Song of Solomon Five

by Dr. Henry M. Morris

(taken from the Defender's Study Bible)

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Song of Solomon 5:1 I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.

Song of Solomon 5:2 I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night.

my heart waketh. The experience of the bride described in Song of Solomon 5:2-7 seems to be a second dream (note Song of Solomon 3:1), again reflecting an unrecognized concern that something was beginning to come between her and the king. She first seemed to question his unannounced intrusion into her rest, then found he had departed when she bestirred herself to admit him. She again, in her dream, went in search of him, but instead encountered only crude watchmen, who hurt and shamed her. The latter could only have happened to the king's wife in a dream, but the dream would surely have alarmed her and caused her quickly to seek her husband the next morning, or as soon as possible.

Song of Solomon 5:3 I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?

Song of Solomon 5:4 My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him.

Song of Solomon 5:5 I rose up to open to my beloved; and my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh, upon the handles of the lock.

Song of Solomon 5:6 I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer.

Song of Solomon 5:7 The watchmen that went about the city found me, they smote me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me.

Song of Solomon 5:8 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, that I am sick of love.

sick of love. The bride, seeing the maiden attendants at the court, asks them to help her find Solomon, and to tell him that she is “lovesick” because of her separation from him.

Song of Solomon 5:9 What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women? what is thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us?

more than another beloved. Most people today (like the other maidens) find it hard to understand why we (as the bride of Christ) are so enamored of Him. But this question gives us opportunity now, as it did then, to testify about Him.

Song of Solomon 5:10 My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand.

My beloved. This remarkable description of her “beloved,” with all due allowance for exaggeration because of her love for him, certainly indicates that Solomon was, at this time, a most elegant and handsome young man. At the same time, we are also able to see in her description a wonderful recital of the spiritual beauties of the heavenly bridegroom, as seen through the spiritual eyes of His future bride, the church.

ruddy. “White and ruddy” is, literally, “dazzling white and red.” As applied to Christ, this phrase must speak of both His sinlessness and His blood offered in sacrifice for us who are sinners.

chiefest. This was a common expression meaning “greatest of all,” a description applicable for a while to the great King Solomon, but applicable always to Jesus Christ, King of kings, and Lord of lords.

Song of Solomon 5:11 His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy, and black as a raven.

black as a raven. The regal appearance of Solomon's head was appropriate for a king; his wavy black hair likewise. We know nothing of the features of Jesus, as the gospel writers are silent concerning his physical appearance. The prophet, however, predicted that, outwardly, He would have “no form nor comeliness” and “no beauty” (Isaiah 53:2). However, after His resurrection and glorification, we are told that, instead of black hair speaking of youthful vigor, “His head and His hairs were white like wool, as white as snow” (Revelation 1:14), speaking of Him as “the Ancient of days” (Daniel 7:9).

Song of Solomon 5:12 His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, and fitly set.

eyes of doves. In His human incarnation, Jesus' eyes were often wet with tears; in His body of glory, “His eyes [were] as a flame of fire” (Revelation 1:14; 19:12).

Song of Solomon 5:13 His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers: his lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh.

His cheeks. In Christ's humiliation, “His visage was so marred more than any man” (Isaiah 52:14), as His cheeks were given “to them that plucked off the hair” (Isaiah 50:6), bearing little resemblance to “a bed of spices and sweet flowers.” But when He comes in glory, we shall see “His face as the appearance of lightning” (Daniel 10:6).

myrrh. “Never man spake like this man,” they said of Jesus (John 7:46), even as Solomon was famed for His wisdom of speech. The day will come, however, when men will hear “His voice as the sound of many waters” (Revelation 1:15) and “like the voice of a multitude” (Daniel 10:6).

Song of Solomon 5:14 His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl: his belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires.

His hands. Jesus' hands blessed little children and healed the sick, but then they were nailed with cruel spikes to the cross. In His reigning hand, He will hold the “seven stars” representing the angels guarding and guiding all His churches.

his belly. His “body” (better than “belly”) was so wounded and beaten that “His form” was disfigured “more than the sons of men” (Isaiah 52:14). But “He bare our sins in His own body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:24), and He now has a “glorious body” (Philippians 3:21).

Song of Solomon 5:15 His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold: his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars.

His legs. In the coming day, His legs and feet will be “like unto fine brass” and will be set astride both land and sea (Revelation 1:15; 10:2).

fine gold. “His countenance,” when He comes in power, will be “as the sun shineth in his strength” (Revelation 1:16).

Song of Solomon 5:16 His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.

most sweet. In the days of His flesh, “grace was poured into thy lips” (Psalm 45:2). When He returns in judgment, “out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations” (Revelation 19:15).

altogether lovely. In His humanity, He was altogether lovely, with no fault in Him, and so will He be throughout eternity to all who love Him. But all who reject or ignore him will one day cry in vain for the very rocks and mountains of the earth to “fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb” (Revelation 6:16).