mh_parser/vol_split/22 - Song of Solomon/Chapter 1.xml

<div2 id="Song.ii" n="ii" next="Song.iii" prev="Song.i" progress="95.67%" title="Chapter I">
<h2 id="Song.ii-p0.1">S O N G   O F   S O L O M O
N.</h2>
<h3 id="Song.ii-p0.2">CHAP. I.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Song.ii-p1">In this chapter, after the title of the book
(<scripRef id="Song.ii-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Song.1.1" parsed="|Song|1|1|0|0" passage="So 1:1">ver. 1</scripRef>), we have Christ and
his church, Christ and a believer, expressing their esteem for each
other. I. The bride, the church, speaks to the bridegroom
(<scripRef id="Song.ii-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Song.1.2-Song.1.4" parsed="|Song|1|2|1|4" passage="So 1:2-4">ver. 2-4</scripRef>), to the
daughters of Jerusalem (<scripRef id="Song.ii-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Song.1.5-Song.1.6" parsed="|Song|1|5|1|6" passage="So 1:5,6">ver. 5,
6</scripRef>), and then to the bridegroom, <scripRef id="Song.ii-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Song.1.7" parsed="|Song|1|7|0|0" passage="So 1:7">ver. 7</scripRef>. II. Christ, the bridegroom, speaks in
answer to the complaints and requests of his spouse, <scripRef id="Song.ii-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Song.1.8-Song.1.11" parsed="|Song|1|8|1|11" passage="So 1:8-11">ver. 8-11</scripRef>. III. The church expresses
the great value she has for Christ, and the delights she takes in
communion with him, <scripRef id="Song.ii-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Song.1.12-Song.1.14" parsed="|Song|1|12|1|14" passage="So 1:12-14">ver.
12-14</scripRef>. IV. Christ commends the church's beauty,
<scripRef id="Song.ii-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Song.1.15" parsed="|Song|1|15|0|0" passage="So 1:15">ver. 15</scripRef>. V. The church
returns the commendation, <scripRef id="Song.ii-p1.8" osisRef="Bible:Song.1.16-Song.1.17" parsed="|Song|1|16|1|17" passage="So 1:16,17">ver. 16,
17</scripRef>. Where there is a fire of true love to Christ in the
heart this will be of use to blow it up into a flame.</p>
<scripCom id="Song.ii-p1.9" osisRef="Bible:Song.1" parsed="|Song|1|0|0|0" passage="So 1" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Song.ii-p1.10" osisRef="Bible:Song.1.1" parsed="|Song|1|1|0|0" passage="So 1:1" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Song.1.1">
<h4 id="Song.ii-p1.11">The Title of the Book.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Song.ii-p2">1 The song of songs, which <i>is</i>
Solomon's.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.ii-p3">We have here the title of this book,
showing, 1. The nature of it; it is a <i>song,</i> that it might
the better answer the intention, which is to stir up the affections
and to heat them, which poetry will be very instrumental to do. The
subject is pleasing, and therefore fit to be treated of in a song,
in singing which we may <i>make melody with our hearts unto the
Lord.</i> It is evangelical; and gospel-times should be times of
joy, for gospel-grace puts a <i>new song</i> into our mouths,
<scripRef id="Song.ii-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.98.1" parsed="|Ps|98|1|0|0" passage="Ps 98:1">Ps. xcviii. 1</scripRef>. 2. The
dignity of it; it is <i>the song of songs,</i> a most excellent
song, not only above any human composition, or above all other
songs which Solomon penned, but even above any other of the
scripture-songs, as having more of Christ in it. 3. The penman of
it; it is Solomon's. It is not the song of fools, as many of the
songs of love are, but the song of the wisest of men; nor can any
man give a better proof of his wisdom than to celebrate the love of
God to mankind and to excite his own love to God and that of others
with it. Solomon's songs were a thousand and five (<scripRef id="Song.ii-p3.2" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.4.32" parsed="|1Kgs|4|32|0|0" passage="1Ki 4:32">1 Kings iv. 32</scripRef>); those that were of
other subjects are lost, but this of seraphic love remains, and
will to the end of time. Solomon, like his father, was addicted to
poetry, and, which way soever a man's genius lies, he should
endeavor to honour God and edify the church with it. One of
Solomon's names was <i>Jedidiah</i>—<i>beloved of the Lord</i>
(<scripRef id="Song.ii-p3.3" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.12.25" parsed="|2Sam|12|25|0|0" passage="2Sa 12:25">2 Sam. xii. 25</scripRef>); and none
so fit to write of the Lord's love as he that had himself so great
an interest in it; none of all the apostles wrote so much of love
as he that was himself the beloved disciple and lay in Christ's
bosom. Solomon, as a king, had great affairs to mind and manage,
which took up much of his thoughts and time, yet he found heart and
leisure for this and other religious exercises. Men of business
ought to be devout men, and not to think that business will excuse
them from that which is every man's great business—to keep up
communion with God. It is not certain when Solomon penned this
sacred song. Some think that he penned it after he recovered
himself by the grace of God from his backslidings, as a further
proof of his repentance, and as if by doing good to many with this
song he would atone for the hurt he had perhaps done with loose,
vain, amorous songs, when he <i>loved many strange wives;</i> now
he turned his wit the right way. It is more probable that he penned
it in the beginning of his time, while he kept close to God and
kept up his communion with him; and perhaps he put this song, with
his father's psalms, into the hands of the chief musician, for the
service of the temple, not without a key to it, for the right
understanding of it. Some think that it was penned upon occasion of
his marriage with Pharaoh's daughter, but that is uncertain; the
tower of Lebanon, which is mentioned in this book (<scripRef id="Song.ii-p3.4" osisRef="Bible:Song.7.4" parsed="|Song|7|4|0|0" passage="So 7:4"><i>ch.</i> vii. 4</scripRef>), was not built, as
is supposed, till long after the marriage. We may reasonably think
that when in the height of his prosperity he <i>loved the Lord</i>
(<scripRef id="Song.ii-p3.5" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.3.3" parsed="|1Kgs|3|3|0|0" passage="1Ki 3:3">1 Kings iii. 3</scripRef>) he thus
<i>served him with joyfulness and gladness of heart in the
abundance of all things.</i> It may be rendered, <i>The song of
songs, which is concerning Solomon,</i> who as the son and
successor of David, on whom the covenant of royalty was entailed,
as the founder of the temple, and as one that excelled in wisdom
and wealth, was a type of Christ, in whom are <i>hidden all the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge,</i> and yet is a greater than
Solomon; this is therefore a song concerning him. It is here fitly
placed after <i>Ecclesiastes;</i> for when by the book we are
thoroughly convinced of the vanity of the creature, and its
insufficiency to satisfy us and make a happiness for us, we shall
be quickened to seek for happiness in the love of Christ, and that
true transcendent pleasure which is to be found only in communion
with God through him. The voice in the wilderness, that was to
prepare Christ's way, cried, <i>All flesh is grass.</i></p>
</div><scripCom id="Song.ii-p3.6" osisRef="Bible:Song.1.2-Song.1.6" parsed="|Song|1|2|1|6" passage="So 1:2-6" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Song.1.2-Song.1.6">
<h4 id="Song.ii-p3.7">The Love of the Church to
Christ.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Song.ii-p4">2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth:
for thy love <i>is</i> better than wine.   3 Because of the
savour of thy good ointments thy name <i>is as</i> ointment poured
forth, therefore do the virgins love thee.   4 Draw me, we
will run after thee: the king hath brought me into his chambers: we
will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more
than wine: the upright love thee.   5 I <i>am</i> black, but
comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the
curtains of Solomon.   6 Look not upon me, because I <i>am</i>
black, because the sun hath looked upon me: my mother's children
were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards;
<i>but</i> mine own vineyard have I not kept.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.ii-p5">The spouse, in this dramatic poem, is here
first introduced addressing herself to the bridegroom and then to
the daughters of Jerusalem.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.ii-p6">I. To the bridegroom, not giving him any
name or title, but beginning abruptly: <i>Let him kiss me;</i> like
Mary Magdalen to the supposed gardener (<scripRef id="Song.ii-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:John.20.15" parsed="|John|20|15|0|0" passage="Joh 20:15">John xx. 15</scripRef>), <i>If thou have borne him
hence,</i> meaning Christ, but not naming him. The heart has been
before taken up with the thoughts of him, and to this relative
those thoughts were the antecedent, that good matter which the
heart was inditing, <scripRef id="Song.ii-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.45.1" parsed="|Ps|45|1|0|0" passage="Ps 45:1">Ps. xlv.
