The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 62

2. B,d, 11ot qf fah;e humility. For though a lowly it is yet a lovely flower. The rose or Sharon was that " excellency of Sharon" which IMiah couples with " the glory of Leban .. n." Hero, too, the resemblance between this and tbe "but comely" of eh. i. 6 is evident. And the saintly soul i.s lovely-in the sight of its Lord, in the sight of the Oburcb, and in the sight of men. Of our Lord it is said that "the grace of God 1rns upon him," and that he grew" in favour with God and man."' And this isso with his people, for he makes them beautiful and precious in bis sight. She who is here the type of such soul is called" the fairest among women." 3. And the t·ose is also fragriwt. 'l'rue, to it as to others the poet's lines apply- " Full many II flower is born to blush unseen, And waste its fragmnce on the desert air." Dut the saintly soul is what it is because it is its nature to be so, whether admired or uot (cf. on eh. i. 12). .And such souls are: 4. The glory of the places where they are found. The Plain of Sharon is remembered in the minds of men for this its "excel- lency "-the roses that grow there. 'l'he world would not say that the glory of a place was its saints. It would point to its popular heroes, aud tho~e whom it calls its great men. But by the side of such flowers Solomon in all his glory fades by comparison. How plainly the Divine estimate of men is seen in God's choice of Israel-a small, insigni- ficant people, contemptible in the eyes of the great empires of ancient and modern days I But because in them, as in none other, the saints of the Lord were found, therefore on them and on their land the eyes of the Lord rested night and day. According to our character, according as we are governed by the faith, the fear, and the love of God, are we a blessing and an honour to our land and age. ..And they.: 6. Delight in the sunshine of his love. The rose is the child of the sun. Its bright rays must rest upon,it or its radiant beauty will not be revealed. .And we are to " walk in the light," and to be " children of the light." IT. THE LILY OF THE VALLEYS. This is another emblem of the saintly soul. 1. Of their character. Purity, sweetness, power of self-multiplication, What numbers of them there are I Bushnell speaks in his 'Christian Nurture' of "the out-propagating power of the Christian stock," by which he mean:;; the power given to Christian faith to reproduce itself beyond the like power possessed by that which is unchtistian, .And it has been so. How soon was the whole Roman empire converted to Christianity I It is the truth taught in the parable of the mustard seed (Matt. xiii.). .And it. will be so yet more. " The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord." 2. Their home is in the" valleys." (1) The lowly places. They "mind not high things." They "learn of" him who said, "lam meek and lowly in heart;" and, "When thou art bidden to a feast, take the lowest place." It is in such valleys that some of Christ's fairest flowers are found. Amongst the poor. The afflicted. The persecuted. (2) Where, though exposed to much peril, they are yet preserved. How wonderful has been the preserva- .tion of the Church when we think of the perils it has bad to encounter I As sheep amongst wolves Christ sent them. But yet the sheep outnumber the wolves, and have long done so. The lilies liable to be plucked by any passer-by, trampled on or devoured by any beast, yet they live on, and each spring sees the valleys covered with them again. 3. They are found where the living streams abound. The well-watered valleys are the lilies' natural home. And so with the saintly soul. It lives by that river the streame whereof make its home glad. So, then, here is another portraiture of such a soul. Do we behold our face in this glass ?-S. C. Ver. 2.-The Lord's 'l'esponse to the lily. "As the lily among thorns." I. HE DOES SET HIB LILIES AMID BUCH EUBROUNDINGB. By the thorns we may understand: 1. The w<>rl,d of the umgodl,y. '' Among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword" (Ps. lvii. 4). '' The saint must expect to find himself, while in this, world, among uncongenial and hostile spirits." 2. Trials and temptations. (Cf. Paul's " thorn in the flesh.") 3. HindranwJ to our growth and peril to our life. ." The thorns sprang up and chobd them" (Ma.tt. xiii.). 'Tis a wonder, when we think of it, how any of these lilies live at all. 4. All others than they who·are tlte L<>rd's. The speaker in text OH, II, 1-17,] THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 51