mh_parser/vol_split/22 - Song of Solomon/Chapter 7.xml

<div2 id="Song.viii" n="viii" next="Song.ix" prev="Song.vii" progress="99.07%" title="Chapter VII">
<h2 id="Song.viii-p0.1">S O N G   O F   S O L O M O
N.</h2>
<h3 id="Song.viii-p0.2">CHAP. VII.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Song.viii-p1">In this chapter, I. Christ, the royal bridegroom,
goes on to describe the beauties of his spouse, the church, in many
instances, and to express his love to her and the delight he has in
her conversation, <scripRef id="Song.viii-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Song.7.1-Song.7.9" parsed="|Song|7|1|7|9" passage="So 7:1-9">ver. 1-9</scripRef>.
II. The spouse, the church, expresses her great delight in him, and
the desire that she had of communion and fellowship with him,
<scripRef id="Song.viii-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Song.7.10-Song.7.13" parsed="|Song|7|10|7|13" passage="So 7:10-13">ver. 10-13</scripRef>. Such mutual
esteem and endearment are there between Christ and believers. And
what is heaven but an everlasting interchanging of loves between
the holy God and holy souls!</p>
<scripCom id="Song.viii-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Song.7" parsed="|Song|7|0|0|0" passage="So 7" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Song.viii-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Song.7.1-Song.7.9" parsed="|Song|7|1|7|9" passage="So 7:1-9" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Song.7.1-Song.7.9">
<h4 id="Song.viii-p1.5">The Beauty of the Church; The Complacency of
Christ in His Church.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Song.viii-p2">1 How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O
prince's daughter! the joints of thy thighs <i>are</i> like jewels,
the work of the hands of a cunning workman.   2 Thy navel
<i>is like</i> a round goblet, <i>which</i> wanteth not liquor: thy
belly <i>is like</i> a heap of wheat set about with lilies.  
3 Thy two breasts <i>are</i> like two young roes <i>that are</i>
twins.   4 Thy neck <i>is</i> as a tower of ivory; thine eyes
<i>like</i> the fishpools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bath-rabbim:
thy nose <i>is</i> as the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward
Damascus.   5 Thine head upon thee <i>is</i> like Carmel, and
the hair of thine head like purple; the king <i>is</i> held in the
galleries.   6 How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for
delights!   7 This thy stature is like to a palm tree, and thy
breasts to clusters <i>of grapes.</i>   8 I said, I will go up
to the palm tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof: now also
thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy
nose like apples;   9 And the roof of thy mouth like the best
wine for my beloved, that goeth <i>down</i> sweetly, causing the
lips of those that are asleep to speak.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.viii-p3">The title which Jesus Christ here gives to
the church is new: <i>O prince's daughter!</i> agreeing with
<scripRef id="Song.viii-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.45.13" parsed="|Ps|45|13|0|0" passage="Ps 45:13">Ps. xlv. 13</scripRef>, where she is
called <i>the king's daughter.</i> She is so in respect of her new
birth, born from above, begotten of God, and his workmanship,
bearing the image of the King of kings, and guided by his Spirit.
She is so by marriage; Christ, by betrothing her to himself, though
he found her mean and despicable, has made her a <i>prince's
daughter.</i> She has a princely disposition, something in her
truly noble and generous; she is daughter and heir to the prince of
the kings of the earth. <i>If children, then heirs.</i> Now here we
have,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.viii-p4">I. A copious description of the beauty of
the spouse, which, some think, is given by the virgins her
companions, and that those were they who called upon her to return;
it seems rather to be given by Christ himself, and to be designed
to express his love to her and delight in her, as before, <scripRef id="Song.viii-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Song.4.1" parsed="|Song|4|1|0|0" passage="So 4:1"><i>ch.</i> iv. 1</scripRef>, &amp;c., and
<scripRef id="Song.viii-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:Song.6.5-Song.6.6" parsed="|Song|6|5|6|6" passage="So 6:5,6"><i>ch.</i> vi. 5, 6</scripRef>. The
similitudes are here different from what they were before, to show
that the beauty of holiness is such as nothing in nature can reach;
you may still say more of it, and yet still come short of it. That
commendation of the spouse, <scripRef id="Song.viii-p4.3" osisRef="Bible:Song.4.1-Song.4.16" parsed="|Song|4|1|4|16" passage="So 4:1-16"><i>ch.</i> iv.</scripRef>, was immediately upon the
espousals (<scripRef id="Song.viii-p4.4" osisRef="Bible:Song.3.11" parsed="|Song|3|11|0|0" passage="So 3:11"><i>ch.</i> iii.
