The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-07-12

Chicago, July 5.-Under the honey ana familiar similltude of the barnyard fowl the preacher illustrates the divine love and protecting care that encircie all who give to the Heavenly Father a ehildnke trust and confidence. The text Is Mat thew xxlii, 37. AS a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings"
 This commercial age Is brutally un- poetic It has even carried its shocking innovations into the barnyard. We are now trying to hatch our eggs not into broods, but by the wholesale. We would change hens nest into big, square wooden box and call 1t an incubator. We would have the wire screen displace the sharp pointed bill of the barnyard mis- tress vehemently plunging right and left in defense of her young. We would do this in spite of the inalienable rights of the hens, whose maternal affections are being crushed by this modern custom. The man, eager above all things to make money, has not the patience to listen to protests from man or bird against his methods. As John Ruskin, in some re- spects the most aesthetic mind England ever produced wrote page after page in denunciation of the constituencies van-
  would plaster over the beautiful palisades of nature with hideous advertisements and with the manufacturers wheel churn a ripping. singing, laughing stream tumbling out of the green reservoir of the woods into a mudhole, so everywhere the astonished, would be setting hens are cluclSing their indignation. They practi- cally say to the robbers of their eggs, which had been carefully hidden away in the hayloft or under the manager of the empty stall. You have no right to place this indignity upon us." But in reply avaricious eommercialism says: 70 hen, we can make more money by matching out 300 eggs at a time than by fooling with your small nest! You provide us with the eggs, and our incubators will do the rest"
 This controversy, however, does not concern us in dealing with the simile Christ used in our text. Al the time Christ uttered these words the barnyard knew nothing of this modern innovation of the incubator Chickens still found their natural shelter under the wings of the hen, and our Lords hearers perfect ly understood the meaning of His illus tration. So common was the sight of a hen gathering her chickens under her wings that every one would recognize the truth Christ meant to teach when he used the hens wing as a symbol divine love Thus. as Jesus wept over the sin full inhabitants of Jerusalem, in the words of my text I would try to interpret that divine love In the language of the barn yard. I realize it's force and beauty all the more because I am preparing this sermon within the echoing sound of the barnyard king calling to his harem to awaken at the first peep of the day, also within the sound of the voice of the hen cucking to her little ones to come under the protection of their mothers wings
 A Life Giving Wing.
 Gods wing is a spiritual life giving wing. The warm feathers of the mother bird are absolutely essential for the de- Velopment of the lives of her young. If 1t were not for the old hens wings her chickens would freeze to death during the spring nights. They would sometimes be drowned unless her wing, as a water proof covering, was placed over them They would die from lack of warmth even as little baby would die unless its mother every night tucked him up in his crib or snuggled him up by her warm side in bed. Heat is life. Cold Is death The hens wing is something more than a mere poetic figure. It means that its warmth not only matches out the eggs but also by its heat develops the little chickens after they are matched. Post
 
 man is just as important as right pre- natal conditions.
 Gods wing is absolutely essential for the development of a spiritual child The Bible distinctly says, "Ye must be born again." That means, "Ye must be a God production as we'll as a man production. am the physical child of my earthly parents. That does not necessarily imply that I am a spiritual child of God. But f,, q ing storm of sin I determine to creep un- der Gods spiritual, life giving wing. As soon as 1 am under that divine shelter feel the divine life begin to creep into my life. I learn to love my Heavenly Father and see Him as He is l heal Him telling me what l ought to do and say. As a human being by placing his hand upon an electric battery immediate ly feels thrill as the Calvanic currents circle through his body the physical body and the mind and the dormant spirit all feel the warmth and the glev and the creative and developing power oi Gods wing as soon as we place ourselves fin the receptive mood within the radius of the divine. touch.
 Gods Work Alone.
 Let me illustrate this thought by 2 simple story Many years ago party o1 rollicking sailors left Charlestown navy yard for days dissipation. They tramped along toward Boston, stopping first at one saloon. then another, until al were hilarious with drink. Finally ont of the party turned and said, Come boys let us have some fun and go tt Father Taylor's home and pretend VI want religion and want to borrow z Bibler' Great sport!' the men cried Let us go." They approached the gooC mans house in a spirit of ridicule ana blasphemy. Father Taylor, the good olC Christian preacher, entered the room When he was told by the joking mer