Morning & Evening Devotional Reading–

May 1– Evening

by C. H. Spurgeon, revised and edited by W. C. Neff

“I am a rose of Sharon.” 

—Song of Solomon 2:1

Whatever beauty there may be in the material world, Jesus Christ possesses all that many times over in the spiritual world. Among flowers the rose is the noblest, and Jesus is infinitely more so in the garden of the soul. He takes first place as the most beautiful among ten thousand. He is the sun, while all others are mere stars. The daylight is dark in comparison to him, for the King in his beauty transcends all.

The roses from Sharon were the best and rarest of roses. Jesus is not only a “rose” but a “rose of Sharon.” In a similar way, he calls his righteousness “gold” and then specifies that it is like the “the gold of Ophir”— the best gold there is. He is not only lovely, but he is the loveliest. His beauty charms us in a variety of ways. Just as the rose is delightful to the eye and its scent is pleasant and refreshing, so each of the senses of the soul— taste, touch, hearing, sight, and smell— are fully satisfied in Jesus.

Even the recollection of Jesus’ love is sweet. Take the rose of Sharon, and pull it leaf from leaf, and put those leaves into a jar of memories, and you will find that each leaf continues to be fragrant long afterwards, filling the house with perfume. Christ satisfies the highest taste of the most educated spirit. The best perfume maker is quite satisfied with the rose. And when the soul has developed its highest sense of taste, it will still be content with Christ; in fact, it will be able to appreciate him more.

Heaven itself possesses nothing which excels the rose of Sharon. There is nothing in heaven or earth that can match his beauty. Human speech is unable to describe him. If all of earth’s charms were put together, they would only provide a poor picture of his abounding preciousness. Blessed Rose, bloom in my heart forever! [M&E]