Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Song of Solomon 7:1

How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince’s daughter! the joints of thy thighs [are] like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman.

1. thy feet with shoes ] Lit. thy steps in sandals. Budde emphasises the fact that the feet are not spoken of here, but the steps, i.e. in his view the dancing movements of the feet in the sword dance. Oettli on the other hand emphasises the shoes, pointing out that the country maiden had probably not worn them before, but the ladies say how well she walks, and how well they become her. The latter is the sense which accords best with the view of the poem which we have taken.

O prince’s daughter ] This does not mean that the bride was actually of a noble family. Even if Budde’s interpretation of the poem were accepted, it would be a strange thing to call the bride a nobleman’s daughter, for it would be ridiculous to call a peasant bride, who was a queen only as a bride, a prince’s daughter, and even if Abishag were referred to she was not that either. Nor can the phrase be a substitute for queen, for strictly speaking Solomon’s queens were not noblemen’s but kings’ daughters. On the dramatic view, bath ndhbh must mean ‘a born lady’ as we say, i.e. one who would adorn any station. Siegfried thinks that the words arise from a confusion with the Shunammite woman in 2Ki 4:8, who is called ‘a great woman,’ i.e. a woman of good position. Cheyne would read here, as in Son 6:12, daughter of delights. That would suit our view admirably, but there seems to be no sufficient support for it.

The joints of thy thighs are like jewels ] Probably this should be rendered as in the R.V. margin, Thy rounded thighs are like jewels, except that the diminutive force which the word ‘jewels’ has is rather inappropriate here, where some large ornament must be meant. The graceful curves of the hips are for beauty of form like ornaments. Some with less probability explain the word to mean the rhythmical movements of the dance.

a cunning workman ] Cunning, of course, is used here in the old sense of ‘skilful,’ and probably ’ommn is equivalent to ’mn, a skilled artisan. Stade, Gramm. p. 12, gives it as a word of the Northern dialect.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Chap. Son 7:1-6. The Praises of the Ladies of the Hareem

This song or section contains the praises of the Shulammite by the ladies of the hareem; but the circumstances under which the words are spoken are in no way indicated. Some, as Oettli, would make it part of the previous scene. But we can hardly suppose that her dress in the presence of Solomon would be such as to suggest the kind of references to her person here made. It would rather seem to us that they were made in the privacy of the women’s apartments, when the Shulammite was being dressed by the women of the court to receive Solomon. In that case it would stand by itself as a separate picture. The object of this fulsome flattery would be to induce her to accept the king’s addresses. The phrase ‘a king is prisoner in its locks’ ( Son 7:5) is the climax, and reveals the purpose of the whole.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Thy feet with shoes – Or, thy steps in the sandals: the brides feet are seen in motion in the dance. Joints might be rendered circling movements.

Princes daughter – Or, daughter of a noble; the bride is of honorable though not of kingly birth.

Like jewels – The image suggested is that of large well-formed pearls or other jewels skillfully strung or linked together.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Son 7:1

How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O Princes daughter!

Beautiful with sandals

The Great Redeemer, the Heavenly Bridegroom, is now represented under the leading emblem of the Book, as surveying the beauties and excellences of His betrothed bride.

The whole chapter is an apostrophe to her. She is in herself full of conscious unworthiness. But He sees her clothed in the bridal attire of His own righteousness, and instead of upbraiding her for avowed imperfections, He begins with the words, How beautiful are thy sandalled feet, O Princes daughter!

I. The Churchs or the Believers name–Daughter and Princes daughter.

1. She is called daughter. This points to the tender relation subsisting between Christ and His people. When Jehovah in the Old Testament speaks most endearingly of His ancient Church, He calls it The Daughter of Zion. He employs, indeed, manifold figures, all indicative of strong and ardent attachment. As one whom his mother comforteth. Can a woman forget her sucking child? Like as a father pitieth his children. I will be a Father unto you.

2. But again, she is a Princes daughter. He reminds her of her pedigree. It is no ordinary birth. She is one of the adopted children of the King of kings. Their glory is His glory.

II. The subject of commendation: How beautiful are thy feet with shoes.

1. The shoe, or sandal, in ancient times, and in Oriental countries, was the badge of freedom and honour. The crouching slave never wore a sandal. The unsandalled feet was the badge and mark of subjection, if not of degradation. When the Lord, therefore, in the text speaks of His betrothed brides feet being beautiful with shoes, what is this but to proclaim that she–type of every believer–is translated from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God?

2. Shoes or sandals were emblems of joy: while the want of these was equally recognized and regarded as a symbol of grief and sorrow. And is not the Christian called to be joyful? Yes, Gods children are indeed, really, and in truth, alone of all, in this sin-stricken world, entitled to the epithet of happy.

3. The sandals on the feet speak of activity and duty, and preparedness for Christs service. They point to the nature of the journey the believer is pursuing. Though a pleasant road, and a safe road, and a road with a glorious termination, it is at times rough; a path of temptation and trial. Unshod feet would be cut and lacerated with the stones and thorns and briars which beset it. The figure, moreover, suggests, that there can be no loitering or lingering on the way. (J. R. Macduff, D. D.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

CHAPTER VII

A farther description of the bride, 1-9.

Her invitation to the bridegroom, 10-13.

NOTES ON CHAP. VII

Verse 1. How beautiful are thy feet with shoes] “How graceful is thy walking.” In the sixth chapter the bridegroom praises the Shulamite, as we might express it, from head to foot. Here he begins a new description, taking her from foot to head.

The shoes, sandals, or slippers of the Eastern ladies are most beautifully formed, and richly embroidered. The majestic walk of a beautiful woman in such shoes is peculiarly grand. And to show that such a walk is intended, he calls her a prince’s daughter.

The joints of thy thighs] Must refer to the ornaments on the beautiful drawers, which are in general use among ladies of quality in most parts of the East.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

The Bridegroom, who spake the last words, here continueth his speech, and breaks forth into an elegant and particular description and commendation of the spouse, partly from the parts of her body, and partly from her ornaments; in which the same thing is to be observed which was noted concerning her description of the Bridegroom, that there is no necessity of a distinct application of every parcel of it, the design being only this, to describe the beauty and glory of the church under the representation of a beautiful and noble woman. This also is observable, that in the description of Christ she begins at the head, and so goeth downward, Son 5:11, &c., but Christ in the description of the spouse proceedeth from the feet upwards.

Feet being the chief instrument of our motion from place to place, is oft used metonymically for the motion itself, and so may here signify either the inward motions, the workings of the affections, or the outward motions, the steps or actions of the life, both which are right and amiable in believers.

Shoes were anciently evidences of a free and comfortable state, whereas slaves and mourners use to go barefoot, 2Sa 15:30; Isa 20:4, which also in women of high quality were adorned with gold and other ornaments; of which see Isa 3:18. These may also signify that the feet of believers should be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, Eph 6:15. Princes daughter, both by birth, being born of God, and by disposition and deportment agreeable to that quality.

The joints of thy thighs; either,

1. The hollow place in which the hip or thigh-bone moveth and turneth itself; or rather,

2. The hip or thighbone which moveth there; for this is more fitly compared to a jewel well set. Some understand this of some ornaments worn by women upon those parts; for the word rendered joints may signify girdles, or any ornament which encompasseth any part of the body, and the same words which signify thighs are both in Hebrew and other languages sometimes used concerning the legs; which being admitted, this might seem to be understood of the brides garters, about her legs, which not unfitly follows the shoes upon her feet last mentioned. But this sense seems not to suit so well with the following comparison as the former doth.

Like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman; like jewels orderly and excellently set by a skillful artist. So this signifies the uprightness and decency of her going, which depends very much upon the right situation of the hip or thigh-bone, which when it is dislocated or disordered causeth a lameness or uncomeliness in going; whereby he understands the orderliness and amiableness of her conversation.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

1. thy feetrather, “thygoings” (Ps 17:5). Evidentallusion to Isa 52:7: “Howbeautiful . . . are the feet of him . . . that publishethpeace” (Shulamite, So6:13).

shoesSandals arerichly jewelled in the East (Luk 15:22;Eph 6:15). She is evidently “onthe mountains,” whither she was wafted (So6:12), above the daughters of Jerusalem, who thereforeportray her feet first.

daughterof God theFather, with whom Jesus Christ is one (Mt5:9), “children of (the) God” (of peace),equivalent to Shulamite (Psa 45:10-15;2Co 6:18), as well as bride ofJesus Christ.

prince’sthereforeprincely herself, freely giving the word of life to others, notsparing her “feet,” as in Son 5:3;Exo 12:11. To act on the offensiveis defensive to ourselves.

jointsrather, “therounding”; the full graceful curve of the hips in the femalefigure; like the rounding of a necklace (as the Hebrewfor “jewels” means). Compare with the English Version,Eph 4:13-16; Col 2:19.Or, applying it to the girdle binding together the robes round thehips (Eph 6:14).

cunning workman(Psa 139:14-16; Eph 2:10;Eph 22:5; Eph 22:30;Eph 22:32).

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

How beautiful are thy feet with shoes,…. It is no unusual thing to describe the comeliness of women by their feet, and the ornaments of them; so Hebe is described by Homer d as having beautiful feet, and Juno by her golden shoes: particular care was taken of, and provision made for, the shoes of queens and princesses in the eastern countries; Herodotus e tells us, that the city of Anthylla was given peculiarly to the wife of the king of Egypt, to provide her with shoes; which custom, he says, obtained when Egypt became subject to Persia; [See comments on Es 2:18]. Shoes of a red, or scarlet, or purple colour, were in esteem with the Jews; and so the Targum here is,

“purple shoes:”

the word used is thought by some f to signify a colour between scarlet and purple; see Eze 16:10; and also with the Tyrian virgins g; and so with the Romans h; and with whom likewise white shoes i were much in use. That this is said of the church, is plain from the appellation of her,

O Prince’s daughter! the same with the King’s daughter, Ps 45:13; the daughter of the King of kings; for, being espoused to Christ, his Father is her Father, and his God her God: besides, she is born of him who is the Prince of the kings of the earth, 1Jo 2:28; she is both a Prince’s wife and a Prince’s daughter. It may be rendered, “O noble”, or “princely daughter” k! being of a free princely spirit, in opposition to a servile one, Ps 51:12; of a bountiful and liberal spirit, as in, Isa 32:5; in distributing temporal things to the necessities of the poor; and in communicating spiritual things to the comfort and edification of others. Some take these to be the words of the daughters of Jerusalem, wondering at the church’s beauty, on turning herself to them as they desired: but they are rather the words of Christ; who, observing the church speak so meanly of herself, in order to encourage her, gives a high commendation of her in this and some following verses, and begins with her “feet”; not her ministers, who are “shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace”, Eph 6:15, and who appear beautiful in the eyes of those who have any knowledge of the good things they publish and proclaim; for they are set in the highest place in the church: but here the lowest and meanest members of the church are meant; whose outward walk, the feet are the instruments of, may be said to be “beautiful with shoes”, when they are ready to every good work; when their conversation is ordered aright, is agreeably to the word of God, and as becomes the Gospel of Christ; and which, like shoes, is a fence against the briers and thorns, the reproaches and calumnies, of the world; and when there is such a lustre upon it that it cannot but be seen and observed by spectators, by which they are excited to glorify God, it is so beautiful in the eyes of Christ, that to such he shows the salvation of God;

the joints of thy thighs [are] like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman; a skilful artificer, a goldsmith or jeweller: the allusion seems to be to some ornaments about the knees or legs, wore by women in those times; see Isa 3:18; and this may serve to set off the lustre and beauty of the church’s conversation. And since it seems not so decent to describe the parts themselves mentioned, the words may rather design the “femoralia”, or garments, with which they were covered; and may signify the garments of salvations and robe of Christ’s righteousness, whereby the church’s members are covered, so that their nakedness is not seen; but with them are as richly adorned bridegroom and bride with their ornaments and which are not the bungling work of a creature, but of one that is God as well as man, and therefore called the righteousness of God. Some have thought that the girdle about the loins is meant, the thighs being put for the loins,

Ge 46:26; and so may intend the girdle of truth, mentioned along with the preparation of the Gospel of peace the feet are said to be shod with, Eph 6:14; and the metaphor of girding is used when a Gospel conversation is directed to, Lu 12:35. But it seems best by these “joints”, or “turnings of the thighs” l, by which they move more orderly and regularly, to understand the principles of the walk and conversation of saints, as one observes m; without which it cannot be ordered aright; for principles denominate actions, good and bad; and the principles of grace, by which believers move in their Christian walk, are as valuable and as precious as jewels, such as faith and love, and a regard to the glory of God; and which are curiously wrought by the finger of God, by his Holy Spirit, who “works [in them] both to will and to do of his good pleasure”, Php 2:13.

d Odyss. 11. v. 602, 603. “Auratos pedes”, Ovid. Amor. l. 3. Eleg. 12. e Euterpe, sivw l. 2. c. 98. f Vid. Braunium de Vest. Sacerd. Heb. l. 1. p. 295, 306. g “Virginibus Tyrriis mos est”, c. Virgil. Aeneid. 1. h Vid. Persii Satyr. 5. v. 169. Virgil. Bucolic. Eclog. 7. v. 32. i “Pes maslus in niveo”, c. Ovid. de Arte Amandi, l. 3. Vid. Martial. l. 7. Epigr. 27. k “puella nobills”, Castalio “filia voluntarie”, Marckius “principalis, nobills, et ingenua virgo, sc. filia”, so some in Michaelis. l “vertebra”, Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus; “signat illam agilem versatilem juncturam, qua capite femorum in suis foraminibus expedite moventur”, Brightman. m Durham in loc.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

1 a How beautiful are thy steps in the shoes,

O prince’s daughter!

The noun , which signifies noble in disposition, and then noble by birth and rank (cf. the reverse relation of the meanings in generosus ), is in the latter sense synon. and parallel to and ; Shulamith is here called a prince’s daughter because she was raised to the rank of which Hannah, 1Sa 2:8, cf. Psa 113:8, speaks, and to which she herself, 6:12 points. Her beauty, from the first associated with unaffected dignity, now appears in native princely grace and majesty. (from , pulsare , as in nunc pede libero pulsanda tellus ) signifies step and foot, – in the latter sense the poet. Heb. and the vulgar Phoen. word for ; here the meanings pes and passus (Fr. pas , dance-step) flow into each other. The praise of the spectators now turns from the feet of the dancer to her thighs:

1 b The vibration of thy thighs like ornamental chains,

The work of an artist’s hands.

The double-sided thighs, viewed from the spine and the lower part of the back, are called ; from the upper part of the legs upwards, and the breast downwards (the lumbar region), thus seen on the front and sidewise, or . Here the manifold twistings and windings of the upper part of the body by means of the thigh-joint are meant; such movements of a circular kind are called , from , Son 5:6. is the plur. of = (Arab.) haly , as (gazelles) of = zaby . The sing. (or = Arab. hulyah ) signifies a female ornament, consisting of gold, silver, or precious stones, and that (according to the connection, Pro 25:2; Hos 2:15) for the neck or the breast as a whole; the plur. , occurring only here, is therefore chosen because the bendings of the loins, full of life and beauty, are compared to the free swingings to and fro of such an ornament, and thus to a connected ornament of chains; for are not the beauty-curves of the thighs at rest, – the connection here requires movement. In accordance with the united idea of , the appos. is not , but (according to the Palestin.) (lxx, Targ., Syr., Venet.). The artist is called ( omman ) (the forms and are also found), Syr. avmon , Jewish-Aram. ; he has, as the master of stability, a name like , the right hand: the hand, and especially the right hand, is the artifex among the members.

(Note: Vid., Ryssel’s Die Syn. d. Wahren u. Guten in d. Sem. Spr. (1873), p. 12.)

The eulogists pass from the loins to the middle part of the body. In dancing, especially in the Oriental style of dancing, which is the mimic representation of animated feeling, the breast and the body are raised, and the forms of the body appear through the clothing.

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

The Beauty of the Church; The Complacency of Christ in His Church.

      1 How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince’s daughter! the joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman.   2 Thy navel is like a round goblet, which wanteth not liquor: thy belly is like a heap of wheat set about with lilies.   3 Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins.   4 Thy neck is as a tower of ivory; thine eyes like the fishpools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bath-rabbim: thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus.   5 Thine head upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair of thine head like purple; the king is held in the galleries.   6 How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights!   7 This thy stature is like to a palm tree, and thy breasts to clusters of grapes.   8 I said, I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof: now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy nose like apples;   9 And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine for my beloved, that goeth down sweetly, causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak.

      The title which Jesus Christ here gives to the church is new: O prince’s daughter! agreeing with Ps. xlv. 13, where she is called the king’s daughter. She is so in respect of her new birth, born from above, begotten of God, and his workmanship, bearing the image of the King of kings, and guided by his Spirit. She is so by marriage; Christ, by betrothing her to himself, though he found her mean and despicable, has made her a prince’s daughter. She has a princely disposition, something in her truly noble and generous; she is daughter and heir to the prince of the kings of the earth. If children, then heirs. Now here we have,

      I. A copious description of the beauty of the spouse, which, some think, is given by the virgins her companions, and that those were they who called upon her to return; it seems rather to be given by Christ himself, and to be designed to express his love to her and delight in her, as before, ch. iv. 1, c., and Son 6:5Son 6:6. The similitudes are here different from what they were before, to show that the beauty of holiness is such as nothing in nature can reach; you may still say more of it, and yet still come short of it. That commendation of the spouse, ch. iv., was immediately upon the espousals (ch. iii. 11), this upon her return from a by-path (ch. vi. 13); yet this exceeds that, to show the constancy of Christ’s love to his people; he loves them to the end, since he made them precious in his sight and honourable. The spouse had described the beauty of her beloved in ten particulars (ch. v. 11, c.) and now he describes her in as many, for he will not be behindhand with her in respects and endearments. Those that honour Christ he will certainly honour, and make honourable. As the prophet, in describing the corruptions of degenerate Israel, reckons from the sole of the foot even unto the head (Isa. i. 6), so here the beauties of the church are reckoned from foot to head, that, as the apostle speaks, when he is comparing the church, as here, to the natural body (1 Cor. xii. 23), more abundant honour might be bestowed on those parts of the body which we think to be less honourable, and which therefore lacked honour, v. 24. 1. Her feet are here praised; the feet of Christ’s ministers are beautiful in the eyes of the church (Isa. lii. 7), and her feet are here said to be beautiful in the eyes of Christ. How beautiful are thy feet with shoes! When believers, being made free from the captivity of sin (Acts xii. 8), stand fast in the liberty with which they are made free, preserve the tokens of their enfranchisement, have their feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, and walk steadily according to the rule of the gospel, then their feet are beautiful with shoes; they tread firmly, being well armed against the troubles they meet with in their way. When we rest not in good affections, but they are accompanied with sincere endeavors and resolutions, then our feet are beautified with shoes. See Ezek. xvi. 10. 2. The joint of the thighs are here said to be like jewels, and those curiously wrought by a cunning workman. This is explained by Eph 4:16; Col 2:19, where the mystical body of Christ is said to be held together by joints and bands, as the hips and knees (both which are the joints of the thighs) serve the natural body in its strength and motion. The church is then comely in Christ’s eyes when those joints are kept firm by holy love and unity, and the communion of saints. When believers act in religion from good principles, and are steady and regular in their whole conversation, and turn themselves easily to every duty in its time and place, then the joints are like jewels. 3. The navel is here compared to a round cup or goblet, that wants not any of the agreeable liquor that one would wish to find in it, such as David’s cup that ran over (Ps. xxiii. 5), well shaped, and not as that miserable infant whose navel was not cut, Ezek. xvi. 4. The fear of the Lord is said to be health to the navel. See Prov. iii. 8. When the soul wants not that fear then the navel wants not liquor. 4. The belly is like a heap of wheat in the store-chamber, which perhaps was sometimes, to make show, adorned with flowers. The wheat is useful, the lilies are beautiful; there is every thing in the church which may be to the members of that body either for use or for ornament. All the body is nourished from the belly; it denotes the spiritual prosperity of a believer and the healthful constitution of the soul all in good plight. 5. The breasts are like two young roes that are twins, v. 3. By the breasts of the church’s consolations those are nourished who are born from its belly (Isa. xlvi. 3), and by the navel received nourishment in the womb. This comparison we had before, ch. iv. 5. 6. The neck, which before was compared to the tower of David (ch. iv. 4), is here compared to a tower of ivory, so white, so precious; such is the faith of the saints, by which they are joined to Christ their head. The name of the Lord, improved by faith, is to the saints as a strong and impregnable tower. 7. The eyes are compared to the fish-pools in Heshbon, or the artificial fish-ponds, by a gate, either of Jerusalem or Heshbon, which is called Bath-rabbim, the daughter of a multitude, because a great thoroughfare. The understanding, the intentions of a believer, are clean and clear as these ponds. The eyes, weeping for sin, are as fountains (Jer. ix. 1), and comely with Christ. 8. The nose is like the tower of Lebanon, the forehead or face set like a flint (Isa. l. 7), undaunted as that tower was impregnable. So it denotes the magnanimity and holy bravery of the church, or (as others) a spiritual sagacity to discern things that differ, as animals strangely distinguish by the smell. This tower looks towards Damascus, the head city of Syria, denoting the boldness of the church in facing its enemies and not fearing them. 9. The head like Carmel, a very high hill near the sea, v. 5. The head of a believer is lifted up above his enemies (Ps. xxvii. 6), above the storms of the lower region, as the top of Carmel was, pointing heaven-ward. The more we get above this world, and the nearer to heaven, and the more secure and serene we become by that means, the more amiable we are in the eyes of the Lord Jesus. 10. The hair of the head is said to be like purple. This denotes the universal amiableness of a believer in the eyes of Christ, even to the hair, or (as some understand it) the pins with which the hair is dressed. Some by the head and the hair understand the governors of the church, who, if they be careful to do their duty, add much to her comeliness. The head like crimson (so some read it) and the hair like purple, the two colours worn by great men.

      II. The complacency which Christ takes in his church thus beautified and adorned. She is lovely indeed if she be so in his eyes; as he puts the comeliness upon her, so it is his love that makes this comeliness truly valuable, for he is an unexceptionable judge. 1. He delighted to look upon his church, and to converse with it, rejoicing in that habitable part of his earth: The king is held in the galleries, and cannot leave them. This is explained by Psa 132:13; Psa 132:14, The Lord has chosen Zion, saying, This is my rest for ever; here will I dwell; and Ps. cxlvii. 11, The Lord takes pleasure in those that fear him. And, if Christ has such delight in the galleries of communion with his people, much more reason have they to delight in them, and to reckon a day there better than a thousand. 2. He was even struck with admiration at the beauty of his church (v. 6): How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love! How art thou made fair! (so the word is), “not born so, but made so with the comeliness which I have put upon thee.” Holiness is a beauty beyond expression; the Lord Jesus is wonderfully pleased with it; the outward aspect of it is fair; the inward disposition of it is pleasant and highly agreeable, and the complacency he has in it is inexpressible. O my dearest for delights! so some read. 3. He determined to keep up communion with his church. (1.) To take hold of her as of the boughs of a palm-tree. He compares her stature to a palm-tree (v. 7), so straight, so strong, does she appear, when she is looked upon in her full proportion. The palm-tree is observed to flourish most when it is loaded; so the church, the more it has been afflicted, the more it has multiplied; and the branches of it are emblems of victory. Christ says, “I will go up to the palm-tree, to entertain myself with the shadow of it (v. 8) and I will take hold of its boughs and observe the beauty of them.” What Christ has said he will do, in favour to his people; we may be sure he will do it, for his kind purposes are never suffered to fall to the ground; and if he take hold of the boughs of his church, take early hold of her branches, when they are young and tender, he will keep his hold and not let them go. (2.) To refresh himself with her fruits. He compares her breasts (her pious affections towards him) to clusters of grapes, a most pleasant fruit (v. 7), and he repeats it (v. 8): They shall be (that is, they shall be to me) as clusters of the vine, which make glad the heart. “Now that I come up to the palm-tree thy graces shall be exerted and excited.” Christ’s presence with his people kindles the holy heavenly fire in their souls, and then their breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, a cordial to themselves and acceptable to him. And since God, at first, breathed into man’s nostrils the breath of life, and breathes the breath of the new life still, the smell of their nostrils is like the smell of apples, or oranges, which is pleasing and reviving. The Lord smelt a sweet savour from Noah’s sacrifice, Gen. viii. 21. And, lastly, the roof of her mouth is like the best wine (v. 9); her spiritual taste and relish, or the words she speaks of God and man, which come not from the teeth outward, but from the roof of the mouth, these are pleasing to God. The prayer of the upright is his delight. And, when those that fear the Lord speak one to another as becomes them, the Lord hearkens, and hears with pleasure, Mal. iii. 16. It is like that wine which is, [1.] Very palatable and grateful to the taste. It goes down sweetly; it goes straightly (so the margin reads it); it moves itself aright, Prov. xxiii. 31. The pleasures of sense seem right to the carnal appetite, and go down smoothly, but they are often wrong, and, compared with the pleasure of communion with God, they are harsh and rough. Nothing goes down so sweetly with a gracious soul as the wine of God’s consolations. [2.] It is a great cordial. The presence of Christ by his Spirit with him people shall be reviving and refreshing to them, as that strong wine which makes the lips even of those that are asleep (that are ready to faint away in a deliquium), to speak. Unconverted sinners are asleep; saints are often drowsy, and listless, and half asleep; but the word and Spirit of Christ will put life and vigour into the soul, and out of the abundance of the heart that is thus filledthe mouth will speak. When the apostles were filled with the Spirit they spoke with tongues the wonderful works of God (Act 2:10; Act 2:12); and those who in opposition to being drunk with wine, wherein is excess, are filled with the Spirit, speak to themselves in psalms and hymns,Eph 5:18; Eph 5:19. When Christ is thus commending the sweetness of his spouse’s love, excited by the manifestation of his, she seems to put in that word, for my beloved, as in a parenthesis. “Is there any thing in me that is pleasant or valuable? As it is from, so it is for my beloved.” Then he delights in our good affections and services, when they are all for him and devoted to his glory.

Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary

SONG OF SOLOMON CHAPTER 7

RESPONSE OF GUESTS

Verses 1-5 express in song the response of the guests as they witness the dance of the Shulamite. The last line of verse 5 refers to “a king” not “the king”, and is not necessarily a reference to Solomon.

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

Notes

Son. 7:5 : The King is held in the galleries. In the galleries. (ba-rehatim), plural of , a gutter, rafter, gallery, a hair or ringlet; from , an unused root, like the Aramaia to run or flow. Here, according to most moderns, a ringlet or lock. A king is fettered in the locks EWALD, DE WETTE, DELITZSCH Her locks or curls viewed as nets or snares. ZCKLER. The king is held captive in the flowing ringlets. GOOD. Captivated by the locks. NOTES. According to other interpreters, the word is used in the sense of galleries or corridors, that run along the sides of a house, or pass from one chamber to another. Places to walk in. JUNIUS, PISCATOR. So the SEPTUAGINT: A king is bound in the galleries (), DUTCH VERSION: The king is as bound on the galleries. MUNSTER: Bound to the galleries to contemplate thee. JUNIUS: Any king would thus be held in the galleries. According to others, the word here denotes beams or rafters. MERCER: Is bound as it were to the beams of the house to look at thee. VATABLUS: Bound to the beams of his own house for excessive love. Some connect the word (melek), a king, with the last word in the preceding verse, the purple of a king, or royal purple, and thus understand of the gutters, or canals used by dyers for dying the purple. So the VULGATE. The purple of a king bound in the canals. WICKLIFF and DOUAI VERSION. Joined or tied to water-pipes. So ABEN EZRA, LEO JUDA, GOGUET, &c. Others, following the same construction, translate plaits or folds. COVERDALE and MATTHEWS The purple of a king folden up in plaits. LUTHER. Bound in folds. DIODATI, giving the meaning of rafters. Attached to scaffolds. HOUBIGANT. Royal purple hanging in a knot from the ceiling. FRY. Bound on the rafters: allusion to some rich canopy of state suspended from the roof of the palace. THRUPP. Like royal purple fixed among the wainscottings. SANCTIUS gives a different meaning to gold or silver headbands. So MICHAELIS. As the king encircled with a straight turban. Thus allegorized: RASHI. The KingGod himselfis bound by the love and obedience of His people. ABEN EZRA and ALSHECH. The KingMessiahborn, according to ancient Rabbies, on the day Jerusalem was destroyed. RUPERT: The Saviours passion, the more glorious the longer it was preceded by typical sacrifices. AINSWORTH and GILL. Christ the King abruptly breaks off in His description of the Churchs beauty, to discover to her His love and affection. DAVIDSON and WORDSWORTH. The Churchs King dispenses His grace through the appointed channels,the ordinances of the Gospel, and the Scriptures of truth. HAHN. The love of the King and his people gained by the beauty of Shulamites humility and poverty of spirit.

