Song of Solomon 8

¹O that thou wert as my brother, that sucked the breasts of my mother! when I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yea, I should not be despised.

O that - The church here expresses her desire of a stricter union, and closer communion with Christ. Without - In the open streets.

²I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother's house, who would instruct me: I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate.

Instruct me - Or, where she did instruct or educate me. I would - My gifts and graces should all be employed to serve and glorify thee.

⁵Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? I raised thee up under the apple tree: there thy mother brought thee forth: there she brought thee forth that bare thee.

Who - This and the next clause are the words of the bridegroom, who proposes the question, that he may give the answer following. Her beloved - He speaks of himself in the third person, which is usual in the Hebrew language. I raised - When thou wast dead in trespasses and in the depth of misery. Under - Under my own shadow; for she had compared him to an apple tree, and declared, that under the shadow of the tree she had both delight and fruit, chap.2:3, which is the same thing with this raising up. There - Under that tree, either the universal or the primitive church, did conceive and bring thee forth.

⁶Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.

Set me - These are undoubtedly the words of the bride. Let thy heart be constantly set upon me. He seems to allude to the engraven tablets which are frequently worn upon the breast, and to the signet on a man’s arm or hand, which they prized at a more than ordinary rate, and which are continually in their sight. For love - My love to thee. Jealousy - Or, zeal; my ardent love to thee. Cruel - Heb. hard, grievous and terrible, and sometimes ready to overwhelm me; therefore have pity upon me, and do not leave me. Fire - It burns and melts my heart like fire.

⁷Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.

Many waters - My love to thee cannot be taken off, either by terrors and afflictions, which are commonly signified in scripture by waters and floods; or by temptations and allurements. Therefore, give me thyself, without whom, and in comparison of whom, I despise all other persons and things.

¹⁰I am a wall, and my breasts like towers: then was I in his eyes as one that found favour.

I am - These seem to be the words of the Jewish church. O Lord, by thy grace I am what thou wouldst have my sister to be, and therefore humbly hope, according to thy promise to her in that case, thou wilt build upon me a palace of silver. Towers - Which stand out from and above the wall, and are an ornament and defence to it. Then - When by his grace I was made a wall, he was well-pleased with me, and with his own workmanship in me.

¹¹Solomon had a vineyard at Baalhamon; he let out the vineyard unto keepers; every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand pieces of silver.

Baal-hamon - A place not far from Jerusalem. A thousand - Whereby he signifies both the vast extent of the vineyard which required so many keepers, and its singular fertility.

¹²My vineyard, which is mine, is before me: thou, O Solomon, must have a thousand, and those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred.

My vineyard - My church, which is here opposed to Solomon’s vineyard. Possibly we may ascribe the first clause to Christ, and the latter to the spouse: such interlocutions being familiar in this book. Mine - This repetition is very emphatical, to shew that Christ had a more eminent title to his vineyard, the church, than Solomon had to his vineyard, because it was purchased not by his money, but by his blood. Before me - Is under my own eye and care. Thou - These words are the church’s return to Christ, who is here called Solomon, as he was chap.3:9, 11, as elsewhere he is called David. Dost thou, O Christ, keep thine own vineyard, which Solomon did not?

Then surely it is meet that thou shouldst receive as large a revenue from thy vineyard, as he did from his. Two hundred - Though the chief revenue is justly given to thee, yet thy ministers, who serve thee in thy vineyard, are allowed by thee to receive some encouragement for their service.

¹³Thou that dwellest in the gardens, the companions hearken to thy voice: cause me to hear it.

Thou - Christ speaks here to his spouse. The gardens - Not in the wilderness of the world, but in the church, the garden of God. He saith, gardens, because of the many particular congregations, into which the church is divided. Companions - The friends of the bride and bridegroom. Hearken - Diligently observe all thy words towards me. Cause me - When I am gone from thee, let me hear thy prayers, and praises, and the preaching of my gospel in the world.

¹⁴Make haste, my beloved, and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart upon the mountains of spices.

Make haste - Seeing we must part for a time, make haste, O my beloved bridegroom, and speedily finish the work which thou hast to do in the world, that so thou mayest take me to thyself, that I may live in thine everlasting embraces.