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is not swift in thy mouth, it runs not swiftly, it turns not readily in thy hand according to varying needs, though it is more than enough for all the wants of spiritual combat. Why undertakest thou an office of which thou hast no experience? All holding swords, and expert in war. Thou with no reason carriest a sword who hast no adequate acquaintance with warfare, or if thou hast learnt to combat, engagest thyself in preference with worldly tasks rather than with those of CHRIST . . . Thou who art an Evangelical,1 speak altogether evangelically. Let thy sermon savour of the Law, the Prophets, the Apostles; sharpen thy tongue with their words. Borrow from them the weapons of God, mighty to the pulling down of strong- 2 Cor. x. 4. holds, casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of GOD? Let the sword of the SPIRIT turn in thine hands, that it may serve thee for every need, nor let the power of sacred eloquence forsake thee when a casual and sudden occasion demands it. Let the powerful and effectual word be on thy lips, and not in the leaves of a book. 'For the Priest's lips,-not his leaves-should keep Mal. ii. 7. knowledge.' Take thy purse of money with thee. Let thy sword be at thy side, not out of sight, let it be close to thee. Gird thyself with it upon thy thigh, that thou mayest be mighty and ready, both to exhort in sound doctrine, and to convince the gainsayers." Observe in the second place, that the words seem, though not necessarily, to imply the possession of two swords by each warrior. In Japan, at the present day, two swords borne by one person are a mark of superior rank; in the later middle ages the usual weapons of a noble were a sword and a long dagger, almost a sword in dimensions, which was used, instead of a target, to parry, while the sword was employed for attack. So in explaining this passage, we shall do well to recall that saying of the Gospel: "He that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. xxii. 36, 38. And they said, LORD, behold, here are two swords. And He said unto them, It is enough." And if we take the two swords, as the commentators so often do, to denote spiritual and temporal rule, then the sword Dion. Carth. in the hand will denote the active strife of the soul against evil spirits, or zeal for passion and martyrdom, s. Greg. M. and that upon the thigh the passive restraint of our

1 "Vir evangelicus."

S. Luke

in S. Luc.

xxii.

S. Just. Org.

Ric. Vict.

Ps. xlv. 4.

Psellus.

carnal passions, kept in check by temperance and modesty. Or, rather, as Richard of S. Victor wisely tells us, by the love of GoD, the only sufficient weapon against the assaults of the flesh. So wearing the sword, the valiant men are conformed to their Leader, of Whom is written, "Gird Thee with Thy sword upon Thy thigh, O Thou most mighty, according to Thy worship and renown." Psellus gives a quaint explanation of the verse, saying that the swords denote the sign of the Cross, which Christians employ against the evil one. And it may be added, in illustration of this view, that the Cross fitchée, (that is, with the lower limb ending in a point) borne still on so many shields, is traditionally said to denote the cross-handled sword of a Crusader, when set up in the ground before his eyes as he lay wounded on the battle-field, to bring the emblem of his salvation to his mind. Because of Hugo Card. S. Brun. Ast. fear in the night. That is, because of all the snares of the devil, all the darkness and terror of adversity, of ignorance, of the world's gloom. One sword might be sufficient, did we fight in the day, and not against powers of darkness; but as we know not on which side the attack will be made, there must be a sword ready on the thigh as well as one in the hand.

Targum.

9 King Solomon made himself a chariot of the wood of Lebanon.

10 He made the pillars thereof of silver, the bottom thereof of gold, the covering of it of purple, the midst thereof being paved with love, for the daughters of Jerusalem.

The word, appirion, here translated chariot, ought rather to be litter (LXX. popeîov, Vulg. ferculum.) The Chaldee takes this, as well as the bed of the previous verse, to be the Temple, in the midst of which was the Ark of the Covenant, wherein lay the stone tables of the Law, more precious than fine silver and than the purest gold, overlaid with a veil of blue and purple. And whereas the bed denotes night and rest, the litter implies the royal pomp of a procession by day, a notion partly borne out by the Arabic version, which here reads throne. So, with the Christian interpretation that the Church is here described, we see it less as the refuge for the weary than as the trium

torin.

phal car of the Saints. As CHRIST made His own human Body first to be the litter in which the Godhead is borne, so He made the Church to be that vehicle in which He, the Man-GoD, should be borne Philo Carp. in procession among the people to whom He comes as King and Conqueror. The woodwork of this litter is of the wood of Lebanon, of incorruptible cedar from the “white” mountain, denoting the holiness, incor- Hugo Vicrupt truth, and steadfast perseverance of the Saints; though one of themselves reminds us, not inaptly, that s. Greg. as Lebanon is taken often to denote fierceness and Nyss. pride, so that it is written, “The LORD breaketh the Ps. xxix. 5. cedars of Libanus," we are to understand here that the very framework of the Church is made up of sinners and idolaters whom GOD has converted to the faith. And one of the very earliest Christian comments on the Song leads in the same direction, pointing out that the LORD took His flesh from Gentiles as well as s. Theophil. from Judah, and that the wood of Lebanon, lying out- Antioch. side the Holy Land, in an idolatrous region, typifies Ruth the Moabitess, from whom He sprang: and similarly, that we, who spiritually carry Him in our souls, are of Lebanon too, for we were once the wood of the gainsayer, but have been cut down by the axe

+ circ. A.D.

