SONG OF SONGS 4
In the first five verses of this chapter the King speaks to His spouse of her fairness. He delights to do so because every feature of it — and there are seven features particularly mentioned here — is the product of grace. He loves to make her conscious that she has beauty in His eyes. As under grace and its teaching certain features are developed in the saints which are most attractive to Christ. The grace of God brings beautiful features into evidence. We appreciate them when we see them, but the Lord appreciates them far more than we do; they are most attractive to Him. Nothing that is of nature comes into this; the most amiable traits of natural character have no place or part in the beauty of the bride. Her beauty is divinely conferred, and it has only been acquired through the setting aside by the power of grace of what attached to us by nature. It is clear that in speaking thus to His loved one the Lord has not in mind what we were according to the flesh, but what we are by the grace of God. The beauty which He describes is real and subsisting; He would riot say what was not true, nor call that beautiful which was really ugly. But His eye rests with complacent delight on every feature which is the product of grace. Grace, when truly received, is never unproductive; it effects moral transformation; it brings about features in its subjects which are beautiful under the eye of Christ. We remarked [p. 81] before that in this section of the book there is return, after a period of decline, to a sense of grace, and it is therefore in keeping that the saints should be viewed according to what they are by the grace of God. Paul could say, “By God’s grace I am what I am”, and even as to his abundant labour he said, “But not I, but the grace of God which was with me” (1 Corinthians 15: 10). Every subject of grace has beautiful features. When it could be said of Saul of Tarsus, “Behold he is praying” it was a beautiful trait; it spoke of transformation — subjection and dependence instead of violent self-will and enmity. It made him attractive to Christ, and also to Ananias when he heard of it. The grace of God teaches us that “having denied impiety and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, and justly, and piously in the present course of things” (Titus 2: 12). These are features which have great moral beauty. When Gentiles at Antioch believed and turned to the Lord, Barnabas was sent to see what was going on, and we are told that he saw the grace of God (Acts 11: 23). He saw it in its manifest fruits in the young converts, and it made him rejoice. It is beauty created under grace that is described, in a figurative way, in the language of the verses before us This scripture is intended to direct our attention to features which are attractive to Christ, so that we may seek in every way to further them, and have them fully developed in us. The features which are delightful to Christ all correspond with Himself; they are derived from Him.
The first of these features is ability for spiritual perception; her eyes are doves behind her veil. This [p. 82] is a feature which is hidden from the world; men cannot take account of it; she veils it from their view; but it is a chief beauty in the eyes of Christ. How acceptable to the Lord in the days of His flesh were those who gave evidence of having ability to see in a spiritual sense! Those to whom He could day, “Blessed are your eyes because they see”! Such ability could not be apart from new birth, for the Lord said, “Except anyone be born anew he cannot see the kingdom of God”. The operation of God in new birth, and the presence of the Spirit, are necessary if our eyes are to be dove’s. “And ye have the unction from the holy one, and ye know all things” (1 John 2: 20); “The spiritual discerns all things” (1 Corinthians 2: l5), are scriptures which occur to one in connection with the eyes of the bride. When the Lord said to His disciples, “But ye, who do ye say that I am?” (Matthew 16: 15) He was giving them opportunity to shew what perception they had, and when Simon Peter answered, “Thou art the Christ; the Son of the living God”, He pronounced him “Blessed” as a subject of His Father’s grace. Dove-like vision was there, and it had great beauty in His eyes.
It is well to remember that we should not have had eyes at all, in any spiritual sense, if the Lord had not given us sight. “Jehovah openeth the eyes of the blind” (Psalm 146: 8). It was expressly written of the day of the Messiah that the eyes of the blind should see (Isaiah 29: 18; Isaiah 35: 6; Isaiah 42: 7), and the ancient rabbis were right in saying that this was a miracle reserved for the Messiah alone to perform. He did not give the power to do it to His disciples.
“To open their eyes” in Paul’s commission does not mean quite that Paul could give men sight, but that he was sent to put the truth of the position so clearly before them that their blood would be entirely on their own heads if they did not turn to the light and to God. But many blind received sight when the Lord was here; seven of them are specially brought before our notice in the Gospels. They illustrate that precious work of divine grace by which ability is given for spiritual perception.
Do we always consider that our spiritual vision is for the pleasure of Christ? Our spiritual apprehensions are not for display before men, to attract attention to ourselves; they are “behind thy veil”. It would be good if we regarded every accession of light, every enlarged view of Christ, every increase in the knowledge of God, as conferred that we might be more pleasurable to Christ. It might not always be His will that we should speak to others of what He has given us to perceive. He may sometimes say, as He did to the two blind men, “See let no man know it” (Matthew 9: 27 - 31). The “veil” suggests a certain reservation, in contrast to publicity; the eyes as “behind thy veil” would indicate a spiritual beauty that is not uncovered to everybody; it is held as that which is for Christ. He will know how to utilise it for service perhaps at some time, but, it remains veiled until He pleases. Paul had wonderful revelations and visions as caught up into paradise, but he kept them behind the veil for fourteen years. A reserve of this kind, which might be brought out for the servant’s own glory, but which is veiled until it is necessary to bring it out for Christ’s glory, is [p. 84] peculiarly pleasurable to Him. May we be more concerned to have perceptions and apprehensions that are valued in our hearts because of the pleasure which our having them gives to Christ! Surely every lover of Christ would like to have spiritual vision that would give delight to Him. So that if we listen to ministry, or read, we have this before us, and not the thought of mere knowledge that puffs up. Every truly spiritual perception of Christ and of the truth is part of the bridal beauty which is attractive to Him, and He would have us to know that it is so. Even when we ourselves see souls acquiring new apprehensions of Christ, or desiring to see Him more clearly and fully, it gives us genuine pleasure, and that is the love of Christ in His saints leading them to appreciate what He appreciates. What pleasure the Lord had in seeing the progress of the man whose eyes He opened! (John 9) Every new perception the man got, I think we may say, gave the Lord more pleasure than it gave the man himself.
“Thy hair is as a flock of goats, on the slopes of mount Gilead”. This second feature of the bride is peculiarly a womanly glory. “But woman, if she have long hair, it is glory to her; for the long hair is given to her in lieu of s veil” (1 Corinthians 11: 15). Nature itself teaches that it is the woman’s glory to be veiled as being in the subject place; her glory is to be in the place of one who has a head. This is the true glory of the assembly; she is subjected to the Christ in His blessed relation to her as Head. This kind of subjection is not brought about by a sense of duty, but by love and reverence. The assembly does not merely feel that she ought to be [p. 85] subject to Christ, but she loves to be. She is conscious that no other relation to Him is suitable, and that to be in it is her true glory, and an essential feature of her beauty in His eyes. I do not doubt that this is set forth figuratively in the hair of the spouse; it constitutes a prominent feature of her attractiveness in the eyes of the King.
