The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1888-04-13
EASTER BLOSSOMS.
Dr.. Talmage on the Lessons OF the
Flowers.
Tho Lily the Quesa Of Bible Flowsrs-What
the Flower Teach-The Wedding Day
and the Bridal l3ad-FloWers
1t Funaralss

1t Funarnlss
| In his sermon adapted to Easter Rev. T.
Dewitt Talmage, d. D., took for his text
Luke xii. %: IF God DO clothe the grass.
which Is to-day In the field. and tomorrow
| IL cast into the oven, how much more Will
he clothe youi" He said:
The lily Is the Queen Of Bible flowers.
The rose may have disputed her throne In
| modern times and won 1t; but the rOse had
| originally 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 hys-
| sop and frankincense and myrrh and spike
nard 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 regned 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, en-
tered 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 80 with Jurisprudence,
it is SO with physiology, it is SO with geolo-
gy; but the science Of botany Christ CON-
mands us to study when he saws: ''Con-
slider the lilies" Measure them from root
to stem OF petal. Inhalc their breath. No
tice the gracefulncss of their pOise. Hear
the whisper of the white lips of the East
ern 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 Sierras, the golden band
lily, 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 take the 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 address US, saying: "COnsider
the lilies, consider the azaleas, consider
the fuchsias, consider the geraniums, con-
slider the ivies, consider the hyacinths,
consider the oleanders." With differen-
tial aud grateful and intelligent and wor-
shipful souls, consider them. Not with in
sIpid sentimentalism, or with sophomore
vaporing, but for grand and practical and
every day, 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 scream; when the cataIActs
speak they roar, but when the flowers
speak they whisper. stand here 10 inter-
pref their message. What have you to
say, D We angels of the grass, to this wOr-
shipful multtudei
This morning I moan IN diocuoa what
flowers are good for. That Is my subject:
What are flowers good fort
First-I 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 we'll
sweep with which to draw water, but God
Stakes our thirst with the dew, and God
feeds US with the bread Of the sunshine,
and God has apparsled US with more than
Solomonic regality. We are prophetesses
of adequate wardrobe. II God so clothed
us, the grass OF the field, will He not much
more clothc you, U We Of little faithl
Men and women Of worldly anxieties. take
this message home with you. How long
has God taken care Of youi Quarter Of
the journey Of lifei half the journey OF
lifei three-quarters the journey of lIfel
Can you not trust Him the rest of the wayl
God does not promise you any thing like
that which the Roman Emperor had on his
table ut vast cxpense-5OO nightingales'
tongues-but He has promised to take care
Of you. He has promised you the necessi-
ties, not the luxuries-bread, not cake. If
God 30 luxuriantly clotho. the grass OF the
field, will He not provide for you. His liv-
ing and immortal children1 He will.
No wonder Martin Luther always had
fewer 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 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. said the flowers
are the angels Of the grass. add now
they are the evangels of the sky.
Second-If you insist on asking me the
question: "What are flowers good forT
respond. they ars good for the bridal day.
The bride must have them on her brow,
and must have them in her hand. The mar.
riage altar must be covered with them. A
NCuuluk WltuOlt uOWCTS "OutO Uc - ludp-
proprlate rs wedding without music. AT
such time they are for congratalation
and prophecies Of good. So much of the
pathway Of life is covered up with thorns
we ought to cover the beginning with
orange blossoms.
Flowers arc appropriate on such Occa-
sions, FOR in ninety-nine out Of hundred
cases it 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 it
might suggest something better, but the
God who sees the twenty. forty, fifty years
Of welded life before they have begun ar
ranges all for the best. SO that flowers, in
almost all cases, are appropriate for the
marriage day. The divergences Of dispo-
sition will become correspondence reck.
lessness will become prudence, frivolity
will be turned into practicality.
There has been many an aged widowed
soul who had y carefully locked bureau.
and in the bureau box, and in the box q
folded paper, and in the folded paper q
half-blown rose. slightly fragrant, dis
colered, carefully pressed. She put it there
forty or fifty years ago. On the anniver-
sary day Of her wedding she will 60 to the
bureau. and 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 the flower, and
suddenly it is transfigured, and there is a
stir in the dust OF the author. and it rounds
out and it is full of life, and it begins to
:remble in the procession up the church
aisle, and the dead music Of half q century
ago comes throbbing through the ar, and
vanished faces reappear, and right hands
are joined, and manly voice promises: 81