Signifying the Seats of Emotions

Signifying the Seats of Emotions

tower, but the tower of David. In addition to the sense of strength and deliverance, we also see that the maiden's will has been brought into complete submission to David. Her strength lies in her submission to Christ, and her deliverance also lies in her submission to Christ. We should all realize the importance of being taken captive by Christ. What is the use of this tower? It is "builded for an armory." This means that spiritual warfare is fought for the purpose of claiming the will. The armory stored within the tower signifies the victory of Christ for the preservation of the believers' will from the enemy's usurpation. However, the weapons are not for attack, but for defense. Therefore, only bucklers and shields are mentioned. Bucklers and shields are for protection. "A thousand" means that the number is great. "Mighty men" denotes strength. In summary, this verse indicates that the maiden is willing to submit completely to David's will. She is as strong as a tower in carrying out David's will. She is on guard vigilantly and does not allow the enemy to usurp her submissive will.

7. The Two Breasts— Signifying the Seats of Emotions Among all our holy sentiments, the most important ones are our faith and love. With these two things we embrace the Lord. In these two things we sense His intimacy, and through these He draws near to us. Faith and love are the unique and combined way by which we are joined to the Lord. Faith and love must be combined; therefore, the two breasts are on the same person. "Roes" are easily frightened; they are shy and timid, and they are sensitive in their feelings. These are the holy sentiments we have reserved for the Lord; they are not open, but are upheld with much feeling. We should guard them jealously and not deal with them lightly. If we are careless, we will lose them easily. What kind of roes are they? They are "roes that are twins." This means that the two roes are born of the same mother and are the same size. This signifies the fact that faith and love have to grow together. No one can be praised for his beauty whose faith is big but whose love is small, or vice versa. If that were the case, the Lord would not consider such a one beautiful. In the New Testament, we see these two matters are spoken of with equal emphasis (Gal. 5:6; 1 Tim. 1:5, 14; Philem. 5). In the spiritual realm there is no such thing as a big faith and a small love, or vice versa. If one is big, the other must be big also, and if one is

small, the other must be small also. Either one has both, or he has none, because they are two breasts and two roes born of the same mother. The two roes "feed among the lilies." This means that faith and love can only feed and grow in an environment that matches the nature of the life received from God. "Lilies" refer to the care, promises, and purity one receives from God. Faith and love have to be in such an environment before they can be fed. It is possible to find lilies among the thorns, but faith and love will never grow in the world (the thorns). Lilies signify a heavenly realm. Faith and love live in a heavenly realm. Lilies denote purity derived from God; they signify a good conscience. Once the conscience is damaged, faith and love will leak away. Faith and love can only grow in the environment of a clean conscience. To "feed among the lilies" is to be in the place where the Lord feeds others (S.S. 2:16). In order for faith and love to grow, they must remain in the place of the Lord's feeding. C. The Deeper Pursuit of the Maiden—4:6 Verse 6 says, "Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense." Song of Songs 3:6-11 shows us the maiden's union with the Lord. Verses 1 through 5 of chapter four show us the result of the union—the Lord's satisfaction. The Lord now considers her beauty. In the first section (1:2—2:7), we mainly see the maiden praising the King. The King's praise for the maiden is very simple. In the first section, the maiden speaks much concerning herself. Before a person has experienced anything deep in the Lord, and before he is thoroughly dealt with by the Lord, he likes to speak to others about his own spiritual experience, his own spiritual condition, his progress, and what he has acquired. At the same time, he likes to talk about his fellowship with the Lord, the Lord's love, His promises, and His answer to prayers. He loves to bring up matters between himself and the Lord. He does not necessarily have the experience of the third heaven, but whatever he has, he cannot wait fourteen years before speaking about it. He has not been dealt with by the Lord. His speech exposes his superficiality. After he has passed through the wilderness, he speaks less and less. As a result, a third party speaks in 3:6-11, and the King speaks in 4:1-5. She has developed enough capacity to not speak about her experience and her relationship with the King. Not only can she remain silent, but she can listen as well. Actually, only those who remain silent can listen. She has passed through the cross, and by the Holy Spirit she knows how to control herself and her

feelings. This is why she can remain silent. At the same time, the same work of the cross and the same restraint by the Holy Spirit enables her to hear the Lord's praise without being excited or proud. In fact, this praise from the Lord invokes in her a sense of feebleness and a realization of the necessity of a deeper work of the cross. How different this is from her former condition! After the narration by the third party, she does not bring up experiences that the third party failed to mention. After the King's praise, she does not deliberately try to be humble or to say something to show off her goodness. She only makes a short statement calmly. "Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense." From this short word, we see that she realizes her present condition and her future needs. She says, "Until the day break, and the shadows flee away." She realizes that she has not reached perfection and that her day has not yet broken; she feels that she is still living in the shadows. She has not forgotten her condition in spite of the praises she has received. Is not her oneness with the Lord very real? Is not her life a beautiful one? The evaluation of the Holy Spirit and the praises of Christ show that she has reached a high attainment before God. There is no barrier between her and the Lord, and the Lord has not found any imperfection in her. But this is on the Lord's side. Every experienced believer realizes that, although a mature and perfected believer can be without a shadow before the Lord and fully bask in the Lord's morning light, it is still possible that he may have shadows in himself and that the morning has not dawned. The more a person is in the light, the more he realizes the meaning of the shadows. The more perfect a person becomes, the more imperfection he sees. The more he walks in God's light, the more he feels the need for the cleansing of all his sins by the blood of Jesus His Son. Although the maiden has received praise from the Lord, she cannot help but feel that her spiritual dawn has not arrived yet. Shadows are still present, and there does not seem to be much difference between the present and the former days when she wandered in the wilderness. What should she do now? Before the day breaks and the shadows flee away, she has to go to the mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense. She will not leave these places until the day breaks and the shadows flee away. The full experience of daybreak and the fleeing away of the shadows must wait until the coming of the Lord. Her only salvation is to go to the mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense. Although the Lord praises her, and although the Holy

Spirit recognizes her total union with the Lord, she still feels her own weakness, corruption, wickedness, and uselessness. Before perfection arrives, we must go on in the way of the cross, and we must apply the Lord's life in the Spirit. When the maiden left the wilderness, she merely perfumed herself with myrrh. Now she has to go to the mountain of myrrh. Formerly, she perfumed herself with frankincense. Now she is going to the hill of frankincense. If the perfuming of the myrrh and the frankincense will bring us into a fuller union with the Lord and will make us more beautiful in the Lord's eyes, we will from this time on go to the mountain of myrrh and dwell in the hill of frankincense. If the suffering and death of the cross will deliver us from a life in the wilderness, we will from this time on seek for a deeper union with the cross. We are willing to suffer greater pains and deeper deaths until the dawn rises upon us. If by living by the Lord's life, our footsteps can be brought upward step by step, we will fully deny our own life and fully live by the Lord's life, until He no longer finds a trace of the old creation in us. If we compare our former experience with the experience we are about to go through, we will find that the myrrh and frankincense that we experienced before were but drops of perfuming spices. From now on, the myrrh and frankincense will be as great as a mountain and a hill. From now on, our transcendency, strength, far-reaching insight, intimacy with God, and detachment from the world (mountain and hill signifying transcendency) must all come through the Lord's death and resurrection.

II. THE CALL FOR ASCENSION (4:7-15) Verses 4:1-5 show the outward appearance of the maiden, whereas verses 7 through 15 show the maiden's inward relationship with the King. A. The Calling (4:7-8) These are the words of the King. All Bible expositors agree that this part refers to ascension. Verse 7 says, "Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee." After the maiden has seen the cross and resurrection in a deeper and fuller way, the King says to her, "Thou art all fair...there is no spot in thee." Formerly, the King only said that she was fair; now he says that she is all fair. All her spots have been removed by the cross; she lost them one by one through her dealings. What is left in her is just the Lord's heavenly and holy life, which is fully on the new ground of resurrection. Therefore, we see that she is all fair.

Verse 8 says, "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." In the second section, the King asked two things of her: (1) that she would rise up, and (2) that she would go with Him. After she was dealt with by the Lord, she rose up. But she has not yet learned to follow the Lord in His move and work. Once the Lord makes a demand, He will never lower His standard. Sometimes we can delay His timing, and sometimes His time may not be yet, but He never changes His calling. When we have passed through His dealings, and when His time comes, He will again say, "Come with me." Now the Lord calls her to ascension. Many people think that this is a call to leave Lebanon. Personally, I believe that this is a poetic expression, and although it says to come "from" Lebanon, there is no reason she should leave Lebanon. On the contrary, in the following verses, part of the new experiences of the maiden relate to the smell of Lebanon and the streams of Lebanon. The Lebanon that is referred to here is a high mountain; it is the place where cedar is produced. Hence, it signifies the nobleness of the cedar wood. In the Bible, a high mountain often signifies a separation from the earth and a heavenly place. Hence, this call is a call for ascension. More accurately stated, this call is a call to the believers to stand on the ground of ascension and to look down from such ground. Hence, this is a vision of ascension. A believer's stand should be on the mountain. Although many people have failed, the place the Lord has assigned for them is still the heavenly mountaintop. On the mountaintop heaven is near. Indeed, heaven is all around. On the mountaintop the earth is far away and detached. The three mountaintops indicate that even in the heavenly place, there are still different peaks. There is more than one peak, and there is much ground for movement; one is not bound. "Amana" means truth. We can look down from this peak. We can dwell on the peak of all the real things in Christ. "Shenir" means a soft armor, which signifies the armor given to us by the Holy Spirit. The thought in this verse is totally related to warfare. We often need to consider the things down below with a full view of the heavenly warfare. "Hermon" means destruction, which refers to Christ's victory on the cross. He is the Son of God manifested to destroy all the works of the devil (1 John 3:8b). We can prevail in all warfare to deal with all the worldly affairs from the peak of victory.

There are many peaks of victory, and the ground of ascension is broad; there is room for movement and growth. However, Ephesians shows us that the heavenly places (chapters one and two) are the very places where the enemy dwells (chapter six). Walking on the mountaintop and looking down from there inevitably bring us into an encounter with the lions' dens and the leopards' mountains. The earth is the place where the lions roam, and the world is where the leopards devour. Yet the lions' dens are in the heavenly places, and the leopards' mountains are also in the heavenly places. Before we know ascension in an experiential way, all that we encounter on earth is the enemy's work. After we know ascension, we will dwell in the very places where the enemy dwells. We must not only be aware of the enemy's work, but we must engage the enemy face to face. The emphasis regarding lions in the Bible is on their roaring. Hence, their work is primarily that of posing threats. The emphasis regarding leopards in the Bible is on their fierceness. Hence, their work is primarily that of devouring. The Lord has called the maiden to the ground of ascension. Yet He has never said that everything will be rosy. He shows her that even in a life on the peak, lions and leopards are closer to her than ever before. Those who do not understand Ephesians 1 and 2 do not understand the spiritual warfare in chapter six, but those who know ascension realize the reality and nearness of the enemy. Nevertheless, the Lord is still beckoning us to look down from this place. Our mountaintop is still the truth, our mountaintop is still the armor, and our mountaintop is still victory and destruction. Heavenly things can be clearly discerned only in heavenly places, while earthly things can be discerned clearly only with a heavenly view. Heaven is the only place to oversee everything. We often do not look from heaven. Rather, we explain many things with an earthly view. The result is nothing but foolishness. Even the smallest thing on earth must be seen from the heavenly position. Otherwise, we will not be clear even about the smallest thing. Yet looking from heaven is looking from the place of the lions' dens and the leopards' mountains. In exercising our observation, we cannot forget the enemy. If we look from heaven, we will not fail to see the relationship between everything and the lions' dens and the leopards' mountains. Those who have a mountaintop view are able to capture the enemy's view concerning everything. Hence, those who observe from the "promised ground" of God's peak will also see things from the view of the enemy's interest. Spiritual warfare is first a matter of position, and second a matter of view. Without position, we cannot identify the enemy himself, and without the heavenly view,

we cannot identify the deceptions of the enemy. Without these two things, there can be no warfare, and we cannot fight. This is an unprecedented call! It is a great and fearful call! Naturally speaking, it is extremely difficult for a weak maiden to climb up the mountain and go to the high ground. How much more forboding it is to be beside the lions' dens and the leopards' mountains! But the maiden has heard the call. How should she answer?

