The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-04-18
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S SUN
DAY SERMON.
Subject: "The Angels Of the Grass.

TEXT: "If then God so c{othe the grass,
,rhich is today in the field, and tomorrow
IS cast into the oren hO,U much more aclH
he clothe youF-Luke xii, %:
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. 1t was under the long
continued and intense gaze of the world that
the rose blushed into its present beauty. In
the Bible train, cassia and hyssop and frank
incense and nyrrh and spikenard and cam
phire and the rose follow the lily. Fourteen
iimes in the Bible is tie 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.
Cesar 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. Inc
Bedford dreamer, John Bunyan, entered the
house OF the interpreter, and was shown
cluster Of flowers, and was told to CONSIDER
the lilies"
We may study or reject other sciences at
our option. 1t is so with astronomy, 1t 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 or
petal. Inhale their breath. Notice the
gracefulness of their poise. Hear the WINS.
per of the white lips of the Eastern and CT
the rel 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 Sierras the Golden Band
fily. the Giant lily of Nepaul, the Turks Cap
lily, the African lily from the Cape of Good
Hope. All these lilies have the royal blood
in their veins But I take the lilies OF my
text this morning as typical OF all flowers
and this Easter day, garlanded with all this
opulance of floral beauty seems to address US,
saving: Consider the lilies, consider the
azalias, consider the fuchsias, consider the
geraniums, consider the ivies, consider the
byacinths, consider the heliotropes, consider
the oleanders." With dfferential and CRATE
full and intelligent and worshipful souls, con-
slider them. Not with insipid sentimentallsm,
or 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.
speak, they thunder; when the whirlwinds
speak, they scream; when the cataracts
speak, they roar; but when the flowers speak,
they always whisper. l stand here to inter-
pret their message. What have you to say,
oh We angels of the grass, to this worshipfu
-multitude9
This morning mean to discuss what flow
ers are good for. That is my subject: Whas
1 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 to-day, 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 well 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 appareled US with
more than Solomonic regality. We are
prophetesses Of adequate wardrobe. II God
so clothed us, the grass Of the field, Will ne
not much more clothe you, oh ye OF little
faith!n
Men and women Of worldly anxieties, take
this message home with you. How long has
God taken care of you! Quarter Of the
journey OF life! half the journey OF ifes
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-500 nightingales' tongues-but He
has promised to take care of you. He has
promised you the necessities, not the iuxurles
bread, not cake. If God so luxuriantly
clothes the grass Of the field, will he not pro-
,dren? He will.
No wonder Martin Luther always had a
flower on his writing desk for inspira-
ton. Through the cracks of the prison
floor a flower grew up to cheer Plccl-
. ola. Mungo Park, the great traveller and
explorer, had his life saved by flower.
He sank down in the desert to die, but seeing
a flower near by, it suggested Gods merciful
. care and he got up with new courage and
travelled on to safety. / said the flowers are
the angels of the grass. add now that they
are the evangels of the sky.
II. If you insist on asking me the question:
What are flowers good for! respond: They
are good for the bridal day. The bride must
have them on her 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 wed
. ding without music. At such time they are
for congratulation and prophecies OF good.
So much Of the pathway Of life is covered
up with thorns, we ought to cover the begin
ming with orange blossoms.
Flowers are appropriate on such occasions,
for in ninety-nine out of hundred cases it is
the very best thing that could have happened
The world may critlcise and pronounce it an
inaptitude, and may lift its eyebrows in sur
prise and think it might suggest something
better; but the God who sees the twenty,
forty, fifty years of welded life before they
have begun arranges all for the best So
that flowers, in almost all cases, are appro-
PIRATE for the marriage day. The divergences
OF disposition will become correspondence,
recklessness will become prudence, friyolity
will be turned to practically.
There has been many an aged widowed
soul who had carefully 10 .ked bureau, and
in the bureau box. and in the box folded
paper, and in the folded paper half blown
rose, slightly fragrant, discolored. carefully
pressed. She put it there forty or fifty years
ago. On the anniversary day of her wedding
she will 90 to the bureau, she will lift the
box. she will unfold the paper and to her
eyes will be exposed the half blown bud, and
the memories Of the past will rush upon her,
and tear will drop upon tue flower; and
suddenly it is tranSfgured, and there is a
stir in the dust Of the anther, and it rounds
out, and it is full of life. and it begins to
tremble in the procession up the church aisle,
and the dead music of half century ago
comes throbbing through the air; and van
ished faces reappear, and right hands are
Joined, and manly voice promises: ~ will
for better or worse" and the wedding march
thunders salyo Of joy at the departing
scatters the scene Under the deep fetched
breath, the altar, the flowers. the congratu-
lating groups are scattered, and there is
nothing left but trembling hand holding
faded rosebud, which is put into the paper,
and then into the box and the box carefully
placed in the bureau, and with sharp, sud-
den click Of the lock the scene is over.
Ah. my friends, let not the p. Sphecies Of
the flowers on your wedding day be false
prophecies. Be blind to each others faults.
Make the most Of each others excellences.
Above all, do not bo:h get mad at once! Re
member the VOWS, the ring on the third finger
of the left hand, and the benediction Of the
Gala lillies
III. If you insist on asking me the question:
What are flowers good for! I answer, tn "
are pood m honor and con,fort the obSanIIieS