Section 519
I. She compares him to "a roe, or a young hart"
Which seems to be occasioned by his swift and speedy approach unto her, mentioned in the former verse; for these are creatures remarkable for their swiftness[3572] (see 2 Samuel 2:18). and may have reference to Christ's celerity in his coming in the flesh who, as soon as ever "the fullness of time" was come, made no delay, but immediately clothed himself with human nature, in order to dispatch, with the utmost speed, the work which he had agreed to do; and with no less speed does he haste to the assistance of his people, when under trials, desertions, temptations and afflictions, and shews himself to be "a very present help in trouble:" likewise his second coming to raise the dead, judge the world, reward his saints and punish his enemies, will be equally as swift and sudden; for which reason it is compared (Matthew 24:29), to "the lightning which cometh out of the east," and in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, "shineth even unto the west:" but besides the swiftness of these creatures, Christ may be compared to them, or be said to be like to them on some other accounts; as, 1. For their pleasantness and lovingness; they are pleasant and loving creatures, as appears from Proverbs 5:19. Christ is pleasant and desirable in his person to his people, being "white and ruddy, and the chiefest among ten thousand; he is loving in his carriage and deportment to them, and has given the most undeniable proofs of the reality, sincerity, strength and immutability of his love, in shedding his blood, and by giving his life for them. 2. For their choiceness and excellency, as R. Sol. Jarchi observes; young roes and harts being the most choice and excellent: Christ is so in his nature, person, office, people, and ordinances; he is so in the esteem of his Father, and in the esteem of men and angels; for though he is disallowed by some, yet he is highly valued by others. 3. For the antipathy there is between these creatures and serpents: historians[3573] report of them, that they search out the lurking-places of serpents, and not being able to come at them in their holes, do: by the very breath of their nostrils, draw them out from thence[3574] and then trample upon them, tear them in pieces, and eat them: this may an some measure represent that enmity there is between that old serpent Satan, and Christ Jesus, the seed of the woman, who was manifested in human nature, to break his head, and destroy his works, which he has accordingly done. It is also farther reported of the hart,[3575] that after eating serpents, it grows prodigious thirsty, which occasions dreadful cries and lamentations, and violent pantings after the water-brooks; to which an allusion is made in Psalm 42:1, and yet knowing, by an instinct in nature, that it is dangerous to drink until it has digested them, forbears a while: Thus Christ when he destroyed that old serpent the Devil, sustained the weight of his Father's wrath, which occasioned a bloody sweat in the garden, piteous moans upon the cross, a violent consumption of the radical moisture; so that his "strength was dried up like a potsherd," and his "tongue cleaved to his jaws," with the violent thirst that was upon him; such an one he had, as is manifest from those words of his, when suffering upon the cross, I thirst. Moreover, it is reported in Lybia,[3576] where there is a great number of serpents, that when they see a hart lying alone, will, in great numbers at once, attack him; some wrapping themselves about his feet, others about his horns, his neck and belly, and bite him dreadfully; upon which he gets up and runs about, here and there, in great distress, but at length throws himself upon his back; some he rubs to death, and others he devours, and then hastens to the water-brooks to cleanse and refresh himself: thus Christ was beset by all the infernal powers, yet spoiled them all, got an entire victory over them, and now enjoys the glories of it. These were creatures fit for food, and were allowed to be so by the Levitical law; naturalists say[3577] that by their being hunted, their flesh becomes softer: Christ is "the bread of life," and the "hidden manna;" he is very agreeable food for souls; his flesh is meat indeed," and his "blood is drink indeed;" and by reason of the sufferings which he underwent in our nature, is become very suitable food for faith. 4. These creatures are long-lived ones: it is reported[3578] that Alexander the Great, having taken some of them, put golden chains about them, with which they were found, covered with fat, a hundred years afterwards, and scarce any appearance of old age in them. Christ lives, and will live for ever; he died once for the sins of men, but will never die more; "I am he," says he, "that liveth and was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore," (Revelation 1:18) for such reasons as these, and perhaps some others, Christ may be said to be "like a roe or a young hart." The Septuagint here adds, "upon the mountains of Bethel," which is not in the Hebrew text.