Matthew 6:30

But if God doth so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Be not therefore anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

This entire, rather extended, passage continues to stress man's need for utter trust and dependence upon God who cares for the grasses and the fowls of the air and will surely, therefore, care for his human children. Bryant's immortal lines are in this same periphery of thought:

"He who from zone to zone Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight, In the long way that I must tread alone, Will lead my steps aright?[5]

God's care for grasses and birds, such as lilies and sparrows, and, in fact, for all the countless creatures that he has made has always made a profound impression upon the thoughtful mind. Benjamin Franklin, the great patriot, exclaimed before the Constitutional Convention that gave birth to the United States of America, "God governs in the affairs of man; and if a sparrow cannot fall to ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid?"[6]

[5] William Cullen Bryant, "To a Waterfowl" (Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1939), from Bartlett's Quotations, p. 372.

[6] Dr. Frank S. Mead, The Encyclopedia of Religious Quotations (Westwood, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1965), p. 361.