11</scripRef>), this upon her return from a by-path (<scripRef id="Song.viii-p4.5" osisRef="Bible:Song.6.13" parsed="|Song|6|13|0|0" passage="So 6:13"><i>ch.</i> vi. 13</scripRef>); yet this exceeds
that, to show the constancy of Christ's love to his people; <i>he
loves them to the end,</i> since he made them <i>precious in his
sight and honourable.</i> The spouse had described the beauty of
her beloved in ten particulars (<scripRef id="Song.viii-p4.6" osisRef="Bible:Song.5.11" parsed="|Song|5|11|0|0" passage="So 5:11"><i>ch.</i> v. 11</scripRef>, &amp;c.); and now he
describes her in as many, for he will not be behindhand with her in
respects and endearments. Those that honour Christ he will
certainly honour, and make honourable. As the prophet, in
describing the corruptions of degenerate Israel, reckons <i>from
the sole of the foot even unto the head</i> (<scripRef id="Song.viii-p4.7" osisRef="Bible:Isa.1.6" parsed="|Isa|1|6|0|0" passage="Isa 1:6">Isa. i. 6</scripRef>), so here the beauties of the church
are reckoned from foot to head, that, as the apostle speaks, when
he is comparing the church, as here, to the natural body (<scripRef id="Song.viii-p4.8" osisRef="Bible:1Cor.12.23" parsed="|1Cor|12|23|0|0" passage="1Co 12:23">1 Cor. xii. 23</scripRef>), <i>more abundant
honour</i> might be bestowed on those parts <i>of the body which we
think to be less honourable,</i> and which therefore <i>lacked
honour,</i> <scripRef id="Song.viii-p4.9" osisRef="Bible:Song.7.24" parsed="|Song|7|24|0|0" passage="So 7:24"><i>v.</i> 24</scripRef>. 1.
Her <i>feet</i> are here praised; the feet of Christ's ministers
are beautiful in the eyes of the church (<scripRef id="Song.viii-p4.10" osisRef="Bible:Isa.52.7" parsed="|Isa|52|7|0|0" passage="Isa 52:7">Isa. lii. 7</scripRef>), and her feet are here said to
be beautiful in the eyes of Christ. <i>How beautiful are thy feet
with shoes!</i> When believers, being made free from the captivity
of sin (<scripRef id="Song.viii-p4.11" osisRef="Bible:Acts.12.8" parsed="|Acts|12|8|0|0" passage="Ac 12:8">Acts xii. 8</scripRef>),
<i>stand fast in the liberty with which they are made free,</i>
preserve the tokens of their enfranchisement, have <i>their feet
shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace,</i> and walk
steadily according to the rule of the gospel, then their <i>feet
are beautiful with shoes;</i> they tread firmly, being well armed
against the troubles they meet with in their way. When we rest not
in good affections, but they are accompanied with sincere endeavors
and resolutions, then our feet are beautified <i>with shoes.</i>
See <scripRef id="Song.viii-p4.12" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.16.10" parsed="|Ezek|16|10|0|0" passage="Eze 16:10">Ezek. xvi. 10</scripRef>. 2.