Hair, as in Nazariteship, carries with it also the thought of consecration. “He hath consecrated himself to Jehovah, he shall be holy; he shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow”. And we read of “the hair of the head of his consecration” (Numbers 6: 5, 18). How beautiful in the eyes of Christ is this feature! As constrained by His love we no longer live to ourselves but to Him. “For both if we should live, it is to the Lord we live; and if we should die, it is to the Lord we die: both if we should live then, and if we should die, we are the Lord’s” (Romans 14: 8). Spiritual perceptions governing the heart would lead to consecration; it is the normal fruit of grace, and it is a peculiar glory to be thus distinguished in the sight of our eternal Lover.
In the descriptions given in this book of the spouse and of Him who is her Beloved, certain of her or of His features are mentioned which are then compared with other things. It would appear that the features are figurative while the comparisons are symbolical. For example, the “head” would be figurative of intelligence, but if it is said to be “like Carmel” a comparison is instituted which is of a symbolical nature and indicates the character of the intelligence. Another example may be given from another part of Scripture. We read, “And his feet like fine brass,
as burning in a furnace” (Revelation 1: 15). His “feet” are figurative of His movements, but when we are told that they are “like fine brass, as burning in a furnace” this is symbolical language. It is of the nature of a figure that it is comparatively easily understood; a child would understand that the feet represent how one moves. But a symbol requires more mature consideration: the language of symbols has to be learned from their use in Scripture, and by divine teaching. Any simple person would know that a door or gate indicated the way into something, and might mean access or exclusion according as it was open or shut. This is the language of figure. But if we read that the doors of the temple were of olive-wood, carved with cherubim and palm-trees and half-open flowers, and overlaid with gold, this is the language of symbol, into which we have to be initiated before we can understand it. So if we read that Jerusalem’s gates are of carbuncles, and that the twelve gates of the heavenly city are twelve pearls, these are symbolical statements. There is no natural resemblance between a gate and a pearl: such a description has to be understood symbolically. There may, or there may not, be some kind of natural correspondence between a figure and the symbols which are used in connection with it. Very often there is none; but whether there is or not the symbols have their own significance. This applies to the interpretation of all Scripture symbols; a symbol in every case adds something to the figure which in itself it would not have. It will be helpful to bear this in mind as we look at the comparisons and similitudes which we shall meet with in the Song of Songs.
[p. 87] For the spiritual understanding of such language, as used by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we have to get away from material or literal thoughts, and seek to gather the moral ideas which are presented in a symbolical way. I do not say that we can always interpret them aright; for there is real difficulty in many of the figures and symbols. We need the Lord to give us understanding, and He does not fail those who seek Him. And if we do not know, it is a very safe and wholesome thing to admit our ignorance.
The hair of the spouse being “as a flock of goats, on the slopes of mount Gilead” connects the thoughts of unity, and an exceedingly favourable position, with the features attaching to hair in Scripture. True subjection and consecration on the part of individual saints will inevitably bring them into unity. It will bring about a collective state of things which will have true “flock” character. The “flock” is a precious designation of the saints viewed collectively, because it conveys the thought that not only has each individual a place under direct Shepherd care, but that all move together under one control. This is the practical evidence that we are beautified under the eye of Christ with that true glory of which the hair is a figure. Subjection to Christ as Head will secure unity. This is not agreeing to differ, but moving together without a divergent thought because all have one Head.
Subjection to one Shepherd, as knowing and confiding in His love, will lead to our being found in most favourable pasture. “The slopes of mount Gilead” would indicate this. (See Jeremiah 1: 19; Micah 7: 14)
[p. 88] If we are not enjoying rich pasture, or not moving in unity with our brethren in the enjoyment of it, the question arises whether grace has been allowed to bring about in us those features of spiritual beauty and glory which are set forth in the hair of the spouse?
The frequent use of the goat as a sin-offering suggests that, the saints viewed as “a flock of goats” are regarded as being in holy separation from everything that was judged in the death of Christ. We shall not otherwise move in unity as one flock, nor shall we feed in green pastures. If we have really apprehended Christ in Sin-offering character we are under obligation to maintain, through grace, a holiness that is in keeping with it.
The next feature brought before us in the King’s description of the spouse is her teeth, and this would set forth ability to avail oneself of spiritual food, for it is by the teeth that food is masticated. Under grace we acquire ability to feed, and this is attractive to the Lord. He furnishes food supply in abundance, but His pleasure is found in seeing us able to make use of it. There are many forms of spiritual food typified by the passover lamb, by manna, flesh, corn, bread, etc., but unless we have ability to feed on them they do not sustain or strengthen us.
The comparison instituted here: “Thy teeth are like a flock of shorn sheep, which go up from the washing; which have all borne twins, and none is barren among them” — would suggest to us the conditions which accompany spiritual ability to feed. “Sheep” represent those who are partakers of the divine nature. If we are to feed on Christ — and all [p. 89] spiritual food is Christ in some form — there must be a nature suitable to appropriate such food, and to grow by it. If there is not something morally kindred to Christ in the soul there is nothing which can possibly feed on Him. Those born of incorruptible seed are evidenced by the desire which they have for that which is nourishing and strengthening in a spiritual sense. (See 1 Peter 1: 23 - 2: 3) There is correspondence between the food and the one who feeds, so that the one is suited to the other, The natural man cannot feed on Christ; there is nothing in him to which such food appeals.
Then the sheep here are shorn; their nature has been in activity, and has yielded something at personal cost for the One to whom they belong. We may not always think so, but it is a fact that ability to feed depends to a large extent on what we have yielded. If I find that I get nothing out of my reading of Scripture, or out of ministry that is evidently food for others, it is time to ask whether the grace of God has had its way in producing something for His praise, or for the comfort of His people? The more we yield the more we shall be able to appropriate as food. If there has been nothing produced, the grace of God has been received in vain. It could not be absolutely so in anyone born of incorruptible seed, but a small yield often accounts for small capability to feed. Of course if we do not feed we cannot expect to yield wool, so that it works both ways. The normal course is that as nourished by grace we produce something for God; then fresh supplies of grace are forthcoming, and there is a further yield. But if we are unproductive there will [p. 90] be little or no ability for spiritual appropriation. The principle comes out in Hebrews 6: 7; the rain comes down, useful herbs are produced, and then, consequent upon this yield, there is further blessing from God.
Wool is the natural product of a sheep’s life, but it is grown to be yielded under shearing. How everything was yielded, even life itself, by our blessed Lord, and this without opening His mouth in complaint! And Peter tells us that He has left us a Model that we should follow in His steps. As we pursue this line there will be no lack of ability to enjoy spiritual food.
Then there is a further thought of the sheep going up “from the washing”. Many wonder why they do not get more at the meetings, or in private reading, but the secret is that they do not come up from the washing. “The washing of water by the word” is for cleansing from all that is unsuitable to Christ or uncomely in His sheep. If we do not submit ourselves to this sanctifying and purifying process our ability to feed will be seriously impaired.
