The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1902-03-12
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
Wanderers From God Invited to
Come Under the Sheltering Wing.

Wanderers FROM Goa AHFiVeO W
Come Under the Sheltering Wing.
A familiar illustration from the
barnyard is employed in this discourse
by DR.. Talmage to show the comfort
and protection that affords to all trust
ing souls. The text is Matthew xiii,
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, a
height Of 100 feet. The splendorS OF
the religious capital Of the whole
earth irradiated the landscape. There
is the temple. Yonder is the kings
palace. Spread out before his eyes are
the pomp, the wealth, the wickedness
and the coming destruction OF JeruSa-
lem, and ne bursts into tears at the
thought of the obduracy Of q place
that he would gladly have saved and
apostrophizes, saying, Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, how often would I have
gathered thy children together, even
as hen gathereth her chickens un-
der her wings, and ye would not"
Why did Christ select hen and chick
ems as a-simile? Next to the opposite
ness of the comparison, think it was
to help all public teachers in the mat
ter of Illustration to get down off their
stilts and use comparisons that all can
understand. The plainest bird on
earth is the barnyard fowl. It's only
adornments are the red comb in its
headdresS and the wattleS under the
throat. It has no grandeur OF gene
aIogy. All We know is that its anceS-
tors came from India, some Of them
from a height Of 1000 feet on the
sides Of the HimalayaS. It has no
pretension Of nest like the eagles
eyrie. It has no luster Of plumage
like the goldfnch. Possessing anato-
my that allows fight, yet about the
last thing it wants to do is to fly, and
in retreat uses foot almost as much as
wing. Musicians have written out in
musical scale the song of lark and
robin redbreast and nightingale, yet
the hen Of my text hath nothing that
could be taken for a 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.
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 under
stand. We looked about to see
if a neighbor's dog were invading the
farm. We looked up to see if storm
cloud were lowering. We could see
nothing on the ground that could ter
rorize, and we could see nothing in the
air to rufie the feathers Of the hen,
but the loud, wild, afrighted 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 rapaciouS bird wheeling round
and round and down and down, and,
not seeing US as we stood in the Shad-
ow, it came nearer and lower until we
saw it's beak was curved from base to
tip and it had two flames Of fire for
eyes and it was hawk. But all the
chickens were under old Dominick's
wings, and either the bird Of prey
caught glimpse Of US or not able to
find the brood huddled under wing,
darted back into the clouds. So
Christ calls with great earnestness to
all the young. Why, what is the
matter? It is bright sunlight, and
there can be no danger. Health is
theirs. A good home is theirs. Plen-
ty 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 I see; there
are hawks Of temptation in the air,
there are vultures wheeling for their
prey, there are beaks Of death ready
to plunge, there are claws Of allure
ment ready to clutch. Now I see the
peril. Now understand the urgency.
Now I see the only safety Would
that Christ might this day take our
sons and daughters into his shelter
as a hen gathereth her chickens un-
der her wing"
The fact is that the most Of them
will never mind the shelter unless
while they are chickens. 1t IS sim
pie matter Of inexorable statistics
that most Of those who do not come to
Christ in youth never come at all.
What chance is there for the young
without divine protection? There
are the grogshops, there are the gamb-
ling hells, there are the inidelities
and immoraGties of spiritualism. there
are the bad books, there are the i'm
purities, there are the business ras-
calities, and so numerous are these as
SailantS that it is a wonder that hon
esty and virtue are not lost arts. The
birds Of prey, dirurnal and nocturnal,
Of the natural world are ever on the
alert. They are the assassins Of the
sky: they have varieties Of taste. The
eagle prefers the flesh Of the living
animal; the vulture prefers the car
cass; the falcon kills with one stroke,
while other styles Of beak give prolon-
cation Of torture. And so the temp
tations Of this life are various.
Fathers, mothers, older brothers and
sisters and Sabbath school teachers, be
quick and earnest and prayerful and
importunate and get the chickens un-
der wing. May the Sabbath schools
Of America and Great Britain within
the next three months sweep all their
scholars into the kingdom. Whom
they have now under charge is uncer-
tain. Concerning that Scrawny, puny
cbi1S that lay in the cradle many wears