garden of Eden,—a paradise not formed by man, but by the hand of the living God. All celestial love, wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge, proceed entirely from God; none of these take their rise in man, but all spring forth from Him who is Life itself, and the All-in-all of his lovely creation.
"Man, know thyself; all wisdom centres there!" and to know that thou art created a form recipient of life from God, that thou hast nothing of thine own, but that all thou hast now or shalt hereafter possess, is a free gift of God to thee, and that thou art momentarily supplied with life, affection, thought, wisdom, knowledge, and blessings; to know and feel this as a great truth, and that thou art a perfectly dependent being on thy bountiful Creator for all things, is really to know thyself. Wisdom centres in such knowledge, for God is then seen as the Creator and Preserver of thy soul and body, and of all the joys that dwell within or surround thy being.
The garden that the Lord God planted, in which was the tree of life, and all other trees with their blossoms and fruits, is a beautiful emblem of that state of love, wisdom, and innocence which the Lord prepares for man, and man for it. Hence, we read that the Lord took the man and put him into the garden. But how is this state of love and wisdom, this paradise of joys, to be possessed? It will be possessed by doing the commands of Him who planted the garden. Man was not placed in Eden to be an idle spectator of its beauties, or to cast an empty gaze on its flowers and fruits, but to dress it and keep it. This is his work, to dress the garden; and as long as he does this he will be sure to keep it. If he dress it not, the
