Silver signifies redemption. Being studded with silver means being founded upon
beauty is derived from her natural strength, which implies her goodness in the natural realm.
4. The Neck The adornment on the neck signifies the maiden's natural gentleness. The neck was stiff, but now there is adornment. This shows her natural gentleness. A neck that is without a necklace signifies a stubborn neck. Verse 9 compares her to a company of horses, while verse 10 points out the reason she was compared to the horses. She is swift because of her natural strength and gentleness. Although the revelation of the chambers has resulted in a spiritual pursuit on her part, her natural swiftness, that is, her natural strength and gentleness, is still at work. Perhaps the reason for the lack of advance in many people is their natural swiftness! Verses 9 and 10 reveal that although she is beautiful, her beauty is natural. Only the beauty that comes from God is true beauty. The Lord promises to make two things for her. "We will make." This is the King's promise. The Holy Spirit reminds us of the Triune God here. 5. Borders of Gold It takes considerable time to beat gold into borders. Borders of gold signify a fine work, a most fine manifestation of God's life. The word "borders" in the original language means something that resembles a crown. It is a ring, a crown of golden borders. This word is the same word as "rows" in verse 10, which can be translated as "braidings." Hence, "borders of gold" can also be translated as "braidings of gold." Replacing the natural braidings of the hair with braidings of gold means replacing one's natural strength with God's righteousness, life, and glory. It means replacing that which is from man with that which is from God. 6. Studs of Silver Silver signifies redemption. Being studded with silver means being founded upon the redemptive work of the cross. VI. THE MAIDEN'S SPEAKING (1:12-14) A. The Ever-present Indwelling Christ (1:12-13) Verse 12 says, "While the King sitteth at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof." The Bible pays special attention to Solomon's table (1 Kings 4:22-23; 10:5). "The King sitteth at his table." This refers to the believers' enjoyment of the Lord's riches. These riches can be divided into two categories: (1) the flour and the meal, which signify the Lord Jesus' life and the Lord Himself, and (2) the meats, which refer to His work and His death. "While the King sitteth
at his table" is the time of our feeding and enjoyment. Every time we come to the King's table, we are dealing with the matter of food. We are those who eat God's accepted sacrifices, that is, the work which God has accepted. (In the Old Testament, parts of the sacrifices were set aside for man's eating.) How do we eat God's accepted sacrifices? When God sees the Lord's death, He sees a sacrifice of propitiation. When we see the Lord's death, we see not only a substitution, but a union as well. Once we see this, we will have the fragrance and praise. If we have not seen that God's accepted sacrifice is our enjoyment, we will not have consecration and praise. But when we see that we enjoy the same thing that God enjoys, the ointment of spikenard will spontaneously flow out. (We can see the outpouring of the ointment of spikenard from the story of Mary.) First the Lord gives to us; then we give back to the Lord. First there is enjoyment, and then there is consecration. Verse 13 says, "A bundle of myrrh is my well-beloved unto me; he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts." Myrrh signifies suffering, which is the cross. When the Lord was dying, someone gave Him vinegar, which means bitterness. After the Lord's death, Nicodemus anointed the Lord's body with myrrh, which means death. Any time the word night is used in this book, it refers to a time when Solomon is absent. Spiritually, it means the time when the Lord is absent, when He is not in this world. The two breasts in the Bible refer to faith and love (1 Thes. 5:8). Verses 12 and 13 speak of the indwelling Christ. Sitting together at the table in verse 12 surely means eating together, and the condition for being at the same table is to open the door, the inner door (Rev. 3:20-21). If a person does not open his inner door, he cannot sit at the same table with the Lord. Myrrh signifies the crucified Christ. When Christ is not with us, we have to guard ourselves with faith and love. This is the beginning of inward fellowship. After we have been brought into the chambers, after we have seen the Lord's death, and after we have truly consecrated ourselves, we begin to have an inward fellowship with Him. When we open the door of our heart, we will enjoy Him, and there will be the need for true consecration. Only then can we truly follow a suffering and crucified Christ. We follow the crucified Christ with the love and faith that are within us. B. Putting On the Outward Christ (1:14) Verse 14 says, "My beloved is unto me as a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of Engedi." Camphire is henna, and it is used for fingernail dye. Jewish women
carried camphire wherever they went. Engedi is the name of a place in Judea. The meaning of Engedi is "the fountain of the lamb." It is the place to which David fled, and it is a wilderness (Josh. 15:61-62; 1 Sam. 23:29). The word "vineyards" should be translated "the place of the grapes." One cannot see the vine flower in the place of the grapes; no flower is found in the place of the grapes. This place of the grapes is in the wilderness. If a flower appears in this place, it will be very conspicuous. Verse 14 covers a wider area than verse 13. The henna flower appearing in the place of the grapes speaks of Christ's distinctiveness being manifested and accentuated. Myrrh is between the breasts and cannot be seen. Hence, it refers to the inward Christ. In this verse Christ is the outward adornment, and the maiden has put on Christ. This means that Christ is confessed and testified outwardly. Before men Christ is the henna flower; He is now being manifested through the maiden.
