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| SERMON #140 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? MAT 6:26. In His Sermon on the Mount Jesus appeals to our logic and reason. He condescends to use logical reasoning. Many people would have us believe the gospel is so complicated that it takes some great theologian to interpret it. That is not the gospel as Jesus preached it. When Jesus spoke to shepherds, He used sheep to illustrate the way into the kingdom of heaven. When the Lord Jesus Christ was speaking to a merchant, He used that trade to illustrate His point. Now He has His people sitting on the ground in the open air. He uses those things at hand to convey His message. He uses the birds in the air; He directs their attention to the grass and the lilies in the fields. He uses the elements around them to illustrate the necessity of having a childlike faith in Him. Notice that Jesus begins in V:25 with "Therefore I say unto you...," to connect our thoughts to those admonitions in V:19-24. Then He goes on to say, "Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?" In other words, we are to have no anxiety, anxious thoughts, for our life. This statement, "Therefore I say unto you," comes not only as sound counsel, but as a command from our kingly Lawgiver as the Sovereign of our hearts. It is a command that we are not to take thought, i.e., to be filled with anxiety, for our needs. Jesus does not promise excess or luxuries. He does not say they shall feast, but they shall be fed. We need to take notice of this. Our hearts are not to be set upon the things of this earth. We are not here to multiply riches and gold, but He says we will be fed. The Lord teaches us to live our lives, day by day, with faith in Him. The Lord wants our eye focused on Him as the provider of all the necessities of our lives. Jesus points out the same thing in our text, "Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?" MAT 6:26. The psalmist sees the tender, Fatherly care of the Lord in PSA 147:1-12, "Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely. The LORD doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel. He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite. The LORD lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground. Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God: Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains. He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry. He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man. The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy. Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion." This Psalm is very significant when we consider what Jesus is telling us in our text; He does not take pleasure in the legs of a man. The Lord is teaching us how insignificant the legs of a man are; the strength of man is not sufficient to provide for his needs. The Lord takes no pleasure in the strength of a horse. "The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him." David said in PSA 37:23-25, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand. [Then he illustrates his point] I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." David is not saying that he never saw anyone begging for bread, nor is he saying he has never seen a man forsaken of the Lord. He says he has not seen the righteous forsaken, "nor his seed begging bread." There is a difference between righteousness and Godliness. Righteousness is a right attitude towards our neighbour, and it is the observance of the second table of the law, loving thy neighbour as thyself. Godliness is loving God with all our heart, soul, and mind; observing this commandment honors the Lord. David's mention of the righteous says that when he sees a man who has been generous to his neighbour, he has not seen that person begging for bread. He's telling us he has never seen such a man who has been living in righteousness forsaken or his children begging for food. The unjust steward relied on his own understanding to avoid becoming a beggar. He was unjust; he was a conniver who stole from his master. When he was called to give an account, he subtly went to each creditor and explained a way to reduce the amount they owed. We read in LUK 16:3-4, "Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses." He saw that his lord was going to take away his stewardship. In a literal sense, if we have not been honest in our business, if we have not been giving to the poor, if we have not been righteous, very often the Lord will take away our stewardship; He will remove it from our care. He will call us to an accounting of our stewardship. He placed material things under our stewardship, and now we must give an account. Unrighteousness is often the reason God reduces men to beg. Consider how the Lord Jesus shows us in our text the beauty of God's condescension, and the blessedness of eating out of the hand of God. He tells us how He provides, and we must not be anxious about whether or not we will have sufficient. We must be able to live by faith in the Lord. The parable Jesus gave of Lazarus and the rich man illustrates the tender mercies of God in contrast to the wicked who would deny a beggar the crumbs that fell from his table. Look at the example which we find in LUK 16:19-21, "There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day [This man was not a righteous man; he did not give to the poor; he had all his riches to himself, but he was called to an accounting of his stewardship.]: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores." This parable teaches us that this man was not among the righteous of whom David spoke; he did not look to the needs of his neighbour. He took all the riches the Lord gave him for himself. "And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried," LUK 16:22. In his lifetime the rich man allowed the dogs to lick the sores of the beggars at his gate, but he wouldn't even give them the crumbs from his table. Now he was called to an account; see what a hopeless beggar he became in hell where all his begging availed him nothing! "And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence," LUK 16:23-26. Now after he had been called to account of his stewardship, the man in hell became more righteous than he had ever been in his lifetime; he became concerned for his fellow man. "Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. [Now it was too late for him to receive any mercy; his time of grace was over.] Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead." LUK 16:27-31. Our thoughts must not be taken up about the future. Our unbelief provokes God's jealousy when we are anxious about our temporal needs. He wants us to dwell at ease in Him with our hearts safely trusting in Him. See the message in PSA 127:1-2, "Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep." The Lord shows us we can over-emphasize our labor. We can strive and toil in our own strength, but "Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it." Struggling in our own strength will only wear ourselves away; it is in vain. The Lord bestows His blessing on the fruit of our labors, He gives us our provisions when we have that singleness of eye which is fixed upon Him for our daily bread. Boasting of tomorrow and doubting tomorrow are equally distrusting the Lord. Boasting of our wealth or our security in our wealth is distrusting the Lord as much as if we live in anxiety doubting tomorrow. JAM 4:14-15 says, "Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that." God's Word teaches throughout how pleased God is when we trust in His mercy. He is pleased with a childlike faith that trusts in Him. PSA 52:8-9 says, "But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever. I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it: and I will wait on thy name; for it is good before thy saints." The Psalmist is pointing out his faith to wait upon the Lord to deliver him because He has "done it." That is the childlike faith that the Lord is teaching us, and He is pleased with it. Trusting and waiting on the Lord "is good before thy saints" because it glorifies the Father. Jesus uses the birds of the air, and the grass of the field to illustrate the glory of God in such simple faith; this is our shield from the thorns of anxiety. Jesus reasons that life is a greater blessing than livelihood, and the body is a greater blessing than raiment. He says, "Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?" MAT 6:25. Jesus says you have already received the greater blessings. Why would you doubt Me for the lesser blessings? You have already received life. Why wouldn't I give you the livelihood? You have already received the body. Why would I not take care of it? In these two blessings the poor differ nothing from the rich. Each one has a life and a body. The Lord clothes their bodies and preserves their lives. In this respect there is no difference between them. God has given us our body and our life; He has given His only begotten Son that we might have eternal life. Will He not also give us our temporal needs? The principle part of this lesson is to teach us to care for our souls. Our hearts are not to be set on the things of this world and this life. We are to care for our souls for eternity. We are to concern ourselves with the more important matters. Our bodies will go into the grave; therefore, we should not be overly concerned with them. Our soul is for eternity. MAT 6:33 says, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." When our heart is fixed on doing the will of God; when our primary interest is to serve the Lord under the kingship of His Son, the things of eternity and all the necessities of life will be added unto us. If our priorities are straight, we can trust the God who guards us from Satan and our own deceitful heart to guard us from want for our temporal necessities. Consider how often the Lord has guarded us from the deceit within our hearts which would destroy us for eternity. If He will do that, wouldn't He guard us from perplexity and anxiety over the want of our temporal needs? In PSA 91:11-12 we read, "For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. [The Lord looks after our needs! He has given His angels a charge to look over them.] They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone." Won't He also look after our temporal needs? He is teaching us to turn our hearts to the Lord. He is looking for a heart religion. As Jesus was sitting out in the open air upon the mount, He used nature which surrounded Him as His art gallery. It is so beautiful to see His art gallery. He uses the simplest things to illustrate the spiritual meanings of His teachings. He is teaching us of our need for spiritual security. Jesus said, "Behold [Look at], the birds in the air. Consider the lilies in the field." The simplicity of the preaching of Christ is beautiful. He is appealing to our common sense, logic, and reasoning. In His teachings Jesus condescends to appeal to the logic and reason of a sound mind. He takes the elements of nature that surrounded the people to whom He was speaking. He reasons with their logic. Jesus appealed to the people to see God's providence in their immediate surroundings to assure them of God's tender, Fatherly care for their temporal needs. He tells them to look at the birds; they aren't laboring or under a lot of stress. Look at their carefree life without anxiety. Then