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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1710)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>S O N G O F S O L O M O N.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. VI.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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In this chapter,
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I. The daughters of Jerusalem, moved with the description which the
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church had given of Christ, enquire after him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=So+6:1">ver. 1</A>.
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II. The church directs them where they may meet with him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=So+6:2,3">ver. 2, 3</A>.
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III. Christ is now found of those that sought him, and very highly
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applauds the beauty of his spouse, as one extremely smitten with it
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=So+6:4-7">ver. 4-7</A>),
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preferring her before all others
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=So+6:8,9">ver. 8, 9</A>),
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recommending her to the love and esteem of all her neighbours
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=So+6:10">ver. 10</A>),
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and, lastly, acknowledging the impressions which her beauty had made
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upon him and the great delight he took in it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=So+6:11-13">ver. 11-13</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="So6_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="So6_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="So6_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Enquiring after Christ.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women?
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whither is thy beloved turned aside? that we may seek him with
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thee.
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2 My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of
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spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.
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3 I <I>am</I> my beloved's, and my beloved <I>is</I> mine: he feedeth
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among the lilies.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here is,
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I. The enquiry which the daughters of Jerusalem made concerning Christ,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=So+6:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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They still continue their high thoughts of the church, and call her, as
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before, the <I>fairest among women;</I> for true sanctity is true
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beauty. And now they raise their thoughts higher concerning Christ:
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<I>Whither has thy beloved gone, that we may seek him with thee?</I>
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This would be but an indecent, unacceptable, compliment, if the song
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were not to be understood spiritually; for love is jealous of a rival,
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would monopolize the beloved, and cares not that others should join in
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seeking him; but those that truly love Christ are desirous that others
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should love him too, and be joined to him; nay, the greatest instance
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of duty and respect that the church's children can show to their mother
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is to join with her in seeking Christ. The <I>daughters of
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Jerusalem,</I> who had asked
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=So+5:9"><I>ch.</I> v. 9</A>),
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<I>What is thy beloved more than another beloved?</I> wondering that
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the spouse should be so passionately in love with him, are now of
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another mind, and are themselves in love with him; for,
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1. The spouse had described him, and shown them his excellencies and
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perfections; and therefore, though they have not seen him, yet,
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believing, they love him. Those that undervalue Christ do so because
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they do not know him; when God, by his word and Spirit, discovers him
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to the soul, with that ray of light the fire of love to him will be
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kindled.
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2. The spouse had expressed her own love to him, her rest in that love,
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and triumphed in it: <I>This is my beloved;</I> and that flame in her
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breast scattered sparks into theirs. As sinful lusts, when they break
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out, defile many, so the pious zeal of some may <I>provoke many,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+9:2">2 Cor. ix. 2</A>.
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3. The spouse had bespoken their help in seeking her beloved
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=So+5:8"><I>ch.</I> v. 8</A>);
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but now they beg hers, for they perceive that now the cloud she had
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been under began to scatter, and the sky to clear up, and, while she
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was describing her beloved to them, she herself retrieved her comfort
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in him. Drooping Christians would find benefit themselves by talking of
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Christ, as well as do good to others. Now here,
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(1.) They enquire concerning him, "<I>Wither has thy beloved gone?</I>
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which may must we steer our course in pursuit of him?" Note, Those that
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are made acquainted with the excellencies of Christ, and the comfort of
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an interest in him, cannot but be inquisitive after him and desirous to
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know where they may meet with him.
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(2.) They offer their service to the spouse to accompany her in quest
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of him: <I>We will seek him with thee.</I> Those that would find Christ
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must seek him, seek him early, seek him diligently; and it is best
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seeking Christ in concert, to join with those that are seeking him. We
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must seek for communion with Christ in communion with saints. We know
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<I>whither our beloved has gone;</I> he has gone to heaven, <I>to his
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Father, and our Father.</I> He took care to send us notice of it, that
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we might know how to direct to him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+20:17">John xx. 17</A>.
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We must by faith see him there, and by prayer seek him there, with
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boldness <I>enter into the holiest,</I> and herein must join with
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<I>the generation of those that seek him</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+24:6">Ps. xxiv. 6</A>),
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even with <I>all that in every place call upon him,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+1:2">1 Cor. i. 2</A>.
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We must pray with and for others.</P>
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<P>
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II. The answer which the spouse gave to this enquiry,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=So+6:2,3"><I>v.</I> 2, 3</A>.
