The Yale expositor. (Yale, St. Clair County, Mich.) 1894-current, 1898-06-03
'TALMAGE'S SERMON.
'SPRlNKLED AND CLEANSED"
SUNDAYS SUBJECT.
From Leviticus 1857 AS Follows; And
the Priest Shall Command That One
of the Birds he Killed In an Earthen
Vessel, over Running Water" Etc.

The old testament, to very many peo
pie, is great slaughter house strewn
with the blood, and bones, and horns,
and hoofs of butchered animals. 1t Of
tends t"0ir sight; 1t disgusts their
taste; i, actually nauseates the stom-
ach. But to the intelligent Christian
the old testament Is magnificent cor
ridor through which Jesus advances.
AS he appears at the other end OF the
corridor, we can only see the outlines
of his character; coming nearer, we
can descry the features. But when, at
last, he steps upon the platform of the
new testament, amid the torches OF
evangelists and apostles, the orchestras
of heaven announce him with blast
of minstrelsy that wakes up Bethlehem
at midnight
There were a great many cages or
birds brought down to Jerusalem for
sacrifice-sparrows, and pigeons, and
turtle-doves. l can hear them now,
whistling, caroling, and singing all
around the temple. When a leper was
to be cured of his leprosy, in order to
his cleansing two of these birds were
taken; one Of them was slain over an
earthen vessel of running water-that
is, clear, fresh water, and then the bird
was killed. Another bird was then
taken, tied to a hyssop-branch, and
plunged by the priest into the blood OF
the first bird; and then, with this
hyssop-branch, bird-tipped, the priest
would sprinkle the leper seven times,
then unite the bird from the hyssop-
branch, and it would go soaring into
the heavens.
Now open your eyes wide, my dear
brethren and sisters, and see that that
first bird meant Jesus, and that the Sec
ond bird means your own soul.
There is nothing more suggestive
than a Gagged bird. In the down of its
breast you can see the glow of southern
climes; in the sparkle of its eye you
can see the flash of distant seas! in
its voice you can hear the song it
learned in the wildwood. It Is a child
Of the sky in captivity. Now the dead
bird of my text, captured from the air,
! suggests the Lord Jesus, who came
down from the realms Of light and
glory. He once stood in the sunlight
OF heaven. He was the favorite Of
the land. He was the Kings son.
throne set up, he was the first to hear
It. He could not walk incognito along
the streets. for all heaven knew him.
For eternal ages he had dwelt amid the
mighty populations of heaven. No
holiday had ever dawned on the city
when he was absent. He was not like
an earthly prince. occasionally issuing
| from a palace heralded by a troop Of
clanking horse guards. No; he was
greeted everywhere as a brother, and
all heaven was perfectly at home with
| him.
But one day there came word to the
palace that an insignificant island was
in rebellion, and was cutting itself to
pieces with anarchy. hear an angel
say, LET it perish. The Kings realm
is vast enough without the island The
tributes to the King are large enough
without that. We can spare it." mot
| So" said the prince, the Kings son;
and see him push out one day, under
the protest Of a great company. He
starts straight for the rebelious island.
He lands amid the excavations of the
inhabitants. that grow in violence I'M
| til the malice OF earth has smitten him,
and the spirits of the lost world put
their black wings over his dying head.
and shut the sun out. The hawks and
, vultures swooped upon this dove of the
text, until head. and breast, and feet
ran blood-until, under the flocks and
beaks of darkness, the poor thing per-
ished. No wonder it was a bird that
was taken and slain over an earthen
vessel OF running water. It was a
child OF the skies. It typified
him who came down from heaven in
agony and blood to save our souls
Blessed be his glorious name forever!
notice also, in my text, that the bird
that was slain was clean bird. The
text demanded that it should be. The
raven was never sacrificed, nor the
cormorant, nor the vulture. It must
be clean bird, says the text; and It
suggests the pure Jesus-the holy Je-
sus. Although he spent his boyhood in
the worst village on earth, although
blasphemies were poured into his ear
enough to have poisoned any one else,
! he stands before the world a perfect
Christ. Herod was cruel, Henry VIII.
was unclean, William III. was treach-
erous; but point out fault of our
King. Answer me, we boys who knew
him on the streets of Nazareth. An
swer me, We miscreants who saw him
die. The skeptical tailors have tried for
eighteen hundred years to find out one
hole in this seamless garment, but
they have not found it. The most in
genious and eloquent infidel of this
day, in the last line of his book, all
of which denounces Christ, says, "All
ages must proclaim that among the
sons Of men there is none greater than
Jesus" So let this bird of the text be
cleal-its feet fragrant with the dew
that It pressed, its beak carrying sprig
of thyme and frankincense, its feathers
| washed in summer showers O. thou