Bede

I said, I will ascend into the palm tree, etc. For the sole reason is that the breasts of the Church may be equaled to clusters of grapes, because the Lord has deigned to ascend into her and to gift her with His grace. For indeed, so that the teachers may preach both humble things to the little ones and lofty things to the perfect, so that they may both condescend and be temperate with the unskilled, and they themselves may drink deeply in the contemplation of heavenly things, this is not due to their own merit, but it is a gift from heaven. It was said above concerning the Lord, My beloved descended into His garden (Psalm 86); and now He himself says, I will ascend into the palm tree. However, the same Church, or perfect soul, is the Lord's garden, which is also the palm tree. But there is a difference between the Lord ascending into her and descending into her: for He descends into her when He sends her heavenly grace from above, by which she may become heavenly herself and be transferred to the things above; however, He ascends into the same when He more and more reveals the knowledge of His majesty to the faithful, when He inspires in those who are advancing the love of the heavenly homeland, as it were through certain steps striving towards the heights; when to those to whom He previously said, When you have done all that you were commanded, say: We are unworthy servants (Luke XVII), He adds greater gifts, saying, I will no more call you servants, for the servant does not know what his lord does. But I called you friends (John XV). And again: Go, tell my brothers (John XV). Thus, the Lord descends into His garden when He imparts heavenly gifts to the faithful; He ascends into the palm tree when He graciously bestows the increase of virtues on His advancing chosen ones, until He leads them to perfection: concerning which virtues it is aptly added:

And the smell of your breath is like apples, etc. Indeed, in the smell of the mouth is the fame of good speech, and in the throat, however, is the very duty of voice dedicated to God. Both are worthy of praise in the Catholic Church, and both in every elected soul, because the voice itself, which teaches those present, and the fame of speech, which reaches the absent, whether through letters or through those who have heard, is proven to be full of virtue and grace. But because he compares the smell of the bride's mouth and throat to apples and the best wine, it can be distinguished that apples retain all their strength in freshness itself, but wine achieves its value from age. Therefore, it is rightly compared to both these types—the voice of the Church speaking and its fame, whose beginning and perfection are known to be wonderful. Moreover, because the strength and fragrance of the best wine are greater than that of apples, it is rightly said: And the smell of your breath is like apples. Your throat is like the best wine, it surpasses the grace of apples. So much does the present speech of the holy Church of God excel the fame that the words of those who hear can spread about it. However, thus far the bride has been praised, and when it came to saying that her throat is like the best wine, she seized the word from the bridegroom's mouth, and she, led by great love, strives to complete it rather. For she understood that by the term "best wine" the word of the Gospel was designated, in which alone is eternal salvation for believers, and she said:

Worthy of my beloved to drink, etc. Wine, he says, the best, which my throat has compared, is worthy of my beloved to drink, because the word of the Gospel, which He has deigned to place in my mouth, is of such sublimity that it ought to be preached to the world only through Him, my beloved spouse and Redeemer. For He, first appearing in the flesh, through the mystery of regeneration, opened the heavenly path to the human race; He first preached the sacrament of His passion, resurrection, and ascension, by which the world would be saved, and then left it to be preached by His faithful ones; He drank the cup of salvation and thus offered it to be drunk by the Church. It should not seem absurdly placed, what is said, That it should be chewed by his lips and teeth, when it is said of wine. It is clear, however, that chewing is more suitable for food than for drink. Figuratively speaking, he calls the lips and teeth of the beloved the holy teachers, as has been proven above, because they chew the best wine which He has drunk, when they are delighted to scrutinize by frequent meditation and to confer the word of grace which they teach with one another. Some understand this response of the Church to the speech of the Lord as subtly interwoven, so that when He, praising her, had said, Your throat, that is, the sweetness of your confession, is like the best wine, she immediately, agreeing with His words, would add, Worthy of my beloved to drink, and to be chewed by his lips and teeth. As if she were openly saying: I already desire greatly that my beloved may judge the affection and sincerity of the mind which I have towards Him by careful examination. For I trust that even if He examines this with as much care as He is accustomed to examine drink or food, because He has diligently endeavored to taste or chew it, He will already prove it worthy of His praises. Hence, the first pastor of the Church responded to the Lord asking him, You know that I love you; and again: You know all things, you know that I love you (John XV). To whom, indeed, the beloved, still adding from the great ardor of the same charity, says:

