Spurgeon: August AM
* 08/13/AM
"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.