VII. THE KING'S PRAISE (1:15) Verse 15 says, "Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves' eyes." This praise is for the purpose of encouraging her. The first "thou art fair" encourages her, whereas the second "thou art fair" praises her eyes as being doves' eyes. The eyes of a dove, in their literal sense, are a description of the beauty of the eyes. Spiritually speaking, this means having spiritual insight. As far as their function is concerned, doves' eyes can only see one thing at one time. Therefore, functionally speaking, this means purity. The maiden has received revelation; she has obtained spiritual insight. She has also put the myrrh between her breasts, and she has a pure heart. Hence, the King can now praise her. VIII. THE MAIDEN'S RESPONSE (1:16—2:1) Verse 16 says, "Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant." He is not only fair, but pleasant. This is her response to the King. "Also our bed is green." The maiden has attained the rest which she had previously sought. There is feeding as well. The grass is the bed, and the reclining is the rest. This matches Psalm 23:2, which says, "He makes me lie down in green pastures;/He leads me to waters of rest." The table which was mentioned previously also has the element of rest, but the emphasis there was on eating. Here the bed has an element of eating, but the emphasis is on rest. If a shepherd is not skillful, his sheep will not stop eating when they are put in a
green pasture. But if the shepherd is skillful, his sheep will be able to lie down even though they are in the green pasture. They will have satisfaction and rest. Verse 17 says, "The beams of our house are cedar, and our rafters of fir." The fir is cypress. The cedar is a tall and strong tree. In the Bible, it refers to a humanity that is filled with glory. Many things in the Bible are made of cedar. Many things are made of cypress. Cypress is produced in a place called "death city." The Jews planted cypress beside their graves. Hence, cypress signifies the Lord's death. Under such a condition, the maiden is at rest. Grass signifies everything that is living, that has life, and that can serve as food. We can only rest when we lie on top of this grass. Our shelter is the Lord's glorious humanity and His death. In Solomon's temple, there were two chief kinds of wood—cedar and cypress. In other words, only these two kinds of wood are qualified to be material for God's habitation. God dwells among the cedar and the cypress. We can now rest in God's dwelling place. Verse 2:1 says, "I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys." This verse comes immediately after 1:17. This word is not spoken by the King, but by the maiden. If this word were spoken by the King, it would be hard to interpret. If this were the King's word, it would not make sense for him to say in the next verse that the maiden is a lily. "Sharon" is a plain, and the "rose" can be considered as a kind of wild lily or wild rose. This flower is considered a despicable plant in the land of Judea. The lily of the valleys is ordinary and unassuming. It is "the lily of the valleys," and not "the lily of the pot." It is not cared for by man, but by God. The maiden acknowledges that she is a rose of Sharon and a lily of the valleys because the King praises her in 1:15. On the one hand, in 1:16-17 she praises the King, and on the other hand, she mentions rest. She mentions herself as merely being a rose of the wilderness and a lily of the valleys. This means that she is not worth anything in herself and that she is but an ordinary person cared for by God. IX. THE KING'S REPLY (2:2) Verse 2 says, "As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters." The King is saying that she is indeed a lily, not in contrast to the valleys, but in contrast to the thorns. This means that the maiden is a lily, whereas everyone else is just thorns. According to the Bible, thorns refer to two things. First, they refer to man's natural life after Adam's fall. The basis for saying this is Genesis 3:18. There the thorns
grew by themselves and did not come out as a result of sowing. Another basis for saying this is in Exodus 3, the chapter on the thornbush. The fire was burning, yet the thornbush was not consumed. The fire and the light did not come from the thorns themselves, but from God. God used the thorns, but He did not cause any loss to the thorns. This means that God would use Moses to deal with the Israelites and the Gentiles according to Himself, and not according to man's natural life. A proper testimony has, as its capital, not things from man, but things from God. God did not use anything that came from Moses; He only used that which issued from Himself. Second, the thorns signify that which grows out of the natural realm. This refers to the results of sin and the natural self. It is typified by the thorns in Matthew 13:7. The thorns in Hebrews 6:8 signify the fruit that comes out of a person's own self-will, whose end is to be burned. The word "daughters" is "maidens" (RSV); it is plural in number. These maidens are not the daughters of Jerusalem. The Lord considers those who pursue after Him as lilies, unlike those who are born of sin. The Lord declares them to be different from those who live in sin. There is sinful living and the natural life all around them, but these ones are different. They are the ones who have faith (the lilies). At the same time, this hints at the sufferings a seeker endures in the midst of an environment of natural and sinful living.
X. THE MAIDEN'S PRAISE AND ENJOYMENT (2:3-6) Verse 3 says, "As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste." Now she takes her turn to compare the King to the sinners. "The sons" refer to all the things that capture one's heart, everything that is desired (Gen. 3:6), everything that can serve as the master of one's heart, and everyone to whom the believer's heart would turn. Notice the words "apple tree among the trees." In the original language "apple" is "bergamot orange." It is an evergreen plant and does not shed its leaves in winter. Outwardly, it looks somewhat like a pomegranate, and it tastes somewhat like an orange and lemon. "The sons" can only be compared to ordinary trees, whereas the beloved has three characteristics: (1) He can become a forest. Emphasis is placed on the word "wood," which denotes tallness. (2) His overshadowing never fails. He is an evergreen and therefore provides shade all the time. (3) He bears fruit. Many trees are green but do not bear fruit. He is tall,
overshadowing, and fruitful. The maiden has come to realize the Lord as the One who is all in all. Prior to this, she has given herself fully to the Lord. But now she declares her testimony; these are the words out of her mouth, what she says publicly to all men. She not only acknowledges that He is the wine, but she praises the wine itself. At this time no person or thing can usurp her heart any longer. There are no longer divisions in the church into those of Paul and those of Apollos, which divisions are but things of the flesh (1 Cor. 3:3-4). Now the Lord has filled her sight. "With great delight" can be translated as "joyously." Sitting down under His shadow means being exalted, and it carries the sense of being raptured. One is joyous because he sits under His shadow, meaning that he feels as if he is being raptured to His presence. The shadow is in contrast to and echoes the shining of the sun in 1:6. Here is rest (Psa. 91:1). "His fruit was sweet." The eating in Song of Songs 2:3 is somewhat different from the eating in 1:12. There the emphasis was on the Lord Himself. Here the fruit refers to what the Lord's life and work have acquired for us, such as justification, sanctification, peace, and the coming of the Holy Spirit. On the one hand, she rejoices at His presence. On the other hand, she enjoys what He has acquired for her in His presence. Every time we taste this fruit, it is sweet to our taste. Verse 1:4 speaks of running after, whereas 1:8 speaks of following. In 1:12-14 she may be sitting down, but nothing is said of her posture. In 1:16-17 there is no explicit verb. In this verse (2:3) she properly "sat down" to enjoy His presence. It seems as if her condition is officially acknowledged. In 1:16-17 she was resting already; this verse is merely an official announcement of what she enjoyed and acquired in 1:16-17. The actual history is in 1:16-17, whereas this verse is a narration of that history. Verse 4 says, "He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love." The banqueting house can be translated as the house of wine; it is the place where one is free to enjoy as much as he desires. The King's bringing her in here is the second bringing (the first being in 1:4). The enjoyment of the fruit and the banqueting house is somewhat different from the table of the King. The banqueting house is the place where one entertains guests; the emphasis is on joy. Once there is the first consecration, and once a person passes through the way of the cross and sees all the achievements that the Lord has accomplished
for him, he is spontaneously brought to the house of wine. In other words, the King brings us into the chambers for the purpose of giving us revelation, and He brings us into the house of wine for the purpose of giving us joy, the joy of the presence of the King. "His banner over me was love." This means that love is the unfurled standard. The whole matter relates to love. A banner shows what one does; it is a kind of motto. Our banner is love, which means that everything we do is based on love. Verse 5 says, "Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love." The word "comfort" may be translated as "revive." To be sick of love is to be joyous to the point of exhaustion. This is like Mr. Moody, who was so filled with joy that he could no longer bear it; he had to ask the Lord to stop it. The main point of this verse is a beckoning for moderation. It is good to be in His presence, but the experience of the saints of old shows us that when they were overwhelmed, they fell down as dead. This verse says that what the maiden enjoys is more than she can handle. There is a measure to our capacity to enjoy the Lord. We have to ask the Lord to increase our strength before we can enjoy more. Otherwise, when we see too much, our capacity will come short of what we want to enjoy. An earthen vessel does not have enough capacity; there is a need to receive more strength from the Lord to increase our capacity for enjoyment. Verse 6 says, "His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me." "His left hand is under my head." This means He is lifting the maiden's head to behold Him. The most natural position to embrace someone is to embrace with the right hand. The emphasis is on the protection and support of love. The emphasis is not on the support of strength, but the support of intimacy. In other words, after one has enjoyed the Lord's love, there is still the need for the support of His grace.
