The living Vine,Christchose it for Himself:—Godgave to man for use and sustenanceCorn, wine, and oil, and each of these is good:AndChristis Bread of life and Light of life.But yet, He did not choose the summer corn,That shoots up straight and free in one quick growth.And has its day, is done, and springs no more;Nor yet the olive, all whose boughs are spreadIn the soft air, and never lose a leaf,Flowering and fruitful in perpetual peace;But only this, for Him and His is one,—That everlasting, ever-quickening Vine,That gives the heat and passion of the world,Through its own life-blood, still renewed and shed.* * * * * *The Vine from every living limb bleeds wine;Is it the poorer for that spirit shed?The drunkard and the wanton drink thereof;Are they the richer for that gift's excess?Measure thy life by loss instead of gain;Not by the wine drunk, but the wine poured forth;For love's strength standeth in love's sacrifice;And whoso suffers most, hath most to give.
Yet one figure more is used by the Bridegroom: "The smell of thy breath [is] like apples," or rather citrons. In the first section the bride exclaims:—
As the citron-tree among the trees of the wood,So is my Beloved among the sons.I delighted and sat down under His shadow,And His fruit was sweet to my taste.
Here we find the outcome of that communion. The citrons on which she had fed perfumed her breath, and imparted to her their delicious odour. The Bridegroom concludes his description:—
Thy mouth [is] like the best wine,That goeth down smoothly—For my Beloved—
interjects the bride,
Causing the lips of those that are asleep to move.
How wondrous the grace that has made the bride ofChristto be all this to her Beloved! Upright as the palm, victorious, and evermore fruitful as she grows heavenward; gentle and tender as the Vine, self-forgetful and self-sacrificing, not merely bearing fruit in spite of adversity, but bearing her richest fruits through it;—feasting on her Beloved, as she rests beneath His shade, and thereby partaking of His fragrance;—what has grace not done for her! And what must be her joy in finding, ever more fully, the satisfaction of the glorious Bridegroom in the lowly wild flower He has made His bride, and beautified with His own graces and virtues!
I am my Beloved's,And His desire is toward me,
she gladly exclaims. Now it is none of self or for self, but all of Thee and for Thee. And if such be the sweet fruits of going down to the garden of nuts, and caring for His garden with Him, she will need no constraining to continue in this blessed service.
Come, my Beloved, let us go forth into the field;Let us lodge in the villages.
She is not ashamed of her lowly origin, for she fears no shame: perfect love has cast out fear. The royal state of the King, with its pomp and grandeur, may be enjoyed by-and-by: now, more sweet with Him at her side to make the garden fruitful; to give to Him all manner of precious fruits, new and old, which she has laid up in store for Him; and best of all to satisfy Him with her own love. Not only is she contented with this fellowship of service, but she could fain wish that there were no honours and duties to claim His attention, and for the moment to lessen the joy of His presence.
Oh that Thou wert as my brother,That sucked the breasts of my mother!WhenI should find Thee without, I would kiss Thee;Yea, and none would despise me.
Would that she could care for Him, and claim His whole attention, as a sister might care for a brother. She is deeply conscious that He has richly endowed her, and that she is as nothing compared with Him; but instead of proudly dwelling upon what she has done through Him, she would fain that it were possible for her to be the giver and Him the receiver. Far removed is this from the grudging thought, that must so grate upon the heart of ourLord, "I do not think thatGodrequires this of me"; or, "Must I give up that, if I am to be a Christian?" True devotion will rather ask to be allowed to give, and will count as loss all which may not be given up for theLord'ssake—"I count all things but loss, for the excellency of the knowledge ofChrist JesusmyLord."
This longing desire to be more to Him does not, however, blind her to the consciousness that she needs His guidance, and that He is her true, her only Instructor.
I would lead Thee,andbring Thee into my mother's house,That Thou mightest instruct me;I would cause Thee to drink of spiced wine,Of the juice of my pomegranate.
I would give Thee my best, and yet wouldmyself seek all my rest and satisfaction in Thee.
His left handshouldbe under my head,And His right hand should embrace me.
And thus the section closes. There is nothing sweeter to the Bridegroom or to the bride than this hallowed and unhindered communion; and again He adjures the daughters of Jerusalem, in slightly different form:—
Why should ye stir up, or why awake My love,Until she[5]please?
Hallowed communion indeed! May we ever enjoy it; and abiding inChrist, we shall sing, in the familiar words of the well-known hymn—
Both Thine arms are clasped around me,And my head is on Thy breast;And my weary soul hath found TheeSuch a perfect, perfect rest!BlessedJesus,Now I know that I am blest.
