Make haste, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices.
The Song of Songs ends with the bride asking her beloved to hurry, not with the two of them together. Why does a book so full of love end in longing, and what are these mountains of spices?
The Last Note
The last line is a prayer, and what it asks for covers the church, Israel and the whole earth.
Andrew MillerOur lovely song has ended. Its last note is rich and full. The loving spouse fervently desires her Lord's speedy return. She asks that He may come without delay. The deep affections of her soul for Jesus show in the intensity of her desire for His glorious appearing. Oh, that all our hearts might be one heart, joining the deep, earnest, fervent prayer of the spouse! May He come quickly to our longing hearts. May He come for the rapture of the church, the glory of Israel, and the blessing of the whole earth.
Desire God Approves
Chapter 8 paints a scene of satisfaction, but it speaks to those still waiting for it: the faithful remnant of Israel.
J. N. DarbySong of Songs 8 stands by itself, and seems to me to sum up the principles of the whole book… Prophecy announces the full satisfaction of all the desires of the remnant. It also marks out the path of their affections. But this picture is drawn to encourage those who are not yet enjoying it. It expresses the desire for its fulfilment. So God puts His own approval on the eager desire of the remnant. They long to have Christ, and to have full liberty of communion with Him. The reply shows, with a clearness that is very precious, how it will come about… From Christ alone she draws her life. Only so can Israel give birth to this living remnant. At Jerusalem it will become the earthly bride of the great King. It desires to be, and will be, as a seal upon His heart, by the power of a love that is strong as death. That love spares nothing and yields nothing.
The Cry Is an Answer
Her cry is an answer, not an opening. He had asked to hear her voice, and this is what He hears.
Hamilton SmithThe reply of the bride expresses the longing of her heart for the Bridegroom. He has His desire; He hears her voice as she says, "Make haste, my beloved." Those words fall on His ear with great delight, for they tell Him that love has finished its work in the heart of the bride. A love fills her heart that nothing apart from Him will satisfy, and that only His return can satisfy. So in our day love has taken us in hand. It bears with us patiently in all our wanderings, restores our souls, and revives our drooping affections. It brings us into the company of Christ in the garden of the Lord, opens up to us all the treasures of love, and tells us our Beloved is coming for us. And love has finished its work in our hearts when He says, "Surely I am coming soon," and hears His people answer: "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!" (Revelation 22:20)
Not the Same Mountains as Before
In chapter 2 she used the same picture of mountains. What changed by the last verse is what she asks Him to do.
The Christian's FriendWe may well echo the wish that ends the book. Before, in 2:17, it was "Until the day breaks … turn, my Beloved, and be … upon the mountains." Now it is "Make haste, my Beloved, and be … on the mountains of spices."
(In the ESV, 2:17 reads "until the day breathes and the shadows flee.")
What Makes the Mountains Fragrant
The spices are not scenery she is describing but the effect of the One she is calling for.
Encyclopaedia of Christian Hymnody / CanticlesThe Song closes with the soul of the remnant going out in longing desire for the speedy return of the Lord to the mountains of Israel. His presence will turn the mountains of Israel, now for the most part waste and barren, into mountains of spices. So this prophetic book closes like the book of Revelation. It ends with an invitation breathed from the heart, asking the Lord to come quickly.
Two Companies, One Longing
This same longing belongs to two different companies.
Arno Clemens GaebeleinThe Song of Songs ends with a prayer. This is how the remnant of Israel will plead in the future, that He may come and show Himself in His glory. But the bride of Christ, the Church, prays, "Come, Lord Jesus."
Summary
- Voice — the verse is an answer; He asked to hear her, and this is what she said back.
- Love — the cry proves love has finished its work; nothing but His return satisfies her now, and God approves that longing.
- Haste — she asks Him not to delay, but to come like a gazelle over the hills.
- Spices — barren mountains of Israel turn fragrant because He is there.
- Echo — Israel will plead this way for His appearing; believers pray the same in the words "Come, Lord Jesus."