Hiding from the Gardener

From: Messages of God's Love: 1946

When we were children living in the old home, with its fruit garden and grassy lawns, we used to hide behind the bushes when we heard the gardener’s footstep, for we were forbidden at certain seasons to play there.

In after years, when the schoolteacher turned his back, we left our sums undone, and spent the time trifling. What is more natural than to seek to hide our evil doings and cover our sins. It is an old habit.

When Adam and Eve sinned in Eden, they hid themselves from God among the trees (Gen. 3:8⁸And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. (Genesis 3:8)).

When Achan stole the wedge of gold and the garment, he hid them in his tent (Josh. 7:21²¹When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it. (Joshua 7:21)). It is impossible to hide ourselves or our sins from God.

“Thou, God, seest me,” is true everywhere and always. By night and day, in sleep, at play, the eyes of the Lord are upon us, and all things are “naked and opened” unto Him (Heb. 4:13¹³Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. (Hebrews 4:13)).

To cover sin, God says, is “not to prosper” to confess it, and trust in the blood that cleanseth from all sin, is to be clean before God and at peace with Him.

“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” Isaiah 28:13¹³But the word of the Lord was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken. (Isaiah 28:13).

ML 04/21/1946

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