Jesus Christ the Apple Tree

As the apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my love among the young men. With great delight I sat in his shadow, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. he brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love. (Song of Songs 2:3-4)

I had a minor "eureka" moment recently.

If my mother were still alive it would be around about now that she would start playing Christmas music around the house, and making suggestions as to what we should sing or perform at church this Christmas. She was surprisingly open-minded about such things (for someone who had studied at the Royal Acedemy!) and even arranged White Christmas is a swing band style for the choir one year.

Anyway... one of the songs I used to hear if I was at my parents' house was "Jesus Christ the Apple Tree" - which although sung at Christmas doesn' really have anything to do with Christmas. I had always thought it a bit odd lyrically (it is often referred to as a mystical poem) but also strangely engaging and the melody (and well-known setting by Elizabeth Poston) is beautiful (you can hear a version of it here).

In reading Song of Songs again I suddenly realised that "Jesus Christ the Apple Tree" is not merely a mystical poem, it is a meditation on the verses at the top of this post. For a more wordy meditation on the same verses see this devotion by CH Spurgeon.

So here is the song. It is only let down by the second line of the final stanza, which, if I ever use the song may find "dying" replaced by "living"!

The tree of life my soul hath seen,

Laden with fruit and always green:

The trees of nature fruitless be

Compared with Christ the apple tree.

His beauty doth all things excel:

By faith I know, but ne'er can tell

The glory which I now can see

In Jesus Christ the apple tree.

For happiness I long have sought,

And pleasure dearly I have bought:

I missed of all; but now I see

'Tis found in Christ the apple tree.

I'm weary with my former toil,

Here I will sit and rest awhile:

Under the shadow I will be,

Of Jesus Christ the apple tree.

This fruit doth make my soul to thrive,

It keeps my dying faith alive;

Which makes my soul in haste to be

With Jesus Christ the apple tree.

Comments

[Richard Bentall]

Matthew

the whole of Song of Songs is a great love story of two people, a bit like Christ and the Church. I've found 5 themes for Christ and the Church, and leave yourself to find another 2 for the complete number.... 7
1) Love 8:7
2) Prayers 8:13
3) Yearning 8:14
4) Company 2:14
5) Responding 5:2-8

Richard

[Karen Turner]

"which although sung at Christmas doesn' really have anything to do with Christmas"

It most certainly does. The Tree of Life in the Book of Genesis is a tree planted by God in midst of the Garden of Eden (Paradise), whose fruit gives everlasting life, i.e. immortality. Together with the Tree of Life, God planted the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (Genesis 2:9). After eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, the biblical account states that Adam and Eve were exiled from the Garden of Eden to prevent them from eating of the Tree of Life:

“ And the Lord God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." (Genesis 3:22)

In the New Testament this expulsion from the Garden of Eden os compensated by 'planting' a new Tree of Life: Jesus. Therefore, at christmas mankind was given a new Tree of Life.

[Matthew Ling]

Karen,

I have to agree with you of course! The incarnation is the centre point of history - the realisation of all Old Testament expectation and the revelation of the consummation of God's plan for the universe.

If you go looking you'll find that I have blogged several times on the Tree motif in scripture.

I guess what I meant was "there's no shepherds or wise men in it." Thanks for you thoughts and insights - it lifted my eyes unto Him!

[TFB]

"Let down by the second line of the final stanza"??

No, "dying faith" is right for me. It makes the point that Christ is the source of all life, and that without Jesus even our own boasted personal faith will die away.

This song is the opposite to those immature breezy evangelical hymns where all is easy victory. It is a song for grown-up Christians!