I am for my beloved, etc. I am for my beloved and not for another. To whom I offer the whole gift of my service and devotion. And his conversion to me, so that even in this mortal life, lest I become weary by labor, lest I bear lamps without oil, that is, lest I carry out good works without charity, his presence and constant regard may always help me, and finally he may lead me to immortal joys of the heavenly chamber. This which he says, And his conversion to me, can be understood as specially uttered from the figure of the Synagogue, that is, of those people who preceded the times of His incarnation: who, when they had heard Him promising above, I said, I will ascend into the palm tree, I will take hold of its fruits, that is, I will ascend the wood of the cross, on which I will die, and taking the fruits of the resurrection, I will offer them to believers who are nourished for eternal life, justly rejoicing, she declares, I am for my beloved, and his conversion to me, namely, that He who was accustomed to be always present to me in invisible presence, might deign to appear to me also in my nature and form. To the lovers of both times, what follows aptly applies.

Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field, etc. For even the holy ones of old greatly desired the Lord to come for the salvation of the human race. Thus, praying, they say, "Stir up your might and come to save us" (Psalm 79). They desired him to go forth into the field, that is, for him who was invisible with the Father to appear visible to the world, according to Habakkuk, who prophesied future events as if they were already happening, "You went out for the salvation of your people, for the salvation of your anointed" (Habakkuk 3). They too wished to go forth with him into the field, to announce the grace of the Gospel which, being seen and greeted from afar, they proclaimed would come, announcing it present in their age. They desired to dwell with him in the villages, that is, to commit the word of faith even to the pagans. For who does not know that the pagans derive their name in Greek from the villages, because they dwell far from the habitation or even the knowledge of the heavenly city? And what do you think Isaiah, Jeremiah, Joel, and the other prophets endured for his proclamations, who prophesied before the dispensation of Christ to come in the flesh, would have done if they could have lived with him in the flesh? Those things that follow, which fit the desires of the faithful saints of old with much propriety, are also added. But the Church of our time, burning with equal fervor, rightly proclaims, "Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; you who have lifted up the man assumed for my salvation, placing him at the right hand of the Father in heaven, I pray that by the presence of divine grace, you may deign to come to me more frequently. You command me to cultivate my field, in which you have sown good seed—that is, you command to preach the Gospel you gave throughout the whole world; but because I can do nothing without you, I beg you, come forth with me into the field, that is, wherever you wish me to preach the word, be my helper and cooperator." We read that he himself said, at the coming of the day of judgment, "Two will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left" (Luke 17). He who cultivated the field of his own or his brother's heart with the Lord's cooperation will be taken up; but he who trusted he had the fruits of good doctrines or actions from himself, will rightly be left by him whose help he neglected to seek. Let us dwell in the villages too, by teaching the hearts of foreigners; and let us not visit these in passing, but let us dwell in them as long as necessary until we make them from pagans to urbane, from foreigners and strangers to domestic, indeed our own.

