HOMILETICS. Ver. 8.-T!te (Jarden of Eden. I. A SCENE OF BEAUTY. Whether situated in Ar'!1cnia. or Bt1byloni~ (sec Exposition), it was _a fair sl?ot in a sunny region of delights (Eden). Tine beauty was-1. Luxuriant. Milton has lavished all tl11J wealth of hie creative genius in on attempt to depict "t.he happy rural seat of the first pair" (' Par. Lost,' bk. iv.). Yet it is questionable if even he has succeeded in re. producing the gorgeous spectacle, the endlessly diversified assortment of lovely forrn 8 and radiant colours that seemed to compress "in narrow room nature's whole wealth," entitling Eden to be characterised as "a heaven on earth." 2. IJiiinely prepared. Jehovah Elohim caused it to spring up and bloom before the wondering eye of man .. All the world's beauty is of God. Tlie flowers and the herbs and the trees have all their symmetry and loveliness from him. God c:lothes the lilies of the field ; the raiment, outshining the glory of royal Solomon, in which they are decked is of his making. If nature be the loom in which it is woven, he is the all-wise i,~avr,,, or "IN eaver by whom its wondro11s mechanism is guided and energ;uerl. Let us rejoice in the earth's beauty, and thank God for it. 3. Eaxeptional. We arc scarcely warranted, even by eh. iii. 17, to suppose that, prior to the fall, the whole world was a •paradise. Rather, geologic revelations give us reason to believe tlia t from the first the earth was prepared for the reception of a sinful race, dea.th antl defo1mity ha.ving been in the world anterior to man's arrival upon the scene (cf. Bushnell, 'Nat. and Super.,' eh. vii.), and that the Edenic home was what the Bible says it was-a fair spot, specially planted and fenced about, for the temporary resi- dence of the innocent pair, who were ultimately, as transgressors, to be driven forth to dwell upon a soil which was cursed because of sin. Let it humble us to think that the earth is not a paradise solely because of human sin. 4. Prophetic. Beside,; being a picture of what the world would have been, had it been prepared for a. sinless rnce, it was also a foreshadowing of the renova.ted earth when sin shall be no more, when "this land that was desolate shall have become like the garden of Eden." Let it stimulate our hope and assist our faith to anticipate the palingenesia of the future, when this sterile and disordered world sliall be refitted with bloom and beauty. II. A SPHERE OF WORK. Adam's work wae-1. God-assigned. So in a. very real sense is every man's life occupation appointed 1.,y God. "To every man his work' is the law of God's world as well as of Christ's kingdom. This thought should dignify "the trivial round, the common task," and enable us, "whether we eat or drink, or whatsoever we do, to do all to the glory of God." 2. Pleasant. And so should all work be, whether arduous or easy, especially to a Christian. To he sure, Adam's work was light and easy in comparison with that which afterwards became his lot, and that which now constitutes ours. But even these would be joyous and exhilarating if performed by the free spirit of loYe, instead of, as they often are, by the unwilling hands of hondmen, 3. Necessary. Even in a state 0£ innocence it was impossible that man could he sufl'e-red to live in indolence ; his endowments and capacities were fitted for activity. Hia happiness and snfety (against tempta- tion) required him to be employed. And if God who made him was ever working, why should he be idle? The same arguments forbid idleness to-day. Christianity with emphasis condemns it. "If a man will not work, neither shall he eat." III. AN ABODE OF INNOCENCE. This abode was-1. Suitable. It was not su.iti>.ble for sfoners, just as the world outside would not have been adapted for a pair who were sinless ; but it was peculiarly approprinte for their innocence. He who appointeth to nil men the bounds of their habitation always locates men in spheres that are exactly suited to their natures and needs. 2. Provisional. Their possession of it was contingent on their remaining sinless. If their souls continued pure, their homes would continue fair. It is man's own sin that defaces the beauty and m:irs the happiness of man's home. When men find themselves in positions that are not compatible with their happiness al;l.d usefulness, it is sin that has placed them there_. 3. Quit'kl;,; lost. How long they continued innocent is usele~s to conjecture, thou,: n probably it was not long. Mor!! important is it to observe that uot much w .. s THE BOOK OF GENESIS. [CR. II. 8-17
rrqnired to depri,·e them of their lovely homo-one act of disobedience I See th111 <langer of even one sin. 4. Ultimauly recoverable. This truth wns taught by the i,taiioning· of the chC'rnhim nt its gate (q. v.). Rev. xxii. 1 tells us it has been regained for us by Clirist, nn<l will in the end be bestowed on us. TV. A HOME OF HArPINEss. 1. Everything ""'as absent that might mnr mnn's felic!t~·. _No sin, no error, no sorrow. 2. Everything was present that could minister to !us enJoyment. There wns ample gratification for all the different parts of his complex nature. (1) For his bodily senses, the fair scenes, melodious sounds, crystal strnams, and \uscions fruits of the garden. (2) For his mental powers, tho study of the works of God. (3) For his social affections, a loving nnd lovely partner. (4) For his spiritual nature, God. To reproduce the happiness of Eden, ~o far ns thnt is possible in II sinful world, there is needed (a) communion with a gracious God: (b) the felicity of a loving and a pious home; (c) the joy of life- ph)·sical, intellectual, moral. V. A PLACE OF rRODATION. This probation wns-1. Necessary. Virtue that stands only because it has ne,•er been assaulted is, to say the least of it, not of tho highest kind. Unless man had been subjected to trial it might have remained dubious whether he obeyed of free choice or from mechanical necessity. 2. Easy. The specific commandment which Ado.m was required to observe was not severe in its terms. The limitations it prescribed were of the smallest possible description- abstinence from only one tree. 3. Gracious. Instead of perilling the immortality of Adam and his poste1ity upon every single act of their lives, he suspended it upon tJ1e observance, doubtless for only a short space of time, of one easily-obeyed precept, "·hich he bad the strongest possible inducement to obey. If he maintained his intC'grity, not only would his own holiness and happiness be confirmed, but those of his descendants would be secured; while if be failed, he would involve not himself alone, hut all succeeding generations in the sweep of n terrific penalty. The clear- r.ess "·ith which that penalty was made known, the certainty of its execution, and 1.he severity of its inflictions, were proofs of the grace of God towards bis creature ma.n.