Finally, these sheep are presented as marked by fruitfulness; all have borne twins and none is barren. It would be good for every believer to desire to bring at least two souls to Christ; it might well be a distinct object with each one of us. Think of the increase of the flock for Him! Andrew first found his own brother Simon and led him to Jesus. I do not believe the Lord would have any of us to be barren in relation to the increase of the flock. And if there were more fruitfulness of this kind there would be more real ability to enjoy spiritual food.
[p. 91] The word is never more precious to us than when we have had the joy of bringing other hearts to know its value, whether they be strangers to grace or believers.
If the “teeth” of the spouse represent, as we have seen, ability to take in food, her “lips” convey the thought of what comes out in expression. What comes out of our lips rightly takes character from what we have appropriated as food. The life that is sustained by spiritual food will be expressed by comely speech. “Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely”. As the inward man is nourished the saints are formed after Christ, and the lips become a channel of expression; they indicate what is within. “The good man, out of the good treasure of his heart, brings forth good; and the wicked man out of the wicked, brings forth what is wicked; for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks” (Luke 6: 45). The possession of teeth implies a certain maturity of power to appropriate; it does not accompany infancy. Spiritually it would indicate that one is skilled in the word of righteousness, and habituated to distinguishing good and evil. One is not occupied with what is elementary, such as those first principles which were brought out in Judaism, but one has gone on to appropriate the full grace that is known in a risen and heavenly Christ. (See Hebrews 5: 12 - 6: 3) As thus nourished the lips give expression to the grace that is known within. Nothing is a more practical token of how far grace rules us than the way we speak.
Every feature of the bride really comes out of Christ; Eve was taken out of Adam. If we think of a He’s lips, what grace was poured into them and flowed from them! Now his bride is to be what Eve was for Adam — His like, or counterpart. There is to be no occasion when grace may be absent from our speech, for we read, “Let your word he always with grace, seasoned with salt” (Colossians 4: 6). The salt is to be there as seasoning, for grace is never unfaithful or unholy, but “always with grace”. “Let no corrupt word go out of your mouth, but if there be any good one for needful edification, that it may give grace to those that hear it” (Ephesians 4: 29). How beautiful is such it feature as this in the eyes of Christ! The comeliness of the bride is of a most practical character; it is made up of moral and spiritual traits which give pleasure to the heart of Christ.
There was a time when we said, “Our lips are our own: who is lord over us?” (Psalm 12: 4). But that time came to an end when we confessed with our mouths Jesus as Lord. This really meant that we had sanctified the Lord, the Christ, in our hearts, and as a result we sanctified Him on our lips. I look upon the “thread of scarlet” as suggesting that, for “scarlet” speaks of His kingly rights (see Matthew 27: 28, 29). When Rahab put the “line of scarlet thread” in her window it was symbolical of the fact that she had owned the rights of Jehovah, and had come under His authority as known in grace. If our lips, have confessed Jesus as Lord they are dedicated, and all that comes out of them henceforth is to be in keeping with that confession. We can never again say that our lips are our own, or that we have no lord over us. All that we say is now to be the evidence that [p. 93] we have a Lord, and that our lips are for His pleasure and service and praise. Then they will be “like a thread of scarlet”.
The fact that our lips have been used for an elevated and spiritual purpose renders it most unsuitable that they should ever give expression to what is of the flesh. James will not allow that it is right that blessing and cursing should go out of the same mouth. So that if my lips have blessed the Lord or the Father what I say to men or to the brethren must be in keeping with that. The highest use to which the lips are put is to be the standard by which all their utterances are to be governed. The continual influence of grace would maintain this; if we get away from that influence we shall be sure to express what we are naturally, and this is nothing to be proud of! The Lord’s lips were very beautiful in all that they expressed. “Behold, I have not withheld my lips, Jehovah thou knowest. I have not hidden thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation; I have not concealed thy loving-kindness and thy truth from the great congregation” (Psalm 40: 9, 10). His lips were “like a thread of scarlet”, ever speaking in faithfulness to God and in grace to men. What delight to God did His lips give! And it may be ours, through grace, to give pleasure_ to Him by the way we speak, The thought of pleasing the One who loves us, and whom we love, might well be a mighty and perpetual influence in our hearts. May we render to Him, as Israel will in a coming day, “the calves of our lips”! (Hosea 14: 2).
The “temples”, or cheeks, of the spouse are the next features mentioned, and they are said to be “[p. 94] as a piece of a pomegranate ... behind thy veil”. They would represent what is prominent, and what would, perhaps, most attract attention if it were exposed to view. But the most distinct evidences of vigorous spiritual life — the ruddy glow of the pomegranate on the cheeks — are “behind thy veil”. The truest signs of inward spiritual life are for the eye of Divine Persons alone. Their true character and comeliness are gone the moment they are done to attract the eye of men. Much of the fruit of grace comes only under the view of Christ and of His Father. It is not for display, at any rate at the present time.
I would illustrate this part of the beauty of the spouse by referring to the Lord’s words in Matthew 6 as to the alms, or righteousness of His disciples, and their prayers and fastings (see Matthew 6: 1 - 18). These are very clear evidences of vitality and moral comeliness, but they are to be “behind thy veil”. The true measure of our spiritual vitality is known only to Divine Persons, and it is a very distinct characteristic of the spouse that she does not wish to be unveiled before men. She is content that her beauty should be known to her Beloved alone.
Our righteousness — the word includes alms-giving but also many other things that are right for a saint to do — is not to be “before men, to be seen of them”. It is not to be made a show of; otherwise its comeliness before the Father would be lost. Much prayer becomes the saints, but it is to be “in secret”; the “chamber” and the shut door are very essential. Of course there is fellowship in prayer amongst saints, but it is not well to make a show of it before men;
[p. 95] religious flesh could take pride in that. Then fasting has a very real place in spiritual life — the refusal of what is legitimate in view of more entire devotedness to the Lord. But this would not be talked of, or written about; it would rather be veiled from human eyes. The King is here expressing His appreciation of His spouse in her veiled condition. As in His chambers she would not be veiled to Him, but outside and to other eyes she is veiled, and her being so adds to her beauty before Him. People speak sometimes of “taking the veil” in an outward and material way, which is all worthless, but it is very necessary for the saints to do it spiritually. The effect of grace would be to develop features that are a secret between our souls and the Lord. This would entirely preserve us from every form of religious hypocrisy. It would give us true beauty in the eyes of the Beloved; the hidden life of devotion to Him is very precious in His sight.
There is, of course, another side, brought before us also in the Lord’s words, “Let your light thus shine before men, so that they may see your upright works, and glorify your Father who is in the heavens”. This is the public side connected with testimony. Whatever light we have from God is intended to shine; it is not to be obscured. But this is not to bring ourselves into evidence; indeed it will not glorify us to do it, it will cost us something, but our Father will be glorified.
It might be said at this point that there is a good deal of correspondence between the features of the spouse as seen in the Song of Songs and the moral beauties of saints as described in the sermon on the [p. 96] mount. The former presents the effect of the influence of Christ and of heaven in the souls of men in highly poetic and figurative language; the latter brings that effect before us in plain statement. The figurative language of the Song can only be rightly interpreted by those who are characterised by genuine and practical piety, and by true and fervent love for Christ.
