> Wn>#0*># <fi W *3> *fe ' ' 
 
 2 
 f 
 
 
/tt >////,/ /'I- 
 
 ITOWNLTZ 
 
 'nH>K.f/-:/.uw 
 \Hoflon. / 
 
 v 
 
 W, 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 . 631. 
 
 Accessions 
 
 
 September 
 
 -Shelf No. 
 
THE 
 
 SONG OF SONGS 
 
 COMMENTARY, NOTES, 
 
 8fc. y c . 
 
 Price 6y. in Boards, 
 \ 
 
BY THE SAME AUTHOR. 
 
 AN HISTORICAL DEFENCE OF EXPERIMENTAL RELIGION, 
 J vol. 12mo. boards, 6s. 
 
 A VINDICATION OF THE CALVINISTIC DOCTRINES OF 
 HUMAN DEPRAVITY, THE ATONEMENT, DIVINE INFLUENCES^ 
 &c- 8vo. boards, 4s. 
 
 THE AGE OF INFIDELITY, 8vo. 2 parts, 4s. sewed. 
 
 THE AGE OF CREDULITY, 8vo. Is. 
 
 REASONS FOR FAITH IN REVEALED RELIGION, 8vo. Is. 
 
 INFANT SALVATION, 8vo. 6d. 
 
 THE MISSIONARY, a Poem, &c. 12mo. 6d. 
 
THE 
 
 SO'NG OF SONGS, 
 
 WHICH IS BY 
 
 SOLOMON. 
 
 A NEW TRANSLATION: 
 
 A COMMENTARY AND NOTES. 
 
 By T. WILLIAMS, 
 
 AUTHOR OF THE AGE OF INFIDELITY, &C. 
 
 O procul este profani ! 
 VIR 
 
 hence be souls profane I 
 
 rj 
 
 IRCIL. 
 
 DRYDIN. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PHINTED BY C. WHITFINGHAM, 
 
 J>enn-Street, Ketter-Lane, 
 
 TOR T. WILLIAMS, No. 10, STATIONERS COURT, LUDGATE STREET. 
 
 1801. 
 
S / 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 ^TPHE following work originated in a serious 
 
 enquiry, whether this book be a genuine 
 
 part of the holy scriptures ; and if so, how it 
 
 should be explained, that it may become * pro- 
 
 * fitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, 
 
 * for instruction in righteousness.' The process 
 and result of these enquiries are now before the 
 public, who will judge of the evidence which 
 fully satisfied the author. To those who have 
 never doubted, such a chain of argumentation 
 may appear unnecessary; and to others who 
 read only for pious improvement and reflec- 
 tion the discussion may appear dry and unin- 
 teresting. Such should recollect, however, 
 that some attention is due, both to the scruples 
 of their brethren, and to the objections of un- 
 believers: that the temple of gospel truth, like 
 that of old, has its steps, which must be gra- 
 dually ascended, before we can behold its 
 higher mysteries. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The account given in the Introductory Es- 
 say, of the plan and hypothesis I have adopted, 
 makes it unnecessary to detail them in this 
 place. r lhe poem is divided into sections, 
 allotting two to each of the seven days of the 
 marriage festival ', commencing the morning 
 after the celebration ; though I must confess 
 myself far from sanguine in the propriety of 
 these divisions, chiefly from not knowing how 
 to dispose of the Sabbath, which must have 
 been one day in the seven, though it is doubt- 
 ful which should be assigned to it. 
 
 In elucidating the poetical imagery I have 
 made considerable use of the eastern writers, 
 availing myself of the learned researches of 
 Sir W. JONES, and others. In the latter part 
 of the work I have also adopted some ideas, 
 and controverted others, of the EDITOR of CAL- 
 MET, whose translation appeared before several 
 of my last sheets were printed off. 
 
 Two things in this undertaking may seem to 
 require apology, the boldness of the attempt, 
 and the length of time it has been in hand : 
 but these circumstances counterpoise each other ; 
 
 ; See page 65. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 and the former will be a sufficient excuse for 
 the latter, especially to those acquainted with 
 the author's other avocations. The work is 
 at length before the public with all its imper- 
 fections. If the reader will throw a mantle 
 of candour over them, I hope he will find 
 many things to assist his enquiries, and to lead 
 his contemplations to that object which alone 
 claims unqualified admiration 4 THE ALTO- 
 
 ' GETHER LOVELY.' 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 ESSAY I. ON the origin of language, &c. particularly of Pige 
 figurative language and allegory : and of the 
 
 Hebrew poetry and music 
 
 I. Of the origin of language, metaphors, &c 2 
 
 II. The origin of poetry, and nature of Hebrew poetry 20 
 
 III. The Hebrew music and recitation 27 
 
 ESSAY II. On the nature, design, and authority of Solomon's 
 
 hong 44 
 
 I. Its author Solomon ib. 
 
 II. Its occasion, his marriage with Pharaoh's daughter 54 
 
 III. Its nature a sacred dramatic allegory 60 
 
 IV. Its imagery vindicated 66 
 
 V. Its mystical sense 75 
 
 Vl. Its inspiration 95 
 
 VII. Former commentators, with the plan of the follow- 
 ing work 100 
 
 TheNEw TRANSLATION 121 
 
 The COMMENTARY with Notes 13.9 
 
 SECTION I. Chap. 1. ver. 2 4 147 
 
 5, 6 156 
 
 7, 8 164 
 
 II 911 172 
 
 1214 180 
 
 , III 1517 185 
 
 Ch. II. 1 3 196 
 
 4 6 204 
 
 7 210 
 
 IV 8, 9 214 
 
 1013 217 
 
 14 ..r 224 
 
 15 228 
 
 16, 17 232 
 
 V Ch. III. 2 5 238 
 
 VI 611 244 
 
 VII. ... Ch.IV. 1 6 256 
 
 VIII 7, 8 264 
 
 911 266 
 
 1215 269 
 
 Ch.IV. 16 V. 1 274 
 
 IX Ch.V. 2 8 280 
 
 916 288 
 
 Ch.VI. 13 296 
 
 X 4 9 297 
 
 1113 308 
 
 XL ... Ch.VII. 1 9 314 
 
 XII 1113 324 
 
 Ch. VIII. 1 4 327 
 
 XIII 5 7 332 
 
 XIV 810 337 
 
 1114 34] 
 
INTRODUCTORY 
 
 ESSAYS. 
 
 -'"' ' '-I " ^^"*- 
 
 ESSAY I. 
 
 ON THE 
 
 ORIGIN OF LANGUAGE, 
 
 PARTICULARLY OF 
 
 FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE AND ALLEGORY: 
 
 AND OF THI 
 
 HEBREW POETRY AND MUSIC. 
 
 MANY learned men have complained of the 
 poverty of the Hebrew language, occa- 
 sioned by the paucity of its primitive words, or 
 roots: from this, however, arises the frequent 
 use of figurative terms, one of the chief beauties 
 of language, and an essential (perhaps the most 
 essential) ingredient of poetic composition. 
 The discussion of this subject, therefore, natu- 
 rally carries us back to the origin of language, 
 and of metaphorical expression. 
 
 B 
 
SECTION I. 
 
 OF THE ORIGIN OF LANGUAGE, &C. 
 
 THE origin of language is a problem which 
 has exercised the greatest wits and the ablest 
 scholars; and, perhaps, no one has solved it 
 better than our justly celebrated MILTON, who 
 makes the father of mankind thus express him- 
 self, on his first sensation of existence : 
 
 .' To speak I try'd, and forthwith spake, 
 
 * My tongue obey'd, and readily could name 
 
 * Whate'er I saw '. 
 
 This supposes that Adam received the rudi- 
 ments of language at the same time with his per- 
 ceptions and understanding, and from the same 
 hand z . I say the rudiments of language, be- 
 cause I conceive our first parent was not formed 
 for idleness, but for .exertion and improve- 
 ment : to cultivate, not only his garden, but his 
 
 1 Par. Lost, Book viii. 
 
 2 The learned Dr. Leland agrees perfectly with this idea : 
 * From the account given by Moses of the primeval state of 
 man, it appears that he was not left to acquire ideas in the 
 ordinary way, which would have been too tedious and slow 
 as he was circumstanced ; but was at once furnished with the 
 knowledge which was then necessary for him. He was im- 
 mediately endued with the gift of language, which necessarily 
 suppofes, that he was furnished with a stock of ideas, a speci- 
 men of which he gave in giving names to the inferior ani- 
 mals, which were brought before him, for that purpose.' 
 Advan. and Nfcess. of the Christian Revelation^ vol. II. b. ii. 
 ch. 2. 
 

 
 mind ; and to enlarge and improve, \by reflec- 
 tion and experiment, every branch of know- 
 ledge with which he was originally endowed, 
 and, among others, that of language. 
 
 That the first principles of language were few 
 and simple, will be readily admitted . It is proba- 
 ble that the primitive words were all monosylla- 
 bles 1 , each at first expressing one simple idea*; 
 but afterward compounded into various gram- 
 
 1 Shuckford's Connect, vol. i. p. 119, 20. 2d ed. 
 
 2 An ingenious French writer (Mons. Eergier) some years 
 since planned a Dictionary of the Elements of Language, by 
 which he means those simple monosyllables of which the 
 primitive language consisted, and from which all languages 
 are formed. He supposes these primitive roots might not be 
 more than two hundred, and from the specimen given in one 
 (viz. 3tf, ab, eb, ib, Ob, ub) these seem abundantly sufficient, 
 See Mon. Rev. 1764, p. 504, &c. The Chinese language 
 is at present in this state, containing between three and four 
 hundred primitive monosyllables, which are varied by accent 
 and pronunciation, as I am informed, to the number of about 
 eighty thousand, even without the variety resulting in other 
 languages from declensions and conjugations, &c. Mr. 
 Blackivell thinks the Egyptian and most of the northern 
 tongues were also composed at first of monosyllables (E^q. 
 into the Life, &c. of Homer, p. 41. n.) That this was the 
 case of the Hebrew I cannot doubt. The primitive roots 
 were, J conceive, at first formed of two radicals only, as 3N% 
 btf, &c. ; tp these, in the further improvement of the language, 
 I suppose the final n was added and formed rots*, r6w, &c. - 
 Then the participial letter 1 was inserted as in SIN, Vltf, &c. 
 The transposition of the radicals would form another source 
 of variety, as sntf, bnN : and lastly, roots were compounded 
 by borrowing a third radical from other roots, or incorpo- 
 rating a servile, &c. This subject is curious, but I will 
 give only one or two examples : SN is to swell : rQN to desire : 
 ana* to love : mN (changing n for \) to desire ; all originally one 
 root : N itself is often accessary ; so I conceive "ON from ~O : 
 b^x from ^n : but the subject of compound verbs is too ex- 
 tensive and conjectural for discussion here. 
 
matical forms, and their meaning enlarged and 
 varied by their application to different objects. 
 
 I have supposed that the first principles of 
 ; language arid science were received by intuition* 
 The case of the first man differed materially 
 from that of his descendants. Coining into the 
 world infants, and having parents to instruct us, 
 innate ideas and instinctive knowledge are not 
 necessary for us; but without these Adam would 
 have been a child at man's estate, which is the 
 exact character of an ideot. Besides, as it ap- 
 pears, the whole creation was formed in a state 
 of maturity, the leaves in full growth, and the 
 fruits ripe analogy leads us to suppose the 
 same of man. 
 
 All our ideas are admitted by the senses, and 
 consequently refer, in the first place, to exter- 
 nal objects; but no sooner are we convinced 
 that we possess an immaterial soul or spirit, than 
 we find occasion for other terms, or, in the 
 want of them, another application of the same 
 terms to a different class of objects : and hence 
 arises the first and principal source of metapho- 
 rical expression. 
 
 Thus ruach\ the term at first used for air, 
 or wind, is applied to spirit; and nephesh*, 
 breath, to the human soul. Shemaim* signi- 
 fies both the visible heavens, and the imme- 
 diate residence of Deity; and sheol* is va- 
 riously applied to the grave the unseen world, 
 in general and to the state of future punish- 
 ment. 
 
 ! rrn 
 
One of the most considerable uses Adam 
 had for language, must have been in naming 
 the creatures, of which Moses gives a short, 
 jbut emphatical account. 'The Lord God had 
 4 formed every beast of the field, and every 
 1 bird of the air, and brought them unto Adam, 
 
 * to see what he would call them ; and what- 
 
 * soever Adam called every living creature, 
 
 * that was the name thereof 1 / It is idle to 
 enquire how they were brought: he that made 
 them was able to bring them within the sphere 
 of Adam's observation: and I think the names 
 given abundantly prove that he had time and 
 opportunity to hear their natural cries, and to 
 observe their characters, which could hardly 
 be the work of an hour, or a day. I have sup- 
 posed that he heard their natural cries, because 
 it is generally allowed that several of the He- 
 brew names, both of beasts and birds, are form- 
 ed by onomatopoeia. So the sparrow is called 
 tsippor* from its chirping, the raven gnoreb* 
 (or oreb) from its croaking, and the ass by 
 the two different names of gnarod* (or gnorud} 
 and pray 5 from iis braying. Instances of a 
 like nature occur in other languages, as the 
 cuckoo with us, and the sookoo of the south 
 seas. 
 
 The far greater part of the names, however, 
 applied to animals in Hebrew, appear to be de- 
 rived from their characteristic qualities : as for 
 
 1 Gen. ii. 19. 
 
 . . 
 
 N. B. In deriving names by onomatopoeia, the points in. 
 Hebrew must often be disregarded. 
 
instance, the camel is called gamel 1 from its 
 revengeful temper, and the sheep racket* 
 from its meekness : the kite daah 5 from its 
 remarkable method of flying, or sailing in the 
 air, and the hawk raeh 4 from the proverbial 
 quickness of its sight. 
 
 This subje6t is so curious and entertaining 
 that I could with pleasure pursue it; but I 
 have been already carried into a digression from 
 my design, which was to shew how man came 
 at first by his ideas and words, and particularly 
 the origin of figurative terms. 
 
 AVe have observed that all our ideas at first 
 enter by the senses, 5 and that the terms applied 
 to spiritual objects are borrowed originally 
 from natural ones. So the verb raak 6 signi- 
 fies, first, to see, and secondly, to understand, or 
 to experience. Thus Solomon : " My heart 
 had great experience [had seen much] of wis- 
 dom and knowledge 7 . So ain* [literally, the 
 re/lector] is used as well for the eye of the 
 mind as of the body 9 . The verb to hear sig-> 
 nifies also to hearken, and to obey; and to taste, 
 or feel 9 means frequently to experience; and 
 these terms are so applied, not only in Hebrew, 
 but also in our own and other languages. 
 
 5 Sec this demonstrated in the case of persons born blind 9 
 in a little pamphlet entitled, ' The Principles of Atheism 
 proved to be unfounded.' 8vo. 1796. 
 
 * ; n*O 7 Eccles. i. 1 6. 
 
 8 ry from roy to reflect. (Parkhurst.) 
 
 9 See Gen. xvi. 6. Deut. xvi. 19. I Sam. xv. 17. 
 2 Sam. vi. 22. &c. 
 
 3 
 
Once more, from a verb signifying to feed, is 
 derived the name of a shepherd; and because 
 the office of a shepherd is the proper emblem 
 of a good prince, kings are called shepherds, and 
 their subjects are compared to sheep ; though 
 perhaps it should be taken into the account, 
 that in the ages of pastoral simplicity the offices 
 were sometimes united : so the Egyptians reckon 
 among their early monarchs, a race of shepherd 
 kings. From this honourable application of 
 the term, it was carried still higher, even to 
 him who was the Prince and Shepherd of the 
 house of Israel. 
 
 So closely, in the present state, are our ideas 
 connected with material objects, that we cannot 
 define even the Supreme Spirit, but by a term, 
 borrowed from the material air, or breath ; and 
 he who " knows our frame, and remembers 
 that we are but dust, has himself condescend- 
 ed to teach us this language, and to describe 
 himself in terms accommodated to our con- 
 fined notions : for it would be as impossible for 
 our minds to comprehend the nature and pro- 
 perties of pure spirit, as for our mortal eyes to 
 support the blaze of uncreated glory. 
 
 And as our ideas are very confined, so it is 
 natural to suppose, that the first language must v 
 consist of few, and simple terms. This is ano- 
 ther source of metaphorical expression, for it 
 was much easier, and more natural, to apply 
 the same terms in a figurative way, to different j 
 objects, and ideas in some respects similar, than / 
 to invent new ones. This we find to be the 
 fact among rude and uncivilized nations jn our 
 
own time. When Omiah, from Otaheite, was 
 first introduced to Lord Sandwich, in order to 
 distinguish the company present, he pointed 
 first to the butler, and called him " king of the 
 bottles" Capt. Furneaux, " king of the ships" 
 and Lord Sandwich, *' king of ail the ships." 
 
 Something like this appears to have been the 
 case with the antient Hebrews, and accounts 
 for many of their idioms. Thus they variously 
 apply the term Baal, signifying Lord, or Mas- 
 ter. A master of arrows ' is a skilful archer 
 a master of dreams*, a remarkable dreamer 
 a master of the tongue 3 , a great talker a 
 master of contrivances, a cunning fellow 4 and 
 a bird swift of flight, a master of the wing*. In 
 like manner they apply the term ben, a son, to 
 a great variety of objects. An arrow is the son 
 of the bow a spark, the son of a coal and 
 a vine branch, the daughter of the vine 6 . An 
 animal a year old is the' son of a year 1 a man 
 deserving punishment, a son of stripes 9 and so 
 in a variety of other forms. 
 
 Dr. BLAIR remarks, * We are apt, upon a 
 
 * superficial view, to imagine that figures of 
 
 * speech are among the chief refinements of 
 
 * language devised by orators and rhetoricians. 
 4 The contrary of this is the truth. Mankind 
 'never employed so many figures of speech as 
 
 * when they had hardly any words ;' and this 
 seems the true reason why all barbarian or in- 
 
 1 Gen. xlix. 23. 5 Gen. xxxvii. 19. 
 
 2 Eccles. x. IX. 6 Prov. xxviii. 8. 
 2 Prov. i. 17. "' Gen. xlix. 22. 
 
 * ExgcL xii. 5, * Deut, xxv. 2. 
 
artificial tongues abound in the use of meta- 
 phors ; many of them conducting their com- 
 mon < public transactions with bolder meta- 
 
 * phors, and greater pomp of style, than we 
 
 * use in our poetical productions 1 / 
 
 That figures, properly employed, give great 
 force and beauty to composition, will not be 
 controverted ; yet we see they originated in the 
 paucity of words, and the poverty of language: 
 so Providence has ordained in this mixed state 
 of things ; beauties often arise out of defeats ; 
 as the rudest objects in nature furnish the most 
 interesting views. 
 
 It is natural to suppose, that mankind would 
 early discover this circumstance, and soon em- 
 ploy figurative terms, as well from choice as 
 from necessity ; to give life and spirit to their 
 conversations, and especially to their set speeches 
 and compositions. 
 
 Mr. Blackwell observes, ' that the Turks, 
 
 * Arabs, Indians, and, in general, most of the 
 
 * inhabitants of the east, are a solitary kind of 
 
 * people, they speak but seldom, and never 
 4 long without emotion : but when, in their 
 
 * own phrase, they ope?i their mouths, and give 
 
 * loose to a fiery imagination, they are poetical, 
 
 * and full of metaphor. Speaking, among such 
 6 people, is a matter of some moment, as we 
 
 * may gather from their usual introductions ; 
 
 * for before they begin to deliver their thoughts, 
 
 * they give notice that they will open their 
 
 * mouth, that they will unloose their tongue^ that 
 4 they will utter their voice and pronounce with 
 
 ^ 
 
 1 Blair's Lect. vi, voU I. 
 C 
 
10 
 
 6 their lips. These preambles bear a great re* 
 ' semblance (adds this learned writer) to the 
 ' old forms of introduction in Homer, Hesiod; 
 
 * and Orpheus, in which they are sometimes 
 
 * followed by Virgil 1 / I may subjoin, that they 
 are the very expressions adopted by the sacred 
 writers. 
 
 Another source of figures, which I shall 
 mention, is the use of picture-writing and hiero- 
 glyphics. Bishop WARBURTON has largely 
 shewn % that picture writing was the first me- 
 thod of recording public events : to this suc- 
 ceeded hieroglyphics, which were an abridg- 
 ment of the former method ; and these were 
 followed by the arbitrary characters of literal 
 writing, which were most probably abridged 
 from hieroglyphics. 
 
 These ideas are not merely conjectural. 
 When the Spaniards invaded South America, 
 the inhabitants sent expresses to Montezuma, in 
 paintings upon cloth ; and Purchase gives the 
 copy of a Mexican picture, which contains the 
 history of an antient Indian king, in emble- 
 matic pictures. So in North America, to pre- 
 serve historical events, they peel off the bark 
 on one side of a tree, scrape it clean, and then 
 draw with ruddle the figure of a hero and his 
 military exploits; the representation of a hunt- 
 ing party, and the beasts killed ; or any other 
 circumstance they wish to remember, or to 
 record J . 
 
 1 Enquiry into the Life and Writings of Homer, p. 43. 
 x Divine Legation, Vol. IT. 
 
 , .. 3 Los kid's Hist, of the Mission of the United Brethren 
 
 in North America, translated by Latrobe, part i. p. 55. 
 
11 
 
 This way of delineating events would be 
 easily transferred to poetry, which is a method 
 of painting objects upon the imagination, with 
 a strength and durability which mere literal 
 expression can by no means effect. And * an 
 6 ALLEGORY (according to Lord KAIMS) is in 
 ' every respect similar to an allegorical paint- 
 
 * ing ; except only that words are used instead 
 ' of colours. The effects are precisely the same. 
 
 * An hieroglyphic raises two images -in the 
 
 * mind ; one seen, which represents one not 
 
 * seen : an allegory does the same ; the repre- 
 ' tentative subject is described, and resemblance 
 ' leads us to apply the description to the subject 
 
 * represented '.' 
 
 Again, in the early state of society men con- 
 verse much by the aid faction. When they 
 know not how accurately to name an object, 
 they point to it ; or, in the absence of the ob- 
 ject itself, to its image or resemblance ; hence 
 arises the language of action as well as words. 
 Of the Indian orators it is remarked, that they 
 use a great variety of gesticulations : and the 
 same is true of the natives of the South Sea 
 Islands, and of all uncivilized nations, in pro- 
 portion to their vivacity. Nor is this method 
 confined to uncivilized society. With the deaf 
 and dumb, action is employed as a substitute 
 for speech ; and on the theatre it forms a fa- 
 vourite species of amusement ; for what are the 
 ballet and the pantomime but speaking action ? 
 To such a degree of perfection was this art car- 
 
 1 Elements of Criticism, Vol. II. p. 269, 
 
12 
 
 ried by the ancients, that Roscius^ the celebrated 
 Roman actor, boasted to Cicero that he could 
 express any sentiment in as great a variety of 
 intelligible gestures as he cpuld of words. 
 
 Even dancing, which is with us a mere 
 amusement, and in general a very vain one, 
 appear* to have been much more dignified in 
 its original ; being employed in the religious 
 worship of the Greeks, the Egyptians, and even 
 the Hebrews. Among the former it is supposed 
 to have been an imitation of the motion of the 
 heavenly bodies. So Lucian tells us, that 
 ' dancing had its rise with the first beginning 
 
 * of ^11 things for the choral revolution of the 
 ' stars, and the complicated motions of the pla- 
 6 nets among the fixed stars, and their regular 
 
 * communion with each other, and well-orderecj 
 
 * harmony, are instances of the primeval danc- 
 ing 1 .' To this idea our MILTON evidently 
 alludes, when he reckons dancing among the 
 employments of heaven. 
 
 * That day, as other folemn days, they spent 
 In joy and dance about the sacred hill ; 
 Mystical dance, which yonder starry sphere 
 O f planets, and of fix'd, in all her wheels 
 Keseii.bles nearest, mazes intricate, 
 Eccentric, ii';;ervolv'd, yet regular 
 Then most, when most irregular they seem *.' 
 
 That the Hebrews employed dancing in their 
 religious worship is indisputable from the in- 
 stance of David and others, in the Old Testa- 
 
 1 Lncian wept O?%^<rW, Vol. I. p. 913. Ed. Ben. 
 
 2 Par. Lost, Book V. 1. 620. 
 
13 
 
 ment 1 ; and it is no less certain that it was 
 practised in the religious services of the Hea- 
 thens, as it is to tins day, in various countries; 
 all their sacred feasts being accompanied with 
 dancing 2 . 
 
 But to return from this digression, and keep 
 nearer to our subject, it merits our particular 
 attention that the prqphets themselves frequently 
 accompanied their oracles with some symboli- 
 cal action ; and their exhortations were com- 
 monly delivered with great animation and vio- 
 }ent gestures, such as clapping of the hands, 
 smiting on the thigh, and stamping with the 
 foot 3 ; all which actions, perhaps, were com- 
 monly used in the sacred dances. 
 
 Many of these actions, it must be confessed, 
 appear to us extravagant and unaccountable ; 
 but this arises from the difference of customs 
 and habits ; and many of ours would doubtless 
 have appeared as strange and unaccountable to 
 them : though it might be added, that some of 
 the most celebrated orators oi Greece, France, 
 and our own country, have on particular occa- 
 sions, used the most energetic action. 
 
 1 2 Sam. vi. 14, 16. i Chron. xv. 29, &c. 
 
 2 It seems more extraordinary that liie custom should 
 obtain among a denomination of modern Christians ; yet we 
 are assured there now exists a Christian sect at Lebanon in 
 North America, called Shakers, (or shakin , quakers) who 
 used at first violent gesticulations in their \\ors. ip (like the 
 jumpers in Wales) but who now, in public wor.-liip, Have *a 
 
 * regular, solemn, uniform dance^ or gem .iieciion, to as regu- 
 
 * lar, solemn a hymn, which is sung by the elders, and as 
 f regularly conducted as a proper band of music.' See the 
 New York Theol. Mag. for Nov. and Dec. 1795. 
 
 a Ezek, vi. II ; xxi, 12, 14. 
 
14 
 
 The last source of the metaphorical language 
 of the Sgriptures, which I shall distinctly men- 
 tion is, that God himself was pleased to institute 
 a kind of silent language, both in the works of 
 nature, and in the types of revealed religion. 
 
 First, in the works of nature : ' Because that 
 
 * which may be known of God is manifest in 
 
 * them : for the invisible things of him from 
 
 * the creation of the world are clearly seen 
 
 * (being understood by the things which arc 
 ' made) even his eternal power and Godhead V 
 The Hebrew psalmist expresses the same idea 
 in all the charms of poetic language 1 . 
 
 * The heavens declare the glory of God ; 
 
 * And the expansion " sheweth the work of his hands. 
 
 * Day after ' day uttereth speech, 
 
 ' Night after night revealeth knowledge. 
 
 ' There is no speech, nor language ; 
 
 ' Without 6 [these] is their voice heard. 
 
 ' Into all the earth is their sound 6 gone forth ; 
 
 ' And unto the extremities of the world their sayings; 
 
 * In them hath he set a tabernacle for the Sun, 
 
 * Which goeth forth as a bridegroom from his chamber, 
 
 * And rejoiceth as a mighry man to run a race !' 
 
 1 Rom. i. 19, 20. 2 Psalm xix. i, &c. 
 
 5 This is doubtless the meaning of the Hebrew (yp*)) ; 
 our translators erred by following the LXX. and they were 
 misled by their philosophy. 
 
 4 So the particle ^ is rendered, Gen. vii. 10. See Poll 
 Synop. in Psalm. 
 
 5 See Job viii. 11. in the Heb. where this particle fya is 
 twice so rendered. 
 
 6 So the apostle Paul quotes this passage, Rom. x. 18. 
 Dr. Durell thinks a letter has been dropped here, and that we 
 should read CD^Ip, as in the preceding verse ; but as this is 
 pot supported by ^/ISS. Dr. Kcnnicot rather thinks that the 
 word nip might signify sound, or report, like a kindred 
 word in Arabic ; and this will agree with the radical idea, 
 which is to project, extend, &c. See Parkhurst. 
 
15 
 
 To this beautiful object the psalmist else- 
 where compares the Deity himself: ' God is 
 ' a sun 1 :' i. e. as the sun is the source of 
 light and heat to the terrestrial world, so is God 
 the fountain of wisdom, and of all excellence. 
 From this striking resemblance, the solar lumi- 
 nary was made originally the medium, and ai- 
 terward the object, of religious worship, which 
 in succeeding ages degenerated to meaner and 
 baser idols. 
 
 Leaving, however, the abuse of these things, 
 it is sufficiently evident that much of the divine 
 perfections may be learned from the works of 
 creation; though I dare not consider them as 
 images of the divine nature in the manner of 
 its existence, because I conceive the Most High 
 to be, in that respec/, a being without parallel, 
 and without similitude. 4 To whom will ye 
 ' liken God ? or what likeness will ye compare 
 * unto him z ?' 
 
 The volume of nature is open to all, but pe- 
 culiarly so to men of poetic genius : their eyes 
 discover a thousand charms unobserved by 
 others ; and this is the grand treasury, whence 
 their best and most striking images are drawn. 
 A different class of beauties unveil themselves 
 to the pious believer, who claims an interest in, 
 and a relation to, their Author. The religious 
 poet possesses both advantages ; but the prophet 
 a third, which perfected and crowned the 
 others. 
 
 Bishop Lo WTH on Isaiah, chap. ii. 1 3 1 6, re- 
 
 1 Psalm Ixxxiv. n. 2 Isa. Ix. 18. 
 
16 
 
 ; 
 
 marks, 'These verses arTorcTus a striking example 
 4 of that peculiar way of writing which makes 
 
 * a principal characteristic of the parabolical, or 
 
 * poetical, style of the Hebrews, and in which 
 4 their prophets deal so largely ; namely, their 
 4 manner of exhibiting things divine, spiritual, 
 4 moral, and political, by a set of images taken 
 4 from tilings natural, artificial, religious, histo- 
 4 rical ; in the way of metaphor or allegory. Of 
 ' these nature furnishes much the largest, and 
 ' the most pleasing share ; and all poetry has 
 
 * chiefly recourse to natural images, as the 
 
 * richest and most powerful source of illustra- 
 ' tion. But it may be observed of the Hebrew 
 
 * poetry in particular, that in the use of such 
 
 * images, and in the application of them in the 
 
 * way of illustration and ornament, it is more 
 ' regular and constant than any other poetry 
 
 * whatever ; that it has, for the most part, a set 
 4 of images appropriated, in a manner, to the 
 ' explication of certain subjects. Thus you will 
 
 * find, in many other places beside this before 
 4 us, cedars of Lebanus and oaks of Basan are 
 
 * used in the way of metaphor and allegory, for 
 4 kings, princes, potentates, of the highest 
 4 rank ; high mountains, and lofty hills, for 
 4 kingdoms, republics, states, cities; towers and 
 4 fortresses for defenders and protectors, whether 
 fc by counsel or strength, in peace or war; ships 
 ' of Tarshish, and works of art and invention 
 4 employed in adorning them, for merchants, 
 4 men enriched by commerce, and abounding 
 
 * in all the luxuries and elegancies of life ; such 
 4 as those of Tvre and Sidon/ 
 
17 
 
 Sometimes the natural and moral world are 
 compared in like manner, by a set of images 
 not less beautiful, and little less sublime. Thus 
 mankind, in a state of natural depravity, are 
 compared to the wild olive and the poisonous 
 vine, which are, by the grace of God, con- 
 verted into the good olive -and the fruitful vine. 
 So the thorn, the thistle, and the bramble, are 
 changed into the box, the myrtle, and the fir- 
 tree. The grace of God itself is compared to 
 fountains and rivers of living water ; and the 
 odours emitted by the most fragrant plants 
 represent that ' good report of all men, and of 
 6 the truth itself/ which results from a truly 
 virtuous and Christian character. By an as- 
 semblage of these images, both Solomon and 
 Isaiah compare the church of God to a rich, 
 fertile, and inclosed garden. 
 
 2. Typical images and allusions are another 
 grand and important source of figurative lan- 
 guage. Types are properly figurative things ; 
 and typical actions, things, places, or persons, 
 bear the same relation to other actions, things, 
 places, or persons, that figurative language bears 
 to literal. 
 
 The method of typical instruction appears to 
 have been adopted by God himself, immediately 
 on the creation of mankind. When God formed 
 our first parents he placed them in a garden, 
 planted, as it should seem, with figurative in- 
 struction. The tree (or trees) of life, had cer- 
 tainly a typical allusion and figurative design, 
 pointing, in the first instance, to that immorta- 
 lity to which he was originally created. So, 
 
 D 
 

 18 
 
 it has been supposed the tree of knowledge re- 
 ceived its name, from being appointed the test 
 and medium of knowing practically the differ- 
 ence between good and evil. After the fall, the 
 tree of life was employed as an image of a 
 happy life ; and a type of eternal happiness, 
 and of Him who was to be the author and me- 
 dium of it. But to shew that this life was not 
 to be obtained by the mere strength of human 
 exertion, the cherubim, inclosed with cloud 
 and revolving flame, were placed to guard the 
 entrance to the garden where it grew. 
 
 It is observable, that the first promise of di- 
 vine mercy was made in this kind of figurative 
 language. 6 The seed of the woman' was to 
 ' break the serpent's head, and at the same time 
 * to be wounded by it in his heel.' These are 
 all figurative terms. The serpent, as he had 
 been the agent, was also to be considered as 
 the emblem of Satan. After the fall, also, our 
 first parents were clothed with the skins of 
 beasts, which, there is reason to believe, had a 
 figurative import. 
 
 The tabernacle and temple were not only 
 types themselves, but full of typical things. 
 Their institutions and services were all typical ; 
 and even the instruments and utensils employed 
 in them. But of what they were typical, is ano- 
 ther subject of inquiry. JOSEPHUS makes the 
 tabernacle, the sacerdotal vestments, and the 
 holy vessels, all figurative of the system of 
 the world and nature. The three parts of the 
 tabernacle he resembles to the earth, the sea, 
 and the heavens. The twelve loaves of the shew- 
 
19 
 
 bread, according to him, signify the twelve 
 months. The golden candlestick (or chande- 
 lier) represents the signs of the zodiac, and the 
 seven Jamps the planets. The curtains, of four- 
 colours, the four elements. The high priest's 
 linQn j^nrngnts, design the body of the earth, 
 and the violet-colour, the heavens the pome- 
 granates answer to lightning, and the bells to 
 thunder. ' The four-coloured ephod bears re- 
 
 * semblance to the very nature of the universe, 
 
 * and the interweaving it with threads of gold, 
 
 * to the rays of the sun, which enlighten us. 
 ' The pectoral (or breast-plate) in the middle, 
 < intimates the position of the earth in the 
 6 centre of the world. The priest's girdle, the 
 
 * sea about the globe of the earth the two sar- 
 6 donyx stones on the shoulders, the sun and 
 
 * moon and by the other twelve stones on the 
 ' breast, may be understood either the twelve 
 ' months, or the twelve signs of the zodiac V 
 Fanciful and extravagant as this account seems, 
 \ve may learn from it two things deserving 
 observation: 1. That the antient Jews consi- 
 dered these things as typical and figurative ; 
 and 2, That the carnal part of them being ig- 
 norant of the mysteries of the gospel, applied 
 them to natural instead of spiritual objects ; just 
 as now some men (who call themselves rational 
 
 1 Antiq. lib. iii. cap. 7. So Phiio, and among the more mo- 
 dern Jews, R. Abrabanel and R. Bechai, explain the tabernacle 
 as representing the universe, in a manner not very dissimilar 
 from Josephus. See Kidder's Messiah, id edit.- fol. p. 113, 
 
 U 4 . 
 
20 
 
 Christians) reduce Christianity to the standard 
 of natural religion. 
 
 St. PAUL, and the other New Testament 
 writers, represent these things in a different 
 point of view, Christ and Christianity are all in 
 all with them. In one remarkable circumstance 
 only, St. Paul and the Jewish historian seem 
 perfectly to agree they m&ke the holy of 
 holies typical of heaven, the immediate resi- 
 dence of God. The epistle to the Hebrews is a 
 system of typical exposition ; to which may be 
 added that of St. BARNABAS, whose interpreta- 
 tions, however fanciful they may seem, are 
 certainly not more so than the allegories of 
 Philo and Josephus. 
 
 SECTION IL 
 
 ON THE O1UGIN OF POETRY, AND ON THE 
 NATURE OF THE HEBREW POETR.Y. 
 
 IN tracing the origin of figurative language, 
 we have also traced the origin of poetry, since 
 the first poetry appears to have been only lan- 
 guage highly figurative and musical. 
 
 It is in this sense, as Dr. Blair observes, 
 4 Poetry has been said to be more anticnt than 
 
 * prose : and, however paradoxical such an as- 
 
 * sertion may seem, yet, in a qualified sense, it 
 ' is true. Men certainly never conversed with 
 
21 
 
 ' one another in regular numbers; but evei\ 
 
 * their ordinary language would, in antient 
 
 * times, approach to a poetical style ; and the 
 
 * first compositions transmitted to posterity were, 
 
 * in a literal sense, poems ; that is, compositions 
 
 * in which imagination had the chief hand^ 
 
 * formed into some kind of numbers, and pro- 
 ' nounced with a musical modulation or tone 1 .' 
 
 It is indeed easy to believe, that human lan- 
 guage might attain a considerable degree of 
 elevation and force, before it acquired the exact- 
 ness of prose c< >mposition. This we observe in 
 young writers, who, if they possess any degree 
 of genius, are generally flowery and poetic : 
 and find much time and practice needful to 
 attain the neatuess and purity of correct prose. 
 The human mind, like a good vine, sends forth 
 vigorous and lofty branches; but it requires the 
 judgment of an experienced hand to prune 
 away the weak and unnecessary shoots, in order 
 to give perfection to the fruit. Or, we may 
 compare it to a river, strong and rapid in a state 
 of nature, but often ready to overflow its boun- 
 daries, and desolate the surrounding country, 
 till the hand of art rears high and strong banks, 
 and by proper canals and locks, distributes its 
 waters, so as to be the means only of fertility 
 and pleasure. 
 
 The nature of the Hebrew poetry hath been 
 so learnedly and satisfactorily ascertained by 
 Bp. LOWTII, and his system is so well known 
 and generally adopted by the learned, that 
 
 1 Dissertation on Ossian's Poems, also lecture vi. p 133, 
 &c. See likewise Bishop Lowth's Prelect, sect. iv. 
 
22 
 
 what I shall ofier on this subject will be little 
 more than the result of his discoveries. 
 
 That the Hebrew poetry does not consist in 
 rhyme, is very evident; and no less so that it 
 consisted not in measured lines of equal length, 
 like those of blank verse : but it is distinguished 
 from simple prose by the following circum- 
 stances. 
 
 1. The use of highly figurative language, of 
 which we have seen several examples in the 
 preceding section ; and with which our pro- 
 phetic writers particularly abound. This is 
 perfectly natural and consistent. Our first views 
 of objects are generally exaggerated, and make 
 a strong impression on the mind from their no- 
 velty : hence it is natural to speak of them in 
 poetic language. And this language is per- 
 fectly adapted to prophecy, since it was na- 
 tural to describe with rapturous and glowing 
 language, what was seen in vision and in 
 ecstasy. 
 
 A 2d mark of poetic composition is the ar- 
 rangement of the words in their poetic order, 
 which is often the reverse of the prosaic. To 
 those acquainted with the learned languages this 
 remark can want no illustration ; and to the 
 plainest English reader it may be rendered in- 
 telligible by a single verse from the oracle to 
 Shebna '. 
 
 * And I will drive thee from thy station, 
 
 * And from thy state will I overthrow thee.* 
 
 Here the first line gives the prosaic, and the 
 * Lowth's Isa. xxji. 19. 
 
23 
 
 Second the poetic order : not but poetry admits 
 the former arrangement, though modern prose 
 seldom will admit the latter. 
 
 The 3d and most characteristic property of 
 Hebrew poetry is what Bishop LOWTH calls a 
 parallelism ; or a certain poetic correspondency 
 between the parts and members of the poetic 
 verses. The different lengths and measures of 
 the Hebrew verse are ascertained by the alpha- 
 betic psalms 1 and poems, in which every verse 
 begins with a certain letter, in the manner of 
 an acrostic. Transferring the rules derived from 
 these examples to the other poetical parts of 
 scripture, we find that they resolve themselves 
 into poetic lines, or verses, as in the following 
 examples ; though it may not be always easy to 
 mark and divide them so distinctly. 
 
 Seek ye Jehovah, while he may be found; 
 Call ye upon him while he is near V 
 
 A wise son rcjoiceth his father ; 
 
 But a foolish son is the grief of his mother 3 .' 
 
 Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; 
 For thou knowest not what evil .shall be upon the 
 earth 4 .' 
 
 These instances, borrowed from Bishop 
 LOWTH, exhibit the three kinds of parallels, 
 which he calls synonymous, antithetic, and 
 constructive ; but for a full account of them I 
 must refer to his learned preliminary disserta- 
 
 1 Psalm xxv. &c. xxxiv. xxxvii. cxi. cxii. cxix. cxlv. 
 Prov. xxxi. 10 31 ; and Lament, i. ii, iii. iv. 
 * Isa. Iv. 6. 3 Prov. x. i. 4 Eccles. xi. 2. 
 
tion to Isaiah, where the inquisitive reader will 
 find ample satisfaction. 
 
 I would add, however, that the Hebrew 
 poetry consists of long and short lines, of cou- 
 plets, triplets, and other combinations of verses 
 sufficient to form a considerable variety, and to 
 suit the different species of poetic composition 
 employed by the inspired writers. 
 
 4. The last mark of the poetic style is a cer- 
 tain rhythm and harmonious arrangement of 
 the syllables. 4 That the verses had something 
 c regular in their form and composition, seems 
 
 * probable from their apparent parity and uni- 
 
 * formity, and the relation which they mani- 
 
 * festly bear to the distribution of the sentence 
 
 * into its members. But as to the harmony 
 
 * and cadence, the metre or rhythm, of what 
 
 * kind they were, and by what laws regulated, 
 
 * these examples give us no light, nor afford us 
 
 * sufficient principles on which to build any 
 
 * theory, or to form any hypothesis. For har- 
 
 * mony arises from the proportion, relation, and 
 c correspondence of different combined sounds ; 
 
 * and verse from the arrangement of words, and 
 
 * the disposition of syllables, according to the 
 c number, quantity, and accent ; therefore the 
 
 * harmony and true modulation of verse de- 
 
 * pends upon a perfect pronunciation of the 
 
 * language, and a knowledge of the principles 
 ' and rules of versification ; and metre supposes 
 ' an exact knowledge of the number and 
 
 * quantity of the syllables, and in some lan- 
 
 * guages of the accent. But the true pronun* 
 
 * ciation of Hebrew is lost : lost to a degree far 
 
25 
 
 ' beyond what can ever be the case of any Eu- 
 ' ropean language preserved only in writings : 
 
 * for the Hebrew language . . . has lain now for 
 
 * 2000 years, in a manner mute, and incapable 
 
 * of utterance : the number of syllables is, -in a 
 ' great many words, uncertain : the quantity 
 
 * and accent wholly unknown 1 .' 
 
 Thus the learned translator of Isaiah ; and, 
 by this extract, the reader will perceive his 
 lordship pays little regard to the Masoretic 
 points and accents, and esteems ' the rules of 
 ' the Jews of no authority.' Without these, 
 however, that the Hebrew writers had a respect 
 to. quantity and accent, there is sufficient evi- 
 dence in the poetic licences they employ in 
 lengthening and abbreviating words, by forms 
 little used in their prose or historical composi- 
 tions ; and by an arrangement of words some- 
 times very intricate, and, at this distance of time, 
 very hard to understand. 
 
 We have said, the Hebrews had their poetic 
 licences, and to these, I conceive, should be re- 
 ferred some peculiarities in their language, 
 which critics and grammarians have found it 
 difficult to account for. Among these, one of 
 the principal seems to be an enuttcge or change 
 of tenses; the past for future, and the future 
 for past, or rather both past and future for the 
 present-, which is wanting in the Hebrew, ex- 
 cepting the participle, and this in many cases 
 cannot be conveniently employed. It is ho\v- 
 
 1 Lowth's Prelim. Divert, to Isaiah, 8vo. ed. p. 10. See 
 also his Lectures, Leer. III. 
 
 E 
 
ever rather as a poetic beauty, than from 
 ccssity, that the prophets so frequently, < rapt 
 c into future times,' consider them as present, 
 or even past, and relate them with all the cer- 
 titude of history. Instances of this abound in 
 Scripture, and none is perhaps more beau- 
 tiful and striking than the 53d chapter of 
 Isaiah. 
 
 It is true, indeed, that the sacred writers fre- 
 quently employ the contrary idiom, and use 
 the future for the past 1 , which seems not so 
 easy to be accounted for*. In many places the 
 tenses are used promiscuously, and interchange- 
 ably, in the same or in succeeding verses ; in 
 which case, perhaps, both ought to be rendered 
 into English by the present, for which 1 suppose 
 them generally to be used ; being designed to 
 collect the actions or events, either past or fu- 
 ture, more immediately under the observer's 
 eye ; and thus rendered would, I conceive, ac- 
 quire additional elegance and beauty 5 . 
 
 1 Deut. rv. 42. Psal. Ixxx. 9, &c. 
 
 2 Grammarians have endeavoured to get over thefe diffi- 
 culties by ascribing a kind of magic influence to the particle 
 van (,) which has the power, they say, according as it is 
 pointed, to convert preters into futures, and vice versa. Some 
 give it a sort of magnetic virtue, by which they suppose it 
 can operate at a distance ; so that if you can rind this vau 
 within two or three verses it may suffice. Others go farther, 
 and supposing this vau to be often omitted, allow you to un- 
 derstand, or supply one. So that in short, wherever you 
 may suppose an enallege of tenses, you have only to find a 
 vau prefix ; or, if you cannot find, you may supply one, 
 and the work is clone. Every one muft see the futility of 
 these rules, and their tendency to perplex translators. 
 
 3 Examine, for instance, Deut. xxxii. 10 2O; Ps. Ixxviiu 
 36 41, in the original. 
 
SECTION III. 
 
 DN THE HEBREW MUSIC AND RECITATION. 
 
 LET us now enquire into the primitive me- 
 thod of reciting poetry. Poetry, being in a pe- 
 culiar manner the language of contemplation 
 and devotion, appears naturally to require and 
 assume a higher tone, and sublimer expression, 
 than mere prose. It is said that the celebrated 
 president Edwards, who was fond of retirement 
 and solitary contemplation, used when alone in 
 the woods of North America, to chaunt forth 
 his meditations ; and it was probably the case 
 with the first generations. MILTON reckons de- 
 yotional melody among the employments of 
 pur first parents, in their state of innocence. 
 
 Their oraisons each morning duly paid 
 In various style ; for neither various style, 
 Nor holy rapture, wanted they to praise 
 Their Maker in fit strains pronouncM, or sung 
 Unmeditated ; such prompt eloquence 
 Flow'd from their lips, in prose, or numerous verse, 
 More tunable than needed lute or harp 
 To add more sweetness '.* 
 
 Dr. Blair assumes it as a principle 2 , ' that the 
 
 * pronunciation of the earliest languages was 
 
 * accompanied with more gesticulation, and 
 I with more and greater inflexions of voice than 
 
 1 Par. Lost, book v. 2 Lect. VI. 
 
c we now use 1 ; there was more action in it; 
 
 * and it was more upon a crying or singing 
 6 tone" 
 
 The union of poetry and music among the 
 IJebrew prophets, is evident from their com- 
 monly prophesying with instruments of music 1 ; 
 and that, even when they do not appear capable 
 of performing themselves, as was probably the 
 case of Elisha, who called for a minstrel to play 
 before him, when he invoked the prophetic 
 spirit 5 . 
 
 In the earliest ages of the Greeks, we find the 
 same union of poetry and music : their bards, 
 in imitation of' the Hebrew prophets, being both 
 poets and musicians, and (which is worthy of 
 peculiar remark) universally claiming a degree 
 and kind of inspiration, either from the gods, 
 or from the muses : whence St. Paul, in accom- 
 modation to their own style, calls the Greek 
 poets, their prophets :' As certain of their 
 4 own prophets have said 4 ,' referring, as is sup- 
 posed, to Aratus and Cleanthes. 
 
 These Greek prophets, poets, or musicians, 
 it appears originally delivered their composi- 
 tions in a kind of extemporaneous melody, ac- 
 companied upon the lyre. So did in particular, 
 Ilesiod and Homer ; and the latter in describ- 
 
 1 So the learned Mr. Blackwell supposes that, at first, 
 mankind ' uttered their words in a much higher note than we 
 
 * do now ; occasioned by their falling upon them under some 
 
 * passion^ fear, wonder, or pain. Hence 'Avtitiv signified at 
 
 * first simply to sjieak, which now, with a small variation*, 
 1 U&EIV, signifies to sing.' Enq. into the Life of Homer, p. 38. 
 
 2 i Sam. x. 2 12. xix. 2O 24. 
 
 a 2 Kings, iii. 15. * Acts, xvii. 28. 
 
 4 
 
ing ftemodocus (probably intended as a portrait 
 of himself) says, 
 
 ' The bard advancing meditates the lay :' 
 
 And, supposing him to be under a divine in- 
 fluence, adds, 
 
 * Taught by the gods to please, when high he sings 
 c The vocal lay, responsive to the strings V 
 
 It should even seem that in those early times, 
 nothing but poetry was sung ; and poetry in no 
 other way recited ; whence to recite and sing 
 became synonimous iii poetic language, and so 
 continue to the present day 2 . Dr. BLAIR thinks 
 that even the declamation of the Greek and 
 Roman orators/as well as the pronunciation of 
 their. stage-actors, ' approached to the nature o 
 ' a recitative in music, and was capable of being 
 4 marked in notes, and supported with instru- 
 ' ments'.' 
 
 This inseparable union of poetry and music 
 was preserved in many nations till within these 
 few ages; and is in some, even to this very day* 
 The Druidical and Celtic, German, Gaelic, 
 British, Caledonian, and Hibernian bards and 
 minstrels, are all famous in the page of history. 
 Mr. STEWARD, an eminent traveller 4 , mentions 
 a vestige of extemporaneous verses and singing 
 
 1 Odys. book viii. 
 
 e Bunny's Hist, of Music, vol. I. p. 281, and note (c) 
 312. Stilling fleet's Orig. Sac. book I. ch. iv. sect, i; and 
 Rousseau's Diet, de Mus. in Qjiera. 
 
 3 Lect. vi. vol. I. 
 
 * Harris's Philological Enquiries, p, 286. 
 
30 
 
 with instrumental accompaniment, as a kind of 
 elegant amusement among the modern Athe- 
 nians, of which he was an eye and ear witness. 
 The Barcarolles (or extemporaneous ballads) of 
 the gondoliers, or watermen of Venice, are fa- 
 mous all over Italy; nor only among the vulgar, 
 but even among the most celebrated masters. 
 And ROUSSEAU tells us^ there is nothing more 
 common in that country, than tp see two ex- 
 temporary musicians challenge, attack each 
 other, and forrn alternate couplets on the same 
 air, with a vivacity of dialogue, melody, and 
 accompaniment, incredible but to an eye-wit- 
 ness 1 . 
 
 Of the merits of the Hebrew music, musical 
 writers have indeed formed very low estimates, 
 and spoken with much contempt. ' To speak 
 
 * freely on this matter (saya Sir J. HAWKINS) 
 
 * whatever advantages this people might derive 
 
 * from the instructions of an inspired law-giver, 
 
 * and the occasional interpositions of the Al- 
 
 * mighty, it no where appears that their attain- 
 
 * ments in literature were great, or that they 
 
 * excelled in any of those arts that attend the 
 
 * refinement of human manners. With respect 
 ' to their music, there is but too much reason 
 
 * to suppose it was VERY BARBAROUS.' 
 
 As to literature, where shall we find histo- 
 rians, poets, or philosophers, equal to Moses, 
 Isaiah, and Solomon ? But with respect to their 
 MUSIC, I beg leave to transcribe, with some 
 
 s Roust. Diet, de Musique, in Barcarolles and Imjirovhare. 
 
variation, the observations I have offered on 
 this subject in another work 1 . 
 
 First, I observe that the Jews appear to have 
 been always fond of music. Whatever polite* 
 arts they neglected, this they cultivated to the 
 utmost of their power, even from the lowest t<* 
 the highest ranks. Not only David the shep- 
 herd, but David the king, was a musician. 
 Solomon, whether or not a performer himself, 
 provided singing men and singing women, 
 with abundance of instruments 2 . The prophets 
 generally, if not always, used them, and music 
 was taught in their schools, the only seminaries 
 of learning among the Hebrews'. 
 
 They likewise highly honoured those who 
 were famous' in this art, ranking them with 
 their most illustrious characters. Thus the son 
 of Sirach, c Let us praise famous men, and our 
 ' fathers that begat us. Leaders of the people 
 
 * by their counsels, and by their knowledge of 
 ' learning meet for the people ; wise and elo- 
 
 * quent in their instructions. Such as found out 
 
 * musical tunes and recited verses in writing. 
 
 * All these were honoured in their generations, 
 ' and were the glory of their times 4 .' 
 
 Neither was this attention to music merely 
 in obedience to the divine appointment, since, 
 when they degenerated to idolatry, their music 
 was perverted too : and on every festival, music 
 
 1 Historical Essay on Church Music prefixed to Psalmodia 
 Evan. vol. II. p. 19, and seq. :: Eccies. ii. 8. 
 
 3 i Sam. x. 2 12. xix. 20 24. I Kings, xx. 39. 
 2 Kings, in. 15. i Chron, xxv. I 3. Psal. xiix. :. 
 
 * Ecclus. xliv. i 7. 
 
and dancing seem constantly to form principal 
 parts of their employment. Nor is their attach- 
 ment to music to he wondered at. Their cli- 
 mate was warm, and Dr. BURNEY repeatedly 
 tells us, that the inhabitants of hot countries arc 
 most fond of music 1 . 
 
 2. As to performers, it must be confessed 
 that the human voice is the same in all ages ; 
 and if, in their present state, some of the Jewish 
 nation have not only gained admiration at the 
 synagogue, but applause at our public theatres*; 
 it seems no absurd supposition, .that their ances- 
 tors, in a state of opulence and prosperity, edu- 
 cated in the study, of the science, and patro- 
 nised by the most liberal and accomplished 
 princes, might be capable, if not of such volu- 
 bility and so many artificial graces, yet of me- 
 lodies more chaste, and tones more charming 
 to the unvitiated ear ; and it is granted by the 
 best judges, that no kind of music has so great 
 an effect on the human passions. 
 
 The great number -of the children of the Le- 
 vites* would always provide a powerful chorus 
 of treble voices, and some select ones, with 
 those of the singing women, would furnish 
 a variety for the solo parts. The Levites also, 
 being themselves educated to music in a very 
 early period, and many of them devoted wholly 
 
 1 German Tour, vol. I. page 3 ; Hist. vol. IV. 565. 
 
 9 Sig. Leoni, &c. 
 
 ! The ingenious Mr. BEDFORD supposes (Temple Music, 
 p. 76 79) that this expression is not to he understood lite- 
 rally, but of the singing boys their disciples, which seems 
 probable from' every family containing the same number. 
 i Chron. xxv. 8 31. 
 
33 
 
 to that employment, with a proper provision 
 for their support, would have every desirable 
 opportunity for improvement. 
 
 3. The musical instruments of the Hebrews 
 form the next, and a very curious subjecl of 
 enquiry. The Hebrew musical instruments, as 
 indeed all others, are of three kinds; nechi- 
 lot/t, or wind-instruments, neginoth, or stringed 
 instruments, and the timbre], tabret, cymbal, 
 &c. which were pulsative, or of the drum kind. 
 Of the former, the principal is the organ 
 which was invented by Jubal, several centu- 
 ries before the flood. This, in itsfirst state, was 
 probably similar to the syrinx, or pipes of Pan, 
 composed of several reeds of unequal lengths, 
 and, consequently, different sounds. An in- 
 strument of this kind has been found in several 
 uncivilized countries; and though it may bear 
 no comparison with modern instruments, it is 
 hard to say to what perfection it might be car- 
 ried by artists, who could devote five hundred 
 years, or more, to its study and improvement. It 
 was evidently a pastoral instrument, and if we 
 may credit the additional psalm in the Septua- 
 gint, David used to make it when a shepherd. 
 Whether the Hebrews ever connected a bag with 
 these pipes is uncertain ; but Kircher describes 
 what he calls an ancient organ, consisting of a 
 row of pipes in a chest, blown by a pipe in- 
 stead of bellows, and probably stopped with the 
 lingers, instead of keys. 
 
 The other wind-instruments were chiefly 
 //0mvand trumpets; and these, no.. doubt, 
 
 E 
 
34 
 
 nally, were the horns of animals, and chiefly 
 used as military music. 
 
 Jubal, the antediluvian, is also celebrated as 
 the inventor of the harp or Hebrew lyre, which 
 was the most ancient of stringed instruments, 
 and a great favourite of the Jewish nation. 
 They call it the pleasant harp 1 , and made it the 
 constant companion of their pleasures 2 as well 
 as devotion. It is supposed that this instrument 
 was improved to a considerable degree of per- 
 fection by the Egyptians, at a period, perhaps, 
 considerably anterior to this 3 ; and there seems 
 no good reason to pronounce the Hebrew harp 
 inferior to the Egyptian, except in size. David 
 and the Levites often dancing as they played, 
 shews that it must have been with them a poiv 
 table instrument. 
 
 JOSKPHUS ascribes the psaltery to Jubal, as 
 well as the harp; but the scriptures never men- 
 tion it till the time of David ; and it might pos- 
 sibly be one of the instruments he invented. 
 The rabbins describe this instrument in a form 
 not unlike that of a lantern, which may be 
 true of a more modern instrument under the 
 same name. The Hebrew name nebel, which 
 signifies a bottle, jug, or flaggon, seems to de- 
 termine its shape to that kind of figure, as both 
 Jewish and Christian writers have observed 4 . 
 JOSEPH us says, it had twelve sounds, and was 
 played upon by the fingers ; herein being distill* 
 
 1 Psal. Ixxxi. 2. 2 Isa. xxiv. 8. 
 
 3 See Burney's Hist, of Music, vol. I. p. 220*. 
 
 4 Ainsworth, in Psal. xxxiii. 2, and at the end of his anno- 
 tations. See also Calmrfs Diet. 
 
35 
 
 guished from the harp, which was played with 
 a plectrum ', /. e. a piece of bone, wire, or 
 quill ; as it was so late as the time of our great 
 king Alfred. Another and principal differ- 
 ence, however, probably was, that the former, 
 being a weaker instrument, was used to accom- 
 pany the female voices ; and the latter as more 
 powerful, the men, who sung an octave lower z . 
 
 This instrument was also famous among the 
 heathen, who esteemed it a Phoenician inven- 
 tion ; and Ovid describes it as turned about 
 with the hands in playing J . From these cir- 
 cumstances it should seem of the same spe- 
 cies with the modern lute or mandoline, hav- 
 ing perhaps a short neck, and the back 
 rounded. The modem Jews use the same word 
 for a violin, and our tranflators have in some 
 places rendered it a viol 4 . David mentions 
 an instrument of ten strings, which the Talmud 
 interprets of a species of harp, and others of 
 the psaltery ; but it should seem to have been 
 distinguishable from both, though perhaps only 
 in some trifling circumstance s . 
 
 Among the instruments used to accompany 
 the sacred dances, were the shalishim, rendered 
 
 1 Antiq. lib. vii. cap. 12. 
 
 2 So is commonly, and I think ju'stly understood, the regu- 
 lation of the royal psalmist, I Chron. xv. 20, 21. Certain 
 leaders were appointed to play with psaltery on alamoth y 
 nyArby, for the virgins, /". e. to accompany their voices; 
 and others with harps, on the sheminoth^ for the octave voices, 
 i.e. the men, who sung an octave lower. 
 
 3 See Parkhurst's Hebrew Lexicon, in ^23, 
 
 4 Lsa. v. 12. xiv. ii. Amos, v. 23. vi. 5. 
 
 5 See Psal. xcii. 3. 
 
simply instruments of music % which probably 
 were steel triangles, such as are used by our street 
 musicians, with or without the addition of 
 rings, to assist the tinkling. Some critics, how- 
 ever, chuse to render this word, by the same 
 rule of interpretation with the preceding, an 
 instrument V>f three strings. 
 
 Of the third class of instruments we have the 
 top ft, timbrel, or tabret. This appears to have 
 been exaclly the sanle instrument as the Syrian 
 diff, or modern tambourine, which has lately 
 been introduced among us as a companion 
 to the barrel organ. This also was the usual 
 accompaniment of dancing, whether secular 
 or sacred. 
 
 Their cymbals appear to have been of two 
 kinds, the tzilzell shamagh and tzilzell tcmgah, 
 the /owrf-sounding and the ///gA-sounding cym- 
 bal 2 , which were probably distinguished by the 
 size ; the former, being the larger, and that used 
 on the grandest occasions, having been also 
 lately introduced into our military bands, as a 
 part of the Turkish music, needs no descrip- 
 tion ; every person who has heard it, must be 
 sensible of its solemn and peculiar effects, as 
 an accompaniment to other instruments. 
 . This enumeration of the Hebrew instruments 
 may be sufficient to shew their powers ; and 
 when great numbers of them were united, 
 and accompanied with hundreds, or thou- 
 sands of human voices, which would greatly 
 cover their imperfection, their chorus must 
 
 1 i Sam. xviii. 6. * Psal. cl. 3. 
 
 3 
 
37 
 
 have been highly animating, whether in the 
 temple or in the camp. We may, also, in a great 
 measure infer the probable excellency of the 
 Hebrew music from the euphony of their 
 language, and the -sublimity of their poetry. 
 On the former, some learned men have pro* 
 nounced very warm eulogiums ', and if we 
 might be allowed to form a judgment from the 
 few words, such as Amen, Hallelujah, &c. 
 which have been adopted into' our own and 
 many other languages, nothing can be better 
 adapted for musical expression. It is, however, 
 very difficult to judge of the pronunciation of 
 a language that must have undergone so many 
 changes ; and has been, in a manner, a dead 
 language for so many centuries, 
 
 As to the Hebrew poetry, Mr. ADDISON, a 
 critic of the first rank in literature, has pro- 
 nounced the Hebrew hymns and odes to excel 
 those that are delivered down to us by the an- 
 cient Greeks and Romans in the poetry, as much 
 as in the subject to which it was consecrated, 
 This may be made obvious, even to au 
 English reader : let the Bible version of the 
 psalms and prophecies, under all the disad- 
 vantages of its being literal, and sometimes in- 
 accurate, be compared with the highly fi- 
 nished versions of Virgil and Homer, by Dry- 
 den and Pope, and that person must have 
 either very strong prejudices, or a very weak 
 judgment, who does not immediately perceive- 
 .the superiority of the former ". 
 
 1 Univ. Hist. vol. III. 201, and note V 
 ~ See Spectator, vol. VI. No. 405, 453. 
 
38 
 
 Nor must this be imputed solely to the in- 
 spiration of the writers, since there is as much 
 difference in their style as between that of men 
 uninspired. Moses, David, and Amos, differ 
 nearly as Milton, Watts, and Bunyan. So, in 
 the New Testament, there is a manifest differ- 
 ence between Peter, Luke, and Paul. The 
 Spirit of inspiration, doubtless, raised and im- 
 proved their intellectual powers, but did not 
 annihilate them. One was sublime and ner- 
 vous ; a second, sententious and concise ; a 
 third, elegant and diffuse ; all beautiful, 
 though various. Thus, ' There is one glory of 
 * the sun, another of the -moon, and another of 
 ' the stars,' 
 
 The excellence of the Hebrew poetry may 
 be urged in favour of the language, and both 
 in favour of their music. Sublime and beauti- 
 ful compositions are seldom produced in rude 
 and inharmonious languages, and poetry is 
 rarely cultivated where music is greatly neg- 
 lected. This remark has greater force in re- 
 ference to former times, when the professions 
 were united, than to the present, when they 
 are distinct. It is very difficult to suppose, 
 that the most poetic nation in the world should 
 be unmusical ; or that the inimitable odes of 
 Moses, David, and Isaiah should be composed 
 to 6 very barbarous' music. 
 
