PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs
Robert Ainslie Redford [1828-1906] · 201,886 words · 222 reading sections
The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 61
union of love. "My beloved is mine, and I am his : he feedeth his flock among the lilies." The favoured maiden, it may be, could not at the moment join her royal lover; but her heart was wholly his, and she knew that his love was fixed upon her. She describes him as a shepherd, but her words are figurative; he feedeth …
877 wordsSECTION 62The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 62
2. B,d, 11ot qf fah;e humility. For though a lowly it is yet a lovely flower. The rose or Sharon was that " excellency of Sharon" which IMiah couples with " the glory of Leban .. n." Hero, too, the resemblance between this and tbe "but comely" of eh. i. 6 is evident. And the saintly soul i.s lovely-in the sight of its…
880 wordsSECTION 63The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 63
compares all other daughters with her, and classes them all with the thorns as compared with her. If whatsoever be not of faith be sin, then, whatsoever it be, it comes under this ill-sounding name of" thorns." Such are the surroundings of the saintly soul. II. NEVllRTHELEBS, THEY GROW THERE, As a fact, they do and in…
899 wordsSECTION 64The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 64
tabernacle which was known &a the most holy place, and whloh WRB emphatioally secret, for it wRs never entered but once a year, and then by the high priest alone. But it told of m1m's need of God's grace, and of that grace provided for him. 'l'o trust then in that God was, and is, to dwell "under the shadow of the A…
879 wordsSECTION 65The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 65
pleads with them, Is grieved and done despite to, as he was in the days of his flesh. His thirst is not yet satisfied; all the loving invitations of the gospel prove this. It is our joy to believe tbat the day will dawn when, though now, as ever in the past, faint for man's love, he will "see of the travail of his sou…
881 wordsSECTION 66The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 66
of tbe song is represented as addressing a. passionate adjuration to her companions," by the r0es and binds "-that is, by all beautiful, loving, timid, and easily startled things. 11.s tbe8e were-that they should not awaken her beloved from his repose until ho will, And so the soul that rests in the realization of G…
750 wordsSECTION 67The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 67
loved one. "My fair one." Such name of endearment tells the truth as to what our souls are to him. So also ' 1 my dove" (ver. 16). Wo should not ce.11 them fair-no, indeed I But love invests all it loves with beauty. What mother does not think her child lovelier than everybody else's? Other people do not see it; she do…
933 wordsSECTION 68The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 68
enmple. Our text is a short but beautiful description of an Eastern spring, In that land of the sun it is true, as it is not always here, that in the spring-time "the winter is past, the rain is over and gone . . . heard in the land." But let us listen to some few out of the many holy and helpful lessons which this se…
807 wordsSECTION 69The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 69
11.eee towards God which they foster. It is the source of th6 Madonna and saint worship of Rome, and of worse things still. For men become as the gods they worship. 2. lt shows us how to deal wisely with all young life, especially the beginni □ gs of the Divine life in the soul: how to train our children. 3. .And it bi…
931 wordsSECTION 70The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 70
would destroy whole vineyards. Their flesh was sometimes eaten in autumn, when they were grown fat with feeding on grapes. Thus Theocritus says- "' I ham the foxes with their bushy tails, Which numerous spoil the grapes of Meoon's vines When fall the evening she.des.' And Aristophanes compares soldiers to foxes, be…
872 wordsSECTION 71The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 71
'l'bey aro as the wild boar out of the wood and the beasts of the field, told of in the psalm we quoted just now. High-banded, bold, Heaven-defying sins, bringing down on the doers of them, sooner or later, the dread judgments of God. But there are other masteia of the soul, spoilers of the grapes of God,-those sins…
971 wordsSECTION 72The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 72
llOmehow began to yield in very slight degree, when one stormy winter night the whole gave w&y, and now the once fruitful land is turned into barrenness, and has been so for centuries past. Oh, take heed of these small beginnings of sin. Yes, they" nre like the letting out of water: first there is an ooze, then a drip…
1,064 wordsSECTION 73The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 73
Ver. 2.-Eminent piety seen in contrast. Some similarities must exist, or the contrast could not be seen. 'l'he godly and the ungodly are both men, or we could not put their characters in contrast. Thorns are rooted in the same soil as the lily. 'rhey are nourished by the same sun, watered by the same rain, enjoy the sa…
932 wordsSECTION 74The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 74
Ver. 3.-The pre-eminence of Immanuel. In Eastern lands, far more. than in Western, men are dependent on ripe fruit to allay their hunger. A man may walk all day among the oaks of Bashan or among the cedars of Lebanon, and find no food. To discover an apple tree or a citron tree among the trees of the forest would co…
625 wordsSECTION 75The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 75
is like life from the dead. And the rest which JeSU!I gives is more precious yet. It is rest from the gloomy fear of hell; it is rest from the drudgery of sin; H is reet from slavish toil to work out B personal righteousness; it is rest from anxious, worldly care. 2. This fruitfulness of Ohrist is Ufe-giving. All ot…
925 wordsSECTION 76The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 76
lifted up the heel against him." If the king invites us to a banquet, it means that he finds II pleasure in our society; he wishes to draw closer the ties of sacred intimacy. Thus Jesus acts. He wants to come into closer fellowship with us, He calls us, not servants but friends. He undertakes to be our Surety, our A…
902 wordsSECTION 77The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 77
because he first loved us," 2. This /J(JITl,ner means devotement. We adopt it as our own. We have sworn to serve our Master under this peaceful banner. At the banquet wo enlist ourselves on the side of the righteous King. Constrained by love, we freely devote to him all we have, all we are. We must be trained and disci…
827 wordsSECTION 78The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 78
many be ~•as known throu,!l_h bis voice of wisdom-through his voice of tender lnvltR- tion :rnd generous l~ve, "The voice of my Beloved." "FRith cometh by hoaring." To thr !wart Jesus Chnst still speaks. The sweet toMe of his love win us to obedience. 'Tis not only a voice, but "the voice of my Beloved." II. THIS L…
905 wordsSECTION 79The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 79
At conversion the change was so great, the contrast with the former state so striking, the deliverance so welcome, we could not restrain our joy. But the festivities ,,f marriage do not remain perpetual. The rosy hues of dawn do not continue all the day. So the rapture or the new birth does not remain all through the p…
846 wordsSECTION 80The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 80
to the speaker's voice, our love responded to his love. Or as the flowers respond to the summer sun, so our hearts gave out the fragrance of their love, under the quickening influence of his grace. For his love is not a vapid sentiment, His love is cm ever- lasting force, ever active, beneficent in ten thousand ways…
862 wordsSECTION 81The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 81
Vera. 1, 2.-Wild-flower beauty. The scene which suggests this imagery is ono abounding in rural delights. In a remote country retreat, the lovers are seated on a couch of verdant turf, decked with lovely flowers. It seems as though nature has prepared for them a pleasant house whose rafters and galleries are formed by …
806 wordsSECTION 82The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 82
tree, chiof in valno among the trees of the grove, an emblem of that" Plant of Reuo,vn " the Lord nnd Saviour himself, who has she! tered multitudes beneath his guar,li;n presence, and supplied multitudes from his abundant suflioiency. J. CHnisT's BUPREMAOY ASSERTED, As the noble citron in the orchard towers above …
774 wordsSECTION 83The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 83
hart for strougth and swiftness, looking in through the lattice window, calli □ g to his beloved, o.ud inviting her to join him amidst the beauty, the fra\rrance, 0 and the freshnes, of the spring I So comes Obrist uuto the soul. J, TnE VOICE OF THE BELOVED, Jesus speaks in his Word and gospel, and his utter- ance i…
854 wordsSECTION 84The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 84
admonition of her brothers, who have left her in charge of the vineyard. It is her duty to protect the precious plants and fruits from the incursions of enemies, even of those which seem the most unworthy of notice. It bas been usual to regard these "little foxes " as emblematic of evil powers which perhaps insidiou…
1,046 wordsSECTION 85The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 85
