Awake, north wind, and come, you south! Blow on my garden, that its spices may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and taste his precious fruits.
Parallel Translations
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Awake, north wind, and come, you south! Blow on my garden, that its spices may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and taste his precious fruits.
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Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.
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Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his precious fruits.
Cross-references (27)
Passages linked to Song of Solomon 4:16 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Song of Solomon 6:2 My beloved has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices, to pasture his flock in the gardens, and to gather lilies.
- Song of Solomon 5:1 I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride. I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, friends! Drink, yes, drink abundantly, beloved.
- Song of Solomon 4:13-14 Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates, with precious fruits, henna with spikenard plants, spikenard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with every kind of incense tree; myrrh and aloes, with all the best spices,
- Song of Solomon 7:12-13 Let’s go early up to the vineyards. Let’s see whether the vine has budded, its blossom is open, and the pomegranates are in flower. There I will give you my love. 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.
- Ezekiel 37:9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the wind, prophesy, son of man, and tell the wind, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Come from the four winds, breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” ’ ”
- Acts 2:1-2 Now when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all with one accord in one place. Suddenly there came from the sky a sound like the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
- 1 Peter 2:5 You also, as living stones, are built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
- Ecclesiastes 1:6 The wind goes toward the south, and turns around to the north. It turns around continually as it goes, and the wind returns again to its courses.
- Song of Solomon 1:4 Take me away with you. Let’s hurry. The king has brought me into his rooms. We will be glad and rejoice in you. We will praise your love more than wine! They are right to love you.
- Song of Solomon 2:3 As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, his fruit was sweet to my taste.
- Song of Solomon 8:12 My own vineyard is before me. The thousand are for you, Solomon, two hundred for those who tend its fruit.
- Isaiah 51:9-11 Awake, awake, put on strength, arm of Yahweh! Awake, as in the days of old, the generations of ancient times. Isn’t it you who cut Rahab in pieces, who pierced the monster? Isn’t it you who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep; who made the depths of the sea a way for the redeemed to pass over? Those ransomed by Yahweh will return, and come with singing to Zion. Everlasting joy shall be on their heads. They will obtain gladness and joy. Sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
- Isaiah 64:1 Oh that you would tear the heavens, that you would come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence.
- Matthew 26:10 However, knowing this, Jesus said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? She has done a good work for me.
- Matthew 26:12 For in pouring this ointment on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial.
- John 3:8 The wind blows where it wants to, and you hear its sound, but don’t know where it comes from and where it is going. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
- John 5:8 Jesus said to him, “Arise, take up your mat, and walk.”
- Acts 4:31 When they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were gathered together. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
- Romans 15:16 that I should be a servant of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, serving as a priest of the Good News of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be made acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
- Romans 15:28 When therefore I have accomplished this, and have sealed to them this fruit, I will go on by way of you to Spain.
- 2 Corinthians 9:10-15 Now may he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food, supply and multiply your seed for sowing, and increase the fruits of your righteousness, you being enriched in everything to all generosity, which produces thanksgiving to God through us. For this service of giving that you perform not only makes up for lack among the saints, but abounds also through much giving of thanks to God, seeing that through the proof given by this service, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the Good News of Christ and for the generosity of your contribution to them and to all, while they themselves also, with supplication on your behalf, yearn for you by reason of the exceeding grace of God in you. Now thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift!
- Philippians 1:9-11 This I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense to the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
- Colossians 1:9-12 For this cause, we also, since the day we heard this, don’t cease praying and making requests for you, that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, that you may walk worthily of the Lord, to please him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with all power, according to the might of his glory, for all endurance and perseverance with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who made us fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light,
- 1 Thessalonians 2:12-13 to the end that you should walk worthily of God, who calls you into his own Kingdom and glory. For this cause we also thank God without ceasing, that when you received from us the word of the message of God, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also works in you who believe.
- Hebrews 13:20-21 Now may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep with the blood of an eternal covenant, our Lord Jesus, make you complete in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
- 1 Peter 2:9-10 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. In the past, you were not a people, but now are God’s people, who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
- 2 Peter 3:18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain She desireth Christ to comfort her and to pour…
She desireth Christ to comfort her and to pour the graces of his Spirit upon her, which Spirit is meant by the North and South wind.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Son 4:16 Awake, O north wind; and come, thou…
Son 4:16 Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, [that] the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.
Ver. 16. Awake, O north wind; come, thou south, &c.] These winds she supposeth to be asleep, because they blew not. Rupertus calls the winds Mundi scopas, the world’s besoms, because God makes use of them to sweep out his large house, and to purge the air. The Spirit of God first purgeth, and then watereth the faithful, whom the Church here calleth her garden, though, indeed it be Christ’s, by reason of the nigh conjunction that is between him and her, {Eph 5:30} so that they both make but one mystical Christ. {1Co 12:12} Now, we all know that to a complete garden are necessary (1.) That it be well enclosed; (2.) Well planted; (3.) Well watered; (4.) That it be amoena caeli aspiratione perflabilis, well situated for wind and air; (5.) That it be fruitful and profitable. The Church’s garden hath every one of these good properties, as appears here; and for the fourth, Christ is all the diverse winds, both cold and hot, moist and dry, binding and opening, north and south, fit for every season. What wind soever blows it blows good to the Church, for Christ speaks to them, as David did to his captains, "Do this young man no hurt; handle him gently for my sake." The sun may not smite him by day, nor the moon by night. {Psa 121:6} The nipping north of adversity, the cherishing south wind of prosperity, must both make for him.