B. Silent Answer (4:9) Verse 9 says, "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." This is the first time the King calls her his spouse. By this time, her mind is completely one with the King. This is why the King considers her to be a person to whom he can commit himself. At this point she is able to participate in everything that the King does. At this point her love reaches a degree that is above the ordinary and becomes pure to the point that a marriage relationship is sealed. The most important thing to remember is that she has passed through countless dealings. By this time everything that is manifested in her is of the new creation, and she can satisfy the King's heart. The main reason that she can be the King's spouse is that the King loves her. The King can love her unreservedly because the Holy Spirit has worked on her to the extent that she has become altogether lovely. This is the first time the King calls her "my sister." This is because she now possesses the same nature as the King. He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of One (Heb. 2:11). Abraham's wife was his sister, and Isaac married a sister of his own household. The difference between Jacob and Esau is that one married a Gentile, while the other married a sister of his mother's household. Hence, Christ's love is lavished on those who have the same life as He, and who come from the same Father. "Thou hast ravished my heart." This can be translated as "Thou hast given me courage" (see ASV, margin). The King is saying, "You have encouraged me to love you; you have encouraged me to draw near to you. You have encouraged me to be satisfied with you and to lead you on. You have encouraged me because you have answered my demands and because you have said what your eyes have said. When your eyes look at me, they say that you are willing to come with me." In an atmosphere of love, the eyes say much more than the mouth. Did not the Lord speak to Peter with His eyes (Luke 22:61)? Outsiders

cannot understand the language of the eyes, but love can comprehend the intentions of the eyes. Not only have the maiden's eyes revealed her desire for Him, but the chain on her neck has shown Him her answer as well. The chain on the neck is a symbol of submission to God's instruction (Prov. 1:9). She has encouraged Him by her submission to the teaching of the Holy Spirit and by the moral edification which the Holy Spirit has wrought in her. She has caused Him to love her and to know that He can lead her on. C. Inward Relationship (4:10-15) Verse 10 says, "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!" It seems that prior to this, he never praised her love. Love is an expressed sentiment, and it is different from the two breasts. God attracts men with His Son Jesus Christ. He placed His Son on earth and invited men to love Him. Through Christ God manifested His love. When men are attracted to Christ, they respond to God's invitation. When men express their love to Christ, they are answering God's invitation. Love is man's answer to God's love manifested through Christ. Man's love toward Christ is his response to God. Love is expressed more and more perfectly as believers consecrate themselves time after time and as they are dealt with again and again. When the Lord sees that the believers no longer set their mind on earthly things, but on the heavenly things in their experience, He will say, "How fair is thy love...how much better is thy love than wine!" When the maiden praised the King's love in 1:2, she only said that his love was better than wine. In the King's praise of the maiden, he says that her love is much better than wine. From this we see that the believers' appreciation of the Lord's love cannot match the Lord's appreciation of the believers' love. Although we treasure the Lord's love, we cannot comprehend how precious His love is toward us. Because the Lord loves us so deeply, He can appreciate our love and His heart can be satisfied with our love. We know the story of David and Jonathan. "They kissed one another, and wept one with another" (1 Sam. 20:41), until David won the victory. Our Lord is the One who has the preeminence over all things. Even in loving us, He takes the preeminence. "The smell of thine ointments [is better] than all spices!" The maiden has the King's ointment. The King is anointed with the Holy Spirit, and the maiden is also anointed with the Holy Spirit. The ointment on Aaron's head flows to the skirts of his garments. But the emphasis here is not just on the ointment, but on the

fragrance of the ointment, which implies the effect of the anointing of the Holy Spirit. (The word "smell" can be translated "fragrance." See Darby's New Translation.) Fragrance is something that eyes cannot see and ears cannot hear. But it is something that one can smell. The most difficult thing in the world to explain is fragrance. Language cannot explain fragrance. Is it not true that others are touched not by something that can be seen or heard, but by a special, spiritual flavor which emanates from the believers who are with them? You cannot give a name to this flavor; this is their fragrance. It is the result of a life of submission to the Holy Spirit. This fragrance far exceeds all human virtues. Sometimes we can identify virtues in an unbeliever which excel that of a believer. We can identify many natural virtues that some believers possess, but none of these can be compared to the fragrance that comes forth from a life that is molded by the Holy Spirit.

Verse 11 says, "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." ("Smell" in this verse is different from the word "fragrance" in the previous verse.) No human or natural smell can be compared to the fragrance that emanates from the maiden. This naturally makes her lips drop as the honeycomb. Honey is sweet, and it restores the strickened ones. But this sweetness is not produced overnight. It comes from a long period of gathering, inward activity, and careful storage. This is the unique possession of one who is taught by God. From the mouth of the maiden issue forth sweet and refreshing words, not gossip, jokes, or rash words. Her words are not outbursts of torrents, but drops of honey from the honeycomb. This is the slowest kind of dripping. Some people have the urge to speak; their words are like the babbling of brooks. Even when they speak about spiritual things, the way they speak shows that they have not passed through the deeper work of grace. In this verse we can notice not only her lips slowly dropping sweet honey, but the things that are stored within her. "Honey and milk are under thy tongue." The top of the tongue is where man takes in food, whereas under the tongue is where man stores food. This means that she has stored up these things; there are riches within her. She has more than enough food. Honey restores the weak ones, whereas milk feeds the immature ones. She has stored so many riches within her that food seems to be under her tongue and she can dispense to the needy ones at any time. However, she does not reveal all that she has. She is not like many people who exhibit on the

outside all that they have inside. Honey and milk are under her tongue; they are not on her lips. "Garments" speak of outward conduct, the walk, move, activity, entertainment, manner, and everything else that is on the outside, because a garment is outside of a person. Since the maiden's dwelling is in Lebanon, she cannot help but have the smell of Lebanon on her garments, even when she walks in the world. Since she is with the Lord in heaven, she inevitably brings forth a subconscious smell that is higher and loftier than that which is from the world. Verse 12 says, "A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed." (The garden in 4:12, the orchard in 4:13, the two gardens in 4:16, and the garden in 5:1 are singular in number; whereas the gardens, the waters, and the streams in 4:15 are plural in number.) God's first thought in the Bible was that of a garden. After God created the heavens and the earth, we see Him immediately creating a garden. A garden is not ordinary ground; it is not for ordinary planting. Nor is it a field, which is for tilling. It is specially designed for beauty and enjoyment. It can contain trees, but the purpose of the trees is not for the wood. It can have fruit, but its goal is not the fruit. Its attention is on the flowers; the flowers are there for beauty and for pleasing the eyes. At this point, we see that the maiden has satisfied Christ. She realizes that her existence is not for herself, but for her Beloved. This, however, is not just a garden, but a garden inclosed; even the spring is shut up and the fountain sealed. This means that she is exclusively for her Beloved's pleasure. Although she is a garden, she is not an open garden, but a garden inclosed. The beauty within is not seen by every eye. All that she has is for the Beloved's delight and for no one else. Numbers 19:15 says that when a person dies in a tent, "every open vessel, which has no cover fastened upon it, is unclean." An open vessel is something that is laid open to the public. It is affected by everything, and it is not devoted exclusively to Christ. Any influence can come upon it. If today's believers would close up a little more and seal up tighter, their work would become more prevailing. The meaning of chastity is a garden inclosed. This is holiness. In the Bible, holiness implies singleness. Neither the spring nor the fountain is for outsiders or anything outside. Verses 13 and 14 say, "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." Although this is a garden, it is not lacking in fruit. The Bible calls the

believers "shoots" in a few instances. (The word "plants" can be translated as "shoots"; see Darby's New Translation.) It means to be filled with the power of life, to overcome death, and to have the power of resurrection (e.g., the budding of Aaron's rod). This power of life is like an orchard of pomegranates. Pomegranates signify the abundance of fruit. This means that the maiden is full of the power of resurrection and filled with the fruit of resurrection. In the previous verses, pomegranates were used to describe her two cheeks. Pomegranates are not just for fruit-bearing, they are also for beauty. This verse speaks of "an orchard of pomegranates," which means that this garden is not just beautiful, but fruitful as well. This garden is not filled with only one kind of fruit; it is filled with all kinds of fruit. The flowers and plants that follow are noted either for their color or for their fragrance. In the end, there are also trees of frankincense and all the chief spices. This means that a variety of things is needed in the believers to satisfy Christ (2 Cor. 9:8; Col. 1:9-11). The fruit in the first part of the verse describes the fruit of the Spirit, whereas the spices and the herbs in the second part of the verse describe the grace of the Spirit. Verse 15 says, "A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon." Both wells and fountains are for watering the garden and bringing forth flowers and trees. A well signifies a deposit of living water, whereas a fountain signifies flowing water. "The well is deep" (John 4:11) signifies its ability to store water, whereas a fountain is water that constantly flows out. A well is stationary, whereas a fountain is flowing. Both the well and the fountain are in the garden. In Eden there were four rivers which watered the garden. In the New Jerusalem, there is one river of water of life. The New Jerusalem is a garden-city, and the water there is for the irrigation of the garden. This is the ministry of the Holy Spirit. This ministry brings forth better and finer gardens. This ministry does not have the garden as its source, but flows from the hills of Lebanon. Therefore, without Christ's ascension, there is no descension of the Holy Spirit. "If I do not go away, the Comforter will not come to you" (John 16:7). All the spiritual watering that comes to us today is a result of Christ's appearing before the Father on our behalf.

III. A LIFE OF LOVE (4:16—5:1) A. The Spouse's Answer (4:16)

In the preceding section, we saw the beauty of the new creation (vv. 1-5), the deeper determination of the maiden (v. 6), and her relationship with Christ in ascension (vv. 7-15). It describes the King's satisfaction with the maiden as well as His satisfaction in their mutual relationship. Verse 16 says, "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 pleasant fruits." Her answer is twofold. The north wind is cold, bitter, and biting, whereas the south wind is warm, gentle, and refreshing. The maiden realizes that the King considers her a garden, and she is aware of the many fruits and graces that she has received from the Holy Spirit. She does not ask for peace in the environment. On the contrary, she is prepared to give forth Christ's fragrance in whatever environment she may be put. She has reached the stage where she realizes that all problems come from within and not from without. If there is a fragrance inside, outward circumstances, whether the north wind or the south wind, will only serve to bring out the smell of the fragrance. She no longer lives according to her environment. She can now live in any kind of circumstances. She knows that as long as she is filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit, she can happily live in any environment. She can say as Paul said, "I have learned...how to be abased, and...how to abound" (Phil. 4:11-12); "Christ will be magnified in my body, whether through life or through death" (Phil. 1:20). Her call is an indication of her submission and faith. The north wind and the south wind are two different environments that the Holy Spirit uses to train believers. She has given herself to the training of the Holy Spirit. Although the south wind is pleasant and the north wind is fierce, a person who lives in heaven does not feel the difference. He knows that his circumstances only serve to manifest the grace of the Holy Spirit (all circumstances being controlled by the Holy Spirit). The maiden single-mindedly looks to the Holy Spirit to do the perfecting work in the environment. Other than what she has expressed to the Holy Spirit, she no longer speaks as much as before. With so many herbs and spices planted already, she now allows the Holy Spirit to blow on them. "Since my Lord has planted me as His garden and has given me the grace to produce the fruits, I should allow Him to come into the garden to enjoy the fruits produced." The maiden first says "my garden" and then "his garden." My garden is now His garden. Everything is for Him, and the fruits are for Him. The fruit of the Spirit is not for the believers' adornment or boast. Although it grows within the believers, it is for the Lord's enjoyment and for

