{"id":2651,"date":"2013-10-26T11:04:37","date_gmt":"2013-10-26T11:04:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=2651"},"modified":"2013-10-26T11:04:37","modified_gmt":"2013-10-26T11:04:37","slug":"your-plants-are-an-orchard-of-pomegranates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=2651","title":{"rendered":"Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates"},"content":{"rendered":"

Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates<\/strong> with choice fruits, with henna and nard, nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with every kind of incense tree, with myrrh and aloes and all the finest spices.\u201d<\/p>\n

Our attention is still fixed on the fertility<\/em> of the garden. It is portrayed as abounding in all plants and shrubs which can delight the eye, or gratify the sense. They are multitudinous in number, and odoriferous in fragrance. Imagination takes wing and flies back to the garden of Eden, in which God made every plant pleasant to the eye, and good for food.<\/p>\n

This garden<\/em> is chosen to represent the Church<\/em>. The plants are very many. At any given time or place, believers may seem to be a little flock. But when all are collected, they shall be found to be a great multitude, which no man can number, of every nation and people and kindred and tongue. May we have happy place among them!<\/p>\n

In this garden every tree and shrub is planted by the heavenly Father\u2019s hand. Doubtless in the world there are many counterfeits; but a searching day shall discover their unreality, and they shall be rooted up. There is a solemn warning, \u201cEvery branch in Me that bears not fruit, He takes away.\u201d<\/p>\n

But every plant in this garden is a branch broken from the olive-tree, wild by nature, and is grafted into the good olive-tree, and partakes of the riches of the heavenly root. They are chosen out of the wild desert of the world. They are renewed by the Spirit\u2019s invigorating power. They bear fruits of righteousness to the praise and glory of God. They are the planting of the Lord that He may be glorified.<\/p>\n

Mark the fragrance<\/em> which flows from them, and the luscious fruits<\/em>, which hang in clusters from their boughs. These are the graces, of which the Holy Spirit is the author. Pre-eminently FAITH is conspicuous. This is the eye which sees Christ Jesus\u2013the ear which hears His inviting call\u2013the feet which run after Him\u2013the hand that grasps Him, and strongly holds the title-deeds of pardon, righteousness and heaven. In this garden this flowering ornament emits transcendent fragrance.<\/p>\n

In close contact HOPE blooms. It looks forward and discerns the coming glory of the heavenly inheritance. It traverses the spacious fields of promise, and deduces from each promise, most luscious flavor. Rich is the perfume of this heaven-set plant.<\/p>\n

LOVE, also, sweetly blossoms. It is the counterpart of \u201cthe plant of renown.\u201d It is profuse in exhibiting the features which shall pervade the heavenly home. It is not obscure among the odoriferous plants of this garden.<\/p>\n

Countless are the shrubs, which surround these most conspicuous plants. There is MEEKNESS with its lowly head\u2013HUMILITY casting fragrance in the sequestered shade\u2013PATIENCE, which endures, without withering, the adverse blasts, which threaten its destruction. There are JOY and PEACE showing their beauteous heads, and their refreshing forms. Indeed no grace is absent, which can contribute to enrich this paradise of God.<\/p>\n

4:15. \u201cYou are a garden fountain, a well of living water, as refreshing as the streams from the Lebanon mountains.\u201d<\/p>\n

Enumeration has now reached its close. The view has been concentrated on the collected treasure of beauty and perfume. It is however added, the Church is \u201ca garden fountain, a well of living water, as refreshing as the streams from the Lebanon mountains.\u201d We know that Lebanon supplied the rivulets which spread fertility through the chosen land. Thus from the Church the waters flow, which diffuse beauty and plenty through this fallen world. This truth is expressed in the words of Jesus, \u201cHe who believes in Me, from within him shall flow rivers of living water. This He spoke of the Spirit.\u201d May our bodies always be the temples of the Holy Spirit!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Henry Law.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates with choice fruits, with henna and nard, nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with every kind of incense tree, with myrrh and aloes and all the finest spices.\u201d Our attention is still fixed on the fertility of the garden. It is portrayed as abounding in all plants and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[77,62],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2651","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-author-henry-law","category-pictures-and-types"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2651","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2651"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2651\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2653,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2651\/revisions\/2653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}