2. Lebanon.
The name Lebanon is derived from the Hebrew root, meaning white and the word has been connected by some with its snow-clad peaks, while others refer it to the white walls of chalk and limestone which are its chief characteristic. It is not at all a single mountain but rather two lofty parallel ranges. The two ranges are separated by a valley, four to six miles broad, which is well watered and opens out into the Plain of Emessa. At all seasons of the year the landscape is considered to be very beautiful. Various kinds of trees grow on them but the once famous cedars are now found almost exclusively in the valleys.
The Lebanon is first mentioned in the Old Testament as the Northern Boundary of Palestine and sometimes as having been given to Israel, but they never so far overcame its people as to gain possession during the days of the Kings. It was subject to Tyre and Sidon, and to their rulers the Israelites were indebted for the cedars, which formed the woodwork of the first and second temples, and the House of the Forest of Lebanon (1. K. 7. 26). Thence forward Lebanon is well known in Hebrew literature. Its woods are mentioned, the strength, beauty and luxuriance of its firs and cedars are spoken of in terms of high praise in Psalms 29 and 92. Its animals seem to have been regarded as of special excellence.
The Psalmist compares the righteous to the cedars in Lebanon because they were notable for strength and durability. According to Scripture the righteous are those whose sins have been forgiven and are changed from a state of nature to a state of grace. They are enabled to walk in newness of life because the Holy Spirit has given them a new nature which causes them to love Christ as their Saviour and to hate sin in all its forms. They have ceased putting confidence in their own righteousness and their constant desire is to be found in Christ and to be under the reign of His grace. The Apostle Paul, when sorely tried by a thorn in the flesh and prayed thrice that it should be removed, was addressed by his Saviour in these words, “My grace is sufficient for thee and my strength is made perfect in weakness.” He could well say afterwards, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
In the Song of Solomon, the Church of Christ is compared to the streams of Lebanon, which helped to soften and make fruitful the hard ground. This shows the gracious influences of the Holy Spirit working through the church and its ordinances for the conversion of sinners and their ingathering into the kingdom of grace, in order that they may bring forth fruit unto God. It also implies the renewal from day to day of the spiritual life in the souls of believers. Through the faithful preaching of the Gospel and the administration of the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, sinners are instructed in the precious doctrines of the Gospel and edified. These are to be continued in the church until the Saviour comes again according to his promise. All attempts to destroy his cause have so far failed and will never succeed because the Church is built upon Himself as the Rock of Ages.
Mount Zion.
This mount was at one time occupied by the Jebusites, but when King David began to reign he drove the Jebusites out and took possession of part of the mount to build a palace on it. Afterwards Solomon’s temple was built on it and the name Zion was used for the temple and its services. It was a magnificent building and the Israelites greatly enjoyed the various festivals held in it throughout the year. The word Jerusalem is sometimes used instead of Zion when reference is made to religious privileges and offerings. The Saviour when he was twelve years of age, discussed questions with the doctors in it and astonished them by his understanding and answers. If they had the spiritual discernment of Simeon, they might have realised that He was a divine person. Afterwards He himself taught in the temple during His public ministry and on one occasion He drove out those who were buying and selling in it, saying, “It is written, My house is the house of prayer, but ye have made it a den of thieves.”
If he were to come to many churches now he would have to cast out all worldly frivolities carried on in the name of religion. The spirit of the world has taken possession of the professing church and spiritual death is widespread. Truly we need a scriptural revival, and it can only come through prayer and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the souls of sinners.
It was in his residence on Mount Zion that King David ended his wonderful career. The humble shepherd lad, who became famous, through his victory over the Philistine giant Goliath, became in the favourable providence of God, King of Israel. He had to endure many bitter trials before he ascended the throne and they continued even to the end of his life. Through them all he was wonderfully sustained. His last words were full of comfort, blended with warning and sadness. They are—”Although my house be not so with God; yet He hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure: for this is all my salvation, and all my desire, although He make it not to grow.”
David was King, poet, prophet and warrior. His Psalms for three thousand years have given comfort and consolation to multitudes on their way to glory, and will continue to do that while the world lasts. As a prophet he foretells the coming of the Saviour, His death and triumph over all enemies, resulting in the advancement of his kingdom in the world. He feels that although things were not in his own soul or in his family or in the nation as he would like them to be, yet the covenant was unchangeable. His afflictions were blessed to him as they have been to many of God’s people, so that they could say like him, “I will sing of mercy and of judgment.” The darkest night has its brilliant stars and the Valley of Baca has its wells of joy; even the wilderness has its green and sunny spots. The fact that the covenant was made with him personally gave him true joy and it is when a sinner accepts Christ as his own Saviour, that he is enabled to rejoice in Him and to count like Paul all things as nothing in comparison with him. Human covenants are like ropes of sand, but God’s covenant of love is an everlasting covenant.
The dying King’s confession was that he was already in possession of the covenant and had rested on it for many years, feeling that his safety and security were assured. There is a wonderful order in all the works of God and the same order is exhibited in the covenant of grace. All the attributes of God meet harmoniously in the Cross of Christ, as the Psalmist says, “Truth met with mercy, righteousness and peace kissed mutually: Truth springs from earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven high.” The prophet Isaiah confirms all this in these words—”The mountains shall depart and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed.” He declares that the Saviour was all his salvation and all his desire. He had repented bitterly for sins committed but he had many things to glory in if he had been inclined to do so. He had served his day and generation faithfully. The nation had become powerful and prosperous under his rule. He had collected a large quantity of material for building the temple and he had written many beautiful psalms to be used in the worship of his God, but not for a moment would he rest on any of these for acceptance with God because his salvation was entirely in his Redeemer, and He was his desire.
There was one regret in his fine sunset implied in the words—”Although he make it not to grow.” He was grievously disappointed by the sinful conduct of some of his own family and he had himself been partly responsible for that. This should be a warning to all to see to it that they should not by their own sins or by the force of evil example, leave a heritage of anguish to those who come after them.
There would have been no note of sorrow in David’s end, had all his family been like himself. It is a beautiful spectacle, a whole family linked together in the bond of faith in Christ and faithfully serving Him in the world. In Scotland today there is deplorable neglect of family religion and the result is increasing crime and immorality amongst all classes. At one time law and gospel were zealously proclaimed in the pulpit but now the vital doctrines of grace have been supplemented by modernistic theories which lead people to think there is a good principle in them by means of which they can save themselves.
How sad that many should be deluded by such false notions, young and old alike, and be resting on a totally useless “foundation for eternity.” O’, friend it is in Christ alone there is salvation for you, and any happiness apart from Him is a wretched counterfeit of the true joy which He gives to all who believe in Him.