Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Song of Solomon 8:1
O that thou [wast] as my brother, that sucked the breasts of my mother! [when] I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yea, I should not be despised.
Ch. Son 8:1. O that thou wert as my brother ] As should probably be omitted, as the accidental repetition of the last letter of the preceding word. She wishes that her lover were her brother. That she should wish that being her lover he were in the same position in regard to her as a brother would have occupied, does not seem to be likely. What she desires is freedom to love him and to express that love. Had he been her brother she would have had that liberty. Only the uterine brother and the father’s brother’s son have among the Bedawin the right to kiss a maiden. Cp. Wetzstein, ZDMG. XXII. pp. 93, 108. Such a wish as this seems quite incompatible with the view that the Song is a collection of songs sung at weddings after the marriage has been consummated.
when I should find thee without, I would kiss thee ] Better, so that, should I find thee without, I might kiss thee, and yet none would despise me. She would in that case be doing nothing unmaidenly, nothing for which she could be held in contempt, in shewing her love.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Chap. Son 7:7 Chap. Son 8:4. The King and the Shepherdess the last Assault
We may suppose that after her attendants have completed the Shulammite’s adornment, and have finished their fulsome praises of her beauty, she receives a new visit from the king. In Son 7:7-9 he gives utterance to his admiration in more sensuous terms than ever, and in Son 7:9 b she turns his talk aside, and dwells upon her lover. In Son 7:10 she gives her final answer in the exclamation that she belongs to him alone. The king then withdraws, and in Son 7:11-13 she lets her heart go out to her absent lover, and calls upon him to go back with her into their obscure but happy country life. In Son 8:1-3 she expresses a wish that he were her brother, so that she might love him without reproach, and concludes in Son 7:4 with a modification of the adjuration in Son 2:7 and Son 3:5.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Royal rank and splendor are grown wearisome. The king once called her sister and sister-bride. Would he were indeed as a brother, her mothers own child whom she might meet, embrace, and welcome everywhere without restraint or shame. Her love for him is simple, sacred, pure, free from the unrest and the stains of mere earthly passion.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
CHAPTER VIII
The love of the bride to her spouse, and the nature of that
love, 1-7.
The younger sister, 8-10.
Solomon’s vineyard, 11, 12.
The confidence of the bride and bridegroom in each other,
13, 14.
NOTES ON CHAP. VIII
Verse 1. O that thou wert as my brother] The bride, fearing that her fondness for her spouse might be construed into too great a familiarity, wishes that he were her little brother; and then she might treat him in the most affectionate manner, and kiss him even in the streets without suspicion, and without giving offense to any one.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Oh that thou wert as my brother, most intimate, and free, and familiar with me, as brethren and sisters commonly are,
that sucked the breasts of my mother! that came out of the same womb, and sucked the same breasts, and consequently were brother and sister by father and mother too; for such are most dear to one another. See Gen 43:29; Deu 13:6. Heb. sucking the breasts, &c.; so she wisheth that he were as a little sucking brother, with whom she might innocently and inoffensively delight herself, as sister: do with such a brother. The church here expresseth her passionate desire of a stricter union and closer communion with Christ than yet she had attained. And in particular these may be the breathings of the ancient Jewish church after Christs incarnation, whereby he was to be their brother, Rom 8:29; Heb 2:11,12, and a sucking infant.
Without; in the open streets; I might then express my affections to thee, and kiss thee openly, without any scandal or contempt. Or, without, i.e. come forth from the Fathers bosom into the world, Joh 16:28.
I would kiss thee; I would demonstrate my reverence, and subjection, and affection to thee, of all which kissing was a token in those times and places, as hath been oft observed in divers foregoing texts.
Yet I should not be despised; then should I not be ashamed or censured, as if I had done an indecent or immodest action, because such expressions of love are usual amongst persons so nearly and dearly related.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
1. He had been a brotheralready. Why, then, this prayer here? It refers to the time after Hisresurrection, when the previous outward intimacy with Him wasno longer allowed, but it was implied it should be renewed at thesecond coming (Joh 20:17). Forthis the Church here prays; meanwhile she enjoys inwardspiritual communion with Him. The last who ever “kissed”Jesus Christ on earth was the traitor Judas. The bride’s return withthe King to her mother’s house answers to Ac8:25, after the mission to Samaria. The rest spoken of (So8:4) answers to Ac 9:31.
that sucked . . . motherabrother born of the same mother; the closest tie.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
O that thou [wert] as my brother,…. Or, “who will give thee as a brother to me?” q an usual form of wishing, De 5:29
Ps 14:7. The church here not only requests that Christ would be like a brother to her, but appear to be really one, and to act the part of one towards her; with whom she might as freely converse as brother and sister may. Several Jewish r writers own, that the King Messiah is intended here; and in such a relation Christ does stand to his church and people, by virtue of his incarnation, Heb 2:11; hence many of the ancients take this to be a wish of the Jewish church, for the coming of Christ in the flesh; and also through their adoption, he and they having one Father, Joh 20:17; and by being of a like nature, disposition, and practice, Mt 12:50; as well as on the score of love and friendship, Pr 18:24; and this relation Christ fills up, by the intimacy and familiarity he uses them with; by his compassion on them, and sympathy with them, in all their afflictions; by the help, aid, and relief, he gives them; by his condescension to their weaknesses, and by his great love and affection for them. As a further description of him as a brother, it is added,
that sucked the breasts of my mother; which may denote the truth and reality of Christ’s incarnation, being a sucking infant: and the near relation of Christ to his people, being a brother by the mother’s side, reckoned the nearest, and their affection to each other the strongest: by her “mother” may be meant Jerusalem above, the mother of us all; and, by her “breasts”, the ordinances, of which Christ, as man, partook when on earth, and now may be said to suck, as formed in the hearts of his people;
[when] I should find thee without; or, “in the street” s; in public ordinances, where Christ is to be found; or outside of Judea, in the Gentile world, where, after his coming in the flesh, his Gospel was preached, the ordinances administered, and he was there to be found; or in the most public place and manner, where she should not be ashamed to own him, his truths and ordinances, before men;
I would kiss thee; not only with a kiss of approbation, Pr 24:16; but of love and affection, of faith and confidence, of homage and subjection, of worship and adoration; see Ps 2:12; this is an usage with relations and friends, brothers and sisters, at meeting; hence Heunischius refers this to the time when the saints shall meet Christ in the clouds, who will be admitted to the nearest embraces of him, with unspeakable pleasure, and enjoy him to all eternity;
yea, I should not be despised; for taking such freedom with Christ, her brother. Or, “they would not despise me” t; neither men nor angels, for such an action, and still less God, the Father, Son, and Spirit; which she might conclude from the relation between them, it being no more unseemly than for a sister to use such freedom with an own brother, even in the street; and from the reception she had reason to believe she should meet with from Christ: who would not turn away his face from her, when she offered to kiss him, which would occasion shame and blushing. The whole expresses her boldness in professing Christ, without fear or shame, in the most public manner.
q “quis det te?” Pagninus, Montanus, Marckius. r Targum in loc. Zohar in Gen. fol. 104. 1. Tzeror Hammor, fol. 73. 3. Caphtor Uperah, fol. 5. 2. s “in platen”, Montanus, Brightman, Marckius; “in publico”, Cocceius, Michaelis. t “non contemnent, vel contemnerent me”, Montanus, Brightman, Marckius.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
If Solomon now complies with her request, yields to her invitation, then she will again see her parental home, where, in the days of her first love, she laid up for him that which was most precious, that she might thereby give him joy. Since she thus places herself with her whole soul back again in her home and amid its associations, the wish expressed in these words that follow rises up within her in the childlike purity of her love:
1 O that thou wert like a brother to me,
Who sucked my mother’s breasts!
If I found thee without, I would kiss thee;
They also could not despise me.
2 I would lead thee, bring thee into my mother’s house;
Thou wouldest instruct me –
I would give thee to drink spiced wine,
The must of my pomegranates.
Solomon is not her brother, who, with her, hung upon the same mother’s breast; but she wishes, carried away in her dream into the reality of that she wished for, that she had him as her brother, or rather, since she says, not , but (with , which here has not, as at Psa 35:14, the meaning of tanquam , but of instar , as at Job 24:14), that she had in him what a brother is to a sister. In that case, if she found him without, she would kiss him (hypoth. fut. in the protasis, and fut. without Vav in the apodosis, as at Job 20:24; Hos 8:12; Psa 139:18) – she could do this without putting any restraint on herself for the sake of propriety (cf. the kiss of the wanton harlot, Pro 7:13), and also ( ) without needing to fear that they who saw it would treat it scornfully ( , as in the reminiscence, Pro 6:30). The close union which lies in the sisterly relationship thus appeared to her to be higher than the near connection established by the marriage relationship, and her childlike feeling deceived her not: the sisterly relationship is certainly purer, firmer, more enduring than that of marriage, so far as this does not deepen itself into an equality with the sisterly, and attain to friendship, yea, brotherhood (Pro 17:17), within. That Shulamith thus feels herself happy in the thought that Solomon was to her as a brother, shows, in a characteristic manner, that “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life,” were foreign to her. If he were her brother, she would take him by the hand,
(Note: Ben-Asher punctuates . Thus also P. rightly. Ben-Naphtali, on the contrary, punctuates . Cf. Genesis (1869), p. 85, note 3.)
and bring him into her mother’s house, and he would then, under the eye of their common mother, become her teacher, and she would become his scholar. The lxx adds, after the words “into my mother’s house,” the phrase, , cf. Son 3:4. In the same manner also the Syr., which has not read the words following, which are found in some Codd. of the lxx. Regarding the word telammedene (thou wouldest instruct me) as incongruous, Hitzig asks: What should he then teach her? He refers it to her mother: “who would teach me,” namely, from her own earlier experience, how I might do everything rightly for him. “Were the meaning,” he adds, “ he should do it, then also it is she who ought to be represented as led home by him into his house, the bride by the bridegroom.” But, correctly, Jerome, the Venet., and Luther: “Thou wouldest (shouldest) instruct me;” also the Targ.: “I would conduct thee, O King Messiah, and bring Thee into the house of my sanctuary; and Thou wouldest teach me ( ) to fear God and to walk in His ways.” Not her mother, but Solomon, is in possession of the wisdom which she covets; and if he were her brother, as she wishes, then she would constrain him to devote himself to her as her teacher. The view, favoured by Leo Hebraeus ( Dialog. de amore, c. III), John Pordage ( Metaphysik, III 617 ff.), and Rosenmller, and which commends itself, after the analogy of the Gtagovinda, Boethius, and Dante, and appears also to show itself in the Syr. title of the book, “Wisdom of the Wise,” that Shulamith is wisdom personified (cf. also Son 8:2 with Pro 9:2, and Pro 8:3; Pro 2:6 with Pro 4:8), shatters itself against this ; the fact is rather the reverse: Solomon is wisdom in person, and Shulamith is the wisdom-loving soul,
(Note: Cf. my Das Hohelied unter. u. ausg. (1851), pp. 65-73.)
– for Shulamith wishes to participate in Solomon’s wisdom. What a deep view the “Thou wouldest teach me” affords into Shulamith’s heart! She knew how much she yet came short of being to him all that a wife should be. But in Jerusalem the bustle of court life and the burden of his regal duties did not permit him to devote himself to her; but in her mother’s house, if he were once there, he would instruct her, and she would requite him with her spiced wine and with the juice of the pomegranates.
, vinum conditura, is appos. = genitiv. , vinum conditurae ( in Dioscorides and Pliny), like , Psa 6:5, 1Ki 22:27, etc., vid., Philippi’s Stat. Const. p. 86. carries forward in a beautiful play upon words. designates the juice as pressed out: the Chald. corresponds to the Heb. , used of treading the grapes. It is unnecessary to render as apoc. plur., like , Psa 45:9 (Ewald, 177 a); rimmoni is the name she gives to the pomegranate trees belonging to her, – for it is true that this word, rimmon , can be used in a collective sense (Deu 8:8); but the connection with the possessive suff. excludes this; or by ‘asis rimmoni she means the pomegranate must (cf. = vinum e punicis , in Dioscorides and Pliny) belonging to her. Pomegranates are not to be thought of as an erotic symbol;
(Note: Vid., Porphyrius, de Abstin. iv. 16, and Inman in his smutty book, Ancient Faiths, vol. I 1868, according to which the pomegranate is an emblem of “a full womb.”)
they are named as something beautiful and precious. “O Ali,” says a proverb of Sunna, “eat eagerly only pomegranates (Pers. anar ), for their grains are from Paradise.”
(Note: Vid., Fleischer’s Catal. Codd. Lips. p. 428.)
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| The Love of the Church to Christ. | |
1 O that thou wert as my brother, that sucked the breasts of my mother! when I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yea, I should not be despised. 2 I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother’s house, who would instruct me: I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate. 3 His left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should embrace me. 4 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, until he please.
Here, I. The spouse wishes for a constant intimacy and freedom with the Lord Jesus. She was already betrothed to him, but, the nuptials being yet not solemnized and published (the bride, the Lamb’s wife, will not be completely ready till his second coming), she was obliged to be shy and to keep at some distance; she therefore wishes she may be taken for his sister, he having called her so (ch. v. 1), and that she might have the same chaste and innocent familiarity with him that a sister has with a brother, an own brother, that sucked the breasts of the same mother with her, who would therefore be exceedingly tender of her, as Joseph was of his brother Benjamin. Some make this to be the prayer of the Old-Testament saints for the hastening of Christ’s incarnation, that the church might be the better acquainted with him, when, forasmuch as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he should also himself likewise take part of the same, and not be ashamed to call them brethren. It is rather the wish of all believers for a more intimate communion with him, that they might receive the Spirit of sanctification, and so Christ must be as their brother, that is, that they might be as his brethren, which then they are when by grace they are made partakers of a divine nature, and he that sanctifies, and those that are sanctified, are both of one, Heb. ii. 11, c. It becomes brethren and sisters, the children of the same parents, that have been nursed at the same breast, to be very loving to and tender of one another such a love the spouse desires might be between her and her beloved, that she might call him brother. 2. She promises herself then the satisfaction of making a more open profession of her relation to him than at present she could make: “When I should find thee without, any where, even before company, I would kiss thee, as a sister does her own brother, especially her little brother that is now sucking the breasts of her mother” (for so some understand it); “I would use all the decent freedom with thee that could be, and should not be despised for it, as doing any thing unbecoming the modesty of my sex.” The church, since Christ’s incarnation, can better own him than she could before, when she would have been laughed at for being so much in love with one that was not yet born. Christ has become as our brother; wherever we find him, therefore, let us be ready to own our relation to him and affection for him, and not fear being despised for it, nor regard that any more than David did when he danced before the ark. If this be to be vile, I will be yet more vile. Nay, let us hope that we shall not be despised so much as some imagine. Of the maid-servants of whom thou hast spoken I shall be had in honour. Wherever we find the image of Christ, though it be without, among those that do not follow him with us, we must love it, and testify that love, and we shall not be despised for it, but catholic charity will gain us respect. 3. She promises to improve the opportunity she should then have for cultivating an acquaintance with him (v. 2): “I would lead thee, as my brother, by the arm, and hang upon thee; I would show thee all the house of my precious things, would bring thee into my mother’s house, into the church, into the solemn assemblies (ch. iii. 4), into my closet” (for there the saints have most familiar communion with Christ), “and there thou wouldst instruct me” (so some read it), as brethren inform their sisters of what they desire to be instructed in. Those that know Christ shall be taught of him; and therefore we should desire communion with Christ that we may receive instruction from him. He has come that he might give us an understanding. Or, “My mother would instruct me when I have thee with me.” It is the presence of Christ in and with his church that makes the word and ordinances instructive to her children, who shall all be taught of God. 4. She promises him to bid him welcome to the best she had; she would cause him to drink of her spiced wine and the juice of her pomegranate, and bid him welcome to it, wishing it better for his sake. The exercise of grace and the performance of duty are spiced wine to the Lord Jesus, very acceptable to him, as expressive of a grateful sense of his favours. Those that are pleased with Christ must study to be pleasing to him; and they will not find him hard to be pleased. He reckons hearty welcome his best entertainment; and, if he have that, he will bring his entertainment along with him. 5. She doubts not but to experience his tender care of her and affection to her (v. 3), that she should be supported by his power and kept from fainting in the hardest services and sufferings (His left hand shall be under my head) and that she should be comforted with his love–His right hand should embrace me. Thus Christ laid his right hand upon John when he was ready to die away, Rev. i. 17. See also Dan 10:10; Dan 10:18. It may be read as it is ch. ii. 6, His left hand is under my head (for the words are the same in the original) and so it expresses an immediate answer to her prayer; she was answered with strength in her soul, Ps. cxxxviii. 3. While we are following hard after Christ his right hand sustains us, Ps. lxiii. 8. Underneath are the everlasting arms. 6. She charges those about her to take heed of doing any thing to interrupt the pleasing communion she now had with her beloved (v. 4), as she had done before, when he thus strengthened and comforted her with his presence (ch. ii. 7): Let me charge you, O you daughters of Jerusalem, and reason with you, Why should you stir up, and why should you awake, my love, until he will? The church, our common mother, charges all her children that they never do any thing to provoke Christ to withdraw, which we are very prone to do. Why should you put such an affront upon him? Why should you be such enemies to yourselves? We should thus reason with ourselves when we are tempted to do that which will grieve the Spirit. “What! Am I weary of Christ’s presence, that I affront him and provoke him to depart from me? Why should I do that which he will take so unkindly and which I shall certainly repent of?”
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
SONG OF SOLOMON CHAPTER 8
DESIRES OF THE SHULAMITE BRIDE
Verses 1-2 reveal a hypothetical wish of the Shulamite that she could better express her love for her spouse; that she could talk with him about it more freely as she formerly discussed private matters with her brother or mother. She would like for her mother to teach her the fine points of expressing married love. The precise significance of the pomegranate wine or juice in this setting is not clear.
Verse 3 repeats the Son 2:6 longing of the Shulamite for the embrace of her beloved.
Verse 4 repeats the refrain of Son 2:7 and Son 3:5.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
THE CHURCH IN CHRISTS EYES
Song of Solomon 3-8.
THE reader of this volume will recall that in the introduction, taken bodily from Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, we quoted Origen and James as having said that the Jews forbade the reading of this volume by any man until he was thirty years old.
But recently I had in my pulpit a blessed minister of the Gospel, a man of deeply spiritual mind, who is in his sixty-fifth year, and when I asked him what he thought of the Song of Solomon, he answered instantly, Up to the present I have never dared to attempt its interpretation.
As is said in the introduction, It certainly needs a degree of spiritual maturity to enter aright into the holy mystery of love which it allegorically sets forth. To such as have attained this maturity, to whatever age they may have reached, the Song of Solomon is one of the most edifying of the Sacred Writings.
Since the commencement of this series, the Book has constantly grown upon us, until we regret our decision to contribute so few chapters to the same. However, the plan laid out for the forty volumes that make up this work is such that we cannot rearrange at this date. We proceed however, with the consciousness that scores of its suggestive texts are either passed over in entire silence, or touched but superficially, in this brief treatment.
Taking up, therefore, this extensive Scripture lesson of five chapters, we prefer to discuss them
under the following suggestions: Christ Beholds Great Beauty in His Bride, Her Indifference is Truly Heart-Breaking, But Her Neglect is Soon Forgotten and Forgiven.
CHRIST BEHOLDS GREAT BEAUTY IN HIS BRIDE
Behold, thou art fair, My love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves eyes within thy locks: thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead.
Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which came up from the washing; whereof every one bear twins, and none is barren among them.
Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely: thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks.
Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armoury, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men.
Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies.
Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense.
Thou art all fair, My love; there is no spot in thee.
The figures employed are rural and oriental. It will be remembered that in the New Testament Christ turned to nature again and again for illustrations. His parables involve the sower and the seed, the tares, the mustard seed, the laborers in the vineyard, the wicked husbandmen, the seed growing secretly, the lost sheep, the unprofitable servants, and so forth.
Here also the open country makes matchless contributions. The doves eyes, the silken black hair of the goats, the flock of freshly sheared and washed white sheep, the thread of scarlet , the pomegranate, the two young roesall of these are figures of the beauty found in the features of His Brideher eyes like the doves eyes; her hair like the goats hair; her white teeth like the washed and even shorn sheep; her lips like the thread of scarlet, her temples like the pomegranate, and so forth.
It is a suggestive thing (and yet one that finds easy explanation, since Christ was God, and hence all wisdom was with Him) that He employed figures, the meaning of which time does not destroy nor world-changes deleteriously affect.
Figures from city life are not so lasting as those of country life. In cities, changes are too rapid and radical. But not so with the open spaces of natures face. To this hour there is not a parable of the New Testament that is not clearly, and even easily, understood; and to this good hour also the figures here found are of ready comprehension. The doves eyes are soft, kindly and beautiful; the black hair of the oriental goat is silken indeed; the even shorn and freshly washed flock of sheep are to this day the figures of white and splendid teeth; the thread of scarlet a hint of healthy and beautiful lips; and the pomegranate a picture of temples shining through the locks.
It is a habit of true love to see in nature likenesses of physical and mental graces; and, though the language of these six verses may seem to some exorbitant, they are to the eyes of affection, suggestive but inadequate.
His affection is such as sees no faults.
Thou art all fair, My love; there is no spot in thee (Son 4:7).
Possibly among the New Testament chapters few are so uniformly popular as 1 Corinthians 13.
It is a dissertation on love. In that discussion Paul says love thinketh no evil. In fact, loves eye is blind to defects in its subject. There may be short-comings, but it does not dwell upon them.
It is glorious to believe that Christ beholds only the beauty of the Church; that to Him she is all fair; that He overlooks her defects, and sees her as she shall eventually be, the Holy City, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of Heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. There can be little doubt that the seven Churches of Asia were rather poor specimens of spiritual life, faulty and defective in the last degree, and yet, how much of beauty He beheld in them! At Ephesus He commended the works, and labor and patience; of the people of Smyrna He dwelt upon their works, and tribulation, and poverty; and of Pergamos, their works in an evil station and their exemplary discipline; at Thyatira He thought of their works, and charity, and faith, and patience; at Sardis He sought out the few who had not defiled their garments and promised them that they should walk with Him in white; at Philadelphia He rejoiced that they had kept the Word of His patience and promised to keep them against the hour of temptation; and even at Laodicea, where so little was commendatory, He counselled them to buy of Him gold tried in the fire, that they might be rich; and white raiment that they might be clothed. There were defects in each of these Churches, glaring and terrible. He only called attention to them to correct them, and gave the major portion of each Letter to commendation. Love thinketh no evil.
The fellowship of love is the Lords desire.
Come with Me from Lebanon, My spouse, with Me from Lebanon: look from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon, from the lions dens, from the mountains of the leopards.
Thou hast ravished My heart, My sister. My spouse; thou hast ravished My heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck.
How fair is thy love, My sister, My spouse! how much better is thy love than wine! and the smell of thine ointments than all spices!
Thy lips, O My spouse, drop as the honeycomb: honey and milk are under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon.
A garden inclosed is My sister, My spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.
Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard,
Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices:
A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon (Son 4:8-15).
It might almost seem a strange thing for Christ to crave fellowship. In His Deity one would imagine He would find a sufficiency; such infinite fullness, such perfect conscience, such conscious power, such wisdom that one would suppose He had no need of anything outside of His perfect Self. But the Scriptures do not so present Him.
The greatest and best of men love their fellows. They crave fellowship and seek companionship.
He chose twelve that He might be in a college fraternity, and out of the Twelve He selected three as His intimates. There was never a crisis in His life that He did not long to have the three share the same with Him. Possibly of all the pathetic things recorded of Jesus, the Master, none more pathetic than His appeal to these three that they watch with Him in the hour of His great agony, and His pathetic disappointment at finding them sleeping when the sorrows that rolled over His soul were such that even human companionship seemed a partial but necessary antidote.
We do not believe that we are straining the text a bit when we say,
Come with Me from Lebanon, My spouse, with Me from Lebanon.
Thou hast ravished My heart, My sister, My spouse; thou hast ravished My heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck.
How fair is thy love, My sister, My spouse! how much better is thy love than wine! and the smell of thine ointments than all spices!
Thy lips, O My spouse, drop as the honeycomb: honey and milk are under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon.
A garden inclosed is My sister, My spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.
Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard,
Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices;
A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon,
is a cry for the fellowship of love.
He indulges in a riot of words to express the craving for affection.
Ive found a Friend; oh, such a Friend!
He loved me ere I knew Him;
He drew me with the cords of love,
And thus He bound me to Him.
And round my heart still closely twine
Those ties which naught can sever,
For I am His and He is mine,
For ever and for ever!
Ive found a Friend; oh, such a Friend!
He bled, He died to save me;
And not alone the gift of life,
But His own Self He gave me;
Naught that I have my own I call,
I hold it for the Giver:
My heart, my strength, my life, my all,
Are His, and His for ever!
Ive found a Friend; oh, such a Friend!
So kind, and true, and tender,
So wise a Counsellor and Guide,
So mighty a Defender!
From Him, who loves me now so well,
What power my soul can sever?
Shall life? or death? shall earth? or hell?
No! I am His for ever!
HER INDIFFERENCE IS HEART-BREAKING
She sleeps while He knocks and waits.
I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my Beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to Me, My sister, My love, My dove, My undefiled: for My head is filled with dew, and My locks with the drops of the night.
I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?
My Beloved put in His hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for Him.
I rose up to open to my Beloved; and my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh, upon the handles of the lock.
I opened to my Beloved; but my Beloved had withdrawn Himself, and was gone: my soul failed when He spake: I sought Him, but I could not find Him; I called Him, but He gave me no answer (Son 5:2-6).
What a picture this of the Church! How many congregations all across this country sleep; and for that matter, in every country these sleeping churches are found. A noted statistician called attention a year or two ago to the circumstance that in three denominations in America over eleven thousand churches had not seen a single soul saved in a twelfth month. Sleeping!
It reminds us of Holman Hunts famous painting of Christ knocking at the door. The door had rusty hinges, and the vines had grown over it showing how long it had been closed; and the fact that it did not open is a further indication of the certainty that only death reigned within.
This is not only a picture of the church at its best; but sad to say, it is a picture of the best of the church, under some conditions. Unquestionably James, Peter and John were the choice spirits in the apostolic college; if anybody could be looked to, to watch, when needed, they were the ones, and on that very account they were selected for that awful night of His betrayal and arrest. And yet, while the diabolical deed of Judas is being carried out these three choice spirits slept.
We have a custom, I fear, of imagining ourselves more awake in this church than we are. The circumstances that no year goes by without seeing a considerable number of souls brought to Christ, leads us to feel that we are not asleep; but, alas, for the facts that we have to face upon a little reflection. Hundreds of our members in this church never speak to a single person on spiritual matters; and even those of us who are looked upon as leaders, are often sound asleep at the time when our opportunity of service is not only greatest but most sorely needed.
We have a notion that there is a dual sense to Solomons proverb:
Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:
Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,
Provided her meat in the summer, and gathered her food in the harvest.
How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?
Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:
So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.
There is a spiritual poverty that is even greater than the financial, and there is a soul-lethergy that exceeds that of bodily indolence. Think of the time that Jesus
Took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray.
And as He prayed, the fashion of His countenance was altered, and His raiment was white and glistening.
And, behold, there talked with Him two men, winch were Moses and Elias:
Who appeared in glory, and spake of His decease which He should accomplish at Jerusalem.
But Peter and they that were with Him were heavy with sleep (Luk 9:28-32).
How strange, you say! How almost unthinkable that men should sleep under such circumstances! Asleep! at a time when they were called to pray and yet were asleep; at a moment when Heavenly visitors were present; and still more, asleep through the very hour of Christs glorification.
Doubtless these things are recorded as our warning; and yet it must be confessed that we learn not from them. It is little wonder that Paul wrote to the Thessalonians of the Coming of the Lord,
But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that Day should overtake you as a thief.
Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.
But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation (1Th 5:4-8).
We speak sometimes of a revival. What does it mean? It really means a waking up of the Church. How greatly is that needed! Of all the Prophets of the Old Testament Isaiah is truly the evangel. It is interesting to run through his Volume and see how often he calls upon the people of God to awake, anticipating the day of the Lords Coming,
Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise (Isa 26:19). And then his appeal to his people, Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city. * * Shake thyself from the dust. * * For thus saith the Lord, Ye have sold yourselves for nought (Isa 52:1-3). Then still further, Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.
Not once, but often do we hear some man in impassioned prayer calling upon God in this language: O wake us up! and there is occasion.
James Montgomery must have been dwelling upon the very language of the Prophet Isaiah when he wrote:
Awake, awake; put on thy strength,
Thy beautiful array;
The day of freedom dawns at length,
The Lords appointed day.
Rebuild thy walls, thy bounds enlarge,
And send thy heralds forth;
Say to the south, Give up thy charge,
And Keep not back, O north!
She responds only when it is too late.
I opened to my Beloved; but my Beloved had withdrawn Himself, and was gone: my soul failed when He spake: I sought Him, but I could not find Him; I called Him, but He gave me no answer.
The watchmen that went about the city found me, they smote me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me.
I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my Beloved, that ye tell Him, that I am sick of love (Son 5:6-8).
He has gone! How often in human history it has been so! The antediluvians were wakened at last! But, alas, too late! The storm of judgment had broken; the flood was at its full. The last dread enemy, death, was victor, the Lord was gone.
San Pierre wakened at last; but not until its citizens were all dead beneath the ash heap of the exploded mountain.
San Francisco wakened at last. But not until its heart had either been swallowed up by the earthquake, or licked clean by fire.
Father Ryan, the poet priest, would forgive me I know for changing and accommodating some words from his pen which must express the loneliness of that heart that knew Christ and loved Him, but slept through all His appeals and drove away His presence:
Gone, and there is not a gleam of you,
Tour face has floated into the far away.
Gone! and we can only dream of you.
Dream as yon fade like a star away;
Fade as a star in the sky from us,
Vainly we look for your light again;
Hear ye the sound of a sigh from us?
Come, and our hearts will be bright again.
Come! and gaze on our faces once more
Bring us the smiles of the olden days;
Come! and shine in your place once more,
And change the dark into golden days.
Gone! gone! gone! joy is fled from us
Gone into the night of the nevermore,
And darkness rests where you shed for us
A light we will miss for evermore.
Originally this was spoken of earthly friends; but it has its truest meaning when applied to the Heavenly Ones.
Cowper perhaps has voiced this experience as no other uninspired writer has done; and yet voiced it as every backslidden Christian has felt it.
Where is the blessedness I knew
When first I saw the Lord?
Where is the soul-refreshing view
Of Jesus and His Word?
What peaceful hours I then enjoyed!
How sweet their memory still!
But they have left an aching void
The world can never fill.
Return, O Holy Dove, return,
Sweet messenger of rest;
I hate the sins that made Thee mourn,
And drove Thee from my breast.
Cowper concluded his poem with the only language that will ever conclude this slumber, this sense of loneliness, this unspeakable loss, and with the very language that nine out of ten present-day Christians should employ, namely:
The dearest idol I have known,
Whatever that idol be,
Help me to tear it from Thy throne,
And worship only Thee.
The world sleeps and one day it will awake; but alas, too late! It will awake to a ruined universe, to an earth shaken in every part by fire and earthquake, to a day when the sun shall be black as sackcloth, and the moon as blood, and the stars have fallen, and the heaven itself has departed as a scroll, and every mountain and island has been moved out of its place; then its kings and its great men and rich men and chief captains shall hide themselves in the rocks of the mountains and say to the mountains, Fall on us, and hide us, for the great day of His wrath has come, and who shall be able to stand?
This picture of a departed Christ is followed by a strange, and yet very natural suggestion:
The Church, His Bride, defends Him against all competitors (Son 6:1-4). Strange we never prize love at its best until we have lost it; nor esteem the lover as he deserves until he is gone. So it is with our Divine Lover. When He is with us daily we accept it as a matter of course and fail to appreciate the fullness of His affection. What wife ever saw a husbands virtues in the full light until he was taken away; what Christian ever esteemed the ineffable Person and Presence of Christ as He deserved, until by some sin or spiritual drowsiness His companionship was lost!
Doubtless the five foolish virgins had some appreciation of the bridegrooms presence and also of the feast that had been prepared for the occasion; but the full sense of their loss was never felt until they knew the door was closed; and admission to his presence and the appointments of joy and rejoicing were denied them.
You say it is very strange that one who thought her Lover as the Chiefest of ten thousand should have slept while He knocked and slumbered until He slipped away.
But strange as it seems to us, our. conduct is not less selfish, nor even less sinful, nor does our belated language contribute to the glories of His Person. Our extravagant terms of personal affection do not excuse, in the least, the daily indifference to His calls; and more than one of us have had to endure the fears of His lost love, and to search long and diligently for His presence as a result of our own sinful sluggishness and wicked slumbers.
However, as we pursue this study, another feature of His matchless character comes to the surface.
HER NEGLECT IS FORGIVEN AND FORGOTTEN
Her beauty ravishes His heart. In Son 6:4-10, He voices this thought. In response to her statement that He is chiefest among ten thousand and the One Altogether Lovely. He answers, Thou art beautiful, O My love. There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number. My dove, My undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her. * * Fair as the moon, clear as the sun. And He for whom the Bride sought not, turns about and seeks instead, calling, Return, return, * * that we may look upon thee.
In my work as a minister I have married a great many couples. Occasionally it is easy to see why the bride has been sought out. Her beauty is evident to all; her graces of person are most manifest. But on thousands of occasions it is not so; only the husbands eyes could see beauty in some brides. But evidently the true husband, who has given his heart with his hand, must behold that beauty whether others can see it or not. Such is the influence of love.
When we think on Gods people and know them intimately enough to understand their deficiencies we marvel all the more that Christ, Gods only Son, and the King of Glory, finds in them attractive features. The explanation is not so much in either their attractiveness or their accomplishments as it is in the manifestation of His affection.
That is why the poet could write:
Glorious things of thee are spoken,
Zion, city of our God;
He whose Word can neer be broken
Formed thee for His own abode.
Lord, Thy Church is still Thy dwelling,
Still is precious in Thy sight;
Judahs Temple far excelling,
Beaming with the Gospels light.
Her absence is His anguish.
I went down into the garden of nuts to see the fruits of the valley, and to see whether the vine flourished, and the pomegranates budded.
Or ever I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of Amminadib.
Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may look upon thee. What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it were the company of two armies (Son 6:11-13).
We know that the individual Christian suffers when he or she feels that there is no further communion between his soul and Christ.
But is it not certain that Christ suffers still more? Undoubtedly Peter, James and John were ashamed of their neglect when once they were wakened out of slumber and knew that they had failed Christ in the hour of His greatest need. But was their suffering comparable to that through which He passed as in the garden great drops of sweat were on His brow; and in the wisdom that was His own, He understood that they had failed Him in that awful hour?
Christ was human and as such He craved human fellowship. What man or woman is there who is normally and Divinely constituted, and yet can live contentedly without the conscious love of lifes choice one?
Again and again it has been my duty to lay away either husband or wife after a long period of fifty or sixty or more years of walking together; and I have noticed that when that walk has been intimate and sweet, the old man or the old woman thus left alone, longs for the end and is happy when it comes. Beyond question that is due to the circumstance that he believes that this fellowship will be renewed in another land; and to live alone after one has gone, makes life a desert and Heaven a land of rejoicing. Who doubts that Divine love is as much more intense than human love as the Divine thoughts are high above the human ones, and that Christ Himself is anguished whenever the members of His Bride, the Church, are indifferent and are practically out of communion with Him.
If one would take the time to read Son 7:1 to Son 8:7 he would discover that
HER POSSESSION IS HIS PLEASURE
It would seem as we pass from chapter six to seven that His cry, Return, return! has not been in vain.
The language that follows indicates her presence, and consequently, pleasure. The statement of the Bride, I am my Beloveds indicates the same. Love is strong as death. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it, are sample sentences of the mutual expressions that follow.
I wonder if people, in general, have noticed what has often impressed me, namely, how we can measure the pulse of affection by the language that r is unconsciously employed to express the same? Older friends, who have long walked together, quite often introduce the spouse as Mr. or Mrs. Smith or Jones; but not so with the young husband or wife.
Their introduction is on another basisThis is my husband, This is my wife, with the emphasis upon the possessive pronoun. That is a natural expression of a keen sense of possession, of pride and joy in the same.
That possessive pronoun also has played conspicuous place in both Old and New Testament. On the one side it voices the believers affection for Christ; and equally on the other, Christs affection for the Christian. Beyond all question, the Psalmists love to Christ reached no higher expression than the twenty-third Psalm; and in that Psalm his language is, The Lord is my Shepherd. Perhaps hundreds of times this single phrase will be found in that Book of the Psalm, My God. It is the language of love, and it is also appropriating faith, and it is justified by the Divine attitude.
Jesus said, As the Father hath loved Me, so have I loved you: continue ye in MY love. If ye keep My Commandments, ye shall abide in MY love. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Nay, rather, can we not say with the Apostle, We are persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord?
Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley
SHULAMITES WISH
Chap. Son. 8:1-4
O that thou wert as my brother,
That sucked the breasts of my mother!
When I should find thee without,
I would kiss thee,
Yea, I should not be despised.
I would lead thee,
And would bring thee unto my mothers house,
Who would (or thou wouldst) instruct me.
I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine,
Of the juice of my pomegranate.
His left hand should be under my head,
And his right hand should embrace me.
I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
That ye stir not up,
Nor awaken my love,
Until he please.
Shulamite still addresses her Beloved, perhaps now already on the way to the fields, towards her mothers house. Expresses the wish that she could be as familiar with him even outside, as if he were her brother. She had desired his kisses; and now wishes she could becomingly repay them with her own. She could wish to have him with her in her mothers house, and be her instructor there; where on her side she would present him with the best of the beverages she possessed, as the fruit of her own labour in the vineyard. In language already employed in relation to the enjoyment of his fellowship and love (chap. Son. 2:6-7), she pictures to herself the joy she should thus experience, and the care she would take that nothing should disturb it. The whole the language of a loving wife, expressed according to Oriental manners, and in the style of Oriental poetry. Observe
1. The renewed soul, brought to the realization of Christs preciousness and love, and to the experience of the blessedness of being united to Him as His Bride, cannot be satisfied without the closest intimacy and unrestrained enjoyment of His fellowship. An intense longing after more of His fellowship and love, a mark of the heaven-born soul, and of the Bride of Christ. Unable to enjoy in this world as much of that communion with Christ as he desires, he looks forward with wistfulness to a better. I have a desire to depart, and to be with Christ, which is far better. In heaven, believers see Him as He is; are fed by Him as His sheep, and led by Him to fountains of living waters. Follow Him whithersoever He goeth. Their happiness there not merely to enjoy Christ fully, but to express, without restraint of fear or shame, the ardour of their love and affection. I would kiss thee. Believers hindered in the present world, by causes both internal and external, from letting out their love on Christ as they would. The holy delight and satisfaction in doing so reserved for a better state. In reality, however, the language of the Bride realized in relation to Christ. The Bridegroom of the Church no longer as in the time of Old Testament saints, the mere infinite and absolute Godthe King eternal, immortal, and invincible, dwelling in that light which no man can approach unto, whom no man hath seen or can see. The longing of the Old Testament Church fulfilled in the New. The Divine Bridegroom now our very Brotherseen with our eyes, looked upon and handled with our hands (1Jn. 1:1). John leaned on His bosom. Mary held Him by His feet. The woman that had been a sinner kissed His feet while she washed them with her tears. Probably the disciples were in the habit of kissing His cheek according to the custom of the time; though the only such kiss recorded, alas! is that of the man that betrayed Him. His message after His resurrectionGo and tell My brethren. Forasmuch as the children were partakers of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise took part of the same (Heb. 2:11-14).