God's glory. Once again, she unconditionally offers the Lord's own work on the earth back to Him. B. The Lord's Answer (5:1) Verse 5:1 says, "I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved." Although this garden belongs to the Lord, this verse shows us that He does not come into His garden all the time. Rather, He only comes at special requests. We have to remember that although we belong to the Lord after we have consecrated ourselves to Him, it is a constant consecration that brings the Lord into our garden. Hence, we should not be self-satisfied with the fact that we belong to the Lord. We have to tell ourselves this fact repeatedly and tell the Lord the same thing repeatedly. Otherwise, without our consciously declaring it, the Lord will not come into His garden. The Lord accepts every consecration. As soon as the maiden makes an invitation, the Lord responds. If I am not mistaken, this is perhaps the one prayer that will receive the most ready answer. The Lord reckons everything as His. The word "my" appears at least nine times. "My garden, my sister, my spouse...my myrrh with my spice...my honeycomb with my honey...my wine with my milk." He receives everything except the payment for a harlot and the price for a dog (Deut. 23:18). The significance of this is pure enjoyment. At this point, the Lord has occupied His place, the place that He had not occupied in the first section. By this time, He has truly gained something and seen the fruit of His labor. We have to note that the consecration and the acceptance in this verse are different from the ordinary consecration and acceptance. Formerly, consecration was the offering of ourselves into His hand for Him to do something in us. The consecration in this verse, however, comes after the Lord has done His work. It is not for the purpose of taking something from His hand. The maiden is filled with the Lord's work already, and this joy, this fruit, and this glory should go back to the Lord. Therefore, this is a consecration of the fragrance of the fruit. The same is true with the acceptance here. Formerly, the Lord's acceptance was for the purpose of gaining some ground to plant something. Now the acceptance is not for planting, because "all the chief spices" are in the garden already. Now the acceptance is for pure enjoyment. Formerly, we were a barren ground, and there was no way to till it. We consecrated ourselves at that time to His hand and

allowed Him to work and make us a perfect garden. Now to whom does the garden belong? Experienced believers often find that the latter consecration is harder than the first consecration. Yet it is more glorious than the first. Only this consecration will give the Lord the fruit of His labor. "Eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved." Who do the friends and the beloved refer to? As Savior and Lord, the Lord now enjoys everything in the garden. Hence, the friends and the beloved must refer to the Triune God who is participating in the enjoyment. (If they refer to the sinners, it would not say "beloved," and if they refer to believers, they cannot be the consecrated one and can only be the companions of the consecrated one. Yet the Lord deserves all the enjoyment here; there is no room for other believers' participation.)

SECTION FOUR THE CALL OF THE CROSS AFTER RESURRECTION (5:2—6:13) I. THE CROSS AFTER RESURRECTION AND THE MAIDEN'S FAILURE (5:2—6:3) A. The Calling (5:2) Song of Songs 5:2 says, "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." By this time, her own work and life have ceased. She is like one who is asleep; there is no further activity, work, endeavoring, struggle, effort, or anxiety. She is perfectly at rest. The cross has not only dealt with all her sins, but has dealt with all her flesh. Sin is no longer active, and the self is no longer active. The whole outward man has been brought to a state of cessation. Even when she does something, she does not feel that she is doing it herself; she feels that she is a bystander. Indeed, she is asleep. But this does not mean that she is completely motionless, thoughtless, void of belief and activity, and void of work and living. The resurrection life of the Lord is in her, and the resurrected Lord Himself is dwelling and living within her through the Holy Spirit. Although the outward man is silent, the inward man is active. Here we see a complete separation between the outward man and the inward man. Outwardly we can be asleep, but inwardly we are awake and are not sleepy at all. This matches Paul's

word, "I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me" (Gal. 2:20). This is the expression of perfect fellowship with Christ. A person who is perfectly one with the Lord is very quick, alert, and full of feelings. He can feel even the slightest voice or movement of the Lord. The inner man never sleeps. Whenever the Lord speaks, the maiden immediately hears, and she immediately identifies the voice of her beloved. What does the Lord do now? He "knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister." In this book, the Lord first revealed Himself as the King because He is after the throne in our heart. Then He was a caller, leading the maiden out of the inner walls into the resurrection life. Finally, He reveals Himself as the Bridegroom, having a perfect love relationship with the maiden. Now a completely different revelation is unveiled: "My head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night." What kind of picture is this? This is clearly His experience at Gethsemane. There His head was indeed filled with dew! That night His head was filled with the drops of the night (Luke 22:44)! Here He reveals Himself as a son of sorrows. In the past, we saw the cross for redemption. We also saw the cross for identification. We have seen the suffering and death of the cross, and we have seen how the cross delivers us from the world and self. We have seen the victory at the cross and our conformation to the cross. After a believer has seen these things, he may think that he has reached the peak experience and that he will then advance step by step toward resurrection and glory. Little does he realize that there is another aspect of the cross that he has not experienced. Even if he has a little experience in this area, it is very shallow. Although he knows about the suffering of the cross, he does not know the extent of the suffering. Although he has realized the conformation, that is, the molding of the cross, he does not know what shape this mold will conform him to. The Lord now calls His believers to go through an experience of the cross that they have never before experienced, or that they have only experienced in a shallow way. The garden of Gethsemane speaks of God's rejection and everything associated with this rejection (Isa. 53:4b). We may understand the redemptive aspect of the cross, but there is still the aspect of His outward rejection by God. This aspect subjected Him to extreme shame. Of all the previous sufferings, we can still find some glory in them, because God is still there. But He was not only rejected by man, but was seemingly rejected by God as well. It seems as if everything that

came upon Him was a chastisement from God. This is God's hand. Because of God's smiting, He was rejected, and this was the greatest shame He bore. The Lord does not invite us to participate in His redemptive work. But He charges us to have fellowship with Him in the other aspects of His cross. The problems we encountered in the past revolved around sin, the world, Satan, and the natural self. Although we encountered the suffering and conformation of the cross, we were completely unfamiliar with God's rejection and man's shame. Now the Lord is knocking and saying, "Open to Me." This means that He calls every believer to open up their heart to Him once again and to receive once again the Lord who is filled with the drops of the night. The maiden must still learn what it means to be rejected by God and to suffer the deeper misunderstanding and shame of the cross. He calls her "sister;" He beckons the life of God within her. "My love" indicates her knowledge of God's will. "My dove" speaks of the nature of the Holy Spirit, while "my undefiled" speaks of her purity, chastity, and consecration. However, He does not say "my spouse," because He is waiting for her to answer Him before He can be assured of her status as a spouse, one who is in complete union with Him. The Lord begs her to open herself. Previously, she opened herself to receive the Lord as King. Now the Lord wants her to open herself and receive Him as a son of sorrows. Now the Lord leads her into the deepest aspect of a life of suffering together with Him and in conformation to His death. Yet the Lord will never force anyone to take a way that he does not want to take. Therefore, He will only knock and ask; He has to wait until the believers become willing in themselves.

B. Excuses (5:3) Verse 3 says, "I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?" The call in verse 2 is beyond many believers' expectation. They do not realize that there is the aspect of shame to the cross. They are not inexperienced as to the cross. They may have had deep experiences of the cross already. Although they have suffered a little for the cross and met some persecution and shame, they have always felt that the cross was their glory, their life, and their power. It never occurred to them that the cross would become their shame, that they would not only lose worldly fame, but also their spiritual renown, that others would consider that God has rejected them, and that God would put them through trials and strip them of comfort and sympathy from those whom they know, who would think that they were smitten

by God. They may have suffered shame from the world, but spiritual shame is something new to them. This kind of misunderstanding will touch their feeling in a deep way, because it has to do with the relationship between God and them. Only then will they know what it means to "fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ" (Col. 1:24). How unfamiliar is this calling, yet how cruel! No wonder many shrink back. The maiden may think that God's glory is more important than everything else. In the past, she may have tried to glorify God's name in her life and work. If God allows her to be misunderstood, stripped of her good name, shamed, and considered by others as being in an argument with God, how can she glorify Him any longer? Perhaps she is not thinking of herself as much as she is thinking of God's glory. But she does not realize that her concerns revolve around how she can glorify God. She must be stripped by God to the point that even this good self-intention to glorify God is removed. The cross must work so deeply on her until she is content with the portion that God has allotted for her and until she lets God take care of His own glory. With those who have heard such a calling, there may be another problem. They may be concerned about God's work. Through the cross they have experienced, others have been attracted to them to learn of the Lord's way. The maiden's past experience of the cross made her a channel of life; those who wanted to follow the Lord had to go to her. But if she answers this new call and allows the cross to bring her to the place of shame, will she not lose her position and opportunities in the work? The past experiences of the cross have attracted others to her. Will not the future experience of the cross turn people away from her? Will anyone draw near to her again? Will anyone want to learn the way of the cross from her? These thoughts may bring hesitation to her footsteps. Therefore, she answers, "I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on?" In her outward walk, the cross has put off the old man with its deeds. Should she rise up to accept the loneliness and shame of the cross and to bear the misunderstanding, like putting on a coat that she has put off? Is it not enough for a person to experience the cross to the extent of being genuinely delivered from the old man? Many believers who have reached this stage do not see that there are two aspects to the cross, the negative aspect and the positive aspect. The maiden knows resurrection and the cross, but she only knows the negative aspects. Her attention is on the cross's work in dealing with the old creation; she does not see how the cross also deals with the new creation. She only sees the

cross in its work of deliverance; she does not see the cross in its work of initiation. She may misunderstand and think that these works belong to the realm of resurrection. Actually, they belong to the realm of the cross. On the positive side, the cross brings a stamp of shame, suffering, and misunderstanding to the new creation. The Lord Jesus' life is a life in the new creation. Yet do we not see a mark of suffering in Him that comes from the cross? "I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?" We have taken a bath and are clean before the Lord. When we walk through the world, we come into contact with the dust and dirt of the world, yet we are cleansed through a continual cleansing. The maiden may think that she needs to preserve her cleanliness, to no longer defile herself, and to not give the appearance that she has stopped progressing but is regressing instead. All that she sees is the preservation of her own cleanliness; she does not see that the defilement one receives in opening the door to the Lord is not really defilement at all. She must put on her coat and be willing to be defiled again before she can open the door. But this does not imply putting on her old man once more or a defilement by the world once again. Rather, it means a putting on and a defilement by misunderstandings. The refusal here is a refusal of the best thing and a settling for the next best thing. This is a picture of a person's contentment in his own experience, and a failure to see the importance of experiencing Philippians 3:10 in a full way. Subconsciously, the self has crept in. The maiden sees only herself. It seems that her past experiences in God's work and glory have occupied a place in her already. Her questions indicate that she does not want to change her present spiritual condition. But the Lord's calling interrupts our present condition. All spiritual progress involves a change of our present order. This is where the price lies. An attachment to spiritual ease is often the reason behind a rejection of higher callings. When we are spiritually at ease and our conscience does not condemn us concerning any error, and when we find ourselves having many spiritual experiences that issue from the Lord's death and resurrection, we are reluctant to pursue after the goal Christ has set for us. We prefer to live in the same way, not spending additional effort to pursue new things and not losing our present peace.

