My beloved is mine, and I am his. He browses among the lilies.
Parallel Translations
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My beloved is mine, and I am his. He browses among the lilies.
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My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies.
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My beloved is mine, and I am his, that feedeth among the lilies.
Cross-references (12)
Passages linked to Song of Solomon 2:16 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Song of Solomon 6:3 I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine. He browses among the lilies.
- Song of Solomon 7:10 I am my beloved’s. His desire is toward me.
- Psalms 48:14 For this God is our God forever and ever. He will be our guide even to death.
- Psalms 63:1 God, you are my God. I will earnestly seek you. My soul thirsts for you. My flesh longs for you, in a dry and weary land, where there is no water.
- Jeremiah 31:33 “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” says Yahweh: “I will put my law in their inward parts, and I will write it in their heart. I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
- Song of Solomon 1:7 Tell me, you whom my soul loves, where you graze your flock, where you rest them at noon; for why should I be as one who is veiled beside the flocks of your companions?
- Song of Solomon 2:1 I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys.
- Song of Solomon 7:13 The mandrakes produce fragrance. At our doors are all kinds of precious fruits, new and old, which I have stored up for you, my beloved.
- 1 Corinthians 3:21-23 Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours, whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come. All are yours, and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.
- Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. That life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me.
- Revelation 21:2-3 I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. I heard a loud voice out of heaven saying, “Behold, God’s dwelling is with people, and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.
- Song of Solomon 4:5 Your two breasts are like two fawns that are twins of a roe, which feed among the lilies.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (13 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Son 2:16 My beloved [is] mine, and I [am]…
Son 2:16 My beloved [is] mine, and I [am] his: he feedeth among the lilies.
Ver. 16. My beloved is mine, and I am his.] Hitherto the Church hath related Christ’s words to herself and others. Now she shuts up the whole discourse with praise of Christ here, and prayer to him in Son 2:17. In praising him, she preacheth her own blessedness in that spiritual union, that mystical marriage that is between them, "My beloved is mine," &c. - q.d., I am sure he is mine, and I can boldly speak it. Many lay claim to him which have no share in him; they deeply affirm of him, but have no manner of right to him; their faith is but fancy, their confidence presumption; they are like that madman of Athens that claimed every rich ship that came to shore, whereas he had no part in any; or Haman, who hearing that the king would honour a man, concluded, but falsely, that himself was the man; like idolatrous Micah, they conceit that God will bless them for the Levite’s sake, {Jdg 17:13} which was no such matter; and like Sisera, they dream of a kingdom, whereas Jael’s nail is nearer their temples than a crown. The condition of such self-soothers and self-seekers is nothing different from his, that, dreaming upon a steep place of some great happiness befallen him, starts suddenly for joy, and falling down with the start, breaks his neck at the bottom. The true believer is upon a far better ground; his faith is "unfeigned," his hope is "unfailable." He "knows whom he hath trusted," he "knows and believes the love that God hath to him"; {1Jn 4:16} he hath gotten a full grip of Christ, and is sure that "neither death nor life, &c., shall separate him from Christ." He hath comprehended him, or "rather is comprehended of him." {Php 3:12} Christ hath laid hold on him by his Spirit, and he hath laid hold on Christ by faith, the property whereof is to put on close to Christ, and Christ to him; yea, to unite us to Christ, so that "he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit"; {1Co 6:17} as truly one as those members are one body which have the same soul, or as man and wife are one flesh; as they two are one matrimonial flesh, so Christ and his people are one mystical Christ. {1Co 12:12} Well, therefore, may the Church here glorify Christ, and glory in her own happiness by him, saying, "My beloved is mine," and I am sure of it, and cannot be deceived, for "I am his"; all that I am is his - I have made a total resignation of my whole self unto him, and have put him in full possession of all. "I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." {Gal 2:20} Christ is all-sufficient to me, and I am altogether his. His is as a covenant of mercy, mine of obedience, wherein I do as it were by indenture, with highest estimations, most vigorous affections, and utmost endeavours, bestow myself upon him, and I accept of whole Christ in all his offices and efficacies.
