Sermons on the Song of Songs

OF THE BLACKNESS, YET BEAUTY, OF THE BRIDE: AND IN WHAT MANNER HEARING, RATHER THAN SIGHT, AVAILS IN MATTERS OF FAITH, AND TO THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH.

YOU remember, I doubt not, what were 'the curtains of Solomon,' to which the beauty of the Bride was compared, and who was meant by Solomon, provided that the whole comparison is intended to be with the Bride's beauty. If, however, it be referred wholly to her blackness, as that of the tents of Kedar, then I have nothing more to say to you on the subject of those

curtains of Solomon, except that they were, perhaps, those of which that King was accustomed to make use as a tent or screen when he thought fit to live under canvas, and which (if that were the case) would no doubt be stained and blackened by their exposure every day to the rays of the sun and the violence of weather. Yet that was not uselessly done,1 but in order that the costly furniture which was within might be preserved unsoiled and beautiful In this point of view the Bride does not deny her blackness, but makes excuse for it; nor does she regard as blameworthy such a condition, which charity excuses, and which the judgment of the Truth does not disapprove. For does not an Apostle ask, Who is weak, and I am not weak f who is offended, and I burn noil (2 Cor. xi. 29). She takes upon her the blemish (novum) of compassion, in order to lighten or to cure the malady of passion in another; she allows herself to gather blackness, on account of her zeal for whiteness, and obtains fairness and beauty as her reward.

2. The blackening of One renders many white and fair; not that He is tinged with their faults, but that He is touched by their sufferings. It is expedient, it was said, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not (John xi. 50). It is expedient that One, for the sake of all, should be blackened by the likeness of sinful flesh, and that the whole [human] race should not be condemned by the blackness of sin. Let the brightness and the image of the Divine Nature be obscured by the form of a servant, for the life of a servant. Let the radiance of eternal life gather blackness in the flesh, in order that the flesh may by it be purified. Let the Form that was fairer than all the sons of men be obscured in the darkness of the Passion, in order that the sons of men might see a great light and be enlightened by it; let It be defiled upon the Cross; let It grow pale2 in death; let It have no form or comeliness, that the Divine Bridegroom may obtain for the Church His Bride to be altogether beautiful and glorious, without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing. I recognise the curtain of Solomon — nay, rather, I embrace the monarch Solomon himself under his covering of black. He, too, has blackness, but it is of the skin alone; it is an external blackness, not extending within; for the King's daughter is all glorious within (Ps. xlv. 13). Within is the brightness of Divinity, the beauty of His virtues, the shining of His glory, [otherwise gratia^, and the white lustre of His innocence; but the appearance of infirmity conceals all these, and renders Him open to scorn from the beholders; His countenance is, as it were, hidden, and He is despised, since He is tempted in all ways like unto [His brethren], yet without sia I recognise the image and likeness of a defiled and blackened human nature; I recognise those coats of skins,1 the coverings granted to our first parents, after they had sinned against God (Gen. iii. 21). For He has accepted blackness for Himself in taking upon Him the form of a servant, in being made in the likeness of men, and in being found in fashion as a man (Phil. ii. 7). I recognise under the covering of goatskin, which is the symbol of sin, both the Hands which did no wrong, and the neck (Gen. xxvii. 16) through which thought of evil never passed; and on that account no guile was found in His Mouth (Is. liii. 9). I know, O Jesus, that Thou art of mild nature, meek and humble of heart, of benign look and kindly spirit, and that Thou art indeed anointed with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows (Ps. xlv. 7). Whence, then, is it that Thou art rough and shaggy like Esau? Wherefore is Thy Countenance wrinkled and blackened, and whence this shaggy growth of hair? Mine, mine they are, and these Hands are rendered bristly with the likeness of me, a sinner. I acknowledge as mine this shaggy growth, and in my flesh I behold God my Saviour.

