Song of Solomon 5:2–6:12

Soon a change comes over her feelings, and it troubles her deeply. "I slept, but my heart was awake." She is restless, uncomfortable, unhappy. Her heart longs after Christ, but she will not stir herself for Him. What a sad state, when the blessed Jesus is knocking at the door! But this is no uncommon case. The believer may be right at heart in the main. But he has fallen into a low, dull, sleepy state. Spiritual duties become a burden. He either neglects them altogether or does them without heart. It is well to look at both sides of this "but." She is neither asleep nor awake. On the one side there is a slumbering conscience, on the other a wakeful heart. She can find no quiet rest and no refreshment.

These words give the key to this beautiful scripture: "I slept, but my heart was awake." The bride's heart was true to her Beloved. But with it went a lack of energy and a leaning toward ease and comfort. That betrayed her into a lack of watchfulness and produced a state of sloth. His head was wet with dew and His locks with the drops of the night, while she reclined at her ease on her bed. The Scriptures are full of such contrasts. Take Peter. He sat warming himself at the fire with the enemies of Christ, while his Master faced the taunts and insults of His persecutors. (Luke 22:55-64.)

He knocks at her door, asking to be let in. In love he appeals to her affections, seeking to restore the heart that has grown cold. His touching words, "Open to me," express the longing of his heart to fill her heart. He lavishes upon her every term of endearment... He could have said, "Your King, your friend, your beloved." But love takes another way, one better suited to reach her heart. He reminds her of all that she is in his sight. Her waning love has not changed his thoughts of her. And then, as a final appeal to her heart, he speaks of his sufferings on her behalf. He has faced the night, the cold, the darkness, and the dew, to awaken her love.

He is not swayed by her sad state of soul. He does not accuse her of ingratitude and indifference toward Himself. He appeals to her in terms more tender than ever before... He had never called her his "undefiled" before. He kept this term of wonderful grace and meaning for the day of her deep failure. And he had never spoken before of the heavy dew, and the heavier drops of the night, that had come upon Him on His path of devoted, unselfish love for her.

Most Christians are more taken up with themselves and their changing feelings than with the word of God. This is the fruitful source of endless troubles and perplexities of the soul. How often believers feel a change in themselves. They jump to the conclusion that Christ Himself is no longer what He once was to them. They judge the Lord by their own feelings, instead of believing in Him according to His own word.

In the night of His absence we may seek our ease in this poor world, but He loves us too well to let us rest apart from Him... if we wander, He follows with restoring grace, and knocks at our door. What a sorrowful tale these words tell of wandering affections and empty, unsatisfied hearts. And yet what a witness they bear to His unchanging love, and to His longing to fill our hearts with Himself. It is as if He said: "You have turned to other things and found no rest. Your soul sleeps, but without rest. Your heart wakes, but without satisfaction. Now open to ME."

It is the remnant of Israel, once in relationship with God but now asleep. Her affection for the Lord, the Bridegroom of Israel, is entirely dormant... Even the remnant here has the door locked and barred against Him... But from among them the Lord will yet call a people for Himself. His voice and His knocking aroused them.

She was occupied rather with her own ease than His claims, and so to respond to His appeal involved sacrifice and required energy. How many of us lose the visits of Christ in this way! He stands by us, seeking to show Himself to us in a fuller way, and we know He is there. But we are preoccupied, or have set our hearts for the time on some other object. So we lose the enjoyment and communion He was offering. Like the bride, we had put off our coat and could not put it on again... We had washed our feet, and we were unwilling to soil them, even though it was the Lord Himself who was calling us to open the door.

The bride, though not insensible to this touching appeal, does not know how to cast off her sloth. She finds it is easier to take off the tunic than to put it on, easier to ungird the loins than to gird them up. To respond to this appeal calls for energy and sacrifice. Selfish ease has weakened the bride, and twice she asks, "How should I?" She has to learn that, left to herself, she cannot throw off her lethargy... If we cannot restore our souls, He can, and He does. "He restores my soul" is the experience of the Psalmist. In the scene that follows we see the way love takes to restore our wandering affections — painful to the flesh, but it leads to a blessed end.

He calls to her from outside, not to go out to him, but to open the door so that he might come into the room where she was. He stands outside and tells her his condition... She hears his voice, knows what he says, but stays where she is. Self comes in and keeps her from opening the door. At first we saw her thinking of her appearance; now she thinks of the trouble it will cost her. Before, when he had spoken, she hinted that his invitation came too early. Now she would tell him his call came at the wrong time. Need we wonder at her? Have not many acted in just the same way?

It is also worth special note that never before, at any one time, had He addressed her with so many terms of endearment. "Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my perfect one." Such, O my soul, is the love of Christ — the love of Christ to a wandering one. Consider it well. There is only one heart that never changes... But the sleeping bride meets all this patient, wonderful love with great indifference. She answers it with the most trivial and frivolous excuses.

But He never forces Himself on unwilling hearts; and so, when He found the door closed against Him, He withdrew... Her sloth is removed, and she gets up and opens to her Beloved; but He "had turned and gone." She had lost her opportunity. When her Beloved was pressing to come in, she could not make the effort to receive Him; now that she had opened the door, it was to find He was gone. The soul has to learn that communion and the enjoyment of intimacy are only possible to a responsive heart.

It is always a sad thing when, by our own doing, we get into a state that we feel does not fit with the Lord's presence. It is sad when we get into a position where we would be uneasy and ashamed if He stepped in on us without warning... There is nothing in all the world that can make up for the loss of the assurance that the Lord is present with us in what we are doing.

This is a movement in the right direction. The Lord be praised! His own hand has done it. Now we have something like an answer to His love. Feeble it is, but real. The heart is moved for Him. She has never ceased to call Him "My beloved." There is affection for the Lord, though failure. But when we ignore the gentle, gracious knocking of a Saviour's love, He uses other means. He knows the state of the heart, and what will really move it towards Himself.

He has already spoken; now the Bridegroom stretches out his hand to the bride. This silent appeal fills her with longing for him. Peter went through the same thing. At the very moment of his denial the Lord "turned and looked" at him. That look said more than words could: "You have denied Me, but I love you." Like the Bridegroom's hand here, it began the work of restoration, for Peter "went out and wept bitterly." And do not our hearts burn within us when the Lord stretches out His hand towards us in our failures — the hand with the wound-marks that tell of His unchanging love?

Though God's love was set before her soul, she does not answer at once by going out to meet Him. She makes excuses. She cannot take the trouble to open the door — and that was all that was needed. So "My beloved put his hand to the latch." There is still an appeal to her, but there is also something meant to produce self-judgment in her. As she sees it, He lingers; He does not at once turn His back on one who repaid His love so badly.

He would still assure her that his love never changes. She might change or grow cold; he could not... He had anointed the handle of the door with this perfume. It was a sign that his affection had not cooled, even when she was cold towards him. What proof could she give of her love? His withdrawal showed up her neglect. What a proof he had left of his, as her hands dripped with myrrh.

Only one thing moves our often-cold hearts towards the Lord Jesus: a reminder of all that His love cost Him in suffering on the cross. If we could see His blessed hands, we would see also the print of the nails. If we reached out to Him, we would be reminded of the sweetness of His unchanging love that took Him into death for us. Knowing how easily our hearts forget Him, He gave us the Lord's Supper, where we remember Him in His death every week. If you do not do this, do not be surprised if your heart grows indifferent to the claims of Christ. Do not be surprised if you find yourself at ease in places where He would not come.

