John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

Song of Solomon 1:1



INTRODUCTION TO THE SONG OF SOLOMON



This book is entitled, in the Hebrew copies, "Shir Hashirim", the Song of Songs. The Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions call it, "the Song"; and the title of it in the Syriac version, is,



"the Wisdom of Wisdoms of the same Solomon;''



that is, the same who wrote the two preceding books. It has always been received and esteemed by the ancient Jews as a valuable part of the sacred writings, calling it "the Holy of Holies" {a}; forbidding their children to read it, because of the sublimity and mysteriousness of it, until they were at years to understand it: nor was there ever any controversy among them about the authenticity of it; but all their writers {b}, ancient and more modern, agree that it was written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The ancient Christian fathers and councils have held it as a part of the holy Scriptures, and have continued it in the canon of them; and it has been received as canonical by Christians in all ages, except a very few, as Theodore of Mopsuest, condemned calling it in question by the second council at Constantinople, in 553; and Castalio, in later times, who for the same was censured and exiled by the senate at Geneva; and Mr. Whiston, in our age, whose objections to it I have attempted to answer, in my larger Commentary on this book, published in 1728, and since republished: and I am very sorry I am obliged to take notice of an objection to the antiquity of it, and to its being Solomon's, made by a learned {c} man, very lately; who observes, that the word David, from its first appearance in Ruth, where it is written dwd, without the "yod", continues to be so written through the books of Samuel, Kings, Psalms, Proverbs, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel; but appears with a "yod", dywd, in the books of Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah and Zechariah; wherefore he suggests, that if it was customary to write this word without a "yod" till the captivity, and with one after it; then he thinks a strong argument may be drawn from hence against the antiquity of the Canticles, and its being made by Solomon, since this name is written with a "yod" in So 4:4; the only place in it in which it is used: but in answer to this it must be said, that it is not fact that the word is invariably without a "yod" in the books mentioned, particularly the book of Kings: for the authors of the Masorah have observed, on 1Ki 3:14, that it is five times written in that book full, as they call it, that is, with a "yod", dywd; three of the places I have traced out, 1Ki 3:14; and have found it so written in all the printed copies I have seen; and so it is read by the eastern Jews, in Eze 37:24. This learned man is aware that it is so written, once in Hosea, and twice in Amos, books written two hundred years before the captivity; but then he observes, that in the two last places, in Bomberg's edition, it has a little circle (o) to mark it for an error, or a faulty word, though none over the word in Hosea: but it should be known, that that circle, in hundreds of places, is not used to point out anything faulty in the copy; but is only a mark referring to the margin, and what is observed there; and be it that it does point out an error, or a faulty word, the same circle is over the word in Canticles, and consequently shows it to be faulty there, and to be corrected and read without the "yod", as it was originally without it there; which observation destroys the argument from it: and so it is read in that place in the Talmud {d} without it, and in the ancient book of Zohar {e}; and indeed it seems as if it was read without the "yod" in the copies seen by the authors of the Little Masorah; since in their note on 1Ki 3:14; besides the five places in the Kings, where it is written full, or with the "yod", they say, it is so written throughout the Chronicles, the twelve minor prophets, and Ezra, which includes Nehemiah; but make no mention of Solomon's Song, which, one would think, they would have done, had it been so written there in the copies before them: so that, upon the whole, the argument, if it has any force in it, turns out for, and not against, the antiquity of Solomon's Song. This book of Canticles has plain marks of a divine original, and proofs of its being of divine inspiration: it was written by, one that was inspired of God, as appears by the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, written by him; the greatness of the matter contained in it, the dignity, sublimity, and majesty of its style, show it to be no human composure; the power and efficacy which it has had over the hearts of men, in reading it, and hearing it explained, is another evidence of its being the word of God, which is quick and powerful; the impartiality of it, the bride, who is introduced speaking in it, confessing and proclaiming her own failings and infirmities, is no inconsiderable proof of the same; to which may be added the agreement between this and other portions of Scripture, as particularly

Ps 45:1; and there seem to be many allusions and references to various passages of this book in the New Testament; see Mt 9:13, &c. Joh 3:8 Col 2:17; compared with So 1:3 So 5:1. In what time of Solomon's life this book was written is not agreed on: some of the Jewish writers say the book of Proverbs was written first, then the Song of Songs, and last of all Ecclesiastes; others, that the Song was written first, then Proverbs, and then Ecclesiastes {f}; though their chronologer {g} says they were all written in his old age, as indeed the last book seems to be; but the Song rather seems to have been written in the middle part of his life, when in the most flourishing circumstances as to body, mind, and estate. Dr. Lightfoot {h} is of opinion it might be written in the thirtieth year of his reign, about ten years before his death, after he had built his summer house in Lebanon, to which he supposes respect is had in So 4:8; and upon his bringing Pharaoh's daughter to the house prepared for her, 1Ki 9:24; but be this at it may, it was not a celebration of the amours between Solomon and her, since the literal sense, in many places, would be monstrous and absurd; and besides it must be written twenty years at least after that, if the house of the forest of Lebanon is referred to in the above places; nor does it set forth their amours, and the marriage between them, as typical of the inexpressible love and marriage union between Christ and his church; though there is a resemblance between natural and spiritual marriage, and the love of persons in such a relation to one another, and to which there may be an allusion in some passages. Nor is this book historical and prophetic, expressing either the state of the people of Israel, from the times of Abraham to Solomon, and so to the Messiah; in which way go many Jewish interpreters, as the Targum, Jarchi, Aben Ezra, and others: nor is it to be considered as describing the state of the church: of God, whether legal, from the times of David and Solomon, and before, in and after the captivity, to the birth and death of Christ; or the Gospel church, in its beginning, progress, various changes, and consummation, as Brightman and Cotton nor as setting forth the several ages and periods of the Christian church, in agreement with the seven churches of Asia, as Cocceius, and those that follow him, Horchius, Hofman, and Heunischius; which latter, particularly, makes this distribution of them:



(1) The Ephesian church, So 1:5; from the ascension of Christ to heaven, A. C. 33, to 370. (2) The Smyrnaean church, So 2:1; from A. C. 371, to 707; (3) The church at Pergamos, So 3:1; from A. C. 708, to 1045. (4) The Thyatirian church, So 4:1, from A. C. 1046, to 1383. (5) The Sardian church, So 5:2, from A. C. 1384, to 1721. (6) The church at Philadelphia, So 6:9, from A. C. 1722, to 2059. (7) The Laodicean church, So 8:1, from A. C. 2060, and onwards.



But these senses are very arbitrary, uncertain, and precarious, and limit the several parts of it to certain periods; whereas it is applicable to believers in all ages of time. The whole is figurative and allegorical; expressing, in a variety of lively metaphors, the love, union, and communion, between Christ and his church; setting forth the several different frames, cases, and circumstances of believers, in this life; so that they can be in no case and condition spiritual whatever, but there is something in this Song suitable to them; and which serves much to recommend it, and shows the excellency of it; and that it justly claims the title it bears, the Song of Songs, the most excellent. M. Bossuet {i} is of opinion, that whereas the nuptial feast with the Hebrews was kept seven days, this Song is to be distributed into seven parts, a part to be sung, one each day, during the celebration: The first day, So 1:1. The second day, So 2:7. The third day, So 3:1. The fourth day, So 5:2. The fifth day, So 6:10. The sixth day, So 7:12. The seventh day, So 8:4. The thought is ingenious, but seems too fanciful, and without foundation.



{a} Misnah Yadaim, c. 3. s. 5. Shir Hashirim Rabba, fol. 2. 4. Abarbinel in 1. Reg. iii. 12. fol. 209. 2. {b} Zohar in Exod. fol. 59. 3. Shir Hashirim Rabba, fol. 2. 4. Targum, Jarchi, & Aben Ezra in loc. {c} Dr. Kennicott's Dissert. 1. p. 20, &c. {d} T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 30. 1. {e} In Gen. fol. 114. 3. {f} Shir Hashirim Rabba, fol. 3. 3. Yalkut Simeoni, par. 2. fol. 28. 3. {g} Seder Olam Rabba, c. 15. so Shir Hashirim Rabba, fol. 3. 3. {h} See his Works, vol. 1. p. 76. {i} Vid. Lowth de Sacr. Poesi Heb. Praelect. 30. p. 393, 394. & Not. Michaelis in ibid. p. 156-159.



INTRODUCTION TO SONG OF SOLOMON 1



In this chapter, after the general title of the book, So 1:1, the church expresses her strong desires, and most ardent wishes, for some fresh discoveries of the love of Christ to her, and for communion with him; having tasted of his love, smelt a sweet savour in his grace, and enjoyed fellowship with him in his house, So 1:2. She observes her blackness and uncomeliness in herself; the trials and afflictions she met with from others; and her carelessness and negligence of her own affairs, So 1:5; and entreats her beloved to direct her where she might meet with him, feeding his flocks, and giving them rest, to which he returns a kind and gracious answer; gives her proper instructions where to find him, So 1:7; and commends her beauty; sets forth her amiableness and loveliness, by various metaphors; and makes promises of more grace and good things to her, So 1:9. And then she declares what a value she had for Christ, her beloved; and how precious he was unto her, like a bundle of myrrh, and a cluster of camphire, So 1:12. Christ again praises her beauty; and particularly takes notice of her eyes, and her modest look, So 1:15; and she returns the encomium back to him, and expresses her pleasure and satisfaction in the house he had built for her, and the furniture of it, So 1:16.



Ver. 1. The Song of songs, which [is] Solomon's. Wrote by Solomon, king of Israel, as the "amanuensis" of the Holy Ghost; and not by Hezekiah and his men, as the Jews say {k}: or, "concerning Solomon" {l}; Christ, of whom Solomon was a type; see So 3:7; of his person, excellencies, love to his church, care of her, and concern for her; and of the nearness and communion he admitted her to, and indulged her with the Jews have a saying {m}, that wherever the word Solomon is used in this song, the Holy One is meant, the holy God, or Messiah: it is called "the Song of songs", because the most excellent, as the Holy of holies, King of kings, &c. which, with the Hebrews, express a superlative; this being more excellent than the one hundred and five songs, written by Solomon, or than any human composure whatever; yea, preferable to all Scriptural songs, as to subject, manner of style, and copiousness of it.



{k} T. Bab. Bava Bathra, fol. 15. 1. {l} hmlvl "de Solomone", Cocceius. {m} Maimon. Yesode Hatorah, c. 6. s. 12.







Song of Solomon 1:2



Ver. 2. Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth,.... That is, Solomon; Christ, the antitype of Solomon, the church's beloved; or it is a relative without an antecedent, which was only in her own mind, "let him"; him, whom her thoughts were so much employed about; her affections were so strongly after; and whose image was as it were before her, present to her mind: and "the kisses of his mouth", she desires, intend some fresh manifestations and discoveries of his love to her; by some precious word of promise from his mouth, applied to her; and by an open espousal of her, and the consummation of marriage with her. It may be rendered, "with one of the kisses of his mouth" {n}; kisses with the ancients were very rare, and used but once when persons were espoused, and as a token of that; and then they were reckoned as husband and wife {o}: on which account, it may be, it is here desired; since it was after this we hear of the spouse being brought into the nuptial chamber, and of the keeping of the nuptial feast, So 1:4;



for thy love [is] better than wine; or "loves" {p}; which may denote the abundance of it; the many blessings of grace which flow from it; and the various ways in which it is expressed; as well as the high esteem the church had of it. This is said to be "better than wine"; for the antiquity of it, it being from everlasting; and for the purity of it, being free from all dregs of dissimulation and deceit on the part of Christ, and from all merit, motives, and conditions, on the part of the church; for its plenty, being shed plenteously in the hearts of believers, and who may drink abundantly of it; and for its freeness and cheapness, being to be had without money and without price; and it is preferable to wine for the effects of it; which not only revives and cheers heavy hearts, but quickens dead sinners, and comforts distressed saints; and of which they may drink plentifully, without hurt, yea, to great advantage.



{n} whyp twqyvnm "uno tantum, vel altero de osculis oris sui", Michaelis; so Gussetius, p. 446. {o} Salmuth. in Pancirol. Memorab. Rer. par. 1. tit. 46. p. 215. {p} Kydd "amores tui", Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, &c.





Song of Solomon 1:3



Ver. 3. Because of the savour of thy good ointments,.... It was usual for lovers to anoint themselves, their hair, garments, &c. to commend themselves to each other; and it was common to commend each other's ointments, and the grateful smell of them {q} none being like them, or so agreeable as theirs: by these ointments may be meant the grace of Christ, the fulness of it, the oil of gladness with which he is anointed above his fellows, and without measure; and which so greatly recommends him to his church and people, Ps 45:7;



thy name [is as] ointment poured forth; which emits the greater odour for its being poured forth out of the box. The very names of lovers are dear to one another, sweeter than nectar itself {r}; the very mention of them gives an inexpressible pleasure. This may respect not merely the fame of Christ spread abroad in the world through the ministry of the word; nor the Gospel only, which is his name, Ac 9:15; and is like a box of ointment broke open, which diffuses the savour of his knowledge everywhere; but some precious name of his, as Immanuel, God with us; Jesus, a Saviour; but more particularly his name Messiah, which signifies anointed, the anointed Prophet, Priest, and King of his church;



therefore do the virgins love thee: for the preciousness of his person, the fulness of grace in him, and the truths of his Gospel: and which love shows itself in a desire of his presence, and communion with him; in a regard to his word and worship, to his truths and ordinances; and to his people, to conversation and communion with them. By these virgins are meant either congregational churches that strictly adhere to Christ, and to his pure worship; or particular believers, for their inviolate attachment to him; for the singleness and sincerity of their love to him; for their uncorruptness in the doctrine of faith; for the truth and spirituality of their worship; for the purity of their lives and conversations; for their beauty and comeliness through Christ; for their colourful and costly attire, being clothed with his righteousness; and for their modest behaviour, having the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit.



{q} "Nam omuium unguentum odos prae tua nautea est", Plauti Curculio, Act. 1. Sc. 2. v. 5. {r} "Nomen nectari dulcius beato", Martial. l. 9. Epigr. 9.







Song of Solomon 1:4



Ver. 4. Draw me,.... With the cords of love, for what draw lovers to each other more strongly? under the influence of that they cannot bear to be without each other's company. Aben Ezra takes these words to be spoken by the virgins, who everyone of them said this, promising upon it to follow after the drawer; but they are rather the request of the church, desirous of nearer and more intimate communion with Christ; for this is not to be understood of drawing at first conversion, as the fruit of love, and under the influence of grace, Jer 31:3; but of being brought nearer to Christ, and to enjoy more of him;



we will run after thee; the church and the virgins, she and her companions, or particular believers; everyone of them in their respective stations would act with more rigour upon such drawings; would run in a way of duty, follow Christ, and walk in his steps; and as they had him for an example, and according to his word, and in the ways of his commandments: or "that we may run after thee" {s}; intimating that there is no running without drawing; no following Christ, at least no running after him with alacrity and cheerfulness, without being drawn by his love, and influenced by his grace;



the King hath brought me into his chambers: the blessing she sought after, and was so solicitous for in the preceding verses; namely, to have the marriage consummated, to be owned by Christ as his spouse and bride, by taking her home, and introducing her into the nuptial chamber; by putting her into the enjoyment of himself, and the possession of his substance: and this being done by him as King of saints, yea, of the world, showed great condescension on his part, and great honour bestowed on her; since by this act, as he was King, she was declared queen!



we will be glad and rejoice in thee: she and her bridesmaids, the virgins that attended her; that is, "when he should introduce" her into his chambers, as some {t} render the words; then they should express their joy and gladness on that occasion; and that in the greatness, glory, and fitness of his person; in the fulness of grace in him; in the blessings of grace from him; in what he has done for, and is to his church and people; in the offices he bears, and in the relations he stands in to them; and particularly that of a husband, now declared;



we will remember thy love more than wine: which, upon the introduction of the bride to the bridegroom, might be plentifully drank; of the preferableness of Christ's love to wine, See Gill on "So 1:2"; it may design more particularly the love of Christ, expressed at this time of solemnizing the marriage between him and his church in an open manner, Ho 2:19; and which would never be forgotten: Christ's love is remembered when thought of and meditated upon; when faith is exercised on it, and the desires of the soul are drawn after it, and the affections set upon it; and when it is often spoken of to others, being uppermost in the mind; saints under the Gospel dispensation have an ordinance for this purpose, to, commemorate the love of Christ;



the upright love thee; or "uprightnesses" {u}; men of upright hearts and conversations, who have right spirits renewed in them; or Israelites indeed, in whom there is no guile; who have the truth of grace in them, walk uprightly according to the rule of God's word, and the Gospel of Christ; and do all they do sincerely, from a principle of love, and with a view to the glory of God; such love Christ superlatively, sincerely, fervently, and constantly; and "love [him] rightly", or "most uprightly", as some {w} render the phrase.



{s} huwrn "ut carramus", so some in Marekius. {t} "Quum introduxerit me", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, so Schmidt. {u} Myrvym euyuthv, Sept. "rectitudines", Montanus, Vatablus, Marekius, Michaeilis, so some in Vatablus. {w} Junius & Tremellius; so Cocceius and Jarchi.





