Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Song of Solomon 5:16
His mouth [is] most sweet: yea, he [is] altogether lovely. This [is] my beloved, and this [is] my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.
16. His mouth ] Lit. his palate, but here as elsewhere the mouth as the organ of speech.
is most sweet ] Rather, is sweetnesses. The meaning is that his mouth utters nothing but pleasant things; cp. Pro 16:21. “This touch gives animation to the beautiful statue which has been described.” Oettli.
yea, he is altogether lovely ] Lit. all of him is desirablenesses, cp. Eze 24:16, “the desire of thine eyes” = that in which thine eyes take delight.
This this ] She points triumphantly to her picture. Has she not more than answered the scornful question of Son 5:9?
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
He is altogether lovely – literally, the whole of him desires or delights; the plural substantive expressing the notion of the superlative. Theodoret, applying to our Lord the whole description, interprets well its last term: Why should I endeavor to express His beauty piecemeal when He is in Himself and altogether the One longed-for, drawing all to love, compelling all to love, and inspiring with a longing (for His company) not only those who see, but also those who hear?
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Son 5:16
Yea, He is altogether lovely.
Altogether lovely
When the old Puritan minister had delivered his discourse, and dwelt upon firstly and secondly and thirdly, before he sat down he usually gave a comprehensive summary of all that he had spoken. In these five words, the spouse here gives you her summary. Remember these words, and know their meaning, and you possess the quintessence of the spouses portion of the Song of Songs. This verse, has been translated in another way: He is all desires; and so indeed Jesus is. He was the desire of the ancients, He is the desire of all nations still. To His own people He is their all in all; they are complete in Him; they are filled out of His fulness. But we will not dispute about translations, for, after all, with such a text, so full of unutterable spiritual sweetness, every man must be his own translator, and into his own soul must the power of the message come, by the enforcement of the Holy Ghost.
I. We shall consider three points of character which are very noticeable in these words.
1. The first which suggests itself is this: the words are evidently uttered by one who is under the influence of overwhelming emotion. The words are rather a veil to the heart than a glass through which we see its emotions. The sentence labours to express the inexpressible; it pants to utter the unutterable. Lost in adoring wonder, the gracious mind desists from description, and cries with rapture, Yea, He is altogether lovely. It has often been thus with true saints; they have felt the love of Jesus to be overpowering and inebriating. I believe those are the happiest saints who are most overwhelmed with a sense of the greatness, goodness and preciousness of Christ. Oh! to be carried right away with the Divine manifestation of the chief among ten thousand, so that our souls shall cry out in rapture, Yea, He is altogether lovely. This is one characteristic of the text: may it be transferred to us.
2. A second is this, and very manifest it is upon the surface of the verse–here is undivided affection. He is altogether lovely. Note that these words have a world of meaning in them, but chiefly they tell us this, that Jesus is to the true saint the only lovely one in the world. Our text means, again, that in Jesus loveliness of all kinds is to be found. If there be anything that is worthy of the love of an immortal spirit, it is to be seen in abundance in the Lord Jesus. He is not this flower or that, but He is the Paradise of perfection. He is not a star here or a constellation there, He is the whole heaven of stars, nay, He is the heaven of heavens; He is all that is fair and lovely condensed in one. When the text says, again, that Jesus is altogether lovely, it declares that He is lovely in all views of Him. It generally happens that to the noblest building there is an unhappy point of view from which the architecture appears at a disadvantage; the choicest piece of workmanship may not be equally complete in all directions; the best human character is deformed by one flaw, if not with more; but with our Lord all is lovely, regard Him as you will. Under all aspects, and in all offices and in relations, at all times and all seasons, under all circumstances and conditions, anywhere, everywhere, He is altogether lovely. I will close this point by saying, every child of God acknowledges that Christ Jesus is lovely altogether to the whole of Himself. He is lovely to my judgment; but many things are so and yet are not lovely to my affections; I know them to be right, and yet they are not pleasant: but Jesus is as lovely to my heart as to my head, as dear as He is good. He is lovely to my hopes; are they not all in Him? Is not this my expectation–to see Him as He is? But He is lovely to my memory too: did He not pluck me out of the net? Lovely to all my powers and all my passions, my faculties and feeling.
3. The third characteristic of the text is ardent devotion. It is the language of one who feels that no service would be too great to render to the Lord. I wish we felt as the apostles and martyrs and holy men of old did, that Jesus Christ ought to be served at the highest and richest rate. We do little, very little: what if I had said we do next to nothing for our dear Lord and Master nowadays? The love of Christ doth not constrain us as it should. Is Christ less lovely, or is His Church less loyal? Would God she estimated Him at His right rate, for then she would return to her former mode of service. Oh, for a flash of the celestial fire! Oh, when shall the Spirits energy visit us again! When shall men put down their selfishness and seek only Christ? When shall they leave their strifes about trifles to rally round His Cross? When shall we end the glorification of ourselves, and begin to make Him glorious, even to the worlds end?
II. Thus I have shown you the characteristics of the text, and now I desire to use it in three ways for practical purposes.
1. The first word is to you, Christians. Here is very sweet instruction. The Lord Jesus is altogether lovely. Then if I want to be lovely, I must be like Him, and the model for me as a Christian is Christ. We want to have Christs zeal, but we must balance it with His prudence and discretion; we must seek to have Christs love to God, and we must feel His love to men, His forgiveness of injury, His gentleness of speech, His incorruptible truthfulness, His meekness and lowliness, His utter unselfishness, His entire consecration to His Fathers business.
2. The second use to which we would put the verse is this, here is a very gentle rebuke to some of you. You do not see the lowliness of Christ, yet He is altogether lovely. Now, you who have never heard music in the name of Jesus, you are to be greatly pitied, for your loss is heavy. You who never saw beauty in Jesus, and who never will for ever, you need all our tears. The Lord open those blind eyes of yours, and unstop those deaf ears, and give you the new and spiritual life, and then will you join in saying, Yea, He is altogether lovely.
