Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Song of Solomon 1:3

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Song of Solomon 1:3. Thy name is as ointment poured forth — Ointments and perfumes were, and still are, in great request among the Asiatics. They occur constantly in their entertainments. Thy name is as refreshing to my heart, as the best perfumes diffused through a chamber are to the senses of the guests.

Therefore do the virgins love thee. — She means herself; but uses this periphrasis through modesty.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

1:1-2:7 OPENING EXCHANGES OF PRAISE

The girl longs for her lover (1:1-7)

After an introductory note (1:1), the collection opens with a poem spoken by the girl in praise of her absent lover. At times she imagines she is speaking to him, at times she thinks about him, but always she longs for his love and attention. She thinks that all girls must love such a handsome young man. To her he is king, and she imagines the coming wedding day when he takes her into his room, praises her beauty and makes love to her (2-4).
Aware that men have a liking for lighter skinned girls such as those of Jerusalem, the girl makes excuses for her dark skin. She is a farm girl who has worked in the sun, and she compares the colour of her skin to that of black goat-hair tents. Yet she knows that her lover makes a better comparison when he likens her to the beautiful curtains of Solomon’s palace. The reason for her dark skin is that her hard-hearted brothers have made her look after the family vineyards, with the result that she has not had time to look after the ‘vineyard’ of her own appearance (5-6).
The girl wishes she knew where her lover was feeding his sheep. Then she could go straight to him without having to wander from flock to flock looking for him (7).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

“Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth; For thy love is better than wine. Thine oils have a goodly fragrance; Thy name is as oil poured fourth; Therefore do the virgins love thee. Draw me; we will run after thee: The king hath brought me into his chambers; We will be glad and rejoice in thee; We will make mention of thy love more than wine: Rightly do they love thee.”

“Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth” “The scene here is in the women’s chamber of the royal house. The young bride sings of her love for Solomon. In passionate romantic terms, she praises the man she loves. The `oils’ (Song of Solomon 1:3) are those with which the king anoints himself. His name is as refreshing and soothing as oil.”Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon by James Waddey (Abilene, Texas: Quality Publications, 1985), p. 101. That is one way of viewing the passage.

Balchin understood it this way: “A number of different persons speak here. The Shulamite, a young innocent from the country, has been thrust into the king’s harem. She is not at home. The over sensuous words of the women grate on her sensitive ears. As they see the king approaching, they long for the touch of his lips on theirs. The women are talking to one another about the king. Your `love’ (plural in the Hebrew) means caresses… `wine.’ An apt description of the intoxicating effect of caressing and kissing.”The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 580.

“Your name is oil poured out” “There is a play on words here. In Hebrew, `name’ is [~shem] and `oils’ is semen.”Ibid. Waddey writes that, “His name was as refreshing and soothing as oil upon wind-burnt skin.”James Waddey, op. cit., p. 101.

“St. Gregory, seeking some meaning beyond the words, wrote that, `Every precept of Christ is as one of his kisses.’“Barnes’ Notes on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, a 1989 reprint of the 1878 edition), Song of Solomon, p. 122.

“Draw me. We will run after thee: the king hath brought me into his chambers; we will be glad and rejoice in thee” “The Shulamite speaks here.”The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 590. She longs for her shepherd lover; and although he is not present, she pleads for him to come and take her away. The better version here reads: “Draw me after you, let us make haste. The king has brought me into his chambers.”Revised Standard Version. This version fully supports the “two lovers” interpretation. Note that the “us” in this place refers to the Shulamite’s true lover; and the third person reference to the king in the same breath means that the king is not her beloved.

“The king has brought me into his chambers” The king’s chambers here are those of the king’s harem.

“Let us make haste” There was always an extended period of waiting before a woman taken into the harem was brought into the king’s presence (Esther 2:12). The Shulamite pleaded for her lover to take her away before she would be compelled to go to the bed of Solomon.

“We will be glad and rejoice in thee” Scholars agree that these are the words of the women in the harem. Waddey found them to mean that, “They shared her joy for her new found love, and they loved her as well.”James Waddey, p. 102. Such love in a king’s harem for a new member of his seraglio seems to this writer totally contrary to the mutual hatred among the women, such as that which we have always understood to be characteristic of such godless places.