2. Christ still to be found without. Believers have still to go forth unto Him without the camp. Christ still to the world at large a root out of a dry ground. The world no nearer knowing Him now than when He sojourned on earth. The reproach of Christ to be experienced till He shall come again. Danger of being ashamed of Him in this sinful and adulterous generation. Christ also found without in His cause, and in the persons of those who are to be gathered to Him out of the world, both at home and abroad. Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, ye did it unto me. Christ, in the person of His redeemed, found by the Bride after Pentecost in Judea, Samaria, and the lands of the heathen, and brought by her unto her mothers house, the Church.
3. The desire of believers to have Christ brought into their mothers house.
(1) Into the Church at large, and especially that portion of it with which they are more immediately connected. Christ to be taken by the believer from the closet into the sanctuary. Well when believers not only find Christ in the Church, but take him there. Jerusalem which is above, the mother of us all: yet to every believer, in a narrower sense, some section of the visible Church, and some particular congregation or mission, his mothers house, in which he found Christ and was born again. Of Zion it shall be said, This man and that man was born there.
(2) The circle of their own kindred and relations. So Andrew found his brother Simon, and brought him to Jesus. Christs direction to the restored Demoniac: Go home to thy friends, and show them what great things God hath done for thee. Salvation and blessing promised not only to believers themselves, but, conditionally, to their family (Psa. 115:14; Act. 2:39). Hence households baptized with their believing head. Individual conversion to be followed by the conversion of the household. The religion of the closet and of the sanctuary tried and confirmed by that of the family. Parents saved for the sake of their children as well as for themselves. On the other hand, the salvation of the children often followed by that of the parents. Noah was not only to enter the ark, but his family with him. Rahab was not only to be saved in the destruction of Jericho, but her father and mother, brother and sisters, along with her. The happiest family that in which Christ is made an inmate. No resting place to the Son of man sweeter than the bosom of a pious family. Such the family at Bethany (Luk. 10:38-42; Joh. 11:1-2).
4. The privilege of believers to be under the continued teaching of Christ and His Church. Who would (or thou wouldst) instruct me. All needful instruction in the possession of Christ. Christ the prophet, as well as the Priest and King of His Church. The Great Teacher. Hid in Him are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Natural that He should be the teacher of His Bride. Divine teaching promised to all the children of the true Jerusalem. All thy children shall be taught of the Lord. Christ, the wisdom of God, made wisdom to those who are in Him. Believers to grow in the knowledge of their Lord and Saviour. Much always to be learned. Here we know but in part. Our privilege to have the anointing of the Holy Spirit, that we may know all things. Eye-salve given by Christ, that we may anoint our eyes and see. Spiritual instruction to be found in the Church, our mothers house. The Church furnished by her Head with the means for such instruction. Gifts of the Spirit bestowed for that purpose (Eph. 4:7; Rom. 12:7). True pastors and teachers Christs gift. Believers to teach and admonish one another. Our privilege always, with Mary, to sit at Jesus, feet and hear his words. The Scriptures given for our learning, that the man of God may be perfect. The great commission, not only to preach the Gospel, but to teach the Churchs members (Mat. 28:20). The Bridegrooms voice to His Bride: Learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart (Mat. 12:29). The most advanced believers the most earnest and humble learners. Believers never to be above ordinances, yet always to look above them to Christ. To be taught not by special revelation, but in connection with instituted means in their mothers house. Must find the truth in ordinances, or cease to attend them (Pro. 19:27). Will not hear the voice of strangers, but flee from them. Believers after Pentecost continued steadfastly in the doctrine of the Apostles, who daily in the temple and in every house, ceased not to teach and to preach Jesus Christ (Act. 2:42; Act. 10:42).
5. The believers duty and delight, to make a return for Christs love with whatever he has or is. I would cause thee to drink, &c. The inquiry natural: What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits? Believers constrained by the mercies of God in Christ to present their bodies to Him as a living sacrifice (Rom. 12:1). The love of Christ constraineth us, to live not to ourselves but to Him who died for us (2Co. 5:10). Our love desired in return for His. My son, give me thine heart. Our love, manifested by obedience and self-denying service, His greatest refreshment and delight. I have meat to eat which ye know not of. Christ refreshed and fed in His members. Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, &c. He that is taught in the word, to communicate unto Him that teacheth in all good things. What is given to His servants who teach in His name, regarded as given to Himself. He that receiveth you, receiveth Me (Mat. 10:40-42). Believers after Pentecost sold their possessions, and brought the price and laid it down at the Apostles feet; and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need (Act. 2:45; Act. 4:34-37).
6. Believers walking faithfully with Christ, warranted to expect the repetition of former enjoyment in His fellowship and love. His left hand should be under my head, &c. This happiness already, on a former occasion, enjoyed and recorded (chap. Son. 2:6). The delight once experienced in special communion with Christ, and the enjoyment of His manifested love, to be desired and expected by the believer in the course of his pilgrimage. That experience usually found in proportion to the desire after it, and in connection with faithfulness in following Christ, confessing Him before men, and seeking after the lost. Special communication of His love often Christs loving reward for faithful, self-denying service. Yet an open door, and a hearty welcome will bring Him in to sup with us (Rev. 3:20).
7. Care always needed by the believer to guard against disturbing influences while in the enjoyment of Christs presence and love. I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, &c. The charge already given on two former occasions (chap. Son. 2:7; Son. 3:5). Always needful so long as the believer is in this world. Seasons of spiritual rest and enjoyment to be cherished and improved to the utmost (Act. 9:31). Care to be taken not to grieve or quench the Spirit (Eph. 4:20; 1Th. 5:19). Disturbing influences both within and without. Believers to keep the heart tender and watchful in entertaining a found Christ. No absolute freedom from interruption in the enjoyment of Christ till we see Him as He is.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
TEXT 7:118:4
Shulammite:
Invitation to the Shepherd, Son. 7:11 to Son. 8:2
Aside to Court Ladies, Son. 8:3
Adjuration to Court Ladies, Son. 8:4 (final)
11.
Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field;
Let us lodge in the villages.
12.
Let us get up early to the vineyards;
Let us see whether the vine hath budded,
And its blossom is open,
And the pomegranates are in flower;
There will I give thee my love.
13.
The mandrakes give forth fragrance;
And at our doors are all manner of precious fruits, new and old,
Which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.
8:1
O that thou wert as my brother,
That sucked the breasts of my mother!
When I should find thee without,
I would kiss thee;
Yea, and none would despise me.
2.
I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mothers house,
Who would instruct me;
I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine,
Of the juice of my pomegranate.
3.
His left hand should be under my head,
And his right hand should embrace me.
4.
I adjure you O daughters of Jerusalem,
That ye stir up, nor awake my love,
Until he please.
THOUGHT QUESTIONS 7:118:4
189.
How is it now possible for the maiden to give such an invitation since she is confined to the palace of Solomon?
190.
What time of the year is suggested by the reference to the vines and the pomegranate tree?
191.
Why offer her love in the vineyard?
192.
Mandrakes are a particular type of fruitCf. Gen. 30:14-18what is intended by her reference to them here?
193.
The last half of Son. 7:13 is a poetic way of promising something. What was it?
194.
Does the maid want her lover to become or pretend he is her brother? What is meant?
195.
It would seem from Son. 8:1 b that no physical expression of love had passed between the maid and the shepherd. If this is true, how shall we understand some of the earlier expressions? Discuss.
196.
Why take her beloved into her mothers house? What type of instruction would be given?
197.
Was she promising a real drink of wine or was this a poetic expression?
198.
Verse three was repeated earlier. What is meant?
199.
Verse four is an oft-repeated refrainit is given at very appropriate times. Show how this is true here.
PARAPHRASE 7:118:4
Shulammites Soliloquy
11.
Come, my beloved, let us go into the open country;
Let us lodge in the villages.
12.
We will rise early and go into the vineyards.
We will see if the vines have budded;
Whether the blossom is opening,
And the pomegranates are in flower . . .
There will I give thee my caresses.
13.
The mandrakes are giving forth their fragrance,
At our doors are all kinds of luscious fruits,
New and old, all reserved for thee, my beloved.
Son. 8:1
Oh, that thou hadst been as my brother,
One nursed in the bosom of my own mother!
Then had I met thee in the open, I would have kissed thee,
And no one would have despised me.
2.
I would have led thee to my mothers house;
Where she would have instructed me.
I would have made thee drink spiced wine
Made from the juice of my own pomegranates.
Aside to Court Ladies
3.
His left hand would have been under my head,
And his right hand supporting me.
4.
I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
Why should ye arouse or stir up love
Until itself is pleased to awaken?
COMMENT 7:118:4
Exegesis Son. 7:11 to Son. 8:4
The bridegroom has come for his bride. Whether this is literal or figurative, we could not say. Does this only happen in the dreams of the maiden or has Solomon capitulated? If Solomon has given her leave to go back to her home in Shunem, then perhaps a message has been sent to her shepherd and he actually is present to respond to the words of his beloved. We shall comment separately upon each of these six verses.
Son. 7:11. It must have been with a good deal of poignancy that the maiden thought of the open fields of Galilee. She no doubt thought of friends or relatives in some of the villages who would welcome she and her new husband as overnight visitors. All the associations of many years back rushed in upon her and her heart is full of yearnings to be back again amid familiar faces and places. She is tired of the oppressive atmosphere of the kings harem.
Son. 7:12. It is still the spring of the year. It was spring when she was snatched away from her garden. Unless we conclude an entire year has gone by, her sojourn at court was only a few weeks. After a pleasant conversation with friends at the house in the village they would retire for the night. She is already anticipating their marriage and what is here proposed amounts in our terms to a honeymoon. How fresh and new is the atmosphere in the early morning! A stroll through the vineyard could be so beautiful! Holding hands, we could stoop down and check together the development of the blossoms. We could pause to drink deeply of the fragrance from the flowers of the pomegranate trees. There in the seclusion and privacy of His hanidwork I will give you my love. Away from the eyes of anyone but her beloved she would express her deep feelings for him.
Son. 7:13. We are back in the village of Shunem. In the garden near the house the fragrance of the mandrakes is filling the air. At the doors of our house we have kept from past seasons dired fruitwe will also have fresh produce from our garden. Ever since I met you I have planned and laid up these gifts for the day when we could share them together. Besides the literal meaning we have given to her words, we seem to catch another meaning! Mandrakes had long been associated with love (Cf. Gen. 30:14-18). Perhaps these words are but a veiled promise of her expressions of love to be given to him in their house.
Verse one of the eighth chapter. The shepherd had addressed her as his sister, she now reciprocates with the thought that if he were her brother she would rush into his arms and kiss him at any time and any place. We like the words of Adeney here: This singular mode of courtship between two lovers who are so passionately devoted to one another that we might call them the Hebrew Romeo and Juliet, is not without significance. Its recurrence, now on the lips of the bride, helps to sharpen still more the contrast between what passes for love in the royal harem, and the true emotion experienced by a pair of innocent young people, unsullied by the corruptions of the courtillustrating, as it does at once, its sweet intimacy and its perfect purity. (ibid., p. 535.)
Verse two. Why go to her mothers house? This would be after their marriage for instruction from the mother in the art of lovemaking. No mention is made of her fatherperhaps her mother is a widow. Such a simple home-like atmosphere is in strong contrast to the oppressive magnificence of Solomons palace. She has some wonderful home-made country beverages for himspiced wine and pomegranate juice. Perhaps what is here called spiced wine is especially prepared juice from the pomegranate.
Verses three and four. We have treated these verses earlier in our comments on Son. 2:6-7. The fourth verse is repeated twice: in Son. 2:7 and Son. 3:5. Please see our comments upon these verses. This would seem to be the final word to Solomon and the women of the court. She is saying in essence: I am committed to the shepherd as my husbandI can already feel his strong arms around me. Do not, as I have said twice before, attempt to arouse any love on my part for Solomonlove will take its spontaneous courseand in my case it is for my shepherd.!
Marriage Son. 7:11 to Son. 8:4
If the Shulammite represents the bride of Christ, then these words can become a pattern for the love the church should have for her Lord. This has always been a parallel for the love the husband should have for his wife and the wife for her husband. Where is the bride who will express her love with the same, intensity and fidelity as the Shulammite? We believe there are many who would if they were married to a man like the shepherd. But is this the criteria for such a response? Many a husband knows he is far from the ideal here described but his wife loves him none-the-less. This is surely the fulfillment (in reverse order) of how Christ loved the church. Even when this is true can we not read into these words the longing of the dear girl we married? She does want to find anew the fresh fields and the secluded spotshe still wants your exclusive interest in herto share with her the little thingsthe beautiful things of very ordinary life. Just a cup of teaa simple flowereven an orange eaten with love is worth more than the many expensive things for which we spend so much time away from her. If somehow her husband could be her brother she could then get on the inside of his thoughts and could establish a rapport shared in a happy family. Anything to be one with the one she loves more than life.
Communion Son. 7:11 to Son. 8:4
What a tremendous example this passage is of the kind of love we, as the bride, should give to our living Lord. Christ is a living Person. He loves you with a personal love, and He looks everyday for your personal response to His love. Look into His face with trust till His love really shines into your heart (Rom. 5:5). Make his heart glad by telling Him you love Him. (author unknown) Converse with your heavenly Husbandsay to Him, Come, my beloved, lets go to work or lets wash the dishes. He is aliveHe does want to participate in all you are and do. He also sleeps with you at night. How delightful to begin the day with Him. We have found so much good in the little booklet Manna In The Morning published by Moody Press. We wish to say a word of recommendation hereif you are not meeting Him in the morningor even if you areget it and read it. Oh, how we need to plan ahead for a continual love affair with our Lord. There is all manner of precious fruit from our experiences and from His wordboth new and old which we can share with Him. This will never happen if we do not plan it. Communion with our Lord through the Holy Spirit (2Co. 13:14; Col. 2:1 ff) is a joint participationa partnership that includes all of life. Do we take Him into our mothers house? i.e., into the relationship and fellowship of the family conversation? or of the TV programs and the exchange of the usual subjects? If we did, perhaps our family would be so impressed with His presence that instruction would have an entirely different meaning.
FACT QUESTIONS 7:118:4
221.
The bridegroom has come for the brideis this to be understood as an actual visit from the shepherd? Discuss.
222.
With whom would the newly-weds stay in the villages?
223.
The maiden is homesickshe feels oppressed. Why?
224.
We conclude the whole Song discusses a time of only a few weeks in May or late April. How is this conclusion reached?
225.
It would seem the young couple are on their honeymoon. What gives us this thought?
226.
Do you agree that there is a possible double-meaning in Son. 7:13? Discuss.
227.
How can we compare this couple to Romeo and Juliet?
228.
Is there anyone anywhere in the United States like the two persons described here? Discuss.
229.
Why go to her mothers house? Where is her father?
230.
What were her final words for the women of the harem and Solomon?
231.
Where is the wife like the Shulammite? Discuss.
232.
Are there men like the shepherd? (What about the rest of us?)
233.
What is really important with our wife?
234.
Why would any wife want a brother-sister relationship with her husband? or is this what is meant? Discuss.
235.
What a tremendous example this passage is of the kind of love we as the bride should give to our living Lord. Please discuss the very practical application of this text to your own personal relationship to your Lord.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
VIII.
(1) O that thou wert as my brother.The poet makes his beloved recall the feelings she had for him before the obstacles to their union were removed. She dared not then avow her affection for him as a lover, and wished that their relationship had been such as to allow of their meeting and embracing without reproach. Marg., They (i.e., her family and friends) should not despise (i.e., reproach) me.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
1. A quiet and tender play of fancy.
O that thou wert Better, If thou hadst but been. When I, etc. “If I found thee even in the streets, I would kiss thee, and none would reproach me for it.” She could then lay aside reserve and act with greater freedom. This is said as the lovers walk to the country.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The YOUNG WIFE continues, but now there is a desire to enter more deeply into what her beloved can offer her, for she is aware of his great wisdom. She still wants to kiss him and bring him to her mother’s house, but now she also wants to be instructed by him as she lies in his arms.
“Oh that you were as my brother, Who sucked the breasts of my mother! Then should I find you outside I would kiss you, Yes, and none would despise me. I would lead you, and bring you into my mother’s house, You would instruct me, I would cause you to drink of spiced wine, Of the juice of my pomegranate. His left hand would be under my head, And his right hand would embrace me.”
Her love for Solomon is so great that she cannot stand the limitations put on her as a wife. If only he was her blood brother, she says, then she could boldly kiss him outdoors in front of people without anyone despising her, and he would take her into her mother’s house and teach her his wisdom, and no one would think it strange. And she could give him pomegranate wine, and he could embrace her publicly.
These were things that she could do as his sister without anyone frowning, but no one would expect him to do that publicly with his wife (although he had done it to her at the beginning (Son 2:6) in his courting). Behavior towards a wife was more restricted in public. If only he was her brother it would give her so much more freedom to enjoy him to the full.
There is a reminder here that God had so much more for Israel than her just being His wife. He wanted Israel also to be strong and firm and to learn from Him, to be instructed in His Law, and to be priests and instructors to the world (Exo 19:5-6). She was called not only to love Him but to serve. This hint that Israel has to be taught by her Lord may be preparing for the introduction of the new Temple with its new significance.
We should also see as emphasized here that we must not see our Lord, Jesus Christ, only as the One we love, as a wife loves her husband, but also as our brother and teacher Whom we are proud to acknowledge openly, and learn from continually. He is far more than just our Bridegroom. He is our Elder Brother.
This was recognized in the Jewish Aramaic paraphrase in the Targum which refers it to the Messiah and amplifies it to “I would conduct you, O King Messiah, and bring you into the house of my sanctuary, and you would teach me to fear God and to walk in His ways.” So while the idea of reciprocated love continues it is now embellished with the idea of learning of Him, and being instructed by Him, so that we might walk in His ways.
We may also call to mind here that in Heb 2:11-18 Jesus is depicted as our Elder Brother Who is the trek leader of our salvation, made perfect through suffering, and Who, as the One Who was set apart by God through His death and resurrection, has also Himself set us apart to God in order that we too might have a part in the same. Because He became a man like ourselves He is not ashamed to call us brothers. And it then goes on to add that He became our brother, so that, by partaking of human nature like ours, He might by dying destroy the power of the Devil and deliver us from the fear of death, becoming at the same time our faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God. While this is to go beyond the song where the emphasis is on His being our teacher in wisdom and knowledge, it is central to what His wisdom and knowledge is all about. ‘In Him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge’ (Col 2:3).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
SECTION 6.
The Restored Couple Rejoice In Each Other ( Son 7:1
The restoration of the royal couple is now complete. Their harmony is fully restored, and they can once again enjoy their pure untrammeled love, back in the land of their original courtship.
Once she returns from her walk the BELOVED continues to rejoice in his beautiful young wife.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Beloved’s Struggle for Undivided Attention The child of God now declares her boldness to testify of her Saviour in public. He does not want to draw back from any act of obedience and public affection for the Lord (Son 8:1). He is willing to bring this testimony and anointing into the church, the body of Christ (Son 8:2). This idea is reflected in Son 8:1-4 when she compares him to her brother whom she led about in her youth.
Regarding the themes that are repeated in each of these phases of love, we find that the beloved suffers from lovesickness during the courtship (Son 2:5) and does not find rest. During the engagement she suffers from being separated from her lover (Son 3:1-4) and does not find rest. During the wedding she suffers from having to abandon her freedom and desires as a single person in order to walk in unity with her husband (Son 5:2-8). During the development of her marriage she must deal with the desire to have her husband’s undivided attention (Son 8:1-4).
Son 8:1 O that thou wert as my brother, that sucked the breasts of my mother! when I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yea, I should not be despised.
Son 8:1
Figurative Interpretation Watchman believes Son 8:1 means that a believer becomes keenly aware of his own physical limitations in serving the Lord at this level of maturity. His mortal body restrains him from serving the Lord wholly. He desires to be delivered from mortality and raised in immortality so that he can embrace Christ fully without the old sin nature pulling him away.
Son 8:2 I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother’s house, who would instruct me: I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate.
Son 8:2
Comments – The pomegranate tree was one of the most attractive fruit trees in the Middle East, with brilliant scarlet blossom in the spring (Son 7:12). The Israelites planted the tree in orchards (Son 4:13; Son 6:11; Son 7:12) and made wine from its juice (Son 8:2) The beautiful texture of its inner fruit may have been behind the metaphorical phrase, “thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks” (Son 4:3; Son 6:7). [245]
[245] E. W. G. Masterman, “Pomegranate,” in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, ed. James Orr (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., c1915, 1939), in The Sword Project, v. 1.5.11 [CD-ROM] (Temple, AZ: CrossWire Bible Society, 1990-2008).
Son 8:2 Figurative Interpretation Watchman Nee interprets Son 8:2 to mean that in the resurrection we will feast together without restraints and show our full affections. [246]
[246] Watchman Nee, Song of Songs (Fort Washington, Pennsylvania: CLC Publications, c1965, 2001), 144-5.
Son 8:3 His left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should embrace me.
Son 8:3
Son 2:6, “His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me.”
Son 8:3 Figurative Interpretation Son 8:3 suggests a position of rest. Perhaps Son 8:3 means that this hope of the resurrection is the rest that I now find as a servant of God.
Son 8:4 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, until he please.
Son 8:4
Comments – The possessive personal pronoun “ my ” is not found in the original Hebrew text. The translators of the KJV added it as a means of clarifying their interpretation of the verse to say that Shulamite woman was telling the daughters of Jerusalem not to awaken her lover.
Son 8:4 Comments – Son 2:7 serves as a final verse to one of the five divisions of the Song of Solomon. There are three other identical verses in the Song of Solomon that serves to mark these divisions (Son 2:7, Son 3:5, Son 8:4).
Son 2:7, “I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.”
Son 3:5, “I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.”
Son 8:4, “I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, until he please.”
In these verses the beloved charges the daughters of Jerusalem not to stir up the passions of love until it is time. She bases this plea upon the example in nature of the wild gazelles and does of the field. She uses this example because gazelles and deer were considered the most beautiful creatures of the forest, yet they were the most elusive and hard to find. In contrast, domesticated animals and livestock lacked the beauty, but were easily tamed. As God made these animals beautiful, but elusive in this dispensation of man’s fall, these creatures will one day be tamed and companions for us in heaven. In a sense, it is not time for these creatures to be tamed.
In the same way, the beloved is telling the daughters of Jerusalem that catching love and enjoying its pleasures is like catching a beautiful deer. It may appear to be something much to be desired, but it is as elusive as the deer of the forest. This Shulamite woman has discovered that passion during the early stages of courtship is a difficult emotion to manage and does not give her the rest and peace that she expected it to give her; for passion binds someone and does not turn him loose. As much as a romantic love affair appears desirable, she warns the other virgins to wait for God to bring it to pass in His time; otherwise, it will overwhelm someone and cause more harm than good.
In other words, true rest is not found in the strong passions of courtship (Son 1:2 to Son 2:7), nor, as she will later discover, in her engagement (Son 2:8 to Son 3:5), nor in her wedding (Son 3:6 to Son 5:1), nor in the state of marriage (Son 5:2 to Son 8:4). But she will find out that true rest can only be found in yielding herself to her husband and bearing fruit within a marriage (Son 8:10).
Regarding the themes that are repeated in each of these phases of love, we find that the beloved suffers from lovesickness during the courtship (Son 2:5) and does not find rest. During the engagement she suffers from being separated from her lover (Son 3:1-4) and does not find rest. During the wedding she suffers from having to abandon her freedom and desires as a single person in order to walk in unity with her husband (Son 5:2-8).
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
The Maturing Process (Scene 4: The Garden, and the Vineyards) (Maturing in Divine Service [Perseverance]) Literal Interpretation – Son 5:2 to Son 8:4 describes the maturing process of marriage. The new bride has not yet entered into rest, for in Son 5:2-8 she experiences the final test of true love in which she has to now learn to deny herself and serve her husband. Her love is tested again to prove her devotion to him (Son 5:2-8). The hardship and persecution that results from this test and her desire for him in the midst of this trial serves as a powerful testimony to the daughters of Jerusalem as they ask her why she loves him so dearly and why he is more special than other men (Son 5:9). She then describes her Lover in a way that others have not known, by describing his unique characteristics above all others (Son 5:10-16). This symbolizes the journey of every wife to learn about her husband and to admire his unique characteristics. Her testimony provokes these maidens to seek him with her (Son 6:1), and she tells them how they can find him as well, assuring them of the strong bond love that holds them together (Son 6:2-3).
In Son 6:4-10 the husband expresses his love and admiration for the beauty and uniqueness of his wife. Her love has proven genuine. Just as the beloved emphasized her lover’s uniqueness in Son 5:9-16, so does he now express her uniqueness among women. In Son 6:11-13 the Shulamite visits the vineyards for the first time since being brought from her native village to the King’s palace (Son 6:11). This introduction to such a familiar setting seems to stir up a longing in her heart for her people and homeland (Son 6:12). Her people call her back (Son 6:13 a) and the king shows forth his jealousy for the first time with a mild rebuke to them (Son 6:13 b).
In Son 7:1-13 we have a description of the husband and wife coming together in the intimacy of the marriage bed. The man is first aroused by her physical beauty and uses his words in foreplay (Son 7:1-5). He then moves into the act of intercourse (Son 7:6-9). The wife responds with words expressing her desire to always yield to him as long as he continues his devotion to her (Son 7:10 to Son 8:4). This is the place of rest that the wife has been seeking in marriage, which is intimacy with her husband.
Figurative Interpretation Figuratively speaking, this fourth song represents man’s discipline to persevere in divine service. The intimacy of the marriage bed is where the wife finds rest as she yields herself totally to her husband. This is figurative of the believer yielding himself entirely to God’s plan and purpose for humanity.
A good example of this phase of loving God with all of our heart is seen in the life of Kathryn Kuhlman in her later years of ministry, whose healing minister touched the world during 1960’s and 70’s. Her services were marked by the distinct presence of the Holy Spirit, being manifested by divine healings, people shaking and being slain with the Holy Spirit. She tells of the heavy price she paid to have this anointing, which involved leaving an unscriptural marriage with a man she dearly loved. She came to a place and time when she died to her own will and yielded totally to the will of God. Her “thorn in the flesh” was carrying the pain of walking away from an earthly love affair in order to be in God’s perfect will. [201] She said, “Any of you ministers can have what I have if you’ll only pay the price.” She described the price that she paid as costing her everything. She said about a lifestyle of prayer, “If you find the power, you’ll find heaven’s treasure.” [202] She refers to the day when she made a decision to divorce a man who has been previously married. She explains how on that day Katherine died. [203] Another good example is seen in the early years of Arthur Blessitt’s call to take the cross around the world. In Central America a group of military police pulled him out of his mobile trailer and stood him up in front of a firing squad. Instead of pleading for his life, he reached into his trailer get these men some bibles. When he turned around to face the firing squad, everyone was on the ground. The power of God manifested and knocked everyone down. The point is that Arthur Blessitt no longer cared for his own life, but rather, his concern was to carry the testimony of Jesus Christ. [204]
[201] Benny Hinn, The Anointing (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1992), 63-4.
[202] Kathryn Kuhlman, “I Believe in Miracles,” on This is Your Day (Irving, Texas), on Trinity Broadcasting Network (Santa Ana, California, 28 January 2008), television program.
[203] Kathryn Kuhlman, “I Believe in Miracles,” on This is Your Day (Irving, Texas), on Trinity Broadcasting Network (Santa Ana, California, 28 January 2008), television program; Benny Hinn, The Anointing (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1992), 63-4.
[204] Arthur Blessitt, interviewed by Matthew Crouch, Behind the Scenes, on Trinity Broadcasting Network (Santa Ana, California, 2008), television program.
Outline – Note the proposed outline of this section:
1. Scene 1 – Love Is Tested Again Son 5:2 to Son 6:13
a) The Duties of Marriage Son 5:2-8
b) Becoming Familiar with One Another Son 5:9 to Son 6:13
i) The Uniqueness of the Husband Son 5:9-16
ii) The Beloved’s Commitment to Her Husband Son 6:1-3
iii) The Uniqueness of the Wife Son 6:4-10
iv) The Wife’s Desire to Return Home Son 6:11-13
2. Scene 2 – The Intimacy of the Marriage Bed Son 7:1 to Son 8:4
a) The Man’s Foreplay Son 7:1-5
b) The Act of Intercourse Son 7:6-9
c) The Woman’s Response to His Intimacy Son 7:10 to Son 8:4
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
The Intimacy of the Marriage Bed In Son 7:1-13 we have a description of the husband and wife coming together in the intimacy of the marriage bed. The man is first aroused by her physical beauty and uses his words in foreplay (Son 7:1-5). He then moves into the act of intercourse (Son 7:6-9). The wife responds with words expressing her desire to always yield to him as long as he continues his devotion to her (Son 7:10 to Son 8:4). The context of this passage suggests that a healthy sex life builds a bond between a couple that keeps them intimate and not wandering away.
Outline Here is a proposed outline:
1. The Man’s Foreplay Son 7:1-5
2. The Act of Intercourse Son 7:6-9
3. The Woman’s Response to His Devotion Son 7:10 to Son 8:4
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
The Woman’s Response to His Devotion Son 7:10-13 tells us the woman’s response to her husband’s affections. A man is aroused visually by the physical appearance of his wife, while the woman is aroused emotionally by a man’s devotion to her, as we will learn in the next passage (Son 7:10-13). My wife has told me how much she needs me to embrace her and hold her after the act of intercourse. This time of intimacy does not end with the orgasm, but should be followed through with close embrace: for it is during this time that the wife feels her husband’s commitment and devotion to her. While the act of physical love gives the husband pleasure, it is the resulting embrace that gives the wife her pleasure and contentment.
In Son 7:10 to Son 8:4 we do not have the wife desirous of the physical features of her husband, but rather, expressing the emotions of continual embraces. The woman uses the language of flourishing vines and the smell of the mandrakes symbolically to express the emotions that she feels towards her husband as a result of these times of intimacy with her.
Outline Here is a proposed outline:
1. Special Times Together Son 7:10-13
2. The Beloved’s Struggle for Undivided Attention Son 8:1-4
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
The Joys of the Heavenly Marriage.
The Longing Cry of the Church
v. 1. O that Thou wert as my brother, v. 2. I would lead Thee and bring Thee into my mother’s house, who would instruct me, v. 3. His left hand should be under my head, and His right hand should embrace me, v. 4. I charge you,
Although the work of the Church is done willingly and faithfully, yet it is done under difficulties. And therefore she cries out to Him who is her Brother, with whom, by virtue of His humanity, she is connected with the closest ties, that she hopes soon to find and meet Him outside this present world. In the Great Beyond she will no longer be subject to disgraceful behavior on the part of her enemies; she will be at home, in the city of her eternal rest. Together with Christ, whose work in and with the Church will be brought to an end with the conversion of the last elect, she will enjoy the bliss of eternity. There He will give His Church the full understanding of all things, 1 Corinthians 13, 12. There her heart will be given to Him in the perfection of bliss ineffable. So sure is the Church of this fulfillment of her hopes that she speaks of them as being present; she is even now possessing everything contained in the promises of her Bridegroom. And he, in turn, insists upon granting to His Church every possible moment and hour of rest and respite, that she may enjoy His love all the more in the halls of heaven.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
EXPOSITION
Son 8:1-3
Oh that thou wert as my brother, that sucked the breasts of my mother! When I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; and none would despise me. I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother’s house, who would instruct me; I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine, of the juice of my pomegranate. His left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should embrace me. The meaning seems to be thisLet our relation to one another be the highest and the purest and the most permanent possible. The sisterly relation is not merely one of affection, but one of blood. The bond between husband and wife may be broken by the caprice and weakness of human feeling, but nothing can destroy the bond of blood. “A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity” (Pro 17:17); “There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother” (Pro 18:24). The brotherly bond represents the strength of the blood relationship. When to that is added personal affection, then the tie is perfect. Shulamith means that she would have their love freed from all the uncertainties of human fickleness. As symbolically interpreted, therefore, we take this whole passage to signify that the Church, when it is desiring the closest fellowship with the Saviour, would be lifted above all the temptations of earthly life, which so often lower the standard of Christian feeling and service. The words are specially impressive in the lips of the bride of Solomon. It is a testimony to the inspiration of the whole book that the voluptuous monarch, whose life fell so far below the ideal of a godly king, should yet, indirectly though still powerfully, condemn and rebuke his own departure from God, setting clearly before us the surpassing excellence of pure love and the sanctity of married life. In the Mug’s address to his bride he called her “sister” and “sister-bride;” she now virtually returns his own sentiment and calls him “brother.”‘ She shows that she has risen in her love far above the mere fleshly desires”the lust of the fiesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.” She would blend her whole existence with that of her Lord. I would kiss thee; yea, and none would despise me. Nothing can more exquisitely and delicately express the fulness of affection. It is not merely a return for that which is given; it is free and spontaneous. So should our spiritual feelings be. They should be the natural outpouring of the soul towards the Saviour; not a worked up, artificial, spasmodic impulse, not a cold, dead formalism, not an unsympathetic service of conscience; but “doing the will of God from the heart.” “Love is the fulfilling of the Law;” “Faith worketh by love.” The second verse is differently rendered by some. Jerome, Venetian, and Luther take it as referring to the bride’s dependence on her husband’s superior wisdom”Thou wouldest instruct me;” which, of course, is a very suitable sentiment as addressed to the wise King Solomon. The Targum expounds it thus: “I would conduct thee, O King Messiah, and bring thee into the house of my sanctuary; and thou wouldest teach me to fear God and to walk in his ways.” Hitzig and our Revisers take the verb as in the third person feminine, and applied to the mother. “She would teach me as a mother teaches a young bride, from her own early experience.” The old view that the bride is the personification of wisdom seems quite refuted by this speech of Shulamith’s. She desires and waits for instruction. Solomon is wisdom. She is the soul of man, or the Church of God, delighting to sit at his feet and learn of him. Whichever rendering we choose, whether the mother or Solomon be regarded as teacher, the meaning is the same. It is, as Delitzsch has observed, a deep revelation of Shulamith’s heart. “She knew how much she yet came short of being to the king all that a wife should be. But in Jerusalem the bustle of court life and the burden of his regal duties did not permit him to devote himself to her; in her mother’s house, if he were once there, he would in. struct her, and she would requite him with her spiced wine and with the juice of the pomegranates.” The “spiced wine,” vinum conditura, aromatic wine, probably grape wine “mixed with fragrant and pungent essences,” as in the East. The juice, or pressed juice, of the pomegranate is a delicious drink. There is no allusion to any love symbol. The grains of the pomegranates were said by the Arabians to be from Paradise (cf. the , or “vinum de punicis quod roidem vocant” in Dioscorides and Pliny). Perhaps this reference to exchange of gifts may be taken as symbolizing the happy state of the Church when she pours out her treasures in response to the spiritual blessings which she is freely receiving. The meaning is something beautiful and precious. And that is the highest state of religious life when the service we render and the gifts we place on the altar are felt to be the grateful sacrifices of our hearts under a sense of Divine love. When the Church of Christ depends for its support on such fellowship between itself and the Saviour there will be no limits to its attainments, no achievements beyond its powers. “All that see” such a state of the Church “shall acknowledge” the glory of it, “that they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed” (see the whole of the sixty-first chapter of Isaiah, which breathes the very spirit of Solomon’s Song). The rejoicing bride then gives herself up to the thought of her husband’s affection. In that beautiful simplicity and purity of her childhood’s life she would realize the bliss of her new relation. Delitzsch describes her state of mind thus: “Resigning herself dreamily to the idea that Solomon is her brother, whom she may freely and openly kiss, and her teacher besides, with whom she may sit in confidential intercourse under her mother’s eye, she feels herself as if closely embraced by him, and calls from a distance to the daughters of Jerusalem not to disturb this her happy enjoyment.” Perhaps the sense of weakness and dependence is meant to be expressed. The bride is conscious that her lord is everything to her. In that identification which the highest love brings vividly into the soul, there is the joy of exultation. “All things are ours; and we are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.”
Son 8:4
I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that ye stir not up, nor awaken love, until it please. This, of course, as the refrain of the song, must be taken as a general sentiment. Love is its own lord. Let it have free course. Let it perfect itself in its own best way. The form of the adjuration is abbreviated in this case. The omission of the words, “By the roes and by the hinds of the field,” is not without its significance. Is it not intended to intimate that the natural love, to which reference was made by the introduction of the beautiful wild creatures of the field, is now no more in the thoughts of the bride, because it has been sublimated into the higher sisterly love of which she has been speaking? She is not merely the lovely woman on whom the king dotes because of her personal beauty; she is his companion and dearest friend. He opens his heart to her. He teaches her. He lifts her up to his own level. She participates in his royal dignity and majesty. The of her first estate of love is now exalted into the , which is the grace never to be without its sphere, abiding forever. We must not press too closely the poetic form of the song. Something must be allowed for the framework in which the main ideas are set before us. It may not be possible to answer the questionWho are intended to be symbolized by the daughters of Jerusalem? There is no necessity to seek further into the meaning of the whole poem than its widest and most general application. But the daughters of Jerusalem are in a lower position, a less favoured relation to the bridegroom, than the bride herself. We may, therefore, without hesitation, accept the view that by the adjuration is intended the appeal of the higher spiritual life against all that is below it; the ideal love calling upon all that is around it and all that is related to it to rise with it to perfection. The individual soul is thus represented claiming the full realization of its spiritual possibilities. The Church of God thus remonstrates against all that hinders her advancement, restrains her life, and interrupts her blessedness. Jerusalem has many daughters. They are not all in perfect sympathy with the bride. When they listen to the adjurations of the most spiritual, the most devoted, the most heavenly and Christ-like of those who are named by the Name of the Lord, they will themselves be lifted up into the bridal joy of “the marriage supper of the Lamb.”
Son 8:5-14
Part V. CONCLUSION. THE BRIDEGROOM AND THE BRIDE IN THE SCENE OF THEIR FIRST LOVE.
Son 8:5
Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? We must compare this question with the corresponding one in So Son 3:6. In that case the inhabitants of Jerusalem are supposed to be looking forth, and behold the bridal procession approaching the capital. In this case the scene is transferred to the country, to the neighbourhood of the bride’s home, where she has desired to be with her lord. The country people, or the group of her relatives, are supposed to be gazing at the pair of lovers, not coming in royal state, but in the sweet simplicity of true affection, the bride leaning with loving confidence on the arm of her husband, as they were seen before in the time of their “first love.” The restoration of “first love” is often the prayer of the disciple, feeling how far he falls short of the affection which such a Master should call forth. The first feelings of the heart when it is won to Christ are very delightful.
“Where is the blessedness I knew
When first I saw the Lord?
Where is the soul-refreshing view
Of Jesus and his Word?”
It is a blessedness when we come up from the wilderness. It is a joy to ourselves and a matter of praise to our fellow believers when we are manifestly filled with a sense of the Saviour’s presence and fellowship. The word midhbaur, translated “wilderness,” does not, however, necessarily mean a desolate and barren desert, but rather the open country, as the Valley of Jezreel The LXX. had either a different reading in the Hebrew or has mistaken it. They have rendered the last clause “clothed in white,” which perhaps Jerome has followed with his deliciis affluens. The word is, however, from the root rauvaq, which in the hiph. is “to support one’s self.” The meaning, therefore, is, “leaning for support.” It might, however, be intended to represent the loving confidence of married life, and therefore would be equivalent in meaning to the Greek and Latin renderings, that is, “Who is this? Evidently a young newly married wife with her husband.” Perhaps this is the best explanation of the words as preparing for what follows, as the bridegroom begins at once to speak of the first love. Some think that the road in which the loving pair are seen to be walking brings their footsteps near to the apple tree over against Shulamith’s house where they had first met. But there is no necessity for that supposition. It is sufficient if we imagine the apple tree to be in sight.