1</scripRef>. Those that are full of Christ themselves are ready to
think that others should be so too. Two things the spouse desires,
and pleases herself with the thoughts of:—</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.ii-p7">1. The bridegroom's friendship (<scripRef id="Song.ii-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Song.1.2" parsed="|Song|1|2|0|0" passage="So 1:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>): "<i>Let him kiss me with
the kisses of his mouth,</i> that is, be reconciled to me, and let
me know that he is so; let me have the token of his favour." Thus
the Old-Testament church desired Christ's manifesting himself in
the flesh, to be no longer under the law as a schoolmaster, under a
dispensation of bondage and terror, but to receive the
communications of divine grace in the gospel, in which God is
reconciling the world unto himself, binding up and healing what by
the law was torn and smitten; as the mother kisses the child that
she has chidden. "Let him no longer send to me, but come himself,
no longer speak by angels and prophets, but let me have the word of
his own mouth, those <i>gracious words</i> (<scripRef id="Song.ii-p7.2" osisRef="Bible:Luke.4.22" parsed="|Luke|4|22|0|0" passage="Lu 4:22">Luke iv. 22</scripRef>), which will be to me as the
<i>kisses of the mouth,</i> sure tokens of reconciliation, as
Esau's kissing Jacob was." All gospel duty is summed up in our
kissing the Son (<scripRef id="Song.ii-p7.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.2.12" parsed="|Ps|2|12|0|0" passage="Ps 2:12">Ps. ii.
12</scripRef>); so all gospel-grace is summed up in his kissing us,
as the father of the prodigal kissed him when he returned a
penitent. It is a kiss of peace. Kisses are opposed to wounds
(<scripRef id="Song.ii-p7.4" osisRef="Bible:Prov.27.6" parsed="|Prov|27|6|0|0" passage="Pr 27:6">Prov. xxvii. 6</scripRef>), so are the
kisses of grace to the wounds of the law. Thus all true believers
earnestly desire the manifestations of Christ's love to their
souls; they desire no more to make them happy than the assurance of
his favour, the lifting up of the light of his countenance upon
them (<scripRef id="Song.ii-p7.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.4.6-Ps.4.7" parsed="|Ps|4|6|4|7" passage="Ps 4:6,7">Ps. iv. 6, 7</scripRef>), and
the knowledge of that love of his which surpasses knowledge; this
is the one thing they desire, <scripRef id="Song.ii-p7.6" osisRef="Bible:Ps.27.4" parsed="|Ps|27|4|0|0" passage="Ps 27:4">Ps.
xxvii. 4</scripRef>. They are ready to welcome the manifestation of
Christ's love to their souls by his Spirit, and to return them in
the humble professions of love to him and complacency in him, above
all. <i>The fruit of his lips is peace,</i> <scripRef id="Song.ii-p7.7" osisRef="Bible:Isa.57.19" parsed="|Isa|57|19|0|0" passage="Isa 57:19">Isa. lvii. 19</scripRef>. "Let him give me ten thousand
kisses whose very fruition makes me desire him more, and, whereas
all other pleasures sour and wither by using, those of the Spirit
become more delightful." So bishop Reynolds. She gives several
reasons for this desire. (1.) Because of the great esteem she has
for his love: <i>Thy love is better than wine.</i> Wine <i>makes
glad the heart,</i> revives the drooping spirits, and exhilarates
them, but gracious souls take more pleasure in loving Christ and
being beloved of him, in the fruits and gifts of his love and in
the pledges and assurances of it, than any man ever took in the
most exquisite delights of sense, and it is more reviving to them
than ever the richest cordial was to one ready to faint. Note, [1.]
Christ's love is in itself, and in the account of all the saints,
more valuable and desirable than the best entertainments this world
can give. [2.] Those only may expect the kisses of Christ's mouth,
and the comfortable tokens of his favour, who prefer his love
before all delights of the children of men, who would rather forego
those delights than forfeit his favour, and take more pleasure in
spiritual joys than in any bodily refreshments whatsoever. Observe
here the change of the person: <i>Let him kiss me;</i> there she
speaks of him as absent, or as if she were afraid to speak to him;
but, in the next words, she sees him near at hand, and therefore
directs her speech to him: "<i>Thy love, thy loves</i>" (so the
word is), "I so earnestly desire, because I highly esteem it." (2.)
Because of the diffuse fragrancy of his love and the fruits of it
(<scripRef id="Song.ii-p7.8" osisRef="Bible:Song.1.3" parsed="|Song|1|3|0|0" passage="So 1:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>): "<i>Because of
the savour of thy good ointment</i> (the agreeableness and
acceptableness of thy graces and comforts to all that rightly
understand both them and themselves), <i>thy name is as ointment
poured forth,</i> thou art so, and all that whereby thou hast made
thyself known; thy very name is precious to all the saints; it is
an ointment and perfume which rejoice the heart." The unfolding of
Christ's name is as the opening of a box of precious ointment,
which the room is filled with the odour of. The preaching of his
gospel was the <i>manifesting the savour of his knowledge in every
place,</i> <scripRef id="Song.ii-p7.9" osisRef="Bible:2Cor.2.14" parsed="|2Cor|2|14|0|0" passage="2Co 2:14">2 Cor. ii. 14</scripRef>.
The Spirit was the <i>oil of gladness</i> wherewith Christ was
anointed (<scripRef id="Song.ii-p7.10" osisRef="Bible:Heb.1.9" parsed="|Heb|1|9|0|0" passage="Heb 1:9">Heb. i. 9</scripRef>), and
all true believers have that <i>unction</i> (<scripRef id="Song.ii-p7.11" osisRef="Bible:1John.2.27" parsed="|1John|2|27|0|0" passage="1Jo 2:27">1 John ii. 27</scripRef>), so that he is precious to
them, and they to him and to one another. <i>A good name</i> is
<i>as precious ointment,</i> but Christ's name is more fragrant
than any other. Wisdom, like oil, <i>makes the face to shine;</i>
but the Redeemer outshines, in beauty, all others. The name of
Christ is not now like ointment sealed up, as it had been long
(<i>Ask not after my name, for it is secret</i>), but like
<i>ointment poured forth,</i> which denotes both the freeness and
fulness of the communications of his grace by the gospel. (3.)
