Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1888-04-13
CONSIDER THE LILIES.
DR.. Talinage's Easter Sermon at the
Tabernacle.

He Discusses the Uses of Flowers aud the
Lessons Taught by Them - Orange
Blossoms for the Bride, q Handful OF
Violct> for the Tomb.
BHooKLYN, April 1.-The platform and
galleries of the Tabernacle were This
morning profusely decorated with flowers.
On the previous evening the church had
been open TO prepare the decorations, for
which the congregation had been invited to
bring t!ovo rs.
The immense audience room is not large
enough to contain the people on ordinary
occasions; it must be left to the imagina-
tion to suggest the throngs, both inside
and out .ide the church, on this great feslal
day.
Tho lev. T. De Witt Talmage, D. D.,
took Tor Ills text Luke xii. rs: eff then
God 80 clo:he the grass. which is to-day IN
the field, and tomorrow is cast into the
oven, how much more will he clothe you.
lie sn!l:
Tie lily is the queen of the Bible flow
ers. The rose may have disputed her
throne in modern times, and won it; but
the rose originally had Only live petals.
It was under the long continued and i'll
tense gaze of the world that tho rose
blusheil in,o its present beauty. In the
Bible train, cassia and hyssup aud frank-
incene 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 lilly
resnea in the timo of Esther, in the time
of Solomon, III the time of Christ.
Cpsnr had Ills throne on the hills. The
lily lad her throne i'll the wiley. In the
greatest sermon that was ever preached,
there was only one flower, and that Il lilly.
The Bedford dreamer, John Bunyan, en-
tered the house OF the interpreter, and was
shown q cluster of flowers. and was told to
consider the lilies"
We may study aud reject other sciences
at our option. 1t is SO with astronomy.
it is 30 With chemistry, it is SO with juris-
prudence. it is SO with physiology, it is SO
with geology; but the science of botany
Christ commands us TO study when He
says: "Consider tho lilies" Measure
them from root TO tip of petal. Inhale
their breath Notice the gracclulness 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 lily Of the sierras, the
Golden Band lily, the Giant lily Of Nepaul,
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, aud this Easter day,
garlanded with all this opuienco of floral
beauty, seems to address us, saying: "Con-
slider the lilies, consider the azalias. con-
e etao u.s. consider the hyacinths,
consider the ivies, consider the heliotropes.
consider the oleanders." With differential
and grateful and intelligent and Worship
full souls, consider them. Not with in
sipid sentimentalism 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 tho whirlwinds
speak, they scream: when the cataracts
speak, they roar; but whom the flowers
speak, they always whisper. I stand here
to interpret their message. What have
you to say, oh, ye angels of the grass, to
this worshipful multitude2
This morning mean to discuss what
flowers are good for. That is my sub
ject: What are fowe RS good for?
/. ] 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 10
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 appareled us with more than
Solomonic regality. We ore propbetesses
OF adequate wardrobe. Il God so clothed
us, the grass OF the field, will He not much
more clothe you, oh ye of little faith?"
Men and women of worldly anxieties,
take this message homo with you. How
long has God taken caro- Of your Quarter
of the journey of lifep Half the journey
of life? Three-quarters the journey Of
life? Can you not trust him the rest Of
the way? God does not promise you any.
had on his table at vast expense-50t
nightingales' tongues-but He has prom.
Used to take care Of you. He has promised
you the necessities, not the luxuries--bread
not cake. If God 80 luxuriantly clothee
the grass of the field, will He not provide
for you, His living and immortal children;
He will.
No wonder Martin Luther always had {
flower on his writing uesk for inspiration
Through the cracks of the prison floor
flower grew up to cheer Picciola. Mungt
Park, the great traveller and explorer, hnt
his life saved by flower. He sank dow
in the desert to die, but, seeing a flower
near by, it suggested Gods mercifu
care, and he got up With new courage anc
travelled on 10 safety. said the flowers
are the angels of the grass. add nov
they.ne the evangels of the Sky.
q If Won insist IN aakinu ma tha ones,
ton: What are flowers good for? re.
spond, 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 in.
appropriate as a Wedding without music
At such a time they are for congratulutio1
and prophecies of good. So much of tn,
pathway of life is covered up with thorns
we ought to cover the beginning will
orange blossoms.
Flowers are appropriate on such oc
casions, for in ninety nine out of 100 case
it is the very best think that could hav,
happened. The world may criticize ant
pronounce it an inaptitude, and may lift it
eyebrows in surprise and think it nigh
suggest something better: but the God VIII,
sees the twenty, forty, fifty years Of weddet
life before they have begun, arranges al
for the best So that flowers, in almost al
cases, are appropriate for the marriag
day. The divergences of disposition will