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He feedeth among the lilies.] Before she was to seek, and goes to Christ to be resolved where he fed. {Son 1:7} Now, after more intimate communion with him, she is able to resolve herself and others where he feeds his flock - viz., "among the lilies"; that is, in sweet and soft pastures, {Psa 23:2} in those "mountains of spices," {Son 8:14} those "beauties of holiness," the glorious ordinances wherein Christ feeds his people, and feasts them daily and daintily, pleasantly and plentifully, with the best of the best, "fat things full of marrow, wines on the lees well refined," {Isa 25:6} to the gladdening of their hearts and greatening of their faith, so that they "grow up as the lilies," {Hos 14:5} as the "calves of the stall," {Mal 4:2} "as the willows by the water-courses." {Isa 44:4} And as lilies are not more beautiful than fertile, Una radiae quinquagenos saepe emittente bulbos, {a} yea, the dropping of the lily will cause and beget more lilies; so the lily white saints will be working upon others, and bringing them to Christ, as Andrew did Peter, and Philip, Nathaniel. {Joh 1:41; Joh 1:45} True goodness is generative; charity is no churl.
{a} Plin.
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 My Beloved is mine, and I am his: these…
My Beloved is mine, and I am his: these are the words of the bride, who having come to him upon his gracious invitation, now maketh her boast of him, and of that intimate union and communion which was between them.
He feedeth among the lilies; either,
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1. He feedeth his flock in sweet and lovely pastures, where there is not only herbage to feed them, but lilies to delight them. Or rather,
2. He feedeth himself, i.e. he abideth and refresheth himself amongst his faithful people, which are compared to lilies, above, Son 2:2, and Hos 14:5, as Christ also is here, Son 2:1.
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 My beloved - These are the words of the…
My beloved - These are the words of the bride, who having come to him upon his gracious invitation, now maketh her boast of him. He feedeth - Abideth and refresheth himself amongst his faithful people, who are compared to lillies, ver. 2.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 16. My beloved is mine] The words of…
Verse 16. My beloved is mine] The words of the bride on his entering: "I am thy own; thou art wholly mine."
He feedeth among the lilies.] The odour with which he is surrounded is as fine as if he passed the night among the sweetest scented flowers.
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 2:16. My beloved is mine — These are…
Son 2:16. My beloved is mine — These are the words of the bride, who, having come to him upon his gracious invitation, now maketh her boast of him. He feedeth among the lilies — Abideth and refresheth himself among his faithful people, who are compared to lilies, Son 2:2.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Feedeth. "His flock." (Septuagint) He still retains the fragrancy…
CHAPTER II.
Feedeth. "His flock." (Septuagint) He still retains the fragrancy of lilies. As married people are two in one flesh, (Ephesians v. 31.) Christ and his Church are irrevocably united. (Calmet) --- She reposes in him. (Worthington)
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 16. My beloved is mine — Whatever may be…
16. My beloved is mine — Whatever may be the disappointment, she rests her heart upon the sure and abiding tie which absence cannot sever.
Feedeth among the lilies — The verb is transitive, and means “feedeth his flock among the lilies.” The clause should be introduced by the word “while.” The sense is, He is mine and I am his, though I watch, etc.
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 16. This verse is addressed by the bride to…
16. This verse is addressed by the bride to her companions within the house, or is spoken in a loving rapture to herself. Some however think that it is sung to the lover.
he feedeth among the lilies] Rather, as in R.V., He feedeth his flock among the lilies. It may also be rendered, the shepherd among the lilies, the shepherd standing in apposition to the ‘him’ involved in ‘his.’
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 (16) He feedeth.—Heb., he that is feeding his flock—the…
(16) He feedeth.—Heb., he that is feeding his flock—the pastor.
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 My beloved is mine, and I am his; he…
My beloved is mine, and I am his; he feedeth (his flock) among the lilies. These are the words of the bride. The latter clause is repeated in Son_6:2, with the addition, "in the gardens," and it is evident that Solomon is lovingly regarded as a shepherd, because Shulamith delights to think of him as fully sympathizing with her simple country life. She idealizes. The words may be taken as either the response given at the time by the maiden to the invitation of her lover to come forth into the vineyards, or as the breathing of love as she lies in the arms of Solomon. Lilies are the emblem of purity, lofty elevation above that which is common. Moreover, the lily stalk is the symbol of the life of regeneration among the mystical mediaevalists. Mary the Virgin, the Rosa mystica, in ancient paintings is represented with a lily in her hand at the Annunciation. The people of God were called by the Jewish priests "a people of lilies." So Mary was the lily of lilies in the lily community; the sanctissima in the communio sanctorum. There may be an allusion to the lily forms around Solomon in his palace the daughters of Jerusalem; in that ease the words must be taken as spoken, not in remembrance of the first love, but in present joy in Solomon"s embrace. Some would render the words as simply praise of Solomon himself, "who, wherever he abides, spreads radiancy and loveliness about him," or "in whose footsteps roses and lilies ever bloom." At least, they are expressive of entire self-surrender and delight. She herself is a lily, and the beloved one feeds upon her beauty, purity, and perfection.
