The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-09-24
DIR. TALMAGE'S SERMON.
BY THE REV. FRANK DE WITT rALMAeE. D. N.

, essary to do for the creation of the hills. We look with amaEement upon the great cathedral called St. Peters of Rome. This cathedral was supposed to have been begun by Michael Angelo In 1854 Every generation since then has had a part in it's construction. But, though St. Peter's of Rome was building for 800 years, the seven hills upon which Rome was originally built have been building for longer time than that. Away back in the past millenniums God began to col leet the materials for the foundation of the hills. He spoke the word and man. ufaetured gaseous substance-poor stuff, some people might think-out of which to build the strength of the hills, yet that was the first substance God created out of which to make the noun tains. In all probability this earth in the beginning was nothing but a nebulous gas. After awhile God cooled this gas, transforming 1t from gaseous to liquid ! form. As thousand years in his sight are but as yesterday or A watch in the night God through long ages kept up the cooling process. He cooled this liquid substance until there was q thin crust | over Its surface, as floating film might form on the surface of the coffee cooling on the breakfast table. He kept on cool ing the planet until wrinkles and creases began to appear like ridges on an
 
 squeezed out of it. Then the waters ran down into the valleys or the ocean beds and the dry land appeared. Then the strength of the hills revealed themselves in mighty mountain ranges. which ran up and down the continents, giving strength to the land as the yertebra does to the human frame.
 The work went on for ages upon ages. The divine workman's tools were fire and storm and hail and pencil of ice and vol canic eruption. A mighty workman is God. Mighty are the elements and the times which he used as the means for his creation of the hills. We must honor the divine strength of the Creator of the hills. That strength alone was sufficient to pile up the Matterhorn and Mount Chimborazo and Mount Gualtahera and Mount Nevada de Sorata and Mount Ev- i crest. Omnipotent as well as eternal is our Lord. He alone hath created the hills and created us. Who Is "He that / formeth the mountains and treadeth | upon the high places of the earth? The Lord, the God of hosts, is his name"
 The Beauty of the Mountains.
 But as I go wandering over the east ern valleys with this herdsman of my text l say to him: "Amos, why do you praise the hills? Of course 1t is right and proper for one of your poetic tenn perament to admire the gigantic cliffs and the rocks. In the evening hour 1t is beautiful to see the white clouds way ing their garments in the faces of these grim monsters, but, Amos, you are not a Nimrod nor an Esau. You do not leave your f1ocks and a mighty hunter pur- sue the wild goats that leap from crag to crag. You care nothing about staying the hungry lion, unless he comes down to steal one of your lambs. Why do you not praise the valleys and the green fields and harvests and the orchards?" Then l see the old prophet turn and look at me with a quiet smile as he answers: Friend, l am praising the green fields and the vineyards and the orchards when l am praising the mountains. Do you not know that the beauty and fertility of the valleys are dependent upon the strength of the hills? The stork builds her nest in the fir tree. the grass grows for the cattle, the grapes hang heavy upon the vines and the harvest fields are filled with grain merely because the mountains shed their waters into the val leys." Then, I say, Amos, when thou art praising the God of the hills thou art rendering thanks unto the divine Gre ator who feeds and clothes and houses us." Then the old prophet answers Yes, my son. The Lord of the hills is the God who is the practical provider for the everyday wants of his children"
 But though the God of the hills feeds
 
 1 the birds of the air and the lilies of the field, how few of us ever stop to think of his kindness and goodness and care. Indeed, we have been accustomed to be fed and clothed by him so long that few of us ever stop to give him thanks. We 1 think the blessings have come from the soil and are the works of our hands and not from his hills. We feel a great deal toward God as a little boy felt toward the care of his father, with whom I was talking some time ago. His father was playing with him and teasing him. The boy turned quickly and said, q don't like you" What" I said to the boy, you do if your papa should die? Where would you get your clothes?" "Oh," an- swered the boy mamma makes me those. Papa has nothing to do with them" Well" I said. smiling, whose money buys them, If not papas?" No" he answered still more positively man. ma makes them; papa has nothing to do with them.' Then I said, But if your papa should die or go away where would you get your dinner?" Again the little fellow said "The groceryman would bring me that" "But who pays the gro ceryman?" Nobody" said he; "all that mamma has to do is to tell the man to bring the dinner and he brings it. That is all" So with some of us. We do not recognize the fact that the divine Father does anything for us We do not believe that the God of the hills has any part in our harvests. We say, Our hands planted the corn" We think God has nothing to do with our clothes because the sheep grew the wool. We assert that God has nothing to do with our homes because our timber is turned into the boards which are nailed Into the walls. "Oh, mo-" says Amos, that is true; the God of the hills waters the fields. He gives drink and food to the f1ocks. He nourishes tfe trees into mighty forests. It is God, Id God alone. who provides all" Ougf we not to give thanks to the God of ne hills who clothes us and feeds us t y?
 The pro ling of our everyday wants | should bf Continually acknowledged be-