Song of Solomon 1:11

A chain of gold, we know, is the token of promotion, high favour, and dignity, as in the case of Joseph and Daniel. But what do these wonderful words of the King mean? He has been admiring His bride — her "rows of jewels," her "chains of gold" — and now He is moved to do yet more for her.

Like a horse in Pharaoh's chariot, adorned with all the trappings of royalty, so the bride was lovely in His sight, with the beauty He had put on her. As the Lord says through Ezekiel, "I adorned you with ornaments and put bracelets on your wrists and a chain on your neck" (Ezekiel 16:11).

Some have thought that the plural "We" points to the mystery of the Holy Trinity. At creation God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." And the work of redemption gave the opportunity to show the different Persons of the Godhead. "If anyone loves me," says Jesus, "he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him." And of the Spirit He says, "You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you." (John 14)

The Jews believe that both God and the Messiah are Kings. "We" means the Father and the Son. The gold ornaments and silver studs stand for the bride's joy and her wedding crown (Esther 2:17; Ezekiel 16:12). So the Messiah will crown His faithful ones in Israel, while His church will be crowned in glory.

And so the Bridegroom not only expresses His present delight in the bride, but lets her into the secret of all the glory planned for her — "We will make for you ornaments of gold, studded with silver" — which surely refers to the crown she will yet wear. There is the present beauty in which Christ sees His people, for as He is, so also are we in this world. And there is the future glory in which He will display the saints, when the marriage of the Lamb has come. The saints are beautiful in His sight even now, but the crowning day is still to come.

But what are we to understand by "ornaments of gold, studded with silver"? May it not be a crown — a crown of gold sparkling with silver? Ezekiel seems to say so: "I put... a beautiful crown on your head... Thus you were adorned with gold and silver." Shall the restored royal tribe of Judah yet wear this beautiful crown in Jerusalem? Can Judah forget, or can I ever forget, that Your royal head, O King of Salem, was once in those very places wreathed with a crown of thorns? No earthly jewels gave that crown its lustre. But the rich red drops from Your holy veins were its jewels of imperishable value. What will you think, how will you feel, when that once-pierced hand places on your head a garland of unfading glory? Will your eye be caught by the crown, or dazzled by the glory? Oh no — the first glimpse of that transcendent face will fix your eye and capture your heart forever.

Jerusalem was untrue to the Lord and as a consequence has lost that royal glory. She sank so low that when her Messiah came she cruelly mocked Him, crowned Him with thorns and spat in His face. But the time will come when Jerusalem, repentant and rejoicing in the Lord's forgiveness, will again be lifted to the head of the nations. What a joy that will be to His heart! What a triumph for His grace, when He again crowns Jerusalem with royal glory — the fruit of His redemption and the work of His Spirit in the heart.