You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride; you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace.
In chapter 4 the King describes His bride, feature by feature. Here the description turns into a confession: one look, one jewel, and His heart is gone.
A heart taken away
The wonder is not that she loves Him. The wonder is the delight He takes in His people.
Hamilton SmithIt is good for us to delight in Christ. But nothing settles the heart and fills it with adoring joy like realizing the delight that Christ finds in His people. It is no wonder that our hearts are captivated by Christ. That His heart should be captivated by His people is the wonder of the world.
Where the ESV says "captivated," the older translation these writers use says "ravished." One writer asks who did this to Him:
Andrew Miller"You have ravished my heart;" the margin reads, "taken away." Amazing truth! The heart of Christ ravished — taken away! By what? By whom? By the attractions of a sinner saved by grace — by one He has washed in His own precious blood, and adorned with His own matchless excellence.
Sister and bride
He gives her two names in one breath. He is not only her Bridegroom:
Andrew MillerHe now takes the place of Brother as well as Bridegroom. "My sister, my bride." What a relationship! What a happy union! He knows it well and prizes it highly, though she still knows little of it. But the main matter here is one of heart — of feeling — of the Saviour's love, not to the Jew only but to all who believe in Him.
One glance, one jewel
The verse names two small things. One writer reads them as pictures: the eye shows where she is looking, and the chain shows what He gave her.
Elberfelder CommentaryOne of her eyes captivates the Lord. It is a single eye (Matthew 6:22), always turned toward Him, because you can only see another person's eye when it is turned toward you. One chain of her neck captivates His heart too. The golden chain around her neck speaks of a divine beauty that is not hers by nature. He gave it to her in grace.
He admires His own gift
What moves Him in her started in Him.
Hamilton SmithAnd what could the King see in the bride to captivate His heart? Nothing great, as people count greatness. It was only a glance of the eye and a chain of the neck. But that look was a look of love, and the chain was the adornment He Himself had put on her. As we would say, "We love because He first loved us." The glance of the eye speaks of the love of the heart. The chain of the neck declares that this love of the heart is the fruit of His own love.
Why "one" eye, "one" chain
The word "one" is hard to pin down. One writer admits that, then offers two ways to take it:
Andrew MillerIt may be hard to say what the Lord means by "one of your eyes, one chain of your neck." He may mean that He values every single grace and every spiritual ornament in the believer. Or He may mean that He delights in each believer one by one, as well as in His people together. He can never overlook the least of all His people, or fail to mark them out from others, now or in eternity. He loves us one by one, and saves and glorifies us one by one... yet it is Paul who says, "who loved me and gave Himself for me."
Israel, or the Church
Commentators differ on who the King is speaking to. One reads the passage as still future, spoken over a restored Israel:
Elberfelder CommentaryThese verses are a prophecy of what Israel will be for the Lord. He will redeem her, free her from the power of the enemy, and place her in royal glory at the head of the nations.
Another writer points to the timing. He says this now, while His people are still on the road:
W. T. P. WolstonHere we learn that even now, while we walk the sand of the desert... He finds in the Church what delights His heart... So while He is the portion of our hearts, He finds in us the portion of His heart... Do we believe it, dear friends, that we are a joy to Him?
Summary
- His love starts it. The chain on her neck is jewellery He gave; her love is "the fruit of His own love," so the verse begins and ends in Him.
- His love names her. She is sister and bride at once. He "takes the place of Brother as well as Bridegroom" — a relationship He prizes highly, though she knows little of it yet.
- His love is captured. The margin reads "taken away": the heart of Christ carried off, and by a sinner saved by grace.
- His love notices one. One eye, one chain — He never overlooks the least of His people, and He loves us "one by one."
- His love is returned. One eye turned toward Him is all He asks. Nothing settles the heart like knowing the delight He takes in His people.