Song of Solomon - Bible Survey

The Song of Solomon. Solomon was not only a Preacher (Ecclesiastes) and a Moralist (Proverbs), but a Song-composer (Canticles). Of the 1005 Songs (1 Kings 4:32) written by Solomon, all have perished save this one which is styled by way of pre-eminence "The Song of Songs," unless we include in the number of 1005 the two Psalms 72 and 127 attributed to Solomon. The book was written in Palestine, probably Jerusalem, by Solomon in the early period of his reign, about 1014 B.C. Its typical application is to the Jew of the future; its moral bearing is all-important for the Christian now. This divine poem is in the form of a dialogue between Solomon, his spouse, and her companions. No doubt Solomon's marriage with the lovely Egyptian princess formed the historical ground on which is based the moral and prophetic teachings of the book. Some arrange it in seven portions, answering to the seven days of the Jewish marriage feast.

This wonderful Song of Solomon, abounding in figurative language so rich in spiritual meaning, is called the song of songs; that is, it is the one song that surpasses all other songs for excellency and beauty. It is a love song, the greatest love song ever sung because it speaks of the most ardent love and the greatest lover the world has ever known. It is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, the Son of God, wooing to Himself a bride from among the children of men.

In its primary application it is a prophecy of Christ, the Messiah of Israel, wooing to Himself the heart of the Jewish remnant after the Church as been caught up to glory. It is a profitable study to take up this Song of Solomon in its prophetic application to Israel, and in fact some passages can only be rightly understood when considered in this connection. But when we realize that the love of the Lord to Israel, His earthly bride, is but a shadow or reflection of His deeper love to His heavenly bride, we find immense profit in applying these beautiful figures to ourselves. So while we should not forget that these figures have a direct application to the remnant of the last days, yet we will find that they have also a deeper, full and spiritual application to ourselves as members of the heavenly bride.

The Song of Solomon is not one continuous song but is made up of different parts. The general theme is the Lord wooing the heart of the remnant of Israel to Himself to be His earthly bride, or queen. See Psalm 45 where the remnant, or perhaps more properly Jerusalem, is represented as the queen. Each part, or section, of the song takes up some special aspect of the general theme and carries it through to a certain climax. Thus in chapter 1, verses 1-4 form the first section. It gives the general theme, ending with the queen brought into the chambers of the King, glad and rejoicing in Him.

The song is mainly composed of a series of dialogues between the Bridegroom and the bride. There are other characters introduced, for instance the daughters of Jerusalem occasionally speak; also we have the city watchmen, the keepers of the walls, and the little sister, but these characters take little or no part in the dialogues. In the course of these dialogues we have, first, the unfolding of the infinite and unchanging love of the Bridegroom; second, the development and growth of the love of the bride, and how she is established in relationship with the Bridegroom, brought into the enjoyment of his love and raised from her lowly position to share the throne of the king — her exalted Bridegroom.

In the first instance, the Song of Songs is a poetic love story. It deals with the relationship between King Solomon and a young lady called the “Shulamite” (6:13). He is a mighty king, and she is a simple shepherd girl who spends most of her time outdoors, being tasked with guarding the vineyards of others. At the outset, she does not seem to know who Solomon really is. Her request “Tell me, thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest thy flock?” (1:7) suggests that, at this point, she still takes him to be a simple shepherd. The book describes how the relationship between Solomon and the Shulamite develops – through ups and downs.

The Song of songs gives us experiences of another order. It is a song of the heart, a marriage song, which has been held by faith in all ages to be an allegory of spiritual things. The natural relation is used in Scripture itself as thus figuring that of Jehovah with Israel according to the Old Testament, that of Christ and the Church in the New Testament application. As a book of the Old Testament, we must take the bride primarily to be the earthly bride, but with the higher and heavenly application everywhere shining through. With such a theme as this, we need not wonder at the difficulties of interpretation with which the book abounds. It is a song for the sanctuary: it is only in the sanctuary we can read it aright. There is no need to enter into it further here. It most evidently fills the third place.

Christ is the great theme of all Scripture, and, in its several parts, the Holy Spirit delights to set forth special aspects of Christ and His glories. Here, in the Song of Songs, His great object is to present the love of Christ for His people.

Thus, it will be seen, LOVE is the great theme of the Song of Songs — the love of Christ. Under the figures of the Bridegroom and the bride it speaks of all those sweet affections that Christ kindles in the hearts of His own. What more important than having the affections drawn out to Christ! We often mourn that there is little love among the Lord's people, but, alas, this tells a tale of little love to the Lord Himself. And if there is little love to the Lord, is it not because there is little appreciation of the Lord's love to us? The measure of our love to the Lord, is the measure in which we realize the Lord's love to us. Herein is the great value of the Song of Songs. It awakens our love by unfolding His love. There are other songs in Scripture, songs that celebrate creation, songs that speak of victory, and songs of praise and thanksgiving, but the theme of this song is LOVE — the love of Christ — and therefore is it called THE SONG OF SONGS.

There are at least three reasons why this view must be rejected. In the first place, it makes havoc with the order of the book. The text must be cut up, and a veritable "grasshopper-method," jumping from one place and chapter to another, must be employed in order to put such a story together. In the second place, it is contrary to all the Jewish and Christian interpretation of the past; they all must be branded as erroneous if this literalist explanation is the true one. And finally it makes King Solomon, who as King of Peace, and in the glory of his kingdom, is a type of Christ, the Messiah, a vile tempter, who tries his utmost to seduce the shepherdess.

We therefore believe that it is the story of Solomon's love for his bride, the Shulamith, as believed by the vast majority of Jewish and Christian expositors.

It is the story of the love of King Solomon for Shulamith, the bride, who by turns is a vinedresser, shepherdess, midnight inquirer, etc., while the king is described in all his beauty, as the beloved one. In this way the Jewish interpreters as well as the vast majority of Christian commentators have understood the story of the Song.