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That the spices thereof may flow out.] That I may be some way serviceable to God and profitable to men. She knew that in God’s account to be idle is all one as to be evil, {Mat 25:26} to be unthankful is to be wicked. {Luk 6:35} Paulum sepultae distat inertiae, celata virtus, {a} could one poet say; and another,
“ Vile latens virtus: quid enim submersa tenebris
Proderit, obscuro veluti sub remige puppis,
Vel lyra quae reticet, vel qui non tenditur arcus? ”{ b}
Christ had made his Church a garden of sweetest sweets. Her desire is therefore that her fruits being rightly ripened, her graces greatened and made mature by the benign breath of the Holy Ghost (compared here, as elsewhere, to the several winds), their sweetness may be dispread, and conveyed to the nostrils of such as have "their senses habitually exercised to discern good and evil." {Heb 5:14} As for others, their heads are so stuffed with the stenches of the world, that great muck hill, and themselves so choked up with earth, as Core and his complices were, that they cannot resent or savour the things of the Spirit; but, as vultures, they hunt after carrion carcases, and as tigers they are enraged with the sweet smell of the Church’s spices.
Let my beloved come and eat his pleasant fruits.] For "who plants a vineyard or orchard, and eats not of the fruit thereof?" {1Co 9:7} The garden is Christ’s: the precious graces of his Spirit and all acts of grace, those pleasant fruits are all his. He alone is the true proprietary: "for of him, and through him, and to him are all things." {Rom 11:36} Of him, as the efficient cause; through him, as the administering cause; and to him as the final cause. Well therefore may it follow, "to whom be glory for ever." Christ counts the fruits that we bear to be ours, because the judgment and resolution of will whereby we bear them is ours. This he doth to encourage us. But because the grace whereby we judge, will, and work aright, comes from Christ, ascribe we all to him, as the Church doth in the former verse; and presenting him with the best fruits, as they did Joseph, {Gen 43:11} say as David, and after him Justinian, {c} τα σα εκ των σων σοι προσφερομεν, "Of thine own have we given thee." {1Ch 29:14}
{a} Horat.
{b} Claudian. De Consul. Honor.
{c} Cedren. ad an. 32 Justin.
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 Awake; or, arise; either,
Awake; or, arise; either,
1. To be gone, as being commonly hurtful to plants and gardens; or rather,
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2. To come, as the next clause explains it. For both the north wind and the south wind have their several uses in gardens; the former to purge and cool the air, and to bring fair weather; the latter to warm and moisten the earth, and cherish the plants. And these winds may signify the several dispensations either of God’s providence, or rather of his Spirit, which is compared to the wind, Joh 3:8, whereby the following effects are produced.
My garden: this verse is spoken; by the spouse, as appears from the last clause of it. And she calls the garden both hers and his, because of that oneness which is between them, Son 2:16, whereby they have a common interest one in another’s person and concerns.
That the spices thereof may flow out; that my graces may be exercised to thy glory, the edification of others, and my own comfort.
Let my Beloved come into his garden, let Christ afford his gracious presence more and more to his church, and eat his pleasant fruit; and let him delight himself in that service and glory which is given to him, both by the religious worship and by the holy conversations of his people.
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 North wind - These winds may signify the several…
North wind - These winds may signify the several dispensations of God's spirit. My garden - This verse is spoken by the spouse. And he calls the garden both hers and his, because of that oneness which is between them, chap. ii, 16. May flow - That my graces may be exercised. Let - Let Christ afford his gracious presence to his church. And eat - And let him delight himself in that service which is given him, both by the religious worship, and by the holy conversation of his people.
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. Awake, O north wind; and come, thou…
Verse 16. Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south] It is granted that the south wind in Palestine, in the summer, is extremely hot and troublesome; therefore, another interpretation of this passage has been proposed by Mr. Harmer; who thinks בואי boi, which we render come, signifies enter into thy repositories; and, therefore, supposes the true interpretation of the words to be as follows: "Arise, thou north wind, (and retire, thou south,) blow upon my garden; let the spices thereof flow forth, that my beloved may come into his garden, invited by the coolness and fragrancy of the air, and may eat his pleasant fruits; for, if the south wind blow, the excessive heat will forbid his taking the air, and oblige him to shut close the doors and windows of his apartments." Others think that he wishes the winds from all directions to carry throughout the land the fume of his spices, virtue, and perfections.
Let my beloved come into his garden] This is the invitation of the bride: and if we look not for far-fetched meanings, the sense is sufficiently evident. But commentators on this song sometimes take a literal sense where the metaphor is evident; at other times they build an allegory upon a metaphor. The Gitagovinda has an elegant passage similar to this. See the place, Part VII., beginning with Enter, sweet Radha.
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The whole of this chapter is considered to be unconnected with any particular time of the marriage ceremonies.
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 4:16. Awake, O north wind, &c. — These…
Son 4:16. Awake, O north wind, &c. — These winds may signify the several dispensations of God’s Spirit. Blow upon my garden — This verse is spoken by the spouse. And she calls the garden both hers and his, because of that oneness which is between them, Son 2:16. That the spices may flow out — That my graces may be exercised. Let my beloved come into his garden — Let Christ afford his gracious presence to his church; and eat his pleasant fruits — And let him delight himself in that service which is given him, both by the religious worship, and by the holy conversation of his people.
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 The bride’s brief reply, declaring her affection for the…
The bride’s brief reply, declaring her affection for the king and willingness to belong to him.