<i>The joint of the thighs are</i> here said to be <i>like
jewels,</i> and those curiously wrought by <i>a cunning
workman.</i> This is explained by <scripRef id="Song.viii-p4.13" osisRef="Bible:Eph.4.16 Bible:Col.2.19" parsed="|Eph|4|16|0|0;|Col|2|19|0|0" passage="Eph 4:16,Col 2:19">Eph. iv. 16 and Col. ii. 19</scripRef>, where
the mystical body of Christ is said to be held together by
<i>joints and bands,</i> as the hips and knees (both which are
<i>the joints of the thighs</i>) serve the natural body in its
strength and motion. The church is <i>then</i> comely in Christ's
eyes when those joints are kept firm by holy love and unity, and
the communion of saints. When believers act in religion from good
principles, and are steady and regular in their whole conversation,
and turn themselves easily to every duty in its time and place,
then <i>the joints are like jewels.</i> 3. The <i>navel</i> is here
compared to a round cup or <i>goblet,</i> that <i>wants not</i> any
of the agreeable <i>liquor</i> that one would wish to find in it,
such as David's cup that ran over (<scripRef id="Song.viii-p4.14" osisRef="Bible:Ps.23.5" parsed="|Ps|23|5|0|0" passage="Ps 23:5">Ps.
xxiii. 5</scripRef>), well shaped, and not as that miserable infant
whose navel was not cut, <scripRef id="Song.viii-p4.15" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.16.4" parsed="|Ezek|16|4|0|0" passage="Eze 16:4">Ezek. xvi.
4</scripRef>. The fear of the Lord is said to be <i>health to the
navel.</i> See <scripRef id="Song.viii-p4.16" osisRef="Bible:Prov.3.8" parsed="|Prov|3|8|0|0" passage="Pr 3:8">Prov. iii. 8</scripRef>.
When the soul wants not that fear then the <i>navel wants not
liquor.</i> 4. The <i>belly is like a heap of wheat</i> in the
store-chamber, which perhaps was sometimes, to make show, adorned
with flowers. The <i>wheat</i> is useful, the <i>lilies</i> are
beautiful; there is every thing in the church which may be to the
members of that body either for use or for ornament. All the body
is nourished from the <i>belly;</i> it denotes the spiritual
prosperity of a believer and the healthful constitution of the soul
all in good plight. 5. The <i>breasts are like two young roes that
are twins,</i> <scripRef id="Song.viii-p4.17" osisRef="Bible:Song.7.3" parsed="|Song|7|3|0|0" passage="So 7:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>.
By the breasts of the church's consolations those are nourished who
are born from its belly (<scripRef id="Song.viii-p4.18" osisRef="Bible:Isa.46.3" parsed="|Isa|46|3|0|0" passage="Isa 46:3">Isa. xlvi.
3</scripRef>), and by the navel received nourishment in the womb.
This comparison we had before, <scripRef id="Song.viii-p4.19" osisRef="Bible:Song.4.5" parsed="|Song|4|5|0|0" passage="So 4:5"><i>ch.</i> iv. 5</scripRef>. 6. The <i>neck,</i> which
before was compared to <i>the tower of David</i> (<scripRef id="Song.viii-p4.20" osisRef="Bible:Song.4.4" parsed="|Song|4|4|0|0" passage="So 4:4"><i>ch.</i> iv. 4</scripRef>), is here compared to
<i>a tower of ivory,</i> so white, so precious; such is the faith
of the saints, by which they are joined to Christ their head. The
name of the Lord, improved by faith, is to the saints as a strong
and impregnable tower. 7. The <i>eyes</i> are compared to <i>the
fish-pools in Heshbon,</i> or the artificial fish-ponds, <i>by a
gate,</i> either of Jerusalem or Heshbon, which is called
<i>Bath-rabbim,</i> the daughter of a multitude, because a great
thoroughfare. The understanding, the intentions of a believer, are
clean and clear as these ponds. The eyes, weeping for sin, are as
fountains (<scripRef id="Song.viii-p4.21" osisRef="Bible:Jer.9.1" parsed="|Jer|9|1|0|0" passage="Jer 9:1">Jer. ix. 1</scripRef>), and
comely with Christ. 8. The <i>nose</i> is like <i>the tower of
Lebanon,</i> the forehead or face set <i>like a flint</i>
(<scripRef id="Song.viii-p4.22" osisRef="Bible:Isa.50.7" parsed="|Isa|50|7|0|0" passage="Isa 50:7">Isa. l. 7</scripRef>), undaunted as
that tower was impregnable. So it denotes the magnanimity and holy
bravery of the church, or (as others) a spiritual sagacity to
discern things that differ, as animals strangely distinguish by the
smell. This tower <i>looks towards Damascus,</i> the head city of
Syria, denoting the boldness of the church in facing its enemies
and not fearing them. 9. The <i>head like Carmel,</i> a very high
hill near the sea, <scripRef id="Song.viii-p4.23" osisRef="Bible:Song.7.5" parsed="|Song|7|5|0|0" passage="So 7:5"><i>v.</i>
5</scripRef>. The head of a believer is <i>lifted up above his
enemies</i> (<scripRef id="Song.viii-p4.24" osisRef="Bible:Ps.27.6" parsed="|Ps|27|6|0|0" passage="Ps 27:6">Ps. xxvii. 6</scripRef>),
above the storms of the lower region, as the top of Carmel was,
pointing heaven-ward. The more we get above this world, and the
nearer to heaven, and the more secure and serene we become by that
means, the more amiable we are in the eyes of the Lord Jesus. 10.
