"And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. …. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it."-Gen. 2 :9, 16, 17.

The attentive reader of the foregoing will easily see that there were two trees occupying a prominent place in the mind of the Lord God. The other trees of the garden had been referred to in a very general way as'' every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food; " but these are distinguished by being mentioned apart, and by each being designated by a name. Moreover, the tree of life is located,-"in the midst" of the garden. The other is not located, perhaps our first parents need not have known its location. Remark, it does not read "the tree of life and also the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the midst;" but " the tree of life in the midst."

Thus there are two trees prominently before the Lord God, and one of them is prohibited :surely it would seem the most rational thing possible for the first pair to have taken the hint thus given, and search out the one tree which remains prominently before them; instead of which, however, we find Eve searching out the forbidden tree, she has located it, indeed it is "in the midst of the garden" to her (Gen. 3 :3). Eve has not fallen, perhaps, but she is in imminent danger of so doing, she is not fortified against it in the only way possible, viz., by being under the tree of life.

Herein lies the lesson of lessons for man in all times.

The book of Genesis has been well named "The seed plot of the Bible;" and here, in these earlier chapters, we may expect to find matter concentrated, and of far-reaching application.

Remark, here, how man was created:"And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" (Gen. 2 :7).

What intimations we have here:-

(1.) Of dependence, "breathed into." If the supply is cut off, how soon breathing must stop, and when breathing ceases, life itself must cease! There is a reference to this in Isa. 2 :22 and 3 :i, where the Lord is in a very practical way, severing the link between Himself and His people. It is like His word to Ephraim, "Let him alone!"

(2.) Of intimacy, "breathed into his nostrils." How near must the Lord God have come to breathe into his nostrils! How near then He would have man be to Himself! The Lord God seems to give further expression to this desire for intimacy when He walks "in the garden in the cool of the day" (lit. "to, or for, the breath of the day"), as though He would maintain the close link He had instituted with man at the first.

What possibilities of loving intercourse unfold to us here as we think of our first parents, under the shadow of the tree of life, entering into the counsels of their Creator-God, who would so gladly have met them there! And thus satisfied, their backs upon the forbidden tree, how proof against all the sophistries of the serpent!

The bride in the Song of Songs appears to have discovered this secret, for she says, "As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste' (Song 2:3).

The word for "apple tree" is from a root signifying "to breathe," so that she is really under the shadow of "the breather," delighted, satisfied; and when that is the case, he must lead on; he leads to "the house of wine," and shows his banner to be "love" (ver. 4).

This, after all, is where she began with him, "I raised thee up under the apple tree :there thy mother brought thee forth :there she brought thee forth that bare thee" (chap 8:5).

She had been down into the wilderness, and on her part, she had doubtless found the path a downward one; while, on his part, it may be that he had "allured" her there, to "speak to her heart" (Hos. 2:14 marg ), to show her the emptiness of turning from him. At all events, he had himself gone there to bring her up from thence:and now she leans upon him, and once more he reminds her of her origin j under the "breather" she had begun with him;; what had she gained by wandering ? Gained perhaps a deeper acquaintance with his heart, had learned more fully the strength of his arm, and that he had not changed; he was the same who had "raised her up under the apple tree." In John 20 the risen Lord "breathes" on His disciples, as confirming on resurrection ground what He had so plainly intimated in creation, viz., that His own must be near Him, they must be dependent upon Him.

Our holy Lord is indeed the " Breather," the " Tree of Life." The way to the tree of life in Eden had been barred by cherubim's flaming sword, by reason of man's sin; but now, the sword of Divine judgment having been sheathed in His sinless bosom, the "way" is open-Himself the "Way," Himself, the "Tree." "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God" (Rev. 2 :7).

The blessed Lord has one final offer to make ere the book of God's grace is closed, "Blessed are they that wash their robes that they may have right to the tree of life" (Rev, 22 :14 r. 5:). His last offer to man is His first, He has no better; could He have a better ?

And now, dear reader, will you, if you have never yet done so, settle the question in your own soul, if Jesus be your one necessity for access to the tree of life? " Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh My blood, hath eternal life :… he that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me" (John 6:53, 54, 57).

But my main business is with you, dear fellow Christian. See what issues depended upon Eve's attitude toward those two trees. With her face toward the one, her back was necessarily upon the other. Had she but followed the loving suggestion given at the very threshold of man's history, she would have found the fruit of the tree of life sweet to her taste; but with her face towards the forbidden tree, she is in an attitude the enemy is not slow to recognize and take advantage of-he found the door open. It is safe to say that he can never enter if it be not open :and the only effectual bar is the satisfied heart, finding "His fruit sweet to my taste."
To what wondrous possibilities of nearness and intercourse, beloved, we are thus invited!-the prophet's nearness to God, so as to have His mind and be ready to impart it to others (i Cor. 14:1,3,13), and the intercessor's place, confident of receiving what we ask for (John 14:13,14; 15:7,16; 16:23- 24).

This principle of the two trees is illuminated by, and throws its light upon, the "One thing have I desired of the Lord" of Psa. 27; the " One thing I do" of the Apostle in Philippians 3rd:and "That good part" of Mary in Luke 10; as also "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you "

May both writer and reader know better what it is to sit "under His shadow with great delight, and find His fruit sweet to our taste." This is indeed the very essence of holiness.

" Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity, wherefore God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows" (Heb. i:9). J. B. J.