Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1897-05-19
REV. DR.. TALMAGE,
+e Eminent Divine's Sunday
Discourse.

te Eminent Divine's Sunday
Discourse.
He Takes for His Subject q Thought Mos
Interesting to All Who Are Trying t.
Achieve n Livelihood-The Ravens q
God That brought Bread and Flesh
Text: "And the ravens brought him breat
and flesh in the morning and bread ant
flesh In the EVENING" Kings xvii, 6.
The ornitholoSy Of the Bible is very in
teresting study-the stork which knowett
her appointed time; the common sparrow:
teaching the lesson Of Gods providence
the ostriches Of the desert, by careless in
cubation, illustrating the recklessness o
parents who do not take enough pains with
their children; the eagle symbolizing
riches which take wings and fly away; the
pelican emblemizing solitude; the bat, q
make OF the darkness; the night hawk, the
ossifrage, the cuckoo, the lapwing the os
prey, by the command of God, in Leviticus
flung out of the worlds bill Of fare.
would like to have been with Audubon
as he went through the woods, with gun
and pencil, bringing down and sketching
the fowls of heaven, his unfolded portfolio
thrilling all Christendom. What wonder
full creatures of God the birds are. Some
OF them this morning, like the songs OF
heaven let loose, bursting through the
gates of heaven Consider their feathers
which are clothing and conveyance at the
same time; the nine vertebrB Of the neck,
the three eyelids to each eye, the third
eyelid an extra curtain for graduating the
light OF the sun. Some of these birds scav-
engerS and some of them orchestra. Thank
God for quaiis whistle, and lark's ca-ol,
and the twitter OF the wren, called by the
ancients the king Of birds, because when
the fowls of heaven went into a contest as
to who should fly the highest, and the eagle
swung nearest the sun, wren on back Of
the eagle, after the eagle was exhausted,
sprang up much higher, and so was called
those Of them that have golden crowns and
erests, showing them to be feathered i'm
periais. And listen to the humming birds
serenade in the ear OF the honeysuckle
Look at the belted kingflsher, striking a
dart from sky to water. Listen TO the
voice of the owl, giving the keynote to all
croakerS. And behold the condor among
the Andes, battling with the reindeer. 1
do not know whether an aquarium or
aviary is the best altar from which to
worship God.
There Is an incident in my text that
battles all the pathological wonders Of
the world. The grain crop has been cut
on. Famine was in the land. In "A cave by
the brook Cherith sat minister of God,
Elijah, waiting for something to eat. Why
did he not go to the neighbors? There
were no neighbors. 1t was a wilderness.
Why did he not pick some of the berriesp
There were none. If there had been, they
would have been dried up. Seated one
morning ut the mouth of the cave the
prophet sees flock OF birds approaching.
Oh, II they were only partridges, or IL he
only had an arrow with which to bring
them DOWN. But as they come nearer he
finds that they are not comestible, but un-
clean, and the eating of them would be
spiritual death. The strength of their beak,
the length of their wings, the blackness of
their color, their loud, harsh, "cruck,
cruckl' prove them to be ravens.
They whir around about the prophets
head, and then they come on fluttering
wing and pause on the level of his lips, and
one of the ravens brings bread and another
raven brings meat. and after they have dis
charged their tiny cargo they wheel past,
and Others come. until after awhile the
prophet mas enough, ami these black ser
wants of the wilderness table are gone. For
six months, and some say a whole year,
morning and evening, breakfast and a
supper bell sounded as these ravens rang
Out on the air their "cruck, cruckr' Guess
where they got the food from. The old
rabbins say they got 1t from the kitchen of
King Ahab. Others say that the ravens got
their food from pious Obadiah. who was in
the habit of feeding the prosecuted. Some
say that the ravens brought the food to
their young in the trees, and that Elijah
had only to climb up and get it. Some say
that the whole story is improbable, for
these were carnivorous birds, and the food
they carried was the torn flesh Of living
beasts, and therefore ceremonially un-
clean, or it was carrion and would not
have been fit for the prophet. Some say
they were not ravens at all, but that the
word translated ravens in my text
ought to have been translated Arabs" 80
1t would have read, 1.-The Arabs brought
bread and flesh in the morning, and bread
and flesh in the evening"" Anything but
admit the Bible to be true.
Hew away at this miracle until all the
miracle is gone. Go ON with the depicting
process, but know, my brother, that you
are robbing only the man-and that Is your
self-of one OF the most comforting, beauti-
ful, pathetic and triumphant lessons in all
ages. 1 can tel you who these puryeyors
were-they were ravens. l can tell you
who freighted them with prov visions-God.
1 can tell you who launched them-God.
can tell you who taught them which way to
hy-God. l can tell you who told them at
what cave to swoop-God. l can tell you
who introduced raven to prophet and pro-
phet to raven-God. There is one passage
1 will whisper in your ear, for l would not
want to utter 1t aloud lest some one should
drop down under its power, If any man
shall take away from the words of the pro-
phecy of this book, God shall take away his
part out of the book of life and out of the
Holy CITY,
While, then, we watch the ravens feeding
Elijah, let the swift dove of Gods spirit
sweep down the sky with divine food, and
ON outspread wing pause at the lip of every
soul nyering for comfort.
On the banks of what rivers have been
the great battles of the world? While YOU
are looking over the map of the world to
nsN hut I will foil
conflict to-day is on the Potomac, on the
Hudson, on the Mississippi, on the Thames,
on the Savannah, on the Rhine on the Nile
On the Ganges on the Hoang- -Ho. 1t is a
battle that has been going on for 5000
years. The troops engaged in it are ,6O0, :
UOO,OO and those who have fallen by the
way are vaster in number than those who
march 1t is "A battle for bread
Sentimentalists sit in cushioned chair
In their pictured study, with their J.ipperei
feet on damask ottoman, and say that
this world IL great scene of avarice and
greed. 1t does not seem so to me. If 1t
We're not for the absolute necessities of the
| eases, nine-tenths of the stores, factories
shops, banking houses of the land would be
closed tomorrow. Who is that man delv-
ing in the Colorado hills, or toiling in a
New England factory, or going through a
roll OF bills in the bank, or measuring a
fabric OIL the counter? He is a champion
that has to be cared for. in behalf of some
church of God that has to be supported, in
behalf of some asylum of mercy that has tC
be sustained. Who is that woman bending
| over the sewing machine, or carrying tn.
bundle, or sweeping the room, or mendine
the garment, or sweltering at the washtubi
That is Deborah, one of the Lords hero
! ines, battling against Amslekitish want
| which comes down with iron chariot tC
| crush her and hers. The great question
| with the vast majority of people to-day i:
not home rule, but whether there shall b,
any home to rule; not one of tariff, bu
| whether there shall be anything to tax
The great questions with the vast majorit,
of the people are: How shall support m,
family! How shall L meet my notes? How
shall L pay my rent? How shall give food
| clothing and education to those who ar
dependent upon me?" Oh, il God woul,
help me to-day to assist you in the solution
OF that problem, the happiest man in thi
house would be your preacher. l hav
| gone cut on a cold morning with exper
sportsmen to hunt for pigeons. have gon
out on the meadows to hunt for quail
| nave gone out on the marsh to hunt