<i>The hair of the head</i> is said to be <i>like purple.</i> This
denotes the universal amiableness of a believer in the eyes of
Christ, even to <i>the hair,</i> or (as some understand it) the
pins with which <i>the hair</i> is dressed. Some by <i>the head and
the hair</i> understand the governors of the church, who, if they
be careful to do their duty, add much to her comeliness. <i>The
head like crimson</i> (so some read it) <i>and the hair like
purple,</i> the two colours worn by great men.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.viii-p5">II. The complacency which Christ takes in
his church thus beautified and adorned. She is lovely indeed if she
be so in his eyes; as he puts the comeliness upon her, so it is his
love that makes this comeliness truly valuable, for he is an
unexceptionable judge. 1. He delighted to look upon his church, and
to converse with it, rejoicing in that habitable part of his earth:
<i>The king is held in the galleries,</i> and cannot leave them.
This is explained by <scripRef id="Song.viii-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.132.13-Ps.132.14" parsed="|Ps|132|13|132|14" passage="Ps 132:13,14">Ps. cxxxii.
13, 14</scripRef>, <i>The Lord has chosen Zion,</i> saying, <i>This
is my rest for ever;</i> <i>here will I dwell;</i> and <scripRef id="Song.viii-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.147.11" parsed="|Ps|147|11|0|0" passage="Ps 147:11">Ps. cxlvii. 11</scripRef>, <i>The Lord takes
pleasure in those that fear him.</i> And, if Christ has such
delight <i>in the galleries</i> of communion with his people, much
more reason have they to delight in them, and to reckon <i>a day
there better than a thousand.</i> 2. He was even struck with
admiration at the beauty of his church (<scripRef id="Song.viii-p5.3" osisRef="Bible:Song.7.6" parsed="|Song|7|6|0|0" passage="So 7:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>): <i>How fair and how pleasant art
thou, O love!</i> <i>How art thou made fair!</i> (so the word is),
"not born so, but made so with the comeliness which I have put upon
thee." Holiness is a beauty beyond expression; the Lord Jesus is
wonderfully pleased with it; the outward aspect of it is fair; the
inward disposition of it is pleasant and highly agreeable, and the
complacency he has in it is inexpressible. <i>O my dearest for
delights!</i> so some read. 3. He determined to keep up communion
with his church. (1.) To <i>take hold of her</i> as of <i>the
boughs of a palm-tree.</i> He compares her <i>stature to a
palm-tree</i> (<scripRef id="Song.viii-p5.4" osisRef="Bible:Song.7.7" parsed="|Song|7|7|0|0" passage="So 7:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>),
so straight, so strong, does she appear, when she is looked upon in
her full proportion. The <i>palm-tree</i> is observed to flourish
most when it is loaded; so the church, the more it has been
afflicted, the more it has multiplied; and the branches of it are
emblems of victory. Christ says, "<i>I will go up to the
palm-tree,</i> to entertain myself with the shadow of it (<scripRef id="Song.viii-p5.5" osisRef="Bible:Song.7.8" parsed="|Song|7|8|0|0" passage="So 7:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>) and <i>I will take hold of
its boughs</i> and observe the beauty of them." What Christ has
said he will do, in favour to his people; we may be sure he will do
it, for his kind purposes are never suffered to fall to the ground;
and if he <i>take hold of the boughs</i> of his church, take early
hold of her branches, when they are young and tender, he will keep
his hold and not let them go. (2.) To refresh himself with her
fruits. He compares her <i>breasts</i> (her pious affections
towards him) <i>to clusters of grapes,</i> a most pleasant fruit
(<scripRef id="Song.viii-p5.6" osisRef="Bible:Song.7.7" parsed="|Song|7|7|0|0" passage="So 7:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>), and he repeats
it (<scripRef id="Song.viii-p5.7" osisRef="Bible:Song.7.8" parsed="|Song|7|8|0|0" passage="So 7:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>): They
