Sermons on the Song of Songs

WHY THE BRIDEGROOM IS CALLED BELOVED; AND OF THE TRUTH, THE GENTLENESS, THE RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND THE OTHER VIRTUES, WHICH ARE CALLED LILIES, AND AMONG WHICH HE IS SAID TO FEED.

* My Beloved is mine, and I am His: He feedeth among the lilies? — Cant. iL 16.

T T J HO can now impute to the Bride presumption or insolence, \/V/ because she declares that she has been admitted into * * fellowship with Him who feedeth among the lilies? Even if it were said, * He feedeth among the stars,' I know not whether in consideration of that phrase, * He feedeth/ it would seem to be a great thing thus to have with Him friendship or familiarity. For the phrase seems to have in it somewhat humble and unrefined. And when she says that He feedeth among the lilies, she seems by this note of humiliation to repel and remove from herself any charge of temerity. For what are lilies? According to the Word of the Lord they are the grass of the field which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven (Matt. vi. 28-30). What, then, is He who feedeth upon the grass, as a lamb or a calf? Evidently a lamb or a fatted calf. But you have, perhaps, carefully noticed that the lilies are referred to here, not as food, but as the place of His sojourn; nor is it said that He

feedeth on the lilies, but among the lilies. So let it be. He does not feed on the grass as an ox; but what greatness can there be in one who is found among the grass, and lies down upon it to rest, like one of the crowd which surrounds Him; and what glory can there be to the Bride in having for her Beloved, one who acts thus? According to the literal sense, then, the modesty of the Bride, and the discretion with which she speaks, are sufficiently apparent, and it is clear that she rules her speech with judgment, and expresses her high fortunes in unassuming words.

2. But, nevertheless, she is not unmindful that He who feedeth is the same as He who giveth food to others; that He, though He abides among the lilies, yet reigns above the stars. But she makes mention the more willingly of the humble actions of her Beloved, because, as I have said, of His humility; but also because He began to be her Beloved from the time when He began to feed among the lilies. Nor was it only from that time that He did so, but from that fact. For He who in the heights is the Lord, in the depths is the Beloved; above the stars He reigns; among the lilies He loves. Yet even above the stars He loved, because at no time and in no place, being Himself the Essential Love, could He cease to love; but until He descended to be among the lilies, and was found to feed among them, He was not the object of love, nor did He become the Beloved. What! you reply; was He not loved by the Patriarchs and by the Prophets? Assuredly; but not before He was seen by them also, feeding among the lilies. They cannot be said not to have seen Him whom they foresaw, unless anyone is so entirely without discernment as to suppose that a person who sees in the spirit really sees nothing. Whence, then, were they Seers, for so the Prophets were called (1 Sam. ix. 9) aforetime, if they saw nothing? It was because they desired to see Him whom as yet they saw not. And they would not have been able to form the desire to see Him in the body if they had not seen Him in the spirit. But, 1 say, were they all prophets? Either they all wished to see, or faith was granted to all. As to all those who had the gift of spiritual vision, either they were Prophets, or they were acquiescent and in alliance with the Prophets. While as to those who had faith, to have believed, is to have seen. For it seems to me not a mistake to say that it is possible to behold a thing in spirit and by faith, and not only by the spirit of prophecy.

3. He, therefore, who giveth food to all flesh, in deigning thus to come down and to feed among the lilies, made Himself loved, because He could not be loved before He was known. Accordingly, when the Bride makes mention of her Beloved, she appropriately refers to this fact as the cause of His being known and loved. This feeding among the lilies is to be spiritually understood; to take it in a literal sense would be ridiculous. We will show, as far as we are able, what these spiritual lilies are. I think that it will behove us first to examine on what the Beloved ' feedeth among the lilies '; whether upon the lilies themselves, or upon other plants and flowers hidden among them. That which appears to me the more difficult is that He is not said to give food to others, but Himself to feed. For that He gives food to others is not doubtful, nor is it unworthy of Him; but to say that He Himself feeds has a sound of indigence, and seems not capable of being attributed to Him, even spiritually, without doing some injury to His sovereign Majesty. I do not remember to have remarked in any part of this Canticle that He is said to feed; while you will remember with me that in one place He is said to make His flocks to feed. For the Bride there asks Him to show to her where He makes His flocks to feed and to rest at noon (i. 6). And now she says that He Himself * feedeth,' which she has not asserted before; nor does she ask to have the place where He is pointed out to her, but herself names it expressly, ' among the lilies? The one fact she knew, the other she did not know; because it is not possible for her to be equally well acquainted with that which is lofty and in the heaven, and that which is lowly and on the earth. Lofty is the task, lofty also is the place; nor has access to it been granted as yet even to the Bride herself.

