Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1888-04-02
ANGELS0F THE GRASS.
3. TALNAGBS BASTBR MORNING DIS
COURSES IN THB TABERNACLE.
hs Queen Of Bible FlGwsrs-Ths Throne in ht
Vallsy-fhs Voices Of the FlOwss-
Prophecies in Flower Ian
guags.
Tsleoroan 10 Nle Rsgiaer.

Special TsIe0roan TO tae Register.
BROOKLYN, N. Y, April The plat
/ form and galleries Of the Tabernacle were
this morning profusely decorated with
flowers On the previous evening the
church had been open to prepare the deco
ratiops, for which the congregation had
been invited to bring flowers.
The immense audience room is not large
enough to contain the people on ordinary
occasions; it must be left to the imag'na-
ton to suggest the thrOngs, both inside
and outside the church, on this great festai
day.
The Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage, d. D.,
took for hisstext Luke xii'2sv: III then
God 40 cloths the grass, which is to-day in
the field, and tomorrow is cast into the
oveu; how much more will he clothe you
He said
The lily is the queen of Bible flowers.
The rose may have disputed her throne 10
modern times, and won it; but the rose
originally had only five petals. 1t was
under the long continued and intense gaze
Of the world that the rose blushed into Its
present beauty. In the Bible train, cassla
and hyssop, and frsnkincense and myrrh
aud spikenard and campfire aud the rose
follow the lily. Fourteen times IN the
Bible il the lily mentioned; only twice the
/ rose. The rose may now have wider en-
pire, but the lily raigned in the time OF
/ Esther, iu the time of Solomon, IN the time
Of Christ
Caesar bad his throne oD the hills. The
/ lily had her throne in the valley. In the
K rates sermon that was ever preached
there was only one flower and that lily.
Tie Bedford dreamer, John Bunyan, en-.
tered the house Of the Interpreter and was
shown - cluster of flowers, aud was told to
consider the lilies
We may study or reject other Sciences at
our option. II is so with astronomy, 1t IL
so with chemistry, it is so with jurispru-
deuce, it is so with physiology, but the
science of botany Christ commands Us TO
study when He says: Consider the
lilies" Measure them from root to tip
of petal. Inhale their breath. Notice the
graceiulness OF their poise Hear the
whisper OF the white lips of the Etstern
and Of the red lips of the American lily.
Belonging to this royal family OF lilies is
tbe lily Of the Nile, the Japan lily, the
Lady Washington OF the Sierras, the
Golden Band lily, the Giaut lily of Nepaul,
the Turks Cay lily, the African lily from
the Cape of Good Hope. All these lilies
have the royal blood in their veins. But |
take the lilies of my text this morning as
typical of all flowers, and this Easter day,
gaIlanded with all this opulence Of floral
beauty, seems TO address us, saying: Con
slider the lilies, consider the azalias, con-
slider the fuchsias, consider the gsraniums,
consider The iyies, consider the hyacinths,
consider the heliotropes, consider the
oleanders." With differentisl aud grateful
and intelligent and worshipful souls, con-
slider them. Not with iusipid sentimen-
talism, OF with sophomore vapOring, but
for grand and practical and everyday, and,
If need be, homely uses, consider them.
The flowers are the angels OF the grass.
They all have voices.
WHEN THE CLOUDS SPEAK
They thunder; when the whirlwinds speak
they scrtam; when the cataracts speak
they roar; but when the flowers speak
they always whisper. stand nere to in
terpret their mes age. What have ye to
say, o ye angels of the grass, to this wor-
shipful multitude?
This morning mean to discuss what
flowers arr good for. That is my subject:
What are diwers good for?
l. remark, in the first place, they are
good for lessons of Gods providential care.
= That was Christ's first thought. All
these flowers seem to address us today,
saying: "GOd will give you apparel and
food. We have no wheel with which TO
spin, no loom with which to weave, no
sickle with which to harvest, no we'll
J sweep with which to draw water; but God
slakes cur Thirst with the dew, and God
: feeds uJ with the bread of the sunshine,
and God has sppareled us with more than
Solomonic rsgality. We are prophetesses of
adequate wardrobe. If God so clothed us,
the grass Of the field, will He not much
more clothe you, o ye Of little faithS"
Men and women Of worldly anxieties,
J take this message home with you. How
long bsS God taken care of you? Quarter |
of the journey Of life? half the journey OF
life three-quar4Is the journey Of life?
Can you not trust Him the rest Of the way? /
God does not promise you anything like
that which the Roman Emperor had on
his table ut vast expense-6ye hundred
nightingsles' tOngues-but he has prom
ised You the Necessities, not the luxuries
bread, rot cake. If God so luxuriantly |
clothes the grass Of the field, will He not
provide for you hs living aud immortal
children lie will
No wonder Martin Luther always had
flower on his writing desk for inspiration !
Through the cracks of the prison floor
FLOWER GREW UP
to cheer Picciola Mungo Park, the great
traveller and explored, had his life saved
by q flower. He sank down in the desert |
to die, but seeing flower near by, it sug- /.
gested Gods merCiiul care, aud be got up
with new courage and travelled on TO
safety. l said The flowers are the angels Of
the grass ] q d 10 they are the evan
gels Of the shy -
H. II you in st O. aslring me the ques- !
} ton: What "a e. ,ers good for? re-
spond, they are gO0. for the bridal day. |
The bride mnst have them on hsr brow, |
and she must have them in her hand. The !
marriage altar must be covered with them.
A wedding without flowers wOuld be as
Inappropriate as Wedding without music. +
At such time they are for congratulstion |
aud prophecies Of good. 50 much Of the
, pathway of hle Is Covered I'D with thorns, .
we ought TO cover the beginning with .
orange blossoms.
Flowers are Appropriate on such occa- .
sions, for ninety-nine out OF hundred .
cases il is the very best thing that could .
have happened. The world may criticise
and pronounce it an inaptitude, and may !
lift its eyebrows in surprise and think 1t |
might suggest somethiuy bstter: bat the |
God who sees the twenty, forty. fifty years
Of welded nfe before tSey have begun ar.
ranges all forthe best. s, that flowers in !
almost sll cases, are appronriate for the /
marriage day. The diyewsnces Of dispo-
sition will become OorresOOudenees. reck-
lessness will become prudsnce. friyolity
will be turned into prac6cability.
There has been many an aoed widowed
soul who had carefully locked bureau,
and in the bureau Dor, and n tbe box a
folded paper, and iO TIE folded paper q
half-blown rose, slightly fr.grant discol-
ored, carefully pressed. Shs mt n there
Enrkv or fffv wears AGO n .-;,.r