6:1 – Perhaps, out of sympathy, or at least sincere curiosity to see such an one as Solomon’s “fairest” has described, the daughters of Jerusalem now ask as to whether or not she had any idea as to where he might have gone. They would go together with her to find him. But, strange as it may seem, she now seems to know just where he is, and so tells them, that he is in his garden, gathering lilies.
The “espoused virgin” had asked the “daughters of Jerusalem” should they find Him before she did, to please tell Him of how truly love-sick she was for Him. Now, they ask her as to where He might be found, and they also suggest that they might go together with her in search of Him. But, He is no longer lost to her; in fact, she doesn’t need their help at all. She knows just where He is. For awhile, she had lost Him; but she now has the assurance that He had not lost her! However, the experience she has had, was a most needful one, and as a result of it she has been brought unto a deeper appreciation and desire for a closer fellowship with Him.
“Before she began to describe Him she felt that others might find Him before she did (Cant. 5:18), but by the time she ended speaking of Him she knew far better than they did where to find Him. If there is any sense of distance with us let us not settle down in it. Let us think of Him; let us describe Him, as it were, afresh to our hearts; let us speak of Him, as we have opportunity, to those who are interested in Him. The very doing so will indicate a reviving glow of heart, and it will lead to fully restored affections. And others, it may be, will be moved to seek Him.” (Coates – An Outline of the Song of Songs, page 167)
6:2 – She replies, “my beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.”
His garden is, ever and always, the assemblages of the truly consecrated spirit-begotten saints of God, be they many or be they few. It is here that the sweet-smelling spices are grown – the fragrant graces and fruits of the spirit are developed. It is also from here that He gathers the “lilies” to add, as it were, their beauty and fragrance to the heavenly mansions!
“The daughters of Jerusalem still call the bride, ‘O thou fairest among women,’ and want to seek her beloved with her. She answers: ‘My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.’ He has gone down into his garden, for the Lord delights to be found among His own. At one time she tried to find him in the city, but he could not be found there. As the owner of the garden who has cared for it and watered it, has he not the right to be there to partake of the fruit? What marks His garden is beauty and fragrance. In it are beds of spices, and there are no spices like those which have been grown there. The beauties to be seen are not produced by toiling and spinning, for lilies toil not nor do they spin, and yet Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. These beauties are the work of the Spirit of God in the saints.” (Watt – Ruth and the Song of Solomon, page 152)
“The beloved goes down there to feed…he feeds and gathers. And it is the lilies he gathers together.
…‘Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst.’ (Matt. 18:20)
“There is another way in which He gathers lilies: He gathers those lilies which are in full bloom, and ready to be taken home.” (Watt – Ruth and the Song of Solomon, page 153)
6:3 – Solomon’s Beloved has learned something by way of her recent experiences – she cannot count her chicks before they are hatched! Once she was sure that she possessed him; now she is happy because she can say, “I am his.” Now she also knows where he feeds; it is among the lilies!
The “espoused virgin” too has learned much. Humbled and chastened by her recent experiences, she is no longer as possessive as she once was. She had once declared, “My Beloved is mine…” (Cant. 2:16); now she is blessed and happy because she can truly say, “I am my Beloved’s…” And remembering how delighted He always was to be among “His lilies,” she goes there, to be among them! And how very glad He is to see her there again.
6:4 – In the garden, Solomon, once again tells his Beloved, how precious, how dear she is to him; how much he adores her. He says unto her, “Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners.”
