mh_parser/vol_split/22 - Song of Solomon/Chapter 5.xml

<div2 id="Song.vi" n="vi" next="Song.vii" prev="Song.v" progress="97.97%" title="Chapter V">
<h2 id="Song.vi-p0.1">S O N G   O F   S O L O M O
N.</h2>
<h3 id="Song.vi-p0.2">CHAP. V.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Song.vi-p1">In this chapter we have, I. Christ's gracious
acceptance of the invitation which his church had given him, and
the kind visit which he made to her, <scripRef id="Song.vi-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Song.5.1" parsed="|Song|5|1|0|0" passage="So 5:1">ver. 1</scripRef>. II. The account which the spouse gives
of her own folly, in putting a slight upon her beloved, and the
distress she was in by reason of his withdrawings, <scripRef id="Song.vi-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Song.5.2-Song.5.8" parsed="|Song|5|2|5|8" passage="So 5:2-8">ver. 2-8</scripRef>. III. The enquiry of the
daughters of Jerusalem concerning the amiable perfections of her
beloved (<scripRef id="Song.vi-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Song.5.9" parsed="|Song|5|9|0|0" passage="So 5:9">ver. 9</scripRef>), and her
particular answer to that enquiry, <scripRef id="Song.vi-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Song.5.10-Song.5.16" parsed="|Song|5|10|5|16" passage="So 5:10-16">ver. 10-16</scripRef>. "Unto you that believe he is
thus precious."</p>
<scripCom id="Song.vi-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Song.5" parsed="|Song|5|0|0|0" passage="So 5" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Song.vi-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Song.5.1" parsed="|Song|5|1|0|0" passage="So 5:1" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Song.5.1">
<h4 id="Song.vi-p1.7">The Love of Christ to the
Church.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Song.vi-p2">1 I am come into my garden, my sister, <i>my</i>
spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my
honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O
friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.vi-p3">These words are Christ's answer to the
church's prayer in the close of the foregoing chapter, <i>Let my
beloved come into his garden;</i> here he has come, and lets her
know it. See how ready God is to hear prayer, how ready Christ is
to accept the invitations that his people give him, though we are
backward to hear his calls and accept his invitations. He is free
in condescending to us, while we are shy of ascending to him.
Observe how the return answered the request, and outdid it. 1. She
called him <i>her beloved</i> (and really he was so), and invited
him because she loved him; in return to this, he called her his
<i>sister and spouse,</i> as several times before, <scripRef id="Song.vi-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:Song.4.1-Song.4.16" parsed="|Song|4|1|4|16" passage="So 4:1-16"><i>ch.</i> iv.</scripRef> Those that make
Christ their best beloved shall be owned by him in the nearest and
dearest relations. 2. She called the garden <i>his,</i> and the
pleasant fruits of it <i>his,</i> and he acknowledges them to be
so: It is <i>my garden,</i> it is <i>my spice.</i> When God was
displeased with Israel he turned them off to Moses (They are <i>thy
people,</i> <scripRef id="Song.vi-p3.2" osisRef="Bible:Exod.32.7" parsed="|Exod|32|7|0|0" passage="Ex 32:7">Exod. xxxii. 7</scripRef>);
and he called the appointed feasts of the Lord <i>their appointed
feasts</i> (<scripRef id="Song.vi-p3.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.1.14" parsed="|Isa|1|14|0|0" passage="Isa 1:14">Isa. i. 14</scripRef>);
but now that they are in his favour he owns them for his garden.
"Though of small account, yet it is mine." Those that are in
sincerity give up themselves and all they have and can do to Jesus
Christ, he will do them the honour to stamp them, and what they
have and do for him, with his own mark, and say, <i>It is mine.</i>
3. She invited him to <i>come into his garden,</i> and he says,
<i>I have come.</i> <scripRef id="Song.vi-p3.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.58.9" parsed="|Isa|58|9|0|0" passage="Isa 58:9">Isa. lviii.
9</scripRef>, <i>Thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am.</i>
When Solomon prayed that God would come and take possession of the
house he had built for him, he did come; <i>his glory filled the
house</i> (<scripRef id="Song.vi-p3.5" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.7.2" parsed="|2Chr|7|2|0|0" passage="2Ch 7:2">2 Chron. vii. 2</scripRef>),
and (<scripRef id="Song.vi-p3.6" osisRef="Bible:Song.5.16" parsed="|Song|5|16|0|0" passage="So 5:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>) he let
him know that he had chosen and sanctified this house, that his
<i>name might be there for ever.</i> Those that throw open the door
of their souls to Jesus Christ shall find him ready to come in to
them; and in every place where he records his name he will meet his
people, and bless them, <scripRef id="Song.vi-p3.7" osisRef="Bible:Exod.20.24" parsed="|Exod|20|24|0|0" passage="Ex 20:24">Exod. xx.
