THE state of the heart out of which have come the fond and ardent expressions of her appreciation of her lover in the two verses immediately preceding, and which have been already considered, has doubled the expressive beauty of the bride’s features; and the sight of this leads the delighted Bridegroom to express his enjoyment of it in the enraptured words, “Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves’ eyes” (chap. 1:15).
The praise, “Thou hast doves’ eyes,” will be appreciated by every one who has marked the gentle expression, the soft, full, liquid beauty of the eye of the dove; and there is no power can give this beauty to the eyes and transfigure the countenance but the love of Christ realized and reciprocated. The Lord Himself said, “He that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him.” The bride had spoken of Him as a “bundle of myrrh, and a cluster of cypress,” ― “a bundle of myrrh is my Beloved to me” ― “a cluster of cypress is my Beloved to me;” and her endearing expression draws out the intensified expression of love to her, “Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves’ eyes.”
It is one of the divine secrets of Christianity, that when we have been apprehended of Christ for “salvation with eternal glory,” the eyes of our hearts being opened, and the truth of the purpose of God the Father in Christ being communicated to us, and we consciously realizing our spiritual relationship to the Father as “children of His love,” in “the Son of His love,” risen and glorified in His presence “in the heavenlies,” the whole of Scripture becomes sensibly transfigured to us; and where we read before only narratives of human life, and tales of human love, we find now beneath the surface the true and hidden mysteries of the relationships, affection, and admiring reciprocal enjoyment of Christ and the Church. Just as a poet’s eye can perceive beauties where the duller eye of the prosaic see only common objects of no particular interest; so our eyes, when opened on the Holy Scriptures in the light of an opened heaven and a glorified Christ, see beauties and glories where the unanointed eye sees only the record of the varied incidents and intercourse of everyday life.
“Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves’ eyes.” It is very observable, especially in the young, that the knowledge of Christ and intense enjoyment of His constraining love, and steady contemplation of His glorious person―especially if there be a considerable amount of intelligence in the Word―transfigure even the human countenance, and “newness of life” looks forth in entrancing loveliness from the gentle, soft, dove-like eyes, so that one who has seen much of the Lord’s work could almost pick out the Christians by means of their looks, when Christ, in all His fullness, is being preached. There is a wonderful transforming power in beholding the glory of the Lord. It transfigures into the same image; and where the whole demeanor is not entirely metamorphosed by such a contemplation, it is a sure token that the person is either very ill taught in the Word of truth, or has never known the transforming power of “the grace of God,” and of intimate, loving communion with the exalted Christ of glory.
There is such a word in Scripture as “the meekness and gentleness of CHRIST;” and He said, “Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart;” and “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; and the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all... in meekness, instructing those that oppose themselves;” and Paul, exemplifying His teaching, says, “We were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children;” and he writes to his own son Titus to enjoin upon the Christians that they be “gentle, showing all meekness unto all men.”
The more thoroughly Christians are filled with Christ’s fellowship and company, the more the gentle man or gentle woman will appear in their looks, words, and ways. But the “lofty eyes,” the haughty mien, the imperial manner, and the habit of riding roughshod over, instead of condescending “to men of low estate,” are sure indications of little spiritual fellowship with Christ, and little of that condition of soul that would draw from him the admiring expression of ardent endearment and sense of beauty, “Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold thou art fair; thou hast doves’ eyes.”
There is no means of getting entirely rid of one’s old self and his ill-favored features, but by getting a new self in the person of Christ; for when He becomes the one circumstance, thought, desire, and object, self dies out of sheer neglect, and the beloved Bridegroom of the heart is in the foreground. He is manifestly put on; not professed merely―which is easy to do―but so possessed that He beams forth in the soft, liquid beauty―in the gentle looks of the dove-like eyes. If we speak too strongly of the outward metamorphosis, we are not aware of it; and if the generality of Christians are not so changed, so much the worse for the Christians; and we fear the apostle Paul would have added, “I speak this to your shame.” Those who live according to the Christian ethics inculcated in such portions of the New Testament as Romans 12 and 1st Corinthians 13, and the second halves of the Epistles to the Ephesians and Colossians, will do so on account of supreme occupation with the person of Christ, and their whole deportment will exemplify “the meekness and gentleness of Christ.”