“Thy neck is like the tower of David, built for an armoury: a thousand bucklers hang thereon, all shields of mighty men”. The “neck” in Scripture would seem to indicate where the strength of purpose lies. We often read of men being stiff-necked, and having hardened necks. The purpose of man is always naturally to carry out his own will. God can put a providential yoke on man’s neck to hinder him from doing all that he would like to do, but the purpose of man is always to effect something for himself, for his own pleasure or glory. But when grace comes in and produces its blessed effect, purpose takes an altogether different form. When, through grace, the yoke of Christ is taken up there is complete transformation. Never was this more clearly seen than in the case of Saul of Tarsus. If ever there was a man whose neck was an iron sinew (Isaiah 48: 4) it was he. But mercy reached him from the glory and subdued him. When he said, “What shall I do, Lord”? he had really taken the yoke of Christ upon his neck, and from that moment he was set in purpose to know God’s will and to do it.
“The tower of David” reminds us that David was typical of Christ as the man after God’s heart, who would do all His will (Acts 13: 22). What a triumph of grace that instead of the will of man dominating,
[p. 97] and manifesting itself in stiffneckedness Godward, the neck should become “like the tower of David”! There is a fixed purpose now to stand immovably against every influence that is hostile to the will of God. Paul said to the Corinthians, “So then, my beloved brethren, be firm, immovable”. He could speak of Timothy being thoroughly acquainted with his “purpose”, and he could say, “I am set for the defence of the glad tidings”. We see in him one whose neck was “like the tower of David”. He knew what the will of God was as established in Christ, and he was set to defend it in a scene where every influence was hostile to it. Such a feature is a part of the beauty of the bride upon which her Beloved can dwell with delight. When Priscilla and Aquila staked their own neck for Paul’s life, they were manifestly set for the defence of God’s testimony. The tower of David, with its thousand bucklers, “all shields of mighty men”, would speak of many standing together in a defensive attitude. It would correspond with what Paul says of the Philippian saints: “Ye have me in your hearts, and that both in my bonds and in the defence and confirmation of the glad tidings ye are all participators in my grace” (Philippians 1: 7). It is a true assembly feature, and a part of the fairness of His spouse which makes her attractive to His love. “A thousand bucklers” would suggest that no point is left exposed; the testimony of God is maintained as against every foe, and in all its features. No better illustration of a neck like the tower of David could be found than Stephen. He faced with immovable purpose the whole council — all that was great and honoured in Israel — and he maintained defensively [p. 98] all that wits essential to the testimony of God at the moment. If his face even to his adversaries was as the face of an angel, how fair he must have been in the eyes of the One who looked down upon him from the glory! We can understand the Lord saying to him, and to all who, even in the very smallest degree, resemble him, “Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair”.
If we have that feature which is set forth by a neck “like the tower of David” our affections will be preserved. Spiritual affections are very precious to the Lord, and they are the last feature of His spouse to be described. “Thy two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle, which feed among the lilies”. The “two breasts” speak of affections that are in even balance. Grace governing the heart would secure this; the one who loves God would love his brother also; and there would be no partialities as to the truth, no attaching ourselves to one aspect of the truth in such a way as to lose interest in the whole circle of truth. We are apt to get one-sided. The Lord would not have some to be all for the gospel, and others all for the assembly; as to our affections, He would have us all equally interested in both, whatever might be our personal service. Unbalanced affections are really a deformity because they are not the “counterpart” of the affections of Christ, and we should covet correspondence with Him in all things, and particularly in our affections. We may be sure that His heart would delight in this.
The “two fawns, twins of a gazelle” set forth symbolically the tenderness and sensitiveness of spiritual affections. These are timid creatures, sensitive [p. 99] to any molestation, and ready to flee from it on swift foot. The Lord would have us to cultivate and exhibit affections that, are delicately sensitive, that are quickly alarmed by the approach of anything that is of the world or the flesh or the devil. This holy sensitiveness can only be preserved as it is nourished upon appropriate food. The garbage of the world is fatal to it. The fawns “feed among the lilies”. This, as we have seen, is where He feeds His flock (chapter 2: 16; 6: 3). If the spouse is herself a “lily among thorns” her affections must feed in conditions that correspond with her own true character. How refined the purity of such a feeding-place! A place where one is surrounded by a beauty and glory that has been directly conferred by God. Where all is in contrast to the thorns around, and is marked by harmlessness, simplicity, and irreproachableness (see Philippians 2: 12 - 16). In such conditions spiritual affections can be suitably nourished. They are conditions which do not pertain to the world nor to nature; they belong to a sphere where all is the product of grace.
The Lord would have His saints to know that, as having spiritual features — the product of grace — they have a beauty that is attractive to Him. There is no self-exaltation in knowing this, for every saint is deeply conscious that it is the fruit of the death of Christ, and of the presence and working of the Holy Spirit. It is the result, too, of many humbling exercises by which we have learned to judge what is of the flesh, and to be freed, in some measure, from what we were naturally. Every feature that we have according to grace has moral beauty, and God would [p. 100] encourage and stimulate us to cultivate features that are attractive to Christ because they correspond with Himself. Spiritual features need to be developed and matured, for none of us could think for a moment that the features of the bride were fully formed in us. But whether they are formed little or much they are the only features which attract the love of Christ,. And He speaks of His delight in them so that we may cultivate and further them by all possible means. And the bride never has before her as the goal of her desires anything less than to be absolutely like Christ so as to be His counterpart. The youngest believer may profitably say to himself every morning, and a hundred times through the day, “God has taken me up in His grace to make me like Christ; therefore anything that is not like Christ is unworthy of me”. The beauty of the bride is developed by the refusal of features that are not in correspondence with Christ, and the better we know Him the more power will there be to do this.
When the day dawns and the shadows flee away all the saints will be like Christ; they will all bear the image of the heavenly One. If we have that before us we shall want to get as many impressions of Him as are possible now. And I think this is what is conveyed by the spouse saying that she would get to “the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense”. She would like to gather up more of His fragrance, and to be found on holy elevations where she would be free from all other influences. She would familiarise herself more with the rich odours that have disclosed themselves in Him. This is the effect of learning from Him His thoughts in regard to her.
“The mountain of myrrh” speaks of the love of Christ as expressed in suffering even unto death. It was at Golgotha that they offered Him wine mingled with myrrh, and Nicodemus brought myrrh and aloes to bind up with His body for burial. No blessings conferred, no glory that can be brought in, give such an impression of Christ as the contemplation of Him as suffering in His love. A suffering Messiah touches the heart of those who love Him in a deeper way than a glorified One. As the glorious King He “will deliver the needy who crieth, and the afflicted, who hath no helper” (Psalm 72). But how will the needy and afflicted be moved when they understand that “in all their affliction he was afflicted”! When they are constrained to say, “Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows”! There is not a sorrow in the human heart which He has not made His own, and this in the willing devotion of love! All sorrow and suffering was concentrated on Him — the Man of sorrows. When the Passover in the upper room and Gethsemane and Calvary become to the remnant “the mountain of myrrh” how they will love their Messiah as known in the unparalleled suffering of His love! But we are privileged to come to that mountain before they do.
