I have compared you, my love, to a steed in Pharaoh’s chariots.
Parallel Translations
-
I have compared you, my love, to a steed in Pharaoh’s chariots.
-
I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh’s chariots.
-
I have compared thee, O my love, to a steed in Pharaoh's chariots.
Cross-references (12)
Passages linked to Song of Solomon 1:9 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Song of Solomon 2:10 My beloved spoke, and said to me, “Rise up, my love, my beautiful one, and come away.
- Song of Solomon 2:13 The fig tree ripens her green figs. The vines are in blossom. They give out their fragrance. Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away.”
- John 15:14-15 You are my friends, if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant doesn’t know what his lord does. But I have called you friends, for everything that I heard from my Father, I have made known to you.
- Song of Solomon 1:15 Behold, you are beautiful, my love. Behold, you are beautiful. Your eyes are like doves.
- Song of Solomon 2:2 As a lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.
- Song of Solomon 4:7 You are all beautiful, my love. There is no spot in you.
- Song of Solomon 5:2 I was asleep, but my heart was awake. It is the voice of my beloved who knocks: “Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled; for my head is filled with dew, and my hair with the dampness of the night.”
- Isaiah 31:1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, and rely on horses, and trust in chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong, but they don’t look to the Holy One of Israel, and they don’t seek Yahweh!
- 1 Kings 10:28 The horses which Solomon had were brought out of Egypt. The king’s merchants received them in droves, each drove at a price.
- 2 Chronicles 1:14-17 Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen. He had one thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen that he placed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem. The king made silver and gold to be as common as stones in Jerusalem, and he made cedars to be as common as the sycamore trees that are in the lowland. The horses which Solomon had were brought out of Egypt and from Kue. The king’s merchants purchased them from Kue. They brought up and brought out of Egypt a chariot for six hundred pieces of silver, and a horse for one hundred fifty. They also exported them to the Hittite kings and the Syrian kings.
- Song of Solomon 4:1 Behold, you are beautiful, my love. Behold, you are beautiful. Your eyes are like doves behind your veil. Your hair is as a flock of goats, that descend from Mount Gilead.
- Song of Solomon 6:4 You are beautiful, my love, as Tirzah, lovely as Jerusalem, awesome as an army with banners.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Son 1:9 I have compared thee, O my love,…
Son 1:9 I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh’s chariots.
Ver. 9. I have compared thee, O my love, &c.] My pastoral love, or shepherdess companion, my fellow friend, or familiar associate in the function of spiritual feeding; my neighbour, or next, as the Greek renders it. For the saints are not only like unto Christ, {1Jn 3:2} but also next unto him, {Luk 22:30} yea, one with him, {Joh 17:21} and so above the most glorious angels, {Heb 1:14} as being the spouse, the bride; whereas angels are only servants of the bridegroom: and as being the members of Christ, and so in a nearer union than any creature. This the devil and his angels stomached, and so fell from their first principality.
Read full note →
To a company of horses.] Or, To my troop of horses in the chariots of Pharaoh. The saddle horse his, the chariots Pharaoh’s, saith an interpreter. "What is this, but that the spirit of strength and speed it is Christ’s; and the untoward flesh, which is to be drawn by the same divine Spirit, it is of the world, and the very chariot of Satan. Soul and body, as wheels and axle, do run which way the devil drives, till the stronger man Jesus have freed our chariot nature from that power of hell, and joined himself by his own Spirit unto our nature, that so, with Ezekiel’s chariot, it may go forth and return as his divine Spirit directeth." Thus he. {a}
{a} Clapham.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain I have compared thee, Heb. I have made thee…
I have compared thee, Heb. I have made thee like; which may be understood either,
1. Verbally, by comparing. Or,
Read full note →
2. Really, by making a real resemblance in quality or condition. To a company of horses in Pharaoh’s chariots; either,
1. For comeliness; for a horse is a very stately and beautiful creature, and the Egyptian horses were preferred before others, 1Ki 10:28; Isa 31:1, and Pharaoh’s own chariot horses were doubtless the best of their kind. Or,
2. For excellent order and usefulness, as those horses did equally and orderly draw the chariot, and carried Pharaoh with ease and speed whither he designed to go. Or rather,
3. For strength and courage, to overcome all thine enemies. For horses are famous for that property, Job 39:21, &c. And the strength of the battle was then thought to consist very much in horses, Pro 21:31, and chariots, and especially in a company or multitude of them. And the church in this book is represented not only as fair and beautiful, but also as terrible to her enemies, Son 6:10. Compare Rev 19:11,14.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Compared thee - For strength and courage, to overcome…
Compared thee - For strength and courage, to overcome all thine enemies. For horses are famous for that property, and the strength of the battle was then thought to consist much in horses, and chariots, especially in a company or multitude of them. And the church in this book is represented not only as fair and beautiful, but also as terrible to her enemies.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 9. I have compared thee - to a…
Verse 9. I have compared thee - to a company of horses] This may be translated, more literally, "I have compared thee lesusathi, to my mare, in the chariots or courses of Pharaoh;" and so the versions understood it. Mares, in preference to horses, were used both for riding and for chariots in the East. They are much swifter, endure more hardship, and will go longer without food, than either the stallion or the gelding. There is perhaps no brute creature in the world so beautiful as a fine well-bred horse or mare; and the finest woman in the universe, Helen, has been compared to a horse in a Thessalian chariot, by Theocritus. Idyl. xviii. ver. 28: -
Ὡδε και ἁ χρυσεα Ἑλενα διαφαινετ' εν ἡμιν,
Read full note →
Πιειρη, μεγαλη, ἁτ' ανεδραμεν ογμος αρουρᾳ,
Η καπῳ κυπαρισσος, η ἁρματι Θεσσαλος ἱππος.
"The golden Helen, tall and graceful, appears as distinguished among us as the furrow in the field, the cypress in the garden, or the Thessalian horse in the chariot."
This passage amply justifies the Hebrew bard, in the simile before us. See Jer 6:2.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Son 1:9-11. I have compared thee — For strength…
Son 1:9-11. I have compared thee — For strength and courage, to overcome all thine enemies; to a company of horses — For horses are famous for that property, and the strength of the battle was then thought to consist much in horses and chariots, especially in a company or multitude of them. And the church in this book is represented not only as fair and beautiful, but also as terrible to her enemies. Thy cheeks, &c., with rows of jewels — Which being fastened to the heads of brides, used to hang down upon their checks in those times. He mentions the cheeks, as the chief seat of beauty. Thy neck with chains of gold — Whereby, as well as by the rows of jewels, he may seem to design all those persons and things wherewith the church is made beautiful in the eyes of God and of men, such as excellent ministers and saints, righteous laws, holy ordinances, and the gifts and graces of God’s Spirit. We — I and my father; will make thee borders of gold — Beautiful and honourable ornaments.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain This and the next Cant. 1:15–2:7 sections are regarded…
This and the next Cant. 1:15–2:7 sections are regarded by ancient commentators (Jewish and Christian) as expressing “the love of espousals” Jer 2:2 between the Holy One and His Church, first in the wilderness of the Exodus, and then in the wilderness of the world Eze 20:35-36.