Beloved, it is solemn work this Christian life of ours. We are making personal history for eternity! This is our only opportunity to be epistles of Christ to sinful men―lights in this world of darkness: are we able to say, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain”?
THE FAIR BELOVED AND THE GREEN COUCH.―We come now to consider the bride’s words, “Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant; also our bed is green. The beams of our house are cedar, and our rafters of fir” (chap. 1:16, 17).
1. BEHOLD, THOU ART FAIR, MY BELOVED, YEA, PLEASANT.― The bride returns the expression, “Thou art fair,” conscious that He and not she was rather the one who should be so described: she also adds, “yea, pleasant.” These two we find, in substance, in Psalm forty-fifth, where Christ is addressed, “Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into Thy lips.” “Thou art beautified with beauty among the sons of men: Grace is poured upon Thy lips.”
“Everything (says one) that is attractive, everything that is graceful in character and form, in feature and expression, is meant by grace. It is not what we usually call by that name: it is a term for what fits the person and draws the eyes of others to him. It is thus used (Prov. 4:99She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee. (Proverbs 4:9)), ‘She shall give to thy head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee;’ ― wisdom so clothing the person with moral beauty. It is thus, too, in Psalm 84:1010For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. (Psalm 84:10), ‘The Lord will give grace and glory’ ―the ornament of beauty, the crown of glory. All this, in full perfection, is found in Messiah’s person: all that is fitted to attract and fix the soul’s gaze: all that is beautiful in excellence: all that is drawing in holiness and majestic worth.”
Our Beloved is, indeed, fair beyond all human or angelic fairness, for He is the very impersonation of “the beauty of the Lord” ― “the brightness of His glory and the express image of his person:” and, as the Word made flesh and dwelling amongst us, He was full of grace and truth; the form and reality of every moral excellence dwelt in Him, as well as all the fullness of the Godhead, and the Man Christ Jesus was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners; and oh! how His fairness takes a poor believing sinner’s eye as he sees Him nailed to the cross for him, and radiant in His beauty and glory, as He pleads for him at the Father’s throne on high, arrayed in His priestly garments for glory and beauty. Says Augustine, “The bridegroom, to us believing, is everywhere beautiful. He is fair in heaven, fair on earth; fair in the Virgin’s womb; fair in the arms of His parents; fair in His miracles, fair in His stripes; fair when calling unto life, fair when disregarding death; fair in laying down His life, fair in receiving it again; fair in the cross, fair in the sepulcher.” But we would also add, fair in ascension, fair in His sitting on the Father’s throne crowned with glory and honor; fair in His preparing mansions for us in the Father’s house; fair in His coming again to receive us to Himself, that where He is there we may be also. “Lo! Thou art fair!”
And then, He is not only our fair beloved, but He is pleasant. Fair, “yes, charming!” is only the expression of her loving transport, and finds an illustrative commentary in the description (2:3-5).
“Fair Without being pleasant, the sons of men often are; pleasant also in measure they may be without being altogether fair; but JESUS is both, and in both He is perfect. Pleasantness implies a peculiar fitness to yield a resting-place for the soul, as distinguished from the excellence which excites mere admiration, or even from that which awakens love. It is found in the ‘good man, for whom peradventure some would even dare to die,’ but not in the ‘righteous man for whom they will scarcely die.’ The word is used to describe the sweet and solemn melodies of the sanctuary: ‘Sing praise to Him, because it is pleasant;’ the affectionate union of brethren, ‘Behold, how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity;’ and the agreeableness of a chosen earthly friend, closer than a brother; ‘Very pleasant hast thou been to me, O Jonathan.’ Even such a delight, such a quiet rest and repose of soul does the redeemed church and the ransomed soul find in the kinsman Redeemer.” “Behold thou art fair my Beloved, yea pleasant.”