C. Opening the Door (5:4-5) Verse 4 says, "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." For the bowels to be moved means that her deepest feelings are touched. Her questions are not a rejection, but an indication of the weakness of the flesh. Her will has fully been subjected to the Lord. The expression of delay is caused by her natural constitution. Inwardly, she has no problem at all, but she is somewhat feeble outwardly. Hence, the Lord encourages her with new invitations. If her heart were indeed hardened, the Lord would not have pursued her. Therefore, He "put in his hand by the hole of the door." This is a calling, not a chastisement. This hand is the hand that once embraced her, the hand that was once under her head. This hand is the nail-pierced hand. The Lord beckons her once again with such a hand. Putting the hand through the hole of the door means that the Lord is doing all that He can to reveal a part of Himself. Through the revelation of His hand, the Lord hopes that she will begin to think about Him. His hand represents His heart, and it reveals Himself. All spiritual experiences are the result of the attraction of Christ. Men must see the Lord's revelation before they will rise above their present condition of ease to advance further with Christ. Those who truly see the Lord cannot fail to be moved in their bowels. But how few are those who are moved by the Lord! How many are there who can tell the difference between being touched by the teaching and being touched by the Lord? The maiden rises to open the door. Because of the Lord's attraction, she is willing to accept the cross of shame, just as she was once willing to accept the cross of power. The hands that open the door, the hands that signify faith and obedience, surely drop with myrrh. Here we see not only the power of the Lord's death, but the smell of His death. The Lord's life, which has passed through death, is in her hands and it is rising up as a tide, enabling her hands to open the door. Even the lock of her will cannot help but be permeated with the smell of the Lord's death. D. Withdrawal (5:6) Verse 6 says, "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." A person who is experienced in the Lord's dealing does not experience discipline from God when he is disobedient. God's discipline comes to him only after he is obedient. When a person is obedient, the Lord will show him the evil of disobedience. (With a beginner, the discipline comes before obedience, and discipline brings him into obedience. With an experienced person, discipline comes after obedience and

gives the person the taste of the bitterness of disobedience.) In the maiden's feeling, her beloved is gone once again. Formerly, she lost the Lord's presence because of her foolishness. Now the pain she experiences is in her spirit. Her spirit seems to be bound in darkness, and there is no light. She recalls how she was beside herself when the Lord first called, and how her soul was raptured away to Him. When He spoke, her heart was ravished. Now she hates herself and does not know why she cannot have the outward strength to match her inward desires. She hates the fact that she gave a false excuse which caused Him to hide His glorious face. She can only look and call; she cannot find Him, and He will not answer. This search is different from the one she had before. This search is not on the streets or in the broad places, but before God. Even prayer seems to be useless. E. Wounded (5:7) Verse 7 says, "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." This time she does not go out to look for the watchmen, and she does not ask them. Rather, they meet her. They wonder how a person as beautiful as she, who has gone through as much change as she, would lose her beloved. They may try to help her, but their words only serve to hurt her more and increase her pain. She yearns for consolation, but she receives only wounds. Mrs. Penn-Lewis quoted a good verse regarding this portion: "For they persecute him whom You have stricken,/And they recount the pain of those whom You have wounded" (Psa. 69:26). They do not know how to take care of her problems. They think that she must be wrong if the Lord has withdrawn. They do not realize that she has suffered enough blows already; they think that their rebukes can help her. They give her more blows through their words. At this time, she cannot help but proclaim, "Reproach has broken my heart, /And I am sick;/I looked for pity, but there was none; /And for comforters, but I found none" (v. 20). Her pain does not stop here. Not only are the others not able to help her or comfort her; they joke about her condition. Those who are responsible to keep watch over her do not cover her; rather, they publicize her affairs. As a result, she loses her veil, and she is without any covering; her shame is exposed. Her failure becomes public news among the believers. She is indeed like Job, who tried to find a friend who would help him, but ended up with those who condemned him.

These keepers are the ones who take responsibility in the house of God. Spiritually speaking, they ought to be her guides. But often even the discernment of a spiritual person can be wrong. Our brothers' attitudes toward us may be wrong many times, but this is something under the Lord's permission; the purpose of it is for us to become conscious of our own failures. If we go on with the Lord according to His will, He will have a way to deal with our brothers. When we fail, however small this failure may be, the Lord will allow our brothers to deal with us more severely than He Himself will deal with us.

F. Seeking Help from the Daughters of Jerusalem (5:8) Verse 8 says, "I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, that I am sick of love." When the maiden cannot find help from spiritual men, she seeks help among those who are less advanced than she is. When she feels that she has offended the Lord and has lost His countenance, in her desperation she tries to find help even from the daughters of Jerusalem. Her words amount to an admission of her failure and that, if possible, they should pray for her. Her sense of failure is so deep that she feels that even babes in the Lord can render her some help. She is not ignorant of their immaturity, and she realizes that their fellowship with the Lord is not perfect. This is why she says, "If ye find my beloved." She knows that they may not find Him. Yet in her deep remorse and helplessness, she hopes to find one or two persons who can render some help. Her own prayers seem to go unanswered, and she now turns to others. She wants to convey the message, "I am sick of love." She used this expression once before, but her condition was different than it is now. She had been in the midst of an intimate tide of fellowship, but now she is in a time of dryness. It is not surprising for a person to speak such a word at a time when feelings run high. But when darkness is all around and there are contrary feelings, it is not easy to speak such a word. This proves that she has made a considerable advance in the life of faith. She has learned to take control of her environment, and she can control her own feelings. This love sickness does not arise from an overindulgence in love, but from a hunger for love. G. The Question of the Daughters of Jerusalem (5:9)

Verse 9 says, "What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women? what is thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us?" Although the daughters of Jerusalem do not have deep experiences in the Lord, and although they are not filled with the life of the new creation, they can see that the maiden is the fairest among women. The humility, holiness, and glory of the new creation are admired and acknowledged by all, even by those who do not possess them. Although the maiden no longer sees the countenance of her beloved, she is nevertheless the fairest among women. She has not lost her beauty. It is never appropriate to consider Christ in the way of comparison, for He is beyond comparison. Yet in the eyes of ordinary people, comparisons are unavoidable. Their eyes have not yet seen His absoluteness; therefore, they can only know Him by comparison. Actually, this Beloved is far more than any other beloved. This word also shows that though these women are the inhabitants of Jerusalem, they have not received a personal revelation of the Lord. They can only receive the reflected light that shines out from her. H. The Maiden's Impression of the Beloved (5:10-16) Mr. Darby said, "It is, I judge, a fine moral perfectness of thought that the bride never speaks of the Bridegroom's perfections to Himself as if she were to approve Him; she speaks of Him fully as expressive of her own feelings and to others, but not to Him. He speaks freely and fully of her to herself as assuring her of His delight in her. When we think of Christ and our relation with Him, this is beautifully appropriate" (Synopsis of the Books of the Bible, J. N. Darby, Vol. 2, p. 265). God uses the questions of other people to bring out the maiden's impression of the Lord. This causes the revelation which she once received to shine within her again. This spontaneously recovers her to her initial position. The revelation we have of Christ through the Holy Spirit may become blurred, but the wonderful thing is that it will never be lost. The maiden is still the teacher of the daughters of Jerusalem. Even in her failure, she is still stronger than the daughters of Jerusalem in their time of victory. Verse 10 says, "My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand." At the very beginning, she speaks of her beloved in a general way. The word "white" in the original language denotes a kind of bright and shining whiteness. This speaks of His purity and His separation from sinners. Yet His whiteness is not a dead whiteness or a pale whiteness, but one that is white and

ruddy. This means that He is full of life and power (in the same way that David was a man ruddy in countenance, cf. 1 Sam. 16:12). Throughout His life, He was a man full of power and life. From the time He was twelve years old until today, while He sits at the right hand of God, He has never been short of strength. The word "chiefest" in the original language means "lifted up as a banner" or "banner-carrier." This means that Christ is the uplifted banner among tens of thousands of people. He is the One on whom all eyes are set. Christ is our banner, and we look to Him. He is also like a banner-carrier. This means that He is the crucified Lord. "When the adversary comes like a flood,/The Spirit of Jehovah will lift up a standard against him" (Isa. 59:19). The standard refers to the cross. Hence, the Lord Jesus' being the banner-carrier refers to His being the slain Lamb. Wherever He goes, tens of thousands follow Him, and He is beyond comparison. After the maiden covers the general descriptions, she goes on to meticulously describe the revelations and impressions she has received of the Lord.

Verse 11 says, "His head is as the most fine gold; his locks are bushy, and black as a raven." The "most fine gold" refers to His divinity. He possesses God's life and God's glory. "For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (Col. 2:9). God has established this Christ as our Head. Everything that is of God is in Him. Nothing that is of God is absent from Him. Hence, if we are "holding the Head," we can grow "with the growth of God" (v. 19). "His locks are bushy, and black as a raven." To be black as a raven signifies His eternal power. When He manifests Himself as the Ancient of Days, He displays His white hair (Rev. 1:14). But what is portrayed here is His eternal and unfading power; therefore, His hair is black. When the Bible describes a man's condition as being degenerating and fading, it speaks of his gray hairs (Hosea 7:9). But our Lord does not have any gray hair. He is "the same yesterday and today, yes, even forever" (Heb. 13:8). Verse 12 says, "His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, and fitly set." The eyes express the sentiments, and these sentiments are intimate sentiments. Man's words and letters can express sentiments that can be felt from a distance. But the sentiments of the eyes cannot be felt unless a person is very close. The most beautiful thing about doves is their eyes. "By the rivers of waters" speaks of their wetness, "washed with milk" speaks of their whiteness, and "fitly set" speaks of their orderliness.

The Lord's eyes express His sentiments toward us, and to the believers these eyes are as beautiful as doves' eyes. They are full of vigor. They are not dry, they are like those by the rivers of waters. They are distinct and clear, as if washed with milk. They are fitly set and have a healthy vision; they never make a mistake through faltering eyesight. Verse 13 says, "His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers: his lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh." His two cheeks once suffered man's smiting (Isa. 50:6) and were reviled by men (Matt. 27:30). It is no wonder that the believers consider His cheeks as a bed of spices and as sweet flowers, beautiful as well as fragrant. "Lips" denotes the words that come from His mouth. How pure are these words, and they are as fragrant as the droppings of myrrh. "Grace is poured upon Your lips" (Psa. 45:2). It is no wonder that men praised Him and marveled at the words of grace that came from His mouth (Luke 4:22). The droppings of myrrh do not mean just grace; they are related to His death. This denotes the grace that issues forth from His death. His lips drop myrrh; every word of grace that comes out of His mouth is based on His death. Whether it is, "Your sins are forgiven...Go in peace" (7:48-50), "He who believes has eternal life" (John 6:47), or "Rise and take up your mat and walk" (Mark 2:9), all these words are based on His death. Verse 14 says, "His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl: his belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires." The word "rings" is the same word as "folding" in 1 Kings 6:34. The purpose of the folding is to prevent something from slipping and being lost. The gold rings tell us that the works of the Lord Jesus are capable of accomplishing God's will. They will not fail halfway, because all the works issue from God. Therefore, the rings are gold. "Beryl" is mentioned a few times in the Old Testament, including Ezekiel 1:16 and Daniel 10:6. In both places, the meaning is stability. In the former verse, though the Gentiles reigned, God's governmental wheel (made of beryl) still turned. In the latter verse, we see the Christ of God (whose body is beryl) arbitrating the destiny of the world. Hence, both the gold rings and the beryl speak of the stability of the Lord's work. The word "belly" is the same as the word "bowels" in Songs of Songs 5:4. This means that the Lord is a man of deep feelings. These feelings are directed toward His people. "Ivory" is not like gems, which are without life. In order to have ivory, there must first be sufferings or even death. This signifies that the Lord's feeling for His people comes from His suffering and the great price He has

paid. "Bright" can be translated as "wrought work of." A wrought work is a fine work. This shows us that all His feelings are not shallow or casual. "Sapphires," according to the Bible, are "the body of heaven in his clearness" (Exo. 24:10). These sapphires overlay the perimeters. This means that when His feeling comes into contact with us, the contact is under the control of heaven. Verse 15 says, "His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold: his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars." In the Bible, the feet indicate movement, while "legs" signify an upright posture. "Marble" is translated many times in the Bible as "fine linen." Here it signifies His righteousness. "Pillars" signify gravity. This means that our Lord and all He has are unshakable because of the righteousness He has established. All those who have followed Him cannot fail to have this impression. In the maiden's description of her beloved, she mentions gold three times. This means that the thoughts in His mind, the works of His hands, and the stability of His feet are all of God. God controls His whole being. He is a totally submissive person, who fully satisfies God's heart. This is the One whom we know. "His countenance is as Lebanon." He is higher than the earth, and He is living in the high places. Everything about Him speaks of Him as a heavenly person. "Excellent as the cedars." He is a man, yet a glorified man. Just as the cedar tree far transcends over all other trees, He is the only glorified man among all men. Verse 16 says, "His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem." Finally, His mouth is mentioned. The word "mouth" is not just the ordinary mouth, but the mouth with special reference to the taste. This word is the same as the word "taste" in 2:3. This is very different from the lips. The taste refers to the mediatorial work of the Lord Jesus. It means that everything from God is first tasted by Him before being transferred to us. Everything of God is first stored in Christ and then dispensed to us through Him. This is His mediatorial work, and it is very sweet. After we have known Him in this way, we cannot help but acknowledge that everything is of God and through Christ. At this point, the listener's heart cannot help but be warmed, and the speaker's heart cannot help but be even warmer. In reviewing the way we have taken, and considering the Lord whom we confess, we cannot help but exclaim, "He is altogether lovely." Anything that we speak of concerning Him is altogether lovely. Those who have not yet followed the Lord in an absolute way should realize that this is our Beloved! This is our Friend! Can we be blamed for seeking after Him?

