Song of Solomon 4

Song of Solomon 4:1-15

Christ’s own estimate of his churchSon_4:1-15“Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves’ eyes within thy locks…Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck. ” Remember, the Song of Solomon is to be interpreted spiritually, as an allegory. Any attempt to interpret the book in a strictly literal way is a great mistake, and must lead to very great evil. This is a love song, not between a man and a woman, but between Christ and his bride, the church. It speaks of the intimate relationship and loving communion which exists between the Lord Jesus Christ and his believing people. This Song expresses the affection of a believing heart for Christ and the affection of Christ’s heart for his believing people. One clear indication that the Song must be interpreted as an allegory is found in Son 4:9. —“Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck.” Here the church is spoken of as both Christ’s sister and his spouse. It would be atrocious to think that Solomon had taken his sister to be his bride! But Christ’s church is to him both a sister, and a spouse, and a mother (Matthew 12:50). The church is called his sister, because he took upon himself our nature in the incarnation, and he makes us partakers of his nature in regeneration. He clothed himself with a body (Hebrews 2:14), and he clothes the believer with his Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17). Christ owns his church and loves us as his sister, because we are the children of God his Father. Both he that sanctifies and they who are sanctified are all of one (Hebrews 2:11). There is also a marriage-covenant between the Lord Jesus Christ and every believing soul. All true believers are members of the church, which is his bride. We are the bride; he is the Bridegroom. We are espoused to Christ; and he is espoused to us. We are wed to him; and he is wed to us. We are no more two, but one. We are bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh. We are members of Christ himself. Nothing more beautifully describes our relationship to Christ and our love for him than the love of a bride for her husband. And nothing more beautifully describes our Savior’s love for us than the love of a true husband to his bride. In chapter 3, the church, the bride, spoke lovingly and admirably of Christ, expressing the love and esteem of every believing heart for the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, in chapter Son 4:1-15, the Lord Jesus Christ speaks lovingly and admirably of his church, expressing his love and esteem for every true believer. These fifteen verses show us Christ’s own estimate of his church. A loving wife does not find her joy and comfort in what her friends and neighbors may think of her. And she does not find joy and comfort in what she thinks of herself. If she truly loves and reverences her husband, she will always think herself to be an unworthy wife. But she finds all her joy and comfort as a wife in her husband’s high opinion of her. If her husband loves her and honors her above all women, in his thoughts, in his speech, and in his conduct, she is happy.

She desires no more than this. Even so, the true believer finds no joy and comfort in the opinions of others about him, or in his own opinions about himself. But if he can be persuaded that the Lord Jesus Christ holds him in the high esteem of love and honor, there he finds all the comfort and joy his heart can crave. In this passage the Lord Jesus declares to every believer that he holds us in the highest possible esteem of perfect love. If you are a child of God, a believer, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, here assures you that he holds you in such great esteem and honor that his very heart is ravished by you! He says, “Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck!” What an amazing statement! Perfect in beauty Here is the first thing to be learned from this chapter. It is a lesson which we are all very reluctant to learn; but once learned, it is most comforting to our hearts. —The Lord Jesus Christ declares that his church is perfect in beauty (Son 4:1-7). —“Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves’ eyes within thy locks: thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead. Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which came up from the washing; whereof every one bear twins, and none is barren among them. Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely: thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks. Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armoury, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men. Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies.

Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense. Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.” By nature there is no beauty in us. There is nothing about us to commend us to the love of God. We are all black, unclean, and corrupt by nature. Both at heart and in outward appearance, we are evil. In our own esteem, there is nothing beautiful in us. The more we know Christ, the more we know ourselves. And the more we know ourselves, the more hideous we appear in our own eyes. Who are we that he should look upon us with favor? But in the eyes of Christ we are perfect in beauty. Three times he declares—“Behold, thou art fair, my love, behold, thou art fair…Thou art all fair, my love: there is no spot in thee!” In him and in his eyes, we are complete, we are beautiful, and we are perfect. Christ has made us perfect and beautiful in every detail! (Ezekiel 16:8-14; Ephesians 5:25-27). He has thoroughly removed every spot of sin from us. He has taken away our sins and has implanted a new nature within us (1 John 3:5-9). He will soon present us to himself faultless before his Father’s throne in his own perfection (Colossians 1:21-22; Jude 1:24-25). The Lord Jesus describes his church as having a sevenfold beauty. In his eyes, everything about her is perfect! —“Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair…”

