The Song of Solomon : and the Lamentations of Jeremiah

V. 19-22.] THE EVERLASTING THRONE 337
He has experienced what the author of the Epistle to
the Hebrews describes as " the removing of those
things that are shaken, as of things that have been
made, that those things which are not shaken may
remain." ^ The throne of David has been swept away ;
but above the earthly wreck the throne of God stands
firm, all the more clearly visible now that the distracting
influence of the lower object has vanished, all the more
valuable now that no other refuge can be found. Men
fall like leaves in autumn ; one generation follows
another in the swift march to death ; dynasties which
outlive many generations have their day, to be succeeded
by others of an equally temporary character ; kingdoms
reach their zenith, decline and fall. God only remains,
eternal, unchangeable. His is the only throne that
stands secure above every revolution.
The unwavering faith of our poet is apparent at this
point after it has been tried by the most severe tests.
Jerusalem has been destroyed, her king has fallen into
the hands of the enemy, her people have been scattered ;
and yet the elegist has not the faintest doubt that her
God remains and that His throne is steadfast, immov-
able, everlasting. This faith reveals a conviction far
in advance of that of the surrounding heathen. The
common idea was that the defeat of a people was also
the defeat of their gods. If the national divinities
were not exterminated they were flung down from their
thrones, and reduced to the condition of jms—demons
who avenged themselves on their conquerors by annoying
them whenever an opportunity for doing so
arose, but with greatly crippled resources. No such
notion is ever entertained by the author of these poems
' Heb. xii. 27.