(22) And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. (23) The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. (24) Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls? (25) And which of you, with taking thought, can add to his stature one cubit? (26) If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest? (27) Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. (28) If then God so clothe the grass, which is to-day in the field, and to-morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith? (29) And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. (30) For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. (31) But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Every word in this lovely discourse of Jesus is truly blessed. The images and figures are divinely chosen to represent the interesting subject the Lord had in view. The flower of the field is more strikingly expressive of dependence on the Lord's providence, in allusion to his exposed ones, than that of the garden would have been. For the latter is fenced in and watched over, but the former is open to the foot of every traveller, and may be bitten off by any beast in his forage. So, in like manner, the fowls of the air differ widely from those of the barn. They have no caterer, no store house, no shelter; and the bush they roost on one night, may be taken away before the next. Sweetly, by these images, Jesus teaches his apparently unprovided for family, that not one of them is forgotten before God. Reader! pray turn to that most blessed Scripture, Isaiah 27:2-3; and beg of God the Holy Ghost to write it down for you, for common use, in the hourly memorandums of your heart. In that day, sing ye unto her (the Church). A vineyard of red wine: I, the Lord, do keep it. I will water it every moment, lest any hurt it: I will keep it night and day.