Albert Barnes Commentary Matthew 6:28-29

"And why are ye anxious concerning raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." — Matthew 6:28-29 (ASV)

The fourth consideration is taken from the lilies of the valley. Watch the growing of the lily. It toils not, and it spins not. Yet night and day it grows.

With a beauty which the most splendid monarch of the East never knew, it expands its blossom and fills the air with fragrance. Yet this beauty is of short continuance. Soon it will fade, and the beautiful flower will be cut down and burned.

God so little regards the bestowal of beauty and ornament as to give the highest adornment to this which is soon to perish.

When He so clothes a lily—a fair flower, soon to perish—will He be unmindful of His children? Shall they—dear to His heart and imbued with immortality—lack what is proper for them, and shall they in vain trust the God who decks the lily of the valley? He will much more clothe you.

Even Solomon in all his glory, etc. The common dress of eastern kings was purple, but they sometimes wore white robes. (Daniel 7:9). It is to this that Christ refers. Solomon, He says, the richest and most magnificent king of Israel, was not clothed in a robe of so pure a white as the lily of the valley.