Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1888-04-13
TALMAGE.
An Easter ssrmon--The Royal Raiment Of
the Grass

nacle were Sunday morning profuseIy
decorated with flowers. On Satur-
day evening the church had been open
to prepare the decorations, for which
the congregation had been invited to
bring flowers. It must be left to the
imagination to suggest the throngs,
both inside and outside the church, on
the great festaI day.
The Rev T. Dewitt TaImage, D.
D., took for his text Luke xii, Is: "If
then God so clothe the grass, which is
today in the field, and tomorrow is
cast into the oven; how much more
viii he clothe you" He said:
The lily is the queen of Bible flowers.
The rose may have disputed her throne
in modern times and won it; but the
rose originally had only five petals. It
was under the lOng-continued and con
slant gaze of the world that the rose
blushed into its present beauty. In
the Bible train, cassia and hyssop and
frankincens and myrrh and spikenard
and campfire and the rose follow the
lily. Fourteen times in the Bible is
the lily mentioned; only twice the rose.
The rose may now have wider empire,
but the lily reigned in the time of
Esther, in the time of Solomon, in the
time of Christ.
Caesar had his throne on the hills.
The lily had her throne in the valley.
In the greatest sermon that was ever
preached, there was only one flower,
and that lily. The Bedford dreamer,
John Bunyan, entered the house of the
Interpreter, and was shown a cluster
of flowers, and was told to consider
the lilies"
We may study on reject other sci
ences at our option. 1t Is so with as
trOnOmy, it is so with chemistry, it is
so with Jurisprudence, it is so with
physiology, it is so with geology; 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 gracefulness of their poise.
Hear the whisper of the white lips of
the eastern and of the red lips of the
American lily.
Belonging to this royal family of
lilies is the lily of the Nile, the Japan
lily, the lady Washington of the Ser
ras, the Golden band lily, the Giant
lily of Nepaul, the Turks Cap lily, the
African lily from the Cape of Good
Hope. Al these lilies Of my text this
morning as typical of all flowers, and
this Easter day, garlanded with all this
Opulence of floral beauty, seems to adj
dress us, saying: Consider the lilies,
consider the azalias, consider the fuch-
sias, consider the geraniums, consider
the ivies, consider the hyacinths, con-
slider the hehOtrOpes, consider the ole
anders." With differential and CRATE
full and intelligent and wOrshipful souls,
consider them. Not with insipid senti-
mentalism, or with sophomore vapOr-
ing, but for grand and practical and
everyday, and, if need be, for 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 scream;
when the cataracts speak, they roar;
but when the flowers speak, they always
whisper. 1 stand here to interpret their
message. What have you to say, Oh,
ye angels Of the grass, to this worship
full multitude?
This morning mean to discuss what
flowers are good for. That Is my sub
ject: What are Flowers Good FOr?"
First-I remark, in the first place,
they are good for lessons of Gods prOvi
Dental care. That was Gods 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 sweep with
which to draw water; but God slakes
our thirst with the dew, and God
feeds us with the bread of the sunshine,
and God has apparelled us with more
than SolomOnic regaity. We are
God so clothed us, the grass of the
field, viii He not much more clOthe
you, o We of little faith. "
Men an women of worldly anXieties,
take this message home with you.
How long has God taken care of you?
Quarter of the journey of life? three
quarters of 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 at vast expense-5OO night
ingales' tongues-but he has promised
to take care of you. He has promised
you the necessities, not the Injuries
bread, not cake. If God so luxuriantly
clothes the grass Of the'field, viii he
not provide for you, his living and i'm
mortal children? He Will
No wonder Martin Luther always had
a flower on his writing desk for inspir-
alton. Through the cracks of the prison
floor a flower grew up to cheer Picciola.
Mungo Park, the great traveller and
explorer, had his life saved by flower.
He sank down In the desert to die, but
seeing flower near by, it suggested
Gods merciful care, and he got up with
new courage and travelled on to safety.