Sermons on the Song of Songs

Protected, therefore, by angelic ministrations, and attended wherever she goes by a troop of heavenly spirits, the holy soul may justly be likened to the horsemen of the Lord, those, namely, who, of old, assisted by a stupendous miracle of divine power, triumphed over the chariots of Pharao. For if you examine the matter carefully, you will find repeated in her conflict with the invisible Pharao all the glorious achievements which rendered the victory of the Red Sea so illustrious and wonderful. The single difference is one which makes the soul’s triumph only all the more magnificent, since what the people of God accomplished in type and material figure has been spiritually fulfilled in her. Does it not appear to you a more valiant and glorious feat to vanquish the devil than to overcome King Pharao, to defeat the powers of the air than to overthrow the chariots of Egypt? In the one case the struggle was with flesh and blood, in the other the “wrestling” was “against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in high places.” Let us together draw out and study the comparison in all its details. On the one side is the chosen people delivered from Egypt, on the other a soul rescued from the world; there Pharao is defeated, here it is Lucifer; there the chariots of the tyrant are overthrown, here are extinguished earthly and “carnal desires which war against the soul”; there the fight is carried on amid floods of briny water, here amid floods of bitter tears. And I can fancy the demons, whenever they happen upon a faithful soul, crying out like the Egyptians of old, “Let us flee from Israel, for the Lord fighteth for them against us.” Do you wish me now to designate by their proper names some of the captains of Pharao’s host, and to describe some of the chariots, so that by adopting the method which I shall employ, you may be able to find out and identify all the others for yourselves? I tell you, then, that one of the mightiest princes of the spiritual and invisible Pharao is called Malice, another is named Luxury, and a third Avarice. These govern their several provinces with dependence on the king, who defines for each the limits of his jurisdiction. Thus Malice has dominion over the whole territory of injury and outrage. Luxury presides over uncleanness and the sins of the flesh. To Avarice it has been given to rule the wide areas of rapine and fraud.

Attend now whilst I explain what manner of chariots Pharao has furnished his princes with for the pursuit of the people of God. The chariot of Malice moves upon four wheels, which are called Cruelty, Impatience, Audacity, and Impudence. For this chariot is extremely “swift to shed blood,” and is neither stopped by innocence, nor retarded by patience, nor restrained by fear, nor held back by shame. It is drawn by two very mettlesome horses, ever ready to rush forward to all kinds of destruction and slaughter, and their names are Earthly Power and Worldly Pomp. For this four-wheeled car of Malice moves with the greatest velocity when, on the one hand, it is yoked to power adequate to the accomplishment of his malevolent purposes, and, on the other, has the pomp and glory of popular favour to applaud his most criminal deeds. So that we see fulfilled in it the words of the Psalmist, “For the sinner is praised in the desires of his heart, and the unjust man is blessed.” “And again, another Scripture saith,” “This is your hour and the power of darkness.” The horses are in charge of two charioteers, Pride and Envy, the former driving Pomp and the latter Power. For he who has allowed his heart within to swell with self-conceit shall soon be carried away swiftly by the love of satanical pomp. But the man that is firmly established in himself, who is prudently self-restrained, gravely modest, solidly humble, chastely whole, such a man is in no danger of being blown lightly about by the wind of vanity. In the same way, does it not seem to you that Envy rides upon the horse of Power and urges him onward by pricking his flanks with the two spurs of Jealousy, by which I mean the apprehension of death or decline, and the dread of deposition? For the fear of having soon to yield place to a successor is quite distinct from the fear of an invading usurper. Such then are the goads wherewith the horse of Power is driven forward. And that is all I find to say about the chariot of Malice.

The chariot of Luxury also runs upon four wheels of subservient vices, namely, Gluttony, Carnal Desire, Love of Fine Dress, and the Enervation begotten of languor and sloth. It, too, has its pair of horses to draw it, which are Prosperity in life and Abundance of earthly goods. These are driven by the charioteers, Lazy Languor and False Security; for abundance is the ruin of the lazy, and according to Scripture, “The prosperity of fools shall destroy them,” no doubt because it renders them falsely secure. “For when they shall say, peace and security, then shall sudden destruction come upon them.” The charioteers of Luxury have neither whips nor spurs, nor anything at all of that kind; but they use a kind of parasol to protect them from the sun, and a kind of fan for exciting a refreshing breeze. This parasol is nothing else than Dissimulation, which, in a metaphorical sense, makes a shade for the mind, and shelters it from the heat of care and worry. Now, it is characteristic of soft and effeminate souls to put aside even necessary and urgent cares, and to conceal themselves in the shadow of Dissimulation, lest they should feel the burning heat of solicitude. The fan bears the name of Profuse Liberality, and the wind that they produce is the balmy breeze of Adulation. For sensual souls affect prodigality, desirous to purchase for gold the light wind produced by the lips of flatterers. So much for the chariot of Lust.

Prince Avarice, similarly, has four wheels to his car. They are the vices of Pusillanimity, Inhumanity, Contempt of God, and Forgetfulness of Death. The horses that draw him are Obstinacy and Rapacity; and the two are managed by one driver, who is called Greed of Gain. For Avarice is singular in this, that he is content with one servant, his niggardliness not suffering him to employ any more. But his single driver displays admirable promptitude and tireless zeal in the execution of every order, using the rousing whips of Passion for Acquiring and Fear of Losing to stimulate the horses that draw him.

Besides those I have mentioned, there are many other princes under the king of Egypt, who have likewise their own chariots for the service of their master. For instance, there is Pride, who is one of his greatest captains, and Impiety, the enemy of the true faith, who holds high rank in Pharao’s palace and kingdom; whilst of nobles and knights of inferior degree the army of Egypt contains a countless multitude, whose names and offices and arms and equipments I leave you to discover for yourselves by your own meditations, for it will furnish profitable employment for your minds. It is therefore in the strength of these captains and their chariots that the invisible Pharao, like a cruel tyrant, vents his fury on the servants of the Lord, to the utmost of his power, rushing with rage upon them from every direction, and, even in our own day, is still pursuing the Israelites as they try to escape out of Egypt. The chosen people, on the other hand, have neither chariots in which to ride, nor arms wherewith to defend themselves; nevertheless, with no other protection but the Hand of the Lord, they can exclaim with confidence, “Let us sing to the Lord, for He is gloriously magnified, and horse and rider He hath thrown into the sea.” And, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses; but we will call upon the name of the Lord our God.” But perhaps I have now said enough on the comparison drawn from the horsemen of the Lord and the chariots of Pharao.