Ignorance of Christ’s Loveliness

In the Song of Solomon all the strains of holy love are set forth in the purest allegories, such as do represent that dear affection and union between Christ and His Church.

Verse 16 of chapter 5 is nothing but the breathing forth of the love of the spouse to Christ, “He is altogether lovely.” In the preceding verses she had been setting Christ forth in His spiritual embroidery. She called Him the chiefest among ten thousand, the Standard Bearer, the most glorious Person of renown. Thus the spouse goes on deciphering Christ’s beauty. At last being in a holy rapture of spirit, she winds up all with this passionate strain of affection, “Yea, He is altogether lovely,” as if she had said, What do I do to set Christ forth in His several parts? What is all this that I have been speaking of Christ? How barren is my invention; how dull are my expressions! Whatever I have said of Him falls infinitely short of His worth; but this I affirm: He is altogether lovely.

The word in the original is He is all made up of loves and delights; He is all that may excite desire.

He is the most amazing and delightful object; the very name of Jesus Christ is as a precious ointment poured forth. It is said that the letters of this name were found engraven upon Ignatius’ heart; Jesus Christ is in every believer’s heart (Col. 1:23); and nothing can do better there, for “He is altogether lovely.”

If Christ be altogether lovely, it shows us the true reason why men do not embrace Christ, viz., they are ignorant of His beauty. A blind man does not admire the colors in a rainbow; and when the god of this world has blinded men’s eyes, they see not any excellency in Christ. Men admire not this Sun, because the cloud of their ignorance comes between. Christ is a treasure, but a hidden treasure; He is fairer than the children of men, but to the natural person He is like Moses with a veil upon His face. The men of the world see not the stupendous beauty of Christ. He does not lack worth, but they lack eyes. Oh, unhappy men, (says Augustine) who know all things else but Christ; your knowledge will but serve to light you to hell.

But you will say to me, What! not know Christ? I hope we are better bred than so; has Christ been preached so long in our streets, and we not know Him?

I wish there were not many persons grossly ignorant of Christ, who understand nothing of His person, offices, privileges. That people have been very ignorant of Jesus Christ appears by this, because they have been so inclinable to error, so greedy to drink in every new opinion as soon as the devil has set it in motion.

But my second answer is this: Whereas you say, can we be ignorant of Christ in this broad daylight of the gospel? I say, a man may have excellent notions of Christ, and may be able to make an elegant discourse of Him, and yet not know Him savingly. Though he be not grossly ignorant of Christ, yet he may be spiritually ignorant.

There is a threefold defect in the knowledge of most. It is a speculation without conviction, without affection, and without operation. First, is a speculation without conviction. Men are not thoroughly convinced of the excellencies of Christ, “And when He (that is the Holy Ghost) is come, He will reprove the world of sin” (John 16:8).

Strange! Was not Christ in the world? Had not He made many sermons about sin? It is true, He had, but the Jews were not yet convinced of it; therefore He shall send His Spirit to convince them. “And of righteousness”; why? Had not Christ told them that there was no righteousness to be found but in Him; that they could graft their hopes of salvation upon no other stock besides? Yes, they had heard Christ say so, but they were not yet convinced; therefore the Spirit shall come and convince them. Hence I gather that men may have a speculation of Christ, yet be ignorant of Him, that is, not know Him convincingly. And that they have not a convincing knowledge is clear; for were they convinced in their conscience of the lovely excellencies of Christ, would they value a lust or trifle; would they, with Judas, prefer thirty pieces of silver before Him?

Men have notions of Christ but are not warmed with love to Christ.

Secondly it is a speculation without affection; men have notions of Christ but are not warmed with love to Christ. Their knowledge is like the moon; it has light in it, but no heat. True knowledge of Christ is like fire to the ice, it melts it into water; so this knowledge melts the sinner into tears of love. I do the hypocrite no wrong to tell him he bears no true affection to Jesus Christ. There is a great deal of difference between the knowledge that the prisoner has of the judge, and the knowledge that the child has of the parent. The prisoner knows the judge, but has no affection at all to his person. His knowledge is joined with fear and hatred. But the child’s knowledge of his parent is joined with affection, he loves to be in his presence. The hypocrite knows Christ as the prisoner knows his judge, or as the devils know Him (Mark 1:24), with a knowledge of horror, whereas true knowledge is filial; then the affections are drawn forth in an inflamed manner after Him. The apostle has an elegant expression to set forth the nature of true knowledge, calling it “the savor of knowledge” (2 Cor. 2:14); as a man tastes a savory sweetness in his meat. Hypocrites have no taste.

