Section 640
II. Having rose to open to Christ, she puts her hand
"Upon the handles of the lock," to draw it back, and let him in; which, in order, is the third effect of Christ's "putting in his hand by the hole of the door." Now though this is not in so many words expressed in the text, yet it is manifestly implied; for if her "hands dropped with myrrh, and her fingers with sweet-smelling myrrh upon the handles of the lock;" it then supposes, that her hands and fingers must first lay hold upon the lock-handles, which was also absolutely necessary to do, in order to open the door. It will be proper here to consider, 1st, What we are to understand by the lock, and the handles of it. 2dly, What by her hands and fingers, which laid hold on these handles to draw back the lock, and in what sense they might do it.
1st, It is needful to inquire what may be meant by the lock, and the handles of it: and as by the door, I suppose is meant the heart of a believer, so by the lock, which fastens and keeps this door shut, may be meant unbelief; by which, as all by nature are locked and shut up in the state they are; so believers sometimes by it are so straitened, confined, and shut up in their souls, that they cannot come forth in the free exercise of faith, in which they are at other times found: and the handles of this lock may be lukewarmness and indifference of soul with regard to duty, a sluggishness and loathness to come to it, which oftentimes bring the soul at last to a neglect of it; for, first, persons grow indifferent about the performance of duties, or attendance on ordinances; do not care whether they perform them, or attend on them, or no; then they begin to be "slothful in business, not serving the Lord" with that fervency of Spirit which they have heretofore done; and at last wholly neglect them; which brings them into a carnal, secure and unconcerned frame of spirit; and all this strengthens unbelief, and keeps the door the closer shut against Christ; which seems to have been the case of the church here, and of that of Laodicea, in 22, when Christ stood at her door and knocked.
2dly, By her hands and fingers may be meant her faith in its exercise and operation, attended with the fruits thereof. Faith is usually represented in scripture as the hand of the soul by which it receives Christ, as the Father's free gift; embraces him as the only Savior; lays hold upon and retains him, as he stands in all the endearing characters and relations which he appears in to his own people, Now this faith is not idle and inactive, but "works by love" to Christ and his people, to his ways and ordinances; it has its fruits, and is attended with the performance of good works,, and will put the person that is possessed of it, on the discharge of his duty; it put the church here upon attempting to draw back the lock of unbelief; faith laid its hands and fingers upon the handles of it, and used all its might, power and diligence to do it: but it may be asked, How could the church be able, with all her faith, industry and diligence, to draw back this lock? I answer, Faith cannot do this of itself; unbelief is a "sin which easily besets us," but it is not so easily got rid of; it is a weight, that the hand of faith of itself, cannot lift and lay aside; the believer must say, even in the exercise of faith, with the poor man in the gospel, Mark 9:24. "Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief;" this lock. grows too hard for faith to draw it back of itself; but yet faith's looking to, and dealing with Christ's person, blood, and righteousness, much weakens unbelief. When an unbelieving Thomas was indulged with a sight of Christ's pierced hands and feet, and was enabled to thrust his hand into his side; his unbelief immediately vanished and disappeared, and he could say, "My Lord, and my God:" it is certain, that the stronger faith grows, lukewarmness, indolence, and carnal security decay; and the soul is quickened, stirred up, and put upon the performance of duty: and what is it that a soul is not enabled, to do in the exercise of faith? difficulties which are insuperable to carnal sense and reason, are got over by faith; read ever the eleventh chapter of the epistle to the Hebrews, and you will see what heroic acts have been performed by faith though the strength in which these things have been performed, did not arise from the grace itself, but from Christ, the object of it, whose "strength is made in faith's weakness;" for without him we can do nothing, but his "grace is sufficient to enable us to do all things."