He mine; I his.
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This verse is the oft-repeated and rapturous utterance of her who is the type of the redeemed soul concerning her beloved. Of course, we regard it as telling of the soul"s joy in Christ.
I HE MINE. Let us ask three questions.
1. How?
(1) By his free gift of himself. "He loved me, and gave himself for me.
(2) By believing appropriation. Faith has this marvellous power.
(3) By joyful realization of his love to me.
His love has been shed abroad in my heart by the Holy Spirit. "I know whom I have believed." How unspeakably blessed such realization is! But it is not universal nor even common. A little child will cry even in its mother"s arms. But the arms are there all the same. And so is Christ"s love.
1. What for? "He is mine to look upon, to lean upon, to dwell with; mine to bear all my burdens, discharge all my debts; mine to answer all my accusers, mine to conquer all my foes; mine to deliver me from hell, mine to prepare a place for me in heaven; mine in absence, mine in presence, mine in life, mine in death, mine in the grave, mine in the judgment, and mine at the marriage of the Lamb" (Moody Stuart).
2. What then?
(1) All that is his is mine. His righteousness, acceptableness, worthiness; his incarnation, atonement, resurrection, and intercession.
(2) I ought to know it if I do not. It is all-important to me if he be mine.
(3) I ought not to be so anxious about other things.
(4) Let me take care not to lose him. It is possible. (cf. Son_5:6)
II I HIS. We ask the same three questions.
1. How?
a. By creation. "It is he that hath made us". (Ps 100)
b. By the purchase of his blood.
c. By the conquest of his Spirit.
d. By my own free choice.
e. By open avowal.
2. What for? To work and to witness, to suffer and to live, and if needs be to die, for him. To care for those for whom he cares, and to minister as he ministered.
3. What then?
(1) All that is mine, a sad inheritance indeed, is his. My sin, my guilt, my sorrow, my shame. And he has taken them on himself and away from me forever.
(2) Others should know it. I may not be a secret disciple.
(3) He will be sure to take care of me, teach me, perfect me, and bring me to himself.
(4) I will be his even when I cannot realize that he is mine.
(5) I will try to win others to him. S.C.
Marriage jointure.
Marriage is a mutual identification of personal interests, therefore it fully represents the mystic union between Jesus and the believer. We may not have always the conscious sense of our Friend"s nearness to us, still we can always say, "My Beloved is mine." For this is an established fact a fact revealed and this fact is ascertained by faith, and treasured in the memory, whether we experience it at the moment or not. If dark clouds hide the face of our Sun of Righteousness, we know still that he is affording us light and heat and life, and still we say, "My Beloved is mine.
I THE HEART"S CHOICE. The door has been opened to Christ, and he has been admitted to the innermost shrine. He has become the soul"s Husband and King by sacred covenant.
1. This choice is an effect, not a cause. "We love him, because he first loved us." Said Jesus to his first disciples, "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you." His light has shined into our minds. His spirit has given sensibility to our conscience. He has made us sensible of our need. He has restrained us from further rebellion. He caused us to walk in the King"s highway. "By the grace of God I am what I am.
2. This choice of Christ is our supremest wisdom. To have made Jesus our soul"s Portion is an act of pure wisdom. It is the only right thing to do. He has a right to the chief place, and it would be sacrilege to give our best love to another. Yet, alas! many do. There are men who make money, or social rank, or fame, or pleasure, the best beloved of their heart. The world is their beloved, or their children occupy the place which should be Christ"s. We may sincerely congratulate ourselves if we can say, "Jesus is my Portion.
3. Christ has been chosen because of his excellence. Who, in heaven or on earth, can be compared for worth with Jesus? A person is always more precious than a thing. A man is "more precious than the gold of Ophir." And among all persons Jesus is superlatively precious. Who can compare with him for wisdom? Who has dominion over nature and over the lower world like the Son of God? Who can impart strength like him? Can any one convey life but Immanuel? Or who has such influence for us in heaven as our gracious Intercessor? "Infinite excellence is thine, Almighty King of grace.
