Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1899-04-06
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
ANGELS OF THE GRASS" LAST
SUNDAYS SUBJECT.
From Luke, 1928, as Follows: If Then
God So Ciothe the Grass 49,. How
Much More win He CIothe You, q Ye
of Little Faith:"

The lily is the queen of Bible flow
ers. The rose may have disputed her
throne in modern times, and won it;
but the rose originally had only five
petals. 1t was under the long-con-
tinued and intense gaze OF the world
that the rose blushed 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 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
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 a lily. The Bedford dreamer,
John Bunyan, entered the House of the
Interpreter, and was shown a cluster
Of flowers, and was told to consider
the lilies"
We may study or reject other sci
ences at our option. 1t is so with as
tronomy; it is SO with chemistry; 1t
is so with Jurisprudence; it is so with
physiology; it is so with geology; but
the science of botany Christ commands
us to study when he says: Consider
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 lips of
the Eastern and the red lips of the
American lily.
Belonging 10 this royal family of
lilies is the lily of the Nile, the Japan
lily, the Lady Washington of the ST.
erras, 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 l take the
lilies of my text this morning as typ
zeal of all flowers, and their voice Of
floral beauty seems to address us, say
ing, Consider the lilies, consider the
aZaleas, consider the fuchsias, consider
the geraniums, consider the ivies, con-
slider the hyacinths, consider the hell
otropes, consider the oleanders. With
deferential and grateful and worship
full souls, consider them. Not with in
sipid sentimentalism, or with sopho-
moric vaporing, but for grand and
practical and everyday, 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 cataracts speak, they roar;
but when the flowers speak, they al
ways whisper. 1 stand here to inter-
pref their message. What have you to
say to us, o we angels of the grass?
This morning I mean to discuss what
flowers are good for. That is my sub
ject-What are flowers good for?
l remark, in the first place, they are
good for lessons of Gods providsntial
care. That was Christ's first thought.
All these flowers seem to address us
today, saying, God will give yo3 ap-
parel 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 appareled us with more than Sol
omontc regality. We are prophetesses
of adequate wardrobe. IF God so
clothed us, the grass Of the field, will
he not much more clothe you, 0 ye Of
little faith?" Men and women of
worldly anxieties, take this message
hn- r~I
taken care of you? Quarter Of the
journey of life? Half the journey of
life? Three-quarterS of the journey
Of life? Can you not trust him the
rest of the way? God does not prom
Use you anything like that which the
Roman emperor had on his table at
vast expense-five hundred nightin-
| gales tongues-but he has promised
to take care of you. He has promised
you the necessities, not the luxuries-
bread, not cake. If God so luxuriantly
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 flower on his writing desk for
inspiration! Through the cracks of
the prison door 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 a
flower near by, it suggested Gods mer-
ciful care, and he got up with new
courage and travelled on to safety.
said the flowers are the angels of the
grass. l add now they are the evan
gels of the sky.
II you ask me the question, What
are flowers good for? l respond, 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 flower!
; would be as inappropriate as a wed
ding without music. At such a tim,
they are for congratulations ant
prophecies of good. So much of tn
pathway Of life is covered up will
=, thorns we ought to cover the begin
ming with orange blossoms.
Flowers are appropriate on such &C
casions, for in ninety-nine out Of
hundred cases it is the very best thin
that could have happened. The worl
may criticise and pronounce it an in
aptitude, and may lift its eyebrows Il
4 surprise and think it might sugges
t something better; but the God VIII
t sees the twenty, forty, fifty years @
t welded life before they have begu
a arranges for the best. So that flow
ers, in almost all cases, are appropri
ate for the marriage day. The di
yergences Of disposition will becOm