Let us see if the vineyard has bloomed, etc. The vineyard blooms when the Church receives the first elements of faith and confession. However, blossoms bring forth fruits when the faith and confession of the saints become prompt, even to the exercise of works of justice, lest their faith be found to be idle or dead without works. The pomegranates bloom when those who have advanced in faith and right action perceive the desire of suffering for righteousness: for the pomegranates, because they appear to be of a sanguine color, fittingly symbolize the passion either of the Lord Savior or of His faithful ones. Rightly in each of these instances the bride seeks the presence of her beloved, saying: Let us go forth into the field, let us dwell in the villages, let us rise to the vineyards, let us see if the vineyard has bloomed, and so forth; for in no way does the Church suffice either to proceed forth to good work by going out, or to persevere in the exercise of good works by dwelling, or to rise to salvation and the purpose of doing good, or to discern how much the souls of its hearers have advanced, without the grace of Him who, about to ascend to heaven, promised, And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world (Matthew 28). But if we are willing to accept these words as said by the person of the ancient righteous ones, the term "morning," where it says "Let us rise early to the vineyards," can not incongruously be understood to designate the very time of the Lord's incarnation; for many prophets and righteous men desired to see the times which the apostles saw; they longed to persist in the flesh until the new light of His coming, if it could be done, so that they might hear His words teaching in the flesh, and adhere to His promises, making conversation about Him in the flesh with those who would later believe in Him. The rest can be understood in the same sense as above, where it says "There I will give you my breasts," namely in that place where we come to see the vineyards and the pomegranates, whether they bloom or bear fruit. The breasts of the Church are known to be its teachers, those little ones of hers, who certainly offer these breasts to the Lord when they present their deeds and words in service of His preachers, so that, as nurses are accustomed to nourish little ones with diligent attention, so they strive to act in such a way that those who are still unlearned may, both by sight and by hearing, be able to progress in Christ, and reach the strength of spiritual youth, and become worthy to whom the voice of the blessed John may be said, "I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the wicked one" (1 John 2). "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world" (John 2). Rightly, indeed, the Church, having prayed to the Lord, saying, "Come, my beloved, let us go into the field," and the other things that follow, concluded thus, "There I will give you my breasts"; as if she openly said: Therefore I beseech you greatly, that you may undertake the spiritual labor with me, so that I may always acquire new peoples for you, and may know how those who have already been acquired are doing, how much they have progressed in faith; because I strive to subordinate very diligently to you the tutors of my little ones, in such a way that I may forecast for them nothing to follow except what You Yourself have commanded, whether by example or by word. He who said, "We have become little ones in the midst of you, as a nurse cherishes her own children" (1 Thess. 2), thus desiring you, knew that he belonged to these breasts. The bride gave such breasts to her beloved, and to no one else, when, hearing from him, "Separate to me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them" (Acts 13), she immediately took care to obey His commands.

All the fruits, new and old, etc. The new and old fruits are the precepts or promises of the New and Old Testament, which the Church has kept for its beloved, knowing that He alone is the one who gave the precepts and who will render worthy rewards to those who keep them; knowing Him alone to be the one who delivered lesser commands through the angels to His ancient servants, and greater ones through Himself to us, or made promises of rewards. By this argument, the Church effectively counters the sects of the Photinians, who deny that the Lord Savior existed before Mary; and refutes the madness of the Manichaeans, who teach that the God of the law is different from the God of the Gospel. Likewise, the new and old fruits are the just of the New and Old Testament, none of whom, though distinguished by outstanding sanctity, could enter the gateways to the heavenly kingdom before the incarnate passion, resurrection, and ascension of the Lord Savior. The Church of that time, which is now called the Synagogue by the grace of discernment, said, "All the fruits, new and old, I have kept for you, my beloved." As if she openly says: I know very certainly that no one can be saved except by your grace, no mortal can become perfectly blessed before you, having become mortal, open the way of true happiness to the heavenly realms. For all the just ones I have seen, I have kept for your most holy coming with certain faith, by which I learned that they would reach perfect happiness. Likewise, the Church of the New Testament expresses a similar sentiment through the voice of its first pastor, denouncing those who thought otherwise with this: Why do you test God, putting a yoke on the necks of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? but we believe to be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they do (Acts XV). The following sentence proves this exposition to be true, as it is added:

Mandrakes have given their fragrance at our gates. The gates of Christ and the Church are the same teachers, who have also been expressed by the name of breasts: who, as often said, are breasts because they nurture his little ones and infants, frequently exerting effort so that even from their mouths perfect praise may be produced for the Lord. They are, however, gates, because those whom they teach, through the ministry of the word and regeneration, they introduce into the dwelling of the holy city; about whom the Psalmist says, The Lord loves the gates of Zion above all the dwellings of Jacob (Ps. LXXXVI). Hence also in Revelation, John says about the same city, And it had a great and high wall, having twelve gates (Rev. XII), because surely the first teachers of the Church, that is, the twelve apostles, are chosen. Therefore, in such gates, mandrakes gave their fragrance, when the apostles and their successors spread the fame of their spiritual virtues far and wide. Rightly, therefore, does the Church beseech the Lord to come there to bring heavenly aid to their preaching, where she knows that the preachers themselves are fragrant with exceptional virtues. But anyone who diligently investigates other natures of mandrakes, and how many medicines they suit, will indeed find that they are aptly suited to signifying the virtues of the faithful. For it is an aromatic herb, having a root resembling the shape of the human body; the fruit, however, is sweet-smelling, in the size of an apple. Hence, the Latins also call it the apple of the earth. It also has such a virtue that through it sleep is often induced where the sick are troubled by the inconvenience of wakefulness. Indeed, one is troubled by the worst wakes who seeks to free his mind from the cares and desires of this world but, delayed by the use of wrong habits, is not yet able to obtain the rest he seeks. But he who strives to cure his weakness with diligent exercise of spiritual studies, comes, as the battles of vices gradually recede, to that mental quiet which the bride speaks of in the higher parts of this song, I sleep, but my heart wakes; that is, I rest from the cares of temporal things, and my heart watches in the contemplation of eternal goods. Likewise, if bodies must be cut for care, the bark of this plant, when put into wine, is given to drink so that, being asleep, they do not feel the pain. What the rationale of this nature signifies to be done in spiritual medicines is easily evident: for the soul languishes gravely that is subdued by great weights of vices; and it is offered as if to be treated by doctors when holy teachers urge it to resist carnal pleasures. But because it cannot be abandoned without great pain, that which was accustomed to be held with great love, it seems to be cut off from that which withdraws it from the long-established habit of allurements. But lest this kind of separation should seem intolerable to the languishing soul, a healthful potion must be given, through which it, usefully lulled, does not feel the pain of the cut. The eternal punishment of the Gehenna flame must be brought back to mind, which will perpetually torture souls neglectful of their salvation; the glory of the heavenly homeland must be brought back to memory, where the taken-up souls of the righteous will reign without end with Christ: for this indeed is the health-giving potion of doctrine, which redeems the soul, long languid from God, either lulled by this world or rather dead, so that it may very easily endure the removal of all the delights it previously adhered to, and even rejoice in their removal. Again, it is said that the mandrake heals those who suffer from nausea, so that they are neither able to contain themselves, nor are delighted to receive food. But the food of the soul is the word of truth, which those who are neither able to receive by hearing, nor keep accepted in the stomach of memory through hearing, suffer from a very dreadful and dangerous ailment, because surely it must be that their life is to be despaired of who spurn either to preserve or at least to receive the bread of life: for such languor, frequent examples of saints, and the present form of virtues are accustomed to provide healing, while anyone indifferent and neglectful at the sight or hearing of good works, upon remembering the glory of the heavenly reward, seeks to imitate the acts and temporary labors of good men so that he may merit to be held as a co-heir of their perpetual happiness. Therefore, anyone who is thus brought to the hope of salvation and life, as if through the fruit of the mandrake, whoever of the learned holds so great a grace of the Spirit, such study of piety, that anyone who sees or hears them, immediately changed in mind, begins to follow their life, they deservedly hold the form of the mandrake, because they fix the food of life in the hearts of the nauseous. And beautifully the bride, rich in living delights, not only promises the fruits of the vineyards and apples to be seen by the bridegroom, but also the odors of mandrakes and their health-giving juices: she boasts not only of having those things which can be eaten and drunk, but also those things which can make food or drink grateful and pleasant to those who are disgusted, because the Church also offers before the presence of its author the gifts of the heavenly word, namely the foods and drinks of life, offers fit ministers, who bring these by preaching to those who hunger and thirst; and moreover, by tasting them first themselves, that is, by first working, make them sweet to those who are disgusted. She brings forth, as if vineyards, innumerable troops of the elect; she brings forth pomegranate apples, the precious ranks of martyrs by the splendor of invincible confession; she brings forth spiritual charisms, which incite the hearts of the sluggish to contemplate and imitate the examples of the good.

