“...Happy is the man who only has the mind, and has the spirit to get these lessons from nature. Flowers, what are they? They are the thoughts of God solidified, God's beautiful thoughts put into shape. Storms, what are they? They are God's terrible thoughts written out that we may read them. Thunders, what are they? They are God's powerful emotions, just opened out that men may hear them. The world is just the materializing of God's thoughts; for the world is a thought in God's eye. He made it first from a thought that came from his own mighty mind; and every thing in the majestic temple that he has made has a meaning.
In this temple there are four evangelists. As we have four great evangelists in the Bible, so there are four evangelists in nature; and these are the four evangelists of the seasons—spring, summer, autumn, winter.
First comes spring, and what says it? We look, and we behold that, by the magic touch of spring, insects which seemed to be dead begin to awaken, and seeds that were buried in the dust begin to lift up their radiant forms. What says spring? It utters its voice—it says to man, Though thou sleepest thou shalt rise again; there is a world in which in a more glorious state thou shalt exist; thou art but a seed now, and thou shalt be buried in the dust, and in a little while thou shalt arise. Spring utters that part of its evangile. Then comes summer. Summer says to man, Behold the goodness of a merciful Creator--“he makes his sun to shine on the evil and on the good,” he sprinkleth the earth with flowers, he scattereth it with those gems of creation, he maketh it a blossom like Eden, and bring forth like the garden of the Lord. Summer utters that; then comes autumn. We shall hear its message this morning. It passes—and fourth—comes winter crowned with a coronal of ice, and it tells us that there are times of trouble for man; it points to the fruits that we have stored up in qutumn, and it says to us, Man, take heed that thou store up something for thyself—something against the day of wrath; lay up for thyself the fruits of autumn, that thou mayest be able to feed on them in winter. And when the old year expires, its death-knell tells us that man must die; and when the year has finished its evangelistic mission, there comes another to preach the same lesson again.”
-Spurgeon, "Sermon XV--Harvest Time"
In this temple there are four evangelists. As we have four great evangelists in the Bible, so there are four evangelists in nature; and these are the four evangelists of the seasons—spring, summer, autumn, winter.
First comes spring, and what says it? We look, and we behold that, by the magic touch of spring, insects which seemed to be dead begin to awaken, and seeds that were buried in the dust begin to lift up their radiant forms. What says spring? It utters its voice—it says to man, Though thou sleepest thou shalt rise again; there is a world in which in a more glorious state thou shalt exist; thou art but a seed now, and thou shalt be buried in the dust, and in a little while thou shalt arise. Spring utters that part of its evangile. Then comes summer. Summer says to man, Behold the goodness of a merciful Creator--“he makes his sun to shine on the evil and on the good,” he sprinkleth the earth with flowers, he scattereth it with those gems of creation, he maketh it a blossom like Eden, and bring forth like the garden of the Lord. Summer utters that; then comes autumn. We shall hear its message this morning. It passes—and fourth—comes winter crowned with a coronal of ice, and it tells us that there are times of trouble for man; it points to the fruits that we have stored up in qutumn, and it says to us, Man, take heed that thou store up something for thyself—something against the day of wrath; lay up for thyself the fruits of autumn, that thou mayest be able to feed on them in winter. And when the old year expires, its death-knell tells us that man must die; and when the year has finished its evangelistic mission, there comes another to preach the same lesson again.”
-Spurgeon, "Sermon XV--Harvest Time"
posted by Motokeb at 7:05 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home