1^85 
 
THE SONG OF SONGS UNVEILED : 
 
 A NEW 
 
 ^translation anir OEvpasition 
 
 OF THE 
 
 SONG OF SOLOMON 
 
 REV. BENJAMIN WEISS, 
 
 MISSIONARY AT ALGIERS, 
 
 LUTHOR OF NEW TRANSLATIONS AND EXPOSITIONS OF THE BOOKS OF PSALMS 
 AND ECCLESIASTES, ETC., ETC. 
 
 EDINBURGH : WILLIAM OLIPHANT AND CO. 
 
 LONDON : HAMILTON, ADAMS AND CO. 
 
 MDCCCLIX. 
 
PARK, SINCLAIR, AND CO., PRINTERS, DUNDEE. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Dear Reader, the portion of the Holy Scriptures of which 
 the following pages form a new Translation and Expo- 
 sition, is one to which, as a whole, no key has been 
 found by any of the ancient or modern writers on it, though 
 they have been very numerous, and some of them very able. 
 It has been the lot of this Song to be misunderstood, mis- 
 interpreted, and misapplied, both by Jew and Christian. 
 The Rabbinical writers, while they acknowledged the sacred- 
 ness of the Song, enveloped it at the same time in such 
 a thick and impenetrable cloud of Cabalistic mysteries and 
 absurd dreams of human invention, that its real contents 
 are effectually hidden from the most careful and patient 
 inquirer. Early Christian writers having, for the most part, 
 yielded to their well-known propensity to mystify and 
 spiritualize everything, have done over again the work of 
 the Cabalistic Rabbis, and buried the real Song out of sight 
 by their fanciful superstructures. Among modern Christian 
 writers, some follow in the footsteps of the ancients, while 
 others follow new inventions of their own. Some mystify 
 and spiritualise it out and out, others make a wholesale pre- 
 sent of it to Pharaoh's daughter, and others still think of 
 equitably dividing it between the combatants, and while 
 endeavouring to find in it both Christ and Solomon, the 
 Church of Christ and Pharaoh's daughter, lose all, and find 
 nothing. In the following work the author undertakes to 
 prove that Solomon's Song celebrates the most prominent 
 and important events of the ancient Church and her relation 
 to the Covenant Angel, from Horeb to Calvary ; but as the 
 scheme is fully explained in the Introduction it is unnces- 
 sary to enter on it here. 
 
11 PREFACE. 
 
 The chief object of the author in the following pages is 
 to rectify the mistranslated words and phrases, which in 
 some instances have obscured entire passages, and to ex- 
 plain the metaphors and figures employed by the royal 
 penman ; but more especially to illustrate every passage 
 by comparing it with the portion of Sacred History whose 
 events it celebrates. Though the practical application has 
 by no means been lost sight of or neglected, and an occa- 
 sional exhortation or warning has been given where it has 
 forced itself upon the mind of the author, still the field for 
 practical application has increased so wonderfully by the 
 new aspect which the Song assumes in this Book, that to 
 have made it practical throughout would at least have 
 doubled the volume, and perhaps have greatly interfered 
 with the power and beauty of the historical connexion which 
 he has shown to exist between this Song and the sacred his- 
 tory of the ancient Church of God. Besides, the author 
 trusts that some of the masters in Israel, considering the 
 Song in the entirely new aspect in which it appears in 
 the following pages, and appreciating the new and rich field 
 for practical application which is here unfolded, will under- 
 take such a work, and do it far more justice than the author, 
 who is a foreigner to the English language, could be ex- 
 pected to do. 
 
 The reader is humbly requested to exercise patience in 
 going through the following pages, and not to judge hastily 
 of the idea of the Song being partly historical and partly 
 prophetical to the sacred author, and now entirely historical 
 to us, until he has read a great portion of it at least, for it 
 is chiefly in the second and third parts that this is clearly 
 seen, and in the author's humble opinion placed beyond all 
 doubt. The same request may be made with regard to the 
 adopted idea that the " daughters of Jerusalem" throughout 
 the Song is a metaphorical name to signify the other (Gentile) 
 nations, while the " Bride" of the Song is the ancient 
 Church, the " daughter of Zion" of the prophets. This and 
 
PREFACE. Ill 
 
 other similar ideas may appear strange to the reader in 
 entering on the following pages, but as he advances and 
 sees what astonishing treasures the Song contains, when 
 rightly understood and justly applied, he will also see that 
 the Bride of the Song is none other but the ancient Church, 
 and the "daughters of Jerusalem" none other but the Gen- 
 tile nations, who, towards its conclusion, join the converted 
 *' Little Sister " (the first Christian Church at Jerusalem), 
 and together compose the New Covenant Bride, or the New 
 Testament Church. The reader, as he proceeds, will find 
 things wonderfully new and fresh, and, in the prophetical 
 portion of the Song, some things overwhelmingly astonish- 
 ing with respect to its literal and striking fulfilment in the 
 history of the Church from the days of Solomon to the for- 
 mation of the Christian Church by the instrumentality 
 of the first Christian Church at Jerusalem. With these 
 remarks the author recommends himself and the work to the 
 Covenant love of the God of Abraham, from whom also he 
 implores a rich blessing and a spark of divine light for the 
 soul of the attentive reader. With Him is the fountain of 
 life, in His light we shall see light. 
 
 B. W. 
 Dundee, Sept. 13, 1858. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THE CHARACTER OF THE SONG. 
 
 This magnificent portion of the Holy Scriptures is an 
 allegorical composition, which comprehends the whole mys- 
 tery of the pure and everlasting love of our heavenly Father 
 to His Church, which He redeemed and bought to Himself, 
 at no less a price than the incarnation, suflerings, and death 
 of His only begotten Son, with whose precious blood He 
 washed and purified her, and by His Spirit sanctified and 
 prepared her " as a bride adorned for her husband." The 
 chronological period of this holy Song comprises the long 
 interval which elapsed between the glorious scenes of Mount 
 Horeb, and the more mysterious and more solemn scenes of 
 Mount Calvary. The task which the wise king, moved by 
 the Holy Spirit, undertook in this sublime composition, was, 
 to illustrate the mysterious relations of the Church to her 
 Covenant-Angel from the beginning of that relation — to 
 celebrate the historical events and recorded manifestations 
 of Divine love and compassion towards that chosen and re- 
 deemed Church— and to exhibit the whole of her (then) 
 past, present, and future {i.e., down to the Messianic period) 
 connection with her Lord and Saviour, in striking pictures, 
 exalted and beautiful figures, highly poetical scenes, and 
 allegorical language. Thus, while its external form repre- 
 sents the. mutual endearments and reciprocal protestations of 
 the most tender attachment between two lovers, its substance 
 comprehends the reciprocal covenant promises, the conditions, 
 the agreements, the manifestations, the interruptions, the 
 reconciliations, and the renewed protestations of mutual love 
 and attachment between the Angel of Jehovah's presence 
 and His beloved Church, from the beginning of their relation 
 as Redeemer and redeemed, unto the time when He sealed 
 His covenant promises and eternal love with His precious 
 blood ; or, as was said above, from Mount Horeb to Calvary. 
 
 A 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 INTERNAL PROOFS TJ/lAT THE BRIDEGROOM AND BRIDE OF THE 
 SONG ARE NONE 6thER BUT CHRIST AND HIS CHURCH ON 
 EARTH. 
 
 It is evident that, in this Song, Solomon had to treat of 
 Divine perfection, true and pure love, unwavering attach- 
 ment, unabating tenderness, and inflexible resolution on 
 the one hand, and human imperfection, wavering and chang- 
 ing love, unstable determination, mutable resolution, and 
 frequent forgetfulness on the other. Hence he was obliged 
 to admit spots and shades into the picture of the Bride, while 
 that of the Bridegroom is all light, all love, all majesty, 
 all perfection, spotless in beauty, unchangeable and " alto- 
 gether lovely" in character, Divine in forbearance and for- 
 giveness, abundant in mercy and full of grace. If the in- 
 tended Bridegroom of this Song had not been the King of 
 Glory, and the Bride His Church on earth, this anomaly 
 would be inexplicable, — yea, quite unnatural. 
 
 In depicting the character and moral qualities of the 
 Bride under figures of corporeal beauty, and in sketching 
 the events of her biography under the cover of metaphorical 
 language, she is represented as having been persecuted, nay 
 enslaved, at an early period of her life, by her own brethren, 
 " the children of her mother," who compelled her to be a 
 " keeper of their vineyards," while she was thus obliged to 
 neglect her own. And who but Israel in Egypt — who but 
 the covenanted seed ot Abraham in servitude— who but these 
 brick-makers, and castle-builders, and idol-worshippers, to 
 whom their tyrants refused a moment's respite or breathing- 
 time, and whom they forced to abandon and neglect their 
 covenant God — who, we ask, but that nation can correspond 
 to such a picture ? Exposed to the scorching rays of the sun 
 by day, and to the desert blast by night, she became black 
 " like the tents of Kedar ;" and the whole tenor of this Song 
 shows the personage whom this image represents to be a de- 
 graded moral character, produced by neglect and persecution. 
 But it is even in that enslaved and degraded state that she 
 finds a lover who pays her the most tender attention, calls 
 her the '* fairest among women," and gives her suddenly and 
 altogether unexpectedly, so much encouragement, that she as 
 quickly addresses him, " thou whom my soul loveth !" and 
 
INTRODUCTION. 6 
 
 desires him to bestow on her still surer tokens of His love 
 and attachment, by " kissing her with the kisses of His 
 mouth," by drawing her after him, and introducing her 
 into His royal palace. The lover, then, of the blackened, 
 enslaved, and degraded girl, is none other than a mighty, 
 magnificent, far-famed, and beloved prince ; " thy name is 
 as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love 
 thee." — Is not this the King of kings, the God of Abra- 
 ham, who in His Covenant love and Divine mercy came, 
 according to His promise, to deliver the sun-burnt and 
 sorely oppressed slave in Egypt, telling her that He was 
 the God of her fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and 
 that, notwithstanding all her imperfections, He would de- 
 liver her, make her an " holy nation and a royal priesthood," 
 bring her into the land of promise, and make her rejoice in Hig 
 sanctuary ? And let us mark some of the very early expres- 
 sions and entreaties put into the mouth of the newly en- 
 couraged Bride : " Let him kiss me with the kisses of his 
 mouth." — " Draw me, we will run after thee." — " that 
 the king would bring me, (or * when the king shall have 
 brought me ') into his chambers, we shall be glad and 
 rejoice in thee." — Are not these expressions equivalent to 
 the interceding language of Moses, (the representative of 
 that redeemed nation), when he said, " I pray thee, if I have 
 found grace in thy sight, show me now thy way, that I 
 may know thee . . and consider that this nation is thy 
 people;" again, "If thy presence go not with us, carry 
 us not up hence ;" again, " I beseech thee show me now thy 
 glory ;"* again, it is recorded of Israel, " And they said, all 
 that the Lord hath said, we will do, and be obedient ?"7 
 Let these expressions be calmly compared and seriously 
 considered, and it must appear, we think, to an unprejudiced 
 mind, that Solomon copied these events and clothed them 
 in figurative language. But, before proceeding any farther, 
 we would ask : Is it reasonable to think, or is it probable to 
 suppose, if Solomon had had any other object or plan in view, 
 than that of which we suppose him to treat, that he would have 
 at the very outset painted the heroine of his Song as a sun- 
 burnt, enslaved, and degraded woman, the woman, too, whom 
 he wished to make the only chosen and beloved bride of a 
 
 * Exod. xxxiii. 13, 15, 18. f xxiv. 7. 
 
4 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 great and magnificent king, who describes her to be " fair 
 as the moon, bright as the sun ?" Reason says no ! Com- 
 mon sense repudiates the very idea of such a perversion. 
 The established fame of the author of this Song, as a sublime 
 and accurate poet, precludes the idea that he should have 
 committed a blunder of this kind in the very basis of such 
 a beautiful composition, and paint black as " Kedar's tents" 
 a perfection of beauty, which he compares afterwards to the 
 " brightness of the sun ! " 
 
 But as we cannot enter here into particulars, which are 
 treated at large in the sequel, where each successive passage 
 is illustrated and proved to refer to some corresponding event 
 in the history of the Church, and in a regular progressive 
 form, we shall only refer at present to a few more of its 
 striking features, which bear testimony to our leading argu- 
 ment. 
 
 Great and severe as were the sufferings and persecutions to 
 which the Bride of the Song had been exposed in the days 
 of her youth, all these must have passed away, and been 
 exchanged for unmingled happiness and constant joy, when 
 the once enslaved girl became the declared and formally 
 adopted bride of the great and mighty king, who, according 
 to the last two verses of the first chapter, introduced her 
 into his royal palace, and must then in fact have married 
 her, and declared her queen, as she says, "Our bed also 
 is green. The beams of our house are cedar," &c. Is it 
 not therefore very strange, that in chap. ii. the bridegroom 
 says regarding his bride, " as a lily among thorns, so is my 
 love among the daughters?"* Again, "0 my dove, in the 
 clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, (or * of the 
 precipice,') let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy 
 voice," &c. ?-\- Then she is still surrounded by enemies, still 
 oppressed by adversaries, still persecuted, still exposed to 
 difficulties and trials, still driven to secret hiding places 
 among wild mountain cliffs, where she weeps and mourns, 
 complains and supplicates, imploring the speedy aid of 
 her mighty lover, and his effectual intervention for her 
 deliverance ! Is not this the history of the ancient Church, 
 with whom the Lord entered into alliance at Mount Sinai, 
 whom He brought into His royal palace, into His sanctuary, 
 
 * Verse 2. f Verse 14. 
 
INTRODUCTION. D 
 
 into the tabernacle built in the wilderness soon after the 
 ratification of the covenant ? Is not the Bride of the Song 
 that covenanted Church, who, though then ah-eady the affi • 
 anced Bride of the great King of kings, was still surrounded 
 by many bitter and mighty enemies ? Does not the last 
 quoted passage refer to the great struggles of that Bride 
 when she was fighting against the Canaanites — to the dan- 
 gers and hardships to which she was then exposed — to the 
 persecutions and calamities which befell her at different 
 periods during the rule of the Judges ? Had she not ac- 
 tually and literally to hide herself among the " clefts of the 
 rocks and wild mountain precipices," and was she not deli- 
 vered from these calamities as soon as she made her Be- 
 loved hear her supplicating voice, and see her faith-stamped 
 and repentance-impressed countenance ? And why should 
 fancy and wild invention envelope with the sackcloth of dark 
 mysticism such a sublime Song, which so clearly and re- 
 gularly follows the historical events of the Church of God 
 as recorded in Sacred Writ ? Which of these hundreds of 
 different interpretations, fanciful inventions, and elaborated 
 technical commentaries, has so much as touched upon the in- 
 ternal difficulties, anomalies, incoherent and incompatible 
 portions, events, and relations of the Song ? Which of these 
 interpreters has done more than pick out some isolated ex- 
 pressions, and detached dialogues, and either secularise them 
 or mystify them into equally isolated toys of fancy or inco- 
 herent monographic pictures, which have no existence in the 
 Song, but only in their own imaginations'? And why so? 
 Because no connections, nor relations, nor transactions be- 
 tween any two individuals, can correspond to the meta- 
 phors and figures which were chosen to suit the historical 
 events and recorded relation between the Lord and His 
 Church, and not the latter to suit the former. For instance, 
 take away Israel's history, their call, covenant, and fall, 
 from the graphic, sublime, and affecting metaphor employed 
 by Ezekiel in chap. xvi. 1 — 34, and then call together the 
 whole host of fanciful, mystifying, and spiritualising inter- 
 preters, and you will see what a deplorable monster- image 
 they will make of it. And why? Because it was Israel's 
 history, misery, call, covenant, greatness, glory, pride, fall, 
 and rebellion, which led to the adoption of that metaphor. 
 Together they form a sublime whole ; but without the sub- 
 
b INTRODUCTION. 
 
 stance the metaphor is nothing but an incoherent and im- 
 possible extravagance. Other instances to the same pur- 
 pose might be referred to ; but this argument, too, will be 
 seen in a clearer light in the following Commentary, from 
 the regular connection of historical facts which, in the Song, 
 follow each other in chronological order. 
 
 After a most tender and lovely intercourse for a certain 
 time — after repeated mutual protestations of the most fervent 
 love and sincere attachment, as recorded in the first two 
 chapters, the third opens abruptly with bitter complaints on 
 the part of the again suffering Bride, who, during many 
 long and dreary nights, mourns the absence of her beloved, 
 whom she ardently seeks, but in vain. At last she finds 
 him. But then, instead of leading her back, as would na- 
 turally have been expected, into his royal palace, in which 
 we saw her already installed towards the end of the first 
 chapter, she leads him into her " mother's house !" Can 
 this anomaly be otherwise explained than by appljang the 
 passage to the long absence of the Lord's presence from His 
 Bride the ancient Church, during the dreary night of the 
 period of the Judges, and to her having found Him again in 
 the days of David, when she brought Him into her " mother's 
 house," into the temporary tabernacle prepared by David on 
 Mount Zion ?* Towards the end of the same chapter, a mag- 
 nificent royal marriage is celebrated, with a description of 
 riches and splendour worthy of the occasion, and certainly 
 nothing in the world of fancy, nothing but the reality of the 
 dedication of Solomon's magnificent temple, the appearance 
 of the glory of the Lord in it, and the renewal of the covenant 
 between Bridegroom and Bride, can be the substance of these 
 sublime images. As for the Bride in the figure, mark, she 
 remains Bride and not Queen, espoused but not married 
 to the very end of the Song! Hence we see that the 
 figure has no signification without the substance which it 
 envelopes, and that substance can be nothing else but the 
 relation and covenant connection between the Lord and His 
 Church. That covenant alone was several times inter- 
 rupted and several times solemnly renewed ; and the Church 
 of God alone can be the Bride of this Song ; for it is 
 
 * Zion is frequently styled in Scripture language the mother of the 
 Church — hut this suhject too must be referred to the Commentary, 
 where the reader will have ample scope to examine and judge. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 7 
 
 she who, though affianced to the Lord by an everlasting 
 covenant, is always called the Bride, and so remains on 
 earth until, sanctified and glorified in heaven, she becomes 
 " perfect in one," in union and communion with her glorious 
 Head, with whom and in whom she rejoices throughout 
 eternity. It is only in that blessed state of beatitude that 
 she is called " the Bride, the Lamb's wife." 
 
 One instance more will suffice for the present. Take the 
 passage in chapter v. in which the Bride is represented as 
 having waxed cold and indifferent to all the benefits which 
 she had received from her Bridegroom, and refusing to open 
 to him when he knocked at her door in a cold and rainy night, 
 and the Bridegroom, after repeated but fruitless entreaties 
 for admission, as having withdrawn and left her to her dismal 
 thoughts, and the Bride, thus awakened to a sense of her 
 folly and ingratitude, as having then run through the streets 
 in search of her offended lord, and was met by the watch- 
 men who smote and wounded her, and by the keepers of 
 the walls who tore down the veil from her head. In vain 
 will one seek in the fields of fancy for a key to this 
 mysterious drama. Nothing else but Israel's fall and back- 
 sliding, the Lord's repeated knockings and calls by His 
 servants the prophets for her repentance and conversion, 
 her hardness of heart and continual delays, the Lord's final 
 withdrawal when He said, " I will go and return to my 
 place, till they acknowledge their offence and seek my 
 face," &c.,* her consequent sufferings, reiterated strokes, 
 captivity into Babylon, and repentance, — we say that no- 
 thing but that event will correspond to the allegory of that 
 passage in its general features as well as in its particular 
 details, in its immediate contents as well as in its relation 
 to the whole Song. In fact the Song of Solomon is truly 
 historical throughout. The first four chapters contain a 
 summary account of the then past history of the Church ; 
 and the last four chapters are prophetical, foretelling the 
 chief events of the then future history of the Church, down 
 to the Messianic period. 
 
 *Hos. V. 16. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THE SONG OF SOLOMON DOES NOT AND CANNOT CONTAIN THE 
 NOR A SHADE OF ALLUSION TO SOLO- 
 ^HTER OF PHARAOH, OR 
 WITH ANY OTHER OF HIS QUEENS. 
 
 We shall now notice a wound which this blessed Book 
 has received in the house and from the hands of some of its 
 avowed friends. It is almost incredible to see the ridiculous 
 inconsistency of those who plead for the allegorical character 
 of the Song, and for its spiritual importance, as treating of 
 and celebrating the love of Christ to his Church, while at 
 the same time they pour profanity and insult upon the body 
 in which such a precious soul is supposed to dwell ! They 
 profane and insult the sublime figures and metaphors in 
 which the highest mysteries of heaven are clothed, by 
 endeavouring to make Solomon's fall and disgrace — his 
 marriage with Pharaoh's daughter, who seduced him into 
 the participation of idolatry — its principal theme ! To say 
 the least of this deplorable idea, had a single thought of 
 that lamentable event of his life entered his mind when he 
 composed it, it would surely have shared the fate of 
 hundreds of others of those songs which he must have 
 composed during his estrangement from God, and which he 
 must have delivered to the flames at the time he discovered 
 the " Vanity of vanities" of this world ; and when he said 
 " Fear God, and keep his commandments ; for this is the 
 whole duty of man ; for God shall bring every work into 
 judgment, even all those that are secret, whether they be 
 good or evil."* We can easily conceive that Solomon, in- 
 spired by the Holy Spirit, should employ the figure of sane* 
 tified wedded love in general, to express the love of Christ 
 to his Church, as the Apostle Paul speaking by the same 
 Spirit says — " Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ 
 also loved the Church, and gave himself for it."-]- But the 
 idea that he should employ a sinful passion, a criminal love 
 for an idolatrous woman, whom a backsliding child of God 
 took in marriage against the Lord's commandment, an act 
 which proved so disastrous to him, and which he so bitterly 
 
 * Ecc. xii. 13, 14. tEph. v. 25. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 deplored after his conversion,* as a melaplior to express 
 the divine and mysterious love of God to IIis Church, is 
 not only shocking but absurd ; as much socertainlv as il one 
 were to maintain that in the 45th Psalm, David refers to 
 his criminal love to Bathshebah which he so deeply and 
 bitterly deplores in Ps. li. &c. ! Would the one be more 
 shocking and absurd than the other? 
 
 But we would ask, what are the motives, and where are 
 the reasons for such a lamentable fancy ? Is it because 
 Solomon refers in it once to a horse in Pharaoh s chariot r' 
 If so, might not one conclude with equal reason, that Isaiah 
 too, when he says to the Church in the name of God— As 
 a bridegroom rejoiceth over his bride, so shall Jehovah re^- 
 ioice over thee," must refer to Solomon's marriage with 
 Pharaoh's daughter; seeing that prophet speaks very fre- 
 quently of Egypt, Pharaoh, Nile, horses, and crocodiles ! ^ .o 
 likewise, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Zephaniah, Zechariah, 
 John the Baptist, our Saviour Himself, Paul, Peter, and John 
 in his Revelation, all speak of God and His Church under 
 the figure of Bridegroom and Bride, and almost all make 
 more or less mention of Pharaoh, Egypt, &c. Or is it be- 
 cause towards the end of the third chapter, mention is made 
 of a marriage of Solomon ? But this would show thoroughly 
 the ignorance and presumption of these men, for the bride ot 
 the Song (in figure and substance) remains Bride— espoused 
 but not married— to the very end of the Song, which surely 
 could not have been the case, if Solomon's marriag^e with 
 Pharaoh's daughter (or with any other princess) had been 
 referred to in chapter iii., and if any of Solomon s queens 
 had been intended as the heroine of that Song, even j.s 
 regards its figures. 
 
 Now we shall meet these conjectures on other grounds, 
 and show how far astray fancy and pre-conceived false 
 ideas have led them. We suppose that even they will 
 readily admit the loftiness of style, the beauty of diction, the 
 elegance and harmony, the purity and force of the language, 
 and the tasteful and happy choice of figures which the 
 princely poet employed in the composition of this wonderful 
 Song- and if so, how can they for a moment entertain 
 the idea that either Pharaoh's daughter or any other of 
 
 * See Ecc. iv. 13—16 ; vii. 26—28 ; see explanation of these passages 
 in our Commentary on that Book. 
 
 A o 
 
10 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 his favourite princesses could have been primarily intended 
 as the heroine of that Song ? Does one ask, Why not ? — 
 we answer, because in that case this poem would be the 
 most absurd, incoherent, and self-contradictory piece of ex- 
 travagance that ever escaped from the pen of a deranged 
 bard. And this can be proved at a glance. 
 
 In chap. i. 4, the Bridegroom is a mighty king ; inverse 
 7, a poor shepherd ; and in verse 12, a king again ! Let 
 us not confound the time of Abraham with that of Solomon ; 
 in the former one could be both king and shepherd, in 
 the latter a king was a king, and a shepherd a shep- 
 herd.* In chap ii. 8, the Bridegroom is a wanderer on 
 mountains and hills; in iii. 7 — 11, none else but king 
 Solomon ! In chap. v. 9, he is a perfect stranger to the 
 daughters of Jerusalem ; in viii. 11, he is Solomon again ! 
 And what is this? Is it figure within figure, metaphor 
 within metaphor, wheel within wheel ? In chap. ii. 2, the 
 Bride is among^ the daughters " as a lily among thorns," 
 in vi. 9, " the daughters saw her and blessed (or praised) 
 her, the queens and concubines, and they praised (or, ad- 
 mired) her !" In chap. i. 6, the Bride's mother had many 
 children besides her ; in vi. 9, she is the " only one to her 
 mother !" In chap. i. 5 — 8, she is black " like the tents of 
 Kedar ;" in vi. 10, she is " fair as the moon, bright as the 
 sun !" In chap. i. 6 — 8, she is a poor persecuted shepherd- 
 ess and garden keeper; in vii. 1, she is "a daughter of 
 princes !" In chap i. 16, 17, she is a queen in the king's 
 palace, and speaks of " our bed," " our house ;" in iii. 4, she 
 finds him after a long absence, holds him fast and forces him 
 as it were to go with her into her " mother's house !" — not 
 as a wife and queen, but as a Bride again ! And what had 
 Pharaoh's daughter to do again in her mother's house? 
 Has she returned to Egypt ? Has Solomon been wan- 
 dering there? In chap. iii. 11, Solomon is married, but 
 surely not king Solomon, and not to Pharaoh's daughter, 
 if she (or any other) had been intended as the Bride of the 
 Song ; for the Bride remains bride (espoused, but not mar- 
 ried) to the end of the Song. Moreover, in the beginning of 
 the last chapter, she expresses the wish that she could bring 
 him into her *' mother's house " again ; and in the very last 
 
 * See 2 Sam. vii. 8, what a mighty distance there was in these days 
 between a shepherd and a king. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 1 1 
 
 verse he again absents himself, and she again calls him 
 " lover " "or friend," but not husband ; for they were only 
 espoused ! In chap, iv 8, the Bridegroom (supposed to be 
 married in chap, iii.) invites again his Bride (not his wife) 
 to come with him " from Lebanon, from the mount Araana, 
 from the top of Shenir and Hermon, from the lion's den, 
 from the mountains of leopards." On this passage Scott 
 very justly remarks : " In what sense could Pharaoh's 
 daughter be called to come to Solomon, after their espousals, 
 from the horrid tops of these mountains ? And what had 
 she, even before her marriage, to do, either on the savage 
 wilds of Lebanon, the northern boundary of Canaan, or on 
 the top of Hermon to the east of Jordan ?" Egypt lies 
 south-west of Canaan. Now we would ask those who have 
 adopted this strange and fantastic idea, not only how they 
 would reply to the facts now stated, but suppose Solomon 
 had presented his Egyptian queen with a copy of this Song, 
 what do they imagine could she have made of it ? Is there 
 the most distant probability that she could have found in it 
 anything which should have occurred to her as having the 
 least reference to her own person, marriage, or domestic life 
 as queen ? What could she have made of those changes 
 and vicissitudes, those elevations and depressions, black and 
 white, poor and rich, a persecuted shepherdess and a mighty 
 queen, soon married and in the king's palace, and soon a 
 desolate Bride in her mother's house, now admired and envied 
 by queens and princesses, now persecuted, hated and wan- 
 dering among the horrid wilds of mount Lebanon, Amana, 
 and Hermon, and dwelling with lions and panthers ! But 
 the subject is too ridiculous for being dwelt upon. 
 
 Only one other question (and if possible even more puzzl- 
 ing than the former) we would put to these fanciful painters. 
 What can they, on their theory, make the event recorded 
 in chap. v. 2 — 8 to signify? According to their idea, we 
 must suppose that king Solomon came once in a drearv 
 and rainy night, and knocked at the cottage door of Pharaoh's 
 daughter, his queen and wife, pleading and begging for ad- 
 mittance. Being too indolent to rise, and having no ser- 
 vant to open the door, she refuses to do so herself, pleading 
 the great inconvenience to which it would put her — king 
 Solomon therefore becomes angry at this want of respect, and 
 withdraws in displeasure— the queen, however, soon comes to 
 
12 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 herself, and distressed at what had happened, rises quickly, 
 and runs about in the streets and broad places of Jerusalem 
 in search of the king — the watchmen finding her alone in 
 that state, Avill not believe that she is their queen, and 
 notwithstanding all her protestations, smite and wound her, 
 and tear away the veil from her head. But the poor wounded 
 queen runs about till daybreak, conjuring whomsoever of the 
 daughters of Jerusalem she meets, should they happen to dis- 
 cover the lost king, that they should tell him that his queen 
 was " sick of love !" And why did not she ask the 
 minister of state, the captains of the guards, or other offi- 
 cials, what had become of the king ? Stranger still, the 
 daughters of Jerusalem ask their queen who was her lover, 
 and what were his qualities ? as if they knew not their 
 great and magnificent king Solomon ! No ! after all the 
 allowances we may make for a poet's liberty, such enormous 
 improbabilities, and impossible exaggerations, bordering on 
 the ridiculous, have no example in the figures, metaphors, 
 and parables of holy writ. We have only to cast an eye over 
 Solomon's Proverbs to see the exactness of the figures he 
 employs, and to repudiate the idea of such wild extrava- 
 gances ever having entered his exalted mind. 
 
 One great and distinguished feature in the oracles of God 
 is, that very often while prophets were trying to clothe the 
 mysteries of Jehovah's sanctuary in figurative language, the 
 Spirit of God overpowered the imagination, and the spiritual 
 substance came forth before the figure, and hence figure and 
 substance often change places, even in one and the same pro- 
 phecy. This is the case in Solomon's Song. He is so 
 absorbed with the reality, with the great mysteries of Divine 
 love displayed towards the Church from the very beginning, 
 and especially in and by the promised Messiah his anti- 
 type, the great Prince of Peace, and the builder of the 
 spiritual temple, that the figures in which he wished to en- 
 velop these truths became so varying and so transparent, 
 that one must see instantly and permanently the spiritual 
 realities for which this Song was intended. No persona 
 ever lived who could be assimilated to the Bride and Bride- 
 groom of this Song, and serve as metaphors in all the par- 
 ticular events recorded in it. Jesus the blessed Saviour 
 and His Church are its Bridegroom and Bride, and the slight- 
 est incident mentioned in it has a minute and important 
 
INTRODUCTION. ] S 
 
 signification and place in the history of the Church and her 
 experience ; while the figures employed, having been chosen 
 to suit historical realites, relations, and conditions of diverse 
 periods, can in consequence have no harmony or uniformity 
 among themselves. As the Bridegroom of the Song is spoken 
 of by the self-same prophet as "the King in His beauty," 
 and as having "no form nor comeliness," so His Bride, the 
 Church, may be said to be " black like the tents of Kedar," 
 (in herself,) and at the sametime "fair like the moon, and 
 bright like the sun," (in Him). These seemingly inconsis- 
 tent expressions are full of signification and beauty, when in 
 a spiritual sense they are applied to Christ and His Church. 
 It would be absurd to apply to any man what the prophet 
 says of Christ, so it is likewise the height of absurdity to 
 attempt to apply to any woman, what is said in the Song of 
 the Church. All the inconsistencies and impossibilities 
 which we referred to above, arising from applying the meta- 
 phors of our Song to any particular person or persons, at 
 once disappear, and harmony, and important signification, and 
 elevated sentiment at once appear, as soon as they are applied 
 exclusively to Christ and His Church in the different stages 
 and events of the history and plan of salvation. 
 
 SOLOMON, THE KING OF ISRAEL, THE SON OF DAVID, THE 
 AUTHOR OF THIS SONG. 
 
 We shall waste neither time nor thought in hunting those 
 little German foxes that spoil the gardens in these rational- 
 istic days — those secret agents of semi -infidelity, who, with 
 their dark lanterns, stealthily enter or break into the Holv 
 Place, lay hold on the sacred vessels of the Spirit, and pre- 
 sumptuously examine his right to the possession of them — 
 daring to dispute the authenticity of the names of the sacred 
 writers prefixed to books known as canonical, and acknow- 
 ledged as such during thousands of years, both by Jew and 
 Gentile, and by thousands of far abler and more competent 
 critics than modern rationalists, and by millions of enlight- 
 ened and sanctified children of God, who have found in these, 
 in their blessed experience, the internal evidence of their 
 Divine authority. We only deplore their daring, their 
 sacrilege, their blindness, their wanderings in a wilderness 
 
14 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 of darkness, and the lamentable consequences to themselves, 
 and those whom their poison infects and destroys. The more 
 we examine their stores, the more we find them full of chaff 
 and stubble, the more we see that their webs are those of 
 the spider strong enough to entangle flies but nothing 
 more, and the more we discern their resemblance to those 
 clever Cossacks on the borders of Russia, who, though 
 unable to read or write, always find some faults and irre- 
 gularities in the best of passports. As we trust that we 
 proved the fallacies of their arguments and the errors of 
 their conclusions, in our Introduction to the Book of Eccle- 
 siastes, it is not necessary to say more of them here. We 
 only add that there is no other portion of Scripture that 
 has 80 much internal evidence regarding its author. 
 
 CANONICITY OF THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 In the following Commentary, as well as in the following 
 portions of this Introduction, it will be seen how large a 
 number of different passages, both of the Old and New Testa- 
 ment Scriptures, coincide in representing Jehovah's alliance 
 with His Church, by the metaphors of Bridegroom and Bride, 
 their mutual love, their tender endearments, and repeated 
 assurances of reciprocal faithfulness, and by the figures of 
 external and personal attraction, of magnificence, beauty, 
 and splendour. If, for one moment, we cast a spiritual eye 
 on these various passages, it is not difficult to discern in 
 them direct references to this holy Song, and consequently 
 testimonies to its inspiration. Indeed, it appears to us that 
 this Song was to prophets and apostles as a reservoir of the 
 treasures of Divine love existing between the Creator and 
 His saved and sanctified creatures. Prophet and apostle, 
 from Isaiah down to the disciple on the isle of Patmos, 
 came to this exhaustless store- house of love, and borrowed 
 from it arguments, expressions, and metaphors, in order to 
 describe what, by revelation, they saw and felt of the mys- 
 terious and otherwise inexpressible love of the Lord of Hosts 
 towards His redeemed flock— towards the Church which He 
 bought, and sanctified, and prepared for Himself as a " crown 
 of glory and a royal diadem" in His hand. 
 
 Though by the Divine decree, " blindness in part hath hap- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 1 5 
 
 pened to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in," 
 as punishment for awful sin, still that nation always did, 
 and still do, consider the Song of Solomon as a most holy- 
 revelation of Jehovah's everlasting and unchangeable love 
 to His Church on earth ; though, alas ! they neither know 
 the real Bridegroom of this Song, nor do they at present 
 belong to the Church called in it His Bride. The earliest 
 Rabbies of the Talmud said, " If all other inspired songs 
 contained in the Holy Scriptures are holy i^^l?^ Kodesh), the 
 Song of Songs is most holy (o^'f"?^'^"?, Kodesh Kadashim)," 
 or " the holiest of all." It is a well-known fact, that in the 
 primitive Christian Church, so long as love was ardent, 
 evangelical doctrine fresh and pure, and spirituality preva- 
 lent, the Song of Solomon was (next to his father's Psalms) 
 the favourite of all the truly great men and fathers in the 
 Church. It was the source from which, in their ser- 
 mons and addresses, they drew their choicest expressions for 
 describing that love and Divine compassion which was 
 manifested on Golgotha's cross. It was the fountain of 
 spiritual joy and sweet encouragement to saint and martyr 
 under all the circumstances of life and in all the scenes of 
 death. The infinite and freely offered Divine love repre- 
 sented in it cheered the downcast, comforted the persecuted, 
 despised, and suffering children of God, enriched the poor, 
 exalted the meek, and showed the greatest of sinners that 
 though his soul were black with sin and transgression, *' like 
 the tents of Kedar," still, when washed by faith in the blood 
 of the Lamb, it would become comely " like the tapestries 
 of Solomon." It healed the wounds of the repenting and 
 broken-hearted backslider, as he beheld in it the wonderful 
 love of God, ardent, steadfast, eternal to His once (nay 
 often) backsliding but now repenting and faithful Church. 
 It brought consolation, and revived the " hope of glory " to 
 the dying pilgrim of Zion, when in faith he lifted up his 
 eyes and beheld " what manner of love" awaited him before 
 the throne of the " altogether lovely" and ever-loving Lamb 
 of God, whose affection to His Church this Song so fully 
 and splendidly describes. 
 
 If there were some pretending Christians (as alas there 
 are too many now-a-days) who did not or would not under- 
 stand how the mysteries of Divine love to the Church should 
 be clothed in such figures and metaphors as this Song 
 
16 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 contains, the obstacle surely lay in themselves and not in 
 the holy oracle* Such men hear with their ears, but do not 
 understand, because their knowledge of the Scriptures is that 
 of the letter, not of the spirit. With their eyes they see, 
 
 * Those of our readers who have not read the works of Bishop Pat- 
 rick may find the following extracts from his Preface to the Song of 
 Solomon interesting: — "That it was always looked upon as an holy book, 
 treating of some spiritual and Divine matter, appears from its being 
 placed among the rest of that kind. Nor has it been doubted of by any 
 considerable number of men, either among Jews or Christians, but only 
 by a few singular persons, who ought (as Theodoret speaks in his Pre- 
 face to this Book) to have looked upon those blessed Fathers, who, 
 placing this Song among the Divine Writings, took it to be fit for the 
 uses of the Church, as men of greater judgment, and more spiritual than 
 themselves. And they ought likewise to have considered, that we have, 
 in effect, the testimony of the Holy Ghost Himself for its Divine autho- 
 rity ; Ezra, a man excelling in virtue, and full of the Holy Spirit, hav- 
 ing thought this worth of a room among these sacred volumes, which 
 he gathered together after their return from the captivity of Babylon.'' 
 
 " And accordingly, a great many holy men have illustrated it with 
 their commentaries and interpretations, or have adorned their writings 
 with its sentences, such as Eusebius, Origen, Cyprian (who wore the 
 crown of martyrdom), and others that were more ancient than these, 
 and nearer to the times of the Apostles." 
 
 "It is unnecessary to mention those that followed after in future 
 times, who all took this for a spiritual book. Let us only consider 
 whether, if these things being so, it be reasonable for us to despise so 
 many and such great persons, nay, the Holy Spirit Himself, and to 
 follow our own private opinions, nor hearkening to him that said, * The 
 thoughts of mortal man are vain, and our devices are but uncertain' 
 (Wisd. ix. 14), or rather of St Paul (Rom. i. 21), ' They became vain 
 in their imagination, and their foolish heart was darkened.'" . . . 
 " Nor doth it seem hard, either to find out what that spiritual matter 
 is of which the wise man here treats (especially since all Christian 
 writers have from the beginning applied this Song to Christ and his 
 Church), or to give an account of the rise and original of such sublime 
 contemplations, which I take to be this." 
 
 " The great prophet David, having plainly foretold that a far more 
 glorious king than his son Solomon should one day arise (as we read in 
 Ps. xlv.), and likewise more expressly prophesied of His Divinity, royal 
 majesty, priesthood, &c. (Ps. ex.), and again resumed this argument 
 just before his death, when he causeth his son Solomon to be crowned 
 and to sit upon his throne (Ps. Ixxii.), it stirred up the longing desires 
 of Solomon after the coming of this most illustrious Prince, and made 
 him study to have at least as clear a sight of Him as was possible to at- 
 tain afar off. And that he might stir up the same desire in the whole 
 nation after His appearing, he cast his meditations on this subject into 
 a Song, in the form of a pastoral eclogue, in which several persons 
 being introduced, who speak their parts, it may be called a dramatic 
 poem," &c. &c. 
 
 Apart from what we think an inexplicable oversight common to all, 
 viz., the historical character of the Song, we take the above as the fairest 
 representation of the views of Christian authors about the spiritual 
 substance of the Song. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 1 7 
 
 but perceive not, because the mysteries of the Spirit are 
 spiritually discerned, but are foolishness to the wise of this 
 world. Whatever the pretensions of such men may have 
 been (and are still), it is clear that they have not entered 
 the regions of spiritual scenery with the regenerated sons of 
 the Church of God. This world has not yet been crucified 
 to them, nor they unto the world, and therefore the veil of 
 carnal thoughts and feelings cloud their spiritual vision. 
 When therefore they say, " These things so described can- 
 not be holy," they should rather say, " These things, since 
 they appear so to us, clearly indicate that we are not holy, 
 that sin is yet strong within us, and that the eyes of our 
 souls are not yet opened by the Spirit of God." But as 
 this subject {i.e., the propriety of the figures employed in 
 the Song) will be separately treated in this Introduction, we 
 pass on to other points. 
 
 PROBABLE PERIOD OP THE COMPOSITION OF THE SONG. 
 
 Solomon may be supposed to have composed this holy 
 Song in the days of his highest glory, when " wisdom and 
 understanding," riches and honour, were poured down upon 
 him in great abundance by heaven's great King — when the 
 Spirit of God had sanctified and elevated his soul, and his 
 heart overflowed with Divine and pure love — when he had 
 finished Jehovah's temple, in which the " glory of the Lord," 
 the Angel of the Covenant, the heavenly Bridegroom, had 
 come to dwell between the Cherubim in the most holy place 
 — and when, in raptures of joy and adoration, he exclaimed, 
 " Jehovah chose to dwell in the midst of darkness ! I have 
 surely built thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for thee 
 to abide in for ever."* It appears to us that he may then be 
 supposed to have been moved by the Holy Spirit to write that 
 holiest of songs — a song which is the sura and substance of 
 the history of Jehovah's alliance with His Church, with His 
 chosen, beloved, and sanctified Bride, between whose breasts, 
 as it were [i.e., between the Cherubim — comp. Cant. i. 13), 
 He came now to dwell permanently, until He should after- 
 wards appear to her in a body of " flesh of her flesh, and 
 
 * 1 Kings viii. 12, 13. 
 
18 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 bone of her bone," to be like her brother according to His 
 humanity, to " suck the breasts of her mother" (Zion), and 
 to show her that His '' love to her was strong as death" (see 
 Cant. viii. 1—6.) 
 
 THE LEADING FEATURES OF THE METAPHORS EMPLOYED IN 
 THIS SONG. 
 
 A custom prevailed among the people of Israel in the 
 days of old (and which is still practised among them in 
 several places of their dispersion), that matrimonial alliances 
 (or espousals) were formed between parties at a very early 
 period of life, the consummation of which (the marriage) was 
 deferred till a long time after. This was especially the case 
 when either of the parties was too young to contract the al- 
 liance, which was only engaged in by their parents or near 
 relatives, who had to wait till the children were of age to 
 confirm the agreement by their own mutual consent. Hence 
 these early alliances often proved mutable and uncertain. 
 Sometimes the early and premature love was supplanted by 
 a new attachment, and so the alliance was for ever dissolved. 
 At other times the bride, having been too young at the time 
 of the engagement, and too inexperienced to appreciate the 
 superior qualities of the bridegroom, and love to him having 
 no strong hold on her heart, began to waver, and entertain 
 thoughts of, and inclinations for, other suitors ; while the 
 bridegroom, resolved to have the object of his first, constant, 
 ajid long-cherished love, waited patiently till she became ripe 
 for judgment, and, taught by experience, should be brought 
 to see that, although unsought and neglected, he was the best, 
 the worthiest, and most faithful of all her lovers. In such a 
 case, perceiving that liis arms were still open to receive her, 
 she cast herself into them with feelings of repentance, admir- 
 ation, gratitude, confidence, and joy; and, with an over- 
 flowing heart, vowed unto him eternal attachment. On the 
 other hand, the patient and faithful lover embraced his re- 
 gained bride with a joy and satisfaction far fuller and deeper 
 than he ever felt before ; for, since he loved her above all 
 other virgins, even when her heart was far from him, his 
 delight is exceedingly great in finding himself the possessor 
 of her undivided confidence, attachment, and love. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 1 9 
 
 This is the case which the Holy Spirit selects as a meta- 
 phor to represent the divine, immutable, and everlasting love 
 of Jesus to His dearly bought Bride the Church, who, 
 having been too young (as to experience and judgment), 
 under the first alliance, and not having appreciated the 
 divine perfections and glorious qualities of her Bridegroom, 
 wavers in her love, and often goes after other suitors — while 
 He, constant and unwearied, bears with her, waits for her 
 return, and continually woos her back to Himself — until at 
 length brought to herself, in deep contrition for all her ingra- 
 titude, unfaithfulness, and transgression, and overpowered by 
 the sense of His divine love and excellency, she yields herself 
 up to Him, to be His wholly — His only — and His for ever. 
 It is with regard to this renewed alliance with increased love 
 and unmingled joy on both sides, that the Spirit announced 
 before hand " As the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, 
 so shall thy God rejoice over thee."* It is thus that John 
 the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, declared, " He that 
 hath the bride is the bridegroom ; but the friend of the 
 bridegroom who standeth and heareth him rejoiceth greatly 
 because of the bridegroom's voice ; this my joy, therefore, 
 is fulfilled."-]- And our blessed Saviour Himself, when He 
 said, " Can the children of the bridechamber mourn as long 
 as the bridegroom is with them?"| makes it evident that 
 the Holy Spirit, by the mouth of the prophets, used that 
 metaphor regarding Himself. He shows the same by the 
 parable of the " Ten virgins," and when He compared the 
 kingdom of heaven to a marriage feast which a king has made 
 for his son. It is this metaphor also that Paul employs 
 when he says, " For I have espoused you to one husband, 
 that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ."§ 
 Moreover the angel said to John, " Come hither, I will shew 
 thee the Bride, the Lamb's wife."|| This is the holy theme, 
 the substance and soul, of Solomon's Song of Songs, and 
 this is the metaphor in which he enveloped the treasure of 
 divine love. 
 
 * Is. Ixii. 5. t John iii. 29. % Matt. ix. 15. 
 
 § 2 Cor. xi. 2. || Rev. xxi. 9.— Comp. xix. 7—10. 
 
20 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 DAVID LAID THE FOUNDATION OF THIS SONG. 
 
 It was by the mouth of his father David, the first king 
 of Israel from whose family Messiah was to come, that the 
 Spirit laid the foundation of this holy Song. The sweet 
 singer of Israel said : — 
 
 1. My heart overfloweth with a precious oracle ; 
 I address my composition to the King ; 
 
 My tongue is like the pen of a swift writer. 
 
 2. Thou art fairer than the sons of men ; 
 Grace was poured into thy lips ; 
 
 Therefore hath God made thee an eternal blessing. 
 
 3. Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, thou mighty One, 
 Even thy glory and thy majesty. 
 
 4. And in this thy majesty mount quickly thy chariot 
 
 In the cause of truth and prostrated (or "humiliated") 
 
 righteousness. 
 And let thy right hand lead thee to glorious deeds. 
 
 5. Thine arrows are sharpened : 
 
 Nations shall submit themselves unto thee, 
 When they pierce the heart of the King's enemies. 
 
 6. Thy throne, God, is for ever and ever ; 
 
 A sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. 
 
 7. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated wickedness ; 
 Therefore, God, hath thy God anointed thee 
 With the oil of gladness, above thy fellows. 
 
 8. All thy garments smell of myrrh and of aloes, 
 
 Out of the ivory palaces, wherein they made thee glad. 
 
 9. King's daughters are among thy admirers : 
 The consort is placed at thy right hand, 
 Adorned with the gold of Ophir. 
 
 10. Listen, daughter, and consider this, and incline thine ear : 
 Forget also thine own people and thy father's house: — 
 
 1 1. Then shall the King set his desire upon thy beauty ; 
 For he is thy Lord, wherefore worship thou him. 
 
 12. The daughter of Tyre shall come with a present : 
 
 The richest among the nations shall entreat thy favour. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 21 
 
 13. All the glories of the King's daughter must be (or, are) 
 
 within ; 
 Which are more precious than her gold-embroidered robe. 
 
 14. Virgins, in rich attire, shall she lead to the King : 
 After her, her companions shall be brought to thee. 
 
 15. They shall be conducted with joy and exultation, 
 Thou shall bring them into the royal palace. 
 
 16. Instead of thy fothers shall be thy sons, 
 Whom thou shalt make princes in all the earth. 
 
 17. I will make thy name to be remembered by all generations : 
 Therefore shall nations praise thee, world without end.* 
 
 Here we see that David had already entered into the 
 inner sanctuary, and penetrated within the mysterious veil 
 of Messiah's love to his Bride the Church, and that, in 
 briefly describing it, he employed the same figures as his 
 son afterwards did more at large. But as the building of 
 the temple was not granted to David — though he prepared 
 the most of its materials — but by the divine decree was re- 
 served to his illustrious son Solomon, the type of the Prince 
 of Peace, .so it was likewise reserved for him to complete, in 
 this holy Song, the celebration of Jehovah*s divine love to 
 His Church, and her ardent love to her heavenly Lord and 
 Bridegroom. But while David in the above quoted Psalm 
 celebrated only Messiah's first advent, and the beginning of 
 the formation of the New Testament Church, Solomon cele- 
 brates the alliance and relation of the Bridegroom and Bride 
 from the beginning. He sings of the first covenant-conditions, 
 the mutual promises, the affectionate interchanges of recipro- 
 cal praise, and the tender embraces of divine love that took 
 place during these successive stages of the ancient covenant 
 — the repeated warnings and touching admonitions addressed 
 by the merciful Bridegroom to his inexperienced and forget- 
 ful Bride — her backslidings and their deplorable consequences 
 — her deep repentance and eager inquiries after her offended 
 and withdrawn Lord — His sudden appearance after a long 
 absence, and His promises of a speedy coming in the flesh to 
 establish the everlasting covenant, and bring everlasting 
 
 * This beautiful Psalm is copied from the author's " New TranslaJ 
 tion and Exposition of the Book of Psalms," where the reader wi 
 find not only the explanation of the metaphors, and their bearing*' 
 upon Christ and His Church, hut also critical Notes explaining the 
 dt-viations in the translation of the Hebrew Text. 
 
22 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 righteousness — the fulfilment of that promise, their mutual 
 delight, His sacrifice, death, and resurrection, the charge to 
 the Apostles, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the conver- 
 sion of many thousands of the children of Zion, the calling 
 in of the Gentiles, and the formation of the first Christian 
 Church among them. Neither of the royal penmen, father 
 nor son, went any farther ; for the Spirit reserved what goes 
 beyond their prophetic vision, for the beloved disciple of 
 Christ — John, and his revelation, where it is continued to 
 the consummation of all things. 
 
 ORIGINAL AND PRINCIPAL DIVISIONS OF THIS SONG INTO PARTS. 
 
 Though the Song of Solomon — like the sublime song of 
 Moses which he composed as a testimony unto Israel before 
 his departure — was at the time of its composition half histo- 
 rical (regarding past events), and half prophetical (regarding 
 events foreseen and foretold by the Spirit), still, as these 
 prophecies have all received their literal fulfilment at the 
 respective times indicated by the inspired author, the whole 
 Song is now purely and entirely historical to us. Hence 
 there must be natural divisions in it, corresponding to the 
 chief events and conspicuous periods in the history of the 
 ancient Church. Moreover, this being a Song of love cele- 
 brating the condescending and everlasting love of God to his 
 Church, it was to be expected that the inspired penman should 
 divide his composition into parts, each of which should begin 
 with some remarkable transaction, important dialogue, serious 
 intercourse, or mutual protestation of love and attachment 
 between Bridegroom and Bride, and that each part should 
 end with some extraordinary manifestation of Jehovah's love 
 to His Bride, the chosen and covenanted Church. 
 
 Now if we examine sacred history with regard to the 
 Church of God — if we glance over the long period that 
 elapsed between Israel's first entering into covenant at Mount 
 Sinai when they were sprinkled by Moses with the blood of 
 the covenant sacrifices, and the mysterious scenes of Cal- 
 vary when the covenant was for ever sealed with the blood 
 of the Divine Testator — we discover three distinct and ex- 
 traordinary manifestations of the love of God to His Church, 
 and of His presence in her midst. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 23 
 
 THE FIRST MANIFESTATION AND THE FIRST PART OF THE SONG. 
 
 The first of these great manifestations occurred at the 
 dedication of the tabernacle in the wilderness, when, on the 
 eighth day of that feast, at the offering of the sacrifices for 
 the whole nation and Churchy the glory of the Lord appeared 
 to the whole people, and fire from heaven came down upon 
 the altar, which when " all the people saw, they shouted and 
 fell on their faces."* In the course of the following ex- 
 position of the Song, it will be seen that it begins with cele- 
 brating Israel's awakening and repentance after their great 
 sin (z.e., that of the golden calf), and God's pardoning love, 
 counsels and consolations to that chosen nation, and her deep 
 repentance and promises of future obedience. That it next 
 celebrates the building of the tabernacle and its sacred uten- 
 sils, Israel's joy in anticipation of the great privileges and 
 benefits which would accrue to them by that divine favour — 
 and last the above-mentioned glorious event, i.e.^ the dedica- 
 tion of the tabernacle, and the manifestation of the Lord's 
 glory, when the Bride of the Song is made to exclaim, " He 
 brought me into the banqueting house (f.e., into the sanc- 
 tuary), and his banner over me is love. . . . His left 
 hand is under my head, and His right hand embraceth me."-i- 
 Here then is the climax of joy on the part of the Bride at 
 the extraordinary manifestation of the Bridegroom's love to 
 her, and at the sure tokens of its durability and constancy, 
 in that he graciously condescended to come and dwell in the 
 midst of her, in the sanctuary which, by His orders, she had 
 prepared for Him. In that ecstacy of holy joy, the sacred 
 poet represents the Bride as if jealous and suspicious about 
 other nations, who, by seeing her glory and splendour, might 
 become her rivals and supplant her love, and therefore he 
 makes her conjure them (under the metaphor of* daughters 
 of Jerusalem") not to " stir up nor disturb that love until 
 it become ripe,":]: or perfected, e.e., until it be sealed with the 
 last seal, with the precious blood of the Divine Bridegroom. 
 Here then we see that the original and natural end of Part 
 I. is at verse 7 of chap. ii. 
 
 * Lev. ix. 22—24 ; comp. Exod. xl. 34—38 ; Num. ix. 15—23. 
 t Cant. ii. 4—6. :J: Verse 7— see Exposition. 
 
24 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THE SECOND MANIFESTATION, AND THE SECOND PART 
 
 OF THE SONG. 
 
 The second great and extraordinary manifestation of 
 Jehovah's love to His ancient Church occurred at the dedi- 
 cation of Solomon's temple on Mount Moriah. There and 
 then the same glorious scenes were renewed as those at the 
 dedication of the portable tabernacle at the foot of Mount 
 Sinai. Fire from heaven descended on the altar of sacrifices, 
 and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. In the follow- 
 ing exposition the reader will see that the second part, which 
 begins with verse 8 of chap, ii., celebrates Israel's march 
 through the wilderness — their passing the river Arnon to 
 fight the Kings of Bashan — their crossing the Jordan to 
 fight their way into the land of promise — their vicissitudes, 
 during the long and dreary night of the period of the Judges 
 — Israel's finding at last their long absent Covenant- Angel 
 in the days of David, when the Bride brought the Bride- 
 groom, with shouts of joy and adoration, "into her mother's 
 house," i.e., when first she transferred the holy ark of God 
 from Kirjath-jearim to Mount Zion into the temporary taber- 
 nacle which David had prepared, and when at last He ap- 
 peared to her in His divine splendour and celestial majesty 
 on the dedication of Solomon's magnifi.cent temple. Here 
 again divine love reached an extraordinary climax, and the 
 jo3^-filled and adoring Bride is again represented by the 
 sacred poet as having, as if in a fit of jealousy and fear for 
 rivals, renewed her adjuration of the Gentile nations not to 
 " stir up nor disturb that love until it became ripe" or per- 
 fected on Calvary. Thus we see that with verse 5 of chap, 
 iii. the second part terminates. 
 
 THE THIRD MANIFESTATION AND THE THIRD PART 
 OF THE SONG. 
 
 The third, greatest, and last manifestation of Jehovah's 
 love to His ancient Church was the personal appearance of 
 the Bridegroom in a body of flesh, the coming of the Cove- 
 nant Angel into His temple ; and in the following work it 
 will likewise be seen that the third part of this Song, begin- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 25 
 
 ning with verse 6 of chap, iii., celebrates the glories of the 
 Church during the bright days of her highest prosperity — 
 then foretells her fall, captivity, repentance, and restoration 
 — and passing through the period of the later prophets 
 (Daniel, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi), and alluding to 
 the promises made by them, and their partial fulfilment, ends 
 with the coming of the Saviour in the shape of " a brother," 
 and with the joy of the Bride, who again exclaimed, " His 
 left hand is under my head, and His right hand embraces 
 me."* Here again, and for the last time, Solomon makes 
 the Bride conjure the Gentile nations, but with the marked 
 difference, that while, on the two former occasions, the 
 daughter of Zion said, " I adjure you, ... if je stir 
 up," &c., she now says, "Wherefore should ye stir up?" 
 i.e., seeing that the promised Lord, "the desire of all 
 nations," and our common Saviour, has now come to remove 
 the long existing partition wall., and to open the doors of the 
 sanctuary to Gentile and Jew alike, why then shduld ye be 
 impatient now ? Wait a while, until all be fulfilled and 
 prepared, and when I shall myself receive orders to invite 
 and lead you into the " King's palace," &c. Here we see 
 that with verse 4 of chap. viii. the third part of the Song 
 terminates. 
 
 The last ten verses form the conclusion of the Song. 
 They are exceedingly rich in comprehensive matter. Christ's 
 death and resurrection, His meeting the disciples on the 
 mountain in Galilee, His intercourse with them, the great 
 commission given unto them, the conversion of the many 
 thousands of Jews at Jerusalem, and the first formation of 
 Christian Churches among the Gentile nations by the in- 
 strumentality of the converted "little sister," are celebrated 
 in them. 
 
 In the sequel it will be seen that several subdivisions 
 might have been made at places where great leaps over many 
 years occur, where the history of a distinct period ends, and 
 where the next passage or chapter takes up the historic thread 
 with events belonging to many years after. But we are of 
 opinion that the three distinct original divisions are quite 
 sufficient for every purpose, and therefore, in the following 
 commentary, the book is divided into the three principal 
 parts above mentioned, with the conclusion. 
 * Chap. viii. 3. 
 
 B 
 
26 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THE METAPHORS OF LOVE AND FIGURES OF BEAUTY EMPLOYED 
 IN THIS HOLY SONG — THE PROPRIETY OF REPRESENTING BY 
 THESE EMBLEMS THE UNION AND COMMUNION OF CHRIST 
 AND HIS REDEEMED CHURCH LIGHT AND LOVE. 
 
 The beloved apostle of Christ tells us that " God is 
 light," and that " God is love ;" and it is evident that the 
 apostle intended, by these positive declarations, to elevate 
 light and love above, and to distinguish them from, all the 
 other attributes ascribed to the ever-blessed and adorable 
 Deity. Justice, holiness, mercy, truth, &c., are so many 
 attributes of God, but it is not said that God is justice, or 
 that God is truth, while the Holy Spirit declares to us that 
 '* God is light," and that " God is love." 
 
 The benevolent Creator of the universe, the eternal 
 Jehovah, who is light, has, in His infinite wisdom and 
 divine love, diffused material light throughout every 
 region of creation, to animate and make happy the innu- 
 merable hosts which He has called into existence for His 
 own glory and honour. Though this fact may remain un- 
 observed and unadmired by the eyes of sinful and short- 
 sighted man, as by those of the lower and unintelligent crea- 
 tures, and though the infidel philosopher, and the blind and 
 self-degrading materialist, may see no greater wonders in 
 light than in darkness, yet the enlightened child of God 
 beholds in that wonderful element the emblem of the ever- 
 living and omniscient God, — the representative of that 
 immaterial, uncreated, and glorious Being who is "light, 
 and in whom there is no darkness at all." So, in like 
 manner, did the Almighty Creator, who " is love," diffuse 
 love in the hearts of all His living creatures, to sweeten 
 their span of life, and to make their existence in this 
 material world cheerful and interesting. Though in the 
 lower animals the limited nature of that love may be 
 regarded as mere instinctive affection and natural attach- 
 ment, combined with and deriving strength from other sources 
 and circumstances meeting together in the laws and course 
 of nature ; and though, alas ! even in intelligent beings, it 
 may be abused, defiled, and drowned in base passion and 
 carnal selfishness, still the same love in the heart of a 
 sanctified individual is capable of rising to the highest moral 
 
INTRODUCTION. 27 
 
 beauty and dignity, and of showing, by its celestial fruits, 
 that it is an emanation from heaven, and the refulgent image 
 of its glorious Author, who is Love. 
 
 " Love refines 
 The thoughts, and heart enlarges ; has his seat 
 In reason, and is judicious ; is the scale 
 
 By which to heavenly love thou mayest ascend."* 
 
 LIGHT AND LOVE ARE INSEPARABLE, BOTH IN HEAVEN AND 
 ON EARTH. 
 
 Light is not only the principal foundation of all material 
 existence — hence the first in creation — but it is also the 
 principal medium by which the great Creator gathers in, 
 directly and indirectly, the fruits of His mighty and mar- 
 vellous works. He called into existence the glorious 
 armies of heaven, that they may rejoice in and feed upon 
 His light, and by it taste of His infinite love, and adore 
 and magnify Him throughout eternity. He also made that 
 wonderfully constituted creature, man, with a twofold nature, 
 a body and spirit — a material tabernacle inhabited by an 
 immortal soul. Endowed with organic vision, man is able 
 to behold the light, and hence to contemplate and admire 
 the wonderful works of God which that light exposes to his 
 view, and thus a great field for the exercise of tenderness 
 and love is opened to his heart and soul. But while he is 
 thus reaping the beneficent influences of material light 
 through his equally material sight, with his spiritual eye 
 (or intellect emanating from his soul) man is angel-like, 
 able to behold, admire, and love with his whole soul the 
 great fountain of spiritual and immaterial light, even 
 the Divine luminary of heaven, who spreads lustre and 
 glory throughout the blissful regions of inconceivable im- 
 mensity, and of whom created and material light is but a 
 feeble emblem. 
 
 As light and love are inseparable in the self-existing and 
 ever-blessed Deity, so are they united in their existence, as 
 well as in their rich and beneficent influences here below. 
 Take away light from this world, and life would be impos- 
 
 * Paradise Lost, Book ix. 
 
 b2 
 
28 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 sible ; every beautiful and cheerful creature would speedily 
 decay and perish under the darkness of perpetual night. 
 Take away love from this world, and life would be unbear- 
 able and existence insupportable. The beauty and the 
 glory of the earth and heavens would no longer excite 
 admiration, and the varied and beneficent provisions of the 
 blessed Creator for man's well-being would no longer afford 
 satisfaction or pleasure. All would be confusion, discontent, 
 and wretchedness. It is the very same with regard to man 
 in his spiritual existence and higher destiny. Without 
 spiritual light and heavenly love he is " as grass, and all 
 his goodliness as the flower of the field." " But if we walk 
 in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one 
 with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, 
 cleanseth us from all sin."* " If we love one another, God 
 dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in us."-[- Love is 
 a beautiful, ever- flourishing, and most precious rose, even 
 in the midst of the thorns of human corruption. True, if 
 not purified by religion, it is vain and perishing in its 
 nature, and often delusive and fatal in its consequences, but 
 then it is because a vile passion has been mistaken for love, 
 or at least has taken the ascendancy and poisoned its benign 
 influences ; hence the words which the sublime poet put 
 into the mouth of Adam's angelic tutor — 
 
 " In loving thou dost well, in passion not, 
 "Wherein true love consists not." 
 
 In regenerated and sanctified man, love is a flower of 
 Paradise, though flourishing in a moral wilderness. It is a 
 celestial seed, sown in his heart, to yield precious fruits to 
 the honour of God. It is a branch of the most glorious of 
 Divine attributes, engrafted in the soul of the pilgrim to 
 heaven's Zion. It is the Spirit of God dwelling in a temple 
 which He has prepared for Himself. It is He who teaches 
 His children how to taste of and appreciate, rejoice in and 
 adore the love and Divine compassion of God, who was 
 graciously pleased to give existence to angels and men, in 
 order to make them participate in intellectual and spiritual 
 joy, in ever radiant, ever smiliug, and unmingled love, and 
 adore Him world without end. 
 
 * 1 John i. 7. 1 1 John iv. 12. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 29 
 
 LIGHT AND LOVE IN PARADISE BEFORE THE FALL. 
 
 When the newly-created intellectual man, and prince of 
 the six days' fabric, looked around him and beheld the beauty, 
 the harmony, and the splendour of all the subjects of his 
 dominion, all rejoicing in his presence, and submitting cheer- 
 fully to the gentle sway of his sceptre over them, his bosom 
 must have heaved with love and tenderness, and his mnocent 
 and holy soul have been filled with joy and satisfaction. ^ But 
 that soul, continually looking upwards, must have quickly 
 raised him from earth to heaven, from the creature to the 
 Creator. The love which swelled his bosom when contem- 
 plating the beauties and splendour bestowed on the creatures 
 of a dav, took wings, and with the swiftness of hghtnmg 
 mounted to heaven, to the throne of " Him who is love.^ 
 There he fixed his admiration and joy, his love and happi- 
 ness, and praised and adored the giver of all things, for the 
 life the light, the vision, and the intellect which he bestowed 
 on him, and the love he had planted in his heart, for the lovely 
 creatures over which He had given him dominion, and which 
 were capable of awakening such exalted and animating 
 sentiments in his soul. Thus created, light and organic 
 vision led man to celestial light through the medium of ms 
 soul's spiritual sight— so likewise the love which nature in- 
 spired here below led him by degrees to angehc love, pure 
 and divine. Joy in the creature ended in joy in the Creator ; 
 and praise, gratitude, and adoration, were the spiritual fruits 
 which, though they began to grow and blossom in an earthy 
 soil, ripened in heaven to the glory of the great Jehovah, 
 who is light and love. i j i • 
 
 But Adam's happiness was not yet complete, nor had his 
 large and loving heart sufficient scope to expand so long as 
 he was alone. The allwise and benevolent Creator, there- 
 fore, proceeded to plant the last, most precious, and most 
 important branch of love in his heart, the fruits of which 
 were again destined for heaven. 
 
 " Hail, wedded love, mysterious law, true source 
 Of human offspring .... by thee, 
 Founded in reason, loyal, just, and pure, 
 Relations dear, and all the charities— 
 Of father, son, and brother, first were known." ♦ 
 * Paradise Lost, Book iv. 
 
30 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Exceedingly great must have been Adam's joy when his 
 Maker presented him with that precious gift, with that per- 
 fection of beauty and gracefulness, formed by His own hand, 
 and given to him, not as a rival, but as a worthy associate 
 in Paradise, as an aid in his daily occupations, and as a fit 
 companion for serious meditation, praise, and adoration, being, 
 like himself, endowed with a rational and immortal soul, and 
 having, like him, come forth from her Maker's hand innocent 
 and holy. Surely this increase of love and happiness on 
 earth, produced in Adam's soul an equal increase of gratitude 
 and thankfulness to God, in the exercise of which, too, he 
 had now a real "help meet for him." Certainly whenever 
 that happy pair began to contemplate and admire together 
 the beauties of nature, the luxuriant and magnificent scenes 
 by which they were surrounded, they would not long con- 
 tinue their conversation ere their souls lifted them heaven- 
 wards to the divine source of all existence, to the fountain 
 of light and love, there to complete their admiration, there 
 to centre their love, and to break forth in strains of seraphic 
 praise to their God. 
 
 If this was the case with regard to the outward things 
 that surrounded the parents of the human race, how could 
 it be otherwise with regard to each other? Clad in "native 
 beauty," like the lilies, and never thinking of hiding their 
 God-Uke shape by covering it with perishable garments of 
 earthly workmanship — 
 
 " So passed they naked on, nor shunned the sight 
 Of God or angel, for they thought no ill : 
 So hand in hand they pass'd, the loveliest pair 
 That ever since in love's embraces met." * 
 
 To veil the beauty which the celestial sculptor had be- 
 stowed on their bodies Avould have been deemed by innocence 
 as great an outrage against the goodness of their Maker as 
 an attempt to cover the sun in sackcloth, or a preference of 
 eternal night to the brilliancy of day. All the magnificent 
 robes of Solomon and his queens would have been regarded 
 like dark clouds veiling the sun, or as fading leaves wreathing 
 a beautiful bush of roses. Looking on each other with great 
 delight, beholding in each other their own image, and in 
 
 * Paradise Lost, Book iv. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 31 
 
 both the image of their heavenly Father, the likeness of Him 
 who had made angels and men, they could not but rejoice and 
 be happy. But if they did, individually and reciprocally, 
 rejoice in their existence ; trace that joy to its source, and 
 you will find it in the self-existing and eternal Jehovah, who 
 in His boundless love was pleased to impart existence to 
 millions of intelligences. Follow that joy and you will find 
 it pursuing its course heavenward, and pouring itself into 
 the bosom of Him whose divine presence fills the heavens 
 with splendour and felicity. Then did their pure hearts 
 heave with tender love, and mutual delight, expressed by 
 endearing smiles : 
 
 " For smiles from reason flow, 
 To brute denied, and are of love the food ; 
 Love, not the lowest end of human life."* 
 
 Trace up that lovely stream, and you will find its source 
 in' the bosom of the Ancient of Days, who is Love, whence 
 issue rivers of love, compassion, and benevolence, which 
 circulate through the vast dominions of His empire, to 
 cheer, delight, and make happy all the creatures of His 
 hand. Follow that stream in its course and you will see that, 
 after having cheered, enriched, and fertilized all the regions 
 of creation, it pours itself again into the ocean of celestial and 
 everlasting love, whence it issued and whither it has returned 
 to flow forth again. 
 
 Now, let us for a moment suppose that there had been 
 transmitted to us some of the early dialogues of mutual 
 affection and admiration which had taken place in Paradise 
 between Adam and his beloved and beautiful partner, when 
 his Maker brought her to him in order to put an end to his 
 loneliness. Had even these contained the most vivid delinea- 
 tion of beauty, and the most gorgeous description of the attrac- 
 tiveness and splendour which the Creator bestowed on the first 
 human pair, while yet not disfigured by the consequences of 
 sin and passion; and had they been embellished with the strik- 
 ing figures employed by the princely poet and heavenly in- 
 spired author of this magnificent Song, what shade of impro- 
 priety, what thought of indecency, could have been alleged 
 against them ? Gould angelic purity have blushed or been 
 
 * Paradise Lost, Book ix. 
 
32 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 offended at the delineation of innocence ? Could innocence 
 have suffered by the picture of beauty ? Could a pure and 
 holy soul have discovered aught of unseemliness in a de- 
 scription or an expression of admiration of any of Jehovah's 
 handiworks ? No ! for when passion and shame were un- 
 known to the soul, because sin had not yet entered, love was 
 not passion but part and essence of his life. The more love 
 was nourished and stimulated by the contemplation and ad- 
 miration of beauty, the swifter was her flight to the bosom 
 of her Creator ; for then heaven and earth were united by 
 the golden chain of man's pure and holy soul, and no emotion, 
 or desire, or love, or joy, or pleasure, could arise in man's 
 bosom without producing, in abundance, precious fruits for 
 the honour and glory of Him who "created all things for 
 Himself." Then spiritual light continually dazzled and 
 eclipsed material light ; Divine love continually swallowed 
 up human love ; all earthly magnificence was obscured by 
 celestial splendour; all created beauty became a mere 
 shapeless shadow by a single glance of heaven's majesty ; 
 and all earthly joy was annihilated in the soul by a single 
 taste of the blissful felicity of the regions above. Still, as 
 these holy souls inhabited tabernacles of flesh and blood, it 
 was by the means of that ladder that they climbed to 
 heaven. Their light and sight, admiration, joy, and love, all 
 began in the midst, and by means, of the various objects 
 of material creation immediately surrounding them, while 
 their intellectual souls within them continued the work of 
 forming the spiritual cord that guided them into heaven, 
 and made them mount from creation to the Creator. 
 
 LIGHT AND LOVE IN FALLEN BUT RESTORED AND SANCTIFIED 
 
 MAN. 
 
 Whatever allowances must be made for, and whatever 
 differences must be acknowledged in, the relations and cir- 
 cumstances of man after he had fallen and bad become the 
 slave of passion, polluted thoughts and carnal lusts, we must 
 always keep in mind that Christ came to redeem him by 
 His sacrifice, to wash him with His precious blood ; to 
 sanctify him by His holy Spirit ; to cover him with the 
 robe of His righteousness, and to restore him unto God, as 
 
INTRODUCTION. 33 
 
 a dear child unto a loving Father. It is the same Restorer 
 
 and Redeemer of fallen humanity who says, "Be ye 
 
 therefore perfect, even as your Father who is in Heaven is 
 
 perfect." And in what else does that perfection consist but 
 
 in light and love ! "Ye are the light of the world." " Let 
 
 your light so shine before men," &c. Here is light, and 
 
 next comes love — love to God and love to man. " He that 
 
 hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that 
 
 loveth me : and he that loveth me shall be loved of my 
 
 Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself unto 
 
 him."* "A new commandment I give unto you, that ye 
 
 love one another ; as J have loved you that ye also love one 
 
 another."-|- And the beloved disciple who heard these 
 
 words from the mouth of Divine love, and recorded them for 
 
 our benefit, adds in another place, " He that iovelh not 
 
 knoweth not God ; for God is love."| And this declaration 
 
 is made with respect to that pure and sanctified love which 
 
 every child of God must possess and practise with regard to 
 
 his fellow-men, as well as with regard to God ; as the same 
 
 Apostle says again, " Beloved, let us love one another, for 
 
 love is of God ; and every one that loveth is born of God 
 
 and knoweth God. ... If we love one another, God 
 
 dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in us. . . And 
 
 we have knov/n and believed the love that God hath to us. 
 
 God is love, and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, 
 
 and God in him."§ 
 
 Christian reader, remember that the above elevated stan- 
 dard of light and love was given by the Holy Spirit, not to 
 innocent Adam in Paradise, but to those of his fallen race, 
 who, though in the world, are separate /rom it, and are no 
 more of it — who, through Christ and His cross, are crucified 
 unto the world, and the world unto them — who, regenerated 
 by the Holy Spirit to newness of life, and washed from 
 their sins in the blood of the Lamb, are dead unto sin and 
 passion, have their lives hid in Jesus Christ, walk no more 
 " after the flesh, but after the Spirit," and who, though still 
 inhabitants of a tabernacle of flesh and of a sinful world, 
 confess that they are pilgrims and strangers on earth, and are 
 continually looking to and preparing for " the city that hath 
 foundations, whose founder and builder is God." What- 
 
 * John xiv. 21, f John xiii. 34. + 1 John iv. 8. 
 
 ^ 1 John iv. 7, 12, 16. 
 
 b3 
 
34 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ever, therefore, may be the character, behaviour, feelings, 
 and opinions of the multitudes of mere nominal Christians, 
 who have a " form of godliness," but by their walk and 
 conversation " deny the power of it," one thing is evident, 
 that according to the passages quoted above, the regener- 
 ated and sanctified children of God are so far re-established 
 and re-elevated to primeval purity and perfection, that they 
 are light, have the love of God thus perfected in them, dwell 
 in love, and thus dwell in God and God in them. But to 
 have the love of God perfected in their souls, so as to 
 become the temples of the living God, who is love, is to 
 have no connection on earth which can displease Him, to 
 have sin crucified in the flesh, and every unlawful love or 
 desire for ever banished, to place one's affections upon 
 nothing, but what is according to his will, and directly 
 or indirectly conducive to the promotion of His glory. 
 The children of light must be, in the fullest and most ob- 
 vious sense of the words, what the Saviour and His Apostles 
 described them to be. There can be no exaggeration in the 
 Redeemer's words, " Be ye therefore perfect, even as your 
 Father who is in heaven is perfect ;" and we have seen that 
 this perfection chiefly and permanently consists in love. This 
 is clear from the passages just quoted from John, and that, 
 too, is the " more excellent way" of the Apostle Paul, who 
 elevates love above everything, and declares that no gift, or 
 work, or sacrifice, or devotional feeling, avails or profits 
 anything, unless love be the source and motive, the begin- 
 ning and end of all things, even of faith and hope ; for 
 love is of God, and God is love. Seeing that love occupies 
 such a prominent position among the Christian graces and 
 gifts, that it must be perfected in the soul of every pilgrim 
 of Zion here below, in order that he may become the temple 
 of God, and that "God who is love" might dwell in 
 him, it becomes us to ask. How is that heavenly plaut 
 engrafted in us ; and what is the process by which it is 
 brought to perfection ? To which we answer : As it is here 
 on earth where we who were once darkness became light 
 through Him who " is the true Light," and by the influ- 
 ence of the Holy Spirit, who came to lead us in the way of 
 all truth, and to make us walk in Jehovah's light, so it is 
 here on earth, where we, who were once filled with hatred 
 and unholy passions, must, by the aid of the self-same 
 
INTRODUCTION. 35 
 
 Spirit, cherish and exercise love to perfection. Though 
 there are many gifts and graces which the child of God 
 receives all at once, and in their full vigour and matu- 
 rity, love alone is sown as it were in earthly soil, takes 
 root, springs up, and gradually becomes vigorous, yea 
 perfect, here below, while its branches reach heaven, and 
 its precious fruits are Jehovah's portion and delight. Thus 
 we see that love to our neighbour stands side by side with 
 love to our God — both together are the sum and substance 
 of the law and the prophets, the spiritual life, the moral 
 existence of the child of the Spirit j but still the one branch 
 is on earth and the other in heaven. It is the same ladder 
 as that by which, as we said above, innocent and holy 
 Adam in Paradise mounted into heaven whenever love 
 animated his soul here ; so it must be wdth every one who, 
 ** risen with Christ, seeks those things which are above," 
 and who, " being rooted and grounded in love, is able to 
 comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, 
 and depth, and height of the love of Christ which passeth 
 knowledge." As Christ who is the brightest manifestation 
 of God, who is love, came down from heaven to plant that 
 celestial flower here below, to water it with His blood, to 
 give it the increase through His Spirit, and then ascended 
 into heaven to gather the fruits which His love produces on 
 earth, so every individual Christian who has received such a 
 celestial grain of love into his heart must foster and water, 
 purify and exercise it on earth, before it can produce the 
 demanded and expected fruits for heaven. Though in the 
 commandment love to God stands of course before the love 
 to man ; in practice, love must begin on earth to reach 
 heaven ; " If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, 
 he is a liar ; for he that loveth not his brother whom he 
 hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen ?"* 
 Hence it is, that the same Apostle who said, " Set your 
 affection on things above, not on things on the earth,"-!* also 
 said, " Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved 
 the Church, and gave Himself for it;"J again, "Teach 
 young women to love their husbands. "§ Here we see a pure 
 love to the creature, not only compared to the love which 
 we owe to our Creator, but even to that mysterious divine 
 
 ♦ 1 John iv. 20. f Col. iii. 2. + Eph. v. 25. 
 
 § Tit. ii. 4. 
 
36 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 love of Christ to His Church. But this is also a love which, 
 though planted and nourished on earth, must reach heaven, 
 and bear precious fruits to the honour of God, from whom it 
 came and to whom it must return. 
 
 Of such regenerated and sanctified souls, our Lord says, 
 " Therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also 
 is full of light."* The Christian, though in a certain sense 
 he is separated from the world, and no more belongs to it, 
 still remains in it all the days of his earthly career, and 
 moves, acts, and loves. Still his relations to it have become 
 entirety changed. With his eyes he still beholds all that is 
 beautiful and admirable in nature, but he no longer burns with 
 desire for anything not his own, for he has before his eyes the 
 eternally glorious " things Avhich the Lord hath prepared 
 for them that love Him," and which throw into the shade 
 everything vain and perishing. A large diamond he still 
 regards as a precious stone, and admires its brilliancy, but 
 he will no more set his heart upon it than he would on a 
 dazzling star of night, for by faith he possesses the richest 
 gem of heaven. AH his desires are concentrated on Him 
 who has brought him from darkness to light, and who has 
 prepared for him a crown of glory after he has in Christ over- 
 come this world and its deceiving vanities. With the same 
 single eye he admires the beautiful and the admirable in all 
 God's handiworks, but never allows " his heart to walk after 
 his eyes ;" for his " body as well as his soul> which was re- 
 deemed with a costly price, is now for the Lord, and the Lord 
 for his body." In exercising love as above described (and 
 no matter on whom, or in what measure, if within the rule 
 and commandment of heaven,) he loves, not as the world from 
 selfishness, passion, and carnal desire, but freely, sincerely, 
 disinterestedly, as sowing here to reap in heaven, as loving 
 here because it is the will of heaven — always walking in 
 light with his eye fixed on Him whom he must love supreme- 
 ly, and who so loved him as to give Himself to death for 
 the salvation of his guilty soul, and unto whom belong the 
 fruits of all sanctified love and affection. 
 
 * Luke xi. 34. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 37 
 
 DIVINE LIGHT AND DIVINE LOVE REPRESENTED BY METAPHORS. 
 
 The Holy Spirit, in revealing to man the high mysteries 
 of Jehovah's sanctuary, often adopted figures and metaphors, 
 expressions and titles, by which objects of the material 
 creation are designated, in order to convey an idea of 
 celestial objects, to him otherwise incomprehensible and 
 inconceivable. Thus the same word Ij^"' (Ruach) which sig- 
 nifies " wind," is also employed throughout the Scriptures 
 to denote the " Spirit of God ;" and even our Lord in 
 describing the mysterious work of the Spirit in the soul of 
 man says, " The wind bloweth where it listeth . . so 
 is every one that is born of the Spirit."* The glory of God 
 is often compared to fire, " a flame of fire," " a devouring 
 fire;" and what other figures from material creation, what 
 other words taken from human language, could be so expres- 
 sive and appropriate as these ? So likewise the spiritual light 
 which acts on our souls, and even that mysterious and glorious 
 light of Him who is light, are described by the light of the 
 sun, or by other artificial material light ; " The Lord is my 
 light" — " send thy light and thy truth, let them lead me" 
 — "Thy word is a lamp and a light to my path" — "The 
 people that walked in darkness saw a great light" — " The 
 Lord shall be to thee an everlasting light" — " And. with him 
 dwelleth the light" — " They need no candle, neither light of 
 the sun ; for the Lord God giveth them the light." We thus 
 see how spiritual light is compared to material light ; how a 
 divine influence only conceivable by the eye of the sanctified 
 soul, to material substance seen by the eye of flesh. 
 
 If, in order to convey to man an idea of Jehovah's intel- 
 ligence and purity, the Holy Spirit chose the sun and ma- 
 terial light as an emblem, is it not most natural and suitable 
 that He should convey to hira the idea of Jehovah's love by 
 comparing it to the tenderest and closest affection known 
 among human beiugs ? In the Scriptures we repeatedly 
 find the love of God compared to that of a parent — " Asa 
 father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear 
 him ;"-i- and again, " Can a woman forget her sucking child ? 
 . . . yea, she may forget, yet will I not forget thee."J: 
 
 * John iii. 8. t Psa. ciii. 13. + Isa. xlix. 15. 
 
38 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 But whatever be tlie strength, tenderness, and disinterested- 
 ness of a parent's love to his child, the Holy Spirit represents 
 that between husband and wife as the most close, sacred, and 
 endearing on earth, and it is this which he everywhere employs 
 as the emblem of the everlasting love of Christ to His Church. 
 As her lover, bridegroom, husband, Christ is exhibited under 
 every aspect and relation of affection, tenderness, solicitude, 
 care, protection, provision, munificence, forbearance, con- 
 stancy, and fidelity — " I have loved thee with an everlast- 
 ing love, therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee;"* 
 *' I will betroth thee unto me for ever ;"-{- " The Lord thy 
 God in the midst of thee is mighty, he will save, he will 
 rejoice over thee with joy, he will rest (or persevere) in his 
 love, he will rejoice over thee with singing ;"\ " In all their 
 affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved 
 them ; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them ; and 
 he bare them and carried them all the days of old."§ 
 
 Can anything be imagined more noble, more expressive, 
 and more touching than the sublime language of the Psal- 
 mist when he apostrophises the Church of God by this splen- 
 did and only suitable metaphor — " Listen, daughter, and 
 consider this, and incline thine ear ; forget also thine own 
 people, and thy father's house ; then shall the King set his 
 delight on thy beauty ; for He is thy Lord, wherefore wor- 
 ship thou Him." Here is the Church of Christ invited to 
 abandon the world and all its vanities, all her former at- 
 tachments and earthly affections, and cast herself into the 
 outstretched arms of her Saviour, to lay herself as a living 
 sacrifice on the altar of Divine love, firmly resolved to walk 
 humbly before the Lord, to follow Him even in thorny 
 mazes, or through fire and water, yea even through the val- 
 ley of the shadow of death, always adoring Him and never 
 murmuring, always putting entire confidence in His faith- 
 fulness, and worshipping even the rod with which He may 
 chastise her for her errors and backslidings. Thus the King 
 would delight in her beauty, would come and dwell with her, 
 and hold holy communion with her soul, and make her go 
 on from strength to strength, from perfection to perfection, 
 until she became perfect in one, and rejoice with and in her 
 Lord throughout eternity. What other relation, alliance, or 
 
 * Jer. xxxi. 3. f Hos. ii. 19. X Zeph. iii. 17. § Isa. Ixiii. 9. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 39 
 
 love, so sacred, so close, or so strong, could the Spirit have 
 chosen as so suitable a metaphor for so holy a subject? 
 Here is an alliance founded in love, confirmed by a solemn 
 covenant, recommended and consecrated in Paradise by Him 
 who is love — an alliance which, if formed between two God- 
 fearing and sanctified souls, is to be for ever united in body 
 and soul, in joy as in sorrow, in happiness as in affliction, in 
 peace as in tribulation — one in faith, hope, sanctification, 
 holy living, praise and prayer, and in instructing and dedi- 
 cating to God the fruits of their union, their sanctified ofi*- 
 spring, that after their own departure hence these children 
 shall be in their place the servants of the living God, and 
 His witnesses on earth. Is not this a metaphor most worthy 
 to express Jehovah's eternal covenant of love to His chosen 
 and sanctified Church on earth, unto whom He said, "Thy 
 Maker is thy husband, the Lord of Hosts is His name."* 
 
 At various times the chosen, loved, and covenanted Bride 
 became unfaithful to her covenant, ungrateful to her Divine 
 Husband, Lord, and Redeemer, so much so that He had 
 reason to complain, and say, " Surely as a wife treacherously 
 departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously 
 with me, house of Israel, saith the Lord."-}- But as the 
 material sun was not impaired by man's sin, so neither was 
 the love of God by the defection of those whom He had 
 chosen to be the heirs of His glory. Though the view of 
 that immutable Divine love was often hid by the clouds of 
 their transgression. He continually said, " Return, ye back- 
 sliding children, and I will heal your backslidings." j " For 
 a small moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies 
 \vill I gather thee ; in an influx of wrath I hid my face from 
 thee for a moment, but with everlasting kindness will I have 
 mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer. "§ Jehovah's 
 destined Bride, affianced to Him in the everlasting covenant, 
 formed ages before she was created, needed to be redeemed 
 from the guilt and sin into which she had fallen. But 
 when raised up from her degradation, purified from her pol- 
 lution, and renewed and sanctified by the Spirit, she becomes 
 sensible of the greatness of his love, which appears to her so 
 wonderful in nothing as in his endurance and long-suifering 
 toward her during her departure and transgression, and in the 
 
 ♦ Isa. liY. 5. t Jer. iii. 20. + Jer. iii. 22. 
 
 § Isa. liv. 7, 8. 
 
40 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 means He employed to rescue her, and betroth her unto Him 
 for ever in righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving- 
 kindness, and in mercies. She therefore exclaims, " Behold 
 we come unto thee, for thou art the Lord our God ;"* " I will 
 go and return to my first husband, for then was it better 
 with me than now ;"-[- " Lord our God, other lords beside 
 thee have had dominion over us, but by thee only will we 
 make mention of thy name."| 
 
 THE FIGURES AND METAPHORS OF BEAUTY EMPLOYED IN 
 THE SONG. 
 
 Both the holy Psalmist and his illustrious son Solomon, 
 as well as other prophets, when speaking of God and His 
 Church under the metaphor of Bridegroom and Bride, pre- 
 sent the Bridegroom and Bride under figures displaying the 
 highest personal beauty, attraction, and splendour, thereby 
 representing Divine majesty, love, justice, and faithfulness 
 on the one side, and imputed righteousness, faith, hope, ar- 
 dent attachment, entire submission, and holy joy on the 
 other. And what other pictures and metaphors could the 
 Spirit better employ for such a theme than those which have 
 been selected ? At his creation, man was, of all the living 
 creatures of the w^orld, the highest model of beauty and ex- 
 cellence, physical and moral — 
 
 " Of living creatures, new to sight and strange, 
 Two of far nobler shape, erect and tall, 
 God-like erect, with native honour clad. 
 In native majesty seemed lords of all ; 
 And worthy seem'd ; for in their looks divine 
 The image of their glorious Maker shone. 
 Truth, wisdom, sanctitude, severe and pure. 
 
 For cortemplation he and valour formed ; 
 For softness she, and sweet attractive grace ; 
 He for God only, she for God in him."^S 
 
 Or, in briefer and more emphatic terms, as the inspired 
 Psalmist says of him, " For thou hast made him a little 
 
 * Jer. iii. 22. t Hos. ii. 7. t Isa. xxvi. 13. 
 
 § Paradise Lost, Book iv. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 41 
 
 lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory 
 and honour." Take away the guilty shame caused by sin 
 which the second Adam came to nail to the cross ; replace 
 the " beauty of holiness " which he came to restore, and 
 man is still the master-piece of the great Creator on earth, 
 yea the image and likeness of his God. Though the fall 
 and its deplorable consequences deteriorated the race in every 
 respect, bodily, mentally, and morally, yet traces of the ori- 
 ginal excellencies remain ; and when, through the grace of 
 God, invested again with that " beauty of holiness," man and 
 woman shine forth in a measure of their primeval loveliness 
 and grace ; and love, pure, holy, and abiding, dwells in their 
 hearts. But virtue is essential to all genuine and lasting 
 affection. Beauty may awaken love, but can never sustain it 
 without virtue, whereas the latter will, even in the absence 
 of beauty, beget and keep alive the strength of affection 
 (the pure love and tender affection that lived in the heart 
 of David and Jonathan were nourished by virtue alone), 
 but when found in connexion with external beauty, it ever 
 imparts to it its highest charms. This is brought out very 
 conspicuously in the Song of Solomon. It is not the ex- 
 ternal beauty of the Bride which produced and nourished 
 that ardent Divine love in the heart of the Bridegroom ; for 
 the Bride herself confesses that she is black and sunburnt, 
 and, as it were, destitute of pretensions to beauty. But 
 when she alleges that she is " comely like the curtains of 
 Solomon," it is by the moral qualities bestowed on her by 
 Divine grace, and the robe of righteousness with which her 
 Bridegroom has arrayed her ; and this is what has kindled 
 and nourishes that love in the heart of the Redeemer. 
 In the course of the following Commentary it will be seen 
 by every impartial and unprejudiced reader that every figure 
 of corporeal beaut}'- emploj^ed in this Song is only a shell 
 enclosing a moral kernel, a deep and comprehensive spiritual 
 meaning. 
 
 Now, we trust that enough has been said in this Intro- 
 duction to prove that to the sanctified mind, to the child of 
 God whose soul is washed in the blood of Christ, whose heart 
 is renewed, whose sinful passions are nailed to the cross, and 
 whose body has become the temple of God, there can appear 
 no more impropriety in the metaphors employed in this Song 
 than in comparing the spiritual light of heaven to the sun, 
 
42 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 to a candle, or a lamp, or the body of the Divine Redeemer 
 to the temple of Solomon. If it be objected to the figures 
 of female beauty and attraction, that they may scandalise 
 the children of this world, we answer that the pearls of 
 Jehovah's sanctuary were neither made for, nor intended, to 
 be cast before swine. Indeed, the infidel does not need to 
 proceed from the beginning of the Bible till he reach the 
 Song of Solomon, to find subjects which he may twist to his 
 own condemnation, or doctrines which he may convert into 
 *' a savour of death unto death" to himself; for in the very 
 first pages of the Holy Scriptures he will find material suffi- 
 cient for that purpose. This celestial treasure of Divine 
 love was provided for the children of the kingdom, for the 
 sons and daughters of that inheritance of everlasting love 
 which was displayed on Calvary. To all of them, even in 
 this present sojourn aud pilgrimage, it is the daily source of 
 sweetest refreshment, joy, and consolation, and is found 
 " better than life ;" and they will always find it so until their 
 souls are " bound up in the bundle of life with Jehovah their 
 God," when they will see Him as He is, and rejoice in His 
 light and love throughout eternity. Though painfully 
 feeling how far we come short in our endeavour to do 
 justice to this subject, we must bring this Introduction to a 
 conclusion, humbly invoking for it and the following Com- 
 mentary the protection and blessing of the God of truth, who 
 is light and love. 
 
 Al^GJEBS, 5th April 1868. 
 
THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 PAET I 
 
 SCENE— ISRAEL'S CAMP AT THE FOOT OF MOUNT SINAI. 
 Argument of Chap I. 
 
 (V. 1.) Title. (Vt. 2, 3.) The repenting Church, after her great 
 sin (that of the golden calf) supplicates the Covenant Angel for 
 pardon, for the renewal of His gracious manifestations unto her ; and 
 that He would come again and dwell in the midst of her in His cloud. 
 (V. 4.) She prays that the order for the building of His sanctuary— the 
 execution of which was interrupted by that sad event — might be 
 renewed, the tabernacle built, the Lord come to dwell in the Most 
 Holy Place between the Cherubim, and that she might then enter His 
 chambers with sacrifices of joy. (Vv. 5, 6.) The Church, under the 
 metaphorical name of daughter of Zion, explains to the other nations, 
 who pass under the metaphorical name of daughters of Jerusalem, the 
 reason of her courage and boldness in addressing such various and large 
 demands unto her Bridegroom, whom she had so grievously offended. 
 (V. 7.) She asks her Lord how, and by what means. He intended to 
 lead her safely through the wilderness, and procure her rest in the land 
 of promise— thus betraying her unbelief and fears in the midst of her 
 protestations of love and perfect confidence. (Vv. 8— 11.) The Lord, 
 in tender, sweet, and, at the same time, severe terms, reproves the 
 bride for her want of faith, and then answers her by telling her that 
 He knew all her wants better than herself, and that He would supply 
 them in His own way. (V. 12.) The bride's deep repentance and 
 acknowledgment of the justice of the rebuke. (Vv. 13, 14.) The con- 
 solations which she finds in the renewal of the order for the building 
 of the tabernacle, and the Lord's renewed promise to come and dwell 
 between the Cherubim. (Ver. 15.) The Lord's gracious approval of 
 her state of mind and confession. (Vv. 16, 17.) The bride's return of 
 compliments and rejoicings. 
 
 1. The Song of songs, which is concerning Solomon. 
 
 Every biblical student knows tbe purport of tbis superla- 
 tive term in tbe Hebrew language — ^''i'^^ i^^ (Melecb 
 Melacbim) means "King of kings," i.e., tbe most potent 
 
44 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 of Kings, the ruler over them ; and is usually applied 
 to Jehovah as King of kings ; adoney haadonim, " Lord 
 of lords ; " Elohey haelohim, " God of gods, " So 
 Kodesh kadashim^ '* Holy of holies," i.e,^ "most holy, or 
 highest degree of holiness." The same 'cr^yari '^■^c (Shir 
 hashirim) " the Song of songs," must signify the most 
 important, the most excellent, and most precious of songs. 
 The question to be solved is, In what point of view is this 
 supreme excellence ascribed to that song ? It is most 
 improbable that Solomon employed such a pompous and 
 singular superscription merely to denote the excellency of 
 his own composition and the beauty of its diction. It is re- 
 pugnant to common sense to suppose for a moment that 
 the princely, nay, the inspired author, would introduce 
 his own work as surpassing all others in elegance and 
 beauty of diction. Besides, the least acquaintance with 
 the Hebrew language is sufficient to convince any one 
 that many a chapter in Solomon's Proverbs excels this 
 song in regard to mere eloquence of style, compactness 
 of matter, and perhaps also in regard to the choice of 
 figures. For instance, one glance at the poetical magni- 
 ficence and attractive splendour exhibited in the eighth and 
 ninth chapters of his Proverbs compels one to conclude 
 that, were Solomon's thousand and five songs now extant, 
 many of them would surpass this song in beauty of language 
 and poetical imagery, as these chapters certainly do. Our 
 argument will be stronger still if we suppose that Solomon 
 extolled this song, for mere poetical skill, not only above 
 all others of his own composition, but even above all sacred 
 songs then known in Israel. That the title implies this we 
 shall hereafter see. Could the wisest of men, the most 
 illustrious of monarchs, and, next to Isaiah, the prince of 
 sacred poets, commit such a blunder as to praise himself for 
 the composition of a song, which, in mere point of diction, 
 surely does not excel the two splendid songs of Moses ! 
 But suppose it did so, certainly Solomon had more regard 
 and veneration for that servant of God and father of prophets, 
 and most illustrious of men, and valued his writings and his 
 songs more highly, than to allow in himself the very thought 
 of claiming supreme excellence for his own composition. 
 
 The only way, therefore, of explaining and justifying the 
 title of the song is to suppose that ft refers to the all-impor- 
 
CHAPTER I. 1. 45 
 
 lant subject which this Song allegorically treats of. In this 
 respect alone it is the most precious of all other songs, 
 whether composed by Moses or any other prophet, or even 
 by Solomon himself ; for it celebrates the everlasting love 
 of the " King of kings," of the Creator and Saviour of the 
 world, to His Church in past, present, and future ages. And 
 it is only when so understood, and when thus applied, that 
 even the figures employed become rich and splendid, and 
 pregnant with precious realities — it is then that the Song 
 is seen to be magnificent in expression, most important in 
 doctrine, example, and promise. It is then, that not 
 Solomon but the Holy Spirit claims for it the title of the 
 most excellent and the most holy of songs, and justly 
 too ; for it reveals mysteries of Divine love, into which 
 "the angels desire to look" — mysteries which "from 
 the beginning of the world have been hid in God" — mys- 
 teries which were still surrounded, in some degree, with 
 clouds of obscurity when delivered to the prophets of old, 
 but which are now clear as light to us in Jesus Christ, whose 
 "testimony is the spirit of prophecy." It is the Song of 
 songs ; for while all other sacred songs refer to particular 
 times, celebrate partial deliverances of God's children by the 
 Angel of the Covenant, or sing of a single manifestation of 
 His love towards them, this Song celebrates Jehovah's re- 
 deeming love towards His Church in general. It begins with 
 the period when the Angel of the Lord's Presence dwelt in- 
 visibly in the pillar of cloud, and in the temporary Tabernacle 
 reared for him in the wilderness. It treats of the happy 
 time when His glory abode between the Cherubim in the 
 magnificent sanctuary built for Him by Solomon His type, 
 and ends wqth the period when the promised Messiah, mani- 
 fested in the flesh, came suddenly into His temple, and, after 
 having accomplished His eternal plan of Redemption, re- 
 turned as an everlasting High Priest to the throne and into 
 the bosom of His Father, to be " a Minister of the sanctuarj^ 
 and of the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not 
 man." Yes, this holiest of songs contains the sum and 
 substance of what the Holy Spirit was pleased to reveal to 
 those of old regarding the inexpressible love of God, and 
 His salvation by Jesus Christ ; " of which salvation the 
 prophets have inquired and searched diligently .... 
 searching w^hat, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Chris' 
 
46 THE SONG OF SOLOMON* 
 
 that was in them did signify, when he testified beforehand 
 the suflferings of Christ and the glory that should follow."* 
 The next part of the title reads— "wVi-V ntox (Asher Lish- 
 
 lomoh with the rel. pron. and particle '). We have no 
 reason whatever to doubt that Solomon was the author of 
 the Song, nevertheless we cannot admit that his name was 
 used here merely to indicate his authorship. As we shall 
 see that, wherever his name occurs throughout the Song, it 
 is employed figuratively, and that the real Bridegroom, the 
 Covenant Angel, is always the reality and substance, while 
 Solomon is the mere type or shadow ; so in the title Solomon 
 is only the type, while the reality is the Holy Personage 
 to whom, and to whose Body, the Church, this Song is de- 
 dicated. 
 
 Psalm Ixxii. bears likewise the title Lishlomoj i.e., " to 
 Solomon," or " regarding," or "concerning Solomon," but 
 there, as here, two Solomons, two distinct sons of David, 
 must be understood — the one that was to be the immediate 
 successor to his throne and kingdom on earth ; the other, 
 who, according to the Lord's promise, was to come after- 
 wards out of his loins and inherit the " throne of his father 
 David" for ever and ever, and " to whose kingdom shall be 
 no end." Thus, while a portion of that Psalm refers to the 
 first Solomon, several passages must refer to the " greater 
 than Solomon," to the eternal Prince of Peace, as " in his 
 days shall the righteous flourish, and abundance of peace so 
 long as the moon endureth" (or " till there be no moon".) 
 . . . . " His name shall endure for ever ; His name 
 shall be continued as long as the sun ; and men shall be 
 blessed in Him : all nations shall call Him blessed." We 
 cannot be surprised at the fact that David, speaking by the 
 Spirit of God, should have regard to both his descendants 
 at once, when we consider that the promise given to him 
 was of the very same nature, referring at once to Solomon, 
 the builder of the temple made with hands, and to the Mes- 
 siah, the builder of the spiritual and everlasting temple of 
 God. " He shall build me an house, and I will establish 
 
 his throne for ever I will settle him in my 
 
 house and in my kingdom for ever : and bis throne shall be 
 established for evermore." Nothing can be more evident 
 
 * 1 Peter i., 10, 11. 
 
CHAJE»TER 1. 1. 47 
 
 than that Solomon and Messiah are both included here with 
 their respective temporal and spiritual temples, crowns, 
 thrones, and kingdoms. So David understood it ; for in his 
 thanksgiving he said, " And yet this was a small thing in 
 thine eyes [i.e., all the promises regarding Solomon), 
 God ; but Thou hast also spoken regarding thy servant's house 
 for a great while to come, and hast regarded rae according 
 to the rank of the exalted man, Jehovah God."* No pro- 
 phecy can be clearer than this, and no doubt can be enter- 
 tained by any who believe with the Holy Apostles that David 
 by the Holy Spirit spake of Messiah, his promised son, that 
 in the above passage he referred to his second son, to the 
 eternal heir of his throne, to the builder of the Lord's spi- 
 ritual temple, of whom a prophet spoke afterwards in the 
 following terms : " Thus speaketh the Lord of Hosts, saying, 
 Behold the man whose name is Zemach, the Branch (or, the 
 Plant) ; and he shall spring up by himself (or grow up from 
 under himself — i.e., not planted according to nature), and 
 He shall build the temple of the Lord. Even He shall 
 build the temple of the Lord ; and He shall bear the glory, 
 and shall sit and rule upon His throne [i.e., Jehovah's) ; and 
 He shall be a priest upon His throne ; and the counsel of 
 peace shall be between both of them. . . . And they 
 that are far off (the Gentiles) shall come and build in the 
 temple of the Lord." -|- And of this blessed Plant or Branch 
 spoke David when he said, " He hath made with me an 
 everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure : for He 
 (the promised Messiah) is all my salvation, and all my de- 
 sire though He makes it not yet to grow" {i.e., though the 
 promise of His coming is for a " long while to come.")}: 
 Therefore it is that, as these glorious promises made to David 
 regarding Messiah are interwoven and mixed up with those 
 which had immediate reference to Solomon ; for with him 
 their fulfilment begun, and with the Messiah their entire 
 accomplishment took place ; so David in the above mentioned 
 Psalm adopts the same plan, speaking of the everlasting 
 reign of Messiah his son, in connection with that of Solo- 
 mon, who was the beginning of the promise, and whom the 
 Holy Spirit chose as a type of the great Prince of Peace. 
 And as in the body of that Psalm David speaks, prays, and 
 
 * 1 Chron., xtu., 12—17. t Zech. vi., 12—16. 
 
 X 2 Sam. xxiii., 5. 
 
48 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 prophesies regarding both, so must the title Lishlomo, " re- 
 garding Solomon," bo applied to both. 
 
 It is the same with regard to the title of the Song. So- 
 lomon was in many respects more nearly related to Christ 
 as a type than even his father. As in his name Solomon, 
 and in the peace Israel enjoyed during his reign, he pre- 
 figured the Prince of everlasting peace, so he was, by the 
 direct order of God to Nathan the prophet, called Jedidiah, 
 "the beloved of God," to prefigure Him who on the Mount 
 of Transfiguration received the testimony of God, saying, 
 " This is my beloved Son ;" so he was the type of Messiah 
 in the building of the temple, as we saw above, and in many 
 other points. In these privileges Solomon no doubt rejoiced 
 and gloried as much as his devout father ; and as in this 
 Song of songs Messiah and His Church is the grand theme, 
 while he himself figures in it only as a feeble emblem, it is 
 certain that the title must agree with the Song, and mean 
 in the spiritual sense, " The Song of songs, which is concern- 
 ing (or which is dedicated to) Solomon," i.e., the Messiah, 
 the antitype, the spiritual Solomon, the true and everlasting 
 Prince of Peace, the spiritual Bridegroom of the Song. As 
 for the Hebrew construction of Aslier Lishlomo, there are 
 many examples of passages in Scripture in which the same 
 relative pron. Asher occurs, along w ith the particle ? pre- 
 ceding and succeeding a noun, and where they signify 
 " which is devoted for," or "delivered to," and not "which 
 belongeth to." Jer. xv. 2 alone presents four examples ; 
 1 Chron. xxix. 2 offers five examples v/ith the particle '', 
 alone, and many similar instances can be furnished. So we 
 find a Psalm of David delivered to Jeduthun the chief mu- 
 sician to be used in the temple, and entitled Lijeduthun, 
 " for Jeduthun, a Psalm of David," where the particle ^ 
 must signify "for," and not as belonging to, or composed 
 by ; for it is distinctly said that it was composed by David. 
 " But it may be observed farther, that none of Solomon's 
 usual titles are added, as in the Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, 
 where he is called " Son of David, King of Israel, and King 
 of Jerusalem." If any reason is to be assigned for this 
 omission, this seems the most probable, that he wholly for- 
 got those titles which refer only to his temporal estate, 
 greatness, and dignity, when rapt in contemplation of that 
 celestial Prince, the Prince of Peace, in comparison witl 
 
CHAPTER I. 2, 3. 49 
 
 whom all others are unworthy to be named ; and whose 
 character was best expressed by the name of " Solomon" 
 alone, He being the great Peace-maker and Reconciler of 
 God and man. (Bp. Patrick.) 
 
 THE CHUKCH. 
 
 2. Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth ; 
 For thy love is more pleasant than wine. 
 
 3. Besides the savour of thy precious ointments 
 Like ointment diffused is thy name, 
 Therefore do the virgins love thee.''^ 
 
 With regard to the spiritual sense of these two verses 
 (the more especially verse 2) the author above quoted has left 
 nothing to be desired, we therefore begin the exposition with 
 an extract from his forcible observations. " With the 
 thoughts of whom, his mind being fully possessed, he burst 
 forth into this most passionate strain of affection to Hira, 
 saying in the name of them all" {i.e., of the whole Church) 
 " that He would come and speak to us by Himself, and 
 not merely by His prophets ; who have told us so much of 
 Him that I cannot but wish to converse familiarly with 
 Him, and receive the words of His own mouth (those words 
 of grace, Ps. xlv. 2, which wnll ravish all men's hearts), and 
 
 * 'Ti'^'h (Lereach) " Besides (or in addition to) the savour," &c. 
 
 This is one of the many significations of the particle h. Thus Exod. 
 xiv. 28: " And the waters returned and covered the chariots and the 
 horsemen h'sh (Lechol), in addition to (or besides) all the hosts of 
 
 Pharaoh that came into the sea after them." The same Lev. xi. 26. 
 ^35 (Lechol) " Besides all," (or " in addition to all")— Lev. xvi. 16, 
 
 21/, Is. xxviii. 10. 13. In one verse the particle h stands in place of 
 na'^TS (Milvad), as in 1 Kings x. 13 ; or in place of hv (al) in Ezek. xvi. 
 
 37- To render it " because" would do violence to the text as well as 
 to the sense ; for then the reputation of the Bridegroom's name would 
 be made to depend wholly on the savour of his ointments ! while it is 
 the contrary that the Bride declares. r^o'^a pi^n yii'v (Shemen turak 
 
 shemecha), mark that the verb " turak" (" diffused") is so placed as to 
 be equivocal, and therefore equally serves both nouns between which 
 it stands. We have followed the sacred author's arrangement, render- 
 ing it literally, and putting the word " diffused" between the two nouns 
 " ointment" and " name," that it may refer to both alike, and signify 
 that like diffused oil so is his name diffused ; i.e., famous and spoken of 
 with admiration everywhere. 
 
 C 
 
50 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 all other expressions of His incomparable love : which is to 
 be preferred infinitely before the most precious pleasures . 
 
 3'ea, before the very sacrifices, and the wine 
 
 that is poured out upon the altar unto God. (Bp. Pat- 
 rick's Paraphrases.) Again, in his annotations the same 
 author remarks : " Let Him kiss me — Solomon speaks this 
 in the person of the virgin daughter of Zion ; that is the 
 Church, whom he here introduces in the most passionate 
 strain, wishing for some token of love, which is expressed 
 under the metaphor of a kiss. But there is no mention at 
 all made of the name, condition, or beauty of the person 
 whose love is desired, nor any account given of the begin- 
 ning or progress of this desire ; but he makes her burst out 
 in a sudden, and abruptly into these words. Let Him kiss 
 me, &c., that he might the more artificially describe the 
 nature and force of divine love ; which, when it possesses 
 the mind, snatches it so from itself that it is wholly in Him 
 that it loves. It thinks of nothing else, seeks nothing, 
 wishes nothing, speaks of nothing but this alone ; and 
 imagines that everybody else thinks of the same, and knows 
 of whom it speaks." In this quotation we have a fair spe- 
 cimen of the spiritual interpretation of this Song as it has 
 always been understood and explained by the children of 
 God, who have rightly considered it as celebrating in a 
 superlative manner the love of God to his Church. But as 
 we proceed farther in it, we shall see into how many great 
 difficulties and inexplicable enigmas even such enlightened 
 and spiritually minded authors as that quoted above, were led, 
 by their not having searched into the particular periods, and 
 various events and circumstances of the Church, to which its 
 different portions evidently refer. The very faets which 
 this author himself notices, clearly prove the necessity of 
 such an application. The fact that " there is no mention 
 made at all of the name, condition, or beauty of the person 
 whope love is desired ; nor any account given of the begin- 
 ning or progress of that desire," is so strange, so unnatural, 
 and so inexplicable, that it speaks plainly enough of a 
 certain period, and of well known events in the Church 
 of God, to which this pasage must refer. The fact of 
 an " abrupt and sudden outburst" of the Bride in words 
 like these: "Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His 
 mouth," words which, though the author very judiciously 
 
CHAPTER I. 2, 3. 51 
 
 paraphrases as to their spiritual meaning, are still very- 
 harsh and unnatural even for figurative language (which must 
 always be probable, and in accordance with custom and 
 decorum, however peculiar in nature and circumstances), 
 clearly indicates that some relation of affection and of mutual 
 declarations of love must have already existed between them, 
 otherwise Solomon would most certainly have opened with 
 the Bridegroom's proposals to the Bride, and with his protes- 
 tations of love and affection to her, in such terms as to justify 
 her confidence and her outbreak in. such a passionate strain. 
 We say that these facts fully prove that unless we find out 
 that period, and those events, and the peculiar relation of 
 the Church to Her divine Master, we can neither under- 
 stand her petitions and motives, nor his answers, and man}'- 
 of the sublimest passages in this " Song of songs" must 
 in consequence remain obscure and unintelligible. To do 
 this, to trace the peculiar situation and condition of the 
 Church at the period to which the first chapter refers, must 
 therefore form the first step on entering upon the exposition 
 of it. 
 
