Spices, Flowers, Lilies, and Myrrh

Next Part Spices, Flowers, Lilies, and Myrrh 2

"His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers:

his lips are like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh."

Song of Solomon 5:13

In this chapter the spouse describes in detail the person of her Beloved. She is not satisfied with saying, "He is altogether lovely;" but she delights to talk of the charms of each part of his sacred person, and to picture the beauties of his divine form and features, so that thereby she may, perhaps, win some other heart first to admire and then to love him.

Dear friends, there are some things about which you will be wise not to go into details. You had better speak in general terms of half the things on earth; for if you once describe them in detail, you will have to confess that they are marred by a thousand imperfections. You may be content to give merely a surface glance at them; for if you dive beneath the surface, you will soon discover much that will alter your opinion of the thing that at first sight looked so lovely.

But it is not so with Jesus, our Well-beloved. You may talk of him as long as ever you please, and praise him as much as ever you can, yet you will never discover that you have exaggerated his excellences. You may go into detail about him, and dwell with much minuteness upon everything relating to his character, his offices, his words, his deeds, and you shall be made to wonder at the perfection of each one of them. You may apply the microscope to Christ; you may examine his little things, if, indeed, anything can be little that refers to him; you may look into the deep things of Christ, the hidden things of Christ, his secrets, and the more closely you look, the more be amazed, and astonished, and filled with delight.

It is of Christ, the Heavenly Bridegroom, that we perceive the spouse to be speaking, and mentioning in detail at least ten particulars, dwelling with delight upon the beauties of his head and his locks, his eyes and his cheeks, his lips and his hands, and every part of him; and, beloved friends, I think it shows true love to Christ when we want to speak at length upon everything that concerns him.

The general hearer says, "Oh, yes, yes! of course, Christ is the Son of God, and he is also perfect man, I believe that;" but he does not want you to go into minute particulars concerning your Lord. It is not so with those who truly love the Savior; they wish to know all that can be known about him. True love likes to become familiar with the object of its affection; its heart is set upon that object, it studies it, and can never know it too well or too closely. True love to Christ thinks of him from morning until night; it is glad to be released from other thoughts that it may follow only its one darling pursuit. True love to Christ seeks to get to him, to live with him, to live upon him, and thus to know him so intimately that things which were unobserved and passed over at the first, stand out in clear light to the increased joy and delight of the contemplative mind. I wish, dear friends, that we had many more of those people about who study Christ from head to foot, that they may learn all that can be learned about him, those who would be able, with the spouse, to talk of his charms and beauties in detail, and to describe them as she does with rapturous delight.

You know how very unacquainted many people are with the Song of Solomon; they shut up this Book of Canticles in despair and say that they cannot understand its meaning. You will find that it is just the same with every truly spiritual thing. If you put into the hands of any one of them a deeply-spiritual book, he will say, "I cannot comprehend what the writer means; the man seems to be in a rapture, and I cannot make out what he is aiming at by such writing."

Just so- unspiritual people are all at sea in spiritual things, and even some of God's children, who do know Christ so as to be saved by him, seem to be altogether out of their depth when you begin to speak of the things which you have learned, touching the King, or dilate upon those special truths which only experience and fellowship with Christ can reveal to the soul.

In speaking upon our text, I am sure that I shall not say too much in praise of my Lord and Master, my fear is that I shall not say a thousandth part as much as he deserves-- and yet, perhaps, it shall seem but trivial talk to some who as yet do not know that one hair of his head is worth more than the whole world, and that one drop of his precious blood has an eternal efficacy about it. On the other hand, I know that I shall not speak too enthusiastically for those whose hearts are warm with love to Christ. May the Lord, in great mercy, make us all to have such hearts, and he shall have all the praise!

There are two things I shall speak of as I may be helped by the Holy Spirit. First, Christ looked upon is very lovely: "His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers." Secondly, Christ listened to is very precious: "His lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh."

There is an important distinction between the two heads of my discourse that I want you to notice before I proceed further; for there is a considerable difference between Christ looked upon, and Christ listened to. There are some who listen to Christ's gospel, and they do well. But those who also look with eyes of love upon his sacred person, those who contemplate not only what he says but what he is, those who delight to know not only what he taught, but who he is who taught it, these are they who have penetrated yet further into the mysteries of Christ.

I. CHRIST LOOKED UPON IS VERY LOVELY. Note that these saints first see their Lord's loveliness, and then they say concerning him, "His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers." But why do they mention his cheeks? I suppose, first, because 'every part of Christ is inexpressibly delightful'. Take any portion of his countenance that you may, and it has surpassing beauty about it. The spouse had already spoken upon her Beloved's head, and locks, and eyes, and now she mentions his cheeks. Any sight of Christ is delightful; a single passing glimpse of him is a foretaste of heaven, the beginning of paradise.