But He never presses Himself on unwilling hearts. So when He found the door closed against Him, He withdrew. She had heard His voice, and she had heard His hand upon the door, and at last her heart responds. Her sloth is gone... When her Beloved pressed Himself upon her, she could not make the effort to receive Him. Now that she had opened the door, she found He was gone. The soul has to learn that it must wait on the Lord's pleasure. Communion and the enjoyment of intimacy are only possible to a responsive heart.

Is there such a thing as sweet tears as well as bitter? And can both flow, mingled together at the same time? What is more bitter to the taste than myrrh? What is more fragrant to the smell than sweet-smelling myrrh?… Myrrh means flowing, or weeping. The bride's answer to the patient love of her bridegroom is now clear and real. "I arose to open to my beloved." She is recovering from her spiritual laziness. The sense of her sin in not opening the door when He knocked is bitterness in her soul. Yet it mixes with great affection for the one she slighted. Reaching the door where He stood so long, she finds the whole place filled with the fragrance of His person.

He withdraws himself again; he could not act otherwise, for she needed to feel her own coldness. Yet he wanted to assure her that his love does not change. She might change or grow cold — he could not. She opens the door, but he was gone. Was that all she found? … He had anointed the handle of the door with this perfume. It was a sign of his unchanged affection, even while she was cold towards him. What proof could she give of her love? His withdrawal was evidence of her carelessness. What proof he had left of his!

Myrrh is a fragrant resin. It is the life sap that oozes out through the wounds of a desert plant of the East. So it reminds us of Christ suffering even to death for us. There was also an eastern custom. When a young man was courting a young woman and she rejected his love, he would go and anoint the handle of her door lock with myrrh. It showed how real and deep his love for her was.

In the New Testament, myrrh was one of the gifts brought by the wise men (Matt. 2:11). A man named Nicodemus brought it, mixed with aloes, to embalm the body of the Lord when He was laid in the grave (John 19:39).

The bride would not respond when he drew near. So now he withdraws — but only to quicken her affections by his absence. And how effective the way he takes! The bride is fully awake: "I arose," "I opened to my beloved," "I sought him," "I called him" — this is the language of her heart. Every expression declares the renewed energy of her affections… Had the love of the Bridegroom changed then? Had he given up his bride? No — it was not the love, but the way of expressing the love, that had changed.

Love deals in the same way with the slow hearts of the two disciples on the way to Emmaus. They wandered, but the Lord followed. Having awakened their affections, He vanished from their sight. The One who sought them withdrew from them, and in doing so left behind Him two seekers after Him instead of two wanderers from Him.

She arose to open to her Beloved. At once she discovered how much she had lost, for He had left the fragrant traces of His presence behind. Her hands, placed where His had been on the handles of the lock, dripped with myrrh… He was only teaching her a needed lesson and seeking the restoration of her soul by stirring up the energies and desires of her heart… The enjoyment of the presence of Christ can go in a moment. It may, and often does, take days to recover it. Forgiveness comes at once when we confess our sin. But recovering communion is only gradual, and takes time.

She must learn more about herself yet. Whatever she was in His eyes, He was not everything to her. It will be the same for the godly Jewish remnant in a coming day. The fullest assurance of the Saviour's love tends to make our hearts careless. When we know we are precious to Him — if we know Him at all — we are earnest and persistent. But once His matchless grace has come fully out to us, how easily the flesh creeps in and takes advantage of it, as if it were a matter of course! … She gave way to laziness and to her circumstances. She truly loved Him, yet she made difficulties and slighted His love. Then she found, to her shame and sorrow, that He had withdrawn Himself — was gone!

"My soul failed me when He spoke." She could hear Him, but could not see Him, and her heart fainted within her. She had slighted Him in an evil hour, and, being still on the ground of righteousness, He had withdrawn Himself and was gone. But He did not love her any less for doing this. And if she felt the hiding of His face keenly, He felt it infinitely more.

The bride is thoroughly aroused. "I rose up," "I opened to my beloved," "I sought him," "I called him," is the language of her heart. Every expression proclaims the renewed energy of her affections. But for the moment it is all in vain. He was gone, and He gave her no answer. The Beloved was the seeker at first. He found no response from the bride, so His love takes another way. That way turns the bride into the seeker — and now it is she who finds no response from the Bridegroom. Had the love of the Bridegroom changed, then? Had He given up His bride? No — it was not the love, but the way of expressing the love, that had changed.

Had her Beloved renounced His love, then? Far from it. He was only teaching her a needed lesson, and seeking the restoration of her soul by calling out the energies and desires of her heart. In this way He was exposing her true state to her own eyes, and making her learn as well that restoration is only possible through discipline. The enjoyment of the presence of Christ may be lost in a moment; it may often take days to recover it. Forgiveness, on confession of sin, is immediate; but the restoration of communion can only be gradual, and a work of time.

Love deals in the same way with the "slow hearts" of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. They wandered, but the Lord followed. He dealt with their affections in restoring grace, and turned their "slow hearts" into "burning hearts." Then, having awakened their affections, He "vanished out of their sight." The One who sought them withdrew from them. In doing so He left behind Him two seekers after Him instead of two wanderers from Him.

Many people think that Christ sometimes withdraws Himself, or hides His face, from Christians to test and prove them. The epistles give no ground for that idea. With the Jew under law, of course, everything was different. God dwelt in thick darkness. The way into the holiest place of all was not yet open. The perfect sacrifice had not been offered, and nothing had yet perfectly purged the Jew's conscience, so he could not have full peace. But with Christians the position is entirely changed.

The men who watch over the peace of Jerusalem correct her. What was she doing in the streets at night, when the Bridegroom had come to look for her at home? Now her own love brings her under rebuke. Showing that love so strongly put her in a place that proved she had slighted her Beloved... A watchman was right to discipline a woman wandering outside like that, whatever her reason.

The watchmen's job is to keep order in the city. So how do they come to find the bride wandering in the city at night, without the Bridegroom? This is against order, and they are right to rebuke her. They "wounded" her, but "faithful are the wounds of a friend." The keepers of the walls have to protect the city from enemy attack, and in doing their work they must challenge everyone who comes, to tell friends from foes. They have to find out whether she really is what she claims to be, and so they take her veil away.

This was the rebuke Israel needed — Jerusalem needed it. It made her feel that being taken up with herself and her circumstances, and having no fresh heart to go out and meet Him, was what she had to blame herself for... Now, you see, it is worse. The first time, they could give her no directions to find the One her soul loved. Now they beat her. What right did she have to be out at that time of night?

The very fact that she could not find Him showed these faithful watchmen what state she was in, and they did not spare her... It is good for the church when there are faithful men who watch over souls as those who must give an account (Heb. 13:17) — men who do not hold back from searching souls, even if they strike and wound them, in the power of the Word.

Well-meaning people stop her and misjudge what she is doing... The watchmen and the keepers of the walls stand for people who are responsible to care for souls. They can only go by what they see. They cannot look into our hearts, so sometimes they make mistakes. Finding the bride out at night, these people took her for a woman of the streets, and treated her as one... Her veil meant she was engaged to be married, yet here she was wandering the city alone at night.