In the Shulamite’s plea for her true love to come in a hurry and take her away, we have a glimpse of, “True loyal love shining through the lust of this court scene (the harem).”The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 580.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

the prologue. - The Song commences with two stanzas in praise of the king (now absent) by a chorus of virgins belonging to the royal household. Expositors, Jewish and Christian, interpret the whole as spoken by the Church of the heavenly Bridegroom.

Song of Solomon 1:2

Let him kiss me - Christian expositors have regarded this as a prayer of the Church under the old covenant for closer communion with the Godhead through the Incarnation. Thus, Gregory: “Every precept of Christ received by the Church is as one of His kisses.”

Thy love - Better as margin, i. e., thy endearments or tokens of affection are more desired than any other delights.

Song of Solomon 1:3

Because ... - Better, For fragrance are thine ointments good, making with the clause that follows two steps of a climax: “thy perfumes are good, thy name the best of all perfumes.” “Ointments” here are unguents or fragrant oils largely used for anointing at entertainments (compare Psalms 23:5; Luke 7:46; John 12:3).

Thy name ... poured forth - As unguents are the sweeter for diffusion, so the king’s name the wider it is known.

Song of Solomon 1:4

The king hath brought me - Made me a member of his household. This is true of every member of the chorus as well as of the bride.

The upright love thee - Better as in the margin: uprightly do they (i. e., “the virgins” of Song of Solomon 1:3) love thee. Compare the use of the same word in Psalms 58:1; Proverbs 23:31.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Tonight we want to look at the Song of Songs which is Solomon's. By the title it indicates that Solomon felt that this was the finest of the one thousand and five songs that he wrote. This is the excellency of the songs that he has written. Of the thousand and five songs, this one is it as far as Solomon is concerned.

In Ecclesiastes, we had a theme: vanity of vanities. In this we have, song of songs. The vanity or the emptiness of the world apart from God. The emptiness of the world in achievement, any achievement that is apart from God. Now he speaks of the song of songs which is Solomon's and the song of songs is a song of love.

Now there are some people who consider the Song of Solomon no more than just an erotic, oriental love song and feel that it has no place in the scriptures. But others have found tremendous inspiration in the Song of Solomon by looking at a spiritual allegory, seeing it as a spiritual allegory. Now to the Jews, it became a spiritual allegory of God's special relationship to the nation Israel. As God is seen in the figure of Solomon the king, and Israel as the favorite choice wife, and as they express their love of each other, so God's expressions of His love for Israel and Israel's expressions of their love for God.

And of course, through a lot of the prophets we find the same theme as God addresses Israel as His wife. And God tells of His love, His deep love for His people. And the espousals of the youth. "When you first discover Me. Where is that love that we had in the beginning?" God said. "Why have you turned away from the love? Who has drawn you away?" And as Israel turned their hearts from God and began to worship Molech and Mammon and Baal and some of the gods of the Canaanites, God spoke out against it as having forsaken Me, your first love, the true love. And you've taken up with these other paramours that are going to leave you desolate. And so to the Jew it became a beautiful spiritual picture of the relationship of the nation Israel, the special relationship the nation Israel experienced with God.

To the church, because the church is often seen in the New Testament as the bride of Christ, it became a picture to the church of the bride of the church, her relationship to Jesus Christ, her bridegroom, her coming King who we look forward to. And so the spiritual allegories are then made applicable to Christ and His love for the church and the church's response to His love.

John Gill, one of the great Puritan preachers, preached to his congregation a hundred and twenty-two sermons out of the Song of Solomon. So for those that are looking for sermon material, seeking to find it in the spiritual allegories, there's just a lot of material here. He preached a hundred and twenty-two sermons out of this book. Bernard of Clairvaux preached sixty-two sermons to his congregation just out of chapter 1. So the book is filled with imagery and possible allegorical applications.

Now, I am not one who really goes into the mystic allegorical applications of the scripture. Though I do see here many beautiful allegories, and you can take the text and spiritualize upon them, that just hasn't been my method of ministry of taking a text and seeking to spiritualize the text. Because different people can see different things in an allegory. And even in the Song of Solomon, there have been various interpretations of the Song of Solomon.

