Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1888-04-07
CONSIDER TIE LILIES.
DR.sTAlMAeE's EASTER SERMON AT
1.-THE TABERNACLE.

He Discusses tho Uses of Flowers and
tho Lessons Taught by Thcn-ornngo
Blossoms for the Bride, IL Handful of
violets for the Tomb. @a
BROOKLYN, April 1.-The Platform and
galleries of the Tabernacle were this morn
! lug profusely decorated with flowers. On
the previous evening the church had been
openito prepare tho decorations, for which
the congregation hal been invited to bring
flowers.
Thesimmense audience room is not large
enough to contain, the people on ordinary
occasions; it must be left to the Imagination
to suggest tho throngs, both inside and out
sdcthe church, on this great fcstal day
The 7. Dc Witt Talmage, D. D., took
for histext,zL luke xii eli. then God SO
clothc.tho grass, NRhic is stoda ill the fold.
and; to-moIroWjs cas- into tho oYen; how
muclfnorn he clothe youg he said:
heliIy isthe queen of sBiblo flowers. The
rosera have: sputed her throne in modern
+ ti,n5s, and wonsit; but the rose originally
haGonly five:petals. TWAS under tho long
continued and intense gaze of tho world that
thesrose flushed into its present beauty. In
thcsBiblc train, cassia and l!::ssop and frank
incense aud layrrh and spilienard and CAM
phire and the rose follow tho lily. Fourteen
times in tho Bible is the lily mentioned; only
twice the rose The roso mnY now have
wider empire, but tho lily reisned in the timo
of Esther, in the time of Solomon, in tho
time of Christ
l,,I u IA ~
/ lily had her throne in tho valley. In tho
greatest sermon that was ever preached,
there was only one flower, and that n lily. The
Bedford dreamer, John Bunyan, entered the
house. Of the interpreter, and was shown
cluster of flowers, and was told to "consider
tholiles."
We may study or reject other sciences at
our option. 1t is so with astronomy, it is SO
with chemistry it is so with Jurisprudence.
it S so with physiology, it is SO with geology:
but the science of botany Christ commands
usSsto study when he says: "Consdcr the
lilies.n Measure them from root to tip OF
petal Inhalc their breath. Notice the
grncefulncss of their poise. Hear the whis-
pei. of the white lips of the Eastern and of
tlisred lips of tho American lily.
Belonging to this royal family of lilies is
the lily of the Nile, the japan lily. tho Lady
Washington of the Sierras, tho Golden Band
lily, the Giant lily of Nepaul the Turks Cap
lilf, the African lily FROM the Cape of Good
Homo. All these lilies Lave the royal blood
in their veins. But take tho lilies Of my
text this morning rs typical OF all flowers,
and this Easter day, garlanded with all this
opulence of floral beauty, seems to address US,
saving: "Considcr the lilies, consider the
azalins, consider the fuchsias consider the
geraniums, consider the ivics, consider the
hyacinths, consider the heliotropes, consider
tho oleanders.n With difrerental and grate
full and Intelligent and worshipful souls, con-
slder thcm Not with inspid scntimentalism,
o.;with sophomore vaporing, but for grand
arh practical and everyday and, If need be.
homely uses, consider them
THE flowers arc the angels Of tho grass.
They all have voices When the clouds
sneak, they thunder; when the whirlwiDds
sleak, they scream; when tho cataracts
speak thcy roar; but when the flowers speak,
the, always whisper. I stand hero to inter-
pret their message. What have you to say,
Oh We. angels of the grass, to this worshipful
multitude? - -
I1Iig
ers' arc good for That is my subject: What
arc flowers good forl
L. 1 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 well sweep with which to draw
water: but God Stakes our thirst with The
dew, and God feeds US with tile bread of the
sunshine, and God has apparoled us with
moro than Solomonic regality. We are
prophetcsseS of adequate wardrobe. If God
so clothed us, the grass Of the field will he
not much moro clothe you. oh ye of little
faithF'
Men and women of worldly anxieties, take
this message homo with you. How long hos
God taken care of youl Quarter of the
Journey of life? half tho journey of lifc2
three-quarters tho journey of lifo2 Can you
not trust him the rest Of tho way2 God does
not promise YOU anything like that which
tho Roman emperor had OH his table at vast
exDcnse-500 nightinSales' tonSues-btit he
has promised to tallo care of you. He has
promised you the necessities not the lux
urics-brcad, not cake. If God SO luxuri-
artly clothes tho grass of the field, will he
not provide for you, his living and immortal
children? Hc will.
No wonder Martin Luther always had
flower on his writing desk for inspira-
ton. Through the cracks of the prison
floor flower grew up to cheer Picci-
ola. Mungo Park, the great traveller and
explorer, had his life saved by q flower.
Hc sank down in the deSeft to die,
but seeing flower near by it suggested
Gods mcrcifnl care, and lie got up with new
courage and Travelled on to safety. said
the flowers are the angels of the grass add
now they arc the evangcls of the sky.
II. If you insist on asking me the question:
What are flowers good for? l respond, they
aro 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 we'd
ding without music. Atsuch time they are
for congratulation AID 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 arc appropriate on such occasions,
for in ninety-nino out of a hundred cases it is
the very best thing that could have happened.
The world may criticise and pronounce it an
inaptitudo, and may lift its eyebrows in sur
prise and think it might suggest something
better; but the God who sees tho twenty,
forty, fifty years OF wooded life before they
have begun arranses all for tho BEST So
that flowers in almost all cases, are appro-
priato for the marriage day. The divergences
Of disposition will become correspondence,
recllessncss will become prudence, frivolity
will be turned into practicality.
There has been many ON aged widowed
soul who had carefully locked bureau, and
in the bureau box, and in the box folded