CHAPTER XXV..

THE BATTLE FOR BREAD.

"And the ravens brought bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening."-1 Kings xvii: 6.

The ornithology of the Bible is a very interesting study. The stork which knoweth her appointed time. The common sparrows teaching the lesson of God's providence. The ostriches of the desert, by careless incubation illustrating the recklessness of parents who do not take enough pains with their children. The eagle symbolizing riches which take wings and fly away. The pelican, emblemizing solitude. The bat, a flake of the darkness. The night hawk, the ossifrage, the cuckoo, the lapwing, the osprey, by the command of God in Leviticus, flung out of the world's bill of fare. I would like to have been with Audubon as he went through the woods, with gun and pencil bringing down and sketching the fowls of heaven, his unfolded portfolio thrilling all Christendom. What wonderful creatures of God the birds are! Some of them this morning, like the songs of heaven let loose, bursting through the gates of heaven. Consider their feathers, which are clothing and conveyance at the same time; the nine vertebræ of the neck, the three eyelids to each eye, the third eyelid an extra curtain for graduating the light of the sun. Some of these birds scavengers and some of them orchestra. Thank God for quail's whistle, and lark's carol, and the twitter of the wren, called by the ancients the king of

birds, because when the fowls of heaven went into a contest as to who could fly the highest, and the eagle swung nearest the sun, a wren on the back of the eagle, after the eagle was exhausted, sprang up much higher, and so was called by the ancients the king of birds. Consider those of them that have golden crowns and crests, showing them to be feathered imperials. And listen to the humming-bird's serenade in the ear of the honeysuckle. Look at the belted kingfisher, striking like a dart from sky to water. Listen to the voice of the owl, giving the key-note to all croakers. And behold the condor, among the Andes, battling with the reindeer. I do not know whether an aquarium or aviary is the best altar from which to worship God.

There is an incident in my text that baffles all the ornithological wonders of the world. The grain crop had been cut off. Famine was in the land. In a cave by the brook Cherith sat a minister of God, Elijah, waiting for something to eat. Why did he not g to the neighbors? There were no neighbors, it was a wilderness. Why did he not pick some of the berries? There were none. If there had been, they would have been dried up. Scated, one morning at the mouth of his cave, the prophet looks into the dry and pitiless heavens, and he sees a flock of birds approaching. Oh! if they were only partridges, or if he only had an arrow with which to bring them down. But as they come nearer he finds they are not comestible, but unclean, and the eating of them would be spiritual death. The strength of their beak, the length of their wings, the blackness of their color, their loud, harsh "cruck! cruck!" prove them to be ravens. They whirr around about the prophet's head, and then they come on fluttering wing and pause on the level of his lips, and one of the ravens

brings bread, and another raven brings meat, and after they have discharged their tiny cargo they wheel past, and others come, until after a while the prophet has enough, and these black servants of the wilderness table are gone. For six months, and some say a whole year, morning and evening, the breakfast and supper bell sounded as these ravens rang out on the air their "eruck! cruck!" Guess where they got the food from. The old Rabbins say they got it from the kitchen of King Ahab. Others say that the ravens got the food from pious Obadial, who was in the habit of feeding the persecuted. Some say that the ravens brought the food to their young in the trees, and that Elijah had only to climb up and get it. Some say that the whole story is improbable; for these were carnivorous birds, and the food they carried was the torn flesh of living beasts, and that ceremonially unclean, or it was carrion, and it would not have been fit for the prophet. Some say they were not ravens at all, but that the word translated "ravens" in my text ought to have been translated "Arabs," so it would have read: "The Arabs brought bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening." Anything but admit the Bible to be true. Hew away at this miracle until all the miracle is gone. Go on with the depleting process; but know, my brother, that you are robbing only one man-and that is yourself-of one of the most comforting, beautiful, pathetic, and triumphant lessons in all the ages. I can tell you who these purveyors were: they were ravens. I can tell you who freighted them with provisions. God. I can tell you who launched them. God. I can tell you who taught them which way to fly. God. I can tell you who told them at what cave to swoop. God. I can tell you who introduced raven to prophet, and prophet to

raven.

God. There is one passage I will whisper in your ear, for I would not want to utter it aloud, lest some one should drop down under its power: "If any man shall take away from the words of the prophesy of this book, God shall take away his part out of the book of life and out of the holy city." While, then, this morning we watch the ravens feeding Elijah, let the swift dove of God's Spirit sweep down the sky with Divine food, and on outspread wing pause at the lip of every soul hungering for comfort.

If I should ask you where is the seat of war to-day, you would say on the Danube. No. That is comparatively a small conflict, even if all Europe should plunge into it. The great conflict to-day is on the Thames, on the Hudson, on the Mississippi, on the Rhine, on the Nile, on the Ganges, on the Hoang Ho. It is a battle that has been going on for six thousand years. The troops engaged in it are twelve hundred millions, and those who have fallen are vaster in numbers than those who march. It is a battle for bread. Sentimentalists sit in a cushioned chair, in their pictured study, with their slippered feet on a damask ottoman, and say that this world is a great scene of avarice and greed. It does not seem so to me. If it were not for the absolute necessities of the cases, nine-tenths of the stores, factories, shops, banking-houses, of the land would be closed to-morrow. Who is that man delving in the Black Hills? or toiling in a New England factory? or going through a roll of bills in the bank? or measuring a fabric on the counter? He is a champion sent forth in behalf of some home circle that has to be cared for-in behalf of some church of God that has to be supported— in behalf of some asylum of mercy that has to be sustained. Who is that woman bending over the sewing

machine? or carrying the bundle? or sweeping the room? or mending the garment? or sweltering at the wash-tub? That is Deborah, one of the Lord's heroines, battling against Amalekitish want, which comes down with iron chariot to crush her and hers. The great question with the vast majority of people to-day is not whether President Hayes treated South Carolina and Louisiana as he ought-not whether the Turkish Sultan or the Russian Czar ought to be helped in this conflict-the great question with the vast majority of people is: "How shall I support my family? How shall I meet my notes? How shall I pay my rent? How shall I give food, clothing, and education to those who are dependent upon me?" Oh! if God would help me to-day to assist you in the solution of that problem, the happiest man in this house would be your preacher. I have gone out on a cold morning with expert sportsmen to hunt for pigeons; I have gone out on the meadows to hunt for quail; I have gone out on the marsh to hunt for reed birds; but this morning I am out for ravens.

Notice, in the first place, in the story of my text, that these winged caterers came to Elijah directly from God. "I have commanded the ravens that they feed thee," we find God saying in an adjoining passage. They did not come out of some other cave. They did not just happen to alight there. God freighted them, God launched them, and God told them by what cave to swoop. That is the same God that is going to supply you. He is your Father. You would have to make an elaborate calculation before you could tell me how many pounds of food and how many yards of clothing would be necessary for you and your family; but God knows without any calculation. You have a plate at his table, and you are going to be waited on, unless you act like a naughty