Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Song of Solomon 3:4
[It was] but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother’s house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me.
4. It was but a little that I passed from them ] i.e. Hardly had I gone from them when I found him whom my soul loveth.
I held him ] Rather, I laid hold on him.
and would not let him go ] Better, either as Oettli, I did not let him go until, &c., or as Driver, Tenses, 42 and 85 note, I would not let him go until, &c. In the former case the impf. form is held to be an impf. consec., though the consec. waw has been separated from its verb by the negation. Cp. Psa 8:6 and Job 33:4. Bringing him to her mother’s house must signify that he was to be her acknowledged lover.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
I held him – This begins the fourth stanza. The brides mother is mentioned again in Son 6:9; Son 8:2.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Son 3:4-5
It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found Him whom my soul loveth: I held Him and would net let Him go.
The real presence, the great want of the Church
As God, Jesus is everywhere; as man, He is only in heaven; as God and man in one person, Mediator and Head of the Church, He is present with us by the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, whom the Father has sent in His Name. This presence, not a bodily but a spiritual presence, is the glory of the Church of God. When she is without it she is shorn of her strength; when she possesses it all good things ensue.
I. Before ever we can bring the Well-Beloved into our mothers house, the Church, we must find Him personally for ourselves, It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found Him whom my soul loveth. How can we bring into the chamber of the Church Him whom we have not yet met with ourselves? How can we communicate grace to others instrumentally unless, first of all, we have received it into our own hearts? If thou wouldst bring Christ into the Church which thou lovest, then, first of all, thine inmost soul must so love Christ that thou canst not live without His company. This must be thy cry: Saw ye Him whom my soul loveth? and this must be the goal of thine aspirations: I have found Him whom my soul loveth. It must not be talk, it must be soul-love; it must not be a profession of affection for Jesus, but the inmost bowels of our being must be moved by His Name. These ardent lovers of Jesus must diligently seek Him. The spouse sought Him, sought Him on her bed, sought Him in the streets, sought Him in the broadways, sought Him at last at the lips of the watchmen, sought Him everywhere where He was likely to be found. In seeking our Lord we must use all ministries. The spouse inquired of the watchmen. We are not to despise Gods servants, for He is usually pleased to bless us through them, and it would be ungrateful both to Him and to them to pass them by as useless. But, while we use the ministries, we must go beyond them. Do not imagine that hearing the truth preached simply and earnestly will of itself be a blessing to your souls. Far, far beyond the servant, pass to the Master. Be this the longing of each heart, each Sabbath day, Lord, give me fellowship with Thyself. Note that we must search to the very utmost till we find our Beloved. The Christian must leave no stone unturned till he gets back his fellowship with Christ. If any sin obstructs the way, it must be rigorously given up; if there be any neglected duty, it must be earnestly discharged; if there be any higher walk of grace, which is necessary to continuous fellowship, we must ascend it, fearing no hill of difficulty. Oh, for more Enochs, men who walk with God, whose habitual spirit is that of close communion with Jesus, meditating upon Him, yea, more than that, sympathizing with Him, drinking in His spirit, changed into His likeness, living over again His life, because He is in them, the monarch of their souls.
II. If we would be a blessing to the Church, and have already found Christ, we must take care to retain Him. I have found Him whom my soul loveth; I held Him, and I would not let Him go. How comparatively easy it is to climb to the top of Pisgah! It needs but a little effort; many bold and gracious spirits are fully equal to it. But to keep there, to abide in that mountain, this is the difficulty. Mark that, according to the text, it is very apparent that Jesus will go away if He be not held. I held Him and I would not let Him go; as if He would have gone if He had not been firmly retained. When He met with Jacob that night at the Jabbok, He said, Let me go. He would not go without Jacob s letting Him, but He would have gone if Jacob had loosed his hold. He will go unless you hold Him. But note, next, He is very willing to be held. Who could hold Him if He were not? He is the Omnipotent Saviour, and if He willed to withdraw He could do so: let us hold Him as we might. But mark His condescension. Jesus is willing enough to be retained by hearts which are full of His love. And whenever you have Christ remember that you are able to hold Him. She who held Him in the Song was no stronger than you are; she was but a feeble woman, poorly fed under the Old Testament dispensation; you have drunk the new wine of the new covenant, and you are stronger than she. You can hold Him, and He will not be able to go from you. Embrace Him with the arms of mighty affection, enchain Him with ardent admiration. Lay hold upon Him by faith, and clasp Him with love. Be also much in prayer. Prayer casts a chain about Him. He never leaves the heart that prays. Hold Him, too, by your obedience to Him. Never quarrel with Him. Let Him have His way. Watch His words; be careful to obey them all. Be very tender in your conduct, so that nothing grieves Him. Show to Him that you are ready to suffer for His sake.
