Sermons on the Song of Songs

“The voice of my Beloved: behold He cometh, leaping upon the mountains, skipping over the hills.”

“The voice of my Beloved.” The Spouse, my brethren, already perceives that the young maidens have become unusually shy and reverentially fearful. She perceives it from the fact that they do not now dare as formerly to intrude upon her leisure, nor presume, “as yesterday and the day before,” to disturb the quiet of her contemplative repose. She recognises that this is due to her Bridegroom’s care and diligence in her behalf. Therefore she rejoices in spirit, whether over the young maidens’ amendment, forasmuch as they have now, under obedience, desisted from causing excessive and needless commotion; or because of the security from interruption which she shall henceforth enjoy during prayer; or on account of the condescension and favour of her Beloved, Who so watchfully prevents the disturbance of her slumber and so zealously protects against intruders the delights of her leisure, which is in reality the time of her busiest application. And by the words, “The voice of my Beloved,” she acknowledges that the change in the young maidens is the result of the rebuke which He has addressed to them. For one who is burdened with the anxious responsibility of directing others can rarely, if ever, give himself to himself without scruple. He is always afraid that he is neglecting his subjects, and so displeasing God, by preferring his own repose and the sweetness of contemplation to the care of the community. However, it sometimes happens that a certain fear or reverence, infused from heaven into the hearts of his children, not only allows him an hour of leisure, but also gives him to understand that his retirement is acceptable to the Lord—from Whose grace it comes that the little ones are willing to suffer their trials in patience rather than trouble their spiritual father. And whenever this happens, what gladness, what peace inundates his soul! For this proper respect, manifested towards him by the “little ones,” plainly shows that they have heard within them the voice—threatening, as it were, and reproving—of Him Who says through the Prophet, “I (am He) that speaketh justice.” His voice is His inspiration, His voice in the infusion of holy fear.

The Spouse, therefore, on hearing this voice is filled with gladness and exultingly exclaims, “The voice of my Beloved.” For she is “the friend of the Bridegroom, who rejoiceth with joy because of the Bridegroom’s voice.” And she adds, “Behold He cometh, leaping upon the mountains, skipping over the hills.” She discovered His presence by the sound of His voice. Now, with the commendable curiosity of holy love, she strains her eyes, being anxious to see as well as to hear Him. Thus hearing leads to seeing, since “faith is from hearing.” And it is faith that cleanses our hearts and so enables us to see God, as it is written, “purifying your hearts by faith.” Therefore, Him Whom she has heard speaking, she now sees approaching. For the Holy Spirit observes here the order which the Psalmist indicates, where he says, “Hearken, O daughter, and see.” And the better to convince you that it is not by accident or chance that hearing is put before sight in this place, but rather by deliberate design, and for the purpose I have mentioned, I want you to examine if it is not the same order holy Job is found to follow, when he thus addresses God, “With the hearing of the ear I have heard Thee, but now my eye seeth Thee.” Again, in the passage which describes the descent of the Holy Ghost on the Apostles on Pentecost Sunday, is it not expressly mentioned that hearing anticipated sight? We read, “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a mighty, wind coming,” and afterwards “there appeared to them parted tongues, as it were, of fire.” In this place, then, we have it stated explicitly that the advent of the Holy Spirit was revealed first to the hearing, and secondly to the sight. But there is no need to labour the point further. You yourselves, if you care to take the trouble of searching, will doubtless succeed in discovering many similar testimonies in different parts of Scripture.

Let us now turn our thoughts to a question which calls for more careful consideration as presenting greater difficulties to the inquirer. And here I confess that I stand in particular need of the help of the Holy Ghost, whilst I am endeavouring to explain what those mountains and hills are, which the Church, with gladdened eyes, beheld her Bridegroom leaping upon and skipping over. He was then, as I suppose, hastening to effect the redemption of her whose beauty He desired. I am led to take this view and to hold it firmly by the fact that something very like it occurs in the psalms, where the Prophet, evidently foreseeing and heralding the coming of Christ, expresses himself thus, “He hath set His tabernacle in the sun: and He as a Bridegroom, coming out of His bride-chamber, hath rejoiced as a giant to run the way. His going out is from the end of heaven, and His circuit even to the end thereof.” We know perfectly well, my brethren, what that setting forth was, and what that return. We know likewise by Whom and with what intent that course was undertaken and that circuit consummated. For surely when we read of such things, whether in the psalms or in the present Canticle, we are not to represent to ourselves a man of gigantic stature who is captivated by the human love of his absent human spouse, and who in the heat of his hurry to embrace her, comes leaping and skipping over the mountains and hills. Neither should we suppose that the mountains and hills here in question are the huge piles of earthy matter, such as we see around us, which tower high above the level plain, and some of which seem to lift their crests over the clouds of heaven. Indeed it would be altogether unbecoming to entertain such gross material conceptions when explaining the Holy Scriptures, especially when treating of a canticle so spiritual as this. It would even be unlawful, since, as you remember, Christ tells us in the Gospel that, “God is a Spirit, and they that adore Him must adore Him in spirit and in truth.”

What, then, my brethren, are these spiritual mountains and hills? When this has been decided, we shall be able to give an accordant account of the Bridegroom’s leaping upon and skipping over them. For He is God, and therefore a Spirit. We may suppose the mountains and hills in question to be the same on which, as the Gospel mentions, the ninety-nine sheep were left of old, when their devoted Shepherd descended to earth in quest of the one that had wandered away. But here we encounter a difficulty and the mind sticks fast in doubt. For it is not easy to understand what are those spiritual hills and mountains (and of what kind) said to be occupied by the heavenly and angelic spirits (represented beyond question by the ninety-nine sheep) as a habitation and a place of pasture, so to speak. Yet, unless such things really existed, Truth would not have spoken a parable that implies them. Neither would the Royal Prophet have said of the holy city, the heavenly Jerusalem, long ages before, that “the foundations thereof are in the holy mountains,” if there were no holy mountains in heaven. Finally, we have the testimony of Isaias for the fact that the blessed kingdom above possesses not only spiritual, but even living and rational mountains and hills, where he says, “The mountains and the hills shall sing praise before God.”