The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1893-03-04
TALMAGE's rYE'kN0N.
The ORTHODOXY of the Bible" or
God Among the Birds.
The Fowls Of the Air Teach Their Los
sons-In Their Coming and Going
They FuiflI Divinely
Created Law.

ton of his series of sermons on special
Bible subjects, delivered the following |
in the Brooklyn tabernacle, taking for
his text:
Behold the fowls of the air.-Mathew vi, ID
There is silence now in all our Janu-
ary forests, except as the wind whistles
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 plumes and warbling voices,
solos, duets, auartettes, cantatas and
TIE Deums. But the Bible is full OF
birds at all seasons, and prophets and
patriachs and apostles and evangelists
and Christ Himself employ them for
moral and religious purposes. My text
is an extract from the Sermon on the
Mount, and perhaps it was at mo-
ment when flock of birds few past
that Christ waved His hand toward
them, and said: Behold the fowls OF
the air." And SO, in this course OF ser
mons on ''God Everywhere" l preach
to YOU this third sermon concerning
the "Ornithology of the Bible, or God
Among the Birds.
Most of the other sciences you may
study or'not 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 brought up among
this race of wings, and from boyhood
heard their mathis at sunrise and their
yespers at sunset. Their nests have
been to me fascination. and my salts
| faction is that 1 never robbed one OF
them, any more than would steals child
from 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 antipa-
thies, understand joy and grief, have
coniugal and maternal instinct, wage
wars and entertain jealeusies. have a
language of their own and powers OF
association. Thank God for birds and
slsies full of them. 1t is useless to ex.
Tpect to understand the Bible unless we
study natural history. Five hundred
and ninety-three times does the Bible
allude to the facts of natural history
and do not wonder that it makes sc
many illusions pathological The
skies and the caverns of Palestine arr
friendly to the winged creatures, anf
SO many fly and roost and nest and
harch in that region that inspired
writers do not have far to go to get or
astrological illustration of Divine truth
There are over forty species OF bird
recognized in the Scriptures. oh, wha
variety of wings in Palestine. Thu
dove, the robin, the eagle, the cor
morant or plunging bird, hurting itsel
from sky to wave, and with long beal
clutching its prey; the thrush, which
especially dislikes crowd; the par
fridge. the hawk, bold and ruthless
lowering head to windward, Will
watching for prey; the swan, at hom
among the marshes and with feet S
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 it has eA
: traordinary head-dress; the stork, tn
e ossifrage, that always had habit
6 dropping on a stone the turtle it ha
). lifted, and SO killing it for food, and o
one occasion mistook the bald head c
Eschylus, the Greek poet. for whit
stone and dropped turtle upon il
killing the famous Greek: the cuckoo
with crested head and crimson throa
j and wings snow-tipped, but too lazy I
!, build its own nest, and SO having tn
o habit of depositing its eggs in nest
I belonging to other birds, the blue ia.
q the grouse, the plover, the magpie, tb
: kingfsher, the pelican, which is tn
caricature of all the feathered creation
the owl, the goldfinch, the bittern, tn
barrier, the bulbul, the osprey, I'll
vulture, that king of scavengers, wit
neck covered with repulsive down il
stead of attractive feathers, the qua
relsome startling, the swallow, fyin
a mile a minute, and sometimes tie
hours in succession, the heron, tt
quail, the peacock, the ostrich, Il
lark, the crow, the kite, the bat, Il
blackbird and many others, with a
\ colors, all sounds, all styles OF fiigh
all habits, all architecture OF nest
leaving nothing wanting in suggestiv
z ness They were at the creation place
r all around on the rocks and in Il
> trees and on the ground to serena'
2 Adams arrival. They took their plac
on Friday as the first man was MAJ
on Saturday. Whatever else he had
1 did not have he should have mus
: The first sound that struck the humi
u ear was birds voice.
!! Yea, Christian geology (for you kno
there is Christian geology as well
an infidel geology, Christian geolos
vi comes in and helps the Bible she
II what we owe to the bird creation. I
fore the human race came into t
. world the world was occupied by re
tiles and by all kinds of destructi
monsters, millions of creatures Loaf
some and hineous. God sent hu
birds to clear the earth of these or,
\ lures before Adam and Eve were G.
81 ated. The remains of these birds ha
- been found imbedded in the rocks. L
r.