What she intends hereby will be proper to consider. And,
I. Here is a request or petition made by the church to Christ; "draw me"
What she intends hereby will be proper to consider. And,
1st, There is a powerful efficacious drawing of soul to Christ, at conversion, when God calls a poor sinner by his grace, brings him to Christ, enables him to venture upon him, and believe in him for life and salvation; which is what Christ speaks of in John 6:44 when he says, "No man can come to me, except the Father which has sent me, draw him." A soul's coming to Christ for life, is not the produce of power and free-will in man, but of the grace of God in drawing, though it is not effected by force or compulsion; it is true, the sinner, in his natural estate, "is stout-hearted, and "far from righteousness," averse to Christ and the way of salvation by him; but by mighty grace, this stout heart is brought down. and made willing to submit to God's way of salvation; this obduracy is removed, and hardness of heart taken away by him, who has promised to take away the stony heart, and give an heart of flesh." Unconverted sinners are indeed unwilling to come to Christ for life; but those who belong to the election of grace, are made "willing in the day of Christ's power:" the manslayer did not more willingly flee from the avenger of blood, to the city of refuge, than a sinner, sensible of sin, and the danger of his state, does to Christ for salvation; for though a soul is not brought to Christ; by the power of his free-will, yet he is not brought against his will: drawing does not always suppose force and compulsion; there are other ways of drawing besides that. Thus the fame of a skillful physician draws many people to him; thus music draws the ear; love the heart; and pleasure the mind; as the poet says, "Trahit sua quemque voluptas." Nor is this done by mere moral suasion, which is what ministers use; knowing the terrors of the Lord, they persuade men: but if the mighty power of grace does not attend their ministry, not one soul will ever be converted; though they represent the joys of heaven and the terrors of hell, in never such a lively manner; speak in never such moving strains, and use the most powerful arguments to win upon souls; yet they will stretch out their "hands all the day, to a gainsaying and disobedient people;" they will return with a "who hath believed our report?" the arm of the Lord not being revealed unto them. God does not act as a mere moral cause in man's conversion; he does not only propose an object, and then leave the will to choose, but powerfully and effectually works both to will and to do of his own good pleasure; for this drawing is accomplished by the secret and invisible power of his mighty grace: and in this sense is the word used, in Judges 4:7 when Deborah tells Barak, that the Lord had promised, saying, "I will DRAW unto thee, to the river Kishon, Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitudes, and I will deliver him into thine hands;" that is, "I will have the hearts of kings, generals, and captains of armies in my hands, and can turn them as the rivers of waters, whithersoever I will," will powerfully and invisibly work upon, move and incline Sisera's heart to lead his army to the river Kishon, where I will give an instance of my power and goodness in delivering him into thine hands. Thus God powerfully and invisibly works upon the hearts of sinners, bends their wills, slays the enmity of their minds, allures and draws them to Christ, "suavi omnipotentia, & omnipotente suavitate," "by a sweet omnipotence, and an omnipotent sweetness;" and this he does by revealing Christ unto them, in all his beauty and loveliness, discovering the love of Christ unto their souls; by the kind invitations of his grace, the precious and encouraging promises of the gospel, and the special teachings of his Spirit; all which is an evidence of his everlasting love; for it is, because he hath "loved them with an everlasting love; therefore with loving kindness" he hath "drawn" them; this is also a fruit of Christ's death; "I, if I be lifted up from the earth," says he, meaning his elevation upon the cross, "wilt draw all men unto me;" (John 12:32) that is, all that the Father hath given me, and has promised, shall be gathered to me, and whom I shall shed my blood for. Moreover, it is likewise an indication of the weakness and impotence of sinners, seeing they cannot come unless they are drawn; and sufficiently destroys the notion which advances the free-will and power of the creature in conversion: but I apprehend that this is not the drawing intended in this petition, for thus the church had been already drawn.
The Septuagint read it, "They have drawn thee: at the smell of thine Ointments, will we run";[3329] that is, the virgins have loved thee, and shewn their love to thee; and this has so took with thine heart, that it has drawn thee after them, they have thy company, which I want; but by the smell of those ointments, which thou carriest about with thee, I, and others, will run after thee, till we find thee: so that Christ, according to this version and sense of the words, is the person drawn, and not the person petitioned to, to draw; though the latter seems best to agree both with the Hebrew text, and the sense of the words.
R. Aben Ezra thinks that they are the words of the virgins, who, every one of them, desire, saying, "draw me;" we," every one of us, "will run after thee;" but they seem rather to be the words of the church, desirous of more intimate communion with Christ; for there is,
2dly, A drawing to nearer communion with Christ, which believers oftentimes want, and are desirous of, and which the church had enjoyed; as appears from the following clause in this verse; in which she declares that "the king had brought her into his chambers," where he conversed with her, and disclosed the secrets of his heart to her: now this petition of hers for nearer communion with him, supposes,
1. A distance between Christ and her; not a distance with regard to union; for believers being one with Christ, they never are, nor can be distanced from him; they are always in this sense, "a people near unto the Lord;" nor is there a distance of affection, for "having loved his own, which were in the world, he loves them to the end;" they can never be separated from his love, seeing they are engraven as a seal upon his heart: but this is a distance as to communion; and, in this sense, Christ does sometimes stand at a distance, and hides himself from his people; as appears by their frequent complaints of it, they then thinking themselves forsaken and. forgotten by him.
2. This petition shews her uneasiness in this condition, and therefore she says, "draw me;" not but that sometimes believers are lukewarm and indifferent; for falling asleep upon a bed of security, they become insensible of their condition, and therefore unconcerned about it; but when they are awakened, and find their beloved gone, their souls are troubled, and being impatient of delay, though in the night, as the church in 13 arise from their beds, and in "the streets and broad ways" seek him, whom their souls love.
3. This request shews the sense she had of her own inability to attain to a state of nearer communion with him: "when he hides his face, who can behold him?" when he stands at a distance, who can come near him? if he is pleased to withdraw his presence, there is no commanding it; the light of his countenance, the enjoyment of his presence, and fellowship with him, are as much the instances of his distinguishing and sovereign grace, and as much depend upon his sovereign pleasure, as the first workings of grace itself; we can no more enjoy the one at pleasure, than we could effect the other; the same Spirit that wrought grace in us at first, must give us access into Christ's presence; we need now the same bands and cords of love to draw us to Christ, as then we did.
4. It signifies the apprehension she seems to have of danger; draw me, or I shall be drawn away: believers may be sometimes under fearful apprehensions of being drawn away by the corruptions of their nature, the snares of the world, and the temptations of Satan; though they can never be drawn totally and finally from Christ. He has, by the cords of love, drawn them to himself; and though they may not always experience it, yet he will never leave his people till he has brought them safe to glory.
5. It shews that high value and esteem she had for communion with Christ, which makes her so earnestly importune that blessing, and use such pressing and repeated instances for the enjoyment of it; this was the "one thing" she earnestly desired and sought for, yea, preferred to all other enjoyments. Moreover,