Because of the general affection that all holy souls have to him:
<i>Therefore do the virgins love thee.</i> It is <i>Christ's love
shed abroad in our hearts</i> that draws them out in love to him;
all that are pure from the corruptions of sin, that preserve the
chastity of their own spirits, and are true to the vows by which
they have devoted themselves to God, that not only suffer not their
affections to be violated but cannot bear so much as to be
solicited by the world and the flesh, those are the virgins that
love Jesus Christ and <i>follow him whithersoever he goes,</i>
<scripRef id="Song.ii-p7.12" osisRef="Bible:Rev.14.4" parsed="|Rev|14|4|0|0" passage="Re 14:4">Rev. xiv. 4</scripRef>. And, because
Christ is the darling of all the <i>pure in heart,</i> let him be
ours, and let our desires be towards him and towards the <i>kisses
of his mouth.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.ii-p8">2. The bridegroom's fellowship, <scripRef id="Song.ii-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Song.1.4" parsed="|Song|1|4|0|0" passage="So 1:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>. Observe here,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.ii-p9">(1.) Her petition for divine grace: <i>Draw
me.</i> This implies sense of distance from him, desire of union
with him. "Draw me to thyself, draw me nearer, draw me home to
thee." She had prayed that he would draw nigh to her (<scripRef id="Song.ii-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Song.1.2" parsed="|Song|1|2|0|0" passage="So 1:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>); in order to that, she
prays that he would draw her nigh to him. "<i>Draw me,</i> not only
with the moral suasion which there is in the fragrancy of the good
ointments, not only with the attractives of that name which is as
ointment poured forth, but with supernatural grace, with the
<i>cords of a man</i> and the <i>bands of love,</i>" <scripRef id="Song.ii-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:Hos.11.4" parsed="|Hos|11|4|0|0" passage="Ho 11:4">Hos. xi. 4</scripRef>. Christ has told us that
none come to him but such as the Father draws, <scripRef id="Song.ii-p9.3" osisRef="Bible:John.6.44" parsed="|John|6|44|0|0" passage="Joh 6:44">John vi. 44</scripRef>. We are not only weak, and cannot
come of ourselves any further than we are helped, but we are
naturally backward and averse to come, and therefore must pray for
those influences and operations of the Spirit, by the power of
which we are unwilling made willing, <scripRef id="Song.ii-p9.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.110.3" parsed="|Ps|110|3|0|0" passage="Ps 110:3">Ps. cx. 3</scripRef>. "<i>Draw me,</i> else I move not;
overpower the world and the flesh that would draw me from thee." We
are not driven to Christ, but drawn in such a way as is agreeable
to rational creatures.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.ii-p10">(2.) Her promise to improve that grace:
<i>Draw me,</i> and then <i>we will run after thee.</i> See how the
doctrine of special and effectual grace consists with our duty, and
is a powerful engagement and encouragement to it, and yet reserves
all the glory of all the good that is in us to God only. Observe,
[1.] The flowing forth of the soul after Christ, and its ready
compliance with him, are the effect of his grace; we could not run
after him if he did not draw us, <scripRef id="Song.ii-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:2Cor.3.5 Bible:Phil.4.13" parsed="|2Cor|3|5|0|0;|Phil|4|13|0|0" passage="2Co 3:5,Php 4:13">2 Cor. iii. 5; Phil. iv. 13</scripRef>. [2.] The
grace which God gives us we must diligently improve. When Christ by
his Spirit draws us we must with our spirits run after him. As God
says, <i>I will,</i> and <i>you shall</i> (<scripRef id="Song.ii-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.36.27" parsed="|Ezek|36|27|0|0" passage="Eze 36:27">Ezek. xxxvi. 27</scripRef>), so we must say, "<i>Thou
shalt</i> and <i>we will;</i> thou shalt <i>work in us both to will
and to do,</i> and therefore we will work out our own salvation"
(<scripRef id="Song.ii-p10.3" osisRef="Bible:Phil.2.12-Phil.2.13" parsed="|Phil|2|12|2|13" passage="Php 2:12,13">Phil. ii. 12, 13</scripRef>); not
only we will walk, but we will run after thee, which denotes
eagerness of desire, readiness of affection, vigour of pursuit, and
swiftness of motion. <i>When thou shalt enlarge my heart</i> then
<i>I will run the way of thy commandments</i> (<scripRef id="Song.ii-p10.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.119.32" parsed="|Ps|119|32|0|0" passage="Ps 119:32">Ps. cxix. 32</scripRef>); when <i>thy right hand
upholds me</i> then <i>my soul follows hard after thee</i>
(<scripRef id="Song.ii-p10.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.63.8" parsed="|Ps|63|8|0|0" passage="Ps 63:8">Ps. lxiii. 8</scripRef>); when with
lovingkindness to us he draws us (<scripRef id="Song.ii-p10.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.31.3" parsed="|Jer|31|3|0|0" passage="Jer 31:3">Jer.
xxxi. 3</scripRef>) we with lovingkindness to him must run after
him, <scripRef id="Song.ii-p10.7" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.31" parsed="|Isa|40|31|0|0" passage="Isa 40:31">Isa. xl. 31</scripRef>. Observe
the difference between the petition and the promise: "Draw me, and
then we will run." When Christ pours out his Spirit upon the church
in general, which is his bride, all the members of it do thence
receive enlivening quickening influences, and are made to run to
him with the more cheerfulness, <scripRef id="Song.ii-p10.8" osisRef="Bible:Isa.55.5" parsed="|Isa|55|5|0|0" passage="Isa 55:5">Isa.
lv. 5</scripRef>. Or, "Draw me" (says the believing soul) "and then
I will not only follow thee myself as fast as I can, but will bring
all mine along with me: <i>We will run after thee,</i> I and the
<i>virgins that love thee</i> (<scripRef id="Song.ii-p10.9" osisRef="Bible:Song.1.3" parsed="|Song|1|3|0|0" passage="So 1:3"><i>v.</i>
3</scripRef>), I and all that I have any interest in or influence
upon, <i>I and my house</i> (<scripRef id="Song.ii-p10.10" osisRef="Bible:Josh.24.15" parsed="|Josh|24|15|0|0" passage="Jos 24:15">Josh.
xxiv. 15</scripRef>), I and the <i>transgressors whom I will teach
thy ways,</i>" <scripRef id="Song.ii-p10.11" osisRef="Bible:Ps.51.13" parsed="|Ps|51|13|0|0" passage="Ps 51:13">Ps. li. 13</scripRef>.
Those that put themselves forth, in compliance with divine grace,
shall find that their <i>zeal will provoke many,</i> <scripRef id="Song.ii-p10.12" osisRef="Bible:2Cor.9.2" parsed="|2Cor|9|2|0|0" passage="2Co 9:2">2 Cor. ix. 2</scripRef>. Those that are lively
will be active; when Philip was drawn to Christ he drew Nathanael;
and they will be exemplary, and so will win those that would not be
won by the word.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.ii-p11">(3.) The immediate answer that was given to
this prayer: <i>The King has</i> drawn me, has <i>brought me into
his chambers.</i> It is not so much an answer fetched by faith from
the world of Christ's grace as an answer fetched by experience from
the workings of his grace. If we observe, as we ought, the returns
of prayer, we may find that sometimes, <i>while we are yet
speaking,</i> Christ hears, <scripRef id="Song.ii-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.65.24" parsed="|Isa|65|24|0|0" passage="Isa 65:24">Isa. lxv.
24</scripRef>. The bridegroom is a king; so much the more wonderful
is his condescension in the invitations and entertainments that he
gives us, and so much the greater reason have we to accept of them
and to <i>run after him.</i> God is the King that has made the
<i>marriage-supper</i> for his Son (<scripRef id="Song.ii-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Matt.22.2" parsed="|Matt|22|2|0|0" passage="Mt 22:2">Matt. xxii. 2</scripRef>) and brings in even <i>the poor
and the maimed,</i> and even the most shy and bashful are
<i>compelled to come in.</i> Those that are drawn to Christ are
brought, not only into his courts, into his palaces (<scripRef id="Song.ii-p11.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.45.15" parsed="|Ps|45|15|0|0" passage="Ps 45:15">Ps. xlv. 15</scripRef>), but into his
presence-chamber, where his secret is with them (<scripRef id="Song.ii-p11.4" osisRef="Bible:John.14.21" parsed="|John|14|21|0|0" passage="Joh 14:21">John xiv. 21</scripRef>), and where they are safe in
his pavilion, <scripRef id="Song.ii-p11.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.27.5 Bible:Isa.26.20" parsed="|Ps|27|5|0|0;|Isa|26|20|0|0" passage="Ps 27:5,Isa 26:20">Ps. xxvii. 5;
Isa. xxvi. 20</scripRef>. Those that <i>wait at wisdom's gates</i>
shall be <i>made to come</i> (so the word is) <i>into her
chambers;</i> they shall be led into truth and comfort.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.ii-p12">(4.) The wonderful complacency which the
spouse takes in the honour which the king put upon her. Being
<i>brought into the chamber,</i> [1.] "We have what we would have.
Our desires are crowned with unspeakable delights; all our griefs
vanish, and <i>we will be glad and rejoice.</i> If <i>a day in the
courts,</i> much more an hour in the chambers, <i>is better than a
thousand,</i> than ten thousand, elsewhere." Those that are,
through grace, brought into covenant and communion with God, have
reason to <i>go on their way rejoicing,</i> as the eunuch
(<scripRef id="Song.ii-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Acts.8.39" parsed="|Acts|8|39|0|0" passage="Ac 8:39">Acts viii. 39</scripRef>), and that
joy will enlarge our hearts and be our strength, <scripRef id="Song.ii-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:Neh.8.10" parsed="|Neh|8|10|0|0" passage="Ne 8:10">Neh. viii. 10</scripRef>. [2.] All our joy shall centre
in God: "<i>We will rejoice,</i> not in the ointments, or the
chambers, but <i>in thee.</i> It is God only that is our
<i>exceeding joy,</i> <scripRef id="Song.ii-p12.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.43.4" parsed="|Ps|43|4|0|0" passage="Ps 43:4">Ps. xliii.