Son 1:9
Read full note →
Or, to a mare of mine in the chariots of Pharaoh I liken thee, O my friend. (The last word is the feminine form of that rendered “friend” at Son 5:16.) The comparison of the bride to a beautiful horse is singularly like one in Theocritus, and some have conjectured that the Greek poet, having read at Alexandria the Septuagint Version of the Song, may have borrowed these thoughts from it. If so, we have here the first instance of an influence of sacred on profane literature. The simile is especially appropriate on the lips, or from the pen, of Solomon, who first brought horses and chariots from Egypt 1Ki 10:28-29. As applied to the bride it expresses the stately and imposing character of her beauty.
Son 1:10, Son 1:11
Rows ... borders - The same Hebrew word in both places; ornaments forming part of the bride’s head-dress, probably strings of beads or other ornaments descending on the cheeks. The introduction of “jewels” and “gold” in Son 1:10 injures the sense and destroys the climax of Son 1:11, which was spoken by a chorus (hence “we,” not “I,” as when the king speaks, Son 1:9). They promise the bride ornaments more worthy and becoming than the rustic attire in which she has already such charms for the king: “Ornaments of gold will we make for thee with studs (or ‘points’) of silver.” The “studs” are little silver ornaments which it is proposed to affix to the golden (compare Pro 25:12), or substitute for the strung beads of the bride’s necklace.
Son 1:12-14
The bride’s reply Son 1:12 may mean, “While the king reclines at the banquet I anoint him with my costliest perfume, but he has for me a yet sweeter fragrance” Son 1:13-14. According to Origen’s interpretation, the bride represents herself as anointing the king, like Mary Joh 12:3, with her most precious unguents.
Spikenard - An unguent of great esteem in the ancient world, retaining its Indian name in Hebrew, Greek and Latin. It is obtained from an Indian plant now called “jatamansi.”
Son 1:13
Render: A bag of myrrh is my beloved to me, which lodgeth in my bosom.
Son 1:14
Camphire - Rather, כפר kôpher,” from which “cyprus” is probably derived (in the margin misspelled “cypress “),the name by which the plant called by the Arabs “henna” was known to the Greeks and Romans. It is still much esteemed throughout the East for the fragrance of its flowers and the dye extracted from its leaves. Engedi was famous for its vines, and the henna may have been cultivated with the vines in the same enclosures.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain As, &c. Hebrew, "with rows of jewels, thy neck…
As, &c. Hebrew, "with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains of gold." (Protestants) --- Septuagint here read like the Vulgate c instead of b before thurim, which signifies chains, (ver. 10.; Haydock) as well as turtles. We cannot say that this bird has cheeks. (Calmet) --- It is an emblem of the Church mourning, and ever true to her beloved, (Origen, &c.) who bestows a variety of graces on different people, 1 Corinthians xii. 4. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain compared thee — The language of the King.
9. I…
compared thee — The language of the King.
Read full note →
Horses… chariots — Hebrew, To my mare in the chariots of Pharaoh; that is, to one of them. The horses of the East, from the earliest times until now, have been celebrated for grace and beauty, and many an Eastern, and even Greek and Roman, poet, has compared his heroine to the lightly-stepping, bright-haired steed. The King’s alliance with Pharaoh may have brought him those chariots and horses so often mentioned in allusions to Egypt.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 9. O my love] Rather, O my friend; cp.…
9. O my love] Rather, O my friend; cp. the use of ami in French between lovers. This word ra‛yâh is found only in the Song of Solomon, except once in the plural in Jdg_11:37, where Jephthah’s daughter says “I and my companions,” and in that case there is an alternative reading. It is used in the Song indiscriminately by Solomon and by the Shulammite’s true lover.
a company of horses] Here the A.V. follows the Vulgate, which has equitatus; and that might be the meaning as the fem. may be a collective (cp. Ges. K. Gramm. § 122 s). Oettli, however, suggests that a favourite mare is meant, and in that case we should render to my mare in Pharaoh’s chariots have I compared thee. The plural, chariots, makes a slight difficulty, but it may be meant to indicate that this favourite steed was driven in various chariots. This reference to Egyptian chariots and horses is specially Solomonic (cp. 1Ki_10:26-29), as he first introduced the horse and chariot as a regular part of the army of Israel. To us this may seem a very unbecoming simile, but in the East women are held in lighter esteem than with us, and the horse in higher esteem. Arabic poets often use such comparisons for the women they love. But perhaps there is intended here a hint of the quality of the king’s affection. Cp. Tennyson, Locksley Hall,
Read full note →
“He will hold thee, when his passion shall have spent its novel force,
Something better than his dog, a little dearer than his horse.”
Chap. Son_1:9—Chap. Son_2:7. A King’s Love despised
In this scene Solomon presses his love upon the Shulammite for the first time; but in reply to his endeavours to win her she always utters praises of her absent lover. She contrasts their humble woodland resting-place with the royal palace, and declares herself to be a modest country flower which cannot bloom elsewhere than in the country. Finally, grown love-sick at the thought of her lover, she turns to the ladies of the court, beseeching them to restore her strength, and adjures them not to seek to kindle love, which should always be spontaneous, by any unworthy or extraneous means.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (9) Company of horses.—So Vulg., equitatus, but Heb. susah…
(9) Company of horses.—So Vulg., equitatus, but Heb. susah more properly = mare, as in LXX., Τῇ ἵππῳ μου. The ground of the comparison is variously understood. Some, offended at the comparison of female beauty to that of a horse, think the rich trappings of a royal equipage suggested it, while on the other hand, the mention of the caparisoned steed may have suggested the reference to the lady’s ornaments. But Anacreon (60) and Theocritus (Idyll xviii. 30, 31), and also Horace (Ode iii. 11), have compared female with equine beauty; and an Arab chief would not hesitate to prefer the points of his horse to the charms of his mistress.
