The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 38

speaks the mnidcn "•ho is _the type of the'believing, Christ•loving soul. . Can we each. then, ARY of Christ., "He 1s 'my Beloved'"? If so, we may go on and say, 11 He is unto me as myrrh." II. "A CLUSTER OF CA'MPHIR'E." (Ver.14.) Snch flo1Yers were used for the decore.- t.ion of rooms and for person&l a.dornn'lent. It is not easy to fix what precise flower is nmmt. Vi~e are_tol~ i~s habitat, but ~ot its special cha!ac~eristics, am_ougst the many flowers e.m1d which 1t 1s fou:nd. But its name is very s1gm6.cant. It 1s the same word that elsewhere is rendered "propitiation," or "atonement." 'l'he Jewish rabbis took it as a type of the Messiah. Hence they rendered this verse thus: "My b!lloved is unto me the man who propitiates all things." .And is not this a most true and beautiful rendering? For is not this just what our blessed Lord does for us? Is not his cross the antitype of that tree which Moses had shown to him, and which, when he had cast it into the bitter waters of Marah, ruade those waters sweet? 'l'he cross of Christ is the sweetener of life's bitter waters. Well, therefore, might the flower which bore the name of "the propitiation" be taken as_ telling of him. Is it not he who, by his grace, propitiates the worries and cares of life, so that they no longer irk and fret my will; and the perplexities and mysteries I everywhere meet with, so tha.t they no longer bewilder and beat down my faith; and the temptations· which would defile my soul, so tha.t they no more work me such harm; and the sin for which I might have been condemned, so that it is silent for ever against me; and the grave a.nd its corruption, so that they will not hold me therein? True, his gracious work is done on me; but it is as if the mouths of the lions themselves were stopped, so powerless to do me harm are they if Christ be to me my Propitiation. Oh, mo_st sweet and blessed flower! May it ever beautify my home, my life, my heart !-S. C.,,. Vers. 16, 17, and eh. ii. 4.-The house of the Lord. Before the soul delightedly tells of the house of her Lord, she speaks- , I. OF THE Lonn OF THE BOUSE. She declares not only that he is fair, but pleasant also. How many of his people fail here J Some are fair, but not pleasant. Some are pleasant, but not fair. .A.las ! some are neither. But of him supremely can it be said that he is fair and pleasant. Not only fair in outward seeming, but pleasant in his spirit, temper, and demeanour. IL OF ms HOUSE. The soul says "our" in speaking of his abode. And so closely are we united with him, that his people may, though out of reverence they seldom do, speak of that which is his as theirs also. The picture drawn in these verses (16, 17) is one of rural delight-the soft and verdant turf, the o'erarching and u~brageous trees, the noble cedar, the stately fir, beneath which those spoken of have cast themselve~ down. The ideas suggested are those of happy rest. Pa. xxiii., "Thou makest me to lie down in green pastures," etc., tells substantially of the same spiritual rest. .And _the house of the Lord is the place of such blessed rest of heart and soul and mind. Because of this, we find those many impassioned expressions in the Psalms as to the psalmist's delight in the house of the Lord; how he had rather be a doorkeeper there than hold auy place of worldly honour or pleasure, however exalted (Ps. lxxxiv.). The agitations and cares of t,he mind bush themselves to rest there. The psalmist tells in one place how the mystery of the Divine rule over men-wicked men often prospering and good men cast down-how this distressed, dismayed, and all but destroyed bis faith in God, "until," he says, "I went into the sanctuary; then I understood." Yes, the house of the Lord should be, and often is to his people, what this beautifu_l picture of rei,t on the green grass, beneath the cool, refreshing shade of fragrant and stately trees, presents to us-a place of pure delight, rest, and refreshment of heart. III. ITS PROVISIONS. It is a "banqueting-house." It is so when the Lord brings us there and is with us there (cf. on ver. 12). IV. lTs DEFENCE. "His banner over me is love." That is, the soul's protectiou and guard, so sure and strong as that of a banner-led host, is the Lord's love. Is it not so? What guards us there and everywhere but his love? What is the defence of the home but the father's love? What the safeguard of the wife but her husband B love? Love is always a mighty protector, a sure defence, a strong bulwark. "HPw doth the ben protect her brood," but by her love? And love cvr;r guards the beloved ones. And ao wi~h our 11ouls, the Lord's love is their defence.-S. C. OH, t. 1-17.] THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 27