He tells us we are of much more value than they are. Now consider how your Father takes care of them. MAT 6:26-29 says, "Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? [which means who can add even one moment to his existence?] And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." The richest and wisest king that ever lived was not arrayed in such glory as a lily of the field. It is beautiful that Jesus condescends to take us by our own logic, reasoning with us to show us how God cares for us. MAT 6:30 says, "Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?" Again, He uses the people's immediate surroundings to reason with them. The providence of God is such a powerful teaching. Job brings us to the school of the fowls and the fruit of the earth to teach us to see God's hand in providence. Notice, he brings us to the same art gallery with the same illustrations Jesus uses. "But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee [Isn't that beautiful?]: Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this? In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind," JOB 12:7-10. Job tells us that all these living things can tell us the Lord has provided for them. You are better than they are. Can't you believe in His providence for your needs? God will judge mankind as being charged with a knowledge of Him, based upon His providence in nature. God is saying to the atheist in the day of judgment that he is chargeable with having had a knowledge of Him based on His hand in providence. ROM 1:18-20 says, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness [What truth are they holding? That which is taught them by God's providence in nature by the beasts, birds, and the fish in the sea!]; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen [They cannot deny seeing God in creation], being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse." The atheist cannot deny there is a God because the proof is in God's visible providence; they have been taught by the things of nature. What they have seen will be a witness against them in the day of judgment. The preaching of providence is so powerful that those who deny God will have no excuse. We need not become disquieted over temporal things when the wonders of God's providence are written in the fowls of the air and the grass of the field. When our eyes can literally see God's providence, His wonders, and His providing care, then why should we have anxiety for tomorrow? Why should we not have faith to believe in God and that He will supply our needs? Our knowledge of our dependence upon God in these things must lead us to prayer and thanksgiving. What is thanksgiving? True gratitude denotes a confession of unworthiness. It is an acknowledgment of receiving grace and mercy which we do not deserve. The Lord does not want our hearts to be set upon the things of this world. He wants our heart to be searching out the things of eternal value, seeking first the kingdom of heaven through prayer and thanksgiving which is seeking benefits we have grievously forfitted. See what we read in LUK 11:9-12, "And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. [See how the Lord wants to be asked. It is to bring us into prayer and thanksgiving.] If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?" He is telling us of the necessity of asking, but he is also teaching the tender, Fatherly love of the God who cares for us. Again, Jesus pleads with us to use our logic; we must use our reasoning to understand the simplicity of the gospel. He says that if a natural father can give good things to his children, our heavenly Father will do more. If we come with prayer and thanksgiving, will He not supply? As we learn to depend upon God for our daily life, it leads us to faith in prayer for spiritual things. Now consider the very next verse. "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" LUK 11:13. The Lord wants us to see our dependency upon Him, not only for temporal things, but for eternal things. He wants these things to teach us the essential element of seeking the kingdom of heaven. He uses this to teach us that if we ask for temporal things and He grants them, will He not also grant His Holy Spirit to those who cry after Him? Those who ask and desire the things of eternity, and ask for His Holy Spirit, will He not also grant that. That is the lesson He is teaching us. He provides all these things. If we truly learn to see the Lord's hand in the provision of the temporal things, will it not lead us to seek Him for eternal things; for the things that are necessary for our souls for eternity? The Lord teaches this to us in the precious promises in EZE 36:24-28, "For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God." Look at the precious promises for eternal things, but we must also see how He follows up on it. After God has promised all these precious blessings, the Lord will wait to be gracious until we ask with a repenting heart. EZE 36:37 tells us how all those promises which He promised in V:24-28 will be withheld until they are sought in humble prayer. "Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock." The Lord is teaching us that after He has told us the promises are there, He wants to see the exercise of faith which draws our hearts out after those promises. By faith we must come pleading those promises which He has given. Pleading His Word gives such power in prayer. He will return to His mercy seat, withdrawing Himself until they seek Him in prayer. HOS 5:15 also tells of this, "I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early." Now we must come by faith, pleading the promises that He has given us. The Lord says, "I will yet for this be inquired of..." Do