Song of Solomon 7:3

It is hard to say whether the daughters of Jerusalem or the Bridegroom speak the first five verses of this chapter to the bride... In chapter 4, when He speaks of her qualities, He begins with the head... But here it is different: the description begins with the feet and ends with the head. Here she appears as earth sees her, as if the daughters of Jerusalem were first drawn by her walk... The portrait here is not so much her own faultless beauty, which the Bridegroom admires and loves to dwell on, as the setting and marks of royalty... But we must keep in mind that the bride stands for great glory and blessing for all Israel.

Once her words had been a bright witness to the King. Now she herself is a witness to all the loveliness the King had put on her. It is the witness of life rather than lips, of ways rather than words. She had been with her Beloved in the garden of spices, and she comes out from His presence with the beauty of the King on her. She is greeted as the daughter of the Prince.

The breasts speak of maturity and especially of the mother's capacity to nourish and cherish her babies. So her affections have grown mature and Christ-like, and she can now cherish and nourish the young, feeding them with the pure milk of the Word.

The breasts stand for the affections. Proverbs 5:19 uses the same picture of the deer to show what is pleasant. The word "young" adds what is fresh. Christ sees in His people a love that is pleasant and that will never grow old.

The twin deer may point to the unity, harmony, and strong family likeness that will then mark the people of the land. Speaking of their blessing under the new covenant in a future day, the word says, "I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you... And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes."

When believers meet, their life together should bring joy and give a chance to minister Christ to one another, for their comfort and building up... For this our hearts must be filled with Christ and constrained by His love, for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Why is Christ so little spoken of by believers when they are together? The answer is simple: they have given Him such a little place in their own heart's affections. Their breasts are not like young deer; they have not developed love and affections in Christ. Only as we feed on Christ do we find Him the source of life and strength to our souls. Then we can speak of Him to others as a living reality to our hearts and a constant source of joy and strength.