Eminent piety seen in contrast.
Some similarities must exist, or the contrast could not be seen. The godly and the ungodly are both men, or we could not put their characters in contrast. Thorns are rooted in the same soil as the lily. They are nourished by the same sun, watered by the same rain, enjoy the same course of the seasons. But the inner life of the lily deals differently with the natural elements than does the inner life of thorns. So the ungodly live in the same land as the godly; they have the same access to God's truth; they dwell amid the same forth-puttings of the Spirit's power; yet, for want of self-appropriation, they are barren of good results. They are as noxious thorns compared with the lily. This eminent goodness of the lily implies—
I. LOWLINESS. In the previous verse, the king's bride had designated herself as a mere "lily of the valley." And now the king responds and says, "It is so; but others are as thorns compared with thee." Humility is the distinctive mark of all the godly. Native pride is crucified on the cross. The Christian longs to have a just estimate of himself. He will not "think of himself more highly than he ought to think." If he discovers any goodness in himself, he attributes it to the active grace of his Benefactor. He is content to take the lowest place in the kingdom. If only he may belong to the chosen race, he is ready to be a "hewer of wood and a drawer of water." Hence he sings -
"The more thy glories strike my eyes
The humbler I shall lie."
II. PURENESS. The white color of the lily is a pure white. It has approved itself universally as the best emblem of innocence. All over the world it is a silent messenger from God. As every plant reaches out toward perfection, so the noblest yearning of the human soul is for purity. I may be learned and rich and renowned, but if I am lacking in purity, I despise myself; my heart refuses joy. I have fallen from my high estate. Other virtues in me are only leaves and blossoms; purity is the proper ripe fruit, which the owner longs to see. Yet, so full of grace is our Immanuel, that he sees, not only what is now actually in us, but what is coming—the perfect holiness which is slowly developing. As the whiteness of the lily is produced by its reflecting back again all the rays of light that fall upon it, and is whitest under the full blaze of the summer sun, so the Christian gains his purity by reflecting all the love and grace from the Sun of Righteousness.
III. FRAGRANCE. The lily of the valley is noted for its delicious odour. The subtle essence of the flower flows out in a perpetual stream of blessing. Its very life is expended in doing good. It cannot do much; it cannot bear clusters of juicy fruit; but what is possible for it to do, that it freely does. Is not this a portrait of a genuine disciple? Does he not count it his meat and his drink to spread blessing on every side? And can he prevent the sweet savour of his Master's grace flowing out day and night? However obscure and insignificant he may be, his piety will diffuse a heavenly fragrance, and men will feet his influence.
"As some rare essence in a vase of clay
Pervades it with a sweetness not its own;
So when thou dwellest in the human soul,
All heaven's own fragrance seems around it thrown."
IV. BEAUTY. The lily charms the eye no less than it pleases the nostril. The eye has a native instinct for beauty, and through the eye the soul is enchanted. "A thing of beauty is a joy forever." And nothing in human character is half so beautiful as genuine piety. Heroism is beautiful, philanthropy is beautiful, parental love is beautiful; but the quality of godly love transcends them all. It has a sublimity which cannot be described. It has a potent influence which ennobles the whole man. It is immortal in its duration, and has a splendid sphere for growth. Well may we think of it as the amaranthine flower that blossoms in the Paradise of God. "Blessed are the pure in heart."
V. THIS EMINENCE IS REACHED THROUGH DIFFICULTY. This lily has grown up "among the thorns." They robbed it of the nutriment that dwelt in the soil. They hindered the free circulation of the balmy air. They shut out some of the quickening sunshine. Yet, in spite of hindrances, the lily grew and flourished. So it happens with the pious love of the Christian. It has to contend with hostile influences. Formidable opposition bars its growth. We have to resist the chilling influence of an ungodly world. Yet these very difficulties have their uses. Difficulties rouse our latent energy; difficulties put us on our mettle; difficulties give scope to heroic effort. No one of us is seen at our best until we are coping with gigantic opposition. As storms root the oak more firmly, so the opposition of the world blows up the fires of our piety into a white heat of sacred fervor. Thank God for the opposition of the world. Out of antagonism springs the noblest life.—D.