Volume 23 in The Collected Works has two distinct sections. The first section
《 The Song of Songs and Hymns 》
CONTENTS：
THE SONG OF SONGS AND HYMNS
1. Preface THE SONG OF SONGS 2. Preface 3. Introduction 4. The Initial Pursuit and Satisfaction (Section One) 5. The Call for Deliverance from the Self (Section Two) 6. The Call for Ascension (Section Three) 7. The Call of the Cross After Resurrection (Section Four) 8. The Work of God (Section Five) 9. The Groaning of the Flesh (Section Six) HYMNS 10.Hymns
PREFACE Volume 23 in The Collected Works has two distinct sections. The first section contains The Song of Songs, which was originally published in 1945 in Chungking, China. The book, however, was based on messages that were given in 1934. Consequently, the book has been included in Set 2, which corresponds with the middle period of Watchman Nee's ministry. The second section contains one hundred eighty-five hymns. Hymn Nos. 1 through 184 originally appeared in Hymns for the Little Flock, the first hymnal published by Watchman Nee. "Most of the hymns were selected by Brother Nee out of over ten thousand hymns, songs, and poems, and were translated by him with some improvements and adjustments. A few were written by him, and one was written by Ruth Lee...The contents were classified as follows: words of praise, joy of salvation, springs of the valley of Baca, union with Christ, growth in grace, seeking in the spiritual pathway, consolation of the pilgrims, prayer meeting, consecration, spiritual warfare, the Holy Spirit, the work, the praise of
the sucklings, and the trumpet of the gospel" (p. 262, Watchman Nee, A Seer of the Divine Revelation in the Present Age). Many of these hymns were subsequently included in both the Chinese and English editions of Hymns, published by Living Stream Ministry. However, this section also contains fifty-four hymns that for the first time have been translated from Chinese to English. Hymn No. 185 is attributed to Watchman Nee but did not appear in the first edition of Hymns for the Little Flock.
THE SONG OF SONGS PREFACE Thank God that on earth today there is no lack of men who are attracted by the Lord to seek after Him. This book, The Song of Songs, is specially prepared for them. Spiritual fellowship in the secret place is such a holy thing that it should be sealed. But God has chosen to reveal it to us in the Song of Songs so that we can comprehend the pathway of love and be encouraged to go on. This exposition was released by our brother in the Lord to a few co-workers many years ago. A brief record of the messages was kept by one co-worker. It was printed in Chungking in 1945 because of a timely need. It was reprinted in 1948 by the church in Tsingtao, and we are reprinting it again in Taiwan. We must clarify that the original manuscript was never edited by the writer himself. May the Lord use this book to help all those who are seeking after Him. Amen. The Taiwan Gospel Book Room January 1954
INTRODUCTION I Chapter one, verse 1 says, "The Song of songs, which is Solomon's." This Song is about Solomon. Hence, the Lord takes the position of a king in this book. He is standing on the ground of resurrection and ascension. David killed Goliath and overcame the enemy. He signifies the Christ who reigns through the cross. Solomon received the benefit of Goliath's defeat and became a king of peace. He signifies the Christ who reigns through resurrection. In this book the Lord stands in the position of Solomon. We are communicating with such a king as Solomon. The battle is over, and He is now the Christ who is crowned with glory and authority. This is what we see at the beginning of this book. In this book, our relationship with the Lord is not like the relationship between Jonathan and
David. Rather, it is like the relationship between the Shulamite and King Solomon. Jonathan loved David because David overcame the enemy. The Shulamite loved Solomon because of Solomon himself. Some love the Lord because of His cross. Others love Him not only because of His cross, but also because of His resurrection. The cross speaks of the Lord's reign through His victory, whereas resurrection speaks of the Lord Himself. The queen of Sheba first heard of the acts of Solomon. Later, she beheld Solomon in person. She was attracted by Solomon. Hence, we must not only have a love like that of Jonathan toward David, but a love like that of the Shulamite toward Solomon. This book guides us to an understanding of Him as the King. II The experience of the Shulamite is personal; it is not corporate. Woman in the Bible represents subjective experience. Hence, the maiden's pursuit refers to the individual believer's pursuit of the Lord; it does not refer to the church's corporate pursuit of the Lord. It begins with a person's yearning for the Lord and ends with his satisfaction in fellowship with Him. III The central theme of this book is spiritual fellowship. Although this book is divided into many sections, the record follows a sequence and is a continuous whole. It is not composed of isolated stories or miscellaneous anecdotes. Its emphasis is on the total spiritual experience of those who advance to pursue after the Lord. It describes the stages they go through in their life and the ultimate state they will reach. It is in the same nature as Spiritual Torrents by Madame Guyon and Four Planes of Spiritual Life by Mrs. Penn-Lewis. IV This book describes a person's pursuit after he is saved. Therefore, it mentions nothing about the matter of salvation. The emphasis of this book is not sinners, but believers. It is not about those who do not belong to the Lord, but about those who belong to the Lord. It does not tell us how a person seeks for salvation, but how a person desires and seeks to gain the Lord. It is not on faith, but on love. The banner of this book is "love." "His banner over me was love" (2:4). This is our motto. V This book is a poem. It is a description of our spiritual history in poetic expressions, words, and phrases. In many cases, one can only grasp the sense; words alone cannot explain the full meaning.
VI This book and the Gospel of Matthew describe the two aspects of the believer's relationship with the Lord. As far as our duty is concerned, Matthew shows that we are a minister to the Lord, who is our King. As far as fellowship is concerned, this book shows that we are a wife to the Lord, who is our Husband. VII The word that is most frequently used in this book is love. There are many ways to use this word; it can be used in the singular, in the plural, as masculine, as feminine, or in a general way. For example, the word my beloved in the original language denotes a male love, whereas the word my love in the original language denotes a female love. The word "love" in 1:2, 4, 4:10, and 7:12 is plural. The singular form of love in this book is translated "beloved," referring to the person. It is the same word as David, because David means love. "Love" in 2:4 is general. "Love" in 2:7, 3:5, and 8:4 refers to love in the feminine sense. "Friends" in 5:1 and 16 should be translated "beloved"; it refers to love in the masculine sense in contrast to love in the feminine sense. VIII A few principles for the interpretation of this book: (1) The interpretation of every passage must match the central theme of this book, which is spiritual experience. (2) The interpretation of each verse must make sense within the context of the passage, as well as match the central theme of the book. (3) In interpreting the parables in Matthew 13, the Lord gave detailed commentary on some parts, but made no comment on other parts. We should do the same in interpreting this book. (4) We should find the meaning of a term partly from the word itself and partly from its historical use in the Bible. (5) In describing the bride and the bridegroom, this book uses many illustrations. While the characteristics are described in figures of speech, the illustrations involve the use of symbols. The figures of speech are easy to understand. But in order to understand the symbols, there must be mature consideration. Symbols can only be understood in accordance with biblical methods and divine teaching. In some instances, the nature of the figures of speech and the symbols are the same; in other instances, they are different. In many cases, they are quite different. We do not need to worry whether or not they are different; we should only ask what they refer to. A symbol can often convey something that a figure of