Though you see but little of Christ, yet if it be Christ whom you really see, that sight will save you. Though you see Christ, as it were, with but one eye, and though that eye be dim, and though that dim eye be filled with tears, yet if you do but see him at all, that sight will save you, and just in proportion as you are able to see him, your delight will increase. But a sight of him in any capacity, and under any form, has great richness of sweetness in it.

Think for a moment what is meant by a sight of "his cheeks". Though you may not yet see the majesty of his brow as King of kings and Lord of lords-- though you may not perceive the brightness of the lightning flashes of his eyes, which are as a flame of fire-- though you may scarcely be able to imagine at present what will be the glory of his second advent-- yet, if you can but see the cheeks that he gave to the smiters, if you do but know something of him as the suffering Savior, you shall find that there is inexpressible delight in him, and with the spouse you will say, "His cheeks are as a bed of spices." To a believing soul, then, there is great delight in every part of the Lord Jesus Christ.

But, methinks, the saints see 'great loveliness in those parts of Christ which have been most despised'. Just now, I mentioned the cheek as one of those parts of Christ's blessed body that were exposed to special shame, as Isaiah foretold, using by inspiration the very words of the Isaiah in his agony: "I gave my back to the smiters, and my CHEEKS to those who plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting." Oh! if we could but see him now, if we could but gaze upon his face as it is in glory, what a subject of meditation it would be to think that ever the spittle of cruel mockers did run a-down those blessed cheeks-- that infinite loveliness was insulted with inconceivable contempt-- the holy face of the Incarnate Son of God disdained with the accursed spittle of brutal men.

O my soul, how low your Lord has stooped! Can you really believe it possible that it should have been so? Yes, you know that it was so; yet, is it not sad to think that his dear face, which is as the sun shining in his strength, which is indeed the very heaven of heavens, the light of the temple of God above, is it not sad to think that his face should have been spit upon for your sake, and because of your sin and your iniquity? Alas! that each of us had a part in that shameful deed.

"My Jesus! who with spittle vile
Profaned your sacred brow?
Or whose unpitying scourge has made
Your precious blood to flow?
It is I have thus ungrateful been,
Yet, Jesus, pity take!
Oh, spare and pardon me, my Lord,
For your sweet mercy's sake!"

"It was I, with my vain and idle talk, with my false and proud speech, that did spit into that dear face." How sad that he should ever have been made to suffer so! O glorious love, that he should be willing even to stoop to this terrible depth of disgrace that he might lift us up to dwell with him on high! So, I say again, every part of Christ is lovely, but that which has been most despised and most subjected to suffering and shame for us is the peculiar subject of our delightful contemplation.

And next, my brethren, 'those parts of Christ in which we do not immediately see any special office or use are, nevertheless, peculiarly lovely to the saints'. I can gaze by faith on the 'brow' of him who plans for me, and admire his infinite wisdom. I can think of the 'eye' of him who looks in love upon me, and bless him for his care. I can praise the 'lips' that speak for me in heaven, and that speak to me upon earth, and I can bless the matchless eloquence that never ceases to plead for me and with me; but as for the 'cheeks' of Christ, what do they do for me? What peculiar function have they to perform?

I fear that we are all too apt to ask concerning Christ, "How is this to work for our advantage, and how is that to turn out for our profit?" Has it come to this-- that we are never to love Christ except when we see that we are profited by him? If there be an abstruse doctrine, as we think it, that does not appear to have a practical outlook, are we, therefore, never to speak of it? If we cannot see that we derive comfort, or profit, or sanctification, from some teaching which may be high, mysterious, sublime, so that we do not see whereunto it tends, yet, beloved, are we to refuse to think of it? Until the question, "Cui bono?" shall have been answered, will we seal up that sacred page, and never read it?

Do you care only for the 'lips' that speak to you? Have you no love for the 'cheeks' that are silent? Do you care for nothing but for the 'eyes' that are watching over you? If there come to you nothing from those cheeks of your Lord, yet would they not be to you "as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers"? The fact is, we are not to judge concerning Christ in any such fashion as this; on the contrary, if there is any duty which Christ has commanded, but which, instead of seeming to be easy and profitable to us, is hard, and requires that we should give so much that Judas will cry out, "To what purpose is this waste?" let us never mind him, but break our alabaster boxes, and pour out the sweet perfume upon our dear Master.

Let the cheeks that seem to have no special office to fulfill, let that part of Christ or of Christianity that seems to serve no purpose that we can see; be nevertheless precious to us. These are HIS cheeks, therefore are they precious to me; this duty is a command from HIM, therefore I must perform it; and this doctrine, of which I do not see the practical end, is, nevertheless, a doctrine of HIS teaching, therefore I accept it with delight.

