Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1888-04-11
DIR. TALMAeEs SERMON, SUNDAY, APR. LIST.

BROOKLYN, N. Y, April 1.-The plat
form and galleries of the Tabernacle were
this morning profusely decorated with flow
ers. On the previous evening the church
had been open to prepare the decorations,
to bring flowers.
The immense audience-room is not large
enough to contain the people on ordinary
occasions; it must be left to the imagination
to suggest the throngs, both inside and out
side the church, on this festal day.
The Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage, D D., took
for his text Luke xii, 2S: sIf, then, God SO
clothe the grass which is to-day in the field,
and tomorrow is cast into the oven; how
much more will he clothe you" He said:
The lily is the queen of Bible flowers
The rosa may have disputed her throne in
modern times, and won it; but the rose
originally had only five petals. 1t was un-
der the long continued and intense gaze of
the world that the rose blusbed into its
present beauty. In the Bible train, cassia
and hyssop, and frankincense and myrrh
and spikenard and campfire and the rose
follow the lily. Fourteen times in che 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, enter
ed 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, it is
so with chemistry, it is'so with jurispru-
dence, 1T is so with physiology, it is so with
geology; but the science of botany Christ
commands us ostudy when He says: ''Con-
s1der 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 lily 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 Sierras, the Golden Band
liy, the Giant lily Of Nepaul, tie Turk s
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 azalias, consider the fuchsias,
consider the gernaniums, consider the ivies,
consider the hyacinths, consider the hello
tropes, consider the oleanders." With diff
ferential and grateful and intelligent and
Worshipful souls, consider them. Not with
insipid sentimentalism, or with sophomore
vaporlng, but for grand and practical and
everyday, and, if need be, homely uses, con-
slider 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. l stand here
to interpret their message. What have you
to say, o ye angels of the grass. to this wor-
shipful multitude ?''
This morning I mean to discuss what
flowers are good for. That is my subject:
What are flowers good for?
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 apparalled us
with more than Solomonic regality. We
are prophetesses of adequate wardrobe. If
God so clothed us, the grass of the field,
will He not much more clothe you, . ye OF
little faith ?''
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
life three quarters the journey of life Can
you not trust Him the rest OF the way? G0d
does not promise you anything like that
which the Roman Emperor had on his table
at vast expenses-five hundred 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 so luxurlantly clothes the grass of the
field, will He not provide for you, his living
and immortal children? He will.
No wonder Martin Luther always had a
flower on his writing desk for inspiration.
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. I said the flowers are the angels
of the grass. l add now they are the
evangels of the sky.
ii. If you insist on asking me the ques-
tion: What are flowers good for ? respond,
they are good for the bridal day. The bride