190.

of the WORD to be made a chariot for our Master. PolychroThe pillars of silver are generally taken to denote the nius. Apostles and other principal Saints, as the stays and props of the Church. So we read of "James, Cephas, Gal. ii. 9. and John, who seemed to be pillars." They are silver, not only to denote their purity of life and conversation, but also because to them was intrusted the ministry of that Word whereof is said, "The words of the LORD PS. xii. 7. are pure words, even as the silver, which from the earth is tried, and purified seven times in the fire." The bottom thereof of gold. The LXX. reading àváKAITOV, the Vulgate, reclinatorium, come nearer to the meaning of the Hebrew, 77, rephidah, which Rosenmulseems to denote the sloping back of the litter, against De Wette. which the rider leaned in a half-reclining posture. They differ as to this. Philo of Carpasia, holding that Philo Carp. as one class of Saints is denoted by the cedar-wood, and a second by the silver pillars, takes the golden back to be a third, and to mean the Martyrs. Till they came, the Son of Man had not where to lay His head, but now He 58. has these, of whom is written, "As gold in the furnace

ler.

Hitzig.

S. Luke ix.

Cassiod.

S. Greg. M.
Hom. 15 in

Ezek.

Hitzig.

hath He tried them, and received them as a burntWisd. iii. 6. offering." Cassiodorus, however, will have it that this reclining-place denotes the everlasting rest promised to the Saints in the Church, while S. Gregory in his comment here takes it to be Divine contemplation; and in another place, that rest in charity which the devout find even on earth. The covering of it of purple. Here again the LXX. and Vulgate differ from the A. V. reading, The going-up (èríẞaoi, ascensum,) while modern critics take it to be the seat, with a purple cushion or carpet laid upon it. The going-up is purple, tersely writes S. Beda, because no one can enter the Church save by means of those Sacraments which derive their power from the LORD's Passion, and are purpled with His Blood. Aponius bids us see in the litter the Cross of Calvary bearing the Crucified Redeemer, being itself that Cedar of Lebanon which is the stateliest of trees, and carrying on it the silver pillar of His most pure and spotless Body, which shows the gold of His perfect Godhead, while the purple denotes the precious tide which flowed there for us. And we have all these tersely expressed in the worldfamous processional hymn :

Beda.

Aponius.

S. Venant.
Fortunat.
The Hymn,
Vexilla Re-

gis.

Henry

O Tree of beauty, Tree of Light,
O Tree with royal purple dight,
Elect, on whose triumphal breast

Those holy limbs should find their rest.

Tree of Lebanon, having the beauty of fine silver, the rich glow of pure gold, and decked in its midst with Harphius. kingly purple. O most happy litter of the Cross, wherein CHRIST descended to our basest depths, that He might draw us to His majestic height! He made this litter for Himself, because He voluntarily underwent death for us. He made it of the wood of Lebanon, a Gentile mountain, because He elected to die by a

Alanus.

Roman punishment, and not a Jewish one. He paved it with love, because He gave Himself to be rejected, and as it were, trampled under foot. Akin to this is the interpretation, already indicated, which takes the litter to be CHRIST's human nature, whereby He was borne into the world. The silver pillars are the gifts of the HOLY GHOST wherewith He was endued, acProv. ix. 1. cording to that saying, "Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars." golden slope is His most pure and holy soul. The

The

purple, as before, is His Passion, and His Heart is full of love, and that for the daughters of Jerusalem, the Vision of Peace, because He gives to holy souls those graces and virtues which bring the peace which passeth all understanding. Now the holy soul is borne on this litter unto GOD, this same litter whereby Elias was taken up to heaven. This is the ladder of sinners by which CHRIST drew all things to Himself, as He foretold. We too may have our spiritual Cross, gemmed with love at its summit, with obedience on the right, patience on the left, and humility below. The Cross of our body will be abstinence, even from things lawful; watchfulness; and diligence in toil. The Cross of our heart, the fear of GOD; sorrow for sin; compassion on our neighbour; and the Passion of CHRIST. The Cross of our soul, perpetual clinging to Divine love; ardent humiliation of self; sincere affection for enemies; and perfect forgiveness of injuries. But a more frequent explanation of the litter than either of these two, is that which takes it to be the CHRIST-bearing soul. The litter of Solomon, writes Hugh of S. Victor, is a heart trained in the Hugo Vict. practice of virtue. It must needs be, in the first place, Erud.Theol. of the wood of Lebanon, by purity, and incorrupt i. 60. truth; of silver in precepts and promises. In the whiteness of the silver is seen stainless conversation, in its musical sound the sweet promise of God. It has gold, too, by reason of heavenly wisdom, which rusteth not for evermore, but is ruddy in love. It has purple, when it preaches the Passion, and a going-up to glory. In the midst there is spread love for the daughters of Jerusalem, love set before the feeble and infirm, that they may win salvation. For who is so feeble that he cannot love? If thou canst do nothing else, at any rate thou canst love, and so belong to Solomon's litter. Others limit the reference somewhat by seeing here Tres Patr. the Doctors of the Church, by whom CHRIST is borne, as in a litter, in their preaching. Their silver pillars are the words of the LORD, their golden slope the calmness of a peaceful mind, the purple ascent that Heavenly Country where CHRIST robes the victor in kingly raiment. And such a litter was Saint Paul, Theodoret. that stately cedar cast to the ground and broken by Ghislerius. GOD, silver in his preaching of CHRIST, golden in his constancy and meekness, purple in his sufferings and martyrdom. Taking the true sense of, merkab,

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