Cant. iii. 6-v. 1
O JESU, KING most wonderful, Thou CONQUEROR renown'd, Thou sweetness most ineffable, In whom all joys are found! Thee, JESU, may our voices bless; Thee may we love alone; And ever in our lives express The image of Thine own.
WE have been mainly occupied in Sections I. and II. with the words and the experiences of the bride; in marked contrast to this, in this section our attention is first called to the Bridegroom, and then it is from Himself that we hear of the bride, as the object of His love, and the delight of His heart. The daughters of Jerusalem are the first speakers.
Who is this that cometh up out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, With all powders of the merchant?
They themselves give the reply:--
King Solomon made himself a car of state Of the wood of Lebanon. He made the pillars thereof of silver, The bottom thereof of gold, the seat of it of purple, The midst thereof being paved with love (love-gifts), From the daughters of Jerusalem. Behold, it is the litter of Solomon; Threescore mighty men are about it, Of the mighty men of Israel, They all handle the sword, _and_ are expert in war: Every man hath his sword upon his thigh, Because of fear in the night.
In these verses the bride is not mentioned; she is eclipsed in the grandeur and the state of her royal Bridegroom; nevertheless, she is both enjoying and sharing it. The very air is perfumed by the smoke of the incense that ascends pillar-like to the clouds; and all that safeguards the position of the Bridegroom Himself, and shows forth His dignity, safeguards also the accompanying bride, the sharer of His glory. The car of state in which they sit is built of fragrant cedar from Lebanon, and the finest of the gold and silver have been lavished in its construction. The fragrant wood typifies the beauty of sanctified humanity, while the gold reminds us of the divine glory of our LORD, and the silver of the purity and preciousness of His redeemed and peerless Church. The imperial purple with which it is lined tells us of the Gentiles--the daughter of Tyre has been there with her gift; while the love-gifts of the daughters of Jerusalem accord with the prophecy, "Even the rich among the people shall intreat thy favour."
These are the things that attract the attention of the daughters of Jerusalem, but the bride is occupied with the King Himself, and she exclaims:--
Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold King Solomon, With the crown wherewith His mother hath crowned Him in the day of His espousals, And in the day of the gladness of His heart.
The crowned KING is everything to her, and she would have Him to be so to the daughters of Zion likewise. She dwells with delight on the gladness of His heart in the day of His espousals, for now she is not occupied with Him for her _own_ sake, but rejoices in His joy in finding in her _His_ satisfaction. Do we sufficiently cultivate this unselfish desire to be all for JESUS, and to do all for His pleasure? Or are we conscious that we principally go to Him for our own sakes, or at best for the sake of our fellow-creatures? How much of prayer there is that begins and ends with the creature, forgetful of the privilege of giving joy to the Creator! Yet it is only when He sees in our unselfish love and devotion to Him the reflection of His own that His heart can feel full satisfaction, and pour itself forth in precious utterances of love such as those which we find in the following words:--
Behold, thou art fair, My love; behold, thou art fair; Thine eyes are _as_ dove's behind thy veil; Thy hair is as a flock of goats, That lie along the side of Mount Gilead; Thy teeth are like a flock _of ewes_ that are _newly_ shorn, Which are come up from the washing. Which are all of them in pairs, And none is bereaved among them. Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, And thy speech is comely, etc. (See verses 3-5.)
We have already found the explanation of the fairness of the bride in her reflecting like a mirror the beauty of the Bridegroom. Well may He with satisfaction describe her beauty while she is thus occupied with Himself! The lips that speak only of Him are like a thread of scarlet; the mouth or speech which has no word of self, or for self, is comely in His sight.
How sweet His words of appreciation and commendation were to the bride we can well imagine; but her joy was too deep for expression; she was silent in her love. She would not _now_ think of sending Him away until the day be cool and the shadows flee away.
Still less does the Bridegroom think of finding His joy apart from His bride. He says:--
Until the day be cool, and the shadows flee away, I will get Me to the mountain of myrrh, And to the hill of frankincense.