Son 8:5
Under the apple tree I awakened thee; there thy mother was in travail with thee; there was she in travail that brought thee forth. I awakened thee; i.e. I stirred thee up to return the affection which I showed thee (cf. So Son 2:7). The Masoretic reading prints the verb , as with the masculine suffix, but this renders the meaning exceedingly perplexed. The bride would not speak of awakening Solomon, but it was he who had awakened her. The change is very slight, the becoming , and is supported by the Old Syriac Version. It must be remembered that the bridegroom immediately addresses the bride, speaking of her mother. The apple tree would certainly be most naturally supposed to be situated somewhere near the house where the bride was bore perhaps overshadowing it or branching over the windows, or trained upon the trellis surrounding the house. The bridegroom points to it. “See, there it is, the familiar apple tree beside the house where thy dear self wast born. There, yonder, is where thy mother dwelt, and where thou heartiest my first words of affection as we sat side by side just outside the house under the shade of the apple tree.” The language is exquisitely simple and chaste, and yet so full of the tender affection of the true lover. The spot where the first breathings of love came forth will ever be dear in the remembrance of those whose affection remains faithful and fond. The typical view certainly finds itself supported in these words. Nothing is more delightful and more helpful to the believer than to go over in thought, again and again, and especially when faith grows feeble, when the heart is cold and fickle under the influence of worldly temptations and difficulties of the Christian course, the history of the first beginning of the spiritual life. We recall how dear the Lord was to us then, how wonderful his love seemed to us, how condescending and how merciful. We reproach ourselves that we faint and fail; we cry out for the fulness of grace, and it is given us.
Son 8:6, Son 8:7
Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the flashes thereof are flashes of fire, a very flame of the Lord. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it; if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, he would be utterly contemned. Is this to be regarded as the reply of the bride to the tender allusion of her husband to their first love; or is it, as some think, only the first words which belong to the bride, while the rest of the two verses are a kind of chorus echoing her loving appeal, and bringing the general action of the poem to a conclusion? It is difficult to decide this, and the meaning is not affected either way. Perhaps, however, it is best to take it as spoken by the bride, who continues her address to the end of the eighth verse. She is full of joy in the return of perfect confidence; she prays that the full tide of affection may never cease to flow, that there be no ebbing of that happy feeling in which she now delights; and then sings the praise of love itself, as though a prelude of praise to a long and eternal peace. The seal is the signet ring, chotham, from a root “to impress” It was sometimes carried by a string on the breast, and would, therefore, be near the heart (see Gen 38:18). It was sometimes worn on the hand (see Jer 22:24; and cf. Gen 41:42; Est 3:12). It was not worn on the arm like a bracelet (2Sa 1:10). Probably it was not the signet ring which is referred to in the second clause: “Set me as a seal on thine heart, and as a bracelet on thine arm.” The same simile is not infrequent in the prophets. The desire of Shulamith was to escape all possibility of those declensions of which she had spoken before. “Let me never be out of thy thoughts; let me never go back from my fulness of joy in thy love.” The true believer understands well such language. He knows that the maintenance of devout affection is not a matter of mere desire and will. The Lord himself must help us with his blessed gifts, the influence of his gracious Spirit to overcome the feebleness and fickleness of a fallen heart. We want to be close to the heart of the Saviour; we want to be constantly in his eye, and so diligently employed in his service, so closely associated with the work of his mighty arm, that we shall be ever receiving from him the signs and evidences of his approval and affection. The purity and perfection of true love are the theme of every sincere believer. The priceless value of such love is described in the Book of Proverbs (Pro 6:30), in Num 22:18, and 1Co 13:3. It is an unquenchable flamenothing can resist it. We cannot but recall the rapturous language of one who himself was an example of the highest devotedness to the Saviour, who rejoiced over death and the grave in the consciousness of victory through him from whose love nothing can separate us (Rom 8:38; 1Co 15:54). Certainly the history of the sufferings and trials of the true Church form a most striking commentary upon these words. Floods of persecution have swept over it, but they have not quenched love. The flame has burst forth again and again when it seemed to be extinguished, and it has become a very “flame of the Lord.” The bush has been burning, but has not been consumed. By jealousy is intended love in its intensity not bearing arival. The “flame of the Lord” may be compared with “the voice of the Lord,” which is described in Hebrew poetry as connected with the fury of the storm. The flame, therefore, would be lightning and the voice thunder. The whole of this passage, which forms a kind of keynote of the poem, is more like a distinct strain introduced to give climax to the succession of songs than the natural expression of the bride’s feelings. It has been always regarded as one of the sublimest apostrophes to love to be found anywhere. The enemies of God and of humanity are represented as falling before it, death and the grave. Its vehemence and force of manifestation are brought vividly before us by the comparison of the flash of lightning. It is remarkable that this exaltation of love should be included in the Old Testament, thus proving that the Mosaic Law, with its formal prescriptions, by no means fulfils the whole purpose of God in his revelation to the world. As the New Testament would not have been complete without the message of the beloved disciple, so this Old Testament must have its song of love. Nor is it only the ideal and the heavenly love which is celebrated, but human affection itself is placed very high, because it is associated with that which is Divine. It is a more precious thing than mere wealth or worldly honour, and he that trifles with it deserves the utmost scorn and contempt of his fellows. It is well to remark how consistently the poetic framework is maintained. There is no attempt to leave the lines of human relations even at this point, whets evidently the sentiment rises above them. The love which is apostrophized is not removed from earth in order to be seen apart from all earthly imperfections and impurities. We are invited rather to look through the human to the Divine which embraces it and glorifies it. That. is the method of the Divine revelation throughout. “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” We do not need to take Solomon’s Song as an allegory. It is a song of human love, but as such it is a symbol of that which is Divine.
Son 8:8
We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts: what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for? The term “little” refers, of course, to her tender age, as in 2Ki 5:2, the “little maid;” and in Gen 44:20, “a child of his old age, a little one,” referring to Benjamin. “She hath no breasts” is equivalent to saying she is not yet mature, of marriageable age (see Eze 16:7). The question which the bride asks of King Solomon refers to the promise which he is supposed to have made, and which he is virtually pledging himself to fulfil by this visit to the country home of his queen. “What shall be done for the advantage of my little sister? Let us consult together” (cf. Gen 27:37; 1Sa 10:2; Isa 5:4). “The day when she shall be spoken for” is the day when she shall attract the attention of a suitor. It must necessarily be difficult to find satisfactory interpretations forevery detail in such a poem of human love as this. It might be sufficient to see in this reference to the younger sister the general idea of love’s expansion. Those who are themselves the objects of it, being full of exquisite happiness, desire to call others into the same joy. This is true both of the individual and of the Church. What shall be done for others? That is the question which is awakened in every heart where true love is at work. There is no need to explain the language further. But the allegorists have been very ingenious in attempting to find meanings forevery allusion of the poem. Who is the little sister? What is her virginity? What is the day in which she shall be spoken for? Some have said that the little sister represents the firstfruits of the Jews and Gentiles received into the Christian Church immediately after the time of our Lord’s ascension, as Beza and others. Some, again, take it to mean the whole body of Jews and Gentiles yet to be converted. Others would see in it those that are weak in faith, the beginners in Christian life. And, again, it has been regarded as pointing to the “daughter of Zion” at the time of the first beginnings of her conversion to the heavenly Solomon, which is the view of Hengstenberg and others. There is no end to such fancies. The broad general meaning is all that we can rest upon. The bride naturally thinks of her sister. It is a lovely incident in a perfectly idyllic poem. The visit to the home is quite in harmony with the fresh, pure, and simple life which reveals itself in all the utterances of the bride, and is honoured by the devoted attention of the splendid monarch. It is a real touch of nature when the young bride, in her family life once more, asks what shall become of her sister. It is an exquisite type of that sisterly solicitude with which all true Christians will care for the souls around them. Delitzsch thinks that the question which is asked by the bride is answered by her brothers, as they were the actual guardians of the little sister (see Gen 21:1-34 :50, 55; Gen 34:6-8). But there is no necessity to introduce any new interlocutors at this point. The words are certainly addressed to Solomon. It is quite natural that he should reply to them in a royal style, with the pluralis majestatis which suits the corresponding position of the bride as a suppliant for her sister.
Son 8:9
If she be a wall, we will build upon her a turret of silver: and if she be a door, we will enclose her with boards of cedar. The interpretation which Delitzsch suggests of these words is that the “wall” represents firmness of character, and the “door” weakness and insecurity. If she firmly and successfully withstands all immoral approaches, then we will bestow high honour upon her, as a tribute to her maidenly virtue and constancy. The turret or castle of silver would mean rewarding her with increase. Silver is the emblem of holiness, gold of nobility. The meaning may, however, merely be, “We will endow her with plenty.” The boards of cedar are supposed to be special protections, as cedar is noted for its hardness and durability. But is not the meaning much simpler and more natural? It would be rather a far fetched use of the figure of a door that it should suggest seduction, and would be rather unsuitable in the lips of the bridegroom when speaking of the little sister of his own bride. May not the meaning be no more than this?She may become one of the most substantial parts of the building, like a wall; in that ease all that she can be she shall be; we will put the highest honour upon her. She may be a door, that is, though not so great and substantial as the wall, still in the very front of the building and before the eyes of all. In that case we will beautify her with costly and fragrant adornment. The gate shall be enclosed in cedar wood. “The wall and the door,” says Zockler, “are mostly understood of the steadfast and faithful keeping of the Word of God and of its zealous proclamation to the Gentiles (1Co 16:9, etc.); but some also explain them of the valiant in faith and the weak in faith, or of the learned and simple, or of faithful Christians and such as are recreant and easily accessible to the arts of seduction. And then, according to these various interpretations, the ‘silver bulwarks’ are now the miracles of the first witnesses of Jesus, now the distinguished teachers of the Church, now pious Christian rulers, now the testimonies of Holy Scripture by which faith is strengthened. And, again, by the ‘cedar boards’ are sometimes understood the ten commandments or the Law, sometimes Christian teachers, sometimes the examples of the saints, sometimes the salutary discipline of the cross and sufferings for Christ’s sake,” etc. All such attempts at detailed interpretation fail to give satisfaction. Their effect is to repel many from the study of the book altogether, just as the follies and. extravagances of the interpreters of prophecy have greatly hindered the study of the prophetic Scriptures. The wall and the door need not be taken as opposed to one another, as they are not in our conceptions of a city. They fulfil different functions. The wall is for defence; the door is for admission. In the one case we think of strength, and in the other case of beauty. The application of the symbols is very easy if the general meaning alone is regarded. There is a variety of capacity and function in the Church of Christ. There are differences in the forms of Christianity among different nations. But the Lord will receive and bless all. Some are not fitted to be built upon as strong wails, but they may still be beautiful examples of Christian graces in the eyes of the world, through whom many gladly enter into the truth and into the fellowship of Christ.
Son 8:10-12
I am a wall, and my breasts like the towers thereof: then was I in his eyes as one that found peace. Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon; he let out the vineyard unto keepers; every one for the fruit thereof was to brings a thousand pieces of silver. My vineyard, which is mine, is before me: thou, O Solomon, shalt have a thousand, and those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred. The meaning seems to be affectionate approval of the method just described. Solomon says, “If the young sister be, worthy of love, she shall receive more and more of defence and honour; she shall be all that I can make her.” The bride takes up this thought. “So it is with me, and, in the spirit of thankful acknowledgments and praise, I will respond to all the favour of the king. King Solomon has loved me, and now I am rising higher and becoming more and more glorious because of his love.” The typical reference can scarcely be missed. The Church, the bride of the Lamb, shines only in the light of him whose favour is life, and whose loving kindness is better than life. The comparison to a city with the walls and towers, while it would seem a little far fetched in a love song, is quite in place if the typical intention was in the mind of the writer. He was thinking of the city of God, “beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth.” “One that findeth peace” is the same as “one that findeth favour,” that is, one who is the object of his affection. There are several references which confirm this, such as Est 2:17; Deu 24:1; Jer 31:2; Psa 41:10. The word “peace” (shalom) is in all probability purposely chosen in this case as a kind of play on the name Solomon, which appears immediately afterwards. “The king of peace delights in me because I am peace in his eyes.” The Church is after the image of the King. His likeness in her makes her beautiful. Men take knowledge of Christians that they have been with Jesus (see 1Ch 22:9). It is scarcely necessary to point out that this language of the bride is entirely against the shepherd theory. She could not have talked of finding peace in his eyes if she was torn from her true lover. The bride then goes on to express her devotedness to the king and her desire to bring forth abundance for him. She uses as an example, which perhaps was typical in her time and country, some remarkably fruitful vineyard of the king’s. She will, in like manner, realize all his highest wishes. All that she has shall be his. The name Baal-hamon () in the LXX. (cf. Judith 8:3), designates probably a place near to Sunem, somewhere to the north, on the further side of the Plain of Jezreeh The produce of the vineyard must have been very large, as every keeper was to bring in for himself a thousand shekels of silver. It is not stated how many keepers there were, but the word which is employed is not “servants,” but “watchers, or overseers.” A vineyard was divided into portions, with a certain definite prescribed number of vines in each portion. In Isa 7:23 we read, “And it shall come to pass in that day that every place where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings shall even be for briers and thorns.” Now, a thousand silverlings was one shekel, so that if this passage can be taken as throwing light on what the bride says, it would imply that, instead of one shekel forevery thousand vines, every keeper brought a thousand shekels. That would seem impossible, so that the parallel can scarcely be strict. Perhaps the largeness of the vineyard is referred to, and each of the keepers would have many thousands of vines under his inspection. The general meaning, however, is not obscure. The vineyard was a celebrated one, and was taken as a typical instance of fertility and abundance. When the bride speaks of her vineyard which is before her, there may be an allusion to her previous manner of life as a rustic maiden employed in the vineyards, and to her own position as a keeper or as one of the family. But this is not intended to be prominently expressed. The whole spirit of the poem justifies the view that she is speaking of her person. She invited Solomon to rejoice in the beauty and fragrance of her garden, to pluck the fruits, to revel in the delights. Everything that is pleasant and lovely is before him (see So 4:12; Isa 5:1). Before me; that is, in my power is all this delight, and my desire is to my husband; all that I have is his. Like the far-famed keepers of Baal-hamon, I will give the king a thousand shekels, that is, the utmost that the vineyard can produce, and “those that keep the fruit thereof” shall have two hundredperhaps meaning a hundred each, that is a tenth, which was the ancient tithe due to the priests. It may be, however, that a double tithe is intended. The king shall be satisfied, and all those who labour for the king shall be more than ever rewarded. If we take such words as typical, they point to a state of things in the history of the kingdom of God when the spiritual and the temporal shall be perfectly adjusted. The keepers of the vineyard have often made sad havoc of the vineyard itself because of their greedy discontent. The fruits which have been yielded by the Church have fallen very far short. The husbandmen have ill treated the Lord’s servants. But all the judgments which have been poured out both upon ancient Jews and upon the corrupt Christendom of later times have been directed to one end, to make the vineyard of the Lord more fruitful, to remove the things which are offensive in his sight, to satisfy him whose soul travailed for his people; for herein is the Father glorified in the Son, when them who bear the name of the Beloved “bear much fruit.” Then the keepers of the vineyard will themselves rejoice, not that they reap a larger harvest of this world’s good, not “for filthy lucre’s sake,” but because their hearts are one with his whose vineyard they keep, and to see the fruit abound is to fill them with joy. Surely we shall recognize in such language an anticipation of the many allusions which are found both in the prophets and psalms and in the discourses of our Lord himself. “The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant” (Isa 5:7)
Son 8:13
Thou that dwellest in the gardens, the companions hearken for thy voice; cause me to hear it. There cannot be much doubt that these are the words of the bridegroom. They are addressed to the bride. She is the dweller in the gardens; that is, one who is at home in the gardens, whose beauty blends with the rural loveliness around her. The king wishes his bride to understand that she is only acceptable in his sight, and that all that she asks shall be granted. It is delightful to him to hear her voice, as it is delightful to those who have been accustomed to that voice from her childhood. “Dear country girl, sing to me, and let me revel in the sweetness of thy music. ‘Thy companions hearken for it’thy former associates, the playmates of thy youth. And while they gather round us, and you and I rejoice in one another, let the sound of thy voice mingle with the peaceful beauty of this earthly paradise.” There is an exquisite tenderness in this conclusion of the poem. The curtain falls, as it were, upon a scene of mutual confidence and affection, the simplicity of the bride’s early home being lifted up into the royal splendour of the king’s presence, the companions beholding and praising, while, in the midst of all that sunny bliss and peaceful content, the voice of the Bride is heard singing one of the old, familiar strains of love with which she poured out her heart in the days when her beloved came to find her in her home. It is impossible to conceive a more perfect conclusion. It leads up our thoughts to the laud of light and song, where “the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall be the Shepherd” of those who shall “hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun strike upon them, nor any heat;” “and he shall guide them unto fountains of waters of life: and God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Rev 7:16, Rev 7:17). It is sad to think that Solomon himself fell from such an ideal of human affection, and was unfaithful to such a bride. But there is no need to trouble the clear, transparent beauty of this typical poem by any reference to the incidents of the writer’s own history. He placed it on the altar of God, no doubt, at a time when it represented sincere feelings in his heart, and because he was inspired to see that it would be profitable to the people of God as a mirror in which they could behold the reflection of the highest truth. But though he himself fell away from his high place as a prophet of God, the words which he left behind him were still a precious gift to the Church. It is otherwise with him who is typified by the earthly monarch. He who is the heavenly Bridegroom has himself to lift up the weakness and fickleness of his bride by fellowship with her, until she is above the reach of temptation, and partaker of his own glory. And he does so, as this exquisite poem reminds us, by the power of his love. It is the personal influence of the Lord Jesus Christ which must glorify the Church and restore it to its original simplicity and spirituality. The scene into which we are led in this story of bridal affection typifies a state of the Church when the artificiality of court life shall be abandoned, the magnificence of mere external pomp and ritual shall be left behind, and the bride shall simply delight herself in the Bridegroom among the pure and peaceful surroundings of a country home. The Church will realize the greatness of her power when she is delivered from that which hides her Saviour, when she is simply human and yet entirely spiritual; then the Lord of her life, the second Adam, the perfect Man, who is from heaven and in heaven, but still on earth, changing earth to heaven by his love, will fulfil his promise. “He not merely concludes the marriage covenant with mankind, but likewise preserves, confirms, refines, and conducts it step by step to its ideal consummation, which is at the same time the palingenesia and perfection of humanity.”
Son 8:14
Make haste, my beloved, and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart upon the mountains of spices. This is a snatch of the old love songs which the bride used to sing when love was fresh and young. She sings it now at the request of her bridegroom himself, and in the delighted ears of her companions. She goes forth from among, them leaning on her beloved, to rejoice in the beautiful scenery and rural pleasures with him whose presence heightens every joy, the life of her life, the soul of her soul, “all her salvation, all her desire.” The bridegroom and the bride are seen disappearing together over the flowery hills; and the music of the Song of Songs dies away in the sweet fragrance of that closing scene; the vision of love has, gazelle-like, leapt from point to point, and vanishes away at last among the mountains of spices. It is well to notice that what were before “mountains of Berber,” that is, of “separation,” are now “mountains of Besamin”balsam mountains. There is no more word of separation. Henceforth the only note is one of peaceful enjoyment. “My beloved is mine, and I am his.“ Our home and haunt is the same. The concluding words, we cannot doubt, are intended to open a perfect future to the eye. Yet the poet, with consummate art, connects that future with the past and the present by the voice of the bride heard singing the love song with which she first expressed her love, now lifted up into anticipation of the everlasting hills of fragrant and joyful life.
HOMILETICS
Son 8:1-4
Wishes of the bride.
1. That she had known the bridegroom always. The bride continues the address of Son 7:1-13. She is still speaking to the king, telling him of her love. He had again and again called her his sisterhis sister-bride. She now wishes that he were to her as a brother; that they could have been children of the same mother; that they could have known one another from infancy. So in the close union of love between husband and wife there comes sometimes such a longing, a desire that each could have known the other from the beginning; that instead of the years in which they were strangers, and never heard one another’s voice, or touched one another’s hand, they had always lived together, and known one another through and through in all the varied experiences of child life, of girlhood or of boyhood; sometimes there comes a sort of innocent envy of the brothers or sisters who then knew one or other of the wedded pair when they were unknown to one another. The bride wishes that she had always thus known the bridegroom; that she could have loved him always with a sisterly affection; that their mutual endearments might have been, like those of brothers and sisters, without shame, attracting no observation. How often the converted soul longs with an intense longing that it had always from the beginning known and loved the heavenly Bridegroom! How utterly wasted and lost those years now seem which were spent without that knowledge of Christ which is eternal life! How ardently we wish that they could be blotted out of our remembrance, with all their ignorance and all their sins, as we humbly hope that through the atonement of the precious blood they are blotted out from the handwriting “that was against us, that was contrary to us” (Col 2:14)! Blessed be God we have his holy promise, “I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee” (Isa 44:22). We know that in his gracious mercy he so putteth away the sins of them that truly repent that he remembereth them no more (Jer 31:34; Heb 8:12; Heb 10:17). But though we believe in the forgiveness of sins, and thank God heartily for that blessed revelation of his love, yet we cannot but longand that the more earnestly the nearer we draw to himthat we had always known him with the knowledge of faith and love, that we had always remembered him, that we had kept our heart pure from other loves, and loved him always. There is a difference between the love of the forgiven penitent and the love of saints like Enoch or Samuel, who, as far as human imperfection allows, have always in the main bent and purpose of their lives striven to walk with God. The love of the penitent is more demonstrative, more passionateif the word may be used, more enthusiastic; the love of men like Samuel is calmer, quieter, fuller, dominating the entire life in all its pursuits and amusements; and just because it is not intermittent, but uniform, it is not so much observed of men. The still waters run deepest; the interpenetration of the heart by the long-continued influences of the Holy Spirit, without any marked and sudden change visible to the eyes of men, produces a very high type of Christian character. Enoch seems to have walked with God all his life. “He was not, for God took him;” “He had this testimony, that he pleased God” (Heb 11:5). It is a poor offering to give the dregs of our life to God, when the evil days when the temptations of youth have lost their power over us; “when the evil days come, and the years draw nigh when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them” (Ecc 12:1). A life dedicated to God from early childhood must be a thing well pleasing in his sight, as Holy Scripture tells us it was in the case of Enoch. Such a life is very rare, and we may well be full of thankfulness to Almighty God for his gracious promises to the penitent sinner. He “will not despise the broken and the contrite heart.” “If the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.” We thank God for these gracious words. If we have been called at the sixth or at the eleventh hour, it is enough to fill us with adoring gratitude; we wonder, as we look back upon the past, that God bore with us so long in our sin and unbelief; we thank him with all our heart for his long suffering mercy. But when we remember that sin and that unbelief, we cannot but long that we had given to God those lost and wasted years; that we had remembered our Creator in the days of our youth, and not grieved the Holy Spirit of God by so many transgressions, so much coldness and hardness of heart.
2. That she had brought him into her mother‘s house. Those lost years involved the loss of many opportunities of doing good to others. The bride, had she known the bridegroom in early youth, would have brought him, she says, into her mother’s house. There (she adds in what seems to be the best reading) “thou shouldest instruct me.” How much good we might have done in our families, among our friends, if we had given our earliest years to God, if we had lived then as in his presence, and had carried the consciousness of that presence, with all the feelings of awe and reverence and love which attend it, always with us in our family life, in our dealings with relations and friends; if we had given him of our best, and willingly offered up for his service all that we most prized and valued, how much calmer, holier, happier, our life would have been! For he would have instructed us. He bids us learn of him. He is the great Teacher, the Master. “All thy children,” he says, “shall be taught of the Lord: and great shall be the peace of thy children” (Isa 54:13).
3. The bride repeats the aspirations of So Son 2:7. If we had listened to that instruction from the time when we were first made his disciples, if we had given him from the beginning that for which he thirstedour affections, our heart’s lovethen he would now be wholly ours; “his left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should embrace me.” That blessed union with the Saviour, growing ever nearer and closer, is the object of the deepest longings of the Christian soul. We think sometimes that if only we had always loved him and walked with him, our walk now might be very close with God; we might have attained to that calm and serene trustfulness which is the privilege of his saints; we might have found rest for our souls in the embrace of his holy love. But though we have greatly sinned, and have lost much through past neglect and unbelief, yet even now that blessed rest is not beyond our grasp. It was to Mary Magdalene, out of whom the Lord had cast seven devils, that those words were said which seemed at first severe and forbidding, but really involved the promise of a holier union, “Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended unto my Father.” She was about to embrace his feet, to cling to the human form of him who had done such great things for her. The Lord implies a promise of a better, spiritual communion. When he had ascended into heaven, when he had sent down the blessed Spirit that he might abide forever with his Church, then the believing soul might touch him with the touch of faith; might cling to him with a holler, a more blessed embrace.; then he would be with us all the days, guiding, strengthening, comforting. his left hand under our head to support us when we seem to be ready to fall, his right hand embracing us to shield us from all evil, to assure us of his love.
4. The thrice-repeated charge to the daughters of Jerusalem. The bride’s longings for the tokens of the bridegroom’s love again arouse her feelings of maidenly reserve: as in So Son 2:7 and Son 3:5, she bids her virgin friends not to stir up or awaken love until it please to manifest itself. The Christian’s aspirations after the abiding presence of God arouse in him feelings of reverential awe. He will remember the Lord’s caution, “Touch me not;” he will avoid expressions of love which savour too much of merely human tenderness; he will shrink instinctively from any approach to familiarity; he will remember that the Lord Jesus is the Word of God, the King, the Judge of all; he will be reverent in all his approaches to the Saviour; he will endeavour to instil reverence into those around him by example, by tone, by manner, by word. We must wait on the Lord until he pleases to manifest himself; we must not be impatient; we must learn to Say with the psalmist, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance and my God” (Psa 42:11).
Son 8:5-14
Entire union of wedded love.
I. COMMUNION OF THE BRIDEGROOM AND THE BRIDE.
1. Approach of the bride. “Who is this?” The question is asked for the third time (see So Son 3:6; Son 6:10). In So Son 3:6 the chorus of youths asks the question as the bride is borne in royal state to meet the king in the city of his kingdom; it occurs again in So Son 6:10, when the maidens of the chorus are struck with admiration of her queenlike, majestic beauty. Now, apparently, we have a narrative of a visit to the scenes of the bride’s early life, according to her invitation in So Son 7:11; and the question, “Who is this?” is repeated once more. Here the circumstances are changed; there is no magnificence as in Son 3:1-11.; the bride is alone with the king; she is seen coming up from the wilderness, leaning on her beloved. So the Church, the bride of Christ, cometh up from the wilderness, leaning on the heavenly Bridegroom. So the Church of the Old Testament went up from Babylon when the wilderness was glad for them, when the ransomed of the Lord returned and went up with singing to Zion. So the Church of the New Testament came up from the wilderness of persecution, leaning on the strength of Christ; so the same Church shall come up at the call of the same holy Saviour to the heavenly Zion when that blessed promise is fulfilled, “Upon this rock will I build my Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” Hades, the abode of the dead, shall not be able to retain within its grasp the bride of Christ. For he saith, “I will ransom them from the power of the grave [Sheol, or Hades]; I will redeem them from death: O death, where are thy plagues? O grave, where is thy destruction? Repentance shall be hid from mine eyes” (Hos 13:14). And so now each Christian soul cometh up, one after another, out of the wilderness, leaning upon her Beloved. When he calls us and bids us come to him, we feel that the world is indeed a wilderness; that it hath nothing to satisfy our cravings, our needs. And the soul cometh, drawn by the Saviour’s love. “I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” The soul cometh up; it is a continual ascent. As the Lord was lifted up from the earth, so the soul cometh up, away from the world, nearer to the cross. Christ is calling us upwards. The holiness to which he bids us aspire is very high; it seems above our reach; it can be reached only by persevering effort; by climbing, little by little, ever higher; by making all the little matters of daily life opportunities of self-denial, means of disciplining our human wills into submission to the holy will of God. The effort must be continuous, conscious, real; there must be no looking back to the wilderness; no hankering after the flesh pots of Egypt; no longing for the other masters, the world, the flesh, and the devil, which we renounced when we gave our heart to Christ. The soul cometh up from the wilderness. It is a solemn thing; a sight which causes joy in heaven, for the angels know the meaning of that ascent; they know the perils of the wilderness, the utter vanity of its seeming pleasures; they know the toil, the difficulty of that ascent; they know the great glory and gladness reserved for those that have achieved it; they know, too, how very precious every Christian soul is in the sight of the Lord, who bought it with his blood. At rest in heaven themselves, they watch with a deep interest the heavenward progress of each true disciple of the Lord. The long procession upwards of the ransomed saints must be a spectacle of varied and intense interest in the presence of the angels of God. And they see what was once seen by the King of Babylon, “Behold, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God” (Dan 3:25). The angels see that each soul that cometh up is leaning on her Beloved. The journey is long and wearisome; the ascent is steep and rugged; but the soul that has found Christ, and clung to him with the embrace of faiththe soul that can say, “My Beloved is mine, and I am his,” is not left alone in its weakness. There is a strong arm, unseen by the outward eye, but felt and realized by faith; there is a hand stretched forth to helpthe hand that once caught the sinking Peter, and lifted him up out of the depths. Each faithful soul leaneth on her Beloved. We need that support always, at every point of the long, wearisome path; at every step of the toilsome, upward climbing. Without Christ we can do nothing; we sink backwards; we become listless and slothful. But while we feel his presence while by faith we lean upon him, resting our weakness on his strength, then our progress is assured. We need that presence always, in all the little trials of our daily lives, in the greater sorrows and perplexities that emerge from time to time. That presence transfigures our life, turning troubles into blessings; making sorrows so many steps upwards, ever nearer to God. To realize that presence, the Lord Jesus must be “my Beloved;” I must give him my whole heart; I must know him with that holy knowledge with which the true sheep know the good Shepherd; and to gain the excellency of that blessed knowledge I must be content, like St. Paul, to count all things else as dross, as very dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him.
“I need thy presence every passing hour:
What but thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
Who like thyself my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.
“I fear no foe, with thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness;
Where is death’s sting? where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if thou abide with me.”
2. The voice of the bridegroom. According to the present pointing of the Hebrew, the second clause of Son 3:5 is an utterance of the bride. Many of the Fathers and other Christian writers assign it to the bridegroom. This last arrangement seems by far the most natural. The king points out the birthplace of the bride; he recalls to her remembrance an incident of their early attachmenthe shows her the tree under which they first met. So man and wife now, when united in a happy marriage, love to visit the early haunts of one another, and especially the places endeared to both by the memory of their first vows and promises. So to the Christian those places must be always full of sacred interest where the heavenly Bridegroom first won the love of his bride, the ChurchBethlehem, Gethsemane, Calvary. So to each Christian soul those spots are hallowed ground which are connected with events in our own religious life our baptism, our confirmation, our first communion; or associated with any great and abiding impressions or influences for good which Almighty God has been pleased to grant to us from time to time.
3. The response of the bride. The bride is leaning on the bridegroom’s arm; perhaps she was reclining her head upon his breast. She would ever remain in that dear embrace, near to him as the seal which was attached to the arm or neck. The seal of the king had great weight and value; it gave his authority to the document which bore it (Dan 7:17); it was precious and sacred, and would, of course, be jealously guarded. The king himself would wear it; it would be fastened on his arm, or it would be suspended from his neck and rest upon his heart. There the bride would ever be, encircled with her husband’s arms, pressed close to his heart; it is her rightful place, for she is bound to him by the indissoluble ties of holy wedlock. So the Church, the bride of Christ, clings to her Lord. Without him she can do nothing; but, borne up in the everlasting arms, she hath a strength not her own. She would be near to him as a seal. She hath the seal of God, for she is “sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance” (Eph 1:13, Eph 1:14). She is God’s foundation upon the holy hills (Psa 87:1), built upon the Rock of ages; and “the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity” (2Ti 2:19). So each Christian longs to be borne up in the arms of Christthose arms that were opened wide upon the cross, as if to fold his chosen in the embrace of his love; so each Christian longs to rest, as once St. John rested, upon the Saviour’s breast; to be dear to him, cherished as a seal that lies in its owner’s bosom; so each Christian hopes to bear the impress of that sacred seal stamped more and more deeply into his inner life, that being now sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, he may one day stand among the blessed, sealed with the seal of the living God upon his forehead (Rev 7:3).
4. Her praise of love. Why does she desire to be so close to the bridegroom, to be as a seal upon his heart? Because, she says, “love is strong as death.” She has given him her love, and that love entirely fills and dominates her soul; she has taken him to be her husband till death; she loves him with a love like that of Ruth: “The Lord do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me” (Rth 1:17). That love, strong as death, the love of those wedded souls who in true affection have plighted their troth, either to other, “till death us do part,” is a figure of the holy love that is betwixt Christ and his Church. Indeed, the love of the heavenly Bridegroom was stronger than death; stronger than a death of lingering torture, a death of ignominy and horror. “We love him, because he first loved us.” His Church, drawn by the constraining power of his most holy love, has striven to return it. Many of his saints have loved him with a love strong as death; they have proved by the martyr’s death the strength of their love. How should we have acted if we had lived in those days of fiery trial? It is a question which we should often and earnestly press upon ourselves, for the Lord has taught us that “he that loveth his life shall lose it, and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal” (Joh 12:25). St. Stephen, and the long line of saints who followed him, the noble army of martyrs, loved not their lives unto the death. How would it be with the many half-hearted, careless Christians who come to church, and call themselves disciples of the crucified Saviour, but have not learned to take up the cross and deny themselves for his sakehow would it be with them if they were suddenly summoned to choose between Christ and death? Which of us would be faithful unto death? Which of us would deny his Lord? It is an awful questiona question full of the deepest interest; for it is only such a love, a love strong as death, which can give us strength to overcome temptation, and to fight the good fight of faith. He who for the love of Christ endures hardness now, who puts aside his own wishes, and does habitually for Christ’s sake things which but for the love of Christ he would not have done; he who habitually for Christ’s sake leaves undone things which but for the love of Christ he would have gladly done,he is learning to love Christ with a love strong as death, a love which is giving him strength to kill out of his heart worldly thoughts and earthly ambitions, so that, dying unto the world, he may live unto Christ. We must all pray and strive for that love strong as death; it should be the object of our highest ambition, our most fervent longing. We need it now as much as the Mints and martyrs of the Lord needed it in the old times. For if they had to lay down their lives for Christ, we have now to give him our hearts, our lives; and to do that always, in times of anxiety, or sickness, or lassitude, requires a great love; a love strong as death; a love which we can only learn of the Master who loved us with a love stronger than death, who himself set us the high example of self-sacrificing love, and now helps and teaches us by the gracious influences of the Holy Ghost, the other Comforter, whom he sendeth to abide forever with his people. Love is strong as death, and jealousy is hard as the grave (Sheol, or Hades). Death is strong; he is the last enemy, the king of terrors. Hades is hard and stern; it is rapacious; it hath never enough; it holds its prisoners firm. But love is strong as death and Hades. Christ, who is Love, hath overcome death, and opened unto us the gate of everlasting life; the gates of Hades shall not prevail against his Church. Neither death nor life can separate from his love those who love him with a true love, a love strong as death; they, too, are more than conquerors through him who loved them. And when love is strong as death, the jealousy (in the good sense of the word), which is one of its developments, is hard, tenacious, as Hades. God is love, the infinite love, and he is a jealous God. “Thou shalt worship no other God: for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” (Exo 34:14). He asks for our whole heart; he is jealous of a divided service; he will not accept a service to be shared with another master. Such a service is stigmatized in Holy Scripture with the stern name of adultery. “Ye adulteresses,” says St. James, in language of awful severity, “know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Do ye think that the Scripture saith in vain, The Spirit which he hath made to dwell within us, jealously yearneth after us?” or, as the words may also be rendered, “he jealously yearneth for the spirit which he made to dwell within us” (Jas 4:4, Jas 4:5). God once breathed into man’s nostrils the breath of life. He gave to man as his distinguishing possession s spirit. “I pray God,” says St. Paul to the Thessalonians, “that your whole spirit and soul and body may be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1Th 5:23). That spirit, his special gift, should be wholly his. It is that part of our complex nature which is receptive of the Holy Spirit of God, which, when illumined by his presence, can attain unto such knowledge of God as is now granted to us (“Now we see through a glass, darkly now I know in part,” 1Co 13:12), and dwell in communion with God. God jealously desires the possession of that spirit. Therefore the Christian’s love for God must be a jealous love; he must be very jealous of the intrusion of other loves, other ambitions, into the heart, which should be given wholly to God; he must keep his heart for God with a godly jealousy (see 2Co 11:2)jealousy stern as that with which Hades retains its prisoners. And this holy jealousy is ardent, tooardent as flames of fire; “a very flame of the Lord” (verse 6, Revised Version). For its ardour comes from him; it is he who gives that ardent zealthat zeal for the Lord which has urged his holiest servants to do and dare such great things for his love’s sake. The great love of the Lord Jesus for our souls calls for something more than the lukewarmness of Laodicea. “Be zealous,” it says to us; “be zealous and repent” (Rev 3:19). The name of God occurs only in this one place in the song; we read it here in the shortened form (Jah) of the adorable name, as if to teach us the sacred lesson of the disciple whom Jesus loved, that “God is love: and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him” (1Jn 4:16). Holy love comes only from him. “Love is of God, and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God” (1Jn 4:7). Such love cannot be quenched. It is so even with pure human love. “Many waters cannot quench it, neither can the floods drown it.” The many waters of trouble, suffering, old age, cannot stifle love; it lives on still. It cannot be bought. “If a man would give all the substance of his house for love, he would utterly be contemned.” Love cannot be bought or forced; it is essentially free and spontaneous; it springs up spontaneously in the heart (“when it pleases,” verse 4; also So Jas 2:7; Jas 3:5), in response to love, at the presence of an object capable of calling it forth. So it is with the holy love of God. God’s love for us cannot be quenched. The many waters of our unbelief, ingratitude, and sin have notblessed be his holy Namequenched his gracious love. It cannot be bought; we cannot buy it with earthly gifts, with gold or silver, or external good works; it is given freely, graciously, and it abides in those who live in the faith of the Son of God. Our love for God is a faint reflection of his blessed love for us. It is called forth by that holy love. “We love him, because he first loved us.” The waters of trouble and sorrow and temptation cannot drown it if it is true and real. These verses are the Old Testament psalm of love (see Psa 45:1-17, title), corresponding to 1Co 13:1-13 or the First Epistle of St. John, in the New Testament. They have a singular power and beauty; they are treasured in the memories of God’s people; they have brought peace and comfort to many a death bed.