SHULAMITES BEAUTY CONTEMPLATED AND ADMIRED

Chap. 7. Son. 7:1-7

How beautiful are thy feet with shoes,
O Princes daughter!
The joints of thy thighs are like jewels,
The work of the hands of a cunning workman.
Thy navel is like a round goblet,
That wanteth not liquor.
Thy belly is like a heap of wheat,
Set about with lilies.
Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins.
Thy neck is as a tower of ivory.
Thine eyes like the fishpools in Heshbon,
By the gate of Bathrabbim.
Thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon,
That looketh towards Damascus.
Thy head upon thee is like Carmel,
And the hair of thy head like purple;
The King is held in the galleries.
How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights!
This thy stature is like to a palm tree,
And thy breasts to clusters of grapes.

Shulamite, encouraged by his gracious call, now appears in the presence of the King. The King, probably accompanied by his female attendants, contemplates and admires with them her sweetness and beauty. The eye surveys her whole figure, including her ornaments and attire, which, as in the case of the shoes, can alone meet the view. These latter, however, admired and mentioned as tending to set off her beauty.
The title here given to Shulamite observablePrinces daughter. Probably not so originally, but

(1) Through union with Solomon.
(2) As worthy to be suchher beauty, dignity and grace, such as to become a princes daughter, while her spirit and disposition were such as to suggest a royal extraction. The Church of Christ, and believers individually, fitly so called, as

(1) Born of God, the King eternal (Joh. 1:12; 2Co. 6:18; 1Jn. 3:1).

(2). United to Christ, the Prince of the Kings of the earth, as His Bride (Rev. 19:7; Rev. 21:9).

(3) Princely in their rank and possessionskings and priests unto God, heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ, to inherit all things (Rev. 1:6; Rev. 21:7; Rom. 8:17).

(4). Endowed with a princely spirit, disposition, and bearing (Isa. 32:5-8; Psa. 37:21; 2Sa. 24:22-23; 2Co. 8:1-4). Believers raised by sovereign grace as beggars from the dung-hill to sit with princes, and to inherit the throne of glory (1Sa. 2:8; Psa. 113:7).

In the contemplation of Shulamite by the the king and his attendants, and in the description of her loveliness and grace, her feet, or rather steps, and the shoes she wore, the first object noticed. Perhaps the attention first struck by her graceful and becoming gait as she returned and approached the king. The shoes of Oriental females of rank always beautifully and richly ornamented. The feet thus adorned indicative of a princely condition. The feet, or steps, suggestive of the believers walk and daily life. Practical holiness and devotion to the Lords service a great part of spiritual beauty. This especially noticed by the Lord Jesus. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Indolence and sloth no part of a believers character. The shoes of the believer the preparation given him by the Gospel of peace, for holy active service or patient enduring of the Masters will. The feet to be beautiful with shoes, in imitating the Bridegroom who went about doing good, and, according to ability, publishing the glad tidings of peace (Isa. 52:7; Rom. 10:15). Carrying the tidings of salvation to a perishing world, the work peculiarly committed to the Bride of Christ, and that in which great part of her beauty is seen. The distinction of the Pentecostal Churchthey went every where preaching the Lord Jesus (Act. 8:4; Act. 11:19-20; 2Jn. 1:7). The New Testament Church to be not merely evangelical, but evangelistic. Called not merely to hold, but to hold forth the Word of Life (Php. 2:16). Her beauty not merely in holy walking, but in lowly working. The Church essentially a missionary institution, established by her Lord before He went up to heaven, and fitted for her work by the promised gift of the Holy Ghost (Mat. 28:20; Luk. 24:46-49).

The order in the former descriptions of the Brides beauty here reversed. Commencing with the feet, advances upwards. Perhaps the Church here especially exhibited as seen by men. The world can see the believers walk and judge of that. Men mark how the Christian lives. His inward life hid with Christ in God. The outward walk suggested also by the next object mentioned in the description. The joints (or roundings) of thy thighs are like jewels, &c. The gait as well as appearance of the Brides figure still probably in view. The comparison to jewels perhaps suggested by the eye falling on the Brides jewelled girdle. The description, as expressive of the life of the New Testament Church, verified in Act. 2:42-47; Act. 4:32-37; Heb. 10:32-36. That life the production of a Divine workman (Eph. 2:10; Gal. 5:22). The Divine life of believers the result of the renewing of the Holy Ghost (Tit. 3:5).

In the description of this and the parts next named, as in the case of the feet, the dress that clothed them only visible, and the subjects only of the comparisons, namely: the navel or girdle-clasp which covered it, and the belly or body with the breasts, described by the light coloured dress of golden tissue embroidered with white flowersthe garments of wrought gold and the raiment of needlework worn by the Bride (Psa. 45:13-14). The comparisons, like the mention of the parts themselves, more according to the style of Oriental than of modern European poetry. The parts now mentioned more especially connected with maternity, always highly esteemed in the East; and the comparisons chosen accordingly. The navel, or girdle-clasp, compared to a round goblet, replenished with wine; the breasts to two young beautiful gazellesthe emblems of love and beauty (Pro. 5:19); and the body, or the robe which clothed it, to a heap of wheat surrounded, as is said to have been the custom at a harvest festivity, with lilies or other flowers. The Church, like Shulamite, to be not only a beautiful Bride, but a fruitful mother. The New Testament or Gentile Church, the barren woman made to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children (Psa. 113:9). To the free Jerusalem, which is above, and which is the mother of all believers, the Prophet, followed by the Apostle, cries: Rejoice, O barren, thou that didst not bear; for more are the children of the desolate than of her which hath an husband (Isa. 54:1; Gal. 4:26-27). That Church represented by such as Paul himself, when he says: My little children, of whom I travail in birth again, until Christ be formed in you. We were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children (Gal. 4:19; 1Th. 2:7). The bodily parts, and the comparisons in the text, suggestive of a mother, not only bearing, but nourishing, her children. The goblet of wine, the lily-girdled heap of wheat, and the two fawn-like breasts, not unsuitable emblems of the nourishment which the Church, as a spiritual mother, extends to her children in the word and sacraments: the cup of blessing which she blesses, the bread which she breaks, and the pure milk of the Word, which she administers. A heap of wheat set about with lilies, a suggestive emblem of what should be the character of

Ministerial Discourses.

1. A heap of wheat. Solid spiritual food, consisting of pure Scripture truth, the food God feeds His people with. I should have fed thee with the finest of the wheat (Psa. 81:16). The spiritual corn, which, under the New Testament, should make the young men cheerful (Zec. 9:17). The truth as it is in Jesus the bread that strengtheneth mans heart, and makes it glad. Thy words were found unto me, and I did eat them; and Thy word was the joy and rejoicing of my heart. The Word of God that by which the young men are made strong, and are enabled to overcome the wicked One (1Jn. 2:14). That wheat Christ Himself in His person, offices, and work. Christ the grain of wheat which, falling into the ground and dying, brings forth much fruit (Joh. 12:24). The bread of life which came down from heaven, of which if a man eat he shall live for ever. A discourse to feed the souls of the hearers, to be, not merely truth, but the truth as it is in Jesus. To be a heap of wheat. Therefore to be well winnowed. The chaff of mere human fancies, speculations, or traditions, to be carefully excluded. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord. Is not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces (Jer. 23:28-29). The most useful discourses those that have most of Bible truth in Bible language. No words, for power and efficacy, like the words which the Holy Ghost teacheth (1 Corinthians 2, 13). Discourses not only to have the truth, but to have it in abundance. Not a handful, but a heap of wheat. Ministers to preach a full Christa Christ who is both Prophet, Priest, and King. Discourses to contain both doctrine, promise, and precept; the things to be believed, and the things to be done; the things done on Gods side, and the things to be done on ours. A fulness in Christ and the truth concerning Him that is inexhaustible. Discourses also to exhibit the truth in a connected, orderly, and methodical manner. A heap of wheatcompact and orderly, not mere loose and scattered grains. Divine evangelical truth a compact whole, with order, connection, and mutual dependence in its parts. Both law and Gospel, doctrine and duty, to have their proper place and proportion. Christ taught the people as they were able to hear it. The foundation to be laid in first principles, and so to go on to perfection or higher truths (Heb. 5:11-14; Heb. 6:1). A natural and orderly arrangement in a discourse necessary as well to its retention as its apprehension.

2. Set about with lilies. The heap of wheat surrounded with lilies in the way of ornament. The heap thus made more attractive. Apples of gold to be served up in baskets of silver (Pro. 25:11.) The wise preacher to find out acceptable words, while words of truth. Faithful discourses not necessarily devoid of ornament. Solidity in the matter to be connected with sweetness in the manner of delivering it. The heap of wheat beautified and commended by the lilies that surrounded it. Style as well as staple to be attended to. The lilies not to be eaten with the wheat, yet not therefore without their purpose. The wheat of solid and saving truth advantageously set forth with the lilies of metaphor and simile. Such lilies culled from the fields of Gods works as well as Gods Word. Gathered also from the words and works of men. Truth both commended and conveyed by apt illustration. Comparisons and illustrations often the window that admits the light. Illustrations drawn from all quartershistory, science, biography, external nature, common life. The discourses of the great Teacher full of them. The better able the preacher is to introduce them, the more likely he is to be useful. Yet the lilies only to surround the wheat. To be set about the heap, not mixed up with it. Truth, not metaphor or simile to be the staple. The garnishing not to be confounded with the food with which it is served. Very fine, sir, very fine; but people cannot live upon flowers.Robert Hall. The truth to be the prominent and commanding object. Illustration and ornament to be only so far employed as may render the truth more attractive and effective. Lilies not to take the place of the wheat.

The neck, eyes, and nose of the Bride next commended. The neck for its whiteness and erectness compared to a tower of ivory. The eyes for their largeness and lustre, softness and serenity, compared to the two ponds in Heshbon, the Amorite capital, situated on each side of the gate of Bathrabbim. The nose, for its prominence and majesty, compared to the tower of Lebanon that looketh towards Damascus, the active enemy of Israel, that had been taken by David, but recovered its liberty under Solomon (2Sa. 8:6; 1Ki. 11:23-25). Without straining the allegory and the comparisons, we may view this part of the description as suggestive in relation to the New Testament Church of

1. The believers purity of life and liberty of spirit, as indicated by Shulamites fair and erect neck rising like a tower of ivory. White unspotted ivory, a fit emblem of the life of one whom the grace of God teaches to deny Himself to all ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world (Tit. 2:11-12). A neck like an ivory tower sufficiently suggestive of that liberty wherewith Christ makes His people freea liberty from the yoke of bondage both in regard to sin and self-righteousnessa liberty not abused as a cloak of maliciousness, but proving itself by a self-denying love.

2. The believers calmness, intelligence, and heavenly-mindedness, in the presence of a noisy, anxious, and bustling world; as symbolized by Shulamites soft bright eyes, suggesting the placid pool, with its smooth, deep, transparent waters, reflecting the heavens and heavenly bodies on their unruffled bosom, on each side of the principal gate of Heshbon, with its hum of court and market, and its constant tramp of passengers. Believers taught of God not to be conformed to this world, but transformed by the renewing of their mind; to look not at the things which are seen and temporal, but at those which are unseen and eternal; to be without carefulness, and to have their conversation in heaven; to learn of Him who was meek and lowly in heart, and to be, at once, wise as serpents and harmless as doves.

3. The believers boldness, vigilance, and decision, in the presence of a world that either persecutes or ensnares, and of the great adversary that goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Symbolized by a nose that suggested the tower of Lebanon, boldly confronting and keeping a vigilant watch upon the hostile city of Damascus. So the Council at Jerusalem marvelled at the boldness of Peter and John in their presence. Believers taught to watch and be steadfast in the faith; to be strong and to quit themselves like men; to be sober and vigilant, and not ignorant of Satans devices; to obey God rather than men, and to esteem the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt.

The description ends with the head, as it began with the feet. Thine head upon thee is like Carmel, &c. Shulamite had commended her Beloveds head as being like the most fine gold. Hers, perhaps still wearing the marriage chaplet, now commended in turn, as resembling the majestic Carmel, towering up from the sea and the plain, and crowned with foliage and flowers. Her hair admired as resembling the richest purple, as well from its lustre as its deep, dark colour. Her Carmel-like head suggestive of the dignity of Christs Church, and the authority with which He invested her when He said: Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted, and whosesoever sins ye retain they are retained. The power of Christ exercised in His Church when acting in His name; and an authority given unto her by Him for edification, but not for destruction (1Co. 5:3-5; 2Co. 10:8; 2Co. 13:10). The hair, given to the woman for a covering, and serving as her ornament and glory (1Co. 11:15), suggestive of the precious fruits of the Spirit proceeding from Christ, and forming the true adornment of His Churchlove, joy, peace, long-suffering, &c., the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ to the praise of God (Gal. 5:22; Php. 1:11). The believers adorning not the plaiting of the hair, or the wearing of gold, or the putting on of apparel; but that of the hidden man of the heart, which is not corruptible, the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit (1Pe. 3:4).

The last clause in verse fifth apparently a parenthesis, expressing the admiration of the observer and the attractive power of Shulamites beauty. The (or a) king is held [bound or captive] in the galleries (or by the tresses). No higher commendation of her charms than that a Kingand such a King as Solomon!was held captive by them. Suggestive of the spiritual beauty put upon the believer, in contemplating which the King of kings finds His delight. Forget thine own people and thy fathers house, so shall the King desire thy beauty (Psa. 45:10-11). He shall rejoice over thee with joy; He shall rest in His love. That beauty as great as a Three-One God can put upon a creature in order to fit that creature for a Bride to the incarnate Son, who loved the Church and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it by the washing of water through the Word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing (Eph. 5:28). The clause equally expressive of the love of Christ, as of the Churchs beauty which He imparts to her. Infinite condescension and love on the part of Him who humbleth Himself to behold the things that are done in heaven, that He is held bound, not by the beauty and dazzling glory of the Seraphim that never sinned, but by the imparted beauty of those whom He raised from the dunghill of degradation and sin, to set them among princes, even the princes of His people (Psa. 113:5). Wonderful power of the believing sinner over the loving Saviour. Drawn by His Churchs prayers, He is held by the Churchs praises.

The contemplation of Shulamites beauty followed by an exclamation of admiration and delight. How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for (or in) delights! The character of fair and pleasant already ascribed by Shulamite to her Beloved (chap. Son. 1:16). This twofold character now applied by the King to herself. A mutual admiration and delight between Christ and His people. What He is in their eyes they are in His. Christ not only fair in Himself, but pleasant to His people. Believers not only made fair in themselves, but pleasant to Christ, Exhibited still further in the expression for (or in) delights. An amazing fact, and expressive of inconceivable grace on the part of Christ,that the Son of God and Lord of glory can and does find delight in His blood-bought Church, consisting of sinners raised from the dust and dunghill of spiritual filthiness and corruption. Yet such the case: The King shall greatly desire thy beauty. He shall rejoice over thee with joy: He shall rest in His love; He shall joy over thee with singing. Thou shalt be called Hephzibah, for the Lord delighteth in thee. As a bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy Lord rejoice over thee (Isa. 62:4-5; Zep. 3:17; Psa. 45:11). That delight in His saved people as

(1) Made what they are by the Holy Spiritsgrace, conformed to Christs own image;
(2) His own Bride, the gift of His Father, and espoused by Himself;
(3) His redeemed Bride, for whom He has paid the price of His own humiliation agony, shame, blood, and death. His delight in them now, in the midst of all their imperfections; what when they shall be presented to Himself hereafter, a glorious Church, without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing? Hence the duty of believers:

(1) To aim at perfect holiness. The holier a believer is, the greater is Christs delight in him.
(2) To be much in fellowship with Jesus. That fellowship the Saviours joy.
(3) To seek the conversion of others. Every converted soul an addition to the Bridegrooms delight. The Bride composed of such souls.
(4) To endeavour to promote the sanctification of believers. Christs joy enhanced as their sanctification advances. An increase in their holiness is an increase in His joy.

As if unable sufficiently to admire the grace and beauty of his Bride, the king resumes his description with the comparison of her whole figure to a noble and beautiful palm tree, with its rich clusters of dates and its evergreen and elegant branches. This thy stature is like a palm tree, and thy breasts like clusters of grapes (or rather dates). The palm one of the most beautiful of trees. From its erectness and the general beauty of its aspect, its Hebrew name (Thamar, often given to women (Gen. 38:6; 2Sa. 13:1; 2Sa. 14:27). The figure of a palm tree frequent in the decoration of Solomons temple. At one time abundant in Palestine, and chosen as the emblem of the country. Now rarely to be met with. Judah sits desolate under her solitary palm tree. The palm tree, both from its beauty, its fruitfulness, and its character as an evergreen, an emblem of the righteous (Psa. 92:12). The comparison of Shulamites stature to a palm tree natural; the Bride being regarded

(1) As a tall and elegant female.
(2) As the Church of Christ consisting of those who are both justified and sanctified in Christ Himself. Points suggested in the comparison of the Church and the individual believer to a

Palm Tree.

1. Its erectness. The palm straight and upright. Believers upright in their principles and conduct. Straightforward, as opposed to the wicked, whose ways are crooked (Psa. 125:5; Pro. 2:15). Free and joyous, as distinguished from the spirit of bondage and fear that causes the back to be bowed down alway (Psa. 69:23; Rom. 11:10).

2. Its regularity. The palm regular in its growth and figure, both in respect to stem and branches. The Apostles joy in beholding the Churchs order. The believers behaviour orderly. His spiritual growth regular. His piety to be symmetrical. Attention to be given to all the will of God, and to all the pattern shown in Christ himself.

3. Its fruitfuluess. The fruit of the palm tree both abundant and nutritious, growing in very large clusters near the stem. Believers, united to Christ as the Life, bear in greater or less abundance the fruits of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, &c. To be filled with the fruits of righteousness. To abound in every good word and work. Their fruit glorifying to God and profitable to men. Continues to be borne at all times and in all circumstances, even unto old age (Psa. 92:13-14).

4. Its perpetual greenness. The palm an evergreen. Always crowned with beautiful green feathery branches. True grace an evergreen. Inward spiritual life, which is Christ Himself, abiding. Discovers its beauty and freshness alike in prosperity and adversity; in health and sickness; in youth and old age.

5. Its elasticity and invincibleness. The fibre of the palm so elastic that no imposed weights can hinder its upward growth. Hence probably its brances used as tokens of victory and triumph. Nothing able to separate the believer from Christ, who is his life, or to prevent his spiritual growth and final perfection. In all things made more than a conqueror through Him who has loved him. All things made to work together for his spiritual and eternal good. The Church, like its type in Egypt,the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew (Exo. 1:12). The blood of the martyrs the seed of the Church.

6. Its general beauty. The palm tree one of the most beautiful objects in the vegetable world. The highest beauty seen in true religion and those exhibiting it. Witnessed in its perfection in the Lord Jesus Christ. Seen, more or less, in all His members who are to be conformed to His image. A loving and consistent Christian the admiration of men.

The breasts of the Bride compared to clusters of dates, the fruit of the palm tree. The comparison natural from the dates growing in large clusters near the stem of the tree. The fruits of the Spirit found in believers sweet and refreshing to Christ. Of these fruits, love, symbolized by the breasts, the first in the inspired list (Gal. 5:22), and the most precious to the Saviour. The love of Mary, as shown by her anointing His feet with costly perfume, the subject of the highest encomium ever passed by the Saviour on any individual act: Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me. Verily, I say unto you, Wheresover this Gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her (Mat. 26:10-13). A similar act, done from similar feelings by another woman, as the expression of her love to Him who had so graciously forgiven her, rewarded with similar praise (Luk. 7:37-46). No perfume so sweet, and no fruit so precious to the Saviour, as the ardent love of a forgiven sinner.

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Notes

Son. 7:13. The mandrakes give a smell.

Mandrakes. ha-dudhaim; plural of a love-apple, from to love. So GESENIUS and others. A mandragora (Atropa mandragora, Linnus); a plant with large leaves, like the beet; its root like that of a turnip, divided in the lower part, and somewhat resembling the human form; employed in preparing love philtres, as having a soporific power, and thought to possess a virtue in matters of love, which is still ascribed to it in the East. A wild plant common in Palestine, especially in Galilee; of the same genus as the Belladonna, with small whitish blossoms, which, in May or June, become small yellow apples, with a strong and disagreeable odour; very early regarded as an artificial provocative of sensual love, not only in the East, but also by the Greeks and Romans, and still called by the Arabs tuffh esh-shaitan, or Satans apples. ZCKLER, EWALD. According to others, a particular kind of melon called in the east, from its shape, chamama, or Womans breast, corresponding to the Hebrew name in the text. So CALMET and FRY. TAYLOR. Some lovely fruit or flower. DE WETTE. Some beautiful sweetsmelling plant. COBBIN. A kind of highly-flavoured melon. Some read dudhaim, baskets (as Jer. 24:1). So HAHN: Baskets full of all kinds of precious fruits. According to to the Talmudists: Violets or lilies. RASHI. The Jasmine. TARGUM. The Balsam. SEPTUAGINT and VULGATE Maudragora. LUTHER. Lilies. According to others, as Ludolf and Simon, the Indian Fig. Patrick and others needlessly object to the man drake, as having an offensive smell. Give a smell,give forth their odour; therefore referring to the fruit, not the blossoms, nor the plant; and so looking forward to a more advanced season than in Son. 7:13, the fruit not being ripe till the wheat harvest (Gen. 30:14. ZCKLER.

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

TEXT 7:110

Solomon; Son. 7:1-9 (Son. 7:1-5 may be remarks of women attendants)

Shulammite (interrupting the King); Son. 7:9 b Son. 7:10 (Her final avowal of fidelity to her beloved.)

1.

How beautiful are thy feet in sandals,

O princes daughter!

Thy rounded thighs are like jewels,
The work of the hands of a skillful workman.

2.

Thy body is like a round goblet

Wherein no mingled wine is wanting.

Thy waist is like a heap of wheat set about with lilies.

3.

Thy two breasts are like two fawns that are twins of a roe.

4.

Thy neck is like the tower of ivory;

Thine eyes are the pools in Heshbon,
By the gates of Bathrabbim;

Thy nose is like the tower of Labanon which looketh toward Damascus.

5.

Thy head upon thee is like carmel, and the hair of thy head like purple;

The King is held captive in the tresses thereof.

6.

How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights!

7.

This thy stature is like to a palm tree, And thy breasts to its clusters.

8.

I said, I will climb up into the palm tree,

I will take hold of the branches thereof;
Let thy breasts be as clusters of the vine,
And the smell of thy breath like apples,

9.

And thy mouth like the best wine,

That goeth down smoothly for my beloved,
Gliding through the lips of those that are asleep.

10.

I am my beloveds; and his desire is toward me.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 7:110

172.

If verses one through five are the words of women attendants to the maiden what could be their purpose?

173.

Why use the term princes daughter?

174.

In what way can rounded thighs be compared to jewels and the work of skillful artists?

175.

Her body is like a goblet full of unmixed wine. Is this the meaning of Son. 7:2 a?

176.

It seems strange to compare her waist to a heap of wheatset about with lilieswhat can this mean?

177.

Breasts are compared to fawns before (Cf. Son. 4:5). This seems to be a favorite comparison. What is involved?

178.

The neck like an ivory tower was also used in Son. 4:4or was it? Discuss.

179.

Her head compared to Carmelthe city? the mountain? or what? How?

180.

Purple hair?? Explain.

181.

What is meant by saying her eyes were like pools in Heshbon?

182.

It would hardly be a compliment today to point out a very prominent nose. What is meant by Son. 7:4 b?

183.

The king is held captive. How? for what?

184.

This maid was fair and pleasantbut for what purpose? (Cf. verse six)

185.

The king is surely getting bold in verse seven. It would seem that his figure of speech breaks down in Son. 7:8 a. Explain.

186.

If her breasts were fruit of the vine, what would be their purpose?

187.

Solomon is about to act upon his wordsthen there seems to be a break in Son. 7:9 b. Explain.

188.

The Shulammite surely endangers herself in putting off the passionate advances of the king. What prompted her remark of verse ten?

PARAPHRASE 7:110

Solomon or Women Attendants:

1.

How stately is thy walk in sandals, O noble lady!

Thy rounded hips are like ornaments
Fashioned by a skillful craftsman.

2.

Thy bosom is as a well-shaped goblet

That lacks not blended wine.
Thy body is like a heap of wheat
Set about with anemones.

3.

Thy two breasts are like two fawns,

Twins of a gazelle.

4.

Thy neck is like an ivory tower.

Thine eyes as the clear pools at Heshbon.
By the Bath-rabbin gate.
Thy nose (face?) is like the tower of Lebanon.
Which looks towards Damascus.

5.

Thy head is set upon thee like Carmel,

And thy tresses have a purple sheen.
A king is enmeshed in their ringlets.

6.

How fair and how pleasing art thou, O Love,

Among delightful things!

Solomon:

7.

This form of thine is like a palm tree,

And thy breasts like date clusters,

8.

I said (to myself), I will climb the palm tree

By taking hold of the frond stumps.
Let thy breasts be like clusters of grapes,
The fragrance of thy breath like citrons,

9.

And thy palate (mouth?) like the best wine . . .

Shulammite (interrupting):

That rightly goes down only for my beloved.

Solomon (concluding):

Causing slumbering lips to speak.

10.

I am my beloveds, and his desire is for me myself.

COMMENT 7:110

Exegesis Son. 7:1-10

There is an interesting explanation of these verses in An Exposition of the Bible by Walter F. AdeneyHe does not attribute these verses to Solomon but to the women of the court, he says:

The Shulammite now seems to be attempting a retreat, and the ladies of the court bid her return; they would see the performance of a favourite dance, known as The Dance of Mahanaim. Thereupon we have a description of the performer, as she was seen during the convolutions of the dance, dressed in a transparent garment of red gauzeperhaps such as is represented in Pompeian frescoes,so that her person could be compared to pale wheat surrounded by crimson anemones. It is quite against the tenor of her conduct to suppose that the modest country girl would degrade herself by ministering to the amusement of a corrupt court in this shameless manner. It is more reasonable to conclude that the entertainment was given by a professional dancer from among the women of the harem. We have a hint that this is the case in the title applied to the performer, in addressing whom Solomon exclaims, O princes daughter, an expression never used for the poor Shulammite, and one from which we should gather that she was a captive princess who had been trained as a court dancer. The glimpse of the manners of the palace helps to strengthen the contrast of the innocent, simple country life in which the Shulammite delights.
It has been suggested, with some degree of probability, that the Shulammite is supposed to make her escape while the attention of the king and his court is diverted by this entrancing spectacle. It is to be observed, at all events, that from this point onwards to the end of the poem, neither Solomon nor the daughters of Jerusalem take any part in the dialogue, while the scene appears to be shifted to the Shulammites home in the country, where she and the shepherd are now seen together in happy companionship. (p. 534, 535.)
We much prefer this explanation to the labored efforts of the commentators to apply this to the Shulammite. No doubt the women of the harem could imagine (with Solomon) that if this maid were to dance she would meet the description here given.

There are ten features of the female form:

(1)

How beautiful are your feetas you walk in your sandals, you have the grace of a princess.

(2)

Your thighs are a work of artlike the carved jewels of a master artist.

(3)

Your navel is like a lovely goblet in which the best of wine can always be found.

(4)

Your waist is like a heap of wheat encircled with anemones.

(5)

Your two breasts are as soft as two fawnsperfect twins of a roe.

(6)

Your neck is like an ivory tower.

(7)

Your eyes have the depth of the pools of Heshbon, by the gate of Bath-rabbin.

(8)

Your face (or nose) has the grandeur and serenity of the tower of Lebanon, which looketh toward Damascus.

(9)

Your head is like the beautiful Mount Carmel.

(10)

Your hair, as it shines in the sunlight, is the royal color of purplea king would be held captive in its ringlets.

Marriage Son. 7:1-10

Ones wife should be physically attractive to her husband. She should know it. It would not be at all offensive if you were to make your own personal paraphrase of these verses and give them to your wife as a love letter from her husband. Better yet, you could read them to her. Perhaps the metaphors and similes you use could have a more contemporary motif. Your wife would not be at all flattered if you told her that her nose was like the tower of Lebanon. If you do not tell your wife of her physical attraction to you she could be willing to listen to someone else who is ready to describe her charms.