Chariots.—The plural shows that the image is general, and with no reference to any one particular equipage. Pharaoh’s teams are selected as pre-eminently fine by reputation. The supposition that there is a reference to some present from the Egyptian to the Israelite monarch is gratuitous. The kings of Israel bought their horses and chariots at a high price (1Ki_10:29).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain (Entrance of the bridegroom. ) I have compared thee,…
(Entrance of the bridegroom. ) I have compared thee, O my love, to a steed in Pharaoh"s chariots. There can be no reasonable doubt that these words are put into the mouth of the king. The "steed" is in the feminine (hsWs); some would point the word with the plural vowels, that is, "to my horses," or a "body of horses." There is no necessity for that. The reference to a particular very lovely mare is more apt and pointed. In 1Ki_10:26 we read in the LXX Version of tessarev ciliadev yhleiai ippoi , which Solomon had for his chariots fourteen hundred war chariots and twelve thousand horsemen. The Pharaoh chariots were those which the king had imported from Egypt. (1Ki_10:28, 29 2Ch_9:28) It may be that the reference is to the splendid decoration of the trappings. Delitzsch very rightly sees in such a figure a confirmation of the view that Solomon himself was the author. The horses from Egypt were famed at that time as those of Arabia became afterwards. The names both of horses and chariots in the Egyptian language were borrowed from the Semitic, as they were probably first imported into Egypt by the Hyksos, or shepherd kings. Other examples of the same comparison are found in poetry, as in Horace, Anacreon, and Theocritus. In the last ("Idyl.," 18:30, 31) occur the following lines, rendered into English verse:"As towers the cypress "mid the garden"s bloom, As in the chariot proud Thessalian steed, Thus graceful, rose-complexioned Helen moves.
The idea is that of stately beauty and graceful movements. The old commentators see the Divine love of espousals, (Jer_2:2) as in the wilderness of the Exodus, and afterwards in the wilderness of the world. The Bible is full of the expression of Divine tenderness and regard for man.
Read full note →
Vers. 9-17. The communion of the bridegroom and the bride.
I THE APPROACH OF THE BRIDEGROOM.
1. His address. He compares the bride to a beautiful mare of his own in the chariots of Pharaoh. The words come fitly from the lips of the speaker. He was the first king of Israel who took delight in horses and chariots, and he imported them from Egypt. The words are thought to have suggested a similar comparison in Theocritus ("Idyll," 18:30); they indicate the stateliness of the bride"s beauty; they remind us of Psa_147:10, Psa_147:11, "He delighteth not in the strength of a horse .... The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy." Men like Solomon take delight in horses; the Lord in the graces of his people. The king calls the bride "my love," or "my friend;" the word is derived from a verb which in its secondary sense means to take delight in the companionship of those whom we love. We are reminded of the Lord"s gracious words, "Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you". (Joh_15:15) The king proceeds to commend the graces of the bride; he promises costly gifts. She was wearing the simple ornaments of a country maiden (the words "jewels" and "gold" are not in the original of ver. 10). "We will make thee," he says (that is, his servants will make at his order), "borders of gold with studs of silver." Whatever graces the Church possesses come from the gift of the heavenly Bridegroom; it is he who will "present her to himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing;" but holy and without blemish. (Eph_5:27) It is only God who can "keep us from falling, and present us at the last faultless before the presence of his glory with. exceeding joy". (Jud_1:24) The fine linen, clean and white, the wedding garment of the bride, is the Bridegroom"s gift. (Rev_19:8)
2. The bride"s delight in the bridegroom. The king is come; he sitteth at his table in the midst of the circle of his friends. We are reminded that the presence of his father David was once required to complete such a circle. "We will not sit around" (the literal translation of Samuel"s words) "till he come hither". (1Sa_16:11) The bride (like Mary afterwards) anoints him with "ointment of spikenard very costly;" the house is filled with the odour of the ointment. While the heavenly Bridegroom is present in the blessed sacrament, or in the circle of true worshippers, whenever two or three are gathered together in his Name, the sweet odour of prayer and adoration giveth forth its fragrance. Such worship, worship in spirit and in truth, is always acceptable. "My Father," he saith in his condescending love, "seeketh such to worship him." It is his presence which draws forth that holy worship. While he is with us, in the circle of worshippers, the heart goeth forth unto him. "Lord, it is good to be here;" "Thy Name is as ointment poured forth." It is sweet to the believer; it refreshes his soul in sorrow, and in the hour of death; therefore do thy people love thee. The King"s presence is very sacred; those whom he deigns to visit must respond with their heart"s love, with the sweet odours of true spiritual worship.
3. What the bridegroom is to her. The odour of her spikenard is pleasant to him; he is to her as a bag of myrrh, or a cluster of henna flowers. So, in Psa_45:8, the royal Bridegroom"s garments smell of myrrh, aloes, and cassia. The bag of myrrh was kept in the bosom for its sweetness and its medicinal properties; the henna flowers which grew abundantly among the vines of Engedi were highly esteemed for their fragrance. The Savior"s presence in the heart sheds a fragrance through the soul. "He that hath the Son hath life;" a principle of life which preserves the soul from the corruption of sin, which heals its diseases, which prepares it for the hour of death. The Saviour"s body lay for a while in the mixture of myrrh and aloes which Nicodemus brought; that holy body needed not the earthly unguent. The Christian needs the preservative virtue which the Saviour giveth. No flowers of earth, no earthly fragrance or beauty, can compare for one moment with the blessedness which his presence bringeth.
II THE CONVERSE OF THE BRIDEGROOM AND THE BRIDE.
1. The voice of the beloved. He commends the beauty of the bride; her eyes, as they look on him, are like doves, gentle, innocent, loving. So, in Psalm 45., the king greatly desires the beauty of the bride. She "is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold." The Lord would have the Church, his bride, to be "a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing;" but holy and without blemish. Alas! in the visible Church the evil are ever mingled with the good, and there is none that sinneth not. But just in proportion as the Christian walks in the light (in the light of his presence who is the Light of the world), the blood of Jesus Christ is cleansing him from all sin, and he becomes in his poor measure a light, shining with the reflected light of the Saviour"s holiness. Christ is made unto his people wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption; whatever beauty of character they possess comes only from communion with him. "Beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, they are changed into the same image from glory to glory." They must be harmless as doves, gentle, humble, innocent. The Lord in his condescending love accepts their imperfect service. "I know thy works, and thy love, and faith, and ministry, and patience; and that thy last works are more than the first.
2. The answer of the bride. Perhaps they have now gone forth into the air; they are sitting together, as the words seem to imply, on a green couch, on some grassy slope in the Lebanon country, under the interlacing boughs of cedars and fir trees. The bride enjoys the fair prospect around her; she delights still more in the presence and love of the bridegroom. She calls him "my beloved;" the Hebrew word is another form of the name of the king"s father, David, which means "beloved." He is very fair in her eyes; yea, pleasant. The Lord is fairer than the children of men; to the Christian there is no vision of earthly beauty which will bear one moment"s comparison with the tender loveliness of the Saviour"s character, the exalted beauty of his self-sacrificing love. The Christian soul delights in the fair beauty of the Lord; it is to him the one thing to be desired above all others. "One thing have I desired of the Lord, that I will seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord". (Psa_27:4) So Isaiah, who alone of the prophets uses the bride"s word of endearment, "my Beloved", (Isa_5:1) has the blessed promise, "Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty". (Isa_33:17) The king is pleasant also; not only fair to look upon, but possessed of every charm, of all spiritual grace. We have the same word applied to God in Psa_27:4 and Psa_90:17. May God "shine into our hearts, to reveal to us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ"!
