Meditations on Song of Solomon

Ver. 16. “My beloved is mine and I am his; he feedeth among the lilies: The happy spouse now speaks with full assurance, as to the possession of her object. She speaks of Him as her own. There is conscious possession of the object of her affections. “My beloved is mine.” She does not say, “I hope He is.” But says plainly, without a question, He is mine. When affection is real, the desire of the heart is to obtain possession of the object. For this it will persevere. Nothing, less will satisfy the heart.
We have seen, in our Meditations, that the Bride was in the full enjoyment of the blessings of His love. We have also listened to her speaking with admiring delight, of His many, and excellent qualities; still the heart was seeking after possession — relationship. When the person is possessed, all his qualities and virtues are possessed. He Himself is mine. Thus will it be in the latter day. Christ will be for the remnant, and the remnant will be for Christ. “Thou shalt abide for me: thou shalt not be for another: so will I also be for thee.” (Hos. 3) But we are all slow of heart to believe. Again and again, He assures her of His admiring love, and of His great delight in her. The outpouring of His affection is wonderful. Even when she speaks of her blackness, His ready reply is, “Ο thou fairest among women.” How could a doubt remain as to the purpose of His heart? Now she sets what is coming, relationship is anticipated, she can say with certainty — He is mine! Blessed triumph! Happy victory! “Jesus is mine.” Now, she speaks not of the fruits of His love, or of His excellencies, but of Himself. All are included in the person.
Couldst thou speak thus certainly, Ο my soul, as to the possession of any earthly object? Assuredly not. One might say, with a measure of truth, “This money is mine — This place is mine — This honor is mine — This happiness is mine.” But how soon may all these things pass away from us, or we from them? Only when Christ is the object of the affections can it be truly said, “My beloved is mine.” How often it has happened, that when we thought we had sure possession of that on which the heart had been set, it either eluded our grasp, or if, perchance, we got a hold, the long looked-for object withered in the hand like a flower plucked from its stem, or if it bloomed for a while, our disappointment was the deeper when it perished. How many, alas, of the children of men, will have at last to take up a lamentation and say, “ All I cared for, all I lived for, all I toiled for, all I sighed for, is not mine, now — never will be mine, never can be mine; for a morsel of meat I sold my birthright, and now all hope is perished, and I must go penniless and portionless forever!”
What a vain thing it is, for any of the sons or daughters of men, to speak of “My” anything as to this world. Supposing one could speak of everything that the world holds dear, as my riches, my influence, my power, my wisdom, my fame, — what would they, what could they do for the soul, the nobler part of man? But, oh! how different, when Christ — the well-beloved, is the object of desire — of affection! And when faith can say without the least misgiving — “Christ is mine — He is my beloved — and my beloved is mine” — mine now — mine to wash my sins away — mine to clothe me with the righteousness of God — mine to dwell in my heart by His Spirit — mine through life — mine in the swellings of Jordan — mine in heavenly glory. Yes! my soul, and more — much more! Mine to look to — mine to speak to — mine to care for me — mine to sympathize with me — mine to succor me — mine to close my pilgrim path — wind up my long and weary journey and take me up in the skirts of His cloudy chariot to be with Himself forever. Say, say, Ο my soul, is this — all this, a suited portion for thee? Is it enough for a poor, vile sinner?
Ah, who can weigh
The mines of treasure hidden in those words:
I am my Savior’s, and the Savior mine?
What overwhelming prospects they reveal
Through ages yet to come! The spouse of Christ
Fears not to use them, glories in their use,
My Lord, my God, my Savior, my beloved!
But has she not His warrant? Said not Christ,
As Me the Father loved, so loved I you?
And loved He not unto the end His own?
And claims He not from them one only gift, —
That only gift their heart?
But ere leaving this blessed, precious, glorious subject, record thy wonder and astonishment that any of the sons and daughters of men should overlook, neglect, or despise this portion — this Christ, —this well-beloved. “For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily”— All else is emptiness and vanity. And now, as the risen one in glory, the heir of all things, He invites the poor and the needy, the rich and the noble, the young and the old, to come to Him, that they may share with Him His position, His riches, and His glory. “For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Rom. 10:1-13.
On the other hand, many a dear, precious soul that truly loves the Lord and trusts in Him is afraid to say, “My beloved is mine.” They think it would be presumptuous. Surely they forget that He says it first. And can it be presumptuous to affirm that His word is true? It is always more humble to be guided by His word, than by our own thoughts and feelings. But how came such to love Him? Just because He first loved them. “We love him,” says John, “because he first loved us.” We never anticipate Christ. The soul that really desires Christ and His salvation, is in possession of both. It may refuse to believe it, but it is not the less true. He has already visited that soul in the riches of His grace. He creates the desire that He may satisfy it. He creates the love that He may meet it. He creates the faith that He may answer it. Every good thing cometh down from above. Nothing good can spring up in our hearts naturally. Nothing good can be planted there by the world or Satan. Everything that is good must come from above. And all this is wrought in the soul by the Holy Spirit, through the gospel. Every good thought or desire comes from the Lord; so that we may truly say, to desire Christ is to have Him — to desire His salvation is to have it. Every soul that really desires to know Christ — to trust Him — love Him — serve Him — praise Him; shall surely know and enjoy Him; love, serve, and praise Him forever. Man may awaken expectations that he can never satisfy; he may induce love, and bitterly disappoint it: but not so the blessed Lord. He is the true God — His love is perfect. It has been fully manifested.
Be assured then, dear fellow-believer, that He is ours — ours, by the free gift of God; ours by the gift of Himself, so that we can say in all humility — “Jesus is mine” — “My beloved is mine.” May our souls be enabled to take a more comprehensive grasp of all that He is, and of all that He has for us!
“And I am his.” Well she knows that she is His. He has often assured her heart of this precious truth. The Bride is in the habit of saying what she thinks of her Beloved to others; but He addresses herself directly. “Ο my love, my dove, my fair one.” The dignity and glory of the Head are seen in Him. Is it not a truly blessed thought, Ο my soul, that the Christian belongs to no one but Christ — and is subject to nothing but Him? “Therefore let no man glory in men,” says the Apostle, “for all things are yours. Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come: all are yours. And ye are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.” (1 Cor. 3:21, 22, 23.) Precious truth! It is plainly stated. The word can never change. “Ye are Christ’s.” The individual soul can say, “I am his.” Thus we honor God’s word. We belong exclusively to Him. We are subject only to Him.
Moreover, it is also said, “All things are yours.” While we belong to no one but Christ, all things belong to us. “Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas,” &c, &c. They are all in the place of servants to as, no longer as masters. Even death itself has lost the mastery; It is now to the believer, not a master, but a messenger of peace — his servant. It can no longer look on me as its prey; the world can no longer say I am its own; the enemy cannot say, 1 am his. That precious word settles all, “ye are Christ’s,” and no one’s else. Oh! believe it - so believe it, as to follow Him alone. We are bought with a price. We are His by right of purchase — the price, His precious blood. But is it not enough, Ο my soul, to know that thou art His — His now, henceforth, and forever — His in time, and His through all eternity? Blessed Lord! it is enough It is relief and rest to the heart, energy and power to the life, to know that Thou art mine, that I am Thine, and that I never can pertain to another. Ο my soul, meditate on these realities — ponder them closely. Though thou must now dismiss them for a season, return to them again. There is a living freshness to the soul in kindred love, in eternal relationship.
“He feedeth among the lilies.” She remembers the name He gave her, “The Lily.” This is happy — anything but presumptuous! Oh! that we might think more on the words which He uses, on the titles which He gives. As “The Lily,” she is the representative of all His people. In the largeness of her soul, she calls them all “lilies.” Besides, she knows that “He feedeth among the lilies.” He is to be found there. He finds His refreshment, satisfaction, and delight, in the garden of lilies. Oh! to be used in gathering lilies into His garden, that He may find fresh delight, while yet He delays His coming.
Ver. 17. “Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved; and be thou like a roe, or a young hart, upon the mountains of Bether” (or division, margin.) The full assurance of His love, and the happy enjoyment of Himself by faith, greatly increases her desire for the day of His glory. Then, “all shadows flee away.” All types and shadows being fulfilled in Him, they pass away when He appears. Now, we see through a glass darkly, then, face to face. We shall see the same Jesus then as we see now, but the dim glass shall be removed. “We shall see him as he is.” For Israel, the rising beams of the Sun of Righteousness shall chase away forever all the darkness of night, and all the gloom of their long and dreary winter. The flowers appear, the birds begin to sing, creation is filled with joy.
The exercise of faith and hope in these two verses is beautiful and instructive. In reply to His description of the millennial day of glory, and of the place she has in His heart, (ver. 10- 5,) she thus expresses her faith, “My beloved is mine and I am his.” And her hope “until the day break, and the shadows flee away.” There is no question on her mind as to the day of glory being near. She only waits for its dawn, and she further knows, that before the brightness of that morning, every shadow must flee away. “And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain.” 2 Sam. 23:4.
But, “until” the dawn of that happy day, she prays her beloved to abide with her. She earnestly desires that she may have His gracious presence, and the comfort and sustainment of His love, “until” He appear Himself in glory. She clings to the person of her Beloved. Happy fruit of a well-grounded faith and a “blessed hope.”
“Turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe, or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.” She is still in the wilderness. Her trials are many. Like a country that is intersected with mountains and valleys, the pathway is difficult. She longs for her Beloved to come in power and glory, with the swiftness of the roe or the hart, on the mountains of division. What are the mountains and the valleys to the swift gazelle? They are as nothing. What are all the difficulties of Israel’s full restoration to the Lord? They are as nothing. One gleam of His coming glory will strike terror into the hearts of their enemies, and prepare the way for the ransomed of the Lord to return and come to Zion with songs, and everlasting joy upon their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” (Isa. 35:10.) Then, “every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain; and the glory of the Lord shall he revealed and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” (Isa. 40:4, 5.) But, “until” that long looked for moment arrive, she prays to be maintained in the enjoyment of His love, and encompassed with His favor as with a shield. Blessed combination! Happy fruits of grace! Faith laying hold on the word — hope, looking out for the first streak of day — prayer, for the present enjoyment of His gracious presence. She is pressing on, and would press through everything, that she may be actually with Himself.
Consider this, Ο my soul, meditate on these things. Is this thy condition? Having faith in the word of the Lord, art thou looking, longing, and waiting for His return? And is it thy constant prayer to be maintained in His presence “until He come? “The hour immediately before the break of day, is said to be the coldest and darkest hour of the night. So will it be with the remnant of Israel in the latter day. “Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it; it is even the day of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.” (Jer. 30:7.) But the first breath of morning will bring deliverance to the waiting, praying remnant, and destruction to their proud oppressors. “This know also,” says the apostle, writing for the Church, “that in the last days perilous times shall come.” Happy they, who are holding fast by the word, — following the Lord, and waiting for His coming. The last hour of the night may indeed be cold and dark, but heed it not, Ο my soul, weather it, watch, pray — the morning will soon break — abide in thy watchtower. Happy they, who with diligent, sleepless eye, catch the first twinkle of the Morning Star!
“But ye beloved, building up yourselves in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” Jude 20, 21.
Meditations on Song of Solomon
Ver. 1. “By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth; I sought him but I found him not” The heart of the spouse is feeling the loneliness of the night while waiting for the dawn of the morning. She is thinking of the One who brings the morning with Him. But she has lost the sense of His nearness. This is failure. The conscience is awake — the affections are lively, “I sought him whom my soul loveth.” Yet there is no joy — she is in trouble. Pray, why is this, Ο my soul? How should this be? Hast thou discovered, in thy meditations, the secret spring of this strange condition? A lively conscience — ardent affection, yet in darkness! There can only be one cause for such a state of soul — the eye rests not on the Beloved Himself. Apparently, there may be other causes, but this is the real one. Her eye has wandered, and she is in darkness — in felt loneliness. She has rest as to salvation; “my bed”— a resting place, though, for the moment, it is “night” with the soul. It matters little, for the purposes of the enemy, on what the eye rests, if he can only get it off Christ. It may be occupied with the best of things, such as the work of the Lord, our brethren, brotherly love, the fellowship of saints. But even these things, blessed as they are, will lead to failure, if any one of them becomes the governing object of the heart in place of the Person of Christ. But what shall we say of self and the world coming in, in some of their ten thousand forms? Darkness, weakness, and sad confusion must follow.
Many have said, I know, with reference to such a state of soul, that it is the Lord hiding His face, that we may be tried, and that our affections may be quickened. We see no ground for such a conclusion as to the ways of the Beloved in the Song of Songs. Here, like the fine flour, He is perfectly even notwithstanding her changeableness. And, certainly, such a notion would be contrary to the plainest teaching in the Epistles. The same stroke of judgment that slew the Lamb, rent the veil; so that Christ and His redeemed entered into the “holiest of all;” and are in the light as God is in the light. Surely, Christ is in the light, never in darkness. And we are where He is, and as He is. “The darkness is past,” as John tells us, “and the true light now shineth.” And again, he says, “As he is, so are we in this world.” The veil is done away in Christ.
The soul, I admit, may feel when in darkness as if He had withdrawn Himself and was gone. But in such a case it is the soul that has withdrawn itself from Him; not the Lord that has withdrawn Himself from it. Of course, there will not be the same manifestation of divine love to the soul when it has lost sight of Him, as when it is closely following Him. As the Lord has said, “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” (John 14:23.) This is plain enough. The Lord is ever the same. He changeth not. When there is a change as to our communion— as to our enjoyment of Christ, it is entirely with ourselves. We may rest assured, that He will manifest to the fullest extent possible, the love that we can appreciate, so long as the eye is fixed on the Person of the Lord—so long as He is our object, our center, light, love, peace, and joy fill the soul. But when the eye wanders — when He ceases to fill the full vision of our souls, darkness comes in; then follows, through the craftiness of the enemy, the numerous train of perplexing, agitating thoughts and feelings. “The light of the body is the eye; if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.” Matt. 6:22.
Learn then, Ο my soul, from the experience of the spouse; this much-needed lesson, namely, “That nothing short of the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ, can ever satisfy the affections of the new nature.” “Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?” is the natural, genuine cry of that nature, when Christ Himself is not seen. The form of the cry may be different in each one, but the cause of uneasiness is the same in all. A single eye has not a double object. The Bride has got occupied, during the night, with something besides her Beloved. It may have been the wilderness — the weariness of the way — or it may have been with the anticipated glories of the breaking morn. But, certainly, it was not with Himself, as on a former occasion when she said, “A bundle of myrrh is my well-beloved unto me; he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts.” Then, peace and joy filled her soul, and the sweet fragrance of His name was spread abroad. Now, restlessness and trouble, and her own failure is manifested.
Vers. 2, 3. “I will rise now, and go about the city; in the streets and in the broad ways, I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him but I found him not. The watchmen that go about the city found me; to whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth “ Her position and her action are changed, but rest is not found. She has shaken off the spirit of supineness. Her cry is the language of a soul in earnest. But the streets and broad ways of the city, where watchmen are placed to maintain moral order, are not the places to find her Beloved. “He feedeth among the lilies.” And this she well knew, only she is confused and agitated, as many have been in similar circumstances. The footsteps of the flock — the shepherds’ tents — the budding grass — the mountain of myrrh — the hill of frankincense — the field — the garden — the beds of spices — the rural scenes, in contrast with the city, were His favorite haunts, and where He was to be found. But if her inactivity was failure, her activity was a mistake. Had humiliation and confession followed the former, the latter might have been prevented. But, oh! who could fail to admire the fervor of her love, the fullness of her heart, and the honesty of her confession. Four times in these four verses, she speaks of “Him whom her soul loveth.” But she never pretends to have found Him until she has, or to be happy until she is. Would to God we witnessed in all cases of failure, such affection, earnestness, and honesty. It was through the fervor of her affections that her failure was exposed. Oh! that every case of backsliding from the Lord, might be unveiled through the ardor of deep affection for the blessed, adorable Person of Christ!
But such are the affections of the Spouse for her Beloved, that nothing save Himself could for a moment meet the need of her heart. And had she been in heaven, in place of the city, and not found Him there, it would have been just the same. She must have continued her search. And as she passed from scene to scene, and from glory to glory, still her question would be, to all she met in the shining way, “Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?” Heaven, in all its brightness, without Him, would not have satisfied the affections of her renewed soul. It was Himself she was seeking — the Person of her blessed Lord — and nothing else, nothing besides, could take His place. Only the love of the Savior can satisfy the love of the saved — only the love of the Bridegroom can satisfy the love of the Bride. This is the ordinance of heaven - the wisdom and goodness of God. Thus the blessed Lord becomes the object and center of all renewed hearts, as He is God’s; and also the object and center of all their ways, as He has been, and ever will be, the one object, and sole center of all the ways of God.
A deeply blessed, and most practical lesson may be learned, from this grand central truth. “Love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love....... Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.” (1 John 4:7 - 19.) In the day of our regeneration, when “born of the Spirit,” a new life is implanted in the soul, which finds its rest alone in Jesus. “Come unto me, I will give you rest.” This is the rest of God, and of our new life. Above the world, above the clouds, above the storms, above the heavens, it rests on the bosom of the Beloved. Then, why is it that so many true Christians are strangers to solid peace and rest, not to speak of joy and love? Simply because Christ Himself is not the one object before the mind and the heart, and in all their ways, both human and divine. The uneasiness, the restlessness, the disquietude of true Christians is to be accounted for on this ground alone. The moment Christ gets his right place in the heart, everything else, consequently, drops into its own right place according to divine order. But if anything be allowed to come between the heart and Christ, the Holy Spirit is grieved, the soul is darkened, weakness and confusion follow, and the whole moral being gets out of order.
Jesus! Thou art enough
The mind and heart to fill;
Thy life — to calm the anxious soul;
Thy love — its fear dispel,

Ο fix our earnest gaze,
So wholly, Lord, on Thee,
That with thy beauty occupied,
We elsewhere none may see.