24</scripRef>. 4. She desired him to <i>eat his pleasant
fruits,</i> to accept of the sacrifices offered in his temple,
which were as the fruits of his garden, and he does so, but finds
they are not gathered and ready for eating, therefore he does
himself gather them. As the fruits are his, so is the preparation
of them; he finds his heart unready for his entertainment, but does
himself draw out into exercise those gracious habits which he had
planted there. What little good there is in us would be shed and
lost if he did not gather it, and preserve it to himself. 5. She
only desired him to <i>eat the fruits</i> of the garden, but he
brought along with him something more, <i>honey,</i> and
<i>wine,</i> and <i>milk,</i> which yield substantial nourishment,
and which were the products of Canaan, Immanuel's land. Christ
delights himself greatly in that which he has both conferred upon
his people and wrought in them. Or we may suppose this to have been
prepared by the spouse herself, as Esther prepared for the king her
husband <i>a banquet of wine;</i> it is but plain fare, and what is
natural, honey and milk, but, being kindly designed, it is kindly
accepted; imperfections are overlooked; the honey-comb is eaten
with the honey, and the weakness of the flesh passed by and
pardoned, because the <i>spirit is willing.</i> When Christ
appeared to his disciples after his resurrection he did eat with
them a piece of a honey-comb (<scripRef id="Song.vi-p3.8" osisRef="Bible:Luke.24.42-Luke.24.43" parsed="|Luke|24|42|24|43" passage="Lu 24:42,43">Luke
xxiv. 42, 43</scripRef>), in which this scripture was fulfilled. He
did not drink the wine only, which is liquor for men, for great
men, but the milk too, which is liquor for children, little
children, for he was to be the <i>holy child Jesus,</i> that had
need of milk. 6. She only invited him to come himself, but he,
bringing his own entertainment along with him, brings his friends
too, and invites them to share in the provisions. <i>The more the
merrier,</i> we say; and here, where there was so great a plenty,
there was not the worse fare. When our Lord Jesus fed 5000 at once
<i>they did all eat and were filled.</i> Christ invites all his
friends to the <i>wine and milk</i> which he himself drinks of
(<scripRef id="Song.vi-p3.9" osisRef="Bible:Isa.55.1" parsed="|Isa|55|1|0|0" passage="Isa 55:1">Isa. lv. 1</scripRef>), to the
<i>feast of fat things</i> and <i>wines on the lees,</i> <scripRef id="Song.vi-p3.10" osisRef="Bible:Isa.25.6" parsed="|Isa|25|6|0|0" passage="Isa 25:6">Isa. xxv. 6</scripRef>. The great work of man's
redemption, and the riches of the covenant of grace, are a feast to
the Lord Jesus and they ought to be so to us. The invitation is
very free, and hearty, and loving: <i>Eat, O friends!</i> If Christ
comes to sup with us, it is we that sup with him, <scripRef id="Song.vi-p3.11" osisRef="Bible:Rev.3.20" parsed="|Rev|3|20|0|0" passage="Re 3:20">Rev. iii. 20</scripRef>. <i>Eat, O friends!</i>
Those only that are Christ's friends are welcome to his table; his
enemies, <i>that will not have him to reign over them,</i> have
<i>no part nor lot in the matter. Drink, yea, drink abundantly.</i>
Christ, in his gospel, has made plentiful provision for poor souls.
<i>He fills the hungry with good things;</i> there is enough for
all, there is enough for each; <i>we are not straitened in him</i>
or in his grace, let us not therefore be straitened in our own
bosoms. <i>Open the mouth widely, and Christ will fill it. Be not
drunk with wine,</i> but <i>be filled with the Spirit,</i>
<scripRef id="Song.vi-p3.12" osisRef="Bible:Eph.5.18" parsed="|Eph|5|18|0|0" passage="Eph 5:18">Eph. v. 18</scripRef>. Those that
entertain Christ must bid his friends welcome with him; Jesus and
his disciples were called together to the marriage (<scripRef id="Song.vi-p3.13" osisRef="Bible:John.2.2" parsed="|John|2|2|0|0" passage="Joh 2:2">John ii. 2</scripRef>), and Christ will have all
his friends to rejoice with him in the day of his espousals to his
church, and, in token of that, to feast with him. In spiritual and
heavenly joys there is no danger of exceeding; there we may
<i>drink abundantly, drink of the river of God's pleasures</i>
(<scripRef id="Song.vi-p3.14" osisRef="Bible:Ps.36.8" parsed="|Ps|36|8|0|0" passage="Ps 36:8">Ps. xxxvi. 8</scripRef>), and be
<i>abundantly satisfied,</i> <scripRef id="Song.vi-p3.15" osisRef="Bible:Ps.65.4" parsed="|Ps|65|4|0|0" passage="Ps 65:4">Ps. lxv.
4</scripRef>.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Song.vi-p3.16" osisRef="Bible:Song.5.2-Song.5.8" parsed="|Song|5|2|5|8" passage="So 5:2-8" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Song.5.2-Song.5.8">
<h4 id="Song.vi-p3.17">The Love of Christ to the Church; Spiritual
Desertion.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Song.vi-p4">2 I sleep, but my heart waketh: <i>it is</i> the
voice of my beloved that knocketh, <i>saying,</i> Open to me, my
sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with
dew, <i>and</i> my locks with the drops of the night.   3 I
have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet;
how shall I defile them?   4 My beloved put in his hand by the
hole <i>of the door,</i> and my bowels were moved for him.   5
I rose up to open to my beloved; and my hands dropped <i>with</i>
myrrh, and my fingers <i>with</i> sweet smelling myrrh, upon the
handles of the lock.   6 I opened to my beloved; but my
beloved had withdrawn himself, <i>and</i> was gone: my soul failed
when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called
him, but he gave me no answer.   7 The watchmen that went
about the city found me, they smote me, they wounded me; the
keepers of the walls took away my veil from me.   8 I charge
you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell
him, that I <i>am</i> sick of love.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.vi-p5">In this song of loves and joys we have here
a very melancholy scene; the spouse here speaks, not to her beloved
(as before, for he has withdrawn), but of him, and it is a sad
story she tells of her own folly and ill conduct towards him,
notwithstanding his kindness, and of the just rebukes she fell
under for it. Perhaps it may refer to Solomon's own apostasy from
God, and the sad effects of that apostasy after God had come into
his garden, had taken possession of the temple he had built, and he
had feasted with God upon the sacrifices (<scripRef id="Song.vi-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Song.5.1" parsed="|Song|5|1|0|0" passage="So 5:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>); however, it is applicable to the
too common case both of the churches and particular believers, who
by their carelessness and security provoke Christ to withdraw from
them. Observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.vi-p6">I. The indisposition that the spouse was
under, and the listlessness that had seized her (<scripRef id="Song.vi-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Song.5.2" parsed="|Song|5|2|0|0" passage="So 5:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>): <i>I sleep, but my heart
wakes.</i> Here is, 1. Corruption appearing in the actings of it:
<i>I sleep.</i> The wise virgins slumbered. She <i>was on her
bed</i> (<scripRef id="Song.vi-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Song.3.1" parsed="|Song|3|1|0|0" passage="So 3:1"><i>ch.</i> iii. 1</scripRef>),
but now she sleeps. Spiritual distempers, if not striven against at
first, are apt to grow upon us and to get ground. <i>She slept,</i>
