St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1897-06-12
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
Lessons Drawn From tho Story or
Elijah and the Ravens.
Help for Those In Need Comes From God
The Creator Of All Infinite In Re-
sourcc-RelIef Through I'm
cxpected Sources.


sourcc-RelIef Through I'm
cxpected Sources.
Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage. who has re-
turned to Washington from his western
trip in behalf Of the India famine suf-
ferers, delivered the following appro-
pirate sermon before his congregation.
basing it on the text:
And the ravens brought him bread and flesh
In the morning. and bread and flesh in the even
ing.l Kings. xviii, g
The ornithology Of the Bible is a very
interesting study. The stork which
knoweth her appointed time. The
common sparrows teaching the lesson
of Gods providence. The ostriches of
the desert, by careless incubation, il
lustrating the recklessness of parents
who do not take enough pains with
their children. The eagle symbolyz-
ing riches which take wings and fly
away. The pelican emblelnizing soli-
tude. The bat, fake of the darkness.
The night hawk, the ossifrage. the
cuckoo, the lapwing. the osprey. by
the command Of God in Leviticus,
flung out of the worlds bill Of fare.
would like to have been with Audu-
bon as he went through the woods,
with gun and pencil, bringing down
and slxetching the fowls of heaven, his
unfolded portfolio thrilling all Chris
tendon. What wonderful 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 vertebrae of the
neck; the three eyelids to each eye, the
third eyelid an extra curtain for grad
uating the light Of the sun. Some OF
these birds scavengers and some of
them orchestra. Thank God for quairs
whistle. and lark's carol, and the twit-
ter Of the wren. called by the an
clients the king of birds, because
when the fowls of Heaven went
into contest rs to who
should fly the highest, and the eagle
swung nearest the sun, wren on back
of the eagle, after the eagle was cx-
hausted, sprang up much higher. and
so was called by the ancients the king
Of birds Consider those Of them that
have golden crowns and crests. show
ing them to be feathered imperials.
And listen to the humming birds sere
made in the ear Of the honeysuckle.
Look at the belted kingfisher, striking
like dart from sky to water. Listen
to the voice Of the owl. giving the key
note to all crOakerS And behold the
condor among the Andes, battling with
the reindeer. 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 ornithological wonders
Of the world. The grain crop had been
cut off. Famine was in the land. In
! cave by the Brook Cherith sat a min
ister of God, Elijah, waiting for some
thing to eat. Why did he not 60 to
the neighbors? There were no neigh
bors; it was q wilderness. Why did
he not pick some of the berries? There
were none. If there had been
they would have been dried up.
Seated one morning at the mouth of
the cave, the prophet sees flock OF
birds approaching. Oh, if they were
only partridges, or if he only had an
arrow with which to bring them
down. But as they come nearer ne
finds that they are not comestible, but
nnclean, 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 ..crucki cruckw prove them to
be ravens
They whirr around about the
prophets head. and then they come on
auttering wing and pause on the level
If his lips, and one Of the ravens brings
bread, and another raven brings meat,
and after they have discharged their
tiny cargo they wheel past, and others
come. until after awhile the prophet
mas enough, and the black servants of
the wilderness table are gone. For
six months, and some say : wholesyear,
morning and evening, . breakfast and
! supper bell souded rs these ravens
rang out on the air their ..cruck. cruckm
Guess where they got the food from.
The old rabbins say they got it from
The kitchen Of King Ahab. Others say
that the ravens got their food from
Plus 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 inn
probable; for these were carnivorous
birds, and the food they carried was
the torn flesh Of living beasts, and
therefore ceremonially unclean; or it
was carrion, and would not have been
ct for the prophet Some say they
were not ravens ut all, but that the
word translated ravens" in my text
ought to have been translated Arabs"
30 it would have read: 1.-THE Arabs
brought bread and flesh in the morn
ing, and bread and flesh in the even
ing Anything but admit the Bible
to be true.
Hew away at this miracle until all
the miracle is gone. TO on with the
depicting process, but know, my broth
er. that you are robbing only one man
and that is yourself-of one Of the
most comforting, beautiful, pathetic
and triumphant lessons in all the ages.
I can tell you who these purveyors
were-thay were ravens. l can tell
you who freighted them with provis-
ions-God. can tell you who launched
them-God. can tell you who taught
them which way to hy-God. ! can
tell you who told them 1t what cave
10 swoop-God. can tell you who m
troduced raven to prophet and prophet
to rayen-God. There is one passage
will whisper in your ear, for would
not want to utter it aloud, lest some
one should drop down under its power