Song of Solomon 1:5



Ver. 5. I [am] black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem,.... The church having obtained of Christ, what she wanted, turns to the daughters of Jerusalem, the same perhaps with the virgins her companions; they seem to be young converts, it may be not yet members of the visible church, but had a great respect for the church, and she for them; and who, though they had but a small knowledge of Christ her beloved, yet were desirous of knowing more of him, and seeking him with her; see So 3:9; to these she gives this character of herself, that she was "black" in herself {x}, through original sin and actual transgression; in her own eyes, through indwelling sin, and many infirmities, spots, and blemishes in life; and in the eyes of the world, through afflictions, persecutions, and reproaches, she was attended with, and so with them the offscouring of all things: "but comely" in the eyes of Christ, called by him his "fair one", the "fairest among women", and even "all fair", So 1:8; through his comeliness put upon her, the imputation of his righteousness to her; through the beauties of holiness upon her; through, the sanctifying influences of his Spirit; and, being in a church state, walking in Gospel order, attending to the commands and ordinances of Christ; and so beautiful as Tirzah, and comely as Jerusalem, So 6:4; and upon all accounts "desirable" {y} to Christ, and to his people, as the word may be rendered;



as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon: each of which are thought by some to refer to both parts of her character; and suppose that the tents of Kedar, though they might look poor on the outside, were full of wealth and riches within; and Solomon's curtains, or hangings, might have an outward covering not so rich and beautiful as they were on the inside; but rather the blackness of the church is designed by the one, and her comeliness by the other. With respect to her blackness, she compares herself to the tents of Kedar, to the inhabitants of those tents, who were of a black or swarthy complexion; Kedar signifies the name of a man whose posterity these were, that dwelt in tents, even of Kedar the second son of Ishmael, and who inhabited some part of Arabia; and, their employment being to feed cattle, moved from place to place for the sake of pasturage, and so dwelt in tents, which they could easily remove, and hence were called Scenites; and the tents they dwelt in being made of hair cloth, and continually exposed to the sun and rain, were very black, and yet a number of them made a fine appearance, as Dr. Shaw relates {z}; though black, yet were beautiful to behold; he says,



"the Bedouin Arabs at this day live in tents called "hhymes", from the shelter which they afford the inhabitants; and "beet el shaar", that is, "houses of hair", from the materials or webs of goats' hair whereof they were made; and are such hair cloth as our coal sacks are made of; the colour of them is beautifully alluded to, So 1:5; for nothing certainly can afford (says he) a more delightful prospect than a large extensive plain, whether in its verdure, or even scorched up by the sunbeams, than, these movable habitations pitched in circles upon them; of which (he says) he has seen from three to three hundred.''



And for her comeliness the church compares herself either to the curtains of Solomon, about his bed, or to the rich hangings of tapestry in the several apartments of his palace, which no doubt were very costly and magnificent.



{x} "Nigra per naturam, formosa per gratiam", Aug. de Tempore, serm. 201. p. 354. tom. 10. "Fusca per culpam, decora per gratiam", Ambros. in Psal. cxviii. octon. 2. col. 881. tom. 2. {y} hwan "optabilis", Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine version, Mercerus; so Aben Ezra. {z} Travels, p. 220. edit. 2. See Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 28. Solin. Polyhist. c. 46.







Song of Solomon 1:6



Ver. 6. Look not upon me,.... Meaning not with scorn and disdain because of her meanness; nor as prying into her infirmities to expose her; nor with joy at her trials and afflictions; neither of these can be supposed in the daughters of Jerusalem addressed by her: but rather, not look on her as amazed at her sufferings, as though some strange thing had befallen her; not at her blackness only, on one account or another, lest they should be stumbled; but at her beauty also;



because I [am] black; or "blackish" somewhat black {a}, but not so black as might be thought, or as she was represented: the radicals of the word being doubled, some understand it as diminishing; but rather it increases the signification; see Ps 14:2; and so it may be rendered "very black" {b}, exceeding black; and this she repeats for the sake of an opportunity of giving the reason of it, as follows;



because the sun hath looked upon me; and had burnt her, and made her black; which effect the sun has on persons in some countries, and especially on such who are much abroad in the fields, and employed in rural services {c}; as she was, being a keeper of vineyards, as in this verse, and of flocks of sheep, as in the following. This may be understood of the sun of persecution that had beat upon her, and had left such impressions on her, and had made her in this hue, and which she bore patiently; nor was she ashamed of it; nor should she be upbraided with it, nor slighted on account of it, see Mt 13:6;



my mother's children were angry with me; by whom may be meant carnal professors, members of the same society, externally children of the same mother, pretend to godliness, but are enemies to it: these were "angry" with the church for holding and defending the pure doctrines of the Gospel; for keeping the ordinances as they were delivered; and for faithful reproofs and admonitions to them and others, for their disagreeable walk: and these grieved the church, and made her go mourning, and in black; and more blackened her character and reputation than anything else whatever: though it may be understood of any carnal men, who descend from mother Eve, or spring from mother earth, angry with the church and her members preciseness in religion; and particularly violent persecutors of her, who yet would be thought to be religious, may be intended;



they made me the keeper of the vineyards; this is another thing that added to her blackness, lying abroad in the fields to keep the "vineyards" of others, by which may be meant false churches, as true ones are sometimes signified by them; and her compliance with their corrupt worship and ordinances, which was not voluntary, but forced; they made me, obliged her, and this increased her blackness; as also what follows;



[but] mine own vineyard have I not kept; which made her blacker still; her church state, or the spiritual affairs of her own, her duty and business incumbent on her {d}, were sadly neglected by her: and this sin of hers she does not pretend to extenuate by the usage of her mother's children; but ingenuously confesses the fault was her own, to neglect her own vineyard and keep others, which was greatly prejudicial to her, and was resented by Christ; upon which it seems he departed from her, since she was at a loss to know where he was, as appears from the following words. With the Romans, neglect of fields, trees, and vineyards, came under the notice of the censors, and was not to go unpunished {e}.



{a} trxrxv "paululum denigrata", Pagninus, Mercerus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius; so Ainsworth and Aben Ezra. {b} "Valde fusca", Bochart; "prorsus vel valde, et teta nigra", Marckius, Michaelis. {c} "Perusta solibus pernicis uxor", Horat. Epod. Ode 2. v. 41, 42.

aliokauston Theocrit. Idyll. 10. v. 27. {d} So Horace calls his own works "Vineta", Epist. l. 2. Ep. 1. v. 220. {e} A. Gell. Noct. Attic. l. 4. c. 12.







Song of Solomon 1:7



Ver. 7. Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth,.... With all her heart, cordially and sincerely; for, notwithstanding her sinful compliance with others, and neglect of her own affairs, she had not lost her love to Christ; and, being sensible of her sin and folly, whereby she was deprived of his company, and communion with him, applies to him to guide, direct, and restore her wandering soul; and particularly inform her



where, says she,



thou feedest; that is his flock, like a shepherd: for this phrase supposes him to be a shepherd, as he is, of God's choosing, appointing, and setting up, the chief, the good, the great, and only Shepherd of the sheep; and that he has a flock to feed, which is but one, and a little one, is his property, given him by God, purchased by his blood, called a flock of slaughter, and yet a beautiful one, he has undertook to feed; and feeding it includes the whole business of a shepherd, in leading the sheep into pastures, protecting them from all enemies, restoring them when wandering, healing their diseases, watching over them in the night seasons, and making all necessary provisions for them. Or, "tell me how thou feedest" {f}; the manner of it, and with what; which he does by his ministers, word, and ordinances; with himself, the bread of life; with the doctrines and promises of the Gospel, and with the discoveries of his love;



where thou makest [thy flocks] to rest at noon, either at the noon of temptation, when Satan's fiery darts fly thick and fast; when Christ is a shadow and shelter in his person, grace, blood, righteousness, and sacrifice, Isa 25:4; or the noon of affliction, when he makes their bed in it, and gives them rest from adversity; or the noon of persecution, when Christ leads his flocks to cooling shades, and gives them rest in himself, when troubled by others: the allusion, is to shepherds, in hot countries, leading their flocks to some shady place, where they may be sheltered from the scorching heat of the sun; which, as Virgil says {g}, was at the fourth hour, or ten o'clock, two hours before noon; we read of probatia meshmbriazonta {h}, sheep nooning themselves, or lying down at noon, under a shade, by a fountain, asleep;



for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions? not real associates with Christ, that keep company with him, and are attached to his word and ordinances; but false friends, hypocrites and heretics {i}, rivals with him, who set up schemes of worship and doctrine in opposition to his; such as Papists, Socinians, &c. now such false teachers have had their flocks in all ages, such as have followed them, and have formed separate societies; and therefore the church, sensible of their craftiness, and her own weakness, and liableness to go astray, desires she might not be under, and left to such a temptation, as to apostatize from Christ, and join to such persons and their flocks, or seem to do so: or, "be as one that covereth herself", or "is covered" {k}; as a harlot; so Tamar,

Ge 38:14; or as a widow in mourning; she chose not to be, or to be thought to be, either as one that left her husband, an unchaste woman; or had lost her husband, or as if she had none, when neither was the case: or, "as one that spreads the tent" {l}; by the flocks of such; as if in communion with them, and joining with them in feeding their flocks; and therefore desires she might speedily know where Christ was, and go to him, that such an aspersion or suspicion might at once be wiped from her.



{f} hert hbya "quomodo pascas?" Tigurine version; so the Syriac version and Jarchi; see Ainsworth. {g} "Inde, ubi quarta sitim coeli collegetit hora", Virgil. Georgic. l. 3. v. 327. {h} Platonis Phaedrus, p. 1230. {i} So Stockius, p. 302. {k} hyjek "quasi operiens se", Piscator; "ut obnubens", Cocceius; "sicut obvelans se", Marckius; "velut operta", Michaelis. {l} So Junius & Tremellius.







Song of Solomon 1:8



Ver. 8. If thou know not,.... Or, "seeing thou knowest not" {m}; the saints in this imperfect state know but in part, are ignorant of many things, and in some measure of themselves; for though they know much of the sinfulness and deceitfulness of their hearts, yet they know not all; and of their imperfection and weakness, yet not the whole of it; and some render the words, "if thou know not to thee", or, "for thyself", as Ainsworth; or "know [not thyself]" {n}, as others; hence Ambrose {o} observes, that "nosce teipsum" was not originally from the Pythian oracle; Solomon had it before that, and he from Moses, De 4:9; Saints have not a perfect knowledge of Christ and his truths, and are sometimes at a loss to know where he is, his word is purely preached, and his ordinances faithfully administered;



O thou fairest among women; these are not the words of the daughters of Jerusalem, as some think, who were not capable of giving her the following advice and directions; but of Christ himself, to whom the church applied for it; who, though black in her own eyes, and in the eyes of others, yet was fair, surpassingly fair, fairer than all others in his eye, even notwithstanding her late sinfulness and negligence; which shows the invariableness of his love; who directs her as follows;



go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock; not "from the footsteps" {p}; as if it was an exhortation to depart from false teachers, their doctrine and worship, and the abettors of them, she was tempted to turn aside to; but the "footsteps" are the rule and mark by which she was to go, and on which she was to keep her eye, and steer her course by, in seeking after Christ: for by "the flock" is meant the flock of Christ; and by the "footsteps" of it the ways and ordinances in which saints walk in obedience to Christ; and who are to be followed so far as they follow him; their steps are to be trod in; and this is the readiest and most likely way to find Christ, even where saints meet together, the word is preached, and ordinances administered;



and feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents; the faithful ministers of the word, who are Christ's undershepherds, have their mission and commission from him, and are qualified by him to feed his flocks, and do feed them by the pure administration of the word and ordinances; and by the tents are meant the places of public worship, where they usually preach the Gospel, and administer ordinances. The allusion is to the tents of shepherds pitched for the convenience of feeding their flocks; and "by" or "near" {q} these the church is directed to "feed [her] kids", young converts weak in the faith; men of "little faith", as Aben Ezra interprets it; called "kids" or young goats, lascivious {r}, and of an ill smell; because of sin in them, of an ill smell to themselves and others; and of whom the world have an ill opinion; and such on all accounts need encouragement from the church and ministers. It was common in the eastern countries, as Philo says {s} of the Arabs, not for men only to keep flocks, but women also, and young virgins; and not the common people only, but nobles; of women keeping flocks see

Ge 29:9; This verse and So 1:7 show this song to be a pastoral; since the bridegroom and bride, the principal persons in it, are represented in it as a shepherd and shepherdess.



{m} Ma "quandoquidem", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. {n} So the Septuagint, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions. {o} Hexaemeron. l. 6. c. 6. & in Psal. cxviii. octon. 2. p. 883. {p} So Junius & Tremellius. {q} "Juxta", V. L. Piscator, Michaelis; apud, Mercerus, Cocceius. {r} "Hoedi petulci", Virgil. Georgic. l. 4. v. 10. "Lasciva capella", Bucol. Eclog. 2. v. 64. Horat. Carmin. l. 2. Ode 15. v. 12. {s} De Vita Mosis, l. 1. p. 610. Vid. Joseph. Antiqu. l. 2. c. 11. s. 2.







Song of Solomon 1:9



Ver. 9. I have compared thee, O my love,.... The church having taken the direction of Christ, had now found him, and was with him; and when for her encouragement and comfort he greets her as his love, an appellation very usual among lovers; and in the chastest sense between husband and wife; the church was Christ's love, being both the object and subject of it; to whom he had showed love, and whose love was shed abroad in her heart; or "my friend" {t}, another name used among lovers; there is a mutual friendship between Christ and his people; they are Christ's friends, and he is theirs, So 5:1. The Septuagint render it "my neighbour", whom Christ loves as himself; and they dwell near each other; he dwells in them, and they in him, Joh 6:56; and here are compared by him



to a company of horses in Pharaoh's chariots; or "I have likened thee", or reckoned thee like {u}; formed such an image of thee in my mind, with regard to some peculiar excellencies in her which agreed therewith: or to "my mare" {w}, as some translate the word, which ran in one of his chariots, called Pharaoh's chariot; because perhaps it was made a present of to him by Pharaoh king of Egypt, his father in law, for which he had a particular regard, as Alexander for his Bucephalus; nor is such a comparison of a woman a disagreeable one, since, as Marckius observes, many women have had their names from the horse, because of some celebrated excellency in them {x}; and Theocritus {y} compares Queen Helena to a Thessalian horse in a chariot; and it is thought he took the hint from this song, as admiring it; so, by others {z}, persons are compared to mares for their beautiful form. Christ's church and people be compared to "the horse" for their strength, majesty, and comeliness; they are strong in Christ, and in his grace, and of an undaunted courage in bearing hardships, reproaches, and persecutions for his sake, and in fighting the Lord's battles; and are stately and majestic, especially a company of them in Gospel order, So 6:4; and are very comely and beautiful in their trappings, clothed with the righteousness of Christ, and the graces of his Spirit; and to a "company" of them, a collection of goodly ones, as Egyptian ones, reckoned the best; and those in Pharaoh's chariot best of all; choice, costly, well fed, and well taken care of; and not wild and loose, but coupled and joined together in a chariot, all drawing one way. Christ's church and people are a choice and select company, distinguished from others by the grace of God; cost a great price, the blood of Christ; are well fed with the finest of the wheat; and are under the care both of angels and Gospel ministers; and look very beautiful as under the yoke of Christ, and joined together in Gospel bonds, being of the same faith and judgment; drawing one way, striving together for the faith of the Gospel, and endeavouring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.



{t} ytyer "amica mea", Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine version, Mercerus, Michaelis. {u} Kytymd "similem te judico", Tigurine version. {w} ytool th ippw mou, Sept. "equae meae", Pagninus, Montanus, Gussetius, p. 551. so Aben Ezra, Syriac and Arabic versions; "equabus", Piscator. {x} As Hippo, Hippe, Hippia, Hippodomia, Hippothoe, Hipponoe, Mercippe, Alcippe, Archippe. {y} Idyll. 18. v. 29. {z} ippov egw kalh, Theognis Sententiae, v. 257. h d'ippou-eido

aristh, Phocylides. So by Plato in Hippias Major, p. 1250. & Horat. Carmin. l. 3. Ode 11. v. 9.







