Sermon 53 on the Song of Songs — Bernard of Clairvaux
That by the Mountains and Hills Are Signified Celestial Spirits, Which the Bridegroom Leaps Over by His Coming to Earth, or by the Mystery of His Incarnation.
1. "The voice of my beloved" (Song 2:8). The bride, seeing the new modesty of the young maidens, and their modest fear, namely that they had newly begun not to dare to intrude upon her holy leisure, nor to presume to be troublesome to her as she rested in contemplation, as yesterday and the day before: she recognizes that this had come about for her by the care and work of the Bridegroom; and exulting in spirit, whether on account of their progress, in that they are restrained from excessive and superfluous restlessness, or on account of her own freer quiet henceforth to come, or even on account of the condescension and favor of the Bridegroom, who so zealously guards this very rest of hers, and with such great zeal defends her most sweet leisure—nay, her most fervent pursuits—she says that the voice of her beloved does this, made unto them for this purpose. For indeed he who presides over others in solicitude scarcely ever, or rarely, securely attends to himself, while he always fears to cause a lack of himself to his subjects, and not to please God, in that he prefers his own quiet and the sweetness of contemplation to the common advantage. But no small joy and security accrues from time to time to one sweetly resting, when, from a certain fear and reverence toward her divinely sent into the hearts of subjects, she understands that her rest is pleasing to God, who causes them to bear their own necessities with a more equable spirit rather than dare rashly to disturb the welcome leisure of their spiritual father. For the just trepidation of the little ones manifestly indicates that they have heard within, as it were, the threatening and rebuking voice, without doubt, of him who speaks in the prophet: "I who speak justice" (Isa 63:1). His voice is his inspiration, and the striking of just fear.
2. Having discovered this voice, therefore, the bride, rejoicing and exulting, says: "The voice of my beloved." She is a friend, and rejoices with joy on account of the voice of the Bridegroom. And she adds: "Behold, he comes leaping upon the mountains, bounding over the hills." Having discovered from the hearing of the voice the presence of the beloved, she without delay directs her well-curious eyes to see him whom she had heard. Hearing leads to sight, because faith comes from hearing (Rom 10:17), by which hearts are cleansed so that God may be seen: for thus you have: "Cleansing their hearts by faith" (Acts 15:9). She sees therefore the one coming, whom she had heard speaking, the Holy Spirit observing also here that order which is described in the Prophet thus: "Hear, O daughter, and see" (Ps 44:11). And that you may more surely notice that it is not by chance or accident, but rather by design and purpose, for the reason, namely, which we set forth above, that hearing is here placed before seeing; see whether this order of words is not found observed also by holy Job, where he speaks thus to God: "By the hearing of the ear I heard you, and now my eye sees you" (Job 42:5). But also where the Holy Spirit is recalled to have descended upon the apostles on the day of Pentecost, is not hearing described as having preceded sight? For it says: "Suddenly there came from heaven a sound as of a rushing mighty wind"; and below: "And there appeared to them divided tongues as of fire" (Acts 2:2, 3). And here therefore the coming of the Holy Spirit is reported to have been perceived first by hearing, then by sight. But enough of this; since you too, if you take care to apply yourself to this kind of inquiry, will perhaps be able to find some similar things in other places of Scripture.
3. Now let us consider that which requires more diligent inquiry, and has more difficult approaches; for which indeed I confess that I altogether need the help of the Holy Spirit, so that I may be able to bring to light who those mountains or hills are, upon which, leaping and bounding over them, the Church beheld the Bridegroom with joyful gaze, I believe, as he hastened to the redemption of her whose beauty he had desired. For indeed I have understood it thus, and not doubtfully, for this reason: because something similar from the Prophet occurs to me, evidently foreseeing in spirit and expressing the coming of the Savior: "In the sun he has set his tabernacle, and he himself as a bridegroom coming forth from his bridal chamber. He exulted as a giant to run his course: from the highest heaven is his going forth, and his circuit unto the highest part thereof" (Ps 18:6, 7). This course and return is most well known; from where, and to what end it was begun and completed, is most well known. What then? Shall we picture to ourselves, whether reading these things in the Psalms or in the present canticle, a man of giant stature, captured by love of some absent little woman, and, while he hastens to the desired embraces, leaping over these mountains and hills which we see rising by their corporeal mass above the flat earth to such a height that some of them are seen to have raised their summit even above the clouds? Truly it is not fitting to imagine corporeal phantasies of this kind, especially when treating this spiritual canticle: but neither is it in any way permitted to us, who remember having read in the Gospel that "God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit" (Jn 4:24).
