Isaiah 41:19 I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree… The beautiful part of the picture is, that God bestows grace varied in its manifestations; adapted in its wondrous diversity to meet the wants and necessities and trials of all His suffering people. He has sustaining grace for one, restraining grace for another; strengthening grace for one, sanctifying grace for another; comforting grace for one, dying grace for another. But all these "trees of God" are "full of sap," from the lowly: "nabk" or mountain-thorn, to the "cedar of Lebanon which He hath planted." Each tree may be taken as the type or emblem of a cluster of Bible promises. To the weak, there is the cedar in its strength; to the bereaved, there is the olive, with its ashen leaves, and yet with its "oil of joy" for the mourner; to the fainting and downcast, there is the tall pine and tapering cypress pointing upwards; to the wounded spirit, there is the balsam tree of Gilead and the fragrant myrtle; to the dying, there is the palm tree with its graceful fronds, according to the Eastern tradition, whispering in the ear the name of Jesus! And the further peculiarity of this promise is, that it is in the hour of sorest want and trial and perplexity that that grace is most abundant. It is in the depths of the arid desert, with hillocks of sand on all sides bounding the horizon, — in seasons of loneliest bereavement and uttermost sorrow, — that these palm and acacia and olive and myrtle groves, as if by the hand of an enchanter, rise up to view. It was "at the fourth watch of the night (when the darkness was deepest, and the hearts of the disciples were most despairing and desponding) that Jesus "cometh unto them walking upon the sea." Man's extremity is often God's opportunity. ( C. H. Spurgeon.) Parallel Verses KJV: I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree, and the pine, and the box tree together: |
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