Song of Solomon 1:10



Ver. 10. Thy cheeks are comely with rows [of jewels],.... Or "beautiful as turtledoves", as the Septuagint; or it may be rendered "with turtles", since the word "jewels" is not in the text; not with images of turtles on the bridles of the horses before mentioned, as Aben Ezra; but rather some ornaments of women having such images on them may be meant, called "turtles", or "turturellas"; they seem to me to be the same with the earrings, which being fastened to a thin plate of gold or silver, which went across the forehead, or to a ribbon bound on it, as Aben Ezra on Ge 24:22; observes, hung down by the ears in rows on both sides of the cheeks, and made but one ornament; as they did when another jewel from the same plate or ribbon hung down from the forehead to the nose, called a nose jewel, Eze 16:12; {a}; and such an ornament, consisting of these several parts, Abraham's servant is said to put upon the face or cheeks of Rebekah, Ge 24:47; and these may respect the gifts and graces of the Spirit of God, with which the church is ornamented; and are many and various, and are orderly and regularly disposed, and make very comely and lovely, and may be further described in the next clause;



thy neck with chains [of gold]; the word "gold" not being in the text, the chains may be understood, as they commonly are by the Jewish writers, of precious stones; as pearls bored and strung, which make a necklace; so Stockius {b} interprets it of an ornament of pearls and precious stones, orderly disposed and put about the neck, in use with great personages; so the eldest daughter of Priamus had, "collo monile baccatum" {c}, a pearl necklace, which Aeneas made a present of to Dido; such was the chain of gold, beset with amber, presented to Penelope by her suitors, which shone like the sun {d}. The church has her golden chain, or pearl necklace; which are either the graces of the Spirit, so linked together, that where there is one there are all; and which consists of those ten links, or pearls, faith, hope, love, repentance, humility, patience, self-denial, contentment in every state, spiritual knowledge, longsuffering, or forbearance; sincerity goes through them all. Or else the spiritual blessings of the covenant of grace, with which the church and all the saints are blessed in Christ at once, and with one and all; and which golden chain of salvation, one link of which cannot be broken, is excellently described by the apostle in Ro 8:30.



{a} Vid. Hieronym. in ibid. {b} Clavis Ling. S. p. 387. {c} Virgil. Aeneid. 1. v. 650. {d} Homer. Odyss. 18. v. 295.







Song of Solomon 1:11



Ver. 11. We will make thee borders of gold with studs of silver. Christ here in his own name, and in the name of the other two divine Persons, promises to the church a greater glory than as yet she had enjoyed; and seems to have respect to the Gospel dispensation; for by "golden borders" studded with "silver" may be meant the ordinances of the Gospel, preferable to those under the law; and therefore said to be of "gold [and] silver", for their glory, splendour, and durableness: or else the doctrines of the Gospel, being of more worth than thousands of gold and silver; and being called "borders", or rather "rows" {e}, may denote their orderly disposition and connection, their harmony and agreement with and dependence on each other: and the Gospel is full of silver "specks" or "studs" of exceeding great and precious promises; a variety of them useful and pleasant; a greater measure of the grace of the Spirit may be here promised: or the "borders" may intend the groundwork of the church's faith and hope, the justifying righteousness of Christ, more clearly revealed; and the "studs of silver" the curious work of sanctification, more enlarged and increased; and so take in both Christ's righteousness imputed to her, and his grace implanted in her; but perhaps these phrases may be best of all understood of the New Jerusalem state, and of the ultimate glory of the saints in heaven, sometimes set forth by such similes, Isa 54:11. Both grace and glory are given by Christ, and in which all the three divine Persons are concerned; for not angels, nor the daughters of Jerusalem, are here the speakers, to whom such things promised cannot agree; nor God, speaking after the manner of men, and for honour's sake, is designed: but the trinity of Persons, Father, Son, and Spirit, are meant; the ordinances are of their institution, and administered in their name, Mt 28:19; they have all a concern it, the Gospel and the doctrines of it, which is called the Gospel of God, and the Gospel, of Christ, and the ministering of the Spirit; the grace of God, in regeneration and conversion, is sometimes ascribed to one and sometimes to another; and an increase of it in the heart is wished for from all three, Re 1:4; and they have a hand in all the glory the saints shall enjoy hereafter: the Father has prepared the kingdom from the foundation of the world; the Son has made way for it by his obedience, sufferings, and death; and the Spirit is the earnest of it, makes meet for it, and introduces into it.



{e} yrwt "ordines", Marckius, Michaelis.







Song of Solomon 1:12



Ver. 12. While the King [sitteth] at his table,.... These are the words of the church, relating what influence the presence of Christ, her Lord and King, had upon the exercise of her graces, while he was keeping the nuptial feast, on account of his marriage with her. He was anointed King of saints from eternity, before his incarnation, when he was rejoicing before God his Father, as if at a feast; and while he was thus distant, the faith, hope, desire, and expectation of the saints, were exercised on him, as their Lord and King, that was to come: when he did come, he came as a King, as was foretold of him, though his kingdom was not of this world; and while he was here, the Gospel of the kingdom of heaven was preached, and emitted a sweet savour in Judea: and when he went up to heaven, after his resurrection, he was declared Lord and Christ, and sat down at the right hand of God, "in his circuit" {f}, or at his round table; alluding to such the ancients used, and great personages fed on, peculiar to themselves {g}; being encircled by angels and glorified saints: and in the mean while, before his second coming as King, when he will appear as such in a more glorious manner, he sits down at his table, in the ordinance of the supper, feasting with, entertaining, and welcoming his church and people. When as follows, she says,



my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof: or "nard", of which there are many sorts; but that which grows in spikes is reckoned the best, and from thence is called "spikenard": it was a chief ingredient in ointments, as Pliny says {h}; see Joh 12:3; and was much used at festivals, to anoint guests with; and with which their head and hair being anointed, gave a fragrant smell, and therefore used to make them acceptable {i}: in Syria, at royal banquets, as this here was, it was usual to go round the guests, to sprinkle them with Babylonian ointment {k}. This may have respect to the grace of the Spirit in the church, comparable to the most excellent ointment; and which grace being in exercise in her, both before and after the incarnation of Christ, and since his ascension to heaven, and while he grants his presence in Gospel ordinances, is very delightful and acceptable to Christ; or this spikenard, according to some {l}, may be meant of Christ himself, just as he is said to be "a bundle of myrrh" in So 1:13, and "a cluster of camphire", in So 1:14; and as ointments were used at feasts, and the church was at one with Christ, and as he was both master and feast, so he was the ointment of spikenard to her; and it is as if she should say, my beloved is at table with me; he is my food, and he is my spikenard {m} I need no other; he is instead of spikenard, myrrh, cypress, or any unguents made of these: his person is exceeding precious; his graces, of ointments, have a delightful savour in them; his sacrifice is of a sweet odour; his garments of righteousness and salvation smell of myrrh, aloes, and cassia; he is all in all.



{f} wbomb "in circuitu suo", Montanus, Piscator, Michaelis. {g} Vid. Cuperi Observ. l. 1. c. 2. p. 13. {h} Nat. Hist. l. 12. c. 12. {i} "Illius puro destillant tempora nardo", Tibullus, l. 2. Eleg. 2. v. 7. & 1. 3. Eleg. 7. v. 31. "Madidas nardo comas", Martial. l. 3. Ep. 56. "tinge caput nardi folio", ibid. "Assyriaque nardo potemus uncti", Horat. Carmin. l. 1. Ode 11. v. 16, 17. Vid. Ovid. de Arte Amandi, l. 3. {k} Athenaei Deipnosoph. l. 15. c. 13. p. 692. {l} Theodoret, Sanctius, and Marckius. {m} "Tu mihi stacte, tu cinnamomium", &c. Planti Curculio, Act. 1. Sc. 2. v. 6.







Song of Solomon 1:13



Ver. 13. A bundle of myrrh [is] my well beloved unto me,.... These are the words of the church continued; expressing her great delight in Christ, and her strong love and affection for him, and therefore calls him "my well beloved"; which is expressive both of the greatness of Christ's love to her, and of the strength of her affection to him, as well as of her faith of interest in him; hence she says, he was as "a bundle of myrrh" to her. Some think {n} sweet marjoram is meant, or an herb of a sweet smell, very much like it, called "marum"; but myrrh is commonly understood; and not twigs or branches of it but sprigs, or the flowers of it, bound up as a nosegay, and carried in the bosom; or better, liquid myrrh, or "stacte", as the Septuagint render it, put in a bag {o} or bottle, as the word is rendered, Job 14:7; the allusion being to persons that carry smelling bottles in their bosoms, for refreshment or for pleasure. Now what these were to such, that, and much more, is Christ to his church; like sweet smelling myrrh, exceeding delightful and reviving, and make him very acceptable; his very garments smell of myrrh: and "a bundle" of this, or a bag of it, denotes the abundance of the odours of divine grace in Christ, who is full of it, which he communicates in great plenty: and now Christ is all this, not to any and everyone; but to his church and people, to whom alone he is precious, "my beloved is unto me"; which expresses not only the strength of her affection to Christ, and the value she had for him, and the delight she had in him; but the particular application of him to her own soul by faith;



he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts; "it" or "he"; the bundle of myrrh, or Christ, which comes to the same sense: by her "breasts" are meant her heart, where Christ dwells by faith, which is the best room the church has, and where she desires Christ might lodge; so Alshech explains it of being in her heart: and the time in which she would have him continue here is "all night"; meaning the night of affliction, temptation, &c. or rather the whole time of this life, until the everlasting day breaks; and so it is a desire of Christ's presence with her, and of her having communion with him, as long as she lived in the world; and between her breasts, and in her bosom she desires he might be for an ornament to her, like sweet flowers, and for her delight and pleasure, refreshment and comfort; and that he might be always in her sight, and never be forgotten by her.



{n} Vid. Fortunat. Schace. Eleochrism. Sacr. I. 1, c. 51. p. 256, 257. {o} rwru "folliculus", Cocceius; "sacculum", Marckius; "fasciculus, vel sacculus", Michaelis.





Song of Solomon 1:14



Ver. 14. My beloved [is] unto me [as] a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of Engedi. Engedi was a place near Jericho, and famous for palm trees, as that was, hence called Hazazontamar, 2Ch 20:2. Pliny {o} sneaking of this place, which he calls Engadda, says, it is second to Jerusalem for fertility and groves of palm trees; and Josephus {p} observes, that there grew the best palm trees and opobalsam; wherefore Aben Ezra, and other Jewish writers, think that dates, the fruit of the palm trees, which grow in clusters, are here meant: and because the balsam tree also, grew in this place, as observed before from Josephus, and grew in the manner of vines, as others {q} assert; and this being said to, be in vineyards, some have thought that that might be in, tended; but what is valuable in it is a gum or tear, that drops from it, and not fruit in clusters, which it bears not: nor can it be supposed that what we call "camphire" should be meant, which grows not in clusters, and was unknown to the ancients; nor the "cyperus", or "cypirus", as Cocceius and others. The Septuagint version readers it "cyprus": and there was a tree of this name which grew in Askelon in Judea, which, according to Pliny {r}, bore a white flower of a sweet smell; and which, in Italy, was called "ligustrum", the privet tree, commended by the poets {s} for its peculiar whiteness; and the cypress tree is reckoned by Josephus {t} among the odoriferous trees which grew about Jericho, near to which Engedi was. The word here used is to be found in the Misnah {u}; and the commentators {w} on it say, it is the same which, in Arabic, is called "alhena", the cypress tree, and refer to this place; of which Dr. Shaw {x} says,



"this beautiful and odoriferous plant, "alhenna", if it is not annually cut, and kept low, grows ten or twelve feet high, putting out its little flowers in clusters, which yield a most grateful smell, like camphire.''



But, after all, perhaps the Cyprus vine is here meant, which, according to Pliny {y}, was the best and largest of vines; and which, though it grew in Cyprus, from whence it had its name, yet some plants of it might be obtained by Solomon, and planted in the vineyards of Engedi; or there were such there like them, and were called by the same name: Jarchi, from an ancient exposition of theirs, relates, that the vineyards of this place brought forth fruit four or five times a year; Alshech says seven. Now as Christ compares himself to a vine,

Joh 15:1; the church may compare him to a cluster of the grapes of the Cyprus vine, reckoned the best; there being a cluster of all perfections, divine and human, in him; and of all the spiritual blessings of the everlasting covenant, and of all the precious promises in it; and of all the grace of the Spirit, and the fulness of it, which is in him. The Jews calls a man, eminent for virtue, and a large share of knowledge, "clusters" {z}; and they interpret "eschol", a cluster, by wh lkhv vya, "a man that has all things in him" {a}: such an one is Christ, in the highest sense, having all perfections, excellencies, and virtues, in him. Some leave the word untranslated, "copher" {b}, and which has the signification of atonement and propitiation; and so well agrees with Christ, who is the propitiation for sin, and has made atonement for it. Bishop Patrick observes, that the ancient Hebrew doctors, by dividing the first word "eschol", found out the mystery of the Messiah; considering it as if thus read, rpwk lk vya, "my beloved is unto me the man that propitiates" or "expiates all things"; that is, all sins and transgressions: in the Talmud {c} it is explained,



"he, whose all things are, has atoned for my iniquity;''



which Christ has done for his church and people; and which makes him precious, and is matter of joy and gladness to them, Ro 5:11 1Jo 2:2.



{o} Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 17. {p} Antiqu. l. 9. c. 1. s. 2. {q} Justin. e Trogo, l. 36. c. 3. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 12. c. 25. Vid. Foliot in loc. {r} Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 12. c. 29. {s} Virgil. Eclog. 2. v. 18. Ovid. Metamorph. l. 13. Fab. 8. {t} De Bello Jud. l. 4. c. 8. s. 3. {u} Sheviith, c. 7. s. 6. {w} Maimon. & Bartenora in ibid. {x} Travels, p. 113, 114. edit. 2. {y} Nat. Hist. l. 14. c. 1. {z} Misnah Sotah, c. 9. s. 9. {a} T. Bab. Temurah, fol. 15. 2. Jarchi, & Ez Chaysim in Sotah ibid. {b} rpk "copher", Pagninus, Montanus, Cocceius, Marckius. {c} T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 88. 2.







Song of Solomon 1:15



Ver. 15. Behold, thou [art] fair, my love,.... These are the words of Christ, commending the beauty and comeliness of the church, expressing his great affection for her, and his high esteem of her; of her fairness and beauty, See Gill on "So 1:5",

See Gill on "So 1:8"; of the title of Christ's love, as given her by him, See Gill on "So 1:9"; a "behold" is prefixed to this account her, as a note of attention, to consider her complete comeliness in Christ, and not pore on her own blackness; and as a note of admiration, that she who was so black and uncomely in herself should be so fair and beautiful in his eyes, through his blood, righteousness, and grace; and as a note of asseveration, assuring her of the truth of it, which she might be apt to call in question; and, to prevent which, it is also repeated,



behold, thou [art] fair; exceeding fair, really so, both inwardly and outwardly; both with respect to justification and sanctification;



thou [hast] doves' eyes; or "eyes like doves" {d}; these are taken notice because much beauty lies in the eyes, either in the size or colour of them {e}; similes taken from doves are frequently used in this sacred poem, both with respect to the bride and bridegroom; see So 2:14; and it may easily be observed, that this creature furnishes much matter for poets {f}, which they apply to lovers: and here the eyes of the bride are compared to the eyes of doves; meaning either the ministers of the Gospel, who are to the church what eyes are to the body; are set in the more eminent part in the church, to order, guide, and direct the members of it; to watch over them, lest any hurt come to them, and give warning of danger; to hold forth the word of light to them, and instruct them how to behave in the church and in the world: and they may be compared to the eyes of doves, for their clearness and perspicuity in discerning Gospel truths; and for their sincerity and simplicity, uprightness and faithfulness, in preaching them; and for the dove like gifts of the Spirit, whereby they are qualified for it; and for, their meekness and humility; or rather the eyes of her understanding are meant, being spiritually enlightened; and particularly the eye of faith by which believers take a view of Christ, of his glory, fulness, and suitableness, and look to him alone for life and salvation. And it may be compared to the eyes of doves for the clearness and quickness, of it, being the evidence of things not seen; and, for its singleness and chastity, the dove looks only to its mate, and destroys those that look with lustful eyes on others {g}; believers, being espoused as a chaste virgin to Christ, look only to him as their beloved, to him only for acceptance, righteousness, pardon, and eternal life; and for its modesty and humility, excluding all boasting in the creature, and giving all glory to Christ; and for its beautifulness in the sight of Christ, so that he is even ravished with it, So 4:9.



{d} Mynwy Kynye "oculi tui veluti columbarum", Pagninus, Munster, so Ben Melech. {e} So Juno is called "the large-eyed Juno", and Minerva "the blue-eyed goddess", and Chryseus "the black-eyed maid", Homer. Iliad. 1. v. 99, 206, 551. {f} Vid. Barthii Animadv. ad Claudian. in Nupt. Honor. Ode 4. v. 21. {g} Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 10. c. 34. Aelian. Hist. Animal. l. 3. c. 5. p. 44.







Song of Solomon 1:16



Ver. 16. Behold, thou [art] fair, my beloved,.... These are the words of the church, giving back to Christ his commendation of her, and much in the same words, as more properly belonging to him than her; he calls her "my love", she calls him "my beloved": he says that she was "fair"; the same she says of him, with a like note of wonder, attention, and asseveration, he had prefixed to the commendation of her; suggesting, that his fairness and beauty were essential, original, and underived, but hers was all from him; and therefore he only ought to have the character: he, as man, is "fairer" than the children of men; as Mediator, is full of grace and truth, which makes him look lovely in the eyes of his people; and, as a divine Person, is the brightness of his Father's glory. To which she adds,



yea, pleasant; looks pleasantly, with a smiling countenance on his people, being the image of the invisible God; pleasant to behold, as the sun of righteousness, and Saviour of men; pleasant in all his offices and relations; the doctrines of his Gospel are pleasant words; his ways, his ordinances, are ways of pleasantness; and especially having his presence, and communion with him in them; and which may be designed in the next clause;



also our bed [is] green; the same with "his bed which is Solomon's"; his by gift and purchase; the church's, by having a right through him, and an admittance to all the privileges of it: where the word is preached, ordinances administered, souls are begotten and born again, there Christ and his church have fellowship with each other; said to be "green", in allusion to the strewing of beds with green herbs and leaves, and branches of trees {h}; particularly the nuptial bed, called from thence "thalamus" {i}: and it may denote the fruitfulness of the saints in grace and holiness, like green olive trees, in the house of God: or else numerous converts in the church, a large spiritual seed and offspring of Christ and the church, as were in the first times of the Gospel, and will be in the latter day: a green bed is an emblem of fruitfulness in the conjugal state; so the Targum and Jarchi interpret it.