II. INTERCESSIONS OF THE BRIDE.
1. For her sister. The bride has a sister not yet of marriageable years. What shall be done for her? If she be a wall, firm and steadfast, she shall be richly dowered; but if she be a door, too easily opened, too accessible, she must be carefully guarded. The bride herself is a wall, strong and steadfast in her virtue; therefore it was that she found peace in the bridegroom’s eyes. There may possibly be an allusion here to the name Solomon, which follows in the next verse: the bride found peace in the eyes of the peaceful one. The bride is the Church, the little sister perhaps the Gentiles. Those Gentile Churches that will be steadfast in the faith, like Smyrna or Philadelphia, shall be built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief Cornerstone (Eph 2:20). Those that are like Thyatira, Sardis, or Laodicea, still open to those other masters, the world, the flesh, and the devil, must be treated with wholesome severity; they must be carefully guarded and fenced in, and closed against the enemies of the Lord. The bride intercedes for her little sister. She herself has set a good example. Christian people must make intercession for the heathen, that they may be converted; for missionary work, that it may be prospered; and while they pray, they must be very careful to set a good example themselves, that the great work may not be hindered by any fault of theirs, but may go on and prosper till the earth be filled with the knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea.
2. For her brothers. She had spoken of their harshness (So Joh 1:6). “They made me,” she said, “keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard [literally, as here, ‘my vineyard, which is mine’] have I not kept.” Now she intercedes with the king for them. She would have them to be keepers of her vineyard, and to receive a suitable recompense. She compares King Solomon’s vineyard with her own. The king, she says, had one of great extent and value; every one of the keepers was to bring him a thousand shekels. Then she adds, “My vineyard, which is mine, is before me.” Her vineyard was small; it lay before her eyes. It now passes into the hand of Solomon; it is his. He must have a thousand shekels from it. She wishes the keepers (her brothers, apparently) to have two hundred. The greater than Solomon, the heavenly Bridegroom, has a vineyard. It is the world (comp. Matthew 42:38, “The field is the world”). Solomon’s vineyard was at Baal-hamon, which means “the Lord of the multitude.” We may perhaps see in the word an allusion to him who is called in Holy Scripture “the prince of this world” (Joh 14:30). The Lord has a vineyard in the world, which Satan strives to rule. And men have still, as in Elijah’s time, to choose whom they will serve. “If the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him” (1Ki 18:21). But though Satan is called the prince of this world, and in one place (2Co 4:4) “the god of this world,” he is a usurper; the vineyard is the Lord’s. And the Lord has done all that could be done for his vineyard: “he has hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen” (Mat 21:33). The husbandmen were to bring him in due time of the fruits of his vineyard. They were to do so, but, alas! they did not; they served Baal, many of them, rather than the Lord. The Church’s vineyard is before her; it lies within a comparatively narrow space; it does not cover a third of the population of the world. It belongs now to the heavenly Bridegroom, for the Church is his. He loved the Church, and gave himself for her; and that unspeakable gift, that stupendous ransom, has made her and all that she has wholly his. The fruits which that vineyard brings forth must be paid duly to the Lord of the vineyard. Those fruits are souls converted, sanctified, saved. The keepers too, if they are found faithful, have their reward. The souls saved through their means, their warnings, their example, their preaching, their labours, are their best and most precious reward in this world (1Co 3:14), and in the world to come, “when the chief Shepherd shall appear, they shall receive a crown of glory which fadeth not away” (1Pe 5:4). Each Christian soul is the Lord’s vineyard; it must be cultivated for him, not for Baal. It may be a vineyard in Baal-hamon, set among a multitude who follow the prince of this world; but it is the Lord’s, bought with his most precious blood. It must not bring forth wild grapes, fit only for the world, the flesh, and the devil; it must bring forth good fruitfruit meet to be rendered to the Lord, to be treasured in his granary; the fruit of the Spirit love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. And the soul itself which keepeth the fruit; the soul that treasures up the graces of the good Spirit of God, that listens with reverent attention to his gracious warnings, and follows his guidance; the soul that worketh out its own salvation with fear and trembling through the grace of God, who worketh within both to will and to do,that soul shall receive of the fruit; for “blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” Love, trustfulness, obedience rendered to Christ, bring their own great reward in the irradiating presence of the Saviour. “If any man love me, he will keep my word; and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our abode with him.”
III. FINAL WORDS OF LOVE.
1. The voice of the bridegroom. He addresses the bride as “Thou that dwellest in the gardens” meaning, apparently, the vineyard which she had just mentioned. She has dune her best for it. He accepts her past service. Now the king and his companions were listening for her voice; it was sweet to hear. “Cause me to hear it,” the king says, meaning, it seems, that the voice of the bride was very sweet to him; he loved to hear it; and perhaps also implying that he was ready to grant any request that she might make, as well as that which she had already made. When the Church does her duty, dwelling in the gardens of the Lord, tending his vineyard, then there is joy in heaven, joy in the presence of the angels of God; they hearken to the prayers and praises of the Church. The Lord himself, the heavenly Bridegroom, delights to hear the voice of the bride; her prayers and adorations are as the holy incense, acceptable to him (Rev 8:3, Rev 8:4). The Lord would have all Christian men to pray, and that constantly, His will is that men should pray always, and not faint. He graciously listens to the voice of his people when they speak to themselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, when they make melody in their hearts unto the Lord (Eph 5:19). And he grants their requests. “If ye ask anything in my Name,” he says, “I will do it;” “Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full;” “Whatsoever ye ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive,” We must claim his blessed promise; we must make him hear our voice while we are “dwelling in the gardens,” while we are labouring in the Lord’s vineyard. True prayer leads to faithful work; faithful work stimulates prayer, and gives it energy and devotion. He will hear our prayers for ourselves, our intercessions for others, if only they are offered up in faith, in the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
2. The response of the bride. The king sought to hear the voice of the bride. She in response repeats the last clause of her song in So Joh 2:17; but she makes one important changethe mountains are no longer “mountains of Bether,” which means “separation,” but “mountains of Besamin” (“spices”). Perhaps there is a reference to “the mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense” in the royal gardens (So Joh 4:6). The bride no longer thinks of the possibility of separation. Formerly her beloved was separated from her for a while in his hunting excursions; now he is to be as bright and exultant as of old, but with her in their common haunts. The Church prays, “Thy kingdom come” Her prayer is that God of his gracious goodness would be pleased shortly to accomplish the number of his elect, and to hasten his kingdom. The Christian prays and longs for the coming of the Lord, beseeching him in ever-deepening earnestness to come, first in the kingdom of grace, into his people’s hearts, then in the kingdom of glory, when the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of God and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever, King of kings, and Lord of lords.
HOMILIES BY S. CONWAY
Son 8:1-4
Oh that men would understand!
Such seems to be the sentiment of these verses. She who speaks grieves that those about her did not see how natural and right was her love for her beloved. She could almost wish he were her brother instead of her betrothed, for then those who saw her love for him would not, as now they did, despise her for it. She could not have been already a bride, as is so constantly assumed, for in that case her love could not have awakened scorn. But they despised her for clinging to one who, compared with Solomon, was in their esteem despicable. We may take the section as in part parallel to the sentiments in Rom 9:1-3; Rom 10:1. She who speaks could not wish to be not betrothed, and only as a sister. Some, therefore (Newton), have regarded these verses as an address to the unconverted and unsaved. Others have held that the “brother” means only an infant brother. But we take it that as Paul could wish himself unsaved for Israel’s sake, so here, she who speaks could even wish that she did not hold so dear a relationship to the beloved, but only that of a sister, so that those about her, etc. (cf. supra). The words in Romans and here are to be regarded as hyperbolical expressions, telling of strong desire for others’ good, but not to be regarded au pied de la lettre. We note that
I. MEN WILL ACCEPT THAT WHICH THEY REGARD AS NATURAL. The expression of affection between brother and sister all understand, allow, and approve. And some expressions of religious feeling they will also admit, provided they are marked by what, they deem sobriety and conformity to general usage. All beyond that they despise.
II. BUT THE VEHEMENT AFFECTION OF THE SOUL FOR CHRIST THEY DESPISE. Several marks of such affection are suggested here.
1. Open avowal of love to him. “The religion of every sensible man,” said one, “is that which every sensible man keeps to himself.” Therefore such confession as is suggested by verse 1, “When I should find I would kiss thee,” is of course extravagant and to be despised.
2. Proselytizing in the family. (Verse 2.) “I would bring thee into my mother’s house.” Sincere religion is often deprecated as bringing strife into households, and it is difficult to see how our Lord’s word, “I came not to send peace on earth, but a sword,” can be escaped under such circumstances. And even if there be not absolute proselytizing, the mere presence of an earnest disciple in a house troubles those therein who have no or but little love for Christ.
3. The habitual heed to his teaching. (Verse 2.) “That thou mightest instruct me”. She would, like Mary, sit at her Lord’s feet and listen to him. And even good people like Martha think such conduct not “a good part,” and that opportunity for it ought to “be taken away from her.”
4. The giving to him of her best. This the meaning of “the wine prepared from the pomegranate” (verse 2). Such a sincerely loving soul will not be content with mere ordinary and routine service, but the best of all she has to give she will offer to him.
5. But all this wins scorn and dislike. She who speaks here was evidently “despised” for her devotion to her beloved, and so it is still when the like is seen towards Christ.
III. OUR AIM SHOULD, THEREFORE, BE TO SHOW MEN THAT WHAT THEY DESPISE IS ALTOGETHER REASONABLE AND RIGHT. That men might see this is what is so desired here. But men are as a child playing on a railway line in front of an advancing train. Some kind bystander rushes forward and clutches the child and puts it out of danger before the train is upon it. The child probably only stares displeasedly at him who has roughly interrupted its play; no spark of gratitude is there. So men now do not see what Christ has done for them and is willing to do, and so their hearts are cold to him. The truth, therefore, that “God so loved the world” must be held up, insisted on, and shown by lives consecrated to him under the sense of that love.S.C.
Son 8:5
The home coming.
“Who is this that cometh up,” etc.? The end of this pastoral song is approaching. The speaker in the former versos has finished her recital with words telling of her yearning love for her beloved, and an adjuration to those listening to her that they should not attempt to alter her mind towards him (Son 8:3, Son 8:4). They are the same as in So Son 2:7; Son 3:5. And now the scene changes. She has been rescued from or permitted to leave her gilded but none the less hated captivity in Solomon’s palace, and with her beloved is returning to her old home. A band of friends exclaim, “Who is this,” etc.? Applying the words spiritually, we may take them of the soul’s home coming. And they tell
I. WHITHER SUCH SOUL COMES. It is ever an upward coming. For all the characteristics of the soul’s true home are far above the soul’s natural condition. For here, assuredly, we have not peace. “Man is born,” not to peace, but “to trouble.” Who knows not that? For sin is the great troubler. Therefore, for the soul to have what it so desires, it must come up and away from the wilderness. Purity, likewise. How here can we keep ourselves undefiled? Who amongst men unregenerate and unsaved ever does so? But as the soul in coming home enters into the peace of God, so also shall it partake of his purity. Rest. The trials, crosses, and disappointments of life, its manifold adversities, all ceaselessly proclaim to the soul, “This is not your rest.” But “there remaineth a rest for the people of God.” And the soul, uprising in faith and love towards God, does even here know much of the truth of Christ’s promise, “I will give you rest.” And then there is the course and consummation of all these in the presence of God eternally in heaven. Here we have pledges and foretastes, but there only are we made perfect.
II. WHENCE. “From the wilderness.” How fit that word for the soul’s condition here ere it is redeemed by Christ! Are not the distress of conscience, the sense of guilt, the tyranny and cruelty of sin, the trials of life, and at length the grave,are not all these wilderness like things? But when the soul comes home, it comes away from all these. It is not a coming in them, as every soul has to make acquaintance with them when it is born into the world; nor is it a coming through themthat is what we are occupied in now whilst we linger here; but it is coming from them, leaving them all behind. Oh, blessed home coming of the soul!
III. How. “Leaning upon her beloved.” This tells of the soul‘s relation to Christ. He is “her Beloved.” Of its union with him. As it were linked lovingly together as the soul leans upon him. Of its dependence upon Christ. It is a long, rough, lonely, and difficult way that the soul has to traverse. It needs, therefore, that the Lord should be her “arm” every day (Isa 33:2). Of its communion with Christ. Note the affectionate converse of the next verse. The maiden is represented as coming to a particular tree where once she had awaked him from a noonday slumber, and where, too, he had been bern. “In Oriente non raro accidit at mulieres in aperto pariant” (cf. Gen 35:16). And they talk of these reminiscences. It was natural, and tells of the familiar intercourse, the happy communion, which the soul enjoys with Christ. Yes, it is thus that we make our way homeward, heavenward. In union, in dependence, in communion, with Christ. Thus we come up from the wilderness leaning on our beloved Lord.S.C.
Son 8:6
Love’s prayer.
“Set me as a seal,” etc.
1. That she may be precious in Christ‘s esteem. As a seal, a signet ring, of great value.
2. That she may dwell in his love. “On thine heart.” Also:
3. That she may enjoy the benefit of his intercession. There is allusion, apparently, to the jewels engraved as a signet, and which were on the breast of the high priest of Israel (Exo 28:15-30).
4. That she may be defended by his might. “On thine arm.”
5. That she may express and satisfy his will. As a seal does this for any writing on which it is impressed. Let not our “Amen” be lacking to such a prayer.S.C.
Son 8:6, Son 8:7
Love’s characteristics.
These verses may be regarded as the theme of the entire song. All its chief incidents are illustrative of the vigour, vehemence, and victory of true love. The literal story tells of the triumph of such love as seen in the maiden and her beloved, and as has often been seen in like human love. But as a parable or allegory, it tells of the love of the soul to Christ, and of his to us.
I. ITS STRENGTH. “Strong as death.” Death reigns. Who can resist his will? “Pallida mors,” etc. (cf. Psa 90:1-17). So love is all-powerful. It is a universal passion. It bears away all men in its might. It is an irrepressible force. This is true of human love. And in the love of the redeemed soul for Christ it has proved itself again and again “strong as death.” Every one of the noble army of martyrs has faced death and vanquished it. “They loved not their lives unto the death;” “For thy sake we are killed all the day long.” And yet more in Christ‘s love for us. Physical death, even the death of the cross, could not daunt him. Spiritual death, even that in which we all weredead in trespasses and sinshas not been and shall not be too strong for him, though sometimes it seems to be so. His love is surely as strong as that death. “Where sin did abound, grace,” etc.
II. ITS TENACITY. “Jealousy,” or, rather, ardent, intense lovethis is what is meant, not the mean passion which is known as jealousy. The same love is spoken of all through. And it is “cruel,” or rather firm, tenacious, unyielding, “as the grave,” as Sheol. Does hell ever give up its dead? Can we call back any from the grave? Can they who are there come back thence? So love holds fast that which it loves. The story of this song, as many a beautiful human story, proves the tenacity of true love. And the story of the Christian Church, in her love for her Lord, shows the same. What has not been done to compel redeemed souls to give up their love for Christ? And his love for us above all. “My sheep shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand” (Joh 10:1-42.).
III. ITS VEHEMENCE. “The coals thereof are coals of fire,” etc. Think of what such fire is and does. How it melts, fuses, and subdues that which comes under its power! How, as in volcanoes, it struggles for the mastery until it finds vent in victory! How it burns, consumes, tortures! Apply all this to intense human loveto the soul’s love for Christ, and his for us. Are not many sinful souls conscious of Divine love’s torturing power? See Peter when his Lord’s look of love drove him forth in agony from the scene of his denial. Listen to Christ’s word to Saul, “It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.” The baptism of the Holy Spirit is a baptism of fire (cf. Luk 12:49, Luk 12:50).
IV. ITS UNQUENCHABLENESS. “Many waters,” etc. There were such “many waters” which tried, in the beautiful human story of this song, but they could not quench the maiden’s love for her beloved. And so has it been again and again in human experience. And think of the waters that sought to quench, and the floods to drown, the love of Christ in saintly souls. And they have failed, and will fail. And think of the like that could not extinguish, though so many more and fiercer far, the love which Christ bore towards us. Think of them, and see if Christ’s love does not pass knowledge.
V. ITS INCORRUPTIBILITY. “If a man would give,” etc. It is not for sale; it cannot be bought or bribed. Again, apply this test to the three forms of love we have spoken ofhuman, Christian, Christ’s. And apply all these tests to our own love, and see if it will endure them. If it will, be thankful indeed, and make it evident to all that it is so. If it will notand this is the sadder and more probable truthbehold, gaze on, contemplate earnestly, Christ’s love to us; and then for us, too, it may come to pass, “whilst I was musing, the fire burned.”S.C.
Son 8:8, Son 8:9
The little sister.
This verse seems to be an inquiry on the part of those who are heard speaking in Son 8:5. They probably knew the story of her who was now returning with her beloved, and their question shows their surprise. Then they listen to her entreaty addressed to him whom she so loved (Son 8:6), and to her recital of the characteristics of such love as hers. They now interpose with the question in Son 8:8 concerning a younger sister, who is not merely young, but, from the answer given (Son 8:9), seems also to have been of uncertain and unsatisfactory character. But the question may be taken as addressed to the beloved by her who has just been speaking. Many think this; that it is she who is telling of her little sister, and asking what shall be done for her. If so, then the question and answer lend themselves as parables of great spiritual truths. It is not likely that these verses have been or will be often preached upon; but should they be, they may, perhaps, be profitably used by spiritualizing them as telling of the concern for others which the redeemed soul cherishes. When the woman of Samaria found Christ, she sought that others should find him too. The Prophet Ezekiel says, “Thy younger sister is Sodom” (Eze 16:46). Hence we may take this sister as telling of the whole heathen world, and that world in its worst state. If so, then we may learn
I. THAT THE HEATHEN, EVEN THE VILEST, ARE, AS WE ARE, CHILDREN OF ONE FATHER. “We have a sister.“ “Christ stands in the relation of an elder Brother to the Gentile as well as to the Jewish Church; therefore these two must be sisters.” All men are to say, “Our Father which art in heaven.”
II. CHRIST WILL CALL FOR THEM TO BE HIS OWN. There will come a “day when she shall be spoken for.” Cf. “Other sheep I have” (Joh 10:16); “Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for,” etc. (Psa 2:8).
III. THEY ARE NOT READY FOR HIM. Not ready for that spiritual union with Christ into which his Church shall enter. How certain this is! They are sunk in sin.
IV. THIS IS A MATTER OF MUCH CONCERN TO THOSE WHO ARE CHRIST‘S. “What shall be done for her?” This has been the impulse of all true missions, of all endeavours to bring in others to Christ.
V. THEY ASK AND GAIN COUNSEL FROM HIM. Verse 9 gives his answer to the inquiry, “What shall be done?” “If she be a wall,” etc. In the literal story this probably refers to her steadfastness in virtue (cf. verse 10), and the “door” to an opposite character. We may take the words as telling:
1. Of preparedness to receive the truth. There is amongst some people a preparedness for the faith which greatly facilitates its reception. That preparedness is as a wall which shuts out the inroads of the vile vices which too commonly belong to heathenism, and, as a wall, strengthens them in the maintenance of many excellences. Where this is, there Christ will build a glorious Church (cf. Psa 48:12,Psa 48:13).
2. Of ordinary heathenism, which is as a door, in and out of which come and go all manner and kinds of evils. If it be so, then, as in Rom 2:7, then she should be shut in, enclosed with sacred restraints, as with boards of cedar. And the providence of God has in the past and will in the future so work that it will restrain the grosser practices of heathenism. For often is it seen that even where the heart is not yielded to Christ, yet the sacred restraints of religious custom do tend to regulate conduct and hinder it from much evil See the influence of Sunday on our national life. The counsel suggested, therefore, as to what to do in regard to those as yet not Christ’s, is that where there is preparedness, encourage it; and where not, restrain the practice of evil, make sin difficult so far as you can.S.C.
Son 8:10-12
Gaudeamus igitur.
The question has been asked and the answer given in reference to the “little sister.” It was not clear what should be done, because it was not certain what her disposition might be. In contrast to such uncertainty, she who gave the answer speaks with joyous decision about herself that she is as a wallnot at all as a dooryea, as a strong tower; for though she might be assailed, her love could not be conquered. Her word here is like Paul’s, “I have fought a good fight I have kept the faith,” etc. (2Ti 4:7). Solomon had sought by every means in his power to bend her will to his, but she had remained faithful to her beloved. She tells of his great estate and of the wealth he obtained from it; butspeaking of her own loveshe says she has kept her vineyard, and that it needed no guardian. King Solomon may keep his wealth, and his tenants theirs. She desired neither, but was glad and thankful, her heart was filled with joy, that, tried as she had been, she had yet remained true. Taking all this as a parable, we may learn that
I. THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF SPIRITUAL VICTORY IS FULL OF JOY. (cf. Son 8:10.) What exultant tone there is in it: like that of the psalms which celebrate victory over enemies! The battle may often have wavered, defeat may have been very near, the struggle very severe; all such considerations invest the victory, when it comes, with great joy. To have kept ourselves unspotted from the world, how blessed this! And our own experience, we trust, has often known this union of joy with victory. The calm of spirit, the sense of the Divine approval, the “Well done!” of conscience, the sunshine in the soul when we have overcome some spiritual foe, all attest what we have said.
II. TOWARDS SUCH VICTORS ENEMIES BECOME FRIENDS. “Then was I as one that found peace.” The meaning seems to be that the king, finding all his attempts to win her to be in vain, and struck, it may be, also, with admiration of her constancy, ceased from his solicitations, and let her depart. How often the like of this is witnessed! True, there may be foes who will remain so, though they cease from their temptations. Satan so ceased because he found he could not prevail when he tempted our Lord. But there may be those who cease their persecutions because they have ceased to be our foes. The centurion at the cross confessed, “Surely this was a righteous Man.” And they who, returning from “that sight,” smote their breasts in sorrow and repentance,they would gladly have undone the work which that morning they had helped to do. And in the history of the Church, how perpetually was it the case that the constancy and fidelity of her martyrs won over those who before had been her foes; so that the saying went forth, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church”! And similar fidelity still wins similar triumphs; foes become friends (cf. history of Daniel).
III. THE POSSESSION OF ONE‘S OWN SOUL IS BETTER THAN ANY OTHER POSSESSION BESIDE. (Cf. supra as to the probable meaning of these verses, which tell of Solomon’s vineyard and her own.) She spurned all his wealth, but she prized her own truth and faithfulness. She had striven as Paul had, and succeeded in having a conscience void of offence. And no earthly honour or wealth can be put on a level with such possession, and can never compensate for its loss. Judas lost it, and went out and hanged himself. Hence the Bible says, “Keep thine heart with all diligence, for out of it,” etc. Not only the kingdom of God, but your own kingdomthat which is your own indeed, and the source of your well beingis within you.S.C.
Son 8:13, Son 8:14
The last appeal.
These verses are spoken not by but to the beloved. Literalists say that it is the beloved who speaks, and asks his betrothed to sing to him, and that she complies, and sings to him her song, which we have in So Son 2:17. But we prefer to understand the whole as her appeal to him. Note, therefore
I. THE TITLE SHE GIVES HIM. “O thou that dwellest in the gardens” (Son 2:13). The gardens are the souls of his loving people. Rightly are they so called, for he chose them for himself, loves to dwell in them, and it is needful for them that he should. (Cf. sermon by C.H. Spurgeon on ‘Supposing him to be the Gardener.’)
II. THE PLEA SHE PUTS FORWARD THAT SHE MAY HEAR HIS VOICE. “The companions hearken to thy voice.” We regard these companions as the angels “that do his commandments, hearkening to the voice of his word” (Psa 103:20). They hear his voice; then why should not the soul that loves him? Doubtless we deserve it less than they, but we need it more than they. Theirs is not, as ours, the perverse and unruly will; theirs is not, as ours, the daily need to confess sin and to seek its forgiveness, for they are holy as we are not. But then all the more we need to hear his voice causing us to know the way wherein we should walk. And we love it as much as they. “Sweeter is thy Word to me than honey,” etc.; “The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands,” etc. (and cf. Psa 119:1-176.). And we will strive to obey it even as they; therefore may each soul plead, “Cause me to hear it.”
III. HER EAGERNESS FOR HIS COMING. (Son 2:14.) Cf. last verse of the Revelation, “Amen, come quickly. Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (cf. So Rev 2:17). Wherefore this eagerness? Because to the soul aglow with love to him all joy is sorrow without him, and all sorrow joy with him. The kingdom of evil needs to be subdued, the kingdom of God to be set up. Therefore would the soul have it that Christ should come swiftly as the bounding hart or the springing roe. That saintly soul, Samuel Rutherford, thus writes on this verse, “Oh, how long is it to the dawning of the marriage day? O sweet Jesus, take wide steps! O my Lord, come over the mountains at one stride! ‘O my Blessed, flee as a roe or young hart upon the mountains of separation!’ O time, run, run, and hasten the marriage day, for love is tormented with delays!” And what is St. Paul’s word but an echo of this? “Our conversation is in heaven, from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Thus “looking for and hastening unto the coming of the Lord” may we ever be!S.C.
HOMILIES BY J.D. DAVIES
Son 8:5
The Christian pilgrim.
Life with every man is a journey; a march from the cradle to the grave. To the pious man this journey is religious; it has a moral character. It is not simply the inevitable moving on from year to year; beside this, it is a progress in knowledge, faith, holiness, and usefulness. The grave is not the Christian’s goal. His goal is perfectionperfect excellence and perfect joy. Every day’s experience is related to the great eternity. Each duty well discharged, each sin conquered, each trouble patiently endured, is a distinct step heavenward. It is not merely a movement onward; it is also a movement upward. The journey of the Hebrews through the wilderness to the earthly Canaan furnishes many instructive analogies with the Christian’s passage to the skies. We, who possess the new life within, “seek a country, that is, a heavenly.”
I. OBSERVE THE CHRISTIAN‘S FORMER STATE. It is described as a “wilderness.”
1. It is a wilderness on account of its barrenness. So in our unregenerate condition there was in us no fertility and no beauty. There may have been a few barren stalks of common morality; but they yielded no fragrance, they bore no fruit. In this wilderness there was nothing to satisfy the desires and aspirations of the soul. This world has its possessions, its pleasures, its honours, its shows, but none of these please or elevate the soul. We aspire after righteousness, after moral excellence, after the friendship of God; and with respect to these things this world is barren and empty. No man can lie down fully contented in it. It is not suitable for us as a possession; so that most men, burdened with care and infirmity, sigh out, “I would not live alway.” “He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver.” The vapid joys of this world soon pall upon the appetite. They do not increase the capacity for joy; they diminish it. And many a man who has taken his fill of this world’s pleasure concludes life with this dismal verdict on his lips, “Vanity of vanities; all is vanity!”
2. Moreover, this wilderness is infested with foes. If in the Arabian desert the Hebrews were exposed to human foes, to wild beasts and fierce serpents, so in this world many foes infest the way. Many and subtle are the snares which the enemy sets for our feet. We are liable to ten thousand annoyances. Evil men tempt us with a view to ruin us. “Satan goeth about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” We have need for perpetual watchfulness. We have to fight with many adversaries. Clearly “this is not our rest.”
II. MARK THE CHRISTIAN‘S PRESENT ASCENT. “He cometh up.” ‘Tis an ascent.
1. Progress is the only way to perfection. It is true that God might have brought about perfection by some other way; but, as a fact, he has ordained this way, and this only. All the similitudes employed in Scripture to set forth the Christian life describe it as a thing of progress. The progress may be slow or more rapid; nevertheless, if there is life there is growth. In some believers the processes of enlightenment, conversion, and edification may be more rapid than in others (just as in some climates the processes of budding, blossoming, and ripening in fruit trees are more rapid than in our own land); still, in every instance perfection is attained by distinct stages. The life of every Christian is a progress along the heavenly way.
2. Discomfort is incident to a pilgrimage. No one expects to find the same comforts on a journey which he finds at home. On a journey one is content with the bare necessaries of existence. Would it not be madness to encumber one’s self with soft couches and luxurious indulgences while on a journey? Would not such things seriously impede our progress? And is it not the one desire of a pilgrim to advance as rapidly as possible? To reach the end of his pilgrimage at the earliest hour is the uppermost desire of every true pilgrim. Therefore needless burdens are left behind. This is how ordinary pilgrims conduct themselves. And should not every Christian be more eager to advance along the way than to cumber himself with lands, or houses, or worldly honours? He who is bent on heavenly progress is bent also on self-denial. To grow like Christ, that is the Christian’s daily business. Every day another step.
3. The pilgrim often pursues a solitary path. He is much alone. In the vision of the text only one is seen “coming up from the wilderness.” She had left the broad path where many were found. She had left her old friends and companions. More and more the Christian has to walk alone. When first he resolved to follow Jesus he had to abandon former acquaintances; and, as often as he essays to reach a loftier level, he has to part with some comrades. He has learnt the art of personal decision. If others will not ascend with him to the higher planes of holy living, he must go alone. He would rather miss the company of a hundred than lose the company of his Well-beloved. Hence the frequent solitariness of the pilgrim. So far as outward connection with Christ’s disciples is concerned, he will not separate himself. He cultivates all possible bonds of unity. He fosters Church life. But with regard to the inner life of his soul, i.e. his personal fellowship with Jesus, he is much alone. Yet, when most alone, he has the best society.
III. NOTE THE CHRISTIAN‘S HELPFUL COMPANION. “Leaning on her Beloved.”
1. This leaning implies a sense of Christ‘s nearness. We cannot lean upon anything that is not close at hand, yea, in actual touch with us. Though we cannot perceive Jesus with the organ of the body, we have a stronger proof still of his nearness. The experience of the soul is far more real and far more reliable than any sensation of the body. No organ is more easily deceived than the eye. Certainly our Immanuel gains immediate entrance to the heart. This fact is contained in his name, “God with us.” So, without the intervention of words or other vehicle, he imparts good cheer and strength straight to the soul. He comes nearer than any human friend can come. He knows all the secret doors by which to pass in. He touches all the secret springs of life and reanimates them. He comes “to give life, to give it more abundantly.”
2. Leaning means the transference of all our weakness to Jesus. To lean is to find support in another. If I am too weak to walk a distance of fifty miles, and I take a seat in a railway train, I transfer my weakness to that steam engine, and I take the benefit of its strength. At the outset of our Christian life we laid the whole weight of our sin upon our Substitute. We said, “God be merciful, for the sake of Jesus!” This was the foundation of our hope. As we grow in grace we learn more and more to leave our burdens in the hand of Jesus. We overcome the tempter, not by our own native strength, but through Christ, “who strengtheneth us.” “I live,” said St. Paul: “yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” This righteousness I have is Christ’s righteousness. This love for sinful men is Christ’s love “shed abroad in my heart.” This wisdom to instruct and guide others is Christ’s wisdom. I am “leaning on my Beloved.” He takes on him all my weaknesses. He imparts to me his all-sufficient strength. It is a sacred and a vital partnership. Faith is perpetual dependence.
3. This leaning implies that Jesus is a consenting party. He loves to be used, loves to be trusted. Our weakness can never be a strain upon him, for his strength is omnipotence. He cannot fail, for such faithfulness was never seen among menno, nor among angels. I could not trust to him for my eternal well being if I did not know that he shared in the Godhead. Clearly he is fully competent to take the whole weight of my salvation. And equally certain is it that he is willing. His love is as great as his power. His patience has often been severely tried, but it has proved abundantly adequate. The sun may cease to shine, the mountains may bow their snowy crests, the sea may vacate its bed; yet his loving kindness and his faithfulness eternally abidethese cannot fail. It is to him a real delight to help the weak and needy. After fifty or sixty years’ experience of his tender grace, he says to us, “You have never half used me yet; you have never trusted me half enough. Hitherto you have asked nothing, comparatively nothing. Ask, and ye shall receive.” So that our response ought to be spontaneous, “My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him” As the ivy clings for support to the oak, or as the limpet clings to the solid rock, so may we in our native weakness cling to the eternal Strength. As our faith grown, so will grow our love; and love, again, will encourage faith. There is a beautiful interaction. We lean upon Jesus because he is our Well-beloved.D.
Son 8:6, Son 8:7
Prayer for full assurance.
The marrow and essence of true religion is love. If there is no love to God, there is no religion. If I am not the object of God’s love, I have no solid hope of a blissful immortality. Hence it is our primary and supreme concern to ascertain whether we have a place in God’s affection. Has God a care for me? Has he put my name on his book of life? Is he engaged by solemn covenant to be my Friend eternally? I want to know this. If I am left in suspense, it is, of all things, most painful. It robs me of the inspiration and the stimulus of hope. It weakens my endeavour after holiness. It damps my zeal. It checks my cheerfulness, and kills my inward peace. Unless the warm sunshine of Immanuel’s love encircle me, I shall not produce the ripe fruits of goodness. Will my love be steadfast? Shall I hold out to the end? Well, all is secure if I know that I share in the love of Christ; for that love is endearing, unchanging, tender, all-victorious, everlasting. If my name is on the heart of my Saviour, then my eternal fortune is certain. No ill can come to me through time or through eternity. Therefore this prayer, “Set me as a seal upon thy heart.”
I. NOTE THE SUBSTANCE OF THIS PRAYER.
1. It is a plea for love. Unless God had revealed to us the fact that in his heart there glowed a vehement flame of love for sinning men, we could never have surmised it. We might have carefully noted his many arrangements in nature for ministering to our happiness. We might have reasoned in our mind that, since he had given us the capacity to love, the spring and fount of that love must be in his own breast. Yet this would have been at the best conjecture. We could not have built on it any hope of enjoying his personal friendship, or of sharing his society eternally. But he has given us a veritable gospel. He has assured us that his highest love centres in men. He has given us plain and practical proofs of the ardour of his love. He has given us the sure pledge that his love is a permanent force in his nature; yea, an attribute of his Godhead. Therefore this love kindles our hope, excites our profoundest desire. God loves me; hence I can become a better man. I can rise out of the mire of sin. I can emerge out of the grave of dark despair. I can become a child of God, a prince in the kingdom of heaven. My heart is deeply moved. I love him who gave himself for me. I want to love him more. But he must soften my nature, and draw out my love. Will he condescend to do it? Will he have pity on undeserving me? I want to have this question solved. Jesus, I pray thee make me thy friend!
2. It is a petition for the assurance of Christ‘s love. The language is very probably borrowed from an impressive scene in the temple. It was a part of the duty of the high priest, when he went into the holy place, and came into immediate contact with God, to wear upon his breast and upon his shoulders the names of the tribes of Israel. These names were graven upon precious stones, and this ceremony indicated the affectionate interest which the high priest felt in the welfare of the people. He lived for them. He made oblation for their sins. He interceded with God on their behalf. Their misfortunes and their fails became his misfortunes and his burdens. He identified himself completely with the people. So his influence with God was used for them. Now, we too have a great High Priest; not a frail, erring man like Aaron and his successors. We have a perfect Mediator, even the Son of God himself. He has passed into the heavens as our Representative. If he will identify himself with me, and undertake my salvation, I am fully content. For so excellent is he that his pleading always does and must prevail. Can I be sure that he feels an interest in me? Yes, it is possible. If I ask for this blessing I shall have it. Hence I pray, “Set me as a seal upon thy heart.”
3. This also is a plea for practical help. “Set me as a signet upon thine arm.” The love of Jesus is not an inactive sentiment. It is sympathetic; it is personally helpful. His love puts into gracious operation all the energies of his being. I want the protection of a mighty arm. I want superior help. My heart has grown very insensible through sin, and I want him to soften it. I want him to eradicate from me the old roots of lust and folly. I want him to break off my letters of evil habit, I want him to remodel and revitalize my whole nature. No one else can do it. His strength is almightiness. If he will use his Divine power for my good, I shall be emancipated and purified and ennobled. I shall run gladly in his ways. And he is willing to do it. He delights in saving men and in doing good. So I will pray, “O Saviour, let thy great power work in me. Put forth thy strength on my behalf. ‘Set me as a signet on thy arm.'”
II. OBSERVE THE ARGUMENT IN THIS PRAYER. “For love is strong as death.” The Christian has large hope and has large expectation, because the principle or quality in God concerned about his salvation is love. So he argues with his heavenly Friend in this way: “It is for my eternal good that my name should be engraven on thy heart, for this I know that love is strong; yea, the mightiest thing in the world.”
1. This plea for the assurance of God‘s love is founded on the power of love. Commentators have differed whether the writer had in view here Immanuel’s love to us, or our love to him. But it is evident that the inspired writer is thinking about love in the abstract. Real love everywhere is strong. The timid bird, that usually flees from man or dog, will, to defend its young, risk its own life and attack its fiercest foe. Love is strong. What peril has not a human mother faced to save her child? Can we measure the strength of love by any known test? Can we express it by any metaphor? I cannot conceive any difficult feat too formidable for love. I think of love as I observe its working among men. I think of it as I experience its strength in me. It is next to omnipotent in man. It will readily confront death and grapple that mysterious foe. Amongst men, it is strong as death; yea, stronger, mightier! What, then, must love be in our Immanuel? Here it exists in perfect form, in uncreated measure, without a flaw or blemish. If love in Christ be the same sort of thing as love in my breast (and it is), then that love will endure anything to save its object. H my name is on Jesus’ heart, this is my best-founded security for all good, present and eternal.
2. The argument proceeds on this ground, that baffled love is poignant pain. “Jealousy is cruel as the grave.” This, again, is spoken of jealousy in the abstract. If I love, and my love is encouraged, and for a time reciprocated, until it burns with ardour; then, if a rival comes between me and my object, what pain, what fierce indignation, follows! Such jealousy springs out of injured love, that the heart passion is uncontrollable. It overleaps all barriers of law, all limits of reason. You cannot hold it in check. “It is cruel as the grave;” cruel as hell. Now, if Jesus has set his heart upon me; if he has sacrificed much on my account; if he has attested his affection by the cross and by the grave; then will he allow any rival to supplant him? Would there not be a feeling of intense pain, akin to jealousy, burning in his breast if anything came between him and the object of his love? Hence, for his own sake, he will not cast me off. For Iris own sake he will not cease to love me, nor cease to win my love in return. We are told that “he hates putting away.” Here, then, is a very forceful argument, that for Iris own peace of mind, for his own honour, he will give mepoor, unworthy mea larger place in his heart. “Having loved his own, he loves them unto the end.”
3. The argument proceeds on love‘s unchangeableness. Literally translated, it is, “The coals thereof are the coals of God.” This flame never decreases; it is fed from a storehouse of infinity. Changeableness is incident to man, but it has no place with God. We may love a person under a false estimate of that person’s excellence. The charms may be plausible and pretentious rather than real. Hence our affections may diminish, undergo complete change. This can never happen with God. He does not love us Because we are lovable. He loves us in order to make us lovable and worthy of himself. His love chose us when we were aliens, rebels, depraved, dead in sin. As there was nothing in us to attract him at the first, so nothing in us will drive him away. He will correct, chastise, prune, purify us, but will not allow his love to change. Says he, “I have loved thee with an everlasting love.” The flame of love which glows in his breast is a flame that cannot die out, so long as God is God.
III. THE RESPONSE TO THIS PRAYER. We may very properly regard this verse as the bridegroom’s response. To the pathetic, yearning appeal of the bride, he promptly replies, “Thy argument is most valid; cogent in the extreme. Yea, verily, many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it.”
1. Love is all-victories. If it be imaged forth as a flame of fire, then in one respect the figure fails. You can extinguish flame with water, if only you can pour on a sufficient quantity; but on this flame of love no amount of coldness or opposition will cool it in the least degree. Let Satan and his legions do their very utmost to lessen the intensity of this heavenly flame, their labour is vain. They only prepare for themselves a bitter disappointment. Or let the floods of human vice and human antagonism rise as they may, they can never rise as high as this heavenly flame. The finite can never o’ermaster the Infinite. The love of God to men is a sacred principle, an integral part of the Divine nature. There is nothing outside God to be compared in potency with what is within him. As the creature can never be a match for the Creator, so no kind of opposition can ever injure or diminish the eternal love of God. Just as nothing on earth nor in hell can diminish God’s power or tarnish his righteousness, so also nothing can lessen or dim the fervent flame of his eternal pity. “Many waters cannot quench love;” yea, love turns all human hatred into fresh coals to feed the flame.
