Section 643
II. Her II. Her beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone
"Beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone;" a very great disappointment indeed! she expected, that as soon as ever the door was open, she should have seen him, and that he would have received her in his arms, and embraced her in his bosom; but instead of that, he was gone, and she could neither have any sight, nor hear any tidings of him. Here it may be inquired, 1st, What is meant by Christ's withdrawing himself from his church and people? 2dly, Why he did now with withdraw himself from the church? And, 3dly, Why she makes use of two words to express his departure from her, and what they import?
1st, It may be inquired what is meant by Christ's withdrawing himself from his church and people? And, 1. It is not to be understood of him as the omnipresent God, who is every where, and fills heaven and earth with his presence; for as there is no fleeing from it, so there is no withdrawing of it, as David says (Psalm 139:7), "Whither shall I go from thy spirit, or whither shall I fly from thy presence?" there is no place exempted from it, nor can be; he does not move from place to place, nor from person to person; nor is he sometimes with a person, and sometimes not; for if so, he would not be the omnipresent God. Nor, 2. Is it to be understood of the dissolution of a believer's covenant-interest in Christ, and union to him: a believer may lose sight of Christ for a time, but he can never lose his interest in him: the relation between them can never cease; the marriage-knot can never be untied, nor the union-bonds be, ever broken; for Christ has said, Hosea 2:19. "I will betroth thee unto me for ever:" the union between Christ and believers is in some measure like to that between the Father and the Son; and I will venture to say, that the one may as soon be dissolved as the other (see John 17:22, 23). Nor, 3. Is it to be understood of a withdrawing of his love and affection from them; for though they may sometimes think he has, yet he never does, nor never will withdraw it; his love to them is as unchangeable as himself; it is the " same yesterday, today, and for ever;" for "having loved his own, which were in the world, he loved them to the end;" he has given his word, that though he, "for a small moment forsakes them, yet with everlasting kindness will he have mercy on them;" and as if this was not enough, he joins his oath to it, and swears, that he "would not be wroth with them, nor rebuke them;" and declares, that his kindness and his covenant are as immoveable as, nay, more than mountains and hills; which, one would think, is enough to banish all doubts and fears from believers, and fill them with as firm a persuasion as the apostle Paul was possessed of, when he says, "I am persuaded that neither life nor death," etc. "shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." But, 4. It is to be understood of the withdrawing of the sensible manifestations of his presence and love: and this is what the church has experienced in all ages; for he is a God that "hideth his face from the house of Jacob;" and what particular believers have met with, as is manifest from David, Heman, and others. And this was what the church wanted, even some sensible enjoyments of Christ's presence and grace; she had his strengthening and supporting presence, which enabled her to rise and open; but she wanted his comforting and soul-rejoicing presence, and sensible communion with him; Christ's love is always the same, but the sense of it in believers is variable; the one is sometimes withdrawn, the other never.
2dly, It may seem a little strange, and almost unaccountable, that Christ at this instant should withdraw himself from his church; seeing he had so importunately desired her to arise and open to him; had used all methods to win upon her, find by his grace had enabled her to do it; and yet now it is done, he withdraws himself and is gone: and therefore it is proper to inquire why he should do so; which was perhaps, 1. To chastise her for her former carriage to him: had he, as soon as she had opened the door, shown himself to her, and received her with all tokens of love and joy; she would not have thought the offense so great, nor that he was so much provoked by it, and did so highly resent it as he did; therefore to bring her to a sense of it, and to correct her for it, by suffering the loss of his company, he withdraws himself. 2. To try the truth and strength of her grace: her grace was now in exercise, as appears by her rising and opening; and now, the more to exercise it, and prove the strength of it, he with. draws himself: thus all our afflictions, temptations and desertions, are for the trial of our faith, and other graces; which being tried, appear "much more precious than of gold that perisheth." 3. To enflame her love, and sharpen her desires the more after him; which effect his withdrawing from her, in 3, had upon her; and so it had here: many such instances we have in Job, David, and others; who, being without the presence of God, have the more earnestly wished for, vehemently thirsted, punted and breathed after a re-enjoyment of it (see Job 23:2; Psalm 43:1, 2, 63:1); and it is usually so, that the want of a blessing, not only brings us under a conviction of the worth of it, and so draws out our affections to it, but also enlarges and increases our desires after it. 4. To endear his presence the more, when she came to enjoy it: when a soul has been destitute of Christ's presence for a time, and come to enjoy it again, O how sweet, ravishing and delightful is it to him! and how much it is valued by him! the disciples were without Christ's bodily presence but a few days; and when he appeared to them, we are told (John 20:20), that "then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord;" and what expressions of joy, and intimations of esteem for Christ's presence, does the church give, in Song of Solomon 3:4, when she had found her lost spouse? 5. To keep her humble: had she immediately enjoyed his presence upon her rising and opening to him, she might dare thought that she had, by those actions of hers, deserved such a favor at his hands; therefore, to hide pride from her, and to let her know the nothingness of all her doings, and that they fell abundantly short of meriting such a blessing, he withdraws himself: our enjoyment of Christ's presence, and the communications of his love and grace to us, as much depend on his free and sovereign will, as the first display of his grace to us; he gives these favors at pleasure, and that to whom, when, and where he pleases. 6. To show her the odious nature of sin, which was the cause of this.; and that she might, through grace, be more upon her guard against it, and be more cautious of provoking him to it again: it was sin that was the cause of the angel's being turned out of heaven, the place of the divine abode; and of Adam's being drove out of Eden, from the presence of the Lord God; and though sin cannot dissolve the union that is between Christ and a believer, nor destroy his covenant-interest in him; yet it is often the cause of God's hiding his face, and Christ's withdrawing his presence from him; "Your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you," says the prophet Isaiah 59:2, to the people of Israel; and it was the church's unbecoming carriage to Christ, which was the cause of his withdrawing from her now; and therefore to bring here to a sense of it, and to see the odious nature thereof, he withdraws himself; that when she enjoyed it again, she might be more careful not to provoke him again by such steps as these: and such an effect it had upon her, in Song of Solomon 3:4, 5, where she not only held him fast herself, and would not let him go; but also charges the daughters of Jerusalem to give him no molestation or disturbance.
3dly, The church makes use of two words here to express Christ's departure from her, "My beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone," which signify and import, 1. That this was done suddenly and secretly, unseen, at an unawares to her, and unexpected by her; so the word translated, "had withdrawn himself,"[3912], signifies a doing it secretly; he "turned himself about, and was gone"[3913] in a moment; he withdrew himself privately from the door, and passed by the window, and was gone; so that she could not set eyes upon him, nor hear any tidings of him. 2. That he was gone at a very great distance in her apprehensions: so believers think sometimes, when Christ has withdrawn himself from them, that he is gone a great way off, is not within call, and will never return more (see Psalm 10:1); and this is thought by some[3914], to be the import of the first word; and the other, being added to it, heightens the sense. 3. That he was really gone: it was not u mere imagination of hers, but it was certainly so; which she found to her great grief and sorrow. 4. The doubling of the words, or her using those two words without a copulative, he "had withdrawn himself, was gone," which she seems to speak in the utmost haste and confusion, represent the strength of her passion, the greatness of her sorrow, what a wretched disappointment she met with; and as if she was wringing her hands, and crying outs "He is gone, he is gone, he is gone." Which brings us to consider,