This description of her impression of the Lord is in a sense a description of the very Lord she knows. It is also a description of what she has received of the Lord. It is also a description of her union with the Lord and the fellowship that has resulted from this union. Since she has seen the glory of the Lord with an unveiled face, she is reflecting His glory like a mirror and is being transformed to the Lord's image, from glory to glory. By the end of her speaking, the sun has dawned upon her soul. Her words are full of feelings. It is as if she is singing and proclaiming, "He is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend."

I. The Question of the Daughters of Jerusalem (6:1) Verse 6:1 says, "Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? whither is thy beloved turned aside? that we may seek him with thee." After hearing her testimony, it is natural that the daughters of Jerusalem would want to pursue after Him. Here we see a person in the new creation, who is being filled with the freshness of the new creation. The Christ she knows is very different from the Christ that others have preached according to their own ideas. It is no wonder that there is power and attraction, and no wonder that they still consider her as the fairest among women and join her in seeking after Him. Since He is so lovely, where is He now? This is what the questions imply. The repeated question which they pose, "Whither is thy beloved turned aside?", implies that a barrier exists between the maiden and her Beloved and that this is the reason He has turned aside. Since she knew of His loveliness in the past, and since they are ready to seek Him, she should be able to tell them where He is now. This is the implication of their words. They have a sense that when she speaks of her Beloved, it is different from when others speak about their beloved. J. The Maiden's Reply (6:2-3) Verse 2 says, "My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies." Originally, the maiden sought help from the immature women, hoping that their beseeching would lead her to the place of her beloved. But after she presents her own testimony and after her attempt to help others, she suddenly receives light and the location of her beloved becomes clear. She can now say, "My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies." The garden, which belongs to Him, is just herself (4:16—5:1). She suddenly becomes clear that He has never left. She does not need to ascend to heaven or descend to Hades. The Lord is

near her, even in her mouth and in her heart. Although He seemed to have turned away when she delayed in her obedience, actually He only retreated from her feelings; He is only showing her the pain of the withdrawal of His countenance. In reality He is still within her. There is no need for her to be in a state of panic. All that she has to do is to open herself to her Beloved, on the one hand, and confess her own failures and ask for forgiveness, on the other hand. As to the feeling of His lost presence, she should hold onto God's word with a calm mind, and she should believe that He is still within His garden and prepared to reveal Himself at the proper time once again. Although there is still a sense of rebellion and apparent estrangement, she should nevertheless rest on God's word and immerse herself in such a word. She should realize that God's faithfulness is surer than her own faithfulness. No fleshly pursuit will bring about her recovery. Many times, it will only bring more confusion. The inactivity of the believers often causes them great harm. Yet their fleshly pursuit often leaves behind large scars as well. Therefore, the way to recovery does not lie in these ways. The way to the maiden's recovery is first her testimony. She does not stop testifying faithfully for the Lord just because she thinks that she is not faithful. Without realizing it, she is attracted by God to turn away from herself. Therefore, she can say such things about the Lord. This is her way of "looking away unto Jesus" (Heb. 12:2a). In thinking about His person, grace, work, faithfulness, and love, she subconsciously recovers the light she had lost. While she is near the point of despair, she tries her best to help others. Although she feels that she has lost the fellowship herself, she hopes that others would know His preciousness and fellowship with Him. Although she speaks of her past revelation, does not the Lord quietly hearken when the saints speak one to another concerning Him? Naturally, the Lord will reveal Himself to her at these times. Although she is hungry, others are hungrier than she is, and when she satisfies others, she spontaneously is satisfied herself. Here we see how she is being delivered from herself. Her sickness lies in her spiritual darkness and depression. After she is attracted to turn away from herself, her symptoms go away. After she is enlightened, she realizes that she is actually speaking to herself when she is speaking to the daughters of Jerusalem. Although she senses the estrangement in her feeling, she discovers that during the long period of estrangement, He was still in His garden. The garden is singular in number,

which means that it signifies herself. The gardens that are subsequently spoken of are plural, which signify the saints. She says that He is in her heart, as well as in all the saints' hearts. The word "beds" is also plural, which means the same thing that we previously mentioned. When the expression "bed of spices" was used before, it referred to the two cheeks. This means that the Lord is eating His excellent fruits in His garden, and He is also enjoying the beauty of His believers. He is shepherding the believers within their heart. He is gathering the lilies, that is, the pure joy which is of Himself and for Himself. Verse 3 says, "I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth among the lilies." When she sees this, she realizes that although everything has changed, the covenant between her and the Lord has not changed. Now she can say, "I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine." When her experience was shallower, she said at the height of her desire for fellowship, "My beloved is mine, and I am his" (2:16). She was filled with a sense of sweetness, and she could not help but proclaim that the Lord was hers. But this is different from what was spoken earlier. The feelings are not as strong; on the contrary, there are even some insubordinate feelings. Yet she still believes deeply that the Lord is in His own garden. Therefore, she can say, "I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine." The previous basis for her speaking was her feeling, whereas the present basis is her faith. Her heart has spontaneously turned from herself to the Lord. He still "feedeth among the lilies" (2:16). Just as He fed the flock before, He is feeding the flock now. In the past, He fed the flock among the lilies; now He is feeding the flock in the same place. She has learned to look to the ever unchanging Lord instead of her fluctuating feelings. She does not follow these feelings at ordinary times, but even during times of her own failure, she no longer follows these feelings.

II. A LIFE WITHIN THE VEIL (6:4-13) A. The Beloved's Praise (6:4-9) After the maiden arrives at this stage, we see the Lord's satisfaction in her. This book speaks of a progressive union; the purpose of the union is fellowship, while the meaning of fellowship is identification. Hence, the maiden sees in the King what she has experienced in the King. The King sees the manifestation of His life in the maiden. The King's praise is a proclamation of the riches the believers have received through their union with the Lord.

Verse 4 says, "Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners." The Lord is viewing the believers from heaven, from within the sanctuary. Hence, this is something which happens within the veil. The Lord has mentioned her beauty and comeliness previously. But the beauty and comeliness in this verse are more restricted than before. Therefore, "Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem." Tirzah is where the palace is (1 Kings 14:17). Jerusalem is the city of the great King. Tirzah signifies the heavenly sanctuary, the dwelling of God. Jerusalem signifies the heavenly Jerusalem. The Lord is examining our heavenly nature and life within the sanctuary. In that Jerusalem everything is comely, and in that Tirzah everything is beautiful, because both are God's new creation. Today believers are already displaying the beauty and comeliness of the coming sanctuary. Weapons are the most important thing to an army in battle, whereas the banner is the most important thing in victory. If the battle is lost, the banner is put away in shame. An unfurled banner signifies the glory of victory. This verse indicates that the maiden is beautiful and comely before the Lord, as solid as the heavenly city and as serene as the sanctuary. At the same time, she displays the glory of her victory before the enemy and the world. A life within the veil is not just a life before the Lord, but a life before the enemy, because the heaven in which the saints dwell is the very heaven which the enemy assails. God has no intention for His believers to possess only the heavenly beauty without possessing a warring nature. The heavenly warfare is never abated before the Lord. Believers ought to be lovable and terrible at the same time. Believers today have lost their loveliness before the Lord, and they have lost their terribleness before the enemy and the world. Are men terrified by us? The Bible often mentions the terribleness of the Lord; He is terrible because He is holy. If we maintain our holiness and victory, we will see the enemy retreating and the world standing back. But believers today have sacrificed their terribleness, and neither men nor demons are afraid of them any longer. Verse 5a says, "Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me." The first phrase in verse 5 is a poetic expression. The power of love is expressed by the affection in the eyes. The Lord is not rejecting the believers' love; rather, there is the element of encouragement and praise. Just as He turned down the Syrophoenician woman (Mark 7:25-29), delayed two days before going up to Judea (John 11:5-7), told Moses, "Let me alone" (Exo. 32:10), and allowed Jacob

to hold on to Him (Gen. 32:26), He is inviting the maiden's expression of love with a word of seeming rejection. Turning away is the opposite of fixing one's eyes upon an object. This speaks not only of love, but of the firmness of love. It seems that He has become weak before her love; this weakness in Him has been displayed often in the face of love. He seems to give a hint of His total helplessness, apparent failure, and lack of defense before love. Only those who have experienced the Lord's apparent rejection, delay, denial, and helplessness know the way of the Lord. Verses 5b to 7 say, "Thy hair is as a flock of goats that appear from Gilead: thy teeth are as a flock of sheep which go up from the washing, whereof every one beareth twins, and there is not one barren among them. As a piece of a pomegranate are thy temples within thy locks." Just as before, "hair" signifies the power of consecration, while "teeth" signify the power of reception. The temples or cheeks within the locks signify hidden beauty. The praise in these verses is the same as in 4:1-3. But here we see two important facts: (1)The Lord's love never changes. Although the maiden failed through her delay and feels that she has sinned through falling into darkness, the Lord treats her just the same as before. In order to remove her doubt that He may have changed, He reveals Himself to her with the same words. What a believer most often lacks after a failure is the assuring faith; it is easy for him to develop a wrong evaluation of his relationship with the Lord. We often do not realize how full of doubts we are. Therefore, the Lord uses the same words; He does this to remove our doubts. (2)Many spiritual experiences need to be repeated even after a believer has reached a higher stage of attainment. Just as it is necessary to have separating consecrations, the power of reception, and a hidden life at the time of immaturity, the same things are necessary at the time of maturity. Some spiritual experiences can change as you progress. But other spiritual experiences, such as those mentioned here, do not change as you progress. These experiences take on a deeper significance at a higher stage. Have we not experienced many repeated lessons in our own spiritual journey? Are not the lessons learned at the latter stage more perfect than those learned in the initial stage? The experiences may be the same, but the level and degree are different. Verse 8 says, "There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number." All these people are related to Solomon. In the world, this may be evil, but spiritually, this presents a beautiful picture to those who

understand spiritual types. Our Lord is gaining the whole church with all the believers. Corporately speaking, the Lamb has only one wife. But individually speaking, He has many lovers. Some are like queens, some are like concubines, while others are like virgins. Adam, Isaac, and Moses all typify Christ marrying a corporate wife. But Solomon typifies Christ taking individual believers. It seems that those who are holy and spiritual are not chosen as the type; rather, an unrighteous one is chosen as a type of God. Yet the unrighteousness of the person is not typified. A thief can be a type of the Lord, but only the act of stealing is typified. All those who have wisdom should understand this. The experiences of individual believers in their communication and relationship with the Lord's love are not the same. Some are like queens, others are like concubines, and still others are like virgins. But whatever they are, they all have a love relationship with the King. Yet none of them matches the maiden in her pursuit. Verse 9 says, "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. The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her." Here the Lord marks out the one from among all the people who satisfies His heart. The Lord considers her as the unique one. This does not mean that there is only one person of her kind. Rather, it means that in the Lord's eyes, she can be considered as the unique one. She is absolutely in the Holy Spirit; hence, she is a dove. She is also fully separated from the world. Therefore, she is indeed "undefiled." It seems as if she is the only perfect one begotten of grace, the only child of grace. It seems that among all the products of the work of grace, she is the most excellent one. Being a child of grace does not merely mean being one who experiences the forbearance of God and who is forgiven by Him. All of the works of God in man's heart are works of grace. Grace means that it is done by God and not by man. A person who receives more grace is one who allows God to work on him more, while a person who receives less grace is one who allows God to work on him less. God has the grace, but man will not necessarily allow God to do all the works in him. Everything that is of the self belongs to the law, and everything that is of God belongs to grace. The church is full of children of grace, yet only a very small number of people will allow grace to work on them to the point of perfection. Being the only child of grace does not mean that the maiden is the only one; it merely means that she is the most excellent one. (The

meaning of the only child is that there is an absolute union with the Lord, and that everything is the Lord's. She has reached a complete union with the Lord.) "The daughters saw her, and blessed her." Although many believers realize that they are not absolute for the Lord, they know the ones who are absolute for Him. They have enough life within them to admire those who are absolute, even though they do not yet have enough life to be absolute for the Lord themselves. Many people have enough experience of obedience to appreciate those who are absolutely obedient, even though they are not absolute in obedience. The daughters, queens, and concubines may not admire the maiden in the fleshly sense, but they cannot help but acknowledge the blessedness of the maiden with respect to the grace she has received. A life within the veil and everything within man that is from God should be held in high esteem.