 The investigation of the Jewish musical 
 theory would be foreign to our present pur- 
 pose. If the diatonic scale be that of Nature, as 
 Lord BACON says 1 , it is natural to suppose it 
 
 1 Natural Hist, page 30, 
 
39 
 
 the most ancient, not only in the world, but 
 in every country ; and this notion very well 
 agrees with the few fragments of ancient mu- 
 sic still remaining. 
 
 From the construction of the syrinx or lie- 
 brew organ, of a regular series of pipes, it 
 should seem that they used the whole octave, 
 without omitting the natural semi-tones, as in 
 the old Greek enharmonic, the Chinese and an- 
 cient Scottish scales ' ; and this idea is rendered 
 more probable from the number of strings on 
 some of their instruments, which we know to 
 have been at least ten in David's time, when 
 scarcely half that number was used in Greece. 
 
 As to the length of their notes, it is certain 
 that formerly the duration of sounds was 
 always regulated by the length of the syllables 
 to which they were adapted. These among 
 the Greeks were of two sorts, long and short. 
 The modern Jews, however, have vowels of 
 four different lengths ; and Mr. Bedford sup- 
 poses, that the ancient Hebrews had as great 
 a variety in their musical notes 2 . 
 
 It; is generally believed, and not without 
 reason, that the most ancient method of sing- 
 ing was a species of chant, or recitative; yet iii 
 the only text in which our translators have used 
 the word.cA<mf (in the margin quaver} it seems 
 to intend an artificial running of divisions 5 . 
 
 1 JBurney's Hist, of Music, vol. I. p. 37, 38, and 497 ; 
 compare also p. 226*. 
 1 Temple Music, p. 29. 
 3 Amos, vi. 5, See Parkhurst's Hebrew Lexicon, p, 542, 
 
40 
 
 That harmony, in the modern sense of the term, 
 as implying music in different parts, was known 
 to the ancient Hebrews, there appears to me 
 little reason to suppose, since we are informed 
 that the great number of voices and instruments 
 employed at the dedication of Solomon's tem- 
 ple made but ( one sound V This, however, 
 must be supposed to include octaves (as it may 
 with strict propriety) for the treble and bass 
 voices, as well as instruments, would certainly 
 be in diapason. The musical -notation of the 
 Hebrews is another very curious subject of 
 enquiry. ' Neither the ancient Jews, nor the. 
 6 modern (says Dr. BURNEY) have ever had 
 4 characters peculiar to music ; so that the 
 c melodies used in their religious ceremonies 
 4 have at all times been traditional, and at the 
 
 * mercy of the singers. The Canonica Cavalca 
 *' is however of opinion, that the points of the 
 4 Hebrew language were at first musical cha- 
 racters; and this conjecture has been con- 
 
 * lirmed to me (adds the doctor) by a learned 
 ' Jew, whom 1 have consulted on that sub- 
 
 * jcct, who says, that the points still serve two 
 { purposes ; in reading the prophets they 
 
 * merely mark accentuation ; in singing them 
 ' they regulate the melody, not only as to 
 ' long and short, but high and low notes 2 / This 
 is a common opinion among the Jews, and is 
 perhaps not totally without foundation. .The 
 opinion, however, which now prevails among 
 the learned i?, that the ancient Hebrews were not 
 
 : 2 Chron. v. 13. ^ Hist, of Music, vol. I. 251. 
 
41 
 
 acquainted either with the points or accents, 
 but that they have been invented by the Jewish 
 doctors since the Christian asra x . 
 
 If we were to consider the effects of the 
 Jewish music, particularly in the case of Saul, 
 and its general influence over the dispositions 
 of the people, we might safely compare them 
 with any that can he well attested in the Gre- 
 cian history. We might also enlarge on the 
 degree of refinement to which this and other 
 arts were carried in the elegant court of Solo- 
 mon, and the notice afterwards taken of the 
 ' Songs of Sion' among their eastern con- 
 querors *. But these circumstances would 
 lead us into a very extensive field of enquiry ; 
 we shall therefore conclude with observing, 
 that, 
 
 On the whole If the Jews were a nation 
 much attached to music if their dispensation 
 had peculiar advantages for its cultivation if 
 their voices and instruments were, at least, 
 equal to those of any other cotemporary 
 nation if their language was euphonic, 
 and their poetry sublime if the effects of their 
 music were considerable, and its fame extended 
 to foreign countries it may certainly deserve 
 a better epithet than that of very barbarous: it 
 must have been at least equal to that of any of 
 the ancient nations. 
 
 In addition to the above observations on the 
 Hebrew music, I would only add a few re- 
 
 * Encyc. Brit, in Accent. 2 Pf. cxxxvii. 3. 
 
marks on the manner in which it was con* 
 ducted. 
 
 Above fifty of the Psalms are directed, as 
 our translators express it, to the chief musician. 
 There appear, indeed, to have been several 
 leaders upon the different instruments of music: 
 among these Asaph seems, in David's time, to 
 have been the chief, and it is particularly said 
 of him, that he played the cymbals. I con- 
 ceive the performers to have been placed in 
 two choirs, as in our cathedrals ; and that the 
 Psalms were most of them in dialogue, so that 
 the choirs answered to each other, and then 
 joined in chorus. This chief musician (Asaph, 
 for instance) I suppose to have stood at the 
 end, with the cymbals, by which he directed 
 the performers, and when he wished a hold or 
 pause, to produce any particular effect, or per- 
 haps any particular change in the perform- 
 ance, he elevated his hands with the cymbals 
 (as we see the Turkish musicians frequently 
 do) ; and this I take to be the precise meaning 
 of the word selah, which has so much per- 
 plexed the commentators '. 
 
 By the titles of the Psalms it appears that 
 some of them were more particularly designed 
 
 1 The manner in which the ancient versions have rendered 
 these words has puzzled the critics as much as the words 
 themselves. The LXX, for instance, render nxxh sis TO 
 reAcf, to the end [man], by whom I suppose they meant the 
 leader, who was placed at the upper end of the choir. The 
 word rf?D, they render by A/2\J/#A^tf, which expresses not 
 so properly the literal meaning of the word, as its design 
 a change in the performance, or a deviation in the 
 
43 
 
 to be accompanied by stringed, and others by 
 wind instruments : . This, though it may ap- 
 pear a trifling distinction in itself, might be 
 of some importance to ascertain the nature of 
 the poetic composition. This idea was sug- 
 gested by a hint of Sir W. JONES*, who ob- 
 serves that the music of the Greeks was accom- 
 panied with different instruments, according 
 to the different modes, as the Phrygian with 
 the sound of trumpets, &c. So that a Phrygian 
 was a trumpet-air, a Lydian a flute-air, and so 
 of the rest. If any thing like this obtained 
 among the Hebrews, the stringed instruments 
 probably accompanied the more cheerful 
 strains, and the softer wind instruments, as the 
 organ, &c. the more plaintive. 
 
 We have supposed the Hebrew Psalms were 
 performed in dialogue, and this rests not 
 merely on supposition. On some occasions we 
 know that they answered one another, and then 
 doubtless joined in chorus. But as this subject 
 may be resumed, when we come to consider 
 the Song of Solomon as a sacred drama, I shall 
 here conclude the present section, and with it, 
 our first Introductory Essay. 
 
 1 Those for stringed instruments are Ps. iv, vi, liv, &c, 
 But one only is marked for wind instruments, namely, Ps. v. 
 
 * Essay II. added to his Asiatic Poems, 
 
ESSAY II. 
 
 ON THE NATURE, DESIGN, AND DIVINE 
 AUTHORITY OF SOLOMON'S SONG. 
 
 WE now bend our attention to the second 
 general object of enquiry, which will compre- 
 hend several particulars, viz. the author and 
 antiquity of this book the occasion on which 
 it was composed the nature of the piece the 
 images employed the allegorical design 
 the inspiratioa of the book and an histo 
 sketch of the commentaries upon it. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 Let us enquire first for the AUTHOR of 
 poem, and, in so doing, endeavour ; , M Cer- 
 tain its antiquity i and, as nearly as possjole, its 
 date. I admit that the titles of the satred 
 books of the Old or New Testament, are not 
 always either of divine authority, or of very 
 high antiquity : but this I think is clearly so, 
 as being a part of the book itself, and forming 
 the first verse of it, which runs thus: * The 
 * Song of Songs, which is SOLOMON'S/ or of 
 Solomon. The only question here is, whether 
 the prefix lamed, employed in the original, 
 intimate that it was written by, or concerning, 
 4 
 
45 
 
 Solomon. Admitting that it may sometimes, 
 bear the latter rendering, it is, I think, compa- 
 ratively very seldom ; its certain, usual, and au- 
 thorized meanings are, to, for, ivith, or BY, 
 answering to the dative and ablative cases, 
 which are (if we may apply the term cases to 
 that language) usually blended in the Hebrew, 
 as well as in the Greek. That lamed is used 
 for BY, as indicating the author, appears from 
 the titles of the Psalms, and other Hebrew 
 poems. Thus several of them are said to be 
 psalms OF (or by) David, and they are attri- 
 buted to him in the New Testament, both by 
 our Lord and his apostles '. So we read of 
 psalms of Asaph, of Solomon % and of Heman ; 
 
 1 Matt. xxii. 43. Ab, ii. 25, &c. 
 
 2 The principal argument 1 am aware of in favour of 
 understanding this prefix (*?), in the sense of concerning, 
 is, that it is so used in the title of Ps. Ixxii. which seems 
 by the last verse to be written by David * the prayers 
 * of David, the son of Jesse, are ended.* To this I an- 
 swer, 
 
 1. That some of the best critics and expositors under- 
 stand this, not as if it were the last of David's Psalms (for 
 that is not said), but as containing the result and completion 
 of his prayers; as if the universality of Messiah's kingdom 
 was the end, the sum, the accomplishment of David's prayers 
 [Vide Pali Syn. Crit.], or that this was the last subject on 
 which David prophesied, as we see in 2 Sam. xxiii. i. 
 [dinsworth]. If either of these senses be admitted, it will 
 not prove that David was the author. 
 
 2. Dr. Durell imagines this verse to be an interpolation ; 
 buf I think it would be much more correct to suppose it the 
 note of some ancient Jewish transcriber, who took the 
 psalm (as many have done) for the last which he composed. 
 That it is no genuine part of the psalm, is I think sufficiently 
 evident from the conclusion of the preceding verse with a 
 double Amen. So the ist book (as the Jews divide it) 
 
of the prayers of Moses, of Habbakuk, &c. ; 
 which certainly cannot mean prayers concerning 
 those prophets. This sense is also confirmed 
 by the ancient versions, and particularly by 
 the Septuagint. The other rendering concern- 
 ing Solomon, clearly originated with the alle- 
 gorical rabbins and Christian fathers, who, at- 
 tributing the poem to the Messiah, as the anti- 
 type of Solomon, availed themselves of the 
 equivocation of the Hebrew prefix as an argu- 
 ment in their favour. I admit their hypo- 
 ends with Ps. xlii. the 3d with Ps. Ixxxix.- the 4th with 
 Ps. cvi. all with double amen, as this concludes the ad 
 book.; Farther, this verse does not Appear to be poetry, as 
 are the preceding, and is therefore omitted in the poetic 
 versions of Buchanan, Dr. Watts, Mrs. Rowe, &c. as it 
 is also in the comment of Bp. Home, who takes no notice 
 of it. As to the ancient versions, it is inserted in the LXX. 
 but omitted in the Arabic, which instead of it inserts 
 hallelujah. 
 
 3. Admitting, the disputed verse in its common acceptation, 
 it yet will not prove that the preceding pfalm was David's, for 
 we know that the 5Oth pfalm, which falls into the -same 
 bookj was Asaph's. It is true the LXX understand the 
 above psalm to be David's, [siq]for Solomon ; but the Chal- 
 dee paraphrase says, ' This psalm was given by the hand of 
 ' Solomon in prophecy,' namely, of the Messiah ; and I 
 conceive the internal evidence of the psalm leads the same 
 .way. * Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righ- 
 ' teousness to the king's son,' i. e. give me, the son of David, 
 who am now king in his stead, the communication of wis- 
 dom and grace to reign, and to be a proper type of my great 
 descendant the Messiah for it is chiefly of his kingdom that 
 the author speaks, as the ancient Jews readily confess. In 
 Ps. xxi. David prays concerning himself in a similar man- 
 ner ' The king shall joy in thy strength, O Lord,' &c. 
 
 4. Since writing the above, I find Michaelis is of opinion 
 * that this is the end of the first collection of psalms, which 
 c was made, probably under Solomon, for die service of the 
 < temple.' 
 
47 
 
 thesis, but shall endeavour to vindicate it from 
 better authority, because I disdain to employ 
 an argument which appears to me fanciful, 
 untenable, and invented only to serve a 
 turn. 
 
 In this Song of Solomon, the Seventy take 
 the lamed, as they do in the Psalms, for the 
 sign of its author, and render it like our trans- 
 lators '. Even those critics, who incline to 
 the other rendering, which makes Christ (the 
 true Solomon) the subject of the song, are yet 
 generally disposed to include the literal Solomon 
 as its author, and this is certainly the case as 
 to the Jewish writers, as we may have farther 
 occasion to observe. 
 
 Now that Solomon composed a great variety 
 of songs or poems, we are told by the inspired 
 author of the book of Kings % who enumerates 
 them at ' onb thousand and five ;' some of 
 these we perhaps have in the book of Psalms- 
 others may be included in the books of Pro- 
 verbs and Ecclesiastes and the rest lost, or 
 perhaps, as being only the extemporaneous ef- 
 fusions of his genius, were never committed 
 to writing; but this is called c the Song of 
 c Songs,' as being the most considerable and 
 important; or, for the peculiar excellency of 
 its subject *. 
 
 1 O fiTTi EoA|Lwav. The Syriac calls it, * The wifdom of 
 * wifdoms of the same Solomon,' *'. t, the same who wrote 
 the Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. 
 
 2 i Kings, iv. 32. comp. Ecclus. xlvii. 17. 
 
 3 So Holy of holies, King of kings, Heaven of heavens, 
 and more particularly, * Ornament of ornaments,' Ezek. 
 xvi. 7, 
 
48 
 
 Having shewn that this poem claims Solo- 
 mon for its author, and that this claim was 
 admitted and recognized by the most ancient 
 versions, we may now consider what has been 
 objected to it. The first objection is, that Jo- 
 sephus does not mention this among the sacred 
 books: but the fact is, he names none of 
 them distinctly and expressly. His words are, 
 4 We have two-and-twenty books which justly 
 ' claim our'belief and confidence. Of these, five 
 4 are the books of Moses thirteen, the books of 
 
 * the prophets and FOUR more contain 
 
 * hymns to God, and admonitions for the cor- 
 
 * rection of human life.' The question is, 
 which are the four last? We reckon, l.The 
 Psalms, C 2. Proverbs, 3. Ecclesiastes, and, 
 4. The Song of Solomon : and because the 
 Psalms were placed first, and are the most 
 considerable, these four books appear to 
 have been all anciently comprehended under 
 this name : so our Lord distinguishes the sacred 
 books into the Law, the Prophets, and the 
 Psalms 1 . These books, sometimes including 
 others, are also called the hagiographa, or sa- 
 cred writings, not comprehended in the law 
 and the prophets. I am aware that, in order to 
 exclude 6 the Song of Songs' from this canon, 
 some chuse to introduce Job as one of the four 
 books ; but this appears to me arbitrary, and 
 hypothetical, since Job ranks as properly among 
 
 1 Dr. PRIESTLEY says, ' There can be no doubt but that 
 
 * the canon of the Old Testament was the same in the time 
 
 * of our Saviour as it is now.' Institutes of Rel. (1782) 
 vol. I. p. 297. 
 
49 
 
 the historical books, Joshua, Judges, &c. 
 which Joseph us includes under the general 
 name of prophetic writings 1 . 
 
 It has indeed been suggested, by Voltaire 
 and others, that the divine authority of this 
 book was doubted in the primitive Christian 
 church, and particularly by Theodorus of Mop- 
 suestia ; but when the fact comes to be ex- 
 amined, it can only be proved that he rejected 
 its allegorical explication, and thought it diffi- 
 cult to explain-. This Theodore, however, 
 lived in the middle of the sixth century ; and 
 his opinion was generally condemned by the 
 other doctors of the church : whereas MELITO, 
 bishop of Sardis, before the middle of the se- 
 cond century, without hesitation enumerates 
 the CANTICLES among the sacred books then 
 universally received 3 . 
 
 Another objection alleged against the anti- 
 quity of this book is, that the name of David is 
 spelt in the original with a yod, according to 
 the manner of spelling 'it after the captivity. 
 But as this name occurs but .once, I cannot 
 see with what propriety this circumstance can be 
 insisted on by critics who maintain that the 
 present Hebrew is full of literal mistakes of far 
 greater importance ; nor should I have thought 
 it worth an answer, but for the respectable 
 name from which it comes. However, as the 
 
 1 See Cosins's Scholastic History, of the Canon of the 
 Holy Scripture, p. 12 15. and Gill's Exposition (not 
 Comment.) p. 8. 
 
 2 Tlndlay\ Vindication of the Sacred Books, p. 455 8. 
 
 3 Cosins's Schol. Hist. p. 33. Eus^b. Hist. Eccl. lib. iv. 
 cap. 2. 
 
 II 
 
subject is a very dry one, I shall throw it into 
 the margin, where the reader will find it com- 
 pletely answered by the very learned Dr. 
 GILL 1 . 
 
 1 * Dr. Kcnnlcot (Dissert. I. p. 10.} observes that the 
 word DAVID, from its first appearance in Ruth, where it 
 is written (in) without the yod, continues to be so writ- 
 ten through the books of Samuel, Kings, Psalms, Proverbs, 
 Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel ; but appears with a yod 
 (TH) in the books of Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and 
 Zachariah ; wherefore he suggests, that if it was customary 
 to write this word without a yod till the captivity, and 
 with one after it ; then he thinks a strong argument may 
 Jie drawn from hence against the antiquity of the Can- 
 ticles, and its being made by Solomon, since this name is 
 written with a yod in Canticles, iv. 4. the only place in it 
 in which it is used ; but in answer to this, it must be said, 
 it is not fact, that the word is universally used without a 
 yod in the books mentioned, particularly the books of 
 Kings : for the authors of the Massorah have observed on 
 i Kings iii. 14. that it is live times written yW/, as they call 
 it ; i. e. with the yod. Three of the places I have traced 
 out, (i Kings iii. 14. xi. 4, 36.) and have found it so 
 written in all the printed copies I have feen ; and so it is 
 read by the eastern Jews in Ezek. xxxvii. 24. and in se- 
 veral printed editions of Ezek. xxxiv. 23. This learned 
 man is aware that it is so written once in Hosea, and 
 twice in Amos, books written 2co years before the cap- 
 tivity ; but then he observes, that in the two last places, 
 in Bomberg's edition, it h;is a little circle f) to mark it 
 for an error, or a faulty word, though none over the word 
 in Hosea : but it should be known that that circle, in hun- 
 dreds of places, is not used to point out any tiling faulty in 
 the copy ; but is only a mark referring to the margin, and 
 what is observed there ; and be it, that it does point out an 
 error, or a faulty word, the same circle is over the word in 
 Canticles, and consequently shews it to be faulty there, 
 and to be corrected and read without the yod; which ob- 
 servation destroys the argument from it: and so it is read 
 in that place of the Talmud without it, and in the ancient 
 book of Zohar : .... so that upon the whole the argument, if 
 it has any force in it, turns out for, and not against, the an- 
 
51 
 
 As to the use of a few Chaldee and Syriac 
 words, or forms of words, in this book, it can 
 only prove that the author was acquainted 
 with some of the kindred dialects ; and some- 
 times embellished his poetry with foreign or- 
 naments, perhaps chiefly for the sake of the 
 rhythm, or the pronunciation ; just as the 
 Greeks intermixed their dialects, which dif- 
 fered nearly as these neighbouring eastern lan- 
 guages. The same kind of argument might 
 be employed against the writings of David, 
 and other prophets, as well as against other 
 pieces of the same writer. 
 
 Let us next enquire what internal evidence 
 can be drawn from the book itself, particularly 
 from the poetic imagery, to ascertain its high 
 antiquity, and, in some degree, its author. One 
 might be tempted to suppose, that those who 
 place this among the books written in or 
 after the captivity, must never have read it. 
 The beautiful objects of art, from which great 
 part of the imagery is taken, were then doubt- 
 less, in great measure, in a state of decay. The 
 towers of David and of Lebanon, the fish-pools 
 of Heshbon, the vineyards of Engeddi, and 
 
 tiquity of Solomon's Song. But this matter stands in a 
 clearer light by observing the larger Maflbrah on i Kings, 
 xi. 4. and on Ezek. xxxiv. 23. in which the five places 
 are mentioned where this word is written full, I Kings, iii. 
 14. xi. 36. Cant. iv. 4. Ezek. xxxiv. 23. In which 
 places this word was originally so written, as well as 
 throughout Chronicles, the twelve prophets, and Ezra ; so 
 that in all these places it is marked not as a faulty word, 
 but as rightly written, though different from what it is in 
 * other places.' Gill's Exposit, p. 12, 13. 3cTedit. 
 
52 
 
 various other things and places referred to, must 
 have been greatly injured by time, had they 
 not fallen into the hands of a foreign enemy: 
 but after the city had been plundered and 
 burned, it is impossible to suppose that they re- 
 mained, entire ; much less objects for poetic 
 composition. Beside, this was not a time to 
 celebrate marriages, and write nuptial poems : 
 the poetic compositions of this period were ele- 
 gies and lamentations ; psalms of confession, and 
 earnest supplications of divine mercy. Nor can 
 an author be pointed out in this period to whom 
 the book can with any probability be referred. 
 There is also, in the last chapter, if I rightly 
 understand it, a ' reference to the sacrificial 
 flame, which strongly implies that it had not 
 been then extinguished '. 
 
 Again, as some of these images carry us 
 above the captivity, others will carry us up 
 to the time of Solomon himself. The chariots 
 and horses of Pharoah, would hardly have 
 been thought objects of comparison in later 
 ages, when the kings of Egypt were the ene- 
 mies of Juclah. But the reference to Solomon's 
 nuptial bed, and the invitation to behold him 
 with his crown, cannot by any means be re- 
 conciled to a later period. 
 
 Still the question remains, at what period of 
 Solomon's life was this composed ? I know 
 that many of the Jewish writers refer it to the 
 latter part of his reign ; but as this opinion 
 does not appear of sufficient antiquity to have 
 
 1 Sec my note on ch. viii. 6. 
 
53 
 
 any weight as a tradition, it was probably 
 started only as an argument to prove that con- 
 version which it supposes l . On the contrary, 
 the style and figures employed by no means 
 agree to this hypothesis; and differ totally 
 from those of Ecclesiastes, which is generally, 
 and most reasonably, referred to this latter 
 period. 
 
 They who consider the book as carnal and 
 obscene, will no doubt be pleased to refer it 
 to the period of Solomon's dissipation and de- 
 bauchery; but neither is this situation favour- 
 able to finished composition ; nor is there any 
 reason to believe, that at this time Solomon 
 composed at all : this, therefore, can oivly rest 
 gn a conjecture made merely with a view to 
 serve an hypothesis, which I hope to over- 
 throw, when I come farther to enquire into 
 the nature and design of the poem. 
 
 From the passage in which * threescore 
 6 queens and fourscore concubines' are men- 
 tioned, Mr. Harmer, and some others, have 
 supposed the book to have been written when 
 Solomon's wives and concubines did not ex- 
 ceed that number, consequently, some consi- 
 derable time before they' were multiplied to 
 three hundred of the former, and seven hun- 
 dred of the latter 8 . But, as 1 think with 
 
 1 The son of Sirach enumerates first Songs, then Proverbs 
 (Ecclus. xlvii. 1 8.), but the Jews, in Miclras, observe thac 
 in i Kings, v. 32. Proverbs are mentioned first. 
 
 ' z I confess that in this early date of the book I oppose 
 very respectable authority beside that of the rabbins, name- 
 ly, Dr. LIGHTFOOT and Dr. GILL, who place it full 
 twenty years after Solomon's marriage, from the mention of 
 
54 
 
 bishop Patrick, that the ladies there men- 
 tioned were not those of Solomon's seraglio, 
 I refer the poem to a still higher date, and 
 shall endeavour to prove it written on a prior 
 occasion, namely his marriage with Pharoah's 
 daughter. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 THE OCCASION OF THIS POEM. 
 
 THE next important object of enquiry then, 
 is the occasion on which this poem was com- 
 posed. That it was a nuptial poem is, I think, 
 universally admitted, and cannot with any ap- 
 pearance of reason be denied. That it was ' 
 during or soon after the marriage solemnity is, 
 I conceive, fairly inferable from several, pas- 
 sages : as when the virgins are invited to be- 
 hold king Solomon in his nuptial crown, the 
 crown wherewith his mother crowned him in 
 
 the tower of Lebanon, chap. vii. 4. But it is not certain that 
 the tower of Lebanon was the same as the house of the forest 
 of Lebanon, I Kings, vii. 2. (See my note on ch. vii. 4.) 
 nor is it certain that all these were built in succession ; so 
 that the temple, and his palace at Jerusalem, were botli com- 
 plete before the house at Lebanon was begun. Much less 
 does Mr. WHISTON'S remark upon Amminadab^ being tlic- 
 same as Abinadab, merit much attention, since they are evi- 
 dently different names, and were most likely different per- 
 sons; or rather the former two Hebrew words confounded 
 into a proper name by mistake. (See the note on ch. vi. 12.) 
 Chariots also were introduced before the reign of Solomon. 
 See 2 Sam. xv. i. i Kings, i. 5. 
 
55 
 
 the day of his espousals, which it is not likely 
 was worn long alter the nuptials ; and when 
 they are directed to behold the bridal bed, or 
 palanquin, brought up in state to the palace. 
 The same deduction may be made from other 
 passages ' The king hath brought me into his 
 ' apartments the king is waiting in the galle- 
 4 ries,' &c. 
 
 The only marriage of Solomon, which is 
 particularly noticed in the scriptures, is that 
 with Pharoah's daughter, and to this occasion 
 has the piece before us generally been re- 
 ferred l . Several objections have indeed been 
 made to this supposition ; but all of them, 
 when examined, appear to me arguments in 
 its favour, rather than objections. 
 
 It has been said, that the nature of the for- 
 tune which this princess brought to Solomon is 
 inconsistent with the supposition of her being 
 Pharoah's daughter. The portion alluded to 
 is a vineyard which yielded a thousand pieces 
 of silver, and this is thought inconsistent with 
 the character of an Egyptian princess. But 
 
 1 Dr. Croxall, in the preface to his Fair Circassian, refers 
 to a smajl Arabian MSS. found in a marble chest in the 
 ruins of Palmyra, and mentioned (as he says) in the Philo- 
 sophical Transactions of Amsterdam, 1558, and deposited 
 in the university of Leyden ; which MSS. he tells us, con- 
 tains memoirs of the court and seraglio of Solomon ; and men- 
 tions a beautiful Circassian captive, with whose charms 
 Solomon was so enraptured, that he never left the seraglio for 
 a month after she was brought there ; but as all the parts of 
 this story bear evident marks of fiction, and were not, I sup- 
 pose, intended to be believed, I conceive it unnecessary to an*- 
 svver it particularly. 
 
5(5 
 
 the sacred historian happily settles this diffi- 
 culty, by informing us that Pharoah gave his 
 daughter a portion which very well agrees 
 with our supposition, and was probably the 
 vineyard here referred to : for the Hebrews did 
 not confine the term to plantations of the vine, 
 but extended it to any kind of plantations, 
 either of fruit-trees or odoriferous shrubs '. Now 
 the inspired writer tells us that Pharoah, king 
 of Egypt, having ' gone up and taken Gezer, 
 4 burnt it with fire, slewthe Canaanites that dwelt 
 
 * there, and gave it folk present unto his daughter, 
 
 * Solomon s wife' 2 ; and Solomon built Gezer. 
 Now this Gezer is supposed by RE LAND 3 , ap- 
 parently with good reason, to have been the 
 same as Gazara, in the neighbourhood of 
 Joppa ; and the latter is described by JOSE- 
 PH us 4 as a fruitful country, and abounding with 
 springs of w r ater. Mr. WOOD, describing the 
 valley of Bocat, in which stand the magnifi- 
 cent ruins of Balbee, compares it with the fer- 
 tile plain of Rama, on the borders of which 
 Gazara or Gadara is situated. Now as Gazara 
 was probably the ancient Gaza, it is likely- 
 that Balbee might be in or near the ancient 
 Baal-hammon. If so, there is the more pro- 
 priety in the comparison between the two 
 spots. 
 
 The bride's mother being supposed to' have 
 
 1 Harmer on Sol. Song. p. 34. See ch. i. 14. vii. 12. 
 
 2 i Kinirs, ix. 16, 17. 
 
 3 Falsest, p. 778. 
 
 4 Antiq. lib. viii. cap. vi. I. 
 
57 
 
 an apartment within the palace of Solomon r is 
 another circumstance that has been thought 
 utterly inconsistent with the supposition of 
 the bride's being the daughter of the king of 
 Egypt 1 ; but if this be part of the relation of a 
 dream, as I think, with Dr. DODERLEIN, there 
 is good reason to conclude, this objection va- 
 nishes: or, even without supposing this, I know 
 not that we have sufficient proof from the mo- 
 dern etiquette of eastern princesses, but that the 
 mother of Solomon's queen (especially if some- 
 what in years) might be suffered to accom- 
 pany her daughter on the occasion of so 
 grand an alliance ; and if she were, there is no 
 doubt but she would be honoured with apart- 
 ments in the palace. 
 
 As to the supposed hint, that this lady was 
 one of the daughters of Jerusalem, i. e. an in- 
 habitant of that city ; as it rests on a forced 
 translation of no authority, it does not require 
 a particular answer \ But the bride's coming 
 up from the wilderness is another circum- 
 stance which merits observation ; since when 
 the sacred writers speak indefinitely of the wil- 
 derness 4 , without specifying any wilderness in 
 particular, it appears that they always intend 
 
 3 Ch. iii. 4. 
 
 2 Notes to Dr. Percy's Trans, p. 86. and Dr. Hodgson 
 on Sol. Song. 
 
 a * The middle thereof wrought [in needle work] by her 
 6 whom he loveth [hest] among the daughters of Jerusa- 
 ' lem.' See chap. iii. 10. in the following translation, and 
 Dr. Percy's notes, p. 67, 8. 
 
 * Chap. iii. 6. viii. 5. 
 
58 
 
 the great wilderness between Judea and 
 Egypt ' ; and therefore intimates the bride's 
 coming from that quarter : and the additional 
 circumstance of Solomon going out to meet 
 her, strongly intimates that she was a princess of 
 the first rank. 
 
 Bishop PKRCY indeed insinuates, as a diffi- 
 culty, that the bride is called a prince *> and 
 not a king's daughter ; whereas the kings -of 
 Egypt were certainly of the highest rank and 
 greatest consequence. The original term, how- 
 ever, appears to be general '- ; for all kings are 
 princes, though all princes are not kings; and 
 we certainly mean no disparagement to our 
 sovereigns, when we call them ' princes of the 
 * house of Brunswick.' It is not clear, how- 
 ever, but the passage alluded to may be a com- 
 plinlent to the lady's mental charms, since the 
 Hebrew idiom has induced some* respectable 
 critics to render the expression, 'O princely 
 6 daughter' O lady of a noble and excellent 
 disposition, and character; and it may be wor- 
 thy of remark that the corresponding Greek 
 word 3 , signifying benefactor, was assumed as 
 a sirname of the highest honour by a later 
 Egyptian monarch, Ptolomy Euergctes, and 
 other princes. 
 
 Another objection to the bride's being an 
 Egyptian princess has been drawn from her 
 complaint, that her mother's children had been 
 
 1 See Deut. xi. 24. 
 
 2 See i Sam. ii. 8. Prov. xxv. 7, compared with 
 ver. 6, &c. 
 
 . 
 
59 , 
 
 severe unto her, and had made her keeper of 
 the vineyards. If she were a younger sister, and 
 distinguished by her wit and beauty, it is not 
 wonderful that she should have been envied 
 and hated by them : though by being made 
 keeper of the vineyards, there is no reason to 
 understand any thing more than sending her 
 to a country seat, intended by the vineyards, 
 as if she had been to look after them, and by 
 this means exposing her to the fervour of the 
 sun-beams, in which' she had neglected her 
 beauty, which is what I understand literally by 
 her vineyard a familiar metaphorical expres- 
 sion used for any kind of employment which 
 required care and management. x 
 
 Mr. HENLEY ' thinks it an important and 
 unanswerable objection to the bride's being an 
 Egyptian lady, that pastoral images are em- 
 ployed ; for shepherds, we know, were * an 
 abomination to the Egyptians 2 ;' and that 
 because, as Jonathan, in his Targum, observes, 
 * The Hebrews ate what the Egyptians wor- 
 ' shipped.' But, not to say that some revolu- 
 tion of sentiment might take place in the course 
 of several centuries ; as the same country had 
 once a race of shepherd kings: Not to insist on 
 this, it is to be observed, that the author of the 
 poem is not supposed to be an Egyptian ; and 
 as to the lady herself, it is generally believed 
 that she was a proselyte to the worship of JE- 
 HOVAH, before her marriage : and there is 
 this apparent good reason for it, that she is 
 
 1 In Lowth's Lect. " Gen. xlvi. 34. 
 
GO 
 
 evidently distinguished from those wives which 
 turned away Solomon's heart, to the idols of 
 their respective nations, among whom those of 
 Egypt are neither named nor hinted at ' : 
 now admitting her to be a convert to Judaism, 
 this objection is completely obviated. 
 
 On the other hand, I think, there are some 
 images employed, beside those already named, 
 that strangely favour our idea, that the bride 
 was Pbaroah's daughter, and the allusions to 
 Pharoah's horses and his chariots appear to me 
 clearly of that number. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 OF THE NATURE OF THE POEM. 
 
 LET us now examine the nature of the 
 composition considered as poetic. The Jews 
 allow this book to be so far poetic, as being of 
 the parabolic kind, but not metrical : where- 
 fore they have not distinguished it with their 
 poetic accents ; nor is it ever written by them 
 in a versified form, as the psalms are 2 . This, 
 however, is merely the effect of their igno- 
 rance, since the book carries with it every cha- 
 racter (except in the points) belonging to He- 
 brew poesy, and is now fully admitted to be 
 
 1 i Kings, xi. i 8. 
 
 2 Lowtli's Prelect. Lect. XVI IT. 
 
61 
 
 such by bishop Lowth, and the best Hebraans. 
 Indeed, if the ideas given in the former essay, 
 on the nature of Hebrew poetry, be right, the 
 faet is incontrovertible; and if they be not right, 
 we have yet to seek the nature of the Hebrew 
 poetry. 
 
 It has been somewhat disputed among the 
 critics, whether this poem is to be reckoned a 
 PASTORAL or not : but this is little more than a 
 dispute about terms. If Tktocpitus and Virgil 
 are to be made the standard of this species of 
 composition, it certainly will not endure the 
 test of criticism : but the most excellent writ- 
 ers in any style can hardly be supposed to 
 have been the first : and the laws of Hebrew 
 pastoral arc only to be drawn from writers in 
 that language; I mean from the sacred writers, 
 who frequently mixed with images strictly pas- 
 toral, others derived from different sources ; as 
 v/c see in the twenty-third psalm, the finest 
 pastoral in that language. And the introduc- 
 tion of images borrowed from royalty, inter- 
 mixed with the affairs of shepherds r , are so far 
 from improper or inconsistent, that I think 
 there is a peculiar beauty in their being 
 mingled or united. The most splendid objects 
 were simple in their origin, and from the pas- 
 toral life were probably borrowed all the an- 
 cient insignia of royalty. For instance, a shep- 
 herd was a king or ruler of his sheep; and 
 a good king the shepherd of his people. The 
 office of government is compared to that of 
 
 1 Harmer, p, 2. 
 
feeding flocks, because it should be exercised 
 for the public good. The sceptre of thq monarch 
 is borrowed from the shepherd's staff, and his 
 crown, perhaps, was but an improvement of the 
 shepherd's garland. These analogies very suf- 
 ficiently justify the intermixture of images 
 which have been unjustly deemed incongru- 
 ous 1 . And, I am inclined to think, the neglect 
 of this circumstance has led commentators into 
 improper methods of interpretation : and that 
 by the bridegroom's feeding among the lilies, 
 &c. is literally intended the exercise of his 
 regal government with equity and moderation; 
 as the going forth by the footsteps of the flock 
 is a figurative t,erm for obedience, and the fol- 
 lowing good examples. 
 
 If the term EPITHAI.AMIUM is to be taken 
 for a poem sung to the new-married couple in 
 the nuptial bed, it cannot be applied to this 
 song 2 ; but if taken in a larger sense for a 
 nuptial poem only, I see no great impropriety 
 in such an application. 
 
 The question whether, this be a DRAMATIC 
 
 1 Mr. Harmer hints that only two verses at most are pns- 
 toral ; but this surely is a mistake ; for wherever the speakers 
 talk of woods and mountains, fields and gardens, roes and 
 gazels wherever they speak of feeding among lilies, &c. 
 are not all these images borrowed from the pastoral, or first 
 simple state of rural life? So Dr. Blair observes, ' The 
 
 * Song of Songs affords us a high exempli rication ot pastoral 
 
 * poetry. It is a dramatic pastoral, or a perpetual dialogue 
 between personages in the character of shepherds 4 and, 
 suitably to that form, it is full of rural and pastoral images 
 
 * from beginning to end/ Blair's Lect. vol. III. Lect. XLI. 
 
 - Harmer, p. 3- 
 
63 
 
 piece, is of a similar nature. Taking the term 
 dramatic in a theatrical sense, it will certainly 
 not apply : but taking it in a laxer sense 
 for a poem by way of dialogue, it is very 
 proper ; and though there be strictly no dra- 
 matic plot, yet there are successive scenes and 
 poetical machinery. The persons of this drama 
 are for the most part easily distinguishable in 
 the original language, which has a difference 
 of gender in the verbs, as well as nouns and 
 pronouns. Origen, who has been followed by 
 all succeeding commentators, distinguishes the 
 bride and bridegroom the virgins attendant on 
 the bride, and the companions of the bride- 
 groom. 
 
 Mr. HARMER, however, thinks he has dis- 
 covered two brides, the daughter of Pharoah, 
 and a Jewish lady, who had been married to 
 Solomon prior to the other, and was provoked 
 to jealousy by these nuptials ; and this opinion 
 certainly deserves examination in respect to its 
 ingenious author, though I know not that he 
 made a single convert to his opinion. 
 
 Mr. Harmer's first and grand reason is that 
 this bride, in chap. iii. appears to have been 
 accustomed to the bed of Solomon, because 
 she sought him there : ' By night on my bed I 
 * sought him ;' which seems inconsistent with 
 the modesty of a new married lady, and with 
 his hypothesis, that the marriage is not consum- 
 mated till the fourth chapter. When we come 
 to that passage, I shall attempt to show the 
 latter notion to be unfounded: in the mean 
 time, if the language of the spouse be only a 
 
64 
 
 dream, as I shall endeavour to prove, it will 
 afford but a very weak support for his conclu- 
 sion. 
 
 That Solomon was married before his al- 
 liance with Pharoah's daughter, and even be- 
 fore his accession to the crown, should appear 
 by the age of Rehoboam, his son and succes- 
 sor ' ; but that his first wife was ever crowned, 
 or that she was alive at this period, or even at 
 his accession, are mere uncertain suppositions, 
 and therefore ought not to be employed in ar- 
 
 gument. 
 
 As to the jealous language which Mr. Har- 
 mcr thought he could perceive in the sequel of 
 the poem, I can attribute it to nothing but the 
 influence of hypothesis, which is very apt to 
 give a colour to all our views of a subject ; and 
 if the reader turns to the passages he points 
 out% as I have done, I think he will see as 
 little of it. 
 
 That the lady celebrated in chapter vii. is 
 called a prince's daughter, and not the king's 
 (as in Ps. xlv.) has been shewn to be an objec- 
 tion of little consequence. The result then of 
 our last enquiry in connexion with the pre- 
 ceding is, that the lady here celebrated \vas 
 probably a daughter of Pharoah, lately mar- 
 ried to Solomon ; and that there is no reason 
 to suppose two wives of Solomon, introduced, 
 or particularly referred to, in this poem. 
 
 Having so tar settled the dramatis persona, or 
 
 1 See i Kings, xiv. 21. compared with chap. xi. 42. 
 ' Chap. ii. i, 5 iii. I. 
 
65 
 
 persons of the dialogue, our next enquiry re- 
 spects the time, i. e. the dramatic time of the 
 piece, and the change of scenery. 
 
 The Jewish weddings commonly lasted se- 
 ven days, as appears m the instances of Jacob 
 and Sampson '. From this circumstance the 
 ingenious bishop BossUET suggested that the 
 , v poem should be divided into seven parts, ana- 
 logous to these days, and he has been followed 
 by many later writers ; particularly by the 
 anonymous author of a very ingenious para- 
 phrase on this song 2 . He, however, varies seve- 
 ral of the divisions, as I conceive with great 
 judgment, and with good reason, and I was 
 pleased to find, upon making more than one 
 attempt to divide it myself, merely by internal 
 marks, that I fell almost exactly into his divi- 
 sions ; which strongly inclines me to this hy- 
 pothesis. 
 
 We know that the marriages of the ancient 
 Hebrews were attended with music and danc- 
 ing, as are the eastern marriages to this day ; 
 and there can be no doubt but these accompa- 
 nied the nuptials of Pharoah's daughter ; but 
 whether this poem, or any parts of it j , as Mr. 
 Harmer suggests, were thus sung, it seem sim- 
 possible to ascertain with certainty, however 
 probable it may appear from some circum- 
 stances. 
 
 1 Gen. xxix. 27. Judges, xiv. 10, 17. 
 
 2 Edinburgh, printed 1775. 
 
 3 Ch. i. i, &c. iv. i n 
 
 K 
 
SECTION IV. 
 
 OF THE IMAGERY EMPLOYED IN THIS SONG. 
 
 MY object in this section will be two-fold : 
 1st. To shew that the images employed are 
 quite in the style of the best eastern writ- 
 ers ; and 2dly, That they are not justly charge- 
 able with indelicacy, or licentiousness. 
 
 Sir W. JONES will be admitted one of the 
 best judges of the eastern style. He tells us, 
 
 * the Arabian poets compare the foreheads of 
 
 * their mistresses to the morning T ; their iocks 
 6 to the night; their faces to the sun, to the 
 4 moon, or to the blossoms of jasmine ; their 
 'cheeks to roses or ripe-fruit*; their teeth to 
 
 * pearls, hail-stones, and snow-drops ; their 
 ' eyes to the flowers of the narcissus ; their 
 c curled hair to black scorpions, and to hya- 
 
 * cinths ; their lips to rubies, or to wine ; the 
 
 * form of their breasts to pomegranates, and the 
 
 * colour of them to snow ; their shape to that 
 ' of the palm tree 3 ; and their stature to that of 
 
 * a cypress, pahii 4 , &c. 
 
 In the above quotation I have marked with 
 italics both the features described, and the 
 
 1 See Sol. Song, ch, vi. 10. 2 Ch. iv. 3. 
 
 3 Ch. vii. 7, 8. 
 
 4 Essay on the Poetry of the Easterns. 
 
61 
 
 nnages employed ; with some references, in the 
 margin, to the passages of this song, where 
 similar images occur ; and I shall pursue the 
 same method in the following extracts. 
 
 The following is an extract from a literal 
 translation by Sir W.Jones of a ' TURKISH ODE, 
 ' by MESHI l .' 
 
 6 Thou hearest the tale of the nightingale^ 
 ' that the vernal season approaches 2 . The spring 
 
 * has spread a bower of joy in every grove, 
 
 * where the alrnond-tree sheds its silver blos- 
 ' sorns. 
 
 * The roses and tulips are like the bright 
 6 cheeks of beautiful maids, in whose ears the 
 4 pearls hang like drops of dew. 
 
 ' The time is passed in which the plants were 
 ' sick, and the rose-bud hung its thoughtful 
 ' head upon its bosom.' 
 
 Lady Montague, in her tour in the east, met 
 with a TURKISH LOVE SONG, which struck 
 her as remarkably resembling, in its style, the 
 canticle of the king of Israel. Mr. Harmer 
 has copied the whole, and I shall transcribe 
 so much of it as appears to our purpose. 
 
 * The nightingale now wanders in the 
 6 vines ; her passion is to seek roses. 
 
 ' I went down to admire the beauty of the 
 c vines 3 : the sweetness of your charms hath 
 
 * ravished my soul 4 . 
 
 1 Asiatic Poems. 2 Sol. Song, ii. 1 1, I2 
 
 3 Ch vi, ii, 12. vii. 12. * Ch. iv. 9. 
 
68 
 
 c Your eyes are black and lovely '; but wild 
 4 and disdainful as those of a stag. 
 
 6 The wretched Ibrahim sighs in these 
 
 * verses : one dart from your eyes hath pierced 
 
 4 through my heart \ 
 
 , * 
 
 ' Ah, Sultana ! STAG-EYED : an angel 
 
 * among angels ! I desire, and my desire re- 
 
 * mains unsatisfied. 
 
 ' Turn to me, Sultana! let me gaze on tin/ 
 
 * beauty*. 
 
 * Adieu I go down to the grave : If thou 
 ' callest me, I return. 
 
 * My heart is hot as sulphur ; sigh, and it 
 
 On this song I will subjoin two observa- 
 tions ; the first is from Mr. Harmer, that 'the 
 
 * passion of the nightingale is to seek roses/ 
 alludes to a popular Arabian fable of the 
 amours of the nightingale and the rose. The 
 second is a criticism of Sir W. Jones 1 , on the 
 epithet STAG-EYED in the translation of this 
 song : he supposes the original [ahu chesm] 
 to intend the eyes of a young fawn " the 
 same as the GAZEL of the Arabians, and the 
 ZABI of the Hebrews. ' 1 have seen one (says 
 4 Sir William), it is exquisitely beautiful, with 
 
 * eyes uncommonly black and large : The 
 
 1 Ch. iv.g. : Ch. vi. 13. ' Ch.viii. 6. 
 
 4 Essay on Eastern Poetry. 
 
 5 EA/xaTfj, fawn-eyed. Pers. Gram. p. 71. 
 
69 
 
 * Turks mean to express fulness, with a soft and 
 
 * languishing lustre S 
 
 The above are sufficient to give an idea of 
 the eastern taste in poetic composition ; and the 
 similitude between these images and Solomon's, 
 is too obvious to be insisted on. In the critical 
 notes to the commentary, however, I may 
 subjoin some other passages from the easterns 
 to illustrate the text. 
 
 I come now to justify the language of my 
 author from the charges of immodesty and 
 indelicacy. In order to which I must submit 
 to the consideration of my readers, the differ- 
 ence between the manners and customs of dif- 
 ferent nations, particularly in the east and west. 
 Many of the Mosaic laws and regulations re- 
 specting women, sound very indelicately to the 
 ears of English ladies, and are certainly very 
 improper to be read in our religious assem- 
 blies, or in mixed companies; but does this fix. 
 the stain of immodesty op the Jewish legisla- 
 tor? Certainly not ; the legal code of the Hin- 
 doos contains many of the same laws, quite 
 as naturally expressed ; and so do those of 
 other eastern nations. On the other hand, 
 our laws, in many cases, demand that kind of 
 evidence from injured females, in an open 
 court, which would by no means be required 
 by an eastern judge. Also many liberties be- 
 tween the sexes, which, from their intermixture 
 in conversation are thought innocent with us, 
 would be esteemed highly criminal in Turkey, 
 and other pArts of the east. ' The promiscuous 
 
 * dancing of the Uvo sexes, 5 ' for instance, so 
 
70 
 
 fashionable in Europe, is viewed with c horror' 
 by the Turks ; and an European ball is an object 
 of disgust and detestation to Musselmen 1 . I 
 may add that the Hebrew language, in its 
 ancient state, wants words for many indelicate 
 and offensive objects named by us without he- 
 sitation *. 
 
 It is also to be observed that even in the 
 same country, in different periods, the same 
 expressions are either modest or indelicate. As 
 a nation proceeds in luxury and refinement, 
 the language is also refined, while the manners, 
 perhaps, grow more licentious. This has been 
 particularly the case with us. I doubt not but 
 the passages excepted against in our translation 
 of this very poem appeared modest enough to 
 our translators, who were grave and learned 
 men: and though this certainly is not the case 
 at present, who will say that the morals of 
 the nation are not more relaxed than in the 
 reign of Elizabeth and James I ? To instance 
 in one circumstance, I doubt not but our 
 ladies were as modest when they wore their 
 bosoms exposed as they are at present ; and 
 then I suppose the description of this feature 
 appeared no more indelicate than now the 
 description of a female face. Such appear to 
 be the ideas of the eastern poets above referred 
 to by Sir W. Jones ; and even the colder poets 
 
 Xiebuhr's Travels, vol. I. p. 140. 
 
 ; The Hebrew has no word for urine ^ but calls it the 
 u'fttcr of the ft ct ; nor have they any literal term for tho^e 
 sexual distinctions which our modest writers generally name 
 in Ln-in. 
 
71 
 
 of the north, who are neither chargeable with 
 lewd intentions nor unchaste expressions. 
 
 In the celebrated poems of OSSIAN, which, 
 whether genuine or not, were certainly faith- 
 ful copies of the manners of the age and coun- 
 try, we have the following images ; one of 
 which is the same as Solomon's: 
 
 4 Thy breasts are like two smooth rocks seen 
 4 from Banno of the streams. 
 
 4 Lovely with her raven hair is the wbite- 
 
 * bosom'd daughter of Songlan '. 
 
 * Her white-breast heaves like snow on the 
 4 heath, when the gentle winds arise and slowly 
 4 move it in the night 1 . 
 
 4 Her breasts are like foam on the waves, and 
 
 * her eyes like the stars of light : her hair was 
 4 as the raven's wing*. 9 
 
 He must be a fastidious critic indeed, that 
 condemns these beautiful images as licentious 
 or immodest. Yet I know nothing in the Song 
 of Solomon more licentious, and impassioned. 
 The two descriptions of the bride and bride- 
 groom will here perhaps rush into the reader's 
 recollection, especially the former, and make 
 it necessary for me to explain and remove some 
 expressions, which, as they stand in our transla- 
 tion, I can by no means justify. 
 
 The translation of the Bible is indeed so im- 
 portant and valuable a work, and the transla- 
 tors were such good and learned men, that I feel 
 pain in finding fault with either : yet as they 
 
 1 Fingal, book I. 2 Battle of Lora. 
 
 3 Carthon. Compare Sol. Song, ch. v. u. 
 
were but men, and laid no claim to inspiration 
 or infallibility, it conveys no censure to say that 
 they sometimes erred. In the present instance 
 I have shewn that part of their error must be 
 lajd to the state of our language and manners 
 near two centuries ago ; and another part to 
 the state of learning at that period. Literature, 
 it must be recollected, was then but just awak- 
 ened from a slumber of a thousand years. The 
 Hebrew language was very imperfectly un- 
 derstood, and less was known of the Hebrew 
 poetry. The attention of our reformers and 
 translators was drawn to objects of more im- 
 mediate importance, and confined, in a great 
 measure, to the subjects controverted between 
 them and the church of Rome. Thus much 
 at least must be admitted in their apology. Let 
 us now advert to the very indelicate description 
 they have given us of the spouse in the begin- 
 ning of the seventh chapter. 
 
 If the reader will please to compare my 
 translation of this passage with the common 
 one (neither of which I think it necessary to 
 transcribe here), he will at once perceive the 
 grand difference to be, that what they refer to 
 the naked features, I refer to the dress; which I 
 hope takes off at once the grand objection of 
 its indelicacy. For the import of the indivi- 
 dual words and phrases, I must refer to my 
 critical notes: in defence of the general idea, 
 I must beg leave to argue from the following 
 topics. 
 
 1. From the nature of the case. Waving 
 the divine authority of the book, and supposing 
 
,73 
 
 only (which surely cannot be disputed) that 
 the author was a man of sense and genius, 
 would he represent the bride as describing her 
 beloved naked to the virgins, that they might 
 know him '? Surely not: much less would he 
 represent the virgins as describing the naked 
 charms of the bride : the supposition is against 
 nature, reason, and probability; to say nothing 
 of decency and morals. 
 
 2. Let us compare this with other ancient 
 poems, and particularly with the forty-fifth 
 psalm, which appears also to have been a nup- 
 tial poem, and, probably, written on the same 
 occasion. Here the parties are described in 
 their royal or nuptial garments 1 ; the queen 
 especially, as clothed in wrought gold, and 
 needle-work : nor is there any passage in the 
 writings which compose our Bible analogous 
 to this, supposing it to refer to the uncovered 
 features. 
 
 3. Let us examine the internal evidence, 
 and we shall find several circumstances which 
 can be referred only to the dress, particularly 
 in the description of the bride. The first arti- 
 cle of the description, for instance, is the feet, 
 which are described, not naked, but clothed 
 with sandals 3 , which strongly favours our 
 idea. The next is, most literally and obviously, 
 the covering of the thighs or loins. The head 
 also is described in a manner which can be 
 referred only to the dress: ' Thine head UPON 
 ' THEE is like CARMEL.' Now Carmel was a 
 
 1 Ch. v. 9 1 6. " Ver. 8, 9, 13, 14. 
 
 L 
 
74- 
 
 n 
 
 mountain covered with trees and verdure, 
 no doubt intermixed with flowers, which can 
 refer to nothing but the head-dress, or rather 
 the nuptial crown formed of flowers and ever- 
 greens. 'So again, in the description of the 
 beloved ' his body like white ivory overlaid 
 ' with sapphires/ I am much mistaken if this 
 does not more naturally describe a white skin 
 with a sapphire robe, or perhaps robes of blue 
 and white, than it does the skin with blue 
 veins. 
 
 4. If we recur to authorities, those in favour 
 of my hypothesis are, at least, equally respect- 
 able with those on the other side. Among the 
 rabbins, Aben Ezra ' was an advocate for this 
 method of interpretation, and among Christian 
 writers I have noted Sanclius, Poole, Bishop 
 Patrick, and Dr. Gill. Mr. Harmer hath 
 pleaded on the same side, with much inge- 
 nuity, and he is followed by Mr. Parkhurst. 
 
 5. It may be thought extraordinary by some 
 mere English readers, that there should be a 
 doubt or a difficulty upon this subject, and they 
 may wish to be informed whence the am- 
 biguity arises. To gratify such I would re- 
 ply, partly from the nature of the Hebrew 
 language, which denominates the articles of 
 dress from the members of the body which they 
 cover : and partly from the nature of poetry, 
 which abounds in tropes and metonymies; and 
 often becomes obscure by (hat conciseness 
 which is essential to its elegance. 
 
 1 In Gill, ch. vii. i. 
 
75 
 
 If it be enquired, How are we to distinguish 
 the parts clothed from the naked features ? I 
 answer not only by the expressions used, but 
 also by the nature of the case, and the cus- 
 toms of the country ; but the application of 
 this rule must be referred to the commen- 
 tary. 
 
 The beauty of Solomon's imagery has been 
 a subject of encomium with many writers, and 
 particularly with the ingenious and elegant 
 Bossuet : but if the reader have not taste to dis- 
 cern these, it would be in vain to point them 
 out : it would be like pointing a blind man to 
 the rainbow. We hasten therefore to the next, 
 and one of the most important subjects of en- 
 quiry. 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 THE MYSTICAL SENSE. OF THE POEM. 
 
 IT was a very early and general opinion 
 among both Jews and Christians, who studied 
 this book, that the author had something more 
 in view than a literal reference to a beloved fair- 
 one, under the amatory expressions and figu- 
 rative images employed;} but they have differed 
 very much in their meffiods of explication. 
 
 The learned Mr. Pools l mentions some 
 writers w r ho have conjectured the author's de- 
 
 4 In Syn. Crit. vol. II. col. 196". 
 
16 
 
 sign to be political, intended as an encomium 
 on the government of Solomon ; or as one 
 says, * A dialogue between Solomon and the 
 ' republic of the Jews (personified as a female 
 ' beauty) inviting him to reign over it !' Others 
 have understood it as a philosophico-allegori- 
 cal colloquy between the above prince and 
 wisdom, or divine philosophy, according to his 
 supposed language, in the Apocrypha : ' I loved 
 6 her, and sought her out from my youth ; I 
 6 desired to make her my spouse, [or, to marry 
 4 her,] and I was a lover of her beauty 1 / 
 This, according to Dupin % was the hypothesis 
 of Theodore of Mopsuestia ; and both these 
 expositions are, it must be confessed, inge- 
 nious and beautiful; but as I believe it is 
 long since they had any advocates, I do not 
 think Unnecessary to examine them. 
 
 The Targum, and several of the Jewish 
 commentators, as Eben Ezra, Solomon Jarchi, 
 and the author of the Book of Zohar 3 , consider 
 this book as an historical parable, or mystical 
 history of the ancient Jewish church : on the 
 other hand some Christian writers, as Brightman 
 and Cotton, consider it as prophetic of the 
 Christian church : and some have been so mi- 
 nute 4 as to point out the several periods to 
 which it may be referred, answerable to the 
 
 1 Wisdom, viii. 2, &c. ~ Hist. Eccl. Cent. 5. 
 
 5 This book tells iis that Solomon's Song comprehends 
 the whole law, the creation, the slavery of Israel in Egypt, 
 the Kxodut>, the covenant of Sinai, huikling the temple, cap- 
 tivity and redemption of Israel, &c. &cc. and finally the sab- 
 bath of the Lord, which is, and was, and is to come 
 
 4 Hermischius in Gill. 
 
 t 
 
77 
 
 states of the seven Asiatic churches, in the re- 
 velation, which they also suppose to be prophe- 
 tical, as follows : 
 
 1. The Church at Ephesus, Rev. ii. i to 7. Cant. i. 5 to 17. A.D. 33 to 370." 
 
 2. -- Smyrna 8 II. ii. I 17. 37 I 7O?. 
 
 3. -- Pergamos 12 17. iii. i it. 708 1045. 
 
 4. -- Thyaciia 18 29. iv. l v. i. 1046 13^3. 
 
 5. - Sarclis iii. I 6. v. ^ vi.2. 1384 1721. 
 
 6. -- Philadelphia 7 13. vi. 9 - vii.14-- J 7 2Z 20 59- 
 
 7. -- Laodicea - 14 22. viii 1-14. 
 
 These suppositions are so fanciful and un- 
 founded, that I confess myself at a loss how to at- 
 tempt an answer; and shall therefore leave them 
 with the censure of Dr. GiLL 1 , who observes 
 that ' hereby the book is made liable to arbi- 
 "* trary, groundless, and uncertain conjectures, 
 ' as well as its usefulness in a great measure laid 
 
 * aside.' 
 
 There is one other hypothesis which I would 
 name rather out of respect to the talents of its 
 author, than from any idea of its plausibility ; 
 I mean that of the late ingenious Mr. ROBIN- 
 SON of Cambridge, who thinks it ' not impro- 
 ' bable' that the book, of Canticles is a ' to- 
 
 * pographical composition/ descriptive, c of 
 ' some beautiful spots in the landed estates 
 ' of Solomon 2 ;' and that, particularly, the 
 description of the beloved in chap. v. intends 
 nothing but a mountain, ornamented with 
 copses, and enriched with quarries of marble, 
 and a mine of gold 3 . 
 
 It is readily admitted that geography bor- 
 rows many of its terms from the members of 
 
 1 Expos, p. 1 6- 3(1. edit. 
 Histpry of Baptifm, ch. iii. p, 23, 4. " Ibid. 
 
78 
 
 the human body, as an arm of the sea, the 
 mouth of a river, the foot of a mountain, 
 &c. and this custom probably originated among 
 the first fathers of mankind. But that Behe- 
 moth meant the Dead Sea, Leviathan a volcano, 
 Jonah's whale a Jewish fishery, and the be- 
 loved ill this book a hill with mines in it, are 
 ideas which require something more than mere 
 conjecture to support them. Beside, whoever 
 heard of a gold mine in Judea r and if Solo- 
 mon had such in his own estate, why send a 
 three years voyage to procure it ? Farther, did 
 marble and gold grow in the same mountain r 
 And did it also produce quarries of ivory, and 
 sapphire, and beryl ? Did the same mountain 
 produce springs of water, beds of spices, and 
 copses ' bushy and black as a raven ?' Surely 
 flie idea is too ridiculous to merit a serious con- 
 futation, and could not have been entertained 
 even by Mr. Robinson, if he had attempted to pur- 
 sue it farther, and examine the particular appli- 
 cation of his hypothesis. For supposing a few- 
 passages might be thus illustrated, the far 
 greater part would be thrown into impenetrable 
 darkless. 
 
 I know not whether the protestant reader 
 will bear with my adding to the above hypo- 
 theses, the mystical one of some modern catho- 
 lics, who while they explain the bridegroom 
 to be Jesus Christ, make the spouse to be the 
 Virgin Mary '. 
 
 It is now time to state what I conceive a far 
 
 1 Explan. of Cant, in Verse. Paris, 1717. 
 
79 
 
 more rational and consistent application of the 
 imagery in this poem, and to consider the 
 grounds and arguments on which it rests. 6 In 
 
 * the first place, then, I confess' (in the words 
 of the very learned bishop LOWTH ') c that by 
 
 * several reasons, by the general authority and 
 6 consent of the Jewish and Christian churches, 
 
 * and still more, by the nature and analogy 
 
 * of the parabolic style, I feel irresistibly in- 
 6 dined to that side of the question which con- 
 ' siders this as an entire ALLEGORY.' ' Amys- 
 4 tic allegory of that sort which induces a more 
 ' sublime sense on historical truths, and which, 
 
 * by the description of human events, shadows 
 ' out divine circumstances.' So Dr. BLAIR 
 says, ' Considered with respect to its spiritual 
 c meaning it is undoubtedly a mystical alle- 
 
 * gory 2 .' 6n this occasion, says Mr. GREEN, 
 we may say what the apostle says on another ; 
 ' No man can lay any other foundation than 
 c what is laid, even Jesus Christ V 
 
 The ground of a mystic allegory lays in the 
 analogy between natural and spiritual objects; 
 and it is well known to have been the doctrine of 
 Plato's school, that all material objects had their 
 archetype in the divine mind, which principle 
 was adopted by Philo, the Alexandrian Jew, 
 and from him descended to the Cabbfclists, and 
 became the fountain of all their allegorical 
 interpretations. These Cabbalists, from the 
 maxim that ' sensible things are but an imita- 
 
 1 Lecture XXXT. 2 Lect. XLL vol. III. 
 
 3 Green's Poet, Parts of O. T. newly translated, p. 106. 
 
80 
 
 ' tion of things above/ thence conceived that 
 the matrimonial union had its counterpart, or 
 original pattern, in the heavenly state ; namely, 
 in the loves of TIPHERET and MALCUTH, the 
 invisible bridegroom and bride of the celestial 
 world. By TIPHERET, which signifies orna- 
 ment or beauty, if they understood themselves, 
 they must have meant the King Messiah, 
 whom they call ' the second Adam/ or the 
 4 Adam who is on high, in distinction from 
 our common father ; and by MALCUTH, which 
 signifies kingdom, the congregation of Israel or 
 the kingdom of the Messiah ; and these no- 
 tions appear to have been very ancient, as they 
 are adopted by the sacred writers, and particu- 
 larly by St. Paul, who represents Jesus Christ, 
 both as ' the second Adam, the Lord from 
 6 heaven/ and as the husband or bridegroom 
 of his church 1 . 
 
 But this notion may be traced to a sublimer 
 origin than Plato, namely, to the Hebrew pro- 
 phets, who abound with the same ideas. By 
 them * God is represented as the spouse of the 
 ' church, and the church as the betrothed of 
 ' God. Thus also the piety of the people, 
 
 * their impiety, their idolatry, and rejection 
 4 stand in the same relation to the sacred cove- 
 
 * nant, as chastity, immodesty, adultery, and 
 
 * divorce, with respect to the marriage contract. 
 4 And this notion is so familiar in Scripture, 
 ' that the word adultery (or whoredom) is 
 4 commonly used to denote idolatrous worship, 
 
 1 i Cor. xv. Eph. v. 32. 
 
81 
 
 * and so appropriated does it appear to this me- 
 
 * taphorical purpose, that it very seldom occurs 
 
 * in its proper and literal sense '.' 
 
 Some of the passages thus certainly allegori- 
 cal have a resemblance so striking to the Song 
 of Solomon, that the comparison has great 
 weight with me, to prove that also to be allego- 
 rical : I shall produce a few instances for the 
 satisfaction of the reader, and many more will 
 be alluded, or referred, to in the subsequent 
 commentary. 
 
 The most striking instance is that of the 
 45th psalm, which is commonly supposed 
 to have been written on the same occa- 
 sion. If so, it could not be written by David, 
 because he appears to have died before this 
 marriage ; nor yet by Solomon, because the 
 writer speaks of him (a type of King Messiah) 
 as a third person, and tells us his poem was 
 composed to be recited in his presence, at least 
 as I understand the first verse, which runs 
 thus : 
 
 ' My heart enditeth a good matter ; 
 
 * I will speak unto the king that which I have composed; 
 
 * My tongue [shall be as] the pen of a ready writer. 
 
 It is probable then, it might be written by 
 the prophet Nathan, the author of the beauti- 
 ful parable which reproved David's sin *. 
 However, there is so striking a resemblance 
 between the opening of this psalm and that of 
 
 ! Lowth's Lect. XXXI. * 2 Sam. xii. i, &c, 
 
 M 
 
32 
 
 nn anciefit runic poem ', that I cannot help 
 observing it. The bard it seems had been taken 
 captive by the enemy, and composed an ode 
 in praise of the conqueror, as the price of his 
 ransom; whence the poem is called ' The 
 4 Ransom of EG ILL, the%d/rf,' or bard, and 
 begins thus : * I bring in my bosom the gift of 
 4 Odin [f. e. the god Woden] my mind is deep 
 
 * laden with the songs of the gods. 
 
 * I offer my freight unto the king : I owe i 
 4 poem for my ransom : my lays resound his 
 4 praise.' 
 
 The following verses will also find their 
 parallel in the same and other p&ilim 
 
 6 The drawn bow twangs: it sends ; forth' ''tht 
 6 arrow to s meet the sword. The king-liath 
 
 * gained a firm possession in the enemy's land. 
 4 Praise dwells beside him* 
 
 6 1 have published the praises of the king: I have 
 6 poured forth from my breast the praises of Eric/ 
 
 Begging the reader's pardon for this digres- 
 sion, I shall now recite some other verses in 
 this psalm, referring to the parallel passages in 
 the Song of Solomon. Of the king it is said : 
 
 4 Thou art jfiwra 1 than tne children of men : 
 4 Grace is poured into thy lips". 
 
 The following words seems to allude to the 
 chajiot of state described by Solomon, and alle- 
 gorically expressive of the gospel. 
 
 On thy word of truth, of meekness, and of righteousness, 
 ' ride prosperously.' 
 
 1 See five pieces of Runic Poetry, translated from the 
 Islandic Langu age. Dodsley, 1763. 
 * See Sol. Song, ch. v. 10, 13. 
 
83 
 
 And in the next we have express mention 
 cf Ills perfumed garments. 
 
 ' Myrrh, aloes, and cassia perfume all thy garments.* 
 
 But the description of the spouse is so strik- 
 ing! 7 similar to that of Solomon's, that I think 
 there, can be little doubt that they are equally 
 allegorical, and of the like import. 
 
 * Kings daughters are among thy honourable women : 
 
 * Upon thy right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir. 
 
 * Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear : 
 
 * Forget also thine own people, and thy father's house ; 
 
 * So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty. 
 " The king's daughter is all glorious within, 
 
 * Her clothing is of wrought gold, 
 
 * She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needle- 
 
 * work : 
 
 % Tne viigins, her companions that follow her, shall be brought 
 ' unto thee : 
 
 * With gladness and rejoicing bhall they be brought: 
 
 * They shall enter into the king's palace.' 
 
 Several passages interspersed with the above, 
 demonstrate that this can refer to no mortal 
 love; but must be allegorically explained. The 
 Chaldee paraphrast expressly applies the psalm 
 to King Messiah, and so doth the apostle Paul: 
 and the analogy between this and the Song of 
 Solomon strongly pleads for the like spiritual 
 interpretation of that song, 
 
 ISAIAH employs imagery of the same kind 
 in the like manner. To Zion he says, 
 
 No more shall it be said unto thee, Thou forsaken ! 
 Neither to thy land shall it be said any more, Thou desolate ! 
 But thou shalVbe called The object of my delight ; 
 And thy land The wedded matron: 
 For JEHOVAH shall delight in thee; 
 . And thy land shall be joined in marriage. 
 
' For as a young man weddeth a virgin, 
 
 * So shall thy restorer wed thee : 
 
 ' And as a bridegroom rejoiceth in his bride, 
 
 * So shall thy God rejoice in thee 1 .' 
 
 JEREMIAH and EZEKIEL both employ the 
 same imagery ; the latter with peculiar bold- 
 ness, and in a manner more exposed to the 
 fastidiousness of European criticism. I shall 
 give a tew verses that may serve to illustrate the 
 imagery of Solomon. 
 
 * I clothed thee with embroidered work,. 
 ' And shod thee with badger's skin ; 
 
 4 I girded thee about with "fine linen, 
 
 * And covered thee with silk. 
 
 * I decked thee also with ornaments, 
 
 * And I put bracelets upon thine hands, 
 
 * And a chain upon thy neck. 
 
 ' And I put a jewel on thy forehead, 
 
 * And earings in thine ears, 
 
 i And a splendid crown, upon thine head. 
 
 K Then wast thoty decked with gold and silver ; 
 
 1 And thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, 
 
 * And of embroidered work. 
 
 ' And thy renown went forth among the nations for thy 
 
 * beauty : 
 
 * For it was perfect, through my comeliness which I put upon 
 
 * thee, 
 
 * Saith thy God, JEHOVAHV 
 
 The same kind of imagery occurs in the 
 New Testament, though less ornamented and 
 poetical. JESUS CHRIST calls himself the 
 bridegroom^ and his disciples, children of the 
 
 1 Bishop Lowth's Isa. chap. Ixii. 4, 5. See also ch. liv. 
 6,7. 
 
 1 Ezek. xvi. 10 14. See Bp. Newcome's version, and 
 compare Lowth's notes in Isa. iii. ai. 
 
JS" 
 
 Iridechaniber* . John the Baptist speaks of him 
 in the same character, and calls himself the 
 6 friend of the bridegroom 2 .' St. Paul, we have 
 seen, employs the like figures. In the book of 
 Revelation, the new Jerusalem is described as 
 a bride adorned for her husband, and expressly 
 called 'The bride, the lamb's wife.' 
 
 These, and the like passages, are sufficient to 
 shew that the metaphorical language of Solo- 
 mon, may and probably ought to be interpreted 
 in the same manner. The following consider- 
 ations carry the matter farther. 
 
 It is generally admitted that the sacred canon 
 was compiled and closed by Ezra. Ezra was a 
 prophet now if Solomon's Song had been a, 
 mere nuptial poem, or a carnal love-song, how 
 are we to account for its admission into the 
 sacred canon, and uninterrupted continuance 
 there ? For, though there have been formerly 
 controversies among the Jews about the books 
 of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, yet there never 
 was any concerning this 3 . It deserves also to 
 be considered, that this book was universally 
 admitted in all the translations and ancient 
 versions of the scriptures ; and allegorically ex- 
 plained by the most ancient commentators. 
 The ancient book of Zohar asserts that Solomon 
 composed it by the inspiration of the Holy 
 Spirit. The Chaldee Paraphrase has this title, 
 ' The songs and hymns which Solomon, the 
 
 1 Matt. ix. 14, 15. * John iii. 29. 
 
 3 Gill's Expos, p. 2. ' All the scriptures are holy, but the 
 * Song of Songs is the Holy of Holies.' Misnah, Tract Ya- 
 daiin, quoted in Gill's Expos, p. 2. 
 
8S 
 
 * prophet, the king of Israel, uttered in the 
 4 spirit of prophecy before the Lord.' And 
 R. Aben Ezra, in the preface to his com- 
 mentary, says, 6 God forbid that the Song of 
 ' Songs should be written or understood of things 
 
 * obscene ; but it is entirely parabolical) and 
 4 had it not been of very great excellency, it 
 
 * had not been written in the catalogue of the 
 4 holy scriptures '.' 
 
 Agreeably to these sentiments, many of the 
 rabbins, and of the fathers, wrote allegorical 
 expositions of this book ; and though it must 
 be confessed their applications were various, 
 and often fanciful to the extreme, they all 
 (with a very few exceptions) united in the ge- 
 neral principle, that the book was allegorical. 
 And Jews, as well as Christians, are of the 
 same opinion to the present day. So Mr. DA- 
 vi r; LEVI, ' This poem is an entire allegory 
 4 and describes the conjugal union of God 
 c with the Jewish church. This is the so- 
 c lemn compact so frequently celebrated by 
 4 almost all the Jewish writers under the same 
 
 * image Y 
 
 To confirm this idea, I would add lastly, 
 that this method of explication is perfectly 
 congenial to the eastern taste. Sir JOHN CHAR- 
 DIN says of the Persians, that ' the most serious 
 ' of their poets treat of the sublimest mysteries 
 ' of theology under the most licentious lan- 
 4 guage, in the way of allegory, as Afez in 
 
 * his Kasels V 
 
 1 Quoted in Gill's Exp. p. 2. 
 
 2 Heb. Eng. Diet. CD^. 
 
 3 Quoted in Lowth's Lect. XXXI. 
 
87 
 
 The Kasels (or Ghazels) of Afez (or Hafez) 
 are, literally taken, Anacreontics; but Feridoun, 
 and other Turkish commentators, understand 
 ' the terms of love and wine as expressing the 
 
 * transports of a soul devoutly attached to hea- 
 ' ven.' The eastern writers, and in particular 
 the Gentoos, adopt many mystical expressions 
 of this nature, and talk of being inebriated with 
 divine love, &c. It has been, indeed, suspected, 
 that the eastern poets, who indulged themselves 
 in licentious compositions, endeavoured to 
 throw a veil of mystery over them, to conceal 
 their shame: this might sometimes be the case; 
 but the austere and exemplary life of Hafez 
 pleads strongly in his favour 1 . 
 
 But I cannot do justice to this subject with- 
 out subjoining the following interesting ex- 
 tract from Sir W. JONES'S very curious and 
 learned essay on 4 the mystical poetry of the 
 
 * Persians and Hindus*;' which is so complete 
 as to supersede all farther enquiries on the 
 subject. 
 
 * A figurative mode of expressing the fervour 
 
 * of devotion, or the ardent love of created 
 
 * spirits toward their beneficient Creator, has 
 ' prevailed from time immemorial in Asia ; 
 
 * particularly among the Persian theists, both 
 c ancient Hushangis and modern Sufis, who 
 
 * seem to have borrowed it from the Indian 
 
 * philosophers of the Vedanta school; and their 
 
 * doctrines are also believed to be the source 
 
 1 Richardson** Specimen of Pers. Poetry. Note, p. 15. 
 * Asiatic Researches, p. 353 & se^. or Works, vol. L 
 p. 445, 
 
88 
 
 * of that sublime, but poetical, theology, which 
 
 * glows and sparkles in the writings of the old 
 
 * academics. 4 Plato travelled into Italy and 
 
 * Egypt, says Claude Fleury, to learn the theo- 
 
 * logy of the Pagans at its fountain head: 1 its 
 ' true fountain, however, was neither in Italy 
 4 nor in Egypt, (though considerable streams 
 ' of it had been conducted thither byPythago- 
 
 * ras, and by the family of Misra) but in 
 4 Persia or India, which the founder of the 
 ' Italic sect had visited with a similar design. 
 
 * What the Grecian travellers learned among 
 4 the sages of the east, may perhaps be fully 
 
 * explained in another dissertation ; but we 
 4 confine this essay to a singular species of 
 4 poetry, which consists almost wholly of a 
 
 * mystical religious allegory, though it seems, 
 
 * on a transient view, to contain only the sen- 
 
 * timents of a wild and voluptuous libertinism : 
 
 * now, admitting the danger of a poetical 
 4 style, in which the limits between vice and 
 4 enthusiasm are so minute as to be hardly 
 * distinguishable, w r e must allow it to be natural, 
 4 though a warm imagination may carry it to 
 4 a culpable excess ; for an ardently grateful 
 4 piety is congenial to, the undepraved nature of 
 4 man, whose mind, sinking under the magni- 
 
 * tude of the subject, and struggling to express 
 4 its motions, has recourse to metaphors and 
 4 allegories, which it sometimes extends beyond 
 4 the bounds of cool reason, and often to the 
 4 brink of absurdity.' 
 
 The author here gives some- considerable 
 extracts from Barrow w the love of God, and 
 
89 
 
 the mysterious union and communion of the 
 soul with him, which he thinks * border on 
 
 * quietism and enthusiastic devotion' ; and then 
 adds, that these fc differ only from the mysti- 
 
 * cal theology of the Sufis and Yogis, as the 
 
 * flowers and fruits of Europe differ in scent 
 
 * and flavour from those of Asia ; or as Euro- 
 c pean differs from Asiatic eloquence ; the 
 
 * same strain, in poetical measure, would rise 
 
 * up to the odes of Spencer on divine love and 
 
 * beauty ; and in a higher key, with richer em- 
 
 * bellishments, to the songs of Hafiz and Jaya- 
 
 * deva, the raptures of the Masnavi, and the 
 
 * Mysteries of the Bhagavat.' 
 
 Sir W. Jones gives another considerable ex- 
 tract on the same subject, taken from JVL 
 Necker, in which he represents God as thus 
 addressing man: ' Your nature is composed 
 4 of those divine particles, which, at an infi- 
 
 * nite distance, constitute my own essence.' 
 This, Sir W. says, is the exact system of the 
 Sufis and Vedantis in epitome. They be- 
 lieve that the Deity pervades the universe ; 
 that he alone is perfect benevolence, truth 
 and beauty: that all ' the beauties of nature 
 
 * are faint resemblances only, like images in 
 c a mirror, of the divine charms ;' { that we 
 
 * must beware of attachment to such phantoms, 
 6 and attach ourselves exclusively to God, who 
 
 * truly exists in us, as we exist solely in him ; 
 '-that we retain, even in this forlorn state of 
 
 * separation from our Beloved, the idea of hea- 
 
 * verily beauty, and the remembrance of our 
 
 * primeval vows ; that sweet music, gentle 
 
 N 
 
so 
 
 * breezes, fragrant flowers, perpetually renew 
 6 the primary idea, refresh our fading memory, 
 
 * and melt us with tender affections; that we 
 6 must cherish those affections, and by abstract- 
 4 ing our souls from vanity, that is, from all but 
 
 * God, approximate to his essence, in our final 
 ' union with which will consist our supreme be- 
 ' atitude. From these principles flow a thousand 
 
 * metaphors and poetical figures, which abound 
 4 in the sacred poems of the Persians and Hin- 
 
 * dus, who seem to mean the same thing in 
 ' substance, and differ only in expression, as 
 ' their languages differ in idiom. The mo- 
 ' dern Sufis, who profess a belief in the Koran, 
 4 suppose, with great sublimity both of thought 
 
 * and of diction, an express contract, on the 
 ' day of eternity without beginning, between 
 
 * the assemblage of created spirits and the Su- 
 
 * preme Soul, from which they were detached, 
 ' when a celestial voice pronounced these 
 ' words, addressed to each spirit separately, 
 
 * 4 Art thou not with thy Lord ?' that is, Art 
 
 * thou not bound by a solemn contract with 
 4 him ? and all the spirits answered with one 
 
 * voice, 4 Yes :' hence it is, that aiki, or art 
 4 thou not, and Idl 9 or yes, incessantly occur 
 
 * in the mystical verses of the Persians, and of 
 
 * the Turkish poets, who imitate them, as the 
 ' Romans imitated the Greeks. The Hindus 
 ' describe the same covenant under the figura* 
 ' tive notion, so finely expressed by Isaiah, of 
 
 * a nuptial contract; for, considering God in the 
 ' three characters of creator, regenerator, and 
 4 preserver, and supposing the power of preser- 
 
 and benevolence to have become incar* 
 
91 
 
 * nate In the person of Crishna, they represent 
 
 * him as married to Radha 9 a word signifying 
 6 atonement, pacification, or satisfaction; butap- 
 
 * plied allegorically to the soul of man, or rather 
 
 * to the whole assemblage of created souls ; be- 
 
 * tween whom and the benevolent Creator 
 ' they suppose that reciprocal love, which 
 
 * Barrow describes with a glow of expression 
 ' perfectly oriental ; and which our most or- 
 ' thodox theologians believe to have been mys- 
 
 * tically shadowed in the song of Solomon, while 
 
 * they admit that, in a literal sense, it is an 
 
 * epithalamium on the marriage of the sapient 
 
 * king with the princess of Egypt. The very 
 
 * learned author of the Prelecliones on sacred 
 
 * poetry declared his opinion, that the Canticles 
 ' were founded on historical truth, but involved 
 4 an allegory of that sort, which he named 
 
 * mystical ; and the beautiful poem on the 
 ' loves of Laili and Majnum, by the inimitable 
 
 * Nizam i (to say nothing of other poems on 
 ' the same subject) is indisputably built on true 
 6 history, yet avowedly allegorical and mys- 
 
 * terious, for the introduction to it is a conti- 
 
 * nued rapture on divine love; and the name of 
 ' Laili seems to be used in the Masnavi and the 
 < odes of Hafiz, for the omnipresent spirit of 
 
 * God/ 
 
 As to Hafiz, our truly learned author ob- 
 serves, ' it has been made a question whether 
 
 * the poems of Hafiz must be taken in a literal 
 ' or in a figurative sense ; but the question does 
 
 * not admit of a general and direct answer; for 
 
 * even the most enthusiastic of his commenta- 
 
92 
 
 *' tors allow, that some of them are to be taken 
 ' literally ; and his editors ought to have distin- 
 ' guished them, as our Spencer has distin- 
 
 * guishcd his four odes on Love and Beauty; 
 ' instead of mixing the profane with the di- 
 4 vine, by a childish arrangement according to 
 4 the alphabetical order of the rhymes/ 'Many 
 
 * zealous admirers of Hafiz,' Sir William adds, 
 
 * insist, that by wine he invariably means devo^ 
 ' tion by kisses and cjnbraccs the raptures of 
 
 * piety,' &c. &c. ' The poet himself,' he 
 subjoins, ' gives a colour in many passages to 
 
 * such an interpretation ; and without it we can 
 
 * hardly conceive, that his poems, or those of 
 
 * his numerous imitators, would be tolerated in 
 4 a Musselrnan country, especially at Constan- 
 tinople, where they are venerated as divine 
 4 compositions : it must be admitted, that the 
 4 sublimity of the mystical allegory, which 
 4 like metaphors and comparisons should be 
 
 * general only, not minutely exact', is dimi- 
 4 nished, if not destroyed, by an attempt at par- 
 4 ticular and distinct resemblances ; and that 
 
 * the style is open to dangerous misinterpre- 
 
 * tation, while it supplies real infidels with a 
 
 * pretext for laughing at religion itself.' 
 
 The learned president here introduces an 
 ode of the above nature by an ancient Sufi, 
 s.urnamed Ismat, in which the mysteries of 
 their religion are disguised under the licen- 
 tious allegories of love and wine ; and, after 
 some farther extracts, concludes this elegant 
 and ingenious essay in the following 
 
93 
 
 * Let us return to the Hindus, among whom 
 4 we now find the same emblematical theo- 
 
 * logy, which Pythagoras admired and adopted. 
 ' The loves of Crislma and Radha^ or the 
 c reciprocal attraction between the divine good- 
 ' ness and the human soul, are told at large 
 4 in the tenth book of the Bhagavat, and are 
 6 the subject of a little pastoral drama, en- 
 ' titled Gitagbvinda: it was the work of-Jaya* 
 
 * deva, who flourished, it is said, before Calidas, 
 
 * and was born, as he tell us himself, in Cen- 
 6 duli, which many believe to be in Calinga ; 
 ' but, since there is a town of a similar name 
 ' in Berdwan, the natives of it insist that the 
 
 * finest lyric poet of India was their country-* 
 ( man, and celebrate, in honour of him, an 
 
 * annual jubilee, passing a whole night in re- 
 
 * presenting his drama, and in singing his 
 f beautiful songs.' 
 
 The sum of our evidence in favour of the 
 allegorical import of the Song of Songs amounts 
 to this : That there is a rational ground for the 
 allegory in divine truth ; that the same ima- 
 gery is allegorically employed in other un- 
 doubted parts of scripture; that this is per-r 
 fectly in the eastern taste ; that it has been 
 almost the universal sense of ancients and mo- 
 derns, who have studied this book ; and that 
 otherwise, it were very difficult, not to say im- 
 possible, to account for its admission into the 
 sacred canon. 
 
 It has been said that some of these argu- 
 ments prove only the possibility of the case 
 and not the fact ; that it ?nay be allegorical and 
 
not that it zV so. I think they go farther: 
 but if the possibility of this fact be admitted, 
 from some of these considerations, others will 
 induce a very high degree of probability, suf- 
 ficient for conviction in the present case. For 
 instance, if from the eastern taste of composi- 
 tion, and more particularly from the style of 
 'the sacred writers, it appears that the same or 
 similar images are employed in the description 
 of divine mysteries, it |urely follows, from the 
 admission of this book into the sacred canon, 
 that very probably this is of the same import : 
 at least that those who placed it there, and had 
 far better opportunities than we of judging,., 
 thought so : this Is much strengthened by the 
 general current of early Jewish and Christian 
 writers, and comes nothing short, as I conceive 
 of sufficient evidence to satisfy any reasonable 
 enquirer. But to fasten the conviction and, 
 complete the evidence I have reserved to this 
 place the following argument, which being 
 bf a moral nature, stands distinguished from 
 the rest 1 . 
 
 The argument is this : that the book in its 
 allegorical sense has been instrumental to the 
 comfort and edification of thousands of pious 
 
 ! I am sensible of having omitted one argument on which 
 some advocates for this book have laid considerable stress ; I 
 mean the difficulty of accommodating many parts of this poem 
 to a literal sense : but I have omitted it intentionally, because, 
 ist r I have endeavoured to accommodate the whole in this 
 manner ; and ad, because there is a like difficulty in spiri- 
 tualizing the whole ; still, however, I am disposed to think 
 with Mr. Henley, that had the poem been intended merely as 
 a marriage song, some passages would not have been ad* 
 Oikled. 
 
95 
 
 Jews and Christians of all ages. Now if we 
 admit a providence superintending all human 
 affairs, and especially the concerns of the 
 church, how shall we reconcile it to the cha- 
 racter of God, to suppose he has suffered his 
 church to be deluded with a mere love-song, and 
 in the opinion of the objectors, a very loose and 
 profane one, for three or four thousand years? 
 The supposition amounts to such a high de- 
 gree of improbability as we seldom admit; 
 little inferior to that of supposing, that the Eng- 
 lish church might have been so imposed on, as 
 to mistake the poems of Rochester for a boqk 
 of Divine hymns and spiritual songs. 
 
 SECTION VI. 
 
 *>F THE INSPIRATION OF SOLOMON'S SONG. 
 
 THIS may rather be considered as an infe- 
 rence from the preceding evidence, than as 
 another subject of enquiry. For if this book 
 were written by Solomon, a writer confessedly 
 inspired, and contain the divine mysteries of 
 revelation, no good reason can surely be as- 
 signed, why it should not be admitted of equal 
 authority with the other sacred books, and par- 
 ticularly with other books composed by him. 
 
 Nothing therefore remains but to consider 
 a few objections, which have not been above 
 discussed \ and they sli^ll be taken, chiefly from. 
 
96 
 
 Mr. WHTSTOX, who lays great stress upon' 
 them, and knew how to do them justice. I shall 
 reduce them to two or three. 
 
 1. ' That there is no foundation for an alle- 
 
 * gorical or mystical sense of this book ; there 
 
 * being not the least sign of a sober, virtuous^ 
 
 * or divine meaning therein; nor any thing 
 
 * that in the least concerns morality or virtue, 
 
 * God r or religion, the Messiah or his king- 
 
 * dom :' nay farther, 4 that the use and intro- 
 
 * duction of double senses of scripture among 
 ' the Jews, is much later than the days of So- 
 f lo?non, and cannot therefore be supposed to 
 4 belong to any book of his writing 2 .' 
 
 What foundation there is for an allegorical 
 sense in this book I have endeavoured to shew 
 above: and if this be admitted, then is the 
 book full of morality and virtue, God and reli- 
 gion, ' the Messiah and his kingdom/ as will 
 appear in the subjoined commentary. 
 
 The objection to the antiquity of allegory is 
 evidently unfounded. Solomon employs it both 
 in his Proverbs and Ecclcsiastcs' ; Nathan's 
 parable to David 4 was earlier, and that of Jo- 
 
 * Some writers have added, that the natne of God does not 
 Occur in this book, as an additional objection to its inspira- 
 tion. But this is, ist. childish and nugatory; neither does it 
 occur in the book of Esther, which is much longer: ad. It 
 is false; the name J AH (a contraction of Jehovah) occurring 
 in chap. viii. 6. Not to say that the Messiah is designated 
 throughout as a bridegroom, as by the prophets. 
 
 * Supplement to his Essay toward restoring the Text of the 
 Old Testament, p. 12, 13, 22. 
 
 * Prov,. viii. Eccles. xii. 4 2 Sam. xii.i. 
 
97 
 
 tham f still morfe ancient ; not to appeal to the 
 writings of Moses, nor to the 45th psalm above 
 considered. 
 
 As a kind of supplement to this objection, 
 another writer observes, that 'in all other alle- 
 
 * gories there is something to fix the design, and 
 
 * to assist us in finding out their meaning ;' as 
 Well as ' to oblige us to allegorize'' in explain- 
 ing them : whereas this affords no key to the 
 allegory, and admits a literal exposition 2 . 
 
 But neither of these assertions is correct and 
 true. Nathan's parable had so little in it that 
 appeared allegorical, that David took it for a 
 true narrative; and Solomon's allegory in' Ec- 
 clesiastes has been much disputed. The keys to 
 most allegories are to be found in their history, 
 when no explanation is subjoined. The key 
 of this song is to be found in the 45th psalm 
 and other parts of scripture, where the like 
 imagery is employed in the same way. The 
 necessity of allegorizing this book, if not ap- 
 parent in the book itself, is sufficiently evident 
 from the arguments in favour of its allegorical 
 design : and the difficulty of otherwise ac- 
 counting for its admission and continuance in 
 the Canon. Nor can this be accounted for, as 
 this writer pretends, from the Jews' partiality 
 to Solomon and his writings ; otherwise, why 
 did they not insert the Book of Wisdom, 
 and other antient pieces which bear his 
 name ? Nor is it likely that the Christians 
 should adopt it out of complaisance to the 
 
 ' Judges, ix. 2 Dissertation on Solomon's Song, 1751. 
 
 o 
 
98 
 
 Jews, since the first Christians were above 
 this suspicion, and the later ones would rather 
 have rejected than received it on that account. 
 But to return to Mr. Whiston ; he objects, 
 
 2dly. That neither the contemporary nor 
 succeeding writers of the Old Testament, ever 
 quote or allude to it ' : neither the apocryphal 
 writers neither Philo nor Josephus neither 
 Christ nor his apostles nor any writers of the 
 lirst century, though many of these were much 
 given to allegories and allegorical interpreta- 
 tion. In this objection I have condensed se- 
 veral of my author's, and therefore must an- 
 swer them distinctly. 
 
 I am not certain that any of the other sacred 
 writers expressly cite^ or transcribe from this 
 canticle : but the same may be said, not only of 
 many of the psalms, and perhaps of Job, but 
 of Esther, Nehemiah, and some other books ; 
 and is therefore of no force. Yet it is most 
 certain, as already shewn, that other sacred 
 writers, both of the Old Testament and the 
 New, employ the same figures, borrow many 
 of the expressions, and allude, it is probable, to 
 many passages, as may be seen by references 
 in the margin 2 , and more fully in the com- 
 
 1 So Dr. Durell, (Remarks on Canticles) ' It is not 
 * quoted, or most distantly alluded to, in the sacred writings/ 
 f Besides the passages above cited compare the following : 
 Cant. ii. 4. with John vi. 44. 
 
 ii. 3. Rev. xxii. i, 2. 
 
 1 S- Ezek. xiii. 4. 
 
 iii. i. Isa. xxvi. 9. 
 
 iv. 7. Ephes. v. 27. 
 
 ii. Hos. xiv^* 
 
99 
 
 mentary. And if this position be disputable, it 
 can only be from the similarity of style in the 
 sacred books, which makes it doubtful what 
 passages arc referred to, and forms therefore an 
 argument in favour of our hypothesis. 
 
 The like may be said of the apocryphal 
 writers, and others named in the objection, as 
 might be shewn, if it were worth while to be 
 minute. The evidence of Josephus has been 
 considered; and Philo has few quotations from 
 the scriptures. As to the fathers, if some of 
 them have omitted quoting this book, we havq 
 its authority expressly allowed by Melito, and 
 Origen was one of its most celebrated early 
 commentators : and though we consider the 
 apostolical constitutions, so highly praised by 
 Mr. Whiston, as an imposture, it may be worth 
 observing, that this author twice speaks of the 
 little foxes which destroy the vineyards, in allu- 
 sion to this book ; and these passages seem to 
 have given him no little trouble \ 
 
 Cant. iv. 15. with John iv. 14. 
 
 v. i. , in. 29. 
 
 2. Rev. iii. 20. 
 
 Matt. xxv. 5. 
 
 vii. 13. xiii. 52. 
 
 viii. 6. Hag. ii. 23. 
 
 vii. ii. Matt. xxi. 33. 
 
 14. Rev. xxii. 17, 2O. 
 
 1 See Gill's Expos, edit. 3d. p. u. 
 
100 
 
 SECTION VII. 
 
 FORMER COMMENTATORS, WITH THE PLAN 
 OF THE FOLLOWING WORK. 
 
 MY last object is to give a kind of historic 
 sketch of the expositions of this book, and a 
 hasty view of the principal writers on it; no- 
 ticing particularly such as I have consulted ; 
 and pointing out to the reader the method 
 adopted in this work. It must not be expected, 
 however, that in any class I should enumerate 
 them all, for their name is legion. 
 
 The Jewish commentators shall take the 
 lead ; and first, the TARGUM, or Chaldee para^ 
 phrase on this book, which is very full and co- 
 pious, and supposed to have been written by 
 Joseph ihc blind, or one-eyed. That this is 
 hot of the high antiquity which some of the 
 Jews pretend, is evident from its containing the 
 notion of two Messiahs, which is, modern ; a 
 well as from its mention of the Talmud, which 
 was riot completed till about A. D. 500. A 
 translation of this was added by Dr, Gill to the 
 first edition of his Exposition. 
 
 The Jewish commentators mentioned, and 
 consulted by Dr. Gill ' (a master in this walk 
 of learning,) are, beside the Targum, Shir- 
 hashirim Rabba^ Sol. Ben Jarchij A ben Ezra, 
 4$ Is keck, and Yulkut Simeani, with the books 
 
 * Prcf. tp Expos. 
 
101 
 
 of Zohar and the llahbotli : to which he might 
 have added David Kimchi, and a few others, 
 which he consulted, perhaps, only occasion- 
 ally. The books of Zohar and Rabboth are 
 not comments on this book, yet they afford 
 many occasional illustrations in the Jewish 
 manner. These writers, who are all disposed 
 to allegorize, are by no means more unanimous 
 than the Christian commentators ; with whom 
 also they agree in generally turning the figures 
 as much as possible in honour of their church 
 and priesthood : ex. gra. They tell you the 
 eyes of the church intend its doctors, as if the 
 laity were always blind. Blessed be God, he 
 permits and encourages us to see with our own 
 eyes. 
 
 The Canticles were pretty early a favourite 
 book with the fathers, and (as then understood) 
 suited the genius of Origen to a tittle. He wrote 
 copiously on this book, and in the comment 
 translated by Jerome, he is said, by that father, 
 as much to have excelled himself, as in his other 
 works he did all contemporary writers ; which 
 was certainly intended as a compliment. 
 
 Gregory, of Nyssa, wrote fifteen homilies, 
 containing an allegorical exposition as far as 
 the middle of the sixth chapter. He was fol- 
 lowed by Eusebius, Cyprian, and others, who 
 were fond of this book, apparently, because it 
 gave them a favourable opportunity to display 
 their wit and ingenuity in allegorizing. 
 
 St. Bernard wrote eighty-six sermons on the 
 two first chapters, of which the best I can say 
 
102 
 
 is, that they are commended by Erasmus, 
 doubtless for their piety and unction. 
 
 CALMET Z has given a long list of authors 
 of the middle ages, who have attempted to ex- 
 plain this book ; of whom little is known but 
 that they exist in some ecclesiastical libraries ; 
 even the names of the following only seem 
 worth enumerating. 
 
 Venerable Bcde wrote seven books on this 
 Subject, or rather six, for the seventh is copied 
 entirely from Gregory the Great. This work 
 was intended as a defence of the doctrines of 
 Grace against the Pelagians ! 
 
 The commentary of Foliot, bishop of Lon- 
 don in the 12th century, with the compen- 
 dium of Alcuin, was printed in 1638, and 
 is repeatedly referred to by Dr. Gill. Of 
 Thomas Aquinas' comment, the only thing I 
 know remarkable is, that it is said to have been 
 dictated on his death-bed. 
 
 Scotits is favourably spoken of by Poole as 
 not one of the last to be named of this pe- 
 riod \ 
 
 Genebrand, a learned benedictine, wrote two 
 comments, a larger and smaller, both in the 
 latter part of the sixteenth century : and his 
 work is distinguished by collections from the 
 Rabbins. He was a zealous advocate for the 
 church of Rome, and died Bishop of Aix, 
 A. D. 1597. 
 
 1 Biblioth. sac. art. 5. an 3<1. volume of his great (lk- 
 'tlppary. 
 
 * Syn, Grit, vol, II. ftref. 
 
103 
 
 Gasper Sanctius (or Sanchez) a very laborious 
 Spanish Jesuit, who wrote critical notes on most 
 of the old Testament, and particularly on the 
 Canticles, died in 1628, aged 75. 
 
 Bossuet, Bp. of Meaux, was the first writer, I 
 -believe, who divided this book into seven parts, 
 answerable to the seven days of the Jewish 
 weddings: he has also some critical remarks on 
 the beauty of Solomon's imagery, literally con- 
 sidered. This eloquent prelate lived to the be- 
 ginning of the 18th century. 
 
 Mercerus, or Mercier, is a very learned com- 
 mentator on this song, and the book of Pro- 
 verbs, whose notes are chiefly critical. He was 
 professor of Hebrew at Paris; and died in 1562, 
 
 Coccciits, professor of theology at Leyden, was 
 a learned and evangelical man; but strongly ad- 
 dicted to allegorical exposition. This writer 
 hath been placed in contrast with Grotius; and 
 it has been said, that the former found Christ 
 every where in the Scripture, and the latter no 
 where. He died in the close of the 17th cen- 
 tury. 
 
 Hvfnagel and Datlie are foreign writers, 
 which I have not seen, but have been favoured 
 with some beautiful extracts by a friend. 
 
 Bochart, though not a commentator on this 
 book, hath learnedly explained such passages 
 as refer to its natural history and geography. 
 Of English commentators the following are the 
 most considerable: 
 
 Thomas James, D. D. published a curious ex- 
 position of this book at Oxford, in 1607, which 
 was entirely extracted from the lathers, with 
 whom he was well acquainted, and had good 
 
104 
 
 opportunities of consulting, being, if I mistake 
 not, public librarian at Oxford. 
 
 Henry Aimwortlis learned, though concise 
 comment on this book, was first printed in 
 England, in 1626; and at Franckfort, in the 
 German language, 16,93* This is a most va- 
 luable expositor, and one of the first of our coun- 
 trymen that paid a proper attention to the lite- 
 ral meaning of the Old Testament, which he 
 illustrated, by quotations from the Rabbins. 
 
 James Durham printed his exposition first at 
 Edinburgh, in 1668, at London in 1695, and 
 at Utrecht in 1681. His remarks are sweet 
 and savory, and he was the model of most suc- 
 ceeding expositors, who have treated this book 
 rather with a regard to the. spiritual improve- 
 mentof the, leader, than with a critical view to 
 the genuine meaning of the writer. 
 
 In 1609 the pious bishop Hall published c an 
 open and plain paraphrase' upon this book, in 
 which I confess the allegory is treated with 
 more modesty and judgment than by some 
 later divines. 
 
 Bishop Patrick produced his paraphrase and 
 annotations on this song in 1700. Beside in- 
 vestigating the literal sense, with considerable 
 pains, he has, in the paraphrase, allegorized the 
 whole, in which the Rabbins and the- fathers 
 are his avowed guides. 
 
 A host of English writers have indeed written 
 Commentaries and sermons on this book, the 
 most considerable of whom, beside the above, 
 are John Dove, Joint Trapp, Arthur Jackson, 
 and Dr. Collingcs, whose writings, especially 
 
103 
 
 X 
 
 the last's, are evangelical and practical; but 
 throw little light, in my humble conception, 
 on the true meaning of the book. 
 
 Though the learned Dr. John Owen is not 
 a professed commentator on this song> in his 
 
 * Communion with Father, Son, and Holy 
 Ghost,' he has given one of the best spiritual- 
 explications of the most interesting passages. 
 
 We come now to the present century. At 
 the head of this must be placed the learned 
 and laborious Dr. Gill, * whose praise is in all 
 
 * the churches/ His Exposition was first printed 
 in 1728, and here the Dr. hath collected every 
 thing valuable he could find, critical or spiritual, 
 either in Jewish or Christian writers. This was 
 improved and enlarged in successive editions, 
 of which the fourth has been lately printed. 
 
 But with all due deference to so great a 
 name, this work appears to me to have capital 
 defects: 1. It confounds and intermixes the 
 literal and allegorical senses, so as to give nei- 
 ther distinct nor complete. C 2. It collects (like 
 the fisher's net) such a quantity of observations, 
 good and bad, as appears to me rather to con- 
 fuse than to instruct. 3. By applying the se- 
 veral figures to so great a variety of objects, it 
 leaves us still to seek the right. But my chief 
 objection is, 4<. To the minute dissection of the 
 allegory, which appears to me to destroy both 
 its consistency and beauty, and expose it far 
 too much to the ridicule of profane minds '. 
 
 1 I have omitted mentioning, ' The Fair Circassian, a 
 ' poem imitated from the Song of Solomon,' printed in 1720, 
 aud written by Dr. Croxall in early life, which is indeed 
 
 p 
 
166 
 
 In 1751 was published, < A Dissertation on 
 4 the Song of Solomon, witli the original text, 
 4 divided according to the metre (upon Bishop 
 4 Hare's hypothesis) and a poetical version/ 
 (8vo. Millar.) Dr. Kippis r says that it was writ- 
 ten by a Mr. Giffbrd, who considers the poem as * a 
 ' pastoral, composed by Solomon, as the amuse- 
 ' ment of his lighter hours, just after his nup- 
 6 tials with Pharoah's daughter.' In this view 
 he looks upon it as a very elegant and beau r 
 tiful performance. He thinks it was in the 
 gaiety of youth, and before God had so re- 
 markably appeared to him, and given him that 
 divine wisdom, for which he was afterward so 
 eminent * ! This date he builds chiefly on the 
 order in which Solomon's works are mentioned 
 by the Soft of Sirach, which, with the author's" 
 other arguments, has been considered in its 
 place. The version is elegant, but being in 
 rhyme is of no assistance as a translation. 
 
 The late learned Bishop of London, Dr. 
 Lowth, in his Prtflectidnes, since translated by 
 Dr. Gregory, devoted two lectures 3 expressly 
 to this poem, and maintains it, as we have al- 
 ready seen, to be an allegorical composition. 
 Michaelis, the learned Gottingen professor, 
 whose notes are subjoined, rejects this interpre- 
 tation, and understands it only as a poem in the 
 
 the only apology which can be made for it ; since, though the 
 version is extremely elegant, it ahvays perverts the language 
 of Solomon to the most profane and licentious meaning. 
 
 1 Doddriclge's Lectures, vol. II. p. 117, note. 3d edit, 
 
 1 Mon. Rev. 1751, p. 492. 
 
 3 Lect. xxx, xxxL 
 
107 
 
 praise of matrimonial love; yet he admits it to 
 be perfectly chaste, as well as .elegant. Rev. 
 Mr. Henley, of Hendlesham, has answered 
 these in other notes, in which he endeavours 
 to support the allegory. 
 
 In 1764- was published ' A New Translation, 
 .* with a Commentary and Annotations/ [thin 
 Svo. Dodsley,] in which .the -author confines 
 himself to the literal sense, and endeavours to 
 correct some passages of the original, which he 
 supposes may have been corrupted in transcrib- 
 ing. This work was anonymous, but is uni- 
 versally ascribed to Dr. Percy, the editor of 
 .* Reliques of antient English Poetry,' and 
 since Bishop of Dromore in Ireland. 
 
 The year 1768 produced Mr. Harmer's va- 
 luable volume, entitled, c Outlines of a Com 
 * mentary on Solomon's Song,; drawn by the help 
 4 of instructions from the East/ This work con- 
 tains, 1. Remarks on its general -nature : 4 2. Ob- 
 servations on detached places : and, .3. Queries 
 concerning the rest of this poem. The rea- 
 der will see by the frequent references to this 
 and the preceding works, how much I have 
 been indebted to them. 
 
 In 1772 Dr. Durdl published Critical Re- 
 marks on Job, Proverbs, Psalms, EccLeiiastes, 
 and Canticles. In the latter the Dr. considers 
 the Song of Songs as an epithalamium on Solo- 
 mon's marriage with Pharoah's daughter; the 
 composition lie supposes of a middle nature, 
 between the dramatic and pastoral, but totally 
 excludes any allegorical or spiritual design. 
 
 I have next to mention a Scotcif anonymous 
 2 
 
108 
 
 publication, written in 176.Q, and printed at 
 Edinburgh in 1775, entitled, ' The Song of So- 
 4 lomon paraphrased, with an introduction, corn- 
 * mentary, and notes.' This work is dedicated 
 to Bishop Lowth ; but I have not been able to 
 learn any thing of its author, who appears to 
 have been a man of learning and judgment, and 
 is peculiarly happy in his divisions of this 
 poem, which appear to me preferable to those 
 of Bossuet. 
 
 The next version (printed 1781) was the 
 production of a lady, assisted by the late learned 
 and ingenious Mr. Parkhurst, viz. 6 A poetical 
 ' Translation of Solomon'sSong, from the original 
 6 Hebrew, by Ann Francis J accompanied with 
 -notes, from Percy, Harmer, Parkhurst, &c. 
 This being in rhyme, like that of Mr. Gifford 
 and some others, can be of little use to a literal 
 translator, and the division of it into ads and 
 scenes gives it too much the appearance of a 
 modern drama. 
 
 In the same year the Rev. W. Cm'??, Nf : A. 
 Tector of Hardingham in Norfolk, published a 
 new translation of the poetical parts of the Old 
 Testament, and among' the rest, of Solomon's 
 Song. The lines were measured and divided ac- 
 cording to the hypothesis of Pish op Bare, and 
 contained many passages as awkward and un- 
 poetical as the following : 
 
 Ch. 1. 5. Ch. II. 7. 
 
 I conjure you, O ye daughters 
 
 1 am black as the tents 
 Of Kedar, Q ye daughters 
 Of Jerusalem, yet beautiful 
 .As the tent curtains of So- 
 lemon, 
 
 Of Jerusalem, by the roes 
 And by the hinds of the field, 
 That ye disturb not, nor awake 
 My love until he please. 
 
It* 
 
 There sre some good lines, and some learned 
 observations; but in point of arrangement and 
 harmony of stile, the reader will sec little assist- 
 ance is to be derived from this writer. The 
 introduction, commentary,' and notes, are, by 
 the author's acknowledgement, chiefly taken 
 from those of Dr. Percy above referred to. 
 
 In 1785 was printed, at the Clarendon Press, 
 < SOLOMON'S SONG, translated from the Hebrew, 
 , f by Bernard Hodgson, "LL.D. Principal of 
 6 Hertford college.' This version is in measured 
 lines, and might have saved me considerable 
 trouble in that respect, had I seen it before 
 mine was written. I have, however, availed 
 myself of several of the author's criticisms, and 
 in some places corrected my version by them : 
 in others I have widely differed from him, and 
 'given my reasons. Dr. Hodgson does not 
 meddle with the allegorical sense, but con- 
 fines his attempt to an elegant and correct ver- 
 sion. 
 
 The latest production I have seen on this 
 subject is the following, ' The Preacher and 
 * Song of Solomon, newly translated, with short 
 4 explanatory notes, by Dr. /. C. Doderlein.' 
 This work was printed in Dutch, at Jena; but 
 an English literal version is given of it in the 
 appendix to the 15th vol. of the Critical Re- 
 view, 1795. 
 
 The late excellent Mr. Romaine published 
 a volume of practical discourses on some de- 
 tached verses of this book, in which he endea- 
 vours to avoid the whimsical application of 
 
no 
 
 every minute part of the allegory, as practised 
 .by the old divines; and recommends a mode 
 of exposition similar to that which I have 
 adopted, and which it is time I should hasten 
 to explain. 
 
 The reader is now in possession of my au- 
 thorities, and the authors I have been able to 
 consult, among the great number which have 
 written on this book. Should he enquire what 
 method I have taken to profit by their labours, 
 the following particulars will inform him : 
 
 1. Having attempted from the original 1 a 
 translation as literal as I conceive our language 
 \vill bear, I compared it, especially in the dif- 
 ficult passages, with all the others I could pro- 
 cure, not omitting the curious collection of ver- 
 sions in good Bishop Wilson's Bible, But as 
 my object was, not to make a ?iew version, but 
 a just one, 1 have conformed it to our autho- 
 rized version, .wherever I could with propri- 
 ety, and consistent with an attempt to preserve 
 the poetic form of the original. For I conceive 
 that, when two words or phrases will equally 
 agree with the sense of the author, our ear is 
 prejudiced naturally in favour of that to which 
 \ve have been accustomed : and moreover that 
 
 1 As to the various readings of the Hebrew and early 
 versions, I have noticed most of those which affect the sense, 
 especially in obscure passages : though I cannot say that 
 they remove many difficulties. But in this article I have 
 to acknowledge peculiar obligations to a learned clergyman, 
 who undertook the task of collecting them from the massy 
 volumes of Walton, Kennicott, and De Rossi, 
 
Ill 
 
 there is a certain solemnity in the style of ouf 
 translators that, in general, excellently comports 
 with the character of an inspired work. This 
 done, my translation was submitted to half a 
 dozen, or more, literary friends, all of whom 
 have more or less improved it by their correc- 
 tions and remarks. 
 
 Having compared these, and corrected my 
 translation, the -next object was to subjoin a 
 body of notes to justify its propriety ; and in 
 this, I have never affected to be original but 
 when necessary ; considering any authority 
 superior to my own. In the few notes which 
 are original the reader will find the motive? 
 which have determined me. 
 
 My next and most arduous undertaking was- 
 to give a practical and evangelical exposition 
 the allegory ; such as might interest the most 
 pious reader, without disgusting the most judi- 
 cious, and without running into the excesses 
 which I have censured in other writers. 
 
 The general hypothesis I have adopted is 
 that of Bishop Lowth, Mr. Henley, Mr. Har- 
 mer, and other of the most judicious modern 
 expositors on the allegorical plan : but, as in 
 some particulars I have differed from each of 
 them, I think it unfair to avail myself of their' 
 name and authority, without stating those dif- 
 ferences. 
 
 Bishop LOWTH observes, in a passage already 
 cited, that the sacred writers consider JEHOVAH 
 as the husband of the church, the church ai 
 married to him, and matrimony as a sacred 
 symbol of their covenant relation. This I con- 
 
112 
 
 ceive just and tfiie $ but I think farther, tliaf 
 in such passages regard is in general had per- 
 sonally to our Lord Jesus Christ; and that, on 
 account of his assumption of humanity and 
 near relation to us, it is more reverential, de- 
 cent, and consistent, to refer such passages to 
 him, as is done by the writers of the New-Tes-, 
 tament, and even by our Lord himself* who 
 tells us plainly that he is the Bridegroom, and 
 his church the Bride* 
 
 Nor is this inconsistent with the opinions of 
 the antient Jews, who found their Messiah al- 
 most every where in the Scriptures, as well as 
 Paul and other Christian writers. Indeed 
 they always believed their ceconomy to be 
 peculiarly under the protection of Messiah, 
 in some one or other of his characters, as the 
 great Angel of the Covenant, the King of Israel, 
 or the Son of God. In particular, they ap- 
 plied to him the 45th Psalm (which of all 
 scripture most resembles the Song of Solomon) 
 for the Chaldee paraphrase on the 2d verse 
 says, ' Thy fairness, O King Messiah ! exceed- 
 4 eth the sons of men.' 
 
 In the same manner they applied the 72d, 
 1 10th, and various other psalms, as well as 
 many paffages of the prophets. 
 
 So far I believe his Lordship would not ob- 
 ject, but in some of the following remarks we 
 are not perfectly agreed. ' Concerning the 
 
 * explanation of this allegory, I will only add 
 c that, in the first place we ought to be cautious 
 
 * of carrying the figurative application too far, 
 ' and of entering into a precise explication of 
 
113 
 
 * every particular. Again I would advise that 
 4 this production be treated according to the 
 4 eftablished rules of allegory in the sacred 
 4 writings, and that the author be permitted to 
 ' be his own interpreter/ So far have I been 
 guided by his lordship's excellent admoni- 
 tions. He adds;, ' In this respeft the errors of 
 
 * critics and divines have been as numerous as 
 
 * they have been pernicious. Not to mention 
 ' other absurdities, they have taken the alle- 
 4 gory, not as denoting the universal state of 
 6 the church, but the spiritual ft ate of individu- 
 c als ; than which nothing can be more incon- 
 ' sistent with the very nature and ground-work 
 6 of the allegory itself, as well as with the ge- 
 
 * neral pratice of the Hebrew poets on these 
 ' occasions '.' 
 
 But here, as I have ventured so far to differ 
 from this excellent prelate as to apply many 
 parts of the allegory to the spiritual circum- 
 stances of individual believers, I think myself 
 obliged to offer some apology. And, 
 
 1. I consider the church as composed of 
 individual believers, and that there is an ana- 
 logy between the dealings of God with his 
 church in general, and with individuals, which 
 analogy is, I think, plainly pointed out, in 
 many parts of the New Testament. Some- 
 times the sacred writers compare the wbole 
 body of believers to a temple, in which they 
 form living stones, being buildcd on the* only 
 foundation, Christ Jesus : at other times they 
 
 1 Left. xxxi. 
 
 Q 
 
consider individual saints as temples of the Holy 
 Ghost 1 . So sometimes they speak of the 
 church as one the Bride the Lamb's wife; and 
 at other times of distinct churches, or individual 
 believers, as severally married to the Lord z . 
 
 It is in this manner, I think, that St. Paul 
 allegorizes the History of Hagar and her mis- 
 tress, referring to the two dispensations, while 
 at the same time he makes a practical appli- 
 cation of it to the consciences of the Galatians: 
 * Now we brethren, as Isaac was, are children 
 ' of the promise V 
 
 2. As to the prophets, or ' Hebrew poets/ 
 as his lordship calls them, they were certainly 
 experimental preachers. David was a prophet, 
 and the Book of Psalms may be considered as 
 his diary, relating the frames of his mind under 
 varying circumstances, both spiritual and tem- 
 poral. Many of these passages our Lord ap- 
 plies to himself; but not, I conceive, so exclu- 
 sively as to prevent the appropriation of them 
 by believers in general, except in such passages 
 as refer peculiarly to his divine character and 
 work. This remark might in a degree be ex- 
 tended to the other prophets, though it must 
 be confessed that the more sublime of them 
 were chiefly engaged with predictions relative 
 to the church and to the world at large. 
 
 3. I consider the allegory to be designed for 
 purposes of piety and devotion, which cannot 
 be so well answered without such an applica- 
 tion.. This may appear a weak argument at 
 
 1 i Cor. iii. 16, 17. Eplies. ii. 20 22. 
 
 * Rev. xxi. 9, 2. Cov. xi, 2. a Gal* iv.. 22 31* 
 
115 
 
 first view, but will be strengthened when we 
 consider the doctrine of the New Testament, 
 that < whatsoever things were written aforetime 
 ' were written for our learning ;' and that theif 
 grand design is to ' make us wise unto salvation* 
 ' through faith which is in Christ Jesus/ This 
 shews both the propriety and importance of 
 a particular application of scriptural truths 
 to the circumstances and experience of indi- 
 viduals. Religion is a personal thing, and that 
 professor is a hypocrite, the feelings of whose 
 heart are not "influenced by it, as well as the 
 actions of his life. 
 
 Air. HARMER, who admits an allegorical 
 sense to this poem, considers the introduction 
 of two wives of Solomon, as best adapted to 
 figure the different states of the Jewish and 
 Christian church ; and particularly the former, 
 as provoked to jealousy by the conversion of 
 the latter ; and I freely confess that the idea 
 at first struck me as beautiful, and was chiefly 
 rejected for want of evidence. However, at 
 the suggestion of a friend I have reconsidered, 
 and now deliberately reject it, for the following 
 reasons, which I submit to the candour of my 
 friend, and of the public. 
 
 1. I conceive that Polygamy, though it 
 might be winked at, or tolerated, in some par- 
 ticular instances under the Old Testament, was 
 yet never sanctioned by the divine law, much 
 less in the excess practised by Solomon. It 
 therefore does not appear to me probable that 
 this circumstance should be made the ground 
 
116 
 
 of so sublime a mystery as the calling of the 
 Gentiles. 
 
 1. It appears to me that the case supposed 
 by Mr. H. does not give a just representation 
 of this mystery : the case would have been 
 more parallel had the former wife been di- 
 vorced for infidelity to* the marriage covenant; 
 for this is evidently the condition of the Jews ; 
 though we are not without hope that, in a fu- 
 ture day they may be recovered and for- 
 given l . 
 
 3. The Jewish church is represented as of 
 foreign origin, by the prophets, and this cir- 
 cumstance is strongly pressed on her recollec- 
 tion. ' Look unto the rock whence ye are 
 
 * hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye 
 
 * are digged.' ' Thy father was an Amorite, 
 ' and thy mother an Hittite V 
 
 It must be owned, indeed, that the Jewish 
 church is not called an Egyptian ; yet the 
 circumstance of coming up from Egypt is very 
 appropriate, and that of which she often was 
 reminded. ' Remember the Lord thy God 
 ' which broueht thee up out of the land of 
 
 If the forty-fifth psalm be admitted to refer 
 to the Jewish church, as I think it generally 
 has been (though not by .Mr. Manner) we have 
 additional evidence on this point ; for there she 
 is expressly exhorted to 4 forget her own peo- 
 ' pie and her father's house,' which certainly 
 
 1 See Rom, xi. throughout. 
 
 : Isa. li. i. Ezek. xvi. 3, 45, 46, 
 
117 
 
 implies her foreign extract, and properly com- 
 ports with our explanation of the allegory in 
 this song. 
 
 4. I cannot here refer to all the passages 
 produced hy Mr. H. to countenance the idea 
 of two wives of Solomon they shall be consi- 
 dered, as far as my recolletion serves, in the 
 commentary : hut I confess I see them with 
 different eyes from Mr. H. For instance, when 
 the spouse says, ' I am a rose of. the field,' 
 &c. it appears to me the language of modesty 
 and self-diffidence ; but I perceive nothing in 
 it of jealousy, or reflection upon a foreign 
 rival, as suggested by this ingenious writer. 
 Had the jealousy been on the other side ; i. e. 
 had the Egyptian princess been provoked to 
 jealousy by a Jewish rival, it might have re- 
 ceived a much stronger countenance from her 
 language in the first chapter : 4 1 am black, but 
 * comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem!' 
 
 5. The Gentile church, appears to me more 
 properly introduced in the lasH: chapter, as a 
 younger sister, not yet marriageable, as I shall 
 endeavour to shew in the sequel ; and this I 
 believe is the unanimous opinion of Christian 
 expositors, both antient and modern, to the time 
 of Mr. H. 
 
 The last thing I shall notice is a suggestion 
 of Mr. HENLEY, that this poem was probably 
 composed on occasion of the dedication of the 
 temple, and with a reference to that event. 
 This conje&ure appears to me very ingenious, 
 and. I confess that I do not, at present, see any 
 material objection to it, as Solomon's marriage 
 
118 
 
 with Pharoah's daughter preceded this event 
 but a few years; and as this was the best period 
 of his life for wisdom, piety, and happiness: 
 at the same time I confess also that it appears 
 to me to be a mere conjecture* unsupported by 
 argument or authority. 
 
 I shall not detain the reader any longer in 
 these preliminary essays, which are already dis- 
 proportioned to the size of the work ; but I shall 
 immediately present him with the proposed 
 translation, unaccompanied with remarks, ex- 
 cept to distinguish the speakers, and mark the 
 divisions: then I shall repeat the whole in con- 
 venient portions, accompanied with a commen- 
 tary, and subjoin critical notes in the margin. 
 The judicious reader, aware of the difficulty of 
 the undertaking, will make candid allowances 
 in an attempt wherein so many great men have 
 failed : and the pious reader will avail him- 
 self of the hints offered rather to suggest sub- 
 jects of meditation than to exhaust them. 
 
THE 
 
 SOLOMON. 
 
THE 
 
 SONG OF SONGS, 
 
 WHICH IS BY 
 
 SOLOMON. 
 
 SECTION I. [1st Morning.} 
 
 CHAP. I. SPOUSE. 
 
 C 2 TT ET him kiss me with the kisses of his 
 -*" mouth ! 
 For better is thy love than wine ; 
 
 3 Because of the odour of thy good oint- 
 
 ments, 
 
 (Thy name is as ointment poured out) 
 Therefore do the virgins love thee. 
 
 4 O draw me ! 
 
 VIRGINS. 
 
 After thee will we run. 
 
 SPOUSE. 
 Thekinghath brought me into his chambers. 
 
 VIRGINS. 
 
 We will be glad and rejoice in thee ; 
 We will celebrate thy love more than wine ; 
 The upright love thee. 
 SPOUSE. 
 
 5 Dark am I, but comely, ye daughters of Je- 
 
 rusalem, 
 
 As the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of So- 
 lomon. 
 
 6 Gaze not upon me because I am black 
 Because the sun hath beamed on me, 
 
 R 
 
122 
 GH. I. 
 
 My mother's sons were angry with me ; 
 They made me keeper of the vineyards : 
 Mine own vineyard have I not kept. 
 
 [Apostrophe to the Bridegroom.] 
 1 Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, 
 
 where thou feedest ? 
 Where thou causest [thy flock] to rest at 
 
 noon ? 
 
 For why should I be as a stranger 
 Among the flocks of thy companions ? 
 
 VIRGINS. 
 8 If thou thyself knowest not, O most beautiful 
 
 of women, 
 Go thy way forth by the footsteps of this 
 
 flock, 
 
 And feed thy kids among the tents of these 
 shepherds. 
 
 SECTION II. [1st Evening.] 
 
 BRIDEGROOM. 
 
 9 To the horse in Pharaoh's chariots 
 Have I compared thee, my consort : 
 
 10 Thy cheeks are comely with rows, 
 Thy neck with [ornamental] chains. 
 
 VIRGINS. 
 
 1 1 Rows of gold will we make for thee, 
 With studs of silver. 
 
 SPOUSE. 
 
 12 While the king is in his circle [of friends] 
 My spikenard shall yield its odour. 
 
 ISA bundlfc of myrrh is my beloved unto me, 
 [Which] shall remain continually in my 
 bosom, 
 
123 
 
 CH. I, 
 
 14- A cluster of cypress is my beloved unto me, 
 [Such as is] in the vineyards of En-gedi, 
 
 SECTION III. [Qd Morning.] 
 
 BRIDEGROOM. 
 
 15 Behold thou art beautiful, my consort: 
 Behold thou art beautiful ! thine eyes are 
 
 doves. 
 
 SPOUSE. 
 
 16 Behold thou art beautiful, my beloved ; 
 
 yea pleasant, 
 Yea verdant is our carpet. 
 
 BRIDEGROOM. 
 
 17 Cedars are the roof of our house, 
 And the Brutine trees our rafters. 
 
 CH. II. SPOUSE. 
 
 I am a rose of Sharon ; 
 A lily of the vallies. 
 
 BRIDEGROOM. 
 
 2 As a lily among thorns, 
 
 So is my consort among the daughters. 
 SPOUSE. 
 
 3 As a citron tree among the trees of the 
 
 wood, 
 
 So is my beloved among the sons. 
 In his shade I delighted and sat down, 
 And his fruit was sweet unto my taste. 
 
 4 He brought me into the house of wine, 
 And his banner over me was love. 
 
 5 ' Support me witlr refreshments ; 
 
 * Strew citrons round me, 
 
 * For I am sick of love.' 
 
 6 His left hand was under my head, 
 And his right hand embraced me. 
 
CH. II. 
 
 7 I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, 
 Before the antelopes, and before the hinds of 
 
 the field, 
 
 That ye disturb not, nor awake 
 This Jovely one until she please. 
 
 SECTION IF. [2d Evening.] 
 
 SPOUSE. 
 
 8 The voice of my beloved ! behold, he cometh 
 Leaping on the mountains, bounding on the 
 
 hills. 
 
 9 My beloved resembles an antelope, or a 
 
 young hart. 
 
 Behold him standing behind our wall ; 
 Looking through the windows ; 
 Displaying himself through the lattice worlc. 
 
 10 My beloved answers, and speaks to me : 
 
 BRIDEGROOM. 
 
 Arise, my consort, my beauty, and come 
 away, 
 
 1 1 For behold ! the winter is past ; 
 The rain is over is gone. 
 
 12 The flowers appear upon the earth ; 
 
 The time of the singing [of birds] is come; 
 The voice of the turtle-dove is heard in our 
 
 land ; 
 J3 The fig-tree ripeneth her green figs ; 
 
 The vines [with] their tender buds yield 
 
 fragrancy. 
 Arise, my consort, my beauty, and come 
 
 away ! 
 
 1 4- My Dove [who art] in the clefts of the rock. 
 In the secret fissures of the cliffs, 
 
125 
 
 CH. II. 
 