3. The last use of the text is, that of tender attractiveness. Yea, He is altogether lovely. Where are you this morning, you who are convinced of sin and want a Saviour, where have you crept to? You need not be afraid to come to Jesus, for He is altogether lovely. It does not say He is altogether terrible–that is your misconception of Him; it does not say He is somewhat lovely, and sometimes willing to receive a certain sort of sinner; but He is altogether lovely, and therefore He is always ready to welcome to Himself the vilest of the vile. Think of His name. It is Jesus, the Saviour. Is not that lovely? Think of His work. He is come to seek and to save that which was lost. This is His occupation. Is not that lovely? Think of what He has done. He hath redeemed our souls with blood. Is not that lovely? Think of what He is doing. He is pleading before the throne of God for sinners. Think of what He is giving at this moment–He is exalted on high to give repentance and remission of sins. Is not this lovely? Under every aspect Christ Jesus is attractive to sinners who need Him. Come, then, come and welcome, there is nothing to keep yon away, there is everything to bid you come. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The loveliness of Christ
I. In the spotless purity of His nature.
II. In His unrivalled perfections.
III. In His varied offices of prophet, priest, and king.
IV. In His temper and spirit. Love, meekness, tenderness and benignity marked His whole earthly career. (J. N. Norton, D. D.)
The best beloved
I am not about to speak of Christs loveliness after the flesh, for now after the flesh know we Him no more. It is His moral and spiritual beauty, of which the spouse in the Song most sweetly says, Yea, He is altogether lovely. The loveliness which the eye dotes on is mere varnish when compared with that which dwells in virtue and holiness; the worm will devour the loveliness of skin and flesh, but a lovely character will endure for ever.
I. This is rare praise. What if I say it is unique? For no other being could it be said, Yea, He is altogether lovely. It means, first, that all that is in Him is lovely, perfectly lovely. There is no point in our Lord Jesus that you could improve. To paint the rose were to spoil its ruddy hue. To tint the lily, for He is lily as well as rose, were to mar its whiteness. Each virtue in our Lord is there in a state of absolute perfection: it could not be more fully developed. He is altogether lovely at every separate point, so that the spouse, when she began with His head, descended to His feet, and then lifting her eyes upward again upon a return voyage of delight, she looked into His countenance, and summed up all that she had seen in this one sentence, He is altogether lovely. This is rare praise. And He is all that is lovely. In each one of His people you will find something that is lovely, in one there is faith, in another abounding love; in one tenderness, in another courage, but you do not find all good things in any one saint–at least not all of them in full perfection; but you find all virtues in Jesus, and each one of them at its best. In Jesus Christ–this, moreover, is rare praise again–there is nothing that is unlovely. You never need put the finger over the scar in His case, as Apelles did when he painted his hero. Nothing about our Lord needs to be concealed; even His cross, at which his enemies stumble, is to be daily proclaimed, and it will be seen to be one of His choicest beauties.
II. As this is rare praise, so likewise it is perpetual praise. You may say of Christ whenever you look at Him, Yea, He is altogether lovely. He also was so. As God over all, He is blessed for ever, Amen. When in addition to His Godhead, He assumed our mortal clay, was He not inimitably lovely then? He is lovely in all His offices. What an entrancing sight to see the King in His beauty, with His diadem upon His head, as He now sits in yonder world of brightness! How charming to view Him as a Priest, with the Urim and Thummim, wearing the names of His people bejewelled on His breastplate! And what a vision of simple beauty, to see Him as a Prophet teaching His people in touching parables of homely interest, of whom they said, Never man spake like this. Man I Let Him be what He may–Lamb or Shepherd, Brother or King, Saviour or Master, Foot-washer or Lord–in every relation He is altogether lovely.
III. Though this praise is rare praise and perpetual praise, yet also it is totally insufficient praise, Say ye that He is altogether lovely? It is not enough. It is not a thousandth part enough. No tongue of man, no tongue of angel, can ever set forth His unutterable beauties. Oh, say you, but it is a great word, though short; very full of meaning though soon spoken–altogether lovely. I tell you it is a poor word. It is a word of despair. The praise of the text is insufficient praise, I know, because it is praise given by one who had never seen Him in His glory. It is Old Testament praise this, that He is altogether lovely: praise uttered upon report rather than upon actual view of Him. Truly I know not how to bring better, but I shall know one day. Till then I will speak His praise as best I can, though it fall far short of His infinite excellence.
IV. This praise is very suggestive. If Christ be altogether lovely it suggests a question. Suppose I never saw His loveliness. This world appreciates the man who makes money, how ever reckless he may be of the welfare of others while scheming to heap up riches for himself. As for this Jesus, He only gave His life for men, He was only pure and perfect, the mirror of disinterested love. The vain world cannot see in Him a virtue to admire, It is a blind world, a fool world, a world that lieth in the wicked one. Not to discern the beauties of Jesus is an evidence of terrible depravity. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
This is my Beloved, and this is my Friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.
Christ the Beloved, and the Friend of His people
I. Christ the beloved of his people.
1. They love Him for His own great and glorious perfection. In Him all beauty centres. In Him, whatever qualities excite admiration, or engage esteem, whatever excellence adorns, dignifies, or endears the character, unite without diminution or alloy.
2. They love Him for His suitableness to their necessities. Are they in a lost and perishing condition? Christ is a Saviour and a great one. Are they blind and ignorant? In Christ are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Are they tied and bound with the chain of their sins? Christ proclaims liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prisons to them that are bound. Are they weak and helpless? Christ will give strength to His people. He is a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in distress. In a word, Christ is a remedy exactly suited to every want.
3. They love Him for the special benefits which He hath conferred upon them.
(1) They have experienced the freeness of His love.
(2) They have experienced the efficacy of His pardoning mercy.
(3) They have experienced the power of His sanctifying grace.
(4) They have experienced the faithfulness of His Word. They have trusted in Him and have been holpen. They have called upon Him and have been delivered.
