The Pulpit Commentary — Song of Songs — Section 194

before me: thou 1 0 Solomon, shalt have a prescribed number of viuee in el\ch portion. tho11B&I1d, and thoee that keep the fruit In 1811. vii. 23 we rel\d, "And it elmll come thereof two hundred. The meaning seems to pl\Ss in thl\t day that every plo.ce where to be affectionate approval of the method just there were n thouso.nd vinee nt a thons,rnd <lcscribed. Solomon 1111ys, "If the young silverlings shall even be for briers nnd sister be worthy of love, she shall receive thorns." Now, a thouea.nd silverlings wns more and more of defence and honour; she one shekel, so that if thie pnssngo can Im shall be all thnt I ce.n ma.ke her." The to.ken as throwing light on whe.t the b1 ide bride tnkes up this thought. "So it is with says, it would imply tho.t, instel\d of one me, and, in the spirit of tho.nkful ncknow- shekel for every thousllnd vines, every keeper ledgmcn ts and praise, I will respond to all brought a thouse.nd shekele. Thnt woulcl the farn.ir of the king. King Solomon has seem impossible, so that the parallel can loved me, and now I am rising higher and scarcely be strict. Perhaps the largeness becoming more and more glorious because of the vineyard is referred to, and ea.oh of . of his love." The typical reference can the keepers would hC1ve many thouse.nds 11carcely be missed. The Church, the bride of vines under his inspection. The general of the Lamb, shines only in the light of meaning, however, is not obscure. 'fhe vine- him whose favour is life, and whose loving- yard was a celebra.ted one, and wns taken as kindness is better than life. The compari- e. typical instance of fertility and o.bundance. son to a city with the walls nnd towers, When the bride spea.ks of her vineyard while it would seem a little far-fetched in which is before her, there mo.y be an allusion a love-song, is quite in place if the typical to her previous manner of life as o. rustic intention was in the mind of the writer. maiden employed in the vineyards, and to He was thinking of the city of God, '' beau- her own poeition as a keeper or as one of tiful for situation, the joy of the whole the family. But this ie not intended to be earth." "One that :findeth pee.oe" is the prominently expressed. The whole spirit same as "one tho.t :findeth favour," that is, of the poem justifies the view tha.t she one who is the object of his affection. is speaking of her person. She invited There are several references which confirm Solomon to rejoice in the beauty and fra- this, such as Esth. ii. 17; Dent. x:i.iv. I ; grance of her garden, to pluck the fruits, Jer. xx:i.i. 2; Ps. xli. 10. The word" peace" to revel in the delights. Everything tliat (shalom) is in all probability purposely is pleasant and lovely is before him (see chosen in this case as a kind of play on the eh. iv. 12; v. 1). Before me; that is, in my uame Solomon, which appears immediately power is all this delight, and my desire is afterwards. "The king of pee.oe delights in to my husband; e.11 the.t I have is his. Like me because I am peace in his eyes." 'l'he the far-famed keepers of Bae.1-hamon, I will Church is after the image of the King. His give the king e. thousand shekels, that is, likeness in her makes her beautiful. Men the utmost that the vineyard can produce, ta.ke knowledge of Christians that they have and " those that keep the fruit thereof" been with Jesus (see 1 Chron. x.xii. 9). It shall have two hundred-perhaps meaning is scarcely necessary to point out that this a hundred each, that is a tenth, which was language of the bride is entirely against the the ancient tithe due to the priests. It shepherd-theory. She could not have talked may be, however, that a double tithe is of :finding peace in his eyes if she we.a torn intended. The king shall be satisfied, and from her true lover. The bride then goes all those who labour for the king sho.11 he on to express her devotedness to the king more tha.n ever rewarded. If we take such e.nd her desire to bring forth abundance words as typical, they point to e. sta.te of for him. She uses as an example, which things in the history of the kingdom of God perhaps was typical in her time and country, when the spiritual and the tempoPe.l shall some remarkably fruitful vineyard of the be perfectly adjusted. The keepers of the king's. She will, in like manner, realize all vineyard have often made sad he.voo of the his highest wiBhes. All that she has shall vineyard itself because of their greedy dis- be his. The name Baal-he.man (Jic;:i',~~) content. The fruits which he.ve been yielded in the LXX. BEEA<Z!Lc.'>" (cf. Judith viii. 3), by the Church have fallen very far short. designates probably a place near to Sunem, 'l'he husbandmen have ill treated the Lord's 6omewhere to the north, on the further side servants. But all the judgments which uf the Plain of JezreeL The produce of have been poured out both upon ancient the vineyard must have been very large, a.s Jews e.nd upon the. corrupt Christendom of el'ery keeper was to bring in for him8elf a later times have been directed to one end, tl,ousand shekds of silver. It is not stated to make the vineyard of the Lord more Low many keepers there were, but the word fruitful, to remove the things which a.re which i.B employed is not "servants," but offensive in his sight, to satisfy him whose "watchers, or c-;cr.;eers." A vintyard wo.a soul travailccl for his people; for herein is divided into pnrlions. with a certain definite the Fe.tlier glorified in the Son, when thoso  dd. vin. 1-14.] 'l'HE SONG OF SOLOMON.