3. Nevertheless, it was not Rebekah, but Mary, who invested Him in this garment of flesh; and He who accepted the benediction [of His Father] was so much the worthier as she who bore Him was the more holy. Well is it for me that He is found in my likeness, since the benediction is reserved by Him for me, since it is for me that the heritage is claimed. It was, in fact, said to Him: Ask of Me, and I shall give Thee the heathen for Thine inheritance, and the utmost parts of the earth for Thy possession (Ps. ii. 8). Thine inheritance, He says, Thy possession, I will give to Thee. How wilt Thou give it to Him if it be His? And why dost Thou warn Him to ask for it? or how can it be His if it be necessary that He should ask? It is, then, for me that He asks it; and it is in order that He may undertake my cause that He puts on my nature Wherefore, says the Prophet, T/ie chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and, The Lord hath laid on Htm the iniquity of us all (Is. liii. 5, 6). And the Apostle explains, In all things it behoved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be merciful (Heb. ii. 17). So that His voice is truly the voice of Jacob, but the hands the hands of Esau (Gen. xxvii. 22). That which we hear from His Lips is His; but what we see in Him, that comes from us. The words which He speaks, they are spirit, and they are life; but the Form upon which the eye rests is subject to death, and is death. One thing is beheld, another believed. The senses declare that He is black; but faith protests assuredly that He is fair as the lily (Cant. ii. 1), and altogether beautiful. He is, indeed, black, but only to the eyes of those void of understanding; for in the judg- merit of the faithful He is wholly beautiful; black yet comely; black in the opinion of Herod, but by the confession of the penitent Thief, as in the faith of the Centurion, beautiful altogether.

4. How beautiful the man who exclaimed, Truly this Man was the Son of God, had surely perceived. But into what he perceived it is for us to examine. For if the Centurion had considered only that which was apparent in the Man before him, on what ground could he have pronounced Him the Son of God, or beautiful? What was there in Him to the eyes of the spectators, other than tortured and uncomely, when nailed upon the Cross with outstretched Hands, and between two malefactors, He was the subject of laughter to the malignant, of weeping to the faithful? He alone was an object of laughter, who alone had the right to be the object of respect and of terror. Whence, then, did he learn the charm of the Crucified One? Whence did he know that the Man who was numbered with the transgressors was in truth the Son of God? To reply to that question is not for me; nor is there need, for the care of the Evangelist has not failed to supply the answer. These are his words: When the Centurion, who stood over against flim, saw that He so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said: Truly this Man was the Son of God (Mark xv. 39). Therefore, he believed at [the hearing of] the Voice; he recognised the Son of God by His Voice, not by His appearance. Was he not, then, perhaps one of the sheep of Him who said, My sheep hear My voice (John x. 14) P1

5. By the hearing is discovered a truth which the sight was unable to reach; appearance has deceived the eye, and the truth has entered by the ear. The eye declared Him weak, defiled, miserable, condemned to the most ignominious of deaths; while the ear gained the knowledge that He was Son of God, that He was beautiful altogether; but not the ear of the Jews, who were uncircumcised in [heart and] ears. It was not without reason that St Peter cut off the ear of the high priest's servant, as if to open an entrance for the truth, and that the truth should free him, that is, make him free. The centurion was a man uncircumcised, but not as to his ears, since he recognised the Lord, under so many marks of feebleness, and at the single voice of a dying Man. He did not despise that which he saw, because he believed that which he did not see. Nor did he believe because of what he saw, but, on the contrary, because, without doubt, of what he heard; for faith cometh by hearing (Rom. x. 1 7). It would have been indeed worthy of the truth that it should enter the soul by the eyes, which are its windows, and because sight is the worthier sense; but that is reserved for us, O my soul, to the time when we shall see face to face. In the meantime, it is well that the remedy should enter where the disease entered, that life should follow death, and tread close upon its footsteps; that Light should follow darkness, and

that the venom of the serpent should be succeeded by the Truth, the remedy for it; so that the eye, which was sick, might be cured, and, being cured, might calmly behold Him whom in its sickness it was unable to discern. The ear was the first portal by which death entered, let it now be the first inlet opened to life: and let the hearing, which took away the power of sight, now restore it; for, unless we have believed [mysteries], we shall not comprehend them. Therefore, hearing has relation to the merit, and sight to the recompense [of belief]. Wherefore the Psalmist says: Thou wilt give to my hearing joy and gladness (Ps. li. 8); because the recompense of faithful hearing is the Blessed Vision, and the merit [deserving] of that Blessed Vision is faithful hearing. Blessed are those who are pure in heart, saith Our Lord, for they shall see God (Matt. v. 8). And it is necessary that the eye which is to see God should be purified by faith, according to that which is written: Purifying their hearts by faith (Acts xv. 9).

