Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
back to:
Song of Songs
Book: Song of Songs
Chapter: 3
Overview:
The trials of the
Church By the withdrawing of
Christ.
(1-5)
The excellences of the
Church, The care of
Christ for her.
(6-11)
1-5 It was hard to the Old
Testament Church to find
Christ in
the ceremonial
Law; the watchmen of that
Church gave little
assistance to those who sought after him. The night is a time of
coldness,
Darkness, and drowsiness, and of dim apprehensions
concerning spiritual things. At first, when uneasy, some feeble
efforts are made to obtain the comfort of
Communion with
Christ.
This proves in vain; the believer is then roused to increased
diligence. The streets and broad-ways seem to imply the means of
Grace in which the
Lord is to be sought. Application is made to
those who watch for men's souls. Immediate satisfaction is not
found. We must not
Rest in any means, but
By Faith apply
directly to
Christ. The holding of
Christ, and not letting him
go, denotes
Earnest cleaving to him. What prevails is a humble,
ardent suing
By Prayer, with a lively
Exercise of
Faith On his
promises.
So long as the
Faith of believers keeps
Hold of
Christ, he will not be offended at their
Earnest asking, yea, he
is
Well pleased with it. The believer desires to make others
acquainted with his
Saviour. Wherever we find
Christ, we must
take him home with us to our houses, especially to our hearts;
and we should
Call upon ourselves and each other, to beware of
grieving our holy
Comforter, and provoking the departure of the
Beloved.
6-11 A
Wilderness is an emblem of the world; the believer comes
out of it when he is delivered from the
Love of its sinful
pleasures and pursuits, and refuses to comply with its customs
and fashions, to seek happiness in
Communion with the
Saviour. A
Poor soul shall come up, at last, under the conduct of the
Comforter; like a
Cloud of
Incense ascending from the
Altar, or
the smoke of the burnt-offerings. This signifies pious and
devout affections, and the mounting of the soul
Heaven-
Ward. The
believer is filled with the graces of
God's
Spirit; his
devotions now are very lively. These graces and comforts are
from the heavenly
Canaan. He, who is the Peace of his people,
the
King of the heavenly Zion, has provided for the safe
conveyance of his redeemed through the
Wilderness of this world.
The
Bed, or palanquin, was contrived for
Rest and easy
conveyance, but its beauty and magnificence showed the quality
of its owner. The
Church is
Well guarded; more are with her than
are against her: believers, when they repose in
Christ, and with
him, though they have their fears in the night, are yet safe.
The
Chariot here denotes the
Covenant of
Redemption, the way of
our
Salvation. This is that work of
Christ, which makes him
loved and admired in the eyes of believers. It is framed and
contrived, both for the
Glory of
Christ, and for the comfort of
believers; it is
Well ordered in all things and sure. 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 is that
Love of
Christ which passes knowledge, this is for
believers to repose upon.
Christ, in his
Gospel, manifests
himself. Take special notice of his
Crown. Applying this to
Christ, it speaks the honour
Put upon him, and his power and
dominion.