Communion Son. 7:1-10

We believe most of this section is a flattering attempt on the part of Solomon or the women of his court to seduce the Shulammite. No doubt the description fits the maidenbut the purpose behind telling it is surely open to censure. Flattery is such a subtle tool of Satan. So many Christians are very susceptible to flattery. Why? Because no one has convinced them of their true worth. We are almost ready to believe anyone who can see a value in us, even if it is only for their own advantage. We need to read again and again the love letters of our Father and His Son who tell us over and over again how valuable we are to them and the world in which we live.

FACT QUESTIONS 7:110

214.

When we attribute these verses to the women of the court of Solomon we are introduced to a dance routine. Explain and discuss.

215.

What did the Shulammite do while the dance was in progress?

216.

How does the description given here relate to the maiden?

217.

Do the ten features of the female form describe the Shulammite or the dancer or both? Discuss.

218.

Read verses six through ten and explain them in your own words.

219.

Discuss the application of these verses to marriage.

220.

What is the antidote for flattery? Discuss.

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

VII.

(1) How beautiful . . .Literally, How beautiful are thy feet (or thy steps) in the sandals. This description of the beauty of the bride

From the delicate Arab arch of her feet
To the grace that, bright and light as the crest
Of a peacock, sits on her shining head

is plainly connected with the dance mentioned in the last verse, and possibly proceeds in this order, instead of from the head downwards, because the feet of a dancer would first attract attention. See end of Excursus III.

O princes daughter!Heb. Bath-nadib (the LXX. keep )evidently again suggested by Amminadib, in Son. 6:12. But as the allusion there cannot be recovered, nothing relating to the rank of the heroine can be deduced from the recurrence of nadib (= noble) here. The reference may be to character rather than descent, just as in the opposite expression, daughter of Belial (1Sa. 1:16).

Joints.Heb. chamk, from chamahwent away, probably refers to the rapid movements in dancing, and the image is suggested by the graceful curves formed by a chain or pendulous ornament when in motion. Or the reference may be to the contour of the person.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

1. In the Hebrew Bible this chapter begins with the last verse of the preceding, and such seems to be the better arrangement. If the first and last periods of that verse were spoken by the Chorus, still the speaker now must be the King. In the compliments of these following verses nothing is noticed more than it has always been allowed to painters and sculptors to portray. The King, as is most fitting to his well-known character, takes greater license in his praises, and this goes to prove the naturalness of the Song. It is far from necessary to suppose that all the parts of the person here described were exposed to view. The modesty of the maiden, unaffected by the warm and amorous language of the King, is seen to recoil from all these blandishments as being distasteful. They have the same effect on her as on any pure and highminded girl in any land or age. It is a masterstroke on the part of the writer of the Song to show thus delicately the amorousness which was the king’s undoing here failing to win its object, and appearing odious in the light of truth and virtue, however artfully disguised in poetic flatteries.

Shoes Better, sandals. The sandals of Eastern ladies are often highly ornamented, and are much noticed.

O prince’s daughter Hebrew, noble girl. There is no allusion to her pedigree, but to her character.

Like jewels That is, delicately wrought and highly finished.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

“How beautiful are your feet in sandals, O prince’s daughter! Your rounded thighs are like jewels, The work of the hands of a skillful workman. Your navel is like a round goblet, In which no mingled wine is wanting, Your waist is like a sheaf of wheat, Set about with lilies. Your two breasts are like two fawns, Which are twins of a roe-deer, Your neck is like the tower of ivory, Your eyes as the pools in Heshbon, By the gate of Bath-rabbim, Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon, Which looks toward Damascus. Your head upon you is like Carmel, And the hair of your head like purple, The king is held captive in its tresses.”

Now her beloved admires her perfect form. Her sandals reveal the shapeliness of her feet, as of a prince’s daughter. (She is depicted as a shepherdess in Son 1:8; and as living in a house in Son 2:9, but neither of these descriptions need indicate that she is not a minor tribal princess, compare Gen 29:6; Exo 2:16). Her rounded thighs, beautifully shaped, awaken his desires. Her navel is like an overflowing goblet offering to satisfy his thirst. Her waist reminds him of a sheaf of wheat, tied in the middle, and surrounded by beautiful lilies. Her breasts are like two twin fawns born from a roe deer, a symbol of fertility (compare Son 4:5). Her neck is like an ivory tower (in contrast with the tower of David in Son 4:4). The pools of Heshbon which describe her eyes were presumably famous for their purity and luminosity. The tower of Lebanon, no doubt thought of as viewed from a distance, was presumably specially shaped. The picture of Carmel is as having its summit covered in violet flowers, indicating that she has decorated her hair with flowers. And as a result those decorated tresses hold him gripped within their coils.

Israel no doubt delighted in this picture of God’s delight in her as they sang this song at their feasts. Her Maker was her husband (Isa 54:5). And we have here a further picture of the way in which Christ sees His beloved people as the perfection of beauty, and the delight of His eyes. The detailed descriptions are important in that they reveal that He takes note of every aspect of our lives. They also reveal that He is familiar with every ‘member’ of His church. Not one of us is overlooked. Compare for this 1Co 12:12-27 where the importance of each member of His church is brought out. Are you the feet? Then to Him you are beautiful. Are you the thighs? Then you are a delight to His heart. Are you the navel? Then He desires to drink from you. Are you the waist? Then He is enraptured with your loveliness. Are you the breast? Then He finds you fully satisfying. Are you the neck? Then He see you as like an ivory tower, offering refuge and purity to all. Are you the eyes? Then He finds joy in looking into your limpid depths. Are you the nose? Then He acknowledges you as His people’s watchman. Are you the head? Then He sees you as covered in the flowering of His righteousness.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

SECTION 6.

The Restored Couple Rejoice In Each Other ( Son 7:1 to Son 8:4 ).

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 Man’s Foreplay: The King Describes Her Beauty Literal Interpretation – In Son 7:1-5 the king describes the beauty of the Shulamite woman. He begins with her feet, moves up her thighs, past her breasts, admiring her neck, and to her eyes, nose and finally her hair. Thus, he moves from her feet to the top of her head in progressive order. This is because a man is aroused visually by the physical appearance of his wife, while the woman is aroused emotional 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 act does not end with the orgasm, but should be followed through with intimate 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.

Figurative Interpretation Bickle suggests the description of the queen’s beauty moving from feet to head suggest an emphasis upon outward actions. [232]

[232] Mike Bickle, Session 17 Vindication of the Persecuted Bride (Song of Solomon 6:11-7:9 ), in Song of Songs (Kansas City, Missouri: International House of Prayer, 1998), 16.

Son 7:1 How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince’s daughter! the joints of thy thighs are fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners.

Son 7:1 Figurative Interpretation – “How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince’s daughter!” In Eph 6:15 the phrase “And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace” means that a mature servant of God is ready to walk out and obey the gospel of peace towards every man. He is no longer a person of strife and division, but of submission and unity. The emphasis here is on the walking out of the Gospel with one’s fellow man rather than the proclamation of the Gospel. It is the walk more than the talk. It emphasizes the brethren endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace, which is accomplished by submitting to one another in the fear of the Lord. The phrase “prince’s daughter” may suggest that a believer is a child of the King, a holy saint as God’s child.

“the joints of thy thighs are fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners” – Jacob’s thigh was thrust out of joint by the angel in Genesis 32:35 so that his own physical strength failed him. At this point in his life, Jacob fully depended upon the Lord. The thighs in Son 7:1 may symbolize a person’s divine strength and authority that he walks in as he labours for the Lord.

Gen 32:25, “And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.”

Son 7:2 Thy navel is like a round goblet, which wanteth not liquor: thy belly is like an heap of wheat set about with lilies.

Son 7:2 Word Study on “lilies” Strong says the Hebrew word “lily” “ shuwshan ” ( ) (H7799) means, “a lily (from its whiteness), as a flower or [archaic] an ornament.” The Enhanced Strong says this word is used 15 times in the Old Testament, being translated in the KJV as “lily 13, Shoshannim 2.” However, its compound uses in Psalms 60 (Shushan-eduth) and Psalms 80 (Shoshannim-Eduth) can be included. It is found 8 times in Songs (Son 2:1-2; Son 2:16; Son 4:5; Son 5:13; Son 6:2-3; Son 7:2). Lilies were used to adorn Solomon’s Temple (1Ki 7:19; 1Ki 7:22; 1Ki 7:26, 2Ch 4:5). This word or its derivatives are used in the title of four psalms as “Shoshannim” (Psalms 45, 60, 69, 80). Psalms 45 is a song of love, where a wedding processional is described. In Songs the Beloved is describes as “a lily of the valley,” and “a lily among thorns” (Son 2:1-2). The Lover feeds among the lilies in the garden (Son 2:16; Son 4:5; Son 6:3), and gathers lilies (Son 5:13). Hosea describes the children of Israel as a lily, saying, “I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.” (Hos 14:5) Watchman Nee suggests that the lilies in Songs is symbolic of those who are upright before God. [233]

[233] Watchman Nee, Song of Songs (Fort Washington, Pennsylvania: CLC Publications, c1965, 2001), 53.

Son 7:2 Figurative Interpretation Watchman Nee suggests that reference to liquor (wine) and wheat (bread) symbolize the fact that this servant of God has become one with Jesus Christ in His purpose and passion by partaking of His sufferings. [234]

[234] Watchman Nee, Song of Songs (Fort Washington, Pennsylvania: CLC Publications, c1965, 2001), 131.

2Co 1:5, “For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.”

1Pe 4:13, “But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.”

Son 7:3 Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins.

Son 7:3 Literal Interpretation – The young roes have skin that is a tan brown and soft to the touch when stroked. The deer’s features are curved with the shape of its muscles. Thus, the king likens the breasts of his beloved to the shape and feel of a young deer. We can imagine oriental women with the beautiful skin of golden complexion, a color similar to the soft, velvet, golden color of the hair of the young fawns.

Figurative Interpretation Son 7:3 may suggest the maturity of the servant of God.

Son 7:4 Thy neck is as a tower of ivory; thine eyes like the fishpools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bathrabbim: thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus.

Son 7:4 “thine eyes like the fishpools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bathrabbim” Comments – Bickle tells us that the pools of Heshbon were extremely clear. [235] Heshbon was formerly the royal city of the Ammonite King Sihon.

[235] Mike Bickle, Session 17 Vindication of the Persecuted Bride (Song of Solomon 6:11-7:9 ), in Song of Songs (Kansas City, Missouri: International House of Prayer, 1998), 23.

Num 21:25-26, “And Israel took all these cities: and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all the villages thereof. For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and taken all his land out of his hand, even unto Arnon.”

“thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus” – Comments David built military outposts in Syria (2Sa 8:6), probably set on top of the mountain range of Lebanon. Solomon may have expanded this work building beautiful towers.

2Sa 8:6, “Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus: and the Syrians became servants to David, and brought gifts. And the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went.”

The tower of Lebanon must have been a beautifully constructed tower, with long curves and interesting proportions in shape and design. In a similar way, the Shunammite’s nose must have had similar curves and proportions that accented a beautiful face. As the tower of Lebanon accented the landscape, so did her nose accent her face.

Son 7:4 Figurative Interpretation The neck could symbolize strength of character. The eyes may suggest the purity of one’s heart and mind. The nose may suggest one’s spiritual acuteness.

Son 7:5 Thine head upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair of thine head like purple; the king is held in the galleries.

Son 7:5 Word Study on “the galleries” Gesenius says the Hebrew word “galleries” “rahat” ( ) (H7298) literally means, “a watering trough” (Gen 30:38; Gen 30:41, Exo 2:16). He gives us its figurative meaning as “ringlets, curls (apparently so called from their flowing down)” (Son 7:5). Strong says it means, “a channel or water box, by resemblance a ringlet of hair (as forming parallel lines).” Strong says it probably comes from an unused root means, “to hollow out.” The Enhanced Strong says it is used 4 times in the Old Testament, being translated in the KJV as “gutter 2, trough 1, gallery 1.”

Gen 30:38, “And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they came to drink.”

Gen 30:41, “And it came to pass, whensoever the stronger cattle did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the cattle in the gutters , that they might conceive among the rods.”

Exo 2:16, “Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock.”

Son 7:5, “Thine head upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair of thine head like purple; the king is held in the galleries .”

Son 7:5 Literal Interpretation – The context of this verse in Son 7:5 suggests that the beautiful head and hair and flowing locks of his beloved hold him captivated so that he cannot turn his eyes away.

Figurative Interpretation “Thine head upon thee is like Carmel” – As mount Carmel has a white cap, perhaps this metaphor suggests a servant of God who walks in the wisdom of God as do aged men with white hair (Pro 20:29). “and the hair of thine head like purple” The color purple is symbolic of royalty. Perhaps this person is characterized as one who walks with divine authority, as did Elijah on mount Carmel. “the king is held in the galleries” – Bickle interprets Son 7:5 to refer to those men and women of God who have held the Lord captive by their lives of sacrifice and devotion to Him. [236] It may suggest that the prayers of these saints move God to immediate action.

[236] Mike Bickle, Session 17 Vindication of the Persecuted Bride (Song of Solomon 6:11-7:9 ), in Song of Songs (Kansas City, Missouri: International House of Prayer, 1998), 25-6.

Pro 20:29, “The glory of young men is their strength: and the beauty of old men is the gray head.”

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 Victorious Progress of the Church.

The Beauty of the Church’s Progress

v. 1. How beautiful are thy feet, literally, “thy steps,” with shoes, O prince’s daughter, as the bride proceeds on her way in stately majesty. The joints of thy thighs, the swing or motion of her hips in walking, are like jewels, like the regular swinging of a pendant chain, the work of the hands of a cunning workman, only an artist of the highest rank being able to work such perfection.

v. 2. Thy navel is like a round goblet, a mixing-bowl, which wanteth not liquor, or, “Let not mixed wine,” such as was mixed with wine or spices, “be wanting”; thy belly is like an heap of wheat, a rounded pile of grain, set about with lilies.

v. 3. Thy two breasts, organs of nourishment, are like two young roes that are twins, twin gazelles, figures of graceful strength.

v. 4. Thy neck is as a tower of ivory, in whiteness and symmetry; thine eyes like the fish-pools in Heshbon, blue basins mirroring the rays of the sun, by the gate of Bath-rabbim, Heshbon itself being called the “daughter of many,” since it was a populous commercial city; thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon, which looketh toward Damascus, the point of comparison being its straightness, making for a handsome profile.

v. 5. Thine head upon thee is like Carmel, a lofty and beautiful mountain, and the hair of thine head like purple, with its dark luster and silkiness. The King is held in the galleries, fettered in love by the beauty of her curls.

v. 6. How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights, charming and amiable in her caresses!

v. 7. This thy stature is like to a palm-tree, with its towering stateliness, and thy breasts to clusters of grapes, rather, the clusters of fruit of the palm-tree.

v. 8. I said, I will go up to the palm-tree, that being His present intention, I will take hold of the boughs thereof; now also thy breasts shall be, or, “Let thy breasts be,” as clusters of the vine and the smell of thy nose like apples, the King desiring to revel in the beauty and sweetness of His bride;

v. 9. and the roof of thy mouth, the sweetness of the palate referring to the loveliness of her kisses, like the best wine for My beloved, that goeth down sweetly, or smoothly, causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak, gliding down gently and causing the drinker to fall into gentle slumber.

Here we see how the Lord regards His Church on her progress through the world, in performing the work of her calling, of the evangelization of nations. The Church is full of generative power, and her children receive the rich food of the means of grace. At the same time she is strong in the defense of the truth, trying the spirits and ever on the watch for dangers from without and within. Although the Church is a populous city, yet no impurity is found in her: she consists of saints, she is a holy, Christian Church. Her majesty is evident to all, and spiritual blessings go forth from her in richest measure, so that the King is ravished with her appearance and with her caresses, Isa 62:4. The Bridegroom eagerly longs for the time when He will be united with the bride in heavenly bliss, Eph 5:32; Rev 19:7-9.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

EXPOSITION

Son 7:1

How beautiful are thy feet in sandals, O prince’s daughter! The joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman. To the ladies who are looking on the bride appears simply noble and royal. The word naudhib which is used, translated “prince’s daughter,” means “noble in disposition,” and so in birth and rank, as in 1Sa 2:8; Psa 113:8; so in So 6:12, “the princely people.” The description, which is perfectly chaste, is intended to bring before the eye the lithe and beautiful movements of an elegant ,lancer; the bendings of the body, full of activity and grace, are compared to the swinging to and fro of jewelled ornaments made in chains. The cunning workman or artist is one who is master of that which abides beautiful. , like, , “whose truthful work can be trusted.” The description passes from the thighs or loins to the middle part of the body, because in the mode of dancing prevailing in the East the breast and the body, are raised, and the outlines of the form appear through the clothing, which is of a light texture. We must not expect to find a symbolical meaning for all the details of such a description. The general intention is to set forth the beauty and glory of the bride. The Church of Christ is most delightful in his sight when it is most full of activity and life, and every portion of it is called forth into manifest excellence. “Arise, shine,“ is the invitation addressed to the whole Church, “shake thyself from the dust,” “put on thy beautiful garments,” be ready for thy Lord.

Son 7:2

Thy navel is like a round goblet, wherein no mingled wine is wanting: thy belly is like a heap of wheat set about with lilies. It must be remembered that ladies are speaking of one who is in the ladies’ apartment. There is nettling indelicate in the description, though it is scarcely Western. The “round goblet,” or basin, with mixed wine, i.e. wine with water or snow mixed with it, is intended to convey the idea of the shape of the lovely body with its flesh colour appearing through the semitransparent clothing, and moving gracefully like the diluted wine in the glass goblet. The navel is referred to simply as the center of the body, which it is in infants, and nearly so in adults. Perhaps Delitzsch is right in thinking that there may be an attempt to describe the navel itself as like the whirling hollow of water in a basin. In the latter part of the verse the shape of the body is undoubtedly intended. “To the present day winnowed and sifted corn is piled up in great heaps of symmetrical, half-spherical form, which are then frequently stuck over with things that move in the wind, for the purpose of protecting them against birds. The appearance of such heaps of wheat,” says Wetstein, “which one may see in long parallel rows on the threshing floors of a village, is very pleasing to a peasant; and the comparison of the song every Arabian will regard as beautiful.” According to the Moslem Sunnas, the colour of wheat was that of Adam. The white is a subdued white, denoting both perfect spotlessness and the purity of health. The smooth, round, fair body of the maiden is seen to advantage in the varied movements of the dance.

Son 7:3

Thy two breasts are like two fawns that are twins of a roe. So in So Son 4:5; but there the addition occurs, “which feed among the lilies.” This is omitted here, perhaps, only because lilies are just before spoken of. The description is now in the lips of the ladies; before it was uttered by the king himself.

Son 7:4

Thy neck is like the tower of ivory; thine eyes are as the pools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bath-rabbim; thy nose is like the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus. This is plainly a partial repetition of the king’s description. The ivory tower was perhaps a tower well known, covered with ivory tablets, slender in structure, dazzlingly white in appearance, imposing and captivating. No doubt in the lips of the court ladies it is intended that this echo of the royal bridegroom’s praises shall be grateful to him. Heshbon is situated some five and a half hours east of the northern points of the Dead Sea, on an extensive, undulating, fruitful, high table-land, with a far-reaching prospect. “The comparison of the eyes to a pool means either their glistening like a water-mirror or their being lovely in appearance, for the Arabian knows no greater pleasure than to look upon clear, gently rippling water: cf. Ovid, ‘De Arte Am.,’ 2.722

“Adspicies oculos tremulo fulgore micantes,

Ut sol a liquida saepe refulget aqua“

The nose formed a straight line down from the forehead, conveying the impression of symmetry, and at the same time a dignity and majesty inspiring with awe like the tower of Lebanon. The reference is perhaps to a particular tower, and in the time of Solomon there were many noted specimens of architectural and artistic splendour. “A tower which looks in the direction of Damascus is to be thought of as standing on one of the eastern spurs of Hermon or on the top of Amana (So Amo 4:8), whence the Amana (Barada) takes its rise, whether as a watchtower (2Sa 8:6) or only as a look out from which might be enjoyed the paradisaical prospect.”

Son 7:5

Thine head upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair of thine head like purple; the king is held captive in the tresses thereof. Carmel is called the “Nose of the mountain range” (Arf-ef-jebel). It is a promontory. The meaning, no doubt, is the exquisite fitness of the head upon the neck, which is one of the most lovely traits of personal beauty. Some, however, think that the reference is to colourCarmel being derived from the Persian, and meaning “crimson.” This is rejected by Delitzsch, as the Persian would be carmile, not carmel. The transition is natural from the position and shape of the head and neck to the hair. The purple shellfish is found near Carmel (cf. Lucian’s and Anacreon’s , and similar expressions in Virgil’s ‘Georgics,’ 1.405, and Tibullus, 1.4, 63). The locks of hair are a glistening purple colour, i.e. their black is purple as they catch the lights. Hengstenberg, however, thinks that the reference is to the temples, and not to the hair itself; but the use of the term in classical poets is decisive. The lovely head shaking the locks as the body moves gracefully in the dance fills the king with delight and admiration. He is quite captivated, and the ladies, having finished their description of the bride, look at the bridegroom, and behold him quite lost in the fascination”held captive in the tresses.” Delitzsch quotes a similar expression from Goethe, in the ‘West Ostliche Divan,’ “There are more than fifty hooks in each lock of thy hair.” The idea of taking captive is frequent in Hebrew poetry (cf. Pro 6:25; Sirach 9:3, 4). Thus ends the song of the ladies in praise of the bride. We must suppose that the king, who is probably present, then takes up the word, and pours out his heart.

Son 7:6-9

(Song of the bridegroom rejoicing over the bride.) How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights! This thy stature is like to a palm tree, and thy breasts to clusters of grapes. I said, I will climb up into the palm tree, I will take hold of the branches thereof: let thy breasts be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy breath like apples; and thy mouth like the best wine, that goeth down smoothly for my beloved, gliding through the lips of them that are asleep. The abstract “love” is plainly here used for the concrete, “O loved one.” It is just possible that the meaning may beHow delightful is the enjoyment of love! but the bodily description which follows suggests that the words are addressed directly to Shulamith. We certainly have in 1Co 13:1-13, an apostolic apostrophe to love, which Delitzsch calls the Apostle Paul’s spiritual song of songs. But it would be somewhat irrelevant here. The king is deeply moved as he watches the beautiful figure before him, and delights in the thought that so lovely a creature is his own. The rapture which he pours out may be taken either as a recollection of how he was captivated in the past, or the past may be used for the present, as it frequently is in Hebrew. The meaning is the same in both cases. The palm tree may be selected on account of its elegance, but it is commonly employed in Eastern poetry as the emblem of love. The mystical writers use it to denote the Divine manifestation. The comparison of the breasts to clusters of grapes is quite natural, but no doubt reference is intended to the fruit as luscious and refreshing. Both the palm and the vine in the East are remarkable for the abundance and beauty of their fruits. In the case of the palm”dark brown or golden-yellow clusters, which crown the summit of the stem and impart a wonderful beauty to the tree, especially when seen in the evening twilight.” The palm and the vine are both employed in Scripture in close connection with the Church. “The righteous shall flourish as the palm tree;” “The vine brought out of Egypt” (Ps; Psa 80:1-19.), and the “vineyard of the beloved” (Isa 5:1-30.), and the “true vine,” to which the Lord Jesus Christ compares himself, remind us that the illustration was perfectly familiar among the Jews; and we can scarcely doubt that the reference in this case would be understood. The Lord delighteth in those “fruits of righteousness” which come forth from the life and love of his people. They are the true adornment of the Church. The people of God are never so beautiful in the eyes of their Saviour as when they are covered with gifts and graces in their active expression in the world. Then it is that he himself fills his Church with his presence. The ninth verse is somewhat difficult to explain. The words are no doubt still in the lips of the king. There is no change of speaker until 1Co 13:10, when Shulamith replies to the king’s adoring address. Ginsburg says, “Her voice is not merely compared to wine because it is sweet to everybody, but to such wine as would be sweet to a friend, and on that account is more valuable and pleasant.” The Authorized Version is supported by some critics as the best, “causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak.” Delitzsch adheres to this. The LXX. renders it thus: , “accommodating itself to my lips and teeth.” So Symmachus, . Jerome, Labiisque et dentibus illius ad ruminandum. Luther strangely renders, “which to my friend goes smoothly down and speaks of the previous year” (pointing as ). Another rendering is, “which comes unawares upon the lips of the sleepers.” Some think it refers to the smacking of the lips after wine. “Generous wine is a figure of the love responses of the beloved, sipped in, as it were, with pleasing satisfaction, which hover around the sleepers in delightful dreams, and fill them with hallucinations.” Another reading substitutes “the ancient” for “them that are asleep.” The general meaning must be wine that is very good and easily taken, or which one who is a good judge of wine will praise. It is possible that there is some slight corruption in the text. The passage is not to be rendered with absolute certainty. Delitzsch and others think that it is an interruption of the bride’s, but they have little support for that view. The bride begins to speak at 1Co 13:10.

Son 7:10

I am my beloved’s, and his desire is towards me. So in So Son 6:3 and Son 2:16. It seems possible that a portion of the bride’s speech may have dropped out”My beloved is mine”or she may wish to adopt the language of Gen 3:16, and represent herself as a true wife, whose husband is wrapt up in her love. By “desire” is intended the impulse of love, , from a root , “to move or impel.” The thought seems to be thisAs my beloved is full of worshipping affection, and I am wholly his, let his love have free course, and let us retire together away from all the distractions and artificiality of the town life to the simplicity and congenial enjoyments of the country, which are so much more to my taste. The more real and fervent the religious emotions of the soul and the spiritual life of the Church, the more natural and simple will be their expression. We do not require any profuse ceremonies, any extravagant decorations, any complicated and costly religions services, in order to draw forth in the Christian Church the highest realization of the Saviour’s fellowship. We want the Christianity we profess to take possession of us, body and soul. And so it will be as Christians learn more of Christ.

Son 7:11, Son 7:12

Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages. Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see whether the vine hath budded and its blossom be open, and the pomegranates be in flower: there will I give thee my love. All true poets will sympathize with the exquisite sentiment of the bride in this passage. The solitude and glory and reality of external nature are dearer to her than the bustle and splendour of the city and of the court. By “the field” is meant the country generally. The village or little town surrounded with vineyards and gardens was the scene of Shulamith’s early life, and would always be delightful to her. The word is the plural of an unused form. It is found in the form copher (1Sa 6:18), meaning “a district of level country.” Delitzsch renders, “let us get up early,” rather differently”in the morning we will start”but the meaning is the same. The word dodhai, “my love,” is “the evidences or expressions of my love” (cf. So Son 4:16; Son 1:2). No doubt the bride is speaking in the springtime, the Wonnemond of May, when the pulses beat in sympathy with the rising life of nature.

Son 7:13

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. The dudhai after the form Lulai, and connected probably with , are the “love flowers,” the Mandragora officinalis (Linn.), whitish-green in colour, with yellow apples about the size of nutmegs; they belong to the order of Solanaceae, and both fruits and roots were employed as aphrodisiac, to promote love. We are, of course, reminded of Gen 30:14, where the LXX. has, , , when the son of Leah found mandrakes in vintage time. They produce their effect by their powerful and pleasant fragrance. They are said to be only rarely found in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem, but they were abundant in. Galilee, where Shulamith was brought up. The Arabs called them abd-el-sal’m, “servant of love”postillon d’amour. We are not wrong in using that which is perfectly natural and simple for the cherishing and increasing of devout feeling. The three elements which coexist in true spiritual life are thought, feeling, and action. They support one another. A religion which is all impulse and emotion soon wears itself out, and is apt to end in spiritual vacuity and paralysis; but when thought and activity hold up and strengthen and guide feeling, then it is scarcely possible to endanger the soul. The heart should go out to Christ in a simple but fervent worship, especially in praise. There are no Christians who are more ready to devote themselves to good works than those who delight much in hearty and happy spiritual songs.

HOMILETICS

Son 7:1-5

The chorus of maidens praise the beauty of the bride.