2. Love has a priceless value. The argument on the part of the Bridegroom seems to be, “Wherefore should my love abate. If it should, there must be some reason for it. What reason can there be what advantage? what gain?” Even were there some advantage to be gained, this would not weigh in the scale. For love scorns all advantage. Love delights in sacrifice. Only let love discover how it can make some new surrender, in order to bless the fallen and the wretched, and straightway love makes the surrender. Jesus will give up his heaven, his joy, his crown, today; give all up without hesitation, if he can thereby lift some poor sinner into a righteous life. On his part nothing shall impede the activities of his ardent love. Will he ever listen to any proposal to allow his love to rest? Never! Will he at any time prefer ease, or rule, or fame, or worship, to the outgoings of practical love? Never! A thousand times, never! Do I feel myself now more unworthy of his love than ever in my past history? Then, my soul, be hopeful! Here is greater scope for Immanuel’s love! Spirit of truth, show me more clearly yet my guilt, my ingratitude, my inward corruption! For then shall I see how much I need my Saviour’s pity, my Saviour’s help. Then I know that he will run to my deliverance. For “Christ died for the ungodly.” He loves to save the needy. If I have had much sin forgiven, then shall I love much. “Therefore, Lord, write my name upon thy heart, for in me thy love shall have a glorious triumph!”D.
Son 8:11
Stewardship.
This language is Oriental, yet the lesson is cosmopolitan. In every kingdom there must be a system of economics. For a prosperous condition there must be division of labour. The land must be cultivated. The people must have food. The king’s household must be sustained. To this end scope should be given to personal skill and personal enterprise. So a wine king farms out his land to husbandmen, who are under obligation to render back a fair proportion of the produce. This system brings the greatest advantage to both parties. Now, all this has its counterpart in the kingdom of God. Every man is a steward entrusted with God’s property. He cannot live for himself. A day of reckoning is appointed, when the account must be produced and examined. Life, with all its possessions and privileges, is a sacred responsibility. Independence of God is impossible.
I. OBSERVE THAT GOD IS THE GREAT PROPRIETOR. “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” No part of this vast and illimitable universe is exempt from his lordship.
1. His claim is founded on creation. God alone is uncreated. The unfallen hosts of angels, all principalities and powers in heaven, no less than the tiniest insect on earth, are the workmanship of his skilful hands. Creation gives a prescriptive and an indisputable right. What I make I claim as my own, though probably the raw material belonged to another. But God created out of nothing, or rather out of himself; therefore his title is without a flaw.
2. His claim is founded on preservation. For preservation is simply a continuous act of creation. He sustains in existence every atom of material, every form of life, every dynamic force, and this through every successive hour. In this way he asserts perpetually his supreme rights of property. Every vineyard is his workmanship. The life of every tree is his gift. The nourishing qualities of the soil; the sunshine, dew, and rain; all influences of the revolving seasonsall are his contributions to the maintenance of the vineyard. This is simply a sample of God’s sustaining activity. My life hangs upon him through every hour. “In him I live and move;” “By him all things consist.”
3. His claim is founded on acknowledgment. We admit that we are not our own. The enlightened conscience of every man testifies that God is the supreme Owner. We are not masters even of ourselves, nor of our own life. We did not choose in what year, or in what city, or in what family, we would be born. We have no control over our continuance in life. The voice from heaven says, “Return to the dust, ye children of men!” We have no control over the mode or the time of our departure. Nor have we unlimited control over our property. Sudden misfortune may scatter our wealth. “Riches make themselves wings and fly away.” We feel that we are accountable to God; for to the bar of our own consciences are we frequently brought, to be prejudged of the use we have made of life, and the decision of this court will simply be ratified in the great assize. We are tenants at will. We have only a life interest in our earthly possessions. We are stewards, not proprietors.
II. OBSERVE THAT GOD HAS MADE US KEEPERS, OR STEWARDS. “He let out the vineyard unto keepers.” The interest of the Proprietor is to be kept in view. We are “keepers” of his property. His good, not ours, must be sought.
1. This stewardship comprises everything. My body is not my own; it is a temple of the living God. Every organ of body and of mind is simply entrusted to my care. My tongue is not my own; it is an instrument for praising God. My learning is not my own; it should be laid on God’s altar. My will is not my own; it should be made submissive to God’s will. Hourly my prayer should be, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” Even the skill for gaining money belongs to another. “Say not in thine heart, My power, and the might of my own hand, have gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God, for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth.” If I live to please myself, I am usurping the place of my Lord, and I incur his displeasure.
2. We are stewards who know the will of our Master. He has not left us in ignorance respecting the business of our life, or in what way his property should be employed. The vineyard must be “kept,” and must be made fruitful. His Word is full of instruction, which demands our careful study and our faithful observation. In these living oracles he clearly speaks, “Son, go work today in my vineyard.” “As ye have opportunity, do good unto all men.” “Follow me,” says Jesus. In other words, he means, “Live as I live. Spend life in doing good.” We cannot plead as an excuse for slothfulness that we know not the will of our Master. And if we desire to obtain fuller direction, the Master himself is at hand, and guides every submissive soul “Ask, and ye shall receive.” For the promise still runs, “I will guide thee with mine eye.”
3. We are stewards who have the ability to do our Master‘s will. He is no hard Taskmaster, requiring the tale of bricks without providing raw material. On the contrary, his yoke is easy. In every circumstance, his friendly voice whispers, “My grace is sufficient for thee.” Often do we put up the prayer, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.” But it behoves us to remember that the means for attaining this great end lie within our reach. Had all servants of God been faithful in their office, what a different world would this be today! How large a proportion of our fellow men would be in the kingdom of God! It does not suffice that we serve Christ with one talent, while we allow other talents to lie idle. We cannot, with our money gifts, buy release from personal service. As no man can transfer to another his mental endowments, or his social influence, or his personal responsibility; so no man can transfer to another man his work. In these vineyards, service by proxy is not allowed. That person whom I presume to employ is already under the same obligation as myself, and cannot therefore serve as my substitute. Nor can we hope to see any great enlargement in the kingdom of Christ until each separate disciple feels and realizes that the burden of the world’s salvation rests upon him. “As each one hath received the gift, let him minister the same, as a good steward of the manifold grace of God”
III. NOTE THAT GOD APPOINTS A RECKONING TIME. In the annual vintage season, the husbandman was required to make a proper return to the owner. This return might be made either in kind or in some equivalent.
1. There is a special season for this reckoning time. Speaking generally, the reckoning time will be at the day of judgment. Yet, for all practical purposes, this tenure terminates st death. Then our Lord comes, and convoys his servant home. Then the authoritative voice says, “Give an account of thy stewardship, for thou mayest be no longer steward.” Then the faithful servant gives in his account with joy. “He has boldness in the day of judgment.” It is the end for which he has toiled and waited. Just as the busy farmer rejoices greatly when his last harvest sheaves are garnered, because his toil has reached a successful end; so the disembodied Christian presents himself before his Lord with rapturous joy. For, with the fruits of his toil surrounding him, he confidently says, “Here am I, Lord, and the children thou hast given me. It is only thy talent I have thus multiplied. Not unto me, not unto me, but unto thy Name be all the glory.”
2. Note the system of the reckoning. In God’s kingdom the system must be strictly equitable; on God’s part generous. That system is that a fair proportion of the gain belongs to God. He that is entrusted with ten talents is required to bring more gains than the man with only five. In proportion to our faith, fidelity, and zeal will be the measure of our success. Divested of all imagery, the simple fact is that each Christian is required to increase righteousness, loyalty, and love in God’s world. I am expected to leave this world better, i.e. holier, than I found it. My business in life is to bring men nearer to God. If I can increase in men repentance, faith, piety, mutual benevolence, I have fulfilled my stewardship in some measure. If I have persuaded men to abandon a life of sin and to follow Jesus, I have brought honour to my Master’s Name. My life work as a Christian is to enlarge the spiritual empire of Messiah. As in the fields of nature seed corn will produce sixty, or eighty, or a hundredfold; so each servant of Jesus Christ should lead sixty, or eighty, or a hundred men out of a state of rebellion into the covenant grace of our Immanuel. Saved ourselves, it should be our main business in life to save others.
“What is my being but for thee,
Its sure support, its noblest end?
Thy ever-smiling face to see,
And serve the cause of such a Friend?”
D.
Son 8:13, Son 8:14
Sacred fellowship.
The love of Christ to men amazes us by its generosity; it amazes us also by its constancy and its condescension. He, who delighted in human companionship when on earth, delights in it still. In his irrepressible longing to do us good, he encourages us to speak freely, to tell out our desires, and to ask largely. Our requests for his gifts are never too large; they are invariably too small. If he can increase our faith in him and draw forth our love, he has done us greatest good. So, with exquisite tenderness, he says, “Cause me to hear” thy voice.
I. OBSERVE THE CHRISTIAN‘S ABODE. “Thou that dwellest in the gardens.”
1. This description of the Christian‘s dwelling implies quiet retirement. Formerly he loved bustle and excitement; now he loves a place for quiet meditation and prayer. He finds more pleasure in being among the works of God than among the works of men. As at the beginning God provided for Adam a garden, because most suited for healthfulness both of body and of soul; so the man who has the mind of Christ feels strongly the attractiveness of a garden. He loves to be shut out from the world, and to be shut in with God. He is a learner; and in deep quietude he best learns the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.
2. A garden implies privilege. It is a privileged place. It is not open to all comers. The believer is no longer a rover, wandering up and down the earth in quest of some unpossessed good. He is not, like Cain, an outcast. He does not inhabit a wilderness, like the Edomites. The best situation this earth can furnish is for him. The place where God reveals himself is the place for him. Once it was a wilderness, now it is a garden. Among the lilies the good Shepherd feeds his flock; so there the Christian loves to abide. In the cool of the evening God walks among the trees; so there the Christian will walk also. It is Christ’s garden, Christ’s workmanship; a place of special privilege. This garden is, of course, the Church. Here the Christian sees what beauty and what fruitfulness adorn others; so he is emulated to be fragrant and fruitful also.
3. A garden implies useful occupation. For though God himself is the chief Husbandman, there is something forevery Christian to do in the garden. He cannot give life to the plants, yet he can water them; he can shield them from peril; he can prune and train the branches. He is a worker along with God; a partner in service. Such occupation is contributive to his own life and health and joy. An idle Christian is an anomaly. So long as I am in the Church, my influence is felt in moulding the church. The Church will be either better or worse for my presence. My zeal for fruitfulness will be contagious. My devoutness will lift the Church to a loftier elevation. Or my unspirituality will chill the ardour of the Church’s love. I cannot be an idle spectator. I must do good work in the Church or bad. I am called unto usefulness.
4. A garden implies abundance of good. Whatever can meet the hunger of the body, or gratify the nostrils, or please the eye, or bring delight to the whole man, is found in a perfect garden. The word suggests abundance. So, in the Church, Jesus Christ spreads a perpetual banquet. He well knows our every requirement, and. he anticipates every need. Here is truth for the nourishment of the soul, wisdom for practical guidance, refreshing cordials for hours of weariness, strength for dally duty, deep wells of water for the soul’s thirst, grace forevery time of need. No earthly garden can fitly picture forth the lavish provision God makes for our souls. Not a blessing is withheld. “All things are ours; for we are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.” Much as I have already received, there’s much more to follow.
II. MARK THE CHRISTIAN‘S SPEECH. “The companions hearken to thy voice.”
1. This means that a Christian is social. If he has withdrawn from the society of worldly men, he is the more drawn into the fellowship of the saints. A Christian cannot be a recluse. This is a mistaken idea of his position and his obligation. Christian love excludes selfishness. His new instinct impels him to help others. He yearns that all men may be saved. God has given him the talent of speech. It is a wondrous gift. He can convey his thoughts to others. He can express tender feeling and brotherly sympathy to others. He can reprove faults and encourage virtues by his speech. He can have intimate friendships, which shall be helpful to him and to others. He dare not leave neglected the social side of his nature, or he will be disloyal to his Master.
2. His speech is attractive. “The companions hearken to thy voice.” They did not complain of the harshness or bitterness of his speech. The very reverse: “they hearkened.” It was pleasant. There was a heavenly savour about it, that made it winsome. It was like a breath of spring that quickened and refreshed them. The Christian’s converse sheds new light into others’ minds. It stimulates gently all the better impulses of the soul. It strengthens faith and love and hope. He hears new revelations from God’s lips, and communicates the message to his fellows. Each Christian can help and instruct other Christians. Each has his own peculiar experience of the new life, and the interchange of experience is comforting and stimulating. If we speak what “we have known, and tasted, and felt, and handled of the good word of life,” if we speak under an impulse of love, our speech will be attractive, and will minister grace to the hearers. “As iron sharpeneth iron,” so do wise and gracious words quicken friendship.
3. This Christian speech was praiseworthy. Had it not been so, the Divine Master would not have asked to hear it. May we not learn here how ready our Immanuel is to find occasion for commending us? Instead of being in a mood for censoriousness, he is always ready to put the best construction on our doings. If he can find in us a virtue to praise, he will do it. It well behoves us, then, to ask ourselves whether our converse with others is always edifying. Our speech greatly influences men; is that influence always on the right side? In the dark days of Israel’s fall, there were a few “who spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard, and a book of remembrance was written before him” During his earthly ministry, Jesus often reminded men of the power that resides in human speech, and of the tremendous issues that follow. “By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.”
III. THE CHRISTIAN‘S FELLOWSHIP SOUGHT BY CHRIST. “Cause me to hear it.”
1. A rare instance of Christ‘s meekness. There is nothing more edifying or more delightful to the Christian than to listen to the voice of Jesus. “Never man spake like this Man.” His words are like pearls of wisdom, and for sweetness are like the droppings of the honeycomb. But how comes it to pass that Jesus can find pleasure in listening to our imperfect speech? This is almost a crowning act of condescension. He delights to hear our voices. He asks us so to speak that he may hear. He loves to hear us speak as his witnesses among men. He is pleased to hear our testimony concerning himself. His ear is gratified with our songs of adoration and gratitude. Specially he rejoices to hear our voices in prayer. “Hitherto,” he says, “you have asked nothing”comparatively nothing”in my Name. Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.” As an earthly father delights to hear the silvery prattle of his little child, and no request from an infant’s lips goes unheeded; so our God finds peculiar pleasure in hearing our voice of childlike appeal. Before we finish our petition, the answer is on the way.
2. This request is an outcome of Christ‘s relationship to us. Since he has entered into intimate and affectionate union with usay, made with us a marriage covenantit follows that communion with us is a thing to be desired. If he had not been willing to live with us on familiar and reciprocal terms, he would not have entered into this mystic and organic union. Having made the greater sacrifice, he will not refrain from the lesser. It is not his fault that his intercourse with us is not more frequent, more close, more sensibly enjoyed. He is ever asking us to treat him as our bosom Friend, and to trust him forevery kind of need. It is as if he said to us, “You tell your troubles unto others; why not tell them unto me? Cause me to hear thy voice!” Would a loyal wife tell her cares and her griefs to one and to another, while refraining from speaking of them to her husband? Would not this be a scandalous folly? Hence Jesus says to us, “Tell me everything. There is nothing that disturbs your peace which is not a care to me.” We are charged to “cast all our care upon him.” And our simple duty is, “in everything to make known our wants unto God.”
3. This request of Christ will serve as a corrective. To remember that Jesus wants to hear our voice, will this not often be a check upon our speech? Those hasty or unkind words of ours respecting another, did not Jesus hear them? Or, if we are forming in our minds an ungenerous estimate of a neighbour, does not Jesus whisper to us, “Cause me to hear thy voice”? Even thoughts are heard by him. The voice that Jesus hears is not always the voice that others hear. They hear the words which escape the lips. Jesus hears the intention uppermost in the mind. Jesus hears the “still small voice” of our motives. Our every feeling, our every ambition, has a voice, and Jesus says, “Let me hear it.” It is for our good that he should hear it all. My best Beloved is ever listening. How soft and loving and true should my voice always be! I must “set a watch on the door of my lips, that I sin not with my tongue.”
IV. THE CHRISTIAN‘S RESPONSE TO HIS LORD‘S REQUEST. “Make haste, my Beloved, and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart upon the mountains of spices.”
1. Note the promptness of true obedience. Jesus had said, “Cause me to hear thy voice.” Forthwith the loving soul responds, “Lord, thou shalt hear it. Come, Lord Jesus; come quickly!” No word could be more welcome to Jesus than that. It is as if the spouse had said, “Mayhap my voice may express feelings and inclinations which are very faulty; but do thou, beloved One, come, and thou wilt correct all faultiness. Thy presence will be food and medicine, rest and growth, in one. The ‘one thing needful’ is thyself. I pass by all the streams of help; I come to the Fountainhead. Thou art the Fount of life. ‘All my springs are in thee.'” Love is swift to obey
2. Yet absence is for a time expedient. The night is as needful to the plant as the day. Winter is as useful to agriculture as summer. It was expedient for the first apostles that Christ’s visible presence should be withdrawn. They learnt to use the wisdom and the courage which he had given them. They gave themselves more to the study of Scripture and to prayer. They showed far more enthusiasm and zeal than when he was among them. We see, as a fact, that great advantage accrued to them from the departure of Jesus. So is it still. We have from him all the help we need. We have his mighty Spirit in our souls. To have the visible presence of Jesus would fill us with a new rapture. But enjoyment is not the main thing now. We want personal holiness and personal consecration; these are attained through faith.
3. The Christian interprets this command of Christ as a fresh proof of his love. Did he say, “Cause me to hear thy voice”? then this is a love token. He would not desire to hear my voice unless he loved me. What delicate reminders of his love does our Immanuel give! How he devises to do us good, and plans to give us pleasure! And the more love grows, the stronger grows the desire to see him as he is. We long to have nearer access to Christ, without a veil between.
4. Love is impatient of all delay. We cannot climb to the heavenly heights, or sometimes we would. Hence, if there is to be a meeting between Christ and me, he must come down to me. Where he dwells must be a mountaina mountain of fragrant spice. As mountains are the eminences of nature the loftiest parts of this material globe, so they help us to ascend to those empyreal heights, where true purity resides, where the Highest dwells. Love can conquer every hindrance. Love annihilates distance and time. Already Love dwells in the future. To her eye the final consummation is reached; and hence she sings, “Come, Lord Jesus; come quickly!”D.
HOMILIES BY J.R. THOMSON
Son 8:1-3
The ardour of spiritual love.
There is no measure, no restraint, in this language. If it is possible for human love, when duly placed, to be too fervent and absorbing, this is when that is given to the creature which it behoves us to reserve for the Creator. Passion and poetry combine to express the deepest emotions, the most ardent wishes of the soul.
I. THE OBJECT OF SPIRITUAL LOVE.
1. In loving Christ the soul centres its purest and strongest affections upon One who is in himself infinitely excellent. Earthly love is often the creature of the imagination, conceiving beauty and excellence which do not exist, or which exist in a measure extravagantly exaggerated. There is no possibility of thinking too highly of the Saviour, of admiring him too absorbingly, of loving him too warmly. He is all, and more than all, that our imagination can picture.
2. In loving Christ the soul does but render to him what his services and his sufferings deserve from our hearts. “We love him, because he first loved us.” He has done for us what none other could or would have done. “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Is it possible to overstate our obligationsto offer him more than he has a right to expect and to claim from us?
II. THE YEARNING OF SPIRITUAL LOVE. Love would receive from the beloved. Two points are suggested by the passionate and glowing language of the text.
1. A desire for intimacy, for closest fellowship, for endearing friendship.
2. A desire for instruction, for lessons such as Christ only can convey to the soul of the disciple. It is well that we should look to our Lord for all things, for the wisdom that guides, the love that cheers, the grace that supports and sustains. The proper attitude of the Christian towards his Lord and Saviour is an attitude of dependence, of supplication, of expectation.
III. THE TRIBUTE OF SPIRITUAL LOVE. Love would give to the beloved. And the saved, rejoicing soul would fain offer of its best to Christ. The kisses, the spiced wine, and the pomegranate juice which the bride would offer to her spouse may suggest to us that Christ looks for the affection, the holy service, the consecrated devotion, of those for whom he died. What can we give him? If we cannot bathe his feet with tears or anoint his head with precious and fragrant unguents, we can at all events offer to him the sincere affection of the heart, a constant place in our thoughts, the tribute of our praise, and, to crown all, the service which, being rendered to his people, he will accept as given to himself.T.
Son 8:5
Leaning upon her beloved.
As a skilled artist by two or three strokes brings some incident vividly and picturesquely before the eye, so does the poet here by a few words picture before us a scene harmonious with the whole composition, and depict the mutual relation of the two personages of this exquisite dramatic idyll. We see the bride returning to the home of her youth, quitting the familiar pastures, and approaching the dear abode; she is “leaning upon her beloved.” If true love is suggestive of true religion, as is not to be doubted, then we may regard this attitude as having its analogue in the Christian’s wonted experience as related to his Lord.
I. THE CHURCH‘S INNATE WEAKNESS. Men sometimes use extravagant language regarding the Church, as though in itself it were great and powerful. But the juster view to take is that suggested by the posture of the beloved coming up out of the wilderness. All the Church has is derived; she can neither stand nor walk alone; her steps would falter if unsupported, would stray and err if unguided.
II. THE CHURCH‘S DIVINE FRIEND AND HELPER. Christ, who has called his Church into fellowship with himself, is alone able and willing to take her under his protection and control. He knows the way in which she is to walk, the enemies she will encounter, the dangers by which she will be assailed. And he has all resources of spiritual strength and wisdom, encouragement and love. Every earthly counsellor and friend has limited powers, which sooner or later will surely fail. There is no measure to Christ’s capacity to save and bless.
III. THE CHURCH‘S WILLING, GRATEFUL, AND CLINGING DEPENDENCE. They who would fain go alone are not Christ’s. So surely as he chooses his own, so surely does he put within them a spirit of subjection and attachment to himself. A cry for leading and for support comes up from the depths of the spiritual naturea cry to which Christ is never indifferent, to which Christ always responds. He bids her “lean hard” upon him.
IV. THE CHURCH‘S HAPPY SECURITY. Having given herself into his keeping, she knows that she is safe; that he will lead her aright, that he will never leave and never forsake her; that if she stumbles, she will not be allowed to fall; that if she is faint and weary, he will uphold her tottering steps; that if she is fearful, his words and his smile will banish her apprehensions and restore her peace.T.
Son 8:6, Son 8:7
The power and praise of love.
Literature furnishes no eulogy of the passion which most profoundly stirs the heart of man more splendid than this. Some of the clauses have passed into proverbs, and are often upon the lips. Here is a human scintillation from the Divine fire, glowing with something of the brilliancy of the celestial original. Such language as this has been adopted as their own by those ardent souls with whom piety is a passion, and for whom the love of God consumes all earthly emotion and desire. To analyze such poetry seems almost a profanation. Yet we may trace herein some of the characteristics by which the love of the saints of God has ever been in some measure distinguished. Of that love, especially as enkindled by the sacrifice of the Divine Redeemer, we are reminded that it is
I. ARDENT. “A very flame of the Lord;” “the flashes thereof like flashes of fire.” The story of the Church tells us of many whose affection and devotion to their Lord cannot be justly described in less fervent terms. There have been consecrated apostles, zealous missionaries, seraphic saints, who have been consumed with this sacred passion. And lowly Christians have lived, and yet live, unnoticed by the world, and little recognized even by the Church, in whose breasts this pure fire has burned with fervour so glowing as to verify this glowing language.
II. STRONG AND TENACIOUS. There is a frequent belief that as a keen bright flame soon burns itself out, so it is not to be expected that piety should long retain its utmost fervour. It is presumed that the exalted mood must pass away, that the spiritual passion must give place to the cold ashes of indifference. But this is not so with the love which consciously responds to the love which passeth knowledge. This is persistent, and is “strong as death.”
III. UNQUENCHABLE. “Many waters” roll over it in vain, “neither can the floods drown it.” Opposition and persecution try their power upon this spiritual passion, only to find that it is more than able to resist them. The oil which is poured upon the fire by the hand that is unseen is mightier than the water which is dashed upon it by the carnal, cold, and unbelieving world, Nay, the worldliness and indifference too often distinctive of professing Christian society, more dangerous than open hostility, is powerless to extinguish the flame which God himself has kindled.
IV. UNPURCHASEABLE. How true is this language even of human love, which, if it be sincere, is surely spontaneous and unbought! If love is to be purchased, it is love and not money which must be paid for it; “the substance of a man’s house” is no equivalent for the priceless treasure. Gratitude and service may be bought, but love is beyond the value of jewels and of gold. We are taken into another region than that of market value and of merchandise. It is the love of the Saviour, that love which shone through the lurid darkness of Calvary, which wins the love of human hearts.
“I give my heart to thee,
O Jesus most desired;
And heart for heart the gift shall be,
With grateful ardour fired.”
V. IMMORTAL. It is sealed, i.e. for an everlasting possession. An ancient writer said, “Christ seals us in the heart, that we may love him; in the forehead, that we may confess him; in the hand, that we may profess him, and that we may practise what we profess.” Over this love time and death have no power. It burns brighter when the lamp of life bums low; it breaks forth in perfect lustre when, beyond this murky atmosphere of earth, it reaches the clear air of heaven.T.
Son 8:11, Son 8:12
The reward of the faithful.
The vine was cultivated very generally in some parts of Palestine, and afforded the Hebrew poets and prophets many similitudes, especially of the life of the nation and the Church. The incident related in these verses is apart from the main interest and plot of the work, but to whomsoever it refersand it is conjectured to refer to certain rustic brothers of the brideit suggests valuable spiritual lessons concerning the moral government of God and the responsibility of men.
I. A TRUST GRACIOUSLY COMMITTED. As Solomon let out his vineyard at Baal-hamon to certain tenants, so the Divine Lord and Ruler of all has appointed for each one of us a certain province of opportunity for improvement and for service. This is more strikingly the case with regard to those who occupy positions of eminence, but in reality such is the position of every intelligent and reasonable creature of God. We are tenants to whom his goodness has assigned a sphere of action in which we may be negligent or diligent, responsive to his behests or indifferent to his claims.
II. A TRUST FAITHFULLY FULFILLED. In the parable the keepers or tenants are represented as having cultivated the vineyards entrusted to them with skill and success, so that they were able to pay the king the rent which was agreed upon or the tribute which he required. In this they are representatives of all those who, having received privileges and enjoyed opportunities, turn them to good account. The scholar who cultivates his mind, enlarges his knowledge, and fits himself to influence aright the opinion and convictions of his less favoured fellow men; the man of wealth who employs his riches in a spirit of wise and expansive knowledge; the Christian minister who cultivates the corner of the spiritual vineyard committed to his care; every faithful child of God who diligently and prayerfully endeavours to do the will of the heavenly Husbandman, may be said to be faithful in his discharge of the obligations of his trust.
III. FIDELITY TO THE TRUST AMPLY RECOGNIZED AND REMUNERATED. Whilst the king received his thousand pieces of silver, the cultivators of the vineyard were rewarded with two hundred pieces as the recompense of their toil. And God suffers no faithful labourer to be the loser by his service. True, the recompense may not be material or temporal. Many a diligent servant of God is allowed to live a life of privation and to die in poverty. But there is a rich reward reaped by such a faithful trustee and steward of God’s grace. He has the recompense of a good conscience; he may have the affectionate gratitude of some whose best interests he has promoted; and he certainly has the approval of him who can appoint to a higher ministry, who can confer lasting honours and true blessedness.T.
Son 8:13
The longed for voice.
“The companions hearken for thy voice: cause me to hear it.” Such is the closing utterance of the royal spouse, who thus invites the bride to give expression to the feelings that animate her breast. May we not believe that the King of kings, who is yet the Lover and the Friend of his Church, in similar language asks for the free communication of the Church’s purest thoughts and best desires? Welcome to the Saviour is the outpouring of his people’s hearts. Never can they speak to meet with inattention and disregard from him upon whom their all depends.
I. CHRIST DELIGHTS IN THE VOICE OF HIS PEOPLE‘S LOVE. He has not refrained from assurances of his love towards us, and he expects that we shall not repress the utterance of our affection towards him. His kindness evokes our affection, and that affection cannot be speechless; it must needs find a voice, whilst its expression will ever be welcome and grateful to his tender heart.
II. CHRIST DELIGHTS IN THE VOICE OF HIS PEOPLE‘S SINCERE SUPPLICATIONS. The relation being such as it is, our addresses to our Lord must be constantly taking the form of prayer. There is no reason why we should withhold our petitions. We are altogether dependent upon him, and in our dependence he takes pleasure, because it affords him the opportunity of constantly displaying his kindred. When we come into his presence as suppliants, we do not come unbidden. “Cause me,” says Christ, “to hear thy voice.”
III. CHRIST DELIGHTS IN THE VOICE OF HIS PEOPLE‘S GRATITUDE AND PRAISE. For such acknowledgments there is incessant occasion. He does not cease to give, nor should we cease to bless the Giver. If supplication is the special exercise of the Church on earth, praise is the undying exercise of the Church in heaven. Gratitude and adoration are as immortal as is love itself.T.
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
Son 8:1. O that thou wert as my brother O that thou wert as my infant brother, sucking my mother’s breasts! New Translation.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
See Son 5:1 ff for the passage quote with footnotes.
Son 8:1. O that thou wert as a brother of mine, cannot possibly be taken as a simple vocative (Septuag., Luth.). It rather refers to a relation like that of a brother (as a brother of mine, comp. Psa 35:14) and consequently expresses the wish and that a wish seriously meant and speedily to be realized (vs. Weissb.), that Solomon would come so near to her in every respect, both inwardly and outwardly, that she could regard and treat him just as her own brother, as a member of her family, belonging to her own domestic household. The wish here expressed would have no meaning in respect to a lover of the rank of a shepherd. It most manifestly implies as its object a lover, whose whole station in life was above that of his beloved, in whose case there must be a coming down from his elevation, if an actual living communion is to subsist between him and her. For the fact of his having made his beloved a queen and a princes daughter is evidently without effect on the child-like and humble mind of this simple child of nature. She has not been able to prevail upon herself in addressing this proud lord of a harem, surrounded by his sixty queens and his eighty concubines, as well as by his female slaves, to call him her own with the same cordial confidence that a sister cherishes towards her brother. She has learned to call him beloved but not brother, often as he may since their marriage have addressed her as my sister, bride. If this relation which she sustained to him be correctly estimated, Hengstenbergs paraphrase of the exclamation before us O that thou who art my brother, wouldst enter into a really brotherly relation to me will appear to be by no means so absurd, as Weissb. would represent it.1Were I to find thee without, I would kiss thee. Without, i.e. on the street or in the open country and in general wherever I must now observe a stiff courtly etiquette toward thee as king. A new protest therefore against the manners of the harem, which had become intolerable to her.Yet none would despise me. they, viz. the people, would not despise and reproach me as though I were a vulgar wench who kissed strange men in the public street; comp Pro 7:12-13.
Son 8:2. I would lead thee, bring thee to my mothers house. What she had only dreamed before Son 3:4, she can now utter to her lover as the burning wish of her heart, certain of its speedy accomplishment. I would lead thee, that is to say by the hand; whither is told by the following verb, which limits the one before it in the same way as does in Son 8:1, b.Thou wouldst instruct me. Again an indication that the lover is not a young shepherd but the wise and learned king Solomon, in comparison with whom Shulamith had long learned to feel her ignorance and at the same time her need of instruction from the rich stores of his mind. Feeling the incongruity of instruction by a lover, who was a mere shepherd, Hitz. has taken up again the conjecture of Ibn Ezra, that is to be supplied before and the verb thus converted into a relative clause is to be referred as a 3d pers. fem. to the preceding : my mother who would teach me, viz. how to do every thing for you in the best manner. But this is quite arbitrary; for all the verbs before and after are in the 2d pers. [?]; a verb thus extraordinarily interrupting this series must necessarily have been indicated not merely by or but by an emphatic she; and to this would then have to be opposed an etc. comp. (Bttcher Neue Aehrenl. III. 172). Most of the ancient versions confirm ours, which is the common view; and that the Sept. and Syr. in place of have mechanically repeated the last line of Son 3:4, can prove nothing against its correctness. I would give thee to drink of the spiced wine. That I would cause thee to drink contains an intentional allusion to I would kiss thee, Son 8:1, which is identical in its consonants, is an idle remark of Hitzig and Weissbach, which has little in its favor. Meier has needlessly taken this clause to be a statement of what her lover was to teach the speaker, thou wouldst teach me how to make thee drink, etc.; so too Ewald and Heiligst., according to whom the meaning is: from thy mouth I would learn, what is pleasant and agreeable to thee, viz., to cause thee to drink, etc. But all is simpler and in better taste if we assume no close relation between thou wouldst instruct me and this clause, and find nothing intimated here beyond the reciprocity subsisting between the spiritual gifts which the teacher confers, and the bodily refreshment which his pupil affords him in turn (comp. Luk 10:38 ff., 1Co 9:11; Gal 6:6).By the spiced wine, of which she means to give him to drink, Shulamith probably means grape wine mixed with fragrant and pungent essences (according to a well-known oriental custom, comp. Dpke and Vaih., in loc). The definite article designates this wine as the well known drink of superior excellence, as the spiced wine par excellence; comp. Son 7:10. Of my pomegranate juice. Notwithstanding the absence of the copula something different from the preceding is here intended and not the spiced wine itself, as though this were merely made from the juice of fruit (Hitzig). For such a difference is indicated by the use of must, unfermented juice, instead of the preceding wine, as well as by the mention above of the vine along with the pomegranate (Son 7:13, comp. Son 6:11). The suffix in (for which the Vulg. and Syr. read my pomegranates) is gen. of possession to (comp. ) hence equivalent to pomegranate wine prepared by me. It makes against the view of Weissbach and others: of the wine of my pomegranate tree, that according to Son 6:11; Son 7:13, Shulamith had more than one such tree.The ancients called the fermented juice of pomegranates wine, as appears from Plin. H. N. 14, Song 16: Vinum fite punicis, quod rhoiden (, pomegranate) vocant; comp. Winer R.- W.- B. Art. Wein.
Son 8:3. His left hand (is) under my head and his right embraces me. This verse is not a mere phrase to mark the termination of a section, and unconnected with what precedes (Hitzig). It rather stands in the same sort of connection with the detailed description given Son 7:13 ff. of what the two lovers would do and enjoy together in Shulamiths home, that Son 2:6 does with the preceding representation of their mutual enjoyment of nature and of love, Son 1:16 ff.; Son 2:3 ff. Only there Shulamith was depicting the present, whilst here she vividly portrays joys belonging to the future; though not in an optative form, as Ewald, Vaih., etc., assume without sufficient reason.
Son 8:4. I adjure you, ye daughters of Jerusalem,etc.On the significance of this exclamation here as Shulamiths farewell to the daughters of Jerusalem (which Hitzig too has seen with substantial correctness), see on Son 2:7 above. Only it is not necessary with Vaih. to impute the brevity of its form to the excited and reproachful tone in which Shulamith, who had been affronted by the ladies of the court, here speaks.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. The churchly allegorical exegesis is necessarily precluded from gaining an insight into the progress of the action in the act before us. It finds every where figurative representations of soteriological mysteries with no inner organic connection; shifting figures, the aim of which lies in the repeated exhibition of the central point of Christian truth, the conversion, justification, sanctification and perfection of the sinner by the grace of the Redeemer, or the call and election of the whole church to the saving communion of God in Christ. Thus the narrative of the dream, Son 5:2-7, together with the following dialogue, as far as Son 6:3, that is to say, the first scene according to our division seems to it to be a dramatic representation, which is already complete, of the apostasy and restoration of the Church, or of the fall and redemption of mankind. This one section constitutes, as it were, the Canticles in brief, a poetic picture of the entire history of redemption from first to last. This representation opens, according to Hengstenb. (p. 135), with a dark scene, or night piece. The apostasy of unbelieving mankind from their God, and especially the rejection of the Saviour by the daughter of Zion, together with the punishment of induration and blindness which overtook her in consequence, are so distinctly set forth by the dream-like figures of Shulamiths sleep, her lovers vain desire to be admitted, his subsequent disappearance, and the fruitless search for him, and finally by the blows which the watchmen (the heavenly ministers of vengeance) administered to her during her search, that the whole forms, so to speak, a fit accompaniment to Isaiah 53 and likewise an illustration of Rom 11:7, the election hath obtained it and the rest were blinded, or of Rom 11:25-26. And then again the representation is directed to the goal of the ultimate conversion of Israel and the consequent consummation of the entire redemptive process. For forsaken and repelled by her lover, she nevertheless continues always sick with love and longing for him (Son 5:8); in answer to the question proposed to test her, what she thinks of her lover (Son 5:9), she exhibits a heart full of love and submission to the heavenly Solomon, as the ideal of all excellence (Son 5:10-16); finally she answers the second question also, which is addressed to her to pave the way for her reunion with her heavenly bridegroom, in a concrete manner (Son 6:1-3), since in her answer to, Where has thy beloved gone? she ungrudgingly recognizes that he has his being in the Church, and in consequence of this recognition the former relation may be regarded as restored.So Hengstenberg, whose view may be regarded as the idealizing recapitulation of all former churchly-allegorical interpretations of this section.The following portions also depict according to him the one main object of the song again and againthe restoration of the loving relation between the Lord and His Church, which originally existed, was then disturbed and broken off, and has finally been cemented again. Son 6:4-10 does this in the form of praises of the beauty of the bride, and a comparison of her with all other women, who constitute the household of the heavenly Solomon. Son 6:11 to Son 7:1 in the form of a narrative by the daughter of Zion of the way in which she attained to the high dignity of a bride of heavens king, together with a blessing bestowed upon her by the daughters of Jerusalem, who express their heartfelt joy at her return from her wanderings, and at the distinguished graces which have in consequence been imparted to her; Son 7:2-11, in the form of a new panegyric pronounced by the king upon the daughter of Zion, who has returned to him from her straying, and consequently to her former beauty,to which is further added the expression of his determination to enjoy her charms, and her cordial assent to this determination (Son 7:8-11); and finally, Son 7:12 to Son 8:4, in the form of a prayer from the daughter of Zion to her heavenly lover, to restore to her his ancient love, and, far from the tumult of this sinful world, in rural retirement and seclusion, to live with her as her brother.The explanations of the older allegorists are still richer in repetitions and in corresponding measure poorer in true inward progress. One of their number, e.g., Starke (who closely follows Marck, Ainsworth Michael., etc.) paraphrases Son 6:2-3, so as to make the bride set forth the delightful feelings resulting from the special presence of the bridegroom of her soul, which she has just experienced in her heart, describing thus Christs control in the spice garden of His Church, i.e., in the hearts of the true children of God, wherein the whole work of salvation by the Lord in the word and sacraments, and His operations on individual souls, planting, fostering, preserving and perfecting, is briefly exhibited. Son 7:1 he then paraphrases thus: Return, return to me and to thyself from the confusion, in which thou wert, before I revealed myself again to thee (Son 5:6; Psa 116:7), O Shulamith, who hast obtained peace with God, righteousness and strength in communion with me; return again, banish all gloomy and timorous thoughts. I shall ever remain thy Jesus, thy Saviour and Benefactor. Fix only a confiding heart again on me, thy souls friend, that we, viz. I, thy Redeemer, with my Father who loves thee in me, and the Holy Spirit may look upon thee, i, e., may have our delight and joy in thee as a perfect mirror of spiritual beauty. And in Son 8:1 the same interpreter remarks upon the words, Should I find thee without, I would kiss thee, etc.: If I find thee without, i.e., meet thee outside of my mothers house, while I live in the foreign land and the pilgrimage of this world (2Co 5:6-9), I will kiss thee with the kiss of faith, love and obedience, yea, give thee all conceivable tokens of my sincere and ardent love (Psa 2:12; Hos 13:2; Job 31:27). And no one should put me to shame, least of all they, to whom I appear so despicable, and who scoff at me when I boast of my communion with thee and declare thy praise (Son 5:7; Gen 38:23, etc., etc.). In short, every possible thing is here found in every thing, and the simple meaning of the words is almost every where sacrificed to the superabundant fancy of a dogmatical and mystical interpretation.