Ver. 4. “It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth; I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother’s house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me” Great was the joy of the delighted Shelomith when she found her Beloved. “I found him.” Blessed declaration, “I” a poor weak, wandering, worthless one, “found him.” “Found Him” — who is the spring of all joy — the fountain of all blessedness. Her earnest, loving search is rewarded. It must be ever so. “He that seeketh findeth.” When the heart is really turned to the Lord, it soon finds Him. It is His delight to reveal Himself to such, as He did to the loving Mary. He meets His Bride in the way, she sees Him — she embraces Him — she holds Him — she will not let Him go, until she has brought Him into her mother’s house.
But great as was her joy, it was as nothing compared with His, at first sight, the joy may seem to be all on one side. But it was not so. In the proportion that we love, will be our sorrow in losing, and our joy in finding, the loved One. Blessed truth, when seen in Christ. What a field for meditation! What treasures may be found therein! Here, much may be learned of the affections of the Lord, and of His deep sympathies with His people. Take an illustration.
Supposing the Bridegroom’s love to be a hundred-fold greater than the Bride’s, would His disappointment, on the occasion of her wandering, be a hundred-fold deeper than hers who had wandered? Most assuredly. The affections characterize the disappointment or the joy. What was the proportion between the joy of the Father and the Prodigal when they met? Rather, what was the difference? Infinite.’ And so it must ever be, between the heart of the Lord and His people. Oh! how careful and watchful should we be lest we wander, and so grieve and disappoint the tender, loving hear’; of Jesus. And, oh! what a motive to repent and return, when we have wandered from Him, and thereby grieved and dishonored His blessed name!
But who, it may be asked, is the mother, and what are we to understand by the mother’s house? We have the answer plainly given in the prophecies of Hosea. “Say ye unto your brethren, Ammi: and your sisters, Ruhamah. Plead with your mother, plead.” Israel as a nation is the mother. And when the long-broken relations between the Lord and His ancient people are re-established, He will have entered the mother’s house. But on these points we have already dwelt in our meditations more than once, and need not here further refer to them.
The spouse, or godly remnant of the nation, knowing His Bridegroom love, falls into His embrace. She could find no resting place until she found Him, and now, worn and weary with her wanderings, like the prodigal in the far country, she finds perfect repose in His changeless love. His heart is the only resting place of hers. “I charge you, Ο ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love till he please,” This charge was considered in our meditations on chap. 2: 7. The same charge occurs in chap. 8: 4. Each time it is given the coming of the Lord immediately follows. In chap. 2: 7, it is the revelation of Himself. “The voice of my beloved, behold he cometh.” It is Himself, personally, that is here thought of. In chap. 3: 5, it is the Messiah coming in royal procession, as the true Solomon, crowned King of Israel by the heart of the nation. “Behold King Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother (Israel) crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart.” In chap. 8: 4, the bride is seen leaving the wilderness as united to Him. This is marked progress. “Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved?” This is all that the heart desires. It is the consummation of all happiness. To be with Him — one with Him — and like Him, is the full, perfect, and eternal blessedness of all His people.
From the sixth verse to the end of the chapter, we have a prophetic view of the Bridegroom coming out of the wilderness with His Bride. “Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant.” The Jews rise not, like the Church, to meet the Lord, in the air. He goes to where they are. The Spirit of prophecy tells us that they were in the wilderness together. It was there that He revealed Himself to her, in His unchanging love, as the true Messiah. “Behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her.” “And to the woman (the Jewish remnant) were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.” Hos. 2, Rev. 12.
And now, according to the prophecy under meditation, these “times” have run their course. The great events crowded up in these truly eventful years have been rapidly disposed of. The old serpent has been shut up in the bottomless pit, the beast and the false prophet have been cast into the lake of fire, and the rebellious nations have been judged. “The besom of destruction “has swept the empire of antichrist. What man is, has been fully proved. He is set aside forever as a vessel of testimony, and Christ now comes to take the place of the faithful and true witness for God in the earth. The scene being thus cleared, the throne of the Son of David, the Prince of Peace, is set up. The Bride of the King is brought from her hiding place in the wilderness with royal honors. The sight is glorious! The morning breaks! The rising sun sheds his beams over the land. Jerusalem is filled with joy! Now they shall say, and the rapturous shout shall not die on their lips as it once did, “Hosanna! Blessed is the King that cometh in the name of the Lord.”
The royal procession moves on. The wilderness is left behind forever. The sixth verse may be descriptive of the graces that shine in her. The smoking incense, and the sweet spices, give us the idea of praise, thanksgiving, and other fruits of the Spirit. Verses 7, 8, 9, 10, may be more especially descriptive of the dignities, excellencies, and glories that belong to the King. The “bed” or “chariot” is the royal carriage. But mark, especially, it is the King’s own workmanship. “King Solomon made himself a chariot of the wood of Lebanon.” Christ provides everything, and prepares everything for His people. He leaves nothing for us to do, save to enter into that which He has finished. The cedar wood is typical of fragrance and incorruptibility. The “pillars” of strength. The “silver” of purity. The “gold” of divine righteousness. The “purple” of royalty. “Love” is the spring of all — God is love. “The daughters of Jerusalem” and “the daughters of Zion” may refer to the cities and tribes of Israel, for all which, divine love has paved the way for their national dignity, and millennial glory.
Meditations on Song of Solomon
Ver. 1. “Behold, thou art fair, my love, behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves’ eyes, within thy locks; thy hair is as a flock of goats that appear from mount Gilead.” When the woman touched the hem of the Redeemer’s garment, the virtue that was in him flowed out to her. (Mark 5) The finger of faith not only touched the border of His garment, but it touched the secret spring of His heart, which faith only can reach. All the treasures of that heart were thrown open to faith. Her case was “immediately” and perfectly met. The fountain of her disease was dried up, and all the streams cut off. “She felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.” Yet she was without peace or rest of soul, to say nothing of joy. She fell at the feet of Jesus “fearing and trembling.” Here, Ο my soul, pause a little, meditate, in the solitude of the sanctuary, on this instructive scene.
Is it possible, I ask, that all the virtue that is in the blessed Lord, may be possessed by a believer, and yet that believer be a stranger to peace? So it was with this dear woman before us, whose faith was great. And so it is, alas! with thousands of the Lord’s dear people now. Herein is a mystery unto many. How is it to be accounted for? The case of the woman is plain enough? and also gives the explanation of every other case. Although she had received for her need, all the virtue that was in Him, she was still a stranger to the thoughts of His heart towards her. She needed the revelation of His heart to herself, to give her full peace in His presence. What she wanted, was the knowledge of what He thought about herself. And this is what every sinner needs, as well as the woman. He withholds nothing from the touch of faith. The first touch of faith secures for the soul all that He is Himself, and ail that He has to bestow. But full repose of soul is only found in knowing the heart that surrendered all to win us for Himself. Then, but not till then, shall we be in the full repose of His love. Oh! to know His own thoughts about us! Oh! to know His love for us! “He loved me and gave Himself for me” are the highest notes we shall ever sing.
But, one glance more at this blessed scene before leaving it. Only watch, for a moment, the outgoings of the Savior’s love, to this poor woman. Oh! who can understand the love that breathes in these words? “And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.” What love! His heart rejoices! He has gained His prize! From all eternity He had looked forward to that happy moment. The works of Satan are destroyed, God is glorified — grace shines, and faith triumphs. But His eyes must rest upon her. “Where is the one that has done this thing?” With what interest His eyes behold her! And now He reveals Himself to her heart, and fills her soul with the peace and joy of His salvation. “Daughter” — nearest and dearest of kindred — tenderest of human ties — thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.
These reflections have been suggested while meditating on the first seven verses of this wonderful chapter. Here, the Beloved reveals to His loved one, in a remarkable way, the thoughts of His heart about herself - about her matchless beauty in His sight. Oh! for a circumcised ear and heart, to receive and retain forever, the words He has chosen to express His admiration of His Bride. He sits, as it were, and gazes with enraptured delight, on each feature of His fair and beautiful spouse. He then speaks plainly to herself of His admiring love. “Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse.” Such praise from man would be most injurious, but when it comes from His lips, it only deepens our humility, and makes us more like Himself. It fills the soul with a calm and peaceful joy; it unites us more closely to His heart, and transforms us more into His image. It is the blessed foundation of closest fellowship.
After assuring her heart, in general terms, that she is “fair” in His sight, He enumerates seven distinct features, which He has been contemplating, separately, and minutely, with great delight. The eyes, the hair, the teeth, the lips, the temples, the neck, and the breasts. Each feature being perfect in itself He sees in her the assemblage of perfection and beauty. “Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.” The minuteness of the inspection manifests the boundless interest and delight He has in her. The number seven, too, gives the idea of fullness and completeness. But need we wonder? “The beauty of the Lord our God is upon us.” In all parts and proportions, the believer is perfect in Christ’s perfectness, and comely in His comeliness. He has put away all that was ours, and given us all that is His own. Hence we are exhorted to put off the old man, and to put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. (Eph. 4:22, 23, 24.) We will now briefly glance at the seven features separately.
“Thou hast doves’ eyes within thy locks.” The dove was ceremonially clean. It only, of all the feathered tribe, was offered in sacrifice on God’s altar. (See Meditations, chap. 1: 14.) It is the understood emblem of humility, chastity, and harmlessness. “Thou hast doves’ eyes.” The eye is a term often used in scripture for spiritual light and understanding. “If therefore thine eye be single thy whole body shall be full of light.” But there is ore peculiarity about the dove’s eyes which may be designed to teach the believer a needed lesson. It has a wonderful power of distant vision. It is supposed to see from an immense distance, its own dove-cot. Having been taken far from home, it may be seen, when liberated from its cage, ascending very high — steadying itself in the air, until it has discovered its way back: it then flies straight and rapidly home. Oh! for this power of distant and heavenly vision, that, having seen by faith the Risen Jesus, we may forget the things that are behind, and press on to those that are before. Christ, Himself, is the Christian’s mark — but the “mark” must be seen, before we can take our aim. First, fix thine eye, Ο my soul, on the risen, exalted Man in glory. Then, “press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 3.) The similitude is easily understood — is it true of thee, my soul? This is the question, what is thine aim? what is thy course? what is thy progress? Observe, the beautiful, bright eye of the Bride, glancing through her flowing tresses, meets the admiring eye of the Beloved, and ravishes His heart, “Thou hast doves’ eyes within thy locks.”“Her locks soften their brightness.
“Thine are the locks, of which each single hair
Draws nourishment distinctly, and has root
In Him, the Head: of which not e’en the least
Can e’er be injured to that Head unknown;
Thine are the congregated ringlets, diverse each
In form or fullness, yet containing each
Units all separable; vital all
And individual, howe’er amassed
In throngs collective, and those throngs themselves
Parts of a whole in fellowship with Christ,
Round whom His people cluster; and from whom
Derive those eyes of dove-like gentleness,
That look benignant on the world around.”

“Thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead” The comparison here, may be to the long, glossy hair of the goats that graze on Mount Gilead, and to the circumstance of their appearance as a flock, or one united company, feeding on the rich pastures of the high places. The effect, to the eye, must have been profusion in each, and unity in the whole. “Long hair,” the apostle tells us, is the covering, and glory of the woman, 1 Cor. 11:15.
But may there not also be a reference in this comparison, to the long hair of the Nazarite, which was the type of power in the Spirit? Samson’s great strength lay in his seven locks. They were the symbol of his unbroken vow — of his consecration to God. Every believer is a Nazarite to God, in Christ, and ought to be one in practice. “I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.” (Luke 22:18.) This is the Nazarite vow of the blessed Lord; and every believer, being one with Christ, is under His vow. Herein lies the believer’s strength, namely, in separation according to the law of the Nazarite. While Samson’s seven locks were unshorn, the enemy could gain no advantage over him. The Spirit remained in power with him, so long as he kept the secret of his communion with God. But, alas, alas, how difficult for a Nazarite to retain his locks in the lap of Delilah. Alas, alas, that the foul fingers of a harlot should ever touch the locks of God’s Nazarite! Seek, then, Ο my soul, by diligence, watchfulness, and prayer, to live, and walk, in separation from the world, in fellowship with Christ, and in the power of the Spirit; that thy locks may never be shorn, and that the secret of thy communion may never be broken.
“Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which came up from the washing: whereof every one bear twins, and none is barren among them.” Here, the comparison fitly represents every point of the feature, with great perfection. In the sheep, even shorn, we have the encumbrance of nature removed regularity, evenness.
“Coming up from the washing” — cleanness, whiteness. They have been washed in the fountain which removes all uncleanness. The upper and under rows exactly correspond. They are “twins.” “None is barren among them.” There is none wanting. The Bride can now eat the bread of life — the old corn of the land. She is of full age. The risen, exalted, glorified, and coming Messiah, is the food and nourishment of her soul. In the Lord’s sight there is evenness, purity, fruitfulness, nothing lacking, in the one He loves. What a mercy it is so, and that He tells us, Himself, that it is so. “Bless the Lord; Ο my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name.”
“Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely” As the river of God’s grace which flows through this world, is deeply tinged with the blood of the cross, so should the conversation of the believer be. “I determined,” says Paul, “not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified,” and again, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor. 2:2; Gal. 5:14.) Observe carefully, Ο my soul, the significance of this feature in holy scripture. And, oh! may a deep scarlet line thread its way through all thy conversation; so shall thy “speech be comely” to thy well-beloved.
Nothing could be more loathsome, to the eye, than the lips of the leper; such are the lips of nature to God. Leprosy is typical of the sin of our nature. The leper was to “put a covering upon his upper lip, and cry, unclean, unclean,........he shall dwell alone; outside the camp shall his habitation be.” (Lev. 14) Such, alas, is the representation of man’s sad moral condition —before God, however fragrant the lips, or comely the speech, to our common nature. But, oh! how changed when washed in the blood of the Lamb! In place of the white scaly lips of the leper, there is the pure, deep scarlet color of the pardoned, healed, and purified believer. “And such were some of you; but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Cor. 6:11.
When Isaiah saw the glory of the Lord in vision, he was brought to see himself, morally, as a leper, and exclaimed, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Then flew one of the Seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar; and he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.” Isa. 6.
The bright scarlet thread that was bound in the window of Rahab, invites thy meditations. It speaks loudly, and distinctly, of the power of the blood of Christ; but, for the present, it may be left. More than ever, Ο my soul, let thy lips be preserved from everything that would mar their living freshness to the eye of Jesus, and also, in the sight of others. “Let your speech,” says the apostle, “be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.” Col. 4:6.
“Thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks.” The heart of the pomegranate is chosen to represent the temples of the Bride. “A piece,” or broken part, “of a pomegranate,” is the emblem. The fruit is said to be delicious to the taste; and when thus broken it presents a bright red color, mingled with white. This comparison, I suppose, gives us the idea of modesty, shamefacedness, or blushing. Blessed change for the house of Jacob, whom the spouse represents. There was a time when the Lord had to say, of His ancient people, “I know that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is as an iron sinew, and thy brow brass.” (Isa. 48:4.) What a change, now! What has grace wrought? Now, the Lord sees in His loved one, the perfection of meekness, and lowly grace. Even her blushing temples are hidden by her flowing tresses. “Thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks.” What sayest thou to this feature, my soul? Meditate thereon, and pray that thine adorning may “be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.” 1 Pet. 3:3, 4.
“Thy neck is like the tower of David, builded for an armory, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men” The armory of David was adorned with the trophies of his victories. He was a mighty man of war. The Lord delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul.” He subdued his enemies on all sides, and paved the way for the reign of peace, under Solomon, his son. But what were these compared with the victories of King Messiah? The entire book of God, may be considered as the record of the victories of Christ. But the tower-like neck of the Bride, adorned with many jewels, symbolizes the trophies He has won, within the land of Judah. We read of Israel, as a stiff-necked people —as wreathed about the neck with the yoke of transgression — and as walking wantonly with stretched forth necks. Such illustrations represent a sad moral condition. But now, through the Lord’s grace, the change is complete — the triumphs of His love are perfect. The yoke of transgression is broken from off the neck of the daughter of Zion. In place of being obstinate as an iron sinew, it is graceful, beautiful, and stately, like the tower of David. “Awake, awake, put on thy strength, Ο Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, Ο Jerusalem;......
Loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, Ο captive daughter of Zion.” (Isa. 3:1, 2.) And now the Lord delights to contemplate this beautiful feature of His Bride — graced, with many chains of honor; “Meet for the necks of them that take the spoil.” The holy liberty, and perfect happiness of His people, will commemorate forever, the victories of His love.
“Thy two breasts are like two young roes, that are twins, which feed among the lilies” This beautiful feature, the seventh in number, is the emblem, 1st, Of moral development — the formation of the heart for Christ — the affections drawn out to Him. 2nd, Of nourishment — the means of growth and blessing to others. The contrast between the spouse and “the little sister,” of chap. 8: 8, is marked and instructive. “We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts.” It is thought, by some, that the perfect development of the Bride, and its absence in “the little sister,” represent the moral condition of Judah and Ephraim, or the two tribes and the ten. When the twelve are restored, the difference will be manifest. Nevertheless, the ten tribes will enjoy the blessed results of what has been done. Ephraim, however, will be a stranger to those deep exercises of heart, through which Judah has passed, in connection with the Messiah; and, consequently, to the moral development which these experiences give. It was after the captivity of the ten tribes, that Christ appeared and was rejected and crucified. And before they are gathered out of all countries and brought into their own land, He will have made Himself known to Judah as coming again in power and glory. The remnant, when the Messiah returns, will be chiefly composed of the tribe of Judah. The twin roes may represent the unity of mind and heart which now prevails amongst the Jews, towards their long-looked for Messiah. In feeding “among the lilies” they now find their delight, where He finds His. “He feedeth among the lilies.” The heart is drawn out, and the affections, are formed for Christ, through the manifestation of Himself to us, by the Holy Spirit. Oh! that our hearts — my heart — may desire this, more and more, that there may be a more perfect development of His love there.
Judah will thus become the means of nourishment and blessing, not only to the ten tribes, but to all the nations of earth. “Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her; rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her; that ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations, that ye may milk out and be delighted with the abundance of her glory. For thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides, and be dandled on her knees. As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem.” Isa. 66:10 - 13.
The Bridegroom, having thus surveyed, with great delight, the faultless beauty of His Bride, proposes to retire to His favorite scenes of resort — the mountain of myrrh, and the hill of frankincense. It would appear, that she accompanies Him on this occasion. But whether she goes with Him, or remains behind, He drops into her heart this blessed word, “Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.”
“Thy warfare is accomplished.” “Christ has died!”
Thy sins, though scarlet, have been covered o’er
With His free pardon and His snow-white robes;
Cast into ocean is thy hated guilt;
Abhorring evil, cleaving unto good,
Lo! thou art fair! there is no spot in thee!”

