love to God he obeyed this command, he was to acquire the knowledge of all the good that: God intended to bestow on him. But if he disobeyed this command, then he was to feel. the effects of his disobedience, and to know what was evil by the loss of that good which be now enjoyed. In these two trees. God set before Adam good and evil, a blessing and a curse. There were a great variety of other trees im. the gardens, the best and most fruitfal of their kind; their shapes leaves and flowers were pleasant to the eyes and charming to behold. Their fruits were grateful to the tastes and useful to the body, for it is said, "out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and food for good." But it is time to say * few things. III. Concerning the GARDENER and his PLOYMENT, the Malli, as you call him in thin country. The Gardener was Adam, and his employment was to dress and keep this gar den "And the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it." Te To cultivate it, to keep the beasts from spoiling its beauty or hurting the flowers. Though the garden of Eden did not want weeding, it must be dressed and kept, culti vated and improved. The Lord God put Adam into this garden. He was not made in the garden. God put him there after re had created him. A garden planted by God, and adorned with all that was useful and beau tiful. The Sky was the roof of Adam's house -uever was there such a beautiful ceiling bung with such beautiful lamps as the roof of Adam's house. The Sun was his bright lamp by day, and the Moon and Stars were his lamps by night. Never was there any roof so lofty, so strong, so richly adorned and painted. The Earth was Adau's floor, covered with a rich and beautiful carpet of grass and flowers, interwoven with each other. How various, how natural, and how beautiful were the colors that adorned this carpet. There is no carpet like that which adorned the floor of Adam's house. Under the shadow of the trees of the Garden Adam and Eve ate and slept. Never were dining rooms and sleeping chambers so richly hung as those in Adam's garden. Solomon's temple with all its beauty N 2 and and glory was not so grand, so glorious and beautiful as Adam's house. IV. CATECHETICAL QUESTIONS. 1. What was the Text, and where is it to be found? In Geħ. 2d chap. 15 verse, read it. 2. What is the name of this Garden? Eden. 3. What does Eden signify? Pleasure and delight. 4. Who planted this Garden? The Lord God. 5. Where did he plant it? Eastward in Eden. 6. Who did God plant this Garden for? Adam and Eve. 7. Who did God put into this Garden ! "The Man whom he had formed." 8. What did he put the Man in the Garden for? To dress it and to keep it. 9. What did God cause to grow in this Garden? Every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, 10. What tree was that which grew in the midst of the Garden? The Tree of Life. 11. There was another remarkable Tree, what what was the name of it? The Tree of knowledge, of good and evil. 12. For what purpose was the river that is said to go out or through Eden? To water the Garden. 14. Into how many heads or branches was this river divided? Four, two above the Garden, and two below it. 15. What were the names of these four rivers? Pison, Gihon, Heddekel and the Euphrates. 16. What was the land of Havilah remarkable for? Gold, bdellium and onyx stones, 17. What is bdellium? A precious gum. 18. Where is Eden supposed to be? Supposed to be in Chaldea to the east of Canaan, not far from ancient Babylon. 19. Where did Adam and Eve dwell? In Paradise. 20. Who was the first Gardener? Adam. V. PRACTICAL ADDRESS. Whenever you walk in the garden, think how much more beautiful the garden of Eden was. We often hear Children say, what fine garden this is. What a fine gardent N 3 such such a person has. You ought to say what a fine garden God has given him. Every garden would be a wild barren place, if God did not make the flowers, the pients and the trees grow. The Gardener with all bis care cannot make the things grow. It is God that gives the early and the latter rain. Adam was not placed in the garden to be idle. He had employment there. He was to dress and keep the garden. You are not sent into the world to be idle. You have all something to do. Your business will not hinder you from being religious. The Apostle says that you must be diligent in business, fervent in spirit in serving the Lord. The employment of gardening was the first in the world. It is both ancient and bonourable. God himself planted a garden. Adam was a gardener. The garden of Eden was delightful. It was fruitful and beautiful. It bears a resemblance to Heaven, which is also called Paradise. God loves to see all his ereatures happy. The garden of Eden was not made to please the eye alone, but to fill the heart with gratitude to God. All the delights of Eden could not have made Adam happy, |