When the day dawns and the shadows flee away we shall come out with Christ and like Him, and in the meantime He would have us to be acquiring impressions of Him that will bring us more and more into correspondence with Him through the Spirit’s work. “The mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense” speak of what the Lord would have us to know now in the assembly. The eating of the Lord’s [p. 102] supper is what brings us together in assembly character. We thus find ourselves in a spot where the fragrance abounds; we come to such an expression of His love in its greatness that it may well be spoken of as “the mountain of myrrh”. The loaf and the cup ever bring it before us. He came in flesh that He might have a body in which His love could be expressed — a love that no suffering stayed. The flesh and blood of Christ have become the great witnesses of divine love. His love suffered all through in innumerable ways, but the climax of all was that He gave Himself. Each individual saint can say, He “has loved me, and given himself for me”, and He has given Himself for the assembly. The only way to think rightly of the blessing of the individual saint, or of the place and privilege of the assembly, is to see it all as the outcome and fruit of the death of Christ.
If the body and blood of Christ have been given for us in love who can measure the immensity of the result? It puts everything on a new and divine footing. If we want to understand the character of present blessing we must pass over into the great thoughts of divine love, we must think of what God has purposed, of what the Father would have for His own pleasure. It is all eternally secured through the death of Christ; and its greatness is according to the preciousness of that which has secured it; it is in a full way for God’s delight. If we eat the Lord’s supper in true self-judgment we have not to think of ourselves in any other way than as the subjects of infinite love, and as those who are blessed according to the thoughts of that love.
Then there is “the hill of frankincense”, which would set forth the intercession of Christ. The thoughts of the Father for His own are all cherished in the heart of the Son, and He has taken them up in an intercessory way, as we may see in John 17. He knows in full measure the value of His own death, and all its fruits, and His saints are ever on His heart as those who have their place and portion according to the thoughts of divine love. What an elevation is this! Yet it is certain that if Christ thinks of His own, and intercedes for them, it must be in accord with the place which His own death has secured for them. He must think of them according to the lofty thoughts of His own and the Father’s love. The precious stones in the breast-plate of the high priest represented the tribes of Israel as seen in the lustre and beauty of divine thoughts, and not as marked by weakness and failure.
Nothing is of true assembly character that does not recognise the value and result of the death of Christ,. Nothing has place there but what corresponds with the thoughts concerning His saints which are in the heart of Christ. As Head He would delight to bring us into all that is in His heart Godward in priestly and intercessory love. “The mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense” set forth in a figurative way the elevation which our souls may reach spiritually as we contemplate the love of Christ as expressed in death, and as expressed in the precious and holy thoughts of His heart told out to God and the Father. We get outside the region of human thoughts there. What could be more blessed? Divine love known, its precious thoughts unfolded, and all seen as secured [p. 104] eternally through the suffering love of Christ, and as now cherished in His heart for us. And we may realise this in spiritual power before the day dawns and the shadows flee away. Would it not be bound to have the effect of bringing about increased correspondence with Christ — an enlarged development and maturing of bridal features and beauty? I believe that was the Lord’s intent in instituting His supper. The features of the bride are present in germ in every one who has the Spirit, just as all the faculties of the man are in the babe, but they have to be developed, and the Lord provides what is necessary for their development.
Viewing the spouse as having got to the mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense the heart of her Beloved goes out to her with intense affection. “Thou art all fair, my love; and there is no spot in thee”. How our glorious Head delights to view us as those who have taken up our place in all the fragrance of Himself and of His death! If we hold the Head we shall think of ourselves as He thinks of us. We shall be able to move with Him. The four mountains mentioned here — Lebanon, Amanah, Senir and Hermon — represent an elevation of spiritual blessing from which we can look out in company with Christ upon the wondrous results of His having become through death the mountain of myrrh. His twice-repeated “with me” shows how His love would have us to move and to look at things as He moves and as He looks at them. He would have us in conscious association with Him in our spiritual outlook. All is the fruit of the love in which He suffered and gave Himself for us, and hence it is supreme blessedness according to the height of God’s thoughts. Alas! we often stop short of divine thoughts, but why should we? If blessed at all on the principle of grace we must be blessed according to the heart of God, and according to Christ, and in a way that makes manifest the value of His death. There is no assumption in talking up the place which divine grace and love has given us; it is the truest humility to do so, and it glorifies God.
The four mountains are suggestive of the elevated position which the saints are called to occupy according to God’s purpose and grace. Saints of the assembly are called to blessing in the highest possible region. (See Ephesians 1, Ephesians 2). We know the Lord Jesus Christ as the One who has said, “I ascend”. He has gone to the greatest possible elevation, and we are blessed in Him. The whole work of grace has this in view; it was in the mind of God from eternity, and therefore also from the outset of His ways with us. If we have understood spiritually what it is to come up from the wilderness according to chapter 3: 6, and to get to the mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense according to chapter 4: 6, we shall not be surprised to learn that we are called to lofty heights of blessing and favour. May our hearts truly respond to the love in which He says, “Come with me”!
Each time we eat the Lord’s supper is intended to give us a new impression of “the mountain of myrrh”. It is a pity to think of it as something we have often done before. It should never be to our hearts a repetition of past privileges; we should look for a new impression of Christ and of divine love each time. Fresh acquisitions of holy fragrance are always possible, for it is a “mountain” of which we have only [p. 106] compassed a small part as yet. Such is the greatness of Christ, and of His fragrant love disclosed in death, that there is always more to know and to treasure in our hearts. Thus shall we be more and more prepared to give place to Him as Head, and to move with Him in the high region of divine thoughts and the purposes of divine love.
“The lions’ dens” and “the mountains of the leopards” are brought in at this point, I believe, to shew that the high and precious thoughts of divine love have their place even in presence of malignant powers of evil. If saints are able to move with Christ in the most elevated regions of spiritual blessing, while great evil powers still exist and are active, it is clear evidence of the triumph of Christ, and of the deliverance which He effects for His loved ones. The thoughts of God are secured in blessing notwithstanding all the power of the enemy; His saints are found in moral and spiritual beauty in spite of the “lions” and the “leopards”. If we think of the remnant, whose history of affection for the Messiah is found in this book, we may recall that they will be on earth when the dragon will have been cast out of heaven, and will have great rage knowing he has but a short time (Revelation 12). The beast “like to a leopardess” will have risen out of the sea, and the other beast — the antichrist — will be there also (Revelation 13). But in spite of all this the spouse will be there; she will be “all fair” under the eye of Christ; and she will be able to move with Him in the high region of divine thoughts. The concentrated power of evil will be unable to countervail the working of divine power in infinite grace and love.