4. Christ has been chosen by virtue of his love. Even if he did not possess so many excellences, we should have chosen him for his love. His condescension is wonderful His sweet compassion has captivated our souls. As soon as we realized his tender, strong affection for us, we felt that we must have his friendship. As the echo responds to the speaker"s voice, our love responded to his love. Or as the flowers respond to the summer sun, so our hearts gave out the fragrance of their love, under the quickening influence of his grace. For his love is not a vapid sentiment. His love is an ever lasting force, ever active, beneficent in ten thousand ways. His practical love persevered with us, touched us in a hundred points, and finally melted our ingratitude. Love has made us subjects, servants, slaves. Such love, when known, is irresistible.
II THIS CHOICE INCLUDES PROPRIETORSHIP. "My Beloved is mine. " As I say, "This coat is mine," or "This land is mine," so I can say, "Christ is mine." No one can dispossess me. It is an inalienable possession.
1. Mark the nature of this possession. I do not possess it simply with my hands. It is not something outside me, from which I alone can derive advantage. It is a possession within me. It becomes part and parcel of my being. It enters into my very life. I am a totally different being, by virtue of this possession. Jesus is identified with me, and I with him. He is my Life, my Hope. "Christ liveth in me." We possess him, as the branch possesseth the root.
2. The extent of the possession. As the bride becomes by marriage participator of all the lands and estates and honours of the bridegroom, so is it with every believer. The righteousness of Christ is mine. All the excellences of Christ are mine. The wealth of Christ is mine. "I am joint heir" with him. He has chosen to share with me all that he has. His friends are my friends. His servants are my servants. His world is my world. His throne is my throne. "All things are ours, for we are Christ"s.
3. The utility of this possession. Does it not bring me great and present advantages? Does it not make me rich indeed? "He is mine to bear all my burdens; mine to discharge all my debts; mine to answer all my accusers; mine to conquer all my foes." He is "mine in absence, mine in presence; mine through life, mine in death; mine in the judgment; mine at the marriage supper of the Lamb." I am secure and honoured and happy, because "Christ is mine." "With him I"m rich, though stripped of all beside; Without him poor, though all the world were mine.
III THIS CHOICE INCLUDES DEVOTEMENT. "I am his." As Jesus has given himself entirely and unreservedly to me, I have given myself wholly and without reserve to him. It is a real surrender.
1. The dignity of self-devotement. The man who devotes his whole self to his king or to his country does not degrade himself thereby. He rises in the scale of being; he rises in honour. Much more does the devoted servant of Jesus Christ rise to the dignity of true living. Better be prime minister of England than king in Dahomey. And nobler far is it to be a servant in Immanuel"s kingdom than to boast of vain independence, and be in reality a vassal of Satan. To serve is noble, royal, Divine. Jesus is a King because he stooped to be a servant, and the only road to kingliness is hearty service. The heraldic motto of our Prince of Wales is, "I serve." Devotement to Jesus Christ is eternal honour.
2. The extent of self-devotement. It embraces our whole nature, our entire life. The claim of Christ is complete. There is no organ of our body, no faculty of mind, no moment of time, no particle of our wealth, which does not of right belong to him; therefore we can keep back nothing. We are "not our own." On the grounds of creation, sustenance, redemption, Jesus has a triple claim. And above all, he has our personal consent. By a sacred covenant, we have freely surrendered all we have to his kingly service. The consecration must be complete.
3. This devotement brings supreme satisfaction. There is no joy for the human soul like the joy of entire consecration. This is our proper place, and we cannot find our rest elsewhere. On our death bed, will the review of our life bring us satisfaction, unless that life has been spent, and wholly spent, in the service of our Redeemer? Can we dare to appropriate to ourselves all that belongs to Christ, if at the same time we do not give up all to him? As you cannot put pure water into a vessel that is already full of other things, so you cannot put Christ"s treasures into a soul until it is emptied of self. To do my Master"s will I must surrender all to him. To become like Christ I must be wholly consecrated to his kingdom. Then shall his joy be my joy. Then shall I discover the truth, and shall sing"I"m in the noblest sense my own When most entirely thine. D.
Mutual possession.
One-sided affection is incomplete, unsatisfying, and unhappy; it may be disastrous. Real friendship and true marriage imply mutual love, reciprocal kindnesses. So is it in those personal relations between Christ and the Christian soul, which are the foundations of the spiritual life of mankind. It is only well when the friend of the Saviour can truly say, "My Beloved is mine, and I am his.
I THE CLAIM MADE BY THE CHRISTIAN TO A SPIRITUAL PROPERTY IN CHRIST
1. Our Lord and Saviour is ours, to exercise in our favour his mediatorial offices, as our Prophet, Priest, and King.
2. He is ours, to reveal his intimate affection to our heart. "The opening heavens around me shine With beams of heavenly bliss, While Jesus says that he is mine, And whispers I am his!
