Why should we consider the lilies of the field (Matthew 6:28)?

Here as He points, not to birds but to the flowers, He does not speak of sowing or reaping or storage, but of toiling and spinning: God cares for the birds without the one, and for the lilies without the other. Were not His children far more to their heavenly Father than either? Not only were they God's offspring as mankind universally are, but His children by grace through faith. It is not that sowing or reaping, toiling or spinning, might not be a duty, if they had to provide for themselves and their household, and could earn their supplies by these labours more readily than otherwise. Even in an unfallen world, Jehovah put Adam whom He had formed into the garden of Eden to till it and to guard it, when there was none to hire for the needful work, and he himself might happily employ his own hands,

Sin brought in sad change, not only for man's soul and body, but for the very ground on which he trod, as scripture plainly tells us. It was no longer easy and delightful work, but in toil or sorrow he must eat of it all the days of his life. And no wonder; since thorns also and thistles it should yield to him, only to be overcome by the sweat of his face in order to eat bread. If self will kick against the goad, it only aggravates the case; if the yoke (and it is not here grievous) be accepted, it is all the better for murmuring men. There is no deliverance from guilt and sin but through faith in Christ, to whom the Holy Spirit bears witness, and by whom He gives power to the believer. But for children as yet unconverted as well as adults in the same state, occupation is a merciful help, against the dangers of idleness and indulgence of lust and passion. Even for the faithful it is good, as declining to work where the person is without means is bad: so much so, that the apostle curtly lays it down, that if a man likes not to work, neither let him eat. This prescription, if duly administered, would in general prove a salutary medicine, and without fail.

What a rebuke from the herbage of the field, as our Lord interprets it! Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these lilies which, the more they are inspected and by the most powerful means, only the more eclipse the splendour of Israel's richest king. Yet that lavish beauty of form and colour was but a carpet spread for the feet of the poorest Israelite on one day, and on another was fuel for an oven. And this end of its glory was far from being an offence to the Lord. He, who was above all jealous for His Father's honour in His work uses the double fact to judge nature's anxiety about earthly things (were they as the lilies ever so beautiful to the eye, yet utterly evanescent too), to banish doubts and distress and unworthy desires, and to establish the heart in confidence of His Father's present, perfect, and loving care.

It was not the least in His mind to occupy the disciples with the birds of the sky or the lilies of the field as objects of their care, though not a few may abuse His allusions. Nor did He mean by His calling their attention to them, that they should treat cynically what evinces His interest in all the works of God's hand and the creatures of His will. His aim is that the disciples, under His holy notice of the incomparable goodness of God toward that which is so little in His eyes, should rise up to the Father above them all, and be assured of the considerate and constant love He bears to His own. Are they not peculiar objects of His counsels before a world was founded, now of infinite grace in Himself who for them died and rose, and at His crowning of glory, above not only the mightiest potentates of earth but also the highest principalities in the heavens? Are we to share the anxiety of those who know not God? He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all; how shall He not also with Him freely give us all things? No one was such a sufferer as Christ here below; yet who ever heard a complaint? and who can forget that, when rejected more and more where His mighty acts of goodness and His words of grace and truth still more wondrous were alike despised, and even He had to say, Woe, woe, at that season our Lord Jesus answering said, "I thank thee, Father,"… and "even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight"? So the prophetic Ps. 16 attributes to Him the confession, "The lines are fallen to me in pleasant places; yea I have a goodly heritage." And so the apostle, who had the fellowship of His sufferings, and knew afflictions, persecutions, and want of all things beyond any other, is the very one who rises superior to all circumstances, and declares that God affords us all things richly for enjoyment. May we follow, though alas! how distantly, in like faith!

