Evening, April 12
Go To Morning Reading
“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.”