[p. 107] Today every artifice of the devil is being put in activity, evil principalities and authorities are present, universal lords of darkness, and spiritual power of wickedness in the heavenlies (Ephesians 6). But in spite of all this there are on earth those who have features of bridal beauty, those who know and appreciate the love of Christ, and who respond to Him in holy affections. Grace is securing, even at such a time as this, its own blessed triumph, All is the fruit of the worth and victory of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the evidence of the reality of the work of God in His saints.
It is noticeable that there is increasing warmth and intensity of affection in the words addressed by the Beloved to His spouse. In the first five verses of the chapter His words make her conscious of how fair she is in His sight, and the effect of this is that she goes to “the mountain of myrrh, and the hill of frankincense” that she may get further and fuller impressions of Him. Then He calls her to move with Him from elevated regions which set forth the height of divine thoughts. She is coming now into closer correspondence with Him, and thus becoming increasingly attractive to Him. As spiritual development proceeds there is an enlargement of that in which the love of Christ can be complacent. It should be a concern with us to yield Him increasing pleasure, that His love may be more and more drawn out to us. As we continue in the grace of God (Acts 13: 43), and in the faith (Acts 14: 22), it will inevitably be so. We shall be formed by grace in the appreciation of Christ, and in response to Him, and it will be suitable for Him to convey to us the expression of His love in a more intense way.
“[p. 108] 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”. This is the language of fervent love, but it is not exaggerated; it does but express the true affections of Christ that are called forth as He sees the work of God taking form in His saints. It conveys to us a great thought of His pleasure in that which is the product of divine grace and working. Any one feature of His spouse suffices to charm Him — to ravish His heart.
It is to be noted that at this point the spouse is called also “my sister”. It reminds us that when Abraham would have a wife taken for Isaac he said to his servant, “Thou shalt go to my land and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac”. Nothing could be united to Christ that was not morally of kindred nature with Him. There were those whom the Lord could recognise as His kindred when He was here. (Matthew 12: 50; Mark 3: 33 - 35). This has been true of all saints: they have all, in their measure, loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; they have all been dependent upon God, and have given expression to it by calling upon His Name. (See Genesis 4: 26; Genesis 12: 8, etc.). These are features of moral kinship with Christ, and they are very attractive in His eyes.
If one were traversing wearily an arid waste where there was not even a blade of grass, and one came suddenly upon a beautiful flower, or upon an oasis filled with sweet flowers and fruits, would not the contrast with all the surroundings enhance the loveliness of the sight? And that is how things are under the eye of the Lord. He sees a moral waste where no divine [p. 109] features are present, where everything carries the mark of the serpent’s work and the creature’s fall and ruin. A desert where there is no response to God, no desire for the knowledge of Him, no appreciation of Christ! But in the midst of such a scene the saints appear, having features which are the product of divine grace and of the work of God. All these features are morally beautiful, and they are delightful to Christ; they ravish His heart. Bethany was a spot where He found what He could delight in; He loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. God had wrought in their hearts, and they appreciated Christ, and He appreciated them; they were very lovable in His eyes. It was a beautiful corner of His garden.
“One of thine eyes ... one chain of thy neck”, would lead us to see how precious to the Lord is every evidence that we have spiritual perceptions, that we see things according to God. And Solomon has told us elsewhere that “the instruction of thy father” and “the teaching of thy mother” will be “chains about thy neck” (Proverbs 1: 8, 9). Divine teaching is therefore clearly set forth in this figure. “It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God” (John 6: 46). We have, too, a wonderful system of grace as our mother (see Galatians 4: 26, 31), and her teachings bring about features which ravish the heart of Christ. All that we have by divine teaching is purely of God, and it has a beauty which is unmarred by sin or Satan. We may say, surely, that the Lord could not do otherwise than love such features. They correspond with Himself as Eve did to Adam; she was built by God to be Adam’s counterpart. Every feature in saints that is the product of divine working [p. 110] and teaching corresponds with Christ, and as formed in those features the saints find their centre, their rest and delight in Christ.
Features divinely produced do not commend themselves to the natural man; they are subjects of persecution in the world, but they are most attractive to Christ; they ravish His heart. The sense of this would greatly strengthen us to bear a little persecution or misunderstanding, a few sneers, or even sometimes a little actual loss. What could be a sweeter recompense than to have the consciousness that features are coming out in us which move His heart in an intense way! Such features are not developed apart from exercise on our side. They get place with us as we call on the Name of the Lord; they are the fruit of dependence. When it could be said of Saul, “Behold he is praying”, something had come to pass in his soul which put him on the line of receiving all from God, and this was the secret of all the grace that manifested itself in him from that day onward. Every grace of Christ can be acquired on that line.
Then He says further, “How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! How much better is thy love than wine!” We have referred to the Lord’s words as to the saints being “all taught of God”, but it is precious to note what follows this. “Every one that has heard from the Father himself, and has learned of him, comes to me” (John 6: 45). I take this to mean that they come to Him in affection; He becomes attractive to their hearts; there is love there in which He can delight, for it was the Father who put it there. Christ is the perfect divine answer to every God-given exercise that ever was in the heart or conscience [p. 111] of man, and there is no other answer to those exercises. What a tumult of exercise Job went through, but all that he needed — a true ground of acceptance, a ransom, a mediator, a redeemer, an interpreter — is found in Christ. If Christ could have been presented to him — no doubt He was, in measure, prophetically — what a satisfied man he would have been! God provided in the promises concerning Christ that to which the hearts of His saints could turn with joy, and they did so. Now He has appeared, and the Father draws men to Him in affection; He Himself draws also, for He is the great gathering Centre and rallying point for everything that is of God. And the love which is attracted to Him, and which appreciates Him and finds Him to be very precious, is “fair” to Him, and “much better ... than wine”.
The spouse had said in chapter 1: 2 that His love was better than wine, but He says of her love that it is “much better ... than wine”. In the light of this we are led to see that Christ appreciates the love of His saints more than they appreciate His love. It is a wonderful thought. It reminds us how Jonathan and David “kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded”. The Beloved will be pre-eminent in love as in all else; He will ever exceed in love to His saints, to His assembly, any love, however true, which they have for Him. This enables us to perceive how exceedingly precious to Christ are those affections which have been divinely produced in His saints, and which have Him as their Object,
Then the spouse has “ointments” which to Him are more fragrant than all spices. This brings to mind the “oil of holy ointment ... the holy anointing oil” of Exodus 30: 22 - 25. The King had ointments in chapter 1: 3, but now the spouse has them; she has come under the anointing as having His Spirit. The different precious spices blended in the olive oil indicate how rich and varied are the features of grace which become fragrant in those who have the Spirit of Christ. We read that “if any one has not the Spirit of Christ he is not of him” (Romans 8: 9). And the body is “the Christ” (1 Corinthians 12: 12) — the anointed company. Everything that is of the Spirit of Christ is fragrant to Him; it surpasses all that is the product of nature, however refined and amiable. No other spices can compare with the ointments of the bride; they are like the spices which the queen of Sheba brought to Solomon.
