The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; (Song 2:12)
The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; (Song 2:12)
God created the world, the beauty of nature, and the gift of love and He gave us senses to enjoy them. We should not let problems, conflicts, or the ravages of time ruin our ability to enjoy God’s gifts. In every flower, we are invited to take time to enjoy the world God has created. And to listen to God’s Voice. Each thing He has created has a message from Him to us.
I love all of His beautiful flowers. They are memories of Eden, pointing to the blessed country into which, if faithful, we shall soon enter. With each blossom, Jesus is leading my mind to the health-giving properties of the flowers and trees.
I can direct my mind to the lovely birds making the air musical with their happy songs, to the spires of grass and the gloriously tinted flowers in their perfection perfuming the air. All of these, each in their own distinctive voice, proclaim the love and skill of the heavenly Artist and show forth the glory of God.
Scripture makes use of flowers in many ways:
The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; the fig tree puts forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
No matter what weather it is outside, it may be spring-time within. If your hearts have been frost-bound and barren, may they now begin to thaw at the approach of Jesus! Many of us have asked for His company, and believe that he will be here; and when he comes, he will make our souls rejoice. They shall be as watered gardens when the summer blossoms return again.
The invitation of every flower is to fellowship in the midst of the pure loveliness of nature, where all is adapted to meet and sustain the feelings of awakened love for Jesus and one another. The emotions of the soul are blended easily with the sensations derived from the outward world. When we carefully avoid extravagance, and put the soul first and not second, then the delights of the senses may help the heart to realize the deepest experience of Divine Communion.
Fields and meadows, as well as gardens, are covered with a variety of beautiful flowers now, which make walking around them totally delightful. By these, “flowers” may be meant as either the graces of the spirit in the saints, which, when during a wintertime with them, seem to be dead. Or at least are hid. But, upon a return of the Sun of Righteousness, revival, renewal are seen again. Or,the saints themselves, when in a flourishing condition, and in the exercise of grace; who may be compared to the flowers of the field for the production of them in the spring. Which is a kind of re-creation of them. Psalms 104:30; Fitly expressing the renovation of the Holy Spirit, to which our revival of them is owing. And for the beautiful fragrance of them, their character and service being of a sweet savor through the grace and righteousness of Christ.
For their beauty and ornament to the fields in which they grow, as saints are through Christ in themselves, and to the churches and interest of Christ; and for the happiness and cheerfulness in which the flowers appear in our spring or summer season, and so a proper emblem of the joy and consolation of the saints; where grace revives, Christ returns, and they are favored by communion with Jesus.
You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; And You renew the face of the earth. (Psalms 104:30)
Since the book of nature and the book of revelation bear the impress of the same master mind, they cannot but speak in harmony. By different methods, and in different languages, they witness to the same great truths. Science is ever discovering new wonders; but she brings from her research nothing that, rightly understood, conflicts with divine revelation. The book of nature and the written word shed light upon each other. They make us acquainted with God by teaching us something of the laws through which He works. Rightly understood, both the revelations of science and the experiences of life are in harmony with the testimony of Scripture to the constant working of God in nature.
In the hymn recorded by Nehemiah, the Levites sang
“Thou, even Thou, art Lord alone; Thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and Thou preserves them all.” Neh 9:6.
The apostle Paul, writing by the Holy Spirit, declares of Christ that “all things have been created through Him, and unto Him; and He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” Col 1:16-17, R.V., margin. The hand that sustains the worlds in space, the hand that holds in their orderly arrangement and tireless activity all things throughout the universe of God, is the hand that was nailed to the cross for us.
“When He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth.” John 16:13. Only by the aid of that Spirit who in the beginning “was brooding upon the face of the waters;” of that Word by whom “all things were made;” of that “true Light, which lights every person that comes into the world,” can the testimony of science be rightly interpreted. Only by their guidance can its deepest truths be discerned. Only under the direction of the Omniscient One shall we, in the study of His works, be enabled to think His thoughts after Him.
The first voice I hear in the forest speaks directly for God—for the Divine existence and presence with us in His works.
“The fool hath said in their heart, There is no God.”
Nature says in her heart, and in every color and feature of her beautiful flowers
“There is a God, and He is here!” (Heb 13:5, Deut 31:8)