But the very condition she has fallen into is the way of recovery, and both the watchmen and the keepers of the walls act with that in view. They are the servants of the Beloved. They have His mind, and He is the One who has guided them in their work. So the gracious effect of their ministry appears at once: her desire for her Beloved grows stronger.

But note carefully, my soul, that she says, "I am a lily of the valleys" — not of the cities... "He grazes among the lilies." It was in the city that she lost the joy of His presence, and there the watchmen insulted her and took her veil. These were her wandering, backsliding moments.

She cannot hide the great longing of her heart, and she does not even wait for the usual greetings. We sometimes say, "I am sick of this," meaning that we have had enough of it. That is not the meaning here. Her affections for Him and her desire to be near Him are stirred to such a point that it makes her sick that she cannot reach Him and does not know where to find Him. She has no taste for anything else any more; nothing can satisfy now but Himself.

She had more to learn about herself. Whatever she was in His eyes, He was — sad to say — not everything to her. The very fullest assurance of the Saviour's love tends to make our hearts careless. When we are only assured that we are precious to Him, if we know Him at all, we are earnest and pressing. But when His matchless grace to us is fully out in the open, how quickly the flesh creeps in and takes advantage of it, as if it were all a matter of course... She gave in to laziness and circumstances. She truly loved Him, yet she made difficulties and treated His love lightly. Then she found, to her shame and sorrow, that He had withdrawn Himself — He was gone!

This, however, was the way love was taking to awaken her affections. The bride would not answer when he drew near, so now he withdraws — and only to stir up her affections by his absence... At first the Beloved was the seeker. He found no response from the bride, so his love takes another way. Now the bride is the seeker — and she finds no response from the Bridegroom. Had the love of the Bridegroom changed then? Had he given up his bride? No — it was not the love, but the way of expressing the love, that had changed. The bride must learn that closeness in love is easily lost, and only humbling experiences bring it back.

Her longing for restoration, expressed like this, is deeply touching. Still, it is sad to see her. She had enjoyed the closeness of His affections, and now she must ask women who had never been in her special place where to find her Beloved. They had never been, as she had, the objects of His tenderness. They were strangers to the sorrow that now filled her soul, so they could not understand the intensity of her feelings. She was like Mary, who thought others had taken her Lord away and did not know where they had laid Him: she had lost everything. If He were lost, the world was only a vast wilderness — a grave. Happy is the soul that knows something of this blessed experience!

Do we not learn a very practical truth here? Nothing creates a desire for Christ in others so effectively as seeing a soul whose heart is on fire for Him. This is a most important truth. It matters for those who preach the gospel, for anyone who wants to lead others to Christ, for Sunday School teachers, and for parents who long to see their children saved. It will not do simply to speak to them from time to time; they must see that Christ is everything to you.

She is out of communion, and everything is in confusion. The very energy and warmth of her love bring her into all kinds of trouble... Everything is out of place for the moment as far as her ways go, but her heart is right in the main, and true to her Lord... How few of us could say, "I am sick of love." How seldom does our love burn hot enough to bring persecution on us!

Her affections for Him and desire to be near Him are now stirred to such a point that it simply makes her sick that she cannot reach Him or know where to find Him. She has no taste for anything else any more; nothing can satisfy now but Himself. The daughters of Jerusalem conclude from this that her beloved must be someone altogether exceptional, to have drawn out her affections so far. So they ask, "What is your beloved more than another beloved…?" They want to know more about Him.

They have never known the intimacy of love with the Bridegroom, and cannot understand the affections that fill the heart of the bride. They ask, "What is your Beloved more than another Beloved?" But this is only another step in the restoration of the bride. Her motives must be searched. Is her Beloved more to her than another? It hardly appeared so in the eyes of others. She had taken her ease without the Bridegroom, and when he knocked she could not even rouse herself to let him in.

Here the remnant of Judah is pictured as a bride, loved, admired, and delighted in. The blessed Lord Himself, the spared remnant of the other tribes, and all the Gentiles admire her matchless beauty. "O most beautiful among women." So it will be in that day for the whole nation.

When challenged, "What is your beloved more than another beloved?" she answers, "He is the chief among ten thousand." Then she goes on to tell, not of the blessings she has received from Him, nor even of His interest in her, but of all His own varied attractions. At last she says, "He is altogether lovely!"

The closer we are to Jesus, the deeper and warmer our appreciation of Him will be when others ask us who He is — "more than another beloved!" Men in their thoughts and words are dragging Him down to the level of human leaders… She starts with His head — pure gold. And she goes right down to His blessed feet… Think of Nebuchadnezzar's image. Its head was gold, but all the way down it grew worse, until we come to the feet of iron and clay. Everything in this world decays, however brilliant its start may be. In that blessed, glorious Person, our Beloved, there is nothing but complete, dazzling glory from head to foot.

Nothing makes others want Christ like seeing a soul whose heart is aflame for Him. This is a most important truth for those who preach the gospel. It matters just as much for anyone who wants to lead others to Christ, for Sunday School teachers, and for parents who want to see their children saved. It won't do just to speak to them from time to time; they must see that Christ is everything to you.

If our love to Christ has grown cold, let us just answer the two questions: "Who is He?" and "Where is He?" Then, as we are taken up with Him again, the glow of His love will warm our cold hearts.

The daughters of Jerusalem give the repeated challenge, "What is your beloved more than another beloved?" What would our reply be to such a challenge? What have we discerned in Christ, the well-beloved Son of God? He came in grace to bring us the knowledge of God, and He died to bring us into divine favour. Our reply could not surpass our appreciation of the greatness, glory and perfections of Jesus. Yet the Lord delights to have a response from our poor hearts, no matter how feeble it may be.

As white, she sees His spotless purity, for He was "holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners." He passed through this defiling world and touched the leper, yet was not contaminated. The repelling power of His intrinsic holiness kept the polluting influence of sin far from Him, yet He could receive sinners and eat with them.

The ruddy colour in the face speaks of health and vigour. David, who was a type of Christ, was ruddy... In Hebrew the word translated "ruddy" here is translated "red" in Numbers 19:2, "a red heifer without defect, in which there is no blemish"... In comparing these passages, the ruddy or red colour would seem to denote the Lord's entire consecration and devotion to God even to death. All His strength and energy, both in life and in death, was spent to glorify God and to do His will.

What is so "white" — so clean, so holy — as the blessed Person of the Son of Man, Jehovah-Jesus, the root and the offspring of David? What is so "ruddy" as the blood that flowed from His spotless veins on Calvary? Who, oh who, is worthy to be the Chieftain of all God's hosts, except the Captain of our salvation?

The next expression is "the chiefest among ten thousand," or, as some marginal readings have it, "a standard bearer." Translated literally it would read, "lifting up as a banner among ten thousand." So when translated literally, it is really not a comparison of Him as chiefest among ten thousand. He is rather the banner lifted up above them all and honoured by all; the rallying point around which all gather in their common purpose to keep it lifted high and displayed before the eyes of all. In this they glory and for this they live, and, as good soldiers, are ready to fight for it and even to die.