Through the apostolic epistles, the antitypical Solomon – our Lord, has been telling the “espoused virgin” of His great love for her; of how dear and precious she is to Him (Eph. 5:2, 25; Titus 2:14); and by way of typical and prophetic utterances, how beautiful too. (Psa. 45:13,14) Yet, He would not now have her forget completely her former estate, from whence He had redeemed her; and so, by the same means, and in the same manner, he reminds her of this. (Eph. 2:2, 3; 5:8; Col. 1:21; 3:5-7; 1 Pet. 4:3) Indeed it was He that brought her out of the “horrible pit, out of the miry clay” to set her feet upon a rock…and putting a new song into her mouth, even praises unto our God. (Psa. 40:2,3; Eph. 2:5, 6) It is this that is subtly suggested by the ancient Tirzah! “Tirzah” means beautiful, but there are different kinds of beauty. Tirzah was the capital of some of the Canaanitish kings. As a city in the land of Canaan, it was at the time the abode of Canaanites; and much that was evil and sinful took place there. However, the time came when Joshua conquered it (Josh. 12:24); transformed it, and made it a place where in subsequent times some of the kings of Judah held forth. Thus, it will be seen, that Tirzah well represents the former state and condition of the “espoused virgin’s heart.” “Canaanites” – evil things like fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil-concupiscence, covetousness (idolatry), anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communications, lyings, etc. (Col. 3:5, 8, 9), lived there. But this “city” was eventually conquered by our great and mighty “Joshua” (Christ Jesus, our Lord, Savior and Redeemer), and transformed by Him as it were, through the utter destruction and driving out of all that is inimical to the spiritual well-being of our souls! Now, the “King” lives there! And so the “espoused virgin” is now very beautiful, yea, as comely as “Jerusalem” – the Jerusalem “which is above” (Gal. 4:25), and of which, in a sense, the beautiful Sarah of old, was a type! The antitypical Solo- mon then compares His Beloved, to an army with banners – terrible, all-powerful by virtue of the indwelling Holy Spirit – mighty to the pulling down of everything which is contrary to the will of God! (2 Cor. 10:4, 5)
“‘Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners.’ He now tells her of her beauty. Abraham feared the people of Gerar because of the beauty of Sarah; the world would want such a woman. Rebecca was also fair and Isaac likewise feared the Philistines for the same reason. Think of the Church. There has never been anything like her before, so beautiful. Is it any wonder the world wanted the Church, to spoil her beauty?
“‘As Tirzah.’ This city which Solomon praises for its beauty was wonderful for situation, and, at one time, was the royal city of the kings of Canaan. It later, for a while, became the royal city of the kings of Israel, as the residence of Jeroboam and his successors. As Tirzah was built on a hill, the saints are likened to a city set on a hill, which cannot be hid. The Church is as beautiful as this dwelling- place of a king, for in her heart the Lord reigns as King. Paul prayed for the saints at Ephesus, ‘that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith’ (Eph. 3:17), showing his desire for them was that Christ might reign without a rival in their hearts.
“‘Comely as Jerusalem’ – the residence of Judah’s kings – the place of God’s house, whose name one day shall truly be. ‘The Lord is there.’ (Ezek. 48:35) For a description of Jerusalem read Psalm 48; it was beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth; it was the city of the great King; it was compacted together, the tribes go up there for worship. If the description of the earthly city shows it to be so great, what must the New Jerusalem be? (Rev. 21)
“‘Terrible as an army with banners.’ He turns from cities which were capitals of Northern and Southern Palestine, to an undefeated, victorious army carrying banners. No enemy has carried off her standards. Think of the Church, in the Acts of the Apostles, when she was marked by great grace and great power. Some of those men who carried banners were spoken of as ‘those men who have turned the world upside down.’ ‘Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth.’ (Psa. 60:4) Are we displaying our banners, or do we keep them wrapped up? They were given to be displayed. In the days of Moses, the children of Israel marched under four standards. Every man had to know his own banner and stand by it – the tribe of Judah, a lion; the ox, for Ephraim; the face of a man, for Reuben, and an eagle for Dan. So we should be good soldiers today, and know our standards. This is a company that must triumph, against which the gates of hell cannot prevail. We must come out ‘more than conquerors through Him who loved us’.” (Watt – Ruth and the Song of Solomon, pages 154-156)
“Tirzah is a beautiful figure of the bride of the Lamb. First of all, the city was a royal city of the kings of Canaan. In it were idolatry and wickedness, and it was filled with pomp and grandeur, also with the abominations of the Canaanitish kings and their courts. Afterward, it was captured by the Hebrews, and they made it the royal city of the kings of Israel.