 The God of Abraham, according to his gracious promises 
 made to that eminent Patriarch, sent his Angel to Moses 
 at Mount Horeb, and engaged him to bring forth the 
 people of Israel out of Egypt by an outstretched arm, 
 by signs and wonders such as were never seen or heard of 
 before among any nation, and to bring them to that very 
 mountain of God, that he might there enter with them into a 
 solemn and everlasting covenant. Why all this was done 
 the Lord declared to them by the same Moses, saying, " For 
 thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God ; the Lord 
 thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto him- 
 self, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. 
 The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you 
 because ye were more in number than any people ; for 
 ye were the fewest of all people ; but because the Lord 
 loved you, and because He would keep the oath which 
 He had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought 
 you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of 
 the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh, King 
 of Egypt. Know, therefore, that the Lord thy God, he is 
 the God, the faithful God, who keepeth covenant and mercy 
 with them that love him and keep his commandments, to a 
 
 c2 
 
'T^ THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 thousand generations." * Here, then, was the declaration 
 of sincere, disinterested, and divine love on the part of the 
 Covenant Angel, who, in Solomon's Song, is represented 
 under the metaphor of a Bridegroom ; and this declaration, 
 though repeated in the book of Deuteronomy, was made to 
 Israel as a Church at the outset, even in Egypt, when as 
 yet in the most degraded state of slavery and in a deplorable 
 depth of ignorance. But Israel was then not only insensible 
 in regard to the infinite value of that declaration of Covenant 
 love, but even entirely ignorant of the character and divine 
 majesty of him that made it to them. It was only after 
 the many mighty miracles which the Lord wrought by the 
 hand of Moses in Egypt and at the Red Sea, that that 
 people " feared the Lord, and believed the Lord and his 
 servant Moses." But this fear and forced faith was far 
 from producing reciprocal love. It was a slavish fear, ori- 
 ginated by the conviction that the " God who brought them 
 out of Egypt, hath as it were the strength of an unicorn 
 (in the language of the heathen prophet) ; he shall eat 
 up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, 
 and pierce them through with his arrows"-!- — that he 
 excelled in strength all the gods of Egypt whom he over- 
 threw, and that he can command the elements to execute 
 liis wrath upon his adversaries. Nor did all the glorious 
 scenes of Mount Sinai expel that slavish fear and make way 
 in their hearts for love ; for " when the people saw the thun- 
 derina^s and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, 
 and the mountain smoking .... they removed and 
 stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, Speak thou 
 with us, and we will hear ; but let not God speak with us, 
 lest we die." | Here we have a most striking instance of 
 loveless fear (if we may use this expression), and so to this 
 day, while the believing and loving child of God says with 
 David, " God is our refuge and strength, . . . therefore 
 will not we fear though the earth be removed, and though 
 the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea," the 
 child of fear without love, though believing in the existence, 
 omnipotence, and majesty of God, trembles like a leaf at the 
 voice of the Almighty in the peals of thunder and in the 
 flashes of lightnings, lest he die, for the Lord is too 
 
 * Deut. vii 6-9. + Num. xxiv. 8. ; Exod. xx. 18, 19. 
 
CHAPTER I. 2, 3. 53 
 
 mighty (as it were), for his feeble faith ! Such was Israel 
 at the time of the glorious display- of divine majesty and 
 splendour on the Mount. All that the ignorant and inex- 
 perienced Bride had hitherto learned of the character of 
 the heavenly Bridegroom was his awful omnipotence, his 
 matchless strength, and the terribleness of his thunder- 
 words, but she had no idea of beholding in these mighty 
 manifestations his condescending love and divine affection 
 towards her. Therefore, instead of being moved to reciprocal 
 love and to filial confidence, she was horror struck when 
 hearing His voice out of the thick clouds and flames of fire, 
 announcing to her his conditions in the ten commandments. 
 So much so, that she intreated Moses to be the medium 
 between her and her God, and that God should no more 
 speak directly unto her. 
 
 The consequences of this slavish fear without filial love 
 soon manifested themselves in a most deplorable m.anner. 
 Moses their interpreter went up to the Mount into the 
 cloud where the glory of the Lord resided, and where, 
 in confirmation of his Covenant pronsises, he breathed 
 nothing but love towards his redeemed people, saying 
 unto him, " Let them make a sanctuary, that I may 
 dwell among them." While Moses w-as receiving instruc- 
 tion how to make that sanctuary and all its utensils 
 according to the pattern shown to him, and was w^aiting to 
 receive the tables of the law from the hand of God, Israel, 
 destitute of love in their hearts to bind them with the bond 
 of grateful affection to their God, having been left forty 
 days without their interpreter, and without any new mani- 
 festations from God of a nature to keep alive their feelings 
 of awe and fear, became impatient, and being without real 
 faith in an invisible Deity, resolved to invite again their old 
 friend Apis in the shape of a golden calf, before which they 
 danced and rejoiced as before a god whose presence, while it 
 does not inspire love, neither strikes with terror. Moses 
 soon after came down from the Mount with cheering messages, 
 and most glorious promises in his mouth, and with the tables 
 of the law^ in his hands. The latter he cast from him and 
 broke in pieces as soon as he saw the idol in the midst of 
 the camp, and the former he changed into severe rebukes 
 and heavy judgments. 
 
 Deep repentance always follows deep convictionof agrcat 
 
54 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 crime ; and such was the case with Israel on that occasion. 
 Among the many severe rebukes which Moses must have 
 administered to them for their degrading attachment to the 
 Egyptian abominations, he must have laid before their eyes 
 all the great and glorious things which the Lord had in store 
 for them, especially that he intended to set up his Sanc- 
 tuary and dwell in the midst of them ; but that they had 
 now forfeited these great favours and privileges by their 
 fearful crimes, and by their want of faith in their Lord and 
 Redeemer, and of gratitude and love to Him. The severest 
 stroke which they received on that occasion, and which 
 seems to have produced the greatest affliction to them, was 
 contained in the following message which the Lord sent 
 them by Moses — " Depart and go up hence, thou and the 
 people which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, 
 unto the land which I sware unto Abraham, to Isaac, and 
 to Jacob, saying, Unto thy seed will I give it : and I will 
 send an Angel before thee, and I will drive out the Ca- 
 
 naanite for I will not go up in the midst of 
 
 thee ; for thou art a stiff-necked people ; lest I consume thee 
 in the way." * The purport of this message was that the 
 Lord would no more dwell in the midst of them, and there- 
 fore would not have the sanctuary built by them, as 
 proposed to Moses on the Mount — that He would not go 
 with them into the land of Canaan, nor be with them when 
 settled there — that He would only send an Angel before 
 them (mark, no more " the Angel of His Presence," no more 
 the " Angel of the Covenant," which covenant was now 
 broken, but " an Angel;" and not with them, but "before 
 them") to drive out the nations and give them the land 
 promised to their fathers, in order that the Lord's uncondi- 
 tional promises should be fulfilled, but would consider all the 
 conditional promises of the Covenant made with themselves 
 as null and void by reason of their crime. Israel fully 
 understood the terrible weight of this threatening, and 
 they began therefore to lament their sins, and tremble at the 
 consequences of their breach of the covenant, " And when 
 the people heard these evil tidings they mourned, and no 
 man did put on him his ornaments" (verse 4.) This is 
 equal to saying that they dressed in the badge of mourning, 
 
 * Exod. xxxiii. 1—3. 
 
CHAPTER 1. 2, 3. 55 
 
 as for the death of near relatives. Now, according to the 
 metaphor of bridegroom and bride which Solomon employs 
 in our Song, Israel, on this occasion, might properly be 
 compared to an ignorant and haughty virgin who slights 
 and rejects all the advances and offers of a wise and mighty 
 monarch ; and who, though consenting after many great 
 promises and a bright display of his royal magnificence, 
 soon breaks her promise, during a short absence of the 
 prince, and degrades her dignity in seeking another 
 lover among the lowest of society, and who is only brought 
 to her senses when the prince withdraws from her in anger, 
 leaving her time to consider her inconstancy and disgraceful 
 conduct. And when her friends and relatives exhibit to 
 her in lively colours the greatness of her loss, the riches, 
 honour, and happiness which fhe had deliberately cast 
 away, and the glory and majesty which she trampled under 
 foot, then it is that she begins to shed tears of deep repent- 
 ance, to bewail her inconstancy and the sad consequences of 
 her light mindedness ; and then it is that there is nothing 
 she desires so much, that there is nothing which would so 
 completely restore her to happiness, as a few loving words 
 from the lips of him who with sincere love and affectionate 
 words so often tried to gain her foolish heart, while she 
 repaid him with insulting refusals, unfaithful promises, and 
 degrading behaviour. 
 
 Such was the case with Israel at the time and in the 
 circumstances just mentioned ; and this was all that the 
 gracious God waited for. All that the sin-pardoning God 
 desired, as the consequences of that sad event, was that 
 Israel, in deep and sincere repentance, should humble them- 
 selves in the dust, see and acknowledge their guilt and 
 unworthiness, and plead for forgiveness from their offended 
 God ; and that when they had obtained it, their heart should 
 be filled with gratitude and love, of which they were 
 hitherto altogether destitute. To humble them still more 
 effectually, and to stimulate at the same time their love to 
 the Covenant Angel, and make them desire more ardently 
 his presence amongst them, Moses took the tabernacle 
 and pitched it without the camp, afar off from it, and 
 called it the Tabernacle of the Congregation (or, the 
 tent of meeting.) " And it came to pass that every one 
 which sought the Lord went out unto the tabernacle of the 
 
56 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 congregation, which was without the camp."* This was 
 not the tent in which Moses lived with his family, for 
 it remained still within the camp, as will be seen, but it 
 was the tent in which Moses received people officially^ 
 whether the elders of Israel or their judges, or those who in- 
 quired about religious matters, or received religious in- 
 structions, or communications made to Moses by the Lord, 
 who appeared there to him before the tabernacle was 
 erected. This he transported far beyond the camp, to show 
 Israel their unworthiness of having the Presence of the 
 Holy God in the midst of them. In the very same verse 
 we are informed that this produced the desired effect, for 
 many Israelites came out to Moses there in order to seek the 
 Lord in humble supplications and prayer. But this was not 
 all ; for we read farther, " And it came to pass, when Moses 
 went out [i.e., from his family tent) unto the tabernacle, 
 that all the people rose up (in token of deep respect), and 
 stood every one at his tent door, and looked after Moses 
 until he entered the tabernacle. And it came to pass, as 
 Moses entered into the tabernacle the cloudy pillar descended, 
 and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked 
 with Moses. And all the people saw the cloudy pillar 
 stand at the tabernacle door ; and all the people rose up 
 and worshipped, every man at his tent door. And the Lord 
 spake to Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his 
 friend" (verses 8 — 11.) So wonderful and extraordinary 
 was the change produced in that people after their deplorable 
 fall. Not only did they lament their sin and its conse- 
 quences, but they were so much humbled, so mollified, that 
 instead of resenting their severe punishment, instead of 
 murmuring at the signs of the Lord's displeasure, they 
 quietly and patiently submitted, and acknowledged their 
 punishments as just. Seeing that the Lord did not count 
 them worthy to abide in the midst of them, or even to appear 
 unto Moses in the midst of their camp, they watched with 
 great ardour the time when Moses left it to go to the tem- 
 porary tabernacle to meet there their offended God. First 
 they all rose up, out of respect to Moses, and stood in silent 
 awe all the while he passed through the ranges of their 
 tents, even until he reached the tabernacle. When they 
 
 * Exod. xxxiii. 7- 
 
CHAPTER I. 2, 3. 57 
 
 saw the Angel of the Covenant descending in a cioud, and 
 speak to Moses, they rose again, and then fell on their faces 
 and worshipped him ; yea they went in great numbers to 
 the tabernacle to " seek the Lord," to hear gracious words 
 of him at whose voice they were terrified at Mount Sinai; 
 for fear had now given place to love — still, however, imper- 
 fect. The ardent desire to regain his favour, and not to 
 lose his glorious presence from the midst of them, made 
 them forget all the terrors with which his voice inspired 
 them once, at the burning and smoking mountain. 
 
 It is to that period, and to this event, that Solomon refers 
 in the opening of his Song of songs. It was in this burning 
 fen'our of their souls, in this devout disposition of their 
 hearts, that Israel left their tents and their camp, and ran 
 towards the temporary tabernacle ; and presenting them- 
 selves first to Moses, their typical Mediator and their sole 
 interpreter, fell on their faces and vehemently exclaimed, 
 *' Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth." " 
 Moses our shepherd, we come to seek our God : Intercede 
 for us, plead with the blessed but justly provoked Angel of 
 our Covenant for us, that he would graciously pardon the 
 great offence we have committed : let him exercise 
 mercy and divine compassion towards us : Let him pro- 
 nounce a free pardon for all our sins, and let him for ever 
 forget all our iniquities : Let him by his own mouth speak 
 words of grace and consolation to us : Let him once more 
 come and abide in the midst of us ; and ' let the beauty ol 
 the Lord our God be upon us.' "* But in the midst of this 
 strain of ardent supplication they remember that thej^ are 
 equally in the presence of their God whom they seek, as in 
 that of Moses, and therefore they suddenly change their 
 address from the third to the second person, telling God 
 himself the reason of their assiduous supplications and eager 
 desire : " For thy love is more pleasant than wine." " We 
 crave thy pardon and a renewed declaration of thy love 
 towards us, for we have now learned to v^alue thy love as 
 well as to love thee : We have seen thy long-suffering 
 towards us at a lime when we deserved to be rejected for 
 ever, to be cut off by reason of our great transgression." If 
 this is thy way even in time of our offence, if " Thou, Lord, 
 
 * Ps, xc. 17. 
 
 c 3 
 
58 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 art good, and ready to forgive, and plenteous in mercy unto 
 all them that call thee,"* even after such a sin, what must 
 be thy love ! Surely thy love must be better than all 
 temporal blessings : " Thy loving-kindness is better than 
 life."-|- Therefore, " Thy words are sweeter than honey to 
 my mouth ;"| therefore we pray — "Turn us again, Lord 
 God of Hosts ; cause thy face to shine, and we shall be 
 saved." § 
 
 But the revived Church, the repenting Bride, continues 
 to give the reasons not only for her repentance and prayers, 
 but also for her ardent love to Him at whose feet she 
 humbles herself : *' Besides (or, in addition to) the savour of 
 thy precious ointments, like ointment diffused {i.e., like the 
 odour of ointment) is thy name ; therefore do the virgins love 
 thee." " The reason of our ardent desire to have thee in 
 the midst of us, to hear thy blessed and gracious words 
 addressed to us, and to receive a special token of thy favour 
 and love towards us, is not only because Moses informed us 
 that thou our King and Redeemer wast ' anointed by God 
 thy God with the oil of gladness above all thy fellows' || — 
 that thou hast been exalted above angel and seraph to be 
 Messiah, the anointed Saviour of the world — not only because 
 he has informed us of the precious and holy ointments which 
 he was ordered on the Mount to prepare for the anointing 
 and sanctifying of the ordered sanctuary where thou art to 
 dwell in thy glory, ^ but because thy glorious name has 
 already spread with far more rapidity and splendour than 
 odours diffused from the best of spices and perfumes. The 
 wonders thou hast wrought in Egypt for us have made 
 thy name to be exalted above the names of all other gods. 
 Thou hast divided the waters before us to make thee au 
 everlasting name. So didst thou lead thy people, to make 
 Thyself a glorious name."** Yea it is because " God also 
 has highly exalted thee, and given thee a name above 
 every name," that the virgin souls love thee ; even those 
 inexperienced souls who, though for a moment in their ig- 
 norance they forgot themselves, and sought other gods to 
 rule over them, have now deeply and sincerely repented of 
 their errors, and now desire with heart and soul to deliver 
 
 Ps. Ixxxvi. 5. + Ps. Ixiii. 3. J Ps. cxix. 103. ^ Ps. Ixxx. 19. 
 Ps. xlv. 7. H Exod. XXX. 22—38. **Is. Ixiii. 14—19. 
 
CHAPTER I. 2, 3. 59 
 
 themselves as free-will offerings wholly unto thee, to make 
 mention of thy holy name alone ; to praise thy name alone ; 
 " for thy name alone is excellent."* 
 
 When Moses, the faithful and tender guide of Israel, saw 
 that the erring flock was so far restored to humility, repent- 
 ance, prayer, and love, and knowing that the God of Abra- 
 ham was rich in pardoning grace, and that He must be well 
 pleased with the change that had taken place in their hearts, 
 he thought the occasion favourable for addressing himself to 
 the Lord on their behalf, to obtain the full pardon of their 
 sin, and His glorious presence among them. *' And Moses 
 said unto the Lord, See thou sayest unto me, bring up this 
 people, and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send 
 with me (as the Lord only said, ' an angel will I send be- 
 fore thee,' but Moses knew not the character of that 
 angel), yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou 
 hast also found grace in my sight. Now therefore, I pray 
 thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, show me now 
 thy way, that I may know thee, that I may (reallj) 
 iind grace in thy sight, and consider that this nation is thy 
 people"-)- That this petition was not a personal one, but 
 made in the name of the whole nation, is evident — 1st, be- 
 cause the promise was made to the whole nation to know 
 them (or to be made known unto them) by name (i.e., by the 
 name " Jehovah," which name is in the Messiah — see Exod. 
 vi. 3, 7) ; and 2d, from the last phrase, "consider that this 
 nation is thy people," which Moses opposed to what the 
 Lord said to him in verse 1 — " thou and the people which 
 thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt" — and which 
 makes it evident that it was in the name of the nation that 
 Moses prayed the Lord to make him know his ways, his 
 designs, and futm*e plans regarding them ; if He would 
 graciously permit again the sanctuary to be built, and if 
 He would dwell in it ; and also to let them know by name 
 the angel whom He destined to be with them, and to lead 
 them. " And the Lord said, my presence shall go and lead 
 thee to rest" (verse 14.) This was clearly indicating that 
 the former threatening was now withdrawn, and that the 
 Lord Himself (in the Angel of his Presence) would now go 
 with them and lead them. But Moses, not having yet fully 
 
 * Ps. cxlviii. 13. t Exod. xxxiii. 12, 13. 
 
60 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 perceived the riches of that Divine declaration, and the com- 
 prehensiveness of that gracious promise (perhaps because ii 
 SO suddenly exceeded all his expectations), continued his 
 petition, saying, " If thy presence go not with me, carry 
 us not up hence ; and wherein shall it otherwise be known 
 that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight ? 
 is it not in that thou shalt go with us ? and thus shall we be 
 preferred, I and thy people, from all the nations that are on 
 the face of the earth. And the Lord said unto Moses, even 
 this thing that thou hast spoken will I do, for thou hast 
 found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name" (verses 
 15 — 17.) We know what followed in that ever-glorious, 
 ever-memorable intercourse of the father of prophets with 
 the almighty and only adorable Jehovah, the Lord of Hosts, 
 that Moses, emboldened by the incomprehensible loving- 
 kindness of the gracious God, asked Him to show him his 
 glor}^, and what he then heard and saw. But as we shall yet 
 have occasion to revert to that wonderful subject, let us only 
 remark now what the power of repentance and penitent 
 prayer is with God ! Jacob was met at night near the river 
 Jabok by an angry angel, threatening to destroy him for 
 unfaithfulness in the performance of his solemn vows. No 
 power in the world could rescue him from that peril. All the 
 mighty and best appointed armies of the globe w ould be easily 
 discomfited and destroyed before that Captain of seraphs by 
 whom all worlds were made ; but Isaac's son and Abraham's 
 grandson had a weapon strong enough for that unequal con- 
 test — he v/ept, prayed, supplicated, and prevailed ! Not 
 long after the awful conflict had begun, he could say to his 
 Divine and now reconciled adversar}^, " I will not let thee 
 go unless thou bless me!" So it was with Israel, his de- 
 scendants, who, only a few days before, were threatened with 
 a sudden and complete destruction, because of their awful 
 sin. Having sincerely repented and humbled themselves 
 before their offended God, and having felt in their souls that 
 the Lord had graciously heard their supplications, they en- 
 larged their petitions, and boldly asked, *' Let me know 
 whom thou wilt send with me, make us acquainted with thy 
 raj^sterious ways, let thy presence go with us, let thy sanc- 
 tuary be in the midst of us ;" or, in the language of our 
 Sons: — 
 
CHAPTF.R I. 4. 61 
 
 4. Draw me, we will run after thee. 
 
 When the king hath brought me into his chambers, 
 We will exult and rejoice in thee ; 
 We will celebrate thy love more than wine ; 
 Those who walk uprightly love thee.* 
 
 From the remarks we made above, the changes from the 
 singular to the plural, from the third to the second person, 
 and vice versa, in the Bride's petitions, are easily under- 
 stood ; for in the passage of Exodus above quoted, the very 
 same occurs, " If thy presence go not with me, carry us not 
 up hence ;" " Is it not in that thou goest with us f" — the 
 latter referring to what Moses had asked before, " Show me 
 now thy way," viz., because Moses spoke in the name of 
 the people ; and in this verse of our Song it is the same as 
 if Moses spoke for the whole Church, and the Church said 
 by him, " Draw me, we will run after thee" — draw me by 
 thy gracious presence, for when " Th}^ loving-kindness is 
 before mine eyes, I shall walk in thy truth"-}- — draw me by 
 thy pardoning love, " He shall restore my soul, he shall lead 
 me in the path of righteousness, for his name's sake,"| — 
 
 * ■'3S"an (Heviani.) This word is used here conditionally for the 
 
 future, as'Ps. cxxiv. 3, 4, for the past ; W3>Vsi (Belaunu) " Would have 
 
 swallowed us;" iiaista'i (Shetaphunu), " Would have drowned us," so 
 
 here Heviani Hamelech, "When the King hath (or shall have) brought 
 us." And probably such is the sense of the passage in Ps. cxxvi. 2, 3, 
 and should be rendered, " Then it was said among the Gentiles, 
 the Lord hath done great things for them {i.e., for Israel) ; had the 
 Lord done such great things for us, O how would we have reioiced !" 
 rrSTj (Naskirah) " We will celebrate," or " commemorate," i.e., with 
 
 praise and thanksgivings. Whenever that word occurs with reference 
 to the Lord, it does not import a mere remembrance, but with praise, 
 as Ps. xlv. 18, Ixxi. 16, Ixxvii. 12, &c., &c. 
 !3'^-'*i">3 (Mesharim) " Those who walk uprightly." We consider this 
 
 noun to have the same signification with the name " Jeshurun" given 
 to Israel (Deut. xxxii. 15, xxxiii. 5, 26, Is. xliv. 2), and signifying" the 
 upright nation" (when they merited it.) In the form in which it ap- 
 pears io our verse it often signifies (when in the singular especially) 
 " uprightness," " righteousness," as Ps. xvii. 2, Iviii. 1, xcviii. 7. But 
 as a—^j-i (Yesharim) means " upright men," so we may read in our 
 
 verse D'i"'r"'»3 (Meyashrim), as in Prov. ix. 16 (notwithstanding of the 
 
 Rabbies' points), and then it must signify, " Those who become upright 
 or walk uprightly, i e., who make straight their ways. The same sig- 
 nification it has likely in Ps. xvii. 2, above quoted. 
 
 t Ps. xxvi, 3. X Ps. xxiii. 3. 
 
62 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 draw me by thy instructions, " Make me to understand the 
 way of thy precepts. ... I will run in the way of thy 
 commandments, when thou shalt have enlarged my heart,"* 
 by granting me wisdom from above — draw me by the fulfil- 
 ment of thy gracious promises, that thou wilt show thy way 
 to the meek and repenting sinners. " Teach me thy way, 
 Lord, and lead me in a plain path."-|- " Appear there- 
 fore, Lord, in thy power, m<ijesty, and glory, and by thy 
 mighty grace and love attract me and all thy people to thei , 
 which will make the whole world most readily and cheer- 
 fully devote themselves unto thy service." — (Bp. Patrick.) 
 " When the king hath brought me (or shall have brought 
 me) into his chambers." This we consider to be in the con- 
 ditional mood, and in anticipation of the fulfilment of the 
 Lord's promise regarding the tabernacle, and afterwards the 
 temple, as Moses in his song at the Red Sea already pro- 
 claimed, " Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the 
 mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, Lord, which 
 thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in the sanctuary, 
 Lord, which thy hands have established." (Exod. xv. 17.) 
 This passage, without doubt, refers primarily to the temple 
 on Mount Zion, a glimpse of which the Holy Spirit gave to 
 the inspired shepherd of Israel ; but it may farther refer to 
 the glorious temple above, in the heavenly Jerusalem, though 
 the fulfilment of both began with the building and erection 
 of the portable tabernacle at the foot of Mount Sinai, accord- 
 ing to the pattern shown b}^ God unto Moses. J And here 
 it is proper to remark, that though both tabernacle and 
 temple were reared by the Church at the command of God, 
 still they are often spoken of as the sanctuary^ temple^ habi- 
 
 * Ps. cxix. 27-32. f Ps. xxvii. 11. 
 
 X In the same song Moses said, " Thou in thy uiercy hast led forth 
 the people which thou hast redeemed ; thou hast guided them in thy 
 strength unto thy holy habitation." (Exod. xv. 13.) But this must re- 
 fer to Mount Horeb, where Moses first saw the Lord in the bush, whence 
 Deut. xxxiii. 16, " The good-will of Him that dwelt in the bush." As 
 the Lord in the bush told Moses that when he had brought out Israel 
 from Egypt they should serve the Lord at that mountain (Exod. iii. 12), 
 and as Moses anticipated that the tabernacle should be built, erected, 
 and dedicated unto the Lord there also, and that He would dwell there 
 between the Cherubim ; as soon therefore as Israel had passed the Red 
 Sea, and began to approach that holy mountain, Moses, by anticipation 
 and faith, could already say, " Thou hast guided thy people unto (mark, 
 not into) thy holy habitation," but in our verse Israel still waits and 
 prays to be brought into that holy habitation. 
 
CHAPTER I. 4. 63 
 
 tation, dwelling -place^ &c., which Jehovah built for Himself , 
 as in the above passage Moses said, "In the place, Lord, 
 which niou hast made for thyself to dwell in, in the sanc- 
 tuary, Lord, which thy hands have established ;'^ so we 
 often hear David and the prophets praying that the Lord 
 would build up Zion (/.e., the temple of Zion) and the walls 
 of Jerusalem. And indeed it was Jehovah himself who built 
 and established both tabernacle and temple, as the Psalmist 
 said, " If the Lord doth not build the house, they that build 
 it labour in vain." For what became of both when the great 
 Architect withdrew His hands from the building of them ? 
 And what would they have signified if his glorious presence 
 would not have entered them ? And what became of them 
 as soon as He withdrew that favour from them ? Or what 
 became of Jerusalem's walls as soon as He ceased to build 
 and keep them ? The Church therefore always acknow- 
 ledged and considered these sacred structures as not only 
 belonging to, but also as being built and established by God 
 Himself. As God, after Israel's great transgression, threa- 
 tened to withdraw the orders given to Moses about the 
 building of the tabernacle in which He was to dwell in their 
 midst, so, after their repentance, their chief desire was con- 
 centrated, and their most ardent supplications directed, to- 
 wards the recall of that awful threatening, and for the re- 
 newal of the order to build that sanctuary. " that our 
 Divine Redeemer would pity us in his mercy and pardon- 
 ing love, and order again that sanctuary to be built, and 
 bring me into his holy chambers before the altar, that in 
 time of peace (with him) we might offer unto him peace- 
 offerings, sacrifices of joy, and exult in his salvation ; and 
 when we err from his ways, sin-offerings, and appease him 
 by a sweet- smelling savour, mixed with the incense of our 
 prayers, supplications, and thanks -giving." The farther we 
 enter into this Song, the clearer we shall see that Solomon 
 took the past historical events of the Church, as well as those 
 which were future, and which he saw by revelation, and put 
 them in a figurative form, under the leading metaphor of 
 Bridegroom and Bride, and that he often put into their 
 mouths the very sentiments suggested by the Spirit to his 
 father David in the Psalms. We therefore think it most 
 proper to employ the very language of the inspired Psalmist 
 in illustration and explanation of such passages. As for the 
 
64 THE SONG OP SOLOMON. 
 
 petition of the Church, that God in his mercy would draw 
 her by his loving-kindness, and by tokens of his grace, and 
 bring her into his sacred chambers, into his sanctuary, 
 where she would rejoice in him and celebrate his love, is 
 it not the sum and substance of the following passage in 
 David's Psalms? — " One thing have I desired of the Lord, 
 that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the 
 Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the 
 Lord, and to inquire in his temple ; for in time of trouble he 
 shall hide me in his pavilion, in the secret of his tabernacle 
 shall he hide me ; he shall set me upon a rock !"* 
 
 " We will celebrate thy love," or, we will commemorate 
 thy love, z.e., when thou shalt give us the opportunity to do 
 so — when thou shalt have brought us into thy sanctuarj^, 
 and thus enabled us to celebrate thy praises before the altar 
 of sacrifices, to adore thy Divine grace, and make mention 
 with joy of thy loving-kindness towards us. This phrase, 
 along with what the Bride already said about the celebrity 
 of the Bridegroom's name, is also to be found in David's 
 Psalms — " I will worship towards thy holy temple, and 
 praise thy name for thy loving-kindness, and for thy truth ; 
 for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name," 
 or rather, "for by thy word" — z.e., of promise and re- 
 velation in general, but especially by the Word that 
 was from the beginning — " thou hast magnified thy name 
 above all."-|- As she said already that " His love" v/as 
 more pleasant, more cheering, more refreshing than wine, so 
 she adds now that, according to the infinite value of that 
 Divine love above all temporal blessings, so she would cele- 
 brate it above all earthly possessions, enjoyments, and hap- 
 piness ; and with more solemn cheerfulness than that with 
 which the wine and oil was poured on the altar of sacrifices, 
 vvould pour her praises and loud songs of adoration into the 
 bosom of her loving God. and Redeemer. 
 
 To complete her vow, and give more strength to her pro- 
 mise, that when the Lord had brought her into his sanc- 
 tuary, she would rejoice and exult in him, and praise and 
 adore his love continually, she adds, " Those who walk up- 
 rightly (or those who become upright) love thee." As if 
 she had said, " And how could I act otherwise towards a 
 
 * Ps. xxvii. 4, 5. t Ps. cxxxviii. 2. 
 
CHAPTER I. 0, 6. 65 
 
 God who so much deserves my love and gratitude ? How- 
 could I commit such a sacrilege as to remain silent or indif- 
 ferent to the mercy and grace shown unto me, unworthy 
 sinner, by such an holy and almighty God ? How could I 
 refrain from praising thee in the midst of great congrega- 
 tions, and say, 'Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous, for 
 praise is comely for the upright. . . . For upright is 
 the word (or promise) of the Lord, and all his works are 
 done in faithfulness.'* ' magnify the Lord with me, and 
 let us exalt his name together. '-j- ' For the righteous Lord 
 loveth righteousness ; the upright shall behold his counten- 
 ance.'l Therefore, ' I will praise the Lord with my whole 
 heart in the assembly of the upright and in the congrega- 
 tion. '§ ' Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy 
 name, the upright shall dwell in thy presence.' "|| Now, in 
 concluding our observations on this verse, we invite the 
 reader to compare again its sentiments with the follow- 
 ing passage : — " How precious is thy loving-kindness, 
 God ! therefore the children of men put their trust under 
 the shadow of thy wings. They shall be abundantly satis- 
 fied with the fatness of thy house, and thou shalt make them 
 drink of the river of thy pleasures. For with thee is the 
 fountain of life ; in thy light we shall see light. continue 
 thy loving-kindness unto them that know thee ; and thy 
 righteousness to the upright in heart."^ 
 
 5. 1 am black, but comely, ye daughters of Jerusalem ; 
 
 As the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon. 
 6. Look not at me, because I am swarthy ; 
 
 For the sun had glanced upon me : 
 
 My mother's sons were incensed against me ; 
 
 They made me keeper of the vineyards, 
 
 Thus my own vineyard I did not keep. 
 
 If verse 5 be construed according to its sentiment, it will 
 read, " ye daughters of Jerusalem, though I am black as 
 the tents of Kedar, I am comely as the curtains (or tapes- 
 tries) of Solomon." In the midst of Israel's protestations of 
 love and devotion to her pardoning God, in the midst of her 
 supplications for renewed manifestations of the Divine pre- 
 
 * Ps. xxxiii. 1, 4. t Ps. xxxiv. 3. J Ps. xi. 7. § Ps. cxi. 1. 
 II Ps. cxl. 13. H Ps. xxxvi. 7—10. 
 
66 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 sence, promise, and favour, she reraembers her recent traas- 
 gressioD, her awful crime in a moment of forgetfulness, in 
 having forsaken her God and returned to Egypt in her 
 heart, by imitating and worshipping one of her idols, and 
 her heart is like to break and her courage to droop. But 
 she soon remembers also her sincere repentance, her earnest 
 resolution, to remain henceforth faithfully attached to her 
 God, who had shown her on that occasion so much long- 
 suffering and tender mercy, especially when Moses re- 
 minded him of his oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 
 Solomon, therefore, makes her now appear on the scene as 
 if she was surrounded by all other nations, staring at her 
 with great surprise, gazing with astonishment at her bold- 
 ness, in addressing such weighty petitions to an offended 
 God — in making so great requests immediately after go great 
 an offence. The Bride, seeing the nations looking at her 
 with such surprise, says, " ' I am black.' It is true the 
 awful sin I have committed is the blackest that could be 
 committed against such an almighty and loving God ; but 
 still ' I am comely' in His sight, for the sake of my fathers, 
 the patriarchs, and His oath to them — for the sake of my 
 deep repentance, which, when accepted in the covenant-angel, 
 the blackest of sinners is washed white in the sight of God, 
 who delights in mercy, and has no pleasure in the death of 
 the sinner, and whose wrath and righteous indignation are 
 disarmed, and turned into grace and compassion at a single 
 tear, sincerely shed by a broken-hearted penitent, so much 
 80, that were I even as black in sin and iniquity as the skin 
 coverings of Kedar's tents, my repentance, his pardoning 
 love in the Redeemer, and his gracious promises made to 
 my fathers, make me appear in his sight as comely and 
 beautiful as the magnificent curtains in Solomon's palaces, 
 with their embroidered purple flowers upon a snow-white 
 ground." In verse 6, she continues to give to the as- 
 tonished nations the reason of her degeneracy, and tells 
 them how she had lost her former beauty, and had thus 
 become black, viz., that she had been led to forget the 
 pure worship of the God of her fathers, and to become at- 
 tached to the dumb idols of the Egyptian abominations, 
 saying, " Look not at me because I am swarthy" (or " black 
 coloured,") i.e., Look not at me with astonishment, that I, 
 the descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the patriarchs 
 
CHAPTER 1. 5, 6. 67 
 
 of Canaan, should commit a sin of such Egyptian blackness ; 
 but remember how " the sun did glance at me" (or gaze upon 
 me), remember the scorching heat of my afflictions, of my 
 bitter slavery in Egypt, and my degradation there for seve- 
 ral centuries — remember how these cruel and unnatural 
 "sons of my mother" (born of another father. Ham) 
 " were incensed against me," (because of Noah's curse 
 upon them, and his blessing to Shem), and treated me in a 
 most cruel and merciless manner — how " they made me 
 keeper of the vineyards," how they forced me to submit to 
 every hard and degrading labour, and to the worship of their 
 abominable idols. " Thus my own vineyard I did not keep." 
 This is the reason that I entirely forgot the worship and 
 love of the God of Abraham, and degenerated into idolatrous 
 habits. Thus it was that when Moses absented himself 
 for forty days, and I saw nothing of him, or of the God 
 newly revealed unto me as the God of my fathers, I relapsed 
 to my old habit of seeing the God I worship, and in my cor- 
 rupted heart returned to the Egyptian idols. The more ar- 
 dent, therefore, is now my supplication that this blessed, sin- 
 forgiving, and loving God of Abraham's covenant should 
 now guide me by his almighty presence, and draw me after 
 Him with the bands of love, that I may now follow Him 
 continually, and cleave to Him for ever. 
 
 Now, it is right to observe, that as Solomon in this Song 
 follows the short sketch traced out by his father David in 
 Ps. xlv., he must also mean by the Bride the Hebrew 
 Church, the virgin daughter of Zion, and by the " maidens 
 her companions," the Gentile nations, who were, under the 
 Messiah, to be joined to the Bride, and espoused to the same 
 Bridegroom, and in their turn to become the living Church of 
 God. So the 14th verse of that Psalm, if literally rendered, 
 reads thus : — " Virgins in rich attire shall she lead to the 
 king,"* e.g., the ancient Church was destined to make known 
 Messiah's name among the Gentile nations, and espouse 
 them to her own Bridegroom ; and this was done when the 
 first Christians of the Church at Jerusalem sent forth apostles 
 and evangelists to preach Christ among the nations, and 
 teach them how to present themselves as pure and undefiled 
 virgins to Him who, in everlasting love, died for them on 
 
 • See Translation and Exposition of the Psalms, by the Author. 
 
68 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 the cross, and rose again for their justification. It was that 
 ancient and old covenant Bride that said to the converted 
 Gentiles, by her delegate the apostle Paul, " For I am 
 jealous over you with godly jealousy, for I have espoused 
 you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste 
 virgin to Christ." (2 Cor. xi. 2.) " After her, her com- 
 panions shall be brought unto thee," i.e., after hav- 
 ing accomplished her mission, and ceased from being the 
 only peculiar Church and nation, as well as from the office 
 of apostle and preacher, which things passed over to the 
 general Christian Church, composed of believers of all na- 
 tions and tongues ; other nations — no longer however by her 
 instrumentality, for she was lost in the Gentile Church, but 
 by the usual order of things — other nations of her ancient 
 companions were brought to Christ, other of the surround- 
 ing nations who once stood afar off, and looked at Israel as 
 the only favoured and beloved Bride, were now brought 
 likewise to the king with joy and exultation, and became 
 the beloved of Him who was promised as a " light to en- 
 lighten the Gentiles." Therefore did Solomon represent 
 Israel in the above passage, surrounded by the Gentile na- 
 tions, as a bride by her companions ; and while they were 
 astonished at the boldness and glowing language with which, 
 after so great a sin, she dared to address her offended Bride- 
 groom, and at her enormous demands, she is made to give 
 the above explanation, showing them that in the " Lord God 
 she hath righteousness and strength" — that though her sins 
 were " red like crimson, she may become white like snow" 
 — that "the Lord is good, ready to forgive, and rich in 
 mercy," for He has prepared means by which He can " for- 
 give all her iniquities, and heal all her diseases," and crown 
 even the greatest of sinners " with loving kindness and ten- 
 der mercies, . . . for he knowethourframe, heremem- 
 bereth that we are dust." (Ps. ciii.) Having thus declared 
 unto all nations the ground of her hope, the source of her 
 courage, and the reason of the confidence with which she 
 makes such bold requests after so flagrant a transgression, 
 she turns again towards her still silent Bridegroom to renew 
 and continue her petition. But unfortunately, in concluding 
 her petition, she betrays her imperfection, inexperience, and 
 want of faith, for which she is justly reprimanded, as will be 
 seen. 
 
CHAPTER I. 7. 69 
 
 7. Tell me, thou whom my soul loveth, 
 How wilt thou feed thij flock .?* 
 How wilt thou make it to rest at noon ? 
 For why should I be as a veiled woman 
 By the flocks of thy companions ? 
 
 She who had hitherto been ill-treated, and cruelly oppressed 
 by her mother's sons, the Egyptians, and forced to neglect 
 and abandon her own vineyard, by being reduced to slavery, 
 to hard labour, and idol worship, was now redeemed and 
 liberated by the mighty arm of her beloved, and not only 
 adopted by him as his inheritance, and as the " flock of 
 his pasture," but as a Church she was now charged to feed 
 in her turn the young sheep of the flock, for and under the 
 great Shepherd, to whom they both belonged. That the 
 Church of God is represented in Scripture language under 
 both the emblems of flock and shepherd at the same time, 
 numerous passages prove. The following are a specimen : 
 — " And we who are thy people, and sheep of thy pasture."-]' 
 " My people hath been lost sheep, their shepherds have 
 caused them to go astray." J Here the Church is shepherd 
 and sheep at the same time. Again, " Woe to the shep- 
 herds of Israel that do feed themselves ! should not the 
 shepherds feed the flocks ?"§ " And ye are my flock, the 
 flock of my pasture." || Our Saviour, in the tenth chapter 
 of John, declares himself to be the Shepherd of his flock, 
 the Church ; and therefore he said to his apostles, " I send 
 you forth as sheep into the midst of wolves ;"^ while these 
 very apostles went forth as shepherds under him, as he said 
 to Peter, " Feed my sheep . . Feed my lambs." The 
 same Peter said to the elders of the Church, " Feed the flock 
 of God which is among j^ou."** So Paul to the elders of 
 Ephesus, " Take heed, therefore, unto yourselves, and to all 
 the flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you over- 
 
 * n2"^s (Aicha) has different significations, as " How ? In what 
 
 manner? To what a degree! How much! Ah how!" See Deut. 
 xviii. 21; 2 Sam. i. 25; 2 Kings vi. 15; Pro. v. 12; Jer. xlviii. 17, &c., 
 &c. It never signifies " Where ;" and those who build on 2 Kings vi. 
 13, would do better to look to the Keri of that word. But the exposi- 
 tion of this verse will show the error of those who changed the " how" 
 into " where," to have been caused by their ignorance of the argument, 
 t Ps. Ixxix. 13. t Jer. i. 6. ^ Ezek. xxxiv. 1. || Ezek. xxxiv, 31. 
 >I Matt. X. 16. ** 1 Pet. v. 2. 
 
70 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 seers, to feed the Church of God."* In this double capacity, 
 under the twofold character of shepherd and flock at the 
 same time, the young and inexperienced Bride, the newly- 
 adopted and tender Church of God in the wilderness, appears 
 in verse 7 in a very doleful light. With feeble faith, and 
 suddenly awakened and yet imperfect love — with a mere 
 spark of zeal, which the slightest wind of temptation could 
 blow out — with a ray of light, which the smallest cloud of 
 sufferings and trials could eclipse — with hope so slender and 
 confidence so weak that the smallest difficulties could dash and 
 destroy them — she set out, courageously in appearance, to 
 run the race, but soon betrays her imperfections in the very 
 midst of her protestations of love and fidelity. After hav- 
 ing celebrated the Divine love of her Lord and Redeemer — 
 after having praised and exalted his name and perfections 
 — after having called upon him to draw her with the cords 
 of love, and promised to run after him, and follow him every- 
 where — after having uttered her ardent desire for his sanc- 
 tuary, the tabernacle, where she would rejoice and exult in 
 him — yea, and after having declared to the nations the 
 ground of her hope, and the reason of her great confidence 
 in him — she does not finish her eloquent apostrophe without 
 manifesting her weakness and doubts, her groundless fears, 
 and her reprehensible hesitations. Remembering that she 
 was in a desert, where there was neither water nor food, inha- 
 bited by nothing but serpents and scorpions, visited by none 
 but roving thieves and desperate Ishmaelites, she ventures 
 to ask her Lord to acquaint her with the means he had pro- 
 vided, with the resources he can command for maintaining 
 her there, in the face of all the enormous difficulties stand- 
 ing like insurmountable barriers before her eyes. " Tell me, 
 thou whom my soul loveth, how wilt thou feed thy flock ? 
 how wilt thou make it to rest at noon ?" i.e., " how wilt 
 thou feed millions of people in a desert like this ? how wilt 
 thou provide for them that promised * rest,' seeing this desert 
 is surrounded by mighty and warlike nations, and the mo- 
 ment we would attempt to effect a passage out of it we shall 
 be exposed to fierce and hot battles, more dangerous than 
 the scorching heat of noon-day." 
 
 " For why should I be as a veiled woman {i. c, as a muffled 
 
 * Acts XX. 28. 
 
CHAPTER I. 7. 71 
 
 up, persecuted, repulsed and wandering shepherd woman,) 
 by the flocks of thy companions?" In order to understand 
 rightly the sense of this clause, we must first explain the 
 figure which is employed. The shepherds that went far 
 into the interior of the desert to feed their flocks at some 
 rich oasis, always united in companies, in order to relieve 
 the loneliness of the wilderness, to aid each other in case of 
 an attack from wild beasts, and still more to resist the pre- 
 datory Arabs roving everywhere in search of spoil. These 
 shepherds dispersed with their flocks in the morning, and 
 re-assembled at noon, when the vertical sun was too 
 piercing for the sheep to feed ; and at the well of water, where 
 there usually were some trees and shrubs, under which 
 shepherds and sheep could shelter themselves from the 
 scorching heat, the flocks lay down to rest, and the shepherds 
 took their meal, and amused themselves by playing on their 
 flutes, singing their pastorals, telling national tales, &c. 
 When the sun descended a little, and his piercing rays were 
 obstructed by some high mountain summit, the sheep were 
 watered again and led forth to feed (see Gen. xxix. 7). In 
 the evening they re-assembled and made arrangements for the 
 night, for securing their camp against wild beasts and still 
 wilder Arabs. A female shepherd, unless she had some re- 
 lative, acquaintance, or suitor among the shepherds to protect 
 and aid her, must in such circumstances have been very ill 
 off. In the present day female shepherds are rare among 
 the Muslem Arabs, owing to the retirement in which the 
 females live, and those who follow this occupation feed 
 only on private property, or in inclosed fields where no 
 strangers have a right to come. But in ancient times it was 
 quite common, for unmarried women especially, to feed flocks. 
 We find, for example, that the daughters of Jethro were all 
 shepherds, and that though they were seven in number, they 
 were all driven away from the well by the shepherds, even 
 after they had filled the troughs with water, and that Moses's 
 unexpected arrival enabled them to resist their persecutors, 
 and to water their flocks so speedily, that when they returned 
 to Jethro he asked them, " How is it that ye are come so 
 soon to-day ? And they said. An Egyptian delivered us out 
 of the hands of the shepherds" (Exod. ii. 16 — 19.) From 
 this fact we see, 1st, the great difficulties of female shepherds 
 when without a friend, relative, or suitor among the 
 
72 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 shepherds to protect them. By keeping aloof from the shep- 
 herds because of their rank, and probably by declining to give 
 encouragement to any of them as suitors, they were exposed 
 to such annoyance and persecution. 2d, That these perse- 
 cuted eastern women had to stand muffled up (as they always 
 were when exposed to the eyes of strangers), in midst of 
 the shepherds, until they had watered their flocks, and had 
 gone to the pastures, when alone they could water theirs. 
 3d, That in order to avoid the shame and confusion of thus 
 standing veiled among the insolent and gazing shepherds, 
 these sisters hastened to the well to have their flocks watered 
 before the arrival of their persecutors, but without success, 
 for scarcely had they filled the troughs when the shepherds 
 came and drove them away. Had it not been for the un- 
 expected arrival of Moses, they would have been obliged to 
 wait in the midst of them until the shepherds had all watered 
 their own flocks ; and if this was done in the neighbourhood 
 of a town, what must it have been in the desert ! If this 
 happened to the daughters of a priest, or, as some will 
 have it, a prince, how must it have fared with perfect 
 strangers! This is the figure employed by Solomon in 
 verse 7, where the Bride is made to ask her Bridegroom if 
 he has provided for her a pasture apart, and how, that she 
 might not be obliged to stand muffled up beside the shep- 
 herds and their flocks, exposed to their insults, until they 
 had watered their sheep, and then be forced to give her 
 sheep the troubled waters, and feed them on the already 
 grazed and down-trodden pastures. (See Ezek. xxxiv. 18, 
 19.) But the real substance of that expression, "for why 
 should I be as a veiled woman by the flocks of thy com- 
 panions ?" seems to mean, " Why should I be as a stranger, 
 a persecuted and despised wanderer, beside other nations, a 
 subject to other princes, a pilgrim and sojourner on their 
 territories, and a tributary to those who would allow me 
 shelter in or near their countries ?" It is more than pro- 
 bable that none of the kings residing on the confines of the 
 desert would have refused dwellings and protection to Israel 
 on their territories, but only as vassals and tributaries, not 
 as an independent nation, and this was Israel's fear at that 
 time. 
 
 It has already been remarked, that on strict examination 
 and comparison^ we discover that Solomon's ideas and sen- 
 
CHAPTER 1. 7. 73 
 
 timents in this Song are mostly taken from David's Psalms, 
 though clothed in figures of his own choice, and in language 
 appropriate to the subject ; so we find the substance of verse 
 7 described at large in Ps. Ixviii. 17 — 20, " And they 
 sinned yet more against him, by provoking the Most High 
 in the wilderness, and they tempted God in their heart, by 
 asking meat for their lust ; yea they spake against God ; 
 they said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness ? True 
 he smote the rock, that the waters gushed out, and the streams 
 overflowed. Can he give bread also? Can he provide 
 flesh for his people ?" And with regard to the nations which 
 the Lord had promised to drive out before them, and their 
 doubts and fears on the subject, we know their conduct 
 on the return of their spies from Canaan, which Moses 
 described in these terms, " And ye murmured in your tents, 
 and said, Because the Lord hated us, he has brought us forth 
 out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hands of the 
 Amorites to destroy us. Whither shall we go vip? our 
 brethren have discouraged our hearts, saying, The people is 
 great and taller than we ; the cities are great, and walled up 
 to heaven ; and moreover, we have seen the sons of the 
 
 Anakim there And in this thing ye did not 
 
 believe the Lord your God" (Deut. i. 27, 28, 32.) Such 
 was the root of unbelief in the heart of Israel, even at the 
 time of their fairest confessions and strongest protestations 
 of faith, love, and devotedness, and which so frequently 
 manifested itself. In verse 7 of the Song, Solomon took up 
 the deplorable fact, and in a most masterly way makes the 
 Bride's inner thoughts, desires, and doubts pierce through her 
 own words. And we think that Solomon designedly placed 
 that self-accusing petition at the end of her passionate^ 
 apostrophe, to shew not onl}'- Israel's imperfection, but that 
 of the Church of God in general, and of every one of God's 
 children individually ; for alas ! there is always much of 
 unbelief mingled even with our most sincere confessions, of 
 doubt with our confidence, of fear with our hope, of selfishness 
 with our love, of the world with our heaven, and of time in 
 our eternity. God alone is perfect in all things, and in 
 Jesus alone, the " Captain of our salvation who was made per- 
 fect by sufferings," can we be made perfect in the eyes of God.* 
 
 * Notwithstanding the frequent relapses of Israel into unbelief, and 
 their outbreaks into open murmurings, and rebellion against God, we 
 
 D 
 
74 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 Before we proceed to consider the Bridegroom's answer, 
 
 are assured that real awakenings to repentance and faith took place 
 among them from time to time ; such as that to which Solomon refers 
 in the first seven verses of his Song. So we read in the above quoted 
 Psalm, •* VVhen he slew them (or 'smote them,' i.e., punished them 
 severely for their sins), they returned and inquired early after God. 
 And remembered that God was their Rock, and the High God their 
 Redeemer. Again they did flatter him with their mouth, and they lied 
 unto him with their tongues; for their heart was not right with him ; 
 neither were they steadfast in his Covenant. But he being full of com- 
 passion, forgave their iniquity and destroyed them not." (Ps. Ixxviii. 
 34—38). Such fluctuations, alas ! are common to all the sons of Adam, 
 and it is only by divine compassion and free grace that some of them 
 are enabled to stand unto the end. But he who thinks that Israel 
 individually and as a people were worse than any other nation by 
 nature, or that there was something in Israel's case more extraordinary 
 than in the history of any past or present Christian nation, is greatly 
 in error ; and in order to discover his mistake h t him only for a moment 
 ran his eye over the ruins of the once flourishing Christian nations and 
 Churches, and trace thegloomy history of their fluctuations, declensions, 
 and final destruction. Let him behold with terror the idolatrous millions 
 of the victims of Romanism ; the ravages which rationalism and infidelity 
 have made in the German. French, and other Protestant Churches in 
 our day ; and let him say with Paul, " If the word spoken by angels 
 was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just 
 recompense of reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great sal- 
 vation; which at first begun to be spoken by the Lord, and was con- 
 firmed unto us by them that heard him ; God also bearing them witness , 
 both with signs and wonders and with divers miracles, and gifts of the 
 Holy Ghost, according to his own will." (Heb. ii. 2 — 4.) Again ; 
 " See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not 
 who refused him that spake on earth, much more should not we escape 
 if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven." (xii, 25.) 
 Let us likewise keep in mind Israel's real condition, when led during 
 forty years in a dreary wilderness, regarding which Moses himself said, 
 " Who led thee through this great and t'.rrible wilderness, wherein 
 were fiery serpents and scorpions, and drought, where there was no 
 water." (Deut. viii. 15.) Let us remember what fierce and powerful 
 nations withstood them in their way, and with whom they were com- 
 pelled to contend, and then let us estimate the faith which they 
 needed in order to pass on calmly, and without dread and doubt ; and 
 assuredly we shall have no reason to boast of our own, but rather to 
 tremble. But especially let us hear what He who tries the heart of 
 man, and knows all his thoughts afar of, said with regard to Israel 
 after all their fluctuations, relapses, and murmurings in the wilderness : 
 " Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying. Thus saith the Lord, I 
 remember thee the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, 
 when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not 
 sown." (Jer. ii. 2 ) Such is Jehovah's own testimony to the great 
 measure of faith, love, and confidence which Israel possessed, notwith- 
 standing their frequent doubts and murmurings; and where is now the 
 nation (as a nation) more fit for the task .^ Solomon therefore feared 
 not that the exposure of the bride's doubts would tarnish her love, 
 seeing the Bridegroom acknowlecJged hor love, "the love of her es- 
 pousals," notwithstandiiij her frtquent doubts. 
 
CHAPTER I. 7. 75 
 
 beginning with verse 8, we must make some short remarks 
 on the portion already treated. 1st, How clear is it, from 
 the gravity and earnestness of the Bride's address, as con- 
 tained in the first seven verses, especially from her humble 
 confession, that she was black, as well as from her statement 
 that the Bridegroom, whose love and favom* she so ardently 
 desired to procure for herself, was the beloved of all " those 
 that are upright" — that this Song was intended to treat 
 metaphorically of some well known and important event, 
 and of persons whose relation of mutual love and affection 
 was then a well-known and widely- spread fact — and that 
 these persons can possibly be no other than God and His 
 Church ; for who are the " upright" but the converted sons 
 of faith ! and whom do they love but Him who first loved 
 them ! The first seven verses manifestly speak for them- 
 selves by referring to the renewed relations between the 
 parties after some alienation and interruption of their rela- 
 tions had taken place, caused by an offence given by one of 
 the parties to the other. The offending party therefore 
 opens the interlocution by confessing her guilt, by a profes- 
 sion of repentance, and an expression of an ardent desire for 
 renewed relations of love and affection, if possible more 
 fervent, more close, and more intimate than ever before ; 
 and what event or period in the history of the ancient 
 Church is so evidently referred to as that which we 
 mentioned in the Exposition, seeing that the minutest cir- 
 cumstances recorded in sacred history of that period so 
 exactly agree with the sense and substance of every phrase 
 in the Bride's first apostrophe ? 2d, The farther we enter 
 into the Song the more we see how strangely ridiculous are 
 the opinions of those who have pretended to discover in it 
 even the most distant reference to a matrimonial alliance of 
 Solomon with one of his queens ! How strange and how 
 absurd is the idea of putting into the mouth of an idolatrous 
 woman the sacred and Scriptural phrase, " Those that are 
 upright love thee !" Think of the humility couched in the 
 phrase, " I am black," and how absurd to thrust that 
 beautiful mantle of the penitent and sin-confessing children 
 of God on the shoulders of a proud and haughty daughter 
 of Apis, Cemosh, or Moloch ! But enough will be said of 
 that unhappy blunder throughout the book, and in the notes 
 explanatory of the figures employed. 3d, We observe that 
 
 d2 
 
7G THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 up to this the Bridegroom answered not a word to the various 
 addresses and petitions of the Bride in the first seven verses 
 — and why ? Because, as the offended party, he calmly 
 watched her protestations and requests to see if her repent- 
 ance was sincere, her love perfect, and her confidence 
 complete. But as soon as he heard her last self-accusing 
 petition, which afi'orded a clear evidence of the imperfection 
 of her love, the weakness of her faith, and of the doubts she 
 still entertained of his being able to fulfil his engagements 
 to her, he instantly took the occasion to reprove and correct 
 her, and to show her that by her own confession she betrayed 
 the imperfection of her love and confidence. This is the rea- 
 son why, in the next verse, the Bridegroom begins to answer 
 her request in verse 7, and only then proceeds to answer her 
 previous petitions — a thing very remarkable, and not other- 
 wise to be explained. 
 
 THE LORD. 
 
 8. If thou know not, thou fairest among women, 
 Gro thou forth in the footsteps of the sheep, 
 And feed thy kids by the shepherd's tents. 
 
 It has been observed already that in verse 7, to which 
 this verse is the answer, the Bride, in the twofold capacity 
 of flock and shepherd at the same time, asked her Beloved 
 two questions, first, How he would feed her in the wilder- 
 ness ? and second, How she would be enabled to feed and 
 procure rest for the young flock committed to her charge, in 
 the face of so many mighty and warlike nations around 
 her deadly enemies ? Having thus betrayed her want of 
 confidence in her God and Deliverer, he answered her first 
 question by saying, " If thou know not, thou fairest 
 among women" — if thou knowest not this, if thou knowest 
 not that he who brought thee out of Egypt by such wonders 
 and signs is the mighty Creator of all worlds, who called 
 all things into existence out of nothing ; if thou knowest not 
 that he wlio divided the Red Sea and made thee to pass 
 on dry ground between its waters standing on each side as 
 walls, and buried beneath it the great army of Pharaoh, is 
 also able to feed thee in this desert, to make thee lie down 
 
CHAPTER I. 8. 77 
 
 in green pastures, to lead thee beside the still waters, to 
 prepare a table before thee in the very presence of thine 
 enemies, and to make thy cup overflow, thou needest yet 
 to learn much before thou hast a right to say to me, " 
 thou whom my soul loveth ;" for how can thy soul love me 
 if thou knowest me not ? But if thou knovvest not my ways, 
 my faithfulness, and my power to fulfil all my promises, 
 *' go thou forth in the footsteps of the sheep," — go and learn 
 it from those blessed sheep of my pasture who went before 
 thee. " Thus saith the Lord, stand ye in the ways and see, 
 and ask for the old paths, where is the good way ? and 
 walk therein, and ye shall find rest unto your souls" (Jer. 
 vi. 16.) " thou fairest among women," thou my chosen 
 people whom I preferred to all other nations, if thou knowest 
 not how I feed, protect, and procure rest to my beloved 
 sheep, follow in their footsteps and learn of them. "• Be 
 Jiot slothful, but followers of them who through faith and 
 patience inherit the promises." (Heb. vi. 12.) Look to 
 Abel, Enoch, and Noah, follow me by faith in their foot- 
 steps, and soon thou shalt know me as thy God and friend, 
 even as they knew me Look to thy father Abraham and 
 follow in his footsteps, who " by faith, when he was called 
 to go out into a place which he should after receive as an 
 inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither 
 he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise as 
 in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles w^ith Isaac and 
 Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise ; for he looked 
 for a city which hath foundations, whose maker and builder 
 
 is God These all died in faith, not having 
 
 received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and 
 were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed 
 that they were strangers and pilgrims on earth." (Heb. xi. 
 8 — 10 — 13.) Follow therefore in their footsteps, and learn 
 of them, and thou shalt know how I feed my flock, how I 
 protect them everywhere, how I cause them to rest, even 
 in the midst of their greatest dangers, in the midst of their 
 fiercest enemies. But above all, learn of them to seek and 
 desire " that rest that remaineth still for the children of 
 God" — learn to look for the city that hath foundations," 
 and "prepare thyself, Israel, to meet thy God" in eter- 
 nity, and then thou shalt be my friend like Abraham, who 
 through faith and patience inherited the promises ; and then 
 
78 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 shalt thou have a right to say to me, " thou whom my 
 soul loveth." 
 
 But she asked also information and directions how to feed 
 the young flock committed to her charge, and expressed her 
 fears that she would be exposed to the rage and persecutions 
 of the Gentile princes, who would either oppress and enslave 
 her or drive her from place to place. To this she receives 
 a gracious though sharp reply, " Feed thy kids by the 
 shepherd's tents" — that is, that she should feed and direct 
 her kids, her unruly and rough children, according to the 
 directions, doctrines, and examples of those whom he would 
 appoint as chief shepherds under him, and who would not 
 only lead and guide herself according to the directions they 
 should receive from above, but also direct her how to feed 
 and train her kids or young flock, that they may become 
 obedient sheep of the Lord's pasture. So we hear David 
 saying, " Thou leddest thy people like a flock by the hand 
 of Moses and Aaron ;"* but still God is called " The 
 Shepherd of Israel, who led Joseph like a flock ;"-[• for 
 the flock is his own inheritance. Moses and Aaron, 
 Joshua and the Judges, the Kings and prophets, were 
 appointed by God as chief shepherds to give his orders to 
 the Church in general ; but the Church (in her elders and 
 rulers) has not ceased to be shepherd in her turn. Moses, 
 therefore, appointed seventy elders, judges, and oflicers over 
 Israel.J These were to execute the orders and command- 
 ments which he received from above ; and being the 
 representatives of the Church and nation, they fed " the kids 
 by the shepherd's tents ;" for while thej^ judged and arranged 
 all small matters themselves, all weighty and important 
 affairs they were obliged to bring before Moses. § In this 
 manner were all the movements of Israel directed in the 
 wilderness, for marching and resting, for peace and war. 
 As God ordered Moses, so did he order the elders and 
 officers, who again made it known to the people. The same 
 order continued under Joshua and those godly elders or 
 judges who were invested with the chief command ; and all 
 went on well and prospered. But when they were dead, 
 and Israel ceased to " feed her kids by the shepherd's 
 
 « Ps. Ixvii. 20. t Ps. Ixxx. 2. + Ex. xviii. 13—27 ; Num. xi. 16—17. 
 § Ex. xviii. 26. 
 
CHAPTER I. 8. 79 
 
 tents," according to the will and directions of the heavenly 
 shepherd, she soon went astray from her God, and became 
 like a " veiled woman" by the flocks of the neighbouring 
 princes, oppressed and enslaved by them, until the Lord 
 raised up another chief shepherd, as in the case of the 
 Judges, to deliver and guide her during his life ; but after 
 his death the same misery returned again because of her back- 
 slidings. These incessant changes continued for centuries* 
 till the Lord " chose David his servant . . to feed Jacob 
 his people, and Israel his inheritance. And he fed them 
 according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them bv 
 the skilfulness of his hands. "-i-| We have thus seen the first 
 
 * See Judges ii. 18—19 ; vi. 1—10 ; viii. 33—35. f Vs. Ixviii. 70—72. 
 
 J That order was to continue, and, though with some interruption, 
 did continue during the entire period of the old alliance ; there being 
 always a Moses (a judge, king, or prophet) in the camp, and an Aaron 
 (or high priest) in the sanctuary ; until the great and divine Shepherd 
 of the flock appeared— until the blessed Angel of the Covenant came 
 into His temple, then He abolished both these offices of Moses and 
 Aaron, of High Priest and Chief Shepherd on earth, taking away that 
 authority from mortal man and vesting it in Himself. The blessed 
 Jesus alone is now the Chief Shepherd of his flock, in heaven and on 
 earth, as He is the King, Prophet, and High Priest of His Church ; 
 for, as Jehovah said to His Son, " Thou art a Prie^t for ever, after the 
 order of Melchizedek" (Ps. ex. 4), so the Holy Spirit by the same 
 David said of Messiah, " Thy throne, God, is for ever and ever" (Ps. 
 xlv. 6), and by Jeremiah, "I will raise up unto David a righteous 
 Branch, which shall reign as a King and prosper .... and this 
 is the name whereby He shall be called, Jehovah our Righteousness" 
 (Jer. xxii. o, 6) ; and by Ezekiel, " And I will set up one Shepherd 
 over them, and He shall feed them, even my servant David (i.e , Mes- 
 siah) ; He shall feed them, and He shall be their Shepherd" (xxxiv. 
 23). Not only did the Old Testament prophets foretel the great and 
 happy change iu the abolition of chief shepherds on earth, and the in- 
 vestment of the Messiah with that dignity, but they also indicated the 
 reason thereof: "Behold the Lord God will come with one (or 'in 
 one') that is mighty" (comp. Ps. Ixxxix. 19, " I have laid help upon 
 One that is mighty"), and His arm shall rule for Him ; behold His 
 reward is with Him, and the recompense of His work before Him. 
 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd ; He shall gather the lambs with 
 His arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently feed those that 
 are with young" (Is. xl. 10 — 11). In verse 10 we have clearly indicated 
 the reason of that change to be that, whilst under the Old Dispensation 
 these chief shepherds often proved " strangers, mercenaries, thieves, 
 and robbers, whose own the sheep were not, and who came only to 
 steal, to kill, and to destroy," and hence often proved the greatest 
 curse to the under shepherds and to the flock (see Jer. xxiii. 1 — 7 ; 
 Ezek. xxxiv. ; and comp. with John x. 1—16) ; therefore the Lord 
 promised to take away that important office from changeable and mortal 
 man, and lay it upon the Redeemer himself, who, having shed His blood 
 and laid down His life for His flock,'and received them as the " reward 
 of His labour," as the " recompense of His glorious work," would not 
 
80 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 and gentle rebuke administered by the gracious God to bis 
 Church, still inexperienced and wavering in faith, whose 
 petitions, interwoven with confessions and protestations of 
 
 do as the hirelings did, feed themselves and leave the fiock to perish, 
 but would " gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his 
 bosom," as hisown inheritance, as the sheep of his pasture, as the reward 
 of his agonies and death. What presumption ! what sacrilege ! and 
 what horrid rebellion is it therefore in proud and ambitious mortals to 
 attempt to bereave the Saviour of the reward of His bloody sweat and 
 awful agonies in arrogating still that office to themselves J What a 
 curse and destruction such a violent sacrilege must cause to any Church 
 in which it is practised, Rome's ecclesiastical history and her moral 
 ruin sufficiently show. What man can stretch forth his hand against 
 God and prosper ? What Church can outrage the privileges which 
 Jesus her head bought for himself with his blood in arrogantly invest- 
 ing His office in one or more of her sinful sons, and not invite shame 
 and destruction upon herself ? Jehovah said, '* I will lead my flock, 
 and I will cause them to lie down ... I will set up One Shepherd 
 over them . . . even my servant David {i.e., Messiah), and he shall 
 be their shepherd .... I the Lord will be their God, and my 
 servant David a Prince (or ' Nassi,' i.e, * chief ruler,' as were Moses, 
 Joshua^the Judges, Kings, &c., &c.) among them" (Ezek. xxxiv. 15 — 
 23, 24.) Seeing that this was an exclusive promise for the New Tes- 
 tament dispensation ; seeing that under the former dispensation Jesu» 
 was also the Shepherd of his Church invisibly, though he had appointed 
 chief shepherds on earth, there can therefore be no mistake as to the 
 import of these glorious prophecies, and that the change indicated must 
 be with regard to the abolition of the office of the chief shepherd on 
 earth. 
 
 But while the office of chief shepherd was to be abolished under the 
 Gospel dispensation, pastors, not rulers, shepherds, not masters, were 
 to be appointed ; as was foretold, " I will give you pastors according to 
 my heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding"^ 
 (Jer. iii. 15.) Here it is evident that the New Testament pastors ap- 
 pointed neither by one or many Popes, but by God, are called neither 
 to rule nor to give orders, but to instriict, to lead the flock in the way 
 to Zion, to feed the redeemed with the knowledge of their God and his 
 holy will. Again, " I will set up shepherds over them which shall 
 feed them (no more devour them), and they shall fear no more (for 
 they will be fed in and with love), not be dismayed ; neither shall they 
 be lacking, saith the Lord" (Jer. xxiii. 4.) As soon, therefore, as 
 Jesus assumed that holy office himself he said to his disciples, " Be ye 
 not called Rabbis .... Neither be ye called masters ; for one is 
 your master, even Christ ; and all ye are brethren." (See Matt xxiii. 
 8—10. Comp. xviii. 1—4. Luke ix. 46, &c. ; xxii. 24, «S;c.) There- 
 fore Peter himself, whom the Divine Shepherd commanded to feed 
 his flock, to feed his lambs, acknowledged that he had not received 
 anything like the Mosaic authority of chief ruler over the flock, 
 or over its pastors. " The elders which are among you I exhort, who 
 am also an elder." Mark 1st, that it was not to clerical authorities 
 that Peter addressed his epistle, but directly to the whole flock, 
 elders included. 2d, That he assumed no other authority, either 
 over the flock or its elders, than the authority of mutual Christian love 
 and duty, of instruction and exhortation ; for in the Church of Christ 
 there is no mastery, and no superiority, but " all ye are brethren ;" for 
 
CHAPTER I. 8. 81 
 
 faith and love, terminated, in verse 7, in words which 
 amounted to this : " True, I love thee with my whole 
 heart, I have entire confidence in thee, and will follow thee 
 whithersoever thou shalt lead me, but I should like just to 
 see thy capital, and the palaces into which thou art to 
 introduce me, and know the means by which thcu art to 
 enable me to maintain the rank and title of the consort of 
 
 all " like sheep have gone astray," and all by free grace have been 
 restored to the " shepherd and bishop of their souls." i hose who have 
 received some talents from the Holy Spirit are in duty bound to apply 
 them in the service of their Master for the edification of His Church. 
 " The elders which are among you I exhort who am also an elder " 
 " Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight 
 thereof; not by constraint, but willingly ; not for filthy lucre, but of a 
 ready mind. Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being 
 examples to the flock. And when the chief shepherd shall appear ye 
 shall receive a crown of glory which fadeth not away" (1 Peter v. 1 — 
 4.) To those to whom this passage is not conclusive and decided 
 enough against hierarchical tyranny in the Church of Christ— to those 
 whose ruling spirit and ungodly ambition leads them to bereave Christ 
 of the office of chief shepherd on earth, and to put themselves violently 
 upon his throne and assume his authority, the awful thirty-fourth chap- 
 ter of Ezekiel will be read over again before the tribunal of him whose 
 eyes are like the flames of fire, whose exclusive authority they arrogated 
 to themselves, and whose privileges, bought unto himself by his agonies 
 in Gethsemane and on the cross, they trampled under their feet. 
 
 Finally, while throughout the Old Testament Scriptures we find 
 that the pastors or under-shepherds were directed to obey a cnief 
 shepherd, appointed by the Lord to that office, and while the people 
 were commanded to obey both of them, there are many prophesies 
 foretelling that under the new covenant dispensation the Messiah 
 himself will occupy that office of chief shepherd both on earth and 
 in heaven, and that the pastors under him shall feed the flock ac- 
 cording to his exclusive orders and direction, but shall receive none 
 from any mortal man. Accordingly throughout the New Testa- 
 ment, both by Jesus himself and his apostles, the pastors are con- 
 sidered as equals, as brethren among themselves, having no other 
 master but Him who bought both them and the flock with a great price, 
 and receiving no orders but of Him who is the great shepherd and 
 bishop of all redeemed souls. And unto the flock it is said, " Remember 
 those who are your guides (or rulers), who have spoken unto you the 
 word of God : whose faith follow, considering the end of their conver- 
 sation, Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever." Again, 
 " Obey those who guide (or direct) you, and submit yourselves ; for 
 they watch for your souls as they that must give account (to Jesus the 
 chief shepherd, but not to large or small Popes), that they may do it 
 with joy, and not with grief ; for that is unprofitable for you" (Heb. 
 xiii. 7—8 — 17) As to the assurance and signs of the presence of the 
 chief shepherd and of his continual guidance of his flock, we have His 
 promise, " And, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the 
 world" (Matt, xxviii. 20.) The Holy Spirit, the Comforter, was pro- 
 mised to come and instruct us in all things, and abide with us for ever. 
 (John xiv. 16, 26.) Where Jesus, therefore, and the Holy Spirit ar^ 
 present, the pastors and under shepherds need no other guides. 
 
 d3 
 
82 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 such a mighty Prince." In answer she received the double 
 information contained in verse 8 — 1st, that she must imitate 
 the example of former sheep who lived by faith and not by 
 sight ; and 2d, that she must continue to receive her 
 directions by the " shepherds' tents," from Moses and 
 Aaron, Joshua and the Judges, the kings and prophets, till 
 the time appointed arrive when her Lord and Redeemer 
 alone shall be her chief shepherd, and guide her by his 
 immediate directions, and by those of the Holy Spirit. 
 But as this answer referred only to her error in her last 
 petition in verse 7, he now continues to answer her former 
 address. 
 
 9. To my horse in Pharaoh's chariot 
 
 I compare thee, my love (or beloved companion.) 
 
 10. Thy cheeks are comely wdth reins, 
 Thy neck (is comely) with chains.^ 
 
 11. Reins of gold we will make for thee,f 
 Beset with studs of silver. 
 
 Here we must remember the Bride's former petitions for 
 direct and more full revelations from her God, and that he 
 should draw her, and she would run after him. To this the 
 Lord, after rebuking her want of faith, betrayed in her last 
 petition, answers as follows — " beloved nation ! thou 
 makest fair promises to run after me whenever and wherever 
 I call upon thee, but alas thou wilt run in a wrong direction ; 
 thou wilt try to climb the rugged and impassable hills, and 
 to rush down precipices to the danger of thy life, but 
 thou wilt not run in the good and only way. Having no 
 
 * a'^'^in (Torim), properly "conductors, regulators," meaning the 
 
 laees, leashes, or straps attached (in the Arab bridles), one to the bit, 
 and another to a hoop-like strap which surrounds the chin of the horse 
 above its nostrils, by either of which the Arab leads and regulates his 
 horse to the right or to the left. Ordinarily he leads it by the upper 
 rein, and in case of necessity uses that attached to the hit, to force the 
 animal to obedience. The word is taken from vn (Tor), which (among 
 other significations) means " to teach, instruct, guide, regulate," &c., 
 (Ps. xlv. 4, 2 Sam. xxii. 33, Prov. xii. 26), hence it denotes also 
 " to spy out ;" and as a noun, Torim, " spies," for after having learned 
 themselves the particulars of the country they spied out, they became 
 the guides of the army. U''^>rn (Charusim) " chains" attached to the 
 
 pole or beam of the carriage, and which the horse wears on his neck 
 (see exposition.) 
 
 t " We," plural ! See exposition of chap. ii. verse 15. 
 
CHAPTER I. 9, 10, II. 83 
 
 sufficient faith in my ways, and desiring to see everj^thing 
 beforehand with thy dim eyes, and to weigh every step in 
 thy weak mind, thou wilt be terrified to run against the 
 Canaanites when I shall command thee to attack them 
 (Num. xiv. 1 — 31), and thou wilt run up hill in great haste 
 against them, when I shall sa}^ to thee, ' Go not up, for the 
 Lord is not among you, that ye be not smitten before your 
 enemies,' and then thou wilt bear the consequences in being- 
 discomfited and driven unto Horniah (31 — 45.) In this ' I 
 compare thee to my horse* in Pharaoh's chariots,' which are 
 full of life, and ever ready to run, but if let loose would run 
 out of the way, and break the chariot to pieces, and destroy 
 themselves. Their best ornaments, therefore, are a bridle 
 and reins, not only to adorn their chins, but to guide and 
 restrain them, and the chains on their necks, by which they 
 in turn direct the chariots they draw." In other words, 
 this was to teach Israel that their prosperity and safety 
 would not be so much promoted by new revelations, by direct 
 communications from God, and by becoming arbiters of their 
 own conduct when made acquainted beforehand with all the 
 Lord's plans regarding their future ; for, in the language of 
 the prophet, that rough and inexperienced nation was then 
 like " a wild ass, accustomed to the wilderness, snuffing up 
 the wind, according to her pleasure,"-]- z.e., wild, ungovern- 
 able, and unreasonable ; but that their safety and prosperity 
 depended entirely on their perfect faith and unreserved con- 
 fidence in the guidance, and on strict obedience to the orders 
 of the Lord, who knew all their wants and weaknesses, their 
 frequent fluctuations from faith to doubts, from confidence to 
 fear, from humble submission to obstinate rebellion, from 
 melting repentance to the eager pursuit of sin. As long as 
 Israel remained so unsteady and fluctuating, it was not new 
 revelations and manifestations of Divine power, wisdom, and 
 love that they needed ; for even if all heaven's mysteries 
 had been laid open to them, they might soon have rushed 
 into sin, as they did immediately after all the glorious mani- 
 festations on Mount Sinai. What they most needed was a 
 deep humility, an unconditional submission, a restraint on 
 all their unruly passions and desires, even on their outbursts 
 
 * Coll. noun, for all his cavalry. Solomon had many such horses and 
 chariots (1 Kings x. 26—29.) 
 t Jer. ii 24. 
 
84 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 of devotion and fiery zeal, which, not leing supplied by 
 faith, soon passed away, and a readiness to be guided in 
 every step by the Lord's directions, whether they saw their 
 way clearly or not, depending always on him who sees the 
 end from the beginning, and who often leads his children to 
 triumph and honour through clouds of darkness, or by the 
 most intricate paths, when there seems to their own view 
 nothing before them but dangers and ruin. 
 
 When the prophet Isaiah makes mention of the loving- 
 kindness of the Lord, and of his great goodness towards the 
 house of Israel, he says, "Then he remembered the days of 
 old, Moses and his people, saying, where is he (the Covenant 
 Angel) that brought them up out of the sea with the shep- 
 herd of his flock ? Where is he that put his Holy Spirit 
 within them ? That led them by the right hand of Moses 
 with his glorious arm, dividing the waters before them to 
 make himself an everlasting name ? That led them through 
 the depths as an horse in the wilderness, that they should 
 not stumble ? As a beast when going down into a valley, 
 so the Spirit of God led them to rest, yea, even so didst thou 
 lead thy people to make thyself a glorious name." (Isa. Ixiii. 
 11 — 14.) If Isaiah in this passage did not borrow his 
 metaphors and comparisons from Solomon's Song, he at 
 least uses them in the same sense. In it the Angel of the 
 Covenant is spoken of as invisibly leading his flock at the 
 right hand of Moses, the visible chief shepherd. The Lord 
 leads Israel " through the depths" (n-,ahp^ Tehomoth, is in 
 plural " depths," and not "deep") " as a horse in the wil- 
 derness," where there is no road, and many stumbling- 
 blocks, heaps, and chasms, and where, if the horse should 
 not be carefully led by the reins, would run into danger.* 
 
 * These Tehomoth, or " depths," do not refer to the passage of Israel 
 through the Ked Sea, for of this he has already spoken in Terse 12 ; it 
 must therefore refer to the depths, chasms, and ravines in the desert. 
 That the word is also used to denote these enasms and ravines on dry- 
 land, especially in deserts, we may see from Ps. Ixxi. 20, y^sn nittinnbl 
 
 Umithomoth Haaretz, *' and from the depths of the earth ;" and in Ps, 
 cvi. 9, David compares the depths of the sea to those of the desert — 
 " He also rebuked the Red'Sea, and it was dried up, and he led them 
 through the depths as through the wilderness," i.e., as safe and dry 
 through the depths of the sea as through the chasms and ravines in the 
 yirilderness. Again, when speaking of those desert chasms that were 
 filled with the waters of the smitten rock, he says, " He clave the rocks 
 jn the wilderness, and made them water the large depths," i.e., flow in 
 
CHAPTER I. 9, 10, 11. 85 
 
 In verse 14, Isaiah again compares their wanderings and 
 guidance in the desert to that of a beast of burden going 
 down a steep hill, which is exposed to great danger in a 
 country without properly formed roads, and especially so in 
 the desert, and which, therefore, requires to be gently and 
 carefully led by the anxious guide, until it comes down into 
 a shady valley, where it is made to rest at a well of water. 
 Even so, saith the prophet, did the Spirit lead Israel to rest. 
 " And they departed from the mount of the Lord, and the 
 ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them in the 
 three days' journey, to search out a resting-place for them" 
 (Num. X. 33.) Even thus did the Lord lead Israel gently, 
 and mysteriously, from difficulty to ease, from danger to 
 safety, from fatigue to repose. And so long as they were 
 obedient, and walked according to the directions of the Lord, 
 and in obedience to the gentlest motion of the reins followed 
 the path traced for them by the invisible shepherd, they 
 were secure and happy ; but whenever, like an unruly horse, 
 they took the bit between their teeth, and went their own 
 way, they fell into misery and trouble. 
 
 In Psalm xxxii. verses 8, 9, David, as an experienced 
 soldier in the fight of faith, gives the following advice to his 
 fellow- sinners, " I will instruct thee and teach thee the way in 
 which thou shouldst go : I will advise thee ; for mine eye is 
 upon thee (see Jer. xl. 4, " Come to Babylon and I will set 
 mine eye upon thee," i.e., I will pay attention to thy welfare, 
 and seek to do thee good). Be not without understanding 
 like the horse or mule, whose ornaments are the bit and 
 bridle, to restrain them ; let not this be the case with thee.* 
 Here we have another instance of the same metaphor being 
 employed by David, as by Solomon in the Song, and perhaps 
 borrowed by the latter. The prophet Isaiah, announcing the 
 heavy judgments of the Lorcl upon the wicked nations, and 
 that they would be forced to march into destruction, says, 
 *' And a bridle shall be put upon the cheeks of the nations 
 to lead them astray," or more literally, " And a bridle 
 
 streams, and fill the holes and ravines of the desert. Thus we see that 
 Isaiah refers to all the wanderings of Israel through the dreary desert, 
 when they were led by God, step by step, as a horse in the wilderness, 
 that they might not stumble. 
 
 * See the author's new Translation and Exposition of the Psalms, 
 where this passage is explained in connection with its contents. 
 
86 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 leading astray upon the cheeks of the nations," (Isaiah 
 XXX. 28.) Here the common version reads ^^i^V'? (al 
 lechaye) "in the jaws," but this was an invention to suit 
 rather the modern bridle than the ancient text. I have seen 
 Arab bridles made in a primitive style, and which, as was 
 already observed in note pp. 82, have not only the bit and 
 reins attached, which are only used in case of necessity, but 
 also a hoop-like strap round the chin of the animal with two 
 rings, one on each side, into which another rein is introduced, 
 by which the animal is commonly led while the other hangs 
 loose. These bridles and their reins, as well as the saddles 
 of the horses of Arab chiefs, are very richly embroidered with 
 gold, and when on a certain feast which takes place here 
 (in Algiers) in the month of September, Arab chiefs in great 
 numbers and in all their magnificience (which is all displayed 
 in the caparisons of their horses) muster on a certain plain, 
 these gold and silver embroideries glitter most brilliantly 
 in the sun, and dazzle the eyes of the spectators. Hence 
 the figure in verse 1 1, " Reins of gold [i.e. embroidered 
 with gold) we will make for thee, beset (or together) with 
 studs of silver." We have no doubt in affirming that 
 this metaphor shadows forth the law of God with her orders, 
 statutes, precepts, and commandments, of which the same 
 Solomon said, " For they shall be an ornament of grace unto 
 thy head, and chains about thy neck " (Prov. i. 9.) 
 
 Is it asked to what event, admonition, or special dealings 
 of God with his ancient Church Solomon refers, when he 
 makes the Lord give so severe an answer to her requests? 
 We reply, that although it is quite evident to what periods 
 and events the words put into the mouth of the Bride must 
 refer, we must leave more latitude to the answers of the 
 Lord, who knows the future acticms as exactly as the present 
 thoughts and dispositions of his Church collective!}^ and 
 individually, and thus Solomon must have cast a retrospective 
 view on all the past dispensations of the Lord in framing 
 the Lord's answer to his inexperienced Church. In the 
 sacred history we find that such were actually all the 
 dealings of the Lord with Israel. He led them continually 
 in intricate and mysterious ways, and when they refused to 
 walk in them, because they did not see whither they would 
 lead them, he pulled the reins and compelled them to walk 
 according to his will. "As I live, saith the Lord God, 
 
CHAPTER I. 9, 10, 11. 87 
 
 surely with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, 
 and with fury poured out will I rule over you."* Whenever 
 Israel shook off the bridle and rushed into error and sin, 
 the Lord corrected and punished them severely and made 
 them walk according to his commands. Hence David saith, 
 " My soul he will restore again ; he will lead me in the 
 paths of righteousness for his name's sake. . . . Thy 
 rod and thy staff, even they shall comfort me."-|- And 
 again, "And he made his people to go forth like sheep, and 
 guided them in the wilderness like a flock. "j: The follow- 
 ing passages also show the same thing : — "If his children 
 forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments, . . . 
 then will I visit their transgressions w^ith the rod, and their 
 iniquity with stripes."§ "It is good for me that I have 
 been afflicted, that I might learn thy statutes. ... I 
 have gone astray like a lost sheep, seek thy servant," H &c. 
 But in the very chapters of Exodus in which the events 
 are recorded to which we suppose the first chapter of the 
 Song refers, we find enough to show that the Lord, at the 
 very time he promised pardon to Israel for the great sin 
 they had lately committed, gave them also to understand 
 that he would use severity, that he would restrain, and 
 punish, correct, instruct them, and lead them according to 
 his sovereign will. After their sin, when the Lord, at the 
 intercession of Moses, relented from the severity which had 
 even threatened to destroy them, he still said, " Therefore 
 now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have 
 spoken unto thee ; behold mine angel shall go before thee ; 
 nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I wdll visit their sin 
 upon them" (Exod. xxxii. 34.) And in the 5th verse of 
 the next chapter, he said again unto Israel, " Therefore now 
 put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know," or, 
 " and I know," " what to do unto thee." Even in verse 19, 
 when, at tl e request of Moses, the Lord said, " I will make 
 all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the 
 name of the Lord before thee," he added, " And I will be 
 gracious to whom I will be gracious, and w^ill show mercy 
 on whom I will show mercy," i.e.^ that though the pardon 
 was granted to Israel as a nation, the conditions of salvation 
 were personal, and depended on individual repentance, faith, 
 
 * Ezek. XX. 33. f Ps. xxiii. 3, 4. + Ps. Ixxviii. 52. 
 
 ^ Ps. Ixxxix. 30-32. II Ps. cxix. 71—176. 
 
88 THE SONG OP SOLOMON. 
 
 good conduct in future, but entirely on his sovereign will. 
 And in chap, xxxiv., where the glorious revelations made 
 to Moses about the Covenant Angel are described, and when 
 the Lord proclaimed him as " keeping mercy for thousands, 
 forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin," he is at the same 
 time spoken of as " visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon 
 the children," i.e., if they are as wicked as their fathers 
 (comp. Exod. XX. 5.) It is thus clear that even after the 
 pardon then granted to Israel, the Lord told them that 
 strict and full obedience to all his commands, or punish- 
 ments and severe corrections in the case of disobedience, 
 were the conditions of the covenant ; and that they must, 
 therefore, yield a passive submission in walking in all the 
 ways in which he ordered them. Hence the figurative lan- 
 guage which Solomon employs in making the Lord an- 
 nounce to Israel that he would lead them by a bridle, and 
 direct their steps by reins, so urgently called for by their 
 ignorance of his ways, is fully justified, and most accurately 
 describes the facts and events which it was intended to por- 
 tray by it, as is evident from the passages which have been 
 quoted. " Forty years long was I grieved with this gene- 
 ration, and said, it is a people that do err in their heart, and 
 they have not known my ways." (Ps. xcv. 10.) 
 
 THE CHURCH. 
 
 12. While the king was with his guest, 
 
 My spikenard hath yielded all its fragrance, 
 
 •X- 
 
 * The derivatives of the verb 33 (Sav) and 230 (Savav) are so numer- 
 ous, and so varying in their signification, that it often requires the aid 
 of the context to find out the right meaning. So in Kal. it means " to 
 turn aside, round, or about," as Gen, xlii. 24, 1 Sam. xviii. 11, Prov. 
 xxvi. 14 ; in Niph. ao3 (Nasav), fut. 30'' (Yisav), and plur. lao^ (Yisabu), 
 
 •' to be turned aside, round, or about," as Num. xxxiv. 4, 5, Jer. vi. 
 12 ; and in Hiph., Jer. vi. 11, (see also verses, 3, 4, 7, 14, in all of which 
 it signifies a surrounding, encompassing, or going round about the city 
 walls of Jericho.) It has the same signification in Pi., as 2 Sam. xiv. 
 20 ; in Po., as Ps. lix. 7—15; in Hoph., as Ezek. xli. 24, Ps. cxli. 10, 
 and in many other places, in various constructions, but reserving always 
 the original signification. Hence the nouns (often used adverbially) of 
 3"»aD (Saviv), "the round circle or circumference," as, ** But now the 
 Lord my God hath given me rest 3*^35^ (Misaviv) from the round 
 about," or, " from all environs," i.e., from all the neighbouring na- 
 
CHAPTER I. 12. 89 
 
 The greater progress an awakened sinner makes in re- 
 pentance, the more he discovers the enormity of his sins. 
 The clearer he sees the greatness of the plan of salvation, 
 the more he becomes humbled and broken-hearted at every 
 new recollection of his transgressions. Even the prayers 
 he had offered at the throne of grace in the beginning of his 
 new life, when a conviction of his sinfulness caused him to 
 knock at the gate of heaven, appear now to his more expe- 
 rienced and enlightened soul, as so many additional offences 
 committed by ignorance and as so many presumptuous 
 harangues, savouring of unbelief and extravagance, uttered 
 in his childhood. And now that he has acquired a deeper 
 and more accurate knowledge of the wonderful ways of the 
 God of his salvation, he is not only ashamed of the weakness 
 and doubts which even his prayers betrayed when he was 
 newly awakened, but he always returns, with a broken 
 heart and contrite spirit, to the recollection of his former 
 sins and transgressions, and his former ignorance and blind- 
 
 tions that dwell round about my country (1 Kings y. 4 — see also Num. 
 xiv. 24, Deut. xii. 10, Heb. i. 10.) Hence comes also ao^a (Mesav) 
 
 "whicb has two significations, 1st, denoting the things or persons placed 
 in circle, round about another thing or person occupying the middle of 
 that circle (see 2 Kings xxiii. 5.), i^Ott (Mesibey), in plur. "the en- 
 virons, or places situated round about" (comp. Exod. xxviii. 11) ; 2d, 
 it also signifies the act of making the circle of a company, and setting 
 themselves down around a king, captain, prophet, elder, or any other 
 great man. It is still the custom of the Arabs to sit round their chiefs, 
 or round their religious instructor, who, in the centre of the circle, 
 reads to them (or repeats) passages of the Koran. When the prophet 
 Samuel was at Bethlehem, he said to Jesse and to the elders invited to 
 feast on the sacrifice, ab: sV (Lo Nasov), "We shall not make the 
 
 circle," i.e., we shall not sit down in circle " till David come hither" 
 (1 Sam. xvi. 11.) It is owing to this custom that David says, "The 
 Lord is beheld with reverence by all (I'^a'^aa, Sevivav) those that are 
 
 round about him" (Ps. Ixxxix. 7 — comp.'Ps. Ixxvi. 11.) Hence in 
 Rabinical language Mesibim signifies the guests invited to form the 
 circle round any great man, or the master of a feast, and the latter is 
 called Rosh Hamsibim, " the head of the guests" that form the circle. 
 Hence Mesibo signifies " his guest," as in our verse. 
 
 Translators and commentators have overlooked the vast difierence 
 that exists between ni^ ijnj (Nathenu reach), as chap. ii. 13, vii. 14, 
 
 meaning, " they are sending forth a fragrance," i.e., did so, and are 
 still doing so, aud.-,riii "in: (Nathan reicho), as in the above verse, 
 
 meaning, " It sent forth (or yielded) all its fragrance," i.e., and hath 
 no more ; as Judg. xvi. 19, " And his strength went from him," i.e., 
 and left him none. 
 
90 TUE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 ress. Such was the case with Israel. When first they 
 were convinced of the enormit}'^ of their crime they repented 
 and mourned. But when informed of the pardon which 
 Moses obtained for them, they were so elated that they 
 forgot to be humble for their sin, and grew unreasonable in 
 their petitions, demanding new revelations and signs, which 
 could do them no good in their state of weakness, and at 
 last betrayed, in their very prayers, an alarming degree of 
 doubt and unbelief. From this precipitate satisfaction with 
 their own condition and relation to their offended God, 
 his severe answer has entirely cured them ; for it recalled 
 to their mind a vivid recollection of the golden calf round 
 which they danced, exclaiming, " This is thy god, Israel," 
 and they remembered that this was done during the forty 
 days' absence of Moses on Mount Sinai. " And when the 
 people saw that Moses delayed to come dowTi from the 
 Mount, they gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and 
 said unto him, " Up, make us gods which shall go before 
 us, for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of 
 the land of Egypt, w^e wot not what is become of him." 
 (Exod. xxxii. 1.) That shocking scene rose again, like a 
 dark cloud, before their eyes, and, as they sorrowfully con- 
 templated it, they saw that, instead of demanding more 
 revelations from God and new manifestations of his love, 
 and information in regard to the way he would feed them in 
 the wilderness, or procure rest for them in Canaan, they 
 should rather have continued in deep lamentation over their 
 sin, and in humble prayer for the pardon of it. In this re- 
 awakened state of mind, w^hen the old wound began to bleed 
 again and the soul to mourn afresh, the Bride exclaims, witli 
 a deep sigh of anguish, " While the King was with his 
 guest," i.e.f while the Lord was with Moses on Mount Sinai 
 giving him the tables of the lavv', and shewing him the 
 pattern of the sanctuary in which he promised to dwell in the 
 midst of us, "My spikenard hath yielded all its fragrance," 
 i.e.y my faith has departed, my patience has given way, I 
 have denied the God of my forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, 
 and Jacob, and " changed my glory for the image of an ox 
 that eateth grass." Having thus forfeited all the covenant 
 promises, and merited nothing but utter destruction, how 
 wonderful is still his divine compassion towards me, that, 
 instead of consuming me in his righteous judgment, he 
 
CHAPTER I. 12. 91 
 
 promises to bear with me, to lead me by his commandments, 
 statutes, and ordinances, as an unruly horse is led by the 
 bridle and reins. " Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath, 
 neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. . . For mine 
 iniquities have gone over my head, as an heavy burden they 
 are too heavy for me. . . . Lord, all my desire is 
 before thee, and my groaning is not hid from thee. 
 For I will declare mine iniquity, I will be sorry for my 
 sin. . . . Forsake me not, Lord, my God be not 
 far from me. Make haste to help me, Lord, my salva- 
 tion." (Ps. xxxviii.) 
 
 Now we suppose that it was during the period of this 
 spiritual prosperity, of this humble and most befitting state 
 of mind of the newly espoused and sincerely penitent Bride, 
 that Moses went up a second time to the Lord on Mount 
 Sinai, and, after tarrying again forty days, came down with 
 other tables of the law, his face shining with such a lustre 
 that Aaron and all Israel were afraid to approach him, so 
 that it became necessary for him to put on a veil when he 
 spoke to them. (Exod. xxxiv. 27 — 35.) It was also 
 immediately after Moses had come down the second time 
 that he renewed to Israel the glad tidings that the sanc- 
 tuary was to be built, and that the Lord, having pardoned 
 their transgression, had announced again his gracious con- 
 descension to dw^ll in the midst of them, between the 
 Cherubim in the Most Holy Place. Moses, therefore, called 
 upon Israel to bring, for the erection of the tabernacle, free- 
 will offerings of gold and silver and precious stones, purple, 
 scarlet, and fine linen, rams and badgers' skins, shittim- 
 vvood, oil for light, spices for the holy ointment and for the 
 sweet incense. Never was there such a spectacle seen as 
 was then witnessed at the foot of j\Iount Horeb. The whole 
 nation seems to have been in an ecstasy of joy when it was 
 announced to them that they were to be permitted to enjoy 
 the great privilege of building a sanctuary to the almighty 
 and sin-pardoning God. The hearts of all were at once 
 opened, and everything, however precious in its nature, and 
 however high in value, was brought, and offered witha 
 willing and cheerful heart to Moses and the elders of Israel 
 appointed to receive them. The precious ornaments they 
 had lately laid aside, in token of mourning for their sin, 
 they now, with tears of joy, brought and offered unto the Lord, 
 
92 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 as if saying, " Thy glorious presence, Lord, is our most pre- 
 cious and beautiful ornament, far above all the precious 
 jewels which this world can afford ; and therefore we most 
 willingly and joyfully part with the material and perishing 
 for the spiritual and everlasting ornaments of thy divine 
 splendour."* And such was their liberality and zeal, that 
 Moses was obliged to make a proclamation through the 
 camp to restrain their extraordinary liberality, for there was 
 already more than was needed. And such, too, was the 
 unparalleled activity of all, both men and women, who could 
 spin, or engrave, or embroider, or aid in the work in any 
 way, that the construction of the tabernacle, and the prepa- 
 ration of all its utensils, were finished in an astonishingly 
 short time.-j- So that, on the first day of the first month of 
 
 * We invite the reader to compare Exod. xxxiii. 4 with xxxv. 22, 
 and then return again to xxxiii. 5, *' Therefore now, put off thy orna- 
 ments from thee, and I know (not, ' that I may know') what to make 
 for thee," ^.e,, golden censers for offering incense, an ark with a mercy 
 seat, an ephod with Urim and Thummim, by which he should give his 
 orders unto them, and lead them in the right way ; and how willingly 
 they entered into that proposal to change ornaments of the body into 
 ornaments of the soul ! To this change of the Bride's ornaments, David 
 may refer in Ps. xlv., when, in verse 9, he said, *' The consort is placed 
 at thy right hand, adorned with the gold of Ophir," and in v. 13, " all 
 the glories of the king's daughter," i.e., all the good qualities of the 
 Bride "are" (or "must be") "within," or spiritual qualities of the 
 heart and soul, " which are more precious than her gold-embroidered 
 robe," i.e., these spiritual graces and qualities of the Bride are more 
 precious to God than all the gold of Ophir— than all the world's richly 
 embroidered robes and ornaments (see the Author's work on the Psalms 
 in loco.) 
 
 t It was in the night of the 14th to the 15th day of the first month, 
 called Nissan, that Israel left Egypt, and on the same day of the third 
 month they came into the wilderness of Sinai (Exod. xix. 1.) Their 
 travelling to the mountain of God, the repose they must have taken, 
 their three days of preparation for the solemnities (v. 15, 16), and the 
 six days that passed before the Lord called Moses into the cloud (xxiv, 
 16), must have occupied at least the other half of the third month. 
 Then began the first forty days of Moses' stay on the mount, at the end 
 of which he came to Israel's camp, and found the golden calf in the 
 midst of them. We can scarcely assign to the events recorded in chap- 
 ters xxxii. and xxxiii. less than another forty days, during which Israel 
 had time to consider their crime and repent. After this Moses remained 
 other forty days on the mountain before he came down with the second 
 tables of the law, and a renewed order for building the tabernacle, so 
 that the building of the tabernacle could not have begun earlier than 
 towards the beginning of the eiehth month. It was finished at the end 
 of that year. Josephus, in his Antiq., chap. viii. 4, assigns seven 
 months for the work, but he forgot the second forty days of Moses' stay 
 on the mount, and in order to conceal the golden calf, made many false 
 calculations of time. 
 
CHAPTEU I. 13, 14. 93 
 
 the second year from their departure out of Egypt, Israel 
 had the inconceivable joy of seeing not only the tabernacle 
 erected, and its altar set up, and all its sacred vessels pre- 
 pared, but also '' a cloud covering the tent of the Congrega- 
 tion (from without), and the glory of the Lord filling the 
 tabernacle" (within.) " And Moses was not able to enter 
 into the tent of the Congregation, because the cloud abode 
 thereon, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle." 
 (Exod. xl. 34, 35.) Israel saw then the promise of the 
 Lord fulfilled, saying, " And there will I meet with the 
 children of Israel, and they shall be sanctified by my glory. 
 . . And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and 
 will be their God. . . And there I will meet with thee, 
 and I will commune with thee from above the mercy-seat, 
 from between the two cherubim, which are upon the ark of 
 the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in com- 
 mandment unto the children of Israel." (Ex. xxix. 43, 45, 
 XXV. 22.) Hence Solomon makes the Bride farther say : 
 
 13. A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me : 
 Between my breasts he will abide * 
 
 14. As a cluster of cypress-flowers 
 In the vineyards of En-gedi,f ' 
 So is my beloved to me. 
 
 * y''^-' (Yalin) means here " abide " or " dwell," and it has the same 
 
 signification in the following passages, Ruth i. 16 ; Job xvii. 2, xix. 4, 
 xli. 13 or 22; Ps. xxv. 13, xlix. 13; Prov, xv. 31 ; Is. i. 21, &c., &c. 
 Whenever it is intended to denote only a night's stay, it is either 
 accompanied with the N. nV"^? (Lailah) "night," as Gen. xxxii. 13, 
 
 21 ; Num. xxii. 8 ; Josh. iv. 3, viii. 9 ; Ruth iii. 13, &c., or it is clearly 
 implied by the context, as Gen. xix. 2, xxiv. 54, xxviii. 11. xxxi. 54 ; 
 Exod. xxiii. 18, xxxiv. 25; Deut. xxi. 23; Josh. vi. 11 ; Judg. xix. 4, 
 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, 15, 20, xx. 4 ; 2 Sam. xvii. 8 ; Jer. xiv. 8 ; &c., &c. 
 It is thus certain that in the above verse it cannot signify " lie over 
 night," as it has been erroneously rendered, but must mean " abide or 
 dwell " permanently, as it refers to the abiding of the Shechinah 
 between the Cherubim. — See Exposition. 
 
 t -?b (Kopher) and in plur. B-'-tS (Kepharim) as chap. iv. 13, denotes 
 
 the Cypress plant, called in arabic El-Henna, which produces white 
 and odoriferous flowers, shaped like clusters of grapes. It was called 
 Kopher, from "cover," because the eastern ladies made a solution 
 with its leaves and flowers, and coloured with it parts of their body. 
 Even now the Arabian women use its pulverised leaves and flowers to 
 tinge with it (when dissolved) their hair, brows, lips, and hands, which 
 gives them a safi"rou-like colour. It seems that the vineyards of 
 
94 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 In verse 12 the Bride lamented that while Moses was 
 forty days with her Lord on Mount Sinai her spikenard had 
 lost its fragrance ; in other Avords, that on that occasion her 
 faith and patience had failed and were lost, but seeing now 
 that, notwithstanding all her past shortcomings, her beloved 
 Lord came to dwell between the cherubim in the sanctuary 
 which she prepared for him, she says, " True, my bundle 
 of spices has lost its fragrance, but what if my Lord chooses 
 still to dwell with me! True, my own merit is lost, but 
 what a glorious privilege is that still bestowed on me ! 
 True, I have reason to mourn for having provoked such a 
 great King and gracious God, but how much more reason to 
 rejoice in seeing that, notwithstanding all my sins and im- 
 perfections, he graciousl}'- condescends to make his presence 
 dwell in the midst of us !" 
 
 The figure employed in these two verses is not less 
 splendid and beautiful than its spiritual substance. In the 
 East the brides as well as the bridegrooms used much precious 
 ointments on the days of their espousals, and carried also 
 in their bosoms, within their loose upper garments, small 
 bundles of odoriferous flowers and spices, as the African 
 women do to this day, who wear such bundles in their 
 bosom, and suspended by a silk thread on their necks. The 
 Bride in our Song is supposed to have been provided with 
 a bundle of spikenard, with which she intended to regale 
 her Bridegroom when he entered the banquetting house or 
 saloon, where the guests and the Bride await him, and 
 approached to salute her according to custom. But unfor- 
 tunately the Bridegroom being detained a long time in 
 another chamber by one of the guests, the Bride's precious 
 bundle of spikenard yielded all its fragrance and became 
 useless. While she is greatly troubled at that untoward 
 occurrence, and afraid lest the Bridegroom on coming to her 
 would be displeased, and consider himself insulted and 
 slighted. He of whom David said, " All thy garments smell 
 of myrrh and aloes" enters the room, approaches her, assures 
 her of his unaltered and sincere love and affection, and sits 
 
 En-gedi, (a city of Judah situated towards the western shore of the 
 Dead Sea,) were, in the days of Solomon, famous for the production of 
 this precious plant, which is a native of India and Egypt. From 
 Egypt it was probably brought in presents to Solomon, who planted it 
 at En-gedi. 
 
CHAPTER I. 13, 14. 95 
 
 kltnxn beside her. She thus doubly triumphs over her loss; 
 [i'or not only had none of the sad consequences she feared 
 ifoUowed, but it is more than supplied by the delicious odours, 
 bv the all-pervadin<j^ fragrance, of the Bridegroom's oint- 
 jiiients and spices, which so fill the room that none of the 
 guests could have the least idea that her bundle of spikenard 
 aad lost its fragrance. So also the Bride doubly rejoices, 
 1st, in having escaped the sad and dreaded consequences of 
 ler loss, and 2d, in the all-sufficiency of her beloved Bride- 
 groom. At the same time the whole event serves greatly to 
 ncrease her love and gratitude to her Bridegroom, seeing 
 die had nothing to recommend her to him, and that he had 
 low become to her all in all. Israel had lost faith, patience, 
 md hope while Mo-es absented himself during forty days, 
 md had no visible sign of the Lord's presence, as during 
 he days of Sinai. This she discovered, and mourned and 
 amented that her bundle of spikenard had lost its fragrance. 
 But when she saw tlie wonderful patience, long-sutfering, 
 ove, and divine compassion of her God, and that her 
 Covenant Angel came after all to dwell in the midst of her 
 ;amp, she is overwhelmed with astonishment at the loving 
 ndness with which she was treated, and enthusiastically 
 exclaims, " True, my bundle of spikenard has lost its odour, 
 ny merit is gone, my patience has failed, and my faith has 
 suffered shipwreck, but ' what manner of love !' Is not 
 le, who loves me after all my faults, all sufficient ! Why 
 u't thou downcast, my soul ? nnd why art thou disquieted 
 vithin me ? Hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise him 
 vho is the health of my countenance and my God."* 
 ' When my flesh and my heart faileth, God is the strength 
 )f my heart and my portion for ever."-|- " He hath not 
 jeheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness 
 n Israel : the Lord his God is with him, and the shout 
 proclamation of the presence) of a king is among them.:|:" 
 * The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my 
 !alvation."§ " So foolish was I and ignorant ; I was as a 
 )east before thee. Nevertheless I am continually with thee 
 i.e., for thou art continually with me) ; thou hast taken me 
 )y my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, 
 nd afterward receive me to glory." || 
 
 *Ps. xlii. 11. t'P^- Ixxiii 26. J Num. xxiii. 21. 
 ^ Ps. cxviii. 14. II Ps. Ixiii. 22—24. 
 
96 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 This was exactly what the gracious God desired to see 
 in the heart and disposition of Israel, his inexperienced 
 Bride — he wanted to see her stripped of all imagined merit, 
 of all self-righteousness and self-esteem, and place all merit 
 and all confidence in his righteousness, in his love, and in 
 his guidance. When, therefore, he heard her humble con- 
 fession and affectionate declaration renouncing all on her 
 side, and putting all her trust and delight in him, he said — 
 
 THE LORD. 
 
 15. Behold thou art beautiful, my love (or beloved companion) — 
 Behold thou art beautiful, thine eyes are like doves. 
 
 Simon bar Jonah became Peter, the rock on which the 
 Lord Jesus built his Church, not on himself, nor by himself ; 
 for, like all others, he was a poor and helpless sinner, 
 needing salvation by free grace ; but it was on his confession 
 and declaration that Jesus was the Son of God — a confession 
 which not flesh and blood, but the Holy Spirit enabled him 
 to make. So the ancient Church of God became a beloved 
 companion, full of beauty and attractive grace in the sight 
 of God the moment she was convinced of her own unwor- 
 thiness and of the goodness, compassion, and unchangeable 
 love of her God and maker. The moment she made 
 a corresponding confession her divine lover exclaimed, 
 " Behold, thou art beautiful, my beloved companion," 
 /.i'.. Now that thou beholdest thyself in the right mirror, 
 now that thou acknowledgest thy own unworthiness and my 
 righteousness, thy weakness and my power, thy backsliding 
 and my faithfulness, thy defects and my all-sufficiency, thou 
 art become beautiful, and art worthy of my love and com- 
 pany. " Behold, thou art beautiful, with eyes like doves" 
 (or " with dove's eyes") ?.e., herein lies thy beauty, that 
 thou art faithful and submissive, and that thine eye is 
 single — herein consists thy value, that thou ceasest to look 
 to or to confide in thyself, and that thou lookest to me for 
 everything — herein lies thy attractiveness, in that thou art 
 harmless like a dove. In the Hebrew of this verse there is 
 no word for the comparative "like," but only ^T'^mT? 
 (Eynayich Youim) "thine c}es doves," but it is easy to see 
 
CHAPTER I. 15. 97 
 
 from the relation of the context that the phrase "Behold 
 thou art beautiful" is closely connected with the phrase 
 "thine eyes are doves," and that the meaning must be that 
 her beauty thus praised consisted in this, that she had single 
 eyes like doves, which her confession proved her to have. 
 Hence the repetition of the phrase, " Behold thou art beau- 
 tiful," as referring to her eyes possessing the qualities of 
 doves. An acquaintance with the nature and habits of that 
 beautiful creature, its modesty, simplicity, humility, attach- 
 ment, loveliness, cleanliness, liarmlessness, and faithfulness 
 to its mate, will show why it is employed in Scripture as an 
 example to man. The conditions on which the Lord espoused 
 Israel as a peculiar nation unto him may be seen in the 
 following words, " Ye shall w^alk after the Lord your God, 
 and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his 
 voice, and ye shall serve Ilim and cleave unto Him" (Deut. 
 xiii. 4.) And in the promise, " Now therefore, if ye will obey 
 my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a 
 peculiar treasure unto me above all people ; for all the earth 
 is mine ; and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests and 
 holy nation" (Ex. xix. 5, 6.) Glorious conditions indeed, 
 but to accomplish them Israel needed not only a thorough 
 knowledge of God and his law and will, but a thorough know- 
 ledge of themselves, and the attainment of the latter is the 
 more difficult of the two, for the most of those that " perish 
 for lack of knowledge" do so, not because they are ignorant 
 that God is great and merciful, but because they know not, 
 or refuse to know, that they are sinful, helpless, and raiser- 
 able. This is the reason w^hy that humble confession of 
 Israel was so much valued and praised by God, and why 
 Moses so often tried to humble Israel by showing them their 
 un worthiness and Jehovah's mercy (Deut. ix. 4 — 29), and 
 why he said to them, " Who fed thee in the wilderness with 
 manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble 
 thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy 
 latter end" (Deut. viii. 16.) If a sinner's salvation is built 
 up by faith, humility must be the cement of the building, or 
 else it will fall to ruins. The Bride, therefore, having received 
 8uch a flattering and encouraging testimony because of her 
 humble confession, immediately responds to it, saying : 
 
98 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 THE CHURCH. 
 
 16. Behold thou art beautiful, my beloved^ 
 Thou art very sweet, 
 
 Our pavilion also is very pleasant."* 
 
 17. The beams of our house are cedars, 
 Our rafters are firs. 
 
 Precious as is the soul of a repenting sinner to the com- 
 passionate God, beautiful as is in His sight His dearly pur- 
 chased Church, still the greater progress the latter makes 
 in experience, in knowledge, and in grace, the humbler she 
 becomes ; and the greater praise she receives from her God 
 and Redeemer for her faithfulness, devotedness, and humble 
 prayers, the more she is forced to saj, " Not unto us, O 
 Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy 
 mercy and for thy faithfulness,"-]- " Gracious is the Lord, 
 and righteous, yea, our God is merciful. The Lord pre- 
 serveth the simple : I was brought low, and he helped me. 
 Return unto thy rest, my soul, for the Lord hath dealt 
 
 * '■V^y (Eress) never signifies " bed," in any sense of the word, 
 
 as it is usually, but incorrectly rendered, but always "pavilion," or 
 "palanquin," and was a sort of couch of ease with four pillars and 
 cover to shelter from the sun when in the open court, used by great men, 
 princes, and kings, who alone could enjoy that convenience either when 
 oppressed with fatigue or when a little indisposed ; and only during 
 the day. (See Amos iii. 12, vi. 4, where 'c^v and 'n^^'o [mittah] are both 
 
 described as such, and used by luxuriant persons during and after their 
 repasts.) This pavilion was usually provided with rich carpets and 
 tapestries, according to the eastern luxuries. It being exclusively used 
 by day, hence it is placed in the following passages in contradistinction 
 to ns'rtt (mishkab), "night couch," Job vii. 13, Ps. xli. 3; and no 
 
 less evidently Ps. cxxxii. 3 and Prov. vii. 16, refer to that rich sort of 
 covered couch or pavilion used for luxurious ease by day, and not as a 
 bed by night. The word has the same signification in Deut. iii. 11, 
 and the dimensions of its breadth is easily explained ; for gigantic Og, 
 whenever tired with his Nimrodian exploits, reposed himself in it, and 
 his queen sat beside him. Though the adj. iJj^n (Raanan) is often ap- 
 plied to a tree, and denotes its flourishing vigour, the riches of its 
 branches and leaves, as Deut. xii. 2, Ps xxxvii. 35, Iii. 8, &c., it also 
 signifies " pleasant, agreeable," as Ps. xcii. 10, " I was anointed with 
 fragrant or ' pleasant' oil." See the author's exposition of that Psalm. 
 t Ps. cxv. 1. 
 
