Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions?
There is a great beauty in this verse. The Church had been speaking in the preceding to the daughters of Jerusalem. She now turns from them to speak to Jesus. The communion of saints is sweet: but, oh! how infinitely sweeter is fellowship and communion with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. 1 John 1:3. But what doth thee Church say to Jesus? She considers him under one of his precious characters, as the great Shepherd of his fold, the Church; and viewing herself as his property, both by the Father's gift, his own purchase, and the conquests of his grace by his Holy Spirit, she earnestly desires that he would tell her where it was that he fed his flock, and where he caused it to rest at noon. Every word in this sweet verse is most highly interesting; but it would swell the Commentary to a length not admissible in a work of this kind, to enlarge upon the several portions of it. A few of the more striking particulars must be sufficient.
In the first place, the cry of a truly awakened soul, for personal enjoyment of Jesus and all his benefits, is here strongly expressed, Tell me, O thou, whom my soul loveth! Reader! it is the truest sign of interest in Jesus, when the soul is going out after him in longing desires. And do observe further, that the soul may be going out in the most earnest desires after Jesus, when, as in the instance of the Church here, the soul may be at a loss where to find her Beloved. There may be, and there sometimes is, in the best of Christ's disciples, darkness upon the mind from the persecution of the world, the temptations of Satan, and from the body of sin and death they carry about with them: but when Jesus, by his Holy Spirit, awakes anew this desire in the soul, these desires plainly prove that the grace of the Lord Jesus remains unextinguished.
In the next place, we may observe the unanswerable strength of the arguments the Church makes use of to prevail with Jesus. He is her Beloved; and she is in extreme need. Reader! it is a precious testimony in the soul, when, like Peter, amidst the numberless circumstances of unworthiness which are in me, I can still say, Lord! thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. And shall one that loves Jesus, be as one that loves him not? Shall I be in doubt like others, that know thee not; whether I am thine, or not? Shall I, whom thou hast betrothed to thyself as thy spouse, be regarded as if I was an harlot? Shall it be thought by others that are turned aside, and who are not of thy fold, that I am like one of them? Oh! show me where thou feedest, where this flock is; that, like a lamb of it, I may be found among thy fold, and fed from thine own hand, and brought under thine own eye and care.
There is a very great beauty in this character of the Lord Jesus,
considered in his pastoral office, in which the Church here beholds him. And if the Reader hath not been much accustomed to consider Jesus under this character and office, I shall rejoice, if the reference to him, which the Church makes in this most interesting point of view, should call up his attention. Through the whole of the eventful history of the Church, from the very first forming of it, to the ministry of Jesus at his incarnation, the Lord seems to have been pleased that his people should consider him under this character: hence one of the sacred writers cries out, Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock: thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth. Psalms 80:1. And as if God our Father meant to hold him forth to his people in a yet more endearing point of view, it is remarkable that he is called God's Shepherd. See Zechariah 13:7. And that his people might know him as such, as suited to all their wants and circumstances, he is expressly distinguished under the various names of the great Shepherd, Hebrews 13:20; the good Shepherd, John 10:11; the chief Shepherd, 1 Peter 5:4, and the like; intimating that he is exactly suited to every case of his flock. His greatness becomes their security for all things: his goodness, never to let them want: his sovereignty, and being the only One, implies that every other is unnecessary. And as the Father's Shepherd, coming in his name, appointed by his authority, all his acts are valid, and his sheep cannot but be eternally secure. They shall never perish, nor any pluck them out of his hand; because his Father gave them, who is greater than all, and none can pluck them out of his Father's hand. I saith Jesus, and my Father are One. John 10:28-30
I stay not to particularize the many precious things folded up in this one character of Jesus: I only refer the Reader to the several passages in his sacred
word, which confirm this glorious truth: and I beg of him, to read the same with attention; and form, under the teaching of the Holy Ghost, his opinion of their importance. John 10:16-18; Psalms 23:1; Ezekiel 34:1
throughout. Hebrews 13:20