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 Wind. At different times. Let all nations be convinced…
Wind. At different times. Let all nations be convinced of thy beauty. (Calmet) --- The holy Spirit enabled the apostles to convert the world. (Nys. Rupert.) --- All temptations, whether proceeding from cruelty or deceit, "make constant souls more grateful to God." (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. Awake, O north wind — The Beloved closes…
16. Awake, O north wind — The Beloved closes this well-sustained figure of a garden by invoking the breezes to arise, that the perfume they exhale may be diffused widely, that many may enjoy it. What is his own to possess, he would make many glad to share. The Enamoured says modestly, (If I be such,)
Let my Beloved, etc. — For the garden is his, and its pleasant fruits are his. Her joy is in making it beautiful and rich for him. Her Beloved responds in the language of the following chapter, the first verse of which should be in this chapter, as its connexion is unbroken and necessary to its significance.
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. It is doubtful whether this whole verse is…
16. It is doubtful whether this whole verse is spoken by the Shulammite, or the latter clause only, her lover being still the speaker in the first half of the verse. That he is still the speaker in the first clause is suggested by ‘my garden’ in Son_4:16 b and ‘his garden’ in Son_4:16 c. But the change of pronoun is quite compatible with the view that the bride is the speaker throughout. My garden would then be ‘myself,’ ‘my person,’ as in ch. Son_1:6, ‘my vineyard.’ His garden again, in the mouth of the Shulammite indicates, as Oettli well remarks, “a certain shamefast modesty.” Probably the view that the bride speaks the whole verse is preferable.
Awake, O north wind] The north wind is cool in Palestine, and the south or south-west wind is warm. They are here called upon to bring forth, by their alternation, the perfumes (not the spices) of the garden, that they may flow out, i.e. she desires that the graces of her person and her mind may come to their highest perfection. This would be more appropriate in the mouth of the bride, who like all true lovers would desire to be nobler and more beautiful than she is, that her lover might find her worthy, than in the mouth of her lover, who would naturally think of her as being altogether fair.
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Let my beloved come into his garden, &c.] This last clause of the verse is spoken, it should be remembered, by a loving woman shut up in a royal dwelling away from her lover, and expresses her longing for the time when she shall be wholly his.
pleasant fruits] R.V. precious fruits, as in Son_4:13.
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) Blow upon my garden.—After the description of his…
(16) Blow upon my garden.—After the description of his beloved’s charms under these figures, the poet, under a companion figure, invokes the “airs of love” to blow upon the garden, that its perfumes may “flow out” for him—that the object of his affections may no longer keep herself reserved and denied to him. Tennyson’s melodious lines are recalled which describe how, when a breeze of morning moves,
“The woodbine spices are wafted abroad,
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And the musk of the roses blown.”
Let my beloved . . .—This should form a separate verse, being the reply made to the appeal in the first part of the verse. The maiden yields to her lover’s suit.
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 Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow…
Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his precious fruits. This is the answer of the bride to the lavish praises of her husband. I am all his. She is yet unworthy of the king and of his love until the seasonal changes have developed and unfolded and spread forth her excellences. The north represents cold; the south, heat. Let the various influences from different quarters flow gently over the garden and call forth the fragrance and the fruits. (cf. Est_2:12) There is rich suggestion in such words. Whether we think of the individual soul or of the Church of Christ, the true desire of those who delight in the love of the Saviour is that all the gifts and graces which can be bestowed may make them worthy of him who condescends to call his people his delight. Surely it is no mere romantic idyll that is before us. Such significance cannot be a mere coincidence when it is so transparent and so apt.
"Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
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This is the state of mind produced by the consciousness of Christ"s gracious estimate of us. We can scarce believe that it is as he says, but that he counts us such makes us long to be such. Therefore in this verse we may hear the cry of the soul, that he would make us to be what he says we are. "Even so, come," etc. Note
I WHAT THIS ASPIRATION OF THE SOUL CONFESSES.
1. The power of Christ to produce all this. Hence the appeal, "Awake, O north wind," etc.
2. That power actually at work. There are various precious plants of his own planting; his garden is not a wilderness. And there are the heavenly gifts of sun and rain and dew.
3. But nevertheless the full results of his grace are not forthcoming. The fragrance so delightful and desirable is not yielded; there are fruits, but not yet ripened, so that they might be pleasant to him who eats them. The soul lives, but does not flourish. It has life, but not abundant life. How common all this is! Hence how ineffectual the lives of many Christians are!
4. And the causes of this are indicated. The gloom and mist, the clouds so earth-born and dense, which overhang the garden of the soul and hinder it from yielding its fragrance and fruit as it otherwise would. So the sin-and-sorrow-laden clouds, and those which doubt and unbelief produce these will mar the soul"s life, and make it ineffectual for joy or help.
II FOR WHAT IT IS WILLING.
1. For the north wind. (Cf. Pro_25:23Jo Pro 38:22) The north wind, often stern and terrible, and very trying to plant life. Yet here it is invited to come. The spirit of the well known lines "Nearer, my God, to thee, Nearer to thee; E"en though it be a cross That raiseth me is in this invocation to the bitter blast the north wind. And the Christian soul is willing for whatever of trial and distress God may be pleased to send, so only as it may lead to more full likeness to God. As the inhabitants of the Valais, in Switzerland, love the strong, stern winds which, sweeping wildly down their close gorges and shut up vales, scatters and drives away the miasma, bred of the stagnant air, which for far too long a time broods over them, unchanged, and hence full of evil, until the welcome wild wind tears down the valley, and then the bad air is driven away, and that which is healthful comes instead; so the soul, conscious that its health and joy are hindered, would welcome that which corresponds to the north wind told of here. (cf. Rom 5:8-5)
2. The south wind. (For its effects, cf. Job_37:7) The soul knows that without the genial influence of Christ"s love realized in her she cannot prosper. Therefore she prays for this also. "He sendeth sun, he sendeth shower Alike they"re needful for the flower; And joys and tears alike are sent To give the soul fit nourishment.