The Spirit of Christ was in Old Testament saints, testifying through them “the sufferings which belonged to Christ, and the glories after these” (1 Peter 1: 11.). Whatever gives prominence to Christ in a spiritual way is of His Spirit, so that “in all the scriptures the things concerning himself” were pointed out by His spirit. Then the Spirit of Christ was the origin of every holy exercise and desire that ever existed in the hearts of God’s people. The Psalms give the expression of such exercises very fully, and they are found also in the prophets. All form part of the ointments of the bride, though in considering them we have to remember that the exercises of the saints are ever in correspondence with the character of God’s ways at the time in which they live. What has the place of the spouse of Christ — whether the assembly now, or the remnant in a coming day — will [p. 113] answer to Him, as having His Spirit, according to His attitude at the moment. So long as He is patiently waiting for rights that have been long refused Him, His Spirit in His saints will be in accord with this. When the time comes for Him to assert His rights, and have all His foes as His footstool, His Spirit in the saints on earth at that time will be in accord. Though, until He actually appears for their deliverance, their place will be to suffer patiently even as He did in the days of His flesh. And there is a fragrance in the “ointments” of a suffering people which is peculiarly like His own, and therefore in a special way delightful to Him.
If we have the Spirit of Christ ought we not to have “ointments”? Shall there not be fragrance for Him? Fragrance is not exactly what we say or do; it does not appeal to sight or hearing but to the sense of smelling. It is a subtle gratification to the one who perceives it, but one which it is difficult to describe, nor could any impression of it be conveyed to one who had not the faculty of smelling. I suppose we have all been conscious at times that there is something about a truly spiritual person which it is difficult to describe? Something that gives a very agreeable impression to one that can appreciate it, and yet it is neither word nor act? That is fragrance. How fully and perfectly must it have been known in the Lord Himself! And He sets great value on it as manifested in His loved ones.
Isaiah 47: 9 speaks of God’s adulterous people as going “to the king with ointment”. They will lay themselves out to be attractive to the antichrist! What a terrible thing! But surely it prompts our [p. 114] hearts to more intense desire to have fragrant ointments for our Beloved — to be truly and spiritually attractive to Him!
Paul knew that even his bonds would turn out for him to salvation through the prayers of the saints and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1). Salvation for him meant that Christ should be magnified in his body whether by life or by death. To him to live was Christ. What ointments and fragrance were there for the Beloved! But how deeply essential to it all was “the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ”! It is not enough to have the Spirit of Christ as given once for all. There must be a fresh supply as each circumstance and experience requires. Perhaps some of us feel that we have had a small supply in the past? Thank God, there is no reason why we should not have, through our own prayers and the prayers of the brethren, a full supply of that blessed Spirit in the future.
Our lips would then, surely, “drop as the honey-comb”; honey and milk would be under our tongue (verse 11). The honeycomb would suggest the result of a patient gathering up by collective labour of what has spiritual sweetness. Thoughts of Christ and of the Father stored in the heart, and now dropping from the lips in sweet and nourishing power! How different from “the poison of asps”! We know from Malachi that the Lord observes and hears what His people say. Disparaging things of others uttered by His saints are not “honey and milk”. They do not attract His love.
“And the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon”. The garments represent what is outward;
[p. 115] our habits, ways, associations, and characteristics as they can be noticed publicly. The garments of the spouse are fragrant, even as those of the King are according to Psalm 45: 8; they carry the smell of higher regions. “The smell of Lebanon” rightly attaches to saints as known publicly here. In the office, behind the counter, at the works, they are not like other people. There is something about them to indicate that they have come from a region that is elevated far above the level of this world. Such features are most attractive to Christ. He speaks of them to us that WC may come more and more into correspondence with the thoughts of His love concerning us.
A new figure of the spouse is introduced at this point; she is seen as the garden of the Beloved. The thought of a garden has a special place in the mind of God. The first thing that He did after He had formed man was to plant a garden in Eden eastward into which He put man. Every tree was there that was pleasant to the sight and good for food, and it was watered by a river, And at the present time God has a paradise — a garden of delights — in heaven, in the midst of which is the tree of life (Revelation 2). Paul, as we know, was caught up into paradise; a man like ourselves has actually been in paradise, a man in Christ. Through the ascension and glorification of Christ full delight for God has been secured in heaven, and His thought is to secure something which corresponds with it down here. Israel will be His garden in the day of the Lord, and before that the remnant will be Messiah’s garden, as seen in the scripture before us, and the assembly is privileged [p. 116] to have that place now. For saints are spoken of as God’s husbandry, and, as being plants of the heavenly Father’s planting (1 Corinthians 3, Matthew 15: 13).
There is a speciality about a garden. No doubt the whole creation was beautiful; God pronounced it “very good”; He had but to speak the word and it came into being. But it is written that He “planted a garden”; the doing it is presented as the work of His own hands, shewing the peculiar and personal interest which He had in it. It set forth in figure what the saints would be for His pleasure and for Christ’s. We have known large estates composed of many farms; then nearer to the owner’s mansion a private park; but nearer still an enclosed garden where every resource of skill is exercised to secure the gratification of the owner’s desires. Everything beautiful is there; not merely “useful herbs” (Hebrews vi), but everything that is attractive to the eye, the taste, the smell! Such is the place the saints have relative to divine pleasure. It suggests a special reservation that is designed to yield a superlative degree of satisfaction. We have noticed that this section of the book brings out in a striking way the product of grace, and it is thus that a full result is secured for the pleasure of Christ.
The spouse is “a garden enclosed ... a spring shut up, a fountain sealed”. She is exclusively for Him; she is His garden. That is a great feature of her attractiveness to Him, and it is as holding ourselves reserved for Him that we answer to the pleasure of His love. The youngest believer whose affections are set upon the Lord Jesus can hold himself or herself as thus reserved. His garden is not a common [p. 117] where all may come and go; it is “enclosed” to be for Him alone. What must it be to Him to see even one heart that holds itself for His pleasure alone!
We cannot be presented “a chaste virgin to Christ” without being carefully reserved from the influences of the world. When a man died in a tent (Numbers 19) every “open vessel which hath no covering bound upon it shall be unclean”. How true it is that we are in a place where moral death and corruption sheds its influence on everything. To be clean we must be covered vessels. A man with wireless apparatus in his house is uncovered; he has definitely left himself open to the influences that are broadcast in this present evil world. We need to be “enclosed” “shut up”, “sealed”. We expect to be accounted narrow, but how great is the honour and joy of being reserved for Christ! I know that I fail in not being more exclusive than I am, but I do not care to open my mind to all sorts of things that give no pleasure to Christ. He would have us “wholly clean”. We cannot help touching the dust of the world as we pass along as bathed persons, but He washes our feet, and bids us wash one another’s feet, that we may be “wholly clean”. No Christian was ever known to regret on his death bed that he had been too exclusively for Christ. How many have regretted that they had not been more devoted to Him! The penitent Psalmist said, “Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow” (51: 7). Have we got such a standard of moral purity as that? How stainless is the newly-fallen snow! But our standard goes beyond that, for we are told that every one who has the hope of being like Christ “purifies himself, even as he is pure” (1 John 3: 3). How effectually would that keep out all the influences of the world!
