Owingsville outlook. [volume] (Owingsville, Ky.) 1879-192?, 1898-06-02
DIR. TALMAGE'S SERMON.
Bird Used TO Cure the Leper as Re-
corded in the Old Testament.
symbolic OF the SOUS Flight Ia Its Home
Above CIrans.d aud Prepared the
soul MAY Soar Upward as Did
the Turtle Dove.

rom scene Oh on III lh'HIhE'' III
this sermon, presents the old ""Npci
under another phase. Text: Lcritlcus
Aiv.. -:
And the priest shall command that
one of the birds he killed in an earth
en- vessel, over running water rs Tor
the living bird. he shall take 1t. and
the cedar wood. and the scarlet. and
the hy>sop, aud shall dip them and the
living bird in the blood of the bird
that was killed over the running water;
and he shall sprinkle upon HIM that Is
To Toe clcasrd from the lcprosy seven
times. and shall pronounce him clean
and shall let the living bird loose into
the open field.
The Old Testament, to very many
people, il a eat slaughter house
strcvn with tn, blood. and tones, and
horns. and hoofs of butchCrcd ami
mails. Ii ofrrndS their sight: IT dis
gusts their taste; it actually naus"atcs
the stomach. l;ut Ia the intelligent
Christian the Old Testament Is a mag
niticcnt corridor through which Jesus
advances. As lie appears AT the other
end of the corridor we can only see the
outlines of His character; coming near
or we can dcscry His features. But
when, at last, lie steps upon the plat
form of the New Testament, amid the
torches of cvangclists and apostles,
the orchcstras of Heaven announce
Him with blast of minstrclNy that
wakes up Bethlehem at midnight.
There were great many cages OF
birds brought down tn JcSu>alcm for
sacrifice srarrowS, and pigeons, and
turtle doves. can hear them now,
whi>tling. caroling and singin" all
around about the temple. When a
lcpcr was 10 hc cured of his lcpro>y, III
order tn his cleansing two of these
birds were taken; one of them was
slain over an carthen vessel of run
ming water--that is clear, fresh water.
and then the bird was killed. Another
bird was then taken, tied to hyssoT
branch and plunged by the priest into
the blood of the first bird: and then
with this hysSop branch, bird-tirpcd
the priest would sprinkle the lepcI
seven times, then unite the bird from
the hy>sop branch and it would sc
soaring lHlo the heavens.
Now. open Your eyes wide, my dear
brethren and sisters, and see that tht
first bird meant Jesus, and that the
second bird means your own soul.
There is nothing more suggestive
than Gagged bird. In the down of its
breast YOU can see the glow of south
ern chimes; in the sparkle of its eye
YOU can see the flash of distant seas;
in its voice you can hear the song il
learned in the wildwood. 1t is q
child of the sky in captivity
Now the dear bird of my text
captured from the air, suggests the
Lord Jesus. who came down from the
realms of light and glory. lie once
stood in tine sunlight of Heaven. liz
was the favorite of the land lie wa
the kings son. Whenever a victory
was gained ora throne set up, he wa
the first to hear it. lie could not wall
incognito along the streets, for al
Heaven knew him. For eternal age,
he had dwelt amid the mighty popula
tions of Heaven. No holiday had ever
| dawned on the city when he was alb
sent lie was not like an earthly
prince, occasionally issuing from /;
| palace hcralded by a troop of clankins
| hor, e-guards. No; he was greete,
everywhere as a brother, and all Heav
en- was perfectly at home with him.
| Bat one day there came word to tn,
palace that an insignificant islanc
was in rebellion, and was cutting
itself to pieces with anarchy. heal
an angel say: Let it perish TIL,
Kings realm is vast enough withou
the island The tr-;butes to the King
are large enough without u I'VE ear
spare" Not So" said the Prince, -,
Kings son; and l see Him push GU
one day, under the protest of grea
| company. He starts straight for thu
rebellious island. He lands annie
the excavations of its inhabitants
that grow in violence until tn,
malice of earth had smitten Him, anC
the spirits of the lost world put their
black wings over His dying head and
| shut the sun out. The hawks and vul
lures swooped upon this dove of my
text, until head, and breast, and feet
ran blood until, under the fiocl1s and
bealls of darkness, the poor thing per
ished. No wonder it was bird that
was taken and slain over an earthen
vessel of running water. II was {
child of the skies. 1t typifed Hin
who came down from Heaven in ag
| ony and blood to save our souls
| Blessed be His glorious name forever
l notice also in my text, that tn,
bird that was slain was clean bird
| The text demanded that it should be
The raven was never sacrificed, no
the cormorant. nor the vulture. |
must be clean bird, says the text
and it suggests the pure Jesus-th,
holy Jesus. Although He spent Iii!
| boyhood in the worst village on earth
although blasphemies were poured in
to His ear enough to have poisoned
any one else, He stands before tn
world perfect Christ. Hero,
was cruel, Henry VIII. was un
clean. but point out a fault of gu
| King. Answer me, We boys who knew
Him on the streets of Nazareth. An
swer me, We miscreants who saw Hin
die. The skeptical tailors have trie,
| for 800 wears to find out one hole il
this seamless garment, but they hav
not found il. The most ingenious an,
eloquent infidel of this day, in the las
line of his book. all of which denounce
Christ, says: "All ages must proclaim
that among the sons of men there i
none greater than Jesus" So let thi
bird of the text he clean-its fee
fragrant with the dew that it pressed
its beak carrying sprig of thyme an,
| frankincense, its feathers washed il
showers o thou spotless Son of God
Impress with Thy innocence!
| Thou lovely source of true delight,
| Whom |, unseen, adore.
| Unyeil Thy beauties to my sight
| That may love Thee more"
l remark, also, in regard to this frs
bird, mentioned in the text, that i
was a defenseless bird. When tn
eagle is assaulted with it's iron beal
it strikes like bolt against its adver
sary. This was a dove or a sparrow
we do not know just which. TAX
the dove or pigeon in your hand
and the pecking of its beak on you
hand makes you laugh at TIN
feebleness of its assault TIL
reindeer, after it is down, may fel
you with its antlers. The OK, after yo,