The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 193

ls the dny in which she shall be spoken for? the meaning be no more than thi. '-She Some h11ve said tl111t the Ii ttle sister repre• moy become oDP. of the most •nbste.ntie.l sonte the llrstfruits of the Jews and Gentiles parts of the building, like a wall; in that reccho,I into tho Christian Church imme- ce.se e.11 that she can be she shall be; we dintcly aft or the time of our Lord's ascension, will put tl,e highest honour upon her. She as Beza. and others. Some, 11gain, take it to may be a door, that is, thongh not so great mean the whole body of Jews 1md Gentiles and suhstautio,l ae the wnll, still in the very yot to be converted. Others would see in it front of the building and before the eyes ot' those that are wc11k in fe.ith, the beginners all. In that case we will beautify her with in Christian life. And, again, it has been costly and fragmnt adornment. The gate regarded as pointing to the "daughter of shall be enclosed iu cedar-wood. "The wall Zion" at the time of the first beginnings of and the door," says Zockler, "are mostly her conversion to the heavenly Solomon, understood of the steadfast an,1 faithful which is the view of Hengstenberg nnd others. keeping of the Word of God and of its There is no end to such fancies. The broad zealous proclamation to the Gentiles (1 Cor. genera.I manning is all that we can rest xvi. 9, etc.); bnt some also explain them of upon. The bride nature.Uy thinks of her the valiant in faith and the w,·ak in faitil, sister. It is II lovely incident in II perfectly or of the learned nnd aim~le, 01· of faithful idyllic poem. The visit to the home is quite Christians and such as are l'~Cl'eant and easily in harmony with the fresh, pure, and simple accessible to the arts of seduction. And life which reveals itself in a.II tlie utterances then, nccording to these various intcrpretn.- of the bride, and is honoured by the dernted tions, the ' ail ver bulwarks ' are now the nttention of the splendid monarch. It is 11 miracles of the first witnesses of Jesus, now real touch of no.tore when the young bride, the distinguished teachers of tl,e Church, in her family life once more, asks what shall now pious Christian ruiers, now tile testi- become of her sister. It is an exquisite monies of Holy Scripture by which faith is type of the.t sisterly solicitude with which etreugthened. And, again, by the • cedar 111! true Christians will care for the souls boards' nre sometimes understood the ten around them. , Delitzsch tllinks that the commandments or the Law, sometimes question which is o.slrnd by the bride is Christian teachers, sometimes the examples answered by her brothe1·s, as they were of the saints, sometimes the salutary dis- the. actual guardians of the little sister (see cipline of the cro,s and sufferings for Christ's Gen. xxi. 50, 55; xxxiv. 6--8). But there sake," etc. All such attempts ,1t detnilecl in- is no necessity to introduce any new inter- terpretntion fail to give su.tisf11ctio11. Their locutors 11t this point. The words arc cer- effect is to repel many from the study of tainly addressed to Solomon. It is quite the book altogether, just as tLe follies aml nature.I that he should reply to them in Ii. extrnvagnnces of the interpreter3 of pro- royal sty le, with the pluralia ma,iestatis phecy have greatly hindered the stutly of the which suits tho co1Teaponding position of prophetic Scriptures. The wall and the the brido as a suppliant for her sister. doo1· need not be taken as opposed to one Ver. 9.-If she be a wa.ll, we will build another, as they a.re not in our conceptions upon her a turret of silver : and if she be a of a city. '!'hey fulfil different functions. door, we will enclose her with boards of ceda.r. The 'I.Call is for defence; the door is for The interpretation which Delitzsch suggests admission. In lhe one case we think of of these words is that the" wall" represents sl4·ength, and in the other case of beauty. .firmness of chara.cter, e.nd the "door" weak- The npplication of the symbols is very e>Lsy ness nod insecurity. If she firmly and suc- if the general meo.uing alone is reg,1rtled. cessfully withstands all immoral approaches, There is II variety of capacity a.nd function then we will bestow high honour upon ber, in the Church of Chi·ist. There arc differ- as a tribute to her maidenly vi1-tuo nod ences in the forms of Cl.iristie.nily oruong constancy. The turret or castle of silver different nations. But the Lord will rccei.-e won1d mean rewarding her with increase. nnd bless all. Some are not fitted to be Silver is the emblem of holiness, gold of built upon as strong walls, but thc•y me.y nobility. The meaning may, however, still be be:i.util'ul examples of ChristLm merely be," We will endow her with plenty." graces in the eyes of tbe worlJ, tlirougil The boarcls of cedar are supposod to be whom mcmy gladly enter iuto the truth and special protections, e.s cedar is noted for its into the fellowship of Christ. l1ardness and durability. Bnt is not the Vers. 10-12.-I 11m a. wall, and my brea.ste meaning much simpler e.nd more natuml ? like the towers thereof: than was I in his It would be rnther e. far-fetched use of eyes as one that folllld pea.ce. Solomon had the figure of a door that it should suggest a vineyard a.t Baal-he.man; he let ont the seduction, and would be rnther unsuitable in vineyard ll.llto keepers; every one for the tl,e lips of tbc bridegroom when speaking of fruit thereof was to bring II thousand piec,·s the little sister of his own bride. l\fay not of silver. lly vineyard, which i; min~, i11  184 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. [ciI. Vtir. 1-14,