that is, pious affections cooled, she neglected her duty and grew
remiss in it, she indulged herself in her ease, was secure and off
her watch. This is sometimes the bad effect of more than ordinary
enlargements—a good cause. St. Paul himself was in danger of being
puffed up with abundant revelations, and of saying, <i>Soul, take
thy ease,</i> which made a <i>thorn in the flesh</i> necessary for
him, to keep him from sleeping. Christ's disciples, when he had
come into his garden, the garden of his agony, were heavy with
sleep, and could not watch with him. True Christians are not always
alike lively and vigorous in religion. 2. Grace remaining,
notwithstanding, in the habit of it: "<i>My heart wakes;</i> my own
conscience reproaches me for it, and ceases not to rouse me out of
my sluggishness. <i>The spirit is willing,</i> and, <i>after the
inner man, I delight in the law of God,</i> and <i>with my mind I
serve that.</i> I am, for the present, overpowered by temptation,
but all does not go one way in me. I sleep, but it is not a dead
sleep; I strive against it; it is not a sound sleep; I cannot be
easy under this indisposition." Note, (1.) We ought to take notice
of our own spiritual slumbers and distempers, and to reflect upon
it with sorrow and shame that we have fallen asleep when Christ has
been nigh us in his garden. (2.) When we are lamenting what is
amiss in us, we must not overlook the good that is wrought in us,
and preserved alive: "My heart wakes in Christ, who is dear to me
as my own heart, and is my life; when I sleep, <i>he neither
slumbers nor sleeps.</i>"</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.vi-p7">II. The call that Christ gave to her, when
she was under this indisposition: <i>It is the voice of my
beloved;</i> she knew it to be so, and was soon aware of it, which
was a sign that her heart was awake. Like the child Samuel, she
heard at the first call, but did not, like him, mistake the person;
she knew it to be the voice of Christ. He knocks, to awaken us to
come and let him in, knocks by his word and Spirit, knocks by
afflictions and by our own consciences; though this is not
expressly quoted, yet probably it is referred to (<scripRef id="Song.vi-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Rev.3.20" parsed="|Rev|3|20|0|0" passage="Re 3:20">Rev. iii. 20</scripRef>), <i>Behold, I stand at
the door, and knock.</i> He calls sinners into covenant with him
and saints into communion with him. Those whom he loves he will not
let alone in their carelessness, but will find some way or other to
awaken them, to rebuke and chasten them. When we are unmindful of
Christ he thinks of us, and provides that our faith fail not. Peter
denied Christ, but the Lord turned and looked upon him, and so
brought him to himself again. Observe how moving the call is:
<i>Open to me, my sister, my love.</i> 1. He sues for entrance who
may demand it; he knocks who could easily knock the door down. 2.
He gives her all the kind and most endearing titles imaginable:
<i>My sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled;</i> he not only gives
her no hard names, nor upbraids her with unkindness in not sitting
up for him, but, on the contrary, studies how to express his tender
affection to her still. <i>His loving-kindness he will not utterly
take away.</i> Those that by faith are espoused to Christ he looks
upon as his sisters, his loves, his doves, and all that is dear;
and, being clothed with his righteousness, they are undefiled. This
consideration should induce her to open to him. Christ's love to us
should engage ours to him, even in the most self-denying instances.
<i>Open to me.</i> Can we deny entrance to such a friend, to such a
guest? Shall we not converse more with one that is infinitely
worthy of our acquaintance, and so affectionately desirous of it,
though we only can be gainers by it? 3. He pleads distress, and
begs to be admitted <i>sub formâ pauperis—under the character of a
poor traveller</i> that wants a lodging: "<i>My head is wet with
the dew,</i> with the cold drops of the night; consider what
hardships I have undergone, to merit thee, which surely may merit
from thee so small a kindness as this." When Christ was crowned
with thorns, which no doubt fetched blood from his blessed head,
then was his head <i>wet with the dew.</i> "Consider what a grief
it is to me to be thus unkindly used, as much as it would be to a
tender husband to be kept out of doors by his wife in a rainy
stormy night." Do we thus require him for his love? The slights
which careless souls put upon Jesus Christ are him as a
<i>continual dropping in a very rainy day.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.vi-p8">III. The excuse she made to put off her
compliance with this call (<scripRef id="Song.vi-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Song.5.3" parsed="|Song|5|3|0|0" passage="So 5:3"><i>v.</i>
3</scripRef>): <i>I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on
again?</i> She is half asleep; she knows the voice of her beloved;
she knows his knock, but cannot find in her heart to open to him.
She was undressed, and would not be at the pains to dress herself
again; she had <i>washed her feet,</i> and would not have occasion
to wash them again. She could not send another to open the door (it
must be our own act and deed to let Christ into our hearts), and
yet she was loth to go herself; she did not say, <i>I will not
open,</i> but, <i>How shall I?</i> Note, Frivolous excuses are the
language of prevailing slothfulness in religion; Christ calls to us
to open to him, but we pretend we have no mind, or we have no
strength, or we have no time, and therefore think we may be
excused, as the <i>sluggard</i> that <i>will not plough by reason
of cold.</i> And those who ought to <i>watch for the Lord's
coming</i> with their <i>loins girt,</i> if they ungird themselves
and put off their coat, will find it difficult to recover their
former resolution and to put it on again; it is best therefore to
keep tight. Making excuses (<scripRef id="Song.vi-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:Luke.14.18" parsed="|Luke|14|18|0|0" passage="Lu 14:18">Luke xiv.
18</scripRef>) is interpreted making light of Christ (<scripRef id="Song.vi-p8.3" osisRef="Bible:Matt.22.5" parsed="|Matt|22|5|0|0" passage="Mt 22:5">Matt. xxii. 5</scripRef>), and so it is. Those
put a great contempt upon Christ that cannot find in their hearts
to bear a cold blast for him, or get out of a warm bed.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.vi-p9">IV. The powerful influences of divine
grace, by which she was made willing to rise and open to her
beloved. When he could not prevail with her by persuasion he <i>put
in his hand by the hole in the door,</i> to unbolt it, as one weary
of waiting, <scripRef id="Song.vi-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Song.5.4" parsed="|Song|5|4|0|0" passage="So 5:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>. This
intimates a work of the Spirit upon her soul, by which she was
unwilling made willing, <scripRef id="Song.vi-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.110.3" parsed="|Ps|110|3|0|0" passage="Ps 110:3">Ps. cx.
3</scripRef>. The conversion of Lydia is represented by the
<i>opening of her heart</i> (<scripRef id="Song.vi-p9.3" osisRef="Bible:Acts.16.14" parsed="|Acts|16|14|0|0" passage="Ac 16:14">Acts xvi.
14</scripRef>) and Christ is said to open his disciples'
understandings, <scripRef id="Song.vi-p9.4" osisRef="Bible:Luke.24.45" parsed="|Luke|24|45|0|0" passage="Lu 24:45">Luke xxiv.
