Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1899-05-04
DIR. TALMAGES SERMON.
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE BY THE NOTED
DIVINE.
Subject: "Significance of the Flowers''-
They Bear Messages of Cheer to the
Heart-sicls and Despairing-Their APP
propriateness at Obsequies.

TEXT: Ifthen God so clothe the grass
which is to-day in the field, and to-mor-
row is cast into the oven, how much more
will He clothe you, o ye Of little iaith?"-
Luke xii, 49,
The lily is the queen Of Bible flowers.
The lose may have disputed her throne in
modern times and won 1t, but the rose orig
inally had only five petals. 1t was under
the long continued and intense gaze of the
world that the rose blushed into its pres.
ent beauty. In the Bible train, cassia and
hyssop and frankincense and myrrh and
spikenard and camphor and the rose fol-
low 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 great
est sermon that was ever preached there
was only one flower and that lily. The
Bedford dreamer, John Bunyan, 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-it is so with astronomy. 1t is
50 with chemistry, it is so with juris-
prudence, it is so with physiology, 1t Is SO
with geoogy-but the science OF botany
Christ commands us to study when He
says, "Ccnsider the lilies.' Measure them
from root 70 tip of petal. Inhale their
breath. Notice the gracefulness of their
poise. Hear the WI isper of the white lips
Of the Eastern aad the red lips of the
American lily.
Belonging to this royal family OF lilies
are the lily Of the Nile, tie japan lily. the
Lady Washington of the Sie-ras. 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
f1,n . !, ,t1, .f,xx.
OF all flowers, and their voice Of floral
beauty seems to address us, saying, "Con-
slider the lilies consider the aZaleas, con-
slider the fuchsias, consider the geraniums,
consider the ivies. consider the hyacinths,
consider the heliotropes, consider the
oleanders." With deferential and grateful
and intelligent and worshipful souls con-
slider them. Not with insipid sentimental
ism or with sophom oric vaporing, but for
grand and practical and everyday and, IL
need be, home!y uses, consider them.
The flowers are the angels of the grass.
speak, they thunder; when the whrlwinds
speak they scream when the cataracts
speak they roar, but when the flowers
speak they always whisper. stand here
to interpret their message. What have
YOU to say to us, o ye angels of the grass?
This morning mean to discuss what flow
ers are good for. That is my subject
"Whst are flowers good for?"
in the first place, they are good
Gods providential care.
, first thought All these
- iansnns a. ess US to-day, saying,
W W hot ,naS Gbrist,s parel and food" We
a,or', 10. "', Soo,,, 20 aadr ch to spin no loom
~ ~ va Eli a,ire vnn an sickle with which
ave no wheel with whl p WIN MnIcn ~
With which to weave, no 9t, III .hiist VIII
o harvest, no we'll sw, VIZ .ne piet.a
raw water but God slack ato'ou ,v Ts
he dew, and God feeds us we
# the sunshine, and God has
With more than Solomonic res....y.
re prophetesses of adequate wardrobe.
If God so clothed us, the grass OF the field,
will He not much more clothe you, o ye OF
title faith?" Men and women Of worldly
nxieties take this message home with
'ou How long has God taken care ofyou2
Quarter Of the journey of life? Half the
Quincy of life? Three-quarters the jour
lev of life? Can you not trust Him the rest
If the way? God does not promise you
anything like that which the Roman en-
,eror had on his table at vast expense-5O0
lightingales' 'tongues-but III o has promised
o take care of you. He has promised you
he necessities not the luxuries-bread,
lot cake. If God so luxuriantly clothes
he grass of the field will He not provide
'or you, His living and immortal children?
he will.
No wonder Martin Luther always had n
lower on his writing desk for inspiration!
the cracks of the prison hoor Il
flower grew up to cheer Picciola. Mungo
Park, the great traveller and explorer, had
bis lie saved by flower. He sank down
in the desert to die; but, seeing flower
near by, 1t suggested Gods merciful care,
and he got up with new courage and
travelled on to safety. l said the flowers
are the angels of the grass. add now they
are evangels OF the sky.
II you ask me the question, What are
flowers good for2 I 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 he covered with them. A we'd
ding without flowers would be as inappro-
pirate as wedding without music. At
such time they are for congratulation
and prophecies of good. So much OF the
pathway of life is covered up with thorns,
we ought to cover the beginning with or
ange blossoms.
Flowers are appropriate on such oc-
casions, for in ninety-nine out OF 100 cases
1t 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
welded life before they have begun ar
ranges for the best. So that flowers, in
almost all cases, are appropriate for the |
marriage day. The divergences of DISPOSE
tion will become correspondence, reck-
lessness will become prudence, frivolity |
will be turned into practicality.
There has been many an aged widowed
soul who had a carefully locked bu-
reau and in the bureau a box and in the
box folded paper and in the folded
paper half blown rose, slightly fragrant,
discolored, carefully pressed. She put 1t
there forty or fifty years ago. On the
anniversary day Of her wedding she
will 60 to the bureau, 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 u tear will drop upon the
flower and suddenly 1t is transhgured, and
there is stir in the dust Of the anther and
it rounds out and 1t is full Of life and it
begins to tremble in the procession up the
church aisle, and the dead music OF half
century ago comes throbbing through the
air, and vanished faces reappear and right
hands are joined and manly voice prom
ises, 81 will, for better or for worse, and
the wedding march thunders salvo OF
Joy ut 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 u