{h} Vid. Alstorph. de Lectis Veterum, c. 1. p. 2. s. 9, 10. "Viridante toro consederat herbae", Virgil. Aeneid. 5. v. 388. "In medo torus est de mollibus ulvis impositus lecto", Ovid. Metamorph. 8. v. 685. {i} Alstorph. ibid. c. 13. p. 73, 74.





Song of Solomon 1:17



Ver. 17. The beams of our house [are] cedar,.... Or "houses" {k}; where their bed was, and where they had fellowship and communion together. By which may be meant particular congregations or churches, in which houses Christ has a property, being of his building and beautifying; where he takes up his rest and residence, and where he feeds and feasts with his people, and to the privileges of which all the saints have a right: and by the "beams" of these houses may be intended the ministers of the word, who are pillars here, as James, John, and Cephas, were; and who are the means of supporting and strengthening such communities, by their excellent doctrines and exemplary lives: or common saints may be meant, who are also beams and pillars in the churches of Christ; and serve greatly to support, strengthen, and cement the spiritual building, fitly framed together: and these being of "cedar" wood, of a pleasant smell, and durable, may denote their gratefulness and acceptableness to Christ and his church, in the exercise of grace, and discharge of duty; and of their continuance and perseverance therein, having in them the incorruptible and immortal seed of divine grace; see Ps 92:12;



[and] our rafters of fir; which Pliny says {l} is the best and strongest wood for roofing and raftering: by these may be meant the ordinances of the Gospel, which are that to the churches as "rafters" are to a house, the means of supporting and strengthening it; so by the ordinances saints are supported in their spiritual state, and by them their spiritual strength is renewed; and these being said to be of "fir", which is a pleasant and lasting wood, may signify the delight that is had in ordinances, and the continuance of them. Some render the word by "cypress" {m}; which is also of a pleasant smell {n}, and very durable, never admits of worms, nor ever rots, nor is ever sensible of old age {o}; and so may denote the pleasure that saints take in ordinances, and the long continuance of them, as of the present ones, which will remain until the second coming of Christ. Some think the "brutine" tree {p} is meant, which Pliny calls "bruta" {q}; and is near in sound to the word here used, is much like the cypress, and of a sweet smell, like cedar; it grows beyond Pasitigris, on Mount Zagras. Some will have it to be the tree of paradise; and, so applied to ordinances, may signify the same as before. The word for "rafters" is elsewhere rendered "gutters" and "troughs" for water; and some {r} render it so here, and are so called from water running in them: and as the grace of God is often expressed by water, this is commonly conveyed in the use of ordinances; these are the canals in which it runs. Moreover the same word is translated "galleries", in So 7:5; which, as Kimchi and Ben Melech observe, were buildings in high houses in which men walked from house to house, or from one end of the house to the other; and might be called by this name, from their droning along the sides of houses, and seem to be like our "balconies": now ordinances are the galleries or "walking places" {s}, where Christ and his people walk and converse together.



{k} wnytb "domorum nostrarum", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, &c. "aedium nostrarum", Marckius. {l} Nat. Hist. l. 16. c. 42. {m} Mytwrb kuparissoi, Sept. "cypressina", V. L. Tigurine version; so David de Pomis, and others. {n} Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 16. c. 33. euwdei kuparissw, Theocrit. Epigram. 4. v. 7. {o} Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 16. c. 33. 40, 49. {p} "E brutis", Junius & Tremellius, Ainsworth, Brightman, Marckius; "brutiua", Cocceius, Michaelis. {q} Nat. Hist. l. 19. c. 17. {r} wnyjhr "canales nostri"; so some in Vatablus, Tigurine version; "impluvium nostruim", Hiller. de Keri & Kethib, p. 84. {s} "Ambulachra nostra", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Marckius, Michaelis.

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

Song of Solomon 2:1



INTRODUCTION TO SONG OF SOLOMON 2



Here begins a new colloquy between Christ and his church; in which they alternately set forth the excellencies of each other; and express their mutual affection for, and delight and pleasure they take in, each other's company. Christ seems to begin, in an account of himself and his own excellencies, and of the church in her present state, So 2:1; then she, in her turn, praises him, and commends him above all others relates some choice proofs she had had of his love to her, and of communion with him in his house and ordinances, to such a degree as to overcome her, So 2:3; and then either he or she gives a charge to the daughters of Jerusalem, not to disturb either the one or the other in their sweet repose, So 2:7. Next the church relates how she heard the voice of Christ, and had a sight of him on the hills and mountains, at some distance; then more nearly, behind her wall, and through the lattices, So 2:8; and expresses the very words in which he spake to her, and gave her a call to come away with him; making use of arguments from the season of the year, the signs of which are beautifully described, So 2:10; and requests that she would come out of her solitude, that he might enjoy her company, whose countenance and voice are so delightful to him; and gives a charge to her and her friends, to seize on such as were harmful and prejudicial to their mutual property, So 2:14. And she closes the chapter with expressing her faith of interest in Christ; and with a petition for his speedy approach to her, and continued presence with her, So 2:16.



Ver. 1. I [am] the rose of Sharon, [and] the lily of the valleys. Whether Christ, or the church, is here speaking, is not certain: most of the Jewish writers {t}, and some Christian interpreters {u}, take them to be the words of the church, expressing the excellency of her grace, loveliness, and beauty, she had from Christ; and intimating also her being in the open fields, exposed to many dangers and enemies, and so needed his protection. The church may be compared to a "rose", for its beautiful colour and sweet odour {w}, and for its delight in sunny places, where it thrives best, and is most fragrant. This figure is exceeding just; not only the beauty of women is expressed by the colour of the rose {x}, as is common in poems of this kind; to give instances of it would be endless {y}; some have had the name of Rhoda from hence; see Ac 12:13. No rose can be more beautiful in colour, and delightful to the eye, than the church is in the eyes of Christ, as clothed with his righteousness, and adorned with the graces of his Spirit: nor is any rose of a more sweet and fragrant smell than the persons of believers are to God and Christ, being considered in him; and even their graces, when in exercise, yea, their duties and services, when performed in faith; and, as the rose, they grow and thrive under the warming, comforting, and refreshing beams of the sun of righteousness, where they delight to be. The church may also be compared to a "lily of the valleys", as she is, in the next verse, to one among thorns. This is a very beautiful flower; Pliny {z} says it is next in nobleness to the rose; its whiteness is singularly excellent; no plant more fruitful, and no flower exceeds it in height; in some countries, it rises up three cubits high; has a weak neck or body, insufficient to bear the weight of its head. The church may be compared to a lily, for her beauty and fragrance, as to a rose; and the redness of the rose, and the whiteness of the lily, meeting in her, make her somewhat like her beloved, white and ruddy; like the lily, being arrayed in fine linen, clean and white, the righteousness of the saints; and like it for fruitfulness, as it is in good works, under the influence of divine grace, and grows up on high into her head, Christ Jesus; and though weak in herself, yet strong in him, who supports her, and not she him: and the church may be compared to a "lily of the valleys"; which may not describe any particular lily, and what we now call so; but only expresses the place where it grows, in low places, where plants are in danger of being plucked and trodden upon; though they may have more moisture and verdure than those in higher places; so the church of Christ is sometimes in a low estate, exposed to enemies, and liable to be trampled and trodden under foot by them, and to be carried away with the flood of persecution, were it not guarded by divine power; and, being watered with the dews of grace, it becomes flourishing and fruitful. But the more commonly received opinion is, that these are the words of Christ concerning himself; and which indeed best become him, and are more agreeable to his style and language, Joh 14:6; and suit best with the words in the So 2:2, as one observes {a}; nor is it unfitly taken by the bridegroom to himself, since it is sometimes given by lovers to men {b}. Christ may be compared to a rose for its colour and smell; to the rose for its red colour: and which may be expressive of the truth of his humanity, and of his bloody sufferings in it; and this, with the whiteness of the lily, finishes the description of him for his beauty, So 5:10; and for its sweet smell; which denotes the same things for which he is before compared to spikenard, myrrh, and camphire. The rose, as Pliny says {c}, delights not in fat soils and rich clays, but in rubbish, and roses that grow there are of the sweetest smell; and such was the earth about Sharon {d}; and to a rose there Christ is compared, to show the excellency and preferableness of him to all others. The word is only used here and in Isa 35:1. Where it is in many versions rendered a "lily": it seems to be compounded of two words; one which signifies to "cover" and hide, and another which signifies a "shadow"; and so may be rendered, "the covering shadow": but for what reason a rose should be so called is not easy to say; unless it can be thought to have the figure of an umbrella; or that the rose tree in those parts was so large, as to be remarkable for its shadow; like that Montfaucon {e} saw, in a garden at Ravenna, under the shadow of the branches of which more than forty men could stand: Christ is sometimes compared to trees for their shadow, which is pleasant and reviving, as in So 2:3. Some render it, "the flower of the field" {f}; which may be expressive of the meanness of Christ in the eyes of men; of his not being of human production; of his being accessible; and of his being liable to be trampled upon, as he has been. And as he is compared to a rose, so to a "lily", for its colour, height, and fruitfulness; expressive of his purity in himself, of his superiority to angels and men, and of his being filled with the fruits and blessings of grace; and to a lily of the valleys, denoting his wonderful condescension in his low estate of humiliation, and his delight in dwelling with the humble and lowly: some render the words, "I am the rose of Sharon, with the lily of the valleys" {g}; by the former epithet meaning himself; and by the latter his church, his companion, in strict union and communion with him; of whom the following words are spoken.



{t} Zohar in Gen. fol. 46. 2. Targum, Aben Ezra, & Yalkut in loc. {u} Ainsworth, Brightman, Vatablus; Cocceius; Michaelis. {w} The rose, by the Arcadians, was called euomfalon, that is, "sweet-smelling", Timachidas apud Athenaei Deipnosophist. l. 15. c. 8. p. 682. and "rosy" is used for "beautiful"; "rosea cervice refulsit", Virgil. Aeneid. l. 1. Vid. Servium in ibid. {x} So Helena, for her beauty, is called rodocrwv elena, in Theocrit. Idyll. 19. The rose was sacred to Venus, Pausaniae Eliac. 2. sive l. 6, p. 391. {y} Vid. Barthii Animadv. ad Claudian. de Nupt. Honor. v. 247. {z} Nat. Hist. l. 21. c. 5. {a} Durham in Ioc. {b} "Mea rosa", Plauti Bacchides, Sc. 1. v. 50. Asinaria, Act. 3, Sc. 3. v. 74. Curculio, Act. 1. Sc. 2. v. 6. {c} Nat. Hist. l. 21. c. 4. {d} Misnah Sotah, c. 8. s. 3. {e} Diar. Italic, c. 7. p. 100. {f} anyov tou pediou, Sept. "flos campi", V. L. Pagninus, Mercerus. {g} "Ego rosa Sharon lilio vallium", Marckius.







Song of Solomon 2:2



Ver. 2. As the lily among thorns, so [is] my love among the daughters. These are manifestly the words of Christ concerning his church, whom he calls "my love", See Gill on "So 1:9"; and was his love still, though in such company, and in such an uncomfortable condition. In what sense she is comparable to a lily has been shown in So 2:1; but here she is compared to one among "thorns": by which may be meant wicked men, comparable to thorns for their unfruitfulness and unprofitableness; for their being hurtful and pernicious to good men; and for their end, which is to be burned; especially persecutors of religion, who are very distressing to the saints who dwell among them; see 2Sa 23:6; and her being among such serves for a foil, to set off her excellency the more: and the simile is designed, not so much to observe that Christ's lily grows among thorns, as to show that the church is as preferable to such persons as a lily is to thorns; which is justly remarked by Carolus Maria de Veil; and which sense the comparison requires, as appears by the reddition, so is "my love among the daughters": the nations and men of the world, and even carnal professors, members of the visible church, whom she as much exceeds in beauty, grace, and fruitfulness, as the lily exceeds thorns. Ainsworth thinks the "woodbind" or "honeysuckle" is meant, which grows in thorn hedges, and is sometimes called "lilium inter spinas", as Mercer observes; this is indeed of a sweet smell, yet very weak, and cannot support itself; and therefore twists and wraps itself about other trees, their twigs and branches, "convolvens se adminiculis quibuscunque", as Pliny {h} says; hence we call it "woodbind", and for the same reason its name in Greek is "periclymenon"; so saints are of a sweet fragrance to Christ, and, weak in themselves, cannot support themselves; yet they twine about Christ, lean on him, and are upheld by him, and depend on him for all good things. But it is the same word as in So 2:1, and may be rendered "lily" here as there; and not a "rose", as it is in the Targum, from which it is there distinguished. The lily is often mentioned in this love song; it is said to be the delight of Verus {i}. Some call it "ambrosia".



{h} Nat. Hist. l. 27. c. 12. {i} Nicander apud Athenaeum, l. 15. c. 8. p. 683.







Song of Solomon 2:3



Ver. 3. As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so [is] my beloved among the sons,.... As the apple tree, in a garden or orchard, excels and is preferable to the wild barren trees of a forest {k}, especially it appears so when laden with choice fruit; so the church, who here returns the commendation to Christ, asserts, that he as much excels all the "sons", the creatures of God, angels or men: angels, as the Targum, who, though sons of God by creation, Christ is the Son of God, in a higher sense; he is their Creator, and the object of their worship; they are confirmed by him in the estate they are, and are ministering spirits to him; and he is exalted above them in human nature: men also, the greatest princes and monarchs of the earth, are sometimes compared to large and lofty trees; but Christ is higher than they, and is possessed of far greater power, riches, glory, and majesty. All the sons of Adam in general may be meant; wicked men, who are like forest trees, wild, barren, and unfruitful; yea, even good men, Christ has the pre-eminence of them, the sons of God by adopting grace; for he is so in such a sense they are not; he is their Creator, Lord, Head, Husband, and Saviour, and they have all their fruit from him; and so ministers of the word have their gifts and grace from him, and therefore Christ excels all that come under this appellation of sons. Christ may be compared to an apple tree, which is very fruitful; and, when full of fruit, very beautiful; and whose fruit is very cooling, comforting, and refreshing. Christ is full of the fruits and blessings of grace, which are to be reached by the hand of faith, and enjoyed; and as he is full of grace and truth, he looks very beautiful and glorious in the eye of faith; and which blessings of grace from him, being applied to a poor sensible sinner, inflamed by the fiery law, and filled with wrath and terror, sweetly cool, refresh, and comfort him. The apple tree has been accounted an hieroglyphic of love, under which lovers used to meet, and sit under its delightful shade, and entertain each other with its fruit; to which the allusion may be; see So 8:5; the apple was sacred to love {l}. The Targum renders it, the pome citron, or citron apple tree; which is a tree very large and beautiful; its fruit is of a bitter taste, but of a good smell; always fruit on it; is an excellent remedy against poison, and good for the breath, as naturalists {m} observe; and so is a fit emblem of Christ, in the greatness of his person, in the fulness, of his grace, in the virtue of his blood, and righteousness and grace, which are a sovereign antidote against the poison of sin; and whose presence, and communion with him, cure panting souls, out of breath in seeking him; and whose mediation perfumes their breath, their prayers, whereby they become grateful to God, which otherwise would be strange and disagreeable;



I sat down under his shadow with great delight: under the shadow of the apple tree, to which Christ is compared; whose person, blood, and righteousness, cast a shadow, which is a protecting one, from the heat of divine wrath, from the curses of a fiery law, from the fiery darts of Satan, and from the fury of persecutors, Isa 25:4; and is a cooling, comforting, and refreshing one, like the shadow of a great rock to a weary traveller, Isa 32:2; and though the shadow of some trees, as Pliny {n} observes, is harmful to plants that grow under them, others are fructifying; and such is Christ; "they that dwell under his shadow shall revive and grow", &c. Ho 14:7. "Sitting" here supposes it was her choice; that she preferred Christ to any other shadow, looking upon him to be a suitable one in her circumstances, So 1:6; it intimates that peace, quietness, satisfaction, and security, she enjoyed under him; it denotes her continuance, and desire of abiding there, Ps 91:1; for the words may be rendered, "I desired, and I sat down" {o}; she desired to sit under the shade of this tree, and she did; she had what she wished for; and she sat "with great delight": having the presence of Christ, and fellowship with him in his word and ordinances, where Christ is a delightful shade to his people;



and his fruit [was] sweet to my taste; the fruit of the apple tree, to which the allusion is. Solon {p} advised the bride to eat a quince apple before she went into the bridegroom, as leaving an agreeable savour; and intimating how graceful the words of her mouth should be. By "his fruit" here are meant the blessings of grace, which are Christ's in a covenant way, come through his sufferings and death, and are at his dispose; such as peace, pardon, justification, &c. and fresh discoveries and manifestations of his love, of which the apple is an emblem: and these are sweet, pleasant, and delightful, to those that have tasted that the Lord is gracious; whose vitiated taste is changed by the grace of God, and they savour the things of the Spirit of God.