Cant. viii. 5-14
Wehave now reached the closing section of this book, which, as we have seen, is a poem describing the life of a believer on earth. Beginning in Section I. (Cant. i. 2-ii. 7) with the unsatisfied longings of an espoused one—longings which could only be met by her unreserved surrender to the Bridegroom of her soul—we find that when the surrender was made, instead of the cross she had so much feared she found a King, theKingofLove, who both satisfied her deepest longings, and found His own satisfaction in her.
The second section (Cant. ii. 8-iii. 5) showed failure on her part; she was lured back again into the world, and soon found that her Beloved could not follow her there; then with full purpose of heart going forth to seek Him, and confessing His name, her search was successful, and her communion was restored.
The third section (Cant. iii. 6-v. 1.) told ofunbroken communion. Abiding in Christ, she was the sharer of His security and His glory. She draws the attention, however, of the daughters of Jerusalem from these outward things to herKingHimself. And, while she is thus occupied with Him, and would have others so occupied, she finds that her royal Bridegroom is delighting in her, and inviting her to fellowship of service, fearless of dens of lions and mountains of leopards.
The fourth section (Cant. v. 2-vi. 10), however, shows again failure; not as before through worldliness, but rather through spiritual pride and sloth. Restoration now was much more difficult; but again when she went forth diligently to seek herLord, and so confessed Him as to lead others to long to find Him with her, He revealed Himself and the communion was restored, to be interrupted no more.
The fifth section (Cant. vi. 11-viii. 4), as we have seen, describes not only the mutual satisfaction and delight of the bride and Bridegroom in each other, but the recognition of her position and her beauty by the daughters of Jerusalem.
And now in the sixth section (Cant. viii. 5-14) we come to the closing scene of thebook. In it the bride is seen leaning upon her Beloved, asking Him to bind her yet more firmly to Himself, and occupying herself in His vineyard, until He calls her away from earthly service. To this last section we shall now give our attention more particularly.
It opens, as did the third, by an inquiry or exclamation of the daughters of Jerusalem. There they asked, "Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, etc.?" but then their attention was claimed by the pomp and state of theKing, not by His person, nor by that of His bride. Here they are attracted by the happy position of the bride in relation to her Beloved, and not by their surroundings.
Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness,Leaning upon her Beloved?
It is through the bride that attention is drawn to the Bridegroom; their union and communion are now open and manifest. For the last time the wilderness is mentioned; but sweetly solaced by the presence of the Bridegroom, it isno wilderness to the bride. In all the trustfulness of confiding love she is seen leaning upon her Beloved. He is her strength, her joy, her pride, andher prize; while she is His peculiar treasure, the object of His tenderest care. All His resources of wisdom and might are hers; though journeying she is at rest, though in the wilderness she is satisfied, while leaning upon her Beloved.
Wonderful, however, as are the revelations of grace and love to the heart taught by theHoly Spiritthrough the relationship of bride and Bridegroom, theChristofGodis more than Bridegroom to His people. He who when on earth was able to say, "Before Abraham was, I am," here claims His bride from her very birth, and not alone from her espousals. Before she knew Him, He knew her; and of this He reminds her in the words:—
I raised thee up under the citron-tree;There thy mother brought thee forth.
He takes delight in her beauty, but that is not so much the cause as the effect of His love; for He took her up when she had no comeliness. The love that has made her what she is, and now takes delight in her, is not a fickle love, nor need she fear its change.
Gladly does the bride recognize this truth, that she is indeed His own, and she exclaims:
Set me as a seal upon Thine heart, as a seal upon Thine arm;For love is strong as death;Jealousy (ardent love) is cruel (retentive) as the grave;The flashes thereof are flashes of fire,A very flame of theLord.
The High Priest bore the names of the twelve tribes upon his heart, each name being engraved as a seal in the costly and imperishable stone chosen byGod, each seal or stone being set in the purest gold; he likewise bore the same names upon his shoulders, indicating that both the love and the strength of the High Priest were pledged on behalf of the tribes of Israel. The bride would be thus upborne by Him who is alike her Prophet, Priest, and King, for love is strong as death; and jealousy, or ardent love, retentive as the grave. Not that she doubts the constancy of her Beloved, but that she has learned, alas! the inconstancy of her own heart; and she would be bound to the heart and arm of her Beloved as with chains and settings of gold, ever the emblem of divinity. Thus the Psalmist prayed, "Bind the sacrifice with cords,evenunto the horns of the altar."
It is comparatively easy to lay the sacrifice on the altar that sanctifies the gift, but itrequires divine compulsion—the cords of love—to retain it there. So here the bride would be set and fixed on the heart and on the arm of Him who is henceforth to be her all in all, that she may evermore trust only in that love, be sustained only by that power.
