The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1899-04-08
FLOWERS OF, EASTER.
Dr.. Talmage Draws an Inspiration
from Them.
The Eloquent Orators Easter Dis
course-Less which the Flow
ers bring TO the Dispirited
and the Dereaved.

md the bereaved; text, Luke 1928, II
then God so clothe the grass, which Il
to-day in the field, and tomorrow /,
cast into the oven, how much more viii
lie clothc you, o ye 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. II
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 rcigned 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
--considcr the lilies"
we may study or reject other sciences
at our option-it is SO with astronomy,
tits sowith chemistry, it is so with juris-
prudence, il is no with physiology, it
is so with gcology--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
fulnrss of their poisc. 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
,Sicrras, the Golden band lily, the Giant
lilly of Ncpaul, 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
zeal of all flowers, and their voice of
floral beauty seems to address us, say
ing: Consider the lilies, consider the
nzaleas, consider the fuchsas. consider
the gcraniums, consider the iyies, con-
slider the hyacinths, consider the hello
tropes, consider the oleandcrs." With
dcfcrential and grateful and intelligent
and worshipful souls, consider them.
Not with insipid sentimcntaism or
with sophomore vaporing, but for
grand and practical and everyday, and,
If need he, 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?
! 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 will give you APP
parcland 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 10 draw
water, but God feeds us with the bread
OF the sunshine, and God has apparclcd
us with more than SolomOnc regality.
We are prophctesscs Of adequate ward
robe. eff God so clothed us, the grass
OF the field, will He not much more
clothe you, o We of little faith?" Men
and women of worldly anXietics, take
hiG ~ - rn homo NXit Ia ,.pn' How 1gp,r
has God taken care Of YOU? Quarter of
the journey of life? Half the Journey
Of life? Thrce-quarters the journey of
life? Can you not trust Him the rest
of the way? God does not promise you
anything like that which the Roman
emperor had on his table at vast en-
prnse-500 nightngalcs' 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 lie not provide for you,
His living and immortal children? lie
will.
No wonder Martin Luther always had
a flower on his writing desk for in
SEPARATION! Through the cracks of the
prison door n flower grew up to cheer
picciola. Mungo Park, the great trav-
clcr and explorer, had his life saved by
a flower. He sank down in the desert
TO die, but, seeing n flower near by, it
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. j add now they are
the evangels of the sky.
If you ask me the question: "What
are flowers for?" / 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 mar
riage altar must be covered with them.
A wedding without flowers would be as
inappropriate as n wedding without
music. At such n time they are for con-
graduation and prophecies of good. So
much of the pathway of life is covered
mp with thorns, we ought to cover the
Beginning with orange blossoms.
Flowers are appropriate on such oc-
-e<sions, for in ninety-nine out of hun
dred cases 1t is the very best thing that