{k} "Quantum lenta solent inter viburna cupressi", Virgil. Bucolic. Eclog. 1. v. 26. "Lenta salix", &c. Eclog. 5. v. 16. {l} Scholiast. in Aristoph. Nubes, p. 180. The statue of Venus had sometimes an apple in one hand, and a poppy in the other, Pausan. Corinth. sive l. 2. p. 103. {m} Athenaei Deispnosoph. l. 3. c. 7. p. 83. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 11. c. 53. & 12. c. 3. Solin. Polyhistor. c. 59. Macrob. Saturnal. l. 3. c. 19. {n} Nat. Hist. l. 17. c. 12. {o} ytbvyw ytdmx "concupivi, et sedi", Pagninus, Montanus, Mercerus, Marckius. {p} Plutarch. Conjug. Praecept. vol. 2. p. 138.







Song of Solomon 2:4



Ver. 4. He brought me to the banqueting house,.... Or "into" it {q}. The "house of wine" {r}, as it is literally in the original; either the "wine cellar" {s}, as some, where stores of it were kept; or, the "place of fasting" {t}, as others, and, as we render it, a "banqueting house"; where it was distributed and drank; a banquet of wine being put for a feast, and here the nuptial feast; and may design the Gospel feast in the house of God, where there is plenty of the wine of Gospel truths, and provisions of rich food, with which believers are sweetly refreshed and delightfully regaled: and to be brought hither, under the drawings and influences of divine grace, is a special privilege, a distinguishing layout; and show a great condescension in Christ, the King of kings, and Lord of lords, to take his people by the hand, as it were, and introduce them into his house, so well furnished, and to a table so well spread: and so the church relates it as an instance of divine favour, and as a fresh token of Christ's love to her; which further appears by what follows: the covenant of grace and the Scriptures of truth may be thought of as a banqueting house, well stored with blessings, and promises, and rich provisions; which, to be led and let into, is a singular kindness;



and his banner over me [was] love; signifying, that she was brought into the banqueting house in a grand, stately, and majestic manner, with flying colours; the motto on which inscribed was "love"; the allusion may be to the names of generals being inscribed on the banners of their armies; so Vespasian's name was inscribed on the banners throughout his armies {u}. Christ's name, inscribed on his, was "love", his church's love; and by which his company or band was distinguished from all others, even by electing, redeeming, calling love. It may signify the security and protection of the saints, while in the house of God, and enjoying communion with him, being under the banner of love, with which they are encompassed as a shield; and it may denote the very manifest and visible displays of it, which the church now experienced.



{q} la "in", Pagninus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Marckius, Michaelis. {r} Nyyh tyb "domum vini", Pagninus, Montanus, &c. {s} "Cellam vinariam", Tigurine version. {t} "Locum convivii", Junius & Tremellius. {u} Suetonii Vita Vespasian. c. 6.





Song of Solomon 2:5



Ver. 5. Stay me with flagons,.... Of wine, which is a supporter of the animal spirits {w}. The church was now in a house of wine, where was plenty of it; even of the love of Christ, compared to wine, and preferred unto it, So 1:2; the church though she had had large discoveries of it, desired more; and such that have once tasted of this love are eagerly desirous of it, and cannot be satisfied until they have their fill of it in heaven: the flagons, being vessels in which wine is put, and from thence poured out, may signify the word and ordinances, in which the love of Christ is displayed and manifested; the church desires she might be stayed and supported hereby, while she was attending on Christ in them;



comfort me with apples; with exceeding great and precious promises; which, when fitly spoken and applied, are "like apples of gold in pictures of silver", Pr 25:11; and are very comforting: or rather, with fresh and greater manifestations of his love still; for the apple is an emblem of love, as before observed; for one to send or throw an apple to another indicated love {x}. It may be rendered, "strew me with apples" {y}; in great quantities, about me, before me, and under me, and all around me, that I may lie down among them, and be sweetly refreshed and strengthened: the words, both in this and the former clause, are in the plural number; and so may be an address to the other two divine Persons, along with Christ, to grant further manifestations of love unto her, giving the following reason for it:



for I [am] sick of love; not as loathing it, but as wanting, and eagerly desirous of more of it; being, as the Septuagint version is, "wounded" {z} with it; love's dart stuck in her, and she was inflamed therewith: and "languished" {a}; as the Vulgate Latin version is; with earnest desires after it; nor could she be easy without it, as is the case of lovers.



{w} "Vino fulcire venas cadentes", Senecae Ep. 95. {x} "Malo me Galatea petit", Virgil. Bucolic. Eclog. 3. v. 64. Vid. Theocrit. Idyll. 3. v. 10. & Idyll. 6. v. 6, 7. & Suidam in voce

mhlon. {y} ynwdpr "sternite ante me", so some in Vatablus; "substernite mihi", Tigurine version, Piscator. {z} tetrwmhnh, Sept. {a} "Langueo amore", V. L. so Michaelis; "aegrotus" is used in this sense, in Terent. Heautont. l. 1.







Song of Solomon 2:6



Ver. 6. His left hand [is] under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me. The church, having desired to be stayed, supported, strengthened, and comforted, presently found her beloved with her, who with both hands sustained her; which shows his tender love to her, care of her, and regard for her; and is expressive of the near and intimate communion she had with him, as the effect of union to him, often enjoyed in his house and ordinances; likewise of blessings of every kind she received from him; temporal, mercies, or left hand blessings, which are necessary to support and carry through this wilderness; and spiritual, or right hand blessings, as justification, pardon, adoption, &c. and, moreover, may denote the safety and security of the church, being encircled in the arms of her beloved, sustained by Christ's left hand, and embraced by his right hand, out of whose hands none can pluck. Some read the words prayer wise, "let his left hand be", &c. {b}; still desiring further tokens of his love to her, and more and nearer communion with him: others read it in the future, "his left hand will be", &c. {c}; "his right hand shall embrace", &c. expressing the strength of her faith that she should for the future enjoy his gracious presence; and that he would support her, that she should not sink and faint.



{b} Tigurine version, some in Mercer. Marckius; so Ainsworth. {c} V. L. Pagninus Montanus.







Song of Solomon 2:7



Ver. 7. I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem,.... Of whom, see So 1:5. There is some difficulty in these words, whether they are spoken by the church, or by Christ: according to our version, they are the words of the church, and bids fair to be the sense; since they are spoken to the virgins, her companions, that waited on her; and the manner of speech is not by way of command, as by way of adjuration; and the matter, style, and language of it, Christ being the church's love; and the phrase, "till he please", best agrees with his sovereignty and authority, who is at liberty to stay with, and remove from, his people at pleasure; and the context and scope of the place seem to confirm it; the church, enjoying communion with Christ, chooses not that he should be disturbed, and by any means be caused to depart from her. Others think they are the words of Christ, and not without reason; since it was the church that was in Christ's arms, and fallen asleep in them; and the phrase, "my love", is used by Christ concerning his church, So 7:6; and not this, but another, is used by her concerning him; and besides, both the word for "my love", and that which is rendered "he please", are feminine, and best agree with her, "that ye stir not up, the" or "this love, until she please"; so Michaelis {d} interprets and renders the word for "love [by] this lovely one"; the word is very emphatic, the love, the famous love, the well known love {e}: add to which, the following words seem to confirm this sense, "the voice of my beloved", which she had heard, adjuring the daughters of Jerusalem. This charge is made,



by the roes, and by the hinds of the field; not that either Christ or his church swore by them; but the words may be descriptive of the persons addressed by the creatures, among whom they were feeding their flocks, or whom they delighted to hunt {f}; or were loving and lovely creatures, as they: and the charge is, that they would continue among them, and mind their business, and give no disturbance to Christ or the church; or these creatures are called as witnesses to this charge, which, if not observed, would be brought against them: or the charge is made by all that is dear, these being pleasant and lovely creatures, that they would not interrupt the mutual communion of Christ and his church; or it may be a severe threatening, that, should they disregard the charge, they should become food as common as roes and hinds; and that they should be as cautious of stirring up and awaking the person meant as they would be of starting those timorous creatures. The charge is,



that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please; or, "till she please"; if it is the charge of the church, it may lead to observe, that Christ is the object of the church's love; and that she is his resting place; that he may not be disturbed and raised up from it by an unfriendly behavior toward him, or by animosities among themselves; that saints should be very careful that they do not provoke Christ to depart from them; and that communion with him is entirely at his pleasure, when and how long it shall continue; it depends as much upon his sovereign will as the first acts of his grace towards them. But if this is the charge of Christ, not to disturb his church, then it may be observed, that the church is the object of Christ's love, and always continues so; that the church sleeps and takes her rest in Christ's arms; which is not to be understood of a criminal drowsiness and sleep, but of comfortable repose and rest, Christ gives his beloved ones, in communion with himself; that he loves and delights in the company of his people, and would not have them disturbed in their fellowship with him; and though, while grace is in exercise, saints are desirous of enjoying Christ's presence always; yet, when it is otherwise, they become indifferent to it, which provokes Christ to depart from them; and therefore it is said, "till she please": and as this charge is given to the "daughters of Jerusalem", young converts, or weak believers; it suggests, that they are apt to disturb both Christ and his church; to disturb Christ by their impatience and frowardness, like children; hence the church acts the part of a mother charging her children to be quiet, and not disturb her loving husband, while she enjoyed his company; and to disturb the church, through their weakness, not being able to bear the sublime doctrines of the Gospel, and through their ignorance of Gospel order.



{d} Not. in Lowth Praelect. de Poes. Heb. p. 158. {e} So lovers are frequently called "Amor et Amores", "love and loves", vid. Theocrit. Idyll. 2. & Ovid. Briseis Achilli, v. 12. Plauti Curculio, Act. 2. Sc. 3. v. 78. Miles, Act. 4. Sc. 8. v. 67. Poenulus, Act. 5. Sc. 3. v. 49. Mostell. arg. v. 1. Persa, arg. v. 1. {f} "Virginibus Tyriis mos est gestare pharetram", Virgil. Aeneid. l. 1.







Song of Solomon 2:8



Ver. 8. The voice of my beloved!.... So says the church, who well knew Christ her beloved's voice; which is known by all believers in him, and is distinguished by them from the voice of others; by the majesty and authority of it; by the power and efficacy of it; by its directing them to himself, and by the pleasure it gives them: and she speaks of it as being very delightful to her; it being the voice of him whom she loved, and a voice of love, grace, and mercy, of peace, pardon, righteousness, and salvation; and, being observed before, what follows shows that Christ is heard before he is seen; he is first heard of in the Gospel, before he is seen, by an eye of faith: and such would have others observe the voice of Christ as well as they, for here the church speaks to the daughters of Jerusalem; and it seems by this, that, by some means or another, Christ had been disturbed, and had departed from the church for a while, and was now upon the return to her, which made his voice the more joyful to her;



behold, he cometh, leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills; this may be, understood, either of Christ's first coming in the flesh, much prophesied of, long expected, and was very welcome: this was attended with many difficulties, comparable to mountains and hills; that he the Son of God should become man; that he should obey, suffer, and die for men, fulfil the law, satisfy justice, atone for sin, and save from all enemies; but those which seemed insuperable were easily surmounted by Christ: or of his spiritual coming; sometimes he withdraws himself, and then returns again, and faith, spying him at a distance, rejoices at his nearer approach; for impediments in his way, occasioned by the unbelief, carnality, lukewarmness, backslidings, and ingratitude of his people, are removed and got over by him, nothing being able to separate from his love; and his coming, either way, is with all readiness, swiftness, speed, and haste. And a "behold" is prefixed to this, as a note of admiration and attention; and is so, whether applied to the one or other. Christ's incarnation was matter of wonder, "behold, a virgin", &c. Isa 7:14; and so his manifestation of himself to his people, and not to others, is marvellous, "Lord, how is it", &c. Joh 14:22; and both comings are visible, glorious, and delightful. Ambrose {g} has these remarkable words, by way of paraphrase, on this passage,



"Let us see him leaping; he leaped out of heaven into the virgin, out of the womb into the manger, out of the manger into Jordan, out of Jordan to the cross, from the cross into the tomb, out of the grave into heaven.''



The allusion is to the leaping of a roe, or a young hart, as in So 2:9, which is remarkable for its leaping, even one just yeaned {h}; so a young hart is described, by the poet {i}, as leaping to its dam the leap of one of these creatures is very extraordinary {k}.



{g} Enarrat. in Psal. cxviii. octon. 7. p. 917. {h} Vid. Dionys. Perieg. v. 843, 844. {i} nebrov aloito, &c. Theocrit. Idyll. 8. prope finem. {k} "The hart is said to leap sixty feet at a leap", Bochart. Hierozoic. par. 2. l. 3. c. 17. col. 882.







Song of Solomon 2:9



Ver. 9. My beloved is like a roe, or a young hart,.... The church, upon the swift and speedy approach of Christ unto her, compares him to these creatures; which are well known for their swiftness {l} in running, and agility in leaping, as before observed: and, besides these things, Christ may be compared to them on other accounts; they are pleasant and lovely, choice and valuable; bear an antipathy to serpents, which they easily overcome; are very good for food, and very agreeable, and are long lived creatures {m}; Christ is lovely and amiable in his person, and high in the esteem of his divine Father, angels and men; is choice and excellent in his nature, offices, and grace; bears an antipathy to the old serpent, the devil, whose works and powers he came to destroy, and has got an entire victory over them; and is very agreeable food to faith; his flesh is meat indeed, and the more so through his sufferings and death; as the flesh of those creatures is said to be the more tender and agreeable, by being hunted; and Christ, though dead, is alive, and lives for evermore;



behold, he standeth behind our wall; not the middle wall of the ceremonial law, behind which, Christ, under the Old Testament dispensation, stood, showing himself to believers; nor the wall of our humanity he partook of, when he came in the flesh, and under which his glorious deity was in some measure covered and hid; but rather the wall of our hearts, Jer 4:19; the hardness, infidelity, and carnal reasonings of it, which are so many walls of separation between Christ and his people; behind which he stands, showing his resentment of them, and in order to demolish them, and get admittance: he is represented here, as nearer than when she first saw him, even at her very home;



he looketh forth at the windows; this is coming nearer still; for, by the manner of the expression, it seems that he was within doors, since he is said, not to look through the windows, but to look forth at them, meaning the ordinances; which are that to the church as windows to a house, the means of letting in light into the souls of men; and where Christ shows himself, in his glory and beauty, as kings and great personages look out at windows to show themselves to their people: though Christ may also be said to look in at, those windows, to observe the behaviour of his people in his house and ordinances, with what attention, affection, faith, and reverence, they wait upon him in them;



showing himself through the lattice; by which may be meant the same things, only a larger and clearer discovery of Christ in them, of which ordinances are the means; and yet, unless Christ shows himself through them, he cannot be seen in them: and a "behold" being prefixed to these gradual discoveries of himself, show them to be wonderful! a glance of him behind the wall is surprising; his looking in at the windows still more so; but his showing himself, in all his glories and excellencies, through the lattice, is enough to throw into the greatest rapture, to fill with joy unspeakable and full of glory! Some render the word "flourishing" {n}, like a rose or lily, or like a vine, or jessamine; which grow up by a window or lattice, and, seen through them, took very pleasant and delightful. But the allusion is rather to the quick sighted roe, or young hart; which, as it is remarkable for its swiftness, referred to, So 2:8, so for the sharpness of its sight; Pliny {o} says it is never dim sighted; it has its name "dorcas", in Greek, from its sight.



{l} "Cervi veloces", Virgil. Aeneid. 5. v. 253. {m} Vid. Pausaniae Arcad. sive l. 8. p. 472. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 32. Aelian de Animal. l. 2. c. 9. Solin. Polyhistor. c. 31, Frantz. Animal, Sacr. par. 1. c. 15. {n} Uyum "efflorescens", Piscator, Michaelis, so Ainsworth. {o} Nat. Hist. l. 28. c. 11.







Song of Solomon 2:10



Ver. 10. My beloved spake, and said unto me,.... Christ, the church's beloved, being so near her, she could distinctly hear and understand what he spoke, and relate the very words: or, "he answered to me" {p}; to a secret petition, put up to him for a more full enjoyment of him; for there is mental as well as vocal prayer, which Christ, as God omniscient, knows full well, and gives answer to: of this may be an answer to her petitions in So 2:5; and as some in So 2:6; however, Christ said something after related, that she well knew he spake, and not another, and to her in particular. What he said follows:



Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away; the affectionate and endearing titles of "love" and "fair one", have been met with and explained, on So 1:5; and are repeated to show his ardent love to her, notwithstanding the frame she was in, which was very probably a slothful one, by the exhortations given; and to remove her discouragements, arising from her present state; and to prevail upon her to get up from her bed of carnal sloth and security, at least to shake off her indolence; and to quit her seat and company, and go along with him, or where he should direct, since it would be to her own advantage: for the words may be rendered, "rise up for thyself, and come away for thyself" {q}; it will turn to thy account, and to do otherwise will be detrimental to thee. The arguments follow.