B. The Maiden's Glory (6:10) Verse 10 says, "Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners?" Here the Holy Spirit speaks through the mouth of a third party again and brings out the maiden's glory through exclamatory questions. All four questions refer to the maiden. The Holy Spirit likes to stimulate the thoughts of the believers with questions; He arouses their attention once again to consider God's work and understand what is pleasing to God. Every time the Holy Spirit poses a question, it comes after a renewed perfecting on the part of the maiden. This was the case in chapter three. It is repeated again in chapter eight. Here we see the same pattern. Every time the believer reaches a higher level of experience, the Holy Spirit uses questions to reveal the history or reason behind the experience. "Looketh forth as the morning." She has arrived at the morning again. The word "morning" is the same word as "day break" in 2:17 and 4:6. Her shadows have fled away; there is no further barrier between her and the Lord. She enters into a life without barrier. Although it is not yet high noon, it is nevertheless morning. Her future is as bright as the morning light, and her hope is as promising as the morning. She can look forward to everything, as morning looks forth toward the day. The future and the hope of the morning is high noon. She has already received the promise of high noon (Prov. 4:18). The way of a righteous man in the hand of the Lord goes only as far as high noon; there is nothing after high noon.

"Fair as the moon." The emphasis here is not on the waxing or waning of the moon, but on the beauty of it, which is the soft glow that emanates from it. She is heavenly, yet she shines on earth and reveals her testimony to those in darkness (Psa. 89:37). "Clear as the sun." This means that there is no shadow; she is full of light. Both the sun and the moon signify her heavenliness. The moon signifies the grace within her, while the sun signifies what she is in the Lord. In herself, she is dead. Like the moon, she has no life and no vitality of her own, and the light and life come from the sun. When she faces the sun, there is light. When she turns her back to the sun, there is darkness. However, as far as her being in the Lord is concerned, she is clear as the sun. She is a totally new creation. There is only light; there is no darkness. Just as the Lord is the sun, she is also a sun. "Terrible as an army with banners." Not only does she have a future that is full of hope, and a life that is absolutely heavenly, but she is a victor who constantly triumphs in her victory. She is "terrible as an army with banners." She goes from victory to victory. Do you know such a one? Have you seen her? C. This Section Being an Unsettled Passage without a Conclusive Judgment (6:11-12) Verses 11 and 12 say, "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." The last clause can be translated, "My soul set me upon the chariots of my willing people." If these two verses describe the maiden, the only problem is in the expression "my willing people." Other than this, the two verses seem to be an answer of the maiden; she considers whether there is any progress or advance in God's work. In the process of doing this, her heart is set upon the chariots of the King. (But the problem, as we have said, lies in the expression "the chariots of my willing people," for only the King can sit in the chariots.) D. The Maiden's Progress and Victory (6:13) Verse 13 says, "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." "Shulamite" means daughter of peace and is the feminine form of Solomon. The Holy Spirit speaks as a third person and pleads earnestly for her to return so that they can behold her. She has gone away on a chariot. She advances and overcomes, and there is no obstacle or limitation. Now others want to see her and know the kind of preparations she went through in order to arrive

at her progress and victory. On the one hand, this request reflects the heart of all those who have similar pursuits, those who are eager to find out the reasons for her present advance. On the other hand, the Holy Spirit shows those coming after her the kind of preparation necessary for the work. He shows it through a request by a third party and an answer by another third party. Here the Holy Spirit reveals His mind through two groups of third parties. He sends out the request through one group and provides the answer through another group. In this way, He provides the opportunity for others to know the process which the Shulamite passed through in order to prepare herself for the work. She is now indeed a Shulamite, because her union with Solomon has become insoluble. Moreover, she has made Solomon's work her own work. The company of two armies can be translated the dance of two armies. This is the place where Jacob saw God's angel (Gen. 32:2). It must be a very exciting place, a place which attracts people. Dancing is a sign of victory (Exo. 15:20; 1 Sam. 18:6). Hence, the dance of two armies must mean victory. This question implies, "Why do you have to look at the Shulamite like looking at two heavenly armies celebrating a victory dance? What virtues does the Shulamite have that you consider her as two armies?"

SECTION FIVE THE WORK OF GOD (7:1-13) I. THE EQUIPPING OF THE WORKER (7:1-9a) A. Recapitulation (7:1-5) Song of Songs 7:1 says, "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." Now the Holy Spirit answers the question posed in the previous section through the mouth of a third party. Apparently, these are the words of a third party. Actually, they reveal the mind of the Holy Spirit. The first thing that is mentioned is her feet. "O prince's daughter!" This speaks of her noble origin. She is one of many in the royal household. In the Bible, "shoes" clearly refer to "the gospel of peace" (Eph. 6:15). The emphasis is on the preparation for work. Hence, the first thing mentioned is her shoes. The work of evangelism is indispensable. "Thighs" refers to the power to stand. It means that the power to stand comes entirely from God. If we want our thighs to be like jewels, the hollows have to be touched until they

are out of joint (Gen. 32:25). The power of work forever comes from God. This is the meaning of "the work of the hands of a cunning workman." Verse 2 says, "Thy navel is like a round goblet, which wanteth not liquor: thy belly is like a heap of wheat set about with lilies." The navel and the belly refer to the maiden's inner being. "Liquor" can be translated "mixed wine." If liquor refers to the blood of the Lord Jesus, the heap of wheat must refer to His flesh. We are indeed those who eat His flesh and drink His blood. Mixed wine refers to the life that the Holy Spirit gives to us through the blood of the Lord Jesus. The heap of wheat is set about with lilies, which means that we receive this wheat by faith. Verse 3 says, "Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins." There is no mention of feeding among the lilies in conjunction with the "two breasts." Therefore, it does not refer to her growth before God, but to her ability to feed others. Faith and love in this verse are the measure and power with which we feed others. Verse 4 says, "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." "Thy neck is as a tower of ivory." This is different from the previous mention of a "tower," when her neck was like the tower of David. Now she has been dealt with by God; therefore, her neck is like ivory. But this does not mean that she is passive. When she has to stand for God, she is as strong as a tower. However, this tower is a tower of ivory, which speaks of suffering and dying for the accomplishment of God's purpose. "Thine eyes like the fishpools." This is different from the previous description of doves' eyes. A pool is not hidden from light like a well, and it is not flowing like a spring. A pool is open to the light, but it is also quiet. In other words, it is still water. For eyes to be like a pool means that such a one is pure in heart before God. Not only is there no more mixture, but there is complete rest. Consequently, the maiden knows God's will. "Heshbon" means intelligent, while "Bath-rabbim" means the daughter of many. The nose has not been spoken of until now. The faculty of smell is found only with the mature ones. In spiritual matters, many have bright eyes and sensitive ears. But not many have a nose that can smell. This sense does not come from spoken words or visible things; it is an inward ability that reaches beyond senses and words, which enables a person to differentiate good and bad smells. This is a kind of spiritual intuition that enables a person to identify the things that are of God. It is not by reason or logic, but by a spontaneous and inwardly accurate

feeling, which enables a person to discern spiritual matters. At the same time, this olfactory sense enables a person to identify bad smells as well. Many teachings cannot be considered wrong, and many people have nothing that others can find fault with, yet you sense that something is off. This sense is what the nose is all about. "Thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus." This speaks of its height and sharpness. Today there are too many Christians with a flat nose. Verse 5 says, "Thine head upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair of thine head like purple; the King is held in the galleries." Mount Carmel is where Elijah demonstrated his power in the presence of Jehovah. There he fought for God, and God heard his prayer. For the head to be like Carmel is for the mind and heart to be for God. The "hair of thine head" again refers to the power of consecration. But this power is strong enough to hold the King in the galleries. This means that the believers are empowered by the Lord and strong enough to control Him and force Him to answer their prayers. At the initial stage of the maiden's development, she could not have this experience; God could not commit such power to her. Only after she has been fully delivered from herself, her consecration and power of obedience have been fully put under the Lord, and she is filled with the thought of the Lord's glory to the extent that her hair becomes purple, would God dare entrust her with the power that enables her to imprison the King. Actually, the King is not imprisoned by her, because she holds the King in the galleries for the purpose of accomplishing His own will and for the fulfillment of His own promise. She constantly prays to the King, "Accomplish Thy plan, and act according to Thy word." She has learned to sit on the throne and to control everything.

B. The Lord's Inserted Words (7:6-9a) Verse 6 says, "How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights!" Now the Lord inserts His remarks. Since the Holy Spirit's word fully matches the Lord's will, the Lord is able to continue with the conversation, as if the previous words were actually spoken by Him. When He hears the Holy Spirit speaking in verse 5, He cannot help but insert His word and speak directly to the maiden, who is the subject of the discussion. This is an inserted exclamation of praise. Verse 7 says, "This thy stature is like to a palm tree, and thy breasts to clusters of grapes." In the past, there was no growth, there was no perfection, and there was no maturity; hence, there was no stature. Now she has become mature, and

there is the stature. A palm tree is tall and straight, and it represents the Lord in the Bible. Saying that she is likened to a palm tree is saying that she has the stature of the fullness of Christ (Eph. 4:13). The roots of the palm tree are in touch with the spring of living water, and although the leaves and branches are scorched by the sun, it still grows without any hindrance. Even though believers may suffer great trials in the wilderness, they are not affected, because of their union with Christ, and they can still grow. "Thy breasts [are like] to clusters of grapes." This indicates once again that her measure is increased for the sake of others. Breasts are originally for feeding and not just an expression of love. When you are young, there is more of a sense of love than a sense of feeding. But when you become mature, the aspect of feeding is inevitably manifested. Here the emphasis is on the feeding; the breasts are like clusters of grapes, good for food and good for satisfying others. Verses 8 to 9a say, "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." [Translator's note: The Lord's speaking stops here; see note in Darby's New Translation.] "I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof." It seems as if the Lord is trying to embrace Himself by taking hold of the stature of the believers. He wants to fellowship with the believers. It seems that this is not the time for believers to pursue after the Lord, but the time for the Lord to pursue after them. When such a Body life between the members exists (i.e., a life between the branches), the Lord is drawn to desire the believers and to communicate with them. How different this is from the initial condition of the believers sitting under His shadow (2:3)! The Lord speaks of three things in particular that satisfy His heart. First, He speaks of the maiden's capacity for feeding others. His word is a blessing in the hope that this capacity would increase. Second, He speaks of her intuition. But the emphasis is not on the function of the intuition, but on the fragrance that the intuition left in her through previous contacts. In order for the smell of the nose to be like the bergamot orange ("apples" can be translated "bergamot orange"), one must first eat the bergamot orange. Those who have eaten Christ cannot fail to give the flavor of Christ. Third, He says, "The roof of thy mouth like the best wine." This means that she has a foretaste of the power of the age to come (Heb. 6:5). The best wine should refer to the wine of the millennium (John 2:10; Matt. 26:29). She is able to provide the Lord with such a pleasant taste.

II. WORKING TOGETHER WITH THE LORD (7:9b-13) Verse 9b says, "...that goeth down smoothly for my beloved, and causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak." [Translator's note: See Darby's New Translation. This part is spoken by the maiden.] The Lord's speaking continues to the second part of verse 9. At this point, the maiden is able to continue where the Lord left off because she is so one with the Lord. The wine flows smoothly into her Beloved. This means that she and her Beloved have tasted a foretaste of this blessing. However, tasting this wine is not limited to the two of them. There are many others who are asleep who have tasted of this wine. Neither the word "asleep" nor the word "sleep" in 5:2 means something bad. The tone does not convey the sense that sleep is a bad thing. Moreover, the ones who are asleep are in the same position as the Beloved. Hence, the sleeping ones refer to those who are asleep to themselves. They have lost consciousness of themselves and are only living to God. Verse 10 of chapter seven says, "I am my beloved's, and his desire is toward me." Her attention is drawn toward who her beloved is. She has given up her obsession with herself. It seems as if she is willing even to lose her beloved if it would please him. She is only concerned with whether or not her beloved has gained her. She knows that she belongs to her beloved, and this is enough to satisfy her heart. The former grasping of the flesh is gone. In the beginning, the fact that she belonged to her beloved was a secondary thought. Later, it became her primary thought. She was unable to forget that her beloved was hers. Now, because of the depth of her experience, we no longer hear that her beloved belongs to her. Indeed, in our spiritual pursuit, the self is working constantly. Little do we realize that even in the matter of loving the Lord, there is the possibility of reserving a place for the self! The matter now is not our pleasure, but His desire. We know that our existence is for the purpose of satisfying His desire. Our purpose for living is to be the object of His desire. We are to be the desired ones of the desiring One. The question now is not what we feel, what we gain, what we lose, or what our work is. What is of importance to us is that we are His, and His desire is toward us. This is all that matters. When a believer reaches this stage, and when the self is dealt with in such a thorough way, he can begin to work with the Lord. Because he is so filled with the Lord, he can now initiate some work. Outwardly, it may look as if he is the one who initiates the work. Actually, it is the Lord within who is initiating the work.