Meditations on Song of Solomon
Song of Solomon 4:8. “Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon: look from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon, from the lions’ dens, from the mountains of the leopards.” We may sometimes, in our thoughtless wanderings, be much nearer the “lions’ den” than we are aware of; yet wholly unconscious of our danger. Under the attractions of nature, may be concealed our deadliest foes. We associate with “Lebanon,” as a type, our highest thoughts of earthly exaltation. But there, that which is so fascinating to the outward eye, so charming to the senses, shelters the devouring lion, and the cruel leopard. Its very luxuriance and beauty afford a covert for the enemy. The traveler, delighted beyond measure with the gorgeous scenery of Lebanon and Herman, may be enticed to linger until it be too late to get safely to the plain. His danger thereby would be imminent, unless he had a good and faithful guide.
Here, Ο my soul, thou wilt do well to pause a little. Bear in mind, that the fairest scenes of earth are infested by enemies more subtle and dangerous than the lions and leopards of Lebanon. Ponder the paths of thy feet. What of thy proneness to wander, to linger amidst the attractions of the scene around? Learn to know thine own weakness — thine own tendencies. Some of the Lord’s people, thou mayest have observed, are drawn aside by conformity to the world; others, by reading books which fascinate the mind, but dry up the soul; and not a few, alas, are ensnared by following their own will, and the way that seems right in their own eyes. But they all alike lead to the “lions’ dens, the mountains of the leopards,” or, to scenes and occupations of imminent danger to the soul. There is one eye, and only one, that can detect the snare — one voice, and only one, that can withdraw the heart from the place of peril. “From the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon,” divine love would say, “ Look unto me.” Thus shall the world, as it were, underneath, and unseen, be under thy feet. “Amana,” observe, signifies truth, integrity. From truth’s point of view, keep looking for thy Lord’s return.
Nothing can be more beautiful and touching than the way the blessed Lord here seeks to call His Bride away from the scene of danger. “Come with me,” are His words of matchless tenderness. He does not say, “Go! make haste away, danger is near, thou art on the verge of the lions’ dens.” O, no, but, “Come!” “Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon.” He seeks to wean her heart away from Lebanon, the place of earthly delights, but of spiritual danger. What ineffable grace there is in the word “Come!” The whole sentence breathes the tenderest sympathies — the deepest solicitudes of His heart! How much sweeter to the ear is “Come,” than “Go,” There is fellowship in the one, there is separation in the other.
“Come thou and all thy house into the ark,” said the Lord to Noah. He did not say, “Go thou,” but “ Come thou.” The Lord, in grace, entered the ark before His servant, and being there, He could say “Come;” and in this way the man of faith was assured that the Lord was with him in the ark of salvation. What a comfort to know that the Lord is with us in the ship, however much it may be tossed by the troubled waters. But further, to the rebellious house of Israel he says, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord.” (Isa. 1:18.) Mark also the gracious manner of His reasoning. When the invitation “Come” is obeyed, He puzzles them not with arguments, but sweetly says, “ though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow: though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Blessed way of reasoning for a guilty sinner! only the Lord can reason thus. The same grace, blessed be His name, we have displayed to the whole world, in that word of widest invitation: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” No sooner is the word here proclaimed, believed, than the rest is secured. “I will give you rest” — rest from the burden of sin — rest from your own fruitless efforts — rest with myself in the paradise of God. Blessed Lord! would that that precious “Come” were more appreciated by those still at a distance! But the glory and the praise of the grace is thine. Once more: who has failed to admire the beautiful wind up of holy scripture with its many “Comes?” “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst, come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” Rev. 22:17.
But there are other two words in the Bridegroom’s loving call, from which the heart may drink in the deepest joy. “With me.” “Come with me.” “Could words possibly be found, better fitted to remove fear, and to fill the heart with confidence, whatever the circumstances might be? Impossible! If we have heard the lion’s roar, and know that he is near, we may well be filled with alarm; for what power have we, in ourselves, to resist him? But these three words of matchless grace, “Come with me” contain everything that the heart needs. With Him she is perfectly safe, however extensive the range of mountains over which she has to pass, and whatever the danger may be. But mere escape from the lions’ den, is the very least mercy these three words unfold. They express the delight He has in her company. Her presence is His joy. Wondrous— blessed truth! This is the richest thought of all. His delight in us; His desire to have us with Himself! Not, of course, that He is dependent on, or indebted to, the creature for His supreme delight, for He is God as well as man, and suffices for Himself. He is the independent — eternal, living One; the Jehovah Jesus. But, as Son of Man, in wondrous grace and love, He has made us necessary to the full display of His glory, and His eternal delight. The Church, which is His body, is His fullness. (Eph. 1:22, 23.) And to the daughter of Zion He also says, “Hearken, Ο daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father’s house: so shall the King greatly desire thy beauty; for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him.” Psalm 45:10, 11.
This beautiful passage will he brought home to the heart of the spouse — the Jewish remnant — in divine power, when the Lord returns. He is seeking here, to turn away their thoughts and sympathies from the old Jewish order of things, “the father’s house,” that they may be entirely conformed to the new order of things under the Messiah in His kingly glory. Israel’s blessing will be on the earth, in Immanuel’s land.
The Spirit of God has taken such pains to unfold this precious truth, “with Christ,” that it may well invite thy meditations for a little while. It is established in the changeless purpose of God, and runs like a golden thread through every circumstance. “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things.” (Rom. 8:32.) What a thought! “All things......with Christ” — in fellowship with Him. Health or sickness — poverty or riches, I am in each state with Him; and have Him in each state. According to the Apostle’s reasoning, the greater includes the lesser, and the lesser is possessed and enjoyed with the greater.
Should the Christian be so reduced in circumstances, as that a dry crust and a cup of cold water were his richest repast, yet he could triumphantly say, such as it is, I have it with Christ, and Christ with it. From the lowest condition on earth to the highest pinnacle in glory, we have all with Christ, and our richest blessing is to be one with Him. So wondrous — so real — so perfect, is our oneness with Christ, the Church’s head, that the Apostle says, “I am crucified with Christ.” And of all Christians he says, “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him.” And in different parts of scripture, he speaks of it under seven distinct aspects, which gives us the idea of divine completeness. 1. We are crucified together. 2. Quickened together. 3. Raised up together. 4. Seated together. 5. Heirs together, 6. Sufferers together. 7. Glorified together. And so precious to the heart of Jesus, is this oneness, or identity of the Church with Himself, that in each place where our future state is spoken of in scripture, it is defined as being with Christ. “Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.” “Absent from the body, present with the Lord.” “Having a desire to depart and to be with Christ which is far better.” “And so shall we ever be with the Lord.” “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” Amen! This is rest, perfect rest, to the heart forever. Refreshed, as if bathed in the ocean of His shoreless love; return to thy meditations on the beautiful Song of Songs, yet still to dwell on the volume of His heart, which only loves.
“Thy best repose on earth, is broken still;
Thy “Lebanon” invaded and disturbed
By leopard-spotted, watching enemies,
By roaring lions seeking to destroy;
But come with Me in communings divine,
And I will lead thee where destroying beast,
Nor noisome adversary can approach,
Where My redeemed, with everlasting songs
Triumphantly rejoicing, wave their palms
Of blood-bought victory around thy throne
In bliss unspeakable — where sin is not,
Nor death, nor change, nor anything but joy.
My spouse, My purchased, from Amana look.
From Shenir and from Hermon look afar!
Fixed on the basis of the promises,
Be ever gazing on Thy glorious rest.”

Meditations on Song of Solomon
“Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck. How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! how much better is thy love than wine! and the smell of thine ointments than all spices thy lips, Ο my spouse, drop as the honeycomb; honey and milk are under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon.” Matchless as were the various views from the top of Amana, Shenir, and Hermon — beautiful and enchanting to the eye as were these glorious fields of nature — fragrant with richest odors as were these spicy mountains; the eye and the heart of the Bridegroom turn from the contemplation of them all, to admire the loved one by His side. He sees in her what He can see nowhere else. The feelings and affections of his heart, reflecting back on Himself from hers. The beauties of the scene around them may he typical of those things which the men of the world esteem as most excellent, choice, and noble; but in the beauty and the love of the Bride, the royal Bridegroom finds His delight and satisfaction. He sees in her the blessed fruits of His own unquenchable love of the travail of his soul, and is satisfied. (Isa. 53:11.)
Precious truth for the heart of every believer!
A man may have a very handsome estate, and value it much, but he can never have the same feelings towards it that he has towards his wife and children. They, are a part of himself, not it. What were all the pleasures of paradise to the first Adam compared with his delight in his loved and beautiful Eve? She was part of himself, not creation. He had been cast into a deep sleep, and from his opened side, an helpmeet was formed. When he awoke out of sleep and saw standing by his side the fair one, whom the Lord God, in His goodness, had provided for him, he exclaimed, “This is now bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh.” The blank was now filled up. He had seen nothing till now to suit his heart. The fair creation — the beauties of Eden, had been, as it were, a blank to the first man, until he possessed and enjoyed the blessed fruit of his typical sufferings and death.
But what was merely typical in the first man, was real in the second man — the last Adam. He was indeed cast into a deep sleep— the sleep of death; and as the fruit of His opened side, a second Eve, as it were, has been formed, all fair and spotless in His sight, who shall, ere long, share with Him, the joys and dominion of the new — the redeemed creation; and there, amidst its glories, reflect His love which was stronger than death, and bask in the beams of His cloudless favor forever and ever. Need we wonder then, at His enraptured admiration of her likeness to Himself? Almighty power could create a world; divine love alone, through suffering and death, could redeem a lost sinner. Who can understand this love— this love to a poor worthless sinner? But were it more the subject of thy meditations, O my soul, thou wouldest wonder less at these most marvelous words, “Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse.” And yet, with all that thou knowest now, or ever can know hereafter, these words must forever be most marvelous. “Thou hast ravished my heart; “in the margin, it is “taken away.” Amazing truth! The heart of Christ ravished — taken away! And by what — by whom? By the attractions of a sinner saved by grace — by one who has been washed in His own precious blood, and adorned with His own peerless excellencies.
This expression of the Savior’s love, stands in the center of the sacred volume, and is, in some respects, the most remarkable we have in scripture. But the entire chapter, of which it forms a part, is, in some respects, a more wonderful unfolding of His love, than we have anywhere else in the Book of God. As to details, there is nothing like the Song of Songs in any other part of the Bible. “Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse.” He now takes the place of Brother as well as Bridegroom. “My sister, my spouse.” Blessed relationship! Happy union! Well known, and highly praised by Him, though as yet comparatively little known by her. But the main question here, is one of heart — of feelings — of the Savior’s love, not to the Jew only, but to all who believe in Him. His association with the remnant, whom He speaks of as His sister, His spouse, is the occasion of its bright and full display. Amidst all that is beautiful, she alone attracts His eye; she is the contrast of all that is to be found on earth, or amongst the angelic orders in heaven. We nowhere read of the heart of the Creator being ravished with the beauties of creation. This mystery of mysteries was left for the Redeemer and the redeemed.
Here, love may meet a kindred heart,
But not a heart like thine;
Lord, from Thy love I cannot part,
Nor can’st Thou part with mine.
Then speak the word—that gladdening word,
To bid us rise to Thee —
To bid creation own her Lord,
And all His glory see.

A question, which has exercised some, very naturally arises here. Why is it, that we have such a full, and detailed expression of the love of Christ to the Jewish remnant in the Canticles, compared with the Epistles which are addressed to the Church of God, “the bride, the Lamb’s wife?”
In the first place, the Song of Solomon may be considered as the revelation of the heart of Christ to all saints, whether Jew or Christian, earthly or heavenly. Christ’s love is perfect, and always perfectly developed according to the relationship in which we know Him. Under the allegory of Bride and Bridegroom-love, the feelings and affections of His heart are here expressed, and in perfect harmony with that position. King Solomon, in whose day there was something like a passing gleam of millennial glory, is the chosen and fitted vessel to represent these blessed realities. There is a moral application of the sayings of Christ in the Canticles, which is unspeakably precious to the Christian. Happy they who can drink at such a fountain!
The following remarks from the pen of another may be helpful to the study of this precious book, as to the character of the affections therein developed by the Jew, as compared with the Christian; and which may account for the manner of the Lord’s love in this book.
“However strong these affections may be, they are not developed according to the position in which Christian affections, properly so called, are formed. They differ in this respect. They do not possess the profound repose, and sweetness of an affection which flows from a relationship already formed, known, and fully appreciated, the bonds of which are formed and recognized, that counts upon the full and constant acknowledgment of the relationship, and that each party enjoys, as a certain thing, in the heart of the other. The desire of one who loves, and is seeking the affections of the beloved object is not the sweet, entire, and established affection of the wife, with whom marriage has formed an indissoluble union. To the former, the relationship is the consequence of the state of the heart to the latter, the state of heart is the consequence of the relationship. Now, although the marriage of the Lamb is not yet come, nevertheless, on account of the revelation which has been made to us, and of the accomplishment of our salvation, this latter character of affection is that which is proper to the Church. Praise and glory be to God for it! We know in whom we have believed.”
In the second place, the relative position of the Jew to Christ in the Canticles, and of the Christian in the Epistles, is widely different; and needs to be known, or we shall fail both in our thoughts and affections, in that which is due to Him; and apply to the Church that which relates to Israel, and to Israel that which belongs to the Church. We know the blessed truth of our oneness with Christ as risen and glorified. “He that is joined unto the Lord is one Spirit.” (1 Cor. 6:17.) Oneness in life and position with Christ glorified, goes far beyond what the apostle calls “the Jews’ religion.” Even now, at this present time, we know, that we are sitting in the heavenly places in Christ. And though here on the earth, poor, faulty, failing ones, we know that we are sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession. (Eph. 1) But what is sweeter far than all besides, we know the greatness of His love, according to the sacrifice, by which He has brought us into this heavenly position, and everlasting association with Himself. Hence we know the complete settlement of the question of sin, full and everlasting forgiveness—perfect justification, and acceptance in the Beloved. Christ was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification. (Luke 7:4.8; John 5:24; Acts 13:38, 39; Rom. 4:25.) Our redemption is accomplished, relationship is already formed; we only wait for glory— the marriage of the Lamb. We count on His promise, “Surely I come quickly,” “For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.” But while waiting for His coming, we know and enjoy, though feebly, through the power of the Holy Ghost, the affections of His heart, which properly belong to that unspeakably blessed, and eternally established relationship.
Israel’s position, in the Canticles, as brought out by the Spirit of prophecy, comes far short of this. There is no question, however, of the purification of the conscience. Pardon and justification are not touched upon. It is more a question of the heart — of the creating, forming, and drawing out of the affections for the Person of the Beloved. The knowledge of Himself, and the certainty of relationship, are not yet fully entered into, or enjoyed; and these are the very things which the heart that loves so earnestly desires and looks forward to. The Bridegroom, of course, knows the relation in which He stands to her, whom He calls, “My sister, my spouse.” Hence the wonderful unfolding of His heart directly to herself, that she may know the purposes of His love. He assures her, and reassures her, of her beauty, value, and preciousness in His sight. And even when she has failed through forgetfulness of Him and His love; He meets her with an affection that cannot be turned away from its object. Thus her heart is exercised through the manifestation of His love, grace, tenderness, and kindness; her affections are thereby deepened, He is exalted above all others in her eyes, and appreciated as the “chiefest among ten thousand....... yea, the altogether lovely.” Her heart is thus gradually formed for Himself, and that by the revelation of His. The forty-fifth psalm is the celebration of this blessed result. There, the remnant — the Jews — are greeted as the “fellows” of the King, and Jerusalem as “the queen in gold of Ophir.” The nations now honor her with their presents, and entreat her favor she is now in the closest relationship with the King; and received into the ivory palaces. But we return to our text.
“Thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck.” What the Lord here means by the words “one of thine eyes, one chain of thy neck,” may be difficult to determine. He may refer to His appreciation of each single grace, and each spiritual ornament in the believer; or, to His delight in each believer, individually, as well as in His people collectively. The least of all saints can never be overlooked by Him, or undistinguished from others, either in time or in eternity. We are loved as individuals, saved and glorified as individuals. This truth is clearly taught in Luke 15, and John also speaks much of our individual blessing, the family of God being his principal theme, as the Church of God is Paul’s, and the wilderness journey Peter’s, yet it is Paul who says, “who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Paul here speaks as if he were the only one that Christ loved and died for. Faith appropriates what grace reveals. It is only in this way that the heart enjoys the revelations of grace. Understandest thou this, Ο my soul? It is all important. This is the province of faith alone. It makes the blessing, however great, personal. No matter what grace reveals in Christ, as the children’s portion, faith is sure to say, “It is mine.”
But in our happy homo above, not only shall we be known personally to the blessed Lord, but to each other. Peter seems to have had no difficulty in recognizing, on the Mount of transfiguration, which was Moses, and which was Elias. So must it be in the resurrection state, where all is perfection. A thorough distinction of persons will be manifest there. Paul will never be taken for Peter, nor Peter for Paul; and each will have his own crown arid glory. Blessed, yet solemn thought! each saint will have his own crown. All will be known there for what they are in the estimation of the Lord. Yet all will be perfect, all happy, all in the full joy of the Lord, and all shining brightly in His glorious image, which all shall then perfectly bear.
“How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse!” Were our meditations on the Lord’s appreciation of our love, more deep, earnest, and simple, we should be more undivided in heart for Him. Love begets love. It is the fire I sit at that warms me. The nearer the fire the warmer I am. The nearer I am to the heart of Christ, the warmer will be my own, and the more intense the flame of love to Him. As well might I think of getting warmed by going out to the garden and looking at the snow, as getting more love to Christ by looking to myself, thinking of myself, and trying to increase my love for Him. But, somehow, many say, I do not grow in love to Him, and in appreciation of His love to me, and I do desire to feel more love to Him. Well, then, if it is the fire I sit at that warms me, it is also the food I eat that satisfies me. Let thy soul then feed on Christ. And a rich repast thou wilt find in this wonderful chapter. Meditate thereon. It will bear being studied, word by word. And oh! think of the heart that each word flows from. Unbelief lets the words of Christ go for nothing, faith feeds on them. But be sure and rise in thy meditations to the heart whence they flow. Ever study His words in fellowship with Himself. Beware of separating the word from the Person of Christ. Thus shall thy love increase, and thy practical conformity to Himself grow exceedingly.
To know how highly He values our love, should lead us to the contemplation of that which will nourish and strengthen it. “How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! How much better is thy love than wine! and the smell of thine ointments than all spices.” If such revelations of His love win us not, what will? There is no wine, no joy of earth, so pleasant to Him, as the love of His spouse. No odor so sweet, as the smell of her ointments. He tells her they surpassed “all spices.” The hospitalities of the self-righteous Jew were nothing to Him, compared with the love of the fallen one at His feet. But such fruit of the Spirit will only grow in the light of His presence. Plants never grow well in the dark. They may produce a few pale, sickly leaves, but that will be all. Fruit and fragrance will only be found when the plant has the full benefit of the light of heaven. “I am the light of the world,” says Christ, “he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” “He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit ο for without me, ye can do nothing.” John 8:12; 15:5.
The honeycomb must first be filled by patient industry before it drops. The honey must be gathered from every flower. Such should be the habit of the Christian; learning something from almost everything. Bat, alas, we too much resemble the butterfly, and too little the bee. The former may be seen hovering over the flower for a little, then flying off without tasting its sweetness, while the latter fastens down upon it, and sucks the honey out of it. Thus her storehouse is filled by little and little. The word must be carefully studied, and the heart well stored, before the word suited for the occasion lies ready under our tongue. As the fruit of the Spirit, the Lord is refreshed and delighted in finding it so. “Thy lips, Ο my spouse, drop as the honeycomb; honey and milk are under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon.” The dropping of the honeycomb may suggest the idea of a thoughtful selection, in contrast with “the multitude of words” spoken of in Proverbs. Words are like seeds, they germinate, and bear fruit; whether they be sharp and bitter, or good and wholesome words. How important then, to sow good seed. If we sow tares we cannot reap wheat; and if we sow wheat we shall never need to reap tares. “For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Oh! to be ever dropping the words of kindness, gentleness, meekness, truth, faith, hope and charity. What is purer than milk? What is sweeter than honey? What more nourishing than the one? What more healing than the other? The blessed Lord owns us in the Spirit, and not in the flesh, and here speaks of the precious fruits of the Spirit which are so delightful to Him. Into His own lips, “grace is poured,” and all His “garments smell of myrrh, aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces.” And He finds, to His supreme delight, in His beloved spouse, the perfect answer to Himself. “Grace for grace”— grace answering to grace, which is sweeter fair to His heart, than all the productions of nature. When the hills and valleys of Canaan, so redolent with “all spices,” and “flowing with milk and honey,” shall have passed away, the, loved one before Him shall abide in His presence, with increasing freshness and fragrance forever and ever.
“Songs of praise
Blending in theme with angel harmonies,
And earnest pleadings for a holier state,
And lowly mournings of humility,
And longings for Thy coming — for Thyself —
Have never yet been silent in Thy Church:
But faint, alas! and feeble are the sounds;
Lord, magnify Thy grace, and make us more
What in Thy mercy we are made at all!
Make Thy word sweetness to our inmost souls —
Open our mouths, and let it thence distil,
That all may know Thee, love Thee, and adore!
Be as the dew unto Thine Israel!
Clothe them with goodly raiment like Thine own —
Perfumed with such a fragrance from on high,
That none can come within their influence,
Without perceiving they have been with Thee,
And from Thy cedar-palaces received
Odors peculiar to those sacred heights,
Which from this lower world are separate!”