<i>shall be</i> (that is, they shall be to me) <i>as clusters of
the vine,</i> which <i>make glad the heart.</i> "Now that I come
<i>up to the palm-tree</i> thy graces shall be exerted and
excited." Christ's presence with his people kindles the holy
heavenly fire in their souls, and then their <i>breasts shall be as
clusters of the vine,</i> a cordial to themselves and acceptable to
him. And since God, at first, <i>breathed into man's nostrils the
breath of life,</i> and breathes the breath of the new life still,
<i>the smell of</i> their nostrils is <i>like the smell of
apples,</i> or oranges, which is pleasing and reviving. <i>The Lord
smelt a sweet savour</i> from Noah's sacrifice, <scripRef id="Song.viii-p5.8" osisRef="Bible:Gen.8.21" parsed="|Gen|8|21|0|0" passage="Ge 8:21">Gen. viii. 21</scripRef>. And, <i>lastly, the roof of her
mouth is like the best wine</i> (<scripRef id="Song.viii-p5.9" osisRef="Bible:Song.7.9" parsed="|Song|7|9|0|0" passage="So 7:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>); her spiritual taste and relish,
or the words she speaks of God and man, which come not from the
teeth outward, but from <i>the roof of the mouth,</i> these are
pleasing to God. <i>The prayer of the upright is his delight.</i>
And, when <i>those that fear the Lord speak one to another</i> as
becomes them, <i>the Lord hearkens, and hears</i> with pleasure,
<scripRef id="Song.viii-p5.10" osisRef="Bible:Mal.3.16" parsed="|Mal|3|16|0|0" passage="Mal 3:16">Mal. iii. 16</scripRef>. It is like
that wine which is, [1.] Very palatable and grateful to the taste.
It <i>goes down sweetly;</i> it <i>goes straightly</i> (so the
margin reads it); it <i>moves itself aright,</i> <scripRef id="Song.viii-p5.11" osisRef="Bible:Prov.23.31" parsed="|Prov|23|31|0|0" passage="Pr 23:31">Prov. xxiii. 31</scripRef>. The pleasures of sense seem
right to the carnal appetite, and go down smoothly, but they are
often wrong, and, compared with the pleasure of communion with God,
they are harsh and rough. Nothing <i>goes down so sweetly</i> with
a gracious soul as the wine of God's consolations. [2.] It is a
great cordial. The presence of Christ by his Spirit with him people
shall be reviving and refreshing to them, as that strong wine which
makes <i>the lips</i> even <i>of those that are asleep</i> (that
are ready to faint away in a deliquium), <i>to speak.</i>
Unconverted sinners are asleep; saints are often drowsy, and
listless, and half asleep; but the word and Spirit of Christ will
put life and vigour into the soul, and <i>out of the abundance of
the heart</i> that is thus filled<i>the mouth</i> will
<i>speak.</i> When the apostles were filled with the Spirit they
spoke <i>with tongues the wonderful works of God</i> (<scripRef id="Song.viii-p5.12" osisRef="Bible:Acts.2.10 Bible:Acts.2.12" parsed="|Acts|2|10|0|0;|Acts|2|12|0|0" passage="Ac 2:10,12">Acts ii. 10, 12</scripRef>); and those who in
opposition to being <i>drunk with wine, wherein is excess,</i> are
<i>filled with the Spirit, speak to themselves in psalms and
hymns,</i> <scripRef id="Song.viii-p5.13" osisRef="Bible:Eph.5.18-Eph.5.19" parsed="|Eph|5|18|5|19" passage="Eph 5:18,19">Eph. v. 18,
19</scripRef>. When Christ is thus commending the sweetness of his
spouse's love, excited by the manifestation of his, she seems to
put in that word, <i>for my beloved,</i> as in a parenthesis. "Is
there any thing in me that is pleasant or valuable? As it is from,
so it is for my beloved." <i>Then</i> he delights in our good
affections and services, when they are all for him and devoted to
his glory.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Song.viii-p5.14" osisRef="Bible:Song.7.10-Song.7.13" parsed="|Song|7|10|7|13" passage="So 7:10-13" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Song.7.10-Song.7.13">
<h4 id="Song.viii-p5.15">Desiring Communion with Christ; The Love of
the Church to Christ.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Song.viii-p6">10 I <i>am</i> my beloved's, and his desire