CHAPTER I. 16, 17. 99 
 
 bountifully with thee T will walk before the 
 
 Lord in the land of the living."* The humiliation of the 
 Church, and the important confession made by her in verses 
 12 — 14, elicited the Lord's eulogium, " Behold, thou art 
 beautiful, my beloved companion ;" but the very humili- 
 ation that procured the approbation of the Lord, made the 
 modest and humble Church exclaim again, " Not I, God, 
 but thou art full of beauty and attractive glory, worthy of 
 the most ardent love ; and of the highest praise ; for ' thou 
 art very sweet/ and full of tender mercy and divine com- 
 passion — and, therefore, our pavilion, thy sanctuary into 
 which thou hast graciously invited me to come, and regard- 
 ing which thou hast said, ' And there will I meet with the 
 children of Israel, and they shall be sanctified by my 
 glory "-j- — is very pleasant and very precious to me. " How 
 amiable are thy tabernacles, Lord of Hosts ! my soul 
 longeth, yea, even fainteth, for the courts of the Lord, ray 
 
 heart and my flesh cry out for the living God 
 
 Blessed are they that dwell in thy house ; they shall con- 
 tinue to praise thee for ever."J In the last verse the figure 
 speaks of the strength and preciousness of the wood of 
 which the tabernacle was constructed, as being cedar § and 
 fir, and not liable to corruption ; and the meaning of it is 
 that the Church rejoiced in the hope that she would always 
 enjoy that blessed communion with her God, and dwell with 
 him in His sanctuary for ever. " Surely goodness and 
 mercy shall follow me all the days of my life ; and I will 
 
 * Ps. cxvi. 6-9. 
 
 t Exod. xxix. 44. J Ps. Ixxxiv. 1, 2—4 
 
 § Though according to Exod. xxvi. 15— 30, the boards of the taber- 
 nacle were to be of Shittim icood, the fifty-six pillars for the outer 
 court, &c , described in chap, xxvii., might have been of cedar and fir. 
 Nor do we know exactly at present what that Shittim wood was ; if 
 not a sort of cedar, though not from Lebanon. (See Is. xli. 19, where 
 t^K (cedar) and T'S3 (Shittah) go together as if the same sort of tree.) 
 
 But we must remember above all, that Solomon in this Song took his 
 figures from things, customs, and scenery peculiar to his country and 
 time. So in verse 14 he makes the Church in the wilderness allude to 
 the cypress flowers of the vineyards of Engedi, probably only planted 
 by himself; and so he may describe the tabernacle as having its beams 
 and rafters (or pillars) of cedars and firs ; for such and greater allow- 
 ances still must be made for poetical figures. But, as was remarked 
 above, cedar and fir might really have entered into the building of the 
 tabernacle for all we know of it ; or the Shittim wood might have been 
 occasionally called cedar, though not of Lebanon. 
 
 E 2 
 
100 THE SONG OF SOLOAIOX. 
 
 dwell in the house of the Lord for ever."* '* For in the 
 time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion : in the 
 secret places of his tabernacle shall he hide me : he shall 
 set me upon a rock."f 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Argument of the First Seven Verses of Chap. II. which belono 
 TO THE First Part of the Song. 
 
 (V. 1.) The Bride humbly acknowledges that she was chosen by grace, 
 and not because of her merits. (V. 2.) The Lord compares his Bride 
 to a lily surrounded with thorns, so is she with enemies. (Vv. 3, 4.) 
 The Church of God in the wilderness is brought into the sanctuary 
 (the tabernacle) and expresses her delight. (V. 5.) She is overwhelmed 
 by the manifestation of the Lord's glory and calls for support. (V. 6.) 
 She receives it from the Lord, and is refreshed and strengthened. (V. 
 7) The Church, jealous lest other nations, attracted by her glory (in 
 the Lord her Bridegroom), should try to supplant her love and become 
 her rivals, conjures them not to disturb her love till it become ripe. 
 
 THE CHURCH. ' 
 
 1. I am like the rose of Sharon, 
 Like the lily of the valleys. 
 
 "i"J (Sharon) means " a plain," any considerable tract of 
 level land, situated in a valley, or on elevated ground as 
 table-land, whether it be fertile or sandy soil, rich in pastures 
 or the reverse. The Sharon, or plain situated between 
 Mount Tabor and the Lake of Tiberias, happened to be rich 
 in pastures (see 1 Chron. xxvii. 29 ; Is. xxxiii. 9, xxxv. 2, 
 Ixv. 10) ; but this was not the reason of its being called 
 Sharon ; for it would have been so called from its situation 
 and character, although it had not produced a single blade 
 of grass. It is evident that there were more than one Sharon 
 in the land of Israel ; for whereas the great Sharon was be- 
 yond Jordan in the land of Gilead and Bashan, which was 
 conquered by Moses and divided among the two and a half 
 tribe (see 1 Chron. v. 16, the Gadites dwelt in Gilead, in 
 Bashan, and the suburbs of Sharon : of the large plain or 
 
 * Ps. xxiii 6. t Ps xxvii. 5, 
 
CHAPTER II. 1. 101 
 
 plains), Joshua conquered and killed a king of Sharon on 
 the other side of Jordan (see Josh. xii. 18.) Moreover 
 Sharon must be a collective noun for plains of a certain form 
 and situation, just as Carmel signified fertile mountains cover- 
 ed with vineyards. Now the Mount Carmel of the prophets 
 Elijah and Elisha, or rather the mountainous chain, extend- 
 ing from the plain Esdraelon to the borders of the great sea, 
 was in the territory of the half tribe of Manasseh, while the 
 tribe of Judah had also a Carmel in their lot (see Josh. xv. 
 55), where Nabal had his possessions and pastures (see I 
 Sam. XXV. 2), and where King Saul set up the trophy of his 
 victory over Amalek (1 Sam. xv. 12.) Both these Carmels, 
 or fertile mountains covered with vineyards, had their 
 plains or Sharons at the foot of them which were rich in 
 pastures as the mountains were rich in vineyards (see Mich, 
 iii. 14.) Hence the prophet Isaiah joins them together, 
 saying, " the excellenc}'- of Carmel and Sharon" (Is. xxxv. 
 2.) But a plain, although fertile and proper for the pasture 
 of herds and flocks, is certainly not the most suitable place 
 for roses and lilies, unless when wild and growing here and 
 there ; and even then they must be exposed to the tread 
 of cattle, and to the mischievous gambols of rams and 
 goatfi. It is therefore a mere fancy to suppose that the 
 Sharon of Judea must have been eminent for beautiful roses, 
 remarkable for colour and fragrance — a fancy built upon a mis- 
 understood passage, and a mistaken Sharon, for in our verse 
 there is no allusion to any particular Sharon, and it must in- 
 deed be taken in a sense quite opposite from that which 
 they force upon it. But besides this radical mistake about 
 the Sharon, and the sense of the phrase, into which some 
 expositors have fallen, we must remark that while we find 
 mutual praises and endearments frequently exchanged be- 
 tween Bridegroom and Bride, we do not find an instance of 
 either of them praising themselv^es ; and to suppose such a 
 deviation here from usage and good taste, is the height of 
 absurdity. 
 
 The Church in the wilderness, recentl}' humbled, but 
 again restored to divine favour, heard with great astonish- 
 ment her Lord declare, " Behold, thou art beautiful, my 
 love" (or, beloved companion), but she soon returned those 
 compliments to Him to whom alone they are due, saying, in 
 her turn^ that it was He who is really beautiful and sweet, 
 
102 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 &c. And now she retakes her harp, and humbly adds, 
 with regard to herself, " I am like the rose of Sharon," a 
 green spot in a desert, a single rose in a vast plain, altogether 
 " like the lily of the valleys" — an isolated and wild lily in 
 the valleys. If, theref(jre, there be any beauty, any good 
 quality in me, it is in Thy sight ; for, " Blessed is the nation 
 whose God is the Lord ; the people whom he hath chosen 
 for his own inheritance."* Thou hast found me among 
 other wild plants and flowers, and hast chosen me as thy 
 rose and lily, though there was no beauty nor attractiveness 
 in me, therefore the whole glory and honour is thine. It is 
 thy love, thy goodness, thy free grace, that has made 
 me what I am, " In the Lord have I righteousness and 
 strength. "-{- Whilst in myself I am not better than others, I 
 have nothing to boast of, " My soul shall make her boast in 
 the Lord. "I To which her gracious Lord replies : 
 
 THE LORD. 
 
 2u As the lily among the thorns 
 
 So is my love (or beloved companion) among the 
 daughters. 
 
 Although thou seest no beauty in thyself, I see it — though 
 thou seest not the reason of my preferring thee to all other 
 nations, I know it. Thou art not a wild plant like all the 
 rest ; for thou art of the stock of Abraham, my friend, of 
 Isaac the son of the promise, and of Jacob, whom I loved ; 
 " I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness ; I saw your 
 fathers as the first ripe in the fig-tree at her first time."§ I 
 found thee in Egypt, surrounded with thorns, well nigh 
 destroyed by these cruel enemies, but I plucked thee out, as 
 a rose and a lily from the midst of them, and brought thee 
 hither. " When Israel was young I loved him ; and out of 
 Egypt I called forth my son."j| Thou art still surrounded 
 by thorns, by mighty enemies who threaten thy existence, 
 but remember that thou art my lily, " I will draw thee with 
 the cords of man, with the bands of love,"^ and while I 
 shall protect thee as ray lovely lily, I shall treat thine 
 enemies as thorns. The substance of this verse we find in 
 
 * Ps. xxxiii. 12. t Is- xlv. 24. X Ps. xxxiv. 2. 
 
 ^ Hos. ix. 10. II Hos.xi. 1. m Hos. xi. 4. 
 
CHAPTER II. 3 108 
 
 the following passage, " But thou, Israel, art my servant, 
 Jacob, whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham, my 
 friend. Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the 
 earth . . . and said unto thee, Thou art my servant, 
 I have chosen thee and will not cast thee away. Fear thou 
 not ; for I am with thee ... I will strengthen thee, 
 yea, I will help thee, yea, I will uphold thee with the right 
 hand of my righteousness. Behold, all they that are incensed 
 against thee shall be ashamed and confounded . . . and 
 they that strive with thee shall perish . . . for I am 
 Jehovah, thy God, who holdeth thee by thy right hand, 
 saying unto thee. Fear not, I will help thee."* 
 
 THE CHURCH. 
 
 3. As the citron-tree among the trees of the wood,t 
 So is my beloved among the sons ; 
 Under His shade I dehght to sit down (or dwell) 
 And His fruit is sweet to my palate. 
 
 The Church of God in the wilderness, having been com- 
 pared by the Lord himself to a lily surrounded with thorns, 
 remembering who her Lord and protector was, and what 
 marvellous proofs of his protecting love he had already 
 manifested towards her, takes courage, and says, as it were, 
 *' True, I have many enemies, but I have also an almighty 
 defender— true, I am hated and persecuted by all other 
 nations, but I have a sure refuge, an impregnable fortress 
 — true, I have to traverse the w^ilderness under a scorching 
 sun, and fight hard at every step ; and were I during this 
 hard struggle to seek shade and shelter under the branches 
 of any tree of this world, under any earthly prince or nation, 
 I would only obtain a momentary shade from the fading 
 leaves, and then starve with hunger and faint from exhaus- 
 tion ; but I have found in the Lord a beautiful citron-tree, 
 delightful for its shade, and richly laden with generous and 
 
 * Is. xli 8-13. 
 
 t See Parkhurst's Hebrew Lexicon under T,t.i, vu., where it is judici- 
 ously and satisfactorily proved that ni-n (Tapuach) means the citron- 
 tree, and so we render it in all the passages where it occurs in this 
 Song. 
 
104 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 refreshing fruit — I have found a raighty God— a generous 
 and loving benefactor, a sure refuge in time of trouble, a 
 rich source of support and consolation in days of affliction, 
 what matter is it then to me that I am surrounded with 
 thorns ! " The Lord is for me, I will not fear : what can 
 man do unto me ? . . . . It is better to trust in the 
 Lord than to put confidence in princes. All nations com* 
 passed me about, but in the name of the Lord will I destroy 
 them. . . . The Lord is ray strength and glory ; he 
 .is become my salvation."* 
 
 But as we have remarked above, the Song at this stage 
 celebrates that happy period when the tabernacle, with all 
 its utensils, was finished and erected at the foot of Mount 
 Sinai ; when the pillar of cloud in which the Angel of the 
 Covenantdwelt, and which had remained, since Israel's sin, by 
 the temporary tent erected at some distance from the camp, 
 now covered the tabernacle above, while the glory of the Lord 
 filled it within ; then, assuredly, could Israel say that the Lord 
 was like a beautiful citron tree unto her, under whose shade 
 she sat down, and in whose fruit she delighted. Or in the 
 language of David, "I will abide in thy tabernacle for 
 ever ; I will take refuge under the covert of thy wings."-|- 
 '' To see thy power and thy glory, as I have seen thee 
 
 in the sanctuary M}^ soul shall be satisfied 
 
 as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise thee 
 with joyful lips " (or, with the lips of nightingales.^ This 
 language we find in her mouth in the following verse. 
 
 4. He brought me into the banqueting house, 
 And His banner over me is love. 
 
 When Moses had finished the erection, the anointing, and 
 the sanctification of the tabernacle, and the altar for sacri- 
 fice, and all their sacred instruments and vessel^, then began 
 the celebration of the solemn feast of dedication. During 
 the first seven days, the Priests and Levites were con- 
 secrated to their holy offices by sacrifices, lustrations, 
 sprinkling of blood, and by being anointed with the holy 
 ointment prepared for that purpose (see Lev. viii.) The 
 8th day was the feast of Israel in general, when the 
 
 * Ps. cxviii. 6—14. t Vs. Ixi. 4. J Ps. Ixiii. 2-5, 
 
CHAPTER 11. 4. 105 
 
 whole nation's sin-offerings, burnt and peace -offerinp:?, were 
 brought to the altar (see Lev. ix.). Then began the dedi- 
 cation feast of the twelve princes of the twelve tribes, which 
 lasted during the twelve successive days, in each of which 
 one of the princes presented himself before the tabernacle 
 with his banner (the colours and inscription of the name of 
 his tribe — see Num. ii.), accompanied b}^ the elders of the 
 families, judges, and officerd, as well as by the whole tribe, 
 and presented his gifts and sacrifices to be offered on the 
 «iltar, and there the prince and his tribe feasted on the peace- 
 offerings (see Num. vli.) But none of the twenty days of 
 dedication was so distinguished as the eighth, and none of the 
 sacrifices received such special tokens of gracious acceptance 
 as those offered for the whole nation, as we read in Lev. ix. 
 22 — 24, " And Aaron lifted up his hand towards the 
 people, and blessed them, and came down from offering of 
 the sin-offering, and the burnt-offering, and peace-offerings. 
 And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the con- 
 gregation, and came out, and blessed the people, and the 
 glory of the Lord appeared unto all the people. And there 
 came a fire out from before the Lord, and consumed upon 
 the altar the burnt-offering and the fat ; and when all the 
 people saw this, they shouted, and fell on their faces." 
 This was a glorious day for all Israel — such splendid tokens 
 of divine love were granted neither during the first seven 
 days when the priests and Levites were consecrated, nor 
 during the twelve daj^s, when each prince of a tribe under 
 his special banner had his sacrificial feast day. But this 
 great display of celestial splendour was confined to the eighth 
 day, in which all Israel collectively were presented at the 
 altar and sanctuar3^ Then the invisible Prince of all the tribe« 
 displayed his own glorious banner in fire from heaven, 
 in light, majesty, and love. It is to this event w'e understand 
 the Church of God refers in the Song when she says :— 
 "He brought me into the banqueting house." He brought 
 all Israel to the sanctuarj^ to offer sacrifices of reconciliation 
 and joy — " And his banner over me was and is love." In 
 the Hebrew text the noun " Love " is not qualified by anr 
 tense, but is literall}^, " And his banner over me ! love !" 
 as if exclaimed in ecstacy, " what manner of love !" 
 what a glorious banner is that of our chief and divine Prince ! 
 It is not like the perishing banners of our earthlv princes ; 
 
 E 3 
 
106 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 his is love everlasting, condescending, disinterested, and 
 divine. " How excellent is thy loving-kinkness, God I 
 therefore the children of men put their trust under the 
 shadow of thy wings. They shall be abundantly satisfied 
 with the fatness of thy house ; and thou shalt make them 
 drink of the rivers of thy pleasures. For with thee is the 
 fountain of life, in thy light we shall see light."* 
 
 Now in the above quoted passage of Lev. ix. 22 — 14, we 
 have seen that, when all of a sudden the glory of the Lord 
 filled the sanctuary, and the fire from heaven came down 
 upon the altar to consume the sacrifices, the people were so 
 overwhelmed by that extraordinary manifestation of the 
 Lord's glory and love, that they shouted and fell on their 
 faces. This scene Solomon exhibits in a poetical form, and 
 represents the Bride as if overpowered by tiie marvellous 
 manifestation of her Bridegroom's majesty and love, falling 
 into a swoon, and, while yet in a fainting state, exclaiming, 
 
 2. ! support me with cordials ! 
 Strengthen me with citrons ! 
 For I languish with love (or, am faint from love). 
 
 But the fainting Bride, thus overpowered by the unex- 
 pected and overwhelming manifestation of her Bridegroom's 
 love, is soon graciously supported, refreshed, and restored ; 
 and when she awakens, she finds herself in the mighty but 
 tender arms of her Beloved, and lifting, as it were, her eyes 
 towards Him, she says : — 
 
 6. His left hand is under my head, 
 And His right embraceth me. 
 
 The beauty of this whole passage is so striking, its figures 
 so expres jive, and its sentiments so clear, that, having once 
 indicated the event in Israel's history to which it refers — 
 that before Mount Sinai — we have not much to add in the 
 way of comment or illustration, but to recommend it to the 
 reader's serious meditation, and silent admiration. But one 
 remark with regard to the figure employed in this verse. 
 When the overwhelmed Israelites arose from the swoon 
 
 * Ps. xxxvi. 7—9. 
 
CHAPTER II. 6. 107 
 
 produced by the extraordinary manifestation of Divine love, 
 when the revived Bride lifted up her eyes again after having 
 fallen fainting on her face, she saw that the glory of her 
 Beloved still filled the sanctuary, that the bright cloud still 
 rested upon the tabernacle, and that the pillar of cloud still 
 surrounded her camp by day, and was a pillar of brilliant 
 fire by night. The figure, " His left hand is under my 
 head," indicates the pillar of cloud which surrounded the 
 camp, "And his right hand embraceth me," his glory in 
 and upon the sanctuary. Thus Moses in his last song said, 
 " For the Lord's portion is his people, Jacob is the lot of 
 his inheritance. He found him in a desert land, and in the 
 waste howling wilderness. He compassed him about, he 
 instructed him ; he kept him as the apple of his eye. As 
 the eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, 
 spreadeth out her wings, taketh them and beareth them on 
 her wings ; so the Lord alone did lead him, and there was 
 no strange God with him."* 
 
 One of the spiritual sentiments contained in verses 5 and 
 6 was beautifully and elegantly expressed by the sweet 
 singer of Israel," when he said to the Lord, " My soul 
 folio weth hard after thee, thy right hand upholdeth me."f 
 Again, " Thou hast given me the shield of thy salvation, 
 and with thy right hand thou hast supported me, and thy 
 gentleness hath made me great" (or, '' and thy meekness 
 hath exalted me.") J 
 
 The covenant which the Lord made with Israel at Mount 
 Sinai had already, before the above-mentioned event, been 
 confirmed by the blood of sacrifices offered on a temporary 
 altar, immediately after the giving of the law (see Exod. 
 xxiv. 1 — 9). But that covenant was now confirmed anew, 
 and regularly ratified by the sacrifices offered on the per- 
 manent altar of the sanctuary. The Bride, after having 
 witnessed the love of God in such an extraordinary manner, 
 having feasted upon the peace-offerings of his altar, having 
 rejoiced before him during twenty days, and having been 
 able from experience to say with David, " Blessed is he 
 whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee ; 
 that he may dwell in thy courts : we shall be satisfied with 
 the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple, "§ 
 
 * Deut. xxxii. 9—12. t Ps Ixiii. 8. 
 
 + Ps. xviii. 35. i Ps. Ixv. 4. 
 
108 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 became apprehensive, as it were, lest any of the other nations, 
 envying her felicity, should become her rival, and thus 
 divide the love of her Lord. Solomon, therefore, makes her 
 in the following verse adjure all other nations not to disturb 
 her happiness before it is perfect. 
 
 7. I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, 
 By the roes, or by the hinds of the field, 
 If ye stir up, or if ye disturb this love, 
 Until it hath (or, shall) become complete.* 
 
 When Laban, warned by God, could do no harm to Jacob, 
 w^hom he overtook at the mountain of Gilead, he assumed at 
 once the appearance of a kind and affectionate father, and 
 requested his son-in-law to join in a covenant of eternal 
 friendship with him, and promise by an oath not to afflict 
 his daughters, or take other wives beside them. The 
 only witness taken on that occasion was an heap of 
 stones which the bystanders made on the stone which Jacob 
 first set up. This heap Jacob in Hebrew called Galed, 
 and Laban in Syriac called Yegar-Sahadutha, both names 
 signifying the same thing, viz., " The heap is a witness." 
 So Laban said, " This heap is a witness between me and thee 
 this day ;" again, " Behold this heap, and behold this pillar, 
 which 1 have cast between me and thee : This heap be 
 witness . . . that I will not pass over this heap to 
 thee (or that I will not trespass against thee in the covenant 
 which it witnessed to), and that thou shalt not pass over 
 this heap unto me, for harm " (Gen. xxxi. 46 — 54.) More- 
 over, though both parties had many friends present (it seems 
 from verses 37, 46, and 54 that some of Jacob's friends of 
 Padan-aram accompanied him, or having heard of his danger 
 from Laban had come to his aid), still Laban said, " There 
 is no man with us. Behold, God is witness betwixt me 
 
 * Or, " Until it shall have accomplished," i.e., before this love has 
 accomplished the matrimonial engagement, until the marriage be con- 
 summated ; for this was the yri-i (Chephetz), or chief object, or ultimate 
 
 result, of the mi (Ratson), of the desire expressed by that love. Ste 
 
 the Author's Translation and Exposition of the Psalms, pp. 429, where 
 the meaning of ytT, is largely explaiufrd, and shewn to signify not the 
 
 primary desire or wish of anything, but the ultimate object to be at- 
 tained by that wish or desire. 
 
CHAPTER. II. 7. 109 
 
 and thee," i.e.^ while those friends would soon disperse or 
 perhaps soon die, God would remain their witness in heaven, 
 and the heap of stones their witness on earth. So we read 
 that Joshua, when he renewed the covenant with Israel, 
 before his death, took a large stone and erected it under an 
 oak that was bv the sanctuary of the Lord, and said unto 
 Israel, " Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us ; for 
 it hath heard all the words of the Lord which he spake unto 
 us ; it shall be therefore a witness against you, lest ye deny 
 your God." (Josh. xxiv. 26, 27, couip chap, xxii.) 
 
 This mode of choosing a witness at the making of cove- 
 nants and taking solemn vows, was very common in the 
 East in ancient times. Nor did they confine themselves to 
 inanimate things!, as stones, trees, &c., but they often chose 
 as witnesses animals that happened to run by on the occa- 
 sion, with examples of which the Talmud abounds. It was 
 therefore quite natural and beautiful in a pastoral, like 
 Solomon's Song, to make the Bride adjure the daughters of 
 Jerusalem by roes and hinds of the field, as the colloquy is 
 presumed to have taken place in the country where some of 
 those timid animals would often make their appearance on 
 some of the neighbouring mountain cliffs. So much for the 
 figure. But as we know that the scene of the Song, at this 
 stage, was the wilderness of Sinai, nothing could be more 
 appropriately chosen by the Bride than these swift and 
 beautiful inhabitants of the desert as witnesses against the 
 daughters of Jerusalem in the event of their becoming her 
 rivals, and disturbing that love which now, more than ever, 
 was dear to her heart. Here we must remember the unspeak- 
 able value that Israel put on in the fact that she was the only 
 chosen nation of God* — that this exclusive privilege, by the 
 appointment of God, was to continue till the coming of Shiloh, 
 unto whom the nations were to gather — that the Lord him- 
 self fostered this religious jealousy in the hearts of Israel by 
 many addresses of Moses and the prophets — and that when- 
 ever they ceased to be jealous over these greatest of privileges 
 they immediately fell.-|- These things show us how natural 
 it was for Solomon to represent that jealousy by the figure 
 of the Bride, fearing least any others, through envy of her 
 
 * 2 Sara. vii. 23 ; Ps. c. 3, xcv. 7, cxlix. 
 
 t Lev. XX. 24; Deut. iv. 23, vii. 6, xiv. 2, xxxiii. 29; Is. xliii. 21, 
 xliv. 21—24, &c., &c. 
 
 2 
 
1 10 THE SONG OP SOLOMON. 
 
 glory and happiness, should insinuate themselves into the 
 Bridegroom's love and favour, before the time appointed, 
 and conjuring them by the roes and hinds of the field not 
 to disturb that wonderful love, before it should be ripened, 
 that is, before it should be confirmed and sealed by the very 
 blood of the Bridegroom, when the veil should be torn and 
 the wall of partition for ever demolished, and all nationality 
 in regard to the kingdom of heaven cease ; as we shall see 
 touchingly foretold in the eighth chapter of this Song. 
 
 With this passage the first part of the Song ends. The 
 Covenant made with Israel at Sinai having been thus finally 
 confirmed, and the love of God to his chosen people mani- 
 fested in such a wonderful manner, and the Bride being not 
 only decided to remain faithful, but jealous of her glory and 
 happiness, having conjured the daughters of Jerusalem not 
 to disturb that love — a new period and new events will now 
 begin to be celebrated. The second part begins with the 
 eighth verse of the second and ends with the fifth verse of 
 the third chapter, with a new manifestation of the Bride- 
 groom's glory and love in Solomon's temple on Mount Sinai, 
 with the same ratification of the Covenant, with the same 
 jealousy of the Bride, and with the same adjuration. 
 
( 111 
 
 PART II. 
 
 Argument. 
 
 (Vv. 8, 9.) Graphic descriptions of the manifestations of the Angel 
 in the pillar of cloud, and that pillar l^adin^ Israel in their journeys. 
 Here the dark peiiod of the loiig winter night is leaped over, and vv. 
 10 — 13 contain the Lord's orders and directions to Israel to rise and 
 cross the river Arnon, and begin to fight the opposing nations, first on 
 this side and then beyond Jordan. (V. 14=) The Lord reminds Israel 
 his Bride, that whenever she should find herself in difficulties and hard 
 pressed by her enemies, whether on this side Jordan or beyond, she 
 should call on him in prayer and supplication, and that he will come to 
 her aid. (V. 15.) The Lord commands Israel to destroy the Canaanites, 
 and not make peace or intermingle with any of these idolatrous nations 
 who would defile her and destroy her garden. All this was, as it were, 
 the Lord's farewell address to his Bride before crossing the Jordan 
 when he was to he seen no more by her in the pillar of cloud, until 
 his re-appearance in Solomon's temple. To this the Bride replies in 
 verse 16, and in verse 17 she prays her beloved that he might be always 
 near her (though invisible) during her tight and struggles in the moun- 
 tains of Judea, until the night of war should be over, and he should 
 appear on Mount Zion again. 
 
 THE CHURCH. 
 
 8. The voice of my Beloved ! 
 Behold, it is He that cometh, 
 Leaping over the mountains, 
 Bounding over the hills — 
 
 9. My beloved is like a roe, or a young hart ; 
 Behold it is He who standeth behind our wall, 
 Looking through the windows. 
 
 Shining through the lattice. 
 
 This is a magnificent description of the varied movments, 
 the " leapings and boimdings," the disappearances and reap- 
 pearances of the bright pillar in which the Angel of the Cove- 
 nant dwelt. When Israel commenced their journey out of 
 Egypt it is recorded, ''And the Lord went before them by day 
 in a pillar of cloud, to lead them the way ; and by night in a 
 pillar of fire, to give them light, so that they might go day 
 
112 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 and night.* When the army of the Egyptians pursued them 
 hard, and nearly touched their rear guard, " The Angel of 
 God, which went before the host of Israel, removed and 
 went behind them, and the pillar rf cloud removed from 
 before their face, and stood behind them. And he (the 
 Angel in the cloud) came between the camp of the Egyp- 
 tians and the camp of I srael ; and there was the cloud and 
 the darkness (/.e., to the Egyptians) while it gave light 
 by night (unto Israel) ; so that the one came not near the 
 other all that night. -j- On entering the wilderness of Sin, 
 Israel murmured uhen remembering the flesh-pots of Egypt, 
 and called loudly for bread, and the Angel, on account of 
 their faithlessness, appears to have hid Himself for a time ; 
 for we read that w'hen Aaron came to announce to Israel 
 that the Lord would give tliera manna to eat, " And it came 
 to pass, as Aaron spoke unto the whole congregation of the 
 children of Israel, that they looked towards the wilderness, 
 and behold the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. "j 
 At Rephidim (or Meribah) Israel murmured again for want 
 of water, and the Lord hid iiimself for a while, but reap- 
 peared again at Horeb on the Rock (''and that Rock was 
 Christ"), from which when, smitten, there came forth water.§ 
 During the period of the giving of the Law, the x4.ngel in 
 the cloud resided on Sinai with far greater brightness and 
 splendour than before, and continued there during the twice 
 forty days of Moses' visits to that sacred mountain ; during 
 whicii the promise was made to him, that on the erection of 
 the sanctuary, the Angel in all His glory should abide in it, 
 between the Cherubim. [] During the time that intervened 
 between the two visits of Moses to Mount Sinai, and between 
 his second descent and the erection of the tabernacle, the 
 Angel in the cloud w^as hid, because of Israel's great sin ; 
 and only descended from time to time in front of the tem- 
 porary tent which ?\ loses had pitched far aw^ay from the 
 camp*[f (comp. our observations on that subject, pp. 45), 
 On the day in which the tabernacle was finisiied, and the 
 sanctuary, the altar, and all their sacred utensils erected and 
 arranged, all of a sudden, and, as it w^ere, with one leap, 
 
 * Exod. xiii. 21. f Exod. xiv. 19-20 X Exod. xvi 10. 
 
 6 Exod. xvii. 6. 
 
 H Exod. xix. 16-20, xxiv. 16—18, xxv. 8-22, xxix. 43. 
 
 H Exod. xxxiii. 7—11. 
 
CHAPTER II. 8, 9. 113 
 
 the marvellous cloud, and the blessed Angel in it, came and 
 covered, and filled the sanctuary, as we read, " Then the 
 loud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of 
 the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able 
 to enter into the tent of the congregation (or " of meeting," 
 i.e., where he met with God), because the cloud abode 
 thereon, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 
 And Avlien the cloud removed from over the tabernacle, the 
 children of Israel went onward in all their journeys. But 
 if the cloud removed not then they journeyed not till the 
 day that it was removed ; for the cloud of the Lord was on 
 the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the 
 sight of all the house of Israel in all their journeys."* But 
 it is evident that none of these extraordinary manifestations 
 of visible glory continued for any length of time, as Moses 
 and the priests soon afterwards entered to continue their 
 sacred services ; and though the cloud still abode on the 
 tabernacle, the unapproachable splendour was removed, and 
 hid in the cloud, and in the inner sanctuary within the veil. 
 It was the same on the eighth day of the dedication, when a 
 new and great display of the angel's divine majesty took 
 place on the occasion of the sacrifices offered for the whole 
 people, when the glory of the Lord appeared to the whole 
 people of Israel, and the fire from heaven descended on the 
 altar (Lev. ix. 6, 23, 24, comp. our observations pp. 105). 
 This was only for a short time, and soon disappeared, al- 
 lowing the priests to go on with the regular services, and 
 approach again to the altar. 
 
 The above manifestation of the divine glory in the sanc- 
 tuary, and the confirmation of the covenant by the fire from 
 heaven descending on the altar, took place on the eighth day 
 of the feast of dedication, which was also the eighth day 
 of the month Nissan, and a year all but one week after 
 Israel's exodus out of Egypt. That memorable day was 
 followed by the twelve days of the dedication feast for the 
 princes of the twelve tribes, and thus this continued to the 
 twentieth of Nissan, or the first month of the second year. 
 After that feast Israel still reniained one month quietly en- 
 camped at Mount Sinai, and the pillar of cloud rested on the 
 tabernacle. But a month after the feast of dedication, behold 
 the voice of the Beloved saying to his bride, Come and let us go 
 
 * Ex. xl. 34-38. 
 
114 
 
 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 hence ; for we read : " And it came to pass on the twentieth 
 day of the second month, in the second year, that the cloud 
 was taken up from off the tabernacle of the testimony. 
 And the children of Israel took their journeys out of the 
 wilderness of Sinai, and the cloud rested in the wilderness of 
 Paran."* That journey lasted only three days, as we read 
 farther: "and they departed from the Mount of the Lord 
 three days' journey ; and the Ark of the Covenant of the 
 Lord went before them in the three days' journey to search 
 out a resting place for them. And the cloud of the Lord 
 was upon them by day when they went out of the camp."-}- 
 A general and graphic account of these wonderful leadings 
 of his people Israel through the wilderness, and his com- 
 manding their journeys and encampments by the pillar of 
 cloud resting upon or removing from the tabernacle, is given 
 by Moses in the following words : " So it was alway ; the 
 cloud covered it (the tabernacle) by da^^, and the appear- 
 ance of fire by night. And when the cloud removed from 
 the tabernacle, then after that the children of Israel 
 journeyed ; and in the place where the cloud abode there 
 the children of Israel pitched their tents. At the command- 
 ment of the Lord the children of Israel journeyed, and at 
 the commandment of the Lord they camped ; as long as the 
 cloud abode on the tabernacle they rested in their tents. . 
 . . . And so it was when the cloud abode (only) from 
 even unto the morning, and the cloud removed in the morn- 
 ing, then they journeyed ; whether it was by day or by 
 night that the cloud removed, they journeyed. . . . 
 At the commandment of the Lord they rested in their tents, 
 and at the commandment of the Lord they journeyed ; they 
 kept the charge of the Lord, at the commandment of the 
 Lord by the hand of Moses. "J Now, be it observed, that 
 in all the above passages, where the common version reads : 
 *' at the commandment of the Lord," in the Hebrew text it 
 is " by the mouth of the Lord ;" for the pillar's resting 
 quietly on the tabernacle, or removing hence and marching 
 before them, leading them safely over mountains and hills, 
 and unknown and pathless tracts of desert, and soon bring- 
 ing them again to a secure place of encampment for recrea- 
 tion and repose, was in fact the Lord's voice indicating to 
 
 * Num. X. 11, 12. t Num. x. 33, 34. 
 
 + Num. ix. 16-23. 
 
CHAPTER, II. 8, 9. 115 
 
 Israel their course. And we have many reasons for sup- 
 posing that this wonderful and mysterious pillar of cloud, 
 which troubled and confounded the Egyptian army at the 
 Red Sea,* and from which, on Mount Sinai, emanated those 
 terrible voices, thunderings, and lightnings and mighty 
 sounds of trumpets, did also awake Israel's camp, and indi- 
 cate by sounding voices the Angel's command to start — yea, 
 we have many reasons for supposing that in marching before 
 the host of Israel the cloud sent forth voices like the sound 
 of mighty waters, thus breaking the monotony of a desert 
 journey, and driving away the terrified Arab hordes, as well 
 as the wild beasts in the neighbourhood. This fact we 
 think distinctly indicated in the following passage, " And 
 it came to pass, when the ark set forward that Moses said, 
 Rise up. Lord, and let thine enemies be scattered, and let 
 them that hate thee flee before thee."f Now the Levites 
 bearing the ark followed hard on the pillar of cloud, and 
 marched also before the host of Israel. And did not the 
 heathen prophet refer to these awful sounds which the pillar 
 of cloud, the Angel's habitation, sent forth, while marching 
 before His people, when he says of Israel : " The Lord his 
 God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them. 
 God Almighty brought them out of Egypt, the vibration 
 (or spread, or pealing)of his voice is likethat of an unicorn ?"j: 
 This is the meaning of J^^yVr (thoaphoth) vibratory voice, 
 spread or peal of voice, not " strength " as in the common 
 version. In allusion to it the Psalmist said : " The voice 
 of the Lord is powerful ; the voice of the Lord is full of 
 majesty. . . . The voice of the Lord makes (or made) 
 the wilderness tremble, yea the Lord maketh (or made) 
 tremble tlie wilderness of Kadesh."§ And Deborah in her 
 beautiful song said : " Lord, when thou wentest out of Seir, 
 when thou marchedst out of the field of Edom (i.e. Israel in 
 the wilderness encompassed Mount Seir for many years, 
 Deut. ii. 1, but were not to take it by the command of God, 
 vers. 4 — 6), the earth trembled, and the heavens dropped, 
 the clouds also dropped water. The mountains melted (or 
 rolled) from before the Lord, even that Sinai from before 
 theLordGodofIsrae]."|| 
 
 Now we trust that enough has been said in illustration 
 
 * Exod. xiv. 24. t Num. x. 35. % Num. xxiii. 21, 22. 
 
 § Ps. xxix. 4- 8. i! Judg. V. 45. 
 
116 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. . 
 
 of the meaning of the Bride when she says : " The voice d 
 my Beloved I Behold, it is He that cometh leaping ove 
 the mountains, bounding over the hills." It is beautifull 
 descriptive of there-appearances of the Angel in the protect 
 ing pillar, after a short absence caused by their sins — oi 
 the distinct and extraordinary manifestations of the Angel's 
 glory at different periods — of His frequently removing 
 from the midst of the camp to a distance from it, and again 
 coming to abide on the tabernacle — of the thundering voices 
 which issued from the cloud at its removal from the taber- 
 nacle, and by which the whole camp was suddenly aroused, 
 at midnight or midday, and prepared for the march — and of 
 its movements before them, over the mountains and valleys, 
 to the next place of encampment. Nor are the figures em- 
 ployed in verse ninth less beautiful. The roe and the 
 hart are swift and playful, but exceedingly timid animals. 
 To those encamped in the valleys, surrounded by the wood- 
 covered hills, in which they abound, their beautifully formed 
 heads and brilliant eyes are constantly appearing, now at i 
 one spot, now at another — at one time below the cliff of a i 
 rock, at another above it — now they approach the tents as 
 if to welcome the strangers, and then in a moment they 
 bound away to a great distance. So it was with the won- 
 ful pillar of cloud. At one time it stood " behind the wall" 
 of the tabernacle, then immediately over the tabernacle 
 itself, filling it with such splendour and glory that it sent 
 rays of dazzling light through the apertures, so that it 
 formed a magnificent globe of light, shedding brightness and i 
 cheerfulness into Israel's camp during the night. Now it , 
 rested with serene tranquillity over the sanctuary, and 
 then, in a moment, it ascended with the voice of ten thou- 
 sand trumpets, and stood on some neighbouring hill, indi- 
 cating whither they were to follow Him. As soon as the 
 cloud ascended and moved forward, the vast host immedia- 
 tely followed, and thus He led them by day and night, 
 until He brought them to a place where it pleased Him to 
 make them rest ; there the sanctuary was speedily erected, 
 and the ark of God placed again in the holiest of all ; " and 
 when the ark rested, Moses said, Return, Lord, unto the 
 ten thousand thousands of Israel."* Then the blessed 
 
 * Num. X. 36. 
 
CHAPTER II. 8, 9. 117 
 
 A.ngel took possession again of His sanctuary, and sent forth 
 .streams of light into the camp of His beloved Bride. On 
 poming out of their tents at even after they had encamped, 
 hnd finding themselves enveloped in brilliant light, which 
 they knew had been sent forth from the beloved Angel that 
 dwelt between the cherubim to cheer his Bride amid the 
 jdarkness of night, she again said, " Behold this is my Be- 
 loved, he stands behind our wall." As. the cloud was at 
 the same time a wall around their camp, and the tabernacle, 
 in particular, their wall, a fiery wall of protection, with 
 great propriety they could say, " Behold He stands behind" 
 :(or as the Hebrew word may signify) " within " our wall. 
 He looks out from the windows (z.e., from the apertures of 
 the tabernacle), He is shining (or sparkling) through the 
 lattice. That brightness is an emanation of His glory, a 
 reflection of His divine majesty. " The Lord is my light 
 and my salvation, whom shall I fear?"* "God is the 
 Lord, and he gave us light,"-]- Hence the exalted language 
 iof Isaiah regarding the New Covenant Church, " Arise, 
 shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is 
 risen upon thee. . . . And the Gentiles shall come to 
 thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising." J 
 And John tells us from whom that light cometh ;" "And 
 the light shineth in darkness. . . . That was the true 
 light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world."§ 
 And in the new Jerusalem sun and moon will be no more ; 
 but the glory of the Lord and the Lamb Avill be her light. || 
 It has already been remarked that verses 8 and 9 bring 
 us down to the period, when a month after the dedication 
 of the tabernacle, the cloud suddenly removed from it, indi- 
 cating to Israel to prepare for a journey, and to follow it. 
 Then the Bride, having made the necessary preparation, left 
 the scene of so many glorious and ever-memorable events, and 
 manifestations of divine love and majesty, and followed her 
 Beloved over mountains and valleys, and arrived, after three 
 days' journey, in the wilderness of Paran. There the Angel 
 in the cloud stopped, and thus indicated to His Bride to encamp. 
 The Levites, to whom the duty was assigned, again erected 
 the tabernacle ; and the priests having placed the ark of the 
 
 * Ps. xxvii. 1. t Ps- exviii. 27. X !«• l^- 1—3. § John i. 5-9. 
 U Rev. xxi. 23. 
 
118 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 covenant into the inner sanctuary, and the altar and all the 
 sacred vessels into their respective places, the cloud again 
 covered the tabernacle, and the Angel resumed His place 
 between the cherubim, whence, from time to time. He called 
 His faithful servant, Moses, and gave him orders for the 
 children of Israel * " And when Moses was gone to the 
 tabernacle of the congregation to speak with Him, then he 
 heard the voice of One speaking unto him from ofP the 
 mercy-seat, that was upon the ark of testimony, from be- 
 tween the cherubim; and thus He spake unto him."-i- 
 
 THE GLOOMY WINTER SEASON. 
 
 Dear reader, at this stage of the Song we suddenly come 
 upon a great chasm, a dark and dismal period of thirty- 
 eight years ; and why ? Because the sacred poet was ob- 
 liged to cast a dark mantle over the gloomy events of that 
 long period — events more fitted for a tragedy than a Song, 
 celebrating the highest, the purest, yea, celestial love. 
 After the wonderful scenes of Mount Sinai, and as soon as 
 Israel, after a three days' journey, came into the wilderness 
 of Paran, all the beauties of summer suddenly disappeared, 
 all the opening buds and fragrant flowers faded before the 
 awful blast of a tempest, leaving scarcely a vestige of the 
 previous luxuriance and splendour ; and a long and horrid 
 winter, cold, dark, tempestuous and gloomy, followed, which 
 lasted without intermission for thirty-eight years. 
 
 The prophet Isaiah, when alluding to that dismal period, 
 and the sudden changes' which took place in Israel's condi- 
 tion, from the highest degree of happiness to the lowest 
 misery and wretchedness, said, " And he (the Lord) said, 
 Surely they are my people, children that will not lie : so he 
 was their saviour. In all their afflictions he was afflicted, 
 and the Angel of his presence saved them : in his love and in 
 his pity he redeemed them ; and he bare them, and carried 
 them all the days of old. But they rebelled, and vexed his 
 holy spirit ; therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and 
 he ifought against them."| And so it happened when they 
 arrived at Paran, they forgot the wonders of Sinai, mur- 
 
 * Lev. i. 1 ; Num. i. 1. f Num. vii. 89. 
 
 X Is. Ixiii. 8-10. 
 
CHAPTER II. 8, 9. 119 
 
 mured against God, and so provoked Him to anger, that, 
 instead of sending forth, as usual, His splendid and benignant 
 light to cheer them. He sent a devouring fire, which con- 
 sumed a great number of them. Scarcely was that fire 
 quenched by the intercession of Moses, than Israel began to 
 murmur anew", lamenting the flesh-pots, the melons, and 
 the onions of Egypt. At the prayer of Moses, the Lord 
 caused a wind to com^ey heaps of quails around their camp, 
 of which the}' ate voraciously, and died in thousands. Then 
 came Moses' family troubles, when Aaron and Miriam con- 
 spired against him, and which ended with their punishment 
 and humiliation. It was in this same wilderness that the 
 great rebellion of Israel against the Lord, on the occasion of 
 the spies sent to Canaan, took place, when the irritated multi- 
 tude sought to stone Caleb and Joshua, because they told 
 them not to rebel against God, and when the Lord threatened 
 them with a sudden and complete destruction, which only 
 the intercession of Moses prevented. The Lord, however, 
 " swore in his wrath," that none of those actively involved 
 in the revolt should enter the land of promise, saying unto 
 Moses, " Say unto them, as truly as I live, saith the Lord, 
 as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you. Your 
 carcasses shall fall in this wilderness ; all of you, . . . 
 from twent}' years old and upwards, which have murmured 
 against me. Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, 
 concerning which I swear to make you dwell therein, save 
 Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. 
 But your little ones, whom ye said will be a prey, them will I 
 bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised, 
 . . . And your children shall wander in the wilder- 
 ness forty years, and bear (or suffer for) j^our whoredoms, 
 until your carcasses be wasted in the wilderness. ... I 
 the Lord have said, and will surely do it unto all this evil con- 
 gregation, that have gathered together against me, in this 
 wilderness, they shall be consumed, and there they shall 
 die."* Thus the long winter began with dark clouds and 
 tempests, and under its dreary- atmosphere all the adult 
 Israelites, who were upwards of twent}' years of age at the 
 revolt, were to descend to their graves, and make room for 
 their children to occupy their place of honour as the Church 
 
 * Num. xiv. 28-35. 
 
120 THE SONG OF S<^LOMON. 
 
 ( 
 
 of God, as the beloved Bride of the Angel of the Covenant, 
 of whose love and glory their predecessors proved unworthy. 
 During that long and dreary winter the dark clouds were 
 never pierced by a single ray of sunshine, and its melan- 
 choly monotony was only disturbed by new revolts as that 
 of Korah, by new murmurings and punishments, by pesti- 
 lence and fiery serpents. There occurred indeed during 
 that time three manifestations of the glory of the Angel in 
 the cloud, but these were in wrath, and not in love, and 
 intended to protect Moses against the rebels, and to punish 
 them, and strike them with awe ;* but there was no new 
 token of His love and new communion with them at the 
 altar. It seems that from the time that awful sentence was 
 pronounced against them, they were not allowed to offer sacri- 
 fices to the Lord, as no pardon could be obtained by those whose 
 condemnation the Lord had pronounced by an oath, nor was 
 any sin or peace-offering accepted from them. Hence the 
 prophet said in the name of God, " Have ye offered unto me 
 sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, house 
 of Israel ?"-j- Though there can be no doubt that even of these 
 many repented, and were converted and prepared for eter- 
 nity (see Heb. iii., especially ver. 16), still in this life their 
 condemnation to fall in the wilderness being irrevocable, 
 a renewal of the covenant by sacrifices was impossible. 
 Though the pillar of cloud stayed still with them for the 
 sake of Moses and the young generation, and though 
 during these thirty-eight years the Lord often appeared 
 to Moses, still He proved to them that He was no more habi- 
 tually in the midst of them as formerly ; for when they 
 repented of their revolt, and said, " We have sinned against 
 the Lord ; we will now go up and fight," &c., he warned 
 them, saying, " Go not up, neither tight ; for I am not 
 among you, lest ye be smitten before your enemies." When, 
 notwithstanding this warning, thc}^ went up to fight the 
 Amorite mountaineers, they were chased by them as by 
 bees, and many of them were destroyed at Seir.J Then they 
 remained in complete inactivity, and, as the Psalmist said, 
 ** they consumed their days in vanity, and their years in 
 trouble," partly at Kadesh, and partly in marches and coun- 
 ter-marches round Mount Seir."§ Thus Moses said, " And 
 
 * See Num. xvi. 19, xvii. 7, xx. 6. f Amos v. 25. 
 
 X Deut. i. 41 — 45 ; comp. Num. xiv. 39—45. § Deut. i. 46, ii. 1. 
 
CHAPTER II. 10—13. 121 
 
 the space in which we came from Kadesh-Barnea, until we 
 passed over the brook Zered, was thirty and eight years ; 
 until all the generation of the men of war were wasted out 
 from among the host, as the Lord sware unto them. For, 
 indeed, the hand of the Lord was against them, to destroy 
 them from among the host, until they were consumed."* 
 Such was the fearful winter period which overtook Israel in 
 the wilderness, because of their rebellion against God. We 
 thus see why Solomon in this Song of divine love was obliged 
 to pass over that dreary winter and begin again with the 
 cheerful and beautiful spring that followed. It was not 
 until the old murmuring rebels were all dead, and the 
 Bride consisted of young, vigorous, obedient, and upright 
 virgins, who had no part in the revolts, murmurings, and 
 conspiracies of the fathers, that the winter suddenly disap- 
 peared, the black clouds of divine displeasure dispersed, and 
 the blessed Angel of the Covenant again appeared in the 
 midst of them, and thus addressed his Bride : 
 
 10. My Beloved spake, and said unto me, 
 
 Arise now, my love (or belo. comp.) my fair one, 
 And go thee hence ; 
 
 11. For, lo, the winter is past, 
 The rain is over and gone : 
 
 12. The young sprouts have appeared on the earth, 
 The pruning season hath arrived, 
 
 And the turtle's voice is heard in our land. 
 
 13. The fig-tree perfumeth her green figs, 
 And the vines their tender grapes : 
 They send forth an odour ; 
 
 Arise now, my love (or belo. comp.), my fair one, 
 And go thee hence. 
 
 The contents of these four verses we find in sacred history 
 largely and particularly described. Jehovah's irrevocable 
 sentence regarding the old rebel generation having been 
 literally executed during the thirty-eight years of winter as 
 we have described above, and the Bride, consisting now of 
 the young and obedient generation, having removed from 
 the winter quarters and passed the brook Zered, and en- 
 camped again at the river Arnon, there the beloved Bride- 
 
 * Deut. ii. U, 15. 
 
122 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 groom appeared again to her in all splendour and grace, and 
 said to her ; '^ Rise ye up, take your journey, and pass 
 over the river Arnon : Behold, 1 have given into thine hand 
 ►Sihon the Amorite, King of Heshbon, and his land : begin to 
 possess it, and contend with him in battle. This day will I 
 begin to put the dread of thee, and the fear of thee upon the 
 nations that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear 
 report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because 
 of thee."* Then the Bride arose, following once more her 
 Beloved. The passage of the river Arnon was a triumphant 
 one. Victory after victory followed over Sihon and Og till 
 all Gilead and Bashan were completely subdued. Surely we 
 need advance no farther in the history in order to explain 
 verses 10, 11, and 12. The long absent (or hidden) Bride- 
 u-roora suddenly appeared, bounding again over mountains 
 and hills, and the Bride heard once more his sweet and 
 iiracious voice, saying to her, " Arise now, my love, my 
 fair one, and go thee hence ; for, lo, the winter is past" — 
 the long winter under whose gloomy atmosphere and cold 
 blasts all the bitter plants have perished, has now passed 
 away. "'The rain" of God's wrath and indignation "is 
 over and gone," having accomplished his threatenings 
 and righteous judgments — " the young sprouts (or plants) 
 have appeared on the earth" — the young, vigorous, and 
 promising generation have sprung up, and are ready and 
 well fitted for action — " the pruning season," for cut- 
 ting off the wild and withered branches, the idolatrous 
 and long doomed nations, " has arrived," their measure of 
 wickedness has now reached its climax, and calls loud for 
 Avrath and judgment — " and the turtle's voice," the voice of 
 the Lord's promise to Abraham, to give this land in posses- 
 sion to his children, a promise confirmed by an oath and 
 covenant sacrifices, one of which was a turtle dove, -J- " is 
 heard in our land" — the Lord had said unto Abraham, that 
 only the fourth generation should return from Egypt into 
 the land of Canaan, '*for the iniquity of the Amorites is not 
 
 * Deut. ii. 24, 25. 
 
 t Among those Covenant sacrifices, which must have represented 
 both covenanting parties, " the birds," the turtle and young pigeon, 
 " Abraham divided not," as he did the other victims ! This is worthy 
 of remark, but mysterious in its nature. See the author's remarks on 
 that awful Covtnant made with Abraham, in his publication, entitled 
 '• A Christian Jew on the Old Testament Scriptures." 
 
CHAPTER II. 10—13. 123 
 
 yet full," that promised generation now stands ready at the 
 river Arnon, with their swords on their thigh, with the 
 pruning knives in their hands, and the voice of the turtle 
 is heard saying, " Arise, go forth and conquer according to 
 my promise unto Abraham, my friend." The Angel of the 
 Covenant is here made to say, " our land," for the land of 
 promise was the land of Messiah and his Church. 
 
 No sooner had the Bride heard the gracious voice of her 
 Belov^ed, and his order to advance, than she, courageously, 
 passed the river Arnon and went forth conquering and to 
 conquer. Sihon and Og, and all the kings of Gilead and 
 Bashan, were discomfited before the Covenant Angel and 
 liis Bride, and their countries were taken possession of by 
 Israel. The five kings of Midian, with their armies, were 
 utterly destroyed by a detachment of Israel's army, only 
 12,000 strong, of which not one lost his life in the contest.* 
 The terrified Balak King of Moab, and protector (or lord 
 paramount) of Midian, sent for Balaam to curse Israel, but 
 was told that the Lord " beheld no iniquity in Jacob 
 The Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king is 
 among them. . . . Surely there is no enchantment 
 (possible) against Jacob. . . . But, according to this 
 time (z.e., according to their present exalted position in the 
 favour of God), it shall be said to Jacob and Israel, What 
 hath the Almighty God wrought ? Behold the people shall 
 rise up as a great lion ... he shall not lie down until 
 he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain. 
 The Almighty God brought them out of Egypt, the vibration 
 (or spread) of his voice is like that of an unicorn ; he shall 
 devour the nations, his enemies, and shall break their bones, 
 and pierce them through with his arrows. . . . Blessed is 
 he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee."-!* 
 
 All this, however, was only Israel's spring, an advanced 
 spring indeed, but only spring ; for they had yet to cross 
 the Jordan, and to work hard during the summer before 
 they could reap the fruits of a promised ricti harvest, as 
 Moses told them before he left them ; " For ye are not as 
 yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which the Lord 
 your God giveth you. But when ye go over Jordan, and 
 dwell in the land which the Lord your God giveth you to 
 inherit, ... so that ye dwell in safety ; then there 
 
 * Num. xxxi. 48—50. f Num. xxiii. 21—24, xxiv 8, 9. 
 
 f2 
 
124 
 
 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 shall be a place which the Lord your God shall choose, to 
 cause his name to dwell there ; thither shall ye brino- all, 
 . . . . your offerings and sacrifices .... which 
 ye vow unto the Lord. And ye shall rejoice before the 
 Lord your Grod, ye, and your sons, and your daughters," 
 &c.* In order therefore to encourage the Bride for her 
 remaining operations, the Bridegroom rene\vs his invitation 
 inverse 13, saying, " The fig-tree perfumeth her green figs, 
 and the vines their tender grapes ; they send forth an odour" 
 — i.e., behold the spring is far advanced, and hitherto all has 
 passed on well with thee — thy spring began with glory and 
 victory, and thou hast received many tokens of a magnificent 
 summer and a rich harvest. No violent wind has come to 
 shake off" the abundant clusters of thy green figs orof thy tender 
 grape, but (hey all begin to be overspread with their perfumed 
 fresh garment, under which they shall swell and ripen — none 
 of thy victories hitherto has been blasted by any repulse or 
 loss, nor checked by any onslaught of thine enemies with their 
 mighty armies, but everywhere thou hast been victorious, 
 and thy sword irresistible, " Arise, then, my love (or be- 
 loved companion), my fair one, and go thee hence" — cross 
 the river Jordan, enter the land of promise, fight vigorously 
 against the idolatrous nations long doomed to destruction, 
 conquer them and take their land in possession, according 
 to the promise which I have made unto thy fathers. The 
 following passages contain the substance of verse 13, if 
 stripped of its figures — " Thine eyes have seen all that the 
 Lord your God hath done unto these two kings (Sihon and 
 Og) : so shall the Lord do unto all the kingdoms whither 
 thou passest. Ye shall not fear them ; for the Lord your 
 God he shall fight for you."f Again, " If thou shalt say 
 in thine heart, these nations are more than I ; how can I 
 dispossess them ? Thou shalt not be afraid of them ; but 
 shalt well remember what the Lord thy God did unto 
 
 Pharaoh, and unto all Egypt And the signs, 
 
 and the wonder, and the mighty hand, . . . whereby 
 the Lord thy God brought thee out : so shall the Lord thy 
 God do unto all the people of whom thou art afraid. . . . 
 Thou shalt not be affrighted at them : for the Lord thy God 
 is among you, a mighty God, and terrible."}: 
 
 * Deut. xii. 9—12. f Deut. iii. 21, 22. 
 
 ; Deut. vii. 17-23 ; see also viii. 2, 7, 9, xi. 22—25. 
 
CHAPTKR II. 10—13. 125 
 
 One thing of importance remains to be observed — viz., 
 about the expression used b}^ the Angel in verses 10 and 
 13, saying to his Bride, "Arise now . . . and go thee 
 hence," and not " Arise now . . . and let us go hence!" 
 The reason of this is that after the death of Moses the visible 
 pillar of cloud, with the Angrel inhabiting^ it, disappeared 
 and went no more before Israel's camp. It was only with 
 Moses that the Angel conversed freely " face to face as a man 
 speaketh unto his friend,"* but Joshua was only to be 
 answered by the medium of the Urira and Thummim (see 
 the beautiful and very affecting passage of Num, xxvi. 12 
 — 23.) The last time of the Angel's appearance in the 
 tabernacle occurred a few days before the departure of 
 Moses, and is recorded in the following passage, " And the 
 Lord said unto Moses, Behold, thy days approach that thou 
 must die : call Joshua, and present yourselves in the taber- 
 nacle of the congregation, that I may give him a charge/ 
 And Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves in 
 the tabernacle of the congregation. And the Lord appeared 
 in the tabernacle in the pillar of cloud, and the pillar of 
 cloud stood over the door of the tabernacle."-!- This was 
 the last manifestation of the Angel in the pillar of cloud. 
 He went still, however, before Israel even after they had 
 crossed the Jordan, and subdued their enemies,}: but this 
 was in an invisible manner, and no more in the pillar of 
 cloud. When, in order to encourage Joshua, he appeared 
 unto him before Jericho, it was no more in the cloud, and 
 with his divine splendour, but as a mighty warrior with the 
 naked sword in his hand. We thus see the reason why He 
 tells her, " Arise now, my love, . . . and go thee 
 hence," because after the death of Moses, she was to march 
 alone as it were, over Jordan ; for though He was still to go 
 before her invisibly, and fight her battles, she was no longer 
 to see Him marching before her in the pillar of cloud. 
 These lovely invitations must therefore be considered as the 
 Angel's farewell address to His Bride, from whose eyes He 
 was now to be hid until we shall see Him reappear in all His 
 glory in the cloud, in Solomon's temple. Hence He pro- 
 ceeds to give her direction in the next verse, and to tell her 
 how to conduct herself during his absence. 
 
 * Exod. xxxiii. 9—11 ; Num. xii. 6-8; Deut. xxxiv. 10. 
 
 t Deut. xxxi. U, 15. % Exod. xxxii. 2—14; Deut. vii. 21, xxxi. 3. 
 
126 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 14. my dove, in the clefts of the rock — 
 In the secret places of the precipices — 
 Let me see thy countenance, 
 Let me hear thy voice ; 
 For thy voice is sweet, 
 And thy countenance comely. 
 
 The covenant Angel, the divine Bridegroom, who had 
 hitherto marched before His Church and Bride in a visible 
 pillar of cloud, was now to disappear for a time from her 
 sight, but in His farewell address. He reminds her to behold 
 Him continually with the eyes of faith — to remember that, 
 though invisible, He would still be ever present with her — • 
 that she should therefore at all times, but especially in all 
 the difficulties, dangers, and perplexity of the warfare, 
 present herself before Him in humble, ardent, and believing 
 prayer ; and that thus she would be sure to find grace in 
 His sight, and succour in all circumstances. In chap. i. 
 V. 15, after the humble confession of the Bride — after having 
 acknowledged her own unworthiness, renounced all merit on 
 her part, and protested that the Bridegroom was all in all 
 to her. He exclaimed — " Behold (now) thou art beautiful, 
 my love ! Thou art beautiful with eyes like doves," 
 indicating her humility, faithfulness, loveliness, constancy, 
 and chastity. Now as He was to leave her for a while, as to 
 His visible appearance in the cloud, He says — " my dove" 
 — my lovely, humble, chaste, and faithful companion — 
 " in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the preci- 
 pices, let me see thy countenance," &c. This reminds us 
 of Moses, when, in behalf of Israel, he requested the Lord 
 to shew him the glory of the angel whom he was to send 
 with them ; and the Lord said : " Thou canst not see my 
 face ; for no man can see me and live (or, ' while he is yet 
 alive,' i.e. in the flesh) ; and the Lord said Behold there is 
 a place by me (i.e. appointed by me) and thou shalt stand 
 upon the rock ; and it shall come to pass, while my glory 
 passeth by, that I will put thee into the cleft of the rock, 
 and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by ; and I 
 will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see ray back 
 parts (the angel in the cloud), but ray face cannotbe seen."*t 
 
 * Exod. xxxiii. 20-23. 
 
 t The words ^■:^N a'-p-s r::n (Hinneh makom itti) literally signify. 
 
CHAPTER II. 14. 127 
 
 The same blessed Angel, whose glory in part was then 
 shown unto Moses, and whose attributes were proclaimed 
 before him, that Israel might know the divine qualities of 
 her Beloved, now demands His beloved Bride, who was no 
 longer to see Him riding in the visible cloud through the 
 wilderness by His name Jah, to make Him in turn see her 
 countenance, her faithfulness, attachment, and love, and 
 her voice of confession, praise, and supplication, at all times ; 
 but especially when she found herself " in the clefts of the 
 rock, in the secret places of precipices," in difficulties and 
 dangers, in the presence of mighty enemies, in times of 
 persecution and oppression. And here it is proper for us to 
 remember that what the Bride could not foresee the Angel 
 did. If she thought that these " clefts of rocks and 
 secret places of precipices" referred only to those moun- 
 tains, clefts, and precipices of the land of Judah where she 
 would have to fight her enemies, the Angel looked farther 
 and saw the dismal period when, on account of her sins and 
 backslidings, she would be delivered into the hands of her 
 enemies, and seek those clefts and precipices as hiding 
 places in order to escape the swords of her pursuers, as 
 we read : " And the children of Israel did evil in the sight 
 of the Lord ; and the Lord delivered them into the hand of 
 Midian seven years. And the hand of Midian prevailed 
 against Israel ; and because of the Midianites the children 
 of Israel made for themselves the dens which are in the 
 mountains, and caves, and strongholds."* The Angel hav- 
 ing foreseen all this, and fearing lest she would despair under 
 such heavy affliction, tells her that whenever she should 
 call on Him, even from these dreary clefts, from these hiding 
 places, He would always be gracious to her ; for in that 
 penitent and supplicating state she would always appear 
 unto Him lovely, and her voice of prayer would always be 
 sweet unto Him. The substance of this verse we find largely 
 detailed at the Angel's last appearance to Moses in the pillar 
 
 " Behold here the place with me," and are ea«ily explained when we 
 consider that Moses nnu'?t have stood on the declivity of Mount Sinai, 
 and the Lord in the cloud higher up, at some distance from him, and 
 that the rock with the cleft was situated near to the place where the 
 cloud stood. See the author's observations on this passage in his 
 " Christian Jew on the Old Testament Scriptures." 
 
 * Judg. vi. 1, 2 ; comp, 6, 7 ; ii. 11—23 ; iii. 7, 8, 12, 15 ; iv. v. 
 
1 28 THE SONG OF SOLOMOX. 
 
 of cloud : " And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, thou 
 shalt sleep with thy fathers, and this people will rise up 
 and go a whoring after the strange g^ods of the land whither 
 they go to be among them, and will forsake rae and break 
 my covenant which I have made with them. Then my 
 anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will 
 forsake them, and will hide ray face from them, and they will 
 be devoured, and many evils and troubles will befall them ; 
 then they will say in that day, are not these evils come upon 
 us, because our God is not among us. . . Now, there- 
 fore, write ye out this song (i.e. the last song of Moses) for 
 you, and teach it to the children of Israel ; putting it in 
 their months, that this song may be a witness for me against 
 the children of Israel."* Here we see them forewarned by 
 the Angel, of the " clefts of the rocks," and of the " secret 
 places of the precipices" in which they would find themselves 
 because of their sins ; and the song of Moses was intended as a 
 witness against them, and at the same time to keep them 
 from despair, and make them cry unto the Angel for help. 
 But the Angel also foresaw that the chief cause of Israel's 
 fall and sufferings would be their disobedience to His com- 
 mand to exterminate utterly the doomed idolatrous nations, 
 because, mingling with them, they would be led astray by 
 them. He therefore repeats once more that injunction before 
 leaving. 
 
 15. Catch for us the jackals — - 
 
 The little jackals that spoil the vines ; 
 For our vines have tender grapes. 
 
 " Catch for us," in plural! It is the same in chap. i. 11,. 
 " Reins of gold we will make for thee " (see exposition 
 there.) These belong to those wonderful passages in the 
 Old Testament Scriptures in which the Holy Spirit, speak- 
 ing by the mouth of the " holy men of God," indicates the 
 united action of the ever-blessed Father, Son, and Spirit in 
 the works of creation, redemption, conversion, and sanctifi- 
 cation. In the creation of man we are told, " And God 
 said, let us make man in our image," &c. The eternal 
 Father sent forth the " Word by whom all things werd 
 
 * Deut. xxxi. 16—19. 
 
CHAPTER II. 15. 129 
 
 made," and the Spirit gave animation and life, '' and man 
 became a living soul." When fallen humanity meditated 
 revolt in the plain of Shinar, which would have ended in their 
 utter ruin, the Lord said, " Let us go down and there con- 
 found their language," &c. In our Song, chap. i. 11, where 
 an act of the sustaining and restraining grace of the Lord 
 towards His Church is recorded, the Holy Spirit, dictating 
 to the sacred poet, made him say in the name of the divine 
 Bridegroom, " Reins of gold we will make for thee," &c., 
 which means, '' I will lead and guide thee in all thy ways 
 by my Spirit, by rules, laws, and statutes, that thy feet be 
 preserved from stumbling." The Lord who drew her to 
 Messiah, her beloved covenant Angel, by the " cords of love," 
 did so by the influence of the Holy Spirit who, in the lan- 
 guage of the prophet, " led Israel as a beast going down into 
 a valley ;" and the blessed Bridegroom himself went before 
 her in the pillar of cloud, to guide and protect her and lead 
 her to rest. 
 
 In this verse the Bridegroom is made to say to his mortal 
 Bride : " Catch for us the jackals, the little jackals that 
 spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes." "The 
 vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the house of Israel," says 
 the most eloquent of the prophets. The Psalmist says : " A 
 vine hast thou brought forth out of Egypt, thou hast cast 
 out the heathen and planted it." And why did He do all 
 this ? Because He promised that land to Abraham and his 
 seed for an everlasting possession, and confirmed the promise 
 by an oath ; and because the idolatry, iniquities, and 
 abominations committed by the Canaanites had now reached 
 their full measure, and their doom was irrevocably sealed 
 by heaven's sentence. To exterminate those enemies of 
 God, those allies of Satan, was now the work assigned to 
 Israel by the Lord God of the whole earth. In this war 
 Israel was not only a weapon in the hand of a provoked 
 God, but also the chosen and honoured plant which was to 
 be planted in the place of the idolaters, in order to pro- 
 duce fruits for the Lord's honour and praise ; as Jeremiah 
 elegantly describes it on another occasion: "The portion of 
 Jacob is not like them (like the heathen) ; for he is the 
 former of all things ; and Israel is the rod of his inheritance. 
 The Lord of Hosts is his name. Thou art my battle-axe 
 and weapons of war : for with thee will I break in pieces the 
 
 f3 
 
130 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 nations; and with thee I will destroy kingdoms."* In order 
 to accomplish the planting of the seed of Abraham in the 
 land of promise, the jackais,-i- the abominable idolaters of 
 Canaan had first to be expelled or destroyed, that the vine- 
 yard might be freed from all danger of being destroyed by 
 them. These Canaanites are also styled here " little 
 jackals," in contempt, and to indicate to Israel that they 
 would have no excuse in saying that they were too strong 
 for them to drive away. So Joshua and Caleb once said to 
 the frightened Israelites regarding these Canaanites, " Only 
 rebel ye not against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of 
 the land; for they are like our bread," («.e., v^^e shall easily 
 devour them, and as the heathen prophet said of Israel's 
 God, " He shall eat up the nations his enemies,"|) — " their 
 defence (literally "their shadow") is departed from them, 
 and the Lord is with us ; fear them not."§ 
 
 With regard to the danger to which Israel, the vineyard 
 of the Lord, was exposed from those Canaanitish jackals, 
 we must remember that even as far back as the days of 
 Isaac and Rebekah, the daughters of Canaan were so fear- 
 fully corrupt and wicked that Rebekah said unto Isaac: " I am 
 weary of my life, because of the daughters of Heth : if Jacob 
 take a wife of the daughters of Heth such as these which are 
 of the daughters of the land (z.e., of the common specimen) 
 what good shall my life do me ?"|1 And if it was so at that 
 time when " the iniquity of the Canaanites was not yet full," 
 what must it have been when it reached the climax ? There- 
 fore the Lord often warned Israel of the danger to which they 
 would expose themselves if they would mingle with them, 
 and not completely extirpate them out of the land. We 
 select the following passage as one of the strongest : " When 
 the Lord thy God shall bring thee into the land whither 
 thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations 
 
 * Jeremiah li. 19, 20. 
 
 t These animals, which exist in great multitudes in the East, prove 
 very destructive to the gardens and fields, and especially so to the vine- 
 yards. Being very fond of green grapes, in picking them they often 
 hreak the vines in their robbery. This we have often seen in this 
 country (Algeria). Hence it is an emphatic figure thus to personify the 
 Canaanites, who ultimately, like a flock of jackals, spoiled the vine- 
 yard of God, in having led Israel astray from him. 
 
 X Num. xxiv. 8, corap. Deut. vii. 16. 
 
 vj Num. xiv. 9, comp. Deut. vii. 12, 26. 
 
 jl Gen. xxvii. 46, comp. xxviii. 1—9, Esau's imitation. 
 
CHAPTER ir, 15. 131 
 
 before thee, the Hittites and the Girgashites, the Amorites 
 and the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the 
 Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou : 
 And when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee, 
 thou shalt smite them and utterly destroy them ; thou shalt 
 make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them : 
 Neither shalt thou make marriages with them ; thy daughter 
 thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou 
 take unto thy son : for they will turn away thy son from 
 following me, that they may serve other gods : so will the 
 anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and destroy you 
 suddenly. But thus shall ye deal with them, ye shall 
 destroy their altars, and break down their statues, and cut 
 down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire : 
 For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God : The 
 Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto 
 himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth," 
 &c.* Here, then, we have a large explanation of our verse, 
 and the Lord's injunctions to Israel to destroy and drive 
 away all the jackals of Canaan, that they might not destroy 
 the garden of God. When the Lord said, " Catch for us 
 the jackals," it is enjoined that Israel should become the 
 executioner of the righteous judgment of the Godhead, and 
 it is implied that, by so doing the Lord's will, she will promote 
 her own advantage ; for had she destroyed these dangerous 
 jackals she would have been preserved unhurt, undefiled, 
 and prosperous, and the Lord would have reaped the fruit 
 of His vineyard. The reason added to his injunction at the 
 end of the verse is, " For our vines have tender grapes," 
 that is to say, the corruption and allurements of these 
 idolaters are great and strong, and you are too young, weak, 
 and inexperienced to withstand them, if you remain in the 
 midst of them. How far Israel's future justified these fears 
 and warnings, sacred history abundantly shows us, and we 
 shall soon see it in this very song. 
 
 Now let us keep in mind that in verse 8 of this chapter the 
 Bride began to speak ; that in verses 8 and 9 she related the 
 manner in which her Bridegroom appeared unto her at dif- 
 ferent times, and manifested his glory and love ; that from 
 verse 10 to 15 inclusive she relates the Angel's farewell to 
 
 * Deut. -vii, 1—6, see the whole chap. 
 
132 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 her at the end of her journey through the wilderness ; the 
 encouragement given her to enter Canaan without fear; the 
 promise He made her to be ever near to her in time of 
 trouble and danger, if she should call on His name and sup- 
 plicate His aid ; and then His advice and warning regarding 
 her conduct during His temporary absence. In the last two 
 verses of the chapter she tells us her resignation at that 
 crisis, her determination to remain faithfully attached to her 
 beloved Lord and divine Master during His absence, and 
 also her answer to His farewell address. 
 
 16. My Beloved is mine, and I am His, 
 Who feedeth among the lilies. 
 
 17. Until the day break, and the shades flee away, 
 Turn round about (me), my Beloved, 
 
 And be Thou like a roe, or a young hart, 
 Upon the mountains of Bether (or, "division.") 
 
 Many and various were the vicissitudes which the Church 
 of God experienced in the wilderness from her departure out 
 of Egypt to her encampment before the river Jordan. She 
 had many opportunities amid these vicissitudes of convincing 
 herself of the constancy, faithfulness, and unchangeableness 
 of the love and tififection of her divine Bridegroom, notwith- 
 standing her own imperfections, fluctuations, and forgetful- 
 ness. Of these facts she was emphatically and repeatedly 
 reminded by Moses before his departure.* Now that Moses 
 was to depart from her, and with him the pillar of cloud, and 
 the visible presence of her Beloved, for an indefinite period, 
 she gathers courage and says : '' My Beloved is mine, and I 
 am His," or more literally, " My Beloved is for me, and I 
 am for Him," i.e., whatever may be the reason of His with- 
 drawing His visible presence and the pillar of cloud at this 
 peculiar juncture, however long the absence of the night- 
 iiluiuinating Light of the cloud may be, still I am resigned 
 to His holy will, knowing that though visibly absent, yet 
 invisibly "His left hand will still be under ray head, and 
 witli His right hand He will embrace me," — that as He chose 
 me from among all nations and tongues, and espoused me to 
 be His, and confirmed His choice by promise and oath and 
 
 * See Deut. iv. 32-40, vii. 6-9, x. 12-22, xxvi. 17—19. 
 
CHAPTER II. 16, 17. 133 
 
 covenant alliance, so He is and shall be mine for ever, and I 
 am His ; and v/hatever time may elapse before His return, 
 before His reappearance in His glory and majesty in His 
 sanctuary, we shall wait for each other patiently and faith- 
 fully. " I am His, who feedeth among the lilies." — At the 
 beginning of this chapter the Bride compared herself to the 
 lilies of the valleys, and the Bridegroom compared her to 
 lilies among thorns. In verse 9, she compared her Beloved 
 to a roe leaping over mountains, bounding over hills, be- 
 cause of the rapidity of His disappearance and reappearance 
 in different places, now standing behind (or within) her 
 wall, looking out from the apertures, and shining as the 
 brightness of the firmament, and a little after disappearing 
 from the tabernacle and camp, and standing on some craggy 
 mountain cliff indicating to His Bride to follow Him. But 
 notwithstanding all these sudden movements. He was always 
 in the midst of His Church leading, feeding, protecting, and 
 bearing His lambs among the lilies. Therefore she compares 
 Him here again to a roe feeding among the lilies, and 
 although sometimes entirely out of view when the lilies are 
 so high as to cover him, again reappearing when reaching 
 some eminence or some place of low foliage, where his lovely 
 head and sparkling eyes are seen from a great distance ; and 
 though soon disappearing again he is still known to be there. 
 So she comforted herself that even during the indicated 
 period of His absence He would often make His appearance 
 among the lilies, — manifest His presence in the midst of 
 His Church from time to time, to show her that though 
 invisible He is not far off. And so it really happened. He 
 appeared to Joshua before Jericho, to show him that though 
 no more in the visible pillar of cloud. He was still among the 
 lilies, in the midst of His Church, to defend her against the 
 thorns by which she was surrounded ; and so in the times of 
 the Judges He appeared to Gideon, Manoah, &c. 
 
 Having thus expressed her resignation, and promised to 
 wait with faith and patience for the return of her Beloved, 
 whose she was by an everlasting covenant, she with the same 
 courage and resignation takes in turn her farewell of Him, 
 saying, " Until the day break (or, ' until the day breathe,' 
 referring to the breeze of dawn), and the shades flee away." 
 Until the mysterious intervening night that is to come be at 
 an end, — until the hard struggles of war, and the predicted 
 
134 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 backslidings, and all the shadows of mystery which cover 
 these future events,* have passed away, and until the gentle 
 refreshing breeze indicating the dawn of the bright day of 
 Thy reappearance shall arrive, " turn round about" (or 
 " continue Thy circuits "j) — make invisibl}'- Thy rounds and 
 visits in and round about my camp. " And be Thou like a 
 roe, or a young hart on the mountains of Bether." As 
 "Bethel'" signifies "divisions,"^ it is evident that by the 
 mountains of Bether is meant the two ranges of mountains 
 which are separated from each other by the river Jordan 
 and its valley ; so we see in 2 Sam. ii. 29 that the moun- 
 tain chain beyond Jordan was called "Bithron," or the 
 little Bether, as we say, " the little and great Atlas," which, 
 too, are separated by a valley. The meaning, therefore, of 
 this phrase is, that as the Bride was now standing at the 
 river Jordan, ready to cross it, and to fight her way into 
 Canaan over these mountains of Bether, she entreats her 
 Beloved, whom in verse 8 she described as " leaping over 
 mountains, bounding over hills," while leading her through 
 the desert, to continue, still to be with her, though in- 
 visibly, to go with her over the river Jordan, to accom- 
 pany her when crossing the mountains of Bether, — that 
 according to His own demand, she might be able to " shew 
 Him her countenance, to make Him hear her voice" of 
 praise and supplications, when, "in the clefts of the rock, 
 in the secret places of the precipices," fighting her way 
 against the combined armies of the inhabitants of those 
 mountains, so that He might always be near to hear her 
 complaint and prayer, to see her danger and trouble and de- 
 liver her, and that in the event of her being delivered into the 
 power of her enemies, because of her trangressions, and 
 being obliged to hide herself in those clefts and precipices of 
 the mountains of Bether, He might come according to His 
 promise, " leaping on the mountains, and bounding on the 
 hills," to rescue and deliver her, as soon as she repents and 
 supplicates Him. 
 
 Having now seen the meaning of the last eight verses of 
 
 * See Deut. xxxi. 16—18, and the famous song that follows. 
 + See 1 Sam. vii. 16, and Eccl. i. 6, where ab (Sov, or Sav) signifies 
 to make circuits, go round about ; see note of chap. i. 12. 
 i See Gen. xy. 10; Jer. xxxiv. 18, 19. 
 
CHAPTER II. 16, 17. 135 
 
 this chapter, — having discovered in it the Angel's farewell 
 address to His Bride before removing with the visible pillar 
 of cloud from her camp, and His invitations, warnings, 
 encouragements, and directions to her, that slie might know- 
 how to conduct herself during His temporary absence, and 
 also her resignation, and the answer she addressed to Him, 
 and the prayers she otfered on that solemn occasion, — let 
 us now cast a passing glance at that part of Israel's history 
 which contains the fulfilment of the Angel's engagements 
 and promises. As soon as the Bride had crossed the river 
 Jordan, and stood before the city of Jericho, which was sur- 
 rounded by a high wall and shut up with gates and bars of 
 iron, the Covenant Angel appeared to Joshua in the charac- 
 ter of a mighty warrior, with a naked sword in his hand, 
 saying, '' As Captain (or Prince) of Jehovah's hosts have 1 
 now come,"* i.e., according to my promise to my Bride that 
 though I come no longer visibly in the pillar of cloud, still 
 1 would be with and near her. And the miraculous manner 
 in which that fortress fell showed that it was the divine 
 Bridegroom who took it by the word of his omnipotence, 
 and not the mortal Bride by her sword. When His dove. 
 His beloved Bride, found herself in the " clefts of the rock," 
 among the craggy " precipices of the mountains of Bether," 
 at the precipitous descent called Beth Horon, engaged in an 
 unequal struggle with the united armies of many kings, and 
 when she made Him hear her sweet voice of prayer, He 
 caused a shower of large stones to fall from heaven upon her 
 enemies, and thus destroyed more of them than she did by 
 her sword. When Joshua, her captain and guide, saw the 
 night approaching, and remembered that they had no more 
 the luminous pillar of fire to give them light by night, and 
 still anxious to pursue all the advantages of his victory, 
 "he spake to the Lord in the sight of Israel, saying, Sun, 
 stand thou still upon Gibeon ; and thou moon over the valley 
 of Ajalon. And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, 
 until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. 
 . . . And there was no day like that, before it or after 
 it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man, for the 
 Lord fought for Israel."-i- 
 
 Such were the glorious manifestations of the invisiblr 
 
 ♦ Josh. V. 13, lo. t Josh X. 11—14. 
 
Idb THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 present Bridegroom on the mountains of Bether. When "He 
 went forth for the salvation of His people," He fought Israel's 
 battles, He was their light, their sun and moon, " the shield 
 of their help, the sword of their excellency." As long as 
 His Bride remained faithful to Him, according to her promise 
 — as long as " Israel dwelt in safety alone," and " was not 
 counted" (not mixed) among the heathen nations, then all 
 other nations were obliged to say, " Happy art thou, 
 Israel, who is like unto thee, people saved by the Lord !" 
 When Joshua had finished his wars with the principal 
 nations of Canaan, " the whole congregation of the children 
 of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the taber- 
 nacle of the congregation there, and the land was subdued 
 before them."* It was there before the Lord, and accord- 
 ing to instructions received from Him through the holy 
 oracle Urira and Thummin that the land was divided 
 among the tribes. Though small portions, here and there, 
 in the territories of different tribes, were still inhabited by 
 Canaanites which had to be driven out, they were so few 
 and so divided that it required no longer the combined 
 efforts of the whole army, but every tribe was left to guard 
 the portion of the Lord's garden against the common enemy 
 — to catch or chase away these jackals from their territories, 
 and not allow them to destroy the tender grapes of the Lord's 
 vineyard. AVhen Joshua the son of Nun was approaching 
 towards the end of his pilgrimage, and Israel still enjoyed 
 profound and undisturbed peace, he often repeated to them 
 the warnings and exhortations of Moses regarding the danger 
 to which they were yet exposed from the remnants of the 
 idolatrous nations of Canaan. Having gathered together 
 all Israel, their elders and princes, judges and officers, 
 he rehearsed to them all the wonderful ways of the Lord 
 towards them, and warned and entreated them to continue 
 faithful to His covenant, and especially to keep themselves 
 clean from the idolatry of the Canaanites.f After this he 
 proceeded to renew and confirm the covenant between the 
 Lord and His people ; and when all the tribes under their 
 princes and elders ranged themselves before the Lord [i.e., 
 before the tabernacle which was erected as Shiloh )| Joshua 
 
 * Jos. xviii. 1. f See Jos. xxiii. 
 
 "l We think it proper to remark here that Shiloh, having been situ- 
 ated in the district of Shechetn and iu its vicinity, the locality in which 
 
CHAPTER 11. 16, 17. 137 
 
 l^ecounted unto the Bride her history and origin, and all the 
 wonders of love which the Lord had shewed her from her 
 coming forth out of Egypt to that solemn day. Then he 
 invited her seriously to consider and decide about her choice 
 for the future, whether she would continue to serve the great 
 God her Deliverer, or the gods of Terah, or those of the 
 Canaanites, " and the people answered and said, God forbid 
 that we should forget the Lord to serve other gods," and 
 after having themselves repeated all the bounties and loving 
 kindnesses of the Lord towards them, they added, " There- 
 fore will we also serve the Lord ; for he is our God. And 
 Joshua said unto the people, Ye 'cannot serve the Lord : for 
 he is an holy Gocl ; he is a jealous God ; he will not forgive 
 your transgressions nor your sins. . . . And the people 
 baid unto Joshua, Nay, but we will serve the Lord," and 
 thus, after repeated protestations, the Bride was allowed to 
 renew and confirm the covenant with her God. She re- 
 mained faithful during all the life of Joshua and the elders 
 who were trained under him and Moses, but then the pre- 
 dicted night, the gloomy and dreary night arrived, as we 
 shall see in the beginning of next chapter. 
 
 this general gathering of the multitudes of Israel took place is there- 
 fore called Shechem, chap. xxiv. 1—25. after the name of the capital 
 of that district. This is evident from the fact that in verse 1 it is said 
 that the tribes presented themselves " before the Lord ;" and in verse 
 26 we read, " And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of 
 God, and took a great stone, and set it up there (mark there, i.e., at 
 Shechem), under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the Lord." It 
 being certain that the sanctuary of the Lord was nowhere else at that 
 time but at Shiloh (see Jos. xviii. 1, 8, 9, xix. 51, xxii. 9—12), and that 
 all important transactions took place there, Shiloh, as we said above, 
 must have passed here under the name of its territorial metropolis 
 Shecheai> 
 
138 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE LONG NIGHT IN THE TIME OF THE JUDGES. 
 Argument of the First Five Verses of Chap. III., whick 
 
 BELONG TO THE SECOND PaRT OF THE SONG. 
 
 f Vv. 1,2.) Israel seeks ardently their absent Lord during the long and 
 dreary night of the period of the Judges, but cannot find him, not in " the 
 city," nor in " the streets," nor in the " broadways" — i.e., they cannot 
 find him in the tabernacle, nor by the Urim, through the priests, nor 
 was there any prophet to convey his messages, nor any direct manifes- 
 tations from him. (V. 3.) Israel seeks the Lord in the days of Samuel, 
 takes directions from him, as well as from the itinerant prophets of his 
 school. (V. 4.) By these directions Israel soon found her Lord in the 
 days of David, and brought his holy Ark of the Covenant from Kir- 
 jath Jearim to Mount Zionwith shouts of triumph and joy, and placed 
 it in the temporary tent which David had prepared there. (V. 5.) 
 Israel again, afraid of rivals, conjures the other nations not to disturb 
 that love until the last seal of perfection had been put to it. Here ends 
 the second part of the Song. 
 
 THE CHTTRCII. 
 
 1. On mj couch during the nights, 
 I sought Him whom my soul loveth ; 
 I sought Him, but I found Him not. 
 
 This exceedingly touching relation of the Bride regarding: 
 her sufferings during the night (or rather " nights," as she 
 calls it) of the absence of her Beloved, is largely and cir-. 
 c'mistantially illustrated in sacred history. The Bridegroom,' 
 who sees the end from the beginning, told her, in clear, 
 terms, what would happen to her during His temporaryi 
 absence, that she would not only leave many jackals, many 
 idolatrous Canaanites in the garden of God, but that she 
 would soon be led astray by them after their strange gods, 
 and break her covenant with her Beloved — that His wrath 
 would be kindled against her, and that He would forsake 
 her, and hide His face from her for a time, and when many 
 evils and troubles had in consequence befallen her, she would 
 then say : " are not these evils come upon me because my 
 God is not with me ?" Like Simon Barjonah of the new 
 covenant, the Bride could not believe that she would ever 
 be obliged to shed bitter te^rs of repentance, for having, as 
 
 I 
 
CHAPTER III. 1. ^39 
 
 he did, denied the Lord and Saviour thrice in one nijrht. 
 But as the hand-writing in Balshazzar's palace was fulfilled 
 that very night, as the reality of Nebuchadnezzar's dream 
 *'came upon him" in all its details, so Israel found them- 
 selves enveloped in the darkness of the dreary night, which 
 the Angel in the cloud predicted at His last appearance to 
 Moses in the tabernacle. 
 
 With the death of Joshua, the sun of Israel's summer 
 began to decline, and the shades of evening to gather and 
 become thicker until perfect night covered them. Though 
 in the first two verses of the book of Judges we are told 
 that immediately after Joshua's death the Lord answ^ered 
 Israel by the Urim and Thummini, we have in the same 
 chapter the melancholy account of the many territories, 
 cities, and districts, in which Israel allowed the doomed 
 jackals to abide in the midst of them, and which proved the 
 source of all their subsequent calamities. In the 2d chapter 
 of Judges we read : " And an angel of the Lord," (or, "the 
 angel Jehovah)," came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, 
 I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you 
 into the land which I sware unto your fathers ; and I said 
 I will never break my covenant with you. And ye shall 
 make no league with the inhabitants of this land ; ye shall 
 throw down their altars ; but ye have not obeyed my voice ; 
 why have ye done this ? I therefore say now, I will not 
 drive them out from before you, but they shall be as thorns 
 in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you. 
 And it came to pass, when the Angel of the Lord (or the 
 Angel Jehovah) spake these words unto all the children of 
 Israel, that the people lifted up their voice and wept. And 
 they called the name of that place Bochim (Weepings), and 
 sacrificed there unto the Lord."* Whatever be the form in 
 which the Angel appeared to Israel on that occasion, what- 
 ever be the way in which He convoked that General As- 
 sembly of the whole nation in order to address them in this 
 manner, there cannot be the least doubt that he was the 
 Angel of the Covenant, for His name is " Angel Jehovah," 
 and in His address He does not say, " Thus says the Lord," 
 but all along He speaks in His own name, " I brought you 
 out of Egypt. ... I brought 3^ou into this land. . . , 
 
 * Judges ii. 1— o, 
 
140 Tllfi SOKG OF SOLOMO\. 
 
 / sware unto your fathers . . / said^ I will never break 
 my covenant with you," . . . and at last, " I will not 
 drive them out from before you," which is equivalent to 
 saying, " I will no more be with you, nor in the midst 
 of you," and thus the beginning of the predicted night 
 was declared by the provoked Bridegroom Himself. Here 
 then w^e have the first explanation of the meaning of the 
 Bride's complaint when she says : " On my couch dur- 
 ing the night, I sought Him whom my soul loveth ; I 
 sought Him but I found Him not." At the rebuke admi- 
 nistered to her by the provoked Angel of the Covenant, 
 the backsliding Bride, who lay careless, as it were, on the 
 couch of neglect and forgetfulness, began to weep, and to 
 endeavour to appease her Beloved by sacrifices, but she 
 found Him not. He departed from her after telling her the 
 reason of His anger, and left her to mourn at the altar of 
 her useless sacrifices. Her transgression had already 
 reached beyond admonition, and demanded correction. Her 
 wounds were already too deep for being healed by slight 
 remedies and required to be cut. And cut they were, and often 
 with great severity, as we read in the same chapter, " And 
 Israel forsook the Lord, and served Baal and Ashtaroth. 
 And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he 
 delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, 
 and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round 
 about, so that they could not any longer stand before their 
 enemies. Whithersoever they went out the hand of the 
 Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had said, and 
 as the Lord had sworn unto them ; and they w^ere greatly 
 distressed."* Indeed, even during the dark nights of Israel'is 
 sufferings from Cushan-Rishathaim, king of Mesopotamia, 
 Eglon, king of Moab, Jabin, king of Hazor, the Philistines, 
 and Canaanites, &c., there appeared to them from time to 
 time some brilliant stars, as Othniel, Ehud, Barak, Deborah, 
 Shaingar, and others, but there was no sun ; the Lord w^as 
 not in the midst of them ; and as soon as the stars went 
 down complete darkness reigned, and Israel, lying on her 
 couch of backsliding, prostrate, and helpless, sought the 
 I^ord but found Him not. 
 
 A striking illustration of the thickness of this darkness, 
 
 * Jud. ii. 13-15. 
 
CHAPTER III. 1. 141 
 
 and of the way in which the mourning and oppressed Bride 
 knew her malady and its cause, is to be found in the begin- 
 ning of Gideon's history. Israel being oppressed and crushed 
 by Midian, Amalek, and the combined nations of the East, 
 felt the iron yoke so fearfully that they crept into the dens 
 and caves of the mountains for refuge ; but in these secret 
 places of the precipices, in these clefts of the rock, the Bride 
 weeps and mourns, and the Bridegroom, according to His 
 promise, at last hears her voice. The valiant son of Joash 
 was thrashing wheat in a cave (which served as a winepress 
 during the vintage), and hiding himself from the rapacious 
 Midianites. The long-absent Coveoant-Angel* appeared 
 to him under the oak which covered the entrance of the 
 leave and said unto him : " The Lord is with thee, thou 
 I mighty man of valour." This was to indicate that though the 
 'night of His absence from the nation in general, who would 
 I seek Him but not find Him, was still to continue for a long 
 time, yet still He was pleased to appear unto one of her sons 
 ' in the clefts of the rock," and work out by him a temporary- 
 deliverance, a season of respite, a short breathing hour for His 
 weary Bride, in order that she might not faint altogether un- 
 der the awful burden of her afflictions. Hence He said to young 
 Gideon, " The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of 
 valour." But the trembling and astonished young man re- 
 plied, " my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all 
 this befallen us ? And where are all His miracles which our 
 fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up 
 from Egypt ? but now the Lord hath forsaken us, and 
 delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. ""f This 
 answer of Gideon clearly am.ounts to this, "Ah, if the 
 almighty Angel of our Covenant who led us out of Egypt 
 and through the wilderness, in the pillar of cloud, had now 
 been with us, all these calamities could not have befallen us, 
 but alas. He is absent and far away from us ; it is night, 
 dark gloomy night ; we are covered with darkness ; we 
 seek Him, but find Him not, — how then sayest thou that our 
 Lord is with us?" " And the Lord looked upon him and 
 said. Go in this thy might"— or, "go in the strength of 
 this thine own confession " (z.e., that with the Lord who is 
 
 * That he was none else see Judges vi. 14, 16, 23, 25, where he is 
 called " Jehovah." 
 t Judg. vi, 13. 
 
142 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. S 
 
 mighty to save, Israel would be delivered from all his 
 oppressors) — "and thou shalt save Israel from the hands of 
 the Midianites. Do I not send thee ?"^ — i.e., seeing that 
 thou knowest that Israel's strength, victory, and glory 
 depend on my presence, and that ail calamities are caused 
 bv my absence, therefore take courage, for it is I, the very 
 Angel of the Covenant, who send thee, and through me 
 thou shalt overthrow thy nation's enemies, for though 
 I am not in the midst of you, because of your sins, 
 I am come to deliver you from your present afflictions, to 
 give you time for humiliation and repentance. We know 
 all that followed this wonderful interview, the condes- 
 cending love of the Lord in sirengtheninj: Gideon by 
 tokens and signs, and in giving to Israel a great victory 
 over their enemies, not by their swords, but by His own 
 invisible power, confounding the mighty army of their 
 enemies, so that they destroyed each other, and left Israel 
 free from their oppression. But this deliverance was only 
 like the feeble light which emanates from a passing star 
 that speedily passes away. The night soon became as dark 
 as ever, and the afflicted Bride sought Him whom her soul 
 loved, but found Him not. 
 
 Now, if we consider the first verse of this chapter in con- 
 nection with the above illustration, from Israel's historj^ at the 
 time of the Judges, we find in it a very striking resemblance 
 to the language of the Psalmist, when he said, " I cried 
 unto God with my voice, even unto God with mj^ voice, and 
 he gave ear to me. En the day of my trouble I sought the 
 Lord ; my sore run in the night, and ceased not " (or " mine ; < 
 arm was spread forth by night without ceasing,"),-]- '*my[ 
 soul refused to be comforted. I remembered God, and was ^ 
 troubled ; I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Thou 
 boldest mine eyes waking ; I am so troubled that I cannot 
 speak ; I have considered the days of old, the years of 
 ancient times ; I call to remembrance my song in the night ; 
 I commune with mine own heart, and my spirit made diligent 
 search Will the Lord cast off for ever ? and will he be 
 favourable no mure ? Is his mercy clean gone for ever ? 
 does his promise fail for ever more ? Hath God forgotten to 
 be gracious ? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies ?"| 
 
 * Judg. vi. 14. 
 
 + See the author's translation and exposition of that Psalm. 
 
 j Ps. Ixxvii. 1--9. 
 
CHAl'TER III. 1. , 143 
 
 If the first verse of this chapter contains the sentiments of 
 the first part of the Psalm quoted, we shall soon see how 
 wonderfully the second part of it explains the next verse of 
 the Song. 
 
 2. [1 said] Let me now rise, 
 And go about the city, 
 In the streets and in the broad ways, 
 And seek Him whom my soul loveth, 
 I sought Him, but I found Him not. 
 
 This resolution of the desolate Bride during the night of 
 her Beloved's absence, we find also largely explained in 
 sacred history. " And the children of Israel did evil again 
 in the sight of the Lord . . . and forsook the Lord, 
 and served him not. And the anger of the Lord was hot 
 against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of the Phi- 
 listines, and into the hands of the children of Ammon. . . 
 Moreover the children of Amnion passed over Jordan to 
 fight also against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against 
 the house of Ephraim : so that Israel was sore distressed. 
 And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, saying, 
 AVe have sinned against thee, both, because we have for- 
 "^saken our God and also served Baalim. And the Lord 
 fc-'iid unto the children of Israel, Did not I deliver you from 
 tie Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of 
 immon, and from the Philistines ? . . . Yet ve have 
 forsaken me, and served other gods ; wherefore I will deliver 
 vou no more. . . . But the children of Israel said 
 mto the Lord, We have sinned ; do thou unto us what- 
 soever seemeth good unto thee, only deliver us, Ave 
 pray thee, this day. And they put away the strange 
 gods from among them, and served the Lord : and his 
 ^oul was grieved for the misery of Israel."* Here 
 we see how the Bride rose up from her couch of indiffer- 
 ence, idolatry, and misery, and resolved to abandon her 
 idols and seek the Lord. While in the very act of doing 
 so she found relief and deliverance ; for Jephthah overthrew 
 the Ammonites with great slaughter, and procured peace to 
 her for a while. But did she then find the Lord perma- 
 
 * Judges X. 6—16, 
 
144 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 nently ? No, this was another passing star, which sooni 
 disappeared and left the night as gloomy as ever. Another 
 star made its appearance in Samson, but this also soon went 
 down and the night remained. There was, however, this 
 great difference, that the Bride was now not only awake 
 and thinking on her couch, of the past mercies of her Lord, 
 and asking herself the questions of the Psalmist in the Psalm 
 just quoted, " Will the Lord cast down for ever? Hath 
 God forgotten to be gracious ?" but she resolutely abandoned 
 her couch ; and knowing that the night was brought on by 
 her own sin, she resolved not to lie down again, but to go 
 about the streets and the broad places of the city, and 
 seriously examine herself and cry aloud in prayer for her 
 Lord until she found him. And here we compare some 
 expressions of the second part of the same Psalm, where 
 after all her musings, and doubts, and disencouragements, 
 that troubled soul is made to say further, " Then I said, 
 This is my infirmitj^, but I will remember the years of the 
 right hand of the Most High," or rather, " Then I said, I 
 failed sore; surely this change was effected by the right 
 hand of the Most High." The soul coming to herself re- 
 members that her doubts and fears are produced no less by] 
 her own faults and by her want of faith, than her present] 
 sufferings and change of fortune were produced by her sins, 
 Then she begins to abandon these doubts and fears, anf^ 
 says, " I will remember the works of the Lord, surely 
 will remember thy wonders of old. I will meditate on a! 
 thy works, and talk of thy doings. Thy way, God, is ii\|| 
 the sanctuary, who is so great a God as our God?"* Suchj 
 exactly was the decision and resolution of the awakenedl 
 Bride of our Song. !She now resolved to muse, and doubt,] 
 and speculate no more, but to go about and work an( 
 earnestly seek the Lord, in the faith that he was the same 
 wonderwoking and gracious God as he had been in the days 
 of old, and that all that seek Him will find Him. 
 
 The very distressing history of Israel's civil wars against] 
 the tribe of Benjamin furnishes us with another proof of the] 
 Bride's tirm resolution at that time to.seek the Lord persever- 
 ingly. Informed of the shocking murder committed by the] 
 inhabitants of Gibea on the concubine of the Levite, and its] 
 
 * Ps. Ixxvii. 10—13, see the followng verses. 
 
CHAPTER III. 2. 145 
 
 fearfully aggravated circumstances, all the children of Israel, 
 from Dan to Beershebah, and all those beyond the Jordan, 
 gathered together asonemanunto the Lord in Mizpah. When 
 the tribe of Benjamin refused to deliver the murderer for judg- 
 ment, Israel sent a deputation to Beth-el (/.e., to the house 
 of God which was at Shiloh), to ask the Lord by the Urim 
 and Thummim which of the tribes should commence the war 
 against Benjamin ? The Lord answered simply, " Judah," 
 but promised no victory. The fearful consequences shewed 
 what the Lord meant b}^ his silence beyond the simple 
 mention of the name of "■ Judah." It was to humble that 
 tribe which was regarded with respect and honour b}'' all 
 the rest, and to shew it, that the Lord's displeasure was not 
 yet removed from the nation because of her past iniquities. 
 Judah, therefore, on the first attack lost twenty and two 
 thousand men. But Israel, instead of being irritated and 
 discouraged, were only humbled, and went to Beth -el, and 
 wept before the Lord the whole day, and inquired if they 
 should all go to war against Benjamin? The Lord's answer 
 was again simph^, " Go up." After havin;; lost other 
 18,000 men, we are told, " Then all the children of Israel 
 and all the people went up, and came unto the house of God, 
 and wept, and sat there before the Lord, and fasted that 
 day until even, and offered burnt- offerings and peace-offer- 
 ings before the Lord. And the children of Israel inquired 
 f the Lord .... saying. Shall I yet again go up 
 3 battle against the children of Benjamin, or shall I cease? 
 nd the Lord said, Go up ; for to-morrow I will deliver 
 hem into thine hand."* This history is very remarkable, 
 and shews that Israel as a nation had gained much from 
 the severe lessons which she received during the dark night. 
 There certainly was a conviction and humiliation and a 
 ^'1 strong resolution to seek the Lord, if after two such defeats, 
 A instead of returning everyone to his ow^n house and leaving 
 f| !;he horrid crime unpunished, they acknowledged the justice 
 1 of their punishment from the hand of a righteous God, and 
 4 resolved to continue to humble themselves before him by 
 li«| fasting, supplications, and sacrifices, knowing that He must 
 desire the punishment of such an awful crime, and that Llis 
 design by their defeats was to shew them their own sinfulness. 
 
 Judges XX. 26 — 28. 
 
146 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 iSo the Lord pitied them at last and answered them with a 
 decided promise of victory, which was verified by a fearful 
 judgment on the guilty tribe which was almost destroyed. 
 But nevertheless the Bridegroom was still absent, the night 
 still dark ; and the mourning Bride still continued to seek 
 Hirn whom her soul loved, but found Him not. 
 
 3. The watchmen found me, 
 
 Even those (watchmen) that go about the city ; 
 Saw ye Him whom my soul loveth ? 
 
 Bv the " Watchmen that go about the city," we think 
 that the prophets and other servants of God invested with 
 divine authority, as were many of the judges, princes, and 
 priests, are without doubt intended. This is evident, in the 
 first place, from Isaiah, who says in the name of the Lord, 
 '• I have set watchmen upon thy walls, Jerusalem, who 
 shall never hold their peace day nor night ; ye that 
 make mention of the Lord (or rather as the margin reads 
 ' ye that are the Lord's remembrancers ') keep not silence, 
 and give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make 
 Jerusalem a praise in the earth."* And in the second 
 place, we have in the fifth chapter of this Song the very 
 same watchmen introduced, "where they are also called " the 
 keepers of the walls," and where we shall see that those 
 prophets are meant who repeatedly and severely rebuked 
 Israel for their sins, and foretold the fearful judgments and 
 chastisement to be poured upon them by a provoked God 
 We have, therefore, to go no farther for the meaning of the 
 " watchmen " in our verse ; for they were no other than 
 Samuel and his school of prophets. The only thing that 
 remains for us to shew is, that in the days of that prophet 
 the Bride made diligent search for her Beloved, inquiring at 
 the watchmen about Him, but that she found Him not 
 though in his day the night was far spent, and his appear-j 
 ance, like the morning star, indicated the approach of day. 
 And here we must keep in mind that at the very beginning 
 of the official administration of that Nazarite prophet, the 
 greatest calamities overtook Israel, in the capture of the 
 Ark of the Covenant by the Philistines, in the massacre of 
 
 * l3 Ixii 0, 7. 
 
CHAPTER III. 3. 147 
 
 the priests and Levites, in the death of Eli the venerable 
 high-priest, and in the ultimate complete destruction of 
 Shiloh, the place where the ark had remained since the 
 days of Joshua. At the death of that prophet also a thick 
 cloud of darkness and miser}^ still hung over the nation — 
 for their king Saul had become a monster of wickedness 
 and cruelty — the Philistines, their deadly enemies, had 
 gained the complete mastery over them, and David, the 
 newly anointed servant of the Lord, had been pursued hard 
 by Saul and driven into dens and caverns in the wilder- 
 ness. All these melancholy events, though deplorable in 
 themselves and dark looking at the time, were indeed so 
 many mysterious preparations for the coming day, as we 
 shall soon see ; still Israel could not say at that time that 
 she found Him whom her soul loved, nor could she say 
 that her search then proved in vain, as it did during the 
 former part of the long night. All that Solomon, there- 
 fore, made her say regarding that period is, that she met 
 the watchmen and asked them — " Watchmen, what shall 
 become of the night?" " Have ye seen Him whom my soul 
 loveth ?" That she did so — that she asked Samuel for her Be- 
 loved, is shown in the following passage, "Audit came to pass, 
 while the ark stood in Kirjath-jearim, (and that time was 
 long ; for it was twenty years), that all the house of Israel la- 
 mented (or 'panted with desire' ) after the Lord. And Samuel 
 spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto 
 the Lord with all your hearts, put away the strange gods and 
 Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto 
 the Lord, and serve him only ; and he wdll deliver you out 
 of the hand of the Philistines. Then the children of Israel 
 did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the Lord 
 only. And Samuel said. Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, 
 and I will pra}'^ for you unto the Lord. And they gathered 
 together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out 
 before the Lord (a sign of their repentance with abundance 
 of tears), and fasted on that day, and said there, We have 
 sinned against the Lord."* The Philistines being informed 
 of that gathering at Mizpeh, came w^ith their armies against 
 them. Israel was affrighted, and said to Samuel, " Cease 
 not to cry unto the Lord our God for us that He will save U!< 
 
 * 1 Sam. vii. 2—6. 
 
 G 2 
 
148 TUE SONG or SOLOMON. 
 
 out of the hand of the Philistines. And Samuel took a 
 sucking-laiub and offered it as a burnt-offering wholly unto 
 the Lord, and Samuel cried unto the Lord for Israel, and the 
 Lord answered him. . . . And the Lord thundered 
 with a great voice on that day upon the Philistines, and 
 discomfitted them ; and they were smitten before Israe'' 
 It was on that occasion that Samuel planted the Eben-Ezer, 
 saving, " Hitherto hath the Lord helped us."* 
 
 Before proceeding further, we have two short remarks to 
 make — .1st, How significant and beautiful is the expression 
 used by the Bride, " The watchmen found me /" The 
 watchmen who were sent by the Lord for that purpose, found 
 her going about seeking her Beloved. Had she not been 
 doing so, the watchmen would either not have found her, or 
 found her to no purpose. At another time the Lord com- 
 plained that He sent watchman after watchman, prophet after 
 prophet, " rising early and sending them," but that Israel 
 did not profit by them, because she was then asleep in deep 
 indifference and sin. But now the watchmen found her 
 because she was going about seeking her l^eloved ; and 
 though it did not lead to the entire discovery of Him, yet 
 this meeting with the watchmen was of great benefit to her, 
 as we learn from the passage quoted above. 
 
 In chap. v. the watchmen meet her again and again, during 
 her search for her Beloved, but instead of comforting her, as 
 ^Samuel did, they smite and wound her. And why ? Be- 
 cause Samuel found her at the end of a long night, and the 
 dawn of a glorious day, while there the prophets found her 
 at the very commencement of a gloomy night, and foretold to 
 her the sufferings she would undergo during its continuance. 
 
 2nd, Our second remark is about the interesting fact, that 
 towards the end of the long night of the Bridegroom's 
 absence, He was pleased to indicate His speedy return by 
 pouring out the spirit of prophecy on a great number of 
 men, under their leader and teacher, the holy prophet 
 Samuel. From 1 Sam. x. 5, xix. 20 — 24, we learn that 
 in tho>e days, the Spirit of prophecy was poured out largely 
 on many Israelites, who were to be seen in whole " com- 
 panies," traversing the land in all directions, and thus pre- 
 paring the nation for the coming of the brilliant day of the 
 
 * 1 Sara. Tii. 7 — 10. See to the end of the chap. 
 

 CHAPTER III. 4. 149 
 
 return of the Covenant angel, to abide again between the che- 
 rubim, to dwell again in the midst of His chosen people, His 
 beloved Bride. How mysterious the ways of the ever gracious 
 God of Israel, who in the midst of wrath remembereth mercy, 
 and sends forerunners of Hi^; grace, to the comfort and joy 
 of His people that wait for Him I 
 
 4. It was but a little after I had passed from them, 
 That I found Him whom my soul loveth, 
 I held Him, and would not let Him go, 
 Until I had brought Him into my mother's house. 
 And into the chamber of her that conceived me. 
 
 Emerging from the clouds of misery and affliction which 
 covered her during the long night, the rejoicing Bride found 
 the interval comparatively short between her meeting Samuel 
 and asking him for her Beloved, and her happiness in find- 
 ing Him whom her soul loved ; though that period was full 
 .of events, of which some were very disastrous. Indeed the 
 farther we enter into this Song the more we find it to be 
 like an astronomical globe, on which a small group of little 
 points represents some great siderial system comprising 
 many worlds in the immeasurable space, and where a single 
 and scarcely perceptible mark stands for some enormous star 
 many thousands of times larger than our globe. Solomon, in 
 the small space which his song occupies, could but sketch some 
 of the more prominent events illustrative of the love of the 
 eternal God to His chosen and beloved Church on earth ; 
 and even those he could only describe in a few words — till 
 he comes to the happy period in his own reign, when the 
 Church had reached the highest pinnacle of glory under the 
 Old Testament dispensation, when He enlarges somewhat 
 more in its description. 
 
 " It was but a little" (or "but a short while") " after 1 
 had passed from them," i.e., but a little while after I had 
 left the watchmen whom I asked if they had seen my Be- 
 loved, "that I found him whom my soul loveth," &c. It 
 was but a short time after the death of the prophet Samuel, 
 which was lamented by the whole nation,* that King Saul, 
 on account of his inquities, especially on account of the blood 
 of the priests of the city of Nob, whom he had mercilessly 
 
 * See 1 Sam. xxv. 1, xxviii. 3. 
 
150 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 destroyed with their wives and children, found himself in- 
 volved in his last disastrous war with the Philistines, when 
 the Lord refused to answer him by dreams, or by the Urim, 
 or by prophets. But at the very time that the cloud of 
 divine wrath enveloped Saul and his camp, the Lord was 
 with David, the " man after his own heart," answered him 
 by the Urim, and gave him a great victory over the preda- 
 tory bands of the Amalekites * After the death of Saul, 
 David asked the Lord for direction, and was ordered to go 
 to Hebron, where he was anointed king over the tribe of 
 Judah, and, seven years later, over all Israel. When David 
 saw himself established king over all Israel according to the 
 Lord's promise, by the prophet Samuel, his first step was 
 directed towards Jerusalem to take possession of Mount 
 Zion, the chosen mountain of God, regarding which Moses 
 said in his song of deliverance, " Thou shalt bring them in, 
 and plant them on the rrountain of thine inheritance, in the 
 place, Lord, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in : 
 in the sanctuary, Lord, which thine hands have esta- 
 blished."-}- That mountain was still in the possession of the 
 Jebusites, who had a very strong castle on it, which David 
 took from them, and on that part of the conquered moun- 
 tain built a city which was called the city of David. But 
 it seems that by convention David allowed to Araunah, 
 the subdued Jebusite king, (who, according to 2 Sam. xxiv. 
 16 — 25, appears to have become a proselyte to the true 
 religion), to retain some of his possessions on it, among which 
 was the threshing-floor on Mount Moriah, which afterwards 
 proved, by a special revelation from God, to be the very spot 
 on which the sanctuary was to be built, as we shall see here- 
 after. 
 