Meditations on Song of Solomon
Vers. 12-14. “A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed. Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard, spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices.” A few moments’ meditation on the physical position and character of the land of Israel, will greatly help to the understanding of these beautiful, and instructive comparisons. In the center of the habitable world, the promised land is said to be situated. A chosen spot of great natural beauty and fruitfulness. It is also important to observe, that the locality of the Jews is not the result of accident, but of divine arrangement. Hundreds of years before Israel had any national existence, “the Most High,” in marking off the boundary lines of the different nations of the earth, reserved for His chosen people this central place.
The following passage clearly proves this important point. “When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel. For the Lord’s portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.” (Deut. 32:8, 9.) Much maybe gathered from this interesting truth, as to the place which Israel occupies in the thoughts and purposes of God. This central spot has already been the scene of events, far surpassing all others in their importance and results; and it shall yet be the scene of events, for which the heavens and the earth are waiting, and to which all scripture points. The prediction which appears only as a bud in Eden, shall be displayed in its full blown glories in the promised land.
Through the failure of Israel, the land, we know, is now lying waste. It presents anything but the idea of a center; it is trodden under foot of the Gentiles; but though it has long been like a wilderness, and the shadow of death, it will not always be so. The Lord of that land is, at present, absent; He has gone to the “far country;” but He will return, and take possession of His own. (Luke 19) “The land is mine,” saith the Lord; and, according to His original intention, it will become, in due time, the center of all nations — the glory of all lands — the praise of all people; and His beloved Jerusalem shall be the metropolis of the whole earth, and the center of blessing to all who dwell therein. The royal banner shall then float over its bulwarks, as the certain token that the “Nobleman” has returned — that the King of Nations is there.
From the top of Pisgah, Moses was privileged to see this goodly land before he died. The Lord Himself showed it unto His servant Moses. What grace! What condescension! What an honor conferred on Moses! “I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither.” (Deut. 34) He was permitted, before closing his eyes in death, to survey the future dwelling place of the Lord’s redeemed — to see its fertile valleys — its beautiful mountains — and its well-watered plains. In describing the country, under the guidance of the Spirit, he says, “For the Lord thy God bringeth thee unto a good land, a land of brooks, of waters, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil, olive, and honey; a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack anything in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass.” Deut. 8:7, 8, 9.
From the rich and varied productions of the Holy Land, the comparisons of our text seem to be drawn. The spouse of the Lord is here likened to a “garden,” an “orchard,” a fountain;” so replenished is she with all that is pleasant and fruitful to Him — so varied are the graces of the Holy Spirit in her — there is abundance for the heart of her Lord. “Spikenard and saffron: calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices.” What a truth for thy meditations, Ο my soul; ponder it well! Look at its different parts. The “garden,” may be celebrated for its choice collection of flowers— aromatic shrubs — and all pleasant plants. The “orchard,” for all manner of trees, bearing precious fruit, and the “fountain,” that which irrigates the whole scene. Every leaf is bedewed and moistened from the living fountain of waters. What a breadth and depth of thought this should give us, of what the people of God ought to be for Him, in this world. Like the choicest of gardens, compared with the barren, “ waste howling wilderness,” should the people of the Lord be, in comparison with the people of the world. Well, how is it with thee, my soul? Is there freshness — growth — fruitfulness, in the things of the Lord? Can He come into the garden of thy heart, and eat His pleasant fruit? Known unto Him are all thy thoughts and ways.
But, further, observe, the delighted heart of the Bridegroom describes His spouse as “A garden enclosed — a spring shut up — a fountain sealed.” She is all, and only for Him. Her eyes wander not after another. She is perfectly content with her portion, in her Well-Beloved. Christ is enough. He is a complete covering to her eyes — the perfect filling up of her whole heart. No wishful, no inviting look is cast on any other. Contentment fills her soul. “I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth among the lilies.” The bloom — the fragrance — the fruit, are for Him, and Him alone. Her garden is closed against all others — the royal seal is affixed on the King’s fountain; the living waters spring for Him alone. “Know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself.” (Psalm 4:3) No stranger must be allowed to tamper with that on which the King’s seal is affixed.
“Nevertheless the foundation of the Lord standeth sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his. And, let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity:” (2 Tim. 2:19.) “My son, give me thine heart,” is a fair demand. O, hearken, my soul, to the voice of wisdom. When this demand is complied with, we can have no heart for the world. No man has two hearts. Although, alas! we sometimes seem to have two. Let me watch against this. If the blessed Lord has my heart, I can have none for the world. A divided heart He cannot accept. Rather, let me say, Had I two, He should have them both.
The words “enclosed,” “shut up,” “sealed,” forcibly suggest the thought of the believer’s entire and well-defined separation from the world. Like a piece of ground that has been reclaimed from the common around; well fenced, well planted, well eared for; and kept for the owner’s especial use and pleasure. Though in the world, the Christian is not of the world. As Christ Himself says, “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” He is there as the servant of Christ, and should learn to do all things for Him. “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” (Col. 3:17.) No matter what it is, from the smallest thing to the greatest, he is to do all as service to Christ. Will this be service to Christ? is the question. Not, merely, what harm is there in doing this or that? and then doing our own will in place of the Master’s.
The Apostle Paul could say, “For me to live is Christ.” As if he had said, “For me to live, is to have Christ as my motive, Christ as my object, Christ as my strength, and Christ as my reward.” This would be separation from the world, and yet rendering the best service possible in the world. When the eye is kept steadfastly fixed on the Person of the Beloved, the heart is kept full of Him — the conscience is clear —the judgment sound, and our service fruitful. The closer we are to the fountain-head ourselves, the surer we are to become the channels of blessing to others. Like the spring in the desert, or the river in the valley, it benefits the region around. “If any man thirst,” says Jesus, “let him come unto me and drink.” “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.”) John 7:37, 38, 39.
From the heart thus filled with Christ, through the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, a blessed testimony will be given to the risen and glorified Jesus. It should flow forth like “rivers of living water.” For this testimony the believer is responsible to his absent Lord. “He that saith he abideth in him, ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.” (1 John 2:6.) Here we enter on the ground of true Christian responsibility. Being a Christian, I am responsible to walk as one. Not that I may become one, bless the Lord! but because I am one. What a mercy! we are not responsible to gain a place in the divine favor. The blessed Jesus has accomplished this. But being, through His precious blood, in the place of perfect favor— perfect peace, joy, and acceptance, we ought to walk according to the position in which grace has set us. Being a child of God, I ought to walk as a child of God. And being a servant, I ought to walk as a servant.
Our responsibility as men— as children of the first Adam — was perfectly met by our blessed Lord when He died for us; and now, all our responsibility flows from our relationship to Christ — the last Adam, risen and glorified. “As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.” (John 20:21.) This commission, observe, was given by the risen Jesus to the disciples, not to the apostles only. And for this mission we must give an account to Him at last. Most solemn truth! But wholesome to be known, and borne in mind. “Every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” (Rom. 14:10-12.) It may be well to make two or three remarks here with reference to the judgment seat of Christ, as we have found many souls confused and troubled on this subject.
In the first place, the person of the believer can never come into judgment. He has “passed from death unto life.” (John 5:24.) He is “justified from all things.” Christ was delivered for his offenses; and where are they? all gone, and gone forever. His name be praised. He was raised again for his justification; and what then? Being raised up together with Him, he is associated with a risen Christ, in His eternal life, and acceptance before God. “There is therefore, now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.” (Rom. 4; 5; 8) The believer himself, then, can never be brought into judgment. Besides, when he appears before the tribunal of Christ, he will be in his body of glory. He shall then be like the blessed Lord Himself. “Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.” (Phil. 3:21.) How far, how very far, this glorious truth removes all thought of judgment, as to the person of the believer, I need not say. He is glorified before he is called to the judgment-seat, and knows well that he is a co-heir with Christ, and in the same glory with Him.
Secondly. The sins and iniquities of the Christian can never he brought into judgment. Christ has already borne their judgment on the cross, and put them all away forever by the sacrifice of Himself. There will be no second judgment of the believer’s sins. A full end has been made of all sins, confessed by as, and borne by Jesus. (Heb. 9, 1 John 1:9.) “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness, by whose stripes ye were healed.” (1 Pet. 2:24.) So complete — so perfect, was the work of Christ on the cross, as the substitute of His people, that not the least question as to sin, was left unsettled. Every question was forever closed when He exclaimed “It is finished.” On the ground of this gloriously finished work, divine love meets the chief of sinners, in all the riches of the grace of God. And so great is this love towards the sinner, who pleads, before God, the name of Jesus, and trusts only to His precious blood, that not only are his sins and iniquities all forgiven, but they are said to be forgotten. “Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.” (Heb. 10) Such is the power — the potency of love, over all our sins, that they are gone from the recollection of Him who loves, and can never come into judgment.
Thirdly. But although neither the person, nor the sins and iniquities of the believer, are the subjects of the Lord’s judgment at that day; his works, as the Lord’s servant, must all be brought up before the tribunal of Christ. Hence the faithful word of warning by the Apostle, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” (1 Cor. 15:58.) He has been dwelling, at great length, on the resurrection of the body, now he touches on what may be called the resurrection of works. “Every man’s work shall be made manifest,; for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every mans work of what sort it is.” (1 Cor. 3; 4.) But this trial of the quality of our works, should not be thought of with fear and dread, but as one of our greatest privileges. Because then shall be fulfilled that precious word, “But then shall I know even as also I am known”
God is light, and God is love. He is all love — all light for His children. But His love will have them in the light as He is Himself. This will be perfect blessedness because we shall then be in the perfect light, as well as the perfect love of God. God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. Our new, our divine nature loves the light — delights in it. The least darkness would be an insupportable burden. To be in the light, is to be manifested, for light makes manifest. Nothing can be concealed there. And we would not, blessed be His name, have one moment of our history, with His tender, gracious dealings towards us, left in the dark. The heart shrinks from the very thought, notwithstanding all our own weakness, and naughtiness. “For we must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” (2 Cor. 5:10.) When the whole course of my life is manifested in the perfect light of God — of God in Christ, “Then shall I know even as also I am known.” My judgment of all that was good and bad, in that life, will be according to the perfect judgment of God.
All that has been done for Christ, as the fruit of His grace in us, shall be approved and rewarded by Him. That which has been done merely in the energy of nature, cannot be owned, but must now be consumed as “wood, hay, stubble.” All that has been produced by the Spirit of Christ in us, shall abide forever, as “gold, silver, precious stones.” (1 Cor. 3:10- 13; 4. 1 - 5.) Much self-denying — cross-bearing service, which has been gone through by many from the best of motives, but the means used un-sanctioned by scripture, shall then be analyzed with divine accuracy. All that the Lord can own as good He surely will, and abundantly reward. And many a holy purpose of the heart, which had for its object “the Lord’s glory, but which was never accomplished, shall then be brought to light, and have its full reward. The smallest service done for Him on earth, shall not be overlooked in that day. “For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily, I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward.” (Mark 9:41.) If A. has given one, and B. two cups of cold water, B. shall have a double reward. It will also be made manifest in that day, what it was that prevented us from doing more good, considering the light we had, the opportunities enjoyed, the grace bestowed, and the operations of the Holy Spirit in us. Nevertheless, each one will have the place prepared for him of the Father. But never till that moment shall we know how much we owe the blessed Lord. Then, but not till then, shall we know what He has been for us, and what He has had to bear from us. Then will be seen, in the true light of His presence, the love of that heart which ever rose above all our unworthiness, and manifested itself in patient grace, tender love, and unwearied goodness. And then, too, will be seen the ten thousand times ten thousand instances in which we sought, in the pride of our hearts, to please ourselves, exalt ourselves, make something of ourselves, in place of serving the Lord Jesus, exalting Him, and making Him our all in all.
The long-suffering, patient, tender love of Jesus in thus bearing with us for so many years, will be known and understood in all their perfection. And the sweet recollections of a love, far surpassing all others in tenderness, shall then fill our souls with the most perfect admiration, fervent adoration, and enraptured praises forever.
And not unknown, or forgotten in that day, will be His many — His miraculous interpositions on our behalf, and wondrous deliverances during our unconverted days. Many a time when Satan had beguiled us to the very brink of hell, and thought that another push would send us in; the mighty, loving, adorable Jesus, threw the arm we were despising around us — saved us — and gently led us back from its slippery edge. Oh! with what overflowing hearts shall we retire from this privileged scene — the tribunal of Christ! Oh! what material it will have supplied for the praises of heaven! Now we shall know the use of our golden harps. And the spring of joy which has been opened there, shall flow on, with ever deepening fullness, and freshness, throughout a long, bright, and happy eternity.
There are other two distinct sessional judgments spoken of in scripture, which it may be well just to notice, to prevent confusion. 1. The judgment of the living nations, “when the Son of Man shall come in his glory.” (Matt, 25. 31 - 46.) This takes place at the commencement of the millennium. 2. The judgment of the dead, before the “great white throne,” when heaven and earth flee away. (Rev. 20:11-15.) This takes place at the close of the millennium, and is quite distinct from the judgment of the living nations, and from the judgment of the saints in heaven, before the tribunal of Christ. The notion of one general judgment of the righteous and the wicked, has not the sanction of scripture.
Meditations on Song of Solomon
Now, at this present time, we should walk by faith in the light of that future day. The threefold effect of this truth on the mind of the Apostle, is worthy of our special attention. “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.” (2 Cor. 5: 11.) 1. Knowing what a terrible thing it must be for a sinner to appear before God in his sins, and under a responsibility entirely his own, the Apostle is stirred up to preach the gospel with great earnestness. “We persuade men.” He seeks to warn — to impress others, with the immediate and unspeakable importance of salvation. What an awful thing it must be, for an unbeliever to answer personally for his rejection of Christ and salvation. Who would not be aroused to deep, soul-stirring earnestness, in the preaching of the gospel, by such a consideration?
2. The Apostle was already in the light — already manifest unto God. “But we are made manifest unto God.” The judgment-seat bore no terror for the Apostle. It only stirred him up to greater seal for the salvation of others.
3. Thus walking in the light, the man of God — the servant of Christ, goes on with his work; his conscience, mean time, reflecting the light and the love of God. He commends himself to the consciences of those amongst whom he labors. “And I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.” Oh! that these blessed, precious, and practical results may flow to thee, my soul, and to many others, from thy meditations on the tribunal of Christ.
And to this end may we experience the various operations of the Holy Spirit, as referred to in the following words of the blessed Lord.
“Awake, Ο north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the prices thereof may flow out” The word “wind” is sometimes used in scripture, in reference to the Holy Spirit; and tins verse, is like the Lord praying for the different operations of the Spirit, in the hearts of His beloved people. “Blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out.” There are spices — “chief spices” in His vineyard, but something is needed to cause them to flow out. He has just been walking in His garden, surveying His pleasant plants, and calling them by their names.
He knows well every plant in His vineyard — when planted — what care it has received, and what fruit should be forthcoming. They are all of His own right hand planting; “that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.” Psalm 80:15; Isa. 61:3.