2. The proper antithesis to such excesses can surely not lie in banishing with the profane-erotic exegesis every thing sacred from the course of the action here presented, and converting it, as is done particularly by Hitzig and Renan, into a succession of voluptuous scenes in the harem, without order or progress. This view becomes really repulsive, especially where it maintains that the poet brings Solomons love for other favorites than Shulamith before his readers or spectators by a detailed description of his amorous intercourse with them; that he describes with particularity by word and act how the king turns wearied away from the coy Shulamith, to indemnify himself with the other beauties of his harem. Hitzigs exegesis on the passage Son 7:2-11 based on this understanding of it, even Bttcher indignantly pronounces one that culminates in the disgustingly vulgar,a judgment that might with equal reason be passed upon Renans treatment of the same section. But even in its more moderate form, as advanced by Herder, Umbr., Ew., Vaih., etc., the shepherd hypothesis invariably involves much that is of doubtful morality, by which the religious and ethical character of the section before us is sensibly damaged in several points. Solomons character especially suffers more than is just, inasmuch as there is heaped upon him besides the reproach of polygamy with its excesses, that of an assiduous attempt at seduction and a corrupting assault upon female innocence, an actually adulterous procedure therefore,which especially in the so-called final assault, Son 7:2-10, comes into unseemly contrast with the alleged fidelity of the maiden to a distant lover. Shulamiths character, too, appears on this view less fair and great than in ours; the extravagance, not to say the braggart character of the description given of her lover, Son 5:10-16, if this refers to a plain young shepherd, is particularly offensive; so is the excited pathos of the appeal which, according to this view, is directed to a far distant lover to go with her into the country, Son 7:12 ff. Some of the finest and loveliest traits in the picture of this noble woman are wholly lost, especially the symbolic significance of her dream, Son 5:2-7; the lovely gentleness with which she seeks by her evasive answer in Son 6:2-3, to excuse her absent husband; the adroitness with which she interrupts him (Son 7:10) in order wholly to disarm and captivate him; the genuine womanly naivet with which, in her picture of the innocent joys of their life together in the country, she inserts, Son 8:2, a hint of the instruction which she hopes to receive from her lover, etc.
3. The typical Messianic view avoids these faults in a manner which really satisfies both the sthetic and the religious feeling. It throughout gives due prominence alike to light and shade, and while it sets forth in all its rigor the conflict of the lovely, chaste and pure child of nature with the corrupt manners of the court and her royal lover who shared them, it nevertheless paves the way likewise for a truly blessed reconciliation and removal of this conflict by showing how Shulamiths urgency to return to her country home, lays the foundation for a change of mind in her husband, and for satisfying her boldest and highest wishes. The true power of love in the humble maiden thus shines in its most glorious light, and the lover who at first resisted is drawn along by it; his resistance to the sanctity of the marriage connection is overcome by the purity of her feelings.When put in a parallel with the relation of Christ to His Church, this episode from the story of the love of Solomon and Shulamith certainly exhibits more disparity than resemblance. But it forms also just that section of the story, in which the dissimilarity of the two relations must naturally come most strongly out, in some parts of it almost to the obliteration of every trace of similitude. And yet there remain even here significant analogies enough to establish the essentially Messianic character of the whole. Above all the glowing description of the beauty of the lover, Son 5:10-16, which is only applicable to Solomon, not to any of his subjects, points to the King of all kings as the heavenly prototype of that king, as the possessor of an eternal glory which far outshines the splendor of the earthly Solomon. Mankind seeking after God, and craving His salvation, the antitype in the history of redemption of the earthly Shulamith, by its earnest and continued longing, waiting, entreating and imploring, succeeds in moving this heavenly Solomon to give up his glory and enter into its low estate, as she moves her lord and king to the resolve to live with her in her mothers house, and to partake with her of all the simple country enjoyments and pleasures which this house, with its surroundings, could offer him and her. In this parallel there certainly lies a prophecy of the fulfilling of that which is written, Joh 14:23, If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him and make our abode with him; likewise of 2Co 6:16 (Lev 26:11; Heb 8:10), I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people; as well as of Rev 21:3, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and He himself, God with them, shall be their God. That significant phrase too, thou wouldst instruct me, Son 8:2, points to the higher stage of divine revelation to which mankind has been exalted under the New Testament, in the same manner as Isa 54:13 (Joh 6:45): And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; or as Jer 31:33 (Heb 8:10 ff.): I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts;and they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, saying, Know the Lord; for they shall all know me from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord, (comp. Joe 3:1 f.; Act 2:16 f.; 1Jn 2:27, etc.).But certainly,and herein lies the exaltation of the New Testament Solomon above the Old, and the superiority of the New Testament covenant of grace, as compared with the marriage covenant between Solomon and Shulamithno express entreaty with flattering words and persistent supplication was needed to bring down the Lord of the New Covenant to His own. Even if here and there in His parables He assumes the air of the reluctant friend or the unmerciful judge, and thus seems to impose upon His own people the duty of importunate begging and crying (Luk 11:5-8; Luk 18:1-7), this is purposely done that the contrast between human hard-heartedness and His own infinitely merciful and prevenient love, may induce to a heartier confidence in the latter. His becoming poor in order to make us rich, His emptying and humbling Himself to the form of a servant was prevenient throughout, with no merit or worthiness on the part of man; yea, so that He was found of them that sought Him not, and was made manifest unto them that asked not after Him (Rom 10:20; Isa 65:1). Of His coming to His own it may in truth be said:
You do not need to labor,
Nor struggle day and night,
To bring Him down from heaven,
By efforts of your might.
He comes of His own motion,
Is full of love and grace,
Your every grief and sorrow
Hell utterly efface.
And besides it is a real and substantial glory, which He gives up and forsakes from love to the poor children of men, not a mere seeming glory, full of sin and vanity, like that of the earthly Solomon. His love to the poor damsel of earth is so utterly unselfish that He gives everything and receives nothing, whilst she can give nothing but only receive (comp. St. Francis of Assisis fable of the rich king Christ, and the fair damsel Poverty). Nay, she does not even possess as her own those excellent fruits, new and old, with which she was to regale her gracious and heavenly guest upon his entrance into her mothers house. But it is her lover, and He alone, who makes the seed of His divine word bring forth in her good and worthy fruit, which endureth unto everlasting life. It is He alone who makes her rich in all the fruits of the Spirit and of righteousness (Php 1:11; Gal 5:22, etc.). He alone distributes the precious wine of joy at the table of His grace, by which He solemnly seals and confirms with His earthly bride, the covenant of His love, established by His bloody sacrificial death (comp. Joh 2:1-11). And while Shulamiths entreaty of her royal lord and husband O that thou wert like my brother, who sucked the breasts of my mother (Son 8:1) can only be made in the most restricted sense,while she, upon a calm and sober view of the case at least, can expect no more than a transient coming down of her lover into her poverty and retirement, the heavenly bridegroom of the Church, on the contrary, comes not only once and in the fullest truth, but for ever as our brother on the earth. He is not ashamed to call all them, whom He redeems, His brethren (Heb 2:11; comp. Joh 20:17). He is made partaker of their earthly flesh and blood in order to raise them from being slaves of sin and death to be children of God and heirs of His eternal, heavenly blessedness (Heb 2:14-15; Joh 8:32-36).Thus set in the light of His deeds of redeeming love, this section of the Canticles becomes a song of praise to the grace of the Lord, which worketh all in all, a hymn of glory to that inscrutable mystery of the Divine mercy, of which Paul exclaims, Rom 11:34 f.: For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been His counsellor? Or who hath first given to Him and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things; to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
CONTENTS
This beautiful Song is now drawing to a close, and the Church repeats her earnest desires for increasing knowledge of, and communion with her Lord. In the body of this Chapter, it is hard to distinguish between the expressions of Christ and those of his Church, in which are contained the vehement pantings for fellowship. Towards the close, the Church puts up a request for the speedy call of the Gentiles, and finisheth the whole in earnest prayer for her Beloved to hasten his coming, and sum up his whole purposes of redemption in glory.
Son 8:1
O that thou wert as my brother, that sucked the breasts of my mother! when I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yea, I should not be despised.
The Church in this verse is still prosecuting the same pleasing subject, that she dwelt on in the former chapter; but, willing to enjoy Christ in every relationship, wherein he hath condescended to put himself, she here reminds him that he is her brother, as well as her husband. Reader! it is blessed to know and enjoy Jesus, in all his names, offices, characters, and relations; for he fills all. And as we are told that he is not ashamed to call his people brethren; surely everyone should delight to make use of the relationship, and call him brother. Christ is the brother of his Church, from taking our nature upon him, in being the seed of the woman after the flesh; for it behoved him in all things to be made like unto his brethren: Gen 3:15 ; Heb 11:12 ; Mat 12:50 . Perhaps by the wish which the Church expresseth in this verse, is meant to convey the longing of Old Testament saints for the incarnation of the Lord Jesus. O that thou wert as my brother; that is, Oh! that the salvation were given unto Israel out of Zion! And as Christ and his Church are one, so one mother, even Jerusalem is, as the Apostle saith, the mother of us all. Gal 4:26 . By sucking the breasts, very plainly means the enjoyment of the same ordinances. Hence Jesus, when on earth, graced the synagogue with his divine presence. Luk 4:16 , etc. The kisses, mean the exercises of faith, love, repentance, and all those graces which Jesus, by his Holy Spirit, plants in the souls of his people, and which, by his influences, he again brings forth into action, upon his person, blood, and righteousness. Hence, therefore, saith the Church, when I humbly offer these things unto my brother, my Lord, I shall not be despised. No! Jesus despiseth not the day of small things. Zec 4:10 . He doth not break the bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax. Mat 12:20 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
The First and Greatest Commandment
Son 8:3
I. See how every power of the mind is embraced by, and concerned in, this love: how the head and the heart, knowledge and feeling, the understanding and the will, are all swallowed up by it. And yet, the very text tells us which is of more value in the Lord’s sight. Just as the Seraphim, that are on fire with love, hold a more exalted estate than the Cherubim, that are perfect in knowledge so here ‘His left hand should be under my head, and His right hand should embrace me’. Every power of yours, of knowledge as well as of love, must be His; but oh, how infinitely of more value in His eyes the love than the knowledge!
II. Notice this. He thus shields the head, He thus protects the whole form of His Bride. How was His head shielded: how was His most blessed form embraced? It was no gentle hand which supported His head in those the last horn’s of His earthly life: the long sharp thorns were driven into that; and thus, out of the infinity of His goodness, He returns good for evil. The embrace He received was that of the Cross itself, the bitter and hard bed of His last sufferings: the rough handling of the four soldiers that nailed Him thereto: the piercing of the nails themselves: that was the embrace given. What is that which He gives? Think of that right hand first, how it was prefigured in the ancient days, in the generations of old. This was the hand that had healed the poor leper with those words of love ‘I will: be thou clean’ that had held up Peter from sinking when his faith failed in the great wind and the surging waves that had written in the sand, before the gracious sentence, ‘Neither do I condemn thee; go, and sin no more’ which had anointed the eyes of the blind man so that he received his sight which had been stretched forth, as it were, towards the penitent thief, giving effect to those words of inestimable joy, ‘Verily, I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with Me in Paradise’; which will, at the latter day be held out to the righteous with, ‘Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world’.
III. But then, remember this. That right hand did not become glorious in power that right hand did not dash the enemy in pieces till it had been nailed to the Cross. That which befell the Captain must befall the soldiers also.
J. M. Neale, Sermons on the Song of Songs, p. 321.
Coming Up From the Wilderness
Son 8:5
I. Who is it that asks the question? The very form of it tells us. ‘Who is this’ not that goeth, but ‘that cometh up from the wilderness leaning upon her Beloved?’ Then they who put it are delivered from the wilderness themselves. They may well ask with joy as they see another and another and another guided safely through it ‘ Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness?’
Nevertheless, as the very words show us, it is a struggle to get out of the wilderness. ‘Who is she that cometh up?’ A perpetual ascent: a constant striving upward: if ‘the hill of Sion is a fair place and the joy of the whole earth,’ it is a lofty place too, and not to be attained without a lifelong effort.
II. She is coming up from the wilderness, but she is not alone. He, Who in the days of His Flesh tabernacled in the same wilderness, knew all its wearisomeness, conquered all its dangers, He will not leave her comfortless in it He will come unto her, and having come He will walk with her. But more, far more, than that. It is not Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness with her Beloved but leaning on her Beloved. No fear of tiring Him, for He is the Everlasting God no fear of want of sympathy in Him, for He is True Man. She is now to lean on that arm which for her was stretched out on the Cross; she is now to be drawn near to that heart which for her was pierced with the spear. ‘So they two went on together:’ in what nearness and dearness of love, in what intimacy of conversation she receiving all, He giving all: she rejoicing to have nothing that does not come from Him He unwilling to have anything which He is not ready to bestow on her.
III. See if it is so with you. The wilderness you are passing so you know and feel: but the question is, whether leaning on Him? This also you know, that on nothing else can you lean: those broken reeds not only give way but pierce the hand that would trust them. But this is the feeling that you may, that you ought to have: that any additional discomfort, any especial trial, only give you the right to throw more of your burden on Him. That arm on which you are leaning has raised so many sinners from spiritual death: has been thrown round so many penitents to hold up their goings in His ways that their footsteps slipped not: has wiped so many tears from so many eyes. And there it is for you to rest on: there it is to shield you, to guard you; finally, to crown you.
J. M. Neale, Sermons on the Song of Songs, p. 334.
References. VIII. 5. R. A. Suckling, Sermons Plain and Parochial, p. 235. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xv. No. 877.
Bible Seals
Son 8:6
‘He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.’ How often does that word seal occur in the whole Bible? What does it mean? All things have significance. The value is often wholly in the meaning. The thing itself may be small enough, so small as to be almost beneath notice, if the question be one of magnitude and appraisement. We must look at the Biblical seals just as they come and go; we must as commentators have much licence in the matter of accommodation. Some of the meanings are obvious; some are implicit, they have almost to be dug out as if men were searching for silver and for hidden silver.
I. In choosing this as our text we are not making vivid a process which is often allowable in pulpit exposition a peculiar or distinctive word; we are engaged upon the unfolding and expansion of a long golden chain. This is a text of links, this is a polysyllable of love, this the endless word, because pointing to the endless life. Would you hear a little of the drip, drip of the music of the sealing? Why, I could begin anywhere, but we might begin in Job: ‘He commandeth the sun and sealeth up the stars,’ as if they were quite little morsels of jewels, and He gathered them into one slender batch and tied some jewelled seal to them, and said, These are my jewels, to be gathered up on a given day. Or Isaiah: ‘Seal the law among my ‘ and then comes a New Testament word. The New Testament in Isaiah? Why, certainly. The New Testament is in Genesis. What is that completing word in Isaiah? Read the text again, and we will conjecture, now that you have given us the key, that the word is in the New Testament and in the very first part of the New Testament: ‘Seal the law among My disciples’. We are familiar with the word; when we first read it we did not know the meaning of it, but we read on through Isaiah and Jeremiah and Ezekiel and Daniel, and right away through into Matthew, and there the word disciples occurred, and then it often occurred, and then we thought we had always known the word so ungrateful is man.
II. Wonderful wearing of a seal is this in the Son 8:6 ‘Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm.’ The whole idea of the gospel bondage sweet, sweet slavery! is in that symbolism.
1. Where must the seal first be? ‘Upon thine heart.’ Begin at the heart if you would begin wisely; begin metaphysically, begin a long way from the visible, the concrete, and what is called the practical poorest, meanest of the little heaps of dust that gather around the feet of our pilgrimage! Begin far away. We must have Christ in the heart, a great secret, a solemn yet joyful silence. Christ and the heart must have tender communion; they have festive times that are not marked on the calendar; they muse together, they ask questions of one another, then come more nearly near; in the soul there is a mystic wedding without which any other wedding is blasphemy, an oath broken at the altar.
2. Then set thy seal upon mine arm or thine arm: there is a time for protest, confession, public profession of the Eternal Name; there is a ministry of symbolism, there is a way of walking that means that the pilgrim has a sanctuary in view; there is a mysterious influence upon the attitude, the figure, the dress, the whole tone and speech of the life. What is it? We often call it the profession of the name of Christ. Some of us would perhaps under certain circumstances turn our clothing so that we could conceal the seal from everybody; and there is a way to be equally detested, and that is an opening and showing the seal as if making an investment and testimonial and credential of it. There is another way, the way of true modesty, gentle but invincible love that is not ashamed of Jesus or ashamed of the Christian seal.
Joseph Parker, City Temple Pulpit, vol. iii. p. 127.
Set Me As a Seal Upon Thine Heart (Tuesday in Holy Week)
Son 8:6
I. Set Me as a Seal Upon Thine Heart, as a Seal Upon Thine Arm. If the Bride had followed the order of time, she would have reversed the two petitions; but thinking of those two greatest and most blessed sacraments, prefigured in the Blood and Water that flowed from the Side of her Lord, and. which must be the source and origin of every action, she puts the seal on the heart first. A cruel engraving, indeed, though exercised on a lifeless body; and yet, such virtue then went forth from that wound, opened by the spear, that the soldier who inflicted it became himself a good soldier and martyr of Jesus Christ.
A seal bears the resemblance of that to which it belongs, and our resemblance there is, indeed, in these wounds. We know what we were when He came to seek and to save us. We know how,’ from the sole of the foot even unto the head, there was no soundness in it, but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores’. Himself, therefore, took our infirmities and bare our sickness: Himself impressed our likeness on His hands and on His side, binding us then by the nearest and dearest of ties, graving us as He Himself says, on the palms of His hands.
II. ‘For Love is Strong as Death.’ His love, indeed, was stronger than the most fearful death; than a lingering, shameful death; than a forsaken lonely death; than a death from which the Eternal Father hid His face; than a death brought to pass by the treachery of one disciple, and accompanied by the cowardice of all. Such love as His met such a death as His. But apply that same saying to us can there be a bitterer satire on what we do, and on what we do not do? Our love strong as death! It is well if it be strong enough to triumph over the next temptation that assaults us. Our love strong as death! Why, sometimes it hardly seems to exist at all. We feel too powerless and helpless and listless to care about anything, to wish for anything, to long for anything and can we love?
III. Jealousy is Cruel as the Grave. And how? Jealousy not of but for, the beloved thing or person. Not that we should not be loved by Him so well as others are, but that He should not be loved by others lest He should not be loved according to His deserts.
IV. The Coals Thereof are Coals of Fire. This was the fire wherewith our Paschal Lamb was offered: this it was not the nails, not the scourge, not the Cross which sacrificed Him for the sins of the world. This was, indeed, the returning of the good for evil which has heaped coals of fire on our heads.
V. And yet here is our Comfort. On that heart, on that arm, you are set as seals. You cannot be forgotten you cannot be overlooked. If He died for you, no fear that He should not remember you. If He suffered for you, no fear that He will not suffer with you. And then I might tell you to remember how a seal is made and of what: the work of a cunning artificer: little by little: bit by bit: here a grain of stone, there a grain of stone: every mite adding to the true figure every sculpture indelible. Cut out, too, with sharp instruments with different sharp instruments, but when once cut out in a gem, never to be effaced. You may destroy the jewel, but, keeping that undestroyed, the seal impressed there must remain there.
J. M. Neale, Sermons on the Song of Songs, p. 345.
References. VIII. 6. W. J. Knox-Little, Labour and Sorrow, p. 313. T. T. Carter, Lent Lectures, 1860-1866, p. 136. J. Vaughan, Outlines of Sermons on the Old Testament, p. 166. J. Parker, City Temple Pulpit, vol. iii. p. 127. VIII. 6, 7. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. vii. No. 364. VIII. 7. Ibid. vol. xlii. No. 2466. VIII. 11. J. M. Neale, Sermons on the Song of Songs, p. 356. VIII. 11-14. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xlii. No. 2480. VIII. 12. Ibid. vol. xlviii. No. 2785. VIII. 13. F. W. Atkin, Christian World Pulpit, vol. lxvi. 1904, p. 183. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxix. No. 1716. VIII. 13, 14. J. M. Neale, Sermons on the Song of Songs, p. 378. VIII. 14. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xl. No. 2360.
Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson
Christ and His Church
Song of Solomon 5-8
The Song has a double action: sometimes the Church praises Christ, and sometimes Christ praises the Church. The most noticeable feature is that the praise on both sides is equal. Not one word does the Church say of Christ that Christ does not in his turn say of the Church. So there is no idolatry in Christian worship when that worship is directed to God the Son. God the Son does not take from the Church all praise and honour without returning to his Church a response which proves the dignity of the Church herself. The occasion is always double, or reciprocal. A worship that is unreturned would be idolatry; but the worship that is returned in recognition and honour and love and benediction is a reflected and re-echoed love; it is the very perfection of sympathy. An idol does nothing in return; there is a short and easy test of idolatry. A wooden deity makes no reply; it takes no interest in the worshipping or adoring life; it may be said to receive all and give nothing in return. To pour out the heart to such an unanswering presence is simple and fruitless idolatry. This is not the relation in which Christ stands to his Church. It would be difficult to say whether the Church more praises Christ than Christ delights in the Church. He speaks of the Church as if he could not live without it. He redeemed it with his precious blood; he comes to it for fruit, for blessing, may we not add, for comfort to his own heart? that he may see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied: he looks for beauty on our part, for all manner of excellence; and when he sees it does he stint his praise, does he speak with merely critical and literal exactness? Is there not a redundance of recognition, as if he could never say too much in return for the worship we render him, and the service we conduct in his name and to his glory? If we doubted this we should only have need to refer to the great rewards with which he crowns our humble, but sincere, endeavours: we cannot give any disciple of his a cup of cold water without receiving recognition from Christ; we cannot watch one hour with him without feeling that, having had participation in his sufferings, we shall have also triumph in his resurrection. Observe, therefore, the reciprocal action as between Christ in heaven and his Church on earth: how they love one another, and communicate with one another, and live in one another. This is the marvel of grace.
We may learn much from this Shulamite. This high privilege, this most sacred and tender joy, brings with it a reflection full of sadness. When the love is so tender, how sensitive it must be to neglect, or disobedience, or wavering! A love like that cannot be neglected with impunity. It is a solemn relation in which the Church stands to Christ: a breath may wound him; an unspoken thought may be a cruel treachery; a wandering desire may be a renewed crucifixion. To have to deal with such love is to live under perpetual criticism. Whilst the recognition is always redundant, yea, infinite in graciousness, yet even that species and measure of recognition may be said to involve a corresponding sensitiveness to neglect or dishonour. The very fact that our poorest service is looked upon with the graciousness of divine love also suggests that our neglect of that service leaves that love wounded and despondent.
Look at the case. The Church which goes into such rhapsodies of admiration as we find in the Canticles breaks down at one point. Whose love is it that gives way? It is not the love of Christ. When a break does occur in the holy communion, where does that break take effect? Look at the image in the fifth chapter. The Church is there represented as having gone to rest, and in the deep darkness a knock is heard at the door, and a well-known voice says: “Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night” (Son 5:2 .) What is the response of the Shulamite or, as we should say, the Church? The answer is: “I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?” Thus we are caught at unexpected times, and in ways we have never calculated. It is when we are asked to do unusual things that we find out the scope and the value of our Christian profession. How difficult it is to be equally strong at every point! How hard, how impossible, to have a day-and-night religion; a religion that is in the light and in the darkness the same, as watchful at midnight as at midday; as ready to serve in the snows of winter as amid the flowers of the summer-time! So the Shulamite breaks down. She has been sentimentalising, rhapsodising, calling to her love that he would return to her; and now that he has come she says: “I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on?” How hard for human nature to be divine! How difficult for the finite even to urge itself in the direction of the infinite! How impossible to keep awake all night even under the inspiration of love, unless that inspiration be constantly renewed by intercourse with heaven! Keep my eyes open at midnight, O thou coming One, and may I be ready for thee when thou dost come, though it be at midnight, or at the crowing of the cock, or at noonday: may I by thy grace be ready for thy coming!
The whole subject of excuses is here naturally opened up. “I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on?” What a refrain to all the wild rhapsody! When the Shulamite cries that her loving and loved one may return, always add, I have put off my coat: how shall I put it on? I have laid myself down; how can I rise again to undo the door? Oh that he would come at regular times, in the ordinary course of things, that he would not put my love to these unusual and exceptional tests: for twelve hours in the day I should be ready, but having curtained myself round, and lain down to sleep, how can I rise again? Thus all rhapsody goes down, all mere sentiment perishes in the using; it is undergoing a continual process of evaporation. Nothing stands seven days a week and four seasons in the year but reasoned love, intelligent apprehension of great principles, distinct inwrought conviction that without Christ life is impossible, or were it possible it would be vain, painful, and useless. Have we any such excuses, or are these complaints historical noises, unknown to us in their practical realisation? Let the question find its way into the very middle of the heart. There is an ingenuity of self-excusing, a department in which genius can find ample scope for all its resources. Who is guiltless in this matter? Who is there that never was called upon in his conscience to rise and do Christ’s bidding under exceptional and trying circumstances? We may not have love making its demands by the clock; we must not have a merely mechanical piety that comes for so much and for no more: love is enthusiasm; love is sacrifice; love keeps no time; love falls into no sleep from which it cannot escape at the slightest beckoning or call of the object on which it is fastened.
Shall we go a little into detail? or do we shrink from the thumbscrew and the rack of cross-examination? Will not pulpit and pew go down in a common condemnation? The ailment that would not keep a man from business will confine him all day when it is the Church that requires his attendance, or Christ that asks him to deliver a testimony or render a sacrifice. Who can escape from that suggestion? Who does not so far take Providence into his own hand as to arrange occasionally that his ailments shall come and go by the clock? Who has not found in the weather an excuse to keep him from spiritual exercises that he never would have found there on the business days of the week? How comes it that men look towards the weather quarter on the day of the Son of man? It is not a little matter; this is not a detail that is insignificant: within limits that might easily be assigned the detail is not worth taking notice of; but even here we may find insight into character, revelation of spiritual quality, the measure of enthusiasm. We can only test ourselves by the criticism of our own day: it is in vain for us to say whether we should have risen or not when the knock came to the door, and the speaker said that his head was filled with dew and his locks with the drops of the night; into such romantic circumstances we cannot enter; but there are circumstances by which we can be tested and tried, and by which we can say to ourselves definitely, Our prayer is a lie, and our profession a rhapsody. It is not enough that we should be usual, regular, mechanical; that we should have a scheduled order of procession, whereby a duty shall come at a given hour, and be discharged at an indicated time. We are not hirelings; we ought not to be mere slaves, serving as men-pleasers serve in the domestic and commercial circles; we should be slaves in the sense of love that keeps nothing back, that delights in its golden chains, because every link binds the soul more closely and tenderly to the infinite heart of the universe. Where do we begin to economise? do we begin in the region of luxury? Where is there a man who can truthfully say that when he begins to economise he begins in the wine-cellar? Where is there a Christian man, how rhapsodic soever his piety and the more rhapsodic the less likely who can say that when he economises he begins by putting a bridle upon his own appetites and indulgences and worldliness: and that before he will take anything from Christ the last rag must be stripped from his own back? Yet how we sing, how we praise the hymn, how we admire the poet, how we ask him to go higher in his ascriptions and to be broader in his consecrations! Alas, if it be all rhapsody! We shall never know whether it is so or not by mere argument. What have we done? How often have we risen at midnight to help the poor, the helpless, the lost? Of how many meals have we denied our hunger that we might help a hunger greater than our own? How often have we put ourselves out of the way to do that which is good, benevolent, and helpful? Not what have we done by regulation and schedule, and bond and stipulation, and the like; but what irregular service have we rendered, what unusual devotion have we paid? These are the questions that try us like fire; these are the inquiries that mow down our rhapsody and sentiment, and soon discover how much there is left in the field of life for that which is good and solid and useful.
But the Church will repent: the Shulamite will cry; yea, the tears will burst from her eyes, and she will go out after she has had a fit of reflection. Let her go! “I rose up to open to my beloved; and my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh, upon the handles of the lock. I opened to my beloved; but——” we saw in how awful a relation the soul stands in regard to Christ; we saw how hard a thing it-is to live clearly up to the point of that infinite affection of his “but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone.” When he goes, who can measure the emptiness which he leaves behind? Hear the sad word “gone.” What is there left? Only emptiness, nothingness, disappointment, mortification, now cry and spare not thy tears, thou indolent Shulamite who did not spring to answer the call that was made by him whose head was filled with dew, and whose locks were heavy with the drops of the night! What a picture of forsakenness! He was gone “My soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer.” Has he not left a shadow behind? No. Is there not a sound of his retreating footfall in the night air by which the forsaken one may discover at least the direction in which wounded love has gone? No. Herein we stand in jeopardy every hour. Let the Shulamite now examine her reasons, and she says, I would not rise to put on a garment, and therefore I have lost him who is fairest among ten thousand and altogether ever lovely; I would not put myself to any inconvenience, and therefore I have lost the king and his heaven. Strip all this soliloquy of its orientalism, and still there remains the solid time-long fact, that to neglect an opportunity which Christ creates is to lose the Christ who graciously created it. “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in”: “Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation.” Did not the disciples sleep in the garden? Are we not all sometimes overborne with sleep? Is Christ, then, harsh with us? No: yet only by these forsakings can he get at some of us, so to say, with anything like healthful and permanent effect: argument is exhausted; appeal is lost. The ministry of abandonment plays an important part in the dispensation under which we live. We must be left to ourselves awhile; we must be given to feel how great a thing is the light which we do not value or which we neglect to use. When the light goes what is left? A great burden of darkness. And what does darkness mean? It means imprisonment, destruction. Darkness practically destroys every picture that the hand of skill ever painted; the night roots out all the flowers of summer, so far as their visibleness is concerned. Darkness undoes, limits, appals, imprisons. There is no jail like the darkness. In other prisons you may try to find crevices in the wall, flaws in the building that may be turned to advantage; but in the darkness there are no flaws, it is a great wall which cannot be broken up by our poor human strength: if we should strike a momentary light in its midst it would only be to discover that the prison is vaster than we had at first supposed. When Christ leaves the soul, the soul is sunk in night Not one ray of light has it of its own. All it can do is to cry bitterly, penitently, contritely; but all the crying of the gathered distress and agony of the world cannot dispel the darkness of night.
The Shulamite went forth, and was wounded by strange hands. “The watchmen that went about the city found me, they smote me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me” ( Son 5:7 ). Poor Church! That is thy lot when away from Christ! The world hates the Church; the world only awaits an opportunity to wound the Church. This is not only circumstantial; it is philosophical, it is necessary, it is inevitable: there is no communion or congeniality between them; they live in different universes, they are lighted by different flames one the eye of day, the other the baleful fire of hell. The worldly man cannot esteem the Christian. It is a difficult lesson to learn. The Christian is more frequently deceived upon this point than is the worldly man. The Christian speaks of his geniality, his neighbourliness, his evident disposition to return courtesies and to live upon friendly terms. There can be no friendly terms between the soul that prays and the soul that never prays! What communion hath Christ with Belial, or light with darkness? Not that the Christian may set himself in hostility against the world in so far as it would prevent his having an opportunity of revealing the kingdom of heaven. Certainly not. That, indeed, would be unwise generalship, that would be obviously insane and absurd piety; we are now speaking of the solemn fact that if the world should get the Church into its power, the world would wound the Church and kill it; if Christ were to descend the world would slay him every day in the week: and so doing the world is acting logically; it is in perfect sequence with itself; the inconsistency is not in the world. What if there be less inconsistency in the world than in the Church?
There is one expression to which allusion may be made: “Jealousy is cruel as the grave. the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame” ( Son 8:6 ). There is an unreasoning and unjust jealousy. There is a jealousy which every man ought to condemn and avoid as he would flee from the very spirit of evil. But there is a godly jealousy. “I the Lord thy God am a jealous God” : “Thou shalt worship no other God: for the Lord whose name is Jealous is a jealous God.” The Apostle Paul avails himself of this same sentiment when he says: “For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.” When we condemn jealousy we must understand the direction in which jealousy operates. Let us never forget that there is a jealousy which is born of the very pit of perdition; but let us be jealous for truth, jealous for honour, jealous for domestic sanctities, jealous for mutual reputation. Let us feel that what injures a brother injures us. Never let us forget that when one minister is spoken against the whole ministry is involved. Do not imagine that some particular minister can be the object of jealousy without the whole brotherhood to which he belongs being in some degree involved in the tremendous blasphemy against human rights and human liberties. There is a fine scope for jealousy, if we want to be jealous, and it we are endowed with a jealous disposition. Let us beware of the serpent Jealousy: it will destroy our home, our love, our life; it will turn the sweetest, purest cream into the deadliest poison; with the fumes of hell it will mingle the incense of piety. It is the perversion of a sublime sentiment, and is without either the dignity of justice or the serenity of reason. “It doth work like madness in the brain.” We must be jealous of ourselves, and not of others. There is a fine range for jealousy for a man to sit jealously in judgment upon his own motives, and desires, and aspirations, and to be severe with himself. That is the way to become gracious to others. Let us be jealous of our jealousy; be jealous of our prayerlessness, our illiberality, our mean and despicable excuses. Along that line our jealousy may burn with advantage, but along every other line its proper figure is that of a fiend, and its only passion is thirst for blood. But we should not have jealousy excluded from the action of the Shulamite or from the spirit of Christ, wherein jealousy means regard for the principles of love, the integrity of honour, the flawlessness of loyalty, the completeness of consecration.
How healthful is the lesson, and what a range of application it has namely, let us be jealous in regard to ourselves. Let us say to the self-saving self, This is diabolical on your part, and ought to be punished with the heat of hell. When in the morning we would escape from religious discipline that we may mingle with the greater eagerness in the dissipation of the world, let us stop ourselves and say, Bad man, disloyal man, you have robbed God! What a field for jealousy! When we have neglected the poor and hungry, and listened not to the cause of those who had no helper, then let us be jealous of ourselves, and punish ourselves with anticipated hell. This would be a life full of discipline, but full of blessedness; it would check all evil-speaking, put an end to all malign criticism, and constrain the soul towards all graciousness and gentleness of judgment with others, for it would show others to advantage, and compel us to say, Compared even with them, how poor a figure we cut! To be severe with ourselves is the surest way to prepare for being gentle with our fellow-creatures. I keep myself under; I smite myself in the eyes, lest having preached to others I myself should be a castaway, so said the chief of us all, the loyalest, noblest Christian that ever followed the Saviour; and if he, so mentally strong and spiritually rich, needed so much self-discipline, what do we need, who feel how small we are and frail, and how easily we are moved about by every wind of doctrine and by every subtle temptation? My soul, hope thou in God!
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
(See the Song of Solomon Book Comments for other methods of interpreting the Song of Solomon)
XXX
AN INTERPRETATION OF THE SONG OF SOLOMON AS AN ALLEGORY
According to the first verse, the title of this book is “The Song of Songs,” and the author was Solomon. The Vulgate has the title, Canticum Canticorum, from which comes the title, “Canticles,” by which it is sometimes called and to which the references in some English versions are made. This title, as it appears here, implies that it is the choicest of all songs, in keeping with the saying of an early writer that “the entire world, from the beginning until now, does not outweigh the day in which Canticles was given to Israel.”
The parts of the book are marked with a refrain, thus: I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the roes, or by the hinds of the field, That ye stir not up, nor awake my love, Until he please, Song of Son 2:7 ; Song of Son 3:5 ; Song of Son 8:4 .
It will be noted that the second line in Song of Son 8:4 is omitted, perhaps, because it had been given twice before and the shortened form suited better the purpose of the author here.
It is well at this point to fix in mind the representative characters of the book, so as to make clear the interpretation and application. In this allegory the Shulammite may represent souls collectively, but more aptly applied to the individual soul seeking Christ. The daughters of Jerusalem represent the church. Solomon represents Christ, and the watchmen represent the spiritual leaders, such as priests, prophets, and preachers.
The prologue expresses the desire of a soul for Christ, a prayer to be drawn to him, conversion, and a consciousness of unworthiness.
In Part I the soul is instructed to seek its lover at the feeding places of the flock, or places where Christ meets his people; as, in meetings, etc., and upon their meeting they express their love for each other in which the soul is represented as being completely enraptured by its first love to Christ.
In Part II we have the beautiful serenade in which Christ is represented as entreating this new convert to come away and separate herself from her people and everything that might cause alienation. But upon neglect to heed this entreaty the little foxes, that is, little sins creep in and alienation is the result. So she sends him away till the cool of the day so characteristic of the soul that is neglectful of its early Christian duties. But soon she goes out to seek him another characteristic of the sheep that has wandered away from its shepherd and the flock. As she goes out to seek him she meets the city watchmen and inquires of them likewise the soul thus realizing its need at this point makes inquiry of spiritual leaders. She soon finds him and brings him to her mother’s house, thus representing the soul that has not left its former associations.
In Part III we have the procession of Solomon coming out to her to take her to his own home. Here he praises her, wooes her, and pleads with her to come away from her old associations. She is won and agrees to go with him, but when he knocks at the door she is half asleep and does not open to him. Her indifference brings about another alienation, and he leaves. Soon she arises to open, but, alas! he has grown tired of waiting and has gone away. She seeks him again, but the preachers (city watchmen) make it hard for her this time, upon which she appeals to the members of the church (daughters of Jerusalem) and they test her with a question, whereupon she declares her appreciation of him in a most glowing description of him. Then they submit the second test by asking another question as to his whereabouts. Here she understands perfectly as to his abiding place, which she shows them. While this is going on he draws near, speaking of his love. Surely, it is a sweet thought that, while we are talking about Christ and praising him, he draws near and is mindful of us, though we have suffered the little foxes to do their work and have not heeded every knock upon the door by our Lord. As he is thinking and speaking of her he sees her in the distance and exclaims, Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, Fair as the moon, Clear as the sun, Terrible as an army with banners?
After telling where he had been he pleads again, very earnestly, for her return. In the remaining part of this division they converse with each other and he wooes her again and she agrees to leave all and go with him into the fields and villages.
In Part IV the daughters describe them as they proceed toward his house, conversing with each other of love in which she shows love to be the strongest thing in the world.
The Epilogue contains the vows of the woman to do her part and applies beautifully to the loyalty of the soul espoused to Christ.