Thirdly, it is a speculation without operation. The knowledge that hypocrites have of Christ has no saving influence upon them; it does not make them more holy. It is one thing to have a notion of Christ, another thing to fetch virtue from Christ. The knowledge of hypocrites is a dead, barren knowledge; it brings not forth the child of obedience. Hypocrites are not practitioners; they are all head, no feet; they “walk not in Christ” (Col. 2:6). Their knowledge is informing, but not transforming; it does not make them a jot better; it leaves not a spiritual tincture of holiness behind; and such a knowledge is no better than ignorance. “He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:4). A man may have a speculative knowledge, and be no better than a devil. And this ignorance is the reason why men do not embrace Christ who is infinitely lovely, because they know not His worth; though they are not grossly ignorant of Christ, yet they are spiritually ignorant. “To this day the veil is upon their heart.”

If Christ be so lovely, it shows us the misery of a man that lives without Christ, and that dies without Christ.

Behold his misery that lives without Christ. He is very unlovely, for all loveliness flows from Christ. The leper in the law was but the sad emblem of a sinner. 1. The leper was to live alone as being unworthy to come into the congregation of the holy. 2. The leper did wear three marks to be known by: his garments torn, his head bare, his mouth covered. 3. He was to cry unclean, unclean. This spiritual leprosy is upon every Christless sinner.

A sinner is blind (Rev. 3:17), and the more blind because he thinks he sees. He is dead, and though he may be decked with some moral virtues, this is but like strewing flowers upon a dead corpse (Eph. 2:1). Dead things have no beauty in them, and oh, how deformed is every Christless soul! God loathes him (Zech. 11:8). The sinner is so deformed, that when he comes to be converted, the first thing he does is to loathe himself (Ezek. 36:21 ). Thus unlovely is every person out of Christ. If he brags of his goodness, it is because he never yet saw his face in the glass of God’s Word; that would discover his spots and blemishes.

Hypocrites are not practitioners; they are all head, no feet; they “walk not in Christ.”

Behold the misery of him that dies without Christ. Though Jesus Christ be so infinitely beautiful, the sinner shall see none of His beauty. Christ will put a veil upon His face, as Moses did when his face shone. Nay, that is not all; though Christ be so lovely in Himself, yet to an ungodly sinner He will be terrible to behold. A wicked man shall see nothing in Christ that is lovely; the Lamb will be turned into a Lion. How affrighting will His look be to those who die in their sins! His eyes will be as a flame of fire (Rev. 1:14). Christ is represented with a bow and a crown (Rev. 6:2). Give me leave to allude. Christ will appear to the saints with a crown, very lovely and glorious to behold, but to the wicked He will appear with His bow, to shoot at them with the arrows of His indignation.

It is little comfort for the soul to say, Christ is altogether lovely, unless it can also say, “My Beloved is mine” (Song 2:16). The ground of privilege is union. There are, says Bernard, many Christians who have nothing of Christ in them. Oh, labor to be made one with Christ, to have Christ not only in your Bible, but in your heart. Renounce your own beauty, all your parts, moralities, duties; these are a rotten bough to hold by, “That I may be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness” (Phil. 3:9). I would not take you off from duty, but from confidence in duty; Noah’s dove might make use of her wings to fly, but she did not trust to her wings, but to the ark.

If Christ be so lovely in Himself, then you that profess Christ, labor to render Him lovely in the eyes of others by adorning His gospel and walking worthy of Christ (Col. 1:10).

There are some persons among us whose scandalous impieties masked over with religion have made Christ unlovely in the eyes of others. I have read of certain images which on the outside were covered with gold and pearl, but within nothing but spiders and cobwebs; and have not we many who have been covered with the gold and pearl of profession resembling the saints of the Most High, but within, as Christ says, “full of all uncleanness” inasmuch that we may see the spiders creeping out of them?

Oh, that all who profess the name of Christ might depart from iniquity; that they might set a crown of honor upon the head of Christ, and make Him appear lovely in the eyes of others.

Thomas Watson (d. 1686) was a highly esteemed, seventeenth-century, non-conformist Puritan preacher and author. His most recent reprint, Heaven Taken by Storm, is available for $6.50 from Netherlands Reformed Book and Publishing, 1020 N. Main, Sioux Center, IA 51250. This particular article is reprinted from The Banner of Truth (1961).

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