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Now she complains not any more, as she had done
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=So+5:6"><I>ch.</I> v. 6</A>),
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"He is gone, he is gone," that she knew not where to find him, or
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doubted she had lost him for ever; no,</P>
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<P>
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1. Now she knows very well where he is
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=So+6:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>):
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"<I>My beloved</I> is not to be found in the streets of the city, and
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the crowd and noise that are there; there I have in vain looked for
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him" (as his parents <I>sought him among their kindred and
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acquaintance, and found him not</I>); "but he <I>has gone down to his
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garden,</I> a place of privacy and retirement." The more we withdraw
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from the hurry of the world the more likely we are to have acquaintance
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with Christ, who took his disciples into a garden, there to be
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witnesses of the agonies of his love. Christ's church is a garden
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enclosed, and separated from the open common of the world; it is <I>his
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garden,</I> which he has planted as he did the garden of Eden, which he
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takes care of, and delights in. Though he had gone up to the paradise
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above, yet he comes down to his garden on earth; it lies low, but he
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condescends to visit it, and wonderful condescension it is. <I>Will God
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in very deed dwell with man upon the earth?</I> Those that would find
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Christ may expect to meet with him <I>in his garden</I> the church, for
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<I>there he records his name</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+20:24">Exod. xx. 24</A>);
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they must attend upon him in the ordinances which he has instituted,
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the word, sacraments, and prayer, wherein he will be with us <I>always,
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even to the end of the world.</I> The spouse here refers to what Christ
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had said
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=So+5:1"><I>ch.</I> v. 1</A>),
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<I>I have come into my garden.</I> It is as if she had said, "What a
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fool was I to fret and fatigue myself in seeking him where he was not,
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when he himself had told me where he was!" Words of direction and
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comfort are often out of the way when we have occasion to use them,
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till the blessed Spirit brings them to our remembrance, and then we
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wonder how we overlooked them. Christ has told us that he would <I>come
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into his garden;</I> thither therefore we must go to seek him. <I>The
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beds,</I> and smaller <I>gardens,</I> in this greater, are the
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particular churches, the <I>synagogues of God in the land</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+84:8">Ps. lxxxiv. 8</A>);
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the <I>spices</I> and <I>lilies</I> are particular believers, the
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planting of the Lord, and pleasant in his eyes. When Christ comes down
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to his church it is,
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(1.) <I>To feed</I> among <I>the gardens,</I> to feed his flock, which
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he feeds not, as other shepherds, in the open fields, but in his
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garden, so well are they provided for,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+23:2">Ps. xxiii. 2</A>.
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He comes to feed his friends, and entertain them; there you may not
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only find him, but find his table richly furnished, and a hearty
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welcome to it. He comes to feed himself, that is, to please himself
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with the products of his own grace in his people; <I>for the Lord takes
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pleasure in those that fear him.</I> He has many gardens, many
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particular churches of different sizes and shapes; but, while they are
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his, he feeds in them all, manifests himself among them, and is well
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pleased with them.
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(2.) <I>To gather lilies,</I> wherewith he is pleased to entertain and
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adorn himself. He picks the lilies one by one, and gathers them to
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himself; and there will be a general harvest of them at the great day,
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when he will send forth his angels, to gather all his lilies, that he
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may be for ever glorified and admired in them.</P>
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<P>
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2. She is very confident of her own interest in him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=So+6:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>):
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"<I>I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine;</I> the relation is
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mutual, and the knot is tied, which cannot be loosed; for <I>he feeds
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among the lilies,</I> and my communion with him is a certain token of
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my interest in him." She had said this before
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=So+2:16"><I>ch.</I> ii. 16</A>);
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but,
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(1.) Here she repeats it as that which she resolved to abide by, and
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which she took an unspeakable pleasure and satisfaction in; she liked
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her choice too well to change. Our communion with God is very much
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maintained and kept up by the frequent renewing of our covenant with
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him and rejoicing in it.
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(2.) She had occasion to repeat it, for she had acted unkindly to her
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beloved, and, for her so doing, he had justly withdrawn himself from
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her, and therefore there was occasion to take fresh hold of the
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covenant, which continues firm between Christ and believes,
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notwithstanding their failings and his frowns,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+89:30-35">Ps. lxxxix. 30-35</A>.
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"I have been careless and wanting in my duty, and yet <I>I am my
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beloved's;</I>" for every transgression in the covenant does not throw
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us out of covenant. "He has justly hidden his face from me and denied
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me his comforts, and yet <I>my beloved is mine;</I>" for rebukes and
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chastenings are not only consistent with, but they flow from
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covenant-love.
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(3.) When we have not a full assurance of Christ's love we must live by
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a faithful adherence to him. "Though I have not the sensible
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consolation I used to have, yet I will cleave to this, <I>Christ is
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mine and I am his.</I>"
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(4.) Though she had said the same before, yet now she inverts the
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order, and asserts her interest in her first: <I>I am my beloved's,</I>
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entirely devoted and dedicated to him; and then her interest in him and
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in his grace: "<I>My beloved is mine,</I> and I am happy, truly happy
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in him." If our own hearts can but witness for us that we are his,
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there is no room left to question his being ours; for the covenant
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never breaks on his side.
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(5.) It is now her comfort, as it was then, that <I>he feeds among the
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lilies,</I> that he takes delight in his people and converses freely
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with them, as we do with those with whom we feed; and therefore, though
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at present he be withdrawn, "I shall meet with him again. <I>I shall
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yet praise him who is the health of my countenance, and my
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God.</I>"</P>
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<A NAME="So6_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="So6_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="So6_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="So6_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="So6_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="So6_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="So6_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Church's Confidence in Christ; The Love of Christ to the Church.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>4 Thou <I>art</I> beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as
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Jerusalem, terrible as <I>an army</I> with banners.
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5 Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me: thy
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hair <I>is</I> as a flock of goats that appear from Gilead.
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6 Thy teeth <I>are</I> as a flock of sheep which go up from the
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washing, whereof every one beareth twins, and <I>there is</I> not one
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barren among them.
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7 As a piece of a pomegranate <I>are</I> thy temples within thy
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locks.
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8 There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and
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virgins without number.
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9 My dove, my undefiled is <I>but</I> one; she <I>is</I> the <I>only</I> one
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of her mother, she <I>is</I> the choice <I>one</I> of her that bare her.
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The daughters saw her, and blessed her; <I>yea,</I> the queens and the
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concubines, and they praised her.
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10 Who <I>is</I> she <I>that</I> looketh forth as the morning, fair as
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the moon, clear as the sun, <I>and</I> terrible as <I>an army</I> with
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banners?
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Now we must suppose Christ graciously returned to his spouse, from whom
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he had withdrawn himself, returned to converse with her (for he speaks
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to her and <I>makes her to hear joy and gladness</I>), returned to
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favour her, having forgiven and forgotten all her unkindness, for he
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speaks very tenderly and respectfully to her.</P>
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<P>
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I. He pronounces her truly amiable
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=So+6:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>):
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<I>Thou art beautiful, O my love! as Tirzah,</I> a city in the tribe of
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Manasseh, whose name signifies <I>pleasant,</I> or <I>acceptable,</I>
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the situation, no doubt, being very happy and the building fine and
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uniform. <I>Thou art comely as Jerusalem,</I> a city <I>compact
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together</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+122:3">Ps. cxxii. 3</A>),
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and which Solomon had built and beautified, <I>the joy of the whole
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earth;</I> it was an honour to the world (whether they thought so or
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no) that there was such a city in it. It was the holy city, and that
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was the greatest beauty of it; and fitly is the church compared to it,
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for it was figured and typified by it. The gospel-church is <I>the
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Jerusalem that is above</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+4:26">Gal. iv. 26</A>),
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<I>the heavenly Jerusalem</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+12:22">Heb. xii. 22</A>);
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in it God has <I>his sanctuary,</I> and is, in a special manner,
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present; thence he has the tribute of praise issuing; it is his rest
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for ever, and therefore it is <I>comely as Jerusalem,</I> and, being
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so, is <I>terrible as an army with banners.</I> Church-censures, duly
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administered, strike an awe upon men's consciences; the word (the
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weapons of her warfare) <I>casts down imaginations</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+10:5">2 Cor. x. 5</A>),
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and even an unbeliever is convinced and judged by the solemnity of holy
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ordinances,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+14:24,25">1 Cor. xiv. 24, 25</A>.
|
|
|
|
The saints by faith <I>overcome the world</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Jo+5:4">1 John v. 4</A>);
|
|
|
|
nay, like Jacob, they have <I>power with God and prevail,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+32:28">Gen. xxxii. 28</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. He owns himself in love with her,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=So+6:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
|
|
|
|
Though, for a small moment, and in a little wrath, he had hid his face
|
|
from her, yet now he gathers her with very surprising instances of
|
|
<I>everlasting lovingkindness,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+54:8">Isa. liv. 8</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>Turn thy eyes towards me</I> (so some read it), "turn the eyes of
|
|
faith and love towards me, <I>for they have lifted me up;</I> look unto
|
|
me, and be comforted." When we are calling to God to turn the eye of
|
|
his favour towards us he is calling to us to turn the eye of our
|
|
obedience towards him. We read it as a strange expression of love,
|
|
"<I>Turn away thy eyes from me, for</I> I cannot bear the brightness of
|
|
them; <I>they have</I> quite <I>overcome me,</I> and I am prevailed
|
|
with to overlook all that is past;" as God said to Moses, when he
|
|
interceded for Israel, "<I>Let me alone,</I> or I must yield,"
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+32:10">Exod. xxxii. 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
Christ is pleased to borrow these expressions of a passionate lover
|
|
only to express the tenderness of a compassionate Redeemer, and the
|
|
delight he takes in his redeemed and in the workings of his own grace
|
|
in them.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. He repeats, almost word for word, part of the description he had
|
|
given of her beauty
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=So+4:1-3"><I>ch.</I> iv. 1-3</A>),
|
|
|
|
her <I>hair,</I> her <I>teeth,</I> her <I>temples</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=So+6:5-7"><I>v.</I> 5-7</A>),
|
|
|
|
not because he could not have described it in other words, and by other
|
|
similitudes, but to show that he had still the same esteem for her
|
|
since her unkindness to him, and his withdrawings from her, that he had
|
|
before. Lest she should think that, though he would not quite cast her
|
|
off, yet he would think the worse of her while he knew her, he says the
|
|
same of her now that he had done; for those <I>to whom much is forgiven
|
|
will love the more,</I> and, consequently, will be the more loved, for
|
|
Christ has said, <I>I love those that love me.</I> He is pleased with
|
|
his people, notwithstanding their weaknesses, when they sincerely
|
|
repent of them and return to their duty, and commends them as if they
|
|
had already arrived at perfection.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
IV. He prefers her before all competitors, and sees all the beauties
|
|
and perfections of others meeting and centering in her
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=So+6:8,9"><I>v.</I> 8, 9</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>There are,</I> it may be, <I>threescore queens,</I> who, like
|
|
Esther, have by their beauty attained to the royal state and dignity,
|
|
<I>and fourscore concubines,</I> whom kings have preferred before their
|
|
own queens, as more charming, and these attended by their maids of
|
|
honour, <I>virgins without number,</I> who, when there is a ball at
|
|
court, appear in great splendour, with beauty that dazzles the eyes of
|
|
the spectators; but <I>my dove, my undefiled, is but one,</I> a holy
|
|
one."
|
|
|
|
1. She excels them all. Go through all the world, and view the
|
|
societies of men that reckon themselves wise and happy, kingdoms,
|
|
courts, senates, councils, or whatever incorporations you may think
|
|
valuable, they are none of them to be compared with the church of
|
|
Christ; their honours and beauties are nothing to hers. <I>Who is like
|
|
unto thee, O Israel!</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+33:29,De+4:6,7">Deut. xxxiii. 29; iv. 6, 7</A>.
|
|
|
|
There are particular persons, as <I>virgins without number,</I> who are
|
|
famed for their accomplishments, the beauties of their address,
|
|
language, and performances, but the beauty of holiness is beyond all
|
|
other beauty: "<I>My dove, my undefiled, is one,</I> has that one
|
|
beauty that she is a dove, an undefiled dove, and mine, and that makes
|
|
her excel the queens and virgins, though they were ever so many."
|
|
|
|
2. She included them all. "Other kings have many queens, and
|
|
concubines, and virgins, with whose conversation they entertain
|
|
themselves, but <I>my dove, my undefiled,</I> is to me instead of all;
|
|
in that one I have more than they have in all theirs." Or, "Though
|
|
there are many particular churches, some of greater dignity, others of
|
|
less, some of longer, others of shorter, standing, and many particular
|
|
believers, of different gifts and attainments, some more eminent,
|
|
others less so, yet they all constitute but one catholic church, are
|
|
all but parts of that whole, and that is <I>my dove, my undefiled.</I>"
|
|
Christ is the centre of the church's unity; all the children of God
|
|
that are scattered abroad are gathered by him
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+11:52">John xi. 52</A>),
|
|
|
|
and meet in him
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:10">Eph. i. 10</A>),
|
|
|
|
and are all his doves.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
V. He shows how much she was esteemed, not by him only, but by all that
|
|
had acquaintance with her and stood in relation to her. It would add to
|
|
her praise to say,
|
|
|
|
1. That she was her mother's darling; she had that in her, from a
|
|
child, which recommended her to the particular affection of her
|
|
parents. As Solomon himself is said to have been <I>tender and an only
|
|
one in the sight of his mother</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+4:3">Prov. iv. 3</A>),
|
|
|
|
so was she <I>the only one of her mother,</I> as dear as if she had
|
|
been an only one, and, if there were many more, yet she was <I>the
|
|
choice one of her that bore her,</I> more excellent than all the
|
|
societies of men this world ever produced. All the kingdoms of the
|
|
world, and the glory of them, are nothing, in Christ's account,
|
|
compared with the church, which is made up of <I>the excellent ones of
|
|
the earth,</I> the <I>precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine
|
|
gold,</I> and <I>more excellent than their neighbours.</I>
|
|
|
|
2. That she was admired by all her acquaintance, not only <I>the
|
|
daughters,</I> who were her juniors, but even <I>the queens and the
|
|
concubines,</I> who might have reason to be jealous of her as a rival;
|
|
<I>they</I> all <I>blessed her,</I> and wished well to her, <I>praised
|
|
her,</I> and spoke well of her. <I>The daughters of Jerusalem</I>
|
|
called her the <I>fairest among women;</I> all agreed to give her the
|
|
pre-eminence for beauty, and every sheaf bowed to hers. Note,
|
|
|
|
(1.) Those that have any correct sense of things cannot but be
|
|
convinced in their consciences (whatever they say) that godly people
|
|
are excellent people; many will give them their good word, and more
|
|
their good-will.
|
|
|
|
(2.) Jesus Christ takes notice what people think and speak of his
|
|
church, and is well pleased with those that honour such as fear the
|
|
Lord, and takes it ill of those that despise them, particularly when
|
|
they are under a cloud, that <I>offend any of his little ones.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
VI. He produces the encomium that was given of her, and makes it his
|
|
own
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=So+6:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Who is she that looks forth as the morning?</I> This is applicable
|
|
both to the church in the world and to grace in the heart.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. They are amiable as the light, the most beautiful of all visible
|
|
things. Christians are, or should be, the lights of the world. The
|
|
patriarchal church <I>looked forth as the morning</I> when the promise
|
|
of the Messiah was first made known, and <I>the day-spring from on high
|
|
visited</I> this dark world. The Jewish church was <I>fair as the
|
|
moon;</I> the ceremonial law was an imperfect light; it shone by
|
|
reflection; it was changing as the moon, did not make day, nor had
|
|
<I>the sun of righteousness yet risen.</I> But the Christian church is
|
|
clear <I>as the sun,</I> exhibits a great <I>light to those that sat in
|
|
darkness.</I> Or we may apply it to the kingdom of grace, the
|
|
gospel-kingdom.
|
|
|
|
(1.) In its rise, it <I>looks forth as the morning</I> after a dark
|
|
night; it is discovering
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+38:12,13">Job xxxviii. 12, 13</A>),
|
|
|
|
and very acceptable, <I>looks forth</I> pleasantly as a clear morning;
|
|
but it is small in its beginnings, and scarcely perceptible at first.
|
|
|
|
(2.) It is, at the best, in this world, but <I>fair as the moon,</I>
|
|
which shines with a borrowed light, which has her changes and eclipses,
|
|
and her spots too, and, when at the full, does but rule by night. But,
|
|
|
|
(3.) When it is perfected in the kingdom of glory then it will be
|
|
<I>clear as the sun,</I> the church <I>clothed with the sun,</I> with
|
|
Christ <I>the sun of righteousness,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+12:1">Rev. xii. 1</A>.
|
|
|
|
Those that love God will then be <I>as the sun when he goes forth in
|
|
his strength</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jdg+5:31,Mt+13:43">Judges v. 31; Matt. xiii. 43</A>);
|
|
|
|
they shall shine in inexpressible glory, and that which is perfect will
|
|
then come; there shall be no darkness, no spots,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+30:26">Isa. xxx. 26</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. The beauty of the church and of believers is not only amiable, but
|
|
<I>awful as an army with banners.</I> The church, in this world, is
|
|
<I>as an army,</I> as the camp of Israel in the wilderness; its state
|
|
is militant; it is in the midst of enemies, and is engaged in a
|
|
constant conflict with them. Believers are soldiers in this army. It
|
|
has its <I>banners;</I> the gospel of Christ is an ensign
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+11:12">Isa. xi. 12</A>),
|
|
|
|
the love of Christ,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=So+2:4"><I>ch.</I> ii. 4</A>.
|
|
|
|
It is marshalled, and kept in order and under discipline. It is
|
|
<I>terrible</I> to its enemies as Israel in the wilderness was,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+15:14">Exod. xv. 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
When Balaam saw Israel encamped according to their tribes, by their
|
|
standards, with colours displayed, he said, <I>How goodly are thy
|
|
tents, O Jacob!</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+24:5">Num. xxiv. 5</A>.
|
|
|
|
When the church preserves her purity she secures her honour and
|
|
victory; when she is <I>fair as the moon,</I> and <I>clear as the
|
|
sun,</I> she is truly great and formidable.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="So6_11"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="So6_12"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="So6_13"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Love of Christ to the Church.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>11 I went down into the garden of nuts to see the fruits of the
|
|
valley, <I>and</I> to see whether the vine flourished, <I>and</I> the
|
|
pomegranates budded.
|
|
12 Or ever I was aware, my soul made me <I>like</I> the chariots of
|
|
Amminadib.
|
|
13 Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may
|
|
look upon thee. What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it were the
|
|
company of two armies.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Christ having now returned to his spouse, and the breach being entirely
|
|
made up, and the falling out of these lovers being the renewing of
|
|
love, Christ here gives an account both of the distance and of the
|
|
reconciliation.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. That when he had withdrawn from his church as his spouse, and did
|
|
not comfort her, yet even then he had his eye upon it as his garden,
|
|
which he took care of
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=So+6:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>I went down into the garden of nuts,</I> or nutmegs, <I>to see the
|
|
fruits of the valley,</I> with complacency and concern, to see them as
|
|
my own." When he was out of sight he was no further off than the
|
|
garden, hid among the trees of the garden, in a low and dark valley;
|
|
but then he was observing <I>how the vine flourished,</I> that he might
|
|
do all that to it which was necessary to promote its flourishing, and
|
|
might delight himself in it as a man does in a fruitful garden. He went
|
|
to see whether <I>the pomegranates budded.</I> Christ observes the
|
|
first beginnings of the good work of grace in the soul and the early
|
|
buddings of devout affections and inclinations there, and is well
|
|
pleased with them, as we are with the blossoms of the spring.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. That yet he could not long content himself with this, but suddenly
|
|
felt a powerful, irresistible, inclination in his own bosom to return
|
|
to his church, as his spouse, being moved with her lamentations after
|
|
him, and her languishing desire towards him
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=So+6:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>Or ever I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of
|
|
Ammi-nadib;</I> I could not any longer keep at a distance; my
|
|
repentings were kindled together, and I presently resolved to fly back
|
|
to the arms of my love, my dove." Thus Joseph made himself strange to
|
|
his brethren, for a while, to chastise them for their former
|
|
unkindnesses, and make trial of their present temper, till he could no
|
|
longer refrain himself, but, <I>or ever he was aware,</I> burst out
|
|
into tears, and said, <I>I am Joseph,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+45:1,3">Gen. xlv. 1, 3</A>.
|
|
|
|
And now the spouse perceives, as David did
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+31:22">Ps. xxxi. 22</A>),
|
|
|
|
that though she <I>said in her haste, I am cut off from before thy
|
|
eyes,</I> yet, at the same time, he <I>heard the voice of her
|
|
supplications,</I> and became <I>like the chariots of Ammi-nadib,</I>
|
|
which were noted for their beauty and swiftness. <I>My soul put me into
|
|
the chariots of my willing people</I> (so some read it), "the chariots
|
|
of their faith, and hope, and love, their desires, and prayers, and
|
|
expectations, which they sent after me, to fetch me back, as chariots
|
|
of fire with horses of fire." Note,
|
|
|
|
1. Christ's people are, and ought to be, a willing people.
|
|
|
|
2. If they continue seeking Christ and longing after him, even when he
|
|
seems to withdraw from them, he will graciously return to them in due
|
|
time, perhaps sooner than they think and with a pleasing surprise. No
|
|
chariots sent for Christ shall return empty.
