Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1906-09-01
Caln,age
Sermon
BY Rev.
Frank De Witt Talmaae. ID. ID.

Los Angeles. cal. Aug 81. In this
rr new Interpretation 10 u passage
which teaches us that God mcrclcs
and blessings sometimes come tn us in
strange DISCUSSES The text is Luke
Xii. -. Il am come TO send fire upon
the earth"
To the casual Bible reader these nine
words may seem 10 convey II meaning
which II is hard Ia reconcile with other
passages You cannot understand how
Christ can he called the Prince OF
Peace and vet how lie could send fire
upon the earth Fire" you say-"why,
fire is the agent of death. not the fore
runner of life. IT is the most ruthless
destroyer known 10 man." 10 today
through any Of our great forests. and
what do YOU sec printed by the road.
and the travellers to beware of starting
a forest fire. Why do the government
tai officials in Yellowstone park and
Yosemite and In many of the mountain
reserves refuse to allow the camper to
carry Il shotgun? Is ii for fear that he
will kill game out of season: Perhaps
that Is pur reason but the chief reason
Is that the forest rangers are afraid
that the shotglinS might set fire to the
w00dS. Have you never attended u
country college aud witnessed the
deadly forest fires burn for weeks and
weeks upon the mountain side: What
Was the only danger the western COW
bay feared WORSE than the Indians
warwhoop: Ii was the prairie fire.
which could lick NJ the dead grasses
faster Than horse could run or deer
could scnrry away Have YOU ever
read Of the unshcathcd sword Of fire
which RACED Moscow 10 the ground?
These ilames were able 10 dcvOur the
ihdomitahle ambitions Of the Little
CorSican"
Will our people ever forget the
CHASTITY tragedy that destroyed Amcri-
cas- western metropolis. which over
looked the Golden Gate of san Fran
cisco bay one OF the first lessons we
teach our children Is To leave matches
alone and fear the danger Of fire. Yet
the 50 called Prince OF Peace" says.
II am come To send fire upon the
earth" How can you explain this
anomaly: can only suggest some Of
the effects al fire, which may give us
Il hint Of orr Lords meaning. for.
though We may look upon lire as an
agency Of death we cannot forget
that II may become IN Gods hands IN
agency of eternal life and Of the Illr-
est and the best Of an earthly lives
May God help Us as we try 10 under
stand thcS" holy words
4 symbol of Heat.
Fire, in the first place Is the symbol
of heat Heat is the symbol Of life
Therefore we find that all true life
comes from God. even as all heat of
the earth primarily comes from the
fires of the sun In every bird that
flies. In every bee that huns. in every
squirrel that chattcrs. in every flower
that grows. in every tree that rusiles
and In every human being that walks
we see the great divine fact illustrated
that the Cod who sent fire upon earth
is the great God who was and is the
Creator OF all. Now. the fact that all
animal and vegetable life is dependent
upon fire and heat for creation and de-
velopmcnt Is we'll understood
| am sitting upon the farmers kitchen
porch. AMI | hear n cacklng noise.
The old spcckled Plymouth Rock hen is
calling: II have laid an egg, | have
laid an egg, am going 10 hatch out
a little chicken. for have laid nm egg
But the farmers wife has another use
for the egg Each morning she goes
and takes that egg away from the hen.
She is absolutely mcrcilcss in this re-
speci She cooks for her summer
bonrders the best food for a breakfast
namely Il fresh laid egg. When you
break Il open. there il lies cut in half.
with lis center Of gold covered over
with its wrappngS of purcst white
The snow could not be whittier than the
albnmen % Il new laid egg. Al last the
old hen grows tired of having her eggs
eaten. So she. in turn. finds secret nest.
She flies away Ia the top of the hay
lift. or she .ucS on 10 the other side of
the grain field and crawls under mn old
board near the fence, and there she
makes her nest. Day after day the
white beauties grow in number. The
old fcathcred fowl keeps very still
about her secret When you 20 out aud
say "Biddie. where Is your nest" she
looks as innocent Ms AN old owl Then
after twelve or thirteen 81 those eggs
have heen laid side by side Biddie
suddenly disappears. She comes
around once n day for food. but that Is
all. Then after three weeks you hear
great cnmmotlOn AMI mp To the
kitchen door marches the proud mother.
leading large broad u fuzzy little
creatures which are her children Now.
how were the contents Of those eggs
turned into little living crcaiuresf
Simply by the agency Of heat. bay