Page images
PDF
EPUB

[blocks in formation]

The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her.

10 Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners?

11 I went down into the garden of nuts, to see the fruits of the valley, and to see whether the vine flourished, and the pomegranates budded.

12 Or ever I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of Amminadib.

CHAP. VI.

[ocr errors]

[mystical bride.

13 Return, return, O Shulamite ; return, return, that we may look upon thee. What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it were the company of two armies. (F)

CHAP. VII.

[Omit in Fumily Reading.] HOW beautiful are thy feet with shoes,

O prince's daughter! the joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman. 2 Thy navel is like a round goblet, which wanteth not liquor: thy belly is like an heap of

EXPOSITION.

(F) The church, in the absence of her heavenly spouse, anticipates his speedy relarn: he returns, and repeats and amplifies his commendations of her.-The commendations of her beloved by the spouse, excite others to seek him with her, to whom she gives a farther description of his beauty and glory. At the same time she expresses herself confident that he was not far off; that he was only in the gardens; and as he had signified his love to her, and accepted her vows of love to him, she doubted not but that he would soon return to her. While she expresses her confidence in this, he suddenly re-appears, and again expresses his admiration and attachment to her person, partly in the same language as he had before employed, and partly in other terms, po less affectionate and beau tiful. She is compared to Tirzah and Jerusalem, the two most beautiful cities of Judea, and to their bannered turrets; or perhaps to an army in military array, with all its banners gleaming to the sun. He then confesses himself enamoured with her charms, and declares that, though he had seen "threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number,' she remained unrivalled in his affections and esteem. But shall it be said that the All-beautiful and Infinitely-pure, can de

light himself in sinful mortals? What saith the prophet Zephaniah, in his name, to the Jewish church? "The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love; he will joy over thee with singing." (Zephan. iii. 17; compare Isa. lxii. 5.)

In the latter verses of this chapter, the bride (the Lamb's wife) is compared, for her opening virtues, to the rising dawn; and her beauty to the moon for softness, and to the sun for splendour-and to what else? An army with banners," say our translators; but the original says nothing of an "army," and the banners, or streamers, here intended, should seem to be celestial, and related to the sky; but whether they relate to the eccentric path of a comet, the corruscations of the Northern lights, or some other splendid meteor, we presume not to decide. All the real beauty and glory which the church possesses, or its individual members, is certainly of celestial origin. Whatever moral dress she wears, or whatever spiritual beauty she exhibits, it is the comeliness" which the Lord hath "put upon" her : (Ezek. xvi. 14.) and as to her splendour and glory, we know that it arises solely from being "clothed with the Sun," even the Sun of Righteousness. (Mal. iv. 2; Rev, xii. 1.)

NOTES.

Ver. 12. Or ever I was aware-Heb. "I knew not." Like the chariots of Amminadib-Marg. "My soul set me on the chariots of my willing people." This has been generally taken as a proper name, bat it may be applied to the mind being carried away with joy, or transport.

Ver 13 Shulamite-Williams, "Solima." "Bride of Sulemon," Good, Boothroyd, and others.

Ibid. The company of two armies.-Perhaps me. teors in the sky; comp ver. 10 But it may be applied to a chorus of musicians, or dancers.

CHAP. VII.-We have abstracted this Chapter from the family reading; not because we suppose it

less sacred than the rest of the Song; but because we think it very unhappily translated, and by many improperly expounded. It has been generally understood as referring to the naked person of the spouse; and that this description is the language of the virgins, either in undressing or dressing her. It may be The latter; but we refer the doubtful passages wholly to the dress, and that for the following reasons:1. The language otherwise understood would not become the lips of virgins, much less the language of inspiration. 2. The other personal descriptions in this poem, and in the 45th Psalm, all expressly refer to dress. 3. The king was now waiting probably in the anti-chamber till the virgin attendants

[ocr errors][merged small]

wheat set about with lilies.

