13 Thou that dwellest H3427 in the gardens, H1588 the companions H2270 hearken H7181 to thy voice: H6963 cause me to hear H8085 it.
What is thy beloved H1730 more than another beloved, H1730 O thou fairest H3303 among women? H802 what is thy beloved H1730 more than another beloved, H1730 that thou H3602 dost so charge H7650 us? My beloved H1730 is white H6703 and ruddy, H122 the chiefest H1713 among ten thousand. H7233 His head H7218 is as the most H3800 fine gold, H6337 his locks H6977 are bushy, H8534 and black H7838 as a raven. H6158 His eyes H5869 are as the eyes of doves H3123 by the rivers H650 of waters, H4325 washed H7364 with milk, H2461 and fitly set. H3427 H4402 His cheeks H3895 are as a bed H6170 of spices, H1314 as sweet H4840 flowers: H4026 his lips H8193 like lilies, H7799 dropping H5197 sweet smelling H5674 myrrh. H4753 His hands H3027 are as gold H2091 rings H1550 set H4390 with the beryl: H8658 his belly H4578 is as bright H6247 ivory H8127 overlaid H5968 with sapphires. H5601 His legs H7785 are as pillars H5982 of marble, H8336 set H3245 upon sockets H134 of fine gold: H6337 his countenance H4758 is as Lebanon, H3844 excellent H977 as the cedars. H730 His mouth H2441 is most sweet: H4477 yea, he is altogether lovely. H4261 This is my beloved, H1730 and this is my friend, H7453 O daughters H1323 of Jerusalem. H3389
He that hath G2192 my G3450 commandments, G1785 and G2532 keepeth G5083 them, G846 he G1565 it is G2076 that loveth G25 me: G3165 and G1161 he that loveth G25 me G3165 shall be loved G25 of G5259 my G3450 Father, G3962 and G2532 I G1473 will love G25 him, G846 and G2532 will manifest G1718 myself G1683 to him. G846 Judas G2455 saith G3004 unto him, G846 not G3756 Iscariot, G2469 Lord, G2962 how G5101 is it G1096 that G3754 thou wilt G3195 manifest G1718 thyself G4572 unto us, G2254 and G2532 not G3780 unto the world? G2889 Jesus G2424 answered G611 and G2532 said G2036 unto him, G846 If G1437 a man G5100 love G25 me, G3165 he will keep G5083 my G3450 words: G3056 and G2532 my G3450 Father G3962 will love G25 him, G846 and G2532 we will come G2064 unto G4314 him, G846 and G2532 make G4160 our abode G3438 with G3844 him. G846
And G3739 G2532 whatsoever G3748 G302 ye shall ask G154 in G1722 my G3450 name, G3686 that G5124 will I do, G4160 that G2443 the Father G3962 may be glorified G1392 in G1722 the Son. G5207 If G1437 ye shall ask G154 any thing G5100 in G1722 my G3450 name, G3686 I G1473 will do G4160 it.
Come, H3212 my beloved, H1730 let us go forth H3318 into the field; H7704 let us lodge H3885 in the villages. H3723 Let us get up early H7925 to the vineyards; H3754 let us see H7200 if the vine H1612 flourish, H6524 whether the tender grape H5563 appear, H6605 and the pomegranates H7416 bud forth: H5132 there will I give H5414 thee my loves. H1730
Behold his bed, H4296 which is Solomon's; H8010 threescore H8346 valiant H1368 men are about H5439 it, of the valiant H1368 of Israel. H3478 They all hold H270 swords, H2719 being expert H3925 in war: H4421 every man H376 hath his sword H2719 upon his thigh H3409 because of fear H6343 in the night. H3915 King H4428 Solomon H8010 made H6213 himself a chariot H668 of the wood H6086 of Lebanon. H3844 He made H6213 the pillars H5982 thereof of silver, H3701 the bottom H7507 thereof of gold, H2091 the covering H4817 of it of purple, H713 the midst H8432 thereof being paved H7528 with love, H160 for the daughters H1323 of Jerusalem. H3389 Go forth, H3318 O ye daughters H1323 of Zion, H6726 and behold H7200 king H4428 Solomon H8010 with the crown H5850 wherewith his mother H517 crowned H5849 him in the day H3117 of his espousals, H2861 and in the day H3117 of the gladness H8057 of his heart. H3820
The fig tree H8384 putteth forth H2590 her green figs, H6291 and the vines H1612 with the tender grape H5563 give H5414 a good smell. H7381 Arise, H6965 my love, H7474 my fair one, H3303 and come away. H3212 O my dove, H3123 that art in the clefts H2288 of the rock, H5553 in the secret H5643 places of the stairs, H4095 let me see H7200 thy countenance, H4758 let me hear H8085 thy voice; H6963 for sweet H6156 is thy voice, H6963 and thy countenance H4758 is comely. H5000
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Song Of Solomon 8
Commentary on Song Of Solomon 8 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 8
So 8:1-14.
