The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1899-04-07

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w - to the old, the Young
the ricn, the poor; those that dwell in
the cities and to those that live in
the country Text Luke xii, %, '1f
shen God so clotne the grass, witch is to
any in the field, and to morrow Is cast in
the oven, how much more will he
clothe you, o, ye of little faithY'
The lily IS the queen of the Bible
flowers. The rose may have disputed
her throne in modern times and won
lit, but,the rose originally had only i've
METALS. 1t was under the long contln-
ned and intense gaze of the world that
the rose blushed into its present
beauty. In the Bible train. cassia and
>hyssop and frankincense and myrrh
Aand spikepard 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 preach
ed there was only one flower. and that
a lily. The Bedford dreamer, John
Bunyan. entered the house Of the in
terpreter and was shown cluster or
flowers and was told to consider the
ulies."
We may study or reject other
sciences at our option-it is so with
astronomy, it is so with chemistry, 1t
is so with Jurisprudence, it is so with
physiology, it is so with geology-but
the science of botany Christ commands
as 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 Sler-
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 l take the
lilies of my text this morning as typ
ical of all flowers, and their voices 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 he'll
lotropes, consider the oleanders." With
heferential and grateful and intelligent
and worshipful souls, consider them.
Not with insipid sentimentalism or
with sophomore vaporing, but for
grand and practical and everyday and,
IL Iced 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 al
ways whisper. I stand here to inter-
pref their message. What have you to
say to us, o, ye angels of the grass.
This morning I mean to discuss what
flowers are good for. That is my sub
ject. What are flowers good for?
remark, in the first place, they are
good for lessons of Gods providential
care. That was Christs first thought.
All these flowers seem to address us
mil nviu
parel and 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 Stakes our
thirst with the dew, and God feeds us
with the bread of the sunshine, and
God has appareled us with more than
Solomonic regality. We are prophet
esses of adequate wardrobe. eff 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 mes
sage home with you! How long has
God taken care of you? Quarter of the
Journey of life? Half the journey OF
life? Three-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 ex-
pense-5ee nightingale's tongues-but
he has promised to take care Of you
He has promised you the necessities.
not the luxuries-bread, not cake. II
God so luxuriantly clothes the grass OF
the field, will he not provide for you
his living and immortal children? He
will.
No wonder Martin Luther always
had a flower on his writing desk for
inspection! Through the cracks of the
prison floor flower grew up to cheer
Picciola Mungo Park, the great trav-
eler and explorer, had his life saved
by flower. He sank down In the des-
ert to die; but, seeing a flower near
by, II suggested Gods merciful care
and he got up with new courage and
travelled on to safety. l said the flow-
ers are the angels of the grass add
now they are the evangels of the sky
II you ask me the question, What
are flowers good tur?" respond, they
are good for the bridal day. The bride