{p} hne "respondit", Montanus, Vatablus, Piscator, Marckius, Michaelis. {q} Kl yklw Kl ymwq "surge tibi, et abi tibi", Montanus, Cocceius, so Vatablus, Marckius.





Song of Solomon 2:11



Ver. 11. For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over [and] gone. A season of the year which keeps persons within doors, makes going abroad unsafe, unpleasant, and uncomfortable; very unfit for travelling, roads bad, rivers impassable, and journeying very difficult; but now this season being over, and the spring come, the weather fair, and every thing gay and pleasant, it is inviting to be abroad; winter is by some writers {r} used not for the season of the year, but for a storm or tempest. Thus the winter and rain may be descriptive of the state and condition of Jews and Gentiles before the coming of Christ {s}, and which then ceased; it having been a stormy dispensation with the one, and a time of darkness and ignorance with the other, Heb 12:18; or rather it may in general represent the state of God's people both before and after conversion; before conversion it is a time of darkness, coldness, barrenness, and unfruitfulness; and which are removed by the powerful and efficacious grace of Christ: and after conversion it is often a winter season with them, through the blustering winds of Satan's temptations; the storms of impending wrath for sin, as they imagine; the nipping blasts of persecution, and sharp and severe afflictions they are at times exposed unto: moreover, they are often in great darkness of soul, clouds interpose between Christ and them; a great deal of coldness attends them, their hearts are frozen up and hard, and no impression made on them by the preaching of the word, or by the providences of God; there is a coolness in their love to God and Christ, his people, ordinances, cause, and interest; great barrenness and unfruitfulness in them, they look like trees in winter, and no appearance of fruit on them; their hands are sealed up from working, and they become indolent and inactive; and by all these fellowship with Christ is greatly interrupted: but, when the spring returns again, light breaks in upon them, and their hearts are melted with a sense of love; they become lively in their frames, and in the exercise of grace, and are fruitful in good works; and enjoy much calmness and serenity, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost: sometimes they think the winter is not over when it is, and fear more storms are behind, even of divine wrath and vengeance, though without reason; since Christ has bore all wrath for them, and has satisfied law and justice, and has delivered them from wrath to come; and he that has done this says, "the winter is past", &c.



{r} "Grandaevumque patrem supplex, miseranda rogabo unam hyemem", Statii Achill. l. 1. v. 50, 51. Vid. Valer. Flacc. l. 1. v. 197. {s} "Ante adventum Christi hyems erat, venit Christus, fecit aestatem", Ambros. Enarrat. in Paul. cxviii. octon. 7. p. 821.





Song of Solomon 2:12



Ver. 12. The flowers appear on the earth,.... One of the first signs of the spring being come {t}; and make the season delightful and pleasant; the sun returning with its warming influences, herbs and plants are quickened and spring up; fields and meadows, as well as gardens, are covered with a variety of beautiful flowers, which make walking abroad very delightful. By these "flowers" may be meant either the graces of the spirit in the saints, which, when a wintertime with them, seem to be dead, at least are hid; but, upon a return of the sun of righteousness, revive and are seen again: or the saints themselves, when in a flourishing condition, and in the exercise of grace; who may be compared to the flowers of the field for the production of them in the spring, which is a kind of re-creation of them, Ps 104:30; and fitly expresses the renovation of the Holy Ghost, to which the revival of them is owing; and for the fragrancy of them, their persons and services being of a sweet savour through the grace and righteousness of Christ; and for their beauty and ornament to the fields in which they grow, as saints are through Christ in themselves, and to the churches and interest of Christ; and for the gaiety and cheerfulness in which the flowers appear in the spring season, and so a proper emblem of the joy and consolation of the saints; where grace revives, Christ returns, and they are favoured with communion with him. It may not be improper to observe, that this may represent the large conversions of souls to Christ, and the numerous appearance of so many beautiful flowers in the church of Christ in the first ages of Christianity, after a long winter of Jewish and Gentile darkness;



the time of the singing [of birds] is come; another sign of spring, and suits the Gospel dispensation, in which the churches of Christ, and the members of them, sing the praises of the Lord in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs; and particularly young converts, those little birds that sing in warbling notes and tuneful lays the songs of electing, redeeming, calling, justifying, pardoning, and adopting grace, to the glory of God, and to their mutual comfort and edification. Some render it, "the time of the branch" {u}, of the vine putting forth its branches; or "the time of cutting" {w}, of pruning vines, of lopping trees, and cutting off unfruitful branches; as in the Gospel dispensation, when the Jewish branches were broken off, and the Gentiles were ingrafted in, and being pruned brought forth more fruit; and this agrees with the season of the year, the spring being the time of cutting and pruning vines {x}; though this is by some objected to as unseasonable;



and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; so one part of rural pleasures is described by the poet {y}, not only by the singing of birds of various kinds, but particularly by the note of the turtle; which is a kind of dove that lies hid in the wintertime, or is gone, being a bird of passage, and appears and returns at the spring, when its voice is heard again {z}; see Jer 8:7; for its voice is never heard in winter, unless on a fine day {a}; by which may be meant, not the voice of the law, as the Jewish writers {b}, rather of the Gospel, the joyful sound, which for a while was heard only in the land of Judea, called by way of specialty "our land": but either of the voice of the Messiah himself {c}, preaching the everlasting Gospel in the land of Israel when here on earth; or of John the Baptist his forerunner; and so Alshech interprets it of Elijah, who was to come before the Messiah, and refers to Mal 4:5. It may design the voice of all the apostles of Christ, and first ministers of the Gospel {d}; or of the Holy Ghost, as the Targum, who appeared as a dove at Christ's baptism; and whose voice in the hearts of his people, speaking peace and pardon, and witnessing their adoption, causes joy and gladness; or of the church itself, compared to a turtledove for its harmlessness, meekness, chastity, &c. whose voice in prayer and praise is heard, and is acceptable to Christ, So 2:14.



{t} "Ver praebet flores", Ovid. de Remed. Amor. l. 1. v. 188. "Omnia tum florent", ibid. Metamorph. l. 15. Fab. 9. So flowers are called

tekna earov, "the children of the spring", in Athenaei Deipnosoph. l. 13. c. 9. p. 608. "Vernus sequitur color, omnis in herbas turget humus", Claudian. de Rapt. Proserp. l. 2. v. 90. {u} rymzh te "tempus palmitis", Gussetius, p. 231. {w} kairov thv tomhv, Sept. "tempus putationis", V. L. Pagninus; so the Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions. {x} Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 17. c. 22. Hesiod. Opera & Dies, l. 2. {y} estene trugwn, Theocrit. Idyll. 7. {z} Plin. ut supra, l. 18. c. 28. {a} Myndius apud Athenaeum in Deipnosophist. l. 9. c. 11. p. 394. So Pliny, "hyeme mutis, vere vocalibus", l. 10. c. 35. Vid. l. 18. c. 28. {b} In Zohar in Gen. fol. 121. 3. {c} So Pesikta in Yalkut in loc. {d} Vid. Stockium, p. 1181.







Song of Solomon 2:13



Ver. 13. The fig tree putteth forth her green figs,.... Another sign of spring being come, nay, of its being pretty much advanced, since Christ makes this a token of summer being at hand, Mt 24:32. Theopompus {e} speaks of figs in the middle of the spring. This tree puts forth its fruit at once, and does not flower or blossom {f}, wherefore Hab 3:17 is wrongly translated;

See Gill on "Hab 3:17": though Arianus {g} speaks of its flowering: Aben Ezra thinks the word signifies the sweetening of the figs, and so points at the time when they are sweet and eatable. By the "fig tree" may be meant the saints putting forth their grace in exercise on Christ, who may be compared to fig trees for their leaves and fruit, and for the putting forth the latter before the former {h}; for the fig tree is a tree full of large leaves, which may be an emblem of a profession of religion, and of a conversation agreeably to it, which yet are no covering, only the righteousness of Christ is that, yet ought to be and are ornamental; and for the fruit of it, which is wholesome, pleasant, and delightful, as are the fruits of the Spirit, the fruits of grace and righteousness, fruits meet for repentance, which ought to appear before a profession of religion is made. If the Egyptian fig tree is meant, that is a very fruitful tree; it is said to bear fruit seven times a year, but ripens no other way than by scratching it with iron hooks {i}; and its wood cut down and cast into water, being dry, sinks, but when thoroughly wet will swim. Saints should bear fruit always, and ever continue to do so, even to old age; nor do any ever become fruitful until their hearts have been pricked and cut by the word of God; and they never grow better, or are more fruitful, than when attended with afflictions and tribulations; when they first enter into the waters of affliction, like Peter, they sink, but, when more used to them, they lift up their heads above them, and bear up with great courage and resolution. By the "green figs" may be meant the beginnings of grace in the soul, some stirrings of affection to Christ, desires of knowledge of him, pantings and breathings after his ordinances, love to his people; all which appear soon, are very imperfect, and, like unripe figs, liable to be shaken off; and it is a miracle of grace that the first impressions of it are not destroyed by the force of corruption and temptation; and it may be observed, that grace in its first appearance, though but small, is not despised, but taken notice of by Christ: yea, he makes use of it as exercised by young converts to stir up old professors, as here the church, to be more active and vigorous in it;



and the vines [with] the tender grape give a [good] smell; or "being in flower give a good smell" {k}, as the word is used in the Targum in

Isa 18:5; and that vines do flower appears from the same place, and from Ge 40:10; as well as is observed by naturalists and others {l}; and these flowers, and not the tender grapes, emit a sweet smell; and, as some say {m}, not in the vineyards only, but in the country round about; and these are fitly mentioned next to figs, since the black fig is by some called the sister of the vine {n}. By the vines may be intended distinct congregated churches of Christ, or particular believers; vines are very weak; and cannot bear up of themselves, must be fixed to some place, and be supported by something else; and being supported, will run up a great height, and bring forth much fruit. So saints are weak in themselves, and cannot support themselves; their strength is in Christ, and they are upheld by him, and have their dependence on him; and being supported by him they grow up to the stature of the fulness of Christ; and through their grafting into him, and abiding in him the true vine, bring forth much fruit to the glory of God, and such as is not to be found in others. The wood of the vine is of very little worth or use, Eze 15:2; and yet is very lasting. Pliny {o} ascribes a sort of an eternity to it. Believers in Christ, however weak and worthless they are in themselves, as are their best works and services, yet being in Christ they shall abide in him for ever, and never perish, but have everlasting life. And by the "tender grapes", or "flowers", may be designed either the graces of the spirit, as before; or rather young converts, the fruit of Christ's vines, the churches, who, though weak and tender, yet are dear to Christ; and when there is a large appearance of them, it is a great encouragement to churches, and promises a glorious vintage. And the "smell" of these vines, with their grapes and flowers, may intend the fragrancy, of believers through the righteousness of Christ on them, and the odour of their graces, as exercised on him; and the sweet savour of their godly conversation, observed by all about them.



Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away; repeated from So 2:10; which shows sluggishness on the part of the church, that she needed one exhortation after another; and great love on the part of Christ, that notwithstanding this he persists in calling her; and even importunity in him, that he will have no denial {p}: and it may be observed, that what is entertaining to most of the senses is mentioned to engage the church to arise and go along with her beloved; the flowery fields would be pleasing to her eye, the chirping birds to her ear, the sweet and ripening figs to her taste, and the refreshing odour of the vines to her smell.



{e} Apud Atheanei Deipnosoph. l. 3. c. 4. p. 77. {f} Plutarch. Sympos. l. 6. problem. 9. Macrob. Saturnal. l. 3. c. 20. {g} In Epictet. l. 16. c. 15. {h} Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 16. c. 26. {i} lbid. l. 13. c. 7. Athenaei Deipnosoph. l. 2. c. 11. p. 11. Solin. Polyhistor. p. 45. {k} rdmo "in flore constitutae", Mercerus, Michaelis; "vitis pars florens", Munster; "vineae florentes", Tigurine version; "nihil gratius florentis odore vitis", Ambros. Hexaemeron, l. 3. c. 12. {l} Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 16. c. 25. & l. 17. c. 22. "Si bene floruerit vinea", &c. Ovid. Fasti, l. 5. so Horat. Epod. Ode 16. v. 44. {m} Danaeus in Hos. xiv. 7. Levini Lemn. Herb. Biblic. c. 2. {n} Hipponax apud Athenaei Deipnosoph. l. 3. c. 4. p. 78. {o} Nat. Hist. l. 14. c. 1. {p} "Odit verus amor, nec patitur moras", Senecae Hercul. Fur. v. 587.







Song of Solomon 2:14



Ver. 14. O my dove,.... An epithet sometimes used by lovers {q}, and is a new title Christ gives to his church, to express his affection for her and interest in her; and to draw her out of her retirement, to go along with him. The dove is a creature innocent and harmless, beautiful, cleanly, and chaste; sociable and fruitful, weak and timorous, of a mournful voice, and swift in flying; all which is suitable to the church and people of God: they are harmless and inoffensive in their lives and conversations; they are beautiful through the righteousness of Christ on them, and the grace of the Spirit in them; they are clean through the word Christ has spoken, and having their hearts purified by faith; they are as chaste virgins espoused to Christ, and their love to him is single and unfeigned; they cleave to him, are fruitful in grace and good works; and the church being espoused to Christ brings forth many souls unto him in regeneration; saints carry on a social worship and delight in each other's company; they are weak and timorous, being persecuted and oppressed by the men of the world; and mourn for their own sins and others, and often for the loss of Christ's presence; and are swift in flying to him for safety and protection. Under this character the church is said to be



in the clefts of the rock, the usual place where the dove makes its nest, Jer 48:28; or retires to it for safety {r}. Adrichomius says {s}, there was a stone tower near Jerusalem, to the south of the mount of Olives, called "petra columbarum", "the rock of the doves", where often five thousand were kept at once, to which there may be an allusion here; or else it may have respect to the place where doves are forced to fly when pursued by the hawk, even into a hollow rock, as described by Homer {t}; and may be expressive of the state of the church under persecution, when obliged to flee into holes and corners, and caves of the earth; when the Lord is a hiding place to her, in his love, and grace, and power; and particularly Christ is the Rock of his people, so called for height, strength, and duration, and they are the inhabitants of this Rock; and who was typified by the rock in the wilderness, and particularly by that into the clefts of which Moses was put, when the glory of the Lord passed before him: moreover, the clefts of this rock may design the wounds of Christ, which are opened for the salvation of men; and where saints dwell by faith, and are secure from every enemy {u}. The Ethiopic version is, "in the shadow of the rock", to which Christ is compared, Isa 32:2; and so the Septuagint version, "in the covering of the rock", which is no other than the shade of it. Likewise the church is said to be



in the secret [places] of the stairs; Christ is the stairs or steps by which saints ascend up to God, have access to and communion with him; and the secret places may have respect to the justifying righteousness of Christ, and atonement by him, hidden to other men, but revealed to them; and whither in distress they betake themselves, and are sheltered from sin, law, hell, and death, and dwell in safety. Though as such places are dark and dusty, and whither the dove, or any other creature, may in danger betake itself, so upon the whole both this and the preceding clause may design the dark, uncomfortable, and solitary condition the church was in through fear of enemies; in which situation Christ addresses her, saying,



let me see thy countenance, or "face"; and encourages her to appear more publicly in, his house and courts for worship, and present herself before him, and look him full in the face, and with open face behold his glory, and not be shamefaced and fearful; not to be afraid of any thing, but come out of her lurking holes, and be seen abroad by himself and others, since the stormy weather was over, and everything was pleasant and agreeable;



let me hear thy voice; in prayer to him and praise of him, commending the glories and: excellencies of his person, and giving thanks to him for the blessings of his grace;



for sweet [is] thy voice; pleasant, harmonious, melodious, having a mixture of notes in it, as the word signifies; and so exceeds the voice of a natural dove, which is not very harmonious: Herodotus {w} makes mention of a dove that spoke with a human voice; and such a voice Christ's dove speaks with, and it is sweet; that is, pleasant and delightful to him, who loves to hear his people relate the gracious experiences of his goodness, and speak well of his truths and ordinances; prayer is sweet music to him, and praise pleases him better than all burnt offerings;



and thy countenance [is] comely; fair and beautiful, and therefore need not cover her face, or hang down her head, as if ashamed to be seen, since she was in the eye of Christ a perfection of beauty.



{q} "Mea columba", Plauti Casina, Act. 1. Sc. 1. v. 50. Doves were birds of Venus; her chariot was drawn by them, Chartar. de Imag. Deor. p. 218. Vid. Apulci Metamorph. l. 6. {r} "Quails spelunca subito commota columba, cui domus et dulces latebroso in pumice nidi", Virgil. Aeneid. 5. v. 213. {s} Theatrum Terrae S. p. 171. {t} Iliad. 21. v. 493, 494. {u} "In tegimento petrae", i.e. "tuta praesidio passionis meae et fidei munimento", Ambros. de Isaac, c. 4. p. 281. {w} Euterpe, sive l. 2. c. 55.