2. “OUR BED IS GREEN.” ― “Yea, our couch is green:” the literal meaning is, “greeneth, grows; green,” a reference to the stately, verdant, and refreshing natural surroundings, in the midst of which, to their delight, their loving intercourse now takes place, and perhaps more particularly to a shady grass-plot under the trees of the park, upon which they were for the moment sitting or reclining. This figure requires some reference to Oriental customs and Eastern scenes in order to make it yield its illustration of very precious gospel truth. We shall allow a few to tell us what they know: ― “Also our bed is green,” or the green flowery turf is our place of repose. The scene in which these words, and possibly all from verse 12, are used, seems to be laid in the kiosk or summerhouse in the royal garden. Oriental gardens were without the city, and from half-a-mile to a mile distant from the houses of the persons to whom they belonged. In the gardens around Aleppo commodious villas are built for the use of the inhabitants, to which they retire during the oppressive heats of summer. Here, amid the wild and almost impervious thickets of pomegranate and other fruit-bearing trees, the languid native and exhausted traveler find a delightful retreat from the scorching beams of the sun. A similar custom of retiring into the country, and taking shelter in the gardens at that season, appears to have been followed in Palestine in ages very remote. The exquisite pleasure which an Oriental feels while he reclines under the deep shade of the pomegranate, the apple, and other fruitful trees in the Syrian gardens, which, uniting their branches over his head, defend him from the glowing firmament, is well described by Russel: “Revived by the freshening breeze, the purling of the brooks, and the verdure of the groves, his ear will catch the melody of the nightingale, delightful beyond what is heard in England; with conscious gratitude to heaven, he will recline on the simple mat and bless the hospitable shelter.”
Lady Montague writes: “In the midst of the garden is the kiosk―that is, a large room, commonly beautified with a fine fountain in the midst of it. It is raised nine or ten steps, and enclosed with gilded lattices, round which vines, jessamines, and honeysuckles make a sort of green wall. Large trees are planted round this place, which is the scene of their greatest pleasures.”
Speaking of the plain of Sharon, a traveler remarks: “The fields were decked with thousands of gay flowers, forming an enameled carpet, that perfumed the air, and offered a scene replete with everything that could gratify the eye or charm the imagination.”
Wilkinson, vol. ii. p. 187, says: “The Egyptians spent much time in the cool and shady retirement of their gardens, when, like the Romans, they entertained their friends during the summer season, as we may judge from the size of some of the kiosks which occur in the paintings of the tombs.”
“How beautiful a retreat! For this plane tree is very wide-spreading and lofty, and the height and shadiness of this agnus castus are very beautiful, and, being now in full bloom, it makes the place exceeding fragrant. Moreover, there flows under this plane tree a delightful fountain of very cold water, to judge from its effect on the foot. Observe, again, the freshness of the spot how charming and delightful it is, and how summer-like and shrill it sounds from the choir of grasshoppers. But the most delightful of all is the grass, which, sloping gently, gives an easy support to the head as we recline.― (Plato’s Phœdrus, 5.)
