Song of Solomon 8

Notes

Believers. 1. Blessed Redeemer, O that that happy period were come, in which thou shalt assume our nature, and be a member of our visible church, and, in consequence thereof, admit us to the most intimate fellowship with thee! Then, without regard to reproach or persecution, should I openly profess my reverence, subjection, and affection to thee. 2. Instructed by thy Spirit, I should spread abroad the knowledge of thee in the extended gospel church, and all my gifts and graces should be employed to serve and glorify thee. 3. O the infinitely transporting, the intimate, the endearing, the strengthening and supporting fellowship that I should enjoy with thee! Nay, already the believing views of it fill my soul with the joys of my Lord! 4. Let me therefore once more charge you, my fellow-professors, to do everything in your power to continue this my delightful communion with Jesus Christ, and do nothing to interrupt it.

Daughters. 5. What admirable person is this, who, forsaking all worldly things for Christ, and delivered from her distressed condition, mounts up heavenward, by faith resting on him to bear her up under every burden, and forward through every duty and difficulty?

Believers. O Jesus, animated by thy own delightful influence, I have, by importunate prayers, obtained the most sensible manifestations of thy love; as others, in whose hearts thou art formed by faith, have also done. 6, 7. O let thy most endeared esteem, remembrance, and love of my soul, appear remarkably in all thy dispensations towards me: for so vehement and irresistible is my desire after intimate fellowship with thee, that nothing else can afford me satisfaction: no, not death and the grave are so dreadful to me as the fears of thy withdrawment! Kindled by thy love shed abroad in my heart, my love to thee melts all my inward powers, and burns up my corruptions. No affliction, temptation, desertion, or persecution can extinguish or abate it. Would the richest on earth tempt me from thee, with all his wealth, nay, with ten thousand worlds, I would utterly contemn and abhor the proposal. 8. But, Lord, we have many fellow-sinners, whom thou didst die for; particularly among the Gentiles, who enjoy no ordinances, and are yet unripe for their spiritual marriage, being destitute of faith and love; what shall we do to promote their conversion, when the offers of thy grace shall be made to them?

Christ. 9. When, according to my unchangeable purpose, they shall accept me as their foundation, I and my Father and blessed Spirit will endow them with manifold gifts and graces, and render them, in their hearts and church state, a firm tower and beautiful temple and palace for God. When the door of access to me shall be opened to them in the gospel, and the door of their heart opened to receive me, we, notwithstanding their insignificancy, weakness, troubles, and temptations, will thoroughly beautify, strengthen, and protect them.

Believers. 10. Indeed, blessed Redeemer, by thy infinite favour, I have been united to thee, and stand firm on thee as my foundation, and am come to some maturity and perfection in grace. 11. Thou, Lord Jesus, the infinitely wise and wealthy Prince of Peace, hast secured by thy blood, planted and purified by thy grace, sown with thy Word, and protected and managed by thy providence, the large vineyard of thy church. This thou hast committed to the care of thy gospel ministers, that they, by instructions, warnings, reproofs, and censures, might endeavour to their utmost to render the members fruitful in the works of righteousness, to thy praise and glory. 12. And, while the whole concerns of it are under thy special care, I have in charge the vineyard of my own heart, to watch over, defend, purge, and render fruitful in holy habits and exercises. Thou, Jesus, must have the principal honour of all that I am, have, or can attain to, and thy faithful ministers their subordinate share of my love and regard.

Christ. 13. Believing soul, who lovest and frequentest the assemblies of my people, and ordinances there dispensed, thy fellow-members regard and listen to thy instructions and warnings for their edification. Let me, when withdrawn from thee, particularly in my bodily presence, often hear thy prayers and praises, and the publication of my gospel in the world.

Believers. 14. And, O my blessed Husband and Saviour, not only maintain frequent and familiar intercourse with my soul, and with thy church on earth, in the instituted ordinances of thy worship, but hasten, hasten thy glorious appearance without sin unto our salvation;—when we shall be caught up to meet thee in the air, and shall, in one complete body, enter that happy, that eternal state, in which God shall be All in All.