III WHAT IT SUPREMELY DESIRES. "Let my beloved come into his garden," etc. This, translated, means that the soul"s supreme solicitude is, as Paul"s was, to be accepted of her Lord. (cf. 2Co 5, "I labour, whether present or absent, to be accepted of him The renewed soul seeks, to be well pleasing to her Lord; she cares little for any other approval (cf. Paul, "It is a small thing to me to be judged of you, or by man"s judgment; he that judgeth me is the Lord"). "To give pleasure to those whom we love, to know that any achievements of ours will gratify them, is a greater pleasure than any derived from the applause of strangers, however numerous or distinguished. The lad laden with prizes at his school is pleased enough with the clapping, and the praise of masters and fellow pupils; but his real pleasure is to come, when he gets his prizes home and shows them to his loved ones there. To see his mother"s eyes glisten with gladness, that is better than all the other praise, were it from all the world beside. And so to be approved of Christ, to please him, that, to souls like Paul"s, is everything.
IV THE BLESSING IT OBTAINS. Such supreme solicitude cannot exist without obtaining for the soul that cherishes it some of the choicest favours of God.
1. It will be an ever-present regulating force in our souls. It will act as a law to ourselves, prompting, checking, directing, impelling, as needs be.
2. It will win blessed freedom from the tyranny of the world. Such soul will fear neither the world"s frown so formidable to well nigh all nor court the world"s favour, all but universally coveted though it be. The Son will have made him free, and he will be free indeed.
3. It will make every cross fight. Such cross being his cross, borne for him, its sharpness, weight, shame, vanish.
4. Death is abolished. It becomes for him "an abundant entrance into the kingdom" of Christ. Freedom, strength, peace these are some of the blessings which that soul wins whose supreme desire is to be accepted of Christ. S.C.
Ver. 16-ch. 1Ki_10:10) There were celebrated plantations at Jericho. The Queen of Sheba brought "of spices very great store;" "There came no more such abundance of spices as these which the Queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon." Is there a reference to the conversion of the heathen nations in this? The wine and milk are what God offers to his people (see Isa_55:1) without money and without price. Oiogala is what Chloe gives to Daphnis. (cf. Psa_19:6) It would seem as though the writer intended us to follow the bridal procession to its destination in the royal palace. The bridal night intervenes. The joy of the king in his bride is complete. The climax is reached, and the rest of the song is an amplification. The call to the friends is to celebrate the marriage in a banquet on the second day. (see Gen_29:28 Jud_1:14:12 RAPC Tob 11:18; and cf. Rev_19:7 and Rev_19:9) A parallel might be found in Psa_22:26, where Messiah, at the close of his sufferings, salutes his friends, the poor, and as they eat at his table gives them his royal blessing, "Vivat cor vestrum in aeternum!" The perfect state of the Church is represented in Scripture, both in the Old Testament and in the New, as celebrated with universal joy all tears wiped away from off all faces, and the loud harpings of innumerable harpers. Can we doubt that this wonderful book has tinged the whole of subsequent inspired Scripture? Can we read the descriptions of triumphant rejoicing in the Apocalypse and not believe that the apostolic seer was familiar with this idealized love song?
Ver. 1. Response to Son_3:6-11, calling them "O friends," and "O beloved ones;" unless, indeed, the last clause be translated, as the Hebrew at least permits, "Drink abundantly of love." The heavenly Bridegroom accepts the offering of the Church, his bride. He loved her, and gave himself for her; therefore her love is very precious to him. He comes into her garden. He calls it his garden in gracious acknowledgment of the bride"s gift. He uses the same pronoun of all its varied products. They are his, each and all. He gave them to the bride. She offers them back to her Lord. He invites his friends to share his joy. He said once to his friends in his holy parable, "Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost;" so now he says, "Eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly of love." "Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb". (Rev_19:9) So the Lord listens to the call of the Christian soul that thirsts for him. He answers the cry, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus." He will come with the Father, and make his abode with them that love him. (Joh_14:23) He graciously accepts the offerings of love. He welcomes the beauty and sweetness of the fruits of the Spirit in the believing soul. They are his, for it was he who gave the Spirit, who watered the growing fruits with the dew of his grace; his, again, because the heart that gives itself to God gives with the gift of self all its belongings, gladly owning that whatever it has of good comes from his only gift. He acknowledges their imperfect efforts: "I know thy works, thy labour, and thy patience." He saith unto his friends, "Rejoice with me;" and "there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over each sinner that repenteth." Then if our love gives joy to the dear Lord who gave up the glory of heaven for us, and for us endured the long torture of the cross, how very earnestly we Christians ought to try to make our heart indeed a "garden enclosed," wholly dedicated unto him, and separated from all profane uses! If our poor growth in holiness pleases him, how earnestly we ought to pray and strive to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; how earnestly we ought to try never to grieve his Holy Spirit, but to give him our whole heart, with all its affections and desires, that we may be wholly his his forever!
HOMILIES BY S. CONWAY Ver. 1. Christ"s response.
"I am come," etc. Here we have for the second time the name of "sister" prefixed to that of "spouse," and it seems to teach that this song is not to be understood in any mere dry, literal, earthly sense; but is to be regarded in such spiritual way as, in fact, most readers have regarded it. How prompt Christ"s answer is! Cf. Isa_65:24, "Before they call I will answer," etc. The soul hears the knock of Christ, opens the door, and at once he comes in. (Re 3) Cf. Jacob, "Surely the Lord was in this place, and I knew it not;" Mary Magdalene at the sepulchre: "She knew not that it was Jesus." In this verse we learn
I SUCH SOUL IS CHRIST"S GARDEN. For it has been chosen, separated, watered, cultivated, adorned, made fruitful.
