Bible scholars have delighted in interpreting Solomon's ode to romantic love as an allegory picturing the relationship of Christ with His bride, the church. I am sure that Solomon had no such intentions, but there is an interesting parallel. Be this as it may, our text pictures two lovers in a verdant environment, and the bride invites her lover to recline on a grassy knoll in an intimate rendezvous. The bucolic scene indicates a desire to eschew the hubbub and cares of the busy everyday world for a moment of private togetherness. Similar sentiments are expressed by David in his 23 rd Psalm by his desire to lie down in green pastures beside still waters.
John Muir, the well-known naturalist, was born on April 21, 1838 in Dunbar, Scotland. The family immigrated to the United States when he was 11 years old and settled in Wisconsin, where he studied chemistry, geology, and botany. In 1867 he walked all the way from Indianapolis to the Gulf of Mexico. Later on, he was a sheepherder in the central valley of California. In the early spring after the winter snow had melted, he would herd his sheep up into the Sierra mountains, finally arriving at Tuolumne Meadows by midsummer. As a result of these excursions, he became enamored by the natural beauty of Yosemite and was instrumental in it subsequently becoming a national park. As a sheepherder, he had plenty of free time to lie around and meditate. He liked to pick a grassy spot, and while lying on his back look up at the clouds that were passing so closely overhead and imagine all kinds of animals and faces and fantastic forms. In the evenings he would be enthralled with the beauty of the nearby peaks wrapped in alpine glow which gradually faded into the gray of the twilight sky. And as he lay there on a warm summer night, the stars would blaze down at him in their unobstructed brilliance.
Not often do we in our modern day world of asphalt streets, cement sidewalks, and city lights have the opportunity for the John Muir experience. I have been fortunate to spend time in the mountain wilderness, to pitch a tent on a grassy place, to spread my sleeping bag in the open air, to recline in 'utter loaf' on a grassy sward, to look at the clouds and the starry sky unfettered by haze or smog or city lights. At such times one has a feeling of deep contentment and closeness to God and nature. Perhaps this is what Solomon and David were talking about when they expressed a desire for a 'green bed.'
