Songs 4:16 Awake, O north wind; and come, you south; blow on my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden… This is the state of mind produced by the consciousness of Christ's gracious estimate of us. We can scarce believe that it is as he says, but that he counts us such makes us long to be such. Therefore in this verse we may hear the cry of the soul, that he would make us to be what he says we are. "Even so, come," etc. Note - I. WHAT THIS ASPIRATION OF THE SOUL CONFESSES. 1. The power of Christ to produce all this. Hence the appeal, "Awake, O north wind," etc. 2. That power actually at work. There are various precious plants of his own planting; his garden is not a wilderness. And there are the heavenly gifts of sun and rain and dew. 3. But nevertheless the full results of his grace are not forthcoming. The fragrance so delightful and desirable is not yielded; there are fruits, but not yet ripened, so that they might be pleasant to him who eats them. The soul lives, but does not flourish. It has life, but not abundant life. How common all this is! Hence how ineffectual the lives of many Christians are! 4. And the causes of this are indicated. The gloom and mist, the clouds so earth-born and dense, which overhang the garden of the soul and hinder it from yielding its fragrance and fruit as it otherwise would. So the sin-and-sorrow-laden clouds, and those which doubt and unbelief produce - these will mar the soul's life, and make it ineffectual for joy or help. II. FOR WHAT IT IS WILLING. 1. For the north wind. (Cf. Proverbs 25:23; Job 38:22.) The north wind, often stern and terrible, and very trying to plant life. Yet here it is invited to come. The spirit of the well known lines - "Nearer, my God, to thee, Nearer to thee; E'en though it be a cross That raiseth me" - is in this invocation to the bitter blast - the north wind. And the Christian soul is willing for whatever of trial and distress God may be pleased to send, so only as it may lead to more full likeness to God. As the inhabitants of the Valais, in Switzerland, love the strong, stern winds which, sweeping wildly down their close gorges and shut up vales, scatters and drives away the miasma, bred of the stagnant air, which for far too long a time broods over them, unchanged, and hence full of evil, until the welcome wild wind tears down the valley, and then the bad air is driven away, and that which is healthful comes instead; so the soul, conscious that its health and joy are hindered, would welcome that which corresponds to the north wind told of here (cf. Romans 5:8-5). 2. The south wind. (For its effects, cf. Job 37:7.) The soul knows that without the genial influence of Christ's love realized in her she cannot prosper. Therefore she prays for this also. "He sendeth sun, he sendeth shower - Alike they're needful for the flower; And joys and tears alike are sent To give the soul fit nourishment." III. WHAT IT SUPREMELY DESIRES. "Let my beloved come into his garden," etc. This, translated, means that the soul's supreme solicitude is, as Paul's was, to be accepted of her Lord (cf. 2 Corinthians 5., "I labour, whether present or absent, to be accepted of him"). The renewed soul seeks, to be well pleasing to her Lord; she cares little for any other approval (cf. Paul, "It is a small thing to me to be judged of you, or by man's judgment; he that judgeth me is the Lord"). "To give pleasure to those whom we love, to know that any achievements of ours will gratify them, is a greater pleasure than any derived from the applause of strangers, however numerous or distinguished. The lad laden with prizes at his school is pleased enough with the clapping, and the praise of masters and fellow pupils; but his real pleasure is to come, when he gets his prizes home and shows them to his loved ones there. To see his mother's eyes glisten with gladness, that is better than all the other praise, were it from all the world beside. And so to be approved of Christ, to please him, that, to souls like Paul's, is everything." IV. THE BLESSING IT OBTAINS. Such supreme solicitude cannot exist without obtaining for the soul that cherishes it some of the choicest favours of God. 1. It will be an ever-present regulating force in our souls. It will act as a law to ourselves, prompting, checking, directing, impelling, as needs be. 2. It will win blessed freedom from the tyranny of the world. Such soul will fear neither the world's frown - so formidable to well nigh all - nor court the world's favour, all but universally coveted though it be. The Son will have made him free, and he will be free indeed. 3. It will make every cross fight. Such cross being his cross, borne for him, its sharpness, weight, shame, vanish. 4. Death is abolished. It becomes for him "an abundant entrance into the kingdom" of Christ. Freedom, strength, peace - these are some of the blessings which that soul wins whose supreme desire is to be accepted of Christ. - S.C. Parallel Verses KJV: Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits. |
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