Connecticut western news., 1899-04-06
QUEEN OFrrHEFIELD.
REV. OR. TAlMAcE PAYS TRIBUTE TO
 THE LILY.


 Divine Interprets the M.ssage of
 tAe Flowers-They Speak In Varied
 Tones-Typical of Resurrection.
 LCopyrlght. 1889. by American Press Asso-
 ciation.l
 WASHINGTON, April 2.-In this Easter sermon Dr. Talmage interprets the mss- sage which the flowers bring to the anxious, the dispirited and the bereav- ed text. Luke xii. s8. eff then God 20 clothe the grass, which is today in the field, and tomorrow is cast into the oven how much more will he clotbe yoa, O ye of little faithf"
 The lily is the queen of Bible flowers. The rose may have disputed her throne in modern times and won it, but the rose originally had only five petals. It was under the long continued and in tense gaze of the world that the rose iblushed into its present beauty. In the Bible train, cassia and hyssop and lfrankincense and myrrh and spikenard and .campbor 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 Father, in the time of Solomon, in the time of Christ. Cesar 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 cluster of flowers and was told to consider the lilies.
 We may st udy or reject other sciences at our soption--it is so with astronomy, it is so with chemistry, it is so with Jurisprudence. it is go with physiology. 'it7is 30 with geology-but the science of botany Christ commands us to study when be says. Consider the lilies. !" Maasure them from root to tip of petal. Inhale their breath. Notice the grace fulhess of their boise. Hear the whisper of, the white lips of the eastern and the red lipe of the American lily. .. Belonging 10 this royal family of lilies satS the lily of the Nile, the Japan lily. itbd Lady Washington of the sierras. the Golden band lily, the Giant lily of Nepsul. the Turk sscap lily, the African al3lf from the Cape of Good Hope. All tb8se lilies have the royal blood in their vGps. But I take the lilies of my text tEi6 morning as typical of all flowers, atdt their voice of floral beauty seems tds address us. saying. Consider the liftss. consider the azaleas, consider the fdehsias, consider the geraniums, con- sitaf the ivies, consider the hyacinths. consider the heliotropes. consider the oleanders. With deferential and grate- ful and intelligent and worshipful souls consider them. Not with insipid senti- mentalism or with sophomoric vapor- ingt but for grand and practical and everyday and. If need be, homely uses, consider them.
 ES Angels of the Grass.
 The flowers are theq 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. I stand here to interpret their message. What have you to say to us, O ye an- gels of the grassf This morning mean to discuss what flowers are good for. That is my subject, "What are flowers good forr" II 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 win give you ap- parel and food We have no wheel with which to spin. no loom with which to weave, no sickle with which ro har vest no we'll 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 ap- pareled us with more than Solomonic regality. We are prophetesses of ade- quate wardrobe. "1f God so clothed us, the grass of the field, will he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith ?" Men and women of worldly anxieties, take this message home with you. How long has God taken care of youf Guar ter of the journey of ifef Half the journey of lifef Three-quarters the jenrney of lifef Can you not trust him the rest of the wayf God does not promise you anything like that which tho Roman emperor had on his table at vast expense 300 nightingales' tongues bat he has promised to take care of you. He has promised you the necessi ties, not the luxuries-bread, not cake. If God 50 luxuriantly clothes the grass of the field, will he not provide for you, his living and immortal childrenf He will
 No wonder Martin Luther always had flower on his writing desk for in- spiration! Through the cracks of the prison floor flower grew up to cheer Picciola- Mnngo Park, the great trav- eler and explorer. had his life saved by flower. He sank down in the desert to die, but. seeing a flower near by, it 'svggested 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 evangels of the sky.
 q, Uses of Flowers.
 If you ask me the question. What are flowers good forf respond. they arc good for the bridal day. The bride must have them on her brow, and she must have them in her hand. The mar riage altar must be covered with them. A wedding without flowers would be as Inappropriate as wedding without music. At such time they are for con- gratulation and prophecies of good. So much of the pathway of life is covered up with thorns, we ought to cover the beginning with orange blossoms.
 Flowers are appropriate on such oc- casions. for In 90 out of 100 cases 1t Is the very best thing that could have hap pened. 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 who sees the 90. 40, 50 years of 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 dis