All have come from sinful Adam, from the man who is of the earth, but He was a Man out of heaven... Jesus is the Chiefest among those with whom God has surrounded Him. The great men of earth are not worthy of His company. He is not compared with them. He stands out in His supremacy, in marked contrast to all whom the men of this world have acclaimed. The great of earth have trampled on their foes and on their fellows, wading deep in human blood to achieve their ambitions... in marked contrast, the Son of God "humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross," shedding His own precious blood for the sins of others.

This lovely description is another step in the awakening of love. As the bride unfolds the perfections of the Bridegroom to others, her heart is engaged with Himself and His glories, and it is stirred afresh to its depths. To witness to others of the glories and perfections of Christ will most surely kindle afresh one's own affections for Christ.

This lovely description is another step in the awakening of love. When the bride unfolds the perfections of the Bridegroom to others, her heart is engaged with Himself and His glories. It is stirred again to its depths. Telling others about the glories and perfections of Christ will most surely rekindle your own love for Christ.

The Spirit of God guides her, and she delights to dwell on His many excellencies and glories, pictured in human features. A word before you begin, my soul: do not look for hidden meanings in these separate features beyond the limits of holy Scripture. "The place on which you are standing is holy ground." The Lord did not forbid Moses to come near the burning bush. But He told him it must be with bare feet. So let your eye be anointed and your heart worshipping as you meditate on Zion's glorious King.

"His head is the finest gold." The finest gold may point to supreme majesty, as in Daniel 2:38, "you are the head of gold." Scripture also often uses gold to represent divine righteousness in connection with the Person of Christ, as in Isaiah 11:5 and Revelation 1:13.

Here is One who will not only have all the kingdoms of this world in a coming day, but of whom Scripture says, "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever."

These verses use gold three times in the detailed description of the Beloved. His head is the finest gold. His hands are gold rings, and His legs are like pillars of marble set on sockets of fine gold. His head brings His blessed Person before us, and there it is the finest gold. Where it is His walk, it is fine gold. Where it is His work, it is gold.

His locks are flowing and black, showing the vigour of manhood. No white hair, no trace of age or decay will ever come on Him. Where everything else grows old, He never grows old. His years will never end.

Here is all the vigour and strength of an undecaying affection; no trace of grey hairs or mark of decline on Him.

The blackness of His locks stands in sharp contrast to what Daniel 7 reveals about Him. There He is the Ancient of Days, whose clothing was white as snow and the hair of His head like pure wool. He is seen there as the One who has been from of old, from eternity. Now He is Man; no grey hairs are on Him. Nothing He has passed through has weakened the freshness and vigour that belonged to Him down here... So when John sees Jesus in his vision, "one like a son of man... the hairs of His head were white, like white wool, like snow." The Son of Man is still the Ancient of Days.

Some believe that "the finest gold" refers to the Godhead of Jesus, and the "wavy locks" to His manhood. No truth lies nearer the heart of faith than the perfect manhood of the blessed Saviour, joined with His eternal Godhead. "Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen."

It is leaving your first love, if after you have known Him you do not give Him His place. You are like the Bride in Canticles 5, and the way you are restored is by dwelling upon the beauties of His person. (See vv. 10-16.)

In Revelation 1:14, "His eyes were like a flame of fire." For there He appears as judge, searching out and judging all that does not correspond with His holy nature. But here His eyes like doves speak of gentle, tender, faithful love. The dove is always faithful to its mate. If two doves get separated, they always mourn until they find each other again. Oh, what tenderness one sees in His eyes as He gazes in faithful love upon her for whom He gave His life!

In Revelation 5:6, John speaks of the Lamb he sees in the middle of the throne, with "seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth." The number seven stands for fullness and perfection, and here it means intelligence. But the believer has nothing to fear from the keen, penetrating glance of that eye of sevenfold brightness. To him it is soft, tender and affectionate, "like doves beside streams of water." It is his happy privilege to watch its direction. What feature is so expressive as the eye! And, oh, what an eye is now before the eye of faith! Tender as the dove's — bright and shining as when bathed in the river, or glistening with a passing tear of deep compassion.

His eyes, like the eyes of doves, speak of His tender compassion. "Washed with milk" speaks of purity. "You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong." "Fitly set" speaks of the perfection of His vision. Before Him all things lie naked and open.

We are told that the eyes are the most expressive feature of our faces. How true this is of the Lord Jesus. How His eyes saw every need of those around Him and often shed tears of compassion and understanding. Yet being fitly set would suggest that their estimation was always in accord with the mind of God.

Nothing will transform our hearts and draw them to Him so much as keeping our eyes fixed upon His love. It is like gazing into the depth of those dove's eyes, full of love and thoughts of peace for us.

This lovely description is only another step in the awakening of love. As the bride unfolds the perfections of the Bridegroom to others, her heart, occupied with Himself and His glories, is stirred to its depths again. Telling others about the glories and perfections of Christ is certain to rekindle your own love for Christ.

Natural beauty, with its charm and attraction, is written on the cheeks. But men could not see the beauty of the Lord Jesus with natural eyes. The eyes of the heart had to be opened to see "His cheeks as a bed of spices." He grew up before the Father as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. But Israel said of Him, "There is no beauty that we should desire Him." There was a little remnant whose eyes God opened, and they saw His beauty.

The cheeks speak of beauty and attractiveness. The world saw no beauty in Christ, and struck Him on the cheek. Judas claimed to be drawn to Christ, but only to betray Him by kissing Him on the cheek. The believer, on the other hand, can delight in the beauty and attractiveness of Christ. It is the delight a bed of fragrant herbs draws from someone passing by.

Blinded by sin, the Jews had rejected Him... Their hatred went so far that they struck "the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek." But even this show of hatred brought out the perfections of His holy nature, because in His sorrows the sweet spices were most fragrant. Human hatred and malice could not stop the spreading of that scent from heaven which belonged to the Man out of heaven.

His lips are compared to lilies dropping sweet-smelling myrrh. The lily may speak of purity and the sweet-smelling myrrh of grace. Isaiah had to confess he was a man of unclean lips, but the lips of Christ were pure; no deceit was found in His mouth. And of Christ it could be said, "Grace is poured into Your lips." As He walked through this world, words of grace dropped from His lips like sweet-smelling myrrh.

The believer knows the truth of that blessed word: "Grace is poured into your lips." It is not dropped out in small amounts, but poured out in full. The lips of Jesus, and His only, can speak peace to a troubled soul. Until He, and He alone, is listened to, true peace is unknown.

Grace was poured into His lips from the inner springs of His being. His words did not only reveal God's grace; they also expressed His own deep compassion for men. How sweet the smell of the myrrh in the words of love spoken by the "Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief."

Can we wonder that Mary sat at His feet to hear His words? When the Lord of glory came to her humble home, He did not come to receive. He came to reveal and give out the full love He had in His heart for her. Would not our own souls be far larger and richer if we took more time to sit at His feet? There we hear His words dropping as sweet-smelling myrrh from His lips like lilies.

It is leaving your first love, if after you have known Him you do not give Him His place. You are like the Bride in Song of Solomon 5, and you are restored by dwelling on the beauties of His person. (See vv. 10-16.)

The bride can speak openly to others about the Bridegroom's beauty. This is always her joy and her proper place. And it is not only fitting in itself. We can see how her own neglect, and the bitter result it brought, made her feel and speak His praise more fully than ever.

