The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-05-10
oRNITHoLoGY OF THE BIBLE.
TALMAGE breaches FROM THE
STORY or THE RAVENS.

Puzzled TO Tell W hether an ANiHiH
or an Aquarium Is the best Altar
From Which to worship GOd-The
winged Caterers of EIijnh Direct
From God.
Washington May 9.-Dr. Talmage has
returned home after a most remarkably
successful tour through the west, and in
behalf of the famine-struck Of India,
speaking in the great corn centers to vast
mulutudes of people. and raising many
carloads of breadstuffs. and many thous-
auds of dollars! His subject is to-day TO
the last degree appropriate to an who are
trying to achieve a livelihood. Text; /
Kings 1876, "And the ravens brought him
bread and flesh in the morning, and bread
and flesh in the evening"
The ornithology of the Bible is a very
interesting study. The stork which know
eth her appointed time. The common
sparrows teaching the lesson of God $
providence. The ostriches Of the desert.
by careless incubation. illustrating the
recklessness of parents who do not take
enough pains with their children. The
eagle symbouzing riches which take wings
and fly away. The pelican emblemizing
solitude. The bat. a 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 bin of fare.
I would like to have been with Audubon
as he went through the woods, with gun
and pencil. bringing down and sketching
/, fold al
folio thrilling all Christendom. What
wonderful creatures Of God the birds are!
Some Of them, th,s 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 eyelds to each eye, the third
eyelid an extra curtain for graduating the
light of the sun. Some of these birds
scavengers and some of them orchestra.
Thank God for quail's whistle and larks
carol, and the twitter of the wren. called
by the ancients the king of birds, because
when the fowls of heaven went into a con-
test as to who should fly the highest. and
the eagle swung nearest the sun, a wren
on back of the eagle. after the eagle was
exhausted, 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, showing them
TO be feathered imperials And listen to
the humming birds serenade in the ear
of the honeysuckle. Look at the belted
kingfisher, striking like dart from sky
10 water. Listen to the voice of the owl,
giving the keynote to all croakers. And
behold the condor among the Andes. bat
ting with the reindeer. I 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 baf
fies all the pathological wonders of the
world. The grain crop had been cut off.
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; il was a 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 his cave, the
prophet sees a flock of birds approaching
only had an arrow with which to bring
them down, But as they come nearer. he
finds that they are not comestible, but I'M
clean, and the eating of them would be
spiritual death The strength of their
beak, the length of their wings, the black
ness Of their color, their loud, harsh
"cruck! cruck!' prove them to be ravens
They whirr around about the prophets
head, and then they come on fiuttering
wing and pause on the level of his lips.
and one of the ravens brings bread and
another raven brings meat, and after they
nave discharged their tiny cargo they
wheel past, and others come, until after
awhile the prophet has enough and these
back servants Of the wilderness table are
gone For six months. and some say a
whole year morning and evening, a break
fast and a supper bell sounded as these
ravens rang out on the air their "cruckl
cruck' Guess where they got the food
from? The old rabbins say they got il
from the kitchen of King Ahab Others
say that the ravens got their food from
pious Obadiah. VINO was in the habit of
feeding the prosecuted. Some say that
the ravens brought the food 70 their young
an the trees. and that Elijah had only to
climb up and get il. Some say that the
Whole story is improbable; for these were
carnlvorous birds and the food they car
ned was the torn flesh of living beasts.
anu Altlclole ctlemOnldNy unClean. or it
was carrion, and would not have been fit
Tor the prophet. Some say they were not
ravens at az, but that the word translated
ravens in my text ought to have been
Translated Arabs" so 1t would have
read: The Arabs brought bread and flesh
IN the morning, and bread and flesh I'm
the evening Anything but admit the
Bible to be true
hew away az this mrcale until all the
miracle is gone. Go on with the depicting
process. but know. my brother. that You
are robbng only one man-and that Is
yourselt-of one Of the most comforting.
beautiul, pathetic. and triumphant les
sons IN all the ages. / can tell you who
these purveyors were-they We're ravens.
j can tell you who freighted them with
provisions-God. ] can tell YOU who
launched them-God. / can tell YOU who
taught them which way TO fly-God. ]
can ten you who told them at what cave
10 swoop-God. I can tell you who intro
ouced raven 20 prophet and propot 10 raw
en-6od. There Us one passage / viii whis-
Per in your ear, for / would not want 10
utter 1t aloud. lest some one should drop
down under us pOwcr-"If any man shall
take away from the words OF the prophecy
OF this book. God shall take away his part
or or the book OF life and out OF the Holy
civ. 20