by R. T. Holmes
"A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse, a spring shut up, a fountain sealed" (S.O.S. 4:12).
The Lord has a garden that is enclosed so that no real harm shall ever come to His plants. No foxes will get in to spoil the vines; no weeds will choke the plants; He will keep His garden night and day (S.O.S. 2:15, 4:12, Isa. 27:3).
Here is a hedge, a wall, so high and so strong that nothing can penetrate it except by the permission of our Gardener for our good (Job l:9-12).
God has shut His people in; they are a spring shut up, a fountain sealed. If any try to hurt His plants they will bring great suffering upon themselves and their families (Gen. 20:2-7, II Th. 1:6).
But perhaps, dear Christian, you feel "shut in" because you are weak and sickly, disabled, or old, unable to do much. Jeremiah felt the same way; he felt hedged in, chained to an unbearable situation, beating his head against a stone wall, not knowing what path to take, feeling as though God had forsaken him. His hope perished, yet this was the will of God for him; the way in which he was to serve and glorify God (Lam. 3:7-18).
Psalm 37:23 says, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord; and he delighteth in his way." George Mueller said, "And the stops also."
If we have learned to walk with the Lord, now we must learn to wait for the Lord (Psa. 40:1). We must learn to stand still, quietly waiting, not losing heart or hope; submitting to the will of God, confident and rejoicing in Him, glorifying, honoring, and serving Him with praise and thanksgiving; feeding Him with the fruit of our lips that He has created (Isa. 57:19). We will, we can, if we remember, as Jeremiah did, that the Lord's mercy and compassion are new every morning. "The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him"(Lam. 3:25).
Oh, beloved Gardener, come into Your garden;
eat Your pleasant fruits; gather Your myrrh, and spice (S.O.S. 4:15-5:1).
May our fruit be as sweet to you as yours is to us (S.O.S. 2:3).