 Let me see thy countenance, let me hear 
 thy voice, 
 
 For sweet is thy voice, and thy counte- 
 nance is comely. 
 
 VIRGINS. 
 
 ' [To the friends of the Bridegroom.'] 
 
 15 Take for us the foxes, 
 
 The little foxes that spoil our vines, 
 For our vines have tender buds. 
 SPOUSE. 
 
 16 My beloved is mine, and I am his ; 
 He feedeth among the lilies. 
 
 17 Until the day breathe, and the shades flee 
 
 away, 
 
 Return my beloved, and be unto me 
 Like an antelope, or a young hart, 
 Upon the craggy mountains. 
 
 SECTION V. [3d Morning.] 
 
 CH. III. SPOUSE. 
 
 Upon my bed by night I sought him whom 
 
 my soul loveth : 
 I sought him, but I found him not. 
 
 2 ' I will arise now, and go about the city; 
 ' In the streets, and in the broad ways, 
 
 * I will Seek him whom my soul loveth/ 
 I sought him, but I found him not. 
 
 3 The watchmen, who go round the city, 
 
 found me : 
 
 * Have ye seen him whom my soul loveth r* 
 
 4 Scarcely had I passed from them, 
 
 When I found him whom my soul loveth: 
 I held him, and would not let him go, 
 
CH. III. 
 
 Until I had brought him to my mother's 
 
 house, 
 
 To the apartment of her who bore me. 
 5 ft I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, 
 ' By the antelopes, and by the hinds of the 
 
 ' field, 
 
 ' That ye disturb not, nor awake 
 * This lovely one until he please.' 
 
 SECTION VI. [3d Evening.] 
 
 FIRST VIRGIN. 
 
 6 What is this rising from the wilderness, 
 
 like columns of smoke, 
 Fuming with myrrh, and frankincen.se. 
 More [precious] than all the powders of the 
 
 merchant? 
 
 SECOND VIRGIN. 
 
 7 Behold! Solomon's own palanquin ! 
 Threescore warriors surround it, the war- 
 riors of Israel, 
 
 8 Every one having a sword, being skilled in 
 
 war ; 
 
 Each [with] his sword upon his thigh, 
 Because of danger in the night. 
 
 FIRST VIRGIN. 
 
 9 A carnage hath he made for himself, 
 [Even] Solomon the king, of the wood of 
 
 Lebanon. 
 
 10 The pillars thereof hath he made of silver; 
 Its carpet of gold, its seat of purple : 
 The midst thereof being lined with love, 
 By the daughters of Jerusalem. 
 
127 
 
 CK. III. 
 
 SECOND VIRGIN. 
 
 1 1 Go forth, ye daughters of Zion, and behold 
 
 King Soloition 
 In the crown wherewith his mother crowned 
 
 him 
 
 In the day of his espousals, 
 In the day of the gladness of his heart. 
 
 SECTION VII. [*th Morning.] 
 
 CH.IV. BRIDEGROOM. 
 
 Behold thou art beautiful, my consort ; 
 
 Behold thou art beautiful ! 
 
 Thine eyes are doves, behind thy veil. 
 
 Thy hair is like a flock of goats, 
 
 Which come up sleek from [mount] Gilead. 
 
 2 Thy teeth are like a flock [newly] shorn, 
 Which ascend from the washing. 
 
 All of them bearing twins, 
 And none of them miscarrying. 
 
 3 Like a brede of scarlet are thy lips, 
 And thy speech is agreeable. 
 Like the flower of the pomegranate 
 Are thy cheeks, behind thy veil. 
 
 4 Thy neck is like the tow r er of David, 
 
 builded for an armory ; 
 A thousand bucklers hang thereon, 
 All shields of mighty men. 
 
 5 Thy two breasts are like twin fawns of the 
 
 antelope, 
 Feeding among the lilies. 
 
 6 Until the day breathe, and the shades flee 
 
 away, 
 
 I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, 
 [And] to the hill of frankincense. 
 
128 
 CH. IV. 
 
 SECTION Fill. [4YA Evening.] 
 
 BRIDEGROOM. 
 
 7 Thou art all beautiful, my consort, 
 And blemish is not in thee. 
 
 8 Come unto me from Lebanon, O spouse, 
 [Come] unto me from Lebanon. 
 
 Look from the top of Amana, 
 
 From the top of Shenir and Hermon ; 
 
 From the dens of the lions, 
 
 From the mountains of the leopards, 
 
 9 Thou hast ravished my~ heart, my sister, 
 
 [my] spouse, 
 Thou hast ravished niy heart with one of 
 
 thine eyes, 
 With one chain of thy neck. 
 
 10 Mow beautiful is thy love, my sister, [my] 
 
 spouse ! 
 
 How much more excellent than wine ; 
 And the odour of thine ointments than all 
 
 perfumes ! 
 
 1 1 Thy lips, O spouse, drop [as] the .honey- 
 
 comb ; 
 
 Honey and milk are under thy tongue : 
 And the odour of thy garments is as the 
 
 odour of Lebanon. 
 
 12 A garden locked is my sister, [my] spouse; 
 A well locked a fountain sealed. 
 
 13 Thy shoots are a paradise of pomegranates, 
 Together with the precious fruits of cypres- 
 ses, and nards. 
 
 14- Spikenard and saffron calamus and cin- 
 namon 
 
129 
 
 CH. IV. 
 
 With all the trees of frankincense, myrrh 
 
 and aloes 
 With all the principal aromatics. 
 
 1 5 A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, 
 And streams from Lebanon. 
 
 SPOUSE. 
 
 Awake, O north wind ! and come, O south, 
 Breathe upon my garden, that its aromatics 
 may flow out! 
 
 16 My beloved shall come into his garden, 
 And eat his precious fruits. 
 
 CH. V. BRIDEGROOM. 
 
 I am come into my garden, my sister, [my] 
 spouse, 
 
 I have gathered my myrrh with my aroma- 
 tics ; 
 
 I have eaten my honey in the comb ; 
 
 I have drank my wine with my milk. 
 [To the Companions. ~\ 
 
 Eat, O friends! 
 
 Drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved. 
 
 SECTION IX. [5th Morning.] 
 
 SPOUSE. 
 
 2 I slept ; but my heart waked : 
 
 The voice of my beloved, [who was] knock- 
 ing: 
 
 ' Open to me, my sister, my consort, 
 4 My dove, my accomplished one ; 
 4 For my head is filled with dew, 
 4 And my locks with the drops of the night, 
 
 S 
 
130 
 CH. V. 
 
 3 ' I have put off my vest, how shall I put 
 
 6 it on ? 
 
 * I have washed my feet, how shall I de- 
 6 file them ?' 
 
 4 My beloved put forth his hand by the open- 
 
 ing [of the door,] 
 And my bowels were moved for him. 
 
 5 I rose to open to my beloved, 
 But my hands dropped myrrh, 
 And my fingers liquid myrrh, 
 Upon the handles of the lock. 
 
 6 I open'd to my beloved : 
 
 But my beloved had withdrawn was gone. 
 My soul fainted when he spake: 
 I sought him, but could not find him ; 
 I called him, but he gave me no answer. 
 
 7 The watchmen, who go round the city, 
 
 found me : 
 
 They smote me they hurt me : 
 The keepers of the walls plucked my veil 
 
 from me. 
 
 8 I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if 
 
 ye find my beloved 
 What should ye tell him? That I am 
 sick with love. 
 
 VIRGINS. 
 
 9 What is thy beloved more than [another] 
 
 beloved ? 
 
 O most beautiful of women ! 
 What is thy, beloved more than [another] 
 
 beloved, 
 That so thou dost adjure us ? 
 
 SPOUSE. 
 
 10 My beloved is white and ruddy, 
 The chief among ten thousand. 
 
131 
 
 CH. V. 
 
 1 1 His head is wrought and pure gold : 
 His locks are bushy black as a raven. 
 
 12 His eyes are like doves by canals of waters, 
 Washed in milk, sitting by the full "[pool.] 
 
 13 His cheeks are as beds of aromatics 
 [As] towers of perfumes. 
 
 His lips, lilies dropping liquid myrrh. 
 1 4- His hands, rings of gold set with the tarshish : 
 His body, bright ivory covered with sap- 
 phires. 
 
 15 His legs, pillars of marble upon pedestals 'of 
 
 gold; 
 
 His aspect, like Lebanon, noble as the 
 cedars : 
 
 16 His mouth, sweetness itself; yea, he is alto- 
 
 gether desirable! 
 
 This is my beloved, and this is my friend, 
 O ye daughters of Jerusalem ! 
 
 CH. VI. VIRGINS. 
 
 Whither is thy beloved gone, 
 O most beautiful of women ? 
 Whither is thy beloved turned aside? 
 And we will seek him with thee. 
 SPOUSE. 
 
 2 My beloved is gone down into his garden, 
 Unto the beds of aromatics; 
 
 To feed in his s garden, and to gather lilies. 
 
 3 I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine : 
 He feedeth among the lilies. 
 
 SECTION X. [5th Evening.] 
 
 CH. VI. 
 
 BRIDEGROOM. 
 
 4- Beautiful art thou, my consort, as Tirzah, 
 
132 
 
 Comely as Jerusalem, formidable as ban- 
 nered [towers.] 
 
 5 Turn away thine eyes from me, 
 For they have overcome me. 
 
 6 Thy hair is like a flock of goats,, 
 Which [come up] sleek from Gilead. 
 Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep 
 Which ascend from the washing ; 
 All of them bearing twins, 
 
 And none of them miscarrying. 
 
 7 Like the flower of the pomegranate, 
 Are thy cheeks behind thy veil. 
 
 8 Threescore queens are they, and fourscore 
 
 concubines, 
 And virgins without number. 
 
 9 An only one is my dove, my accomplished 
 
 one; 
 
 The only one of her mother, 
 The darling of her that bare her. 
 
 The daughters saw her, and they blessed her; 
 The queens and concubines, and they 
 praised her: 
 
 10 ' Who is this that looketh forth as the 
 
 6 dawn, 
 
 * Beautiful as the moon, splendid as the sun, 
 ' And awful as the streamers?' 
 
 11 Into the garden of nuts I went down, 
 To examine the fruits of the valley; 
 To see if the vine budded, 
 
 If the pomegranates blossomed. 
 
 12 Ere I was aware, my soul, placed me 
 [As] en the chariots of Amminadib. 
 
133 
 
 CH. VI. 
 
 VIRGIN J. 
 
 13 Return, return, O Solima! 
 
 Return, return, that we may behold theel 
 
 VIRGIN '2. 
 What would ye behold in Solima? 
 
 VIRGIN 1. 
 As it were the chorus of two bands. 
 
 SECTION XI. [6th Morning.} 
 
 CH. VII. F IRST VIRGIN. 
 
 How beautiful are thy feet in sandals, 
 O prince's daughter! 
 
 The cincture of thy loins is like jewellery, 
 The work of an artist's hands. 
 
 2 Thy clasp a round goblet, which wanteth 
 
 not mixed wine : 
 
 Thy body a heap of wheat, encompassed 
 with lilies. 
 
 3 Thy breasts are like twin fawns of the roe: 
 
 4 Tliy neck is like a tower of ivory. 
 Thine eyes are as the pools in Heshbon, 
 By the gate of Bath-rabbim : 
 
 Thy nose is like the tower of Lebanon, 
 Looking toward Damascus. 
 
 C.7 
 
 5 Thy head upon thee is like Carmel ; 
 
 And the tresses of thy head like the Porpura. 
 
 SECOND VIRGIN. 
 
 The king is detained in the galleries. 
 
 BRIDEGROOM. 
 
 6 How beautiful and how pleasing art thou, 
 
 O love, for delights! 
 
 7 This thy stature is like the palm-tree, 
 And thy breasts are like [its] clusters. 
 
134 
 
 CH. VII. 
 
 8 I said, I will ascend the palm-tree ; 
 I will clasp its branches : 
 
 And thy breasts shall be to me as clusters of 
 
 the vine, 
 And the odour of thy breath like citrons. 
 
 9 Also thy palate is as the best wine, 
 Which is sent to those whom I love for 
 
 their integrity ; 
 
 And causeth the lips of them who are asleep 
 to murmur. 
 
 SPOUSE. 
 
 10 I am my beloved's, and his desire is toward 
 
 me. 
 
 SECTION XII. [6th Evening.] 
 
 SPOUSE. 
 
 11 Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the 
 
 fields, 
 Let us lodge in the villages. 
 
 12 We shall be ready for the vineyards, 
 We shall see whether the vine flourish, 
 [Whether] the tender bud open, 
 
 [Or] the pomegranate blossom. 
 There will 1 grant thee my affections. 
 
 13 The mandrakes yield their odour, 
 
 And over our gates are all precious fruits, 
 Both new and old, 
 
 [Which] my beloved, I have reserved for 
 thee. 
 
 CH. VIII. SPOUSE. 
 
 that thou wort as my brother, 
 That sucked the breasts of my mother ! 
 Should I find thee in the street, 
 
 1 would kiss thee, and not be despised. 
 
135 
 
 CH. VIII. 
 
 C 2 I would lead thee, I would bring thce 
 Into the house of my mother, who would 
 
 instruct me. 
 
 I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine, 
 Of the new wine of my pomegranates. 
 [To the Virgins^\ 
 
 3 His left hand is under my head, 
 And his right hand embraceth me. 
 
 4 I adjure ye, O daughters of Jerusalem, 
 Why should ye disturb, or why awake 
 The lovely one, until it please him ? 
 
 SECTION XIII. [1th Morning.] 
 
 VIRGINS. 
 
 5 Who is this that came from the wilderness, 
 Leaning upon her beloved ? 
 
 BRIDEGROOM. 
 
 Under the citron tree I courted thee ; 
 There thy mother plighted thee unto me, 
 [Even] there she that bare thee plighted 
 thee unto me. 
 
 SPOUSE. 
 
 6 Place me as a signet upon thine heart, 
 As a signet upon thine arm : 
 
 For love is strong as death ; 
 Jealousy is cruel as the grave ; 
 ,The darts thereof are darts of fire, 
 Which have the fiery flame of JAH. 
 
 7 Many waters cannot quench love ; 
 Neither can the floods drown it. 
 
 If a man would give all the substance of his 
 
 house for love, 
 It would utterly be contemned. 
 
136 
 CH. VIII. 
 
 SECTION XIV. [1th Evening,] 
 
 SPOUSE. 
 
 & We have a sister who is little, and her breasts 
 
 are not [grown ;] 
 
 What shall we do for our sister in the day 
 that she is spoken for? 
 
 BRIDEGROOM. 
 
 9 If she be a wall, we will build on her tur- 
 rets of silver ; 
 
 If she be a door, we will enclose her with 
 boards of cedar. 
 
 SPOUSE. 
 
 10 I am a wall, and my breasts are like towers: 
 Thence was I in his eyes as one that findeth 
 
 peace. 
 
 TO THE VIRGINS. 
 
 1 1 Solomon hath a vineyard at Baal-hanjon : 
 He hath let the vineyard to keepers, 
 Each shall bring for the fruit thereof a thou- 
 sand silvcrlings. 
 
 TO THE BRIDEGROOM. 
 
 12 My own vineyard is before me; 
 A thousand to thee, O Solomon ! 
 
 And two hundred to the keepers of its fruits. 
 
 BRIDEGROOM. 
 
 . 13 O thou who inhabitest the gardens, 
 The companions listen to thy voice, 
 Cause me to hear it ! 
 
 SPOUSE. 
 14- Haste thee, my beloved, 
 
 And be thou like an antelope, or a young 
 
 hart, 
 Upon the craggy mountains. 
 
 END OF THE POEM. 
 
A NEW 
 
 COMMENTARY 
 
 ON THS 
 
 WITH NOTES. 
 
 T 
 
COMMENTARY, 
 
 HAVING in the preliminary essays en- 
 deavoured to lead the reader into the 
 true nature and design of this book, and the 
 principles on which I conceive it ought to be 
 explained, the object of this commentary is to 
 apply those principles, as a key to open and 
 expound the book. 
 
 I have given my reasons for considering this 
 poem as an allegory a sacred allegory de- 
 scribing the relation and communion between 
 God, in the person of Christ, and his true 
 church, or those individual believers^of which 
 the church is composed. It may be proper to 
 enlarge a little on this general idea before we 
 enter on the explanation of the song itself. 
 
 I have said that God is the Husband of his 
 church, and have shewn that this idea pervades 
 the scriptures of both testaments. In the Old 
 Testament it is the Lord JEHOVAH who is 
 thus described and represented as rejoicing 
 over his church ' as a bridegroom rejoiceth 
 * over his bride ;' this character we have seen 
 the ancient Jews applied to the MESSIAH 
 the MESSIAH applied it to himself and the 
 writers of *the New Testament frequently. re- 
 present him under the same character, and the 
 church of God, as the Bride, the LAMB'S wife.' 
 Now as c JEHOVAH our God is one JEHOVAH ;' 
 
140 
 
 and as Christ Jesus is the only head and hus- 
 band of the church, we have here an argument 
 for his divinity, that he is one with the Father, 
 as well as with the church, and therefore pro- 
 perly and emphatically called ' JEHOVAH OUR 
 4 RIGHTEOUSNESS/ Indeed, I consider it as 
 one of the most solid arguments on this topic, 
 that though the sacred writers are always care- 
 ful to distinguish between God and the highest 
 creatures, and will not suffer an angel or a 
 seraph to compare himself with Deity ; yet in 
 speaking of God and Christy they frequently 
 leave it in doubt which is particularly intended 
 often use the terms as convertible and syno- 
 nimous and never betray the least fear lest, 
 in consequence, too much honour or respect 
 should be paid to the latter. On the contrary* 
 our Lord himself teaches us that 6 all men 
 
 * should honour the Son as they honour the 
 ' Father; and that he that honourelh not the 
 
 * Son honourcth not the Father;' a serious 
 hint to those persons who seem to think that 
 the honour of the Father cannot be secured 
 but by the degradation of the Son. 
 
 The characters of bridegroom and bride, 
 husband and spouse, imply the following re- 
 lative ideas : 
 
 1. Government and obedience: 6 He is thy 
 6 LORD, and worship thou him/ Whatever 
 evasions our fair companions may invent to 
 vindicate their supposed equality with their hus- 
 bands, they can have no place here. It is 
 past a doubt that Christ is the sole head, and 
 supreme governor of his church and that he 
 
141 
 
 claims absolute and unconditional submission 
 and obedience. Nor can there be any thing 
 painful in the idea to a believer, when it is 
 considered that the object claiming this respect 
 is perfect in wisdom and goodness, as well as 
 power ; and therefore can only employ his 
 authority to the happiness and advantage of his 
 people. 
 
 2. These relations imply protection and re- 
 liance. The husband is the natural and legal 
 guardian of his spouse ; to whom she is in all 
 cases intitled to look for support and defence. 
 The Lord has promised in all circumstances to 
 be the defender of his people ; and they arc 
 authorized in every situation to look up to 
 him as their protector < a very present help 
 
 * in time of trouble/ 
 
 3. These relations imply reciprocal affection 
 and attachment. Thus ' Christ loved the church 
 4 and gave himself for it ; that he might pre- 
 ' sent it to himself a glorious church, not hav- 
 
 * ing spot or wrinkle, or any such thing: but 
 4 that it should be holy and without blemish in 
 6 his sight 1 .' On the other hand the Lord de- 
 mands the supreme and entire affection of his 
 church. ' Thou shalt love the Lord thy God 
 
 * with all thy heart, and with all thy mind, 
 < and with all thy soul, and with all thy 
 
 * strength 2 .' The warmest conjugal affection, 
 however it may exceed our love to the Re- 
 deemer, is but a faint image of his love to us. 
 
 4. They imply the most intimate union 
 
 > Eph. v. 2527. : Epli. v. 3133. 
 
142 
 
 and communion superior to that of every other 
 relation ; for it is said, ' A man shall leave fa- 
 4 ther and mother and cleave unto his wife* 
 4 and they twain shall be one flesh :' The 
 apostle Paul applies this spiritually. ' This is 
 
 * a great mystery : but I speak concerning 
 
 * Christ and the church/ Jesus the Son of 
 God, left the bosom of his Father in the man- 
 sions of eternal glory, and demonstrated his 
 infinite affection by dying for his church upon 
 the cross. 
 
 5. Marriage induces a common property 
 between the parties ; thus, in a spiritual sense, 
 whatever is ours, whether health or wealth, or 
 life itself, is certainly the Lord's : and so on the 
 other hand, it is our unspeakable privilege, 
 that, whatever belongs to Christ in his media- 
 torial character, as the head and husband of 
 the church is also our's. Thus runs the inven- 
 tory of the believer. ' 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 your's ; and ye are 
 ' Christ's ; and Christ is God's.' 
 
 6. These relations imply permanency and 
 fidelity; for the love of this state should not be 
 transient nor changeable ; but durable as life 
 itself. Such is the love of Christ ; eternal, 
 because he is eternal : such is the love of be- 
 lievers ; immortal, because they are immortal. 
 And ' Who shall separate us from the love of 
 
 * Christ ? shall tribulation, or distress, or perse- 
 6 cution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or 
 4 sword ? Nay : in all these things we are 
 
 4- 
 
143 
 
 * more than conquerors through him that 
 ' loved us.' 
 
 In consequence of the fidelity required on 
 the part of the church, idolatry, of every 
 kind, is spiritual adultery, and as offensive to 
 the Lord, as infidelity to the marriage bed 
 must be to an affectionate husband. This is 
 true, nof only of idol worship, or the worship 
 of improper objects; but also of all inordinate 
 affection to the world and its enjoyments. So, 
 6 covetousness is idolatry,' and as such, a spe- 
 cies of spiritual adultery. Thus saith the Spi-> 
 rit to the angel of the church in Thyatira: *I 
 ' know thy works : notwithstanding I have 
 ' a few things against thee, because thou suf- 
 
 * ferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth 
 
 * herself a prophetess, to teach, and to seduce 
 my servants to commit fornication, and to 
 ' eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave 
 
 * her space to repent of her fornications, and 
 c she repented not. Behold I will cast her 
 < into a bed r , and them that commit adultery 
 6 with her, into great tribulation, except they 
 c repent of their deeds V From this passage, 
 taken in connection with the context, it ap- 
 pears that heresy 3 as well as idolatry is consi- 
 dered by the Head of the church as spiritual 
 
 1 ' A bed,' namely of sickness and affliction : but the 
 king's MS. reads stg CpuA#xvjv, * into prifon.' 
 Rev. ii. 19 24. 
 
 3 By heresy, I understand such a deviation from the grand 
 and fundamental truths of the gospel, as is inconsistent 
 with Christian communion, and consequently forms a sect 9 
 which is the primitive idea of the word <upf ng, heresy. 
 
adultery, and as such resented and punished 
 by him : for it should seem, it is the heresy of 
 the Gnostics, who penetrated * the depths of 
 < Satan' and ' the doctrines concerning demons/ 
 which are here particularly alluded to. 
 
 Having thus far considered the conjugal 
 characters of Christ and the church, it is proper 
 to enquire who are intended, mystically, by 
 
 * the virgins, the daughters of Jerusalem,' and 
 
 * the companions of the bridegroom/ Com- 
 mentators seem divided on this subject ; but we 
 have a happy clue to our enquiry in an infalli- 
 ble expositor. When the dispute was agitated 
 between the disciples of John and those of 
 Jesus, why the former fasted, ^nd not the 
 other : Jesus calls his own disciples * children 
 
 * of the bride-chamber V which seems of the 
 same import with companions * of the bride- 
 groom :' These are introduced in two parts of 
 the song in a manner corresponding to their 
 office, which was to wait upon, and occasionally 
 negotiate between the parties, as well as to 
 partake of the marriage feast. John the Bap- 
 tist assumes this character when he calls him- 
 self ' the friend of the bridegroom %' rejoicing 
 to hear his voice. This character seems ta 
 answer then to the ministers of the gospel : a 5 ? 
 we shall find what is said of them does to their 
 ofilcc. 
 
 4 The daughters of Jerusalem' are literally 
 its inhabitants, and more particularly, the 
 ladies of the palace, and the female attendants 
 
 I Matt.ix. 15. * John, in. 29. 
 
145 
 
 on the Haram, or apartments of the women : 
 but who are mystically intended, is a more 
 difficult question. 
 
 That it cannot design mere hypocrites, 
 xvhich are always hateful in the sight of God, 
 is, I think, sufficiently obvious from the man- 
 ner in which they are introduced, and spoken 
 of, as well as from their bearing the character 
 of virgins who love the bridegroom. And yet 
 it seems desireable to make some distinction 
 between the bride and her attendants 1 . I 
 should suppose therefore that the daughters of 
 Jerusalem may intend ' young converts,' or 
 such persons whose hearts are touched by di- 
 vine grace, and attracted by the charms of 
 piety and holiness ; but not yet admitted into 
 their full privileges as believers, nor enjoying 
 that complete communion of established Chris- 
 tians. In this interpretation I meet the ideas 
 of Dr. GILL, and the best spiritual expositors. 
 
 So much for the characters of this poem : 
 our next enquiries should be directed to the 
 time and scenery ; avoiding as much as possi- 
 ble the use of terms which, though harmless 
 in themselves, are profaned by their application 
 to a licentious theatre, 
 
 The time we have supposed to be the seven 
 days which the Jewish weddings lasted ; but 
 these days are divided, in the manner of the 
 Hebrews, into evening and morning, which 
 
 1 It may be thought, that if the spouse intends the Jewish 
 church, these virgins may be proselytes from the Gentiles : 
 but then why call them daughters of Jerusalem ? The daugh- 
 ters of a place are in scripture language its inhabitants. See 
 Luke xxiii. 2$. 
 
 u 
 
seem sufficiently distinguished by internal 
 marks, as I shall endeavour to shew in the se- 
 quel of this Commentary : but as the whole of 
 this is matter of hypothesis, rather than abso- 
 lute certainty, I have marked the periods only 
 as distinct sections, adding the common divi- 
 sions of chapter and verse, for the sake of re- 
 ference, as in our common versions. 
 
 It is an important observation of Bp. PERCY 1 , 
 that the marriage festivals of the Hebrews be- 
 gan on the morning after the celebration of 
 the nuptials, which always took place at night. 
 Here therefore the Song begins ; and this suffi- 
 ciently accounts for the poet introducing no 
 account of the ceremony, though most of the 
 circumstances are afterward alluded to. He 
 adds, that after the consummation of the marriage 
 on the first night, the bride and bridegroom 
 associated only in the day time during the con- 
 tinuance of the feast, which accounts for the 
 bridegroom's absence during two nights par- 
 ticularly mentioned. 
 
 The ingenious Bossuet observes, that every 
 part of the Canticles abounds in poetic beau- 
 ties : and he shews ' the objects which present 
 ' themselves on every side' to be either in 
 themselves 'the most beautiful in nature, 'or ren- 
 dered so ' by contrast' with others which are 
 terrific and sublime ; 6 the dens of the lions,' 
 and ' the mountains of the leopards/ Tl 
 beauties it will be part of our employment to 
 survey as we travel through them : and to di- 
 rect our views to objects of a spiritual nature, 
 still more beautiful and sublime. 
 
 1 New Translation, p. 19. See also LEWIS'S Hcb. 
 Antiq. Vol. III. p. 308. 
 
147 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 Ch. I. ver. 24. 
 [ FIRST DAY. Morning.'] 
 
 Spouse. Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth ! 
 
 For better is thy love than wine : 
 
 Because of the odour of thy good ointments 
 
 (Thy name is as ointment poured out) 
 
 Therefore do the virgins love thee. 
 
 O draw me ! 
 
 Virgin!,. After thee will we run. 
 
 S/iouse. The king hath brought me into his chambers. 
 Virgins. We will be glad and rejoice in thee : 
 
 We will celebrate thy love more than wine. 
 
 The upright love thee. 
 
 THE scene of this first section is evidently 
 the royal apartments of the women, called by 
 the Hebrews Hadarim, and by the Turks, the 
 Hrtrem. Here the royal spouse is supposed to 
 be newly introduced, and is accompanied by 
 the virgin daughters of Jerusalem, her attend- 
 ants. The time appears to be the morning ; 
 because she purposes to meet her beloved in 
 his noon retirement; and, as I conceive, the 
 morning after the celebration of the nuptials. 
 
 The poem commences with an abrupt ex- 
 pression of the attachment of the spouse to her 
 beloved, without naming the object of her af- 
 fections : a circumstance which strongly indi- 
 cates their sincerity and ardour. This is, lite- 
 rally taken, a poetical beauty ; and spiritually 
 understood, highly characteristic of a mind 
 full of sentiments of piety and devotion. The 
 church is supposed to be deeply engaged in 
 meditating on his expected appearance, who 
 
148 
 
 is styled, ' the desire of all nations,* but was 
 most eminently so of the believing Jews, who 
 ' waited for his salvation.' Thus the elegiac 
 prophet, full or' his afflictions, and deeply im- 
 pressed with a conviction that they sprang not 
 out of the dust, thinks it unnecessary to name 
 their author. 
 
 * I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of HIS 
 
 wrath. 
 
 * HE hath brought me into darkness, and not into light. 
 
 So Mary Magdalen, when she supposed her- 
 self conversing with the gardener, seemed to 
 think it unnecessary to name the object of her 
 solicitude 'Sir, if thou hast borne HIM hence, 
 ' tell me where thou hast laid him.' Her 
 mind was full of Jesus, and she thought that 
 he also occupied the attention of all others. 
 Such is the frame of soul, in which the; 
 church the believer exclaims, 
 
 ' Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth.' 
 
 We may write here, as the heathen in- 
 scribed upon their temples' Far hence be 
 
 * the profane!* A kiss was a token of recon- 
 ciliation and submission, and was thus figu- 
 ratively used by David in a similar appli- 
 cation : * Kiss the son lest he be angry.' 
 
 But the kiss here is intended as a mark of 
 conjugal affection. ' Now the king hath ho- 
 ' noured me with the character and rank of u. 
 
 * royal bride, let him not withhold the tokens 
 
 * of his conjugal affection.' 
 
 Profane minds may ridicule images bor- 
 rowed from conjugal affections and embraces., 
 
r/y 
 
 fcW7>& 
 
 V&ii 
 
 as if these were something impure of^impro- 
 per ; but the holy Author of this state hath 
 sanctified it by his appointment, his bless- 
 ing, and the adoption of these images in 
 many parts of scripture ; and ' what God hath 
 ( cleansed let no man call common or un- 
 ' clean.' 
 
 The expression, ' kisses of his mouth,' hath 
 been marked as hebraistic and poetical : it 
 certainly well agrees with the antiquity and 
 simplicity of the language; but it is not merely 
 redundant, or emphatical : it distinguishes the 
 kiss of love from that of mere submission and 
 obedience. Servants and subjects might be 
 allowed to kiss the hands or feet of their prince; 
 but to be kissed by him, to be favoured with 
 * the kisses of his mouth/ implies the highest 
 degree* of familiarity and affection. 
 
 The next line introduces a change of per- 
 sons in my conception highly beautiful and 
 poetical. I see no reason for supposing, as 
 many have done, that the king is introduced 
 here, or in any part of this section. , It appears 
 to me to injure the beauty of the following sen- 
 timents. But the change of person is another 
 mark of the situation of the speaker's mind. 
 The same principle on which we account for 
 the omission of her beloved's name, will ac- 
 count for this change of person. The same 
 love which so engrossed her mind as to ren- 
 der it superfluous to name the object of her 
 attachment, realized his image, and led her to 
 speak as if he had been present, without that 
 
150 
 
 restraint which his presence might have im- 
 posed ! . 
 
 ' Because better is thy love 2 than wine/ It 
 is the excellency of this love that made the 
 spouse so anxious for discoveries of it. The. 
 term for love is plural in the original, as in- 
 tending the various instances of this love, and 
 the different methods in which it is displayed : 
 it might therefore have been rendered affec- 
 tions, but I have not thought the change im- 
 portant. 
 
 The love of God has been compared to wine, 
 both for its qualities and effects. The quali- 
 ties of good wine are age, and strength : the 
 love of Christ is ' stronger than death,' and 
 more antient, for it is from everlasting : but 
 the effects of good wine are chiefly pointed at 
 when it is employed as a sacred metaphor. 
 
 * Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, 
 ' And wine to those that be bitter of soul 3 .* 
 
 The discoveries of divine love then are 
 more animating and consolatory than wine is 
 to the faint and heavy hearted. 
 
 The literal sense of the foil 
 
 it the 
 miration. 
 
 owing verse is, 
 that the king's fame attracted love and acl- 
 
 1 Those who suppose this poem to have been sung as an 
 epithalamium, or to include part of the processional songs, 
 consider these verses as part of the chorus : but I consider 
 this as a circumstance so very uncertain that 1 have not ven- 
 tured to offer any opinion on it. 
 
 The LXX, Vulgate, and Arabic, both here and in 
 verse 4, read < breasts,' instead of loves,' but they are not sup- 
 ported by MSS. and the common reading seems preferable. 
 
 3 Prov. xxx i. 6, Margin. 
 
151 
 
 1. The king's name is compared to 4 good 
 
 * ointments,' not medicinal, but such as were 
 used for perfume, which alone are uniformly 
 intended in this song. For though perfumes em- 
 ployed by men are considered as marks of effe- 
 minacy with us, it is far otherwise in the east, 
 especially on nuptial occasions. In the 45th 
 psalm not only is the king said to be ' anointed 
 
 * with the oil of gladness ;' but even his gar- 
 ments to be perfumed with 6 myrrh, aloes, and 
 ' cassia/ The same custom obtains among 
 the Turks and Arabians to this day l . The 
 comparison imports, that as liquid perfume* 
 poured out, diffuses its fragrancy around ; so 
 the report of the king's virtues and greatness, 
 attracted the love and admiration of all who 
 heard it. Thus Solomon elsewhere observes, 
 6 A good name is better than precious oint- 
 'rnent 2 :' and Martial has told us that the 
 names of lovers to each other are sweeter than 
 nectar 3 . 
 
 The application of this in the allegory is 
 both easy and beautiful. It is the great ob- 
 ject of the gospel to exalt King Messiah, and 
 to -spread the honour of his name : the victo- 
 ries of the cross, and the labours of redeeming 
 love, have a strong attractive power to draw 
 enquiring souls to Christ ; and he is exalted to 
 this end, that he, might in this manner draw 
 all men unto him. Commentators, in gene- 
 ral, apply the expression of ointments and per- 
 
 Harmer on Song of Sol. p. 120, 123. 
 Eccles. vii. I. J Lib. ix. Ep. 9, 
 
152 
 
 fumes mystically to the gifts and graces of the 
 Holy Spirit, with which our Lord Jesus 
 Christ was anointed beyond measure : and it 
 Is true, by these influences alone men are 
 drawn unto him : as we may more particularly 
 observe on the first clause of the following 
 verse : 
 
 6 O draw me !' ABEN EZRA, and some 
 others, understand this as the language of the 
 virgins severally expressed ; but it appears to 
 me much more natural to divide the line as I 
 havedone on the suggestion of Bishop PATRICK, 
 and understand this clause as an apostrophe to 
 the beloved c O draw me I Draw me with 
 the report of thy virtues and excellencies ! 
 Draw me with the discoveries of thy kindness, 
 and affections ! Draw me with the fragrance of 
 thy perfumes : that is, spiritually, by the gra- 
 cious influences of thy good Spirit/ 
 
 This drawing, as GILL observes, implies no 
 restraint or violence upon the will. The sick 
 are drawn by the report of a good physician, 
 or a medical spring : the poor are drawn by a 
 character of extensive benevolence and libe- 
 rality : all men feel more or less the attrac- 
 tions of interest or of pleasure ; and none com- 
 plain of it as a violence : so it was an especial 
 promise of the Messiah, ' And I, when I am 
 ' lifted up, will draw all men unto me.' 
 
 The drawing here intended does not, how- 
 ever, so much express the first drawing of the 
 soul to God in conversion, as the subsequent 
 drawings of the Spirit into closer communion 
 and greater conformity to Christ. 
 
153 
 
 * After thee will we run l :' These I suppose 
 to be the words of the virgins to the spouse, 
 intimating that, if she followed the bridegroom, 
 they would follow her, drawn and exeited 
 as well by her charms, as by those of hel* 
 beloved : and the expression may furnish us 
 with this remark ; that there is a charm in 
 genuine practical religion, and in examples of 
 piety and virtue, which wins the hearts of all 
 around, and is particularly engaging to young 
 disciples, and candid enquirers alter divine 
 truth : ( Let your light so shine before men 
 
 * that they, seeing your good works, may glo- 
 6 rify your Father who is in heaven.' St. 
 PETER gives a particular exhortation to the fair 
 sex on this head ; which, as it is scripture, 1 
 may be permitted to transcribe. * Likewise, 
 ' ye wives, be in subjection to your own lius- 
 ' bands ; that, if any obey not the word, they 
 4 also may without the word be WON by the 
 ' conversation of the wives, while they behold 
 
 * your chaste conversation coupled with fear 2 .' 
 
 The words, ' after thee will we RUN/ cer- 
 tainly express alacrity, cheerfulness and dili- 
 gence in the ways of God, which are the conse- 
 quences of divine drawings, attended with the 
 encouragement of good example, and pioiB 
 exhortation. 
 
 In the next line the spouse declares her 
 marriage. f The king hath brought me into 
 
 1 The LXX, Vulgate, and Arabic, add, * Because of thy 
 good ointments,' which is only the repetition of a preceding 
 line, perhaps by way of elucidation, but adds nothing to the 
 meaning. 
 
 Hi. 1,2. 
 
 X 
 
 nmg. 
 8 l Pet. 
 
6 his chambers;' that is, 'he hath admitted me 
 < to be his wife,' he hath already honoured 
 me with this dear and dignified relation, and 
 I am here waiting till he arrives and favours 
 me with his company. From this simple 
 idea, applied spiritually \ we may observe, 
 
 1. That spiritual communion is the great 
 end of our relation to Jesus Christ. What 
 avail our assumption of his name, and boast- 
 ing that we are Christians, if we know nothing 
 of communion with the Author of Christianity. 
 He hath promised us his presence whenever 
 we assemble in his name : yea, he hath said, 
 
 * If any man keep my commandments I will 
 
 * come unto him, and sup with him, and he 
 c with me.' 
 
 2. That those who are found in Christ's 
 chambers were brought there by his grace : or, 
 in other words, those who are truly believers 
 in Jesus Christ who are the bride, the Lamb's 
 wife are made such, brought into that rela- 
 tion, and enjoy those privileges purely through 
 the grace of God. 
 
 3. That the church's business, in Christ's 
 chambers, is to wait for his presence. This he 
 hath promised, and though lie may seem to 
 
 1 The Cabbalists have an observation, that wherever the 
 king is spoken of absolutely in this song, it is the King Mes- 
 siah who is intended ; but we have already settled this point, 
 that Solomon was a type of Christ, and that he is mystically 
 intended throughout the whole of this poem. They suppose 
 also the chambers to allude to the chambers of the temple : 1 
 would rather say, they refer to every place in which God is 
 worshipped in spirit and in truth through Christ Jesus, whe- 
 ther the temple, the church, or the private chamber, 
 
155 
 
 (any, it is our duty to wait for him : ' For he 
 * hath not said to the seed of Jacob, Seek ye 
 4 my face, in vain/ All attempts or pretensions 
 to worship, that have not this for their end and 
 aim, are hypocritical and unacceptable to 
 God. 
 
 In the next lines we have, 1. the joy of the 
 virgins in the happiness of the spouse, ' We 
 ' will be glad and rejoice in th.ee :' C 2. The 
 manner in which they express their joy, ' We 
 4 will celebrate thy love more than wine :' 
 and, 3. the ground of this joy and pleasure, 
 ' The upright love thee/ 
 
 Each of these circumstances may furnish a 
 useful remark. 
 
 1 . From the joy of the virgins we may ob- 
 serve, that it is a happy omen for us when we 
 can rejoice in the church's happiness * They 
 ' shall prosper that pray for her/ It is natural 
 enough, indeed, to rejoice in the growth and 
 prosperity of our party ; but to rejoice in the 
 work and grace of God as such, without a 
 reference to the honour of our party, or our 
 own instrumentality, is a happy proof that we 
 love God, and make his interest ours. 
 
 2. The virgins purpose to express their joy 
 in celebrating the spouse's love, or, as I under- 
 stand it rather, in celebrating their mutual loves, 
 in nuptial songs and congratulations. The 
 mutual loves of Christ and his church are gene- 
 rally the favourite theme of young Christians 
 they are the friends of the bride that rejoice to 
 hear her voice that rejoice to join with her in 
 the praises of the beloved that prefer the happi- 
 
156 
 
 ness of Zion io their chief joy ; or, as the expres- 
 sion here is, that celebrate her love ' more 
 6 than wine' more than all the conveniences, 
 comforts, and felicities of human life. 
 
 3. The ground of all this is integrity and 
 uprightness of heart 'The upright love thee '.' 
 Man is a fallen creature, by nature destitute of 
 love to God and goodness : grace alone makes 
 man upright, and fills the heart with divine 
 love : and in proportion as this grace prevails 
 that love will more and more abound. The 
 notion of loving virtue for its own sake, inde- 
 pendent of love to God, and irrespective of his 
 love to us, is a fiction of infidel philosophy. 
 
 Ver. 5, 6. 
 
 Sjicuse. Dark am I, but comely, ye daughters of Jerusalem, 
 As the tents of Kedar, a;- the curtains of Solomon. 
 Gaze not upon me because I am black 
 Because the sun hath beamed on me. 
 My mother's sons were angry with me; 
 They made me keeper of the vineyards : 
 Mine own vineyard have I not kept. 
 
 These verses contain an apology for the 
 spouse's complexion, whicji it has been found 
 difficult to explain literally, and no less so to 
 apply figuratively. Let us examine it. Her 
 complexion was dark 1 } not naturally, but ac- 
 
 1 Aben Ezra takes OHtDp for the adjective to wine 
 ' wine that goes down smoothly,' but I conceive the com- 
 mon rendering to be the more just and better sense. 
 
 2 ' Dark am I but comely.' The original word (Tlltf), 
 which I have rendered dark, properly intends the dusk or 
 tarly dawn.' Bp. PATRICK. 
 
 * Gaze not.' The common rendering i look not,' is too 
 
157 
 
 cidentally; and yet her person was beautiful. 
 She was ' dark as the tents of Kedar,' or of the 
 Arabians, which, according to some writers, 
 were made of black goat's hair, or, according 
 to others, died black. The comparing her 
 complexion to these tents may be a poetical 
 exaggeration, to heighten the beauty of the 
 contrast with the curtains of Solomon, probably 
 those of his pavilion or state tent, which were 
 doubtless very superb and beautiful; for the 
 easterns spare no expence in these cases '. 
 Of this Mr. HARMER* gives some remarkable 
 instances from the travels of Egmont and Hay- 
 man. The tent of the grand signior was co- 
 vered and lined with silk. More recently 
 Nadir Shaw had a very superb one covered on 
 the outside with scarlet broad cloth, and lined 
 within with violet-coloured satin, ornamented 
 with a great variety of animals, flowers, &c. 
 formed entirely of pearls and precious stones 3 . 
 
 To account for her dark- complexion, she 
 mentions her exposure to the ' scorching sun,' 
 
 weak ; the word evidently means to look stedfastly, with at- 
 tention and admiration. See Gen. vi. 12. Prov. xxiii. 31. 
 
 Six MS$. read (and two more did read) OWvn 'fear not,' 
 which reading is preferred by Dodtrlein, but I conceive 
 without fufficient reason. 
 
 The LXX read Jf^f/c? the skins of Solomon, supposing 
 his curtains to be made of skins, which is possible enough . but 
 one would have hardly thought it possible that a commentator 
 and a bishop could have been weak enough to apply it to the 
 sleekness of Solcmvrfs own skin! as Bp. FOLIOT did in the 
 twelfth century. 
 
 2 Memoirs of Khojah Abdulkurreem, p. 31^ 
 
 3 Qw Sol. Song, p. 1 86. 
 
158 
 
 which had 'darted his full beams* upon her'. 
 For though the natives of Egypt are generally 
 dark, and far southward toward Ethiopia, al- 
 most black 2 ; yet those of high rank being 
 protected from the sun are pretty fair/ and 
 would be reckoned such even in Britain. Mr. 
 HARMER conceives the complexion of this 
 princess might have been spoiled by her jour- 
 ney to Judea ; but this appears to me very im- 
 probable. The sacred poet clearly attributes 
 it to the anger of her brothers, who, perhaps 
 piqued at her superior talents, or offended with 
 
 1 * The sun hath beamed on me.' This word 
 which is evidently poetic, is used only in two other passages, 
 both in Job, where I think it will scarcely bear any other 
 rendering than I have given it. Chap. xx. 9, ' The eye 
 
 * which beamed on him shall not add* [to beam on him :] 
 i. e. shall beam on him no more. Chap, xxviii. 7. t The 
 
 * vulture's eye hath not beamed on it.' Mr. PARKHURST 
 fays * glanced ;' but that term is too weak to express such an 
 action of the sun as materially tans the complexion. 
 
 2 Because I am black.' Some critics have suggested 
 that the spouse was literally a black, the daughter of an 
 Ethiopian woman: but i. This agrees not with her own 
 account, that her complexion was occasioned by exposure to 
 the sun. 2. It agrees not with the subsequent description 
 that her cheeks were like the pomegranate, &c. 3. There is 
 no ground for it in the text; the term black, applied to die 
 countenance, ifi other texts not intending absolute but com- 
 parative and adventitious blackness the effect of grief, famine, 
 &c. 
 
 The original word here is the same as in the preceding 
 verses, only rendered more emphatical by the reduplication of 
 the two last radicals (mmrnt?) * valde fusca,' Ihchart. 
 ' Prorsus, vel valde, et tota nigra,' Mcukius, Michaclh. 
 So Gill 4 very black.' See (in Heb.) Ps. xlv. 5. Prov, 
 viii. 31, 
 
159 
 
 her religion ', had occasioned her being sent to 
 a more southerly part of the country, where she 
 had neglected her personal charms, and, by ex- 
 posure to the sun, become very swarthy. One 
 of those revolutions common in eastern courts, 
 where every thing usually depends on the 
 caprice of the prince, or of his favourite, might 
 occasion her recal; the beauty of her features 
 might on this occasion be the more remarked ; 
 and reaching the ears of the king of Israel, to- 
 gether with her conversion, might lay the foun- 
 dation of her future fortune. 
 
 That she was sent to keep vineyards need 
 not be literally taken. Her meaning may be, 
 that she was sent to reside among them, as if 
 she had been employed in a menial capacity 
 -as a keeper of the vineyards ; or, it is pro- 
 bable, she might have the care and manage- 
 ment of some infant sisters, and thus have been 
 the guardian of their beauty, while she neglected 
 her own. And this may be intended by her 
 vineyard, as being the natural object of a vir- 
 gin's care; since the Jews by this term usually 
 intend whatever is a person's proper duty or 
 employment 2 . It is possible, however, the 
 words may admit a literal interpretation, for 
 
 1 In the preliminary essays (page 59) I have hinted the 
 probability that this lady was a proselyte to the Jewish reli- 
 gion ; and if we allow ourselves to suppose her conversion 
 to have taken place early in life, it will very sufficiently ac- 
 count for the anger and resentment of her brothers ; and the 
 report of this circumstance afterward would be a powerful re- 
 commendation to the court of Solomon. 
 
 2 See Bp. Patrick's Paraphrase, and Mr. Binncl in Bp. 
 Percy. So, Dr. Gill remarks, Horace calls his own works, 
 'Vineta.* Epist, i. lib, ii. 
 
160 
 
 she had a vineyard of her own, and might 
 have superintended it herself, before she let it 
 out to keepers '. 
 
 Let us now consider the allegorical applica- 
 tion of the passage. Most commentators have 
 referred this to moral defilement. The TAR- 
 GUM applies it to the idolatry of the golden calf 
 by the Israelites, that then * their faces became 
 ' as black - as the Ethiopians, who dwell in the 
 * tents o'f Kedar? but afterwards, on repentance 
 and forgiveness, ' beautiful and bright as those 
 of angels.' And St. AUGUSTINE says, the 
 church, is c black by nature, and beautiful by 
 ' grace.' But these applications are evidently 
 contrary to the text, which supposes the black- 
 ness here spoken of to be, not natural, but 
 acquired and adventitious ; and at the same 
 time consistent with her beauty * black but 
 ' comely.' 
 
 The ancient book of ZOHAR explains this 
 blackness much better of a state of captivity or 
 slavery : black with grief, mourning and asto- 
 nishment. So David in his mourning was 
 ' black all the day long ;' and Jeremiah was black 
 with grief and sorrow \ There is perhaps in 
 this expression a distant allusion to the state of 
 Israel in Egypt (a circumstance not unlikely 
 to be known to Pharoah's daughter) when 
 they were reduced to the vilest servitude, ex- 
 posed to the fiercest sun-beams, and at the 
 
 1 Chap.viii. 12. 
 
 2 In all languages black signifies any thing that is ' sad, dis- 
 ' mal, cruel, or unfortunate.' Daubuz in Rev. vi. 5. 
 
 J Psal. xxxviii. 6. in Heb. Jer. viii. 21. xiv. 2. See also- 
 Job, xxx. 30. Joel, ii. 6. Nah. ii. 10. 
 
same time, mourning under their affliction. 
 So in Psalm Ixviii ', Mr. HARMER 2 thinks there 
 is a comparison between Israel and those 
 doves, which, resorting to the caves where the 
 shepherds make their fires, are blackened with 
 the smoke; where there is an opposition some- 
 what similar in the terms c though ye are 
 
 * black with having lain among the pots, yet 
 ' shall ye be beautiful as the sacred doves of 
 
 * Syria, covered with silver and with gold.' 
 The blackness in this case, it may be observed, 
 was occasioned by the heat of fire, as in the 
 other by the sun-beams. 
 
 This blackness being attributed to the force 
 of the sun-beams, reminds us of our Lord's 
 parable of the sower 3 , in which he compares 
 the heat of persecution to that of the sun. 
 And these circumstances laid together, I think, 
 lead us to explain the blackness of the church, 
 of her sufferings by ' tribulation and persecu- 
 4 tion,' which may very properly be attributed 
 to the envy and anger of her elder brethren 
 of the world 4 ; for as Cain to Abel, so is the 
 world the elder brother of the church. 
 
 This complexion is also perfectly consistent 
 with her beauty ; for, though despicable 
 in the eyes of the world, the church never 
 suffered any thing in her real excellency, and 
 acceptableness in the sight of God, by perse- 
 cution or affliction. Indeed, when most black 
 
 1 Ver. 13. 
 
 : Observations on Passages of Scripture, vol. III. No. 17, 
 
 2 Matt. xiii. 5, 21. * See Luke, xv. 25. 
 
 Y 
 
in this respect, she has generally been most 
 amiable in herself, and in the esteem of her 
 heavenly bridegroom. 
 
 The manner in which the bride accounts for 
 her complexion, and apologises to the daughters 
 of Jerusalem, merits a remark. She concedes 
 willingly, that she was dark, and was apprehen- 
 sive that to others she might appear even very 
 black ; but she justifies herself as innocent of 
 the cause it was the fault of her enemies, not 
 her own. If this were applied to moral defile- 
 ment it were unaccountable ; God forbid we 
 should make apologies for sin ! But applied to 
 tribulation and persecution it is easy, natural, 
 and just. However the state of the church, 
 and of believers, may render tribulation or per- 
 secution necessary, it is not for evil-doing, but 
 for well-doing, that they are called to suffer 
 from the world ; and they may with a good 
 conscience justify themselves in this respect; 
 of which we have many instances in the 
 Scriptures. 
 
 As the beauty of the church is so fully 
 considered in the sequel, there seems no ne- 
 cessity for enlarging here. The phrase, 6 mine 
 * own vineyard have I not kept/ is a concession, 
 in whatever way it may be taken, that she had 
 been guilty of negligence: a concession always 
 seasonable and in character : for though the 
 church is persecuted for her virtues, and not 
 her crimes ; yet as we said, it is the negligence 
 and languor of the church, which is the occa- 
 sion of Tier being brought into such circum- 
 stances, to refine and purify her. 
 
163 
 
 r They made me keeper of the vineyard/ 
 they put me to base and laborious servitude. 
 This has been often literally true in times of 
 persecution. Israel, in Egypt, were enjoined 
 to make bricks even without straw ; and allowed 
 no time for their own rest, or the service of 
 their God. And in the Christian church many 
 confessors and martyrs have been put to labour 
 in the mines, or at the gallies, without the least 
 mercy or indulgence ; and innumerable others 
 forbidden the worship of their God. They 
 have kept the vineyard of others, but have not 
 been suffered to attend their own. 
 
 The words admit a farther practical applica- 
 tion. It too often happens, that persons in 
 public characters, either magistrates or teach- 
 ers, who are faithful and active in their charge, 
 neglect their own personal interest I mean 
 in a moral and religious view. They keep the 
 vineyards of others they guard their morals 
 and direct their piety but they deprive them- 
 selves of their seasons of retirement they 
 neglect their personal devotions and thus, 
 while they are in the constant habits of doing 
 good to others, they neglect themselves they 
 keep the vineyard of others and neglect their 
 own. This is a proper subject for confession and 
 regret. 
 
 This section concludes with an apostrophe 
 to the beloved, and the reply of the virgins ; 
 both in the language of pastoral poetry. 
 7 
 
164 
 
 Ver. 7, 8. 
 
 S/iouse. Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where 
 
 thou feedest? 
 
 Where thoucausest [thy flock] to rest at noon? 
 For why should I be as a stranger 
 Among the flocks of thy companions ? 
 Virgins. If thou thyself knowest not, O most beautiful 
 
 of women, 
 
 Go thy way forth by the footsteps of. this flock, 
 And feed thy kids among the tents of these 
 shepherds. 
 
 On these verses, in a literal sense, we may 
 remark, 
 
 1. The pastoral images employed. I have 
 already observed the analogy between the re- 
 gal and pastoral offices, and have supposed 
 that the allusions made to the latter refer lite- 
 rally to the exercise of government, and ad- 
 ministration of justice 1 ; if so the resting at 
 noon will signify the relaxation of public busi- 
 ness, and the luxury (for such it must be to 
 wise and good princes) of retirement and pri- 
 vacy. The language of the bride then is an 
 enquiry, in the passionate manner of apostro- 
 phe, where the king was, and whether em- 
 ployed in public or in private. ' If he be, like 
 
 * a good shepherd feeding his Hock, admini- 
 
 * stering public benefits, and dispensing judg- 
 
 * ment, why should not I enjoy the common 
 ' benefit ? If he be indulging in retirement, 
 
 * why may not I, who am admitted as his wife, 
 6 enjoy his company and conversation ?' 
 
 The; translation of this verse is so difficult, 
 that I feel myself diffident and undecided ; 
 and shall therefore include both the renderings 
 
 ! Introductory Essays, p. 61. 
 
165 
 
 in the margin, as consistent in the general 
 idea, though I have preferred in the ver- 
 sion, that which appeared to me the most natu- 
 ral and easy r . 
 
 It should seem necessary, however, in the 
 first place, to settle the meaning of the expres- 
 sion, * By the flocks of thy companions.' It 
 appears that eastern marriages were frequently 
 celebrated in tents, which on grand occasions 
 were doubtless superb and numerous*: pastoral 
 language converts these into the "tents of shep- 
 herds, and the attendants into sheep. In this 
 
 1 If the original word [rviDy] be derived from the root 
 
 , to hurry or drive away [as I consider the roots of 
 three radicals with final He originally the same with those 
 of two radicals without He~\, the sense will be nearly that of 
 our translators one that turneth aside,' wandereth, or is 
 driven away [by\ to, beyond or among the flocks of thy com- 
 panions. So the Targum, Kimchi, Dathe, &c. 
 
 But Michaelis, Piscator, Coccius, Martinus, See. chnse 
 to follow the Septuagint, who have rendered it (-zzr^&sjAAo- 
 /^vi-j) veiled, [deriving it regularly from [niDl?] to cover, veil, 
 i. e. cast something hastily, and loosely over a person ;] the 
 meaning will then be, ' Why should I be overlooked, neg- 
 * leeted, as if I was not one of the flock of thy companions, 
 4 that is, one of thy wives ?' The veil was also in one case 
 a mark of widowhood, and in another of harlotry; it may 
 therefore be explained, Why should I appear as a widow, 
 or an harlot, rather than be treated as a lawful wife r' 
 
 A learned friend suspects that the compound particle 
 (noV'.Z?) for why, should be taken as the proper name ' Solo- 
 ' mon,' the letters being the same (and De Rossi suspects the 
 pointing to be wrong) in which case the verse would read 
 thus : 
 
 4 O Solomon, shall I be as a stranger?' &c. but as this 
 wants authority, though I admire the spirit of this version, 
 I have not ventured to adopt it. 
 
 2 Hartner on Sol. Song, p. 201.. 
 
166 
 
 view the words import, ' Why should I be 
 
 * forsaken and neglected by him, as if I had 
 4 belonged to another shepherd, that is, to some 
 ' of the princes or nobles encamped around?' 
 
 If we prefer the other rendering, ' Why 
 
 * should 1 appear as one veiled' considering 
 the veil as a token of widowhood ', or harlotry 1 ; 
 then the expression means, ' Why should I 
 
 * appear as a widow, or be treated as an har- 
 
 * lot, when I am the bride of Solomon.' 
 
 The mention of < the shepherds tents/ in 
 the following verse, shews that shepherds when 
 they met with good pasturage used to pitch 
 their tents ; and there they generally continued 
 till the want of fresh pasturage led them far- 
 ther : and the supposition of the shepherd re- 
 tiring with his flock to rest at noon, is perfectly 
 agreeable to the eastern manners. PLATO J 
 speaks of sheep nooning themselves, and VJR- 
 GIL 4 informs us that the shepherds usually 
 retired with their flocks to some shady retreat 
 at the fourth hour, or two hours before 
 noon. 
 
 2. The reply of the virgins demands our 
 next attention, it comprizes these directions 
 seek him in the way himself hath marked 
 out follow him in the traces of his flock 
 wait for him among the tents of his shep- 
 herds. 
 
 This idea strikes out an easy and simple 
 
 1 Gen. xxxviii. 14. * Ezek, xxiv. 17,22. 
 
 3 Phaedi us. " 4 Georg. lib. iii. 
 
167 
 
 method of allegorizing this section, which may 
 suggest several natural and useful remarks, 
 without the danger of losing ourselves in 
 wanton or unintelligible fancies. 
 
 I. We remark the office of Christ as a SHEP- 
 HERD. So under the Old Testament, Messiah 
 was designated by this character : ' Awake, () 
 ' sword, against my SHEPHERD, against the 
 
 * man tliat is my fellow (or companion) saith the 
 ' LORD of Hosts V He claims himself the 
 character of ' the good shepherd 2 / and he is 
 styled, by the different writers of the New Tes- 
 tament, the great shepherd, the chief shepherd, 
 the shepherd and bishop of our souls ; and he 
 well answers to every part of the shepherd's 
 character. Does it require knowledge, care, 
 attention ? He says, ' I know my sheep, I 
 
 * call them by their names, they hear my voice 
 6 and follow me.' Does it imply defence, 
 support, protection ? 4 The LORD is my shep- 
 
 * herd, I shall not want. He leadeth me 
 ' into green pastures, beside the still waters.' 
 f He restoreth my soul : yea though I walk 
 6 through the valley of the shadow of death I 
 6 will fear no evil, for thou art with me ; thy 
 6 rod and thy staff, they shall comfort me.'- 
 Docs this office require tenderness and aifec- 
 tion ? 6 He shall feed his flock like a shep- 
 
 * herd, he shall gather the lambs in his bosom, 
 ' and carry them in his arms, and gently lead 
 c those that are with young.' 4 I am (saith he) 
 
 1 Zech. xiii. 7. 2 John, x. ir. 
 
168 
 
 * the good shepherd : the good shepherd layeth 
 
 * down his life for the sheep.' 
 
 *2. We might run a like parallel between 
 the character of sheep, and that of believers. 
 Sheep are remarked as harmless, clean, simple, 
 useful creatures : sociafcle, but too apt to wan- 
 der; defenceless, and therefore often injured. 
 All these particulars apply beautifully to the 
 flock of Christ, whether under the Old Testa- 
 ment or the New. They are, in their degree, 
 4 holy, harmless, and undefiled.' They natu- 
 rally associate together, yet are too apt to, 
 ' wander from the fold of God ;' they are the 
 most useful members of society, yet often 
 abused and persecuted ; as it is written, ' For 
 ' thy sake are we killed all the day long : we 
 4 are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.' 
 
 3. We observe more particularly the man- 
 ner in which Christ executes his pastoral of- 
 fice : he feeds them, and causes them to rest 
 at noon. He feeds them : this seems to in- 
 clude or to imply all the various offices which 
 Christ executes as our Redeemer. He is a 
 king, and feeding i m plies (as already noted) 
 the exercise of his regal government. He is a 
 prophet, and feeds them ' with knowledge and 
 c understanding.' He is a priest, and strange 
 and incongruous as it may seem, he feeds them 
 with his own ' flesh and blood', which he hath 
 given for their redemption for this good shep- 
 herd hath laid down his life for his sheep. 
 
 He ' causes them to rest at noon :' that is, 
 in the hottest seasons of persecution, in the 
 
169 
 
 severest times of tribulation, the Lord Jesus 
 hath a retreat for his people. ' Come my 
 4 people (saith he) enter into the chambers, 
 
 * and hide yourselves for a little moment, 
 
 * until the indignation be overpast V When 
 the church is persecuted in the book of Reve- 
 lation, a retreat is prepared for her in the ' wil- 
 6 derness/ and so the Lord preserves a seed to 
 serve him in despite of the rage of all his ene- 
 mies. But when it is necessary for the honour 
 of his cause, that they should come forward 
 and boldly witness for his name, even to the 
 death, then his chariots of celestial fire await 
 to bear them to glory and an immortal 
 crown . 
 
 4. We may observe the language and argu- 
 ment of the spouse ' O thou whom my soul 
 ' loveth,' why dost thou withhold thy presence, 
 4 and treat me as a stranger, unknown and un- 
 beloved by thee ? As a harlot, apostate from 
 
 * thy love ? or as a widow deserted and for- 
 6 saken ?' Note, (1.) The Lord's own people 
 are subject to the withdrawments of his pre- 
 sence, and to mental distress, not only the 
 same as others, but peculiar to themselves. 
 (2.) That our love to Christ, as it is a princi- 
 ple implanted by his grace, may be pleaded 
 as an argument for farther mercies : ' Forsake 
 6 not thou the work of thine own hands/ 
 (3.) True believers are subject to be mistaken 
 for hypocrites and mere professors. They 
 
 3 Jsa. xxvi. 2Q 
 
 z 
 
170 
 
 may appear so much alike, either by the de- 
 clension of the one, or the imitation of the 
 other, that no eye hut that which searches 
 hearts may be able certainly to distinguish 
 them. 
 
 5. In the answer returned by the virgins, 
 we may learn how we are to discover the 
 pastures of the good shepherd ; or in other 
 \vords, the paths of truth and holiness ; for to 
 both these may the direction be applied : 6 Go 
 
 * forth by the footsteps of the flock/ 
 
 (1.) This method is recommended in our 
 enquiries after truth ; ' Stand ye in the way 
 
 * and ask for the old paths, that ye may walk 
 
 * therein. 1 The misfortune has been, that, in 
 this case, many have begun their researches at 
 too late a period. Instead of enquiring the 
 sentiments of those venerable men, the pro- 
 phets and apostles, they have contented them- 
 selves with the opinions of the doctors of the 
 second and third century, or later, when the 
 church was already corrupted with error and 
 with heresy ; and when the writers often be- 
 came so heated and perplexed with controversy, 
 that they not only contradicted one another, 
 but themselves ; and it is in many cases im- 
 possible to get a clear and determinate opinion 
 from them. 
 