Ver. 9-ch. Son_2:2) he disparages all other women in comparison with her. They are as thorns, whilst she is amongst them as the lily. All this is just such flattery as Solomon may be well conceived as employing. And it suggests how the soul affianced in God is often assailed. The world seeks to flatter it, that so it may be the more readily bent to evil. What is the self-satisfaction, the pride, the serene content with itself, in which many souls are weak, but just the effects of the world"s flatteries? Satan suggests them to the soul, and his servants repeat them continually, and his victims believe them. Flattery, what harm has it not wrought? So seductive, so powerful, so ruinous always when listened to. If we believe what the world, the flesh, and the devil whisper to us about ourselves and our own excellences, such as they are, we shall never think we need the grace of God, or, if for a while we have thought so, we shall soon give up such thoughts altogether.
2. By promises that the world makes of its pomps, adornments, and wealth. So Solomon here tries to win her to whom he speaks. "Rows of jewels," for headdress, strings of pearls for her neck, gold chains studded with silver (vers. 10, 11). Such gewgaws and finery would he give her. Homer tells ("Odyssey," lib. 15.) how attractive and tempting such things are"A man of theirs, subtle and shrewd, produced A splendid collar, gold with amber strung. With deep delight my mother and her maids Gazed on it.
And thus Solomon appealed to the natural love of adornment in a young maiden all unused to such rich presents. How many a woman"s heart has been won by them! how the love of them has made many a home miserable by the extravagance to which they have been the temptation! how many a fair character has been blasted and lives ruined by their deceitful glitter! And are not such facts parables of one of the chief temptations of the soul, whereby it is sought to seduce it from God? Jewels and pearls and gold, how they flash and sparkle how they dazzle and delight poor human nature! Types are they of more terrible things still the pomps and vanities of this wicked world, for the sake of which all too many men are only too ready to sell their souls. How Moses was tempted by them! How brilliant was the career offered him! he, the cast out child of a slave, to be adopted into the house and family, the possessions and honours, of the imperial dynasty, the Pharaohs of Egypt! How our Lord was tempted in like manner! "All these things all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them I give thee if," etc.
II LOVE STEADFAST. Solomon did not prevail with her whom he tried to win. All his flatteries and fineries failed. Not one word such as the royal tempter would fain have heard did she address to him, though many to her absent beloved. As showing her steadfastness, note here:
1. How at once her heart turns to him she loved. (Ver. 12) The king has left her alone, has gone to his banquet. At once the sweet memories of her beloved fill her soul as with the fragrance of myrrh (ver. 13). "While the king is in his circle, my spikenard sendeth forth," etc. Her heart is always perfumed with these memories, and is bright therewith as well as fragrant, as with fair flowers and myrrh.
2. See, too, how she transfers all praise from herself to him. The king had told her she was fair (ver. 15). Her thoughts fly away to him whom she loves, and she gives the praise to him (ver. 16).
3. And her love consecrates all the scenes where she has been with him. The soft green turf (ver. 16), on which they had cast themselves down beneath the cedars and fir trees, whose branches over them were as the beams and rafters of a house.
4. And makes her think all lowlily of herself but very loftily of him. She is so she says but as a common field flower, (cf. Son_2:1) just nothing at all. But he, her beloved, was as the citron tree, fragrant, stately, fruitful, affording refreshing shade (ver. 3). Travellers tell of the beauty of this tree. And amid the leafy arcades of the vine, and beneath its o"erarching branches, she had loved to linger with him (ver. 4); for with him, because of his dear love for her, she was safe as if under the protection of an army, following the banners of a mighty chief.
5. And these are ever the effects of a steadfast love. "Not I, but the grace of God which was in me:" so does Paul transfer praise from himself to God. Places where fellowship with Christ have been enjoyed are consecrated by that fact. And love is lowly. "Less than the least of all saints:" so speaks Paul of himself. But of Christ, what does he not say of him? What is not Christ to him, and all such? Fruit, and shade, and safeguard sure.
III THE SECRET OF ALL THIS. The heart possessed by the love of Christ. There is no other antidote that will serve as does this against the flatteries and the bribes of the world. Nothing else will make us so deaf to its appeals, so blind to all its blandishments. "Lord, let thy fear within us dwell, Thy love our footsteps guide; That love shall all vain love expel, That fear all fear beside. S.C.
Vers. 9-11, 15. Characteristics of those whom Christ loves.
We need not mind who said what is written in these verses; or why it was said, according to their literal interpretation. But we may consider what is said, for it is true of all people who are "of the Lord beloved.
I THEY ARE HIS BELOVED. This more than justice; for that would have regarded them as they were in themselves the reverse of well pleasing to him. It is more than mercy; for that, though it may have spared the wrong doer, would not have received him into affection. It is grace abounding. And Christ does thus regard his people. "Henceforth I call you not servants, but friends." What rich store of consolation to all cast-down souls there is in this!
II THEY ARE AS "A COMPANY OF HORSES IN PHARAOH"S CHARIOT." (Cf. Zec_10:3, "The Lord hath visited his flock, and hath made them as his goodly horse in the day of battle. And such comparison is frequent both in the Scriptures and in the ordinary literature of that age. In this song the ideas intended are their alacrity and vigour, swiftness, strength, grace, courage, etc. The image suggests:
1. The alacrity and vigour of the believers service. (Cf. Psalm 119, "I will run in the way of thy commandments when thou shalt enlarge my heart.") And what so enlarges the heart, so causes it to swell with delightful emotion, as the consciousness that the Lord"s love rests upon us.
2. Their courage. (Cf. Job"s description of the battle horse how he "paweth in the valley," and "rejoiceth in his strength," "mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted;" "suffereth the quiver to rattle against him, the glittering spear and the shield.") And how often the dauntless courage, of which the horse is a symbol, has been found in God"s servants (cf. Daniel; the three Hebrew youths; Paul; and many more)! Think of the martyrs who "Mocked the cross and flame. They met the tyrant"s brandished steel, The lion"s gory mane.
And in less marked and tragic, but in equally real way, has this courage been shown is shown in our own day. Illustrate: Arthur kneeling in prayer before the whole room at Rugby (see "Tom Brown"s School days"). And such courage is yet needed, and, thank God, is yet found.