II. Christ is the friend of His people.
1. Christ is a Friend, who tenderly loves His people, and is cordially attached to their interests.
2. Christ is an all-powerful Friend. The kingdoms of nature, of providence, of grace, are under His control.
3. Christ is an unchangeable Friend.
4. Christ is a seasonable Friend. The friend who ministers to our support, when other friends forsake us, and when we stand most in need of his support, pre eminently shows himself to be a friend. Such a friend is Christ to His people.
III. Some marks, by which you may judge whether you love Christ or not.
1. If you love Christ, you love His cause. That His kingdom may come, is your prayer. That His kingdom will come, is your joy.
2. It you love Christ, you love His people. The faithful in Christ Jesus you will account the truly honourable on earth; the excellent, in whom is all your delight.
3. If you love Christ, you love His ordinances.
4. If you love Christ you love to do His will. (E. Cooper, M. A.)
Christ the Friend of His people
I. Because of what he undertook and what he has accomplished for them.
1. When their cause was desperate with God, He engaged to remedy it–to answer every charge to which they were liable, and He did it.
2. He purchased their persons, that He might be free to bless them as He saw meet.
(1) Having them as His own, it is His delight to enrich and honour them to the utmost.
(2) Having them as His own, He strips them of their filthy garments–He washes them from their sins.
(3) Having them as His own, He reveals Himself to them. He cures the blindness with which the God of this world had afflicted them.
(4) Having them as His own, He puts His law in their hearts and writes it in their minds. With their whole soul they consent unto it as holy, just, good.
3. He has gone before to the place of final rest, there to appear for them, thence to hold communication with them, and thither to take them at last.
II. The character of His friendship.
1. It is an indissoluble friendship. It is not a friendship which, having viewed its object at first, through the false and delusive medium of an absorbing passion, has been deceived in it, and, on discovery of the deception, cools, fades, falls away, until it ceases altogether, or sinks into indifference, bearing proportion in its extent to the blind ardour that once raged. But it is a friendship based on intelligent, holy, as well as affectionate choice; He that led to it, that formed it, being the Father who so loved us that He gave His only begotten Son, that we might live by Him. It never wearies of its object, for it is never disappointed, never deceived. It grows, it increases continually. On Christs side it is perfect from the beginning, as existing in His heart; but the manifestations of it to us multiply every day.
2. It is marked by uniform constancy. Christ is a Friend that loves at all times.
3. It is distinguished by unswerving faithfulness. (A. Beith.)
This is my Friend
I. The need of this Friend. This will be evident if you reflect upon the sad state and condition in which all mankind are involved by sin.
II. Some proofs and instances of Christs friendship towards us.
1. His engaging in our cause as our Surety in the everlasting covenant, which is ordered in all things and sure, and entered into between the Persons of the Trinity, is a manifest proof and indication of His friendship towards us.
2. He has not only undertaken to do all this, but He has done what He undertook to do. He has paid the very last farthing for us.
3. He has proved Himself to be our Friend by having wrought out a righteousness for us, a righteousness which ensures us against all the demands both of law and of justice; a righteousness which shall be for ever, a salvation which shall not be abolished.
4. He has proved Himself to be our Friend by His dying in our stead, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God.
5. He has proved Himself to be our Friend by His having purchased our persons, and procured all things needful for us. Look at the price which He has paid, His own blood.
6. He has proved Himself to be our Friend by His having risen again in our behalf; by His having ascended to His Father and to our Father, to His God, and our God; by His taking possession of heaven for us.
7. He has proved Himself to be our Friend by interceding for us.
III. Some of the properties of this friend. Christ is a nonsuch; there is none like Him; none to be compared to Him. He is the chiefest among ten thousand, He is altogether lovely. He is all desires, and the Desire of all nations, Whom have I in heaven but Thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire besides Thee.
1. He is a rich Friend. Such an one is often useful and needful. A man may have a friend that has the heart to help him, but who has not got the means; but Christ as He is willing, so also He is able.
2. He is a faithful Friend. You may safely trust Him with your all. He is faithful to the Father, having perfectly fulfilled HIS covenant engagements with Him, in fulfilling the law and suffering the penalty. And He is faithful to Ills people in giving them eternal life.
3. He is a tender-hearted Friend. He sympathizes with His people in all their afflictions, their trials, their difficulties, their disappointments, their sicknesses.
4. He is an unchangeable and unchanging Friend. We may grow cold to Him. He grows not cold towards us. He is ever the same.
5. He is an everlasting Friend. A man may have a friend and he may die, and then all his dependence upon him is gone; but Christ ever lives to be the Friend of His people. Death separates friends, but over Christ it hath no power.
IV. Who that individual is that can claim Christ as his or her friend. And here we observe, that no person in a state of nature can make this claim, since Christ is neither beloved by such, nor are they acquainted with that friendship which dwells in His breast towards all those whom He has redeemed with His most precious blood. And as they are unacquainted with His friendship, they cannot claim Him as their Friend. Neither is it the privilege of every one who is called by grace to claim Christ as his Friend. Although every regenerate person has faith, yet every regenerate person may not have the full assurance of faith. When faith does rise to this full assurance, the possessor thereof can say as Paul did, He loved me and gave Himself for me. Such can say with holy Job, I know that my Redeemer liveth not the Redeemer, but my Redeemer; and that He shall stand, etc. Such can say as Thomas did, My Lord and my God Such can say as the Church does, This is my Beloved, and this is my Friend. (W. D. Long, M. A.)
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Our Friend
To have a true friend is a blessing beyond all price. I wish to show that there is a loving Friend for all mankind.
1. Who is our Friend? Men have always been asking, Who is God? In reply, the Lord our God appeared in a human body, called Jesus, and showed that He is the Friend of Man.
2. Our Friend sees all our trouble. O friendless one, tossed about on the sea of life, our Friend sees you, and is at hand to comfort you.