6. In the meantime, then, and while [that] sight is not as yet prepared, let the sense of hearing be aroused, let it be exercised,1 and receive the truth. Happy is he to whom the Truth bears witness, saying: At the hearing of the ear he obeyed Me (Ps. xviii. 45). I shall be worthy to behold Him if before I have beheld 1 shall be found to have obeyed Him; I shall behold with confidence Him who has received the sacrifice of my obedience. How blessed is the man who says: The Lord God hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back (Is. 1. 5.). There you have a model of voluntary obedience, an example of perseverance. For he who does not contradict works voluntarily, and he who has not turned back perseveres. Both one and the other are necessary, because God loveth a cheerful giver (2 Cor. ix. 7), and he that endureth unto the end shall be saved (Matt. x. 22). May the Lord deign to open mine ear also, may the word of truth enter into my heart, may He purify mine eyes, and prepare them for the joyful vision [of Himself], so that I too may say to Him: Thine ear has heard the preparation of my heart (Ps. x. 17), and that I may be enabled also, with all that are obedient to Him, to hear from His Mouth: Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you (John xv. 3). Not all who listen to His words are cleansed, but those only who obey them: Blessed are they that hear the Word of God and keep it (Luke xi. 28). Such an hearing it is which He requires who gives command, saying, Hear, O Israel (Deut. vi. 3); such a hearing it is that he offers who says: Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth (1 Sam. iii. 9); such, again, it is that he promises who speaks thus: / will hear what God the Lord will speak (Ps. lxxxv. S).

7. But in order that you may know that the Holy Spirit observes this order in the spiritual advancement of the soul — that is to say, that He forms the practice of hearing before He makes the soul glad with sight — notice what is said in a Psalm: Hearken, O daughter, and see (Ps. xlv. n, Vulg. and Douay). Why dost thou open thine eyes? Open rather thine ears. Dost thou greatly desire to see Christ? It is necessary that you should first hear what He says, that you should hear what is said of Him, that you may say when you shall see Him: As we have heard, so have we seen (Ps. xlviii. 9). That brightness is without measure, and your vision is feeble; you cannot attain unto it You may, perhaps, be able to hear His words; to behold Him you are not able. When I had become a sinner I heard God calling in the garden, Adam, where art thou? (Gen. iii. 9), but behold Him I did not. But the hearing, if it be pious, watchful, and faithful, brings back the sight. Faith shall purify the eye which impiety has rendered diseased; and though disobedience had closed it fast, obedience shall open it again. Lastly, it is, as says the Psalmist, through Thy precepts I get understanding (Ps. cxix. 104); because the observance of the commandments of God restores the intelligence, which transgression has taken away. Consider that good man Isaac, how, when he was already very aged, his hearing retained its vigour beyond the other senses. The eyes of the Patriarch were obscured, his taste was led away, his hands were deceived, but not his ears. What is there wonderful in his ear perceiving the truth, since faith cometh by hearing, hearing by the Word of God (Rom. x. 17), and the Word of God is truth? The voice, he said, is Jacob's voice, and nothing was truer than this; but, he went on, the hands are the hands of Esau (Gen. xxvii. 22); and nothing was more false. You are wrong; the mere likeness of a hand has deceived you. Taste is not a reliable test of truth, though it discern that which is agreeable. Is it to know the truth to suppose that you are eating venison when, in truth, it is the flesh of a tame kid? Much less is there dependence on the eye which sees nothing; in it there is neither truth nor wisdom. Woe unto those, says the Prophet, that are wise in their own eyes (Is. v. 21). It is not a good wisdom which is thus condemned. It is but the wisdom of this world which is foolishness with God (1 Cor. iii. 19).