Ver. 2. I would cause thee, &c. 'Thou shouldest accustom me to give thee spiced wine, with the juice of pomegranates.' C.

Ver. 5. I raised thee up. I revived thee, when left a helpless infant under the citron-tree. See Eze. 16. 4-8. In this reply the Beloved speaks. C.

Ver. 6. For love is strong. 'Yea, love is strong,' &c. This is the reply of the Beloved who supports.—Jealousy, 'burning love'—cruel, rather, 'inexorable'—vehement flame, rather, 'the dissolving fire of Jehovah.' C.

Ver. 8. The grammar of the passage suggests that the 'daughters of Jerusalem,' who speak (ch. i.-v.), who are still present (ch. 8. 4), are here the solicitous projectors for the welfare of the 'little sister.' This emblem has been expounded of the Gentile church—but it seems much more natural to understand by it such as are yet 'weak in the faith,' Ro. 14. 1; 15. 1; 1 Co. 3. 2; Ep. 4. 13. C.

Ver. 10. This has generally been considered as the answer of the 'little sister,' exemplifying full and instantaneous 'growth in grace.' But as the grammar will not warrant any change from the speaker in the first person (ver. 1, 2, 4) and the speaker in the first person (ver. 10), this must be understood as the language of the bride, encouraging the 'little sister' by her own experience of grace and attainments in faith. C.

Ver. 11. Baal-hamon, ruler of multitudes.—The keepers represent the rulers and instructors of the churches in their multitudes.—A thousand. As the annual rent for a vine seems to have been ordinarily a piece of silver, Is. 7. 23, the emblem indicates that return of 'fruit of the Spirit,' Ga. 5. 22, which is ever due in correspondence to privileges. C.

Ver. 13. Thou that dwellest in the gardens. It is impossible by the grammar to distinguish the speaker in ver. 13 from the speaker in ver. 14; and as in ver. 14 she calls to the listener, my Beloved, the speaker is the bride calling to her Redeemer, 'Even so, come, Lord Jesus!' Re. 22. 17, 20. C.

Reflections.—How kind, how marvellous is it, that God's only begotten Son, the brightness of his glory, has, by his assumption of our nature, become our brother, and will for ever continue bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh! And great is the mercy, that to him the gathering of the Gentiles hath and shall be! It is pleasant to remember past experiences of his love in the assured expectations of others still more sweet! And delightful is the frame, ardent the desires, and fervent the prayers, when a soul is overwhelmed with the consolations of Christ! Importunate intercession for the spiritual welfare of others often produces remarkable fellowship with him. Extensive revenues of holy thoughts, words, and deeds are due from every member of the church to Jesus Christ. And they who give him his due, will give his ministers theirs. But how strongly Christ and his people's hearts must be knit one to another! They cannot live but as it were in mutual intercourse. Soon will he come to take them to himself in glory; and, in the believing view of it, their waiting spirits cry, 'Even so, come, Lord Jesus.'

Concluding Remarks on the Song of Solomon.

Three points present themselves to the Christian reader and student in the preceding book:—

I. Was this book received into the canon of Holy Scripture, and sanctioned by our Lord and his apostles? To this there can be but one answer—it was.

II. Are there, in the New Testament, any such evident references as form a key to its interpretation? Such evident references may be found, Mat. 21. 33, when comp. with Song 8. 11; Ep. 5. 27, comp. with Song 4. 1, 7; Ep. 6. 15, comp. with Song 7. 1; Re. 3. 20, comp. with Song 5. 2. Other references have been suggested, but these are so evident as not to admit of question.

III. Are there such quotations of passages of Scripture parallel to or identical with the Song of Solomon, by which its spiritual import can be unquestionably established? The answer to this question is easy and direct. (1) By referring to He. 1. 8 there is found a direct address from God the Father to God the Son. (2) That address is quoted from Ps. 45. 6. (3) It is impossible to overlook the complete parallelism, nay identity, of that psalm with the scenery and character of the Song of Solomon. Therefore, by following the scriptural plan—comparing spiritual with spiritual, and the natural law of all interpretation—rising from what is plainly stated, granted, or ascertained, to what is less plain, questioned, or yet unknown, there can be no difficulty in coming to the conclusion, that the Song of Solomon forms a succession of emblems whereby the mutual love and union between Christ and his church are described for the instruction and comfort of believers.