3. Our Friend is always present with us.
4. Our Friend can help us all times.
5. Our Friend is our Mediator, who saves us from the result of our sins.
6. Brothers, love our Friend! And, like Him, love the friendless!
7. Let us also show friendship to all creatures which God has made. (W. Birch.)
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Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 16. His mouth is most sweet] His eloquence is great, and his voice is charming. Every word he speaks is sweetness, mildness, and benevolence itself. Then, her powers of description failing, and metaphor exhausted she cries out, “The whole of him is loveliness. This is my beloved, and this is my companion, O ye daughters of Jerusalem.”
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
His mouth is most sweet, which was said before in other words, Son 5:13, and is here justly repeated, because it was a principal part of Christs beauty, and the chief instrument of the spouses comfort and happiness, which wholly depends upon his sweet and excellent speeches, his holy precepts and gracious offers and promises contained in the gospel. He is altogether lovely; not to run out into more particulars, in one word, there is no part of him which is not exquisitely beautiful.
This is my Beloved, and this is my Friend, O daughters of Jerusalem, and therefore you have no cause to wonder or to blame me if I am transported with love to so excellent a personage.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
16. Literally, “His palateis sweetness, yea, all over loveliness,” that is, He isthe essence of these qualities.
mouthso So1:2, not the same as “lips” (So5:13), His breath (Isa 11:4;Joh 20:22). “All over,”all the beauties scattered among creatures are transcendentlyconcentrated in Him (Col 1:19;Col 2:9).
my belovedfor I loveHim.
my friendfor He lovesme (Pr 18:24). Holy boasting(Psa 34:2; 1Co 1:31).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
His mouth [is] most sweet,…. Or sweetness itself k; yea, “sweetnesses” l; exceeding sweet. That is, the words of his month, the doctrines of the Gospel, the precious promises of it, the kind invitations given, and the comfortable things spoken in it; yea, the commands of Christ in his word are not grievous, but pleasant and delightful: or the kisses of his mouth may be meant, the sensible manifestations of his love, So 1:2; Some think the voice of Christ is intended, and the sound of it m, whether the word be translated “mouth”, “throat”, or “roof of the mouth”, as it may signify either; all which are instruments of the voice, and nothing is more common with lovers than to admire each other’s voice; see So 2:14; and may be applied to the voice of the Gospel, which is sweet, delightful, charming, and alluring, being a voice of love, grace, and mercy, peace, pardon, life, and salvation. The word may be rendered “taste”, as in So 2:3; and which may be taken, either actively, for the distinguishing taste of Christ between things perverse and good, and between carnal and spiritual ones, and so for the provision of savoury food he makes for his people; or passively, of his being, in his person, offices, and grace, sweet to the taste of a believer. Some interpret it of the breath of his mouth; which being “most sweet”, recommends him to the affections of his people; and may design the expressions of his love to them, and his intercession for them;
yea, he [is] altogether lovely; in his person, offices, people, word, and ordinances; his loveliness is perfect, nothing wanting in it; he is so to all, to his Father, angels, and saints: or, he is “all desires” n; exceeding desirable, having all excellencies, perfections, and fulness in him; and being so in all his characters, offices, and relations, he stands in to his people; to whom he is all things o, even all in all; they desire none but him. And now, by this description of him, the daughters of Jerusalem could not be at a loss to know who he was, and that he must be preferable to all other beloveds. And the church closes the account by claiming interest in him; her faith in him, and love to him, being increased, while she was speaking of him:
this [is] my beloved; whom she had often called so; and still was her beloved; for though she had suffered much for him, nothing could separate from her love to him: and she adds another endearing character,
and this [is] my friend: which appeared by his espousal of her; by his becoming a surety for her; by his assumption of her nature, and suffering in her room and stead; by paying her debts, and purchasing her person; by entering into heaven in her name, taking possession of it for her, and acting the part of an advocate on her account; by gracious visits to her, and familiar converse with her; by granting her large supplies of grace, and affording her help and relief in, all times of need; by giving good and wholesome counsel to her, and by disclosing the secrets of his heart unto her, Joh 15:15; and he is such a friend that sticks closer than a brother; that loves at all times; is constant and faithful, and always to be confided in; he is a rich, powerful, everlasting, and unchangeable friend. All this the church says, in the strength of faith, with the greatest affection, in the most exulting strains, and as glorying in him, and boasting of him: and now, as if she should say,
O ye daughters of Jerusalem, is not this enough to describe my beloved to you, to distinguish him from all others? can you blame me for my affection to him, making such a strict inquiry after him, and giving such a solemn charge to you concerning him? is it not enough to draw out your love unto him, and set you a seeking after him with me? And such an effect it had upon them, as appears from the following chapter.
k So is used of lovers by Solon in Plutarch. in Erotica, p. 751. and in Apulei Apolog. p. 192. l “dulcedines”, Pagninus, Montanus, Marckius, Michaelis. m &c. Theocrit Idyll. 8. v. 82. n “et totus ipsa desideria”, Marckius, Michaelis. o “Omnia Caesar erat”, Lucan. Pharsal. l. 3. v. 108. “Id unum dixero, quam ille omnibus omnis fuerit”, Paterculus, l. 2.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
16 a His palate is sweets (sweetnesses),
And he is altogether precious (lovelinesses).
The palate, , is frequently named as the organ of speech, Job 6:30; Job 31:30; Pro 5:3; Pro 8:7; and it is also here used in this sense. The meaning, “the mouth for kissing,” which Bttch. gives to the word, is fanciful; (= hnk , Arab. hanak ) is the inner palate and the region of the throat, with the uvula underneath the chin. Partly with reference to his words, his lips have been already praised, 13 b; but there the fragrance of his breath came into consideration, his breath both in itself and as serving for the formation of articulate words. But the naming of the palate can point to nothing else than his words. With this the description comes to a conclusion; for, from the speech, the most distinct and immediate expression of the personality, advance is made finally to the praise of the person. The pluraliatant. and designate what they mention in richest fulness. His palate, i.e., that which he speaks and the manner in which he speaks it, is true sweetness (cf. Pro 16:21; Psa 55:15), and his whole being true loveliness. With justifiable pride Shulamith next says:
16 b This is my beloved and this my friend,
Ye daughters of Jerusalem!