And I will find you outside, etc. Surely he was within, because in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John I). But so that he might also be found outside, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (Ibid.). Indeed, the patriarchs saw, the prophets saw the Lord, but within, that is, in the contemplation of the spiritual mind, not in the gaze of the carnal eye. They saw him, but in an image, in the form of an angelic substance; but his very nature, which he showed through the angels as he wished, they could by no means see. Finally, the lawgiver himself, who merited to hear, "I will show you all good" (Exodus XXXIII), again heard, "You cannot see my face, for no one shall see my face and live" (Exodus XXXIII). Happy are they who merited to confer among themselves, "We have found the Messiah, which is called Christ" (John I), and again, "We have found him of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus, the son of Joseph of Nazareth." For it aptly applies to such, that he says: "That I may find you outside, and kiss you" (Cant. VIII). The Synagogue indeed kissed the beloved when found, in those who now, face to face, in the truth of assumed flesh, saw him, who merited to speak with him mouth to mouth. For this is the kiss, that is, the most loving gift of that mouth, and the exchange of mutual speech, which in this song the Synagogue sought above all, thus beginning: "Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth." Well indeed, by wishing, she adds, "And no one will despise me anymore:" for the Church was despised by external men, as if it were small and of no value, as long as it was confined to the narrowest limits of Judea; but when the Lord came in the flesh, she began to spread out through all nations, already made formidable to the world, as if she were about to fill the whole globe and overthrow the worship of all gods; for it was proven by the fact that a war was publicly declared against her by the whole world: in which war, however, she, either by living or by dying, overcoming, became even more fearful to the whole world. The Church was also despised by unclean spirits, because they boasted that they had deceived the human race and dragged them from their heavenly homeland into this exile and multifarious distress, and that there was no person who could exist entirely free from their dominance. But after the Mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus, came into the world, and being tempted, overcame the same enemy by whose temptation the first man was once overcome, he also went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, and at last by dying, destroyed him who held the power of death, and bringing with him the entire multitude of the preceding just from hell, led them to the joys of the kingdom which the first man had lost, and placed the sign of his victory on the foreheads of the faithful. The life of good men is no longer despised by them, because they see that they have been conquered through a man, and they grieve that the human race has been transferred to the kingdom which they lost through pride. It is also fitting to believe concerning the holy angels, that they despised the life of elected men less, after they saw God and their Lord loving the human race so much that he himself deigned to become man, to converse among men, and to die. Hence it is that before his incarnation, they patiently bore being worshipped by men; but in the Apocalypse, an angel forbids John, who started to worship him, saying, "See that you do not do that; I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus: worship God" (Apoc. XII, 17). Hence, rightly sighing for the advent of the same Lord Jesus, that ancient multitude of the elect said, "Who will give you to me, my brother, that I may find you outside, and kiss you, and no one will despise me anymore?" Where it is aptly added:

There you will teach me, etc. There you will teach me, in the very substance of flesh, in which I will find you outwardly and kiss you; there you will give me the precepts of your Gospel, which the prophets, the law, and the psalms promised: there you will teach me to hope for more excellent gifts than I read in the law and the prophets; or certainly to be understood more deeply: there you will teach me in that house of my mother, into which I desire to lead you with a delightful company of eyes, and at the same time with praise of words. For there he taught and teaches the Church, from that part of it which he has received to himself there. There he will teach the whole Church, when, the universal judgment having been completed, his saints will be nowhere else, but all in heaven with him. What he will teach there, he himself designates in the Gospel, when in that most sweet and extensive discourse, which he held with it last before the passion, he says among other things: These things I have spoken to you in proverbs: the hour is coming, when I will no longer speak to you in proverbs, but I will tell you plainly about the Father, that is, I will plainly show you the Father.

I will apprehend thee, etc. But thus the Synagogue speaks, as Paul says, We who live, who are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep (1 Thess. IV). He, though knowing certainly that he could not endure in the flesh until the day of judgment, yet on account of the fellowship of one and the same brotherhood, joins himself to the number of those who in the advent of the Judge will be found alive in the flesh. And here, therefore, the ancient people of God speaks from the perspective of that part of itself which would see Him appearing in the flesh: I will apprehend thee, and bring thee into my mother’s house: I will receive thee with ready and faithful devotion as thou comest, and with eager desires I will embrace thy words, I will await thy promises, and after the dispensation of the flesh is completed, I will lead thee back to the heavens with joyous eyes, I will proclaim thee with a joyful voice to all. For this is the house of His mother, namely the happiness of the heavenly homeland, for the inhabitation of which human nature was created, to which, if no one had sinned, the whole human race would have passed from the delights of paradise, in which the first man was placed, without the intermediary of death. Into this house, therefore, the Church promises to bring her Lord, not able to achieve this by her own power, but desiring it to be fulfilled through her prayers, proclaiming it to be fulfilled or predicting it to be fulfilled; just as the Psalmist could exalt Him to the heavens, who nevertheless said, I will extol thee, O Lord, for thou hast raised me up (Psalm XXIX). Which is to say openly, Because thou hast deigned to take upon thee my human frailty, rightly do I profess the praises of thy power, who hast glorified this with the unfailing delight of my mind.

