The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1897-03-05
WINGS OF SERAPHlM.
DR.. TALMAGE'S PRACTICAL SERMON
UPON AN EXALTED THEME.


Upward - Dying, He Says, Is but tn
Melting Season For the Soul - Livinj
Near Christ.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 23.-In this dis
course DR.. Talmage takes most exalted
theme and makes it practical and usefu
to the last degree. The subject il
"Wings of Seraphim," and the text il
Isaiah vi, 2, with twain he covered hi
face, and with twain he covered his feet
and with twain he did fly. :"
In hospital of leprosy good King
Uzziah had died, and the whole lane
was Swallowed with solemnity, and the.
illogical and prophetic Isaiah was think.
ing about religious things, as one is apt
to do in time of great national bereave-
ment, and forgetting the presence of his
wife and two sons, who made up his
family he has dream not like the
dreams of ordinary character, which
generally come frC indigestion, but a
vision most instructive, and under the
touch of the hand of the Almighty.
The place, the ancient temple-build-
ing grand, awful, majestic Within that
temple a throne higher and grander
than that occupied by any car or sui
tan or emperor. On that throne, the
eternal Christ. In lines surrounding
that throne, the brightest celestials, not
the cherubim, but higher than they, the
most exquisite and radiant of the heav-
emily nhabitants-the seraphim. They
are called burners because they look like
fire-lips of fire, eyes of fire, feet Of fire.
In addition to the features and the limbs,
which suggest a human being, there are
pinions which suggest the lithest, the
swiftest, the most buoyant and the most
aspiring of all unintelligent creation-a
bird. Each seraph had six wings, each
two of the wings for different purpose
Isaiah's dream quivers and flashes with
these pinions, now folded now spread,
now beaten in lOcOmotion. with twain
he covered his feet, with twain he COW
cred his face, and with twain he did
fly"
The probability is that these wings
were not all used at once The seraph
standing there near the throne, over
whelmed at the insignificance of the
paths his feet had trodden as compared
with the paths trodden by the feet of
God, and with the lameness of his loco
motion amounting almost to decrepitude
as compared with the divine velocity,
with feathery veil of angelic modesty
hides the feet. with twain he did
cover the feet. -
Standing there, overpowered by the
splendors of Gods glory
and unable longer with the eyes to look
upon them and wishing those eyes
shaded from the insufferable glory, the
pinions gather over the countenance
"With twain he did cover the face"
Then, as God tells this seraph to go to
the farthest outpost of immehsity' on
of light and love and joy and
get back before the first anthem, it does
not take the seraph a great while to
spread himself upon the air with unim-
agined celebrity, one stroke of the wing
equal to 10, 600 leagues of air. with
twain he did fly
Humility and Imperfection.
The most practical and useful lesson
for you and me, when we see the seraph |
spreading his wings over the feet, is the |.
lesson Of humility at imperfection. The
brightest angels of God are so far be-
meath God that he charges them with
Jolly, the seraph so far beneath God
and we so far beneath the seraph in
service we ought to be plunged in hu-
nifty, utter and complete. Our feet,
low laggard they have been in the di-
vine service! Our feet, how many mis-
teps they have taken! Our feet, in how
many paths of worldliness and folly
hey have walked!
Neither God nor seraph intended to
,ut any dishonor upon that which is one
# the masterpieces of Almighty Cod
he human foot. Psychologist and anat-
mist are overwhelmed at the Won
lers of its organization. The Bridge
water treatise, written by Sir Charles
Bell, on the wisdom and goodness of
Tod as illustrated in the human hand,
vas result of the $4,000 bequeathed
n the last will and testament of the
Carl of Bridgewater for the encourage
nent of Christian literature. The world
Guild afford to forgive his eccentricities,
hough he had two dogs seated at his
able and though he put six dogs alone
n an equipage drawn by four horses
nd attended by two footmen.
With his large bequest inducing Sir
'harles Bell to write so valuable book
n the wisdom of God in the structure
f the human hand, the world could af-
ord to forgive his oddities. And the
7orld could now afford to have another
,arl Of Bridgewater, however idiosyn-
ratio, if he would induce some other
ir Charles Bell to write book on the
Tisdom and goodness of God in the con-
ruction of the human foot, the artic-
lation of its bones, the fabrication of
IS joints, the gracefulrcss of its lines,
be ingenuity of its cartridges, the deli
acy of its veins, the rapidity of its
contraction, the sensitiveness
its nerves.
l sound the praises of the human foot {
18th that we halt or climb or march. I
is the foundation of the physical fab I
&C. 1t is the base of a God poised col !
mn With it the warrior braces him I
If for battle. With it the orator plants t