Do we not all need to learn a lesson from this? and to pray to be kept from turning to Egypt for help, from trusting in horses and chariots, from putting confidence in princes, or in the son of man, rather than in the livingGod? How the Kings of Israel, who had won great triumphs by faith, sometimes turned aside to heathen nations in their later years! TheLordkeep His people from this snare.
The bride continues: "The flashes of love are flashes of fire, a very flame of theLord." It is worthy of note that this is the only occurrence of this word "Lord" in this book. But how could it be omitted here? For love is ofGod, andGodis love.
To her request the Bridegroom replies with reassuring words:—
Many waters cannot quench love,Neither can the floods drown it:If a man would give all the substance of his house for love,It would utterly be contemned.
The love which grace has begotten in the heart of the bride is itself divine and persistent; many waters cannot quench it, nor the floods drown it. Suffering and pain, bereavement and loss may test its constancy, but they will not quench it. Its source is not human or natural; like the life, it is hidden withChristinGod. What "shall separate us from the love ofChrist? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?... Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors, through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creation [R.V. margin], shall be able to separate us from the love ofGod, which is inChrist JesusourLord." Our love toGodis secured byGod'slove to us. To the soul really rescued by grace, no bribe to forsakeGod'slove will be finally successful. "If a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned."
Freed from anxiety on her own account, the happy bride next asks guidance, and fellowship in service with herLord, on behalfof those who have not yet reached her favoured position.
We have a little sister,And she hath no breasts:What shall we do for our sisterIn the day when she shall be spoken for?
How beautifully her conscious union with the Bridegroom appears in her expressions. "Wehave a little sister," notIhave, etc.; "what shallwedo for our sister," etc.? She has now no private relationships nor interests; in all things she is one with Him. And we see a further development of grace in the very question. Towards the close of the last section she recognized the Bridegroom as her Instructor. She will not now make her own plans about her little sister, and ask His acquiescence in them; she will rather learn what his thoughts are, and have fellowship with Him in His plans.
How much anxiety and care the children ofGodwould be spared if they learned to act in this way! Is it not too common to make the best plans that we can, and to carry them out as best we may, feeling all the while a great burden of responsibility, and earnestly asking theLordto helpus? Whereas if we always letHimbe our Instructor in service, and left the responsibilitywithHim, our strength would not be exhausted with worry and anxiety, but would all be at His disposal, and accomplish His ends.
In the little sister, as yet immature, may we not see the elect ofGod, given toChristinGod'spurpose, but not yet brought into saving relation to Him? And perhaps also those babes inChristwho as yet need feeding with milk and not with meat, but who, with such care, will in due time become experienced believers, fitted for the service of theLord? Then they will be spoken for, and called into that department of service for which He has prepared them.
The Bridegroom replies:—
If she be a wall,We will build upon her battlements of silver;And if she be a door,We will inclose her with boards of cedar.
In this reply the Bridegroom sweetly recognizes His oneness with His bride, in the same way as she has shown her conscious oneness with Him. As she says, "What shallwedo for our sister?" so He replies, "Wewill build ...wewill inclose," etc. He will not carry out His purposes of grace irrespective of His bride, but will work with and through her. What can be done forthis sister, however, will depend upon what she becomes. If she be a wall, built upon the true foundation, strong and stable, she shall be adorned and beautified with battlements of silver; but if unstable and easily moved to and fro like a door, such treatment will be as impossible as unsuitable; she will need to be inclosed with boards of cedar, hedged in with restraints, for her own protection.
The bride rejoicingly responds, "I am a wall"; she knows the foundation on which she is built, there is no "if" in her case; she is conscious of having found favour in the eyes of her Beloved. Naphtali's blessing is hers: she is "satisfied with favour, and full with the blessing of theLord."
But what is taught by the connection of this happy consciousness with the lines which follow?
Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon;He let out the vineyard unto keepers;Every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousandpiecesof silver.My vineyard, which is mine, is before me:Thou, O Solomon, shalt have the thousand,And those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred.
The connection is, we believe, one of great importance, teaching us that what shewas(by grace) was more important than what shedid; and that she did not work in order to earn favour, but being assured of favour, gave her love free scope to show itself in service. The bride knew her relationship to herLord, and His love to her; and in her determination that He should have the thousand pieces of silver, her concern was that her vineyard should not produce less for her Solomon than His vineyard at Baal-hamon; her vineyard was herself, and she desired for herLordmuch fruit. She would see, too, that the keepers of the vineyard, those who were her companions in its culture, and who ministered in word and doctrine, were well rewarded; she would not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn; a full tithe, nay a double tithe, was to be the portion of those who kept the fruit and laboured with her in the vineyard.