II IT HAS CHRIST"S PRESENCE AND IS HIS DELIGHT.
1. The aspirations of such soul proves his presence. They are his footprints, though not perceived to be so. Cf. "Their eyes were holden, that they should not know him". (Lu 24) He is the unperceived Author of its holy desires and purposes.
2. And he delights in it. He calls it "my garden". (cf. on Son_4:9-15)
III THE ANGELS ARE SUMMONED TO SHARE IN HIS DELIGHT. "Eat, O my friends." Not that we say this address to his "friends" proves this truth, but suggests it. We know that "there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over," etc. (Luke 15); and see Revelation, passim, where the joy of Christ is ever shared in by all heaven. They know what transpires here, and they rejoice in what is joyful. They are the "great cloud of witnesses" by which we are surrounded and surveyed. And what gladdens Christ must gladden them. They "enter into the joy of their Lord." The good conduct of those whom we behold makes us glad. Can it be otherwise with them? What great encouragement, therefore, we have in our Christian life in knowing that we can further the joy of our Lord and of the holy angels! Be it ours so to do. S.C.
HOMILIES BY J.R. THOMSON Ver. 1. Hospitality and festivity.
This verse is the central stanza of the Song of Songs. It brings before us the wedding feast, the crisis of the dramatic interest of the poem. The bride is welcomed to her regal home; friends and courtiers are gathered together to celebrate the joyful union; and festivity and mirth signalize the realization of hope and the recompense of constancy. Under such a similitude inspired writers and Christian teachers have been wont to set forth the happy union between the Son of God and the humanity to which, in the person of the Church, he has joined himself in spiritual and mystical espousals.
I THE PRESENCE OF THE DIVINE BRIDEGROOM" AND HOST. "I," says he, "have come into my garden." It is the presence, first visibly in the body, and since invisibly in the Spirit, of the Son of God, which is alike the salvation and the joy of man.
II THE GREETING OF THE DIVINELY CHOSEN BRIDE. The language in which this greeting is conveyed is very striking: "My sister-spouse." It is the language of affection, and at the same time of esteem and honour. It speaks of congeniality of disposition as well as of union of heart. Christ loved the Church, as is evident from the fact of his giving himself for it and to it, and as is no less evident from his perpetual revelation of his incomparable kindness and forbearance. "All that I have," says he, "is thine.
III THE PROVISION OF DIVINE BOUNTY. How often, in both Old and New Testament Scripture, are the blessings of a spiritual nature which Divine goodness has provided for mankind set forth under the similitude of a feast! Satisfaction for deep-seated needs, gratification of noblest appetite, are thus suggested. The peculiarity in this passage is the union of the two ideas of marriage and of feasting a union which we find also in our Lord"s parabolic discourses. We are reminded that the Divine Saviour who calls the Church his own, and who undertakes to make it worthy of himself, provides for its life and health, its nourishment and happiness, all that infinite wisdom itself can design and prepare.
IV THE INVITATION OF DIVINE HOSPITALITY. "Eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved!" Thus does the Lord of the feast ever, in the exercise of his benevolent disposition, address those whose welfare he desires to promote. This invitation on the part of the Lord Christ is
(1) sincere and cordial;
(2) considerate and kind;
(3) liberal and generous.
V THE FELLOWSHIP OF DIVINE JOY. True happiness is to be found in the spiritual companionship of Christ, and in the intimacy of spiritual communion with him whom the soul loveth. The aspiration of the heart to which Christ draws near in his benignant hospitality has been thus well expressed: "Pour out, Lord, to me, and readily will I drink; then all thirst after earthly things shall be destroyed; and I shall seek to thirst only for the pleasures which are at thy right hand forevermore." The spiritual satisfaction and festivity enjoyed by the Church on earth are the earnest and the pledge of the purer and endless joy to be experienced hereafter by those who shall be called to "the marriage supper of the Lamb. 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 Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow…
Son_4:16
Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out.
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Grace for communion
The loved one in the text desired the company of her Lord, and felt that an inactive condition was not altogether suitable for His coming. Her prayer is first about her garden, that it may be made ready for her Beloved; and then to the Bridegroom Himself, that He would come into His garden, and eat its pleasant fruits. She pleads for the breath of heaven, and for the Lord of heaven.
I. First she cries for the breath of heaven to break the dead calm which broods over her heart. In this prayer there is an evident sense of inward sleep. She does not mean that the north wind is asleep: it is her poetical way of confessing that she herself needs to be awakened. She has a sense of absentmindedness, too, for she cries, Come, thou south. If the south wind would come, the forgetful perfumes would come to themselves, and sweeten all the air. The fault, whatever it is, cannot lie in the winds; it lies in ourselves. Notice that the spouse does not mind what form the Divine visitation takes so long as she feels its power. Awake, O north wind; though the blast be cold and cutting, it may be that it will effectually fetch forth the perfume of the soul in the form of repentance and self-humiliation. The rough north wind has done much for some of us in the way of arousing our best graces. Yet it may be that the Lord will send something more tender and cheering; and if so, we would cry, Come, thou south. Divine love warming the heart has a wonderful power to develop the best part of a mans nature. Many of our precious things are brought forth by the sun of holy joy. Either movement of the Spirit will sufficiently bestir our inner life; but the spouse desires both. Although in nature you cannot have the north wind and the south blowing at the same time; yet in grace you can. The prayer is blow, and the result is flow. Lord, if thou blowest, my heart floweth out to Thee! Draw me, we will run after Thee.