I. THE PRELUDE.

1. The address. They address her as, “O prince’s daughter.” She is not a king’s daughter, like the bride of Psa 45:1-17, but she is of honourable extraction. Though she lived in the retired district of Lebanon, and had been brought up there in rustic occupations, her family was one of some distinction. So Joseph, the carpenter of Nazareth, was recognized by the angel Gabriel, and was known among men by the testimony of accepted genealogies as “the son of David.” The bride always speaks humbly of herself (as in So Psa 1:5, Psa 1:6), but the daughters of Jerusalem praise her. Such praise was common at nuptial festivals, the literal translation of Psa 78:63, “Their maidens were not given in marriage,” seems to be, “Their maidens were not praised.” The daughters of Jerusalem do not regard the bride with envy; they do not despise her because of her former low estate; they rather bring forward every point that may tend to her praise. We should be like them in this respect. Jealousy is one of the most common of evil tempers; even the Lord’s apostles were jealous of one another, and that in the very presence of the Master; again and again they disputed among themselves which should be the greatest (Mat 18:1; Luk 22:24). We must covet earnestly the blessed grace of charitycharity which “envieth not, vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, cloth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth. We must pray fervently, “From envy, hatred, and malice, and all uncharitableness, good Lord, deliver us.”

2. The bride‘s approach. “How beautiful are thy feet with shoes!” The word here rendered “feet” more generally means steps; this has been taken as an argument in favour of “the dance of Mahanaim,” mentioned above. It is used also for “feet;” but even if we take it in its more common sense, the words of the chorus may be well understood of the approach of the bride, and perhaps also of the queenly grace of her movements. The opening words remind us of the prophecy of Isaiah, quoted by St. Paul in Rom 10:15, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!” (Isa 52:7). We have learned to see in the bride of the Song of Songs a figure of the Church, which is the bride of Christ. The mission of the Church is to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever the Lord commanded” (Mat 28:19). The heavenly Bridegroom is with the bride while she obeys his precept; for he adds, “Lo, I am with you all the days, even unto the end of the ages.” Therefore “the Spirit and the bride say, Come” (Rev 20:1-15 :17). The Church, taught and strengthened by the Holy Spirit, calls men to the knowledge of Christ. Her feet are beautiful as, “shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace” (Eph 6:15), she moves ever onward, bringing the light of truth into the regions that were lying in darkness and the shadow of death. Missionary work is a most important part of the duty of the Church; when carried on in faith and love and forgetfulness of self, it is beautiful in the sight of God.

II. PRAISES IN DETAIL

1. Of her clothing. The chorus begins by praising, not simply the feet, but the sandalled feet, of the bride; they admire her sandals. From this we may infer that other terms used here relate rather to the clothing which covered the various parts of the body. It is the royal robes, with their ornaments and embroidery, which are like rows of jewels, or like a round goblet (see the word translated “round” in Isa 3:18, where it is rendered, “round tires like the moon”), or like a heap of wheat set about with lilies. Comp. Psa 45:9, Psa 45:13, Psa 45:14, “Kings’ daughters were among thy honourable women: upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir.” “The king’s daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold. She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework: the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee.” So the bride, the Lamb’s wife, shall be “arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints” (Rev 19:8). “The king’s daughter is all glorious within.” The Hebrew word, indeed, means “within the palace,” in the inner apartment. But we know that the adorning of the Church, when she appears “as a bride adorned for her husband” (Rev 21:2), is “not that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel, but the hidden man of the heart” (l Peter Psa 3:3, Psa 3:4). She will then be all glorious within, in the spiritual sense of the word, a glorious Church, holy and without blemish; and the Christian soul must even now put on that white linen which is the righteousness of saints, with the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. Indeed, “our righteousnesses are but as filthy rags” (Isa 64:6); but Christ “of God is made unto us Wisdom and Righteousness” (1Co 1:30); and St. Paul teaches us that “as many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal 3:27). We must “keep ourselves pure” (1Ti 5:22); we must take jealous and anxious heed so to live in the faith of Christ and in the communion of the Holy Ghost as to keep that white robe unspotted from the world (Jas 1:27). And if we have marred and stained it, as, alas! we too often do, by carelessness and sin, we must come to God in humble penitence and confession, asking him to give us grace to wash our robes and make them white in the blood of the Lamb; for we believe that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin, and that even they who have fallen into grievous sin may, if they turn to God in sorrow and contrition, be made “whiter than snow” (Psa 51:7). The king’s daughter must be all glorious within; she must put on the wedding garment of righteousness. Let us seek that costly robe to be our own; we may gum it through the. grace of Christ if we earnestly desire it, hungering and thirsting after it.

2. Of herself. Her neck was white as the ivory which King Solomon imported and used largely for purposes of decoration (1Ki 10:18, 1Ki 10:22); her eyes in their liquid beauty were like the pools at Heshbon; her brow stately as the tower of Lebanon; her head beautiful as the summit of Carmel; her hair like the deepest shade of Tyrian purplethe king (the chorus continues) is held captive in its tresses. The beauty of the bride is a stately, regal beauty; her neck and her brow are compared to towers, her head to the mountain so famous in the history of Elijah. So in the Book of the Revelation, when the angel had said to St. John, “Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife,” “he carried me,” the evangelist continues, “away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God” (Rev 21:9, Rev 21:10). Here, again, the bride, which is the Church, is compared to a city, a city built upon an exceeding high mountain, according to the Saviour’s prophecy, “Upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Mat 16:18). St. John dwells in ardent words upon the heavenly beauty of the bride, which is the city of the living God; he tells us of her stately gates, of her vast dimensions, of her jewelled foundations, of her “streets of pure gold as it were transparent glass.” The glories of that heavenly city draw the Christian soul mightily with a constraining power, as King Solomon was held captive in the dark tresses of his bride. The Lord “loveth the gates of Zion” (Psa 87:1); the heavenly Bridegroom loved the Church, and gave himself for it. Christians, taught by him, set their affection on the heavenly city; they love to meditate upon its glories; they count its towers and mark its palaces, the many mansions in our Father’s house; confessing that they are pilgrims and strangers here, they seek the continuing city, which is to come. “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city” (Rev 22:14).

Son 7:6-13

Dialogue between the king and the bride.

I. ENTRANCE OF THE KING.

1. His praise of love. Perhaps the last words of the chorus were overheard by the king as he approached the bride. He assents; he is content to be held captive in the tresses of the bride’s hair; for love is fair and pleasant above all delightful’ things. The bridegroom is not here using the word with which he so often addresses the bride (as in So Son 1:9; Son 4:1; Son 6:4), which is translated, “O my love,” or perhaps better, “O my friend.” In this place we have the word ordinarily used for the affection of love; and perhaps it is best to take it in that sense here. Among all delightful things there is nothing so beautiful, so fair to contemplate, so full of interest; there is nothing so pleasant, nothing which gives so much comfort and peace and joy as true and faithful love. The king is happy in the bondage of which the chorus had spoken. Indeed, true love is not bondage in any proper sense of the word. It was God himself who said, “It is not good for man to be alone;” God who said, “I will make him an help meet for him.” God gave man affections. When he made man after his own image, he set in his heart a reflection of that love which more than any other of his attributes enters into the very being and essence of Almighty God. That love needs objects on which to exert itself; the love of parent, child, or wife is a preparation, a training for the highest form of love, the blessed love of God. Loneliness, as a rule, is not good; it tends to concentrate a man’s thoughts upon himself. He finds no outlet for the affections which God has given him: some of them, and those among the best and highest, are in danger of sinking into atrophy; there is great risk of his becoming a prey to selfishness, and the bondage of selfishness is hard and grinding and joyless. Sensual love is not love in the true sense; it is one of the worst and most unfeeling forms of selfishness; it thinks only of selfish pleasure, and recks nothing of the misery and ruin which it brings upon others; it makes a man the slave of evil passions; it tends to wretchedness. The service of God is perfect freedom; so, in a lesser sense, is the service of any pure and holy affection. True wedded love tends to set a man free from the bonds of selfishness; it gives him scope for the exercise of his best affections, and helps him to rise upwards towards that highest love which alone can give abiding happiness. Love, the bridegroom says, is among all delightful things the fairest and the most pleasant. The bride in the next chapter expresses the same belief, “Love is strong as death.” “Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.” Wedded love is a parable of the holy love of God. The king in the song is led captive by the love of the bride. The saints of God, like St. Paul, St. James, St. Jude, delight in describing themselves as “the servants of God,” “the slaves of God.” God so formed our nature for himself that the soul can find an adequate object for its supreme affections only in him. Therefore he bids us love him with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength, because our highest powers can find their proper exercise only thus; and it is in the exercise of the highest powers that the highest happiness is found. It is the love of God that sheds glory and joy and blessedness through heaven, his dwelling place, because the blessed angels love him perfectly, and, dwelling in love, do his holy will with a glad, undoubting obedience. And so in various lower degrees it is the love of God which makes religion what it is to his people, very blessed and holy; which makes life worth living; which gives them in the midst of their shortcomings glimpses more or less vivid of that holiest joy which is the blessedness of heaven. Joy in the Lord is one of the fruits of the Spirit; it follows immediately upon the highest grace of love; it issues out of it (Gal 5:22). And because it issues out of love, it is enjoined upon us as our duty as well as our highest privilege; for “the first of all the commandments is this, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God;” and a corollary of that first commandment is, “Rejoice in the Lord alway; and again I say, Rejoice” (Php 4:4). Among earthly delights the pure love of wedlock is, as the king says, the fairest and the most pleasant; and of all highest joys that the human soul can attain unto, the supreme, the transcendent joy, comes from the holy love of God.

2. His praise of the bride. He compares her to a palm tree, to a vine. Both are fair to look upon, both have sacred associations. The image of the vine recalls to our thoughts the holy allegory in Joh 15:1-27. The Saviour is the true Vine; his people are the branches. They must bring forth fruit, for the branch that beareth not fruit is taken away; and in order to bear fruit they must abide in him, in spiritual union with the Lord, who is the Life. The palm tree also occurs in Scripture imagery: “The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree” (Psa 92:12). Several characteristics make the palm tree an apt emblem of the faithful servant of God. There is its tall and graceful appearance, its evergreen foliage, its fruitfulness, and perhaps especially the fact that both fronds and fruit grow at the topmost height of the tree, high above the earth and as near as possible to heaven. An apt illustration by St. Gregory the Great (‘Moral.,’ on Job 19:1-29 :49) is quoted in Smith’s ‘Dictionary of the Bible:’ “Well is the life of the righteous likened to a palm, in that the palm below is rough to the touch, and in a manner enveloped in dry bark, but above it is adorned with fruit fair even to the eye; below, it is compressed by the enfoldings of its bark; above, it is spread out in amplitude of beautiful greenness. For so is the life of the elect, despised below, beautiful above. Down below it is, as it were, enfolded in many barks, in that it is straitened by innumerable afflictions; but on high it is expanded into a foliage, as it were, of beautiful greenness by the amplitude of the rewarding.”

3. The bride continues the bridegroom‘s words. “I said, I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof.” These words have been regarded by some commentators as spoken by the bride. In the next verse certainly the bride interrupts the bridegroom and finishes his sentence. It may well be that here also she corrects the similitude of the bridegroom and finishes his sentence. It may well be that here also she corrects the similitude of the bridegroom, and applies it to him rather than to herself; the words, “I said,” seem perhaps to favour this view, and to suggest a different speaker. The bridegroom is the palm tree rather than the bride; she modestly and humbly transfers the similitude to him. The palm tree resembles the king in its lofty stateliness and beauty. And certainly this view best lends itself to spiritual applications. The palm tree to the Christian represents the cross. We think of St. Peter’s words, “His own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree” (1Pe 2:24). We remember the old traditional reading of Psa 96:10, “The Lord hath reigned from the tree.” We recall his own words, “I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me” (Joh 12:32). The Lord reigned from the tree; above him was the title, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” He is the King of the true Israelites, the Israel of God. And the Cross is the throne of his triumph; it displays, as nothing else could do, the Divine glory of holiness and entire self-sacrifice and self-forgetting love, which are the kingly ornaments of the Saviour’s lofty dignity. The Saviour’s precious death has made the cross a thing most sacred, most awe-inspiring, most dear to Christian souls, most constraining in the power of its Divine attraction. It draws around itself all the elect of God, all who have ears to hear and hearts to feel the blessed love of Christ. All such say in their hearts, “I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof.” The first words, “I said,” seem, to remind us of many faithless promises, of many broken resolutions. It is easy to say, very hard to persevere in bearing the cross. How often we have promised, at our baptism, at our confirmation, in the Holy Communion, in the hour of private prayer and self-examinationhow often we have said, “I will go up”! But the ascent is steep and difficult; the palm tree is high, there are no branches to assist the climber; the fruit is at the very top, high out of our reach; there is need of effort, continued persevering efforteffort sometimes very hard and painful to flesh and blood. But we must lift up our hearts, we must look upward. The Lord was lifted up, and his disciples must follow him; they know the way (Joh 14:4). We must set him ever before us, and think of his agony and bloody sweat, his cross and Passion, when we are tempted to regard the cross as hard and painful, and to relax our efforts in the religious life. We must go up. God’s saints have gone before us.

“They climbed the steep ascent of heaven
Through peril, toil, and pain.”

We must do the like; “we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom” of God. And if we would persevere in well doing we must go up to the cross of the Lord Jesus; it is only there, in spiritual communion with the crucified Saviour, in his strength which strengthens all who trust in him, through a living and true faith in him, that the Christian can find strength to bear the burden of the cross. It is a heavy burden to flesh and blood, but the Lord makes it light to all who come to him in obedience to his gracious invitation. For he gives to his chosen power to become the sons of God; he strengthens them with all might by his Spirit in the inner man; he bids them east their burden upon him (Psa 55:22), he bears it with them. But they must go up to the palm tree; they may have many times said they will do so, and perhaps many times have failed. They must go up with sustained effort. The Lord, indeed, draws us, but it is by the attraction of love and the motions of his Spirit, not by forcing our will. We must go up, yielding up our will to him, asking him to give us grace to pray aright that holy prayer, “Not my will, but thine be done.” And we must take hold of the boughs thereof, clinging to them with the embrace of loving faith. It is not enough once to go up to the tree; the Lord himself has taught us our need of continual perseverance: “Abide in me, and I in you.” We must take hold of him with the earnest prayer of Jacob, “I will not let thee go except thou bless me.” And we must learn of him who endured the cross for us to take up the cross ourselves, to crucify the flesh with the affections and lusts, so that, like St. Paul, we may be crucified with Christ, and, dying unto the world, may ever live with him. We may well take to ourselves the words which tradition puts into the mouth of St. Andrew when he first saw the cross on which he was to suffer, “Hail, precious cross, that hast been consecrated by the body of my Lord! I come to thee; receive me into thy arms, take me from among men, and present me to my Master, that he who redeemed me on thee may receive me by thee.” The cross goeth before the crown. We must go up to the tree, and that with pains and striving, before we can reach the fronds at the summit. They are the prize of victory. The great multitude that no man could number stood before the throne clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands. That blessed vision may, indeed, be understood as a vision of the true Feast of Tabernacles in heavens but the palm has ever been regarded as the martyr’s prize; we must look upwards to it. “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things that are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Php 3:13, Php 3:14).

4. The bridegroom continues his praises. He repeats the comparison of the vine, and adds that the breath of the bride is fragrant as the smell of the choicest fruits, and the tones of her voice sweet as the best wine. Here the bride interrupts the king, adding the words, “that goeth down smoothly for my beloved.” We mark the loving controversy; each seeks to put the other first. If the king compares the bride to a palm tree, she stops him with the answer that he is to her the stately tree; she win go up to the palm tree, she will take hold of its boughs. If he compares her voice to the flavour of the sweetest wine, she adds, interrupting him, that that wine is for her beloved, to please and refresh him with its sweetness; her joy is, to feel that she is wholly his, to delight in his love, to try always to please him. It is a sweet picture of the happiness of wedded love, when each seeks to please the other, when each puts the other first. Then Christian marriage is indeed a holy estate, a great help in the religious life, representing to the wedded pair the union that is between Christ and his Church, so that having in their own mutual relations a parable of that holy union, they may be drawn continually nearer to Christ, as they learn continually to love one another with a purer and deeper love, and in their daily self-denials for the loved one’s sake find how blessed is self-sacrifice for his sake who loved us and gave himself for us.

II. THE BRIDE‘S ANSWER.

1. The mutual love that binds them together. She repeats the assertion of So 2:16; Psa 6:3. As in So Psa 6:3, she puts first her own gift, the gift of her whole heart, to her beloved. She knows now, with a confident and happy knowledge, that her heart is his. Perhaps at first there had been some coyness, some hesitations, some doubts; now there is none. She has given her heart, and she knows it. She dwells on the happy truth; she rejoices in repeating it. Blessed is the Christian soul that can say the like, “I am my Beloved’s,” “I am Christ’s.” Blessed above all others are they who can say in sincerity that they have given him their whole heart; that they desire only him, his presence, his love; that their one highest hope is to please him better, to live nearer and nearer to him, and at length to see him face to face. Such, in the ancient times, was the hope of the Psalmist Asaph. “Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon the earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the Strength of my heart, and my Portion forever” (Psa 73:25, Psa 73:26). And the bride is sure of the bridegroom’s love: “his desire is towards me.” She is as sure that his heart is hers as that hers is his. She applies to him the Divine words of Gen 3:16. As Eve’s desire was to her husband, so now the king’s desire was toward his bride. The heavenly Bridegroom loved the Church; his desire is toward his people; their salvation was the joy set before him, for which he endured the cross. He said to his little flock, “With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer” (Luk 22:15). His desire is toward his bride, that she may be washed and cleansed, that he may in his own good time present her to himself a glorious Church, holy and without blemish (Eph 5:25-27).

2. The bride‘s invitation. The king had invited her to his royal city at the time of their espousals. “Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse” (So Gen 4:8). She seems here to be inviting the king to visit in her company her old home, the scene of her labours in the vineyards. “Come, my beloved,” she says, “let us go forth into the field.” So the heavenly Bridegroom calls to himself the souls whom he so dearly loved: “Come unto me, and I will give you rest;” so the Christian, in answer to the Lord’s gracious invitation, responds, “Even so come, Lord Jesus.” He bids us come to him, and as we come we pray him to come to us, for without him we can do nothing; we cannot come unless he draws us by himself coming to us (Joh 6:44; Joh 12:32). We pray him, “Let us go forth into the field, let us get up early to the vineyards;” for we need his presence always; we cannot do the work which he has given us to do; we cannot work in his vineyard as he bids us without his help. Therefore we ask him to be with us always, according to his gracious promise, “Lo, I am with you all the days, even to the end” (Mat 28:20); that we may have grace to get up early to the vineyards, not to stand all the day idle, not to wait to the eleventh hour, but to give the best of our life to God, to remember our Creator in the days of our youth, to do with our might whatsoever our hand findeth to do (Ecc 9:10). The word here rendered “get up early” is several times figuratively used for “to be earnest or urgent.” God calls us to work, to labour for his Name’s sake, out not to leave our first love, like the Church at Ephesus (Rev 2:3, Rev 2:4); to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, but all the time to ask him to come and help us, and to remember that it is he who worketh in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure (Php 2:13); for without that inward work of his within oar souls we can do no acceptable work for him. But work we must, for he bids us; and it is in that work, wrought ever in faith and in dependence upon him, that the Christian soul keeps itself in the love of God (Jud 1:21). So the bride says,” There [in the vineyard] will I give thee my loves.” It is in working for God that we prove our love for him. “Lovest thou me?” the Saviour said; then “feed my lambs, feed my sheep.” “If ye love me, keep my commandments.

Then he will pray for us, sending the gracious Spirit, the Comforter, to strengthen and to help us; then, he promises, he will come himself. “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you” (Joh 14:15-18). Then the blessed Spirit will help us to bring forth the fruit of the Spiritthe fruit which is “love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, faith, meekness, temperance”that like the bride in the song we may have “all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old,” and may add, in her words, “which I have laid up for thee, O my Beloved.” These fruits are treasures laid up in heaven, and we know that he is able to keep that which we have committed unto him against that day (2Ti 1:12).

HOMILIES BY S. CONWAY

Son 7:10-13

Christian missions.

“I am my beloved’s,” etc. The scene is still in “the king’s chambers” at Jerusalem. What Solomon has said to her whom he would win is of no avail; her heart is true to her beloved. This emphatic redeclaration of her love for that beloved one is all the response that the king’s flatteries have obtained. She speaks as if she were already away from the palace and back at her country home; once more occupied in her usual occupations and enjoying her former happy intercourse with her beloved. But the going forth to her work suggests the idea of going forth in spiritual work, and the language she uses points to the manner in which such work may be successfully done. We may take the section as an allegory concerning Christian missions. It suggests

I. WHAT PROMPTS THEM. (Son 7:10.) The profound and delightful realization of Christ’s love towards and within us. Such work, if done only because we are afraid of the judgment day, when we all must give account of our stewardship; or from mere sense of duty; still less when the motive is ecclesiastical ambition; or even when pity for the ignorance and general sad condition of the heathen is the motive;all such promptings have but partial, some very partial, power. The true motive is that which the rapturous expression of Son 7:10 reveals

II. HOW THEY SHOULD BE CARRIED ON. “Come, my Beloved, let us,” etc.

1. The presence of Christ should be invoked. (Son 7:11.) “Let us go forth,” etc. Then:

2. There should be the going forth. Away from accustomed haunts, away from the place of ordinances and privileges, to where none of these things are enjoyed.

3. With diligence. “Let us rise early” (Son 7:12).

4. With watchfulness, not alone in planting, but for growth and progress.

III. THEIR TRUE. NATURE. (Son 7:12.) “There will I give thee,” etc. They are an acceptable offering of our love to Christ and its true manifestation. A love to Christ that is not expansive, that does not go forth to bless others, is no true love, but something very different (1Co 15:10).

IV. THEY SHALL BE REWARDED WITH DELIGHTFUL SUCCESS. (Son 7:13.) May not the lack of thisthough, indeed, it is not entirely absentbe owing to some grave defect in motive or manner?

V. ALL THE GLORY WILL BE RENDERED TO CHRIST. “Which I have laid up for thee.“ (Son 7:13.) Cf. the account of the first missionary meeting and report (Act 14:27).S.C.

Son 7:10

I am my beloved’s.

(Cf. on So Son 2:16).S.C.

HOMILIES BY J.D. DAVIES

Son 7:11-13

Useful service.

Earth is a great picture gallery, full of illustrations of heavenly things. This material universe is the projection of God’s thoughts; the visible expression of his dispositions; the blossoming of his love. The God of nature is the God of religion; hence the same lessons appear in both. As we have seen in the home of a great artist the handiworks of his genius adorning parlours and halls, corridors and bed chambersworks in all stages of developmentso is it in God’s world. Pictures of him abound. Every garden is a lesson book for humanity; every well kept garden is a portrait of a saint; every fruitful vineyard is an emblem of Christ’s Church. Said the Prophet Isaiah to the godly man, “Thou shalt be as a well watered garden.” “My Well beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill.” The highest fruitfulness is the result of patient culture. Prosperity is threatened by many foes. Human agency must cooperate with Divine power in order “to bring forth fruit unto perfection.” Every flower and blossom is an outburst of God’s glory. Earth is crammed full of heavenly things.

I. IN ALL HOLY SERVICE THE MOTIVE POWER IS LOVE. “Come, my beloved.” Thus Jesus speaks.

1. God‘s works spring from love. We cannot conceive any other reason why the eternal God should have begun to create, unless that happiness and love might be multiplied. Love would not permit him to keep all good within himself. Love impelled him to produce various orders of sentient life. His joy is increased by witnessing the joys of others.

“Yes, he has gemmed with worlds the abyss,
Filled them with beauty, life, and bliss,
Only the wider to dispense
The gifts of his beneficence.
Oh yes! creation planned above

Was but for mercy’s stream a vent,

The outgushings of eternal love

Ay, this is love’s embodiment.”

2. This love in us springs from our assurance of Christ‘s love. The love that is fruitful in service realizes the personal friendship of Christ. If I am tormented with doubts touching my acceptance by Christ, I shall have no energy for service. I have only a limited capacity of power, and if I expend this in solving difficult questions, or in calming my own fears, I shall be unfit for service. If the Master is saying to me, “Son, go work today in my vineyard,” and if I reply, “Lord, I know not if I be a son,” I shall not accomplish any good. But when 1 know that I am “accepted in the Beloved,” there is a mainspring of love within that stirs all the energies of my soul. Then my daily prayer will be, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” Then, “the love of Christ constraineth me.” “For to me to live is Christ.” It would be a painful restraint on my new nature if I did not render him service. Then his “service is perfect freedom.”

3. True love hears Immanuel‘s voice. “Come, my beloved.” Love moves into healthful activity every organ. It not only gives activity to the feet; it gives sensitiveness to the ear. The voice of Christ is not addressed to the bodily organ; it is addressed to the soul. It is a spiritual communication; a “still small voice.” As in the days of his flesh the multitude did not understand the speech that came from heaven”I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again;” they thought that it thundered, or that an angel spake; so is it still. The Christian hears a voice that no one else can hear. The passing crowd may hear a faint hum, as the wind passes through the telegraphic wires, but the message conveyed through the wire is understood only by the person trained to receive it. So the voice of heavenly authority and the voice of heavenly friendship is heard only by wakeful, tender love.

4. Love craves to give itself expression. Love is an expansive power. It is a law of its nature to spread; to go out in practical forms. Like the force of steam, it cannot be held in restraint. The hotter steam becomes, the more it expands. The present motive power in commerce, and in swift locomotion, results from the expansive power of steam. So all human philanthropy and all missionary enterprise are the outcome of fervent love. It would be painful to love if no service were permitted. She is girt and sandalled, waiting to scale rugged mountains, waiting to cross tempestuous seas, waiting to traverse perilous deserts, in order to tell the perishing that Jesus can save. Love never wearies. Service is her delight. There is within an irresistible instinct to do good.

II. IN HOLY SERVICE WE HAVE DIVINE COMPANIONSHIP. “Let us go,let us lodge.”

1. This is a real experience. To many persons the presence of Christ is a fiction; it may be a part of their creed, nothing more. They read of it as a promise, but they have never realized it. Yet they may. For on the part of a faithful servant of Christ his presence is a real enjoyment. Every inspiration of benevolent desire is from him. He talks with us by the way. We ask for strength, and he gives it. We lack courage, and he supplies it abundantly. He makes our dumb lips eloquent. As truly as we hold intercourse with an earthly friendyea, more trulydo we have real and joyous intercourse with Jesus. If he spake the promise, “Lo, I am with you alway,” certainly he will fulfil it. Why should he not? Is anything too hard for him to accomplish? Some imagine that the real presence of Christ is to be found only in the sacrament of the Super. This is a delusion. His real presence is ever in the spiritual temple, i.e. in the temple of a Christian’s heart. Saith he, “I will never leave thee, will never forsake thee;” so that we may boldly say, “The Lord is my Helper.”

2. This companionship with Jesus is a real honour. When, in olden time, the King of England went out in person to war, every peer in the realm counted it an honour to go with him. It was dishonourable to stay at home. Every duke and earl would rather dwell amid hardship and danger on the battlefield, if the king were there, than amid the luxuries of their own castle halls. To be near the person of the king was counted high honour. Yet this honour was as nothingan empty bubblecompared with companionship with Jesus Christ. To be companion with the King of heaven is real honour and real advantage. It is Christ alone who can teach us what honour is. Honour is inseparable from righteousness, and he is Perfect Righteousness. And Christ is a Worker. He is the good Shepherd, ever going out in search of lost sheep; so, if we wish to have companionship with Jesus, we must be workers too. Service is honourable. It is in service that we shall find Christ nearest us. There is a legend of a pious monk in the Middle Ages, who had a vision of the Saviour. The man was ravished with holy joy. It was a season of hallowed communion with his Lord. At that moment the bell rang, and it was the duty of this monk to distribute food to the poor. There was a struggle in his mind. Should he leave this vision, and break up this sweet fellowship? The bell called him to a sacred duty, and he responded and went. At the end of an hour he returned, and lo! the vision was still there. Then the lips of the Master moved, and he said, “Unless thou hadst fulfilled thy call of duty, I had departed.” If Jesus is with us, almighty strength is assured. Unerring wisdom is ours; sweetest sympathy cheers us; certain success is in sight. “I will go in the strength of the Lord God.”

III. IN HOLY SERVICE THERE WILL BE SELF–DENIAL. “Let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages; let us get up early to the vineyards.” Now, this language does not seem natural or customary in the lips of an earthly king. But it is natural and seemly in the lips of the Prince of heaven. For it is his delight to humble himself, and to become the Servant of all.