 We thus clearly see that immediately after the coronation 
 of David as king over all Israel, the last shades of the 
 gloomy night completely dispersed, the bright day dawned, 
 the glorious and long-absent Bridegroom appeared again 
 among his people, and that joyful morning grew brighter 
 and brighter unto the perfect day. Soon after David took 
 possession of Mount Zion, and began to build the city of 
 that name. We read, "And David went on, and grew 
 great, and the Lord God of Hosts was with him. . . , 
 
 * 1 Sam. XXX. + Exod. xv, 17. 
 
CHAPTER III. 4. 151 
 
 And David perceived that the Lord had established him 
 king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for 
 his people Israel's sake."* The Philistines, alarmed at the 
 rapid progress of Israel towards glory and power under 
 their new king, invaded Judea, " and spread themselves in 
 the valley of Rephaim. And David inquired of the Lord, 
 saying, shall I go up to the Philistines ? wilt thou deliver 
 them into mine hand? And the Lord said unto David, 
 Go up ; for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into 
 thine hand."-|- He obej^ed, and overthrew them with great 
 slaughter ; still, however, the Philistines gathered the re- 
 mains of their broken armies, and recruited them, and put 
 forth all their strength in a second effort in the same valley. 
 David again asked counsel of the Lord, and was ordered not 
 to attack the enem^^ in front, but to " fetch a compass be- 
 hind them " [i.e., to enclose them round about, so as not to 
 allow them an easy retreat, and thus finish the war at once), 
 " and come upon them over against the mulberry-trees. 
 And let it be, when thou shalt hear the sound of steps in 
 the tops of the mulberry -trees, that then thou shalt bestir 
 thyself : for then shall the Lord go out before thee to smite 
 the host of the Philistines. "J The victory that followed 
 was such as to put an end to the contest with the Philis- 
 tines for a long time to come, and to show to Israel that the 
 mighty Angel that led them through the wilderness had 
 graciously returned to them to protect them against their 
 enemies, and had manifested His presence by the sound of 
 His invincible hosts, which had fought against their nearest 
 and bitterest adversaries and overthrown them. 
 
 Thus the long desolate Bride found her Beloved again at 
 the bright day- break of David's reign ; Him of whom Moses 
 sang at the Red Sea, " Jehovah is a man of war : Jehovah 
 is his name. . . . Thy right hand, Lord, is glorious 
 in power : thy right hand, Lord, hath dashed in pieces 
 the enemy. "§ Him of whom David afterwards sung, 
 " Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, thou mighty one, with 
 thy glory and with thy majesty." || Him she found and 
 would not let go, until she brought Him with shouting and 
 joy, and songs of triumph, into the chamber provided on 
 
 * 2 Sam. V. 10—12. f 2 Sam. v. 18, 19. + 2 Sam. t. 24. 
 
 § Exod. XV, 3—6. II P8. xlv. 3, 
 
152 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 Mount Zion for His holy Chariot, the Ark of the Covenant ; 
 for 80 her devoted prince *' sware unto the Lord, and vowed 
 unto the mighty God of Jacob, Surely I will not come into 
 the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed ; I will 
 not give sleep to mine eyes, nor slumber to mine eyelids, 
 until I have found a place for the Lord, an habitation for 
 the mighty God of Jacob."* And so we read in sacred 
 history, that immediately after the triumph over the Philis- 
 tines, by the Lord's presence, " David arose and went with 
 all the people that were with him, to bring up from Baalah 
 of Judea (which is the same with Kirjath Jearim), the Ark 
 of God, whose name is called by the name of the Lord of 
 Hosts that dwelleth between the cherubim. "7 Though on 
 that occasion the Lord showed his displeasure in the death 
 of the daring Uzzah (for the Levites were to carry the 
 covered Ark by its projecting staves, but were prohibited 
 from touching it on pain of death, :j: while on this occasion 
 it was carried on a wagsron, and Uzzah dared to touch it), 
 still the Bride was not discouraged by that event, nor would 
 she let her Bridegroom go ; but after three months went 
 again, and brought it up to Zion with shoutings and great 
 joy, thousands chanting and playing on instruments, and 
 Levites exclaiming, " Lift up j^our heads, ye gates, and 
 be ye lift up ye everlasting doors, and the King of Glory 
 shall enter in ;" one division of the choir asking, "Who is 
 this King of Glory ?" and another answering in triumph, 
 " The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle, 
 he is the King of Glory ;"§ and the sweet singer of Israel 
 himself exclaiming with exulting voice, " let us go into 
 his tabernacle ; let us worship at his footstool. Arise, 
 Lord, into thy rest, thou and the ark of ihj strength. Let 
 thy priests be clothed with righteousness ; and let thy saints 
 shout for joy. "11 
 
 As we must come again on this pleasant subject, to which 
 we shall find allusion made in the 6th, 7th, and 8th verses 
 of this chapter, we shall only remark here, that this is by 
 no means the only passage of Scripture in which sometimes 
 Zion, sometimes Jerusalem, and sometimes both together, 
 are called the mother of the Church of God. Moses had 
 
 * Ps. cxxxii. 2—5. f 2 Sam. vi. 2. % Num. iv. 15. 
 
 § Ps. xxiv. 7, 8. 11 Ps. cxxxii. 7—9. 
 
CHAPTER III. 4. 153 
 
 already called Mount Zion, " the mountain of God's inheri- 
 tance ;" " the place, Lord, which ihou hast made for thee 
 to dwell in."* David had said, " For the Lord hath chosen 
 Zion ; he hath desired it for his habitation."! Hence Zion 
 is called the Lord's " footstool" [i.e., the place of his throne 
 on earth, Ps. xcix. 5, cxxxii. 7) ; and the Lord said regard- 
 ing her, " The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee . . 
 . . . to beautify the place of my sanctuary ; and I will 
 make the place of my feet glorious. "| Again the Lord 
 calls her, " The place of my throne, and the place of the 
 soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the 
 children of Israel for ever."§ Hence it is with great pro- 
 priety that the Church of God is called in Scripture, 
 " Daughter of Zion," and that Zion is regarded as the mother 
 of the Church. When Zion, in deep distress because of the 
 captivity and sufferings of her children, is made to say, 
 " The Lord hath forsaken me, and my God hath forgotten 
 me," the Lord answers by the prophet, " Can a woman for- 
 get her sucking child She may forget, but I 
 
 will not forget thee. . . . Thy children shall hasten to 
 thee. . . . As I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt surely 
 clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament." || Again, 
 the Lord, speaking to captive Israel, saith, " Where is the 
 bill of your mother's divorcement, whom I have sent away ? 
 (i.e., Zion) or which of my creditors is it to whom I have 
 sold you ? Behold, by your iniquities have ye sold your- 
 selves, and for your transgressions was your mother sent 
 away."^ We could quote many more passages to the same 
 purpose, but the above, taken in connection with the events 
 described, are sufficient to explain what the Bride means in 
 saying, that when she had found her Beloved she laid hold 
 on Him and would not let Him go until she brought Him into 
 her mother's house, into the temporary sanctuary prepared 
 by David on Mount Zion, and into " the chamber of her 
 that conceived her." With regard to the last expression, 
 we beg the reader to remember that the most precious pro- 
 mises made to Abraham and the everlasting covenant made 
 with him, were ratified and confirmed by an oath on Mount 
 Moriah, when the father of the faithful was called upon to 
 
 * Exod. XT. 17. t Ps. cxxxii. 13. ; Is. Ix. 13. 
 
 § Ezek. xliii. 7. || Is. xlix. 14—25. H Is. 1. 1. See Is. Hi. 
 
 Q 3 
 
154 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 prefigure the mysterious and awful scene of Golgotha, wher^ 
 the eternal Father gave his onlj^ begotten Son in sacrifice 
 for the Church ; hence the Church with great propriety can 
 also call Zion " her that conceived me." Finally, the 
 Psalmist himself describes in glowing language the long 
 night which enveloped Israel during the absence of her 
 Beloved, and His ultimate return to her in great glory and 
 splendour : " He cast out the heathen also before them, and 
 divided them an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of 
 Israel to dwell in their tents. Yet they tempted and pro- 
 voked the Most High God and kept not his testimonies. . 
 . . . When God heard this he was wroth, and greatly 
 abhorred Israel. So that he forsook the tabernacle of 
 Shiloh, the tent which he placed among men ; and delivered 
 his strength into captivity, and his glory into the enemies' 
 hand. He gave over his people also unto the sword, and 
 was wroth with his inheritance. The fire consumed their 
 young men ; and their maidens were not given in marriage. 
 Their priests fell by the sword ; and their widows made no 
 lamentation. Then the Lord awaked as one out of sleep, 
 and like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine, and 
 he smote his enemies in their rear guard (referring to 
 David's victory over the army of the Philistines whom he 
 attacked in the rear according to the Lord's order*) ; he 
 put them to a perpetual reproach. Moreover, he refused the 
 tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim ; 
 but chose the tribe of Judah, the Mount Zion which he 
 loved. "-|- Thus we have in this Psalm a full description of 
 the history of the same period of which our Song treats in 
 the first four verses of this chapter. 
 
 5. I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, 
 By the roes or by the hinds of the field, 
 If ye stir up, or if ye disturb this love, 
 Until it hath (or " shall ") become complete. 
 
 In the second chapter, verses 4 — 7, we have seen that 
 when the mutual love between the Bridegroom and Bride 
 had reached a great height — when the manifestations of His 
 love on the dedication feast were such that it made her say l 
 
 * 2 Sam. V. 24. f Ps. Ixxviii. 55-68. 
 
CHAPTER III. 5. 155 
 
 '' The king brought me into his chambers, and his banner 
 over me was (or is) love," she was also represented in 
 verse 7 as if afraid lest the daughters of Jerusalem, or the 
 Gentile nations, should become jealous of her glory, and by 
 rivalry divide or disturb her love before it accomplished its 
 aim, in the consummation of the marriage, and there she 
 likewise adjured them, in the very same words, to allow 
 that love to go on and reach its proper issue undisturbed. 
 After many vicissitudes that love again reached a great 
 height in the days of David, when the Bridegroom returned 
 and dwelt in all His glory on Mount Zion ; and with this 
 change the fear of rivalry again revived, and therefore the 
 Bride renews her charge against the daughters of Jerusalem, 
 conjuring them again not to disturb that love until it had 
 become complete, or until it shall have ripened to the ac- 
 complishment of the matrimonial engagement.* We only 
 remark here one important difference in the circumstances 
 on these two solemn occasions. The tabernacle in the 
 wilderness was a portable sanctuary in which the Co- 
 venant-Angel dwelt only when erected on Israel's en- 
 campment. The Bride being then a poor wanderer in a 
 dreary desert, and guided as it were blindfold by her 
 Beloved in the pillar of cloud and fire, it was then very- 
 proper for her to say : " The king hath brought me into 
 His chambers." But her position now was entirely changed. 
 She was now completely settled in the Land of Promise, 
 and planted in safety around her mother. Mount Zion, 
 when King David had built a temporary sanctuary soon to 
 be superseded by a magnificent temple, to which he had 
 brought the Ark of the Covenant, and invited the King 
 of Glory to enter and dwell between the Cherubim, 
 and therefore the joy-enraptured Bride says now : " I 
 brought him into the house of my mother." But although 
 this was a great step in the progress of that love ; though 
 the Bride was now in one sense surer than ever before of 
 her Beloved's affections, still her fears of being disturbed by 
 rivals, and her ambition of being the only Bride of the 
 divine Bridegroom, the only chosen nation of the Most 
 High God, increased instead of diminished. And mav not 
 
 * For the further explanation of which we refer the reader to our 
 exposition in chap. ii. 7, and Note pp. 108. 
 
156 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 this be intended as an intimation by the sacred author, yea 
 by the Spirit of prophecy, that the marriage of the Lamb 
 with his Church was not to be consummated, until that 
 Church shall contain virgins of all nations and tongues, and 
 when the Bride, instead of being jealous, shall herself invite 
 " virgins, her companions " to come and embrace the love 
 and free grace of the King of Glory, and partake with her 
 of His salvation ! 
 
 HERE ENDS THE SECOND PART OF THE SONG. 
 
( 157 
 
 PART III. 
 
 Argument of Verses 6—11 of Chap. hi. 
 
 (Vv. 6 — 8.) A graphic though short description of the solemnities of 
 the happy day of the translation of the Ark to Mount Zion ; its intro- 
 duction into the temporary sanctuary ; allusion to the order of Levites 
 in the service of that sanctuary. (Vv. 9 — 11) Contain a short descrip- 
 tion of Solomon's temple; of the inner sanctuary ; Ark and Cherubim ; 
 and an allusion to the wonderful display of glory and divine majesty 
 by the Covenant-Angel on the day of the dedication of that temple. 
 
 [first choir of levites.] 
 
 6. Who is this (or she) that cometh up from the wilderness 
 Like columns of smoke,^ perfumed with myrrh, 
 
 And incense of all the powders of the merchants ? 
 
 [second choir of levites.] 
 
 7. Behold here the palanquin of Solomon,f 
 Three score valiant men are about it, 
 Of the mighty men of Israel. 
 
 * " Like the columns of smoke." But literally py ninoirs 
 
 (Kethimroth ashan) means " like the palm-trees of smoke"— a beautiful 
 figure for the columns of smoke ascending, in a calm and serene day, 
 from the altar of incense, upright like a palm-tree to a great height, 
 and then bowing their head and dividing into branches by the pressure 
 of the air, becoming like an inverted crown at the top of the column. 
 One must see both at once, to appreciate the beauty of the comparison. 
 Though in our word a ^ is introduced after the first jn, still there can be 
 no doubt that the root of the word is -i»3p (Tamar) •* Palm-tree ;" for 
 
 in Joel ii. 30 (or iii. 3) the same word occurs without the •*. For further 
 explanation, see Exposition. 
 
 t '* The palanquin" or sedan, or portable vehicle, in which kings in 
 the East used to be carried when on a long journey — also a sort of 
 pleasure couch or sofa, on which they reposed by day when fatigued 
 with business, and after repast. And here we think it proper to observe 
 the difierence between the three Hebrew words usually rendered by 
 " bed" in the common version — 1st, b^y (Eress) never signifies " bed," 
 
 but always "pavilion or palanquin," for being carried from place to 
 place, or *' pleasure couch," for repose by day in health or in sickness ; 
 but never for sleep by night. 2d, n-jitt (Mittah), which in most places 
 
158 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 8. Thej all bear swords, being expert in war ; 
 Every one hath his sword upon his thigh 
 Because of the fear in the night. 
 
 Here we have, in a few but comprehensive and beautiful 
 lines, the celebration of the great solemnity which took place 
 on the day of the translation of the Ark of God from the 
 house of Obed-edorn to Mount Zion, when Israel, along with 
 their devoted king David, greatly rejoiced before the Lord. 
 Indeed, solemnities of such a nature Israel enjoyed only 
 twice, first in the days of David as now mentioned, and next 
 
 has the same signification as the former, meaning "palanquin or sedan," 
 also a " pleasure couch" for repose by day (see Amos iii. 12, and vi. 4, 
 where both Eress and Mittah are described as used by rich worldlings 
 at and after their banquets). Such was the Mittah or ccuch on whicti 
 Queen Esther sat at the banquet in the King's Palace (see Esther vii. 
 8), and which could not be anything else but a magnificent palanquin 
 or pleasure couch for repose by day (see our remarks on chap. i. ver. 16, 
 and note there). These rich people used also when in illness to repose 
 by day. On such a Mittah or couch Jacob lay by day when he received 
 Jospph (Gen. xlvii. 31), but his bed on which he slept by night is called 
 23'i">3 (Mishkav), "sleeping, or lying couch," in German " Schlafstatte," 
 
 (see Gen. xlix. 4), and this Mishkav is the third word rendered " bed" 
 in the common version and the only one positively signifying in 
 Hebrew " bed" for sleeping on by night. The Mittah and Eress 
 of the rich were of magnificent form and rich material, as pre- 
 cious wood, silver and gold, or ivory (see Amos vi. 4, " beds of 
 ivory"). Such like must have been David's jBress or pleasure couch, 
 which he sware not to ascend until the tabernacle on Mount Zion 
 for the reception of the Ark should be ready (Ps. cxxxii. 3). The 
 Mishkav, or common couch for sleep by night, originally consisted of 
 bedding spread on the ground (as is still in use among the unsoftened 
 and uncorrupted people of the East), though those of the rich might 
 have been softer and costlier mattresses than those of the poor. But 
 luxury soon introduced among the rich the use of a sort of Mittah 
 instead of the simple floor-spread Mishkav by night. Hence these 
 two words are sometimes promiscuously used to denote either the night 
 couch or the day sofa, as in 2 !Sam. iv. 5, Ishbosheth lay " on a bed at 
 noon" literally, " he lay the lying of noon-day," ^.e.,he reposed on his 
 couch at noon according to custom. This was done on a Mittah or 
 "pleasure couch," thousrh it stood in his bedroom (v. 7), and might 
 have served for both Mittah and Mishkav. As was said above the 
 Mittah and Eress were also used for carrying great men from place to 
 place, hence the State-bier, on which the coffins of great men were car- 
 ried at the funeral, was also called Mittah (see 2 Sam. iii. 31). Finally 
 in this veiy Song we have a careful distinction made between Mishkav 
 and Mittah. In the first verse of this chapter, where the Bride speaks 
 of her sufi'erings during the nights of her Lord's absence, she says: 
 " Upon my a^-rtJ (Mishkav) during the nights," and not " upon my 
 
 Mittah ;" ior it "was not yet common to use the Mittah by night, whilst 
 here in this verse it is Mittah meaning " palanquin" or " sedan," and 
 used as a figure for the Ark of the Covenant. See Exposition. 
 
CHAPTER III. 8. 159 
 
 In the days of Solomon at the dedication of the temple. 
 Both of these extraordinary events are celebrated in the 
 second half of the 3d chapter of this Song. But before 
 entering on the explanation of the passage before us, we 
 think it of importance to notice, first, that the whole of what 
 we call the second part of the Song, commencing at chap, 
 ii. ver. 8, and ending with chap. iii. ver. 5 inclusive, and 
 extending over the whole period from the dedication of the 
 tabernacle in the wilderness at the foot of Mount Sinai to 
 the dedication of David's tabernacle on Mount Zion, is 
 spoken by the Bride cdune, and that Solomon evidently chose 
 this method for the sake of brevity as well as beauty. 
 Moreover, it would have been difficult, if not impossible, to 
 continue the dialogue between Bridegroom and Bride over 
 a period during which their communion was twice inter- 
 rupted, once, in the wilderness, after the great disturbance 
 caused by the spies, and the thirty-eight years of gloomy 
 winter that followed, and again, during the long night that 
 continued in the times of the Judges. Solomon, therefore, 
 chose the far better way, of putting the whole of the second 
 part into the mouth of the Bride alone. Standing now on 
 Mount Zion, rejoicing before the Lord, and offering sacri- 
 fices of peace and deliverance, she looks back on all the 
 vicissitudes and sufferings, deliverances and encouragements, 
 which she had experienced since the day she stood before 
 her God at Horeb, and rejoiced at the dedication of the 
 tabernacle. Now she recounts with tears of joy all that 
 happened to her since she left the mountain of God, and the 
 scenes of Sinai, until she came to the chosen and holy Mount 
 Zion, to which she brought the Ark of the Covenant as soon 
 as she found her Beloved after His along absence. Arrived 
 with the x4irk on Mount Zion she stops her recital, and 
 leaves to the choirs of Levites to celebrate the solemnities 
 of the day, in which, playing on their instruments and 
 adoring and praising the Lord for His mercies and for His 
 works of wonder towards His chosen people Israel, they 
 should likewise sing of the relation of God to His Church, 
 and the happiness and glory of the Bride in her Beloved. 
 
 Sacred history informs us that when David resolved to 
 bring the Ark of the Covenant from the house of Obed-edom, 
 where it remained three months, to Mount Zion, and place 
 it in the tabernacle which he had prepared, he gathered all 
 
160 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 th e children of Israel, purified and sanctified the priests and 
 Levites, formed from the latter a numerous choir of singers 
 and players on instruments, divided and arranged under 
 their leaders or chief musicians ; " So David, and the elders 
 of Israel, and the captains over thousands, went to bring up 
 the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord out of the house of 
 Obed-edom with joy. xA.nd it came to pass when God 
 helped the Levites that bare the Ark of the Covenant of 
 the Lord, that they offered seven bullocks and seven rams. 
 Aud David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, and all 
 the Levites that bare the Ark, and the singers, and 
 Chenauiah, the master of the song, with the singers ; David 
 had also upon him an ephod of linen. Thus all Israel 
 brought up the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord with 
 sliouting, and with the sound of the cornet, and with trum- 
 pets, and with cymbals, making music with psalteries and 
 harps. ... So they brought the Ark of God, and set 
 it in the midst of the tabernacle that David had prepared 
 for it : and they offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings 
 before God. And when David had made an end of offering 
 the burnt-offerings and the peace-offerings, he blessed the 
 people in the name of the Lord . . . and he appointed 
 certain of the Levites to minister before the Ark of the 
 Lord, and to celebrate, and to thank and praise the Lord 
 God of Israel."* It was no doubt on that happy day that 
 the magnificent 24th Psalm was first sung, when the choir 
 of Levites that accompanied those who brought the Ark to 
 the door of the tabernacle exclaimed, " Lift up your heads, 
 ye gates, and let the King of Glory enter!" — and when 
 the choir, stationed within the tabernacle, asked, " Who is 
 this King of Glory?" those without answered, "The Lord 
 strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle ; the Lord of 
 Hosts, He is the King of Glory." We are also told that it 
 was on that solemn day that David delivered unto Asaph 
 and his brethren a part of the 105th Psalm to be sung before 
 the Lord — a Psalm which, among seraphic strains, and 
 angelic adoration and praise, records also the wonders of the 
 Lord of Hosts, and the marvellous loving kindness that he 
 showed to His chosen people from the day that he made the 
 Covenant with Abraham, unto that on which a great part of 
 
 • 1 Chron. xv. 25 -28 ; xvi 1—4. 
 
CHAPTER III. 8, 161 
 
 His promises were fulfilled. This was likewise the first 
 occasion since Israel came out of Egypt that they offered to 
 the Lord such an enormous number of sacrifices. Accord- 
 ing to the account given of that holy procession in 2 Sam. 
 vi. 13, after every six steps the Levites made with the Ark, 
 David ofiered a bullock and a ram, so that the whole road 
 from the house of Obed-edom to Mount Zion was full of 
 altars with sacrifices and incense, from which columns of 
 smoke ascended towards heaven, lifting proudly their heads 
 like a line or alley of lofty palm trees through which the 
 procession passed. How beautiful therefore the metaphor 
 employed by Solomon when putting that question into the 
 mouth of the Levites, "Who is this (or who is she) that 
 cometh up from the wilderness like columns (or palm-trees) 
 of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and incense of all the 
 powders of the merchant T^ And the answer to this was, 
 " Behold here the palanquin of Solomon," z.e., see here the 
 Ark of the Prince of Peace, of the Covenant Angel dwelling 
 between the Cherubim on the mercy-seat, and see here the 
 armed and mighty men of war that surround it, and inasmuch 
 as the men carrjang and surrounding that throne of glory 
 belong to the house of Israel, she who cometh forth so 
 triumphantly from the wilderness of vicissitudes and suffer- 
 ings must certainly be the Bride of that King of Glory — her 
 rejoicings, her sacrifices, and incense burnt on these altars 
 are an indication that " the Lord her God is with her, and 
 the shoutings of a King in the midst of her. She exults 
 for joy because her long absent Lord and King hath re- 
 turned to dwell in the midst of her ; she hath brought him 
 into her mother's house, upon Mount Zion, the beloved and 
 chosen hill of God." 
 
 The figure employed in this passage was taken from 
 scenes very common in those days in the East. If a matri- 
 monial alliance was agreed upon between two princely families 
 whose dominions were separated by a large tract of unin- 
 habited country or desert, the bridegroom, at a time ap- 
 pointed, despatched a general with a strong detachment of 
 his army, and with his royal palanquin, to bring the bride 
 from her native country. Accompanied likewise by a guard 
 of honour of her father's army, she was carried with great 
 pomp and ceremony through the wilderness — sweet spices 
 were burnt continually before her pavilion to purify the air 
 
162 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 of the noxious vapours ; and at night when the whole train 
 reposed, her palanquin was placed in the centre of the cainp, 
 and a strong guard of the mightiest warriors surrounded it 
 in turns with their armour ready for action in case of an 
 attack by some nocturnal bands of the predatory Arabs. A 
 caravan of travellers meeting such a procession in the wil- 
 derness, would stand astonished for a while, and ask one 
 another, " Who is this princess coming forth from the wil- 
 derness preceded by such volumes of smoke?"— the smoke 
 of the incense burnt before her pavilion. The answer 
 would naturally be, " Behold the palanquin with its banners 
 and ensigns belonging to this or that king, behold these 
 warriors around it who belong to this or that nation ; it 
 must therefore be the bride of the prince of that nation, 
 who is conveyed to her bridegroom — hence that pomp, 
 hence that solemn procession and their rejoicings." In our 
 Song the case was somewhat different, but still the figure is 
 no less appropriate and striking. Here the great King of 
 Zion went Himself to bring His chosen Bride from Egypt, as 
 Moses describes it with astonishment : '• Hath ever God 
 assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of 
 another nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, 
 and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out 
 arm, and by great terrors according to all that the Lord 
 your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes ?"* He 
 led His Bride Himself through the wilderness by pillars of 
 cloud and of fire by day and by night, while He rode tri- 
 umphantly in His glorious palanquin between the Cherubim 
 of the Ark of the Covenant, which emblematically repre- 
 sented His awful throne on which He sits in heaven when 
 borne by cherubs and seraphim. Now the scene has changed 
 a little — the Bride, by His powerful aid and presence, has 
 become mistress of the promised land of Canaan, and of the 
 holy mountain of God — -Mount Zion, which she calls her 
 " Mother's house," and to which she now conveys the pal- 
 anquin of her invisible but present Lord, that He might 
 dwell in the sanctuary which she has erected for Him. This 
 sacred procession was conducted with great solemnity, with 
 songs of praise and shouts of joy. As the Ark advanced six 
 steps from the house of Obed-edom, an altar was erected, 
 
 * Deut. iv. 34. 
 
CHAPTER III. 8. 163 
 
 and sacrifices and incense put upon it, and so the whole 
 distance over which the procession traversed was filled with 
 altars sending up columns of smoke towards heaven (like so 
 many lofty palm-trees), and marking the progress of the 
 procession as if it had passed through a magnificent alley of 
 trees planted and raised as the Bride went along, from her 
 habitation to the King's palace. Arrived on Mount Zion, 
 the sacrifices of joy exceed number, the exultation of the 
 chosen nation baffles description — their praises and adora- 
 tions, their shoutings, their psalms and hymns, the melodious 
 harmony of thousands of musical instruments fill the air 
 and re-echoes in the silent valley, and among the distant 
 hills. Thousands of adoring Levites exclaim, "0 give 
 thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name, make known his 
 deeds among the nations. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto 
 him, talk ye of his wondrous works. Glory ye in his holy 
 name ; let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. 
 Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually."* 
 Having recounted the progress of the covenant made with 
 Abraham, and the faithfulness of God in fulfilling his pro- 
 mises, the adoring companies continue their strain, saying, 
 " Sing unto the Lord, all the earth; show forth from day to day 
 his salvation. Declare his glory among the heathen ; his 
 marvellous works among all nations. For great is the 
 Lord, and greatly to be praised ; he is also to be feared above 
 all gods. . . , Glory and honour are in his presence, 
 strength and gladness are in his place. Give unto the 
 Lord, ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory 
 and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his 
 name, bring an offering and come before him, worship the 
 Lord in the beauty of holiness. . . . Let the heavens 
 be glad, and let the earth rejoice, and let men say among 
 the nations, the Lord reigneth. . . . Then shall the 
 trees of the forest sing aloud at the presence of the Lord, 
 because he cometh to judge the earth. give thanks unto 
 the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endiireth forever "•\- 
 It is in the midst of that celestial scene on earth — it is on 
 that glorious day the like of which this earth has witnessed 
 but few, that Solomon here makes the choirs of Levites ask 
 each other. " Who is this (or she) that cometh up from the 
 
 ♦ 1 Chron. xvi. 8—11, f 1 Chroa. xvi. 23-33. 
 
164 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 wilderness like columns of smoke," &c.? To which it is 
 answered, " Behold, here the palanquin ot Solomon (or ' tl)e 
 palanquin which is Solomon's,' f.e., known as his by its 
 peculiar magnificence, and colours, and designs), threescore 
 valiant men are about it of the mighty men of Israel," &c. 
 As we know that the name Solomon is employed here only 
 as the type of the great Prince of Peace, tliis answer, there- 
 fore, may be paraphrased as follows, " Behold the Ark of 
 the Covenant of the great God of Abraham, the dwel- 
 ling place of the Angel of that Covenant ; and behold the 
 mighty men chosen of the Levites to surround and watch 
 that glorious palanquin and sanctuary are of the nation 
 of Israel, and of her valiant warriors. It is evident, there- 
 fore, that she who cometh out of the wilderness with such 
 splendour, with such shouts of triumph and joy, with such 
 columns of smoke from so many altars, is none but that 
 favoured and happy nation, the seed of Abraham, Isaac, 
 and Jacob, the chosen people and Bride of the Most High, 
 and that her great joy is caused by the fact, that her Be- 
 loved has now come to dwell in the midst of her, on His 
 chosen and holy hill of Zion." 
 
 Nor is the number of " three score valiant and armed 
 men," watching about the tabernacle on Mount Zion, taken 
 here at random as some easily satisfied commentators 
 imagine ; for this was really the number of those mighty 
 Levites, chosen and appointed by David to the exclusive 
 service of porters, or watchmen, at the different gates of 
 the sanctuary, day and night. In 1 Chron. ix., we have 
 the arrangement of the Levites in the days of David, and 
 in verse 17 we read, " And the porters were Shallum, and 
 Akkub, and Talmon, and Ahiman, and their brethren ; 
 Shallum being the chief," (i.e., the chief of the four captains 
 mentioned here). Verse 19, "And Shallum, the son of 
 Kore, the son of Eliasaph, the son of Korah, and his brethren 
 (of the house of his father) the Korahites, were over the work 
 of the service, keepers of the gates of the tabernacle." Again, 
 we read in the same chapter, " And Zechariah, the son of 
 Meshelemiah, was porter of the door of the tabernacle of the 
 congregation. All these which were chosen to be porters 
 in the gates, were two hundred and twelve. ... So 
 they and their children had the oversight of the gates of 
 the house of the Lord, namely, of the house of the taber- 
 
CHAPTER III. 6 — 8. 165 
 
 nacle by wards. In four quarters were the porters, toward the 
 east, west, north, and south. And their brethren which were 
 in their vil hires were to come after seven days from time to 
 time with them. For these Levites, the four chief porters were 
 in their set office, and were over the chambers and treasuries 
 of the house of God. And they lodged (or passed the 
 nights) round about the house of God, because this charge 
 was upon them, and they had also to open fie., the gates) 
 every morning."* But in this chapter we have only the names 
 of the four captains or chief porters, and the mention of the 
 212 porters under them, which seem to have belonged to 
 their own families ; but we have no mention of the other 
 divisions, nor of the exact number of porters in every ward, 
 in chap, xvi., where the description of the solemnities of 
 the day above referred to is given, we read, " So he (David) 
 left there, before the Ark of the covenant of the Lord, 
 Asapb and his brethren, to minister before the Ark con- 
 tinually, according to every day's services fi.e.y to sing 
 praises before the Lord, as Asaph was one of the chief 
 musicians.) And Obed-edom with their brethren, three 
 score and eight, also Obed-edom, the son of Jeduthun, and 
 Hosah, to be porters. "f Here we have the three different 
 officers, with sixty-eight men described as belonging to one 
 ward. But another passage makes it clear that one of these 
 three officers with eight men must have had the charge of 
 the adjacent buildings, where were kept the ministering 
 vessels and instruments of the sanctuary, and also the 
 magazines of flour, wine, spices, &c., mentioned in chap. ix. 
 28 — 32, while the other two officers with the Mxty menhad 
 the exclusive charge of watching day and night at the four 
 principal gates of the court, and at the door of the sanctuary. 
 When toward the close of David's life, the enormous 
 treasures and magazines were so greatly increased that 
 another arrangement was called for, and those who had in 
 charge the watching of these treasures had to be much 
 increased in number, still the watchmen of the tabernacle 
 remained the same, as we read, " All those of the sons of 
 Obed-edom ; they and their sons, and their brethren, able 
 men for strength for the service, were three score and 
 two of Obed-edom. "J From all these different passages 
 
 * 1 Chron. ix. 21-27. t 1 Chron. xvi. 37, 38. % 1 Chron. xxvi. 8 
 
166 tHE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 (especially from the chapter last quoted), We think it quite 
 clear that the number of each ward of Levites appointed to 
 watch round about the sanctuary, was composed of sixty- 
 mighty men, commanded by two officers, while all the dif- 
 ferent wards were under the direction of four princes or 
 chief captains. Hence, to complete the beauty of the figure, 
 Solomon makes the choirs of Levites point out to the sixty 
 armed and mighty men of Israel who surrounded and 
 watched day and night the sanctuary, where was placed 
 the palanquin of the great Prince of Peace, the Ark with 
 the mercy-seat and the Cherubim, representing the high 
 throne of the divine King of Zion. 
 
 But the tent or tabernacle on Mount Zion into which 
 David has placed the Ark, was only a temporary habitation, 
 until the temple which he meditated to build, and which by 
 divine command was left for Solomon, should be ready as a 
 permanent habitation for the Lord of Hosts, the God of 
 Israel. In the next three verses, therefore, we have the 
 description of that second event, namely, of the translation 
 of the Ark from the temporary tabernacle on Mount Zion, 
 into the permanent temple built by king Solomon on Moriah. 
 
 the temple of solomon, 
 [anothek choir of levites ] 
 
 9. King Solomon made Him a Throne-chamber* 
 Of the wood (or woods) of Lebanon. 
 
 * "lii^BS (Apiryon,orApirion) isoneof those foreign words which were 
 
 at an early period adopted into the Hebrew language, and the roots of 
 the most of which, as well as their etymology, are now difficult to be 
 ascertained. To these belong f'^tt'^S (Armon) " a palace," ii£s (Apadan) 
 
 " a portable palace, or pavilion," used by Eastern kings in travelling 
 (see Daniel xi. 45), and several others. Some were adopted at later 
 periods, as yittS"^ (Darkemon) the plural of which is Q'^j'ia3"ii (Darke- 
 
 monim, as Ezra ii 69; Nehem. vii. 70—72) which means the gold 
 coins made under the reign of Darius the Mede, and called Darics ; and 
 which are not t© be confounded with ']'"3'^"S (Adarkon) plural D'^bS'^TK 
 
 (Adarkonim) which Ezra uses in 1 Chron. xxix. 7, and in his own 
 Book, viii. 27, to denote either a gold coin, or a certain weight of gold, 
 as used in the days of David ; for the former passage refers to the 
 donation of the princes of Israel in the days of David, and the 
 latter to the gold vessels which Nebuchadnezzar carried away into 
 Babylon and were now returned to Ezra. It surely cannot be mere 
 
CHAPTER m. 9. 167 
 
 1 0. The pillars thereof he made of silver, 
 
 Its overlaying {i.e. wainscot, plating) of gold, 
 Its covering (or curtain) of purple ; 
 Within it is strewn love 
 Of the daughters of Jerusalem. 
 
 chance, or a wilful play of words which made Ezra and Nehemiah 
 Write Darkemonim when they speak of the gold coins current in their 
 own days, but when Ezra speaks of the days of David, or of the ves- 
 sels returned, he should use both times Adarkonim ! It is true, that in 
 these foreign words an s is sometimes added without any reason, but 
 then it would have been Adarkemonim, and not have changed the 
 word entirely as if it were another word altogether. 
 
 Now as to Apiryon and its etymology, commentators and lexicogra- 
 phers are either altogether silent, or next to it. But the reader will 
 observe that having, by the aid of God, come so far in the explanation 
 of the Song by comparing it with the sacred history of the ancient 
 Church, we cannot be indifferent with regard to the meaning of a 
 word which forms the link of the whole passage, nay of the whole 
 book. From the context and connection of this passage — and since as we 
 trust it has been proved beyond contradiction that verses 6 — 8 of this 
 chapter refer to the translation of the Ark to Mount Zion by David — 
 it is evident that our passage must refer to the temple of Solomon, and 
 that the word Apiryon must designate the most holy place into which the 
 Ark was then placed, whether the precise etymology of this word can 
 now be ascertained or not. Some of the early Hebrew authors, espe- 
 cially among the Cabalists, understood the whole passage as referring 
 to Solomon's temple, but as to the word Apiryon they make it denote 
 everything, as they often do with words which they do not under- 
 stand. 
 
 Reduced as we are to seek the etymology of the word in foreign lan- 
 guages, we offer the following suggestions to the reader — 1st, Apiryon 
 maybe the diminutive of A-rrupos (Apyros), from the Greek a and 
 TTup denoting a place or thing thaf. has, or receives no fire (or light), so 
 the inner sanctuary in Solomon's temple had neither windows to admit 
 the light of the sun, nor lamps burning, noran altar with fire on it (see 
 1 Kings viii. 12) ; and may not its termination be either according 
 to an ancient Greek or Doric form, or to that of the Hebrew in the 
 words '^•O'D (Kilayon), ■ji'^-in (Herayon), 'f^'py (Kikayon), &c. ? 2d. 
 
 In the Persic ^Jj i! (Aphrang) denotes "a Throne," and tjLj.i! 
 
 (Aphrina) " the Creator." As we are by no means bound to the Rab- 
 binical punctuation, especially in foreign words, and as the word in 
 question may read " Apherion," or " Aphrion," it may either be taken 
 trom the former word and denote " a place or chamber for a throne," 
 or, if from the latter, it may denote " a sanctuary," " a dwelling-place 
 for the Creator," or, it may even be a compound of both the above 
 words ; and very fond, indeed, the ancient Persians seem to have been 
 of extravagant compounds of even three words and more, as D'^DSiTturis, 
 and N'^^Tj'ns, and a"'3~ri'>yMS, prove. 3d. The LXX. rendered that 
 word by ^opsiov (Phorion, or Phoreion), which means "a cha- 
 riot, sedan, or litter," and as we already observed that the s may be 
 dded as in many foreign words it was. the word may read A-phorion, 
 or A-pherion. But what is the meaning of that chariot? It can- 
 
168 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 11. Go forth, ye daughters of Zion, 
 
 And behold King Solomon with the crown 
 Wherewith his mother crowned him 
 On the day of his espousals, — 
 On the day of the gladness of his heart. 
 
 In verse 4 of this chapter the Bride told us how she had 
 found Her Beloved, and how she had laid hold on him, and 
 would not let Him go until she had brought Him into her 
 mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived her. 
 We have already remarked that by her *' mother's house " 
 the Bride means Jerusalem, or Zion, and the tabernacle 
 built there by David for the reception of the Ark when 
 brought thence from the house of Obed-edora ; and that by 
 the '* chamber of her that conceived her," she means 
 Solomon's temple and the most holy place in which the Ark 
 was placed permanently when the temple was ready. We 
 
 not again signify ** a royal litter or palanquin," 1st, because this would 
 again be figurative of the Ark, but the Ark was made by Moses, and 
 not by King Solomon. 2d. A litter or palanquin cannot be spoken of 
 properly as constructed or built "j'-^n Vr ■^"j:::?'^ (meatzey halvanon) " of 
 
 the difft?reat woods of Lebanon" (which is only proper for a large 
 building) with ^j///ars of silver, overlaid and inlaid with gold, and 
 covered, or overhung, with purple, and within as being strewn with 
 love of the daughters of Jerusalem ! 3d. In sacred history we are 
 told that Solomon made himself a magnificent and curious throne, 
 but this was made of ivory overlaid with gold (see 1 Kings x. 18 — 20), 
 but none of the of er materials is mentioned. It is, therefore, we think 
 beyond doubt that this Apiryon, whether rendered " Chariot," or, as 
 we have rendered it " Throne-chamber," can denote nothing else but 
 the most holy place in Solomon's temple, made for the reception of the 
 Ark of the Covenant, which was the emblem of the Lord's throne in 
 heaven. It is remarkable that when David delivered to his son the 
 pattern of the temple, of all its divisions and of all its sacred utensils, 
 according to the revelation of the Holy Spirit made to him, and 
 when it is spokpn of the inner sanctuary, it reads thus, "And the 
 pattern of the r:a3-^ (Chariot), and of its golden Cherubim to spread 
 
 out their wings and cover the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord" (see 
 1 Chron. xxviii. 1—18). Here we see that the most holy place with 
 the colossal Cherubim under which the Ark was placed, is called, Mer- 
 kavah or " chariot," but this is not according to our notion of a chariot, 
 but it means a pavilion , or magnificent chamber, where a throne is placed, 
 and therefore we could not find a better word to express the meaning 
 of Apiryon than "Throne-chamber." Jeremiah said, "A glorious 
 high throne, from the beginning, is the place of our sanctuary" (Jer. 
 xvii. 12.) So may the above cited Persian word have denoted not only 
 a throne, but also the pavilion in which it stood ; and the Greek 
 ^optiov might have its origin from that word as well as from <bopt<D or 
 <ps()(u, and also denote a magnificent royal chariot made to receive the 
 king and his throne on his travels. 
 
CHAPTER III. 10, 11. 169 
 
 have seen how in verses 6 — 8 the choirs of Levites cele- 
 brated the great solemnity of the extraordinary procession 
 that took place when the Bride brought her Beloved into 
 her " mother's house," into the tabernacle on Mount Zion. 
 But in this present passage, another and still greater 
 solemnity is celebrated, namely, the happy day in which 
 the Bride brought her Beloved into the chamber of His 
 permanent dwelling, into the most holy place which King 
 Solomon prepared for his divine antitype, the great Prince 
 of Peace, that He might dwell among His people according 
 to His gracious promise. 
 
 " King Solomon made Him a throne-chamber of the 
 wood of Lebanon." It does not require much investigation 
 into the construction and metaphorical language of this Song, 
 to see that whenever the name Solomon is accompanied by 
 the title king^ it refers to king Solomon himself, while his 
 glorious antitype is always designated Solomon^ simply 
 without the title king, or He is called King alone without 
 the name Solomon, as in chap. i. verses 4, 1 2, &c. At the 
 commencement of this commentary, we quoted a very perti- 
 nent remark on this subject by Bp. Patrick, in reference to 
 the title of this Song, and which we quote here again, be- 
 cause of its importance to the passage we are now treating 
 of, " But it may be observed further, that there are none of 
 Solomon's usual titles added, as there are in Proverbs and Ec- 
 clesiastes, where he is called ' Son of David, King of Israel, 
 and King of Jerusalem.' Of which, if any reason is to be 
 assigned, this seems the most probable, that these titles 
 which have respect only to his temporal estates, greatness, 
 and dignity, he wholly forgot, when he was wrapt in con- 
 templation of that celestial Prince, the Prince of Peace, in 
 comparison with whom all others are not worth the naming ; 
 and whose character was best expressed by the name of 
 Solomon alone. He being the great peace-maker and re- 
 conciler of God and man." This explanation is applicable 
 not only to the title, but to the whole ; and wherever 
 the Prince of Life and of Peace is spoken of, he is called 
 simply Solomon, or King alone ; but where the successor to 
 David's temporal throne is intended, he is styled King 
 Solomon, as was remarked above, and as is obvious through- 
 out the book. 
 
 It is, therefore, evident that the declaration King Solomon 
 
 H 
 
170 THE SONG OP SOLOMON. 
 
 made " for Him" 'i^ lo — (not as it is erroneously translated 
 "himself") — means that Kin^ Solomon made that "throne- 
 chamber" for Him, namely, for the Covenant Angel who 
 dwelt on the mercy-seat between the Cherubim, and regard- 
 ing whom the Bride said in verse 4, that she had brought 
 Him — her Beloved — into the house, and then into the 
 chamber of her mother. Solomon himself said on the day of 
 the dedication of his temple, " I have surely built thee an 
 house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in for 
 ever."* This throne-chamber^ which is the most holy place, 
 was so called because the Shechinah or the God-man, who 
 is " the brightness of his (Jehovah's) glory, and the express 
 image of His person," was enthroned on the mercy-seat of 
 the x4rk, and which is often called in Sacred Writ " The 
 throne of God" — " A glorious high throne from the begin- 
 ning is the place of our sanctuary."-]- The Lord himself 
 calls Jerusalem " The place of my throne."^: In the pro- 
 mises regarding Jerusalem's future glory, it is said, "Jerusa- 
 lem shall be called "The throne of the Lord,"§ Again, 
 when David showed Solomon the pattern of the temple to 
 be built by him, and of its various parts, &c., it is expressly 
 stated that he showed him " the pattern of the chariot (or 
 throne) of the golden Cherubim that spread out their wings 
 over the Ark of the Lord."l| This throne-chamber is said to 
 have been built of the wood, or rather " of the different 
 species of wood " of Lebanon, for so ^^??. (meatzey) signifies, 
 and so we are told by the sacred historian that the holiest 
 chamber was built with beams and boards of cedar, and that 
 the two colossal cherubs, and the doors, and lintels, and 
 side-posts, were made of the olive tree. All these were 
 overlaid with gold, as well as the walls of the whole house.^ 
 In the description of Solomon's temple, we have no special 
 account of the " silver-pillars," mentioned in the Song. It 
 is probable that they were the pillars w^hich supported the 
 ceiling, though no mention is made of them in 1 Kings, as 
 the ceiling itself is only mentioned in Chronicles, as made of 
 fir-tree overlaid with gold, and even that refers only to the 
 holy place.** But of the ceiling of the Most Holy we have 
 no special account whatever ; for 1 Kings vi. 9 evidently 
 
 * 1 King viii. 13. f Jer. xvii. 12. X Ezek. xliii. 7. 
 
 § Jer. iii. 17. || 1 Chron. xxviii. 11. 12—18. 
 
 II 1 Kings vi. 20, 22, 28, 35 ♦* 2 Chron. iii. 5. 
 
CHAPTER III. 10, 11. 177 
 
 refers to the covering of the stone walls without, " with 
 beams and boards of cedar." But it is certain that many 
 pillars and vessels must have been made of silver, although 
 we have no circumstantial account of them in the general 
 descriptions in Kings and Chronicles of the building of the 
 temple. Otherwise we might ask, what became of the 
 17,000 talents of silver which David prepared for the 
 temple?* And how could we account for the different 
 vessels, &c., which David ordered to be made of silver ?•[- 
 The descriptions we have by no means enter into all the 
 particulars of the various parts of the building, or of all the 
 vessels it contained. And who can tell how much silver 
 entered into the composition of the pillars and vessels which 
 are said, both in Kings and Chronicles, to have been made 
 of " bright brass ?" In particular, the two famous pillars 
 " Jachin and Boaz," and their complicated ornaments, must 
 certainly have contained much silver. " The covering," or 
 curtain of the most holy was made of purple, according to 
 2 Chron. iii. 14. | But the most interesting and wonderful 
 part of this description of the inner sanctuary is contained 
 in the last phrase of verse 10 : " The inner part is (or, 
 within it is) strewn with love of the daughters of Jerusalem." 
 This language is highly metaphorical, and reminds us of the 
 expression used by David, who, when alluding to the bliss- 
 ful Messianic Prophecies, said, " Light is sown for the 
 righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart, "§ thus 
 comparing the gracious promises of the Lord to precious 
 seed confided to a generous soil, which is sure to produce 
 rich fruits in due season. In this passage here it is the 
 daughters of Jerusalem who spread or strew precious seed 
 
 * 1 Chron. xxix. 4, 7- f 1 Chron. xxviii. 11—19. 
 
 X This curtain which covered the entrance into the Most Holy is 
 called in the Hebrew ai'^tt (Merkav), probably because it covered or 
 
 veiled the nas-'to (Merkavah), the "chariot" or " throne "—as m-\ 
 
 (Rechev) signifies a " war chariot," or even " war horse" to ride on, 
 and 331 (Rakav), the rider on the chariot or on the horse — so is the 
 
 upper mill stone called nDi (Rechev, or " Rachav" as it may read), 
 
 because of its riding as it were upon the lower. But it may be that 
 the curtain which was embroidered without, and presented the whole 
 pattern of what it veiled from human eye within, viz, the Ark and 
 Cherubim, bore therefore the same name of Merkavah, " Chariot or 
 Throne," as the whole did. 
 4 Ps. zcvii.'ll. 
 
 q2 
 
172 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 of love in Jehovali's sanctuary, and which was to produce 
 fruit in its appointed season, at the coming of the Messiah, 
 in whom all nations should be blessed. Now it is certain 
 that throughout this Song the " Daughter of Zion," or the 
 chosen nation of Israel, is the Bride, while all other nations 
 as her companions are represented under the name of " the 
 daughters of Jerusalem," as we saw from the fact that the 
 Bride was made twice to conjure the " daughters of Jeru- 
 salem" not to disturb or stir up her love until it should be 
 ripe or perfect. The jealous Bride, however, was taken 
 quite unawares ; the watchful " daughter of Zion " allowed 
 the " daughters of Jerusalem " to take a most active part in 
 the building of Jehovah's sanctuary on Mount Moriah. 
 Hiram, king of Tyre, sent thousands of his subjects to Le- 
 banon to cut wood for the temple. The greatest artist of 
 the same name (Hiram), who made all the sacred vessels, 
 pillars, and ornaments, of the temple, was born of a Tyrian 
 father. All the hundred and fifty thousand workmen em- 
 ployed at the building of the temple were proselytes from 
 other nations. The sacred history informs us that " Solo- 
 mon numbered all the proselytes (so we must understand 
 ^"'T?. [geirim] to signify, and not ' strangers,' though of 
 course they belonged to other nations, and many of them to 
 other countries) that were in the land of Israel, . . and 
 they were found an hundred and fifty thousand, and three 
 thousand, and six hundred. And he set three score and ten 
 thousand of them to be bearers of burdens, and four score 
 thousand to be hewers in the mountains, and three thousand 
 six hundred overseers to set the people a-work;"* while of 
 all Israel he employed only thirty thousand men, ten thou- 
 sand of which were sent in succession to Lebanon to aid the 
 Tyrians, and to carry the cut timber away to the place of 
 its destination. -J- We thus see that, while the daughter of 
 Zion boasted that she had found her Beloved, and brought 
 Him into her " mother's house " (the tabernacle built by 
 David on Mount Zion), and then into her " mother's cham- 
 ber," (the temple of Solomon), the daughters of Jerusalem 
 took a more active part in the erection of that temple, and 
 contributed more for the purpose than she did. She pre- 
 pared the gold and silver and brass, but it was Hiram the 
 
 * 2 Chron. ii. 17, 18. f 1 Kings v. 13, 14. 
 
 I 
 
CHAPTER III. 10, 11. 173 
 
 Tyrian who fashioned it into plates, pillars, and vessels. 
 She directed the work at Jerusalem, &c., but the Tvrians 
 prepared the timber in Lebanon, and the hundred and fifty- 
 three thousand daughters of Jerusalem laboured hard in the 
 mountains and at Jerusalem in preparing the stones, and in 
 the building of the temple. And this was a wonderful 
 representation of the building of the Spiritual Temple under 
 the New Covenant dispensation. The " daughter of Zion " 
 prepared the materials, but the " daughters of Jerusalem " 
 worked them into an edifice. The apostles and evangelists, 
 as " wise architects," came forth out of Zion with the plans 
 and patterns of the building, but the " daughters of Jeru- 
 salem," the Gentile nations who embraced the Gospel, were 
 and are still the real builders of that temple. How import- 
 ant and astonishing therefore is the hint thus given by the 
 inspired writer of the Song as to the part which the 
 " daughters of Jerusalem " took in its erection, how they 
 have thus " strewn their grains of love" among those of the 
 " daughter of Zion," and which were to produce precious 
 fruits in due time ! Hence it was, that in the prayer which 
 Solomon offered up at the dedication of his Temple, he did 
 not forget the Gentiles, but said, " and even if a stranger, 
 that is not of thy people Israel, shall come out of a far 
 country for thy name's sake, . . . and pray toward 
 this house : Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling-place, and 
 do according to all that the stranger calleth unto thee for ; 
 that all the people of the earth may know thy name, to fear 
 thee as do thy people Israel," &c.* 
 
 We come now to the last verse of this chapter — a passage 
 which has contributed much to the misunderstanding of the 
 whole Song, inasmuch as commentators and interpreters 
 have thought themselves obliged to acknowledge that Solo- 
 mon's marriage with one of his queens must be celebrated 
 in it. In our introduction this serious error has been fully 
 exposed and refuted. Here we need only repeat one fact, 
 viz., that after this verse, just as before it, the Bride and 
 Bridegroom are still spoken of as only espoused^ and that 
 they remain so to the end of the Song, without their engage- 
 ment being consummated by marriage. It is impossible 
 therefore that the type should appear in a position to which 
 
 * 1 Kings viii. 41-43. 
 
174 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 the antitype is an entire stranger, and therefore the espousals 
 of Solomon mentioned in this verse must again have refer- 
 ence, not to a marriage, but to the spiritual espousal of 
 the Divine Bridegroom and his Bride the Church, and to 
 the renewal of the alliance and covenant between God and 
 his people on the solemn day of the dedication of Solomon's 
 Temple. 
 
 Solomon the Yedidyah^ the beloved of God, the chosen 
 type of the great Prince of Peace, who was to build the 
 spiritual temple not made with hands — Solomon, the illus- 
 trious monarch of God's chosen people at the period in which 
 they had reached the zenith of glory, power, and happiness — 
 never appeared in such superhuman magnificence as on the 
 ever memorable day of the dedication of the temple which 
 he built to the King of kings — when the glory of the Lord 
 filled that temple, when fire came down from heaven to 
 consume the sacrifices on the newly dedicated altar, and 
 when, in the midst of the astonished, praising, adoring, and 
 rejoicing multitudes of Israel, he fell on his knees, and with 
 his hands spread forth towards heaven, offered up that de- 
 vout and beautiful prayer on behalf of Israel, the Church of 
 the living God, which Church he so worthily represented. 
 On that day Solomon, in the name of all Israel, solemnly 
 and publicly renewed and confirmed the Lord's Covenant 
 with the seed of Abraham, that he should be their Lord 
 and their God, and they should be His chosen people and 
 a royal priesthood, and a holy nation unto Him. This and 
 such solemnities and ceremonies were called in Scripture 
 language, espousals. Even when Moses had only rehearsed 
 unto Israel the promises of God to His Church, and her 
 duties and engagements towards Him, he said, " Thou hast 
 avouched (or, espoused by promise) the Lord this day to be 
 thy God, and to walk in His ways, , . and to hearken 
 to His voice : and the Lord hath avouched (or, espoused by 
 promise) thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath 
 promised thee, . . . and to make thee high above all 
 nations which he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in 
 honour ; and that thou mayest be an holy people unto the 
 Lord thy God, as he hath spoken."* And with how much 
 more propriety could therefore the day of the dedication of 
 
 * Deut. xxTi. 17—19. 
 
CHAPTER III. 10, 11. 175 
 
 Solomon's Temple be called " a day of espousals," f.e., of the 
 renewing and confirming- of the Covenant engagements be- 
 tween the Lord God of Zion, and his chosen people Israel ! 
 Here we quote the concluding words of Solomon's prayer, 
 " The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers ; 
 let him not leave us, nor forsake us ; that he may incline 
 our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep 
 his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, 
 which he commanded our fathers. . . . And let your 
 heart be perfect with the Lord our God, to walk in his 
 statutes, and to keep his commandments even as at this day."* 
 Here we have the renewal of the Covenant, the scriptural 
 espousals renewed between the Lord and his people whom 
 Solomon represented not only as their king, but as the type 
 of the great and divine Mediator between God and man ; 
 hence that day was called "the day of his (Solomon's) 
 espousals," for he stood for all the people. 
 
 Is it asked. What is meant by the mother who is said to 
 have crowned Solomon with a crown on that occasion ? the 
 solution is at hand. It is the Holy Spirit (who often 
 appears in the feminine gender in the Hebrew), the antitype 
 of Zion, the real spiritual mother of all regenerated children 
 of God. When in Proverbs xxxi. 1, Solomon appears under 
 the metaphorical name " Lemuel" (z.e., with whom God is), 
 he speaks of a prophecy which his mother taught him, 
 meaning, which the Holy Spirit communicated unto him. 
 Often Solomon calls this mother. Wisdom, and once he says, 
 " Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee : love her, 
 and she shall keep thee. . . . Exalt her, and she shall 
 promote thee : she shall bring thee to honour, if thou dost 
 embrace her. . . . She shall give to thine head an 
 ornament of grace : a crown of glory shall she deliver to 
 thee."-i- This then is the mother^ and this the crown of 
 glory with which she is said to have crowned Solomon, her 
 illustrious son, at that most happy period of his building the 
 temple of God, but especially on that most solemn day of its 
 dedication. So we read ; " And God gave unto Solomon 
 exceeding much wisdom and understanding, and largeness 
 of heart even as the sand that is on the sea-shore."j: 
 Again, " And the Lord magnified Solomon exceedingly in 
 
 * 1 Kings'^iii. 57—61, f Prov. iv. 6-9. % 1 Kings iv. 
 
 29. 
 
176 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 the sight of all Israel, and bestowed on him such royal 
 majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel."* 
 And, as we said already, never was that majesty displayed 
 in such splendour as it was on that " day of his espousals," 
 when, in the name of the whole nation, he renewed the 
 Covenant with his Gcd and their God, in the midst of great 
 joy, adoration, and praise. Hence it is also called " the day 
 of the gladness of his heart," as we read, " And King Solo- 
 mon, and all the congregation of Israel that were assembled 
 unto him before the Ark, sacrificed sheep and oxen which 
 coulc not be told nor numbered for multitude. And the 
 priests Vought in the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord unto 
 his place, to the oracle of the house, into the most holy place, 
 even under the wings of the Cherubims. . . . And the 
 musicians the Levites, of Asaph, of Heman, and of Jedu- 
 thun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in 
 white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood 
 at the east side of the altar, and with them an hundred and 
 twenty priests sounding with trumpets. . . . And when 
 they lifted up their voices, accompanied by the trumpets 
 and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord 
 saying. For he is good ; for his mercy endureth for ever : 
 that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house 
 of the Lord ; so that the priests could not stand to minister 
 by reason of the cloud ; for the glory of the Lord had filled 
 the house of God.''-j- It was then that Solomon began his 
 sublime prayer : " And when Solomon ended his prayer, the 
 fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt -otfer- 
 ings and the sacrifices ; and the glory of the Lord filled the 
 house. . . . And when all the children of Israel saw 
 the fire come down, and the glory of the Lord upon the house, 
 they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon 
 the pavement, and worshipped and praised the Lord, saying, 
 For he is good ; for his mercy endureth for ever. . . . 
 And the priests waited on their offices, and the Levites, 
 with instruments of music of the Lord, which David the 
 king had made to praise the Lord with ; for his mercy 
 endures for ever ; so they had the praises of David in their 
 hands, and the priests sounded trumpets before them, and 
 all Israel stood."J Now we ask what other solemn day 
 
 * 1 ChroQ. xxix. 25. f 2 Chron. v. 6, 7, 12—14. J 2 Chron. vii. 1—3—6. 
 
CHAlPTEE III. 10, 11. 177 
 
 ever enjoyed by any human being, even by the most magni- 
 ficent of kings, as was Solomon, could be compared to that 
 da}^ ? or what other day could with so much propriety be 
 called " the day of the gladness of his heart?" 
 
 But while Solomon in his capacity of King of Israel 
 represented them on that day, and in the name of the whole 
 Church renewed the Covenant between her and her Beloved,, 
 he was at the same time the type of the great Prince of 
 peace, who dwelt between the Cherubim, and who, on that 
 day, espoused anew the daughter of Zion to be His chosen 
 and beloved Bride. When therefore we hear these daughters 
 of Zion invited by the happy choir of Levites to behold the 
 glory and majesty bestowed by the Holy Spirit on their 
 King Solomon on that day, we hear them no less invited to 
 behold the " greater than Solomon," their everlasting King 
 who, " being the brightness of Jehovah's glory, and the 
 express image of His person" . . who . . " being 
 made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheri- 
 tance obtained a more excellent name than they" . . 
 "was crowned with glory and honour," and "anointed with 
 the oil of gladness above his fellows," and who, " when he 
 had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand 
 of the Majesty on high." The daughter of Zion is invited 
 to look upon His glory and majesty, for it is she who, when 
 faithful and true to the promises of her espousals, is herself 
 His crown of glory. It is in reference to Zion and her 
 daughter, the Church, that it was said, " Thou shalt be a 
 crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem 
 in the hand of thy God."* And who is it that prepares the 
 sinful daughter of Zion to become a crown of glory to her 
 God? It is the Holy Spirit that regenerates, washes, 
 purifies, and sanctifies her, and then presents her to her* 
 Lord and Saviour in brightness, majesty, and honour. 
 Therefore she says, " I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my 
 soul shall be joyful in my God : for he hath clothed me with 
 the garments of salvation ; he hath covered me with a robe 
 of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with orna- 
 ments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels." f 
 
 * Is. Ixii. 3. t Is- Ixi. 10. 
 
 H 3 
 
178 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Argument. 
 
 (Vv. 1—15.) The Lord is described as expressing his delight and 
 entire satisfaction with his Bride the ancient Church, her sanctuary, 
 and its services, under various figures and metaphors, in which also are 
 enwrapped several important prophecies for Israel. (V. 16.) The 
 Church prays for the Holy Spirit to breathe on her and make her pro- 
 duce more fruit for the honour of her Lord. (V. 17, or v. 1 of chap, v.) 
 The Lord tells her that the old Covenant and dispensation had then 
 reached its climax. 
 
 THE LORD. 
 
 1, Behold thou art fair, my love ! (or, beloved companion)^ 
 Behold thou art fair ! (or, beautiful), 
 
 Thine eyes are like doves within thy veil ;* 
 
 Thy hair is like a flock of goats, 
 
 That feeding descendeth from Mount Gilead. 
 
 2, Thy teeth are like an equal-sized flock, j- 
 Which came up from the washing-pool ; 
 All of which have twins, 
 
 And none is bereaved among them. 
 
 3, Like the scarlet-thread are thy lips, 
 And thy speech is comely ; 
 
 Like a slice of pomegranate 
 
 Are thy temples through thy veil. J 
 
 * We have already remarked on chap. i. v. 15 that the expression 
 n"'3i"'~^'^3"'^ (Enayich yonim) can by no means bear a comparison to the 
 
 dove's eyes, but to the dove itself. In the above passage, in which 
 every figure employed is accompanied by the regular 3 comparative or 
 particle of similitude, this figure alone is without it. All, therefore, 
 that we can venture to supply is the 3, and render it, " Thine eyes are 
 like do\es;" but to add, *'like dove's eyes," is to outrage alike text 
 and figure, 
 t 3::p (Katzav) nowhere, nor in any form, signifies either " shear" or 
 
 " shorn." This is the only place where the LXX., and from them the 
 Vulgate, so rendered it ; and from these lexicographers take their 
 authority for giving to the word a meaning which it never had. As in 
 1 Kings vi. 25 and vii. 37, so here also, it signifies " equal size." There 
 it refers to equal -sized cherubs and basens, and here to a chosen flock 
 containing equal-sized lambs. 
 
 + n'O'i (Tzamath) in this, as in verse 1, means neither " locks" nor 
 
 " hair," but a thin gauze veil of net-work, which the Eastern females 
 
CHAPTER IV. 4 6. 179 
 
 4. Thy neck is like the tower of David, 
 Constructed for armoury ; 
 
 Whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, 
 All the shields of mighty men. 
 
 5. Thy two breasts are like two young fawns, 
 Twins of the roe, which feed among the lilies. 
 
 6. Until the day break, and the shades flee away, 
 I will betake me to the mountain of myrrh. 
 And to the hill of frankincense. 
 
 For the clearer understanding of the figures, the reference, 
 and the thing signified in this passage, we beg the reader 
 to keep in mind the subject of the last three verses of the 
 preceding chapter, and what was said there regarding it — 
 to remember that we had there the description of the inner 
 sanctuary of Solomon's temple, in which the divine Bride- 
 groom chose to dwell, and also an allusion to the great 
 solemnities that took place on the day of the dedication of 
 that temple. Now it so happened that on that day Solomon, 
 in the name of the whole Church, said unto the Lord, " I 
 have built an house of habitation for thee, and a place for 
 thy dwelling for ever,"* and then, in the course of his 
 memorable prayer, he invited the Lord to come according to 
 his promises and dwell in that house. In answer to that 
 prayer and invitation the Lord said, " I have heard thy 
 prayer, and have chosen this place to myself as an house of 
 sacrifice. . . . For now have I chosen and sanctified 
 this house, that my name may be there for ever : and mine 
 eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually. "f Every 
 biblical student knows that the Hebrew term o^'i* "^Z (ad 
 
 wore over their heads, and which hang over their faces. Through this 
 scarlet veil of net- work, a white temple is beautifully described as look- 
 ing like a slice of pomegranate, which looks inside like net-work (in 
 compartments) with its bright red grains intermingled with white. 
 Indeed we were greatly tempted to render "^TO-^n-rt^S* (Kepelach 
 
 harimon) " like a plate of granite stone," which we are persuaded to 
 be its meaning, as also thatof -ptt^n yho (Selah harimon) " The granite 
 
 rock" (Judges xx. 45, 47, xx. 13, &c.), so called from the striking 
 similitude of the granite stone, with its coloured veins and net vtork 
 appearance, and the granite apple when cut right through. But as the 
 figure in our passage is not impaired by the usual translation, we have 
 left it as it is in the common version. 
 * 2 Chron. yi. 2. t 2 Chron. vii. 12—16. 
 
180 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 olam) " for ever," is often used in Scripture for a certain 
 limited period — that especially in reference to the cere- 
 monial law it always signifies the period of that dispensa- 
 tion, the period during which the shadows and types of the 
 law were to remain until the bright day should arrive when 
 the antitype should fulfil thera. And what do we see in 
 the first six verses of this chapter? When the Bridegroom 
 has set forth in the first five verses the perfect beauty of the 
 Bride the Chm-ch, he adds in the 6th verse, " Until the 
 day break, and the shades flee away" (i.e., until the pro- 
 raised day of my appearance in the flesh, when the light of 
 my everlasting gospel shall disperse the shades of this pre- 
 paratory dispensation), " I will betake me to the mountain 
 of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense." And what is 
 that "mountain of myrrh," but Mount Zion, in which He 
 had chosen to dwell ? and what the " hill of frankincense," 
 but Mount Moriah, with its temple, where frankincense was 
 offered on the altar of incense, and on that of sacrifice for a 
 sweet smelling savour unto him ? Is not this verse in 
 striking figures the exact substance of the Lord's answer to 
 Solomon's prayer quoted above ? 
 
 Now that we see that in the 6th verse we have only a 
 poetical repetition of the Lord's answer to Solomon's prayer, 
 and of His promise to dwell in that temple made with hands 
 until that dispensation of types and shades should be dis- 
 persed by the gospel day, and by His appearance in the flesh, 
 we remark farther that the figures of female beauty which 
 Solomon put into the mouth of the Covenant Angel, must 
 refer primarily to the temple of Solomon itself, and then to 
 the spiritual qualities and accomplishments of the Bride the 
 Church, for whose sake he condesceuded to enter and dwell 
 in the temple which she bad prepared for Him. The 
 prophets of old frequently styled Jerusalem and Zion the 
 " Lord's Bride," and douljtless because of the temple, " the 
 place of His throne," which that chosen city contained. 
 Even in Revelation, when John speaks of the spiritual and 
 heavenly Jerusalem, " which is the mother of us all," he 
 still calls her "the Bride of the Lamb." "And I John 
 saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God, 
 out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." 
 Again, the Angel said unto him, " Come hither, and I will 
 
CHAPTER IV. 4 — 6. 181 
 
 show thee the Bride, the Lamb's wife,"* and the reader 
 knows what follows, viz., the description of that celestial 
 city, of the gold, precious stones, and pearls used in its con- 
 struction (all figurative of otherwise indescribable spiritual 
 splendour), and of the divine glory manifested and abiding 
 in it. The difference between the old and new Jerusalem 
 is, that the glory of the former was the temple wherein the 
 Shechinah dwelt, while the latter will have no temple, " for 
 the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it." 
 As this is neither the place, nor is it our intention, to search 
 here for the mysteries enveloped in that portion of Revela- 
 tion, we only refer to the fact, that in it Jerusalem from 
 above is called " the Bride of the Lamb," and that her spiri- 
 tual splendour is set forth under figures suitable to human 
 ideas of the richest and most precious materials. Hence 
 there is nothing new or surprising in the opinion which we 
 have put forth, that the Bride whose beauty the Bridegroom 
 describes in the first five verses of this chapter, is the 
 ancient Church, with her newly built and dedicated temple, 
 in which the Bridegroom promises to her to dwell. What- 
 ever fancy may imagine with regard to the figures employed 
 by Solomon in verses 1 — 5 in regard to female beauty, we 
 are persuaded that unless we refer them primarily to the 
 temple, though spiritually to the Church, they will neither 
 be defensible in themselves, nor accord with the greatness 
 of this princely author, with the usual elegance of his style, 
 the exactness of his figures, and the strict appropriateness 
 of his comparisons. Indeed we have no such mean idea of 
 Solomon's choice of poetical figures as to think he would run 
 into such impropriety and extravagance, — that in wishing 
 simply to describe the beauty of a human head covered with 
 tresses, he could find no other object in nature to compare it 
 with but a vast mountain covered with goats ! and that a 
 stately and well-proportioned neck could be compared with 
 nothing but the tower of a fortress ! No, the reader will 
 see that other things than these lie hid in these comparisons. 
 But before we proceed with the explanation of these figures 
 we have still one remark to make, namely, that according 
 to the usual explanations, that nothing but the beauty of 
 
 * Rev. xxi, 2—9. 
 
182 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 the Bride is eulogized in these five verses, is it not inexpli- 
 cable that after all the compliments about her perfect 
 beauty and rare accomplishments, which the Bridegroom 
 lavishes upon her, He should declare to her in verse 6 that 
 he would leave her instantly for a more pleasant entertain- 
 ment Avhich He expects on the mountain of myrrh, whatever 
 fanc}'" may make that mountain to signify ! Is not this just 
 as if He had said to her, " Indeed, my dear Bride, thy 
 beauty is perfect and thy accomplishment rare, but never- 
 theless I prefer to spend my time in loneliness on the 
 mountain of myrrh than to remain any longer in thy com- 
 pany !" But as we have proved above that in verse 6 we 
 have the answer of the Lord to his Bride's invitations and 
 prayer that He would come and dwell in the temple which 
 she had prepared for Him, we easily understand how, after 
 enumerating the beauties of His Church, her temple, and its 
 worship. He declares to her in verse 6 that He had graci- 
 ously heard her prayers, accepted of her invitation, and 
 accordingly would go and dwell on that sacred mountain of 
 myrrh till these shadows and types should be dispersed by 
 tile gospel day and its brighter light. 
 
 The ancient Church having attained in these days her 
 greatest perfection and highest prosperity, her gracious 
 Lord gave her His testimony, and in doing so He begins to 
 praise her " eyes," as He had already done in chap. i. 15, 
 after her humble confession of her own sinfulness and un- 
 worthiness, and of the all-sufficiency of the riches of His 
 grace. (See our remarks on that verse.) Here also He 
 compares her eyes to the humble, lovely, faithful and attrac- 
 tive dove. The same Bridegroom, the same Covenant 
 Angel when he was in the flesh in the midst of His Church, 
 explained that similitude, saying, " Be ye harmless as 
 doves;"* "The light of the body is the eye: therefore 
 when thine eye is single (a quality of the dove) thy whole 
 body is full of light ;"-f and an Old Testament prophet said, 
 *' When the eyes of man shall be towards the Lord, the 
 Lord shall be seen over theni."| Being therefore about to 
 declare to His Bride His gracious acceptance of her invitation 
 to come and dwell in the temple which she had dedicated to 
 Him, He first describes her as having her eyes directed faith- 
 Matt. X. 16. t Luke xi. 34. 
 
CHAPTER. IV. 4— 6. 183 
 
 fully, tenderly, and stedfastly toward Him with) dove-like 
 simplicity and earnestness. At the sametime we know that 
 the temple was the emblem of the Chm-ch of God, composed 
 of the " lively stones" her members, which are His also, and 
 built up into a spiritual temple in which Jehovah delights 
 to dwell. The " eyes" of that emblem of the Church of 
 God we suppose to have been the two perpetual fires, the 
 one which burned continually on the great altar of sacrifice, 
 and from which fire was taken in the mornings and even- 
 ings for the altar of incense, and the other the perpetual 
 light which was kept burning on the candlestick. All these 
 were placed within the temple, within the first veil, and 
 within the walls and ceilings of the middle sanctuary. 
 Much might be said on this subject in connection with 
 Zechariah, chapters iii. and iv., and wath several passages 
 in Revelation, but this is not the place for it. We would 
 only remark here in the first place, that though the Church 
 of God was intended to be the light of the world, still under 
 the old dispensation her light was " within the veil," for she 
 was not a missionary Church, and those that " sat in dark- 
 ness" (the Gentiles) had to wait until that veil should be 
 removed, when the light broke in and shone unto them. 
 And in the second place, her dove-like eyes, the light of the 
 temple being within the veil also signified her humility, and 
 by the mouth of David she w^as therefore able to sav, " Lord, 
 ray heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty : neither did 
 I cherish great aspirations or plans, nor wonderful things 
 that were above my stage ; ... my soul is even like 
 a weaned child."* 
 
 " Thy hair looks like a flock of goats, that feeding de- 
 scendeth from Mount Gilead." The long and glossy tresses 
 of the Bride descending from her head, and trembling as it 
 were upon her shoulders in walking, are compared to a flock 
 of goats viewed from a distance, as they wave downward 
 from mount Gilead, still feeding as they descend, and im- 
 parting a tremulous agitation to their long, silk-like and 
 glossy wool, by their bowing their heads and plucking the 
 grass. This must be seen to be fully appreciated. But, as 
 we remarked above, this figure would seem disproportioned 
 if not extravagant, if it is applied to the hair of the head 
 only of a single person, for one of these eastern goats would 
 
 * Ps. cxxxi. See the Author's translation of that Psalm. 
 
184 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 have answered the purpose equally well. But as this figure 
 is intended for the ancient Church and her temple, it will 
 be found not only proportionate but sublime. In the first 
 place, these tresses of the Bride may represent the multitudes 
 of believing worshippers, divided into many companies or 
 groups, as belonging to the different tribes and families, but 
 still to one nation, one Church, one head, some ascending 
 and others descending mount Zion, some returning, others 
 moving onwards to worship God in his temple. " Our feet 
 have stood within thy gates, Jerusalem. . . . For 
 thither the tribes went up, the tribes of God unto the testi- 
 mony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the Lord."* 
 Again, " When I remember these things I pour out my soul 
 in me : how I had gone with the multitude ; how I went 
 with them to the house of God with the voice of joy and 
 praise."-]- Now to represent these moving groups of happy 
 worshippers on Mount Zion, under the figure of the lovely 
 tresses of the Bride, the Church, each of which is composed of 
 many hairs, and, though divided into separate locks, still 
 belonging to the same head which they adorn, is, we think, 
 the happiest figure imaginable. No less appropriate is the 
 comparison of these flocks of worshippers ascending and 
 descendino; Mount Zion, and eagerly feeding on the worship 
 of God and the solemnities of his temple, to the rich flocks 
 moving on, while feeding on Mount Gilead. Moreover, 
 this figure may represent the gold-plate covering of the roof 
 of the temple with the shiftings and playings of the shades, 
 and the flashes of lustre caused by the rays and reflection 
 of an obliquely shining sun — a scene which must have been 
 most magnificent, if viewed from the sides opposite the sun's 
 rays. And then the comparison of it to the flocks of goats 
 moving on with their glossy wool towards sun- set (for in 
 mid-day there was no feeding of flocks in the East) on 
 Mount Gilead when the oblique rays of a setting sun still 
 played on them, producing lustre and shade at the same 
 time, or in the early morn, when the ascending sun pro- 
 duced the same effect, is strikingly beautiful. 
 
 " Thy teeth are like an equ<»l- sized flock which come up 
 from the washing-pool ; all of which have twins, and not one 
 is bereaved among them." Here is a beauiiful figure, but 
 which will primarily agree Avith nothing but the magni- 
 
 * Ps. cxxii. 2, 4. t P.". xlii, 4. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 4 — 6. 185 
 
 ficent rows of chambers which Solomon had made outside 
 along the temple walls. These chambers looked all equal- 
 sized without, though within there was a difference in their 
 depth or breadth, the lower row having five cubits only in 
 depth, because the walls of the temple were thickest there ; 
 the middle row six, and the upper seven, for there were 
 two narrowings in the walls of the temple outside, upon 
 which the beams of the outer chambers [i.e., the upper two 
 rows) should lean.* Looking upon these rows of chambers 
 from without, and passing the eye in a straight line, per- 
 ceiving three chambers, one below the other, it could be 
 beautifully compared to a mother ewe with her two twin 
 lambs following her one behind the other, and so for the 
 whole of the lines of the three chambers each. When look- 
 ing again at the division of these rows as they ran on the 
 length of the temple walls (when only two rows can be con- 
 sidered together), they looked like two rows of white and 
 beautiful teeth, equal in size, and compact, one beside the 
 other, without any gap between them, any variance, in 
 colour, proportion, or closeness. 
 
 As regards the spiritual meaning of the Bride's teeth, 
 they are apparently the instruments with which she eats 
 the spiritual food, the bread of heaven and of life. In these 
 chambers dwell the servants of the sanctuary, the priests 
 and Levites, who under that dispensation could in more than 
 one respect be called the teeth of the Bride, the Church, in 
 a spiritual sense. But the spiritual teeth of the Church are 
 also faith, hope, obedience, charity, patience, prayer, &c., 
 " Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, 
 and let your soul delight herself in fatness. "-j- In Jacob's 
 last blessing he said of Judah, " His teeth shall be whiter 
 than milk. "I In a physical sense this is not only an essen- 
 tial condition of beauty, but also a sign of vigour, and of 
 the healthy condition of the whole body ; it must, therefore, 
 signify the same in a spiritual sense, and shew that all the 
 above enumerated qualities of the children of God are and 
 must be perfect. As by these qualities they are enabled to 
 eat all the bread of heaven graciously granted to them, 
 and to feed their souls on all the words that proceed from 
 
 * See 1 Kings yi. 5—10. f Is. Iv. 2. J Gen. xlix. 12. 
 
186 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 the mouth of God, so they are also sure to digest well all 
 that angel's food, and thus preserve the vigour of their 
 souls. The whiteness and cleanliness of these teeth are also 
 an emblem of purity. The children of God, eating only the 
 food which He gives them, preserve their teeth white, clean, 
 vigorous, and entire, while the wicked devouring the innocent 
 and feeding upon every unclean thing, have their teeth like 
 the swords and daggers of murderers stained with the 
 blood of their victims, and which " God breaketh in their 
 mouth " when plucking out the spoil. The prophetic 
 figure which says, " He that eateth sour grapes his teeth 
 shall be set on edge," has the same spiritual meaning. 
 (Jer. xxxi. 29, 30, comp. Ezek. xxiii. and his large 
 explanation of that figure.) 
 
 " Like the scarlet thread are thy lips, and thy speech is 
 comely." The physical feature of beauty m this figure 
 needs no explanation. The spiritual one of pure and beauti- 
 ful lips uttering comely speeches is largely explained in 
 Scripture ; " The lips of the righteous feed many ;" " The 
 lips of the wise disperse knowledge;" "The lips of know- 
 ledge are a precions jewel ;"* " The words of a wise 
 man's mouth are gracious ;"-i- " With my lips have I 
 declared all the judgments of thy mouth ;" . . . . 
 " My lips shall utter thy praise ;" " My soul shall be 
 satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall 
 praise thee with joyful lips " ("or with the lips of nightin- 
 gales.")! But in this passage the figure may allude to the 
 two scarlet curtains in the temple, the one before the Holy, 
 and the other before the Most Holy Place, and which were 
 to the temple, in more than one sense, what lips are to the 
 mouth. The outer curtain was open at the time of Divine 
 worship, that the multitude without might hear the sweet 
 and comely voices of the priests and Levites, and join in 
 the praise and adoration of the great King of Zion. Anc 
 not only so, but of Levi it is said, " The law of truth was 
 in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips. 
 . . For the priest's lips should keep^knowledge, and the> 
 should seek the law at his mouth ;" (for he is delivering hi: 
 
 ♦ Prov. X. 21, XV. 7, xx. 15. f Ecc. x. 12. 
 X Ps. cxix. 13-171, Ixiii. 5. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 4— 6. 187 
 
 message by the comely speech of the Urim and Thummira,) 
 " for he is the messenger (angel) of the Lord of Hosts."*" 
 The inner curtain was only open once a year, when the high • 
 priest entered the Most Holy Place, and having made the 
 atonement before the mercy-seat, declared to the Church 
 that according to the Lord's promise (Lev. xvi. 30) recon- 
 ciliation was effected, and that she was cleansed from all 
 her sin before the Lord. 
 
 " Like a slice of pomegranate are thy temples through (or 
 within) thy veil." The head and especially the temples were 
 regarded by the ancients as the seat of thought, discretion, 
 resolution, excellency, knowledge, nobility of character, judg- 
 ment, &c. The veil here spoken of was a gauze veil of net- 
 work composed of silks of lively colours, and through it the 
 pure white temples looked like the granite-apple when cut 
 right'through in the middle ; for its kernels or grains of beau- 
 tiful red and white are compactly confined in different little 
 chambers, or compartments like that of the honey-comb, 
 and these divisions look like net- work. (See our note on 
 the text, pp. 179.) But we presume that this figure refers 
 to the decoration of the tw^o brazen pillars, the famous 
 Jachin and Boaz which stood on each side of the entrance 
 of the porch of Solomon's temple, and which were decorated 
 on their heads or tops with two chapitres and "nets of 
 checker- work, and wreaths of chain- work, and rows of 
 pomegranates." (See 1 Kings vii. 15 — 22.) Such like 
 decorations were likewise on the upper post of the entrance 
 to the Most Holy. And this will appear more evident as 
 the next figure we shall see refers to the tower of the same 
 porch of Solomon's temple. 
 
 " Thy neck is like the tower of David, constructed for an 
 armoury ; whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all the 
 shields of the mighty men." We know that as soon as 
 David became king over all Israel, his first act was to go up 
 to Jerusalem with the whole of his army and attack the 
 strong fortress and castle which the Jebusites held on Mount 
 ZIon, which had resisted the conquering army of Joshua and 
 maintained themselves in it to the very days of David, into 
 whose power, however, it fell at last by the skill and 
 vigour of his general Joab, and of his valiant army. Of this 
 
 ♦ Mai. iii. 6, 7 
 
188 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 fortress David took immediate possession, and dwelt in it 
 until his cedar-palace was ready, the materials of which Hiram 
 king of Tyre furnished to him. Around it he built a city 
 which was from him called "the city of David."* Whether 
 David himself built that high tower on the castle which he 
 took from the Jebusites, or whether the tower had been 
 there before, but (like the fortress) was called by his name 
 because he conquered it after many centuries of resistance, 
 is nowhere mentioned, and is of no consequence to us. Of one 
 thing we are sure, that in ancient times every fortress had 
 a more or less elevated tower within it, on which were hung 
 round about it shields and bucklers and different instruments 
 of war, in order to overawe any approaching enemy, by 
 shewing him the instruments of warfare by which he must 
 expect to be met, and their size and weight to impress on 
 him the strength of the warriors who would wield them. 
 Even in time of peace these imposing demonstrations served to 
 shew to foreigners and itinerant merchants the strength of 
 the nation and the place, so that on their return to their own 
 countries, they might tell their fellow citizens of the munitions 
 of war and the powerful warriors they had seen on the for- 
 tresses, castles, and towers of the nations and towns through 
 which they passed. The prophet Ezekiel, in his sublime 
 description of the glory and power of ancient Tyre, of the 
 enormous riches which she had accumulated by her commer- 
 cial enterprises on distant seas and isles, and of her mer- 
 cenary armies, while she was herself but a small and insig- 
 nificant place, says, " Persians, Lydians, and Phutians were 
 in thine army, thy men of war : shield and helmet they 
 hanged in thee ; they enhanced thy beauty. The men of 
 Arvad with thine array were upon thy walls round about, 
 and the Gammadim were in thy towers : they hanged their 
 shields upon thy walls round about ; they have perfected 
 thy splendour. f 
 
 But Zion's strength was not to be measured by the number 
 or the size of the bucklers and shields hung upon the tower of 
 David ; for her real strength was in the Lord God of Zion, 
 " Happy art thou, Israel, who is like unto thee, 
 people saved by the Lord, the shield of thy help, and who 
 
 * See 1 Chron. xi. 4—8, and comp. 2 Sam. iv. 6 -12. 
 t Ezek. xxvii. 10, 11. 
 
CHAPTEK IV. 4 — 6. J 89 
 
 is the sword of they excellency!"* It was not the tower 
 and castle of David that was to strike fear and awe into the 
 heart of Israel's enemies, but it was the high tower of the 
 porch of the Temple built on Mount Moriah unto the great 
 God of Israel, and which shewed to the nations that the 
 God of Zion dwelt in the midst of His people, " And all the 
 nations of the earth shall see that thou art called by the 
 name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of thee."f 
 David's hope was surely not in the thousand mighty 
 men, nor his confidence in their shields and bucklers 
 which hung on the tower of his castle, but it was God and 
 God alone, who was his fortress, his shield, and his sword. 
 '' We have a strong city ; salvation will God appoint for 
 walls and bulwarks." " The Lord is my rock, my fortress, 
 and my deliverer ; my God, my strength in whom I will 
 trust ; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my 
 high-tower."J Again, " Great is the Lord, and greatly to 
 be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his 
 holiness. Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole 
 earth is Mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of 
 the Great King. God is known in her palaces as a refage."§ 
 The neck of the Bride, therefore, in its primary reference is 
 nothing but the high-tower of a hundred and twenty cubits 
 on the porch of Solomon's temple which, standing on Mount 
 Moriah, was seen from a great distance. This " neck " or 
 high-tower of the temple is compared to, or rather con- 
 trasted with, the high-tower of the castle of David, *' which 
 was built for an armoury," and on which a thousand shields 
 of mighty warriors were hung up to shew forth the 
 physical strength and resources of the nation. But this 
 comparison and contrast is intended to indicate that the 
 Bride's strength and splendour was far more powerfully 
 displayed by the tower of her temple, though not one wea- 
 pon of war was to be seen on it, than by the thousand 
 shields and bucklers of the warriors which hung on the 
 tower of David ; for the former indicated the presence of 
 the great and living God, who is the surest refuge, strength, 
 and shield of his people, while the latter might easily be 
 rivalled or surpassed by any heathen nation more nume- 
 ns, more warlike and richer in resources. But regarding 
 
 * Deut. xxxii. 29. f Deut. xxviii. 10. I Is. xxTi. 1— xviii. 2. 
 § Ps. xlviii. 1-3. 
 
190 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 the temple of God it was said, *' Because of thy temple at 
 
 Jerusalem shall kings bring presents unto thee 
 
 God, thou art terrible out of thy sanctuary ; the God 
 of Israel is he that giveth strength and power unto his 
 people."* At the same time it is easily perceived that, in 
 as far as this figure refers to the Church of God in a spiri- 
 tual sense, it represents the Church militant as provided 
 " with the whole armour of God," by which she is enabled 
 to fight victoriously all her enemies. And as the neck sup- 
 ports the head, so the Lord, by the means of that holy ar- 
 mour, enables her to " lift her head above all her adversaries 
 round about her," and to go on from strength to strength 
 until she comes to the heavenly Zion to repose there for 
 ever and ever in the bosom of her beloved Bridegroom and 
 Saviour. 
 
 " Thy two breasts are like two young fawns, twins of the 
 roe, which feed among the lilies." In the former four 
 verses the spiritual qualities of the Church set forth under 
 the figures of beauty of the Bride, were such as had respect 
 only to herself and her own salvation. Her eyes of faith 
 and hope ; her tresses, or companies of worshippers on Mount 
 Zion ; her teeth, or the spiritual instruments for eating and 
 digesting the bread of heaven and- of life; her temples 
 full of exalted thoughts and meditations on the majesty, 
 greatness, holiness and goodness of her God ; her lips full 
 of praise and adoration of the divine source of her 
 salvation ; all which, united in one sanctified liead, she sup- 
 ports and preserves by a stately neck, adorned with " the 
 whole armour of God," by which she fights and conquers all 
 her spiritual enemies, the powers of darkness. But even 
 the ancient Church, though not essentially a missionary 
 church, has not received all these divine graces and spiritual 
 qualities, only to disappear with the death of the individual 
 believers — she has not received these talents to bury them 
 in the ground, and only restore them when demanded from 
 her. No ; she too was not to remain a barren woman, and 
 spend all the bread of heaven for herself, but to turn part 
 of that angel's food into milk and feed with it the tender 
 babes, and nourish her young lambs, training them up in 
 " the nurture and admonition of God." This most important 
 quality of the Church of God, to bring up a spiritual gene- 
 * Ps. xlviii. 29-35. 
 
 I 
 
CHAPTER IV. 4 — 6. 191 
 
 ration In her turn, to feed her young with the same food 
 which she receives from above, is set forth in the above pas- 
 sage under the most appropriate and natural figure. 
 
 We have already explained, in chapter i. ver. 13, where 
 the Bride said, " a bundle of myrrh is my Beloved unto me, 
 he will abide between my breasts," that this referred to 
 the Lord's promises to abide between the Cherubim on the 
 mercy-seat, in the tabernacle which she built for Him in the 
 wilderness. In the 5th verse of this chapter the same figure 
 is used by the Bridegroom to designate the same Ark and 
 mercy-seat between the Cherubim in Solomon's temple, as 
 it then did in the tabernacle. The figure is not only very 
 appropriate because of the situation of the Cherubim, but 
 because in the Ark there were the two tables, and the book 
 of Moses laid up beside it, in regard to which the Bride 
 was thus enjoined, " And these things which I command 
 thee this day shall be upon thine heart ; and thou shalt 
 teach them diligeptly unto thy children, and shalt talk of 
 them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou 
 walkest by the way, and when thou liest down and when 
 thou risest up."* Here is indicated the Bride's quality as 
 mother, and duty as teacher in her turn, and here we see 
 also the full signification of the figure as regards the Most 
 Holy Place with the Ark and Cherubim. The latter are 
 compared to two twin fawns, feeding among the lilies, and 
 covered from the view of man save when they lift their 
 heads above the lilies or put them out at some opening, so 
 the Cherubim were entirely veiled from the vicAv of man, 
 and their presence was only indicated by their similitudes 
 being carved on the walls and embroidered on the curtains. 
 
 Such then were the qualities of the ancient Church under 
 the Old Testament dispensation, which, at the time of 
 the dedicaiion of Solomon's temple, had reached its highest 
 perfection. She was not to be a missionary Church. She 
 was not called upon to put on her sandals and go from 
 country to country, from isle to isle, and preach the Gospel 
 unto every creature, as was the destiny of the Christian 
 Church described in the seventh chapter of this Song, and 
 where — verse 2d — her quality as a missionary is set forth 
 as the first and chief, as we shall see there, but her call 
 
 * Deut. vi. 6, 7. 
 
192 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 was to be a distinct and national Church, in a certain and 
 outward sense, confined to the seed of Abraham after 
 the flesh, to the chosen people according- to the promise. 
 While her duty was to impart the knowledge of her God, 
 and teach His laws and statutes to her own children— to 
 feed her lambs among the lilies of divine truth, she was 
 not the Church destined to be the instrument by which the 
 promises to the Gentiles in the Messiah were to be fulfilled, 
 but while feeding her young among the lilies, was to be 
 veiled from the view of all other nations. The temple on 
 Mount Moriah, with its complicated services, shadows, and 
 types, proclaimed this to be the nature and destiny of that 
 Church. But however imperfect that dispensation was 
 compared to the Christian or Messianic dispensation, it 
 reached at that time all the demanded qualifications and 
 conditions according to the Lord's own testimony, it there- 
 fore behoved Him to fulfil His promise and make that dis- 
 pensation glorious by His presence in the sanctuary which 
 the Church had prepared for Him. This is exactly what 
 the Lord declared in verse 6, saying, " Until the daybreak 
 and the shades flee away, I will betake me (or render 
 myself), to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of 
 frankincense," which, as we already observed, means, that 
 until the bright day of His appearance should arrive, when 
 these mere shadows and types would be dispersed and 
 superseded by the clear and brilliant light of the Gospel, 
 He would, according to His promise, go and dwell on that 
 mountain of myrrh — on His chosen and beloved Mount 
 Zion, and on the hill of frankincense — in the temple 
 on the hill Moriah, where a sweet-smelling savour awaited 
 Him continually from both its altars. This is exactly the 
 substance of the gracious answer which the Lord gave to 
 Solomon's prayer on the day of the dedication, saying ; " I 
 have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself 
 as an house of sacrifice" {i.e. where the shadows and types 
 shall shew forth my great sacrifice until I come to accom- 
 plish it.) ... For now have I chosen and sanctified 
 this house, that my name may be there for ever ; and mine 
 eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually."* We 
 have repeated the explanation of verse 6, with the illustra- 
 
 * 2 Chr. vii. 12-15. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 7, 8. 193 
 
 tive passages twice, because of its great importance, and 
 because of the light it casts upon the whole subject of the 
 bong, as well as on the period in which it was composed. 
 One remark more. Towards the end of the second chapter, 
 where the Bride was informed of the temporary absence of 
 her Beloved, who was no more to accompany her in the 
 visible pillar of cloud (see our exposition on verses 10 — 17 
 of that chapter), though He promised to protect and guide her 
 still invisibly, the Church then called that time " the night 
 of shadows," and prayed her Beloved to be near her to protect 
 her in every danger " until the day break, and the shades flee 
 away ;" the very language used by the Bridegroom in verse 6 
 of this chapter to designate the whole of the old dispensation, 
 including the time in which the Shechinah dwelt between the 
 Cherubim ! This shows clearly that what the ancient Church 
 called " day," in comparison with the night of the absence 
 of her Beloved from the visible pillar, and from between the 
 Cherubim, the Lord and Bridegroom called " night," in 
 comparison with the bright daylight of the New Covenant 
 dispensation. And so it w^as in fact. The ancient Church 
 had her supposed brightest day at the period of the dedica- 
 tion of Solomon's temple, while to the New Covenant Church 
 that boasted day of light is but like the obscurity of the 
 setting sun, or rather like the reflected light cf the moon bv 
 night. But w^bile she now enjoys the morning rays of the 
 Sun of Righteousness, she waits still in hope for the noonday 
 glory of Christ's second coming, when not only the shades 
 of night but also the shades of day shall equally disappear, 
 and when her sun shall remain in all His beauty and splen- 
 dour in the midst of heaven, and never set throughout the 
 infinite eternity. 
 
 7. Thou art all fair, my love (or belov. comp), 
 And there is no spot (or defect) in thee. 
 
 8. With me from Lebanon, my Bride ! 
 With me from Lebanon shalt thou come ; 
 Thou shalt look down from the top of Amana, — 
 From the top of Shenir and Hermon ; 
 
 From the habitation of lions, 
 From the mountains of panthers. 
 
 AVhen the divine Bridegroom was treading the mountains 
 
 3 
 
194 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 of Israel, going from place to place and doing good, and 
 when one of Jacob's sons arrogantly maintained that he had 
 scrupulously fulfilled the whole law of God, even from his 
 very youth, and that he wished to do more {i.e., to outdo the 
 law"^ of God), the divine teacher who saw the plague in that 
 erring soul, said to hira, '' If thou wilt be perfect, go and 
 sell that thou hast and give to the poor, and thou shalt 
 have treasure in heaven, and come and follow me."* Now 
 if there be any difference between these two passages of 
 Scripture, that difference lies in the circumstances of the 
 ])(M'sons addressed, but the meaning of the former, although 
 liij^hly figurative, owing to the nature of the Song, is the 
 same as the latter. The rich and zealous Pharisee (and 
 surely he had a great zeal for God and His law, though not 
 according to knowledge), imagines that by the works of the 
 law alone he could go on to perfection, and being rich, and 
 able, and willing to give something to the poor, he thought 
 that he loved the Lord with his whole heart, and his neigh- 
 bour as himself. But w^hen he was put to the test of perfect 
 obedience, his golden fancy became dross. He was laid upon 
 the balance of self-denying love and found wanting. But 
 though the circumstances, or moral condition of the Church 
 at the stage referred to in this passage, was quite different, 
 according to the Lord's ow^n testimony, still the instruction 
 that was afterwards given to one of her erring children as a 
 corrective, was given to herself in this passage as a preven- 
 tative or preservative. Israel, as a Church under a prepa- 
 ratory dispensation of shadows and types, had then reached 
 the highest degree of perfection in regard to the accomplish- 
 ment of the ceremonial law, and to her moral disposition ; 
 but in reality there was no perfection in that perfection (if 
 we may use such an expression), for even a perfect shadow 
 or type is yet very far from being perfect light and substance. 
 The^ law, as a schoolmaster for preparing the Church towards 
 her higher destiny, had then finished his class of primary 
 education, which, on examination, was approved of by 
 the Lord himself as perfect in its nature, but the higher 
 studies of the Church for her higher spiritual education, so 
 far from being finished, then only began. This her Beloved 
 indicated to her in verses 7 and 8. 
 
 * Matt. xix. 16—22. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 7, 8. 19§ 
 
 Now, if we keep in mind that after all the expressions of 
 admiration and high approbation addressed by the Bride- 
 groom to His Bride in the first five verses of this chapter, 
 He told her in verse 6, that He would only remain in the 
 temple built with hands until the spiritual and perfect dis- 
 pensation came to disperse the shades and mere figures of 
 the present and preparatory dispensation, then we may ex- 
 plain the contents of verses 7 and 8 by the following para- 
 phrase : " True, as regards the present dispensation, all the 
 shadows and types are fairly represented, and there is no 
 defect in them ; the schoolmaster is established and does his 
 work well. ' Thou art all fair my love, and there is no spot 
 (or defect) in thee.' Thy temple is beautiful, and cor- 
 responds exactly to my orders and patterns delivered to 
 David regarding it ; thy faith, hope, and confidence in my 
 promises are strong and praiseworthy ; thy priests and 
 Levites at the altar and in the sanctuary show forth my 
 coming in the flesh, my death and atonement, resurrection 
 and mediation, to perfection ; their praises and adoration, 
 thy burnt- offerings and incense, are a sweet smelling savour 
 unto me. But, my betrothed Bride, all these are only the 
 preparations for better things ; ' if thou wilt be perfect,' and 
 make progress in thy spiritual career, thou must prepare for 
 the higher classes of thy education. Thou must soon leave 
 these outwardly beautiful and attractive scenes of this tem- 
 porary sanctuary, fragrant with the goodly cedars of Lebanon 
 and all its sacrificial beasts, on thine altars, and follow me in 
 the spiritual way of perfection, which I shall trace unto thee. 
 In doing so thou wilt meet with difficulties, trials, sufferings, 
 and dangers without number. Instead of looking down from 
 Mount Zion in perfect safety and full of joy, thou wilt have 
 to look down from desert mountains and wild cliffs, full of 
 the habitations of lions, with caves of panthers, as are Amana, 
 Shenir, and Hermon ; but this is the only way to eternal 
 glory, when, like me, thou shalt be made perfect by suffering, 
 and thus worthy of the Captain of thy salvation." 
 
 Here again we must remind the reader that when the 
 Lord prepared His Church for His temporary absence, from 
 the time of the disappearance of the pillar of cloud, to His 
 reappearance in the temple, He told her that whenever she 
 should find herself in the " clefts of the rocks," in difficul- 
 ties and dangers, to let " Plim hear her voice," to call on His 
 
 i2 
 
196 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 name in prayer and supplication, and that He would then 
 come to her deliverance (see chap. ii. 14, and explanation.) 
 But in this passage He tells her that before the dispensation 
 of shadows would be changed into the bright Messianic day, 
 she would have to pass through far greater dangers, afflic- 
 tions, and trials, that on the wild mountains of her capti- 
 vity she would be exposed to and surrounded by the Baby- 
 lonian lions, and Chaldean panthers, as the prophet said, 
 " Israel is a scattered flock, the lions have driven him 
 away; first the King of Assyria hath devoured him, and 
 last this Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, hath broken his 
 bones."* And the prophet Nahum, speaking of the des- 
 truction of Nineveh, said, " where is the dwelling of the lions, 
 and the feeding-place of the young lions ? . . . The 
 lion did tear in pieces enough for his whelps, and strangled 
 for his lionesses, and filled his holes with prey, and his dens 
 with ravin."t Thus we see that in verse 8 Israel's capti- 
 vity and sufferings were foretold, and also the reason for 
 them, namely, to promote their refinement, as is said by the 
 prophet Isaiah in the name of the Lord, " Behold, I have 
 refined thee, but not like silver ; I have chosen thee in the 
 furnace of affliction. "J But at the same time the Lord 
 gave her a hint that even then in her severest sufferings. He 
 would be with her, and not allow her to be consumed ; this 
 is indicated in the phrase, " Come with me," twice re- 
 peated."§ 
 
 9. Thou hast cherished me, my sister, my Bride ; 
 Thou hast cherished me with one of thine eyes — 
 With one chain of thy neck.|| 
 
 * Jer. 1. 17. t Na. ii. 11, 12. ;*; Is. xlviii. 10. 
 
 § Of the wild mountains mentioned in verse 8, as full of lions' dens 
 and caves of panthers, Amana is not precisely known at present. But 
 from its being coupled with Shenir and Hermon, which are both the 
 name of the same mountain with its various cliffs and peaks (see Deut. 
 iii. 8, 9.) Amana may therefore belong to the same range of mountains 
 in the Anti-Lebanus. As there was a great and sudden change to 
 those who, from a delightful ramble on mount Lebanon, ventured to 
 go and explore the wild regions of Anti-Lebanus, where they were ex- 
 posed to great danger from the wild inhabitants of its dens, the figure 
 is thus taken and applied to the future captivity, when the Jews were 
 driven from thtir delightful Mount Zion and led into Babylon, whose 
 fierce inhabitants, because of the fury, slaughter, and dispersion per- 
 petrated by them on many nations, were compared by the prophets to 
 devouring lions. 
 
 II " Thou hast cherished me," &c. There can be no doubt that 
 
CHAPTER IV. 10, 11. 197 
 
 10. How delightful is thy love, my sister, my Bride ! 
 How much better is thy love than wine ! 
 
 And the smell of thine ointments than all spices ! 
 
 11. Thy lips, Bride, drop as honeycomb ; 
 Honey and milk are under thy tongue, 
 
 And the smell of thy garments is like the smell 
 of Lebanon. 
 
 The apostle Paul, after having pas8ed in review the cloud 
 of witnesses, who lived and died by faith notwithstanding 
 all their tribulations, adversities, and sufferings, and desir- 
 
 ■'anaa^ (Libavtani — with "^ under the n ; for it is incorrectly pointed 
 
 with i), is taken from the Noun aV (Lev.) " heart." It is well known 
 
 that in Scripture language, strength and weakness, fear and courage, 
 sorrow and joy, love and hatred, thought and resolution, &c., &c., are 
 all ascribed to the heart of man, which being impressed by the subjects 
 seen with the eyes, or heard with the ears, deliberates upon them and 
 makes resolutions according to the strength of the impression. Hence 
 the frequent and manifold expressions, " steal the heart — speak to the 
 heart — discourage the heart" — a " willing or fainting heart" — heart 
 full of mischief, of sorrow, of wisdom, of joy, of tenderness or hard- 
 ness, of devices and deceit, of love and affection, of discernment and 
 knowledge, — and hundreds of others. These impressions were under- 
 stood to be made on the heart either by what the eyes saw, as " The 
 light of the eyes rejoiceth the heart" (Pro. xv. 30), " When he seeth 
 thee he will be glad in his heart" (Ex. iv. 14), " When Pharaoh saw 
 respite he hardened his heart" (Ex. viii. 15), and *' When Joseph's bre- 
 thren saw their silver in their sacks, their hearts failed them" (Gen. 
 xlii. 28), — so ** lofty eyes and a haughty heart" are always coupled to- 
 gether, — or by the hearing of the ear, as " Nabal's heart died within 
 him" when he heard to what danger his folly had exposed him (1 Sam. 
 XXV. 37), " Lest he see with his eyes, and hear with his ears, and un- 
 derstand with his heart" (Is. vi. 10). Lastly, sincerity or insincerity 
 was also expressed by the heart. When Jehu found Jehonadab, he 
 asked him, " Is thine heart right (i.e., well inclined) as my heart is 
 with thy heart" (2 Kings x. 15.) 
 
 Now our verb Libavtani^ coming from Lev, " heart," has the same 
 force as if in the English language *' heart" should be used as a verb, 
 and, like hve, the verb from love the Noun, would signify to affec- 
 tionate one, if there were such an expression, or "to love one 
 with the whole heart." In the German, the Noun heart, Herz, has 
 a verb Herzen, meaning, " to press one to the heart," as a sign of 
 sincere love ; and in that language our word might be rendered, " Du 
 hast mich geherzt," which, if put literally into English, would be, 
 " Thou hast hearted me." Thus the reader will see that we had no 
 other choice but between " Thou hast affectionated me," or " Thou 
 hast cherished me," and we have chosen the latter as the most proper 
 of the two. The reader will also observe, from the above quotations, 
 how the cherishing of the heart is combined with the eyes The com- 
 mon rendering of the word by "Thou hast ravished my heart," is to 
 ravish the real meaning of the word, and give it one it never had nor 
 can have. 
 
198 THE SONG OF SOLOMON 
 
 0U3 to persuade and prepare the Church of Hebrew believers 
 " to run with patience the race" which their Saviour had 
 traced unto them, said, " Ye have not yet resisted unto 
 blood striving against sin."* The Bridegroom of our Song, 
 desirous to prepare the Bride, his Church, for the great 
 change which the New Testament dispensation was to intro- 
 duce — when the ceremonial law was to be superseded by the 
 everlasting gospel and its purely spiritual doctrines — the 
 visible temple built with hands, by that built invisibly by 
 the Spirit of God, — the typical blood of sprinkling of bulls 
 and rams, by the precious blood of the Lamb of God, " that 
 speaketh better things than that of Abel," — the pontifical 
 garments of the high -priests, by the spotless robe of right- 
 eousness of Him who was to be High-priest for ever after 
 the order of Melchizedek, — the sacred ointments of the 
 temple, by the powerful influences and unction of the Holy 
 Spirit, — and the solemn processions of the tribes to Mount 
 Zion changed into the awful procession and scene at Cal- 
 vary, whither the Church was to follow her Head, " without 
 the gate bearing his reproach ;" — we say^ when the divine 
 Bridegroom was desirous to prepare His Bride for the extra- 
 ordinary change that was to accompany her spiritual pro- 
 gress, He told her that hitherto, and after all that she had 
 done to please Him, she had only " cherished Him with one 
 of her eyes, with one chain of her neck," a wonderful ex- 
 jiression, which speaks for itself without any comment. But 
 we cannot leave the subject without some observations. 
 
 Ist, In making that declaration to her, what tender- 
 ness ! what infinite compassion does He display ! How 
 wonderfully does He clothe the unexpected intimation in the 
 most comforting and cheering expressions not hitherto made 
 use of! " Thou hast cherished me, my sister, my Bride " 
 (or "my sister- bride") — an expression of the most tender 
 endearment, while it indicates at the same time His match- 
 loss condescension and determination to become like her in 
 all things (except sin), "flesh of her flesh, bone of her 
 bones," to leave for a time the bosom of His Father, where 
 angels and seraphim adored Him in eternity, to descend to 
 this earth in the shape of sinful flesh, and to humble Him- 
 self unto death on the cross ; and all this for her, for His 
 beloved Bride, for His dear Church, " that he might present 
 * Heb. xiL4. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 10, 11. 199 
 
 it to himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle, 
 or any such thing ; but that it should be holy and without 
 blemish."* 2d, We have seen in this chapter how the 
 Bridegroom told His Bride that he would abide in the temple 
 built with hands only until the shadows and types should be 
 dispersed by the gospel day, and that before that great 
 change should take place she would have to leave the lovely 
 scenes of Lebanon, and to go into the wild regions of Amaiia 
 and Hermon, among the habitations of lions and panthers ; 
 and now He tells her the reasons why she would have to 
 undergo so many dangers and hardships before she would 
 be taken away from the tuition of her schoolmaster (the law), 
 and made free and perfect under the tuition of the Holy 
 Spirit, and by the sprinkling of the blood of the new cove- 
 nant. " Hitherto," says the divine Bridegroom, " thou 
 hast cherished me, known, esteemed, and loved me with 
 but one of thine eyes," f.e., with the eye of the law, with 
 the eye of works ; for, " The law is not of faith ; but, the 
 man that doeth them shall live in them"-J- — with the eye of 
 carnal commandments, of ceremonial exercises, and under 
 the rod of Moses. And as were thy services, so were thy 
 expectation of reward. Carnal blessings (the dew of 
 heaven, and the fatness of the earth) for the fulfilment of 
 carnal commandments, while thou art all the time under the 
 curse of that which thou triest to observe. For as many 
 as are of the works of the law are under the curse. 
 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God 
 is evident ; for, " The just shall live by faith. "| Hitherto 
 thou hast cherished me with one of thine eyes, while with 
 the other thou didst cherish earthly splendour, perishing 
 magnificence, outward ceremonial pomp; and while thou 
 hast sacrificed for my service one of the chains, or bracelets, 
 of thy neck, thou art not yet in a state of mind to part with 
 every thing, even with thy life for my sake. But all this 
 was only in preparation for better things to come, when 
 thou shalt love and cherish me with both thine eyes of per- 
 fect obedience and faith — when, instead of giving me one 
 chain of thy neck for the building of a material temple, 
 thou wilt present thyself wholly unto me, body and soul, 
 
 * Eph. V. 27. t Gal. iii. 12. 
 
 i Gal. iii. 10, U. 
 
200 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 in order to be built up into a spiritual, living, and glorious 
 temple, in which the everlasting God shall dwell for ever." 
 Verses 10 and 11 follow in explanation of verse 9, " How 
 delightful is thy love, my sister, my Bride!" It was to 
 make that love perfect by faith alone that the New Covenant 
 dispensation was destined to supersede the old. It was 
 obedience and not sacrifice, pure love and not ceremony, 
 spirit and not words (letter), eternity and not time, that 
 were to be introduced, taught, and established by Christ's 
 coming in the flesh. His doctrines, sacrifice, atonement, 
 resurrection, and everlasting gospel ; and it is this spiritual, 
 pure, and entire love that Christ declares he likes better than 
 the wine poured on the altar of sacrifice. It is this oint- 
 ment produced by the unction of the Spirit that He prefers 
 to all the spices offered on the altar of incense. It is the 
 prayers and praises of His Church, the testimony of martyrs, 
 and the preaching of the glad tidings of salvation, produced 
 by such divine love, that our Saviour eulogizes in such 
 glowing language, saying, "Thy lips, Bride, drop as 
 honeycomb ; honey and milk are under thy tongue." It 
 is regarding the precious garments of His righteousness, in 
 which the New Testament Church is clothed, that He says, 
 '^And the smell of thy garments is like the smell of 
 Lebanon." All this was to be accomplished along with a 
 later prophecy, which says that the ancient Church, reduced 
 to the condition of a wilderness during the destruction of 
 Jerusalem and the Babylonian captivity, was again to 
 rejoice and blossom as the rose; " She shall blossom abun- 
 dantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing ; the splendour 
 of Lebanon shall be given unto her the excellency of Carmel 
 and Sharon ; they shall behold the glory of the Lord, and 
 the excellency of our God."* The same is further foretold 
 in the following passage. 
 
 12. An enclosed garden is my sister, my Bride ; 
 A spring shut up, a fountain sealed. 
 
 13. Thy tender plants are an orchard of pomegranates, 
 With delightful fruit, cypress and spikenard ; 
 
 14. Spikenard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon. 
 With all kinds of frankincense-trees ; 
 Myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices. 
 
 « Is. XXXV. 12. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 12 15. 201 
 
 15. A fountain for gardens, a well of living waters, 
 And whose streams come from Lebanon. 
 
 The connection of this passage with the preceding portion 
 of this chapter is so clear and evident that on its very 
 surface it is seen to be the continuation of the Bride- 
 groom's declaration regarding what His Bride the Church 
 then was, and what she was destined to become in the 
 future. To us the metaphor of comparing the Churcb to a 
 garden is well known from such inspired songs as that of 
 Isaiah v., " The Song of my Beloved regarding his vine- 
 yard. . . . For the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is 
 the house of Israel, and the men of Judah the plantation of 
 his delights." The same Bridegroom, when on earth, said, 
 " I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman,"* 
 which figure the great apostle adopted when he said, " I 
 have planted, ApoUos watered ; but God gave the increase 
 
 . . . ye are God's husbandry."-}- Though the Lord 
 of all, the Creator and only proprietor of the universe, 
 " whose is the earth and the fulness thereof," has many 
 gardens, orchards, and plantations for His glory and delight, 
 at the period which this chapter celebrates Israel was on 
 earth the only " enclosed garden" of the Lord, separated by 
 the high wall of the law from all other plantations, "a 
 peculiar people, an holy nation, a royal priesthood," a 
 people dwelling by themselves, and not numbered among 
 the Gentile nations. The heathen prophet saw that when 
 he sang, " How goodly are thy tents, Jacob, and thy 
 tabernacles, Israel ! As the valleys are they spread forth, 
 as gardens by the river's side, as the trees of lign-aloes, 
 which the Lord hath planted, and as cedar-trees beside the 
 waters. He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and 
 his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be 
 higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted."j: 
 In this passage we also see that the value, the beauty, and 
 the riches of the garden of the Lord are greatly enhanced 
 by being represented as having its own fountains and wells 
 streaming with refreshing waters ; because, standing in no 
 need of waters brought from a distance, it has nothing to fear 
 
 * John XV. 1. t 1 Cor. iii. G. 9. 
 
 X Num. xxiii. 5—7- 
 
202 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 from any time of drought. In this passage the " enclosed 
 garden," and "the fountain of living waters sealed up," are 
 seen coupled together, and praised separately, the reason of 
 vv hich we shall presently see in the spiritual meaning and 
 substance of these comprehensive and beautiful figures. 
 
 " An enclosed garden is my sister, my Bride." It is for 
 the following reasons that a garden is enclosed within high 
 walls ; because of the tenderness and preciousness of the 
 plants it contains, that neither the wind, nor the wild beasts, 
 nor man, may be able to injure them in any way — that no 
 seeds of any wild and fruitless plants may be carried in, 
 and scattered in the soil, and spring up, and absorb the 
 strength of the precioas plants, and that no passers by may 
 be able to pluck its delicious fruit, but that it may be 
 ])reserved till ripe for the proprietor alone. All these 
 inotives the heavenly Husbandman had for enclosing His 
 precious garden, with its tender plants (the Jewish Church 
 at her outset), with the high partition wall of the law, in 
 order to preserve it and its fruits for His own glory. As 
 long as that garden remained within that wall, it so pros- 
 pered that the Psalmist could sing regarding it, " Thou hast 
 brought a vine out of Egypt ; thou hast cast out the heathen, 
 and planted it. Thou preparedst room before it, and didst 
 cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land. The hills 
 were covered with its shadow, and the boughs thereof were 
 like mighty cedars." But when through her own faults 
 Mild neglect this partition- wall fell in ruins, when she broke 
 down the wall of the law, and the Lord in His righteous 
 jadgments removed from her the wall of His almighty pro- 
 tection, then the same singer changed his harp into lamen- 
 1 at ions, saying, " Why hast thou then broken down her 
 hedges, so that all they which pass by the way do pluck 
 her ? The bear out of the wood doth waste her, and the 
 wild beast of the field devoureth her."* 
 
 But the Church of old was not only the Lord's enclosed 
 garden, she was also an *' enclosed spring," a " sealed 
 fountain." The garden was provided with a fountain of her 
 own, and with rich springs of living waters, but all for her- 
 self. Enclosed with her within the high wall of the law, 
 its watpr^ served to feed her own thirsty plants exclusively, 
 
 * Ps. Ixxx. 8—15. 
 
 2 
 
CHAPTER IV. 12 — 15. '^03 
 
 and not a single drop was allowed to flow out to refresh the 
 plantations without perishing from drought. The Lord's 
 promises to that Church were, " The Lord shall guide thee 
 continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat 
 thy bones, and thou shalt be like a well watered garden, and 
 like a spring of water, whose waters fail not,"* but all this 
 was for herself, no other nation having any share in these 
 blessings ; for she was not a missionary church, but " an 
 enclosed garden," with a rich, yea, an exhaustless spring, 
 but " sealed up." 
 
 In verses 1 3 and 1 4, the Lord proceeds to enumerate the 
 diiferent precious plants which His garden contained, all 
 famous for beauty, and for fragrance in themselves, as well 
 as for their delightful fruits. This figure by which the 
 children of God are compared to goodly plants, is no stranger 
 to us. '' But I," said David, " am like a green olive-tree in 
 the house of God."f " The righteous shall flourish like 
 the palm-tree : he shall grow like the cedar in Lebanon. 
 Those that be planted in the house of the Lord, shall flourish 
 in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit 
 in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing.":|: In our 
 tSong almost all the plants mentioned are odoriferous ; for 
 the Bridegroom was then on the " mountain of myrrh," 
 " on the hill of frankincense," in the temple of Mount 
 Moriah, filled with sweet smelling savours materially and 
 spiritually, from the altars, and from the souh of the saints 
 whose praises and adoring songs penetrated the veil more 
 quickly than the strongest incense, and to whom the calves 
 of their lips were more agreeable than all the perfumes, and 
 the morning and evening sacrifices. 
 
 But the Church of God was not destined to remain always 
 shut up within that partition-wall of the law — that garden 
 of God was not to remain always enclosed — that rich 
 fountain of living water was not to remain always sealed 
 up from the view and use of other nations. This the Bride- 
 groom indicates in verse 15. His fountain then sealed up 
 is destined to become " A fountain for (many) gardens ; 
 a well of living waters (no more shut up), and whose streams 
 came from Lebanon." The then enclosed nursery with her 
 tender plants is to provide the w^hole earth with goodlv 
 
 * Is. Iviii. 11. t Ps. lii. 8. ; Ps. xcii. 12- U. 
 
204 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 plants and trees of righteousness — the then sealed up foun- 
 tain is to pour forth mighty streams of living waters in all 
 directions, and change the wilderness of the hitherto fruit- 
 less nations into an Eden, and the desert-like tribes of the 
 earth into a garden of God ; " In the days to come, Jacob 
 shall take root : Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the 
 face of the world with fruit."* And, therefore, when the 
 same prophet compared the Old with the New Testament 
 Church, he says, in the name of God, " Remember ye not 
 the former things, neither consider the things of old : Be- 
 hold, 1 will do a new thing ; now it shall spring forth ; 
 shall ye not know it ? I will even make a way in the 
 wilderness, and rivers in the desert. "-J- 
 
 THE CHURCH. 
 
 16. Awake, north wind ! and come thou south ! 
 Blow on my garden, that its spices may flow out ; 
 Let my Beloved come in into His garden, 
 
 And eat the fruits of His delights. 
 
 THE LORD. 
 
 17. I am come into my garden, my sister, my Bride ; 
 I gather my myrrh with my spice ; 
 
 I eat my honey-comb with my honey ; 
 
 I drink my wine with my milk ; 
 
 Eat, companions, and drink. 
 
 Yea, drink abundantly, beloved friends. 
 
 In this beautiful passage we remark, first of all, how 
 clearly, how forcibly, and how plainly, figure and substance 
 are developed, without leaving the least shadow" of doubt 
 about the subject celebrated in this holy Song. Who else 
 and what other subject in the world could be so pliable to 
 these various figures but the Church of God in relation to 
 her Lord and Saviour ? She alone can properly be com- 
 pjired to a precious garden enclosed, containing many and 
 different valuable plants. She alone can be spoken of as 
 
 * Is. xxvii. 6. t Is- x^liii- 18, 19. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 12— 15. 205 
 
 the Lord's garden, and her fruits as the Lord's fruits. She 
 alone can bear the frequent shiftings of the figure, in being 
 herself the garden^ and saying, " My garden," and yet 
 being still at the same time the Lord's garden ; for she 
 and her fruits belong unto II im who bought her with a great 
 price, and because it is only when she remains in Him that 
 she can produce fruits, while out of Him she continues un- 
 fruitful, her branches dry up and become fit for no other use 
 but fuel to the fire. 
 
 In verses 12 — 15, the Bridegroom described the beauties 
 of His beloved Bride under the figure of an enclosed and 
 well watered garden which He had planted and preserved 
 for His own delight. He also mentioned there many of the 
 goodly trees with their delicious fruits, odoriferous plants, 
 with the perfumed spices which that garden produced. 
 The Bride, or the Church of God, hearing from the mouth 
 of her Beloved that the garden which He had planted in 
 the midst of her contained so many plants of righteousness, — 
 love, devotion, faith, hope, praise, prayer, humility, and 
 holiness — plants in whose odour and fruits her Lord re- 
 joiced and delighted, she exclaims in a rapture of joy, 
 " Awake, north wind, and come thou south, blow on my 
 garden that its spices may flow out," (or, '^ Stir up my 
 garden, that the perfume of its spices may spread abroad.") 
 " Let my Beloved come into His garden and eat the fruits 
 of his delights." And what is this but the earnest prayer 
 of the devoted Church — anxious to regale her Beloved with 
 all the fruits of righteousness which she was intended to 
 produce — that the Spirit of God should be granted unto her in 
 a great measure, and that He might stir up all her graces and 
 gifts into full activity and life, and thus enable her to pro- 
 duce in abundance all the fruits she was capable of for the 
 promotion of the Lord's glory ! 
 
 Let us again return for a moment to Mount Zion, and 
 glance at it in the period to which this chapter refers, there 
 remains not a doubt that the " enclosed garden " in its pri- 
 mary sense represents the temple within the walls of which 
 no stranger, no Gentile could enter, in which the precious 
 fruits of the ancient Church were concentrated, and whose 
 sweet smelling savour of burnt- offerings and incense were 
 reserved for the Lord of the temple. Hence it is that we 
 find again the prayer and desire of the Bride as expressed 
 
206 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 in verse 16, substantially repeated by Solomon at the end 
 of his prayer, when he said, " The Lord our God be with 
 us as he was with our fathers ; 0, let him not leave us, nor 
 forsake us ; that he may incline our hearts unto him, to 
 walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and 
 his statutes, and his judgments, which he commanded our 
 fathers."* And if we do identify the Bride's prayer in 
 verse 16 of our Song with that offered up by Solomon in 
 her name at the dedication of the temple, we can equally 
 identify the answer of the Bridegroom contained in verse 
 17, (a verse which has been most unfortunately distorted by 
 ignorance, and placed at the head of chap, v., with which it 
 has no connection whatever), with the answer made by the 
 Lord to that prayer of Solomon, saying, " I have heard thy 
 prayer, and thy supplication that thou hast made before 
 me : I have hallowed this house which thou hast built, to 
 put my name there for ever, and mine eyes and mine heart 
 shall be there perpetually."-J- 
 
 With regard to the spiritual substance of the Bridegroom's 
 answer contained in verse 17, we must consider it in con- 
 nection with what He said in verse 6 of this chapter, viz., 
 that He approved of and would dwell in that temple built 
 with hands, on that "mountain of myrrh," until its shades 
 and types should be dispersed and superseded by the Gos- 
 pel-day. Since, for the time being, that imperfect dispen- 
 sation had reached the highest stage of its perfection ac- 
 cording to the law, the Bridegroom's answer to the earnest 
 invitations of His Bride, was the most appropriate, saying, 
 " I am come into my garden, my sister, my Bride " — i.e., ac- 
 cording to my promise, and thy earnest prayer, I entered 
 the temple which thou hast built for me, and took posses- 
 sion of my enclosed garden. " I gather my myrrh with my 
 spice " — i.e., I reap the sweet smelling savour of thy sacri- 
 fices and incense of thine altars — " I eat my honeycomb 
 with my honey, I drink my wine with my milk." I gra- 
 ciously accept thy oblations and free-will offerings, the fat 
 offered, and the wine poured upon the altar of sacrifice. All 
 is right now ; all is in perfect order as far as the types and 
 foreshadowing ceremonies were intended to be. The school- 
 master (the law) has hitherto done his preparatory work 
 
 * 1 Kings viii. 57, 58. 
 
 t 1 Kings ix. 3 ; comp. 2 Chron. vii. 12, 15, 16. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 12 15. 207 
 
 admirably well, and the " enclosed garden " yields its 
 fruits in its due season. " Eat, companions, and drink, 
 yea drink abundantly, beloved friends " — z.e., Rejoice 
 therefore, Bride, in* this thy success, reap all the spiritual 
 benefits which are now at thy door, and within thy reach. 
 Let thy companions, the servants of the sanctuary, live 
 upon the sanctuary. Let thy priests be clothed in right- 
 eousness, and thy saints (thy beloved friends) shout for joy. 
 Go then on from strength to strength ; continue to augment 
 the talents which I have confided to thee, until I come^^o 
 finish the plan of salvation, and show thee more precious 
 things for which thou are destined. 
 
 This metaphorical way of representing the spiritual joy 
 and satisfaction of the children of the kingdom, when they 
 grow in grace and in the knowledge of God, and are in full 
 communion with the Holy Spirit, under the figure of eating 
 and drinking, is not unfrequent in the Scriptures. David, in 
 giving reasons for the ardent desire of his soul after the sanc- 
 tuary of the living God, says : " My soul shall be satisfied 
 as with marrow and fatness,"* Again: "Blessed is the 
 man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, 
 that he may dwell in thy courts ; we shall be satisfied with 
 the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.''^ Even 
 when the prophet Isaiah invites, in the name of the Lord, 
 all those that hunger and thirst after happiness, to come to 
 the freely offered New Covenant blessings, he says : " Ho 
 every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that 
 hath no money ; come ye buy and eat : yea, come, buy 
 wine and milk, without money and without price. . . . 
 Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, 
 and let your soul delight herself in fatness. "J From these 
 and numerous similar passages, w^e can easily perceive the 
 meaning of the Lord's inviting His beloved friends and com- 
 panions, as He graciously and condescendingly calls His 
 saints, in the same language which the Psalmist used in His 
 name when he said, " Gather my saints together unto me ; 
 even those that have made a covenant (or those that enter 
 into covenant) with me by sacrifice,"§ to come and rejoice 
 before him in their privileges, feed abundantly on His gra- 
 cious promises, and on the rich gifts of His grace. These 
 spiritual feastings to which the Lord invited his Church, 
 ♦ Ps. Ixiii. 5. t Ps. Ixv. 4. tis-lv. 1,2. {Ps. 1.5. 
 
208 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 had its figure or reprsentative in the temporal rejoicings and 
 feasting of the Church for many days at the time of the dedi- 
 cation of Solomon's Temple (see 1 Kings viii. 1 — 41, 62 — 
 66 ; comp. Nehem. viii. 10.) 
 
 Here ends the historical part of the Song, which cele- 
 brates the then past history of the ancient Church, her 
 various vicissitudes from her exodus from Egypt to the days 
 of David, and the period of her highest prosperity and glory 
 which she reached at the dedication of Solomon's temple, and 
 during the first years of his peaceful reign. With the next 
 chapter begins the prophetical part of the Song, in which is 
 foretold the gradual fall of the Church, her punishment, 
 captivity at Babylon, her restoration, prophecies and pro- 
 mises, and the coming of Messiah, and the New Covenant 
 Church. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 PROPHETICAL PART OF THE SONG. 
 ARGrMENT OF CHAP. V. 
 
 ( Vv. 1—7.) The ancient Church falls asleep, becomes neglectful and in- 
 different. jThe Lord comes and knocks at her door, inviting her (by His 
 prophets) to rise, repent, and open to Him her heart and soul, butshe re- 
 fuses. He leaves a last threatening and warning and departs. She then 
 begins to think of her folly and opens, but the Lord was no longer at 
 the door. She runs through the streets of the city in search of Him, but 
 instead of finding Him the " watchmen" find her and smite and wound 
 her, and the " keepers of the walls" tear down her veil from her (under 
 which figures are shadowed forth the fearful judgments upon Israel, 
 the destruction of Jerusalem, and the Babylonish captivity.) The cap- 
 tive Bride then adjures the other nations that if they should find her 
 provoked, offended, and absent Lover to tell Him of her repentance 
 and sufferings. (V. 8.) The daughters of Jerusalem, or the nations 
 that kept her captive, ask her about the character of her Beloved, and 
 why she thus panted after Him, though He had forsaken her? and why 
 she would not rather seek another ? {i.e. serve the idols of her oppres- 
 sors.) (Vv. 9 — 15.) The captive Bride describes the character, the 
 glory, and divine majesty of her absent Lord, His superiority over all 
 gods, and thus shows why she so anxiously and eagerly sought to find 
 Him again and to regain His favour. Under these figures are foretold 
 the efforts made by the Babylonians to turn captive Israel away from 
 their God, but in vain ; for it was that very captivity that purged the 
 ancient Church from idols and attached her more firmly to God, and 
 instead of the captors gaining the captives to serve idols, the latter 
 gained the former to fear the God of Israel, 
 
CHAPTER V. 1 7. '209 
 
 BACKSLIDING OF THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 
 RELATION OF THE CHURCH. 
 
 1. I was sleeping, but my heart was awake. 
 The voice of my Beloved ! He knocketh ! 
 Open to me, my sister, my love (or, bel. corap.), 
 My dove, my accomplished (or faithful) one ; 
 For my head is filled with dew — . 
 
 My locks with the drops of the night. 
 
 2. I have put off my robe — how shall I put it on? 
 
 I have washed my feet — how shall I defile them ? 
 
 3. My Beloved put in His hand by the hole, 
 And my bowels were moved for Him. 
 
 4. I arose to open to my Beloved, 
 And my hands dropped with myrrh, 
 And my fingers with fragrant myrrh. 
 Passing upon the handles of the lock. 
 
 5. I opened to my Beloved, 
 
 But my Beloved had departed, and was gone ; 
 My soul failed when He yet spake ; 
 I sought Him but I could not find Him ; 
 I called Him, but He gave me no answer. 
 
 6. The watchmen that went about the city found me, 
 They smote me, they wounded me ; 
 
 The keepers of the walls took off my veil from me. 
 
 7. I adjure you, ye daughters of Jerusalem, 
 If you find my Beloved — ye do tell him 
 That I languish with love (or, faint for). 
 
 In this passage, as in chap. iii. 1 — 5, the sacred poet 
 makes the Bride relate her own history in regard to certain 
 important events which came to pass in the course of her 
 spiritual alliance with the God of Abraham — with the Sa- 
 viour of souls. In both places she relates past events. But 
 the difference is this, that while the events related by the 
 Bride in chap. iii. 1 — 5, were actually ^«5^ events at the 
 time of Solomon's composing this Song, those which he 
 makes her relate in this chapter as events gone by, were then 
 events yet to come, but clearly and circumstantially foretold 
 by the Spirit of prophecy, to whom the distant future is as 
 
210 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 naked and open as the past or the present. Hence while 
 explaining the four preceding chapters, we had to search 
 that portion of sacred history which relates events that had 
 taken place long before, or at the commencement of Solo- 
 mon's reign ; but in order to explain the passage before us, 
 and the whole of the following part of the Song, we must 
 examine those portions of the Scriptures which were written 
 after Solomon's reign, and in which the fulfilment of the 
 prophetical part of the Song is, directly or indirectly, re- 
 lated. It is easily seen that in the present chapter we have 
 the relation of the backsliding and falling away of the an- 
 cient Church — the Church, that had reached the highest 
 degree of spiritual as well as temporal prosperity towards 
 the middle of Solomon's reign, at the period of the dedica- 
 tion of his temple. But it is the particulars related here by 
 the mourning and humbled Bride, that require to be ex- 
 plained and illustrated, and this we shall now endeavour to 
 do, imploring the aid of God. 
 
 Abrupt and melancholy as is the transition into which 
 this chapter plunges us, without warning or preface, there 
 is a sublimity in the very beginning of the Bride's narra- 
 tive which must be felt ; it cannot be described. " I was 
 sleeping," — humble confession ! comprehensive avowal ! la- 
 mentable change ! deplorable condition ! The Bride of the 
 ever-watching Covenant Angel fell asleep ! The Church of 
 the living God, described in the preceding chapter by the 
 divine Bridegroom Himself, as without spot or blemish, a 
 perfection of beauty, a fruitful garden, an exhaustless foun- 
 tain of living waters, fell asleep ! That Church, who only a 
 short time before was full of zeal and devotion, and who, in 
 ardent love to her Lord and Master, invoked the Holy 
 Spirit to come and stir up all her graces and faculties to 
 enable her to produce all the various and precious fruits of 
 righteousness for the honour and glory of her Beloved, has 
 she fallen asleep ? has she allowed the oil of her lamp to 
 fail, the light of her candlestick to go out, her zeal to be- 
 come cold, her faith to wither, her crown to fade, and her 
 hope to die ? Alas ! the " men of God," by whose pro- 
 phecies we must try to illustrate the passage before us, 
 speak of that deplorable event in language of astonishment 
 and sadness. " How has the faithful cit}^ become an harlot 1 
 She whom I filled with justice, so that righteousness bar- 
 
CHAPTER V. 1 — 7. 211 
 
 boured in her ! but now murderers !"* Again, " For the 
 vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the house of Israel, and 
 the men of Judah the plants of his delights ; but when he 
 looked for justice, behold oppression ! — for righteousness, 
 behold, woeful cries."-]- Another lamenting watchman of 
 Zion says in the name of God : " Yet, I had planted thee 
 a noble vine, wholly of seed of truth, how then art thou 
 turned unto me into a degenerate plant of a strange vine ?" j: 
 " How is the gold become dim ! how is the finest gold 
 changed ! Shall sacred jewels be poured forth in the top of 
 every street ?"§ But, abruptly as we are led in this chapter 
 into the melancholy history of the backsliding and fall of 
 the ancient Church, that awful event took place gradually, 
 and the very steps of her descent we shall find carefully 
 interwoven in this relation of the Bride. 
 
 " I was sleeping," says the Bride, " but my heart was 
 awake." The substance of this figure is as rich and com- 
 prehensive in meaning as the phrase is sublime and beauti- 
 ful. The heart is frequently spoken of in the Scriptures as 
 the seat of affection, active thought, reflection, zeal, love, 
 and sincere attachment. It is therefore easy to perceive 
 that by the heart being awake, while the whole body is at 
 rest, stretched in drowsiness and inactivity, the Bride de- 
 scribes a state of mind, a moral condition in which, alas, 
 many a believer is actually even now-a-days, either with 
 or without his knowledge. It is a state of deep moral sleep 
 while awake at the same time — a moral somnambulism — a 
 living death, a dead life ; a believing infidel, and an infidel 
 believer, for such is knowledge without practice — a fruit 
 tree without fruit, a well without water, a lamp without oil, 
 a splendid time-piece without motion, the spring being 
 broken. . . . Ask such sleeping believers about their 
 confession of faith, and you will find them full as Jordan 
 in the rainy season, but ask them to act according to their 
 confession, and you find them dead, frozen, and motionless 
 — ask them what Christ had done for them, and they will 
 rehearse it unto you with powerful eloquence, and with a 
 pathos to move you to tears ; but ask them what they do, 
 or will do for Christ, and you will find them fast asleep, yea 
 dead. They were once like good salt, but a cold rain has 
 
 * Is. i. 21. t Is. V. 7. X Jer. ii. 21. ^ Lam. iv. 1. 
 
212 
 
 THE SONG OP SOLOMON. 
 
 wasted away their saltness, and they are now good for 
 nothing. They retain a dry and barren confession, but 
 there is no sap in them, no vigour for action. The " whole 
 armour of God" hangs before their eyes, in the Holy Bible 
 which they still read, in the sanctuary which they still 
 frequent, but although they see at the same time the enemy 
 pouring in on every side, they have no power to put it on, 
 nor energy to fight ; they sleep, they are morally dead. 
 
 Such was exactly the state of the Church at the period of 
 which the Bride of the Song speaks in the beginning of 
 this chapter. Her heart was yet full of emotion at the 
 recollection of the glorious manifestations of her Bride- 
 groom's love, of which she could yet think with great 
 affection and delight; but for active religion, for living 
 prayer, for spiritual adoration, for a vigorous testimony, for 
 producing fruits of righteousness, for causing her light to 
 shine before men, as a lamp put on an high place, she was 
 utterly unfit, for a deep sleep had overtaken her. But at 
 the same time the waking heart within the sleeping body 
 may also signify, the temple of God with its priests and 
 Levites still waking and active in the service of the 
 sanctuary, the servants of God, the prophets, still widely 
 awake and full of vigour in their sacred office, though in the 
 midst of a frozen nation, and indifferent members of a 
 backsliding Church. It is owing to the watchfulness of this 
 heart that she perceived the voice of the Bridegroom when 
 He spake, and heard Him when He knocked ; for though 
 she greatly aggravated her position by refusing to open 
 unto Him instantly, so that He left her in displeasure, still 
 this very misfortune had then the advantage of arousing 
 her to a right sense of her misery and danger, and thus 
 brought her to repentance ; for when He knocked, had her 
 heart been asleep like herself, had her watchman grown 
 negligent and indifferent, entire and perpetual moral death 
 would have been the awful consequence. Such being the 
 most natural inference made from the primary and clear 
 sense of the passage, we are the more inclined to adopt the 
 view, that by the waking hearty the faithful priests and 
 Levites, and especially the prophets are designated ; for it 
 was they who made known to the sleeping Bride, the voice, 
 and the knocking, the invitations and the threatenings of her 
 offended Lord. And this we shall see in a still clearer light. 
 
CHAPTER V. 1 — 7. 213 
 
 While the Church had thus sunk into a deep sleep, her 
 watchful, and continually throbbing heart, perceived at once 
 the knocking of the Bridegroom at the door, and His voice 
 addressing her, and praying her to open unto Him. This 
 watchful heart was the prophets. In the year that King 
 Uzziah died, the Church was fast asleep, and in such a de- 
 plorable state that one of her watchmen could say, " I dwell 
 in the midst of a people of unclean lips." But this holy 
 watchman of Zion was awake, and saw the heavens open, 
 and the great Jehovah on His awful throne surrounded by 
 angel and seraph, and heard the voice of the Lord, saying, 
 "whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" to which 
 the prophet answered, "here am 1 ; send me."* Jeremiah, 
 another waking heart of the sleeping Church, perceived like- 
 wise the Bridegroom's voice and knockings, when He said 
 unto him, " I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations . . 
 for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatso- 
 ever I command thee thou shalt speak. "-j- These, as well 
 as many other instances of the same kind, put be^^ond doubt 
 the spiritual signification of the metaphor in question. The 
 ancient Church gradually growing cold and indifferent, after 
 having reached her highest spiritual prosperity, practically 
 excluded Christ, her beloved Bridegroom, from her abode, 
 and locked herself up for worldly repose and carnal ease. 
 The highly privileged daughter of Zion became drowsy, lazy, 
 and fatigued with the solemn services of her God in His 
 sanctuar}'-, tired of closet devotion, wearied of the continual 
 excitement of her soul, and resolved to retire for a while, as 
 she thought, into the world's din, and repose herself in the 
 ensnaring lap of perishing vanities, thinking that a little 
 slumber outside of the Lord's sanctuary, a little Christless 
 repose, a little distraction out of the bond of the covenant, 
 would do her soul good instead of harm. " What evil, thought 
 she, can befall me by a little relaxation ? What harm can 
 a moment's innocent repose do? Will not this, on the con- 
 trary, refresh me, and fit me better for the service of my 
 Beloved ? Let me therefore retire for repose, and at what- 
 ever moment my Beloved may come, I will arise in an in- 
 stant and open to him ; for though my body be heavy, and 
 mine eyes full of sleep, my heart is awake and full of affec- 
 
 ♦ Is. vi. t Jcr. i. 5-7. 
 
2 1 4 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 tion." Her omniscient Bridegroom saw this her fatal resolu- 
 tion with grief and compassion, for He knew that her ^rs^ 
 love had gone, and that her fail was at hand, while Satan, 
 the enemy of God and man, looked upon it with malicious 
 triumph, knowing too that where Christ is excluded^ he is 
 included^ and wherever there is spiritual sleep there is a 
 ready prey prepared for him. 
 
 Thus, alas ! has the daughter of Zion retired for sleep, 
 and though she thought that she was yet full of the impres- 
 sions made on her mind and soul by the late manifestations 
 and tokens of divine love, and expressions of endearment of 
 her beloved Lord, she does not neglect to shut Him out com- 
 pletely from her abode where she resolved to revel in the 
 stream of absorbing and soul-killing pleasures. While she 
 yet has no idea of loosing one moment in opening to her Be- 
 loved whenever he may come and knock, she fastens the door, 
 not only with the lock used in the East by day, and which any 
 person knowing the secret can open by putting his hand 
 through the hole of the door, but even with iron bolts from 
 within as used in the East by night.* Thus barred up and 
 secured against any disturbance from without, she began to 
 undress — to put off the robes of righteousness which her Be- 
 loved gave her at the renew^al of the Covenant on the solemn 
 day of the dedication of the temple. Having washed her 
 feet, and anointed herself with precious ointments and myrrh 
 (an image signifiying the indulgence in the carnal lusts, and 
 extravagant pleasures of this world), she lay down on the 
 couch of ingratitude, faithlessness, indifference, and worldly- 
 mindedness, utterly unconscious, like her mother Eve, after 
 having eaten of the forbidden fruit, of having done any 
 wrong; but, like her too, she was not to remain long undis- 
 turbed, unrebuked, or unpunished. 
 
 * Such is the contradictory conduct of every backslider at the begin- 
 ning of his misery. He casts himself into the cold arms of the world, 
 thinking that one hour's reading of the Bible would repair six days' 
 revelling, but forgets that the world and revelling exclude the Bible, 
 and will either prevent him from reading it, or make it of no effect unto 
 him. He thinks that a week's distraction and extravagance might be 
 healed by one Sabbath service, by one serious sermon of his pastor, but 
 forgets that the world's distraction and carnal pleasures unfit the soul 
 for Jehovah's sanctuary, and make ordinances of no avail unto him ; 
 yea, he forgets that the disease into which he plunges himself willingly, 
 would soon produce in him a horror at the only medicine that can cure 
 it. 
 
CHAPTER V. 1 7. 215 
 
 " What meanest thou, sleeper?" said once a trembling 
 shipmaster to the fugitive and sleeping Jonah, "Arise! 
 call upon thy God ; may be that God will pity us that we 
 perish not." So the great Master of the universe came to 
 His sleeping Bride, and in divine compassion said to her 
 (by the medium of her heart, the holy prophets), " What 
 meanest thou, sleeper ? Arise ! and open unto me, lest 
 thou perish." And 0, what tenderness ! what wonderful 
 love ! what celestial sweetness in His voice and address ! 
 " Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my accom- 
 plished one (or faithful one) ; for my head is filled with dew, 
 ray locks with the drops of the night." Whence that drowsi- 
 ness ? whence that fatigue ? It is surely not I nor my 
 service that has caused it, for, " my people, what have I 
 done unto thee ? and wherein have I wearied thee ? testify 
 against me."* " What more could have been done to my 
 vineyard, that I have not done in it ? Wherefore, when I 
 looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth 
 wild grapes T'\ " For thou hast forgotten the God of thy 
 salvation, and hast not been mindful of the Rock of thy 
 strength. ... In the day that thou wast planted, thou 
 didst grow vigorousl}', and early in the morning hast thou 
 made thy seed to flourish, but the harvest is a lamentation 
 in the day of possession, and a desperate grief."J " Open 
 unto me, my sister, my love." Open unto me thy heart 
 and soul, thy afflicted thoughts and troubled mind, thy 
 bewildering doubts, and thy deep wounds. " Turn, turn ye 
 unto me ; for why shall ye die, house of Israel." " Open 
 unto me, my sister " — my kinswoman whom I redeemed, 
 my Bride whom I espoused unto me ; for, " This people 
 have I formed for myself, that they should shew forth my 
 praise."§ " Open unto me, my love." " I have loved 
 you, saith the Lord."|| " Yea, I have loved thee with an 
 everlasting love, therefore have I drawn thee (after me) 
 with loving kindness."^ " Open unto me, my sister, my 
 love." " Thus saith the Lord, I remember thee the kind- 
 ness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou 
 wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not 
 
 * Mic. vi. 3. t Is. V. 4. X Is. xvii. 10, 11. 
 ^ Is. xliii. 21. II Mai. i. 2. If Jer. xxxi. 1—3, 
 
216 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 sown. Israel is holiness unto the Lord, — the first fruits 
 of his increase.* 
 
 " Open unto me, my sister, my love, my faithful one," 
 said the ever gracious God to His slumbering and ungrate- 
 ful Church, as if nothing wronof had happened ! — as if she 
 had remained as faithful and full of grace, as she was in the 
 day of her espousals ! And why ? 1st, Such were and 
 always are the dealings of our Lord and Judge — Certain of 
 His power, and knowing the feeble frame of transgressors. 
 He meets them at the bar of divine patience, not crushing 
 them nor overwhelming them with the terror of His awful 
 Presence. Serene and calm, serious and holy, lovely and 
 just, searching the delinquent, and convincing him that his 
 crime and punishment have their motives, source and con- 
 sequences, in his own heart, " Adam where art thou ? . . 
 . . . . who told thee that thou wast naked ?" Cain, 
 *' where is Abel thy brother ?" And in both cases, while 
 divine justice was satisfied by deserved punishment inflicted, 
 infinite goodness mingled with the sentence, mercy and 
 compassion preceded and succeeded the chastisement of 
 the criminals. 2d, Because of the saints that were still in 
 the midst of that Church, as the prophet said in the name 
 of God, " Ephraim compasseth me about with lies, and the 
 house of Israel with deceit; but Judah still ruleth (or wrestles) 
 with God, and is faithful with the saints."-}- 3d, Because it 
 was conditional ; if she opened unto Him, if she repented and 
 turned ; then her sins would have been blotted out like an 
 emptied cloud, and her transgressions would have been re- 
 membered no more. " Open unto me," said Emanuel to His 
 backsliding Bride, " for my head is filled with dew, my 
 locks with the drops of the night." Though we might 
 pass over this sublime image without ascribing to it any 
 other signification than the poetical beauty and splendour 
 which it casts upon the whole passage, still we think it has 
 a signification, as the following quotation will show : " This 
 people have I formed for myself, that they should shew 
 forth my praise. But thou hast not called upon me, 
 Jacob ; for thou hast become weary of me, Israel. . . . 
 I have not overworked thee with offerings, nor wearied thee 
 
 * Jer. ii. 2, 3. f Hos. xi. 12. 
 
CHAPTER V. 1 — 7. 217 
 
 with incense, . . . but thou hast made me to serve 
 (or, hast overworked me) with thy sins, thou hast wearied 
 me with thine iniquities. I, even I, am He that blotteth out 
 thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember 
 thy sins."* Thus we may explain that beautiful metaphor. 
 When the ancient Church was in full communion with her 
 Lord and Saviour, who dwelt between the cherubim of her 
 sanctuary, then it was called day, and a glorious and cloud- 
 less day it was ; for the Sun of Righteousness shone upon 
 the daughter of Zion and her splendid temple with all his 
 dazzling splendour and brilliancy. But when that Church 
 became cold, indifferent, drowsy, and at last fell asleep, 
 then began a cold, dark, and dreary night, daring which 
 the Bridegroom, shut out as it were from His temple, went 
 about the streets of Jerusalem in the midst of a tempestuous 
 rain, and came to knock at the door of his sleeping and 
 heartless Bride. All her sins and iniquities, committed 
 during that night, were as so many cold drops, falling upon 
 the innocent head of the " Man of sorrows," who is " wounded 
 for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities." It 
 was in that state and in that dismal period that the divine 
 Bridegroom is represented as knocking at the door of His 
 sleeping Bride, and saying, " Open unto me, my sister, ra}^ 
 love, my dove, ray accomplished one (or faithful one), for 
 my head is filled with dew, my locks with the drops of the 
 night." 
 
 As with the moral condition of poor humanity, it often 
 fares in like manner with their physical condition. Let a 
 fatigued and copiously perspiring man expose himself to a 
 strong draught of air, though for the purpose of cooling and 
 refreshing himself, yet at the certain risk of a severe cold, 
 we would call his act imprudent. Let him add in explana- 
 tion that he calculated on a day's rest being sufficient to 
 cure him of the cold, and we will call him mad ; for not 
 only have such colds prostrated men and chained them to the 
 bed of sickness during weeks, months, and years, but they 
 have often dragged their thousands to the very grave. But 
 men commit still greater errors, when from the hottest fight of 
 their Christian pilgrimage towards Zion they turn aside, for 
 a little while as they think, to cool and refresh themselves 
 
 * Is. xliii. 21—25. 
 
218 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 among the chilling mountains of this decfdtful world^s 
 vanities. And doubly foolish, nay fearful, is their mistake 
 if they think that the moral cold, which they are sure to 
 take will be cured by one day's repentance, and their loss 
 of time made up by additional speed after their imaginary 
 refreshment ; for, instead of repenting, they will find them- 
 selves hardened, and instead of additional speed they will 
 find a complete stop put to their journey, nay they will find 
 themselves dragged backwards at every effort they make to 
 advance forward. Such was the dismal experience of the 
 ancient Church at large. When she had reached a great 
 height of spiritual prosperity, and was marching vigorously 
 from strength to strength towards Zion above, all of a sud- 
 den she felt herself tired of her glorious journey. Instead 
 of seeking refreshment and new vigour in Jehovah's sanc- 
 tuary, she turned aside into the inviting hills of worldly 
 lusts, pride, and pleasure, in order to cool and refresh her- 
 self, to get a little repose, a little sleep, a little slumber, flat- 
 tering herself all the time that this little distraction, as she 
 might have called it, could never estrange her from her Be- 
 loved, nor so harden her as that she would not instantly open 
 should He come and knock. Vain imagination, erroneous cal- 
 culation ! Laziness brought on drowsiness, and drowsiness 
 slumber, pretended weariness invited sleep, and sleep caused 
 forgetfulness, indifference, and the grossest ingratitude. 
 While thus sunk in unconscious and deep sleep, the Bride- 
 groom comes at an unexpected hour of the night, the night, 
 of her moral darkness. He gently knocks at the door of 
 her conscience, her heart, and soul ; He wishes to enter as 
 formerly, but the gracious Bridegroom finds himself ex- 
 cluded ; the world is within and has barred the door against 
 Him ; He knocks again, but receives no answer. He 
 then joins His voice to His knocking — and what a sweet, 
 what a lovely and graceful voice ! " Open to me, my sister, 
 my love, my dove, my faithful one ; for my head is filled 
 with dew — my locks with the drops of night." Deep as her 
 sleep was she heard that sweet voice (her waking heart, the 
 prophets, made her hear it in spite of her), which in former 
 days she listened to with so much delight, and at which 
 she would have leaped over mountains and rivers to cast 
 herself into the arms of her Beloved. Ah, but by that time 
 she was cold, her first love was gone, the world had grasped 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 1—7. 219 
 
 her heart, and captivated her affection. She hesitates 
 awhile, and then gives utterance to the annoyance she felt 
 at being thus disturbed in the midst of her sweet repose : " I 
 have put off my robe — how shall I put it on ? I have 
 washed my feet— how shall I defile them ?"— a clear though 
 indirect declaration, that she did not think it worth the 
 trouble to derange herself for the sake of Him. 
 
 Dear reader, if your soul revolts, if you are filled with in- 
 dignation at this shocking instance of ingratitude on the part 
 of the ancient Church, remember that she has not remained 
 singular in her folly and crime ; for how would the fatigued 
 ball-dancing and wearied theatre-going so-called Christians 
 of our days behave, were one to call them out of their 
 box in the middle of a fascinating act, or away from a ball 
 in the middle of an exciting dance, or awaken them out of 
 the sleep into which their wearied bodies had fallen prayer- 
 lessly at the last watch of the night, for the cause of Him, 
 who left heaven's glory to bleed on the cross for them ? How 
 many Christians, alas, put themselves, with open eyes, in a 
 position which unfits them for days and weeks to meet 
 their God 1 How many plunge themselves into a condition 
 during which, if Jesus would come and say, " Open unto 
 me, my love," &c., they would surely answer like His 
 ancient Bride, '' I have put off ray robe— how shall I put 
 it on?" 
 
 To spare the alleged trouble to His forgetful and ungrate- 
 ful Bride, the compassionate Bridegroom makes the last 
 attempt. He put forth His hand through the hole of the 
 door, or rather of the door post, to try if He could open the 
 lock within * But in vain, iron bolts have been applied 
 and bars have so fastened the door from within, that even 
 with the key in His hand and wdth all His knowledge of the 
 lock. He could not open it from without ; He then saw that 
 He was not shut out by accident, but intentionally and de- 
 
 * To this day the oriental houses have such a hole in the door-post, 
 by which the master and domestics open the locks by putting in thjir 
 hands, while strangers neither dare nor know how to do so ; for the 
 locks are variously made. At night, when the household retires for 
 rest, additional bolts and bars so fasten the door that there is no possi- 
 bility of opening it from without ; but this is the work of the master of 
 the house, or the chief domestic of confidence, and of course is not 
 done so long as the master is without, but only when he has retired 
 for the night's rest. 
 
 K 2 
 
220 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 liberately debarred from the abode and mind of His Bride, 
 who, aware that He never enters by any side way, nor by 
 violence against the door, had so fastened it that He should 
 not be able to enter. The spiritual meaning of this figure 
 is so clear and plain to Scripture readers that it needs no 
 explanation ; but a few passages will cast still more light 
 upon it. " I have spread out my hands all the day unto 
 a rebellious people, wliich walketh in a way that is not 
 good, after their own thoughts."* " Lord, when thy hand 
 is lifted up, they will not see."*!- '* Wherefore, when I 
 came, was there no man? when I called was there none to 
 answer ? Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot re- 
 deem ? or have I no power to deliver ?"| 
 
 But sleepy, drowsy, cold, indifferent and ungrateful as 
 the Bride was at that time, she was not yet so hardened nor 
 so completely blinded as to be unmoved by her Bridegroom's 
 last fruitless attempt, and to be indifferent to the consequences. 
 " My Beloved put in His hand by the hole (of the door 
 post), and my bowels were moved for Him." Miserable 
 compassion ! though better than none at all ; tardy resolu- 
 tion, though better than an obstinate refusal. The offended 
 Bridegroom, who is at the same time the omniscient, right- 
 eous, and holy God, knew her heart and thoughts better 
 than she herself could know them. He at once saw both 
 her malady and its remedy ; her case was judged and her 
 doom sealed. Her own narrative, though very short, yet 
 distinctl}^ shows that her first love was lost, her zeal 
 withered, and her spiritual life gone. She became too rich 
 for Him who was to become poor for her sake, too worldly 
 and corrupt for Him who is of purer eyes than to behold 
 iniquity, — too lazy, negligent, and indifferent for Him who 
 is both mighty and prompt to save, and who is a near refuge 
 in time of trouble ; nay, she became utterly unfit for con- 
 stant communion with her Lord and Saviour, for the uninter- 
 rupted spiritual life and fellowship of the saints. True, she 
 rose at last to open to her Beloved, but not until He had 
 left her in displeasure. And in what a lamentable state 
 of mind did she open to Him, even according to her own 
 account 1 Sleepy, disconcerted, displeased, and murmuring 
 at the trouble, she rises slowly, and with lingering steps 
 
 * Is. Ixv. 2. t Is. xxTi. 11. t Is 1 2. 
 
CHAPTER V. 1 7. 221 
 
 moves on, not towards the door, but towards the toilet-table, 
 and makes preparations as if for a dancing ball — of course 
 not forgetting her ointments and perfumes, and other adorn- 
 ments. What a strange metamorphosis for the late Egyp- 
 tian slave to play the delicate princess towards Him who 
 delivered and exalted her ! And all the time He stands 
 without in a rainy and dreary night ! poor Christians, 
 growing rich by His blessing, beware of pride and folly, 
 into which snares so many fall ; take the ancient Church 
 for an example, and tremble. " I arose to open to my Be- 
 loved ;" — and did she run immediately towards the door ? 
 Not at all. " But my hands dropped with myrrh, and my 
 fingers with fragrant myrrh, passing upon the handles of 
 the lock." Oh what foolish luxury she wanted to mix with 
 the service of the great and holy God ! What perishing 
 vanities and worldly drudgery she joined with the worshiy) 
 of Him who is a Spirit, and demands to be worshipped in 
 spirit and in truth ! It is no matter of surprise that for 
 such a degenerate lady, the service of God is burdensome, 
 especially when it interferes with her indolent habits, with 
 her luxuriant exercises, with the repose she needs after 
 a wearisome and long dance round the all-absorbing idols of 
 this world. She is unfit for God's sanctuary, though she mav 
 yet from time to time open her eyes and tremble at the thought 
 of God, death, judgment, eternity, heaven, or hell. But 
 even when such persons are moved from time to time to 
 some acts of piety, to devotional exercises, &c., their service 
 is so lukewarm that the Lord spits it out of His mouth ; 
 even their praise and prayer is such that it is styled by Him 
 an insupportable burden ; as was the case with that fallen 
 and degenerated Church. (See Is. i. 11 — 15.) Thus we see 
 that the spirit in which that fallen Church prepared to open 
 to her Lord, was that of an overgrown, rich, and neglectful 
 physician, when awakened in the midnight hour to go and 
 see a rich patient who has been suddenly taken ill. After 
 repeated knocks at his door, repeated entreaties and invita-r 
 tions, he remembers that the sufferer employed him at a time 
 when he was in circumstances of great need himself, and, 
 therefore, he resolves at last to rise and visit him. But his 
 preparations, dressings, lustrations, yawns, and sighs, &c., 
 consume so much time that his poor patient is in great 
 danger of being carried off from among the living. Such 
 
222 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 was the conduct of the ancient backsliding Church towards 
 her divine Master, '' And when the Lord saw it He was 
 wroth, because of the provokings of his sons and daughters. 
 And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what 
 their end will be."* fearful judgment for poor weak 
 mortals I 
 
 To the great astonishment and disappointment of the vain, 
 corrupted, and self-deceived Bride, who in the pride of her 
 heart foolishly and presumptuously imagined that the Lord 
 would put up with all her delays, follies, and vanities, and 
 wait her convenience, she found, on opening the door, that 
 the Lord had left her in displeasure, and that He was gone I 
 And many indolent and delaying sinners and backsliders 
 have found since, still find, and will always find what that 
 solemn warning means, " Seek ye the Lord while He may 
 be found, call ye upon Him while He is near,"-J- for many 
 who refuse it " to-day," may find all lost to morrow, even if 
 they seek with tears, as Esau did his birthright, even the very 
 things offered unto them " to-day" without money and with- 
 out price. " I opened to my Beloved, but my Beloved had 
 departed and was gone," — awful punishment ! fearful judg- 
 ment ! and why so severe? The Judge of the whole earth 
 Himself gives the reason : " I have forsaken mine house, I 
 have abandoned mine heritage, I have delivered the dearly 
 beloved of ray soul into the hands of her enemies. Mine 
 heritage became unto me (or towards me) as a lion in the 
 forest ; she yelleth against me with her voice, therefore have 
 I hated her. "J The foolish, ungrateful, and arrogant Bride 
 dared to open her mouth against Him to whom she owed 
 not only her glory and honour, but her very existence — she 
 yelled against Him with her irritated voice, saying, " I 
 have put off my robe, how shall I put it on ? I have washed 
 my feet, how shall I defile them?" Ah, but her just 
 rebuke was prepared many centuries beforehand, when 
 Moses, her kind shepherd, foresaw her fall and exclaimed, 
 *' Do ye thus requite the Lord, foolish and unwise people ? 
 Is not he thy father that has bought thee ? Hath he not 
 made and established thee ?"§ 
 
 " I opened to my Beloved, but my Beloved had departed 
 and was gone ; my soul failed when He yet spake." Ah 
 
 ♦ Deut. xxxii. 19, 20. f la. Iv. 6. + Jer. xii. 7, 8. 6 Deut. xxxii. 6. 
 
IJHAPTER V. 1 — 7. 223 
 
 then He must have said something to her before He de- 
 parted, and something very severe, so as to cause her to faint ! 
 Yea, before He left her He spoke to her by His servants 
 the prophets, saying, " Because I have called and ye re- 
 fused, 1 have stretched out my hand and no man regarded. 
 . . . . 1 also will laugh at your calamity, I will mock 
 
 when your fear cometh Then shall they call 
 
 upon me, but I will not answer ; they shall seek me early, 
 but they shall not find me."* Again, " Therefore will I 
 appoint you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to 
 the slaughter, because, when I called, ye did not answer ; 
 when I spake ye did not hear ; but ye did evil before mine 
 eyes, and did choose that wherein I delight not."-i- " And 
 now because ye have done all these works, saith the Lord, 
 and I spake to you, rising up early and speaking, but ye 
 heard not ; and I called you, but ye answered not ; there- 
 fore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, 
 wherein ye trust, and unto the place which [ gave to you 
 and unto your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh."| Finally, 
 the Lord told her by His prophet, saying, " I will go and 
 return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and 
 seek my face : in their affliction they will seek me early."§ 
 That Church had grievously sinned against infinite love, 
 and great was to be her punishm.ent. When her judgment 
 was announced to her by God's servants the prophets, she 
 partly disbelieved it, and at some times was terrified, and 
 awoke to a sense of her danger, and began to seek the Lord, 
 as in the days of Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, and Josiah, but 
 she found Him not. Her doom was sealed ; and she was 
 to undergo a severe pruning operation, she was to be 
 purified of her pride and arrogance in the hot furnace of 
 affliction, ere she could be restored to the favour of her pro- 
 voked God. Hence we hear her say, " I sought Him, but 
 I could not find Him, I called Him, but He gave me no 
 answer." This deplorable condition of the ancient Church 
 is most pathetically and completely depicted in the follow- 
 ing passage, "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, 
 that it cannot save ; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot 
 hear : but your iniquities have separated between you and 
 
 * Prov. i. 24-28. f Is. Ixv. 12. 
 
 J Jer. vii. 13, 14. § Hos. v. 15. 
 
224 THE SONG OF SOLOMON, 
 
 your God, and your sins have made him hide his face fron7 
 
 you that he will not hear The way of peace 
 
 they know not, and there is no judgment in their path. 
 . . . . Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth 
 justice overtake us : we wait for light, but behold obscurity : 
 for brightness, but we walk in darkness. We grope for the 
 wall like the blind .... we stumble at noonday as 
 in the night ; we are in desolate places like the dead. We 
 roar like bears, and mourn sore like doves : we look for 
 judgment, but there is none ; for salvation, but it is far off 
 from us."* 
 
 While the forsaken and desolate Bride went about in 
 this manner, or rather, as the prophet says, "groped in 
 the dark," as a blind man, in search of her provoked and 
 departed Lord, the " watchmen of the city," the " keepers 
 of the walls " found her, who, instead of meeting her as 
 those in the days of the prophet Samuel, mentioned in chap. 
 iii. of this Song, smote and w^ounded her and took off the 
 veil from her head ; " The watchmen that went about the city 
 found me, they smote me, they wounded me ; the keepers 
 of the walls took off my veil from rae." It has already- 
 been remarked at the beginning of the third chapter, that 
 these " Watchmen, and keepers of the walls," were the 
 prophets of God, of whom He said, " Upon thy walls, 
 Jerusalem, have I set watchmen, who shall never hold 
 their peace day nor night; ye that make mention of 
 the Lord (or as margin, "ye that are the Lord's remem- 
 brancers"), keep not silence ; and give him no rest, till he 
 establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the 
 earth.""!" But they were set there not only for the purpose 
 of reminding the Lord, by prayer and supplication, of His 
 gracious promises regarding Zion and her daughter, the 
 Church, but also to remind the latter of her duties, to 
 rebuke, warn, and threaten her because of her sins, and to 
 announce to her the coming punishments : " I have also set 
 watchmen over you, saying. Hearken to the sound of the 
 trumpet. But they said. We will not hearken."| " Son of 
 man, I have set thee as a watchman over the house of Israel," 
 said the Lord to the prophet Ezekiel. The watchmen being 
 then the prophets, we must now show how they wounded the 
 fallen and desolate Bride, even at the period when she pre- 
 * Is. lix. 1, 2, 8-11. t Is. Ixii. 6, 7. X Jer. vi. 17- 
 
CHAPTER V. 1 — 7. 225 
 
 tended to seek eagerly her departed Lord ; and how they 
 unmasked her, by tearing the veil from her and thus making 
 her appear in all her nakedness, sinfulness, and corruption. 
 One of these watchmen said unto her, " Hear the word of 
 the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom ... ye people of Go- 
 morrah ; to what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices 
 unto me ? saith the Lord. . . . Bring no more vain 
 oblations : incense is an abomination unto me ; the new moons 
 and Sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with ; 
 it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. . . . And when 
 ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you ; 
 yea, even when ye multiply prayers, I will not hear ; for 
 your hands are full of blood. . . . How is the faithful 
 city become an harlot ! I filled her with justice, righteous- 
 ness dwelt in her, but now murderers. . . . Thy princes 
 are rebels, and companions of thieves : every one of them 
 loveth bribes, and followeth after rewards; they judge not 
 the fatherless ; neither doth the cause of the widow come 
 unto them. Therefore saith the Lord, the Lord of Hosts, 
 the mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine ad- 
 versaries, and avenge me of mine enemies."* *' Enter into 
 the rock, and hide thyself in the dust, for fear of the Lord, 
 and for the glory of His Majesty."f Such awful rebukes 
 administered by that holy and severe watchman to the back- 
 sliding Bride, even at a period when she was eagerly seeking 
 the Lord, though not in the right way, as we see from the 
 multitude of the sacrifices by which she tried to reconcile her 
 oifended Lord, we meet with everywhere in his prophecies. 
 Because their number is so great, and since the readers 
 of the Bible are so well acquainted with them, we pass 
 on to make a few appropriate quotations from other watch- 
 men. *' Surely, as a wife treacherously departeth from her 
 husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, house 
 of Israel, saith the Lord. . . . Let us lie down in our 
 shame, and let our confusion cover us ; for we have sinned 
 against the Lord our God." J ♦' I have likened the daughter 
 of Zion to an house-keeping and delicate woman" (or *' to a 
 woman shut up in her house, because she is spoiled by 
 tenderness.") Is not this an allusion to her refusing to open 
 unto the Lord when He knocked ? " Shepherds and their 
 
 * Is. i. t Is. ii 10. + Jer. iii. 20-25. 
 
 k3 
 
226 THE BONG OP SOLOMON. 
 
 flocks, (viz., generals and their armies) shall come unto her t 
 they shall pitch their tents against her round about. . . . 
 Prepare ye war against her. . . . Arise and let us go 
 by night, and destroy her palaces. ... Be thou in- 
 structed, Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee ; lest 
 I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited. ... To 
 what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba, and 
 the sweet cane from a far country ? Your burnt-offerings 
 are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto me. . . . 
 daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth and wal- 
 low thyself in ashes ; make thee mournings as for an only 
 son, most bitter lamentations ; for the spoiler shall suddenly 
 come upon us."* " Cut off thy crown (0 Jerusalem) and 
 cast it away, and lift a loud lamentation in high places ; 
 for the Lord hath rejected and abandoned this generation of 
 his wrath."-]- " Say unto the king and to the queen, Humble 
 yourselves, and sit low ; for the crown of your glory hath 
 descended from jour heads. The cities of the south shall be 
 shut up, and there shall be none to open them : the whole of 
 Judea shall be carried away captive — a complete captivity." j; 
 We could quote innumerable such like passages from the same 
 and from other prophets, but we think that the above are 
 quite sufficient to show what the Bride of our Song meant in 
 saying that the watchmen wounded her, and carried off her 
 veil (her crown, her pride, and her glory) from her head, 
 while she went about seeking her departed Beloved in the 
 darkness of night. 
 
 The poor, desolate, and wailing daughter of Zion, seeing 
 that she can expect nothing else from the inexorable watch- 
 men but wounds, rebukes, threatenings, announcements of 
 captivity, slaughter, dispersion, humiliation, and calamity, 
 'turns at last towards her rivals — towards the "daughters oJf 
 Jerusalem " (the Gentile nations) of whom she was formerly 
 so jealous that she conjured them twice not to disturb her 
 love. Fearing that, after all that had happened to her — that 
 after the unanimous and repeated declarations of the watch- 
 men, that her Lord had rejected and abandoned her for an 
 indefinite period, until she should repent in dust and ashes, 
 and until the measure of her punishment should be full — 
 her beloved was likely to reveal Himself and show His 
 
 * Jer. vi. 2—5, xx. 26. f Jer. vii. 29. + Jer. xiii. 18, 19. 
 
CHAPTER V. 1 7. 227 
 
 favour to the Gentile nations, or to some of them, she there- 
 fore conjures them again, that should they happen to meet 
 her Beloved, to be sure and tell Him that she languishes 
 with love — that she was ill, wounded, broken-hearted, hu- 
 miliated, and in danger of fainting away altogether should 
 He remain away any longer, and continue to hide His face 
 from her in hot displeasure. 
 
 Before concluding the comment or explanation of the 
 first seven verses, we have still before us a small task to 
 perform. The passages above quoted have served us only 
 to illustrate the general scope of the Bride's narrative, of 
 her backsliding, of her falling asleep, of her behaviour at 
 the Lord's visitation, of His departure, of her seeking Him, 
 and of the treatment she met with from the watchmen of 
 Zion. But as her fall was by degrees, as well as the knock- 
 ings of her gracious Bridegroom, and her lingerings and 
 refusals to open to Him were often repeated, before He finally 
 departed from her, it will surely not be amiss to trace these 
 facts in sacred history. And not only shall we find these 
 distinctly related, but those also about her going about 
 during the night season seeking her Beloved, and repeat- 
 edly addressing herself to the watchmen, and always meet- 
 ing with the same results. For this purpose we shall shortly 
 glance over her history from the beginning of her fall, after 
 the death of Solomon, down to the captivity, to which period, 
 as we already saw, the first seven verses bring us down. 
 As early as the days of Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, the 
 Church became drowsy and went to sleep : " And it came 
 to pass, when Rehoboam had the kingdom, and had strength- 
 ened himself, he forsook the law of the Lord, and all Israel 
 with him."* But the sleeping Bride soon heard the voice 
 of her Beloved knocking at the door. Sheshak, King of 
 Egypt, came with a mighty army, invaded Judea, and 
 pushed his ravaging conquests to the very walls of Jerusa- 
 lem. "Then came Shemaiah the prophet to Rehoboam, and to 
 the princes of Judah that were gathered together to Jerusa- 
 lem, because of Sheshak, and said unto them, Thus saith the 
 Lord, ye have forsaken me, and therefore have I also aban- 
 doned you into the hands of Sheshak. Whereupon the 
 princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves, and 
 
 * 2 Chron. xii. 1. 
 
228 THE SONCr OF SOLOMON. 
 
 they said, The Lord is righteous. And when the Lord saw 
 that they humbled themselves, the word of the Lord came 
 unto Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves, 
 therefore will I not destroy them, but will grant them now 
 a little deliverance, and my wrath shall not be poured out 
 (or completed) upon Jerusalem by the hand of Sheshak. 
 Nevertheless, they shall become his servants, that they may 
 know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the 
 countries."* Here we have the first instance of the Bride's 
 having fallen asleep, and of the Bridegroom's inviting her 
 to open unto Him (repent), and knocking at her door. 
 
 But the daughter of Zion soon fell back into her drowsi- 
 ness and sleep, and was again awakened by the pious king 
 Asa, who spoke unto her in the name of the Bridegroom, 
 and by the formidable invasion of the mighty army of Zerah 
 the Ethiopian ("behold He knocketh.") After the great 
 victory granted by the Lord unto Asa and his people over 
 their enemies, " The Spirit of God came upon Azaraiah the 
 son of Oded, and he went out to meet Asa, and said unto 
 him, hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin ; the 
 Lord is with you while ye be with Him : and if ye seek 
 Him He will be found of you, but if you forsake Him He 
 will forsake you." ("The voice of my Beloved. . . . 
 Open unto me," &c.) "Now there are many days for 
 Israel (in which they will be) without the true God, and 
 without a teaching priest, and without the law. But in his 
 trouble he will return unto the Loid God of Israel; they 
 shall seek Him, and He shall be found of them," &c.f 
 This is the correct translation of that passage, which referred 
 to future days, and not to past, as it has been erroneously ren- 
 dered. The language of that prophecy is altogether incom- 
 patible with any idea of the past ; especially when we com- 
 pare its ^''^!'B''?^ (yamim rabim, "many days") of verse 3, 
 with Hosea iii. 4, 5, and his " yamim rabim," we see clearly 
 that it is the same oracle in the sanie sense, though with the 
 difference that Azaraiah's prophecy referred to Israel's fall 
 immediately after and down to the Babylonish captivity, 
 while Hosaa's was renewed and intended to show forth 
 Israel's second dispersion and long destitution during the 
 gospel dispensation. But while a gloomy future was thus 
 
 » 2 Chron. xii. 5-8. f 2 Chron. xv. 1—3. 
 
CHAPTER V. 1 7. 229 
 
 foretold to the Bride, she was at the same time invited and 
 encouraged to repentance and humiliation, by which a respite 
 w^as promised to her. She partially awoke in the days of 
 Asa and Jehoshaphat, and had a breathing time of pros- 
 perity before the coming storm. She gained a great victory 
 over a mighty army of many confederate nations, during 
 the reign of the latter king, though neither by her bow nor 
 by her sword. With regard to her moral condition during 
 that reign we read, "And he (Jehoshaphat) walked in the 
 way of Asa his father, and departed not from it, doing that 
 which is right in the sight of the Lord. Howbeit, the high 
 places were not taken away, for as yet the people had not 
 prepared their hearts unto the God of their fathers."* This 
 is surely a loudly speaking passage, showing that even after 
 being awakened, by the knocking of the Lord's judgments, 
 by His invitations, threatenings, and counsel ("open unto 
 me"), she was still half asleep. At first she refused to rise, 
 and when, after repeated knockings and callings, she did rise, 
 it was so slowly and lazily, and in such a murmuring 
 tone, and with such unwillingness, that the Lord did not 
 wait till she opened the door, but had departed while she was 
 making her preparations. 
 
 Such a lukewarm state, such partial movements to- 
 wards the door continued for a long period, and were inter- 
 mingled with much sleep and slumber, much ingratitude, 
 iniquity, and idolatry. Until the reign of king Josiab, 
 when, after many knockings and callings, yea and warnings, 
 wounds, and awful calamities, the Bride resolved at last to 
 open to her Beloved, then the most complete reformation 
 took place ; no high places, no idols, no abominations were 
 left — all were destroyed and swept away, and the daughter 
 of Zion cordially opened to her Beloved. She opened, 
 but He had departed and was gone, she called Him, 
 but He answered not. An open roll of the long neglected 
 law was found in the temple of God which He had aban- 
 doned. The book was read before the king, its awful 
 curses and threatenings announced beforehand to the back- 
 sliding Bride so ten-ified him and his princes that he 
 rent his garments, and sent his servants saying, "Go 
 and inquire of the Lord for me, and for them that are 
 
 * 2 Chron. xx. 32, 33. 
 
230 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of this 
 book that is found ; for great is the wrath of the Lord that 
 is poured out upon us, because our fathers have not kept the 
 word of the Lord, to do according to all that is written 
 in that book."* The awakened and terrified Bride is 
 represented here as going forth in search of her departed 
 Lord ; and in her desolate wanderings through the streets 
 of Jerusalem, looking right and left for some one of the 
 *' watchmen," the prophets, to ask information. She soon 
 meets one, the prophetess Huldah, of whom she inquires 
 about her Beloved. But fearful were the wounds which 
 this watchman inflicted on the trembling Church. " Thus 
 saith the Lord, behold I will bring evil upon this place, 
 and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the curses that 
 are written in the book which they have read before the 
 king of Judah : because they have forsaken me, and have 
 burned incense unto strange gods, that they might provoke 
 me to anger with all the works of their hands ; therefore 
 my wrath shall be poured out upon this place, and shall not 
 be quenched." -[- 
 
 Such answers, such deep wounds and severe bruises she 
 constantly received from all the watchmen of Zion whom 
 she met during the dreary night of her search and captivity, 
 — from Jeremiah at Jerusalem, from Ezekiel at Babylon, 
 and from all the other prophets, as we have seen already from 
 the passages largely quoted above. When the Bride thus 
 saw that her doom was unalterably determined, and that 
 nothing remained for her but to drink to the very dregs the 
 cup of bitterness prepared for her by an highly provoked 
 Grod, she betook herself to the study of those oracles which 
 directly refer to her punishments, to her captivity, and also 
 to her restoration. From these she saw that, according to 
 Jeremiah, her captivity and sufferings were to be at an end, 
 at the expiration of seventy years. From Isaiah she saw 
 that it was a " daughter of Jerusalem," a Gentile monarch, 
 that was destined to send back Zion's captives, and to build 
 the temple of the Lord.:j: From other prophecies she saw 
 that the time for gathering (or at least " for calling in the 
 Gentiles") must be at hand. But what she must have 
 
 • 2 Chron. xxxiv. 21. f 2 Chron. xxxiv. 24, 25. 
 
 I Is. xliv. 28, xlv. 1-7, &c. 
 
CHAPTER V. 1 — 7. 231 
 
 dreaded above all is the prophecy of Moses, Deut. xxxii. 21, 
 "They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not 
 God ; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities : 
 and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not 
 people ; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation."* 
 Hence we can easily understand her meaning in addressing 
 herself in her distress to the daughters of Jerusalem, and 
 in conjuring them once more, that should they happen to 
 meet her Beloved before her, they should inform Him of 
 her repentance and grief, of her wounds and tears, of her 
 calamities and resignation. At the same time this figure 
 shows the behaviour of the captive Church in the land of 
 her captors. Having abandoned all her former idols, 
 images, and high places, and strange gods, she attached 
 herself sincerely to her Beloved (though absent at the time), 
 spoke openly and publicly of Him before her oppressors, as 
 the God of gods and Lord of lords; confessed that He was just 
 and righteous in all the calamities He poured upon her 
 guilty head ; and that, notwithstanding these, she would 
 continue to confess and serve Him, and Him alone, to seek 
 Him diligently with tears of repentance, and not rest until 
 she found Him. Moreover, she besought, yea conjured her 
 captors, to be converted, to seek and find Him before her, to 
 entreat Him by prayer and supplication to visit again His 
 vine, and to return once more to His desolate and captive 
 Bride, the daughter of Zion. 
 
 THE DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM. 
 
 8. What is thy Beloved more than aiiotlier beloved, 
 thou fairest among women ? 
 
 What is thy Beloved more than another beloved, 
 That thou dost so conjure us? 
 
 THE CHURCH. 
 
 9. My Beloved is white and ruddy, 
 Distinguished among ten thousand. 
 
 10, His head is as the finest gold ; 
 
 His locks are curled, and black as a raven. 
 
 * Deut. xxxii. 21. 
 
232 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 11. His eyes — like doves at the rivers of water — 
 Are washed in milk ; 
 
 They sit in fulness {i.e , as a diamond in the socket). 
 
 12. His cheeks are like beds of spices — 
 The towers of perfumed flowers ; 
 His lips are like lilies, 
 Dropping liquid myrrh. 
 
 13. His hands are like rollers of gold, 
 Beset (or filled) with the beryl ; 
 His body polished ivory, 
 
 Inlaid with saphires. 
 
 14. His legs like marble pillars, 
 Founded on bases of gold. 
 
 15. His countenance is like Lebanon, 
 Excellent like the cedars. 
 
 16. His mouth is full of sweetness, 
 Yea, He is altogether lovely. 
 
 Such is my Beloved, and such my Friend, 
 O ye daughters of Jerusalem. 
 
 The first point which now demands explanation and illus- 
 tration from sacred history is the existence, nature, and 
 spiritual signification of the colloquy between the captive 
 daughter of Zion and the daughters of Jerusalem, as it was 
 figuratively foretold in this chapter. It has been already 
 shown that the first seven verses of this chapter bring us 
 down to the Babylonish captivity, — that it was at Babylon 
 that the wounded, unveiled, and humiliated Bride, while 
 emptying with one hand the cup of fury and bitterness from 
 the hand of her justly provoked God, grasped with the 
 other the consoling oracles which foretold her deliverance 
 and restoration, — that one of these oracles clearly showed 
 her, that certain daughters of Jerusalem (in the form of 
 Persian kings) would be made the instruments in the hands 
 of God, of sending her back from captivity to her own land, 
 and of rebuilding her temple on Mount Zion, — a wonderful, 
 though at that time mysterious, indication, that that temple 
 would see the calling of the Gentiles, and terminate with it.* 
 
 * Some critics, who seem, alas ! to like confusion better than order 
 (perhaps because the first is their element, while the second leaves 
 them no place for sport), refuse to understand, that though the walls of 
 Solomon's temple had been remodelled or rebuilt scores of times, it 
 
CHAPTER V. 8—16. 233 
 
 The first of these monarchs was indicated by name by the 
 prophet Isaiah. This was Cyrus, of whom the Lord spoke 
 a long time before he was born, saying, " He is my shep- 
 herd, and shall perform all my desire fi.e.^ regarding the 
 restoration of the captives, building of the temple, &c.) : 
 even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built, and to the 
 temple. Thy foundation shall be laid. . . . For Jacob 
 my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have called thee 
 by thy name ; I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not 
 known me. . . . That they may know from the rising 
 of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me ; 
 I am the Lord, and there is none else. ... I have 
 raised him up in righteousness, and I will make straight 
 all his ways : he shall build my city, and he shall send free 
 my captives, not for price, nor for reward, said the Lord of 
 Hosts."* In the same chapter, the daughters of Jerusalem, 
 or the Gentile nations, are invited to come unto the Lord : 
 " Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth ; 
 for I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by 
 myself; the word hath gone out of my mouth in righteous- 
 ness, and shall not return. That unto me every knee shall 
 bow, every tongue shall swear. "-|- Here we see once 
 more how prophecies like these in the hands of the captive 
 Church justify the figure adopted hy Solomon in this 
 chapter in maldng the hitherto jealous, but now exceedingly 
 humbled and broken-hearted Bride, charge or conjure her 
 former rivals, that should they find the Lord before her, and 
 enter into His divine favour, to tell Him of the languishing 
 of her soul after Him, and of her repentance and broken- 
 
 would still have been called " the first temple ;" and that, though 
 Herod remodelled and changed the lime and stone of the house built by 
 Zerubbabel, still, as the regular service was not interrupted by the 
 Church being carried ofi" from it, nor otherwise, it cannot be called by 
 any other name but " The second temple ;" for it is not the cement, 
 nor the wall, that bears that name, but the organization and establish- 
 ment of the divine worship, and daily sacrifices on the altar according 
 to the law of Moses, and the Church in connection with it. And this 
 establishment took place only twice, — first, under Solomon's, and 
 second, under Zerubbabel's administrations. Hence the prophet said, 
 ♦' The glory of this last house shall be greater than that of the first,'" 
 for there were only two permanent establishments of Mosaic worship 
 interrupted by the captivity, by the removal of tlie Church, while the 
 change of the"^ stone walls made and can make no difi'erence. Indeed, 
 one must be willingly blind not to see a thing so clear as this. 
 * Is. xHt. 28-xlv. 4-6, 13. + Is. xlv. 22, 23, 
 
234 THE SONG OP SOLOMON. 
 
 heartedness, and thus move Him to pity and compassion to* 
 wards her. 
 
 But these daughters of Jerusalem were then idolaters, 
 worshippers of Bel of Babylon, and of many other idols 
 which many had adopted at that period from the Sabian 
 abominations, as they also worshipped fire, the old delusion 
 of the Magi. Hence it was that when the captive Church 
 at Babylon — crushed and wounded as she was by all the 
 calamities that had come upon her — lamented none of her 
 temporal losses and sufferings, so much as the loss of her 
 Beloved (indeed, the origin and cause of all her losses), 
 the astonished Gentile nations in all the places of her cap- 
 tivity asked her eagerly, " What is thy Beloved more than 
 another beloved?" ?.e., " What preference doest thou claim 
 for thy God and thy religion above ours ? Why art 
 thou so disconsolate ; not about the loss of thy country and 
 possessions — a loss which thou mightest easily make up in 
 our rich and beautiful country — but about the loss of thy 
 God? Why not adopt our religion and our gods, and 
 become amalgamated with us and enjoy all our privileges, 
 and partake of our happiness, riches, and power ?" But 
 the daughter of Zion was at that time completely purified 
 from all superstition, and made entirely free from the 
 snares of idolatry in the furnace of affliction, and full of 
 a vehement and fervent desire to return to her Lord, and 
 enjoy once more His divine favour ; as is beautifully de- 
 scribed by the prophet : " A voice was heard upon the high 
 places (or rather ' in the corners,' i.e., in all the places of 
 Israel's dispersion), weeping and supplications of the children 
 of Israel : for they have perverted their way, and have for- 
 gotten the Lord their God. Return, ye backsliding children, 
 and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto 
 thee, for thou art the Lord our God. Surely in vain have 
 we expected salvation from the hills, from the multitudes of 
 mountains (from the high places and their altars with which 
 the mountains of Judea were once filled) ; truly, in the 
 Lord our God is the salvation of Israel."* It was in that 
 happy state of mind that the ignorant daughters of Jerusalem 
 asked her, " What is thy Beloved more than another be- 
 loved ?" It was in that period of awakened and fervent 
 
 * Jer, iii. 21—24. 
 
CHAPTER. V. 8 — 16. 235 
 
 love and ardent zeal for her Beloved, that the captive 
 daughter of Zion opened her mouth and declared unto her be- 
 nighted conquerors who her Beloved was, laying before them 
 some of His glorious attributes. His purity and holiness, 
 His unity and omnipotence. His wisdom, justice, love, truth, 
 and compassion — that He was the only supreme God, easily 
 distinguished among the ten thousand false gods of the 
 heathen in that He was the Creator and sole governor of 
 the whole universe, and thus the God of gods, and Lord of 
 lords. Along with that statement she declared to them, that 
 so far from adopting any of the heathen gods in His stead, or 
 along with Him, she would lie in the dust of confusion and 
 humiliation until He in His divine compassion would re- 
 member her, return unto her, pardon her past sins and 
 transgressions, and adopt her again as His own espoused 
 and beloved Bride. 
 
 Should any one ask, When did the captive Church make 
 such a noble public confession at Babylon? we answer. Let 
 him carefully examine the sacred history of that period, 
 beginning with the captive Levites at " Babel streams," 
 and examining the lives, actions, and testimonies of such 
 persons as Ezekiel, Daniel, Hananiah, iMishael, and Azariah, 
 the noble Nehemiah and Ezra the holy scribe, Joshua the 
 first high-priest, and Zerubbabel the governor, and Mor- 
 decai, and the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, and man\ 
 other illustrious names mentioned in the Holy Scriptures ; 
 (and how many hundreds more of such eminent children of 
 God must there have been whose names are not particularly 
 mentioned!) Then let him remember the heroic actions 
 and glorious public confessions of some of them which 
 elicited such wonderful exclamations, favourable edicts, and 
 strong testimonies from the Babylonian, Persian, and Median 
 monarchs, and he will have no difficulty in seeing it. After 
 the strong and clear confession of the only true omnipotent 
 and omniscient God, whom Daniel so prudently and wonder- 
 fully disclosed in his interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's first 
 dream, the latter exclaimed, " Of a truth it is that your God 
 (mark the God of his captives!) is the God of gods, and a 
 Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest 
 reveal this secret."* And what, we ask, do the figures in 
 
 * Dan, ii. 47, 
 
236 THE SONG OP SOLOMON. 
 
 this chapter contain, that is not perfoctly explained, by the 
 history of the saints in the fiery furnace ? Here we have 
 before us a monster-image of gold erected by the great con- 
 queror Nebuchadnezzar, at whose name all the inhabitants 
 of the earth trembled. This idol was to be worshipped as 
 a god by all the different nations and tribes of his great 
 empire when coming to his capital or dwelling there ; and 
 indeed, " When all the people heard the sound of the 
 cornet, flute, . . . and other kinds of music, all the 
 peoples, nations, and languages, fell down and worshipped 
 the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up."* 
 But the captive Bride of God neither fell down nor wor- 
 shipped that dumb idol, but rather bowed in secret before her 
 invisible Lord in prayer and supplication, and worshipped 
 her absent Beloved and Him alone. Seeing that daring 
 courage, surely the benighted daughters of Jerusalem must 
 have continually said unto her, " What is thy Beloved more 
 than another beloved?" Why dost not thou worship the golden 
 god of the mighty conqueror our king, in obedience to whose 
 command we all abandoned our own gods, and worship his ? 
 Her answer no doubt was a vigorous confession of faith, a de- 
 scription of the attributes of the supreme God, her Lord, Crea- 
 tor, and Master, and a declaration of His commandment to her 
 not to have any other god besides Him, nor to bow before 
 any image made by man. The astonished idolaters reported 
 this answer to their proud monarch, who was filled with indig- 
 nation, and having summoned the three servants of the living 
 God before him, said unto them : " Is it true, Shadrach, 
 Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor wor- 
 ship the golden image which I have set up ? Now, if ye be 
 ready, that at what time ye hear the cornet ... ye 
 fall down and worship the image which I have made, 
 well; but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour 
 into the midst of a burning fiery furnace, and who is that 
 God that shall deliver you out of my hands ?" Is not this 
 again the very same question figuratively put forth in our 
 chapter, " What is thy Beloved more than another beloved ?" 
 But the Bride answered ; "If it be so, our God whom we 
 serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace ; 
 ftwd he wiU deliver us out of thine hand, king. But if 
 
 * Pftn. iii. 7. 
 
CHAPTER V. 8—16. 237 
 
 not, be it known unto thee, king, that we will not serve 
 thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast 
 set up."* And what followed ? The now devoted and faith- 
 ful Bride, faithful even unto death, was laid hold of and 
 bound, and cast into the midst of the devouring flames. But 
 her Beloved sent His angel into the midst of the flames to 
 deliver her. When the proud tyrant saw it he exclaimed : 
 " Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the 
 Most High God, come forth, and come hither." When 
 they came before him he said again : " Blessed be the 
 God of Shadrach, Meshach, and i^bednego, who hath sent 
 his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, 
 and has changed the king's word (i.e. resisted his order), 
 and yielded their bodies that they might not serve nor wor- 
 ship any other god, but their God. Therefore a decree is 
 made by me, that every people, nation, and language, which 
 speak anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, 
 and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall 
 be made a dunghill, because there is no other God that can 
 deliver after this sort."-]- Man}^ other events, many other 
 confessions of the ancient Church at Babylon might be 
 cited to manifest the influence they had upon the daughters 
 of Jerusalem in exhibiting the vast difference between the 
 living and almighty God, her absent Bridegroom, and their 
 dumb idols which they worshipped as Gods and protectors ; 
 and also to shew the testimony which these ignorant idola- 
 tors rendered unto the God of Zion after having become 
 acquainted with some of His glorious attributes by the tes- 
 timonies, confessions, and behaviour of His captive children. 
 But as the reader knows all these from sacred history, and 
 as we shall yet have to recur to some of them in the course 
 of our exposition of the next chapter, we think that those 
 referred to will answer the purpose ofrefreshing his memory 
 and show^ing how such events explain the figures employed 
 in this portion of our Song, of showing why the captive 
 Bride is thus represented as if asked by the Gentile nations 
 in the places of her dispersion, w^hy she thus lamented the 
 absence of her Beloved? and why she would not adopt 
 another religion and worship another god ? To these 
 inquiries she answered, first by describing the glory and 
 
 * Dan. Hi. 14—17 f Dan. iii. 28,29. 
 
238 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 majesty, the omnipotence, justice, love, and loveliness of the 
 only living God, to whom she was espoused by an everlast- 
 ing Covenant, and whom she was determined to seek even 
 unto death. And then she only added : " Such is my 
 Beloved, and such my Friend, ye daughters of Jerusalem." 
 This was quite sufficient to make all the dumb idols of their 
 own invention and manufacture fall to the ground and lick 
 the dust without one additional word about their emptiness, 
 and helplessness, or about the vanity and stupidity of those 
 that worship them (which might have irritated instead 
 of awakening them.) Indeed, this calm, dignified, and 
 clear confession of the Bride was sufficient to make the 
 astonished Gentiles not only confess and openly acknow- 
 ledge (by royal proclamations and otherwise) the superiority, 
 the greatness, and the supremacy of the God of heaven, but 
 even to awaken in them an ardent desire to join the daughter 
 of Zion in her search for her Beloved, as we shall see in 
 the next chapter. 
 
 With regard to the figurative language which Solomon 
 has put into the mouth of the Bride, when he makes her 
 describe the power, majesty, glory, and loveliness of her 
 Beloved, we must remember, in the first place, that we have 
 before us a portion of the Bible which is composed in the 
 highest poetical style, and clothed in the most mystical 
 metaphors. In the second place, we must observe that 
 while almost all the figurative names, titles, and compari- 
 sons applied by the Bridegroom to His Bride the Church, 
 can, nay must, be explained as to their spiritual signi- 
 fications, those applied by the Bride to describe in human 
 language and metaphor the glory and majesty of the in- 
 finite and invisible God, cannot be fully explained — that 
 while the Church of God was composed then as now of 
 believers, or converted sinners, mortal and finite beings the 
 same as we are, possessing the same qualities, fulfilling the 
 same duties, and serving the same purposes, and undergoing 
 exactly the same changes as we the present members of the 
 present Church of God do, we can easily explain the figures 
 by which these things are presented ; but a stop is put to our 
 speculative imaginations when we attempt to explain the 
 figures and metaphors applied to the invisible God, whom 
 none can find out unto perfection. For instance : when He 
 compares His Bride to a lily among thorns, to a dove in the 
 
CHAPTER V. 8 — 16. 239 
 
 clefts of a rock, to an inclosed garden, to precious plants 
 and their fruits, to a sealed fountain ; or when He describes 
 her spiritual qualities under images and figures of female 
 beaut}'-, we can and must explain them by spiritual subjects 
 of our own experience, and within our reach, and with the 
 aid of other passages of Scripture, where the faith and hope, 
 the sufferings and trials, the graces and gifts, the prosperity 
 and glory of the saints and members of the Church are ex- 
 hibited by the same figures, images, and similitudes as 
 those of the Song. But with regard to such figures and 
 images as are employed in this chapter to describe the in- 
 describable, to paint the inconceivable, to grasp at the in- 
 finite, to express in human terms, and by subjects borrowed 
 from material nature, the power, purity, holiness, majesty, 
 justice, love, and splendour of the blessed Covenant-Angel 
 Jehovah Zidkenu, who is the express image of Him before 
 whose throne the adoring Seraph veils his face, what can we 
 do in the way of explanation ? It was the privilege of inspired 
 men of God to depict the celestial by the terrestrial imagers^, 
 to describe the awfully mysterious majesty of heaven and 
 the divine glory, which in a trance they were allowed to 
 glance at, in such words of human language, and by such 
 images of nature as our imagination can reach, and by which 
 we form our ideas of things of the highest value and perfec- 
 tion, loveliness and attractiveness. AH that we can add to 
 these in the way of explanation would only contribute to 
 heighten the wall alreadj^ insurmountable to finite mortals, 
 to make the mysterious more obscure, the inconceivable still 
 more bewildering. While, therefore, we admire the beauty 
 and richness of these figures, we say with regard to the un- 
 utterable substance which they hide, " It is higher than 
 heaven, what can we know^ ? it is deeper than hell, what can 
 we do ?" Who will deny the sublimity of the figurative lan- 
 guage employed by the inspired Psalmist, when describing 
 Jehovah as fighting his battles ? " In my distress I called 
 upon the Lord, and cried unto my God : He heard my 
 voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even 
 into his ears. Then the earth shook and trembled ; the 
 foundations of the hills also moved and were shaken, because 
 he was wroth. There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, 
 and fire out of his mouth devoured ; coals were kindled by it. 
 He also bowed the heavens, and came down : and darkness 
 
240 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 was under his feet. And he rode upon a cherub, and did 
 
 fly, yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind 
 
 The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest 
 gave his voice, hailstones and coals of fire. Yea, he sent 
 out his arrows, and scattered them ; and he shot forth light- 
 nings and discomfitted them."* Now, let him who can 
 spiritualize the sublime figures by which David describes 
 .Jehovah's awful majesty and omnipotence in war, try also 
 to explain spiritually the magnificent figures by which So- 
 lomon describes Jehovah's serene majesty in time of peace. 
 But we shall by no means give way to mere fancy and vain 
 speculation, and attempt to give spiritual substance, as some 
 imagine they have done, to the white and ruddy complexion, 
 to the head of fine gold, to the dove's eyes washed in milk, 
 to the lily lips, diamond hands, ivory body, marble feet, 
 &c., &c., than to the above-quoted earthquake, flaming 
 fire, burning coals and lightnings, in the Psalm of David. 
 Magnificent and sublime as are both these classes of figures 
 in^a poetical point of view, they but clearty show our po- 
 verty and weakness when brought to admit the thought, that 
 they exhibit the highest effort of the human understanding, 
 to manifest, though only metaphorically, something of Je- 
 hovah's divine majesty and supreme power, whose glory 
 fills heaven and earth and the immensity of space ! 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Argument of Chap. VI. 
 
 (V. 1.) The daughters of JeriisaUm offer their services to the mourn- 
 ing Bride to go and seek with her her absent Lord — i.e., the Kings of 
 Persia and of the Medes offer their aid to the captive daughter of 
 Zionto go to Jerusalem and seek her absent Bridegroom there. (Vv. 
 2, 3.) She accepts and tells them that the time of the re-appearance of 
 her Bridegroom in His garden on Mount Zion (as foretold by Jere- 
 miah) had come, that He accordingly must wait there her arrival, and 
 that there He would renew the Covenant with her. (Vv. 4— 11.) The 
 Bridegroom appears to her at Jerusalem, highly commends her faith- 
 fulness unto Him during His absence, and the impression which'her 
 confession and zeal and love have made on the nations among whom 
 she sojourned during her captivity. (V. 12.) The Bride laments.the 
 absence of the Ark, Mercy-seat, and Cherubim, from the Most Holy 
 of the second temple. 
 
 * Ps. xviii. 6-14. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 1 — 3. 241 
 
 THE DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM. 
 
 Whither is thy Beloved gone, 
 thou fairest among women ? 
 What direction hath thy Beloved taken, 
 That we may seek Him with thee ? 
 
 THE CHURCH. 
 
 2. My Beloved hath gone down into His garden, 
 To the beds of spices : 
 
 To feed in the gardens, 
 And to gather lilies. 
 
 3. I am my Beloved's, and my Beloved is mine — 
 Even He that feedeth among the lilies. 
 
 In the preceding chapter we saw what strong public con- 
 fessions the captive Bride had made at Babylon, and what 
 salutary effects these had produced upon the daughters of 
 Jerusalem (on some of the Gentile nations), so much so that 
 a royal proclamation was made, declaring to all nations and 
 tongues the supremacy, omnipotence, and majesty of the 
 God of Zion, whom His captive Church confessed unto death, 
 and whose absence she so disconsolately deplored, and also 
 the fearful punishment which every Babylonian subject 
 would be visited with if he should venture to utter any dis- 
 respectful word or blasphemy against the God of the cap- 
 tives of Judea. But the present chapter opens with an 
 account of great progress on the part of the daughters of 
 Jerusalem. Here they are represented not only as con- 
 vinced that the God of Israel was the greatest and holiest 
 God, yea, the God of gods ; not only as ready and happy to 
 observe the royal edict and not to speak aught against Him, 
 but as decidedly determined to seek Him. At the same time 
 we remark in their address two words of great importance, 
 and of comprehensive signification ; these are " with thee," 
 I.e., we shall aid thee, to seek thy God, but as for ourselves, 
 we are contented with our own gods, and are neither ready 
 nor willing to abandon them. We remember that the 
 colloquy between the two parties began on the occasion of 
 the daughter of Zion having seen that the Lord had aban- 
 
 L 
 
242 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 doned her, and having learned from the prophecies that the 
 calling of the Gentiles cannot be far off; she thought 
 it might happen that the Gentiles (or at least some of 
 them) might be called into the Lord's favour before her 
 return to it, she therefore conjured them that should 
 they find the Lord before her, they would pray and inter- 
 cede on her behalf, and tell Him that his captive Bride 
 Avaits in languishing love and hope for his return to her. 
 This elicited on the part of the daughters of Jerusalem the 
 question about the character of that God whom the captive 
 Bride preferred to all others, and also the already known 
 confession and the description given by the daughter of 
 Zion of her absent Lord, and the reason of her preferring 
 Him to all other gods. The answer and explanation they 
 found highly satisfactory, and quite convincing. But these 
 Gentiles, although convinced of the superiority of the great 
 God of Zion, were by no means prepared immediately to 
 abandon their dumb idols of wood and stone, and set them- 
 selves to seek diligently that great God for themselves and 
 for the salvation of their own souls. They offered them- 
 selves willingly to aid the captive Bride in seeking her 
 absent Lord, but added, " with thee," not alone ! These 
 two interesting points, the offer of aid by the daughters of 
 Jerusalem to the daughter of Zion, and the condition of the 
 former " with thee," can be explained, yea, pointed to in 
 sacred history. 
 
 It is clear that when the great King Nebuchadnezzar 
 published the above cited proclamation, he was only con- 
 vinced of the greatness and omnipotence of the God of 
 Israel, but had not faith sufficient to draw any spiritual 
 benefit from his conviction and to reduce it to practice. 
 It was only after his extraordinary humiliation that we 
 hear him say, " And at the end of those days, I, Nebuch- 
 adnezzar, lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine 
 understanding returned unto me; and I blessed the Most 
 High ; and praised and honoured Him that liveth for ever, 
 whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His king- 
 dom is from generation to generation. And all the inhabi- 
 tants of the earth are reputed as nothing ; and He doeth 
 according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the 
 inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay His hand, orsav 
 unto him, " What doest thou ?" And after his comp' 
 
CHAPTER VI. 1 — 3. 243 
 
 restoration to his throne and dominion, he said farther, 
 " Now, I Nebuchadnezzar, praise, and extol, and honour 
 the King of heaven, all whose words are truth, and His waya 
 justice ; and those that walk in pride. He is able to abase."* 
 Here we see that Nebuchadnezzar was at last truly con- 
 verted unto God ; but how he then conducted himself with 
 regard to his court and people, especially with regard 
 to captive Israel, whether he made any endeavours to 
 convert his subjects, or at least his courtiers, or whether 
 he continued long on his throne after his conversion and 
 restoration, are questions which we cannot answer; they 
 are things hidden from us ; for sacred history is completely 
 silent on the subject. From the fact that Daniel concludes 
 his 4th chapter with the passage just quoted, and begins the 
 next with the account of an event which took place on the last 
 day of the life and reign of Belshazzar, we may, perhaps, con- 
 clude that he lived but a very short time after his restoration ; 
 and this is confirmed by chronological calculations. More- 
 over, from the memorable event which happened on the last 
 night of the reign of Belshazzar, we learn two things : 1st, 
 that Nebuchadnezzar's royal edict, and all his public testi- 
 monies to the God of Israel, as well as the loud confessions 
 of the captives, and the miracle of the fiery furnace, must 
 have left very little or no impression on the drunken 
 Belshazzar and his court. Not only were the holy vessels 
 of the Lord's sanctuary brought forth and profaned, but at 
 the banquet they worshipped idols and abomination of every 
 sort and description. 2d, We learn that the past testi- 
 monies and confessions were not altogether forgotten at 
 court ; for the old queen came forward and recommended 
 Daniel as a man in whom was the spirit of the holy God. 
 We may conclude also from the vigorous and rebuking 
 address of Daniel to that monarch and his court, that he spoke 
 to them of a God already known and feared in Babylon : 
 "But thou his son ft.e., son of the humbled and converted 
 Nebuchadnezzar), Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine 
 heart, though thou knewest all this fie., all that had hap- 
 pened to thy father) ; but hast lifted up thyself against the 
 Lord of heaven, and they have brought the vessels of his 
 house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives and 
 thy concubines, have drunk wine in them, and thou hast 
 
 * Dan. iv. 34—37. 
 
 Li M 
 
244 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 praised the gods of silver and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and 
 atone, which see not nor hear, nor know ; and the God in 
 whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast 
 thou not glorified," &c.* It is clear as day that such 
 language could not have been employed by the prophet to a 
 heathen king and court were it not that the knowledge of 
 the God of Israel was at that time widely spread in Babylon, 
 and especially in the palace, though they neglected to make 
 a right use of it. 
 
 We pass on to Darius the Mede. It is evident ihatthat 
 prince knew the God of Israel and Daniel his servant, even 
 before he came to the throne ; as he instantly exalted and 
 respected Daniel, and often showed that he feared and 
 adored God. We know also with what reluctance, and 
 with what grief Darius yielded when obliged to give his 
 consent to the execution of his own irrevocable law (procured 
 from him by malice) against his beloved friend and faithful 
 servant Daniel. The certaintj'- with which he uttered the 
 words, " Thy God whom thou servest continually, He will 
 deliver thee," is astonishingly sublime, and shows his know- 
 ledge and fear of the living God, and his faith in Him, and 
 also the veneration and esteem in which he held his faithful 
 servant. When Daniel, when bound and cast into the lion's 
 den, was delivered by the Angel of God, and taken out in 
 triumph, and when his enemies were cast in and devoured, the 
 astonished and delighted king immediately published a pro- 
 clamation to all the different nations of his mighty empire 
 — a proclamation far in advance in knowledge, faith, and 
 confession, compared with that of Nebuchadnezzar. The 
 edict of Nebuchadnezzar only punished the blasphemer of 
 the God of Israel, while that of Darius reads thus : " I 
 make a decree that in eveiy dominion of my kingdom, men 
 tremble and fear before the God of Daniel : for He is the 
 living God, and steadfast for ever ; His kingdom is one that 
 ?hall never be destroyed, and His dominion is unto the end. 
 He delivereth and rescueth, and worketh signs and wonders 
 in heaven and on earth, who hath delivereth Daniel from the 
 power of the lions."-|- But as people are not converted by 
 royal proclamations, and as it is evident that no farther 
 steps were taken to teach the nations to know and adore 
 the living God as the ordy God, the Creator and Saviour of 
 * Dan. V. 22, 23. f Dan. vi. 26, 27. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 1 — 3. 245 
 
 their souls, and thus make them abandon their idols of wood 
 and stone, and serve Him alone, so the poor daughters of 
 Jerusalem remained stationary, without any progress in 
 that direction. All that they acquired was a knowledge 
 that the Beloved God of the captive Church of Zion 
 was the gre;;test God they had ever heard of before, 
 and that He worked wonders for those that fear and 
 love Him. But instead of beginning earnestly to seek and 
 serve Him, and acknowledge and adore Him as their only 
 God, they were only moved to compassion by the sufferings 
 of His severely punished Bride, and offered themselves to 
 aid her in seeking Him, and to help her on in her endeavour 
 to gain His favour again. 
 
 But the prophecy of Solomon that the Gentile nations 
 (under the metaphor of daughters of Jerusalem), would 
 make the generous offer to the captive daughter of Zion to 
 aid her in seeking her Beloved, received its first fulfilment 
 in the declaration of Cyrus, king of Persia, made in the first 
 year of his reign, " Thus saith Cyrus, King of Persia : The 
 Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the 
 earth, and he hath charged me to build him an house at 
 Jerusalem which is in Judea. Who is there among you of 
 all his people ? his God be with him, and let him go up to 
 Jerusalem, which is in Judea, and build the house of the 
 Lord God of Israel (He is the God), which is in Jerusalem. 
 x\nd whoso remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let 
 the men of his place (the Gentiles) help him on with silver 
 and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside the 
 freewill-offering for the house of God, that is in Jerusalem."* 
 On the very surface of this surprising proclamation, we see 
 how widely and effectually the knowledge of the great God 
 of Zion must have been spread at that time through the 
 vast dominions of the king of Persia, that in the first year 
 of his reign he openly and boldly proclaimed in the midst 
 of his heterogeneous pagan subjects, that it was the God of 
 Jerusalem who gave him all the kingdoms he possessed, 
 and that he would (at the head of all his subjects), aid the 
 captive Bride of that God to return to Jerusalem, and to 
 build there the temple to the glory of His name If This is 
 
 * Ezra. i. 2—1 
 
 -f Alas, we know a Thristian nation and government, to whom the 
 Gofl of Jerusalem gave dominion over a vast empire in the East, 
 
246 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 not the place to speak of the wonrlorful and literal fulfilment 
 of Isaiah's prophecies regarding that king, but the exploits 
 he performed, and the plans and wars which he successfully 
 executed both before and after coming to the sole dominion, 
 shew that he must have known all along the oracles of the 
 God of Zion regarding him ; and that he was greatly em- 
 boldened by them in all his gigantic undertakings. There- 
 fore, as soon as he saw himself confirmed sole ruler of all the 
 kingdoms then under Persian sway, he hastened to fulfil his 
 duty towards the supreme Governor of the universe who 
 had long before prepared power and dominion for him. 
 
 It was at that time that the seventy years of the prophet 
 Jeremiah, during which the land of Judea was to lie waste 
 and repose, were at an end ; and when, according to his 
 prophecy and other promises, the Lord was to return again 
 to Jerusalem (after having said, " I will go, and return to 
 my place till they acknowledge their offences," &c., Hos. 
 V. 15) along with His captive Church from Babylon; and 
 when the temple was to be rebuilt, and the Church re-estab- 
 lished. To this period the humiliated and repenting Bride 
 now pointed at Babylon. When the daughters of Jeru- 
 salem asked her, "Whither is thy Beloved gone? . . . 
 We will seek Hi m with thee," her answer was that, 
 according to his never-failing promises. He must now have 
 come down again into " His garden " at Jerusalem, to visit 
 once more His " beds of spices," to feed once more His 
 
 of more than 150 millions of immortal souls, plunged into a dreary 
 labyrinth of heathen impurities and abominations, or Mahometan im- 
 posture, fanaticism, and degradation. And how did that Christian go- 
 vernment behave during an entire century of absolute dominion ? Did 
 these rulers issue proclamations that it was the God of Zion who gave 
 them that dominion, and that they would there build a temple to His 
 glory and aid His cause and assist His Church in her efforts to spread 
 light in that vast region of darkness ? Ah no ! they had not the moral 
 courage to avow openly either their God or their religion, but they had 
 courage enough to discountenance the Lord's servants and discourage 
 His witnesses— to dandle and flatter the most horrid rites and victims 
 of heathen pollution — to encourage and flatter idolatry and fanaticism. 
 They craddled vipers to bite them. They sharpened the teeth of tigers 
 (their beloved Sepoys), to tpar in pieces their own wives and innocent 
 children, and to cover that vast country with blood and horrid crime? 
 Will not the pagaa Cyrus rise in the day of judgment against that 
 government ? Will not the Sepoys say on that day, " you have put the 
 sword into our hands, by hiding the light from us, and leaving us in 
 darkness ?" (This was written on the day when the harrowing news of 
 the Delhi and Cawnpore massacres reached this place, Algiers.) 
 
CHAPTER VI. 1 — 3. 247 
 
 Iambs " In the j^ardens" of INIoriah and Zion, and once more 
 " to gather lilies," His saints with their praises and prayers 
 the fruits of His garden. We should also keep in mind that 
 the venerable and famous Daniel, was then highh^ honoured 
 in the court of king Cyrus ;* and that no doubt, as soon 
 as the latter was sole master of the empire, he asked Daniel 
 where he should begin the fulfilment of all that was fore- 
 told regarding him, " Whither is thy Beloved gone, that I 
 may seek Him with thee?" "How am I to begin to 
 fulfil all His desire as it has been foretold of me ?" To 
 which Daniel answered, in the name of the whole Church, 
 " My Beloved hath gone down into His garden to the beds of 
 spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies," z.e., my 
 Beloved must now have come down once more to visit His 
 favourite Mount Zion ; for so He promised to plant again 
 His garden at Jerusalem at this very time. He is now 
 waiting there for the fulfilment of thy task to send back 
 His captives, and to rebuild His citj and temple." As 
 soon as the proclamation of Cyrus was known to the cap- 
 tive Bride, she exultingly exclaimed, " 1 am my Beloved's, 
 and my Beloved is mine, even He who feedeth among the 
 lilies " (or, " He feedeth [once more] among the lilies.") 
 And she had much reason thus to exult, as the fears she had 
 that her Bridegroom, during her captivity and widowhood, 
 would adopt another nation as His bride and her rival, were 
 now entirely dissipated, when she saw the daughters of Jeru- 
 salem were only ready to seek him " with her," to aid her, 
 but not to be a rival to her ; while her hopes in His pro- 
 mises were literally fulfilled. " I am my Beloved's, and 
 my Beloved is mine," i.e., not only does He return unto me, 
 but He does so without any rival ; I alone am His. 
 
 If for some mysterious purposes, the Lord allowed 
 the work at Jerusalem to be stopped for a while after 
 the death of Cyrus, its restoration under Darius king 
 of Persia, and its continuation under his successors, and 
 their new edicts and proclamations with regard to it, 
 continue to explain, and to illustrate most strikingly 
 this passage of our Song. In the order which Darius 
 gave to the governors of Syria and other adjacent 
 countries of Judea, we read, " Let the work of this 
 
 ♦ Dan. Ti, 28. 
 
248 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 house of God alone ; let the governors and elders of the 
 Jews build this house of God in his place. Moreover, I 
 make a decree what ye shall do to the elders of these Jews 
 for the building of this house of God; that of the king's goods, 
 even of all the tribute beyond the river, forthwith expenses 
 be given unto these men, that they may not be hindered. 
 And that which they have need of, both young bullocks and 
 rams, and lambs for the burnt- offerings of the God of heaven, 
 wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the appointment of 
 the priests which are at Jerusalem, let it be given them 
 day by day, without fail. That they may offer sacrifices of 
 sweet savours unto the God of heaven, and pray for the life 
 of the king, and of his sons."* The letters which Artaxerxes, 
 king of Persia, gave to Ezra on his leaving Babylon for 
 Jerusalem are still more astonishing : " And I, even I, 
 Artaxerxes the king, do make a decree to all the treasurers 
 which are beyond the river, that whatsoever Ezra the 
 priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, shall 
 require of you, it be done speedily. Unto an hundred 
 talents of silver, and to an hundred measures of wheat. 
 . . . Whatsoever is commanded by the God of heaven 
 let it be diligently done for the house of the God of heaven : 
 for why should there be wrath against the realm of the 
 king, and his sons ? . , . And thou, Ezra, after the 
 wisdom of thy God that is in thine hand [i.e., the law), set 
 magistrates and judges which may judge all the people that 
 are beyond the river, all such as know the laws of thy God ; 
 and teach ye them that know them not," &c.-j- What 
 wonderful faith and zeal, liberality, and nobility in heathen 
 kings with regard of the God of Israel and His Church ! 
 How religious the language and how pious the expressions \ 
 How many a so-called Christian king will these noble 
 pagans put to shame in the day of judi^ment? These and 
 other events of the same kind, such as Nehemiah's petition 
 addressed to the same king Artaxerxes, and the princely 
 aid, and strong letters of recommendation which he gave 
 him, and the things which Nehemiah thereby accom- 
 plished, are so many illustrations of the prophetic pas- 
 sages of our Song, shewing how the daughters of Jeru- 
 salem offered and afforded aid and means to the daughter 
 
 ♦ Ezra vi. 7-10. t Ezra vii. 21—26. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 1, 3. 249 
 
 of Zion to seek her God, the celestial Bridegroom of His 
 Church. 
 
 Before we can advance farther with our Song, we must for 
 a moment follow the returning captives to Jerusalem, and see 
 their behaviour, their zeal, devotion, and strong confidence 
 in the Lord who in wrath remembereth mercy. Immedi- 
 ately on her arrival in her desolate country in the midst of 
 ruins, the first work of the Bride was, not to fortify her cities 
 against the numerous and fierce enemies by which she was 
 surrounded, but to build an altar and to ofi'er on it sacrifices 
 to her provoked God ; and this she did in anticipation of the 
 building of the temple. " And when the seventh month was 
 come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people 
 gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem. 
 Then stood up Joshua, the son of Jozedeck, and his brethren 
 the priests, and Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, and his 
 brethren, and builded the altar of the God of Israel, to offer 
 burnt- ofte rings thereon, as it is written in the law of Mosea, 
 the man of God. And they set the altar upon his bases : 
 for fear was upon them, because of the people of those 
 countries (i.e., they hastened to build the altar unto the 
 God of Zion, who is the strongest fortress and shield against 
 all enemies) ; and they offered burnt-offerings thereon unto 
 the Lord, even the morning and evening burnt offerings. 
 . . . . From the first day of the seventh month began 
 they to offer burnt- offerings unto the Lord. But the foun- 
 dation of the temple of the Lord was not yet laid."* On the 
 second month of the second year after their return from 
 Babylon, they began to build the temple of God, with the 
 aid and means afforded them by Cyrus; and according 
 to his orders, the Syrians and Sidonians rendered to them 
 the same services as they did to Solomon on the building 
 of his temple, by cutting cedars in Lebanon. In thus avail- 
 ing herself of the aid of the daughters of Jerusalem, the 
 Bride had first the precedent of King Solomon, and second, 
 she had the prophecies of Isaiah in which the Lord expressed 
 His will that this temple should be built by the aid and at 
 the expense of the daughters of Jerusalem, the Gentile 
 nations. Whether the Bride considered this as an indica- 
 tion of the approaching calling in of the Gentiles, or as 
 
 * Ezra iii. 3—6 
 
 l3 
 
250 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 another chastisement by which the Lord intended to humble 
 her for her past pride and sinfulness, she had become so 
 humble and submissive that she asked no questions, but 
 acted according to the will of her Master. At the same 
 time there was no presumption on the part of those daughters 
 of Jerusalem who contributed so much to the building of the 
 temple, and even to its services. They acknowledged the 
 daughter of Zion to be the only Bride of Zion's God, owned 
 her exclusive great privileges notwithstanding her late 
 humiliation ; and all that they expected was that the Church 
 at Jerusalem should pray to her Lord on their behalf, as we 
 saw'from the royal letters and proclamations. But when the 
 malicious and envious enemies of the Church, the hypocri- 
 tical Samaritans, " came unto Zerubbabel and to the chief of 
 the elders, and said unto them, Let us build with you ; for 
 we seek your God as ye do, and we do sacrifice unto Him 
 since the days of Esar-haddon, king of Assur, who brought 
 us up hither ;" the Bride rigorously and resolutely repulsed 
 their false pretensions. " But Zerubbabel, and Joshua, and 
 the rest of the chiefs of the fathers of Israel said unto them, 
 Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our 
 God, but we ourselves together will build unto the Lord 
 God of Israel, as king Cyrus king of Persia has commanded 
 us."* The future behaviour of these deceitful enemies jus- 
 tified the fears of the returned captives and the repulse they 
 gave to this mongrel race of pagans and Jews. Besides 
 that, they still worshipped their idols though they acknow- 
 ledged the supremacy of the God of Jerusalem, and sacrified 
 unto Him on altars expressly forbidden by the law, as they 
 were out of Jerusalem. The time had not yet come for the 
 calling of the Gentiles, which was reserv^ed for the coming 
 of Christ, '' the root of Jesse," the ensign lifted up to the 
 nations, inviting them to come. Until that time the daughter 
 of Zion was to remain the only Bride, and could therefore 
 say with regard to every other nation, " I am my Beloved's, 
 and my Beloved is mine," exclusively mine. The daughters 
 of Jerusalem might then enjoy the privilege of aiding the 
 Bride in seeking the Lord, in building the temple, and even 
 in furnishing sacrifices for the altar ; but the only lawful 
 priests and Levites belonged to the daughter of Zion, and 
 
 ♦ Ezra iy. 1—3. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 4 — 10. ST)] 
 
 none of any other nation, even though truly converted, 
 could approach the altar, or enter into the temple where 
 the altar stood. The kings who so generously aided the 
 Bride understood this, and without touching any of her 
 privileges, demanded of her only to pray to the Lord for 
 them. While these semi-idolaters pretended that they law- 
 fully offered sacrifice unto the God of Zion, their priests were 
 false, their Levites fabricated, and their altars directly op- 
 posed to the law of God. It was the privileges of the sanc- 
 tuary that they envied and coveted, but which the Bride 
 neither would nor indeed could concede to them. Hence began 
 their oppositions, their calumnies and accusations, which 
 caused for a time the building of the temple to stop, while the 
 Bride humbly waited for a manifestation of her Beloved. 
 
 THE LORD. 
 
 4. Thou art beautiful, my love, as TLrzah— 
 Lovely as Jerusalem — 
 
 Terrible as bannered hosts. 
 
 5. Turn about thine eyes from before me ; 
 For they have excited me. 
 
 Thy hair is like a flock of goats, 
 That feeding descendeth from Gilead. 
 
 6. Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep 
 Which come up from the washing pool, 
 All of which have twins, 
 
 And none is bereaved among them. 
 
 7. Like a slice of pomegranate. 
 
 Are thy temples through thy veil. 
 
 8. Though there be threescore queens, 
 And fourscore concubines, 
 
 And virgins without number ; 
 
 9. She is still the only one.. 
 
 My dove, my faithful (accomplished) one : 
 She is the only one of her mother — 
 The choice one of her that bare her : 
 The daughters saw her and praised her — 
 The queens and concubines, and admired her. 
 10. Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, 
 Fair as the moon, bright as the sun, 
 And terrible as bannered hosts ? 
 
252 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 In the first three verses of this chapter we had the offer 
 of the daughters of Jerusalem to aid the captive Bride in 
 seeking her Beloved, the acceptance of that aid by the 
 Bride, her return, her beginning to build the temple, and 
 her patient waiting for the manifestation of her Beloved. In 
 the passage before us, we have a description of the return 
 of the Beloved to His long -lamenting and desolate Bride, 
 a renewal of His declaration of love and attachment, and 
 of the high euloglums He again bestowed on His be- 
 loved Church. Is it asked when and how was that decla- 
 ration of the Lord's return to his Bride made to her after 
 her return from Babylon ? Let us hear the voice of the 
 inspired messengers of the Beloved, and examine the oracles 
 delivered by them at that period to the Church in the name 
 of God. After the building of the temple had been inter- 
 rupted for a time through the calumnies and accusations of 
 the Samaritans and the governors of Palestine and Syria, 
 it came to pass that in the second year of Darius, the word 
 of God came unto Haggai, the prophet, saying, "Is it time 
 for you, ye, to dwell in your ceiled houses, and this house 
 (the temple) lie waste? . . . Thus saith the Lord of 
 Hosts, Consider your ways. Go up to the mountain, and 
 bring wood, and build the house ; and I will take pleasure 
 in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord. , . Then 
 Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua, the son of 
 Josedeck, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, 
 obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, . . and the people 
 did fear before the Lord. Then spake Haggai, the Lord's 
 messenger, in the Lord's message unto the people, saying, I 
 am with you, saith the Lord."* Here we have the Lord's 
 return after a long absence clearly announced ; and about 
 the renewal of His declarations of love and divine favour to 
 His still beloved Church we must read further. A month 
 after the above message, and in the midst of the Bride's 
 greatest activity in the building of the temple, the Lord 
 sent His messenger again unto His Church, and among other 
 comforting, consoling, and encouraging declarations, said : 
 "Yet now be strong, Zerubbabel, saith the Lord, and be 
 strong, Joshua, son of Josedeck, the high priest, and be 
 strong all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work ; 
 for I am with you, saith the Lord of Hosts. According to 
 
 * Hag i. 4, 7-8, 12, 13. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 4 — 10. 253 
 
 the word (or, condition) that I covenanted with you when ye 
 came out of Egypt, and my Spirit reraaineth among you ; 
 fear ye not. For thus saith the Lord of Hosts, yet once, it 
 is a little while [i.e. after a short time) and I will shake 
 (or ' storm,' or ' make tremble ') the heavens and tha 
 earth, aud the sea and the dry land ; and I will shake all 
 nations ; and the Desire of all nations shall come, and I will 
 fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of Hosts."* The 
 above quotation is the marrow and substance of that pro- 
 phet's oracles. We have quoted largely from them because 
 they do not only cast a general light on our passage, but 
 because many of the figures will be illustrated by this re- 
 markable prophecy, as we shall see. when we enter on the 
 explanation of them. 
 
 In the meantime we take only from the above oracle the 
 fact of the Beloved's announcement to His Bride that He 
 was with her, so that we may establish the period to which 
 the passage of the Song must refer. It is certain that an 
 address in such glowing language as that contained in verses 
 4 — 10 must imply that the Lord was then with His Church, 
 But one thing we must observe, and very remarkable it is, 
 that while the Lord announced to His Bride that He was 
 with her, and would aid and protect her in the building of 
 His temple ; yea, even while He said regarding it, " I will 
 take pleasure in it and will be glorified," He never promised 
 to dwell in it, as He did regarding the first temple w^hen He 
 said, " Let them make a sanctuary, and I will dwell in the 
 midst of them I" His promise to come into that temple, 
 and to fill it with His glory, was distinctly a promise for 
 the future after the " little time" (or while), after having 
 shaken heaven and earth, and the nations, i.e., after 
 having shaken all kingdoms by great convulsions and 
 changes, and prepared the Roman empire for the apostolic 
 work, and having bowed the heaven and come down Himself 
 on earth. When this prophecy was renewed by the last of 
 of the prophets he said that the Angel of the Covenant 
 would suddenly enter into His temple, clearly shewing that 
 until then He did not and would not enter it nor dwell in it I 
 But even Haggai in the above quoted prophecy, while he 
 declared that the Lord's visit to the temple would only be 
 
 ♦ Hag. ii. 4-7. 
 
254 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 ia a future time (yet a little while), stated definitively that 
 for the time being His Spirit only would rest among them,* 
 i.e., the spirit of prophecy His representative, " For the 
 testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy/'-j- Such is 
 also the sense of the reference to the Covenant made with 
 their fathers, namely, after having encouraged the chiefs 
 and the people in general to build the temple, He tells 
 them the condition, saying, "According to the word (or 
 condition) that I covenanted with you when ye came out of 
 Egypt," which was : " Now, therefore, if ye will obey my 
 voice indeed, and keep my Covenant, then ye shall be a 
 peculiar treasure unto me above all people, for all the earth 
 is mine," &c. ;j: while His condescending to dwell in the 
 sanctuary in the midst of them was a peculiar favour, and 
 did not enter into the Covenant conditions ; and to this He 
 afterwards adds, " And my Spirit remaineth among you ; 
 fear ye not," i.e., He will lead and protect you, though He 
 will not enter into this temple until the great appointed 
 time, there being now no Ark of the Covenant, no Mercy- 
 Seat, and no Cherubim, that He could dwell there. This fact 
 will prove of importance to us as we advance further in 
 the Song along with the progressive events of these periods. 
 " Thou art beautiful, my love, as Tirzah — lovely as 
 Jerusalem — terrible as an army with banners." After a 
 long absence of her Beloved, after all her sufferings and 
 humiliating calamities. He whom her soul still loved, and 
 even more ardently and sincerely than ever before, came 
 again to declare to her the unchangeableness of His affec- 
 tion. Though greatly reduced by the affliction she endured 
 in the hot furnace of her captivity — though in number but 
 one of an hundred to what she once was — though poor and 
 needy with regard to this world. He who was afterwards to 
 become poor for her sake, praises the beauty and excellency 
 of His Bride in the same glowing language, and employs 
 many of the same figures as He did in the days of her 
 greatest prosperity and glory under the reign of her magni- 
 ficent King Solomon. Tirzah was a finely situated and 
 splendidly built city of the ten tribes. Jeroboam made it 
 the capital of his kingdom, and it continued to be the royal 
 residence of these kings until the reign of Omri, who 
 
 * See Hag. ii.5. f Rev. xix. 10. % Exod. xix. 5, 6. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 4 — 10. 255 
 
 changed it for Samaria. It is probable that this beautiful 
 city escaped ruin during the wars of Shalmaneser, king of 
 Assyria, when he led captive the ten tribes. If it suffered 
 during that catastrophe, the new colonists might have 
 repaired it and restored it to its first splendour. But if not, 
 we may allow that Solomon employed that comparison 
 according to what Tirzah was in his own time. It is not 
 so with regard to Jerusalem ; for Solomon, speaking by the 
 Spirit, of a period when this city was to be in ruins, 
 could not refer to her as a pattern of beauty, nor say of her 
 any more with the Psalmist : " Beautiful for situation, the 
 joy of the whole earth," as it was then only an heap of 
 desolation. While, therefore, the inspired author takes the 
 figure of beauty from Tirzah, he takes that of loveliness, or 
 comeliness, from Jerusalem, for it was regarding desolate 
 Zion, and ruined Jerusalem, that the Lord said : " Can a 
 woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have 
 compassion on the son of her womb ? yea, they may forget, 
 yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee 
 upon the palms of my hands ; thy walls are continually 
 before me."* 0, then, what a glorious image this was when 
 applied to the restored captive Church, who, like Jerusalem, 
 looked as an heap of ruins, a handful of beggars, a few 
 broken-hearted, humiliated, poor and needy vassals of the 
 kings of Persia ! Ah, but that Church was comely and 
 lovely in the sight of her Beloved, as was Zion and Jerusa- 
 lem, though in ruins ; because she was still His only 
 Church, and Bride, and heritage on earth. And it was 
 owing to her favour in the sight of the Lord that she was 
 also " terrible like bannered hosts ;" for though she was 
 in open and ruined cities, surrounded by many mighty and 
 deadly enemies, who looked with jealous indignation at her 
 re-building the temple and the walls of Jerusalem, and con- 
 cocted many dangerous conspiracies against her ; and though 
 her noble architect Nehemiah and his devoted labourers 
 had to keep their spears in one hand while building with 
 the other, still, *' The wall was finished ... in fifty and 
 two days. And it came to pass that when all our enemies 
 heard thereof, and all the heathen that were about us saw 
 these things, they were much cast down in their own eyes, 
 
 ♦ Is. xHx. 14, 15. 
 
256 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 for they perceived that this work was wrought of our God."* 
 One requires only to read in this book of the conspiracies, 
 plans, and combinations of those embittered enemies by 
 which the handful of helpless captives were surrounded, to 
 see that, poor and feeble as the Church of God then was in 
 every temporal respect, she was to hur enemies a strong 
 array with banners. They feared her because her Beloved 
 was with her, and because she was still beautiful and comely 
 in His eyes. Now we beg the reader to compare carefully 
 the prophecies which we quoted above from Haggai with the 
 verse of our Song which we have now explained, and see 
 how identical they are. The Lord, by the prophet, com- 
 forts His mourning Bride, — who is disconsolate when com- 
 paring her present temporal condition, the poor appearance 
 of her present temple with that of Solomon, which was 
 covered and inlaid with plates of massive gold, — and tells 
 her not to mourn, that the "silver and gold was His," and 
 that He would " take pleasure" in this poorly built house 
 as He did in the former, yea, that its glory would be greater 
 still than that of the former, because He would (after a little 
 while) enter into it as Saviour, as Prince of peace, as God 
 manifested in the flesh. Is not this a full explanation of 
 the 4th verse of our Song, where, in figurative language, 
 the same mourning Bride is told by the same Lord that she 
 was even now as beautiful in His sight as Tirzah, and as 
 lovely as Jerusalem ! And when He said, " Be strong, 
 Zerubbabel, be strong, Joshua, and be ye strong all 
 people of the land. . . . I am with you ; fear ye not," 
 is not this as if intended for an explanation of the phrase in 
 our Song, which represents the otherwise helpless Bride as 
 " terrible as bannered hosts !" But we shall see more of 
 this as we proceed with the following verses, 
 
 " Turn about thine eyes from before me ; for they have 
 excited me." This expression is substantially equivalent 
 to the following, " Refrain thy voice from weeping, and 
 thine eyes from tears ; for thy work shall be rewarded, saith 
 the Lord ;"-[- " Awake, awake, put on thy strength, Zion 
 . . . shake thyself from the dust ; arise and sit down, 
 Jerusalem. . . . In a little wrath I hid my face 
 from thee for a moment, but with everlasting kindness will 
 
 ♦ Neh. Ti. 15, 16. t Jer. xxxi. 16. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 4—10. 257 
 
 I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer."* 
 But to understand it in its particular reference we must re- 
 member the ardent prayers and humble supplications sent 
 up by Daniel at Babylon, by Ezra and Nehemiah, in those 
 cloudy and calamitous days, in the name of the whole 
 Church. Daniel, after having made a complete confession 
 of the sins of his people, and implored pardon from the sin- 
 pardoning God, continued, " my God, incline thine ear 
 and hear ; open thine eyes and behold our desolations, and 
 the city which is called by thy name. ... Lord, 
 hear ; Lord, forgive ; Lord, hearken and do ; defer 
 not, for thine own sake, my God ; for the city, and thy 
 people, are called by thy name."f Ezra said, " Lord, I 
 am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God ; 
 for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our tres- 
 pass is grown up unto the heavens. From the days of our 
 fathers have we been in a great trespass (in a guilty state) 
 unto this day ; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, 
 and our priests, been delivered into the hands of the kings of 
 the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to 
 confusion of face as it is this day."J: And Nehemiah, after 
 fasting and mourning with lamentations and tears for days, 
 said, " I beseech thee, Lord, God of heaven, the great and 
 terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy to them that 
 love him and keep his commandments ; let now thine ear 
 be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the 
 prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day 
 and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and con- 
 fess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned 
 against thee; both I and ray father's house have sinned."§ 
 Another ardent prayer was offered at Jerusalem by the 
 same servant of God, when he was surrounded by great 
 difficulties and dangers in the midst of a great work, which 
 he undertook and carried on vigorously in spite of many 
 snares, privations, and adversities. In such a lamenting 
 and supplicating position the humbled and broken-hearted 
 Bride steadfastly directed her weeping eyes towards her pro- 
 voked God and divine Bridegroom, fearing that the calami- 
 ties were not yet at an end, and imploring His pardon, 
 
 * Is. lii. 1, 2 ; Hv. 8- f Dan. ix. 18, 19. J Ezra ix. 6, 7. 
 
 $ Neh. i. 5, 6. 
 
258 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 protection, and favour ; and while so doing, the work in 
 which she was engaged suffered great delay. The Lord 
 saw it, wfis moved to compassion, and said unto her, by the 
 prophet TIaggai above quoted, " Turn about thine eyes 
 from before me ; for they have excited me," i.e., " Thon 
 hast gained the object of thy prayer and supplications, thy 
 tears liave excited me to mercy and compassion ; lift now 
 th^^self from the ground, shake off the dust and ashes, take 
 courage, ' be strong, ye people of the land, for I am with 
 you, fear ye not, build the house, repair the walls ; for this 
 is my will and my pleasure.' " The history of that Church 
 in her infanc}^ furnishes us with a parallel incident. When 
 the newly called and adopted Bride found herself between 
 the Red Sea and the pursuing array of Egypt, she was 
 terrified and paralyzed, and cried unto the Lord, at a time 
 when she should have pushed forward by faith in His omni- 
 potence and never-failing promises. The Lord therefore 
 said unto Moses (and by him to the whole Church), 
 " Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children 
 of Israel that they go forward."* Not that the Lord des- 
 pised the prayers and supplications of His people at any 
 time, but that when activity is needed praj^er must give 
 way to action, and supplication to faith. When w^e are 
 called upon to go forward, to be up and doing, we cannot 
 spend that time upon our knees ; and if we do so, it shows 
 that it is groundless fear and want of faith that has brought 
 us to our knees. The distinct promises of Jehovah to 
 Israel in Egypt, and His marvellous works accomplished 
 there before their eyes, were such that, had they had suffi- 
 cient faith in Jehov^ah's omnipotence and faithfulness, they 
 would have marched forward without crying and without 
 hesitation, in the full assurance that He "who measured the 
 waters in the hollow of his hand," was able to lead His 
 people through them, and bury their enemies in them. 
 Indeed, the spiritual state of that Church at the period we 
 are treating of was greatly different, and so the language of 
 her gracious God was not in a rebuking, but in an encour- 
 aging tone. In the midst of ruins, and surrounded with 
 bitter enemies and dangerous conspiracies, the returned cap- 
 tive Church lay prostrate on her face in tears and supplica- 
 
 ♦ Exod. xiv. Id. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 4 — 10. 259 
 
 tions, with her eyes directed towards the Lord of Zion. 
 But her gracious Saviour sent His messenger to tell her in 
 the sweetest, most sootliing, and encouraging words, that 
 prayer had gained its object, that it was activity that was 
 now required of her, to build the temple, to strengthen the 
 walls of Jerusalem without fear or hesitation, in the full 
 assurance that the Lord who had pledged His promises to 
 her was able to rebuke the threatening tempest and restrain 
 and control all her enraged and malicious enemies. 
 
 Close to the injunction of the Bridegroom to His Bride 
 to continue the work of the Lord without relaxation. He 
 rehearses some of the compliments which He made to His 
 Church in the days of her greatest prosperity. Now as then 
 He tells her that in His sight her " hair was like a flock of 
 goats, that feeding descendeth from mount Gilead." This 
 figure we explained in chap. iv. 1 to be descriptive of the 
 difterent companies of worshippers ascending and descending 
 mount Zion to and from the temple services. (See there 
 our explanation at large.) We have also remarked above 
 that the first thing which the returned captives undertook, 
 was the erection of an altar on the spot where the first 
 temple stood, in anticipation of rearing it up soon out of its 
 ruins, and on that altar the morning and evening sacrifices 
 were regularly offered, and also the additional ofterings of 
 the Sabbaths and feast-days, and thither the companies of 
 worshippers now regularly repaired. The repetition there- 
 fore of the same compliment showed that the beauty of His 
 Bride did not consist in her outward appearance, in the 
 richness of her attire, nor in the earthly magnificence of her 
 temple, nor indeed in the number of worshippers, but in the 
 disposition of her heart which He alone can know — that the 
 handful of returned captives, repairing to the altar, placed 
 among ruins, or afterwards, to a very poorly constructed 
 temple, to worship Him, possessed the same beauty in His 
 sight as did those numerous, rich, mighty, and happy mul- 
 titudes which once proceeded with the voice of joy and 
 praise to the splendid temple built by Solomon. The above- 
 cited oracle by Haggai is such an explanation of this 
 passage. 
 
 Though we need not enter again into a minute explana- 
 tion of the figures employed in verses 5 — 7, after that 
 already given in chap. iv. verses 1 — 5, we think it of ira- 
 
260 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 portance as well as interest to place the two passages, side by- 
 side, and draw a parallel between thera, and see which of the 
 former figures are repeated in the second, which of them 
 modified, and which of them are entirely left out ; for, on 
 studying the subject, it seems clear that these variations are 
 not only intentional, but that they were caused by the diffe- 
 rence between the state and circumstances of the Church at 
 these two distinct periods. 
 
 Chapter iv. 1. 
 
 Behold, thou art fair, my love ! 
 
 Behold, thou art fair ! 
 
 Thine eyes are like doves within thy veil, 
 
 Thy hair is like a flock of goats 
 
 That feeding descendeth from Mount Gilead, 
 
 Chapter vi. 4, 5. 
 
 Thou are beautiful, my love, as Tirzah — 
 
 Lovely as Jerusalem — 
 
 Terrible as bannered hosts. 
 
 Turn about thine eyes from before me ; 
 
 For they have excited me. 
 
 Thy hair is like a flock of goats 
 
 That feeding descendeth from Gilead. 
 
 Now we beg the reader to compare carefully our expla- 
 nation of these parallel passages, and keep in mind the great 
 change of circumstances that took place in the latter period 
 of the Church from that of the former, and he will see how 
 wonderfully adapted are the modifications of the figures in 
 the second passage, referring to the turbulent times of the 
 second temple, from what they are in the former, which 
 refers to the happy period, and prosperous state of the 
 Church in the days of Solomon. The struggling Church, in 
 the midst of ruins and of all kind of danger from bitter and 
 numerous enemies, needed more encouragement than in the. 
 days of her prosperity. Instead of telling simply as for- 
 merly that she was fair in his sight. He tells her this by 
 corapari'^on ; that even in the midst of her ruins she was 
 beautiful as Tirzah' in all her splendour, lovely as Jerusa- 
 
CHAPTFB VI. 4 — 10. 261 
 
 lem, " the joy of the whole earth" in her magnificence, 
 whose " walls are continually before Him engraven on the 
 palms of His hands," and that even now, though seemingly 
 poor and forsaken, as terrible to her enemies as an army 
 with banners, more terrible than when in the days of old 
 she could muster many armies ; for her Beloved was with 
 her to protect her. Instead of, as in the former passage, 
 simply praising her eyes as simple, faithful, graceful, &c., 
 like doves, he announces to her in the latter that her dove- 
 like eyes, directed to Him in prayer and supplication, had 
 accomplished their designed object, had moved him to com- 
 passion, and that she should now go forth courageously to 
 action. As was natural, the last figure of her hair or looks, 
 which, as we have explained it, signifies the moving com- 
 panies of worshippers ascending and descending Mount 
 Zion, is quite the same in both passages ; for it was evi- 
 dently intended to assure her that though now poor and 
 needy, her temple not possessing as much in brass as the 
 former in gold, and her worshipping members but few in 
 number, still she was as precious as ever in the eyes of her 
 Beloved. 
 
 Chapter iv. 2. 
 
 Thy teeth are like an equal-sized flock, 
 Which come up from the washing-pool ; 
 All of which have twins, 
 And none is bereaved among them. 
 
 Chapter v. 6. 
 
 Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep, 
 Which come up from the washing-pool ; 
 All of which have twins. 
 And none is bereaved among them. 
 
 In this parallel, there is only one slight modification in the 
 first line — the former has, " an equal sized flock," while the 
 latter has simply " a flock of sheep." Here again we invite 
 the reader to examine our explanation given there at large. 
 Then let him rem'-'-k that, if our suggestion there be right, 
 that spiritually, the teeth, the grinders of food, signify faith. 
 
262 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 hope, wisdom, humility, and other qualities by which the chil- 
 dren of God eat and prepare for digestion the bread of heaven, 
 (and certainly if these graces and qualities are all equal sized, 
 in corresponding proportions, they are wonderfully adapted to 
 invigorate the soul and make her prosperous), then the change 
 in the second passage, from an equal-sized to a simple flock, 
 may have a very deep signification, which Ave leave to the 
 reader to suggest according to his own judgment. But it 
 was also suggested there that these figures had a primary 
 reference to the temple, and that the teeth might refer to 
 the rows of outer chambers attached to Solomon's temple 
 round about (but this explanation the reader must see in its 
 place, where it is explained at large), and it is remarkable 
 that the second temple had likewise outer-rows of chambers 
 for the habitation of the priests and Levites, and for maga- 
 zines, but in it they were irregularly built* This is a 
 striking circumstance, but no less a fact. 
 
 Chapter iv. 3. 
 
 Like the scarlet thread are thy lips, 
 
 And thy speech is comely ; 
 
 Like a slice of pomegranate 
 
 Are thy temples through thy veil. 
 
 Chapter vi. 7. 
 
 Like a slice of pomegranate, 
 
 Are thy temples through thy veil. 
 
 Here we have in the second passage no longer any mention 
 of the " scarlet lips," nor of the " comely speech." But we 
 must refer the reader again to our explanation of these 
 figures, and, after perusing it, let him remember that in the 
 second temple, the second veil covered only an empty room, 
 and that the Urim and Thummin spoke no more, and that 
 there was no Asaph, or Jeduthun, or Heman, and their nu- 
 merous bands of musical Levites to solemnize the temple 
 services, and rival tiie choirs of heaven in their angelic songs 
 of adoration and praise. They indeed collected a small 
 band of returned captive Levites, but it must have been a 
 
 ♦ See Ezra x. 6 ; Neh. x. 39, 40, xiii. 5. 
 
 2 
 
CHAPTER VI. 4 — 10. 263 
 
 Bad sight to those who reflected on that noble band composed 
 and organized by David, under chief musicians, who were 
 prophets at the same time. As regards the figure of the 
 "temples like a slice of pomegranate," and which we sug- 
 gested may primarily refer to the decorations of the upper 
 posts of the entrance into the porch, and also above the 
 second veil (see in loco), these might have been imitated in 
 the second temple at both the upper door posts, though the 
 famous Jachin and Boaz were no more at the door and en- 
 trance of the porch. 
 
 Chapter iv. 4, 5. 
 
 Thy neck is like the tower of David . . . 
 
 Thy two breasts are like two young fawns. . . . 
 
 Both these verses are entirely absent in this passage in 
 chap. vi. ; but if the reader will examine our explanation of 
 these figures, and remember that in the second temple there 
 was neither a porch with an high tower as in the former, nor 
 the Mercy-seat of the Ark and Cherubim in the inner sanc- 
 tuary, he will not only see that those figures could not have 
 been used with regard to the Church in the second temple, but 
 also that our explanation of them is thereby confirmed. 
 
 But while her changed and reduced circumstances caused 
 a change and abridgement of the metaphorical compliments 
 above considered, these losses are more than repaired by the 
 glorious declaration of the divine Bridegroom in the follow- 
 ing passage, regarding His proved, humble, and faithful 
 Bride. " Though there be threescore queens, and fourscore 
 concubines (or wives of a second rank), and virgins without 
 number ; yet she is the only one, my dove (or, " yet this 
 one only is my dove"), my faithful one. She is the only 
 one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare 
 her : The daughters saw her and praised her, — the queens 
 and concubines and admired her." The noble behaviour 
 of the captive Bride at Babylon, the uninterrupted and 
 vigorous testimony she kept up there before mighty 
 monarchs, princes, satraps, governors, and many different 
 peoples and nations, her self-denial and perseverance in the 
 worship of her only God, in the midst of dangers, persecu- 
 tions, and threatenings of death, yea in the midst of devour- 
 
264 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 ing flames and raging lions, merited and procured for her 
 such a declaration from her Beloved. And here we remark 
 in the tirst place, that while in verse 4 the Bridegroom 
 began to address her as usual in the second person, " Thou 
 art beautiful, my love," and continued the same in the 
 following three verses. He changes the style in verse 8, 
 and begins to talk of her in the third person, " My dove is 
 only one," and not " Thou my dove art," &c. This shows 
 that His declaration was made to the nations, to the daughters 
 of Jerusalem, who, after all they had learned from His 
 Church, of His glory and omnipotence, only offered to aid 
 His Bride in seeking Him, but could not or would not go a 
 step farther in abandoning their idols and in seeking Him for 
 themselves. The sense therefore of His declaration may be 
 paraphrased thus ; " Though there have been many monarchs 
 and princes, and individuals without number among the 
 daughters of Jerusalem who have learned to know me, who 
 have proclaimed publicly my omnipotence, omniscience, 
 and superiority, and have repeatedly made open confessions 
 of my being the God of gods and Lord of lords, still when 
 the question has come to abandon their own lovers (their 
 strange gods), and to seek and follow me, and give them- 
 selves entirely to me, they have been found wanting ; while 
 my dove, my faithful Bride, my beloved Church, the only 
 daughter of Zion, the chosen seed of Abraham, has alone 
 followed me through fire and water, remained faithful in the 
 fiery furnace and in the lion's den, a constancy, a persever- 
 ance, a self-denial, and a faithfulness, which when these 
 daughters of Jerusalem, these monarchs, princes, and nations 
 saw they praised and admired her, saying," &c. We ob- 
 serve in the second place that the number of sixty for the 
 queens, and eighty for the wives of second rank, emplo37ed 
 in this passage, is entirely taken at random, as that of 
 " Give a portion to seven, and even to eight," and like our 
 Lord's answer to Peter, " I say not unto thee until seven 
 times, but until seventy times seven." It is equally evident 
 that the passages do not refer to any particular individual 
 having had sixty queens and eighty secondary wives, as the 
 " virgins without number" plainly show, that as far as the 
 figure is concerned it was not and could not have been in- 
 tended to apply to any individual king among men. But 
 as the Church, the Bride, is the daughter of Zion, and the 
 
 3 
 
CHAPTER VI. 4 10. 265 
 
 Beloved is the King of kings, so must the figures corres- 
 pond, and by queens, concubines, and virgins, must be un- 
 derstood nations, and peoples, and tribes, all of whom 
 belong unto the Lord, but His Church alone is His 
 Bride, His companion. His chosen inheritance, His only 
 beloved in time and eternity. Besides the figure, there is 
 nothing new in the sense ; for Moses said : " Thou art an 
 holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath 
 chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto Himself above all 
 nations that are upon the earth."* Again, " And the Lord 
 hath avouched thee this day to be His peculiar people as He 
 hath promised thee, . . . and to make thee high above 
 all nations which he hath made, in praise, and in name, 
 and in honour," &c.f J And does our passage contain any 
 other sentiment beyond the repeated assurance by the Lord 
 Himself of what jMoses promised to Israel in His name, 
 that among all the nations and families of the earth, His 
 people, His Church, His Bride should be the only chosen 
 one, His dear inheritance, His beloved possession, whom 
 
 * Dewt. xiv. 2. 
 
 t Deut. xxvi. 18, 19. 
 
 X We cannot help quoting here another passage, which we are sorry 
 to see so sadly disfigured in the common versions : " Jehovah came 
 from Sinai, and he shined unto them fromSeir: He appeared from 
 Mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints, from His 
 right hand came a fiery law unto them. He also loveth the nations, 
 all his saints are in thy hand, and they shall sit down at thy feet (the 
 posture of the ancient disciples, sitting in a half circle before their 
 Master), he shall be exalted through thy words" (Deut. xxxiii. 2, 3). 
 After having shortly described (in verse 2) the divine glory and splen- 
 dour which filled the regions of the wilderness when Jehovah appeared 
 in His celestial magnificence to give the law to His chosen people 
 Israel, Moses tells us that Jehovah loved also the other nations, that 
 notwithstanding that they were then excluded from the covenant and 
 privileges, all their saints (i.e., that are to become such in future) were 
 " in His hands," (i.e., in His sure possession) ; for they also are destined 
 to " sit once down at the feet" of Him who was to be " the ensign to 
 the peoples, the light to enlighten the nations that were to search after 
 Him." Hence they also would then be exalted to the rank of children 
 by Jehovah's Word. They that were aliens and strangers until " the 
 Word was made flesh, and came into the world," were to be '* sanctified 
 through the truth," " Thy word is truth." It is probable that trans- 
 lators were led astray by the changes from the plural to the singular 
 which occur in this passage. But while this is of frequent occur- 
 rence in Hebrew poetry, they should have been arrested at the word 
 D"<tt3 (Amim) " nations," in the plural (which Moses never did, nor 
 
 could apply to Israel), and see that this was a prophesy regarding the 
 future conversion of the Gentile cations. 
 
266 THE SONG OP SOLOMON. 
 
 He would exalt above all other nations, in praise, in name, 
 and in honour? With regard to the expression, " She is 
 the only one of her mother, the choice one of her that bare 
 her," it has been already remarked, in chap. iii. 4, 11, that 
 in Scripture language Jerusalem and Zion are variously 
 styled the mother of the ancient Church in a metaphorical 
 sense, the spiritual meaning of which is, that it is the 
 Holy Spirit who regenerates and sanctifies the children 
 of God, and prepares them for their Saviour, and God, and 
 eternal life. Asa Bride is prepared to meet her Bridegroom, 
 so He adorns them with all spiritual gifts and graces. 
 
 " The daughters saw her and praised her, the queens and 
 concubines, and they admired her." This was sufficiently 
 illustrated by the passages we quoted from Daniel and other 
 prophets towards the end of the previous, and at the begin- 
 ning of the present chapter, to show what a salutary im- 
 pression the behaviour and testimonies of the captive Bride 
 made on the kings and people at Babylon at different times. 
 But as the substance of these praises and expressions of 
 admiration are recorded by the Lord Himself in verse 10 — 
 which is evidently the repetition of the words by which 
 these astonished daughters of Jerusalem expressed their 
 admiration at the Bride's faith and steadfastness, exalted 
 privileges, and glorious destiny, saying, " Who is she that 
 looketh forth as the morning (or morning-star), fair as the 
 moon, bright as the sun, and terrible as bannered hosts ?" — 
 we must therefore quote Scripture again for the illustration 
 of both verses at once. As the expression, " The daughters 
 saw her," cannot be confined to these daughters of Jeru- 
 salem who saw and admired the daughter of Zion at 
 Babylon (though this is the chief point aimed at, because it 
 was the greatest demonstration, and the nearest in point of 
 time), but must also have reference to other occasions at 
 which the Gentile nations saw the daughter of Zion in 
 relation to her God, and praised and admired her, this 
 obliges us to wander over the verdant field of sacred his- 
 tory to pluck some flourishing and perfumed lilies and 
 roses, and strew them over the delightful passage before 
 us. The first object that meets our view is the famous 
 oracle of the heathen prophet, whose eyes the Lord had 
 openr d for a while, not as an honour, but as a mortification 
 to the vile mercenary himself, and to those who hired him, 
 
CHAPTER VI. 4 — 10. 267 
 
 in order to shew him the future destiny of the nation he was 
 invited to curse, and in order that he should proclaim to the 
 Gentile nations, that the " only one" whom the Lord has 
 chosen as His Bride, " looked forth (through the veil of 
 ages), as the morning star, fair as the moon, bright as the 
 sun, and terrible as bannered hosts," " For from the top 
 of the rocks (i.e.^ from a great distance) I see him, and from 
 the hills I behold him : lo, this people shall dwell alone, 
 
 and shall not be numbered among the nations 
 
 Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end 
 be like his. . . . He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, 
 neither hath He seen perverseness in Israel : the Lord his 
 God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them ; 
 . . . according to this time, it shall be said of Jacob 
 and of Israel, what hath God wrought ? Behold, this people 
 shall rise up as a great lion, ... he shall not lie 
 down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the 
 slain. . . . How goodly are thy tents, Jacob, and 
 thy tabernacles, Israel ! As the valleys are they spread 
 forth, as gardens by the river's side, as the trees of lign- 
 aloes which the Lord hath planted, and as cedar trees be- 
 side the waters. . . . His seed shall be in many 
 waters, his King shall be higher than Agag, and his king- 
 dom shall be exalted."* Here we have the first instance of 
 the " daughters having seen and praised her," and of their 
 exclaiming in astonishment, " Who is she that looketh forth 
 (or shineth forth out of the future covering clouds), like the 
 morning star, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, and 
 terrible as bannered hosts !" Rahab of Jericho said to the 
 spies : '^ I know that the Lord hath given you the land ; 
 your terror hath also fallen upon us, and all the inhabitants 
 of the land faint because of you ; for we have heard how 
 the Lord dried up the waters of the red sea for you. . . . 
 And as soon as we have heard these things, our hearts did 
 melt, ... for the Lord your God is the God in heaven 
 above, and on earth beneath."-}- The queen of Shebah, who 
 was attracted by the report which reached her distant land 
 about " the name of the Lord," the God of Israel, and about 
 the wisdom of their illustrious and magnificent King Solo- 
 mon, was convinced that "not the half" was told her of 
 
 * Num. xxiii. 9, 10, 21—24, xxiv. 5—7. f Jer. ii. 9—11. 
 
 m2 
 
268 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 what she now saw with her own eyes, and in admiration 
 exclaimed, " Blessed be the Lord thy God who delighted 
 in thee to set thee on the throne of Israel: because the 
 Lord loved Israel for ever, therefore made he thee King, 
 to do judgment and justice."* But though it is said re- 
 garding Solomon : '' And there came of all people to hear 
 the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who 
 have heard of his wisdom ;" and though his neighbour, 
 King Hiram, rejoiced in him and said: "Blessed be the 
 Lord this day, who hath given unto David a wise son over 
 this great people ;"-j- we doubt much if all his wisdom, 
 splendour, and wealth, produced such an impression upon 
 the Gentile nations, or ditiused such a wide knowledge of 
 Israel's God, or elicited so much praise and admiration for 
 the Bride, His Church, as did her own conduct, testimonies, 
 and public confessions during her captivity at Babylon ! 
 Never did the Church of God " look forth " more gloriously, 
 more triumphantly, more like the morning star, or the sun 
 in his brilliant vigour, than she did out of the fiery furnace at 
 Babylon, when the overwhelmed Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, 
 " Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, 
 and they have no hurt ; and the form of the fourth is like 
 the Son of God V'j^ These victorious witnesses were called 
 by the King " servants of the living God," in addition to 
 their proper names, when he ordered them to come forth 
 from the crucible of their trial. They were carefully 
 examined by "the princes, governors, captains, and the 
 king's counsellors," who saw with surprise that the raging 
 flames had no power over their bodies, or even over 
 the hair of their heads. The whole event, with the astonish- 
 ing edict which that heathen king published on the occa- 
 sion among all the nations and tongues of his vast empire, we 
 may safely say is the best and clearest explanation that can 
 be given of the two verses in our Song, " The daughters 
 saw her and praised her ; the queens and concubines (kings, 
 princes, governors, captains, and different nations), and 
 they admired her, saying. Who is she that looketh forth as 
 the morning star — fair as the moon, bright as the sun, and 
 terrible as banner^'' host- I" 
 
 Thinking it needless to refer again to events and passages 
 
 * 1 Kings X. 9. t 1 Kings iv. 34, v. 7- t Dan. iii. 25. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 4 — 10. 269 
 
 already cited on another occasion, from Daniel, Ezra, &c., 
 to show how the Most High God was made known to the 
 daughters of Jerusalem, through the testimonies of the Bride, 
 and how these Gentile nations and their kings, princes, and 
 governors, "saw her and praised her," we shall now close 
 these remarks with a quotation from the marvellous history 
 of the Book of Esther, to show how the Lord's captive 
 Bride, after having been delivered from sudden extermina- 
 tion by the miraculous intervention of her invisible Beloved, 
 as suddenly " looked forth bright as the sun, and terrible 
 as bannered hosts." " And Mordecai went out from the 
 presence of the king in roval apparel of blue and white, and 
 with a great crown of gold, and with a garment of fine 
 linen and purple : and the city of Shushan rejoiced and was 
 glad. The Jews had light, and gladness, and joy, and 
 honour. And in every province, and in every city whither- 
 soever the king's commandment and his decree came, the 
 Jews had joy and gladness, a feast, and a good day. And 
 many of the people of the land became Jews ; for the fear 
 of the Jews fell upon them."" Again, " And all the rulers 
 of the provinces, and the lieutenants, and the deputies, and 
 officers of the king, helped the Jews ; because the fear of 
 Mordecai fell upon them. For Mordecai was great in the 
 king's house, and his fame went out throughout all the pro- 
 vinces : for this man Mordecai waxed greater and greater,"! 
 This speaks for itself. 
 
 THE LORD (Continues). 
 
 11. I came down into the pruned (or shorn) garden, 
 To behold the tender shoots of the valley ;t 
 To see whether the vine flourisheth — 
 Whether the pomegranates bud 
 
 * Esther viii. 15-17. 
 
 f Esther ix. 3, 4. 
 
 + ,-..j{ p.j (Ginath Egoz, or, as the second word may read, " Aguz") 
 
 means, "" a pruned, or shorn garden" (so Parkhurst rightly rendered 
 it, see Lexicon under Tj). Throughout Scripture we never find the 
 word " Egoz" signify " nuts." This would, if such were its meaning 
 here, be the only one, and then we would be obliged to derive it from 
 
 the Persic • ^J** " g«z," as it cannot be of Hebrew origin. The Jews 
 
270 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 THE CHURCH. 
 
 12. I have not known myself;^ 
 Therefore Thou hast made me 
 Like the chariots of Aminadab. 
 
 At the beginning of this chapter, the daughters of Jeru- 
 salem asked the Bride, " Whither is thy Beloved gone . 
 . . that we may seek Him with thee V To which the 
 Bride replied, " My Beloved hath gone down into His 
 garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to 
 gather lilies." This was explained as referring first to the 
 kings of Persia, who, after they had learned from the 
 Bride's confessions the omnipotence, and superiority of 
 her absent Beloved, asked her where and in what manner 
 they could aid her in seeking and finding Him ? To which 
 she answered that, according to His promises by the pro- 
 phets, the time of His absence (the seventy years, dur- 
 ing which He said, " I will go and return to my 
 place," &c.), had fully expired, and consequently He must 
 now have come down again to Jerusalem, His garden, to 
 His plantations and beds of spices, to feed again His chosen 
 flock in the gardens of Zion and Moriah, and to gather His 
 lilies, the praises, prayers, fruits of righteousness, and souls 
 of his saints, and therefore He must now wait for her return 
 to Jerusalem, where she would seek and find him. By the 
 aid of the generous daughters of Jerusalem, the captive 
 Bride returned and built an altar in the midst of ruins, and 
 offered daily sacrifices, and in prayer and supplication, faith 
 and hope, waited for the manifestation of her Beloved. The 
 precious and patiently awaited hour arrived ; the messenger 
 of the Lord, the prophet Haggai, came and announced, " I 
 am with you, saith the Lord . . fear ye not. . . . 
 
 have the word, hut from Bahylon, not from the Scriptures. " A gar- 
 den of nuts " has neither propriety nor taste, nor the scope on its side, 
 in this passage. The forced and clumsy comments upon this phrase 
 prove it to be a stranger in this fictitious "garden of nuts." ■'Sx 
 
 (Ibeh, or Ibai) means " tender shoots' or "sproats," &c. (See Jo^ 
 viii. 12, and read, " while it is yet a tender sprout.") 
 * "^i-sJ "inyr^ X7 (Lo yadati naphshi) " I have not known myself;" so 
 
 Job ix. 21, " I know not myself;" so Deut. xxi. 14, "send her," or, 
 " let her go to herself," i.e., whithersoever she likes. 
 
CHAPTER VI. II, 12. 271 
 
 Be ye strong . . . build the house, and I will take 
 pleasure in it, and will be glorified, saith the Lord." This 
 manifestation and oracle we compared with the address of 
 the Beloved to His Bride, contained in this chapter of the 
 Song, and found it to correspond perfectly, and in many 
 points astonishingly so. At the same time we observed the 
 melancholy sides of both these oracles. We saw that the 
 images employed by the Lord in praise of His Bride in this 
 chapter, differ in many points from those employed in chap, 
 iv,, owing to the great changes that had taken place in the 
 circumstances of that Church now in ruined Judea, from 
 what they were in the days of Solomon. Being now stripped 
 of her most precious ornaments, having now no Ark of the 
 Covenant, no tables of the law, no mercy- seat, no Cherubim, 
 no Urim of Thummim (though she imitated a sort of 
 breast-plate), and no heaven-descended fire upon her altar, 
 many of them required to be changed, modified, or entirely 
 left out. We also remarked how those things were re-echoed 
 in the oracle of the prophet Haggai in the fact that though 
 she was encouraged to build up her empty temple, He did 
 iaot promise to dwell in it again, for His Throne, the Ark 
 and Cherubim, were no longer there. We likewise observed 
 that His promise to fill that house with glory, was one for 
 the future, when He was to enter it as the Covenant Angel, 
 as Messiah manifested in the flesh, but in regard to the time 
 being. He only promised them that His Spirit would remain 
 among them.* 
 
 * Four months later than the first manifestation of the Lord by 
 Haggai, there followed another by the prophet Zechariah, and which 
 spoke to the same purpose, " I am returned to Jerusalem with mercy ; 
 my house shall be built in it, saith the Lord of Hosts, and a line shall 
 be stretched forth over Jerusalem" [i.e., round about her, for the re- 
 building of her walls, Zechariah i. 16.) Here we see no promise that 
 the Lord would dwell in that house; but another oracle followed, 
 " Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion ; for, lo, I come, and I will 
 dwell in the midst of thee ;" but this is again the announcement of His 
 advent, of His appearing in the flesh and dwelling in the midst of fallen 
 humanity, as the following clearly proves, " And many nations shall 
 be joined to the Lord in that day, and they shall be my people, and I will 
 dwell in the midst of thee" (ii. 10, 11.) From the. expression "in that 
 day, i.e., in the Messianic day or period, and from the repetition that 
 He would dwell in the midst of His Church after that many nations 
 shall have joined Him and her, we see clearly that for the time being 
 His manifestations to Haggai and Zechariah were only as a passing 
 visit, as it were, done through His Spirit of prophecy in order to 
 encourage His returned captive Church to keep up the ancient dispen- 
 eatioii and institutions of the law until His coming in the flesh. 
 
272 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 Hence, after having praised His Bride for her faithfulness, 
 constancy, and excellent behaviour at Babylon, which had 
 elicited the praise and admiration of the daughters of Jeru- 
 salem, He tells her the object of His present visit, saying, 
 " I came down into the pruned (or shorn) garden, to behold 
 the tender shouts of the valley — to see whether the vine 
 flourisheth — whether the pomegranates bud." Clear and ex- 
 plicit language ! It is no more, " the mountain of myrrh, 
 the hill of frankincense," where He once established His 
 abode permanently, and was pleased " to dwell in the 
 midst of thick clouds." It is no more the " enclosed 
 garden" with the " sealed fountain," of which He said, 
 " Thy tender plants are an orchard of pomegranates with 
 delightful fruit, cypress, and spikenard, — spikenard and 
 saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all kinds of frankin- 
 cense trees ; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices."' 
 No, alas ! Now it was a ruined, overturned, and hedgeless 
 garden, destroyed by a fearful winter of seventy years. 
 Tempests and storms, floods of cold rain and showers of 
 hailstone have rooted out, broken, and destroyed the tender 
 and most precious aromatic plants — Ark, Tables of the 
 Law, Mercy- Seat, Cherubim, Urim and Thummim, sacred 
 fire from heaven, all, all have disappeared during the tem- 
 pestuous blasts of destruction, fire, sword, and captivity. 
 The garden is garden still ; it is to be preserved as such by 
 its great Lord and proprietor, but all is now to be done 
 anew. Pruned of all its branches, and shorn of its verdure, 
 the Lord of the garden comes now in the season of spring to 
 inspect it — " to behold the tender shoots of the valley" — the 
 newly-returned captives from Babel's plains — to see if the 
 pruned vine, the humbled and reduced Church has begun 
 to flourish anew, and if the pomegranates, the Priests and 
 Levites, the Governors and Prophets, have again begun to 
 bud and to promise fruit. 
 
 This was what the Lord announced to His Church in the 
 11th verse, to which the humbled, repenting, and broken- 
 hearted Bride replied in the 12th, " I have not known my- 
 self," 2.e., "Alas, in the days of my spiritual and temporal 
 prosperity, I did forget myself, and neglected to watch over 
 the talents deposited with me ; I knew not how to value as 
 
 * Chap. iv. 13, 14. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 11, 12. 273 
 
 I ought the precious privileges, the blessings, the honour 
 and glory which Thou hast graciously bestowed on me :" 
 " Therefore hast thou made me like unto the chariots of 
 Aminadab." From this expression it is evident that 
 there must have been once an Aminadab, whose cha- 
 riots contained and carried for a time the Ark of God, but 
 which were afterwards bereaved of that holy treasure, 
 and remained empty as was now her inner sanctuary. 
 Now in our humble opinion this Aminadab is no other than 
 the Levite Abinadab of Gebah near Kirjath-jearim, in 
 whose house the Ark of the Lord was harboured from the 
 time that the punished Philistines had sent it back to the 
 time when David translated it to Zion. In our explanation 
 of chap. iii. verse 9, especially in our large note at that 
 place, it was remarked that the place where the Ark stood 
 was called " Merkavah," or " Chariot," and so we are told 
 that David before his death gave to Solomon the pattern of 
 the temple and of all the holy vessels, and also " Tavnith 
 ha Merkavah," " the pattern of the Chariot," i.e., of the 
 Most Holy Place where the Ark was to stand.* Such a 
 sort of chariot in a separate and closed room, with a base on 
 which to place the Ark, Abinadab must have had in his 
 house, for to look on the Ark was certain death. But he 
 made also another chariot on which he placed the Ark when 
 David came to take it to Zion. This Abinadab did in 
 opposition to an explicit law of God which commanded that 
 the Ark should be carried on the shoulders of the Levites, 
 and not touched except by the handles or staves which 
 were introduced into golden rings made for the purpose, 
 and never removed, even in Solomon's temple. This inex- 
 plicable neglect Abinadab atoned for with the life of his 
 son Uzzah, who added error to error in having stretched 
 forth his hand and touched the Ark of God. David, who 
 was at first terrified by this accident, soon found out the 
 reason of it, and therefore he abandoned Aminadab's chariots, 
 and ordered the Ark to be carried on the shoulders of the 
 Levites appointed for the purpose, and sanctified for the 
 occasion, and thus brought it safely to Zion amidst great 
 rejoicings and shouts of exultation. It is more than pro- 
 bable that " the chariots of Abinadab" became henceforth a 
 
 * ^Chron. xxviii. 18. 
 
 m3 
 
274 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 proverb in Israel, and in a double sense, first for one sud- 
 denly bereaved of an high privilege, enjoyed for a longtime, 
 as was Abinadab and his house, and the holy place (called 
 Chariot) where the Ark stood while there ; and second, for 
 one who commits a great error, and breaks the law in the 
 very midst of religious zeal, as Abinadab did, who built a 
 new and splendid chariot for the solemn occasion of the 
 translation of the Ark of God to Zion, and acted contrary to 
 the law of God, in placing the Ark upon it, as his son did 
 also in touching it, in consequence of which his son died, 
 and his chariot was rejected as soon as the error was dis- 
 covered. The reader will now easily perceive what the 
 poor bereaved Bride meant in saying, " I have not known 
 myself, therefore hast Thou made me like the chariots of 
 Aminadab;" z.e,, " It is because of my sins and iniquities, 
 because I knew not how to behave when I possessed these 
 precious treasures, and because I was found unw^orthy to be 
 any longer the depository of such holy relics, that I am now- 
 left like Abinadab's chariots, without an Ark, without 
 Mercy-seat and Cherubim. I am now building another 
 house, a temple to my Beloved, but there being no Ark or 
 Cherubim in the inner sanctuary, He will not dwell therein, 
 and my temple w^ill be as empty as were Abinadab's 
 chariots." 
 
 But these " chariots of Aminadab" have been the sub- 
 ject of so much conjecture, suggestion, and speculation 
 among commentators, that our explanation needs to be more 
 minutely and fully established. As this cannot be effectu- 
 ali}^ done without entering into the Levitical law in regard 
 to the Ark and most Holy Place, and without touching on 
 the Levitical divisions and orders, and their settlement in 
 the Holy Land, we shall treat this subject in a separate 
 note at the end of this chapter, so that while some of our 
 readers may find it tedious, and leave it out without fear of 
 loosing the thread of the explanation, others may read it, 
 and find it interesting. And here we have only to add 
 that, in justice to our holy Song, and to the Hebrew divi- 
 sion of its chapters (by whomsoever these divisions were 
 made) we must restore the last verse which forms the 13th 
 in the English version to the next chapter, to which it cer- 
 tainly belongs, as will be seen. Here therefore we conclude 
 the 6th chapter. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 11, 12. 275 
 
 NOTE ON THE ARK, THE LEVITES, AND THE CHARIOTS OF 
 AMINADAB. 
 
 Levi, the third son of Jacob, had three sons, Gershon, 
 Kohath, and Merari. The second of these (Kohath) begat 
 Amram and Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel ; and Amram, the 
 eldest son of Kohath, begat Aaron and Moses, the former 
 the first high-priest, the latter the legislator of Israel. 
 (Exod. vi. 16 — 20.) After the Lord had given to Moses 
 the pattern and description of the holy Ark of the taber- 
 nacle and its sacred utensils, as recorded in Exod. from 
 chap. XXV. to xxvii. inclusive, He charged him with 
 the call of Aaron and his sons for the priesthood (chap, 
 xxviii.), and then continued to describe to him the pontifical 
 robes of Aaron, the priestly garments of his sons, their ser- 
 vices in the sanctuary, the sacrifices, and their particular 
 laws, &c. The Tabernacle, with all its holy vessels, was 
 finished, erected, dedicated, and Aaron and his sons conse- 
 crated and employed at the altar on these solemnities, but 
 the call of the Levites had not yet taken place. It w^as 
 only a month later, at the general numeration of Israel, that 
 the Lord told Moses not to number the Levites among the 
 other tribes : " But thou shall appoint the Levites over the 
 tabernacle of testimony, and over all the vessels thereof, 
 and over all the things that belong to it : they shall bear 
 the tabernacle, and all the vessels thereof; and they shall 
 minister unto it ; and they shall encamp round about it," 
 &c. (Num. i. 49, 50, &c.) Again, " Bring near the tribe 
 of Levi, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they 
 may minister unto him, . . . and they shall keep all 
 the instruments of the tabernacle, . . . and do the 
 service of the tabernacle. A nd thou shalt give the Levites 
 unto Aaron, and to his sons ; they are wholly given unto 
 him out of the children of Israel," &c. (Num. iii. 5 — 10). 
 The rest of this chapter is entirely occupied with the sepa- 
 rate enumeration of the tribe of Levi according to its chief 
 branches and families. 
 
 But the chief branches of the Levites, of Gershon, of 
 Kohath, and of Merari were not all equal in dignity. While 
 the first and the last had only the charge of the outer sanc- 
 tuary, of the walls, bases, covers and vessels of the large 
 
276 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 tabernacle, the middle branch of Kohath, consisting of four 
 chief families, Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, num- 
 bering in all 8600, and ranged under their prince or chief 
 Elizaphan, son of Uzziel, occupied the most prominent 
 position : " And their charge shall be the Ark, and the 
 tables, and the candlestick, and the vessels of the sanctuary, 
 wherewith they minister, and the hanging (the veil), and 
 all the service thereof. And Eleazar the son of Aaron (who 
 belonged to the same family of Kohath by Amram his son) 
 shall be chief over the chiefs of the Levites, and have the 
 oversight of them that keep the charge of the sanctuary" 
 (chap. iii. 31, 32). This pre-eminence of the branch Ko- 
 hath was farther displayed when the Lord ordered them to 
 be numbered apart from their brethren, and said, " This 
 shall be the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle 
 of the congregation, even the most holy things. And when 
 the camp setteth forward, Aaron shall come, and his sons, 
 and they shall take down the covering veil, and cover the 
 Ark of Testimony with it. ... ( Here follows a minute 
 description of the manner in which the holy vessels and the 
 altars were to be covered.) . . . And when Aaron and 
 his sons have finished the covering of all the sanctuary and 
 its holy vessels, as the camp is to set forward, after that the 
 sons of Kohath shall come to bear it, but they shall not 
 touch the holy (the Ark, which they were to take by the 
 staves only, nor could the priests touch it in any other way, 
 jee Num. xviii. 1 — 7) lest they die."* Owing to the great 
 danger to which this holy charge exposed the Kohath family 
 by the least neglect or error, the Lord said farther to Moses 
 and Aaron, " Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the 
 Kohathites from among the Levites : But thus do unto them 
 that they may live and not die, when they approach unto 
 the most holy things : Aaron and his sons shall go in, and 
 appoint every one of them to his service, and to his burden. 
 But they shall not go in to look when the holy (the Ark) 
 is covered, lest they die."-)- When at the dedication of the 
 tabernacle the twelve princes of the tribes presented it with 
 *'six covered waggons, and twelve oxen," to draw them, 
 two of these waggons were given to the Gerslion branch, 
 and four to that of Merari, " But unto the sons of Kohath 
 
 * Num. iv. 4, 15. f Num. iv. 18—20, 
 
CHAPTER VI. 11, 12. 277 
 
 he gave none ; because the service of the sanctuary belong- 
 ing unto them was to be carried on their shoulders."* AVe 
 see then that neither the Ark nor any other of the holy 
 vessels in charge of the branch Kohath was to be touched 
 otherwise than at the projecting staves, nor put on a waggon, 
 but carried on their shoulders. 
 
 Having thus established the pre-eminence of the Kohath 
 branch and their distinguished privileges, not only because 
 it included Aaron the High Priest and his descendants, as 
 well as Moses and his descendants, but because of their 
 being attached to the service of the inner sanctuary along 
 with the priests, we remark farther in the first place, 
 that whenever we meet with the simple name of " Ko- 
 hathites," it includes the priests^ the sons of Aaron, who 
 belonged to that family ; and in the second place, that 
 whenever we meet with the double appellation of Haco- 
 hanhn Ualviyhn^ " The priests, the Levites," meaning the 
 priestly Levites, or the Levitical priests, the entire Kohath 
 family is intended, unless this is followed by the definition 
 of the " sons of Aaron." This fact will clear up to the 
 critical student of the Old Testament many difficulties, and 
 seeming confusion of names, families, and persons. Thus 
 when Israel removed for the first time with the tabernacle 
 from Sinai to Paran, and when we read, " And the Kohath- 
 ites set forward, bearing the sanctuary " (Num. x. 21), this 
 included Aaron and his sons, as belonging to the same 
 family, and as being attached to the same service, follow- 
 ing and watching over the holy burdens which their brethren 
 carried. In Deut. xxxi. 9, we read, " And Moses wrote 
 this law, and delivered it unto the priests, the sons of Levi, 
 who bare the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord ;" here we 
 see clearly the Kohathite Levites were called " priests," or 
 " priestly Levites " (as it is certain that they and not the sons 
 of Aaron bare the Ark), because they partook with the priests 
 of the charge of the inner sanctuary and its most holy vessels ; 
 while the simple Levites of the other two branches of Ger- 
 shon and Merari had only the charge of the boards, cover- 
 ings, bars, pillars, bases, &c., of the tabernacle, but could 
 not even approach to the holy things of the inner sanctuary 
 which were in charge of the Kohathites (see Num. iii.) 
 Hence we read again in Deut. xxxi. 25, 26, " And Moses 
 
 * Num. yii 9. 
 
278 
 
 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 commanded the Levites who bare the Ark of the Covenant 
 of the Lord, saying, Take this book of the law, and put it in 
 the side of the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God." 
 Here we see that the " Levites " of this passage are the 
 same as the " priests " in the former, and that the Koha- 
 thite Levites were styled " priests " even by Moses. In the 
 book of Joshua those Levites of the Kohath branch bare re- 
 gularly the name of priests ; " When ye see the Ark of the 
 Covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests the Levites 
 (or the priestly Levites) bearing it." (Jos. iii. 3.) In the 
 following passages they are regularly called " priests." (Jos. 
 iii. 6, 8, 13, 14, 15, 17 ; iv. 3, 9, 16, 17, 18 ; vi. 6, 12, &c., 
 &c.) Such was the honour, and such were the jDrivileges of the 
 Kohath Levites, and they alone could enter the tabernacle, 
 and afterwards the temple, and approach the altar to aid 
 their brethren, the priests, on great occasions, to prepare 
 the sacrifices, &c. (See 2 Chron. xxix. 34, xxxv. 10, 11, 
 14). And here it is time to remark that Aminadab or 
 Abinadab of Gebah near Kirjah-jearim, or as it is like- 
 wise called " Baalah of Judeah," in whose house the Ark 
 stood a long time ; and also Obed-Edom, in whose house it 
 stood three months, were both chiefs of the Levites of the 
 Kohath branch, otherwise they could neither harbour, nor 
 approach, nor bear the Ark, as will be seen next. 
 
 When Joshua divided the conquered country among the 
 twelve tribes of Israel, he gave " none inheritance " to the 
 tribe of Levi (Jos. xiii. 14) ; but there were given unto 
 them towns and villages to dwell in, and these were selected 
 by lot out of the territories of the twelve tribes ; " And the 
 lot came out for the families of the Kohathites : and the 
 children of Aaron, the priest of the Levites, had by lot out 
 of the tribes of Judah, . . and Simeon, . . and 
 Benjamin, thirteen cities. And the rest of the children of 
 Kohath had by lot out of the tribe of Ephraim, 
 of Dan, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, ten cities." (Jos. 
 xxi. 1 — 5.) The rest of this chapter is occupied with a 
 description of the names of the cities and villages given to 
 the Kohathites, as well as those given to the other two 
 divisions of Gershon and Merari. Remark, 1st, The Kohath 
 branch, including the sons of Aaron, had the first lot because 
 of their dignity and pre-eminence. (See Jos. xxi. 10.) 
 2d, Though this chief Levitical branch was divided into 
 
CHAPTER VI. 11, 12. 279 
 
 two sections, thej were both placed ia two most important 
 and central localities, the first in the neighbourhood of Jeru- 
 salem, the other in that of K^hiloh, where the tabernacle then 
 stood. 3d, Though the first division passed under the 
 name of the sons of Aaron, the greatest number in that 
 division was composed of the priestly Levites of the Kohath 
 branch; otherwise what would the then mere handful of 
 priests of Aaron's line have done with thirteen cities ? or 
 what would all the other families of the Kohath branch, 
 which, at least, were eight times as numerous as the descen- 
 dants of Aaron, have done with only ten cities ? It is evi- 
 dent, therefore, that the first division, though it passed under 
 the name " the sons of Aaron," was composed of priests and 
 priestly Levites of the Kohath branch ; and this becomes 
 still clearer when we compare Jos. xxi. 4, 8 — 19, with 1 
 Chron. vi. 38—45. 4th, That many priests of Aaron's 
 line have also been comprised in the second division, dwel- 
 ling in the territories of Ephraim, Dan, and Manasseh, as 
 they were needed there for the services of the tabernacle 
 which was then at Shiloh. So Eli the high-priest and his 
 sons and many other priests were settled there and in the 
 immediate neighbourhood, so we read, " And Eleazar the 
 son of Aaron died, and they buried him in the hill that per- 
 tained to Phinehas his son, which was given him in Mount 
 Ephraim." (Jos. xxiv. 33.) Here we have two high- 
 priests who lived in the land of Ephraim ; and wherever 
 the Kohathites lived they were composed of priests and 
 Levites together. (See 1 Sara. vi. 14, 15, and 1 Chron. 
 xiii. 2, &c.) 5th, That the Levites, thus scattered among 
 all Israel, adopted the names of the respective tribes among 
 whom they were settled. So the young Levite of Beth- 
 lehem in Judea is called " a Levite of Judah's family." 
 (Judg. xvii. 7). And so is Elkanah the father of the pro- 
 phet Samuel called an " Ephrathite," or " Ephraimite," 
 because he belonged to the second Kohathite division which 
 had settled in the territories of Ephraim. (See 1 Sam. 1. 
 1 ; compare 1 Chron. vi. 33 — 38.) It was because Samuel 
 belonged to that priestly branch of Levites, that he was 
 wholly given unto the Lord as a Nazarite, and adopted by 
 Eli as such, and trained in the Lord's sanctuary from his 
 earliest youth, that he could offer sacrifices like a priest, 
 
280 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 (see 1 Sam. vii. 9, xiii. 8 — 12, xvi. 2 — 5), while his sons 
 entered again the rank of the Levites of their order. 
 
 The Ark of God having vindicated its dignity and forced 
 its captors to send it back with presents, could not have 
 been taken down from the carriage in which it arrived at 
 Beth-Shemesh, unless by Levites of the Kohath family ; 
 and such were the inhabitants of that place, for Beth- 
 Shemesh was one of the cities given to the first division of 
 Kohath. (See Jos. xxi 16.) So we read, " And the Levites 
 took down the Ark of the Lord and the coffer that was 
 with it, wherein the jewels of gold were, and put them on 
 the great stone ; and the men of Beth-Shemesh offered 
 burnt-offerings, and sacrificed sacrifices the same day unto 
 the Lord." (Sam. vi. 15.) But the men of Beth-Shemesh 
 having despised the warning of the law, " looked into the 
 Ark," and paid dear for their imprudence and irreverence, and 
 were so terrified that they sent to Kirjath-jearim and begged 
 the inhabitants to come and take away the Ark from their 
 city. Here another confusion must be cleared up. Kirjath- 
 jearim, some times called Baalah of Judah, and also Kirjath- 
 Baal (Jos. xv. 60 ; 2 Sam. vi. 2), was a large city of the 
 tribe of Judah. Close to it was a small place or village 
 called Gebah or Gabah, which belonged to the tribe of 
 Benjamin, whose territory bordered there on that of Judah. 
 (Jos. xviii. 14.) Thus Gebah (which must not be con- 
 founded with the famous " Gibeah of Benjaman," which 
 was near Jerusalem), fell by lot to the first Kohathite 
 division. (Jos. xxi. 17.) It was in that place that Abinadab 
 the Levite chief dwelt, " And the men of Kirjah-jearim 
 came, and fetched up the Ark of the Lord, and brought it 
 into the house of Abinadab in Gebah (mark that what in 
 the common version is here rendered "in the hill," is in 2 
 Sam. vi. 3 rendered " Gibah" or " Gibeah," for they knew 
 not what to make of it), and they sanctified Eleazar his son 
 to keep the Ark of the Lord." (1 Sam. vi. 1). Probably it 
 is because the inhabitants of Kirjath-jearim joined their 
 neighbours the Levites and priasts of Gebah in the trans- 
 lation of the Ark, because the large city Kirjath-jearim was 
 nearer to Gebah than any town of the tribe of Benjamin, to 
 whom Gebah once belonged, and because there were several 
 other places of the same name (Gebah, Gibah, Gabah, &c.) 
 
CHAPTER VI. 11, 12. 28t 
 
 in the same region, that the small place and its inhabitants 
 borrowed the well-known name of the large provincial city, 
 as we do in the address of a letter to a small village near 
 London, Liverpool, Edinburgh, or Glasgow, and put it 
 before its own. This Abinadab was a prince or chief 
 among the Levites, see 1 Chron. xv. 10, where he is called 
 Aminadab, of the family branch of Uzziel the fourth son of 
 Kohath, and it was owing to his high station that the death 
 of his son Uzzah was considered such a public calamity. 
 (1 Chron. xiii. 11, xiv. 13.) As there is no mention made 
 of his eldest son Eleazar (see 1 Sam. vi. 1) at the trans- 
 lation of the Ark by David, it is evident that he must have 
 died during his dangerous charge, and it was now Uzzah, 
 Aminadab's second son, who would have succeeded his father 
 and older brother in their dignity. 
 
 The errors committed by both father and son, the first 
 by his misapplied zeal in building a new chariot for the 
 solemn occasion of the translation of the Ark to Zion, while 
 as a Levite he should have known that the Ark must be 
 borne on the shoulders, and not put on a carriage ; and the 
 second in forgetting himself so far as to touch it in the pre- 
 sence of the ten thousands of Israel ; we say that both these 
 errors are inexplicable, and fearfully were they punished. 
 Terrified at the awful judgment w^hich overtook that Levite 
 chief, David would proceed no farther, nor take such a 
 responsibility on himself. In the neighbourhood of the 
 accident lived another chief of the same Kohath branch of 
 Levites, called " Obed-edom the Gittite," and into his house 
 they placed the Ark. Probably he originally belonged to 
 the second Kohath division, two of whose cities, in Ephraim 
 and Manasseh, were called Gath-Rimon (Jos. xxi. 23 — 25), 
 in one of these Gaths he must have been first settled, and 
 then changed his residence and fixed it among his brethren 
 in Judea. In his house it remained only three months, 
 and proved a great blessing to himself and his family. David 
 then saw that if the laws of God regarding the Ark were 
 strictly observed, its presence would prove a great blessing 
 instead of a great danger. Having called the chiefs of the 
 priests and Levites, David told them to sanctify themselves 
 and their brethren, and this time carry the Ark on their 
 shoulders, according to the law of God. This was done, 
 and the Ark was brought safely to Zion amidst great joy 
 
282 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 and Fjhouts of triumph, where it remained until placed in 
 Solomon's temple to be removed and seen no more. In the 
 Levitical service, which David then arranged before the 
 Ark on Mount Zion, Obed-edom, and Achio, Abinadab's 
 third son (called " Jeiel," 1 Chron. xv. 18, and " Jechiah," 
 in verse 24), were made the chiefs of the principal division 
 of door-keepers to the Ark. At the second arrangement 
 which David made before his death, and intended for the 
 future temple service, Obed-edom remained in his former 
 charge, while Achio (called there "Achia") was made 
 " overseer of the treasures of the house of God" (see 1 
 Chron. xxvi. 20.) They also both figured among the secon- 
 dary chief musicians (xvi. 5, xv. 16 — 22.) Having thus 
 traced our personage in regard to tribe, place, family, 
 station, and identity, we shall only remark that the slight 
 changes in proper names are very numerous in Scripture ; 
 especially the letter o is sometimes left out, and " Shalem" 
 put for " Meshulem" (as 1 Chron. vi. 12) ; "Abija" for 
 " Abijam" (iii. 10.) Sometimes the " Mem" is changed 
 into "Nun," as " Kimhom" into "Kimhon," " Joyakim" 
 into " Joyachin," " Hezrom" into " Hezron." Sometimes 
 the *' Mem" is changed into " Beth," as " Amiel" into 
 " Abiel," " Amihud" into "Abihud." As Jesse called 
 his second son Abinadab after his progenitor Aminadab, 
 who was the first prince of the tribe of Judah, so here we 
 see the Abinadab, whose uncalled for, unfortunate, and 
 rejected chariot became a proverb in Israel for misplaced 
 zeal, called Aminadab. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Argument of Chapter vii. 
 
 (V. 1.) The daughters of Jerusalem, or the Gentile nations, invite 
 the daughter of Zion to return into the midst of them, no more as a 
 captive mourning the absence of her Beloved, but as a Missionary 
 Church, bringing unto them the good tidings of salvation, and inviting 
 them to come to the Messiah, the common Saviour of Jew and Gentile. 
 (Vv. 2—6.) The daughters of Jerusalem, or the awakened Gentile 
 nations, describe in the highest metaphorical language the spiritual 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 1. 283 
 
 beauty and splendour of the Shulamite (the restored ancient Church), 
 when,accordingtomanyprophecies, she would come in the midstoftheui 
 as an ambassador of salvation, as a messenger of peace, inviting them to 
 come and join themselves to her Lord in an everlasting covenant under 
 the gospel dispensation. (Vv. 7—10) The daughters of Jerusalem sum 
 up the perfection, glory, and privileges of the daughter of Zion, the 
 ancient restored Church, and beg her that even before the New Covenant 
 Dispensation she would make some concessions to them with regard to 
 the rigour of the law, take them into communion with her and her God, 
 and allow them to enjoy some privileges in His sanctuary. (V. 11.) 
 The ancient Church declares that she had neither power to make any 
 concessions to Gentiles, nor to admit them into the Church before the 
 Messianic period; up to which she must remain the only nation and 
 only Church. But (vv. 12—14) she addresses an ardent prayer to her 
 Beloved that He might hasten His appearance, and remove the parti- 
 tion wall of the law and open wide the doors of His sanctuary in order 
 to admit these Gentiles knocking>nd praying for admission and com- 
 munion. 
 
 THE DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM (FIRST DIVISION.) 
 
 1. Return, return, O thou restored one (or " accomplished 
 
 one"),* 
 ■ Return, return, that we may look on thee. 
 
 SECOND DIVISION. 
 
 What will ye see in that restored (or accomplished) one ? 
 
 FIRST DIVISION ANSWERS — 
 
 As it were the evolution of the two armies.f 
 
 * n^is'^V-lJn (Hashulamith.) The two prevailing suggestions about the 
 
 signification of this articled Noun are, 1st, that it means " Jerusa- 
 lemitess," which is as absurd as ungrounded ; 2d, that it is equal with 
 " Solomonitess," which must be rejected as another speculative absur- 
 dity of the same stamp. Separate from the article rt Ha, T^^iy^v 
 (Shulamith), or, as we may read it with many of Dr Kennicott's 
 Codices without i vav, and point it either rr^^Vr (Shalemith), or ri'^ttbe 
 
 (Shilamith), we must derive it either from aV:J (Shalem), perfect, ac- 
 complished, complete," &c., as 1 Kings viii. 61, vii. 51; Is. xlii. 19 ; 
 Deut. XXV. 15 ; Job viii. 6, &c. ; or from tsV:; (Shilem or Shilam) signi- 
 fying, "torestore, repay, recompense, reward, re-establish, rehabilitate," 
 &c. According to the first derivation "Ha Shulamith" will signify 
 the " perfect, or accomplished woman" (or Church). According to the 
 second it will signify either, " the recompensed woman " (or Church) , 
 i.e., she who suffered much for her sins, but who has entered again into 
 the favour of her Beloved (see Is. xl. 1,2; Jer. 1. 20) ; or the restored 
 woman (or Church) i e., restored after the Babylonish captivity to her 
 liberty and privileges. We have given both these meanings in the 
 text, not only for the sake of choice, but because both may have been 
 intended by the sacred author. 
 
 + D'^2n)3|^ nVnttS (Kimcholath, hamachnayim.) The first of these 
 
 words can be derived only from Vim'^ (Machol) signifying a '* circulaT 
 
284 THE SONG OP SOLOMON. 
 
 In the preceding chapter we had a description of the 
 manifestation of the Lord to His restored Church after the 
 Babylonish captivity, and saw how in recommending her 
 faithfulness in the land of her dispersion, the Bridegroom 
 said, " The daughters saw her and praised her, the queens 
 and concubines, and they admired her." This predic- 
 tion by Solomon we found fully accomplished during the 
 sojourn of the captive Bride at Babylon, where, by her 
 excellent behaviour and public confessions, b}^ her constancy 
 in the midst of all her afflictions, by her unchangeable faith 
 even in the midst of the flames of a furnace heated seven- 
 fold, and among roaring lions, she not only elicited praise 
 and glory for her divine Master, but also great admiration 
 and sympathy for herself; so much so that the " daughters 
 of Jerusalem" (or the Gentile nations), moved to compas- 
 sion, repeatedly offered to her generous aid, to enable her to 
 seek her Beloved at Jerusalem. We saw likewise how she 
 returned to her desolate country by their support, built an 
 altar to her still absent Lord, offered daily sacrifices to His 
 holy name, and invoked by prayer His promised return. 
 The Lord first manifested Himself by the prophet Haggai, 
 and then by Zechariah, comforted and consoled her, and 
 encouraged her to rebuild His temple, to raise again the 
 broken walls of Jerusalem, to re-establish the interrupted 
 worship according to the law, and to wait for His coming 
 into His temple as Messiah, in order to complete and wind 
 
 dance," well-known and common to the orientals even unto this day 
 on feasts and other solemn occasions. This dance was performed by 
 several companies at once, and by ranks. The ancient idolaters 
 formed it round about their idols, around which the musicians stood 
 and played but moved not, while the several circles of dancers moved 
 on round about in their fantastical evolutions, but every rank in an 
 opposite direction, forming thus wheel within wheel, while these wheels 
 turned the one to the right the other to the left, &c. If this dance was 
 performed by several different companies it resembled much the evolu- 
 tions and busy turnings of two armies, each of which were trying to gain 
 ground and supplant the other. Such circular ranks the daughters of 
 Israel formed round Miriam the prophetess, and joined with her in prais- 
 ing and adoring God for their deliverance (Exod. xv. 20, 21.) Such, alas, 
 was the circular dance of fallen Israel round the golden calf (xxxii. 19.) 
 Afterward, on a better occasion, when the daughters of Zion went 
 forth to meet the disappointed Saul, and the young hero David after 
 his victory over the Philistine giant (1 Sam. xviii. 6, 7, see also Judges 
 xxi. 19, 21.) What a horrid ''plaif that of 2 Sam. ii. 14 ! Still it 
 must have been a real play of wrestlers, like the Roman gladiators, 
 resembling the circular dance. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 1. 285 
 
 up the Old Covevant, and introduce the New, in which the 
 " daughters of Jerusalem" should be included. Meanwhile 
 the restored Church, thus encouraged, was busy day and 
 night re-building the temple, but raising the walls of 'her 
 ruined city, and the daughters of Jerusalem remained with- 
 out ! and with every new course of stones laid and cemented 
 in the temple and in walls of the city, the old " partition 
 wall" between Jew and Gentile equally rose and grew higher 
 and stronger. At last the doors of the temple were put in 
 their place, and the gates of the holy city shut with iron 
 bars, and the vails of the sanctuary again hung up, but the 
 daughters of Jerusalem remained without ! Then they saw 
 themselves again strangers and aliens from the God of Zion, 
 His favourite Church and temple, and His Covenant of bless- 
 ings and privileges. They saw that they had gained no 
 substantial advantage in having aided the Bride to seek her 
 Beloved ; for as soon as she had found Him, high walls and 
 thick vails encircled and covered, as it were, the great God 
 and His Church, while they remained excluded, and were 
 just where they were before they had known the Bride and 
 had learned from her the greatness, holiness, omnipotence, 
 and divine m.ajesty of her Lord and Redeemer. Now they 
 perceived that it was not enough to see the Bride and admire 
 her, to confess her Beloved to be the God of gods and King 
 of kings, and to aid her to seek Him exclusively for herself, 
 for they received no advantage whatever to themselves. 
 Hence the vehement exclamation of those " prisoners of 
 hope," of those half awakened, half believing, half admiring, 
 half confessing, and half seeking daughters of Jerusalem, 
 " Beturn, return, thou Shulamite !" /.e., " return, thou 
 restored Church ! return, thou accomplished Bride ! return 
 unto us now, no more as a captive woman mourning the 
 absence of her Beloved, but as a restored, comforted, and 
 re-established Church with thy God with thee, and in the 
 midst of thee, and then we shall look at thee, we shall see 
 thee when enjoying the favour of thy Beloved, we shall be- 
 hold thee when in full communion with thy God." 
 
 As these ver}^ daughters of Jerusalem in the days of their 
 complete ignorance about the greatness and divine majesty of 
 the God of Zion, asked the mourning Bride, " What is thy 
 Belovod more than another beloved ?" so it now happened 
 to them in turn. While they ardently desired the return 
 
286 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 of the restored Bride into the midst of them that they 
 might again behold her, and learn and gain by her example, 
 such of these awakened Gentiles as were not ^et far ad- 
 vanced in knowledge or desire, asked their sisters, " What 
 will ye see in the Shulamite?" i.e., " What will ye see in the 
 now restored Church, that you have not seen while she was 
 vour captive ? Why such a longing after her now when 
 she is again in favour with her Beloved, while you have 
 aided her to go in search of Hira ?" To which the more 
 advanced daughters of Jerusalem answered, " We desire 
 now that she should come back into the midst of us in her 
 restored state, and in favour and complete communion with 
 her Beloved, that we may see as it were " the evolution of 
 the two armies" (or hosts) — the promised happy period 
 when her Beloved in the midst of her shall appear as the 
 " ensign to the nations," as the " light to enlighten the 
 Gentiles" — when the partition wall shall be demolished, 
 the covering veil torn and removed, and when the two 
 hitherto hostile and divided armies shall by one happy 
 evolution, by one change of the old into the new covenant, 
 be united into one, ranged under the same gospel banner, as 
 two divisions of an array belonging to the same sovereign, 
 which have been separated for a time by the rebellion of 
 one of them, but which on its repentance and the announce- 
 ment of the King's free pardon among its ranks, make a 
 cheerful evolution and unite again under the same banners 
 " when the mountain of the Lord'^ house shall be established 
 on the top of the mountains, . . . and all the nations 
 shall flow unto it; and many nations shall go and say. 
 Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to 
 the house of the God of Jacob ; and he will teach us of his 
 ways, and we will walk in his path, for out of Zion shall go 
 forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem " 
 (Is. ii. 2, 3) — when "The son of the stranger that haih 
 joined himself to the Lord shall no more say. The Lord 
 hath utterly separated me from his people," but when the 
 promise will be fulfilled, " Also the sons of the strangers 
 that join themselves to the Lord to serve him, and to love 
 the name of the Lord to be his servants, every one that 
 keepeth the Sabbath from profaning it, and taketh hold of 
 my covenant. Even them will I bring to my holy moun- 
 tain, and fill them with joy in my house of prayer ; their 
 
CHAPTER VII. 1. 287 
 
 burnt-offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon 
 mine altar, for my house shall be called a house of prayer 
 for all nations."* 
 
 A later oracle the daughters of Jerusalem received by 
 the prophet Zechariah, and which must have greatly en- 
 couraged them and stimulated them to pray more ardently 
 for the speedy removal of the partition wall which separated 
 them from the covenant blessings and hope of Israel." Thus 
 says the Lord of Hosts, It shall yet come to pass, that there 
 shall come people (Gentile nations) and the inhabitants of 
 many cities, . . . saying, Let us go speedily to pray 
 before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of Hosts. 
 Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek 
 the Lord of Hosts. ... In those days it shall come 
 to pass that ten men, out of the languages of all nations, 
 shall take hold of the skirts of him that is a Jew, saying, 
 " We will go with you ; for we have heard that God is 
 with you. "7 This chapter thus opens with a metaphorical 
 view into the fulfilment of the above oracles, though they 
 were delivered long after Solomon had composed his Song ; 
 but the substance of the above prophecies had already been 
 announced by Moses, j; and still more clearly and more 
 frequently by his father David. Thus when the daughters 
 of Jerusalem heard that the Lord had returned to His 
 Church from whom they learned both their knowledge of 
 Him and His promises regarding them, they invite her to 
 come again to them, to teach them His ways, and to lead 
 them also to her Beloved ; for according to these oracles, 
 she alone was destined to lead them and introduce them to 
 the King as her companions (" virgins in rich attire shall 
 she lead to the King"), and to lead them " with joy and 
 exultation into His palaces " (Ps. xlv. 14, 15, see our new 
 version of the Psalms.) They therefore continue in the 
 following verses to describe the beauty of the daughter of 
 Zion, when as a Missionary Church she would put shoes 
 on her feet, gird her loins, and go forth to invite and instruct 
 the Gentiles, and introduce them to her King and Lord in 
 an everlasting covenant. 
 
 * Is. Ivi. 3-7. 
 t Zech. viii. 20—23. 
 
 + Gen. xii. 3, xviii. 18, xxii. 18, xlix. 10 ; Num. xv. 21 ; Deut. xxxii. 
 21, xxxiii. 3. 
 
288 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 2. How beautiful are thy feet (or "■ footsteps") with shoes, 
 thou benevolent daughter ! 
 
 The projections (or protuberances) of thy thigh-bones 
 Are like moulded ornaments, 
 The handiwork of a skilful workman.* 
 
 * a-^ts na (Bath Nadiv) ** Benevolent," or " generous daughter," or 
 " daughter of benevolence, or generosity." 2i3 (Nadav) means '* libe- 
 ral," " free," in offering or giving to the Lord's cause, as Exod. xxv. 
 2, XXXV. 5, 25, &c. 2''5-a'^i: (Nediv lev) *' generous of heart," " free 
 
 hearted," " liberal in heart," as v. 29. Hence naia (Nedavah) "free 
 
 gift," which occurs very often in Scripture. If Nadiv, and in the 
 plur. Nedivim, is sometimes rendered by " prince," and " princes," it 
 is quite arbitrary ; for it means nothing but a generous, liberal, or 
 benevolent man or men. However, as the princes and chiefs of Israel 
 in David's times, and very often before and after that period, were 
 really so generous and liberal towards God's cause, and to their fellow- 
 men, that they merited to be called Savim (ai"^©) " princes," and 
 
 Nedivim, " generous" or " liberal men " at the same time, we have no 
 objection to make Sarim of Nedivim. But we proclaim the title given 
 to the Bride in the above passage as infinitely higher in value than all 
 the principalities of this world. The " Daughter of Benevolence," of 
 generosity or charity, the Missionary Church of Christ, is so called here 
 because of her love to souls, of her disinterestedness and zeal in seeking 
 their salvation and eternal welfare ; but more in the Exposition. 
 pttM (Chamak). From the construction of this verb, and from the 
 
 contexts of the three places where it occurs, it seems to denote a 
 removal, a withdrawment or a projection (a coming forth) caused 
 either by moral or physical pressure or force. In this Song, chap. v. 
 6 (or 7), it denotes the forced withdrawment or removal of the Bride- 
 groom, because of the refusal of the Bride to open unto Him. In Jer. 
 xxxi. 22 it denotes the repeated removal or withdrawment of the same 
 Bride, the daughter of Zion, from her God, because of the moral pres- 
 sure of her calamities, and doubts, and fears, which forced her as it 
 were to come forth out of joint, and appear as a backslider. In this 
 verse, "r^a^i "^(Pi'/Sh (Chamukey Yerechayich) means the " projections or 
 
 protuberances of the thigh-bones," coming forth by the pressure of the 
 girdle with which the Bride as a Missionary Church is here described 
 as having girded her loins, in order to go forth with her blessed message 
 to call the Gentiles and lead them to her Beloved. These projecting 
 thigh-bones or haunches, thus pressed forward by the tightness of the 
 girdle, are described by the daughters of Jerusalem to look like ti^^'s'n 
 
 (Chaloim), which must be derived from V^in (Cholel), " to model, to 
 
 fashion or shape," especially as in a form. See Ps. xc. 2, applied to the 
 creation of the world ; Deut. xxxii 18, applied to Israel in a poetical 
 form, as fashionef' by God to be His peculiar people ; Prov. viii. 22, 25, 
 figurativ:l> to "V^' ni, as formed or fashioned. Hence it is applied to 
 indivu. ;il man, as Jobi.v. 7; Ps. li. 7, &c. We may thus conclude 
 that Chaloim signifies modelled or moulded ornaments, fashioned in a 
 certain form ; and from the fact that it appears here twice coupled with 
 
CHAPTER VII. 3. 289 
 
 3. Thy girdle is like a round bason, 
 Which wanteth not the clasp ; 
 Thy body is like an heap of wheat, 
 Surrounded with lilies.''^ 
 
 "ear-rings" (Pro. xxv. 12; Hos. ii. 13), it must have been ahead 
 ornament. And such sorts of high projecting hats made of silver and 
 gold, and curiously worked, and always fashioned in a certain form, 
 are still to be seen here (in Algeria) on the heads of the old rich 
 Moorish and Jewish ladies, on great occasions, as marriages, &c., and 
 in their houses or in bridal processions, which take place at night, for 
 at other times the Europeans seem to frighten them from the streets by 
 their gazing and scorn. These are of different shapes and dimensions, 
 some higher and thinner, some lower and broader, but all of them do 
 well illustrate the meaning of the comparison of our passage. See Ex- 
 position. 
 * Tr'^'^'i (Sharerech) cannot mean ** thy navel " (as it was erroneously 
 
 rendered), for then it would certainly have been with only one n (resh), 
 ^-it; (Sharech), as Ezekiel xvi. 4, *' In the day when thou wast born, 
 
 n-i'^ n-3 s'5 (lo charath sharech) thy navel-string was not cut." In the 
 
 same form it appears in Pro. iii. 8, not with two as in our text, but one "^ 
 only. But while -.t; (Shar) alone is a Noun, and signifies " navel- 
 string," "T^io (Sharer) is a verb, and means " to string, to wind, to 
 
 twist," as strings, cords, chains, or " to wind round." Hence it is so 
 often used in the Psalms in a noun form "'i-t'j (Shorerai), " Those that 
 
 encircle me, enclose me, entwine me, are round about me to watch and 
 catch me " (Ps. xxvii. 11, liv. 5, Ivi. 2, lix. 10, &c.) Hence it is said 
 of the Behemoth, " His strength is in his loins, and his force is 
 "1313^ in"i-i'2J2 (Bishrirei bitno) in the girdles (or strings) of his body," i e., 
 
 the circular muscles of his body (Job xl. 16). ■^rsn ■jr,s (Agan hasahar) 
 
 means " a bason of a round or circular form." For Agan, " a bason," 
 see Exod. xxiv. 6; Is. xxii. 24, &c., &c. ; and that Sahar signifies 
 " round" is conjectured from the word '^Tb (Sohar) *' prison" (Gen. 
 
 xxxix. 20, &c.), and because those prisons were round built ; but it is 
 more likely that both Sahar and Sohar mean " a round enclosure," a 
 round building, place, or vessel made to be locked up. 
 
 jTO (Mazeg) was most absurdly confounded with r^s^s (Mesech), 
 
 "mixture," or " mixed wine," as Lexicographers suggested, and trans- 
 lators and commentators took for granted ; for there is no more identity 
 between them than between the English words music and muscle. 
 Mazeg is derived from ;1t (zug), which, as a noun, means " a pair," or 
 "two joined things," and, as a verb, " to join, to pair, to unite, to bind 
 together," &c. These significations the word has in the Arabic, Syriac, 
 and Chaldee languages, and is largely employed by the Talmudists, 
 &c. To it belongs jt (zag), in Num. vi. 4, meaning the outer skin or 
 
 husk of the grape, because it unites the juice and kernels into one. In 
 the passage before us, Mazeg means " the clasp," or " lock " (literally 
 the uniter, the pairer), by means of which the girdle was joined in the 
 front, as well as those " clasps or locks " by which the basons were 
 joined either to their cover, if they were single basons, or when they 
 
 N 
 
290 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 4. Thy two breasts are like two young fawns, 
 The twins of the roe. 
 
 5. Thy neck is as a tower of ivory ; 
 
 Thine eyes like the fish pools in Heshbon. 
 By the gate of Bath Rabim ; 
 Thy countenance is as the tower of Lebanon, 
 Which looketh towards Damascus. 
 
 6. Thy head upon thee is like Carmel, 
 
 And the tresses of thy head like royal purple, 
 Suspended on (or, attached to) the rafters.* 
 
 It was already remarked that the five verses before us 
 contain a beautiful and enthusiastic description of the ancient 
 Church becoming a missionary, putting shoes on her feet, 
 girding her loins, and going'forth from Judea to invite the 
 daughters of Jerusalem, and lead them to her King and 
 Bridegroom in order to incorporate them in the same body, 
 the Church, and to range them under the same banners of 
 Christ the Lord. We must therefore understand the con- 
 tents of these five verses, as put into the mouth of the 
 daughters of Jerusalem, in admiration of the Bride coming 
 to them as a missionary, and as uttered by them in antici- 
 pation of that happy event, which, according to many pro- 
 phecies, some of which we quoted above, they understood 
 not to be afar off. Hence, after having most ardently in- 
 vited the Shulamite, or the restored Church, to return to 
 them in the capacity of a missionary — for the purpose of 
 bringing about ihe happy union of the two camps, of Jew 
 and Gentile, hitherto separated by the impassable barrier of 
 the law, those " prisoners of hope," or awakened Gentiles, 
 begin to describe the surpassing beauty and splendour of 
 the daughter of Zion, when she would come to them as an 
 ambassador laden with the fulness of the New Covenant 
 blessings promised to the nations of the earth through the 
 " Seed of Abraham," the *' Ensign," the " Emanuel," the 
 Saviour of the world. 
 
 were basons composed of two half globes of tqual size joined together 
 «n one side by means of hinges, and shut on the other side by clasps 
 or locks. Such joined basons seem to have been those of the temple 
 out of which the blood of the sacrifices was sprinkled ; but see more in 
 Exposition. 
 * See Note in the Exposition of this verse. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 4 — 6. 291 
 
 " How beautiful are thy feet (or footsteps) with shoes, 
 thou benevolent daughter !" z.e., " If thou hast been so 
 beautiful, so attractive and so lovely when thou wast among 
 us a poor barefooted captive, desolate, broken-hearted, and 
 sorely lamenting the absence of thy Beloved — if even when 
 thou hadst no mission, no order to invite us to come and 
 join ourselves to thy God, thou hast by thy confessions, 
 walk, and conversation, imparted to us such a knowledge of 
 thy divine Master, and excited in us such sympathy with, 
 and admiration for thee that we exclaimed, " Who is she 
 that looketh forth like the morning-star, fair as the moon, 
 bright as the sun, and terrible as bannered hosts !" — 0, what 
 will it then be when we shall see thee from afar walking 
 majestically over the mountains, as the Missionary Zion, 
 bringing good tidings to the Gentiles, as the Bride of the 
 Lamb, who in her benevolence, zeal, and love for souls, 
 shall put on the pilgrim's sandals to traverse the wilder- 
 ness of this world, and carry to the nation and families 
 dwelling in the shadow of death, the torch of celestial light, 
 the gospel of peace, the tidings of salvation and eternal 
 
 joy! 
 
 " The projections of thy thigh-bones are like moulded 
 ornaments, the handiwork of a skilful workman." In those 
 days, when there were no postal or telegraphic communica- 
 tions, and every message had to be performed by men 
 on foot, who had often to cross trackless mountains and 
 deep and rugged ravines impracticable for animals, the' 
 messenger to a distant country had to put on his sandals, 
 and gird well his loins for the journey. As he advanced, 
 fatigue and privation produced leanness, and as his body 
 became thinner every day, his girdle had to be tightened, 
 and the depression thus caused made his thigh-bones become 
 more and more projected, showing how great had been the 
 distance and the fatigue of the journey. These projected 
 thigh-bones of the messenger of salvation are praised and 
 admired by the joyous and thankful daughters of Jerusalem, 
 and compared to moulded and skilfully wrought gold orna- 
 ments for the head ; as these signs indicated at once the 
 fatigue of the journey, and his zeal, activity, devotion, and 
 persevering courage in conveying the message to her. " How 
 beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that 
 bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace, . , , that 
 
 n2 
 
292 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 publisheth salvation, that saith unto Zion, Thy God reign- 
 eth."* But the New Covenant Zion thus saved, sanctified, 
 and inspired, was to become the bearer of the good tidings 
 in her turn ; " Zion, bearer of good tidings, get thee up 
 into (or upon) an high mountain, . . . lift up thy voice 
 with strength, ... say unto the cities of Judah, Be- 
 hold, your God."-i- " Go into all the world, and preach the 
 gospel unto every creature," was the parting order of Zion's 
 Lord and Saviour, but telling her at the same time to 
 " begin at Jerusalem," to proclaim first to the cities of 
 Judah, " Behold, your God." So she did, she began at 
 Jerusalem; and when she was strengthened, encouraged, 
 and multiplied at the fountain-head, she flowed forth and 
 spread rapidly in every direction, like the overflowing of a 
 mighty river, to water the desert places of this world, and 
 turn them into gardens of God. She shod her feet and 
 girded herself,^ and set out courageously for her laborious 
 but important journey ; and in the language of one of her 
 illustrious sons, she shod her feet "with the preparation of 
 the gospel of peace, girt her loins about with truth, and put 
 on the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, the 
 helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit which is 
 the word of God." § 
 
 Thus prepared, she went forth to accomplish her Master's 
 orders, to invite the virgins of the patiently waiting daugh- 
 ters of Jerusalem to come and join themselves in an ever- 
 •lasting covenant to her own Bridegroom, her Lord and 
 Saviour ; and all she offered " without money and without 
 price," for her Master told her, "freely ye have received, 
 freely give." Her message, therefore, was as much of ^="3 
 (Nedavah) "free-will offering" or "liberal gift," as was the 
 salvation of the " sure mercies of David " which the Cove- 
 nant Angel brought to herself. Therefore in anticipation 
 of that time and event, the daughters of Jerusalem call her 
 ---jra (Bath Nadiv), "Benevolent, or generous daughter" 
 (or daughter of benevolence, or generosity), who offers her- 
 self freely and with a willing heart to spend and be spent 
 in the service and for the glory of her Lord, and for the 
 eternal happiness of souls. They admire her disinterested- 
 ness, self-denial, fatigue, and exposure to all manner of 
 
 * Is. lii. 7. t Is. xl. 9. X See Acts xv. 18. § Eph. vi. 13—17. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 4 — 6. 293 
 
 sufferings and privations on their behalf, and compare her 
 depressed loins and protuberatiug thigh bones to curiously 
 wrought ornaments. And as an illustration of this figure, 
 we may take the following passage in one of David's plain- 
 tive Psalms, which, if literally rendered, reads thus : "Thou 
 hast brought us into straits {i.e., into great sufferings and 
 privations), Thou hast put a shrivelling into our loins,"-^ 
 i.e.., a deepening caused by the decrease of flesh from 
 fatigue, want, privation, and continual care, in consequence 
 of which the girdle descends deeper and deeper, and the 
 thigh bones, as well as the ribs and shoulders, protrude and 
 project more and more. But we must constantly keep in 
 mind that it is the spiritual substance which these images 
 represent that is admired ; it is the good tidings brought by 
 that generous messenger that are so highly praised, though 
 under a metaphorical dress. The shell may be beautiful, 
 and well adapted for the protection and preservation of the 
 fruit, but it is the fruit alone that possesses the real value. 
 It is the good tidings of salvation and joy, which the mes- 
 senger carries across craggy mountains, that makes her 
 sandled feet, fatigued appearance, and projecting bones, so 
 precious in the eyes of the poor perishing sinner. The 
 shattered ship carrying provisions to a famished garrison is 
 admired, praised, and blessed, yea, and kissed on her 
 arrival by the withered lips of the half-starved multitude, 
 though it is the provision which she brings that delivers 
 them from starvation. 
 
 " Thy girdle is like a round bason, which wanteth not the 
 clasp." The reader will easily understand that it is the 
 shape of the girdle when round the body that is here de- 
 scribed as looking like a round bason with its clasp in the 
 middle. It was into such basons that the blood of sacri- 
 fices was received life-hot, and out of which it was sprinkled 
 by the priest upon the altar and before the vail, or (when it 
 was carried within) upon the mercy -seat; upon Israel, when 
 the covenant was ratified at the foot of Mount Sinai ; and 
 on certain occasions upon the persons who brought sacrifices 
 for their purification. Thus we read Exod. xxiv. 6 — 8 that 
 Moses took the half of the blood of the covenant sacrifices 
 into basons, out of which he sprinkled it upon Israel, saying, 
 
 * Ps. Ixvi. 11. See our translation and exposition of the Psalms on 
 that passage. 
 
294 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 " Behold, the blood of the covenant which the Lord hath 
 made with you concerning all these words." Such were the 
 basons prepared for the altar in the tabernacle,* and where 
 they are called s^pj.? (Mizrakoth), " basons for sprinkling." 
 Solomon made an additional number of such gold and silver 
 basons for the temple;-]- and such basons were among the 
 vessels carried away to Babylon and restored by Cyrus.}: 
 Now it was in the girdle that the messenger in olden times 
 carried the despatches or letters containing tidings. Hence 
 the image is exceedingly beautiful. Zion, the bearer of 
 good tidings in the front of her girdle, had to announce to 
 the Gentile nations salvation and peace by faith in the blood 
 of sprinkling, "that speaketh better things than that of 
 Abel." The gospel of truth, which she carried in her girdle 
 with clasps in the front, was therefore compared by the 
 daughters of Jerusalem to the round basons of the temple 
 which contained the typical blood of sprinkling. The pro- 
 phet said regarding the redeemed and saved children of the 
 New Testament Zion, " The Lord of Hosts shall be a shield 
 unto them .... and they shall be filled like the 
 basons, like the corners of the altar." § The blood of sacri- 
 fices was usually divided into two parts, the one half was 
 poured into the bason-like cavities near the horns of the 
 altar, and the other was taken into the round basons above 
 described for the purpose of sprinkling. The promise, 
 therefore, of this prophecy, that the saved children of Zion 
 would be filled like those basons^ can only mean that they 
 would carry, as it were, salvation, reconciliation, hope, and 
 peace in themselves by faith in the Saviour's blood, once 
 represented by the blood in the bason carried by the priest. 
 And such are some of the corresponding expressions of 
 Paul. " Always bearing about in the body the dying of the 
 Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made mani- 
 f<^st in our body."|j " For I bear in my body the marks of 
 the Lord Jesus. "^ " What, know ye not that your body is 
 the temple of the Holy Ghost who is in you ?"** 
 
 " Thy body is like an heap of wheat, surrounded with 
 lilies." The Israelites used to thrash their wheat, and 
 
 * See Exod. xxxviii. 3 ; also, Lev. ix. 12, 18. 
 
 t 1 Chron. xxviii. 17. t Ezra i. 10, viii. 27. f Zech. ix. 15. 
 
 [1 2 Cor. iv. 10. f Gal. \i. 17. ** 1 Cor. vi. Ift. 
 
CHAPTER Vll. 4 — 6. 295 
 
 winnow It as soon as it was cut, but never to store it up in 
 stacks with the straw as we do. They divided the grain 
 into ten equal heaps, larger or smaller according to the size 
 of the field and crop, one of which was set apart as the 
 tithe for the I^evites. The heap set apart for the Levites 
 w^as surrounded and ornamented with flowers and lilies, 
 until it was brought to Jerusalem, if not too far from it, 
 where it was laid up again before the temple, and again 
 ornamented with fresh lilies, and thus presented to the 
 servants of the sanctuary when both donor and receiver re- 
 peated a certain prayer.* It is to those adorned and con- 
 secrated heaps of wheat belonging to the house of God that 
 the New Testament Church is here compared ; and why ? 
 because she carries about the precious seed of the Gospel to 
 sow it in distant countries, and among hitherto barren and 
 benighted nations ; because she breaks the bread of life to 
 sinners, and leads them to Christ, who is the " real bread 
 that came down from heaven," and feeds the awakened and 
 hungry souls with the sure mercies of David, with the wine 
 and milk of the gospel, without money and without price ; 
 and because in herself she was like an heap of celestial 
 wheat, prepared by the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, 
 from which the Lord now and then carried oif handfuls, 
 which He spread among the nations, the daughters of 
 Jerusalem, where churches thus planted and watered by the 
 Lord often grew up from single grains, and were the means 
 of gathering rich crops into His garners. -j- 
 
 " Thy two breasts are like two young fawns, the twins 
 of the roe." This figure was already explained at large in 
 chap. iv. 5, in its twofold signification, first, as referring 
 there to the Ark and Cherubim in Solomon's temple, and 
 second, in its spiritual signification as referring to the 
 Church nourishing her young ones with the knowledge, 
 love, and fear of God, feeding her lambs with the milk of 
 heaven's wisdom. It has also been remarked that the 
 absence of this figure in chap. vi. was owing to the fact that 
 at the period to which that chapter belongs, the newly 
 returned captive Church had neither Ark nor Cherubim in 
 her sanctuary, nor food (breasts) to feed others with, being 
 
 * Deut. xW. 22-27, xxv. 12—15; 2 Chron. xxxi. 4—12; Mai. iii. 10. 
 j- See Acts viii. 4, 12, 36—40, ix. 15, 42, xiv. 21-28. 
 
296 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 SO poor and weak that she needed to be fed with milk her- 
 self; and as the time of shadows and types had not yet 
 come to an end, this figure could not then be applied to her 
 spir'tually, or to her temple figuratively. But our present 
 passage refers to the New Testament Church and times, when 
 type and shadow were to be superseded by bright spiritual 
 realities, when the Church of God was to " shine because 
 her light had come," and to be in her turn a " light to 
 enlighten the Gentiles," though she only reflects the light 
 of her head, as the moon does that of the sun — a missionary 
 to preach the gospel to every creature, a tutor to instruct 
 the simple and ignorant, and a nurse to feed and watch and 
 lead the lambs of her Master's flock. More, therefore, than 
 ever before could this image be again applied to her, and 
 hence we shall meet with it once more towards the end of 
 the Song, where the Bride applies it to herself. The King's 
 Bride, the Church of God, had two breasts richly supplied 
 with the food of heaven ; with the one she feeds and nourishes 
 her own children born within the bond of the covenant, 
 while the other she offers to starving strangers and aliens 
 who perish for lack of knowledge, " that they may suck, 
 and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations, . . . 
 and be delighted with the brightness of her glory."* These 
 breasts are as like each other as the "twins of the roe." 
 The food she gives the one, coming as it does from the 
 same source, is the same that she tenders to the other, the 
 same gospel, the same Saviour, the same doctrine, the same 
 faith, the same hope, the same heaven, the same glory. In 
 chap. iv. 5, the fawns were spoken of as " feeding among 
 tlie lilies," which was explained as referring to the Cheru- 
 bim which were hid from the eye like these young roes 
 among the bushes and lilies, and only seen in pattern em- 
 broidered on the curtain which covered them, just as these 
 lovely creatures, concealed among the lilies and foliage, 
 now and then allowed their heads to be seen by j^utting 
 them out at some opening, and soon disappearing again. 
 And so indeed was the ancient Church concealed spiritually 
 within the partition wall, and seldom appeared to the eye 
 of those without. This additional image could not be em- 
 ployed here, for the New Covenant Church has neither con- 
 cealed Ark nor Cherubim, nor is concealed herself. There 
 
 * Is. Ixvi. U. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 4 — 6. 29*7 
 
 is no more mystery about her ; what she has heard in secret 
 she publishes on the house tops, her light is put on a high 
 place to spread afar, and that every one seeing her should 
 recognize her and testify that she has been with Jesus and 
 is His. 
 
 "Thy neck is as a tower of ivory." In the fourth 
 chapter this figure was employed by the Bridegroom, but 
 there the neck of the Bride was compared to the tower of 
 David, "built for an armoury, whereon hang thou^^and 
 shields, all the bucklers of the mighty men." There it was 
 advanced that its primary reference may be to the high 
 tower of the porch on Solomon's temple (see exposition of 
 that passage), and hence it was remarked on chap, vi., that 
 the entire absence of that figure in it must be owing to the 
 fact thRt there was no such tower built on the second temple, 
 to which period it refers. But in this passage it is no more 
 the Bridegroom describing the beauty and perfections of 
 His ancient Church under the old dispensation with temple, 
 altar, and sacrifices ; but it is now the daughters of Jerusa- 
 lem describing the beauty and comeliness of the daughter 
 of Zion as a Missionar)' Church, carrying the good tidings 
 of salvation and joy to distant nations and tribes across 
 deserts and mountains of difficulties, through dangers, 
 privations, oppositions, and sufferings. Having begun to 
 praise the footsteps of the generous messenger, her move- 
 ments, and proceedings, and having metaphorically de- 
 scribed the whole body under the figures already considered, 
 the daughters of Jerusalem now compare her neck to a 
 tower of ivory. Has such a magnificent and famous tower 
 overlaid, or plated with ivory, ever existed ? and if so, 
 where ? or was it a mere comparative figure for a tower 
 composed of polished stones, whose lustre dazzled the eyes 
 of the beholder from a great distance ?* These are matters 
 of no interest to us, and of no importance to our subject. 
 One thing is clear, that the image is intended to represent 
 the conspicuousness, stateliness, lustre, firmness, and vigour 
 of the ambassadors of the Church of (Jod, who never stoops 
 nor lets her head sink unless before her Lord and Master, 
 
 * See Josephus' description of the temple rebuilt by Herod, and of its 
 cloisters constructed of enormous white polished stones, which, owing 
 to their elevation and whiteness, were seen at a great distance, and 
 were marvellous to look at. Jos. antiq. Book xv., chap. xi. 
 
 n3 
 
298 
 
 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 her spiritual head. Before man she stands upright and 
 firm, like a strong and stately tower — no matter where, 
 when, or before whom, whether at Jerusalem or Babylon, 
 Samaria or Rome, before the wicked kings of Judah or 
 Israel, or before Nebuchadnezzar or Nero, in prison, in the 
 fiery furnace, in the lion's den, before Papal inquisitions, 
 amidst perils of fire and water. In all circumstances, that 
 neck remained firm and majestically erect, never bowing to 
 idols, but only to the holy will and order of her Lord. 
 
 " Thine eyes are like the fish-pools in Heshbon, by the 
 gate of Bath-Rabim." Heshbon, the ancient capital of the 
 Amorite King Sihon, seems to have been a most famous 
 city for situation and beauty. In the days of Moses, the 
 Israelites took it along with the whole kingdom of the 
 Amorites,* and it remained in the possession of the two and 
 a half tribes beyond Jordan. It became afterwards the 
 bone of contention between the Moabites and Israelites ; 
 for originally it belonged to Moab, from whom Sihon took 
 it in war.-j- In the days of the Judges, Moab seems to 
 have taken it from Israel, who were made tributaries, and 
 were sorely oppressed by them during eighteen years. But 
 when the oppressor ventured to cross the Jordan and take 
 Jericho, the Lord raised up a deliverer to Israel in Ehud the 
 Benjamite, who slew Eglon the king of Moab, and destroyed 
 his army, and Israel beyond Jordan remained again in 
 possession of Heshbon and its territory. This also appears 
 from the message of Jephtah to the pretenders the Amonites, 
 who paid dearly for their false claims. J From the pro- 
 phecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah regarding Moab, it appears 
 evident that either at the captivity of the two tribes and a 
 half tribe, oreven at some former period, the Moabities became 
 again masters of Heshbon and its territories, and that it 
 was in a most flourishing state when the prophets foretold its 
 final ruin.§ 
 
 The two artificial lakes or pools]] seem to have been 
 situated within the most populous gate of Heshbon, called 
 
 * Num xxi. 21—31. f See Num. 26—30. 
 
 I See Judges xi., especially ver. 26. 
 ^ See Is. XV. xvi. ; Jer. xlviii. 
 
 II ^372, Berecha, " pool," or " artificial lake," never implies that it 
 
 contained _;?5 A or not. It is only because thejish put in by the trans- 
 lators do not interfere with the figure or substance, that we have left 
 them in the text. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 4—6. 299 
 
 Bath-Rabim, or the daughter of the multitude, i.e., the 
 gate of the thronged thoroughfare, one on the right and 
 one on the left of that entrance to the city, and to have con- 
 stituted the first striking and attractive object of adrairatiou 
 to the thronging crowds entering that beautiful cit}'^, as the 
 text implies. To tliese charming waterpools, surrounded 
 and lined with a verdant edging of flowers and lilies, the 
 daughters of Jerusalem compare the lovely and attractive 
 eyes of the Missionary daughter of Zion, when bringing the 
 good tidings of salvation to them. These pools of Heshbon 
 were doubtless the surest guides for the multitude of stran- 
 gers on entering the gate of Bath-Rabim to know how to 
 direct themselves in visiting the thoroughfares of the most 
 intricate streets and lanes of the vast city. A sure guide in 
 a trackless desert is called eyes in Scripture. Moses said to 
 riobab, " Leave us not, I pray thee, for as much as thou 
 knowest how we are to encamp in the wilderness, thou wilt 
 be unto us instead of eyes (or " eyes unto us.")* Job 
 said, " I was eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame."-|- 
 Such eyes is the Church of God to the spiritually blind, to 
 those that dwell in the shadow of death, and tojthose that have 
 to traverse the great, terrible, and trackless wilderness of this 
 world, whom she leads to the " Fountain of light, in w^hose 
 light they see light." Having her own eyes enlightened by 
 Jehovah's pure commandments, counsels, and statutes, she 
 so instructs the pilgrims under her tuition, that even in the 
 midst of the intricate labyrinth of this desert they can per- 
 ceive the land that is afar off, and see the king in his beauty. 
 The beautiful pools in Heshbon were never liable to sud- 
 den overflowings, nor the country around exposed to inunda- 
 tion and devastation by them in the rainy season, for they 
 were provided with canals and sluices which carried off the 
 superfluous waters as soon as they collected. The modest 
 and pious Bride of the Lamb is never puffed up by prosperity, 
 for she has made a "covenant with her eyes" never to be 
 lifted up by pride, nor to overstep the limits which humility, 
 purity, and decency prescribe to her, an example which she 
 has from her glorious head in the days of His humiliation on 
 earth. She is always ready to say with the humble David, 
 " Lord, my heart is not haughty nor mine eyes lofty, neither 
 
 * Num. X 31. t Jo^ ^^^^ 15- 
 
300 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 have I cherished great plans (or ' exalted, extravagant, 
 hopes'), nor wonderful things above my stage " (or 
 "reach.")* 
 
 The pools of Heshbon were never troubled by sand or 
 any impurities carried into them by the streams of rain 
 water ; for the sluices admitted only the pure waters. 
 The eyes of the Bride are never troubled nor made dim by 
 any impurities, or by bribery, of which it is said : " Bribery 
 doth blind the eyes of the wise, and perverteth the words 
 (or cause) of the just."-}- But she can say, " Here I am, 
 witness against me before the Lord . . . whom have I 
 defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have 
 I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith ?"| 
 
 These pools stood there continually, could never be re- 
 moved, but looked always towards the gate of Bath-Rabim. 
 The Church of God stands fast continually upon the " Rock 
 of Ages," and cannot be removed thence, even by the very 
 gates of hell, and has always her eyes directed towards 
 Jehovah her God, the Creator of heaven and earth, and 
 towards the gates of His sanctuary, saying, " Mine eyes are 
 ever towards the Lord."§ " But mine e3''es are directed unto 
 thee, God my Lord."|| In seasons of long drought these 
 pools suffered by the continual action of the scorching rays 
 of the sun, and by the want of new supplies, and so lifted up 
 their languishing e^-es as it were towards heaven, and im- 
 plored refreshing and quickening rain. The Church of God, 
 in seasons of spiritual drought and calamities exclaims, 
 " Mine eyes fail (or languish) for thy word (or promise), 
 saying, when wilt thou comfort me?"^ " Mine eyes fail (or 
 languish) for thy salvation, and for the word of thy righteous- 
 ness."** Sometimes her eyes are exhausted from shedding 
 many tears, and she says, " Rivers of waters run down mine 
 eyes, because of them that keep not thy law."-|"|- At other 
 times she deplores not having more tears to shed for perish- 
 ing sinners, and says, " that my head were waters, and 
 mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and 
 night for the slain of the daughters of my people."|j: But 
 she never murmurs against God nor against the mysterious 
 dispensations of His government, but even in times of 
 
 * Ps. cxxxi. 1. t Deut. xi. 17- X 1 Sam. xii. 3. 
 
 6 Ps. XXV. 15. II Ps cxli. 8. H Ps. cxix. 82. 
 
 ** Ps. cxix. 123. ft Ps. cxix. 136. Jj Jer. ix. I. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 2 — 6. 301 
 
 deepest distress, says, " Behold, as the eyes of servants look 
 unto the hand of their masters ... so our eyes wait 
 upon the Lord our God until he have mercy upon us."* 
 " For thy loving kindness is before mine e3'es, therefore 
 will I walk in thy truth. "f 
 
 " Thy face (or figure) is like the tower of Lebanon which 
 looketh towards Damascus." That "^H*? (apech) means here 
 "face, or figure, or countenance," and not "nose," as it 
 is rendered, may be inferred from the fact that this would 
 be the only irregularity in the whole set of figures in this, 
 and in similar passages of this Song; for certainly, the 
 metaphorical person being described here regularly from 
 foot to head, if a "nose" had been intended it would have 
 been introduced before the eyes. But the enormity and 
 unmeaningness of the supposed figure should have been suffi- 
 cient to shew that the word stands here, as it very frequently 
 does elsewhere, for the whole countenance.^: The daughters 
 of Jerusalem, who had once already said of the Bride that 
 she was " terrible like bannered hosts," said once more that 
 her whole appearance looked like the " tower of Lebanon 
 which looketh towards Damascus." From 1 Kings ix. 19 
 it is clear that Solomon had erected many towers and for- 
 tresses on Mount Lebanon — since, during his long, pros- 
 perous, and peaceful reign, he was disturbed by none of his 
 neighbours, but the Syrians of Damascus under their new 
 King Ben-Hadad,§ we may safely conclude that the fortress 
 and tower which Solomon built on the part of Lebanon 
 looking towards Damascus in order to overawe and keep 
 in check these desperate marauders, must have had the most 
 formidable appearance of all the fortresses and towers of 
 that period. To compare the Church of God to that famous 
 tower, presents a sublime image of her whom the great 
 God has built upon the " precious corner stone laid in Zion," 
 and regarding whom He has said : " No weapon that is 
 formed against thee shall prosper," || " For the nation and 
 kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish,"^ and who 
 
 * Ps.cxxiii. 2. t Ps. xxvi. 3. 
 
 X Who would ever dream of rendering the same word " nose" in 
 passages like Gen. xlii. 6, and read " with their noses," instead of with 
 their faces !" In Gen. xlviii. 12; 1 Sam. xxv. 41, xxviii. 14; 2 Sam. 
 xiv. 33, xxiv. 20 : 1 Kings i, 23, 31, and in scores of other passages, the 
 word cannot be rendered otherwise than by " countenance, face," dec 
 
 § 1 Kings xi. 14—25. || Is. liv. 17. H Is. Ix. 12. 
 
302 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 was erected on earth as a mighty fortress and tower to 
 keep in check the prince of darkness and his hosts. To 
 Jeremiah the Lord said : " Behold, I have made thee this 
 day like a fortified city, and an iron pillar, and brazen walls 
 against the whole land, .... and they shall fight 
 against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee ; for I 
 am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee."* The sufi'er- 
 ings, persecutions, and calamities which that servant of God 
 had to endure, are exceedingly afilicting, yea heartrending, 
 but is not there something mysteriously wonderful in his 
 courage, perseverance, fearlessness, and firm persistance ! 
 That poor weak man could not be killed by the multitudes 
 of remorseless and obstinately wicked and powerful men 
 who sought his ruin, with all their counsels, plans, and 
 snares for his destruction ! While Urijah was pursued even 
 to Egypt, and brought bound to Jerusalem and put to death 
 with the sword for having long before spoken to the same 
 purpose with Jeremiah, the latter, whose threatenings were 
 still ringing in his enemies' ears, stood there like an "iron 
 pillar," as if all their swords had broken to pieces when 
 brought into contact with his throat Ij He dictated to 
 Baruch the sum of Jehovah's awful verdicts. These Baruch 
 wrote on a roll of parchment, and when they were read in 
 the temple they produced a sensation of terror among all 
 that heard them. The roll was brought to the wicked king, 
 read, and burned, and he ordered Baruch and Jeremiah to 
 be brought before him (;\nd we know for what purpose), 
 "but the Lord hid them."j: But another roll was soon 
 prepared by the order of God with many additional threaten- 
 ings and denunciations against the wicked and hardened 
 king, and his blinded people, and openl}^ published, and 
 Jeremiah still alive ! Nothing could bring that astonishing 
 man to silence; for the Lord had made him "like a defe iced 
 city," an iron fortress, to confound and put to shame and 
 trembling the mighty men of this world, and to show them 
 that the weakest of creatures, defended by God, was irre- 
 sistible, that neither fire, nor water, nor prison, nor sword, 
 nor torture, nor famine, nor all the powers of darkness com- 
 bined could stop the mouth of a *' worm Jacob," when the 
 Lord of Hosts said unto him, " Open thy mouth and speak," 
 
 * Jer. i. 18, 19. f See Jer. xxvi. % J^r- x^txvi. 26. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 4—6. 303 
 
 and that he will stand firm and impregnable against all the 
 machinations of hell so long as the God of heaven and earth 
 has yet some message to be delivered, or some purpose to 
 be served by him. Was not that man a thousand times 
 mightier and more resistless than the famous " tower of 
 Lebanon which looked towards Damascus?" 
 
 The above remarks on the life and actions of one illus- 
 trious son of the ancient Church must suffice as an illustra- 
 tion of the figure which compares the New Covenant Church 
 to a strong and imposing tower. And where would we 
 stop, and when would we finish, if we should begin to con- 
 sider the New Testament Jeremiahs, such as the great and 
 wonderful apostle Paul, whom neither stripes, nor prisons, 
 nor famine, nor chains, nor shipwrecks could intimidate, 
 yea whom even stoning could not kill so long as he had a 
 single message to deliver ? j^uffice it to say that from Paul 
 to our own day, thousands of renowned sons of the Church 
 of God have proved in all ages and countries that she is an 
 iron fortress, built upon an high rock, against whom all 
 weapons of war and destruction, and all that is called power 
 on earth or in hell have been and still are utterly powerless. 
 She is continually besieged, but never taken, and in the 
 very act of fighting against her, her enemies are exhausted, 
 destroyed, and perish miserably. But it is not so with her ; 
 for after every new fight, every new bombardment of her 
 walls and towers, every new attack by the armies of Satan, 
 she comes forth more powerful, more formidable, more im- 
 pregnable than ever, for her Lord said unto her, " They 
 shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against 
 thee ; for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee." 
 
 " Thy head upon thee is like Carmel, and the tresses of 
 thy head like royal purple, suspended on (or attached to) 
 the rafters."* 
 
 * The common rendering of the last line, " The King is held (or 
 bound) in the galleries," has no sense whatever. After all the fancies 
 heaped upon it, King and galleries remain entire strangers to text, con- 
 text, and the sense of the whoie chapter. It is therefore more than 
 evident that we must riad ^V'a-pj-ys (Ka argaman-melech), " lik« 
 
 royal purple," as r|''5'or:-;nr2 (Pathbag-hamelech), " royal provisions," 
 
 (Dan. i. 5, &c.,) ^5T3-]:-;y^'(Maadanei-melech), " royal dainties," (Gen. 
 
 ilix. 20) , 'r|':5ttn-r!P-.a»3 (Kemishteh-hamalech), " like a royal feast," (1 
 
304 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 Any beautiful table land covered with stately trees, fruit- 
 ful vineyards, and flourishing fields, and surrounded in the 
 valleys below with rich pastures, was called Carmel in 
 Scripture. (See our remarks on chap. ii. v. 1.) A head 
 plentifully covered with hair was always considered as a 
 mark of beauty in a woman.* " But if a woman have long 
 hair it is a glory to her," &g.-\- The Bridegroom twice 
 compared the hair of the Bride to " a flock of goats that 
 feeding descendeth from Mount Gilead,"| and which was 
 explained to refer in its primary signification to the happy 
 companies of worshippers ascending and descending Mount 
 Zion, whither they repaired to "feed on the fatness of 
 Jehovah's house, and to enquire in His temple." But these 
 primary references to Mount Zion and temple exist no 
 longer in the apostrophe addressed by the daughters of 
 Jerusalem to the Bride, in anticipation of her becoming a 
 Missionary Church, carrying the gospel of peace to the 
 
 Sam. XXV. 36), or like l^'-s-p-n-^-n (Hadrath-melech), "royal glory," 
 
 ^pfs-jV^-i (Retzon-melech), " royal favour," (Pro. xxviii. 35), and 
 
 '■rh-o—'Uip'o (Mikdash-melech), " royal chapel," (Amos vii. 13.) These, 
 
 and maiiy such like compounds which could be cited, show that our 
 Ka-argaman-melech belongs to the same family, and means " like royal 
 purple." But we cannot agree with those who having found out the 
 above sense of the compound, still blunder about the aitirr* (Rehatim), 
 
 which they render " trough," or " gutters," in the sense which this 
 word has in Gen. xxx. 41 ; Exod. ii 16, and hence they are obliged to 
 resort to strange and fanciful explanations, by supposing that in ancient 
 times the dytd purple was put in small bundles into running water 
 (see Parkhurst under tarr^ ) But these bundles make a sad figure, and 
 the tresses of our Bride have nothing to do with running water. We 
 therefore take this Rehatim to be the same with the l3'j"^rTi (Rahitenu) 
 
 of chap. i. 17 of this Song, where it signifies " rafters." As the royal 
 purple formed in those days one of the most important articles of luxury 
 and magnificence in royal palaces, it is certain that in the apartments 
 where their riches, jewels, treasures, ointments, and spices were dis- 
 posed, and of which they made such show and pomp on certain occa- 
 sions (see 1 Kings x. ; 2 Kings xx. 13 ; Esther i. 6; Ezek. xxvii. 7, xvi. 
 24^), there were also special airy chambers in which the unwoven royal 
 purple was suspended in tresses on the rafters, and beams, and nails, 
 as by lying in an heap it would have been spoiled. Such an apart- 
 ment overhung with the royal purple becomes a rich and splendid 
 image of the tresses of the Bride, hanging down from her Carmel-like 
 head. It is proper to remark also that it is the beautt/, rarity, quality, 
 and softness of the wool of the royal purple that constitutes the images 
 and not the colour. 
 
 * Is. iii. 24 ; Ezek. xvi. 7. t 1 Cor. xi. 15. 
 
 X See chap. iv. 1, vi. 5. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 4 — 6. 305 
 
 Gentile nations. Nor can we, in seeking the spiritual 
 substance of this image, go so far as to the spiritual Head 
 of the Church, who is Christ, the Bridegroom of the Song. 
 
 But although the New Testament Church has officially 
 no other head, no other chief shepherd, but Jesus Christ 
 her Lord and Redeemer, she has heads, in a figurative 
 sense, in her teachers, pastors, and guides, or elders, in 
 which sense alone such were also called heads in Scripture. 
 *'The ancient (elder) and honourable, he is the head."* 
 " Knowest thou that to-day the Lord will take away thy 
 master from thy head?"-l- Though it was not by o^cm^ 
 authority^ but by the bond of love and giatitude for spiritual 
 benefits, and by the position of the one to the other that 
 the sons of the prophets called their teachers masters and 
 heads, still we see from it that the spiritual leaders and 
 teachers were called heads. In such a sense are the teachers 
 and elders heads in the Church of Christ, going as they do 
 before the flock to lead them, and teach them, and shew 
 them the way to Zion. These may be compared to Carmel 
 for their freshness and vigour, for the fruits of righteousness 
 which they yield by their faithfulness and zeal, for the 
 beauty and splendour which they cast upon the Church, as 
 Carmel did upon the land to which it belonged, and for the 
 spiritual food which they prepare and administer to the 
 lambs of Christ's flock, as the Carmels produced and ten- 
 dered abundance of temporal food and delicious fruits unto 
 Judah and Israel. 
 
 Moreover we need not go far in search of a spiritual sub- 
 stance to our image, whether with regard to the whole 
 Church collectively, or to every individual Christian sepa- 
 rately. By nature every fallen child of Adam is leprous in 
 his soul, and has " his plague in his head," while every 
 renewed and sanctified child of Christ has " the consecra- 
 tion of God on his head," for He makes him a priest and 
 Levite in His sanctuary, and causes him to say, '' The Lord 
 is my glory, and the lifter up of my head." By nature 
 every "head is sick, and every heart faint," but regenerated 
 by the Holy Spirit, and made a new creature in Christ, his 
 head is anointed with the balm of Gilead, all his wounds are 
 healed, and a crown of glory and the " helmet of salvation" 
 
 * Is. ix. 15. t 2 Kings ii. 3. 
 
806 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 are put upon his head. By nature every head is bald,* 
 bare, dry, and barren, and nothing- but the curse of a vin- 
 dictive law rests upon it ; but the moment he is justified by 
 faith in the blood of Christ the blessings of the New Cove- 
 vaut cover his head, " Blessings are upon the head of the 
 just," and " the very hair of his head are numbered by Him 
 who bought him with a great prize" — his forehead receives 
 the seal and mark of the n Tav^ signifying "perfect in 
 Christ," (Tamim), and holiness unto the Lord; yea, he 
 becomes a temple of Him of whom Daniel and John said, 
 when they were favoured with a glimpse of His glory in a 
 vision, " His head and hair were white like wool."t 
 
 Such is the metaphorical description which the Spirit of 
 God showed the daughters of Jerusalem, or awakened Gen- 
 tiles would make of the Bride, when anticipating her future 
 mission of carrying the light and tidings of salvation to the 
 benighted nations of the earth. Here, we are sure, many a 
 reader will ask, " At what period, and on what occasion 
 were these prophecies of Solomon, with regard to the Gen- 
 tile nations bestowing such high eulogiums upon the ancient 
 Church in anticipation of her corning to them with the ful- 
 ness of the Gospel of Messias fulfilled, and when did they 
 express such ardent desires and prayers for the approach of 
 the Messianic period, or invite the Bride with such glowing 
 language as that, ' Return, return, thou Shula:nite,' &c., 
 and then describe her beauty as a messenger unto them ?" 
 if such a question be possible at this stage of the Song, a 
 satisfactory answer to it is not only desirable, but most im- 
 portant, and that before we go farther ; for the passage im- 
 mediately following that which has now been explained 
 contains a farther step on the part of the daugliters of Jeru- 
 salem, even that of eagerly supplicating the Bride to receive 
 them into holy and spiritual communion in anticipation of 
 the Lord's coming, and of His opening the whole door of 
 His sanctuary to them. And how could we proceed any 
 farther, while leaving even the possibility of such a ques- 
 tion behind us ? AVe trust therefore that the serious reader 
 will not consider the following remarks as a useless digres- 
 sion, but peruse them with patient attention, and then judge 
 if they are rightly placed here. 
 
 * See the sense of this term Is. xv. 2 ; Ezek. xxix. 18 ; Amo-\ viii. 10. 
 t Dan. vii. 9 ; Rev. i. 14. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 4—6. 307 
 
 THE DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM WAITING FOB DELIVERANCE 
 BY CHRIST. 
 
 The sacred and invaluable treasure of the Church of God, 
 the Bible, contains many jewels, rubies, and diamonds, in- 
 closed in historical shells, and which we often pass by as 
 things of no intrinsic value to us now, and we are apt to 
 wonder for what purpose the Holy Spirit dictated these his- 
 torical facts to the inspired men of God. It is only in time 
 of need when we examine them thoroughly that we find out 
 their value; for they enlighten our eyes, and Scripture 
 explains Scripture, mystery solves mystery, and difficulty 
 removes difficulty, as the weight put on one balance lifts 
 that of the other. Often when our sailing vessel is brought 
 to a stand by a perfect calm, prayer and search discover a 
 powerful and swift steamer, hitherto hid between rocks and 
 mountain cliffs, which takes us in tow, drags us adrift, 
 where the " Spirit breathes on us from on high, and our 
 seeming desert becomes a Carmel," and a seeming obscurity 
 becomes a region of light. Such a momentary calm the 
 writer of these lines encountered in chap. vi. 1, 9, 10 of this 
 Song, where the inspired author had put into the mouth of 
 the daughters of Jerusalem words like these, " Whither is 
 thy Beloved ^one . . . that we may seek Him with 
 thee ?'' " Who is she that looketh forth like the morning 
 star, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, and terrible as ban- 
 nered hosts?" and where the Bridegroom said regarding 
 these Gentiles that they saw His Bride, and praised and 
 admired her. The question then arose, " Can these predic- 
 tions be proved by historical facts to have been fulfilled at 
 the period to which they must refer?" The reader who 
 has carefully perused the historical researches and quota- 
 tions from Scripture for the explanation of these passages, 
 will surely agree with the writer that they have been not 
 only most satisfactorily, but most strikingly fulfilled. On 
 entering the present chapter of the Song, and glancing over 
 it, on seeing it open with an ardent invitation on the part of 
 the Gentile nations to the once captive Bride, who, while 
 among them, taught them much of the knowledge of her 
 God, by confession and example — to return unto them as 
 the Shulamite, as the restored and accomplished Church of 
 
308 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 the God of ZIon, going forward in lier capacity of a Mission- 
 ary Church with shod feet and girded loins to carry hea- 
 ven's message of salvation and peace to the Gentiles once 
 excluded and dwelling in darkness, and, on considering 
 verses 8 — 11 of this chapter which contain a decided resolu- 
 tion on the part of the daughters of Jerusalem to join them- 
 selves to the Bride, and entreat her to introduce them into 
 the " King's palace," a new calm overtook the vessel, and 
 its pilot started back at the seeming difficulty to prove all 
 this to have been fulfilled before the coming of Christ, dur- 
 ing His official ministrations, and immediately after His 
 return to His Father. But on studying the subject seriously, 
 and prayerfully re-opening our sacred treasure for a more 
 perfect search, and chaining together detached links of pro- 
 phecy and of historical facts, the result was again the same, 
 showing how wonderfully Jehovah sees " the end from the 
 beginning," even as regards thoughts and resolutions of 
 men in a distant future. Yes, these predictions of Solomon 
 were literally and strikingly fulfilled, and for us it is to 
 exclaim with one of old, " the depth of the riches both of 
 the wisdom and knowledge of God ! How unsearchable are 
 His judgments, and his ways past finding out !" 
 
 The prophet Haggai, in announcing the coming of Christ, 
 calls Him " The desire of all nations," saying, " And I 
 vv'ill shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall 
 come," i.e., after having prepared the nations for that great 
 event, by great changes and convulsions, by moral and 
 temporal revolutions. He who is the " desire of all nations 
 shall come " into His temple, and fill it with His glory, 
 and in this place will I give Shalom peace," or, " Him who 
 is peace."* And the prophet Zechariah said regarding thei 
 King of Zion, " And He shall speak (announce) peace unto; 
 the heathen ;" which surely implies that their false peace 
 would first be disturbed, and that the Messiah would bring 
 them true peace. So we see from the above prophecy of 
 Haggai, that even in his days the looked for Messiah could 
 be called the " Desire of the nations," though their know- 
 ledge of the only true and living God was yet imperfect,, 
 and they were yet " groping in darkness," still it was a fact 
 that they were groping about seeking Him whom theji 
 
 * Hag. ii. 6—9. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 4 — 6. 309 
 
 knew not, but desired to know and serve. Every one who 
 has studied the moral history of nations in those days, 
 knows that the great shaking among them had begun from 
 the time of the captivity and dispersion of Israel in their 
 countries — that the dumb idols had begun to stagger as if 
 driven by a tempest, or as if a mine had exploded under 
 them. Nations began to be ashamed of their infantine 
 stupidity, and now and then there burst forth, as if from a 
 mysterious under-current, a loud talk about the great God of 
 heaven. 
 
 That wonderful movement was not, indeed, common or 
 general. It did not descend to the lower classes, to the 
 ignorant masses of the heathen nations, but it prevailed 
 among the higher and thinking classes, the philosophers and 
 legislators, who in those times begun to steal as much as 
 possible from the Jewish religion and revelation, to cover 
 over and conceal their own misery, blindness, and foolish- 
 ness, and to polish up their ancestral superstitions which 
 they had neither courage, nor light, nor a mission to over- 
 throw. The gloomy end of Socrates, the great moral move- 
 ments in Greece, and the changes introduced into their 
 philosophy before and after that event, are telling facts in 
 regard to what was said above. There was a shaking going 
 on among the nations, there was a certain know^ledge and a 
 desire for more, a groping in the dark for light, a longing 
 for reformation, a panting for the great and only living and 
 true, though yet unknown God. They struggled, as it were, 
 with an irresistible enemy, an enemy in themselves, in their 
 want of light, in their innate darkness and prejudices, in 
 the imperfection of their so-called wisdom. Thej'^ struggled 
 amid obstacles both within and without them ; for the 
 appointed season had not yet come, and all their efforts were 
 powerless to bring it before the fulness of time. Jesus, and 
 Jesus alone, was the " desire" of those struggling nations 
 though they knevv him not.* He alone was appointed to 
 
 * Should one ask " How'could it be said of these Gentiles that Jesus 
 was their ' desire' if they knew Him not ?" we answer with the fear- 
 ful example of the Jews, of whom the prophet said, " The Lord whom 
 ye seek . . . the angel of the covenant whom ye delight in," and 
 who will deny that they eagerly waited for the Messiah promised by 
 the prophets, seeing that they wait still with the same eagerness ? and 
 who will deny that the Messiah was their delight and desire, seeing that 
 in their blindness they delight still in the false idea that He is yet to 
 
310 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 deliver them from the darkness in which the}' staggered 
 about, seeking for light. Before Ilim alone the heathen i 
 idols were to fall to the ground, and before His coming no 
 other could do the work. All thinking men knew that light 
 must come, that the long night of stupid idolatry was far 
 spent, and they eagerly directed their failing eyes towards 
 the East to discover the promised " morning-star." At last 
 the hour struck, and three of these Gentile " watchmen" 
 discovered it, and came to Bethlehem, and saw the " desire 
 of all nations,'' and adored Him. Though He was then but 
 an helpless babe, the salvation of a world of sinners looked 
 forth out of this innocent body, the precious blood of sprink- 
 ling run in His veins, and the fulness of the blessed God- 
 head sparkled from His eyes. He was to " speak peace" to 
 the heathen nations, and His dominion to be from sea to sea, 
 and from the river even to the ends of the earth. 
 
 There is a wonderful passage in the prophet Malachi, 
 disfigured in the common version by additions of three shall 
 be in italics, which speaks loud in regard to what was ad- 
 vanced above. In rebuking Israel for their lukewarmness 
 in religion, and for slighting the Lord's sanctuary, he says, 
 in the name of God, " For from the rising of the sun, even 
 unto the going down of the same, my name is great among 
 the Gentiles, and in every place incense is offered unto my 
 name and a pure offering ; for my name is great among the 
 Gentiles, saith the Lord of Hosts."* It is inexplicable how 
 any one should have applied this beautiful passage to the 
 future, by three additional shall-be^s ! Was it the " incense 
 and pure offering," said in the passage to have been offered at 
 that time by the Gentile nations to the God of Israel, which 
 lead to this ! But one should have seen that these must be 
 figurative expressions, for honour and glory, power and supre- 
 macy, ascribed to Him, even were the passage to refer to the 
 
 come ? And still when He came " unto His own, his own acknow- 
 ledged Him not," while those poor struggling nations in question 
 recognised in Him the Messiah for whom they waited, though they 
 knew Him not. '« The Gentiles who followed not after righteousness 
 have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. 
 But Israel, who followed after the law of righteousness, hath not 
 attained to the law of righteousness." (Rom. ix 30, 31.) Again, 
 " Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for ; but the election 
 hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded," (xi. 7.) See the con- 
 texts of these passages. 
 * Mai. i. \\. 
 
 2 
 
CHAPTER VII. 4 — G. 311 
 
 Messianic period; for Christ abolished incense, and "sncrifice 
 and offering." But it is evident that the " incense and pure 
 offering" stand here for the public confessions of the Gentile 
 nations at that period, and their testimonies to the omni- 
 potence and supremacy of the God of heaven. And what, 
 we ask, was it that the mighty Nebuchadnezzar, the mortal 
 "king of kings," did, when "he fell on his face and wor- 
 shipped Daniel, (or rather the God of Daniel, as shall be 
 seen,) and commanded that they should offer an oblation and 
 sweet odours unto him?" That this must have been done 
 to the God of Daniel, is evident, first, from the fact that he 
 opposed not the performance of it ; and second, from what 
 we read farther of that king's confession, " Of a truth it is 
 that your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of kings," 
 &c * After the deliverance of the three heroes of faith 
 from the fiery furnace, the same said in the presence of his 
 whole court, " Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, 
 and Abed-Nego, who sent his angel and delivered his ser- 
 vants that trusted in him."-]- The proclamation that he 
 soon sent forth to all the nations and tribes and tongues of 
 his vast dominions that all men should fear and honour the 
 great God of heaven — the awful punishment threatened 
 against any one that should " speak ought" against that 
 God — his astonishing language in another proclamation, " I 
 thought it good to show (publish) the signs and wonders 
 that the High God hath wrought towards me ; how great 
 are his signs, and how mighty are his wonders, his king- 
 dom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from 
 generation to generation"^ — is not this sufficient to 
 explain the " incense and pure offering" of the Gentile 
 nations ? Is not this enough to show how the Lord could 
 say even at that period, " my name is great among the 
 heathen ?" 
 
 But we must take into account the fact that from Daniel 
 to the prophet Malachi, two centuries elapsed during which 
 the name of the great God of heaven was more and more 
 made known among the Gentiles ; and many transactions 
 recorded in sacred history prove that moral progress among 
 the heathen. King Cyrus openly declared before all nations, 
 " The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms 
 
 * Dan. ii. 46, 47- f Dan. iii. 28. + Dan. iv. 2, 3. 
 
312 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 of the earth. . . . Who is there among you of all his 
 people, his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusa- 
 lem, . . and build the house of the Lord God of Israel," 
 &c. &c. The rich and magnificent presents and offerings 
 which that prince gave to the returning captives and for the 
 temple of God, all the declarations of the succeeding kings 
 of Persia, their public confessions, their letters to their 
 governors, their royal presents in gold, silver, and provi- 
 sions for the priests and Levites, their orders that all the 
 sacrifices of the temple, and all its provisions, should be 
 procured from the royal treasury, and their repeated requests 
 to the priests that they should offer prayers for them and 
 their families, we say is not all this sufficient to explain the 
 above prophecy of Malachi, delivered at a period when the 
 cold and ungrateful Israelites began to offer on the altar of 
 God, " the sick, and the lame, and the blind ?" Could not 
 the Lord then say that already His " name was great 
 among the Gentiles," since by their open and public con- 
 fessions, and by their ardour to offer the most precious gifts 
 to His temple, they offered far purer oblations and incense 
 than did His own nation ? 
 
 That this irresistible desire after the knowledge and wor- 
 ship of the great God of heaven, and those struggles in the 
 midst of deep darkness for sparks of light, continued during the 
 obscure period which elapsed from the last prophet Malachi to 
 the time of Christ ; and that they grew stronger and stronger 
 notwithstanding the great political convulsions which shook 
 the nations from the days of Alexander to those of Augus- 
 tus Csesar, may be gathered from profane history and from 
 the works of historical criticism treating of those ages and 
 transactions. The astonishing behaviour of the great and 
 proud Macedonian conqueror, in adoring the name of 
 Jehovah, which met his eye on the mitre of the high-priest 
 — his answer to the question of a heathen king, why he 
 whom all others adored, should adore the high-priest of the 
 Jews ? " I did not adore him, but that God who has 
 honoured him with the high-priesthood " — the sacrifices 
 he offered on the altar of God — the munificent presents he 
 left for the temple and priests, and the great favours he 
 conferred on that occasion on the Jewish nation at large,* 
 
 * See Antiq. Book xi. chap. viii. p. 1. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 4 — 6 313 
 
 shew that the name of the God of Zion was then great 
 among the nations, and that they made progress in the 
 knowledge of Him. The ardent desire of king Ptolemy 
 Philadelphus to have his vast library enriched with a faith- 
 ful translation of the Book of books, which the great God 
 had deposited with His chosen people — his royal and reve- 
 rential treatment of the priests and translators of it, and the 
 joy he manifested when he saw it completed and heard it 
 read — the magnificent presents he made to the temple of 
 Jerusalem at that time — and the redemption with a vast 
 treasure of upwards of a hundred thousand Jewish slaves, 
 are striking testimonies to our argument, and an expla- 
 nation of the passage of Malachi.* The honour which the 
 kings and nations of Asia paid to the Jewish nation — the 
 expressions of Antiochus the Great in his letter to Ptolemy, 
 " In the first place we have determined, on account of their 
 piety towards God, to bestow on them ... for their 
 sacrifices of animals . . .for wine and oil and frank- 
 incense, the value of twenty thousand pieces of silver " 
 (here come the measures of flour, wheat, salt, &c.) " I 
 would also have the work about the temple finished, and 
 the cloisters, and if there be anything else that ought to be 
 rebuilt, . . . .in order to render that temple more 
 glorious," &c., &c. ; and the decree which he published 
 throughout his kingdom in honour of God, His temple, and 
 His nation,-}- are illustrations of the same. The letter of 
 Areus, king of the Lacedemonians, to Onias the high- 
 priest, claiming relationship with Israel for himself and his 
 nation, and a covenant of mutual friendship and aid for the 
 futurCjJ: cannot have had its origin in anything else, but in 
 the increased knowledge spread abroad of the great God of 
 Zion. The leagues made several times by the Romans 
 with the Jewish nation, the different decrees and proclama- 
 tions of the Senate, Emperors, and Governors regarding them, 
 and the documents of the same nature regarding their leagues 
 with other nations, speak to the same purpose.§ The refusal 
 of Petronius, Governor of Syria, at the risk of his honour 
 and life, to put in execution the cruel order of the monster 
 Caius, to place his statue in the temple by violence and mas- 
 
 * Antiq. Book xii. chap. ii. f Antiq. Book xii. chap. Hi. 
 
 X Antiq. Book xii. chap. iv. § See Book xiv. chap. x. 
 
 O 
 
314 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 sacre, many minor events of those times which cannot be 
 cited because of their great number, and even the very 
 behaviour and utterances of Vespasian and Titus before and 
 after the destruction of Jerusalem by their armies, all bear 
 testimony to our argument. 
 
 Moreover, the Old and New Testament history reach 
 hands, as it were, to each other, in order to fill up the void 
 of the intervening centuries left without a sacred and in- 
 spired historian. In reading Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, 
 Esther, &c., one is obliged to conclude that the knowledge 
 of God spread among the heathen nations before and after 
 the restoration of a part of the captive Jews from Babylon 
 to Jerusalem — for many hundreds of thousands remained 
 dispersed in every country and kingdom, — and however 
 superficial that knowledge may have been at first, it must 
 have continued to increase, to augment the ardent desire of 
 thinking men for more light, and to stimulate in them the 
 hope of an approaching manifestation of the great God in 
 favour of the whole human race, when He would by one 
 flash of celestial light disperse the thick darkness accumu- 
 lated during many ages of superstition and corruption, and 
 childish fables. In reading the Acts of the Apostles, it is 
 impossible for any observing mind not to see that the Gen- 
 tiles were prepared for centuries before for the gospel times 
 by a generally diffused knowledge of the existence of one 
 great and Almighty Creator and Governor of the whole 
 Universe, and by a gradually growing desire to find Him 
 and adore Him supremely, though the way in which they 
 were to find Him was still to them a mystery. 
 
 Before we enter on the search among the Gentiles in the 
 Acts of the Apostles we have to observe that the wise men 
 from the East, and the ignorant woman of Samaria, prove 
 that rich and poor, wise and ignorant, all in their different 
 ways expected and eagerly waited for the coming of the 
 promised Messiah. The wise men of the East, — who cer- 
 tainly were not the only Gentile philosophers waiting for 
 the Messiah at that time, and who may be regarded as the 
 representatives of the educated and thinking class, — cal- 
 culated by the progress of the human mind, by the general 
 ♦gitation and search for more religious knowledge and light, 
 and by what they heard and read of the prophecies pos- 
 sessed by the Jewish nation regarding the coming of 
 
CHAPTER VII. 4 — G. 315 
 
 " Shiloh to whom should be the gathering of the nations," 
 that the time of His coming could not be far off ; and 
 having waited in prayer and supplication for that divine 
 manifestation, God honoured them with the first discovery 
 of Emanuel's star, and with being the first among the wait- 
 ing Gentiles to adore the Son of God in the flesh. The 
 circumstance of the poor ignorant Samaritan woman's saying 
 to the inhabitants of her town, " Is not this the Christ?" 
 and the joyous testimony of the latter, after having seen 
 and spoken with Him, " This is indeed the Christ, the 
 Saviour of the world," shews as clearly that the coming of 
 Messiah w^as not known and expected only by the great and 
 wise, but that it was in those days a fact generally spread 
 everywhere, even among the lowest classes of the people. 
 And this was not confined to the Samaritans, who were a 
 sort of half Jews as to their religious creed, and who lived 
 in the neighbourhood of the Jews, for it is known that at 
 that period the Jews were spread abroad throughout Asia, 
 Africa, and Europe, and that they spread the knowledge of 
 their God and his holy oracles everywhere. 
 
 The first thing that meets our eye on glancing over the 
 Acts, is that the " devout strangers of all nations " who 
 dwelt at Jerusalem at the time of the ever-memorable day 
 of Pentecost were composed of " Jews and proselytes " — a 
 fact which confirms the assertions of Jewish writers that 
 during the last century of the second temple many thou- 
 sands of Gentiles became proselytes to the Jewish religion. 
 This was no doubt the result of the influence of so many Jews 
 dispersed among them, and of their having become tired of 
 the dumb idols. It is likewise no matter of surprise that 
 those new proselytes who possessed the means to do so were 
 desirous to go up to Jerusalem and worship in His temple the 
 God whom they have embraced. That great numbers of 
 other Gentiles, not yet proselytes, came to Jerusalem to 
 worship God and to offer sacrifices, is also mentioned by 
 Josephus in different places. Among the very first fruits 
 of Pentecost, and also among later converts, there were 
 many " Grecians,"* w^ho likely were first proselytes to the 
 Jewish religion, but who as soon as they saw that the great 
 ** Light to enlighten the Gentiles " had come, they became 
 
 * Acts vi. 1. 
 
 o2 
 
316 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 Christians; such as Nicolas the "proselyte of Antioch."* 
 The Ethiopian eunuch, minister of Queen Candace, proves 
 that at that time great men from distant lands and '^ mighty 
 nations" went to Jerusalem to worship God. From the fact 
 of having read earnestly in a copy of the Bible, and from 
 his conversation with the apostle, we learn what an ardent 
 desire existed among the Gentiles for the knowledge of God 
 and His revelation ; and from the fact that his conversion 
 and baptism were accomplished during a short interview, 
 we see that such persons were well instructed in the word 
 of God, waited with weeping eyes and longing soul for Him 
 promised therein to the Gentiles, and needed only to know 
 and believe that He who was promised had come and 
 accomplished His work, and had opened the door for them. 
 Cornelius of Cesarea, the first fruits of the Gentiles, is a 
 mighty pillar to our argument. Of him we hear that he 
 was " a devout man, one that feared God with all his house, 
 who gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God 
 alway."-]- From the gracious manner in which his prayers 
 were heard and answered, we see that his supplications were 
 for the manifestation of Him who was the " desire of all 
 nations," and so he was honoured in finding first the desire 
 of his devout soul. And how many hundreds and thou- 
 sands of such devout and prayerful " daughters of Jerusalem" 
 existed among the Gentiles at that time may be inferred 
 from the instance above cited, and will be seen more clearly 
 as we advance. The whole history of the formation and 
 progress of the Church of AntiochJ shows that these con- 
 verted Gentiles belonged to those who waited with fasting 
 and prayer for the fulfilment of these promises regarding 
 their call and salvation. About the other Antioch in 
 Pisidia we read : " And when the Jews were gone out of 
 the svnagogue, in which Paul and Barnabas preached Christ 
 unto them, the Gentiles besought that the same words might 
 be preached unto them the next Sabbath."§ This passage 
 speaks plainly to the purpose. Here are eager " daughters 
 of Jerusalem" inviting and praying the Shulamite to preach 
 the gospel to them. Surely they must have been long 
 waiting for it, and prepared to receive it. In the next verse 
 we read that " many of the Jews and religious proselytes 
 
 * Acts Ti. 5. t Acts X. 2. 
 
 + See Acts xi. 20—30. $ Acts xiii. 42. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 4 — 6. 317 
 
 followed Paul and Barnabas," from which we see that many 
 of the waiting daughters of Jerusalem embraced in the 
 meantime the Jewish religion, but turned Christians as soon 
 as they heard that the " desire of all nations had come." 
 " Next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear 
 the word of God," (v. 44.) But when the unconverted 
 Jews saw this great movement on the part of the Gentiles, 
 they were filled with jealousy. Those wicked and selfish 
 men wanted to make a monopoly, as it were, of what the 
 gracious God had promised, without money and without 
 price, to every hungry soul. When they saw that by the 
 gospel the Gentiles would receive the same privileges as the 
 Jews, and would no more consider them the special favourites 
 of God, they opposed the apostles and blasphemed, and 
 therefore the apostles told them that, seeing they had proved 
 themselves unworthy of the gospel of Christ, they would 
 turn to the Gentiles, " Christ being promised as a light to 
 enlighten the Gentiles." " When the Gentiles heard this 
 they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord, and as 
 many as were ordained to eternal life believed."* This pas- 
 sage and the transactions it records strongly support our 
 argument, and render a mere word in the way of illustration 
 superfluous. 
 
 In Macedonia many a devout Cornelius must have con- 
 tinued in prayer and supplications to the God of Israel to 
 send them the " desire of all nations." This was communi- 
 cated to the great apostle in a vision, when he saw the 
 " Man of Macedonia" standing before him and praying him, 
 " Come over into Macedonia and help us." Can a better 
 explanation be given of such passages of our Song as those : 
 
 " Return, return, thou Shulamite How 
 
 beautiful are thy feet with shoes," &c. Return to help us, 
 return with the Gospel of Peace ; for how beautiful art 
 thou as a messenger, as a bearer of the good tidings of 
 salvation to longing souls ! 
 
 There was a Jewish synagogue at Thessalonica in which 
 Paul preached on three successive Sabbaths, " And some of 
 them (the .lews) believed, and consorted with Paul and 
 Silas, and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of 
 the chief women not a few."f Now from this passage, as 
 
 ♦ Acts xiii. 45—49. f Acts xvii. 1—4. 
 
318 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 well as from that above quoted regarding Antioch in Pisidia, 
 and from several other passages in the Acts of the Apostles, 
 it is clear that many awakened Greeks were then in the 
 habit of joining the Jews in their devotional exercises in the 
 synagogues on their Sabbath. At Thessalonica these God- 
 fearing Greeks were not only numerous, but in "great 
 multitude." These devout daughters of Jerusalem joined 
 the Jews in the meantime, while eagerly waiting for the 
 coming of the Saviour, and they were almost everywhere 
 and always the foremost to accept Christ. Had not some 
 of them been led astray by selfish and wicked Jews, who 
 had a great moral influence upon them, and no wonder, for 
 it was from them they learned to know the God of heaven, 
 they would all have instantly accepted the gospel with great 
 joy. And what could have given them greater joy than to 
 have heard that the eagerly expected Messiah had come, 
 that they were invited to come to Him in the bond of the 
 covenant of grace, to become members of the Church of the 
 living God — privileges which the Mosaical Jews never 
 could, and never did, allow them, but uniformly told them 
 that they must wait for them till the coming of Messiah, 
 the Shiloh to whom the Gentiles should gather. 
 
 At Berea Paul and Silas went as usual to the Jewish 
 synagogue and found the Jews there of a noble spirit ; for, 
 while at Thessalonica they had wicked men among them, 
 who opposed the gospel out of jealousy, those of Berea 
 " received the word with all readiness of mind, 
 many of them believed ; also of honourable women which 
 were Greeks, and of men not a few."* Here we have again 
 an instance of Greek ladies as well as men accustomed to 
 join the Jews in their synagogue in the worship of God. 
 i«ft We shall now accompany our great apostle tor a little to 
 the famous city of Athens, where , alas ! we shall witness a 
 spectacle of another nature. There he also preached Christ 
 in the Jewish synagogue, and "disputed with the Jews 
 and with the devout persons, "-|- i.e., with the God-fearing 
 Greeks who joined them in prayer. As he also addressed 
 people in the streets, he soon became the lion of Athens, 
 and the philosophers of different sects laid hold on him, and 
 brought him before the court called Areopagus. There the 
 
 ♦ Acts xvii. 10—12. f Acts xvii. 17. 
 
CHAPTER VIT. 4 — 6. 319 
 
 great champion of the cross delivered a short address in a 
 strain of the highest eloquence, distinguished by its bold- 
 ness, seriousness, simplicity, and wisdom, which at once- 
 impressed the hearts and stopped the mouths, and coverpd 
 with confusion the proud philosophising inhabitants of that 
 degraded, enslaved, and idolatrous, though highly culti- 
 vated city. This famous capital afforded a remarkable 
 exhibition of the corruption of human nature when ele- 
 vated to the highest pitch of prosperity, civilization, science, 
 art, liberty (so-called), equality and self-government, when 
 not regulated by God's true and only religion, which alone 
 produces social as well as moral peace and real happiness. 
 This perverted and miserable city, so much admired by 
 men full of contradiction like herself, where a man was 
 only safe so long as he remained in perfect obscurity, but in 
 daily jeopardy as soon as he rendered great services to his 
 nngratefu) mother — this abode of free citizens, where the 
 hero and benefactor seldom died a natural death unless it 
 overtook him in banishment — this philosophising band of 
 the most stupidl}^ degrading idolatry, remained &o to the very 
 time of the Apostle's visit, fanatically attached to her innu- 
 merable abominations and dumb idols. Ancient Athens, 
 like modern Rome, boasted that all her greatest philosophers 
 were devoted w^orshippers of her gods, instead of saying that 
 they were either hypocrites or cowards, who preferred to 
 pass for idol worshippers, to drinking the cup of Socrates — 
 and indeed why should they have cast away their lives for an 
 uncertainty ? Their knowledge of the God of heaven was 
 so imperfect that it was no equivalent for certain death, 
 even had they been sure that their murderers would order 
 public mournings for them afterwards, as they did after the 
 murder of Socrates. However, some one (or perhaps seve- 
 ral) of her more daring sons, ashamed at seeing the stag- 
 nant degradation of his idolatrous mother in the midst of 
 the general progress everywhere in the knowledge and ado- 
 ration of the invisible and only true God, had on some 
 favourable occasion introduced an altar dedicated to the 
 Unknown God^ and placed it among the public monuments of 
 that city where all arts flourished, but that of becoming wise 
 unto salvation. Who it was that introduced that altar, and 
 at what period, we know not ; but it is certain that the 
 God to whom it was dedicated was worshipped by many, 
 
320 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 though in ignorance of His holy attributes, and of His plan 
 of salvation.* The general or philosopher who introduced 
 it had certainly possessed a knowledge of that God, but 
 as he would not introduce or proclaim Him publicly, from 
 fear of the cup of Socrates, he thought that the altar 
 alone might awaken in his countrymen a desire after Him. 
 The Athenians dared not deny it, and, struck dumb by the 
 argument of Paul, as the Pharisees were when the Lord 
 asked them if John's baptism was from heaven or not, dis- 
 missed the singular stranger without entering into contro- 
 versy with him. " Howbeit, certain men clave unto him, 
 and believed ; among the which was Dionysius the Areo- 
 pagite, and a woman named Daraaris, and others with 
 them."f 
 
 After a few days' labour, " Paul departed from Athens, 
 and came to Corinth," and here, too, Paul " reasoned in the 
 synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the 
 Greeks." But the Jews having soon become jealous, and 
 opposing the Apostles, they turned their addresses entirely 
 to the Greeks. The first influential convert was Justus, a 
 notable Greek, and one that worshipped God," in whose 
 house the Apostle now established the centre of light. 
 " And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed 
 on the Lord with all his house ; and manj^ of the Corin- 
 thians hearing believed, and were baptised. Then spake the 
 Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but 
 speak and hold not thy peace ; for I am with thee, and 
 no man shall set on thee, to hurt thee : for I have much 
 people in this city."J§ 
 
 * See Acts xvii. 23. 
 
 t Acts xvii. 34. 
 
 X (Acts xviii. 1—11. 
 
 § From all the above quotations from the Acts we see the remark- 
 able fact that the Greeks were the prominent nation among the Gen- 
 tiles in their eager expectation of the Messiah, and the first among the 
 daughters of Jerusalem that gladly joined the daughter of Zion on her 
 bringing the good tidings to the Gentiles. In connection with this 
 fact we recommend the following passage in Zechariah to the serious 
 consideration of the Biblical student. We shall quote the passage, and 
 make some emendations, and a few short remarks in passing : — " Re- 
 joice greatly, O daughter of Zion ; shout for joy, O daughter of Jeru- 
 salem {i.e., Gentile nations.) Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, 
 . . . And He shall speak peace unto the Gentiles .... As for thee 
 also (i.e., thou daughter of Jerusalem, hitherto excluded from Cove- 
 nant privileges and blessings) by the blood of thy covenant (the New 
 Covenant being theirs as much as Zion's), I have sent forth thy pri- 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 4—6. 321 
 
 Here we stop in our researches, thinking that it has been 
 already more than sufficiently proved that the knowledge 
 of the one God promulgated by the captive Church at 
 Babylon, and in all places of her dispersion, was not lost 
 on the daughters of Jerusalem, but that the awakened 
 search and struggle and desire for light, for God, and for 
 salvation, continued to grow and make great progress ; 
 that at the time appointed by Providence for the introduc- 
 tion of light among the Gentiles, great multitudes of those 
 had already either embraced the Jewish faith, or joined the 
 Jews in their synagogues for worshipping and praying to the 
 God of Israel, and for the reading of His law and prophets ; 
 that those God-fearing and, as they are called in Scripture 
 language, " Devout men and women," eagerly waited with 
 a longing heart, with a faithful and hopeful eye, for the 
 coming of Emanuel their Deliverer and their " Desire," 
 when the favoured daughter of Zion should come and invite 
 and lead them into the " King's palace," into the sanc- 
 tuary of her Beloved ; that when the Shulamite went forth, 
 
 soners out of the pit wherein is no water (in the dreary pit of idolatry, 
 in which they were so long, there was not a drop of water for the faint 
 and weary soul). Turn ye to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope (ye 
 who have waited so long in the open air as it were, because the sanc- 
 tuary was shut to you, come in now to the everlasting fortress) ; for 
 this day I render unto thee the nr^j^a-T^j'o (Magid-Mishneh) ' double 
 
 speaker' (double advocate, i.e., general mediator for Jew and Gentile 
 at once.) For I have bent unto me Judah, filled Ephraim like a bow 
 {i.e., I have prepared, foreordained Jews of all tribes to fight the Gos- 
 pel war), and I will stimulate (or awake, or encourage) thy sons, O 
 Zion, along with thy sons, O Greece, and I will make thee (the united 
 Church of Jew and Greek) as the sword of a mighty man " (i.e., to 
 conquer the world. Zech. ix. 9—17.) Be it remembered that the 
 most numerous and most faithful fellow-labourers of the Apostle Paul 
 were converted Greeks such as Timothy, Titus, Erastus, and many 
 others. It should likewise be kept in mind that before Paul had got 
 these fellow-labourers of the children of Greece he and Barnabas were 
 " forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia." (Acts 
 xvi. 6.) But when by his preaching it in Greece so many Churches 
 were established, so many " children of Greece joined the children of 
 Zion," and became together as *' the sword of a mighty man," tne 
 combined army went forth to conquer the world. We confess never 
 before to have seen this passage in Zechariah in this light. It is from 
 the above researches in the Acts regarding the waiting in prayer ot tlie 
 daughter of Jerusalem, and having seen that the Greeks figure always 
 as the foremost, that this passage forced itself upon our mind in this 
 new light. Although this is not the place to enter more deeply into it 
 (as it surely deserves) and enlarge on its explanation, we could not 
 help recommending it to those readers who delight in such discoveries 
 and studies. 
 
 o3 
 
322 
 
 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 shod and girded, to invite those waiting multitudes to the 
 feast which the great King had made in honour of His Son, 
 whom the proud Pharisee despised, they accepted the invi- 
 tation with thankfulness, and received the good tidings with 
 inaxpressible joy ; that if in some places some of them 
 opposed the Apostles, it was owing to the wickedness of 
 the unbelieving Jews, who used, or rather abused, their 
 influence on those poor Gentiles in regard to religious 
 matters, in order to lead them astray, and to persuade them 
 that this Jesus was not the promised Messiah, the Shiloh 
 and Saviour of the Gentiles and of the whole world. We 
 now return to our Song. 
 
 THE DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM (continued). 
 
 7. How beautiful art thou, and how pleasant ! 
 
 thou love with many delights ! 
 
 8. This thy stature is like a palm-tree, 
 And thy breasts like its clusters ; 
 
 9. I say, I will go up to this palm-tree ; 
 
 1 will lay hold on its branches ; 
 But I pray thee, 
 
 Let thy breasts be like clusters of the vine, 
 And the odour of thy breath (nose) as citrons : 
 10. And thy mouth (or palate) like choicest wine. 
 Going on straightly to my Beloved — 
 Causing the lips of the sleeping to speak. 
 
 Though the substance of these four verses in their general 
 bearing may be seen in a clear light from what has been 
 advanced already, yet in order to explain the particular 
 expressions and images it will not be amiss shortlj^ to re- 
 capitulate the sum of our illustrative materials. In the 
 inysterious providence of God, the captivity and dispersion 
 of His ancient Church to Babylon and throughout the vast 
 dominions of the kings of Perisa served the great purpose of 
 preparing the Gentile nations for the day of their visitation. 
 The knowledge of the only true God which the captive 
 Bride propagated in the places of her captivity, and which 
 those still left behind, or were yet dispersing, continued to 
 propagate even after a portion had returned and were re- 
 
CHAPTER VII. 7 — 10. 323 
 
 established at Jerusalem, continued to increase gradually, 
 till it grew to such an earnest and irresistible desire in 
 multitudes, that in anticipation of the coming of Shiloh who 
 would remove the partition wall and grant them free en- 
 trance into His sanctuary and full membership in His 
 Church, they joined the Jews in the meantime in their 
 prayers, in the reading of the law and prophets in their 
 synagogues ; and it was there that the great Apostle of the 
 Gentiles found them when he brought them the tidings of 
 salvation. And this is the theme of this chapter of the 
 Song. 
 
 The awakened " daughters of Jerusalem," who in the 
 infancy of their knowledge of God made one step in advance 
 by aiding the captive daughter of Zion to seek and find her 
 Beloved, soon discovered that this step had not advanced 
 them much. While the daughter of Zion had returned to 
 Jerusalem and had rebuilt the altar, temple, and walls, and 
 rejoiced once more in the communion of her God and Savi- 
 our, they still remained without in the darkness of idolatry 
 and pernicious superstition, and aliens from the covenant 
 blessings. At the same time they knew from the holy 
 oracles communicated to them by the Bride, that a time 
 was appointed when the Sun of Righteousness should begin 
 to shine upon them and disperse the clouds of darkness — 
 when the Bridegroom should manifest His glory to His 
 Bride in a special manner, and renew, or make a new cove- 
 nant with her, and send her forth to call the Gentiles to- 
 join her in that everlasting Covenant for salvation and 
 eternal bliss. To that happy event the waiting daughters 
 of Jerusalem looked forth with eager anxiety ; and in anti- 
 cipation of that glorious period they exclaimed, " Return, 
 return, thou Shulamite, . . . How beautiful are thy 
 fotsteps with shoes," &c. Throughout the first six verses of 
 this chapter they describe in glowing imagery and raptur- 
 ous language of joy the beauty and splendour of that Bride 
 when she shall thus come among them with her celestial 
 message, announcing to them the tidings of salvation. In 
 verse 7 they only conclude the preceding list of praises by 
 saying, " How beautiful art thou, and how pleasant ! thou 
 love with many delights !" i.e. " thou beloved of the 
 great God, with all thy various graces, privileges, attrac- 
 tions, and excellent qualities, with thy peace of soul, and 
 
324 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 serenity of conscience, with thy happiness in time and with 
 the sure hope of future glory in eternity; thou art truly 
 beautiful at present ; but how pleasant (or sweet) wilt 
 thou be when carrying forth the torch of light to the millions 
 that sit now in deep darkness I" Meanwhile the poor and 
 awakened daughters of Jerusalem longed for communion 
 with the holy and great God of Zion, and with his lovely 
 and highly privileged Church. But the high and insur- 
 mountable partition wall, the thundering and flaming Sinai, 
 with its complicated and severe law, and ceremonies, and 
 types, and shadows, and curses, and circumcisions, and lus- 
 trations, and sacrifices, and the yet entire vail, and the en- 
 closure which separated the court of the Gentiles from that 
 of Israel, stood in the way. In the following verses the 
 daughters of Jerusalem declare therefore their ardent 
 desire to join in the meantime the Church of God, but pray 
 the latter that she would make some concessions to them, 
 stoop down a little to them, instead of requiring them to 
 mount and climb the enormous and rugged height of Mount 
 Sinai on which she stood. 
 
 "This thy stature," i.e. as thou art constituted at present 
 under the Mosaic dispensation, on the summit of Sinai, " is 
 like a palm tree," i.e, enormously high, "and thy breasts 
 like its clusters," (or, " as the clusters thereof.") In the 
 East the trunk of the palm tree reaches a stupendous height 
 when its lower branches are regularly cut off below to make 
 *it push up. Its branches hang majestically round in the 
 form of an umbrella, and among them are suspended the 
 rich clusters of dates, sometimes of the astonishing weight 
 of between twenty and thirty pounds each. The sense, 
 therefore, of this sublime image is, that the daughters of 
 Jerusalem declare that they knew how to value the riches 
 of the blessings attached to that dispensation, the high 
 privileges, blessings, and precious fruits of communion with 
 the Church of God, but that the tree from amongst whose 
 branches these rich fruits are suspended was immensely 
 high, and quite impossible to be reached by them in their 
 present state, i.e. that the Law, with its hard conditions, 
 was so lofty, so difficult to fulfil, that it would only be heart- 
 rending for them to look up to the precious fruits and rich 
 nourishment which it offers to the soul, while they could 
 not reach it. In the following verses, therefore, these 
 
CHAPTER VII. 7 — 10. 325 
 
 starving souls declare their determination to try and climb 
 that palm tree, that mount of Sinai, that height of the Law, 
 but pray the Church to pity them, to reduce her clusters to 
 a lower standard, to make them as low as those of the vine, 
 that their attempt might not be in vain. 
 
 " I say (or, I resolved, I determined), I will go up on 
 this palm tree (or, I will climb up, &c.), I will lay hold on 
 its branches" fSansinav means the small stumps or protu- 
 berances, left from the cut off branches below, which are 
 round about the stem, and form a natural ladder for the 
 Arab to climb up its lofty trunk ; but mark, it does not 
 mean the real branches on high, among which is the fruit.) 
 " But I pray thee, let thy breasts be as the clusters of the 
 vine, and the odour of thy breath like citrons," i.e.j We 
 shall try and do our utmost to climb up the tree of that 
 holy and exalted religion as far as it is possible for us, we 
 shall cut down all our idols, abandon the lusts of the flesh, 
 the pride of the eye, the foolish vanities of this world (climb 
 up on the stumps of its cut off branches, obey its prohibiting 
 laws and commandments), but we despair of ever being able 
 to reach its real branches and the precious fruits of this tall 
 tree of life if it remain at its present height. We pray thee 
 therefore to pity us, to remember that we are but weak in- 
 quirers, newly come out of the thick darkness accumulated 
 for many ages, and to stoop a little down to reach us the 
 "breasts of thy consolations," as a loving mother does to 
 her tender babe, to lower down the rich clusters with the 
 precious fruits of thy religion (thy doctrines, conditions, and 
 covenant rules), to the height of a cluster of the vine which 
 a child can reach ; " and let the odour of thy breath," 
 let thy language, instructions, and comfort, be encourag- 
 ing, cheering, refreshing to us " like citrons." Here the 
 reader will remember that when the Bride was represented 
 in chap. ii. 5 as overwhelmed and " faint with love," she 
 requested her attendants to " supporther with citrons ;" now 
 it is the daughters of Jerusalem who hunger and thirst after 
 righteousness, who long and faint for communion with the 
 God of Zion and His Church, and who pray the latter to 
 strengthen and refresh them by making her consoling and 
 comforting words to them like the odour of citrons. And 
 not only this, but they also request the Bride to intercede 
 the Bridegroom for them to procure for them His divine 
 
326 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 favour, that when they are accepted as children, and become 
 members of the Church they might address to Hira their 
 own prayers, praises, and adorations. 
 
 To this purpose they request the Bride that " her mouth" 
 (or palate) should be as the '' choicest wine." Both figure 
 and substance are clear in this phrase, which means that 
 her intercessory prayers should have in a spiritual sense 
 tlie quality of good wine. The operation of the wine in 
 the figure, and the efficacy of the interceding prayer in 
 the substance, are divided into two branches, 1st, that of 
 ^^".T^' ''";'''' '^'^~ (Holech ledodi lemeisharim) "going (or pas- 
 sing, or reaching), to my Beloved straightly (smoothly or 
 pleasantly), i.e., that thy interceding prayer for us may, 
 like the choice wine poured on the altar of sacrifice, mount 
 directly towards heaven, and be accepted by my Beloved 
 (mark, this is the first time that the daughters of Jerusalem 
 call the God of Zion their Beloved), as a sweet smelling 
 savour ; and 2d, " Causing the lips of the sleeping to speak," 
 i.e., pray for us that the Lord may "open our lips, that our 
 mouths may show forth His praise" — that we who slept so 
 long during the dark night of our misery may also begin to 
 adore the God of heaven in spirit and in truth. Perhaps 
 there is here allusion to the manner in which the. Israelites 
 were wont to repeat silently the prayer made aloud, either 
 by the priest in the temple, or by the leader or precentor in 
 their synagogues, when their lips only moved (lisped, and 
 which is the meaning of =^?.'''"' [Dovev] " causing to lisp "), 
 but their voice was not heard for otherwise there would have 
 been confusion. Such was the prayer of Hanna, the 
 mother of the prophet Samuel ; but as individual and ex- 
 temporary prayers were usually made in a loud voice, the 
 high-priest Eli feared that her lisping might be the effect of 
 the excitement of wine ; but the pious woman explained to 
 llim the real reason, that it was the heaviness of her heart, 
 and that her petition was such that she could not make it 
 aloud (I Sam. i.). Thus the meaning of our phrase may be 
 that while the Church was invited to offer an ardent prayer 
 on behalf of the daughters of Jerusalem, the latter said, that 
 they would silently repeat it after her, as was customary in 
 these days ; and the beauty of the image loses nothing, and 
 thel substance is clearly seen and needs no farther ex- 
 planation. 
 
CHAPTER. VII. 7 — 10. 327 
 
 Now that we have seen the spiritual sense of the passage, 
 we have only to show that the images employed in it are 
 not strangers in Scripture. In the Church of God there is 
 beauty, sweetness, and " love with many delights." David 
 said, " How excellent (or precious) is thy loving-kindness, 
 God ! therefore the children of men put their trust under 
 the shadow of thy wings. They shall be abundantly satis- 
 fied with the fatness of thy house ; and thou shalt make 
 them drink of the rivers of thy pleasures."* " Blessed is 
 the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto 
 thee, that he may dwell in thy courts ; we shall be satisfied 
 with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple."-J- 
 It is this tr^-asure that the daughters of Jerusalem had dis- 
 covered — they desired to hide themselves under the shadow 
 of Jehovah's wings ; and to be able to say too, " My soul 
 shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth 
 shall praise thee with joyful lips."| Solomon makes here 
 the daughter of Jerusalem compare the Church to a stately 
 palm-tree, and David said, " I am as a green olive-tree in 
 the house of God."§ " The righteous shall flourish like the 
 palm-tree; he shall grow (vigorously) like the cedar in 
 Lebanon." II All the other images in our passage will be 
 found in the following, " They shall lament for the teats, 
 for the delightful field, for the fruitful vine."*!! " That the 
 images here stand for fruits of righteousness, for the spiritual 
 and delicious food of Jehovah's temple, and for the joy and 
 happiness of His children in the privileges of His covenant, 
 we see from what follows, " Until the Spirit be poured on us 
 from on high, and the wilderness become like Carrael. . . . 
 And judgment dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness 
 be established in Carmel. And the work of righteousness 
 shall be peace, and the efi'ect of righteousness, quietness, 
 and assurance for ever," &c.** *' I will be as the dew unto 
 Israel; He shall blossom as a lily, and cast forth his roots 
 like Lebanon. His branches shall spread, and his beauty 
 shall be as the olive-tree, and his smell as Lebanon. They 
 that dwell under his shadow shall return (be converted unto 
 God), they shall revive as the corn, and blossom as the 
 vine ; the mentioning of His name shall be as the wine of 
 
 * Ps. xxxvi. 7, 8. t Ps. Ixv. 4. + Ps. Ixiii. 5. § Ps. lii. 8 
 I] Pa. xcii. 12. ^ Is. xxxii. 12. ♦* Is. xxxii. 15—17 
 
328 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 Lebanon."* " The mouth of the righteous is a well of life. 
 
 . . . The lips of the righteous feed many 
 
 The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable."-]- These 
 passages amply explain that of the Song. 
 
 Such then are the images, by which the Spirit of God 
 foretold by Solomon the future hungering and thirsting of 
 the Gentile nations after the communion of the only true 
 and living God, and that while they would wait patiently 
 for the promised day of their visitation, for the appearance 
 of the great Deliverer to whom shall be the gathering of 
 the Gentiles, they would in the meantime implore the Old 
 Covenant Church to receive them into communion, but 
 begging her not to insist upon their climbing the whole 
 height of her exalted law, or in the language of Peter, not 
 " To put a yoke on the neck of the disciples, which neither 
 our fathers nor we were able to bear." J The interesting 
 history of the Gentile Church at Antioch, which was so 
 much troubled even in the apostolic days, but which so 
 heartily rejoiced when she received the decision of the 
 Church of Jerusalem, that it was by faith in Christ, and not 
 by the works of the law, that Jew and Gentile are saved in 
 Christ, is the best explanation of our passage. From it 
 also we may infer what their state must have been before 
 Christ's coming, when "great multitudes" demanded ad- 
 mission into the Church, but were told that they must be 
 circumcised and fulfil the whole law and keep all its com- 
 mandments and ordinances, and lay its curse upon them- 
 selves (for to fulfil it was impossible, and none ever did), 
 and when even on these hard conditions, only the third 
 generation of the proselyte was admitted to all its privi- 
 
 But we must observe that this was not an arbitrary dealing 
 on the part of the ancient Church. Unjust and erroneous 
 as were the views of some Judaising Christians in the days 
 of the apostles, forgetful or ignorant as they were of so many 
 passages of Scripture which clearly foretold that in the Mes- 
 sianic New Covenant the Gentiles would come not to the 
 ceremonial works of the law, but to the spiritual temple of 
 God built by faith, not to Sinai but to Zion, and that " the 
 righteous then shall live by faith" and not by dead works ; 
 
 ♦ Ho8. xiv. 5-7. t Pro. x. 11, 21, 32. 
 
 t Acts XV 10. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 1 1 . 329 
 
 still as long as the temple stood, and the Old Covenant was 
 in all its vigour, and its conditions and obligations immu- 
 table, it was not in the power of the Church to make con- 
 cessions. As long as the " partition-wall" continued, and 
 the vail remained entire, and before the *' new and living 
 way" was consecrated by Him who is " the way, the 
 truth, and the life," that ancient Church had it not in her 
 power to change the conditions of the law on any pretext 
 whatever. The great work of breaking down and demolish- 
 ing that partition-wall was long before assigned by the pro- 
 phets to the " precious corner-stone laid in Zion," and neither 
 man nor angel could anticipate it a single hour. Hence 
 the Church answered the demand. 
 
 THE CHUKCH. 
 
 11. I am my Beloved's (or, for my Beloved), 
 And His desire is towards me (or for me.) 
 
 " You daughters of Jerusalem, you Gentile nations have 
 no right yet to call my God your 'Beloved,' " for " I am 
 for my Beloved," the only chosen one, and so I must remain 
 until He come to introduce the new dispensation. " And 
 His desire is toward me" (upon, or, for me), such is His 
 desire that I remain separate from all the nations until He 
 come. Indeed this was His own statement in chap. vi. 8, 
 9, that though there were threescore queens, fourscore con- 
 cubines, and virgins without number, His dove. His beloved 
 and chosen Church, was " only one," and so she was des- 
 tined to remain until the appointed time. To enter that 
 Church under the old dispensation no one could retain his 
 nationality, but was obliged to be absorbed in the house of 
 Israel, and on the condition mentioned by David, " Hearken, 
 daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear ; forget also 
 thine own people, and thy father's house ; so shall the king 
 greatly delight in thy beauty ; for He is thy Lord, and 
 worship thou Him."* Full obedience to the law of Moses, 
 entire submission to all its ceremonies, commandments, 
 statutes, and ordinances, complete abandonment of nation- 
 ality, family ties, habits, and affections, and the resolution 
 of Ruth the Moabitess,-|- were all required before one could 
 
 « Ps. xlv. 10, 11. t Ruth i. 16, 17. 
 
330 
 
 THE SONG OP SOLOMON. 
 
 become a member of that Church. But this was a height 
 to which the multitudes of the awakened daughters of Jeru- 
 salem could not climb. Their only alternative therefore 
 was to wait patiently and prayerfully until the Shiloh should 
 come and prepare ihe way, and send His Church to invite 
 them and speak peace to their souls. In the above quoted 
 examples from the Acts of the Apostles we saw that they 
 did so. Not able as yet to enter the temple of the Lord at 
 Jerusalem, they entered the synagogues and joined the 
 daughter of Zion in prayer, and heard the law and the pro- 
 phets read, and rejoiced in the promises regarding the day of 
 their visitation. Meanwhile the Church was not indifferent to 
 their requests and condition ; for though she could make no 
 concessions to them, she is represented in the following pas- 
 sage as praying the Lord to hasten His coming and^bring 
 salvation to those lonely strangers who knocked at the door 
 of His sanctuary. 
 
 THE CHURCH (continued.) 
 
 12. Come, my Beloved, 
 
 Let us go forth into the fields ; 
 Let us lodge in the villages. 
 
 13. Let us get up early to the vineyards ; 
 Let us see if the vine flourish, 
 
 Whether the tender grape appear (developed) 
 If the pomegranates bud forth — 
 There will I give my friends unto Thee. 
 
 14. The mandrakes diffused an odour, 
 
 And at our gates are various delicious spices ; 
 Both new and old, my Beloved, 
 Have I laid up for Thee. 
 
 The prophet Zephaniah said in the name of the Lord, 
 regarding the Messianic period, " For then will I turn unto 
 the nations (Q^^? amim means ' the Gentile nations' every 
 where. See amim in connection with Shiloh, Gen. xlix. 
 10) a pure language, that they may all call upon the name 
 of the Lord to serve him with one consent. . . Sing, 
 daughter of Zion, shout, Israel ; be glad and rejoice with 
 all the heart, daughter of Jerusalem (probably meaning 
 the Gentile nations who would also call on the name of the 
 
CHAPTER VII. 12 — 14. 331 
 
 Lord.) The Lord hath taken away (or removed) thy judg- 
 ment ; he hath ca^t out thine enemy (i.e., removed the 
 curse of the law along with it) ; the King of Israel, even 
 the Lord, is in the midst of thee : tliou shalt not see evil 
 any more."* The first signs of the fulfilment of this glori- 
 ous prophecy appeared at the period of which this chapter of 
 the Song treats. Then the daughter of Zion saw that a 
 " pure language " was already given to multitudes of Gen- 
 tiles " to call upon the name of the Lord," and to express 
 an ardent desire " to serve him with one consent." Hence 
 the ancient Church perceived that the coming of her Lord 
 and King could not be afar off, — that the partition wall, the 
 continual lawsuit, the weight of the curse of the law upon 
 herself, and the "covering vail spread over all nations," 
 must soon be removed, and the faithful and God-fearing 
 " daughters of Jerusalem" incorporated in the one universal 
 Church of the living God. And though she had no power 
 to make any concessions to these knocking and waiting 
 " daughters of Jerusalem," as long as the old exclusive Cove- 
 nant was yet valid and not superseded by the New Cove- 
 nant, she did what she could in praying to her heavenly 
 Bridegroom to hasten His coming, and the fulfilment of His 
 precious promises to the Gentile nations. 
 
 " Come, my Beloved, let us go forth into the fields, let 
 us lodge in the villages." Surprising language this for the 
 daughter of Zion, for the ancient Church who was always so 
 strongly attached to her Mount Zion, Moriah, Temple, and 
 Jerusalem ! But since she had been deprived of the Ark 
 and Cherubim, and of the presence of her Lord in the midst 
 of them, and since she had seriously examined the signs of 
 the times in connection with the numerous and explicit 
 Messianic prophecies, she distinctly saw that when the King 
 should come to introduce the New Covenant, the true wor- 
 ship of God would no longer be confined to Jerusalem, — 
 that everywhere the " God who is a Spirit would be wor- 
 shipped in spirit and in truth," — and that she would then 
 have to go forth, along with her Beloved (" And, lo, I am 
 with you alway, unto the end of the world"), into the length 
 and breadth of the wilderness of this world, in order to turn 
 it into an Eden, and to visit its " fields and villages," and 
 
 * Zeph. iii. 9, 14, 15. 
 
832 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 cultivate there the plants of righteousness. In the sublime 
 chapter in Ezekiel where the Lord rebuked the bad shep- 
 herds of Israel, and promised to His flock to send them the 
 great and good Shepherd, we read, "And I will set up one 
 Shepherd over them . . . even my servant David, and 
 he shall feed them. ... I the Lord will be their God, 
 
 and my servant David a Prince among them 
 
 And I will make with them a covenant of peace . . . 
 and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in 
 the woods."* This is exactly the object of the invitation 
 addressed by the Bride to her Bridegroom in the passage 
 before us, praying the great Prince of Peace of the house of 
 David to come, that they should go forth into the countries, 
 towns, and villages, and sow everywhere the precious seed, 
 and plant the plants of righteousness, and fill the earth with 
 delicious fruit to the glory of His name. 
 
 Regarding the images employed in verses 13 and 14, that 
 they would see " if the vine flourish, if the tender grape 
 appear, if the pomegranates bud," &c., it is not difficult to 
 perceive that they signify the spiritual state and progress 
 of the Gentile nations, of the new plants among the daugh- 
 ters of Jerusalem, which were languishing for the watering 
 season, for the coming of their Saviour, and the outpouring 
 of His Spirit upon His Church, and for sending her forth to 
 plant, water, and cultivate them, and making them produce 
 precious fruits for the honour and glory of His Father in 
 heaven. And therefore what was once called " one vine- 
 yard" is now called by the Church herself, " vineyards," 
 for the question is no more regarding the one exclusive 
 Church at Jerusalem, but regarding the many churches to 
 be established throughout the countries, towns, and fields 
 and villages of the Gentiles, though all these branches form 
 still but one Church universal, under the One Head who is 
 Christ. Hence also the Bride, the daughter of Zion, or 
 ancient Church, said with regard to that happy period, 
 " There" — namely, in those " fields and villages" in Sama- 
 ria, Antioch, Corinth, Macedonia, Berea, Asia, Africa, and 
 Europe — " There will I give my friends (""T^, Dodai, my 
 friends, my beloved companions) unto Thee." Not in Jeru- 
 Kalem only, but in the world at large, wherever we shall 
 
 * Ezek. xxxiv. 23—25. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 12 — 14. 333 
 
 find waiting lilies, praying roses, willing plants, I will in- 
 troduce them in marriage unto Thee, and bring them into 
 the bond of Thy covenant, as plants which have been bought 
 with a great price and belong to Thee. (The word 1??, Ten, 
 is always employed in Scripture for " giving in marriage.")* 
 And it was the ancient Church who was destined to give 
 the daughters of Jerusalem in marriage to her Beloved, to 
 introduce the Gentile believers into the bond of the New 
 Covenant, as David said in his beautiful Psalm, which was 
 to serve for an outline to our Song, " Virgins in rich attire 
 shall she (the Church) lead to the King" (Ps. xlv. 14. See 
 our new Translation of the Psalms on this passage.) And 
 so said the great ambassador of Christ and the representa- 
 tive of the daughter of Zion, to the already espoused 
 daughters of Jerusalem, " For I am jealous over you with 
 Godly jealousy : for I have espoused you to one Husband, 
 that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. "-|- 
 
 With regard to the frequency of the application in fecrip- 
 ture in general of plants, flowers, and fruits, as the repre- 
 sentatives of spiritual things, in the same way as those in 
 the Song, and especially in the passage before us, we shall 
 add the following example to those which have already been 
 advanced. When the prophet Joel speaks of the destruc- 
 tion of Jerusalem, and of the captivity of the Church in 
 Babylon, he says, " For a nation is come up upon my land, 
 strong and without number. . . . He hath laid m}'- 
 vine waste, and barked my fig-tree. . . . Lament like 
 a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth. 
 The meat-offering and the drink-offering is cut off from the 
 house of the Lord : the priests, the Lord's ministers mourn. 
 . . . The vine is dried up, and the fig-tree languishes ; 
 the pomegranite-tree, the palm-tree, and the apple-tree, 
 even all the trees of the field are v.ithered, because joy hath 
 withered away from the sons of men. "J While these are 
 the melancholy pictures of spiritual desolations, suffering, 
 misery, and destitution, the same images are used by the 
 prophet to depict the spiritual joy and prosperity of the 
 restored Church and in Messianic days, " Fear not, 
 
 * Gen. xxxiv. 8, 12, 14, 16, 21, xli. 46; Ex. ii. 21, xxi. 4 ; 1 Sam. 
 xviii. 17, 19, 21, 27, &c., &c. 
 
 t 2 Cor. xi. 2. + Joel i. 6-13. 
 
334 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 earth, be glad and rejoice ; for the Lord will do great 
 things. Be not afraid ye beasts of the field ; for the pas- 
 tures in the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her 
 fruit, the fig-tree and the vine do yield their strength. Be 
 glad then ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your 
 God ; for He hath given you the Teacher of Righteousness, 
 and he will bring down unto you the rain, even the former 
 and the latter rain in abundance" or "in excellency."* 
 
 In the last verse of this chapter the Bride sums up the 
 signs of the times as the reason for His speedy appearance, 
 *' The mandrakes difiused an odour, and at our gates are 
 various delicious spices " (or " delightful things ") — i.e., 
 the field is prepared for Thy visit, beautiful flowers wait 
 eagerly for Thy coming to water them with Thy Spirit, to 
 make them bud and blossom through the influence of the 
 Sun of Righteousness. The awakened, praying, and longing 
 daughters of Jerusalem are knocking at our gates desiring 
 admission for communion. " Both new and old," i.e., such 
 as have continued for the time in prayer and supplication 
 awaiting Thy coming, and such as are daily added to them 
 and swell their number ; but " my Beloved, I have 
 laid them up for Thee," I can do nothing for them until 
 Thou come and prepare the way, and give me orders to go 
 forth, and speak peace to them in Thy name. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Argument of the four first verses of this Chapter which 
 belong to, and form the conclusion of, the third part of 
 the Song. 
 
 (Vv. 1—2.) The ardent prayers of the ancient Church for the com- 
 ing of the Covenant Angel into His temple, for the appearance of 
 Messiah in the flesh, as a son of Zion, and the expressions of the joy 
 which this would cause to her, and how she would receive and enter- 
 tain Him. (V. 3.) The celebration of His appearance. (V. 4.) The 
 third conjuration of the Church addressed to the daughters of Jerusa- 
 lem not to disturb the love till it reach perfection. 
 
 * Joel ii. 21—24. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 1,2. 335 
 
 THE CHURCH continues — 
 
 1. Oh that Thou wert as my brother, 
 Sucking the breasts of my mother ! 
 
 Then finding Thee without I would embrace Thee 
 And none would then despise me. 
 
 2. I would lead Thee and bring Thee 
 Into the house of my mother, 
 That Thou mightest instruct me ; 
 
 I would make Thee drink of the spiced wine — 
 Of the juice of the pomegranate. 
 
 This wonderful passage, which, along with the common 
 version, we have rendered in a conditional sense, might be 
 rendered also in a positive form. The ardent wish of the 
 Bride ^^l^?= "=5?.^^'? (Mi yitencha keach li) may be rendered 
 " Would that thou wert given soon as a brother unto me," 
 i.e., would that according to so many promises thy coming 
 into this world in the shape of a brother, bone of my bone, 
 and flesh of my flesh, partaker of the same human nature, 
 that thou wert a son of Zion as I am the daughter, may 
 speedily be realized and fulfilled. " Then I will embrace 
 Thee (instead of ' I would') .... I will lead Thee 
 . . Thou wilt instruct me ... I will make 
 Thee drink," &c., &c. The import of this ardent de- 
 sire of the ancient Church is clear enough when we 
 place it beside her prayer contained in the last three 
 verses of the foregoing chapter, where she implored that 
 he would speedily come to her; "Come, my Beloved, 
 let us go forth into the fields," &c. The last of her seers 
 had announced the coming of Messiah as at hand, and de- 
 
 Iclared that it would take place suddenly. " The Lord whom 
 ye seek shall suddenly come into his temple, even the 
 . Angel of the Covenant whom ye delight in ; behold, he 
 cometh, saith the Lord of Hosts."* It has already been 
 remarked above that the Church at that time compared her 
 Messianic oracles with the signs of the times. Having 
 seen so great numbers of the daughters of Jerusalem repeat- 
 edly knocking at her door for communion, and earnestly 
 waiting for the coming of Shiloh their deliverer, she became 
 
 * Mai. iii. 1 
 
336 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 more ardent and more constant in her prayer for His speedy 
 appearance. If it be asked, Who was that Church, seeing 
 that when " He came to His own," the great bulk of the 
 nation received Him not? we answer, that the faithful, 
 waiting, and praying Church of that time was represented 
 by the Josephs and Marys, Elizabeths and Zachariases, 
 Hannas and Simeons, and hundreds like them who were 
 " waiting for the consolation of Israel." From the fact 
 that the same Simeon said by the Holy Spirit, " Behold, 
 this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in 
 Israel ;" from the fact that the prophetess Anna (or Hanna) 
 " spake of Him (/.e., of the new-born child) to all them that 
 looked for redemption in Israel," we see that there were 
 great numbers who waited in fasting and prayer for the 
 coming of the Redeemer ; that though many of them, through 
 the influence of :he blinded, selfish, and then all-important 
 Scribes and Pharisees, the guardians and explainers of the 
 law, whose opinion was decisive, and fitted to lead astray 
 the best of men, fell back for a time and remained in obscu- 
 rity, they, according to Simeon's prophecy, recovered and 
 rose again to living faith soon after the blessed day of 
 Pentecost, when even many of the priests and Pharisees 
 were converted and swelled the numbers of the disci- 
 ples. And this very astonishing conflict was foretold by 
 the prophets. The same prophet who called the Messiah 
 *' Israel's delight," and " the Lord whom ye seek," also 
 adds, " But who will abide the day of His coming ? and 
 who shall stand when he appeareth?" z.e.. How few will be 
 the number of those who will immediately recognize Him 
 as the promised Messiah, as the Son of God, and stand by 
 Him as by the angel of the covenant come in the flesh ! 
 The apostle Paul speaks of the " blindness in part that hap- 
 pened unto Israel," as part of the mysterious plan of God 
 for the gathering in of the Gentiles, " Through their fall 
 salvation hath come unto the Gentiles." But this mass of 
 unbelieving Jews in the time of the apostles continued to 
 belong to the Church of God, and waited with the rest for 
 the salvation of God by Emanuel. When Christ came, and 
 they rejected Him, and even crucified Him, and refused 
 afterwards to accept the repeated invitation to repentance 
 and faith by their converted brethren, then the Christian 
 Jewish Church of Jerusalem was sent forth to invite the 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 1, 2. 337 
 
 Gentiles in their stead. These came with great joy and 
 joined the daughter of Zion, and occupied the place of that 
 mass of Jews who were concluded in unbelief, and were, 
 alas, to remain so (as a mass) until the " fulness of the Gen- 
 tiles be brought in," and then receive mercy through their 
 mercy, and be introduced to the Bridegroom by the medium 
 of the Gentile Church, as the Gentiles were once introduced 
 by the daughter of Zion, their elder sister, who embraced 
 Christ, and alone composed the Church at His advent and 
 until the calling in of the Gentiles, by whom she was not 
 only joined but absorbed. From what has been said it is 
 easily seen that the " little sister " of verse 8 are these 
 unbelieving Jews. 
 
 Seeing, therefore, how the ancient Church prayed for the 
 speedy coming of her Saviour, we understand her language 
 when she said, " Oh that Thou wert as my brother, sucking 
 the breasts of my mother !" The Apostle Paul explained 
 this language though indirectly : " For both he that sanc- 
 tifieth, and they that are sanctified, are all of one : for which 
 cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren. . . . 
 Forasmuch, then, as the children are partakers of flesh and 
 blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same. . . 
 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like 
 unto his brethren."* The Church longed and prayed for that 
 precious time, for the coming of the desired Covenant Angel in 
 the midst of her, in the shape of a brother after the flesh, the 
 son of mother Zion, brought up and educated under the law, 
 and in obedience to it, and within the bond of the ancient 
 covenant, thus partaking of the same spiritual food with 
 herself, and what she calls, " sucking the breasts of my mo- 
 ther." " Then," says she, " finding Thee without (or 
 abroad) I would (or will) embrace Thee." In her former 
 prayer she desired Him to come and go forth with her into 
 the fields and villages, there to cultivate flowers, to plant 
 gardens, which signified her going forth, in His company, 
 for the conversion of the Gentile nations. Hence she means 
 to say here, that then, or after His coming in the flesh, she 
 would embrace, acknowledge, and adore Him, not only in 
 Jerusalem, and on Mount Zion, and within the temple, but 
 " without," or " abroad," everywhere, in the wilderness, 
 
 * Heb. ii. 11—18. 
 
338 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 among the Gentiles, in their cities, towns, and villages — 
 " And none would (or will) then despise me," (or, "reproach 
 me"). This seemingly strange expression can be easily 
 explained hj several passages in Scripture. Isaiah said, 
 regarding the Messianic period, that when the thick cover- 
 ing, the separating " vail which is spread over all the na- 
 tions," shall be torn and removed at Jerusalem, then the 
 Lord will " remove the reproach of His people from all the 
 earth."* Ezekiel, when speaking of the great Shepherd 
 whom the Lord would raise up to feed His scattered flock, 
 says in the name of God, " And I will raise up for them (or 
 unto them) a Plant of Renown, and they shall be no more 
 consumed with hunger (spiritual hunger) in the land, neither 
 shall they bear any more the reproach of the Gentiles." f 
 Joel, in his prophecy about the "Teacher of righteousness" 
 to be given unto the Church, says : " And ye shall praise 
 the name of the Lord your God, that hath dealt wondrously 
 with you ; and my people shall never be ashamed. And ye 
 shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am 
 the Lord your God, and that there is none else : and my 
 people shall never be ashamed. "J The same prophet in the 
 same chapter tells us what that reproach of Israel among 
 the nations was : " And let them say (e.e., the priests and 
 ministers of God), Spare thy people, Lord, and expose 
 not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen make a by- 
 word of them : wherefore should they say among the nations, 
 Where is their God?"§ Here we see that the reproach of 
 captive Israel among the heathen nations was twofold, 1st, 
 Because of their calamities, dispersion, and sufferings, and 
 2cl, Because they worshipped an invisible, and to the heathen 
 an unknown God. This twofold reproach of Israel from 
 the Gentile nations was to be removed by two events, 1st, 
 By the removal of the "covering veil" from the eyes of the 
 blinded heathen, and by shewing them that the invisible 
 God of Israel is the only true and living God ; and 2d, By 
 raising to Israel the " Plant of Renown," by the coming of 
 the Saviour of Jew and Gentile from the family of Israel 
 according to the flesh, and by showing to the Gentiles that 
 the dispersion of Israel among them was greatly conducive 
 
 * Is. XXV. 7, 8. t Ezek. xxxiv. 29. 
 
 I Joel ii. 26, 27. § Joel ii. 17. 
 
CHAPTER VIIT. 1, 2. 339 
 
 to their own salvation, in having prepared them for Christ. 
 Hence the suffering Church said : " Rejoice not over me, 
 mine enemy, when I fall (or though I fall), I shall rise 
 again ; when I sit in darkness the Lord is a light unto me. 
 . . . He shall bring me forth to the light, and I shall 
 behold his righteousness. Then she that is mine enemy 
 shall see it, and shame shall cover her who said unto me, 
 Where is the Lord thy God?"* And Isaiah said about 
 the comforted mourners of Zion, " And their seed shall be 
 known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the 
 nations ; all that see them shall acknowledge them that they 
 are the seed which the Lord hath blessed. "-j- 
 
 In the second verse the Bride promised to her Beloved 
 that on His coming she would lead Him into her mother's 
 house, and that while she would there receive instruction 
 from Him, she would recompense Him with spiced wine and 
 juice of pomegranates. In chap. iii. 4 the same Bride told 
 us that in the days of David and Solomon she had found 
 her long absent Beloved, that she laid hold on Him and 
 would not let Him go, until she had brought Him into the 
 house of her mother ; and there it was clear enough that 
 she referred to the sanctuary which David had prepared on 
 Mount Zion, and which Solomon afterwards changed into 
 His magnificent temple on Moriah, which sanctuary the 
 Bride styled " her mother's house," being Zion's palace. 
 Nor can there be the least doubt that the same expression 
 in this verse signifies any thing else, but that she would bring 
 Him into the temple for two purposes ; that He might there 
 instruct her about His New Covenant, and that she might 
 regale Him with her love, faith, praise, prayer, thanksgiving, 
 and obedience, all which are represented by the figure of 
 spiced wine, and the juice of pomegranate. Moreover, we 
 know that the blessed Saviour came several times into mother 
 Zion's house, the temple, to which the prophets of old pro- 
 mised that honour centuries before its fulfilment. The first 
 time He was brought there a tender babe, and though He 
 could not then instruct by Himself, the Holy Spirit did the 
 work for Him, for He instructed Simeon, and Anna, and 
 other sainf.s, who brought the promised spiced wine (praise 
 and adoration) and offered it to the blessed child, and to the 
 
 » Mic. vii. 8-10. t Is. Ixi. 9. 
 
 p2 
 
340 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 Father in heaven who sent Him. When He was twelve 
 years old He was again brought into it, when He intro- 
 duced Himself into the midst of the doctors, " both hearing 
 them, and asking them questions. And all that heard Him 
 were astonished at His understanding and answers." When 
 His parents remonstrated with Him for having absented 
 Himself without their knowledge. His answer was, " How 
 is it that 3^e sought me ? Wist ye not that I must be 
 about my Father's business ?"* During the few years 
 of His official ministry, He went up several times to Jeru- 
 salem, on the occasion of the feasts of the Passover and 
 tabernacles, and instructed multitudes there in the temple. 
 At last the Bride who found and embraced Him brought 
 Him into her mother's house with great solemnity, and 
 with shouts of triumph and joy ; "• and when He was come 
 nigh, even now at the descent at the Mount of Olives, the 
 whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice, and to 
 praise God with a loud voice, for all the mighty works that 
 they had seen: Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh 
 in the name of the Lord ; praise in heaven, and glory in 
 the highest. "■]- 
 
 There is something very remarkable in the emphasis 
 which the prophets of old, in their oracles regarding the 
 Messiah's coming, laid upon the fact of Ilis coming into the 
 temple^ to honour it with His presence, and fill it with His 
 glory ; and if we consider seriously what that temple repre- 
 sented under the Mosaic economy, and that the Angel of 
 that Covenant was now to come (in the flesh), to enter it, to 
 glorify His law in fulfilling it, and to wind up as it were all 
 the affairs belonging to that economy, and put on it His 
 own seal to show, that though it was only a preparatory 
 dispensation, j^i it was holy and ordained by God, and that 
 therefore not the smallest part of it could be violated until 
 it should all be fulfilled ; we say that when we consider 
 these things, we need not be surprised at the weight which 
 the seers of old laid upon the event of His coming into His 
 tenmle. Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi were clear and 
 explicit on this subject, and this passage of the Song, which 
 is nothing else but a wonderful oracle revealed long before 
 by the Holy Spirit to Solomon, distinctly declares the same 
 
 * Luke ii. 40—52. f Luke, xix. 37, 38. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 3. 341 
 
 event, in the form of a promise by the Bride to introduce Him 
 into that temple when He came. In connection with the 
 above observation, it is really astonishing to see another fact, 
 viz., that often as Jesus was in His temple, great as was the 
 authority He assumed in attacking the merchants, in over- 
 turning the tables of the money changers, and in treating 
 them in the language they deserved — hard as were His 
 doctrines, offensive as were His rebukes, and severe as was 
 His condemnation of His deadly enemies, the least insult 
 was never offered to Him in that house ! He was always 
 listened to by the great and heterogeneous multitudes with 
 the greatest reverence and decorum, and always praised 
 and admired. Once his enemies dared to send men to lay 
 hands on Him while teaching there, but as soon as they 
 entered they were fascinated by the majesty of the Angel of 
 the Covenant, and were unable to move ; and when asked 
 by their wicked rulers why they had not executed their 
 order, they answered that they could not, for " never any 
 man spake like this man." Was not this an extraordinary 
 and mysterious work of Omnipotent Providence, that never 
 for a SxQgle moment, and never by a single person, the Angel 
 of the Covenant was slighted or disturbed, or interrupted 
 while in His temple ? Was not this intended to show to 
 His blinded and enraged enemies that He was Lord of that 
 temple, and that in it no power under heaven could dispute 
 or slight His divine authority 1 In the country, in Galilee, 
 and other places. He was several times interrupted in His 
 teaching, abandoned by the multitudes, and even threatened 
 with violence ; but nothing of the kind ever occurred in the 
 temple. The promise of His Bride was thus literally exe- 
 cuted. She led Him, and brought Him into her mother's 
 house, and there while He gave her instruction, she yielded 
 to Him obedience, love, praise, and reverence. 
 
 While we have thus endeavoured to explain the first two 
 verses, in which the Bride still implored His speedy arrival, 
 we have largely introduced the reality of His coming into 
 His temple, which the Bride announces in the next verse. 
 
 3. His left hand is under my head, 
 And His right hand embraceth me. 
 
 Once before the Bride used this expression in chap. ii. 6, 
 
342 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 and it was explained there to refer to the memorable day at 
 Mount Sinai, when, on the eighth day of the feast of the de- 
 dication of the tabernacle (the general dedication feast for 
 the whole nation) the fire from heaven descended upon 
 the altar of sacrifice before the eyes of all the people of 
 Israel ; when the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle, and 
 a splendid light was spread over it like a fiery covering, and 
 the pillar of cloud and fire surrounded Israel's camp, then 
 the astonished and adoring Bride exclaimed, " His left hand 
 is under my head, and His right hand embraceth me."* No 
 such expression was employed by the Bride even in her en- 
 thusiastic description of the solemnities that took place on 
 the dedication of Solomon's temple,-]- for though on that 
 day, too, the fire from heaven came down upon the altar, 
 and the glory of the Lord filled the temple, it was by no 
 means such a clear, such a striking and visible manifesta-* 
 tion of the divine glory and splendour of the Covenant 
 Angel as that at Sinai. In Solomon's temple nothing waa 
 visible after the smoke and cloud filled it, while at Mount 
 Sinai the glory of the Lord was displayed in a visible man- 
 ner before all Israel, and continued so for a long time by 
 day and by night : " For the cloud of the Lord was on the 
 tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight 
 of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journey. "J 
 It is very remarkable that these two extraordinary mani- 
 festations of the Lord to His Bride, the Church, have taken 
 place only twice, once at the ratification of the Old Cove- 
 nant, made by the first sacrifices ofi:ered on the altar of the 
 newly erected tabernacle in the wilderness, and the second 
 time at the coming of the Covenant Angel into His temple to 
 make an end of sacrifice and oblation, to seal up and abolish the 
 old, and introduce the New Covenant. Then He appeared 
 in a bright cloud of fiery splendour, at the ratification of the 
 old covenant made and sealed by the blood of bulls and 
 goats, sprinkled by Aaron, the mortal high priest, upon the 
 sanctuary, and its vessels and altars, and upon Israel His 
 Bride ; but now He came in the flesh, wrapped not in a 
 fiery cloud, but in a body of flesh and blood, bearing as it 
 were upon Himself the great sacrifice which He Himself, 
 
 * See our remarks there. f See chap. iii. 4 — 11, and explanation. 
 t Ex. xl. 38. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 3. 343 
 
 as the everlasting High-priest after the order of Melchize- 
 dek, came to oflfer once for ever, and to enter Jehovah's sanc- 
 tuary with His own precious blood, and make atonement 
 and propitiation for the sins of His redeemed Bride. Though 
 He now appeared in a body of flesh, He was not less " the 
 brightness of Jehovah's glory, and the express mage of 
 His person," and His Bride could say, " He dwelt among 
 us, and we beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten 
 of the Father, full of grace and truth." It is of that mani- 
 festion of the Son of God to His Church that Solomon (who 
 so clearly saw the Son of God descending from and ascend- 
 ing back into heaven, Pro v. xxx. 1 — 5), speaking by the 
 Spirit of God of His coming " in the flesh to His temple," 
 made the Bride exclaim again, " His left hand is under ray 
 head, and his right hand embraceth me." And this was now 
 no figurative language as that of David when he says, 
 " The Angel of the Lord encarapeth round about them that 
 fear Him, and delivereth them" — it was no more a spiritual 
 image like that ; " as the mountains are round about Jeru- 
 salem, so is the Lord round about His people," but now it 
 was a wonderful and literal reality. Such was the ever- 
 lasting love of God to immortal souls, such the Divine com- 
 passion of our Saviour over sinners, that He left for a while 
 heaven's inconceivable splendour, and the bosom of His 
 Father, and came down to embrace His Church, to feed 
 His flock, to bear the lambs in His bosom, to open the eyes 
 of the blind, to heal the sick and wounded, to raise the 
 dead, and at last to lay down His life for His sheep. Those 
 60uls especially which His father gave unto Him while on 
 earth, those favoured children of the kingdom who were 
 with and about Him, who saw His glory and power in all 
 the miracles He performed, who drank so freely of His 
 Divine love, who witnessed His celestial magnificence on 
 the mount of transfiguration, and whom He kept, cherished, 
 and loved to the end, they could surely say, " His left hand 
 is under my head, and His right hand embraceth me." But 
 this was and must be even now the language of every child 
 of God in whose heart the love of Christ is planted, and 
 whose body has become a temple of the Holy Spirit. Every 
 one of His redeemed flock feels that Christ is in him, with 
 him and around him, even according to His parting promise 
 to His Bride. 
 
344 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 4. I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem. . , , 
 Wherefore should ye stir up, 
 And why should ye disturb this love, 
 Until it hath (or shall) become perfect I 
 
 There are two features in the style and form of this verse 
 which materially distinguish this adjuration of the Bride to 
 the daughters of Jerusalem, from those addressed to them 
 on two former occasions. In chap. ii. 7, and in chap. iii. 5, 
 the Bride was reported as having charged the daughters of 
 Jerusalem, or the Gentile nations, not to stir up or disturb 
 the love before it should be ripe, or before it had accom- 
 plished the covenant conditions (see explanation of figure 
 and substance on chap. ii. 7). In both the former occasions 
 the Bride took the hinds and roes of the field to witness, 
 according to the ancient eastern custom, as was explained 
 on the occurrence of this figure, but in this verse they 
 appear no more. On both the former occasions it is ^'^'^'^,^ ^jk 
 (Im tairu) " If ye stir up," and also in the next phrase 
 (Im teoreru) " If ye disturb," in a threatening and warn- 
 ing form, but in this verse it is '^'^^^.^ "^ (Mah tairu), "Where- 
 fore, or to what purpose, should ye disturb," as also in the 
 second repeated phrase (Uraah teoreru), " And why, or to 
 what purpose, should ye disturb ?" in a reasoning, inviting, 
 and counselling form. The reason of these changes is as 
 evident as important. 
 
 The two former charges were placed, one, after the mani- 
 festation of the Divine Majesty of the Covenant Angel, and 
 of His love to His Church on the day of the dedication of the 
 tabernacle at the foot of Mount Sinai ; and the other after 
 the manifestation of the Lord on the dedication of the temple 
 of Solomon. On both these occasions the old covenant was 
 in all its vigour (indeed on the former it was quite new 
 and in the freshness of youth), when the Church had yet to 
 remain for centuries confined to " the people of the God of 
 Abraham," who were " to dwell alone and not to be numbered 
 among the other nations," and when a holy jealousy on the 
 part of that Church for her exclusive rights, privileges, and 
 promises was necessary to her purity and spiritual welfare 
 and therefore repeatedly recommended and encouraged by 
 the prophets of God. It was then that the " royal priest 
 hood," the only holy and chosen nation, charged the heathen 
 
CHAPTER VII. 4. 545 
 
 nations to stand afar off, beyond the insurmountable parti- 
 tion wall, declaring to them openly and decidedly that they 
 had no part in her covenant with the God of Jacob, nor 
 any claim to partake of its blessings and privileges. These 
 defying declarations of Israel to the alien Gentile nations, 
 Solomon clothed in a poetical dress, and made it appear in 
 the form of an adjuration, produced by jealousy, and 
 nourished by a fear of rivalry. And the validity of the 
 charge being intended to last for a long period, the " roes 
 and hinds of the field were called to be witnesses," figures 
 beautifully adapted to the poetical construction of this Song 
 of love. 
 
 But the circumstances and condition of that Church have 
 entirely changed at the period to which the present passage 
 of our Song refers. Not only was the daughter of Zion no 
 more jealous of the daughters of Jerusalem, not only did she 
 entertain no fear of rivalry on the part of the Gentile 
 nations, but she had already offered up the most ardent 
 prayers on their behalf. She supplicated the speedy arrival 
 of the promised Shiloh, to remove the partition wall, and 
 the covering veil from the nations, and to go forth into the 
 fields and villages and gather those precious plants among 
 the daughters of Jerusalem that were knocking at the door for 
 communion. Why, then, does she still adjure those daughters 
 of Jerusalem, for whose incorporation and salvation she 
 prayed. Ah, it is now only about a matter of time and privi- 
 lege, a most glorious privilege, of which, however, the Bride 
 had every reason to be jealous with an holy jealousy. It was 
 to her that the glorious privilege was promised of introduc- 
 ing the " virgins in rich attire " to her Lord, and of " lead- 
 ing them with joy and exultation into the king's palaces." 
 It was the ancient Church that was appointed to carry the 
 light of the gospel among the Gentiles ; and it is for this 
 privilege that she pleads in this verse ; and how could she 
 be indifferent to it ?* Towards the end of the preceding 
 
 * The true and faithful Church of God, collectively as the universal 
 Church, and separately in the different communities, or Christian 
 Churches or Congregations, always was, is, and will be watching over, 
 and greedy and avaricious of her privileges ; and the more she is so the 
 more blessed, vigorous, and flourishing she is. Search the history of 
 those once flourishing but now entirely ruined and lifeless bodies (no 
 matter if they still call themselves Churches or not), and you will in- 
 variably find that a relaxation in watching over their privileges indi- 
 
 p3 
 
346 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 chapter, when she prayed her Beloved to come down and go 
 forth with her into the fields and villages, where there was a 
 rich harvest of precious plants and aromatic flowers (willing, 
 believing, wailing and praying souls among the Gentiles), 
 awaiting them at the very gates, where " new and old" 
 plants were waiting for His coming to water them with His 
 Spirit, she takes good care of her privileges, saying, " I have 
 laid up for Thee," i.e., I have prepared them, I have taught 
 them to know Thee, to wait and pray for Thy coming, but 
 I have reserved for myself the privilege of gathering them 
 for Thee, of making them to Thee a glorious crown. 
 
 The Lord Jesus on His coming not only approved, but 
 encouraged that holy jealousy in His disciples, whom He 
 came to enrich with blessings and privileges, but not to 
 deprive them of any ; " Go not into the way of the Gentiles, 
 and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not ; but go 
 rather unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel."* And 
 
 cated the first symptoms of decay, and that indifference and entire 
 freezing followed until the buried talent was taken from them, and 
 they were cast into outer darkness. In our day, alas, there circulates 
 in the Christian world a very dangerous and virulent poison in the 
 shape of a false, blind, and anti-evangelical charity. Alas, it is so 
 called by those who do not understand the value, character, strictness, 
 seriousness, and operation of the real celestial charity which bled on the 
 cross for sinners. That Divine charity invites the sinner to repentance 
 and salvation, but never flatters hira as long as he is in the gall of bit- 
 terness. She stretches forth her loving arms, and offers to pour heavenly 
 balm into the wounds of fallen and ruined men, but if they deny their 
 wound she tells them promptly and plainly that they will perish, eter- 
 nally perish, if they are not thoroughly healed. She reaches her hand 
 to every repenting child of Adam, no matter what he was before if he 
 be now at the foot of the cross, but she has no communion with the 
 sons of Belial, though she repeatedly reminds them with tears that 
 except they repent and be regenerated they will never see light, but 
 perish ia darkness. In one word. Evangelical charity invites sinners 
 to enter the strait gate, to take up the cross and follow Christ, but 
 never does she, in order to please them, cast down her own cross and 
 follow them on the broad way that leads to perdition. Woe unto those 
 who, led astray by that monster which some falsely call charity in our 
 day, make concessions to human weakness, or rather wickedness, with 
 regard to the gospel conditions of salvation and their own Christian 
 privileges, thus selling their birthright not to a Jacob, but to an Esau, 
 whom the Lord hates ; and while they erroneously think to do good to the 
 children of darkness, backsliders, rationalists, and infidels by reaching 
 to them the hand of fellowship, they only harden them and ruin them- 
 selves. Will not the children of God take Matt, xxiii. as an example, 
 will they not learn from their Master what to promise unto him that 
 believeth, and what to say unto him who believeth not ? 
 * Matt. X. 5, 6. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 4. 347; 
 
 why ? because the exclusive privileges of the Old Covenant 
 Church were not to be abrogated in whole, or any particular 
 point, a single moment before the time. As long as the vail 
 of the temple remained untorn, the Gentiles had no part in 
 the covenant and its blessings and privileges. It was not 
 until He said, " It is finished," until His precious blood was 
 sprinkled, and the vail torn, that the light dawned on those 
 who had sat sat long in darkness and in the shadow of death, 
 when the risen Saviour said unto His disciples, " Go and 
 preach the gospel unto every creature ;" but when He was yet 
 officially among His disciples there could be no question in 
 regard to the Gentiles. When He entered into conversa- 
 tion with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well, it was by 
 chance, and He did nothing beyond paving the way for His 
 Church to bring in Samaria to Hira after His return to His 
 Father, When His Church herself interceded on behalf of 
 the Canaanitish woman who vehemently called after Him, 
 we know what resistance He offered to her cries as well as 
 to the intercession of His disciples, what He said and what 
 took place ; all this was to preserve entire and to the last 
 moment the exclusive privileges of His ancient Church until 
 the great sacrifice was offered, and the new and living Avay 
 consecrated, and then it was again the exclusive privilege 
 of His Bride to put shoes on her feet and gird her loins and 
 go forth and invite the waiting daughters of Jerusalem to 
 come and enter the open sanctuary of their common Lord 
 and Saviour. 
 
 The Bride, therefore, on the coming of her Lord, again 
 exhorted the knocking daughters of Jerusalem to exercise 
 a little more patience, now that the " Desire of all nations" 
 had come into His temple and embraced His Bride, and in- 
 structed her regarding her future mission and destiny, to 
 wait now until the " love be made perfect," yea, and " strong 
 as death" on the cross, for as soon as the Lamb of God was 
 offered, and the Captain of salvation made perfect by suffer- 
 ings, " everlasting righteousness " brought in, and the most 
 holy anointed by the blood of sprinkling and by the out- 
 pouring of the Holy Spirit upon the temple of God, the 
 Church, she would herself go forth and invite and lead them 
 into the open sanctuary by the new and consecrated way. 
 The reader needs only to reconsider verse 4, and to compare 
 it with the other two passages of the same nature to see that 
 
348 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 it is, as it were, interrupted in the middle, as if the Bride, 
 having begun to address to the daughters of Jerusalem her 
 usual form of adjuration, suddenly stops, remembering that 
 there existed now no reason for her to take that precaution, 
 because the daughters of Jerusalem had now no reason or 
 interest to be jealous ; as it was only a question of a short 
 time till all needful preparations should be made, when she 
 would herself introduce them to her Beloved, and therefore 
 she changes her former tone of threatening by adjuration, 
 into calm counsel and reasoning. When overwhelmed, as 
 it were, by the new manifestation of love from her Divine 
 Lord, and when she again began as it were in a fit of 
 jealousy, to say, " I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem," 
 she suddenly stops, and, instead of continuing as 
 she did twice before, to call her "roes and hinds of the 
 field" to witness should these daughters of Jerusalem dare 
 to stir up or disturb that love, she gives a reasoning turn 
 to her address, saying, " Wherefore should ye stir up, and 
 why or to what purpose should ye disturb this love until, or 
 ere it become perfect ?" — as if she had said, " Indeed, I need 
 not now take the same precautionary measures as I did on for- 
 mer occasions ; for now I have prayed myself for your speedy 
 deliverance and salvation, and with ardent desire have waited 
 for His coming, to prepare the way, and for my commission 
 to go forth and bring you into the open palaces of my King 
 who is soon to be our common Saviour. It is therefore 
 your own advantage not to disturb this love by impatience 
 or complaints, or in any other way, but to wait patiently 
 until it be perfected by the death and resurrection of the 
 Testator, when your lines shall fall in the same pleasant 
 places as mine, when you shall be brought into the same 
 bond of the new and everlasting Covenant, to the same 
 " heavenly Zion, to the same companies of angels, to the 
 same blood of sprinkling, to the same Lord and Redeemer." 
 
 Now, dear reader, here ends the third part of our Song. 
 It began with the scenes at the foot of Mount Sinai ; it has 
 recorded the journeys of the Bride or Church of God through 
 the wilderness, over Jordan into Palestine. It has exhi- 
 bited her prosperity and calamit}^, her backslidings and 
 repentance, her dark nights and brilliant sunshine, her tears 
 and sighs, her rejoicings and exultation. It has registered 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 4. 349 
 
 her behaviour in Babylon, and her influence on the Gentile 
 nations, her return to Jerusalem, her noble efforts in rearing 
 her new sanctuary from among the heaps of ruins, and her 
 conduct while a " prisoner of hope," until the angel of the 
 Covenant, who once surrounded her with a pillar of cloud 
 and fire, came into His temple in a body of flesh to accom- 
 plish this great plan of salvation, to fulfil the law for her 
 and make it honourable, and then to remove that severe 
 schoolmaster by introducing a New Covenant of perfect 
 faith, light, and love, and to seal it up with His own blood, 
 and open the new, living, and consecrated way into Jehovah's 
 sanctuary through His iDroken body, as well as to demolish 
 the partition wall, to tear asunder the separating vail, and 
 thus allow sinners of all nations and tongues to come and 
 partake of the sure mercies of David, and enter the number 
 of His redeemed children. The Bride saw His coming and 
 rejoiced exceedingly, and exclaimed, " His left hand is under 
 my head, and His right hand embraced me ;" and after 
 having invited and counselled the daughters of Jerusalem 
 patiently to wait until all should be accomplished on Calvary, 
 she stops, leaving to the Evangelists the privilege of record- 
 ing at large what they have seen and heard of the word of 
 life from the Prince of Life. The conclusion of this Song 
 will give us the short interview of the risen Saviour with 
 His New Testament Bride. 
 
( 350 ) 
 
 CONCLUSION 
 
 
 Argument of the last ten verses, forming the Conclusion of 
 THE Song. 
 
 (Vv. 5, 6.) The risen Saviour addresses His Church (His disciples) 
 in the mountain of Galilee, and in other places, and on other occasions 
 (where and when they met after His resurrection and before His 
 ascension), in most pathetic and touching words of warning, exhorta- 
 tion, promise, and consolation. (V. 7.) The Church promises perfect 
 obedience, and eternal attachment to her Beloved. (V. 8.) The Church 
 (or the disciples) asks her Saviour how she is to introduce the Gospel 
 to the rebels and unbelieving Jews of Jerusalem (under the figure of a 
 '' breastless little sister"), or what prospect there was of their accepting 
 of the invitation ? (V. 9.) The Saviour tells her that He will find good 
 employment for those of the " little sister" (of the unbelieving Jews) 
 that would be converted unto Him, and that he would put the hardened 
 rebels in such a strait (or confined) position that they should not be 
 able to hinder the work. (V. 10.) The triumphant language of the 
 converted " little sister." (Vv. 11, 12.) The marriage contract (or the 
 New Covenant conditions) between the Lord Jesus and His united 
 Church composed of Jews and Gentiles. (V. 13.) Messiah's last fare- 
 well address to His Church. (V. 14.) Her answer. 
 
 THE RISEN SAVIOUR. 
 
 5. Who is this (or, she) that cometh up from the wilderness 
 Leaning upon (or, joining company with) her Beloved ? 
 Under the citron-tree have I awakened thee : 
 There thy mother hath plighted thee — 
 There hath plighted thee she that bare thee.* 
 
 * np3">ntt (Mithrapeketh), which must be the Hithpael constructed 
 from the verb p£"^ (Raphak), occurs only in this place. The same word 
 
 in Arabic (^Jii. (Raphak), signifies courtesy, or the courting of com- 
 panionship ; and j^aJ , (Rephik), " a companion, a partner, a friend." 
 &c. According to the construction of this word in our passage and 
 context it must signify the advancing or coming forth of the Bride from 
 the wilderness, in order to join company with her Beloved. Nor is the 
 particle Vy (Al) in our way ; for it often signifies " with, together witli, 
 2 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 5, 6. 351 
 
 6. Set me as a seal upon thy heart — 
 As a seal upon thine arms ; 
 Seeing that love is as strong as death, 
 Jealousy is as cruel (or hard, stubborn) as the grave ; 
 Her blazings are blazings of fire — 
 A spreading flame of the Almighty {i.e., kindled by).* 
 
 The attentive reader will have observed all along that 
 even in the historical part of the Song the sacred author 
 chose only the chief points of the greatest events as connect- 
 ing topics in the continuation of his work, and that he could 
 not and did not enter into historical particulars. Much 
 more must this be the case in the prophetic portion of this 
 Song, and especially with regard to a subject so vast as the 
 transactions of Messiah on earth during the few but event- 
 ful years of His ministration in the midst of His Church. 
 As soon, therefore, as the Song had introduced the Covenant 
 Angel into His temple, and celebrated the joy of the Bride 
 at the coming of the Bridegroom in the form of a brother, 
 it paused a while, spread a veil of silence over all that had 
 passed, from His coming to His sufferings, agonies, indigni- 
 ties, and expiatory death as the Lamb of God. In the 5th 
 verse He is again introduced as the triumphant Saviour, as 
 the conquering Prince of heaven, who, having " overcome 
 the world" and the powers of darkness by His death and 
 resurrection, now meets and addresses His Bride before leav- 
 ing her, on His return to heaven, to prepare the place for 
 her, to send her the Comforter, and to sit down on the right 
 
 along with," &c., as Gen. xxxii. 12; Exod. xxxv. 22; Lev. iv. 11; 
 Num. xxviii. 15 ; especially Is. xiv. 1, where it is used in the very same 
 sense as in this verse. 
 
 Ts'fZH T^r'^sai-i n'ad (Shamah chiblathcha imecha), " There thy mother 
 
 hath plighted thee," i e., given thee as a pledge unto me, or rather 
 pledged her word and promise to give thee unto me (in marriage). So 
 the word hhTi signifies, Exod. xxii. 26; Deut. xxiv. 6, 17 ; Job xxii. 6, 
 
 xxiv 3 ; and Nehem. i. 17- 
 1]^ ^zhzTi Van (Chavol chavalnu lach), " "We are greatly pledged unto 
 
 thee," or exceedingly much indebted unto thee, i.e., for benefits re- 
 ceived, and sins committed. 
 
 * 5'r-i (Resheph), " a blaze," a " flame," or "flash of lightning" (so 
 
 Deut. xxxii. 24; Job. v. 7 ; Ps. Ixxviii. 48; Hab. iii. 6). n"» rarrVii- 
 
 (Shalheveth yah), " a stream, volume, or torrent of flames, kindled 6y 
 the Lord," as Ezek. xx. 47 ; " a conflagration of flames," Job xv. 30. ' 
 
352 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 hand of the Power as a Mediator and universal Governor 
 until the consummation of all things. Now we have to con- 
 sider, first, the meaning of these two verses containing His 
 address to the Bride ; second, to search in the New Testament 
 for the fulfilment and illustration of this address ; and third, 
 to explain the figures employed. 
 
 " Who is this (or she) that cometh up from the wilderness 
 leaning upon (or joining company with) her Beloved ?" At 
 the very beginning of the relation of the Covenant-Angel 
 with His Bride, we find them both in a wilderness, where, 
 at the foot of Mount Sinai, she pledged herself to Him, 
 saying, "All that the Lord God hath said we shall do, and 
 be obedient." That pledge was confirmed by a covenant, 
 and ratified by sacrifice and the sprinkling of blood. 
 Regarding that fact the Lord Himself bears her testimony 
 in various places, saying, " I remember thee the kindness 
 of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou vventest 
 after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown."* 
 The reason why the Lord espoused and led His Bride in a 
 wilderness for the space of forty years is given by Moses : 
 " And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy 
 God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble 
 thee and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, 
 whether thou wouldest keep his commandments or no. And 
 he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee 
 with manna, . . . that he might make thee know that man 
 doth not live by bread only, but by every word that pro- 
 ceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live. . . 
 Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, 
 wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought; 
 where there was no water ; who brought thee forth water 
 out of the rock of flint. Who fed thee in the wilderness 
 with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might 
 humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good 
 at thy latter end."f Again, by a late prophet : "I did 
 know thee (or espouse thee) in the wilderness, in a land of 
 great drought. But when they fed and were filled {i.e., in 
 the land of promise), yea, they were filled, and their heart 
 was exalted, and so they have forgotten me. Therefore am 
 I become as a lion unto them, as a leopard by the way will 
 
 • Jer. ii. 2. t Deut. viii. 2, 3, 15, 16. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 5, 6. 353 
 
 I observe them."* These passages speak for themselves. 
 The Lord first espoused His Church in the wilderness of 
 Sinai, where he led her forty years to prepare her for the 
 land of promise, where she was to find rest. Into that land 
 of promise he brought her ; but there she repeatedly fell into 
 revolt and transgression, was severely punished, and several 
 times restored again. She was once driven back into the 
 " wilderness of the nations," who led her captive, and then 
 restored after seventy years' desolation ; and we know her 
 deplorable history down to the period when the Covenant- 
 Angel came to abolish the Old, and make the New Covenant. 
 But what were and are the conditions of the Covenant 
 Church ? They are a loilderness and no rest in this world, 
 and in this life, and eternal rest and no wilderness in the 
 future world, and in the life everlasting. To take up the 
 cross and follow Him, to enter the strait gate and walk in 
 the narrow way, were the first and principal conditions of 
 the Lord to His New Testament Church, and to every one 
 wishing to follow Him into the rest that "remaineth still 
 for the people of God ;" to be strangers and pilgrims on 
 earth, having here no abiding city, but, like Abraham the 
 father of the faithful, looking forward " to a city that hath 
 foundations, whose founder and builder is God." These 
 conditions were foretold to the New Testament Church by 
 Old Testament prophets : " Therefore, behold, I will allure 
 her (or persuade her), and bring her into the wilderness, and 
 speak to her heart [z.e., reason with her] ). And I will 
 give her her vineyards from thence (e.g., even her temporal 
 blessings she shall only enjoy as in a wilderness), and the 
 valley of Achor (of trouble and distress) for a door of hope, 
 and there she shall be humbled (observe, there is no 
 * singing' in the Hebrew text, though erroneously in the 
 common version) as in the days of her youth, and as in the 
 day when she came up out of the land of Egypt. . . And 
 I will betroth thee unto me for ever ; yea, I will betroth 
 thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in 
 loving-kindness, and in mercies ; and I will betroth thee 
 unto me in faithfulness, and thou shalt know the Lord."-}- 
 This pilgrimage for life in the wilderness was appointed not 
 only for the Christian Church in general, and for every 
 Christian pilgrim in particular, as the " furnace of afdiction'* 
 
 * Hos. xiii. 6-7. t Hos. ii. 14-20. 
 
