BY REV. M. MORRISON, LOCHINVER.
AS the “rose of Sharon” is an emblem of glory and majesty, so the “lily” is an emblem of love. The “lily” is pure white in colour, and is as renowned as the “rose” itself. This represents the spotless purity, the perfect holiness of the Saviour’s nature, and the righteousness of His conduct. He is holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners. This “lily” grew in the valley, and is an appropriate figure to set forth the humiliation of the Son of God in our nature, His acquaintance with grief and sorrow, His taking our law-place and bearing the awful penalty due to our sins. He who was in the form of God, made Himself of no reputation, and took on Him the form of a servant.
But taking it as an emblem of love, we notice that Christ loved the Church, and gave Himself for it. The love wherewith He loved them is an eternal love. It is one of the moral attributes of His Deity. It is said that God is love. When we read in the Word of one, or of more than one, divine perfection, such as His power or His power and wisdom, we may say that it is God Himself in these attributes. So that when it is said, “God is love,” it is God Himself in this attribute of His Being. He loved Himself, His own Being, His own perfections, and it is the same love wherewith He loved Himself that He loves sinners. Thus Christ says—”For thou hast loved them as thou hast loved me.” And as it is an eternal love, it is an unchangeable love. It is not like the affection of the creature, which cannot be relied on because of its varying and changeable character. God’s love cannot change inasmuch as He Himself is unchangeable, and whatever happens, even with regard to the objects of His love, His electing and saving love cannot and will not change toward them. It is said—”Having loved his own that were in the world, he loved them unto the end.” And as Christ’s love is unchangeable, so it passeth all understanding. The understanding of angels, of men, cannot comprehend it. It will not fail of its objects. However deep His people are by nature in sin and enmity, the love will triumph and draw them to Himself.
The objects He loved deserved, instead of being loved, condemnation and wrath. They hated Him without a cause. There was such enmity in the heart, rebellion in the will, guilt on the conscience, ignorance in the understanding, and depravity in the affections of every one of them that it is a marvel of marvels that the Persons of the Trinity ever loved them. Love in the creature is excited and attracted by qualities and conditions it discovers in its object, but all that is in those whom Christ loved is sin, pollution, hatred to good, love to all manner of evil; they were all debtors to His law and prisoners to His justice and slaves to Satan. He loved them as they were fallen in Adam, not as righteous, for there is none such. He loved their persons, not their sins, which He could not otherwise than hate.
Christ commends the Church, or the individual believer under the figure of a lily among thorns. The young bride exchanges her maiden name for that of the bridegroom. She is henceforth known by his name. So it is with the Church of the first-born written in heaven. While Christ the bridegroom says of Himself that He is the “lily,” He says of her that she is as the lily among thorns. In this comparison you will notice her state and standing before Him. In the day when the Holy Spirit visited her to apply to her for the first time the fruits of Christ’s purchase, He found her dead in trespasses and sin, very dark and black in respect both to her state and nature. He revealed to her her state, and she became alarmed, and her relief came when He pardoned her sins through His blood, bringing her out of her condemned state, and accepting of her as righteous by the imputed righteousness of the “lily of the valleys.” Thus they are clothed in the perfect righteousness of Christ, and there is no spot upon their justified state—they are as the “lily.” But as sure as there is a relative change of their state before God whereby they are compared to the “lily,” so there is an inward change of their nature. The seed of God, the word of truth wherein Christ as a quickening spirit is conveyed into their hearts by the Holy Ghost and is formed in them as the hope of glory, brings about this sudden change in their souls, and it is otherwise spoken of as being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, of the Word of God that liveth and abideth for ever. There is a principle of heavenly light infused into their minds, whereby they behold His glory and His suitableness, and a principle of righteousness implanted in their wills, and a principle of holiness impressed on their hearts, a habit of gracious tenderness put into their conscience, and their memory strengthened to take delight in and retain the law of the Lord as never before. Thus God’s image they had lost in the fall is restored in some measure. Therefore, the true believer is compared to a lily, but it is to a lily among thorns.
The grace of God thus planted in the soul is like a lily among thorns. There is so much of sinful-self and self-righteousness yet to be subdued. The wilderness has yet to be run its course. Ah! what discovery the Lord is pleased to give to His people of their abounding heart-sinfulness and corruption. They seem betimes to be amazed at what they find in themselves of provoking lusts and evil thoughts of every description. Satan casts thoughts of atheism, of blasphemy through their minds, and taunting them afterwards that to have such thoughts is not consistent with a state of grace. Unbelief rears its head, casting doubt upon all God’s word and work with reference to the soul. Evil passions begin to assail the new-born child of God, and between darkness of mind and hardness of heart, abatement of his first love and zeal, the grace of God in his soul is like a lily among thorns.
Further, the believer in the world is like a lily among thorns. The world derides and mocks and does all in its power to inflict trouble upon these lilies. The thorn pierces and pricks the “lily.” It is of an opposite nature to the lily, and cannot bear it. Thus the world and self-righteous professors who know nothing of the nature of the lily, persecute the Church of God, look upon them as the off-scouring of all things. Ishmael persecuted Isaac and Esau, Jacob. They possess different natures and characters, just like the lily and the thorn. Many a sting the tender and gracious soul receives while he is in the world. Satan harasses and tempts and hurls his fiery darts upon him. The conduct of God’s people under these trials and temptations must also resemble the lily, for the more it is pierced and stung by the thorns the more it exhales its fragrance, and makes it felt all round. This should be the way with you who tasted that the Lord is gracious. All your trials, temptations, the workings of the flesh, the cold hatred and persecutions of the world should make you look more to the Lord Jesus, and let the sweet incense of your broken heart and contrite spirit ascend to His throne. It will be like the precious box of ointment which the woman in the gospel broke and poured upon Christ’s head and filled the house with sweet odour. So when our prayers, our groanings, and our spiritual complaints are uttered and offered to Him, they are like the sweet perfume of the lily when stung with thorns, which is pleasing and delightful to Christ, as the Head of the Church, and is also sweetly felt by the members of the household of faith.