Songs 2:3 As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight… In Eastern lands, far more than in Western, men are dependent on ripe fruit to allay their hunger. A man may walk all day among the oaks of Bashan or among the cedars of Lebanon, and find no food. To discover an apple tree or a citron tree among the trees of the forest would come as a surprise - as a meal direct from Heaven. Equally true is it that men wander from teacher to teacher, from one religious system to another, in quest of saving knowledge, and find it nowhere, until they find Jesus, the Christ. In search of soul-rest and soul-purity, men try practical morality, asceticism, bodily mortification, Church sacraments; but they are doomed to disappointment. For Jesus, the Son of God, is the only Saviour, and, apart from him, the soul is starved, diseased, undone. "As the citron tree among the trees of the wood, so is my Beloved among the sons." I. THE SUPERLATIVE EXCELLENCE OF JESUS CHRIST. 1. Here is the idea of rareness. The event was rare to find a citron tree among forest trees. So Jesus stands alone. As Adam stood alone, the head of a new order of life, the Head of the human race; so Jesus is without a parallel, the covenant Head of the new family. He is "the only begotten Son." By nature and by right, as well as by transcendent goodness, he is unapproachable. In him alone "dwells the fulness of the Godhead bodily." He is the God-Man: "God manifest in the flesh." "Let all the angels of God worship him." 2. Here is implied delicious fragrance. The blossom of the citron is not only beautiful to the eye; it is sweet and refreshing to the nostril. And it is a constant perfume. While ripe fruit is found on some branches, fresh blossoms are adorning others. Impressive emblem this of the rich fragrance of Immanuel's love. With the sweetness of his disposition nothing can compare. It spreads today from the frozen plains of Greenland to the sultry cities of Burmah. From the equator to the poles, the fragrance of the Saviour's love is diffused. It refreshes the fainting; it revives again those "who are ready to perish." Some kinds of apples are named "nonpareils." Jesus is the real "Nonpareil;" he has no equal. 3. The figure suggests fruitfulness. This is a theme that will loosen into eloquence every Christian tongue. Every part of Christ's nature is fruitful. The woman, afflicted with old disease in Canaan, found fruitful blessing even in the hem of his garment. He is fruitful as a Teacher, for his words dispel all the perplexities and fears of the human family; he is fruitful as a Healer, for his gracious virtue cures every disease of body and of soul; he is fruitful as our Priest, for his one sacrifice atones forevery sin; he is fruitful as Intercessor, for his righteous pleadings always prevail; he is fruitful as a King, for his reign brings order, content melt, righteousness, peace; he is fruitful as a Friend, for all that he has he shares with his saints. For fruitfulness he is the Vine. II. THE SUPERLATIVE USEFULNESS OF JESUS CHRIST. "I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste." Jesus is not simply excellence in his Person; his virtues are suited to the needs of men. 1. There is shady rest. The dwellers in the temperate zone can little appreciate what shade is to dwellers in the tropics. The fierce heat of noon means exhaustion, pain, fever. Rest in cool shade is like life from the dead. And the rest which Jesus gives is more precious yet. It is rest from the gloomy fear of hell; it is rest from the drudgery of sin; it is rest from slavish toil to work out a personal righteousness; it is rest from anxious, worldly care. 2. This fruitfulness of Christ is life giving. All other trees in the wood are impotent to sustain life. This is the tree of health - the tree of life. This is the grand prerogative of our Immanuel: "I am the Resurrection and the Life;" "I am come that ye may have life, and have it more abundantly;" "I give unto my sheep eternal life, and they shall never perish;" "Because I live, ye shall live also." And Jesus has always acted up to his word. A myriad human souls in heaven today join in the testimony, "Once we were dead; now, by Christ's grace, we live." "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable Gift." 3. Jesus Christ, as the citron tree, imparts joy. "I sat down under his shadow with great delight." It is an unusual joy, an overflowing blessedness. The joy which Christ gives is real, pure, ennobling, abiding. He gives to men "his own joy." Do men rejoice when pain yields to medicine, and new health flows in? Do men rejoice in the brightness of spring, or amid the plenty of autumn? Do men rejoice on their marriage morn, or when fortune crowns their toil with large success? In Christ's smile all joys are rolled into one. He who has Christ has a pledge of heaven. This joy is a "joy unspeakable." 4. Jesus Christ is eminently adapted to our needs. As the ripe fruit of the citron tree was exquisitely suited to travellers in those hot climes, so Jesus is precisely suited to our necessities. You cannot mention a want of yours which Jesus is not competent to satisfy. He is Light for our darkness, Strength for our weakness, Food for our hunger, Rest for our weariness, Freedom for our bondage, Pardon for our guilt, Purity for our uncleanness, Hope for our despondency. As a well made key fits a lock, so Jesus fits all my needs. I want no other Saviour. He "is all my salvation, and all my desire" Fitness is God's sign manual. - D. Parallel Verses KJV: As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. |
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