II. The second half of the prayer expresses our central desire: we long for the Lord of Heaven to visit us. The bride does not seek that the spices of her garden may become perceptible for her own enjoyment, nor for the delectation of strangers, nor even for the pleasure of the daughters of Jerusalem, but for her Beloveds sake. He is to come into His garden, and eat His pleasant fruits. Note well the address of the spouse to her Beloved in the words before us. She calls Him hers--my Beloved. When we are sure that He is ours we desire Him to come to us as ours, and to reveal Himself as ours. While He is hers she owns that she is wholly His, and all that she has belongs to Him. In the first clause she says, Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden; but now she prays, Let my Beloved come into His garden. She had spoken just before of her fruits, but now they are His fruits. She was not wrong when she first spoke; but she is more accurate now. We are not our own. We do not bring forth fruit of ourselves. The Lord saith, From Me is thy fruit found. The garden is of our Lords purchasing, enclosing, planting, and watering; and all its fruit belongs to Him. This is a powerful reason for His visiting us. Should not a man come into his own garden, and eat his own fruits? Oh, that the Holy Spirit may put us into a fit condition to entertain our Lord! The spouse further cries, Let Him eat His pleasant fruits. I have often felt myself overcome with the bare idea that anything I have ever done should give my Lord pleasure. Can He perceive any perfume in my spices, or taste any flavour in nay fruits? This is a joy worth worlds. It is one of the highest tokens of His condescension. O Lord Jesus, come into our hearts now! O Holy Spirit, blow upon our hearts at this moment! Let faith, and love, and hope, and joy, and patience, and every grace be now like violets which betray themselves by their perfume, or like roses which load the air with their fragrance! (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The Churchs prayer
Let us consider the prayer of those who are planted in this garden, and who are represented in the text, as imploring the Holy Spirit to descend upon them.
I. In his convincing and humbling power, as the piercing north wind. As the cold north wind prepares the soil, and fits it for vegetation, so are the sharper operations of the Spirit needful for the believer, when, as too often happens, he is under a decay in grace; when the things that are in him are ready to die. When He thus comes, He uses various means of awakening.
1. His grand instrument is the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, sharper than any two-edged sword, etc. When a believer grows cold and careless in his walk, God directs to him some text, some threatening, or warning, or promise.
2. He often comes with awakening power in the shape of afflictions.
II. In his comforting and enlivening power, as the gentle south wind. When He has pierced the backsliding heart with sorrow for sin. He binds up the wound; shines upon the heart, like the cheering sun; and breathes, like the mild and gentle south. (E. Blencowe, M. A.)
The graces of the Holy Spirit implored
The wind bloweth where it listeth. The Spirit of God is an unshackled agent, acting freely in the first application of grace to the sinners soul, and in all its future operations.
1. Pray that your faith in Christ Jesus may be greatly strengthened. If faith be the element of a Divine life, will not that life, in its exercise and development, be more vigorous, according as God shall give us a stronger and a larger measure of faith?
2. Again, a believer will plead with Christ, that the Spirit may give him a more lively hope.
3. And should not a believer say, Awake, O north wind, and come, thou south--let my love abound? But is not this love? Doth the love of Christ, producing a corresponding affection within us, constrain us as it ought?
4. And is it not fitting that a child of God should say, Let my humility be deepened? It is the great business of the Gospel to hinder the poor guilty worm of the earth from saying, I am rich, and increased in goods, and have need of nothing.
5. Should not, moreover, a believer pray, Come, thou south wind, breathe upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out, that my joy may be increased? (R. P. Buddicom, M. A.)
North and south winds
There is a law of classification and contrasts in all life. Things are paired off. They present themselves in sets or classes. We have stars in galaxies, and the rolling worlds arranged into systems. Vegetable and animal life be known by their genus and species. The principle of order characterizes the conditions of man in the complexity of his nature and the diversity of his life. Our main purpose is to trace the Divine plan of working in the developing and perfecting of Gods image in a human soul. In the text we are taught that it is by contrary and conflicting forces that perfection of character is attained.
I. The text is true of natural life. North and south are the two extremes of this sphere. Between these two extremes exist all the fluctuating variations of the earths condition. The days weather depends very largely upon the point from which the wind will blow. We divine the meteorological conditions of the day by the prophecy of the morning. North winds bring cold, hail and snow; south winds are balmy and warm. These facts find their analogue in our higher experiences. What contrasts there are in the conditions of our everyday life! This is true socially. When all things are going smoothly in the home, when health and plenty abound--when children are dutiful and diligent, parents revel in the gentle breezes as they waft down from the southern sky. But, alas! the wind sometimes veers round to the opposite point with a surprising suddenness, and the chilly blasts beat upon us with pitiless fury and pierce our spirits to the quick. How true is the text to business life. Prosperity is verily a congenial south wind. We all aim at and desire success. But the winds of commercial enterprises do not always blow from the south; and for aught we know to the contrary, there may be more perfect developments of character under the latter than by the agency of the former. The two winds are useful and necessary. The south for the comfort and nourishing of young elements and principles in their more incipient stages, and the north wind for giving setness and endurance to these essential qualities.