"His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl." This picture can take in all the works of His hands: works of nature, providence, and grace. The gold, the ring, and the precious stones may stand for their beauty, glory, perfection, and lasting strength… But faith can now say of these jewelled hands, in the words of the loved bride, "His left hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me!" What an embrace! Happy, truly happy, are those who are folded in His everlasting arms! It is everlasting — endless, like the ring itself.

What divine strength and divine compassion we see in the touch of His hands! He touched the lepers and they were cleansed. He touched the blind and they received their sight. He touched the deaf and they could hear. He touched the funeral bier and the dead arose… And above all, what divine perfection we see in His work on the cross, as He hung there by the nails in His hands, looking weak.

The ring is the symbol of authority (Gen. 41:42; Esther 3:10), and the sign of love (Luke 15:22). People showed their hatred of Christ by nailing His hands of love to a cross. But the believer is glad to know that all power is in the hands of Christ. And love moves the hand that holds that power.

The beryl is a precious stone of enduring substance. It is mentioned in Ezekiel 1:16; 10:9… The wheels here represent God's government or overruling providence which goes on without deviating in its course, even when all that God has established in the earth seems to be overthrown.

The deep and tender compassion within Him may be in view here… The sapphire stone is blue, and this suggests the heavenly character of His tender sympathies… Pure as the "bright ivory," deep as His inmost being, high as heaven — such is the tenderness, pity, compassion, and love of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ.

The whiteness and smoothness of the ivory may show the perfection of Christ, without blemish or spot. The sapphires may show how precious Christ is.

Ivory is lasting and firm, and so are the compassions and affections of Christ. All the hatred of men could not dry up the spring of pity that rose up within Christ… Yes! "He loved them to the end," and His love will not rest until He presents the church "to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing."

Christ's steps through this world engage the hearts and minds of those who love Him, and pillars of marble picture them here. The apostle Peter seems to have had those pillars in mind when he wrote, "Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps." The writing on the temple pillars, Jachin and Boaz, witnessed that "He will establish" and "In Him is strength." The steps of the Son of God in this world are left in the record of God's word. Do they not tell us of God's ways in grace, and of the unflinching devotedness of Him who knew what it was to be weary with His journey, and who set His face like a flint to go to Jerusalem? Marble is both strong and beautiful, and so were the steps of the Lord Jesus in all His ways.

Pillars serve as supports to hold up the structure built on them. Man has never been able to stand up under any responsibility that God has placed on him; he has always broken down under it. Adam failed in the garden of Eden… Even the most faithful prophets, priests and kings failed at some point or another. But here is a man whose legs are as pillars of marble set on sockets of gold. Stability and strength are seen in Him. He stands firm and unmovable, and everything built on Him is secure forever.

The marble pillars are set on sockets of fine gold. The gold represents what is essentially divine — divine righteousness, or the divine nature. All things are established and upheld by Him on the basis of divine righteousness. All is maintained in keeping with His divine nature.

How excellent He is in all His ways. There is an elevation of character and dignity about His person and bearing wherever we see Him. He never kept people at a distance; He was always accessible. There was a love and tenderness in His ways that drew people to Him. Yet there was always an excellence in His bearing that made you realise you were in the presence of your superior. See Him before the crowds, alone with His disciples, with little children in His arms, alone with the immoral woman of Samaria, eating with tax collectors and sinners, or standing before His accusers. In every scene there was a dignity and excellence about His bearing that marked Him out as superior to everything around Him, even in His deepest humiliation.

The name Lebanon means whiteness, no doubt given because of its snow-capped peaks, and so it also suggests purity. It was just this heavenly purity, always reflected in all His manners and ways, that gave such elevation and excellent dignity to His person.

The spouse has already portrayed her Beloved from head to foot. Now she refers, we have no doubt, to His general appearance — to all His glorious features together, His full stature… This figure plainly illustrates His glorious majesty as the Messiah. The lofty cedars on that fine mountain Lebanon are the standing type in Scripture of exaltation, glory and majesty. Shining like the finest gold from head to foot, adorned with every grace, fragrant with all sweetness, glorious and majestic like the cedars of Lebanon — such is the Person of her well-beloved.

The bride can speak freely of the Bridegroom's beauty to others: this is always her happiness and her proper place. This is not only fitting in itself. We can also see how her own neglect, and its bitter cost, made her feel and speak His praise more fully than ever.

"His mouth is most sweet." She has already spoken of His lips, so this feature may point to something other than words. It seems to point above all to the grace of Jesus — to the expressions of His kindness, His communications, His friendships. The bride has often tasted His grace, so she could say from experience, "His mouth is most sweet." He meets her with grace and kindness, even after failure. That alone is enough to impress her heart forever with the sweetness of her Lord's grace.

Language fails her. She is unable to say all that He is. So she closes the description with, "He is altogether lovely." As if she had said, "All loveliness dwells in Him. All that is desirable is found in Him. Every unnamed beauty belongs to Him. In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead and all the graces of manhood. He is lovely in His humiliation, lovely in His exaltation, yes, He is altogether lovely."

"He is altogether lovely." In Christ we have a perfect object, One who is altogether lovely. Here the heart can rest with satisfaction. In Daniel's image the head was of fine gold, but the toes were of iron and clay. Here the Bridegroom's head is like fine gold, and His legs of marble rest on bases of fine gold. In the Beloved there is no deterioration.

Natural beauty can appear in a person whose violence and corruption are most pronounced. We read, "Now in all Israel there was no one so much to be praised for his handsome appearance as Absalom. From the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him" (2 Samuel 14:25). In the Beloved there was not only the absence of blemishes — He is altogether lovely. However fine a man may be, bring him into the presence of the One who is altogether lovely, and his best qualities feel debased and impure.

But is not the last note of this lovely song the richest and sweetest of all? "My beloved… my friend." Some may say, "What a description this is!" But what a conclusion this is! He Himself is mine… Thrones, crowns, sceptres, kingdoms, glories, blessedness are His, and the believer's in Him. But after all, these are not Himself. What would all these things be worth without the Person of the Beloved?

However solemn and great the failure of the saints, there is indeed love for Christ in their hearts; but this love did not begin with them. "We love Him, because He first loved us." He has made us His friends. "Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." We prove that we are His friends by obeying His word.

She answers, "He is the chief among ten thousand." Then she goes on to tell, not of the blessings she has received from Him, nor even of His interest in her, but of all His own varied attractions. At last she says, "He is altogether lovely!"

This lovely description is another step in the awakening of love. As the bride unfolds the perfections of the Bridegroom to others, her heart is taken up with Himself and His glories, and is stirred again to its depths. Telling others of the glories and perfections of Christ will most surely rekindle one's own affections for Christ.

What a lovely scene this is to her eye, compared with chapter 5:7. There she says, "The watchmen found me as they went about in the city; they beat me, they bruised me; they took away my veil, those watchmen of the walls." Such is the difference between walking in fellowship with Jesus and wandering in the world. Now she is out in the countryside with her Beloved. She is entering into the counsels of His heart and the works of His hands. This verse presents a scene of happy communion. The Lord is finding delight in His people; He is in His garden gathering lilies. "As a lily among brambles, so is my love among the young women." She enters into His thoughts about His people in general, and about herself in particular. This is communion — blessed, solid communion. Her eye is undivided, and the light of heaven fills her soul.