45</scripRef>. He that <i>formed the spirit of man within him</i>
knows all the avenues to it, and which way to enter into it; he can
find the <i>hole of the door</i> at which to put in his hand for
the conquering of prejudices and the introducing of his own
doctrine and law. He has the <i>key of David</i> (<scripRef id="Song.vi-p9.5" osisRef="Bible:Rev.3.7" parsed="|Rev|3|7|0|0" passage="Re 3:7">Rev. iii. 7</scripRef>), with which he opens the
door of the heart in such a way as is suited to it, as the key is
fitted to the wards of the lock, in such a way as not to put a
force upon its nature, but only upon its ill nature.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.vi-p10">V. Her compliance with these methods of
divine grace at last: <i>My bowels were moved for him.</i> The will
was gained by a good work wrought upon the affections: <i>My bowels
were moved for him,</i> as those of the two disciples were when
Christ made their <i>hearts to burn within them.</i> She was moved
with compassion to her beloved, because his <i>head was wet with
dew.</i> Note, Tenderness of spirit, and a heart of flesh, prepare
the soul for the reception of Christ into it; and therefore his
love to us is represented in such a way as is most affecting. Did
Christ redeem us in his pity? Let us in pity receive him, and, for
his sake, those that are his, when at any time they are in
distress. This good work, wrought upon her affections, raised her
up, and made her ashamed of her dulness and slothfulness (<scripRef id="Song.vi-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Song.5.5" parsed="|Song|5|5|0|0" passage="So 5:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>, <i>I rose up, to open to
my beloved</i>), his grace inclining her to do it and conquering
the opposition of unbelief. It was her own act, and yet he wrought
it in her. And now her <i>hands dropped with myrrh upon the handles
of the lock.</i> Either, 1. She found it there when she applied her
hand to the lock, to shoot it back; he that <i>put in his hand by
the hole of the door</i> left it there as an evidence that he had
been there. When Christ has wrought powerfully upon a soul he
leaves a blessed sweetness in it, which is very delightful to it.
With this he oiled the lock, to make it go easy. Note, When we
apply ourselves to our duty, in the lively exercises of faith,
under the influence of divine grace, we shall find it will go on
much more readily and sweetly than we expected. If we will but rise
up, to open to Christ, we shall find the difficulty we apprehended
in it strangely overcome, and shall say with Daniel, <i>Now let my
Lord speak, for thou hast strengthened me,</i> <scripRef id="Song.vi-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:Dan.10.19" parsed="|Dan|10|19|0|0" passage="Da 10:19">Dan. x. 19</scripRef>. Or, 2. She brought it thither.
Her <i>bowels being moved for her beloved,</i> who had stood so
long in the cold and wet, when she came to open to him she prepared
to anoint his head, and so to refresh and comfort him, and perhaps
to prevent his catching cold; she was in such haste to meet him
that she would not stay to make the usual preparation, but dipped
her hand in her box of ointment, that she might readily anoint his
head at his first coming in. Those that open the doors of their
hearts to Christ, those <i>everlasting doors,</i> must meet him
with the lively exercises of faith and other graces, and with these
must anoint him.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.vi-p11">VI. Her said disappointment when she did
open to her beloved. And here is the most melancholy part of the
story: <i>I opened to my beloved,</i> as I intended, but, alas!
<i>my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone. My beloved was
gone, was gone,</i> so the word is.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.vi-p12">1. She did not open to him at his first
knock, and now she came too late, when afterwards she <i>would have
inherited this blessing.</i> Christ will be sought while he may be
found; if we slip our time, we may lose our passage. Note, (1.)
Christ justly rebukes our delays with his denials, and suspends the
communications of comfort from those that are remiss and drowsy in
their duty. (2.) Christ's departures are matter of great grief and
lamentation to believers. The royal psalmist never complains of any
thing with such sorrowful accents as God's <i>hiding his face</i>
from him, and <i>casting him off,</i> and <i>forsaking him.</i> The
spouse here is ready to tear her hair, and rend her clothes, and
wring her hands, crying, <i>He is gone, he is gone;</i> and that
which cuts her to the heart is that she may thank herself, she
provoked him to withdraw. If Christ departs, it is because he takes
something unkindly.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.vi-p13">2. Now observe what she does, in this case,
and what befel her. (1.) She still calls him her <i>beloved,</i>
being resolved, how cloudy and dark soever the day be, she will not
quit her relation to him and interest in him. It is a weakness,
upon every apprehension either of our own failings or of God's
withdrawings, to conclude hardly as to our spiritual state. Every
desertion is not despair. I will say, <i>Lord, I believe,</i>
though I must say, <i>Lord, help my unbelief.</i> Though he leave
me, I love him; he is mine. (2.) She now remembers the words he
said to her when he called her, and what impressions they made upon
her, reproaching herself for her folly in not complying sooner with
her convictions: "<i>My soul failed when he spoke;</i> his words
melted me when he said, <i>My head is wet with dew;</i> and yet,
wretch that I was, I lay still, and made excuses, and did not open
to him." The smothering and stifling of our convictions is a thing
that will be very bitter in the reflection, when God opens our
eyes. Sometimes the word has not its effect immediately upon the
heart, but it melts it afterwards, upon second thoughts. <i>My
soul</i> now <i>melted because of his words</i> which he had spoken
before. (3.) She did not go to bed again, but went in pursuit of
him: <i>I sought him; I called him.</i> She might have saved
herself this labour if she would but have bestirred herself when he
first called; but we cut ourselves out a great deal of work, and
create ourselves a great deal of trouble, by our own slothfulness
and carelessness in improving our opportunities. Yet it is her
praise that, when her beloved has withdrawn, she continues seeking
him; her desires toward him are made more strong, and her enquiries
after him more solicitous, by his withdrawings. She calls him by
prayer, calls after him, and begs of him to return; and she not
only prays but uses means, she seeks him in the ways wherein she
used to find him. (4.) Yet still she missed of him: <i>I could not
find him; he gave me no answer.</i> She had no evidence of his
favour, no sensible comforts, but was altogether in the dark, and
in doubt concerning his love towards her. Note, There are those who
have a true love for Christ, and yet have not immediate answers to
their prayers for his smiles; but he gives them an equivalent if he
strengthens them with the strength in their souls to continue
seeking him, <scripRef id="Song.vi-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.138.3" parsed="|Ps|138|3|0|0" passage="Ps 138:3">Ps. cxxxviii.
