Morning, August 13
Go To Evening Reading
“The cedars of Lebanon which he hath planted.”
Psalm 104:16
Lebanon’s cedars are emblematic of the Christian, in that they owe their planting entirely to the Lord . This is quite true of every child of God. He is not man-planted,
nor self-planted, but God-planted. The mysterious hand of the divine
Spirit dropped the living seed into a heart which he had himself prepared
for its reception. Every true heir of heaven owns the great Husbandman
as his planter. Moreover, the cedars of Lebanon are not dependent upon man for their watering ; they stand on the lofty rock, unmoistened by human irrigation; and
yet our heavenly Father supplieth them. Thus it is with the Christian
who has learned to live by faith. He is independent of man, even in
temporal things; for his continued maintenance he looks to the Lord
his God, and to him alone. The dew of heaven is his portion, and the
God of heaven is his fountain. Again, the cedars of Lebanon are not protected by any mortal power . They owe nothing to man for their preservation from stormy wind
and tempest. They are God’s trees, kept and preserved by him, and by him alone. It is precisely
the same with the Christian. He is not a hot-house plant, sheltered
from temptation; he stands in the most exposed position; he has no
shelter, no protection, except this, that the broad wings of the eternal
God always cover the cedars which he himself has planted. Like cedars,
believers are full of sap, having vitality enough to be ever green, even amid winter’s snows. Lastly, the flourishing and majestic condition of the cedar
is to the praise of God only . The Lord, even the Lord alone hath been everything unto the cedars,
and, therefore David very sweetly puts it in one of the psalms, “Praise ye the Lord, fruitful trees and all cedars.” In the believer there is nothing that can magnify man; he is planted,
nourished, and protected by the Lord’s own hand, and to him let all the glory be ascribed.