4</scripRef>. We have no joy but in Christ, and which we are
indebted to him for." <i>Gaudium in Domino</i>—<i>Joy in the
Lord,</i> was the ancient salutation, and <i>Salus in Domino
sempiterna</i>—<i>Eternal salvation in the Lord.</i> [3.] "We will
retain the relish and savour of this kindness of thine and never
forget it: <i>We will remember thy loves more than wine;</i> no
only thy love itself (<scripRef id="Song.ii-p12.4" osisRef="Bible:Song.1.2" parsed="|Song|1|2|0|0" passage="So 1:2"><i>v.</i>
2</scripRef>), but the very remembrance of it shall be more
grateful to us than the strongest cordial to the spirits, or the
most palatable liquor to the taste. We will remember to give thanks
for thy love, and it shall make more durable impressions upon us
than any thing in this world."</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.ii-p13">(5.) The communion which a gracious soul
has with all the saints in this communion with Christ. In the
chambers to which we are brought we not only meet with him, but
meet with one another (<scripRef id="Song.ii-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:1John.1.7" parsed="|1John|1|7|0|0" passage="1Jo 1:7">1 John i.
7</scripRef>); for <i>the upright love thee;</i> the congregation,
the generation, of the <i>upright love thee.</i> Whatever others
do, all that are Israelites indeed, and faithful to God, will love
Jesus Christ. Whatever differences of apprehension and affection
there may be among Christians in other things, this they are all
agreed in, Jesus Christ is precious to them. <i>The upright</i>
here are the same with the <i>virgins,</i> <scripRef id="Song.ii-p13.2" osisRef="Bible:Song.1.3" parsed="|Song|1|3|0|0" passage="So 1:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>. All that <i>remember his love more
than wine</i> will love him with a superlative love. Nor is any
love acceptable to Christ but the love of <i>the upright,</i> love
in sincerity, <scripRef id="Song.ii-p13.3" osisRef="Bible:Eph.6.24" parsed="|Eph|6|24|0|0" passage="Eph 6:24">Eph. vi.
24</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.ii-p14">II. To <i>the daughters of Jerusalem,</i>
<scripRef id="Song.ii-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Song.1.5-Song.1.6" parsed="|Song|1|5|1|6" passage="So 1:5,6"><i>v.</i> 5, 6</scripRef>. The church
in general, being in distress, speaks to particular churches to
guard them against the danger they were in of being offended at the
church's sufferings, <scripRef id="Song.ii-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:1Thess.3.3" parsed="|1Thess|3|3|0|0" passage="1Th 3:3">1 Thess. iii.
3</scripRef>. Or the believer speaks to those that were professors
at large in the church, but not of it, or to weak Christians, babes
in Christ, that labour under much ignorance, infirmity, and
mistake, not perfectly instructed, and yet willing to be taught in
the things of God. She observed these by-standers look disdainfully
upon her because of her blackness, in respect both of sins and
sufferings, upon the account of which they though she had little
reason to expect the kisses she wished for (<scripRef id="Song.ii-p14.3" osisRef="Bible:Song.1.2" parsed="|Song|1|2|0|0" passage="So 1:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>) or to expect that they should join
with her in her joys, <scripRef id="Song.ii-p14.4" osisRef="Bible:Song.1.4" parsed="|Song|1|4|0|0" passage="So 1:4"><i>v.</i>
4</scripRef>. She therefore endeavors to remove this offence; she
owns she is <i>black.</i> Guilt blackens; the heresies, scandals,
and offences, that happen in the church, make her <i>black;</i> and
the best saints have their failings. Sorrow blackens; that seems to
be especially meant; the church is often in a low condition, mean,
and poor, and in appearance despicable, her beauty sullied and her
face foul with weeping; she is in mourning weeds, clothed with
sackcloth, as the Nazarites that had become <i>blacker than a
coal,</i> <scripRef id="Song.ii-p14.5" osisRef="Bible:Lam.4.8" parsed="|Lam|4|8|0|0" passage="La 4:8">Lam. iv. 8</scripRef>. Now, to
take off this offence,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.ii-p15">1. She asserts her own comeliness
notwithstanding (<scripRef id="Song.ii-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Song.1.5" parsed="|Song|1|5|0|0" passage="So 1:5"><i>v.</i>
5</scripRef>): <i>I am black, but comely,</i> black <i>as the tents
of Kedar,</i> in which the shepherds lived, which were very coarse,
and never whitened, weather-beaten and discoloured by long use, but
comely <i>as the curtains of Solomon,</i> the furniture of whose
rooms, no doubt, was sumptuous and rich, in proportion to the
stateliness of his houses. The church is sometimes <i>black</i>
with persecution, <i>but comely</i> in patience, constancy, and
consolation, and never the less amiable in the eyes of Christ,
<i>black in the account of men, but comely</i> in God's esteem,
<i>black</i> in some that are a scandal to her, <i>but comely</i>
in others that are sincere and are an honour to her. True believers
are <i>black</i> in themselves, <i>but comely</i> in Christ, with
the comeliness that he puts upon them, <i>black</i> outwardly, for
<i>the world knows them not,</i> but <i>all glorious within,</i>
<scripRef id="Song.ii-p15.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.45.13" parsed="|Ps|45|13|0|0" passage="Ps 45:13">Ps. xlv. 13</scripRef>. St. Paul was
<i>weak,</i> and yet <i>strong,</i> <scripRef id="Song.ii-p15.3" osisRef="Bible:2Cor.12.10" parsed="|2Cor|12|10|0|0" passage="2Co 12:10">2
Cor. xii. 10</scripRef>. And so the church is <i>black</i> and yet
<i>comely;</i> a believer is a sinner and yet a saint; his own
righteousnesses are <i>as filthy rags,</i> but he is clothed with
the robe of Christ's righteousness. The Chaldee Paraphrase applies
it to the people of Israel's blackness when they made the golden
calf and their comeliness when they repented of it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.ii-p16">2. She gives an account how she came to be
so black. The blackness was not natural, but contracted, and was
owing to the hard usage that had been given her: <i>Look not upon
me</i> so scornfully <i>because I am black.</i> We must take heed
with what eye we look upon the church, especially when she is in
black. <i>Thou shouldst not have looked upon the day of thy
brother,</i> the day of his affliction, <scripRef id="Song.ii-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Obad.1.12" parsed="|Obad|1|12|0|0" passage="Ob 1:12">Obad. 12</scripRef>. Be not offended; for,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.ii-p17">(1.) <i>I am black</i> by reason of my
sufferings: <i>The sun has looked upon me.</i> She was fair and
comely; whiteness was her proper colour; but she got this blackness
by <i>the burden and heat of the day,</i> which she was forced to
bear. She was sun-burnt, scorched with tribulation and persecution
(<scripRef id="Song.ii-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Matt.13.6 Bible:Matt.13.21" parsed="|Matt|13|6|0|0;|Matt|13|21|0|0" passage="Mt 13:6,21">Matt. xiii. 6, 21</scripRef>); and
the greatest beauties, if exposed to the weather, are soonest
tanned. Observe how she mitigates her troubles; she does not say,
as Jacob (<scripRef id="Song.ii-p17.2" osisRef="Bible:Gen.31.40" parsed="|Gen|31|40|0|0" passage="Ge 31:40">Gen. xxxi. 40</scripRef>),
<i>In the day the drought consumed me,</i> but, <i>The sun has
looked upon me;</i> for it becomes not God's suffering people to
make the worst of their sufferings. But what was the matter? [1.]
She fell under the displeasure of those of her own house: <i>My
mother's children were angry with me.</i> She was <i>in perils by
false brethren;</i> her foes were <i>those of her own house</i>
(<scripRef id="Song.ii-p17.3" osisRef="Bible:Matt.10.36" parsed="|Matt|10|36|0|0" passage="Mt 10:36">Matt. x. 36</scripRef>), brethren by
nature as men, by profession as members of the same sacred
corporation, the children of the church her mother, but not of God
her Father; they <i>were angry with</i> her. The Samaritans, who
claimed kindred to the Jews, were vexed at any thing that tended to
the prosperity of Jerusalem, <scripRef id="Song.ii-p17.4" osisRef="Bible:Neh.2.10" parsed="|Neh|2|10|0|0" passage="Ne 2:10">Neh. ii.