III. It appears from the text that, after the spouse had thus found Christ for herself and held Him, she brought Him into the church–I brought Him to my mothers house. We ought lovingly to remember the Church of God. By the Holy Spirit we were begotten unto newness of life, but it was in the Church, and through the preaching of the Word there, that we were brought into the light of life. Did I hear a harsh but honest voice exclaim, But I find much fault with the Church? If thou lovest her, thou wilt go backward and east a mantle over all. But suppose thy candour is compelled to see faults in her; then there is so much the more need of her Lords presence in her to cure those faults. The more sickly she is, the more she wants Him to be her strength and her physician. I say, therefore, to thee, dear friend, above all things, seek to bring Christ into an imperfect Church, and a weak Church, and an erring Church, that she may become strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. The saints can bring Him in by their testimony. I hope that often Christ is here when I have borne testimony to you of His power to save, of His atoning blood, of His exaltation in Heaven, of the perfection of His character, and of His willingness to save. But others can do it by their prayers. There is a mysterious efficacy in the prayers of men who dwell near to God. Even if they were compelled to keep their beds, and do nothing but pray, they would pour benedictions upon the Church. Wrestling prayers bring Christ into the innermost chambers of the Church of God. And there is no doubt that Christ is often brought into the Church by the example of those eminent saints who abide in Christ. You know what I mean. There is a very manner and air about some Christian men which honours Christ, and benefits His people. They may not be gifted in speech, but their very spirit speaks, they are so gentle, loving, tender, earnest, truthful, upright, gracious. Their paths, like the paths of God Himself, drop fatness.
IV. This leads me to the last point, which is this, to charge the Church that she be careful not to disturb the Lords repose, if we have been enabled by Divine Grace to bring the Lord into the chambers of our mothers house (verse 5). Observe, then, that the Lord Jesus in His Church is not indifferent to the conduct of His people. The Lord Jesus Christ, looking around His Church, if He sees anything evil in it, will do one of two things; either He will go right away from His Church because the evil is tolerated there, and He will leave that Church to be like Laodicea, to go on from bad to worse, till it becomes no Church at all; or else He will come and He will trim the lamp, or, to use the figure of the fifteenth of John, He will prune the vine-branch, and with His knife will cut off this member, and the other, and cast them into the fire; while, as for the rest, He will cut them till they bleed again, because they are fruit-bearing members, but they have too much wood, and He wants them to bring forth more fruit. It is not a trifling matter to be in the Church of God. Gods fire is in Zion and His furnace in Jerusalem. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Loves vigilance rewarded
I. Before we actually come to our text, we may notice three preliminary steps in the spouses progress.
1. The first one is implied in the words, I love Him. She refers to her Beloved under the title of Him whom my soul loveth. Can you give the Lord Jesus that title?
2. Then, in the spouses progress, there came another step, I sought Him. Can you put your finger on that sentence and say,. That is true, too? Have you been seeking Him this Sabbath day? Are you coming to His table to-night seeking Him?
3. Then comes in a little minor or mournful music, for the next clause is, I sought Him, but I found Him not. The spouse is so sad about it that the tells out her woe twice, I sought Him, but I found Him not. Do you know that experience? I hope you are not realizing it at this time; but many of us have known what it is. Our Lord Jesus Christ would not have us think little of His company; and, sometimes, it is only as we miss it that we begin to appreciate the sweetness of it. If we always had high days and holidays, we might not be so thankful when our gala days come round.