1. Discomfort and hardship are foretold. “Let us go into the field.” Jesus is very frank and outspoken. Not on any account will he hide from us the hard conditions of his service. Plainly did he tell his first disciples what toils and persecutions they would have to endure. And the Word still abides, “They that will live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer persecution.” Paul was forewarned of the perils that awaited him in every city. But the real friend of Jesus is prepared for self-denial. Apart from self-denial, his service would not be like the service of Jesus. “The disciple is not greater than his Master, nor the servant than his Lord.” The Son of God says to us, “Let us go forth into the field.” We must leave for a time the fair palaces of our Prince, and lodge in narrow tenements. Yet is there any ground for lamentation? Any roof which covers us, however humble, shall be a palace of delight if only Christ be with us there. The palace does not make the dweller therein a king; but the presence of the King makes the house a palace. Difficulties and self denials will be quietly borne if we are on Christ’s errands. Yea, they will be welcome, if love to Jesus prevail “They have put me,” said Rutherford, “into a prison; but Immanuel came and made it into a banquet house.” Yes, if Jesus come with us into our lowly cottage: forthwith “the doors shall be pearls, and the windows agates,” and the fence shall be made of all kinds of precious stones.

2. We shall be willing to continue in this self-denying work. “Let us lodge in the villages.” We must not grow weary in this well doing. Many a man will rouse his courage to face some herculean task or to fight in some sharp conflict, who will yet faint under the weariness of a long campaign or fall in patient, endurance. The service to which Jesus calls us is lifelong, and the discomfort may be long continued. Still, we will embrace it with joy. “He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved.” The Christian missionary who goes into a foreign field to sow the heavenly seed, must be prepared for long continued, sacrifice. So should every true servant of the King. For self-denial is not long continued pain. The joy of pleasing Christ, and the blessedness of his company, nullifies the pain and overcomes the discomfort. Soon the self-denial loses its sting. The loss becomes a gain, and every thorn blossoms into a rose. “Out of the eater comes forth meat, and out of the bitter comes forth sweetness.” The love of Christ changes everything. It makes our hell into heaven.

3. There will even be eagerness for this arduous work. “Let us get up early to the vineyards.” To enter upon this hard toil in company with Jesus, we shall be ready to forego comfortable sleep. Soon as morn breaks, soon as the opportunity allows, we shall be ready to leap forth to the task. Our old inclinations are overcome and supplanted with new desires and new endeavours. We are burning with ardour to show Jesus our love. We shall feel ashamed if our zeal does not in some measure resemble the zeal of our Immanuel. He was consumed with holy and intensest ardour to do us good. Said he, “How am I straitened till it be accomplished!” He panted to reach the cross. And now he has commissioned us to take his place and to carry out his work. As his Father had sent him into the world, so has he sent us. His love is to be perpetuated through us. His devotion to humanity must reappear in us. His self-consuming zeal must glow in our breasts. As he could not represent among men the everlasting love of his Father except by incessant toil, humiliating suffering, and a death of public shame, so neither can we adequately represent the saving grace of Christ before men except by enthusiastic zeal and completest consecration. There will be a constant watchfulness forevery opportunity of service. To do Christ’s work will be our meat and our drink. A principle of sacred earnestness must possess us. As the hallowed fire on the temple altar was not allowed to expire, so must not the fire of holy zeal ever expire on the altar of our hearts. “We are not our own;” we belong to another; “we are bought with a price;” therefore duty demands that we glorify our Master “with our bodies and with our spirits, which are his.”

IV. IN HOLY SERVICE THERE IS GREAT VARIETY OF USEFULNESS, “Let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth.”

1. Christ‘s work is the pattern of ours. The work of Jesus among men was manifold. He opened blind eyes, unstopped deaf ears, straightened paralyzed limbs, fed the hungry, brought the dead back to life, Pardoned men’s sins, purified corrupt and vicious lives, led the erring into light. We dwell in the same world in which Christ dwelt. We are encompassed with suffering humanity. We have the same motives for labour. Here there is scope forevery capacity. If you cannot preach to great assemblies, you can speak to a wayfarer for Christ. If you cannot vindicate the truth against the assaults of the scoffer, you can feed a hungry child, or console a sorrowing widow, or visit the bedridden, or pray for the outcasts. The youngest disciple may find something to do for Christ’s kingdom in this world of sin and suffering. “As ye have opportunity, do good unto all men;” “Freely ye have received, freely give.” In nature each drop of falling rain produces a distinct effect, so in the kingdom of Christ a cup of cold water given to a thirsty Child obtains its reward.

2. Concern for the young is here suggested. “Whether the tender grape appear.” Every living Church will have special agencies to gain the young. They have special claims on us. The heart is as yet unoccupied. Character is plastic. Feeling is fresh. There is eager inquiry after the truth. Labour among the young is full of promise. In the young Jesus Christ feels special interest. Every parent should see to it that their children’s hearts are opening to Christ. We ought to see conversion to God very early. If faith be the great essential, then very early do children put faith in a Parent or in a friend, and such faith they can as readily place in Jesus the Saviour. Parents have special promises from God to encourage their hope. “I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thy offspring.” Jesus has special love for the lambs in the flock.

“The flower, when offered in the bud,

Is no vain sacrifice.”

3. Pious care for all inquirers is indicated. “Let us see whether the pomegranates bud forth.” It is a hopeful sign of grace when one is inquiring after the light. Already them is a stir in that dead soul. The deep sleep of sin is broken. The man is awaking. Possibly, like some inveterate sluggard, he may turn over on the other side, and fall into deeper sleep than before. Such a thing often happens, both in nature and in grace. Now is our opportunity while he is half awake. Now let the alarm bell of the gospel sound in his ear. Such methods as true wisdom and love can devise should be vigorously employed. How precious is the moment! Anon it will have fled. There is much to be done. Impression has to be made, instruction given, feeling aroused, conviction wrought, desire excited, resolution taken. Every inquirer after God should be sought outshould be the object of the Christian’s concern.

V. IN HOLY SERVICE THERE IS A PRESENT REWARD. “The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old.”

1. The reward is the outcome of natural law. As the fruit is already in embryo in the seed, so is reward already in the service, though as yet undeveloped. As hell is the ripe fruit of sin, so heaven is the ripe fruit of holy service. The faithful steward of ten talents shall have ten talents more entrusted to him: this is his reward. The pleasant fruits of the garden shall be the reward of the faithful husbandman. Such fruits are “old and new.” Others preceding us have sown good seed, done noble work in the vineyard. We enter upon the results, and gather in the fruits. Old fruit at times is preferable to new. Apples and nuts mellow with age. So the ripe wisdom of old saints is a spiritual banquet. The promises given to Abraham have a good flavour. The faith that has been of long standingthe faith of Elijah and Paul, e.g.is a very pleasant fruit, while fresh zeal and fresh courage are equally delightful. “Fruits old and new.”

2. God‘s provision for us is ample. If we go diligently about our Master’s work, be sure that he will provide. He had said, “Let us get up early, and go forth into the vineyards;” and lo! when noon came and hunger looked for a meal, here at the gate was a royal provision. So Jesus taught his first disciples, that if they attended to his business he would take the responsibility for their wants. He gave to Peter and his comrades a miraculous draught of fishes; then he said, “Feed my sheep; Go into all the world, and preach the gospel;” “My God shall supply all your need, out of his riches in glory by Jesus Christ.”

3. Jesus provides a reward suitable to every taste. “All manner of pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee.” When our Immanuel spreads for us a banquet, nothing shall be wanting. Is there a fruit anywhere in God’s universe that will meet a want of mine or satisfy a longing? It shall be given me. “He will give thee the desires of thy heart;” “In his garden is all manner of pleasant fruit.”

4. Present rewards are the pledge of greater. These fruits are found at our gates.” It is as if our Immanuel had said, This is only the beginning of good. There’s more to follow.” And this is most assuredly true. Present possessions are only pledges and earnests of higher and richer good. The love of Christ in the heart is an entrancing joy, but I shall have a larger experience of it by and by. These attainments of piety and excellence are “treasures of the kingdom,” but I shall grow richer yet. My knowledge of God in Christ is a precious possession, but the “half has not been told me.” Jesus has many things to reveal to me, but I cannot bear them yet. No! “Eye hath not seen, nor hath ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man, what God has prepared for them that love him.”

VI. IN HOLY SERVICE WE GAIN FULLEST ASSURANCES OF IMMANUEL‘S LOVE. “There will I give thee my love presents.” Toward the close of his ministry Jesus said to his disciples, “He that keepeth my commandments, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and we will come unto him, and will make our abode with him.” This is the love token, or the love present, which our Immanuel gives us, viz. his abiding presence in our heartsthe sunshine of his love. The idler in God’s vineyard need never be surprised if he lack the full assurance of his sonship. It had never been promised him. To give this love present to such a one would be a premium upon indolence. Mark that it is in the field of service that Jesus gives his love tokens. It is to earnest and faithful labourers he confers the full assurance of hope. The consensus of observation testifies that in seasons of apathy and slothfulness we lose the assurance of heaven. But when we run with alacrity in the path of service, then heaven opens to us, and we read our title clear. Is it a real joy to us when we lock into the face of an earthly friend and realize his tender sympathy? Must it not be a greater joy to look into the face of Jesus and feel that he is our Brother? Do the minstrels of the woods pour out a fresh tide of song when the genial sun of May shines upon them? And when we come into the warm sunshine of Immanuel’s love, and know that he has made with us an everlasting covenant, shall not our hearts be all aglow with joy? For nothing on earth is more sure than this, that if I give my whole self unreservedly to Jesus, he has impelled me to do it, and upon me he confers the wealth of his eternal friendship. “My Beloved is mine, and I am his.”D.

HOMILIES BY J.R. THOMSON

Son 7:6

The fairness of love.

The commendations of the bride’s beauty, which occur in the early verses of this chapter, lead up to the exclamationso much in harmony with the whole spirit of the Canticlesconcerning the fairness, the pleasantness, the delightsomeness, of true love.

I. THE BEAUTY AND GOOD SERVICE OF LOVE, AS A SENTIMENT IN THE HUMAN HEART AND AS A BOND IN HUMAN SOCIETY. As distinguished from mere carnal passion, that conjugal love which is pictured as subsisting between the king and his spouse is justly in this Song of Songs represented as of the purest and highest excellence. It is true that religion and morality put a restraint upon the natural impulses, and the Bible abounds with warnings against yielding to the temptations which are favoured by human nature and by sinful society. But if the way of virtue be a narrow way, it is not without flowers by its borders, both fair and fragrant. The path of self-government and self-denial is a path which has pleasures of its own. And one aim of this Book of Canticles, one justification for its place in canonical Scripture, appears to be its effective depicting of the pure joys of human affection. Where marriage is the result of personal preference and sincere attachment, and where it is entered upon under the guidance of sober reason and forethought, it may well be expected to yield delights. Toil, anxieties, mutual forbearance and self-sacrifice, the endurance in common of life’s cares and sorrows, so far from extinguishing love, may refine and hallow it. And maturity of character and spiritual discipline and strength will prove more than a compensation for the abandonment of the “primrose path” of pleasure, in which the unspiritual find their joys. The family and the home are the scene and the embodiment of wedded love. And they are the very basis of human society, the condition and mean s of true human progress, the earnest of a higher state of Christian civilization in the future.

II. HUMAN LOVE IS THE EMBLEM OF THE DIVINE LOVE WHICH UNITES THE SOUL AND THE SAVIOUR, AND WHICH IS THE SOURCE OF SPIRITUAL AND HEAVENLY JOYS. The highest purpose of that affinity which binds heart to heart is to elicit emotions, and to lead to relations with which our highest welfare here and hereafter is associated. They who read this Book of Canticles without recognizing the divinely appointed connection in question miss not only a literary charm, but a spiritual truth and law. It is to be feared that in the view of some, human love, such as should exist between husband and wife, appears a profane and common, if not a foolish, thing. But God is not honoured by the disparagement of his own provisions and plans. If he has made love so important a factor in human life, he has done so, we may be sure, with a purpose worthy of himself, his wisdom, and grace. As earthly love is elevated and purified by the Divine discipline of this earthly existence, it comes to symbolize, with ever-growing force, the profound affection which subsists between Christ and his Church. And this significance is recognized in the language of St. Paul and St. John regarding the bride and spouse of the Saviour. With reference to the emotions which are cherished by Christ towards his chosen and beloved people, and by his people towards him to whom they are indebted for all they have and for all they hope for, how appropriate is the exclamation, “How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights!” Divine love is the source of Divine joy. It is immortal love which is the earnest of “pleasures forevermore.”T.

Son 7:9

The sweetness of speech.

The figurative language here employed by the royal lover to eulogize the voice and the utterances of the bride is to our colder and more measured habits of thought Oriental extravagance. Yet it is in harmony with the highly coloured character of the book as a whole. And human speech does often awaken within the heart emotions not easily expressed in cool and justifiable panegyric. The human voice is of all music the sweetest, and speech is sweeter even than song, uttering as it does, not the studied and artificial sentiment of the musical composer, but the spontaneous and natural emotions of the speaker’s heart.

I. CHRISTIAN SPEECH IS SWEET AS TESTIFYING TO THE CHARACTER OF THE SPEAKER.

1. Sincerity is the first condition of all acceptable speech; it is above all things desirable that there should be no discordance between the utterance and the heart. The flatterer at court and in general society speaks only to please; and in the case of those who know his aim and his motives, he fails of the very object he has in view. The Church is bound to speak “words of truth and soberness,” as remembering the sacredness of the gift of utterance, and the responsibility attaching to its exercise. To a just mind sincere words are welcome, even though they be less honeyed than the words of the time server and men pleaser.

2. Love prompts to words which are a delight to hear. Whilst the tones of hatred are harsh, and the utterances of coldness are repugnant, kindness, sympathy, affection, give a sweetness to every utterance. Welcome as the words which come from the heart of the beloved, telling of the depth of unchangeable affection, are those Christian declarations in which the Church gives expression to her love for her Saviour and her pity for the world.

II. CHRISTIAN SPEECH IS SWEET WHEN IT TESTIFIES TO THE LOVE AND FAITHFULNESS OF THE LORD. There is no exercise more congenial to Christ’s people, more acceptable to Christ himself, than this. The powers of speech cannot be more holily and honourably employed than in uttering forth the high praises of God, in lauding and magnifying the redeeming love of Christ. The hymn which is lisped by the little child, the anthem which rings through the cathedral aisles, the quiet word of witness in which the friend commends the Saviour to him who is dear to his heart,these are but some of the forms in which language may show forth the greatness, the goodness, the wisdom, of the Eternal. What theme so worthy of the tongue, “the glory of the frame,” as this? The voice of praise and thanksgiving is dear to the heart alike of God and man.

III. CHRISTIAN SPEECH IS SWEET WHEN UTTERING TESTIMONY TO THE GOSPEL OF GOD‘S LOVE. Men’s hearts have to be reached and to be affected by the tidings of Divine mercy and compassion. It is most condescending and gracious on God’s part that he deigns to employ human agency in the service of his own Divine beneficence. If men avail themselves of all the resources of human rhetoric in order to obtain earthly endspower, wealth, and famehow much more ready should they be to use all the faculties they possess, all the arts and means they can acquire, to bring before their fellow men the tidings of heavenly and immortal love! Well may every preacher and. every teacher of Divine truth put up the prayer

“Jesus, confirm my heart’s desire,

To work, to think, to speak for thee:

Still let me guard the holy fire,

And still stir up thy gift in me!”

T.

Son 7:10

The desire of the beloved.

The assurance of mutual possession and affection occurs in an earlier part of the poem; but its repetition here is not without significance. Love has not lessened as time has passed; it has rather deepened, as experience has revealed, to each of the married lovers, the faithfulness and kindness, the purity and, devotion, of the other. Hence the bride adds to this later exclamation, “I am my beloved’s,” the statement which is the expression of experience, “His desire is toward. me.” Transferring the language to the relations and sentiments distinctive of the mutual attachment of Christ and his people, we observe here a declaration

I. OF THE GOOD WILL AND COMPASSIONATE AFFECTION OF CHRIST FOR HIS CHURCH.

1. The Lord takes a deep satisfaction in his people, and regards them with a holy complacency.

2. He desires that they should participate in his character and reflect hid image. Spiritual fellowship with him tends to bring about this result, than which nothing can be more to the mind of the Head of the Church.

3. He desires that they may be qualified witnesses to himself, and agents in promoting his cause and glory upon earth. And this, for his own sake indeed, yet also for the Church’s sake, and for the sake of the world for whose salvation he lived and died on earth.

II. OF THE RESPONSE OF THE CHURCH, HER SURRENDER OF HERSELF COMPLETELY TO HER SPOUSE AND LORD. This attitude of heart has been beautifully expressed in these words: “I attach myself to God, I give myself to him; and. he turns to me immediately; his eyes look upon me with favour; his Spirit is attentive to my good; his great heart bows itself and stoops to my nothingness; he unites his heart to mine; he heaps upon it new graces, to attach it more strongly to him. Devote thyself, O my soul, wholly to thy God.”

1. Spiritual receptiveness is the just response to Divine desire. If it is the will and pleasure of the Saviour to take possession of the whole nature and life of his people, it is equally their will and pleasure to abandon all other aims in life, and to devote themselves to this, with the view of becoming his only, his altogether, and his forever.

2. Spiritual consecration completes this just response. Human nature is not merely passive; it is energetic. Human life is an opportunity, not only for getting, but for giving. The Church must indeed receive from the Divine Head every qualification which can fit for the discharge of duty, for the rendering of service. But it is hers to prove her gratitude and her fidelity to the trust reposed in her, by devoting herself to those high ends with a view to which she has been chosen, loved, and redeemed.T.

Son 7:11, Son 7:12

Divine companionship.

Man was made, not for solitude, but for society; not for selfishness, but for love. This principle of human nature and life is taken up by religion, and is employed for man’s highest, spiritual, immortal interests. The soul which yields itself to Christ delights in his fellowship, and finds therein its true satisfaction. Like the bride who is represented in this poem as saying to her spouse, “Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field,” etc; the soul craves the society of the Saviour, and longs for his perpetual companionship.

I. THE NATURE OF THIS COMPANIONSHIP.

1. It is companionship to which Christ invites his people. None could address him thus unless first assured of the Lord’s interest, friendliness, and love.

2. It is spiritual companionship. The twelve who were with him in his earthly ministry were admitted to close, delightful, and profitable intimacy. They saw his form and heard his voice. Yet, in our case, though we cannot perceive him as they did, the association is equally real; for he is with his people alway.

3. It is companionship in which he is the superior, and we are the dependent. It is true he says, “Abide in me, and I in you;” but he is the Vine, and we the branches.

II. THE OCCASIONS AND MANIFESTATIONS OF THIS COMPANIONSHIP. Observe under this consideration how Christ’s friendship appears superior to every merely human association. We may enjoy his society:

1. In our occupations, whatever be their special nature.

2. In our enjoyments, which are all hallowed by his gracious presence and approval.

3. In our sufferings, when we perhaps most need him, and when his sympathy is peculiarly precious, consolatory, and helpful.

4. In our services; for how can we do his work, except beneath his direction and the encouragement of his smile?

III. THE BENEFITS OF THIS COMPANIONSHIP. When Christ is with us, in the varied scenes and experiences of our earthly life:

1. Our gratitude to him will be livelier.

2. Our love to him will be warmer.

3. Our conformity to his will and character will be more complete.

4. Our inseparability from him will be more assured.

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?”

“His is love beyond a brother’s,
Faithful, free, and knows no end.”

T.

Son 7:13

Garnered fruits.

When the bride invites the king to revisit the home of her childhood and the scenes of their early acquaintance and attachment, among other alluring representations she assures him that there will be found, laid up for his use by her thoughtful affection, all manner of precious fruits, new and old. A suitable emblem this of the gathered and garnered spiritual fruits which in this earthly life Christ’s people are expected to prepare for him at his coming, and which it will be their delight to offer to him as the expression of their grateful love. Properly understood, the main purpose of the Christian life is the growing, gathering, and garnering of precious fruits for the approval and service of the Lord.

I. WHAT THESE FRUITS ARE.

1. They are the fruits of spiritual life and experience.

2. They are the “fruits of the Spirit”the virtues especially Christian, fruits of righteousness, those qualities of character which are the peculiar growth of grace.

3. They are fruits of service; not things enjoyed so much as things achieved.

II. WHY ARE THEY LAID UP FOR CHRIST? Because:

1. They are the fruit of his own garden, the growth which testifies to the care and culture of the Divine Husbandman.

2. They are of a nature to yield a peculiar satisfaction and pleasure to him.

3. They are such as he will use for his own purposes, and for the display of his own glory and praise.T.

Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary

Son 7:1. How beautiful are thy feet with shoes Instead of shoes, we might read more properly sandals. The word nadib, here rendered prince, is in Psa 47:9; Psa 107:40 used in the plural number to denote the Hebrew chiefs, or rulers of tribes: it is rendered, Isa 13:2 by the word nobles.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

See Son 5:1 ff for the passage comments with footnotes.

Son 7:1. Come back, come back, Shulamith, etc. As according to our understanding of Son 7:11-12 Shulamith expresses in them her longing for the simpler circumstances of her native region and speaks of her elevation to the kings throne as a distinction, which came to her without her knowledge, and contrary to her expectation, nothing is more natural than to conceive that she spoke this in a saddened and painfully excited mood, and to conjecture that her strong and painful feeling of home-sickness would be accompanied by a corresponding gesture. This gesture we must unquestionably suppose from the earnest and repeated call addressed to her by the ladies of the court come back, turn back ( comp. Jdg 5:12) was that of intending to go away, to escape from the vicinity of the vicious court of the king, which had become offensive to her. She does not purpose to withdraw from the kings garden (Dpke, Delitzsch, etc.), in which besides she could scarcely have been at the time, but from the vicinity of the king altogether, who had greatly grieved her, and that of the ladies of his court, whose society she feels that she must henceforth avoid. Hence it is that the latter (for it is to them that Shulamiths answer what do you see in Shulamith? is directed) call to her, entreating her to turn again and permit them still to look upon her charming person. For this is the only sense in which that we may look upon thee ( not materially different from Son 6:11) can be taken, viz.: that of beholding with delight, feasting the eyes upon her to whom they had long before accorded the praise of beauty (comp. their frequent form of address, fairest among women, Son 1:8; Son 5:9; Son 6:1). That it is the ladies of the court, who address to her this summons to return and remain, and not Solomon (whom many of the older commentators regard as the speaker in these words, see Starke), is either to be explained by Solomons uniting in the call of the women (comp. Dpke, Ewald, etc.), or better still by the assumption that he who was more affected than all others by her attempt to go away, does more than barely call her back, he seeks by loving force to detain her; and hence, speechless with passionate emotion, he first embraces and holds her, that he may afterwards fetter her by the fondest adulation1 (Son 7:2 ff.).What do you see in Shulamith? This question asked by the party addressed is doubtless to be understood as modestly declining the praise indirectly bestowed upon her beauty in thus calling her. Shulamith wishes to be no longer looked at and admired by such people as Solomons concubines and the ladies of his court; this has become oppressive to her. The humility of her entire question certainly characterizes also her designation of herself (lit., in the Shulamitess, i.e. not in this Shulamitess but in one who is a Shulamitess; comp. 1Ki 20:36 : Isa 7:14; Joel 4:3, etc.). Its meaning is certainly no other than why do you look at me, a plain country girl (Hitzig)? what you see in the simple daughter of a Galilean village? is, as the article shows both here and where it was used in the vocative, certainly not the proper name of a person (so most of the ancient versions and interpreters); no more is it an adjective meaning favored, treated with kindness (Weissb.), but a gentile noun, synonymous with 1Ki 1:3; 2Ki 4:12; 2Ki 4:25, of which it is only a dialectic variation; it is accordingly a designation of the person in question from or , the place of her abode.2 This place, the of Eusebius and Jerome in his Onomast. and the modern Slam appears to have received its name, which originally may have been = ladder, on account of its location on a steep mountain declivity (comp. Robinson, Pal. II. 234), just as many other mountains, e.g. that mentioned 1Ma 11:59 bear the name (comp. Hitzig in loc. and Urgeschichte der Philister, p. 126). According to Jos 19:18 this Shunem was situated in the tribe of Issachar, according to 1Sa 28:4; 1Sa 29:1; 1Sa 29:11; 1Sa 31:1 not far from Mount Gilboa and the plain of Jezreel, according to 2Ki 4:22-25 not very remote from Mount Carmel (comp. on Son 7:6 of this chapter, and above on Son 2:8; Son 3:6; Son 4:1; Son 4:8; also the Introduction, p. 6). As the dance of Mahanaim. Some interpreters after the example of the Vulg. (quid videbis in Sulamite, nisi choros castrorum?) connect the difficult words with the question why will ye look upon Shulamith, as one looks upon the dance of Mahanaim? (Hahn, Weissb., Renan, etc.,) or as at the dance of M. (Hitzig). But it seems more natural and better suited to the context with the majority of both the older and more recent commentators, to regard these words as the answer to the question of Shulamith, given of course by those who had asked her to return, and who take this mode of stating why they were in fact so much concerned to see Shulamith yet longer. They see in her something that resembles the dance of Mahanaim, something as magnificent and transporting as the dance of the angel-host, east of the Jordan on Jacobs return home to the promised land. See Gen 32:1-3, to which passage there is an unmistakable allusion here as Dpke, Delitzsch, Hengstenb., Meier, etc., correctly assume. This occurrence in the early patriarchal history as celebrated as Jacobs wrestling at Peniel (Gen 32:28, comp. Hos 12:4 ff.), this miraculous experience of the patriarch Jacob, to which the town of Mahanaim between Jabbok and the Jordan, the royal residence of the anti-Davidic northern kingdom under Ishbosheth (2Sa 2:8 ff.) owed its name, forms here the point of comparison and is evidently intended to represent the sight of Shulamith as of angelic beauty and heavenly sublimity, just as she had before been compared with the morning dawn, the sun and moon (Son 6:10), and in agreement with the fact that in other passages dances in praise of God are attributed both to the stars and to the angels of God (comp. Job 38:7; Jdg 5:20; Psa 103:21; Psa 148:2; 1Ki 22:19; Luk 2:13, etc.). The dance of Mahanaim is accordingly the well-known dance of the angels on the site where Mahanaim subsequently stood. It is not necessary to take in its appellative sense dance of the angel choirs (Dpke) or the angelic hosts (Gesen.) or the angel-camps (Del.) or the double army (Umbr., Weissb.; comp. the Targ. in loc.). We must, however, decidedly reject every interpretation of these words, which sees in them an invitation to dance, whether it is Solomon (so Bttcher), or the ladies of the court (Ew., Delitzsch, etc.), or Solomon and his companions (Dpke), who are supposed to make request of Shulamith to execute the famous dance of Mahanaim in their presence. Such a dance, whether it be regarded as a solemn festive dance, in which several took part (Ewald, Bttcher, etc.), or as a contra-dance of two ranks, one consisting of young men, and the other of young women (Hitzig), or as a solo dance by a danseuse of the Harem (Ren.), or as a country festival dance in the simple attire of a shepherdess or a vine-dresser (Del.) is as devoid of evidence for its historical existence, as it is impossible to demonstrate from the present context that it was in this instance actually performed. And if actually exhibited on the stage, and described in the terms that follow (Son 7:2 ff.), it certainly would not have afforded that most chaste spectacle, that indication of Shulamiths humility and childlike disposition which Delitzsch professes to see in it; comp. above No. 2, p. 94.