EXPOSITION. CHAPTER III. Delitzsch renders, "So I will a.rise, then." The words of the maiden are quite incon- Ver; 1.-By night on my bed I sought sistent with the hypothesis of a shepherd- him whom my soul loveth : I sought him, lover, for in that case she would seek him, but I found him not. The bride is probably …
628 wordsSECTION 86The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 86
the oity shows thl't such o. metaphor would by the bride in the presence of the ladies, be fRmiliRrly understood. Wliether adopted There is no occasion to connect a refrain from Solomou's Song or not, the figure of a very dosely with the words which go beforo city watched and guarded, and the people it. Like the ancien…
963 wordsSECTION 87The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 87
tho lo.dies or inhabila.nts of Jerusalem, or it speo.re's 'Antony o.nd Cleopatra,' in which ho mo.y be regarded as the exclo.mo.tion of the describes the lovely Egyptian in her bargo wlwlo population going out to see the "like a burnished throne," lying "in her splendid sight-a gorgeous procession coming pavilion (c…
1,028 wordsSECTION 88The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 88
tl:e bride and bridegroom. The Greek ver- Judg. v. 10: Amos iii. 12; Prov. vii. 18.) sions trnnslate <f,op,wv: the Vu Igate, fe,·cu- The preposition I~ in the lllSt cll\uee is ren- lum. We read in Athenaius (v. 13) the.t dered differently by some, bnt there can be the phil011opher e.nd tyre.nt Athemon showed no doub…
966 wordsSECTION 89The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 89
repetition, the dwelling upon phrases. Four times in these five verses we have the fond description of the bridegroom, which occurred for the first time in eh. i. 7, "him whom my soul loveth," Twice we have the utterance of unsatisfied longing, " I sought him, but I found him not." She was sleepiog, but (as in eh. v. …
840 wordsSECTION 90The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 90
Still the bride found not the beloved; ·she repel\tl! her first lament like a plaintive refrain:" I sought him, but I found him not," 'l'he soul does not always find the Lord 11t once when it first feels its need of the Saviour. We tryone pll\n after another; we make effort after effort ; but for a time all our effo…
971 wordsSECTION 91The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 91
This noble hymn of Charles Wesley's expresses the feelings of a soul that has found Christ. We must not let him go, not for any perplexities, not for any temptations. St. Paul tells us that no difficulties can draw us back from him if we really give him our heart. "I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angel…
788 wordsSECTION 92The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 92
M?t~nt Zio~, to the city of God, wh?re is t~e true temple, where God is worshipped in spmt and m truth, where he manifests himself to them that seek him. And the prayer of the faithful, as they draw ever nearer, is set forth in God's sight as the ~nce_ns~, an_d the lifting lW of their hands as the evening saerifi~e.…
894 wordsSECTION 93The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 93
lime dangerous from bands of brigands. The king had cared for the safety of the bride ; the escort was not given her merely for honour. So now the Lord giveth his angel8 charge over his people to keep (to guard) them in all their ways; so now "the angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivere…
1,282 wordsSECTION 94The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 94
HOMILIES BY V.ARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 1-5.-Love's dream. It is a dream that is told of in these verses. It was natural fur her who tells it to have dreamt such a dream. Lifting up the story to the higher level of things spiritual, what these verses say suggests- . I. CONCERNING DREAMS GENERALLY. '!'hey are often reve…
561 wordsSECTION 95The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 95
found of them that eeek him not-as he says he is-how much more will he fulfil his word, "They that seek me ehall find me" I (2) And she clave to him. "I held 1,im," etc. The soul thue holds hei Lord by her prayers, her trust, her communion, her service, her self-surrender. These grasp the Beloved, and will not let him …
845 wordsSECTION 96The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 96
only, but even more ?f riches, ". the!e wanteth not sin." Therefore these things are not to become the obJect of desire m a good man's soul. 2. They were designed to tempt her of whom this song tells. Solomon would dazzle her with his splendour and weRlth, and so would make her "forget" her "kindred" and her "father's…
896 wordsSECTION 97The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 97