3. He is ours, to impart a value and a charm to all our other possessions. These, whether material or spiritual, are altogether different from what they would otherwise be; they are irradiated and dignified by the glory which shines upon them from our Divine Friend. "All things are ours.
II THE CLAIM MADE BY CHRIST TO A SPIRITUAL PROPERTY IN THE CHRISTIAN.
1. The Saviour regards his people with an especial favour and affection. Ina sense, all men are Christ"s; he assumed the human nature which is common to us all, and he died for all. But in a peculiar manner they are his who acknowledge his mission, receive his gospel, confide in his mediation, obey his commandments. Towards such his regard is one of complacency and personal affection.
2. The Saviour regards his people as his to care for, to protect, and to save. Having loved his own, he loves them unto the end. There are no circumstances in which he will not remember them, interpose upon their behalf and for their deliverance.
3. The Saviour possesses his people in order to exercise over them a peculiar authority. As the husband is the head of the wife, and as his affection does not destroy his authority, but makes it benign and welcome; so our Divine Lord, who loves his spouse, the Church, which he purchased with his precious blood, directs and governs the object of his tender interest with kindness which is yet authoritative. It is the prerogative and joy of Christ"s people to take their Lord"s will as the binding law of their individual and social life.
APPLICATION. It is for every Christian to remember that in this relation the Lord Jesus is the superior. "We love him, because he first loved us." This fact should infuse gratitude into our affection, and should urge us to responsive consecration and obedience. 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 My Beloved is mine, and I am His.
Son_2:16
My Beloved is mine, and I am His.
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The interest of Christ and His people in each other
The Church says concerning her Lord, My beloved is mine and I am His. No ifs, no buts. The two sentences are solemn assertions. Not I hope, I trust, I think; but, my Beloved is mine, and I am His. Yes, but you will say, the Church must then have been gazing upon her Husbands face; it must have been a season of peculiar enjoyment with Him, when she could speak thus. Nay, nay; the Church, when she thus spake, was in darkness; for in the very next verse she cries--Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bather.
I. I am my beloveds, and my beloved is therefore mine.
1. I am my Beloveds. Glorious assertion! I am His by the Fathers gift. But I am my Beloveds, if I be a believer, because of Jesus Christs purchase of me. But more than this, I am my Beloveds, for I am His by conquest. He fought for me, and He won me, let Him possess me. Besides this, every true believer can add, I am my Beloveds by a gracious surrender. With full consent I give myself to Thee. We have seen how we came to be our Beloveds, let us inquire in what sense we are so now. We are his, first of all, by a near affinity that never can be sundered. Christ is the head; we are His members. Further than this; we, are our Beloveds by a most affectionate relationship. He is the husband, believers are the spouse. I am my Beloveds by an indissoluble connection, just as a child is the property of his father.
2. The second sentence in order of time is, My Beloved is mine. Ah! you very poor men and women, you who could not call one foot of land your own! If you can say, My Beloved is mine, you have greater wealth than Croesus ever knew, or than a miser ever dreamed. But how is my Beloved mine? He is mine, because He gave Himself to me of old. But besides that, our Beloved is not only ours by His own gift, which is the bottom of all, but He is ours by a graciously completed union. I in them, and Thou in Me; for thus the union stands. Again: Christ is ours personally. We sometimes speak of severally and jointly. Well, then, Christ is ours jointly; but He is ours severally too. Christ is as much yours, however mean you may be, as though He did not belong to another man living. He is all mine, all yours; personally mine, personally yours. Oh that we could realize this fact! And, then again, Christ is always ours. He is never more ours at one time, and less ours at another. The moment we believe in Him we may know our perfect and invariable right to Christ--a right which depends not upon the changes of the hour, or upon the temperature of our frames and feelings, but upon those two immutable things wherein it is impossible for God to lie.
II. I shall now take the text in the order in which it is given to us, which is the order of our experience. Do you not see, that to a mans experience Gods order is reversed? We begin thus: My Beloved is mine. I go to Him, take Him up in the arms of my faith, as Simeon took up the little Child in the temple, and pressing Him to my heart, I say: Jesus, Thou art mine. All unholy and unclean, I nevertheless obey Thy command; I believe Thee; I take Thee at Thy word; I trust my soul wholly with Thee; Thou art mine, and my soul can never part with Thee. What next? Why, then the soul afterwards says: Now I am Thine, tell me what Thou wouldst have me do. Jesus, let me abide with Thee. Lord, I would follow Thee whithersoever Thou goest; put me on any service; dictate to me any commandment; tell me what Thou wouldst have me to do to glorify Thee? Christ is mine--this is faith. I am His--this is good works. Christ is mine: that is the simple way in which the soul is saved. I am Christs: that is the equally simple method by which salvation displays itself in its practical fruits. Gods commands require obedience, and it is essential that every servant be found faithful. Whatever Jesus bids us do, if it save us not from anything else, at any rate the fulfilment of it will save us from the sin of being disobedient to Him. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The reciprocal interest of Christ and His people