And I will give you a cup of spiced wine, etc. The Church gives a cup of wine to the Lord when, having received His benefits, it returns great and fervent gratitude of love, and the wine itself is not pure, but seasoned as if with a mixture of noble spices when the same love is proven by the attestation of good works. Nor should we only engage in those works that show our love for the Creator, but also those that demonstrate our fraternal love, if we wish to offer a worthy and acceptable cup of our devotion to Him. This is clearly differentiated by Him when, admonishing His disciples not to show their righteousness before men to be seen by them, He immediately added three types of good action to conclude the same instruction: namely, almsgiving, prayer, and fasting; clearly indicating that our righteousness should consist in these three. For almsgiving pertains to all we mercifully do to relieve our neighbor's needs; prayer encompasses all that we perform with devoted piety to appease our Creator; fasting involves the full chastisement of the mind by which we strive to abstain from vices and worldly contagions. And because the holy Church offers not only the purity of life to her beloved but also the precious cup of death in many of her members for His love, it is fitting that after saying, "And I will give you a cup of spiced wine," it adds, "And the juice of my pomegranates." For the pomegranates are the same as the pomegranates; they are called pomegranates because of their abundance of seeds and are known as "pomegranates" because they are especially abundant in Africa and around Carthage. Since they hold the figure of the blessed martyrs, the reddish color itself is indicative. And well does he call it the juice of pomegranates, not a potion, wine, or strong drink, to signify the fervor of unquenchable love in the heart of the victorious army. For the juice, that is, wine taken directly from the press, is usually of greater fervor; therefore it aptly suits their most fervent virtue, who do not hesitate to pass through iron and flames for the vision of the Creator: for since this type of drink is said to not only heal the heat of the stomach and corrupted belly but also benefit the rest of the body, who does not see that the fervor of charity, the more it abounds, the more it covers, indeed even extinguishes the multitude of sins? Let then the ancient congregation of the righteous, desiring to see their creator’s advent in the flesh, say, "There you will teach me, and I will give you a cup of spiced wine, and the juice of my pomegranates." As if openly declaring: "There, that is, in the very time or place where I will have found and deserved to speak with You, and You will give me the commands and gifts appropriate for the Son of God appearing in human form to men, and I will render to You the service of an undivided heart, which is truly due to God; because surely His advent grants heavenly rest to the Church laboring in the adversities of the world, both now in hope and in the future in reality," rightly does it continue:

His left hand is under my head, etc. By His left hand He designates the sacraments of His incarnation and the gifts of His presence; by His right hand, indeed, He symbolizes the rewards that the elect will receive in the future: among these is not only the vision of divine majesty, but also the glory of glorified humanity, and of the same one Mediator between God and men. Hence, the bride rightly desires His left hand to be placed under her head, while His right hand embraces her, so that now she may rest from worldly turmoil through His temporal aid and then enjoy His manifest vision perpetually. And indeed the eternal rest of the saints is never interrupted by any disturbance. Hence it is rightly said, And His right hand will embrace me, because certainly the presence of divine majesty will surround His own in the heavenly kingdom on all sides, lest any remembrance of misery or fear of an end should violate the happiness worthy of God. Hence also in the Apocalypse John says, And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away: and again: And night shall be no more. And they will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will give them light, and they shall reign forever and ever (Apoc. XXII). But indeed the rest granted to the faithful in the present can by no means be perfect, because the ancient enemy, death, is not yet destroyed. Hence it happens that often the blessed rest of the good, like the most pleasant sleep which makes their minds intent on divine matters almost insensible to this world, is disturbed by the attacks of the wicked, namely of those who, ignorant of the happiest rest, have rather accustomed themselves to remain awake through love of the fleeting world. And would that only those who openly belong to the world and attack the peace of the Church did so, and not even those who within her impede her spiritual endeavors with their carnal ways. But because she indeed also generates many such as these, the Lord admonishes them not to presume to disturb the minds of the faithful devoted to the Church's prayer, or reading, or other acts of piety, when, having heard the desire of her heart, He immediately added:

