![]() The wicked, the daughters of this world, such as have no love to Christ, are as thorns, worthless and useless, good for nothing but to stop a gap nay, they are noxious and hurtful they came in with sin and are a fruit of the curse they choke good seed, and hinder good fruit, and their end is to be burned. The church of Christ as far excels all other societies as a bed of roses excels a bush of thorns. As a lily among thorns, as a lily compared with thorns. They are his love, and so they are as lilies, for those are made like Christ in whose hearts his love is shed abroad. The beauty of believers consists in their conformity and resemblance to Jesus Christ. She is as a lily he himself is the lily ( v. What he is pleased to compare his church to, v. Whatever excellence is in Christ, it is in him singularly and in the highest degree. He is the rose, the lily there is none besides. Whatever he is to others, to those that are in the valleys he is a lily. He is a lily of the valleys, or low places, in his humiliation, exposed to injury. He is a lily for whiteness, a lily of the valleys for sweetness, for those which we call so yield a strong perfume. He is not a rose locked up in a garden, but all may come and receive benefit by him and comfort in him. Christ is the rose of Sharon, where probably the best roses grew and in most plenty, the rose of the field (so some), denoting that the gospel salvation is a common salvation it lies open to all whoever will may come and gather the rose-buds of privileges and comforts that grow in the covenant of grace. The rose, for beauty and fragrance, is the chief of flowers, and our Saviour prefers the clothing of the lily before that of Solomon in all his glory. He that is the Son of the Highest, the bright and morning star, calls and owns himself the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys, to express his presence with his people in this world, the easiness of their access to him, and the beauty and sweetness which they find in him, and to teach them to adorn themselves with him, as shepherds and shepherdesses, when they appeared gay, were decked with roses and lilies, garlands and chaplets of flowers. What Christ is pleased to compare himself to and he condescends very much in the comparison. 2 As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters. Christ the Rose of Sharon.ฤก I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys. Those whose hearts are filled with love to Christ, and hope of heaven, know best what these things mean. Rejoicing in her interest in him, ver 16. Repeating the gracious calls he had given her to go along with him a walking, invited by the pleasures of the returning spring ( ver 10-13), out of her obscurity ( ver 14), and the charge he had given to the servants to destroy that which would be hurtful to his vineyard, ver 15. Triumphing in his approaches towards her, ver 8, 9. ![]() Entertaining herself with the present tokens of his favour and taking care that nothing happen to intercept them, ver 5-7. ![]() Remembering the pleasure and satisfaction she has in communion with Christ, ver 3, 4. Christ speaks both concerning himself and concerning his church, ver 1, 2. ![]()
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