SOLOMON'S SONG,

3 Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins. 4 Thy neck is as a tower of ivory; thine eyes like the fishpools of Heshbon, by the gate of Bathrabbim : thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon which lookǝth toward Damascus. 5 Thine head upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair of thine head like purple; the king is held in the galleries. 6 How fair and how pleasaut art thou, O love, for delights! 7 This thy stature is like to a palm tree, and thy breasts to clusters of grapes. 8 I said, I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy ay nose like apples; 9 And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine for my beloved, that goeth down sweetly, causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak. 10 1 am my beloved's, and his desire is toward me. 11 Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages. 12 Let us get up early to the

:

[described.

vineyards; let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give thee my loves. 13 The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.

CHAP. VIII.

O THAT thou wert as my brother, that sucked the breasts of my mother! when I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yea, I should not be despised.

2 I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother's house, who would instruct me: I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate.

3 His left hand should be under my

NOTES.

had finished the decoration of her person. 4. The Jews used to name the parts of the person for the dress of those parts, as the head, ver. 5.5 The feet are clothed, which renders it more unlikely that the other parts of the body should be naked ladies, we presume, do not bathe in slip

pers.

Ver. 1. Thy feet with shoes-rather "sandals:" those of Judith ravished the eyes of Holofernes. Judith xvi. 9.-Joints of thy thighs-Wiliams, "Cincture of thy loins." On the most mature reflec tion, we conceive this refers to the female drawers. Lay M.W. Montague, describing her Turkish dress, mentions her drawers, which came down to her ancles, as composed of thin ro: e-coloured damask, embroidered with silver flowers: "this surely is " like jewellery, the work of the hands of a cunning (or ingenious) workman. Dr. Chandler also de.cribes drawers as part of the dress of the Eastern ladies, and mentions a fragment of Sappho, from which it appears they were worn in ancient Greece. See Parkhurst's Lexicon, in Hamak. 4to. 3d edit. The Lexicons of Buxtorf, Cocceius, Leigh, &c. favour this rendering.

Ver. 2. Thy navel is like a round goblet that wanteth not liquor-Marg. " mixture." Applying this as the other verses to the external form, it very naturally refers to the girdle fastened with a golden clasp set with rubies, which may be well compared to a cup or goblet lilled with wine that is mixed with aromatics.-Thy belly-rather body; it is a very general term, applied either to the body of the man, or the womb of the woman. (See Judges iii. 21; P、n. xxii. 9.) Also to the region of the bosom and the heart (See Job xv. 35; Prov. xvii. 8-xx. 27xxii. 17,18.) As we have applied ch. v. 14 to raiment of white and blue, so here we incline to think the raiment of the bride must be intended. The original Hebrew term here used is explained by the lexicons to mean naked corn, i.e. the grains of wheat, which were heaped together after, threshing, and, as some think, strewed with lilies. Lily-work we know was the favourite pattern of the Hebrews, and their tabernacle and temple were full of it; we think, therefore, it may with propriety be understood of a vest wrought with lilies, and fastened with the gir dle before mentioned. Still, however, we consider this emblematical, and that her robes were thus wrought to compliment her with the promise of fertility. So, Selden tells us, it was customary at the Hebrew marriages, to cast a few grains of wheat or

barley over the new-married couple, with friendly wishes of a numerous family; which was also probably accompanied by drinking together a glass of wine, (as at the present day,) and that possibly alluded to by "the goblet of wine" wrought in jewellery. These things may appear more probable, if we consider that the ancient Jews were accustomed to speak by action-(See the following Introduc tion to the Prophets,)-and were every where surrounded by types and figures.

Ver. 3. Thy two breasts-See Ch. iv. 5.

Ver. 4. Tower of itory-the tower of David, probably, ch. iv. 4, supposed to have been built of pure white marble, polished like ivory.-Eyes like fiskpools; a fine classical image.-Nose as the tower of Lebanon, which had probably an abutment like a finely formed human nose.