“Like trees of myrrh and spice we stand,
Planted by God the Father’s hand:
And all His springs in Zion flow,
To make the young plantation grow.”

But sometimes a death-like stillness comes over the whole plantation, both old and young are affected by it. The balmy branches yield not to the breath of the Spirit, so that the rich perfume is not collected by, and carried on the breeze. “Awake, Ο north wind; and come, thou south;” is now the patient husbandman’s cry, “blow upon my garden.” A sharp, keen blast from the north; or the genial gales of the south, may be employed, to awaken, quicken, and arouse the Lord’s people from a state of sad supineness. But, Oh! sweet thought! He to whom the garden belongs, and who knows well every plant that is in it, holds in his hand the breath that fans, and the whirlwind that sweeps. And for all His tender, precious plants, He carefully adjusts the due proportion of the north and the south wind.
Happy enclosure! where the piercing gale
Nips but the budding weeds, while, kept secure,
The cultured plants are refuged from all ill,
To flourish in the soft succeeding calm!

“A little while,” and they shall all he transplanted to the more genial clime of the paradise above. There, the piercing north wind of affliction, chastening, and discipline shall no longer be needed. There will be nothing in those cloudless regions to wither the leaf, nip the bud, blight the blossom, or stunt the fruit. Enough, Ο enough, of all this sad and sorrowful work, have we had in this cold world of ours! Come, Ο, come; hail, happy day, when far, far away from the wilderness, where trial often comes like a terrible blast, as if it would up-root the feeble plant; and where sorrow often fills the heart, and shame covers the face, because we have been so fruitless in that which is good, and so fruitful in that which is evil; but then, all evil shall be done away; no grief, no canker, no worm there. Rooted in the pure soil of heaven, and continually drinking in the dews of eternal love, we shall bloom and bear fruit to the ineffable delight of our Father’s heart — the unutterable glories of our blessed Lord, through the abiding presence of God the Holy Spirit with us.
Lord grant, that now, my heart may be entirely inclined to the culture which thou seest to be the best; that my heart may bow to every breath of thy Spirit, and that there may be such fruit and fragrance in my life as shall afford thee pleasure. Oh! to be ever free to say, “Let my beloved come into his garden and eat his pleasant fruits.” These few, are the only words which we have from the lips of the Bride, in this wonderful chapter. But they are happy, blessed words. “My beloved.” She is at home, and happy in His presence. He, Himself, is hers. She knows it. She enjoys it. He is her own beloved Lord and Savior. “My beloved.” But when she speaks of the garden, she calls it “His garden.” And of the fruit she says, “His pleasant fruit.” This is true ground, as we elsewhere read; “My well-beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill. And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein.” And again, speaking of His care of that vineyard, which proved so unfruitful to Him; He says, “I the Lord do keep it: I will water it every moment, lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day.” Isa. 5; 27
In the fifteenth of John, the blessed Lord speaks of Himself as the “True Vine,” His people as the “branches” and His Father as the “husbandman” — the vine-dresser. Oh, what a wondrous sight! The Father looking down from heaven, beholds, all over the habitable world, His own beloved Son, bearing fruit to His glory, through the many branches of this goodly vine! What a wide-spreading vine! It is only through the supply of the rich juices from the parent stock, that the branches bear fruit. What a lovely sight to the Father’s eye! What a constant care for the Father’s heart! But, oh! how rewarded, when He sees the branches, thus vitally connected with His Son, “filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ unto the glory and praise of God.” (Phil. 1:2.) “Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit.” John 15:8.
No sooner has the loved and beautiful Shelomith invited her Lord to come into His garden, and partake of the refreshing fruits thereof, than He answers, “I am come.” He does not say, “I may, or I will,” but “I am come.” Already, while she is yet inviting Him, He is present. His heart is ever ready — waiting to attend on the cry of His beloved ones. Oh! happy spouse — oh! happy people, that are in such a case as this! To have the King of kings, and Lord of lords, waiting, ready to attend when they call. The fruits of the Spirit are always acceptable to Him. Rich and varied He now finds them, and greatly He is delighted with this banquet of love.
Chap. 5: 1. “I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk; eat, Ο friends, drink, yea drink abundantly, Ο beloved.” These different fruits may represent the different results of the Spirit’s operations in souls by the truth. There may be tears, bitter as myrrh, flowing from one, under a deep sense of past failure. The Spirit of God having applied the truth in power, to the conscience, the heart is broken. Its deep fountains are opened up, and bitterest tears of deepest anguish flow like a river. And now, out comes, in unreserved confession, before God, the whole matter. Second causes are lost sight of, in the searching light of God’s holy presence. “Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight.” These are close quarters for a soul to be in with God. Though David’s sin had been against his neighbor, and against the well-being of society; yet he says, “Against thee, thee only, have I sinned.” All sin is against God; and it is a painful thing to have to do with God about our sin. But right into the presence chamber of the Holy One we must go, just as we are, if we would get rid of the awful burden of sin. There, and there only, can we find full relief. The weeping penitent must lay down the multitude of his sins, side by side with the multitude of God’s tender mercies. Only there can he learn what that word meaneth, “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” The Father meets His child, blessed be His name, in the boundless grace of His heart, on the ground of the precious blood of Jesus. As the rising wave from the fathomless ocean, hastens to meet and embrace the descending stream, and overflow all its limits; so does grace meet the penitent sinner, and obliterate forever all trace of his sin. Its course, like a river, may have been long and deep, but now, its very course and limits are untraceable.
Ο love divine, thou vast abyss!
My sins are swallowed up in thee;
Covered is my unrighteousness;
From condemnation I am free;
While Jesu’s blood, through earth and skies,
Mercy! free, boundless mercy! cries.

Having passed through the experience of the fifty-first psalm, David could praise and worship God with a joyful heart according to the strains of the one hundred and third. “Bless the Lord, Ο my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, Ο my soul, and forget not all his benefits; who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender mercies.” Thus God’s majesty, holiness, and truth have been maintained, sin judged in the light, the conscience cleared, the heart made happy, full communion restored, and the soul established in grace. The tears may have been more bitter than myrrh, but the results are sweeter than honey, and more fragrant, to the heart of Christ, than all spices.
The Lord finds every variety of fruit, in the assemblies of His people. But with all that which is of the Spirit, He has the fullest fellowship and enjoyment. “I have gathered........I have eaten........I have drank.” He partakes of all the variety. He slights none. In the advanced disciple He may find that which indicates the strength and vigor of wine; while in the new born babe there may be the sweet simplicity of milk. An infidel, chafed and annoyed by the beautiful simplicity of a believing child, who was speaking about the joy and happiness of being with Jesus forever, said to her, “but what if Jesus be in hell?” “Ah,” replied the dear child, “but it would not be hell if he were there.” How simple, yet how unanswerable! How honoring to the name — how refreshing, to the heart of Jesus! What hast thou for thy Lord, Ο my soul? What can He gather from thee — what can He eat — what can He drink of thine? What is sweeter than humility? What is more honoring to the Lord than entire dependence on Him? What more grateful to his heart, than a daily, growing desire for the glory of God?
Many will partake of this royal supper, and enter into its joys. Many, very many, are the “friends” of the Bridegroom. And all, in the day of His glory, will enter into His joy. Wondrous, long-looked-for day of heavenly and earthly glory! All hearts will be reached and touched with that joyous invitation. “Eat, Ο friends, drink, yea, drink abundantly, Ο beloved.” The “natural branches,” long broken off from the stock of promise, shall, as the apostle says, be grafted in again. “In that day”— the day of Israel’s restoration — “the Lord shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root; Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.” (Isa. 27) What a feast shall then be provided through restored Israel, for all nations. The face of the world shall be filled with fruit. “And in that mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people, a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.” (Isa. 25) Again, “And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the Lord, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth: and the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel. And I will sow her unto me in the earth.” (Hos. 2) Here the figure is changed from ingrafting to sowing, as if God was going to do an entirely new thing in the earth.
‘Now we know, from the New Testament,’ says a recent writer, that in that day, “the heavens” will be occupied by Christ and his glorified saints. Jehovah will hear the heavens, “and they shall hear the earth.” Christ, in whom all things, both in heaven and earth, will then be gathered, will be the One to whom prayer shall be addressed from all on earth, even as it will be through Him, and His glorified saints, that blessing will be universally administered. “And the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil.” No want, no scarcity even then. The voice of complaining will have ceased to be heard in the streets. Creation’s universal groan will have been hushed; yea, it will have given place to universal hymns of gratitude and praise. “And they shall hear Jezreel.” Now Jezreel, as scholars tell us, means, “the seed of God;” and this interpretation of the word is confirmed by what immediately follows, “I will sow her (Israel) unto me in the earth. There shall be one unbroken chain of blessing from the throne of Jehovah, the great source of all, down to the enjoyment, by mankind, of all the blessings of this life: and the place in this wondrous chain filled by restored Israel, is that of Jezreel, the seed of God, sown by Jehovah, and to Him, in the earth, and filling the face of the world with fruit. Jehovah — the heavens, occupied by Christ and the Church in glory — the earth — restored Israel, or Jezreel, the seed of God —universal blessing on the earth, even to the abundance of corn, and wine, and oil, while war and violence are at an end; “And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.” Praise, eternal praise, to Him who alone doeth wondrous things! Let the whole earth be filled with His glory.
Oh! what a circle of blessing is presented to us here! Mark it well, Ο my soul, and meditate thereon. Look forward to the happy day, when He who has been long absent shall have returned, and shall say in the ears of His waiting people, “I am come” — “I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse.” Then shall the promises made to the fathers, be fulfilled to their children, according to the word of the Lord. Jehovah in the highest heavens —Christ and His glorified saints, in the heavens that are connected with the earth — then restored Israel in the holy land, and all nations of the earth, thus linked together in one glorious chain of universal blessing. Oh! what a circle of glory! What a circle of “friends!” What a feast of love! And what a joyous welcome from the heart of Him who is “Lord of all!” “Eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, Ο beloved.”
Meditations on Song of Solomon
“I sleep, but my heart waketh; it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filed with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night” In this sad confession of the Bride, we have brought before us an aspect of experience, which many believers, Christian as well as Jewish, are frequently passing through, and which well deserves our patient meditation.
By far the greater proportion of Christians are more occupied with themselves, and their changeable feelings, than with the word of God. This is the fruitful source of endless troubles and perplexities to the soul. How often it happens in the history of some Christians, that when they experience a change of feeling in themselves, they hastily conclude that Christ Himself is not now what He once was to them. They judge the Lord by their own feelings, in place of believing in Him according to His own word. This is looking to self in place of Christ, and being governed by feelings in place of the unchangeable truth of God.
Only a few hours ago, as we may say, following the order of our song, the spouse was in the full joy of her Lord’s presence. She was then bright and happy, like a certain class of Christians in the full current of a joyous meeting. But supper being ended, and the guests withdrawn, she retires to rest. Very soon, alas, a change comes over her feelings which greatly troubles her. “I sleep, but my heart waketh.” She is restless, uncomfortable, unhappy. The heart is breathing after Christ, but she is indisposed to exert herself for Him. What a sad, melancholy state of things, when the blessed Jesus is knocking at the door! But this is no uncommon case. The believer may be in the main right at heart, but having fallen into a low, dull, sleepy state, spiritual duties become a burden, and they are either entirely neglected, or not done heartily. This is a miserable state of soul to be in, “I sleep, but — my heart waketh.” It is well to look at both sides of this “but.” She is neither asleep nor awake. On the one side there is a slumbering conscience, on the other, a wakeful heart. No quiet rest can she find — no refreshment. And well it is so when we become careless about the things of the Lord. But what a picture of thousands, and tens of thousands, who ought to be bright, happy, and always ready girded for anything in the way of service to Christ and immortal souls.
We now turn to the bright and blessed side of this instructive scene. Has the Lord changed because she is changed? Blind unbelief would be sure to say He had; and then unworthy thoughts of Christ would follow, and no end to doubts and fears. When inward thoughts are guiding, the words of Christ go for nothing. But, really, has her coldness and indifference not changed Him in the least towards her? The love of Christ towards His spouse, never for one moment changes, notwithstanding her backsliding and inconstancy. But no better answer could be given to the question, than the words of the sleepy spouse herself. Drowsy as she is, she knows His knock, and discerns the voice to be His; and still she says “my beloved” There is a life in her soul which must ever respond to that voice, in spite of failure. “It is the voice of my beloved” she says, “that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night.” Now thou hast, Ο my soul, the poor changeable believer, and the unchangeable Savior before thee, face to face, on the page of eternal truth. What thinkest thou? Are the vain suggestions of the human mind, in such a case, to be the guide, as to the mind of Christ, or the plain word of God? What could be plainer or more to the point, than the word before as? Mark it well, Ο my soul, and meditate thereon. And may its blessed light ever be reflected, from thy heart and conscience, in all thy intercourse with backsliding and troubled souls.
Fall of the most patient, touching love, are the words of the Bridegroom to His weak and erring Bride. In place of being influenced by her sad state of soul, and accusing her of ingratitude and indifference towards Himself, He appeals to her in terms more tender than on any former occasion. “Open to me” He says, “to me” — thine own Messiah — thy Beloved — I am Jesus — why shut the door against me?” “Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled.” Never before had He called her His “undefiled,” This term of wondrous grace and significancy, was reserved for the day of her deep failure. And never before had He alluded to the heavy “dews,” and the heavier “drops” of the night, by which He had been overtaken, in His path of devoted, unselfish love for her. Oh! what an appeal! Its deep, deep tones reecho from the darkness of Gethsemane, and from the solitudes of Calvary, the greatness of a love which nothing could turn aside from its purpose. But, alas, His appeal has but little effect on her sleep-laden conscience.
Is there anything in all this, let me now ask, that looks like a change in the love of Christ towards His backsliding one? Who can say there is? unless it be, that He now reveals His love more fully, and appeals to her more tenderly. Does He not plead with her in a way that is fit to melt the heart in listening to Him? He pleads as if it would be a great favor to Him, to be admitted under her roof? Or, like a weary traveler who has lost His way in a dark and stormy night, He pleads for shelter. It is also worthy of special note, that never before, at any one time, had He addressed her in so many terms of endearment. “Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled.” Such, Ο my soul, is the love of Christ—the love of Christ to a wandering one. Consider it well. There is but one heart that never changes. Oh! how we should value that heart - trust in that heart — count only on that heart — and always keep near to that changeless heart of perfect love. But, oh! alas, what hearts are ours. All this patient, wondrous love, is met by the slumbering spouse with great indifference, and answered with the most trifling and frivolous excuses.
“I have put of my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them? “ Alas, alas, for the daughter of Zion! How insensible, through failure, to the claims of her own Messiah — her gracious Lord. What a hardening — deadening thing is sin! “It is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God.” Once away from the presence of the Lord, and who can tell how far we may depart from Him, or into how many by-ways we may wander. The thought of such a course is fearful to contemplate. And the more we love our brethren, and the more spiritual our perception is, of this dreadful evil, the greater will be our sorrow over a backsliding soul. Who that has a care for souls and the Lord’s glory, has not wept in secret over the too manifestly decaying zeal, and dying energy of a once earnest, fervent spirit? The pastor’s heart once so cheered, so thankful, so hopeful, so delighted, to see such freshness of soul for Jesus! Early at all the meetings — the countenance beaming — the spirit joyous — every word about Christ dropping into —the soul like the oil of gladness; and only retiring from the public meeting to meditate on some fresh truth, and enjoy deeper communion with the Lord in secret.
Those who have felt the sorrow of such a bright soul being led astray, know what it is. As the green, fresh leaf of summer, after a severe blight, looks withered and drooping — seared as if a hot iron had passed over it; so, alas, does the soul that has been led away by some subtle snare of the enemy. Everything in appearance and manner changes.
Oh! how changed! irregularity in attendance soon follows. Every one, he imagines, is changed towards him; slow to learn the change is in himself. He takes offense at some little thing, it may be, and leaves. Now his seat is empty — he is gone — to where? The Lord only, in most cases, can answer this question. Not that we should be indifferent to “where?” But the Lord only can trace the steps of his wanderings. His sleepless eye follows him everywhere; and the heart that was once pierced for his sins, can never, never, no never, cease to care for him. In the wisdom of His love, He may allow the failing one to taste the bitterness and sorrow of his self-chosen ways; thus it will be with Israel by and by; but the Lord has always within His reach the means of bringing to repentance, and of the soul’s full restoration to Himself.
“My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him” This is a movement in the right direction. The Lord be praised. His own hand has done it. Now we have something like an answer to His love. Feeble it is, but real. The heart is moved for Him. She has never ceased to call Him, “my beloved.” There is affection for the Lord, though failure. But when the gentle, gracious knockings of a Savior’s love are unheeded, He employs other means. He knows the state of the heart, and what will effectually move it towards Himself. “Shall not God search this out; for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.” (Psalm 44:21.) Sometimes by means the most unexpected He reaches the conscience. The light coming in discovers where we are and what we are. Grace triumphs. The soul now seeks the presence of the Lord, and the happiness that is to be found alone in Him. Still, it may be some time before it fully recovers from its failure. There may be much sorrow, humbling, breaking down, before the perfect repose of His presence be found. Confused and agitated, like one just awakened out of sleep, we may run and seek the Lord where He never said He would be found. The sanctuary, not the city, is the place of His blessed and joy-giving presence.
“I rose to open to my beloved; and my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with sweet-smelling myrrh, upon the handles of the lock.” Is there such a thing as sweet tears as well as bitter? and can both flow, mingled down at the same time? What more bitter to the taste than myrrh? What more fragrant to the smell than sweet-smelling myrrh? “My hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with sweet-smelling myrrh, upon the handles of the lock.” (myrrh, signifies, flowing, weeping.) Distinct now, and real, is the response of the Bride to the persevering love of her Bridegroom. “I rose to open to my beloved.” She is recovering from her spiritual indolence. The sense of her sin in not opening the door when He knocked, is bitterness in her soul; yet it is mingled with great affection for the one she slighted. Reaching the door at which He stood long, she finds the scene filled with the fragrance of His Person. Laying hold on the handles of the lock, “her hands dropped with myrrh, and her fingers with sweet-smelling myrrh.”
Now that she is awakened, and alive to what she has been, and to what she has done, deepest sorrow, and bitterest regret, mingled with the most adoring love for her good and gracious Lord, fill, and overflow her soul, like one who has ventured back, after sorrowful failure, to the scenes of former spiritual enjoyment. The well-known entrance — the sight of many faces, so familiar — the sound of a voice not forgotten, and which has still an echo in the now melting heart — fill the soul with deepest emotions. The whole scene recalls to the mind many by-gone days of truest happiness. And now, mingled with the yielding up of the heart to the love of Jesus, are the smitings of an upbraiding conscience. The heart in silence breathes,” Lord Jesus, I am ashamed and blush before Thee. Miserable and unhappy have I been every hour of my wanderings. Oh! how ungrateful! how ungrateful have I been! Oh! that I should have brought this stain on Thy blessed name! My soul is bitter with self-reproach. Lord, can I be forgiven.’ But oh! deepen in my soul the sense of my sin in going astray, and of Thy holiness and grace, in bringing me back to Thy fold, Restore unto me the joys of thy salvation. My soul cleaveth unto Thee.”
Blessed Redeemer! I acknowledge now
How wise, and firm, and suitable thy ways
Of mercy and of judgment — each in turn —
Bright, and more bright Thy loving kindness shines,
Dark, and more dark my own depravity.
By love’s most strong constraint with hands that drop
Sweet smelling odors by Thyself bestowed.
No longer in responseless apathy
I hear Thee knock: but now obedient made.