1. “Thou hast doves’ eyes within thy locks:”
2. “Thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead.”
3. “Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which came up from the washing; whereof every one bear twins, and none is barren among them.”
4. “Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely.”
5. “Thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks.”
6. “Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armoury, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men.”
7. “Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies. Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense. Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.” The Lord Jesus Christ is so pleased with the beauty of his Church that he has chosen her to be his rest forever (Son 4:6). —“Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense."—“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” (Zephaniah 3:17). A call to communion Second, our blessed Savior calls us to walk with him in sweet fellowship and communion (Son 4:8).—“Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon: look from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon, from the lions’ dens, from the mountains of the leopards.” Here he gives us a gracious call to come along with him as a faithful Bride, to come away from our own people and our father’s house, and to cleave only to him. This is a precept we must obey. —“Come with Me.” All who have come to Christ by faith must come with Christ in holy communion. Being joined to him, we must walk with him. We must come with Christ away from all the pleasant mountains of this world. Matthew Henry wrote, “This is Christ’s call to his spouse to come off from the world, all its products, all its pleasures, to sit loose all the delights of sense. All those must do so that would come to Christ. They must take this affections off from present things.” Child of God, we who belong to Christ must look beyond this world.

We must live above the perishing things of time. We must set our hearts upon Christ (2 Corinthians 4:18; Colossians 3:1-3). We who belong to the Son of God live above the dangers of this world, let us also live above the cares of this world. But this eighth verse is much more than a precept for us to obey… This is also a promise we should enjoy. Christ’s church shall be brought home with him to heaven. We shall be delivered in due time from all the dangers and difficulties of this world. Soon, the lions of hell and the leopards of darkness will torment us no more! —“The God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly” (Romans 16:20. Ravished with love Third, we are told that Christ’s very heart is ravished with love for his people (Son 4:9-15). —“Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck. How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! how much better is thy love than wine! and the smell of thine ointments than all spices! Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb: honey and milk are under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon. A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed. Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard, Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices: A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon.” The Lord Jesus Christ has made us so perfectly beautiful in his sight that he is ravished with love for us! The love of Christ for us is the real affection of his heart. The God-man loves us. The Son of God so loves us that he delights in us! The Lord Jesus Christ is ravished with our love for him (1 John 4:19). The love we have for him is a love he has created and given us. Yet, it is truly ours. “We love him because he first loved us.” But we do love him. We did not, would not, and could not love him by nature. But now he has put such a love in our hearts for him that he is ravished by it. His love for us precedes our love for him eternally. His love for us exceeds our love for him infinitely. And his love for us caused our love for him effectually. But we do love him sincerely. The Son of God, our all-glorious Christ is ravished by the grace which he has put upon us. —“The smell of thine ointments.” The fruit of the Spirit created in us and the graces of the Spirit wrought in us are a sweet aroma to our Redeemer. They are a sweet smelling ointment to him, because they are his gifts to us, the gifts of his own grace (Galatians 5:22-23; Ezekiel 16:9-14). Our blessed Savior is ravished by our speech, too, because it is all about him. —“Thy lips”. The most delightful and most constant theme of a loving Bride is her Husband. And the believer’s most joyful speech is about Christ. Those who know Christ love to speak of him. We love to speak of who he is, what he has done, why he did it, where he is now, what he is doing there, and when he shall return. Looking into our hearts, the Lord Jesus Christ is ravished by our thoughts of him. —“Honey and milk are under thy tongue.” He hears our thoughts. He knows those precious thoughts we have of him, thought that words can never express. Knowing the sincerity of our hearts, the Lord Jesus Christ is ravished by our works performed for him. —“The smell of thy garments.” Without question, these garments are the garments of salvation which he has wrought and bought for us, which he brought to us, and put upon us. Garments of Imputed Righteousness. Garments of Imparted Righteousness. Garments of Grace and Holiness. Yet, the church of Christ is a garden flourishing with good works, works done for him, works which he has created in us (Son 4:12-15). She is a garden planted by his grace and watered by his Spirit, so thoroughly and effectually watered that she has become herself a fragrant, fruitful fountain of gardens and living waters, with streams flowing out of her into all the world to refresh the earth. That is the picture drawn in Son 4:12-15. —“A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed. Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard, Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices: A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon.” Our works, the works of God’s church, those works performed for Christ are never counted by us as being worthy of anything. We know that if we did all things perfectly, we would only have done what we should have done. We constantly repent even of our best, noblest, most righteous works, because “all our righteousnesses are filthy rags” before the holy Lord God. But he whom we love and serve looks upon our puny works as his pleasant fruits. They are rich, sweet fragrances, the smell of which ravishes his heart. They are works of faith and love.

They are works produced by him and honored by him (Ephesians 2:10). That which is done by faith in Christ, arising from a heart of love for him, are honored and accepted by him. Let us ever rest in his love, walk in communion with him. And let us faithfully serve our Redeemer, who loved us and gave himself for us.

