Cur Deus Homo?
S. Conway Songs 4:9-15 You have ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; you have ravished my heart with one of your eyes, with one chain of your neck.… In these verses the beloved tells her whom he has come to deliver wherefore he would run all this risk and endure so much for her sake. And reading them as an allegory, we may take them as setting forth why and wherefore God became Man; why "he who was rich for our sakes became poor." And amongst these reasons are - I. HIS INTENSE LOVE FOR US. The speaker tells in ver. 9 how but a small portion of the beauty and of the adornments of her whom he so loved had "ravished" his heart, had filled him with intense desire for her. And translated into the style and teaching of the gospel, this tells of the heavenly joy (Luke 15.) over the repentance - the very beginning, the smallest portion of the beauty, of Divine grace in the soul. "Behold, he prayeth," was said of the persecuting Saul to the Christ-taught Ananias, who immediately rejoices, and is ready to receive as "brother" him who had been but a few hours before as a wolf coming to make havoc of the flock of Christ, A very little thing - the mere beginnings of grace - and yet the Spirit of Christ in Ananias leapt for joy. II. THE SOUL'S RESPONSE. (Ver. 10.) That which Christ sees in the souls he has redeemed gratifies, refreshes, and delights him. As wine, as perfumes, as all spices. Precious is the soul's response of love to Christ. See how he asks for it. "Lovest thou me?" was thrice said to Peter. It is to him "the greatest thing in the world" (cf. 1 Corinthians 13., "The greatest of these is love"). What argument this is for the love that is in Christ! We reason back from the known likings and preferences of a man to what he is himself. So reasoning, what will not our Lord appear? III. HER GRACIOUS WORDS. (Ver. 11; cf. parallels, Proverbs 16:24; Psalm 119:103.) It is out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. And the utterances of loving adoration, of contrite confession, of pleading prayer, of grateful praise - these are well pleasing in his esteem. How true the sabbath evening hymn - "And not a prayer, a tear, a sigh, Hath failed this day some suit to gain; To those in trouble thou wert nigh - Not one hath sought thy face in vain." Yes, as the honeycomb, sweet; as mille and honey, delicious and healthful, so are the fruits of the lips of the redeemed soul to Christ. We, therefore, can give him delight. It must be so. For we know we can "grieve" him; but if we can grieve him, we can also give him joy; and it is thus we do so. IV. THE FRAGRANCE OF HER LIFE. "The smell of thy garments is," etc. (ver. 11). The garments are the symbol of those outward acts and deeds which, as it were, clothe and characterize the man. We know men by their dress; their garb bespeaks their occupation, tells what their work is. Now, the holy deeds of the redeemed soul are as fragrance, full of a sweet acceptableness to Christ (cf. Matthew 25., where it is told how the loving acts of his people done to the poor and needy for his sake are, though so trifling in themselves, so wonderfully recompensed). Thus the lives of his people diffuse a fragrance most acceptable to him in whose name they are done. V. HER FIDELITY. (Ver. 12.) The soul of the believer belongs to Christ. It is his possession - a garden closed, open only to him. All manner of intruders seek to find entrance there, and some of them seem for a while to succeed; but Christ sees that in deed and in truth the soul owns only him as her Lord. You can force the needle of a compass right round, so that it should point the reverse of its right direction; but take your hand off, and back it swings to where, if left to itself, it always would be. And so with the soul of the believer. The violence of the world, the flesh, or the devil, or all combined, often make the soul seem to belong to any one rather than Christ. But he sees how it is, and knows that when that violence is withdrawn the soul will surrender itself again to him, with cries and prayers and tears that it may nevermore belong to any but to him, and him alone. VI. THE SOUL'S RICH FRUIT. (Ver. 13.) What these are, are told of here under the imagery of the fruits of an Oriental garden; and in Galatians 5:22 as the fruits of the Spirit. Like the fruits this ver. 13 speaks of, they are precious, fragrant, healthful, abundant, delightful, varied, beautiful, and spontaneous. Such are the fruits he desires; and, "supposing him to be the gardener," such as he would surely have in his garden. VII. THE MINISTRIES OF THE SOUL. (Ver. 15.) The grace of the redeemed soul is not confined to itself; it flows out to others. Allusion seems to be made in this verse to the fountains of Solomon, which were "fountains of gardens." And we are reminded of our Lord's words as to the "well of water" which should be in his people, and which should sprang up in them "unto everlasting life." And because our Lord foresaw that through the souls he redeemed so many others should be blessed - each one becoming "a fountain of gardens," a well of living waters for the help and salvation of others - herein is another reason why God became man. It was part of "the joy set before him," for which he "endured the cross, despising the shame." Ruskin tells how in the slime taken from a city lane you have clay, soot, sand, and water. Submit these to the laws of crystallization, and the clay becomes sapphire, the sand becomes opal, with blue green, and golden hues; the soot becomes a lustrous diamond, and the water crystallizes into that thing of beauty, a snow star. And more than science sees in any city slime Christ sees in the soul, sunken in the mire of sin though it be, which he redeems. Already he sees the flashing of the jewels into which he will transform it, and will place in his diadem forever: such is part answer to the question, "Cur Deus homo?" - S.C. Parallel Verses KJV: Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck. WEB: You have ravished my heart, my sister, my bride. You have ravished my heart with one of your eyes, with one chain of your neck.