The basic interpretation of the Song of Solomon is that this is a young Shulamite girl that Solomon has fallen deeply in love with. And she is in love with him. And he addresses himself to her declaring his love and declaring her beauty, and she responding to him. While the daughters of Jerusalem are there asking questions of the young girl concerning her love for him, asking Solomon of his love for her, and so the... Actually, again, it's a song, so you see it's set up in a dramatic kind of an opera. You have Solomon standing there singing in his rich baritone voice of his love for his bride. And she with her high soprano answering him and singing, "Come, my beloved into my garden and drink. Taste of its fruits," and so forth. And then you have the chorus over here, the women's chorus, the female chorus. And they every once in a while sing in, "Tell us of thy beloved. Where is he grazing his flocks and so forth at this time?" And they are interjecting.

Now there is another interpretation of the Song of Solomon, basic overall interpretation. And this one is followed in the Amplified Bible and suggested in the Amplified Bible. And that is, that here is the same beautiful young Shulamite girl that Solomon has fallen madly in love with. And he is seeking to make her a part of his harem, for Solomon had a harem second to none. And he is seeking by his wealth, by his grandeur, by all of the gifts and the wealth to cause her to become a part of his vast harem. Seeking to woo her and to seduce her. And she is brought in with the other virgins and she is telling them, they wonder why she isn't responding to his love and she is telling them that she has a true love, a shepherd. And she doesn't respond really to Solomon's love because her heart is after another, her shepherd lover who she longs for, who she seeks after.

And in the spiritual allegories to this other way of looking at the Song of Solomon, Solomon in this other allegory represents the world. The Shulamite woman, the Christian, and how the world is seeking to allure the Christian away from her love for her Shepherd, Jesus Christ. And she has this deep fervent commitment to her shepherd, even Jesus Christ, and cannot be allured by all of the wealth and the glory and the grandeur of Solomon as he seeks to seduce her and draw her into his harem and all.

And so this is another possible interpretation. But this is the problem, the basic problem of spiritualizing the text and seeing it in an allegorical sense, because as you go through the book, either one fits. But surely they are diametrically opposed to each other as far as an interpretation goes. And yet, you can see and you can read it so that either way it fits. Solomon is the one she loves and they are expressing their love for each other. Or, she is sort of rejecting the love of Solomon because of her true love for her shepherd lover.

The Song of songs, which is Solomon's ( Song of Solomon 1:1 ).

It begins with the first singer who is this young Shulamite, beautiful girl, and she sings.

Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine. Because of the savor of your good ointments [or your perfume] thy name is as ointment [or perfume] poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee. Draw me, we will run after thee: the King hath brought me into his chambers: we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than wine: the upright love thee ( Song of Solomon 1:2-4 ).

Now speaking of herself, she said,

I am black, yet beautiful, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, and as the curtains of Solomon. Look not upon me, because I am black ( Song of Solomon 1:5-6 ),

It doesn't mean that she was an Ethiopian, but she says,

because the sun hath looked upon me ( Song of Solomon 1:6 ):

She was well tanned.

my mother's children [my step brothers, actually] were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but my own vineyard [or my own complexion and so forth] I have not kept ( Song of Solomon 1:6 ).

I'm ruddy and tan and so forth.

Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where you make your flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions? ( Song of Solomon 1:7 )

So her opening declaration of having been brought into the king's chambers. Her addressing the daughters of Jerusalem concerning her own unkept condition because of being outside, keeping vineyards. Sort of a Cinderella kind of a story, the wicked sisters made her do all of the work and she wasn't able to keep up her own cosmetics and all.

Now the king responds to her.

If thou know not, O thou fairest among women ( Song of Solomon 1:8 ),

And the question is where you feed your flocks. "If you know not, O fairest among women,"

go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents. I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh's chariots. Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains of gold. We will make thee borders ( Song of Solomon 1:8-11 )

Now these are the daughters of Jerusalem, the virgins, the chorus responds. "We will make thee borders,"

of gold with studs of silver ( Song of Solomon 1:11 ).

And the bride responds.

While the King sits at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof. A bundle of myrrh is my wellbeloved unto me; he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts. My beloved is to me as a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of Engedi ( Song of Solomon 1:12-14 ).

The camphire trees or cypress trees, and just that beautiful smell of the out of doors and trees in blossom there in Engedi.

Behold, thou art fair, [the king answers] my love; behold, thou art fair; you have doves' eyes ( Song of Solomon 1:15 ).

She responds to him.

Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant: also our bed is green. The beams of our house are cedar, and our rafters of fir ( Song of Solomon 1:16-17 ).

So you have the opening of this love drama, the Song of Songs of Solomon.

