The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1899-04-29
FLOWERS OF EASTER.
DR.. Talmage Draws an ms piration
from Them.
The Eloquent Orators Easter Dis
cOurse-Lessons Which the T1Ow-
ers Bring to the Dispirited
and the Bereaved.
Copyright, 1897

and the BereaVed.
washington, Copyright, 1897
In this Easter sermon DR.. Talmage
interprets the message which the flow
ers bring to the anxious, the dispirited
and the bereaved; text, Luke 1928, IF
| 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, o We of little faith?"
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. 1t
was under the long continued and in
tense 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 camphor 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 lily. The Bedford
dreamer, John Bunyan, entered the
house of the interpreter and was shown
cluster of flowers and was told to
| ba
We may study or reject other sciences
at our option-it is so with astronomy,
itisso with chemistry, it is so with juris-
prudence, 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 grace
fulness of their poise. Hear the whis-
per of the white lips of the eastern and
the red lips of the American lily.
Belonging to this royal family of
lilies are the lily of the Nile, the Japan
lily, the Lady Washington of the
Sierras, 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 the
lilies of my text this morning as typ
ical 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 hello
tropes, consider the oleanders." With
deferential and grateful and intelligent
and worshipful souls, consider them
Not with insipid sentimentalism or
with sophomore vaporing, but fol-
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 always whis-
per. stand here to intrepet their mes
sage. What have you to say to us, o We
angels of the grass? This morning !
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-
S{day, saying: God will give you ap
parel and food" We have no wheel with
which to spin, no loom with which tc
. weave, no sickle with which to harvest
no well sweep with which to draw
D of the sunshine, and God has apparelet
q us with more than Solomonic regality
D We are prophetesses of adequate ward
robe. IF God so clothed us, the gras!
of the field, will He not much NOR,
! clothe you, . We of little faith?" Mer
), and women of worldly anxieties, TAX,
j. this message home with you! How long
9 has God taken care of you? Quarter o.
:. the journey of life? Half the journe,
of life? Three-quarters the journey o
p life? Can you not trust Him the res
of the way? God does not promise you
anything like that which the Roman
= emperor had on his table at vast ex
. pense-500 nightingales' tongues bu
a He has promised to take care of you
7 He has promised you the necessities
not the luxuries-bread, not cake. 1
a God so luxuriantly clothes the grass o
the field, will He not provide for you
:, His living and immortal children? HI
will.
;. No wonder Martin Luther always hat
flower on his writing desk for in
spiration! Through the cracks of tn
= prison door a flower grew up to chez
Picciola. Mungo Park, the great trav
eler and explorer, had his life saved b,
. q flower. He sank down in the deser
to die, but, seeing flower near by, /
- suggested Gods merciful care, and h
- got up with new courage and travele,
on to safety. said the flowers are tn
II angels of the grass. Iadd now they ar
# the evangels of the sky.
$. If you ask me the question: "Wha
are flowers for?" l respond, they ar
good for the bridal day. The brid
must have them on her brow, and sh