been our Bun of Righteousness, then his departure makes our night. All the things relating to the spiritual world a.re dark to us if Jesus be absent. We cannut see the face of our Father. We cannot read our titles clear to the heavenly inheritance. '!'here is no growth of holy virtues in us. We cannot run the heaven…
815 wordsSECTION 98The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 98
to be cbamberlRins in his palace, and to introduce guests to bi's banquet-table, His employment of us in this sacred and noble work is an unspeakable honour. A consecrated man is sure to become a guide to others, whether he fill an office in the Church or not.. 'l'he pious women who talked with each other of Christ …
910 wordsSECTION 99The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 99
Vere. 6-11.-The King coming to his c,-1,pital. In Asia.tic lands wheeled carriages were rare, and are rare still. 'fhis is accounted for b_y the absence of roads. To construct and maintain roads through a billy country like Palestine required more engineering skill than the people possessed; and further, there w~s a g…
862 wordsSECTION 100The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 100
II. ORSERVE HIS BODY-GUARD. 1. This is a token of peril, But the peril is not that of open war. If a bannered host should oppose his march, he would meet it with his invincible forces. Michael and all the powers of heaven would fight his batt.le, It is not open war. The foes in the desert are Ishmaelites. 'l'hey seek f…
897 wordsSECTION 101The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 101
will keep my commandments: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and will make our a.bode with him." 'fo the ea.me effect we read, "that Chriot may dwell in your hearts." Love bas e. thousand devices for expressing itself. IV. MARK THE ADORATION WHICH BEl'ITS THE Krno. "Go forth, ye daughters of Zion…
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Ycrs. 2-4.-Tlie soul's quest rewarded. The romantic incident. here poetically related has usually been regarded as a picture of the experiences through which many a soul is permitted to pass during this state of probation and Divine discipline. I. THE sour.'s SEAROH. 1. The appreciation of Obrist involved in this ques…
943 wordsSECTION 103The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 103
EXPOSITION. of the bride. In later times it was cus- CHAPTER IV. tomary for the hair to be adorned with a Ver. 1.-Behold, thou art fair, my love; wreath of myrtle or roses, or a golden behold, thou art fair ; thine eyes are as ornament representing Jerusalem. The doves behind thy veil ; thine hair is as a gouts in S…
525 wordsSECTION 104The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 104
simile ie very apt and beautiful. Thy teeth meaning may be a segment, that is, so I\B to are perfectly smooth, regular, and white; represent the roundness of the cheek. Pos- the upper set C'Orresponding exactly to the sibly the reference mo.y be to blushes on lower set, like twin-births in which there is the bride's ch…
989 wordsSECTION 105The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 105
shields of heroes. We oan sc0,rcely doubt of the bride kindles his love a.fresh. He Urn referonoe in such words to the time of praised the loveliness of her bodily form, Solomon, and therefore to his authorship, as anrl she by her response showed the exceed- tho 0,llusion to heroes, or mighty men of ing loveliness o…
1,023 wordsSECTION 106The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 106
nht1unded in that district, especially lions perfection? As the Church advances in her and pnnthcrs. They were found in tho likeness t,o her Lord, she bcoomos more and clcfh nnd defiles of the rocks. Lions, how- more the objeot of his delight, aud as the cYcr. !JR'l"e now altoget.her disappeared. In soul receiYes more …
1,014 wordsSECTION 107The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 107
Prcciou8 fruit; litcmlly, jructus l.audum, not see a eymbol of the spiritual life in Anch "fruils of reuown" or excellence (cf. 8yriao language (cf. John vii. 38)? Ethically. at maqdo, "dl'iecl fruit"). 'fhe carcom, or lenst, the blending of the freshness of a so.flron, n ldnd of crocus (Ind. 8ajran), yields mountain s…
885 wordsSECTION 108The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 108
appointment.. "Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; all is vanity." He could not find sat.isfaction in his wisdom when he had begun to fall away from God. He found that "in much wisdom is much grief, and he that increaseth knowledge iucreaseth sorrow" (Ercles. i. 18). Aud so the wisest of men betook himself to pl…
946 wordsSECTION 109The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 109
