Morning, May 1
Go To Evening Reading
“His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers.”
Song of Solomon 5:13
Lo, the flowery month is come! March winds and April showers have
done their work, and the earth is all bedecked with beauty. Come my
soul, put on thine holiday attire and go forth to gather garlands
of heavenly thoughts. Thou knowest whither to betake thyself, for
to thee “the beds of spices” are well known, and thou hast so often smelt the perfume of “the sweet flowers,” that thou wilt go at once to thy well-beloved and find all loveliness,
all joy in him. That cheek once so rudely smitten with a rod, oft
bedewed with tears of sympathy and then defiled with spittle—that cheek as it smiles with mercy is as fragrant aromatic to my heart.
Thou didst not hide thy face from shame and spitting, O Lord Jesus,
and therefore I will find my dearest delight in praising thee. Those
cheeks were furrowed by the plough of grief, and crimsoned with red
lines of blood from thy thorn-crowned temples; such marks of love
unbounded cannot but charm my soul far more than “pillars of perfume.” If I may not see the whole of his face I would behold his cheeks,
for the least glimpse of him is exceedingly refreshing to my spiritual
sense and yields a variety of delights. In Jesus I find not only fragrance,
but a bed of spices; not one flower, but all manner of sweet flowers.
He is to me my rose and my lily, my heartsease and my cluster of camphire.
When he is with me it is May all the year round, and my soul goes
forth to wash her happy face in the morning-dew of his grace, and
to solace herself with the singing of the birds of his promises. Precious
Lord Jesus, let me in very deed know the blessedness which dwells
in abiding, unbroken fellowship with thee. I am a poor worthless one,
whose cheek thou hast deigned to kiss! O let me kiss thee in return
with the kisses of my lips.