10</scripRef>. Note, It is no new thing for the people of God to
fall under the anger of their own mother's children. <i>It was
thou, a man, my equal,</i> <scripRef id="Song.ii-p17.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.55.12-Ps.55.13" parsed="|Ps|55|12|55|13" passage="Ps 55:12,13">Ps. lv.
12, 13</scripRef>. This makes the trouble the more irksome and
grievous; from such it is taken unkindly, and the anger of such is
implacable. <i>A brother offended is hard to be won.</i> [2.] They
dealt very hardly with her: <i>They made me the keeper of the
vineyards,</i> that is, <i>First,</i> "They seduced me to sin, drew
me into false worships, to serve their gods, which was like
dressing the vineyards, <i>keeping the vine of Sodom;</i> and they
would not let me <i>keep my own vineyard,</i> serve my own God, and
observe those pure worships which he gave me in charge, and which I
do and ever will own for mine." These are grievances which good
people complain most of in a time of persecution, that their
consciences are forced, and that those who rule them with rigour
say <i>to their souls, Bow down, that we may go over,</i> <scripRef id="Song.ii-p17.6" osisRef="Bible:Isa.51.23" parsed="|Isa|51|23|0|0" passage="Isa 51:23">Isa. li. 23</scripRef>. Or, <i>Secondly,</i>
"They brought me into trouble, imposed that upon me which was
toilsome, and burdensome, and very disgraceful." Keeping the
vineyards was base servile work, and very laborious, <scripRef id="Song.ii-p17.7" osisRef="Bible:Isa.61.5" parsed="|Isa|61|5|0|0" passage="Isa 61:5">Isa. lxi. 5</scripRef>. Her mother's children
made her the drudge of the family. <i>Cursed be their anger, for it
was fierce, and their wrath, for it was cruel.</i> The spouse of
Christ has met with a great deal of hard usage.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.ii-p18">(2.) "My sufferings are such as I have
deserved; for <i>my own vineyard have I not kept.</i> How
unrighteous soever my brethren are in persecuting me, God is
righteous in permitting them to do so. I am justly made a slavish
keeper of men's vineyards, because I have been a careless keeper of
the vineyards God has entrusted me with." Slothful servants of God
are justly made to serve their enemies, <i>that they may know his
service, and the service of the kings of the countries,</i>
<scripRef id="Song.ii-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.12.8 Bible:Deut.28.47-Deut.28.48 Bible:Ezek.20.23-Ezek.20.24" parsed="|2Chr|12|8|0|0;|Deut|28|47|28|48;|Ezek|20|23|20|24" passage="2Ch 12:8,De 28:47,48,Eze 20:23,24">2 Chron. xii.
8; Deut. xxviii. 47, 48; Ezek. xx. 23, 24</scripRef>. "Think not
the worse of the ways of God for my sufferings, for I smart for my
own folly." Note, When God's people are oppressed and persecuted it
becomes them to acknowledge their own sin to be the procuring cause
of their troubles, especially their carelessness in keeping their
vineyards, so that it has been like <i>the field of the
slothful.</i></p>
</div><scripCom id="Song.ii-p18.2" osisRef="Bible:Song.1.7-Song.1.11" parsed="|Song|1|7|1|11" passage="So 1:7-11" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Song.1.7-Song.1.11">
<h4 id="Song.ii-p18.3">The Love of the Church to
Christ.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Song.ii-p19">7 Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where
thou feedest, where thou makest <i>thy flock</i> to rest at noon:
for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy
companions?   8 If thou know not, O thou fairest among women,
go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids
beside the shepherds' tents.   9 I have compared thee, O my
love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh's chariots.   10 Thy
cheeks are comely with rows <i>of jewels,</i> thy neck with chains
<i>of gold.</i>   11 We will make thee borders of gold with
studs of silver.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.ii-p20">Here is, I. The humble petition which the
spouse presents to her beloved, the shepherdess to the shepherd,
the church and every believer to Christ, for a more free and
intimate communion with him. She turns from the <i>daughters of
Jerusalem,</i> to whom she had complained both of her sins and of
her troubles, and looks up to heaven for relief and succour against
both, <scripRef id="Song.ii-p20.1" osisRef="Bible:Song.1.7" parsed="|Song|1|7|0|0" passage="So 1:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>. Here
observe, 1. The title she gives to Christ: <i>O thou whom my soul
loveth.</i> Note, It is the undoubted character of all true
believers that their souls love Jesus Christ, which intimates both
the sincerity and the strength of their love; they <i>love him with
all their hearts;</i> and those that do so may come to him boldly
and may humbly plead it with him. 2. The opinion she has of him as
the good shepherd of the sheep; she doubts not but he <i>feeds his
flock</i> and <i>makes them rest at noon.</i> Jesus Christ
graciously provides both repast and repose for his sheep; they are
not starved, but well fed, not scattered upon the mountains, but
fed together, fed <i>in green pastures</i> and in the hot time of
the day <i>led by the still waters</i> and made to lie down under a
cool refreshing shade. Is it with God's people a noon-time of
outward troubles, inward conflicts? Christ has rest for them; he
<i>carries them in his arms,</i> <scripRef id="Song.ii-p20.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.11" parsed="|Isa|40|11|0|0" passage="Isa 40:11">Isa.
xl. 11</scripRef>. 3. Her request to him that she might be admitted
into his society: <i>Tell me where thou feedest.</i> Those that
would be told, that would be taught, what they are concerned to
know and do, must apply to Jesus Christ, and beg of him to teach
them, to tell them. "Tell me where to find thee, where I may have
conversation with thee, <i>where thou feedest</i> and tendest thy
flock, that there I may have some of my company." Observe, by the
way, We should not, in love to our friends and their company, tempt
them or urge them to neglect their business, but desire such an
enjoyment of them as will consist with it, and rather, if we can,
to join with them in their business and help to forward it.
"<i>Tell me where thou feedest,</i> and there I will sit with thee,
walk with thee, feed my flocks with thine, and not hinder thee nor
myself, but bring my work with me." Note, Those whose souls love
Jesus Christ earnestly desire to have communion with him, by his
word in which he speaks to us and by prayer in which we speak to
him, and to share in the privileges of his flock; and we may learn
from the care he takes of his church, to provide convenient food
and rest for it, how to take care of our own souls, which are our
charge. 4. The plea she uses for the enforcing of this request:
"<i>For why should I be as one that turns aside by</i> (or after)
<i>the flocks of thy companions,</i> that pretend to be so, but are
really thy competitors, and rivals with thee." Note, Turning aside
from Christ after other lovers is that which gracious souls dread,
and deprecate, more than any thing else. "Thou wouldst not have me
to <i>turn aside,</i> no, nor to <i>be as one that turns aside;</i>
<i>tell me</i> then, O tell me, where I may be near thee, and I
will never leave thee." (1.) "<i>Why should I</i> lie under
suspicion, and look as if I belonged to some other and not to thee?
<i>Why should I be</i> thought <i>by the flocks of our
companions</i> to be a deserter from thee, and a retainer to some
other shepherd?" Good Christians will be afraid of giving any
occasion to those about them to question their faith in Christ and
their love to him; they would not do any thing that looks like
unconcernedness about their souls; or uncharitableness towards
their brethren, or that savours of indifference and disaffection to
holy ordinances; and we should pray to God to direct us into and
keep us in the way of our duty, that we may not so much as <i>seem
to come short,</i> <scripRef id="Song.ii-p20.3" osisRef="Bible:Heb.4.1" parsed="|Heb|4|1|0|0" passage="Heb 4:1">Heb. iv.