you know what He means by, "I will"? It is not "maybe." He will come and place His chastening finger upon us, reducing our pride and rebellion to the point where we will come. This is the lesson we see in HOS 5:14-15, "For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him. I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early." HOS 6:1 shows us beautifully the effect the Lord will accomplish in our rebellious hearts to bring us so we will come before His throne as beggars, "Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up." The Lord wants us to come to Him in prayer for the promises He has given us and thanksgiving for what we have received. He wants to be asked. As Jesus was teaching, He calls upon the people to look around themselves--when you look up, you see the birds, when you look around, you will see the people, and when you look down, you will see the flowers and the grass. Jesus pleaded for them to look and to know by using their logic and their natural intellect that all of this was provided by Him. Jesus tells us to look all around. Do not all these things testify of your heavenly Father's tender care? Even for the grass of the field, He has provided the seasons, rain, dew, and sun. Thereby He has also provided for the lilies with such splendor and more beauty than Solomon had in all his glory; He has provided the needs of the birds. All of these testify of the faithfulness of our heavenly Father and His tender, loving care. We find the same principle in the Old Testament, "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge." PSA 19:1-2. "Day unto day uttereth speech" declaring the glory of God, i.e., as Job said, "But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee [of His tender, Fatherly care.]: Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this? In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind," JOB 12:7-10. Do you not see these things? Do you not hear God's speech in these things? Do you receive knowledge from these things? Jesus asks us these very questions. Yes, we can see God's providing hand in all these things if we will but look and consider them. Jesus' reference to the birds of the air, "for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns," does not promote laziness. He is not teaching us to sit back in a lazy, fatalistic atmosphere and expect the Lord to provide. Birds are very industrious; they build their nests, care for their young, and gather that which the Lord provides. They are very active little creatures, and they do not teach us inaction or laziness. The Lord provides their food, but they do go out to gather it with diligence. PRO 6:6-8 refers us to that little creature you see on the sidewalk. I often find my foot stepping on these ants, then I feel ashamed, for we are admonished to consider their ways for our benefit. "Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest." All summer long they are gathering; I have watched as these industrious insects gather food. I've seen four or five ants work together to get a kernel of grain into their anthill. They are storing up food for the winter. In a spiritual sense this teaches us that you and I have these few days in which we are in this life to provide for a never- ending eternity. The Lord has given us this time to provide shelter for eternity; we can find shelter in the Lord's gracious plan of salvation. Our eye of faith must be fixed upon the Lord to bring our hearts and souls out of the servitude of all these temporal things to seek first the kingdom of heaven. The ants have the summertime to gather their food for winter; we have this lifetime to prepare for a never-ending eternity. Although birds are not care-free, for they labor industriously, they are not careful, i.e., as it is rendered in the Greek "filled with anxiety" about the future. They are not perplexed, distressed, or concerned about the future; they are not filled with worry for tomorrow. The lesson we learn from the birds is that we must eat out of the hand of our tender, loving Father and not strive to be as the fool Jesus spoke of in a parable. Look to see where the fool's folly lay in LUK 12:16-20, "And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool [he was not trusting in the Lord for his daily needs, and Jesus said], this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?" You and I must be very careful of falling into the same trap. The fool was not eating his daily portion out of the hand of the Lord; he had much goods stored up, enough to last many years. He could sit back and trust in his riches, but God said to him, "Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?" The Lord cautions us against doing this; He teaches us to live by the day. If the Lord gives us much wealth, it is to be used to distribute to the poor to glorify God's name. We are only stewards. If the Lord would give us millions of dollars, it would not belong to us. He would be placing the wealth in our hands so we could act as His stewards. That would be a large responsibility on our shoulders. We are not to be as the fool, i.e., eating, drinking, and being merry because we have much for many years. We are to be as the ant, providing our spiritual necessities. We are not to set our hearts on the things of this world. God has a very positive reason for teaching us to eat from His hand on a daily basis. DEU 8:2-6 tells us, "And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee [They were fed day by day to humble them], and to prove thee [what was the Lord proving by this?], to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. [The Lord wants a heart religion! He wants our hearts to be fixed upon Him with Godly fear, and not on the things of this world.] And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live." It was to humble them and prove to them what was in their hearts. The circumstances He led them through was the test to see if they would keep His commandments under these conditions with Godly fear in their hearts. He provided daily for their hunger, but when they tried to gather extra for tomorrow, it spoiled. He wants us to know that we live by the Word of God, which is the blessed spiritual food for our souls, rather than temporal things. The word forty in Scripture symbolizes a life-span. Our life-span is to humble us and prove us to know what is in our heart. Verses 4-6 continue, "Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years. Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the LORD thy God chasteneth thee. [The Lord deals with us as sons.] Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him." That is the substance of the whole matter; we are to walk in the ways of the Lord with Godly fear as His dear children. Jesus says, as Job said, "Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, and maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven?" JOB 35:11. Let's see what we can learn from the beasts of the earth and the fowls of the heavens about our heavenly Father. The heirs of heaven are much better than the fowls of heaven. Jesus told us that in our text. ISA 40:31 teaches us, "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." The eagles teach us something; they are an example for us. This Scripture speaks to us in a spiritual sense; God's dear children who walk by faith with their eye on Christ as the object of their faith shall not faint spiritually. These fowls of the air teach us how we carry all our needs up before His throne upon the wings of prayer. The hymn, "Sweet Hour of Prayer," speaks beautifully of being lifted up on the wings of prayer. Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer,
Thy wings shall my petition bear, DEU 32:11-12 says, "As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings: So the LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him." We can learn from the eagle; the Lord stirs us up as the eagle stirs up her nest so we will not be comfortable in the things of this life if we are one of His. We will not be like the fool in the parable, taking our ease, eating, drinking, and being merry as our life in this world is squandered. He will stir us up and bring us to true Godly prayer. On those wings of prayer He brings us to where our hearts will ascend to Him. Isn't it beautiful what the birds can teach us? The Lord wants us to behold the fowls of the heavens and learn from them. As Job says, "Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, and maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven?" JOB 35:11. The eagle teaches us the beauty of the wings of prayer, where we are placed by the Lord, so He bears us up. That means prayer is a gift of God. He places us upon those wings, "So the LORD alone did lead him." If unbelief, anxiety, and cares of this life would not so often silence our songs of praise, we would more often be able to be watered with the springs of joy, and join the care-free birds who sing among the branches. Here is something precious from PSA 104:10-14: "He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills. They give drink to every beast of the field: the wild asses quench their thirst. [See how the Lord provides for the birds and the beasts of the field.] By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches. He watereth the hills from his chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works. He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth." See how the Lord provides; He sends springs of water to quench the thirst of the wild animals who dwell among the birds who sit in the branches singing the praises of God. It is anxiety and unbelief that keeps us from joining in these songs of praise. We see the providing hand of God in these verses; it is a lesson to us to understand that if we cannot trust Him, we are blinded through unbelief. So many people today believe they have been saved, that they have security for their souls, but listen to their conversation. They are filled with such anxiety about tomorrow. They are so concerned about the economy, the government, the schools, and so many other things. The lessons the birds of the air are teaching us tell us to trust in God. Stop and think. Can you really claim that you trust the Lord with your soul for eternity if you have never learned to trust Him for the things of this life? How can you truly say you have learned to know the Lord? JOH 17:3 says, "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." Can you claim that you know the Lord if your heart is filled with anxiety about temporal things for tomorrow? Do you know the way of His providence? Have we learned to behold the fowls of the air and the beasts of the field? We must understand how He provides the water to make the grass to grow for the cattle for the service of man. He brings forth food from the earth. How can we say we trust the Lord for our eternal welfare if we have never learned to trust in Him for our daily needs? We need to seriously think about these things. What Jesus says in our text, "Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?" is synonymous with what Job says, "Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, and maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven?" May the Saviour of souls water our souls with the dew of the Spirit that we, as the birds, may sing His praises, "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Amen. |
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