Ver. 5. Like Carmel.-This was a mountain remarkable for its beauty, and might well represent a head erect, and crowned with the nuptial garland.The hair-like purple-not the colour, but the shell of the porpura (or murex,) which is spiral, and not much unlike the form in which English Indies of the present day roll up their tresses. (See Williams 's New Translation, p. 318. N.)-The king is held(Heb. bound,) or waiting in the galleries, or antichamber. This we take to be an intimation from one of the virgin attendants (or maids in waiting,) on which the king is immediately introduced, and “rejoices as a bridegroom over his bride." Isa. Ixii. 5.

Ver. 7. Thy breasts to clusters—not of grapes (as our translators have supplied it.) but dates, the fruit of the palm-tree here mentioned, which is said to be sweeter than honey. The palm is celebrated for its being straight and tall.-See Eccles. xxiv. 13, 14.

Ver. 8. The smell of thy nose like apples: "The odour of thy breath like citrons," Williams.-The best wine for my beloved, &c. Williams," Whick is sent to those whom I love for their integrity, and causeth the lips of those who are asleep to murmur." See the notes in the Editor's New Translation, p. 320, 321.

Ver. 11. Let us go forth into the villages-i.e. take a ride round the vicinity of the metropolis. The Italians call this villaging-going into Villaggie

[blocks in formation]
[ocr errors]
[blocks in formation]

head, and his right hand should embrace me.

4 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, until he please.

5 Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? I raised thee up under the apple tree: there thy mother brought thee forth; there she brought thee forth that bare thee.

6 Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.

7 Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.

8 We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts: what shall we do for

CHAP. VIII.

[to Gentiles.

our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for?

9 If she be a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver: and if she be a door, we will inclose her with boards of cedar.

10 I am a wall, and my breasts like towers: then was I in his eyes as one that found favour.

11 Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon; he let out the vineyard unto keepers; every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand pieces of silver.

12 My vineyard, which is mine, is before me: thou, O Solomon, must have a thousand, and those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred.

13 Thou that dwellest in the gardens, the companions hearken to thy voice: cause me to hear it.

14 Make haste, my beloved, and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart upon the mountains of spices. (G) ~

EXPOSITION.

(G) Mutual pledges of affection between Christ and his church, with an intimation of the calling of the Gentiles.-Though we have omitted the preceding chapter in our course of family reading, for reasons given in our notes, the concluding verses connect so intimately with this, that it seems necessary to refer to them. In the close of that chapter the spouse solicits her beloved to take an excursion into the surrounding country, to observe the advances of the spring, which, we have already remarked, is the season of the poem. See chap. ii. 11-13. where her beloved first makes the proposal to which she now ac

cedes. Whatever love we may show to the Saviour, it originated with him. "We love him because he first loved us." (1 John iv. 19.) She promises to evince her attachment to him, by those fruits of faith and good works with which he is always well-pleased; at the same time she wishes to avoid the reproaches of the world on account of her attachment to the Saviour, for scorn and contempt are sometimes more difficult to bear than even imprisonment and stripes.

Ver. 5. commences a fresh stanza, or an idyl, (as Dr. Good styles it) and these words appear to be the language of the virgins, who, on seeing the royal palan

NOTES.

Ver. 12. Give thee my loves-that is, give thee the proofs of my love; namely, in the pleasant fruits, laid up in the store-rooms.

CHAP. VIII. Ver. 1. I should not be despisedHeb." They should not despise me." Ver. 3. See chap. ii. 6,7,

Ver. 4. That ye stir not up, &c.-Heb. "Why should you stir up? or why," &c.

Ver. 5. Leaning-that is, resting upon his bosom, in the palanquin. -I raised thee up under the apple-tree-Williams, "Under the citron-tree I courted (or solicited) thee." We conceive, with Mr. Harmer, that this refers back to chap. ii. 3. on which occasion it is at least possible that her mother might be present There thy mother brought thee forth.This is certainly wrong; the bride was not born in Solomon's garden. Dr. Good renders it," Led thee forth;" but in his note, (p. 200) explains it to mean, "pledged," or "plighted." So Dr. Percy, Mi

chaelis, &c. "There she plighted thee that bare thee."

Ver. 6. As a seal-or signet. See Jer. xxii. 24.

