“I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.” -Song of Solomon 2:1.
Here are sweet flowers blooming serenely in this wintry weather. In the garden of the soul you may gather fragrant flowerets at all seasons of the year; and although the soul’s garden, like every other, has its winter, yet, strange to say, no sooner do the roses and the lilies mentioned in the text begin to bloom, than the winter flies and the summer smiles. Outside in your garden, the summer brings the roses; but within the enclosure of the heart, the roses and lilies create the summer. I trust that we this morning may have grace to walk abroad in the fields of heavenly contemplation, to admire the matchless charms of him whose cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers, whose lips are like lilies dropping sweet-smelling myrrh. May our hearts interpret the language of our text, and sing-
‘Tis he a rose? Not Sharon yields
Such fragrancy in all her fields:
Or, if the lily he assume,
The valleys bless the rich perfume.”
It is our Lord who speaks: “I am the rose of Sharon.” How is it that he utters his own commendation, for it is an old and true adage, that “self praise is no recommendation”? None but vain creatures ever praise themselves, and yet Jesus often praises himself, he says, “I am the good Shepherd;” “I am the Bread of Life;” “I am meek and lowly of heart,” and in manifold speeches he is frequently declaring his own excellencies, yet Jesus is not vain- Scorned be the thought!
Yet I said if any creature praised itself it must be vain, and that, too, is true. How then shall we solve the riddle? Is not this the answer, that he is no creature at all, and therefore does not come beneath this rule? For the creature to praise itself is vanity, but for the Creator to praise himself, for the Lord God to manifest and show forth his own glory is becoming and proper. Hear how he extols his own wisdom and power in the end of the book of Job, and see if it is not most appropriate, as the Lord himself proclaims it! Is not God constantly ruling both providence and grace for the manifestation of his own glory, and do we not all freely consent that no motive short of his own glory would be worthy of the divine mind?
So, then, because Christ talks thus of himself, since no man dare call him vainglorious, I gather an indirect proof of his deity, and bow down before him, and bless him that he gives me this incidental evidence of his being no creature, but the uncreated one himself. An old Scotch woman once said, “He is never so bonnie as when he is commending himself;” and we all feel it so: no words appear more suitable out of his own lips than these, “I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.”
Our Lord when he thus praises himself doubtless does so for an excellent reason, namely, that no one can possibly reveal him to the sons of men but himself. No lips can tell the love of Christ to the heart until Jesus himself shall speak within. Descriptions all fall flat and tame unless the Holy Spirit fills them with life and power; until our Emmanuel reveals himself within the recesses of the heart, the soul sees him not. If you would see the sun, would you light your candles? Would you gather together the common means of illumination, and seek in that way to behold the orb of day? No, the wise man knows that the sun must reveal itself and only by its own blaze can that mighty lamp be seen.
It is so with Christ. Unless he so manifest himself to us, as he does not unto the world, we cannot behold him. He must say to us, “I am the rose of Sharon,” or else all the declarations of man that he is the rose of Sharon will fall short of the mark. “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona:” said he to Peter, “for flesh and blood has not revealed this unto you.” Purify flesh and blood by any educational process you may select, elevate mental faculties to the highest degree of intellectual power, yet none of these can reveal Christ. The Spirit of God must come with power, and overshadow the man with his wings, and then in that mystic Holy of Holies the Lord Jesus must display himself to the sanctified eye, as he does not unto the sightless sons of men. Christ must be his own mirror; as the diamond alone can cut the diamond, so he alone can display himself.
Is it not clear enough to us all, that Jesus being God, befittingly praises himself; and we being frail creatures, he must necessarily commend himself, or we should never be able to perceive his beauty at all? Each reason is sufficient, both are overwhelming; it is most suitable that Jesus should preach Jesus, that love should teach us love. Beloved, happy are those men to whom our Lord familiarly unveils his beauties.
He is the rose, but it is not given unto all men to perceive his fragrance. He is the fairest of lilies, but few are the eyes, which have gazed upon his matchless purity. He stands before the world without form or loveliness, a root out of a dry ground, rejected by the vain, and despised by the proud. The great mass of this bleary-eyed world can see nothing of the ineffable glories of Emmanuel. Only where the Spirit has touched the eye with eye-salve, quickened the heart with divine life, and educated the soul to a heavenly taste- only there is that love word of my text heard and understood, “I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.” “To you that believe he is precious;” to you he is the corner stone; to you he is the rock of your salvation, your all in all; but to others he is “a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense, even to those who stumble at the word, being disobedient.”
“This article originally appeared here at Bible Bulletin Board.”