8. The true wisdom is within, and is hidden (Job xxviii. 13), as holy Job knew. Why do you seek it without, and from the bodily senses? Taste has its seat in the palate, but wisdom in the heart. Do not seek for wisdom with the fleshly eye, for flesh and blood doth not reveal it, but the Spirit (Matt. xvi. 17). Nor is it found in the taste, for it is not found in the land of the living (Job xxviii. 13); nor in the touch of the hand, for Job says again: If my mouth has kissed my hand, this also were an iniquity to be punished by the judge, for I should have denied the God that is above (xxxii. 27, 28). This, I consider, is the case when the gift of God — that is, wisdom — is attributed not to God, but to the merits of [human] actions. Isaac was a wise man; nevertheless, his senses led him into error. Has hearing alone the truth? It is because hearing perceives the word. Rightly was it forbidden to the woman in the Gospel, who had only carnal wisdom, to touch the Flesh of the Risen Word, because she trusted more to her eyes than to the Divine oracles — that is, to the carnal senses rather than to the Word of God, for she did not believe that He whom she saw dead was raised again,1 although He had Himself promised that this should be so. Thus her eyes had no rest until they were satisfied by seeing, because she found no consolation in faith, nor in the promise given by God. Are not heaven and earth, and whatsoever is capable of being reached by the bodily eye, to pass away and perish before one jot or tittle out of all that God has spoken shall fail? And yet she who was unwilling to be consoled by the Word of the Lord ceased to weep immediately upon the sight of Him, because she attached greater weight to the experience of her senses than to the certitude of faith. But that experience is deceptive.

9. We are thrown back, on that account, upon the surer cognition of faith, which comprehends that which sense is unable to reach, and which is not included in past experience. Touch Me not, says the Saviour — that is to say, Cease to rely upon this [carnal] sense, which is easily deceived;2 rest upon My Word; accustom yourselves to the exercise of faith. Faith cannot be deceived; it does not feel the poverty which belongs to the senses, but comprehends things which are invisible — indeed, it passes beyond the boundaries even of human reason, of the course of nature, of the limits of experience. Why do you ask of the eye that which it is not capable of knowing? and why does the hand endeavour to examine that which is beyond its range? Whatever these two senses bring you information upon is of subordinate importance. But faith reveals to you truths respecting Me, from the greatness of which nothing can detract Learn to hold with firmer grasp, and to follow with greater confidence, that which it recommends to you. Touch Me not, for f am not yet ascended unto My Father (John xx. 17). As if it were only when He were ascended that He either could be, or desired to be, touched by her! Yes, doubtless, He could be touched, but by the heart, not by the hand; by prayers, not by the eyes; by faith, and not by the bodily senses. ' Why/ He says, 4 do you wish to touch Me now, you who judge of the glory of My Resurrection only by the bodily senses? Do you not remember that, even while I was yet mortal, the eyes of My disciples were not able to sustain for a moment the glory of My Body, though it were about to die? (Matt. xvii. 6). I am still, indeed, in a certain relation to your senses, while I bear this form of a servant, which you are able to recognise through habit. But My glory is wonderful, and raised wholly above you, so that you cannot in any wise attain unto it.' Defer, then, your judgment, suspend your belief, and do not trust at all to your senses for the determination of a matter so great, and which is reserved to faith. Faith will define it more worthily and more surely, inasmuch as faith comprehends it more fully, and, in its deep and mystical intelligence, apprehends the height and the depth, the length and the breadth of that mystery. That which the eye hath not seen, nor the ear heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man [even to imagine], faith bears in itself — concealed, as it were, by an impenetrable covering, and safely sealed.