That the Song of Solomon is capable of ready and great perversion, by 'men of corrupt minds,' is undoubted. For, whilst 'to the pure all things are pure,' so to the impure all things are impure. And such is the state of the carnal mind, that just in proportion as any object is good, in like proportion may it be perverted to purposes of evil. Thus—just in proportion as a medicine is powerful to restore, may its improper administration render it powerful to destroy. And thus grace, in its every form, may be turned into licentiousness. But is the sufferer, therefore, to be deprived of a powerful medicine?—or is the physician who discovered and prescribed it to be pronounced an evil-doer? Is the sinner, therefore, to be deprived of access to pardon; and the God of all grace and consolation to be disrobed of his attribute of mercy? No. And neither is the church of God to be deprived of some of the brightest pages in the divine Word, because eyes that have 'loved darkness' cannot perceive their beauties.

To those who have observed what a prominent place love to Jesus holds in the New Testament (see for example, Jn. 14. 23; 1 Co. 16. 22; 2 Co. 5. 14), and to those who have experienced and rejoiced in 'the assurance' of that love—the Song of Solomon will ever furnish a subject of study, at once most delightful and profitable.—C.

The various modes of interpreting this remarkable and extremely difficult book may be classified under three heads:—The Literal, the Typical, and the Allegorical.

1. The Literal makes the book a simple story related in the form of a dramatic poem. The facts of the story are given by Dr. Ginsburg as follows:—'A village girl, the daughter of a widowed mother of Shulam, is betrothed to a young shepherd, whom she met whilst tending the flock. Fearing lest the frequent meetings of these lovers should be the occasion of scandal, the brothers of the Shulamite employ her in the vineyard on the farm. Whilst on the way to this vineyard she one day falls in with the cortége of King Solomon, who is on a spring visit to the country. Struck with her beauty the king captures her, conveys her to his royal pavilion, then conducts her to Jerusalem in great pomp, in the hope of dazzling and overcoming her with his splendour, and eventually lodges her in his harem. But all is in vain. True to her virtuous love, she resists all the allurements of the exalted sovereign, spurns all his promises to elevate her to the highest rank, and in the midst of the gay scenes assures her humble shepherd, who followed her to the capital, that her affections are sacredly and inviolably pledged to him. Solomon, convinced at last that all his advances are in vain, allows her to quit the royal residence. Hand in hand the two faithful lovers return to her native place, and on their way home visit the tree under which their love-spark was first kindled, and there renew their vows of constancy and fidelity. On their arrival they are welcomed by their companion shepherds, and she is rewarded by her brothers for her exemplary virtue.' It is said that the object or moral of this charming story is 'to teach a lesson of practical righteousness by the record of an extraordinary example of virtue in a young maiden in humble life who encountered and conquered the greatest temptations from the most exalted personage in the land.' The theory is attractive, and the arguments employed in defence of it are not without weight; but I think the thoughtful student of God's Word, and especially such as have studied the genius of oriental poetry and imagery, will see that there is something higher and nobler in this book, than such a moral lesson. And, besides, I cannot see that the various parts of the book can be made at all to harmonize with such a simple and detailed story. In my mind the imagery is too sublime, the descriptions of far too elevated a character, to be applied even by an eastern poet to any mere narrative of real life.

2. The Typical theory of interpretation adopts as a basis the historical truth of the narrative, making the bride either Pharaoh's daughter, or some maiden of Palestine, whom Solomon had loved and married; but then this bride typified the church, and Solomon typified Christ, while the whole story was designed to represent in prophetic imagery the love subsisting between Christ and his church—a love mutual, indissoluble, and eternal. The great difficulty in the way of this theory is to establish the historical character of the narrative. A type must be a fact; and the narrative here has all the characteristics of ideality as distinguished from reality. No writer, however poetical, would describe ordinary events in such language as is employed in ch. 2. 1-4, 14; 6. 10-12; and no writer, even in the East, would put such language in the mouth of a virtuous maiden as we find in ch. i. ii. viii.

