me to obey the command of the text.
for I was brought up among this race of
wings and from boyhood heard their mat
ms at sunrise and their vespers at sum
set
Their nests have been to me facina-
ton, and my satisfaction is never
robbed one of them, any more than l
would steal child from cradle. for q
bird is q child of the sky, and its nest is
the cradle. They are almost human, for
they have their loves and hates, affini-
ties and antipathies, understand joy and
grief, have conjugal and maternal in
stinct, wage wars and entertain jealous
les. have a language of their own and
powers of association. Thank God for
birds and skies full Of them. 1t is use
less to expect to understand the Bible
unless we study natural history.
Five hundred and nlnety-three times
does the Bible allude to the facts of nat
ural history, and l do not wonder that it
makes so many illusions archaeological.
The skies and the caverns of Palestine
are friendly to the winged creatures. and
so many fY and roOst and hatch In that
region that inspired writer's do not have
far to 60 to get pathological illustra-
ton of divine truth. There are over
forty species of birds recognized in the
Scriptures. Oh. what variety Of wings
in Palestine!
They were at the creation placed all
around ON the rocks and in the trees and
on the ground to serenade Adams ar
as the first man was made on Saturday.
" udJctcI clS0 uO udu VI HUI udNcs
he should have music. The first sound
that struck the human ear was q birds
voice.
Yes. Christian geology-for you know
there is Christian geology as we'll as an
infidel geolo9y-Christian geology comes
in and helps the Bible show what we owe
to the bird creation. Before the human
race came into this world the world was
occupied by reptiles and by all styles of
destructive monsters-millions of Great
ures loathsome and hideous. God sent
huge birds to clear the earth of these
creatures before Adam and Eve were
created. The remains of these birds
have been found imbedded in the rocks.
The skeleton of one eagle has been found
twenty feet in height and fifty feet from
tip of wing to tip of wing. Many armies
of beaks and claws were necessary to
clear the earth of creatures that would
have destroyed the human race with one
clip. l like to find this harmony of
and science and to have dem
onstrated that the God who made the
world made the Bible.
Moses, the greatest lawyer of all time
and q great man for facts, had enough
sentiment and poetry and musical taste
to welcome the illumined wings and the
voices divinely drilled into the first
chapter of Genesis. How should Noah,
the old ship carpenter, 600 years of age,
find out when the world was fit again
for human residence after the universal
freshet? A bird will tell. and nothing
else can. No man can come down from
the mountain to invite Noah and his
family out to terra firma, for the mount
aims were submerged. As a bird first
heralded the human race into the world.
now bird will help the human race
back to the world that had shipped sea
that whelmed everything.
Noah stands on Sunday morning at
the window of the ark, in his hand
cooling dove, so gentle. so innocent. SO
affectionate. and he said, NOW. my
little dove, fly away over these waters,
explore and come back and tell US
it is safe to land" After long
1ight it returned hungry and weary and
vet. and by its looks and manners said
70 Noah and his family, 1.-THE world is
not fit for you to disembark." Noah
waited . week. and next Sunday morn
ng he let the dove fly again for q second
exploration. and Sunday evening 1t came
L. 81