“How beautifully this portrays the history of the bride of the Lamb, whether applied to the whole company, or to each virgin in the company. Before the Lord found her, each virgin of the bride was filled with idolatry and wickedness, with sin and uncleanness…but the Lord went out and captured her, and He made her the royal city of the King of Israel. She became a city of our God, and she is set on a hill so that she cannot be hid.” (MacIlravy – Christ and His Bride, page 394)
6:5 – While Solomon had many times been bewitched, as it were, by the beautiful glances of his dearly beloved “Dove” (Cant. 1:15; 4:1, 9), yet never quite so deeply as now. He is hardly able to restrain himself from taking her into his embrace and crushing her ‘almost to death’! So, he asks her, though really not too seriously, to turn those eyes away from him. Perhaps it was because he saw something in them he had never seen there before! But then, had she not, as a result of her recent experiences, developed a deeper soul-hunger for him; and was it not this that was reflected in the windows of her soul?
The “espoused virgin” too, has had such experiences as have aroused within her, deeper soul-yearnings for her Beloved Lord; and these are now reflected in her eyes.
“The first sad consequence of her mistake was the loss of her bridegroom’s presence, and the slight and offence which he so deeply felt. He withdrew from her door and left her alone. There is no trial more deep and keen to a devout spirit than the loss of the Lord’s presence. That which once we did not value is now become the very essence of our life and happiness, and the moment that prevailing presence is gone we are conscious of a void that nothing else can fill and an anguish than which none is more keen…
“First, she continued seeking; she did not go back to bed again and fall asleep in languid indifference, but the moment she found out her mistake she endeavored to correct it, and continued to search for her Lord until she found him…‘Then shall ye find me when you search for me with all your heart.’ (Jer. 29:13) Next, she not only searched but she continued steadfastly in her love. Her one continual testimony, when they asked her what was her beloved more than any other beloved, was, that he was the chief among ten thousand and the altogether lovely. Not for a moment would she depreciate his charms or yield to a disparagement of his worth, but she boldly testified to his grace and beauty in the midst of all her trials; and, in the face of all her temptresses, her true and loving heart was immovable as a rock from its steadfast affection, and all the world could not tempt her to even a thought of disloyalty or compromise.
“Suddenly he stands before her. He has heard the loving testimony, His heart has been moved with tenderness for all her trials, and she is dearer to him than ever as He sees her steadfast purpose, amid all the testing ordeal, to be His and His alone, and so he rewards her faithfulness, ‘Thou art beautiful, O my love’.” (Simpson – The Love- Life of the Lord, pages 81, 86, 88 and 89)
Seeing the deep heart-yearnings now reflected in her eyes, her beloved Lord, Christ Jesus, unlike Solomon of old, does not ask her to turn her eyes away from Him. Nor can we believe that she would, were He to ask her so to do. No! she declares:
Since my eyes were fixed on Jesus,
I’ve lost sight of all beside –
So enchained my spirit’s vision,
Looking at the (once) crucified.
Once again (See Cant. 4:1), Solomon speaks lovingly to his Beloved, about her beautiful hair, which, because of its glossy black color and texture, reminds him of a flock of Syrian goats that appear from Gilead.
When the antitypical Solomon, Christ Jesus, the heavenly bridegroom-to-be, speaks to His “espoused virgin,” of how beautiful are the tresses of her “hair,” how much He appreciates her consecration, her dedication, her separation from all others, and unto Himself, it is not a mere repetition of what He had already told her on an earlier occasion. But He would, in this way, reassure her that despite her deflection (now in the past), His love for her was not any less; in fact, because she then sought Him with all her heart (Jer. 29:13), His love is now even greater! It will be recalled that despite Israel’s deflections, Jehovah God declared that He loved them with an everlasting love. (Jer. 31:3) If, as the Apostle Paul tells us, the things which happened to Israel of old were typical (1 Cor. 10:11); and that they were recorded for us (Rom. 15:4); then the everlasting love of Jehovah for Israel, was intended to be typical of the everlasting love of Jesus for His Beloved! (John 13:1; 14:1-3) “O Love, that will not let me go, I rest my weary soul in Thee.”