3. The exquisite symmetry of form for which the choicest Arabian steeds were famous tells of that moral symmetry and harmoniousness of character which will one day, and should now, distinguish his Church and people. It is the same idea as in St. Paul"s image of the symmetry of the perfected Church. Hence he tells of its "breadth, and length, and depth, and height," which "all saints" are to "comprehend," because they shall share in and exhibit it.
4. His peoples unity is also suggested by the comparison with "a company" of horses. The Church is militant here upon earth, and therefore the idea of a war chariot is appropriate. But the company of steeds who draw it, are they not so esteemed because of their ordered obedience? Not struggling hither and thither as each wills, nor each struggling to get its own way and so pulling in different directions. Alas! it is a sarcasm to liken the Church of our day to "a company of horses in Pharaoh"s chariot." Would to God it were not, and that what is may not much longer be!
III THEY ARE BEAUTIFUL WITH ADORNMENTS. (Ver. 10; cf. Pro_1:8, Pro_1:9, "My son hear,... For they shall "be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.") What, therefore, these adornments are is evident. They are the graces wrought by the Spirit; what St. Paul calls, "the fruits of the Spirit love, joy, peace, etc. These are the golden links of the chain, added one by one, each connected with and dependent on its fellow. Frequently is the adornment of the soul set forth in Scripture under the imagery of the adornment of the body. We read of "the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit," etc. And thus Christ will array his Church and each individual believing soul.
IV THEY SHALL RECEIVE "GRACE FOR GRACE;" that is, grace upon grace grace in addition to grace already given (cf. ver. 11, "We will make thee," etc.). And this is so. We are bidden "grow in grace;" and the soul does thus advance, does receive more and more of those beautiful adornments which are the Spirit"s workmanship, those good works for which we were created in Christ Jesus.
V THE LOVELINESS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IS SEEN IN THEM. This the suggestion of ver. 15, "Thine eyes are doves"." We read of the "evil" eye; (Mat_20:15) of "eyes full of adultery"; (2Pe_2:14) and of the "high look and proud heart". (Psa_101:5) But what a contrast to all these have we here! Eyes of gentleness, of purity, of heavenly mindedness; eyes through which the Holy Spirit whose chosen emblem is the dove looks and is seen. What a description! Would that all we who profess and call ourselves Christians corresponded to it far more than we do! S.C.
Vers. 9-15. Love and admirations.
It requires imagination and a knowledge of Oriental habits of thinking fully to appreciate the language of this passage, which otherwise to our colder and less fanciful natures may appear extravagant. But expressions which may be open to the charge of extravagance as applied to ordinary human affection, may well come short of the truth if interpreted as indicating the emotions which distinguish those spiritual relations of absorbed delight subsisting between Christ and his spouse, the Church. Beneath the rich metaphors of the poet we discern certain principles which are of deepest moment and beauty.
I CHRIST"S INTEREST IN HIS PEOPLE IS INTEREST IN HIS OWN WORKMANSHIP, IN HIS OWN PURCHASE AND POSSESSION. The descriptions of the charms of the beloved, couched in the figurative language of Eastern poetry, can only be applied in any sense to the Church of the Lord Christ upon the distinct understanding that whatever excellences she may possess she owes to the Divine care and munificence of the heavenly Spouse. She owes her existence to his power, her safety to his faithful watching, her gifts and excellences to the provision of his love and care, her position to his compassion. Nothing has she which she did not receive from him; nothing of which she can be vain, of which she can boast. For all, her lowly acknowledgments of gratitude are forever due to her Almighty Lord.
II CHRIST"S PERFECTIONS DESERVE AND DEMAND THE ADORING AND AFFECTIONATE ADMIRATION OF HIS CHURCH.
1. She admires him for what he is in himself. In him is all that is excellent and valuable, sweet and lovable. His beauty is spiritual, incomparable, delightful, unfading, and unwearying.
2. She adores him for his treatment of herself and his regard for her. The Church knows, from her Lord"s own revelation, that he holds her dear, precious, fragrant; that, having laid down his life for her redemption, he never can or will forget her, or cease to cherish towards her the affection of his Divine and loving heart.
3. Hence she commemorates his love in the Eucharist, honours him by her obedience, and by her witness and her praise commends him to the world. T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain I have compared thee, O My love, to a…
Son_1:9-11
I have compared thee, O My love, to a company of horses in Pharaohs chariots.
Read full note →
Christs commendation of His Church
I. The sweet epithet Ghrist giveth unto his Church. O My love.
1. The greatest outgoings of love and friendship from Christ, are toward His Church. His love to His people is--
(1) Infinite and immeasurable, beyond all imagination or comparison (Joh_15:9).
(2) Gracious (Hos_14:3).
(3) Liberal and bountiful (Joh_15:13; Eph_5:25).
(4) Eternal (Jer_31:3).
II. The comparison by which He sets her forth.
1. I have compared thee. Christ esteems His servants and people, not as they are in themselves, but as they are in Himself.
2. A company of horses etc. Now by this comparison Christ setteth forth the glory and renown of His Church in respect of her victories and achievements; for He having directed His Church to follow the footsteps of the Flock, and to feed above the tents of false Shepherds, no question now but these false Shepherds, who before were called Christs companions, will persecute and afflict her: now for the comforting and supporting of her, Christ tells her, she shall be strong, and victorious, she shall be like the horses of Egypt, ready for the battle.
3. Christ having set forth the Churchs strength and valour, now continueth His speech, showing also, how His Church is decked with His ordinances and graces (Son_1:10).
4. Then He declareth what should be her future happiness; viz. a further increase of her graces, and some addition of rich ornaments (Son_1:11). (John Robotham.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain Son_1:9 : I have compared thee, O my love,…
Notes
Son_1:9 : I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh’s chariots. ‘To a company of horses’ (לְסֻסָתִי lesusathi) סוּסָה (susah), fem., from סוּס (sus), a horse, may be either ‘a mare,’ or, as a collective noun, ‘a stud or company of horses.’ In the latter case, the final yod paragogic, as in Samuel Son_1:1; Isa_1:21. GESENIUS inclines to the former view, thinking the comparison of a single loved one to a body of horse not so congruous. The latter favoured by ROSENMÜLLER, DE WETTE, NOYES, and others. The versions divided. SEPTUAGINT: My mare. VULGATE: My cavalry. LUTHER: My spirited team. WICKLIFF: My riding. DIODATI (Italian) and DUTCH. The mares. GENEVA: The troops of horses. MARTIN (French): The most beautiful pair of horses that I have. MONTANUS: My mare. COCCEIUS: My cavalry. Yod redundant. MERCER, VETABLUS. Not superfluous; ‘My,’ because, chosen for his own. DEL RIO: ‘My mare,’ i.e., my most beautiful mare. BOSSUET: My well trained steed. PERCY: One of the steeds; Yod paragogic. GOOD, BOOTHROYD. ‘My horse;’ a favourite mare of the King; a particularly fine and splendidly caparisoned specimen of those good mares which Solomon had for his chariots (1Ki_10:26). ZÖCKLER. On the other hand, ROSENMULLER thinks there is no case of a beautiful woman praised by comparison to a mare. ‘My horse,’ a collective noun for all his cavalry (1Ki_10:26) WEISS. My stud. GINSBURG. My horses. HODGSON. The team of horses. HAHN. PHILO has: ‘As a swift horse that wins the prize. An Arab’s mare his most valuable possession, and dearer to him than his fortune. GREENFIELD. Theocritus compares the comeliness of Helen to a Thessalian mare in a chariot; mares used in preference to horses both for riding and in chariots in the East, as being swifter and more able to endure hardship, and go longer without food. A. CLARKE.
