The times., 1898-04-11
CONSIDER TIE LILIES
Flowers Are Lessons of Gods
pr0yidentiaI Care.
TALMAGE'S EASTER SERMON
Rather 'Than the ImperiaI'Catafniquc
of the Russian Czar He Would
Have Some One Whom He Has
Helped Bring TO His Grave "a spriE
of frbutus.

l.
subject yesterday morning, Easter
Lilies" In the course of his sermon he
said:
THE lily is the queen of Bible flowers,
The rose may have disputed her throne
in modern tines, and won it; but the rose
originally had only five petals, 1t was
under the long-ccntinued and intense
gaze of the world that the rose blGshed
into its present beauty In the Bible
train, cassia and hyssoD and franklin
cense 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 lily reigned in the time Of Esther.
in the tine 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 Bun
yam, 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, but the science of botany
Christ commands us to study when He
says, Consider the lilies
Il take the lilies of my text this morn
ing typical of all flowers. and this
Easter day. garlanded with all this opu-
ience of floral beauty seems to address
us, saying, Consider the lilies, consider
the azalias. consider the fuchslas. con-
slider the geraniums, consider the ivies,
consider the hyacinths. consider the
heliotropes, consider the oleanders.
u mean to discuss what flowers are
good for. That is my object: What are
flowers good for? ] remark, in the first
place. they are good for lessons Of Gods
providential care. That was Christs
first thought when He said, Consider the
lilies
NO wonder Martin Luther always had
flower on his writing desk for inspira-
ton. Through the cracks Of the prison
floor flower grew up 10 cheer Picciola
Mungo Park, the great traveller and ex-
pIorer, had his life saved by a 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.
If you insist on asking me the ques-
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. wedding without flowers would
he iTlGl
music
There has been many an aged, wild
owed soul who had a carefully locked bu-
reau, and in the bureau n box, and In the
box folded paper, and in the folded pa
per a 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
lift the box, she will unfold the paper and
to her eyes win be exposed the half-blown
bud, and the memories Of the past will
rush upon her, and a tear will drop upon
the flower, and suddenly it is transfgured
/ and there is a stir in the dust of the an
ther, and it rounds out and is full of life
and il begins to tremble in the procession
up the church aisle, and the dead music
/ of a half century ago comes threbbing
/ through the air, and vanished faces re-
appear. and right hands are Joined, and
a manly voice promises, | will, for bet
| ter or for worse and the wedding march
! thunders a salvo Of joy at the departing
/ crowd; but sigh on that anniversary
! day scatters the scene. Under the deep
/ fetched breath. the altar, the flowers, the
congratulating groups are scattered, and
! there is nothing left but a trembling
! hand holding a faded rosebud
'Ah, my friends, let not the prophecies
! of the flowers on your wedding day be
| false prophecies. Be blind TO each 9TH
| ers faults Make the most of each others
excellencies. Remember the vows and
! the ring on the third finger Of the left
! hand, and the benediction of the Gala
| lilies.
IF you insist on asking me the ques-
ton, What are flowers good for?' / an
| swer they are good to honor and comfort
the obsequies. Flowers for the casket,
flowers for the hearse, flowers for the
| cemetery.
Oh, you say, the dead don't know:
II makes no difference to them ] think
you are mistaken.
when / am dead 7 would like to have
handful of vioIets-any one could
pluck them out Of the grass, or some one
/ could lift from the edge of a pond a
water lily-nothing rarely expensive or
! insane display, as sometimes at funeral
rites where the di.vlay takes the bread
| from the children's mouths, and the
| clothes from their backs, but something
| from the great democracy of flowers
| Rather than imperial catafalque or Rus
sian Car, l would have some one whom
! may have helped by Gospel sermon OF
Christian deed to bring a sprig of arbu-
tus or a handful of white clover.
Death is sad enough anyhow. Floral
iZe it's footsteps. The harebell will ring
the victory. The passion-hower will ex-
press the sympathy. The daffodil vii
kindle it's lamp and illumine the dark.
,.f,, ,rta = TaV- will he. h
| constellation. Your little child loved flow.
ers when she was living. Put them il
her hand now that she can go forth NJ
more and pluck them for herself Or
sunshiny days take a fresh garland anC
put it over the still heart.
IF ! had my way / would cover all the
dreamesS sleepers, whether in golden
handled casket or pine box, whether IL
kings mausoleum or potter's field, will
radiant and aromatic arborescence. The
Bible says, in the midst of the gardeI
there was a sepulchre. / wish that ever!
sepuIchre might be in the midst of
garden.
IF you insist on asking me the question
| What are flowers good for? / answe
for religious symbolism. Have you eve
studied scriptural fora? The Bible is a
arboretum; ii is a divine conservatory
II is a herbarium of exquisite beauty. !
you want to illustrate the brevity of tn
brightest human life you will quote fror
Job: "A man cometh forth as a flower
and is cut down.
''All the cut flowers of this Easter da
viii soon be dead. whatever care yo
take of them Though morning an
night you baptise them in the name {
the shower, the baptism will not be
them a saving ordinance They hav
been fatally wounded with the knife tha
!