A most vehement flame-Heb. "The flame of Jah (or Jehovah). This we consider as referring, not to lightning, as many explain it, but to the sacred, inextinguishable flame upon the altar. See Levit. ix. 12; 2 Chron. vii. 1.

Ver. 8. We have a little sister, &c.-" We have a sister who is little, and her breasts are not (grown).” Williams, Boothroyd, &c.

Ver. 9. A palace-Boothroyd, "Turret," or small

town.

Ver. 10. I am a wall.-As there is no verb in the original, perhaps the preter tense would be better supplied, as in the Exposition. - - Favour-Heb. "Peace."

Ver. 14. Make haste-Heb. "Flee away." Compare Note on chap. ii. 9.

The love of Christ

SOLOMON'S SONG.

EXPOSITION-Chap. VIII. Continued.

quin approach, enquire, as on a former occasion, "Who is this that cometh?"

&c.

the

It need not, however, be referred to same Scene: the wilderness here meant, may probably intend only one of the small wildernesses, or uncultivated spots, of which there were many in Judea, and some not far from the metropolis. These might, in the allegory, very properly represent barren and neglected spots within the boundary of the Christian church. The words "I raised thee," &c. are those of the bridegroom, reminding the spouse of her engagements to him by betrothment; and she begs (ver. 6.) to have a perpetual memorial in his heart. He then assures her, in return, (ver. 7.) that his love is as unextinguishable as it was unpurchaseable.

The spouse, in ver. 8. presents a petition on the behalf of a younger sister, not yet marriageable, which Christian commentators in general apply to the case of the Gentiles, and ground here the calling of the Gentile church; and though some have objected to this interpretation, they do not appear to have supplied a better.

The bridegroom returns a kind reply: "If she be a wall, though low, we will raise her by "turrets of silver;" that is, give her a marriage portion, that shall compensate all defects: and if she be an unprotected virgin, we will enclose and secure her from every danger.

The bride then turns his attention to herself: "I (was) a wall, and my breasts like towers:" that is, the Jewish church was, by the Spirit of prophecy, prepared for the coming of her Lord; then, says she, I was in his eyes 66 as one that found peace," or happiness. It was a time of love, when the bridegroom spread his skirt over her, and took her under his protection. (See Ruth iii. 9; Ezek xvi. 8.)

At ver. 11. the subject again chauges, and this verse is supposed to be addressed by the spouse to the virgins, as the next is to the bridegroom himself; neither of them are easy of explication. The situation of Baal-hamon is unknown and unimportant; but what was the vineyard of the bride? The sacred history informs us, that Pharaoh (her father) having previously taken Gezer from the Canaanites, and burnt it, afterwards made a present of it to his daughter, the wife of Solomon. It is very probable, that after having burnt the city, and destroyed its inhabitants, Pharaoh might have turned it into some

[to Gentiles.

kind of plantation, which the Hebrews would comprehend under the general name of vineyard, which she here speaks of as hers, and from which she received a certain revenue. This falling into the hands of Solomon, upon his marriage, some years afterwards, he rebuilt the city, which, according to Reland, was called Gazara, near Joppa. Now the object of mentioning this vineyard, (as at that time it probably was) seems to be, that its revenue might be transferred to her younger sister: but this is offered only as a conjecture.

To allegorize these vineyards, with any degree of propriety, is not easy; nor would the genius of Bunyan, united to the Oriental literature of a Jones, be sufficient to open all the allegories of Scripture, without a degree of local knowledge, now unattainable. It is therefore much better to leave many passages in the obscurity in which time has involved them, than to make them more obscure by " words with out knowledge;" at least by words without that knowledge which is indispensable to their proper explication. The Scriptures nave, perhaps, suffered more from the determination of commentators to explain all difficulties, than from any other cause whatever. There are mysteries in Scripture as well as in nature, that every attempt to penetrate only renders more ob

scure.