The emphatically repeated “this” is here pred. (Luth. “such an one is” …); on the other hand, it is subj. at Exo 3:15 (Luth.: “that is” …).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
(16) His mouth is most sweet.Literally, his palate (see Margin) sweetnesses, i.e., his voice is exquisitely sweet. The features have already been described, and chek, palate, is used of the organ of speech and speech itself (Job. 6:30; Pro. 5:3).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
16. His mouth Better, His voice, is tuneful, sweet.
Altogether Hebrew, His whole; his tout-ensemble. In concluding this portrayal, the Enamoured puts on an air and look of triumph, as one feels in her words, as if she said: “Have I not proven my statement, that he is the banner-man of a host?” A young Indian chief, who, injured in battle, came into the writer’s cave, was of so perfect bodily development as to realize the ideal of this description. Of lofty stature, his structure, to his finger ends, was formed for beauty and grace, and, at the same time, for manly strength.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
DISCOURSE: 853
THE EXCELLENCY OF CHRIST
Son 5:16. He is altogether lovely. This is my Beloved; and this is my Friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.
WITH many it is a matter of surprise, that truly converted Christians should manifest such zeal in prosecuting their own ways, and in commending religion to all around them. The world see no such excellency in Christ as the true believer does; and therefore, whilst they cannot but acknowledge the superiority of the Christians walk, they ask, in a tone of self-justifying confidence, What is thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us [Note: ver. 9.]? But, if they beheld the Saviour in his true character, so far would they be from wondering that his people loved and served him so ardently, that they would rather wonder at the coldness of their hearts towards him, and at the unprofitableness of their lives. To the above question the Church of old replies, in the words I have read to you: from which I shall take occasion to shew,
I.
The excellency of Christ
This is set forth in highly figurative language; agreeably to the tenour of the whole book, which abounds in allegory from beginning to end. The Church marks, under very sublime images, his beauty in every parthis head, his locks, his eyes, his cheeks, his lips, his hands, his body, his legs, his countenance, his mouth; and proclaims him, not only the chiefest among ten thousand, but altogether lovely [Note: ver. 916.]. We will not attempt to follow the particular description here given; for we could never do justice to it. We will rather content ourselves with a general view of Christ, who is altogether lovely,
1.
In his person
[In himself he unites all the perfections of the Godhead, with every grace that can adorn humanity. In him there was no spot or blemish; insomuch that his bitterest enemies, after the severest possible scrutiny, were forced to confess, We find in him no fault at all ]
2.
In his offices
[These were altogether sustained for us, and executed for us; and they are precisely such as our necessities required. Did we need an atonement for our sins? He is our Great High Priest who offers that atonement; yea, and offers himself, too, as the sacrifice which alone was sufficient to expiate our guilt. Did we need to be instructed relative to the way in which alone God would accept a returning sinner? He became our Prophet, to make known to us the mind and will of God, and to reveal to us inwardly, by his Spirit, what he has outwardly proclaimed to us in his word. Did we need to be delivered from all our spiritual enemies? He yet further assumed the Kingly office, that he might rescue us from our bondage, and make us partakers with him of all the glory and felicity of heaven. It is not possible to find in man a want for which provision is not made in him, to the utmost extent of our necessities; and which he will not supply to all who call upon him ]
3.
In all his intercourse with his people
[O, who can conceive the extent of his condescension and grace? How ready is he, at all times, to draw nigh to those who draw nigh to him; to manifest himself to them, as he does not unto the world; and to impart to them all the consolation and strength which they look for at his hands! In all the afflictions of his people he is himself afflicted; and to such a degree is he touched with the feeling of their infirmities, that every trial of theirs is felt by him as his own. Whosoever toucheth us, toucheth the apple of his eye. In a word, there is no weakness which he will not succour: no want which he will not supply: nor shall there be any bounds to his communications, except what are fixed by our capacity to receive them ]
With this view of Christs excellency, it is impossible not to connect,
II.
The blessedness of those who believe in him
Between him and his believing people there is the closest union that can be imagined.
1.
He stands pre-eminent in their regards
[So says the Church; This is my Beloved. It is the Spouse that speaks; and here she claims him as her Divine Husband. Now, conceive a person excelling all others in every endowment, both of body and mind; conceive of whole nations acknowledging him as the Benefactor of the human race; and conceive of him as not only thus lauded for former benefits conferred, but as at the very time scattering in rich profusion all manner of blessings upon millions of mankind: I say, conceive that you behold such an one surrounded by applauding and adoring multitudes; and then think how happy that woman must be who can say, This is my Beloved; I have a right in him which no other human being has; all that he is, is mine; and all that he has, is mine. I say, my Brethren, that we cannot conceive of felicity on earth greater than hers. Yet, my Brethren, this is yours, if only you believe in Christ. He is your Beloved; and you may claim precisely the same interest in him as if there were not another, either in heaven or on earth, to claim it with you. What happiness, then, is there to be compared with yours; when it is not a mere man, however excellent, but your incarnate God himself, to whom you stand in this near, this glorious relation?]
2.
You also stand high in his regards
[Yes, the regard is mutual. You might possibly love one in whom there was not a reciprocal attachment. But it is not so in this case. He calls you The dearly beloved of his soul [Note: Jer 12:7.]. As surely therefore as you can say, This is my Beloved, you may add, with confidence, This is my Friend. Yes; Jesus himself says, I call you not servants, but friends. Nor can you imagine any act of friendship which he will not most gladly execute for you. Abraham was the friend of God. See, then, what God wrought for him! and know, that that, yea, and infinitely more, will the Lord Jesus Christ work for you in the time of your necessity. On every occasion will he come to you, to counsel you by his wisdom, to uphold you by his power, and to enrich you with his benefits. We are told. There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother: verily, there is no brother in the universe, that will be so entirely at your command as he. Only apply to him, and spread your wants before him, and you shall never go empty away. On the contrary, He will do exceeding abundantly for you, above all that you can ask or think.]