Since the union between the maiden and the Lord is so absolute, her movement becomes very dependable, and she can now speak the words in the following verse.

Verse 11 says, "Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages." "Let us go forth into the field." Now she is no longer acting alone, and the Lord is no longer acting alone. There is a joint work of "us." From this point on, we see the fellowship in the work. Since she is liberated from herself, she is also delivered from all narrowness and pettiness. Her focus is no longer on her meeting, her work, her church, or her group. Her attention is the field, the world. She has a world view, not just an "unworldly" view. She is interested in everything that happens in the world. She does not have a so-called work of her own, and she does not have a so-called region of her work. All of the Lord's work is the sphere of her work. The whole focus is turned to the field. "Let us lodge in the villages." "Villages" is plural. She has fully taken on the sojourning nature of the Lord. Her desire is no longer for a home, but for sojourning, a sojourning that is not confined to one place, but that is from one village to another. She follows the Lord and seeks after lost sheep and wounded ones. A person who works together with the Lord should not only have a world view, but should have the nature of a sojourner and bear the mark of a sojourner. Verse 12 says, "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." Her focus is no longer on her own vineyard, but on the vineyards. Actually, she can only focus on the vineyards. At the beginning of a believer's work, he has to be delivered from the temptation of the vineyards, and he has to concentrate on the care of his own vineyard. But when a believer is delivered from the self, though he still needs to be responsible for the little part that God has entrusted to him, his heart is liberated from the work to care for the vineyards. Now the Lord's work is the maiden's work; it is not the same as when her work was the Lord's work. Everything that is for the Lord is part of her work. I do not say that she has lost her individuality, but she is more for the edification of others. These words are given to those who are already capable of guarding their own vineyards. "Early." This shows her diligence. In the Lord's work, the work in the early morning is indispensable. Laziness is not a characteristic of the Lord's life. Only those who are spiritual can be diligent. There is a kind of movement and activity

which is of the flesh. There is also a kind of passivity that is of the old creation. We should reject the extreme of being active in the flesh and also reject the other extreme of being passive, which is another name for laziness. Both are of the old creation. The difference between diligence and laziness lies in the use of time. This is why the apostle charged us to redeem the time (Eph. 5:16; Col. 4:5). The maiden goes down with the Lord to the vineyards to "see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth." She is looking at the signs of life together with the Lord and considering together the areas that have the promise of fruit. She is liberated, and the affairs of every saint have become her interest. Even the most immature believer becomes an object of her concern as long as he has a little sign of life and a hope of fruitbearing. The matter is not who these are begotten of and whether or not they are in our meetings, but what they can render to the Lord. This kind of fellowship with the Lord in the work is a consequence of an absolute union with the Lord in life. "There will I give thee my loves." What does "there" mean? It means the fields, villages, and vineyards, that is, the Lord's work. In the midst of the Lord's work, "I give thee my loves." In the midst of the Lord's work, we give to Him our loves. How wonderful this is! In the past, work was something that was a distraction. Because of much serving, the maiden would lose the fellowship at His feet. To an immature believer, work does not improve his love to the Lord. On the contrary, it puts a barrier between him and the Lord. This is a sign of an imperfect union. But by this time, her experience has reached the stage of perfection, and she is able to relate the Lord's work to the Lord Himself and able to relate even the world to the Lord. She is able to relate the Lord's brother to the Lord Himself. Now she can express her loves to the Lord at the place of His work. She can make her work an expression of her love to Him. She has no condemnation after she works, and she is no longer afraid of losing something of the Lord through her work. Verse 13 says, "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." The mandrake is a plant of love (Gen. 30:14); it signifies the union between husband and wife. In the midst of this scene, when the union has consummated to such a height, how can we say that the mandrakes are not giving their smell? "Our gates." This is a convenient place. Although she sojourns from village to village, it does not mean that she has to go to a far place to search for fruit. The "gates" are the place that God has assigned for us, and we will find fruit there.

The maiden is not concentrating on just one kind of fruit, but on all manner of fruits. Before she was delivered from herself, she would not acknowledge the fruit in anyone who did not display signs that she recognized. Now she realizes that there are more than one kind of pleasant fruits; in fact, there are all kinds of fruits. There are new fruits and old fruits. She realizes that different people bear different fruits. She realizes that there is only one Lord Jesus and only one new creation, but not everyone bears the same kind of fruit. Indeed, the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth. The harvest of all these fruits is for the Lord's glory. The result of the work is not for one's own boasting. We work together with the Lord in His work, but all the glory goes to the Lord.

SECTION SIX THE GROANING OF THE FLESH (8:1-14) I. THE GROANING FOR DELIVERANCE FROM THE FLESH (8:1-4) The deeper a believer is in union with the Lord and the more he comes up to the standard of the maiden, the more he will be aware of his outward man and the shell of his flesh. It is true that the inward man is renewed day by day, but the outer man is also decaying day by day. Although the Holy Spirit gives life to the mortal body, the body itself is still destined to die. Although God's power is made perfect in our weakness, the body is still a thorn to us. Hence, the more a believer advances, and the more spiritual and heavenly he becomes, the more he will be aware of the limitation of the flesh in spite of his present perfection. He will feel that even though he has the firstfruits of the Spirit, there will be the inevitable groanings within in addition to the groanings of the whole creation for the redemption of the body. When we live by the flesh, we do not feel the need for the redemption of our body. When our union with the Lord has become very nearly perfect, we sense the difference between our inward state and our outward body. Although the condition of the body does not constitute a hindrance, at the very least it constitutes a weakness. At this time the redemption of the body becomes a necessary grace. Song of Songs 8:1 says, "O that thou wert as my brother, that sucked the breasts of my mother! when I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yea, I should not be despised." The maiden is saying to the Lord, in effect, "I wish I could become

more intimately related to You than I am today. I wish that You were my brother in the flesh, and that my relationship with You before God could be manifested immediately before men. When this happens, I will not be despised when I confess You before men and when I acknowledge my love before others. Since I am still in the world, I still feel weakness in me, and I cannot treat You as my heart wishes to treat You. In the beginning I was after Your kisses; I was after You and Your expression of love to me. Now I desire to kiss You, to express my love to You, and to satisfy You. But there is a barrier, the barrier of the flesh. You have not revealed Yourself as my brother yet. Therefore, while I remain in the world, I cannot help but think that I have not served You as I should have served." Verse 2 says, "I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother's house, who would instruct me: I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate." She continues to say, "When that day comes, it will be as if I am leading You into the heavenly Jerusalem. I will forever be taught of grace. All my fruits today are for the making of the sweet wine of that day, which will serve as Your eternal joy. None of the spiritual fruits I have received from You will be for myself. On that day all the pomegranates will be turned into spiced wine for Your satisfaction. I will give everything I have to You, and everything I have will be for Your enjoyment." Verse 3 says, "His left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should embrace me." She continues to say, "On that day, His left hand will be under my head, and He will lift up my face to behold Him. His right hand will embrace me, and He will see me face to face within His bosom. I am looking forward to this day. O that it would come quickly!" Verse 4 says, "I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, until she please." "O daughters of Jerusalem, she is now living in the hope of rapture; she is in His hand. Her feeling at the moment is proper. There is no need to arouse her. Do not interfere by the hand of flesh, until she wakes up in the countenance of His face." II. BEFORE THE RAPTURE (8:5-14) Verse 5 says, "Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? I raised thee up under the apple tree: there thy mother brought thee forth; there she brought thee forth that bare thee." This book speaks of the maiden coming up from the wilderness two times. The first coming up from the wilderness in 3:6 refers to her forsaking of a wandering life. There she began her

absolute union with the Lord in His death, His life, and all His grace. Since then she steadily advanced, until she left the wilderness completely. Although in her latter experience she stopped once or twice, we dare not say that these stops were necessary, but surely we can say that they were excusable. Once we leave the wandering life, we leave it for good. Why then does the Lord speak about her coming up from the wilderness a second time, as if she is still in the wilderness? We must pay attention to what the wilderness refers to. The wilderness for us is not just a wandering life, but the world itself. Not only is there a wilderness in the spiritual realm; there is also a wilderness in the fleshly realm. We must not only be delivered spiritually from the wilderness of wandering, but we must be delivered from this earthly wilderness as well. When the Lord reigns within us through the Holy Spirit, we begin to leave behind a fluctuating life. When we hear the call for the rapture, we will be delivered from the worldly environment. The cross of Christ delivers us from the spiritual wilderness, and the coming of Christ delivers us from the earthly wilderness. This is why there is a second coming up from the wilderness. This is being delivered from this earth.

The Holy Spirit once again asks a question through the mouth of a third party. "Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness?" It seems as if He sees a maiden coming up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved; the closer she gets, the clearer her identity becomes. Here we see that the rapture that delivers us from the wilderness does not happen suddenly, but is a result of a step-by-step walk with the Lord. The rapture is the last step of our walk with the Lord. All that men see will be the instant change from earth to heaven. But this is merely the last step of the rapture. The beginning of the rapture does not happen then. When a believer is attracted by heaven and walking away from the world step by step, he becomes further and further away from the world, and there will be a clearer and clearer separation between him and the world. When the process is complete, he will find himself waking up before the face of the Lord. This is the way that Enoch was raptured. We must never be misled to think that the rapture is something that will happen suddenly or something that will instantly change our spiritual condition. This is the time to prepare ourselves for the rapture. By leaning upon our Beloved, we constantly leave the world behind and come up again and again until the Lord comes to take us away.

"Leaning upon her beloved." She seems to be powerless and unable to walk. "Leaning upon her beloved." She makes herself a burden for her beloved to carry. "Leaning upon her beloved." It is as if the hollow of her thigh has been touched. "Leaning upon her beloved." She seems to find herself pressed beyond measure, and this seems to last until the wilderness journey is over. Only the Lord can prepare us for the rapture. A trusting life is indispensable. We should trust in Him helplessly until the Holy Spirit exclaims, "Who is this that cometh...leaning upon her beloved?" The Lord answers and says that she is none other than the once-filthy sinner, who was seen by grace, called by grace, and saved by grace. Her mother is God's grace. The grace of God does not refer just to God's forbearance. His forbearance is only a small part of His grace. God's grace also includes His plan and selection before the foundation of the world and His Son's redemption and the work of the Holy Spirit in time. All these are God's grace according to the Bible. When God's grace seeks and finds a chosen sinner, it puts him under the shadow of Christ. There he is fed with life, and there he is brought forth. When he wakes up, he finds himself in the love of Christ. The "apple" tree is the same bergamot orange in 2:3; it refers to Christ, who is full of affection. Who is this maiden? She is none other than a sinner saved by grace. Thank God that when she first opened her eyes to behold the world, the first thing she saw was the affectionate Christ. The first fact she discovered was that she was under the shadow of such an affectionate Christ. This was her origin. How fitting it is for her to remember this at the time of her spiritual maturity! Verse 6 says, "Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame." When she recalls her original condition, she cannot help but be filled with humility. She cannot help but consider her emptiness, the vanity of her experience, the undependability of her mind, and the futility of her pursuit. Her only hope is the Lord. She realizes that whether she can endure to the end does not depend on her own endurance, but on the Lord's preservation. No spiritual perfection can sustain a person until the Lord's return. Everything depends on God and His preserving power. When she realizes this, she cannot help but exclaim, "Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm." The heart is the place of love, while the arm is the place of strength. "Set me as permanently as a seal upon Your heart, and as indelibly

as a seal upon Your arm. Just as the priests bore the Israelites upon their breasts and their shoulders, remember me constantly in Your heart and sustain me with Your arm. I know that I am weak and empty, and I am conscious of my powerlessness. Lord, I am a helpless person. If I try to preserve myself until Your coming, it will only bring shame to Your name and loss to myself. All my hopes are in Your love and power. I loved You before. But I know the undependability of that love. Now I look only to the love You have toward me. I held You once, and it seemed to be a powerful grip. But now I realize that even my strongest grip is just weakness. My trust is not in my holding power, but in Your holding power. I dare not speak of my love to You any longer. I dare not speak of my grasping of You any longer. From this point on, everything depends on Your strength and Your love. "Your love is as strong as death. Who can shake death? No sighing of parents, no tears of wives, and no sorrow of friends can bring back a man from death. Death holds its captives and keeps them firmly, unrelentingly, and unshakably in its hand. If You love me, I will not be shaken, because Your love cannot possibly be weaker than death. "If You love me, Your jealousy will follow. Your jealousy will be as cruel as Sheol. You will surely rebuke and surely seek for perfection. You will not allow anything to share my heart. Even if You owned a major part of me, You would not be satisfied. Your eyes cannot stand to see those who are Yours being defiled by the world or usurped by other loves. You are jealous; from the beginning of time You have been a jealous God (Exo. 20:5). Have not Your apostles told us about the jealousy of God (2 Cor. 11:2)? If You are jealous, who can withstand Your jealousy? What can withstand Your jealousy? You will destroy all Your enemies. You will remove all hindrances until You become the unique Lord, the God of all, and the unchallenged King. In this way, I will be protected, and my chastity will be preserved until I see Your face."