"

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

1. Longing for the boyfriend 1:2-4

As the book begins, the young woman and young man have already met and "fallen in love." In Song of Solomon 1:2-4 a the girl voices her desire for her boyfriend’s physical affection. According to LaCocque, the main female character speaks 53 percent of the time and the male 39 percent in the book. [Note: LaCocque, p. 41.]

". . . there is no other female character in the Bible whom we get to know so well through her intimate and innermost thoughts and feelings." [Note: Exum, Song of . . ., p. 25.]

"It is significant to this work that the girl speaks first. This young lady is not extremely diffident. She seems to see herself as of equal stature with the male. She longs to express her love to him, and she wants him to reciprocate. There is a sense in which she is the major character in this poem. This is one of the aspects of this work that makes it unique in its day. Much more of the text comes from her mouth and mind than from his. It is more her love story than it is his, though there is no failure on his part to declare his love and admiration for her." [Note: Kinlaw, p. 1216. See Harold R. Holmyard III, "Solomon’s Perfect One," Bibliotheca Sacra 155:618 (April-June 1998):164-71.]

Who was the Shulammite? No one knows for sure. It is possible that she may have been Abishag, the Shunammite (cf. 1 Kings 1:3-4; 1 Kings 1:15). "Shulammite" could describe a person from Shunem (cf. Joshua 19:18; 1 Samuel 28:4). The location of this Shunem was in lower Galilee, south of Nain, southeast of Nazareth, and southwest of Tabor. [Note: Cf. Delitzsch, p. 119.]

"This would explain Solomon’s rather severe reaction to the plot of Adonijah and also partially explain the women of the court listed in Song of Solomon 6:8 without the necessity of understanding them to have been actual consorts of Solomon." [Note: Patterson, p. 98.]

The use of both third and second person address ("he" and "you") is a bit confusing. Is she speaking about him or to him? This feature of ancient oriental poetry is common in other Near Eastern love poems that archaeologists have discovered. It was a device that ancient writers employed evidently to strengthen the emotional impact of what they wrote. [Note: Jack S. Deere, "Song of Songs," in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament, p. 1011.] Here the girl appears to be speaking about her love, not to him.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

A. The Beginning of Love 1:2-11

In the NASB, NIV, TNIV, NKJV and some other English translations, the translators identified the speakers in the various sections of the book. This is, of course, the interpretation of the translators, not part of the inspired text.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

His "oils" (Song of Solomon 1:3) were evidently the lotions he wore. Since the name of a person represented his character (cf. 2 Samuel 7:9), she meant his character, his whole person, was also as pleasing as oil to her and to other people. Her attraction was not due to physical factors alone. "Maidens" (Heb. ’alma) refers to young unmarried women of marriageable age (cf. Genesis 24:43; Exodus 2:8; Isaiah 7:14).

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Because of the savour of thy good ointments,.... It was usual for lovers to anoint themselves, their hair, garments, c. to commend themselves to each other and it was common to commend each other's ointments, and the grateful smell of them q none being like them, or so agreeable as theirs: by these ointments may be meant the grace of Christ, the fulness of it, the oil of gladness with which he is anointed above his fellows, and without measure; and which so greatly recommends him to his church and people, Psalms 45:7;

thy name [is as] ointment poured forth; which emits the greater odour for its being poured forth out of the box. The very names of lovers are dear to one another, sweeter than nectar itself r; the very mention of them gives an inexpressible pleasure. This may respect not merely the fame of Christ spread abroad in the world through the ministry of the word; nor the Gospel only, which is his name, Acts 9:15; and is like a box of ointment broke open, which diffuses the savour of his knowledge everywhere; but some precious name of his, as Immanuel, God with us; Jesus, a Saviour; but more particularly his name Messiah, which signifies anointed, the anointed Prophet, Priest, and King of his church;

therefore do the virgins love thee: for the preciousness of his person, the fulness of grace in him, and the truths of his Gospel: and which love shows itself in a desire of his presence, and communion with him; in a regard to his word and worship, to his truths and ordinances; and to his people, to conversation and communion with them. By these virgins are meant either congregational churches that strictly adhere to Christ, and to his pure worship; or particular believers, for their inviolate attachment to him; for the singleness and sincerity of their love to him; for their uncorruptness in the doctrine of faith; for the truth and spirituality of their worship; for the purity of their lives and conversations; for their beauty and comeliness through Christ; for their colourful and costly attire, being clothed with his righteousness; and for their modest behaviour, having the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit.

q "Nam omuium unguentum odos prae tua nautea est", Plauti Curculio, Act. 1. Sc. 2. v. 5. r "Nomen nectari dulcius beato", Martial. l. 9. Epigr. 9.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine.   3 Because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee.   4 Draw me, we will run after thee: the king hath brought me into his chambers: we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than wine: the upright love thee.   5 I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.   6 Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me: my mother's children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept.

