The Penn's Grove record., 1897-05-14
DR.. TALMAGES SERMON.
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE BY THE NOTED
DIVINE, :

hesn III the evening. II hinBb ANii',
The o~rnithology OF the Bible is a very In
teresting study-the stork which knoweth
her appointed time; the common sparrows
teaching the lesson OF Gods providence;
the ostriehes OF the desert. by careless in,
cubation, Illustrating the tecklessness Of
parents who do not take enough pains with
their children; the eagle synibolizing
riches which take wings and fly away; the
pelican emblemizing solitude; the bat, q
flake of the darkness; tho night hawk, the
osslfrsge, the cuckoo, the lapvins, the os-
prey, by the Command OF God, In Leviticus,
flung out OF the worlds bill OF fare;
1 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 Christendon, What wonder
ful 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 vertebra Of the neck,
the three eyelids to each eye, the third
eyelid IN extra curtain for graduating tile
light OF the sun. Some OF these birds scay-
engers and some Of them orchestra, Thank
God for quaii's whistle, and lark's carol,
hncients 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, a wren on back OF
the eagle, after the eagle was exhausted,
spranR up much higher, and so was called
by the ancients the king OF birds. Consider
those Of them that have golden crowns and
erests, showing them to be feathered I'M
perials. And listen to the humming birds
serenade In the ear OF the h~oneysuckle.
Look at the belted kingfsher. striking q
dart from sky to water. Listen to the
voice OF the owl, giving the keynote to all
dfoakers. And behold tho tondor dmons
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 pathological wonders OF
the world. The grain crop has been cut
on. Famine was ID the land; In aeaye by
the brook Cherith sat d minister Of God,
Elijah, waiting for something to eat. Why
did he not go to the n~eighbors2 There
were no ~neighbors. 1t was a wilderness,
Why did he not pick some Of the berriesi
There were none. II there had been, they
would have been dried up. Seated one
morning at the moth Of the csveJ TIT
prophet sees d flock Of birds approaching
Oh, IL they were only partridges, or IL he
only had an arrow will which I'd bring
them down. But as they come nearer he
| Dllu tlhl llty tEc uOb COuutsttDlty "a uh
clean, and the eating Of them would bt
spiritual death. The strength Of theft beak
the length OF their wings, the blackness O
their color, their loud, harsh, "cruck
crucki" prove them to be ravens. g.
They whir around about the prophet
head, and then they como on fiuttetinf
wing and pause on the Lowell Of his lips, ant
raven brings meat, and after they have dis
charged their tiny cargo they wheel past
and others come, until after awhile TIN
Prophet has enough, ind these block ser
wants of h wilderness table are gone. Fo
six months, and some say a whole year
morning and evening, q breakfast and
supper bell sounded as these ravens RAM
out on the air their "cruck, cruckl' Cues
where they got the food from. The oil,
rabbins say they got 1t from the kitchen o
King Ahab. Others say that the fdvens go
their food from pious Obadiah, who was II
the habit of feeding the prosecuted. Som
say that the ravens brought the food t.
their young In the trees, and that Eliza
had only to climb up and get 1t. Some sa
these were carnivorous birds, and the foo
they carried was the torn flesh of Twin
beasts, and therefore ceremonially I'm
clean, or 1t was carrion and would no
have been fit for the prophet. Some 50.
they were not ravens at all, but that th
word translated ravens" in my tex
ought to have been translated ARABS" 8
bread and flesh In the morning, and brea
and flesh In the evening"" Anything bu
admit the Bible to be true.
Hew away at this miracle until all til
miracle Is gone. Go on with the depletiD
process, but know, my brother. that 20
are robbing only the mainland that Is youl
self-of one of the most comforting, beaut
Il fNl Aka u-1 49, aa~~a L. "a
ages. I can tell you who these purveyoi
were-they were ravens. 1 can tell 70
who freishted them with pfovisions-Got
] can tell you who launched them-God!
can tell you who taught them which way t
fy-God. / can tell you who told them &
what cave to swoop-God. l can tell 70
who introduced raven to prophet and pre-
phet to raven-God. There Is one passag
/ will whisper In your ear, for l would nc
want to utter 1t aloud, lest some one shout
drop down under Its power, .If any ma
shall take away from the words of the pre-
phecy Of this book, God shall take away HI
part out of the book Of life and out of til
Holy City"
While, then, we watch the ravens foedin
Elijah, let the swift dove Of Gods spir
sweep down the sky with divine food, an
on outspread wing pause at the lip Of ever
soul hungering for comfort.
On the banks of what rivers have bee
the great battles Of the worid2 While 70
are looking over the map OF tho world [
answer that, I will tell you that the gret
conflict to-day is on the Potomac, on IL
Hudson, on the Mississippi, on the Thame
on the Savannah, on the Rhine, on the Nil,
OIL the Ganges, on the Hoang-Ho. 1t is
battle that has been going on for COZ
years. The troops engaged In 1t are 1000
600 900, and those who have fallen by IL
way are vaster In number than those VII
march. 1t Is a battle for bread.
Sentimentalists sit In q cushioned cha
in their pictured study, with their slippere
feet on a damask ottoman. and say tht
this world is a great scene of avarlce On
greed. 1t does not seem so to me. II
were not for the absolute necessities OF ii
cases, nine-tenths Of the stores, ~factorle
shops, banking houses of the land would /
closed tomorrow. Who Is that man dell
ing in the Colorado hills, or toiliny In
New England factory, or going through
roll of bills in the bank, or measuring
fabric on the counter He is a champio
sent forth in behalf of some home circ
that has to be cared for, In behalf Of son
church OF God that has to be supported,
behalf Of some asylum OF mercy that has
be sustained. Who is that woman bendin
over the sewing machine, or carrying Il
bundle, or sweeping the room, or mendiu
the garment, or sweltering at the washtul
Auut 10 DtpOEdu, OuS VI tHe I1OFu 5 ner'
Ines, battling against Amalekitish wan
which comes down with iron chariot
crush her and hers. The great questiC
with the vast majority of people to-day
not home rule, but whether there shall
any home to rule; not one OF tariff, b.
whether there shall be anything to ia
The great questions with the vast maiorit
Of the people are: How shall l support II
family? How shall 1 meet my notesp He
shall I pay my rent? How shall 1 give foo
clothing and education to those who q
dependent upon me?" oh, IL God Won
help me to-day to assist you in the solutiC
Of that problem, the happiest man in tn
house would be your preacher. l haI
gone out on q cold morning with eNpe
sportsmen to hunt for pigeons. l have goi
out on the meadows TO hunt for quail.
la gone out on the marsh to hunt 4
rsedbirds, but to-day l am out for rayeI
Notice, in the first place in the story
my text, that these winged caterers can
to Elijah direct from God.
81 have commanded the ravens tina thu
feed thee" we find God saying in an "a
joining passage. They did not come out
some other cave. They did not just ha
pen to alight there. God freighted thel
God launched them and God told them
what cave to swoop. That is the same Go
that 10 srDfny fa cOntlxy xroa, un 10 So,