XI. THE KING'S CHARGE (2:7) Verse 7 says, "I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please." Both the Darby translation and the margin of the American Standard Version use the word "gazelles," whereas the King James Version and the text of the American Standard Version uses the word "roes." The Revised Standard Version, the American Standard Version, and Darby's translation all use the word "hinds." The word "he" should not be in the masculine gender. We dare not say whether it
should be in the feminine gender or the neuter gender. But according to the context, it should be in the feminine gender. "I charge you." This is in the imperative mood; it is the tone of a king. Song of Songs 1:2 through 2:7 constitutes one section of spiritual experience. Then the Lord causes the maiden to pause a little. At this point, a person has reached the stage that he should arrive at, not sensationally, but peacefully and steadily. He has come out of the chambers and entered the house of wine. At this point a believer has smoothly reached the house of wine, and the Lord is asking him to halt a little. The daughters of Jerusalem love excitement, and they love to meddle with many things. Therefore, the Lord tells them not to stir up the maiden. Roes and hinds are by nature animals that are easily stirred up. The King gives this charge because the maiden has become sick of love. There is no need to stir her up any more; she can pause a little while. She is in the Lord's hand, and there is no need for others to arouse her. If others try to meddle with her affairs, it will not help her. Instead, it will only stir her up. She should rest for a while and wait for this period to end before she engages in a second pursuit. Do not stir her up. Wait for her to rise by herself. Do not think that she is too soulish and that she needs help. This is where her lessons have brought her, and there should be a pause. Love has reached its climax. The King is present; therefore, be still (Hab. 2:20). He (the Lord) will rest in His love (Zeph. 3:17). This means He will love you in repose. CONCLUSION (1) The maiden sees the cross in the first chapter; she has not seen the vitality and power of resurrection. (2) The danger in the first section is indulging in an inward fellowship. (3) She still does not understand the meaning and significance of consecration and of the obedience of the cross, because she has not yet passed through the test. She has not practically taken up the cross and has not practically taken up the way of the cross. (4) There is another danger. Although she has seen the error of presumptuousness, she has not seen that the Master of the work is greater than the work itself. (Although she has realized that it is wrong to keep other vineyards, she still thinks that it is very important to keep her own vineyard.)
(5) There is also a lack. During all this time, she has only seen the Lord's worth to her; she has not seen the position she should take before the Lord. In other words, she has enjoyed the fruit of the Lord's travail, but she has not allowed the Lord to enjoy the fruit of His travail. This means that she has gained the Lord, but the Lord has not yet gained her. (6) In the first section, it is only Christ for me; it is not yet me for Christ.
SECTION TWO THE CALL FOR DELIVERANCE FROM THE SELF (2:8—3:5) I. THE CALL FOR DELIVERANCE FROM THE SELF (2:8-15) In this section there is no mention of the maiden's sins or failures. Instead we see the necessary stages that a person goes through on a spiritual journey. The maiden has her shortcomings, and in this section we see what she should have gained, but has not gained. A. The Power of Resurrection (2:8-9) Verse 8 says, "The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills." She rejoices at the voice of her beloved, and she loves the joy of his presence. Yet she has not followed the voice of her beloved, and there is no actual obedience. Verse 9 says, "My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, showing himself through the lattice." Both Darby's translation and the margin of the American Standard Version render "roe" as "gazelle," but the King James Version and the text of the American Standard Version render it as "roe." Three versions—the King James Version, the American Standard Version, and Darby's New Translation—use "a young hart." The only place where the Lord is associated with a hart is in the heading to Psalm 22, where there is the expression "the hind of the dawn" (RSV) or "the hind of the morning" (ASV, margin). All Bible scholars agree that this refers to the morning of the first day of the week, when Christ resurrected. Morning is the beginning of another day, while resurrection is the beginning of a new day. It is the starting point of a person's spiritual life, and it is signified by a new day. Both verses 8 and 9 speak of the vitality of resurrection. In the Bible, both the mountains and the hills refer to difficulties and barriers. "He cometh leaping upon
the mountains, skipping upon the hills." This means that nothing is too high or too great to stop Him. The Lord is the Lord of resurrection. Christ has resurrected; He has overcome all difficulties and barriers. Difficulties and barriers are things of yesterday. He is living in the next day. All difficulties are beneath His feet. The minute He leaps, all the barriers are behind Him. In this section, the Lord manifests His resurrection power, and He is speaking to the maiden in a living way. She did not know of such things in her experience in the previous chapter. She ran before, but she did not know what it was like to leap upon the mountains and skip upon the hills. In order to teach her the lesson, the Lord calls her. Since she already has an intimate relationship with the Lord, it is easy for her to recognize His voice. But there is an obvious problem—a wall exists between her and the Lord. The wall encloses her, and it keeps the Lord out. Yet she does not see anything wrong with the wall. As a result, she does not say "my wall," but "our wall," meaning that the wall belongs to both her and to the Lord. She intends for that wall to enclose herself and the Lord and to keep the world and everything else out. Then she would have fellowship with the Lord and rest in Him and live happily within the wall. She would be able to find the Lord within her heart all the time, and she could ignore circumstances, persons, the brothers and sisters, daily duties, and many trials. She could turn inward to the Lord and forget about the world. She only knows the sweetness of fellowship, but does not know the power of work and the fierceness of warfare. There is only the thought of making three tents on the mountain, and no thought is given to the mass of sinners at the base of the mountain. Demons can be with the sinners at the base of the mountain, as long as the Lord is within her heart on the mountain. It may be true that she has the Lord's presence, but the life within the "tents" has deprived sinners from experiencing deliverance from the demons. In other words, she is always turning inward to seek the joy of the Lord's presence. This is her wall. This is a danger believers face after they have realized that Christ lives within them. Spiritually speaking, this does not mean that the Lord can leave our heart. Being behind the wall means two things. First, the Lord is standing, not sitting. Previously, He was sitting at the table. Now He is ready to make a move. Standing is the first step a person takes before moving. Just as sitting leads to rest, standing leads to work. Second, it means that the Lord is outside. The
power of resurrection is able to leap over the mountains and skip over the hills. Therefore, we should not keep Him within the wall. The maiden needs to learn to let go of the Lord within and allow Him to lead her out. She should not try to hold on to the Lord with her own strength, but she should allow the Lord to lead her on. She should learn to trust in the Lord's word and to follow Him by exercising her faith to leap over the mountains and skip over the hills. She should learn to live by something other than just the feeling of the Lord's presence. Thank the Lord, even though man can put up a wall, God can set apart some windows for Himself. If there are not any large windows, there will at least be some small lattices. God can always find a way to enlighten the heart of those who have consecrated themselves to Him. This wall is the wall of our introspection. It causes us to miss the Lord. But God has set apart windows and lattices for Himself for us to see through. A wall means an attempt to keep the Lord within. When this happens, the world is kept out. The Lord is trying to deliver the maiden out of this condition. He is teaching her to realize that His presence can be found under any circumstance; there is no need to look for Him only within herself. She should learn to know Christ more from the environment than from within. The Lord is omnipresent. Andrew Murray once said that the Lord's presence should be felt not only in our prayer, but in our factory as well. What is the Lord doing outside the wall? He is standing and waiting to make a move. However, a person who is constantly looking inward and who concentrates on his own feeling of joy cannot understand anything even after he has learned the Lord's thought. Although he may hear the Lord's voice, he will not understand it. The Lord has to speak again before he can understand anything clearly.