10. That faculty, then, can alone touch Me worthily, which shall contemplate Me sitting at the Right Hand of My Father, no longer in humble guise, but in celestial glory; in My very Flesh, but in quite other semblance than aforetime. Why do you desire to touch It in Its disfigurement? Wait till It be glorified, and you shall do so. For that which is now disfigured shall then be beautiful; and disfigured it is, to touch and to sight, even to you, who are yourself disfigured, as relying rather upon your senses than upon faith. But take to yourself [spiritual] beauty, and then the touch of Me will be possible to you; for if you have faith, then you have this beauty also, and can touch Him who has it both more worthily and more happily. Touch Him with the hand of faith, with the finger of earnest desire, with the clasp of devotion, with the fixed gaze of the intellect. But will He still be black, Him whom you touch thus? By no means. Thy Beloved is white and ruddy (Cant. v. 10). He is beautiful altogether, and is surrounded with the Roses of Sharon, with lilies of the valleys — that is, with the noble bands of Martyrs, and the choirs of Virgins. I who sit in the midst am akin to each, for I, too, am both Virgin and Martyr. How can I but belong to the white-robed choirs of Virgins, I who am a virgin, the Son of a Virgin, the Spouse of a virgin-bride? How, again, can I but have a place among the empurpled ranks of the Martyrs, I who am the cause and the strength of martyrdom, the pattern and the reward of Martyrs? Be thou like this, and touch thus Him who is thus described,1 and then say: My Beloved is white and ruddy, the chief est among ten thousand. Thousands of thousands are with Him — ten thousand times ten thousand are around Him; but there is none of all these to whom He can be compared. Do you fear lest you should fall into some error while seeking Him whom you love in the midst of a multitude so great? You will assuredly not hesitate in your choice; you will easily distinguish Him who is chiefest among all those thousands, since He is more majestic than all, and you will say: He that is glorious in His apparel, travelling in the greatness of His strength (Is. lxiii. 1). Then He will not be in that complexion blackened by trouble and hardship in which, up to that time, He had presented Himself before the eyes of His persecutors that they might despise and put Him to death, as also before the eyes of His friends that they might recognise Him when He was risen again. No, I repeat, He will then appear no longer in that sable garb, but in a robe of white, and with a beauty which surpasses not only that of the sons of men, but also that of angels. Why [He says] do you wish to touch Me when I am in a state so humble, in the form of a servant, and without form or comeli- ness? Touch Me rather when I shall be adorned with heavenly beauty, crowned with glory and honour — inspiring fear, indeed, by My Divine Majesty, but full of the winning serenity and gentleness which is Mine by nature.

n. At this point we ought to notice the prudence of the Bride, and the marvellous profundity of her sayings, inasmuch as under the figure of the curtains of Solomon, that is, in the flesh, she has sought out God, and in death has discovered the Life, supreme glory and honour among unnumbered disgraces and shames, and under the dark and poor exterior of the Crucified One, the whiteness of innocence, and the splendour of all virtues; just as under those tentcurtains, however black and despised, the ornaments and treasures of a great and rich king are hidden and preserved. Rightly, then, a person does not scorn the blackness of the curtains, who divines and reflects upon the beauty which they conceal. Therefore it is that some have despised the one because they did not know of the existence of the other; for if they had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory (i Cor. ii. 8). Herod knew it not, and therefore despised Him; nor did the rulers of the Synagogue, since they reproached the gloom and infirmity of His Passion, saying: He saved others \ Himself He cannot save. Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the Cross, that we may see and believe (Mark xv. 31, 22). But the thief knew Him from the cross where he was hanging, though He was upon the Cross too, and acknowledged His innocence: This Man hath done nothing amiss.1 And then at the same time he declared his belief in His royal Majesty and Glory: Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy Kingdom (Luke xxiii. 42). The Centurion knew Him, who cried out that He was the Son of God (Matt, xxvii. 54); and the Church knows Him now, and emulates His blackness in order to share in His glory and beauty. She is not confounded at appearing black or being called black, as she says to her beloved: The reproaches of them that reproached Thee are fallen upon me (Ps. lxix. 9). For she is black as the curtains of Solomon, but without, and not within; for my Solomon has no inward blackness. Also, she does not say, ' I am black as Solomon,' but ' as the curtains of Solomon because the blackness of Him who is truly the Peaceful is only on the surface. The blackness caused by sin is inward, and sin defiles the soul before it appears to the eyes of men. Thus it is out of the heart that proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witnesses, blasphemies, and it is these which defile a man (Matt xv. 19, 20); but that is not the case (God forbid!) with our Solomon. You will assuredly not find any such defilements in Him who is truly the Peaceful; for it must absolutely be the case that He who taketh away the sins of the world is Himself without sin, that He may be found fit to bring peace to sinners, and have a right to claim for Himself justly the name of the Peaceful.

