The Penn's Grove record., 1899-04-07
DR., TALMAGES SERMON.
sundays DISCOURSE BY THE NOTED
DIVINE.
Subject Significance of the Flov.rsr-
They Bear Messages of Cheer to the
Heart-sick and DespsirIng-Their An
nrnprinteness nj nIaa.

NHiN' - NSAHJ III ING HelO. and tO-mOT
COW is cast into the oven. how oncb NOR
will He clothe you, 0 We OF little faith?"-
Luke xii. @-
The lily is the queen of Bible flowers
The rose may have disputed her throne II
modern times and won 1t, but the rose orig
inSlly had only five petals. 1t was unde
the i0ng continued and intense gaze of tn,
world mat the rose blushed into its pres
eDt beauty. In the Bible train, cassia ant
hyssop and f~rankincense and myrrh anC
splKrhard and camphor and the rose fol
low the lily. Fourteen times in the Bibl,
Is the lily mentioned; only twice the rose
The rose may now have wider EMPIRE, bu
the my relgned in the time of Esther, II
the time OF solomon, in the time OF Christ
Cesar Dau MS throne on the hills. The ILL.,
had her throne in the valley. In the great
est sermon that was ever preached Their,
was only one flower, and that a lily. The
bedford dreamer, John Bunyan, entered
the house OF the interpreter, and wa.
shown a cluster OF flowers and was told Il
consider the lilies"
We may study or reject other sciences at
our optton-it is so with astronomy, It is
90 with chemistry, 1t 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 gracefulness OF their
poise, Hear the whisper 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
tand 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 I take
the lilies OF my text this morning as typical
OF all flowers, and their voice of floral
beauty seems TO address us, saying, Con
slider the lilies, consider the a~zaleas, con-
slider the fuehsias, consider the geraniums,
consider the ivies, consider the hyacinths,
outsider the heliotropes, consider the
lleanlers.' With d%eferential and grateful
and intelligent and worshipful souls con-
slider them. Not with insipid sentimental
ism or with sophomore yaporing, but for
grand and practical and everyday and, If
ueet 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 always whisper. I stand here
to interpret their message. What have
ven to say to us, o ye angels of the grass?
THIS morning l mean to discuss what how-
ers 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 apparel and food" We
have no wheel with which to spin, no loom
with which to weave, no sickle with which
to harvest, 10 well sweep with which to
draw water, but God Stacks our thirst with
the dew, and God feeds us with the bread
otthe sunshine, and God has appareled us
with more than Solomonic regality. We
are prophetesses Of adequate wardrobe.
1T God so clothed us, the grass Of the field,
will He not much more elothe you, o We Of
little faith3" Men and women of worldly
auIieties, take this message home with
you. How long has God taken care OF you2
Quarter Of the journey Of life? Halt the
Journey of life? Three-quarters the jour-
ley oflife? Can you not trust Him the rest
Of the way? God does not promise you
anything Ike that which the Roman en-
peror had on his table at vast expense-5O0
nightingales' topgues-but BE has promised
to take care Of you. He has promised you
the necessities, not the luxuries-bread
not cake. II God so luxuriently clothes
the grass Of the field, will He not provide
Ter you, His living and immortal children
H will.
No wonder Martin Luther always had a
A-WFI u LIS hEltlIE ItSh lpE lASIlEdLlOA.
Through the cracks Of the prison hoor a
flower grew up to cheer Picciola. Mungo
Park, the great trayeler and explorer, had
bis ll,ssANd by q flower. He a down
in the desert to die: but, seeing a flower
near by, it suggested Gods merciiul care,
and he got up with new courage and
travelled on to safety. l said the flowers
are the angels of the grass. l add they
are evangels OF the sky.
Il you ask me the question, What are
flowers good 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 marriage
altar must he covered with them. A we'd
ding without flowers would be as ~inappro-
pirate as a wedding without music. At
such a 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
snge blossoms.
Flowers are appropriate on such oc-
c~asions, for in ninety-nine out OF 100 cases
It is the very best thing that could have
happened. The world may c~riticise and
pronounce it an inaptitude and may lit
Its eyebrows In surprise and think 1t might
suggest something better, but the God
Who sees the twenty, forty, hfty years OF
welded life before they have begun ar
ranges for the best. So that flowers, in
almost all cases, are hpIfOpIlate lOA thS
marriage day. The divergences OF disposi-
tlon will become correspondence, reck-
~lessness will become prudence, friyoiity
will be turned into practically.
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 a folded paper and in the folded
paper a 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 90 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 q tear will drop upon the
flower and suddenly 1t Is TRANSPORTED, and
there Is q stir in the dust OF the anther
It rounds out and 1t is full OF life and 1t
begins to tremble In the procession up the
church aisle, and the dead music OF a half
century ago comes throbbing through the
air, and vanished faces reappear and right
hands are Joined and a manly voice prom
lses, 81 will. for better or for worse, "
the wedding march thunders a salvo OF
joy at the departing crowd, but a sigh on
that Anniversary day s~catters the scene.
Under the deep fetched breath the altar,
the flowers, the congratulating groups are
scattered, and there is nothing left but a
trembling hand holding a faded rosebud,
which is put into the paper anu 'non nv
the box and the box carefully placed In the
bureau, and with a sharp, sudden CLICK OF
the lock the scene is over.
An. nv friends, let not the prophecies OF
the flowers on your wedding day De raise
uropheciesi Be blind to each others
faults, Make the most Of each others ex-
cellepces. Remember the vows, the ring
on he third finger OF the left hand and the
benedictlon OF the Gala lilies.
II you ask me the question, what
are flowers good for? I answer, they
are good to honor and comfort the
obseGnies. The worst cash ever
made into the side of our poor
earth Is the cash of the grave. II Is SO
deep, it is so cruel, it is so ineurable, that
1t needs something to cover 1t up. Flowers
for the casket, flowers for the hearse,
lowers for the cemetery. What a contrast
between a grave in a country ehurchyard,
with the fence broken down and the
tombstone aslant and the neighboring
cattle browsing amid the mullen stalks
and The Canada thistles. and a June morn
inc in Greenwood, the wave OF roseate
bloom rolling to the top OF the mounds
and then breaking into foaming erests OF
white flowers all around the pillows oil
dust. 1t Is the difference between sleeping
under rags and sleeping under an en-
hroidered blanket. We want old MORTALITY
with his chisel to go through all the grave
,,ar5o IN Cbristendom and While he carries