I. Every real Christian may say, Christ is mine.
1. There are five different ways in which anything may become ours.
(1) By formation, or production. In this way the articles which we construct, and the fruits of the earth which our labour produces, become ours.
(2) By purchase, or exchange. In this way we obtain many things which were previously the property of others.
(3) By inheritance. In this manner we become possessed of the property of deceased relatives.
(4) By conquest. In this manner many things are acquired, especially by sovereign princes.
(5) By gift. In this manner whatever is bestowed on us by the generosity of others, becomes our property.
2. Among all these ways, there is only one in which Christ can become ours.
(1) He is given to them by His Father.
(2) Christ gives Himself to His people.
II. Christ is the property of all true Christians, so, all Christians are his.
1. They are His by creation; for by Him and for Him they were created.
2. They are His by inheritance; for we are told that the Father hath appointed Him heir of all things.
3. They are His by purchase; for He has bought them, bought them with His own blood.
4. Christians are the property of Christ by right of conquest.
5. They become His by gift.
(1) They are given to Him by His Father (Joh_17:6).
(2) All true Christians have voluntarily given themselves to Christ.
Conclusion:
1. From this subject you may learn something of the worth and interest of the Christians portion.
2. We may learn from our subject to whom this incomparable gift belongs; who it is that without presumption may say, Christ is mine. Every man may say this who can with truth repeat the other part of our text, who can truly say, Christ is my beloved, and I am His property.
3. From this subject you may learn the extent of your duty. I am Christs are words easily said, but the engagements which they imply are not so easily fulfilled. If we are His, we are no longer our own. If we are His, then everything that we possess is His--our time, our possessions, our strength, our influence, our powers of body and faculties of mind, all are His, and must be consecrated to His service and glory; and if we love Him supremely, they will he so, for the whole man ever follows the heart.
4. How great are the privileges which result from an ability to say, Christ is mine. If Christ is yours, then all that He possesses is yours. Its power is yours to defend you, His wisdom and knowledge are yours to guide you, His righteousness is yours to justify you, His Spirit and grace are yours to sanctify you, His heaven is yours to receive you.
5. From this subject you may learn what is the nature of the ordinance which you are about to celebrate, and what you are about to do at the Lords table. In this ordinance we give ourselves to Christ, and He gives Himself to us. (E. Payson, D. D.)
My Beloved is mine
What I have to do is to mention a few things which may help some timid one to say, My Beloved is mine, and then to do the same with regard to the second sentence in the text, I am his. Thou askest, perhaps, May I say, My Beloved is mine? You know who that Beloved is; I have no need to tell you that. He is the chief among ten thousand, and the altogether lovely. First, hast thou taken hold of Christ by faith? Faith is the hand with which we grasp the Lord Jesus Christ. Hast thou believed that Jesus is the Christ, and that God hath raised Him from the dead? Dost thou trust thyself wholly to Him? Let me ask thee another helpful question. Is He truly thy Beloved, the Beloved of thy soul? I remember well a dear Christian woman, who frequently said to me, I do love Jesus, I know I do; but does He love me? Her question used to make me smile. Well, I said, that is a question that I never did put to myself,--If I love Him, does He love me? No, the question that used to puzzle me was, Do I love Him? When I could once settle that point, I was never again the victim of your form of doubt. If thou lovest Christ, Christ loves thee for certain, for thy love to Christ is nothing more nor less than a beam out of the Went sun of His love; and the grace that has created that love in thy heart towards Him, if thou dost indeed love Him, proves that He loves thee. Next, I would help thee with a third question. Is Jesus dear to thee above all thy possessions? I hope that many of you can say, O sir, we would give all that we have, we would suffer all that might be suffered, we would part with the Very light and our eyes, too, if we could but be sure that we might each one truly say, My Beloved is mine. Well, if thou lovest Christ beyond all earthly things, rest assured that He is thine. Further, dost thou love Him beyond all earthly companions? Couldst thou part with your dearest ones for His sake? Say, art thou sure of this? Oh, then, He is assuredly thine! Dost thou love Him beyond all earthly objects? Aye, beyond the desire of learning, or honour, or position, or comfort,--wouldst thou let all go for His dear sake? Canst thou go that length? If thou canst, then