B. The Riches of Resurrection (2:10-13) Verse 10 says, "My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away." The Lord speaks very clearly here; He wants the maiden to rise up and come away. This does not mean that inward experiences are wrong. If they were wrong, the Lord would not have given them to her. But if she continued in this way, she would not be able to contact the outside; the minute she contacted the outside, she would seem to lose her peace. Therefore, she has to seek for His mountain-leaping, hill-skipping presence. Madame Guyon said, "Once His presence was a question of time and place, but now it is no
longer a question of time and place. When we can trust that the Lord's presence is within us wherever we are, we will not be deceived by our inward feelings." Verse 11 says, "For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone." Since the Lord is calling her to come away with Him, He speaks of His past experiences and the present facts. "Winter" is a time of dryness, coldness, lack of growth, and testing. During the first part of her experience, the Lord brought her through these things. It seems as if the Lord has clearly brought her out of all the testings, coldness, dryness, and apparent deadness. With His undeniable presence, the Lord has driven winter away without her even being conscious of it. The rain is not the spring rain, but the winter rain. It is the rain that chills and turns into snow. The winter rain keeps man inside the house and stops him from doing any work. Hence, the rain refers to trials (Gen. 6—7; Matt. 7:25-27). The Lord tells us that many past trials are behind us as a result of His presence. The passing of the winter rain indicates two things: (1) the present crosses, that is, the trials, are over, and (2) the Lord's cross is over, that is, the work of His cross is accomplished, and we should not dwell constantly on His death. Verses 12 and 13 say, "The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; the fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away." The Lord wants us now to stand on the ground of resurrection. After a time of death, spring, the time of resurrection, is here. These verses tell us that we should understand our position in resurrection. Both verses describe the condition of resurrection; they speak of spring after winter. If spring is mentioned without first mentioning winter, it means that there is only life without resurrection. But when spring is mentioned after winter, it indicates resurrection. The Lord shows her all the things that are in resurrection, so that she will no longer pay attention to the dead, cold, dry, and wilted winter. "Flowers" signify the adornment of beauty, and "birds" signify the sound of singing. The flowers are manifested on the earth, and the birds sing in the air. Flowers speak of art, and birds speak of music. According to Matthew 6, both flowers and birds are under God's special care. God cares for them so much that they can sing and show forth their beauty. "The voice of the turtle" may be the sound of praise. It is also the sound of a lovecall.
"The fig tree putteth forth..." These figs are winter figs. They signify fruit that still remains after passing through death. This fruit has passed through the cross and has been tested, but it still remains. "The vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance" (RSV). The vines are just blossoming; this is in the present tense. This means the situation is full of the hope of fruit-bearing and that the fruit-bearing is certain. No one sees vine blossoms; before the flowers have time to exhibit themselves, they have turned into fruit already. Other blossoms may not consummate in fruit. But when the vine blossoms, it will surely bring forth fruit. This is the position of resurrection. Everything that is dead is over, and the future is full of assurance. The Lord uses the riches of resurrection to persuade the maiden to come forth. She should not care just for the happiness in her feelings; she should experience the power of resurrection. This is not the time to be passive; this is the time to be aggressive, to come forth, and to show forth His life to the world. C. The Call of the Cross (2:14) Verse 14 says, "O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely." Formerly, the maiden was only described as having the eyes of a dove. Now she is described as a dove itself. The Lord calls her according to the position she is about to attain. If she hides in the clefts of the rock and in the secret places of the stairs, she will truly live a life in the Spirit. This is why the Lord calls her this way. Everyone agrees that "the clefts of the rock" signifies the cross. The line of thought here indicates that the seeker has not understood the cross deeply enough. The Lord is speaking to her again in a poetic way. He is saying that the power and riches of resurrection that have been described must be lived out through a pattern. First there is the power of resurrection, then there is the conformation to His death. Philippians 3:10 matches Song of Songs 2:8-14. The cross that is described here is subjective and experiential. The Lord says, "Let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice." Our countenance and voice cannot be found anywhere else; they can only be found here. This is the result of the work of conformation by the cross. This very matter of the cross gives satisfaction to the Lord. In the first section there is consecration, and there is the willingness to follow the Lord and bear the cross. Now He wants to go on to put the seal of the cross upon the seeker. The countenance is what man sees, and the voice is what man hears. Both the
countenance and voice should only be found in the clefts of the rock and the secret places of the stairs. The emphasis here is on oneness (union) with the cross. Now the cross of Christ has become her cross.
A very important truth is revealed here—we should live out the life of the cross in our experience. We should pass through the cross so that the Lord's cross will become our cross. But in order for the cross of Christ to be all that others see and hear from us, there is a need for us to first know the resurrection of Christ. Only that which passes through the cross constitutes resurrection. The Lord says that everything with the seeker is good, but that it is superficial. She still does not realize the weight of the cross, the extent of consecration, and the meaning of promise. Therefore, she must still go to the clefts of the rock and the secret places of the stairs. "For sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely." The voice denotes prayer as well as praise (cf. Mal. 3:16). In the first section, most of the descriptions concern the maiden's desires and pursuit. She desired the King. This is why the King only mentioned her eyes as being the eyes of a dove. Many praises were directed toward the King, but the entire first section reveals how much the King was to the maiden. But we must realize that the King is the center, and she should live for the King. Just as the maiden was the center in the first section, the King is the center in the second section. The maiden is attached to the King; she is there to satisfy the King. She has gained the King already, and she is satisfied. This is not the time for the maiden to desire the King or appreciate him, but the time for the King to appreciate the maiden, to look upon her, and to desire her. Formerly it was Christ for me; now it is me for Christ. Now the Lord begins to ask for the fruit of the travail of His soul for the satisfaction of His own heart. He is hinting that she should live for Him, and He is calling her to the clefts of the rock and the secret places of the stairs so that He can look at her there. The Lord calls her to arise, to come out of herself, her feelings, and her introspection. He calls her to live the life of the cross and to express the unspotted new creation produced by the cross through the power of resurrection. This is not the time for her to be in the house of wine; this is the time for her to live for the Lord. She should arise to change her center. From this point on, everyone who goes on to seek the Lord should live the life of the cross on earth through the power of
resurrection for the Lord's enjoyment; they should not be for anything else. In other words, Christianity is no longer a matter of our personal enjoyment, but a matter of Christ enjoying those who are His. "For sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely." This does not refer to the natural sweetness and comeliness of her voice and countenance. Rather, it describes the sweetness and comeliness that she has when she is in the clefts of the rock and the secret places of the stairs. This is how she is seen in the high places when she remains in the death of the cross. The rock is cleft, and her hiding in it signifies a union. "The secret places" indicates complete enclosure; hence, it signifies completion. The clefts of the rock and the secret places together signify a complete union. The secret places of the stairs should refer to the place of ascension, the place that an ordinary man cannot reach (Col. 3:3-4). Some have translated the word "stairs" as "unreachable places." This again shows that the word refers to ascension, to a place that man cannot reach. Stairs are a high and steep place, a place no ordinary person can reach. Stairs can only be reached through climbing. This is different from the sitting in the heavenlies spoken of in Ephesians 2. Here the emphasis is experience. The Lord's demand is always based on a life of the cross in resurrection. The Lord can say that the maiden's voice is sweet and her countenance is comely because she is fully in union with the cross. This means that she has been dealt with by the cross and is delivered from sin and the natural elements. All the sins and natural elements from Adam have been dealt with, and only that which is in resurrection and the new creation remains. This is the sweet voice and comely countenance in the clefts of the rock and in the secret places of the stairs. We are daily being dealt with by the cross and, at the same time, we are giving up the Adamic elements. We do not need to strive for the resurrection life; rather, we need to lose the Adamic life. We have everything that issues from the resurrection life already. But at the same time, we still have many things that belong to Adam. Hence, the matter today is not how much we gain, but how much we lose. The Lord cannot declare immediately that the seeker's voice is sweet and her countenance comely. He can only say this after she has gone into the clefts of the rock and the secret places of the stairs. He will only say such a word when the outward things have been lost. The fact was there already, but He cannot utter these words until she has passed through the cross. Hence, the cross is the
place of losing, and only by going through it can we lose. We preach resurrection to sinners because they need to have life, and we preach the cross to believers because they need to suffer loss.