one of llB, make ourselves ready and prepare to meet our God. The Lord rejoices in tho holiness of hie people. We must learn, not to seek glory from one another, not to set so much store on human praise, but to seek that glory which cometh from the only God (John v. 44). There were some who would not confess the Lord J…
1,012 wordsSECTION 110The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 110
,·crs. 7-16.-Further conversation. I. THE WORDS OF THE BRIDEGROOM, 1. His c11tire love for the bride. If the view of ver. 6 indicated above gives the true meaning, the bride has left the bridegroom for a time. In the evening they meet again, and the king again expresses his affection: "Thon art all fair, my love; th…
718 wordsSECTION 111The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 111
wit.h Christ in Paradise must be much with Christ now; with him in the daily life of faith, in prayer and praise and frequent communion. He bids us come. "Come unto rrio," he eaye, "and I will give you rest." He only ca.n give pea.ce. "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto yon: not ae the world giveth, give I un…
907 wordsSECTION 112The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 112
1,ring forth fruit before the awful word goeth forth, "Every tree that bringeth not fort.h good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fil'e." The trees in the Lord's garden differ much from one another. There are pomegranates with their pleasant fruit, henna with its fragrant flowers, spikenard with its costly perfu…
929 wordsSECTION 113The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 113
The living water is the Lord's; it bears hie seal. The Lord himself is, in the truest eense, the "Fountain opened . . . for sin and for uncleanness" (Zech. xiii. 1); with him is "the fountain of life'' (Ps. xxxvi. 9). He leadetb his redeemed to living fountains of waters (Rev. vii. 17). But they who have received fr…
861 wordsSECTION 114The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 114
he tells of; her lips ruddy; her mouth so comely; her cheeks rosy red, like the opened tiomegmnate; her neck grnceful, and adorned with precious jewels; and so on. Even her home, because it is her home, is as a hill bearing trees of myrrh and frankincense, nnd thither would he resort. And he sums up his description …
929 wordsSECTION 115The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 115
frustiln,rJ soul. The soul is, as it well may be, often overwhelmed with the sense of its own vileness and sin. It clings to Christ with the grasp of all but .despair. What a help to know that Christ'B estimate of us is not our own! How often we are able to help a man up by letting him see that we believe in him, notwi…
896 wordsSECTION 116The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 116
Church, who get tbem to the mountain, etc., where he is, we commiserate, even whilst we condemn, those who never get themselves there at all.-S. C. Yer. 7.-The immaculate soul. "Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee." Thie word has many parallels; cf. "Ye are clean through the word which I have spoke…
800 wordsSECTION 117The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 117
II. CmnsT's PROMISE OF HELP, "Come with me." His Word is full of such promises nnd of the records of their fulfilment (cf. histories of Joseph, Moses, Nehemiah, Daniel, etc.). And it is the experience of every Christian soul, Christ does not take us out of the world, but he keeps us from the evil. He keeps us "as th…
828 wordsSECTION 118The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 118
as fragmnce, foll of a sweet acceptableness to Christ (cf. Matt. xxv., where it is told how the loving acts of his people dona to the poor and needy for his sake are, though so trifling in themselves, so wonderfully recompensed). Th118 the lives of his people diffuse a fragrance most acceptable to him in whoso name the…
901 wordsSECTION 119The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 119
"Nearer, my God, to thee, Neerer to thee ; E'en.though it he a cross That raieeth me"- is in this invocntion to the· bitter blast-the north wind. And the Christian soul i!J willing for whateve1· of trial and distress God may be pleased to send, so only as it ma.y l~ntl to more full likeness to God. As the inhabitant…
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pining in a gaol. Is this consistent with the jurisdiction of a benevolent God? Or if there be a God, the man has serious doubts whether the Bible can be accepted as a revelation to men of God's plane and designs . . Evidently the book ie marked with imperfect.ions, traceable to man. Or he is perplexed with the theo…
867 wordsSource & rights
Public domain historical Pulpit Commentary. Source page identifies the volume as Public Domain; text extracted from its historical PDF.
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.