Meditations on Song of Solomon
“I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone; my soul failed when he spake; I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer.” Like Joseph of old, who sought, in many ways, to exercise the hearts of his brethren, because of their guilt concerning himself: so the true Joseph will deeply exercise the hearts of His brethren, the Jews, in the latter day, because of their condition before God. But Joseph did not love his brethren the less, because he allowed them to pass through a trying, sifting process. His heart was full and ready to burst forth in expressions of strongest affection when the right moment came. What a relief to him when the flood-gates were thrown open, and when the long pent-up love of his heart had a free course. So shall it be with the Lord and Israel, just before He reveals Himself in power and glory, for their complete deliverance, and the full manifestation of His love as their own Messiah.
The point of analogy, however, which is here so striking between Joseph and his brethren, and Christ and the Jews, completely fails when applied to Israel and the Church of God. The common notion, that Christ sometimes withdraws Himself, or hides His face from Christians in order that He may try them and prove them, has no foundation in the Epistles. With the Jew, of course, under law, everything was different; God dwelt in the thick darkness — the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest — the perfect sacrifice had not been offered —the conscience of the Jew had not been perfectly purged, therefore he could not have full peace. But with Christians, the position of things is entirely changed. “The darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.” We are “accepted in the beloved.” Our sins, according to the judgment of God, were all, and forever, put away by the one offering of Christ. When God’s full judgment against sin was expressed on the cross, the veil was rent, and the way into the holiest of all was laid open. We, dead in sin; and Christ, dead for sin, were quickened together, raised up together, and seated together in heavenly places; God having forgiven all our trespasses. There can be no veil between God and Christ in glory, and we being in Christ, all perfect before the face of God, there can be no veil between God and us. And, moreover, the Holy Ghost has come down as the witness and power of our present oneness with the risen and exalted Christ, and to give us, by His indwelling, the conscious enjoyment of our place and portion with Christ, in the presence of God. The very thought of the Lord hiding his face from those who are in the full light of God with Himself, and as Himself, is surely utterly foreign to the whole doctrine of Scripture, about the Church. True —alas, how true — we may forget how richly we are blessed in Christ Jesus — we may forget that we are associated with Him as risen from the dead, and gone up on high — we may forget that His life is curs, and that His delights should be ours also; and forgetting these things, we may get away from Him, and sin against Him. And no sin, let us remember, can be so hateful to God, as the sin of Christians; and that, just because we are brought so near to Himself. But, alas, we must be away from Him when we fall into sin; none of us could sin in His presence. There, it is hateful to us, and we have power over it.
So dignified is the manner of the Holy Ghost, when referring to this subject, that He barely admits the possibility of the Christian sinning. “If,” He says, only the possibility of such a thing is supposed. “If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And he is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only; but also for the whole world.” (1 John 2:1, 2.) Here we have divine provision for all the need of our pilgrim path. The advocacy of Christ, founded on righteousness and propitiation, secures the cleansing away of our defilements, and maintains us spotless before the face of God. How opposed to this blessed truth is the common notion, that God sometimes hides his face behind a cloud, in order to test the faith and love of His children! We may fail to enjoy this blessed truth, or we may be ignorant of it, but the truth of God remains unchangeably the same; and the position of the Church, before Him, in Christ, is as unchangeable as the truth that reveals it.
Now, if we turn from the Church to Israel as such, we find, not analogy, but the contrast to all this wondrous grace. For although, “at the time of the end,” the remnant are looking for the Messiah, and longing for Him with true affection; they are still under law, and allowed to feel its pressure. Like the man slayer of old, they will be, as it were, in the city of refuge until a change in the priesthood takes place. (See Numb. 35) The appearing of the Lord’s anointed, in the exercise of His Melchisedec priesthood, will be the great antitype of that ancient law. A change in the priesthood, through death, brought liberty to those who were prisoners in the cities of refuge. “But after the death of the high priest the slayer shall return unto the land of his possession.” Israel, in the latter day, before the Lord appears, will pass through a deep, sifting work under law, as many scriptures clearly show. The solemn judgment of God against their sin of blood-guiltiness must be felt and owned in the conscience. And token He appears, this blessed, though severe work will be deepened, but then it will be under grace. The following passage refers to this point. “And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications; and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his own son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.” Read carefully Zech. 12, also 13 and 14.
But is it not truly beautiful, Ο my soul, to see the reality and fervor of affection, which “the blessed Lord has erected in the hearts of His people, even amidst all their sufferings. How sweetly the heart of the spouse breathes after her well-beloved! Indeed, this is the character of the Song of Solomon The Psalm give us more of the workings of conscience in the remnant, the Canticles, pre-eminently, the affections of the heart. This is the side which we have here, and a blessed side it is. Here we have the Bridegroom-love of Jesus manifested, and its sweet and touching reflection in the heart of His loving spouse. “My soul failed when he spake.” She could hear Him, but could not see Him, and her heart fainted within her, she had slighted Him in an evil hour, and being still on the ground of righteousness, He had withdrawn Himself, and was gone. But He loved her not the less because He did this. And if she felt keenly the hiding of His face, He felt it infinitely more. Never did the heart of Joseph burn with such an intense flame of love to his brethren, as when he was concealing himself from them. But a greater than Joseph is here! “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” And mark, it does not read — God is the same yesterday, today, and forever; of course He is that; but it is of “Jesus Christ,” Savior and Bridegroom, that the passage affirms, He never changes. Learn then, Ο my soul, to confide in Him. Never doubt His love, whatever appearances may be, or distrust His grace; grace can never, never fail.
The scene which follows is a painful one. She is out of communion, and all is in confusion. The very energy and ardor of her love, bring her into all sorts of trouble. She exposes herself, as it were, to the taunts of professors inside, and to the rough treatment of the world outside. Everything for the moment is out of place as to her ways, but her heart is right in the main, and true to her Lord. “I charge you, Ο daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, I am sick of love.” Oh! bow few of us could say, “I am sick of love.” How seldom we expose ourselves to persecution through the fervor of our affections! May we know more of the communion which causeth the heart to burn, and the words to flow in living testimony for our absent Lord!
To those who know the Lord I speak,
Is my Beloved near?
The Bridegroom of my soul I seek,
Oh! when will He appear?

“What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women? what is thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us?” What more grateful to the heart than to know that we ax fairer than all others to the one we love best? To be well assured that this is His mind, gives sweet contentment to the soul. It is also very pleasant to hear that others, who might have been filled with jealousy, speak of us, and to us, just like Himself. Nothing beyond this can be desired.
Well, so shall it be ere long with the daughter of Zion — the fair spouse of the true King Solomon. When brought into full blessing under the Messiah, and highly honored by Him, all then will gladly address her, “Ο thou fairest among women.” The “daughters of Jerusalem” may represent in this scene the cities of Judah, which will have a subordinate place to Jerusalem, in the day of her coining glory; though, still in the same circle of blessing. Jerusalem and the Jews will then have the chief place of honor and glory in the earth; and all nations shall then court their favor, and seek the shelter of their wing. “Thus saith the Lord of hosts; in those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold, out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you; for we have heard that God is with you.” (Zech. 8:23;) Clearly, this is still future. But further, the Spirit of prophecy, speaking of the restoration of the children of Zion, says, “ And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet: and thou shalt know that I am the Lord: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.” Isa. 49:23.
What a change for the Jew when this takes place! What a blessed change for that long down-trodden people! What a history is theirs! at least if we embrace the past, present, and future. “Go, ye swift messengers,” says the prophet, “to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto, a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled.” But now, all is happily changed. Under the figure of a Bride, loved, admired, and delighted in, the remnant of Judah is spoken of. The blessed Lord Himself — the spared remnant of the other tribes — and all the Gentiles, admire her peerless beauty. “Ο thou fairest among women.” Thus shall it be in that day with the entire nation — the ten tribes and the two. They shall all be gathered to their own land, and each tribe to its own lot.
In answer to the inquiry of the daughters of Jerusalem, “What is thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us?” she immediately replies, and gives a full length portrait of her well-beloved. And there is all that sharpness in the outline, and minuteness in the detail, which strong and mingled passion alone could give. Her strong affection is made doubly strong through self-reproach. Her recollection of Him is vivified through having slighted Him; and all her feelings are intensified through not finding Him. In this state of mind she portrays Him to the daughters of Jerusalem from head to foot. Oh! to be ready — always ready, on the spur of the moment, to speak of Jesus! She needed no time for pre-meditation. She asks for none. Delighted with the opportunity, all she wanted was the listening ear, and the believing heart. Like the woman at the well of Sychar, her own heart was overflowing. Her love had grown, through disappointment, into a passion. It is relief to her heart to speak of Him. She could not help being eloquent. Love is the best gift of the evangelist — love to the Savior — love to the sinner. But when that love rises into a passion, there must be true, burning eloquence. Never, never, Ο my soul, be content with less than this. Love to the Savior — love for souls is good, but the evangelist needs more. Seek that thy love may rise into a fervent flame. The work demands it. Art thou an evangelist? Let everything that would hinder thy work be consumed on the altar of entire consecration. Preaching is not teaching remember, neither is teaching preaching. Appeal to souls, plead with them, lay hold on them, agonize for them. It is a matter of life or death — of ineffable, eternal blessedness; or unutterable, eternal woe. Realize the future in the present, and raise a cry to the God of all grace, that not one soul may go away unimpressed, unblest, unsaved.
More temperate hearts, and wiser too, it may be, in many things, may say, “There is much of nature in such zeal, and not a little unbelief; remember, the work is the Lord’s.” Fully admit thine own failure, and that the work is God’s from first to last; but let nothing slacken thy zeal, or damp thy energy. May the flame of thy love be unquenchable, Oh! be in earnest; heaven is in earnest, hell is in earnest, and be thou in deep, deep earnest. The Master wept over a city, thou hast a world to weep over. Love with His love, and let his tears flow through thine eyes.
Oh! speak of Jesus — of that love
Passing all bounds of human thought,
Which made him quit His throne above,
With God-like deep compassion fraught,
To save from death our ruined race,

Our guilt to purge, our path to trace.
Oh! speak of Jesus — of His death,
For sinners such as me He died.
“‘Tis finished,” with His latest breath,
The Lord, Jehovah Jesus, cried.
That death of shame and agony
Opened the way of life to me.

“My beloved is white and ruddy; the chiefest among ten thousand” It is said of David that he was “ ruddy, and of a fair countenance.” Referring, no doubt, to his youthful bloom and beauty. But in the description here given of the True David, the spotless purity of His Person, and the character of His sacrifice, may be referred to by the Spirit of prophecy. These are significant words — “white and ruddy.” The Holy Spirit delights to set forth, whether in type or allegory, the glories of His Person, and the infinite value of His blood. “Can you tell me of anything that is whiter than snow?” inquired one, who was addressing a Sunday school. “The soul that has been washed in the blood of Jesus,” was the satisfactory answer of a little girl. But, oh, if a brand plucked from the fire, blackened and consumed, as it were, by sin, can thus be made whiter than snow — pure as the light of heaven, in virtue of that most precious blood; what, we may ask, must be the essential holiness, and infinite dignity of Him, by whose blood-shedding this marvelous work is accomplished! Yes, indeed, one soul thus blest would prove the wondrous efficacy of the sacrifice; but what wilt thou say, my soul, when in heaven thou beholdest myriads upon myriads of ransomed souls, singing the song that is ever new, “ Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood; and bath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” Oh! what exalted, adoring thoughts we shall then have of the once lowly Son of Man, but now highly exalted Christ of God!
What thou shalt then see with thine eyes, my soul, thou art now to believe with thine heart. Ο meditate upon it, glory in the truth; “My beloved is white and ruddy; the chiefest among ten thousand.” What so “white” — so clean — so holy, as the blessed Person of the Son of Man — Jehovah — Jesus — the root and the offspring of David? What so “ruddy” as the blood that flowed from His immaculate veins on Calvary? Who, Ο who, is worthy to be the Chieftain of all God’s hosts, save the Captain of our salvation?
“Oh! chiefest of ten thousand, who like thee,
Who, Lord, among the mighty may compare
With thee, the standard-bearer of the host.”

Thus to know Jesus is present salvation, peace, and happiness. To know that my sins are blotted out by these “ruddy” drops — yes, blotted out, I say blotted out forever, is perfect blessedness. They have no existence now before God, the Judge of sin. Pardoned I am — I know I am, God says it. But to know that thy sins are blotted out is a deeper thought still. Christ abolished sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Like the pebble that has been cast into the depths of the sea, our sins are untraceable — they are buried in the deep waters of God’s forgetfulness. And God has been so glorified in the work of His blessed Son, that it is now a righteous thing with God, as well as gracious, to bless all who believe in Jesus. He can now indulge His love, by meeting in grace the chief of sinners, who bows to the name of the once lowly, but now exalted’ Son of Man.
Meditations on Song of Solomon
“His head is as the most fine gold; His locks are bushy and black as a raven.” Having answered the daughters of Jerusalem in a general way as to her Beloved, she now begins to describe Him more minutely. Guided by the Spirit of God, she delights to dwell on His varied excellencies and glories, under the similitude of the human features. One word, my soul, at the threshold; seek not, I pray thee, for the mystic meaning of these separate features, beyond the limits of holy scripture. “The place whereon thou standest is holy ground.” For although the Lord did not forbid Moses to draw near to the burning bush, He told him, plainly, that it must be with unshod feet. Let thine eye, then, be anointed, and thy heart worshipping, while meditating on Zion’s glorious King.
In the fourth Chapter, the Bridegroom, in recounting the attractions of His Bride, enumerates seven features. Here, she points out ten, in portraying her Beloved. The significant numbers, three and seven, are united in Him. We will now briefly meditate on each feature separately.
“His head is as the most fine gold.” Supreme majesty may be indicated by “the most fine gold,” as in Dan. 2:33, “Thou art this head of gold.” It is also frequently used in scripture to represent divine righteousness—in connection with the Person of Christ; as in Isa. 11:5 and Rev. 1:13. Of this same Jesus we read, “Behold a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. And O, man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place; as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.” Isa. 32:1, 2.
“His locks are bushy and black as a raven.” The bushy, raven locks of the Bridegroom are evidently contrasted with the long, flowing hair of the Bride, which He compares to “a flock of goats, that appear from Mount Gilead.” Youthful vigor and strength may also be indicated by the profusion of the locks. Of Ephraim it is said, Hos. 7:9, “Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth it not; yea, gray hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knoweth it not.” But of Ephraim’s Lord and King no signs of decay shall ever be seen. He is the same yesterday, and today, and forever. Some believe that “the most fine gold” refers to the Godhead of Jesus; and the “ bushy locks” to His manhood. No truth lies nearer the heart of faith, then the perfect manhood of the blessed Savior; and that in connection with His eternal Godhead. “Christ who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.” Rom. 9:5 and Col. 1:15 - 19.
“Admire, adore this God immutable:
To whom alone it appertains to say
‘I live forever!’ and to whose vast mind,
The shadow of a turning is unknown.”