8. Conclusion. c.Solomons final laudation of the beauty of his beloved,Son 7:2-6. Delitzsch alone has put this description into the mouth of the daughters of Jerusalem instead of that of Solomon [so Taylor, Good, Williams, Fry, Patrick, Ainsworth and others on the ground chiefly that the king is spoken of in the third person, Son 7:5], against which, however, may be urged not only the sameness of the tone, which prevails in this as in the following brief section (Son 7:7-10), but also the circumstance that the caressing speeches here go further in one point at any rate, and to say the least, are more undisguised than could have been expected from the mouth of women (see Son 7:3). This description of the beauty of Shulamith also has the greatest similarity to those which Solomon had previously given (Son 4:1 ff.; Son 6:4 ff.), only it enumerates her various charms in the reverse order, by ascending from the feet to the head, and thus proceeds in conformity with the customary Hebrew phrase from the foot to the head (2Sa 14:25; Isa 1:6). That this inverted order of the description was not occasioned by the person described executing a dance, but simply arose from the poets desire for variety, is correctly recognized even by Hitzig; comp. also Ewald in loc. (vs. Delitzsch, Vaih., Renan and others). One point of contact with a preceding passage of like character in the poem is found in the ten beautiful parts of the body, which are here adduced as in Shulamiths description of the charms of her lover (Son 5:10-16).How beautiful are thy steps in the shoes, O princes daughter! That the beginning is made with the steps ( comp. Psa 58:11; 2Ki 19:24), i.e., with the feet as stepping, as in motion, proves nothing in favor of the dancing hypothesis already rejected. For to step is not = to dance, and Shulamith must have taken some steps at the beginning of this description, inasmuch as Solomon must have led her back to his or to her former position, or have conducted her to some seat after her purpose to go away. In doing so he points out to her her graceful and charming steps in her shoes, or in other words how very becoming the shoes, which she wears as a princes daughter, are to her as she walks! The shoes are manifestly mentioned as something which she did not wear originally and in common (comp. Son 5:3), as a constituent, therefore, of her new and elegant court dress, which had doubtless been prepared in a most luxurious manner, both in material and style, and probably were ornamented with bows of purple, yellow or variegated ribbons, like the showy sandals of noble Hebrew women in later times (comp. Eze 16:10; Jdt 10:9; Winer R.-W.-B., Art. Schuhe). She is at the same time designated a princes daughter or noble daughter in order to indicate her present high rank (not her noble descent, which according to Son 1:6; Son 2:8 ff., Son 6:11 is improbable). is here used in a wide sense for female in general, to mark the fem. gender, as Son 2:2; Son 6:9; Gen 30:13; Jdg 12:9, etc.; and the term noble may have been suggested by the which she had used just before. That this form of address is substantially synonymous with my sister bride has already been observed on Son 4:9 above. Thy rounded thighs are like jewels. Lit., the roundings of thy thighs, i.e., the rounded parts which constitute thy thighs ( genit. of the material [Greens Heb. Gram., 254, 4] as Psa 40:16; Psa 68:31, etc.The word is very variously explained necklace or jewels (Sept., Vulg., Syr., Rosenm., Magn., Vaih., Bttcher), clasps (Ew.), pearls (Hitzig), ornaments (Hengstenb.), or ornamental chains. As is shown by the singular ,, which occurs Pro 25:12; Hos 2:15, some elegantly made ornament must be intended, and according to the passage before us it must be composed of round, smoothly turned globules or pearls, as it is used to set forth the perfectly rounded shape of the thighs.The work of an artists hands. The sing. , which the Sept. and Syr. correctly retain, is here employed because the numerous globules or pearls strung together, form but one whole, one necklace. The form , of the same signification with Pro 8:30, and with the Chald. and Syr. (see Hitzig in loc., and Ewald, Lehrbuch, 152 b) serves to denote the artificer or artist (artifex) in contrast with the (, faber) workman who only performs the coarser kind of work. That a skilful turner is here particularly intended appears from . The rotundity of the thighs is one of the noted beauties of the female figure, not merely according to Oriental, but also according to Grecian taste, as is shown by the well-known attribute of Aphrodite .

Son 7:3. Thy navel is a round bowl. according to the unanimous testimony of the old translators = Eze 16:4, and = Arab. surr, i.e., navel (comp. on Pro 3:8). But, as we learn from the comparison with a round bowl or mixing vessel (on see just below), as well as from the following wish that this vessel may not lack mingled wine, the navel itself as such cannot be intended, but rather the whole belly (abdomen) with the navel as its centre. Correctly therefore Hahn, Vaih., Weissbach, etc., dein Schooss, (thy lap) by which expression the reference demanded by what follows is sufficiently intimated, whilst the translation pudenda (Magnus, Dpke, Hitzig) cannot be justified on linguistic grounds; for both Job 40:16, and the Arab, sirr (, arcanum) are only related, not identical ideas. plur. (Isa 22:24; Exo 24:6) does not denote a cup, but rather a bowl, a large round drinking vessel, here doubtless a bowl for mixing (, Sept., Vulg.) as the following mixed wine shows. For that they prepared this drink (a mixture of wine with warm or cold waterBerachoth 7, 5; 8, Song of Solomon 2 : Pesach 7, 13; Maasser 4, 4) exclusively in smaller vessels as cups, goblets, etc., can scarcely be proved by the formula (vs. Hitzig).Let not mixed wine be lacking. This wish, which is not to be converted with the older interpreters into an objective statement, as nunquam indigens poculisVulg.) or to which drink is never wanting (Luther), contains without doubt an allusion of like nature, but not so delicate as that contained in Son 5:12 ff.3 (comp. Pro 5:15 ff.). Some modern commentators vainly seek by various methods to escape this admission, e.g., Bttcher. by the assumption that this wish was only designed to set forth in a vivid manner the circular form of the navel; Hengstenb. by the allegorizing remark: the capacity of the church to revive the thirsty with a noble refreshing draught is represented under the emblem of a bowl always full of mixed wine; Del. by the assertion: The navel in so far as it became visible through her dress as she breathed harder in dancing (?) was like a circular cup which was not lacking in spiced wine (but with the following voluntative or jussive future!), i.e., as full of blooming health (Pro 3:8) as that of spiced wine.Thy body is a heap of wheat, set around with lilies. is certainly not a sheaf of wheat (Ewald, who here has in mind Rth 3:7, where, however, rather means a heap of sheaves), but an accumulated heap of grain (comp. 2Ch 31:6 ff.; Neh. 3:34), so that the point of comparison lies on the one hand in its being arched over, and on the other in its yellowish-white color, and perhaps also subordinately in the fruitfulness of such a heap of grain. Set around with lilies appears to allude to the custom of garnishing with flowers such a heap of wheat on the floor, when they threshed the grain in the open field immediately after the harvest (Dpke),a custom which, to be sure, has to be inferred solely from this passage. That the whole is a mere fancy picture (Weissb., Hitzig) is improbable. Yet the comparison was probably suggested by the lily-redwe would have to say the rose-redcolor of her dress which chastely and modestly covered, as it should, the body of the young lady, just as in Son 5:14 the sapphires enveloping the ivory figure indicated the color of the garment. At all events the characteristic feature, and the chief significance, perhaps, of the entire figure lies not in this subsidiary matter of setting it around with lilies, but in the heap of grain. Approximate parallels are adduced by Dpke, Magn., etc., e.g., a passage from Motanebbi (v. Hammer, p. 74), where the loins of a girl are likened to a sand-hill; Ommonrheif (Hamasa, in Reiske Taraf., p. 53), Nates habet ut tumulos aren rore compact;Nuweirius (loc. cit., p. 131): Poet comparant nates amat cum collibus arenaceis.

Son 7:4. Thy two breasts are like two young roes,etc.Comp. Son 4:5. Feeding among the lilies is omitted here, because the figure of lilies had just been employed with a somewhat different application; not from regard to Son 7:9, which has nothing to do with feeding either in figure or in fact (vs. Weissbach).

Son 7:5. Thy neck is like a tower of ivory.The tert. comp. lies on the one hand in its being slender and straight, and on the other in the pure white skin of the neck; it is therefore similar, though not exactly like that in Son 4:4. The ivory tower here mentioned is certainly different from the tower of David named there, inasmuch as it is not to be conceived of as a tower for defence or an arsenal, but without doubt a structure designed for purposes of luxury, like Ahabs ivory house (1Ki 22:39; comp. Amo 3:15; Psa 45:9), or like the ivory throne, on which Solomon sat, according to 1Ki 10:18 ff.Thine eyes pools in Heshbon.As Son 5:12 the eyes of the lover are compared with doves by brooks of water, bathing in milk, sitting on fullness, so here the eyes of his beloved are likened to light blue pools or basins of water, which charmingly mirror back the rays of the sun. Comp. Ovid, de arte amat., II., Song 722:oculos tremulo fulgore micantes, ut sol a liquida spe refulget aqua. The pools near Heshbon, perhaps just two pools lying near together before one of the principal gates of this city, may have been especially suited for such a comparison by the clearness of their sheets of water and the loveliness of their banks. Modern travellers, as Seetzen, Burckhardt, etc., still mention at least one large reservoir of water near Hesbn (the ancient Heshbon, the city of the Moabitish kings, Deu 2:24 ff.; Isa 15:4), lying in a wady south of the city, which is enthroned on a high hill, and consisting of excellent, masonry; comp. Crome, Palstina, I., 254 ff.At the gate of the daughter of multitudes.This daughter of multitudes ( lit. daughter of many, ) or populous city is assuredly Heshbon itself (comp. the frequent designation of cities by the personifying expression daughter, e.g., Isa 1:8; Isa 10:32; Isa 23:12; Psa 137:6), a city which in the age of David and Solomon was certainly next to Rabbath Ammon, the most populous place in the neighboring kingdoms, or rather provinces of Israel east of the Jordan. Hengstenbergs opinion is inadmissible that is only another expression for Rabbah, or Rabbath of the children of Ammon, so that here the pools of two trans-jordanic cities would be named. And so is Hitzigs notion that the populous is the name of a particular gate4 of the city of Heshbon ( therefore not genitive but appositive), viz., that at which the markets and the tribunals were commonly held; for there is no example anywhere else of the personification of the gates of a city as daughters.Thy nose like the tower of Lebanon, which looks toward Damascus.Literally: as a tower of Lebanon5but it does not follow from this absence of the definite article that one tower out of several of the same kind and situation is intended (Hitzig). For it is plainly designated as a watch-tower, or a look-out by ; and though there may have been in all several structures of this description on Mount Lebanon (for according to 2Sa 8:6 David had set military garrisons in Damascene Syria), yet there could scarcely have been more than one that looked toward Damascus, i.e., which served for the military observation of this city, which since Rezons defection had become dangerous to Israels northern frontier (comp. 1Ki 11:23-24). Naturally enough it cannot now be accurately determined where this tower of Lebanon is to be looked for, whether at Fukra, in the neighborhood of which Robinson indicates a remarkable tower probably designed for military purposes (Zeitschr. d. Deutsch.-Morgenl. Gesellsch. VII. 1, 77), or at Magdol, a place in the same region, with a very ancient temple looking to the north (ibid., p. 72). At all events, however, this tower of Lebanon is totally distinct from the tower of David mentioned Son 4:4, and this the more certainly as the latter served to represent a majestic and beautifully ornamented neck, and the former a straight nose, forming a handsome profile.

Son 7:6. Thy head upon thee like Carmel.On the somewhat inaccurate expression thy head upon thee, in which the head appears in some sort as an appendage to the entire man, comp. 2Ki 6:31; Jdg 14:18.The main thing to be regarded in the comparison with Carmel is, that next to Lebanon it is the loftiest mountain in Northern Palestine, and for this reason perhaps it is often designated head of Carmel (1Ki 18:42; Amo 9:3; comp. Jer 46:18); probably also there may be a subordinate reference to its being covered with dense woods, an emblem of a luxuriant growth of hair (Mic 7:14; comp. Son 5:13 a above)whilst its loveliness, which Hengstenberg would have to be most of all regarded, is probably left out of the account.And thy flowing looks like purple. here coma pendulaliterally the pendant, that which hangs down from thy head (comp. Isa 38:12, where it denotes the thrum, i.e., the threads of the old web hanging down on the loom, to which the new are attached) from pendere, Job 38:4.In the comparison of the hair with purple ( particularly denoting the red purple in distinction from the dark violet-blue purple or ) the color is not so much taken into considerationfor red hair, or such as at all inclines to a reddish cast, is not at all supposable in an Oriental beautyas its dark lustre (comp. Son 5:11). As also with the Greeks often has almost the same signification with , and hence, e.g., Anacreon (28:6, 7) uses as the synonym of ; Propertius, III., 17, 22, speaks of the purpurea coma of Nisus, and Suidas explains the Homeric by , (other pertinent citations from Tibull., Virg., Cic., Plin., etc., see in Rosenm. and Dpke in loc.). It is, moreover, also possible that some purple ornament, that Shulamith may have worn braided in her hair (comp. Iliad, 17:52), gave occasion to the comparison; whilst there is no need whatever of supposing an allusion to the later custom among the Hebrew women of dying their hair with henna and the like to give it a yellowish red appearance. Comp. Dpke in loc. and Winer R.-W.-B., Art. Haar.A king fettered by curls. The noble lustre of his beloveds head of hair just described makes the transition easy to the powerful effect which it, or more particularly her wonderfully beautiful locks, has wrought on him, her royal lover (comp. Son 4:9). On the comparison of pretty locks with nets or snares, in which the lover is caught, Sir 9:3-4, as well as numerous parallels from Oriental poets (in Ewald, Heiligst., and Dpke); also Pro 6:25, where this ensnaring effect is attributed to the eye-lashes, as Ecc 7:26, to the arms of the beloved object. The Vulg., Syr., Luth., and more recently Weissbach and Friedrich connect6 with : as the kings purple, or as purple of a king, but in so doing involve themselves in inextricable difficulties in the explanation of the concluding words: (e.g., Friedrich: as the purple of a king that is unbound like the folds in the troughs; Weissbach: as a kings purple fastened in running waterwhere an allusion is supposed to the purple dye-houses on the Phnician side of Carmel)!

9. Third Scene, a.Solomon: Son 7:7-11.

Son 7:7. How fair art thou, and how comely, O love, among delights.It is no more necessary here than in Son 3:10, to take in the sense of , as is done by the Vulg. (charissima) and Syr., or to point it accordingly as Hitzig proposes. We evidently have to do with an apostrophe to love as such, like that contained in Son 4:10, only for the more concrete idea thy love, the more universal one of love in general is here substituted. has substantially the same sense as in Son 2:7, Son 5:8, Son 8:6-7, or as in 2Sa 1:26, etc. In a strangely arbitrary manner Weissbach takes in its proper infinitive sense as in apposition with the predicate not as a vocative: how fair art thou, and how comely, a loving in delightwhich is made to mean one, to love whom awakens delight. (or Ecc 2:8) are not caresses (Hengstenb.), but the sensations of pleasure connected with them, joys, delights (comp. Pro 19:10, Mic 1:16; Mic 2:9). Solomon does not mean by it vulgar, carnal pleasure, but the sweet joys of connubial intercourse, as he now experiences them anew in embracing Shulamith.On the necessity of assuming either an exit of the chorus, or their withdrawal to the back-ground during the enthusiastic manifestations of conjugal tenderness which begin here, comp. above, No. 2, p. 100, where all that was necessary is noted respecting the propriety of having a new scene begin with this verse.

Son 7:8. This thy stature resembles a palm tree. The this before thy stature is commonly regarded as referring back to the description of the beauty of the beloved, contained in Son 7:2-6, which however is the more inadmissible, as separate parts only of the body were there spoken of, for whose combination into one idea (Son 5:15), and not , would have been the proper expression. Delitzsch correctly remarks: As he lets her go from his arms, he surveys her figure with his eyes, and finds it like the palm-tree, etc. To get a lively impression of her towering stature (comp. in Isa 10:33; Eze 31:3; Psa 37:24), he must have let go of her for a moment at least, and have contemplated her more from a distance. The female name Tamar, which is not an unusual one in the Old Test., is based upon the comparison, which is quite a favorite with oriental poets, of a tall and slender stature with the palm (comp. Fraehn on Ibn Fossl., p. 72; also Homer, Od. vii. 160). And thy breasts clusters,i.e. those of the palm-tree, by which must be intended the date-palm, loaded with its clusters of fruit (correctly Rosenmueller, Bttcher, Hitzig), especially as it is not until the following verse that the transition is made to clusters of grapes, which are expressly designated as such by the addition of the vine. That the date clusters are rather hard, and to that extent appear not to correspond to the swelling softness of the breasts, does not impair the suitableness of the comparison, as the only thing regarded is the form (vs. Weissb.) Moreover, the mention of breasts again in this passage (comp. Son 7:4) proves that the preceding description (Son 7:2-6) is not closely connected with that before us, and consequently that Weissbachs opinion that twelve beauties are designedly enumerated in Son 7:2-11 (viz., the stature and the breasts, in addition to the preceding ten), lacks confirmation.

Son 7:9. I resolve I will climb the palm-tree, is not to be taken as a preterite I said, or I resolved, at some former time, etc., as though these words referred back to Son 5:1 (so Vulg., Luther, etc.), but as a present, since several other wishes are uttered in what follows, but no mention is made of any previous fulfilment of these wishes. Comp. also Son 7:11, which plainly points to a fond desire of her lover, just manifested afresh, not to one entertained at a former period. I will grasp its boughs. lit. that which is on top (kindred with , to lift up), i.e., the branches and leaves forming the crown of the palm-tree. A more particular interpretation of the figure, e.g., so that the nose and mouth, which her lover wished to kiss, are here intended by the branches (Weissb.), is inadmissible, and leads to offences against good taste.And be thy breasts, please, like clusters of the vine (comp. on Son 7:8), and the breath of thy nose like apples. Nothing more is here expressed than the design to kiss, or to revel in the beauty and the sweetness of the face and the bosom of his beloved. Son 4:16; Son 5:1, is, therefore, not to be directly compared.The breath of the nose (comp. Isa 2:22, 2Sa 22:16) is here expressly mentioned, because this is what is perceived in kissing the mouth. The figure of apples is the more appropriate, because the apple derives its name in Hebrew from its delightful fragrance.

Son 7:10. And thy palate like the best wine. The palate is not named here as the organ of speech (Hengstenb. and others), but as a substitute for the mouth or the lips in respect to the sweet breath or lovely kisses (comp. Son 5:13). lit. wine of the good (comp. Pro 24:25), is equivalent to delightful, excellent wine. See on this periphrasis for the adjective, Ewald, Lehrb. 287, b [Greens Heb. Gram., 254, 6, b].Going down for my beloved smoothly. As the supposition that for my beloved has slipped in here by mistake from the 11th verse following (Amm., Heiligst., Hitz.: also Ewald formerly), is as arbitrary as its change to my love (Velth., Meier), or to beloved ones, friends (so Ewald now), there is no doubt that Shulamith here takes up the kings words, in order as in Son 4:16 to continue his description, and to give him to understand, in the most flattering way, that she fully responds to his love, and is ready to grant him every enjoyment, of it.Gliding over the lips of sleepers. Others: causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak (Mercerus, Hengstenb., Del., etc., connecting with speaking (in a bad sense), slander); or causing the lips of sleepers to long for it (Weissb.), etc. But for whence as the name of the bear with his slow and awkward gaitthe signification to flow gently, or to glide, is suitable enough, and the meaning undoubtedly is, that pleasant tasting wine easily puts one to sleep, so that he who drinks it is insensibly overtaken by slumber (correctly Ew.). There is certainly no allusion to the saliva oris of two lovers united in a kiss, (according to the expression in Lucretius, junguntque salivas oris,etc.) for such an image of refined sensuality is inconceivable in the mouth of the chaste Shulamith.

Son 7:11. I am my beloveds (comp. Son 6:3), and for me is his desire.Lit.: and on me (rests) his desire. as in Gen 3:16, the passage which lies at the basis of this, of the longing desire of the man for the society of his wife, not of gross sensual desires for sexual intercourse. The whole is a triumphant exclamation in which Shulamith joyfully affirms that her lover cannot exist without her, and it thus prepares the way for her making the request of him, which follows. With indescribable vulgarity Hitzig asserts that the concubine here recognizes with faltering voice and bursting eyes the mutual necessity of love.

10. Continuation and Conclusion. b. Shulamiths victorious assault on Solomons heart, Son 7:12 to Son 8:4.

Son 7:12. Come, my beloved, let us go out to the country.The beloved () who is addressed, can be no other than the one addressed just before in Son 7:10-11, that is to say, Solomon, not the shepherd, to whom she certainly would not have been obliged in the first instance to have expressed her wish to escape from the contracted city walls into the country in the form of an earnest entreaty, and a fluent and impassioned persuasion, even if he were with her in Jerusalem (vs. Bttch., Hitz., Ren.); and if he was not with her, it was utterly useless to address these words to him when far remote (vs. Ew., Vaih.). Her persuasion is plainly directed to a lover, who was really present, and besides was seriously meant, not a mere fantastical make-believe request, a desire which the petitioner was convinced beforehand could not possibly be granted (vs. Weissb.).Let us lodge in the villages.To the country () are here added villages ( from 1Sa 6:18; construct ) as in 1Ch 27:25. They are alone adapted to the idea of lodging, passing the night (), not cypress-flowers or alhennas, which Dderl., Ew., Meier unsuitably mingle in here, and which could scarcely have been so common then in the holy land, that people could sleep on them or under them (comp. on Son 1:14).On the necessity of spending at least two nights on the way from Jerusalem to Shunem, see on Son 3:8 above (p. 82).

Son 7:13. Let us start early for the vineyards.It is not vineyards lying on the route to Shunem, which they might visit on their way, that are here intended, but doubtless the vineyards at Shulamiths home, and probably her own. For it was in these alone that she could take so lively an interest as is expressed in what follows.We shall see whether the vine has sprouted, its blossoms opened.The vines and pomegranates here named are the same as those in Son 6:11. Shulamith wishes to return with her lover to just those innocent rural occupations and pleasures, which are there described as belonging to her former mode of life. The season implied, as in Son 6:11 and in Son 2:11 ff., is the springthat period in the year which most incites and allures to the enjoyment of external nature. It is inadmissible to suppose that precisely one year had elapsed between the spring depicted in those passages and that which is here implied (Hitz.). It is more probableinasmuch as the whole action appears to run its course in two or three weeks (comp. on Son 2:8 ff. above, p. 69)that the same spring is meant here as there, supposing the poet to have formed a clear conception of the intervals between the main particulars of the action.There will I give thee my love. means not thy caresses bestowed on me, but mine bestowed on thee. This to be sure, she has already granted him (see Son 4:16; Son 7:7 ff.), but not as yet continuously, nor without temporary disturbances and interruptions (comp. Son 6:4 f.; Son 6:11), nor as yet with the full and unreserved opening of her heart. But there ( with strong emphasis, as Amo 7:12) there amid the loveliness and joyous freedom of fair nature she will become entirely his.Observe how little this passage again suits the so-called shepherd hypothesis; or even Weissbachs supposition that Shulamith is not serious in uttering the wish before us, and that is therefore to be taken conditionally: There would I giveif it were only supposable that you could go with me (?!).

Son 7:13. The mandrakes give forth their odor. are not lilies (Luther), but the fruit of the mandrake (mandragora vernalis, or atropa mandragora), a wild plant common in Palestine, particularly in Galilee (Schubert, Reise, III., 117), of the same genus with the belladonna, with small whitish-green blossoms, which in May or June become small yellow apples, about the size of a nutmeg, of a strong and agreeable odor ( , Test. Issachar, 100:1; comp. Dioscorid. IV. Song 76: ). As now these apples have a pleasant smell, but not the blossoms nor the plant itself, Shulamith of course refers to the former, and here therefore looks forward to a more advanced season than in Son 7:13that is to say, the time of wheat harvest (see Gen 30:14), as in what follows in her mention of this years fruit her imagination goes still further forward.These apples, according to Gen 30:14-16, were regarded as an artificial provocative of sexual love (whence also the name from ,) even in the earliest Oriental antiquity; so also by the Greeks and Romans, by whom they were therefore called , Circeta (comp. also the name in Hesychius and Phavorinus), by the Arabs, who to this day call them tuffh es-Shaitn, Satans apples, by all Christendom in the middle ages (see Graesse, Beitrge zur Litetur und Sage des Mittelalters, 1850), and by many still in modern times; comp., e.g., Father Myller in his Journey to the Promised Land: This root (!), which I found in the wilderness of St. John the Baptist, and brought considerable of it away with me, has many medicinal virtues, removes barrenness, and makes efficacious love-potions. (See Del., Genesis, p. 467.) Shulamith certainly does not name the dudaim here on account of these supposed aphrodisiac qualities, much less does she mean to intimate an intention to prepare a magic potion from them to excite her lover to a higher degree of affection. This fruit is rather to her in her innocence and simplicity merely the symbol of love, and her naming them here like the excellent fruits of all sorts over our doors is merely designed to add to the attractions and enjoyments of her home, which she had before mentioned, such as were new and less familiar to her lover (see Weissb. in loc.). Meier goes too far in seeking a symbolic sense for the words, when he understands the love apples are fragrant to mean simply I am deeply in love, and the old fruit and the new there mentioned to signify the sweet fruits of love, of which she would give him to partake, the old love which had been in existence hitherto, and the new, which would meanwhile grow up and reach a heightened intensity. See in opposition to this allegorizing, which fritters away the simple freshness of a description so true to nature for the sake of insipid trivialities, Hitz. and Weissb. in loc.And over our doors are all sorts of excellent fruit, new as well as old.By our doors Shulamith means the doors of her parental home in Shunem, where, besides her brothers and sister (Son 1:6; Son 8:8), her mother still lived (comp. Son 3:4; Son 8:2). This house had probably several doors, at all events a front and a back door, and likely also side doors, whence the plural. On shelves in the inside over these doors they may have kept choice ripe fruit, as is often done in our farmers houses; hence the over before our doors, which can neither mean in front of (Luther, v. Amm.), nor within (Magn.) nor by or at (Cocc., Hahn, Goltz, etc.). Pro 17:19 also seems to allude to a use of the beams or boards over the doors of rustic dwellings for keeping various objects (even if not exactly for the construction of regular store-rooms).On lit., excellencies, precious things comp. Son 4:13. refers to the various kinds of this fine fruit, not as Weissb. affirms, to the distinction between this years and last years fruit. As regards these two expressions ( ), they are both to be taken in the same sense as Mat 13:52 (comp. also Lev 25:22; Lev 26:10), and as epithets limiting ; they must not in violation of the accents be connected with the final clause I have, my beloved, laid up for thee (vs. Magn., Del., Meier). This as well as the reference of the verb to the whole sentence from onward, as if the last three clauses of the verse formed one long period (Ew., Umbr., Weissb.) is inadmissible, for though she might speak of having stored old or last years fruit for her lover, the same could not be said of this years, which had still to ripen and grow.

See Son 8:1 for DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL.

Footnotes:

[1][The abruptness with which this verse is introduced and the ambiguity of some of its expressions make its meaning extremely doubtful and have led to a variety of uncertain conjectures, but do not justify the acceptance of the incredible sense here put upon it. According to the view which is entertained of the context it has been supposed to be addressed to the bride, who was rising to leave the speakers (Taylor), or had been borne away from them by her inward rapture figuratively described in the preceding verse (Moody Stuart), or who had parted from them in company with her husband (Patrick), or who was timidly shrinking from meeting him (Williams, Good, the latter of whom renders thus: virgins.Return, return, O bride of Solomon! Return, return, that we may yet respect thee. Royal Bride.What do you expect from the bride of Solomon? Virgins.Fortitude, like the conflict of two armies). Or it is thought to be a call upon the bride to return from her alienation to her husband (Ainsworth, Burrowes, as well as Wordsworth, who thinks that the iteration of the appeal denotes a summons to both Jew and Gentile to return to God and to one another in Christ and His Church), or to return in peace from victorious conflict (Thrupp, who compares Jos 10:21; Jdg 8:9; Jdg 11:31; 1Ki 22:28).Tr.]

[2][The article as well as the form of the noun certainly favor its derivation from the place of her birth or residence. The chief objections to it are, first that Shunem is never called Shulem in the Bible but always Shunem and its inhabitants Shunammites; and secondly, the bride is called a princes daughter, Son 7:2. The derivation from Solomon (to which Clarke compares Charlotte from Charles, Henrietta from Henry, etc.), is favored by most English commentators, and still divides the suffrages of the learned, though it does not satisfactorily account for the form of the name nor explain the presence of the article. Its derivation from Salem in the sense of Jerusalem, as though it were equivalent to Jerusalemite, as Gill and others suggest after Kimchi and Aben Ezra is utterly inadmissible. Others follow the example of Aquila () and attribute to it an appellative sense as derived from the root ; so Patrick: perfect, and Thrupp: The peace-laden, lit., the bepeaced. The name is derived from the same root as Solomon and stands in partial correspondence with it.Tr.]