The bride has dwelt with deep joy on the perfections of the Bridegroom, and being taken up with Him has so quickened her understanding that she can tell at once where the Beloved has gone. She had sought Him in the city, but He was not there. "My Beloved," she says, "has gone down to His garden" — a fragrant spot where He can feed and gather lilies. No one ministers to the heart of Christ in this world except "His own who are in the world." With them is all His delight. There only He finds the bed of spices. His loved ones make up the garden of the Lord, and the restored soul knows full well where to find Christ: with His people.

In earlier times Israel was God's cultivated garden. The Church is His cultivated garden now. So the apostle writes in 1 Corinthians 3:9, "You are God's field." Individual believers are His plants, and He cares for them tenderly in infinite wisdom and love.

We have here the picture of a shepherd feeding his flock on a beautiful spring day. Beds of spices perfume the air, and the lilies spread their glory and beauty everywhere. In chapter 1:7 she asks, "Tell me, you whom my soul loves, where you pasture your flock, where you make it lie down at noon." But now she knows full well where He feeds His flock. How rich and welcoming are those pastures, where everything speaks of contentment, peace, joy and rest. How happy are those sheep that keep close to their shepherd! They feed continually under His eyes in the green pastures of His Word.

Note carefully this divine way of restoration. Have souls fallen into a cold, lifeless condition? Do they complain of a lack of spiritual energy? Then let them occupy themselves with the varied perfections and graces of Christ as revealed in the Word. While they ponder what He is to themselves, let them also declare His beauties and attractions to others. They will find that their hearts soon glow with the returning fire of affection. They will be happy again in the sense of His presence and love.

"I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine; he feeds among the lilies." This is a high note, but easily taken by faith. It is the key note of a soul that has lost sight of self. "I am my beloved's." It is the very opposite of a soul taken up with itself. It is true heart-occupation with Christ. It is entering into His thoughts, His love, His grace, His delights. It is not being filled and taken up with its own thoughts, its own feelings, its own faith, or its own services. … In 2:16, she says, "My beloved is mine and I am his." There, it is the joy of possessing Christ; He is mine. Here it is the deeper joy of belonging to Christ; I am His. Both are blessed, but the latter marks divine progress.

"I am my Beloved's, and my Beloved is mine" — this is a more sober way of speaking. She had learnt a good deal more of what a poor thing she was, how changeable her will was, and how little her own grip on Him was worth. But, just as she was, He had not turned away from her. She was His, and she loved Him. He was her Beloved, and if she was His, then He was hers too. It is a much more sober statement. There is much less feeling and experience in it, but more depth of faith and a clearer sense of how things really stand.

Every doubt is gone, and she adds, with joy beyond words, "I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine: he feeds among the lilies." Note carefully this divine way of restoration. Whenever souls have fallen into a cold, lifeless condition, whenever they complain of a lack of spiritual energy, let them occupy themselves with the varied perfections and graces of Christ as revealed in the Word. While they think about what He is to them, let them also tell others of His beauty and attraction. They will find their hearts soon glowing with the returning fire of affection, and they will be happy again in the sense of His presence and love.

"My Beloved," she says, "is gone down into his garden," a fragrant spot where he can feed and gather lilies. No one in this world ministers to the heart of Christ except "His own who are in the world." All His delight is with them. There only He finds the bed of spices. The Lord's garden is made up of His loved ones. The restored soul knows well that Christ is found with His people.

How rich and welcoming are those pastures where all speaks of contentment, peace, joy and rest. How happy are the sheep that keep close to their shepherd and always feed under His eye in the green pastures of His Word.

Later on in the Song (6:3) we find that she can put His interests first. Now, she says, "I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine." The first thought is His possession of her. But there is still room for thoughts of what she has. But in 7:10 we find she has forgotten herself in the far higher thought of His interest in her. She has lost herself in His love, and if she adds anything to "I am my beloved's," it is only to speak again of what she knows of His thoughts: "His desire is towards me."

Step by step the bride is led on until she finds herself in the presence of the Bridegroom, and at last hears His voice. The first words that fall on her astonished ears are, "You are fair, my love." What could be more touching to a heart that has wandered and grown cold than to be drawn again into His presence? There it realises, in all its sweetness, that despite all our wanderings it can still say, "I am His and He is mine."

The first thing the Bridegroom mentions to His bride is her faultless beauty in His sight. "You are beautiful, O my love." Not one word of complaint falls from His lips. He makes no reference to where she had been, or to what she had done. His love is perfect, and His grace matches His love.

Tirzah means pleasantness. It was the royal home of the kings of Israel before Samaria was built, as Jerusalem was of the king of Judah. Jerusalem is famous in Scripture for its many glories… Tirzah was the capital of the tribes that had revolted. But the two kingdoms, Israel and Judah, will come together under one Head in the coming day of glory. They will never be separated again.

How lovely is a soul fully grounded in peace! It moves in calm peace, above all its circumstances. When the affections are divided the soul is restless, unsettled and never satisfied. It is only when the heart's affections are fully settled on Christ that we have settled peace. A divided heart is never at rest.

This figure does not convey something dreadful. It conveys something dazzling, brilliant, glorious — like the striking effect of an army with its banners flying. The King acknowledges that the glory of His beloved people, united in this way, overwhelms Him.

An army marching with its banners flying gives the idea of unity of purpose. Each individual has set everything else aside to devote his time, his strength and if necessary his life to one aim: to keep up the honour and glory of the flag he has rallied under. … "You have given a banner to those who fear You, that it may be displayed because of the truth" (Ps. 60:4). Christ is that banner. What joy it is to Christ to see His people united with the one object of exalting Him at all times and at all cost.

What a wonderful thought that is — the Lord finding such attraction in Jerusalem. That Jerusalem which cost Him so many tears, that Jerusalem which has slandered Him from that day to this. For Jerusalem is still the same Jerusalem it was — the same guilty, Christ-rejecting Jerusalem. But it will not always be so. The Lord will make these words true, and give Jerusalem to believe in the day that is coming.

It may be interesting to work out the meaning of the reference to Tirzah, Jerusalem, and an army with banners displayed. But do not let any of these things turn your thoughts away from the Person of the Lord Jesus for a moment… Let them be to you like streams by which you may reach the fountain. But do not linger too long by the stream — the spring is better… Tirzah is no more, Jerusalem is trodden down, and Judah's banner has long been furled. But the heart that found relief in using these meaningful pictures never changes.

In spite of her wanderings the thoughts of the Bridegroom towards His bride have not changed. The same pictures describe her perfections as in an earlier song (4:1-3). This assures her that there is no change in His heart.

Since the Bridegroom used these same words to His bride in the fourth chapter, she has wandered and returned. By repeating to her what He said before, He assures her heart that her beauty in His sight is unspoiled. He says nothing about her having been away from Him. Yet these expressions of His unchanged admiration will now take a deeper hold on her heart than before. Their value is increased sevenfold because of the circumstances in which He repeats them. No words could have reassured her heart like these.

Her eyes are at last fully fixed upon Him who has become the object of her heart. He reads in her eyes the deep affection of her heart and is overcome by it. There is no beauty so captivating, so delightful to His heart as this.

The king acknowledges that the effect of the glory of His beloved people, joined in one, overwhelms Him. "Turn away your eyes from me, for they overwhelm me." This is wonderful! Who can understand it? To understand it even in part we must know Jesus Himself. No heart enters into the blessing and joy of others like His. It relieves His heart to bless the needy.

