Milford chronicle., 1907-04-26
Caln1aQe
Sermon
BY Rev.
Frank De Witt Talmase. D. D.

the opening spring the preacher re-
turns to the book of nature and finds q
gospel lesson in the wonders OF the
awakening insect world. The text Is
Proverbs Xxx, %, 1.-THE locusts have
no king, yet go they forth all of them
by bands"
The more study the Bible in con-
nection with the revelations which
science has given to us in the natural
world the more wonderful and marvel
Gus the omnipotence and Omnipresence
OF God appear to me. There are some
people who never study the goodness
and mercy of God outside of the leaves
of the holy book. When YOU begin TO
talk to them about the wonders of God
in nature, they reply, "Why don't YOU
preach the old gospel instead Of talk
Ing about tadpoles and snakes and
bugs and beetles and such stuff?" The
reason l talk so much about nature.
my friend, is because l find the char
acter of God revealed there and the
gospel preached there, and am sus-
tained by the example of the Bible IT.
self, which is full of such sermonic
themes. I have also the authority of
the wisest of men, who bids US watch
the comics building their houses in the
rocks, and the ants providing food for
the winters storm, and the spider
swinging her silken hammocks in the
kings palaces, and the lOcusts march
ing forth to their conquests in great
bands.
1t is amazing how much our love and
reverence for God will grow if we only
study closely the marvellous conforma-
tions and habits of the lowest and most
despised of his creatures. If we do not
see God in the natural world, then it is
because we have eyes that are blind, |
and It is about time we scattered the |
darkness of ignorance by letting in the |
light Of investigation and study. When |
q new student entered one of Professor |
Agassiz's classes, the great teacher Of |
natural science would place before him |
the skeleton of an ordinary fish like the
black bass. STUDY that" would be his
first command, "and then come and tell
me what ycu see." The student in
amazement would sit down and look
at those dried bones for a little while,
and then he would go to the professors
desk and say: "Why, teacher, see the
skeleton of a fish. That is ALL" Then
the professor would show him how the
fish's skeleton is Joined together by one
big backbone, like the skeleton Of man;
how the fish's tail and his fins are used
by the fish as mans hands and feet
are used when he swims; how the fish
has a series of spines above and be-
meath it to keep it in a perpendicular
position, so it can cut its way through
the water. The professor would point
out that the head of the fish is made of
strong bony substance, like the iron
prov Of a boat. There the strength Of
the fish must be very great. Thus the
new student learned how the bones
were fitted together and how the jaws 1
were set for catching the prey. After
he had spoken thus for a long time
Professor Agassiz would say: "My son, :
never say again that bone is simply I
a bone. When you study a bone you /
must notice how it joins with other s
bones and learn what is the purpose Of
that bone. Now you are ready to be-
gin your scientific studies as one of my {
Thus, in my text, Solomon
bids us study the locust, that marvel
GUS little insect whose ravages are the q
dread of the farmer. He would have Q
us observe how it is constructed, how |
1t is adapted for the work it has to do t
and how it co-operates with its fellows, q
like a soldier in an army. This open a
ing spring season is an appropriate G
time for following Solomon's advice T
and considering "the locusts, who have f
no king, but who go forth in bands"
The Helpless Locust.
In the first place, when began to =
study the little creature of my text J.
was surprised to find out what an in :,
significant insect it was Individually u
God seems to have given it no means .
If self protection. 1t has no rapier "
With which to stab like the hornet, no -
ting like the bee, no cruel beak like =
he hawk, no deadly claw like the .
iger, no deadly poison like the taran- -,
MIA or the snake, no viselike jaw, as g
las the alligator, and no powerful wing n
Ike the wing of the albatross. 1t is l..
o helpless as an individual that the oC
maIIest kind of insects can attack it ~
With impunity. 1t is the prey Of in or
umerable destroyers. Wherever the Ja
warns of locusts go, there fly great nm
ocks of greedy birds feeding upon lia
lem. When the locusts are in the egg All
r the larvae state, they are destroyed w
Y the millions, yet these seemingly dr.
eIpless insects have been the most m,
cared Of all the insects Of the world oV
o plague Of Egypt struck more terror NJ,
the hearts of Pharaoh and his sub liv
cts than this plague of clawless, beak- re,
IS. poisonless, stingless lOcusts, but Oh
hen this thought dawned upon me 1 go
i'd. as it not a fact that the men and Iiv
e women in this world who have ac- fol
mpIished most for God have carried the
antlers, whose jaws concealed no gel