Song of Solomon 2:15



Ver. 15. Take us the foxes,.... Of which there were great numbers in Judea; see Jud 15:4; these words are directed not to angels, nor to civil magistrates, but to ministers of the word; but whether the words of Christ, or the church, is not easy to determine; some think they are the words of the church, who had hitherto been relating what Christ said to her, and who, having neglected her vineyard, So 1:6; and now stirred up by Christ to a greater care of it, expresses her concern for its flourishing; and therefore calls upon her attendants and companions, to assist in taking and destroying those which were harmful to it: but rather they seem to be the words of Christ continued; since they not only show the care of his vines, the churches; but express power and authority over those they are spoken to: and perhaps they may be the words of them both jointly; since the church, with Christ, and under him, has a right to stir up her officers to do their work, and fulfil their ministry, they have received of Christ for her service. By foxes may be meant false teachers, to whom the false prophets of old were compared, Eze 13:3; foxes are crafty and subtle creatures, malignant and mischievous, hungry and voracious, full of deceit and dissimulation, are of an ill smell, and abominably filthy; so false teachers walk in craftiness, use good words and fair speeches, and thereby deceive the hearts of the simple; their doctrines are pernicious, their heresies damnable, and they bring destruction on themselves and others; they are hungry after worldly substance, are greedy of it, and can never have enough; devour widows' houses, and make merchandise of men, to enrich themselves; they put on sheep's clothing, transform themselves into angels of light, mimic the voice of Gospel ministers, use their phrases and expressions, that they may not be easily discovered; and are abominable in their principles and practices, and to be shunned by all good men. Now ministers of the Gospel are ordered to take these, to detect them, and refute their errors, and reprove them sharply for them; and, after proper steps taken, to reject them, to cast them out of the vineyards, the churches, and keep them out. Even



the little foxes; heresies and heretics are to be nipped in the bud, before they increase to more ungodliness; otherwise errors, which may seem small at first, soon grow larger and spread themselves, and become fatal to the churches:



that spoil the vines; as foxes do, by gnawing the branches, biting the bark, making bare the roots, devouring the ripe grapes, and infecting all with their noxious teeth and vicious breath {x}: so false teachers make divisions and schisms in churches; disturb their peace; unsettle some, and subvert others; sap the foundation of religion, and corrupt the word of God; and therefore by all means to be taken, and the sooner the better;



for our vines [have] tender grapes: or "flowers";

See Gill on "So 2:13". The "vines" are the churches; the "tender grapes", or "flowers", young converts, which Christ has a particular regard unto, Isa 40:11; and these, having but a small degree of knowledge, are more easily imposed upon and seduced by false teachers; and therefore, for their sakes, should be carefully watched, and vigorously opposed, since otherwise a promising vintage is in danger of being spoiled. Christ, in this address, intimates, that not only he and the church, but, he ministers also, had an interest in the vines and tender grapes, as they have; see So 8:11; and therefore should be the more concerned for their welfare; hence he calls them "ours"; interest carries a powerful argument in it.



{x} Vid. Theocrit. Idyll. 1. v. 48, 49. & Idyll. 5. v. 112, 113. So soldiers are compared to foxes, because they eat the grapes in the countries they come into, Aristoph. Equites, Act 3. Sc. 1. p. 350.







Song of Solomon 2:16



Ver. 16. My beloved [is] mine, and I [am] his,.... These are the words of the church; who, having had such evidences of Christ's love to her, and care of her, expresses her faith of interest in him, and suggests the obligations she lay under to observe his commands. The words are expressive of the mutual interest had property Christ and his church have in each other: Christ is the church's, by the Father's gift of him to her, to be her Head, Husband, and Saviour; and by the gift of himself unto her, to be her Redeemer and ransom price; and by marriage, having espoused her to himself, in righteousness and lovingkindness; and by possession, he living and dwelling in her, by his Spirit and grace: the church also acknowledges herself to be his, as she was, by the Father's gift of her to Christ, as his spouse and bride, his portion and inheritance; and by purchase, he having bought her with his precious blood; and by the conquest of her, by his grace in effectual calling; and by a voluntary surrender of herself unto him, under the influence of his grace: hence all he is, and has, are hers, his person, fulness, blood, and righteousness; and therefore can want no good thing. Moreover, these words suggest the near union there is between Christ and his church; they are one in a conjugal relation, as husband and wife are one; which union is personal, of the whole person of Christ to the whole persons of his people; it is a spiritual one, they having the same Spirit, the one without measure, the other in measure; it is a vital one, as is between the vine and its branches; and it is a mysterious one, next to that of the union of the three Persons in the Godhead, and of the two natures in Christ; it is an indissoluble one, the everlasting love of Christ being the bond of it, which call never be dissolved; and from this union flow a communication of the names of Christ to his church, conformity to him, communion with him, and an interest in all he has. Likewise these phrases express the mutual affliction, complacency, and delight, Christ and his church have in each other; he is beloved by his church, and she by him; she seems to have a full assurance of interest in him, and to make her boast of him; excluding all other beloveds, as unworthy to be mentioned with him: of whom she further says,



he feedeth among the lilies; which is either an apostrophe to him, "O thou that feedest", &c. thou only art my beloved; or is descriptive of him to others, inquiring who he was, and where to be seen: the answer is, he is the person that is yonder, feeding among the lilies; either recreating and delighting himself in his gardens, the churches, where his saints are, comparable to lilies; See Gill on "So 2:1", and

See Gill on "So 2:2"; or feeding his sheep in fields where lilies grow: and it may be observed, it is not said, he feedeth on, or feeds his flock with lilies, but among them; for it is remarked {y}, that sheep will not eat them: or the sense may be, Christ feeds himself, and feeds his people, and feeds among them, as if he was crowned with lilies, and anointed with the oil of them; as was the custom of the ancients at festivals {z}, thought to be here alluded to by some who read the words, "that feeds"; that is, sups in or with lilies, being anointed and crowned with them. The lily is a summer flower {a}; the winter was now past, So 2:11.



{y} Tuccius in Soto Major in loc. {z} Vid. Fortunat. Schacc. Eleochrysm. Sacr. l. 1. c. 28. p. 137. {a} Theophrast. apud Athenaeum in Deipnosoph. l. 15. c. 7. p. 679.







Song of Solomon 2:17



Ver. 17. Until the day break, and the shadows flee away,.... Which may be connected with So 2:16; either with the former part, "my beloved is mine", &c. So 2:16; and then the sense is, as long as night and day continue, and God's covenant with both stands sure; so long union to Christ, and covenant interest in him, will abide: or with the latter part, "he feedeth among the lilies until", &c. even until his second coming: or with the next clause in this verse,



turn, my beloved; and so is a prayer for Christ's speedy coming to her, and continued presence with her, until the day should break: which may be understood either of the Gospel day made by the rising of Christ, the sun of righteousness, at his first coming in the flesh; when the shadows of the ceremonial law disappeared, Christ, the body and substance of them, being come, and the darkness of the Gentile world was scattered, through the light of the Gospel being sent into it: the words may be rendered, "until the day breathe", or "blow" {b}; and naturalists observe {c}, that, upon the sun's rising, an air or wind has been excited, and which ceases before the middle of the day, and never lasts so long as that; and on Christ's, the sun of righteousness, arising with healing in his wings, some cool, gentle, and refreshing breezes of divine grace and consolation were raised, which were very desirable and grateful: or this may be understood of Christ's second coming; which will make the great day of the Lord, so often spoken of in Scripture: and which suits as well with the Hebrew text, and the philosophy of it, as the former; for, as the same naturalists {d} observe, the wind often blows fresh, and fine breezes of air spring up at the setting as well as at the rising of the sun; see Ge 3:8; and may very well be applied to Christ's second coming, at the evening of the world; which will be a time of refreshing to the saints, and very desirable by them; and though it will be an evening to the world, which will then come to an end, with them there will be no more night of darkness, desertion, affliction, and persecution; the shadows of ignorance, infidelity, doubts, and fears, will be dispersed, and there will be one pure, clear, unbeclouded, and everlasting day; and till then the church prays, as follows:



turn, my beloved; that is, to her; who seemed to be ready to depart from her, or was gone; and therefore she desires he would turn again, and continue with her, until the time was come before mentioned: or, "turn about" {e}; surround me with thy favour and lovingkindness, and secure me from all enemies, until the glorious and wished for day comes, when I shall be out of fear and danger; or, "embrace me" {f}; as in So 2:6; during the present dispensation, which was as a night in comparison of the everlasting day;



and be thou like a roe, or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether; the same with Bethel, according to Adrichomius {g}; where were mountains, woody, set with trees, full of grass and aromatic plants; and so may be the same with the mountains of spices, So 8:14; where the Ethiopic version has Bethel; and so that and the Septuagint version, in an addition to So 2:9; here; see 2Ki 2:23; unless Bithron is meant, 2Sa 2:29; a place in Gilead, beyond Jordan, so called, because it was parted from Judea by the river Jordan: and the words are by some rendered, "the mountains of division or separation" {h}; which, if referred to Christ's first coming, may regard the ceremonial law, the wall of partition between Jew and Gentile, broke down by Christ, and the two people divided by it, which were reconciled by him; if to his spiritual coming, the same things may be intended by them as on So 2:9; but if to his second coming, the spacious heavens may be meant, in which Christ will appear, and which now interpose and separate from his bodily presence; and therefore the church importunately desires his coming with speed and swiftness, like a roe or a young hart, and be seen in them; see Re 22:10.



{b} xwpyv de ewv ou diapneush, Sept. "donec, vel dum spiret", Mercerus, Cocceius; "aspirat", Marckius; "spiraverit", Michaelis. {c} Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 2. c. 47. Senecae Nat. Quaest. l. 5. c. 8. {d} lbid. Aristot. Problem. s. 25. c. 4. "Adspirant aurae in noctem", Virgil. Aeneid. 7. v. 8. {e} bo "circui", Montanus, Sanctius; "circumito"; some in Michaelis. {f} "Complectere", Marckius. {g} Theatrum Terrae Sanctae, p. 16. {h} rtb yrh le "in montibus divisionis", Vatablus, Piscator; "scissionis", Cocceius; "dissectionis", Marckius; "sectionis vel separationis", Michaelis.



 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

Song of Solomon 3:1



INTRODUCTION TO SONG OF SOLOMON 3



In this chapter an account is given of an adventure of the church, in quest of her beloved; of the time when, and places where, and the persons of whom she sought him; and of her success upon the whole; with a charge she give to the daughters of Jerusalem, So 3:1; by whom she is commended, So 3:6; and then Christ, her beloved, is described by her; by his bed, and the guard about it, So 3:7; by the chariot he rode in, So 3:9; and by the crown he wore on his coronation day, So 3:11.



Ver. 1. By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth,.... The day being not yet broke, the night of Jewish darkness still on the church, and the shadow of the ceremonial law as yet stretched upon her; and having some knowledge of Christ by types and prophecies, desires more, and seeks it in the use of means: though the words may be taken in a more large sense, and represent the state and condition of the church and of all true believers in any age, and at one time as well as another; who, when their beloved is absent, it is "night" with them; as Christ's presence makes day, his absence makes night; and it was now night with the Church, either of affliction, or of darkness and desertion, and indeed of both. The word is plural, "by nights" {i}; one night after another, successively, she sought her beloved; which both expresses the continuance of her state, and her diligence and constancy in seeking Christ. The place where she sought him was "her bed"; not the same as in So 1:16; which was both Christ's and hers, and where a different word is used; but this was purely her own: either a bed of affliction, when good men usually seek the Lord, Isa 26:16 Ho 5:15; or rather of carnal ease and security, in which she continued, and rose not up from it to seek her beloved; which shows the cold, lukewarm, lazy frame she was in, and formal manner in which she sought him, and so succeeded not: however, he was stilt the person "whom [her] soul loved", cordially and sincerely, though not so fervently as she had done; true love, though it may be abated, cannot be lost;



I sought him, but I found him not; because she sought him not aright; not timely, nor fervently and diligently, nor in a proper place; not in her closet, by prayer, reading, and meditation, nor in public ordinances, she afterwards did; but on her bed.



{i} twlylb en nuxin, Sept. "per noctes", V. L. Junius & Tremeilius, Piscator; "in noctibus", Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine versions, Marckius, Michaelis.





Song of Solomon 3:2



Ver. 2. I will rise now,.... Perceiving she had taken a wrong method, and therefore unsuccessful, she fixes on another; and, in the strength of divine grace, determines to pursue it, and "now", at once, immediately, without any delay, "rise" from her bed of sloth and ease, and forego her carnal pleasures, in pursuit of her beloved; which showed the sincerity of her love to him;



and go about the city; not the city of Jerusalem, though there may be an allusion to it; but the spiritual city, of which saints are fellow citizens, where they dwell, and where the word is preached, and the ordinances are administered: and "going about" it, as she proposed, showed her diligence and industry in seeking him: and the night being an unseasonable time to walk about a city, especially for women, this is a further proof of her great love to Christ, in that she not only exposed herself to reproach and scandal, but to harm and danger also; but being fired with love, and fearless of danger {k}, and set on finding her beloved, she resolved to proceed, whatever she suffered. Hence she sought him



in the streets, and in the broad ways; that is, of the city, such as commonly are in cities; so Troy is described {l} as a city, having broad ways in it; and also Athens {m}: meaning the public ordinances of the Gospel, where he takes his walks, and often shows himself; in seeking him here, she was right, though she did not succeed;



I will seek him whom my soul loveth; her love was still the same, not abated, more likely to be increased through disappointment; nor was she discouraged, but was determined to go on seeking, till she found him;



I sought him, but I found him not; this was to chastise her for her former negligence; to try her faith, love, and patience; and to show that even the best means, though to be used, are not to be depended on; and that Christ has his own time and way to make himself known to his people, which depends on his sovereign will.



{k} "Audacem faciebat amor". Ovid. Metamorph. l. 4. Fab. 4. {l} Homer. Iliad. 2. v. 29, 66, 141, 329. & 14. v. 88. Odyss. 22. v. 230. {m} Ib. Odyss. 7. v. 80.







Song of Solomon 3:3



Ver. 3. The watchmen that go about the city found me,.... By whom are meant the ministers of the Gospel; who are called watchmen, as the prophets were under the Old Testament, Isa 52:8; in allusion to watchmen in cities; and are so called in regard to themselves, it being their duty to watch over themselves; and to their doctrine, and all opportunities to preach it, and the success of it: their business with respect to others is to give the time of night; to point out the state and condition of the church; to give notice of danger to sinners in the broad road to destruction; and to saints, through the prevalence of error, heresy, and immorality; all which require sobriety, vigilance, prudence, courage, and faithfulness; and show the necessity and utility of the Gospel ministry, and the awfulness of it; and the care Christ takes of his churches, in providing such officers in them. These are said to "go about the city", denoting their industry and diligence; and being in the way of their duty, they "found" the church, fell upon her case in their ministry, and hit it exactly; which shows the efficacy of the word under a divine direction; which finds out sinners, and their sins; saints, and their particular cases, unknown to ministers; and the church, having met with something suitable to her case under their ministry,



[to whom I said], took an opportunity privately to discourse with them, and put this question to them,



Saw ye him whom my soul loveth? meaning Christ; who was still the object of her love, and uppermost in her thoughts; whom she thus describes, without mentioning his name, as if he was the only "Him" in the world worthy of any regard; which shows how much he was in her mind, how much the desires and affections of her soul were towards him, and that these ministers needed no other description of him. No answer is returned to her question that is recorded; not because they were not able to give one, nor because they did not; and if they did not, it might be owing to her haste, not waiting for one; and if they did, she not being able to apply it to her case, no notice is taken of it: however, though she did not find immediate relief by them, yet she met with something from them that was of use to her afterwards, as appears by what follows.





Song of Solomon 3:4



Ver. 4. [It was] but a little that I passed from them,.... Either a small moment of time, as the Targum and Aben Ezra; or a little distance of place, that is, from the watchmen or ministers, from whom she passed; not through disrespect to them, much less contempt of them; nor because she received no benefit at all from them; but her going on shows she did not rest in means, but looked beyond them, and went on further in the exercise of her faith, and hope of finding her beloved: and meeting with him a little after she had passed from the ministers suggests that Christ is not far from his ministers and ordinances; for it follows,



but I found him whom my soul loveth; which she expresses with the utmost exultation and pleasure, which meeting with him must give her, after such long and fruitless searches, and so many disappointments; see Joh 1:41; and for Christ to show himself, without which there is no finding him, is a proof of the greatness of his love, and of the freeness and sovereignty of it; and that means, though to be used, are not to be depended on; nor should we be discouraged when they fail, since Christ can make himself known without them, as he did here to the church; who says,



I held him, and would not let him go; which on the part of the church is expressive of her faith in him, signified by laying hold on him, his person, righteousness, grace, and strength, Pr 3:18; and of her strong affection to him, grasping and embracing him in her arms of faith and love; and of her fear and jealousy lest he should depart from her again; and of her steady resolution to hold him, whatever was the consequence of it: and, on his part, it intimates a seeming offer to be gone; and a gracious allowance to lay hold on him; and his wonderful condescension to be held by her; and the delight and pleasure he took in the exercise of her faith upon him; for it was not against but with his will he was held by her; and this she determined to do, and not let go her hold,



until, says she,



I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chambers of her that conceived me; the allusion is to the tents and apartments women had in former times, distinct from their husbands, Ge 24:67; and all this may be understood either of the visible church, and the ordinances of it, the mother of all true believers, where they are born again, brought up and nourished; and where Christ may be said to be brought, when his name is professed, his Gospel is embraced, and his ordinances are submitted to; and here the church is desirous of introducing Christ, that she with others might magnify him, and praise him for all the instances of his grace and goodness, and have communion with him: or else the heart, and the inmost recesses of it, may be meant; where the incorruptible seed of divine grace is cast; where the new creature; conceived, born, and brought up, until it becomes a perfect man; and where Christ is desired to be, and to dwell by faith, and saints may have uninterrupted communion with him: unless the heavenly mansions are intended, the house of the Jerusalem above, the mother of us all; where saints long to be with Christ, enjoy him, and never lose his presence more; till then the church resolves to hold him fast in the arms of faith, hope, and love, and not let him go.