“His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of water, washed with milk, and fitly set.” Margin, setting in fullness. In Rev. 5: 6, St. John speaks of “the Lamb which he sees in the midst of the throne, having “seven eyes which are the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.” The number seven, we know, denotes fullness, perfection, which here signifies intelligence. “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of those whose heart is perfect toward him.” (2 Chron. 16:9.) But the believer has nothing to fear from the keen, penetrating glance of that eye of sevenfold brightness; to him it is soft, tender, and affectionate “as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters.” It is his happy privilege to watch its direction. “I will guide thee with mine eye.” What feature so expressive as the eye! And, oh! what an eye is now before the eye of faith! Tender as the dove’s — bright and lustrous as when bathed in the river: or shining, as with a passing tear of deep compassion. The white part, pure as milk, the eye itself, “fitly set.” Neither too prominent nor too much sunk, but like the precious stone that is perfectly set in the foil of the ring.
“His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers.” Margin, towers of perfume; or, as some render it, “mounds of balsams.” Great sweetness, bloom, beauty, and fragrance, are represented by these comparisons. The face in general may be referred to by this feature. Only think of the difference between the past day of lowly grace with Jesus, and the coming day of wondrous glory. The daughter of Zion, in her blindness, despised and rejected Him because of His lowliness; and in perfect grace He submitted to the will of man, which is enmity against God. “I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair; I hid not my face from shame and spitting.” (Isa. 1:6.) And, again, “They shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.” (Mic. 5:1.) But for all this hatred and cruelty, the daughter of Zion will be heartily sorry then. The veil shall be removed. As it dropped from the face of Moses when he turned round to the tabernacle, so shall it drop from the heart of Israel when they look on Him whom they pierced. And then, in place of their saying of Him, u there is no beauty that we should desire him,” it will be, “He is altogether lovely.” The once marred, insulted, and smitten cheek, is to the heart of the nation as beds of spices — sweet flowers — towers of perfume — mounds of balsams. Oh! what has grace wrought? What the operations of the Spirit? What the triumph of God’s pardoning love? Hasten! O, hasten, the coming — happy — millennial day!
“His lips like lilies, dropping sweet-smelling myrrh.” The comparison may be to the beautiful red lily of the East; but the believer knows the truth of that blessed word, “grace is poured into thy lips,” not dropped scantily, but poured abundantly. The lips of Jesus, and His only, can speak peace to a troubled soul. Until He, and He alone, 13 listened to, true peace is unknown. “The Lord God,” He says by the prophet, “hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word is season to him that is weary.”
“Sweet-smelling myrrh of Jesu’s holy lips.
Diffusing comfort, purity, and peace,
Where’er it penetrates — oh! waft it soon,
God! high and holy! to remotest lands;
Prepare remotest hearts to welcome it!
Yes! Thou hast promised — and what arm of flesh
Shall interpose to hinder or obstruct
What in thine everlasting purposes is sure?”

“His hands are as gold rings, set with the beryl” In general, all the works of His hands may be embraced in this feature. Works of nature, providence, and grace. Their beauty, glory, perfection, and durability, may be represented by the gold, the ring, and the precious stones. “The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure. They stand fast forever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness.” (Psalm 111:7, 8.) But faith can now say of these jeweled hands, in the language of the loved Shalamite, “His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me.” Oh! what an embrace! Happy, thrice happy, they who are thus folded in His everlasting arms! It is everlasting —endless, like the ring itself. “Love never faileth.”
“His belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires” The bowels of His deep and tender compassion may be referred to here. “My heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.” (Psalm 22:14.) The idea of depth may he conveyed by a reference to the bowels. And the color of the sapphire stone being blue, suggests the heavenly character of His tender sympathies. “And there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.” (Exod. 24:10.) Pure as the “bright ivory,” deep as the bowels — high as heaven, is the tenderness, pity, compassion, and love of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ. “If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels of mercies, fulfill ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.” Phil. 2:1, 2.
“His legs are as pillars of marble set in sockets of fine gold:” The walk, in general, is usually represented by this feature. “Show me thy ways, Ο Lord, teach me thy paths........All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth.” (Psalm 25) By the “pillars of marble,” the strength, steadfastness, and continuance of His reign may be set forth; and by the, “sockets of fine gold,” divine righteousness as characterizing the whole of His governmental ways. Divine righteousness — Almighty power — ways of “mercy and truth,” appertain to Zion’s — to earth’s mighty King. “The government shall be upon his shoulders.” “But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, Ο God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” (Heb. 1:8, 9.) “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.” Dan. 2:44.
“His countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars.” The spouse having already portrayed her Beloved from head to foot, she now refers, we doubt not, to His general appearance — to all His glorious features together — His full stature. And His stature “is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars.” This figure, evidently, illustrates His glorious Majesty, as the Messiah. The lofty cedars “on that goodly mountain Lebanon,” are the standing type in scripture of exaltation, glory, and majesty. Resplendent as the “most fine gold” from head to foot — adorned with every grace — fragrant with all sweetness — glorious and majestic like the cedars of Lebanon, is the Person of her well-beloved.
O Majestic King!
Thy front sublime, Thy perfect character
Is as the noble mount of Lebanon.
Clothed in magnificent solemnity;
Thy spouse adores Thy peerless excellence —
Thy towering glories.

“His mouth is most sweet.” The “lips” having been already referred to, something different from words may be indicated by this feature. It seems to refer more especially to the grace of Jesus — to the expressions of His kindness — His communications — His friendships. The spouse has often tasted of His grace, therefore she could say from experience, “His mouth is most sweet.” The grace and kindness with which He meets her, even after failure, is enough to impress her heart forever, with the sweetness of the grace of her Lord. “If so be,” says the apostle, “ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” Some think that the melody of His voice is alluded to. But she goes on to say, “Yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved and this is my friend, Ο daughters of Jerusalem” Language fails her. She is not wearied speaking of Him, but she is unable to say all that He is. Hence, she closes the description with, “He is altogether lovely.” As if she had said, All loveliness dwells in Him— all that is desirable is found in Him— and every unspecified beauty belongs to Him. In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead, and all the graces of manhood. He is lovely in His humiliation — lovely in His exaltation — “yea, he is altogether lovely.”
But, oh I is not the last note of this lovely song, the richest and sweetest of all? “My beloved........my friend.” Some may say, “what a description this is!” But say thou, Ο my soul, what a conclusion this is!
“This is my beloved......my friend.” He — Himself is mine. She is delighted to dwell on His qualities, but more delighted still, to be able to say, “He in whom all these qualities shine so brightly is mine! Therefore all His qualities, too, are mine. But the qualities are in the Person.
Thrones, crowns, scepters, kingdoms, glories, blessedness, are His, and the believer’s, in Him; but after all, these are not Himself. What would all these things avail without the Person of the Beloved? To the renewed affections, blessed as they are — a mockery. Like the heart of the fair bride that has been made desolate — that has been wrecked on the very threshold of her new home, through the affections of the one she counted on going out after another. True, the well-furnished house remains, but alas, it is evident, that his heart — all she cared for, is elsewhere. She sees it; and all is turned into the gall and wormwood of bitterest disappointment. The shadow of a dark cloud spreads over the whole scene. Everything now bears the reflection of her own misery. Her happiness is gone. Yes, my soul, this is no uncommon thing with the loves of earth. Many a warm and confiding heart has thus been crushed and broken through the heartlessness of the one she trusted. But not so - never so, the loves of heaven. Blessed are all they that put their trust in Jesus. It is heaven on earth to know Him — to know His love — His unchanging love. His love is not in word only, but in deed and in truth. Not in a formal heartless vow, but in the eternal covenant of His grace, and sealed with His own most precious blood.
Chap. 6. “Whither is thy beloved gone, Ο thou fairest among women? Whither is thy beloved turned aside t that we may seek him with thee.” Most blessed and varied are the results which flow from the soul’s entire occupation with Christ. To lose sight of self, and have Him for our one object, is immediate — certain blessing. When Christians slip into a low, dull state of soul, what will most speedily and effectually bring them out of it? Becoming filled and occupied with Christ for themselves, and speaking of Him to others. The experience of the spouse is a beautiful illustration of this truth. Her failure, doubtless, was thinking and caring about herself. Self-occupation — self-indulgence. “I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them? “But when challenged by the daughters of Jerusalem, as to the superiority of her Beloved over others, she is led to think and speak of Him only; and as she proceeds, her own soul, in the first place, is fully and happily restored. She is thus raised to a measure of communion, which she had never before reached; and she so dwells on the matchless excellencies of her Lord, that the inquiring daughters are attracted by the glories of His Person, and desire to see Him, and know Him.
But there is another fruit, my soul, of the Bride’s testimony to Christ, which I would not have thee to pass over unnoticed. The daughters of Jerusalem, observe, very naturally conclude, that it must have been the Bridegroom that left His Bride; not, of course, the Bride that had left her Bridegroom. Hearing her speak of Him in such glowing terms, they could not for a moment imagine that she could ever wander from Him. One so loved — so admired — so good — so appreciated, of course, her eye could never cease to gaze on Him - her heart could never cease to delight in Him, and she could never, never, grow weary of Him. Hence they inquire, “Whither is thy beloved gone:—whither is thy beloved turned aside? that we may seek him with thee.” What a sharp, cutting reproof, though indirect! And how keenly her now sensitive heart must have felt it. But in extolling her Lord, she condemned herself. So it is, and so it must always be. When the soul is out of communion, everything seems to knock unkindly against it, and condemn its ways. But when restored, all these things serve to deepen our humility, and elevate the tone of our communion. The heart that has just been overflowing with the praises of her Beloved, is now rejoicing in Him. Her eye rests on Him. She knows where He is and what He is doing. Happy moment! All is light and joy. Now she can tell her companions where He is to be found.
“My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.” What a lovely scene this is to the eye of Shelomith, compared with chap. 5:7. “The watchmen that went about the city found me, they smote me, they wounded me: the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me.” Such is the difference between walking in fellowship with Jesus, and wandering in the world. Now, she is in the rural scenes with her Beloved, entering into the counsels of His heart, and the works of His hands. This verse presents a scene of happy communion. The Lord is finding delight in His people; He is in His garden gathering lilies. “As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.” She enters into His thoughts about His people generally, and about herself especially. This is communion, blessed, solid communion. Her eye is single, and the light of heaven fills her soul. Now she exclaims, “I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine; he feedeth among the lilies.” This is a high note, but easily taken by faith. It is the key note of a soul that has lost sight of self. “I am my beloved’s.” It is the very opposite of a soul being occupied with itself. It is true heart-occupation with Christ. It is entering into His thoughts, His love, His grace, His delights; in place of being filled and occupied with its own thoughts, its own feelings, its own faith, or its own services. The eye, the heart, the thoughts, the lips, all are full of Christ and occupied with Him. “I am my beloved’s.” In chap. 2:18, she says, “My beloved ii mine and I am his.” There, it is the joy of possessing Christ; He is mine. Here, it is the deeper joy of belonging to Christ; I am His. Both are blessed, but the latter marks divine progress.
We can understand a newly awakened soul being full of anxieties about itself, in many ways; and, when it first receives the truth, exclaiming, do believe in Jesus now — I am sure I believe in Him — I know I believe in Him — I know He died for me on the cross — He shed His blood to wash my sins away, and now I can trust in Him!” Having watched the deep struggles of a newly quickened soul emerging from the darkness of nature, and hearing the shout of victory, as the dark clouds were rolled back, “Jesus is mine!” we have been thankful and joyful beyond measure. It is all we could expect at the time, and we were satisfied.
But, by and by, when the soul has calmed and settled down after the throes of the new birth, we look for it rising in the intelligence of truth from its own concerns to the source of its blessing. Where has this new life come from? it may well inquire. Whence its source? Why all this grace and goodness to me a sinner? Who has planted the pulse of eternal life in my once-dead soul? Learning, by degrees, that eternal life and every blessing are but the fruits of God’s love in Christ to me a sinner; I am sweetly drawn to Him in the confidence of love — of His perfect love to me when in my sins. All fear departs; for fear hath torment. “God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” “Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live.” (John 5:25,) Thus the soul is brought into the closest connection with the Son of the living God, in heaven; and finding that all the springs of its blessing are there, it rises to Him, like water to its level! “I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine,” becomes the true expression of its admiring faith.
Meditations on Song of Solomon
“Thou art beautiful, Ο my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners” What a greeting this is! Consider it well, Ο my soul. Wouldst thou know the heart of Jesus? Wouldst thou know His patient love — His unwearied kindness — His inexhaustible goodness? Meditate on this scene. Tarry here a little.
It may be interesting to ascertain the meaning of the reference to Tirzah, Jerusalem, and an army with banners displayed. But, oh! suffer not for a moment any of these things to divert thy thoughts from the Person of the Lord Jesus. True, I admit, these comparisons may be the immediate expression of His love. Then, if so, let them be to thee as streams by which thou mayest surely reach the fountain; but tarry not too long by the stream, the spring is better. The happy effect of the true ministry of the word is to bring the soul into direct contact with the Person of Christ. The aim of the enemy, and the effect of false teaching, is to bring in something between the soul and Christ. Tirzah is no more, Jerusalem is trodden down and Judah’s banner has long been furled; but the heart that found relief in the use of these significant emblems is unchangeably the same. Seek, above all things in the universe, to know the heart of Jesus. “This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” (John 17:3.) To know God’s love in Christ to me a sinner is the best thing I can ever know, for then I know the source - the native fountain of every blessing. How often may Christ Himself be missed, even when the soul is delighting in truth. Watch thou, my soul, and pray unceasingly against this.
Now look once more at this unexampled greeting, “Thou art beautiful, Ο my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible (or dazzling) as an army with banners.” These words, mark, are the first He addresses to His Bride after her sad failure. His lips are opened to the restored backslider by, “Thou art beautiful, Ο my love.” This is Jesus Himself! Who can speak of His love! Art thou at home, my soul, in this atmosphere? Art thou not riveted to the spot and lost in admiring wonder? Gaze, Ο gaze, on the Person who thus speaks, and see before His delighted heart a wanderer returned. Let nothing distract thy meditations — seek to profit by it, especially by understanding better the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
It may be helpful to connect with the present scene His last words to her when they last parted. “Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled; for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night.” Nothing could be more tender or affectionate than this touching appeal, yet it was then all but entirely unheeded by her. Consequently, she fell for a time sadly away. But now we find her fully and happily restored to her Lord. She has perfect confidence in His love. “I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine,” is the joyous expression of her soul. But will He say nothing to her for having wandered and behaved foolishly? Will He not be at least distant in His manner at first, that she may be ashamed before Him? Certainly not, seeing she has truly repented of what she has done. The Lord not only forgives but forgets all past offenses when we are penitent. He meets every penitent soul with the fullest expression of His grace. The moment the soul is before Him in its true place, He is unreserved, and throws open the rich treasury of His love. Witness, for example, the Syrophenician woman. (Matt, 15.) No sooner had she taken the Gentile’s place than the full blessing of His heart flows out to her. He even commends her faith in the strongest terms. “Ο woman, great is thy faith; be it unto thee even as thou wilt.” He keeps nothing back. She is blessed even to her heart’s content. Witness also the poor fallen one at His feet in the house of Simon, and the prodigal in the arms of the Father.
Such is grace — the grace of God in Christ to sinners. The first thing, observe, that the Bridegroom mentions to His Bride, is her faultless beauty in His sight. “Thou art beautiful, Ο my love.” Not one word of complaint falls from His lips. He makes no allusion to where she had been, or to what she had done. His love is perfect, and His grace is like the indulgence of His love. He will be gracious according to the love of His own heart. He says she is beautiful as “Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem.” Tirzah signifies pleasantness. It was the royal residence of the kings of Israel before Samaria was built, as Jerusalem was of the kings of Judah. Jerusalem, we know, is famous in Scripture for its many glories. It is spoken of as “Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, the city of the great king. God is known in her palaces as a refuge.” Tirzah was the capital of the revolted tribes. But the two kingdoms, Israel and Judah, shall be united under one Head in the coming day of glory, to be separated no more forever. What we have here presented in allegory, is taught in plainest terms in the prophets. “ Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land. And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all; and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all.” Eze. 37:21, 22.
When the twelve tribes are restored and Messiah their king, the glory of the nation shall then be great. “One king shall be king το them all.” Then it will be “terrible as an army with banners.” This figure conveys the idea, not of that which is awful, but of that which is dazzling, brilliant, glorious — like the imposing effect of an army with banners displayed. The king acknowledges that the effect of the glory of His beloved people thus united in one, overwhelms Him. “Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me.” This is wonderful who can understand it? To understand it in measure we must know Jesus Himself. No heart enters into the blessing and joy of others like His. It relieves His heart to bless the needy. We find Him traveling far in the days of His flesh to meet and bless a fallen daughter of Samaria, or a poor Gentile from the coasts of Tire and Sidon. It is His joy, and the joy of all heaven, when even one sinner repents and turns to His fullness. But, oh! what will be His joy, when the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem turn to Him with mourning and with weeping — when the long-lost tribes shall appear on the scene, and own Him as their true Messiah — when every eye of every tribe shall be fixed on Him — when every heart shall overflow with His praise — and when, from Jerusalem as a center, blessing shall flow forth to all nations of the earth.
Then the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah, will be the material of Israel’s morning song, and the expression of their weeping joy. “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we, like sheep, have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him. the iniquity of us all.” Their beloved Jerusalem shall then become the Jerusalem of God’s counsels, and not of man’s pride and oppression. Surrounded with mountains, encompassed with walls, bulwarks, and towers, it will be the glory of all lands. “The name of the city from that day shall be Jehovah-Shammah — “The Lord is there.” (Ezek. 48:35; Psalm 48.) The Messiah will then have things all His own way. Satan shall then be shut up in the bottomless pit, the curse removed from the earth, the power of evil put down, and the true Solomon shall reign as King over all. The effect, all over the realm of nature, of the absence of Satan, and the presence of Christ, in power and great glory, is inconceivable.
“Ο what a bright and blessed world
This groaning earth of ours shall be,
When from its throne the tempter hurled,
Shall leave it all, Ο Lord, to thee.