D. The Removal of Hindrances (2:15) Verse 15 says, "Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes." If this word is spoken by the beloved, it is a continuation of 2:13, which says, "The vines with the tender grape give a good smell." The "us" here is the same as the "our" in 2:12. "Take us the foxes" is in the imperative mood. The foxes always take away the fruit, whereas little foxes break the branches whenever they can. The foxes only want the fruit, and there is still a possibility of fruit-bearing. But the little foxes make it impossible to bear fruit. If we do not pay attention to the matters of the life of the cross before resurrection and the experience of ascension after resurrection, everything will be spoiled by the little foxes. "The vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance" (RSV). This is only the time for blossoming and the giving forth of fragrance. This means that the state of perfection has not yet been reached. The manifestation of resurrection is just beginning, and the experience of ascension is just beginning. If we are not careful, the foxes can come and spoil them. What are the little foxes? They are the small manifestations, habits, and introspections of the old life. They may not be big sins. But a little folly can spoil wisdom and honor (Eccl. 10:1). The little foxes are hiding behind the vines. If we are not careful, the vines will be destroyed. The little foxes are the things that hinder a person from taking the first step in subjective things and that stop the vines from bearing fruit. If the resurrection life is not well established, there is the need to guard against the little foxes. The maiden cannot deal with the small problems (the little foxes) alone; nor can they be dealt with by the King alone. They have to be dealt with through the cooperation of the maiden and the King. II. FAILURE AND RECOVERY (2:16—3:5) Verse 16 says, "My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies." After the maiden has seen the King's attitude, heard his calling, and apprehended the complete union, she answers in this way. She turns back to review her past experience. One thing has satisfied her heart—her beloved is hers. She is already clear that her beloved is hers, and she also knows that she
belongs to her beloved, but these are not the things that she is after now. She turns back to consider her past experience. (She is the center. In 6:3 the King is the center, even though she is mentioned as well. By 7:10 only the King is the center, and she has forgotten about herself.) What she says is not wrong. But she does not answer his question. What a disappointing answer this is! We are not saying whether the answer is good or bad. We are asking whether she has heard what the beloved has said. A person who has freshly consecrated herself does not know what she should be to the Lord, yet she remembers how her beloved is to her. She is still the center, and she does not know that He should be the center. Nevertheless, she still has the feeling that she belongs to the beloved. "He feedeth [his flock] among the lilies." Although the matter of work is touched here, the emphasis is not on the way the Lord deals with the flock, but on the relationship between the Lord and the lilies. The lilies are those who have a pure conscience. They are planted by the Lord Himself, and they are the Lord's own work. (In the heading to Psalm 45, there are the words, "upon Shoshannim," which mean "set to the lilies.") The Lord is feeding the flock among a group of people. He implies that we are the lilies and that He is feeding us. As long as we have the Lord, we are satisfied. Here the maiden pays attention to what He is to her. However, her words do not answer the Lord's question, and as such, do not satisfy the Lord. Verse 17 says, "Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether." ("Roe" is "gazelle" in Darby's New Translation and in the margin of the American Standard Version, but the word is "roe" in the King James Version and the text of the American Standard Version. All three versions, have "a young hart." "The mountains of Bether" means the mountain of separation.) By saying this, she recognizes the existence of the shadows. In a disguised way, she also admits that she cannot satisfy the Lord's heart. She knows that she has not been fully joined to the Lord, and she knows the importance of the calling of the cross, the demand of ascension, and the expression of resurrection. But she is also aware of her own insufficiencies in these matters. Hence, she asks the Lord to wait until the shadows flee away. She is looking for the day to break. She expects that the day will break and the shadows will flee away. She pleads for the return of the beloved. The word "turn," on the one hand, shows her inability to hear the beloved's call and to rise up to follow him, and on the other hand, it
shows her desire for the beloved's presence. When we combine the two points, we see that she wants her beloved to be with her. Yet she wants him to be with her on her own terms—within the wall. She is still introspective with her own feelings. She only wants to enjoy his presence in her own feeling; she does not have his mountain-leaping, hill-skipping presence. In other words, she is seeking after pleasure in her feeling, and she is reluctant to participate in any activity in resurrection. Putting it in still another way, she has not yet learned the lesson, and she cannot follow the Lord everywhere and under any circumstances with just faith.
