The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 25

orr THE nmDEGROOM. 1. HiB addreB8. He compares the bride to a beautiful mare of his own in the chariots of Pharaoh. The words come fitly from the lips of the speaker. He was the first king of Israel who took delight in horses and chariots, and he imported them from Egypt. 'l'he words are thought to have suggested a similar comparison in Thcocritus (' Jdyll,' xviii. 30); they indicate the stateliness of the bride's beauty; they remind us of Ps. cxlvii. 10, 11, "HtJ delighteth not in the strength of a horse. . . . The Lord tnketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy." Men like Solomon take delight in horses; the Lord in the graces of his people. The kin" calls the bride "my love," or" my friend;" the word is derived from a. verb which i~ its secondary sense means to take delight in the companionship of those whom we love. We a.re reminded of the Lord's gracious words, " Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you" (John xv. 15). 'rhe king proceeds to commend the graces of the bride; he promises costly gifts. She was wearing the simple ornaments of a country maiden (the words "jewels" and "gold" are not in the original of ver. 10). "We will make thee," he say8 (that is, his servants will make at his order), "borders of gold with studs of silver." Whatever graces the Church possesses come from the gift of the heavenly Bridegroom; it is he who will •• present her to himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing;" but holy and without blemish (Eph. v. 27). It is only God who can "keep us from falling, and present us at the last faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy" (Jude 24). The fine linen, clean and white, the wedding-garment of the bride, is the Bridegroom's gift (Rev. xix. 8). 2. The bride's delight in the bride- groom. The king is come ; he sitteth at his table in the midst of the circle of his friends. We are reminded that the presence of his father David was once required to complete such a circle. "We will not sit around" (the literal translation of Samuel's words)" till he come hither" (1 Sam. :i:vi. 11). The bride (like Mary afterwards) anoints him with "ointment of spikenard very costly; " the house is filled with the odour of the ointment. While the heavenly Bridegroom is present in the blessed sacrament, or ill the circle of true worshippers, whenever two or three nre gathered together in hill Name, the sweet odour of prayer and adoration giveth forth its fragrance. Such worship, worship in spirit and in truth, is always acceptable. "My Father," he saith in bis con- descending love, "seeketh such to worship him."· It is his presence which draws forth that holy worship. While he is with us, in the circle of worshippers, the heart goeth forth unto him. "Lord, it is good to be here;" "Thy Name is as ointment poured forth." It is sweet to the believer; it refreshes his soul in sorrow, and in the hour of death; therefore do thy people love thee. The King's presence is very sacred ; those whom he deigns to visit must respond with their heart's love, with the sweet odours of true spiritual worship. 3. Wliat the bridegroom is to her. The odour of her spi.k:enard is pleasant to him; he is to her as a bag of myrrh, or a cluster of henna flowers. So, in Ps. xiv. 8, the royal Bridegroom's garments slllell of myrrh, aloes, and cassia. The bag of myrrh was kept iu the bosom for its sweetness and its medicinal properties; the henna flowers which grew abundantly among the vines of Engedi were highly esteemed for their fragrance. The Saviour's presence in the heart sheds a fragrance through the soul. "He that bath the Son hath life;" a principle of life which preserves the soul from the corruption of sin, which heals its diseases, which prepares it for the hour of death. 'l'he Saviour's body lay for a while in the mixture of myrrh and aloes which Nicodemus brought; that holy body needed not the earthly unguent. The Christian needs the preservative virtue which the Saviour giveth. No flowers of earth, no earthly fragrance or beauty, can compare for one moment with the blessedness which his presence bringeth. II. THE OONVERSE OF THE BRIDEGROOM AND THE BRIDE. 1. The voice of the beloved. He commends the beauty of the bride; her eyes, as they look on him, are like doves, gentle, innocent, loving. So, in Ps. xiv., the king greatly desires the beauty of the bride. She" is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold." The Lord would have the Church, his bride, to be "a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing;" but holy and without blemish. Alas! in the visible Church the evil are ever mingled with the good, and there is none that sinneth not. But just in proportion as the Christian walks in the light (in the_ light of his _presence who is the H THE SONG OF SOLOMON. [OB. I, 1-17,