“Our bed is green:” the place of our fellowship with our adorable Lord Jesus Christ is beyond the fading and the dying in the living beauty, freshness, and brightness of “the Paradise of God,” where the “Tree of Life” itself forever “grows green.” In the Canticles there is no question of sin raised; that has been conclusively settled for us by our self-sacrificing Bridegroom “long, long ago,” and believed by us to be so; and “the God of peace” has brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, and we are now sitting in His company in the heavenly places into which He is gone; and, now that He is risen from the dead and ascended up to the Father’s right hand, He is living in the ample glory of the paradise of God, and the verdure of glory flourishes eternally beneath His feet and ours, and the ever-during cedar spreads its living beams, and the fragrant cypress intertwines its branches, and forms the beautified roof of our house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
He is resting at noon in this pleasing, lovely place, the tabernacle which God hath pitched for Him and His ransomed Bride, “at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens.” He has gone to His Father and our Father, to His God and our God; and now we are sanctified by this truth of the Father and the Son—and what a freshness there is in our communion, what fragrance, what gorgeousness and loveliness envelop us! All is instinct with vitality, beauty, loveliness. It is no longer the confined place in the city of Salem, but the garden of God in all its grace, glory, and refreshing shade. “Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.” No language can express how fair is our Beloved, no words convey any adequate conception of His sweetness; and to be with Him in a place so restful, and be there all alone enjoying the interchange of His loving looks, and mark how His pleasant countenance tells how delighted He is to have His affianced bride beside Him, where reciprocated love feeds the lips with the utterances of exquisite enjoyment and mutual admiration. All Scripture “grows green” under us when we are separated to God by being accepted in Christ risen and glorified, and it forms the resting-place of happy communion with our Heavenly Bridegroom, while the arched roof of His place of rest in glory is formed of the cedar of His “eternal redemption,” and carved by the intertwined cypress of life in resurrection, through which, in the Holy Ghost, we have a place of repose in this fragrant solitude of glory.
Even when the Lord Jesus comes again and gathers His lovely bride of earth―the Israel of God―and is with her here below, she will sit with Him in the power of redemption under the canopy of the cypress life, and all its blessings, which shall be hers when under the new covenant and partaking of all its blessings; for it is then “His rest shall be glorious.” “The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir-tree, the pine-tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary, and I will make the place of my feet glorious.” It will be the Father’s kingdom administered by the Son of His love and His risen bride, and enjoyed by His Israel in the grace and glory of risen life; and then shall “Israel blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit” (Isaiah 27:66He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit. (Isaiah 27:6)). It is with “Jesus the Resurrection and the Life,” the exalted glorious One, our souls have happy fellowship, and it will be enjoyed in all its fullness in heavenly glory when we shall be with Him and like Him; and then, too, shall Israel be placed in connection with Him as the medium of living blessing in millennial glory to all the nations of the earth (Psalms 67-776Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us. 7God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him. 1<<To the chief Musician, A Psalm or Song of David.>> Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him. 2As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God. 3But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice. 4Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him. 5A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation. 6God setteth the solitary in families: he bringeth out those which are bound with chains: but the rebellious dwell in a dry land. 7O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people, when thou didst march through the wilderness; Selah: 8The earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God: even Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel. 9Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain, whereby thou didst confirm thine inheritance, when it was weary. 10Thy congregation hath dwelt therein: thou, O God, hast prepared of thy goodness for the poor. 11The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it. 12Kings of armies did flee apace: and she that tarried at home divided the spoil. 13Though ye have lien among the pots, yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold. 14When the Almighty scattered kings in it, it was white as snow in Salmon. 15The hill of God is as the hill of Bashan; an high hill as the hill of Bashan. 16Why leap ye, ye high hills? this is the hill which God desireth to dwell in; yea, the Lord will dwell in it for ever. 17The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place. 18Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them. 19Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah. 20He that is our God is the God of salvation; and unto God the Lord belong the issues from death. 21But God shall wound the head of his enemies, and the hairy scalp of such an one as goeth on still in his trespasses. 22The Lord said, I will bring again from Bashan, I will bring my people again from the depths of the sea: 23That thy foot may be dipped in the blood of thine enemies, and the tongue of thy dogs in the same. 24They have seen thy goings, O God; even the goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary. 25The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after; among them were the damsels playing with timbrels. 26Bless ye God in the congregations, even the Lord, from the fountain of Israel. 27There is little Benjamin with their ruler, the princes of Judah and their council, the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali. 28Thy God hath commanded thy strength: strengthen, O God, that which thou hast wrought for us. 29Because of thy temple at Jerusalem shall kings bring presents unto thee. 30Rebuke the company of spearmen, the multitude of the bulls, with the calves of the people, till every one submit himself with pieces of silver: scatter thou the people that delight in war. 31Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God. 32Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth; O sing praises unto the Lord; Selah: 33To him that rideth upon the heavens of heavens, which were of old; lo, he doth send out his voice, and that a mighty voice. 34Ascribe ye strength unto God: his excellency is over Israel, and his strength is in the clouds. 