Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1899-04-01
ANGELSOF THEGRASS
Or. TALMAGE DRAWS INSPIRATION
FROM The FIELDS.

FROM the FIELDS.
The Eloquent Pulpit, o-nsor.s Faster
Di<course-I.essoasW .,:rh the Flow
ers Rims "a the srxious. the Dis
pirIted and the BcreaVcd.
copyright. 1879. by American Press Asso-
cisi on.l
WASHINGTON. April . In this Easter
sermon DIR. Talmagc int rprcts the mes
sage which the flowers bring To the anx-
ious. the dispiritcd and the pereavc,l: text.
Luke xii. %. If then God 81 rlothe the
grass. which is today in thr field. and to-
morrow Is east into the oven. how much
more will he clothc you. o w Of little
faith!''
The lily Is the queen of Bible flowers.
The rose may have disputed her throne In
modern times and won IL, bur the rose
originally had only five petals. IL was un-
der the long continued and intense gaze Of
the world that the rose FLUSHED into its
present beauty In the Bible trnn. cassia
and hyssop and frankincensc and myrrh
and spikenard and canphor 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 rcigncd in the time Of
Esther, In the tiIae 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 n lily. The Bedford dreamer,
John Bunyan. entered the house Of the
interpreter and was shown n cluster OF
flowers and was told to consider the
lilies
We may study or reject other sciences at
our option-it Is So with astronomy. IL Is
20 with chemistry. IL Is 50 with iurispru.
dencc. IL Is - with physiology. IL 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 graccfulness 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 81 the sicrras the Gold
en- hand lily, the Giant lily Of Nepaul, the
Turks cap lily. the African lily from the
Cape 81 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 yoire OF floral
beauty seems 20 Address US. saying: Con
slider the lilies consider the azllcas. con-
slider the fuchsias. consider the geraniums,
consider the ivies. consider the hyacinihs.
consider the heliotropcs, consider the ole
anders With defercntial and grateful
and intelligent and worshipful souls. CON
slider them. Not with insipid sentimcn-
talism or with sophomore vapOring but
for grand and practical and everyday,
and. II necd be- homely uses, consider
them.
Voices OF the Flowers.
The flowers arc the angels Of the grass
They all have voices. When rhe clouds
speak they thunder. when the whirlwinds
speak they scrram. when the cataracts
speak they roar: but when tile flowers
speak they always whisper. stand here
% interpret their message. What have you
20 say to us. O ye angels Of rhc grass.
This morning ! mean to discuss what
flowers are good for. That Is my subject,
What are flowers good fors
| remark. in the first place they are
good for lessons 81 God prov idential care.
That was Christ's first thought All these
flowers seem 70 address us today, saying:
God will give you apparel and food.
We have no wheel with which "a spin. no
loom with which to weave, no sickle with
which to harvest. no well sweep with which
n draw water but God Stakes our thirst
with the dew. and God feeds us with the
brad Of the sunshine, and God has appar
eled us with more than Solomoni regal
ity. Weare prophctcsses Of adequate ward
robe. II God so clothed u.s. the grass of
the field. will he not much more clothe
you. o We Of little faiths'' Men and WON
~ of worldly anxieties, take this message
home with you, How long has Sod taken
care Of your Quarter u the Journey Of
life Half the journey OF life. Three
quarters the journey Of lifey en- you not
trust him the r'st of the way God does
not promise you anything like hat which
the Roman emperor had on his table at
vast expense-500 nightingales' tongues
but he has promised to take care Of you.
He has promised you the necessities. not
ne luxuries-brcad. not cake. II God 50
inxuriantly 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 inspiration !
Through the cracks ~ the prison floor n
flower grew up 10 cheer Piccioia Mungo
Park. the great traveller and explorer. had
his life saved by flower. He sank down
In the desert 60 die; hut. seeing flower
near by. 10 suggested Gods merriful care,
and he got up with new courage and trav-
eled on 90 safety. ! said the flowers are
the angels of the grass ado now they
are the evangcls Of the sky.
II You ask me the question. What are
flowers good fory" respond. they are good
for the bridal day. The bride must have
them on her brow, and she naust have
them In her hand The MARI age altar
must be covered with them. Il wedding
without flowers would be rs inappropriate
as a wedding without music. At such n
time they arr for congratulation and proph-
ecl.s 81 gOOd. 80 much of thw pathway
Of life IL covered up with thorns, we ought
10 cover the beginning with grunge bios
SONS.
Flowers Always Appropriate.
Flowers arr appropriate on such coca.
sions. for I'm ninety nine out ~ 10 hundred
cases IL IL the very best thing that could
have happened The world may criticise
and pronounce 10 AN inaptitude and may
lift it's eyebrows In surprise mn a think n
might suggest something better, but the
God who secs tho 20. 10. 80 years Of wed
tied life before they have begun arrangcs
for the hest. 10 that flowers In almost all
cases arr appropriate for the maf rage day
The divergcnccs 81 disposition VIII become
correspondence rccklessncss will become
prudence. frivolity will bc turned into
practically.
There has been many nm agtsi widowed
soul who had n carefully locked burnu,
and in the bureau box. and IN the box n
folded paper. and In the foldci paper u
half blown rose slightly fragrant. discol-
orcd. carefully pressed. She put IL there
30 or 80 years ago. On the anniversary
day 81 her wedding she will go TO the
bureau she will lift the box, she will un-
fold the paper. and % her eyes will he cx-
posed the half blown bud. and the mem
Dries ~ the past will rush upon her. and n
tear will drip upon ~. flower, and sud
denly II IL TRANSPORTED, and there Is "A stir
IN the dust Of the anther, and u rounds