Sermons on the Song of Songs15 Sermon XV

Wisd. i. 6, Vulgate and Douay version.

Google every page of the Divine Scripture, many Names given to the Bridegroom, but these I will sum up in two only. None of these you will, in my judgment, find, which do not express, either the grace of His beneficence, or the power of His majesty. The Holy Spirit thus instructs by the mouth of one through whom He frequently speaks: These two things have I heard, that pouter belongeth to God, arid mercy to Thee, O Lord. Again, as to His Majesty, we read: Holy and terrible is His Name (Ps. ex. 9). As to His goodness towards men, There is none other Name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved (Acts iv. 12). Let me render this still more clear by examples. This is His Name, whereby He shall be called, The Lord our Righteousness (Jer. xxiii. 6). It is here a name of power. Again: And his Name s/iall be called Immanuel (Is. vii. 14), here implying His goodness to men. Also He speaks thus of Himself: Ye call Me Master and Lord (John xiii. 13)—the former a name of grace, the latter of greatness. For it is no less a deed of beneficence to bestow knowledge upon the mind than to give food to the body. Again, the Prophet says: His Name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty One, God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace (Is. ix. 6). The first, the third, and the fourth attributes, express His majesty; the others, His goodness to men. Which, then, of these is i as oil poured forth?' Evidently the Name of His Majesty and Power is in some mysterious manner transfused into that which is the Name of His Goodness and Grace; and this last is poured forth abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour. For example, does not the Name of ' God' pass into and become transfused in that which is * God with us* that is, in * Immanuel9? So the name of ' Wonderful into that of 1 Counsellor God, the Mighty One into those of * the Everlasting Father' and the Prince of Peace'; and * TIu Lord our Righteousness into ' the Lord gracious and full of compassion (Ps. cxi. 4). In this I say nothing new, for Abram also was, in an earlier age, changed into Abraham, and Sarai into Sarah; and in those cases also we find that a mystery of beneficence was prefigured and celebrated.

2. Where, now, is that Voice of thunder which made itself heard so frequently and so terribly by the people of old time: lam the Lord I I am the Lord I (Exod. xx. 2). In its place there is dictated to me a prayer, which commences with the sweet name of Father, and thus affords good ground for confidence that the petitions which follow will be granted. Those who were servants are now called friends; and the Resurrection of Jesus is announced, not even to disciples only, but to those who are named brethren. And I do not wonder that this pouring forth of the Holy Name was made when the fulness of time came; for God thus fulfilled what He had promised by Joel (ii. 28), and poured out His Spirit upon all flesh; and I read that something similar had taken place among the Hebrews in ancient 1 Ps. lxi. 12, Vulgate and Douay version.

