Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1899-04-12
SERMONS Of The DAY.
Preached by Rev. DR.. TaImage.

ULnMVNU vi I'LL Unl.
Preached by Rev. DR.. Talmage.
Subject: "signiacance of the FIowers''-
They Rear Messages Of Cheer tn tho
Hsart-sick and Despairing-TheirA Ap.
propriateness at Obsequies.
TEXT: 'If then God so clothe the grass
which IL to-day In the field, and to-mor-
row is cast Into the oven, how much more
will He clothe you, o ye Of little faith2"-
Luke xii., 2s.
The lily is the queen of Bible flowers
The rose may have disputed her throne in
modern times and won 1t. but the rose orig
inally had only five petals. 1t was under
the long continued and intense gaze OF the
world that the rose blushed into its pres
emit beduty. In the Bible train, cassia and
hvesop and frankincense and myrrh and
spikanard and camphor and the rose fol-
low the lily. Fourteen times in the Bible
II tho 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.
Cesar had his throne on the hills. The lily
had her throne in the valley. In the great
est 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 a cluster OF flowers and was told to
'consider the liliee."
We may study or reject other sciences at
our option-it Is 80 with astronomy. 1t Is
% with chemistry, it is so with juris-
with geology-but the science Of botany
Christ commands us to study when He
says, "Consider the lilies." Measurethem
from root to tip Of petal. Inhale their
breath. Notice the Rracefulness OF their
poise: Hear the VT isper of the white lips
Of the Eastern and the red lips CT 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 typical
Of all flowers, and their voice OF floral
beauty seems to address US, saying, "Con-
slider the lilies, consider the azaleas, con-
slider the fuchsias, consider the geraniums,
| consider the iviee, consider the hyacinths,
consider the heliotropes, consider the
oleanders." With deferential and grateful
and Intelligent and worshipful souls con-
slider them. Not with tnsipid sentimental
ism or with sophomore vsporinR. but for
( grand and practical and everyday and, II
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 roar, but when the flowers
speak they always whisper. stand here
to interpret their message. What have
you to say to us, o ye angels Of the grassf
This morning moan to discuss Whist fiow-
ers are good for. That is my subject.
"What are flowers good for?"
| l remark, In the first place, they are good
I 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 loon
with which to weave, no sickle with which
| to harvest, no well sweep with which tt
draw water, but God slacks our thirst will
the dew, and God feeds US with the bread
OF the funshine, and God has appareled vi
with more than Solomonic regality. W.
are prophetesses Of adequate wardrobe
"If God SO clothed us, the grass OF the field
will He not much more clothe you, o ye o
little faithf" Men and women of world,
| anxieties, take this message home Will
you. How long has God taken care of you
Quarter Of the journey OF life7 Half thu
journey of life? Three-Quarters the jour
ney Of life? Can you not trust Him the res
Of the way? God does not promise 20,
anything like that which the Roman en-
peror had on his table at vast expense-50'
nightingales' 'tongues-but He has promised
to take care of you. He has promised yot
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 chfldren
, He will.
No wonder MART Luther always had &
flower n his writing desk for Inspiration
Through the cracks Of the prison floor a
flower grew up to cheer Picciola. Mungc
Park, the great traveller and explorer, had
his life saved by a flower. He sank down
in the desert to die; but, seeing flower
near by, 1t suggested 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.
II you ask me the question, What are
flowers good for? l 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 wed.
ding without flowers would be as inuppro-
pirate as q wedding without music. At
such time they are for congratulatfon
and prophecies Of good. So much Of the
we ought to cover the beginning with or.
ange blossoms.
Flowers are appropriate on such oc-
casions, for In ninety-nine out Of 100 cases
It is tho very best thing that could have
happened. The world may criticise and
|
its eyebrows in surprise and think It might
suggest something better, but the God
who sees the twenty, forty, fifty years Of
welded life before they Rave begun ar
ranges for the best. So that flowers, ir
marriage day. The divergences Of disposi
tion will become correspondences, reck
lesenees will become prudence, frivolity
will be turned into practicality.
There has been many an aged widowed
l - of,.II. I44 -oI h,t
reau and in the bureau box and In tht
box a folded paper and in the folded
paper a half blown rose, slightly fragrant
discolored, carefully pressed. She put II
there forty or fifty years ago. On thu
anniversary day Of her wedding she
box. she will unfold the paper and to hel
eyes will be exposed the half blown bud
and the memories OF the past will rust
upon her and a tear will drop upon the
flower and suddenly It is transhgured, ant
there is q stir In the dust OF the anther anc
1t rounds out and 1t is full Of life and II
begins to trembIe in the procession up the
church aisle, and the dead music Of hal
I century ago comes throbbing through thu
air, and vanished faces reappear and righ
hands are joined and a manly voice prom
ises, 81 will, for better or for worse" ant
the wedding march thunders a salvo o
Joy at the departing crowd, but sigh OF
that anniversary day scatters the scene
Under the deep fetched breath the altar
the flowers, the congratulating groups ar
scattered, and there is nothing left but |
trembling hand holding faded rosebud
which is put into the paper and then int
the box and the box carefully placed In th'
bureau, and with a sharp, sudden click o
the lock the scene is over.
All. my friends, let not the prophecies o
the flowers on your wedding day be falls
prophecieeI Be blind to each other
faults. Make the most of each others ex
cellences. Remember the VOWS, the RIM
on the third finger OF the left hand and tn
benediction OF the Gala lilies.
II you ask me the question, Wha