Now then let me ask of you, my Brethren,
1.
What think ye of Christ?
[This was a question which Christ himself put to his Disciples: and I now put it to you. You know what is said, To them that believe, he is precious, even preciousness itself. Is he viewed in this light by you? This will determine whether ye be true Believers, or not: for in every Believer, and in him exclusively, this grace is found. Verily, if you are really his, you will say, Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee Your sublimest joy on earth must be to say, My beloved is mine, and I am his [Note: Son 2:16; Son 6:3.].]
2.
How are you endeavouring to requite his love?
[If you love Christ, it must be not in word only, but in deed and in truth. Are you then living in the enjoyment of his presence? Are you consecrating yourselves unreservedly to his service? Above all, Are you seeking to grow up into his image, so that he may be as well satisfied with contemplating your relation to him, as you are in viewing his to you? See how, in the chapter before my text, Christ views his bride [Note: Son 4:1.]: see how he views her with admiration, as it were, from head to foot [Note: Son 4:2-6.]; and what a blessed testimony he bears respecting her [Note: Son 4:7.]. Let it be your ambition so to walk before him, that he may testify the same of you; and that the union which has thus been commenced between you on earth, may be consummated in heaven for evermore.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.
And having now so largely particularized, she here sums up in one the whole description: as if she had said, time would fail to enumerate all: but such is my beloved, and such my friend, that he is altogether lovely, there is nothing in him but what is so. In his person, his offices, in every point of view, not only to me, but to all. Jehovah is unceasingly beholding him with divine complacency. Angels, and the spirits of just men made perfect in the Church above, centre their whole affections upon him. And the whole Church below look on no other for grace and salvation. If you therefore ask, who this is my soul loveth, and is everlastingly looking after: be it known unto you, oh! ye daughters of Jerusalem, that this is he. This is my beloved, and this is my friend. Pause, Reader! and ask your heart, whether such be your friend and your beloved also?
REFLECTIONS
READER! let us not dismiss this beautiful chapter, until we have once more looked up to God the Holy Ghost, and entreated him to show us our interest in what is here said of Jesus, and how far we can adopt a similar language concerning him. And first, let us never overlook the readiness of Jesus to comply with the wishes of his people in coming at their call. No sooner did the church invite her beloved to come into his garden, but we find Christ is come. And let us remark further, how gracious the Lord is in gathering his spices; his myrrh, and milk, and honey. Reader! be assured from hence, that every prayer of his people Jesus regards. Every sigh they utter comes up before him. As one of old said, so all may be assured: He putteth our tears into his bottle all these things are noted in his book. And as Jesus comes in the midst of his churches and people to gather, so doth he give unto them largely to enjoy. His language is, Eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved!
Reader! are you acquainted with that state, of which the church in this part of the Song so greatly complains? Dost thou, by reason of a body of sin and death which thou carriest about with thee, groan, being burthened? Dost thou feel a heaviness not unlike the sorrow of soul which the disciples felt in the garden, and frequently dust thou feel that sad indisposition which disqualifies the soul for the sweet enjoyment of Jesus? And when at times under this dreadful deadness of affliction, thou hearest the voice of Jesus in ordinances, its providences; by rebukes, by chastisements; oh! what a decisive proof is this, in every heart that feels it, of the impossibility of any natural goodness in a creature, who is the subject of such infirmities? Precious Jesus! do thou by me, do thou by the Reader, and by every child of thine, follow up thy gracious calls, by opening the door of our hearts; and do thou come in, Lord, and revive thy work with the droppings of thy grace, and the fragrancy of thy Spirit’s influences. And in those seasons, do not withdraw, thou dear Lord, neither be thou to us as the way-faring man that turneth in to tarry but for a night. Neither let thy servants, the watchmen of thy, city, wound us; but oh! let them point our souls to thee, and lead us to Jesus that we may tell our Lord we are sick, waiting for the renewed views of his pardoning grace, and mercy, that our souls may revive as the corn, and grow as the vine.
Are there any that enquire after my beloved? Do you desire to know, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, who Jesus is; what, he is; what he hath wrought; what he is doing, and can, and will do; and wherefore it is that he is my beloved, my only beloved, and why is it that I am so truly anxious for his love? Oh! for grace and power to tell you of his loveliness. Everything in Christ is precious. He is precious in his Person. Every feature of him is lovely. He is precious in his offices, precious in his character, precious in his relations; yea, there is nothing in him but what is precious; for he is altogether lovely, and the chiefest among ten thousand. And what would be alarming and distressing in others, becomes lovely in him. His cross and reproaches for his sake, how trying and painful soever to flesh and blood, are on his account, not only endurable, but productive of holy joy. And Jesus is this in all that belongs to him, and in all circumstances connected with him, for as he is in himself the first fair, the first beautiful; the first lovely; so he communicates loveliness to all that are united to him; neither is there anything lovely or amiable but what is derived from him. Do you enquire, then, what there is in my beloved, more than in another beloved I answer; All these things and a thousand more. And will you not love him with me, and delight in him also; oh that he that is my beloved, may be your beloved; and that you may at length say with me, This is my friend, and this is my beloved, O ye daughters of Jerusalem.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Son 5:16 His mouth [is] most sweet: yea, he [is] altogether lovely. This [is] my beloved, and this [is] my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.
Ver. 16. His mouth is most sweet. ] Heb., His palate – that is, his word and promises, which are, as it were, the breath of Christ’s mouth – is all sweet. This she had celebrated before, Son 5:13 but, as not satisfied therewith, she repeats it, and rolls it again as sugar under her tongue. She doubles this commendation, to show that that is the chief lovely thing in Christ, his word; this fruit she had found sweet unto her palate, Son 2:3 and she spareth not to set it forth, as here, the second time, Mallemus carere, &c. We had rather be without fire, water, bread, sun, air, &c, saith a Dutch divine, than that one sweet sentence of our blessed Saviour, “Come unto me all ye that are weary,” &c.
