Song of Solomon 5:1-8
CHRIST'S CALL TO THE DROWSY CHURCH. The Church Aroused from Sleep... [ Continue Reading ]
CHRIST'S CALL TO THE DROWSY CHURCH. The Church Aroused from Sleep... [ Continue Reading ]
I am come into My garden, My sister, My spouse, this being the King's answer to Shulamith's invitation, 4, 16; I HAVE GATHERED MY MYRRH WITH MY SPICE; I HAVE EATEN MY HONEYCOMB WITH MY HONEY; I HAVE DRUNK MY WINE WITH MY MILK, all expressions showing the measure with which the King enjoyed the fruit... [ Continue Reading ]
I sleep, but my heart waketh, unable to shake off the half-conscious drowsiness which came upon her; IT IS THE VOICE OF MY BELOVED THAT KNOCKETH, SAYING, OPEN TO ME, MY SISTER, MY LOVE, MY DOVE, MY UNDEFILED, the one of whom He is sure that she is wholly devoted to Him in love, as His terms of endea... [ Continue Reading ]
I have put off my coat, the tunic or undergarment, which served as a covering in the night; HOW SHALL I PUT IT ON? I HAVE WASHED MY FEET, as custom requires it where only sandals are worn; HOW SHALL I DEFILE THEM? She had become so indifferent to her Bridegroom that she eagerly adopted the slightest... [ Continue Reading ]
My Beloved put in His hand by the hole of the door, through which the bolt could be reached from the outside if no other locks were employed, AND MY BOWELS WERE MOVED FOR HIM, she was greatly excited, or agitated, in sympathy for Him, she began to repent of her indifference.... [ Continue Reading ]
I rose up to open to my Beloved, once more thoroughly aroused in love and longing; AND MY HANDS DROPPED WITH MYRRH, best token of her reawakened love, AND MY FINGERS WITH SWEET-SMELLING MYRRH, whose perfume was sure to please the King, UPON THE HANDLES OF THE LOCK, as she eagerly attempted to push b... [ Continue Reading ]
I opened to my Beloved, ready now to appreciate His visitation of love; BUT MY BELOVED HAD WITHDRAWN HIMSELF AND WAS GONE, apparently tired of waiting, ready to extend His merciful call to some one else; MY SOUL FAILED WHEN HE SPAKE, when He had spoken before, this also explaining her long inaction.... [ Continue Reading ]
The watchmen that went about the city found me; they smote me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls, whose business it was to protect the inhabitants of the city, TOOK AWAY MY VEIL FROM ME, an act which was an indignity offered to an Oriental girl at any time, and here doubly so, since the veil... [ Continue Reading ]
I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, adjuring them most earnestly, IF YE FIND MY BELOVED, THAT YE TELL HIM THAT I AM SICK OF LOVE, her longing had now become overwhelmingly great, due to the very indifference professed by the Lord. This paragraph correctly pictures the spiritual sleep which somet... [ Continue Reading ]
What is thy Beloved more than another beloved, to place Him so high in praise, O THOU FAIREST AMONG WOMEN? so the "daughters of Jerusalem," introduced for the sake of the liveliness of the presentation, ask Shulamith. WHAT IS THY BELOVED MORE THAN ANOTHER BELOVED THAT THOU DOST SO CHARGE US? namely,... [ Continue Reading ]
THE CHURCH PRAISES HER BRIDEGROOM... [ Continue Reading ]
My Beloved is white and ruddy, fair and with the color of health, THE CHIEFEST AMONG TEN THOUSAND, distinguished above a myriad, an unequaled Champion.... [ Continue Reading ]
His head is as the most fine gold, not only from the red luster of His crown, but by reason of preciousness, HIS LOCKS ARE BUSHY, like the waving fronds of the date-palm, AND BLACK AS A RAVEN.... [ Continue Reading ]
His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, full of lustrous brightness, WASHED WITH MILK, to enhance their beauty, AND FITLY SET, literally, "sitting in fullness," like a precious gem in the setting of a ring.... [ Continue Reading ]
His cheeks are as a bed of spices, or balm, in the luxuriant growth of the beard, AS SWEET FLOWERS, elevated beds or mounds of spice plants; HIS LIPS LIKE LILIES, the red lilies of Palestine, DROPPING SWEET-SMELLING MYRRH.... [ Continue Reading ]
His hands are as gold rings, each finger being a cylinder of gold, SET WITH THE BERYL, or encased in turquoises; HIS BELLY IS AS BRIGHT IVORY OVERLAID WITH SAPPHIRES, or, "his body a figure of ivory veiled with sapphires," so spoken of either from the delicate blue veining or from the girdle studded... [ Continue Reading ]
His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets, or bases, OF FINE GOLD, the references probably being to the costly sandals worn by the King; HIS COUNTENANCE IS AS LEBANON, His entire appearance and bearing is majestic, EXCELLENT AS THE CEDARS, choice and stately as the finest trees of the fore... [ Continue Reading ]
His mouth is most sweet, literally, "His palate is sweetnesses"; YEA, HE IS ALTOGETHER LOVELY, literally, "lovelinesses," the plural indicating the excess of pleasurable qualities. THIS IS MY BELOVED, AND THIS IS MY FRIEND, O DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM. This is the ecstatic description which the Church... [ Continue Reading ]