Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
back to:
Song of Songs
Book: Song of Songs
Chapter: 2
Overview:
The mutual
Love of
Christ and his
Church.
(1-7) The
Hope and
Calling of the
Church.
(8-13) Christ's care of the
Church, Her
Faith and
Hope.
(14-17)
1-7 Believers are beautiful, as clothed in the
Righteousness of
Christ; and fragrant, as adorned with the graces of his
Spirit;
and they thrive under the refreshing beams of the
Sun of
Righteousness. The
Lily is a very noble plant in the
East; it
grows to a considerable height, but has a weak stem. The
Church
is weak in herself, yet is strong in Him that supports her. The
wicked, the daughters of this world, who have
No Love to
Christ,
are as thorns, worthless and useless, noxious and hurtful.
Corruptions are thorns in the
Flesh; but the
Lily now among
thorns, shall be transplanted into that
Paradise where there is
No Brier or
Thorn. The world is a
Barren tree to the soul; but
Christ is a fruitful one. And when
Poor souls are parched with
convictions of
Sin, with the terrors of the
Law, or the troubles
of this world, weary and heavy laden, they may find
Rest in
Christ. It is not enough to pass
By this
Shadow, but we must sit
down under it. Believers have tasted that the
Lord Jesus is
gracious; his fruits are all the precious privileges of the new
Covenant, purchased
By his
Blood, and communicated
By his
Spirit; promises are sweet to a believer, and precepts also.
Pardons are sweet, and peace of
Conscience sweet. If our mouths
are out of taste for the pleasures of
Sin, Divine consolations
will be sweet to us.
Christ brings the soul to seek and to find
comforts through his ordinances, which are as a banqueting-
House
where his saints
Feast with him. The
Love of
Christ, manifested
By his
Death, and
By his
Word, is the
Banner he displays, and
believers resort to it. How much better is it with the soul when
sick from
Love to
Christ, than when surfeited with the
Love of
this world! And though
Christ seemed to have withdrawn, yet he
was even then a very present help. All his saints are in his
Hand, which tenderly holds their aching heads. Finding
Christ
thus nigh to her, the soul is in great care that her
Communion
with him is not interrupted. We easily grieve the
Spirit By
wrong tempers. Let those who have comfort, fear sinning it away.
8-13 The
Church pleases herself with thoughts of further
Communion with
Christ. None besides can speak to the
Heart. She
sees him come. This may be applied to the prospect the Old
Testament saints had of
Christ's coming in the
Flesh. He comes
as pleased with his own undertaking. He comes speedily. Even
when
Christ seems to forsake, it is but for a moment; he will
soon return with
Everlasting loving-kindness. The saints of old
saw him, appearing through the sacrifices and ceremonial
institutions. We see him through a
Glass darkly, as he manifests
himself through the lattices.
Christ invites the new convert to
arise from sloth and despondency, and to leave
Sin and worldly
vanities, for union and
Communion with him. The winter may mean
years passed in ignorance and
Sin, unfruitful and miserable, or
storms and tempests that accompanied his conviction of guilt and
danger. Even the unripe fruits of
Holiness are pleasant unto Him
whose
Grace has produced them. All these encouraging tokens and
evidences of Divine favour, are motives to the soul to follow
Christ more fully. Arise then, and come away from the world and
the
Flesh, come into
Fellowship with
Christ. This blessed change
is owing wholly to the approaches and influences of the
Sun of
Righteousness.
14-17 The
Church is
Christ's
Dove; she returns to him, as her
Noah.
Christ is the
Rock, in whom alone she can think herself
safe, and find herself easy, as a
Dove in the hole of a
Rock,
when struck at
By the birds of prey.
Christ calls her to come
boldly to the
Throne of
Grace, having a great High
Priest there,
to tell what her request is. Speak freely, fear not a slight or
a repulse. The voice of
Prayer is sweet and acceptable to
God;
those who are sanctified have the best comeliness. The first
risings of sinful thoughts and desires, the beginnings of
trifling pursuits which waste the time, trifling visits, small
departures from
Truth, whatever would admit some conformity to
the world; all these, and many more, are little foxes which must
be removed. This is a charge to believers to mortify their
sinful appetites and passions, which are as little foxes, that
destroy their graces and comforts, and crush good beginnings.
Whatever we find a hinderance to us in that which is good, we
must
Put away. He feedeth among the lilies; this shows
Christ's
gracious presence among believers. He is kind to all his people.
It becomes them to believe this, when under desertion and
absence, and
So to
Ward off temptations. The shadows of the
Jewish
Dispensation were dispelled
By the dawning of the
Gospel
Day. And a
Day of comfort will come after a night of desertion.
Come over the mountains of
Bether, "the mountains that divide,"
looking forward to that
Day of
Light and
Love.
Christ will come
over every separating mountain to take us home to himself.