How long this happy service continues, and how soon it is to be terminated, we cannot tell; He who calls His servants to dwell in the gardens, and cultivate them for Him—as Adam of old was placed in the paradise ofGod—alone knows the limit of this service. Sooner or later the rest will come, the burden and heat of the last daywill have been borne, the last conflict will be over, and the voice of the Bridegroom will be heard addressing His loved one:—
Thou that dwellest in the gardens,The companions hearken to thy voice:Cause Me to hear it.
Thy service among the companions is finished; thou hast fought the good fight, thou hast kept the faith, thou hast finished thy course; henceforth there is laid up for thee the crown of righteousness, and the Bridegroom Himself shall be thine exceeding great reward!
Well may the bride let Him hear her voice, and, springing forth in heart to meet Him, cry:—
Make haste, my Beloved,And be Thou like to a roe or to a young hartUpon the mountains of spices!
She no longer asks Him, as in the second section:—
Turn, my Beloved, and be Thou like a roe or a young hartUpon the mountains of Bether [separation].
She has never again wished Him to turn away from her, for there are no mountains of Bether to those who are abiding inChrist;now there are mountains of spices. He who inhabits the praises of Israel, which rise, like the incense of spices, from His people's hearts, is invited by His bride to make haste, to come quickly, and be like a roe or young hart upon the mountains of spices.
Very sweet is the presence of ourLord, as by HisSpiritHe dwells among His people, while they serve Him below; but here there are many thorns in every path, which call for watchful care; and it is meet that now we should suffer with ourLord, in order that we may hereafter be glorified together. The day, however, is soon coming in which He will bring us up out of the earthly gardens and associations to the palace of the greatKing. There His people "shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For theLamb, which is in the midst of the throne, shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters; andGodshall wipe away all tears from their eyes."
TheSpiritand the bride say, Come!...Surely I come quickly.Amen; even so, come,Lord Jesus!
Thequestion is frequently asked, Who are represented by the daughters of Jerusalem?
They are clearly not the bride, yet they are not far removed from her. They know where the Bridegroom makes His flock to rest at noon; they are charged by the Bridegroom not to stir up nor awaken His love when she rests, abiding in Him; they draw attention to the Bridegroom as with dignity and pomp He comes up from the wilderness; their love-gifts adorn His chariot of state; they are appealed to by the bride for help in finding her Beloved, and, stirred by her impassioned description of His beauty, they desire to seek Him with her; they describe very fully the beauty of the bride, but, on the other hand, we never find them occupied with thepersonof the Bridegroom;Heis not all in all to them; they mind outward and earthly things.
Do they not represent those who, if not actually saved, are very near it; or, if saved,are only half-saved? who are for the present more concerned about the things of this world than the things ofGod? To advance their own interests, to secure their own comfort, concerns them more than to be in all things pleasing to theLord. Theymayform part of that great company spoken of in Rev. vii. 9-17, who come out of the great tribulation, but they will not form part of the 144,000, "the first-fruits untoGodand to theLamb" (Rev. xiv. 1-5). They have forgotten the warning of ourLordin Luke xxi. 34-36; and hence they are not "accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before theSonof Man." They have not, with Paul, counted "all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge ofChrist Jesusthe Lord," and hence they donot"attain unto"thatresurrection from among the dead, which Paul felt he might miss, but aimed to attain unto.
We wish to place on record our solemn conviction that not all who are Christians, or think themselves to be such, will attain to that resurrection of which St. Paul speaks in Phil. iii. 11, or will thus meet theLordin the air. Unto those who by lives of consecration manifest that they are not of the world, but are looking for Him, "He will appear without sin unto salvation."
Printed byR. & R. Clark, Limited,Edinburgh.
FOOTNOTES:[1]Loves = endearments, caresses.[2]The pronoun here and in chapter iii. 5, and viii. 4, should not be "he" as A.V., nor "it" as R.V., but "she."[3]See note onp. 26.[4]The Church of Popular Opinion, as pointed out by the Rev. Charles Fox in an address at Keswick, as the Church of Philadelphia is the Church of Brotherly Love.[5]See note onp. 26.
[1]Loves = endearments, caresses.
[1]Loves = endearments, caresses.
[2]The pronoun here and in chapter iii. 5, and viii. 4, should not be "he" as A.V., nor "it" as R.V., but "she."
[2]The pronoun here and in chapter iii. 5, and viii. 4, should not be "he" as A.V., nor "it" as R.V., but "she."
[3]See note onp. 26.
[3]See note onp. 26.
[4]The Church of Popular Opinion, as pointed out by the Rev. Charles Fox in an address at Keswick, as the Church of Philadelphia is the Church of Brotherly Love.
[4]The Church of Popular Opinion, as pointed out by the Rev. Charles Fox in an address at Keswick, as the Church of Philadelphia is the Church of Brotherly Love.
[5]See note onp. 26.
[5]See note onp. 26.
Transcriber's Note: Text uses both Shulamite and Shulammite.