<i>is</i> toward me.   11 Come, my beloved, let us go forth
into the field; let us lodge in the villages.   12 Let us get
up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourish,
<i>whether</i> the tender grape appear, <i>and</i> the pomegranates
bud forth: there will I give thee my loves.   13 The mandrakes
give a smell, and at our gates <i>are</i> all manner of pleasant
<i>fruits,</i> new and old, <i>which</i> I have laid up for thee, O
my beloved.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.viii-p7">These are the words of the spouse, the
church, the believing soul, in answer to the kind expressions of
Christ's love in the foregoing verses.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.viii-p8">I. She here triumphs in her relation to
Christ and her interest in him, and in his name will she boast all
the day long. With what a transport of joy and holy exultation does
she say (<scripRef id="Song.viii-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Song.7.10" parsed="|Song|7|10|0|0" passage="So 7:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>),
"<i>I am my beloved's,</i> not my own, but entirely devoted to him
and owned by him." If we can truly say that Christ is our <i>best
beloved,</i> we may be confident that we are his and he <i>will
save us,</i> <scripRef id="Song.viii-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.119.94" parsed="|Ps|119|94|0|0" passage="Ps 119:94">Ps. cxix. 94</scripRef>.
The gracious discoveries of Christ's love to us should engage us
greatly to rejoice in the hold he has of us, his sovereignty over
us and property in us, which is no less a spring of comfort than a
bond of duty. Intimacy of communion with Christ should help clear
up our interest in him. Glorying in this, that she is his, to serve
him, and reckoning that her honour, she comforts herself with this,
that his <i>desire is towards her,</i> that is, he is her husband;
it is a periphrasis of the conjugal relation, <scripRef id="Song.viii-p8.3" osisRef="Bible:Gen.3.16" parsed="|Gen|3|16|0|0" passage="Ge 3:16">Gen. iii. 16</scripRef>. Christ's desire was strongly
towards his chosen remnant, when he came from heaven to earth to
seek and save them; and when, in pursuance of his undertaking, he
was even straitened till the baptism of blood he was to pass
through for them <i>was accomplished,</i> <scripRef id="Song.viii-p8.4" osisRef="Bible:Luke.12.50" parsed="|Luke|12|50|0|0" passage="Lu 12:50">Luke xii. 50</scripRef>. He desired <i>Zion for a
habitation;</i> this is a comfort to believers that, whosoever
slights them, Christ has a desire towards them, such a desire as
will again bring him from heaven to earth to receive them to
himself; for he longs to have them all with him, <scripRef id="Song.viii-p8.5" osisRef="Bible:John.17.24 Bible:John.14.3" parsed="|John|17|24|0|0;|John|14|3|0|0" passage="Joh 17:24,Joh 14:3">John xvii. 24; xiv. 3</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.viii-p9">II. She humbly and earnestly desires
communion with him (<scripRef id="Song.viii-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Song.7.11-Song.7.12" parsed="|Song|7|11|7|12" passage="So 7:11,12"><i>v.</i> 11,
12</scripRef>): "<i>Come, my beloved,</i> let us take a walk
together, that I may receive counsel, instruction, and comfort from
thee, and may make known my wants and grievances to thee, with
freedom, and without interruption." Thus Christ can walk with the
two disciples that were going to the village called <i>Emmaus,</i>
and talked with them, till he made their <i>hearts burn within
them.</i> Observe here, 1. Having received fresh tokens of his
love, and full assurances of her interest in him, she presses
forward towards further acquaintance with him; as blessed Paul, who
desired yet more and more of <i>the excellency of the knowledge of
Christ Jesus,</i> <scripRef id="Song.viii-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:Phil.3.8" parsed="|Phil|3|8|0|0" passage="Php 3:8">Phil. iii.
