Song of Solomon 3:8

Sol 3:6-11 . Verse 1 By night on my bed I sought him - It appears that the bridegroom only saw the bride by night: that on the night referred to here he did not come as usual. The bride troubled on the account, rose and sought him, inquired of the city guards, and continued to seek till at last she found him, and brought him to her apartment, Sol 3:2-4 . Verse 4 Into my mother's house - The women in the East have all separate apartments, into which no person ever attempts to enter except the husband. We find Isaac bringing Rebecca into his mother's tent, when he made her his wife, Gen 24:67 . What is here related appears to refer to the third night of the nuptials. Verse 5 I charge you - The same adjuration as before, Sol 2:7 . Verse 6 Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness - Going to Egypt was called descending or going down, coming from it was termed coming up. The bride, having risen, goes after her spouse to the country, and the clouds of incense arising from her palanquin seemed like pillars of smoke; and the appearance was altogether so splendid as to attract the admiration of her own women, who converse about her splendor, excellence, etc., and then take occasion to describe Solomon's nuptial bed and chariot. Some think that it is the bridegroom who is spoken of here. With this verse the third night is supposed to end. Verse 7 Threescore valiant men - These were the guards about the pavilion of the bridegroom, who were placed there because of fear in the night. The security and state of the prince required such a guard as this, and the passage is to be literally understood. Verse 8 They all hold swords - They are swordsmen. Every man has a sword, and is well instructed how to use it. Verse 9 Of the wood of Lebanon - Of the cedar that grew on that mount. It is very likely that a nuptial bed, not a chariot, is intended by the original word אפיון appiryon. Montanus properly translates it sponsarum thalamum, a nuptial bed. It may, however, mean a palanquin. Verse 10 The pillars - of silver - The bedposts were made of silver, or cased with wrought silver plates, like the king's chairs brought from Hanover, now, in one of the staterooms in Windsor Castle. The bottom thereof of gold - This may refer to cords made of gold thread, or to the mattress, which was made of cloth ornamented with gold. The covering - of purple - Most probably the canopy. The midst - paved with love - The counterpane, a superb piece of embroidery, wrought by some of the noble maids of Jerusalem, and, as a proof of their affection, respect, and love, presented to the bride and bridegroom, on their nuptial day. This is most likely to be the sense of the passage, though some suppose it to refer to the whole court. A Turkish couch is made of wooden lattices painted and gilded; the inside is painted with baskets of flowers and nosegays, intermixed with little mottoes according to the fancy of the artist. Solomon's couch may have been of the same kind, and decorated in the same way; and the paving with love may refer to the amatory verses worked either on the counterpane, hangings, or embroidered carpet. And as this was done by the daughters of Jerusalem, they might have expressed the most striking parts of such a chaste history of love as Halaly's Leely and Mejnoon on the different parts. I see that Dr. Good is of this opinion. It is sufficiently probable. Verse 11 Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion - This is the exhortation of the companions of the bride to the females of the city to examine the superb appearance of the bridegroom, and especially the nuptial crown, which appears to have been made by Bathsheba, who it is supposed might have lived till the time of Solomon's marriage with the daughter of Pharaoh. It is conjectured that the prophet refers to a nuptial crown, Isa 61:10 . But a crown, both on the bride and bridegroom, was common among most people on such occasions. The nuptial crown among the Greeks and Romans was only a chaplet or wreath of flowers. In the day of the gladness of his heart - The day in which all his wishes were crowned, by being united to that female whom beyond all others he loved. Here the third day is supposed to end. Introduction The bridegroom's description of his bride, her person, her accomplishments, her chastity, and her general excellence, vv. 1-16.

