Evening
Time: 11:55 PM PST
"The king's garden." --Nehemiah 3:15
Mention of the king's garden by Nehemiah brings to mind the paradise
which the King of kings prepared for Adam. Sin has utterly ruined that fair
abode of all delights, and driven forth the children of men to till the ground,
which yields thorns and briers unto them. My soul, remember the fall, for it was
thy fall. Weep much because the Lord of love was so shamefully
ill-treated by the head of the human race, of which thou art a member, as
undeserving as any. Behold how dragons and demons dwell on this fair earth,
which once was a garden of delights.
See yonder another King's garden, which the King waters with His bloody
sweat--Gethsemane, whose bitter herbs are sweeter far to renewed souls
than even Eden's luscious fruits. There the mischief of the serpent in the first
garden was undone: there the curse was lifted from earth, and borne by the
woman's promised seed. My soul, bethink thee much of the agony and the passion;
resort to the garden of the olive-press, and view thy great Redeemer rescuing
thee from thy lost estate. This is the garden of gardens indeed, wherein the
soul may see the guilt of sin and the power of love, two sights which surpass
all others.
Is there no other King's garden? Yes, my heart, thou art, or shouldst
be such. How do the flowers flourish? Do any choice fruits appear? Does the King
walk within, and rest in the bowers of my spirit? Let me see that the plants are
trimmed and watered, and the mischievous foxes hunted out. Come, Lord, and let
the heavenly wind blow at Thy coming, that the spices of Thy garden may flow
abroad. Nor must I forget the King's garden of the church. O Lord, send
prosperity unto it. Rebuild her walls, nourish her plants, ripen her fruits, and
from the huge wilderness, reclaim the barren waste, and make thereof "a King's
garden."