Read full note →
‘In Pharaoh’s chariots.’ Pharaoh a name common to the Egyptian Kings; denoting in Coptic, and according to Josephus, ‘the King.’ GESENIUS inclined rather to derive the title, in its Hebrew form at least, from פָרַע (phara’), ‘to lead in battle;’ hence, פֶרַע (phera), ‘prince,’ with the formative חֹ (oh). “ ‘In the Pharaonic, or Egyptian chariots of Pharaoh;’ more exactly, such a stud as was used on state occasions in Solomon’s Pharaonic chariots; those costly teams which Solomon had imported from Egypt (1Ki_10:28-29.)” ‘In Pharaoh’s magnificent team.’ DELITZSCH, EWALD. Horses of Egypt remarkable for their beauty and stateliness, and eagerly sought for the Kings of Syria. HARMER. Egyptian horses as the very best; and Egyptian horses in Pharaoh’s chariots as the very best of all. CLAY. Pharaoh, Solomon’s father-in-law, supplied him with most of his chariots. FROMONDI. A reference needlessly supposed by many to the chariots of Pharaoh at the Red Sea. So the TARGUM and the RABBINS, as well as the Roman Catholic and other Christian interpreters. BERNARD and FOLIOT: ‘The Lord’s cavalry or angelic host who overthrew Pharaoh’s chariots in the Red Sea.’ SANCTIUS: ‘Such as are described in the Psalm concerning the triumph over Pharaoh.’ DEL RIO: ‘With the chariots of Pharaoh, i.e., when they were drowned.’ HAILGRIN: ‘In [crushing] the chariots of Ph’. HENRY: ‘My company of horses that triumphed over Pharaoh’s chariots’ (Hab_3:15). M. STUART and FAUSSET: ‘In the chariots of Pharaoh’ at the Red Sea; such being to Israel incomparable for swiftness and splendour.
The points of comparison: Swiftness and spirit: flies to her bridegroom like a horse which is spurred in the course. THEODORET. Drawing equally and elegantly together. SANCTIUS. Power to overcome enemies. DEL RIO, FROMONDI. Grace and beauty. Du VEIL. Beauty and speed. MERCER, PISCATOR. Stateliness, strength, and courage. DURHAM. Comeliness. ASSEMBLY’S ANNOTATIONS. Stateliness and beauty. POOLE. Affection. PERCY. Beauty, courage, stateliness, and other excellencies. DAVIDSON. Extends to the sumptuous trappings and ornaments. GOOD. Splendid decoration: these horses led forth on days of State, perhaps in some late procession of a royal marriage. Fay. Glittering ornaments of the head and neck. WEISS. The proud bearing of the horse (Job_39:19). EWALD. Their harmony and usefulness. TRACT SOCIETY’S COMM. Her youthful freshness and unaffected behaviour. DELITZSCH. Ardour and beauty. FAUSSET. The formidable character of Pharaoh’s horses at the Red Sea. THRUPP, WORDSWORTH. Their swiftness and splendour. M. STUART. The resemblance founded as much on the Bride’s dress and ornaments as on her beauty. NOYES. Orientals spare no expense in ornamenting their horses with the most costly trappings, while the ladies decorate themselves in a similar manner. WILLIAMS.
The Royal Bridegroom’s Greeting
SECOND SCENE. Place: The open grounds adjacent to the Palace. Speakers: The King and Shulamite; the daughters of Jerusalem or ladies of the Court, at a distance.
Son_1:9-11
I have compared thee, O my love,
To a company of horses in Pharaoh’s chariots.
Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels;
Thy neck with chains of gold.
We will make thee borders of gold
With studs of silver.
Shulamite, having gone forth according to the direction of the ladies of the court, the King meets her with his loving greeting. Observe:—
(1) The earnest seeker of Christ and Hit fellowship, certain sooner or later to find Him. Historically exemplified in the case of the Wise Men of the East, who came to Jerusalem seeking the infant King; and of those devout and praying men and women who were found at the birth of Jesus waiting for the consolation of Israel. Possibly, according to the view of the Jews, a retrospective reference to the Lord’s gracious appearance and promise to Moses and Israel when mourning after the sin of the Golden Calf (Exo_33:10-14; Exo_34:4-10).
(2) Christ’s own time for the manifestation of Himself to the seeking soul the best. That time, as apparently here, often sooner than expected.
(3) The joy in finding, such as abundantly to compensate for all the grief in seeking. Such indicated by the character of the bridegroom’s greeting. Observe in regard to it:—
I. The APPELLATION. ‘O my love.’ Hebrew, ‘My companion.’ Given here for the comfort and joy of the seeker. Observe:
(1) Earnest pursuit after Christ rewarded by sweet assurance of His love to us and our interest in him.
(2) Christ’s spouse manifested by her earnestness in following after and resolution not to rest without Him.
(3) Sweet assurance of Christ’s love often follows deep sense of our own unworthiness. ‘I am black’—soon followed by—‘O my Love.’
(4) When blackest in our own eyes, often fairest in Christ’s. The Appellation exhibits believers as—
The Bride of Christ.
1. The high distinction of believers that they are Christ’s Bride. Eve, in relation to Adam, a type of the great body of believers, and of each believer in particular, in relation to Christ the second Adam. This relation between the Saviour and the Saved, the Church and her Head, recognised and taught throughout the Word. Christ, or God in Christ, everywhere in the Bible the Bridegroom and Husband of believing souls. (See Introduction.) This relation the foundation of the Song. Typified in that of ancient Israel as God’s covenant people.
2. This relation acknowledged and rejoiced in by Christ Himself. Believers acknowledged and delighted in by Christ as His Father’s gift, as Eve by Adam when God brought her to him and gave her to him to be his wife (Gen_2:22; Gen_3:12; Joh_17:6). Repenting and believing sinners acknowledged by Jesus when on earth as his Bride (Luk_5:29-35). That relation the ground of His redemption work (Eph_5:25-27).
