Jesus, the Narcissus of Sharon
1I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys. 2As a lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters. 3As 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, his fruit was sweet to my taste. 4He brought me to the banquet hall. His banner over me is love. 5Strengthen me with raisins, refresh me with apples; For I am faint with love. 6His left hand is under my head. His right hand embraces me. 7I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, or by the hinds of the field, that you not stir up, nor awaken love, until it so desires.
Climbing a hill or out on a walk, you have probably stopped in your tracks at the sight of flowers blooming with no name at all. Looking at a flower that is not showy but blooms sweetly, a closed heart opens, and a smile spreads across a face that was low. The rougher the ground of the mountain, the more a wildflower shines in its place. Flowers on a summit or on a cliff feel more precious and more mysterious than the ones blooming everywhere in a field. A lily blooming in barren ground where no flower could possibly grow warms every heart.
Believers who love God are exactly those wildflowers with no name, because they do not exist to be recognized by the world. Whether the place God gave them is a summit, a valley or a cliff, it makes no difference; they are flowers of faith giving off the fragrance of Christ with everything they have. Believers who keep their place quietly and carry out their commission, with no one watching and no one praising them, are wildflowers shining just as they are.
The narcissus of Sharon and the lily of the valleys come from the same word in the original. As the hymn has it, “Jesus, flower of Sharon” means the narcissus. The narcissus blooms beautifully in an autumn field with no one there to see it. The one who lowered himself and bloomed on this earth like a narcissus, in humility, is Jesus; and the lily hidden in a low valley, breathing out the fragrance of Christ, is the believer. Jesus and believers are not flowers arranged showily for people. Believers have neither the bright color of a rose nor its pretty shape. But in God’s eyes they are precious flowers just as they are, like a lily blooming among thorns.
Think about this for a moment.
If a single lily were blooming alone in a thick wood of thorns, people’s eyes would not see the thorn trees; they would see only that lily. God too is looking only at the believers who shine a small lamp like a lily in this dark world, which is a wood of thorns. However brightly the world turns on its lights, and however many people laugh under them, in God’s eyes the world is nothing but pitch dark. A flower is more beautiful for blooming among thorns, and a small lamp shines all the brighter because the world is wrapped in ink-black darkness. The world may be covered with thorns, but the fragrance of Jesus Christ that a believer carries will spread a very long way and will show the glory of God.
Song of Solomon 2:2
2As a lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.
Because Solomon said this to the Shulammite, many women were jealous of her. But she was sure of Solomon’s love, so she was not afraid of them and stood firm for the one she loved. To be loved by a king carries that much danger with it. Loved by the king of a nation — and by Solomon, rich and wise at that — the Shulammite was guaranteed the good circumstances everyone in the world wants. For that reason many women besides the Shulammite wanted the attention of a Solomon who lacked for nothing. And so she had to be thankful for his love and to conduct herself all the more humbly.
Ezekiel 2:6
6You, son of man, don’t be afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you, and you do dwell among scorpions. Don’t be afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house.
Believers who are loved by God may be persecuted by a world as painful as briers and thorns, and by people who do not know God and sting like scorpions; but they have no need to fear them or be frightened of them, because Jesus Christ, who gave his own life, is with them. The Shulammite could be bold when she trusted Solomon’s love, and in the same way, when believers trust the deep and true love of God, they can live boldly without losing their way in a world like fog. How far do you trust the love of God? Are you really not afraid or frightened even when the world brings you suffering?
Because Solomon was the king ruling Israel, the Shulammite would not have feared anyone’s threats or anyone’s jealousy. And since God is the one who rules this world, however much Satan threatens you, there is no need at all to be afraid. Because the Father who protects us is the King of kings.
When God gives the command, everything in this world will tremble in fear, and even the powers of darkness will bow before the Father. And when the Father gives the order, the armies of heaven and the angels will begin work at once to protect you. All the problems you meet in the world are as hard as briers and thorns, but hand them over to God and the angels will carry them; so do not be afraid — pray.
Song of Solomon 2:3
3As 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, his fruit was sweet to my taste.
The Shulammite knew that Solomon was precious, like an apple tree standing tall in a wood, and she treasured him for it. That is why simply being with him made her happy. If you were walking along expecting nothing at all and saw an apple tree loaded with fruit in the middle of a thick wood, how glad would you be? You would be all the gladder for having expected nothing, the wood being so dense.
To the Shulammite, Solomon was as valuable among the many men of the world as an apple tree bearing fruit in a wood. There were many men in the world, but simply being with Solomon made her glad, and every conversation she had with him was sweet fruit to her. To all of you who have fallen in love, the other person must be precious like this. Keep that first love well, as the Shulammite kept it when she found the apple tree that was Solomon.
Living hard lives in a world like a wood, you have looked at a wood that goes on and on without end and lost heart, thinking there is no hope; you have despaired, asking whether this wood has any end at all. And in the middle of that you met Jesus Christ, who bears the fruit of life and grace, like an apple tree standing in the wood of the world. Christ became the shade that keeps off the world’s burning sun, and he blessed you, tired and worn as you were, with the sweet grace of heaven, with gifts and with eternal life.
This blessing is a grace of heaven that only those who have pushed their way out of the world’s wood can enjoy. Believers who have tasted that grace will never go back into the world’s wood again, and in order to share the grace with more people they will lead them under the shade of the apple tree that is Christ. This is the joy that only those who preach the gospel can enjoy.
