Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1859-07-13
Christ in the Garden.


Christ having bequeatled TO his Church
the ineStimable legacy of his own body and
blood, and instituted the great Passover OF
new covenant, went ont the same evening
from Jerusalem and entered the garden Of
Gethsemane, situated at the foot OF Mount
Olvet. Here it was that the conflict began
which ended only on Mount Calvary. As
the downfall and ruin of mankind had COM
menced in garden, so it was proper that
the recovery and redemption OF mankind
should likewise commence in garden. The
garden of Eden had been the first theatre OF
sin. So the garden Of Gethsemane became
tho first stage OF our Redeemer's passion.
Here his blessed soul underwent an excrucia-
ting martyrdom, and was drowned in an
ocean o. sorrows Here his affectonate heart
was seized with strange convulsions Of grief,
and almost torn asunder with fits OF sadness.
Here the jov of angels, and the sweet conf
fort Of all afflicted anu distressed souls was
overwhelmed with SO heavy load of atflic-
ton that lie breathed forth the doleful COM
plaint "My soul is exceeding sorrowful even
unto DEATH" Behold the Son of God pros
trate on the earth. lie is confounded within
himself at the imputation of'our guilt. The
leprosy of our sins, which he is covered, fills
him with horror. The enormous weight OF
our guilt produced the most painful and In
tense agony; 50 much so, that even before
the hand of man had touched bim, he melted
as it were by the fire Of Divine wrath, so
that the sweat fell from him like drops OF
blood. We shudler ct the account OF Ills
sutferinss given by the Evangelists, who tell
us that be prayed, once, twice, and even
third time, that the cup Of his attiiction might
pass from him. And when his bitter trial
approached, and all the powers of the Evil
One were let loose upon him, his heart so
sank that an angel was sent to strengthen
him.
In the garden of Gethsemane sin was tri
umphant Holiness was abandoned even by
the All.Holy. 1t was the hour of the prince
of darkness. The Father had withdrawn his
consoling presence. The pitiless storm Of
Divine wrath beat upon the soul Of the suffer-
ipc Saviour in all its fury. lie stood charged
with the collective guilt Of Adams fallen
race and all the arrows Of Almighty justice
flew at once to his heart. How fearful must
have been the pressure Of that physical Suf-
leling which caused him to pray that i! it
were agreeable to the will Of lis Father, the
bitter cup might pass from him. But this
could not be. As the representative of q
guilty world, be must tread the winepreSs of
Gods wrath alone. There is no way Of re-
concilng these intense sutferings of the i'm
maculate Son of God with the attributes of
the Most High upon the principles Of the
Sociniau, who utterly denies their vicarious
nature. The agony in the garden is knot
that nothing can unite, but tho old doctrine
of our sin being really imputed to Christ,
and Christ being made sin and curse
for US.
In the agony of Jesus we behold, then, the
true nature and the proper effects Of sin.
"The wages of sin is DEATH" Therefore his
(" soul was exceeding sorrowful even unto
DEATH" We see here a specimen of that
and wrath, tribulation and an
guish," y hich every soul of man would have
had to suffer, had he not become the sufferer
in our stead. Let us think Of GethseDaue
as the place where Jesus bore the wrath tf
Jehovah, that we might be restored To his
smiles and mercy. As we mourn over tile
entrance of tue devil into the Garden Of
Eden, and the dreadful fall OF our first pa
rents, let us behold with JOY tue "seed Of
the woman" wrestling will, this base usCrper
in tue garden of Gethsemane, that h,' nj ii,
enable us to crush l.im beneath our leat.-
German Reformed Messenger.