But brighter far that world above,
Where we, as we are known shall know;
And in the sweet embrace of love,
Reign o’er this ransomed earth below.”

“Thy hair is as a flock of goats that appear from Mount Gilead. Thy teeth are as a flock of sheep which go up from the washing, whereof every one heareth twins, and there is not one barren among them. As a piece of a pomegranate are thy temples within thy locks” These same expressions occur in chapter 4, and yet, we know, the Holy Spirit uses no vain repetitions. Then why is this? Since they were used by the Bridegroom in addressing His Bride, in the fourth chapter, she has wandered and returned. By repeating to her what He before said, He assures her heart that her beauty in His sight is unimpaired. Although He says nothing about her having been away from Him, these expressions of His unchanged admiration of her, will now take a deeper hold on her heart than before. Their value is increased sevenfold on account of the circumstances in which they are again repeated. The Holy Ghost can use the same expressions, when it is for the glory of Christ and the blessing of our souls. In the present instance, no words could have re-assured her heart like these.
“There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number.” This verse, we doubt not, refers to a millennial scene. It follows the union of the two nations. The cities of Judah and the nations of the earth fill up the scene of glory. Jerusalem has the first place. This truth, so manifest all through Scripture, is most fully expressed, and in the most touching manner, in the next verse.
“My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her.” What a place she has in His heart! She is pre-eminent in His sight. None can be compared with her. There are many others, but His affection can see none but herself. “My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother.” In former scenes He speaks of her qualities, and describes her personal beauty; but now, He speaks of herself, and what she is to Him. “The choice one of her that bare her.” The nation is here viewed in a maternal character, and the tribe of Judah in a bridal. Such, Ο my soul, is the Bridegroom-love of Jesus! Thus will it be with the godly remnant of Judah in the latter day — thus it is now, even now, with us in spirit. Drink, Ο drink deeply, of the Bridegroom—love of thy Lord. The fountain is deep, it is inexhaustible, it is free, it is open to faith until the nuptial day.
The time was when the daughter of Zion, in the pride and naughtiness of her heart, refused His love. Still, it remained the same, hut then, it was shown in the tears which He shed over her blindness. Being left by Him, she fell a prey to her cruel enemies, who sorely persecuted her. Still, His eye of love followed her in all her wanderings. Nothing could change His heart. In due time He visited her in her low estate. He found her in the condition of a poor, outcast, sun burnt slave — a keeper of the vineyards of others. His heart was kindled towards her. In His love and pity He felt as if she had “received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” And now, “her warfare is accomplished, her iniquity is pardoned,” and she is comforted in her gracious and forgiving Lord. But His love rests not, blessed truth, until He has accomplished all the desires of His heart towards her. And now, mark, my soul, what is she? Where is she? the fair and beautiful spouse of the true King Solomon — the partner of His royal throne in Zion. And not only, observe once more, is she the object of the King’s supreme delight, but she is the object of universal admiration. “The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her.” “And the daughter of Tire (type of the Gentiles) shall be there with a gift; even the rich among the people shall entreat thy favor.” (Psalm 45) She reflects the glory and beauty of the King, and all nations admire His comeliness in her. “ And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty; for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I put upon thee, saith the Lord God.” Eze. 16:14.
“Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners!” This verse appears to be the language of the Bride’s admirers, and comes in like a chorus to the song. All are vocal in her praise. The dreary night is past; the morning breaks. “Who is she that looketh forth as the morning?” She is just, as it were, emerging from the darkness of the long, long night, through which she has passed. But now she leaves it all behind, and comes forth in the freshness, beauty, and hope of the morning. She will soon appear in noonday splendor, clothed in the beams of “the Sun of righteousness.”
Hast thou observed, my soul, in thy meditations, that the future light, glory, and dignity of Israel, are frequently represented by the heavenly bodies — the sun, moon, and stars? We see this shadowed forth in Joseph’s dreams. In the family of Jacob the whole nation is represented, and is prefigured by the sun, moon, and stars. (Gen. 37) In Rev. 12, the tribe of Judah, from which our Lord sprang, is seen invested with the same light and glory. The simile is “a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.” The glory of the twelve seems concentrated in, and represented by, the royal tribe. There is also the idea of stability conveyed by these heavenly luminaries. “Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. His seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before me. It shall be established forever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven.” Psalm 89:35-37.
Here, pause, for a moment, Ο my soul, and meditate on the sure word of prophecy, as to Israel’s future glory. Ο what a change for the long-despised, down-trodden Jew! The admiring daughters, queens, and concubines behold the royal tribe—Bridal Judah, “looking forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners.” Invested with light, glory, and dignity, as the fair spouse of David’s royal Son, she becomes the great attraction of earth, and the object of universal admiration. Hail, happy morn! the darkness is past, “the Sun of righteousness arises with healing in his wings.” Already His beams gild the dark mountains of the holy land, and cheer its valleys. All hearts rejoice. Hosanna to the Son of David! the promise is fulfilled. “Arise, shine: for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.......And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.” Isa. 60:1, 3.
“Take boughs of goodly trees, the joyous palm,
The willows of the brook, and keep the feast;
The mourners wounds are healed with oil and balm,
The captive’s tears are dried, her sorrows cease;
Rejoice with praise; let harp and cymbal tell
‘How goodly are thy tents, Ο Israel.’

As willows spring beside the winding stream,
So shall thy children’s offspring flourish now;
Thy long captivity becomes a dream—
A sweet memorial is that willow bough
Of all thy sorrows, of that tear-steeped bread,
On which, by Chebar’s stream, thy soul was fed.

Planted in Canaan’s fruitful ground,
Her streams shall nourish thy wide-spreading root;
On thee no yellow leaf shall e’er be found,
For Hermon’s dew shall feed each verdant shoot.
‘What hath Jehovah wrought?’ the nations cry;
‘Great things for us!’ the ransomed tribes reply.”

Meditations on Song of Solomon
“I went down into the garden of nuts, to see the fruits of the valley, and to see whether the vine flourished, and the pomegranates budded. Or ever I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of Amminadib.” How seldom it happens, that the husbandman is taken by surprise with the abundance and ripeness of the fruits of his vineyard. How often, alas, it is the other way. Disappointment, not satisfaction, he is often compelled to reap as the fruit of his labor. It had been always so with Israel, we may say, as the Lord’s vineyard, until now. But, happily, all is changed! Grace shines — faith triumphs — the Lord prevails — the people are looking to Him, and counting on Him alone. Everything is ripe in Judah for glory and victory.
Blessed day! the Lord now sees in His people the ripened fruits of His grace. His heart rejoices — it is overpowered with the sight. It is no longer a scene in the wilderness, and His association with them there, but the fruitful garden, with its budding pomegranates, flourishing vines, and fruits of the valley. These fruits of His rich, patient grace, deeply affect Him. His love carries Him towards His now changed and willing people, swift as the chariots of Amminadib. “Or ever I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of Amminadib;” or, set me on the chariots of my willing people. Margin, (Psalm 110:3.) Wondrous, blessed scene, that the heart of the Lord should be so moved — so impelled by the readiness of His people to receive Him! Is there not something, Ο my soul, in this aspect of the Lord’s love, which calls for deep, special meditation? Surely there is. How wonderful, indeed, but how blessed, that He, who is Lord of all, should be so transported with delight, by hearts looking and longing for Himself! Oh! that every anxious, weeping, penitent believed this precious truth! When the daughter of Zion bathes His feet with her tears He will turn away from everything else, and hasten to comfort her. Her tears will be His swift chariot. The fullness of His heart will flow forth to her, and a plenary pardon, salvation, and peace, He will pour into her opened ear.
On many a page of the New Testament this sight may be seen. It has always been God’s way with the penitent soul; but in the New Testament we have many scenes portrayed of the Lord’s personal love and grace. And in what scene do we not find Him more delighted than the saved sinner? Did He not turn round in the press and look for the one that had touched the hem of His garment? She might have slipped away, as quietly as she came, but His love must have the entire scene brought into view, and recorded in the book of everlasting remembrance. None were interested in what had taken place as Himself. She had touched by faith the innermost spring of His heart, and the virtue that was there flowed out to her. But the Lord wants to see herself, and hear from her own lips, the experience of her soul. This done, He cannot let her go until He has acknowledged their kindred relationship, and the blessings which flow there from. “Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.” Mark 5.
And is He less delighted, or less overcome, by the cry for mercy of the poor blind beggar? (Luke 18) By no means, He is on an important journey; must the whole procession stand still for the cry of a poor beggar from the very outer circle of the crowd? The moment the cry for mercy falls on the car of the Son of David, He is arrested. He moves not another step. “And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him, saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? “What a sight! O, look again A poor blind beggar in the dust, and Jesus waiting on him. “What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? “He seeks not to hurry through His work of mercy; He lingers over the hallowed scene. It fills and moves His soul. He only knows its wondrous bearings. But what a position for a destitute soul to be in? What wouldst thou have asked, my soul, had it been thee?” It is as if the Lord had said, “Ask what thou wilt, I am waiting to serve thee —waiting to grant thy request.” What will he ask, poor soul? Only what he feels the need of—his natural sight. “And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight.” But the good Lord added to his request a thousand-fold. “And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee.” The issues of this scene are glorious! He follows Jesus — glorifies God — and all the people give praise unto Him. The whole scene is like a foreshadowing of millennial times.
But of all the scenes in the New Testament, the parable of the prodigal son, we believe, most fully resembles the scene before us in the Song of Songs. The repentance of the prodigal carries the Father towards him, as on a swift chariot. He runs to meet His son. “But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck and kissed him.” The love of the Father’s heart, and the desire of the son to return to Him, form, as it were, a swift chariot of love. But the Father taking the direction of its course, they rapidly reach their one, eternal, happy home.
Thus will it be with the Beloved in the Song. The deep and godly sorrow of His people in the latter day, and especially those of His own tribe, and their earnest desire for the Messiah to come, act upon His love, and carry Him swiftly to the scene, “Or ever I was aware, my soul set me on the chariots of my willing people.” And, now, taking the direction of His people, as the charioteer in the chariot, He accomplishes their full deliverance, and speedily conducts them to glory and triumph.
“How does the sudden earnestness of prayer
From much loved Zion, on My spirit press,
And My heart speed Me forward to their aid,
Borne on the chariots of their strong desire,
As in the heavens riding for their help,
And in Mine excellency in the sky,
To thrust away encroaching enemies,
To place my dove in safety on My breast!”

“Return, return, Ο Shulamite; return, return, that we may look upon thee. What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it were the company of two armies” The admiring virgins again join in the chorus. They express their desire to see more of the beauty, perfection, and glory of the Bride. She is walking in the garden of nuts with the King. Precious privilege! They call to her by a new name. “Return, return, Ο Shulamite;” which is the feminine form of Solomon. This is significant. Union is accomplished. The long-broken relationships are reestablished. Grace has wrought a perfect work in her. Blessed be the name of the Lord! He can now make Himself fully known to her; and she truly reflects the beams of His glory, “she is fair as the moon, and clear as the sun.” She is established in the favor of the King, and in the possession and enjoyment of His affections. This is rest for the heart — perfect — blessed rest. Nothing can rise above it, or go beyond it. Say, my soul, is this thy resting place? The manifested — the enjoyed affections of thy Well-beloved. He has revealed Himself — given Himself; what more can He do? We can have no such expression of His love in heaven, as we have on earth — as was manifested on the cross. The blood that was shed there is the perfect rest of the conscience — the love that was revealed there, is the perfect rest of the heart; thou hast all now. “Only believe.” “We which have believed do enter into rest.” Heb. 4.
Other virgins now join in the chorus, and inquire, “What will ye see in the Shulamite?” The answer is ready, “As it were the company of two armies.” The beautiful Tirzah, and the comely Jerusalem, are seen united in her. Some have thought, that the company of two armies as seen in the spouse, represent the old life and the new, at constant war with each other, in the Christian. We think this a mistake. Here, it does not appear to refer to conflict at all! but, rather, to peace, unity, and glory. Does it not express the reunion of the long-divided house of Jacob, under the Prince of Peace? Judah and Israel are no longer two nations warring with each other, but are joined in one, and here represented by the loving, peaceful spouse of the true Solomon. This union is introductory to the millennium — the reign of peace. “The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.” (Isa. 11:13.) The King of Salem reigns; the twelve tribes are restored; the nations are subdued under them; all is peace. The war trumpet hangs in the hall, swords are beaten into plowshares, spears into pruning hooks, and the nations do not even learn the art of war any more. Isa. 2:3.
But apart from the allegory before us, do the scriptures countenance the idea, that Christian conflict is between the old life and the new? Certainly not! The conflict is between the flesh and the Spirit. “The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh.” It is not,” The old life against the new, and the new against the old.” There must be a serious shortcoming in the knowledge of the cross, where this thought has a place. The apostle states, in plainest terms, “That our old man is crucified with Christ, that the body of sin might be destroyed.” (Rom. 6:1-11.) It is perfectly plain, then, that in God’s sight, and now to faith, our old nature came to its end on the cross. What a comfort for our hearts! We know, of course, as a matter of painful experience, that the old nature we have, still exists, and is no feeble thing. And, further, if it be not constantly watched and judged, it will prove a source of ceaseless trouble, both to ourselves and others. Practical Christianity may be said to consist of two things. 1. In nourishing the new life through occupation with Christ. 2. In judging the old, on which God has put the sentence of death, in the most awfully-solemn manner, in the cross. But some may ask, “How are we to watch against its risings and judge it?” The apostle answers, “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” We have no power against nature but in the Holy Spirit, and in the assurance, by faith, that the flesh is a crucified thing in God’s mind, and done with forever, blessed be the name of Him who bore the cross for us. It was in His cross that our old man was crucified; there it was really, fully, and finally nailed to the tree, and made a full end of; we have to believe this, and walk in the power and liberty which faith gives.
Hast thou entered, my soul, into the right understanding of this foundation-truth —this peace-giving truth to the troubled soul? Know, then, for thy perfect rest and comfort, that from the moment we have life, through faith in Christ, the whole of our corrupt nature is spoken of, and treated in scripture, as a dead thing. “Ye are dead,” is the emphatic word of scripture, but that is not all, thank God, “and your life is hid with Christ in God.” (Col. 3:3.) How safe! how secure! “with Christ, in God.” Could our old nature, or anything that belongs to it, be hidden there? Ah, no! all that was thine is gone—gone forever; all that is Christ’s remains —remains in all its changeless perfection in the best place in all heaven. By the cross we get rid of that which is ours— in resurrection we are put in possession of that which is Christ’s.
Not a particle of the old creation shall ever be found in the new.
The apostle gives us a full statement of this blessed truth, as in his own case. “I am crucified with Christ,” he says, “nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” Here, he speaks of himself, in one point of view, as dead; and in another, as alive. How can this be understood? By faith only. He speaks of two “I’s;” the old “I,” or self, as slain —or crucified. The new “I,” as his new life —Christ in him. The first, he treats as dead, and forever done with; the second, as his only life now. “Christ liveth in me.” The practical effect of this truth, when believed, is immense. Self, wretched self, which is the end and object of the natural man, in all he does, is gone — gone, I mean, to faith. Christ enters and takes the place of self. “For me to live is Christ” — is to have Christ, not self, for my end and object. Christ, not self, is the spring now. We know, of course, that Paul had his natural life here below — the life he ever had as a man, but the life in which he lived, was a wholly new one —Christ in him. “The life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
All this is as true now, in principle, of every Christian, as it was of the apostle, though it may not be so brightly manifested. There must first be faith in the truth, then a life answering to the strength which that faith gives. However, it is plainly written, “They that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” Not, observe, are crucifying it, but have crucified it. But of whom is this great truth stated? Of highly advanced Christians? No, simply of “they that are Christ’s.” It is as true of the babe, as the young man, or father in Christ. What was it that needed crucifying on the cross? Something that belonged to Christ, or to me? It was the old and great “I,” that needed to be slain — nailed to the tree, and that was done in Christ, forever blessed be His name. Oh! to believe it —to keep self where the cross has put it — to walk in the liberty and power of the Holy Spirit, and be only, and always occupied, with the risen and glorified Christ.
His be “the Victor’s name,”
Who fought the fight alone;
Triumphant saints no honor claim,
His conquest was their own.

By weakness and defeat,
He won the meed and crown;
Trod all our foes beneath His feet,
By being trodden down.

He, hell, in hell, laid low;
Made sin, He sin o’erthrew;
Bowed to the grave, destroyed it so,
And death, by dying slew.

Bless, bless, the Conqueror slain,
Slain in His victory;
Who lived, who died, who lives again—
For thee, His church, for thee!