The two last verses are, however, more intelligible. In ver. 13, the church is addressed by her beloved as one that delighted to "dwell in the gardens;" intimating not only commendation of a taste for rural employment and felicity, but more especially a pleasure in mental cultivation. Schools for moral and religious instruction, are gardens of immortal souls: and when Christians are thus employed with children, companions or spectators who listen to their instruction, are often excited to inquire, "whether these things be so," and the beloved himself delights to hear. "Cause me to hear it."

But all which believers saw or heard of the Messiah, under the Old Testament, was at a distance. Like Abraham, they saw his day afar off, and were glad; while, at the same time, they sighed for his coming, and, in the figurative language in which the spouse concludes this book, their prayers hastened his approach : — "Make haste, my beloved, and be thou like a roc, or a y ng hart upon the spicy mountains!"

END OF THE SONG OF SOLOMON

THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET

ISAIAH.

INTRODUCTION TO THE PROPHETS.

"THE early Prophets committed nothing to writing: their predictions being only, or chiefly of a temporal nature, are inserted in the historical books, together with their fulfilment. Such appears to have been the case with Elijah, Elisha, Micaiah, and others; but those who were gifted with the spirit of prophecy in its most exalted sense, and were commissioned to utter predictions, the accomplishment of which was as yet far distant, were directed to write them, or cause them to be written in a book (compare Isa. viii. 1-xxx. 8; Jer. xxx. 2-xxxvi. 2, 23; Ezek. xliii. 11; Hab. ii. 2, &c.) The predictions thus committed to writing were carefully preserved, under a conviction that they contained important truths, thereafter to be more fully revealed, which were to receive their accomplishment at the appointed periods. It was also the office of the Prophets to commit to writing the history of the Jews; and it is on this account that, in the Jewish classification of the books of the Old Testament, we find several historical writings arranged among the Prophets. Throughout their prophetic and historical books, the utmost plainness and sincerity prevail. They record the idolatries of the nation, and foretel the judgments of God, which were to befal the Jews, in consequence of their forsaking his worship and service; and they have transmitted a relation of the crimes and misconduct of their best princes, David, Solomon, and others ;-who were types of the Messiah, and from whose race they expected that he would descend: regarding the glories of their several reigns, as presages of his,-are described, not only without flattery, but also without any reserve or extenuation. They write like men who had no regard to any thing but truth and the glory of God.

“The manner in which the Prophets announced their predictions varied according to circumstances. Sometimes they uttered them aloud in a public place: and it is in allusion to this practice that Isaiah is commanded to "cry aloud, spare not, lift up his voice like a trumpet, and show the people of God their transgressions, and the house of Jacob their sins." (Isa. lviii. 1.) Sometimes their predictions were affixed to the gates of the temple, where they might be generally read, (Jer. vii. 2); but upon important occasions, "when it was necessary to rouse the fears of a disobedient people, and to recal them to repentance, the Prophets, as objects of universal attention, appear to have walked about publicly in sackcloth, and with every external mark of humiliation and sorrow. They then adopted extraordinary modes of expressing their convictions of impending wrath, and endeavoured to awaken the apprehensions of their countrymen, by the most striking illustrations of threatened punishment. Thus Jeremiah made bonds and yokes, and put them on his neck, (Jer. xxvii.) strongly to intimate the subjection that God would bring on the nations whom Nebuchadnezzar should subdue. Isaiah likewise walked naked; that is, without the rough garment of the prophet; and barefoot, (Isa. xx. 2.) as a sign of the distress that awaited the Egyptians. So Jeremiah broke the potter's vessel, (xix. 10.); and Ezekiel publicly removed his household goods from the city, more forcibly to represent, by these actions, some correspondent calamities ready to fall on nations obnoxious to God's wrath: this mode of expressing important circumstances by action being customary and familiar among all Eastern nations.

"Sometimes the prophets were commanded to seal and shut up their prophecies, that the originals might be preserved until they were accomplished, and then compared with the event, (Isa. viii. 16; Jer. xxxii. 14; Dan. viii. 26—and xii. 4.) For, when the prophecies were not to be fulfilled till after many years, and in some cases not till after

« PreviousContinue »