LIFE IN THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM.
By William Covert
Some plants grow in the air, having no apparent connection with the earth. All that the Spanish mosses require for subsistence is room to swing upon the limb of a tree. There they feed themselves upon what they gather from the air. Another air plant is the mistletoe. In size it is about equal to a potato plant. Its leaves are green and vigorous, its berries small and white. Any kind of tree, dead or alive, will do for the mistletoe to live upon. All it seems to want is room in some elevated place to fasten its roots and extend its branches. It thrives best near some river or body of water, and in a climate where the winters are not extremely cold. Air plants seem to represent a very selfish class among men. These plants are so exclusive that they want to be wholly by themselves. They try to get away from the touch of their neighbors, and would be as little used as possible. Hence they perch upon trees, to be out of reach. Their attitude says to other plants, “Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou.” Isa. 65:5. These are the Pharisees of the vegetable kingdom. There are plants which appear to grow out of the ground, and yet draw but little nourishment from it. The prophet uses them to represent the unbeliever, or one of little faith. These are they who put their trust in an arm of flesh. “Thus saith the Lord: Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.” Jer. 17:5, 6. Such plants subsist but little upon the food in the earth where they grow. Their nature is to gather in for themselves, out of their environments, all they can. That which they gather is stored away in self. They refuse to enrich the soil or to supply anything for the animal kingdom. They neither ripen into lavender nor harden into wood. Many among them are wholly devoid of foliage, but almost all are thickly set with thorns. The whole cactus family belong to this class. They are unpleasant to handle, and prove to be of little practical use in the world. The Scripture above quoted shows them to be emblematic of the curse which fell upon the earth because of sin. The man who trusts in himself, instead of drawing life from the Lord, is like the sand plants. His nature is to be unpleasant. He refuses to help others. He has a disposition like the nettle and the cactus. He is a thorn upon the bramble. Truly the members of the vegetable world have their counterpart in the characters found among different classes of men. There are multitudes of plants that grow in water. Some of their stems reach the surface to bloom. Others remain constantly submerged, and only breathe a little air which their fringe-like leaves are enabled to extract from the nether bubbles. Not a ray of sunshine do they gather to brighten their foliage. Deep down in the dark waters they get a little peep of day, but not enough to give them any cheerful appearance. They are gloomy specimens of life, but they have their parallel among the sad people of earth. Perhaps they are designed to constitute a dark, marine forest, as a hiding place for the smaller fish—those chased by the ocean sharks. The plants which grow in the shallow and fresh water of the lakes, get some air, and a good degree of light. Their foliage is quite green, and their blossoms, especially those of the lily, are beautiful. The measure of the stem which holds the water-lily bloom and foliage, corresponds in length with the depth of the water where they grow. If the water is ten feet deep, the stem will be ten feet long, so that the leaf and the blossom may rest on the surface. The bloom of the water-lily shuts up at night, and draws its head under water when it sleeps. Their stems are hollow, and bend like ropes. This arrangement conducts air to the root of the plant, and gracefully anchors the bloom to the spot where they grow. The lily of the lake grows with its feet in the mud, and with its surroundings impure; yet it puts nothing but the purest white and yellow into its flowers. In this respect it furnishes an excellent example for Christians to imitate. Our environment may be very unfavorable, yet the Lord provides for the robe of character to be whiter than snow. The plant growing in the water is suggestive of a life submerged with sorrow; and sleeping beneath the surface is suggestive of fear. In trouble, David wrote, “Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul. I sink in the deep mire, where there is no standing; I am come into the deep waters, where the floods overflow me.” “Let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters. Let not the waterflood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up.” Ps. 69:1, 2, 14, 15. The plant growing in a soil that is rich and watered well with dew and rain is typical of a correct life. Through these plants the physical bounties of heaven are prepared for the world. These are the agents which the Lord uses to supply the tables and fill the garners of men. The Christian’s trust in the Lord for righteousness and spiritual strength, is symbolized by the thrifty tree growing by the waters. “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.” Jer. 17:7, 8. The whole spiritual kingdom is most beautifully outlined in the natural world. The righteous are to “flourish like the palm tree.” They are to do well in spite of all difficulties. The roots of the palm extend to hidden springs of water, and the tree flourishes in many places where other vegetation can not grow. Christianity, like its Author, is “the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever.” The wicked are represented by “the chaff,” the “tares” of the field, the “blight and the mildew;” while the people of God are compared to a “watered garden,” to the “good wheat,” and to a “fruitful field.” Ah, there is no escape from God’s presence! No hiding from His power! His works are everywhere visible, His strength everywhere applied. Heaven is not too high for the Lord to ascend. The nether world is not so low that its depths are hid from Him. The earth contains no place where the creature can hide. The night has no darkness to the eye of the Lord.