II. Inside the text, there are three further steps: I found Him, I held Him, I brought Him into my mothers house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me.
1. This is the first of the second series of steps, I found Him. I do not wish to stand here and speak for myself, alone; but I want, beloved, that you should each one of you also say, I love Him, I sought Him, and now, I have found Him. What is meant by the words, I found Him? Well, I think a soul may say, I found Him, in the sense employed in the text, when first of all it has a clear view of His Person. My Beloved is Divine and human, the Son of God, and yet the Son of man. Let your soul picture Him so plainly that you can seem to see Him, for this will be a part of your finding Him. But that will not be enough; you must then get to know that He is present with you. We cannot see Him, but yet He that walketh amidst the golden candlesticks is, in spirit, in this house of prayer at this moment. If you can get that thought fully into your minds, that Christ is really here in our midst, you can then each one begin to say, I have found Him. But you want more than that, namely, to feel that He loves you, loves you as if there were nobody else for Him to love, loves you even as the Father loves Him. That is a daring thing to say, and I should never have said it if He had not first uttered it; but He says, As the Father hath loved Me, so have I loved you.
2. Now we come to the second step. The spouse says, I held Him. This is a deeper experience than the former one; I held Him means more than I found Him. How are we to hold Christ? Well, first, let us hold Him by our hearts resolve. Get you to Jacobs boldness when he said to the Angel of the Covenant, I will not let thee go except thou bless me; but go even beyond that, do not put in any except at all, but say, I will not let Thee go, for I cannot be blessed if Thou art gone from me. Further, brethren, hold Him by making Him your all in all. Yield up everything to Him, be obedient to Him, be willing to suffer for Him, grieve not His Holy Spirit, crown Him, extol Him, magnify Him, keep on singing His praises, for so will you hold Him. Hold Him, too, by a simple faith. That is a wonderful hold-fast. One word more before we leave this point. The only way to hold Christ is to hold Him by His own power. Think of poor Jacob, who, when the angel did but touch him, felt his sinews shrink directly, yet he said, I will not let thee go. And I, a poor trembling creature, may hold the Omnipotent Himself, and say to Him, I will not let Thee go. How is that wonder to be accomplished? I will tell you. If Omnipotence helps you to hold Omnipotence, why, then, the deed is done! If Christ, and not you alone, holds Christ, then Christ is held indeed, for shall He vanquish His own Self?
3. The next step is described in the words, I brought Him. With this we finish: I brought Him into my mothers house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me. And where, I pray you, is our mothers house? I do not believe in any reverence for mere material buildings; but I have great reverence for the true Church of the Living God. The Church is the House of God, and the mother of our souls. How can you bring Christ to His Church? Partly, you can bring Him by your spirit. If you have really found Christ, and bring Him with you into the assembly, you will not be the man who will criticize, and find fault, and quarrel with your neighbour because he does not give you enough room in the pew. You will not be the person to pick holes in other peoples coats; but you will be very considerate of others. As for yourself, anything will do for you, and anywhere will do for you, for you have seen the Beloved. You want other people to get as much good as they can; you are no longer selfish; how can you be, when you have found Him whom your soul loveth? And now your poor brother need not be very choice in the selection of his words; if he will only talk about Jesus, you will be quite satisfied; if his accents should be a little broken, you will not mind that. So long as you feel that he wishes to extol your Lord, that will be enough for you. So, in this manner, you will in spirit bring the Beloved to your mothers house, to the chamber of her that conceived you. But, dear friend, it will also be a happy thing if you are able to talk about your Lord, for then you can bring Him to the Church with your words. But if, alas! you feel that you cannot speak for Christ, then, beloved, bring Him by your prayers. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 4. Into my mother’s house] The women in the East have all separate apartments, into which no person ever attempts to enter except the husband. We find Isaac bringing Rebecca into his mother’s tent, when he made her his wife, Ge 24:67. What is here related appears to refer to the third night of the nuptials.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
I found him; Christ met me, and manifested his love to me, according to his promise made to those that seek him constantly and diligently, Pro 8:17; Mat 7:7, &c.
