Song of Solomon 3:4

It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me. (IT WAS) BUT A LITTLE THAT I PASSED FROM THEM. Jesus Christ is generally "found" near the watchmen and means of grace; but they are not Himself: the star that points to Bethlehem is not the Sun that has risen there; she hastens past the guide-posts to the goal (Moody Stuart). Not even angels could satisfy Mary, instead of Jesus Christ (John 20:11). FOUND HIM - (.) I HELD HIM ... - willing to, be held; not willing, if not held ...

1-5 It was hard to the Old Testament church to find Christ in the ceremonial law; the watchmen of that church gave little assistance to those who sought after him. The night is a time of coldness, darkness, and drowsiness, and of dim apprehensions concerning spiritual things. At first, when uneasy, some feeble efforts are made to obtain the comfort of communion with Christ. This proves in vain; the believer is then roused to increased diligence. The streets and broad-ways seem to imply the means of grace in which the Lord is to be sought. Application is made to those who watch for men's souls. Immediate satisfaction is not found. We must not rest in any means, but by faith apply directly to Christ. The holding of Christ, and not letting him go, denotes earnest cleaving to him. What prevails is a humble, ardent suing by prayer, with a lively exercise of faith on his promises. So long as...

Verse Song of Solomon 3:4. _INTO MY MOTHER'S HOUSE_] The _women_ in the East have all _separate apartments_, into which no person ever attempts to enter except the _husband_. We find _Isaac_ bringing _Rebecca_ into his _mother's tent_, when he made her his wife, Genesis 24:67. What is here related appears to refer to the third night of the nuptials....

I HELD HIM - This begins the fourth stanza. The bride’s mother is mentioned again in Song of Solomon 6:9; Song of Solomon 8:2....

EXPOSITION SONG OF SOLOMON 3:1 BY NIGHT ON MY BED I SOUGHT HIM WHOM MY SOUL LOVETH: I SOUGHT HIM, BUT I FOUND HIM NOT. The bride is probably relating a dream. The time referred to is the close of the day on which she had been visited by her lover. She is retired to rest, and dreams that she searches for the beloved object in the neighbouring city (cf. Job 33:15). It is another way of telling her love. She is always longing for the beloved one. She had been waiting for him, and he came not, and retired to rest with a heart troubled and anxious because her lover did not appear as she expected at the evening hour. The meaning may be "night after night (לֵילוֹת)" (cf. So...

[IT WAS] BUT A LITTLE THAT I PASSED FROM THEM,.... Either a small moment of time, as the Targum and Aben Ezra; or a little distance of place, that is, from the watchmen or ministers, from whom she passed; not through disrespect to them, much less contempt of them; nor because she received no benefit at all from them; but her going on shows she did not rest in means, but looked beyond them, and went on further in the exercise of her faith, and hope of finding her beloved: and meeting with him a little after she had passed from the ministers suggests that Christ is not far from his ministers and ordinances; for it follows, BUT I FOUND HIM WHOM MY SOUL LOVETH; which she expresses with the utmost exultation and pleasure, which meeting with him must give her, after such long and fruitless searches, and so many disappointments; see John 1:41; and for Christ to show himself, without wh

Song of Solomon 3:1. _By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. The watchmen that go about the city found me: to whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?_ The same question over and over again only that. one thought, «Where is he?» Ministers were nothing; streets of ordinances were nothing; what the soul wanted was to find a personal Christ, and to have personal fellowship with him. Song of Solomon 3:4. _It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go,_ Jacob's wrestlings ar

CHAPTER 3 The scene changes. The bride is now alone and in the darkness of the night. She is seeking her Beloved and is unable to find Him. Her heart is filled with the same love she exhibits in the previous chapter, but the joy and comfort she lacks. We see her walking through the streets and in the broadways, looking for Him whom her soul loveth; she sought Him but found Him not; Then the watchmen of the night which pass through the street came across the seeking one and she eagerly inquires, “Have ye seen Him whom my soul loveth?” They have no answer for her, probably they knew not what she meant. No sooner had she passed them by, when she found Him. All this is prophetic, as it reveals the soul exercise of that godly remnant of Israel during the night of tribulation. There is no need of giving a meaning to every detail. As already stated, His coming described in So

A DREAM OF LOVE. The adjuration Song of Solomon 3:5 (_cf._ Song of Solomon 2:7) may have been added to adapt the passionate poem to the wedding week, in which there was much noisy revelling. For another song with similar motive _cf_. Song of Solomon 5:2 ff. The bride tells a dream which came to her, night after night, and was a reflection of the love that moved her spirit in its waking hours. It is the story of the oft-repeated and at last successful search for him who was the object of her love, till they were happy in her mother's home. _The city_ may be any town or village; the BROAD WAYS are the open spaces in contrast to the narrow lanes. WATCHMEN (cf

IT WAS BUT. LITTLE THAT. Scarcely. A LITTLE. a little while. See note on "almost", Proverbs 5:14. FROM THEM. them. BUT. when. HELD. seized. CHAMBER. inner chamber....