Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1901-05-16
Dr.TALMAGE SERMON. ] !
rI1E GREAT DIVINR,s RIo01lt7Nr r,.JuEa
suD1eces Lessons Drawn From the Natn-
rai world - The Amt as = Eesslror 50
Tod Regulates tho Ant "a syva1I
as the Human Habttatf6n.
ICopyright 1eo14

~ - Ine Ant as Eelolfof s.
God Regulates tho Ant vs. syyeajj
- tho Human Habitatttn
Icopyright 1904 s.
= WA4sHINGToN, a D. C.-In this Discourse
IT. 1aimage draws his illustrations from !
;o,,s asn ssluom utli1zed for moral and relie-
1ous purposes; text, Proverbssvi. 6,8. ~Go
20 the ant, thou sluggard. Consider har
ways and be wise, which, having no dn;da
oVefseer or ruler, spfovideth her mest -
barnaa tne sumner and gatheFeth her food in the
The most Of solo5unon,s xriit;hp,s b,us, s.,
gl,saeot ence ss uneys have gone out Of exist
Filny and most Of the looks. Of Aeschvlns l9 s
Sna Eur3pldes and Varro and Quintiiian.
Solomon's Song and Ecclesiastea sani
FroverDs, preserved by inspiration. are =
smaH part OF his voluminous productions
n:3., ne was great scientist. One verse i, the
,oalaag aIle suggests that ne was a botanist, a
glst and knew all about reptiia. Il K;nS.
", So HE spake of trees, from the cedar
Tree that Is in Lebanon even unto The
hyssop that springeth out of the wall. he
spahe also OF beasts and Of fowl and of
creeping things and of fshes.' Besides ali
tnese scientific works he composed 5000
proverbs and zoos songs.
| Although Solomon lived long before +ba
microscope was constructed he was also
an 1nsectologist, and watched and de-
scrlbes the spider build it's suspension
nrldge OF silk from tree to tree, calling it
tne SPIDERS web, and he notices it's skilful
ioothoId in climbing the smooth wall Of
;aS .ne throneroom IN Jerusalem, saying.
and is in kings palaces But he is esne.
clally interested in the ant, and recon-
mends It's habits as worthy of study and
limitation, saying, eco to the ant. tho,,
siuggard, consider her ways and be wise.
winch; having no guide, overseer or ruler.
plunvlaeGh her meat IN the summer and
gathereth her food in the harvest
But it was not until about 300 wears ago.
When Jan Swammerdam, the son Of an.
aapothecary at Amsterdam, Holland, began
the study OF the ant under powerful lens.
that the full force Of Soiomon's 5 Injunction
was understood. The great Dutch scien-i
list IN his examination Of the insect in nv
IeAG dlscoyered as great display of the
wisdom Of God in it's anatomy as astrono-
mers discover in the heavens. and was so
absorbed and wrought upon by the won
ders he discovered in the ant and other
insects that body and mind gave wav. and
he expired at forty-three years Of age. a
martyr OF the great science of insectology.
NO one but God could have fashioned
the insect spoken Of in the text or given
It such genius of instinct-its wisdom for
harvesting at the right time, it's wonders
OF antennae, by which it gathers food. and
OF mandlbles, which, instead Of the mo-
ton OF the human jaw up and down in
mastlcatlen, move from side to side: it's.
nervous system, its enlarging doors in hot
weather Tor more sweep of breeze. it's
mode of attack and defense, closing the
gate at night against bandit invaders: its
purlfication of the earth for human resi-
dence, it's social life, it's republican gov
ernment with the consent of the gov
erned, its natural fdelities, the habit of
these creatures Of gathering now and then
lngly in consultation and then departing
to execute their different missions. =
:. But Solomon would not commend all The
habits OF The ant, for some Of them are as
bad as some of the habits Of the human
race. Some Of these small creatures are
dIesperadoes and ,murderers. Now and
then they marshal themselves into hosts
and march in straight line and come upon
an encampment of their own race and de.
stroy its occupants, except the young,
whom they carry into captivity, and if the
army come back without any such cap-
tives they are not permitted to enter, but |
are sent forth to make more successful con-
quest. Solomon gives no commendation
to such sanguinary behavior among insects
any more than he would have commended
sanSulnary behavior among men.
BIT what are the habits which Solomon
wouei enioin when he says, Consider her
ways and be Wisa?' First Of all, provi-
dence, forethought, anticipation of coming
necessities. am so.Ty to say these quali-
ts ties are not characteristic of all the ants.
These creatures of God are divided into
granlvorcus and carnivorous. The latter.
are not frugal, but the former are frugal.
Wh1le the air IS warm and moving about
is not hindered by ice or snowbank,. thew
1mport their cargoes of food. They bring
IN their caravan of provision; they haul in
Their Ell long train Of wheat or corn or oats.
The farmers are not more busy in July
and August in reaping their harvest. They
stack them away, they pile them up. They
question when they have enough, They
aggregate a sufficient amount to last them
until the next warm season. When winter
opens they are ready.
Blow ye wintry blasts! Hang. your icicles
from the tree branches Imbed all the |
highways under snowdrifts! Enough for |
all the denizens of the hills. Hunger shut
out, and plenty sits within. God. who |
feedeth- i, every living thing, has blessed the |
In contrast with that insectile behavior |
what do you think Of that large number of |
to every dollar that they make, raising |
their families in luxurious habits and at |
death expecting some kind friend to give I
their daughters employment as music
teachers or typewriters or Government I
employees? Such parents have no right to |
children. Every neighborhood has speci-
mems of such improvidence The two
words that most strike me in the text are /
Summer" and winter" Some people
have no summer in their lives. From the
rocking cradle to the still grave it is relent-
less January. Invalid infancy followed by
some gripping accident or dimness of eye
sight or dullness of hearing or priyation or
disaster or unfortunate environment makes
life perpetual winter. But in most lives
there is a period Of summer, although it
may be a short summer, and that is the
time to provide for the future
One of the best ways of insuring the fu-
ture is to pat aside all you can for charit-
able provision. You put a crurnbIing stone
in the foundation of your fortune If you
do not in your plans regard the sufferings
that you may alleviate. You will have the
pledge OF the high heavens for your tenn
poral welfare when you help the helpless,
for the promise is Blessed is he that con-
sidereth the poor; the Lord will deliver
him in time Of trouble. Z 7gssa
Then there is another way Of providing i
for the future. If you have $1,000 year
income, save 500; or $4,000 a year, save
$500; or $4,000, save $1,000, Do you say
q