4. Who then are these spiritual mountains and hills, so that we may afterward consequently recognize what kind and what manner of leaps the Bridegroom (who is God, and therefore also spirit) gave upon them, or over them? If we think of those in which the Gospel relates that ninety-nine sheep were once left, when the pious shepherd came to seek on earth the one that had perished (Mt 18:12); the matter is nonetheless still in obscurity, and the understanding halts: since it is difficult to discover what or what kind of other spiritual mountains or hills likewise those spiritual and super-celestial blessednesses (for they themselves are without doubt the sheep which are there mentioned) have for dwelling in, or being pastured upon. Nevertheless, if some did not exist in truth, the Truth would not have said this. Nor would the Prophet long before have declared of the heavenly city Jerusalem that "its foundations are in the holy mountains" (Ps 86:1), if there were not truly holy mountains there. Finally, that that celestial habitation truly has not only spiritual, but also living and rational mountains and hills, hear Isaiah: "The mountains and the hills shall sing praises before God" (Isa 55:12).
5. Who then are these, if not those same spirits who inhabit the heavens, whom by the Lord's voice we have said are called sheep, so that they themselves are the mountains who are the sheep? Unless perhaps it seems absurd to you that either mountains are pastured upon mountains, or sheep upon sheep. And according to the letter indeed it sounds harsh; but according to the spiritual understanding it has a sweet taste, if we subtly observe how the pastor of both flocks, namely Christ the wisdom of God, administers one and the same pasture of truth in one way on earth, in another way among his heavenly flocks. For we mortal men in the meantime in the place of our pilgrimage must eat our bread in the sweat of our face, begging it from outside in labor and hardship; that is, either from learned men, or from sacred books, or certainly, through the things that have been made, beholding the invisible things of God understood. But the angels in all fullness, if not from themselves, yet in themselves, receive with as much ease as felicity that by which they also live blessedly. For they are all taught of God: which the elect of men are promised with certain truth to attain one day, but are not yet granted to experience with secure felicity.
6. Mountains are pastured upon mountains, therefore, or sheep upon sheep, when indeed those heavenly spiritual substances find abundantly within themselves, from the Word of life, that by which they perpetuate their blessed life; they themselves being both mountains and sheep: mountains, on account of their fullness or loftiness; sheep, on account of their meekness. Full indeed of God, lofty in merits, heaped with virtues, they nonetheless submit and incline their upraised summits with total and humble obedience to the command of that far surpassing majesty, as most meek sheep walking in all things at the nod of their shepherd, and following him wherever he goes. And in these, according to the prophet David, truly holy mountains, as it were the first-created wisdom, the foundations of the city of the Lord from the beginning stand firmly established (Ps 86:1); which city is assuredly one in heaven and on earth, although partly on pilgrimage, and partly reigning. And from these likewise, according to Isaiah, as from certain living cymbals sounding well, continual thanksgiving resounds, and the voice of praise (Isa 51:3), filling with sweet and unceasing voice what we recalled a little earlier from the same Prophet, that "the mountains and the hills shall sing praises before God": and likewise what that other one says, speaking to the Lord God: "Blessed are those who dwell in your house, O Lord: they shall praise you forever and ever" (Ps 83:5).