3</scripRef>. St. Paul could not prevail for the removing of the
<i>thorn in the flesh,</i> but was answered with grace sufficient
for him. (5.) She was ill-treated by the watchmen; <i>They found
me; they smote me; they wounded me,</i> <scripRef id="Song.vi-p13.2" osisRef="Bible:Song.5.7" parsed="|Song|5|7|0|0" passage="So 5:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>. They took her for a lewd woman
(because she went about the streets at that time of night, when
they were walking their rounds), and beat her accordingly.
Disconsolate saints are taken for sinners, and are censured and
reproached as such. Thus Hannah, when she was praying in the
<i>bitterness of her soul,</i> was wounded and smitten by Eli, one
of the prime watchmen, when he said to her, <i>How long wilt thou
be drunken?</i> so counting her a daughter of Belial, <scripRef id="Song.vi-p13.3" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.1.14-1Sam.1.15" parsed="|1Sam|1|14|1|15" passage="1Sa 1:14,15">1 Sam. i. 14, 15</scripRef>. It is no new
thing for those that are of the loyal loving subjects of Zion's
King to be misrepresented by the watchmen of Zion, as enemies or
scandals to his kingdom; they could not abuse and persecute them
but by putting them into an ill name. Some apply it to those
ministers who, though watchmen by office, yet misapply the word to
awakened consciences, and through unskillfulness, or contempt of
their griefs, add affliction to the afflicted, and <i>make the
hearts of the righteous sad whom God would not have made sad</i>
(<scripRef id="Song.vi-p13.4" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.13.22" parsed="|Ezek|13|22|0|0" passage="Eze 13:22">Ezek. xiii. 22</scripRef>),
discouraging those who ought to be encouraged and talking to the
grief of those <i>whom God has wounded,</i> <scripRef id="Song.vi-p13.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.59.26" parsed="|Ps|59|26|0|0" passage="Ps 59:26">Ps. lix. 26</scripRef>. Those watchmen were bad enough
that could not, or would not, assist the spouse in her enquiries
after her beloved (<scripRef id="Song.vi-p13.6" osisRef="Bible:Song.3.3" parsed="|Song|3|3|0|0" passage="So 3:3"><i>ch.</i> iii.
3</scripRef>); but these were much worse, that hindered her with
their severe and uncharitable censures, <i>smote her</i> and
<i>wounded her</i> with their reproaches, and though they were the
<i>keepers of the wall of Jerusalem,</i> as if they had been the
breakers of it, <i>took away her veil,</i> from her rudely and
barbarously, as if it had been only a pretence of modesty, but a
cover of the contrary. Those whose outward appearances are all
good, and who yet are invidiously condemned and run down as
hypocrites, have reason to complain, as the spouse here, of the
<i>taking away of their veil</i> from them. (6.) When she was
disabled by the abuses the watchmen gave her to prosecute her
enquiry herself she gave charge to those about her to assist her in
the enquiry (<scripRef id="Song.vi-p13.7" osisRef="Bible:Song.5.8" parsed="|Song|5|8|0|0" passage="So 5:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>):
<i>I charge you, O you daughters of Jerusalem!</i> all my friends
and acquaintance, <i>if you find my beloved,</i> it may be you may
meet with him before I shall, <i>what shall you tell him?</i> so
some read. "Speak a good word for me; tell him that <i>I am sick of
love.</i>" Observe here, [1.] What her condition was. She loved
Jesus Christ to such a degree that his absence made her sick,
extremely sick, she could not bear it, and she was in pain for his
return as a woman in travail, as Ahab for Naboth's vineyard, which
he so passionately coveted. This is a sickness which is a sign of a
healthy constitution of soul, and will certainly end well, a
sickness that will not be death, but life. It is better to be sick
of love to Christ than at ease in love to the world. (2.) What
course she took in this condition. She did not sink into despair,
and conclude that she should die of her disease, but she sent after
her beloved; she asked the advice of her neighbours, and begged
their prayers for her, that they would intercede with him on her
behalf. "Tell him, though I was careless, and foolish, and
slothful, and rose not up so soon as I should have done to open to
him, yet I love him; he <i>knows all things,</i> he <i>knows that I
do.</i> Represent me to him as sincere,
though in many instances coming short of my duty; nay, represent me
as an object of his pity, that he may have compassion on me and
help me." She does not bid them tell him how the watchmen had
abused her; how unrighteous soever they were in it, she
acknowledges that <i>the Lord is righteous,</i> and therefore bears
it patiently. "But tell him that I am wounded with love to him."
Gracious souls are more sensible of Christ's withdrawings than of
any other trouble whatsoever.</p>
<verse id="Song.vi-p13.8">
<l class="t1" id="Song.vi-p13.9">Languet amaus, non languet amor—</l>
<l class="t1" id="Song.vi-p13.10"/>
<l class="t1" id="Song.vi-p13.11">The lover languishes, but not his love.</l>
</verse>
</div><scripCom id="Song.vi-p13.12" osisRef="Bible:Song.5.9-Song.5.16" parsed="|Song|5|9|5|16" passage="So 5:9-16" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Song.5.9-Song.5.16">
<h4 id="Song.vi-p13.13">Enquiring after the Excellencies of Christ;
The Church's Confidence in Christ.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Song.vi-p14">9 What <i>is</i> thy beloved more than
<i>another</i> beloved, O thou fairest among women? what <i>is</i>
thy beloved more than <i>another</i> beloved, that thou dost so
charge us?   10 My beloved <i>is</i> white and ruddy, the
chiefest among ten thousand.   11 His head <i>is as</i> the
most fine gold, his locks <i>are</i> bushy, <i>and</i> black as a
raven.   12 His eyes <i>are</i> as <i>the eyes</i> of doves by
the rivers of waters, washed with milk, <i>and</i> fitly set.