“He mentions her hair first. We have already noticed that this speaks of her separation. She may have lost this mark of separation in the city, where she lost her veil. If her hair has been cut, it has grown again, as with Samson, who lost his power and became weak when his locks were cut off, but then his hair grew again and his strength was renewed.” (Watt – Ruth and the Song of Solomon, page 157)
“After repenting and seeking Him in contrition, after suffering for His sake and refusing to be turned aside….Her Beloved again speaks to her. His approval rests upon her, and now His words of commendation are far beyond those that He spoke before…
“…Since she arose and opened the door, since she went out into the night of His withdrawal, she has attained to greater stability and brightness of light; she has entered into greater unity and fellowship with him….Her hair has again become long and beautiful like a flock of goats lying along the side of Mount Gilead…” (MacIlravy – Christ and His Bride, pages 406, 407)
6:6, 7 – Solomon reiterates his earlier remarks to His Beloved, concerning other features of her beauty (see Cant. 4:2, 3), her teeth and her cheeks (temples) in the hope that she will be so deeply impressed with his fidelity despite her recent deflection, so that she will never again tempt him to leave her. She is impressed!
The reiteration, by the antitypical Solomon’s earlier remarks to the “espoused virgin” concerning other features of her present beauty, were intended to have a far deeper significance for her now than ever before. Once she had had an inward peace, which enabled her to smile a most gracious smile; a smile enhanced, as her lips parted, with the appearance of a perfect complement of clean, white, and even teeth. Then too, there had often appeared on her cheeks, though sometimes partly hidden behind the tresses of her hair, the beautiful, and sometimes embarrassing blush of purity and innocence. Upon her deflection, these, the smile and the blush, had disappeared with her soul’s inner peace. She knew it; and felt it too. Yes –
O the bitter pain of sorrow
That a time could ever be,
When I proudly said to Jesus…
Some of self, and some of thee!
How comforting therefore, now is this restatement of her Beauty, by her Beloved, which means for her, a full restoration into His grace and favor.
“Brighter than His first appearing, dearer than even the soul’s first love, is the hour when He comes again to the desolate and wandering heart….Oh, the joy of the restored heart when the Lord arises with healing in His wings, and the long night of waiting ends in a morning of joy.” (Simpson – The Love-Life of the Lord, page 89)
Solomon seems now to be soliloquizing – talking to himself, but loud enough, so that others standing near, might hear. He is speaking about his beloved “dove,” his undefiled one, contrasting her with other women who have also striven to become his bride. She stands out, all by herself; there is none other like unto her; and, her own mother agrees to this.
6:8 – The antitypical Solomon, by way of His inspired Apostles, also speaks about his “Beloved,” his “undefiled,” contrasting her with other women, whom she excels: the three score “queens,” and the four score “concubines,” and also, many other “virgins” (the foolish ones – Matt. 25: 3, 8, 11; see also Rev. 7:14) all of whom, in one way or another have aspired to become the Lamb’s Wife.
“A woman is the figure used when the Church alone is referred to, separate from her Lord and Head. Separate and distinct from her Lord, the Bridegroom, she is an espoused virgin…” (B255)
It is not strange, therefore, that a woman is used in Scripture, to represent all such as individually, or collectively, aspire unto becoming His wife – the Lamb’s Wife! The basic requirement for the woman who is to become His wife, is virginity! (2 Cor. 11:2) The “queens” are such religious groups and organizations as openly affiliate with the worldly governments. Such for instance are the Roman, Greek and Anglican, Catholic, and the Lutheran Churches. The “concubines” are those who likewise “sell their favors,” but do it surreptitiously! These all, are really “harlot” systems: the “daughters” having followed the pattern established by their “mother,” (the Mother of Harlots – Rev.17:5).
“…Protestantism, as it exists today is not the result of the Great Reformation, but of its decline; and it now partakes to a large degree of the disposition and character of the Church of Rome, from which its various branches sprang. The various Protestant sects (and we say it with all due deference to a comparatively few devout souls within them, whom the Lord designates as ‘wheat,’ in contradistinction to the overwhelming numbers of ‘tares’) are the true daughters of that degenerate system of nominal Christianity, the Papacy, to which the Revelator makes reference in applying to her the name ‘Mother of Harlots.’ (Rev. 17:5)” (D28)
Then, there are also those who remain “virgins” but are “foolish” (Matt. 25:3, 8, 11), because they do not separate themselves completely from that which, not merely has the appearance of evil, but is evil (1 Thes. 5:22; see also Manna, Aug. 19) To these, the “call” of this day has been, “Come out of her, my people…” (Rev. 18:4) They contaminate their garments; and, unless they wash them white in the blood of the Lamb, they will have no place before the Throne, nor will they be guests at the marriage supper. (Rev. 7:14, 9; 19:9)
6:9 – The Lord calls His “espoused virgin” His “dove,” “My undefiled” one. Of all the women He has enumerated, there is but one for Him; there just isn’t another like unto her. Rotherham, in his translation of this portion of the Song of Solomon (6:9) has strikingly rendered it as follows:
“Three score are the queens, and four score are the concubines, and virgins there are without number, one alone is my dove, my perfect one, one alone was she to her mother, pure was she to her that bare her.”
