The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 99

Vere. 6-11.-The King coming to his c,-1,pital. In Asia.tic lands wheeled carriages were rare, and are rare still. 'fhis is accounted for b_y the absence of roads. To construct and maintain roads through a billy country like Palestine required more engineering skill than the people possessed; and further, there w~s a general belief that to make good roads would pave the way to military invasion. Hence nil over Palestine the pathways from town t_o town were simply trach marked out by the feet of men and beasts. Over the level plain of Esdraelon Ahab might ride in a chariot; but if Solomon brought up wheeled chariots from Egypt he had a prior undertaking, viz. to make a roacl from Beersheba to the capital. Therefore travellioe1 princes rode in a covered palanquin, which served to screeu from the hot sun by day~ and became a bed at night. Owing t? the scorching heat, much of the journey would be taken during the cool hours of mght, and hence the need for a strong body-guard. Before the rapt imagination of. the sacred poet such a scene passed. 'fhe stately procession arrested his attention, and he asks, " Who is this?" What great king is this? Such is the poetic imagery, Now, what is the religious instruction ? It is the march of Cl,rist through the ages-a march beginning with the wilderness and terminating with his coronation in the new Jerusalem. Though be has been long hidden, the day is.coming when the King of Zion shall be revealed to the eyes of men, and he shall "be admired by all who love his a'ppea.ring." I. OBSERVE THE MARCH OF CHRIST TO HIS GLORIOUS THRONE. 1. His lowly beginning is.indicated. "He cometh out of the wilderness." This is how he appeared to the onlooker.· His prior state was. hidden from mortal eye. So far as men saw, Jesus began his strange career in the cattle-manger of a. stable. The world to him was a wilderness; void of all attractiveness. In this respect hf followed the fortunes of ancient Israel, for they too had first the wilderness, then the "land flowing with milk and honey.'' When Jesus began his mission, human life was a veritable wilderness. The beauty and joy of Eden had departed. On every side raged jealousies, hatreds, strifes. The civilized world was under the iron despotism of Rome. The prophets of (lod had ceased to speak. Hope of a golden age had almost died out, except in a few believing hearts. The glory of Greece and Tyre had waned. The human race was on the verge of reckless despair. Our earth was reduced to a desert. 2. Christ's coming was fragrant with heavenly hope. Even in the loneliest desert there are some living plants, and these ofttimes possess aromatic essences. The shrubs are storehouses of fragrant spice. The sweetest perfumes come from the Arabian desert. Such tuings abate the mischief of noxious miasma. Rare perfumes refresh the senses, and betoken noble rauk. •The mightiest King did not despise the sweet odours of myrrh and frankincense. So neither did Jesus Christ treat with contempt the simple virtues and courtesies of the people. He stooped to learn from the lips. of Jewish rabbis. He gave his benediction to the wedding-feast. He was pleased with the gratitude of a poor leper. He commended tho brotherliness of the despised Samaritan. He accepted the hospitality of peasant ,women. He praised the generosity of a poor widow. A sweet and refreshing savour pervaded all his words, all his deeds. From his cradle to his grave he was perfumed with frankincense and myrrh. 3. His coming was a conspicuous thing. The procession was seen afar off. Possibly the flame of torches dming the night-march sent up in front and in rear huge pillars of smoke. Or possibly clouds of dust from that dry soil rose from ihe feet of the host, and in that clear, transparent air was seen thirty or. forty miles away-even from tho hills of Zion. Anyhow, the procession is seen from a distance. Curiosity is aroused. Many eyes are tt1rncd to the novel spectacle, and the question leaps from lip to lip, " Who is this?" So, too, the progress of Jesus through our world has ex.cited the wonder of succes11ive generations. When he read the Scripture in the rustic synagogue of Nazareth, men asked, '' ·Who is this?" When he fed the five thousand on the mountain-side, or ruled nl\ture with a nod, they asked, "Who is this?" When, on the Day of Pentecost, the whole city was thrilled with astonishment, men asked, "Who is this?" At Corinth, at Ephesus, at Antioch, wheu multitudes left their idols for the new faith, men asked, "Who is this, whose onward march is so kingly, so triumphant?" And still they ask in the bazaars of India and ill the temoles of China, "Who is this?" His. march is the march of a Conqueror: the King of kings, because he is the Prince of Peace. 88 'I'B:E SONG OF SOLOMON. [o1I, 111. 1-11.