The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-05-26
DIR. TALMAGE'S SERMON.
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE BY THE NOTED
DIVINE.

Interesting to All Who Are Trying to
Achieve a L;velihood-The Ravens oi
God That Brought Bread and Flesh
TEXT: "And the ravens brought him bread
and flesh in the morning and bread and
flesh in the evening. Kings xvii, 6.
The ornithology Of the Bible is very in.
teresting study-the stork which knoweth
her appointed time; the common sparrows
teaching the lesson Of Gods providence
the ostriches Of the desert, by careless In.
cubation, illustrating the recklessness ci
parents who do not take enough pains with
their children; the eagle symbolizing
riches which take wings and fly away; the
pelican emblemizing solitude; the bat: q
fake of the darkness; the night hawk, the
ossifrage, the cuckoo, the lapwing, the os-
prey, by the command Of God, In Levitieus,
flung out of the worlds bill OF fare.
I would like to have been with Audubon
as he went through the woods, with gun
and pencil, bringing down and sketch1ng
the fowls of heaven, his unfolded portfolio
thrilling all Christendom. What wonder
full 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
the three eyelids to each eye, the third
eyelid an extra curtain for graduating the
light Of the sun. Some Of these birds scav-
engers and some Of them orchestra. Thank
God for quails whistle, and lark's carol,
and the twitter of the wren, called by the
ancients the king of birds, because when
the fowls Of heaven went into contest as
to who should fly the highest, and the eagle
swung nearest the sun, 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 i'm
perials And listen to the humming bird s
serenade in the ear Of the honeysuckle.
Look at the belted kingfsher, striking a
dart from sky to water. Listen to the
voice of the owl, giving the keynote to all
croakers. And behold the condor among
the Andes, battling with the reindeer. l
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 has been cut
off. Famine was in the land. In cave by
the brook Cherith sat minister Of God,
Elijah, waiting for something to eat. Why
were no neighbors. It 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 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 he
finds that they are not comestible, but un-
clean, 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, "cruck,
cruckl'' prove them to be ravens.
They whir around about the prophets
head, and then they come on futtering
wing and pause on the level Of his lips, and
one Of the ravens brings bread and another
raven brings meat, and after they have dis
charged their tiny cargo they wheel past,
and others come, until after awhile the
prophet has enough, and these black SER
wants of the wilderness table are gone. For
six months, and some say whole year,
and evening, breakfast and
supper bell sounded as these ravens rang
out on the air their 'cruck, cruck!" 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 pious 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 improbable, for
these were carnivorous birds, and the food
they carried was the torn flesh Of living
beasts, and therefore ceremonially un-
clean, or it was carrion and would not
have been fit for the prophet. Some say
they were not ravens at all, but that the
word translated ravens" in my text
ought to have been translated "Arabs," so
1t would have read, 1.-The Arabs brought
bread and flesh in the morning, and bread
and flesh in the evening"" Anything but
admit the Bible to be true.
Hew away at this miracle until all the
miracle is gone. Go on with the depicting
process, but know, my brother, that you
are robbing only the man-and that is your
self-of one of the most comforting, beauti-
full, pathetic and triumphant lessons in all
ages. / can tell you who these purveyors
were-theys were ravens. I can tell you
who freiGhted them with provisions-God.
I can tell you who launched them-God. l
can tell you who taught them which way to
fy-God. can tell you who told them Gt
what cave to swoop-God. I can tell you
who introduced raven to prophet and pro-
phet to raven-God. There is one passage
I will whisper in your ear, for I would not
want to utter it aloud, lest some one should
drop down under its power, IF any man
shall take away from the words OF the pro-
phecy Of this book, God shall take away his
part out of the book Of life and out Of the
Holy City"
While, then, we watch the ravens feeding
Elijah, let the swift dove Of Gods spirit
sweep down the sky with divine food, and
on outspread wing pause at the lip Of every
soul hungering for comfort.
On the banks Of what rivers have been
the great battles of the world? While you
are looking over the map of the world to
answer that, will tell you that the great
conflict to-day is on the Potomac. on the
Hudson, on the Mississippi on the Thames,
on the Savannah, on the Rhine, on the Nile,
on the Ganges, on the Hoang-Eo. 1t IS a
battle that has been going on for 6OOO
years. The troops engaged in it are 1,6O0,-
900, 900, and those who have fallen by the
way are vaster in number than those who
march. 1t is battle for bread.
Sentimentalists sit in cushioned chair
in their pictured study, with their slippered
feet on damask ottoman, and say that
this world is great scene Of avarice and
greed. 1t does not seem so to me. If it
NCIo uOl Illc dDsOluIc ucCSSSitlS9 VI tiiC
cases, nine-tenthS of the stores, factories,
shops, banking houses of the land would be
closed tomorrow Who is that man dclv-
ing in the Colorado hills, or toiling in Il
New England factory, or going through n
roll of bills in the bank. or measuring Il
fabric on the counter? He is a champion
sent forth in behalf Of some home circle
that has to be cared for, in behalf of some
church of God that has to be supported, in
behalf of some asylum of mercy that has to
be sustained. Who is that woman bending
over the sewing machine, or carrying the
bundle, or sweeping the room, or mending
the garment, or sweltering ut the washtub?
That is Deborah, one of the Lords hero
ines, battling against Amalekitish want,
which comes down with iron chariot to
crush her and hers The great question