The Love of the Church to Christ. 7 Behold his bed, which is Solomon's; threescore valiant men are about it, of the valiant of Israel. 8 They all hold swords, being expert in war: every man hath his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the night. 9 King Solomon made himself a chariot of the wood of Lebanon. 10 He made the pillars thereof of silver, the bottom thereof of gold, the covering of it of purple, the midst thereof being paved with love, for the daughters of Jerusalem. 11 Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart. The daughters of Jerusalem stood admiring the spouse and commending her, but she overlooks their praises, is not puffed up with them, but transfers all the glory to Christ, and directs them to look off from her to him, recommends him to their esteem, and sets herself to applaud him. Here he is three times called Solomon, and we have that name but three times besides in all this song, ch. i. 5 ; viii. 11, 12 . It is Christ that is here meant, who is greater than Solomon, and of whom Solomon was an illustrious type for his wisdom and wealth, and especially his building the temple. Three things she admires him for:— I. The safety of his bed ( v. 7 ): Behold his bed, even Solomon's, very rich and fine; for such the curtains of Solomon were. His bed, which is above Solomon's, so some read it. Christ's bed, though he had not where to lay his head, is better than Solomon's best bed. The church is his bed, for he has said of it. This is my rest for ever; here will I dwell. The hearts of believers are his bed, for he lies all night between their breasts, Eph. iii. 17 . Heaven is his bed, the rest into which he entered when he had done his work. Or it may be meant of the sweet repose and satisfaction which gracious souls enjoy in communion with him; it is called his bed, because, though we are admitted to it, and therefore it is called our bed ( ch. i. 16 ), yet it is his peace that is our rest, John xiv. 27 . I will give you rest, Matt. xi. 28 . It is Solomon's bed, whose name signifies peace, because in his days Judah and Israel dwelt safely under their vines and fig-trees. That which she admires his bed for is the guard that surrounded it. Those that rest in Christ not only dwell at ease (many do so who yet are in the greatest danger) but they dwell in safety. Their holy serenity is under the protection of a holy security. This bed had threescore valiant men about it, as yeomen of the guard, or the band of gentlemen-pensioners; they are of the valiant of Israel, and a great many bold and brave men David's reign had produced. The life-guard men are well armed: They all hold swords, and know how to hold them; they are expert in war, well skilled in all the arts of it. They are posted about the bed at a convenient distance. They are in a posture of defence, every man with his sword upon his thigh and his hand upon his sword, ready to draw upon the first alarm, and this because of fear in the night, because of the danger feared; for the lives of princes, even the wisest and best, as they are more precious, so they are more exposed, and require to be more guarded than the lives of common persons. Or, because of the fear of it, and the apprehension which the spouse may have of danger, these guards are set for her satisfaction, that she may be quiet from the fear of evil, which believers themselves are subject to, especially in the night, when they are under a cloud as to their spiritual state, or in any outward trouble more than ordinary. Christ himself was under the special protection of his Father in his whole undertaking. In the shadow of his hand he hid me ( Isa. xlix. 2 ); he had legions of angels at his command. The church is well guarded; more are with her than against her. Lest any hurt this vineyard, God himself keeps it night and day ( Isa. xxvii. 2, 3 ); particular believers, when they repose themselves in Christ and with him, though it may be night-time with them, and they may have their fears in the night, and yet safe, as safe as Solomon himself in the midst of his guards; the angels have a charge concerning them, ministers are appointed to watch for their souls, and they ought to be valiant men, expert in the spiritual warfare, holding the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, and having that girt upon their thigh, always ready to them for the silencing of the fears of God's people in the night. All the attributes of God are engaged for the safety of believers; they are kept as in a strong-hold by his power ( 1 Pet. i. 5 ), are safe in his name ( Prov. xviii. 10 ), his peace protects those in whom it rules ( Phil. iv. 7 ), and the effect of righteousness in them is quietness and assurance, Isa. xxxii. 17 . Our danger is from the rulers of the darkness of this world, but we are safe in the armour of light. II. The splendour of his chariot, v. 9, 10 . As Christ and believers rest in safety under a sufficient guard, so when they appear publicly, as kings in their coaches of state, they appear in great magnificence. This chariot was of Solomon's own contriving and making, the materials very rich, silver, and gold, and cedar, and purple. He made it for himself, and yet made it for the daughters of Jerusalem, to oblige them. Some by this chariot, or coach, or chaise (the word is nowhere else used in scripture), understand the human nature of Christ, in which the divine nature rode as in an open chariot. It was a divine workmanship ( A body hast thou prepared me ); the structure was very fine, but that which was at the bottom of it was love, pure love to the children of men. Others make it to represent the everlasting gospel, in which, as in an open chariot, Christ shows himself, and as in a chariot of war rides forth triumphantly, conquering and to conquer. The pillars, the seven pillars ( Prov. ix. 1 ), are of silver, for the words of the Lord are as silver tried ( Ps. xii. 6 ), nay, they are better than thousands of gold and silver. It is hung with purple, a princely colour; all the adornings of it are dyed in the precious blood of Christ, and that gives them this colour. But that which