Separation never comes from His side. He is always ready for communion with a prepared heart, and in this happy communion the bride becomes ever fairer, and more like to her LORD. She is being progressively changed into His image, from one degree of glory to another, through the wondrous working of the HOLY SPIRIT, until the Bridegroom can declare:--
Thou art all fair, My love; And there is no spot on thee.
And now she is _fit for service_, and to it the Bridegroom woos her; she will not now misrepresent Him:--
Come with Me from Lebanon, _My_ bride, With Me from Lebanon; Look from the top of Amana, From the top of Senir and Hermon, From the lions' dens, From the mountains of the leopards.
"Come with Me." It is always so. If our SAVIOUR says, "Go ye therefore and disciple all nations," He precedes it by, "All power is given unto Me," and follows it by, "Lo, I am with you always." Or if, as here, He calls His bride to come, it is still "with Me," and it is _in connection with this loving invitation_ that for the first time He changes the word "My love," for the still more endearing one, "My bride."
What are lions' dens when the Lion of the tribe of Judah is with us; or mountains of leopards, when He is at our side! "I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me." On the other hand, it is while thus facing dangers, and toiling with Him in service, that He says:--
Thou hast ravished My heart, My sister, _My_ bride; Thou hast ravished My heart with one look from thine eyes, With one chain of thy neck.
Is it not wonderful how the heart of our Beloved can be thus ravished with the love of one who is prepared to accept His invitation, and go forth with Him seeking to rescue the perishing! The marginal reading of the Revised Version is very significant: "Thou hast ravished My heart," or "Thou hast given me courage." If the Bridegroom's heart may be encouraged by the fidelity and loving companionship of his bride, it is not surprising that we may cheer and encourage one another in our mutual service. St. Paul had a steep mountain of difficulty to climb when he was being led as a captive to Rome, not knowing the things that awaited him there; but when the brethren met him at the Appii Forum he thanked God and took courage. May we ever thus strengthen one another's hands in God!
But to resume. The Bridegroom cheers the toilsome ascents, and the steep pathways of danger, with sweet communications of His love:--
How fair is thy love, My sister, _My_ bride! How much better is thy love than wine! And the smell of thine ointments than all manner of spices! Thy lips, O _My_ bride, drop as the honeycomb: Honey and milk are under thy tongue; And the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon. A garden shut up is My sister, _My_ bride; A spring shut up, a fountain sealed. Thy shoots are a paradise of pomegranates, with precious fruits; Henna with spikenard plants, Spikenard and saffron, Calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; Myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices. _Thou art_ a fountain of gardens, A well of living waters, And flowing streams from Lebanon.
Engaged with the Bridegroom in seeking to rescue the perishing, the utterances of her lips are to Him as honey and the honeycomb; and figure is piled upon figure to express His satisfaction and joy. She is a garden full of precious fruits and delightful perfumes, but a garden enclosed; the fruit she bears may bring blessing to many, but the garden is for Himself alone; she is a fountain, but a spring shut up, a fountain sealed. And yet again she is a fountain of gardens, a well of living waters and flowing streams from Lebanon: she carries fertility and imparts refreshment wherever she goes; and yet it is all of Him and for Him.
The bride now speaks for the second time in this section. As her first utterance was of Him, so now her second is for Him; self is found in neither.
Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; Blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my Beloved come into His garden, And eat His precious fruits.
She is ready for any experience: the north wind and the south may blow upon her garden, if only the spices thereof may flow out to regale her LORD by their fragrance. He has called her His garden, a paradise of pomegranates and precious fruits; let Him come into it and eat His precious fruits.
To this the Bridegroom replies:--
I am come into My garden, My sister, _My_ bride: I have gathered My myrrh with My spice; I have eaten My honeycomb with My honey; I have drunk My wine with My milk.
Now, when she calls, He answers at once. When she is only for her LORD, He assures her that He finds all His satisfaction in her.
The section closes by the bride's invitation to His friends and hers, as well as to Himself:--
Eat, O friends; Drink, yea, drink abundantly, O Beloved.