1. He had been a brother already. Why, then, this prayer here? It refers to the time after His resurrection, when the previous outward intimacy with Him was no longer allowed, but it was implied it should be renewed at the second coming (Joh 20:17). For this the Church here prays; meanwhile she enjoys inward spiritual communion with Him. The last who ever "kissed" Jesus Christ on earth was the traitor Judas. The bride's return with the King to her mother's house answers to Ac 8:25, after the mission to Samaria. The rest spoken of (So 8:4) answers to Ac 9:31.
that sucked … mother—a brother born of the same mother; the closest tie.
2. Her desire to bring Him into her home circle (Joh 1:41).
who would instruct me—rather, "thou wouldest instruct me," namely, how I might best please thee (Isa 11:2, 3; 50:4; Lu 12:12; Joh 14:26; 16:13).
spiced wine—seasoned with aromatic perfumes. Jesus Christ ought to have our choicest gifts. Spices are never introduced in the song in His absence; therefore the time of His return from "the mountain of spices" (So 8:14) is contemplated. The cup of betrothal was given by Him at the last supper; the cup or marriage shall be presented by her at His return (Mt 26:29). Till then the believer often cannot feel towards, or speak of, Him as he would wish.
3, 4. The "left and right hand," &c., occurred only once actually (So 2:6), and here optatively. Only at His first manifestation did the Church palpably embrace Him; at His second coming there shall be again sensible communion with Him. The rest in So 8:4, which is a spiritual realization of the wish in So 8:3 (1Pe 1:8), and the charge not to disturb it, close the first, second, and fourth canticles; not the third, as the bridegroom there takes charge Himself; nor the fifth, as, if repose formed its close, we might mistake the present state for our rest. The broken, longing close, like that of the whole Bible (Re 22:20), reminds us we are to be waiting for a Saviour to come. On "daughters of Jerusalem," see on So 7:10.
Canticle V.—(So 8:5-14)—From The Call of the Gentiles to the Close of Revelation.
5. Who is this—Words of the daughters of Jerusalem, that is, the churches of Judea; referring to Paul, on his return from Arabia ("the wilderness"), whither he had gone after conversion (Ga 1:15-24).
I raised thee … she … bare thee—(Ac 26:14-16). The first words of Jesus Christ to the bride since her going to the garden of nuts (So 6:9, 10); so His appearance to Paul is the only one since His ascension, So 8:13 is not an address of Him as visible: her reply implies He is not visible (1Co 15:8). Spiritually, she was found in the moral wilderness (Eze 16:5; Ho 13:5); but now she is "coming up from" it (Jer 2:2; Ho 2:14), especially in the last stage of her journey, her conscious weakness casting itself the more wholly on Jesus Christ (2Co 12:9). "Raised" (Eph 2:1-7). Found ruined under the forbidden tree (Ge 3:22-24); restored under the shadow of Jesus Christ crucified, "the green tree" (Lu 23:31), fruit-"bearing" by the cross (Isa 53:11; Joh 12:24). "Born again by the Holy Ghost" "there" (Eze 16:3-6). In this verse, her dependence, in the similar verse, So 3:6, &c., His omnipotence to support her, are brought out (De 33:26).