  13 His cheeks <i>are</i> as a bed of spices, <i>as</i> sweet
flowers: his lips <i>like</i> lilies, dropping sweet smelling
myrrh.   14 His hands <i>are as</i> gold rings set with the
beryl: his belly <i>is as</i> bright ivory overlaid <i>with</i>
sapphires.   15 His legs <i>are as</i> pillars of marble, set
upon sockets of fine gold: his countenance <i>is</i> as Lebanon,
excellent as the cedars.   16 His mouth <i>is</i> most sweet:
yea, he <i>is</i> altogether lovely. This <i>is</i> my beloved, and
this <i>is</i> my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.vi-p15">Here is, I. The question which the
daughters of Jerusalem put to the spouse concerning her beloved, in
answer to the charge she had given them, <scripRef id="Song.vi-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Song.5.9" parsed="|Song|5|9|0|0" passage="So 5:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>. Observe, 1. The respectful title
they give to the spouse: <i>O thou fairest among women!</i> Our
Lord Jesus makes his spouse truly amiable, not only in his eyes,
but in the eyes of all the daughters of Jerusalem. The church is
the most excellent society in the world, the communion of saints
the best communion, and the beauty of the sanctuary a transcendent
beauty. The saints are the most excellent people; holiness is the
symmetry of the soul; it is its agreement with itself; it
recommends itself to all that are competent judges of it. Even
those that have little acquaintance with Christ, as those daughters
of Jerusalem here, cannot but see an amiable beauty in those that
bear his image, which we should love wherever we see it, though in
different dresses. 2. Their enquiry concerning her beloved:
"<i>What is thy beloved more than another beloved?</i> If thou wilt
have us to find him for thee, give us his marks, that we may know
him when we see him." (1.) Some take it for a scornful question,
blaming her for making such ado about him: "Why shouldst thou be so
passionate in enquiring after thy beloved, more than others are
after theirs? Why shouldst thou be so set upon him, more than
others that yet have a kindness for him?" Those that are zealous in
religion are men wondered at by such as are indifferent to it. The
many careless ones laugh at the few that are solicitous and
serious. "What is there in him that is so very charming, more than
in another person? If he be gone, thou, who art the <i>fairest
among women,</i> wilt soon have another with an equal flame." Note,
Carnal hearts see nothing excellent or extraordinary in the Lord
Jesus, in his person or offices, in his doctrine or in his favours;
as if there were no more in the knowledge of Christ, and in
communion with him, than in the knowledge of the world and in its
conversation. (2.) Others rather take it for a serious question,
and suppose that those who put it intended, [1.] To comfort the
spouse, who, they knew, would recover new spirits if she did but
talk awhile of her beloved; nothing would please her better, nor
give a more powerful diversion to her grief, than to be put upon
the pleasing task of describing the beauties of her beloved. [2.]
To inform themselves; they had heard, in general, that he was
excellent and glorious, but they desired to know more particularly.
They wondered what moved the spouse to charge them concerning her
beloved with so much vehemence and concern, and therefore concluded
there must be something more in him than in another beloved, which
they are willing to be convinced of. <i>Then</i> there begin to be
some hopes of people when they begin to enquire concerning Christ
and his transcendent perfections. And sometimes the extraordinary
zeal of one, in enquiring after Christ, may be a means to provoke
many (<scripRef id="Song.vi-p15.2" osisRef="Bible:2Cor.9.2" parsed="|2Cor|9|2|0|0" passage="2Co 9:2">2 Cor. ix. 2</scripRef>), as the
apostle, by the faith of the Gentiles, would stir up the Jews to a
holy emulation, <scripRef id="Song.vi-p15.3" osisRef="Bible:Rom.11.14" parsed="|Rom|11|14|0|0" passage="Ro 11:14">Rom. xi.
14</scripRef>. See <scripRef id="Song.vi-p15.4" osisRef="Bible:John.4.10" parsed="|John|4|10|0|0" passage="Joh 4:10">John iv.
10</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.vi-p16">II. The account which the spouse gives of
her beloved in answer to this question. We should always be ready
to instruct and assist those that are enquiring after Christ.
Experienced Christians, who are well acquainted with Christ
themselves, should do all they can to make others acquainted with
him.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.vi-p17">1. She assures them, in general, that he is
one of incomparable perfections and unparalleled worth (<scripRef id="Song.vi-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Song.5.10" parsed="|Song|5|10|0|0" passage="So 5:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>): "Do not you know my
beloved? Can the daughters of Jerusalem be ignorant of him that is
Jerusalem's crown and crowned head? Let me tell you then," (1.)
That he has every thing in him that is lovely and amiable: <i>My
beloved is white and ruddy,</i> the colours that make up a complete
beauty. This points not at any extraordinary beauty of his body,
when he should be incarnate (it was never said of the child Jesus,
as of the child Moses, when he was born, that he was <i>exceedingly
fair,</i> <scripRef id="Song.vi-p17.2" osisRef="Bible:Acts.7.20" parsed="|Acts|7|20|0|0" passage="Ac 7:20">Acts vii. 20</scripRef>; nay,
<i>he had no form nor comeliness,</i> <scripRef id="Song.vi-p17.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.53.2" parsed="|Isa|53|2|0|0" passage="Isa 53:2">Isa. liii. 2</scripRef>); but his divine glory, and the
concurrence of every thing in him as Mediator, to make him truly
lovely in the eyes of those that are enlightened to discern
spiritual things. In him we may behold the <i>beauty of the
Lord;</i> he was the <i>holy child Jesus;</i> that was his
fairness. If we look upon him as made to us <i>wisdom,
righteousness, sanctification, and redemption,</i> he appears, in
all, very amiable. His love to us renders him lovely. He is
<i>white</i> in the spotless innocency of his life, <i>ruddy</i> in
the bloody sufferings he went through at his death,—<i>white</i>
in his glory, as God (when he was transfigured <i>his raiment was
white as the light</i>), <i>ruddy</i> in his assuming the nature of
man, <i>Adam</i>—<i>red earth,</i>—<i>white</i> in his tenderness
towards his people, <i>ruddy</i> in his terrible appearances
against his and their enemies. His complexion is a very happy
composition. (2.) That he has that loveliness in him which is not
to be found in any other: He is <i>the chief among ten
thousand,</i> a nonsuch for beauty, <i>fairer than the children of
men,</i> than any of them, than all of them; there is none like
him, nor any to be compared with him; every thing else is to be
accounted <i>loss and dung in comparison of him,</i> <scripRef id="Song.vi-p17.4" osisRef="Bible:Phil.3.8" parsed="|Phil|3|8|0|0" passage="Php 3:8">Phil. iii. 8</scripRef>. <i>He is higher than the
kings of the earth</i> (<scripRef id="Song.vi-p17.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.89.27" parsed="|Ps|89|27|0|0" passage="Ps 89:27">Ps. lxxxix.