Song of Solomon 3:5



Ver. 5. I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem,.... Which are either the words of Christ, adjuring the young converts not to disturb the church; who had now Christ in her arms, taking repose with him, being wearied with running about in search of him: or they are the words of the church; who having experienced a long absence of Christ, and having been at much pains in search of him, and now had found him, was very unwilling to part with him; and fearing these young converts should by any unbecoming word or action provoke him to depart, she gives them a solemn charge;



by the roes and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please; See Gill on "So 2:7".





Song of Solomon 3:6



Ver. 6. Who [is] this that cometh out of the wilderness,.... This is said by the daughters of Jerusalem, adjured in So 3:5; who, upon the happy meeting of Christ and his church, saw a greater glory and beauty in her than they had seen before; and therefore put this question, not as ignorant of her, but as admiring at her. By the wilderness she is said to "come out" of is meant either a state of nature, as Theodoret; in which all the elect of God are before conversion, and out of which they are brought by efficacious grace; called a wilderness, because of the barrenness and unfruitfulness of persons in such a state; and because of the perplexed ways and tracks in it, which bewilder a man that he knows not which to take; and because of the want of spiritual provisions in it; and because of the danger men are exposed unto through holes and pits, and beasts of prey: in such a state God finds his people, convinces them of it, and brings them out of it; which is an instance of surprising and distinguishing grace: or else the world itself may be meant, the wilderness of the people, Eze 20:35; so called because of the roughness of the way, the many tribulations the saints pass through in it; and because of the traps and snares that are in it, through evil men, the lusts of the flesh, and the temptations of Satan; because of the many evil beasts in it, ungodly men, false teachers, and Satan the roaring lion; and because of the plentiful table God furnishes here for his people, feeding them in the wilderness with Gospel doctrines and spiritual ordinances, Re 12:14; and because of the many windings and turnings of Providence in it, through all which they are led in a right way to the city of their habitation: now though they are in the world, they are not of it; they are called out of it, and quit as much as may be the company and conversation of the men of it; and through the grace of God are more and more weaned from it, and long after another and better world; all which may be intended by their coming out of this: or else this may design a state of sorrow and distress when under desertion, and without the presence of Christ; which had lately been the case of the church, who had been in a bewildered condition, and not knowing where her beloved was, ran about here and there in quest of him, like one in a wood, seeking him and calling after him; but now having sight of him, and some communion with him, is represented as coming out of that state. She is further described as being



like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense; her heart being inflamed with love to Christ, her affections moved upwards, heavenwards, and were set on things above; and which were sincere and upright, rose up in the form of palm trees, as the word {n} signifies, a very upright tree; and these moved steadily towards Christ, and could not be diverted from him by the winds of temptation, affliction, and persecution; and though there might be some degree of dulness and imperfection in them, hence called "pillars of smoke"; yet being perfumed with the sweet smelling myrrh of Christ's sacrifice, and the incense of his mediation, became acceptable to God. It is added,



with all powders of the merchant: odorous ones, such are the graces of the Spirit, which Christ the merchantman is full of; and makes his people, their affections and prayers, of a sweet smelling savour with. Ben Melech interprets it of garments perfumed with spices; see

Ps 45:8; Some render the words, "above" or "more excellent than all powders of the merchant" {o}, druggist or apothecary {p}; no such drug nor spice to be found in their shops, that smell so sweet as Christ, his grace and righteousness.



{n} twrmytk "ut columnae ad formam palmae assurgntes", Buxtorf; "ut palmae", Mercerus, Cocceius; "instar palmarum", Tigurine version, Michaelis. {o} so Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Schmidt. {p} lkwr mureqou, Sept. "pigmentarii", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus; "pharmacopolae", Tigurine version; "seplasiarii", Mercerus, Cocceius; "aromatarii", Junius & Tremellius, Marckius.





Song of Solomon 3:7



Ver. 7. Behold his bed which [is] Solomon's,.... Not Solomon the son of David, and penman of this song, but a greater than he, the antitype of him; so it is interpreted of the Messiah by many Jewish writers {q}: they were both sons of David and sons of God, and kings and preachers in Jerusalem. Solomon was a type of Christ in his wisdom and wealth, in the largeness and peaceableness of his kingdom; in his marriage with Pharaoh's daughter, and in building the temple, a figure of the church: and by his bed is meant the place where saints meet together for religious worship, his church visible, which is his resting and dwelling place; where souls are begotten and born again, and have fellowship with Christ; and which he has a property in by gift and purchase: and a behold is prefixed to it as a note of attention, directing the daughters of Jerusalem to turn off the discourse from her, and from commendation of her, to consider the greatness of Christ her beloved; who might conclude, that if his bed was so stately as after described, bow great must he himself be; and as a note of admiration, to show how much she was affected with the greatness of his grace to her, and the privileges she enjoyed of having nearness to him, and fellowship with him;



threescore valiant men [are] about it, of the valiant of Israel; ministers of the Gospel, such as are Israelites indeed, faithful and upright; and who are valiant, and heartily concerned for the good and welfare of Christ's people, and are careful that nothing hurt them, nor disturb their rest and repose. In the number of them, the allusion may be to the guard about Solomon's bed; which might consist of so many, partly for the security of his royal person, and partly for grandeur and majesty: and were just double the number of his father's worthies, he excelling him in greatness and glory; though it may be a certain number is put for an uncertain; and this is a competent and sufficient one.



{q} Targum, Aben Ezra, Jarchi, Kimchi, Ben Melech, and Abendana.





Song of Solomon 3:8



Ver. 8. They all hold swords,.... Or a "sword" {r}; the word is singular, which designs the word of God, called the sword of the Spirit, and said to be sharper than a twoedged sword, Eph 6:17 Heb 4:12; which everyone of the ministers of the Gospel hold in their hands; and which denotes not only their apprehension, but their retention of it, and firm adherence to it; it cleaves to them, and they to that; they and their sword cannot be parted, as Gussetius {s} observes the word signifies; these ministers could not be prevailed upon to drop it, or part with it, but retained it to the last; which shows them to be valiant men;



[being] expert in war; in military straits, in the spiritual war against sin, Satan, and the world, in common with other Christians; and in fighting the good fight of faith, against all opposers of the doctrines of the Gospel; knowing how to use to the best advantage the spiritual sword, the Scriptures of truth, to defend the Gospel, and refute error;



every man [hath] his sword upon his thigh; as a preparation for war, and an indication of readiness to engage in it, Ps 45:3; for, being on the thigh, it is near, easy to come at, at once upon occasion, and so always in a posture of defence; all which expresses the familiar acquaintance ministers have with the word of God, its nearness, so that they can easily come at it, and furnish themselves with a sufficient proof of truth, and with proper arguments for the refutation of error. And this is done



because of fear in the night: when there is most danger; hence Cyrus considering that men are most easily taken when eating and drinking, and in the bath, and in bed, and in sleep, looked out for the most faithful men to be his bodyguard {t}. By "night" or "nights" {u} may be meant the nights of desertion, temptation, affliction, and persecution; when saints are in fear of their spiritual enemies, and of being overcome and destroyed by them: now Christ has provided a guard for his people, to prevent or remove these fears, and defend them from such as would make inroads upon their faith and comfort; namely, his ministers, that by their ministerings they may be a means of securing their peace and comfort, and of freeing them from all terrible apprehensions of things; which, as it shows the safety and security of the saints, so the tender care and concern of Christ for them.



{r} romfaian Sept. "gladium", Pagninus, Junius & Tremellius, Cocceius. {s} Ebr. Comment. p. 23. {t} Xenophon. Cyropaedia, l. 6. c. 29. {u} twlylb "in noctibus", Pagninus, Montanus, Piscator, Marckius, Michaelis.







Song of Solomon 3:9



Ver. 9. King Solomon made himself a chariot of the wood of Lebanon. The word translated chariot is only used in this place; some render it a bride chamber {u}; others a nuptial bed {w}, such as is carried from place to place; it is used in the Misnah {x} for the nuptial, bed, or open chariot, in which the bride was carried from her father's house to her husband's. The Septuagint render it by foreion, a word near in sound to that in the Hebrew text, and was the "lectica" of the ancients, somewhat like our "sedan"; some of which were adorned with gold and precious stones, and had silver feet {y}, or pillars, as follows: it seems upon the whole to be the nuptial chariot in which, according to Pausanias {z}, three only were carried, the bride, who sat in the middle, then the bridegroom, and then the friend of the bridegroom: something of this kind is the "palki" or "palanquin" of the Indians, in which the bride and bridegroom are carried on the day of marriage on four men's shoulders {a}: and by this "chariot" may be meant either the human nature of Christ, in which he descended and ascended to heaven; or his church, in which he shows himself to his people in his ordinances, where he rides in triumph, conquering and to conquer, by his Spirit and grace, in his word; or the covenant of grace, in which Christ shows the freeness and sovereignty of his love in being the Mediator, surety, and messenger of it; and in which his people are bore up and supported under and carried through many trials and exercises in this life, and are brought triumphantly to heaven; or rather the Gospel, and the ministration of it, in which Christ shows himself as in a chariot, in the glory of his person, offices, grace, and love; in this he is carried up and down in the world, Ac 9:15; and by it is conveyed to the souls of men; and in it he triumphs over his enemies, and causes his ministers to triumph also: and he is the subject, sum, and substance of it, and the alone author of it; for he is the Solomon here spoken of that made it; it is not a device of men's, but a revelation of his, and therefore called "the Gospel of Christ"; and which he gives to men to preach, a commission to preach it, and qualifications for it: and this he does "for himself", to set forth the glories of his person and office, to display the riches of his grace, and to show himself to be the only way of salvation to host sinners: and this chariot being said to be "of the wood of Lebanon", cedar, which is both incorruptible and of a good smell; may denote the uncorruptness of the Gospel, as dispensed by faithful ministers, and the continuance and duration of it, notwithstanding the efforts of men and devils to the contrary; and the acceptableness of it to the saints, to whom is the savour of life unto life; and it being a nuptial chariot that seems designed, it agrees with the Gospel, in the ministry of which souls are brought to Christ, and espoused as a chaste virgin to him, 2Co 11:2.



{u} Nwyrpa "thalamum sponsarum", Montanus. {w} So Schmidt, Marckius, David de Pomis, Kimchi in Sopher Shorash. rad. hrp & Ben Melech in loc. {x} Sotah, c. 9. s. 14. & Jarchi in ibid. {y} Vid. Alstorph. de Lecticis Veter. c. 3. {z} Vid. Suidam in voce zeugov. {a} Agreement of Customs between the East Indians and Jews, artic. 17. p. 68.







Song of Solomon 3:10



Ver. 10. He made the pillars thereof [of] silver,.... The truths and doctrines of the Gospel are the "pillars" of it; which, like pillars, are solid and substantial, and continue firm and immovable, and are of great use to support the children of God under the several trials and exercises they are attended with; and, for their utility, value, and duration, are said to be of "silver", and are as carefully to be sought for and into as that is, and even to be preferred to it, being of more worth than "thousands of gold and silver"; the ministers of the Gospel are sometimes compared to pillars, and the church itself is said to be the pillar and ground of truth, Ga 2:9;



the bottom thereof [of] gold; Christ, the golden bottom of the Gospel, the sum and substance of it, the principal subject in it to be insisted on; he is laid in it as the bottom, ground, and foundation of faith and hope, and of everlasting life and salvation; and for its richness, firmness, and duration, may be said to be of gold, as the street of the New Jerusalem, Re 21:21; or its "pavement" {b}, as the word here signifies. The Septuagint render it, a "reclining" {c} place, to sit and rest, or lean upon; such is Christ;



the covering of it [of] purple; or the top of it; the word signifies a chariot itself: it may respect such doctrines of the Gospel which relate to redemption, pardon of sin, and justification through the blood of Christ; and all under the purple covering of the blood of Christ are secure from wrath to come, and go safe to heaven;



the midst thereof being paved [with] love, for the daughters of Jerusalem; the carpet wrought with lovely figures or with love stories: the doctrines and ordinances of the Gospel are full of love, of God in Christ, in providing Christ as a Saviour, and sending him to be one; and of the love of Christ in assuming human nature, and suffering and dying in it for sinners, even for Jerusalem sinners; the Gospel sets forth the heart of Christ as "inflamed" {d}, as the word here used signifies, with love to the daughters of Jerusalem, his dear children, which moved him to do all he did and suffered for them; and could his heart be looked into, the very images of these persons would be seen upon it: the ordinances of the Gospel are designed both to set forth, in the most striking manner, the love of Christ to his sons and daughters, for whose sake he became man and suffered death, and to draw forth their love to him; so the words may be rendered, "paved with love by the daughters of Jerusalem" {e}, or "with the love of them" {f} how delightful must it be to ride in such a chariot, or sit under such a ministry, where there is nothing but love! moreover, the whole description of the "bride chamber", which some choose to render the word for "chariot" by, well agrees with the New Jerusalem state, as given in Re 21:1, where the church being as a bride prepared for her husband, will be introduced, the nuptial feast will be kept, and Christ will be seen by the daughters of Zion in all his regal glory, with the royal diadem on his head, as he is described in So 3:11.



{b} wtdypr "pavimentum ejus", Vatablus, Grotius. {c} anakliton, Sept. "reclinatorium ejus", Arabic interpreter. {d} Pwur "succcensum", Montanus, Marckius; "accensum, sive exustum", some in Vatablus, so Aben Ezra. {e} twnbm "a filiabus", Montanus, Cocceius; so Sept. "a puellis", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. {f} "Amore foeminarum", Tigurine version; "amore filiarum", Vatablus, Mercerus.





Song of Solomon 3:11



Ver. 11. Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion,.... The same with the daughters of Jerusalem; the reason of the variation is, because Christ, here so gloriously described, is King of Zion, and they his subjects; these the church observing, being intent on looking at the bed and chariot she had described, calls them from those objects to look at a more glorious one; to whom Solomon in all his glory, on his coronation or marriage day, to which the allusion is, was not equal; wherefore she invites them to "go forth" and look at him, as people are forward to go out of their houses to see a crowned king pass along the streets, especially on his coronation day; and men never see any glory and excellency in Christ, until they go out of themselves, and look off of every other object to him alone;



and behold King Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals; alluding to a custom with the Jews {g} and other nations {h}, to put nuptial crowns on the heads Of married persons, both men and women, on the marriage day: Christ is undoubtedly here meant by Solomon, who is King of Zion, King of saints;

See Gill on "So 3:7"; by whose mother is meant either the church, the Jerusalem above, the mother of us all, of Christ mystical; or else every believer, who is not only his brother and sister, but his mother,

Mt 12:50; and this may refer to the time when Christ is first made known unto and held by a sensible sinner, in the glory of his person, and the fulness of his grace, as sitting and riding in the chariot of the everlasting Gospel; when such honour him, and crown him by venturing on him, and believing in him; for every act of faith on Christ is putting the crown upon his head; and every submission to his ordinances is an acknowledging him King of saints; and every ascription of salvation to him and his grace by any, is casting their crowns at his and setting one on his head; and such a time is the time of his open espousals to them, when such consent to be his for ever, and give up their whole selves to him; there was a secret espousal of all the elect to Christ, upon the Father's grant of them to him in eternity; and there is an open espousal of them to him personally, at their conversion under the ministry of the word, when they are espoused as chaste virgins to Christ; at which time there is a large breaking forth of Christ's love to them, and of theirs to him: hence it is called "the love of their espousals"; see 2Co 11:2; and here



the day of the gladness of his heart; when Christ gladly and cheerfully receives such souls into his embraces, and rejoices over them as the bridegroom over the bride: now the church would have the daughters of "Jerusalem behold", look at this glorious person with an eye of faith and love, with attention and admiration; see Zec 9:9; there being such astonishing, incomparable, and transcendent excellencies in him, which require such looks as these;



{g} Misnah Sotah, c. 9. s. 14. {h} Vid. Paschalium de Coronis. l. 2. c. 16. p. 126. & Barthii Animadv. ad Claudian de Raptu Proserp. l. 2. v. 148. "Magnisque coronis conjugium fit", Claudian. Laus Serenae, v. 189, 190. stefov

gamhlion, Bion. Idyl. 1. prope finem.



 

↑ Back to top