6. Implying approaching absence of the Bridegroom.
seal—having her name and likeness engraven on it. His Holy Priesthood also in heaven (Ex 28:6-12, 15-30; Heb 4:14); "his heart" there answering to "thine heart" here, and "two shoulders" to "arm." (Compare Jer 22:24, with Hag 2:23). But the Holy Ghost (Eph 1:13, 14). As in So 8:5, she was "leaning" on Him, that is, her arm on His arm, her head on His bosom; so she prays now that before they part, her impression may be engraven both on His heart and His arm, answering to His love and His power (Ps 77:15; see Ge 38:18; Isa 62:3).
love is strong as death—(Ac 21:13; Ro 8:35-39; Re 12:11). This their love unto death flows from His (Joh 10:15; 15:13).
jealousy … the grave—Zealous love, jealous of all that would come between the soul and Jesus Christ (1Ki 19:10; Ps 106:30, 31; Lu 9:60; 14:26; 1Co 16:22).
cruel—rather, "unyielding" hard, as the grave will not let go those whom it once holds (Joh 10:28).
a most vehement flame—literally, "the fire-flame of Jehovah" (Ps 80:16; Isa 6:6). Nowhere else is God's name found in the Song. The zeal that burnt in Jesus Christ (Ps 69:9; Lu 12:49, 50) kindled in His followers (Ac 2:3; Ro 15:30; Php 2:17).
7. waters—in contrast with the "coals of fire" (So 8:6; 1Ki 18:33-38). Persecutions (Ac 8:1) cannot quench love (Heb 10:34; Re 12:15, 16). Our many provocations have not quenched His love (Ro 8:33-39).
if … give all the substance … contemned—Nothing short of Jesus Christ Himself, not even heaven without Him, can satisfy the saint (Php 3:8). Satan offers the world, as to Jesus Christ (Mt 4:8), so to the saint, in vain (1Jo 2:15-17; 5:4). Nothing but our love in turn can satisfy Him (1Co 13:1-3).
8. The Gentile Church (Eze 16:48). "We," that is, the Hebrew Church, which heretofore admitted Gentiles to communion, only by becoming Judaic proselytes. Now first idolatrous Gentiles are admitted directly (Ac 11:17-26). Generally, the saint's anxiety for other souls (Mr 5:19; Joh 4:28, 29).
no breasts—neither faith nor love as yet (see on So 4:5), which "come by hearing" of Him who first loved us. Not yet fit to be His bride, and mother of a spiritual offspring.
what shall we do—the chief question in the early Church at the first council (Ac 15:23-29). How shall "the elder brother" treat the "younger," already received by the Father (Lu 15:25-32)? Generally (2Sa 15:15; Joh 9:4; Ac 9:6; Ga 6:10).
In the day … spoken for—that is, when she shall be sought in marriage (Jud 14:7), namely, by Jesus Christ, the heavenly bridegroom.
9. wall … door—the very terms employed as to the Gentile question (Ac 14:27; Eph 2:14). If she be a wall in Zion, founded on Jesus Christ (1Co 3:11), we will not "withstand God" (Ac 11:17; 15:8-11). But if so, we must not "build" (Ac 15:14-17) on her "wood, hay, stubble" (1Co 3:12), that is, Jewish rites, &c., but "a palace of silver," that is, all the highest privileges of church communion (Ga 2:11-18; Eph 2:11-22). Image from the splendid turrets "built" on the "walls" of Jerusalem, and flanking the "door," or gateway. The Gentile Church is the "door," the type of catholic accessibleness (1Co 16:9); but it must be not a mere thoroughfare but furnished with a wooden framework, so as not merely to admit, but also to safely enclose: cedar is fragrant, beautiful, and enduring.
