Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1879-11-12
THE FLOWERS OF THE FIELD

arc chlld-llko IN their fltncss Tor th
kingdom of heaven are fond of flowers
All refined and devout men, who's
souls have drank deep from the eterna
harmonies Of Gods Kingdom feel tha
they arc very near the Fathers han'
when they consider the glory witt
which He clothes the flowers of tn,
field. The poor, the lonely, the uned
ucated adorn their homes with th,
loveliness and beauty which tho Divin,
artist pours as freely IS tho sunshin,
on the humblest flowers. Hard work
ing men and women, in whose hearts
is the covenant of peace, though shn
upin close quarters and crowded streets
and noisy manufactures hang littl,
vine or shrub in the window, and they
watch its progress, its opening bios
SONS, as il they saw in tho delicate
tints the lingering rays OF the Paradise
once lost, and the fire CLEANS of Q
brighter Paradise TO be regained. De
vout, spiritual, religious minds that
care nothing about the Haunting colors
of fashion, or the elaborate decorations
of art delight in contemplating the
quiet and simple beauty of flowers
The shrinking and sensitive student
finds nothing in all the riches and
splendors OF education to cheer his
heart so much as one view of the wild
landscape in the opening Spring, when
trees wave their green boughs, and
flowers swing their censers Of perfume
in the wind and the humble grass
clothing the fields in more seemly robes
than kings ever wore.
When the Christian traveller in the
Holy Land would bring home the
most fitting memorial Of the sacred
scenes which he has visited, he plucks
a rose on the plain of Sharon, he gath.
ers bunch OF thorns from the Sorus
field in sight OF the Sea Of Gallilee I;
with fearful eyes and trembling hand
he takes a lily from the mount Of Beati.
tudes he breaks twig Of terrebinth
from the grove of Tabor be turns
aside 10 select withered fg leaf as he
treads the sacred pathway from Be.
thany to Jerusalem he bows his head
as il pressed with crushing harden,
and his mind IS stirred with thoughts
too deep for bearing he takes an olive
leaf from the garden of Gethsemane.
And when in after years bis eye falls
upon the leaves and flowers which he
gathered with his own hands besides
the pathes where the feet Of Jesus trod,
he feels that no work Of art could so
effectually and lovingly draw him to
the scene where Jesus suffered and the
throne where Jesus reigns.
God has strewn over the earth, and
He has given them infinite variety in
form and hue, that every taste may be
gratifed, and that none may be wearled
with the study Of their beauty. He
thus shows US how much He Himself
delights in the perfection Of beauty,
and how much instruction, refinement
and happiness may be derived from
contemplation of His marvellous works.
Millions OF flowers are indeed born to
blpsh nnsaa., hyr man. hnt thayy navar
waste their sweetness on the desert
air. God sees them and delights in
their beauty. They offer up incense Of
silent worship to Him that made them.
The Lord ever rejoices in the work
which lie has clothed with such per-
fection OF beauty. His glory is declared
not only by the heavens and all the
hosts thereof but by the primrose
staring in the springing grass, by snow
plants that bloom on the edge OF eter-
nal ice, and by the delicate moss that
lives where the foot OF man never trod.
1t becomes US to consider the lily and
the humblest flower that grows with
feeling of reverence and of worship,
for it is itself thought, a plan of God.
Its beauty is an expression OF the In
finite mind, just as truly as the most
sacred precept in the book of Divine
revelation. The two hundred thous.
and species of flowers that adorn the
earth and preserve their individual
character from century to century,
were all designed and shaped and col.
ored with infinite variety and beauty
by tho Divine artist, who laid the
foundations of the earth and unrolled
the armament of stars with His own
hand. He delights in the beauty Of the
microscope mass that climbs the noun
tain side eighteen thosand feet above
the level of the sea, or travels north.
ward to the circle OF perpetual ice, not
less than the most brilliant flowers that
blaze in groves Of palm Of the tropic.
II we wonld show ourselves to be Gods
children, we must learn to delight in
the pure, simple, quiet beauty with
which Our Father adorns the home Of
his earthly children.
Our Lord tells us that the most mag
nificent of all the kings Of Israel could
not come forth in such gorgeous array
as that which God clothes the humblest
flower Of the field. And He will bring
this more than kingly glory into the
house of any one who will plant seed
in a handful OF earth, and set il in the
window for the light to look upon,
There is nothing in the painting of the
great masters, nothing in statuary,
nothing in the most costly and elabo-
rate decorations of architecture to be
compared with the simple grace, the
delicate tints. the perfect harmony ol
flowers which the poorest can cultivate
in the humbest home. Let not your
heart be led away, then, with longingt
for artificial splcndors which riches
only can bring. You can look back
upon and enjoy Gods perfect beauty
every day in some delicate flower rear
ed by your own hand and set in your
own window.-Ahoona Tribune.
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