But she receives a great revelation: she is not together with the Lord in every place. Formerly, she secured the Lord's presence within herself and in her own feelings; that was the only place she could find His presence. She thought that this experience of His presence was the highest and the only one, and that there was no other kind of presence. But she has not learned to be with the Lord in her daily duties, her family, and the world in a mountain-leaping, hill-skipping way. She did not know that there could be such an experience, but after this revelation she knows. In the past she only had a certain kind of presence, the presence that could be found within herself; she had not acquired any other kind of presence. She did not have the strength to acquire the omnipresent presence. She did not learn the lesson of treasuring this kind of all-pervading presence. Not only was she too weak to acquire it, but she was too weak to want it. She knew that she could not go, and she did not ask to go. She did not see the suffering of Bether. Hence, she cooly asked the Lord to turn quickly. She knew that she could not go to the place where the Lord was. But she did not know the loss of not going with the Lord. She thought that she could be satisfied with a presence within the wall. She did not realize that there would be a loss by not going with the Lord. Therefore, she asked the Lord to turn as fast as "a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether." She did not ask the Lord to give her the strength to bring her out of the mountains of Bether (the hindrance of separation). In her mind, the mountains of Bether could remain. But she finds to her surprise that the inner feelings of His presence leave when the Lord retreats outwardly. The Lord has not left her, but in her feelings He has indeed left her. The Lord's way of training her is to take away her inner feelings of His presence when she cannot carry this presence to the environment in the world. We do not know how long a period, such as the one described in 2:17, can
last. But if we cannot secure Christ's presence in the environment, we cannot secure His presence in our feeling. If we cannot secure Christ's presence by faith, we cannot have His presence by our feeling. Many Christians do not understand why they lose their feelings of the intimate presence of the Lord after they have enjoyed it for a while, and they do not understand why they cannot recover such feelings. When the Lord cannot gain what He wants, you cannot gain what you want either. If you do not receive His new grace, you will find that your old grace is lost. You may think that you are living in 1:13. Actually, you have drifted into the experience of 3:1. (Both 1:13 and 3:1 use the word "night.") She thinks that she can embrace the Lord between her breasts all night long, just like she did before. Little does she realize that the Lord has left in the night. Because she treasures the Lord's presence in her feelings, she would rather hide behind the walls to keep the feelings. She would rather not go to the world, and she would rather let the Lord take care of His own work and interest. She would allow her union with the Lord to slip and become incomplete, and she would allow Him to act apart from her. The Lord takes away her cherished feelings so that she will lose her feelings of His presence (though not in fact). This is for the purpose of drawing her to seek after the Lord in outward things. This is the first time the maiden is attracted to turn outward. Verse 3:1 says, "By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not." The word "night" should be "nights." In 1:13, "night" is singular. "Nights" here refers to a few nights in a row. The beloved seems to have hidden himself. This is something unexpected for her. The purpose of the Lord is to utilize her desire for fellowship in her feeling to attract her so that she would gain what she should gain. Because she has lost the feeling of His presence, she thinks that she has lost the Lord. She does not yet have the knowledge or the experience. Hence, she is foolish; she does not understand the Lord's intention. She seeks for the One whom her soul loves (verses 1 through 3 use this expression three times). She thinks that she is seeking for Him. She does not realize that she is actually seeking for the feeling of His presence. Her seeking is genuine, but she does not realize that the object which she seeks and fails to find is not the real thing. Verse 2 says, "I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not." The rising up in Luke 15 is toward the Father, whereas the rising up here is
toward the Son. The seeking in Song of Songs 3:1 is a seeking on the bed. This means that she has not left her own position. Her position is still wrong. The first step toward a knowledge of the Lord is a knowledge of the cross. We have not covered this aspect in this book yet. After taking the first step in knowing Him, we have Christ in our heart, which is the fellowship in our feeling, the experience of the chambers and the house of wine. Then we have to go on to know a Christ who is not bound by the environment. The maiden has taken both the first and the second step, but she has not taken the third step. Her bed, the place where she rests, is the problem. The Lord disturbs her rest. Those who have not passed through the experience of "our bed is green. The beams of our house are cedar, and our rafters of fir" need to be led by the Lord to experience this rest. But those who have had this experience should be led further to leap upon the mountains and skip upon the hills with the Lord. The Lord calls the maiden out of the bed that she rests in, and He makes it clear to her that His presence is no longer there. Now she determines to rise up. She realizes that she is not advancing in her faith and that her feeling is gone. The meaning of rising up is to no longer lie on the bed and rest. The Lord teaches her to transcend over a rest that depends on time and place. Previously, she treasured a rest that depended on time and place above everything else. But after the Lord has taken her a step further, she realizes that a rest that depends on time and place is not complete. Therefore, she wants to rise up and move away from this rest, and learn to experience the rest that is satisfied in every kind of circumstance. After she arises, she wants to "go about the city." (Formerly, this city referred to Jerusalem. Now it refers to the heavenly Jerusalem and to everything that is heavenly.) She seeks Christ among all the heavenly things, matters, and people. Perhaps she has spent a considerable time studying many doctrines in the Bible. Perhaps she has read many books by others and has participated in many meetings with spiritual persons. Perhaps she has done all these, and perhaps she has even sought "in the streets, and in the broad ways." The "streets" are the ordinary roads, whereas "the broad ways" are the wide roads. These are the places where the citizens pass, the places of communication. These are the means where they receive grace. The Lord is "the way." In other words, these are the usual means by which God's people receive fellowship and grace. She has tried them all. These may include confession, repentance, prayer, fasting, meeting, and fellowship between the saints. They may even include faith and
trust in Him. But she cannot find the Lord in these places. (In searching for sinners, we have to go to the "streets and lanes" as in Luke 14:21. But in the New Jerusalem, there are only streets. Before God there are no small lanes. The world always takes small lanes, but spiritually, this cannot be done.)