 (2.) In seeking for examples to regulate our 
 conduct we should apply to the same authori- 
 ties. Christ himself is the first and best exarn^ 
 pie in all cases, where his example will apply: 
 and after him his apostles and first ministers, 
 
171 
 
 the Christian fathers, the illustrious martyrs 
 and reformers ; still keeping before us that 
 apostolic maxim to follow them only * so far 
 ' as they follow Christ.' 
 
 (3.) As we are to follow good examples, so 
 should we be careful to keep good company. 
 
 ' Feed thy kids among the tents of these shepherds.' 
 
 The spouse is here considered as a shepherd- 
 ess, and directed, in the absence of the ' chief 
 
 * shepherd/ to associate with his companions; 
 that is, in the spiritual sense, to attend and ac- 
 company with those faithful ministers, who, as 
 under shepherds of our Lord, teach the same 
 truths, and walk in the same precepts. Nothing 
 is more important either to our character or 
 morals than keeping with wise and good com- 
 pany ; for ' he that walketh with wise men shall 
 4 be wise; but a companion of fools shall be 
 
 * destroyed/ In morals this is universally ad- 
 mitted, for we have adopted the scripture pro- 
 verb as our own, that 4 evil communications 
 6 corrupt good manners :' and no less true is 
 it, that to associate with men of loose and scep- 
 tical principles is the way to grow first indiffe- 
 rent, and then adverse to the truth. 
 
 But the subject leads us naturally to add a 
 remark on the importance of attending a gospel 
 ministry, where we possibly can, in preference 
 to erroneous, or merely moral teachers. It is 
 very true that morality is inseparable from the 
 gospel, but it is equally true, that it is not the 
 gospel itself. They should be distinguished, 
 though not divided. We have no reason to ex- 
 pect Christ's presence, but where his gospel is. 
 7 
 
172 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 Chap. 1. Ver. 9 n. 
 
 Bridegroom. To the horse in Pharaoh's chariots 
 Have I compared thee, my consort : 
 Thy cheeks are comely with rows, 
 Thy neck with [ornamental] chains. 
 
 Virgins. Rows of gold will we make for thee, 
 With studs of silver. 
 
 HERE I think the spouse, attended by the 
 virgins, goes into the garden of the palace, and 
 there meets with her beloved, who compares 
 her to the horses, or perhaps some favourite 
 mare, in her father's chariot. This appears a 
 very coarse compliment to a mere English 
 reader, arising from the difference of our man- 
 ners : but the horse is an animal of very high 
 estimation in the east. The Arabians are ex- 
 travagantly fond of their horses 1 , and caress 
 them as if they were their children, of which 
 Mr. HARMER gives an extraordinary instance 3 . 
 The horses of Egypt are so remarkable for 
 stateliness and beauty as to be sent as presents 
 of great value to the Sublime Porte 3 , and it 
 appears from sacred history, that they were in 
 110 less esteem formerly among the kings of 
 
 ; This folly is not peculiar to the east. Julius Caesar 
 placed a marble effigy of his horse in the temple. Nero 
 dressed his horse as a senator. Caligula would have made 
 his horse consul ; he invited his horse to supper, and himself 
 waited on him. 
 
 ~ On Sol. Song, p. 174. 
 Mail Jet in ib. 
 
173 
 
 Syria, and of the Hittites, as well as Solomon 
 himself, who bought his horses at 150 shekels 
 which (at Dean Prideaux's calculation of 3s. 
 the shekel) is 22/. 10s. each, a very consider- 
 able price at which to purchase 12,000 horses 
 together ' ! The qualities which form the beauty 
 of these horses, are tallness, proportionable 
 corpulency, and stateliness of manner; the 
 same qualities which they admire in their wo- 
 men ; particularly corpulency, which is known 
 to be one of the most esteemed characters of 
 beauty in the east 2 . Upon this principle is 
 founded the compliment of Solomon ; and it 
 is remarkable that the elegant Theocritus, in 
 his epithalamium for the celebrated Queen 
 Helen, whom hedescribes as 'plumpand large 3 ,' 
 he uses exactly the same image, compar- 
 ing her to c the horse in the chariots of Thessaly V 
 
 1 The fame of Solomon's horses is still preserved in Ara- 
 bia, and the horses called Kochlani, whose pedigree is as 
 carefully preserved as that of the first nobility, are said to be 
 derived from Solomon's studs. The chief excellence of these 
 horses is their strength, courage, and swiftness. Niebuhr's 
 Travels, vol. II. p. 301. 
 
 We find in the Travels of Egmont and Heyman, (vol. I. 
 p. 93.) that corpulency is in high esteem, especially among 
 the Turks, and that the supreme beauty in all these parts is a 
 large fat body, and prominent breasts. Niebuhr says, ' As 
 4 plumpness is thought a beauty in the east, the women, in 
 
 * order to obtain this beauty, swallow, every morning and ' 
 
 * every evening, three of these insects (a species of Tenebriones) 
 fried in butter.' Travels, vol. II. p. 339. Edinb. edition* 
 1792. 
 
 v] (jL 
 
 4 *H u$[LUTi QstTo-aXos /TTO;. Idyl, xviii. ver. 29. The in- 
 genious editor of the new edition of Ca/met's Dictionary is 
 
174- 
 
 And the similarity of the compliment is so 
 striking, as to persuade many of the learned 
 that the Greek poet must have seen the Sep- 
 tuagint version of this book. Plato, however, 
 and Horace, have both employed the same 
 image, and it is observable that the Greek name 
 for a horse is admitted into the composition of 
 a great number of Greek names of women, as 
 Hippe, Hippodamia, Mercippe, Alcippe, and 
 many others. 
 
 The easterns, so highly valuing their horses, 
 spare no expence to ornament them with the 
 most costly trappings of gold, enriched with 
 pearls and precious stones : and it is very ob- 
 servable that the Arabian and Turkish ladies 
 decorate themselves in a very similar manner, 
 wearing rows of pearls or precious stones round 
 the head-dress and descending over their 
 cheeks : gold chains also upon their necks 
 and bosoms. This agrees very exactly to the 
 
 dissatisfied with this comparison, because, though it might be 
 adopted by ' Theocritus, as a writer of rustic poetry/ yet he 
 conceives it too inelegant for a royal Jewish bridegroom :' 
 he proposes therefore to render the text, ' To a company 
 
 * of horses among the riders of Pharaoh ;' but then, by an 
 unwarrantable figure, he converts .these horses into men, and 
 reads, * to an officer commanding a company of Pharaoh's 
 
 * cavalry :' i. e. to an officer of dragoons on horseback : 
 
 * noble as his horses, and graceful as his riders.' This, be- 
 side appearing to me extremely forced and laboured, only 
 changes the chariot-horse of Pharaoh into the war-horse of 
 a dragoon, which 1 should hardly suppose more delicate ; 
 while the addition of the rider to his horse confuses and de- 
 grades the imagery. Besides, the Hebrews distinguished be- 
 tween Pharaoh's horses, chariots, and horsemen. Exod, xiv. 
 
 See Calmer, Frag. No. CLVIL p, 147. 
 
175 
 
 ornaments here mentioned, and which have 
 a double reference to the dress of the ladies and 
 of horses. 
 
 When the virgins promise to make new orna- 
 ments for the spouse, it is commonly under- 
 stood as the promise of a new dress ; but I 
 suspect they have a farther meaning, namely, 
 to celebrate her praise in verses to her honour, 
 which, in the language of the Arabian poets, 
 are compared to pearls strung in rows '. Nor is 
 this foreign to the stile of the Hebrew, since 
 several of the psalms are called jewels of gold 2 ; 
 and Solomon compares words fitly spoken, by 
 which I understand a well-formed parable or 
 verse, to citrons of gold in basket-work of 
 
 1 The antient Arabian poems were of two sorts; [vid. 
 Sale's Prelim. Disc, to the Koran] the one they compared 
 to loose pearls, and the other to pearls strung. In the former 
 the sentences or verses were without connection ; and their 
 beauty arose from the elegance of the expression, and the 
 acuteness of the sentiment. The moral doctrines of the 
 Persians are generally comprehended in such independent 
 proverbial apophthegms, formed into verse. In this respect 
 they bear a considerable resemblance to the proverbs of Solo- 
 mon ; a great part of which hook consists of uncon- 
 nected poetry, like the poetry of the Arabians. Blair's 
 Lectures, vol. III. Lect. XXXVIII. It may be re- 
 marked that Uafiz seems to point out a third species of 
 poetic composition when he compares his lyric compo- 
 sitions to " pearls strung at random," on account ot the 
 freedom of his measures. See tfindlef* Persian Lyrics, 
 p. 10. So the author of Bahur Danmh says, Though every 
 
 * single hair of mine were a tongue, I could not string tho 
 
 * pearls of thy merited thanksgiving.' Mr. Scott, the transla- 
 tor, considers this as an allusion to the beads (or rosaries) of 
 the Mahometans, but query. 
 
 e See the titles of Psalms xvi. Ivi, &c. in the margin. 
 
176 
 
 silver'. So Solomon himself compares the 
 maxims of wisdom to * an ornament of grace/ 
 (or graceful ornament) for the head, and chains 
 about the neck z ! which images perfectly cor-* 
 respond with those before us. 
 
 When the church is compared to a horse, a 
 mare, or a company of horses 3 , we rnay re- 
 mark, 
 
 1. That we are often sent, in the scrip- 
 tures, to learn wisdom and virtue from the 
 brute creation. Go to the ant, thou slug- 
 6 gard !' is the pointed reproof of SOLOMON, 
 ISAIAH reproves Israel in comparing them to 
 the ox and to the ass : 
 
 * The ox knoweth his owner, 
 
 ' And the ass his master's crib : 
 
 * But my people doth not know, 
 ' Israel doth not consider.' 
 
 <2. The virtues, or admirable qualities of the 
 horse are activity, strength, and courage. From 
 
 1 Prov. xxv. 1 1. This differs materially from our version : 
 the Hebrew is a word spoken upon its wheels, which is, I sup- 
 pose, an allusion to the pottery, and means that a good parable 
 (the Hebrew expression for poetry and metaphor) is artificially 
 framed and moulded like the potter's vessel on the wheel. 
 On the word citro?is, see note on chap. ii. 3. of this book: 
 and the word by our translators rendered pictures, is admitted 
 to mean net or basket-work. 
 
 2 Prov. i. 9. 
 
 3 The word ('HDD) is commonly considered as a collec-. 
 live noun, like horse, or cavalry in English : but several of 
 the antient versions and critics take it for a noun feminine sin- 
 gular, with the pronominal affix, and therefore render it 
 ' my mare,' i. e. some admired and favourite mare; but the 
 difference seems not important, 
 
17? 
 
 the formefr this creature is supposed, in Hebrew 
 to receive its name ' ; and the latter are finely 
 celebrated in the book of JOB : 
 
 ' Hast thou given to the horse strength ? 
 * Hast thou clothed his neck with thunder 2 ? 
 
 There is no doubt but activity, vigour, for- 
 titude, and courage, are moral and Christian 
 virtues; but I forbear enlarging, that I may not 
 run into the common error. We have ob- 
 served that the comparison is here made chiefly 
 with respect to the corpulency of the horse 
 when well-fed; and it is remarkable that this 
 circumstance is chiefly alluded to when the 
 animal is metaphorically introduced in scrip- 
 ture. So JEREMIAH compares Israel to ' well 
 ' fed horses*,' because they were * fed to the 
 ' full* with the blessings of divine providence, 
 and the means of grace, which David calls 
 the fatness of God's house : analogous to which 
 is the state of the Christian church in times 
 of outward prosperity, when the means of 
 grace abound, and the profession of Chris- 
 tianity is unawed and- uninterrupted by oppres- 
 sion or persecution. * Jeshurun waxed fat and 
 kicked/ 
 
 But the most striking text to our purpose is 
 in the prophet ZECHARIAH, where the LORD 
 
 1 Sus [DID] probably from Shesk [tttti;] to be active, 
 sprightly, &c. for which reason the Persians, and some other 
 nations, used to sacrifice horses to the sun. See Parkhurst 
 
 in DD. 
 
 2 
 
 1 Job, xxxix. ID, &c. 
 3 Jer. v. 7, 8. ' 
 
 A a 
 
178 
 
 of Hosts expressly calls the house of Jtidah 
 
 * his GOODLY HORSE in the day of battle ;' 
 where is, I conceive, a double allusion (as in 
 Solomon) both to the horse and its ornaments, 
 the horse well-fed, mettled, bold, courageous, 
 and richly caparisoned, as the ' horse* of a 
 commander in chief * in the day of battle V 
 
 When the ornaments, whether of the women 
 or horses, are here mentioned, we may recol- 
 lect the apostolic exhortation, particularly to 
 the fair sex ; * Whose adorning' (says St. PE- 
 TER) ' let it not be that outward adorning, of 
 
 * plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or 
 6 of putting on of [rich] apparel: but let it be the 
 4 hidden man of the heart, in that which is not 
 ' corruptible, [even the ornament] of a meek 
 ' and quiet spirit, which is, in the sight of 
 6 God, of great price. ' For after this manner, 
 
 * in the old time, the holy women also, who 
 ' trusted in God, adorned themselves.' In 
 similar language the apostle PAUL exhorts 
 ' that women adorn themselves in modest ap- 
 6 parel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not 
 ' with broidered (or plaited) hair, or gold, or 
 ' pearls, or costly array ; but (which becometh 
 
 * women professing godliness) with GOOD 
 
 ' WORKS.' 
 
 But more particularly I would observe, 
 1 . That the graces of the Spirit (which are the 
 
 J Zach. x. 3. There is a peculiarity in the original 
 of this text. Judah [mil"!'] signifies praise, glory, &c. and 
 in allusion to this root, Judah is called a glorious, or a gor- 
 geous horse, by a word (iTin) nearly related to that root. Sec- 
 Pa rk. in mn and m. 
 7 
 
179 
 
 same as the moral virtues arising from evange- 
 lical principles, and wrought by the Holy 
 Ghost the graces of the Spirit) are recom- 
 mended to us as jewels, pearls, and ornaments 
 of gold or precious stones, as in the scriptures 
 already cited. 
 
 Sometimes the precepts of divine truth and 
 wisdom are thus represented. So SOLOMON, 
 speaking of wisdom that 'wisdom which is 
 from above* says, 
 
 * She is more precious than rubies, 
 
 * And all the things which thou canst desire [are] not to be 
 
 * compared unto her '.' 
 
 Speaking of her precepts, he says, 
 
 1 They shall be life unto thy soul, 
 1 And grace unto thy neck ~. 
 
 * They shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, 
 ' And chains about thy neck 3 . 
 
 2, That these graces, or virtues, are con- 
 nected like the links of a chain. Say, that the 
 Christian virtues are pearls, or precious stones, 
 then grace is that * golden thread 1 on which 
 they are strung ; this may also be referred to 
 the blessings of the gospel> which all depend 
 upon the grace of God. Thus the apostle 
 enumerates the former Add to your faith vir- 
 ' tue ; and to virtue knowledge ; and to know- 
 
 * ledge temperance ; and to temperance pa- 
 
 * tience ; and to patience godliness; and to 
 ' godliness brotherly kindness ; and to bro- 
 
 1 Prov. iii. 15. 2 Prov. iii. 22. 
 
 4 Prov. i. 9. 
 
180 
 
 ' therly kindness charity 1 .' The like remarks 
 may be applied to the rich and various bles- 
 sings of the covenant of grace and redemption : 
 thus the apostle links them : * Whom he did 
 
 * foreknow he also did predestinate ; whom he 
 6 did predestinate, them he also called ; and 
 ' whom he called, them he also justified ; and 
 
 * whom he justified, them he also glorified 2 / 
 
 Lastly, we may apply this to the praises or 
 encomiums bestowed upon the church ; and it 
 may lead us to observe that, however the irre- 
 ligious world may despise or deride the cha- 
 racter of the true believer, those best ac- 
 quainted with it will commend and admire. 
 So we have often seen that candid minds, and 
 those open to conviction, have admired and 
 commended the virtues and graces, which 
 they were little disposed to imitate. ' See how 
 
 * these Christians love,' was the language of 
 
 admiring heathens The virgins that attend the 
 
 church praise her. 
 
 Ver. 12- 14. 
 
 Sjiousf. While the king is in his circle [of friends] 
 My spikenard shall yield its odour. 
 A bundle of myrrh, is my beloved unto me, 
 [Which] shall remain continually in my bosom. 
 A cluster of cypress, is my beloved unto me, 
 [Such as] in the vineyards of En-gedi. 
 
 This paragraph presents us with a different 
 set of images. The king is supposed to be in 
 the circle gf his friend at the marriage feast ; 
 
 1 i Pet. i. $, * Rom, viii. 29, 30. 
 
181 
 
 .and the spouse promises, in allusion to eastern 
 manners, to entertain him with the most 
 choice perfumes 1 : but the language is highly 
 metaphorical. She had before compared his 
 name to liquid perfume, and I conceive her 
 meaning to be, that she would extol him before 
 the company, and that her praises should per- 
 fume his character, equal to the fragrancy of 
 ointments poured out, or of spices burnt before 
 him. 
 
 In this view the allegory admits of an easy 
 and beautiful application. The Redeemer is 
 (or at least ought to be) at all times the object 
 of the believers admiration and gratitude. We 
 should praise him in contemplating the works 
 of nature and of providence we should praise 
 him in all the ordinances of his house, but 
 most eminently at his table, 4 when he sitteth 
 * in the circle of his friends.' Then should 
 our hearts burn with holy gratitude ; then 
 should our lips celebrate his love, and our 
 graces exhale like the perfume of spikenard, 
 
 1 On nuptial occasions, and at all royal and noble feasts, 
 the eastern nations are very profuse in their use of perfumes. 
 Some instances occur in the history of our Lord himself in 
 the New Testament. See Mark, xiv. 3. John, xii. 3. 
 
 Of the true spikenard of theantients there have been some 
 disputes. Three dissertations on it may be found in the 
 Asiatic Researches. [See vol. IL 405. IV. 418.] Dr. Rox- 
 burgh calls it Valeriana Jatamansi* He had the living plants 
 growing in baskets, and in each basket were about thirty or 
 forty hairy spike-like bodies, more justly compared to 'the 
 tails of ermine or small weasels. They could not be brought 
 to flower out of its native soil Bootan. It is used both tor 
 perfume and medicine. 
 
182 
 
 While at the table sits the king, 
 
 ' He loves to see us smile and sing : 
 
 ' Our graces are our best perfume, 
 
 4 And breathe like spikenard round the room 1 . 
 
 The words may, however, be extended to 
 the whole of the communion subsisting be- 
 tween the Lord and his people, in acts of so- 
 cial worship. ' The prayers of saints' are in 
 the New Testament compared to * incense ;' and 
 believers, from their being permitted at all 
 times to offer these, are considered as ' priests* 
 whose office it is to offer incense < unto 
 < God V 
 
 Beside sprinkling and burning perfumes, 
 the easterns frequently use bunches of odorife- 
 rous plants as we do nosegays, and sometimes 
 wear little bags or bottles of perfume in their 
 bosoms 5 : both which circumstances are al- 
 luded to in the next verses. 
 
 By a bundle, bag, or bottle of myrrh, I un- 
 derstand a small vessel filled with liquid myrrh, 
 or that precious stacte which exudes from the 
 tree of its own accord, and was probably worn 
 in the bosom to exhilarate the spirits. By the 
 cypress here mentioned is supposed to be in- 
 tended the henna (or hinna) a plant in very 
 high esteem with the Arabians, and other 
 eastern nations. Dr. Shaw says, < This beau- 
 4 tiful and odoriferous plant, if it is not an- 
 
 * nually cut and kept very low, grows ten or 
 
 * twelve feet high, putting out its little flowers 
 
 : Watts ) Hymn Ixvi, B. I. ! Rev. v. 1 8. 
 
 '"' J?ce Harmcr on Sol. Song, p. 212, &c. 
 
* in clusters which yield a most grateful smell 
 
 * like camphire V 
 
 It was at the island Hinzuan or Johuna, that 
 Sir W. JONES first saw the hinna, which he 
 describes as a very elegant shrub, about six 
 feet high before it was in flower. On bruizing 
 some of , the leaves, moistened with water, and 
 applying it to the nails and tips of the fingers, 
 they were in a short time* changed to an 
 orange scarlet *. Sonnini describes this plant 
 as of a sweet smell, and commonly worn by 
 women in their bosoms 3 . 
 
 From this plant being said to grow ' in the 
 
 * vineyards of Engedi,' we may remark, that 
 the Hebrews did not restrict the term vineyards 
 to ground devoted to the culture of vines, but 
 included in it every kind of plantation for the 
 culture of curious and exotic plants 4 . The 
 sentiment expressed under both these images is 
 the same,, and amounts I conceive to this ; 
 c That the sense and recollection of her be- 
 
 * loved 's affection was to her pleasant, re- 
 
 < viving, and animating, like the choicest per- 
 
 * fumes even worn continually in the bo- 
 
 < somV 
 
 Such is the Lord Jesus Christ to his church, 
 
 Travels, p. 113, 114. adedit. 
 1 Works, vol. I. p. 493. 
 
 3 Hunter's Trans, vol. I. p. 273. 
 
 4 See Cahners Diet, also Harmer on Sol. Song, p. 34. 
 
 ' The original word for remain signifies * to stay, abide, r- 
 ' main,' and is by no means confined to the night. Bats, 
 Parkhurst, Harmer. 
 
Hi 
 
 and to the individual believers of which it ij 
 composed* 
 
 1. His love is precious like myrrh. Images 
 of this kind make but weak impressions on the 
 imagination of an European ; but to see the 
 manner in which an Asiatic enjoys perfumes 
 Would suggest a strong idea of the yapturous 
 manner in which St. Paul expresses his sense 
 of redeeming love : * O the height and depth, 
 
 * the length and breadth of the love of 
 
 * Christ !' ' 
 
 2. We should endeavour to preserve this 
 sense of the love of Christ in our hearts -wear 
 it in our bosoms. So saith the apostle JUDE : 
 
 * Keep yourselves in the love of God ; looking 
 
 * for the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ unto 
 
 * eternal life '.' The continual recollection of 
 the love of Christ to us, is the most certain way 
 to keep alive our affection to him. 
 
 3. The Jews have a remark on this text, 
 which, though caballistical enough, may be 
 worth repeating. They observe, in their mys- 
 tical way, that the original word for cypress 
 signifies also an atonement ; and that the two 
 words, a cluster of cypress, may with a slight 
 variation be changed into * the man who pro- 
 
 * pitiates all things,' and point strongly to the 
 Messiah, and his death and sacrifice. Dr. 
 Watts beautifully alludes to this idea. 
 
 ' As myrrh new bleeding from the tree, 
 
 * Such is a dying Christ to me ; 
 
 * And while he makes my soul his guest, 
 4 Thy bosom, Lord ! shall be my rest.' 
 
 1 Jude, ver. 21. 
 
185 
 
 SEC77ON III. 
 
 Chap. I. Ver. 15 17. 
 Bridegroom. Behold, thou art beautiful, my consort : 
 
 Behold, thou art beautiful ! thine eyes are dovt..~. 
 
 Spouse. Behold, thou art beautiful, my beloved; yea 
 
 pleasant : 
 Yea verdant is our carpet. 
 
 Bridegroom. Cedars are the roof of our house, 
 And the Brutine trees our rafters. 
 
 Dr. KENNICOTT makes a division here, with 
 a change of scene; and,, though I confess 
 myself rather doubtful, I have followed his 
 example. If we continue the scene, we must 
 consider this verse as an answer to the affec- 
 tionate expressions of the spouse in the pre- 
 ceeding paragraph ; commending her beauty, 
 and, in particular her eyes, as the faithful index 
 of her heart. The general current of critics and 
 interpreters run a parallel between her eyes and 
 the eyes of doves, and it is certain that there is 
 something very beautiful and striking in the 
 eyes of the carrier pigeon, which is the true 
 Assyrian dove: but having considered the con- v 
 struction of the original, and the manner in 
 which the same image is afterwards introduced, 
 with the nature of the parabolic imagery, I am 
 compelled to yield to the opinion of Dr. HODG- 
 SON r , that the eyes are compared, not to the 
 eyes of doves, but to doves themselves : for, 
 as he observes, when it is afterwards said, ' her 
 ( eyes are fishpoolsj it must be taken in this 
 manner ; and so elsewhere her hair and teeth 
 
 ; In loc. 
 
 Bb 
 
186 
 
 are compared to goats and sheep, and not 
 merely to the hair of goats and the teeth of 
 sheep, as we shall have farther occasion to ob- 
 serve 1 . The general ideas of the metaphor 
 are purity, affection, and simplicity of under- 
 standing. Let us apply these figures. 
 
 1. The eye is a natural and scriptural image 
 of the understanding whence the expression 
 of ' the eyes of the understanding/ And on 
 these subjects we cannot avoid recollecting the 
 maxim of our Lord; to * be wise as serpents and 
 ' harmless as doves ;' and the apostle James's 
 character of divine wisdom, as first pure, and 
 then peaceable, easy to be entreated. 
 
 2. Chaste affection is probably the principal 
 idea of the writer. Doves were among the 
 antients sacred to love. Venus had her car 
 drawn by them. The eye is the seat of love, 
 as the dove is the emblem of it*. This may 
 afford us a hint upon the nature of genuine 
 love to Christ. Such is the depravity of our 
 nature, and the imperfection of our holy 
 things, that we arc very apt to mix carnality 
 
 1 I am the more satisfied with this interpretation, from ob- 
 serving the following image in u Persian poet, (which should 
 be compared also with ch. v. 12.) The bard I allude to says, 
 the eyes ot his mistress * played like a pair of water-birds 
 * with azure plumage, that sport near a full-blown lotos on a 
 ' pool, in the season of dew/ Sii W. Jones's Works, 
 vol. I. 
 
 * One of our own poets, in an expression similar to that 
 I have just cited from an eastern bard, says, * Love in her 
 4 eyes sits playing ;' but in Solomon the image -is sanctified ; 
 the cupid is exchanged for a dove, and wantonness for pu- 
 rity. 
 
187 
 
 with our best affections, and to offer to our God 
 a sacrifice with profane fire. This appears in 
 several ways ; but chiefly, 
 
 1. When we entertain low and mean ideas 
 of the divine character; when we think him 
 ' such another as ourselves :' an error which 
 we are the more exposed to from the kind and 
 condescending characters he has assumed : but 
 to prevent this we should accustom ourselves 
 to contemplate the divine and human glories 
 of our Lord Jesus in their union. He is both a 
 lion and a Lamb : ' the root and offspring of 
 * David.' Of the seed of Abraham and of Da- 
 vid, according to the flesh ; but, in his superior 
 and divine character, 'over all, God blessed for 
 'ever!' 
 
 (2.) We should avoid all those gross and carnal 
 expressions, which degrade and deprave devo- 
 tion. Jesus Christ is indeed dear, infinitely 
 dear, to all his people ; yet terms of endear- 
 ment borrowed from the objects of our carnal 
 love have a tendency to degrade him, whom it 
 is our first desire to honour. They that treat 
 him but as the babe of Bethlehem still, should 
 remember that he is not always a child : but that 
 he has attained maturity, and taken possession 
 of his throne. 
 
 (3.) The dove was a sacred emblem, not only 
 with the Hebrews, but with the Syrians, who 
 worshipped the Deity under this form, and 
 bore this image in their colours. It has been 
 thought also that they decorated their sacred 
 doves, covering ' their wings' with ornaments 
 
188 
 
 of ' silver, and their feathers with yellow gold V 
 Though I rather suppose this passage alludes to 
 the splendid images of this bird, wrought in- 
 gold and silver upon their standards^ Our love 
 to Christ should be always dignified with devo- 
 tion : it should be religious as well as pure. 
 A certain writer mentions a young lady of 
 rank in a foreign monastery, who from her con- 
 stant devotion to a -"crucifix ' conceived a pas- 
 4 sionate tenderness for the object of her wor- 
 ship ;' and he adds, that the images of all the 
 saints have their inamoratos 2 . I fear this folly 
 is not wholly confined to catholics. When we 
 essentially mistake the character of the Re- 
 deemer, we worship an idol of our own imagi- 
 nation, rather than the true Christ of God. 
 
 In the following verses the bride returns the 
 compliment to her beloved, and commences an 
 amiable altercation, as Dr. Doderlein under- 
 stands it, respecting the pleasures and advantages 
 of a town and country life. 
 
 Her commendation of the beloved is expres- 
 sed in two terms He is beautiful, and pleasant. 
 The former idea will recur with much enlarge- 
 ment in the description of his person : the latter 
 term merits some observation here. 
 
 The term pleasant J , personally applied, in 
 the scriptures constantly intends the pleasures, 
 
 1 Ps. Ixviii. See Farmer's Observations. 
 
 2 Nott's Odes of Hafiz, p. 25, note. 
 
 O'I?J from Oy} 4 pleasant, sweet, agreeable.' The term 
 is applied to a variety of objects which determine its sense ; 
 as to a country, an instrument of music, or to speech : but, 
 personally applied, it intimates the felicity- of friendship and 
 union of heart. 
 
189 
 
 and the agreeable harmony of friendship. So 
 the Psalmist tell us, c it is pleasant for brethren 
 ' to dwell together in unity 1 / Saul and Jona- 
 than were < pleasant in their lives 2 ; that is, har- 
 monious and agreeable ; and the latter was 
 ' very pleasant^ also to David ; that is, he was 
 emphatically his friend, which very term the 
 spouse applies to her beloved in this song. 
 We may here remark by the way, that great part 
 of the felicity of the matrimonial state depends 
 on friendship. Where the husband considers 
 the wife only as the instrument of his plea- 
 sures, or an object of his conveniency, it can 
 only be expected that she should regard him as 
 a master and a tyrant. But a union of inte- 
 rests, a reciprocity of affection, and an inter- 
 change of kind offices, engender friendship, 
 and friendship completes and crowns the hap- 
 piness of the nuptial state. 
 
 The Lord Jesus is eminently the church's 
 friend, and she is his friend companion con- 
 sort*. Thus he addressed his own disciples 
 
 * Henceforth I call you not servants but 
 
 * friends 4 !' And this term implies both privi- 
 leges and duties. 
 
 1. It is the privilege of friends to be intrusted 
 with each other's secrets. ' The servant know- 
 
 * eth not what his Lord cloth : but I have 
 
 1 Ps. cxxxiii. I. , 2 2 Sam. i. 23, 26. 
 
 3 The Hebrew name for a friend, companion, or neigh- 
 bour, [nin] is properly a messmate, whence [J~V)n] a female 
 companion, a consort. See Parkhurst. 
 
 * John xv. 15. 
 
190 
 
 * called you friends,' saith our Redeemer ; 
 < for all things that I have heard of my Father, 
 
 * I have made known unto you.' He 6 re- 
 f vealeth himself unto them as he doth not 
 ' unto the world ;' for ' the secret of the Lord 
 
 * is with them that fear him, and he will shew 
 
 * them his covenant V So Abraham was the 
 friend of God : the Lord therefore would not 
 destroy Sodom till he had acquainted him. 
 ' Shall I do this, and not let Abraham know ?' 
 
 On the other hand the Lord's people have 
 their secrets, which they confide to his ear. 
 They have their secret sins to confess, their 
 secret sorrows to relate, and their secret com- 
 forts to enjoy. They ' pray in secret' to him 
 that * heareth in secret ;' and they have c bread 
 ' to eat in secret' which the world knows no- 
 thing of, 
 
 2. The friendship here referred to arises, in 
 a great measure, from a unity of ideas, interests, 
 and designs. ' In thy light shall we see 
 ' light/ saith the Psalmist. By viewing ob- 
 jects in the same light with God, we become 
 reconciled to all his will, and assimilated gra- 
 dually unto his image. By viewing sin in 
 God's light, we see it to be exceeding sinful 
 by viewing holiness in God's light, we discover 
 it to be altogether amiable by viewing afflic- 
 tions in God's light, we discern them to be 
 working together for our good. Unity of ideas 
 creates unity of interest. If we see objects in 
 
 1 Ps. xxv. 
 
101 
 
 the same light with God, we see our interests 
 to be the same. Men's interests, as individuals, 
 are as various as their faces ; but the believer's 
 best interests are those of Christ and his cause. 
 The promotion of holiness, and the advance- 
 ment of vital Christianity, are the believer's in- 
 terest, and he prefers them to his 4 chief joy.* 
 Sectaries have all their interests the interests of 
 parties and denominations ; but in proportion 
 us we drink into the spirit of Christ, we shall 
 endeavour to submit our peculiar views and 
 interests to that common one of Christ and hi? 
 church ; and to say, with a pious versifier, 
 
 4 Let names, and sects, and parties fall, 
 ' And Jesus Christ be all in all ! ' 
 
 We are too apt to measure Christ's interest by 
 ours, and suppose that his cause must be besL 
 promoted in the advancement of our party : 
 but the contrary ought, and as grace prevails, 
 will be our conduct. Let our party die and be 
 forgotten, if so be the general interests of Chrisi 
 may thereby be promoted. In line, if we ex- 
 pect Christ to make our interest his, let us make 
 his interest ours. 
 
 Unity of interest implies unity of design, It 
 is the grand design of God to promote holiness. 
 Be this our grand object, both as it respects 
 ourselves and others. 
 
 Friendship has its duties as well as privileges. 
 
 * Ye are my friends,' saith our Lord, * if ye do 
 
 * whatsoever JL command you :' and it is vain 
 and hypocritical to assume this character with- 
 out a disposition to perform its obligations : ' A 
 
 * man that hath friends must shew himself 
 
192 
 
 ' friendly : and there is a friend that sticketh 
 
 * closer than a brother.' 
 
 But our subject would rather lead us to com- 
 mend the pleasures of friendship : Christ is a 
 pleasant friend. rllis words are pleasant; and 
 6 pleasant words are as an honey-comb, sweet 
 c to the soul, and health to the bones,' His 
 countenance is pleasant : f it is a pleasant thing 
 6 for the eyes to behold the sun;' much more 
 is it to behold the sun of righteousness. ' In 
 ' the light of the king's countenance is life V 
 says Solomon. ( Lord, lift thou up the light 
 4 of thy countenance upon us!' His com- 
 pany is pleasant : ' one day in his courts is bet- 
 ' ter than a thousand :'-- 4 His riches perish 
 
 * with him/ says an old writer, c who prefers 
 ' all the riches and pleasures of the world to 
 ' one hour's communion with Jesus Christ.' 
 
 The spouse adds" Yea, verdant is our 
 " carpet." The reader is to recollect that 
 the present scene is supposed to be the gar- 
 den of the palace. The eastern gardens are 
 laid out upon an extensive scale, including 
 pleasure-grounds and plantations of various 
 descriptions. The present spot appears to have 
 been a plat or lawn, ' verdant' as * a carpet/ 
 The word which I have rendered verdant, does 
 not refer primarily to colour p , but to colour 
 only as it is the effect of vigorous and lively ve- 
 getation". The other term, rendered carpet , is 
 
 1 Prov. xv i. 15. 
 
 green, from pin to flourish vigorously, as a plant. 
 
 Purkhttrst. 
 
in the Common version bed; nor is the differ- 
 ence so great as may appear to a mere English 
 reader; since the eastern beds are usually 
 mats, mattrasses, or carpets spread upon the 
 duan, a part of the room elevated above the 
 rest. To these a green plat or lawn would 
 very aptly correspond, and might be very pro- 1 
 perly stiled c a verdant carpet;' just as an 
 eastern poet speaks ot" ' the carpet of the gar- 
 * den' bespangled with gold 1 . 
 
 But what is the design of this expression? 
 Air. HARMER* who supposes thte scene to be 
 at some distance from Jerusalem, understands 
 the words as expressing a modest wish to delay 
 the consummation of the marriage by protract- 
 ing her journey ; but we suppose that period to 
 be past; and, if not, such an interpretation 
 appears to me unnatural and inconsistent in a 
 bride so much flattered with her new con- 
 nexion, and so enamoured of her royal bride- 
 groom. 
 
 Dr. DODERLEIN considers the passage as 
 the commendation of a rural life in preference 
 to a residence in the metropolis ; while, in the 
 next verse, the bridegroom describes the splen- 
 dour of a palace, of which the meanest parts 
 were formed of cedars, and of fir, or cypress 1 . 
 
 1 Ens oof Zooleika, appended to White's Institutes of 
 Tamur. 
 
 2 If Kiroth) nnp, mean I earns ^ the corresponding word 
 should be rafters, which the original is allowed to bear. Ra- 
 hithe, Dm, is supposed to be from the Chaldee jom, currere > 
 to run. [Buxtorf.\ In the first instance it evidently means 
 canals in which water runs for cattle, Gen. xxx. 38, 41. 
 
 Cc 
 
134 
 
 But a learned and ingenious friend, who has 
 favoured this version with his perusal, harmo- 
 nizes the verses thus : He supposes that, while 
 a verdant lawn, perhaps glowing with the in- 
 termixture of the most beautiful flowers, forms 
 their carpet, they were seated in an alcove, ar- 
 tificially formed by the intervening branches 
 of the cedar and the fir-tree, to shelter them 
 from the scorching sun-beams. Thus the cedars 
 and the firs might be poetically called the beams 
 and rafters of their choisk, summer-house, or ar- 
 bour. This I confess appears to me far the 
 most beautiful and elegant idea, and the moral 
 
 adly, It may here mean rafters, being so used both in the 
 Mhnah and in the Mldrash^ (as Dr. Gill observes from R. SoL 
 Jarchi) because perhaps rafters are so laid as to form a re- 
 semblance of canals in their interstices ; and 3d, in another 
 part of this song, (chap. vii. 5.) it is used for galleries^ ambu- 
 lacra (Buxtorf) which have also an evident resemblance to 
 the primary meaning of the word. 
 
 It must be confesssd our common printed copies here read 
 UlDTn: but many MSS. and additions read i3Dm. Eight 
 MSS. one edition, all the ancient versions, and a Greek 
 MS. in the library of St. Mark, at Venice, read the word 
 plural, either I3l0m or ij'tom. [Vid. Doderlem Scholia in 
 V. T. p. 193 ; Notae Grit, in Cant, in Repert. Bibl. et Or. 
 t. vii. p. 224. et Paulus Repert. Or. t. xvii. p. 138.] Bux 
 torf, though he writes i:DTD, places it under the root ffirn, 
 and says, ' Scribitur cum n, sed juxta Masor. legitur 
 per n.' 
 
 There is another doubtful word in this verse. CD'nni, 
 according to Aimworth> are brutine trees, (called by Pliny 
 * bruta') resembling the cypress, with whitish branches, and 
 of an odoriferous scent. So the L XX. Kurapwcro/, and Vulg. 
 cypressina, cypress trees. But others suspect that, by the 
 exchange of a single letter, this is used for Ottn*0, (which 
 indeed is the reading of several MSS. both in Kennicott and 
 De Rossi) commonly rendered firs. 
 
195 
 
 or spiritual improvement will be founded on 
 this simple thought that wherever the pre- 
 sence of Christ is, there is every object dear 
 and delightful to a believer. Wherever he 
 treads, flowers of celestial beauty spring around 
 his feet; wherever he rests, trees of immortal 
 verdure bloom around his head. 
 
 But my friend may be mistaken ; and if my 
 reader approve the more general idea, of a 
 contrast between the verses, as marking the 
 difference between a rural choisk and a royal 
 palace, I am not willing to impede his spiritual 
 improvement by withholding a farther remark 
 on this supposition ; namely, that though the 
 Lord doth often vouchsafe to his people much 
 happiness and pleasure in retirement, and in 
 private communion, yet his special presence 
 and blessing are to be sought for in his public 
 ordinances, in his holy temple : for ' the 
 
 * beams of his house are cedar, and his rafters 
 ' are of fir/ 
 
 ' No beams of cedar or of fir 
 
 4 Can with thy courts on earth compare ; 
 
 ' And here we wait until thy love 
 
 ' Raise us to nobler seats above.' 
 
 WATTS. 
 
 The TARGUM applies this to the third tem- 
 ple, which the Jews expect to ' be built in the 
 
 * days of the king Messiah, whose beams will 
 ' be of the cedars of the garden of Eden, and 
 6 whose rafters will be of brutine, fir, and box.' 
 Apply this to the Christian church, the true 
 
 emple of Messiah, and it may lead us to re- 
 mark, that this is composed of the most va- 
 
196 
 
 luable and durable materials : not rotten hy- 
 pocrites or painted professors ; but sound and 
 savory believers. 
 
 I may add, once more, that we are too apt 
 to rest in present attainments and present en- 
 joyments in religion, without endeavouring to 
 make a progress. We are, like PETER, for 
 building tabernacles, and saying, 4 It is good 
 4 for us to be here,' when it is better for us to 
 go forward in our journey. For whatever plea- 
 sures, or happiness, we may find in our present 
 attainments and privileges, the Lord hath better 
 and richer blessings in reserve for us. We 
 may say with DAVID, 'the lines have fallen to 
 ' us,' (that is, our lot hath been marked out) 
 4 in pleasant places,' or with Solomon, 4 verdant 
 * is our carpet;' but what are present enjoy- 
 ments to what God is capable of bestowing? 
 AVhat are temporal and transitory blessings to 
 those which are eternal? And what are the 
 tents and tabernacles in whicli he dwells on 
 earth to his palace in the heavens ? 
 
 . Ch. II. Ver. 13. 
 
 Sfiouse. I am a rose of Sharon ; 
 
 A lily of the vallies. 
 Bridegroom. As a lily among thorns, 
 
 So is my consort among the daughters. 
 Spouse. As the citron-tree among the trees of the wood, 
 
 So is my beloved among the sons. 
 
 In his shade I delighted and sat down, 
 
 And his fruit was sweet unto my taste. 
 
 . If I mistake not, the chapters should not have 
 been separated here, because the scene and 
 conversation are continued. The spouse, per- 
 
197 
 
 haps with the most beautiful productions of the 
 royal garden in her view, ventures to compare 
 herself, not with them, but with the more 
 humble natives of the fields 'and vallics 2 . Here 
 I conceive may be an allusion to her conver- 
 sation with the virgins in the former chapter; 
 and the thought might be naturally suggested 
 by the assemblage of beauty collected at the 
 royal nuptials. M am a rose, ' says she, * and 
 6 am now transplanted into the royal garden ; 
 < but I am not a native of this soil. I was not 
 ' educated in a palace ; though I was born 
 6 there. My mother's sons were angry with 
 6 me, they made me a keeper of the vineyards, 
 4 and I became an inhabitant of the fields: 
 '* there I should have bloomed and died, 
 '* unnoticed and unadmired, had not provi- 
 '* dence opened a way for my removal hi- 
 ther.' 
 
 1 Sharon was a fertile plain, famous for its pastures, as ap- 
 pears from i Chron. xxvii. 29. A part, at least, of this 
 district, in 'which a town of the same name was situated 
 (i Chron. v. 16) is said in the Mishnah (title Sola) to have 
 been of a peculiarly dry and sandy soil, which is the best 
 adapted for the growth of roses; and it is probable that they 
 were here cultivated for their use in perfumes, which form, 
 an important article of commerce in the east. The LXX 
 read ' a rose of the field,' which gives the same general idea, 
 though not so accurate. 
 
 2 By a * lily of the vallies' we are not to understand the 
 humble flower generally so called with us, the lillum conval- 
 llum ; but the nobler flower which ornaments our gardens ; 
 and which in Palestine grows wild in the fields, and espe- 
 cially in the vallies, among the corn. ' See the lilies of the 
 
 * field, how they grow: yet Solomon, in all his glory, was 
 
 * not arrayed like one of these.' Matt. vi. 28, 29. 
 
IDS 
 
 That these are the words of the spouse, ra- 
 ther than of the bridegroom, I infer, not so 
 much from the words, ' rose and lily,' being of 
 feminine termination ; but chiefly from the 
 current of the dialogue, in which they seem 
 naturally to belong to the spouse, and the pre- 
 ceeding and following verses to the beloved. 
 And this I find is ' the general opinion of the 
 4 Jewish doctors/ as well as of some very re- 
 spectable Christian interpreters 1 . 
 
 Among the Greeks the rose was called the 
 plant of love, and considered as sacred to Ve- 
 nus : and they suppose, if Jupiter were to set 
 a king over the flowers, it would be this. The 
 easterns, both in antient and modern times, are 
 no less fond of images derived from the same 
 source. The 'great MOGUL, in a letter to our 
 king James I. compliments him by comparing 
 him to this flower : and most of the eastern 
 poets celebrate its charms. The original word 
 here used for the rose is supposed in its deriva- 
 tion to signify the shadowing plant ; and we 
 read of rose-trees of great extent and prodi- 
 gious size; but I rather incline to the opinion, 
 that it strictly means the rose-bud, or sha- 
 dowed rose, that is, shaded with the calyx *. 
 
 1 Viz. Ainsworth, Brightman, Lyra, Vatablus, Cocceius, 
 Michaelis, Dr. Percy, Mr. Harmer, &c. 
 
 a See Parkhurst in nton, who observes that Aqullai 
 renders this word in the only two places in which it occurs, 
 H#Auxw<7; and %aXv,, which properly signify a rose half blown. 
 And it is worthy of remark, that this appears to be a very 
 favourite image with the eastern poets. So the Persian au- 
 thor otBahur Danush, translated by Mr. Scott, represents the 
 
199 
 
 PLINY reckons the lily the next plant in 
 excellency to the rose, and the gay ANACREON 
 compares Venus to this flower. In the east, as 
 with us, it is the emblem of purity and moral 
 excellence. So the Persian poet SADI com- 
 pares an amiable youth to ' the white lily in a 
 ' bed of narcissuses ;' because he surpassed ' all 
 
 * the young shepherds in piety, goodness, and 
 
 * vigilance/ 
 
 These hints are sufficient to point out the 
 general design of the emblems; let us now 
 apply them to their proper object in the alle- 
 gory. 
 
 1. The church compares herself to the rose 
 and the lily, as the genuine emblems of love 
 and virtue, innocence and purity; for such 
 are the characters of the church, and, through 
 grace, of the individuals who compose it. This 
 is not, however, their character by nature ; for 
 they are wild plants till they are transplanted, 
 and cultivated by grace, which can convert 
 
 rose-bud in love with the nightingale under several points of 
 yiew : i. As reserved and coy: ' I said, Why is the rose-bud 
 
 * so reserved ? And I heard that it wished to conceal its trea- 
 4 sures.' Vol. III. p. 210. 
 
 2. As uneasy under the restraints of a single life, and de- 
 sirous of admitting the addresses of the nightingale : ' Say ye 
 
 * to the rose-bud, be not uneasy at thy confinement ; for thuu 
 
 * wilt soon be released by the breath of dawn, and the wav- 
 
 * ings of the zephyrs.' Vol. II. p. 152. 
 
 3. As at length bursting with passion to receive the ca- 
 resses of its favourite bird. ' The rose exposed itself from 
 ' every opening ; rending the vesture of its bud into a thou- 
 
 * sand fragments.' Vol. I. p. 53. 
 
200 
 
 xveeds and wild flowers into beautiful and plea* 
 sant plants. 
 
 C 2. The church expresses herself with mo~ 
 desty 1 . She is a rose, but. it is a rose of the 
 field ; a lily, but only a lily of the vallies. Not 
 the elegant productions of a royal garden, but 
 the spontaneous growth of the field and valley. 
 Again, the rose to which she compares herself 
 is not the full blown flower, but the bud with 
 its beauties shaded and concealed; the finest 
 emblem in nature of modesty and unassuming 
 excellence. 
 
 The lily was a favourite emblem with the 
 Hebrews, and much employed in their carv- 
 ing, embroidery, and other ornamental works; 
 and this I think not without some mystery. 
 The lily was, I suppose, sacred to the light 2 : 
 and so to Christ the true immortal light, the 
 sun of righteousness; and this perhaps accounts 
 best for the so frequent use of lily-\vork in the 
 temple, and in the dresses of the high-priest. 
 
 In another respect the church is compared 
 to this flo f \ver, remarkable for growth as well as 
 beauty, and singularly fruitful : Israel shall 
 * grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Le- 
 ' banon V 
 
 1 So Bp. Percy ; but Mr. Harmer interprets it, I conceive 
 very unnaturally, as the language of jealousy and complaint, 
 p. 63. 
 
 2 See Parkhurst in UHtf. The lotos, which resembles this 
 flower in its distinctive character as a six-leaved flower, was 
 certainly a facred emblem in Egypt and other parts of the 
 cast. 
 
 3 Hos. xiv. 5. 
 
201 
 
 The spouse considers herself as a lily in a 
 valla/ of lilies, &c. that is, as one beauty among 
 a multitude; but the bridegroom, in his reply, 
 places her above competition : she is a lily 
 among thorns, and excels the other fair-ones 
 as a lily doth the thorns. 
 
 Observe, 1, Christ's church is in his sight, not 
 only supremely excellent, but singularly and 
 only so a lily among thorns. So believers are 
 the ' salt of the earth the light of the world 
 4 a seed to serve the Lord in the midst of a 
 c crooked and perverse generation.' 
 
 1 2. A lily among thorns has been supposed 
 properly to represent the church in affliction 
 and temptations. So R. SOLOMON JARCHJ, 
 4 As the lily among thorns, which prick it, yet 
 ' stands continually in its beauty ; so is my love 
 6 among the daughters, who entice her to ibl- 
 * low after them, and go a whoring after 
 ' other gods, but yet continues in her religion V 
 I confess this sense forced and arbitrary ; yet 
 I mention it because it agrees well with the 
 analogy of scripture ; for the inspired writers 
 frequently speak of afflictions, &c. under the 
 image of thorns ; and it is promised, as one of 
 the felicities of the future state, that ' there 
 < shall be no more a pricking briar, or a grieving 
 ' thorn.' 
 
 The spouse raises her beloved also above 
 
 4 It should seem as if this celebrated rabbin understood the 
 compliment from Solomon to his new spouse, as 'a reflection 
 upon his other wives, who enticed away his heart to idols, 
 and attempted to entice her, though without success. 
 
 Dd 
 
202 
 
 competition and comparison, as he had exalted 
 her: and, upon this occasion, she relates the 
 pleasure and delight received in his com- 
 pany and conversation. 
 
 The tree to which the hride compares her 
 beloved, is commonly understood to be the 
 apple tree ; but this has justly been called in 
 question. The CHALDEE paraphrase renders 
 it the citron tree, which agrees better to all 
 that is said of it in scripture ', as well as to the 
 natural history of Judea ; since the eastern 
 apples are very indifferent, and their citrons 
 very fine 2 . As much then as the citron tree 
 excels the vulgar trees of the wood ? , so much 
 does the beloved all other men. 
 
 This image is pursued in the subsequent 
 verse. Having compared her beloved to a 
 tree, she compares the enjoyment of his com- 
 pany to sitting under its shadow, and eating 
 plentifully of its fruit 4 . 
 
 1 It is represented as noble and delightful, Joel, i. 12. Gold 
 coloured/ Prov. xxv. n.and very fragrant and refreshing. 
 Cant. vii. 8. ii. 3, 5. See Harmer's Observations, vol. I, 
 chap. iv. obs. 31. 
 
 2 Russel's Nat. Hist, of Aleppo, p. 21. 
 
 3 A lofty and spreading tree is a favourite image with the 
 best poets : so in Ossian : l I was a lovely tree in thy pre- 
 ' sence, Oscar, with all my branches round me.' (Battle of 
 Lora.) Compare Ps. cxxviii. 3. 
 
 4 Entertainments under trees are common in the east. 
 Egmont and Heyman drank coffee under the orange trees in 
 the garden at Mount Sinai ; and Dr. Pocockc was entertained 
 in a garden at Sidon, under the shade of some aprico* trees, 
 and the fruit was shaken ujion him. See Harmcr on Sol. 
 bong, p. 248. 
 
203 
 
 In our application of these words to the 
 heavenly bridegroom, we may observe, 
 
 1. That he is compared to a tree. So the 
 God of Israel represents himself in the prophet 
 ' I am like a green fir-tree 1 ,' which is ever 
 fair and flourishing. 
 
 He is compared to a large and shady tree 
 ''in (or under) his shade I delighted and sat 
 
 * down.' To us this image is not nearly so 
 striking: and beautiful as if we resided in the 
 
 <c^ 
 
 east, where the heat of the sun is more intense, 
 and shade in travelling much less frequent. 
 But he, who is compared to ' the shadow of a 
 4 great rock in a weary land/ may also, no less 
 fitly, be compared to the shadow of a great tree. 
 Jesus Christ shades the believer from the just 
 anger of Deity, and its consequences: and those 
 who fatigue themselves in vain, in seeking sal- 
 vation at the foot of burning Sinai, may find 
 rest a-nd safety under the shadow of his cross ; 
 ' Come unto me, all ye that labour and are 
 
 * heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' lie 
 shades them from the burning sun of persecu- 
 tion, or public calamity: * The Lord- is thy 
 ' shade upon thy right hand ; the sun shall 
 4 not smite thee by day, nor the moon by 
 4 night 2 / 
 
 He is compared to a fruitful tree ' From 
 4 me/ says the Lord to his people Israel 
 4 From me is thy fruit found 3 / ' Wisdom is 
 4 a tree of life' 'a tree that beareth twelve man- 
 4 ner of fruits/ and has no barren season al- 
 
 1 Hos. xiv. 8. $ Ps. cxxi. 5, 6. 3 Hos. xiv. 8. 
 
 t 
 
f0i 
 
 ways blooming, ever bearing : and by the 
 fruit he bears may be understood either, 1. His 
 conversation, which is the 'fruit of the lips 1 .' 
 ' A word spoken in due season, how good is 
 6 it!' When Jesus Christ was upon earth his 
 words were admired for their sweetness, and 
 authority; < Never man spake like this man !' 
 Now lie is in heaven, he can still ' speak well:' 
 he can ' speak peace to. them that are afar 
 ' off/ His words are ' as citrons of gold in 
 6 baskets of silver/ 
 
 2. The fruit of this tree may intend the 
 graces of the Spirit, which are communicated 
 from Christ the fruits of righteousness and 
 holiness. These are the fruits expected from 
 those ' trees of righteousness which the Lord 
 * hath planted ;' and of such, lie says, * from 
 ' me is thy fruit found.' 
 
 Ver. 46. 
 
 Spouse. He brought me into the house of wine, 
 And his banner over me was love. 
 ' Support me with refreshments ; 
 ' Strew citrons round rne ; 
 ' For I am sick of love.' 
 His left hand was under my head, 
 And his right hand embraced me. 
 
 In these verses, the imagery is drop* 
 ped or changed, and the spouse relates more 
 literally the pleasure she had recently enjoyed 
 in the company of her beloved. ( lie brought 
 ' me into the house of wine.' The Persian poet 
 HAFEZ uses this expression for an eastern ta-- 
 ; or house of entertainment ; but Solomon, 
 
 1 Jsa. lyju 19. 
 
3"R^. 
 
 I think, for a wine cave, or cool recess, in the 
 royal gardens. Whether it were customary with 
 the Hebrews to display a banner, a flag, or 
 pendant, (as sometimes on our tents and sum- 
 mer houses) on occasions of festivity, I am not 
 confident; but it seems probable from the next 
 words, ' his banner over me was love ;' that 
 is, was inscribed with this term, or embroid- 
 ered with figures expressing ,the chaste enjoy- 
 ments and affections of the nuptial state : though 
 some commentators ,are of opinion the ex- 
 pression only intimates, that the bridegroom 
 conquered merely by the display 6f his love. 
 In this situation she confesses herself overcome, 
 and requests to be supported with refreshments, 
 and exhilarated with fruits, particularly citrons, 
 remarkable, it should seem, for their exhilarat- 
 ing quality. 
 
 What are intended by the first term, which I 
 have rendered refreshments, the translators have 
 been much at a loss to guess, as may be seen 
 by the variety of versions in the margin l . Mr. 
 
 N* In floribus.] In unguentis, (ev y.v%oic,) LXX. 
 sic Arab. Phlalis viireis'. Pagn. lagcnis istis, Jun. &; Tr. 
 Pise. lagettis, Merc, sic Mont. Castal. Arab. &c. sive, 
 vasts, Vatab. Munst. sub. vini, Vatab. Merc. Arab. sim. 
 Muns. vini opitmi ; ut fieri soletro^ Xgffo&u/xcitftn, Grot. Poli 
 Syn. Crit. in ioc. 
 
 The English translators agree no better. Cranrr.er, and the 
 Bishops Bible, turn it.cw/w; Coverdakand Matthevss, grajies\ 
 the Dovvay version, flowers; our common version i$flaggons\ 
 and Mr. Harmer understands it of the skins of gourds, iv 
 vessels for wine. The LXX and Vulgate use in dr 
 places different w;)rds, signifying cakes, unguents and i 
 wine. The word itself, r>l\WN> is allowed to be derive.' 
 tt?N fire in a reduplicate form. 
 
 The root ("FD*)j is to spread a carpet, to strciu round, as 
 fruit from a tree, Parkhurst. 
 
20S 
 
 PARKHURST (following the derivation of the 
 word from fire) renders it cojifectionaries things 
 baked, or prepared by fire : but might he not 
 with equal propriety have referred to some cor- 
 dials or simple waters distilled by fire ? or even 
 to wine in baked earthen vessels ? In this great 
 uncertainty, I have preferred the most general 
 term I could find refreshments. The other 
 member of the sentence, ' Strew citrons round 
 
 * me/ is literally rendered, and presents us with 
 the image of a person seated upon a carpet (as 
 is the eastern custom) and surrounded with 
 fruit and other delicacies. 
 
 The application of these verses to a chaste 
 and spiritual mind is easy. We need not seek 
 far for what is intended by the banqueting house, 
 or wine-cave l . Free and intimate communion 
 with God in holy exercises is a banquet to the 
 
 We have observed in the preliminary essay, (p. 87, &c.) 
 from the highest authorities, that these images are allegori^ 
 cally employed by the Persian poets, particularly Hafi%. 
 " Accordingly to the mystical vocabularies [or rather com- 
 " mentaries] on Hahz, by wine the poet invariably means 
 " devotion ; by the breeze, an illapse of grace ; bv jierfume, the 
 " hope of the divine favour ; by the tavern or banquet-house^ 
 " a retired oratory; by its keejier, a sage instructor-, by 
 " -beauty, the perfection of the supreme Being; ana by waft- 
 " tonness, mirth, and inebriety, religious ardour, and disregard 
 *' .of all terrestrial thoughts and objects." Jr&ndlrfs Persian 
 Lyrics, p. 29. 
 
 I may avid, from another writer, that the most respect- 
 able commentators * assert the koranic principles of 
 
 * Hafez.' Feridoun attempts to prove ' that even his most 
 
 * luxuriant verses are bin so many religious allegories ;' 
 and so prevalent is this opinion tint the language of Hafez 
 has been s'iied among the Mussulmans, Lessun Gaib, or the 
 language of mystery. Nott\ account of Hafez, prefixed to 
 his select odes, p. x. 
 
207 
 
 soul ; and the place where this is enjoyed, a 
 banqueting house. In this view the temple 
 was such to the pious Jews, where the sacri- 
 fices were considered as a feast, and the wine 
 poured out as the wine of a banquet, whereby 
 the heart, both of God and man, was glad* 
 dened. 
 
 * How excellent is thy loving kindness, O God ! 
 
 * Therefore the children of men put their trust under the 
 
 * shadow of thy wings. 
 
 ' They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy 
 
 * house ; 
 
 * And thoti shah make them drink of the river of thy plea- 
 
 * sures V 
 
 The blessings of the gospel are promised un- 
 der the same image, and the communion with 
 God vouchsafed in his house, is a feast, or ban- 
 quet, under every dispensation. 
 
 * In this mountain shall the Lord of Hosts make unto all 
 
 * people 
 
 1 A feast of fat things ; 
 
 * A feast of wines on the lees ; 
 4 Of fat things full of marrow ; 
 
 * Of wines on the lees well refined V 
 
 Agreeable to the same imagery, all the 
 provisions of the gospel are represented under 
 the idea of a feast a marriage feast, at which 
 we know that plenty of wine was always an 
 essential article 3 . 
 
 When the queen of Sheba was brought into 
 the court of Solomon, and saw all his glory 
 and heard his .wisdom, we are told that ' there 
 
 1 Ps, xxxvi. 8. ' Is- xxv. 6. 
 
 3 Matt. xxii. 2. See John ii, 3, Sec. 
 
208 
 
 ' was no more spirit in her :' she was overcome 
 with admiration and astonishment. Such is 
 the state of a believer's mind, favoured with 
 intimate communion witli his God, and with 
 eminent discoveries of his glory. Thus it was 
 with David, when he ' rejoiced with great joy 
 
 * on occasion of the people's offering willingly 
 
 * for the temple ;' and he said, * Now there- 
 
 * fore our God, we thank thee, and praise thy 
 ' glorious name. But who am I, and what is 
 '* my people, that we should be able to offer so 
 ' willingly after this sort ? for all things come 
 4 of thee, and of thine own have we given 
 ' thee l . And, when he reviewed the divine 
 conduct toward him on another occasion, over- 
 whelmed with gratitude, he exclaimed, " and 
 " is this the manner of man, O Lord God z !" 
 
 So when at a distance from the house of God 
 and means of grace, with what pleasure does he 
 recollect his former enjoyments, and with what 
 anxiety pant for their return! 
 
 O God, thon art my God ; early will I seek thee : 
 
 My soul thirsteth for thee ; 
 
 My flesh longeth for thee ; 
 
 In a dry and thirsty land, where no water is ; 
 
 To see thy power and thy glory, 
 
 So as I have seen thee in the sanctuary : 
 
 Because thy loving kindness is better than life 
 
 My lips shall praise thee 3 . 
 
 To the experience of David we might add 
 that of Isaiah, of Paul, of John the Divine, and 
 others. Nor is it in scripture only that such 
 
 1 i Chron. xxix. 13, 14. 2 2 Sam. vii. 19. 
 
 3 Ps. ixiii. i, &c. 
 
209 
 
 sublime expressions of devotion are to be met ' 
 with: there are several instances, both in the 
 martyrology, and in authentic religious bio- 
 graphy. It is enough to mention the names 
 of Fenelon, Boyle, Watts, Col. Gardiner, and 
 Mrs. Rowe ; in whose experience we meet 
 with examples of that rapturous devotion which 
 has at times overcome the mortal frame, and 
 led- them to say with Paul, in another case 
 ' Whether in the body, or out of the body, I 
 4 cannot tell God knoweth.' 
 
 In such a* frame of mind we suppose the 
 spouse to have confessed herself sick faint, or 
 wounded with love 1 : completely conquered 
 by the display of his tenderness and Affection, 
 when his < banner over her was love :' which 
 expression is very properly thus expounded by 
 an old writer. ' The banner of our Lord is his 
 4 love, which he hath publicly declared to us, 
 4 that he might draw us to himself: by which 
 4 also, when we are come to him, he retains 
 ' us with him ; and strengthens us witli the 
 ' same when we fight against our spiritual ene- 
 
 * mies. And that we may always look upon 
 ' 4 it, he carries it over us; that is, renders his 
 
 * love most familiar to us. He that knows not 
 
 * this banner, can be none of his soldier; and 
 
 * he that deserts it is undone, unless he pre- 
 ' sently return to it. So that as the Roman 
 4 legions had their several names (the pious, 
 4 the faithful, &c.) in like manner this may be 
 
 * called amor is legio, the legion of love V 
 
 1 Tf?&i|Xvvi .ay*KTV. LXX. Amore lavguo. Vulgate. 
 ' 2 JJalherrusm Patrick. 
 
 E o 
 
210 
 
 In this situation the spouse fell into the arms 
 of her beloved, where she found tenderness, 
 support, relief. His left hand was under her 
 head, and his right hand embraced her. He 
 supported her with cordials, wine, and fruits. It 
 is not here necessary to descend to particulars. 
 Whatever be the believer's wants, he may find 
 a rich supply in the gospel, administered by 
 the tender hand of that Saviour, who is 'touched 
 * with the feeling of our infirmities ;' who 
 knows how to speak ' a word in season' to him 
 that 6 is faint or weary;' who giveth ' strong 
 6 drink unto him that is ready to perish ; and 
 ' wine to those that be of heavy hearts/ 
 
 Verse 7. 
 Bridegroom. I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, 
 
 Before the antelopes, and before the hinds of 
 
 the field, 
 
 That ye disturb not, nor awake 
 This lovely one, until she please. 
 