1</scripRef>. (2.) "<i>Why should I</i> lie in temptation to
<i>turn aside,</i> as I do while I am absent from thee?" We should
be earnest with God for a settled peace in communion with God
through Christ, that we may not be as waifs and strays, ready to be
picked up by him that next passes by.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.ii-p21">II. The gracious answer which the
bridegroom gives to this request, <scripRef id="Song.ii-p21.1" osisRef="Bible:Song.1.8" parsed="|Song|1|8|0|0" passage="So 1:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>. See how ready God is to answer
prayer, especially prayers for instruction; even while she is yet
speaking, he hears. Observe, 1. How affectionately he speaks to
her: <i>O thou fairest among women!</i> Note, Believing souls are
fair, in the eyes of the Lord Jesus, above any other. Christ sees a
beauty in holiness, whether we do or no. The spouse has called
herself black, but Christ calls her fair. Those that are low in
their own eyes are so much the more amiable in the eyes of Jesus
Christ. Blushing at their own deformity (says Mr. Durham) is a
chief part of their beauty. 2. How mildly he checks her for her
ignorance, in these words, <i>If thou know not,</i> intimating that
she might have known it if it had not been her own fault. What!
dost thou not know where to find me and my flock? Compare Christ's
answer to a like address of Philip's (<scripRef id="Song.ii-p21.2" osisRef="Bible:John.14.9" parsed="|John|14|9|0|0" passage="Joh 14:9">John xiv. 9</scripRef>), <i>Have I been so long time
with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip?</i> But, 3. With
what tenderness he acquaints her where she might find him. If men
say, <i>Lo, here is Christ, or, Lo, he is there, believe them not,
go not after them,</i> <scripRef id="Song.ii-p21.3" osisRef="Bible:Matt.24.23 Bible:Matt.24.26" parsed="|Matt|24|23|0|0;|Matt|24|26|0|0" passage="Mt 24:23,26">Matt. xxiv.
23, 26</scripRef>. But, (1.) <i>Walk in the way of good men</i>
(<scripRef id="Song.ii-p21.4" osisRef="Bible:Prov.2.20" parsed="|Prov|2|20|0|0" passage="Pr 2:20">Prov. ii. 20</scripRef>), follow the
track, ask for the good old way, observe <i>the footsteps of the
flock,</i> and <i>go forth by</i> them. It will not serve to sit
still and cry, "Lord, show me the way," but we must bestir
ourselves to enquire out the way; and we may find it by looking
which way <i>the footsteps of the flock</i> lead, what has been the
practice of godly people all along; let that practice be ours,
<scripRef id="Song.ii-p21.5" osisRef="Bible:Heb.6.12 Bible:1Cor.11.1" parsed="|Heb|6|12|0|0;|1Cor|11|1|0|0" passage="Heb 6:12,1Co 11:1">Heb. vi. 12; 1 Cor. xi.
1</scripRef>. (2.) Sit under the direction of good ministers:
"<i>Feed</i> thyself <i>and thy kids besides the tents of the
under-shepherds.</i> Bring thy charge with thee" (it is probable
that the custom was to commit the lambs and kids to the custody of
the women, the shepherdesses); "they shall all be welcome; <i>the
shepherds</i> will be no hindrance to thee, as they were to Reuel's
daughters (<scripRef id="Song.ii-p21.6" osisRef="Bible:Exod.2.17" parsed="|Exod|2|17|0|0" passage="Ex 2:17">Exod. ii. 17</scripRef>),
but helpers rather, and therefore abide by their tents." Note,
Those that would have acquaintance and communion with Christ must
closely and conscientiously adhere to holy ordinances, must join
themselves to his people and attend his ministers. Those that have
the charge of families must bring them with them to religious
assemblies; let their <i>kids,</i> their children, their servants,
have the benefit of <i>the shepherds' tents.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.ii-p22">III. The high encomiums which the
bridegroom gives of his spouse. To be <i>given in marriage,</i> in
the Hebrew dialect, is to be <i>praised</i> (<scripRef id="Song.ii-p22.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.78.63" parsed="|Ps|78|63|0|0" passage="Ps 78:63">Ps. lxxviii. 63</scripRef>, margin), so this spouse is
here; her <i>husband praises</i> this <i>virtuous woman</i>
(<scripRef id="Song.ii-p22.2" osisRef="Bible:Prov.31.28" parsed="|Prov|31|28|0|0" passage="Pr 31:28">Prov. xxxi. 28</scripRef>); he
praises her, as is usual in poems, by similitudes. 1. He calls her
his <i>love</i> (<scripRef id="Song.ii-p22.3" osisRef="Bible:Song.1.9" parsed="|Song|1|9|0|0" passage="So 1:9"><i>v.</i>
9</scripRef>); it is an endearing compellation often used in this
book: "My friend, my companion, my familiar." 2. He compares her to
a set of strong and stately <i>horses in Pharaoh's chariots.</i>
Egypt was famous for the best horses. Solomon had his thence; and
Pharaoh, no doubt, had the choicest the country afforded for his
own chariots. The church had complained of her own weakness, and
the danger she was in of being made a prey of by her enemies: "Fear
not," says Christ; "<i>I have made thee like a company of
horses;</i> I have put strength into thee as I have done into
<i>the horse</i> (<scripRef id="Song.ii-p22.4" osisRef="Bible:Job.39.19" parsed="|Job|39|19|0|0" passage="Job 39:19">Job xxxix.
19</scripRef>), so that thou shalt with a gracious boldness <i>mock
at fear, and not be affrighted,</i> like <i>the lion,</i> <scripRef id="Song.ii-p22.5" osisRef="Bible:Prov.28.1" parsed="|Prov|28|1|0|0" passage="Pr 28:1">Prov. xxviii. 1</scripRef>. <i>The Lord has made
thee as his goodly horse in the day of battle,</i> <scripRef id="Song.ii-p22.6" osisRef="Bible:Zech.10.3" parsed="|Zech|10|3|0|0" passage="Zec 10:3">Zech. x. 3</scripRef>. <i>I have compared thee
to my company of horses</i> which triumphed over <i>Pharaoh's
chariots,</i> the holy angels, <i>horses of fire.</i>" <scripRef id="Song.ii-p22.7" osisRef="Bible:Hab.3.15" parsed="|Hab|3|15|0|0" passage="Hab 3:15">Hab. iii. 15</scripRef>, <i>Thou didst walk
through the sea with thy horses;</i> and see <scripRef id="Song.ii-p22.8" osisRef="Bible:Isa.63.13" parsed="|Isa|63|13|0|0" passage="Isa 63:13">Isa. lxiii. 13</scripRef>. We are weak in ourselves,
but if Christ make us as horses, strong and bold, we need not fear
what all the powers of darkness can do against us. 3. He admires
the beauty and ornaments of her countenance (<scripRef id="Song.ii-p22.9" osisRef="Bible:Song.1.10" parsed="|Song|1|10|0|0" passage="So 1:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>): <i>Thy cheeks are comely with
rows of jewels,</i> the attire of the head, curls of hair, or
favourites (so some), or knots of ribbons; <i>thy neck also with
chains,</i> such as persons of the first rank wear, <i>chains of
gold.</i> The ordinances of Christ are the ornaments of the church.
The graces, gifts, and comforts of the Spirit, are the adorning of
every believing soul, and beautify it; these render it, <i>in the
sight of God, of great price.</i> The ornaments of the saints are
many, but all orderly disposed in <i>rows</i> and <i>chains,</i> in
which there is a mutual connexion with and dependence upon each
other. The beauty is not from any thing in themselves, from the
<i>neck</i> or from the <i>cheeks,</i> but from ornaments with
which they are set off. It was <i>comeliness which I put upon thee,
said the Lord God;</i> for we were born not only naked, but
polluted, <scripRef id="Song.ii-p22.10" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.16.14" parsed="|Ezek|16|14|0|0" passage="Eze 16:14">Ezek. xvi.
