Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1902-03-06
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
FAMILIAR ILLUSTRATION PReCEDES
AN ELoQ JENT DISCOURSE.
Tsyt Matthew XIII, 81: Even as .
Hen Gathereth Her Chickens Under
wing. and We would Not"-Christ as


ployed in this discourse by DR.. Tai
mage to show the comfort and protec-
ton that heaven affords to all trust
ing souls. The text is Matthew kill,
81, Even as a hen gathereth her
chickens under her wings and ye would
not
Jerusalem was in sight as Christ
came to the crest of Mount Olivet.
height of 700 feet. Spread out before
his eyes are the pomp. the wealth, the
wickedness and the coming destruction
of Jerusalem, and he bursts into tears
at the thought Of the obduracy OF
place that he would gladly have saved,
and apostrophizes, saying, % Jerusa-
lem, Jerusalem, how often would have
gathered thy children together, even as
a hen gathereth her chickens under her
wings, and we would mott"
Why did Christ select hen and chick
ems as a smile? Next to the Apostle
ness Of the comparison. / think 1t was
to help all public teachers in the mat
ter of illustration to get down on their
stills and use comparisons that all can
understand. The plainest bird on earth
is the barnyard fowl. Musicians have
written out in musical scale the song
of lark and robin redbreast and night
ingale. yet the hen of my text hath
nothing that could be taken for song.
but only cluck and cackle. Yet Christ
In the text uttered while looking upon
doomed Jerusalem declares that what
he had wished for that city was like
what the hen does for her chickens.
There is not much poetry about this
winged creature of God mentioned in
my text, but she Is more practical and
more motherly and more suggestive of
good things than many that fly higher
and wear brighter colors.
am in warm sympathy with the un-
pretentious old-fashioned hen because.
like most of us, she has to scratch for
living. She knows at the start the
lesson which most people of good sense
are slow to learn-that the gaining OF
livelihood implies work and that sue
cesses do not lie on the surface. but are
to be upturned by positive and contin-
uous effort The reason that society
and the church and the world are SO
full Of failures, so full OF loafers, SO
full Of deadbeats. Is because people
are not wise enough to take the lesson
which the hen would teach them. that
II they would find for themselves and
for those dependent upon them any
thing worth having they must scratch
for 1t. Solomon said. Go to the ant,
thou sluggard." | say. Go to the hen.
thou sluggard. In the Old Testament
God compares himself to TN eagle stir
ring UP her nest, and In the New Tesla
ment the Holy Spirit Is compared to a
descending dove, but Christ in a SER
mon that began with cutting sarcasm
for hypocrites and ends with the parox-
ysm of pathos in the text. compares
himself to a hen.
One day In the country we saw sud-
den CONSERVATION in the behavior of
old Dominick. Why the hen should be
so disturbed we could not understand
We could see nothing on the ground
that could terrorize, and we could
see nothing in the air to ruffie the
AcdhhSiS VI thC hCiis pul Tue lOuu,
wild, affrighted cluck which brought
all her brood at full run under her
feathers made us look again around
and above US, when we saw that high
up and far away there was q rapacious
bird wheeling round and round and
down and down, and, not seeing us as
we s.ood in the shadow. II came nearer
and lower until we saw its beak was
curved from base to tip and 1t had two
flames of fire for eyes, and 1t was a
hawk. But all the chickens were un-
der old DominicK's wings, and either
the bird OF prey caught glimpse OF us.
or not able to find the brood, hud
died under wing. darted back into the
clouds. So Christ calls with great ear
nestness to all the young. Why, what
is the matter? 1t is bright sunlight.
and there can be no danger. Health is
theirs. A good home is theirs. Plenty
OF food Is theirs. Prospect OF long life
Is theirs. But Christ continues to call
calls with more emphasis and urges
haste and says not second ought to
be lost. oh, do tell us what is the
matter. All, now l see; there are hawks
Of temptation In the air, there are yuI-
lures wheeling for their prey, there are
beaks Of death ready to plunge, there
are claws Of allurement ready To
clutch. Now I see the peril. Now |
understand the urgency. Now see the
only safety. Would that Christ might
this day take our sons and daughters
into his shelter ''as hen gathereth
her chickens under her wing"
The fact is that the most of them
will never mind the shelter unless
while they are chickens. It Is a simple
matter of memorable statistics that
most Of those who do not come to
Christ in youth never come at all
Fathers, mothers. older brothers and
sisters and Sabbath school teachers.
be quick and earnest and prayerful
and importunate and get the chickens
under wing. May the Sabbath schools
Of America and Great Britain within
the next three months sweep all their
scholars into the kingdom. Remem-
Der. your children will remain children
only little while. What you do for
them as children you must do quickly
or never do at all.
My hearers. II we secure the pres
emit and everlasting welfare Of our
children. nest other things belonging
to us are OF but little comparative i'm
portance. Alexander the Great allow
ed his soldiers to take their families
with them to war. and he accounted
for the bravery Of his men b. the fact
that many OF them were born in camp
and were used to warlike scenes from
the start. Would God that all the
children of our day might be born
into the army Of the Lord!