8</scripRef>. Christ has made it to appear how much his desire is
towards us, and we are very ungrateful if ours be not towards him.
Note, Communion with Christ is that which all that are sanctified
earnestly breathe after; and the clearer discoveries he makes to
them of his love the more earnestly do they desire it. Sensual
pleasures pall the carnal appetite, and soon give it surfeit, but
spiritual delights whet the desires, the language of which is,
<i>Nothing more than God,</i> but still <i>more and more of
him.</i> Christ had said, <i>I will go up to the palm-tree.</i>
Come, saith she, <i>Let us go.</i> The promises Christ has made us
of communion with him are not to supersede, but quicken and
encourage, our prayers for that communion. 2. She desires to go
forth into the fields and villages to have this communion with him.
Those that would converse with Christ must go forth from the world
and the amusements of it, must avoid every thing that would divert
the mind and be a hindrance to it when it should be wholly taken up
with Christ; we must contrive how to <i>attend upon the Lord
without distraction</i> (<scripRef id="Song.viii-p9.3" osisRef="Bible:1Cor.7.35" parsed="|1Cor|7|35|0|0" passage="1Co 7:35">1 Cor. vii.
35</scripRef>), for therefore the spouse here covets to get out of
the noise of the town. <i>Let us go forth to him without the
camp,</i> <scripRef id="Song.viii-p9.4" osisRef="Bible:Heb.14.13" parsed="|Heb|14|13|0|0" passage="Heb 14:13">Heb. xiv. 13</scripRef>.
Solitude and retirement befriend communion with God; therefore
<i>Isaac went out into the field to meditate</i> and pray. <i>Enter
into thy closet, and shut thy door.</i> A believer is never less
alone than when alone with Christ, where no eye sees. 3. Having
business to go abroad, to look after their grounds, she desires the
company of her beloved. Note, Wherever we are, we may keep up our
communion with God, if it be not our own fault, for he is always at
our right hand, his eye always upon us, and both his word and his
ear always nigh us. By going about our worldly affairs with
heavenly holy hearts, mixing pious thoughts with common actions,
and having our eyes ever towards the Lord, we may take Christ along
with us whithersoever we go. Nor should we go any whither where we
cannot in faith ask him to go along with us. 4. She is willing to
rise betimes, to go along with her beloved: <i>Let us get up early
to the vineyards.</i> It intimates her care to improve
opportunities of conversing with her beloved; when the time
appointed has come, we must lose no time, but, as the woman
(<scripRef id="Song.viii-p9.5" osisRef="Bible:Mark.16.2" parsed="|Mark|16|2|0|0" passage="Mk 16:2">Mark xvi. 2</scripRef>), <i>go very
early,</i> though it be to a <i>sepulchre,</i> if we be in hopes to
meet him there. Those that will go abroad with Christ must begin
betimes with him, early in the morning of their days, must begin
every day with him, seek him early, seek him diligently. 5. She
will be content to take up her lodging in the villages, the huts or
cottages which the country people built for their shelter when they
attended their business in the fields; there, in these mean and
cold dwellings, she will gladly reside, if she may but have her
beloved with her. His presence will make them fine and pleasant,
and convert them into palaces. A gracious soul can reconcile itself
to the poorest accommodations, if it may have communion with God in
them. 6. The most pleasant delightful fields, even in the
spring-time, when the country is most pleasant, will not satisfy
her, unless she have her beloved with her. No delights on earth can
make a believer easy, unless he enjoy God in all.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.viii-p10">III. She desires to be better acquainted
with the state of her own soul and the present posture of its
affairs (<scripRef id="Song.viii-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Song.7.12" parsed="|Song|7|12|0|0" passage="So 7:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>):
<i>Let us see if the vine flourish.</i> Our own souls are our
vineyards; they are, or should be, planted with vines and
pomegranates, choice and useful trees. We are made keepers of these
vineyards, and therefore are concerned often to look into them, to
examine the state of our own souls, to seek whether the <i>vine