3. The great happiness of believers that they are Christ’s Bride. A blessedness beyond conception involved in so intimate, tender, and enduring a relation to the King of Kings and Lord of Glory, in whom is summed up all created and uncreated loveliness and excellence, and who is Love itself. The joy attending the realization of such a relationship justly described as ‘unspeakable and full of glory’ (1Pe_1:8). No light thing in David’s eye to be son-in-law to a poor earthly king like Saul. Archangels fail to tell the blessedness of being Bride to the King of Glory, the Prince of the kings of the earth.
4. An enhancement of this blessedness to receive the testimony of the relationship from Christ Himself. This testimony often spiritually and sweetly conveyed to earnestly seeking believers even on earth. A personal testimony from His own lips, given face to face, awaiting every child of God hereafter. The blessed hope of believers.
5. Believers reminded of the duty and responsibility connected with such a relationship. Cæsar’s wife to be above suspicion. What, then, the Bride of Christ? The proper character of such a Bride to be without spot. Christ’s honour in her keeping. His joy in her purity and undivided love. Natural for believers to tremble at the first rising of sin, as a dove at the sight of a hawk’s feather. Sin in a believer a double crucifixion of Christ. The most painful wounds those which a man receives in the house of his friends. Believers, as Christ’s Bride, justly expected—
(1) Carefully to avoid every sin;
(2) Jealously to watch against every rival in their affection;
(3) Constantly to beware of any coolness or distance between them and Christ;
(4) Faithfully to seek to obey His commands, promote His interests, and advance His glory.
II. The COMPARISON. ‘I have compared thee,’ &c. Notice—
1. The party making it. The Bridegroom himself. Observe:—
(1) The main thing to have the good opinion of Christ. Of comparatively small importance what men think of us. Christ best acquainted with us. Best knows what is real worth and true beauty. Can be surety for His own assertion.
(2) Christ observant of his people’s graces and the exercise of them. The comparison in the text the result of His close observation of the Bride’s spirit and conduct.
(3) Nothing more pleasing in Christ’s eyes than a soul earnestly and lovingly seeking Him and His fellowship as its chief joy. This the case even when He gives no intimation of it, OF appears to take no notice. His own time for giving such intimation the best.
(4) What excellence Christ ascribes to His people is what He Himself has given. Not only makes the comparison, but provides it. His comparison not merely one of word, but of previous act. He makes His bride what He loves, then compares and commends her.
2. The comparison itself. ‘To a company of horses (or, to my mare) in Pharaoh’s chariots.’ The best and most, beautiful horses those from Egypt; and naturally the best of all those employed in drawing the royal chariot. Such horses obtained by Solomon from Egypt (1Ki_4:26; 1Ki_10:26; 1Ki_10:28-29). The comparison in the text either to a single mare, to a team drawing together, or to the whole stud in the royal stables. The comparison of a beautiful woman to a Thessalian mare found in an ancient Greek poet. Horses celebrated in Oriental poetry for their beauty. Arabs passionately attached to their mares. The points of comparison:
(1) Beauty. So—‘his goodly horse’ (Zec_10:3).
(2) Liveliness and ardour. See the description of the horse in Job_39:19-25.
(3) Courage and endurance. Hence especially employed in ancient warfare. ‘His goodly horse in the battle’ (Zec_10:3). See again the description in Job.
(4) Obedience and subjection. Horses naturally wild and wilful. Brought into subjection and broken in by man’s effort and skill. ‘Tamer of steeds,’ a Homeric epithet for a hero. The horse, when broken in and trained, obedient to the slightest intimation of the rider or driver’s will.
(5) In the case of a team,—harmony and united action. Draw with one mind, will, step.
(6) Discipline and order. Horses employed in drawing chariots, not only broken in, but well trained, so as to run in the traces with the greatest regularity and order.
(7) As horses in Pharaoh’s chariots,—excellence in their kind, the best training, the most costly and beautiful ornaments, and employment in the King’s service. The
Proper Character of Believers,
especially when it is well with them.
(1) Beautiful in holiness, and comely with the Divine comeliness put upon them (Psa_110:3; Eze_12:14).
(2) Lively and ardent, instead of being slothful and lukewarm.
(3) Strong and courageous in fighting the good faith, and enduring to the end.
(4) Obedient to their Divine Master, and subject in all things to His will.
(5) A unity in plurality; one and yet many; many in number, yet with one spirit; many individual believers, yet but one Bride and one Body.
(6) United in action; striving together for the faith of the Gospel; engaging with one heart in the service of Christ and the advancement of His kingdom (1Co_1:10; Eph_4:4; Php_1:27; Php_2:2).
(7) Subdued and well disciplined under the Holy Ghost; no longer, as at first, like a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke; made willing in the day of Christ’s power; walking orderly, and subject to one another according to the rule of the Gospel (Psa_110:3; Col_2:5; 1Co_14:40).
(8) The most excellent of their species, not naturally or by their own merit, but by God’s grace; the excellent of the earth; God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works (Psa_16:3; Eph_2:10).
(9) Arrayed in the garments of salvation, clothed with humility, and adorned with a meek and quiet spirit.
(10) Employed by the King of Zion in His service as His fellow workers; drawing in the chariot of the Gospel, and commissioned to carry it to the ends of the earth,—Christ Himself going forth in it, conquering and to conquer. Hence in regard to believers—(i.) Their honour and blessedness; (ii.) Their duty and responsibility; (iii) Their indebtedness to Divine grace. Formerly Satan’s willing slaves, and his depraved instruments in furthering his cruel and abominable purposes. Now the willing and happy subjects of Jesus employed in his honourable holy, and blessed service in promoting the salvation and happiness of a world.
III. The COMMENDATION. ‘Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels,’ &c. Cheeks mentioned as now uncovered. Perhaps in allusion to the comparison already made in Son_1:10. Ornaments of gold, silver, and jewellery about the face and neck, greatly esteemed in Oriental countries, So Arabs adorned both their horses and camels, as well as their own persons (Jdg_8:26). Such ornaments thought to set off and add to female beauty. Observe—
1. Believers highly beautiful and commendable in the eyes of Christ. Often like Himself, without form or comeliness in the eyes of the world, but beautiful and comely in His.
2. Wonderful change in a believer’s character. Cheeks comely with grace and love, instead of a whore’s forehead and a brow of brass. Their neck no longer stiff with an iron sinew, and burdened with the yoke of Satan; but adorned with the golden chains of heavenly wisdom (Pro_1:9; Pro_25:12; Mat_11:29-30; Gal_5:1).