      The spouse, in this dramatic poem, is here first introduced addressing herself to the bridegroom and then to the daughters of Jerusalem.

      I. To the bridegroom, not giving him any name or title, but beginning abruptly: Let him kiss me; like Mary Magdalen to the supposed gardener (John 20:15), If thou have borne him hence, meaning Christ, but not naming him. The heart has been before taken up with the thoughts of him, and to this relative those thoughts were the antecedent, that good matter which the heart was inditing, Psalms 45:1. Those that are full of Christ themselves are ready to think that others should be so too. Two things the spouse desires, and pleases herself with the thoughts of:--

      1. The bridegroom's friendship (Song of Solomon 1:2; Song of Solomon 1:2): "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, that is, be reconciled to me, and let me know that he is so; let me have the token of his favour." Thus the Old-Testament church desired Christ's manifesting himself in the flesh, to be no longer under the law as a schoolmaster, under a dispensation of bondage and terror, but to receive the communications of divine grace in the gospel, in which God is reconciling the world unto himself, binding up and healing what by the law was torn and smitten; as the mother kisses the child that she has chidden. "Let him no longer send to me, but come himself, no longer speak by angels and prophets, but let me have the word of his own mouth, those gracious words (Luke 4:22), which will be to me as the kisses of the mouth, sure tokens of reconciliation, as Esau's kissing Jacob was." All gospel duty is summed up in our kissing the Son (Psalms 2:12); so all gospel-grace is summed up in his kissing us, as the father of the prodigal kissed him when he returned a penitent. It is a kiss of peace. Kisses are opposed to wounds (Proverbs 27:6), so are the kisses of grace to the wounds of the law. Thus all true believers earnestly desire the manifestations of Christ's love to their souls; they desire no more to make them happy than the assurance of his favour, the lifting up of the light of his countenance upon them (Psalms 4:6; Psalms 4:7), and the knowledge of that love of his which surpasses knowledge; this is the one thing they desire, Psalms 27:4. They are ready to welcome the manifestation of Christ's love to their souls by his Spirit, and to return them in the humble professions of love to him and complacency in him, above all. The fruit of his lips is peace,Isaiah 57:19. "Let him give me ten thousand kisses whose very fruition makes me desire him more, and, whereas all other pleasures sour and wither by using, those of the Spirit become more delightful." So bishop Reynolds. She gives several reasons for this desire. (1.) Because of the great esteem she has for his love: Thy love is better than wine. Wine makes glad the heart, revives the drooping spirits, and exhilarates them, but gracious souls take more pleasure in loving Christ and being beloved of him, in the fruits and gifts of his love and in the pledges and assurances of it, than any man ever took in the most exquisite delights of sense, and it is more reviving to them than ever the richest cordial was to one ready to faint. Note, [1.] Christ's love is in itself, and in the account of all the saints, more valuable and desirable than the best entertainments this world can give. [2.] Those only may expect the kisses of Christ's mouth, and the comfortable tokens of his favour, who prefer his love before all delights of the children of men, who would rather forego those delights than forfeit his favour, and take more pleasure in spiritual joys than in any bodily refreshments whatsoever. Observe here the change of the person: Let him kiss me; there she speaks of him as absent, or as if she were afraid to speak to him; but, in the next words, she sees him near at hand, and therefore directs her speech to him: "Thy love, thy loves" (so the word is), "I so earnestly desire, because I highly esteem it." (2.) Because of the diffuse fragrancy of his love and the fruits of it (Song of Solomon 1:3; Song of Solomon 1:3): "Because of the savour of thy good ointment (the agreeableness and acceptableness of thy graces and comforts to all that rightly understand both them and themselves), thy name is as ointment poured forth, thou art so, and all that whereby thou hast made thyself known; thy very name is precious to all the saints; it is an ointment and perfume which rejoice the heart." The unfolding of Christ's name is as the opening of a box of precious ointment, which the room is filled with the odour of. The preaching of his gospel was the manifesting the savour of his knowledge in every place,2 Corinthians 2:14. The Spirit was the oil of gladness wherewith Christ was anointed (Hebrews 1:9), and all true believers have that unction (1 John 2:27), so that he is precious to them, and they to him and to one another. A good name is as precious ointment, but Christ's name is more fragrant than any other. Wisdom, like oil, makes the face to shine; but the Redeemer outshines, in beauty, all others. The name of Christ is not now like ointment sealed up, as it had been long (Ask not after my name, for it is secret), but like ointment poured forth, which denotes both the freeness and fulness of the communications of his grace by the gospel. (3.) Because of the general affection that all holy souls have to him: Therefore do the virgins love thee. It is Christ's love shed abroad in our hearts that draws them out in love to him; all that are pure from the corruptions of sin, that preserve the chastity of their own spirits, and are true to the vows by which they have devoted themselves to God, that not only suffer not their affections to be violated but cannot bear so much as to be solicited by the world and the flesh, those are the virgins that love Jesus Christ and follow him whithersoever he goes,Revelation 14:4. And, because Christ is the darling of all the pure in heart, let him be ours, and let our desires be towards him and towards the kisses of his mouth.

