^ The whole science of flowers to the thoughtful mind in these days is full to the brim of the most delightful and suggestive poetry. And how much better fitted is it now than ever before for the illustration of moral and religious truth ! Science has anointed our blind eyes with its own magic eye-salve, and enabled us indeed to see men as trees walking. We see our own human nature reflected in the nature of the flowers of the field in a previously unknown way. We see the analogue of the mother's bosom in the milky substance of the two cotyledons of the seed for the primary nourishing of the young embryo which they contain. We see the lover's joy in the spring blossoming of the flowers, and the loveliness with which Nature then adorns her bridal bower ; and we see our own selfishness in the spreading of
' A. M. Stoddart, Francis of Assist, 134.
PSALM cxLv. i6 177
the flat leaves of the daisy around its roots close to the earth, so that no other plant may grow beside it, and it may get whatever space and air and sunshine it needs for its own development. He who considers the lilies how they grow, in the manner in which recent science teaches us, and in the light which modern investi- gation has shed upon their marvels and mysteries, will learn lessons which will make him wiser and better. It has been suggestively said that " the flower is the type of the universe, and the lily of the field is solving over again all problems." It is not perfect creation, complete all at once, that we see, but God sowing seeds, making things to grow by outside circumstances and living forces within ; slow, gradual evolution from the nebula to the full orbed star, and from the chaotic star to the skilfully ordered and richly furnished earth, fit to be man's dwelling- place, and the scene of probation for immortal souls.*
II.
God's Open Hand.
*'Thou openest thine hand."
Now look from nature to nature's God — " Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing." God satisfies the desires of every living thing. Our desires both lift us up and set us down. Our desires mark us off from all other living creatures. Where others have needs only, ours is this dignity — we desire.
1. Desire — it is a dainty word. It were much that He should satisfy the need, the want ; but He goes far beyond that. Pity is moved to meet our need ; duty may sometimes look after our wants ; but to satisfy the desire impKes a tender watchfulness, a sweet and gracious knowledge of us, an eagerness to bless. God is never satisfied until He has satisfied our desires.
^ Embodied life is ever seeking, and it must find, whether embodied or disembodied. From the amoeba to the archangel all forms and modes of life are on their way towards satiety ; every- thing must reach its due fulfilment, though probably not on this plane ; it would be a poor destiny that could complete itself on
^ Hugh Macmillan, ?%« Poetry of Plants, 9. PS. CXIX.-SONG OF SOL. — 12
178 THE GOOD PROVIDENCE OF GOD
earth. One wonders what the destiny of the lower creation is ; but we may rest assured
That not a worm is clov'n in vain;
That not a moth with vain desire
Is shrivell'd in a fruitless fire, Or but subserves another's gain.^
(1) What is the object of desire to a man who loves God ? God. What is the object of desire to a righteous man ? Right- eousness. And these are the desires which God is sure to fulfil to us. Therefore there is only one region in which it is safe and wise to cherish longings, and it is the region of the spiritual life where God imparts Himself. Everywhere else there will be disappointments — thank Him for them. Nowhere else is it absolutely true that He will fulfil our desires. But in this region it is. Whatever any of us desire to have of God, we are sure to get. We open our mouths and He fills them. In the Christian life desire is the measure of possession, and to long is to have. And there is nowhere else where it is absolutely, unconditionally and universally true that to wish is to possess, and to ask is to have. There is, however, an eternal element in all desire, which, ultimately, will find its fruition in the love of God.
^ Dear children, ye ought not to cease from hearing or declar- ing the word of God because you do not alway live according to it, nor keep it in mind. For inasmuch as you love it and crave after it, it will assuredly be given unto you ; and you shall enjoy it for ever with God, according to the measure of your desire after it. St. Bernard has said: "Man, if thou desirest a noble and holy life, and unceasingly prayest to God for it, if thou continue constant in this thy desire, it will be granted unto thee without fail, even if only in the day or hour of thy death ; and if God should not give it tliee then, thou shalt find it in Him in eternity : of this be assured." Therefore do not relinquish your desire, though it be not fulfilled immediately, or though ye may swerve from your aspirations, or even forget them for a time. It were a hard case if this were to cut you off for ever from the end of your being. But when ye hear the word of God, surrender yourselves wholly to it, as if for eternity, with a full purpose of will to retain it in your mind and to order your life according to it ; and let it sink down right deep into your heart as into an eternity. If