 As this verse, with little variation, occurs in 
 two other places, it may be considered as a 
 kind of chorus ; but whether it be spoken in 
 the person of the bridegroom, or the bride, is 
 doubtful. In the other passages, these words 
 appear to be uttered by the spouse, notwith- 
 standing the construction of the original' would 
 
 1 Both the noun Ahabali, rorw, love, and the verb Tcchjiat-z, 
 pDn/T, until she please, are feminine; and it is remarkable that 
 the term for love is hereof a different root fro P.I that which is 
 Applied to the bridegroom, Dodi, nn, my beloved, and the same 
 hat is given to il-.e spouse in chap. vii. 6. My version is nearly 
 (that ot Ailchaclis in Bp. Lowth, who supposes a mistake in 
 he Masoietic punctuation, 
 
211 
 
 lead us to refer them to the beloved ; but in 
 the present instance the strict grammatical 
 sense seems the most natural. Still, in one 
 respect, the verse may be considered as the 
 language of the spouse, repeating what her 
 beloved had said : that is, she relates that her 
 Lord embraced her, and while she rested on 
 his bosom, he hushed the virgins her compa- 
 nions, which maybe supposed in waiting: 
 * Disturb not my love until she please.' In the 
 version, however, I have endeavoured to pre- 
 serve the ambiguity of the original, as a trans- 
 lator cannot be too faithful. 
 
 The other difficulty is kept out of sight in 
 the common version, but there can be no 
 doubt that the original properly means, c I ad- 
 jure you,' I charge you upon oath that ye 
 disturb not my love, &c. But how shall we re- 
 concile this with the law of Moses, and the 
 manners of the Hebrews, who were strictly 
 forbidden to swear by any name except JEHO- 
 VAH ? I know that commentators and critics 
 have not been unfruitful in evasions ; but they 
 are, in general, so futile that I think them not 
 worth reciting; and would sooner at once con- 
 fess my inability to untie the knot, than thus 
 violently cut it. There is one circumstance, 
 however, which may throw considerable light 
 upon the expression. 
 
 Notwithstanding the Jews were commanded 
 to swear only by the incommunicable name, 
 they were admitted to call in witnesses to their 
 oath, and in the want of others, the animals of 
 the field were judged sufficient, or perhaps 
 
preferred. A remarkable instance of this oc- 
 curs in the history of Abraham and Abimelech. 
 After swearing an. oath of fidelity, and making 
 the usual presents on such occasions ' Abra- 
 ' ham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by 
 
 * themselves. And Abimelech said unto Abra- 
 ' ham, What mean these seven ewe lambs, 
 ' which thou hast set by themselves? And he 
 ' said, These seven ewe lambs shalt thou take 
 
 * of my hand, that they may be a WITNESS unto 
 ' me that I have digged this well V The same 
 custom, it appears, is continued in the east to 
 the present day ; and points out the proper use 
 of these fc antelopes and hinds of the field,' as 
 witnesses to the solemn adjuration in this poem. 
 This is indeed hinted at among the seven senses 
 enumerated by Dr. GILL, who remarks that 
 
 * sometimes heaven and earth, animate and in- 
 
 * animate creatures, are called in scripture 2 ' to 
 
 1 Gen. xxl. 30. I confess myself indebted to the ingeni- 
 ous editor of Calmet for this passage, produced for a very 
 different purpose in his Fragments, No. LXIII. (P. in.) 
 where he mentions a similar covenant between Mr. Btuct, 
 the celebrated traveller, and an Arabian shekh. To account 
 for the introduction of deer instead of sheep, it is only neces- 
 sary to suppose that the former might be in sight and not the 
 latter ; though it might be added, antelopes and hinds are 
 some of the finest objects of poetic imagery. 
 
 As to the particle Beth 2, which I have rendered before in- 
 stead of by, I think I have at least kept equally to its radical 
 idea /', which ought to be preserved in all its various ren- 
 derings ; e. g. In iniQ \vith/w in respect of in the man- 
 ner of in opposition to W connection with in the midst 
 of in presence of, i. e. before, which I conceive to be the 
 best rendering here, and in some o^her texts. 
 
 * See Deut. xxx. 19. Josh. xxiv. 27. 
 
213 
 
 bear witness to solemn charges and covenant 
 engagements. 
 
 The improvement of this difficult verse shall 
 be comprized in two ideas. 
 
 1. That true love deprecates every thing 
 calculated to disturb the harmony, or injure a 
 good understanding between the parties. Doth 
 Christ love his church? Then must he be of- 
 fended at every attempt to disturb her peace, 
 or alienate her affection from him Do we love 
 Christ? Then shall we, with pious jealousy, 
 guard against whatever has a tendency to dis- 
 honour his name, to grieve his Spirit, or offend 
 his love. 
 
 * I charge my sins not once to move, 
 
 * Nor stir, nor wake, nor grieve my love. 5 
 
 WATTS. 
 
 2. The whole creation witnessed} for God 
 against apostates. If after engaging ourselves 
 by covenant to be the Lord's, and professing to 
 be his disciples, we turn our backs upon reli- 
 gion, and renounce his service, not only will 
 our friends and neighbours, our children and 
 servants, bear witness against us, but the very 
 animals who saw our former professions and 
 devotions, will rise up against us in judgment. 
 Yea, the very timber and stones of our dwelling 
 will witness against us, \wednyour God 1 . 
 
 J Josh. xxiv. 27. 
 
214 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 Chap. IT. ver. 8, 9. 
 
 Sjiouse. The voice of my beloved ! behold he cometh, 
 
 Leaping on the mountains, bounding on the hills. 
 My beloved resembles an antelope, or a young hart. 
 
 Behold him standing behind our wall ; 
 
 Looking through the windows , 
 
 Displaying himself through the lattice work. 
 
 THESE verses open a new scene, and, ac- 
 cording to many expositors, a new day. But as 
 repose is very customary in warm countries in 
 the middle of the day, I am not certain but 
 this may refer to the afternoon or evening, 
 especially as there is nothing in the description 
 which particularly marks the morning. 
 
 Dr. GILL connects this section with the for- 
 mer in this manner : he supposes the spouse 
 to have heard the beloved give a tender charge 
 to the virgins not to disturb her, and that there- 
 upon she arises and exclaims, ' Behold ! it is 
 
 * the voice of my beloved !' To me, however, 
 this appears unnatural and absurd, because 
 here she sees him at a distance ' leaping on the 
 
 * mountains, and bounding upon the hills.' 
 
 Another critic supposes ' .the voice of the 
 
 * bridegroom' to be the sound of the music which 
 attended him ; and I conceive such an allusion 
 not improbable; and that in verse 10. the cho- 
 rus is introduced : ' Arise, my consort, and 
 
 * come away !' 
 
 The imagery is here so easy and beautiful as 
 to require little illustration. The beloved is 
 seen first at a distance hastening to his love, 
 with the speed of an antelope or a young 
 
215 
 
 hart 1 then he stops behind the green wall of 
 the garden or shews himself, in his bridiil 
 dress, through the lattices of the ehoisk* and 
 here invites her to enjoy with him the opening 
 charms of summer, of which Mr. UARMKR 
 lias shewn the following verses to he an accu- 
 rate description ; and that they mark the time 
 to be about the end of April, which answers to 
 June in our climate. 
 
 Little difficulty occurring in the literal sense 
 of this section, we apply immediately to the 
 allegory, and enquire, 
 
 1. Why is the heavenly bridegroom com- 
 pared to the antelope or the young hart? I 
 reply, not only on account of the beauty of 
 those amiable creatures, but chiefly for their 
 swiftness, as intimating the alacrity with which 
 the Messiah came, in the first instance, for our 
 redemption ; and the readiness with which he 
 still flies, in the hour of distress for our re- 
 lief. Even in the painful work of redemption, 
 with what cheerfulness did he undertake, and 
 with what willingness did he suffer! ' Lo! I 
 
 1 That the Hebrew Zabl (otf) intends the antelope, or 
 gazelle, is the opinion of Dr. Shaw, Buffon, and Sir Jl\ 
 
 Jones : and certain it is, this is one of the most beautiful ani- 
 mals in creation. In this place the LXX add, 'On the 
 * mountains of Bethel.' But this seems both unnecessary 
 and unintelligible. 
 
 2 Displaying himself [FQ] literally flowering through 
 the lattice" work : an allusion to flowers which penetrate 
 the open work of lattice windows, and bloom on the other 
 side. Such- a circumstance was noticed with admiration 
 by Mr. Stewart, in his journey to Mequinez, quoted by Mr. 
 Harmer. 
 
'216 
 
 ' come,' saith he, c to do thy will, O my God,' 
 though he knew that will required that lie 
 should sacrifice his life. And after he had 
 assumed human nature, and began to be ' a 
 
 * man of sorrows and acquainted with grief/ 
 he cries, ' I have a baptism to be baptized 
 ' with/ alluding to his sufferings, ' and how 
 ' am I straitened until it be accomplished !' . 
 
 Nor is the Saviour less ready, now he is 
 exalted to power and to glory, to fly to the 
 salvation of his people. How often hath his 
 church in the most perilous circumstances ex- 
 perienced his delivering hand ! And how often 
 have we as individuals found him to be ' a 
 
 * very present help in time of trouble!' 
 
 2. Our next observation relates to the gra- 
 dual manner in which the beloved discovers 
 himself upon the hills behind the wall 
 and through the windows of the choisk. Com- 
 mentators apply this to the gradual disco- 
 veries qf Messiah under the Old Testament, 
 which was like * the shining light, which 
 
 * shineth more and more unto the perfect day.* 
 In the antediluvian ages he appeared as on the 
 distant mountains, shrouded with a morning 
 cloud ; by the revelations made to Abraham 
 and his family, he drew nearer, and was more 
 distinctly seen ; but in the types and emblems 
 of the Mosaic ccconomy he displayed himself 
 with great beauty, and in great glory. Under 
 this dispensation lived the writer of this poem. 
 AVe know that he saw the Redeemer's glory, 
 and spake of him, not only in this song but in 
 some of the psalms, and, as they are commonly 
 
217 
 
 understood, in several chapters of the PVo- 
 verbs. 
 
 This dispensation introduced the gospel, in 
 which the voice of the Redeemer calls up his 
 church to arise and enjoy its privileges. Thus 
 he speaks : 
 
 Chap. II. Ver. 10 13. 
 
 Bridegroom. ' Arise ! my consort, my beauty, and come away, 
 
 * For, behold ! the winter l is past ; 
 
 * The rain is over is gone. 
 
 * The flowers appear upon the earth : 
 
 ' The time of the singing 2 [of birds] is come : 
 
 * The voice of the turtle doveis heard in our land : 
 
 * The fig-tree ripeneth her green figs : 
 
 ' The vines, [with] their tender buds - 1 yield fra- 
 ' grancy : 
 
 * Arise! my consort, my beauty, andcome away.' 
 
 ' Winter.' The word inD, used only in this place, is 
 generally considered as a Chaklee word, and the Jewish cri- 
 tics draw a mystery from it, on the supposition of its refer- 
 ring to the Babylonian captivity. But Mr. Parkhurst de- 
 rives it from the Hebrew nD, to stir, disturb, q. d. The dis- 
 turbed season ; and observes from Niebubr, that the Arabs 
 call their winter Schitte. 
 
 ~ ' Time of singing,' TDtn. So R. Sol. Jarchi, Aben 
 Ezra, and other Jewish, with most Christian writers. But 
 the LXX read ' The time, TY,$ rows, of cutting,' /'. c. prun- 
 ing vines, which it is admitted the word may signify, and 
 which agrees well enough with the season. The former 
 sense, however, I have preferred as most poetical, and con- 
 sonant to the other images. 
 
 3 ' Tender buds.' Our translators read grapes, but this 
 is carrying the season too far. Dr. Gill says smadar, 'TIED, 
 signifies to flower. So Symmachus renders it here by onxvtov!, 
 the vine blossom, and the Vulgate byjtorantes : The LXX, 
 however, render it, xu7rp/ew, to bud ; and in chap. vii. 12, by 
 HUTf/ff/xoc, a bud the budding of a flower, which agrees ex- 
 actly with the marks of the season for the vines and roses 
 bud and blow very nearly at the same period. Both eastern 
 vines and roses, when in bloom, are extremely fragrant. See 
 Harmer on Sol. Song, p. 138, 139. 
 
218 
 
 In examining the literal sense of this passage, 
 We must be struck with the beautiful descrip- 
 tion of an eastern spring : one circumstance 
 only requiring an illucidatory remark ; name- 
 ly, that in Judea, and the neighbouring coun- 
 tries, the rains are periodical, and when the 
 spring-rains are over, which is about the end 
 of April, a succession of fine weather follows, 
 without those changes to which we are sub- 
 ject. 
 
 There is no doubt but if this passage be alle- 
 gorized, it must be referred to the gospel dis- 
 pensation compared to the spring 1 , in which I 
 hope we may be allowed to trace the follow- 
 ing resemblances. 
 
 1. The spring is preceded by the winter: 
 so the times of the gospel were preceded by 
 ages dark, barren, and tempestuous, especially in 
 the heathen world. The apostle Paul calls them 
 ' times of ignorance/ and it is very evident 
 they were times of great wickedness. They 
 6 sat in darkness and the shadow of death.' 
 
 2. The spring is a season of fruitfulness. 
 Now the flowers blossom, the figs gather sweet- 
 ness, and the vines yield fragrancy ; so, under 
 the gospel, those nations who in time past were 
 
 1 So Theodoretj and the Christian commentators in gene- 
 ral ; and not these only, but certain of the Jewish writers, as 
 quoted hy Bp. Patrick. Benjamin Tude/ensis, for instance, 
 in the conclusion of his Itinerary, expressly applies these 
 words to the coming of Messiah ; confessing that Israel 
 ' cannot he gathered to their own land till the time of the 
 
 * singing of birds come, and the voice of the turtle ; and till 
 
 * they come who preach glad tidings, saying alvvay> The 
 ' Lord be praised !* 
 
9A9 
 
 barren and unfruitful, have become fruitful in 
 every good word and work : And individuals 
 who before conversion are barren toward God, 
 or bring forth none but the wild and poisonous 
 fruits of nature, when quickened by the grace 
 oi: God, " bring forth fruits meet for repent- 
 " ance;" fruits of righteousness, and holiness, 
 and peace. * For as the earth bringeth forth 
 
 her bud, and as the garden causeth the things 
 ' that are sown in it to spring forth : so the Lord 
 
 * God will cause righteousness and praise to 
 f spring forth before all people'.' 
 
 3. The spring is a season of love and joy, 
 both which ideas are expressed by the voice 
 of the turtle and the singing of birds 2 . So the 
 gospel is a dispensation of love and joy. What 
 is the gospel message but a display of the love 
 of God to sinners? What, but love/ is the prin- 
 ciple of gospel holiness? God's love is the ar- 
 gument, not only of our love to him, but to 
 one another : just as the love of a tender father 
 is not only a ground of gratitude from the 
 children, but of mutual love between each 
 other. 
 
 1 Isa. Ixi. 1 1. 
 
 2 The eastern poets feign the nightingale to be in love with 
 the rose, because they both appear together in the spring. So 
 Hafez : * The beauty of the age of youth returns again to 
 
 * the meads ; joyful tidings from- the rose arrive to the nigh- 
 
 * tingale of the sweet songs.' Sadt reckons the nightingale as 
 ^he herald of {he spring: * Bring, O nightingale, the tidings 
 'of spring; leave all unpleasant news to the owl.' The 
 author of Sahur Danmh joins 'the strain of the bulbuP '(or 
 eastern nightingale) with ' the cooing of the turtle dove.' 
 
 Jones's Pers. Gram. p. 19. Bahur Danush, vol. HI. p. 180. 
 
220 
 
 The gospel is also a dispensation of joy. 
 There is joy in heaven over every repenting 
 sinner ; and there is joy also in the church of 
 God, over every addition to their number. But 
 especially is there joy in the heart of every 
 converted sinner, so soon as he is assured of 
 his interest in evangelical blessings. 
 
 4. The spring is a kind of resurrection of 
 nature, which appears as if dead during great 
 part of the winter season : but in spring the 
 flowers, the trees, and the herbage are all reno- 
 vated, as by a new creation. We have observed 
 above, that the gospel found the world, as it 
 finds every individual, in a state of barrenness 
 and death. -Men are by nature dead in 
 trespasses and sins, until a living principle 
 of faith is by grace implanted in their hearts. 
 
 5. The causes and progress of this renewal 
 in nature and grace, are strikingly analogous. 
 
 Winter, it isw r ell known, is brought on chiefly 
 by a change of the relative position of the earth 
 and the sun. It is not that the sun is really 
 weaker in itself, but from this change of posi- 
 tion its rays falling obliquely upon the globe, 
 are weakened in their effect ; the earth gets 
 gradually cooler, and the long nights and short 
 days, greatly contribute as well to the coldness, 
 as the gloominess of winter. So it is in the 
 other case. The Sun of righteousness is eter- 
 nally the same. His glory and his strength 
 admit of no diminution. But the fall has so 
 placed us, that, in our natural state we receive 
 not the direct beams of his grace ; but only, if I 
 may so speak, the oblique blessings of his pro- 
 
221 
 
 vidence. When " the Sun of righteousness 
 " ariseth with healing in his beams" then the 
 spiritual spring commences, and the new crea- 
 tion smiles. These changes, however, both 
 in nature and in grace are gradual. We are 
 not instantaneously plunged into the cold and 
 darkness of winter ; neither are we all at once 
 warmed and dazzled with the strength of a 
 midsummer sun. It is a mercy that we are not ; 
 and strongly marks the wisdom and the good- 
 ness of divine Providence. But as the days 
 are lengthened, and our part of the globe gra- 
 dually falls more, directly under the solar rays, 
 the earth gets warmer, the sap is drawn up- 
 ward in the plants and trees, and the earth 
 assumes the gay and splendid livery of spring. 
 So in the great seas toward the poles, as the sun 
 gathers strength in becoming more verticle in 
 those parts, the prodigious masses of ice in those 
 seas melt away ; mountain after mountain 
 breaks, dissolves, and swells the tides, and over- 
 flows the boundaries of the ocean. 
 
 Thus gradual also are the effects of the 
 beams of our spiritual Sun, both on the church 
 at large, and on its individual members. When 
 a revival takes place in the church, it begins 
 in one family, or in one congregation ; it 
 spreads to another, and another from parish 
 lo parish from city to city from village to 
 village till it covers a whole province, or a 
 country. Religion, when it prospers, kindles 
 and spreads like the flame in a forest, from tree 
 to tree, and from bush to bush, till the whole 
 
222 
 
 wood becomes one universal conflagration. 
 
 * Behold/ in this sense, ' how great a matter a 
 < little fire kindleth !' 
 
 Equally gradual is its progress in an indivi- 
 dual. The mountains are levelled, and the 
 valleys are exalted. Like the ices at the poles, 
 first one lust, or one vice is broken off, or 
 melted down, and then another, till the whole 
 man is changed, and becomes altogether a new 
 creature. 
 
 It must be confessed, however, that there is 
 no rule without exceptions. Sometimes a warm 
 day bursts on us at once, almost in the midst of 
 winter : thus, in some instances, the change 
 wrought in conversion is so sudden, and so 
 great, as to challenge the admiration of all 
 around, and they are ready to say, as of the 
 blind man restored ' Is this he that was born 
 
 * blind ?' Is this he that was given tQ pro- 
 faneness and all uncleanness? Or with the 
 wicked prophet in his parable * Lo! What 
 
 * hath God wrought!' 
 
 Again, the return of spring, at least in this 
 country, is often checked by intervals of severe, 
 inclement weather ; and the more so when 
 the season is earlier than usual. When, as we 
 paid, summer appears coming on us at once : 
 vegetation is pushed forward by the genial 
 warmth, the trees bud, and perhaps blossom, 
 when a sudden reverse of frost takes place, 
 nips the swelling buds, and withers the open- 
 ing blossoms. So is it oftentimes with young 
 converts, especially with those called from a 
 
223 
 
 state of open profaneness. The change is so 
 obvious and so great, that they appear trans- 
 ported, as it were, to another climate to ano- 
 ther world. A spiritual summer is come sud- 
 dcn^y upon them, and they appear all holy 
 joy, all heavenly love: but in a little while 
 4 offences' arise because of the word.' The 
 storms of persecution, or the blasts of tempta- 
 tion nip the opening graces of the Christian 
 life, and the promised fruits of holiness. 
 
 4 The winter is past.' The TARGTM applies 
 this to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, and 
 other writers to the captivity in Babylon ; justly 
 conceiving that a state of captivity and bondage 
 is properly represented by the image of winter, 
 and the restoration of liberty and peace by 
 spring. This applies to the gospel dispensa- 
 tion, and its blessings. Men are by nature ser- 
 vants of sin, bond-slaves of Satan, led captive 
 by him at his will. The voice of the gospel 
 is like the sound of the jubilee trumpet, the 
 proclamation of true liberty. 4 If the Son 
 4 make ye free, then shall ye be free in- 
 < deed.' 
 
 4 The flowers appear/ The same Jewish 
 commentators, who consider the winter as a 
 state of captivity or bondage, explain the flow- 
 ers of Moses and Aaron of the Old Testament 
 believers, and of the Messiah himself; and the 
 young figs and grapes of the congregation of 
 Israel : and, without following Jewish fancies, 
 or Jewish fables, believers may, under the 
 gospel dispensation, be considered as a kind of 
 
first fruits unto God the earnest of that grand 
 harvest which shall be gathered by the angels, 
 in the end of the world. 
 
 Ver. 14. 
 
 Bridegroom. l My clove, [who art] in the clefts of the rock, 
 
 * In the secret fissures of the cliffs ; 
 
 * Let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy 
 
 < voice, 
 
 * For sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is 
 
 ' comely." 5 
 
 The spouse is compared to the dove for her 
 innocence, affection, and fidelity, of which 
 this bird is the established emblem. The dove 
 is innocent. ' Be ye harmless as doves/ is one 
 of the precepts of the Saviour to his disciples, 
 who are required in this, as well as in other 
 respects, to imitate their Master, who was ' holy, 
 ' harmless, undefiled,and separate from sinners.* 
 The cleanliness, the purity, and the modesty 
 of these creatures are also no improper circum- 
 stances to describe the followers of the Lamb 
 a character very similar to that of the dove. 
 
 The dove is also the emblem of conjugal af- 
 fection and fidelity. Constant to her mate, the 
 faithful bird admits no other partner of her affec- 
 tions, and is inconsolable in his loss; insomuch, 
 that to " mourn like the widowed dove," is to 
 mourn and grieve indeed. How truly is this 
 the description of the sincere believer of the 
 church of Christ. He is the supreme object of 
 her affection " Whom have I in heaven but 
 " thee? and there is none on earth that I desire 
 " beside thee?" Without the divine presence 
 the church is utterly inconsolable. ' O that I 
 
225 
 
 c knew where I miglitfind him !' She enquires, 
 ' Have ye seen my beloved ?' or, apostrophizing 
 the great object of her regard, ' Tell me, O 
 4 thou whom my soul loveth, where thou 
 4 feedcst V 
 
 In the present instance, however, the term 
 may be rather expressive of the bridegroom's 
 love than of the bride's. * My love, my dove, 
 * my undefiled,' are terms of the strongest 
 tenderness and attachment. 
 
 Eastern doves are wont to hide themselves in 
 the clifts and caverns of rocks 1 . The dove is a 
 feeble, timid, and defenceless bird, and may 
 therefore seek to hide itself in such recesses 
 from the birds of prey, and from the storms of 
 winter. And how often has this been the case 
 with the church ? How often has she been 
 glad to hide herself in woods and solitary 
 places, yea in caverns and in clefts of the rocks, 
 to escape the storms of persecution, or the rage 
 of persecutors ? and in these retirements to 
 worship God, and enjoy communion with him, 
 out of the reach of the talons of the persecutor. 
 Ah! ye Waldenses ye Albigenses ye Pied- 
 montese how often was this your case? Yes, 
 and ye ancient British nonconformists (of 
 whom the world was not worthy) how often 
 have ye retired to some solitary cottage in the 
 wood, or in the forest how carefully have ye 
 closed the door the chimney, and every ave- 
 nue of soundthat the listening informer might 
 
 1 HarmeronSol. Song, p. 254* 
 
not hear ? But ' the Lord hearkened and heard, 
 ' and a book of remembrance was written in 
 4 his presence.' 
 
 But from the following couplet it should ap- 
 pear that solitude might be the motive of retire- 
 ment. The church is compared to a solitary 
 dove, hiding among the rocks ; and therefore 
 her Lord calls upon her to come forth from her 
 solitude, to shew her countenance and express 
 her love. This hint will afford several useful 
 reflections. 
 
 1. There is an ill-timed and improper soli- 
 tude. In the primitive church, in times of 
 persecution, there were many who had not 
 the courage to confess Christ boldly, who yet 
 dared -not treacherously renounce him ; and 
 what should these do? They retired into soli- 
 tude ; there at once to avoid their enemies 
 and enjoy their God. This was the origin of 
 the hermetic life, which was afterward carried 
 to excess; and weak, though sincere, Chris- 
 tians, fled from the standard of the cross, 
 though they loved and would not renounce it. 
 But there were others more, noble than these, 
 who were not ashamed nor afraid to avow 
 their attachment to their crucified Redeemer 
 before kings. The one sought to avail them- 
 selves of their Lord's permission, when perse- 
 cuted in one city to flee to another : the other 
 aspired to crowns of martyrdom and they at- 
 tained them. 
 
 The gentle voice of Christ reproves the ti- 
 mid conduct .of his weak disciples ' Come 
 
227 
 
 * forward/ as if he had said without a figure 
 
 * come forward, and own yourselves to be 
 
 * mine. Let me see thy countenance and hear 
 fi thy voice 1 .' 
 
 But there is probably another allusion. The 
 solitary dove retires to moan 2 among the rocks, 
 and sadly entertain her sorrows with the echo 
 of her own complaints. How true a picture 
 of many a distressed believer but let such lis- 
 ten to the call of the beloved. 
 
 ' The winter is past:' then why mourn 
 among the rocks. The gospel abounds with 
 motives and grounds of joy, and is full of to- 
 pics of consolation, You are a sinner: to 
 such only is the gospel addressed. You arc a 
 great sinner: you have the more need then to 
 seek a " great salvation." You have multi- 
 plied transgressions : and he has promised to 
 multiply pardons. You cannot repent : it is 
 his office to give repentance as well as remis- 
 sion of sins. But you have no faith : " O ye 
 *' of little faith, wherefore do ye doubt?" Why 
 fly from the Saviour you so much need ? To 
 whom will yc go? he only has the words of 
 eternal life. Why then waste your complaints 
 
 1 The following Hindostan Ode, by the Emperor Shall 
 Aulum, presents us with exactly the same form of expres- 
 
 sion. 
 
 Shew me thy face, O my love ! 
 
 * Let me hear thy voice, ere you quit me.' 
 
 Oriental Col. vol. II. p. 394. 
 
 8 * The wild dove who soothes me with her notes, like me 
 has a dejected heart.' Carlyle's Specimens of Arab. Poetry. 
 
228 
 
 on the winds, and increase your griefs, by re- 
 verberating them among the echoing rocks ? 
 Let him see your countenance let him hear 
 your voice. Go then to the throne of grace : 
 shew thyself cheerful in his house of prayer : 
 for to him thy voice is swfcet, and thy counte- 
 nance is comely. The world may deride thy 
 cries, and ridicule thy grief: but tears of peni- 
 tence are pearls in his sight; and the sighjngs 
 of a contrite heart are melody in his ears. 
 
 Ver. 15. 
 
 Virgins. Take for us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the 
 
 vines, 
 For our vines have tender grapes. 
 
 These words are evidently the language of 
 the chorus, and seem addressed by the virgins 
 to the companions of the bridegroom, re- 
 questing their protection and defence, under 
 the metaphor of defending the vineyard from 
 the foxes, which not only disturb the vineyard, 
 and devour the grapes ; but gnaw the branches 
 and roots, so as to destroy the vines. It should 
 be remembered that the Jewish weddings were 
 commonly attended with a guard ; and this 
 was particularly the case in the present in- 
 stance. See chap. III. 7. 
 
 It is pretty well agreed among the commen- 
 tators and divines, that by foxes here may allego- 
 rically be understood false prophets among the 
 Jews, and false or heretical teachers among 
 ourselves. This idea is certainly scriptural. 
 EZEKIEL says, " O Israel, thy prophets are 
 " like foxes in the desert. What do foxes in 
 
229 
 
 the desert r No doubt they lie in wait for prey; 
 watching for any animal that may fall within 
 their power, of which they may be able to 
 make a prey. On this character I beg to oiler 
 a few remarks. 
 
 The Fox is the emblem of treachery, and his 
 character, I apprehend, comprizes two things, 
 cunning and cruelty. This gives us the true 
 description of a false prophet and an herc- 
 siarch. He is a man of an artful head, and a 
 hard heart. The object of the false prophet 
 was to mislead the Israelite from the worship of 
 the true God to the adoration of idols. The 
 character of the heretic is that of an artful sec- 
 tary, who endeavours to withdraw Christians 
 from the simplicity of Christ, in order to raise a 
 party, or a name. The attentive reader may 
 observe, in the New Testament, a strong line 
 of distinction 'between mistaken brethren and 
 heretical teachers. To the former is shewn all 
 tenderness and compassion : to the latter none. 
 This can only be accounted for by marking 
 the difference of character. Heretical teachers 
 have a base and corrupt design : they are 
 charged with " cunning craftiness," whereby 
 they " lie in -wait' to deceive:" mistaken bre- 
 thren are deluded and deceived. 
 
 By little foxes may ' perhaps be meant the 
 jackalls, which though small are most dangerous 
 and destructive; for the jackall often 
 
 The LXX, and some Heb. copies, omit the second 
 ; and read, Take us the little foxes/ &c. 
 
230 
 
 the lion, and is proverbially his provider. Even 
 this may be allegorized without violence. Those 
 are the most dangerous errors which have the 
 worst moral tendency. Those erroneous 
 teachers who labour to set aside the Saviour, or 
 to smooth the way to sin, may be too justly 
 considered as the agents of him who, as " a 
 " roaring lion, goeth about, seeking whom he 
 4< may devour/' 
 
 It is commanded to take these foxes: i. e. to 
 detect, expose, and antidote their errors, and 
 separate them from our communion: and it 
 were well if the professed ministers of Christ 
 went no farther. Such expressions have been 
 too often perverted to imply the power of the 
 sword ; and Peter's sword we know was early 
 stained with blood. The reason given is, that 
 they spoil or destroy the tender grapes. Foxes, 
 it seems, live and fatten upon grapes. Stript of 
 its allegorical dress the meaning evidently is, 
 
 1. That such persons live on the spoil of 
 others : .* they devour widows houses, and for 
 * a pretence make long prayers/ 
 
 2. That these heretics prey upon young 
 Christians, and destroy the promise of their 
 tender blossoms, and their early buds. The 
 weaker age, the weaker sex, and the weaker 
 talents, are peculiarly their prey ' they lead 
 c captive silly women/ 
 
 It may be a useful improvement of this verse, 
 to point out some of the pretences that false 
 teachers employ to delude weak minds and 
 some traits of weakness that expose certain cha- 
 racters to their deceptions. 
 
231 
 
 It was a common practice among anticnt 
 heretics to affect peculiar austerities. The old 
 naturalists say, that foxes will sometimes lain 
 themselves dead in order to ensnare their prey: 
 *<o it is with some who affect to be uncommonly 
 dead and mortified to the world, in order to 
 draw disciples. Another pretence made use 
 of is, the attributing greater glory to Christ. 
 Thus, under the notion of making him our 
 sanctification, holiness has been discarded as 
 legal, and Christ himself has been made, vir- 
 tually, the minister of sin. 
 
 Among the circumstances which subject 
 certain tempers to delusion, are the following. 
 
 The love of something new and beyond the 
 vulgar ken is a great snare with weak minds. 
 They are fond of mystery, love to penetrate 
 into deep subjects of enquiry, and are particu- 
 larly pleased, to be thought wiser than their 
 fellow Christians. The gnostics appear to have 
 been of this stamp. The affectation of novelty 
 and singularity is another great snare, in as 
 much as it leads to useless and impertinent en- 
 quiries, and to be * wise above what is writ- 
 ten.' 
 
 Another dangerous temptation is, that of 
 affecting to be super-evangelical and high in 
 doctrine ; an affectation that reproaches, not 
 only the best men of modern times, but the 
 apostles, and our Lord himself, many of whose 
 discourses would by no means answer to the 
 standard of these hyper-orthodox divines. 
 
Ver. 16, 17. 
 
 My beloved is mine and I am his; 
 He feederh among the lilies. 
 Until the clay breathe, and the shades flee away, 
 Return, my beloved, and be unto me 
 Like an aritelope, or a young hart, upon the craggy 
 mountains. 
 
 These verses stand perfectly distinct from the 
 preceding, and form a sense complete of 
 themselves. The spouse expresses her satis- 
 faction in her relation to her beloved, and the 
 enjoyment of his affections, with a desire for 
 their continuance. 
 
 * My beloved is mine, and I am his V i. e. 
 I am his spouse, and he is my husband. This 
 relation between Christ and the church has 
 been already explained, and it is desirable 
 to avoid repetition ; but we may enlarge a 
 little upon the mutual affection between the 
 parties, and their mutual interest in each 
 other. 
 
 * My beloved is mine.' He is the supreme 
 object of my affection, the sum of all my de- 
 lights. c Whom have I in heaven but thee? 
 * and there is none on earth that I desire beside 
 ' thee.' The love of God is not only supreme, 
 but, where it eminently prevails, in a manner 
 absorbs all other affections. Those who love 
 God eminently, love their fellow creatures 
 in him. In him they embrace all the tender 
 
 1 ' From the moment that I heard the divine sentence, " I 
 " have breathed into man a portion of my Spirit,'* ' 1 was 
 4 assured that we were his, and he ours.' Sir JV. Jones's 
 Works, vol. I. p. 45. 
 
 4 
 
233 
 
 Connections of human life husband and wife 
 parent and child brother, and sister, and 
 friend. All are beloved in God, when they are 
 beloved for his sake ; when all human affections 
 are regulated by our regard to him. 
 
 " I am his." I am the object of his love. 
 That God should be the object of a creature's 
 love is most just and reasonable ; but why 
 should God delight himself in creatures ? How 
 wonderful that expression of the Lord, in the 
 prophet ' I will rejoice over her with sing- 
 ' ing !' 
 
 Is it enquired, How God and his elect come 
 to have this propriety in each other ? I reply, 
 
 (1.) By mutual choice. ' I have loved thee,' 
 saith the Lord, 6 with an everlasting love, and 
 ' therefore with loving kindness have I drawn 
 
 < thee.'* We love him, because he first loved 
 us.' (2.) By converting grace. ' I have called 
 
 < thee by thy name, thou art mine/ They that 
 are with the Lamb are < called, and chosen, 
 
 * and faithful.' (3.) By covenant engagement. 
 6 One shall say I am the Lord's, and another 
 
 * shall call himself by the name of Jacob.' 
 (4.) By union of Spirit. Our first father said of 
 his fair companion, ' She is bone of my bone, 
 4 and flesh of my flesh:' but the relation of 
 Christ and the church, as it is spiritual, is more 
 intimate : * He that is joined to the Lord is one 
 ' spirit.' 
 
 < He feedeth among the lilies:' that is, he 
 feedeth in the best pastures ; for in such lilies 
 
 Hh 
 
23* 
 
 appear to have grown spontaneously, like the 
 wild flowers of our meadows. This expres- 
 sion was probably proverbial, and might be of 
 similar import with a common proverb of our 
 own. When we say familiarly, such an one is in 
 clover, we mean that he is enjoying himself like 
 cattle in rich pastures; in this view it would 
 imply that the beloved, comparing him to the 
 antelope or the young hart, (as in the following 
 verse) was wont to enjoy himself in the com- 
 pany of the bride, like the deer feeding among 
 the lilies. 
 
 But as the expression is equivocal, and may 
 be taken either actively or passively, it will 
 signify either he feeds himself, or he feeds his 
 flock: we may therefore, with R. SOL. JARCHI, 
 understand it as synonimous with the expres- 
 sion of the Psalmist, ' He leadeth me into 
 * green pastures.' Either sense will admit a use- 
 ful application. 
 
 If the bridegroom be compared to the ante- 
 lope, * feeding among the lilies/ it will refer to 
 the pleasure and delight the Lord takes in the 
 company of his church. The same sentiment is^ 
 more clearly expressed in other passages of this 
 song ' O how pleasant art thou, O love, for 
 4 delights !' 
 
 If the bridegroom be considered in his pas- 
 toral character, then it applies to the Lord's 
 gracious care and attention to his people. If 
 this latter sense be preferred, perhaps the 
 whole verse may bear this explanation : ' The 
 4 Lord is my shepherd, and I am one of the 
 
235 
 
 f sheep of his pasture ; I shall not want, for he 
 6 will supply, not only the necessary support- ; 
 
 * but even the comforts and luxuries, as it wnv, 
 
 * of the divine life.' 
 
 In the preceding scene the hridegroom has 
 been supposed absent ; at the nearest he was 
 standing behind the wall, or shewing himself 
 through the lattices. The spouse now desires 
 his speedy return with the swiftness of the 
 antelope, or young hart 1 , upon the craggy 
 mountains 2 ; and she implores his stay with her 
 until the returning dawn*. 
 
 In improving this verse we may observe, 
 1. That the church, in her present state, is 
 subject to the vicissitudes of day and night ; 
 i. e. alternate seasons of light and darkness, 
 
 1 * Thou wert swift, O Morar, as the roe on the desert.' 
 Song of Selma, in Ossian's Poems. 
 
 ~ l Craggy mountains/ * Mountains of Bether? say our 
 translators and others, taking Bether for a proper name., but 
 what place this was can only be conjectured. Most cri- 
 tics, therefore, prefer taking the word according to its radical 
 idea, for ' mountains of division,' as in the margin of our Bibles ; 
 or rather divided, decussated, cleft, and craggy mountains. 
 So the LXX. opvj xo/Awpi#Twv, mountains of cavities. Buxtorf 
 says, In montibus sectionis, i. e. fectis, disparatis. 
 
 3 The sense of this verse appears to be obscured by the 
 poetical position of the words. Reduced to simple prose, the 
 fcext would read, * Return, my beloved, like an antelope or a 
 
 * young hart upon the craggy mountains ; and remain with 
 
 * me until the day breathe, and the shades flee away.' Unless 
 we chuse to give an unusual import to the particles wry* 
 and render it ^Erc that the day breathe,' &c. i. e. return, mv Iv- 
 Joved, before the morning. "The radical idea of iy, which is 
 /icrjictulty, might justify this ; (so ere and ever are connected 
 and confounded in our language) but I confess I want tr- 
 amples. 
 
prosperity and adversity, joy and sorrow ; and 
 as it is with Christ's mystical body, so is it also 
 with the individual members of which it is 
 composed. The frames of the believer are 
 various and changeable ; often suddenly so : 
 at one time joy, delight, and triumph in the 
 Lord ; at another, coldness, dejection, and 
 distress : now the brightness of an unclouded 
 day ; anon the darkness of a moonless night. 
 
 2. In such seasons of darkness and afflic- 
 tion the absence of the Redeemer is sensibly 
 felt, and his return to be ardently desired. If 
 this night be applied to the Jewish state, under 
 that dispensation the pious believers longed 
 earnestly for the dawn of the gospel day, when 
 the Sun of righteousness was to arise and 
 chase the darkness and the gloom of that 
 shadowy dispensation. If we apply it to the 
 present state, and look forward to the future 
 life, as in everlasting day of intelligence ancj 
 joy, we know how indispensable the presence 
 of our divine Shepherd is to carry us comfort- 
 ably, or even safely, through this valley of the 
 shadow of death. 
 
 3. The return of this divine Saviour is the 
 only rational way in which \ye can look for 
 returning light and joy. 
 
 The night may be illuminated by ten thou- 
 sand torches, but still darkness reigns around; 
 or it may be softened by the pale moon-beams 
 and the twinkling stars, yet is it still night; nei- 
 ther of these can chase the shadows of the 
 night, and bring the dawn. 
 
237 
 
 The beautiful imagery here employed 
 merits farther observation : ' until the day 
 
 * breathe 1 , and the shadows flee.' The dawn 
 of day in countries bordering the sea is con- 
 stantly accompanied by fresh breezes from 
 the water, which, in the east, particularly, are 
 considered as equally salubrious and delight- 
 ful ; and to these the prophet has been thought 
 to allude when he says, the ' Sun of righteous- 
 
 * ness will arise with healing under his wingsV 
 Thus indeed he arose, and at his rising the 
 prophetic Spirit, 4 that heavenly wind,' also 
 awoke, and gave health and healing, both lite- 
 rally and spiritually, to the nations among 
 whom he arose. 
 
 What was the state of the world when 
 Christ came?' < Darkness covered the earth, 
 4 and gross darkness the people :' but when he 
 arose, he came, as it were, on the wings of the 
 morning, and the shadows fled away. His 
 doctrine dispelled the clouds of ignorance, 
 which had been raised by Jewish priests and 
 Gentile philosophers ; and his example exhi- 
 bited ' a bright and shining light,' which has 
 already illuminated more than half the world, 
 
 1 Until the day break' (mSV TV*) 'according to the Ho 
 ' brew text,' says Dr. Gil/, ' until the day breathe? Until the 
 < day blow fresh' says Bp. Percy ; who adds, * In those hot 
 4 countries the dawn of the day is attended with a fine re- 
 * freshing breeze, much more grateful and desirable than the 
 return of light itself.' 
 
 * See the Christian's Elegant Repository, p. 33. 
 
238 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 Chap. III. Yer. 25. 
 
 Sjiouse. Upon my bed by night I sought him whom my sou! 
 
 loveth : 
 I sought him, but I found him not. 
 
 * I will arise now, and go about the city ; 
 
 * In the streets, and in the broad ways, 
 
 * I will seek him whom my soul loveth.' 
 I sought him, but I found him not. 
 
 The watchmen, who go round the city, found me: 
 
 * Have ye seen him whom my soul loveth?' 
 Scarcely had I passed from them, 
 
 When I found him whom my soul loveth : 
 " I held him, and would not let him go, 
 Until I had brought him to my mother's house, 
 To the apartment of her who bore me. 
 I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, 
 By the antelopes, and by the hinds of the field, 
 That ye disturb not, nor awake this lovely one until 
 he please. 
 
 THIS scene evidently opens with the morn- 
 ing : and I confess myself well satisfied with the 
 hypothesis of Hufnagel, Bathe, and Boelerlein, 
 that this and the similar passage in chap. v. 
 relate the dreams of the spouse : indeed the 
 latter passage is express, for no language can 
 more justly and beautifully describe a dream 
 than that of the spouse, ' I slept, but my 
 * heart waked.* And though the same intro- 
 duction is not used here, a parity of circum- 
 stances, and similitude of style, lead us naturally 
 to the same conclusion. 
 
 Solomon says ' $ dream cometh from the 
 
* multitude of business :' and, without enter- 
 ing into the theory of dreaming, we may ob- 
 serve from our own experience, that the same 
 objects which exercise the mind by day, often 
 agitate it by night. The merchant dreams of 
 business, tlie sportsman of the chase, and the 
 lover of the beloved object. Thus it is with 
 the spouse here. She had been ardently de- 
 sirous of the presence of her beloved, and in 
 her dream she anticipates his return : 4 Upon 
 
 * my bed by night I sought him/ 
 
 But there is another reason which might lead 
 Solomon to adopt this figurative mode of speak- 
 ing. It was in this mode that God usually re- 
 vealed himself to the prophets, arid in particu- 
 lar to the author of this poem. 
 
 This method of interpretation silences many 
 objections, and answers many queries, hard, if 
 not impossible, to be answered on any other hy- 
 pothesis. Such as, How should a princess In* 
 suffered to ramble about the city in the night, 
 and be assaulted by the watchmen ? &c. A 
 thousand circumstances combine in vision 
 which never can exist together in reality. But 
 let us examine the vision. 
 
 ' By night on my bed I sought him 1 / In- 
 
 1 Two circumstances have puzzled the commentators with- 
 out reason, namely, the absence of the beloved by night; -and 
 the spouse leading him to her mother's house. As to the 
 mer, we have already observed, (p. 146) that after the con- 
 summation it was usual for the Hebrew bride aml.bridegro 
 to pa- the remaining nights of the we^-k separate. This 
 appears also to have been the custom, at least for one r. 
 
24-0 
 
 terpreters generally consider this bed as the? 
 image of a state of supineness and of sloth : and 
 suppose that the reason the spouse found not 
 her beloved was, because she sought him in her 
 bed. But is this appropriate and just? Has 
 not a bride a right to expect her husband to be 
 the partner of her bed? 
 
 Taking the passage according to our hypo- 
 thesis, I may be permitted to offer the following 
 reflections. 
 
 First. This dream shews how much the 
 mind of the spouse was occupied with the ob- 
 ject of her affection. He was the subject of her 
 enquiry both by day and night. This will ap- 
 ply spiritually to the case of believers. DAVID 
 tells us repeatedly how much his mind was 
 occupied with God his Saviour in the night 
 season : and it appears that this was the grand 
 subject of the prophetic vision. Jacob saw 
 him on the celestial ladder; David beheld him 
 on the right hand of God ; and Daniel in the 
 clouds of heaven. 
 
 2. There appears a restlessness in the 
 
 of the week, among the Greeks. In this case it is said the 
 bride lodged at the house of her parents. [See Potter's An- 
 tiq, vol. II. p. 294.] As the Greeks borrowed many of their 
 customs from the east, it is probable such a practice might ob- 
 tain among the Hebrews during the nights of separation. But 
 how could Pharaoh's daughter sleep at her mother's? Sup- 
 pose only, that her mother had accompanied her from Egypt 
 (a circumstance probable also from ver. u. of this chapter) 
 and had a suit of apartments assigned for her in the palace, 
 and it is easy to be accounted for. Though, after all, as I 
 consider this only as a dream, I am not concerned to bring all 
 the circumstances within the verge of .probability. 
 
duct of the church, which very well represents 
 the state of a mind awakened to enquiries 
 after the Lord. She sought him a-bed; but he 
 was not there. She arose and sought him in 
 the city in the open court, and in the narrow 
 street; hither and thither she pursues him 
 enquires of all she meets, and rests not till she 
 finds him. Thus is it with an awakened soul 
 with one that seeketh after God. The mind 
 being convinced of the true and only source of 
 happiness, it is in vain to present other ob- 
 jects ; it is the beloved of her soul she seeks, 
 and her cry is with Job, 6 O that I knew where 
 * I might find him.' She may find the watch- 
 men, but they can be of no use, unless they di- 
 rect to the beloved. 
 
 We must also notice what is said of these 
 watchmen their office and their conduct. A\V 
 know that ministers of God, under both dispen- 
 sations, have been called watchmen. So the 
 Lord to Ezekiel: ' Son of man, I have set thee 
 ' a watchman over the house of Israel :' and 
 St. Paul explains the term in adapting it to mi- 
 nisters of the New Testament ' They watch 
 ' for souls/ This is doubtless meant by going 
 about the city: they are the guardians of the 
 night, and it is their office particularly to no- 
 tice such enquirers ' They found me.' 
 
 It is observable in the next place that her 
 enquiries were not eventually in vain. ' They 
 4 that seek shall find/ is the great promise of the 
 gospel. But when did she find her beloved? 
 ' It was but a little that I passed from them, 9 
 
 li 
 
namely, the watchmen. It should seem that 
 their information was of use to direct her ; 
 for she met the object of her enquiries imme- 
 diately afterward. 
 
 We must not omit to notice the affectionate 
 and expressive character she gives him 4 Him 
 
 * whom her soul loveth.' Observe she gives 
 him no name and full (as we observed above 1 ) 
 of the object of her love, she finds no name re- 
 quisite her soul loveth him, and she is ready 
 to suppose that all must know him as well as 
 she did. 
 
 She found him, and how did she then treat 
 him ? She held him, and would not let him 
 go, till she brought him to her mother's house. 
 The vision of Jacob, and the angel of Jehovah, 
 will furnish us with a true explanation of this 
 expression. He found him in Bethel : * I will 
 ' not let theego,' said he, ' except thou bless me.' 
 
 * He had power over the angel, and prevailed : 
 
 * he wept and made supplication unto himV 
 
 She brought him to -her mother s house; that 
 is, according to most commentators, to the 
 church, the temple, the house of God. Pos- 
 sibly the simple meaning may be, she con- 
 ducted him where she could best enjoy his 
 company ; but this will lead us to the same 
 idea, for where is the divine presence so much 
 to be enjoyed as in the house of God? 
 
 Will the reader say, this was all a dream ? It 
 was so; and such are all our enjoyments in the 
 
 1 See pa^e 147. . 2 $ee Gen, xxxii, 24. and Ho*, xii. .. 
 
243 
 
 present state. The golden objects of oui 
 present themselveswe embrace them, . 
 they vanish. 
 
 * This world's a dream, an empty show; 
 
 * But the bright world to which we go 
 ' Hath joys substantial and sincere: 
 
 ' When shall I wake and find me there ?' 
 
 WATTS. 
 
 Tliis will apply even to spiritual enjoymc : 
 ' When the Lord turned again the captivity of 
 6 Zion, we were like them that dream,' sayJ the 
 Psalmist. And how true is this in the expe- 
 rience of the Christian! Our brightest views of 
 the divine glory are as imperfect and transient 
 as a vision. While we enjoy these divine com- 
 forts we begin to doubt them and what is the 
 vision when withdrawn? 
 
 The repetition of the chorus shews the con- 
 clusion of another scene another day and, 
 with us, another section. But with what beauty 
 or connection is it here introduced ? She had 
 dreamed of being in the company of her 
 beloved, she supposes him still in her em- 
 braces, and she deprecates the loss of his pre- 
 sence. But I cannot forbear here introducing 
 a few more lines from my favourite commen- 
 tator WATTS. 
 
 ' I charge you, all ye earthly toys, 
 
 ' Approach not to disturb my joys ; 
 
 ' Nor sin, nor hell, come near my heart, 
 
 * Ncr cauie my Saviour to depart.' 
 
244 
 
 SECTION VI. 
 
 Chap. iii. Ver. 6 II. 
 
 ist Virgin. What is this rising; from the wilderness, like 
 
 columns of smoke, 
 
 Fuming with myrrh, and frankincense, 
 More [precious] than all the powders of the mer- 
 
 chant ? 
 ad Virgin. Behold ! Solomon's own palanquin ! 
 
 Threescore warriors surround it, the warriors 
 
 of Israel, 
 
 Every one having a sword, being skilled in war; 
 Each [with] his sword upon his thigh, 
 Because of danger in the night. 
 
 ist Virgin. A carriage hath he made for himself, 
 
 Even Solomon the king, of the wood of Lebanon. 
 The pillars thereof hath he made of silver : 
 Its carpet of gold ; its seat l of purple : 
 The midst thereof being lined with love, 
 By the daughters of Jerusalem. 
 
 2d Virgin. Go forth, ye daughters of Zion, and view King 
 
 Solomon, 
 In the crown wherewith his mother crowned 
 
 him, 
 
 In the day of his espousals, 
 In the day of the gladness of his heart. 
 
 THIS section, like the preceding, seems not 
 well to admit of division. 
 
 A grand scene now opens upon our view. 
 The royal palanquin is seen coming up from 
 the wilderness i. e. from Egypt, which lay 
 beyond the wilderness. To render this scene 
 
 1 Its cushion the same word nmo is used for a seat, or 
 saddle to ride on, Levit. xv. 9. It is properly, I think, the 
 seat of a carriage. Beds, i. e. carpets of gold and silver are 
 mentioned, Esther i. 6. 
 
245 
 
 intelligible, it may be necessary to give sonic 
 .account of the kind of carriage here intro- 
 duced, and explain the other parts of (he poe- 
 tical imagery, before we attempt any spiritual 
 application. 
 
 The use of perfumes at eastern marriages is 
 common, and, upon grand occasions, very pro- 
 fuse. Not only are the garments scented till, 
 in the Psalmist's language, they ' smell of 
 * myrrh, aloes, and cassia:' but it is customary 
 for virgins to meet and lead the procession with 
 silver-gilt pots of perfumes ; and sometimes 
 even the air around is rendered fragrant by the 
 burning of aromatics in the windows of all the 
 houses, in the streets through which the pro- 
 cession is to pass r . In the present instance, 
 so liberally were these rich perfumes burnt, 
 that, at a distance, a pillar, or pillars 2 of smoke 
 arose from them : and the perfume was so 
 rich as to exceed in value and fragrancy all the 
 powders of the merchant 5 . 
 
 1 Harmer on Sol. Song, p. 123 5. 
 
 * Twenty MSS. the LXX, Symmachus, the Syriac, and 
 Vulgate, all read this word singular (*iQn). The word used 
 for columns means strictly palm trees, which from their 
 height and straitness were often used for that purpose ; and a 
 pillar or column of smoke, in a calm atmosphere, strongly re- 
 sembles that tree rising very high, and then bending down- 
 wards. ' Column^ ad formam palmae assurgentes.' Buxtorf. 
 
 3 ''More (rich, excellent, or precious) than' I take to be the 
 exact force of the particle Q in this place, (See in Hcb. Ps. iv. 
 8. ex. 3. Prov. iii. 14. Is. x. 10. Job xxxv. 2.) and so it is 
 rendered by Junius & TremeL and Piscator. I have rendered 
 abekat (npltt) powders, rather than perfumes, as more literal ; 
 and as comprehending gold dust, which was a grand article 
 of commerce, and probably here alluded to. In preferring 
 
There is some difficulty to fix the speakers, 
 to me it appears that neither the hricle nor bride- 
 groom are introduced throughout the whole of 
 this section ; but that it is a kind of dialogue 
 between the virgins, probably in two semi-cho- 
 ruses. 
 
 The carriage here introduced appears to 
 have been a kind of palanquin of state, suffi- 
 ciently large, perhaps, to inclose both bride and 
 bridegroom 1 . The magnificence of this car- 
 
 these perfumes to gold dust, and the powders of the merchant, 
 I suppose there may be an allusion to the sacred perfumes of 
 rhe temple, which were not to be manufactured or used for 
 any other purpose, under penalty of death. 
 
 1 The original wordniDDis supposed to mean a kind of litter, 
 or open vehicle, usually called a palanquin, in which the great 
 men of the east are carried, sometimes upon elephants or ca- 
 mels, and other times on men's shoulders. The bier on 
 which Abner was carried to his grave was probably of this 
 nature. See Parkhurst in niDJ. Niebuhr says, a palanquin 
 completely ornamented with silver, covered with rich stuffs, 
 'and suspended on a handsome bamboo, will cost about 2OO/. 
 sterling. Travels, vol. II. p. 410. 
 
 In the year 1796, the British government presented the 
 Nabob of the Carnatic with a superb carriage of this nature, 
 which may even vie with Solomon's, of which the follow- 
 ing account is copied from the public prints of the time. ' The 
 beams are solid gold, the inside beautifully decorated with 
 silver lining and fringe throughout : the panels are painted 
 in the highest style of finishing, and represent various 
 groups and heads of animals, after the manner of Asia, 
 beaded with gold richly raised above the surface, and en- 
 graved. The stays, and different other ornaments, are of 
 embossed silver.' 
 
 The word afifiinon (jV)DN) used in the next verse, and 
 rendered by our translators chariot, is of very doubtful origin 
 and import. Most of the critics derive it from a root (rns) 
 implying fruitfulness, and render it a bridal-bed, which was 
 always expected to be fruitful. [So Lord Clarendon calls a 
 
riage is not merely ideal; such are to this day 
 employed by eastern nabobs, as may be 
 in the margin. 
 
 A carriage seems also alluded to in the 45th 
 psalm, but differing materially from this. That 
 resembles more the war-chariot of a conqueror, 
 and the prince goeth forth to victory, with his 
 sword girded on his thigh. This is the palan- 
 quin of a new-married pair, accompanied with 
 festivity and joy. In an allegorical view, the 
 object intended is probably the same, only con- 
 sidered in a different point of view. 
 
 But what is this object? The TARGUM and 
 Jewish commentators explain it of the tem- 
 ple ; and this was indeed a magnificent object. 
 But something grander than the temple is here; 
 and THEODORET, and other Christian writers, 
 explain it of the propagation of the gospel by 
 its first ministers, whom he considers, not inv 
 perly, as pillars of the church. 
 
 The success of the gospel is sometimes consi- 
 
 numerous family, ' The offspring of a very fruitful bed.'J 
 But then it must mean such a bed as the Rabins say the 
 bride used to be carried in from her father's house r 
 husband's : i. e. a palanquin or litter, and so the word is used, 
 in the Misnah. Avcnarius makes it a compound word., 
 fying a carriage upon wheels; but the LXX. simply 
 it <><3p/ov, a carriage ; and from the similarity of s< 
 ff/wj, among others, has supposed the term to have bee; 
 ginally Greek, and hebraised (with other foreign words) by 
 Solomon. Pausanius mentions a nuptial chariot v 
 tained three persons, the bride, the bridegroom, and hi* , 
 Something like this is the Indian palanquin called 
 in which the bride and bridegroom are cani 
 shoulders, 
 
dered under the image of a victory, and at 
 other times under that of a marriage festival. 
 The latter is the .figure now before us. This 
 gospel chariot has set most of the expositors a 
 riding ' upon the back of all order and cleco- 
 * rum.' The love of allegory is a great snare 
 to a commentator ; and the small expence of 
 genius or labour necessary to please the mil- 
 lion, in this way, has tempted many into a 
 method of interpretation, which has given the 
 enemies of gospel truth too just occasion of re- 
 proach and ridicule. Instead then of distinctly 
 considering the top and bottom, the pillows 
 and the lining, &c. let us observe in this car- 
 riage an image of the magnificence and beau- 
 ty security and perpetuity of the gospel. 
 
 1. The magnificence and beauty of the 
 gospel is like the simple architecture of the 
 antients. Its grandeur is not that of a heavy 
 uniform pile of buildings ; nor does its beauty 
 arise from a profusion of unmeaning orna- 
 ments: but there is a magnificence and unity 
 in the design, a proportion and symmetry in its 
 parts, which forms a character of beautiful sim- 
 plicity. A few circumstances may be men- 
 tioned. 
 
 The grand design of the gospel is the glory 
 of the divine perfections, in their harmony and 
 connection. The God of Christians is a 
 Deity 
 
 full orb'd, 
 
 In his whole round of attributes complete.' 
 
 All human schemes sacrifice one attribute to 
 
249 
 
 the honour of another; usually justice and ho- 
 liness to mercy and benevolence. Hen* 
 ' mercy and truth meet together; rightcou 
 ' and peace kiss each other.' 
 
 The gospel exhibits a unity of design, a 
 beautiful simplicity and proportion in all its 
 parts. Such is the relation and connection be- 
 tween the truths of revelation, that one cannot 
 be rejected or denied alone. They are links 
 of the same chain, which is broken if one be 
 lost. The doctrine of human depravity con- 
 nects with that of gratuitous pardon. The doc- 
 trine of human imbecility with that of divine 
 influences ; and so of the others. Each truth 
 hath also its appropriate station in the system ; 
 and the various doctrines are like the steps of 
 Jacob's ladder ; they connect earth and hea- 
 ven. * For whom he predestinated, them IK? 
 6 also called; whom he called, them he also 
 
 * justified ; and whom he justified, them lie also 
 
 * glorified.' 
 
 The beauty of the gospel, I have said, arises 
 in great measure from its simplicity. It has 
 indeed been loaded with rites and ceremonies; 
 but these are meretricious ornaments, altoge-. 
 ther foreign and unsuitable. Truth is like the 
 Ionic column, which charms from its simplicity ; 
 and when disguised by foreign ornaments i> 
 like the same pillar loaded with the votive 
 gifts, the cockle-shells and relics of pilgrims- 
 It is the same, but it is obscured it is de- 
 graded. 
 
 V. The scene before us may represent the 
 Kk 
 
security and permanency of the gospel. The 
 gospel indeed first spread, not only without, 
 but in opposition to all the powers on earth. 
 Uncoimtenanced and unprotected, Who could 
 have thought that twelve poor fishermen 
 . could have propagated through the world a 
 system so .unflattering to human vanity, so re- 
 pulsive to human passions ? But they were not 
 unprotected. Of this chariot it is said, that 
 threescore valiant men are about it, i. e. that it 
 is securely guarded. So was the gospel. Not 
 by human wisdom or human might; but by the 
 Spirit and the power of God. This guard is 
 like that of the prophet Elijah: He appeared 
 unprotected and alone, and his servant trem- 
 bled at the surrounding hosts c O my father, 
 
 i T r T i 11 i 
 
 * the chariots ot Israel, and the horsemen 
 
 * thereof!" But when his eyes were 'opened, 
 behold the mountain was' filled with chariots 
 and horses of fire. Such has been the security 
 of the gospel. * A hand unseen* has protected 
 it against all the powers of tyranny and perse- 
 cution : and hence it remains to this day, and 
 shall survive all its enemies and opposers. 
 
 How often have the princes of the world 
 threatened to annihilate the gospel ! And when 
 the sword has failed, 'and there has appeared no 
 hope of destroying it by force, the powers of 
 wit, of genius, and of learning, have confede- 
 rated to oppose it. For a moment they par- 
 tially succeeded, and began to rear their mo- 
 numents of victory. But already the colossus 
 of infidelity begins to crumble, and the stone 
 
251 
 
 cut out of the mountain without hands shall 
 fall on it and grind it into powder 1 . 
 
 3. The gospel is a system of benevolence 
 and love. Of this chariot it is said, that it is 
 4 lined with love ;' that is probably, the lining 
 was wrought with amatory emblems of which 
 this book might furnish a variety as the rose 
 and lily, the dove, the mandrake, and many 
 others 2 . Apply this to the gospel it is lined 
 with love it is full of love for what is the 
 gospel but the good news of the love of God 
 to sinners ? And what is its design, but to kin- 
 dle the purest love in the hearts of believers, 
 both toward God and to each other? While 
 this scheme of salvation ascribes " Glory to 
 " God in the highest," it proclaims also 
 '* peace on earth, and good will towards 
 " men.'' 
 
 This carnage was lined with love by the 
 daughters of Jerusalem, and probably received 
 as a present from them 3 ; for we know that the 
 Jewish women excelled in needle-work and 
 
 1 See Dan. ii. 35. and Matt. xxi. 44. 
 
 2 Lady M. W. Montague observes, the inside of the 
 Turkish coaches is painted with baskets and nosegays ot 
 flowers, intermixed commonly with little poetic; 1 .! mottoes. 
 And it appears by a quotation just given, (p. 246) that the 
 Asiatic palanquins are embellished in a manner somewhat 
 similar. 
 