35O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places: the God of Israel is he that giveth strength and power unto his people. Blessed be God. 1<<To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim, A Psalm of David.>> Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul. 2I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. 3I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God. 4They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away. 5O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee. 6Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed for my sake: let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel. 7Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face. 8I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's children. 9For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me. 10When I wept, and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach. 11I made sackcloth also my garment; and I became a proverb to them. 12They that sit in the gate speak against me; and I was the song of the drunkards. 13But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O Lord, in an acceptable time: O God, in the multitude of thy mercy hear me, in the truth of thy salvation. 14Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters. 15Let not the waterflood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me. 16Hear me, O Lord; for thy lovingkindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies. 17And hide not thy face from thy servant; for I am in trouble: hear me speedily. 18Draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it: deliver me because of mine enemies. 19Thou hast known my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonor: mine adversaries are all before thee. 20Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. 21They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. 22Let their table become a snare before them: and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap. 23Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not; and make their loins continually to shake. 24Pour out thine indignation upon them, and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them. 25Let their habitation be desolate; and let none dwell in their tents. 26For they persecute him whom thou hast smitten; and they talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded. 27Add iniquity unto their iniquity: and let them not come into thy righteousness. 28Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous. 29But I am poor and sorrowful: let thy salvation, O God, set me up on high. 30I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. 31This also shall please the Lord better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs. 32The humble shall see this, and be glad: and your heart shall live that seek God. 33For the Lord heareth the poor, and despiseth not his prisoners. 34Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and every thing that moveth therein. 35For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah: that they may dwell there, and have it in possession. 36The seed also of his servants shall inherit it: and they that love his name shall dwell therein. 1<<To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, to bring to remembrance.>> Make haste, O God, to deliver me; make haste to help me, O Lord. 2Let them be ashamed and confounded that seek after my soul: let them be turned backward, and put to confusion, that desire my hurt. 3Let them be turned back for a reward of their shame that say, Aha, aha. 4Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified. 5But I am poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God: thou art my help and my deliverer; O Lord, make no tarrying. 1In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion. 2Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to escape: incline thine ear unto me, and save me. 3Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress. 4Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man. 5For thou art my hope, O Lord God: thou art my trust from my youth. 6By thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art he that took me out of my mother's bowels: my praise shall be continually of thee. 7I am as a wonder unto many; but thou art my strong refuge. 8Let my mouth be filled with thy praise and with thy honor all the day. 9Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth. 10For mine enemies speak against me; and they that lay wait for my soul take counsel together, 11Saying, God hath forsaken him: persecute and take him; for there is none to deliver him. 12O God, be not far from me: O my God, make haste for my help. 13Let them be confounded and consumed that are adversaries to my soul; let them be covered with reproach and dishonor that seek my hurt. 14But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more. 15My mouth shall show forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day; for I know not the numbers thereof. 16I will go in the strength of the Lord God: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only. 17O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. 18Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have showed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come. 19Thy righteousness also, O God, is very high, who hast done great things: O God, who is like unto thee! 20Thou, which hast showed me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth. 21Thou shalt increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side. 22I will also praise thee with the psaltery, even thy truth, O my God: unto thee will I sing with the harp, O thou Holy One of Israel. 23My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto thee; and my soul, which thou hast redeemed. 24My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness all the day long: for they are confounded, for they are brought unto shame, that seek my hurt. 1<<A Psalm for Solomon.>> Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king's son. 2He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment. 3The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness. 4He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor. 5They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations. 6He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth. 7In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth. 8He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. 9They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust. 10The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. 11Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him. 12For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper. 13He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. 14He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight. 15And he shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba: prayer also shall be made for him continually; and daily shall he be praised. 16There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth. 17His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed. 18Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things. 