12. But there is also a blackness of repentance which gathers upon bne who makes lamentation for his sins. Perhaps He who is my Solomon will not abhor this in me, if I clothe myself with it of my own accord for my sins; because a broken and contrite heart God does not despise (Ps. li. 17). There is also that of compassion, with which one is affected who condoles with some other who is afflicted, and it darkens you with the suffering of a brother. Our Peacemaker has without doubt considered that He ought not to reject this blackness of sympathy, since He has deigned Himself to be indued with it for us, and has borne our sins in His own Body on the Tree (1 Peter ii. 24). There is also the blackness of persecution, which is counted as a rich and exalted ornament, when it is endured for the sake of righteousness and truth. Wherefore it is said of the Apostles that they departed from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His Name (Acts v. 41); and again: Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness1 sake (Matt. v. 10). It is, I consider, principally in this blackness that the Church takes glory to herself, and of all the dark coverings of the Bridegroom it is that which she imitates most willingly. Also, it is that which has been promised to her by the Saviour: If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you (John xv. 20).

13. On this account the Bride adds: Look not upon me because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me (i. 6), that is, Do not consider me as repulsive, because it is the violence of persecution which renders me less attractive, and less glorious according to the glory of the world. Why do you impute as a blemish to me the blackness which the heat of persecution, and not any fault in my behaviour, has caused? Or perhaps she intends by ' the sun ' the warm zeal for righteousness with which she is fired and consumed against the ungodly, saying to God: The zeal of Thine house hath eaten me up (Ps. lxix. 9); and again, My zeal hath consumed me, because mine enemies have forgotten Thy words; and again, Horror hath taken hold upon me, because of the ivicked that forsake Thy law (Ps. cxix. 139, 53); and again, Do I not hate them, O Lord, that hate Thee? and am I not grieved with them that rise up against Thee? (Ps. cxxxix. 21). She observes with care also that saying of the Wise Man: Hast thou daughters? show not thyself cheerful towards them (Ecclus. vii. 24); so that when they are slothful and luxurious, and backward in observance of rule, she shows towards them, not the serenity of satisfaction, but the troubled look of severity. Or, again, * to be blackened by the sun ' means, perhaps, to her to burn with ardent charity towards the brethren, to weep with them that weep, to be weak with the weak, to feel acutely when another is affected with scandal. Or it may be read thus: It is Christ, the Sun of Righteousness, for whose love I languish, whose beams have looked upon me. That languishing draws the colour from the countenance, and that paleness arises from the violence of the soul's desire; wherefore also the Psalmist says: / remembered God, and was delighted, and was exercised, and my spirit swooned away (Ps. lxxvi. 4, Vulg. and Douay). Therefore the ardour of its desire, like a burning sun, makes pale the countenance, while the soul is making its pilgrimage here below, and sighing for the glorious vision of its Lord; the repulse that it receives makes it impatient, and the delay that it experiences gives it pain that is great according to the greatness of its love. Who is there among us who glows with a love so sacred, that the desire which he has to see Jesus Christ inspires him with distaste and scorn for all the varieties of glory, and all the joy, of this present life; so that he says to God, with the Prophet, / have not desired the day of man. Thou knowest (Jer. xvii. 16, Douay), and also with holy David, My soul refused to be comforted (Ps. lxxvii. 2), that is, scorns to be flushed with the empty joy of present good. Or, lastly, *the sun hath discoloured me ' may mean, in comparison with His own splendour, because when I draw near to Him I find myself to be dusky, even black, and despise myself as disfigured and foul. But otherwise I am indeed beautiful; and why do you call me black, when I yield in fairness only to the sun? But the words which follow seem to agree better with the former sense, for she adds: My mothers children were angry with me, which plainly signifies that she has suffered persecution; but that shall be the subject of another discourse. For the present this, which we have received by the gift of our Lord Jesus Christ, Bridegroom of His Church, will suffice, and may it be to His glory, who is God blessed for ever. Amen.