The second example is of nature too, but this time the Lord speaks of flora. 'And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?' (vv. 28-30)

The fowls at least have to do something for finding their food; but the lilies do not toil for their 'raiment'! They grow and develop so to speak 'by themselves'. It is solely and only the glorious grandeur of our creator which is displayed in the manifold colours, the beauty and tenderness of flora-and this is so to our joy as well. Not even king Solomon's glory as described in 1 Chronicles 9 can compare with the beauty of blossoming nature. And yet this splendour only lasts for a short time, and especially so in the hot climate of the Orient. Stalks and leaves of faded flowers used to be gathered in these countries to fuel an oven. God the creator of all fauna and flora has fitted them in such admirable manner and sustains them. He will also provide for His children, who are much better than they, in fatherly manner with food and clothing. Yet how often do we also show little faith in this respect!

As to clothing, the Lord used the example of the lilies, created without ability to work, yet clothed in beauty such as even Solomon with all his wealth was not able to equal. Since God so lavishly gives such beauty to grass, though it exists so briefly, how much more can He be depended on to clothe those whom He has given His Son to redeem!

As to our necessary food and drink for even the immediate future, there is no reason to be in anxious suspense, though we may not see where the provision may come from. In fact, whether our need is met or not, the anxiety will be of no help, though worry is characteristic of the world. Let us remember constantly that our Father knows we have need of all these things if they are necessities, and therefore calmly trust Him and depend on His grace.

Lessons from Nature. — Another danger needed to be exposed. We are such foolish, unbelieving creatures, carrying a load of anxious care, which God has never laid upon us. "Therefore," the Lord continued, "take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither yet for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body more than raiment" (Luke 12:22-23). So far the precept. The Lord will now turn attention to things of nature — the ravens, and the lilies of the field. Of food and of clothing He had spoken; and the ravens and the lilies could teach men about such wants. Surely many of us walk about little discerning what lessons we may learn from nature. How often did the Lord draw instruction from natural objects, and from operations in nature! And well He might, for the God of creation is the God of revelation. There is but one living and true God. Hence His ways in nature may have a voice for us His creatures. The ravens He cares for, which are wholly dependent on Him, though they have no treasured resources against the future. Storehouse or barn they have not, but daily is their food provided. "God feeds them." Then the lilies grow, though they neither toil nor spin; and Solomon in all his glory, wealthy though he was, and with men and substance at his command, was not arrayed like one of them. What, then, is to be the deduction? We are not left to draw it. The Lord has stated it: "If then God so clothe the grass, which is to-day in the field, and to-morrow is cast into the oven," so transient may be its existence, "how much more will He clothe you, O ye of little faith?" (Luke 12:28). Encouragement to trust God may be strengthened within us, as we watch the birds, or admire the flowers and the grass of the field.

(4) The human impotence that we feel has its own instruction. All one's anxiety cannot add a cubit to the stature; and how much there is in this way for which we are absolutely dependent on the will of another! why not, then, leave all things to Him to whom we have to leave so much, and who clothes the perishing lilies of the field with a glory greater than Solomon's? The weakness of a man's faith is the only really sorrowful weakness, after all.

(5) And here, the Lord appeals to us, whether those who know God are to find His presence with them count for anything or not. The Gentiles, away from God, seek after these things as His people do; but we have a Father in heaven who knows our need. We have but to set the heart on His things, and let Him take the burden of ours. Seeking first His Kingdom and righteousness, all these things shall be added to us.