      2. The bridegroom's fellowship, Song of Solomon 1:4; Song of Solomon 1:4. Observe here,

      (1.) Her petition for divine grace: Draw me. This implies sense of distance from him, desire of union with him. "Draw me to thyself, draw me nearer, draw me home to thee." She had prayed that he would draw nigh to her (Song of Solomon 1:2; Song of Solomon 1:2); in order to that, she prays that he would draw her nigh to him. "Draw me, not only with the moral suasion which there is in the fragrancy of the good ointments, not only with the attractives of that name which is as ointment poured forth, but with supernatural grace, with the cords of a man and the bands of love," Hosea 11:4. Christ has told us that none come to him but such as the Father draws, John 6:44. We are not only weak, and cannot come of ourselves any further than we are helped, but we are naturally backward and averse to come, and therefore must pray for those influences and operations of the Spirit, by the power of which we are unwilling made willing, Psalms 110:3. "Draw me, else I move not; overpower the world and the flesh that would draw me from thee." We are not driven to Christ, but drawn in such a way as is agreeable to rational creatures.

      (2.) Her promise to improve that grace: Draw me, and then we will run after thee. See how the doctrine of special and effectual grace consists with our duty, and is a powerful engagement and encouragement to it, and yet reserves all the glory of all the good that is in us to God only. Observe, [1.] The flowing forth of the soul after Christ, and its ready compliance with him, are the effect of his grace; we could not run after him if he did not draw us, 2 Corinthians 3:5; Philippians 4:13. [2.] The grace which God gives us we must diligently improve. When Christ by his Spirit draws us we must with our spirits run after him. As God says, I will, and you shall (Ezekiel 36:27), so we must say, "Thou shalt and we will; thou shalt work in us both to will and to do, and therefore we will work out our own salvation" (Philippians 2:12; Philippians 2:13); not only we will walk, but we will run after thee, which denotes eagerness of desire, readiness of affection, vigour of pursuit, and swiftness of motion. When thou shalt enlarge my heart then I will run the way of thy commandments (Psalms 119:32); when thy right hand upholds me then my soul follows hard after thee (Psalms 63:8); when with lovingkindness to us he draws us (Jeremiah 31:3) we with lovingkindness to him must run after him, Isaiah 40:31. Observe the difference between the petition and the promise: "Draw me, and then we will run." When Christ pours out his Spirit upon the church in general, which is his bride, all the members of it do thence receive enlivening quickening influences, and are made to run to him with the more cheerfulness, Isaiah 55:5. Or, "Draw me" (says the believing soul) "and then I will not only follow thee myself as fast as I can, but will bring all mine along with me: We will run after thee, I and the virgins that love thee (Song of Solomon 1:3; Song of Solomon 1:3), I and all that I have any interest in or influence upon, I and my house (Joshua 24:15), I and the transgressors whom I will teach thy ways," Psalms 51:13. Those that put themselves forth, in compliance with divine grace, shall find that their zeal will provoke many,2 Corinthians 9:2. Those that are lively will be active; when Philip was drawn to Christ he drew Nathanael; and they will be exemplary, and so will win those that would not be won by the word.