 5 The preposition mem (Q) is not most usually by but 
 from ; in the present instance it probably includes both. 
 Le Clerc says, * Mediamque stratam puellaruni Jerosolymi- 
 c tarum amore ;' and Bp. Percy, ( The middle thereof is 
 < wrought [in needle- work] by the daughters of Jerusalem, 
 * [as a testimony of their] love.* 
 
252 
 
 embroidery ; and it appears from this song, that 
 it was not uncommon for the virgins, her at- 
 tendants, to make presents to the bride. May 
 not this be considered as an image of the 
 gospel adorned by the lives of its professors ? 
 especially young converts, whose zeal and love 
 are often eminently conspicuous? 
 
 4. The gospel dispensation contains a grand 
 display of the royal mediatorial glories of the 
 Lord Jesus. It is not the chariot only, but he 
 that rideth in the chariot, who merits our ad- 
 miration. ' Go forth and view King Solomon :' 
 but behold, ' A greater than Solomon is here.' 
 Jesus the true prince of peace, in whom are hid 
 all the treasures of wisdom and of knowledge. 
 And it is a leading design of the gospel to ex- 
 hibit him in his crown in all the glories of his 
 original dignity, and mediatorial character. 
 
 The gospel exhibits Jesus in all the glories of 
 his primeval dignity ' Me was in the form of 
 
 * God, and thought it no robbery to be equal 
 
 * with God.' ' The word was with God, and 
 
 * the word was God.' ' The brightness of his 
 
 * Father's glory, and the express image of his 
 1 person.' 
 
 But we have here chiefly to contemplate his 
 mediatorial glory, and especially his kingly 
 office Let us go forth and behold King Jesus 
 * the King of kings, and the Lord of 
 lords/ 
 
 The kingdom of Christ has been greatly 
 mistaken both by his enemies and friends. 
 ' We. have no king but Caesar/ said the former, 
 
253 
 
 insinuating that his authority was inconsistent 
 with the civil power ; and often has this charge 
 been reiterated on his followers ; and stirred 
 up more persecution than any other pretence. 
 
 * If thou let this man go, thou art not Ca> 
 
 * sar's friend/ stifled all the feelings of hu- 
 manity in Pilate, as it has since done in many 
 others, who prefer Caesar's plaudit and rewards 
 to the approbation of the great Supreme. 
 
 * But my kingdom,' said the Redeemer, * is 
 
 * not of this world/ Let us enquire briefly in 
 what respects it chiefly stands distinguished. 
 First, It is not a temporal kingdom* Jesus did 
 not aspire to the throne of Herod, or of Cassar. 
 He levied no army, and he assumed no state : 
 and I am persuaded that he never will. That 
 millennial dream, which brings him to reside on 
 earth, and gives him a temporal dominion, de- 
 bases the King of glory to an earthly prince. 
 ' Behold, the heaven is his throne, and the earth 
 
 * his footstool!' 
 
 Nor is the kingdom of Christ a mere exercise 
 of his authority in the churches, or congrega- 
 tions of his professing people : it may be a parr, 
 but it is a very inferior branch of his sovereign- 
 ty. In short, his kingdom is in the hearts of 
 men: * Thy people shall be willing in the day 
 
 * of thy power.' And such is that power, that 
 these volunteers of grace shall be numerous as 
 the dew drops of morning ; and ' in the beauty 
 
 * of holiness' shall they be inlisted, and en- 
 rolled r . 
 
 1 Ps, ex. 
 
Bat his dominion is not only in the hearts 
 of his friends, but of his enemies. ' He is King 
 ' of kings, and Lord of lords/ ' The king's 
 
 * heart is in the hand of the Lord, and he 
 
 * turneth it, as he doth the rivers of waters, 
 ' whithersoever he pleascth.' The empire of 
 his Providence is universal supreme eter- 
 nal. 
 
 5. The crown here more particularly refer- 
 red to appears to be the nuptial crown ' the 
 ' crown wherewith his mother crowned him in 
 
 * the day of his espousals.' Nuptial crowns 
 were common both with the Jews and Greeks ; 
 among the latter the bride was crowned by her 
 mother, and it should seem by this allusion, 
 as Bp. PERCY observes, that the same custom 
 obtained among * the Hebrews 1 . On inferior 
 occasions these might be only flowery gar- 
 lands 2 ; but as the word here used is elsewhere 
 taken for a royal and a golden crown 3 , it is 
 most probable that such a crown is to be un- 
 derstood here. ' The day of his espousals is, 
 6 more literally, the day of his contracting affi- 
 
 * nity by marriage ;' in which I conceive is a 
 particular allusion to the marriage of Solomon 
 with Pharaoh's daughter : This might well be 
 called ' the day of the gladness of his heart,' 
 as it allied him to the king of Egypt, the first 
 sovereign of the age, (next to Solomon ;) as well 
 as because it put him in possession of his be- 
 loved bride. 
 
 1 Ezek. xvi. 8, 12. * Wisdom, ii. ;. : Ps. xxi. 3. 
 
255 
 
 Some readers many expect me to be minute, 
 and to distinguish the mother, the bride, and 
 the daughters of Zion here referred to ; but I 
 conceive this minuteness to. be the bane of just 
 interpretation of scripture allegories; and that 
 the chuvch, or true believers, may be consi- 
 .dered in certain respects under different rela- 
 tions to Christ, is evident from his own words: 
 
 * He that heareth my words, and keepeth them, 
 1 the same is my mother, and my sister, and my 
 ' brother/ 
 
 Should I be asked, which is the day of the 
 gladness. of the Redeemer'* s heart? I would an- 
 swer, that day in 'which his people become re- 
 lated to him by their covenant engagements, 
 and united to him by living faith ; which may 
 be called the day of their espousals. Then they 
 become his jew:els^ his joy-. his, crown; and 
 then they Unite with the whole company in 
 heaven and on earth to . * crown him Lord of 
 ' all/ 
 
 I have t one more, remark to add on this 
 chapter, which I borrow from Mr. Dcrham ; 
 namely, that 'there scorns to be a: gradation in 
 these verses. >l! First, the spouse speaks of 'Solo- 
 mon^-then of King Solomon, and lastly of 
 King Solomon in his omvz; on which that 
 savoury coii^ixicntatpr remarks, that the longer 
 the church (whom he supposes to be the 
 speaker) < speaks of Christ, and insists in men- 
 
 * tioning his excellency, her thoughts draw the 
 
 * deeper, she sets him up the higher, and be- 
 e comes warmer in her apprehensions, affec- 
 c tions, and expressions concerning him/ 
 
25 fi 
 
 SECTION VII. 
 
 Chap. IV. Ver. i 6. 
 
 Behold thou art beautiful, my consort ; 
 
 Behold thou art beautiful ! 
 
 Thine eyes are doves, behind thy veil. 
 
 Thy hair is like a flock of goats, 
 
 Which come up sleek from [mount 1 ] Gilead. 
 
 Thy teeth are like a flock [newly] shorn, 
 
 Which ascend from the washing: 
 
 All of them bearing twins, 
 
 And none of them miscarrying. 
 
 Like a brede of scarlet are thy lips, 
 
 And thy speech is agreeable. 
 
 Like tlie flower of the pomegranate * 
 
 Are thy cheeks, behind thy veil. 
 
 Thy neck is like the tower of David, buildoi 
 for an armory ; 
 
 A thousand bucklers hang thereon, 
 
 All shields of mighty men. 
 
 Thy two breasts are like twin fauns of the an- 
 telope, 
 
 Feeding among the lilies. 
 
 Until the day breathe, and the shades flee 
 away 2 , 
 
 I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, 
 
 [ 3 And] to the hill of frankincense. 
 
 THE royal pair having alighted from their 
 carriage, Dr. PERCY supposes the ceremony 
 
 1 The word (^in) mount is wanting in nine MSS. LXX. 
 and Arabic, and seems to clog the sense. 
 
 ' The travels of Egmont and Heyman mention that the 
 summer heats on the coast of the Holy Land are greatly mo- 
 derated by the sea breezes every morning and evening. (See 
 Hanner on Sol. Song, p. 283, 4.) And the late Mr. Robin- 
 son, of Cambridge, mentioned, on the authority of his son, 
 who was then at Smyrna, 'that every morning, about sun- 
 
 * rise, a fresh gale of wind blew from the sea across the land, 
 
 * which, from its wholesomeness and utility in clearing the 
 
 * infected air, is always called the DOCTOR,.' Christian's 
 Elegant Repository.' p. 33. 
 
 J Nearly sixty MS. omit this 1 and. 
 
257 
 
 V 
 
 of unveiling the bride ' here to follow, and give 
 occasion to his encomium on those features, 
 which the veil in great measure concealed, as 
 the eyes, the cheeks, the teeth, &c. This ce- 
 remony was performed among the Greeks on 
 the third day, when the bride appeared first in 
 company without her veil, and on this occasion 
 received presents from her husband. Some- 
 thing like this might be the custom among 
 the Hebrews, with whom also this was a most 
 essential article of dress. 
 
 But I am by no means satisfied, either that 
 the Hebrews had such a custom, or if they had, 
 that it is here alluded to ; on the contrary, 
 verse 3. seems to intimate that she was still 
 veiled : and I observe that the eastern poets 
 celebrate the charms of the fair through their 
 veils, and improve this circumstance into an 
 elegant compliment 2 . 
 
 In running over the various beauties of her 
 person he compares her eyes, as before 3 , to 
 
 1 The Hebrew particle ("MOD) has been rendered both 
 within, without., and beh lnd\ the last seems the more exact 
 meaning, as may be seen in Parkhurst : i. e. her eyes beaming 
 from behind her veil, as it is withdrawn, are compared to 
 doves. That ryOtf Tsammat signifies (he veil, rather than 
 the locks, as in the common version, is the opinion of Patrick, 
 Parkhurst, Harmer, Percy, and most modern expositors. So 
 Symmachus in loc. and LXX. in Is. xlvii. 2. 
 
 ~ So Hafez, ' Thy cheeks sparkle even under thy veil.' 
 Sir JV. Jones's Works, vol. I. 453. 
 
 Another Persian poet says, * It is difficult to gaze upon the 
 sun without the medium of a cloud: View, therefore, O 
 Saieb, the lovely face of thy mistress through her veil.' Orient. 
 Coll. vol. II. 23. 
 
 3 Chap. i. 15. 
 
 JU 1 
 
258 
 
 doves her hair, for its sleekness and abundance, 
 to a flock of goats from Gilead * and her teeth, 
 for their whiteness, evenness, and uniformity, to 
 a shorn flock to a flock of ewes bearing twins, 
 and none coming before their time 1 . Her lips 
 also he compares to scarlet threads, and com- 
 mends her speech as agreeable and charming. 
 
 The next article of the comparison is more 
 difficult to adjust If we were to preserve the 
 common version, ' thy temples within thy 
 
 * locks,' we might say the forehead was divided 
 by the locks of hair into compartments like those 
 of the pomegranate ; but I confess myself satis- 
 fied that the word for the temples 3 must, as 
 learned men have observed, include, or rather 
 intend, the cheeks, which are always a promi- 
 nent object in the description of female beauty; 
 
 The word mount is omitted in several MSS. the LXX, 
 and Arabic, as in chap. vi. 5. Its omission makes a very slight 
 variation in the original, and its insertion rather clogs and ob- 
 scures the verse, the sense of which is at best equivocal. Ei- 
 ther, i. Up from Gilead to Jerusalem means from the coun- 
 try to the capital, as from Highgate up to London so Percy ; 
 or 2. from the lower to the higher parts of the mountain 
 Boc/utrt and Patrick ; or 3. the words may perhaps be 
 rendered, which shine (or browse) upon Mount Gilead, co- 
 vering it from bottom to top Dr. Hunt. Gilead appears to 
 have been a place famous for pasturage, and probably they 
 used to sheer sheep at the bottom of it. 
 
 Some expositors suppose the hair and teeth are compared 
 to the hair of goats and teeth cf sheep ; the similarity may 
 be exact enough, but this idea is far from natural or elegant. 
 
 * Bp. Percy follows Le Clerc in rendering niQ'WiQ sim- 
 ply twins, and rtett; orba, deprived, as in Jer. xviii. 21. ' all 
 
 * of them twins, and none hath lost its fellow.' New Trans. 
 
 3 iripl, JVlvj^ov ffou, LXX Gensetuae; Futgatt, Pagninus, 
 Cocccius. 
 
259 
 
 and the comparison of these to the flower of the 
 pomegranate ' is, according to Sir W. JONES, a 
 common image in Asiatic poetry. Farther, if 
 the bridal veil of the Hebrew ladies was like 
 that of the Persians 1 , made of red silk or mus- 
 lin, it would throw a glow over the whole 
 countenance, that will account more fully for 
 this comparison. If my reader, however, ad- 
 heres to our translators in rendering it 4 a piece,' 
 or section c of the pomegranate/ it may be re- 
 marked that the fruit itself, when cut open, is 
 red, as well as the blossom 3 . 
 
 The spouse's neck, adorned with necklaces, is 
 compared to the tower of David, which was 
 built for an armory, hung with shields and 
 bucklers. Of this tower we know nothing cer- 
 tain, but that from the comparison it must have 
 been tall, slender, erect, and elegant. Such the 
 house of the forest of Lebanon is supposed to 
 have been, which was furnished with many 
 hundred shields and targets of beaten gold 4 , 
 
 , Eruptio floris, Stmonls : Balaustium., Guarlnl. ' As 
 f the opening blossom of the pomegranate.' Patrick after 
 Castell, and Henley in Lowth's Lect. 
 
 2 The bridal veil of the Persian ladies was of red silk or 
 muslin, (called by the Greeks euvoq, and by the Romans^m- 
 meum.J Such was Rebecca's veil (*fj) Gen. xxiv. 65. and 
 therein, Isa. iii. 19, according to Schrocder. Orient. Col. 
 vol. I. p. 125. 
 
 3 Thy cheeks are as a piece of a pomegranate,' which 
 when cut up is of a beautiful vermilion. Dr. Dwell. ' Like 
 * a slice of a pomegranate are thy cheeks.' Dr. Hodgson. 
 
 4 See aChron.ix. 16. comp. with Isa. xxii. 8. Mr. Sandys 
 says, this tower of David was a high tower, * in the utmost 
 
260 
 
 intended no doubt to do honour to those brave 
 men who signalized themselves in the defence 
 of their country. The metaphor intimates that, 
 thus adorned, her appearance was brilliant and 
 captivating, and her charms as potent as the ar- 
 mour of the warrior. 
 
 The description closes with the breasts, which 
 are compared to twin fauns of the antelope or 
 gazel, feeding among the lilies. BOCHART ', 
 and others, explain this of the nipples upon 
 the bosom, like young gazels in the corn-fields, 
 where the lilies were wont to grow : but I have 
 my doubts whether any thing more is intended 
 than to describe them as beautiful, and elegant 
 in form, like those lovely animals ; which ap- 
 pear to be a favourite object of comparison 
 with the writer, not only in this song, but also 
 in the book of Proverbs, where he recommends 
 fidelity to the marriage covenant in these figu- 
 rative terms c Rejoice with the wife of thy 
 youth. Let her be as the loving hind and 
 pleasant roe ; let her breasts satisfy thee at all 
 times, and be thou ravished with her love 2 .' 
 
 In the concluding verse the king compares 
 his bride to a mountain of myrrh, or hill of 
 frankincense, alluding to those fragrant groves 
 of spices which were to be found in that coun- 
 
 * angle of a mountain, whose ruins are still extant.' As the 
 Jews built with white stone or marble, this has been supposed 
 a compliment to the spouse's complexion. But see note on 
 chap. vii. 4. 
 
 1 Hierozoic. torn. I. b. iii. c. 24, 
 
 " Chap. v. 19. 
 
261 
 
 try 1 ; and implying the same sentiment ex- 
 pressed in a subsequent chapter, concerning the 
 beloved. .' His mouth is most sweet, yea, he 
 f is altogether lovely.'' In this verse is also an 
 allusion to the chorus in a preceding chapter, 
 where the beloved is compared to an antelope, 
 (as he has just compared the breasts of the 
 spouse to its twin fauns) and he intimates in 
 reply, that as the antelope, flies to the moun- 
 tains, so would he hie to the arms of his bride; 
 and as she had expressed her desire, ' until the 
 < day breathe and the shades flee away,' he 
 would solace himself in her chaste embraces*. 
 The whole of the above description com- 
 prizes maturity, health, portliness, and beauty; 
 which are the general ideas suggested by the 
 imagery, and might each be a little amplified 
 without the violation of propriety or indeco- 
 rum ; but it is here unnecessary, as they all oc- 
 cur separately in different passages of the 
 poem : I shall only therefore suggest a few 
 
 1 It is said of Pompey the Great, that when he passed over 
 Lebanon, and by Damascus, he passed through sweet-smelling 
 groves and woods of frankincense and balsam. Flows de 
 gest. de Rom. 1. 3. c. 5. 
 
 The eastern poets, supposing angels not to be pure intelli- 
 gences, feign that they have bodies of musk and amber, an 
 image very similar to this of Solomon. See Harmcr on Sol. 
 Song, p. 290. 
 
 The vau 0) in the last line of this verse rendered and, is 
 omitted in nearly sixty MSS. but is found in the LXX. 
 
 2 This may seem hardly consistent with what is observed 
 above, of the new married pair being separate, after the first 
 night, during the remainder of the nuptial week ; but perhaps 
 that custom might not be so rigid as to admit no exception, 
 especially when the bridegroom was a sovereign prince. 
 
262 
 
 hints on some particular branches of the de- 
 scription. 
 
 Fine hair was not only an esteemed beauty 
 among the Hebrews (witness the instance of 
 Absolom) but was considered as a natural veil, 
 and in married women, a sign of subjection to 
 the matrimonial yoke 1 . This applies to the 
 church ; for as * the husband is the head of the 
 ' wife,' even so is ' Christ the head of the 
 ' church ;' and as wives should be in subjection 
 * to their own husbands/ so should the church 
 be subject unto Christ ' in all things.' 
 
 We have already considered the graces of 
 the Spirit as the ornaments of the church, more 
 precious than gold or silver, or precious stones. 
 It seems from the figurative language here 
 used, that these female ornaments were often 
 wrought in the shape of shields and bucklers ; 
 as, among us, the ladies wear jewels in the form 
 of hearts and anchors. These significant orna- 
 ments, wrought in the necklace, would give the 
 female neck the appearance of what poetry 
 would call, a little armory : and in these orna- 
 ments we may farther trace the resemblance of 
 the Christian graces. The golden shields of faith 
 adorn the neck of the church, and of the be- 
 liever. And, as it has been hinted that these gol- 
 den shields and bucklers were hung up in the 
 tower of David in honour of his worthies, and 
 to excite others to similar achievements : so 
 hath the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews 
 exhibited \hz shields, (i. e. the faith) of Old Tes~ 
 
 9 
 
 J i Cor. xi. 15. 
 
263 
 
 lament believers, in honour to them, and as an 
 encouragement to us. 
 
 What may be particularly signified by the 
 breasts of the church, will be examined more 
 particularly when we come to the last chapter 
 of this book. At present I would only observe, 
 the comparison here employed may be chiefly 
 designed to intimate, that the bosom of the 
 church, and of the believer, is the seat of purity, 
 tenderness and affection; or, as Mrs. ROWE ex- 
 presses it : 
 
 c Her breasts the seat of innocence and truth, 
 
 * Harmless and pure as twins of gentle roes, 
 
 * Which in some fragrant spot of lilies feed.' 
 
 When the heavenly bridegroom speaks of 
 seeking, and resting in the chaste embraces of 
 his church, every wanton idea should be at in- 
 finite distance. In different passages of the Old 
 Testament, the Lord is said to delight himself, 
 and to take pleasure in his saints to rejoice over 
 his church as a bridegroom in his bride to rest 
 in his love- and to rejoice with singing. Ex- 
 pressions which describe in the strongest man- 
 ner that communion of the saints with their 
 Redeemer which is the leading subject of this 
 poem 
 
 Come, let me love: or is my mind 
 Harden'cl to (tone, or froze to ice ? 
 I fee the Hefted Fair-one bend, 
 And ftoop t' embrace me from the fkies. 
 
 O ! 'tis a thought would melt a rock, 
 And make a heart of iron move, 
 That thofe fweet lips, that heav'nly look, 
 Should feek and wifh a mortal love !' 
 
 WATTS 
 
SECTION VII L 
 
 Chap. IV. Ver. 7, 8. 
 
 Thou art all beautiful, my consort, 
 
 And blemish is not in thee. 
 
 Come unto me from Lebanon, O spouse, 
 
 [Come] unto me from Lebanon. 
 
 Look from the top of Amana, 
 
 From the top of Shenir and Hermon ; 
 
 From the dens of the lions, 
 
 From the mountains of the leopards. 
 
 FROM the queen being here first, and in 
 this section only, called the bride or spouse, it 
 has been concluded that this section imme- 
 diately follows the consummation of the mar- 
 riage : but this is by no means certain. Admit- 
 ting that circumstance to be alluded to, surely 
 it was not improper at two or three days dis- 
 tance ; and, as to the word itself, it seems not 
 so properly to express the bride's connection 
 with her husband, as her relation to his fa- 
 mily *. 
 
 It is difficult, and of little importance, to 
 ascertain exactly the mountains here referred to, 
 farther than that they formed the boundaries of 
 the country, and were dangerous to travellers, 
 as being the haunts of wild beasts, and of men 
 
 L The word Calah (pfa)i says Mr. Parkhunt, is a term of 
 affection and esteem, used tp express the relation of a son's 
 wife to his father and mother, q. d. a perfect one', so the 
 French call a daughter-in-law une belle file ;. i. e. a fine 
 daughter. See Gen. xi. 31. i Sam. iv. 19, &c. The pro- 
 noun my is not used with this word in the original. 
 
perhaps little less savage and ferocious ! . The 
 general import of the invitation is, however, 
 sufficiently clear ; namely, that the king in- 
 vites 2 the bride to his arms, as a place of complete 
 security from all the dangers to which she had 
 been, or might in future be exposed. The 
 envy of her brothers had driven her among the 
 vineyards, which usually were planted in the 
 mountains her own fears, had made her like 
 a dove hiding in the rocks: but now, secure in 
 the bosom of the wise, the mighty, the puis- 
 sant Solomon, she might look around with con- 
 fidence and pleasure, and smile at enemies and 
 dangers. 
 
 The application of this sentiment is clear 
 and natural. Where can the church, or the 
 believer, find safety, or happiness, or comfort, 
 but in the arms of her beloved? Mr. HARMER 
 thinks that the mountains of prey (as the 
 Psalmist calls them 3 ) are here used for the 
 regions of idolatry, of \vhieh Egypt was one of 
 the most remarkable. And certainly, if Pha* 
 
 1 Amana seems to be the same as Abana, 2 Kings v. 12. 
 (where the Ken reads Amana) So the Targum on this 
 place. These were all perhaps different parts of the same 
 ridge of mountains, reaching to a considerable extent, and 
 separating Judea from Syria. Dr. Blair remarks, ' Every 
 
 * thing in description should be as marked and particular as 
 
 * possible, in order to imprint on the mind a distinct and com- 
 
 * plete image. A hill, a river, or a lake rises up more con- 
 f spicnous to the fancy, when some particular lake, or river, 
 
 * or hill is specified, than when the terms are left general ;' 
 and here the learned professor quotes the verses under con- 
 sideration as examples. Lect. XL. vol. III. 
 
 The Hebrew- is not imperative but future, 
 3 Psal. Ixxvi. 4. 
 
 Urn 
 
raoli's daughter was, as we have all alortg 
 supposed, a proselyte to the worship of Jeho- 
 vah, it must be no small comfort and satisfac- 
 tion to her to reside where that worship was 
 established, ,and where she could be under no 
 fear of persecution or reproach on account of 
 her religion. 
 
 The. import of the original word for spouse 
 leads us to remarks, in passim, that the same act 
 of union which unites us to Christ, the spiri- 
 tual bridegroom, introduces us also into the 
 family of heaven, and makes us * sons and 
 
 * daughters of the Lord Almighty.' The en- 
 comium on the spouse must bring to our recol- 
 lection his infinite grace, who * loved the 
 4 church, and gave himself for it; that he might 
 6 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? 
 
 Chap. IV. Ver.9 ii. 
 Bridegroom. Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, [my] 
 
 spouse, 
 Thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine 
 
 eyes, 
 
 With one chain of thy neck. 
 How beautiful is thy love, my sister, [my] spouse; 
 How much more excellent than wine, 
 And the odour of thine ointments than all per^ 
 
 fumes ! 
 
 Thy lips, O spouse, drop [as] the honey-comb ; 
 Honey and milk are under thy tongue : 
 And the odour of thy garments is as the odour 
 
 of Lebanon. 
 
 There is a singularity in this imagery which 
 
267 
 
 lias much perplexed the critics, and perhaps it 
 is not possible to ascertain the meaning of the 
 poet beyond a doubt. Supposing the royal 
 bridegroom to have had a profile, or side view 
 of his bride in the present instance, only one 
 eye, or one side of her necklace would be ob- 
 servable; yet this charms and overpowers him 1 . 
 TERTULLIAN mentions a custom in the east, of 
 women unveiling only one eye in conversa- 
 tion, while they keep the other covered: and 
 NIEBUHR. mentions a like custom in some 
 parts of Arabia 2 . This brings us to nearly the 
 same interpretation as the above. 
 
 Some authors think it necessary to supply a 
 word here, and read ' one glance from thine 
 ' eyes 3 :' and, in the next member of the sen- 
 tence, instead of one chain, ' one turn of thy 
 4 neck;' and this certainly agrees with the 
 
 1 So Ainsworth, Harmer, &c. The original for c thou 
 < hast ravished my heart' is but one word (orCQb), and sig- 
 nifies unhcarted, as it is rendered by the LXX. (fx^ptora;), 
 Aben Ezra, &c. Some have indeed attempted to give a 
 contrary meaning, as, having heartened him, but this is ex- 
 tremely unnatural and inelegant. To skin is to take off the 
 skin ; and to embowel, to take out the bowels. When the 
 Queen of Sheba saw King Solomon, there was 'no more 
 4 spirit in her' which seems to be a synonimous expression. 
 Travels in Arabia, vol. I. p. 262. 
 
 3 For intt, masc. the Keri and many MSS. read n)!N fern, 
 to agree with jy, which has occasioned a suspicion that *O, 
 or some such word, may have been dropt from the text in 
 transcribing; Le Clerc and Bp. Percy make no scruple to 
 supply this, and even Junius and Ainsworth suppose it to be 
 understood. The mem Q prefix leans also to this interpre- 
 tation. Dr. Hodgson reads 4 at once with thine eyes, 
 
 * at once with the chain around thy neck.' 
 
268 
 
 Asiatic style, and is not without respectable au- 
 thorities '. 
 
 Either of these explanations conveys the 
 same general idea, that the slightest view of 
 the spotise was extremely captivating. The 
 rest of the imagery is as easy and natural as it 
 is beautiful. The comparison of her conversa- 
 tion to milk and honey is most eminently so. 
 ' Pleasant words are an honey-comb, sweet to 
 
 * the soul, and health to the bones.' 
 
 These general ideas of the agreeableness of the 
 church to Christ, both in her looks and conver- 
 sation, having been remarked on in a preced- 
 ing section, I shall only add here the inter- 
 pretation of the Targum on the last verse of the 
 paragraph. * When the priests pray in the 
 ' holy court, their lips drop as the honey- 
 ' comb; and so does thy tongue, O thou modest 
 6 damsel, when thou delivered songs and hymns, 
 
 * sweet as milk and honey; and the smell of 
 
 * the priests garments is as the smell of Leba- 
 
 non 1 .' 
 
 1 Parallel passages might be quoted from many eastern 
 poets. The Song of Ibrahim says, * One dart from your 
 
 * eyes has pierced through my heart,' and in the Songs 
 of Gitagovmda, we find * a slave acknowledging himself 
 ' bought by a single glance from thine eyes, and a toss of thy 
 
 * disdainful eye-brows.' Aslat. Research, vol. III. p. 400. 
 
 * Perfumed garments were a favourite luxury with the 
 antients. Of the Messiah it is said, * All thy garments smell 
 f of myrrh, aloes, and cassia.* (See Prelim. Ess. p. 83.) 
 Nor were they peculiar to the Hebrews. Homer relates that 
 gave Ulysses * sweet smelling garments.' 
 
269 
 
 Chap. IV. 12 15. 
 
 A garden locked is my sister, [my] spouse; 
 
 A well locked a fountain sealed. 
 
 Thy shoots are a paradise of pomegranates, 
 
 Together with the precious fruits of cypresses and naids. 
 
 .Spikenard and saffron calamus and cinnamon 
 
 With all the trees of frankincense, myrrh and aloes 
 
 With all the principal aromatics. 
 
 A fountain of gardens, a well of living water*, 
 
 And streams from Lebanon. 
 
 The comparison now drawn has delicate and 
 striking beauties. The bride is here compared 
 to a royal garden an orchard a paradise; her 
 future progeny to a plantation of pomegranates; 
 and the various excellencies and graces of her- 
 self and them to the most precious fruits, and 
 the most fragrant aromatics ' ; all reserved for 
 jthe sole entertainment of her beloved. 
 
 F Then again her purity is compared to a spring, 
 a fountain ; and her fidelity to the spring locked, 
 and the. fountain sealed 2 . The latter image 
 
 1 In this verse I have been compelled by the poetic form 
 of the original to neglect the Masoretic accents; which I sup- 
 pose of no great authority. The fruits of the cypresses (or 
 hennas] and the nards, poetically speaking, are their perfumes. 
 The calamus is a sweet scented cane, Isa. xliii. 24. Mr. 
 Swinburne, in his Travels through Spain, (Lett. XII.) speaks 
 of ' the air all around' being perfumed with the effluvia of the 
 * aloes.' Most commentators, however, refer this to the 
 wood (lign aloes) which when dried is very fragrant. Mr. 
 Harmer understands the words * frankincense, myrrh, and 
 ' aloes' as generic terms, including various species. In the 
 second (myrrh) he supposes may be included a variety of 
 precious balsams. ,On Sol. Song, p 294, &cc. 
 
 2 I am very tender of altering the established reading, espe- 
 pally where the sense does not require it ; but in the present 
 
270 
 
 may sound strange to an European ear; but 
 where verdure, vegetation, even life itself de- 
 pends on such a supply of water, it assumes a 
 very different value ; and that fountains, as 
 well as gardens, are locked and sealed in eastern 
 countries, we know on the authority of CHAR- 
 DIN, and other travellers 1 . 
 
 In the close of the paragraph this image is 
 repeated and enlarged. She is ' a fountain of 
 ' gardens/ and a stream of ' living waters 2 ' ; not 
 
 instance it should not be concealed, that more than sixty MSS. 
 with the LXX, Syriac, Vulgate, Arabic, and Tigurine ver- 
 sions, instead of (^J) a well (a spring built round, with awheel 
 to draw the water) repeat (p) ' garden locked; 7 which is 
 very agreeable to the style of Hebrew poetry, and is pre* 
 ferred by Caste/, Doderlein, and other critics. 
 1 Harmer^s Observ. vol. I. p. 113. 
 
 3 Dr. Percy and Mr. Harmer contend strongly that 
 these expressions are a testimony of the bride's virginity on 
 the night of consummation, which was required by the law 
 of Moses ; and I admit that the like expressions are used by 
 eastern writers in such a sense. But then it must be remem- 
 bered that, in an unmarried woman, purity and virginity are 
 precisely the same idea. That this kind of distant imagery 
 is common in the East, and is not restricted as Mr. Harmer 
 would have it, appears from the following passages. Fei- 
 rouz,, a vizier, having divorced his wife upon suspicion of infit 
 delity, her brothers apply for redress in the following figura- 
 tive terms. * My lord, we have rented to Feirouz, a most 
 delightful garden, a terrestrial paradise ; he took possession 
 of it, encompassed with high walls, and planted with the 
 most beautiful trees that bloomed with^TW ers and fruit : he 
 has broken down the walls, plucked the tender faivers, de- 
 voured the finest fruit, and would now restore us this gar- 
 den, robbed of every thing that contributed to render it deli- 
 cious when we gave him admission to it.' (Miscell. of Eastern 
 Learning, vol. I. p. 12.) Cahibah, mother of the Khalif 
 Motaz, complained of Saleh, that among other crimes he had 
 
271 
 
 only pure and pleasant in herself, but adapted to 
 communicate blessings all around her; and, in 
 short, to be the mother of a numerous and 
 happy offspring* That this is the clear and 
 established meaning of these metaphors ap- 
 pears, not only from the use of parallel ex- 
 pressions in the eastern poets, and the concur- 
 rent testimony of the Jews, but especially 
 from the following passage in the same in- 
 spired writer. 
 
 * Drink waters out of thine own cistern; 
 
 ' And running waters out of thine own well. 
 
 Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad ; 
 
 And rivers of waters in the streets. 
 
 Let them be only thine own, 
 
 And not a stranger's with thee. 
 
 Let thy fountain be blessed ; 
 
 And rejoice with the WIFE of thy youth 1 . 
 
 * rent her veil? which D'Hcrbelot explains of having disho- 
 noured her. (Bib. Orient, p. 644.) In a famous Persian 
 romance, a princess assures her husband of her fidelity in his 
 absence in these terms : ' The jewels of the treasury of se- 
 
 * crecy are still the same as they were, and the casket is seated 
 
 * with the same seal.' (Bahur Danush, vol. III. 65.) 
 
 Now the two last instances, relating to married women, 
 cannot be confined to the sense which Mr. Harmer and 
 others have imposed on such terms, it is therefore probable 
 that the other should not be so confined ; Solomon's assertion 
 therefore that the garden was locked P , and the fountain sealed, 
 will not prove that the marriage was yet incomplete, as the 
 hypothesis of Mr. Harmer requires. On the other hand, 
 the language of the author in the first verse of chap. v. 
 appears to me decisive, that the marriage had been con- 
 summated. 
 
 1 Prov. v- 15 18. That is, as good Bp. PATRICK (who 
 speaks the general sense, of the commentators) paraphrases 
 
272 
 
 The fountain of gardens, and streams from 
 Lebanon, are taken locally by an old writer ', 
 who fixes the former six miles from Tripoli, 
 and the latter about a mile to the south of 
 Tyre. It is a circumstance, however, of little 
 or no importance, JOSEPHUS tells us that So- 
 lomon took great delight in his gardens and 
 fountains of waters 1 , which indeed, with their 
 perfumes, are the grand objects of luxury m 
 eastern countries. 
 
 There can be no difficulty in the application 
 of these images, which are often employed by 
 the prophets, particularly ISAIAH. 
 
 They consider the world, filled with ignorance 
 and vice, as a wilderness, dry, and barren, or 
 
 the text: * Marry ; and in a wife of thine own enjoy the 
 
 * pleasures thou desirest, and be content with them alone ; 
 innocent, chaste, arid pure pleasures : Of whom thou 
 mayest have a lawful issue, which thou needest not be 
 ashamed to own ; but openly produce and send them 
 abroad, like streams from a spring,, to serve the public 
 good, 7 &c. 
 
 So among the modern Jews, the bridegroom offers the 
 following peiition : * Suffer not a stranger to enter into the 
 4 sealed fountain) that the servant of our loves (/. e. the bride) 
 4 may keep the seed of holiness and purity, and not be bar-- 
 4 ren.' Selderfs Uxor Hebraica, lib. iii. cap. 2. AddiwtC* 
 present State of the Jews, chap. v. 
 
 The fame idea of chastity is certainly intended by the * gar- 
 4 den locked,' or shut up ; on which the TAR GUM thus 
 comments : * Thy women, which are married to modest 
 4 men, are as a modest damsel, and as the garden of Eden y 
 4 into which no man hath power to enter, except the righ- 
 
 * teous, whose souls are by angels carried into it.' 
 
 1 Adr'ichonlus Theatrum terrse Sanctse, quoted in Gill* 
 S) Antiq. lib. viii. cap. 7. 
 
273 
 
 billy producing weeds, and thorns, and briars. 
 But 
 
 When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, 
 
 And their tongue faileth for thirst ; 
 
 I, JEHOVAH, will hear them, 
 
 I, the God of Jacob, will not forsake them. 
 
 I will open rivers in high places, 
 
 And fountains in the midst of the valleys ; 
 
 I will make the wilderness a pool of watery 
 
 And the dry land springs of water. 
 
 I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, 
 
 The shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the olive tree ; 
 
 I will set in the desert the fir tree> 
 
 The pine and the box tree together 1 .' 
 
 Such is the power of divine grace, that it can 
 convert weeds and brambles into trees the most 
 choice and beautiful can make the desert 
 blossom as a rose and change the wilderness 
 iiito an Eden ' the garden of the Lord/ 
 
 Comparing the prophet with King Solomon, 
 we may observe, 
 
 1. That the church is a Garden not a Field, 
 or a Common ; she may sing in the language 
 of her favourite poet, 
 
 ' We are a garden wall'd around, 
 
 * Chosen and made peculiar ground ; 
 
 * A little spot inclosed by grace 
 
 * Out of the world's wide wilderness.' 
 
 WATTS. 
 
 2. The church is a garden planted by the 
 hand of God, and watered by his Holy Spirit, 
 which is frequently compared to springs and 
 living streams of water, 
 
 1 Isa. xli. 17 19. 
 Nn 
 
274 
 
 * Lilve trees of myrrh and spice we stand, 
 
 * Planted by God the Father's hand; 
 ' And all the springs in Sion flow 
 
 * To make the young plantation grow. 
 
 3. The garden is locked ; the fountain sealed; 
 /. c. it is secured from intrusion, and from vio- 
 lation. " Holiness unto the Lord," is inscribed 
 upon the gate, and these are the mottoes of the 
 seal: ' The Lord knoweth them that are his.' 
 And, ' Let every one that nameth the name of 
 * Christ depart from iniquity V 
 
 These are hints only, dropped for the enlarge- 
 ment of the reader at his leisure. 
 
 Ch. IV. 1 6. Ch. V. i. 
 
 Spouse. Awake, O north wind, < and come, O south !* 
 
 Breathe upon my garden that its aromatics may 
 
 flow out ! 
 
 My beloved shall come into his garden, 
 And eat his precious fruits. 
 
 Bridegroom. I am come into my garden, my sister [my] 
 
 spouse, 
 
 1 have gathered my myrrh with my aromatics; 
 J have eaten my honey in the comb; 
 I have drank my wine with my milk. 
 
 Jo the Com- "> Eat, O friends ! 
 panioKs. j Drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved. 
 
 In the first of these verses two difficulties 
 occur: Who is the speaker ? and what is the 
 import of his invocation ? On the former ques- 
 tion we can derive no light from the original, 
 and the critics and commentators are much di- 
 
 1 2 Tim. ii, 19. 
 
275 
 
 vided. Supposing the Bridegroom to continue 
 speaking, after describing the bride as a garden 
 of aromatics, &c. he invokes the gale to breathe 
 on this garden, that he may inhale from it the 
 greater fragrancy ; which is not unnatural, nor 
 improper. But conceiving, as I am still in- 
 clined to do, the Bride to be the speaker, it 
 forms a part of her reply : as if she had said : 
 ' My beloved compares me to a garden, to a 
 6 paradise ; O that I were more fruitful and 
 ' more fragrant ; that I might entertain him 
 6 better with my odours 1 , and my fruits !' This 
 I conceive to be more natural, just, and beau- 
 tiful 
 
 The nature of the invocation has been 
 also disputed, though I think with less reason* 
 If the wind must be invoked, yet why invoke 
 it from opposite points, which certainly could 
 not blow at the same time ? True : but they 
 might blow alternately ; and were alternately 
 desirable and necessary 2 . The office of the 
 north wind, according to the same poet, was 
 to ' drive away rain p ; and, consequently, to 
 produce that clear, brilliant, glowing sky, which 
 
 1 Prov. xxv. 23. 
 
 ' 2 For its aromatics, the LXX. Syriac, Arabic, and Coptic 
 read my; and one of Kennicott's (198) MSS. reads C3C\m 
 without a pronoun. On the other hand, in the next line, one 
 of his MSS. (145) reads my garden, and four of DC Rossi's 
 appear to have read so. These variations all arose, probably, 
 from the uncertainty of the person speaking. 
 
 J If it were thought necessary to obviate the supposed ab- 
 surdity of calling on opposite winds to blow, it would be 
 easily done by rendering the vau, as a disjunctive particle, 
 PR, as it often is by our translators. 
 
27 6 
 
 the patriarch JOB calls golden, and which he 
 tells us comes from that quarter '. PLINY says, 
 the north is the most healthful wind that blows 2 ; 
 and its bracing, invigorating effects on the hu*- 
 man frame are well known : nor is it less im- 
 portant to vegetation ; shaking the plants and 
 trees from their very roots, loosening the soil 
 around them, and closing up their pores to 
 prevent their being too much weakened. On 
 the other hand, the south wind is, in its turn, 
 no less desirable and necessary to open their 
 pores and exhale their odours 3 . 
 
 ' Awake thou north ; ye southern breezes, rise, 
 ' With silken wings your balmy vapour spread, 
 * And ojien ev'ry aromatic bloom.' 
 
 MRS. ROWE. 
 
 1 Job xxxvii. 21, 22. 2 See Gill, in loc. 
 
 3 Dr. Gill observes that the verb (msn) breathe, seems to 
 be only in construction with the south wind: and I do not 
 find it ever applied to a violent or tempestuous wind. But 
 the learned editor of Calmet will not admit the south wind at 
 all in this scene. He says, ' in Judea, the heat of the south wind 
 
 * would have suffocated the fragrancy of the garden.' In 
 answer to which it is sufficient to quote an eastern poet in a 
 still warmer climate. ' O gale, scented with sandal, who 
 6 breathest love from the regions of the south, be propitious.* 
 Asiat. Research, vol. III. 
 
 The geographical situation of Judea will farther justify 
 this interpretation. Lebanon being ca the north of Judea, 
 the wind from that quarter would naturally bring with it 'the 
 
 * odour of Lebanon.' On the south is Arabia Petrsea, and 
 still farther south Arabia Felix. Egypt is situated west of 
 Arabia, and Persia to the east. An old historian, quoted 
 by Sir W. Jones, [Essay on the Poetry of the Easterns] 
 fays, The air of Egypt sometimes in summer is like any 
 
 * sweet perfume, and almost suffocates the spirits, caused by 
 the wind that brings the odours of the Arabian spices.' Now 
 as these odours are brought to Egypt, doubtless by the east; 
 
277 
 
 Let us now attend to the import of the figure. 
 The wind is in scripture an established emblem 
 of the divine Spirit ! ' The wind bloweth where 
 ' it listeth, and thou nearest the sound thereof, 
 * but canst not tell whence it cometh, nor whi- 
 f ther it goeth : so is every one that is born of 
 ' the Spirit.' The different uses of the wind, 
 may be compared also to the different offices 
 of the Spirit, Is the north wind keen, pene- 
 trating, and powerful ? Such are the operations 
 of the Spirit in conversion. Is the south wind 
 mild, gentle, sweet ? Such are the influences 
 of the same Spirit in his teaching and consola- 
 tions. 
 
 * Awake, O heavenly wind ! and come, 
 
 * Blow on this garden of perfume : 
 
 ' Spirit divine ! descend, and breathe 
 
 * A gracious gale on plants beneath.' 
 
 WATTS. 
 
 There can be no doubt but the following 
 verse contains the royal bridegroom's answer, 
 except in the concluding line, which is evi- 
 dently addressed to his companions the chil- 
 dren of the bride-chamber. ' When the pro- 
 6 pitious gales (says she) have prepared my 
 ' garden for his reception, then let my beloved 
 4 enter and enjoy it/ ' I have already (replies 
 ' the beloved) began to taste that happiness. 
 ' I am now enjoying, in thy conversation, what 
 
 wind, so they would be carried to Judca by the south, and 
 to Persia by the west or south-west ; in every direction, more 
 or less, producing that excess of fragrancy that at times over- 
 powers, even the natives, with its sweetness. 
 
278 
 
 ' is sweeter to me than the most fragrant scents, 
 ' the sweetest viands, or the most refreshing 
 ' liquors V 
 
 The TARGUM on this passage is, 'The.con- 
 
 * gregation of Israel said, let God my beloved 
 ' come into the house of the sanctuary, and 
 6 graciously accept the offerings of his people/ 
 The holy blessed God said unto his people, 
 the house of Israel ; 6 I am come into the 
 ' house of my sanctuary, which thou hast built 
 
 * for me, O my sister, the congregation of Is- 
 < racl, who art like a modest damsel : I have 
 4 caused my Shekinah to dwell w r ith thee ; I have 
 ' received thy sweet incense, which thou hast 
 6 made on my account ; I have sent fire from 
 
 * heaven, and it hath devoured the burnt offer- 
 
 * ings, and the holy drink offerings ; the liba- 
 
 * tion of the red and white wine is graciously 
 6 received by me, which the priests pour out 
 f upon mine altars/ This paraphrase, as it re- 
 spects the Jews, is not to be despised ; but that 
 of Bishop HALL is more suited to our dispen- 
 sation. 4 O my sister, my spouse ! I have re- 
 4 ceived those fruits of thine obedience which 
 
 That these delicacies, are now, as well as formerly, in 
 the highest esteem in the East ( may be seen in Mr. Harmer on 
 this Song, p. 304. It may be worth adding, that the disciples 
 of our Lord, after his resurrection, presented him with a 
 piece of honeycomb, from which he ate, no doubt, the 
 honey, Luke xxiv. 42, 43. So 1, apprehend here, to eat the 
 honeycomb with honey, is properly to eat the honey in or 
 from the comb. Dr. Taylor, however, in his Concordance, 
 renders the passage, * I have eaten my pure wood honey 
 
 * with my palm,' which is supported by good authorities ; 
 and the editor of Calmet ' I eat my liquid honey with my 
 
 * firm honey.' Continuation, part II. p. 95. 
 
279 
 
 * thou offerest unto me, with much joy and 
 
 * pleasure. I have accepted not only of thy 
 c good works, but thy endeavours and puqx^c.s 
 
 * of holiness, which are as pleasant to me as 
 4 the honey and the honeycomb/ 
 
 The concluding sentence, we have said, ap- 
 pears to be addressed by the bridegroom to his 
 companions, who are invited to rejoice with 
 him, and partake the marriage feast : and 
 is not this fulfilled in the instance of our great 
 Redeemer ? Do not all that love him rejoice 
 with him in the prosperity of his church ? Yea, 
 is there not joy even among the angels in his 
 presence, over every sinner that repenteth ? 
 
 But this passage evidently refers to the mar- 
 riage feast, which was kept open during all the 
 festival. To this we have repeatedly adverted, 
 and shall avoid repetition. 'But ' blessed are 
 ' they who are called to the marriage supper of 
 4 the Lamb !' All the enjoyments of the be- 
 liever here, which are ' neither few nor small/ 
 are but the foretastes of what 'God has prepared' 
 in a future state ' for them that love him.' 
 Here we may drink abundantly of his love and 
 of his consolations, without danger of satiety or 
 excess 1 : there we shall drink of the river of 
 his pleasures for evermore ! 
 
 1 The original [OHH Witt] has beeii rendered by Merce- 
 rus 9 ' Inebriamini amoribus :' by Cocceius, * Inebriamini 
 * amamitatibus ; and by Ainswwth and Gill, ',Be drunken 
 ' be inebriated, with loves.' We have observed in the 
 Preliminary Essays, (p. 87 Sc seq.) that this kind of expres- 
 sion is very common among the religionists of the east, and 
 
280 
 
 SECTION IX. 
 
 Chap. V. Ver. 28. 
 
 Spouse. I slept ; but my heart waked : 
 
 The voice of rriy beloved, [who was] knocking i 
 Open to me, my sister, my consort, 
 
 * My dove, my accomplished one ; 
 
 * For. rny head is filled with dew, 
 
 And my locks with the drops of the night. 
 
 ' I have put offmy vest, how shall I put it on ? 
 ' I have washed my feet, how shall I defile them?* 
 
 My beloved put forth his hand by the opening [of* 
 
 the door,] 
 
 And my bowels were moved for him. 
 I rose to open to my beloved ; 
 But my hands dropped myrrh, and my fingers liquid 
 
 myrrh, 
 
 Upon the handles of the lock. 
 I opeird to my beloved : 
 But my beloved had withdrawn was gone. 
 My soul fainted when he spake : 
 I sought him, but could not find him ; 
 I called him, but he gave me no answer. 
 The watchmen who go round the city found me i 
 They smote me they hurt me : 
 The keepers of the walls plucked my veil from me. 
 
 I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find 
 
 my beloved 
 What should you tell him ? That I am sick with 
 
 love. 
 
 to the instances there given, I would now add the following. 
 4 They who walk in the true path, are drowned in the sea 
 % of mysterious adoration : they are inebriated with the me* 
 ' lody of amorous complaints. Through remembrance of 
 4 God they shun all mankind : they are so enamoured of the 
 * cup-bearer that they spill the wine from the cup.' Sir W. 
 Jones's Works, vol. III. p. 372. Quoted from the third 
 book of the Bustan. 
 
281 
 
 WE have already considered a parallel scene 
 in Chapter III. as visionary ; and nothing can 
 bfe more clear than that this must be considered 
 in the same light. Indeed, the expression, 6 1 
 * slept, but my heart waked/ will scarcely ad- 
 mit of any other interpretation ; but, in this 
 view is beautifully poetic. The heart is the 
 seat of the imagination, as well as of the affec- 
 tions ; and this same inspired Poet tells us, 
 speaking of a man of cares and business, ' his 
 4 heart taketh not rest in the night :' that is, his 
 anxiety is continued in his dreams, for c a 
 ' dream,' he says, ' cometh through the multi- 
 6 tude of business " 
 
 This being admitted to be a dream, we are, 
 as before, relieved from the necessity of ac- 
 counting for every circumstance on the prin- 
 ciple of probability : and farther, as several of 
 the circumstances here are repeated from the 
 former scene, I shall excuse myself from dis- 
 cussing them, and confine my remarks to those 
 particulars in which the accounts differ. 
 
 1. In the former instance she sought the be- 
 loved in this he seeks her. It is the same 
 thing in effect, whether the Lord, by a secret 
 influence of his grace, stir up our minds to 
 
 
 1 Eccles. ii. 23. v. 3. A Persian sonnet in the Divan 
 of Jamy presents us with almost exactly the same image as 
 the royal poet in this song. 
 
 ' Last night, my eyes being closed in sleep, but my good 
 
 * fortune [query, genius] awake* 
 
 The whole night, the live-long night, the image of my 
 
 * beloved was the companion of my soul.' Orient, Collect, 
 vol. I. vp. 187. 
 
 Oo 
 
282 
 
 seek him ; or whether, by the dispensations of 
 his providence he knock, as it were, at the 
 door of our affections. ' No man cometh unto 
 ' me, except the Father who hath sent me* 
 ' draw him.' c Behold I stand at the door and 
 ' knock ; if any man open unto me, I will 
 ' come in unto him, and sup with him, and he 
 6 witli me.' 
 
 2. The Beloved pleads with her for admit-, 
 tance, while she resists his importunity. Let 
 us compare his plea and her excuses. The 
 plea introduced, in analogy to the nature of 
 the poem, is that of a lover exposed to the 
 dews of the night r ; and to give due weight to 
 this plea we ought to know, that the dews in 
 the east are very copious, and the laws of hos- 
 pitality very strict. The excuses here made 
 imply that the Beloved had a right to admit- 
 tance; and, consequently, that the marriage was 
 complete. The Jewish custom, as above 
 remarked % satisfactorily accounts for his ab- 
 sence, and the scene being visionary, suffi- 
 ciently covers all improprieties. In the applica- 
 tion of this scene it must be considered as re- 
 ferring to a state of great languor and supine- 
 
 : Dr. Hodgson thinks Anacreon borrowed from this pas- 
 sage his famous ode, In the dead of the night/ Sec. It 
 must be owned that there are some striking similarities, and 
 that it is very possible a Septuagint version might have fallen 
 into his hands, as well as into the hands of Theocritus : but as 
 it would be difficult to decide, so the object would hardly pay 
 the investigation. I wish no writers more modern than thc.se 
 lud profaned the sacre'd stories. 
 
 Above, p. 239. 
 
283 
 
 ness in the church, and its members : but what 
 can be the meaning of such excuses ? They 
 are ridiculous in the extreme, and intended to 
 appear such like the excuses in the gospel. 
 For there is no doubt but lamps were kept 
 burning in the royal harem ; and the loose gar- 
 ments of the east are easily put on : there could 
 be little danger of defiling the feet in treading 
 on a carpet and there can be no question of 
 the floor being covered. But what lesson can 
 these circumstances be intended to inculcate ? 
 That all our excuses for negligence and disobe- 
 dience in religion are unfounded and absurd : 
 the pleas of sloth and folly, which increase the 
 evils for which they would apologise. I could 
 go one step farther, and remark, that the excuses 
 here offered are perfectly of an antinomian cast. 
 The church is willing to receive her Lord, if 
 he will force his entrance ; but affects a won- 
 derful delicacy to excuse herself from exertion 
 from rising to let him in. 
 
 3. When she is at length overcome by his 
 intreaties, and rises to admit him, alas ! he is 
 withdrawn the just reward of her indolence 
 and neglect. And thus it is, a state of supine- 
 ness, and want of circumspection in the church, 
 or a believer, provoke the Lord to withdraw 
 his presence, that we may ' eat the fruit of our 
 * own doings/ It is by experience that we 
 learn wisdom, and it 'is sometimes necessary 
 that this should be dearly bought, in order that 
 it may be rightly prized. The conduct of the 
 spouse under this disappointment shews that 
 
284- 
 
 her indifference was not radical, nor habitual ; 
 but the effect of a temporary stupor, induced 
 perhaps by indulgence. But when she saw 
 his hand, and that he could not reach the lock 
 or bolt to open it, her heart smote her her 
 bowels were moved within her on his ac- 
 count ', and she rose directly to admit him : but 
 alas ! it was too late he had turned away, and 
 was withdrawn. 
 
 Still at the door my injured lord attends, 
 
 While on the lock his busy fingers move: 
 
 Touch'd with a soft remorse, at last I rise, 
 
 Fly to the door ; but while with eager haste 
 
 The fastened lock I search'd, sweet smelling myrrh 
 
 * From every bolt its precious moisture shed ; 
 
 4 The rich perfume my lover's hands had left.' 
 
 This poetic version (which is Mrs. ROWE'S) 
 supposes, as commentators do in general, that 
 the perfume here called liquid myrrh % pro- 
 
 1 Instead of (i%) for him, mt>re than 200 MSS. and edi- 
 tions read only 'by, in our margins rendered in me ; I doubt 
 however this ' rendering of the particle, the radical idea of 
 which is above or upon ; and as the verb (iDil) is applied to 
 the motion of the sea, I am inclined to think the accurate 
 idea is, that a tumult of tenderness and compassion (so to 
 speak) makes the bowels roll over and over, like the waves, 
 within us. 
 
 There is another doubt, however, as to the meaning of 
 this verse ; instead of the beloved's putting forth his hand to 
 open the lock, some think it means, he withdrew his hand 
 from it to go away. [So the LXX ci'xecrlei'he cmo (p) TVJ? 
 C7rv} ; and yunius Demiserat manum suam a foramine:] 
 and this was* certainly a sufficient cause for alarm: but, I 
 confess this does not appear to me so natural. 
 
 ' 2 Liquid [^Oy current, passing] myrrh.' Eochart ex- 
 plains this of the myrrh which of itself we fit or flowed from 
 the plant which Watts elegantly calls myrrh new bleeding 
 * from the tree ;' which is always the most precious. A 
 
285 
 
 ceeded from the moisture of his hands, wet 
 with dew ; and the compliment in this view is 
 very elegant and beautiful, implying that the 
 fragrancy of his body perfumed every thing 
 which came in contact with it. If the perfume, 
 however, be referred to the spouse, I think it 
 will imply, that she had anointed herself with 
 such luxuriancy, that her fingers were still wet 
 with myrrh ; and this would partly account for 
 her reluctancy to rise, since indulgence natu- 
 rally induces sloth, 
 
 The application is not difficult. Ease and 
 indulgence produce languor and negligence 
 in the church, as well as in individuals ; and 
 in such circumstances the Lord often with- 
 draws his presence and his smiles. * He is a 
 * God that hideth himself;' and both the church 
 arid her particular members have bewailed his 
 absence, as we may see at large in the peni- 
 tentiary psalms, and the book of Lamentations. 
 ' O Lord, my spirit faileth : hide not thy face 
 ' from me, lest I be like unto them that go 
 ' down unto the pit 1 .' 
 
 * My soul with anguish melted when he spoke, 
 
 ' And now, with wild distraction sees her guilt ; 
 ' I call'd in vain, for there was no reply ; 
 
 * In vain I starch'd, for he was now withdrawn.' 
 
 Mrs. ROWE. 
 
 4. She seeks him without success, and in 
 great distress and anxiety of mind. It is a 
 
 to the supposition that she had a pot of myrrh in' her hand, 
 which in her hurry she overturned and spilt ou the lock, it 
 appears to rne puerile* and unnecessary. 
 4 Ps, cxliii. 7. 
 
 
very awful threatening by the mouth of this 
 inspired writer : 
 
 ' Because I have called, and ye refused, 
 
 ' I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded: 
 
 * I will also laugh at your calamity ; 
 
 * I will mock when your fear cometh V 
 
 And though this threat, in its full terror, 
 applies only to the finally impenitent ; yet is 
 it, in a certain extent, applicable to all who 
 refuse to listen to the calls of God in his word 
 and providence. Those who turn a deaf ear 
 to his commands may reasonably expect him 
 to refuse to listen to their petitions. If we 
 trifle with his grace he will withdraw his smiles 
 he will hide his face in anger, till he hum- 
 ble and recover us. 
 
 Her disappointment greatly distresses and 
 distracts her. First, her soul failed, or fainted 
 at his word 2 ; but then speedily recovering, she 
 loosely throws her veil over her night dress, and 
 runs after him, like one distracted with love, into 
 the city. This, we are to remember, is a dream ; 
 but there is a harmony in its circumstances, 
 and this conduct sufficiently accounts for her 
 treatment : for 
 
 4. When she was found in the streets the 
 watchmen very properly stopt her, drew aside 
 
 1 Prov. i. 24, 26. 
 
 2 Dim nt*, literally, her soul went out of her at his word 
 perhaps some cutting parting word. So Mrs. Rcwe : 
 
 ' Tir'd with my cold delay, farewell, he cries, 
 ' Those killing words my fainting soul surprise. - 
 
 Or the expression may be elliptical ' She fainted [at the 
 remembrance of] his word.* So Gill, and others. 
 
287 
 
 her veil, and insisted on knowing who she 
 was ; but they went farther, and meeting, we 
 may suppose, with no satisfactory answer, they 
 treated her very roughly : they smote, they 
 hurt her. In the parallel vision we have 
 considered the watchmen of Jerusalem as the 
 ministers of the church, and we have no reason 
 here to seek another interpretation. It cannot be 
 denied, however, that in the present instance 
 they are represented as treating the fair stranger 
 with too much roughness and severity ; a hint 
 that may not be without its use, if duly at- 
 tended to by those whom it concerns. The 
 character of a gospel minister requires firmness 
 and plain dealing; but 'not roughness, rude- 
 ness, or unnecessary severity. 
 
 Lastly, she charges with a message the virgin 
 daughters of Jerusalem, if they should meet 
 with her beloved. This may be considered as 
 a kind of chorus, which, while it makes a poe- 
 tical conclusion to the vision, leads to the 
 grand object of this section, the description of 
 the beloved ; and appeals from the harshness 
 of the guard to the tenderness of the daughters 
 of Jerusalem. 
 
 * But you, bright maids of Salem, I adjure 
 
 4 By your own chaste affections, if you find 
 < My lord, with all your tender eloquence 
 
 * Relate the anguish of my love-sick heart/ 
 
 MRS. ROWE. 
 
Ver. 9 1 6. 
 
 Virgins. What is thy beloved more than [another] beloved ? 
 O most beautiful of women ! 
 
 What is thy beloved more than [another] beloved, . 
 That fo thou dost adjure us? 
 
 Spouse. My beloved is white and ruddy, 
 Trie chief among ten thoufand. 
 His head is wroughrand pure gold: 
 His locks are bushy black as a raven. 
 His eyes are like doves by canals of waters 
 Wafhed in milk sitting by the full [pool.] 
 His cheeks are as beds of aromatics- 
 [As] towers of perfumes. 
 His lips, lilies dropping liquid myrrh : 
 His hand?, rings of gold set with the tarshish : 
 His body, bright ivory covered with sapphires : 
 tlis legs, pillars of marble upon pedestals of gold : 
 His aspect, like Lebanon, noble as the cedars : 
 His mouth sweetness itself; yea, he is altogether 
 
 desirable ! 
 
 Tm's is my beloved, and this is my friend, 
 O ye daughters of Jerusalem. 
 
 As the first verse is merely introductory, We 
 shall immediately consider the outlines of the 
 description, which contains the following par- 
 ticulars : 
 
 First, his countenance, alluding perhaps to 
 that of David when a youth, is said to be white 
 and ruddy ' beautiful and healthful ; elevated, 
 
 i t the Persian poet, describing a celestial appearance, 
 says, it was a ' youth whose colour resembled roses sprinkled 
 
 * over pure snow by the playful virgins of Circassia. His 
 
 * locks were black as ebony/ [Heron's Letters on Litera- 
 ture, p. 436.] Again the same writer, describing a young 
 man, says He had just arrived at the opening blossom of 
 youth, and the down had but newly spread itself over the 
 flower of his cheek. [Sulivan's Fables from Gulistan, p. 3.] 
 
289 
 
 / 
 
 brilliant, splendid: like the standard of an 
 army : or to drop the figure, he is the chief 
 the choicest among ten thousand 1 ; His 
 heady with the royal crown, is compared to a 
 jewel of gold of immense value % His 
 
 * The chief among ten thousand!* I have preserved 
 this rendering, as it is universally allowed to preserve the 
 writer's general idea. The original term ^ijn is by most of 
 the translators and critics rendered vexillatus, a standard- 
 bearer, or rather one distinguished by a standard /. e. he is 
 distinguished from others by his charms, as much as a 
 commander in chief is distinguished by his standard and 
 attendants. 
 
 * Under his standard marshall'd are 
 
 6 Ten thousand youths, but none so fair.' 
 
 I know that Mr. Harmer has suggested a different inter- 
 pretation, namely, that of * shone upon by 1 0,000 lamps;' 
 but I consider it as unsupported, and far less elegant than the 
 above. I have no objection, however, to adopt the sugges- 
 tion of the ingenious editor of Calmet, [Continuation, p. 1 14.] 
 who considers the prince as himself the standard, observing 
 that standards were, in the East, a kind of fiery beacon, and 
 quotes Shakespeare's character of Hotspur to illustrate his 
 idea. 
 
 * His honour stuck upon him, as the sun 
 
 * In the grey vault of heaven; and by his light 
 ' Did all the chivalry of England move 
 
 * To do brave acts. - O wondrous him ! ' 
 
 1 There are two words for gold here used one 
 supposed to mean stamped, or standard, and the other 
 pure, solid gold. But the former word appears to me to sig- 
 nify gold wrought by the hand of the jeweller, (fee Prov. xxv. 
 12.) and particularly in the form of a coronet or ancient 
 crown : thus Psalm xlv. 9. ' Upon thy right hand did stand 
 ' the queen, in (CDro) gold of Ophir,' z. e. in a crown of that 
 gold; so in this place 1 suppose the crown, mentioned in 
 chap. iii. 1 1 . particularly alluded to ; and that the expression, 
 stripped of its poetic dress, means simply, that he wore a royal 
 crown, which we know was of pure gold, Ps. xxi. 3. 
 
 p p 
 
290 
 
 locks are represented bushy and wavy as the 
 palm tree ' ; black and shining as the ra- 
 ven : His eyes are compared to cloves by chan- 
 nels of waters to doves washed with milk 
 (or milk-Avhite doves) sitting by the full pool, 
 .or pools 2 : His cheeks, covered with their 
 manly down, to a bed, or rather beds, of aro-. 
 matics ; and to towers or vases of smoking per- 
 fumes 3 : His lips are compared to the su- 
 
 1 So the original word (CD^rrVn) evidently means, and 
 is thus explained by Michaeiis. Bp. Percy adds, on the au- 
 thority of a traveller, that * the hair may he very aptly com- 
 '. pared to the fine wavy young leaves of the palm, on their 
 
 * first bursting forth from the sfiatha or sheaths in which 
 
 * they are contained.* (New Tr. p. 97.) The jettiness of 
 the hair sufficiently proves that the former expression of a 
 golden head could not refer to the use of gold-dust for powder, 
 which indeed cannot be proved of so high antiquity. Nei- 
 ther could it apply to tinging the complexion with henna., 
 because he is described ' as white and ruddy.' 
 