But we have more than this: the utter powerlessness of man, in what most nearly concerns him, is brought out with matchless beauty and truth. "Which of you, by being careful, can add to his stature one cubit? If therefore ye cannot [do] even what is least, why are ye careful about the rest?" What concerns the body is least. "Why take ye thought for the rest" Then we are given a still more graphic instance from the flowers of the field. "Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin." God's care of the vegetable, no less than the animal, world affords striking and familiar proofs which cannot be gainsaid. "They neither toil nor spin." The ravens might seem to do somewhat; but as to the lilies, what can they do? "They neither toil nor spin; but I say unto you, not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed as one of these." This was not said as to the ravens. "But if God thus clothe the grass, which today is in the field,† and tomorrow is cast into [the] oven" — the meanest thing as it were that He has made in the vegetable kingdom, that which is both common and transient — "how much rather you, O ye of little faith?" The one, therefore, the ravens, rebuked their care for their food, and the lilies their care for their clothing. "If God thus clothe the grass . . . how much rather you, O ye of little faith?" Hence they were to beware of resembling the nations of the world, which know not God. "Seek not what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink, and be not in anxiety.336 For all these things do the nations of the world seek after." They were without God. "And your Father [not only God, but your Father] knows that ye have need of these things." He advances now until He puts the disciples into the enjoyment of their own relationship with a Father Who cared perfectly for them, and could fail in nothing towards them. The God Who watched over the ravens and the lilies — their Father — would surely care for them. He knows that we have need of these things, and should be trusted by us. "One": ℵpmBD, Memph. omit (Edd.); ℵcorr AL, etc., with Syrsin insert. †"The grass, which today is in the f.": so AE and most of the later uncials, besides cursives and Syrsin. Edd. (Revv.) adopt "If God so clothe the grass in [the] field," after ℵBL, etc.

From the birds of the sky in vers. 26, 27, the Lord turns to the lilies of the field in vers. 28-30: a lesson against anxiety, the former in eating and drinking; the latter in raiment. Notoriously they comprise the two branches of ordinary living which so test the masses, not of mankind only, but of disciples, to whom He addressed Himself throughout His teaching on the mount. His disciples ought not to forget or distrust their heavenly Father by such doubts of His loving care over their daily wants.

"And why be anxious about a garment? Consider the lilies of the field how they grow: they toil not nor spin; but I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed as one of these. But if God so clothe the herbage of the field, that is today, and tomorrow is cast into an oven, [shall he] not much more [clothe] you, O little of faith?

Similarly as regards clothing: no doubt many in the world are extremely clothes conscious. But faith will thank God for providing what is necessary, and trust Him consistently. The lilies grow spontaneously by the power of God, and are clothed with a beauty surpassing the magnificence of King Solomon's attire, without labor on their part. If God clothes the grass with such beauty, certainly He is able to clothe His own people. Of course faith would not ask Him to give us clothing that would draw attention to ourselves, for faith honors Him, not self. 1Timothy 2:9 exhorts "that women in decent deportment and dress adorn themselves with modesty and discretion," and certainly men are to be no less discreet. But faith can fully trust God for these essentials.

The name of their Father made anxiety about earthly and bodily wants a painful incongruity, and in particular about what kind the supply should be. From Himself the birds read them one lesson, and the lilies another. He nourishes each fleeting creature, He gives the passing flower its beauty. How much more did He care for His children? It was a touching appeal and carrying with it to every believer the conviction of irresistible truth. They were, they are, called to believe in His sustaining goodness. He never fails in His love: they ought not to fail in resting and counting on it day by day. If tried as to it, let them not doubt that it is for their good. It is impossible for God to lie. Are they to doubt His love Whom the Lord reveals as their Father? He who embraces the least objects of His care will act worthily of His love to the nearest.

Nor does the Lord spare them the humbling proof how little the anxiety of man avails. "Which of you by anxiety can add to his stature one cubit?" It was a very small thing if some would count it a very great addition. Yet even for this how powerless is man! Why then be anxious about a garment? The herbage of the field rebukes the vanity of a child of God; for as the Lord called their attention to the lilies, he pointed the moral by the plain fact that God clothed even these transient creatures, lower in the scale than the birds, with a beauty far beyond Solomon's array in all his glory.

Be not therefore anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or what shall we drink? or what shall we put on? Here the Lord urges two considerations which we do well to heed. One is to guard us against sharing the unbelief of those who do not even know God, How compromising to share the thoughts and feelings of the Gentiles! "For all these things the nations seek after." The other is to assure the doubting heart. "For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things," "Not one sparrow falls to the ground without Him: but of you even the hairs of the head are all numbered" (Matt. 10:29-30).