surely He is thine. Let me further help thee by another question. Is Jesus so fully thy hope and thy trust that thou hast no other? O poor heart, if thou art clean divorced from every confidence but Christ, then I believe that thou art married unto Christ, notwithstanding that thou tremblest sometimes, and askest whether it be so or not. Let that thought also help thee. I would further help you in this way. If Christ is yours, your thoughts go after Him. You cannot say that you love a person if you never think of him. He to whom Christ belongs often thinks of Him. Again, do you do more than this? Do you long for Christs company? If my Beloved is indeed mine, I shall want to see Him; I shall want to speak with Him; I shall want Him to abide with me. How is it with you? And, once more, if thy Beloved is thine, thou wilt own it to be so. Holy Bernard was wont to say, and I believe that he could say it truly, O my Jesus, I never went from Thee without Thee! He meant that he never left his knees, and left Christ behind him; he never went out of the house of God, and left Christ behind him; but he went through the outward act of devotion with a consciousness of the presence of Christ. Now, i f this be your habit to keep up or to labour to keep up continued communion with Christ, and if you are longing for more and more of that communion, then, dear friends, you are His, and He is yours. Further, let me help you with a still closer question. Have you ever enjoyed that communion with Christ? Didst thou ever speak with Him? Hast thou ever heard His voice? If thou knowest anything experimentally about this matter, then thou mayest conclude that thy Beloved is indeed thine. But supposing that thou art not enjoying Christs presence, I am going to put another question to thee. Art thou cast down when He is away? If thou hast grieved His Spirit, art thou grieved? If Christ be gone, dost thou feel as if the sun itself had ceased to shine, and the candle of thy existence had been snuffed out in utter dark ness? Oh, then, He is thine! If thou canst not bear His absence, He is thine. Stretch out the hand, of faith, and take Him, and then say without hesitation, My Beloved is mine. Yes, weighing everything the preacher has said and judging myself as severely as I can, yet I dare take Christ to be mine, and to say, My Beloved is mine. If that is your case, dear friend, then you shall get confirmatory evidence of this fact by the witness of the Spirit within your soul, which will very likely come to you in the form of perfect contentment of spirit, perfect rest of heart. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
He feedeth among the lilies.
A song among the lilies
This passage describes a high state of grace, and it is worthy of note that the description is full of Christ. This is instructive, for this is not an exceptional case, it is only one fulfilment of a general rule. Our estimate of Christ is the best gauge of our spiritual condition; as the thermometer rises in proportion to the increased warmth of the air, so does our estimate of Jesus rise as our spiritual life increases in vigour and fervency. Tell me what you think of Jesus and I will tell you what to think of yourself. Christ is all to us, yea, more than all when we are thoroughly sanctified and filled with the Holy Ghost.
I. First, here is a delighting to have Christ. My Beloved is mine. The spouse makes this the first of her joy notes, the corner-stone of her peace, the fountain of her bliss, the crown of her glory. Observe here that where such an expression is truthfully used the existence of the Beloved is matter of fact. Scepticism and questioning have no place with those who thus sing. Love cannot, will not doubt; it casts away the crutches of argument and flies on the wings of conscious enjoyment, singing her nuptial hymn, My Beloved is mine, and I am His. In the case before us the love of the heavenly-minded one is perceived and acknowledged by herself. My Beloved, saith she; it is no latent affection, she knows that she loves Him, and solemnly avows it. She does not whisper, I hope I love the peerless One, but she sings, My Beloved. There is no doubt in her soul about her passion for the altogether lovely One. But the pith of the text lies here, our possession of Him is proven, we know it, and we know it on good evidence--My Beloved is mine. Jesus is ours by the promise, the covenant,, and oath of God; a thousand assurances and pledges, bonds and seals, secure Him to us as our portion and everlasting heritage. This precious possession becomes to the believer his sole treasure. My Beloved is mine, saith he, and in that sentence he has summed up all his wealth. Oh, what would all the treasures of the covenant be to us if it were possible to have them without Christ? Their very sap and sweetness would be gone. Having our Beloved to be ours, we have all things in Him, and therefore our main treasure, yea, our sole treasure, is our Beloved. O ye saints of God, was there ever possession like this?