27</scripRef>) and has <i>obtained a more excellent name</i> than
any of the principalities and powers of the upper or lower world,
<scripRef id="Song.vi-p17.6" osisRef="Bible:Phil.2.9 Bible:Heb.1.1-Heb.1.14 Bible:Heb.4.1-Heb.4.16" parsed="|Phil|2|9|0|0;|Heb|1|1|1|14;|Heb|4|1|4|16" passage="Php 2:9,Heb 1:1-14,4:1-16">Phil. ii. 9; Heb. i.
iv.</scripRef>. He is a <i>standard-bearer among ten thousand</i>
(so the word is), the tallest and comeliest of the company. He is
himself <i>lifted up as an ensign</i> (<scripRef id="Song.vi-p17.7" osisRef="Bible:Isa.11.10" parsed="|Isa|11|10|0|0" passage="Isa 11:10">Isa. xi. 10</scripRef>), to whom we must be gathered
and must always have an eye. And there is all the reason in the
world why he should have the innermost and uppermost place in our
souls who is the <i>fairest of ten thousands</i> in himself and the
fittest of twenty thousands for us.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.vi-p18">2. She gives a particular detail of his
accomplishments, conceals not his power or comely proportion. Every
thing in Christ is amiable. Ten instances she here gives of his
beauty, which we need not be nice in the application of, lest the
wringing of them bring forth blood and prove the wresting of them.
The design, in general, is to show that he is every way qualified
for his undertaking, and has all that in him which may recommend
him to our esteem, love, and confidence. Christ's appearance to
John (<scripRef id="Song.vi-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:Rev.1.13" parsed="|Rev|1|13|0|0" passage="Re 1:13">Rev. i. 13</scripRef>, &amp;c.)
may be compared with the description which the spouse gives of him
here, the scope of both being to represent him transcendently
glorious, that is, both great and gracious, made lovely in the eyes
of believers and making them happy in himself. (1.) <i>His head is
as the most fine gold. The head of Christ is God</i> (<scripRef id="Song.vi-p18.2" osisRef="Bible:1Cor.11.3" parsed="|1Cor|11|3|0|0" passage="1Co 11:3">1 Cor. xi. 3</scripRef>), and it is promised to
the saints that <i>the Almighty shall be their gold</i> (<scripRef id="Song.vi-p18.3" osisRef="Bible:Job.22.25" parsed="|Job|22|25|0|0" passage="Job 22:25">Job xxii. 25</scripRef>), their defence, their
treasure; much more was he so to Christ, <i>in whom dwells all the
fulness of the Godhead bodily,</i> <scripRef id="Song.vi-p18.4" osisRef="Bible:Col.2.9" parsed="|Col|2|9|0|0" passage="Col 2:9">Col.
ii. 9</scripRef>. Christ's head bespeaks his sovereign dominion
over all and his vital influence upon his church and all its
members. This is as <i>gold, gold;</i> the former word in the
original signifies shining gold, the latter strong solid gold;
Christ's sovereignty is both beautiful and powerful.
Nebuchadnezzar's monarchy is compared to a <i>head of gold</i>
(<scripRef id="Song.vi-p18.5" osisRef="Bible:Dan.2.38" parsed="|Dan|2|38|0|0" passage="Da 2:38">Dan. ii. 38</scripRef>), because it
excelled all the other monarchies, and so does Christ's government.
(2.) <i>His locks are bushy and black,</i> not <i>black as the
tents of Kedar,</i> whose blackness was their deformity, to which
therefore the church compares herself (<scripRef id="Song.vi-p18.6" osisRef="Bible:Song.1.5" parsed="|Song|1|5|0|0" passage="So 1:5"><i>ch.</i> i. 5</scripRef>), but <i>black as a raven,</i>
whose blackness is his beauty. Sometimes Christ's hair is
represented as <i>white</i> (<scripRef id="Song.vi-p18.7" osisRef="Bible:Rev.1.14" parsed="|Rev|1|14|0|0" passage="Re 1:14">Rev. i.
14</scripRef>), denoting his eternity, that he is <i>the ancient of
days;</i> but here as <i>black and bushy,</i> denoting that he is
ever young and that there is in him no decay, nothing that waxes
old. Every thing that belongs to Christ is amiable in the eyes of a
believer, even his hair is so; it was pity that it should be wet,
as it was, <i>with the dew,</i> and these <i>locks with the drops
of the night,</i> while he waited to be gracious, <scripRef id="Song.vi-p18.8" osisRef="Bible:Song.5.2" parsed="|Song|5|2|0|0" passage="So 5:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>. (3.) <i>His eyes are as
the eyes of doves,</i> fair and clear, and chaste and kind, <i>by
the rivers of waters,</i> which doves delight in, and in which, as
in a glass, they see themselves. They are washed, to make them
clean, <i>washed with milk,</i> to make them white, and <i>fitly
set,</i> neither starting out nor sunk in. Christ is <i>of purer
eyes than to behold iniquity,</i> for they are doves' eyes,
<scripRef id="Song.vi-p18.9" osisRef="Bible:Hab.1.13" parsed="|Hab|1|13|0|0" passage="Hab 1:13">Hab. i. 13</scripRef>. All believers
speak with pleasure of the omniscience of Christ, as the spouse
here of <i>his eyes;</i> for, though it be terrible to his enemies
<i>as a flame of fire</i> (<scripRef id="Song.vi-p18.10" osisRef="Bible:Rev.1.14" parsed="|Rev|1|14|0|0" passage="Re 1:14">Rev. i.
14</scripRef>), yet it is amiable and comfortable to his friends,
as <i>doves' eyes,</i> for it is a witness to their integrity.
<i>Thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee.</i>
Blessed and holy are those that walk always as under the eye of
Christ. (4.) <i>His cheeks</i> (the rising of the face) <i>are as a
bed of spices,</i> raised in the gardens, which are the beauty and
wealth of them, and <i>as sweet flowers,</i> or towers of
sweetness. There is that in Christ's countenance which is amiable
in the eyes of all the saints, in the least glimpse of him, for the
cheek is but a part of the face. The half discoveries Christ makes
of himself to the soul are reviving and refreshing, fragrant above
the richest flowers and perfumes. (5.) <i>His lips are like
lilies,</i> not white like lilies, but sweet and pleasant. Such are
<i>the words of his lips</i> to all that are sanctified, <i>sweeter
than honey and the honey-comb;</i> such are the <i>kisses of his
lips,</i> all the communications of his grace; <i>grace is poured
into his lips,</i> and those that heard him <i>wondered at the
gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. His lips</i> are
as <i>lilies, dropping sweet-smelling myrrh.</i> Never any lilies
in nature dropped myrrh, but nothing in nature can fully set forth
the beauty and excellence of Christ, and therefore, to do it by
comparison, there must be a composition of images. (6.) <i>His
hands are as gold rings set with the beryl,</i> a noted precious
stone, <scripRef id="Song.vi-p18.11" osisRef="Bible:Song.5.14" parsed="|Song|5|14|0|0" passage="So 5:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>. Great
men had their hands adorned with gold rings on their fingers, set
with diamonds or other precious stones, but, in her eye, <i>his
hands</i> themselves were <i>as gold rings;</i> all the instances
of his power, the works of his hands, all the performances of his
providence and grace, are all rich, and pure, and precious, as
gold, <i>as the precious onyx and the sapphire,</i> all fitted to
the purpose for which they were designed <i>as gold rings</i> to
the finger, and all beautiful and very becoming, <i>as rings set
with beryl.</i> His hands, which are stretched forth both to
receive his people and to give to them, are thus rich and comely.