The “mother” here referred to, is undoubtedly, the oath-bound covenant – the Abrahamic Covenant, some- times represented by Sarah (Gal. 4:22-26), who had but one child, an only child – the antitypical “Isaac,” the heir of all things (Gal. 4:28; 3:29), in the Song of Solomon represented by the bride-to-be, the “espoused virgin!” (See Appendix “S”) And while the Lord indicates that the “espoused virgin” is already appreciated by her “mother,” and the “daughters of Jerusalem,” (now the “virgin” – the Great Company class), the time will come when even the “queens” and the “concubines” will be called upon to praise and honor her too!
6:10 – Solomon continues soliloquizing, as rhetorically, he asks himself the question, “Who is this, that looketh forth as the morning (that breaks forth as the dawn – Meek, An Amer. Translation), fair as the moon, and clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners?”
Both the sun and the moon are light-givers, though one, merely reflectively. This is true also of the one, the only one, the “espoused virgin,” who by reason of her own enlightenment, is able to “break forth as the dawn,” with light for the dawning “Day” for others. This she does both directly – through the spoken word; and reflectively, by her manner of living; for unto her has been granted an understanding of such things as of which the Spirit of God spoke through the types and shadows of old (“moonlight”) and those things which that same holy Spirit was saying by way of the Gospel (“sunlight”). And this is undoubtedly one reason why in the Revelation given to John, she is pictured as a “woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet…” (Rev. 12:1) Wheresoever she finds herself, her’s is an enlightening influence! Yet, as benign and peaceful as this her mission may be; she has still another one in which she is “like an army with banners” mighty to the pulling down of “strong holds, casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against God…” (2 Cor. 10:4, 5)
6:11 – Solomon seems now to be speaking to the daughters of Jerusalem, of how (and why) he had come to his garden of nuts, to check, as it were, its fruitage, and to see if there was any budding of the pomegranates. For the moment, at least, his “dove” is not with him.
The antitypical Solomon, our Lord, is now speaking, as it were, to the “daughters of Jerusalem” about his visit (“coming”) to His garden. He calls it His “garden of nuts,” which yields the “fruits of the valley.” Perhaps this is to indicate specifically that period – that interim time – the great time of trouble with which this Gospel age is to end! A valley is low-lying terrain between mountains. The “mountains” here are two kingdoms: Satan’s, which is already in the course of disintegration; and God’s which is in the process of being established the universal Kingdom of peace and righteousness. The expression “garden of nuts,” we believe, has reference to the time, the trials and experiences, the anarchy and revolution, which will have to be endured – passed through – ere the sweet reign of peace, joy and happiness, can be attained. The shell of the nut is hard; it is also bitter to the taste; but its kernel – reached only after the shell is broken and discarded – is meaty, sweet and nourishing!
During this “time of trouble” with which the age will end, there are three classes, who will constitute the “garden of nuts”:
(1) The Lord’s consecrated and spirit-begotten ones, of whom will be the last “members” of the Christ; and the “Great ” The former will not necessarily be called upon to go through the full length of this period; but will be able to rejoice, by looking up and lifting up their heads, seeing their redemption (deliverance) drawing nigh. (Luke 21:28)
“…The Gospel age will not fully end, we believe, until the Gospel message ends; and that will be when the door is shut, when the last member of the very elect shall have passed beyond the veil. It is our understanding that the elect church of Christ, the Bride, will not remain in the flesh to do much of the teaching of the world, but will be glorified in the kingdom either before or during the great time of trouble, and be ready to supervise the world’s instruction from the spirit plane.” (R5697:6)
The latter, the “Great Company,” will
“Through the favor of the High Priest…go into great ‘tribulation’ and have the flesh destroyed. This will not make of them ‘overcomers’ nor give them membership in the body – the Bride of Christ. It will not give them a place on the throne of Kings and Priests, but a position ‘before the throne,’ as perfect spirit beings, though not of the highest order of the spiritual – the divine. Though they will not possess the crown of life, Immortality, yet if rightly exercised by the tribulation they will attain to a condition ‘like unto the angels.’ They will serve God in his Temple, though they will not be members of that symbolic Temple which is the Christ. (Rev. 7:14, 15)” (T70)
(2) The “vine” class – the Jewish nation (Isa. 5:7; 80:14, 15, 19; Jer. 24:6, 7; 32:41), who, chastened, and humbled by their diversified experiences among the nations of the earth, are now about ready to return unto their God, with all their heart! This, in part, is evidenced in their return to the land of Palestine; and, in a sense, thus does the “vine flourish”!