14</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.ii-p23">IV. His gracious purpose to add to her
ornaments; for where God has given true grace he will give more
grace; <i>to him that has shall be given.</i> Is the church
courageous in her resistance of sin, as the <i>horses in Pharaoh's
chariots?</i> Is she <i>comely</i> in the exercise of grace, as
<i>with rows of jewels</i> and <i>chains of gold?</i> She shall be
yet further beautified (<scripRef id="Song.ii-p23.1" osisRef="Bible:Song.1.11" parsed="|Song|1|11|0|0" passage="So 1:11"><i>v.</i>
11</scripRef>): <i>We will make thee borders of gold,</i> inlaid,
or enamelled, <i>with studs of silver.</i> Whatever is wanting
shall be made up, till the church and every true believer come to
be <i>perfect in beauty;</i> see <scripRef id="Song.ii-p23.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.16.14" parsed="|Ezek|16|14|0|0" passage="Eze 16:14">Ezek. xvi. 14</scripRef>. This is here undertaken to be
done by the concurring power of the three persons in the Godhead:
<i>We will</i> do it; like that (<scripRef id="Song.ii-p23.3" osisRef="Bible:Gen.1.26" parsed="|Gen|1|26|0|0" passage="Ge 1:26">Gen.
i. 26</scripRef>), "<i>Let us make man;</i> so let us new-make him,
and perfect his beauty." The same that is the author will be the
finisher of the good work; and it cannot miscarry.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Song.ii-p23.4" osisRef="Bible:Song.1.12-Song.1.17" parsed="|Song|1|12|1|17" passage="So 1:12-17" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Song.1.12-Song.1.17">
<h4 id="Song.ii-p23.5">Conference between Christ and His
Church.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Song.ii-p24">12 While the king <i>sitteth</i> at his table,
my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof.   13 A bundle of
myrrh <i>is</i> my wellbeloved unto me; he shall lie all night
betwixt my breasts.   14 My beloved <i>is</i> unto me
<i>as</i> a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of Engedi.  
15 Behold, thou <i>art</i> fair, my love; behold, thou <i>art</i>
fair; thou <i>hast</i> doves' eyes.   16 Behold, thou
<i>art</i> fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant: also our bed <i>is</i>
green.   17 The beams of our house <i>are</i> cedar,
<i>and</i> our rafters of fir.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.ii-p25">Here the conference is carried on between
Christ and his spouse, and endearments are mutually exchanged.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.ii-p26">I. Believers take a great complacency in
Christ, and in communion with him. <i>To you that believe he is
precious,</i> above any thing in this world, <scripRef id="Song.ii-p26.1" osisRef="Bible:1Pet.2.7" parsed="|1Pet|2|7|0|0" passage="1Pe 2:7">1 Pet. ii. 7</scripRef>. Observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.ii-p27">1. The humble reverence believers have for
Christ as their Sovereign, <scripRef id="Song.ii-p27.1" osisRef="Bible:Song.1.12" parsed="|Song|1|12|0|0" passage="So 1:12"><i>v.</i>
12</scripRef>. He is a <i>King</i> in respect both of dignity and
dominion; he wears the crown of honour, he bears the sceptre of
power, both which are the unspeakable satisfaction of all his
people. This King has his royal table spread in the gospel, in
which is <i>made for all nations a feast of fat things,</i>
<scripRef id="Song.ii-p27.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.25.6" parsed="|Isa|25|6|0|0" passage="Isa 25:6">Isa. xxv. 6</scripRef>. Wisdom has
<i>furnished her table,</i> <scripRef id="Song.ii-p27.3" osisRef="Bible:Prov.9.1" parsed="|Prov|9|1|0|0" passage="Pr 9:1">Prov. ix.
1</scripRef>. He <i>sits at this table</i> to <i>see his guests</i>
(<scripRef id="Song.ii-p27.4" osisRef="Bible:Matt.22.11" parsed="|Matt|22|11|0|0" passage="Mt 22:11">Matt. xxii. 11</scripRef>), to see
that nothing be wanting that is fit for them; he <i>sups with
them</i> and <i>they with him</i> (<scripRef id="Song.ii-p27.5" osisRef="Bible:Rev.3.20" parsed="|Rev|3|20|0|0" passage="Re 3:20">Rev.
iii. 20</scripRef>); he has fellowship with them and rejoices in
them; he <i>sits at his table</i> to bid them welcome, and to carve
for them, as Christ <i>broke the five loaves</i> and gave to his
disciples, that they might distribute to the multitude. He sits
there to receive petitions, as Ahasuerus admitted Esther's petition
at <i>the banquet of wine.</i> He has promised to be present with
his people in his ordinances always. Then believers do him all the
honour they can, and study how to express their esteem of him and
gratitude to him, as Mary did when she anointed his head with
<i>the ointment of spikenard</i> that was <i>very costly,</i> one
pound of it worth <i>three hundred pence,</i> and so fragrant that
<i>the house was filled with the pleasing odour of it</i>
(<scripRef id="Song.ii-p27.6" osisRef="Bible:John.12.3" parsed="|John|12|3|0|0" passage="Joh 12:3">John xii. 3</scripRef>), which story
seems as if it were designed to refer to this passage, for Christ
was then <i>sitting at table.</i> When good Christians, in any
religious duty, especially in the ordinance of the Lord's supper,
where the King is pleased, as it were, to <i>sit</i> with us <i>at
his</i> own <i>table,</i> have their graces exercised, their hearts
broken by repentance, healed by faith, and inflamed with holy love
and desires toward Christ, with joyful expectations of the glory to
be revealed, then the <i>spikenard sends forth the smell
thereof.</i> Christ is pleased to reckon himself honoured by it,
and to accept of it as an instance of respect to him, as it was in
the wise men of the east, who paid their homage to the new-born
King of the Jews by presenting to him <i>frankincense and
myrrh.</i> The graces of God's Spirit in the hearts of believers
are exceedingly precious in themselves and pleasing to Christ, and
his presence in ordinances draws them out into act and exercise. If
he withdraw, graces wither and languish, as plants in the absence
of the sun; if he approach, the face of the soul is renewed, as of
the earth in the spring; and then it is time to bestir ourselves,
that we may not lose the gleam, not lose the gale; for nothing is
done acceptably but what grace does, <scripRef id="Song.ii-p27.7" osisRef="Bible:Heb.12.28" parsed="|Heb|12|28|0|0" passage="Heb 12:28">Heb. xii. 28</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.ii-p28">2. The strong affection they have for
Christ as their <i>beloved,</i> their <i>well-beloved,</i>
<scripRef id="Song.ii-p28.1" osisRef="Bible:Song.1.13" parsed="|Song|1|13|0|0" passage="So 1:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>. Christ is not
only <i>beloved</i> by all believing souls, but is their
<i>well-beloved,</i> their best-beloved, their only beloved; he has
that place in their hearts which no rival can be admitted to, the
innermost and uppermost place. Observe, (1.) How Christ is
accounted of by all believers: He is <i>a bundle of myrrh</i> and
<i>a cluster of camphire,</i> something, we may be sure, nay, every
thing, that is pleasant and delightful. The doctrine of his gospel,
and the comforts of his Spirit, are very refreshing to them, and
they rest in his love; none of all the delights of sense are
comparable to the spiritual pleasure they have in meditating on
Christ and enjoying him. There is a complicated sweetness in Christ
and an abundance of it; there is <i>a bundle of myrrh</i> and <i>a
cluster of camphire.</i> We are not straitened in him whom there is
<i>all fulness.</i> The word translated <i>camphire</i> is
<i>copher,</i> the same word that signifies <i>atonement</i> or
<i>propitiation.</i> Christ is <i>a cluster</i> of merit and
righteousness to all believers; <i>therefore</i> he is dear to them
because <i>he is the propitiation for their sins.</i> Observe what
stress the spouse lays upon the application: He <i>is unto me,</i>
and again <i>unto me,</i> all that is sweet; whatever he is to
others, he is so <i>to me.</i> He <i>loved me, and gave himself for
me.</i> He <i>is my Lord, and my God.</i> (2.) How he is accepted:
<i>He shall lie all night between my breasts,</i> near my heart.
