Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.
In whatever sense we accept the words of this most precious verse, the meditation on them cannot but be sweet, if God the Holy Ghost, who is the author of them, should open them and bring them home to the soul. For then we may say with the prophet, Thy words were found, and I did eat them, and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart. Jeremiah 15:16. Reader! let us first accept them as the words of the Church, which should seem to be the most probable of the two. Now when a soul, like the Church, desires to be set as a seal upon Christ's heart, what a delightful thought is it of being so near to Jesus; always, not only in his sight, and, as the High Priest, bearing the names of Israel on his breast-plate, she might be in a constant memorial before him; but still nearer than this, even in his heart, and upon his arm; to live always with him, and upon him, and never, never to be a moment separated from him. What an ardency of faith is this? And the reason she assigns is as beautiful as interesting. Her love is strong as death; yea, stronger; for death kills all, destroys all connections, all relations, all ties; but death cannot separate the Church from Jesus. Romans 8:38-39. And her jealousy lest she should lose her Lord, like the grave, which for cruelty would destroy anything, and everything that arose in the way to oppose it; for the coals in her soul of love was burning with a flame that would consume all that came in its way. Reader! where shall we look, in the present day, for faith and love so ardent and so lively! And if we accept the passage in this verse as the words of Jesus, we are only lost in greater amazement still at the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge! Set me, saith Christ, as a seal upon thine heart. Jesus desires the first place in the affections of his people. Indeed, unless this be given him we give him nothing. It is with all the heart, and all the soul, if we love him at all, that that love is to be manifested. And if Christ be formed in our heart, the hope of glory, there will be all the suitable correspondence. Hence the apostle Barnabas exhorted the believers at Antioch, that with full purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord. Acts 11:23. And what that is, will not be far to gather. In the soul which is cleaving unto the Lord, and setting Jesus as the seal there, Christ will be uppermost in the affection. The soul will undertake nothing but in his strength, and design nothing but for his glory. And the most blessed testimonies, that the soul is really thus setting Jesus for a seal, will be found in the life and conversation, by the affections being weaned from all things here below, and a growing connection forming more and more, with those that are above. Reader! is it so with you? Precious Jesus! thy love hath been strong as death indeed, for the accomplishment of these purposes. And oh! that thy jealousy, for the suitable return of the affections of thy people, may provoke all the souls of thy redeemed to a holy jealousy for thine honour, that we may love thee, who hath so earnestly first loved us!