4. And therefore it was that He who giveth food to all men, and is their Pastor, emptied Himself of His glory even to the point of receiving food. He was found among the lilies; He was beheld in His state of poverty by the Church, which was poor, and was beloved for the very reason of their similarity in this respect. Nor was it for this cause alone, but also because of His truth, His gentleness, and His righteousness; because promises were fulfilled through Him; because iniquities were forgiven; because the demons and their chief were judged and condemned in their pride. Such, then, was He when He appeared, that He was deserving of being loved; for, while by His own Nature He was the purest Truth, to men He was gentle and kind, and on their behalf He was righteous. O Bridegroom truly to be loved, and to be embraced with every fibre of the heart's affection! Why should the Church hesitate or delay to commit herself with an entire devotion to one so faithful to His promises, so kind to forgive, and so strong and righteous to protect? The Psalmist had foretold of Him long before: In Thy glory and Thy majesty ride prosperously. What kind of flower has glory and beauty? The lily, I think; there is nothing more beautiful than that. So the Bridegroom is fairer than all. What, then, are these lilies from which He draws a beauty so rare? Ride prosperously, continues the Psalmist, because of truth, and meekness, and righteousness (Ps. xlv. 3, 4). These are the lilies; the lilies, I say, growing out of the earth, and blooming brightly upon it; surpassing other flowers in beauty, and fragrant above all perfumes. Among these lilies is the Bridegroom, and from them is He surpassingly fair and beautiful. For otherwise, and regarding only the infirmity of the flesh, in Him there is no form nor comeliness (Is. liii. 2).

5. An exquisite lily, most fair in hue and marvellous in fragrance.

is Truth; for its brightness is that of the Eternal Light, the unspotted mirror of the Power of God, and the image of His goodness (Wisd. vii. 26). It is assuredly a lily which our earth has produced by a new benediction, and prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to lighten the Gentiles (Luke ii. 31, 32). As long as the earth was under a curse it brought forth thorns and thistles. But now, by the blessing of the Lord, Truth hath sprung out of the earth (Ps. Ixxxv. 11), the beautiful Rose of Sharon, and the Lily of the valleys. Recognise it as a lily by the whiteness and brilliancy wherewith it shone by night upon the eyes of the shepherds, as soon as it had begun to flower; for the Gospel declares that the Angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them (Luke ii. 9). Jt is well said, the glory of the Lord, for it was not the brightness of an Angel, but of this Lily, which surrounded those who were at Bethlehem. Recognise it as a Lily from the fragrance also, which reached even the Magi, who were at so great a distance. A Star indeed appeared to them, but those Wise Men would not have followed it had they not been inwardly drawn by the persuasive fragrance of this Lily. Assuredly Truth is a lily, of which the perfume animates faith and the brightness enlightens the understanding. Lift up now your eyes to the Person of the Lord Himself, who, speaking in the Gospel, says, / am the Truth (John xiv. 6). And see with how much reason Truth is compared to a lily. Notice, if you have never done so, how from the midst of this flower come forth five little rods of gold, beautifully arranged in the form of a crown, and surrounded by the white petals of the flower; and recognise in this a figure of the golden crown of Divinity in Christ, with the inviolable purity of His Human Nature; that is to say, Christ bearing the diadem wherewith His mother crowned Him (Cant. iii. n). For that which His Father set upon His Head abides in the region of Light unapproachable, nor are you able, as yet, to behold Him wearing that. But of this we will speak at another time.

6. Truth, then, is a lily; so also is Gentleness; it has the whiteness of innocence, the fragrance of hope. 4 Remnants there are/ it is said, 1 for the peaceable man' (Ps. xxxvii. 37, Douay). The gentle and kindly is a man of good hope [for the future life], nor is he in the present life less an example of clemency and friendship. Does not the lily, which shines with the duties of charity, diffuse also the fragrance of hope? Add to this that just as truth has sprung out of the earth, so also has gentleness. Unless anyone doubts that the Lamb, the Ruler of the earth (Is. xvi. 1), that Lamb who was led to the slaughter, and opened not His Mouth (Is. liii. 7), was sprung from the earth. Not only Gentleness and Truth have sprung out of the earth, but also Righteousness; as says the Prophet: Drop down, ye Heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let l/iem bring forth sanation, and let /Righteousness spring up together (Is. xlv. 8). That Righteousness is a lily, the Scripture teaches us, saying that the righteous shall graiv as the lily, and shall flourish for ever before the Lord (Hos. xiv. 5).* It is not, then, the case with this lily, that to-day it is, and to-morrow it is cast into the oven, since it shall flourish for ever; and that before the Lord, for the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance, and shall not be afraid of evil tidings (Ps. cxii. 6, 7); that is to say, he shall not fear to have to listen to that terrible sentence by which sinners are bidden to go away into everlasting fire. To whom is the brightness of this lily not visible, except the person to whom it is unpleasing? It is a sun; but not that sun which rises upon the evil and upon the good. For those who shall say: 4 The Sun of Righteousness hath not risen upon us' (Wisd. v. 6) have never even beheld His light Far otherwise is it with them to whom it has been said: Unto you that fear My Name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in his wings (Mai. iv. 2). The whiteness of this lily, then, is among the just; its fragrance, indeed, extends even unto sinners, although in them it is not for good. For we have heard the voice of the righteous saying: We are unto God a sweet savour of Christy in them that are saved, and in them that perish: to the one 7ce are the savour of death unto death, and to the other the savour of life unto life (2 Cor. ii. 15, 16). Who, though he be the most abandoned of men, does not approve of the sentiments of a righteous man, although he does not love his actions? Happy is he who does not condemn himself in that which he approves. For it is a self-condemnation to approve that which is good, and yet not to love it; so that a person is not happy, but miserable, who is thus condemned by his own judgment. What can be more miserable than the condition of a person to whom the savour of life is a messenger, not of life, but of death? Or, rather, I should call it, not a messenger of death, but a deathstroke.