[3][There is no reason for suspecting an indelicacy in this perfectly harmless expression. Neither the words employed, the mode of their employment, nor the connection in which they stand warrant such an imputation. Noyes correctly says the spiced wine is mentioned merely to set off the beauty and richness of the cup. Moody Stuart: The dress of the bride is described throughout except where clothing is not worn, as on the neck and the face. The proof of this is ample and irresistible in the very first line of the picturethe feet beautiful with shoes. The person might have been clothed, while the feet were unshod; but it was impossible that the feet should be beautified with the finest sandals, without the whole person being arranged as a bride adorned for her husband. Both the terms, therefore, in this verse are of necessity parts of dress covering the corresponding parts of the person, according to the tendency in all languages to transfer the names that designate the living body to the dress that both conceals and adorns it. There is a great agreement of critics, as well as obvious suitableness in interpreting the goblet of wine as an image of the clasp that secures the girdle, composed probably of rubies to which wine is often compared. So substantially also Patrick, Harmer, Parkhurst, Taylor, Williams, and others. Good, on the contrary, objects to the opinion that the royal poet, instead of delineating the personal charms, the unbought graces of his accomplished fair, is merely describing her different habiliments with the splendid figures which were wrought on them. Against such an interpretation I cannot but strongly protest, as equally unpoetical, and unjust to the text. In the literal sense of the original, I see no indelicacy whatever, and there ought to be no indelicacy in its translation. The royal bard is merely assuming a liberty, and that in the chastest manner possible, which we are daily conceding in our age to every painter and sculptor of eminence. Good coincides in opinion with Zckler, that navel is here used in a wide sense for the whole of the surrounding region, and proposes the rendering waist. Adopting this suggestion, Burrowes presents the following picture as his conception of the figure here described: First, the feet more beautiful in the elegant sandals; then the contour, the folds of the bridal dress falling around the hips, graceful as the curvature of a rich necklace wrought by a finished hand; next, the body like a heap of wheat encompassed with lilies; then, the waist expanding into the bosom, elegant as a goblet rounded gracefully upwards, and filled with the richest spiced wine. Scott: Comeliness of person, not richness of attire or ornament, is intended; otherwise the commendations would be equally appropriate to the most deformed, if splendidly attired, as to the most beautiful; nor is there any need to remove the garments in order to distinguish a very well proportioned and comely person from others in the most ordinary intercourse of life. Either men or women may disguise themselves by decoration; but becoming raiment sets off the form of those who wear it.]

[4][So Thrupp: That gate of Heshbon which opened northeastward in the direction of Rabbah of Ammon, or the gate of approach to the pools, the portal through which the multitude of the Gentile world presses to drink to the full of the clear and unruffled waters of Christian doctrine.]

[5][The correct translation is the tower of Lebanon, the entire expression being rendered definite by the article before the last noun; See Greens Heb. Gram. 246, 3.Tr.]

[6][So too Houbigant and Thrupp; the latter of whom renders: like royal purple enfixed among the wainscotings. The picture is that of a rich chamber, on the walls of which are carved wooden panels alternate with purple hangings. The former serve to relieve and to show off the beauty of the latter, to which latter the well-ordered and well-fastened tresses of the brides hair are compared.]

Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange

CONTENTS

Here is the same subject prosecuted through the greater part of this chapter as the former, namely, the beauty of the church as in the eyes of her Husband. Towards the close of it, the church humbly professeth her hope and faith in Jesus.

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince’s daughter! the joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman. (2) Thy navel is like a round goblet, which wanteth not liquor: thy belly is like an heap of wheat set about with lilies. (3) Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins. (4) Thy neck is as a tower of ivory; thine eyes like the fishpools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bathrabbim: thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus. (5) Thine head upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair of thine head like purple; the king is held in the galleries.

This chapter opens with an address of Christ to his Church, which is replete with the same warm expressions of love; for there is no change in Christ. Having loved his own which are in the world, he loveth them to the end. Joh 13:1 . Here is a new name, or title, by which the Lord is pleased to distinguish her, for he calls her, O Prince’s daughter: perhaps in allusion to what scripture hath said of the church of Christ at large, and of all believers in particular. Thus in one of the Psalms the church is called the King’s daughter. Psa 45:10-16 . And moreover, the church, and every individual of the church, is such being children of God by adoption and by grace. Joh 1:12-13 . And indeed, when Christ condescended to marry our nature, he made that nature royal. Isa 54:5 . I will not detain the Reader with following up every description which Christ here gives his church, for it would lead into too extensive a subject. Some of the things here said in this, and the following verses concerning the Church’s beauty, have been said before; see Son 7:3 , compared with Son 4:5 : but it is somewhat remarkable that the church should have commended Christ under ten several particulars, and that the Lord Jesus should have thought proper in celebrating the beauty of his church, to have taken exactly the same number of heads to dwell upon. Some of these features are very plain and expressive, and cannot be mistaken, if construed agreeably to the general analogy of scripture. By the feet of the church, no doubt, intended the ministers of the gospel of Christ, whose feet on the mountains are said to be beautiful in their publishing peace. Isa 52:7 . And the head, like Carmel, intimating how high, in consequence, of the church’s union with Christ, she is exalted. He is the head of his body the church, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all. Eph 1:23 . By the King being held in the galleries, seems to imply how closely allied Jesus is to his church; and that when the church lays hold of Christ in the galleries of ordinances, or his promises; or, in short, in any of the covenant-engagements, the church may, and by his grace, by virtue of her interest in his blood and righteousness, will detain him. Gen 32:26 .

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

I Said, I Will Go Up to the Palm-Tree (Palm Sunday)

Son 7:8

It is worth while noticing how often expressions of faith, and hope, resolution, and penitence, begin with that ‘I said’. We begin by saying the doing is a very different matter. Our Lord’s was doing first, and saying afterwards: ‘the former treatise have I made of all that Jesus began both to do and to teach’.

I. ‘I said, I will go up to the palm-tree.’ None ever doubted that by this palm-tree is meant the Cross. It is as though the faithful soul had, at the first commencement of her true service of her Lord, looked on the Cross as the sign of all victory, the form of all glory, the crown of such innumerable: triumphs. But she forgot that it was something else besides all this that the struggle preceded the victory, that the wilderness came before the Promised Land, that the Cross came first and then the palm.

This true and living palm, this Cross, with its precious fruits, is set before us, and we must go to it; go up to it, mind: for uphill work it is, as we all know, as, the more we have tried to draw near to it, the better we know. Like that palm, it flourishes) best in barren and dry lands where no water is: the heavier weights it has to bear, like the palm, it grows; the better.

II. ‘I will take hold of the boughs thereof.’ And how? Surely, in the first place, by clinging to them as the only firm hold in the evil day. We have all read of shipwrecked men, when washed by some enormous wave on the shore, how they have grasped at some rock or stump, and held on to it as for very life during the recoil of the wave So it is that, in the shipwreck of this world, we must cling on to the Cross: no one ever perished there yet: the thief was saved that grasped it in the very last hour: Judas would there have been saved if he had cast Himself at the foot, and had cried to Him that hung thereon, ‘I will not let Thee go, except Thou bless me’.

III. But why are we to apply this verse to ourselves, and think of our own poor sayings, when the very time would rather have us refer them to our Elder Brother, the voice of Whose Blood will so soon cry from the ground: ‘I said, I will go up to the palm-tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof. And so He did twice. Once, when He took them up in His arms to carry them to the top of Calvary; lastly, when with a still firmer and more painful grasp, a grasp which nothing but death could loose, He took hold on them there. Had He let them go, He had let us go along with them; but seeing it is written, ‘My Father which gave them Me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father’s hand’; therefore, He still held them fast, not willing, even in the act of death, to be separated from them.

J. M. Neale, Sermons on the Song of Songs, p. 291.

References. VII. 8. J. M. Neale, Sermons on the Song of Songs, p. 286; see also p. 301, and Sermons Preached in Sackville College Chapel, vol. i. p. 224. VII. 11-13. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. x. No. 605; vol. xviii. No. 1066. VII. 12, 13. J. M. Neale, Sermons on the Song of Songs, p. 307.

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 7:1 How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince’s daughter! the joints of thy thighs [are] like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman.

Ver. 1. How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, &c. ] Before he had described her from head to foot; now back again, from foot to head, taking in ten parts of his spouse, concerning whom – such was his love – he thought he could never say sufficient. He begins at the lowest and most abject part, the feet, not without admiration of them. O quam pulchri sunt pedes tui! “Oh, how beautiful are thy feet with shoes!” A temporal calling honours our profession; so some understand it. Others make the meaning to be, the Church’s being “shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace”; Eph 6:15 ready pressed to “run with patience the race that is set before her.” Heb 12:1 To run is active; to run with patience is passive. This prince’s daughter (Atalanta-like) can only skill of this “running with patience,” as being shod with Tachash skin , Eze 16:10 bestowed upon her by her spouse, as a love token, that is, with sound affections and holy actions. Whereas wicked men are carried captive by the devil, as the Egyptians once were by the Assyrians, Isa 20:4 “naked and barefoot,” and so “perish from the way.” Psa 2:12

O prince’s daughter.] Thou that hast him for thy father “in whose hands are all the corners of the earth,” and is supreme King of the universe. This is such a privilege and preferment as St John stands amazed at. 1Jn 3:1 “Behold,” saith he, qualem et quantum, “what manner of love the Father hath showed unto us, that we should be called the sons” and daughters “of God Almighty.” 2Co 6:18 All privileges are summed up in this; and in Joh 1:12 it is called a power or prerogative a royal; it is to be of royal blood of heaven; it is to be an heir of God and co-heir with Christ. Kings can make their firstborn only heirs, as Jehoshaphat. 2Ch 21:3 But all God’s children are firstborn, and so “higher than the kings of the earth.” Psa 89:27

The joints of thy thighs are like jewels, &c., ] i.e., Thy loins are compassed with the belt of truth; for so some render it, The compassing of thy thighs or loins. And here, if ever, ungirt, unblest. “Gird up therefore the loins of your minds”; 1Pe 1:13 gird yourselves and serve God. Luk 17:8 Girding implies readiness, nimbleness, handiness, handsomeness. A loose, discinct, and diffluent mind is unfit for holy actions.

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Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Song of Solomon Chapter 7

Son 7 .

Thus will be accomplished the confident and bright anticipation of “the Israel of God,” expressed vividly in Psa 73:24 , but travestied in most versions through unbelief of their just hopes, and the consequent substitution for them of Christian feeling, quite beside the mark in the psalm of Asaph or of any other in the book. “Thou wilt guide me by [or in] thy counsel, and after glory thou wilt receive me.” So it will be with the earthly bride, but not with the heavenly; which last being assumed probably led to the singular departure from all legitimate construction, and tends to keep the unwary English reader in the continual misinterpretation of the Psalms. Christ, as made known to the church, was received up in glory on the accomplishment of redemption, and will receive us to Himself changed at His coming, before He displays us as the sharers of His heavenly glory in His kingdom. The reception of Zion, guided in a way little known and through desolating sorrow, will be after glory appears. Compare Psa 85:9 , Psa 102:13-22 , and Zec 2:8 .

Like the last chapter from ver. 4, this again is the utterance of the Bridegroom save from the latter part of ver. 9 to the end.

“How beautiful are thy steps in sandals, O prince’s daughter!

The joints of thy thighs like jewels, work of the hands of a skilful artist.

Thy navel [is] a round goblet, wanting not mixture;

Thy belly, a heap of wheat set about with lilies;

Thy two breasts are two fawns, twins of a gazelle;

Thy neck as a tower of ivory;

Thine eyes, the pool in Heshbon by the gate of Bath-rabbim;

Thy nose as the tower of Lebanon looking toward Damascus;

Thy head upon thee as Carmel, and the locks of thy head as purple-

The king held captive in the tresses.

How fair and how pleasant [art] thou, love, in delights!

This thy stature [is] as a palm-tree, and thy breasts [grape-] clusters.

I said, I will go up the palm-tree, I will take hold of the branches thereof;

And thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy nose as apples;

And the roof of thy mouth as the best wine-

Goeth down aright for my beloved,

Gliding over the lips of those asleep.

I am my beloved’s, and his desire [is] toward me.

Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field, let us lodge in the villages;

Let us get up early to the vineyards, let us see if the vine hath budded,

The blossoms appear, the pomegranates bloom: there will I give thee my loves.

The mandrakes yield fragrance; and at our doors [are] all choice fruits:

New and old I have laid them up for thee, my beloved” (vers. 1-13).

It is the expression of His complacency in the bride. What a change for the Christ-despising Jew does grace effect! We know it, for ourselves too well, too little for Him. All that He accounts goodly and fragrant is of Him whether now or in that day. And the fruit of the godly remnant’s progress in the knowledge of Messiah’s love appears in verse 10, as compared with Son 2:16 , and Son 6:3 . They, as ourselves, as all that are genuine, must begin with “My Beloved is mine, and I am His.” It is the true order of grace. He looked on the bride and deigned Himself to become hers, as she is His. Now at length she wakes up to the infinite love that she once blindly and proudly refused to her ruin. Now she knows that He is the King, and that He loves her spite of all and is hers, and that she is His. Even then how much had she to learn! But she does gradually learn more and more of His love to her, and what she was in His eyes. Hence, in Son 6:3 , she can say, even after feeling her folly and the self-judgment it wrought in her, “I am my Beloved’s, and my Beloved is mine.” This is a great step in its season, and the mark of confidence in His love. And here, in Son 7:10 , it again takes the first place with language which seals her sense of His affection. ”I am my Beloved’s, and His desire is toward me.” Surely it is most holy and sovereign in its grace, but love that answers, by the Holy Spirit’s power, to Him Who, as the prophet says, will not only save but rejoice over His bride with joy-will rest in His love and exult over her with singing.

Then will follow in due time the mission of Israel, renewed and humble, and the going out of heart for the blessing of others. What joy for all families of the earth when the ancient promise to the fathers of the faithful is literally in all its extent fulfilled! What a morrow after the long night of sin and shame and tears! But this cannot be till the faithless one owns her sins and receives the beloved, saying in truth of heart, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of Jehovah. Then too, when men are blessed under the Blesser, shall the earth itself yield its long pent increase. But none the less shall Zion have her own peculiar place of love and honour here below. It is ours to enjoy and testify the grace that gathers to the glorified One in heaven, whence we look for Him and are assured He will come and take us there, even to the Father’s house. But in that day Zion will be glad and the daughters of Judah rejoice, because of His judgments which inaugurate earth’s peace and blessedness under His righteous rule.

Fuente: William Kelly Major Works (New Testament)

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Son 7:1-9 a

1How beautiful are your feet in sandals,

O prince’s daughter!

The curves of your hips are like jewels,

The work of the hands of an artist.

2Your navel is like a round goblet

Which never lacks mixed wine;

Your belly is like a heap of wheat

Fenced about with lilies.

3Your two breasts are like two fawns,

Twins of a gazelle.

4Your neck is like a tower of ivory,

Your eyes like the pools in Heshbon

By the gate of Bath-rabbim;

Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon,

Which faces toward Damascus.

5Your head crowns you like Carmel,

And the flowing locks of your head are like purple threads;

The king is captivated by your tresses.

6How beautiful and how delightful you are,

My love, with all your charms!

7Your stature is like a palm tree,

And your breasts are like its clusters.

8I said, ‘I will climb the palm tree,

I will take hold of its fruit stalks.’

Oh, may your breasts be like clusters of the vine,

And the fragrance of your breath like apples,

9And your mouth like the best wine!

Son 7:1 Remember that the NJB follows the MT and begins chapter 7 at NASB’s Son 6:13.

As usual the speaker is uncertain:

1. the man

2. the daughters of Jerusalem

There are many geographical references in the love poem:

1. Heshbon, Son 7:4

2. Bath-rabbim, Son 7:4

3. Lebanon, Son 7:4

4. Damascus, Son 7:4

5. Carmel, Son 7:5

6. the villages, Son 7:11

7. the Jezreel valley not specifically mentioned here (i.e., Son 7:11-12), but alluded to in Son 6:11.

Interestingly this love poem starts at her feet, not her head, as the other love poems.

How beautiful This and Son 7:7 are the same VERB as Son 4:10 (BDB 421, KB 421, Qal PERFECT). This is now the third description (wasf, love poems) of the beauty of the Shulammite maiden (cf. Son 4:10).

This same root, used as an ADJECTIVE, is found many times in Song of Songs (cf. Son 1:8; Son 1:15 [twice]; Son 2:10; Son 2:13; Son 4:1 [twice],7; Son 5:9; Son 6:1; Son 6:4).

your feet in sandals In this verse, her beauty is the way she walks. Her walk displays her feet and accentuates her hips.

NASB, NKJV,

NJBO prince’s daughter

NRSVO queenly maiden

JPSOAO daughter of nobles

The phrase is a CONSTRUCT of daughter (BDB 123 I) and noble or prince (BDB 622). The same term (BDB 622) is found in Son 6:12 and often in Wisdom Literature (17 times) and three times in Isaiah.

The question is, What does it imply?

1. She is from a noble or wealthy family.

2. This is typical language of love poetry of the ancient Near East (i.e., standard hyperbole).

3. It is a metaphor of her beauty and the grace with which she carries herself.

curves This term is found only here (BDB 330, KB 327), but it is related to the root, turn away (BDB 330, KB 330) used in Son 5:6, implying a turn, or a curve in motion. She had shapely hips or thighs!

like jewels This term is found only here. A related form is in Pro 25:12, where it is parallel to a gold nose or earring. Here it refers to some kind of ornament, possibly a necklace (as a necklace is rounded, so too, are the maiden’s thighs).

Son 7:2 navel This term (BDB 1057) appears only here in the OT and seems to refer to the scar left by the umbilical cord. The navel (related root, cf. Eze 16:4) is exposed in all Egyptian art, which shows it was seen as beautiful.

Which never lacks mixed wine This seems to refer to the wide variety of potential lovemaking practices. Song of Songs uses all the senses to describe lovemakingsight, taste, smell, and touch. Westerners easily blush at this genre of poetry!

wine Literally this is the word for mixture (BDB 561), found only here in the OT, which was used to denote wine mixed with

1. water

2. spices

3. other fermented juices

4. older strong wine with new wine

See Special Topic: Biblical Attitudes Toward Alcohol and Alcohol Abuse in the ancient Near East. Here the term is used metaphorically for the intoxication of love (cf. Pro 5:18-19).

belly This (BDB 105 #6) is probably in reference to the womb (i.e., Job 31:15; Psa 139:13; Ecc 11:5).

Fenced about with lilies This is metaphorical language about the shape and smell of the woman’s womb. Lilies are a recurrent theme (cf. Son 2:2; Son 4:5; Son 5:13; Son 6:2-3; Son 7:2; Son 7:12). This is love poetry! It is affirming the goodness and God-givenness of human sexuality. Procreation by sexual intercourse is God’s will and command (cf. Gen 1:28)! I am so surprised that western culture, with its graphic movies, is shocked by ancient Semitic love poetry! Get over it! Physical creation is as beautiful and part of God’s plan as is spirituality. We must embrace our sexuality, but realize for our own good in a fallen, me-first world, God has placed guidelines (sex within marriage). Song of Songs is a joyful fulfilment of a God-given desire. Love and sex can be, should be, fully affirmed and enjoyed within Scriptural guidelines! Remember, drinking wine from your wife’s navel is a Scriptural admonition!

Son 7:3 This is a repeat of Son 4:5, but Son 7:7 is a new item!

breasts This aspect of the maiden’s developing womanhood is mentioned several times (Son 4:5; Son 7:3; Son 8:10). Breasts function as a metaphor for sexual attraction and fulfilment (cf. Pro 5:19).

Son 7:4 These descriptions seem so strange to us. Remember, beauty is a cultural thing. What is attractive to one culture is shocking to another. Cities were often seen as feminine. Prominent physical features (i.e., long neck, large nose, etc.) were positives!

The beauty of the eyes (the only part of the face clearly seen from behind the veil) is a recurrent theme (cf. Son 1:15; Son 4:1; Son 4:9; Son 5:12; Son 7:4). However, sometimes the eyes can be dangerous (cf. Son 6:5) as can a necklace (cf. Son 4:9) and the hair (cf. Son 7:5). Weak eyes would denote a less attractive woman (i.e., Leah, Gen 29:17).

Heshbon This is a city in the transJordan area (i.e., Moab, cf. Num 21:26).

Bath-rabbin Literally this is daughter of multitudes. It was possibly the name of an actual gate in Heshbon.

Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon Large noses were considered attractive by the ancient Shemites.

Son 7:5 Carmel This ridge in northern Israel was known for its beautiful forest. So because of this parallelism this refers to her hair.

Some commentators think it is an allusion to the majesty of the mountain ridge and, therefore, refers to her posture. She walks well (Son 7:1) and she stands well (Son 7:5).

like purple threads This may refer to the color (shining dark hair), but probably to the beauty and rarity of this lady’s hair. This same color was used to describe Solomon’s palanquin in Son 3:10.

The king is captured by your tresses There is no DEFINITE ARTICLE with king. This terminology (i.e., king and queen) is common in ancient Near Eastern love poetry.

Notice the man is said to be captivated by the maiden several times:

1. Son 4:9

2. Son 6:5

3. Son 7:5

tresses This is the word locks (BDB 923), found only here in the OT. Apparently it is used in the sense of long flowing curls.

Son 7:6 He has just listed for the fourth time the physical and sexual attributes (i.e., charms, BDB 772) of the maiden. Son 7:6-9 are a distinct poetic unity (which NKJV, NRSV, TEV, and NJB recognize, but not NASB, NIV, nor JPSOA).

Son 7:7-9 He describes her as a tall, thin, and fruitful date palm, which he is about to climb and enjoy her abundant fruit! Erotic love smell, touch, taste, sight, and sound!

Notice the VERBS of Son 7:8 :

1. I will climb – BDB 748, KB 828, Qal IMPERFECT used in a COHORTATIVE sense

2. I will take hold of – BDB 28, KB 31, Qal COHORTATIVE

3. Oh, may your breasts be like – BDB 224, KB 243, Qal IMPERFECT used in a JUSSIVE sense

Son 7:8 apples This probably refers to apricots (BDB 656 I) since no native apples grew in this part of the world.

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

with shoes = with sandals.

prince’s daughter = noble maiden.

the joints of thy thighs = thy rounded thighs.

the hands of a cunning workman = hands of steadiness: i.e. work not hastily done. See note on “as one brought up”, &c, Pro 8:30.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

Chapter 7

Now the daughters of Jerusalem address themselves to the Shulamite and they say,

How beautiful are thy feet with shoes ( Son 7:1 ),

Or within thy sandals.

O prince’s daughter! the joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman. Thy navel is like a round goblet, which wanteth not liquor: thy belly is like a heap of wheat set about with lilies ( Son 7:1-2 ).

And I suppose that was complimentary to them. I’m not that kind of an expressive person, and it doesn’t do much for me.

Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins. Thy neck is as a tower of ivory; thine eyes like the fishpools of Heshbon ( Son 7:3-4 ),

I imagine blue, pretty.

by the gate of Bathrabbim: thy nose is like the tower of Lebanon ( Son 7:4 )

Now I don’t know that I would appreciate that.

which looketh toward Damascus ( Son 7:4 ).

Solomon built this tower in Lebanon after he had completed his palace. So some twenty years after he was married to the daughter of Pharaoh. There are some who believe that the one he speaks of is Pharaoh’s daughter, but this sort of precludes that because the song evidently was written after twenty years of marriage to her, and it seems that a new interest has taken in with the Shulamite.

Thy head upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair of your head like purple; the King is held in the galleries ( Son 7:5 ).

Or he is bound by that beauty.

How fair and how pleasant art you, O love, for delights! This thy stature is like unto a palm tree, and thy breasts to clusters of grapes. I said, I will go to the palm tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof: now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy nose like apples; And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine for my beloved, that goeth down sweetly, causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak ( Son 7:6-9 ).

The bride responds.

I am my beloved’s, and his desire is toward me ( Son 7:10 ).

Now think of this in the church and Jesus Christ and it becomes very beautiful indeed. He loves me. “I am my beloved’s, and his desire is toward me.” He desires me. Christ desires you. Your love, your response. He desires me. That to me is just uncanny.

Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages. Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourishes, whether the tender grape appears, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give thee my loves. The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved ( Son 7:11-13 ).

“

Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary

Son 7:1-9

Son 7:1-9

THE KING RENEWS HIS FLATTERING APPEAL

Son 7:1-9

“How beautiful are thy feet in sandals, O prince’s daughter!

Thy rounded thighs are like jewels,

The work of the hands of a skillful workman.

Thy body is like a round goblet,

Wherein no mingled wine is wanting:

Thy waist is like a heap of wheat

Set about with lilies.

Thy two breasts are like two fawns, that are twins of a roe.

Thy neck is like the tower of ivory;

Thine eyes as the pools in Heshbon,

By the gate of Bath-rabbim:

Thy nose is like the tower of Lebanon

Which looketh toward Damascus.

Thy head upon thee is like Carmel,

And the hair of thy head like purple;

The king is held captive in the tresses thereof.

How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights!

This thy stature is like a palm tree,

And thy breasts to its clusters.

I said, I will climb up into the palm tree,

I will take hold of the branches thereof:

Let thy breasts be as clusters of the vine,

And the smell of thy breath like apples,

And thy mouth like the best wine,

(That goeth down smoothly for my beloved,

Gliding through the lips of those that are asleep)

(As in RSV) And your kisses like the best wine that goes down smoothly, gliding over lips and teeth.”

Once more we have Solomon’s flattery, but there can be little wonder why the maiden rejected it. As plainly evident in what he said, he looked upon her, as he looked upon every woman, as something to be eaten or consumed, simply a means of satisfying his appetite (lust). He saw her body as a goblet of mixed wine (Son 7:2), her breasts as clusters of dates in the palm tree (Son 7:7), like clusters of grapes (Son 7:7). Her breath smelled like apples (Son 7:7), and her kisses were like wine. All of this says in tones of thunder: “You look delicious, and I’m ready to eat you!”

Delitzsch and other scholars attribute the first part of this paragraph (Son 7:1-5) to the women of the king’s harem who are praising the maiden’s beauty. This theory is based upon the alleged mutual love and admiration among the women of the harem; and we reject it, because it is contrary to human nature and is absolutely unsupported by anything in the Bible. The attitude which is characteristic of women involved in a polygamous situation is represented by the hatred of Sarah for Hagar, and that of Penninah toward Hannah (1Sa 1:1-6).

“The king is held captive in the tresses (of her hair)” (Son 7:5). The use of the third person here is not a denial that the king is the speaker. Monarchs frequently spoke of themselves in the third person.

Whatever may be correct regarding the first five verses here, Son 7:6-9 were very probably the words of the king, making his last attempt to win over the Shulamite; but it was of no avail.”

Exegesis Son 7:1-10

There is an interesting explanation of these verses in An Exposition of the Bible by Walter F. Adeney-He does not attribute these verses to Solomon but to the women of the court, he says:

The Shulammite now seems to be attempting a retreat, and the ladies of the court bid her return; they would see the performance of a favourite dance, known as The Dance of Mahanaim. Thereupon we have a description of the performer, as she was seen during the convolutions of the dance, dressed in a transparent garment of red gauze-perhaps such as is represented in Pompeian frescoes,-so that her person could be compared to pale wheat surrounded by crimson anemones. It is quite against the tenor of her conduct to suppose that the modest country girl would degrade herself by ministering to the amusement of a corrupt court in this shameless manner. It is more reasonable to conclude that the entertainment was given by a professional dancer from among the women of the harem. We have a hint that this is the case in the title applied to the performer, in addressing whom Solomon exclaims, O princes daughter, an expression never used for the poor Shulammite, and one from which we should gather that she was a captive princess who had been trained as a court dancer. The glimpse of the manners of the palace helps to strengthen the contrast of the innocent, simple country life in which the Shulammite delights.

It has been suggested, with some degree of probability, that the Shulammite is supposed to make her escape while the attention of the king and his court is diverted by this entrancing spectacle. It is to be observed, at all events, that from this point onwards to the end of the poem, neither Solomon nor the daughters of Jerusalem take any part in the dialogue, while the scene appears to be shifted to the Shulammites home in the country, where she and the shepherd are now seen together in happy companionship. (p. 534, 535.)

We much prefer this explanation to the labored efforts of the commentators to apply this to the Shulammite. No doubt the women of the harem could imagine (with Solomon) that if this maid were to dance she would meet the description here given.

There are ten features of the female form:

(1) How beautiful are your feet-as you walk in your sandals, you have the grace of a princess.

(2) Your thighs are a work of art-like the carved jewels of a master artist.

(3) Your navel is like a lovely goblet in which the best of wine can always be found.

(4) Your waist is like a heap of wheat encircled with anemones.

(5) Your two breasts are as soft as two fawns-perfect twins of a roe.

(6) Your neck is like an ivory tower.

(7) Your eyes have the depth of the pools of Heshbon, by the gate of Bath-rabbin.

(8) Your face (or nose) has the grandeur and serenity of the tower of Lebanon, which looketh toward Damascus.

(9) Your head is like the beautiful Mount Carmel.

(10) Your hair, as it shines in the sunlight, is the royal color of purple-a king would be held captive in its ringlets.

Marriage Son 7:1-10

Ones wife should be physically attractive to her husband. She should know it. It would not be at all offensive if you were to make your own personal paraphrase of these verses and give them to your wife as a love letter from her husband. Better yet, you could read them to her. Perhaps the metaphors and similes you use could have a more contemporary motif. Your wife would not be at all flattered if you told her that her nose was like the tower of Lebanon. If you do not tell your wife of her physical attraction to you she could be willing to listen to someone else who is ready to describe her charms.