II. The text is also true of spiritual life. The life of the soul is promoted by principles similar to those which rule in our physical nature. There are opposing elements even in our food. Some are alimentary, building up the body, repairing waste tissue; while others are poisonous, rendering innocuous, or eliminating elements that are deleterious, and that would, if permitted to operate unchecked, kill the body. The value of foods depends upon their adaptation to the peculiar and varying states and requirements of the physical system. In the childhood of our divine life we need the tender and sympathetic. Either through sin or neglect of duty, or strange providences, or the wearing power of temptation and persecution, or the ordinary and inevitable friction of life, we become attenuated in our spiritual proportions and correspondingly feeble. The north wind is too strong for us, and so we need the southern breezes to soothe back into strength the weakened energies of the soul. But then spiritual athletes are not braced into might by south winds only. We need to cry, Awake, O north wind. Too many of the avowed followers of Him who was rich yet for our sakes became poor, who pleased not Himself, who had not where to lay His head, are resting in the warmth of the southern sphere, thus taking no part in the great activities of the Christian Church. If all were as they are what would be the future of Christianity, aye, and of the world, too? It is a good thing to get out into the refreshing breezes which come even from the northern regions. Many a Christian will have to thank God for pain and trial and losses. As the north and south winds are essential, we do well to keep ourselves in the line of both. True greatness is attained by a combination of opposite qualities. It is the strong man tender, the great man lowly, the rich man humble, the wise man with condescending simplicity we most admire. Do not arraign the Divine government if north winds blow, but keep well in mind the great fact that He is designing and evolving your good in all things so that you may attain the stature of a perfect man; and in the last day you shall be presented perfect, wanting nothing. (M. Brokenshire.)
Let my Beloved come into His garden, and eat His pleasant fruits.
My garden-His garden
What a difference there is between what the believer was by nature and what the grace of God has made him! Naturally we were like the waste howling wilderness, like the desert which yields no healthy plant or verdure. But now, as many of us as have known the Lord are transformed into gardens; our wilderness is mane like Eden, our desert is changed into the garden of the Lord. In a garden there are flowers and fruits, and in every Christians heart you will find the same evidences of culture and care; not in all alike, for even gardens and fields vary in productiveness. Still, there are the fruits and there are the flowers, in a measure; there is a good beginning made wherever the grace of God has undertaken the culture of our nature.
I. Now coming to our text, and thinking of Christians as the Lords garden, I want you to observe, first, that there are sweet spices in believers. For instance, there is faith; is there anything out of heaven sweeter than faith--the faith which trusts and clings, which believes and hopes, and declares that, though God shall slay it, yet will it trust in Him? Then comes love; and again I must ask, Is there to be found anywhere a sweeter spice than this--the love which loves God because He first loved as, the love which flows out to all the brotherhood, the love which knows no circle within which it can be bounded, but which loves the whole race of mankind, and seeks to do them good? And there is also hope, which is indeed an excellent grace, a far-seeing grace by which we behold heaven and eternal bliss. You do not need that I should go over all the list of Christian graces, and mention meekness, brotherly kindness, courage, uprightness or the patience which endures so much from the hand of God: but whatsoever grace I might mention, it would not be difficult at once to convince you that there is a sweetness and a perfume about all grace in the esteem of Him who created it, and it delights Him that it should flourish where Once its opposite alone was found growing in the heart of man. These, then, are some of the saints sweet spices. Next notice that these sweet spices are delightful to God. He has joy over one sinner that repenteth, though repentance is but an initial grace and when we go on from that to other graces, and take yet higher steps in the Divine life, we may be sure that His joy is in us, and therefore our joy may well be full. These spices of ours are not only delightful to God, but they are healthful to man. A man of faith and love in a Church sweetens all his brethren. Give us but a few such in our midst, and there shall be no broken spiritual unity, there shall be no coldness and spiritual death; but all shall go well where these men of God are among us as a mighty influence for good. And, as to the ungodly around us, the continued existence in the earth of the Church of Christ is the hope of the world. It sometimes happens that these sweet odours within Gods people lie quiet and still. You cannot stir your own graces, you cannot make them move, you cannot cause their fragrance to flow forth. At such times, a Christian is very apt to ask, Am I indeed planted in Gods garden? Am I really a child of God? Now, I will say what some of you may think a strong thing; but I do not believe that he is a child of God who never raised that question.
II. What is wanted is that those sweet odours should be diffused. Observe, first, that until our graces are diffused, it is the same as if they were not there. We may not know that we have any faith till there comes a trial, and then our faith starts boldly up. We can hardly know how much we love our Lord till there comes a test of our love, and then we so behave ourselves that we know that we do love Him. Notice next, that it is very painful to a Christian to be in such a condition that his graces are not Stirring. He cannot endure it. We who love the Lord were not born again to waste our time in sinful slumber; our watchword is, Let us not sleep, as do others. Quicken Thou me, O Lord, according to Thy word--whichever word Thou shalt choose to apply, only do quicken Thy servant, and let not the graces within me be as if they were dead! Remember, however, that the best quickener is always the Holy Spirit; and that blessed Spirit can come as the north wind, convincing us of sin, and tearing away every rag of our self-confidence, or He may come as the soft south wind, all full of love, revealing Christ, and the covenant of grace, and all the blessings treasured for us therein. You see, also, from this text, that when a child of God sees that his graces are not diffused abroad, then is the time that he should take to prayer. Let no one of us ever think of saying, I do not feel as if I could pray, and therefore I will not pray. On the contrary, then is the time when you ought to pray more earnestly than ever. Say, O my Father, I cannot endure this miserable existence! Thou hast made me to be a flower, to shed abroad my perfume, yet I am not doing it. Oh, by some means, stir my flagging spirit, till I shall be full of earnest industry, full of holy anxiety to promote Thy glory, O my Lord and Master!