Yea, he is altogether lovely.
This is my beloved, &c.,
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
mouth = voice, by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Cause), App-6.
altogether lovely = fervently cherished, or desired. Hebrew. mahmad. Occurs only here in this book.
This = Such.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
16.
This is my friend.
Son 5:16
His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.
Ive found a Friend, O 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.
Ive found a Friend, O such a Friend! He bled and died to save me;
And not alone the gift of life, but His own self He gave me.
Ive found a Friend, O such a Friend! All power to Him is given
To guard me on my onward course, and bring me safe to heaven.
Ive found a Friend, O such a Friend! So kind and true and tender,
So wise a counselor and guide, so mighty a Defender!
The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the Friend of needy sinners. Someone once said, Friendship is the only thing in the world concerning the usefulness of which all mankind are agreed. A friend is one of the greatest blessings on earth. Affection is better far than gold. Sympathy is indescribably better than property. The poorest man in all the world is the man who is friendless and alone. If you would be happy in this world, you must have friends. And if you desire happiness in eternity, you must find a Friend in the Person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only Savior of poor sinners.
The world is full of sorrow, because it is full of sin. It is a dark place. It is a lonely place. It is a disappointing place. The brightest sunbeam in this dark world is a friend. A friend will make our sorrows half what they would otherwise be. And a friend doubles every joy. But a real friend is a scarce and rare treasure. Many will share the bright sunshine of happiness and prosperity. Few will weep with us when we weep and stand by our sides in the dark night of adversity. The sick, the helpless, and the poor find that friends are scarce indeed. Above all, there are few who will care for our souls!
The friendship of this world is as bitter as it is brittle. Trust in it, and you will have trusted a robber. Rely upon it, and you will have leaned upon a spear that will pierce your soul. The Lord Jesus Christ is a real Friend, an everlasting Friend, and a Friend in every time of need. Christ is the Friend we need.
The sinners friend
The Lord Jesus Christ is the Friend of sinners, the only true Friend sinners have. He made it his common practice to eat with publicans and sinners, so much so that he was commonly derided as the Friend of publicans and sinners (Mat 9:10-13; Mat 11:19). But that which his enemies thought was his shame is his glory. The Son of God came into this world specifically on an errand of mercy, love, and grace. He came into the world to save sinners. He lived for sinners. He died for sinners. He rose again for sinners. He intercedes for sinners. He loves sinners. He saves sinners (Rom 5:6-8).
The sinners faithful friend
The Lord Jesus Christ is the Friend that sticketh closer than a brother (Pro 18:24). On a purely earthly level, Solomon tells us that if we would have friends, we must show ourselves friendly. A man that hath friends must show himself friendly.
I have never known an obviously friendly person who did not have an abundance of friends. If we would have people be thoughtful of us, we must be thoughtful of others. If we would have kindness shown to us, we must be kind to others. If we want people to speak well of us, we must speak well of others. If we want people to be generous toward us, we must be generous to others.
I have observed that usually those who are most easily offended are those who think nothing of offending. Those who complain the most about doing things are those who always do as little as they can without public embarrassment. Those who are the most selfish are those who complain most about the selfishness of others. Those who are the most unfriendly are the very ones who complain that others are unfriendly. A man that hath friends must show himself friendly.
Look at the next line of Pro 18:24. Solomon tells us, There is a Friend that sticketh closer than a brother. He did not find this Friend in his unbridled pleasures, or in the wanderings of his unlimited research, but in the pavilion of the Most High, in the secret dwelling place of the Almighty, in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. I can tell you, both from the Word of God and from the experience of more than thirty-five years, that our all glorious Christ, my Lord, my God, my Redeemer, my Savior, is the greatest, best, wisest, most loving, disinterested, and faithful of Friends.
How happy is that family whose family Friend is Jesus Christ! How happy and blessed is that man whose best Friend is the Son of God! There is a Friend that sticketh closer than a brother, and his name is Immanuel, the Christ of God. This is my Beloved, and this is my Friend. I have never been much of a friend to him; but, oh, what a Friend he is to me!
Poor, weak, and worthless, though I am, I have a rich, almighty Friend;
Jesus, the Savior, is His name: He freely loves, and without end.
He ransomed me from hell with blood; and by His power my foes controlled:
He found me wandering far from God, and brought me to His chosen fold.
He cheers my heart, my wants supplies, and says that I shall shortly be
Enthroned with Him above the skies: Oh! What a Friend is Christ to me!
But, oh! My inmost spirit mourns; and well my eyes with tears may swim,
To think of my perverse returns: Ive been a faithless friend to Him.
Sure, were I not most vile and base, I could not thus my Friend requite:
And, were He not the God of grace, Hed frown and spurn me from His sight!
The friend needed
The Lord Jesus Christ is the one Friend we need. Yes, the Son of God is a Friend in need. And man is the most needy creature on Gods earth, because he is a sinner. There is no need so great as that of sinners. Poverty, hunger, thirst, cold, sickness, all are nothing in comparison with sin.
As sinners, we need righteousness; but we have no power to get it. We need atonement; but we have no ability to make it. We need pardon; and we are utterly unable to provide it for ourselves. We need deliverance from a guilty conscience and the fear of death; but we have no power in ourselves to obtain it.
Christ, is a Friend to sinners in need. He came into the world to relieve us of the great need caused by sin. He came to remove our guilt, save us from sin, and deliver us from the curse of the law. It was said of the child Jesus, Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins (Mat 1:21). This is a faithful saying, worthy of all acceptation, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief! (1Ti 1:15). Let me show you from the Word of God why we need Christ as our Friend.
All of us by nature are poor, diseased, dying creatures
From the President in the White House, to the farmer in the field, from the professor at the University, to the school-boy in kindergarten, we are all sick from the mortal disease of the soulsin. Whether we know it or not, whether we feel it or not, we are all dying because of sin. We are as a sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evil doers, children that are corrupters: we have forsaken the Lord, we have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, we are gone away backwardthe whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the soul of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in us; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment (Isa 1:4-6).