With those who have the affections of the spouse it is not merely a question of what is right or wrong — though surely there would be no carelessness as to that — but of what is pleasurable to Christ. We want His garden to be such as to yield Him the fullest possible satisfaction and delight, so that we may be able to invite Him to come in with assurance that He will find pleasure in doing so.
“A spring shut up”. I suppose we have all at some time seen a well with a lock on it, so that none but the owner might draw from it. That is the thought. There is something which is for the Lord alone — a flow of affections and appreciations which He alone can estimate, and which is as precious to Him as the water of the well of Bethlehem which was in the gate, was to David (2 Samuel 23).
Then there are “shoots” (verse 13) which speak of energetic life. If the “shoots” are “a paradise” there is nothing decadent, no loss of vitality. The Lord Himself is more than once called “the Sprout”, indicating the freshness and vigour in which all that is for the pleasure of God springs forth in Him. And the “shoots” in His garden correspond in this feature with what is true in Him.
The “precious fruits” and the fragrant spices of verses 13, 14 show how rich and varied are the products of grace by the Spirit in the saints. Indeed they are so comprehensive that no element of fragrance is lacking, for “All trees of frankincense” and “All the chief spices” are mentioned.
[p. 119] Every possibility of fruit and fragrance lies in the Spirit of Christ. The cultivation of these things must go on all the time. There are special moments when the Lord comes into His garden. He loves to do so when His saints are convened to eat His supper. But the precious fruits and the fragrance do not suddenly appear when we are together. They are the product of many an exercise in secret. The way we go on in the Spirit through the week has much to do with the pleasure which the Lord has in coming to His saints when together on the first day of the week. Often there is a measure of spiritual slackness through the week. Then when Saturday night, or Sunday morning comes we have to pull ourselves up, and have a kind of preparation through self judgment before we feel quite happy to come to the assembly. If things have been spiritually slack it, is well that there should be self judgment, but there will be no great development of fruits or fragrance in that way. It is not for the Lord’s delight, though in His grace He may meet us even under such conditions. He would delight to have more in us than that — even that the fruits and fragrance should be there all the time, so that whenever He comes to us, either individually or collectively, He finds them. Xo one can be carnal through the week and then spiritual on the Lord’s day; a spiritual man would he careful to preserve his sealed and reserved character at all times.
In verse 15 there is a return to the thought of “a fountain ... a well of living waters”, indicating the Spirit N the source of continual freshness. New truth may awaken great interest, and give apparent freshness for a time, but when it becomes well known “living waters” alone will keep up the energy of it in the soul. Many know much of divine things as truth without having any real spring in the soul. How we need to pray that there may be that energy in our affections which the Spirit alone can maintain! The “fountain” would speak of this. It is good when the heart must express itself; it so wells forth with “a good matter” that it only awaits its opportunity. Not constrained to speak because there has been a long pause, and by feeling that something should be said, but the “fountain” furnishing a full and spontaneous flow.
Then “a well of living waters” would suggest a store from which refreshment can be drawn at all times, but which is not like a stagnant pool or a mere cistern, but is fed and kept in freshness by a living spring. Such is the refreshment which the Lord finds in His beloved ones, for we must remember that here it is not what there may be for others, but what there is for Him in His garden. If it is not there in private it cannot be there in public. And all streams “from Lebanon”; the Spirit has come down from an ascended Christ, and all His activities in the saints have something of the character of the Source from whence He came.
A garden without water would soon lose its fertility, and the ministry of Christ by the Spirit amongst the saints is needed if the fruits and spices are to be abundant. That ministry flows softly like the waters of Shiloah, but it is full of invigorating power. It must have failed to flow at Ephesus, and other things — good in themselves — had taken its place. Labour and faithfulness and unwearied endurance are [p. 121] excellent things, but one may have all these and fall from first love. The Spirit’s ministry of Christ, and hearts that give place to it, are needed to preserve the true character of His garden. One may do what is right without there being any flow of spices; it is only as things are done in the Spirit of Christ that there is fragrance for Him. We have said before that fragrance is a thing that cannot be described. Who could describe the fragrance of a rose?
The Lord would use all circumstances to develop the spices of His garden. He calls for the north wind and the south to blow upon His garden to this end. All the varied conditions under which saints come are designed to bring out more fragrance. It was the north wind in Acts 8: 1 - 3 when great persecution arose, but in Acts 9: 31 the assemblies had peace, and were edified and increased. The south wind blew then for a time. Paul and Silas experienced the south wind in Lydia’s house, but they had a sharp blast of the north wind in the prison (Acts xvi), but we do not doubt that under both circumstances sweet fragrance came out for the Beloved. And it is so with all the orderings of divine love for the saints. They are not to be looked at as adverse, but as designed to promote the flowing forth of spices in the Lord’s garden..
In the consciousness that something has been produced for Him the spouse says in verse 16, “Let my beloved come into his garden and eat its precious fruits”. And we see that He responds at once to the invitation, and comes in. “I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse” (chapter 5: 1). This would shew us that the Lord is not always in His garden.
[p. 122] He waits, not only until the fruits and the spices have been brought forth, but until He is invited to come in. The Lord does not care to come in as an unexpected Visitor. He comes when His presence is desired, and when there are conditions in which He can find pleasure. How suggestive is this of the way in which He comes to His own as gathered together! He comes when He is invited, and I do not think He would ever really be invited unless there were conditions present in which He could find delight. How could any company invite Him to come in if conscious of unsuitability to Him? What “precious fruits” have we to offer Him?
Here He can say, “I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk”. How precious it is to the Lord to come into a company where everyone has been prepared in some small measure at least, to suffer in love for Him! To share His rejection and reproach, to suffer loss rather than be untrue to His Name! If a young believer has been laughed at or persecuted in some way as confessing His Name, this is truly myrrh and spice for Him. His honeycomb would speak of the pleasure He finds in His saints as knit together in love, and mutually co-operating to produce the sweet fruits of the divine nature. His wine and His milk indicate that He finds everything to gladden and satisfy His heart in those who are formed under the influence of divine grace and love.
And, finally, He calls upon His friends and beloved ones to eat and drink, “yea drink abundantly”. This makes manifest that if He gets satisfaction amongst [p. 123] His saints He will see to it that there is abundance for them. If there is a ministry from His saints to Him there will always be a ministry from Him to His saints. The true character of the assembly would hardly he realised otherwise. Whatever He receives, we may be sure that He will always be pre-eminent in love, and will give more than He receives.
This concludes a section of the book which is marked by presenting features in the spouse which are the product of grace and of the activity of the Spirit of Christ. It ends with the Beloved finding in the spouse as His garden all that His heart desires. He brings this before us to awaken in our hearts ardent longings to have characteristics which are delightful to Him. May the spiritual features, which are set forth in the exclusiveness and fruitfulness and fragrance of His garden, be so definitely formed in us that there may be a spot amid this desert waste to which He can come with deep pleasure, and find what His heart looks for in those whom He loves!