The woman's long hair is God-given and is therefore her special glory (1 Cor. 11:15). It is symbolic of submission and dependence. The goat's nature is to climb to the highest ground, and Mount Gilead is famous for its rich pastures. Putting these three things together we get this truth. Submission and dependence upon the Lord bring you onto the highest spiritual ground. There you find those rich pastures that fully satisfy all the hunger and longings of the soul.

We must feed upon Christ, the bread of heaven, for life, nourishment and strength (John 6:27-28). But feeding on Christ is always coupled with cleansing ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit by the water of the Word, and laying aside hatred, anger and the like for that Christ-like spirit of gentleness and meekness, and bearing fruit in obedience to His will.

What a wonderful thought — the Lord finding such attraction in Jerusalem! That is the Jerusalem that cost Him so many tears, the Jerusalem that has slandered Him from that day to this. For Jerusalem is still the same guilty, Christ-rejecting Jerusalem it always was. But it will not always be so. The Lord will make these words true, and give Jerusalem to believe in the day that is coming.

These same expressions occur in chapter 4, and yet we know the Holy Spirit uses no empty repetitions. Then why is this? In the fourth chapter the Bridegroom used these words for His bride; since then she has wandered and returned. By repeating to her what He said before, He assures her heart that her beauty in His sight is not spoiled. He says nothing about her having been away from Him. Yet these expressions of His unchanged admiration for her will now take a deeper hold on her heart than before.

In spite of her wanderings the thoughts of the Bridegroom towards His bride have not changed. The same figures are used to describe her perfections as in a former canticle (4:1-3). She is thus assured there is no change in His heart.

Only wild beasts use their teeth to tear their prey... the Christian should never use his mouth to snap and backbite at others and to tear and wound with sharp cutting words. The natural heart finds it so easy, and often does it without care or thought. Tusks that tear and wound belong in the mouth of savage beasts that prey on others. The Christian should have teeth like the gentle sheep, which never bites or snaps back. God never meant His children to use their mouth in that way. He gave them teeth to feed on the gospel feast that He has spread for them.

The sheep is a symbol of gentleness and meekness, and washing speaks of cleansing. Bearing twins means double fruitfulness. We must feed upon Christ, the bread of heaven, for life, nourishment and strength. But feeding on Christ always goes together with cleansing ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit by the water of the Word. It means laying aside hatred, anger, and so on, for that Christ-like spirit of gentleness and meekness, and bearing fruit in obedience to His will.

The washing with water is a figure of the practical application of the Word of God to ourselves... As one reads and meditates upon God's Word he discovers what pleases and displeases Him. As we apply this precious knowledge to ourselves, we are cleansed more and more from what, in our ways and actions, does not please the Lord. Suppose someone neglects reading and meditating on the Word of God. Above all, suppose he neglects applying to himself what he reads. He will not be in a condition to enjoy feeding upon Christ.

We are not only to cleanse our way by taking heed to it according to God's Word, but are also to so absorb the Word in our hearts that it produces fruit in our lives. If our knowledge of the Word of God is only head knowledge and we remain barren and unfruitful, we will not be able to enjoy feeding upon Christ.

"Coming up from the washing" — cleanness, whiteness. They have been washed in the fountain that removes all uncleanness. The upper and lower rows match exactly. They are "twins." "None is barren among them" — there is nothing lacking. The bride can now eat the bread of life... She is fully grown. The risen, exalted, glorified and coming Messiah is the food and nourishment of her soul. In the Lord's sight there is evenness, purity, fruitfulness, nothing lacking in the one He loves. What a mercy it is so, and that He tells us Himself, that it is so!

These same expressions occur in chapter 4, and yet we know the Holy Spirit uses no empty repetitions. Then why is this? Since they were used by the Bridegroom in speaking to His bride in the fourth chapter, she has wandered and returned. By repeating to her what He said before, He assures her heart that her beauty in His sight is unimpaired. He says nothing about her having been away from Him. Yet these expressions of His unchanged admiration will now take a deeper hold on her heart than before. Their value is increased sevenfold because of the circumstances in which they are repeated.

When my heart may well feel how truly I have earned a word of reproach, how touching to be greeted with a word of appreciation. Do we not recall a scene like this on the Lord's resurrection day? His own were gathered behind closed doors and "Jesus Himself stood among them." Some of them had slept in the hour of His agony. All of them had forsaken Him in front of His enemies and fled from Him in the day of battle. We may well ask, then, will He be against them in this, the day of His victory? Ah no! The first words He speaks are "Peace to you."

The heart of the pomegranate is chosen to represent the temples of the bride. "A piece," or broken part, "of a pomegranate" is the emblem. The fruit is said to be delicious to the taste, and when broken it shows a bright red colour mingled with white. This comparison, I suppose, gives us the idea of modesty, shamefacedness, or blushing. A blessed change for the house of Jacob, whom the bride represents! What a change grace has worked! There was a time when the Lord had to say of His ancient people, "I know that you are obstinate, and your neck is an iron sinew and your forehead brass" (Isaiah 48:4). Now the Lord sees in His loved one the perfection of meekness and lowly grace.

In contrast, the bride is marked by modesty. She can blush, so that her forehead becomes red "like a piece of pomegranate." But it is "within your locks," or as it may read, "behind your veil." Under the outward symbol of subjection there was genuine modesty. Not outward subjection and inward rebellion. Modesty found with subjection is a precious quality in the sight of Christ.

The temples are a prominent part of the face. The pomegranates were always worn on the priest's robe between the bells. They are typical of the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control; see Galatians 5:22-23). The pomegranates always sat together with bells on the priest's robe. In the same way, the fruit of the Spirit must always be prominent whenever there is a testimony that rings out for the Lord.

When God spoke of Israel having a king, one of the things forbidden to him was taking many wives. The danger was that his heart would turn away (Deuteronomy 17:17). This, sadly, was the very fall of Solomon, who had 700 wives and 300 concubines, and they did turn his heart away (1 Kings 11:3). In the Song we read of 60 queens and 80 concubines and virgins without number. But there was one, a choice one, the only one of her mother, who excelled them all — the bride of the song.

In Solomon's Song (Song 6:8), the Septuagint translates the Hebrew term as neanides. Here the strict meaning of virgins is certain. The word stands apart from the words for queens and concubines. Like our word "maidens," it can only be used as "virgins."

Before, when speaking of her, He added to the gentleness and beauty of her appearance all the graces seen in her. He spoke of the honey that flowed from her lips, the pleasant fruits found in her, and the sweet scents which He called on the breath of the Spirit to bring out. He does not repeat these things now. He speaks of what she is for Him. Having described her personal beauty, His heart dwells on what she is to Himself. "My dove, my undefiled, is but one." His affection can see no other: none can be compared with her. There are many others, but they are not the one whom He loves.

This verse, we have no doubt, refers to a scene in the coming reign of Christ on earth. It follows the union of the two nations. The cities of Judah and the nations of the earth fill up the scene of glory. Jerusalem has the first place.