|
|
|
|
3. All Christ's gracious returns to his people take rise from himself.
|
|
It is not they, it is his own soul, that puts him into the chariots of
|
|
his people; for he is gracious because he will be gracious, and loves
|
|
his Israel because he would love them; not for their sakes, be it known
|
|
to them.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. That he, having returned to her, kindly courted her return to him,
|
|
notwithstanding the discouragements she laboured under. Let her not
|
|
despair of obtaining as much comfort as ever she had before this
|
|
distance happened, but take the comfort of the return of her beloved,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=So+6:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.
|
|
|
|
Here,
|
|
|
|
1. The church is called <I>Shulamite,</I> referring either to
|
|
<I>Solomon,</I> the bridegroom in type, by whose name she is called, in
|
|
token of her relation to him and union with him (thus believers are
|
|
called <I>Christians</I> from <I>Christ</I>), or referring to
|
|
<I>Salem,</I> the place of her birth and residence, as the woman of
|
|
<I>Shunem</I> is called the <I>Shunamite.</I> Heaven is the Salem
|
|
whence the saints have their birth, and where they have their
|
|
citizenship; those that belong to Christ, and are bound for heaven,
|
|
shall be called <I>Shulamites.</I>
|
|
|
|
2. She is invited to return, and the invitation most earnestly pressed:
|
|
<I>Return, return;</I> and again, "<I>Return, return;</I> recover the
|
|
peace thou hast lost and forfeited; come back to thy former
|
|
composedness and cheerfulness of spirit." Note, Good Christians, after
|
|
they have had their comfort disturbed, are sometimes hard to be
|
|
pacified, and need to be earnestly persuaded to return again to their
|
|
rest. As revolting sinners have need to be called to again and again
|
|
(<I>Turn you, turn you, why will you die?</I>) so disquieted saints
|
|
have need to be called to again and again, <I>Turn you, turn you,</I>
|
|
why will you droop; <I>Why art thou cast down, O my soul?</I>
|
|
|
|
3. Having returned, she is desired to show her face: <I>That we may
|
|
look upon thee.</I> Go no longer with they face covered like a mourner.
|
|
Let those that have made their peace with God <I>lift up their faces
|
|
without spot</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+22:26">Job xxii. 26</A>);
|
|
|
|
let them come boldly to his throne of grace. Christ is pleased with
|
|
the cheerfulness and humble confidence of his people, and would have
|
|
them look pleasant. "Let us <I>look upon thee,</I> not I only, but the
|
|
holy angels, who rejoice in the consolation of saints as well as in the
|
|
conversion of sinners; not I only, but all the daughters." Christ and
|
|
believers are pleased with the beauty of the church.
|
|
|
|
4. A short account is given of what is to be seen in her. The question
|
|
is asked, <I>What will you see in the Shulamite?</I> And it is
|
|
answered, <I>As it were the company of two armies.</I>
|
|
|
|
(1.) Some think she gives this account of herself; she is shy of
|
|
appearing, unwilling to be looked upon, having, in her own account, no
|
|
form or comeliness. Alas! says she, <I>What will you see in the
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Shulamite?</I> nothing that is worth your looking upon, nothing but
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<I>as it were the company of two armies</I> actually engaged, where
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nothing is to be seen but blood and slaughter. The watchmen had smitten
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her, and wounded her, and she carried in her face the marks of those
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wounds, looked as if she had been fighting. She had said
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=So+1:6"><I>ch.</I> i. 6</A>),
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<I>Look not upon me because I am black;</I> here she says, "Look not
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upon me because I am bloody." Or it may denote the constant struggle
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that is between grace and corruption in the souls of believers; they
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are in them <I>as two armies</I> continually skirmishing, which makes
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her ashamed to show her face.
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(2.) Others think her beloved gives the account of her. "I will tell
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you what you shall <I>see in the Shulamite;</I> you shall see as noble
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a sight as that of two armies, or two parts of the same army, drawn out
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in rank and file; not only <I>as an army with banners,</I> but as
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<I>two armies,</I> with a majesty double to what was before spoken; she
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is as <I>Mahanaim,</I> as the two hosts which Jacob saw
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+32:1,2">Gen. xxxii. 1, 2</A>),
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a host of saints and a host of angels ministering to them; the church
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militant, the church triumphant." Behold <I>two armies;</I> in both the
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church appears beautiful.</P>
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