III. Let my Beloved come into His garden, and eat His pleasant fruits. These words speak of the company of Christ and the acceptance of our fruit by Christ. I want you specially to notice one expression which is used here. While the spouse was, as it were, shut up and frozen, and the spices of the Lords garden were not flowing out, she cried to the winds, Blow upon my garden. She hardly dared to call it her Lords garden; but now, notice the alteration in the phraseology: Let my Beloved come into His garden, and eat His pleasant fruits. The wind has blown through the garden, and made the sweet odours to flow forth; now it is no longer my garden, but His garden. It is wonderful how an increase of grace transfers our properties; while we have but little grace, we cry, my, but when we get great grace, we cry, His. He planted every flower, and gave to each its fragrance; let Him come into His garden, and see what wonders His grace has wrought. Do you not feel, beloved, that the one thing you want to stir your whole soul is that Christ shall come into it? The best condition a heart can be in, if it has lost fellowship with Christ, is to resolve that it will give God no rest till it gets back to communion with Him, and to give itself no rest till once more it finds the Well-beloved. Next observe that, when the Beloved comes into His garden, the hearts humble but earnest entreaty is, Let Him eat His pleasant fruits. The greatest joy of a Christian is to give joy to Christ; I do not know whether heaven itself can overmatch this pearl of giving joy to the heart of Jesus Christ on earth. It can match it, but not overmatch it, for it is a superlative joy to give joy to Him--the Man of sorrows, who was emptied of joy for our sakes, and who now is filled up again with joy as each one shall come and bring his share, and cause to the heart of Christ a new and fresh delight. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
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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 Let my Beloved come into his garden
THE BRIDE’S DESIRE
Son_4:16
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Let my Beloved come into his garden
And eat his pleasant fruits.
The Bride reciprocates the Bridegroom’s love. ‘My love,’ answered with ‘My Beloved.’ Christ’s love to us the ground and occasion of ours to Him. The Bride’s desire one with her Husband’s. He admires and commends her as his garden. She invites him to the enjoyment of it. His desire that its spices should flow forth; here that he should come and eat its pleasant fruits. Believers made such for Christ’s enjoyment: their desire that He should have it. The Bride calls herself: ‘His garden.’ Believers no longer their own, but Christ’s. ‘Ye are bought with a price.’ Christ claims the Church as His garden: believers gladly respond to the claim. ‘One shall say: I am the Lord’s.’ ‘O Lord, I am Thy servant; thou hast loosed my bonds’ (Isa_44:5; Psa_116:16). Christ’s presence in and with His Church the believer’s greatest desire. ‘Let my beloved come into his garden.’ His presence in His Church and with believers, not always alike. Times in the Lord’s earthly ministry when He hid Himself Such times still. ‘Thou art a God that hidest Thyself.’ ‘He hideth His face from the house of Jacob.’ Times when the Bride has to cry to her Husband: ‘Why hidest thou Thyself.’ Israel exhorted to keep their camp holy, lest the Lord who walked in the midst of it should see any unclean thing and turn away from them (Deu_23:14). Christ’s visit to and continuance with believers connected with their love and obedience. ‘He that hath My commandments and keepeth them,’ &c. (Joh_14:21) The Bride’s desire that nothing may hinder his presence and stay with her. The Church and the believer who desires Christ’s presence, to be careful to put away whatever is offensive to Him. His words to the lukewarm, self-satisfied, and self-righteous, yet poor, wretched, miserable, and blind, and naked Church at Laodicea: ‘Beloved, I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear My voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me’ (Rev_3:20). Christ’s condescension and love to His Church, that He finds His sweetest entertainment in it. Finds and eats ‘his pleasant fruits.’ ‘With desire have I desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer.’ Fellowship with loving and lively believers His greatest joy. The desire of such believers that He may find in them that joy. The believer, notwithstanding his own corruption, conscious that through grace there are with him pleasant fruits for Christ to eat. No part of faith to deny the Spirit’s work. ‘Know ye not that Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?’ ‘The care of believers that Christ may have pleasant fruits in them, both in abundance and in good condition, for His own enjoyment. No pleasant fruits in the Church or a believer, out what are His, and the production of His own Spirit. ‘His pleasant fruits.’ The fruits in the garden Christ’s; the weeds and briars our own. The productions of grace in the soul, ‘pleasant fruits;’ those of unsanctified nature, sour crabs. Christ’s ‘pleasant fruits’ found only in His Church. Elsewhere, only ‘wild grapes.’ Pleasant fruit found only on the branches of the True Vine. The smallest service of believers rendered in faith and love, reckoned and enjoyed by Christ as ‘His pleasant fruits.’ Their believing prayers sweet incense to Him. Their thanksgivings and praises a well-pleasing sacrifice. Then gracious words recorded in His Book of remembrance. Their tears of godly sorrow put into His bottle. Observe—
1. Believers to be more concerned about Christ’s enjoyment than their own. Their desire to be rather that Christ may eat His pleasant fruits than that they themselves should.
2. Believers to consider that all that is theirs is His, and that what He accepts at their hands is best bestowed. Their honour and happiness that He can accept of anything they have, and can employ it for His own glory and pleasure.
3. Fruitfulness and love on the part of the Church most likely to secure Christ’s presence in it. To gain the Bridegroom’s presence the Bride must have her ‘pleasant fruits.’
4. The believer’s best time when Christ comes in to him, and eats with him his pleasant fruits. ‘I will sup with him and he with Me.’
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.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 4:16 Come into your garden, my love; taste its…
4:16 Come into your garden, my love; taste its finest fruits: Finally, the woman invites the man to enter her and experience her now-unlocked body in all its sensual perfection. • The man had poetically affirmed the woman’s chastity (4:12). However, she is totally and exclusively committed to him, so she reveals her treasures and invites him into the garden.
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