2 Saltern. So in MS., but another reading is tanium.

3. Approach, ye nations; your salvation is at hand. That Name is poured forth which whosoever calls upon shall be saved. The God of angels names Himself the God of men also. He has shed forth oil upon Jacob and it has fallen upon Israel. Say, then, to your brethren. Give us of your oil (Matt. xxv. 8). But if they will not, pray ye the Lord for oil, that He may send it unto you also. Say ye unto Him, Take away our reproach (Is. iv. 1). Permit not, I entreat, an evil tongue to insult Thy beloved, whom Thou hast been pleased to call from the ends of the earth, and that with so much the greater bounty as he was less worthy [of Thy goodness]. Is it fitting, I beseech Thee, that a wicked servant should shut out those whom their kind Father has invited? Iam, Thou sayest, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And are there no more [than these? Pour forth, pour forth; open still wider Thy Hand, and fill with blessing every living thing. Let them come from the east and from the west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven (Matt. viii. 11). Let the tribes, the tribes of the Ix)rd come, let them come; unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the Name of the Lord (Ps. cxxii. 4). Let them come, and take the seats of guests; let them feast in gladness of great joy; let there everywhere be heard but one great chorus of thanksgivings and praises, one song of them that feast (Ps. xlii. 4): Thy Name is as oil poured forth. Of one thing I am sure, that if we have Philip and Andrew for porters at the gate of heaven, whosoever among us seeks for this celestial oil, whosoever of us desires to see Jesus, will encounter no repulse. At once Philip cometh and telleth Andrew, and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus. But what will Jesus say? Without doubt what He has already said: Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die it bringeth forth much fruit (John xii. 22-25). Let the grain, then, die, and let there rise from it the harvest of the Gentiles. It is needful that Christ should suffer, 4. I recognise that Name also in that which I have read in Isaiah: The Lord God shall call His servants by another Name, in which he that is blessed in the earth shall be blessed in God. Amen. O Blessed Name! O oil everywhere poured forth! How far does it penetrate? It spreads from Heaven to Judaea, and thence over the whole earth; and from every part of the earth rises the adoring cry of the Church: Thy Name is as oil poured forth. Yes, that is indeed poured forth, with which not only the heavens and the earth are steeped, but even the abodes of the dead besprinkled; so that in the adorable Name of Jesus every knee shall bow and every tongue confess (Phil, ii. 10, 11), and say, Thy Name is as oil poured forth. Behold the Christ, behold Jesus, whether infused into angels, or effused upon men—yea, upon men who had defiled themselves as beasts upon their dunghill, saving both men and beasts, in like manner as God has multiplied His mercy. How dear is that Name, but how common {vile)!—common, but precious in its power to heal! If it were not common it would not have been poured out upon a sinner such as I; and if it had no power of healing it would have profited me nothing. I am a sharer in that Name—a sharer, too, in its heavenly inheritance. I am a Christian; I am even the brother of Christ; and if I be truly that which I am thus called, I am an heir of God, and a joint heir with Christ (Rom. viii. 17). What wonder is it if the Name of the Bridegroom be thus poured forth, when He Himself is poured forth likewise? For when He emptied Himself did He not take upon Him the form of a servant (Philipp. ii. 7)? Therefore He says: I am poured out like water (Ps. xxii. 14). The plenitude of His Divinity was poured forth when He dwelt in bodily form upon the earth; so that we all who bear about a mortal body should participate in that plenitude, and, being filled with an odour of life, should say: Thy Name is as oil poured forth. I go on to say, What is that Name which is poured forth, in what manner, and in what degree?

5. First, why is it called oil?—for this I have not as yet explained. I had begun to do so in a former sermon, but another subject suddenly presented itself which seemed to me to require to be treated of. But I have deferred to speak of this longer than I supposed, for which I see no other reason than this, that Wisdom is as the virtuous woman in the Book of Proverbs (xxxi. 10), who layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff. For she knows how out of a little wool or flax to draw out the thread and to broaden the web with the shuttle, and so to clothe all her servants in garments both of linen and of wool. There is no doubt that oil has its points of 1 St. Bernard quotes the Vulg. inexactly—* In Domino. Amen? instead of '/// Deo. Amen. The Septuagint renders 1 Jn the true God.*—Ed.

6. Whence do you suppose so bright and so sudden a light of faith has been kindled in the whole world, except by the preaching of the Name of Jesus? Is it not by the light of this sacred Name that God has called us into His marvellous light, so that when we had been enlightened by it, and in that light we had seen light, St. Paul was enabled to say to us: Ye were sometimes darktiess, but now are ye light in the Lord (Eph. v. 8). This Name, in conclusion, it was that the same Apostle was bidden to bear before the Gentiles, and Kings, and the children of Israel (Acts ix. 15); this Name he bore as a lamp to enlighten his country and his people, crying everywhere: The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us, therefore, cast off the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light: let us walk honestly, as in the day (Rom. xiii. 12, 13). To all he displayed a lamp shining upon its pillar, when in every place he preached Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. How resplendent was that Light; how it dazzled the eyes of all beholders, when, coming forth as a lightning flash from the mouth of Peter, it set the lame man upon sound and strong limbs; when it restored to sight many who were spiritually blind! Did it not shoot forth a light of fire, when he said, In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk? (Acts iiL 6). But the Name of Jesus is not only light; it is also nourishment. Do you not feel spiritually strengthened as often as you meditate upon it? What enriches the mind of the thinker as does the Name of Jesus? What so restores exhausted powers, strengthens the soul in all virtues, animates it to good and honourable conduct, fosters in it pure and pious dispositions? Dry and tasteless is every kind of spiritual food, if this sweet oil be not poured into it; and insipid, if it be not seasoned with this salt. A book or writing has no single point of goodness for me if I do not read therein the Name of Jesus; nor has a conference any interest for me, unless the Name of Jesus be heard in it. As honey to the mouth, as melody in the ear, as a 1 St. Augustine, in his * Confessions,' makes a similar declaration about himself (Bk. iii., c. 4) with respect to reading a book of Hortensius: 1 There was only one thing in all that eloquent language which distressed me; it was that the name of Christ was not to be found there... and any writing in which that Name was wanting, however learned, polished, and veracious it might be, would not wholly satisfy me.' 1 See 'Jubilus Rhythmicus De Nomine Jesu,' verses 1-8:

'Jesu dulcis meworia, Dans vera cordi gaudia; Sed super rnel et omnia. Ejus dulcis memoria. Nil canitur suavius, Ail auditur jucundius, Nil cogitatur dulcius, Quam Je*us Dei Filius.' M. Haureau (' Des Poemes Latins attribue*s a St. Bernard' Paris, 1890) declares positively (pp. 63 68) that this poem is not from the hand of St. Bernard. The passage above shows, however, and that incontestably, that the writer of it, if not. the Saint, had borrowed his very words.—Ed.

7. In this sacred Name, O my soul, hidden in the Name of Jesus as in a vase, thou hast a saving antidote (electuarium which shall never be found without efficacy against any disease or infection. Let it be always in thy bosom, always in thy hand, so that all thy affections, and all thy actions may be directed towards Jesus. To this you are invited, where it is said: Set Me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm (Cant. viii. 6). But of this at another time. You have here (let us now consider) a sure remedy both for your heart and for your arm. You have, I say, in the Name of Jesus a means of correcting those actions in you which are bad, and of perfecting those that are defective; of protecting your feelings and affections from being denied; or if defiled, of restoring them to health and purity.

8. There were in Judaea certain [others named Jesus, in whom she glories; but these are but empty names; they render neither light, nor nourishment, nor healing. Therefore it is that the Synagogue is even tonhis day in darkness, weak with hunger, and languishing from disease. Nor will its hunger be satisfied, nor its disease healed, till it comes to know that it is our Jesus who rules in Jacob and unto the ends of the world [until then], at evening let them return, grin [for famine like dogs, and go about the city (Ps. lix. 14, 7), They, indeed, were sent on before, as the staff was sent before him by the Prophet to the presence of the dead child (2 Kings iv. 29-35) > nor could they read a meaning in those names of theirs, for they were void of power. The staff was laid upon the face of the child; but there was neither voice nor hearing, because it was but a staff. He came who sent the staff; He descended and came unto His people; and ere long He saved them from their sins, proving that to be the fact which was said of Him: Who is this that forgiveth sins also? (Luke vii. 49). No doubt He is that One who saith, am the salvation of My people (Ps. xxxv. 3). Now there is voice; now there is hearing; it is manifest that He does not, like those who came before Him, bear an empty name. The life and salvation poured into the soul is felt; nor is so great a benefit passed over in silence. Within there is hearing; without there is speech. I am touched with penitence; I make confession [of my sins]; and to confess shows spiritual life: Thanksgiving perisheth from the dead, as from one that is not (Ecclus. xvil 28). Here is the proof of life, and of feeling. I am raised perfectly from the dead; my resurrection is complete. What is the death of the body, but the depriving it of feeling and of life? Sin, which is the death of the soul, had left 1 The word in the Vulgate is confession which may mean either acknowledgment of sin, or thanks for benefits. But the word here seems to be intended in the former sense. For a third sense of the word see Rom. x. 10.—Ed.