But further, beloved children of God, the followers of Christ have an intense admiration, an almost infinite love for 'that part of Christ by which they are able to commune with him', and perhaps that is one reason why his cheeks are here specially mentioned. The cheek is the place of fellowship where we exchange tokens of love. What a blessing it is that Christ should have had a cheek for the lips of love to approach, and to kiss! What a privilege it is that ever it should be possible for a loving heart to express its affection to Christ!

If he had accepted us, and then put us at a distance from him, and said, "There, you may love me, but you must never tell me of it;" if we were conscious that, when we did talk of our love to Christ, he never knew it, for he was far away, and high above us, and did not care for such poor love as ours; in such a case, he would not be half such a Christ as he now is to us. If he had taken himself away to the ivory palaces, and had shut to the door, and if, when we tried to gaze up at him there, he only looked down upon us with his countenance "as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars," but never stooped to where we were, that he might commune with us, and that we might tell out to him the story of our love, he would not be half so sweet to us as he is now.

Many of you know what it is to pray right into his very ear in the time of your sorrow, and you also know what it is to speak right into his ear in the hour of your joy; and, sometimes, when you have been alone with him (now I am talking of the deep things of Christ, of the pearls which are not to be cast before swine), you know that he has heard what you have said to him. You have been as certainly assured that he has been listening to your declaration as if, like Peter, you had heard him ask, "do you love me?" and you had answered, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you;" and you have been delighted with the thought that he did know that you loved him, and that you might tell him that it was so.

You rejoiced also that you could go forth into the world, and do something that he would see you do, something that you did not do for the sake of the church much less for your own sake, but which you did ALL FOR HIM, just as you would give him the kisses of love upon his own cheeks, which are "as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers." Those of you who have ever been in communion with Christ know what I mean, and you know that anything by which you come into close contact with Christ is very, very delightful to you.

How greatly we rejoice to think of Christ's humanity, because we feel that it brings him very near to us! He is our Brother, he feels what we feel, and through his humanity this wondrous Man is next of kin unto us. He who is truly God, is also our near Kinsman, bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh. How the blessed doctrine of the union of the saints with Christ delights us, as we remember that "we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones"!

How the wondrous truth of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit charms us, because the same Spirit that rested upon him rests also upon us, and the holy oil that was first poured upon him who is the Head descends even to us who are as the hem of the garment that reaches even to the ground! It is the same Spirit that is upon him that is upon us, and so again we are one with him.

Does not this truth also make prayer very sweet as the means of getting to Christ, and does it not make praise very sweet as another means of communicating with Christ? And oh! though some do put the sacred table of the Lord out of its proper place, yet is the communion of the body of Christ a dear and blessed ordinance. Often do we know him in the breaking of bread when we have not recognized him, even though he has talked with us by the way. So, you see, the saints delight in those truths concerning Christ which enable them to have fellowship with him, and thus they realize what the spouse meant when she said, "His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers."

I have thus tried to show you that the saints see great beauty in Christ when they look upon him; but now I have to remind you that saints also labor to tell others of the loveliness of Christ when they look upon him. In this blessed service, however, they must in part labor in vain, for, as we have often sung, --

"Living tongues are dumb at best,
We must die to speak of Christ."

I suppose that even he who has seen Christ in heaven could not fully tell us of his beauties. Paul has not told us much of what he heard in paradise, though he told all he could tell after he had been caught up to the third heaven. He "heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful (or, possible) for a man to utter." Oh, how one longs for but a moment's sight of Christ in glory! One might be content to have only a dry crust, and to lie in an underground dungeon for the rest of one's life, if one might but gaze on his blessed face for once, and hear him say, "I have loved you with an everlasting love."

Perhaps you do you think would have a deal to tell if that were your blessed experience; but, beloved, you might not have anything to tell, you would only feel less able to speak than ever you were before. You would be so dazzled, so astonished, so amazed, at the glory of Christ that, perhaps, you might never be able to speak at all. The spouse, however, in our text tries to speak of the loveliness of Christ by comparisons. She cannot do it with one emblem, she must have two even concerning his cheeks; they are "as a bed of spices," "as sweet flowers."

Notice, in the metaphors used by the spouse, that there is 'a blending of sweetness and beauty'. "as a bed of spices," -- there is sweetness; and then, "as sweet flowers," -- there is beauty. There is sweetness to the nostrils, and beauty to the eye- spice for its fragrance, and flowers for their loveliness. In Christ, there is something for every spiritual sense, and for every spiritual sense there is a complete satisfaction and delight in him. Look at him, and he is to your sight as sweet flowers.

Next Part Spices, Flowers, Lilies, and Myrrh 2

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