Communion Son 7:1-10

We believe most of this section is a flattering attempt on the part of Solomon or the women of his court to seduce the Shulammite. No doubt the description fits the maiden-but the purpose behind telling it is surely open to censure. Flattery is such a subtle tool of Satan. So many Christians are very susceptible to flattery. Why? Because no one has convinced them of their true worth. We are almost ready to believe anyone who can see a value in us, even if it is only for their own advantage. We need to read again and again the love letters of our Father and His Son who tell us over and over again how valuable we are to them and the world in which we live.

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

Son 7:1

I. Notice, first, the Church’s or the believer’s name-“daughter” and “prince’s daughter.” (1) She is called “daughter.” This points to the tender relation subsisting between Christ and His people. When Jehovah in the Old Testament speaks most endearingly of His ancient Church, He calls it “the daughter of Zion.” (2) Again, she is a “prince’s daughter.” He reminds her of her pedigree. It is no ordinary birth. She is one of the adopted children of the “King of kings”-those who by virtue of their spiritual relationship to the Prince of the kings of the earth, their Elder Brother, are themselves “made kings and priests unto God.”

II. Consider the subject of commendation: “How beautiful are thy feet with shoes!” (1) The shoe or sandal, in ancient times, and in Oriental countries, was the badge of freedom and honour. (2) Shoes or sandals were emblems of joy; while the want of these was equally recognised and regarded as a symbol of grief and sorrow. (3) The sandals on the feet speak of activity, and duty, and preparedness for Christ’s service. They point to the nature of the journey the believer is pursuing. Though a pleasant road, and a safe road, and a road with a glorious termination, it is at times rough: a path of temptation and trial. Unshod feet would be cut and lacerated with the stones and thorns and briars which beset it. (4) The shoes point to the believer as a messenger to others. The Church in each of her members must be, or ought to be, shod as a ministering one.

J. R. Macduff, Communion Memories, p. 109.

References: Son 7:8.-J. M. Neale, Sermons on the Song of Songs, pp. 286, 291, 301; Ibid., Sermons in Sackville College, vol. i., p. 224. Son 7:9.-Expositor, 3rd series, vol. i., p. 160.

Son 7:11

Consider the lessons taught us in the rustling language of the standing corn.

I. Here are revelations from God. In the fields we see (1) His power; (2) His wisdom; (3) His goodness; (4) His faithfulness.

II. Life comes out of death. A few months ago this bright field of teeming life was a graveyard, and every individual grain died, and was buried here in sure and certain hope of a glorious resurrection. The cemetery is the field of God. I hear the winds of heaven making music through the standing corn, and this is the burden of their song, “Sown in dishonour, and raised in glory.”

III. Like comes forth from like. This heavy crop of wheat is all the outcome of scattered wheat, and no other kind of plant could possibly arise. “What a man soweth that shall he also reap.”

IV. Much comes from little. In a small compass of bag and basket was the seed-corn contained. What spacious yard, capacious barn, and extensive granary will be required to hold the vast result. “Despise not the day of small things.”

V. Fruit comes from labour. Success is the offspring of toil. This grand field is no happy accident. This field of waving wheat is the farmer’s fee for hard and willing work. Nothing is to be gained by listless indifference.

J. Jackson Wray, Light from the Old Lamp, p. 138.

References: Son 7:11, Son 7:12.-Spurgeon, Evening by Evening, p. 130. Son 7:11-13.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. x., No. 605, and vol. xviii., No. 1066. Son 7:12, Son 7:13.-J. M. Neale, Sermons on the Song of Songs, p. 307. Son 7:13.-Spurgeon, Morning by Morning, p. 275. Son 8:3.-J. M. Neale, Sermons on the Song of Songs, p. 321. Son 8:5.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xv., No. 877; G. Brooks, Outlines of Sermons, p. 291; J. M. Neale, Sermons on the Song of Songs, p. 330. Son 8:5-7.-R. M. McCheyne, Memoirs and Remains, p. 342. Son 8:6.-J. M. Neale, Sermons on the Song of Songs, p. 341; Spurgeon, Evening by Evening, p. 289. Son 8:6.-J. Vaughan, Fifty Sermons, 5th series, p. 113 (see also Old Testament Outlines, p. 166). Son 8:6, Son 8:7.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. vii., No. 364; Expositor, 1st series, vol. x., p. 386. Son 8:11.-J. M. Neale, Sermons on the Song of Songs, p. 352. Son 8:13.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxix., No. 1716; Ibid., Evening by Evening, p. 306.

Fuente: The Sermon Bible

CHAPTER 7

The rapturous outburst in praise of the bride, the saved and glorified remnant of Israel, with which this chapter begins, must not be put into the lips of the bridegroom, the Messiah-King. It is the praise of the daughters of Jerusalem, who now recognize her as the beloved of the King. Her highest confession is found in this chapter. He begins to speak of her with Son 7:6, How fair and pleasant art thou, my love, in delights. She answers His expressions of love. I am my Beloveds, and His desire is toward me. This is the highest–to know she possesseth Him and that His hearts delight is in her. This, too, is our happy knowledge. We know He belongs to us; we are Christs and in us He has, and finds, His delight. Blessed is the scene with which this chapter closes. He calls on her to go forth with Him into the fields, to go to the vineyards, to see the budding and blossoming, the blooming pomegranates, the choice fruits new and old, all laid up for the Beloved.

This takes us into millennial times. It will be the time of fruit bearing and glory for Him in the fields, in the vineyards, among all the nations of the world. For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all nations Isa 61:11. Truth shall spring out of the earth, and righteousness shall look down from heaven. Yea, the LORD shall give that which is good and our land shall yield her increase Psa 85:11-13.

Israel restored in fellowship with the King will share in the fullest sense these coming blessings and glory.

Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)

22.

Tender words of intimate love

Son 7:1-13

How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince’s daughter! the joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman. Thy navel is like a round goblet, which wanteth not liquor: thy belly is like an heap of wheat set about with lilies. Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins. Thy neck is as a tower of ivory; thine eyes like the fishpools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bathrabbim: thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus. Thine head upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair of thine head like purple; the king is held in the galleries. How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights! This thy stature is like to a palm tree, and thy breasts to clusters of grapes. I said, I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof: now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy nose like apples; And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine for my beloved, that goeth down sweetly, causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak. I am my beloved’s, and his desire is toward me. Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages. Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give thee my loves. The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.

In this seventh chapter of the Song of Solomon the Lord Jesus Christ gives us a very tender, intimate, and loving description of his love and esteem for his bride, the church. He tells us, in the most intimate terms, that he both loves us and takes delight in us (Son 7:1-9). Then, in Son 7:10-13 the bride, the church, expresses her love for Christ. She tells him how that she loves him, delights in him, and greatly desires to be in communion and fellowship with him.

The intimate language of this chapter to carnal and self-righteous men will probably be both confusing and offensive. But, to those who know the love of Christ and whose hearts are truly in love with the Son of God, this seventh chapter of The Song Of Loves is both delightful and precious. Commenting on this passage, Matthew Henry said, Such mutual esteem and endearment there is between Christ and believers. And what is heaven but an everlasting interchanging of loves between the holy God and holy souls!

Husbands and wives

These expressions of love are between Christ and his church. They must be understood allegorically, in a spiritual sense. Yet, we have here a pattern and example of that love and tenderness which should characterize every home. The Holy Spirit here gives us a pattern of love for husbands and wives. In Eph 5:22-32, the apostle Paul makes it very clear that the relationship of a husband and wife, if it is what it should be, is a picture of the relationship between Christ and his church. Believing men and women ought to work at making their homes palaces of love and happiness for the glory of Christ.

Marriage was ordained and established by God for the propagation of the race and for the happiness of man (Gen 2:18). Our Lord Jesus Christ showed his approval for marriage when he attended the wedding in Cana and provided wine for the guests. By his presence, our Lord honored and sanctified the marriage (John 2). Marriage is honorable for all men (Heb 13:4). We must not look upon marriage as a carnal thing. And we should not look upon the conjugal privileges of husbands and wives as something evil or distasteful. Paul says that – Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled. Men and women need to get over their silly, prudish ideas about marriage (1Co 7:1-5).

The relationship of a husband and wife should be a picture of the relationship of Christ and his church. They are no longer two, but one. They are to live together in mutual, self-sacrificing love. The husband is to love, protect, and provide for his wife. The wife is to love, reverence, submit to, and obey her husband.

Christ and his church

Here, in the Song of Solomon chapter 7, we have tender words of intimate love between Christ and his church; and they give us a picture of that love which should characterize the husband-wife relationship. We will go through this chapter giving very briefly its interpretation, showing the love and esteem Christ has for his church and the love and esteem believers have for Christ. Then I will draw some applications, which I hope will be helpful for us as husbands and wives. We should seek to follow our Lord and seek his glory in our homes.

Christ speaks

In Son 7:1-9, we hear the Lord Jesus Christ speaking to his church in tender, loving, thoughtful, and endearing terms. Notice the title the Son of God gives to his churchO Princes Daughter. The Lord himself is the Prince of the kings of the earth. He is the Prince of Glory and the Prince of Peace. He calls us his daughter. We are the Princes daughter by birth. We are born from above, begotten of God. We are his workmanship. We bear the image of the King of kings. We are the Princes daughter by marriage. Christ, the Son of God, has betrothed us to himself, making us the Princes daughter, the very children of God. As the princes daughter, we have been made heirs of the Prince of the kings of the earth.

Our Lord here describes the beauty of his church in his own eyes (Son 7:1-5). In our own eyes we see that there is nothing beautiful in us. Our souls are like the company of two warring armies. We are humbled with a sense of our sin, our shame, and our worthlessness. We are not worthy of such love as his.

But Christ himself here speaks to us, sinful though we are, to express his love, assuring us that he loves us and delights in us. These tender, loving words are thoughtful and endearing. The church had defiled herself. She needed to be assured of his love. So our thoughtful Redeemer assures us that his love has not changed. In Christ we are perfect, and he declares that we are. The Lord looks his bride over from head to foot, and describes her as having a tenfold beauty in his eyes, a beauty which no one else could have in his eyes.

1.How beautiful are thy feet with shoes. He has set our feet free and adorned them with the gospel of peace to walk in liberty.

2.The joints of thy thighs are like jewels. The principles that strengthen us and determine how we walk through this world, like the knee and hip joints, are as jewels in his sight They are principles of faith and love toward him for the glory of God. They are produced in us by God the Holy Spirit, as the work of the hands of a cunning workman (Eph 2:10).

3.Thy navel is like a round goblet. Perhaps, as some suggest, the reference here is not to the navel itself, but to a jewel worn to cover it, that it refers to “the clothing of wrought gold” (Psa 45:13), representing the beautiful robe of Christs righteousness with which his church is adorned. Perhaps the word refers to the navel itself, symbolizing the fulness of life that is ours in Christ. It is compared to a cup full of wine, refreshing and invigorating. It is well shaped and full of life, not uncut, bleeding, and loathsome, like it was when he found us (Eze 16:4). The fear of the Lord is said to be health to the navel (Pro 3:8).

4.Thy belly is like a heap of wheat, set about with lilies.The wheat refers to fruitfulness (Gal 5:22-23). The flowers refer to beauty and pleasantness.

5.Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins.This refers to the Word of God, the Old and New Testaments, like twins, they are in perfect agreement, showing forth the riches, the glory, and the grace of Christ (1Pe 2:2).

6.Thy neck is a tower of ivory.The faith of Gods elect, by which we are joined to Christ our Head, is both strong and precious.

7.Thine eyes like the fish pools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bathrabbim.Eyes of repentance and faith, of love and devotion, of sincerity and truth. The eyes that weep over sin are as beautiful fountains in the eyes of Christ.

8.Thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus.This speaks of the boldness and courage of the church in facing her enemies and in the cause of Christ.

9.Thine Head upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair of thine Head like purple.Christ our Head is exalted above the earth and reigns as King over all the earth.

10.A womans beauty is in her head, and the hair of her head is her glory. Even so, Christ our Head is our great Glory and Beauty. Our glory is altogether in Christs blood atonement and royal exaltation as our Savior. The churchs hair may be said to be like purple because of their royal dignity, being made kings unto God by Christ, and because of their being washed in the purple blood of Christ. (John Gill) We have no beauty except what we have in and from him. And his greatest beauty is seen in his agony at the cross, when his hair was dyed crimson and purple.

In Son 7:5-9, our Lord tells us of the complacency, satisfaction, and delight he has in his church. The king is held in the galleries (Son 7:5). Imagine that! The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the God of Glory is so ravished by the beauty of his church, the beauty he has bestowed upon and wrought in her, that he is held at a stand by the sight of her! The Lord Jesus Christ has so adorned us and made us so beautiful in his sight that he delights in us (Eze 16:13-14). Our great Savior delights in the beauty of his people – His Righteousness (Son 7:6-7). The Lord of Glory delights in the company of his people (Son 7:8). Christ Jesus, our great God, delights in the prayers and praises of his people (Son 7:9).

The church speaks

In Son 7:10-13, we see that the church, all believing hearts, are overcome by the love of Christ. The love of Christ, once it is revealed and known, is an irresistible love. Does Christ so love me? Then, surely I shall love him (1Jn 4:19). In these verses, the church, the bride, acknowledges five things that I hope as you read them you, too, can honestly acknowledge.

First, she acknowledges that she belongs to Christ (Son 7:10). “I am my beloved’s.” We belong to him by his own eternal choice of us in electing love (Joh 15:16). We are his by special purchase (Eph 5:25-27). We belong to our Savior by the commit of personal faith, because we freely give ourselves to him (Mar 8:35). And we belong to the Son of God by the consecration of love to him (1Jn 4:19).

Second, she expresses, to his praise and glory, that she is confident of his love for her. His desire is toward me! He desires our salvation so much that it was the joy set before him, for which he endured the cross. His hearts desire is that we may be with him where he is and that we may know the love wherewith he has loved us (Joh 17:23-24).

Third, she acknowledges a desire to be with him, in his company, and in his fellowship (Son 7:11).”Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages.”

Thou, O Christ, art all I want,

More than all in Thee I find.

Fourth, she acknowledges a desire to know the true condition of her own soul (Son 7:12). “Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth.”

Fifth, she acknowledges her love and devotion for Christ (Son 7:12-13). “There will I give thee my loves. The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.” She promises him her love. She promises him herself. All that she is and all that she has she holds in love for him and gives to him.

Lessons

There are lessons here for both husbands and wives. Love needs no law. It is a law unto itself. Love needs no motive. It is a motive unto itself. If you love your wife, you want to please her and do her good. You need no commandment in that regard. If you love your husband, you want to please him and honor him. Love needs no law or motivation beyond itself. But even love needs instruction. And here our Lord gives us some instructions in love, by way of his own example.

By his example, our Lord gives husbands some clear instructions about loving their wives. Let every believing husband imitate the Son of God in faithfulness to, thoughtfulness of, and giving honor to his wife. Happy is that woman whose husband seeks to imitate the Lord Jesus in intimate tenderness, affection, and devotion (Eph 5:32).

The spouse here stands as an example of the love women should show to their husbands. Let every believing wife reverence her husband (Son 7:10), find satisfaction with and in her husband (Son 7:11), and submit to her husband (Son 7:12). Happy is that man whose wife gives herself and her love to him (Son 7:12), and desires to please him (Son 7:13).

Let us safely rest in our Saviors love. Lets us keep our hearts in the love of Christ. Let us imitate the love of Christ in our homes.

Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible

thy feet: Luk 15:22, Eph 6:15, Phi 1:27

O prince’s: Psa 45:13, 2Co 6:18

the joints: Dan 2:32, Eph 4:15, Eph 4:16, Col 2:19

the work: Exo 28:15, Exo 35:35

Reciprocal: Exo 26:31 – cunning work Psa 45:9 – Kings’ Psa 45:11 – So shall Pro 31:28 – her husband Son 1:8 – O thou

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Son 7:1. How beautiful are thy feet, &c. The bridegroom, who spake the last words, here continues his speech, and breaks forth into a particular description and commendation of the spouse, partly from the parts of her body, and partly from her ornaments. With respect to which the same thing is to be observed which was remarked concerning her description of the bridegroom, namely, that there is no necessity of a distinct application of every particular article of it, the design being only this, to describe the beauty and glory of the church, under the representation of a beautiful and noble woman. This also is observable, that in the description of Christ, she begins at the head, and so goeth downward, (Son 5:11, &c.,) but Christ, in the description of the spouse, proceeds from the feet upward. With shoes Shoes were anciently evidences of a free and comfortable state, whereas slaves and mourners used to go barefoot.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Son 7:1. How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, oh princes daughter! We find the term kings daughter, in Psa 45:13. The church has assurance that the Lord her Maker is her husband. She and her children are the sole heirs of the kingdom. The feet, the walk of the church, is beautiful in all the paths of righteousness. Wisdom, virtue and glory, are greater beauties than the splendour and decorations of nuptial dresses. Delicacy, as well as propriety, obliges us to restrict the words thighs, navel, and belly solely to the outward splendour of dress, which the whole succession of commentators turn to the beauty of holiness, the divine adornings of the church.

Son 7:4. Thine eyes are like the fishpools in Heshbon; two lakes on the same descending stream, whose beauty augmented the cosmography of the country. Those waters which reflected the glory of the sun by day, and the pale beauty of the moon by night, swell supremely the powers of figurative language in describing the brightness of the eye. So Christ is delighted with the chrystal aspects of a church that reflects his glory, and looks to him alone.Thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon. Here again we must rebut the carnal wisdom of Arian writers, who say that this song describes the seven happy days of Solomons marriage with Pharaohs daughter; for Solomon did not build this tower till about the twentieth year of his reign. This far-famed tower, the ornament of the country by its elevation, by its symmetry and its beauty, might, in its just proportions, bear a comparison with the nose of a beautiful face; yet we must look higher, to the towers and bulwarks of Zion, whose glory was the Lord, and whose defence were hosts of angels.

Son 7:7. Thy stature is like to a palm-tree, as described in Exodus 15.; and thy breasts are like clusters of grapes. The breasts in the superior formations of a female, are among the first beauties of nature; and in the church, the breast of consolation nourishes her children; who are also fed with grapes, and with all the rich fruits of the garden of the Lord.

Son 7:9. The best winecausing the lips of those that are asleep to speak. The presence of the bridegroom gives a new countenance to the church. The saints go forth as giants refreshed with new wine. His love constrains the heart to sing, and the tongue to speak. The love of Christ shed abroad in the heart is the flame of evangelical preaching. We love his name, we love his work, we love his people.

Son 7:10. I am my beloveds. I am his spouse and his garden, in which he delights. Therefore I am bold to say, let us go forth into the fields, and survey all the enlivened scenery of nature, perfumed with the balm of spring; the tendrils of the grape, the beautiful bud of the pomegranate, and smell the fragrant mandrake. Let us go forth and see all nature, full of the goodness, power and love of God; preparing the early and the latter fruits of the earth to nourish all the living beings that people the whole face of the terrestrial globe. He gives us cooling fruits in summer, and the more substantial food for winter.

REFLECTIONS.

The spiritual intercourse which subsists between Christ and the church, and the holy breathings of a devout mind, form the foundation of rational happiness, and inspire the most delicate and enlivened sentiments of devotion that can be conceived. These are pleasures not tasted by the gay and giddy world. Their joys are the gusts of passion, and the blaze which expires in a moment. By an ungracious look, or an angry word, they are often changed into the greatest misery.

How happy is the devout husband and wife, joined in the Lord, as well as in the flesh. The spiritual conversation they enjoy on earth, shall he renewed and completed in heaven. Death, which takes the one before the other, occasions but a pause, and he shall soon rejoin us to those dear parts of ourselves, where that which is imperfect shall be done away, and where pure felicity shall for ever reign.

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

7: 1. How beautiful are thy footsteps in sandals,

O prince’s daughter!

The roundings of thy thighs are like jewels,

The work of the hands of a cunning workman.

2. Thy navel is a round goblet, [which] wanteth not mixed wine;

Thy belly a heap of wheat, set about with lilies;

3. Thy two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle;

4. Thy neck is a tower of ivory;

Thine eyes, [like] the pools in Heshbon,

By the gate of Bath-rabbim;

Thy nose like the tower of Lebanon,

Which looketh toward Damascus:

5. Thy head upon thee is like Carmel,

And the locks of thy head like purple;

The King is fettered by [thy] ringlets!

The daughters of Jerusalem thus celebrate the beauty of the bride. Formerly her words had borne bright witness to the King, but now she herself is a witness to all the comeliness the King had put upon her. It is the witness of life rather than lips, of ways rather than words. She had been with the Beloved in the garden of spices and she comes forth from His presence with the beauty of the King upon her. She is hailed as the daughter of the Prince. The stamp of royalty is upon her, and the grace and majesty of the King’s presence surrounds her going. So in a former day the face of Moses shone with the glory of the One from whose presence he came. The world in his day saw, in a man on earth, the result of being in touch with heaven. Again, in a later day Elisha sees the vision of Elijah ascending to heaven and, on his return to Jericho, the sons of the prophets at once recognise that “the spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha.” They had no vision of the rapture, but they discern its effect on Elisha. They saw in a man on earth the spirit of a man that had gone to heaven. So too Stephen, in his day and generation, sets forth the blessedness of a man on earth being in touch with the Man in heaven. “He being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God and Jesus.” The world had no such glorious vision, but they saw the effect it produced in Stephen. They saw a man who could pray for his murderers, and thus reproduce on earth the grace of the Man that had gone to heaven.

We may well challenge our hearts by these examples of men on earth in touch with heaven. As we journey on our way, can the world see faces shining with the joy of the presence of the Lord after the manner of Moses? Can they discern in us the Spirit of Christ after the pattern of Elisha, or the setting forth of the heavenly Man as with Stephen?

Good for us also, when, by our lives and conversation we proclaim our high origin, and it becomes manifest that we are “a royal priesthood” chosen indeed to show forth the excellencies of Him who hath called us out of darkness into His marvellous light!

But alas! how little we know what it is to linger awhile in the garden of the Lord, enjoying the company of the Lord; and then, from that hallowed spot, to come forth bearing before others the impress of His presence, exhibiting the manners of heaven and the graces of the Lord. There is often a coarseness about our manners, a roughness of speech, and brusqueness of bearing, that tells how little we have been “with Jesus.” Living so little in His company we learn so little of “the truth as it is in Jesus,” and hence the life of Jesus is so little manifest in our bodies. More often we manifest the ways of earth than the manners of heaven. Too often our conversation is seasoned with the wit and humour of this world rather than the wisdom and holiness of heaven.

But with the bride it was otherwise. She had been in the presence of the King. She had met the Bridegroom and she comes forth with the joy of that meeting – “the dance of two companies.” She has been in the hands of “a cunning workman” and she wears the jewels his hands had wrought. The beauty of the King is upon her. The daughters of Jerusalem describe the bride in language similar to that used by the Bridegroom, only, viewing her from above, he begins his description with her eyes, whereas, the daughters, viewing her from earth, speak first of her footsteps and end with the hair of her head. By nature “from the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds and bruises and putrifying sores”; but viewed as of spiritual and heavenly origin – as a prince’s daughter – we are all fair from the sole of the foot even unto the head.

The Bridegroom.

(Son 7:6-9).

6. How fair and how pleasant art thou [my] love, in delights!

7. This thy stature is like a palm-tree,

And thy breasts to grape clusters.

8. I said, I will go up to the palm-tree,

I will take hold of the boughs thereof;

And thy breasts shall indeed be like the clusters of the vine,

And the fragrance of thy nose like apples,

9. And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine . . .

The daughters of Jerusalem can contemplate the bride as an object to admire; but the King not only admires, he possesses the bride and finds in her a source of personal delight. The daughters as they look upon her, exclaim, “How beautiful!” and the King says “How fair!” but he adds, “How pleasant art thou, O love, for delights.” And the two figures used express the two thoughts. viewing her in all her beauty he likens her to the graceful and stately palm: viewing her as an object of delight, he likens her “to clusters of grapes.” And the King appropriates and enjoys those delights which others only gaze upon and admire. Others may praise her beauty, but he only can say, “I will go up to the palm-tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof.” In his bride be finds affections that are likened to the clusters of the vine; that which is acceptable and well pleasing likened to the fragrance of citrons; and joys that are likened to the best wine. Thus it will be of the earthly bride in a day to come. Of restored Israel the Lord can say, “I will make you a name and a praise among all people”; but of the Lord Himself it is said, “He will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in His love, He will joy over thee with singing.” ‘The world will admire and praise, but He will delight in His earthly bride (Zep 3:17-20).

Nor is it otherwise with the heavenly bride. She will be displayed in glory before an admiring world, but Christ will see of the fruit of the travail of His soul and be satisfied. So too with a restored soul. Others may see and admire the outward results of restoration, but the Lord finds in the restored soul that which is a delight to Him. David, confessing his sin, says, “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation,” and then, he says, “will I teach transgressors thy ways,” but he adds, as he closes his penitential Psalm, “Then shalt thou be pleased.” Restored David becomes a blessing to others, but a pleasure to the Lord (Psa 51:12; Psa 51:13; Psa 51:19).

The Bride.

(Son 7:9-13-8:1-4).

9. That goeth down smoothly for my beloved,

And stealeth over the lips of them that are asleep.

10. I am my beloved’s, and his desire is toward me.

The bride, as she hears the Bridegroom expressing his delight in her, is constrained to speak. If the Bridegroom likens the joy he has found in her to the best wine, she immediately adds, “That goes down smoothly for my Beloved.” In times past the affections of the bride may have wandered, but now the restored bride is wholly for her Beloved. Once she has slept upon her bed, and, overcome with sloth, could not respond to the voice of her Beloved; but all the beauty his love has put upon her has awakened her affections and called forth her delight in him. The best wine has caused the lips of the once sleeping bride to speak. And the words she now utters express the highest experience of her soul. Through all her wanderings and backslidings she has grown in grace. In the course of these experiences her heart had expressed itself with increasing fervour. When desires after the Beloved were first awakened her great longing was to possess the object of her affections, and when gratified she exclaims, “My beloved is mine and I am his”; but as she grows in the knowledge of his thoughts towards her, she becomes increasingly conscious that she is an object to him, and, with this thought filling her soul, she is constrained to say, “I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine”; but at last when her affections are revived and she finds his love unchanged, and that instead of reproaches she hears only expressions of delight in herself, she realises to the full that she belongs to the Bridegroom and that his affections are set upon her, and with great delight she says, “I am my beloved’s, and his desire is toward me.”

11. Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the fields;

Let us lodge in the villages.

12. We will go up early to the vineyards,

We will see if the vine hath budded,

[If] the blossom is opening,

And the pomegranates are in bloom:

There will I give thee my loves.

13. The mandrakes yield fragrance;

And at our gates are all choice fruits, new and old:

I have laid them up for thee, my beloved.

The result of all the King’s dealings with his bride is to lead her to think his thoughts, to express his desires, and to share his affections. On former occasions he had said to her, “Come away,” and she was slow to respond; but now she takes up his word and says, “Come, my Beloved.” She would fain be with him to enjoy the communion of love. She says, “Let us go forth,” “Let us lodge”

“Let us get up,” and “Let us see.” Nevermore would she be parted from him. Wherever they go, wherever they dwell, whatever they do, whatever they see, it must be together. And she says, “I will give thee my loves”; in times past her affections may have been drawn away to other objects, but now they are wholly for the King. So in a later day the Apostle Paul could say, “The life which I now live, I live by the faith, of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

Fuente: Smith’s Writings on 24 Books of the Bible

7:1 How beautiful are thy {a} feet with shoes, O prince’s daughter! the joints of thy thighs [are] like jewels, the work of the hands of a skilful workman.

(a) He describes the comely beauty of the Church in every part, which is to be understood spiritually.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

B. Communicating Affection 7:1-10

This section, which provides a window into the intimate relationship of Solomon and his wife, shows how their love had matured since their wedding (cf. Son 4:1-11).

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

1. The wife’s charms 7:1-6

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

These verses contain both physical and metaphorical compliments. Son 7:1 seems to refer to the Shulammite’s body, but Son 7:2 goes beyond that. It seems to convey the idea that she was Solomon’s drink and food, "that her physical expressions of love nourished and satisfied him." [Note: Deere, p. 1022.] The Hebrew word translated "navel" may refer to one of her private parts. [Note: Carr, The Song . . ., p. 157.]

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.

Fuente: Expositors Bible Commentary