Song of Solomon 1:17

Her answer is, "Behold, you are fair, my beloved, yes, pleasant; also our bed is green. The beams of our house are cedar, and our rafters of fir." That is, it is not some mere tent which might be taken down. She looks for a settled habitation when the King comes and owns her as His own. She looks for all to be in that established relationship which shall be for the glory of God here below. And so it will be.

The bed in a house of cedar and fir speaks of rest in a place of incorruptibility and royal glory. The cedar and fir are the symbol of royal glory. David and Solomon both made houses of cedar. They also resist rot, so are the emblem of that which is incorruptible and enduring.

The cedar is marked by remarkable durability, glorious height, refreshing shade and lovely excellence, and these qualities picture Christ. The cedar wood has a fine grain and a fragrant smell. It resists decay so well that people have found cedar beams, little changed, in the ruins of temples in Asia between 2000 and 3000 years old. This shows in some measure the abiding character of the Lord Jesus Christ. "You remain." Corroding time has no effect on Him... Botanists tell us that cedar wood keeps so well because of its bitter taste, which worms and other destructive organisms do not relish. In the same way, the world does not relish Christ. The world cannot appreciate His value; it cannot taste that He is good.

In His presence, too, we shall find security and shelter. "The beams of our house are cedar, and our rafters fir." The "beams" support the building and make it secure, the rafters support the roof and make it a place of shelter. In the presence of the King we have security and shelter.

In the morning of the day she says, "The King has brought me into His chambers." A little later the scene changes. She is with Him in the fields, where He feeds and rests His flock at noon. Further on in the day, she says, "Our bed is green. The beams of our house are cedar, and our rafters of fir." Here the picture seems to be people reclining on the soft grass, under the refreshing shade of the interlacing boughs of the fir and cedar trees... The love of the Bridegroom, unfolded and shown to her, is the secret of all her joy and the source of all her delights.

But there is one word in these closing sentences that shows full, conscious, happy fellowship with the "well-beloved." I mean that little word "our": "our bed is green … our house," "our rafters." It is like the precious little "us," "we," and "with," in the Letter to the Ephesians. Oh! happy union — blessed unity, "our, us, we, with." Eternal oneness with Christ! One in life, one in righteousness, one in acceptance, one in peace, one in rest, one in joy, one in heavenly, eternal glory!