Psalms 104:16

IF Solomon were here this morning, who spoke of all trees, from the hyssop on the wall to the cedar that is in Lebanon, he would greatly instruct us in the natural history of the cedar and, at the same time, uttering allegories and proverbs of wisdom, he would give us apples of gold in baskets of silver. But since the Lord Jesus Christ has said, "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world," we can dispense with the company of Solomon. For if Christ is present, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. Solomon probably would confine his remarks simply to the physical conformation and botany of the wonderful tree. But our Lord, I trust, will speak to our hearts this morning concerning those who are "planted in the courts of the Lord," and therefore flourish like cedars. May our communications this morn be blessed to us while we talk of those trees of the Lord, those plants of His own right hand planting which grow in the garden of the Lord. I shall have to say some things this morning which are not for beginners in the Gospel school. I shall have to handle some lofty matters which belong to the more advanced of the Lord's family. For Lebanon is a high hill and the ascent is very craggy. The pathway to the summit is not for the feet of babes—it is rather fit for those lion-like men, those men of experience—who, by reason of use, have had their feet made like hind's feet that they may stand on the high places. Follow me as I may be led of the Spirit to climb that arduous pathway. Let us stand this morning under the venerable shadow of those ancient cedars which, to this very day, are the Lord's witnesses and are as before, full of sap—the cedars of Lebanon, which the Lord has planted. There are three things I shall bring before your attention this morning, in the cedars of Lebanon. First of all, the absence of all human cultivation.

IF Solomon were here this morning, who spoke of all trees, from the hyssop on the wall to the cedar that is in Lebanon, he would greatly instruct us in the natural history of the cedar and, at the same time, uttering allegories and proverbs of wisdom, he would give us apples of gold in baskets of silver. But since the Lord Jesus Christ has said, "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world," we can dispense with the company of Solomon. For if Christ is present, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

The trees of the Lord are full of sap - ישבעו yisbeu, “are saturated.” The cedars of Lebanon - God’s providence not only extends to then and cattle, but also to the trees of the field and forest. Many of these are not only sustained, but planted by his providence. Who ever planted the seeds of the cedars of Lebanon, or of the thousands of woods and forests on the globe? God himself sowed those seeds, and they have sprung up and flourished without the care of man.

The trees of the Lord - From the grass, from the herb, from the vine, and from bread, as adapted to sustain the living beings upon the earth, the psalmist passes to the more lofty and grand productions of the vegetable world - to those which display more manifestly the power of God, and which furnish abodes and retreats for the various orders of living beings. The phrase “the trees of the Lord” means great and magnificent trees - as the expression “mountains of God” means great and lofty mountains - as if they seemed to “approach” God, or as if no appellation would so well describe their nature as that which was derived from the Infinite One. See Psa 36:6, note; Psa 65:9, note; Psa 80:10, note. Are full of sap - The word so rendered means merely to be full, to be saturated - the words “of sap” being supplied by the translators. The idea is, that, lofty as they are, they are abundantly supplied with that which is necessary to their growth. There is no want - no lack - of that which is needful to supply them. They flourish, sustained abundantly by that which is derived from the earth and the waters. The cedars of Lebanon - As among the loftiest and most magnificent productions of the earth. See Psa 29:5, note; Psa 92:12, note; Isa 2:13, note. Which he hath planted - So lofty and large, that it would seem as if none could plant them but the Almighty.