DECEMBER 12, 2023
“He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry.” (Psalm 147:9)
It is said by credible authorities that the raven feeds his young ones in the nest until they are well-fledged and able to fly, then he thrusts them out of the nest. He does not allow them to abide there but makes them provide their own living. As soon as the young ones are able to provide for themselves, they must fetch their own food. As they are not allowed to return to their original home, they must wander, and necessity makes for industry.
Now, when the young ravens are faced with this necessity, while yet lacking in ability, who provides for them? According to our verse, it is God their Creator who comes to their aid. Of course, it is He Who provides for all His creatures, whatever their circumstances, but the text suggests something more, some special intervention as He responds to the cry of the young, desperate raven who has only recently acquired its feathers, and who wanders for lack of food.
Lessons are to be learned from God’s creatures, especially how He provides for them, often through their own instincts and industry. Solomon sent the sluggard to study the ant. He himself took lessons from badgers, greyhounds, and even spiders. We can be sure that we need of the same lessons that others have learned from nature. Let us therefore go to the raven’s nest for some schooling.
Our blessed Lord once derived a very powerful argument from ravens, an argument that was, like our present texts, intended to cheer and comfort anxious souls. “Consider the ravens,” He said, “for they neither sow nor reap…and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?” Using the Master’s logic, let us consider “the young raven when they cry,” with harsh croakings that call attention to their wants. Just like a loving mother hears the cry of her infant child when it is feeding time, God hears the cry of the young ravens. Now, let us again apply Jesus’ logic: does our heavenly Father hear the cry of ravens, while turning a deaf ear to the desperate cries of His children? Are you not much better than them?
What is it that you have been crying out to God for? Perhaps someone has been crying out for mercy but, as yet, has not received the answer. Perhaps you have been in agony for a long time, and yet have not known the way of peace. Your sin is still dragging you down, you still sit in darkness, and no light has dawned upon you. Has God forgotten to be gracious? Does He not hear your cry? Satan tells you that your case is hopeless, and God will not hear you. You must not listen to the devil. You must, instead, cry yet more vehemently than ever. Come to the cross, lay hold of it, and vow that you will never leave its shadow until you find the blessing that your soul desires. Make Jacob’s vow your own, and say, “I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.” (Gen. 32:26)
Here, then, is the question at hand: Since God hears the young ravens when they cry, will He hear you? The answer is that He will, and the reason (at least the chief reason) is that you are much better than a raven. The raven is, after all, only a raven, an unclean bird that, should it die, along with a thousand others just like it, would cause no great gap in creation. The event would not occasion any great grief or sorrow. You, however, are an immortal soul, created in the image and likeness of God. When the raven dies, its life is over – it is no more. But when your present life is past, you will not have ceased to be. Once life was begun, and you became a living soul, you were set on a course that shall never end – a course that, unless God hears your cry, will be one of everlasting misery.
Think not that our gracious and merciful God will hear the cry of a raven and refuse to hear the cry of one who is made in His own likeness.
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