Song of Solomon 4:16

My heart—his garden Son 4:16“Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.” Here, as in many places in the Holy Scripture, the believer’s heart is compared to a fruitful garden. If we are the Lord’s people, if there is true faith in us, our hearts are the Lord’s garden. Each believer’s heart is a garden he has purchased, a garden he has enclosed, a garden he has tilled, a garden he has planted and watered. The believing heart is a garden that belongs to Christ and brings forth many pleasant fruits for him. Here the beloved Bride speaks to her beloved Lord and expresses her hearts desire.—“Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.” What a difference there is between what we are by nature and what we have been made by the grace of God! By nature we are like a barren wilderness, or an empty desert. But now, by the grace of God, we who believe have been transformed into fruitful gardens. Our wilderness is made like Eden. Our desert has been turned into the garden of the Lord. We have been enclosed by grace. We have been tilled and sown by the hand of God. Our Lord said to his disciples, “My Father is the Husbandman.” Now the Divine Husbandman has made us fruitful to his praise. Where there was once no fruit and nothing to give him delight, he now comes to “eat his pleasant fruits.” Grace makes a great change (2 Corinthians 5:17). In the parable of the sower our Lord compares us to a garden. In a garden flowers, and fruits, and vegetables are planted and cultivated with purpose and care. And in every true believer’s heart you will find evidences of the cultivation and care of the Divine Gardener. In the good ground, mentioned in the parable, some of the seed brought forth thirty-fold, some sixty-fold, and some a hundred-fold. It is true, not all of the Lord’s gardens are precisely the same in their productivity. Some yield more, and some yield less fruit. Still, every garden brings forth its fruit and flowers in measure to the honor and glory of God. A fruitful garden Our hearts are here compared to a fruitful garden. The believing heart is Christ’s fruitful garden. Our hearts are the Lord’s garden; and they bring forth fruit, both for his honor and for his pleasure. There is no such thing as a barren, fruitless, graceless believer. Wherever true grace is found in the heart, there will be the fruit of grace. The believer’s heart is a garden into which the good seed of the gospel has been sown (Matthew 13:18-23). It is that ground made good and fruitful by the grace of God. No ground is naturally good. It naturally brings forth weeds, briars, and thistles. Before the ground is fit to receive seed, it must be prepared. A wise and good farmer takes much care in properly preparing his ground before he sows his seed. As the farmer sows his seed, some may fall upon the rocks, some by the wayside, and some among thorns. But only that ground which is thoroughly prepared will receive the seed and bring forth fruit. How does a farmer prepare his ground? He purchases the ground, plows the field, encloses the field, sows the seed, waters the ground, and cultivates the tender plant. In precisely this way the Lord Jesus Christ, like a wise husbandman, has made the hearts of his people his fruitful garden. He purchased us with the price of his own precious blood. He has enclosed us, marking our hearts and souls as his own peculiar property. We were enclosed by his decree of election.

We were enclosed by the hand of his wise and gracious providence. He has plowed the field of our hearts, thoroughly breaking up the fallow ground of our hearts, by conviction. He has planted the good seed of the gospel in our hearts, enabling us to hear and understand the blessed word of grace. He waters the ground of our hearts by his grace. He cultivates the tender plants of his garden with trials and afflictions.Not only are our hearts his garden, every heart that belongs to Christ is a fruitful garden (Galatians 5:22-23). In the new birth God the Holy Spirit comes into a man’s heart in sovereign, life-giving power.

