(1) Ps. 69th, a Psalm of humiliation, the Cross and rejection (Isa. 53) The four gospels tell how the lilies of his graces in deep shades of the valley of humiliation grew and gave forth their lowly testimony to the altogether lovely One, the man Christ Jesus—perfect in all things, His beauty matchless, when He was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief (1 Peter 2:21-25). " Consider the lilies how they grow! Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." " Consider Him who endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself." Also Phil. 2, Heb. 2; 1 Peter 2:21-28. The whole of the four gospels tell out the lily graces of the Lowly One. Perfect loveliness and perfect purity in the lowest place! There is only Shoshannim—the lilies, attached to Psa. 69 For " Himself " was the testimony to what and who he was: so "eduth" is not added: for He says, " I am the light," and He needs no testimony to Him—the lily grew in stature and in favor with God and men. His lowly presence in all the relations of life—His hiding Himself—His quiet, lonely course, " foxes have holes," &c.—"the Son of man hath nowhere to lay His head "—His perfectness with Satan in the wilderness, taking the lowly place of a dependent man living by every word of God. Perfect in His dealing with men—the suffering—the sorrowing, the bereaved—friends—enemies—reasoners—accusers—perfect in lowliness, in life—in Gethsemane—at Calvary—and in death "crucified through weakness." He " humbled Himself and became obedient to death, even the death of the Cross." All that Paul says of " Charity " in 1 Cor. 13 was true of Him: and a thousand times more. " Yea, He is altogether lovely! "
There is no Psalm so often quoted as Psa. 69 The Spirit in the New Testament refers to Him specially in His humiliation. For there His deepest glories shine in all their lowly lily beauty and perfection. It is quoted seven times in the New Testament, as the utterance of the Lord. There is seven-fold perfection in Christ in His life on earth; the one perfect, spotless Son of man is seen in His seven-fold loveliness of character. When our one life is detailed into seven foldness, the imperfections are seen at once, but every detail of our blessed Lord's life was perfect as the lily! God delighted in Him (Matt. 3 and 17.; see also Acts 2) The perfection of Christ in His humiliation and rejection, when all in Him was tried, was that of the divine and heavenly lily in all its purity in the most unfavorable circumstances. I have gone on so far with Psa. 69 (though the half hath not been told), that I must merely mention what is in the other three Psalms.
(2) Psa. 45 is a Psalm of the kingdom, and the glory both of the Bridegroom and the earthly Bride. It is Shoshannim only, " The Lamb is all the glory of Immanuel's land!"
In Psa. 69 we had the sufferings of Christ: here in Psa. 45, His glories. But we know the hidden glories—glories in the heavens—the things of purpose and counsel—" things above; " but where Christ sitteth in all His personal and official glories. The Epistles open the heavens to see the lilies there since He ascended, for " We see Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels crowned with GLORY and Honor "... "Consider the lilies!"... CONSIDER the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus! “Think of His glories as Head of all creation -Head of His body, the Church—Head of all principality and power; the glory in the Father's house as Son of the Father, and His many sons—glory in the golden city, glory in Israel and the nations. " The glory of the Lord shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.'
(3) Psa. 60 is a Psalm of warfare. Here we have " Shushan-eduth,"—the lily of testimony. Here we have the Lord as a man of war, and through Him His people doing valiantly. " We triumph in Thy triumphs, Lord," &c. The testimony is of the Lord's triumphant conquest, and dividing the lands as the spoils of conquest. There is a banner to be displayed because of the truth. The truth is He has triumphed, not we. To us it is " be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might " &c. (see and read Eph. 6:10-20). Then, as the Psalm is of Israel, the banner of the Lord will yet float over Mount Zion and Jerusalem, when He treads down all their enemies, and reigns before His ancients gloriously, &c. He subdues all through the millennium, and delivers up a peaceful kingdom to Him who is God and Father. " And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him, that God may be all in all." This speaks of His lowly character when all His warfare shall be over for all his subjugation of the world will have been accomplished as servant of His God and Father, and not that he might retain the kingdom, but deliver it up to Him. Moreover, as Son He retains the place of subjection that this new kind of obedience—the Father commanding and the Son obeying-might have in Him its model and manifestation before the universe forever and ever.
(4) Psa. 80 is a Psalm of failure; and the Shoshannim-eduth—the lilies of testimony to what God had done at the first grow in a very low valley. Only read this Psalm! It is a plaintive wail. It recounts Joseph-days, tabernacle-days, wilderness-days, when their camp was guided, guarded, and gladdened by His presence, " Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh," seeing the pillar cloud of the glory rise before them to lead them on their way (Num. 10:22-24). " Shine forth! " Everything was freshly established then, and the testimony of the Psalm is to that—God's past doing in view of man's failure; and this leads to dependence for the present, and hope for the future. " Let Thy hand be upon the Man of Thy right hand, upon the Son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself," &c. Thus the very Psalm of failure is a Psalm of the Man of God's right hand And where such failure as in the Church? And where does this lead us? To the Man in the glory—the Man of God's right hand—strong by Himself, and back to that which was from the beginning! Blessed be His Name! Let us think of His lowliness and long-suffering that He still goes round the wilderness with us in all our failure, and waits patiently for the Father's time to arise and hare His name vindicated! HALLELUJAH! (Matt. 11:25-30; 2 Thess. 3:5; 2 Peter 3:18).
SON of the Father hail! Son of God eternal!
Jesus, the Sinners' Friend, whose favor knows no end;
Love made thee condescend, with man to make abode,
And thro' Thy precious blood, we're now brought nigh to God.
Thee, Savior-Lord we bless—our Lord Jesus!
Full of truth and power; Highly-blessed,
Blessed, evermore!