flourishes,</i> whether our graces be in act and exercise, whether
we be fruitful in the fruits of righteousness, and whether our
fruit abound. And especially let us enquire whether <i>the tender
grape appear</i> and whether <i>the pomegranates bud forth,</i>
what good motions and dispositions there are in us that are yet but
young and tender, that they may be protected and cherished with a
particular care, and may not be nipped, or blasted, or rubbed off,
but cultivated, that they may bring forth fruit unto perfection. In
this enquiry into our own spiritual state, it will be good to take
Christ along with us, because his presence will make the <i>vine
flourish</i> and the <i>tender grape appear,</i> as the returning
sun revives the gardens, and because to him we are concerned to
approve ourselves. If he sees the <i>vine flourish,</i> and the
<i>tender grape appear</i>—if we can appeal to him, <i>Thou
knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee,</i>—if his
Spirit witness with our spirit that our souls prosper, it is
enough. And, if we would be acquainted with ourselves, we must beg
of him to search and try us, to help us in the search, and discover
us to ourselves.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Song.viii-p11">IV. She promises to her beloved the best
entertainment she can give him at her country seat; for he will
come in to us, and sup with us, <scripRef id="Song.viii-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Rev.3.20" parsed="|Rev|3|20|0|0" passage="Re 3:20">Rev.
iii. 20</scripRef>. 1. She promises him her best affections; and,
whatever else she had for him, it would utterly be contemned if her
heart were not entire for him: "<i>There</i> therefore <i>will I
give thee my love;</i> I will repeat the professions of it, honour
thee with the tokens of it; and the out-goings of my soul towards
thee in adorations and desires shall be quickened and enlarged, and
my heart offered up to thee in a holy fire." 2. She promises him
her best provision, <scripRef id="Song.viii-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Song.7.13" parsed="|Song|7|13|0|0" passage="So 7:13"><i>v.</i>
13</scripRef>. "There we shall find pleasant odours, for <i>the
mandrakes give a smell;</i>" the <i>love-flowers</i> or <i>lovely
ones</i> (so the word signifies), or the <i>love-fruits;</i> it was
something that was in all respects very grateful, so valuable that
Rachel and Leah had like to have fallen out above it, <scripRef id="Song.viii-p11.3" osisRef="Bible:Gen.30.14" parsed="|Gen|30|14|0|0" passage="Ge 30:14">Gen. xxx. 14</scripRef>. "We shall also find
that which is good for food, as well as pleasant to the eye, all
the rarities that the country affords: <i>At our gates are all
manner of pleasant fruits.</i>" Note, (1.) The fruits and exercises
of grace are pleasant to the Lord Jesus. (2.) These must be
carefully laid up for him, devoted to his service and honour, must
be always ready to us when we have occasion for them, as that which
is laid up at our gates, that, by our bringing forth much fruit, he
may be glorified, <scripRef id="Song.viii-p11.4" osisRef="Bible:John.15.18" parsed="|John|15|18|0|0" passage="Joh 15:18">John xv.
18</scripRef>. (3.) There is a great variety of these pleasant
fruits, with which our souls should be well stocked; we must have
all sorts of them, grace for all occasions, <i>new and old,</i> as
the good householder has in his treasury, not only the products of
this year, but remainders of the last, <scripRef id="Song.viii-p11.5" osisRef="Bible:Matt.13.52" parsed="|Matt|13|52|0|0" passage="Mt 13:52">Matt. xiii. 52</scripRef>. We must not only have that
ready to us, for the service of Christ, which we have heard, and
learned, and experienced lately, but must retain that which we have
formerly gathered; nor must we content ourselves only with what we
have laid up in store in the days of old, but, as long as we live,
must be still adding something new to it, that our stock may
increase, and we may be <i>thoroughly furnished for every good
work.</i> (4.) Those that truly love Christ will think all they
have, even their most <i>pleasant fruits,</i> and what they have
treasured up most carefully, too little to be bestowed upon him,
and he is welcome to it all; if it were more and better, it should
be at his service. It is all from him, and therefore it is fit it
should be all for him.</p>
</div></div2>