      (3.) The immediate answer that was given to this prayer: The King has drawn me, has brought me into his chambers. It is not so much an answer fetched by faith from the world of Christ's grace as an answer fetched by experience from the workings of his grace. If we observe, as we ought, the returns of prayer, we may find that sometimes, while we are yet speaking, Christ hears, Isaiah 65:24. The bridegroom is a king; so much the more wonderful is his condescension in the invitations and entertainments that he gives us, and so much the greater reason have we to accept of them and to run after him. God is the King that has made the marriage-supper for his Son (Matthew 22:2) and brings in even the poor and the maimed, and even the most shy and bashful are compelled to come in. Those that are drawn to Christ are brought, not only into his courts, into his palaces (Psalms 45:15), but into his presence-chamber, where his secret is with them (John 14:21), and where they are safe in his pavilion, Psalms 27:5; Isaiah 26:20. Those that wait at wisdom's gates shall be made to come (so the word is) into her chambers; they shall be led into truth and comfort.

      (4.) The wonderful complacency which the spouse takes in the honour which the king put upon her. Being brought into the chamber, [1.] "We have what we would have. Our desires are crowned with unspeakable delights; all our griefs vanish, and we will be glad and rejoice. If a day in the courts, much more an hour in the chambers, is better than a thousand, than ten thousand, elsewhere." Those that are, through grace, brought into covenant and communion with God, have reason to go on their way rejoicing, as the eunuch (Acts 8:39), and that joy will enlarge our hearts and be our strength, Nehemiah 8:10. [2.] All our joy shall centre in God: "We will rejoice, not in the ointments, or the chambers, but in thee. It is God only that is our exceeding joy,Psalms 43:4. We have no joy but in Christ, and which we are indebted to him for." Gaudium in Domino--Joy in the Lord, was the ancient salutation, and Salus in Domino sempiterna--Eternal salvation in the Lord. [3.] "We will retain the relish and savour of this kindness of thine and never forget it: We will remember thy loves more than wine; no only thy love itself (Song of Solomon 1:2; Song of Solomon 1:2), but the very remembrance of it shall be more grateful to us than the strongest cordial to the spirits, or the most palatable liquor to the taste. We will remember to give thanks for thy love, and it shall make more durable impressions upon us than any thing in this world."

      (5.) The communion which a gracious soul has with all the saints in this communion with Christ. In the chambers to which we are brought we not only meet with him, but meet with one another (1 John 1:7); for the upright love thee; the congregation, the generation, of the upright love thee. Whatever others do, all that are Israelites indeed, and faithful to God, will love Jesus Christ. Whatever differences of apprehension and affection there may be among Christians in other things, this they are all agreed in, Jesus Christ is precious to them. The upright here are the same with the virgins,Song of Solomon 1:3; Song of Solomon 1:3. All that remember his love more than wine will love him with a superlative love. Nor is any love acceptable to Christ but the love of the upright, love in sincerity, Ephesians 6:24.

      II. To the daughters of Jerusalem,Song of Solomon 1:5; Song of Solomon 1:6. The church in general, being in distress, speaks to particular churches to guard them against the danger they were in of being offended at the church's sufferings, 1 Thessalonians 3:3. Or the believer speaks to those that were professors at large in the church, but not of it, or to weak Christians, babes in Christ, that labour under much ignorance, infirmity, and mistake, not perfectly instructed, and yet willing to be taught in the things of God. She observed these by-standers look disdainfully upon her because of her blackness, in respect both of sins and sufferings, upon the account of which they though she had little reason to expect the kisses she wished for (Song of Solomon 1:2; Song of Solomon 1:2) or to expect that they should join with her in her joys, Song of Solomon 1:4; Song of Solomon 1:4. She therefore endeavors to remove this offence; she owns she is black. Guilt blackens; the heresies, scandals, and offences, that happen in the church, make her black; and the best saints have their failings. Sorrow blackens; that seems to be especially meant; the church is often in a low condition, mean, and poor, and in appearance despicable, her beauty sullied and her face foul with weeping; she is in mourning weeds, clothed with sackcloth, as the Nazarites that had become blacker than a coal,Lamentations 4:8. Now, to take off this offence,