19And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen. 20The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended. 1<<A Psalm of Asaph.>> Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart. 2But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped. 3For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 4For there are no bands in their death: but their strength is firm. 5They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men. 6Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment. 7Their eyes stand out with fatness: they have more than heart could wish. 8They are corrupt, and speak wickedly concerning oppression: they speak loftily. 9They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth. 10Therefore his people return hither: and waters of a full cup are wrung out to them. 11And they say, How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the most High? 12Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches. 13Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency. 14For all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning. 15If I say, I will speak thus; behold, I should offend against the generation of thy children. 16When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me; 17Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end. 18Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. 19How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors. 20As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image. 21Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins. 22So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee. 23Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand. 24Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. 25Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. 26My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. 27For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee. 28But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works. 1<<Maschil of Asaph.>> O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture? 2Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old; the rod of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed; this mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt. 3Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations; even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary. 4Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations; they set up their ensigns for signs. 5A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees. 6But now they break down the carved work thereof at once with axes and hammers. 7They have cast fire into thy sanctuary, they have defiled by casting down the dwelling place of thy name to the ground. 8They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them together: they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land. 9We see not our signs: there is no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that knoweth how long. 10O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever? 11Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand? pluck it out of thy bosom. 12For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. 13Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters. 14Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness. 15Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood: thou driedst up mighty rivers. 16The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun. 17Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter. 18Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O Lord, and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name. 19O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove unto the multitude of the wicked: forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever. 20Have respect unto the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty. 21O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise thy name. 22Arise, O God, plead thine own cause: remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily. 23Forget not the voice of thine enemies: the tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth continually. 1<<To the chief Musician, Al-taschith, A Psalm or Song of Asaph.>> Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks, unto thee do we give thanks: for that thy name is near thy wondrous works declare. 2When I shall receive the congregation I will judge uprightly. 3The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved: I bear up the pillars of it. Selah. 4I said unto the fools, Deal not foolishly: and to the wicked, Lift not up the horn: 5Lift not up your horn on high: speak not with a stiff neck. 6For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. 7But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another. 8For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture; and he poureth out of the same: but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them. 9But I will declare for ever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. 10All the horns of the wicked also will I cut off; but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted. 1<<To the chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm or Song of Asaph.>> In Judah is God known: his name is great in Israel. 2In Salem also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling place in Zion. 3There brake he the arrows of the bow, the shield, and the sword, and the battle. Selah. 4Thou art more glorious and excellent than the mountains of prey. 5The stouthearted are spoiled, they have slept their sleep: and none of the men of might have found their hands. 6At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, both the chariot and horse are cast into a dead sleep. 7Thou, even thou, art to be feared: and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry? 8Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven; the earth feared, and was still, 9When God arose to judgment, to save all the meek of the earth. Selah. 10Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain. 11Vow, and pay unto the Lord your God: let all that be round about him bring presents unto him that ought to be feared. 12He shall cut off the spirit of princes: he is terrible to the kings of the earth. 1<<To the chief Musician, to Jeduthun, A Psalm of Asaph.>> I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and he gave ear unto me. 2In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted. 3I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah. 4Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak. 5I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times. 6I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search. (Psalm 67:6‑77).)
Such a theme is inexhaustible. We have many things yet to say on it, but time and space warn us to defer until another opportunity. Recommending our beloved readers to cultivate this living, glorious fellowship, with the loving Bridegroom of our hearts in the heavenly glory, we say for the present, Farewell. “Alone with Jesus:” How full of bliss and glory!