completes the glory of it is love; it is paved with love, it is lined with love, not love of strangers, as Solomon's was in the days of his defection, but love of the daughters of Jerusalem, a holy love. Silver is better than cedar, gold than silver, but love is better than gold, better than all, and it is put last, for nothing can be better than that. The gospel is all love. Mr. Durham applies it to the covenant of redemption, the way of our salvation, as it is contrived in the eternal counsel of God, and manifested to us in the scriptures. This is that work of Christ himself wherein the glory of his grace and love to sinners most eminently appears, and which makes him amiable and admirable in the eyes of believers. In this covenant love is conveyed to them, and they are carried in it to the perfection of love, and, as it were, ride in triumph. It is admirably framed and contrived, both for the glory of Christ and for the comfort of believers. It is well ordered in all things, and sure ( 2 Sam. xxiii. 5 ); it has pillars that cannot be shaken, it is made of the wood of Lebanon, which can never rot; the basis of it is gold, the most lasting metal; the blood of the covenant, that rich purple, is the cover of this chariot, by which believers are sheltered from the wind and storms of divine wrath, and the troubles of this world; but the midst of it, and that which is all in all in it, is love, that love of Christ which surpasses knowledge and the dimensions of which are immeasurable. III. The lustre of his royal person, when he appears in his greatest pomp, v. 11 . Here observe, 1. The call that is given to the daughters of Zion to acquaint themselves with the glories of king Solomon: Go forth, and behold him. The multitude of the spectators adds to the beauty of a splendid cavalcade. Christ, in his gospel, manifests himself. Let each of us add to the number of those that give honour to him, by giving themselves the satisfaction of looking upon him. Who should pay respects to Zion's king but Zion's daughters? They have reason to rejoice greatly when he comes, Zec. ix. 9 . (1.) Behold him then. Look with pleasure upon Christ in his glory. Look upon him with an eye of faith, with a fixed eye. Here is a sight worth seeing; behold, and admire him, behold, and love him; look upon him, and know him again. (2.) Go forth and behold him; go off from the world, as those that see no beauty and excellency in it in comparison with what is to be seen in the Lord Jesus. Go out of yourselves, and let the light of his transcendent beauty put you out of conceit with yourselves. Go forth to the place where he is to be seen, to the street through which he passes, as Zaccheus. 2. The direction that is given them to take special notice of that which they would not see every day, and that was his crown, either the crown of gold, adorned with jewels, which he wore on his coronation-day (Solomon's mother, Bathsheba, though she did not procure that for him, yet, by her seasonable interposal, she helped to secure it to him when Adonijah was catching at it), or the garland or crown of flowers and green tied with ribbons which his mother made for him, to adorn the solemnity of his nuptials. Perhaps Solomon's coronation day was his marriage-day, the day of his espousals, when the garland his mother crowned him with was added to the crown his people crowned him with. Applying this to Christ, it speaks, (1.) The many honours put upon him, and the power and dominion he is entrusted with: Go forth, and see king Jesus, with the crown wherewith his Father crowned him, when he declared him his beloved Son, in whom he was well-pleased, when he set him as King upon his holy hill of Zion, when he advanced him to his own right hand, and invested him with a sovereign authority, both in heaven and in earth, and put all things under his feet. (2.) The dishonour put upon him by his persecutors. Some apply it to the crown of thorns with which his mother, the Jewish church, crowned him on the day of his death, which was the day of his espousals to his church, when he loved it, and gave himself for it ( Eph. v. 25 ); and it is observable that when he was brought forth wearing the crown of thorns Pilate said, and said it to the daughters of Zion, Behold the man. (3.) It seems especially to mean the honour done him by his church, as his mother, and by all true believers, in whose hearts he is formed, and of whom he has said, These are my mother, my sister, and brother, Matt. xii. 50 . They give him the glory of his undertaking; to him is glory in the church, Eph. iii. 21 . When believers accept of him as theirs, and join themselves to him in an everlasting covenant, [1.] It is his coronation-day in their souls. Before conversion they were crowning themselves, but then they begin to crown Christ, and continue to do so from that day forward. They appointed him their head; they bring every thought into obedience to him; they set up his throne in their hearts, and cast all their crowns at his feet. [2.] It is the day of his espousals, in which he betroths them to him for ever in lovingkindness and in mercies, joins them to himself in faith and love, and gives himself to them in the promises and all he has, to be theirs. Thou shalt not be for another, so will I also be for thee, Hos. iii. 3 . And to him they are presented as chaste virgins. [3.] It is the day of the gladness of his heart; he is pleased with the honour that his people do him, pleased with the progress of his interest among them. Does Satan fall before them? In that hour Jesus rejoices in spirit, Luke x. 18 , 21 . There is joy in heaven over repenting sinners; the family is glad when the prodigal son returns. Go forth and behold Christ's grace toward sinners, as his crown, his brightest glory.

Every man - Is prepared and ready to fight, to prevent those dangers which are frequent in the night season. The night may denote the whole time of this life, which may well be called night in respect of that ignorance and error wherewith it is attended, (as the future life is compared to day) this life being the only time wherein such a guard is necessary.