      1. She asserts her own comeliness notwithstanding (Song of Solomon 1:5; Song of Solomon 1:5): I am black, but comely, black as the tents of Kedar, in which the shepherds lived, which were very coarse, and never whitened, weather-beaten and discoloured by long use, but comely as the curtains of Solomon, the furniture of whose rooms, no doubt, was sumptuous and rich, in proportion to the stateliness of his houses. The church is sometimes black with persecution, but comely in patience, constancy, and consolation, and never the less amiable in the eyes of Christ, black in the account of men, but comely in God's esteem, black in some that are a scandal to her, but comely in others that are sincere and are an honour to her. True believers are black in themselves, but comely in Christ, with the comeliness that he puts upon them, black outwardly, for the world knows them not, but all glorious within,Psalms 45:13. St. Paul was weak, and yet strong,2 Corinthians 12:10. And so the church is black and yet comely; a believer is a sinner and yet a saint; his own righteousnesses are as filthy rags, but he is clothed with the robe of Christ's righteousness. The Chaldee Paraphrase applies it to the people of Israel's blackness when they made the golden calf and their comeliness when they repented of it.

      2. She gives an account how she came to be so black. The blackness was not natural, but contracted, and was owing to the hard usage that had been given her: Look not upon me so scornfully because I am black. We must take heed with what eye we look upon the church, especially when she is in black. Thou shouldst not have looked upon the day of thy brother, the day of his affliction, Obadiah 1:12. Be not offended; for,

      (1.) I am black by reason of my sufferings: The sun has looked upon me. She was fair and comely; whiteness was her proper colour; but she got this blackness by the burden and heat of the day, which she was forced to bear. She was sun-burnt, scorched with tribulation and persecution (Matthew 13:6; Matthew 13:21); and the greatest beauties, if exposed to the weather, are soonest tanned. Observe how she mitigates her troubles; she does not say, as Jacob (Genesis 31:40), In the day the drought consumed me, but, The sun has looked upon me; for it becomes not God's suffering people to make the worst of their sufferings. But what was the matter? [1.] She fell under the displeasure of those of her own house: My mother's children were angry with me. She was in perils by false brethren; her foes were those of her own house (Matthew 10:36), brethren by nature as men, by profession as members of the same sacred corporation, the children of the church her mother, but not of God her Father; they were angry with her. The Samaritans, who claimed kindred to the Jews, were vexed at any thing that tended to the prosperity of Jerusalem, Nehemiah 2:10. Note, It is no new thing for the people of God to fall under the anger of their own mother's children. It was thou, a man, my equal,Psalms 55:12; Psalms 55:13. This makes the trouble the more irksome and grievous; from such it is taken unkindly, and the anger of such is implacable. A brother offended is hard to be won. [2.] They dealt very hardly with her: They made me the keeper of the vineyards, that is, First, "They seduced me to sin, drew me into false worships, to serve their gods, which was like dressing the vineyards, keeping the vine of Sodom; and they would not let me keep my own vineyard, serve my own God, and observe those pure worships which he gave me in charge, and which I do and ever will own for mine." These are grievances which good people complain most of in a time of persecution, that their consciences are forced, and that those who rule them with rigour say to their souls, Bow down, that we may go over,Isaiah 51:23. Or, Secondly, "They brought me into trouble, imposed that upon me which was toilsome, and burdensome, and very disgraceful." Keeping the vineyards was base servile work, and very laborious, Isaiah 61:5. Her mother's children made her the drudge of the family. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce, and their wrath, for it was cruel. The spouse of Christ has met with a great deal of hard usage.

      (2.) "My sufferings are such as I have deserved; for my own vineyard have I not kept. How unrighteous soever my brethren are in persecuting me, God is righteous in permitting them to do so. I am justly made a slavish keeper of men's vineyards, because I have been a careless keeper of the vineyards God has entrusted me with." Slothful servants of God are justly made to serve their enemies, that they may know his service, and the service of the kings of the countries,2 Chronicles 12:8; Deuteronomy 28:47; Deuteronomy 28:48; Ezekiel 20:23; Ezekiel 20:24. "Think not the worse of the ways of God for my sufferings, for I smart for my own folly." Note, When God's people are oppressed and persecuted it becomes them to acknowledge their own sin to be the procuring cause of their troubles, especially their carelessness in keeping their vineyards, so that it has been like the field of the slothful.