Who is this who ascends from the desert, etc.? But the Church of the gentiles ascends from the desert, because she who had been abandoned by her Creator for a very long time, now advancing with steps of faith and good works, has reached His grace, fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah, where he says, "The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose" (Isaiah 35). Overflowing with delights, namely those about which the bridegroom above says, "How beautiful and how charming you are, my love, in delights!" that is, in the desires of heavenly life. Leaning on my beloved: rightly leaning on Him, without whose aid she could not only ascend to the heights but could not even rise: for both the advancement of virtues and the very beginnings of faith we can only have by the Lord's granting. Therefore Judea marveled more at this grace of the new conversion of the gentiles, since she believed that only she and those who were received into her rite through the mystery of circumcision belonged to it, as the book of the Acts of the Apostles most openly testifies. Therefore, when she said with admiration, "Who is this who ascends from the desert, overflowing with delights?" she concluded with even greater admiration, leaning on my beloved. "My beloved," she said, meaning, "the one whom I thought loved only me and was unknown to other nations"; to which He, who is our peace, who made both one, and came to preach peace to us who were far off, and peace to those who were near (Ephesians 2), responded, reminding her to remember the grace by which she herself was rescued from gravest evils and brought to the way of truth, and to rejoice in the salvation of others as well, since the author of salvation and life is rich to all who call on Him.

"Set me as a seal upon your heart," etc. Place me as a seal upon your heart, by thought; upon your arm, by action, so that charity from a pure heart, and a good conscience, and unfeigned faith (I Tim. I) may be within, and the same devotion of the heart, which the inner judge sees, may also be proven by good deeds visible to outward eyes, to the glory of the Father who is in heaven. He rightly says, Place me as a seal: for we often carry some sign tied to our finger or arm, by which we may be reminded of that thing whose memory we care to keep more frequently. Thus, the Lord also wishes us, by the present sign, always to be reminded to keep His commandments, according to what He Himself commands, saying about the law which He gave: It shall therefore be as a sign on your hand, and as a mark before your eyes for remembrance (Exod. XIII). And it comes to pass that if we continuously bear His memory in our breast, He who granted us this grace, being mindful of us eternally, may keep us happy with His presence in His heavenly kingdom, as if with the function of a seal, according to what He promises to the distinguished leader of His people, saying, I will take you, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, my servant, and I will make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you, says the Lord (Haggai II). To the contrary, rejecting him who turned to apostasy after faith, He says, If Coniah son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, were a signet ring on my right hand, I would still pull you off (Jer. XXII). Or certainly it should be more deeply understood, because a seal, where it is placed, is usually a sign of mysteries, of precious things, and those which ought not to be profaned; as it is written about the Lord, And He seals up the stars like under a seal (Job. IX): evidently so that they may not be opened or commanded except by the permission of Him who sealed them. Hence Abraham received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which is in the uncircumcision; for by circumcision which he received in the flesh, it was signified that the faith which he had already received even before circumcision was effective for the purification of both heart and body; which faith we now have without fleshly circumcision, in which we are also justified, according to the prophet and apostle's saying, The just shall live by faith (Rom. I). Therefore, our Lord Jesus Christ should be placed as a seal upon our heart, as a seal upon our arm, so that we may know that everything He did or said in the flesh is heavenly and mysterious. For since He Himself is the power of God and the wisdom of God, we place Him as a seal upon our heart, when we learn the things He said as if they are truly divine words of wisdom; we place Him as a seal upon our arm, when we strive to hear and follow, as much as we can, the things He did, as if they are true examples of virtue. Again, we place the Lord as a seal upon our heart and arm, when we keep His commandments in the present for the reward of that which we are not yet able to see.

