Go out, O daughters of Zion, and look upon King Solomon, with the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding, on the day of the gladness of his heart.
The chapter ends with a call: come out and look at the king on his wedding day, wearing the crown his mother placed on his head. Who is this king, who is the mother, and when does this day of gladness arrive?
The King in view
Commentators read Solomon here as a picture of someone greater, and the scene as His coming in power:
Arno Clemens GaebeleinHis coming described in verses 6-11 is His coming as King Messiah. In the last verse we have the key... His mother is Israel. Israel gave birth to Him according to the flesh, as it is also seen in the great vision of Revelation 12. In that day He comes up from the wilderness, like pillars of smoke, in the Shekinah cloud. He comes as the mighty victor, yet the true Solomon, the Prince of Peace, who speaks peace to the nations. In that day His mother Israel will crown Him Lord of all.
The mother is Israel, not the church
Getting the mother wrong has done real damage:
William KellyIsrael, however, is the mother whether of the Bridegroom or of the bride: not the church, which is never set forth in that relation, but only as the Lamb's bride... It was the catholic system which confused the two and spoke of "our holy mother" the church. The Roman Catholic went further astray and made her not mother only but "mistress," in human vanity and pride.
A crown won out of humiliation
A crown given by a mother points to His birth as a man:
Frederick W GrantOnly the New Testament puts the King before us wearing the crown "with which," we may say, in a true and blessed sense, "His mother has crowned Him." For He is the Son of Man, born of woman, and this is a glory won from His humiliation. From a deeper humiliation He has won another crown, more glorious still. His people crown Him with delight — "Emmanuel," God with us, even "Jesus, who has saved His people from their sins."
One writer sets this crown beside another the King has already worn:
Hamilton SmithThe daughters of Jerusalem had been taken up with the bride and the bridal procession, but now they are called to look at the King. We have known the King in this wilderness world with the crown of thorns, but we shall yet behold Him in the day of espousals with the crown of glory. The wilderness journey will soon be past.
Still future, and coming down
No one has seen this scene yet. One writer also notes which way the King moves:
William KellyIt is anticipative: He is not yet come; but that is what He is to be when He comes for her. So you see this is not at all the scene of someone taken away into heaven — that is not the point at all. It is one coming — coming to the earth.
Commentators differ on how far to press this. Kelly and Gaebelein keep the scene on earth with Israel. Hamilton Smith reads the same day as the moment Christ receives the church to Himself, without spot or wrinkle, and sees the fruit of His suffering and is satisfied.
The gladness is His
The verse names the day twice: his wedding, and the gladness of his heart. One writer asks what fills the King's thoughts while everyone looks at him:
The Bible TreasuryAll are occupied with him. With what is he occupied? Is he thinking of his majesty? Do his thoughts centre round his crown? He is occupied, but it is with her who is his love, and with nothing else. Of her he thinks; with her beauty and sweetness he is taken up. She had failed, but his love could not fail.
The crowning you can do today
The call to come out and look is not prophecy only. One writer turns it on the reader:
Everlasting Christ's Home CanticlesIsrael, who once spat on Him and rejected Him, humbled and repentant, have at last welcomed Him... and acclaimed Him as their King. What joy that will be for the Lord's heart when He reaps this sweet fruit of the travail of His soul... But before we leave this chapter let me ask you: have you crowned Him as King in your heart? Have you rejoiced His heart by inviting Him to reign supreme in your life and have full sway in all your ways?
Summary
- Crowned. The Solomon here points past Solomon to the true King of peace, who will be crowned Lord of all.
- By His mother. Commentators name the mother as Israel, the nation that gave Him birth. She is not the church, which Scripture shows only as the bride.
- From humiliation. The crown His mother gives Him is a glory won as Son of Man, and it follows a crown of thorns already worn.
- Still ahead. This scene is still future. It shows a King coming down to earth, not saints going up. Commentators differ on whether the wedding day here includes the church.
- His gladness. The day is named for His joy, not ours. He is taken up with His bride, not with His crown. So the question now is simple: have you crowned Him in your own life?