Song of Solomon 4
McGeeCHAPTER 4This entire chapter except the last verse is the song of the bridegroom. It expresses Solomon’s love for this girl whom he had met up in the hill country and had brought to town, as it were. I suppose that she wore shoes for the first time. Now she is wearing lovely dresses, and she sits at the table of Solomon. What a privilege she had, and she was rejoicing in it. As we read this chapter, we should see that the Spirit of God is trying to show us Christ’s love for us. It is expressed through this very wonderful and personal relationship. It shows to us the love of Christ for the church and His love for the individual believer. This is the love song of the Bridegroom, or the love song of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is obvious that He speaks of the church when He says, “Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee” (v. Son_4:7). This is Christ speaking of the church, of the believer; He is speaking to you and me. Does that mean then that we are going to have to become perfect? Oh, no. In Ephesians Paul says, “…as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word” (Eph_5:25-26).
He’s already cleansed us by the blood; through His sacrifice we have the forgiveness of sin, so that there is no charge brought against us. But He is also going to sanctify us and cleanse us by the Word of God. “That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish” (Eph_5:27). He will be the One who will make the church without spot or wrinklewe will be seen in Christ. Now He can look at the church and say, “Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee” because He removed the spot from the church and from each believer.
Song of Solomon 4:1
We find here a very minute description of this girl. It describes the parts of her body, if you please. Now there are two extreme viewpoints of marriage. One is that the emphasis is put upon sex. The other is that there is no emphasis put on sex, that marriage is such a high, holy state that sex doesn’t enter into it at all. But when the emphasis is placed completely on sex, then the relationship becomes more like that between two animals. True marriage lies between these two extreme viewpoints. When the bridegroom holds the bride in his arms, their love, their physical love, is consummated.
Song of Solomon 4:2
This is how the bridegroom sees the bride. I’m sure every young fellow has looked into the eyes of some girl and told her what beautiful eyes she has. I met my wife when she was a young schoolteacher. She had black hair, black as a raven’s wing, and dark brown eyes. Today there is some gray hair. I tell you, when I met her, I thought her hair was beautiful, and I told her so. I told her she had beautiful eyes. Now I never told her she had beautiful big toes, because I really don’t think her big toes are beautiful. But I do think she is beautiful. This reveals to us that the Lord Jesus not only loves us but the Lord Jesus knows us. We need to quit kidding ourselves, because we are not kidding Him at all. This means that we can go to Him and tell Him everything. There is no use in trying to cover up, no use in trying to use subterfuge, no use in trying to beat around the bush. We can tell Him everything that we have on our hearts. We can tell Him all about our weaknesses, about our sin, about all the things that are in our hearts and lives. That is the way to deal with them. Do you have an inferiority complex? Then tell the Lord Jesus about it. He is the only One who has an answer for that. An eminent Christian psychologist here in Southern California years ago told me, “You can’t get rid of an inferiority complex. All that the psychologist can do is shift an inferiority complex from one place in the personality to another. The only place where anyone finds a solution to it is at the cross of Christ.” I believe that is where people should go with their complexes.
Augustine said that our hearts are restless until we come to the Lord. Paul wrote, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Php_4:13). Maybe you don’t even need to get rid of your inferiority complex. It may help you to find your strength in Him. It may keep you from being a proud, arrogant Christian. It may help you give all the glory to Him. Do you have a bad habit which you would like to change? Then go to Him and confess it. He is rich in mercy. I think that for years I must have gone to Him two or three hundred times to tell Him about something. He was rich in mercy to me, which means He has a whole lot of it. Although I failed again and again, I kept going back in repentance. It was wonderful to go to Him. Do you know what happened? When the time came, He gave me the victory in His way. Our Lord moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform. He doesn’t follow my rules or your rules. He doesn’t do it through some gimmick which men have worked out. He helps in His own time and His own way. May I say to you, He knows us intimately. He knows every tiny detail of our lives. We should never be afraid to go to Him and tell Him everything.
Song of Solomon 4:6
This is the place where we need to go for the solution to our problems. “The mountain of myrrh” is symbolic of the Cross of Christ, because myrrh speaks of His death. That is where you will find comfort and salvation and help and hope. “The hill of frankincense” refers to His life, but not simply His earthly life. Paul writes, “Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more” (2Co_5:16)now we know Him as the glorified Christ. The solution to your problem is in knowing Christ. “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Php_2:5). That, my friend, is the reason that I keep saying the answer is in the Word of God. It is ignorance of His Word that causes people to search elsewhere for answers. It makes a person vulnerable to false teachers who trade on and take advantage of those who are ignorant of the Word of God. But it is through the Word of God that we get acquainted with Jesus Christ and learn to sit at that round table in the banqueting hall which we have seen here in the Song of Solomon. There we can feast with Him, and find satisfaction and joy in Him. You and I do not realize how much He really loves us. Listen to Him:
Song of Solomon 4:9
The bridegroom speaking of the bride typifies the Lord Jesus speaking of believers, those who are His own. This is how much He loves us today. Oh, it would break your heart and my heart if we knew how much He loves us. Only the Spirit of God can make this love real to us. Some folks write out a little motto and stick it on their car bumper and then drive around with it. It says, “Jesus loves you.” I wonder, how do you know He loves you? Have you experienced that love yourself? Are you conscious of His love right now? Oh, my friend, He loves you! Fall in love with Him. Now the bride speaks:
Song of Solomon 4:16
Remember how the Lord Jesus taught His disciples in the Upper Room in that wonderful discourse that is found in John 13-17. In the midst of it, in John 14, we find that the Lord Jesus is interrupted again and again by the disciples asking Him questions. The last one to interrupt Him was Judas. Have you ever noticed the question which he asked the Lord? “Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?” (Joh_14:22). He is saying in effect, “Lord, it is wonderful to be here. You are revealing these wonderful truths about Yourself to us, but what about the world outside?” Now the bride is getting the message. “O north wind"that north wind is cold, and it may cause the bride to get very cold. But, “Awake, O north wind.” Why? That this spice, this wonderful fragrance might be blown out to others and they might enjoy it. Dr. Ironside adds: “It indicates her yearning desire to be all that he would have her to be.” The north wind, he continues, is “that cold, bitter, biting, wintry blast. Naturally she would shrink from that as we all would, and yet the cold of winter is as necessary as the warmth of summer if there is going to be perfection in fruitbearing.
It takes the cold to bring out the flavor of apples. And it is so with our lives. We need the north winds of adversity and trial as well as the zephyrs of the south so agreeable to our natures. The very things we shrink from are the experiences that will work in us to produce the peaceable fruits of righteousness. If everything were easy and soft and beautiful in our lives, they would be insipid; there would be so little in them for God that could delight His heart; and so there must be the north wind as well as the south.” It is this kind of life that the Lord Jesus uses to reach the world. He has not forgotten the world. The bride says to her beloved, “Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.” This is an invitation he will accept. And in that Upper Room the Lord Jesus said to His questioning disciples, “…If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him” (Joh_14:23).