Now before she proceeds to tell how she succeeded in this attempt: she gives an account of a piece of sweet experience she met with, whilst she was trying to draw back the lock; "my hands," says she, "dropped with myrrh, and my fingers, with sweet-smelling myrrh upon the handles of the lock." By myrrh, is meant grace, in its aboundings and overflowings: but it may be inquired, From whence this myrrh came, and by whom it was brought? If we understand it of the church's myrrh or grace, as brought here by herself, as some think[3908]; who may be represented as taking up a pot of myrrh, intending with it to anoint end refresh his head which was wet with dew; which she either unawares or else designedly broke; or else, being: in a panic fear, her hand shook, and the myrrh ran over her hands and fingers; or rather, not having time to perfume her garments with it, as was usual (see Psalm 45:8); she dipped her fingers in a pot of myrrh, to ingratiate and render herself acceptable to her beloved; supposing that he might be full of resentment on the account of her carriage and behavior towards him: and then taking it in this sense, it will teach us these things following; 1. That her grace was now in exercise, it was flowing; this oil of myrrh before was as it were congealed; but now it is become liquid; it is upon the flow, and flows in such abundance, that it ran off her hands and lingers upon the handles of the lock. 2. Her hands and fingers, dropping with it, show that these actions and good works of hers, intended by her hands and fingers, being performed in faith, were odorous and grateful to Christ: so the prayers of the saints are called odors, in Revelation 5:8, and some mean and small services of the Philippians, are called an odor of a sweet smell (Philippians 4:18). 3. That When grace is in exercise, duty is both easy and pleasant: Christ's commands then are not grievous, but his "ways are ways of pleasantness, and his paths, paths of peace:" before, nothing more unpleasant than to arise and open to him; but now, nothing more easy and delightful; her "hands drop with myrrh;" etc. But I rather think, that the myrrh or grace of Christ is here meant, which was brought and left here by him; when he "put in his hand by the hole of the door," he then put in this myrrh he had gathered, verse 1, and left it in the lock-hole; which she found in such abundance when she came to open, that her hands and fingers dropped with it: the allusion seems to be to lovers shut out, who used to cover the threshold of the door with flowers, and anoint the door-posts with sweet-smelling ointment.[3909] Taking the words in this sense, we may observe that grace is called so, (1.) For the preciousness of it; myrrh is a precious spice, and one of the principal spices; and this in the text is the best of myrrh, there was a sort of myrrh called odoraria, sweet-smelling[3910]: the word translated 'sweet-smelling myrrh," signifies "passing or current myrrh;"[3911] it being vendible or saleable, not in the least damaged, but what will pass; and so is in the same sense current, as money is said to be (Genesis 23:16), or else, it is called "passing myrrh," because it diffuses its odor on every side; so R. Solomon Jarchi thinks: or, rather because it is that myrrh which bleeds or weeps, or drops from the tree of itself, which is always esteemed the best myrrh: and this sets forth the exceeding preciousness of Christ's grace, which is more valuable than all things else. (2.) It sets forth the abundance of it: if there was such an abundance of it brought by Christ, and left in the lock-hole, so that it ran in such plenty over her hands and fingers, as to drop from thence; What an abundance? what an overflow of it must there be in himself, who is "full of grace and truth?" if there is a super-abounding of grace in those in whom sin has abounded; What an overflowing fullness of it must there be in him, in whom is no sin, and who is the fountain from whence all grace flows, and is communicated to his people? (3.) It is expressive of the odorousness of it: there is such a sweet savor in the grace of Christ, as it is in himself, that the love of the virgins is drawn forth to him by it; and it emits so fragrant an odor, as it is in believers, that Christ himself is delighted with it (see Song of Solomon 1:3, 4:10).
Moreover, seeing it appears that this myrrh was brought unto, and left in the lock-hole by Christ; it may be asked, for what purpose it was brought and left there? which was, (1.) To draw and allure her heart unto him: the same grace that draws a soul to Christ at first conversion, draws it to him when it has declined and back-slidden from him; Christ uses the same methods, and puts forth the same grace at one time as at the other; he draws "with the cords of love, and bands of a man." (2.) To supple and soften her hard heart, and make this rusty lock go easy: this oil of myrrh being left there, removed the hardness of her heart, the stiffness of her will, and the rustiness of her affections; this melted her hard heart, made her stubborn will pliable, set her affections on the flow, her faith in exercise, and made the lock of unbelief draw back more easy. (3.) To exercise and stir up her grace; it is Christ's grace, manifested and applied unto us, that excites ours; it is his love "shed abroad in our hearts by his Spirit," that raises ours; for "we love him, because he first loved us." Now all these ends were answered hereby; it was this grace, this myrrh, left in the handles of the lock, that fetched her off her bed, that softened the hardness of her heart and affections to him, that removed the bars and bolts that kept him out, and drew forth her grace into exercise.
Again, the church's hands and fingers being said to drop with myrrh, which Christ had put into the lock-hole, shows, 1. That all the grace, all the myrrh, that a believer has, comes from Christ; it is from "his fullness we receive grace for grace," that is, all sorts of grace. 2. That a believer has most reason to expect a larger measure of grace from Christ, when he is in the way of his duty; whilst the church was sluggish and slothful, negligent of her duty, and taking her ease upon a bed of security, there is no mention of the flowings of this myrrh into her or upon her; but now she is up, and in the way of her duty, her hands drop with myrrh, and her fingers with sweet-smelling myrrh:" not that our duties are deserving of any thing at Christ's hands, much less such large measures and over-flowings of grace as these; yet Christ has been graciously pleased, for an encouragement, to grant the promise of his presence, and the communications of his grace to us, when found in the way of our duty, though not for the performance of it. How the church succeeded in this attempt of hers, in opening the door, may be seen in the following words.