7. These therefore—that we may return to that from which we have digressed a little, but, I think, necessarily—these are the mountains and hills upon which the Church saw the heavenly Bridegroom leaping with wondrous eagerness, as he hastened to her embraces; and not only leaping, but also bounding over them. Do you wish me to demonstrate these leaps to you from the writings of the prophets and apostles? Not that I am now about to begin to rehearse all the testimonies that can be found concerning this matter among them by those at leisure (for this would be long, and there is no need); but I set forth only those that seem briefly and clearly to establish what is said about the leaps of the Bridegroom. David says of him that "he set his tabernacle in the sun, and he himself as a bridegroom coming forth from his bridal chamber: he exulted as a giant to run his course, from the highest heaven is his going forth" (Ps 18:6, 7). Behold what a great leap he gave, from the highest heaven to earth! For indeed I do not find elsewhere where he set his tabernacle in the sun, that is, where the dweller in inaccessible light deigned to display his presence in the light and in the open, except assuredly on earth. Finally: "On earth he was seen, and he conversed with men" (Bar 3:38). On earth, I say, openly, which is "in the sun," he set his tabernacle, namely the body, which he deigned to fashion for himself from the body of the Virgin for this purpose, that in it he, invisible in himself, might be seen; and thus all flesh might see the salvation of God, since he had come in the flesh.
8. He leaped therefore upon the mountains, that is, upon those supreme spirits, when he descended even to them, graciously revealing to them the mystery hidden from the ages, and the great mystery of godliness. But bounding over these higher and more eminent mountains, namely the cherubim and seraphim, and also the dominations, principalities and powers, and the virtues, he deigned to descend even to the lower order of angels, as to the hills. But did he even remain among them? He bounded over the hills also. For, it says, "not angels, but the seed of Abraham he takes hold of" (Heb 2:16), which is assuredly lower than the angels, so that the word might be fulfilled which the aforementioned Prophet spoke, saying thus to the Father concerning the Son: "You have made him a little less than the angels" (Ps 8:6). Although this can indeed be understood as said in commendation of human nature, in that man, made in the image and likeness of God, and endowed with reason in the likeness assuredly of an angel, yet differs a little from the angel on account of his body from the earth. But hear the apostle Paul openly declaring concerning him: "Who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God: because he emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and found in appearance as a man" (Phil 2:6, 7); and again: "When the fullness of time had come," he says, "God sent his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, that he might redeem those who were under the law" (Gal 4:4, 5). He therefore who was made of a woman, and made under the law, without doubt not only bounded over the mountains, that is, the greater and higher blessednesses, but also the lesser angels by descending, who indeed in comparison with the higher ones are deservedly designated by the name of hills. For the rest, he who is lesser in the kingdom of heaven is greater than anyone bearing flesh upon the earth, even if that one be the great John the Baptist (Lk 7:28). For even though we confess that God as man also surpasses by far, incomparably, all principality and power; it is certain, however, that although he goes before in majesty, yet in infirmity he succumbed. Thus therefore he leaped upon the mountains, and bounded over the hills, when he most graciously showed himself lower not only than the higher, but also than the lower spirits. And not only to those heavenly spirits, but also to those very ones who inhabit houses of clay, did he show himself subject, bounding over and surpassing in humility even the humility of men. For he was indeed subject to Mary and Joseph, when he was twelve years old, at Nazareth (Lk 2:51, 42): and at the Jordan he inclined himself, now a young man, to the hands of John (Mt 3:13). But the day has declined, and it does not yet please us altogether to descend from these mountains.
9. For the rest, if on this occasion we should wish to explore all the pleasant places of these mountains as it delights us, and to search out their hidden things; it is to be feared that either the discourse may lack pleasing brevity, or the generous and excellent matter may be cheated of due diligence by haste. Let us pause therefore today, if it please you, upon these mountains; since it is good for us to be here, where, placed in a place of pasture by Christ the shepherd together with the holy angels, we are both more pleasantly and more abundantly fed. For we too are sheep of his pasture. Let us therefore ruminate, as clean animals of the good shepherd, what we have swallowed with total eagerness in today's sermon; being about to receive more attentively in another sermon the remaining parts of this same passage, by the generosity of the Bridegroom of the Church, Jesus Christ our Lord, who is God over all things, blessed forever. Amen.
Translated from the Latin by AI. Source: Migne, Patrologia Latina 183.