Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

“She feels as if her blackness was so great as to be gazed at by all. mother's children-- (Mt 10:36). She is to forget "her own people and her father's house," that is, the worldly connections of her unregenerate state (Ps 45:10); they had maltreated her (…”

“Re 14:4). feedest--tendest thy flock (Isa 40:11; No single type expresses all the office of Jesus Christ; hence arises the variety of diverse images used to portray the manifold aspects of Him: these would be quite incongruous, if the Song referred to the ea…”

“It was thus, literally, that Zipporah found her bridegroom (Ex 2:16). The bride unhesitatingly asks the watchmen afterwards (So 3:3). kids-- (Joh 21:15). Christ is to be found in active ministrations, as well as in prayer (Pr 11:25). shepherds' tents--mi…”

“The ardor and beauty of the bride are the point of comparison; (So 1:5) "comely." Also, like Pharaoh's horses, she forms a great company (Re 19:7, 14). As Jesus Christ is both Shepherd and Conqueror, so believers are not only His sheep, but also, as a Church…”

“"The Jews acknowledged God as king, and Messiah as king, in interpreting the Song, but did not know that these two are one" [LEIGHTON]. make--not merely give (Eph 2:10). borders of gold, with studs of silver--that is, "spots of silver"--Jesus Christ delight…”

“What grace that a table should be prepared for us, while still militant (Ps 23:5)! my spikenard--not boasting, but owning the Lord's grace to and in her. The spikenard is a lowly herb, the emblem of humility. She rejoices that He is well pleased with her gra…”

“In this verse there is an incidental allusion, in So 1:15, to the offering (Lu 2:24). So the "cedar and fir" ceiling refers to the temple (1Ki 5:6-10; 6:15-18); type of the heavenly temple (Re 21:22).”

“Spiritually, the bride or beloved is led (So 2:4) first into the King's chambers, thence is drawn after Him in answer to her prayer; is next received on a grassy couch under a cedar kiosk; and at last in a "banqueting hall," such as, JOSEPHUS says, Solomon h…”

“They really go together, though sometimes they seem divided; here both are felt at once. THEODORET takes the left hand, equivalent to judgment and wrath; the right, equivalent to honor and love. The hand of justice no longer is lifted to smite, but is under th…”

“It is thought a gross rudeness in the East to awaken one sleeping, especially a person of rank. my love--in Hebrew, feminine for masculine, the abstract for concrete, Jesus Christ being the embodiment of love itself (So 3:5; 8:7), where, as here, the contex…”

“So Margin, title of Jesus Christ (Ps 22:1), "Hind of the morning" (type of His resurrection). Historically, the coming of the kingdom of heaven (the gospel dispensation), announced by John Baptist, is meant; it primarily is the garden or vineyard; the bride …”

“"The summoned bride is welcome," say some fathers, "to weave from them garlands of beauty, wherewith she may adorn herself to meet the King." Historically, the flowers, &c., only give promise; the fruit is not ripe yet; suitable to the preaching of John the Ba…”

“2:25, 38); at His rising, the shadows of the law (Col 2:16, 17; Heb 10:1) were to "flee away." So we wait for the second coming, when means of grace, so precious now, shall be superseded by the Sun of righteousness (1Co 13:10, 12; The Word is our light unt…”

“The spiritual desertion here (So 2:17; 3:5) is not due to indifference, as in So 5:2-8. "As nights and dews are better for flowers than a continual sun, so Christ's absence (at times) giveth sap to humility, and putteth an edge on hunger, and furnisheth a f…”

“So So 2:7; but there it was for the non-interruption of her own fellowship with Jesus Christ that she was anxious; here it is for the not grieving of the Holy Ghost, on the part of the daughters of Jerusalem.”

“Image from Israel and the tabernacle (answering to "bed," So 3:7) marching through the desert with the pillar of smoke by day and fire by night (Ex 14:20), and the pillars of smoke ascending from the altars of incense and of atonement; so Jesus Christ's ri…”

“In So 3:6 the wilderness character of the Church is portrayed; in So 3:7, 8, its militant aspect. In So 3:9, 10, Jesus Christ is seen dwelling in believers, who are His "chariot" and "body." In So 3:11, the consummation in glory. bed--palanquin.”

“Pillars with silver sockets supported the veil that enclosed the holy of holies; emblem of Jesus Christ's strength (1Ki 7:21), Margin, "silver," emblem of His purity (Ps 12:6); so the saints hereafter (Re 3:12). bottom--rather, "the back for resting or r…”

“Zec 9:9). crown--nuptial (Eze 16:8-12), (the Hebrews wore costly crowns or chaplets at weddings), and kingly (Ps 2:6; The crown of thorns was once His nuptial chaplet, His blood the wedding wine cup (Joh 19:5). "His mother," that so crowned Him, is the hu…”

“He was a man of war, preparatory to the reign of Solomon, the king of peace. So warfare in the case of Jesus Christ and His saints precedes the coming rest. Each soul won from Satan by Him is a trophy gracing the bride (Lu 11:22); (each hangs on Him, Isa 22…”

“The breastplate of the high priest was made of "two" pieces, folded one on the other, in which were the Urim and Thummim (lights and perfection). "Faith and love" are the double breastplate (1Th 5:8), answering to "hearing the word" and "keeping it," in a si…”

“Contrast Mt 27:44 with Lu 23:39, &c. It was literally with "one" eye, a sidelong glance of love "better than wine," that he refreshed Jesus Christ (So 4:9, 10). "To-day shalt thou be with Me (compare So 4:8) in Paradise" (So 4:12), is the only joyous se…”

“Spiritually the garden is the gospel kingdom of heaven. Here all is ripe; previously (So 2:13) it was "the tender grape." The garden is His, though He calls the plants hers (So 4:13) by His gift (Isa 61:3, end). spring . . . fountain--Jesus Christ (Joh…”

“These, therefore, are not wanted; but first the north wind clearing the air (Job 37:22; Pr 25:23), and then the warm south wind (Job 37:17); so the Holy Ghost first clearing away mists of gloom, error, unbelief, sin, which intercept the light of Jesus Chri…”

“God forgives believers, but it is a serious thing to draw on His forgiveness; so the growing reserve of God towards Israel observable in Judges, as His people repeat their demands on His grace.”