7. There are still many other lilies besides these which the Prophet has indicated to us in the character of the Bridegroom; I mean besides truth, and gentleness, and righteousness; nor will it be difficult for each of us to find for himself similar ones in the garden, so full of delights, of the Bridegroom. It abounds and superabounds in such; who can enumerate them? since there are as many lilies as virtues; and of virtues in the Lord of virtues there is no end. For in Christ there is the fulness of virtues, and, therefore, also the abundance of lilies. Therefore, perhaps, it is that He is Himself spoken of as the Lily, because He is wholly surrounded with lilies, and all events in His Life are, so to speak, lilies: His conception, His Birth, His manner of life, the words He spake, the miracles He did; His Sacraments, His Passion, His Death, His Resurrection, His Ascension. Which of all these events is there that has not a pure splendour and a sweet fragrance? Thus, for instance, in His Conception is apparent the brightness of heavenly light, from the abundance of the overshadowing Spirit; so that not even the holy Virgin would have been able to endure it, if it had not been tempered to her by the power of the Most High. His Birth was rendered full of light and beauty by the pure virginity of His Mother; His Life, by the sinlessness of His character; His words, by their truth unsullied; His miracles, by the purity of His Heart; His Sacraments, by the hidden power of His goodness and kindness; His Passion, by His willingness to suffer; His Death, by the freedom that He had not to die; His Resurrection, by the fortitude with which it has inspired His Martyrs; His Ascension, by the accomplishment in it of His promises. How exquisite also is the fragrance of faith in each of these mysteries, of the faith, I mean, which is ours, and fills our hearts and minds, though we have not beheld the brightness of that glory! For blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed (John xx. 29). May my part in these lilies be the odour of life which proceeds from them. It is faith which fills with that fragrance the nostrils (so to speak) of my soul, and fills it with so much greater abundance, because the multitude of the lilies is so great. It is that heavenly fragrance which softens the rigour of my exile, and renews in my heart without ceasing a desire and longing for my true country above.

8. Some of the companions of the Bridegroom also have their lilies, but not in great number. For though all have received the Holy Spirit, it is by measure, and by measure also have they received gifts and graces. It is He alone who possesses them without measure (John iii. 34), because He possesses all. It is one thing to have some lilies, and another thing to have lilies only. Whom can you show me, from among the sons of the captivity, who is so holy and entirely without guile, as to be able to cover all the land that is his with flowers like these? Not the infant of a day old is pure upon the earth (Job xiv. 4, 5, according to the LXX.). Great and successful is he who is able to train up in the plot of ground committed to him even three or four of these lilies, in the midst of such a thicket of thorns and thistles, which are the inveterate seeds of the ancient curse. As for me, who am poor, I shall think myself happy if I am enabled by diligent weeding to clear my little plot of land from that evil crop of iniquities and vices, and by careful cultivation to ensure the growth of even one lily, so that He who feedeth among the lilies may deign sometimes to find His place for so doing in my soul.

9. I have said 'even one lily,' but this is too little, and it was out of the poverty of my heart that my mouth spake. For one will not suffice; at least two are absolutely necessary. I refer to continence and to innocence, whereof the one without the other will not save. It will be in vain that I invite the Bridegroom to come to either one of these, for He is represented, not as feeding upon a lily, but among the lilies. My care, then, shall be to have lilies, so that He who feedeth among the lilies may not, because I have only a single one, turn away from His servant in displeasure. I set, therefore, innocence first of all, and if I am able to join continence to it, I shall think myself rich in the possession of lilies. I am even, as it were, a king, if I am able to add to these, as a third lily, patience. And, indeed, the two former would suffice; but because they may be found wanting in the time of temptations, and the life of man upon the earth is marked by temptation (Job vii. i), there is much need on that account of patience, which is, so to speak, the protector1 and guardian of both. I think that if He who is the lover of lilies shall come, and shall find us in that condition, He will not, then, disdain with us to feed, with us to eat the Passover, since He will find great sweetness in the two former virtues, and great security shall be in the third. We shall see later on how He, who feeds and gives nourishment to all flesh, is here said Himself to feed. But now one thing is clear: that the Bridegroom not only appears among the lilies, but is to be found only among them, since every part of His character is a lily, that is, a virtue; and He Himself is the Lily, the Bridegroom of the Church, Jesus Christ our lx)rd, who is above all, God blessed for