For love is as strong as death, etc. This love, or jealousy, can rightly be understood both in our Lord Redeemer and in His chosen ones: for the love by which He loved us was as strong as death, because it was so great that through it He came to death for us. Hence, He says, "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). The zeal by which He was zealous for us was as harsh as hell, because He could not be diverted from His concern for our salvation by any temptations of opposing enemies, just as hell cannot be mitigated by any tortures of the wretched, nor its severity be changed. This comparison indeed appears austere, but the more austere the comparison is given, the more the affection of our zealous Lord is commended. Of whom He Himself, having driven the deceitful from the temple, says to the Father, "Zeal for Your house has consumed me" (Psalms 69:9). And the greater His zeal is shown, the graver the condemnation follows us if we spurn it. But even the love of His faithful is as strong as death, because they cannot be separated from it by the bitterness of death itself. Hence, they confidently say, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?" (Romans 8:35). Their pure and God-devoted jealousy is likened to hell, because just as it never loses those whom it has once seized, so the fervency of their zealous persistence never cools at any time. It is the same zeal by which Phinehas, inflamed, struck down the fornicators in the desert; the same by which Elijah burned, when after suspending the waters of heaven, and then recalling them after three years, after slaying the prophets of Baal, and turning the heart of the people to the Lord, he said: "I have been very zealous for the Lord of hosts, for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, they have thrown down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword" (1 Kings 19:14); the same zeal Peter used when he led the lying neophytes to death; the same of which Paul speaks to the Corinthians: "I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ" (2 Corinthians 11:2-3). Appropriately, in this place, was introduced the greatness of perfect love or zeal, where Judea, marveling at the new conduct of the Gentiles, was reminded by the Lord to bring back to mind the gifts of piety that were granted to her, because clearly after the corruption of her mother and her own mother, she herself was awakened through the tree of the cross in the first resurrection to grace. Similarly, this sentence can fittingly be applied to the preceding: Remember, O Church gathered from the Jews, that you have come to life through the wood of my passion, and never forget that the greatness of love and zeal led me to death for you. Nor marvel that I have received into my faith the crowds of Gentiles, whom you see inflamed with such great love and such great zeal to fulfill my will that it seems easier that either death could be convinced not to seize more souls from the world, or hell, not to receive those seized, than it would be for them ever to depart from my faith. Do not think you can please me with mere verbal profession alone; rather, if you wish to come to life, place the memory of my will as a seal upon your heart, place it on your arm; and so imbue your mind with divine or brotherly love, so zealously, that the gathering of your people into the heavenly citizenry may be fully completed, so that such love, such zeal, can never be changed or diminished by any state of opposing or alluring things. Some understand the statement "Zeal is as harsh as Hell" to refer to the envy that the synagogue often had against the Church of the Gentiles; thus it is read in the Acts of the Apostles, "On the following Sabbath, nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting what was said by Paul" (Acts 13). This zeal is harsh as Hell because it consumes the soul it has captured with the plague of impiety. Hence it is written, "Zeal seized the ignorant people, and now the fire consumes the adversaries." If understood this way, the Lord rightly admonishes the synagogue not to be held by this zeal against the Church when it sees it rising from the desert of vices and abounding in heavenly delights, adhering with an irrevocable mind to her Beloved, lest by envying others she loses the goods she could have had herself. Adding more on the strength of love, He says: "Its flashes are flashes of fire, a most vehement flame," meaning the fire within them in that same charity they internally burn; while the flames, in the execution of righteousness, shine far and wide. Did not the hearts of those who said, "Were not our hearts burning within us while He spoke to us on the road, and opened the Scriptures to us" (Luke 24), prove themselves to be lamps of fire? Did our Lord not want us to be lamps of flame when He said: "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works" (Matt. 5)? Those are the lamps which the virgins who have them will enter the marriage chamber of the eternal kingdom with the bridegroom. These have placed His love and fear upon their hearts and arms, that is, all their thoughts and actions they have subjected to His commandments. Then indeed the lamps of the foolish will go out, because their works, by which they seemed to shine before men, will grow dim when the internal Judge comes and reveals the intentions of hearts, for they performed their good works with a view to temporary praise.