Things New and Old.
Bible Treasury, 2nd Edition, Volume 1, May 1857.
(1st. Edition, May [01 1857 197])
[01 1857 194]
In the Book of Ecclesiastes we get the man Solomon, the wisest of monarchs, seeking out that good under the sun with which man may satisfy himself. He goes to prove his heart with mirth and folly and wisdom, with learning, philosophy, natural history, music, wine, wealth, and the special delights of kings. His wisdom, too, remains with him. God allows him, as it were, to try what is to be found on earth. And what does it all come to? Just this: "all is vanity and vexation of spirit; vanity of vanities, all is vanity."
In the Song of Solomon we get another thing — the soul satisfied with one object only, desirous to grasp it more largely and to enter into it more fully. That object is CHRIST, the object of the soul's affections. If we have but one object, we shall be satisfied with His goodness and loving-kindness, and we shall seek only to know its fullness. If it be said, "Well, I want to experience that the world cannot satisfy," I answer that Solomon has far more experience than you ever can have: he fully tried it, and all is vanity and vexation of spirit. But as in Canticles, when the soul is satisfied with one object, and that object is Christ, all is peace and satisfaction: "I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste."