I [am] the rose of Sharon, [and] the lily of the
valleys.
] Whether Christ, or the church, is here speaking, is not
certain: most of the Jewish writers F20, and some Christian
interpreters F21, take them to be the words of the
church, expressing the excellency of her grace, loveliness, and
beauty, she had from Christ; and intimating also her being in the
open fields, exposed to many dangers and enemies, and so needed
his protection. The church may be compared to a "rose", for its
beautiful colour and sweet odour F23, and for its delight in
sunny places, where it thrives best, and is most fragrant. This
figure is exceeding just; not only the beauty of women is
expressed by the colour of the rose F24, as is common in poems
of this kind; to give instances of it would be endless
F25; some have had the name of Rhoda
from hence; see ( Acts 12:13 ) . No rose
can be more beautiful in colour, and delightful to the eye, than
the church is in the eyes of Christ, as clothed with his
righteousness, and adorned with the graces of his Spirit: nor is
any rose of a more sweet and fragrant smell than the persons of
believers are to God and Christ, being considered in him; and
even their graces, when in exercise, yea, their duties and
services, when performed in faith; and, as the rose, they grow
and thrive under the warming, comforting, and refreshing beams of
the sun of righteousness, where they delight to be. The church
may also be compared to a "lily of the valleys", as she is, in
the next verse, to one among thorns. This is a very beautiful
flower; Pliny F26 says it is next in nobleness to the
rose; its whiteness is singularly excellent; no plant more
fruitful, and no flower exceeds it in height; in some countries,
it rises up three cubits high; has a weak neck or body,
insufficient to bear the weight of its head. The church may be
compared to a lily, for her beauty and fragrance, as to a rose;
and the redness of the rose, and the whiteness of the lily,
meeting in her, make her somewhat like her beloved, white and
ruddy; like the lily, being arrayed in fine linen, clean and
white, the righteousness of the saints; and like it for
fruitfulness, as it is in good works, under the influence of
divine grace, and grows up on high into her head, Christ Jesus;
and though weak in herself, yet strong in him, who supports her,
and not she him: and the church may be compared to a "lily of the
valleys"; which may not describe any particular lily, and what we
now call so; but only expresses the place where it grows, in low
places, where plants are in danger of being plucked and trodden
upon; though they may have more moisture and verdure than those
in higher places; so the church of Christ is sometimes in a low
estate, exposed to enemies, and liable to be trampled and trodden
under foot by them, and to be carried away with the flood of
persecution, were it not guarded by divine power; and, being
watered with the dews of grace, it becomes flourishing and
fruitful. But the more commonly received opinion is, that these
are the words of Christ concerning himself; and which indeed best
become him, and are more agreeable to his style and language, (
John 14:6 ) (
15:9 ) ; and
suit best with the words in the ( Song of
Solomon 2:2 ) , as one observes F1; nor is it unfitly taken
by the bridegroom to himself, since it is sometimes given by
lovers to men F2. Christ may be compared to a rose
for its colour and smell; to the rose for its red colour: and
which may be expressive of the truth of his humanity, and of his
bloody sufferings in it; and this, with the whiteness of the
lily, finishes the description of him for his beauty, ( Song of Solomon
5:10 ) ; and for its sweet smell; which denotes the same
things for which he is before compared to spikenard, myrrh, and
camphire. The rose, as Pliny says F3, delights not in fat
soils and rich clays, but in rubbish, and roses that grow there
are of the sweetest smell; and such was the earth about Sharon
F4; and to a rose there Christ is
compared, to show the excellency and preferableness of him to all
others. The word is only used here and in ( Isaiah 35:1 Isaiah 35:2 ) . Where
it is in many versions rendered a "lily": it seems to be
compounded of two words; one which signifies to "cover" and hide,
and another which signifies a "shadow"; and so may be rendered,
"the covering shadow": but for what reason a rose should be so
called is not easy to say; unless it can be thought to have the
figure of an umbrella; or that the rose tree in those parts was
so large, as to be remarkable for its shadow; like that
Montfaucon F5 saw, in a garden at Ravenna, under
the shadow of the branches of which more than forty men could
stand: Christ is sometimes compared to trees for their shadow,
which is pleasant and reviving, as in ( Song of
Solomon 2:3 ) ( Hosea 14:7 ) . Some
render it, "the flower of the field" F6; which may be expressive
of the meanness of Christ in the eyes of men; of his not being of
human production; of his being accessible; and of his being
liable to be trampled upon, as he has been. And as he is compared
to a rose, so to a "lily", for its colour, height, and
fruitfulness; expressive of his purity in himself, of his
superiority to angels and men, and of his being filled with the
fruits and blessings of grace; and to a lily of the valleys,
denoting his wonderful condescension in his low estate of
humiliation, and his delight in dwelling with the humble and
lowly: some render the words, "I am the rose of Sharon, with the
lily of the valleys" F7; by the former epithet meaning
himself; and by the latter his church, his companion, in strict
union and communion with him; of whom the following words are
spoken.
F20 Zohar in Gen. fol. 46. 2. Targum, Aben Ezra, & Yalkut in loc.
F21 Ainsworth, Brightman, Vatablus; Cocceius; Michaelis.
F23 The rose, by the Arcadians, was called (euomfalon) , that is, "sweet-smelling", Timachidas apud Athenaei Deipnosophist. l. 15. c. 8. p. 682. and "rosy" is used for "beautiful"; "rosea cervice refulsit", Virgil. Aeneid. l. 1. Vid. Servium in ibid.
F24 So Helena, for her beauty, is called (rodocrwv elena) , in Theocrit. Idyll. 19. The rose was sacred to Venus, Pausaniae Eliac. 2. sive l. 6, p. 391.
F25 Vid. Barthii Animadv. ad Claudian. de Nupt. Honor. v. 247.
F26 Nat. Hist. l. 21. c. 5.
F1 Durham in Ioc.
F2 "Mea rosa", Plauti Bacchides, Sc. 1. v. 50. Asinaria, Act. 3, Sc. 3. v. 74. Curculio, Act. 1. Sc. 2. v. 6.
F3 Nat. Hist. l. 21. c. 4.
F4 Misnah Sotah, c. 8. s. 3.
F5 Diar. Italic, c. 7. p. 100.
F6 (anyov tou pediou) , Sept. "flos campi", V. L. Pagninus, Mercerus.
F7 "Ego rosa Sharon lilio vallium", Marckius.