II. The second portion of the text deals with delighting to belong to Christ. I am His. This is as sweet as the former sentence. Christ is mine, but if I were not His it would be a sorry case, and if I were His and He were not mine it would be a wretched business. These two things are joined together with diamond rivets--My Beloved is mine, and I am His. Put the two together, and you have reached the summit of delight. That we are His is a fact that may be proven--yea, it should need no proving, but be manifest to all that I am His. Certainly we are His by creation: He who made us should have us. We are His because His Father gave us to Him, and we are His because He chose us. Creation, donation, election are His triple hold upon us. Now this puts very great honour upon us. I have known the time when I could say My Beloved is mine in a very humble trembling manner, but I did not dare to add I am His because I did not think I was worth His having. I dared not hope that I am His would ever be written in the same book side by side with My Beloved is mine. Poor sinner, first lay hold on Jesus, and then you will discover that Jesus values you. This second part of the text is true as absolutely as the first. I am His--not my goods only, nor my time, nor my talents, nor what I can spare, but I am His. The believer feels that he belongs to Jesus absolutely; let the Lord employ him as he may, or try him as he pleases; let him take away all earthly friends from him or surround him with comforts. Blessed be God, this is true evermore--I am His; His to-day, in the house of worship, and His to-morrow in the house of business. This belonging to the Well-beloved is a matter of fact and practice, not a thing to be talked about only, but really to be acted on. If you are His He will provide for you. A good husband careth for his spouse, and even thus the Lord Jesus Christ cares for those who are betrothed unto Him. You will be perfected too, for whatever Christ has He will make worthy of Himself and bring it to glory.
III. To conclude: the saint feels delight in the very thought of Christ. He feedeth among the lilies. When we love any persons, and we are away from home, we delight to think of them, and to remember what they are doing. Now, where is Jesus? What are these lilies? Do not these lilies represent the pure in heart, with whom Jesus dwells? Where, then, is my Lord to-day? He is up and away, among the lilies of Paradise. In imagination I see those stately rows of milk-white lilies growing no longer among thorns: lilies which are never soiled with the dust of earth, which for ever glisten with the eternal dews of fellowship, while their roots drink in unfading life from the river of the water of life which waters the garden of the Lord. There is Jesus! But what is He doing among the lilies? It is said, He feedeth among the lilies. He is feeding Himself, not on the lilies, but among them. Our Lord finds solace among His people. His delights are with the sons of men; He joys to see the graces of His people, to receive their love, and to discern His own image in their faces. Then what shall I do? Well, I will abide among the lilies. His saints shall be my companions. Where they flourish I will try to grow. I will be often in their assemblies. Aye, and I will be a lily too. By faith I will neither toil nor spin in a legal fashion, but I will live by faith upon the Son of God, rooted in Him. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 My beloved is mine
My beloved is mine
"My beloved belongs to me"
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my beloved
This phrase refers to the man whom the woman loves. In some languages it may be more natural for her to refer to him as "my lover." See how you translated this in Song of Songs 1:13. AT: "my dear one" or "my lover"
I am his
"I belong to him"
he grazes
"feeds" or "eats grass." The woman speaks of the man as if he were "a gazelle or a young stag" (verse 17) that eats plants among the lilies. Grazing is probably a metaphor for lovemaking (Song of Songs 2:1-2). (See: Metaphor)
lilies
sweet-smelling flowers that grow in places where there is much water. Translate as the plural of "lily" in Song of Songs 2:1.
dawn
the part of the day when the sun is rising
the shadows flee away
The woman describes the shadows as though they were running away from the light of the sun. AT: "the shadows disappear" (See: Metaphor)
like a gazelle or a young stag
See how you translated this in Song of Songs 2:9.
gazelle
an animal that looks like a deer and moves quickly. Translate as the singular of "gazelles" as in Song of Songs 2:7.
stag
an adult male deer
rugged mountains
"rocky mountains" or "rough mountains"
translationWords
beloved
shadow
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 2:16–3:5 In the dramatic view, the woman has already…
2:16–3:5 In the dramatic view, the woman has already been separated from her lover and is horrified by the notion that she will not see him soon. One night, her worries drive her from bed to search frantically for him; she finds him and takes him to see her mother.
2:16-17 He browses . . . like a gazelle: The woman has so identified her lover with the strength and speed of a gazelle that she portrays his delay as grazing in the country. • Alternatively, the lover, in the guise of a gazelle, grazes among the lilies that possibly represent the woman, suggesting the intimate association of the couple. The woman is often likened to a garden (see also 4:12, 15-16; 5:1; 6:2). • return to me: Her longing to see him in the evening is intensifying by the hour.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.