Evening, May 22
Charles Spurgeon · Morning and Evening: Daily Readings
Song of Solomon 1:16
"Behold, thou art fair, my Beloved."
Song of Solomon 1:16
From every point our Well-beloved is most fair. Our various experiences
are meant by our heavenly Father to furnish fresh standpoints from
which we may view the loveliness of Jesus; how amiable are our trials
when they carry us aloft where we may gain clearer views of Jesus than
ordinary life could afford us! We have seen him from the top of Amana,
from the top of Shenir and Hermon, and he has shone upon us as the sun
in his strength; but we have seen him also "from the lions' dens, from
the mountains of the leopards," and he has lost none of his loveliness.
From the languishing of a sick bed, from the borders of the grave, have
we turned our eyes to our soul's spouse, and he has never been
otherwise than "all fair." Many of his saints have looked upon him from
the gloom of dungeons, and from the red flames of the stake, yet have
they never uttered an ill word of him, but have died extolling his
surpassing charms. Oh, noble and pleasant employment to be forever
gazing at our sweet Lord Jesus! Is it not unspeakably delightful to
view the Saviour in all his offices, and to perceive him matchless in
each?--to shift the kaleidoscope, as it were, and to find fresh
combinations of peerless graces? In the manger and in eternity, on the
cross and on his throne, in the garden and in his kingdom, among
thieves or in the midst of cherubim, he is everywhere "altogether
lovely." Examine carefully every little act of his life, and every
trait of his character, and he is as lovely in the minute as in the
majestic. Judge him as you will, you cannot censure; weigh him as you
please, and he will not be found wanting. Eternity shall not discover
the shadow of a spot in our Beloved, but rather, as ages revolve, his
hidden glories shall shine forth with yet more inconceivable splendour,
and his unutterable loveliness shall more and more ravish all celestial
minds.