The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 191

cirm of her husband, as they were seen before over tbe windows or trained upon the trellis in the time of their "first love." The restora- snrrounding the 'house, . 'f~o hridegrno111 tion of" first lovo" is often tho prayer of the points to it. "Sec, there it 1s, the fum1!1ar disciple, feeling how for he foils short of the apple tree beside the house where thy dear 1tlfection which such a Master should cnll self wast born. There, yonder, is where thy forth. The first feelings of the heart when mother dwelt, and where thou heardest my it is won to Ohrist nre very delightful. first words of affection ns we sat side by sido just outside the house under the shade of tho "Where is the blessedness I knew apple tree." The language is exr1 nisitely When first I saw tho Lord? simple and chaste, and yet so full of the Where is the soul-refreshing view tender affection of the true lover. The spot Of Jesus and his Word?" where the first breathings of love came forth will ever be dear in the remembrance of those It is a blessedness when we come up from the whose affection remains faithful and fond. wilderness. It is o. joy to ourselves and a The typical view certainly finds _itself sup- matter of praise to our fellow-believera when ported in these words. Nothmg 1s more de- we are manifestly filled with a sense of the lightful and more helpful L? the believ~r than Saviour's presence and fellowship. The word to go over in thonght, agam and agam, and midhbaur, translo.ted '' wilderness," does not, especially when faith grows feeble, :when the however, necessarily mean a desolate and heart is cold and fickle under the mfl.uence barren desert, but 1·ather the open country, of worldly temptations and difficulties of the as the Valley of Jezrcel. The LXX. had Christian course, the history of the first be- either a different reading in the Hebrew or ginning of the spiritual life. We recall how has mistaken it. They have rendered the dear the Lord was to ns then, how wonderful last clause "clothed in white," which per- his love seemed to us, how condescending haps Jerome has followed with his delfoiis and how merciful. We reproach ourselves ajff,uem. The word is, however, from the that we faint and fail; we cry out for the root rauvaq, which in the hiph. is "to sup- fulness of grace, and it is given us. port one's self." The meanin~, therefore, is, Vera. 6, 7.-Set me as a seal upon thine "leaning for suppo1·t." It might,_ however, heart, as a seal upon thine arm : for love is be intended to represent the loVJng confi- strong as death; j ealousyis cruel as the grave: dence of married lite, and therefore would the flashes thereof are flashes of fire, a very be equivalent in mean_ing to th~ G~eek an~ :flame ofthe Lord. Manywa.terscallilot quench Latinrenderino-s, that 18," Who1s this? EVl• love, neither can the :floods drown ~t i if a. dently a young newly married wife with her man would give all the substance of his house husband." Perhaps this is the best explana- for love, he would be ntterly conteDlD.ed. . Is tion of the words as preparing for what this to be regarded as the reply of the bn~e follows as the bridegroom begins at once to to the tender allusion of her hll.'lband to their speak ~f the first Jove. Some think that the first Jove; or is it, as some think,_ only the road in which the loving pair arc seen to be first words which belong to the br1de, while walkino- brings their footsteps near to the the rest of the two verses ure a. kind of chorus apple ti:ee over against Shulamith's ~onse echoing her loving appeal, and bringing. the where they bad first m~t: But ~here is_ no general action of the poem to a conclus10n? necessity for tbat suppoe1t1on. It 1s_eu~c1ent It is difficult to decide this, and the meaning if we imagine the npple tree to be m eight. is not affected either way. Perhaps, how- Ver. 5b.-Undertheappls tree I awakened ever, it is best to take it as spoken by the thee • there thy mother was in travail with bride who continues her adclresa to the end thee! there was she in travail that brought of th~ eighth verse. She is full of joy in the thee 'forth. I awakened thee; i.e. I stil'l'ed return of perfect confidence ; she prays that thee up to return the ail'ection which .I the full tide of affection may never cease to showed thee (cf. eh. ii. 7), The Masoretio flow that there be no ebbing of that happy re11ding prints the verb "]'1;11'}1)1, 11s with tbe feeli~o- in whicb she now delights; and theu masculine suffix 1 but this renders the mean- sings the pruise of love itself, o.s though a. ing exceedingly perplexed. The bride would prelude of praise to a lon_g and eterpal peace. not speak of nw11kening Solomon, but it was The seal is the signet-rrng, chotham, lrom a. he who h1td awakened her. The change is root " to impres~." It was sometimes carried very slight, the 1 becoming 'l• and is sup- by a string on the breast, and would,_. ~here- ported by the Old Syriao Version. It must fore, be near the heart (see Gen. xuvm. IS). be remembered tho.t the bridegroom imme- It wns sometimes worn on the hand (see diately addresses the bride, epeaking_ of her J er. xxii. 24 ; and of. Gen. xii. 42 ; Esth. iiL mother. 'fhe o.pple tree woul~ certcunly be 12). It was not worn on the ar~ like a most naturally supposed to be s1tu1tte? eome- bracelet (2 Sam. i. ~O) .. Probably 1t-w:as not w hore neo.r the house w~ere_ the bride '_"119 the sio-net-riug wluch 1~ refoned to m the born, perhaps ovcrslmclowmg 1t or branoh111g second clanse: "Set me us a ~eal on thino 1S2 'l'RE SONG OF SOLOMON. [cu. v1tr. 1-14.