THE STRONGEST PERSON
The stronger a person is, the more problems he will give you if you love him—and Jesus is the strongest Person. A Bible does not cause problems because it has no personality; it is not a person. Some persons are weak; with such weak persons there are hardly any problems. The husbands have problems with their dear wives because their wives are so strong. It is even worse for the wives, because their husbands are stronger than they are. We all must realize, however, that Jesus is the strongest One. Do you think you could subdue Him? You cannot subdue Him; instead, you will be subdued! On the one hand He is so tender, kind, and humble, but on the other hand He is never weak. Many wonderful words can be used to describe His personality, but weakness is not one of them. He is always strong, and He is stronger than we are.
Then what shall we do? Though we say we love Jesus, and we really mean it, we have a real problem: we are loving the strongest Person with the strongest personality. Suppose I am very strong, yet someone says that he loves me. His love for me will cause him problems. My strong character and personality will cause him to suffer. After three days, he will forget his love for me. Our love for a Bible will never present any problem, but our love for a person will give us many problems. Moreover, the stronger the person is, the more problems we will have.
THE SONG OF SONGS
This is why we want to see something from the Song of Songs. Many of us, after reading the above verses, will think that this is a wonderful book about loving Jesus. Yes, it is indeed a wonderful book. But many times the record in this book is not so exciting; instead, it is rather disappointing. All of the above verses have some exciting points, but the main point in quoting all of these verses is not to show us the exciting points, but the disappointing ones.
SEEKING AND FINDING THE LORD
“Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine. Because of the savor of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee. Draw me, we will run after thee: the King hath brought me into his chambers: we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than wine: the upright love thee” (S. S. 1:2-4).
Here is one who has begun to seek after the Lord. Surely, before the seeking, there was the attracting. Since the Lord has attracted this one to Himself, she is seeking after Him. So she says, “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth.” She must have received a revelation of the Lord’s beauty. Our love does not depend so much upon our ability to love the Lord as it depends upon His loveliness. If something is ugly and dirty, we cannot love it. But something so sweet and precious can attract us, even if we have no intention of loving it. Therefore, it is not a matter of our being able to love the Lord, but a matter of His being altogether lovely! We cannot love the Lord without seeing His beauty. But once we see His beauty, we cannot help loving Him. He is the most attractive and attracting One. No one can resist the Lord’s beauty. When we are attracted to Him, we have to say with this seeking one, “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth.”
After the seeking comes the finding. This one found the one whom she was seeking. The King brought her into his chamber. So in these three verses there are the seeking and the finding.
THE APPRECIATION AND ENJOYMENT
Then in verses 13 and 14 is the appreciation. “A bundle of myrrh is my well-beloved unto me…My beloved is unto me as a cluster of henna flowers in the vineyards of Engedi.” How she appreciates the Lord! He is just like a bundle of myrrh, so sweet inside; and outside He is like a cluster of henna flowers, an Old-World plant with which Jewish girls beautified themselves. She simply appreciates His sweetness and His beauty.
Following the appreciation is the enjoyment: “As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love” (2:3-4). Now her beloved is not only like a bundle of myrrh and a cluster of henna flowers, but He is also like an apple tree with sweet and rich fruit. She is sitting under His shadow enjoying the rest, and she is feeding on His sweet fruit for satisfaction. She is really in the enjoyment.
Do you see the progression in this chapter? It begins with seeking and continues with finding. After finding comes appreciation. Following appreciation is rich enjoyment. It is really wonderful! And the enjoyment is to the fullest, because she not only enjoys Him under the apple tree with all the fruits, but she is also brought into the banqueting house, and His banner over her is love. This is enjoyment to the uttermost.
(Life and Building as Portrayed in the Song of Songs, Chapter 3, by Witness Lee)