Psalm 63:4-5
4So I will bless you while I live. I will lift up my hands in your name. 5My soul shall be satisfied as with the richest food. My mouth shall praise you with joyful lips,
David is a man who saw the grace of God, enjoyed it and shared it. He knew that when God is with us there is nothing in the world to fear and no suffering that cannot be overcome, and that is why he confessed that his soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and that his mouth praises the Lord with joyful lips. A believer who praises God as David did is a believer who has eaten the fruit of blessing God gave.
Inside the world’s wood there are temptations hidden so that believers cannot live rightly in spiritual things, and a great deal of poison hidden to keep them from reaching the apple tree. There is the greed that makes people crave wealth and the human righteousness that will not let a person humble himself; there are the sins of boasting about oneself and of judging and condemning others, all of them concealed. These obstructions hide Christ, who is the light, and make eternal life look like a small thing.
But you have pushed your way through a world of a wood strewn with sin and met Jesus Christ, the apple tree. Now keep the Lord’s grace with a thankful heart always. Even where the grace is God’s, when a person enjoys peace for a long stretch they forget to be thankful. A heart like that is given by Satan, so do not forget what a great blessing it is to live inside the word of Christ.
Song of Solomon 2:4
4He brought me to the banquet hall. His banner over me is love.
Solomon took the Shulammite and went into the banqueting house. The banqueting house here means “the house of wine.” The house of wine is the place where Solomon confirms to the Shulammite his own heart, full of joy and delight and love. This love is also a banner of victory, saying that she has become Solomon’s woman forever. Believers too are children of God who hold a banner of victory because of Christ.
Jesus also once took his disciples and went to a wedding at Cana. At the wedding he made wine out of water and made the hearts of everyone there merry and glad. But the miracle of making water into wine was not made for the people who had come to the feast; it was a sign for the disciples.
The Jews washed their hands before a meal and when they visited someone’s house, because they thought that doing so made them clean according to the law. At the wedding in Cana Jesus made wine out of the water in the jars that had been prepared for the guests to wash their hands. He made that water into wine in order to show the disciples that washing the hands with water does not make a person clean, and that only wine, which stands for the blood of Jesus, makes a person clean. The wine is the precious blood of the Lord, who gave his own life and made believers live.
When believers, too, meet the Christ who stands in the middle of the world’s wood, they will go with the Lord into the house of wine, the banqueting house, and will live forever. Believers have now met a sure refuge in a world like a wood. Just as the women could not touch the Shulammite however jealous their hearts were, the world will not be able to touch a believer who is loved by Jesus.
Song of Solomon 2:5
5Strengthen me with raisins, refresh me with apples; For I am faint with love.
The Shulammite saw and felt Solomon’s true love and wanted more of it. Longing with all her heart for a deeper love, she fell ill. She asked the women to sustain her with raisins and refresh her with apples. What she is saying is that only Solomon’s love can fill her heart.
John 15:5
5I am the vine. You are the branches. He who remains in me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
The Shulammite knew that only the love Solomon gives could heal her sickness. Believers, too, can be full only when they receive and enjoy the Lord’s great grace inside God, and only then can they raise the banner of victory high.
How desperately would you have to want the love of God to fall ill as the Shulammite did? Have you ever fallen ill from longing for the grace of God? He promised that if you seek him and go on seeking you will find him; so if you seek God first and go on seeking, you will be able to receive everything you ask for.
Isaiah 40:31
31But those who wait for Yahweh will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run, and not be weary. They will walk, and not faint.
Those who wait on God will certainly gain new strength. That strength is a strength of heaven the world cannot block and Satan cannot obstruct. However long and rough a life is, the grace the Lord gives is a power that no evil person and no evil spirit can block. Working to gain the world’s strength ends in exhaustion, but the grace of God never tires; it stays full until every commission has been carried out. That love welling up inside your heart — whom is it directed toward? Only with the ability to tell that apart will you not fall to Satan’s temptation.
Suppose two apple trees are standing in front of you now.
One is the apple tree called Christ, hung all over with the gifts and grace of heaven and with new life. The other is an apple tree hung all over with the wealth and power of the world and with human lust, an apple tree that looks remarkably like Christ. To human eyes the second tree will certainly look good to eat, because it resembles human nature. It will look as though one bite would make you wise at once and give you the strength of the world, but in the end it is nothing but a tree that carries poison. You cannot defeat the world by your own strength; but rely on the God who is always a fence around you and you can enjoy spiritual fullness, abundance and rest inside him. Simply take off the glasses tinted with sin that you wear toward the world, and you can easily tell whether the apple tree in front of you is Christ or a tree imitating Christ. Let go of the greed in your heart and you will see at once that it is a wood dressed up as an apple tree.
We are now the bride who has come into the banqueting house with Christ. When we love Christ alone and live for him alone, then surely, as Solomon’s power and wealth and ability became the Shulammite’s, we will share in all the glory God enjoys. I ask you to live always as believers who hold the banner of victory and carry the love of Christ to the world. Then Christ will be a sure fence around you and will make you a bride the world envies.
May you receive the love of God as the Shulammite did — enjoy it, carry it, and be a lovely bride. I bless you in the name of Jesus Christ.