The things which are seen are types of the things which are not seen.
The works of creation are pictures to the children of God of the secret
mysteries of grace. God’s truths are the apples of gold, and the visible
creatures are the baskets of silver. The very seasons of the year find
their parallel in the little world of man within. We have our
winter–dreary, howling winter–when the north wind of the law rusheth
forth against us; when every hope is nipped; when all the seeds of joy
lie buried beneath the dark clods of despair; when our soul is fast
fettered like a river bound with ice, without waves of joy, or flowings
of thanksgiving. Thanks be unto God, the soft south wind breathes upon
our soul, and at once the waters of desire are set free, the spring of
love cometh on, flowers of hope appear in our hearts, the trees of faith
put forth their young shoots, the time of the singing-birds cometh in
our hearts, and we have joy and peace in believing through the Lord
Jesus Christ. That happy springtide is followed in the believer by a
rich summer, when his graces, like fragrant flowers, are in full bloom,
loading the air with perfume; and fruits of the Spirit, like citrons and
pomegranates, swell into their full proportion in the genial warmth of
the Sun of Righteousness. Then cometh the believer’s autumn, when his
fruits grow ripe, and his fields are ready for the harvest; the time has
come when his Lord shall gather together his “pleasant fruits,” and
store them in heaven; the feast of ingathering is at hand–the time when
the year shall begin anew, an unchanging year, like the years of the
right hand of the Most High.