And where the Spirit of God comes there is fruit. The Spirit of the Lord brings life, abundant, productive life (2 Corinthians 5:17). “The fruit of the spirit” The produce of the Lord’s garden is “the fruit of the Spirit,” not the works of our own hands. The believer’s graces are not characteristics, or moral virtues, which he produces by diligence and care. These things are the fruits of the Spirit, inevitable results of his grace and power. Notice that Paul speaks of “the fruit of the Spirit” as one. He names many virtues; but they are all one. They are like a cluster of grapes. They are many; yet, in essence, they are all one. They all spring from one Vine; and that Vine is Christ himself. All who are really and truly connected to the Vine bear the fruit of the vine (John 15:1-6). Notice, also, that Paul, when he talks about the fruit of the Spirit, speaks of attitudes, not actions. He tells us that if a person is truly born of God, his inward heart attitude will reflect it. God regards not the actions of men, but the attitudes of their hearts. Human religion may change a man’s actions. But the grace of God changes the attitude of the heart. Hypocrites reform their actions. Believers undergo a mighty renewing of the heart. In every believing heart these three clusters of fruit are found. I do not suggest that every believer has this fruit in the same measure. But I do say that every true believer has this pleasant fruit in its essence. In one it is as the newly sown seed. In another it is like a tender plant. In another it is like an ear of corn, not yet full. In another it is like the fully ripe ear, ready for harvest. But in all the essence is the same. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace.” This describes our relationship to God. Our relationship to the Lord our God is not one of dread, and fear, and anxiety. We walk before him in love, joy, and peace. This describes our marvelously free, open fellowship with the Lord God. Believers love the Lord. We love his word, his will, his ways, his worship, and his people. We rejoice in the Lord, as well as love him. We rejoice in his person, his purpose, his providence, and his salvation. And we are at peace with God. “The fruit of the Spirit is Longsuffering, gentleness, goodness.” This describes our relationship and attitude toward those around us. The children of God are not hard, critical, and severe. They are patient, gentle, and good to the people around them. True faith is patient, both with providence and with people. True faith is gentle: courteous, thoughtful, and kind. True faith is manifest by goodness toward men: generosity, openness, simplicity, and understanding. “The fruit of the Spirit is faith, meekness, temperance.”This describes the true believer’s inward character. It tells us what the people of God truly are. They are faithful, honest, and dependable. Believers are meek. Knowing who they are and whose they are, they are truly and honestly humble in their own eyes. And faith in Christ makes people temperate.

The children of God are men and women who control their passions. They are modest and temperate in all things. Temperance is control from within. By the grace of God, believers control their tempers, their lusts, and their appetites.These things are not the result of our labors of self-discipline and self-denial. These things are the result and outflow of God’s grace in regeneration. This is the fruit of the Spirit.

It is simply the overflowing of the Spirit of grace in the renewed heart (John 7:37-38). I am constrained to ask this question.—“Is my heart truly the Lord’s garden?” Am I truly one of the Lord’s own children? Let us each honestly examine ourselves in this matter. A truly renewed heart is fruitful. It brings forth the fruit of the Spirit. Let us quit looking at our actions and our experiences. We all must honestly face this question.—Is my heart a fruitful garden to the Lord? Heavenly wind Our garden and its fruit need the Breath of Heaven.—“Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden that the spices thereof may flow out.” Sometimes, though the flowers are in bloom their sweet fragrance does not fill the air, because there is no gentle breeze to carry it about. One may walk in the garden where spices abound and never smell their rich odors if there is no wind stirring. Therefore, the loved one of our text prays that the Breath of Heaven might come and break the dead calm of her heart’s garden so that the rich fragrance of her spices might flow forth. In this prayer there is an evident sense of inward sleep.—“Awake, O north wind.” This is a poetic confession that she herself needs to be awakened. Her appeal is to the Spirit of God, the great Breath of Heaven, who operates according to his own will, even as “the wind bloweth where it listeth.” She does not try to raise the wind, and create a revival in her own heart. She simply acknowledges her utter dependence upon God the Holy Spirit to awaken her graces and enliven her heart.If the Spirit of the Lord will blow upon our garden, our spices will flow out. Let him move upon us as he will, from the north or from the south. He knows best. If he will but move upon us, our hearts will respond.

Sometimes he revives our hearts with the chilling, rough wind of affliction. Sometimes he revives us with the gentle southern breeze of grace and mercy. Sometimes he uses both the cold winds of the north and the gentle breezes of the south to stir us. This is the thing we need. We wait for a visitation from the blessed Spirit of God. If the Breath of Heaven will blow upon us, the fragrant flowers of our garden will fill the air with their rich perfume. Come and eat “Let my beloved come into his garden and eat his pleasant fruits.”—We greatly desire that the Lord himself will visit his garden. The Bride does not desire for the spices of her garden to fill the air with their fragrance for her own enjoyment, nor even for the delight of the daughters of Jerusalem. Her desire is that her spices may flow forth for the pleasure and enjoyment of her Beloved. The highest, noblest wish of our souls is that Christ may have joy, pleasure, and delight in us. And the great condescension of grace is this: The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our great Savior does delight and take pleasure in his people. She calls him hers - “My Beloved.” What music there is in these two words. He is “My Beloved.” My graces, the flowers of my garden, may be terribly dormant. But he is my Beloved still. With these words we acknowledge that we belong to Christ. My heart is his garden. The fruit and affection of my heart belongs to him, only to him. This is the prayer and desire of our hearts.—“Let my Beloved come.” Let him come in the glory of his second advent. Let him come in the majesty of his judgment-seat. Let him come to make all things new. But, let him come into my heart!—“Let him come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.” Child of God, open your heart to the King of Heaven, our great Solomon, and he will come. He will sup with you; and you will sup with him (Revelation 3:20).