When the Lord purposely goes away and takes away man's feeling of His presence, it is difficult to recover it through man's ways of seeking. By now the maiden has learned at least one lesson: the Lord is not in the place of the bed. If she cannot find Him within, she has to look for Him without. If it is true that prayer is not for prayer, that Bible reading is not for Bible reading, and that a quiet time is not for a quiet time but for His presence, then to a certain point, prayer, Bible reading, and quiet time have to be relinquished before we can find His presence. The maiden begins to leave her bed and to communicate with God's other children. She learns to take God's way. She no longer has coverings, and she does not care for her "face" any longer. She no longer tries to cover her inner emptiness with outward works. She learns to mingle herself with God's other children and to solve her spiritual problems in this way. Formerly, the only way to solve her spiritual problems was with the bed. Now she can walk through the city and search in the streets and the broad places. Although she has not met the Lord, He is inside the city. Although she has not met the Lord along the paths she travels, these journeys are indispensable for her. Soon she will meet the Lord; it is only a matter of time. Verse 3 says, "The watchmen that go about the city found me: to whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?" The words "go about" can be translated as "parade." These watchmen are charged by God to watch over souls (Heb. 13:17). They go about the city; they are the ones who are familiar with spiritual things. Perhaps in the past, these ones rendered much help to the maiden. Although the maiden has not sought them, their duty puts them in a place where they see the maiden. The maiden thinks that perhaps these ones can tell her where her beloved is. But the most that the watchmen can do is to show the way or the teachings. In order to meet the Lord, you have to go to the Lord yourself. No watchman can do this for you. Finding the watchman is not the same as finding the Lord. Every seeking heart must deal directly with the Lord and be dealt with directly by the Lord. Although the watchmen are useful, they sometimes turn out to be useless. When the Lord is dealing with you, you will not receive anything if you depend
too much on others. You have to see that you have to leave the watchmen in order to find the way to the Beloved. You may experience the same thing as this maiden, who meets her beloved as soon as she leaves him. Going about the city is necessary. But we cannot find the Lord this way. The broad places are necessary, but they will not lead us to the Lord. The Lord wants her to take only one way, which the watchmen cannot help her to find. Verse 4 says, "It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me." Now she finds the beloved. What does this mean? It does not mean that going about the city is absolutely justified, and it does not mean that the streets and the broad places are the right places to go. Nor does it mean that she was perfected by confessing her failures before the watchmen. There are still many lessons for her to learn. She is not only in the Lord's heart; she is also in the Lord's hand. The fact that she is able to find the Lord again is not a sign that she has been perfected. It merely means that the Lord realizes that she can only take so much testing. Although she is still far from perfection, her desperation for the Lord causes Him to gladly reveal Himself to her. He brings this period of testing to a conclusion and waits before taking her on further in the way ahead. The seeking of a person who is not in complete union with the Lord is mixed and imperfect. But the Lord does not have the time to deal with this mixture now. In the initial period of experience, the Lord is willing to allow those who seek to find, even though their seeking may not be spiritual. This experience is like that which is described in Ezekiel 47:3-5, where one is measured and brought through the water. The Lord has measured her, and He is now taking her through. This portion of the journey has been under the Lord's measuring. "I held him, and would not let him go." She thinks that she has regained what she lost. She may think that she lost Him because she did not hold tight enough. Therefore, she holds Him tight now. Once she was not alert enough in her feelings, and she allowed Him to slip away. Now she has to be watchful to guard Him. Although she realizes that she needs to come out before she can be with the Lord, her heart's desire is still for His presence in her feelings. Part of the lesson of coming out has been learned, but the lesson of faith has not yet been learned. She has indeed risen, but she has not yet gone away with Him. She has not been brought to the point where she allows the Lord to come and go as He pleases. She does not realize that in a life of faith, it is impossible to retain the
feeling of the Lord's presence forever. She still holds on to this experience. She has not realized that the feeling of His presence should be allowed to come and go. When He is pleased to give us the feeling of His presence, we can have it. But when He is not pleased to give us this feeling, we should gladly relinquish it, holding on to Him and on to all that He is by faith. But the maiden does not know this yet. She still thinks that the best experience is the feeling of His presence. She is still not aware of (even though she may have heard of it) a way and a life of faith. Therefore, she holds Him tight and will not let Him go. Little does she realize that holding with the flesh will only result in more loss. A spiritual pursuit allows the Lord to have the full freedom in everything, whereas a soulish pursuit plans everything for oneself, even though he is seeking the Lord's presence. However, the Lord deals with man according to his measure. Although there are still many lessons to learn and many things to know, the Lord is willing to be seen by the maiden, to be held by her, and to be taken away by her. In the present stage of dealing, she has passed through sufficient trials; her pursuit is sufficient. Since she has not yet learned to separate the soul from the spirit, the Lord does not put any further burden on her. "Until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me." Although there is a mixture of the self, the Lord is willing to humble Himself and allow her to enjoy His presence once more. The Lord enters her mother's house and the inner chamber of the one who conceived her. If "my mother's house" refers to the principle of grace, then "the chamber of her that conceived me" must refer to the love of God. God deals with her according to the principle of grace and in His love. (When we were sinners, we were conceived in lusts and born in sin. The maiden is conceived in love and born in grace.) She now seeks after the Lord's presence according to His grace and love. Poetically speaking, she is now bringing the Lord to an intimate place. She is a maiden, and her mother's house and the chamber of the one who conceived her must be a most excellent place. This concludes another section. She has a good enjoyment of the Lord's presence. But this is not perfection yet. The Lord is still being pursued; He is still the passive One. The maiden has not learned how to allow the Lord to have His freedom. But she has learned many lessons. She remains here for a period of time (perhaps a few months). A person finds the holding strength the strongest when he regains the Lord after losing Him for a while.
Verse 5 says, "I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please." The Lord is giving a charge again. Since she has suffered great testing, the Lord gives her a period of rest. He is saying, "This person is under My dealing. There is no need for others to help her or stir her up." The lesson she learns here is real, and a period of real progress follows. From what follows, we can see that she has indeed experienced the power of resurrection, the riches of resurrection, and the life of the cross (though not in an absolute way). She has learned these three lessons well. Therefore, the Lord praises her with the words that follow.
SECTION THREE THE CALL FOR ASCENSION (3:6—5:1) I. THE NEW CREATION (3:6—4:6) In the last section the Lord was brought "into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me," and He remained there for a long time. This is a place where the Lord can rest. Although the maiden's grasping is not altogether good, it is a place where the Lord can stay. Everything is of love and grace. Here she sees her own vanity and that everything comes out of God's love and grace. Who can count the lessons we learn in God's love and grace? The number of lessons Christ teaches us in God's love and grace is unlimited. Since the maiden is able to remain quiet for a while and stay with the Lord in her mother's house and in "the chamber of her that conceived me," she must have passed her test and learned the lessons she was supposed to learn in the second section. Because of His love, God gives her the grace and the power to learn what He requires of her. We have to realize that with a seeker of the Lord, there is more than one experience of the second section. We may have to experience it a few times or even many times. However, God's Spirit does not repeat the record of these experiences, even though failures and dealings are unavoidably repetitious. Everything, including failures and dealings, issues from God's love and is accomplished through God's grace. We can always find His plans in His love, and we can always find the help in His grace. Therefore, we do not have to compare similar experiences; we just need to realize that she is under God's love and grace. God's love is not dead; His grace is working in an aggressive way all the time. In the following section, we see her advance in an unprecedented way. Her life and living are clearly on a higher level than the first
section. We do not know who the speaker is in 3:6-11. The words are not spoken by the maiden, nor by the beloved, but by a third party. The Holy Spirit expresses His observation of the maiden through the mouth of a bystander. This shows the result of the repeated lessons that the maiden has learned in her mother's house and through the dealings in the previous section. (Verse 4 includes her history of learning the experience of remaining quietly in her mother's house.) A. The Complete Union (3:6-11) Verse 6 says, "Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant?" "This" is feminine. The maiden gradually leaves the life in the wilderness (the wandering life) behind and enters into full rest. The wilderness is a place of wandering. She gradually comes out of the wilderness and step by step leaves the wandering life behind and enters the Lord's rest. Darby's New Translation says, "Who is this, [she] that cometh up from the wilderness." In the Bible, the wilderness is always in the south and close to Egypt, whereas Canaan is in the north. This is why it says that she comes "up." Coming up means coming up from the south and leaving Egypt. This is not instantaneous, but a gradual progression, a step-bystep forsaking of the wandering life and of all worldly influences to reach the possession God has given to the believers. She started the wilderness journey in her mother's house. (All her wilderness experiences came to her through God's love and grace.) Now she is about to live the heavenly life. What is she like? She is "like pillars of smoke." A pillar of smoke comes from fire (Joel 2:30). It refers to the power of the Spirit (cf. Acts 2:3-4, which gives the manifestation of the descending of the Holy Spirit). Smoke is easily dispersed. But this verse speaks of pillars of smoke, which means that she is unshakable. She comes from the wilderness, yet the smoke is in the shape of pillars. This means that she is full of the power of the Holy Spirit. Although human beings are not trustworthy, she has become a pillar. A pillar is something sure and secure (Rev. 3:12; to be a pillar in the temple of God means to go no more out). "Perfumed." In order to perfume something, one must first absorb the element and then spread the aroma. She first has to have the inward experience and then the outward expression. On the one hand, she puts on the fragrance of Christ; on the other hand, she spreads this fragrance. "Myrrh" refers to Christ's suffering and death. She has perfumed herself with myrrh, which indicates that she has subjectively experienced the cross. She has now passed through the experience of Philippians 3:10.