I held him, and would not let him go, being taught by my late experience how doleful a thing it was to lose him, and how hard it was to find and recover him when he was lost.
Until I had brought him into my mothers house, that there I might entertain and embrace him, and gain my mothers consent, and so proceed to the consummation of the marriage. She saith her
mothers rather than her fathers house, because the men and the women had several and separated apartments in the house. For the mystical meaning, which is the principal sense intended in this book, as the spouse here, and in many other places of this book, signifies particular believers, so her mother is the universal church, or the true Jerusalem, which hath its rise from above, which is the mother of us all, Gal 4:26, in which Christ and believers are united, and have sweet communion together in holy ordinances, into which believers are said to bring Christ by faith and prayer, and the preparation of their hearts for him, whereby they invite and in some sort engage Christ to go with them into the public assemblies, and there to give them his loves, although otherwise it is Christ who properly brings believers into the church. But all particulars in allegorical scriptures are not to be strictly urged, as all learned interpreters agree, many being added only for the decency of the allegory.
Her that conceived me; Christ is as it were the father that begets, and the church the mother that conceiveth and bringeth forth, believers.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
4. Jesus Christ is generally”found” near the watchmen and means of grace; but they arenot Himself; the star that points to Beth-lehem is not the Sun thathas risen there; she hastens past the guideposts to the goal [MOODYSTUART]. Not even angelscould satisfy Mary, instead of Jesus Christ (Joh20:11-16).
found him (Isa 45:19;Hos 6:1-3; Mat 13:44-46).
held him, c.willing tobe held not willing, if not held (Gen 32:26;Mat 28:9; Luk 24:28;Luk 24:29; Rev 3:11).”As a little weeping child will hold its mother fast, notbecause it is stronger than she, but because her bowels constrain hernot to leave it; so Jesus Christ yearning over the believer cannotgo, because He will not” [DURHAM].In So 1:4 it is He who leads thebride into His chambers; here it is she who leads Him into hermother’s. There are times when the grace of Jesus Christ seems todraw us to Him; and others, when we with strong cries draw Him to usand ours. In the East one large apartment often serves for the wholefamily; so the bride here speaks of her mother’s apartment and herown together. The mention of the “mother” excludesimpropriety, and imparts the idea of heavenly love, pure as asister’s, while ardent as a bride’s; hence the frequent title, “mysisterspouse.” Our mother after the Spirit, is the Church,the new Jerusalem (Joh 3:5-8;Gal 4:19; Gal 4:26);for her we ought to pray continually (Eph3:14-19), also for the national Jerusalem (Isa 62:6;Isa 62:7; Rom 10:1),also for the human family, which is our mother and kindredafter the flesh; these our mother’s children have evilly treated us(So 1:6); but, like our Father,we are to return good for evil (Mat 5:44;Mat 5:45), and so bring JesusChrist home to them (1Pe 2:12).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
[It was] but a little that I passed from them,…. Either a small moment of time, as the Targum and Aben Ezra; or a little distance of place, that is, from the watchmen or ministers, from whom she passed; not through disrespect to them, much less contempt of them; nor because she received no benefit at all from them; but her going on shows she did not rest in means, but looked beyond them, and went on further in the exercise of her faith, and hope of finding her beloved: and meeting with him a little after she had passed from the ministers suggests that Christ is not far from his ministers and ordinances; for it follows,
but I found him whom my soul loveth; which she expresses with the utmost exultation and pleasure, which meeting with him must give her, after such long and fruitless searches, and so many disappointments; see Joh 1:41; and for Christ to show himself, without which there is no finding him, is a proof of the greatness of his love, and of the freeness and sovereignty of it; and that means, though to be used, are not to be depended on; nor should we be discouraged when they fail, since Christ can make himself known without them, as he did here to the church; who says,