Christ lays the beloved disciples in his bosom; why then should not
they lay their beloved Saviour in their bosoms? Why should not they
embrace him with both arms, and hold him fast, with a resolution
never to let him go? Christ must <i>dwell in the heart</i>
(<scripRef id="Song.ii-p28.2" osisRef="Bible:Eph.3.17" parsed="|Eph|3|17|0|0" passage="Eph 3:17">Eph. iii. 17</scripRef>), and, in
order to that, the adulteries must be put from <i>between the
breasts</i> (<scripRef id="Song.ii-p28.3" osisRef="Bible:Hos.2.2" parsed="|Hos|2|2|0|0" passage="Ho 2:2">Hos. ii. 2</scripRef>), no
pretender must have his place in the soul. He shall be as <i>a
bundle of myrrh,</i> or perfume bag, between <i>my breasts,</i>
always sweet to me; or his effigies in miniature, his love-tokens,
shall be hung between <i>my breasts,</i> according to the custom of
those that are dear to each other. He shall not only be laid their
for a while, but shall lie there, shall abide there.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.ii-p29">II. Jesus Christ has a great complacency in
his church and in every true believer; they are amiable in his eyes
(<scripRef id="Song.ii-p29.1" osisRef="Bible:Song.1.15" parsed="|Song|1|15|0|0" passage="So 1:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>): <i>Behold,
thou art fair, my love;</i> and again, <i>Behold, thou art
fair.</i> He says this, not to make her proud (humility is one
principal ingredient in spiritual beauty), but, 1. To show that
there is a real beauty in holiness, that all who are sanctified are
thereby beautified; they are truly fair. 2. That he takes great
delight in that good work which his grace has wrought on the souls
of believers; so that though they have their infirmities, whatever
they think of themselves, and the world thinks of them, he thinks
them fair. He calls them friends. The <i>hidden man of the heart,
in that which is not corruptible,</i> is <i>in the sight of God of
great price,</i> <scripRef id="Song.ii-p29.2" osisRef="Bible:1Pet.3.4" parsed="|1Pet|3|4|0|0" passage="1Pe 3:4">1 Pet. iii.
4</scripRef>. 3. To comfort weak believers, who are discouraged by
their own blackness; let them be told again and again that they are
fair. 4. To engage all who are sanctified to be very thankful for
that grace which has made them fair, who by nature were deformed,
and changed the Ethiopian's skin. One instance of the beauty of the
spouse is here mentioned, that she <i>has doves' eyes,</i> as
<scripRef id="Song.ii-p29.3" osisRef="Bible:Song.4.1" parsed="|Song|4|1|0|0" passage="So 4:1"><i>ch.</i> iv. 1</scripRef>. Those are
fair, in Christ's account, who have, not the piercing eye of the
eagle, but the pure and chaste eye of the <i>dove,</i> not like the
hawk, who, when he soars upwards, still has his eye upon the prey
on earth, but a humble modest eye, such an eye as discovers a
simplicity and godly sincerity and a dove-like innocency, eyes
enlightened and guided by the Holy Spirit, that blessed Dove,
weeping eyes. I did <i>mourn as a dove,</i> <scripRef id="Song.ii-p29.4" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.7.16" parsed="|Ezek|7|16|0|0" passage="Eze 7:16">Ezek. vii. 16</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.ii-p30">III. The church expresses her value for
Christ, and returns esteem (<scripRef id="Song.ii-p30.1" osisRef="Bible:Song.1.16" parsed="|Song|1|16|0|0" passage="So 1:16"><i>v.</i>
16</scripRef>): <i>Behold, thou art fair.</i> See how Christ and
believers praise one another. Israel saith of God, <i>Who is like
thee?</i> <scripRef id="Song.ii-p30.2" osisRef="Bible:Exod.15.11" parsed="|Exod|15|11|0|0" passage="Ex 15:11">Exod. xv. 11</scripRef>. And
God saith of Israel, <i>Who is like thee?</i> <scripRef id="Song.ii-p30.3" osisRef="Bible:Deut.33.29" parsed="|Deut|33|29|0|0" passage="De 33:29">Deut. xxxiii. 29</scripRef>. Lord, saith the church,
"Dost thou call me <i>fair?</i> No; if we speak of strength,
<i>thou art strong</i> (<scripRef id="Song.ii-p30.4" osisRef="Bible:Job.9.19" parsed="|Job|9|19|0|0" passage="Job 9:19">Job ix.
19</scripRef>), so, if of beauty, <i>thou art fair.</i> I am fair
no otherwise than as I have thy image stamped upon me. Thou art the
great Original; I am but a faint and imperfect copy, I am but thy
<i>umbra</i>—<i>the shadow of thee,</i> <scripRef id="Song.ii-p30.5" osisRef="Bible:John.1.16 Bible:John.3.34" parsed="|John|1|16|0|0;|John|3|34|0|0" passage="Joh 1:16,3:34">John i. 16; iii. 34</scripRef>. Thou art fair in
thyself and (which is more) <i>pleasant</i> to all that are thine.
Many are fair enough to look at, and yet the sourness of their
temper renders them unpleasant; but <i>thou art fair, yea,
pleasant.</i>" Christ is pleasant, as he is ours, in covenant with
us, in relation to us. "Thou art pleasant now, when the <i>King
sits at his table.</i>" Christ is always precious to believers, but
in a special manner pleasant when they are admitted into communion
with him, when they hear his voice, and see his face, and taste his
love. <i>It is good to be here.</i> Having expressed her esteem of
her husband's person, she next, like a loving spouse, that is
transported with joy for having disposed of herself so well,
applauds the accommodations he had for her entertainment, his
<i>bed,</i> his <i>house,</i> his <i>rafters</i> or
<i>galleries</i> (<scripRef id="Song.ii-p30.6" osisRef="Bible:Song.1.16" parsed="|Song|1|16|0|0" passage="So 1:16"><i>v.</i>
16</scripRef>), which may be fitly applied to those holy ordinances
in which believers have fellowship with Jesus Christ, receive the
tokens of his love and return their pious and devout affections to
him, increase their acquaintance with him and improve their
advantages by him. Now, 1. These she calls <i>ours,</i> Christ and
believers having a joint-interest in them. As husband and wife are
<i>heirs together</i> (<scripRef id="Song.ii-p30.7" osisRef="Bible:1Pet.3.7" parsed="|1Pet|3|7|0|0" passage="1Pe 3:7">1 Pet. iii.
7</scripRef>), so believers are <i>joint-heirs with Christ,</i>
<scripRef id="Song.ii-p30.8" osisRef="Bible:Rom.8.17" parsed="|Rom|8|17|0|0" passage="Ro 8:17">Rom. viii. 17</scripRef>. They are his
institutions and their privileges; in them Christ and believers
meet. She does not call them <i>mine,</i> for a believer will own
nothing as his but what Christ shall have an interest in, nor
<i>thine,</i> for Christ has said, <i>All that I have is thine,</i>
<scripRef id="Song.ii-p30.9" osisRef="Bible:Luke.15.31" parsed="|Luke|15|31|0|0" passage="Lu 15:31">Luke xv. 31</scripRef>. All is
<i>ours</i> if we are Christ's. Those that can by faith lay claim
to Christ may lay claim to all that is his. 2. These are the best
of the kind. Does the colour of the bed, and the furniture
belonging to it, help to set it off? <i>Our bed is green,</i> a
colour which, in a pastoral, is preferred before any other, because
it is the colour of the fields and groves where the shepherd's
business and delight are. It is a refreshing colour, good for the
eyes; and it denotes fruitfulness. <i>I am like a green
olive-tree,</i> <scripRef id="Song.ii-p30.10" osisRef="Bible:Ps.52.8" parsed="|Ps|52|8|0|0" passage="Ps 52:8">Ps. lii. 8</scripRef>.
We are <i>married to</i> Christ, <i>that we should bring forth unto
God,</i> <scripRef id="Song.ii-p30.11" osisRef="Bible:Rom.7.4" parsed="|Rom|7|4|0|0" passage="Ro 7:4">Rom. vii. 4</scripRef>. <i>The
beams of our house are cedar</i> (<scripRef id="Song.ii-p30.12" osisRef="Bible:Song.1.17" parsed="|Song|1|17|0|0" passage="So 1:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>), which probably refers to the
temple Solomon had lately built for communion between God and
Israel, which was of <i>cedar,</i> a strong sort of wood, sweet,
durable, and which will never rot, typifying the firmness and
continuance of the church, the gospel-temple. The galleries for
walking are <i>of fir,</i> or <i>cypress,</i> some sort of wood
that was pleasing both to the sight and to the smell, intimating
the delight which the saints take in walking with Christ and
conversing with him. Every thing in the covenant of grace (on which
foot all their treaties are carried on) is very firm, very fine,
and very fragrant.</p>
</div></div2>