"Frankincense." The emphasis is on the fragrance. Myrrh denotes death, whereas frankincense denotes resurrection. Frankincense refers to the Lord's life, in particular, His prayer life. It also refers to Christ's virtues, which God considers most fragrant. It is interesting to note that the Lord first lived and then died; whereas we first receive His death and then live His earthly life. Hence, there is first myrrh and then frankincense. "All powders of the merchant." "Merchant" is singular here. Together with Matthew 13:45, we can see that the merchant refers to the Lord Jesus. The maiden not only has the myrrh and frankincense, but also everything that comes from the Lord Jesus, that is, everything the Lord can sell. As a merchant He cannot give away anything for free. Hence, she has to obtain everything with a price. (In Matthew 13:45, the Lord is buying; in this verse He is selling.) She has paid a great price to buy everything from the Lord. "Powders" seems to supplement the myrrh and frankincense.
Verses 7 and 8 say, "Behold his bed, which is Solomon's; threescore valiant men are about it, of the valiant of Israel. They all hold swords, being expert in war: every man hath his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the night." The word "fear" in verse 8 can be translated as "warning." The answer is interesting. The question in verse 6 concerns the maiden, whereas the answer concerns the King. What does the "bed" refer to? It refers to Solomon's victory. A bed is something for the night, the time when darkness reigns. There should be no rest when darkness reigns. Yet Solomon was able to have his bed. The night was not void of warnings, yet he could still have his bed. Hence, this refers to Christ's victory and how He has overcome the power of darkness. Around the bed are sixty valiant men, every one of them has a sword; the swords are upon their thighs, and they are experts in war. They are all valiant men of Israel. All of these expressions mean that the bed of Solomon is ready to deal with the warnings in the night. It can deal with anything that happens and control any kind of situation. In other words, no enemy can shake Solomon from his repose in victory. The valiant men represent Solomon's power. He has the power to deal with all of his enemies. He still has his bed, which means that he is more than a conqueror. The question concerns the maiden, whereas the answer concerns Solomon. This indicates the oneness between the maiden and Solomon. Whatever is Solomon's is hers; this is union. The union between the
maiden and the victory of Christ speaks of our enjoyment of Christ's victory over Satan. Moreover, there are many angels today who are ready to fight for the victory of Christ. The victory has been won already; they are just maintaining this victory. He is King already; they are just upholding His victory. Verses 9 and 10 say, "King Solomon made himself a chariot of the wood of Lebanon. He made the pillars thereof of silver, the bottom thereof of gold, the covering of it of purple, the midst thereof being paved with love, for the daughters of Jerusalem." This is the second part of the answer. The word "behold" in verse 7 covers verses 9 and 10 also. The word "chariot" is translated "palanquin" in Darby's New Translation. The bed is used by Solomon in the night, whereas the palanquin is used by him in the day. If the bed speaks of his rest, the palanquin must speak of his move. If the bed denotes his dwelling, the palanquin must denote his fellowship. If the bed is toward the enemy, the palanquin must be toward the friend. We see a palanquin, not a chariot. If it were a chariot, there would be the need for a wheel. But a palanquin is carried by men. We should recall the history of the ark. The ark was not to be drawn by oxen. Rather, it had to be carried by the sons of Kohath. This means that in His move among God's children, Christ is carried by those who belong to Him. The palanquin is made of the wood of Lebanon, which is cedar. Wood denotes humanity, whereas the wood of Lebanon denotes uplifted and noble humanity. "He made the pillars thereof of silver." This speaks of His redemption. In the objective sense, it means that Christ is carried to others by means of His redemption. In the subjective sense, it means that the work of the cross has to remove all flesh. Only then can we express Christ. "The bottom thereof of gold." This speaks of the fact that everything is from God. The divine life is the life we received at the time of regeneration. We come into full participation of this life when we become absolutely one with the cross. God's life is the unique basis upon which we can express Christ. Outside of God's life, we have no other ground to stand on. "The covering of it of purple." It is purple because He is King, and He must reign. All the government is upon His shoulder. He will receive the kingship and sit as King. "The midst thereof being paved with love, for the daughters of Jerusalem." Love is under the feet; it is at the bottom of the palanquin. This means that all the saints love Him.
The question that was posed asked, "Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness?", and the answer was, "King Solomon made himself a palanquin." This speaks of the union between the believers and the Lord. The answer first covers Solomon's position before his enemy. Now it covers his position before his friend. In the first case, it speaks of Solomon's power; in this case, it speaks of Solomon's glory. In the first part, we see Solomon's strength being the maiden's strength. In this part, we see Solomon's glory being the maiden's glory. The palanquin, the pillars, the bottom of the palanquin, the covering, and the love belong to Solomon and to her. Moreover, Solomon, who is in the midst of all these things, is also hers. These things do not just belong to her; they are the maiden herself. This is a grand union. These two sentences show us the complete union between the maiden and Solomon. This is why the question concerns the maiden, but the answer concerns the King. Verse 11 says, "Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart." By 3:11 we have a proper relationship of love. Prior to this, the King and the maiden were only friends, but now there is an espousal between them. The "daughters of Zion" may denote the overcomers. They can identify themselves with others' experiences. The crown here is not a crown of glory, nor a crown in the millennium. This crown does not denote authority (kingship). It is a crown given by his mother, in addition to the other crowns he has. This crown is given to him for his marriage and is for the joy of his heart. There are two kinds of crowns in the New Testament. One denotes glory and authority, and the other denotes joy (1 Thes. 2:19). The crown of Solomon belongs to the second kind. It is a crown of joy. Hence, the crown denotes the person he will marry. The King will gain the maiden in a way that is comparable to gaining a crown; it will give joy to his heart. From this point on, he considers the maiden as a most precious crown, as if she is his boast and glory. There are different explanations for the word "mother"; none of them is satisfactory. All of the explanations have their basis, but none of them can be linked to a spiritual line. In comparing these explanations, my personal view tends to consider the word "mother" as referring to humanity in general. The father of the Lord Jesus is God, and His fleshly mother is human. This seems to indicate that the Lord Jesus has now secured one from among the human race who can satisfy His heart.