3. The Allegorical interpretation of the book seems to me to be the only possible and true one. The poem is conceived in the loftiest style of eastern imagery. Incidents of real life, events of everyday occurrence, customs which still prevail in the East form a groundwork, but they are all idealized and spiritualized, so that they may more strikingly exhibit to the pure and spiritual mind, grand divine truths. The leading image is common in Scripture. Human love in its purest and holiest type—that of husband and wife—is the symbol of the love of Christ and his church, of God and his people. Thus Isaiah says, 'Thy Maker is thine husband: the Lord of hosts is his name,' ch. 54. 5; and still more clearly: 'For thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate; but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah; for the Lord delighteth in thee, and the land shall be married. . . . As the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee,' ch. 62. 4, 5. The forty-fifth Psalm greatly resembles this book in style and imagery. So also the same imagery is common in the New Testament: 'I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ," 2 Co. 11. 2. The whole bearing and force of that beautiful passage in Ep. 5. 22-33 rest upon this same figure. The apostle John too, in the last book of the Sacred Canon, appears to embody the very idea of the Song of Solomon, when he records his glorious vision: 'And I John saw the Holy City, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.'

This is substantially the system of interpretation which was adopted generally by the Jews, and is developed in the Talmud. By them, of course, God is represented as the Beloved, and the people of Israel the loved one. In the early Christian church, the same view was taken, and was held almost universally until impugned by Erasmus. It appears to me to be in accordance with the analogy of Scripture, and with the genius of eastern poetry. The whole structure of the composition, too, discursive, yet having a subjective coherence, tends to the same conclusion. There is in it no sustained plot, no crisis of a story. It consists of expressions of most devoted affection, with reference to localities and ever-changing scenery, all adapted to call forth new emotions, and to exhibit unalterable love. Viewed in this light, interpreted in this manner, it is one of the purest and noblest portions of Holy Writ. It lifts the mind into an ideal world of spiritual communion with God in Christ. It shows us his tenderness, his watchful care, his devoted unceasing attachment to his people in all their waywardness, temptations, sorrows, and persecutions, such as we can see nowhere else. It shows us that friends and kindred—the nearest and dearest, may desert us in the hour of trial, but God will not and cannot, for love binds him to us and us to him by a tie that is indissoluble.

Yet, still, holy, pure, and comforting as this book is to the man whose nature the Spirit of God has mastered, the profitable reading of it by the ordinary Christian is confessedly difficult. Each one knows his own heart, and can best review his own feelings. But in this western land, where we are not accustomed to the gorgeousness of eastern imagery, or the nature of eastern life and manners, we need watchfulness, prayer, and a heart completely under the control of the sanctifying Spirit, if we would derive from this book those noble lessons which God intended it to embody and impart.

It is sometimes said that the Song of Solomon is not quoted or referred to in the New Testament, and that therefore it cannot have that high spiritual significancy which I have above advocated. In reply I quote the words of Hengstenberg:—'The New Testament is pervaded by references to the Song of Songs, and all of them are based on the supposition that it is to be interpreted spiritually. Proportionally no book of the Old Testament is so frequently referred to, implicitly or explicitly, in the New Testament, as this one; and we cannot but be surprised at the superficiality or the prejudices of those who have asserted that the Song of Songs is never quoted in the New Testament.' The following passages afford ample proof that its language and spirit were constantly before the mind of our Lord and his apostles, Mat. 6. 28-30; 13. 25; 24. 42; 21. 33; 26. 6-13; Mar. 14. 3; Lu. 12. 35-37; 13. 31, 32; 7. 38; Jn. 6. 44; 7. 33, 34, 12. 3; 21. 16; 3. 29; 2. 1-11; Ep. 5. 27.—P.