Now, I call attention to the prayers of the Shulammite which indicate the conflict and progress of the Christian life. These are as follows: Draw me; we will run after thee: The king hath brought me into his chambers; We will be glad and rejoice in thee; We will make mention of thy love more than of wine: Rightly do they love thee. (Song of Son 1:4 ) Tell me, O thou, whom my soul loveth, Where thou feedest thy flock, Where thou makest it to rest at noon: For why should I be as one that is veiled Beside the flocks of thy companions? (Song of Son 1:7 ) Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; Blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, And eat his precious fruits. (Song of Son 4:16 ) Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; Let us lodge in the villages. (Song of Son 7:11 ) Set me as a seal upon thy heart, As a seal upon thine arm: For love is strong as death; Jealousy is cruel as Sheol; The flashes thereof are flashes of fire, A very flame of Jehovah. (Song of Son 8:6 )
Two of the most beautiful passages in the book are the Serenade, which pictures all nature calling to activity, and the passage on Love and Jealousy, showing love to be “The Greatest Thing in the World.” These passages are well adapted to the theme of the book and furnish an appropriate closing for our discussion on “The Poetical Books of the Bible.” THE SERENADE My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For, lo, the winter is past; The rain is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; The time of the singing of birds is come, And the voice of the turtle-dove is heard in our land; The fig-tree ripeneth her green figs, And the vines are in blossom; They give forth their fragrance, Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away. O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, In the covert of the steep place, Let me see thy countenance, Let me hear thy voice; For sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely. The Song of Son 2:10-14
LOVE AND JEALOUSY
Set me as a seal upon thy heart, as a seal upon thine arm: For love is strong as death; Jealousy is cruel as Sheol; The flashes thereof are flashes of fire, A very flame of Jehovah. Many waters cannot quench love, Neither can floods drown it: If a man would give all the substance of his house for love, He would utterly be condemned. The Song of Son 8:6-7
QUESTIONS
1. According to Song of Son 1:1 , what is the title and who is the author of The Song of Solomon?
2. How are the parts of the book marked?
3. Whom does the Shulammite represent?
4. Whom do the daughters of Jerusalem represent?
5. Whom does Solomon represent?
6. Whom do the watchmen represent?
7. What is the spiritual interpretation and application of the Prologue?
8. What is the spiritual interpretation and application of Part I?
9. What is the spiritual interpretation and application of Part II?
10. What is the story and spiritual application of Part III?
11. What is the interpretation of Part IV?
12. What are the contents of the Epilogue and its application?
13. What are the prayers of the Shulammite?
14. What to you are the moat beautiful passages in the book and in what consists their beauty?
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
Son 8:1 O that thou [wert] as my brother, that sucked the breasts of my mother! [when] I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yea, I should not be despised.
Ver. 1. Oh that thou wert as my brother. ] Heb., Who will give thee for a brother to me? – q.d., Men may give me many other things, but God alone can give me thy brotherhood, love, and communion, which I wish above all, saith the bride here. “Spiritual blessings in heavenly things in Christ” Eph 1:3 are chiefly to be desired and endeavoured after. Quaerite primum bona animi, saith philosophy, Seek first the good things of the mind. Quaerite primum regnum Dei, saith divinity, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness”: and then other things shall seek you, shall be cast into the bargain as it were. Let the “many say, Who will show any good?” David prefers one glance from God’s countenance before all the world’s wealth. Psa 4:7 “Oh that Ishmael might live in thy sight,” said Abraham. Oh that he might be “written among the living in Jerusalem,” be an heir of life truly so called, for Aeterna vita vera vita! a “The Lord make his face to shine upon you,” said the priests to the people. Num 6:24-25 “Grace be to you, and peace,” saith Paul; whatever else be wanting, “Covet earnestly the best things,” saith he. 1Co 12:31 “With all thy getting, get understanding,” saith Solomon. Pro 4:7 He desired wisdom above wealth; and despatched the temple in seven years’ time, whenas he was thirteen years ere he finished his own house, as holding it a work of less haste and care. Elisha begs a “double portion”: the spouse Son 2:5 calls for whole “flagons”; nothing less would content her. The prophet Isaiah chides men for laying out their money on “that which is not bread,” Isa 55:1-2 or but panis lapidosus, bread made of gravel; and our Saviour bids, “Labour not for the meat that perisheth, but for the meat that endureth to eternal life.” Joh 6:27 Mors privare potest opibus, non operibus: these die not with us (as Hortentius’s orations did with him), but follow us to heaven when we die, and shall be “found to praise, honour, and glory at that day.” 1Pe 1:7 Hence the Church so earnestly desireth here to have more close conjunction and consociation with Christ “as a brother”; yea, as a most natural and kind hearted brother that had “sucked the breasts of her mother,” that had been her collactaneus, and so more inwardly affected toward her, as Joseph was toward his brother Benjamin. Gen 43:29-30 ; Gen 43:34 In sum, she wisheth that she may feel Christ dwelling in her heart; that he would remove all impediments of their happy conjunction, and hasten the accomplishment thereof in heaven.
When I should find thee without (or at the door), I would kiss thee.] As the bride was wont to do the bridegroom, receiving and welcoming him with all comely familiarity and sweetness. “Kiss the son,” and covet his kisses. Psa 2:12 Son 1:2 Be not ashamed or afraid to perform all duties of a holy love and sound obedience towards him. He was not ashamed of us, when we had never a rag to our backs. Eze 16:3-13 He stretched the skirt of his love over us, and said unto us, “Live”; when he might well enough have loathed to look on us. ib. Eze 16:6
Yea, I should not be despised.
a Aug., De Pec. Mort., lib. i. cap. 11.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Song of Solomon Chapter 8
Son 8
The closing chapter appears to present summarily the object and principle of the Song, after a pouring forth of her affection, which the speaker desires might be gratified without reproof and in all purity, as will assuredly be when she becomes the bride of Messiah. No wonder if, after a review of her painful past mis- conduct and of His glory once despised, her heart needed re-assurance.
“Oh that thou wert as my brother,
That sucked the breasts of my mother !
Should I find thee without, I would kiss thee;
And they would not despise me.
I would lead thee-bring thee into my mother’s house:
Thou wouldest instruct me;
I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine,
Of the juice of my pomegranate.
His left hand [would be] under my head,
And his right hand embrace me.
I charge you, daughters of Jerusalem,
Why should you stir up, why awake [my] love, till he please.
Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness,
Leaning upon her beloved?
I awoke thee under the apple-tree:
There thy mother brought thee forth,
There she travailed that bore thee.
Set me as a seal upon thy heart,
As a seal upon shine arm;
For love is strong as death,
Jealousy is cruel as the grave:
The flashes thereof are flashes of fire,
Flames of Jah.
Many waters cannot quench love,
Nor can the floods drown it:
If a man gave all the substance of his house for love,
It would utterly be contemned.
We have a little sister,
And she hath no breasts:
What shall we do for our sister
In the day when she shall be spoken for?
If she be a wall,
We will build upon her a turret of silver;
And if she be a door,
We will inclose her with boards of cedar.
I [was] a wall, and my breasts like towers;
Then was I in his eyes as one that findeth peace.
Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon,
He let out the vineyard to keepers:
Every one for its fruit was to bring a thousand pieces of silver.
My vineyard, which is mine, is before me:
Thou, Solomon, shalt have the thousand,
And the keepers of its fruit two hundred.
Thou that dwellest in the gardens,
The companions hearken to thy voice:
Let me hear it.
Haste, my beloved,
And be thou like a gazelle or a young hart
Upon the mountains of spices” (vers. 1-14).
It is throughout the Spirit of prophecy, as in all the O.T. and again in the Revelation, after the present action of grace is over and the glorified saints are seen in heaven, respecting whom God foresaw some better thing. The testimony of Jesus, as we are told, reverts once more to that prophetic character which could not but be of old, before He came and suffered rejection at the hands of His own people, but therein also accomplished redemption, and as the firstborn from the dead became on high Head of the body, the church. But it has consequently the Holy Spirit sent forth and dwelling in it as the power of actual relationship and communion in a way beyond example, save His own when here below: only that He had it as the seal of personal acceptance, we solely through grace by His work and accepted in Him as the beloved. But Judah renewed, the godly remnant will look onward prophetically and through many a needed lesson of experience to the place in Messiah’s love which is predestined. And what follows sketches how it will be effectuated.
After a final charge to the daughters of Jerusalem, there is a fresh vision of the bride coming up out of the wilderness leaning upon her beloved. Once of old the people had come up out of it, not without wonders of divine goodness and power; but all was vain, for they leaned not on Jehovah or His Christ, but on self and law, which for sinful man, and such they were, can only be death and condemnation. Far different will it be when the generation to come emerges from it leaning upon the beloved. What brings about so great a change? “I awoke thee under the apple tree; there thy mother brought thee forth; there she travailed that bore thee.” As was noticed in Son 2:3 , Christ is meant by that tree; and it is His to awaken her from her long slumber and give her that life which alone lives to God. Compare Mic 5:3 . Not till then will the residue of His brethren return unto the children of Israel. The rejection of the Ruler, the smitten Judge of Israel, was fatal for the time: they were given up therefore, and God brings out His heavenly counsels in Christ and the church, until the day when Israel gives birth to the destined bride for Messiah here below, and the Jewish link will be re- formed, not under law that works wrath, but by faith that it may be according to grace and stand in God’s power, not ruin out of human weakness.
Then indeed will the prayer be answered, and Zion be set as seal on Messiah’s heart and arm: how strong and jealous His love! and there is the answer to it in that day. Death and Sheol only proved His love; flames of Jah tested it, waters and floods could not quench it, unbought and above all price, so that all man could give is utterly despicable in presence of it.
But who is the “little sister” (vers. 8-10), when Jerusalem is thus renewed? The house of Israel, it would seem; for they will come forward later for blessing. They suffered for their idolatry, as Judah did afterward; but they did not return from captivity as Judah did to refuse the Christ, nor are they to receive the Antichrist. Consequently the dealings of grace with Israel by-and-by do not assume the deep and retributory character which will be the portion of Judah. Compare the type of Gen. 42-45. when Joseph makes himself known to his brethren, and especially Reuben on the one hand and Judah on the other.
The allusion to Solomon and his vineyard at Baal-hamon thus becomes clear. As Lord of multitudes, the King of Peace in that day will have His widely extended sphere of fruit let out to His servants, the keepers, and the kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall render tribute; the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts; yea, all kings shall fall down before Him, all nations shall serve Him. No doubt, the bride will have her especial vineyard, which will be kept (compare Son 1:6 ); but the revenue she will lay at Messiah’s feet, whatever may be the gain of others thereby. The bride no longer begrudges the Bridegroom’s voice to others; she will be too restful in His love to doubt; but she desires to hear it for herself in that day. The closing verses reiterate the call for the coming of the beloved.
P.S. It may interest the reader to know that the Codex Sinaiticus, one of the most ancient witnesses extant of the Septuagint, itself the oldest version of the Hebrew original, divides the Song into four sections, each sub-divided into lesser parts, which briefly indicate the speakers and circumstances throughout.
The four sections are: (1,) Son 1:1-14 ; (2,) Son 1:15-3:5 ; (3,) Son 3:6-6:3 ; and (4,) Son 6:3-8:13 .
The reader that is curious about the copyist’s view may see it all in the No. of the Journal of Sacred Lit. for April, 1865. It may suffice here to give as a sample the headings of the lesser part under 1. (Son 1:1-14 ): ver. 2, the bride; ver. 4, the bride to the damsels; ver. 4, the damsels speak, and again proclaim to the Bridegroom the name of the bride; ver. 5, the bride; ver. 7, the bride to Christ the Bridegroom; ver. 8, the Bridegroom to the bride; ver. 10, the damsels to the bride; ver. 12, the bride to herself and to the Bridegroom.
It is clear therefore that this weighty document bears testimony in the first half of the fourth century era to the application of the Bridegroom to Christ, rather than to Solomon, still less to a shepherd of the northern kingdom (Hitzig), or any one else. The Song was then by some at least read without hesitation reverentially and believingly.
But there is another inference, which if sound is even more remarkable, from the heading of Son 4:16 : “the bride asketh the Father that her Bridegroom may come down”; which is understood to point to the Jewish election as the bride in the copyist’s judgment. Now the idea prevalent, among the Fathers so called in that age and since, identified her with the church, though individuals, as Theodoret lets us know, were not even then wanting who denied its spiritual reference. Origen, learned but precarious and even wild, had taught that the Bridegroom is the Word of God, and the bride either the soul or the church. The ancient Jews held to its allegorical character, God being the bridegroom and Israel the bride. Had they believed in the Messiah (Who is God), and seen the godly Jewish remnant of the future, the object of His restoring love in the latter day, it would have been more accurate. But this would have been the truth, known in the rejected but glorified Christ, and incompatible with Judaism as it has been and is.
Only the Christian can have the truth, because he has Christ and life in Him and the Holy Spirit guiding into all the truth. Alas! how many that bear the name abandon its privileges and lapse into a scepticism more guilty than heathenism or Judaism. It is the spirit of the apostasy that is at hand.
W. K.
Fuente: William Kelly Major Works (New Testament)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Son 8:1-3
1Oh that you were like a brother to me
Who nursed at my mother’s breasts.
If I found you outdoors, I would kiss you;
No one would despise me, either.
2I would lead you and bring you
Into the house of my mother, who used to instruct me;
I would give you spiced wine to drink from the juice of my pomegranates.
3Let his left hand be under my head
And his right hand embrace me.
Son 8:1 The fifth poem extends from Son 6:4 to Son 8:4. In Son 8:5 a sixth poem begins; some call it an epilogue (NJB). It occurs in the north and is characterized by several changes in speakers (notice NKJV’s characters):
1. the Beloved to the daughters of Jerusalem, Son 8:3-4
2. a relative speaks, Son 8:5 a, Son 8:5 b
3. the maiden to her beloved, Son 8:6-7
4. the maiden to her brothers, Son 8:8-9
5. the maiden, Son 8:10-11
6. the maiden to Solomon, Son 8:12
7. the Beloved, Son 8:13
8. the maiden, Son 8:14
But this is just one of many theories. The poem itself never designates a change of speaker, except by:
1. gender change
2. subject change
3. groups specifically named
4. a context change (i.e., geographical or imagined)
Son 8:1 Oh that you were like a brother to me Apparently some people were ridiculing her for her public expression of affection and she was wishing that her lover was a member of her own family where no one would question their fondness and expressions of family love to each other.
Just a further comment about this public display of affection. The maiden does not want to violate the taboos of her culture (i.e., public display of affection), but she wants so badly to be with her lover. It seems that the hapax legomenon, clinging or leaning (BDB 952, KB 1279, Hithpael PARTICIPLE) of Son 8:5 is exactly this. It is uncertain who the feminine who is this refers to:
1. the daughters of Jerusalem
2. the maiden
If the maiden, then she is returning from a secret rendevous with her lover in a very public way (almost flaunting it). This may have elicited her brothers’ comments of Son 8:8-9 (esp. Son 8:9, lines 3-4).
Who nursed at my mother’s breast This has been interpreted in several ways:
1. just another way of identifying her natural brothers
2. he should suckle her breasts like a child (i.e., drink from the juice of pomegranates, Son 8:2)
3. she learned to nurse by watching her mother (my mother, who used to instruct me, Son 8:2)
I think option #1 is best in this context.
despise This term (BDB 100 I, KB 114, Qal IMPERFECT) is used several times in this chapter (Son 8:1; Son 8:7 [twice]) and is common in Proverbs, but not in Job or Psalms (which used BDB 100 II, contempt, several times).
The maiden wants to show affection for her lover, but this can only be done in private, so she wishes they were brother and sister because children within the family were allowed to express affection for each other whenever and wherever they met.
Son 8:2-3 It is obvious that the family fondness of Son 8:1 (kiss you) has widened to the erotic allusions of Son 8:2-3 :
1. give you spiced wine to drink
a. strong wine (cf. Son 1:2; Son 1:4; Son 4:10; Son 5:1)
b. from pomegranates, which were seen as a fertility symbol (cf. Son 4:3; Son 6:7; Son 7:12)
c. Son 8:3 is a position for love (cf. Son 2:6; Pro 5:20)
Song of Songs has much in common with other ancient Near Eastern love poetry. In Egyptian love poems the mother of the bride is mentioned often, as is the term brother, as a reference to the new husband. Family was very important in the ancient world. Marriage truly did combine two families.
Son 8:2 my mother, who used to instruct me This is how the MT (and most English translations) reads. Some change teach (BDB 540, KB 531, Piel IMPERFECT) to conceive (RSV), mentioned in Son 3:4; Son 6:9; and Son 8:5 (footnote of JPSOA, p. 1576). This is because the VERB (THIRD PERSON FEMININE SINGULAR) does not fit well (cf. UBS Handbook For Translators, p. 218).
It is surely contextually possible that the reference to the one who will teach is the male lover! He will teach her the ways of love in her own home. In poetry the formal distinctions of gender and grammar are loosened for effect and imagery.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
despised = reproached.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Chapter 8
The bride continues her song.
O that thou wert as my brother, that nursed upon the breasts of my mother! when I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yea, I should not be despised. I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother’s house, who would instruct me: I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate. His left hand should be under my head, his right hand should embrace me. I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, until he please ( Son 8:1-4 ).
And the bridegroom speaks.
Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? I raised thee up under the apple tree: there thy mother brought thee forth: there she brought thee forth that bare thee. Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is as cruel as hell: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which has a most vehement flame. Many waters cannot quench love ( Son 8:5-7 ),
Oh, speaking, of course, very picturesque and very powerful declaration of how strong love is. Like coals of fire, most vehement flame. And many waters cannot quench love.
neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all of his substance of his house for love, it would be utterly contemptible ( Son 8:7 ).
In other words, this kind of love cannot be bought. Men are always trying to buy love. And there is a certain kind of love that can be bought. But not true love. Not this kind of love. This is a true love of Christ for us. You can’t purchase it. And an endeavor to purchase it only cheapens it. It’s utterly contemptible for people to try to buy their way with God.
If you gave tonight hoping that you could sort of buy your way with God, please ask the ushers for your refund when you leave. It’s contemptible to think that you can buy your way with the Lord. That you can buy His love. God’s love for us is uncaused by us and it just comes flowing forth to us. You can’t buy that kind of love. You can’t quench that kind of love. God’s love for us is unquenchable. And it just comes flowing out to us and it is just ours to accept and ours to receive.
Now the bride responds.
We have a little sister, who is not developed: what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for? ( Son 8:8 )
And the bridegroom responds.
If she is discreet, we’ll build upon her a palace of silver ( Son 8:9 ):
We’ll display her.
and if she be brash, [we’ll build a wall around her] we’ll enclose her in boards of cedar ( Son 8:9 ).
We’ll fence her up.
And then the bride speaks. And she answers.
I am a wall [or discreet], and my breasts are like towers: then was I in his eyes as one that found favor. Solomon had a vineyard at Baalhamon; he let it out to the vineyard to the keepers; and every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand pieces of silver ( Son 8:10-11 ).
Or he leased out the vineyards for a thousand pieces of silver.
My vineyard, which is mine, is before me: thou, O Solomon, must have a thousand, and those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred. Thou that dwellest in the gardens, the companions hearken to thy voice: cause me to hear it. Make haste, my beloved, and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart upon the mountains of spices ( Son 8:12-14 ).
“Make haste, my beloved.” This takes us to the last of the book of Revelation when Jesus said unto John, “Behold, I come quickly.” And John responded, “Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus” ( Rev 22:20 ). And so the final word of the bride is significant, “Make haste, my beloved, to come.” And our prayer today is, “O Lord, come. Come quickly that we might enter in to that fullness of Thy love in Thy kingdom. That you might bring us into Your banqueting house. Place your banner of love over us. That we will be there forever with Thee in Thy glorious kingdom. Make haste, come quickly, Lord Jesus.”
Shall we pray.
Father, we thank You for that love that we have experienced through Jesus Christ. We thank You, Lord, that we know the beauty, the glory, and the blessing of Thy love. And now, Lord, let us go out to declare Thy love to a needy world and to share Thy love with others. Let our lives, O God, become a fit witness of Thy love. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
Shall we stand.
Now you that are romanticists and true sort of mystics, you can take that Song of Solomon and you can find all kinds of exciting things in it. As I say, I’m not much of one to make allegories or to get involved in that because, again, you can read so many things. I think, though, that it is good. I think though that here is a bit of, in a sense, existentialism that you need to experience it personally. What does the Lord say to you in it? And I think it’s good to give God an opportunity to speak to you in it. And because you are different in many ways from me, in temperaments or whatever, some of you will find all kinds of beautiful, exciting things in the Song of Solomon where God will just speak to you in just a very beautiful special way.
But I think that there is something that is very intimate and personal with love. And thus, as the expressions of love are here, I really don’t think that they do stand well in a public expression, because it makes it sort of a general impersonal thing. In a public expression, I think that the deepest expression of it does come in your own personal devotions as you let God unravel the book to your own heart and make the applications of the love to you individually. And as you read it in your own personal kind of devotion, being open with the Spirit of God, He can make many beautiful applications of the song to your relationship with Him. And you’ll find it exciting indeed as He declares His personal love for you. And as you are able to relate and express your love for Him. So don’t just pass by the song of Solomon, go back and read it with an open heart that God might minister to you on an intimate, personal basis His deep, fervent, fiery love that cannot be quenched by many waters.
God bless you, watch over you this week. Give you just a blessed week as He keeps His hand upon your life to guide you according to His will. And may you walk in His love. And may you be enriched in His love and in all things in Christ Jesus. “
Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary
Son 8:1-4
Son 8:1-3
This final chapter is more eloquent in what it does NOT say than in what is clearly declared. Note that the Shulamite is not with king Solomon. She is not in his harem. She is in her own vineyard, not in the one Solomon let out for a thousand pieces of silver.
I WISH YOU WERE LIKE MY BROTHER
Son 8:1-3
“Oh that thou wert as my brother,
That sucked the breasts of my mother!
When I should find thee without, I would kiss thee;
Yea, and none would despise me.
I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother’s house,
Who would instruct me;
I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine,
Of the juice of my pomegranate.
His left hand should be under my head,
And his right hand should embrace me.”
Balchin saw these verses as, “the maiden’s soliloquy. “She expresses here a longing for the closest intimacy with her lover. It is difficult to see any real connection here with rest of the Song. “It may be a separate piece altogether.” “The Shulamite is addressing her lover on their way to the fields together; and she wishes he were as a brother, so that she might kiss him affectionately in public. The background of this is that in the East brothers and sisters might show their affection in public, but not so with husbands and wives. This fragment offers no solution as to the identity of the lover, whether he is the shepherd or king Solomon; but the weight of evidence favors the shepherd. If Solomon had been the lover, he would have taken her into the royal bedroom adjacent to his harem, not into the house of the bride’s mother.
Son 8:4
THE FAMILIAR REFRAIN
“I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
That ye stir not up, nor awaken my love,
Until he please.”
This is repeated in Son 2:7 and Son 3:5. See comment under those verses. It is not clear why this refrain is repeated just here.
Son 8:1 : The shepherd had addressed her as his sister, she now reciprocates with the thought that if he were her brother she would rush into his arms and kiss him at any time and any place. We like the words of Adeney here: This singular mode of courtship between two lovers who are so passionately devoted to one another that we might call them the Hebrew Romeo and Juliet, is not without significance. Its recurrence, now on the lips of the bride, helps to sharpen still more the contrast between what passes for love in the royal harem, and the true emotion experienced by a pair of innocent young people, unsullied by the corruptions of the court-illustrating, as it does at once, its sweet intimacy and its perfect purity. (ibid., p. 535.)
Son 8:2 : Why go to her mothers house? This would be after their marriage for instruction from the mother in the art of lovemaking. No mention is made of her father-perhaps her mother is a widow. Such a simple home-like atmosphere is in strong contrast to the oppressive magnificence of Solomons palace. She has some wonderful home-made country beverages for him-spiced wine and pomegranate juice. Perhaps what is here called spiced wine is especially prepared juice from the pomegranate.
Son 8:3-4 : We have treated these verses earlier in our comments on Son 2:6-7. The fourth verse is repeated twice: in Son 2:7 and Son 3:5. Please see our comments upon these verses. This would seem to be the final word to Solomon and the women of the court. She is saying in essence: I am committed to the shepherd as my husband-I can already feel his strong arms around me. Do not, as I have said twice before, attempt to arouse any love on my part for Solomon-love will take its spontaneous course-and in my case it is for my shepherd.!
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Son 8:13-14
I. Notice the title by which the Church is addressed. “Thou that dwellest in the gardens.” (1) A garden is an enclosed space taken from the surrounding uncultivated waste-connected with it, but yet not of it; separated and distinct from all around. Is not this true of the Church of the Redeemer? (2) A garden is designed for a special and peculiar purpose. So it is with the Church of the Redeemer. God has a special design to carry out in those whom He calls to be members of the mystical body of Christ: they have been redeemed from iniquity that they should be a peculiar people to show forth the praises of Him who hath called them out of darkness into His marvellous light. (3) We generally find that a garden is protected or defended by a wall or fence against the intrusion of those who would enter to steal or injure. So it is with the Church: it is guarded by all the Divine attributes; it is defended by the Almighty power of God. (4) The productions of a garden are not such as naturally grow or spring up of themselves. Does not this apply to the soil of the human heart? (5) We have in a garden great variety. So with the Church of the Redeemer. The gifts of God are different, and the callings of God are different.
II. Look next at our Lord’s address to the Church (Son 8:13). “The companions hearken to Thy voice.” This presupposes that amongst all true disciples of Christ there is mutual intercourse or fellowship, that they converse one with another on the things which belong to their everlasting peace. The warning is that we must never allow fellowship one with another to supersede fellowship with Christ Himself.
III. Notice the response which the Church makes to this address. “Make haste, my beloved, and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart upon the mountains of spices.” These words are to be regarded as a prayer for the return of the Saviour, and there are three senses in which we may understand this as a prayer for the coming of Christ: (1) It may be a prayer of the believer for the coming of Christ in the fuller revelation of Himself to His own soul; (2) we may understand this as a prayer for Christ’s return to His Church; (3) we may understand it as a prayer for the coming of Christ in His glory.
E. Bickersteth, Penny Pulpit, No. 438.
References: Son 8:13, Son 8:14.-J. M. Neale, Sermons on the Song of Songs, p. 374; R. M. McCheyne, Additional Remains, p. 210.
Fuente: The Sermon Bible
CHAPTER 8
The last chapter of the Song is a review of the whole. There is unquestionably a recapitulation of the entire book. The brides desires are once more given to be loved and caressed by Him. For the last time we have the charge to the daughters of Jerusalem and once more the coming is announced. Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness leaning upon her Beloved? She returns with Him. The Beloved is mentioned seven times in the book. There is the voice of the Beloved (Son 2:8); the call of the Beloved (Son 2:10); claiming the Beloved (Son 2:16); opening the Beloved (Son 5:5); praising the Beloved (Son 5:9-16); leaning on the Beloved (Son 8:5) and longing for the Beloved (Son 8:14).
Here again the apple tree is found (Son 2:3). It is Christ. There the Lord awoke her and manifested Himself to her. From Christ alone she derives her life. Thus only can Israel give birth to this remnant, which, at Jerusalem, shall become the earthly bride of the great King, which desires to be, and shall be, as a seal upon His heart, according to the power of a love that is strong as death, that spares nothing and yields nothing. The little sister of verse 8 has been interpreted as meaning Ephraim, the ten tribes, who will then also come into remembrance and blessing. Solomons vineyards at Baal-hamon (master of multitudes) points clearly to the converted nations in the millennium and then His own vineyard. Israel is mentioned in Song of Solomon 8:12.
The Song of Songs ends with a prayer, Haste my Beloved, and be Thou like a gazelle or a young hart upon the mountain of spices. Thus the remnant of Israel will plead in the future, that He may come and be manifested in His glory; but the bride of Christ, the Church, prays Even so, Come Lord Jesus.
In conclusion, we mention the attempt made by some, to trace in this Song of Songs the entire history of the Church. We give the divisions made for those who desire to examine this interpretation. John the Baptists Ministry is claimed to be covered by chapters 2:8–3:5. The Ministry of the Lord Jesus on earth is traced in chapters 3:6–5:1. From the agony in Gethsemane to the conversion of Samaria is thought to be in chapters 5:2–8:5. Then chapter 8:5-14 is said to be a picture of the times when the Gentiles were first called to the revelation and the coming of the Lord.
We think the safest interpretation is that which holds closely to the Jewish meaning, as we have done in these brief annotations.
Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)
25.
I would
Son 8:1-4
O that thou wert as my brother, that sucked the breasts of my mother! when I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yea, I should not be despised. I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother’s house, who would instruct me: I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate. His left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should embrace me. I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, until he please.
The request of love
This last chapter of this inspired Song of Loves begins with an ardent desire expressed by the church, the Bride of Christ. It is the desire of every believing soul. It is the request of every heart in which the love of Christ is revealed. The request is just this, O Lord, give me constant, intimate communion and freedom with you. Let me always know your presence (Deu 5:29; Job 23:2; Psa 14:7). “O that thou wert as my brother, that sucked the breasts of my mother! when I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yea, I should not be despised” (Son 8:1). As Martha sat at the Saviors feet and heard his word, so the believing heart longs ever to live in communion with him who loved us and gave himself for us, that we may learn of him.
She was already wed to him. He had taken her to be his bride; and she had taken him to be her Lord and husband. Their hearts were already knit together. But the marriage had not yet been publicly solemnized. The marriage feast had not yet been spread. She was obliged, for the sake of decency and respectability, to keep her distance. The Bride and her Beloved, when they met in public, could not be so intimate and affectionate as they might desire. Therefore, she wishes that she might be looked upon as his sister, and that she might have the same chaste and innocent familiarity with him that a sister has with her own brother. A brother and a sister who had nursed at the same breasts might be most affectionate, intimate, and free with one another, without any fear of reproach or shame.
This is a prophetic prayer of the Old Testament church for the incarnation of Christ. Our Lord, by means of his incarnation, has really and truly become our Brother. He is not ashamed to call us brethren; and he is made to be the Elder Brother, the Firstborn, of the family of God (Heb 2:11; Heb 2:14; Heb 2:17). We have been adopted as the sons of God (1Jn 3:1). His Father is our Father (Joh 20:17). We, and our Lord are of the same nature and disposition. In the incarnation, he assumed our nature. In regeneration, he gave us his nature.
His love toward us is compared to the love of a brother (Pro 18:24). Like a brother, he sympathizes with us in all our afflictions. Like a brother, he is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. Like a brother, he helps us in all of our trials. Like a brother, he is tender, compassionate, and caring. The Lord Jesus Christ is a Brother indeed. He is a Brother who is near at hand, ready and willing to help.
This is truly the desire and prayer of every believing heart. Those who know Christ love him. And all who love him desire uninterrupted, intimate communion with him. In essence, this is what she is saying – O Lord, when I find you present with me, I will embrace you, kiss you, and show my love to you, as a sister would show her love to her brother. Without shame, I will own you, acknowledge you, and love you, even in the presence of your enemies. I will publicly avow my love to you.
I would kiss thee and continue to kiss thee. Earlier she cried, Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine (Son 1:2 cf Luk 15:20). Here she longs to kiss him. Those who have been kissed by him in grace wish to kiss him in gratitude. He gave me a kiss of forgiveness; I will give him a kiss of faith. He gave me a kiss of peace; I will give him a kiss of praise. He gave me a kiss of acceptance; I will give him a kiss of adoration. He gave me a kiss of redeeming love; I will give him a kiss of returning love (1Jn 4:19).
This text will find its ultimate fulfillment in that day when Gods elect shall meet Christ in the clouds. The Bride, the Lambs wife, will not be completely ready until the time of his glorious appearance. But then all his redeemed ones shall be admitted to the nearest possible embraces of Immanuel. With unspeakable pleasure, we will embrace our Redeemer and enjoy him eternally!
Yea, I should not be despised. That is to say, He will not turn his face away from me, when I reach out to embrace him and kiss him. And those who now despise me will despise me no more. They will envy me. John Gill pointed out that The whole (verse) expresses her boldness in professing Christ, without fear or shame, in the most public manner.
This is the request of love Let me embrace thee and kiss thee, as a sister would embrace and kiss her beloved Brother, without shame or fear.
The resolve of love
Here is the desire, determination, and resolve of love. “I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother’s house, who would instruct me: I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate” (Son 8:2). Here, the church, the believing soul, makes a resolution to improve the opportunity she would have for cultivating a more intimate and full knowledge of Christ if she could always enjoy his communion.
Those who have experienced the goodness, grace, and love of God in Christ desire others to have the same joyous blessing (Rom 10:1). I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mothers house. The believing heart, enjoying personal fellowship and communion with Christ, says, I will bring you into the house of God with me. My mother, the church of God, and her children need to be acquainted with and enjoy your presence too. (Compare Gal 4:26.) As a young woman wants all her family to know and love her chosen husband, so we want all Gods elect to know and enjoy all the bounty of grace that is ours in Christ. We want the whole family, our mother and all her children, to enjoy sweet, intimate communion with Christ, and to experience the blessed influence of his manifest presence.
All who know Christ should bring him with them into the house of God, the assembly of his saints (1Ti 3:15). When Christ comes, the dead are made alive, the guilty are forgiven, the fallen are lifted up, the heavy-hearted are comforted, the troubled are granted peace, and the fearful are made calm.
Perhaps you think, How can I bring the Lord Jesus with me into the house of God? What can I do to secure the Lords presence in the midst of his church? Here the bride speaks of leading him into her mothers house. Our Savior must be led, like a royal king would be led by one of his subjects into his own home. Would you lead the Lord Jesus Christ into this house? Love him. Reverence him. Rejoice in him. Call upon him in prayer, asking him to come with you. You cannot lead him into the assembly of the saints if you do not come. But do not merely come; come together with Gods saints in the house of worship in his name (Mat 18:20), trusting him, seeking his will and his glory, and the good of his kingdom. As we thus gather in his name, he promises to meet with us.
When Christ meets with his people, then the ministry of his church is profitable and effectual Who would instruct me. The allusion here is to a wise mother, who takes her newly wed daughter aside and teaches her how to behave toward her husband, so that she may have his affection and live happily with him. The church, the house of God, is a school of instruction, where souls are taught the ways of Christ, the gospel of Christ, and the will of Christ (Eph 4:11-16). Believers should always crave such instruction. And that instruction is sure to be profitable and effectual, only when Christ himself is present to teach us by his Spirit (Psa 45:10-11).
All true, spiritual instruction is instruction from the Word of God, which is able to make us wise unto salvation. It comes through the ministry of Gods servants, gospel preachers, pastors according to Gods own heart, who feed his people with knowledge and understanding (Jer 3:15). It is effectually brought to ours hearts by the power of God the Holy Spirit (1Th 1:5).
When the Lord meets with his people, those who know him will offer the sacrifices of their hearts to him (Heb 13:15). I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate. The spiced pomegranate wine was a very rich, flavorful wine, which was delightful to the taste, but less inebriating than other wines. It refers to the graces of the Spirit and the exercise of grace in the believing heart. These are the things that give our Lord pleasure; and are preferred by him to the best of wines (Son 4:10). Those that are pleased with Christ, wrote Matthew Henry, must study to be pleasing to him; and they will not find him hard to be pleased. This is the resolve of love I would lead thee and bring thee into my mothers house, both to be instructed by thee and to make my sacrifices of love to thee.
The rest of love
I hope you can enter into the rest of love described in Son 8:3. “His left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should embrace me.” This is one of those texts of Inspiration that is so full of meaning that its depths can hardly be fathomed. Certainly, it speaks of the blessed rest of faith in Christ, who is our Sabbath. When we come to him and he comes to us, we enter into the blessed rest of love (Heb 4:9-11). Our Saviors embrace implies his love of us. Our willingness to be and desire to be embraced by him speaks of our love for him. We love him because he first loved us. Being embraced in his omnipotent arms, we are assured of his unfailing support. Underneath are the everlasting arms. In those arms of almighty goodness, grace, and love we are safe and secure. No evil shall befall us in his arms. This is our place of confident rest, and it is glorious (Isa 11:10). When our Lord reveals himself and makes his presence known, our hearts are at peace. We rest in him!
The responsibility of love
All privileges bring responsibility. Our Lord has come to us. He has granted to us his presence in this place. His left hand is under my head; and his right hand doth embrace me. It is our great joy and privilege in this place to rest in his love. Now, I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that you stir not up, nor awake my love till he please. So long as our Lord is pleased to dwell in our midst, let us be careful not to disturb him, grieve him, and drive him away (Eph 4:30). Remember what it is like to be without him (Son 5:6). Remember the evil which grieved him before (Son 5:1-6). Remember always to remember him, honor him, and embrace him in the arms of faith, gratitude, and love, and kiss him with the lips of prayer.
Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible
that thou: Isa 7:14, Isa 9:6, Hag 2:7, Zec 9:9, Mal 3:1, Mat 13:16, Mat 13:17, Luk 2:26-32, Luk 2:38, Luk 10:23, Luk 10:24, 1Ti 3:16, Heb 2:11, Heb 2:12
sucked: Isa 66:11, Isa 66:12, Gal 4:26
find thee: Joh 1:14, Joh 3:13, Joh 8:42, Joh 13:3, Joh 16:28, Heb 2:9-14, Heb 9:26-28
I would: Son 1:2, Psa 2:12, Psa 45:10, Psa 45:11, Luk 7:45-48, Luk 9:26, Luk 12:8, Joh 7:46-52, Joh 9:25-38, Gal 6:14, Phi 3:3, Phi 3:7, Phi 3:8
yea: Psa 51:17, Psa 102:16, Psa 102:17, Mar 12:42-44, Mar 14:6-9
I should not be despised: Heb. they should not despise me, Isa 60:14, Luk 10:16, Luk 18:9, 1Co 1:28
Reciprocal: Pro 7:4 – Thou Son 4:5 – two breasts Son 5:1 – my sister Son 8:5 – there she
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Son 8:1. O that thou wert as my brother Most intimate, and free, and familiar with me, as brethren and sisters commonly are; that sucked the breasts of my mother That came out of the same womb and sucked the same breasts, and were brother and sister by father and mother too: for such are generally most dear to one another. The intent of these expressions, and of those in the three following verses, is to signify the churchs earnest desire of a stricter union, and more intimate fellowship with Christ. When I should find thee without, &c. In the open streets; I would kiss thee, &c. And thus express my affection to thee openly, without fearing any scandal or contempt; such expressions being usual among persons so nearly and dearly related.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Son 8:1. Oh that thou wert as my brother. The Chaldaic is a metaphrase of the text. In the time that king Messiah shall be revealed to the congregation of Israel, they shall say to him, Come, and be thou our brother. The love of a brother and a sister of nearly equal age, who sucked the same breasts, is intimate, innocent, and strong; and such should be the love of brothers and sisters in the Lord. The first love of the christian church was of this description.
Son 8:2. I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mothers house. I would place thee on the throne in the church; there thou shouldst drink nectar in the banqueting house, while prayers, the sweet incense of the saints, should becloud the mercyseat.
Son 8:3. His left hand should be under my head. See on Son 2:6.
Son 8:4. I charge you, oh daughters of Jerusalem: Son 2:7. Let no feuds, no schisms, no revolts, no sins in the church disturb the favoured place of his abode. It is promised that his rest in Zion shall be glorious. Isa 11:10.
Son 8:5. Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness? The Hebrew church in the desert, seeking a better country, leaning and resting solely on the promise to Abraham. All this land will I give to thy seed for a possession. It is the same with the christian church, scattered abroad in the face of the earth, and seeking the inheritance which is incorruptible and undefiled, and whose verdure fadeth not away. This is the church under the appletree, or like Nathaniel under the figtree, raising up attention in the Redeemer by all the acts of devotion.
