Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1897-12-03
Rev, DIR. Talmage ON 0rnithology of the
Bible.


TEXT: "Behold the fowls Of the lir -
Matthew vi, 26.
My text is an extract from the Sermon
on the Mount, and perhaps it was at mo-
ment when a flock of birds flew past that
Christ waved His hand toward them ana
said: Behold the fowls Of the air. That
is, study their habits. Examine their col
Ors Notice their speed. See the hand Of
God in their construction. They are al
most human, for they have their loves aud
hates, atllnities and antipathies, under
stand Joy and grief, have coniugal and ma
ternal instincts, wage wars, and entertain
lealousies, have a language OF their own
and powers of association.
Thank God for birds, and skies full Of
them. 1t is useless to expect to under
stand the Bible unless we study natural
history. They were at the creation placed
all around on the rocks aud in the trees
and on the ground to serenade Adams
arrival. They took their places on Friday.
as the first man was made on Saturday.
Whatever else he had or did not have,
he should have music. The first sound
that struck the human ear was bird 5
voice.
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 a sea that had overwhelmed every
thing. Noah stands on Sunday morning
at the window of the ark, in his hand a
cooling dove, 50 gentle, SO innocent, so af
tectonate, and he said: "Now, my little
dove, fly away over these waters, explore,
and come back and tell us whether it is
safe to land. 1t was bird that told them
when to take pos, ession of the resuscitated
planet. So the human race were saved by
birds wing; for, attempting to land too
soon thpy would have DeriShed
Isaiah compares the deSOlatiOns of ban
ished Israel to an owl and blttern and cor
morant among citys ruins. Would the
prophet illustrate The fate of fraud he
points to Il failure at incubation, and says:
Gas u partridge sitteth on eggs and hatch
eth them not, so he that Getteth riches and
not by right shall leave them in the midst
of his days and at his end shall be foo p
The quickest way to amuss fortune is
by iniquity, but the trouble is about keep
ing ii. Every hour OF every day some such
partridge is driven off the nest PanicS are
only flutter Of cartridges. 1t is too tedi-
GUS work to become rich III the old-fash-
toned way, and if man can by the false
hood make as much as by ten years OF
hard labor, why not tell it, and If one
counterfeit check will bring the dollars rs
easily ms genuine issue, why not make II
But yOnder in this Bible sky flies bird
the church, cries out: Mine heritage is
unto me as a specliCd bird, the birds
round about are against her So il
was then; SO it is now. Holiness picked
at. Conservation picked at. BeneVolence
picked at. Usefulness picked at. A
speckled bird is peculiar bird. and that
arouses the antipathy of all the beaks OF
the forest. The church of God is peculiar
institution, and that Is enough to evoke
attack OF the world, for 1t IS speckled
bird to be picked at. The INCONSISTENCIES
of Christians are banquet on which multi
tudes ret fat. They ascribe everything
you do to wrong motives. Put dollar in
dropped it there only that he might hear it
ring. Invite them to Christ, and they will
cali YOU fanatic. Let there be contention
among Christians, and they will say "Hur.
rah! the church is in decadence." Christ in
| tended that His church should always re-
main u speckled bird,
Disaster. failure in business, disappoint'
| ment bereavement, is Gods way o.
shaking us out of our comfortable nest IL
order that we may learn to fly. You who
are complaining that you have no faith Of
| courage or Christian zeal have had it too
easy, You neter will learn to fly in tha