But beside the character of Jesus as a Shepherd, We must notice the office also belonging to our dear Lord, of feeding. Tell me (saith the Church) where thou feedest. Now this is a most delightful feature in the portrait of Jesus. It was prophesied of him before his coming, that he should feed his flock like a Shepherd. Isaiah 40:11. And it is affirmed of him after his return to glory, that he is the Lamb in the midst of the throne to feed his Church. Revelation 7:17. So that this act of Christ is perpetual. And if we take into our consideration what is evidently implied in feeding, we shall discover that it intends everything necessary to be done for the welfare of his flock. It is the office of the Shepherd, not only to provide pasture, but to protect from rapine; not only to guard the weak, but to restore wanderers, to heal the diseased, to search and seek out those that are scattered in the dark and cloudy day; or as Jesus most graciously expresses it himself: To seek that which was lost, and bring back again that which was driven away: to bind up that which was broken, and strengthen that which was sick. Ezekiel 34:16. Reader! have you ever considered your Almighty Shepherd under this sweet character? Have you yourself experienced the tenderness of your Shepherd? Do you know him, of going in and out before you in the pastures of his holy word, in the ordinances of worship, and in the gracious services of his house of prayer? Do you know him in his voice, in seasons of wandering, in his watchings over you like the Shepherd of Bethlehem in right seasons; in his deliverance of you from the lion's dens, and the mountains of the leopards. Oh! the preciousness of knowing the Redeemer under this endearing character! The sheep of Christ, who are the objects of his care, can best describe what is implied in this one feature of their Lord's love towards them. The office of a Shepherd is distinguished in the freeness and graciousness of his love. Though the sheep fail in their obedience, Jesus never fails in his love. It is his own grace, not our desert, which becomes the rule of his conduct. Frequently the poor silly sheep is unconscious of his wants and weaknesses; but doth the Shepherd wait to be informed? Is it needful that they should cry before he relieves? Oh! no. Their need affords the opportunity for the display of his grace; and his own love is the sole motive of all his mercy and tenderness towards them. Precious Shepherd of thy blood-bought sheep! the flock of slaughter? how delightful is it to my soul, that the needy as well as the full, the distressed as well as the strong, the wandering as well as the restored, are the peculiar objects of thy care. I have gone astray, dear Lord, like a sheep that is lost: O seek thy servant, for I do not forget thy commandments. Psalms 119:176
But we must not stop here. The Lord Jesus not only feeds his flock like a shepherd; but in the act of feeding, the food with which he feeds them, infinitely surpasseth all other sustenance: for he not only feeds them in his ordinances, by the ministry of his word, with the discoveries of his grace, the precious nourishment of the gospel; but he himself gives them to eat of the hidden manna, the bread of life, even his own body and blood, which is meat and drink indeed. And his language is, Eat, O friends, drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved. Reader! doth not your very soul cry out, in the contemplation of this unequalled love of the Lord Jesus, Lord! evermore give me this bread. John 6:27-58. Oh! dearest, merciful, gracious Redeemer! feed my soul with the manifestations of thy glory - give me to see what thou art in thyself, what thou art to thy people, what thou hast done for thy Church, and what relation thou standest in to them! Feed my soul with the communications of thy love - let my soul live upon thee in thy pardoning, refreshing, renewing, strengthening, confirming grace. And let the consolation of thy Holy Spirit become the perpetual nourishment of my soul, when, in all his blessed offices, he is taking of thine, and showing unto me.
There is another point to be considered in this delightful verse; and that is the question of the Church: Where Jesus feeds, and where he causeth his flock to rest at noon? by which we may observe, that it is not enough for the seeking soul to know how, and with what sweet and suitable food the Great Shepherd supplies the necessities of his flock, but where the seeking soul is to come. To this the answer is direct: wherever the pure and unadulterated gospel is preached, and gospel ordinances are faithfully administered, there the Redeemer hath promised his presence, wherever two or three are met in his name. Matthew 18:20. There he will be found of them that seek him. And also under the noon of persecution, the noon of temptation, the noon of affliction, or any other season of trial, like the scorching heat of a sultry day, in a dry and barren land, where no water is; there Jesus hath his resting places, and deeply exercised souls may find a sweet resting place in him, through the everlasting covenant love, and faithfulness of the Father; the justifying blood and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ; and the powerful efficacy, strength, and aid of God the Holy Ghost. This is the rest (saith the Prophet, in allusion to all these grand things) wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest, and this is the refreshing; Isaiah 28:12. Reader! do you seek with the Church to the Great Shepherd for this resting place? Here set up thy rest in the faithfulness of Jehovah, against all the accusations of conscience, the charges of Satan, the arrest of justice, and the curse of God's broken law. This is what my soul would plead, in the double plea, of the sovereign grace of God the Father's covenant love, and God the Redeemer's justifying blood and righteousness: and sure I am, as Job justly argued; God will not plead against me with his great power, when he hath put the strength of his own salvation in me. There, in Jesus's finished work, the righteous might dispute with him; so should I be delivered forever from my Judge. There can be no ground for fear of a condemnation from God the Father; while my soul stands clothed and justified before him in the appointed and approved righteousness of God the Son. See Job 23:6.