Jealousy is as cruel as Sheol. What can be crueler than Sheol? A person may be the most lovable one, the most adorable one, or the most precious one, but when Sheol comes to claim a sinner, it will not care if such a one is lovable or adorable. No tears, sorrow, or pleading can move its heart. It does not know mercy and compassion. It has no sympathy or feeling. It is cruel. "Since I have consecrated myself to You as a chaste virgin, if You see anything in me that stirs up Your jealousy, You will surely deal with it at all cost until You completely prevail. There

may be loving friends, close relatives, or dear lovers begging, pleading, and weeping, but You do not care for any of these things; You only care for Your own feeling. But this is the only way that I will be preserved." "The coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame." Jehovah is a fire (Heb. 12:29). His love and jealousy are also like fire which burns up everything that can be burned. Everything that is not eternal, that can pass away, that is of the world, and that is of man will be burned away. Verse 7 says, "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." "Many waters" signify trials that believers go through. "Floods" signify persecutions from the enemy. His love and the fire of His love will not be quenched by trials. His love and the fire of His love cannot be drowned by persecutions. If He loves us, no trial or persecution can do anything to us. This love cannot be bought with money. In other words, it is irreplaceable. We cannot replace this love with the tongues of men and angels. We cannot replace this love with the gift of prophecy, the knowledge of mysteries, all knowledge, or all faith. Even if we doled out all our possessions to feed others and delivered up our body so that we might boast, we would still be despised. These things are merely part of the treasures of a man's house. Trying to exchange love for these things will result in being despised. Since this is the case, we will not earn His love with more work, busy times, or toiling services. We can only offer ourselves to Him so that we will become the object of His love. Verse 8 says, "We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts: what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for?" A person who lives in the Lord's love cannot forget that there are others who should have the Lord's love also. Before she goes away to see the Lord, she remembers those who are less mature. She speaks of her little sister, who has life, but whose faith and love have not grown to the point where she can develop an affection for the Lord. The maiden's union with the Lord is already complete. Therefore, she can freely express all of her feelings before the Lord. "What shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for?" The little sister does not yet know what a life of love is all about. But when the eternal Lover leads her into a fellowship of love through the Holy Spirit, what will we do with her? As far as her life is concerned, she is a little sister. As far as her life of love is concerned, her two breasts have not developed. We are concerned for this group of people and are burdened to care for them. The Lord will not be

satisfied with their condition. A marriage proposal is indispensable in a believer's life. Although every believer has full liberty to accept or reject, the Lord's demand for love is the same. How should we help this little sister of ours? The maiden brings up those whom she has always cared for and who are younger than she is; she brings them up before the Lord to discuss them with Him. Because she is living so much in the Lord's will, she can say, "We have..." She knows that her concern is the Lord's concern. Therefore, she says, "We." She knows that what she wants is also what the Lord wants. Therefore, she says, "We." The union is complete; there is no more separation. Hence, prayers are no longer requests, but a speaking forth of God's will. Verse 9 says, "If she be a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver: and if she be a door, we will inclose her with boards of cedar." "If she be a wall." If there is anything that is of God, which causes her to build a separation between herself and that which is not of God, like a wall, then "we will build upon her a palace of silver." We will build upon her everything that is high and noble that comes from redemption. If she has established a life of separation through the Holy Spirit, we will build upon her the fruit of redemption. If she is a door, others will enter into God's knowledge through her. "We will inclose her with boards of cedar." We will add Christ's heavenly humanity to her. (Wood signifies humanity, whereas cedar is tall. Hence cedar wood signifies Christ's heavenly humanity, His glorified humanity, and His heavenly human life.) She no longer does the things that she wants to do; she does them together with the Lord. Although the words are out of her mouth, they represent the Lord's mind. Verse 10 says, "I am a wall, and my breasts like towers: then was I in his eyes as one that found favor." "I am a wall." I am already a separated person; the Lord has separated me from everything unclean, common, and ordinary. "My breasts like towers." My faith and love are based on my separation from the world. The Lord has established me, and my two breasts are no longer undeveloped; they are like towers. I have come to the point where I am a person who has obtained peace in His eyes ("found favor" can be translated "found peace"). This means that I can be at rest. Hence, a life of peace is based on a life of separation, which is based on the development of faith and love. She gives a short testimony and shows that there is no thought of self-contentment. She can say that she is a wall, and she can say that her two breasts are towers, but in the Lord's eyes, she considers herself as one who has obtained peace.

Verse 11 says, "Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon; he let out the vineyard unto keepers; every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand pieces of silver." Before the believers are raptured, the Holy Spirit wants them to pay attention to one thing—the reward of the work. Solomon has his vineyards; they are his fields, and he leases them out to the keepers. The Lord's work is not ours; our position is forever that of a steward. We are merely keeping watch over His business. When He comes, what He entrusted to us will return to Him. "Baalhamon" means "the lord of all." This shows us that the Lord, like Solomon, is the lord of everything; He is also our Lord. Solomon's charge was that the keepers would have the fruits; but for the fruits that they harvested, they would have to give Solomon a thousand pieces of silver. The Lord will also give us the fruit of what we keep, tend, and raise for Him today; that will be our reward. Nothing that we do for the Lord is in vain. Even a cup of water that we give away will be rewarded. "Every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand pieces of silver." Solomon will have his share as well. The one thousand pieces of silver are the account that we have to give to the Lord. This is different from what is recorded in Luke 19 and Matthew 25. There we see a difference based on our gifts. Here the one thousand pieces of silver are what each keeper should give to the Lord. When we stand before the judgment seat, the Lord has a minimum requirement for each one of us. This requirement is the one thousand pieces of silver here. Verse 12 says, "My vineyard, which is mine, is before me: thou, O Solomon, must have a thousand, and those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred." The maiden now separates herself from the other keepers. She is not an ordinary keeper of the vineyards of Solomon. Solomon gave her a vineyard once; therefore, she has her own vineyard. This vineyard is now "before me," which means that the vineyard is hers (Gen. 13:9) and that it is under her direction. According to righteousness, the keepers should pay Solomon a thousand pieces of silver. According to love, should she do less than what the law requires? Of course not! She should give Solomon a thousand pieces of silver. Here we see two kinds of services. Some serve according to the law, whereas others serve according to love. Some serve out of fear, whereas others serve out of gratitude. Some serve as a duty, whereas others serve as a joy. Although she stands on a higher ground, and although she has a love relationship with the Lord and is different from others who serve Him out of a sense of duty, nevertheless, she does not give less than what the Lord's duty requires.

Not only does Solomon receive something; those who keep watch over the fruits also receive something. She renders rightful glory and praise to all those helping her in the work. She does not take over their rightful portion. May God's children not usurp the glory of their co-workers. When the Lord rewards His workers, she will be included among those keeping the fruits; she will receive the two hundred pieces of silver. According to righteousness, she should only receive the fruits and not the silver (S.S. 8:11). However, all those who serve the Lord in love will find that when they do not take the Lord's work as a commercial enterprise, the Lord will not reward them on a commercial basis. In addition to receiving her fruits, the Lord bestows glory on her. The judgment seat should be something along the line of Matthew. However, the emphasis here is not on responsibility but on love. The question of work and reward should not have been brought up. However, the Holy Spirit mentions it from the standpoint of love, not from the standpoint of responsibility. It is mentioned because it matches the principle of the whole book. Verse 13 says, "Thou that dwellest in the gardens, the companions hearken to thy voice: cause me to hear it." "Thou" refers to the Lord. "The gardens" are plural in number. He is not only dwelling in the garden of the maiden (6:2) but dwelling in many other gardens as well. He is the Lord who dwells in the hearts of men. He is not only dwelling in the heart of one who follows Him absolutely, but He is dwelling in the hearts of all those whom He delights in. The maiden addresses Him according to this relationship. She says to Him, "The companions hearken to thy voice." The word "hearken" means that everyone is listening. All those who are seeking the Lord together with her adopt the same attitude. They have been dealt with, and they know the futility of speaking and the profit of hearkening. They know that they have to be slow to speak in order to be quick to hear. Both she and they are no longer as talkative as they once were; they no longer babble about their condition before the Lord as soon as they acquire some experience. That conduct is gone. They no longer insist on speaking like others do, and they no longer speak for the sake of speaking. Those who cannot stop talking about trivial things still have the earthly life reigning within them. But these are listening; they adopt the attitude of a hearer. They know that their lives depend on the Lord's words and their work depends on the Lord's commands. They will only listen, because they cannot and will not move by themselves any longer. Without the Lord's words, they will not have any revelation, light, or knowledge. The life of the believers hinges totally upon the Lord's speaking.

"O Lord, while we are waiting to hearken, make us hear. If those who seek find, and if those who knock have the door opened to them, make us hear, and make us able to hear. If Jehovah will not speak to us, we will be like those who are dead. What use is there in hearing something if it is not heard in a real way? Therefore, please allow us to hear Your voice, because only this can guide us until Your return." She has learned her lessons by now; therefore, she offers up such a profound prayer toward the end. Verse 14 says, "Make haste, my beloved, and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart upon the mountains of spices." These words are the same as in 2:17. It is the same prayer, but the things that are referred to are not the same in both cases. This book mentions the wilderness two times, and in the same way, it mentions the Lord's coming as "a roe or to a young hart upon the mountains of spices" two times. The first time on the mountains refers to His fellowship with the believers; it shows His longing for an absolute fellowship with the believers. But then the shadows had not fled and the day had not yet broken, that is, the Lord had not yet come. The emphasis was fellowship. Therefore, we saw Him upon the mountains of Bether; He was clearing away everything that was causing "separation." But the second refers to the Lord's second coming. This coming is in the future, and though it may be very near, no one knows when it will be. Unlike the case in chapter two, it does not have a time limit. The matter is not fellowship; therefore, this verse does not speak of the mountains of Bether, but of the mountains of spices. It describes the condition of the Lord's coming and His kingdom. At that time, it will be a marvelous world, one like the mountains of spices. Then the maiden's experience will be like a drop of water that has disappeared into the ocean; there will no more room for advancement, though the tide can always go deeper. All that is left in the world is just her body. Everything else has gone to another world. Therefore, she cannot help but cry, "Make haste, my beloved." "Come as quickly as the roe or a young hart. Just as a roe or a young hart appears on the mountains of spices, may You come in Your kingdom." Although the love is perfect, something is still lacking. When He comes, faith will be turned to facts, and praise will replace prayer. Love will consummate in a shadowless perfection, and we will serve Him in the sinless domain. What a day that will be! Lord Jesus, come quickly!

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