He is not content to assure the bride's heart of his unchanging love and appreciation. He goes further: he will vindicate her before others. All the world shall know that he has loved her, and that she has a unique place in his affections. There may be other queens and other wives, but his bride holds a supreme place in his affections. None can compare with her. By unfolding before others all that she is to him, he wins the world's praise for his bride. So it will be with restored Israel among the nations in a day to come. And so it will be when at last the wanderings of the church are over... And is it otherwise with a restored soul? The Lord not only restores failing Peter in secret to communion with Himself. He also owns and honours him openly in His service.

He does not wait to hear her excuses for her fault. He speaks, not to scold or condemn, but to assure her of her beauty in his eyes... As before, he has but one object of special delight — herself. "There are sixty queens and eighty concubines, and virgins without number. My dove, my undefiled is but one." How perfect was his love! It had an object from the beginning of the song from which nothing would divert it. Unworthy of it she was, but he could not change.

He does not now repeat these things. He speaks of that which she is for Him. Having described her personal beauty, His heart dwells on what she is for Himself. "My dove, my perfect one, is the only one." His affection can see no other: none can be compared with her. There are many others, but they are not the one whom He loves. The person of the Lord fills the heart that has been brought back to Him.

She tells others what the Bridegroom is in her sight, but He tells the bride what she is in His sight. In secret He pours into her ear all the delight that she is to Him. He would have her to know, not only how beautiful she is in His sight, but how precious she is to His heart.

At the end of chapter 5 we have two things said of the Church. It is the bride of Christ, and it is His body. Therefore, what is evident is, that there is but one, for Christ has not two bodies, nor two brides.

He speaks of that which she is for Him. He owns that remnant as "the only one" of her mother (the nation Israel).

What a place she has in His heart! She is pre-eminent in His sight. None can be compared with her… "Pure to her who bore her" (older translations: "the choice one of her that bore her"). The nation is seen here as the mother, and the tribe of Judah as the bride. Such, O my soul, is the Bridegroom-love of Jesus! So will it be with the godly remnant of Judah in the latter day — so it is now, even now, with us in spirit.

He is not content to assure the bride's heart of His unchanging love and appreciation. He goes further: He will vindicate her before others. All the world will know that He has loved her, and that she has a unique place in His affections. So will it be with restored Israel among the nations in a day to come. And so will it be when at last the wanderings of the church are over, according to those moving words of the Lord: "I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you." And is it otherwise with a restored soul? The Lord not only restores failing Peter in secret to communion with Himself; He also owns and honours him openly in His service.

This faithful remnant has a special place in the Lord's affections, as the choice one among all the queens and concubines on the earth. But the heavenly bride will have a still closer place… Think of His wonderful grace. It has saved such poor sinners as we are. It has lifted us to such a high place — the bride of the Lamb, called to obtain His surpassing glory. Does that not fill our hearts with a deep desire and purpose to live wholly for Him? Ungrateful indeed is anyone whose heart does not respond to such love!

This verse seems to be the language of the bride's admirers. It comes in like a chorus to the song. Everyone is speaking her praise. The dreary night is past; the morning breaks. "Who is she that looks forth as the morning?" She is only now coming out of the darkness of the long, long night she has passed through. But now she leaves it all behind, and comes out in the freshness, beauty, and hope of the morning. She will soon appear in the full splendour of noon, clothed in the beams of "the Sun of righteousness."

The Bridegroom had used the fairest cities of earth to describe her beauty. Now the daughters of Jerusalem use the most glorious objects in the heavens to praise the restored bride. Every trace of failure and of the wandering days is past, and she comes out fresh as the morning, pure as the light of the moon, and glorious as the sun.

God set the sun and the moon in the natural world to rule the day, the night and the seasons, and to give light. So they picture ruling power. And, because they give light, they also picture a teacher, or a group, that is a source of spiritual light. God set Israel in the Old Testament, and the church in the New, to be a source of light to a world that was groping in spiritual darkness. […] Israel will not govern by force alone. Her heart will be fully won by the Lord, so she will be wholly devoted to Him. She will govern the nations according to His own mind and will, and she will also be the highest source of spiritual light in the world.

"Terrible as an army with banners." Israel will have authority under Christ to govern the world. She will also have full power, given her by God, to keep order according to His mind. It will be a victorious power, used in righteousness, and a terror to the wrongdoer if any ever dare to do wrong. It will be a reign of righteousness, held up by that God-given power to judge and to punish evil justly, so that righteousness, godly order and peace are secured for the blessing of the whole earth.

What a change for the long-despised, downtrodden Jew! The admiring daughters, queens, and concubines look at the royal tribe — bridal Judah. She is clothed with light, glory, and dignity, as the fair bride of David's royal Son. She becomes the great attraction of earth, and the object of admiration everywhere. What a happy morning! The darkness is past, "the Sun of righteousness arises with healing in His wings."

"Fair as the moon." The moon has no light source of its own. But when its face turns toward the sun, it reflects the sun's clear light like a mirror. Every believer should reflect Christ in the same way. The moon can only reflect the sun's light while its face turns toward it. So we must keep "looking to Jesus" if we are to reflect Him.

"Clear as the sun." The world should see nothing but Christ in us. He is the Sun, the supreme source of light to the world.

So the Lord follows this up. At the close He adds, "I went down into the garden of nuts to see the fruits of the valley" (v. 11). He said it because He wanted to see the fruits of the humiliation Israel had been through. Jerusalem had gone into the deepest humiliation, and He wanted to see its effects — whether there were spiritual fruits of that humiliation.

egoz. The bride "went down into the garden of nuts" (Song of Solomon 6:11). This word is thought to refer to the walnut tree (Juglans regia). Josephus and others mention the walnut tree growing in Palestine.

The song closes with the Bridegroom's satisfaction as He sees the fruit of the travail of His soul. Our Beloved has been into the valley of death to secure His bride. We too, like the bride of the Song, have been into the valley of humiliation on our wilderness journey. But at last Christ will gather "the fruits of the valley." He will take His place in His garden, among His own, and find fruit sweet to His taste. There was a time when He came among His people on earth seeking fruit and finding none. When He comes seeking fruit in the day of His glory, will He find fruit? Will the vines bud and the pomegranates blossom?

If the experiences of the "valleys" are to yield their fruit, we must face them and work them through with God. The valley of Eshcol was searched out, and because the fruit of that search was in their hands, they were able to say, "It is a good land that the LORD our God is giving us" (Deuteronomy 1:24-25).

How seldom does a vineyard surprise its owner with a full, ripe crop! How often it is the other way! Disappointment, not satisfaction, is what his work usually earns him. So it had always been with Israel, the Lord's vineyard, until now. But now, happily, everything has changed! Grace shines — faith triumphs — the Lord prevails — the people are looking to Him, and counting on Him alone.

What a day! The Lord now sees in His people the ripened fruits of His grace. His heart rejoices — the sight overwhelms Him. This is no longer a wilderness scene, where He walked with them in the desert. It is the fruitful garden, with its budding pomegranates, flourishing vines, and fruits of the valley. These fruits of His rich, patient grace move Him deeply.

"I went down into the garden of nuts to see the fruits … to see whether the vine flourished." Christ is the speaker here. He looks to see fruit in us. Are we producing fruit for Him? Is our vine flourishing? Is our soul fresh and growing, or is it withered up, with little desire and little power to bear fruit? Psalm 1 and Jeremiah 17:5-8 give us the secret of being like a tree that flourishes and bears fruit. Read them. The secret given there is meditation in the Word of God and trusting in the Lord.