(7.) <i>His bowels are as bright ivory,</i> for so it should be
rendered, rather than <i>his belly,</i> for it is the same word
that was used for <i>bowels</i> (<scripRef id="Song.vi-p18.12" osisRef="Bible:Song.5.4" parsed="|Song|5|4|0|0" passage="So 5:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>) and is often ascribed to God (as
<scripRef id="Song.vi-p18.13" osisRef="Bible:Isa.63.15 Bible:Jer.31.20" parsed="|Isa|63|15|0|0;|Jer|31|20|0|0" passage="Isa 63:15,Jer 31:20">Isa. lxiii. 15; Jer. xxxi.
20</scripRef>), and so it denotes his tender compassion and
affection for his spouse, and the love he has to her even in her
desolate and deserted state. This love of his is like <i>bright
ivory,</i> finely polished, and richly <i>overlaid with
sapphires.</i> The love itself is strong and firm, and the
instances and circumstances of it are bright and sparkling, and add
much to the inestimable value of it. (8.) <i>His legs are as
pillars of marble,</i> so strong, and stately, and no disgrace, no,
not to the <i>sockets of fine gold upon</i> which they are
<i>set,</i> <scripRef id="Song.vi-p18.14" osisRef="Bible:Song.5.16" parsed="|Song|5|16|0|0" passage="So 5:16"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>.
This bespeaks his stability and stedfastness; where he sets his
foot he will fix it; he is able to bear all the weight of the
government that is upon his shoulders, and his legs will never fail
under him. This sets forth the stateliness and magnificence of
<i>the goings of our God, our King, in his sanctuary</i> (<scripRef id="Song.vi-p18.15" osisRef="Bible:Ps.68.24" parsed="|Ps|68|24|0|0" passage="Ps 68:24">Ps. lxviii. 24</scripRef>), and the steadiness
and evenness of all his dispensations towards his people. <i>The
ways of the Lord are equal;</i> they are all <i>mercy and
truth;</i> these are the <i>pillars of marble,</i> more lasting
than the pillars of heaven. (9.) <i>His countenance</i> (his port
and mien) <i>is as Lebanon,</i> that stately hill; his aspect
beautiful and charming, like the prospect of that pleasant forest
or park, <i>excellent as the cedars,</i> which, in height and
strength, excel other trees, and are of excellent use. Christ is a
goodly person; the more we look upon him the more beauty we shall
see in him. (10.) <i>His mouth is most sweet;</i> it is sweetness
itself; it is <i>sweetnesses</i> (so the word is); it is pure
essence, nay, it is the quintessence of all delights, <scripRef id="Song.vi-p18.16" osisRef="Bible:Song.5.16" parsed="|Song|5|16|0|0" passage="So 5:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>. The words of his mouth
are all sweet to a believer, sweet as milk to babes (to whom it is
agreeable), as honey to those that are grown up (<scripRef id="Song.vi-p18.17" osisRef="Bible:Ps.119.103" parsed="|Ps|119|103|0|0" passage="Ps 119:103">Ps. cxix. 103</scripRef>), to whom it is delicious.
The kisses of his mouth, all the tokens of his love, have a
transcendent sweetness in them, and are most delightful to those
who have their <i>spiritual senses exercised. To you that believe
he is precious.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.vi-p19">3. She concludes with a full assurance both
of faith and hope, and so gets the mastery of her trouble. (1.)
Here is a full assurance of faith concerning the complete beauty of
the Lord Jesus: "<i>He is altogether lovely.</i> Why should I stand
to mention particulars, when throughout there is nothing amiss?"
She is sensible she does him wrong in the particular descriptions
of him, and comes far short of the dignity and merit of the
subject, and therefore she breaks off with the general encomium:
<i>He is</i> truly <i>lovely,</i> he is wholly so; there is nothing
in him but what is amiable, and nothing amiable but what is in him.
<i>He is all desires;</i> he has all in him that one can desire.
And therefore all her desire is towards him, and she seeks him thus
carefully and cannot rest contented in the want of him. Who can but
love him who is so lovely? (2.) Here is a full assurance of hope
concerning her own interest in him: "<i>This is my beloved, and
this is my friend;</i> and therefore wonder not that I thus long
after him." See with what a holy boldness she claims relation to
him, and then with what a holy triumph she proclaims it. It is
property that sweetens excellency. To see Christ, and not to see
him as ours, would be rather a torture than a happiness; but to see
one that is thus lovely, and to see him as ours, is a complete
satisfaction. Here is a true believer, [1.] Giving an entire
consent to Christ: "He is mine, <i>my Lord and my God</i>
(<scripRef id="Song.vi-p19.1" osisRef="Bible:John.20.28" parsed="|John|20|28|0|0" passage="Joh 20:28">John xx. 28</scripRef>), mine
according to the tenour of the gospel-covenant, mine in all
relations, bestowed upon me, to be all that to me that my poor soul
stands in need of." [2.] Taking an entire complacency in Christ. It
is spoken of here with an air of triumph: "This is he whom I have
chosen, and to whom I have given up myself. None but Christ, none
but Christ. This is he on whom my heart is, for he is my
best-beloved; this is he in whom I trust, and from whom I expect
all good, <i>for this is my friend.</i>" Note, Those that make
Christ their beloved shall have him their friend; he has been, is,
and will be, a special friend to all believers. He loves those that
love him; and those that have him their friend have reason to glory
in him, and speak of him with delight. "Let others be governed by
the love of the world, and seek their happiness in its friendship
and favours, <i>This is my beloved and this is my friend.</i>
Others may do as they please, but this is my soul's choice, my
soul's rest, my life, my joy, my all; this is he whom I desire to
live and die with."</p>
</div></div2>