I held him, and would not let him go; which on the part of the church is expressive of her faith in him, signified by laying hold on him, his person, righteousness, grace, and strength, Pr 3:18; and of her strong affection to him, grasping and embracing him in her arms of faith and love; and of her fear and jealousy lest he should depart from her again; and of her steady resolution to hold him, whatever was the consequence of it: and, on his part, it intimates a seeming offer to be gone; and a gracious allowance to lay hold on him; and his wonderful condescension to be held by her; and the delight and pleasure he took in the exercise of her faith upon him; for it was not against but with his will he was held by her; and this she determined to do, and not let go her hold,
until, says she,
I had brought him into my mother’s house, and into the chambers of her that conceived me; the allusion is to the tents and apartments women had in former times, distinct from their husbands, Ge 24:67; and all this may be understood either of the visible church, and the ordinances of it, the mother of all true believers, where they are born again, brought up and nourished; and where Christ may be said to be brought, when his name is professed, his Gospel is embraced, and his ordinances are submitted to; and here the church is desirous of introducing Christ, that she with others might magnify him, and praise him for all the instances of his grace and goodness, and have communion with him: or else the heart, and the inmost recesses of it, may be meant; where the incorruptible seed of divine grace is cast; where the new creature; conceived, born, and brought up, until it becomes a perfect man; and where Christ is desired to be, and to dwell by faith, and saints may have uninterrupted communion with him: unless the heavenly mansions are intended, the house of the Jerusalem above, the mother of us all; where saints long to be with Christ, enjoy him, and never lose his presence more; till then the church resolves to hold him fast in the arms of faith, hope, and love, and not let him go.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
4 Scarcely had I passed from them,
When I found him whom my soul loveth.
I seized him, and did not let him go
Until I brought him into the house of my mother,
And into the chamber of her that gave me birth.
= paululum , here standing for a sentence: it was as a little that I passed, etc. Without , it would be paululum transii ; with it, paululum fuit quod transii , without any other distinction than that in the latter case the paululum is more emphatic. Since Shulamith relates something experienced earlier, is not fitly rendered by teneo , but by tenui ; and dna ;iune , not by et non dimittam eum , but, as the neg. of , et dimisi eum , – not merely et non dimittebam eum , but et non dimisi eum . In Gen 32:27 [26], we read the cogn. , which signifies, to let go (“let me go”), as , to let loose, to let free. It is all the same whether we translate, with the subjective colouring, donec introduxerim , or, with the objective, donec introduxi ; in either case the meaning is that she held him fast till she brought him, by gentle violence, into her mother’s house. With there is the more definite parallel lellar , which properly signifies ( vid., under Son 1:4), recessus , penetrale ; with , the seldom occurring (only, besides, at Hos 2:7) , part.f. Kal of fo la , to conceive, be pregnant, which poetically, with the accus., may mean parturire or parere . In Jacob’s blessing, Gen 49:26, as the text lies before us, his parents are called ; just as in Arab. ummani , properly “my two mothers,” may be used for “my parents;” in the Lat. also, parentes means father and mother zeugmatically taken together.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
(4) I held him . . .Bossuet, following Bede, regards this as prophetic of Mary Magdalen (type of the Church) on the morning of the Resurrection.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
4. It was but a little, etc. Better, Scarcely had I passed from them, when, etc. He may have heard her voice, as she inquired, or he may now have been seeking her.
Into my mother’s house This statement, and that of my own mother’s room, suggests at once the privilege and the safety of lovers under the sanctity of such a shelter. One can but infer that the mother was in widowhood, and the story has the greater diversity from the guardianship of the brothers over their sister, its heroine.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother’s house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me.
