The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 82

tree, chiof in valno among the trees of the grove, an emblem of that" Plant of Reuo,vn " the Lord nnd Saviour himself, who has she! tered multitudes beneath his guar,li;n presence, and supplied multitudes from his abundant suflioiency. J. CHnisT's BUPREMAOY ASSERTED, As the noble citron in the orchard towers above the lesser trees, so is the Saviour 'exalted above all human teachers and leaders of men nnd even above a~l inspired seers and prophets. This supremacy (1) results from hi: very nature; (2) 1s aflir~ed upon Divine authority; (3) has proved itself in the history of the Church; and {4) 1s made evident in the experience of every individual friend and disciple of the Lord. p. CHRIST'~ PR-OTECTION EXPERIENCED: The bride not only looked up to her royal bridegroom with reverence and with pnde; she placed herself beneath his guardian care. He was her husband, in whose palace she abode, and in whose keeping she felt secure. He was to her as the spreading tree which protects from noonday hent. So the spiritual spouse of the Divine Bridegroom rests secure beneath the guardianship of her rightful Lord. "Oppressed with noontide's seorohing heat, To yonder cross I flee ; Beneath its shelter take my seat- No shade like this for me." III. _Cmu~T's _SWEETNESS ENJOYED. The tree that yields the sheJter supplies also t~e fruit, ~h1ch 1s "sweet~ the taste;'' And the sou~ partakes of Christ, feediµg upon him by faith. As the frmt enters mto the body, 1s assimilated, and refreshes the system, in like manner our Divine Lord condescends to become the life and nourish- ment of his people. His sacramental love brings health and nourishment, vigour and revival, satisfaction and joy, to the spiritual nature of such as parti9ipa_te by {aith in his sacrifice and in his S!Jirit. Such are happy, for they." taste and see that the Lord is good.''-T. . Ver. 4.-The banquet of love. Both in the Old Testament a:r;1d in the New the blessings of the gospel are set forth, by anticipation or iu reality, under the image of a feast. The composite nature of man gives point and effectiveness to this metaphorical language. The soul is led by the Saviour into his banqueting-house, where hunger is satisfied, and where the provisions of bounty and of love are partaken and enjoyed. I. IT IS CHRIST WHO BRINGS TRE SOUL TO HIMSELF. He does not wait for tho needv and poverty-strickep spirit to find Lim and to come to him. He came in pity to seeic and to save. And as when he was upon earth Jesus sought out· many a sinner, many a sufferer, so does he still and ever, in the exercise of his Di~ine compass\on, lay his hand upon needy outcasts, and lead them into his banqueting-house. . li. IT IS CHRIST WHO PROVIDES FOB THE 6-0UL .A BOUNTIFUL ENTERTAINllENT. It is not merely bread for the hungry that the gospel offers; it is, in the language of Scripture, a" feast of fat things." Salvation means something more than deliverance from desti- tution. God comes to us in Christ, saying, "All things are yours." The beggar may l,e relieved at the gate; but the guest is welcomed to the banquet-hall, and has Lid place assigned him at the board of the Divine and blessed Host himself. He whom Christ leads to his own fellowship shall not want any good thing; wisdom, righteous- ness, sanctification, and redemption, all are assured to him. !IL IT IS CHBIST WHO REVEALS TO THE SOUL THE MYSTERY OF DIVINE LOVE, The banner or standard is the sign of the presence of the king or the commander. Evon over the "house of wine" there floated the symbol of the royal bridegroom. Thu~ for the soul that Chri£t finds and leads, that Christ supplies from the stores of his spiritual b-Ounty, is there an assurance that the King himself keeps guard over its safety, '.!.'here is the pledge, not -0nly of the king's faithfulness, but of the bridegroom's love. Tlie boul may feast in security and peace, may enjoy the companionship of Christ's friends; for high over tLe banqueting-house floats the banner, which i11 the emblem of a Divine 1,r~sence, e.nd the earnest of an unchanging, an eternal love.-'!'. Vers. 8-10.-The approach of the beloved. How poetically does this language i,ictw·t: LLe_rural maiucu Jll her 1Uountain home-the lover climbing the hill like a young OlI, II, 1-17,] THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 71