“In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof, and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old. And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them, and they shall plant vineyards and drink the wine thereof, they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God.” (Amos 9:11, 14, 15)
(3) Those of the world of mankind, who already are able to see God’s hands in the affairs of men. In these, we see the evidences of the “budding of the pomegranates” – for beauty, fragrance and fruitage of the Millennial kingdom.
6:12, 13 – This next section of the Song of Solomon (6:12, 13), is quite a difficult one, inasmuch as it is almost impossible to determine who it is that is speaking, and to whom. Nor have the Translators been too helpful here, for they too, have been similarly confused. The text from the Authorized Version, reads as follows:
- Or even I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of
- Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may look upon What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it were the company of two armies.
On the basis of what is said, we have concluded that it is Solomon’s “fairest,” that says, “Before I was aware, my fancy set me in a chariot beside my prince.” (R.S.V.) And, while it is possible that Solomon of old could also be caught in an unawareness of what was going on, it is hardly possible that his antitypical counterpart – our heavenly bridegroom-to-be, would ever find Himself in such straits! It will be recalled that Solomon had just been talking about the how and why of his visit to his “garden of nuts.” On hearing this, his “dove” is herself carried away in fancy (her chariot) to a place beside him. In the Authorized Version, the “chariots of Amminadib” are mentioned. It could be that Amminadib was the name of some famous charioteer. However, most translators have rendered the Hebrew term otherwise. (See Appendix “T”) We incline to the thought suggested in the Revised Standard Version – “my prince.”
The significance of all this is for the “espoused virgin,” that in fancy, i.e., in spirit, for one reason or another, she has been transported to the other end of the Gospel age – to its very beginning; a place beside her “prince.” As is obvious, the Church at this time was made up from two different “camps” or “companies,” (See Appendix “U”) – the Hebrew, and the Gentile! Of this did the Apostle Paul speak, when he declared that our Lord would “make in himself of twain one new man…” (Eph. 2:15)
The respective “camps” from whence these early Hebrew and Gentile converts came (the synagogue on the one hand, and the heathen temple on the other) would undoubtedly have come to an appreciation of the nobility of character which marked those who were endeavoring to identify themselves with the lowly Nazarene. They would, perhaps, therefore miss them in their gatherings, and now cry, as it were, for their return to their erstwhile “camps.” And thus it is their cry, “Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may look upon thee.” But what would they see in the Shulamite now? They call her “Shulamite,” which supposedly is the feminine form of Solomon, meaning, peace! How close this comes to what the early saints were first called at Antioch (though perhaps by some in derision), “Christian” which also implies an identification with Him who is one day to be the “Prince of Peace.”
It is also interesting to note that many of the Translators speak of this “affair” as if it were some kind of dance, engaged in by two. (See R.S.V.; J.P.S.; Leeser: Darby; Rotherham; and the New World Translation.) If two people do dance together, they must of needs, dance as one – both in accord with the same music. How beautifully this reflects what took place in the early church, when both Jews and Gentiles, fellowshipped together, as one in the Lord. (Acts 11:1, 18-21; Gal. 3:28; Eph. 2:11-19; Col. 3:11)
The description of the bride-to-be, which follows in the Song of Solomon, we believe, was given by Solomon himself. When his “dove” had been asked to return, as it were, to the old camps, she very humbly remarked, “but what will ye see in the Shulamite? You already know me for what I was, and what I am!” Nevertheless, Solomon thinks she is most worthy of praise and honor, and he begins this description of her from her feet and continues to her head. He loves every part of her!