It is not said what answer the watchmen gave the church, or whether any; but this verse brings with it the relation of Jesus’s love in manifesting himself to her. The Lord was hastening his own gracious purpose concerning her; and now having by the sweet, but secret inclinations, wrought by his Holy Spirit in her heart, to seek him privately, both by night on her bed, and by day on the public ordinances of his word; she tells us in this verse, that it was but a little space from leaving the church, before that she found him whom her soul loved; and now she determined never more to be separated from him. Thus the Ethiopian which came to Jerusalem for to worship, was returning from the temple as ignorant and uninformed as he came, but yet he found Christ in the desert. Act 8:28-39 . Reader! do not fail to mark the many precious instructions which arise from hence, Jesus hath promised his presence with his people always, even to the end of the world. Mat 28:20 . But he will teach his people at times the infinitely precious privilege of this: by showing that ordinances, though means, are not the end of religion: neither ministers, nor ordinances, nor means of grace, are in themselves anything – Jesus alone is the sole object to satisfy the soul; and, unless we have him, we have nothing. And when he hath hereby taught his people his preciousness; then, like the church, we shall greatly prize the invaluable mercy, and hold him fast by lively actings of faith upon his blood and righteousness, following him into his retirings, and wrestling with him in prayer, and praise, and love, and affection; until we have brought him into the chambers of the church, that blessed Jerusalem, which is the Mother of us all, which is above; to tell everyone of him, whom our soul loveth, and whose we are, and from whom we would never more part; but live upon him by faith here; and in glory hereafter. Reader, it will be one blessed testimony that Christ is dear to us, if we endeavour to recommend him to others. When Jesus called Matthew he made a great feast, and invited other publicans and sinners to sit down with Jesus. Luk 5:29 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Son 3:4 [It was] but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother’s house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me.
Ver. 4. It was but a little that I passed from them. ] It is probable that, lighting upon these watchmen, she promised herself much counsel and comfort from them, but was disappointed. It pleaseth God many times to cross our likeliest projects, that himself alone may be leaned upon. The poor soul in distress is apt to knock at the creature’s door for comfort, to shark abroad, and to look this way and that way, as David did, for help. Yea, many use the means as mediators, and so fall short of Christ. It is a good note that one a makes upon this text, that she was a little past the watchman; which shows, saith he, that the Lord delays comfort, to draw his Church, through all his means, from the lowest to the highest, where she findeth in short time comfort; but many times not till she is past, that they might not attribute it to the excellence of the means, but unto God.
But I found him whom my soul loveth.
I held him, and would not let him go.
Until I had brought him into my mother’s house.] That is, Into my conscience, say some – where faith dwelleth, and Christ by faith. Rom 10:10 Gal 4:19 Into the synagogues of the Jews, say others, or into the congregations of the Gentiles. They do best that understand it of the Catholic Church, the supernal Jerusalem, that “Mother of us all,” figured by Sarah, Gal 4:24 ; Gal 4:26 where Christ hath most delightful dwelling, a comfortable commoration, and, as it were, conjugal cohabitation with his spouse, chamber fellowship. Jdg 15:1
a Mr Dudley Fenner.
b Ideo minatur, ut non puniat. – Chrys.
c Aelian,
d Camden.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
It was but a little that = Scarcely.
a little = a little while. See note on “almost”, Pro 5:14.
from them = them.
but = when.
held = seized.
chamber = inner chamber.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
but: Son 6:12, Pro 8:17, Isa 45:19, Isa 55:6, Isa 55:7, Jer 29:13, Lam 3:25, Mat 7:7
I held: Son 7:5, Gen 32:26, Pro 4:13, Hos 12:3, Hos 12:4, Mat 28:9, Joh 20:16, Joh 20:17, Rev 3:11, Rev 3:12
I had: Isa 49:14-18, Isa 54:1-3, Gal 4:26
Reciprocal: Pro 13:19 – The desire Son 1:4 – the king Son 8:2 – bring Son 8:5 – there she Joh 4:40 – they Joh 6:21 – they willingly Joh 20:14 – and saw 1Th 5:21 – hold 1Ti 6:12 – lay
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Son 3:4. It was but a little, &c., but I found him Christ met me, and manifested his love to me. I brought him into my mothers house As the spouse here signifies particular believers, so her mother is the universal church, or the true Jerusalem, which hath its rise from above, which is the mother of us all, (Gal 4:26,) in which Christ and believers are united, and have sweet communion together in holy ordinances, into which believers are said to bring Christ, by faith and prayer. Into the chamber of her that conceived me Christ is, as it were, the father that begets, and the church, the mother that conceives and brings forth believers.