354 
 
 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 in which all the members of Christ are purified and made 
 perfect by sufferings, but even for the refractory portion of 
 Israel, who, because of their iniquities, were "all concluded 
 in unbelief," for a long time, and whose refinement and 
 conversion was equally foretold to take place in the wilder- 
 ness. " At that time [i.e. Messianic time), saith the Lord, 
 ^vill I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall 
 be my people. Thus saith the Lord, the people that escaped 
 from the sword found grace in the wilderness, whither Israel 
 went to seek him rest (the last phrase is sadly disfigured in 
 the common version.) The Lord appeared unto me from 
 afar [i.e. showed me this vision regarding a distant future), 
 saying^ Yet, I have loved thee with an everlasting love, 
 therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee (i.e., into 
 this wilderness to chastise and correct thee, to convert thee 
 and then give thee rest.)* The following will cast light on 
 the former passage : " And I will bring you into the wil- 
 derness of the nations, and there will I plead with you face 
 to face ; like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness 
 of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the 
 Lord God. And I will cause you to pass under the rod, 
 and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant."f In 
 the twelfth chapter of Revelation, the " woman," that 
 brought forth the ".manchild," was persecuted by the 
 ''dragon," fled into the " wilderness," &c., is another col- 
 lective representation of the great fact, that the cradle of 
 the Christian Church is the " wilderness ;" her pilgrimage 
 begins, continues, and ends in the " wilderness." Every in- 
 dividual Christian, from the first day of his conversion to 
 God in Christ, finds himself in a wilderness of difficulties, 
 dangers, trials, and sufferings, in the midst of vipers and dra- 
 gons, in a land of great drought where there is no water. As 
 Israel of old was first brought out from Egypt to Mount Sinai, 
 where that Church entered the Covenant, and then began 
 her march through the wilderness to the land of promise, so 
 the New Covenant Church, in every individual member, is 
 first brought out from Egypt, from the enslaving vanities 
 of this world, from the chains of passion and corrupt nature, 
 to the cross, where she enters the everlasting covenant 
 sealed with the precious blood of the Saviour, and then she 
 begins her pilgrimage through the wilderness of this world, 
 
 * Jer, xxxi. 1—3. t Ezek. xx. 35—37. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 5, 6. 355 
 
 to the land of promise, always accompanied by her Beloved 
 as was Israel of old by the Angel in the cloud, only that 
 her land of promise is not a temporal but a spiritual Zion, a 
 heavenly Jerusalem 
 
 But where and when did that wilderness begin for the 
 Church of Christ? and where and when did her going up 
 from that wilderness begin ? That wilderness began at Geth- 
 semane, when the Shepherd was taken and smitten, and the 
 sheep dispersed in the wilderness of persecution, calumny, 
 and sufferings, according to the Saviour's prediction about 
 the beginning of their sorrows : " Then shall they deliver 
 you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you ; and ye shall be 
 hated of all nations for my name's sake."* " But before all 
 these {i.e. the destruction of Jerusalem), they shall lay 
 their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you 
 up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought 
 before kings and rulers for my name's sake. And it shall 
 turn to you for a testimony. Settle it therefore in your 
 hearts not to meditate before what ye shall answer : For I 
 will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adver- 
 saries shall not be able to gainsay, nor resist . . . And 
 ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake. But there 
 shall not an hair of your head perish. In your patience 
 possess ye your souls."-}- Here we see that the Christian 
 Church was at the very dawn of her spiritual life brought 
 into the midst of the " wilderness," that her pilgrimage is 
 a continual going up out of that wilderness towards heaven, 
 and that she is not alone during that pilgrimage, but always 
 in company with her Beloved. 
 
 Now it remains for us to point out the time and place 
 when and where the Church thus brought at once into the 
 wilderness again found her Beloved ; for it is certain that 
 in Gethsemane she was separated from Him and lost Him 
 for a season. On the night of agony Jesus foretold to His 
 disciples His approaching sufferings and ignominious death, 
 adding : " But after I am risen again, I will go before you 
 into Galilee."J Accordingly the Angel said unto the two 
 Marys : " Go quickly, and tell the disciples, that He is risen 
 from the dead; and behold. He goeth before you into 
 Galilee ; there shall ye see Him ; lo, I have told you."§ 
 
 * Matth. xxix. 9. f Luke xxi. 12—19. 
 
 i Matth. xxvi. 32 ; comp. Mark xiv. 28. § Matth. xxviii. 7. 
 
356 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 As they went to execute their message, ** Jesus met them, 
 sa3dng, All hail . . . . Be not afraid ; go tell my 
 brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see 
 me."* " Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, 
 into a mountain, where Jesus had appointed them, and when 
 they saw Him they worshipped Him."-i- Here then we 
 have the first flash of light cast upon the passage in our 
 Song — Jerusalem, where the Lord was crucified, became 
 now the wilderness foretold unto the disciples. Out of that 
 wilderness they went to a mountain in Galilee to meet their 
 Beloved, the risen Saviour, who, while sending them now 
 into the wilderness of the world at large, assured them of 
 His gracious though invisible presence in all their wander- 
 ings : And, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of 
 the world. I 
 
 We have thus reached the highway for the explanation 
 of our passage. We have seen that the first expression of 
 the risen Saviour in ordering His Church was fulfilled 
 when the disciples went up from their wilderness (Jerusa- 
 lem) to meet Him in the mountain in Galilee. The separa- 
 tion of the Divine master and His disciples was not a long 
 one, but it was a most painful, a dark and gloomy separa- 
 tion for both. During the short interval of a few days the 
 Master underwent a most cruel, agonising, and ignominious 
 death, and the disciples, enveloped in a dark cloud of des- 
 pondency, doubt, and fear, must have suffered agonies which 
 no pen can ever describe. Cast ashore alive, after having 
 been engulphed in the deepest abyss, master and disciples 
 meet again, and the risen Prince of Life, serenely casting a 
 smile upon the disciples worshipping at His feet, says to 
 them, " Who is this (or she) that cometh up out of the 
 wilderness to join company with her Beloved?" The 
 beauty and meaning of both image and substance are too 
 clear to need further explanation. But closely connected 
 with this is the next expression, " Under the citron-tree 
 have I awakened thee" (or " raised thee up," i.e. as out of 
 sleep), and what else can be intended now by that " citron- 
 tree" but the cross of Calvary ! On that sad night in Geth- 
 semana the disciples, sunk under heaviness, and the agonized 
 Lamb of God, ready to be slain for them, found them several 
 times asleep, and said, " Can ye not watch an hour?" It 
 
 * Matth. xxviii. 9, 10. .f Matth. xxviii. 16, 17. J Matth. xxviii. 20. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 5, 6. 357 
 
 is certain, also, that they soon fell into a deep sleep of doubt 
 and unbelief, as soon as they saw their wonder-working 
 Master fallen into the hands of the wicked, and led away to 
 be judged. It was then that they dispersed in the *' wilder- 
 ness ;" it was then that the brave Peter thrice denied His 
 Master. But they awoke at the cross, when they saw that 
 if their Master proved himself to be the Son of God by His 
 life and mighty deeds, He did it more so by His death. 
 The dying Jesus said to the disciple whom He loved, " Be- 
 hold thy mother !" and did not John awake by these words 
 under the cross ! words which, when weighed and considered 
 in connection with the place and circumstances and the con- 
 dition of Hira who uttered them, are powerful enough to 
 animate a stone. The thief was awakened, converted, and 
 saved at the cross of Christ. 
 
 When some of the bystanders witnessed both the serenity, 
 patience, and dying love which the slain Lamb manifested 
 before breathing His last, and how heaven and earth com- 
 bined in expressions of horror and woe, the moment He 
 expired, they went away smiting their breasts ; and the 
 centurion " glorified God, saying. Certainly this was a 
 righteous man ("Truly this man was the Son of God," 
 Mark xvi. 39). . . . And all his acquaintance, and 
 the women that followed him from Galilee, stood afar off 
 beholding these things."* It was under this citron-tree, 
 under the cross of Christ, that the "just and good man," 
 Joseph of Ariraathea, was awakened from his sleep, for 
 though he was one of those " who waiied for the kingdom 
 of God," and though he " was also a disciple," he had not 
 courage enough hitherto to confess Jesus openly " for fear 
 of the Jews." But now he boldly and fearlessly demanded 
 the body of Pilate, and being a counseller he obtained it, 
 and openly rendered to it the greatest sepultural honour 
 possible. The same was the case with Nicodemus, — he 
 seems to have been asleep during the life of Jesus, though 
 he came to see Him by night. But he was awakened under 
 the citron-tree, where he saw that He whom he once 
 styled " A teacher come from God," must be the " Son of 
 God," the promised Saviour of the world ; and therefore he 
 now came boldly and joined his brother Joseph, who like 
 
 * Luke xxiii. 44 — 49. 
 
358 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 himself belonged to the counsel called Sanhedrim, and 
 brought an hundred pound weight of myrrh and aloes, and 
 they together " took the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen 
 clothes with the spices," and laid it into the new stone 
 sepulchre.* 
 
 In the second chapter of our Song, the Bride compared 
 her Beloved to a " citron-tree," under whose shadow she 
 sat down with delight, and whose fruit was sweet to her 
 palate. But it was on the cross that that "citron-tree" 
 developed all its vigour, spread forth its branches to the 
 uttermost parts of the earth, inviting weary pilgrims of all 
 nations and tongues to come and take shelter under its 
 shadow. It was there that its delicious fruits ripened to 
 perfection, when " the Captain of our salvation was made 
 perfect by sufferings." There the Prince of Life both tasted 
 and conquered death for us. There the eternal High-priest 
 offered the great sacrifice, and prepared for us the precious 
 blood of sprinkling. There all was finished in the plan of 
 our salvation. There the good Shepherd gave His life for 
 His flock. There He became the real " Tree of Life" to all 
 those that believe in Him. There He opened the fountain of 
 living and refreshing waters to His pilgrims who march 
 towards Zion through this dreary and terrible wilderness. 
 There He spread His benignant shade over His Church to 
 cover her from the scorching sun of God's wrath, and there 
 He made for her a vast provision of the delightful fruits of 
 His righteousness. " In that day shall the Branch of the 
 Lord (or, ' Jehovah the Branch') be for victory (so "'a? 
 signifies Num. xxxi. 7, &c.), and for glory ; and the fruiifc 
 of the earth [i.e. the fruit which that Branch will produce 
 on earth) for excellency and splendour to those that shall 
 escape in Israel."-]- The cross of Christ is also often called 
 "tree," — "Jesus whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. "J: 
 And one who tasted the fruits of that " tree" said, " God 
 forbid that I should glory save in the cross of Christ," &c.§ 
 Again, " For it pleased the Father that in him should all 
 fullness dwell ; and having made peace through the blood 
 of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto hlmself."|l 
 
 * Comp. Luke xxiii. 50—53, with John xix. 38 — 42. 
 
 t Is. iv. 2. 
 
 X Acts V. 30, X. 39, xiij, 29 ; 1 Peter ii. 24. 
 
 f Gal. Ti. 14. II Col. i. 19-22. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 5, 6. 359 
 
 Moreover, according to His prediction, Christ was to 
 awaken or to raise from moral sleep His Church under the 
 cross, " And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilder- 
 ness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up ; that who- 
 soever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal 
 life."* " When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then 
 shall ye know that I am he/'f '' And I if (or when) I am 
 lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me."+ 
 Such were the results, and such the fruits of Christ's having 
 been lifted up upon the tree, but these results and fruits 
 began to be more abundantly manifested after He had been 
 lifted up or raised from the dead ; as the one perfected and 
 finished the other. Regarding this Paul says, " But for us 
 also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that 
 raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead ; who was delivered 
 for our offences, and was raised again for our justification. "§ 
 "That like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the 
 glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in new- 
 ness of life ; for if we have been planted together in the 
 likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his 
 resurrection." II " But if the Spirit of him that raised up 
 Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ 
 from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by the 
 Spirit thatdwelleth in you."^ " Even when we were dead 
 in sins, he has quickened us together with Christ. . . 
 And hath raised us up together in heavenly places in Christ 
 Jesus,"** From the above passages we see in what sense 
 the risen Saviour could have said unto His disciples, 
 " Under the citron- tree have I awakened thee (or, raised 
 thee up from thy deep sleep), and how the Apostle calls that 
 sleep moral death, and the awakening, a quickening or 
 restoration to spiritual life, faith, hope, and activity. 
 
 We come now to the second part of our wonderfully com- 
 prehensive verse. " There," proceeds the risen Saviour — 
 " There, under the citron-tree" — " There, at the foot of the 
 cross, where I bled for thee" — "There thy mother hath 
 plighted thee" {i.e.^ to me) ; " There hath plighted thee she 
 that bare thee." Zion is in this Song, as well as in the 
 prophets at large, styled the mother of the Church, and the 
 
 ♦ John in. 14, 15. f John viii. 28. ^ John xii. 32. 
 
 ^'i Kom. iv. 24, 25. j| Rom. vi. 4, 5. t Rom. viii. 11. 
 
 ** Eph. ii. 5, 6. 
 
360 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 Church " the daughter of Zion." It has already been ex- 
 plained on different occasions, that Zion is the type of the 
 Holy Spirit, as He regenerates sinners into children of the 
 living God, into living members of His Church, and marries 
 them to Christ, or gives them unto Him in covenant. 
 " Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law 
 by the body of Christ, that ye should be married to another, 
 even to Him who is raised from the dead, that we should 
 bring forth fruit unto God."* " For by one Spirit are we 
 all baptized into one body . . . and have been all 
 made to drink into one Spirit. "-j- For as many as are led 
 by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. . . . 
 The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we 
 are the children of God."| It is then the same Spirit who 
 assisted Christ in accomplishing His plan of salvation, in 
 offering His great sacrifice in His death and resurrection, 
 that also assists every individual member of His Church to 
 come to Christ after having prepared him according to the 
 preparation of the sanctuary, " How much more shall the 
 blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered him- 
 self without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead 
 works, to serve the living God."§ And who applies that 
 precious blood to the sinner's conscience ? — who washes and 
 sanctifies him but the self-same Spirit? for " unless a man 
 be born of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." 
 The promise made to the Redeemer was that, " When his 
 soul shall make an offering for sin, he shall see his seed ; 
 he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure (literally ' pur- 
 pose ') of the Lord shall prosper in his hand." But all 
 these operations are executed by the Spirit of God, as is 
 clearly seen from the above quoted passages, and nothing is 
 accomplished without Him. Hence the Spirit is repre- 
 sented in this passage of the Song as having plighted the 
 Bride, His daughter, in marriage to the Saviour, even when 
 He bled on the cross, when He paid the price for her with 
 His own life-blood, and she became His inheritance for 
 ever. It was then that Hosea's prophecy was fulfilled, 
 " And I will betroth thee unto me for ever ; yea, I will be- 
 troth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and 
 
 * Rom. vii. 4. f 1 Cor. xii. 13. 
 
 § Heb. ix. 14. 
 
361 
 
 in loving-kindness, and in mercies ;" for it was on the cross of 
 Christ, that " mercy and truth met together ; righteousness 
 and peace kissed each other." And while the " Testator" 
 satisfied God's justice in paying the ransom for His Bride, 
 the Holy Spirit was there as the executor of the Testament, 
 pledging the Bride — to the slain and risen Prince of life. 
 
 We proceed now to consider verse sixth, or the second 
 part of the Saviour's address to His Bride on meeting her 
 in the mountain of Galilee ; and in so doing, we shall first 
 pass in review Ezekiel's graphic description of the Lord's 
 former espousals of His 0. T. Bride, her condition at that 
 time and His dealings with her. Speaking in the name of 
 the Lord, that prophet says, " And thou wast cast out in 
 the open field in the uncleanness (or pollution) of thy person 
 (or soul) in the day that thou wast born. And when I 
 passed by thee, and saw thee rolling (or weltering) in thine 
 own blood, I said unto thee. In thy blood thou shalt live ; 
 yea, I said unto thee, in thy blood thou shalt live.* . . . 
 
 * This is the literal translation of •^''T, i^'^fz-.^ (Bedamayich chayi), 
 
 " In thy blood thou shalt live" — the sense oif which seems to be, 
 " polluted as thou art in sin and uncleanness. abandoned to moral 
 death, and with nothing to recommend thee, still I say. In thy blood 
 thou shalt live," i.e., even as thou art, "I have found a ransom for 
 thee," I say, " Deliver from going down into the pit." The reader 
 will remember the passage in Zeehariah, where Joshua the high-priest 
 is represented as covered with " filthy garments," and " Satan stand- 
 ing at his right hand to accuse him." The Lord on that occasion did not 
 order him first to change his garments, but He declared first, that even 
 as he was now he enjoyed His mighty protection — that he was a burn- 
 ing delivered from the fire." And then only, when Satan's mouth was 
 stopped, the Lord ordered Joshua's garments to be changed. Jesus 
 takes first the sinner even as he is, under His protection, then He 
 washes, cleanses, and sanctifies him by His Holy Spirit, clothes him 
 with celestial ornaments. Such is exactly Ezekiel's description of the 
 Lord's dealing with Israel. When He found them in Egypt enslaved, 
 abandoned, and polluted in idolatry and sin, He did not wait till they 
 were worthy of Him, but immediately He said, " In thy blood thou 
 shalt live," i e., I will deliver thee even as thou art, and then proceed 
 to wash and cleanse and sanctify thee. On the night of the slaughter 
 of the first-born by the destroying Angel, Israel was not a whit better 
 than the doomed victims, ah, but they had already the protection of 
 the Covenant-Angel, who said, " In thy blood thou shalt live," and 
 His sign was already on their door-posts, to show that they were His. 
 It was only at Mount Sinai that He begun to work in them, to wash, 
 cleanse, and sanctify them by the sprinkling of the blood of the covenant- 
 sacrifice, by the law and commandments, statutes and precepts which 
 " make wise the simple, enlighten the eyes, rejoice the heart, and con- 
 vert the soul." Such is the order followed by Ezekiel in the above 
 passage, as will be seen. 
 
 Q 
 
302 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 Now, when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, and 
 behold thy time was the time of love, (i.e., when Moses had 
 asked Israel thrice if they were willing' and ready to enter 
 the covenant, and they answered thrice, " All that the Lord 
 God hiith said we shall do, and be obedient," this signifies 
 " the time of love") ; then I spread ray skirt over thee, and 
 covered thy nakedness ; yea, I sware unto thee, and 
 entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord God, and 
 thou becamest mine. Then washed I thee with water, yea, 
 I throughly washed away thy blood from thee, and anointed 
 thee with oil, I clothed thee also with broidered work, . . 
 And 1 put a jewel on thy forehead, and ear-rings in thine 
 ears, and a beautiful crown on thine head," &c.* 
 
 If such was the case with our Bride at the period of her 
 first espousals at Mount Sinai — if such images were justly 
 employed to describe the deplorable and forlorn condition in 
 which the Lord then found her, and His divine compassion 
 by which He delivered her, washed, cleansed, sanctified, 
 clothed, and adorned her, what language would describe, 
 what images would be sufficiently expressive to depict, the 
 frightful condition of the Church at the moment of the 
 incomprehensible and mysterious manifestation of divine 
 love on the cross of Christ ? That Bride, that Church for 
 whom the Covenant-Angel had showed such wonders of 
 compassion at her first espousals at Mount Sinai, as described 
 in the above passage of Ezekiel, what was her condition at 
 the foot of the cross, and before some of her children were 
 again awakened by the fearful and overwhelming scenes 
 they witnessed? After being scorned, scourged, and tortured, 
 the humble Lamb of God was led forth to Calvary, laden 
 with His cross, and even His murderers when they saw 
 it was impossible for Him to bear it from exhaustion and 
 torture, laid one end of it on Simon of Cyrene. A great multi- 
 tude of that nation regarding whom He once said, " In thy 
 blood thou shalt live," and who had just vociferated, 
 " Crucify him, crucify him," followed Him like a band of 
 ravenous wolves, eager to scorn His agonies, to embitter as 
 much as possible His ignominious death ; tt* heap insults on 
 Him who had healed their maladies, opened the eyes of their 
 blind, and fed their hungry ones with temporal and spiri- 
 
 * Ezek xvi., see verses 1—12. 
 
CIIAPTEK Till. 5, 6. 363 
 
 tual bread ; and to see ITim who wept over Jerusalem 
 nailed to and die on the accursed tree. Those even who 
 once followed Him and witnessed His power and glorj^ and 
 heard the repeated testimony of heaven regarding Him, 
 have now in part abandoned and denied Him, and those of 
 them who came to witness His agonizing death, stood " afar 
 oft'," for fear of being recognised and identified as His dis- 
 ciples and followers. Was not that Bride then " weltering 
 in her own blood and in the pollution of her soul," far more 
 than at the time of which the above quoted passage in 
 Ezekiel speaks ? Was she not at the foot of the cross far 
 less worthy of the Covenant- Angel's divine love than at the 
 time when she lay prostrate in Egypt under degrading 
 slavery and abominable idolatry ? And the Son of God 
 had still power to call legions of Angels to His assistance, 
 to destroy His enemies, to return triumphantly to heaven, 
 and to leave a wicked and wretched world of rebels to 
 perish in their iniquities, and in the filthiness of their sin ! 
 But no ! the Lamb Avent to the slaughter without opening 
 His mouth — blood of sprinkling Avas needed to wash away 
 such criminality and guilt, and His blood alone could do 
 it ; and the greater the sin the greater the pardoning love, 
 the more wretched the state of the Bride at the cross, the 
 more glorious the Saviour's dying love. In Egypt, at Mount 
 Sinai, when the Bride was " weltering in her own blood," 
 He said, " In thy blood thou shalt live." On Calvary, 
 when she had committed the additional and horrid crime of 
 shedding her Saviour's innocent blood, He said in addition, 
 " By my blood thou shalt live " — 0, what manner of love ! 
 " But God commendeth his love towards us, in that while 
 we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, 
 being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from 
 wrath through Him. For if, when we were enemies, we 
 were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more 
 being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life."* 
 
 It was that wonderful and matchless, divine love mani- 
 fested on the cross — that love which reached maturity and 
 ripened into perfection under the citron tree — that the Holy 
 Spirit revealed unto Solomon, and made him put the words 
 1 !to the mouth of the risen Saviour to His awakened Bride, 
 
 *Rom. V. 8-10. 
 
364 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 " Set rae as a seal upon thy heart — as a seal upon thine 
 arms; seeing that love is as strong as death." In those 
 days the highest honour conferred by a king on one who 
 merited his favour was to give him a seal of gold with his 
 name, or a jewel with his portrait engraven on it ; and 
 which that person wore either suspended by a gold chain 
 upon his heart, or fastened round the arm.* More especially 
 was such a seal given by a princely bridegroom to his bride 
 on the day of espousals, and which she wore till the consum- 
 mation of their marriage, to remind her always of her absent 
 lover. Jesus was now soon to leave his unworthy but still 
 dear bought and dearly beloved Bride, and return to His 
 Father. He therefore reminds her to set Him and the 
 remembrance of Him, especially as He appeared for her on 
 Golgotha, as a seal upon her heart and arms, to imprint the 
 scene of Calvary on the table of her heart, to wear it as an 
 ornament on her arms. The reason for which is : " Seeing 
 that love is as strong as death," i.e., the love which she 
 repeatedly adjured the daughters of Jerusalem " not to 
 interfere with or disturb until it should be perfect," had now 
 ripened to all perfection on the cross, under the " citron 
 tree," where it proved as strong as death ; " Greater love 
 hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his 
 friends ; ye are my friends, if ye do whatever I command 
 you. "7 She had now^, therefore, nothing to fear from any 
 quarter, and nothing to awaken doubt, but only to think 
 that since her Beloved had poured out His soul in death for 
 her, it was utterly impossible that He should now forget or 
 forsake her, as long as she should preserve his memory as a 
 seal upon her heart. 
 
 At the same time. He informs her that having now- 
 bought her with His life-blood — and paid the matchless 
 price for her — ^jealousy had now arisen on His side, and that 
 it was "cruel (or stubborn) as the grave," and that woe 
 unto him who should provoke it. " For if the word spoken 
 by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and dis- 
 obedience received a just recompense of reward, how shall 
 we escape if we neglect so great salvation ?"| " For if we 
 sin wilfully after having received the knowledge of the 
 
 See Jer xxii. 24. ; Hag. ii. 23 ; Esther iii. 10. f John xv. 13. 
 i Heb. ii. 2, 3. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 5, 6. 365 
 
 truth, there remalneth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certnin 
 fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which 
 shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses' law 
 died without mere}' under two or three witnesses : of how 
 much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought 
 worth}', who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and 
 hath counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was 
 sanctified an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the 
 spirit of grace? For we know Him that hath said, Ven- 
 geance belo7igeth unto me, I will recompence, saith the 
 Lord. . . . It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands 
 of the living God."* It is thus clear that in this address 
 of the risen Saviour to His Bride is exhibited His divine 
 love towards her — love now ripened and perfected above all 
 her own expectations — and also her new duties and pledges 
 toward Him. And while He tells her to keep His benig- 
 nant image before the eyes of her soul and upon her heart 
 continually. He at the same time reminds her of the awful 
 consequences of infidelity, of the devouring flames which 
 will avenge it under the New Covenant dispensation, sealed 
 with His own blood. 
 
 Under the Old dispengation the Lord was also represented 
 as a jealous God, who would by no means suffer any rival 
 in the heart of His Church, but then Israel's infidelities and 
 backslidings were severely punished, though Israel did not 
 cease for all that to be the only covenanted people of God, 
 and as soon as they repented they entered again into divine 
 favour, as the following passage testifies : " Say unto them, 
 If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and be- 
 come another man's, shall he return unto her again ? 
 Would not that land be greatly polluted? (i.e., w^herein 
 such things are practised) ; but thou hast played the harlot 
 with many lovers ; yet, return again to me, saith the Lord."-J- 
 Such was indeed the case under the covenant ratified with 
 the typical blood of bulls and goats, but it is not so under 
 the covenant ratified and sealed with the precious blood of 
 the Son of God, when the conditions become inviolable, 
 "jealousy as cruel and stubborn as the grave," infidelity at 
 once fatal, punishment irrevocable, and a verdict of repudia- 
 tion unchangeable ; " for it is impossible for those who were 
 
 *Heb. X. 26-31. t Jer. iii. 1. 
 
3G6 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and 
 were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted 
 the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 
 if they shall full away, to renew them again unto repent- 
 ance ; seeing they have crucified to themselves the Son of 
 God afresh, and put Him to an open shame."* Woe, then, 
 unto the false prophets of our day ! Woe to the peace^ 
 peace preaching hirelings w^ho proclaim charity, love, and 
 pardon to spiritual harlots who have multitudes of idols and 
 masters besides the Lord, whose name they only bear for 
 double condemnation ! Woe unto them who invito uncon- 
 verted men, living in their sins, to approach the hoiy table, 
 to partake of the symbols of his precious blood and broken 
 body, to renew solemnly a covenant which they daily break 
 and trample under foot, by leaguing themselves with the 
 devil and his delusions, selling themselves to the world, to 
 Mammon, and to fleshly lusts ! Woe unto those who see 
 in that mysterious sacrament, in that blood-sealed covenant, 
 a remedy for unconverted sinners, and nothing but love for 
 spiritual adulterers, while the Apostle declared it "judg- 
 ment and condemnation " for them, and Jesus says that 
 "jealousy is cruel, stubborn, and unpitiable as the grave,'^ 
 and that a flame kindled by the Almighty Himself shall 
 devour those that provoke that jealousy ! Soon, alas, 
 victimiser and victim, false prophet and false disciple, will 
 find that what has proved an ocean of love, grace, and peace 
 to the children of the Kingdom, to the real, faithful, and 
 sanctified Bride of the Lauib, will prove a lake of devouring 
 fire and torment to them throughout eternity ? When Moses 
 in his last sublime Song speaks of the Messianic days, of 
 the fearful punishment of refractory Israel (and no less of 
 the doom of those of whom Paul speaks in the above quoted 
 passages), he says in the name of God : " They have moved 
 me to jealousy with that which is not God ; they have pro- 
 voked me to anger with th<^ir vanities ; and I will move 
 them to jealousy with those that are not a people; I will 
 provoke them to anger with a foolish nation. For a fire is 
 kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, 
 and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on 
 fire the foundations of the mountains."f The same is an- 
 
 * Heb. vi. 4-6. t Deut. xxxii. 21, 22. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 5, 6. 367 
 
 nounced in this verse of the Song, in the warning of the 
 risen Saviour to His Church, that after the love strong as 
 death which was manifested on her behalf, jealousy was as 
 cruel, as stubborn as death ; and that the flames which that 
 jealousy will produce, will he a torrent of flames, an awful 
 conflagration kindled by the Almighty. 
 
 Be it observed, finally, that though none of the four 
 Evangelists gives us a full account of the risen Saviour's 
 conversations with His disciples, it is certain that they must 
 have been fraught with important instruction — He must 
 have rehearsed many facts, doctrines, counsels, and pro- 
 phecies regarding the future of which He had spoken to 
 them before, and showed them their signification and fulfil- 
 ment. Hence we cannot expect to find in our Song (as a 
 prophecy for a distant future) more than an allusion to the 
 risen Saviour's address to His Bride, and the general sub- 
 stance of that address, Matthew mentions only the meet- 
 ing of Jesus with His disciples in the mountain of Galilee, 
 and the great commission^ which He gave them there, but 
 no other particulars of their intercourse. Mark omits their 
 meeting at Galilee, but tells us that when Jesus met His 
 disciples, "He upbraided them with their unbelief and hard- 
 ness of heart, because they believed not them which had 
 fieen him after he was risen."*' He mentions likewise the 
 two disciples who saw Him on their way to Emmaus, but 
 He leaves the particulars of their interview to Luke. The 
 latter tells us that, in the person of an unknown traveller, 
 the Saviour said unto them, "0 fools, and slow of heart to 
 believe all that the prophets have spoken ! Ought not 
 Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His 
 glory? And beginning at Moses, and all the prophets, he 
 expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things con- 
 cerning himself."-|- Alas, we have no particulars of these 
 precious explanations of Scripture by the risen Saviour. 
 Nor have we any particulars about His next meeting with 
 all the disciples, only that He ate bread with them," and 
 said unto them, *' These are the words which I spake unto 
 you while I was yet with you, that all things must be ful- 
 filled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the 
 prophets, and in the Psalms concerning me. Then opened 
 
 » Mark xvi. 14. t Luke xxiv. 25-27. 
 
368 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 he their understanding, that they might understand the 
 Scriptures. And said unto thein, Thus it is written, and 
 thus it behoved Christ to sufifer, and to rise from the dead 
 the third day."* Now, without alluding at present to the 
 account which John gives of the Lord's last interview with 
 His disciples, as we shall soon have occasion to do, it is 
 sufficiently clear that the two verses of the Song just ex- 
 plained contain the sum and substance of that interview ; 
 and that though particulars are given neither in the Song 
 nor in the Evangelists, the aim and bearing of both (the 
 peculiar circumstances considered) are quite the same. 
 
 THE CHURCH. 
 
 7. Many waters shall not be able to quench that love, 
 Neither shall the floods drown it (or wash it away) ; 
 If a man would give all the wealth of his house for 
 
 that love, 
 He would be utterly contemned (or despised). 
 
 As the two preceding verses were shown to contain the 
 language of the Bridegroom, so can this be none other but that 
 of the Bride ; for we ask. What is the perishing wealth of man 
 to Him who at the very outset of His active career despised 
 the devil's offer to give Him all the kingdoms and princi- 
 palities of this world if He would only once bow His head 
 before him ? What are all the riches of this world to Him 
 who in everlasting love laid down His life for His Church ? 
 And what was now the value of anything esteemed dear or 
 precious by us, to Him who said, " All power is given unto 
 me in heaven and on earth ?" This verse must therefore 
 contain the language of the Bride, who was now to gird her 
 loins and go forth into the wilderness of this world to preach 
 the Gospel of a crucified Redeemer, and be exposed to per- 
 secution, temptations, and all manner of sufferings and 
 privations. It is for her that the Saviour prayed so ardently 
 to the Father, saying, " I pray not that thou shouldest take 
 them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them 
 from the evil. ... As thou hast sent me into the 
 
 • * Luke xxiv. 44 — 46. 
 
CHAPTER viir. 7. 369 
 
 world, even so have I also sent them into the world."* It 
 is she who needed to be confirmed in her faith, and to keep 
 constantly in mind the invaluable riches of " that love" 
 which her risen Bridegroom showed her was " strong as 
 death." It is she who now maintains that whatever may 
 be her condition in the world, in whatever circumstances 
 she may find herself during her pilgrimage on earth, she 
 would never forget the preciousness and the inestimable 
 value of that death strong and blood-sealed love— that all 
 the mighty waters of afflictions and calamities, all the foam- 
 ing waves of adversity and persecution, all the infernal 
 streams which the enraged devil and his armies may pour 
 upon her, and all the temptations of riches and snares of 
 honours, to which she may be exposed, will not be able to 
 quench that holy flame of pure, divine, and spiritual love 
 which the Almighty had now kindled in her heart, after 
 witnessing the dying love of her Beloved for the salvation 
 of her soul — and that there was nothing in this world so 
 valuable, so rich, so precious, and so fascinating as to be able 
 successfully to tempt her heart, or supplant her affections, 
 and turn them away one moment from her Lord and Re- 
 deemer. But it is not necessary to seek explanations of this 
 verse after having been so divinely paraphrased by the 
 great Apostle, " Who shall separate us from the love of 
 Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or 
 famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written. 
 For thy sake we are killed all the day long ; we are 
 accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these 
 things we are more than conquerors through him that loved 
 us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor 
 angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, 
 nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other 
 creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, 
 which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."-|- 
 
 Before we leave this assertion of the Bride, and her firm 
 protestations of confirmed, immoveable, and unceasing love, 
 we have one remark to make about that extraordinary man, 
 so prominent for his burning zeal, his pre-eminent love, his 
 dreadful fall, and his wonderful restoration. Simon, son of 
 Jonas, when Christ asked His disciples who they thought 
 
 * John xvii. 15—18. t Rom. viii. 35—39. 
 
370 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 He was, was foremost in answering, " Thou art the Christ, 
 the Son of the living God," and he received great praise 
 from the Lord. Shortly after, he was foremost in ignorance 
 and daring when he " rebuked" his master, because He 
 said that He was to be put to death and to rise again ; and 
 received the reprimand, " Get thee behind me, Satan, thou 
 art an offence unto me ; for thou savourest not the things 
 that be of God, but those that be of man." On the fatal 
 night vvlien Jesus said that soon they woukl all be offended 
 in Him, Peter was the foremost in saying, " Though all be 
 offended because of thee, j^et will I never be offended." 
 Soon after he was the foremost to deny Him thrice, and 
 again in an instant his heart is pierced by the look of the 
 now bound and condemned Lamb of God, and he melts into 
 bitter tear-^. what a strange mixture in the heart of a 
 convinced but only half-converted man ! and such was Peter 
 beibre the outpouring of the Spirit made him what he was 
 intended for. What a mixture of strength and weakness, 
 of faith and doubt, of wisdom and ignorance, of burning 
 zeal and backwardness, of courage and fear, of boldness and 
 tenderness! And still what but an inward irresistible love 
 to Christ brought him into the palace of the high-priest ? 
 Could he not have kept into some dark hiding place, as did 
 the others ? And what but love and attachment brought 
 him first to the grave ? Ah, but that love had to be con- 
 firmed, sealed up, and engraven on his heart by the Holy 
 Spirit, before it became strong enough to brave death, and 
 to scorn the mighty waters passing over its head. Even 
 before it was a real love, but a floating, imperfect love. 
 Having always come so easily out of his heart to his tongue, 
 the threatening "floods" and " man}'- waters" washed it 
 away before it had acquired strength. But then all these 
 heavy and severe lessons made at last a strong impression on 
 his heart. When on His third appearance to His disciples, 
 the risen Saviour asked him, " Simon, son of Jona«, lovest 
 thou me more than these?" he no more made strong assertions, 
 built on his own high opinion of his strength, but making his 
 Divine Master the Judge of his heart, he said, " Lord, thou 
 knowest that I love thee." When Jesus repeated the 
 question for the third time— not to try his patience, but to 
 teach him it — he said " Lord, thou knowest all things, thou 
 knowest that I love thee." Now the Lord gave him to 
 
CHAPTER viri. 8, 9. 371 
 
 understand the reason of his repeating to him that question 
 thrice ? That his love, too, must soon be death-proof — that 
 there was no more time for him to gird himself and escape 
 danger, but that, in feeding the lambs confided to him as 
 an Apostle, he must face death daily, and at last stretch 
 forth his hands and embrace it ; for this was the will of his 
 Master, that he should "follow Him." This conversation 
 of the Lord with Peter was intended as a lesson for all the 
 disciples present, as was always the case, and our allusion 
 to it is to point it out as another illustration of these three 
 verses of our Song. 
 
 THE CHURCH, 
 
 (or the disciples to the risen saviour.) 
 
 8. We have a little sister, 
 And she hath no breasts ; 
 What shall we do for our sister 
 
 In the day that she shall be spoken for ? 
 
 MESSIAH. 
 
 9. If she be a wall, 
 
 We shall build on her a palace of silver ; 
 
 But if she be a door. 
 
 We shall inclose (or fasten) her with a board of cedar. 
 
 Here we have a metaphor within a metaphor ; for question 
 and answer are both enclosed within a double shell of figu- 
 rative figures if we may use such an expression. The 
 task before us is not only to strip the kernel of its double 
 shell, but to discover to what sort of fruit it belongs when 
 stripped. It is comparatively easy to perceive that the 
 breastless " little sister" must signify either a portion of the 
 ancient Church, or of humanity at large, to whom the Go.sp(.4 
 was now to be preached — who was now to be invited along 
 with other virgins to come and be introduced to the Bride- 
 groom, as is clear from the question, *' What shall we do 
 for our little sister in the day that she shall be spoken for?" 
 indicating that she waa by no means to be neglected, but 
 
372 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 also invited to come, but who was not judged ripe for the 
 purpose because she had no faith, and none of the qualities 
 required to make her worthy of being introduced to the 
 great King by an eternal covenant. If, therefore, there be 
 any difficulty, as some suppose, it is to fix upon the real 
 party intended, or to ascertain and prove who the " little 
 sister" was? The reader who has attentively followed our 
 interpretation and explanation of the preceding chapter will 
 immediately perceive that we must dismiss the strange 
 opinion of those who make the little breastless or faithless 
 sister signify the Gentile nations (or the Church chosen of 
 all nations and tongues) as erroneous, and as manifestly a 
 glaring absurdity. How, after Shiloh had come, after the 
 great sacrifice had been accomplished, after the vail had 
 been torn, the partition wall demolished, the " new and 
 living way" consecrated, and the gates thrown open for the 
 Gentiles to enter the sanctuary, and even after the Lord 
 had commanded His disciples to go and preach the Gospel 
 in the whole world and to every creature, how, we ask, 
 could the handful of disciples have called the hundreds of 
 thousands of waiting Gentiles a little, insignificant, and 
 faithless sister ? Have not the Jews now declared them- 
 selves in open rebellion against Christ whom they crucified ? 
 Have they not now taken measures to eradicate His disciples 
 and their creed ? Has not Jesus foretold that when they 
 should act in that outrageous manner, killing the only heir 
 of the master of the vineyard, that they would be miserably 
 destroyed, and the kingdom and the vineyard taken from 
 them and given unto the Gentiles ? Were not the Gentiles 
 now to become the Churchy and obliterate soon the very 
 trace' of the ancient dispensation and Church by the millions 
 of Gentile believers ? Did not the Bride herself represent 
 these waiting and praying Gentiles as precious plants ripe 
 for salvation, as aromatic flowers deserving of cultivation, 
 as jewels worthy of the crown of her Bridegroom, when 
 towards the end of the preceding chapter she prayed ar- 
 dently for the speedy appearance of her Beloved, that 
 they might go forth into the fields and villages in order to 
 gather them ? Was it not with regard to the waiting be- 
 lievers of the Gentiles that the Bride said, " The mandrakes 
 have sent forth an odour, and at our gates are all varieties 
 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 8, 9. 373 
 
 of precious plants (or spices) ; both new and old, my be- 
 loved, have I laid up for thee ?" * 
 
 Some of these interpreters seize on the fact that a few of 
 the Judaising Christians newly converted and come out 
 from the sect of the Pharisees would lie in the way of the 
 Gentile converts. But on the least study of the subject it 
 will be seen that the Apostles themselves never partici- 
 pated in nor encouraged these extravagant views ; and that 
 
 * A late author of an exposition of this Song forgot himself so far, 
 in his struggles to support his erroneous view that the " little sister" 
 means the Gentile nations, that he took up a hot burning coal, as it 
 were, to quench his thirst for fantastical fables. He quotes Ezek. xvi. 
 46, where the prophet said to apostate Israel, or rather Jerusalem, 
 " And thy younger (or lesser) sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, 
 is Sodom and her daughters" (or " villages"). Of course that Gentile 
 author was impartial enough to make his Gentile progenitors pass for 
 the party designed by the prophet under the flattering figure of " Sodom 
 and her daughters," thus thinking to have established the phantom, 
 that the " little sister" of the Song must signify the Gentile nations. 
 But unhappily there is, in the very same verse, another older and 
 larger sister called " Samaria and her daughters," which said expositor 
 did not choose to cite ! Now, if the younger sister " Sodom" signifies 
 all the Gentile nations, what will he make the large enormous sister 
 Samaria to represent ? Is it to signify the mountains and valleys, 
 rivers and seas of the globe } or perhaps the fallen angels ! And which 
 of those three sisters does that author make to speak in this Song ? 
 Is it the oldest Samaria ? Has she now become the Church ? Or is it 
 still the middle one ? and why does she not ask what to do with her 
 eldest sister Samaria ? is she dead ? has she already been converted ? or 
 what else has become of her ? 
 
 It is clear as light that Ezekiel in said passage refers to real Samaria, 
 to real Sodom, as he does to real Jerusalem, which he compares to the 
 former in sinfulness and corruption, as he says in the following verse, 
 " Hast thou not walked likewise in their ways, and done after their 
 abominations ?" Had not Isaiah and other prophets also compared 
 corrupted Jerusalem to the real Sodom and Gomorrah } What could 
 Ezekiel do more than even define the geographical situation of these 
 two sisters, placing the one at the '• right hand" and the other at the 
 •' left hand" of Jerusalem ? Is it not evident that while Samaria, in- 
 cluding the ten tribes and their territories, was styled the greater sister 
 of Jerusalem which included only two tribes, Sodom is therefore called 
 the smaller sister, because of its real smallness compared with Judea ! 
 Where will fancy stop with its daring speculations upon Holy Scrip- 
 tures ! If a fair quotation of Scripture can be made with regard to the 
 meaning of the " little sister," it is from the prophet Amos, who, when 
 he received oracles of tearful judgment about to be poured upon his 
 nation, twice exclaimed, " O Lord God, forgive, I beseech thee ; for 
 how will Jacob stand {i,e. such great calamities), seeing he is so small," 
 or " so little ?" It is the very word ■pp (Katon), employed in our 
 
 Terse in the feminine form (see Amos vii. 2—5). But far be it from us 
 to establish a theory from such an incidental word, and regarding a 
 subject of so great importance as the prophecy in question, which must 
 be proved, and not conjectured. 
 
374 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 even the Judaising Christians in question never doubtt^cl of the 
 admittance of the Gentiles to the entire privileges of the New 
 Covenant in Shiloh, who was to be their Redeemer as well 
 as that of the Jews, but thought t])at the covenant of cir- 
 cumcision entered into with Abraham was binding on the 
 Gentiles who embraced the faith of that Patriarch. It has 
 been already and fully proved from facts like that of Simeon's 
 declaration that the child was the promised " light to en- 
 lighten the Gentiles," from the numerous " Grecian dis- 
 ciples" who joined the Church, even long before the con- 
 version of Cornelius (see Acts vi. 1, and consult our remarks 
 pp. 315), and from numerous other striking facts and inci- 
 dents of that time (which were alluded to pp. 316), that 
 not only the disciples of Christ who heard His parables and 
 prophesies regarding the coming in of the Gentiles, and who 
 after His resurrection received explicit orders for their invi- 
 tation, but that even the ancient Church in general, and 
 before His coming^ was by no means ignorant of the fact 
 that when the promised Messiah came the gathering in of 
 the Gentiles into the bond of the Covenant would immedi- 
 ately follow. If the greatest part of that Church stumbled 
 at the coming of Christ, this affected by no means the ques- 
 tion about the coming in of the Gentiles ; for had these 
 unbelieving Jews believed that Jesus of Nazareth was the 
 promised Messiah they would not for a moment have 
 doubted that the gathering in of the Gentiles must follow 
 His coming. Now we have nothing to do with the un- 
 believing, but with the believing Jews, with the disciples 
 of Christ, and we ask how could they, after all they saw, 
 knew, and heard, ask Him questions about what was to be 
 done with the Gentiles who stood at the door knocking and 
 asking admittance ? How could they call the multitudes of 
 believing Gentiles, who, with fasting, prayers, and suppli- 
 cations, waited for the happy day of their visitation (see our 
 remarks pp. 315 — 22), a "little, faithless, hopeless, and re- 
 fractory sister," in the face of the open revolt of their own 
 nation, who rejected and crucified their Saviour, and was 
 now fire and sword against His very name? Is it the 
 pious, fasting, and praying Cornelius, with his household 
 and friends ? Is it the eunuch of Queen Candace, and the 
 great numbers of the same kind who went to Jerusalem to 
 worship the living God? Is it the great " multitudes'* of 
 
CUAPTER VIII. 8, 9. 375 
 
 devout persons in Greece who eagrrly waited for the tidings 
 of salvation? Is it they, we ask, whom the Apostles of 
 Christ would have styled a faithless, perverted, hardened, 
 and worthless and hopeless little sister? Or was it not 
 rather the Pharisees and their adherents, who, combined 
 with the Romans, rose up " against God and His Christ," 
 crucified the Prince of Glory, and commenced to pour out 
 their fury upon His disciples, and to persecute them with 
 chains, the prison, and the sword ? 
 
 The Bride's question is evidently about a body of men to 
 whom the gospel was to he preached, but who, in her judg- 
 ment, were in no wise prepared to accept it. She did not 
 ask, " Shall we abandon our ' little,' faithless, and unripe 
 sister, and give up the very idea of addressing her, seeing 
 she is stubborn and rebellious ?" But her question was, 
 " What shall we do for our sister in the day that she shall 
 be spoken for" (or " to") ? It is thus evident that " spoken 
 for" (or "to") she must be — that she must unavoidably be 
 invited to come and join her elder sister, the Bride, in the 
 New Covenant. And what forces the Bride to do that ? 
 It is the irrevocable order of her Lord — it is the repeated 
 commandment of the risen Saviour to " begin at Jerusalem," 
 to commence the gospel-preaching first of all at " Jerusalem 
 and throughout all Judea." It was that order that astonished 
 the Bride, who, to avoid disturbance and persecution, was 
 obliged to leave that " wilderness," swarming with bitter 
 enemies, with thirsty wolves, to meet her risen Saviour in a 
 mountain in Galilee, and at a retired place at the Sea of 
 Tiberias. Now, while she expected to be ordered to flee 
 immediately from that rebellious and infatuated city, and 
 avoid her country altogether, and go at once into distant 
 lands to preach the gospel to willing, waiting, and praying 
 Gentiles, she heard to her great surprise that she must 
 immediately return again into that wilderness, and begin 
 her mission-Avork in the midst of violence and death. 
 
 At the beginning of this chapter the Church was repre- 
 sented praying for the speed}' coming of her Lord in the 
 flesh in the form of a brother, that is to say, as a son of 
 Zion, as she was the daughter of Zion (see exposition of that 
 verse). Nothing, therefore, can be clearer than that the 
 newly chosen Church, consisting of the disciples and first 
 believers in Christ, cnlls the fallen-otf portion of the ancient 
 
376 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 Church "our sister;" for that portion of the Jews who now 
 assumed the attitude of open enemies was nothing else but 
 the " sister" of both Jesus and His disciples. Of them 
 Paul says : " I have great heaviness and continual sorrow 
 of heart, ... for my brethren, my kinsmen according 
 to the flesh. . . . Whose are the fathers, and of whom 
 as concerning the flesh Christ came."* And can there re- 
 main any doubt that these very Israelites, to whom " blind- 
 ness happened in part," who had a " zeal of God but not 
 according to knowledge," and who were now enemies of 
 Christ, His cross, and His disciples, are alone indicated 
 under the appellations of the "little breastless sister," and 
 " our sister ?" 
 
 When the Lord appeared to Ananias at Damascus, and 
 ordered him to visit the famous and dreaded Saul of Tarsus, 
 the surprised disciple said : " Lord, I have heard by many 
 of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at 
 Jerusalem ; and here he hath authority from the chief 
 priests to bind all that call on thy name."-{- Is not our 
 passage identical with this? When the surprised disciples 
 heard the Lord's order that they should return and preach 
 the gospel at Jerusalem, they said : " Lord, it is true that 
 Jerusalem is our sister according to the flesh, but alas, she 
 is unnatural, hardened, cruel, without affection, without 
 faith, without reason, — she crucified her Lord and Saviour, 
 her elder brother, and she hates us unto death. What then 
 can we expect at her hands ? How are we to go and ask 
 her in covenant-marriage to Thee whom she persecutpd to 
 death ? ' What shall we do for our sister in the day that 
 she shall be spoken for' according to thy commandment? 
 Is she not now very 'little,' and altogether insignificant, 
 compared with the great multitudes of virgins of the 
 ' daughters of Jerusalem,' of awakened and praying Gentiles, 
 who will certainly accept our tidings and invitation with 
 inexpressible joy ?" 
 
 Before we enter upon the consideration of the Saviour's 
 answer to the question of His astonished disciples, we have 
 some remarks to make, and a most important passage in the 
 Acts to explain. Our Lord rebukes the two disciples on 
 their way to Emmaus, and said that they were " slow of 
 
 * Rom. ix. 2-5. f Acts ix. 13, 14. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 8, 9. 3T7 
 
 heart {i.e., of understanding) to believe all that the prophets 
 have spoken ;" but it is evident that even after He had 
 "opened their understanding that they might understand 
 the Scriptures," they had yet no idea of the stupendous and 
 overwhelming work that was soon to be accomplished by 
 their instrumentality. It was only after the Holy Spirit 
 was poured out upon them on the memorable day of Pente- 
 cost that they ceased as it were to follow their own calcula- 
 tions, and to guide their actions by their own reason. The 
 Spirit having taken possession of them, and lifted them 
 above material laws and mortal passions, urged by an 
 irresistible power they issued forth from their "upper 
 chamber" like a mighty stream, rushed against tempest, 
 fire, and sword, braved death and the fury of violent men ; 
 but they knew not yet what that spiritual revolution would 
 ultimately produce. Before that event, they paused at 
 every step, they marvelled and calculated, believed in part 
 and doubted in part, were often surprised and heated to 
 enthusiasm, and as soon cooled down and brought to a stand 
 still. During their three years' instruction their Divine 
 Tutor had often to answer questions that make us blusb at 
 the ignorance that dictated them ; but we forget that they 
 had to look down into unfulfilled and obscure prophecy, 
 which to us is clear and evident, because we look back 
 into literally fulfilled oracles. We forget that they had to 
 fight against national errors, and fabulous explanations of 
 prophecy regarding Messiah's coming and the nature of His 
 kingdom. This subject was the most perplexing to them. 
 They knew from Scripture that Messiah was to be a uni- 
 versal King, and " His dominion from sea to sea, and from 
 the river to the uttermost ends of the earth," and this the 
 blinded Pharisees explained in a literal and temporal sense, 
 and so the people believed it in general, and so did also the 
 fishermen of Galilee believe it. Hence, when they saw the 
 humble attitude of their Master, and that He took no steps 
 whatever, to possess Himself of some province or country, 
 whence to declare war against all nations of the earth, and 
 finally overthrow them, they were greatly surprised. Here 
 was the source of all the errors which they committed in 
 their calculations, and all the strange questions and demands 
 which they addressed so often unto Jesus. Hence, the boldness 
 and daring of Peter to " rebuke " his Master for saying that 
 
O I O THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 He must soon die on the cross ! What ! thought Peter, 
 should Messiah die before having taken possession of all the 
 kingdoms of the earth! Impossible. Hence, the daring 
 request of two disciples to have a pre-eminence in that 
 kingdom, the dispute which continued among all the dis- 
 ciples about hierarchical master}^ even to the very night of 
 Gethsemane, and many other things which to mention and 
 explain is not our present purpose. And this was the 
 principal reason of their bewilderment and dispersion w^hen 
 they saw their Master had fallen into the hands of His 
 enemies ; as we also see from the language of the two dis- 
 ciples near Emmaus, " But we trusted that it had been he 
 Avho should have redeemed Israel," i.e., from the power of 
 the Romans, and established His dominion over the whole 
 earth, but now He has been crucified! 
 
 The marvellous scenes at His death, His resurrection, 
 and the " opening of their understandings to understand 
 the Scriptures," had shed much light upon their darkness. 
 It showed them that the real nature of the Lord's kingdom 
 was spiritual — that he came to conquer sin and death, and 
 to deliver captives from the power of Satan ; but how this 
 was to be accomplished, they knew not yet. And now 
 another great perplexity began to trouble their minds, viz., 
 the mysterious order of their risen Master to " begin at 
 Jerusalem !" Then it is to be still a kingdom ! an army of 
 believers ! yes, but how should this army, or part of it, be 
 recruited at Jerusalem ! in the rebellious, faithless, and 
 stubborn city ! — and from those very men who insisted on 
 His being put to death! — and is then Israel to be delivered 
 after all, and to form the nucleus of the Messianic army and 
 kingdom ! and how is this to be accomplished? In the ex- 
 planation of this difficulty, we have already seen, is found 
 the fulfilment and explanation of Solomon's prophecy re- 
 garding the question of the Bride about the " little sister," 
 and what was to be done with her on the day that she shall 
 be spoken for, or in the day that the gospel shall be preached 
 unto her. There is a passage in the Acts which perfectly 
 illustrates the question of the Bride, the cause of her sur- 
 prise, and the Saviour's answer. 
 
 " And being assembled together with them, he com- 
 manded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, 
 but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 8, 9. 379 
 
 have heard of me ; for John truly baptised with water ; 
 but 3-e shall be baptised with the Holy Ghost, not many 
 days hence." This mystery they could not understand. 
 — What! begin at Jerusalem! — "Jerusalem that killeth 
 her prophets, and stoneth all that are sent to her, and at 
 last killed ' the Heir,' crucified the Son of God, shall still 
 the kingdom of Christ begin there ! " When they there- 
 fore came together (for the last time), thty asked of Him, 
 saying, Lord, wilt thou at this thne restore again the king- 
 dom to Israel?" Here is exactly the question about the 
 " little sister " — Lord, what dost thou mean by telling us 
 to abide in and begin at Jerusalem ? " Wilt thou at this 
 time," after she had crucified Thee, and when she is 
 enraged and in open revolt against Thee and us — " Wilt 
 thou at this time restore again the kingdoni to her, and 
 bring her within the bond of the covenant! And by what 
 means ? If she would not hear Thee and Thy repeated 
 invitations, what shall w^e, a handful of despised and perse- 
 cuted disciples do for her in the day that she shall be 
 spoken for" (or "to")? " And he said unto them. It is 
 not for you to know the times and the seasons which the 
 Father hath put into his own power. But j'^ou shall receive 
 power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you ; and 
 ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in all 
 Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the 
 earth."* The expression of "being witnesses," or that of 
 " bearing His name " before men, means nothing else but 
 to be instruments in His hand for the conversion of many 
 souls ; as was the Lord's answer to the astonished Ananias 
 regarding Paul, " He is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear 
 ray name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of 
 Israel," and we know what this signified. Thus we see 
 that the Lord's answer to His wondering disciples was in 
 substance, that they should not perplex themselves with 
 needless fear of difficulties, nor be envious about things 
 which they neither needed nor could understand at that 
 time ; but be assured that as soon as the Holy Spirit shall 
 be poured out upon them from above, and they shall receive 
 full power for their mission, multitudes of that now despised, 
 feared, and slighted "little sister," shall be converted by 
 
 * Acts i. 4—8, 
 
380 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 their instrumentality — that when they shall thus have been 
 strengthened in Jerusalem and Judea, they shall then go 
 forth " unto the uttermost parts of the earth." Exactly 
 the same is the first part of the answer of our Lord to His 
 Bride in the Song, " If she be a wall," i.e., if this " little 
 sister" that is now rebellous and faithless, be converted and 
 built up as the first wall in the temple of Grod, " we shall 
 build on her a silver palace," or "towers of silver," i.e., 
 with her aid we shall call in and build up the Gentiles, upon 
 this first wall, this first Church built up at Jerusalem. And 
 here we observe that the Hebrew text will bear perfectly 
 the rendering of, " Those of her," instead of " If she," 
 meaning that those of the "little sister" that would prove 
 a wall in faith, upon them the silver palaces would be built. 
 But we must first say a word about the images employed, 
 of " wall" and building, before finishing the explanation of 
 the passage. 
 
 In Scripture language the establishment, growth, increase, 
 and prosperity of a nation, tribe, or family is expressed by 
 " building up," or planting, " At what instant I decree con- 
 cerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom to be built up 
 and planted."* Jeremiah was set as a prophet " over nations 
 and kingdoms, to destroy and to throw down, to build, and 
 to plant. "f This language is very frequently used by the 
 prophets regarding Israel as a nation, but by none so often 
 as by Jeremiah, " I will set mine eyes upon them for good, 
 . . . I will build them, and not destroy." J Again, " I 
 will build thee, and thou shalt be built, virgin of Israel." § 
 The people and elders of Bethlehem said to Boaz, " The 
 Lord make the woman that is come into thine house like 
 Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of 
 Israel," II i.e., of whom came the twelve tribes. Of this 
 woman (Ruth) came David, unto whom the Lord promised 
 to build him a " sure house," and to establish his throne for 
 ever ; and it is well known that this " everlasting throne" 
 meant the throne of the Messiah, of whom it was said that 
 he shall inherit " David's throne," meaning the everlasting 
 throne promised to David, and consequently David's house 
 was built up in the Messiah. The temple built at Jerusa- 
 lem became then the type of that Messianic house, throne, 
 
 * Jer. xviii. 9. f Jer. i. 10. % J^*"- xxiv, 6. 
 
 $ Jer. sxxi. 4. || Ruth iv. 11, 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 8, 9. 381 
 
 and kingdom, and the prophets often used the figures of 
 Zion, temple, and Jerusalem regarding the Christian Church, 
 the spiritual temple of God, and Messiah's everlasting king- 
 dom. So the Psalmist, " And the heathen nations shall 
 fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth 
 thy glory ; for when Jehovah shall build up Zion, He shall 
 appear in His glory."f This refers to Him who is the 
 express image of Jehovah's glory. He appeared and built 
 up Zion, the Christian Church, which the heathen and the 
 kings of the earth perceived, and learned to fear the name of 
 the Lord. 
 
 This glorious and spiritual building is variously called 
 Zion, or the temple of God, and its builders are in the first 
 place the Lord Messiah, " Behold the man whose name is 
 The Branch, . . . He shall build the temple of the 
 Lord. Even He shall build the temple of the Lord, and He 
 shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon His throne," 
 &c.,| and, in the second place, it is the Church also, as the 
 same prophet in the same passage says, " And they that are 
 far off (or distant nations) shall come and build in the temple 
 of the Lord."§ The Church, then, is at once built and 
 building, the "lively stones" that are built are masons at 
 the same time ; the Church is building along with her 
 glorious Head, " for we are labourers together with God."|I 
 Thus the Lord Jesus and His Church are the builders of 
 that temple and at the same time the temple itself. He being 
 the Corner-stone, the apostles and prophets the foundation, 
 the daughter of Zion (or the first Christian Church at Jeru- 
 salem), the first and principal wall, and the Gentiles palaces 
 and towers upon that wall. Again, every individual mem- 
 ber, who, as a lively stone, is built up in that holy temple, 
 becomes a builder in his turn ; for this is the first fruit 
 which every branch in Christ must yield, though in different 
 shapes and quantities according to the gift of grace. 
 
 Jesus was made perfect by sufferings, and by His death 
 and resurrection, was laid by the Father, through the ever- 
 lasting Spirit, as the chief Corner-stone and beginning of 
 that building, of which He also became the first and prin- 
 cipal Builder. He ordered His disciples to remain at Jeru- 
 salem until the Spirit should be poured out upon them, that 
 
 * Ps.cii. 15, 16. t Zech. vi. 12, 13. 
 
 t Zech. vi 15. 6 1 Cor. iii. 9. 
 
382 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 when they were built up as the foundation on that Corner- 
 stone, they should become builders in turn, that when they 
 had received the power of the Holy Spirit, they might be 
 witnesses at Jerusalem, and convert thousands of their 
 " little sister," and build them up as the first and princi- 
 pal wall, to appear, as it were, above the ground, and on 
 which the Gentiles were to be built up as towers p.nd palaces. 
 " According to the grace of God which is given unto me, 
 as a wdse master builder, I have laid the foundation, and 
 another buildeth thereon. But let every man t&ke heed 
 how he buildeth thereupon." This is the languag-e of one 
 precious stone of the wall^ and who once belonged to the 
 faithless " little sister," but who was built up by Christ, and 
 by Ananias, a builder in His Church, and became himself a 
 great " master builder," to build up many of the " sons of 
 strangers" into stones of the same temple of God. Now he 
 speaks to those of his Gentile converts who had become 
 builders in their turn, and exhorts them to take care to 
 build on the same foundation. When he says, " I have laid 
 the foundations," he means that he laid it open unto them 
 by doctrine, as he said, further, " For other foundation can 
 no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ."* 
 More explicit is the same apostle in another address to 
 another Gentile Church. " Now^, therefore, ye are no more 
 strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, 
 and of the household of God ; and are built upon the foun- 
 dation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself 
 being the chief Corner-stone, in whom all the building fitly 
 framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord : 
 In whom also ye are builded together for an habitation of 
 God through the Spirit."-f It is easily seen that in the 
 latter passage Paul speaks to a Church that has become a 
 part of that Holy temple of God, while in the former he 
 addressed those who by the grace of God had become active 
 builders in that temple, z.e., preachers of the gospel and 
 witnesses of the cross after having been built up themselves. 
 These he exhorted to take care, and recommend to others 
 the same foundation and Corner-stone, that w^as laid before 
 them by him (Paul), also to take care about what persons they 
 shou'd build upon that foundation, /.e., what persons they 
 
 ♦ 1 Cor. iii. 10-12. f Eph. ii. 19-22. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 8, 9. 383 
 
 admit into comrimnion with, and as members of, that Church 
 and temple of God. " Now if any man build upon this foun- 
 dation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble ; 
 every man's work shall be made n:anifest ; for the day shall 
 declare it, because it shall be revealed b}^ fire ; and the fire 
 shall try every man's work of what sort it is."* With 
 these observations we return to the building of the wall and 
 palace in this passage of the Ir^ong. 
 
 The disciples, surprised at the order of their risen Master 
 that they should remain, and begin at Jerusalem, asked 
 Him what they were expected to do for their faithless, 
 straying, and rebellious little sister? how it was possible to 
 restore now, " at this time," the kingdom unto Israel, or to 
 begin the foundation of Messiah's universal reign at Jeru- 
 salem, seeing that she was so unripe, so hostile, and so irri- 
 tated against tlim, and against all those who call upon His 
 name ? To which the Lord answered, " If she be a wall" 
 (or " those of her who shall prove a wall") z.e.. If after ye 
 have received the power of the Spirit to bear me witness at 
 Jerusalem and in all Judea, she return unto me, repent, be 
 converted, and be built up as the first wall in my spiritual 
 sanctuary, *' we shall build on her a palace of silver," z.e., 
 strengthened by her num.ber and aid, j^ou will then go forth 
 into all the world (and I will be wath you) to call in and 
 build up the Gentiles ; and this very "little sister," whom 
 ye now despise as unripe, faithless, hardened and worthless, 
 will furnish you with Pauls, and Stephens, and Philips, and 
 Procheruses, and Nicanors, and thousands of other zealous 
 and faithful disciples, full of the Holy Spirit, and mighty 
 in works, and who will constitute the first and formidable 
 wall on which, and by whose instrumentality we will build 
 up the Gentiles as silver palaces. That this was really the 
 Cdse we know from history, and that it was appointed by a 
 decree of heaven long before, man}^ oracles of the prophets 
 fortold, as David did, "The rod of thy strength (or 'the 
 sceptre of thy power'), the Lord will send out of Zion ; 
 rule thou in the midst of thy enemies." Messiah's king- 
 dom was to begin at Jerusalem, His sceptre and rule was to be 
 acknowledged first of all in the very midst of those \^ ho had 
 
 * 1 Cor. iii. 12, 13. 
 
384 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 despised, rejected, and pierced Him, and so it really hap- 
 pened ; and Solomon was here favoured with a view regard- 
 ing- the first establishment of the kino:dom of his antitype. 
 
 The second condition about this little sister was : " If 
 she be a door " (or, *' Those of her that shall prove a door ") 
 2.e., If she be undecided, doubting, opposing, moving to 
 and fro on the hinges of unbelief, and still causing rebellion 
 and persecution — " we shall enclose her (or fasten her) 
 with a board (or beam) of cedar," i.e. put it out of her 
 power to hurt you and your work, and make sure of her 
 not being able to hinder the progress of the building. This 
 condition, alas, was as literally fulfilled as the former. As 
 a great multitude of this " little sister" obtained mercy for 
 themselves and proved a wall, a foundation, and blessing to 
 the Gentiles, so the other portion were blinded and hardened, 
 and going about (like the door on the hinges), to establish 
 their own righteousness, submitted not themselves unto the 
 righteousness of God." Having proved a turning door, 
 having shown themselves destitute of stability and faith, and 
 full of perversion and rebellion, " God hath concluded them 
 all (or as the margin reads, ' hath shut them all up to- 
 gether') in unbelief," and in order to prevent their being 
 an obstacle in the way of the builders. He fastened her with 
 a beam of cedar, /.e., plunged her into awful calamities, 
 destroyed her stronghold, and dispersed her as captives 
 throughout the vast wilderness of the nations, where they 
 had, and have still, too much to do for themselves to be able 
 to obstruct the building of the Messianic edifice. This is, 
 in our opinion, the meaning of this passage ; and should the 
 reader find still a shade of difficulty about the '^^^ (im) which 
 doubtless signifies " If," let him remember that in the 
 image where the whole nation appears under the figure of a 
 single " little sister," no other w^ord could be employed, for 
 Solomon could not apply to her both alternatives at once, 
 and say if she become half wall and half door, therefore he 
 put it conditionally, if she prove the one or the other. But 
 the moment we know that it is not a single person but a 
 nation we understand that these conditions expressed in 
 *' If she," mean nothing else but " Those of this nation that 
 shall prove a wall, upon them we will build the silver towers" 
 as in the foUowiug passage : " If thou return to the 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 10. 385 
 
 Almighty, thou shalt be built up," &c.* " But those of 
 her who shall prove a door we will fasten with a board or 
 
 beam of cedar " — " And I will distress Ariel 
 
 And I will camp against thee round about, and will lay 
 siege against thee with a mount, and I will raise forts 
 against thee, and thou shalt be brought down, . . and 
 thy speech shall be low out of the dust," &c.f And all 
 this came to pass. 
 
 THE CONVERTED " LITTLE SISTER." 
 
 10. I am a wall, and my breasts Uke towers, 
 Therefore am I in His eyes 
 As her who hath found favour (or peace). 
 
 This we consider to be the language of the converted 
 '* little sister," or of those thousands of Israelites who have 
 been converted at Jerusalem and throughout Judea after the 
 outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples. It is 
 the person of whose conversion the Bride (the Apostles and 
 the first few disciples) despaired, and asked her Beloved what 
 she could do for her, and with her, in the deplorable and 
 hopeless state she was in. It is the person regarding whom 
 the risen Saviour said that she would yet become the first 
 and principal wall in His temple, and on which the silver 
 palace would be reared ; it is this " little sister," who appears 
 triumphantly in our verse and says : " Here am I, the once 
 abandoned, despised and despaired of 'little sister,' whom my 
 elder sister considered as hopeless and unripe, but who, 
 according to the prediction of the Redeemer, am now a wall 
 in Jehovah's sanctuary, and upon whom are built many 
 towers and palaces, by whose instrumentality many Chris- 
 tian Churches among the Gentiles are established and 
 reared, and therefore I am (or was) in His eyes as her who 
 found favour and peace long before me } even as my elder 
 sister who found her Saviour before and immediately after 
 His death and resurrection, and who despaired of my ever 
 finding Him." And here again the Apostle Paul will ex- 
 plain the language of the " little sister." In regard to 
 Paul himself the Bride once said : " Lord, I have heard 
 
 * Job xxii. 23. f Is. xxix. 1—4. 
 
 R 
 
386 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 of this man how much evil he hath done to thy saints at 
 Jerusalem ;" and to whom the Lord replied, "He is a chosen 
 vessel unto me to bear my name before the Gentiles," &c.* 
 And what were ultimately the statements of that " little 
 sister?" "For I am the least of the Apostles, that am 
 not meet to be called an Apostle, because I persecuted the 
 Church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am ; 
 and His grace which was bestowed on me was not in vain ; 
 but I laboured more abundantly than they all."-]- Again, 
 " I am become a fool in glorying ; ye have compelled me : 
 for I ought to have been commended of you ; for in nothing 
 I am behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing. 
 Truly the signs of an Apostle were wrought among you in 
 all patience, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds.J Is 
 not this the very sentiment of the " little sister" in our 
 verse ? Paul says that he was the last to whom the Lord 
 appeared after His resurrection, and he calls himself *' one 
 born out of due time " [i.e. contrary to all expectation), but 
 that nevertheless he had found grace in the eyes of the 
 Lord even as she who was with him from the beginning. 
 " True," says he, " I have come only at the eleventh hour, 
 but by the grace of God I am what I am, and not a whit 
 behind any of those who bore the heat of the day. I am a 
 ' wall,' I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, 
 I have kept the faith." § " My breasts are like towers ;" 
 " I laboured more abundantly than they all ; I nourished 
 many thousands of precious souls with the Gospel of truth, 
 and espoused them as chaste and undefiled virgins unto 
 Christ." *' But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse 
 cherisheth her own children ; so, being affectionately desirous 
 of you, we were willing to have imparted to you, not the 
 Gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were 
 dear unto us. . . . For ye, brethren, became the fol- 
 lowers of the Churches of God, which in Judea are in 
 Jesus Christ."l| And who were those "Churches in Judea" 
 but the converted " little sister," after whose example, and 
 upon whom these Gentile Churches were built like lofty 
 towers upon a solid wall ! " Therefore was I in His eyes as 
 her who hath found peace," " even as her unto whom the 
 
 * Acts ix. 13-15. t 1 Cor. xv. 9, 10. X 2 Cor. xii 11, 12. 
 
 § 2 Tim. iv. 7. II 1 Thes. ii. 7, 8-14. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 10. 387 
 
 Lord had said long before my conversion, " Peace I leave 
 with you, my peace I give unto you." " By the grace of 
 God I have now obtained the same peace," and " Hence- 
 forth there is laid up for me a crown o'' righteousness, 
 which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me in that 
 day ; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love 
 His appearing."* 
 
 In thus making the great apostle speak for all his breth- 
 ren that came forth from the midst of the rebellious nation 
 styled the " little sister who had no breasts," but who, by 
 the grace of God, formed the first wall built upon the foun- 
 dation of the Apostles, who themselves were built and esta- 
 blished on the precious corner-stone laid in Zion ; and in 
 comparing the whole matter with the argument of the same 
 apostle in Rom. xi. 1 — 5, there appears a sublime subject 
 for serious contemplation, which must produce a cheering 
 solemnity in every soul enlightened by the Spirit of God. 
 Behold for a moment that holy and zealous servant of 
 God, Elijah the Tishbite, pouring forth bitter complaints 
 before the Lord of Hosts against the rebellious and prophet- 
 killing Israel, and saying, '* I am left alone and they seek 
 my life." But he who sees in secret told him that there 
 were yet seven thousand men in the midst of that nation 
 whose knees had never bowed before Baal. What a deep 
 sore, mingled with joy, must this astonishing announce- 
 ment have caused in the heart of that angelic man ! — a 
 sore, when he remembered how Abraham wrestled with 
 God for doomed Sodom, and how he prevailed to reduce to 
 Jive the number of the just men for whose sake the whole 
 of that country would have been saved, while he called 
 down judgment upon his own nation which numbered still 
 seven thousand saints in the midst of her ! At the same 
 time, how must his breast have heaved with holy joy when 
 he heard that happy statement made by Him who knows 
 the heart and tries the reins of man ! In our Song, the 
 Bride, on meeting her risen Saviour in the mountain of 
 Galilee, is represented as despairing of her own nation, and 
 regarding her as unripe, hopeless, worthless, and to be utterly 
 abandoned for the time being as breastless, as " a very fro- 
 ward generation, children in whom is no faith," as *' a na- 
 
 * 2 Tim. iv. 8. 
 
 r2 
 
388 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 tion void of counsel, and in whom there was no understand- 
 ing." But He who, even when He w^ore the crown of 
 thorns, knew that His real sceptre will be sent to Him from 
 Zion — that His kingdom will be first established at Jeru- 
 salem — He who, even from the height of Plis cross, pene- 
 trated the profoundest depth of the future, told His despairing 
 Bride that, even in the midst of revolted Jerusalem and 
 Judea, there are sufficient materials for composing the first 
 wall of His spiritual and glorious structure. The Apostles 
 tarry at Jerusalem for the promise ; the Comforter comes 
 and fills them with supernatural vigour, zeal, and power ; 
 they issue from their chamber and preach the gospel of a 
 crucified Saviour in the very streets and broad places of 
 the revolted city, and multitudes came forth out the midst 
 of that nation, flying like the " doves into their windows" 
 when threatened by a dark storm and tempest, and cry 
 aloud, " What shall we do to be saved ?" Thousands upon 
 thousands are baptized ; " And the multitude of them that 
 believed were of one heart, and of one soul." And thus 
 the first and mighty wall was built up at Jerusalem, by the 
 instrumentality of the Apostle, out of the " little sister," 
 whom the now astonished apostles once considered as en- 
 tirely hopeless ! But the upper structure, the palaces and 
 towers, were then to be commenced, and who is to do that ? 
 One still belonging to the rebellious " little sister," even 
 after thousands of her children had embraced Christ— one 
 who was the terror of all believers. Saul of Tarsus, the 
 greatest persecutor of the Church, became the greatest of 
 the apostles, and, by the grace of God bestowed upon him, 
 was able to rear up perhaps as many churches among the 
 Gentiles, as all the other apostles made individual converts 
 in Judea. Now he stands, in the passages quoted above, at 
 the end of his career and ministry, a marvel to apostles and 
 disciples, to Jew and Gentile, to the generation then living, 
 and to the end of the world. What are the miserable vic- 
 tories of the Alexanders and Csesars of this world when 
 placed beside the victories of this astonishing man of 
 God? What were their travels, their energies, their plans, 
 their words, and their deeds, beside those of the mar- 
 vellous Paul? While they, or rather the mighty armies 
 at their command, left behind them everywhere destruction, 
 desolation, and woe, Paul, without any other suit but his 
 
 2 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 11, 12. 389 
 
 faith, zeal, and grace, left behind him more living, God- 
 praising, and rejoicing souls, more monuments of peace, joy, 
 and glory, in Europe, Asia, and Africa, than they did car- 
 casses of the victims of their ambition. And, 0, look at 
 that little, weak, and persecuted Paul, the prodigious son 
 of " worm Jacob," how he could show to the apostles that in 
 him the once despised and despaired of " little sister" has 
 proved a strong and high " wall," with lofty towers and 
 palaces, in almost every part of the globe. But while we 
 have confined ourselves to Paul alone for the illustration of 
 our verse, we must not forget the great numbers of primi- 
 tive believers, who, by reason of persecution and other causes, 
 went forth from Judea, and carried the Gospel tidings into far 
 and distant countries, and who all came forth of that " little 
 sister." " Therefore they that were scattered abroad went 
 every where preaching the word."* This took place not only 
 before Paul's conversion, but asthe results of his persecutions, 
 and the whole band of these scattered Gospel- preachers came 
 forth from the mass of the nation called once the " little 
 breastless sister," and they also carried first the Gospel into 
 Antioch,-|- and to many other distant countries, and cer- 
 tainly they could say, " I am a wall, and my breast like 
 towers, therefore am I in His eyes as her who hath found 
 peace " (or grace, favour.) For additional illustration of 
 the figure, consult the passages indicated below. | 
 
 THE UNITED CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 
 
 11. Solomon had a vineyard in Baal Hamon, 
 He let out that vineyard to keepers : 
 Every one was to bring for the fruit thereof, 
 A thousand pieces of silver. 
 
 12. My own vineyard is before me ; 
 
 The thousand unto thee, 0, Solomon, 
 
 And two hundred unto the keepers of the fruits thereof. 
 
 Instead of entering into an examination or refutation of 
 the various views of commentators on this seemingly diffi- 
 cult passage, we think it preferable to give at once the 
 simple and clear explanation which forces itself upon us in 
 the unbroken chain of argument, events, circumstances and 
 
 * Acts viii. 4. f See Acts xi. 19—22. 
 
 + 1 Cor. iii. 2, iv. 15, 16 ; Heb. v. 11-14. 
 
390 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 consequences contained in, and inferred from the context 
 and subject matter of the whole portion in the last chapter, 
 which we call the Conclusion of the Song. We saw the 
 astonishment of the disciples when their risen Saviour told 
 them to tarry, and begin at Jerusalem, and their question 
 to Him about what they were to do with (or for) that rebel- 
 lious " little sister" in the day that she shall be spoken for 
 (or to). The answer that those of her (revolted Jerusa- 
 lem) that shall be converted to Him would form the first 
 and principal wall in His temple, on which the " silver 
 palaces," or the Gentile nations and Churches would be 
 constructed and built up ; and that those who shall remain 
 blind and refractory would be encompassed and enclosed 
 with a beam of cedar, f.e., completely prevented from hin- 
 dering the work of the building, or the propagation of the 
 Christian religion and dispensation. We also saw how the 
 converted "little sister" triumphantly said : " I am a wall, 
 and my breasts like towers, therefore am I in His eyes as her 
 that hath found peace" (see explanation of that verse). 
 Now we have in the present two verses the voice of the 
 whole Hebrew- Christian Church of Judea and Jerusalem, 
 including the Apostles and the many thousands that were 
 converted by them to faith in Christ, after the outpouring 
 of the Holy Spirit. This newly-planted, but firmly esta- 
 blished, growing, and prospering Church recounts here in 
 short but comprehensive words, her recent history, the 
 origin of her spiritual existence, the basis on which she was 
 built, and the precious privileges she already enjoyed. 
 
 " Solomon had a vineyard in Baal-Hamon," z.e., in the 
 " place of tumult," or " place of uproar and tumultuous 
 assemblies," or " place of confusion."* Such a place, alas, 
 was Jerusalem at the period to which this passage refers. 
 When the prophet Isaiah sang the Song of his Beloved 
 regarding His vineyard — when he described that vineyard 
 as it once was, and as it was intended to be, he said, " My 
 Beloved had a vineyard on the hill (or corner) of Ben- 
 
 * The reader may consult the following passages with regard to the 
 meaning of I'l^sn (Hamon) : Is. xvii. 12 ; Ps. Ixxxiii. 2, Ixv. 7 as a verse ; 
 
 Ex. xiv. 24 ; Deut. vii. 23, xxviii. 20 ; 1 Kings i. 41—45; 2 Chron. xv. 
 5, 6; Ps. xlvi. 6, &c. The word 5aa^ signifies often a place, as "Baal- 
 Perazim," place of great slaughter — " Baal-Tamar," place of palm 
 trees—*' Baal-Meon," a place of dwellings, &c. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 11, 12. 391 
 
 Shamen," i.e., of a fat or fertile place. But when he came 
 to describe that same vineyard in its corrupted and degene- 
 rated state, he said, "When He looked for justice, behold 
 there was oppression, for righteousness, behold there was a 
 cry" (or "a confused uproar of violence," Is. v. 1 — 7.) 
 This w^as the Jerusalem spoken of in this passage, the vine- 
 yard of the Lord of Hosts in which His servants were ill- 
 treated, wounded, and murdered, and in which at last His 
 Son and only Heir was killed. Nevertheless in that very 
 place of tumult and confusion w^as the " Lord's vineyard," 
 and so far from giving it up as lost, so far from abandoning 
 it altogether, as the disciples judged at first, the once slain 
 Heir, the now risen Son of God, claimed it still as His — 
 yea, " He let out that vineyard to keepers," i.e., He gave 
 it in charge to His Apostles when he told them to return to 
 it and to wait there for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and 
 then to cultivate it by beginning there the preaching of His 
 Gospel. Every one of these keepers was to bring forth 
 "for the fruit thereof" (or, "as the fruit thereof"), "a 
 thousand pieces of silver," i.e., a thousand souls converted 
 unto the Lord of the vineyard. 
 
 Though this number thousand may be taken at random, 
 and considered as merely standing for a high number, or 
 multitude, in which sense it is often used in Scripture, it is 
 not less interesting to consider that when Isaiah speaks of 
 the Messianic period he says, " The little one shall become 
 a thousand, and the small one a strong nation (or ' a great 
 multitude '), I the Lord will hasten it in its time."* And 
 is it not astonishing to see the literal fulfilment of this pro- 
 phecy, to see in how short a time the twelve Galileans, in- 
 cluding Matthias who replaced Judas, grew into a multitude 
 of more than as many thousands ? " About three thousand 
 souls " were converted on the day of Pentecost.f On the 
 occasion of the miracle wrought at the temple gate by 
 Peter and John, and on their preaching Christ to the as- 
 tonished people, " about five thousand believed," and were 
 added to the Church. j: In addition to these 8000 we read, 
 " And the word of God increased, and the number of disci- 
 ples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly, and a great company 
 of the priests were obedient to the faith. "§ Thus we see 
 
 * Is. Ix. 22. t Acts ii. 41. + Acts iv. 4. § Acts Vi. 7. 
 
392 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 that the twelve " keepers of the vineyard in the place of 
 tumult," and amidst uproar and persecution, brought forth 
 a thousand each, that every one of '' these little ones '* 
 became " a thousand " in a very short time. We know- 
 too that the " small one," or the " little sister," became 
 very soon " a mighty and strong nation " (or " a vast 
 multitude"), when, by her blessed instrumentality, great 
 multitudes of the Gentiles were converted to Christ, and 
 built on and joined with her. 
 
 Now, before we enter upon the explanation of verse 12, 
 we must observe that this garden, or vineyard, which Solo- 
 mon had at Baal-Hamen, or in the place of tumult, in 
 revolted Jerusalem, was just the Church that now speaks 
 in this passage, i.e., the many thousands of converted souls 
 that came forth from the revolted multitude that was once 
 Btyled the " little sister." It was for that Church that the 
 Apostles or keepers of the vineyard were ordered by their 
 risen ?d aster to tarry at Jerusalem until these first fruits of 
 the Spirit should be gathered in. As soon as this was ac- 
 complished, as soon as the thousands of Israel were con- 
 verted and constituted the first Church, the principal wall 
 on which the silver palaces (the Gentile nations) were to 
 be reared up, then the Apostles of Christ laid down their 
 exclusive power and authority, and vested it in that Church. 
 They were still venerated by that Church, that " considered 
 them as her pillars," they presided at her councils and 
 public deliberations, and were her boast and her glory, but 
 the power, rule, and authority and government, was in her, 
 in the Church, of which the Apostles were the honoured, 
 leading, teaching, and guiding members. Immediately 
 after the conversion of three thousand souls on the day of 
 Pentecost, we find (for the first time) the name fK^XT^o-ia, 
 Church, applied to the Christian community. Moreover, as 
 Boon as there was a Church, she begun not only to rule and 
 govern herself, but also to preach the Gospel in her turn, for 
 we find it related in the Acts of the Apostles that those of 
 her members who were dispersed by the persecution which 
 soon arose against her at Jerusalem preached the Gospel 
 whereever they went. 
 
 The more this important subject is considered according 
 to the only inspired and authorised narrative of the Acts of 
 the Apostles, beside which we have no account whatever 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 11, 12. 393 
 
 about the movements and labours of the Apostles, which is 
 either consistent in itself or worthy of being relied on, it is 
 most striking to see the surprising and sudden stop put to 
 the extraordinary conversion of multitudes by the original 
 twelve Apostles (including Matthias) beyond Jerusalem, as 
 if it had been determined by the Lord that their chief work 
 should go no farther than the conversion of the thousands 
 that came forth out of the rebellious multitude (of the 
 " little sister ") of whom they despaired ; and that as soon 
 as she came forth, or as soon as the Church of Jerusalem 
 received existence and life, she took the apostolic message 
 in hand and carried it on with vigour and prosperity on 
 her own account and authority. Philip, by whose instru- 
 mentality Samaria was converted, was a son of that Church. 
 And so were Paul, Barnabas, Mark, Silas, A polios, and 
 the hundreds that preached the Gospel in the places in 
 which they were dispersed " upon the persecution that 
 arose about Stephen." As soon as some of these had 
 formed the Church at Antioch, it was unto it and not unto 
 the Apostles that the Holy Spirit said, " Separate me Barna- 
 bas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them."* 
 It was that Church, b}^ her Presbytery, and not any of the 
 Apostles, that " laid their hands on them and sent them 
 away," for the great work of the conversion of the Gentiles. 
 And Paul, speaking biraself about his conversion and mission, 
 said, " Neither went 1 up to Jerusalem to them which were 
 Apostles before me ; but I went into Arabia and returned 
 again unto Damascus."-|- By this, and other arguments in 
 that place, he shows that neither his mission nor ordination 
 had any connexion with the Apostles, but that he received 
 them directly from Christ and His Church. Speaking of his 
 brethren or fellow labourers, Paul said, " They are the 
 messengers of the Churches, and the glory of Christ."J And 
 never do we find them called either delegates of the Apostles 
 or their messengers, or described as having derived any 
 authority whatever from the Apostles. When the Judais- 
 ing teachers came down to Antioch and disturbed the peace 
 of that Church, Paul and Barnabas went up to Jerusalem 
 to the Apostles and elders, not because they depended on or 
 needed their authority or decision in any of their works or 
 doctrine, but because the disturbers of the peace coming 
 
 * Acts xiii. 2. f 2 Gal. i. 17. X 2 Cor. Yiii. 23. 
 
 r3 
 
394 
 
 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 from Jerusalem, the impression made upon the Church of 
 Antioch was that their doctrine might be that of the 
 Apostles and Mother Church, to remove which impression 
 and fear, Paul and Barnabas went up to Jerusalem. From 
 the speech of Peter at the council, it is clear as light that 
 up to that time the case of Cornelius was the only case of 
 the conversion of a Gentile family by the instrumentality of 
 one of the twelve Apostles, " Men and brethren, ye know 
 how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that 
 the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the 
 gospel, and believe."* It is thus evident from Peter's 
 referring to what was accomplished by him, " a good while 
 ago " (or " in former days," or " in the days of the be- 
 ginning," i.e., of the Gospel preaching), that that occasion 
 was the only one in his ministry, and that no other of the 
 twelve Apostles had ever had any part in the conversion of the 
 Gentiles, they being the Apostles of the circumcision, and 
 tarried at Jerusalem. When the Apostles had sent Peter 
 and John to Samaria, it was not td preach the Gospel, but 
 to confirm those of the Samaritans already converted and 
 baptised by Philip. When, after having already worked 
 among the Gentiles for the space of seventeen years, Paul 
 the Apostle of the uncircumcision came up to Jerusalem and 
 saw James, Peter, and John, the arrangement was renewed 
 that he and his fellow labourers should continue among the 
 Gentiles, while they (James, Peter, and John, as well as 
 the others of the twelve Apostles), should continue their 
 original and exclusive labours among the circumcision or 
 the Jews, for whom alone they received their mission.-{- 
 Once that exclusive Hebrew apostle Peter had ventured out 
 of his element in visiting the Gentile Church of Antioch, pro- 
 bably when he was visiting his Hebrew Churches ; but there 
 he conducted himself with such tergiversation and astonishing 
 inconsistency that he drew upon himself a severe and public 
 rebuke from the great Apostle of the Gentiles.l But aa 
 this is not the place to enter at large on this subject, we 
 have only to add that according to Solomon's prophecy in 
 this last chapter, and according to the Gospels, the Acts of the 
 Apostles, and the different Epistles, it is evident that the 
 mission which the twelve Apostles received from their risen 
 Master was exclusively to the Jews, or the " little sister." 
 
 * Acts IV. 7. t See Gal. i. 18, ii. 1—9, compare verse 8. 
 
 t Gal, ii. 11—21. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 11, 12. 395 
 
 That as soon as the first wall was built at Jerusalem, or the 
 first Church established there, though the Apostles still 
 continued to direct the councils and to preside over it, it 
 was that Hebrew and original Church herself, and all the 
 branches formed by her, such as the Church of Antioch, 
 that undertook the building of the "silver palaces," the 
 conversion of the Gentiles in distant countries.* 
 
 It is the above fact, viz., the self-government of the 
 Christian Church from the first day of her existence, that 
 the Holy Spirit foretold by Solomon, when he puts the 
 words of our passage into the mouth of the Bride, or the 
 first Hebrew Christian Church formed at Jerusalem. First 
 she recounts her origin, that the Lord of Hosts had a vine- 
 yard in the place of tumult, of uproar, and contention in 
 revolted Jerusalem, in disordered Judea — that He gave or 
 let out that vineyard to keepers, i.e., to the Apostles, that 
 they should cultivate it and claim the fruits thereof in His 
 name, and that every one of those keepers was to bring a 
 thousand as the fruit thereof to Solomon, the Prince of 
 Peace and Lord of the vineyard. We have seen how by means 
 of these thousands, which the keepers by the blessing of God 
 were enabled to bring forth, the first Christian Church and 
 vineyard was planted and established at Jerusalem. And 
 now it is that very Church that says, '' My own vineyard 
 is before me," i.e., the vineyard which is in me as well as 
 that which I am now called upon to cultivate among the 
 Gentiles, is entirely before me, under my own charge and 
 government, care and responsibility. " The thousand unto 
 Thee, Solomon," i.e., Thou, Lord and owner of this vine- 
 yard, dost receive the thousands as the price and fruit of 
 the vineyard, for I am Thine, and Thou art mine ; I am the 
 first-fruits of the vineyard, but I, as well as the fruits which 
 Thy Spirit shall enable me fiirther to produce, belong 
 
 * Paul, though exclusively the Apostle to the Gentiles, never ne- 
 glected the Jews on his journeys and preachings to the Gentiles, and 
 how could he do otherwise ? (see Rom. ix.— xi.) But it was otherwise 
 with Peter who was an Apostle of the circumcision, and who therefore 
 went to Cornelius with great reluctance, and only after repeated 
 orders. It seems clear that the Lord brought about that event, quite 
 unique in its nature, in order to open wider the door for the Church 
 among the Gentiles, by removing every doubt about the matter. But 
 besides this event there is no trace of the twelve Apostles having had 
 ever afterwards anything to do with preaching to Gentiles directly, for 
 this was not their mission. 
 
396 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 entirely unto Thee, who hast bought me with a great 
 price. " And ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's."* 
 '' And two hundred unto the keepers of the fruits thereof." 
 Every member in the Church of the living God has his 
 labours, occupation, and duties assigned to him, as well as 
 his reward. Christ, as the Head, has the whole Church 
 as the reward for the travail and anguish of His soul, for 
 the Father, who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead, " set 
 Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, far 
 above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, 
 and every name that is named, . . . and hath put all 
 things under his feet, and gave Him to be the head over all 
 things to the Church, which is His body, the fulness of 
 Him that fiUeth all in all."f The Apostles, as the first 
 keepers of the vineyard, have their own glorious portion 
 assigned to them. While the Lord promised an hundred- 
 fold to every faithful follower for any sacrifice made in His 
 service. He promised far more to His Apostles : " Verily, I 
 say unto you, that ye who have followed me, in the resur- 
 rection, when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of His 
 glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the 
 twelve tribes of Israel." J "Ye are they which have con- 
 tinued with me in my temptations. And I appoint unto 
 you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me," 
 &c.§ Though the charge of the first keepers of the vine- 
 yard, the Apostles, returned to the Church, and the vineyard 
 is now before her, still there are the " fellow labourers with 
 God," the ministers and preachers of the Gospel, the pastors 
 of the flocks, and teachers of the word of life, who have 
 their own portion as such : " And God hath set some in 
 the Church ; first apostles ; secondarily, prophets ; thirdly, 
 teachers," &c.|| " Now he that planteth and he that watereth 
 are one : and every man shall receive his own reward 
 according to his own labour."^ The Church, as the body 
 of Christ, as the temple of the living God, includes all ; for 
 her glorious head is Christ, in whom she shines as the 
 brightness of heaven, and in whose salvation she glories. 
 The labourers and teachers in the midst of her, being a part 
 of her own members, their glory is her glory, their portion 
 
 * 1 Cor. iii. 23 t Eph. i. 19-23. 
 
 \ Matt. xix. 28. $ Luke xxii. 28, 29. 
 
 11 1 Cor. xii. 28. IF 1 Cor. iii. 8. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 13. 397 
 
 is her portion. Thus her "own vineyard" is before her, 
 Christ is her's as well as she is His. Though every indi- 
 vidual member has his own portion, collectively all is one, 
 in, and before her. Not only are the internal fruits of the 
 vineyard her's in Christ, and Christ's in her, but also those 
 which she gathers in from abroad, from distant countries, by 
 her sons, the ambassadors of the cross, all is her's in Christ, 
 and she is Christ's, and Christ is God's, " I in them, and 
 thou in me, that they be made perfect in one. . . That 
 the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, 
 and I in them."* 
 
 MESSIAH. 
 
 13. thou that dwellest in the gardens, 
 
 Companions (or companies), listen to thy voice ; 
 Cause me to hear it. 
 
 When the Old Covenant Bride was preparing to cross 
 the river Jordan for the conquest of Canaan, the divine 
 Bridegroom said to her, " my dove, in the clefts of the 
 rock, in the secret places of the precipices, let me see thy 
 countenance, let me hear thy voice ; for thy voice is sweet, 
 and thy countenance comely. "-[■ There it was explained as 
 referring to the times of danger and peril in which he knew 
 that she would often find herself during that great struggle. 
 He therefore recommended to her ardent prayer and the 
 invocation of His holy name on all such occasions, when on 
 hearing her voice He would come to her deliverance. (See 
 the exposition of that verse at large.) But now the New 
 Covenant Bride had a more difficult task before her, a far 
 more dangerous warfare, and a longer and severer struggle 
 to enter into. She was now to go forth for the conquest of a 
 whole world lying in wickedness ; she was now to fight against 
 principalities, and powers, and dominions ; against the prince 
 of darkness with all his armies and instruments; against a 
 world of idols and their multitudes of priests, and supporters, 
 and victims ; against thick clouds of gloomy superstition, 
 deeply-rooted prejudices, and inflamed fanaticism, strength- 
 ened during many centuries. Yea, her present mission was 
 
 * John xvii. 23-26. f John ii. 14. 
 
398 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 to go forth and plant Edens in the dreary wilderness, and 
 gardens of spices in desert and barren places, on wild moun- 
 tain clefts and in the very dens of lions and tigers, and water 
 them with the living waters of the gospel of Christ, as well 
 as with her own tears, accompanying them with her prayers 
 and supplications to her Lord, to grant the increase to the 
 precious seed sown by her, and to bless her labours and 
 efforts in the midst of persecution and calamities of every 
 kind. 
 
 In our exposition of the last verses of the preceding 
 chapter, it was seen how many multitudes of Gentiles had 
 been awakened out of their idolatrous slumber, at the com- 
 mencement of the Messianic period, how they waited in 
 prayer and fasting for their deliverance by the promised 
 Messiah, the Saviour of the world, and for the time when 
 these happy tidings would be announced to them by the 
 Bride. These waiting Gentiles are the companions, or 
 companies, whom, in this verse, the Bridegroom points out 
 to His missionary Church as those that listen to her voice. 
 The word '3'^2'^'fF.'? (Makshivim) signifies as well, " wait to 
 listen," or "desire to listen," i.e., that the companies in 
 question waited with an eager desire to listen to the voice 
 of the Bride, or Church, when she would come to plant the 
 gardens of spices (Churches) among them. But when these 
 gardens were planted, when these original waiting com- 
 panies were visited by the messengers of the Church, 
 and evangelised, and converted, and formed into Churches 
 or separate communities, then other listening companies 
 were formed of those that were yet without, but who 
 eagerly watched and closely observed her " that dwelleth 
 in the gardens," to see her walk, to hear her conversation, 
 and thus to be able to judge about her character, and of the 
 necessity and desirableness of joining themselves unto her. 
 But no matter what the first motive of such listening com- 
 panies were (and still are), whether it was an ardent desire 
 to be convinced of her holy origin and of the truth she pro- 
 claimed, and join her, or whether it w;is a mere curiosity, or 
 even out of a malicious desire to find occasion for calumniat- 
 ing her, it was (and is) her duty to be the same, to proclaim 
 the same truth, to lead the same holy life and pure conver- 
 sation, and to show by her entire behaviour both to friend 
 and enemy " that she hath been with Jesus." And never 
 
CHAPTER. VIII. 13. 399 
 
 can the Church of God appear to more advantage, never 
 can she shine more brilliantly, never is her lustre more 
 effulgent, her influence more irresistible, and her character 
 more divulged, than when she speaks to her Lord and 
 Saviour, sings His praises, " adores Him who is a Spirit in 
 spirit and in truth," addresses to Him her ardent prayers, 
 and humbly supplicates His aid and blessing in all her ways 
 and actions, efforts and labours, whether for her own spiri- 
 tual prosperity, or for the conversion of the companies that 
 listen to her voice. Hence the Lord said unto her in this 
 verse, that when the companies were listening to her voice, 
 the best thing for her to do was to lift up her voice to her 
 Beloved, her Head and Lord, as the best, yea, as the only 
 means to impress, convince, and convert those listening com- 
 panies, and show them the glory and divine majesty of her 
 Lord, her love to Him and His to her ; the implicit and 
 entire confidence she has in His faithfulness to His promises, 
 and the greatness of the privilege of belonging unto Him. 
 
 A few Scripture passages will still further illustrate this 
 beautiful verse, and show the practical meaning of the 
 recommendation it contains. " Arise, shine, for thy light 
 is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. And 
 the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the bright- 
 ness of thy rising."* Again, " And their seed shall be 
 known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the 
 people ; all that see them shall acknowledge them that they 
 are the seed which the Lord hath blessed. "-j- Again, 
 " For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jeru- 
 salem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof 
 go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp 
 that burneth. And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, 
 and all kings thy glory : and thou shalt be called by a new 
 name which the mouth of the Lord shall pronounce."}: 
 From these as well as from many similar passages which 
 could be cited from the prophets, we see that the Church of 
 God only shines in all her lustre when the glory of the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, who is the express image of His brightness 
 and majesty, shines upon her, — that then only the Gentiles 
 see her righteousness (Jehovah Zidkenu), and the kings of 
 t he earth her glory, and come to her light, and walk at the 
 
 * Is. Ix. 1—3. t Is. Ixi. 9. + Is. Ixii. 1, 2. 
 
400 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 brightness of her rising. Her joy in the Lord, her unshaken 
 faith in His promises ; her constant love to Him who loved 
 her unto death ; her holy communion with her blessed 
 Lord ; her angelic praises for His honour and glory ; her 
 ardent prayers for the advancement of His kingdom in the 
 midst of her as well as in the conversion of the world, — all 
 these heighten her beauty, double her splendour, increase 
 her strength, and irresistibly draw the listening companies 
 to her and her Lord to join themselves unto them in an ever- 
 lasting covenant. 
 
 The teachings, orders, and counsels of the Lord to His 
 Bride the Church, speak to the same purpose : " Ye are the 
 light of the world. . . . Let your light so shine before 
 men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your 
 Father who is in heaven."* " I say unto you, that if two 
 of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they 
 shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father who is in 
 heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in 
 my name, there am I in the midst of them."-|- " Whatso- 
 ever ye shall ask the Father in my name. He shall give it 
 
 you Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy 
 
 may be full.":]: Here again we have the entire sense and 
 substance of our verse, " thou that dwelleet in the gar- 
 dens," i.e., in the midst of the world, in order to plant and 
 cultivate gardens, and in the open air, as it were, exposed 
 to the view of every body. " Companions," or " companies, 
 listen to thy voice," i.e., " ye are the light of the world," 
 intended to enlighten and teach and guide those who sit in 
 darkness, by doctrine and example. " Cause me to hear 
 it," i.e., address thyself unto me. " Ask and you shall 
 receive " on your behalf, for your own spiritual growth and 
 prosperity, as well as on behalf of the listening companies, 
 for their conversion and salvation. 
 
 The early history of the Christian Church shows us how 
 she conformed faithfully to that precept of her Divine 
 Master. It was in the midst of praise and prayer to Him who 
 delights at all times to hear her voice, that the promised 
 Comforter the Holy Spirit was poured out upon her, and the 
 first fruits of that glorious manifestation was the conver- 
 sion of three thousand listening companions. It was " at 
 
 ♦ Matt. V. 14-16. t Matt, xviii. 19, 20. % John xyi. 23, 24. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 13. 401 
 
 the hour of prayer " that Peter and John went into the 
 temple to cause Jesus to hear this voice ; He heard it, and 
 five thousand companions were added to the Church. It 
 was at the hearing of her voice that the Lord sent His 
 angel to loose Peter's chains, to open the doors of the prison, 
 and to lead him to his brethren who still prayed. Paul and 
 Silas caused him to hear their voice out of the dungeon at 
 Philippi, when a listening companion with his family was 
 converted and saved. 
 
 In planting and cultivating the gardens of spices among 
 the Gentiles, the Apostolic Church acted in the same man- 
 ner and prospered. " And I, brethren, when I came to you, 
 came not with excellency of speech, or of wisdom, declaring 
 unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to 
 know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ and him 
 crucified."* " To the intent that now unto the principali- 
 ties and powers in heavenly places might be known, by the 
 Church, the manifold wisdom of God. According to the 
 eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our 
 hord."f And how did the Church manifest that wisdom 
 of God in Jesus and him crucified ? *' Not with enticing 
 words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit 
 and of power." And it is the Spirit who revealeth to the 
 Church the mysteries of heaven in Christ, as it is the same 
 Spirit who makes intercession for her by the very words 
 He puts into her mouth, and which she causes her Beloved 
 to hear. " Let every one of us please his neighbour for 
 
 his good to edification That ye may with one 
 
 mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our 
 
 Lord Jesus Christ And that the Gentiles 
 
 might glorify God for his mercy," &c.\ " Having your 
 conversation honest among the Gentiles : that, whereas they 
 speak against you as evil doors, they may by your good 
 works which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of 
 visitation. "§ " I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the 
 mercies of God, that ye present j^our bodies a living sacrifice, 
 holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable services. 
 . . . . Be kindly affectionated one to another with 
 
 brotherly love Rejoicing in hope ; patient in 
 
 tribulation ; continuing instant in prayer." || 
 
 * 1 Cor. ii. 1, 2. f Ephes. iii. 10, 11. + Rom. xv. 2, 6, Q. 
 $ 1 Peter ii. 12. H Rom. xii. 1, 10, 12, 
 
402 THE SONG OP SOLOMON. 
 
 The primitive Church always acted according to this coun- 
 sel of her Beloved. While many companies of the Gentile 
 nations listened to her, what did they hear ? The praises 
 of Jesus and Him crucified ; Jesus, the promised Saviour 
 of the world; Jesus, the holy Lamb of God, without spot or 
 blemish, who offered Himself on Calvary as a sin-offering 
 for a guilty world ; Jesus risen from the dead ascended into 
 heaven, where He sits on the right hand of His Father on 
 His everlasting throne ; Jesus, unto whom all power was 
 given in heaven and on earth ; Jesus, the high-priest and 
 mediator of His people, and who will come on the last day 
 to judge the living and the dead. While this was her pub- 
 lic and repeated confession, which the listening companies 
 heard — while this was her simple but mighty Gospel preach- 
 ing, she at the same time lifted up her voice, heart and soul, 
 her eyes and hands unto her Beloved in heaven, and unceas- 
 ingly made Him hear her supplicating voice, imploring His 
 blessing and aid, protection and guidance, for the promotion 
 of His glory in her own growth in grace and prosperity, as 
 well as for the conversion of sinners in general, for the 
 coming of His kingdom, for the approach of the promised 
 time when all the kingdoms of this world would become 
 the kingdoms of God and His Christ, when every knee shall 
 bow before Kim, every tongue confess him, and when this 
 earth shall be filled v/ith the wisdom and knowledge of God. 
 This was the rule observed by the Apostolic Church, and 
 this was and is the rule and touchstone of the Church of 
 God in all ages and generations. A deviation from this 
 rule is a sure indication that the vessel has taken a wrong 
 and dangerous direction. Alas, many Churches and con- 
 gregations have paid no attention to it, and have been 
 driven by gales of human passion, and by the gloomy storms 
 of error, among the rocks of darkness, where their vessel was 
 broken to pieces, and their light has been extinguished, and 
 the last sign of spiritual life has gone down beneath the 
 waves of indifference and sin. They may still call them- 
 selves by their former name, but a name profits nothing. 
 Examine them by the light of Jehovah's candle, and you 
 will see that only a few living beings are floating round the 
 wreck, and that even those must soon disappear. '* Blessed 
 is the people that know the joyful sound, they shall walk, 
 Lord, in the light of thy countenance." 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 14. 403 
 
 THE CHURCH. 
 
 14. Flee thee away, my Beloved^ 
 But be thou like a roe, 
 Or like a young hart 
 Upon the mountains of spices. 
 
 Again we must refer the reader to the second chapter of 
 this Song. There, the Bridegroom who accompanied His 
 Bride in the pillar of cloud and fire on her march through 
 the wilderness, bade her farewell on her crossing the Jordan 
 to enter Canaan. There (as here) He promised to be with 
 her, though invisibly, in all her ways, and in all times of 
 danger and tribulation, on condition that she should make 
 Him hear her voice from the clefts of the rock, and from the 
 secret places whither oppression and fear of the enemy had 
 led her, and He would come for her deliverance. There 
 (as here) the resigned Bride said : " Until the day break 
 and the shades flee away," ^.e., until my hard struggles, and 
 dangers, and bloody wars are at an end — until a temple shall 
 be built and consecrated for thy re-appearance, " turn round 
 about (me), my beloved, and be Thou like a roe, or a young 
 hart on the mountains of Bether ;" e.e., accompany Thou me, 
 though invisibly, in all my journeys — appear now and then 
 to aid me when I need Thy help against the mighty — fighl 
 Thou my battles on the mountains of Ephraim and Judah, 
 until my promised rest be secured, and Thou come again to 
 dwell in the midst of thy Church in the holy place between 
 the Cherubim of glory. (See chap. ii. 14, 17, and expla- 
 nation.) 
 
 The case now was quite analogous, the condition of the 
 Church quite similar, though accompanied with somewhat 
 diflferent circumstances of an advanced spiritual nature. 
 The Bridegroom had now come, not in a pillar of cloud and 
 fire, but in a body of flesh and blood prepared for Him in 
 order to finish the plan of salvation for His Bride, the 
 Church. He led her for several years through the dreary 
 wilderness of tribulation and trials, persecutions, and dan- 
 gers. A short while before His humiliation and death on 
 the cross, He could say : " Holy Father, keep through 
 thine own name those whom thou hast given me. . . , 
 
404 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 While I was with them in the world, [ kept them in thy 
 name : those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none 
 of them is lost, but the son of perdition ; that the Scrip- 
 tures might be fulfilled. And now come I to thee, and 
 these things I speak in the world, that they might have my 
 joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them thy word, 
 and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the 
 world even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou 
 shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst 
 keep them from the evil," &c.* Such was the solemn and ex- 
 alted prayer which the gracious Saviour offered up to His hea- 
 venly Father, before His separation from His Bride, whom He 
 was now to send forth into the wide world, to bring its in- 
 habitants under His dominion, not by fighting against 
 them with the sword, as His Bride had once to do against 
 the Canaanites, but by carrying to them the good tidings of 
 peace and joy, and everlasting deliverance. But while she 
 was to carry the Gospel, and the torch of celestial light in 
 one hand, her Master and Saviour knew also that she would 
 have to fight hard with the two-edged sword of the Spirit 
 of God, the word of truth, against the powers of darkness, 
 and the prince of this world, and with what awful difficulties, 
 dangers, and tribulations, her mission was surrounded. And 
 therefore he so ardently prayed the Father to grant her His 
 aid, to preserve and strengthen her, to sanctify, encourage, 
 and prosper her. 
 
 We see now how Israel's crossing the Jordan, entering 
 into Canaan to conquer it, and the Covenant Angel's taking 
 leave of them at that very difficult juncture, was typical 
 (and wonderfully so) of the Church of Christ crossing the 
 mountains of Judea, going into " all the world," to con- 
 quer its inhabitants for the kingdom of Christ and of God, 
 and of the Covenant Angel leaving them at such a junc- 
 ture, and ascending into heaven. While on the former and 
 typical occasion Israel numbered six hundred thousand 
 fighting men, under an experienced and dreaded general, 
 the Church which was now to go forth for the conquest of a 
 world lying in darkness and wickedness, consisted of an 
 handful of poor, despised, and persecuted fishermen, hated 
 and persecuted by their own countrymen, helpless, and 
 without influence, and feeble in spirit. The mere idea 
 * John xvii. 11 — 15. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 14. 405 
 
 therefore of His leaving them in this world alone at such a 
 juncture would have greatly afflicted and discouraged them, 
 had He not prepared them for it beforehand ; " I go to pre- 
 pare a place for you. . . . And I will pray the Father, 
 and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide 
 with you for ever. Even the Spirit of truth. . . . I will 
 not leave you comfortless ; I will come to you. 
 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present 
 with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, 
 whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you 
 
 all things If ye loved me ye would rejoice 
 
 because I said I go unto the Father."* Again, " It is 
 expedient for you that I go away ; for if I go not away the 
 Comforter will not come unto you ; but if I depart I will 
 send him unto you. . . . And ye now, therefore, have 
 sorrow : but I will see you again, and your heart shall 
 
 rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you 
 
 Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will 
 give it you. . . . Ask, and ye shall receive, that your 
 joy may be full."-}- 
 
 The above passages exhibit the substance of the two last 
 verses of our Song in a wonderfully clear light. Before 
 leaving this world for heaven, the Saviour prepared His 
 disciples for the approaching separation by showing them 
 the great advantage that would accrue to them by His return- 
 ing to His Father. He recommended prayer to His Church, 
 and advised her to " cause Him constantly to hear her voice," 
 and promised not only to send the Comforter, the Spirit of 
 truth, to lead and guide her in all her ways, but also to come 
 Himself from time to time to visit her and to watch for her 
 welfare and prosperity. At first her heart was filled with 
 sorrow at the indication of His departure, but she was re- 
 assured and strengthened after His resurrection. Having 
 been strengthened in her faith by the Father's having raised 
 Him as " the first-born from the dead," as He Himself had 
 intimated to her — and having been encouraged by the sweet 
 consolation she derived during the various meetings she had 
 with her risen Lord — and greatly enlightened by the eyes 
 of her understanding being opened to understand the Scrip- 
 tures and all that was foretold by the prophets regarding 
 
 * John xTi. John xvi. 
 
406 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 Him and her, she began to see clearly how important for 
 her would be His departm-e to heaven, and how great 
 would be the advantages she would derive from having such 
 a mediator and intercessor on Jehovah's throne. Therefore 
 she is presented in the last verse of the Song as having 
 gathered courage and strength, and saying, " Flee thee 
 away, my Beloved," i.e., Flee away, my blessed and 
 gloriously risen Saviour! flee away from this miserable 
 wilderness of tumult and persecution ! flee away into thy 
 Father's bosom to take power and glory, majesty and 
 honour — *' Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, thou mighty 
 one, even thy glory and thy majesty. And in this thy 
 majesty mount quickly thy chariot in the cause of truth 
 and prostrated (or humiliated, or downcast) righteousness ; 
 and let thy right hand lead thee to glorious deeds." * " But 
 be thou like a roe, or like a young hart upon the mountains 
 of spices," 2.e., while I am resigned to see thee depart to 
 heaven, according to thy promise, leave me not comfort- 
 less, but come and visit me and be with me, though invisibly, 
 to the end of the world. Be thou always sv.ift like a roe 
 to come to my aid, when, according to thy command, I am 
 engaged in planting gardens of spices on the wild and craggy 
 mountains of this world. Be thou near me when I am 
 engaged in hot war against thy deadly enemies, the prince of 
 darkness and the powers of this world, who will contest with 
 me for every inch of ground. thou my beloved Saviour, 
 come to my aid that I faint not. Thou who commandedst 
 into calm the tempestuous elements, come to my help against 
 the mighty. Come to bless the works of my hands for 
 thine own glory. Come to give the increase to the precious 
 seed, to the grains of spices which I may be enabled to sow 
 on the barren mountains of this dark world. This is all I 
 ask. With thy aid and thy presence I am sure to conquer 
 and to go on from strength to strength until I meet thee in 
 Zion above. 
 
 * See the author's New Translation and Exposition of the Psalms, 
 Ps. xlv. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
BS1485.W429 
 
 The song of songs unveiled : a new 
 
 ^ Princeton Theological Seminary-Speer Library 
 
 1 1012 00052 6675 
 
 DATE DUE 
 
 
 I L 
 
 
 :.3 20l 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 GAYLORD #3523PI Printed in USA