Son 8:6. Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a signet upon thine arm. The reference may be to the highpriest, who bore the names of all the tribes upon his breastplate. Exo 28:21-29. The signet upon the arm may refer to punctures made in the skin, and filled with colour. So our sailors make anchors, letters, and marks in their flesh with gunpowder, that no long voyage, nor distant land, may induce them to forget the object of their love. Others wear the name of a betrothed woman, on a signet in a ring. For love is strong as death, which is invincible. He conquers all, and is conquered by none. Thus all the storms and all the foes we have to encounter in the desert, cannot separate us from the love of Christ. His love is such that the waters of death cannot quench it, neither can the floods drown it. He loves us, because he hath set his love upon us.
Son 8:8. We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts. She is in infancy, and hath no mother to suckle her. What shall we do for our little sister, that she may grow to maturity, may be asked in marriage, may fill her rank with the virgins, and the mothers of Israel, and be intermarried with the household of the faithful? This little sister was the abundance of gentile proselytes, which came over to the jewish church. Here is the tender love of Hebrew piety towards their little sister, which had no mother; no breasts of ordinances to feed her with the sincere milk of the word.
Son 8:9. If she be a wall, we will build upon her a palace. Christ, on his ascension, received gifts for the rebellious gentiles. He gave some to be apostles, and some to be prophets, for the work of the ministry, and for perfecting the superstructure of his living temple, the church, which is his body.Now if she be a door, and Christ opened a great and effectual door when Paul preached to the gentiles, then we will surround her with a wall, and enclose her as a sister in the pale of the church; for upon all the glory there must be a defence.Here then, oh gentile, be reminded of the love which the jewish prophets had for thee; and think of the debt which thou owest to that nation for the holy scriptures, for the promises, and for the Saviour. Still pray for Israel, that the veil may be removed from off their hearts.
Son 8:11. Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon; that is, Lord of the people; a place adjacent to Jerusalem, a vineyard planted with the best vine, or vines of Sorek, and other spice-trees. Here we have a figure of the church, as improved in the eightieth psalm, and in the fifth of Isaiah. He let it out to husbandmen, each paying a yearly rent of a thousand shekels, easy rentals for a plantation so rich and productive. This vineyard designates the Hebrew nation, and the men of Judah his pleasant plants. But in Isaiahs time, and more so in our Saviours day, they proved ungrateful and wicked husbandmen. Mat 21:33.
REFLECTIONS.
At the marriage in Cana, our Saviour kept the best wine to the last; so it would seem, Solomon did at the close of this sublime and beautiful song. It opens with a lovely view of the church, like children in early years gathering round their royal brother, the heir apparent, and placing the crown on his head, that he might reign in the church, and dwell for ever with his people; for in his peace they have peace, glory and joy.
We see this church in her afflictions, like her forefathers, coming up out of the wilderness, leaning on the covenant and promises of Christ. The saints in their pilgrimage sigh for rest, but they are never in despair. The beloved is at hand, marching before the host, in all the majesty of his pillary cloud.
This new and heavenly family, not like the carnal Hebrews, full of strife and revolt, are united by laws of love, the hallowed fire of the celestial altar. Love, which many waters cannot quench, because they forgive one another, as God for Christs sake forgave them. It is love rascending to its source, and which the waters of Jordan cannot quench. This fire is bright on earth, but in heaven it blazes out in the perfection of brightness, and burns with inexhausted flame.
The tender regards of the Hebrew church towards the gentiles, should not be lightly overlooked in these reflections. It is the true spirit of the holy prophets, transported by the divine impetus to speak of righteousness, and to confer a plenitude of glory on the heathens, surpassing all that Jerusalem below could boast or hope. The gentiles were co-heirs with Israel of the grace of life. Oh what shall we do for our little sister; that the gentile world may hear the joyful sound, and that the nations which sit in darkness may walk in the light of the Lord.
This poem closes with a view of the church left in the gardens, and toiling in the vineyard; the church, the spouse surrounded with her companions, who listen to her voice in all social joys and in the most enlivened communion of the saints; while in return, the bridegroom hears her unceasing voice of prayer and praise; as David has said, prayer shall be made before him continually, and daily shall he be praised. Psa 72:15.
To conclude, we must at the close, as at the commencement, regard this beautiful song as improving the happiness of royal and nuptial felicity, to more exalted ideas of the happiness of the Hebrew church in covenant with Messiah the hope of Israel, penciled in all the richer drapery of oriental allegory; and so far as Solomon had light, in conformity with the inspired words of other seers; such as, The Lord thy Maker is thy husband. Isa 54:3. Eze 16:1-14. So also is the parable of the marriage feast, and that of the ten virgins. To speak more plainly, such is the love of Christ to the church that he gave himself for her, and washed her from her sins in his own blood, that he might at last present her faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. Jdg 1:24. Such also in the Revelation are the decorations, the gems, and glories of the bride, the Lambs wife: chap. 18. 21. 22.
We must therefore deplore, deeply deplore the Arian philosophy, which can see nothing in this poem, but a Samsons marriage of seven days! A feast which John Taylor has favoured with a new version; a feast alas, which a friend and brother of mine has copied into his commentary, with the strongest marks of approbation!! If this philosophy be well founded, then the prophets were blind; the Hebrew targumists were misguided, and all the christian fathers were in darkness. Had the Hebrew prophets been of this mind, that this poem was a mere love-song, they would have despised Solomon as much as Arbactus despised Sardanapalus when he found him shut up in his palace of Nineveh, in a female dress, spinning with his queens, and assigning them their tasks.Postremus apud eos regnavit Sardanapalus, vir muliere corruptior. Ad hunc videndum (quod nemini ante eum permissum fuerat) prfectus ipsius, Medis prpositus, nomine Arbactus, cum admitti magn ambitione gr obtinuisset; invenit eum inter scortorum greges purpuram colo nentem, et muliebri habitu, cum molliti corporis, et oculorum lasciv, omnes feminas anteiret, pensa inter virginis patientem. Hist. Justin. lib. 1. cap. 3.
Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Son 6:13 to Son 8:4. The Dancing Bride and the Rapture of Love.This section also is probably composed of different lyrics, though it is difficult to separate them; we have first the description of the loved one or bride in the act of dancing, then the comparison of her figure to a date palm, and finally a song of love and spring, concluding with the repetition of Son 2:6 f. In Son 7:1-6 it is possible that we have a descriptive poem setting forth the charms of the bride and sung by a chorus of women at the wedding dance.
Son 6:13. A very similar word would give turn (instead of return) i.e. in the dance.Shulammite: on the dramatic theory the maiden of Shunem who is the heroine of the story. More likely a traditional name for a very beautiful woman, based on the narrative of 1Ki 1:3*. Shunem (now Solam or Sulam), a village a little N. of Jezreel.dance of Mahanaim: another riddle with several possible answers: (a) Mahanaim (Gen 32:2) was a sacred place famous for its dances (cf. Jdg 21:21); (b) adopt mg., of two companies, explaining company of a country dance or bridal sword-dance; circling dance of the armed company (LXX). The feet were enclosed in jewelled sandals and the dancer moved with glittering graceful steps (mg.).
Son 7:1. princes daughter is not taken literally on either theory; it is supposed to rest on a reminiscence of 2Ki 4:8.The curved lines of thy thighs (cf. mg.). The swaying movement of the dance brings out the beauty of the figure and suppleness of the limbs. The Orientals delighted in these sensuous descriptions, as may be seen from the quotations in the commentaries. It is exceedingly difficult, in many cases impossible, to settle the precise point involved in these comparisons of various parts of the body to different natural objects, such as the decorated body of the dancer and the heap of brown wheat adorned with scarlet flowers.
Son 7:3. See Son 4:5.
Son 7:4. We can understand eyes that are like pools, on which the light is reflected, but undue prominence of the nose to us seems to border on the grotesque.Bath-rabbim (daughter of many) is uncertain, whether another name for Heshbon, or of a village near by. She holds her head proudly, and her dark hair has an almost purple hue.
Son 7:5. hair: the Heb. word is very rare; in Isa 38:12 it seems to be used of the threads of the loom. The word rendered tresses (AV galleries) means elsewhere water-troughs (Gen 30:38; Gen 30:41; Exo 2:16); how it comes to mean tresses is not clear; the idea of flowing is supposed to make the connexion.
Son 7:6. May be an interpolation or an interlude. How supremely beautiful and gracious is love among all the delights of life, or How beautiful art thou, how gracious, my loved one, in the delights of love.
Son 7:7. stature from verb to rise, because graceful height is the feature made prominent (cf. Tamar, palm, as name of a woman). Perhaps the words of grapes should be dropped as the reference may be to dates (cf. Son 1:14).
Son 7:9. The lover decides on bold action and asks for favourable reception.Nose (mg.) same word as in Son 6:5; here, however, breath (RV) is probably a correct interpretation.
Son 7:9 b is difficult to translate. Neither AV nor RV is satisfactory. By conjecture and comparison with VSS a plausible translation is secured: That goes down pleasantly for my palate, gliding over my lips and teeth.
Son 7:10. A repetition from Song 3:16, Son 6:3, or a formal opening of a new song. On the dramatic view uttered with an almost triumphant gesture of rejection towards Solomon.
Son 7:11-13. Cordial invitation of the bride to the lover to enjoy, at the same time, the beauties of nature in the glory of spring, and the delight of friendly companionship.in the villages may mean among the henna-flowers (Son 4:13).mandrakes or love-plants: perhaps the reference here is rather to the pleasant taste, peculiar smell, and stimulating qualities than to the magical virtues ascribed to it (Gen 30:14*).The transition to thrifty housekeeping in the reference to fruits new and old stored up over the door is rather prosaic; if we could eliminate new and old, the statement would harmonise better with the spirit of the song, but even then stored up would be troublesome. Some interpret the fruit symbolically of maidenly charms (cf. Son 4:12 ff.), and take new and old to mean all kinds (Mat 13:52).
Son 8:1-4. It is difficult to say whether this is a continuation of the foregoing or a separate piece; Son 6:3 f. is a repetition from Son 2:6 f., Son 3:5, probably by an editor. She expresses a longing for closest intimacy. If he were a near relative she could lavish tenderness without shame or fear of rebuke.
Son 8:2. Probably the first two lines should be, I would lead thee into my mothers house, and into the chamber of her that bare me (cf. LXX and Son 3:4).
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
Son 8:1. Oh that thou wert as my brother,
That sucked the breasts of my mother!
Should I find thee without, I would kiss thee;
And they would not despise me.
2. I would lead thee, bring thee into my mother’s house;
Thou wouldest instruct me:
I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine,
Of the juice of my pomegranate.
3. His left hand would be under my head,
And his right arm embrace me.
The bride is not content with the secret expression of her love for the Bridegroom. She desires that all might know her love to the King. Oh that thou wert as my brother, she says, then indeed I could manifest my love before all without any impropriety: “Should I find thee without, I would kiss thee; and they would not despise me.” To express our love to Christ in a world that has rejected Him will call down the hatred of the world; but the time is coming when without hindrance we can publicly witness our love to Christ without being despised.
4. I charge you, daughters of Jerusalem, . . .
Why should ye stir up, or awaken love till it please.
The canticle closes with a charge to the daughters of Jerusalem not to disturb the happy communion of love.
Canticle 6. Son 8:6-14.
The Triumph of Love.
The Daughters of Jerusalem.
(Son 8:5).
Son 8:5. Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness,
Leaning upon her beloved?
The previous canticle closed with the desire of the bride to express her love for the Bridegroom before all the world without being despised. In this canticle her desire is gratified. The bride is seen coming out of the wilderness leaning upon the arm of her Beloved, and the daughters of Jerusalem enquire, “Who is this?” In the fourth canticle the bride had sought and found the Bridegroom; in the fifth canticle she had he]d sweet and secret communion with him; but now, at last, she is displayed before the world in company with him, but in dependence upon him. Wilderness wanderings are left behind, the glory shines before her. Thus will it be with Israel, the earthly bride. Jehovah will allure her and bring her into the wilderness; there will He speak to her heart, and there, when restored, the Lord says, “I will betroth thee unto me for ever” (Hos 2:14-23).
So too, when the wilderness journey of the church is past and the marriage of the Lamb is come, she will be displayed in association with Christ in glory, as a bride adorned for her husband, as we delight to sing:
“O day of wondrous promise!
The Bridegroom and the Bride
Are seen in glory ever;
And love is satisfied.”
Nor is it otherwise that the Lord acts towards restored saints. We wander and fall, but grace brings us up out of our wanderings leaning upon Christ, just as the bride is seen “leaning upon her beloved.” We fall, like Peter, through leaning upon our love to Christ, but in tender grace He lifts us up and brings us to lean upon His great love to us. This was the happy experience of John, of whom we read in Joh 18:23, “There was leaning on Jesus’ bosom, one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved.” How slow we are in learning this lesson of dependence. Pride makes it hard to own our nothingness and His fulness, our weakness and His strength, and thus to find all our resources in Him. It was no easy task to learn as sinners that we must come bringing nothing to Christ, and we are equally slow as saints to learn that we must draw everything from Christ, according to the Lord’s own words, “Without Me ye can do nothing.” “Leaning” is weakness clinging to strength “leaning on Jesus’ bosom” is leaning on the love of One in whom all fulness dwells.
The Bridegroom.
(5).
5. I awoke thee under the apple tree:
There thy mother brought thee forth;
There she brought thee forth (that) bore thee.
Brought to happy dependence on the Bridegroom’s love, the bride is reminded that all the blessings that are hers, from the moment when she was brought forth in weakness, she owes to the Beloved. Never must we forget that we are debtors to grace for all we have and are. Whether it be a backsliding saint restored to communion and public service, or backsliding Israel restored to earthly glory, or a ruined and scattered church displayed in perfection in heavenly glory, all will owe their position to the sovereign grace of the Lord that awakened us, brought us forth out of our degradation and associated us with Himself.
The Bride.
(Son 8:6-8).
6. Set me as a seal upon thy heart,
As a seal upon thine arm;
Leaning upon her Beloved, realising the grace to which she owes her origin, and that never again can she rest in her love to the Beloved, she exclaims, “Set me as a seal upon thy heart, as a seal upon thine arm.” She does not doubt his love, but she realises that all her blessing depends upon his love, not hers. Therefore she seeks evermore a place in his affections, for ever to be upheld by his strong arm. He indeed has a place in her heart, but her confidence is that she has a place in his heart. So the restored soul delights to say of Christ, “My confidence is that my name is upon His heart – I have a place in His affections; my name is upon His arm – I have the protection and support of His strong arm.” We can trust His heart, and His arm, though we cannot trust our own. We cannot exhaust the love of His heart, and we cannot limit the power of His arm.
6. For love is strong as death;
Jealousy is cruel as the grave:
The Bridegroom’s love is the ground of the bride’s confidence, as the love of Christ is the ground of our confidence. This is a love that has been proved, and found to be strong as death. Death holds men in its strong grip. Death makes sport of all man’s puny strength. From the fall onwards men and death have been in mortal combat, but death has triumphed all along the lines, until at last love – love divine – went down into the dark valley and entered into combat with death. At the Cross love came into conflict with death and love triumphed. Death could not hold back the love of Christ; death could not vanquish the love of Christ. Death took away His life but death could not take away His love. Love prevailed, for love yielded to death in order that love might triumph over death. “Death stung itself to death when it killed Him.”
Jealousy is cruel as the grave. How pitilessly cruel is the grave. It swallows up the young, the loved, the fairest, and the brightest. It knows no pity, and so jealousy would deal without pity against all that would come between the Bridegroom and His bride. Christ must be supreme: “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of Me,” and therefore the Lord can say, “If any man come to Me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife and children, and sister, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” To “hate” has the sound of cruelty, but it is the cruelty of jealous love that brooks no rival. Almost universally men speak of jealousy in an evil sense, Scripture hardly ever so. It speaks even of a “godly jealousy.” The Apostle can say of believers, “I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy” for, says he, “I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ” (2Co 11:2). His love to Christ, and his love to the saints made him jealous lest anyone, or anything, should come between them and Christ. He had no pity for any who, by false doctrines, would beguile the saints from Christ. If an apostle or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel let him be accursed. This was the cruelty of jealous love.
Love strong as death, and jealousy cruel as the grave are found together. One is the outcome of the other. Love and jealousy may be found in measure in all men. But it is only love strong as death that calls forth jealousy cruel as the grave.
6. The flashes thereof are flashes of fire,
Flames of Jah.
There is heat and consuming fire in love. Do we not see a flash of this consuming fire in the love of the Lord, that could brook no dishonour to the Father, when He drove the money-changers from the Temple, so that the disciples remembered that it was written of Him, “The zeal of thy house hath eaten me up”? We see too the vehement flame of love carrying Paul through that marvellous life, spending and being spent for the saints, leaving home and ease, facing hunger and thirst, cold and nakedness, perils, persecutions and death, constrained by the love of Christ. We see this holy zeal burning like a vehement flame in the long roll of martyrs and persecuted saints. The flame of love that glowed in their hearts triumphed over the flame of the faggots that burned their bodies.
7. Many waters cannot quench love,
Neither can the floods drown it:
Nothing can quench divine love. The Lord Jesus faced the “many waters,” but they could not quench His love. He faced the “floods,” but they could not drown His love. At the cross “the floods lifted up their voice,” only to find that love divine is mightier than the noise of many waters. There the sorrows of death encompassed Him, and the floods of the ungodly made Him afraid, but they could not make Him yield up His love (Psa 18:4). He could say, “The waters are come into my soul” (Psa 69:1), but they could not drown the love that was in His heart. All the billows and waves of God passed over Him (Jon 2:3), but His love never passed from Him. The “many waters” could not quench His love for His bride, and the floods could not drown it. His love has triumphed and His love abides. Well may we sing, “Unto Him that loves us, and has washed us from our sins in His own blood . . .; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever.”
7. If a man gave all the substance of his house for love,
It would utterly be contemned.
Love cannot be bought. It is true Christ gave up, as it were, the “substance of His house “; He gave up kingdoms and thrones and crowns, but He gave more, He “gave Himself,” and in giving Himself He proved His love, for “greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” And in response to this great love He looks for love. Nothing but love from our hearts will satisfy the love of His heart. We may offer the labour of our hands, our silver and our gold, our works of charity and our bodies to be burned, but if there is no love it will be utterly contemned.
The love of Christ begets love. We love Him because He first loved us.
Such is the love wherewith we are loved.
A love that has given us a place in the heart of Christ.
A love that has put us under the shelter of his strong arm.
A love that is strong as death.
A love that is jealous with a godly jealousy.
A love that burns with a vehement flame.
A love that cannot be quenched, and
A love that cannot be bought.
8. We have a little sister,
And she hath no breasts:
What shall we do for our sister
In the day when she shall be spoken for?
Restored and happy in the love of the Bridegroom, the bride is free to think of the blessing of others. If, in the strict interpretation of the Song, the bride represents God’s earthly people – the Jews – restored and brought into blessing under Christ, the “little sister” will probably represent Ephraim, or the ten tribes. They will, we know, be brought into blessing, but not through the experiences of the Jews in connection with Christ. Their affections for Christ will not have been developed by the exercises and experiences through which the Jew has passed and will yet pass. But the day of opportunity is coming for Ephraim – the day when she shall be spoken for. And what shall be done for her in that day?
The Bridegroom.
(9).
9. If she be a wall,
We will build upon her a turret of silver;
And if she be a door,
We will enclose her with boards of cedar.
Here we have the answer. When Israel is again established on a firm foundation like a wall, then will she be a monument of redeeming grace: “We will build upon her a turret of silver.” When she becomes a door – when her heart is opened to Christ – she will come under His protection and care: “We will enclose her with boards of cedar.”
While the strict interpretation points to Ephraim, can we not apply the principle to that large class who truly make a confession of Christ, and yet, like Ephraim, their affections for Christ have never been developed by the experiences through which they have passed. How many, alas, are like the ” little sister” of the Song! Their lives may be outwardly correct. No grave dereliction from the straight path can be laid to their door. They have never wandered like the bride; they have never been smitten by the watchmen of the city; their veils have never been torn from them by the keepers of the walls; they have been into no dark valley to learn their own hearts, and they have never climbed the mountain heights of Amanah or Hermon to learn the love that is in the heart of Christ. Their affections have not been developed by any deep experimental acquaintance with Christ. What shall be done for them? What they need is to become firmly established in their relations to Christ – to become a wall. And to have their hearts opened to Christ – to become a door. Then indeed they would become a witness of His redeeming grace to others, and their hearts an enclosure devoted to Christ.
The Bride.
(Son 8:10-12).
10. I am a was, and my breasts like towers;
Then was I in his eyes as one that findeth peace.
By grace the bride can say, “I am a wall.” Established in her relationships to the Bridegroom, her affection is the secret of her strength and the measure of her witness before others. A tower is a place of security as well as a land-mark to others. The saint whose affections are drawn out to Christ is one indeed who has found peace in the eyes of Christ. Mary, whose affections brought her to rest at the feet of Christ, was one who, in His sight, had found peace, and a peace that He will not have disturbed. “Mary hath chosen that good part which shall not be taken away from her.”
11. Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon:
He let out the vineyard unto keepers;
Every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand silver-pieces.
The meaning of Baal-hamon is “Master of a multitude.” The passage looks on to the time when Christ – the true Solomon – will reign over all the nations of the earth. The whole earth will become a fruitful vineyard. There will be kings of the earth – the keepers of the vineyard – and they will enjoy the fruits of the earth, but they will be subject to Christ. They will pay tribute. They will bring, as it were, a thousand silver-pieces.
12. My vineyard, which is mine, is before me:
Thou, Solomon, shalt have the thousand,
And the keepers of its fruit two hundred.
But the bride has her own vineyard. Restored Israel will have her special place, and she, too, will gladly own her subjection to Christ. But when she owns all to be His, others will get the blessing. If Solomon gets the thousand pieces of silver, others will get two hundred. Mary’s box of ointment, very costly, was wholly expended upon Christ, but others also received a benefit, for “the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.”
Thus at last the soul who has experienced the dark valleys and the mountain heights, city wanderings and garden delights, is brought to rest in the eternal love of Christ (ver. 5); in all its breadth, and length, and depth, and height (6, 7); to think of others (8, 9); to gladly own that Christ will have universal sway (10, 11); and in the meantime to hold every possession at His disposal (12). Such is the triumph of the love of Christ.
The Bridegroom.
(13).
13. Thou that dwellest in the gardens,
The companions hearken to thy voice;
Let me hear it.
The Bridegroom is heard for the last time. He delights to own what his love has accomplished. The wanderings of the bride are over: love has brought her to dwell in the gardens. How happy for us when drawn by the constraining love of Christ we find our portion outside this poor world in the company of His people – in the gardens of the Lord. Only from that happy place of fellowship can we bear a true witness to others. But the Lord is not content that others should hear our voice in the way of witness, He himself would fain hear our voice in the way of worship, and response to His voice. Immediately the bride responds:
The Bride.
(14).
14. Haste, my beloved,
And be thou like a gazelle or young hart
Upon the mountain of spices.
The reply of the bride expresses the longing of her heart for the Bridegroom. His desire is gratified, he hears her voice as she says, “Haste, my beloved,” words that fall upon his ear with great delight, for they tell him that love has accomplished its work in the heart of the bride. A love fills her heart that will not be satisfied apart from him, that can only be gratified by his return. So in our day love has taken us in hand, patiently bears with us in all our wanderings, restores our souls, and revives our drooping affections, brings us into the company of Christ in the garden of the Lord, and there unfolds to us all the treasures of love, and tells us our Beloved is coming for us. And love has accomplished its work in our hearts, when in response to His word, “Surely I come quickly,” He hears the voice of His people sending back the response:
“AMEN, EVEN SO, COME, LORD JESUS.”
Fuente: Smith’s Writings on 24 Books of the Bible
8:1 O {a} that thou [wert] as my brother, that was nourished at the breasts of my mother! [when] I should find thee outside, I would kiss thee; yea, I should not be despised.
(a) The Church called of the Gentiles speaks thus to the Church of Jerusalem.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
D. Increased Intimacy 8:1-4
The Shulammite’s desire for her husband’s love continued to increase throughout their marriage (Son 8:1-3).
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Ancient Near Easterners frowned on public displays of intimate affection unless closest blood relatives exchanged them. It was perhaps for this reason that the wife wished that her husband was her brother.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
MYSTICAL INTERPRETATIONS
THUS far we have been considering the bare, literal sense of the text. It cannot be denied that, if only to lead up to the metaphorical significance of the words employed, those words must be approached through their primary physical meanings. This is essential even to the understanding of pure allegory such as that of “The Faerie Queene” and “The Pilgrims Progress”; we must understand the adventures of the Red Cross Knight and the course of Christians journey before we can learn the moral of Spensers and Bunyans elaborate allegories. Similarly it is absolutely necessary for us to have some idea of the movement of the Song of Solomon as a piece of literature, in its external form, even if we are persuaded that beneath this sensuous exterior it contains the most profound ideas, before we can discover any such ideas. In other words, if it is to be considered as a mass of symbolism the symbols must be understood in themselves before their significance can be drawn out of them.
But now we are confronted with the question whether the book has any other meaning than that which meets the eye. The answers to this question are given on three distinct lines:-First, we have the allegorical schemes of interpretation, according to which the poem is not to be taken literally at all, but is to be regarded as a purely metaphorical representation of national or Church history, philosophical ideas, or spiritual experiences. In the second place, we meet with various forms of double interpretation, described as typical or mystical, in which a primary meaning is allowed to the book as a sort of drama or idyl, or as a collection of Jewish love-songs, while a secondary signification of an ideal or spiritual character is added. Distinct as these lines of interpretation are in themselves, they tend to blend in practice, because even when two meanings are admitted the symbolical signification is considered to be of so much greater importance than the literal that it virtually occupies the whole field. In the third place there is the purely literal interpretation, that which denies the existence of any symbolical or mystical intention in the poem.
Allegorical interpretations of the Song of Solomon are found among the Jews early in the Christian era. The Aramaic Targum, probably originating about the sixth century A.D., takes the first half of the poem as a symbolical picture of the history of Israel previous to the captivity, and the second as a prophetic picture of the subsequent fortunes of the nation. The recurrence of the expression “the congregation of Israel” in this paraphrase wherever the Shulammite appears, and other similar adaptations, entirely destroy the fine poetic flavour of the work, and convert it into a dreary, dry-as-dust composition.
Symbolical interpretations were very popular among Christian Fathers-though not with universal approval, as the protest of Theodore of Mopsuestia testifies. The great Alexandrian Origen is the founder and patron of this method of interpreting the Song of Solomon in the Church. Jerome was of opinion that Origen “surpassed himself” in his commentary on the poem-a commentary to which he devoted ten volumes. According to his view, it was originally an epithalamium celebrating the marriage of Solomon with Pharaohs daughter; but it has secondary mystical meanings descriptive of the relation of the Redeemer to the Church or the individual soul. Thus “the little foxes that spoil the grapes” are evil thoughts in the individual, or heretics in the Church. Gregory the Great contributes a commentary of no lasting interest. Very different is the work of the great mediaeval monk St. Bernard of Clairvaux, who threw himself into it with all the passion and rapture of his enthusiastic soul, and in the course of eighty-six homilies only reached the beginning of the third chapter in this to him inexhaustible mine of spiritual wealth, when he died, handing on the task to his faithful disciple Gilbert Porretanus, who continued it on the same portentous scale, and also died before he had finished the fifth chapter. Even while reading the old monkish Latin in this late age we cannot fail to feel the glowing devotion that inspires it. Bernard is addressing his monks, to whom he says he need not give the milk for babes, and whom he exhorts to prepare their throats not for this milk but for bread. As a schoolman he cannot escape from metaphysical subtleties – he takes the kiss of the bridegroom as a symbol of the incarnation. But throughout there burns the perfect rapture of love to Jesus Christ which inspires his well-known hymns. Here we are at the secret of the extraordinary popularity of mystical interpretations of the Song of Solomon. It has seemed to many in all ages of the Christian Church to afford the best expression for the deepest spiritual relations of Christ and His people. Nevertheless, the mystical method has been widely disputed since the time of the Reformation. Luther complains of the “many wild and monstrous interpretations” that are attached to the Song of Solomon, though even he understands it as symbolical of Solomon and his state. Still, not a few of the most popular hymns of our own day are saturated with ideas and phrases gathered from this book, and fresh expositions of what are considered to be its spiritual lessons may still be met with.
It is not easy to discover any justification for the rabbinical explanation of the Song of Solomon as a representation of successive events in the history of Israel, an explanation which Jewish scholars have abandoned in favour of simple literalism. But the mystical view, according to which the poem sets forth spiritual ideas, has pleas urged in its favour that demand some consideration. We are reminded of the analogy of Oriental literature, which delights in parable to an extent unknown in the West. Works of a kindred nature are produced in which an allegorical signification is plainly intended. Thus the Hindoo “Gitagovinda” celebrates the loves of Chrishna and Radha in verses that bear a remarkable resemblance to the Song of Solomon. Arabian poets sing of the love of Joseph for Zuleikha, which mystics take as the love of God towards the soul that longs for union with Him. There is a Turkish mystical commentary on the Song of Hafiz.
The Bible itself furnishes us with suggestive analogies. Throughout the Old Testament the idea of a marriage union between God and His people occurs repeatedly, and the most frequent metaphor for religious apostasy is drawn from the crime of adultery. {e.g., Exo 34:15-16 Num 15:39 Psa 73:27 Eze 16:23, etc.} This symbolism is especially prominent in the writings of Jeremiah {e.g., Jer 3:1-11} and Hosea. {Hos 2:2; Hos 3:3} The forty-fifth psalm is an epithalamium commonly read with a Messianic signification. John the Baptist describes the coming Messiah as the Bridegroom, {Joh 3:20} and Jesus Christ accepts the title for Himself. {Mar 2:19} Our Lord illustrates the blessedness of the Kingdom of Heaven in a parable of a wedding feast. {Mat 22:1-14} With St. Paul the union of husband and wife is an earthly copy of the Union of Christ and His Church. {Eph 5:22-33} The marriage of the Lamb is a prominent feature in the Book of the Revelation. {Rev 21:9}
Further, it may be maintained that the experience of Christians has demonstrated the aptness of the expression of the deepest spiritual truths in the imagery of the Song of Solomon. Sad hearts disappointed in their earthly hopes have found in the religious reading of this poem as a picture of their relation to their Saviour the satisfaction for which they have hungered, and which the world could never give them. Devout Christians have read in it the very echo of their own emotions. Samuel Rutherfords “Letters,” for example, are in perfect harmony with the religious interpretation of the Song of Solomon; and these letters stand in the first rank of devotional works. There is certainly some force in the argument that a key which seems to fit the lock so well must have been designed to do so.
On the other hand, the objections to a mystical, religious interpretation are very strong. In the first place, we can quite account for its appearance apart from any justification of it in the original intention of the author. Allegory was in the air at the time when, as far as we know, secondary meanings were first attached to the ideas of the Song of Solomon. They sprang from Alexandria, the home of allegory. Origen, who was the first Christian writer to work out a mystical explanation of this book, treated other books of the Old Testament in exactly the same way; but we never dream of following him in his fantastical interpretations of those works. There is no indication that the poem was understood allegorically or mystically as early as the first century of the Christian era. Philo is the prince of allegorists: but while he explains the narratives of the Pentateuch according to his favourite method, be never applies that method to this very tempting book, and never even mentions the work or makes any reference to its contents. The Song of Solomon is not once mentioned or even alluded to in the slightest way by any writer of the New Testament. Since it is never noticed by Christ or the Apostles, of course we cannot appeal to their authority for reading it mystically; and yet it was undoubtedly known to them as one of the books in the canon of the sacred Scriptures to which they were in the habit of appealing repeatedly. Consider the grave significance of this fact. All secondary interpretations of which we know anything, and, as far as we can tell, all that ever existed, had their origin in post-apostolic times. If we would justify this method by authority it is to the Fathers that we must go, not to Christ and His apostles, not to the sacred Scriptures. It is a noteworthy fact, too, that the word Eros, the Greek name for the love of man and woman, as distinguished from Agape, which stands for love in the widest sense of the word, is first applied to our Lord by Ignatius. Here we have the faint beginning of the stream of erotic religious fancies which sometimes manifests itself most objectionably in subsequent Church history. There is not a trace of it in the New Testament.
If the choice spiritual ideas which some people think they see in the Song of Solomon are not imported by the reader, but form part of the genuine contents of the book, how comes it that this fact was not recognised by one of the inspired writers of the New Testament? or, if privately recognised, that it was never utilised? In the hands of the mystical interpreter this work is about the most valuable part of the Old Testament. He finds it to be an inexhaustible mine of the most precious treasures. Why, then, was such a remunerative lode never worked by the first authorities in Christian teaching? It may be replied that we cannot prove much from a bare negative. The apostles may have had their own perfectly sufficient reasons for leaving to the Church of later ages the discovery of this valuable spiritual store. Possibly the converts of their day were not ripe for the comprehension of the mysteries here expounded. Be that as it may, clearly the onus probandi rests with those people of a later age who introduce a method of interpretation for which no sanction can be found in Scripture.
Now the analogies that have been referred to are not sufficient to establish any proof. In the case of the other poems mentioned above there are distinct indications of symbolical intentions. Thus in the “Gitagovinda” the hero is a divinity whose incarnations are acknowledged in Hidoo mythology; and the concluding verse of that poem points the moral by a direct assertion of the religious meaning of the whole composition. This is not the case with the Song of Solomon. We must not be misled by the chapter-headings in our English Bibles, which of course are not to be found in the original Hebrew text. From the first line to the last there is not the slightest hint in the poem itself that it was intended to be read in any mystical sense. This is contrary to the analogy of all allegories. The parable may be difficult to interpret, but at all events it must suggest that it is a parable; otherwise it defeats its own object. If the writer never drops any hint that he has wrapped up spiritual ideas in the sensuous imagery of his poetry, what right has he to expect that anybody will find them there, so long as his poem admits of a perfectly adequate explanation in a literal sense? We need not be so dense as to require the allegorist to say to us in so many words: “This is a parable.” But we may justly expect him to furnish us with some hint that his utterance is of such a character. Aesops fables carry their lessons on the surface of them, so that we can often anticipate the concluding morals that are attached to them. When Tennyson announced that the “Idyls of the King” constituted an allegory most people were taken by surprise; and yet the analogy of “The Faerie Queene,” and the lofty ethical ideas with which the poems are inspired, might have prepared us for the revelation. But we have no similar indications in the case of the Song of Solomon. If somebody were to propound a new theory of “The Vicar of Wakefield,” which should turn that exquisite tale into a parable of the Fall, it would not be enough for him to exercise his ingenuity in pointing out resemblances between the eighteenth-century romance and the ancient narrative of the serpents doings in the Garden of Eden. Since he could not shew that Goldsmith had the slightest intention of teaching anything of the kind, his exploit could be regarded as nothing but a piece of literary trifling.
The Biblical analogies already cited, in which the marriage relation between God or Christ and the Church or the soul are referred to, will not bear the strain that is put upon them when they are brought forward in order to justify a mystical interpretation of the Song of Solomon. At best they simply account for the emergence of this view of the book at a later time, or indicate that such a notion might be maintained if there were good reasons for adopting it. They cannot prove that in the present case it should be adopted. Moreover, they differ from it on two important points First, in harmony with all genuine allegories and metaphors, they carry their own evidence of a symbolical meaning, which as we have seen the Song of Solomon fails to do. Second, they are not elaborate compositions of a dramatic or idyllic character in which the passion of love is vividly illustrated. Regarded in its entirety, the Song of Solomon is quite without parallel in Scripture. It may be replied that we cannot disprove the allegorical intention of the book. But this is not the question. That intention requires to be proved; and until it is proved, or at least until some very good reasons are urged for adopting it, no statement of bare possibilities counts for anything.
But we may push the case further. There is a positive improbability of the highest order that the spiritual ideas read into the Song of Solomon by some of its Christian admirers should have been originally there. This would involve the most tremendous anachronism in all literature. The Song of Solomon is dated among the earlier works of the Old Testament. But the religious ideas now associated with it represent what, is regarded as the fruit of the most advanced saintliness ever attained in the Christian Church. Here we have a flat contradiction to the growth of revelation manifested throughout the whole course of Scripture history. We might as well ascribe the Sistine Madonna to the fresco-painters of the catacombs; or, what is more to the point, our Lords discourse with His disciples at the paschal meal to Solomon or some other Jew of his age.
No doubt the devoted follower of the mystical method will not be troubled by considerations such as these. To him the supposed fitness of the poem to convey his religious ideas is the one sufficient proof of an original design that it should serve that end. So long as the question is approached in this way, the absence of clear evidence only delights the prejudiced commentator with the opportunity it affords for the exercise of his ingenuity. To a certain school of readers the very obscurity of a book is its fascination. The less obvious a meaning is, the more eagerly do they set themselves to expound and defend it. We could leave them to what might be considered a very harmless diversion if it were not for other considerations. But we cannot forget that it is just this ingenious way of interpreting the Bible in accordance with preconceived opinions that has encouraged the quotation of the Sacred Volume in favour of absolutely contradictory propositions, an abuse which in its turn has provoked an inevitable reaction leading to contempt for the Bible as an obscure book which speaks with no certain voice.
Still, it may be contended, the analogy between the words of this poem and the spiritual experience of Christians is in itself an indication of intentional connection. Swedenborg has shewn that there are correspondences between the natural and the spiritual, and this truth is illustrated by the metaphorical references to marriage in the Bible which have been adduced for comparison with the Song of Solomon. But their very existence shows that analogies between religious experience and the love story of the Shulammite may be traced out by the reader without any design on the part of the author to present them. If they are natural they are universal, and any love song will serve our purpose. On this principle, if the Song of Solomon admits of mystical adaptation, so do Mrs. Brownings “Sonnets from the Portuguese.”
We have no alternative, then, but to conclude that the mystical interpretation of this work is based on a delusion. Moreover, it must be added that the delusion is a mischievous one. No doubt to many it has been as meat and drink. They have found in their reading of the Song of Solomon real spiritual refreshment, or they believe they have found it. But there is another side. The poem has been used to minister to a morbid, sentimental type of religion. More than any other influence, the mystical interpretation of this book has imported an effeminate element into the notion of the love of Christ, not one trace of which can be detected in the New Testament. The Catholic legend of the marriage of St. Catherine is somewhat redeemed by the high ascetic tone that pervades it; and yet it indicates a decline from the standpoint of the apostles. Not a few unquestionable revelations of immorality in convents have shed a ghastly light on the abuse of erotic religious fervour. Among Protestants it cannot be said that the most wholesome hymns are those which are composed on the model of the Song of Solomon. In some cases the religious use of this book is perfectly nauseous, indicating nothing less than a disease of religion. When-as sometimes happens-frightful excesses of sensuality follow close on seasons of what has been regarded as the revival of religion, the common explanation of these horrors is that in some mysterious way spiritual emotion lies very near to sensual appetite, so that an excitement of the one tends to rouse the other. A more revolting hypothesis, or one more insulting to religion, cannot be imagined. The truth is, the two regions are separate as the poles. The explanation of the phenomena of their apparent conjunction is to be found in quite another direction. It is that their victims have substituted for religion a sensuous excitement which is as little religious as the elation that follows indulgence in alcoholism. There is no more deadly temptation of the devil than that which hoodwinks deluded fanatics into making this terrible mistake. But it can scarcely be denied that the mystical reading of the Song of Solomon by unspiritual persons, or even by any persons who are not completely fortified against the danger, may tend in this fatal direction.