The plague of sin is in our hearts. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? (Jer 17:9). God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually (Gen 6:5). Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witnesses, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man (Mat 15:19-20).
Our problem is that we have a heart disease, a disease incurable, except by the blood of Christ and his almighty grace. The root of all sin is in your heart and mine by nature. It is the heart that must be changed. We must have a new heart implanted within us. Christ alone can change the sinners heart. This plague of the heart has so permeated our being that every faculty of man, both body and soul, is defiled with sin.
We have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that we are all under sin; as it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. We are all gone out of the way, we are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Our throat is an open sepulchre: with our tongues we have used deceit; the poison of asps is under our lips: our mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Our feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in our ways: and the way of peace have we not known: There is no fear of God before our eyes. Now we know that what things so ever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before GodFor all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Rom 3:9-19; Rom 3:23).
Our understanding is so perverse that we will never seek God. Our throats are so corrupt that they are like open graves. Our tongues are deceitful weapons. Our lips are full of poisonous words. Our mouths are but vehicles to express anger, bitterness, and wrath. Our feet run to do evil. Our ways are full of misery and end in destruction. Our eyes look to do evil, having no fear of God.
These things are not true of a few, very wicked and openly vile people. They are true of us all. We are all, at the very core of our beings, abominably wicked and totally depraved. There are no exceptions. This disease of sin, this plague of the heart, is an inbred, family disease, passed on from father to son, generation after generation. It is a disease which grows worse and worse, with every passing hour.
Christ alone can cure our souls of the disease of sin. We could never cure ourselves. No angel or man could produce a remedy for sin. But the Lord Jesus Christ came into the world to cure us of the plague of the heart – Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth (Jer 33:6). He came to abolish death, and bring life and immortality to light through the gospel (1Ti 1:10).
All of us by nature are debtors to God
We were bankrupt sinners, head over heels in debt to the Almighty. We owed our God ten thousand talents, and had not one penny with which to pay. We could never have freed ourselves from the debt of sin; but only got more deeply involved day after day. The Lord Jesus Christ came to pay our debt. He canceled the bill, paying the full requirements of Gods holy law. Jesus paid it all, all the debt I owed! O my soul, how I ought to love him! There is not a soul out of hell whose debt was so great as mine (Luk 7:40-43).
All of us by nature were under the curse of the law
The sentence was upon us.The soul that sinneth, it shall die. We could never satisfy the demands of the law. We could not keep its precepts. We could not appease its wrath. We could not atone for sin. But Jesus Christ came to do for us what we could never do for ourselves. He kept the precepts of the law as our Representative before God. He died under the curse of the law as our Substitute, putting away sin.
Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us, for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree (Gal 3:13). Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed (1Pe 2:24).
All of us by nature were shipwrecked, perishing, and sliding into hell
We could never, in ourselves, have reached the harbor of everlasting life. We were sinking in the midst of the waves, shiftless, hopeless, helpless, and powerless. We were tied and bound by the chain of our sins, in bonds under the burden of guilt, imprisoned under the yoke of the law, and slipping (No! Running headlong!) into hell. All this, our Lord saw and undertook to remove. He came down from heaven to proclaim liberty tot he captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound (Isa 61:1). He came to seek and to save that which was lost (Luk 19:10). He came to deliver us from going down into the pit (Job 33:24).
Yes, the Lord Jesus Christ is a Friend in need. He is the Friend I need and the Friend you need. We could never have been saved without the Lord Jesus Christ coming down from heaven. Salvation would have been an impossibility without Christ. The wisest men of Egypt, Greece, and Rome combined could never have found a way of peace with God. Without the friendship of Christ, we would all have been lost forever in hell. Could we have changed our hearts? Could we have satisfied the demands of the law? Could we have delivered ourselves from the bondage of sin? Could we have paid our debts to God? Could we have delivered ourselves from the jaws of hell? No! No! A thousand times no! Without our Friend, Christ Jesus, we would be forever damned.
It was our Lords own free love, mercy, and pity that brought him down from heaven to save us. He was in no way obliged to do so. He came and saved us, unsought, unasked, unwanted, because he was gracious, just because he loved us! Search the history of the world. Look around the globe. Examine all of those whom you know and love. There never was such a friend as the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Theres not a friend like the lowly Jesus, No not one! No not one!
None else could heal all our souls diseases, No not one! No not one!
The Lord Jesus Christ is the only true Friend a sinner has. He is the one Friend who will always be our Friend, the one Friend who sticks closer than a brother. The Son of God is the Friend we need. Sinners can have this Friend unconditionally, forever. He is the Friend of all who trust him. Indeed, he is such a Friend that he takes his worst enemies into his very heart and reconciles their hearts to him, giving them faith, causing them, by the conquest of irresistible mercy, love and grace, to trust and love him. This is my Friend! May God the Holy Spirit make him yours.
Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible
mouth: Heb. palate, Son 1:2, Psa 19:10, Psa 119:103, Jer 15:16
most: Son 1:16, Son 2:1, Son 2:3, Psa 45:2, Psa 89:6, Psa 148:13, Isa 9:6, Isa 9:7, Phi 3:8, 1Pe 2:6, 1Pe 2:7
my beloved: Son 2:16, Son 6:3, Gal 2:20
friend: Jer 3:20, *marg. Hos 3:1, Jam 2:23, Jam 4:4
Reciprocal: Psa 8:1 – how Psa 48:11 – daughters Psa 50:2 – perfection Son 1:7 – O thou Son 2:7 – O ye Son 4:3 – lips Son 4:7 – General Son 7:9 – the roof Isa 5:1 – wellbeloved Mat 25:1 – ten Luk 4:22 – the gracious Luk 12:4 – my Luk 23:28 – daughters 1Co 16:22 – love Phi 4:8 – are lovely 1Pe 1:8 – ye love