“He is altogether lovely . . . Thy name is as ointment poured forth.” Song of Solomon 5:16; 1:3
Bread and water are necessities of life. It is no wonder, then, that the Scripture sets forth Christ as the Bread of Life and assures that if any man thirst, he may come unto Him and drink. But bread and water may indicate a very limited existence. We have come to associate such a diet with a life whose horizon is limited by iron bars. Christ is our necessary spiritual food, but He is more. The Chinese proverb says, “If you have two loaves of bread, sell one and buy a lily.” Our Beloved One has a loveliness which entrances us, a fragrance which draws out our purest delight.
Perfume is considered a luxury item. The disciples, witnesses to what they considered extravagant excess, exclaimed, “Why was this waste made?” The money from the perfume lavished on the Lord could have been given to charity, they suggested. No, responded the Savior. This was not waste; this was worship.
Perfumes are either free or extracted. In the rose, for example, the odoriferous oils exist in volatile form, passing continually into the atmosphere. In resins, on the other hand, the fragrance is set free only after a process of extraction. Our Rose of Sharon, unexcelled for beauty and fragrance, is available to all, for He is the Gift of God to the entire world. He did not need to be pressed or forced; the sweetness of His life passed continually into the lives of those around Him.
He is altogether lovely. There is no blight upon this rose. There is no fIy in this ointment. Nowhere else is such perfection to be found. Even as the world about us has its wilderness places, so every human life has its dark and barren spots, tokens of failure. Every human idol eventually totters and falls. The dearest and best we know among our fellows cannot satisfy our craving for the highest fellowship. But no Christian has ever been able to say truthfully that he has grown tired of the fellowship of his Lord, or that He has failed to satisfy the believing heart.
The Lord Jesus is lovely in the estimation of the Father. “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” The Son offered Himself without spot or blemish as the whole burnt offering, committed in heart and purpose to doing the will of God, even though it meant Calvary.
He is lovely, too, in the eyes of those who know Him as their Savior and Friend. Our hearts gladly concur in the conclusion of one who saw much of Him and leaned upon His breast–“full of grace and truth.” He had loveliness of speech. Needing at times to speak words of earnest denunciation, He yet spoke them without curling His lips in scorn. His gentleness invited little children to His arms’ embrace. His words of peace when His followers were anxious and distraught imparted a benediction which lingers upon His Church even now.
He had loveliness of compassion. The condition of the unshepherded multitudes stirred His soul with strong emotion. Though He knew they would turn from Him in His hour of deep anguish, He would never think of turning from them. If the Pharisees would come to embarrass Him, He would stoop and avert His eyes so as not to embarrass them. Would they come to scorn and argue, to reject Him, He would tell them of the other brother who was as welcome in the Father’s house as the prodigal.
On that occasion when the house was “filled” with the fragrance of the perfume, there were nonetheless two places where the aroma was strongest: the Savior’s feet and the woman’s hair. May our lives be in such intimate contact with Him that the same fragrance will linger in our lives.