The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-07-21
 , DIR. TALMAGE'S SERMON ]
  FRANK DEWITT D. D.
os ANGELES, Cal. July 14.-In this
 sermon, melodious with the songs

I OS ANGELES, Cal, July 14.-In this
 sermon, melodious with the songs A and fragrant with the odors of the summer woods, we are taught the lesson of Gods love and providence for all his creatures. The text is Luke xii, S. Not one of them is forgotten before God"
 What are Gods providences? Well" you answer, "to use plain, simple, prac- teal ineligible English, they mean Gods watehful and protecting care over his creatures. For instance, l have q little boy born into the world. I do not go and leave my little one as a found- ling upon some doorstep, with the cold snow for a pillow and with the whistling January winds for a lullaby. But l, as a loving parent, take care that she has a soft crib in which to sleep. As she grows older I care for her and provide for her until at last she Is able to take care of herself. Now, if l do all this for my child I do a fathers duty and prove myself a provident parent. When we speak of Gods providences we speak about the divine Fathers care for his human offspring and for the preservation of his animal. vegetable and mineral world.'
 How comforting is the thought of the divine carel Even Thomas Carlyle, the gloomy, Respondent philosopher, felt 1t. In a letter to a friend he wrote: Thy will be done' What else can we say? The other night in my sleepless tossings about, which were growing more and more miserable, these words of that brief, grand prayer came strangely Into my mind as if written with an altogether new emphasis, as if written and shining for me in mild, pure splendor on the black bosom of the night there. Then |, it were read them word by word with a sudden softness of composure which was unexpected. Not perhaps for thirty peated that prayer-nay, I never felt be- fore how intensely the voice of mans soul 1t is." What did Carlyle mean by these sentences? He meant that man as a helpless child was reaching up to God. because God, as a loving Father was always reaching down toward his chil- dren.
 But. though I should always realize that God is a loving Father caring for me, his child, yet sometimes I am willful enough to blind my eyes to this divine fact. Therefore Christ comes to me and says, Child l would have you learn the divine Fathers love from study in nat ural history" Then he takes me down into the busy markets of Jerusalem where food is being sold. He goes up to the counter of one of the stalls and says to the salesman, How much Is one of these little sparrows worth?' "Oh," an- swers the clerk these spaSrows are worth practically nothing! They are only a few of the millions of small birds we see flying about the hfllsides and in the meadows and the woods. We sell these birds to the poor, who cannot afford to buy mutton or lamb. Why, I will give you five of these little sparrows for 2 farthings." Now. a farthing in Christ's time represented the smallest of copper coins. It's value was far less than that of our modern penny. Then Christ looks pltyingly on me. troubled with doubt and says: Are not five sparrows sold for 3 farthings, or for 1 cent, and not one of them is forgotten before God? Fear not; yc are of more value than many sparrows" Now my friends, lest you forget. as I have sometimes forgotten, that God is a loving Father caring for you. Lis children, I thought that today I would tell you the story of how God is providing for and protecting the little wild birds of the woods. We have often seen these little birds flying about our country homes, but perhaps you have never stopped to consider the wonderful blessings that surround their lives.
 A Beautiful World.
 In the first place, I want you to cast your eyes about and see the beautiful world in which the little wild birds live. These feathered denizens of the woods seem small and insignificant. They are so small that true sportsman would not deign to waste a cartridge upon one of them. But God does not treat them as some of us do our menlals. He does not send his little birds into dark room, as some of us make our servants sleep in musty garrets or in unattractive out houses. But God gives to his little birds the best he has. He gives them the pure air of the mountains to fly in. He gives them the bright, sparkling waters of the brooks, glinted with sunshine and bltb- bling over the pebbled sands, to bathe in. He gives them the most beautiful of choir lofts. hidden among the leaves, to sing in. He gives them the wild roses ana brilliant tlnts of the spring and sum- mer flowers for their gardens He gives them the brilliant foliage of the forest for picture galleries. He surrounds them with the beauties of nature everywhere. No grandeur of the rocks Is too grand for the birds. No symphonies of the winds is too sweet for their musical ears to hear No exuberance of colors Is too gorgeous for their tapestries. Every where God seems to say to the birds, "Though you are insignificant, yet your futtering hearts were set In motion by m.- hand and the best that I have is yours"
 
 God for the beautiful world In which they live. why should not we, Gods children, thank him for the many tempo ral blessings with which he has sur rounded us. Why should we not thank God for our clothes and our homes, for our food and firesides and books and ed ucation? Why should we not thank him for the beautiful scenes of nature? When we go into the home of a wealthy man and see his picture gallery we marvel at the masterpieces which the artists have painted for him. But the greatest of all artists have been but copylsts. Do you want to see more glorious sunset than Ruhens or a Turner has ever placed on canvas? Then this evening throw open your window toward the west. Would you see the models of an Edwin Landseer or Rosa Bonheur? Then look at the living horses and dogs by your