3. The spiritual beauty of believers not natural to them, or properly their own, but imparted to them and put upon them by Divine grace. The ‘rows of jewels’ and ‘chains of gold’ something put upon the Bride. Believers made comely with the ‘comeliness put upon them’ (Eze_16:14). Their ornament Christ Himself, whom they put on as well for wisdom and sanctification as for justification or righteousness (Rom_13:14; 1Co_1:30). ‘I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.’ ‘Not I, but the grace of God which was with me’ (Gal_2:20; 1Co_15:10). All the graces of a believer the fruits of the Spirit who has been given to him (Gal_5:22). ‘Who maketh them to differ? and what hast thou that thou hast not received?’ (1Co_4:7).
4. The duty of believers to aim at being as they are here represented. The graces of the Spirit given them in Christ, to be put on and worn by them as their own. Their duty to be putting on Christ from day to day, ‘as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.’ As the elect of God, holy and beloved, believers to put on bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering, &c. (Col_3:12).
5. Believers’ spiritual beauty the Bridegroom’s joy. The language of the text that of admiration, satisfaction, and delight. ‘The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear Him.’ His joy fulfilled in His faithful, obedient, and loving people. The name He gives to His Church—Hephzibah, or, ‘My delight is in Her.’ His believing people a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty in His hand. ‘Hearken, O daughter and consider, &c.; so shall the king greatly desire thy beauty’ (Psa_45:10-11)
6. The graces of Christ’s people to be open and conspicuous to the world. The Bride’s cheeks and neck here commended. Men to be able to see the believer’s good works, that they may glorify God who makes him what he is. To take knowledge of him that he has been with Jesus. The Church to be able to magnify the grace of God in us. The world to know and believe from what they see in believers that God has sent His Son. Believers to be living epistles of Christ, known and read of all men (2Co_3:2).
IV. The PROMISE. ‘We will make thee borders (circlets or diadems), of gold,’ &c. The speaker changed from the singular to the plural. Still, however, the king. Speaks in the plural either in the style of majesty, or as having others associated with him in the fulfilment of the promise. Christ, in His purpose of adorning His Church with the beauties of holiness and the insignia of royalty, has associated with Him the Holy Spirit given Him by the Father for that object. The Spirit the great agent both in the believer’s sanctification and glorification. A similar style to that in the text used in connection with the creation of man (Gen_1:26). The same Divine Trinity engaged both in the first and second creation—in creating man at first, and in renewing him when fallen (Isa_6:8; Mat_28:19; 2Co_13:14). Observe, in relation to the promise—
1. The purpose of Christ to perfect believers both in holiness and glory. The will of God their sanctification and perfection. The object for which Christ gave Himself for the Church, that it should be holy and without blemish (Eph_5:24-26). Believers chosen in Christ by the Father before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blame before Him in love. Blessed by Him for this object with all spiritual blessings, as the result of that election (Eph_1:3-4). Predestinated to be conformed to the image of Christ (Rom_8:29). Believers to be adorned in a way worthy of the Bride of the Son of God. Changed from glory unto glory. Their path like that of the shining light, shining more and more unto the perfect day (Pro_4:18; 2Co_3:18).
2. Adequate agency employed for the accomplishment of such a purpose. ‘We will make thee,’ &c. The Triune Jehovah the Almighty Agent. Believers God’s workmanship. The branch of His planting, and the work of His hands, that He may be glorified (Isa_60:21; Eph_2:10). Their sanctification and salvation the work of their Divine Creator. That Agent able to make them perfect in every good word and work. Able to do exceeding abundantly above all we ask or think. To sanctify wholly, throughout body, and soul, and spirit. Nothing too hard for the Lord. Able to subdue all things to Himself. Believers saved and glorified according to the working of His mighty power put forth in raising the Lord Jesus from the dead. More not to be desired; less unable to suffice.
3. The destiny of the Church and of each individual believer unspeakably glorious. ‘Borders (headbands or diadems) of gold, with studs (points or spanglets) of silver.’ Believers to be made a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty in the hand of the Lord (Isa_62:3). To be made as glorious as the Bride of the King of glory ought to be;—as glorious as a loving and Almighty Husband can make them. To be made entirely like Christ, and to share His glory. To sit with Him on His throne; and as kings and priests, to reign with Him for ever and ever. Their glorious destiny yet to be revealed. It doth not yet appear what we shall be (1Jn_3:2). Certain, however, in its accomplishment, as being—
(1) The object of a Divine purpose;
(2) The subject of a Divine promise;
(3) The work of a Divine Agent.
4. The Church’s experience and character a progressive one. True in relation both to the Church as a whole and to each individual member. The glory of the former Legal Dispensation eclipsed by the superior glory of the new Dispensation of the Gospel. The latter, the Dispensation of the Spirit; the former, that of the letter. The former characterized by a spirit of bondage and fear; the latter by a spirit of liberty and adoption,—of ‘love, power, and a sound mind.’ Under the Gospel all classes to receive largely of the Spirit, and as the result of it to prophesy (Act_2:17-18; Joe_2:28-29). Some better thing reserved for the Church in the Dispensation of the Gospel. The light of the moon to be as the light of the sun. The millennial age that shall follow still more glorious. The light of the sun as the light of seven days (Isa_30:26). Believer’s glory an ever-advancing one. Fair as the moon; clear as the sun; terrible as an army with banners (Son_6:10).
5. The promise of growth in grace and of future glory given for the consolation of earnest believers.
6. Grace exercised and improved, followed and rewarded with grace increased (Mat_13:12; Luk_19:26).
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
The man continues speaking to the woman.
Read full note →
I compare you, my love, to a mare among Pharaoh's chariot horses
The Jews of those days considered horses beautiful, and the Pharaoh's horses would have been the most beautiful he could find. The man considers the young woman beautiful. AT: "My love, you are as beautiful as any of Pharaoh's chariot horses" (See: Simile)
my love
"you whom I love"
Pharaoh's chariot horses
"the horses that pull Pharaoh's chariots"
Your cheeks are beautiful with ornaments
These ornaments could be 1) jewels hanging from a band around the head or 2) earrings or 3) a metaphor for her long hair. (See: Metaphor)
We will make
The man speaks as if he were many people. Some versions change this to singular "I." Other versions take these to be the words of the woman's friends. (See: Pronouns and Exclusive and Inclusive "We")
with silver studs
"with spots of silver"
translationWords
love
Pharaoh
chariot
horse
gold
silver
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 1:9 The shepherd frequently calls the woman darling (literally…
1:9 The shepherd frequently calls the woman darling (literally companion) to show his respect for her as a partner and friend as well as a lover (1:15; 2:2, 10, 13; 4:1, 7; 5:2; 6:4). • In the ancient Near East, a charge of horsemen on stallions was sometimes diverted by letting loose a mare in heat. This so distracted the attacking horses that they broke the charge. Similarly, the woman’s beauty drives other men to distraction.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.