10. The Gentile Church's joy at its free admission to gospel privileges (Ac 15:30, 31). She is one wall in the spiritual temple of the Holy Ghost, the Hebrew Church is the other; Jesus Christ, the common foundation, joins them (Eph 2:11-22).
breasts … towers—alluding to the silver palace, which the bridal virgins proposed to build on her (So 8:9). "Breasts" of consolation (Isa 66:11); faith and love (1Th 5:8); opposed to her previous state, "no breasts" (So 8:8; 2Th 1:3). Thus Eze 16:46, 61 was fulfilled, both Samaria and the Gentiles being joined to the Jewish gospel Church.
favour—rather, "peace." The Gentile Church too is become the Shulamite (So 6:13), or peace-enjoying bride of Solomon, that is, Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace (Ro 5:1; Eph 2:14). Reject not those whom God accepts (Nu 11:28; Lu 9:49; Ac 15:8, 9). Rather, superadd to such every aid and privilege (So 8:9).
11. The joint Church speaks of Jesus Christ's vineyard. Transference of it from the Jews, who rendered not the fruits, as is implied by the silence respecting any, to the Gentiles (Mt 21:33-43).
Baal-hamon—equivalent to the owner of a multitude; so Israel in Solomon's day (1Ki 4:20); so Isa 5:1, "a very fruitful hill" abounding in privileges, as in numbers.
thousand pieces—namely, silverlings, or shekels. The vineyard had a thousand vines probably; a vine at a silverling (Isa 7:23), referring to this passage.
12. "mine" by grant of the true Solomon. Not merely "let out to keepers," as in the Jewish dispensation of works, but "mine" by grace. This is "before me," that is, in my power [Maurer]. But though no longer under constraint of "keeping" the law as a mere letter and covenant of works, love to Jesus Christ will constrain her the more freely to render all to Solomon (Ro 8:2-4; 1Co 6:20; Ga 5:13; 1Pe 2:16), after having paid what justice and His will require should be paid to others (1Co 7:29-31; 9:14). "Before me" may also mean "I will never lose sight of it" (contrast So 1:6) [Moody Stuart]. She will not keep it for herself, though so freely given to her, but for His use and glory (Lu 19:13; Ro 6:15; 14:7-9; 1Co 12:7). Or the "two hundred" may mean a double tithe (two-tenths of the whole paid back by Jesus Christ) as the reward of grace for our surrender of all (the thousand) to Him (Ga 6:7; Heb 6:10); then she and "those that keep" are the same [Adelaide Newton]. But Jesus Christ pays back not merely two tithes, but His all for our all (1Co 3:21-23).
13. Jesus Christ's address to her; now no longer visibly present. Once she "had not kept" her vineyard (So 1:6); now she "dwells" in it, not as its owner, but its superintendent under Jesus Christ, with vinedressers ("companions"), for example, Paul, &c. (Ac 15:25, 26), under her (So 8:11, 12); these ought to obey her when she obeys Jesus Christ. Her voice in prayer and praise is to be heard continually by Jesus Christ, if her voice before men is to be effective (So 2:14, end; Ac 6:4; 13:2, 3).
14. (See on So 2:17). As she began with longing for His first coming (So 1:2), so she ends with praying for His second coming (Ps 130:6; Php 3:20, 21; Re 22:20). Moody Stuart makes the roe upon spices to be the musk deer. As there are four gardens, so four mountains, which form not mere images, as Gilead, Carmel, &c., but part of the structure of the Song: (1) Bether, or division (So 2:17), God's justice dividing us from God. (2) Those "of leopards" (So 4:8), sin, the world, and Satan. (3) That "of myrrh and aloes" (So 4:6, 14), the sepulchre of Calvary. (4) Those "of spices," here answering to "the hill of frankincense" (So 4:6), where His soul was for the three days of His death, and heaven, where He is a High Priest now, offering incense for us on the fragrant mountain of His own finished work (Heb 4:14, 7:25; Re 8:3, 4); thus He surmounts the other three mountains, God's justice, our sin, death. The mountain of spices is as much greater than our sins, as heaven is higher than earth (Ps 103:11). The abrupt, unsatisfied close with the yearning prayer for His visible coming shows that the marriage is future, and that to wait eagerly for it is our true attitude (1Co 1:7; 1Th 1:10; Tit 2:13; 2Pe 3:12).