 2 On examining the original word (pStf) translated va- 
 riously rivers, torrents, waterfalls, &c. 1 am convinced it 
 means rather canals, artificial streams ; in order to cor- 
 respond with which, I supply pool, or poob, as several 
 of Kennicott's MSS. I see read, or have read, the ad- 
 jective (nitt^D) in the plural. In referring this term, not. 
 to the eyes of the beloved, but to the doves, I follow respect- 
 able authorities, as Bps. Patrick and Percy, and Mr. Harmer , 
 and adhere to the oriental style, in a passage already cited 
 (p. 100) from the Gitagovinda^ where the poet compares 
 the eyes of his mistress to a pair of water-birds of azure plu- 
 mage, that sport near a full-blown lotos on a /tool, in the 
 season of dew ! The phrase washed in milk, however, I con- 
 sider as describing the doves as milk white, which, though 
 not so common as the grey pigeon in the eaft, were not the 
 less valuable or esteemed. 
 
 3 The word beds is plural in several MSS., the LXX, 
 Aquila, and Vulgate; and the Word ' cheeks' being plural 
 
perb (red) Syrian lilies, nod his conversation 
 to the purest liquid stacte, or myrrh ; referring 
 , perhaps to the luscious drops distilled from those 
 flowers 1 . His hands and wrists are richly orna- 
 mented with rings of gold a . Ai-ul his ivory 
 skin covered with a splendid sapphire robe \ 
 
 seems to require it. There is no doubt but the beard is here 
 alluded to, and compared to a young nursery of aromatics; 
 but the word rend, red ' towers' is of doubtful interpretation. 
 ~klr. Harmer (Sol. Song, p. 165) thinks they were vases in 
 such a shape, containing sweet- waters ; but as the word per*- 
 fumes seems to refer, in its use, more particularly to powders, 
 I rather conceive they were a kind of silver pyramids to burn 
 different kind of odours, and which were 'certainly the most 
 powerful in their fragrancy. It may be added, in illustration 
 of the former member of this verse, that Hatiz, speaking of his 
 cupbearer, describes his l cheeks' empurpled garden.' Nott. 
 p. 35) an image very similar to Solomon's. 
 
 '* ' His lips like lilies :' the expression intimates the 
 sweetness of his conversation, and alludes, according to Sir 
 Tho. Brown, to the sweet dew-drops observable in the cups of 
 the red lilies, mentioned by Pliny, as so much admired in Sy- 
 ria. That the colour, as well as sweetness of these, is refer- 
 red to, appears probable from the following allusions in orien- 
 tal writers : < Him whose lips are like a red lotos in full 
 * bloom.' (Asiatic Researches, vol. iii. p. 392) ' How can 
 tulip-coloured wine be compared to the rubies of thy lips ?' 
 (Oriental Col. vol. II. p. 266). 
 
 ~ .' His hands rings : i. e. in the bold eastern style, co- 
 vered with rings, and the wrists with bracelets. So Maftlal 
 calls a hand ornamented with rings, set with the sardonyx, 
 ' sardonychata manus/ (Ep.xxv. lib. 2.) And an Indian poet 
 sings, * O my shepherd ! thou art my life : each "finger has a 
 ' ring on every joint, and thy arms have bracelets.' Orient. 
 CoL vol. II. p. 399. The antiquity of these ornaments may 
 be seen in 2 Sam. i. 10, &c. The Jews say the tarjlrijh was a 
 sea-green : others, that it meant the chrysolite, /. e. gold co- 
 loured. The former seems most probable in this place. 
 
 3 * His body bright ivory covered, &c.' That the spouse 
 cpuld not intend to describe her beloved naked, is to be inferred, 
 
292 
 
 His legs, marbled with health, (perhaps 
 laced with azure ribbons,) and his feet in golden 
 sandals, are compared to marble pillars upon 
 pedestals of gold '. His aspect is 1 resembled 
 
 to Lebanon, and his stature to the cedars 1 
 
 His mouth, that is, his breath, is said to be 
 sweetness itself 3 ; and to sum up all, his 
 
 not only from the laws of decency, but from this circumstance, 
 she describes him that they might know him ; besides, it is not 
 usual to have the body naked, when the extremities are so 
 richly dressed and ornamented. Nor will the original [nsVytt] 
 bear to be rendered j'wlaid, being uniformly applied according 
 to its radical idea to covering over. (Texit, obtexit, Leigh's 
 Crit. Sac.) A sapphire robe over an ivory {kin, then, I sup- 
 pose to be the object of description; and if it be true, as some 
 pretend, that the antient sapphires were spotted with gold, like 
 the starry heavens, no dress can be well conceived more ele- 
 gant and superb. As to the word [yo] here rendered body, 
 and in the preceding chapter bowels, Mr. Parkhurst derives it 
 from (iiy.O) Magnah) in the sense of lax, loose, which is also 
 the sense of the kindred verb in Arabic. It generally refers 
 to the internal parts, the bowels, &c. (See Gen. xv. 4. xxv. 
 23. 2 Chron. xxi. 15, &c.) but in Dan. ii. 32. speaking of 
 Daniel's image, plainly refers to the external form, and is used, 
 as we often use the word body^ for the human trunk, exclusive 
 of the extremities. 
 
 1 * His legs, pillars of marble:' So Ovid speaks of mar- 
 ble feet (marmoreis pedibus, Amor. 1. 2. c. u). But as the 
 same word in the original signifies fine linen, I am by no means 
 sure that this does not also refer to drawers of fine linen, such 
 as the priests wore. 
 
 2 Bp. Lowth observes the elegance and propriety with 
 which the author compares the king to Lebanon for dignity 
 and grandeur, and afterwards the queen to Carmel for grace 
 and beauty. 
 
 3 His mouthy literally his palafy, is here evidently put for 
 his breath, which is said to be ' sweetness itself,' or in the 
 Heb. idiom ' sweetness^.' It maybe worthy of remark, for 
 {he sake of the allegorical application, that ' It is not un- 
 
293 
 
 whole person is every way admirable and de- 
 sirable. Sueh I consider as the out-line of the 
 description, literally viewed ; the inquisitive 
 reader will refer to the notes for my authori- 
 ties, and others will pass on to the allegorical 
 application, which will be confined to a few 
 hints, selected with great attention, and offered 
 with much diffidence. 
 
 The first part of the description naturally 
 reminds us of Him who was 6 fairer than the 
 ' children of men/ and higher than the an- 
 gels ; who was 4 lifted up' on the cross for an 
 ' ensign* to ' the Gentiles/ and who is the cap- 
 tain of our salvation the elect of God, and the 
 head of men and angels. 
 
 As the golden head of Nebuchadnezzar was 
 designed to represent the glory of his king- 
 dom, so may this part of our description repre- 
 sent the excellency of his government, who is 
 King of kings and Lord of lords : whose 
 kingdom is everlasting, and of whose dominion 
 there shall be no end. The eyes are the in- 
 dex of the heart; and, in this description, plainly 
 indicate wisdom, purity, gentleness, and love: 
 his lips drop words of love and kindness, and 
 his breath (or spirit) communicates life and 
 
 f usual [among the poets of Persia and Turkey] to allude 
 * to the miraculous power of Isa's [Jesus's] breath, which 
 could give health to the infirm, and restore the deceased to 
 life. * These (allusions) are by no means ironically or irreve- 
 ' rently intended.' [Or. Col. vol. I. p. 42) Hafiz, for in- 
 stance, in one of his odes, refers to the breath of the Messiah 
 (' Messiae halitum habens) which was able to recal the dead 
 to life. Nott's Odes of Hafiz. p. 63. note. 
 
healing. The other parts of the description 
 must not be too minutely allegorized, a* only 
 generally indicating the perfection and ele- 
 gance of the august person described, v 
 rank is marked in the splendour of his dress, 
 and the costliness of his ornaments. 
 
 The concluding sentence, however, which 
 sums up the whole, merits our more particular 
 attention, ' He is altogether desirable/ This 
 may be considered as a summary of the above 
 description. First, he is desirable for the dig- 
 nity of his person, and the glory of his kingdom, 
 but faintly represented by the most precious 
 gold pure, permanent, and glorious. Speak 
 we of his array? the sapphire sky is but his 
 robe, and the stars are his gems of royalty. If 
 we review the softer graces of his character, 
 
 * His eyes are glory mixed with grace> 
 
 * In his delightful, awful face, 
 
 * Sit majesty and gentleness.' 
 
 WATTS. 
 
 'Whenever he speaks, either pleading as our 
 advocate with the Father or teaching us by 
 the medium of his word, 
 
 * Persuasion dwells upon his charming tongue 
 
 * And eloquence divine.' 
 
 The Spirit he breathes on his elect conveys 
 spiritual and eternal life, with all the blessings 
 that accompany it. In short, his person and 
 character comprize every thing amiable or de- 
 sirable whence he is called * the desire of all 
 nations V 
 
 ! Hag. ii, 7. 
 
295 
 
 He was the desire of the antient patriarchs. 
 To Adam he was revealed * as the seed of the 
 woman,' who was to break the serpent's head. 
 Enoch prophesied of his coming in all his 
 glory. Abraham desired to see his day ; he 
 saw it and was glad. David rejoiced in spirit 
 when he said, ' The LORD said unto my Lord, 
 * sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine 
 4 enemies thy footstool/ 
 
 ISAIAH ' saw his glory and spake' very fre- 
 quently ' of him/ MA LACK I closed the canon 
 of the Old Testament with the promise of his 
 speedy coming; yea, ' to him give ALL the 
 6 prophets witness :* and when he came, good 
 old SIMEON was foremost among those who 
 waited for his salvation, and embraced him 
 with rapture. 
 
 He was the desire of all nationsnot of the 
 Jews only, but of the Gentiles also, and that in 
 two respects; for they had a general expecta- 
 tion of some great deliverer-, and (though they 
 knew it not) he was the very Saviour that they 
 wanted. Even SOCRATES was all anxiety, on 
 the grand point of acceptance with God, and 
 advised his pupils to wait for a great unknown 
 teacher then to come '. 
 
 This subject must not close with the cool 
 language of enquiry and observation. The 
 spouse concludes with rapture 4 This is MY be- 
 ' loved, and this is MY consort, MY spouse % MY 
 
 1 See Historic Defence of Experimental Religion, yol. I. 
 p. 154, &c. 
 
 1 The word here used is. the masculine of tliat above ren- 
 dered consort. 
 
296 
 
 Lord/ Reader, let us pause a moment and say, 
 Is this all-desirable Jesus our beloved, and our 
 friend ? If so, we may sing with the sweet 
 evangelical poet, I have so often cited : 
 
 * All over glorious is my lord ; 
 
 * Must be beloved, and yet ador'd : 
 
 * His worth, if all the nations knew, 
 
 4 Sure the whole earth would love him too. 1 
 
 Chap. VI. Ver. 13. 
 
 Firgins. Whither is thy beloved gone, 
 
 most beautiful of women ? 
 Whither is thy beloved turned aside? 
 And we will seek him with thee. 
 
 Spouse. My beloved is gone down into his garden, 
 Unto the beds of aromatics ; 
 To feed in his garden, and to gather lilies. 
 
 1 am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine : 
 He feedeth among the lilies. 
 
 This short passage 'is encumbered with no 
 difficulties in its literal sense, and may be dis- 
 missed with a very brief remark or two.- 1. The 
 commendations given to Chrift by his church 
 have a tendency to excite the enquiries and 
 affections of others. 2. The spouse concludes 
 her beloved was gone down into his garden, 
 because there she knew was his delight ; for the 
 Lord delights in the plantations of his grace. 
 But neither of these ideas can be better ex- 
 pressed than iri the lines of our favourite para- 
 phrast: 
 
 * When strangers stand, and hear me tell 
 ' What beauties in my Saviour dwell, 
 
 * Where he is gone they fain would know, 
 
 * That they may seek and love him too. 
 
297 
 
 My best beloved keeps his throne 
 On hills of light, in worlds unknown; 
 But he descends; and shews his face 
 In the young gardens of his grace. 
 
 \VATTS. 
 
 SECTION X. 
 
 Chap. VI. Ver. 49. 
 
 Bridegroom. 
 
 Beautiful art thou, my consort, as Tirzah, 
 Comely as Jerusalem, formidable as bannered [towers. J 
 Turn away thine eyes from me, 
 For they have overcome me. 
 
 Thy hair is like a flock of goats 
 Which [come up] sleek from Gilead; 
 Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep 
 Which ascend from the washing ; 
 All of them bearing twins, 
 And none of them miscarrying. 
 Like the flower of the pomegranate, 
 Are.. thy cheeks behind, thy veil. 
 
 Threescore queens are they, and fourscore concubines, 
 
 And virgins without number* 
 
 An only one is my dove, my accomplished one ; 
 
 The only one of her mother, 
 
 The darling of her that bare her. 
 
 The daughters saw her, and they blessed het ; 
 The queens and concubines, and they praised her: 
 * Who is this that looketh forth as the dawn, 
 ' Beautiful as the moon, splendid as the sun, 
 ' And awful as the streamers ?' 
 
 . THIS passage opens a new scene, and the 
 lime is probably the evening. The spouse 
 
 Qq 
 
seeking her beloved finds him in the gar- 
 dens, or pleasure grounds, belonging to the 
 palace, and there again receives his commen- 
 dations. 
 
 Tirzah was a royal city, the residence of 
 one of the antient princes of Canaan 1 , and af- 
 terwards of Jeroboam and his successors. From 
 its name, which signifies well-pleasing, it ap- 
 pears to have been famous for the beauty of its 
 situation, or its buildings, and perhaps for both. 
 Jerusalem, if not more beautiful, was certain}}', 
 as the capital of the kingdom, and the joy of 'the 
 whole earth, more noble, augiist, and grand. 
 From the laws of climax we should expect the 
 third image to rise proportionably upon the 
 two former; but its exact import is not easily 
 ascertained. The original term 1 seems appli- 
 cable to any object bannered ; and the antient 
 eastern banners I suppose were streamers 
 with pots of fire, in the nature of beacons, o 
 their tops. In the present instance analogy 
 leads jus to apply this image to those lofty towers 
 
 ' Josh. xii. 24. I Kings xiv. 17. xv, 
 . 2 rrrVns, both here and in ver. 10. some MSS. read mblio ; 
 but as I conceive the two roots *?.n and Vtt to be very near 
 of kin, I suppose the difference unimportant. The radical 
 idea of VrJ I suppose to be borrowed from the solar flame, 
 with a particular reference to its conic form, whence a clus- 
 ter, a tower, &c. bn (with the transposition of one letter) 
 means a standard or streamer; either from its resemblance to 
 a flame, or from a fire kept burning in an iron pot upon its top, 
 especially in, the night. [Se Harmer's Observations, vol. 1. 
 p. 225, &c.] This root has occurred Before. See note (i) 
 page 
 
299 
 
 Tmd splendid domes l in the East, which were 
 richly gilt and decorated with streamers, and 
 in some parts contained perpetual beacons on 
 their summits. This will preserve the cli- 
 max, and the harmony of the images, while it 
 presents an object, I presume, not unworthy of 
 the sacred poet. The spouse is represented fair 
 and beautiful as Tirzah comely, handsome, 
 noble as Jerusalem brilliant, dazzling, terrible, 
 as the most formidable towers, with flaming 
 spires and streaming banners. And this leads 
 to the true meaning of the next sentence, 
 
 * Turn away thine eyes, for they have over- 
 
 * come me 2 ;' that is, I am surprised, charmed, 
 and conquered by the beauty of thy person, 
 the elegance of thy dress, and splendour of 
 thine ornaments : just as a stranger might be 
 overcome with astonishment, on beholding the 
 beauty and splendour of these cities, and their 
 ornaments. The same idea occurs, though dif- 
 ferently expressed, in chap. iv. P. ' Thou hast 
 
 1 A fair paraphrast gives, I observe, an interpretation some- 
 what similar: 
 
 * Should Tirza with its lofty turrets rise, 
 
 ' Or Salem's golden spires the landscape paint, 
 
 ' A finer prospect in her face I view/ 
 
 MRS. ROWE. 
 
 2 Few passages have been rendered more variously thai% 
 this. The sense I have chosen appears to me most agreeable 
 to the context, sufficiently literal, and, beside coinciding with 
 the common translation, has good authorities. LXX. #TO- 
 ffT^e-J/ov o$3#Apt,8 <TOV ctwevxvliov ftou- Montanus : Averte ocu- 
 los tuos e regione mea : * Withdraw thine eyes from my sta- 
 ' tion/ /. e . from looking steadfastly on me. 
 
300 
 
 * ravished my heart my 'sister, my spouse, thou 
 ' hast ravished my heart/ 
 
 The following lines (verses 6 and 7), are, with 
 the difference of one word, the same as OCCUP 
 in the 4th chapter (ver. 1 3), which has in- 
 duced some critics rashly to pronounce -them 
 an interpolation '. The antients, however, and 
 even the modern poets of the East, are not so 
 scrupulous of repetition ; and the same rule of 
 criticism would rob us of many other passages 
 in this song in the Proverbs and in the 
 Psalms. It is surely not unnatural for a lover 
 to dwell upon the praises of his beloved, or 
 to repeat his commendations. 
 
 In the next paragraph, the only question is 
 What queen and concubines are here referred 
 to ? I confess I am unwilling to believe that 
 Solomon had, at this period of his life, formed 
 a numerous seraglio, though afterwards we 
 know it was his sin and folly so to do ; on the 
 contrary it seems intimated that at this time she 
 was his only one : nor do I think his queens and 
 concubines would have been disposed so to ad- 
 mire and extol a rival. But if we refer this pas- 
 sage to the court and family of Pharaoh, and the 
 compliments his daughter received on setting 
 out for Judea, I think the passage becomes 
 more natural, spirited, and beautiful ; and wo 
 wholly avoid the difficulty of supposing the 
 author of a sacred allegory so far sunk in 
 
 ' These words are in the Septuagint and Targum, though 
 the former, it mustbe confessed, is not correct, as it omits one , 
 clause and adds another. 
 
301 
 
 luxury and voluptuousness. As to the com- 
 pliments they use, the last image only is aN 
 tended with difficulty, and must be referred, 
 1 think, to some grand and awful phenomenon 
 in the sky, as being assoeiated with the fairness 
 of the dawn, the beauty of the moon, and the 
 splendour of the sun % 
 
 1 How much these comparisons of the spouse to the hea- 
 venly bodies are in the style of eastern poetry has been al- 
 ready hinted, and will appear fully by the following quota- 
 lions. 
 
 In Dr. Balfonr's << Forms of Herkern' (a collection of 
 Arabian MS. letters, &c.) a lover thus addresses his mis- 
 tress : * O moon of the heaven of goodness ! O cypress of the 
 
 * garden of affection!' And she replies: 'The moon of my 
 
 * beauty may soon shine from the window ; and the tree of 
 
 * my stature may cast its shadow on the terrace.' (See Mon. 
 Rev. vol. Ixxvi. p. 592.) 
 
 The moon is an eastern emblem of chastity, as well as 
 beauty. ' Moon of Canaan' is an epithet their writers 
 usually give to the patriarch Joseph. Richardson' 's Specimens 
 of Persian poetry, p. 434. 
 
 A Persian writer says, ' The brightness of thy face is 
 
 * more splendid than the cheek of day.' Jones* s Pers. Gram. 
 p. 25. And the expression used by our translators, ' clear 
 
 * as the sun,' occurs in Bahur Danush, vol. iii. p. 6. 
 
 Bp. Percy y and some other learned men, have thought that 
 from the stars and planets being called the hosts of heaven, 
 phat they might be here intended ; but they are always desig- 
 nated by a very different word (niNUy) Sabaoth. An inge- 
 nious critic has lately suggested that a comet might possibly 
 be intended, and quotes from Richardson the following Ara- 
 bian verses : 
 
 * When I describe your beauty my thoughts are perplexed, 
 
 ' Whether to compare it 
 
 ' To the sun, to the moon, or to the wandering star* 
 
 This wandering star he supposes also to be a comet, as 
 well as-the streamers in our text; but both applications arc 
 Doubtful, and particularly that of the sacred, writer ; and as 
 
302 
 
 Here I divide the section, and would relieve 
 the reader from the dryness of these remarks 
 by a few serious reflections avoiding as much 
 as possible a repetition of what I have before 
 offered. 
 
 1. The church of God is compared to a 
 city, beautifully situated nobly built well 
 defended and elegantly decorated. ' Beauti- 
 4 ful for situation, the joy of the whole earth is 
 
 * mount Zion, the city of the great King. 
 ' Walk about Zion, and go round about her; 
 
 * tell the towers thereof. Mark ye well her 
 
 * bulwarks, consider her palaces ; that ye may 
 ' tell it to the generation to come '.' Yea, the 
 glory of the future state is described by the 
 image of a great and glorious city z the New 
 
 the original term is plural, I should rather refer it to the au- 
 rora borealls, as perfectly corresponding with the .epithet 
 
 * awful' or terrible, and as well describing the splendour of 
 the spouse, and the awe inspired by her majestic presence- 
 
 As, however, I have not at hand evidence that this pheno- 
 menon is particularly observable in Judea, I have in the com- 
 ment applied the passage to another object, which, if not so 
 terrifying, is certainly not less sublime and grand the sun 
 setting behind a crimson cloud, and gleaming between its in- 
 terstices. 
 
 After all, if we must confine the term I have rendered 
 streamers to bannered hosts, in a sense strictly literal, I can in 
 some measure account for the connection of 'the images from 
 the eastern usage of bearing the images of the heavenly bodies 
 in their standards. Thus the sun behind a lion (sol in ho) 
 is the standard of the Great Mogul, and that of the crescent 
 (or half moon) is borne by the followers of Mahomet ; this 
 custom however could not, I think, be adopted by the Jews 
 themselves, consistent with the Mosaic law, though the Rab- 
 bins tell us they made this use of the cherubic figures. 
 
 1 Ps. xlviii. 2^12, 13. a Rev. xxi. 
 
303 
 
 Jerusalem above acity paved with gold whose 
 walls are precious stones, and her gates pearls. 
 Now these images are certainly used in con- 
 formity with our weakness and our prejudices. 
 Pleased with finery, and dazzled with splen- 
 dour, our little minds conceive of gold, and silver, 
 and precious stones, as the most brilliant objects 
 in creation ; whereas they are certainly but 
 faint images of those spiritual and sublime 
 enjoyments which are laid up for us in glory. 
 Imagine a youth to be educated in a subterra- 
 neous palace, richly decorated and brilliantly 
 illuminated with a thousand lamps, but totally 
 secluded from the sun-beams. You wish, we will 
 suppose, to give him an idea of the rising and 
 setting sun, and of the charms of nature. You 
 paint the pannels of his room with figures of 
 trees and flowers, and all the charms of a rural 
 landscape you colour his ceiling blue to de- 
 scribe a cloudless sky, and to represent the 
 sun you gild the cornice with its image : such 
 are our present discoveries of heaven and its 
 enjoyments. But take this secluded youth into 
 -the open air place him on a rising ground 
 shew him a surrounding prospect of meads, and 
 groves, and gardens and especially point him 
 to the setting sun on yon mountain and what 
 must be his astonishment! How much must 
 these objects exceed in beauty and in glory his 
 utmost conceptions in his former confinement ? 
 So much as the objects of nature exceed those 
 of art, do spiritual objects exceed those purely 
 natural ; and far more will the glories of the 
 
304 
 
 heavenly state exceed all the brilliancies of 
 nature. 
 
 Many think that the church is compared to 
 a city for her regularity and good discipline* 
 her judicious police, if we may so speak; and 
 we may observe that a chief circumstance 
 which affected the queen of Sheba, so that 
 there was no more spirit in her, was ' the sitting 
 
 * (or disposition) of Solomon's servants^ the at- 
 ' tendance of his ministers V &c. So Theodorct 
 (addressing the church) says, ' They are asto- 
 * nished who behold thy order, there being no- 
 ' thing disorderly, nothing uncertain or unde- 
 ' termined, nothing confused and indistinct j 
 
 * but all orderly appointed and judiciously de- 
 
 * termined V 
 
 !2. Passing over the repeated passage, I re- 
 mark, that the church in her prosperity is the- 
 admiration and envy of the world. By her 
 prosperity, I do not so much intend her out- 
 ward glory as her inward purity. In the gol- 
 den days of primitive Christianity, when, in the 
 language of the Christian prophet, she was 
 
 * clothed with the sun,' how much was she ad-* 
 mired! * See how these Christians love!' was a 
 proverb among the heathen: but as admira- 
 tion in base minds always produces envy* 
 so the surprise of the heathen often ended 
 in persecution -they admired, and hated 
 Christians. Nor is this a circumstance to be 
 referred only to ages back, or distant countries, 
 
 i Kings x. 5. " See Patrick in loc. 
 
305 
 
 The gospel faithfully preached, and succeeded 
 with the divine blessing, will produce, more or 
 less, the same effects on the lives of its pro- 
 fessors, and on the tempers of its enemies. A 
 gracious character will always attract the re- 
 spect and approbation of spectators ; but it will 
 not, of itself, subdue their enmity to holiness; 
 they approve the character, but they hate the , 
 person, and his religion. 
 
 3*, The true church is a singular and distin- 
 guished character, she is an only one the only 
 one of her mother. and of her beloved. There 
 are many who assume that sacred character, 
 who pretend to love and belong to Christ; but 
 the true church is distinguished by her simpli- 
 city, purity, and attachment to her Lord. From 
 this and the like passages, Cyprian [Epis. 75] 
 undertakes to prove against the heretics of his 
 time, the unity of the church ; and this must 
 be granted if properly explained : but the true 
 unity of the church consists, not in a confor- 
 mity in rites and ceremonies, and church go- 
 vernment ; but in, being united to Christ the 
 head, and in union of heart and spirit among 
 the members. We have happily proved, in 
 the present day, that there are some in almost 
 all denominations, who, notwithstanding great 
 differences in circumstantials, can unite heart 
 and hand, to promote the common cause of 
 Christianity. 
 
 4. We have the true character of the church 
 with her progressive glory. First, in the patri- 
 archal dispensation, she looked forth as the grey 
 dawn or morning dusk, with some gleams of 
 
 Rr 
 
30(5 
 
 light iu antient prophecy; then under the Mo- 
 saic dispensation she acquired the beauty of the 
 moon ; and as that planet reflects the beams of 
 the sun, cooled and weakened in their effect, so 
 that dispensation presents a faint tho' beautiful 
 image of divine truth. At length, the path of 
 the just, like 'that of the light, shining more 
 and more unto the perfect day, the church was 
 * clothed with the Sun of righteousness,' and 
 under the gospel dispensation shines forth in all 
 its splendour. Still proceeding in her course, 
 her light was partially intercepted by the clouds 
 of persecution, and she became like the evening 
 streamers of a western sky shone gloriously in 
 martyrdom and death and sunk beneath the 
 shades of papal ignorance and superstition, until 
 the glorious morning of the reformation. 
 
 The course of an individual believer is like 
 that of the church, considered as a body. First, 
 he receives the dawn of light, in the conviction 
 of his sin and guilt this light advances in the 
 increase of knowledge, and gradual sanctifica- 
 tion, till it assumes the beauty of the moon, 
 and the glory of the sun ; at length clouds arise, 
 and obscure for a time, perhaps, his happiness 
 and comfort, with affliction or persecution : 
 at length, he finishes his race with glory, like 
 the setting sun; and sinks into the grave, to 
 arise again in the morning of the resurrection. 
 
 Mr. HERVEY considers these emblems in a 
 different point of view '. He compares the 
 church to the moon in her sanctiiication, and 
 
 * Contemplations on the Night. Note. 
 
307 
 
 to the sun in her justification. In the fgrmer 
 respect we may well compare her 
 
 * To the moon 
 
 ' Dark in herself, and indigent ; but rich 
 ' In borrowed lutsre from a higher sphere.' 
 
 YOUNG. 
 
 Nor is the othcf comparison less just ; for 
 certainly when clothed with the robes of 
 righteousness, the righteousness of God our Sa- 
 viour, she may well he compared to the orb of 
 day, for purity and glory. For then JEHOVAH 
 himself sees c no iniquity in Jacob' no * pcr- 
 * verseiiess in Israel ;' but pronounces her al- 
 together beautiful and comely, through the 
 comeliness he puts upon her. 
 
 If we thus disjoint the metaphor, and give 
 up the climax, in which I am by no means 
 confident, we may then refer the last meta- 
 phor, as I have already hinted, to some more 
 awful and terrifying object ; to the northern- 
 lights for instance, which are sometimes very 
 vivid, and excite great alarm among the vulgar, 
 who imagine to themselves the conflict of 
 ' bannered hosts' in the sky, and consider 
 them as predictive of terrible wars and revolu- 
 tions on the earth. Considering believers un- 
 der this military image, as properly the church 
 militant, we may observe that the state here 
 below is a state of perpetual conflict, in which 
 they are supported, and made more than con- 
 querors, through the Captain of their salva- 
 tion. 
 
308 
 
 Ch. VI. Ver. 1113. 
 
 Bridegroom. Into the garden of nuts I went down, 
 To examine the fruits of the valley: 
 To see if the vine huddecl, 
 If 'the pomegranates blossomed. 
 Ere I was aware, my soul placed me 
 [As it were] on the chariots of Amminadib. 
 
 Virgin i. Return, return, O Solima, 
 
 Return, return, that we may behold thee. 
 
 Virgin 2. What would ye behold in Solima? 
 
 Virgin i. As it were the chorus of two bands. 
 
 In the first lines of this paragraph the Bride- 
 groom, after relating the commendations the 
 spouse had received from her own sex, adds, that 
 when he left her to go alone into his garden, 
 she so occupied his mind, that he instantly as 
 it were turned back, and seeing her at a dis- 
 tance flew r to meet her. Then her heart seems 
 to misgive her, and she withdraws, upon which 
 the chorus of virgins calls on her repeatedly to 
 turn again, and wait for his approach. 
 
 Such appears to me the general outline of 
 the drama ; but there are difficulties in the 
 meaning of particular words, not so easy to be 
 explained. What for instance was the garden 
 of nuts? and why go down among the nuts in 
 the valley to examine the vines and pome- 
 granates, which generally grew upon the 
 hills? 
 
 That the word is rightly rendered nuts, I am 
 inclined to believe on the authority of the Sep- 
 tuagint, the Vulgate, the Targum, and the ma- 
 jority of Jewish as well as Christian exposi- 
 
309 
 
 tors 1 . That these grew in the valleys may 
 easily be admitted. It appears also, from au- 
 thorities produced by Mr. HARM ER, that the 
 eastern gardens are generally planted in low 
 situations ; for the conveniency of water, and 
 JOSEPHUS tells us that the nut tree (though 
 a curious exotic in that country) flourished in 
 Galilee,- near the lake of Genesareth, along 
 with plants of a warmer region 2 . What par- 
 ticular species of nut be here intended, the 
 wall-nut, the filberd, &c. is hardly worth dis- 
 cussion; but Dr. SHAW, who votes for the for- 
 mer, tells us that these trees begin to be very 
 shady and pleasant by the time the vines blos- 
 som. 
 
 Whether Amminadib l be taken for the pro- 
 
 1 See Poll Synop. and Gill in loc. But Mr. Parkhurst, 
 following the derivation of the word (rtftt for ?J), explains it 
 of a garden pruned or cultivated: < hortus putatos? Tremel- 
 lius: * Putationis vel tonsionis, Jun. Phcator. Sec Caste/I. 
 Lex. Hept. in UN. 
 
 2 Joseph, de bell. Jud. lib. iii. chap. 35. The celebrated 
 Song of Ibrahim, says also, * I went down, to admire the 
 ' beauty of the vines/ 
 
 5 This verse is remarkably obscure and doubtful ; for, 
 I. the MS. and versions so vary as to make the reading of 
 the original very doubtful. Twenty MSS. and one edition, 
 read (^H3QJ?) Amminadib in one word: five of these MSS. and 
 two editions, point the word so as to determine it to be the 
 proper name. Many other MSS. read it in one word, with 
 the insertion of a second yod, nnS'Oi?. The most antient ver- 
 sions also consider it as the name of an individual. LXX, 
 W>jj.ttlct Afjiivadug: Vulgate ^ ' Quadrigas Aminadab:' Tigu- 
 rifie, * Currus Aminadib.' On the other hand, it must be 
 confessed, the general current of the copies, both MSS. and 
 printed, runs for the division of this word into two UT3 Dy 
 * the chariots of my ivilling, noble, or princely people. 9 So 
 
310 
 
 per name of some eminent charioteer, or should 
 be translated, as i our margins, is extremely 
 doubtful. Either way, the meaning seems to 
 be, that the affections of the prince carried 
 him to meet his love, with the rapidity of a 
 chariot the chariot of a warrior, a racer, or a 
 prince. But by what name do the virgins here 
 describe the spouse, and to what do they com- 
 pare her? They call her the Shulamite*, the 
 
 .A ben Ezra, Jarchi, and other rabbins, as well as Christian ex- 
 positors. 
 
 But 2d. If we could ascertain the reading, there is still a 
 difficulty in the translation. The Hebrew literally reads, 
 
 * I knew not, 7 (TUTT N 1 ?) /*. e. I was insensible, as it were, 
 at the moment ; just as Paul says, ' Whether in the body, or 
 
 * out of the body, I know not; God knoweth.' (2 Cor. xii. 
 2 4) ' My soul set me,' I. e. says Dr. Hodgson, * My 
 soul placed for me or my fancy conceived. * My affection 
 
 * transported -me,' says the editor of Calmet ; which, as a 
 paraphrase is very good, but not literal. Le Clerc translates 
 it, * Non novi qui anima mea me fecerit instar quadii- 
 
 * garum Hammi-nadibi ;' and Bp. Percy, < I knew not [the 
 
 * irresolution of] my mind; [which] made me [withdraw 
 
 * swift as] the chariots of Amminadib.' I might go on ; 
 but this is enough to shew the general sense of the text, and 
 the difficulty of being more exact. 
 
 1 The original (/rE&Wl) is evidently equivocal, and I have 
 endeavoured to preserve the ambiguity. It may either be ren- 
 dered the Shulamite, meaning an inhabitant of Jerusalem ; or 
 Solima, as the feminine of Solomon (nobu/), and implying her 
 relation to him. The former, it must be confessed, has the 
 authority of most antient versions and commentators ; but the 
 latter, which was suggested by Menochms (de Repub. Heb. 
 lib. iii. cap. 21. n. 14), and is countenanced by Aqulla (who 
 translates the word f/pvjvf/ow^v, pacific) is followed by most 
 of the modern translators, particularly Bp. Percy. The 
 
311 
 
 ih-e bride of Solomon, and compare her to the 
 union of two companies but whether of clan- 
 ecrs, musicians, or warriors, is a question not 
 easily determined., Mahanaim ' may even be a 
 proper name, as well as Amminadib, and still 
 the general idea may be the same that in her 
 were united every captivating charm, and every 
 agreeable qualification. 
 
 On the allegory I would offer a few hints, 
 which the reader may reject, or improve, as he 
 thinks proper. 
 
 1. There is a variety of plants in the 
 Lord's garden the nut the vine the pome- 
 granate. So the prophets speak of cedars and 
 box-trees, firs, and myrtles. And the New 
 Testament writers have taught us to admire a 
 variety in the gifts and graces of the Spirit, as 
 
 name Sdlma is equally equivocal, being used by Pope for 
 Salem or Jerusalem (' Ye nymphs of Solima begin the song'),, 
 and as a proper name of females in the east. (See Sir W^ 
 Joneses Ode, entitled, Soi'tma). Mr. Harmer prefers the 
 former sense, in order t support his hypothesis, of two wives, 
 as he thinks the term not applicable to Pharaoh's daughter; 
 but might it not, even in his sense of it, be used to compli- 
 ment her as now become a citizen of Jerusalem ? 
 
 1 This term (ooroi) has led many commentators, 
 both Jewish and Christian, to suppose here an allusion to 
 the history of Jacob, who, when he had a vision of angels, 
 culled the place by this name, Mahanaim, saying, * This is 
 ' God's host,' or rather camp. But the word is used for 
 other than military, or even encamped bodies. (See I Chron. 
 ix. 1 8, 19.) Accordingly the LXX read ug %opo; TWV argpfu.- 
 oAwv, and the fat/gate, * Nisi chores castrorum.' The word 
 (nbnQ) chorus, applies, properly to a company of dancers or 
 singers ; and the allusion is here probably lo the two choruses, 
 or semi- choruses, which accompanied the bride and bride- 
 groom. 
 
312 
 
 well as in the attainments and experience of 
 believers. 
 
 L 2. Christ's plants flourish in an humble situa- 
 tion in the valley by the brook side 1 . It 
 is in the moist soil of repentance, watered by 
 the influences of the Spirit, that the Christian 
 graces flourish best that believers grow most 
 rapidly in divine knowledge and experience. 
 
 3. The Lord condescends to visit these hum- 
 ble spots : Thus saith the high and lofty one, 
 he that inhabiteth eternity, ' to that man will 
 
 * I look, that is poor, and contrite, and trem- 
 
 * bleth at my word.' 
 
 4. The Lord so tenderly loves his church 
 and people, that lie is ever ready to fly to their 
 assistance. The Beloved is represented in the be- 
 ginning of the section as absent and long did 
 the church seek him in vain, because she 
 sought him in improper ways. But no sooner 
 does she recollect that he was gone down into 
 his garden, and attempts to seek him there, 
 than (like the father of the prodigal, who saw 
 his son at a great distance, and ran to receive 
 him) he flew to meet the object of his affections, 
 with the utmost ardour. 
 
 5. Those who tvuly seek the Lord are some- 
 times afraid to meet him : their hearts misgive 
 them, and notwithstanding all his promises, 
 they conclude the Lord will not receive such 
 unworthy creatures. 
 
 So the LXX render it, ysvyfjuKffi TB %i[istppov t *the shoots 
 of the brook;' an.d the same word in the Heb. (bm) is both 
 a valley and a stream, because, in the rainy seasons, streams 
 are formed by torr ents in the valleys. 
 
313 
 
 (7. The bride, the Lamb's wife, bears his 
 name and character upon her. She is a Shu- 
 lamite, an inhabitant of Jerusalem the city of 
 peace, because the Lord, when he writeth up 
 the people, will record that this and that man, 
 the members of his church, were born there. 
 She is Solimtti the bride of the true Solomon 
 the Prince of peace, and therefore (at least in 
 our translation) she bears the name 'Jehovah 
 4 our righteousness' upon her '. 
 
 7. The church is an object of admiration to 
 all around her. 4 What will ye see in the Shu- 
 lamite? As it were the chorus of two bands/ 
 Some writers have explained these two bands 
 of the Jews and Gentiles as united in one cho- 
 rus One song of praise to God and to the 
 Lamb. Others explain the image of an union 
 and co-operation in their exertions; and one 
 ingenious writer, of a variety of perfections and 
 excellencies, which, though seemingly opposite 
 and inconsistent, unite, harmonize, blend, like 
 two corresponding choirs. Either of these 
 ideas may usefully occupy our meditations, or 
 they may be joined without confusion or ab- 
 surdity. 
 
 1 Jer. xxxiiu 16. 
 
 Ss 
 
314 
 
 SECTION XL 
 
 Ch. VII. Ver. 19. 
 
 1st Virgin. How beautiful are thy feet in andals, 
 
 prince's daughter ! 
 
 The cincture of thy loins is like jewellery, 
 
 The work of an artist's hands. 
 
 Thy clasp a round goblet, which wanteth not 
 
 mixed wine : 
 Thy body a heap of wheat, encompassed with 
 
 lilies. 
 
 Thy breasts are like twin fawns of the roe : 
 Thy neck, is like a tower of ivory. 
 Thine eyes are as the pools in Heshbon, 
 By the gate of Bath-rabbim : 
 Thy nose is like the tower of Lebanon, 
 Looking towards Damascus. 
 Thy head upon thee is like Carmel, 
 And the tresses of thy head like the Porpura. 
 
 2d Virgin. The king is detained in the galleries. 
 
 Bridegroom. How beautiful and how pleasing art thou, O 
 
 love, for delights ! 
 
 This thy stature is like the palm-tree, 
 And thy breasts are like [its] clusters. 
 
 1 said, I will ascend the palm-tree ; 
 I will clasp its branches: 
 
 And thy breasts shall be to me as clusters of the 
 
 vine, 
 
 And the odour of thy breath like citrons. 
 Also thy mouth is as the best wine, 
 Which is sent to those whom I love for their 
 
 integrity ; 
 And causeth the lips of them who are asleep to 
 
 murmur. 
 Spouse. I am my beloved's, and his desire is toward me. 
 
 THE scene here is commonly supposed to 
 be that of the virgins dressing the bride in the 
 morning in order to receive the bridegroom. 
 
315 
 
 I I fU I TT- * -~ _ 
 
 . 
 
 who, in the following verses, is acHrfij^ed, and 
 compliments the bride anew. But I confess 1 
 have my ^doubts whether the section should 
 not have begun sooner ; namely, with the invita- 
 tion of the chorus, ' Return, O Solima/&c. Such 
 at least is the division of some critics ; but in a 
 matter so doubtful and unimportant, I have 
 followed the majority. 
 
 We have already considered the description 
 as referring chiefly to the bride's dress, and in 
 the general I am confident we are right, though 
 I have doubts upon some particulars. How 
 important an article of female ornament the 
 sandals were considered, we learn from the in- 
 stance of Judith, whose * sandals ravished the 
 
 * eyes of Holof ernes *. The * cincture of the 
 
 * loins 2 ' was the girdle, fastened with a ruby 
 
 1 Judith, ch. xvi. 9. So Lady W. Montague, describing 
 her eastern dress, says her shoes were of white kid leather, 
 embroidered with gold. See Harmer's Sol. Song. p. 107. 
 
 . 2 ' The cincture of thy loins.* This, beside its decency, is 
 more accurate and literal than the vulgar rendering. Mr. 
 Parkhurst (after Harmer) supposes the radical idea of this 
 word (pon) ' to withdraw, retire,' &c. but I conceive the 
 old lexicographers were right in rendering the verb * circuivit? 
 to go round about. So Jer. xxxi. 22. ' How long wilt thou 
 4 go about, O thou backsliding daughter ?' (Usque quo 
 circuibis rilia adversatrix ?) The Lord shall create a new- 
 thing in the earth, ' a woman shall compass a man:' (fcmi- 
 na clrcundablt virum. Pagninus : ) where there seems an 
 allusion between the members of the verse, which renders it 
 highly probable, according to the laws of Hebrew parallelism, 
 that they aresynonimous. So in this Song, chap. v. 6. * My 
 
 * beloved had withdrawn ;' literally was gone round, /. e. 
 to the other side of the house. Now, if we are right in the 
 radical idea, the word must here mean, as Cocccius and others 
 have explained it, (7rep/?fwtf, quse ambiunt femora tua) 
 
 t 
 
316 
 
 clasp, which might properly he compared to a 
 cup of wine'. The next part of the dress has 
 
 * what is girded about thy thighs or loins,' [See Leigh's Crit, 
 Sac. and Parkhurst in verbum. ] ' Ambitus feinorum tuo- 
 
 * rum.' RuxtorJ\ Mercer us, Ji 
 
 The original word for jewellery, O'ttbrr, according to Park* 
 hurst, means engraved ornaments ; but the paiticle cf com- 
 parison (DJ being inserted in the original, * like jewellery,' 
 must mean openwork or embroidery. The cincture here 
 intended then, is a girdle richly embroidered in imitation of 
 jewellery, or the art of the goldsmith, and probably fastened 
 in the front by a clasp, cut in the form of a covered cup or 
 goblet, and which if cut in a ruby would appear a goblet 
 filled with wine. But the chief difficulty rescs in the next 
 word, usually rendered navel. 
 
 1 The word sharer (TW) certainly signifies umbilicus, the 
 navel, and if so taken here, must not be referred to the out- 
 ward form, but to the use of this part in affording nourish- 
 ment to \hzfcctus in the womb ; and in that respect be con- 
 sidered as a cup or goblet filled with wine : if so, this e.x> 
 pression is of the same nature with the following, ' thy body 
 
 * is an heap of wheat,' both intimating the abundant fertility 
 of the spouse. But as several kindred words derived from the; 
 same root are applied to articles of dress or ornament, as 
 (/Tntt?) bracelets, or perhaps necklaces, (pti?) a bi east-plate, 
 (Tkiryil?) a chain, or, in short, any ornament round like a ring, 
 or composed of a series of rings: as several words from the. 
 same root are thus applied, Bp. Patrick. Mr. Harmcr, Park- 
 hurst, &c. have considered this as rcferrine. to the clasp of the 
 cincture or girdle, which (according ro the radical idea) fas- 
 tens and regulates the wkcle dress. Now we know that the 
 ladies, in various parts ot the east, display their taste in orna- 
 ments of this nature, and in particular Nicbuhr mentions a 
 lady of Alexandria, whose clasp was in the" form of two 
 little oval shields, with a flower in the middle. (Voy. en 
 Arab. tab. xxiv. vol. I.) New if the clasp of this royal 
 spouse were made of a ruby, and in the shape of a cup, 
 poetry would very naturally call it a cup of wine. Moreover, 
 because the original word rendered round f ptt) in Chaldee sig- 
 nifies the moon, some of the rabbins have suggested that this 
 may intend the same ornament referred to in Isa. iii. iS. - 
 
 round tires like the moon-' 
 
317 
 
 has been re/erred to the vest embroidered with, 
 a wheatsheaf and with lilies ': but I rather con- 
 That the eastern wines are red, and that their cups are sphe- 
 rical and highly polished, appears from tiie following couplet 
 of Hafez, [Richardson's Spec, of Persian Poetry.] 
 
 ' Approach, O Sophy, [this] cup which is a pure mirror, 
 * In order that thou may'ft behold [in itj the delightfut- 
 i ness of ruby-coloured wine.' 
 
 1 Bp. Patrick considers both the cup and the wheat encom- 
 passed with lilies, as figures embroidered on the vest with 
 gold and silver : by the former he understands a bason or 
 fountain in the centre, and by the later a harvest scene 
 wrought about it, somewhat similar to what Homer tells us 
 xvas wrought by Vulcan on the shield of Achilles. The late 
 editor of CALMET has suggested that the comparison herd 
 intended is that of the vest (or boddlcc) fastened with a gir* 
 die, to a sheaf of wheat tied about witn lilies. This is ele- 
 gant and ingenious, but (supposing the ancients tied their 
 wheat in sheafs) the word here used (ACDp) is not a 
 sheaf, but a heap of naked wheat, or corn threshed out. (See 
 Parkhurst in noiy, and the texts there referred to ) 
 
 But after all, as (pn) bitcn, certainly refers primarily to 
 the body, and is often used as synonimous with (CDm) 
 womb, [see Ps. xxii. 9, 10], I prefer considering this as a 
 compliment to the bride on her fertility. So Sflden says, 
 wheat and barley were among the antient Hebrews em- 
 blems of fertility : and it was usual for standers-by to scat- 
 ter these grains upon the married couple, with a wish that 
 they might increase and multiply. Perhaps (adds he) the 
 passage in the text is a prediction of the bride's fertility.' 
 [Uxor Hebraica, lib. ii. cap. 15.] A custom which might 
 probably originate from this passage, or vice versa. Either 
 way it offers a happy illustration. 
 
 The lilies which surround, or rather cover, this wheat, I 
 would refer to a robe of hue linen, pure and white, em- 
 broidered perhaps with lilies, which were the moft usual or- 
 naments of the Hebrews When the corn was laid in heaps, 
 I suppose a quantity of field lilies were thrown [Heb. turned] 
 over it, to protect it from the birds ; or rather perhaps as Mr. 
 Arthur Jackson suggests, in the manner of garlands, as a 
 token of joy ; and to this I suppose the allusion in the text. 
 
318 
 
 sider it as a compliment quite in -he Jewish 
 style, on her expected fertility, her innocence, 
 and purity. So Mrs. ROWE ; 
 
 c Like summer harvests fruitful, and as fair 
 * As silver lilies in their snowy pride.' 
 
 The neck and bosom are described in nearly 
 the same terms as before l . The eyes, clear, 
 dark, and full, are compared to the pools in 
 Heshbon * ; and her nose, as the index of a 
 strong mind, is compared to the abutment of a 
 tower 3 . Her head, crowned with flowerets, is 
 
 1 The only ohservable difference is, that the neck is here 
 compared to a tower of ivory not that Solomon had such a 
 tower, but because her neck was erect like a tower, and 
 white as ivory. So Anacreon uses the expression [fAfCjkvlwos 
 T^<2%^Ao] an ivory neck, in describing a handsome person. It 
 may be here recollected that the spouse, chap. i. describes 
 herself as brown or swarthy, but then she says this colour 
 was adventitious she was sun-burnt ; but as her bosom might 
 not be thus exposed, that might properly be compared to ivory , 
 if not to snow. 
 
 The gate of Bathrabbim was probably one of the gates 
 of Heshbon, which led to Rabbath or Rabba, called a city 
 of waters, perhaps from the pools here referred to. See 
 Numb, xxi 26 2 Sam. xii. 27. Jer. xlix. 3. The compa- 
 rison of the eyes to pools is classical and elegant. So Philo- 
 stratus (as quoted in Patrick), says, ' Thou seemest to car- 
 
 * ry water, as it were from the fountain of thine eyes, and 
 
 * therefore to be one of the nymphs. 7 
 
 a ' This tower of Lebanon, says Dr. Gill, seems to be 
 4 one that was built in or near the forest of Lebanon, and 
 ' was a frontier tower for that part of the country which lay 
 ' towards Damascus.' To this tower, with its abutment, is 
 compared a fine well-proportioned human nose, which has al- 
 ways been considered as no small beauty, and, by physiogno- 
 mists, as the indication of a great mind. Lavatcr says, * I 
 ' have generally considered the nose as the foundation, or 
 
 * abutment of the brain. Whoever is acquainted with the 
 1 gothic arch, will perfectly understand what I mean by this 
 
319 
 
 compared to Carmel 1 , and the tresses of her 
 head are rolled up in the spiral form of the 
 porpura z . 
 
 * abutment: for upon this the arch of the forehead rests,' 
 After describing a good nose he adds, ' Such a nose is worth 
 
 * a kingdom/ 
 
 1 Carmel ' was a very fruitful mountain, whose top was 
 
 * covered with vines, corn-fields, and fruitful trees :' see Isa. 
 xxxv. 2. Amos i. 2. The allusion is to the nuptial crown, 
 or garland, made of flowers, &c. which was worn by the 
 bride on the marriage day: and this may demote the graces 
 of the blessed Spirit, which are an ornament of grace to the 
 head, &c. Gill.Philostratus (as quoted by Patrick) has the 
 same image, referring to artificial flowers : * Thy head is a 
 4 large meadow full of flowers ; which are never wanting in 
 ' the summer, and disappear not in the winter.' 
 
 2 ' The tresses [Heb. branches] of thine head like the fior- 
 
 * ftura. 9 On no passage in this song are the ciitics more di- 
 vided than on this. Some say * like purple,' or scarlet ; but 
 these are not proper colours for the hair : others refer it to 
 the fillet or hair lace ; still the note of comparison is unac- 
 countably redundant. 
 
 The vulgate says, like royal-purple bound in the canals ; 
 i. e. says Mons. Goguet, the canals of the dyers, who dyed 
 their wool in little bundles before weaving. The eastern ladies 
 to this day wear their hair tied in a great number of tresses 
 down their backs : so Mess. Harmer and Parkhurst. Another 
 critic says ' like royal purple tied, or hung in drapery in 
 
 * the galleries/ Neither of these latter versions, however, 
 can be reconciled to the Jewish punctuation, nor the Seprua- 
 gint. The late editor of Calmet takes Aragamen (prw) 
 for a proper name, like Carmel, and thinking it alludes to a 
 particular manner of plaiting the hair, like the weaving of 
 Arech, a city in Babylonia, supposed to be famous for its 
 weaving manufactures. This however is all conjecture, and 
 the interpretation of Michaelis and Bp. Percy is so much 
 more elegant and simple, that I cannot help giving it in every 
 respect the preference. ' The tresses of thine head like the 
 ' fior/iuraS (or murcx) a J'fiiral shell fish, whence was ex- 
 tracted the famous purple dye of Tyre : meaning that the tres- 
 ses were tied up in a spiral or pyramidal form on the top, 
 
320 
 
 The king, whft is supposed to have been 
 waiting in the galleries, or antichamber x , is now 
 introduced; and like a bridegroom rejoicing 
 over his bride, extols her charms as in the highest 
 degree captivating and enchanting. He com- 
 pares her to the palm tree for stature, to the 
 vine for sweetness 1 ; and to the citron for 
 the odour of her breath 3 . The last verse, if 
 not correctly translated, is at least good sense ; 
 and its extreme difficulty will apologize for the 
 rest 4 . 
 
 or at the back of the head, and probably the basis of the 
 nuptial crown. Something like this we see in the Chinese, and 
 other eastern dresses ; the Hindoo women wear their hair com- 
 monly rolled up into a knot or bunch at the back of the head ; 
 not to say that our own ladies sometimes roll up their tresses 
 in a manner not very dissimilar. 
 
 1 Galleries on the meaning of this word we have re- 
 marked above, p. 193. The king was detained there by the 
 laws of decorum and propriety, till the virgins had properly 
 adorned the bride to receive him. 
 
 2 Stature like the palm tree. Tallness is an eastern beau- 
 ty: so Hafez speaks of damsels tall as cypresses. The 
 palm tree has this peculiarity, that its branches are all at a 
 considerable height, hence it must be climbed in order to 
 reach them : dates are the clusters of the palm, which, in 
 ver. 8, are changed for grapes, to improve the compliment : 
 and this reminds me of an eastern poet, who compares the 
 breasts of his love, ' ample and ripe,' to the sweet fruit of 
 the ta-a tree. Goiagovinda, p. 476. 
 
 3 Literally, the odour of thy nose (or as some copies read, 
 nostrils) which no doubt intends the breath. 
 
 4 This last clause has puzzled all the commentators, and 
 cannot, perhaps, be rendered with certainty. The translations 
 are too various to be transcribed, and the conjectures of cri- 
 tics too bold to be adopted. There are also some various 
 readings in the MSS. which only render the text more doubt- 
 ful. After wearying myself in examining them, I have 
 adopted what appears to me the best sense, .as well as the 
 
321 
 
 As I wish to avoid minutiae in the application 
 of the allegory, and as much as possible repe- 
 tition in my remarks, the improvement of this 
 section will be short, and confined to few par- 
 ticulars. The two first articles naturally re- 
 mind us of the apostolic admonition to put on 
 the girdle of truth, and to have our feet shod 
 with ' the preparation of the gospel of peace.* 
 5 How beautiful upon the mountains are the 
 ' feet of them that bring glad tidings' the 
 tidings of our salvation ! Gospel truths bind 
 the church together like a girdle, and the 
 doctrine of atonement is that central point in 
 which they all unite. Every doctrine of the 
 scriptures is precious, but this ' cup of mingled 
 
 * wine' is the ruby in its centre. The church 
 is fruitful like the corn, and all her children 
 receive their first nourishment from this source 
 - they all ' drink of this cup.' Her clothing 
 is like the lily -she is arrayed in ' fine linen, 
 'pure and white, which is the righteousness of 
 
 * the saints.' Her bosom is the seat of love 
 and innocence Her walk erect and her 
 ornaments the graces of the Spirit. If the 
 structure of her nose mark the strength of her 
 
 most faithful version of the text as it now stands, which 
 runs more literally thus: ' Thy palate is as the best wine,' 
 OntZJ'Q^ HIT 1 ? "f?in, * going to those beloved for upright- 
 4 nesses ; i.e. the wine which I send to those whom I parti- 
 
 * cularly esteem for their virtues and integrity.' See chap. i. 4. 
 The last line evidently refers to the intoxicating quality of 
 generous wine, which causeth those who drink freely to mut- 
 ter, or murmur, in their sleep. 
 
 Tt 
 
mind, the clearness of her discernment may 
 be expressed by comparing her eyes to the 
 pools in Heshbon. Her head is crowned with 
 the nuptial garland, and her tresses are dis- 
 posed with the utmost care ; so that, upon the 
 whole, in New Testament language, she is 
 
 * prepared as a bride adorned for her husband' 
 'and then introduced to him, w;ho was wait- 
 ing for her in 'the galleries of his grace.' On 
 this I would offer only two or three re- 
 marks. 
 
 1. That all the beauty and ornaments of the 
 church are to prepare her for her Lord. The 
 graces of the Spirit are not bestowed for our 
 admiration, but for his delight. We are not to 
 seek our happiness in self-enjoyment but in his 
 presence. It should not be the supreme object 
 with us, to be happy and comfortable in our- 
 selves, but to be useful and acceptable in his 
 sight. 
 
 2. The Lord ' waiteth to be gracious' he 
 waiteth to receive his people. When they are 
 prepared he is always ready. 6 Behold ! I 
 
 * stand at the door and knock.' 
 
 3. A third remark will lead to the follow- 
 ing part of the section it respects the different 
 style in which the bride is commended by the 
 virgins, and by her Lord: they speak with 
 admiration, he with rapture. ' He that hath 
 
 . ' the bride is the bridegroom : but the friend 
 4 of the bridegroom, which standeth and hear- 
 
 * eth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the 
 
323 
 
 4 bridegroom's voice '.' This joy is also ful- 
 filled in the virgins, the companions of the 
 bride ; but how far greater is the bridegroom's 
 joy! yet * as the bridegroom rejoice th over the 
 * bride, so shall thy God, O Zion! rejoice over 
 ' theeV 
 
 4f. The delight which the Lord takes in his 
 people is in the qnjoyment of their graces. 
 6 How pleasing art thou, O love! for delights!' 
 Partly through the cold taste of European com- 
 position, and partly through our depraved na- 
 ture, which carnalizes every thing, these ex-' 
 pressions may seem extravagant, and even li- 
 centious ; but strip off the figurative dress, and 
 you have such solid truths as these : that God 
 himself, being supreme excellence, must love 
 himself supremely ; and his creatures as they 
 resemble him : that as the supreme beauty is 
 moral excellence, so God's supreme delight is 
 in holiness and purity : a sinner therefore can 
 only be with him an object of complacency, as 
 viewed in the Saviour: and the more of the 
 image of Christ and the graces of his Spirit ap- 
 pear on his people, the more amiable are they 
 in his sight. 
 
 Again, as our happiness depends only on 
 conformity to the Most High, and commu- 
 nion with him, if he love us, he will display 
 that love by assimilating us to himself, 4 and 
 drawing us into communion with him : 'For 
 
 1 John iii. 29. ? Tsa. IxiJ. 5. 
 
324 
 
 ' whom he did foreknow, them he also did 
 6 predestinate to be conformed to the image of 
 6 his Son.' 
 
 5. The last verse, which contains the reply 
 of the spouse, is partly a repetition, and so far 
 has been considered already. The concluding 
 phrase expresses either her subjection to her 
 husband, as the Hebrew commentators say, or 
 rather his affections to her, as it is said in the 
 45th psalm ' So shcill the king greatly de- 
 ' sire thy beauty/ 
 
 Ver. ii 13. 
 
 Sjiouse. Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field, 
 Let us lodge in the villages. 
 We shall be ready for the vineyards, 
 We shall see whether the vine flourish, 
 [Whether] the tender bud open, 
 f Or] the pomegranate blossom. 
 There will I grant thee my affections. 
 The mandrakes yield their odour, 
 And over our gates are all precious fruits, 
 Both new and old, > 
 
 [ Which] my beloved, I have reserved for thee. 
 
 In the former parts of this song the queen 
 discovers a decided partiality for rural scenery, 
 and a country life ; and these verses contain a 
 proposal to ^pend the following night at some 
 villa, a little distance from the metropolis, 
 where she had provided an entertainment for 
 her lord, consisting of things new and old ; 
 that is, not only of the earliest productions of 
 the ^eason, but the most curious preserves, which 
 probably had been brought from Egypt, and 
 
335 
 
 kept for this occasion. As to the mandrakes, 
 it is indeed doubted what particular fruit they 
 may intend ; but most probably, from the con- 
 test of Leah and Rachel about them, some- 
 thing very rare, and supposed to excite love f . 
 
 Applying these words to the spiritual bride 
 we may .remark, 1. That the love "of retire- 
 ment is often the character of a pious mind 
 of a mind devoted to meditation and prayer, 
 and to converse with the Creator in his works. 
 On the other hand, when the mind is strongly 
 attached to the parade and bustle of populous 
 cities, it indicates a love to vanity, and a disin- 
 clination to commune either with our own 
 hearts, or with our God. 
 
 2. The getting up early to observe the pro- 
 gress of nature shews a diligence highly orna- 
 mental to the Christian character, and a taste 
 honourable to its possessor. Men of elegant 
 taste and elevated minds prefer these objects ; 
 and it is certainly the mark of a groveling mind 
 and a mean understanding, either to take de- 
 light only in getting money, or in spending it 
 in the vain and wicked amusements of a city. 
 
 1 DUDAIM, mandrakes: so the LXX. (who translate 
 , MvJpyof/), Onkelos, and most critics and com- 
 
 mentators. ffassetqiast (Voyages, p. 160) found a great 
 number of these plants near Galilee, which were ripe in 
 May, and, with other travellers and naturalists, describes it as 
 of a strong nauseous smell, and not good to eat; but then, 
 as a Samaritan priest told Mandrel], they were supposed to 
 help conception by being laid under the bed. However, the 
 editor of Calmet is confident fliat the dudaim were me- 
 lons. 
 
32$ 
 
 Happy is the man whose duty and circum- 
 stances permit him, at least occasionally, to go 
 forth into the field and to lodge in the villages; 
 and not merely to lodge there ; but who rises 
 early to enjoy the sweets of morn ; and not to 
 enjoy them only, but to improve them by me- 
 ditation and reflection, without which, indeed, 
 he can hardly be said to enjoy them. 
 
 3. A Christian father, Theodoret, derives 
 hence a very useful hint on the duty of mini- 
 sters to propagate the gospel, among the hea- 
 then, and to watch its effects where it has been 
 already propagated, * Let us (says he) take 
 ' care of the meanest and most abject souls, 
 ' who have lain long neglected, which are 
 
 * tropically called fields and villages.' And 
 again, It behoves us to use all suitable dili- 
 
 * gence in visiting those who have already re- 
 ' ceived the word, whether they bring forth 
 
 * more than leaves ; and especially whether 
 ' any beginnings (buds) of chanty (or love) 
 
 * appear among them V 
 
 4. The expression, * There will I grant thee 
 ' my affections,' may imply that prayer and 
 meditation, accompanied with a diligent at- 
 tention to our respective duties, are the ways in 
 which we shall best discover our attachment to 
 our divine beloved. 
 
 1 See Patrick in loc. 
 
327 
 
 Chap. VIII. 14. 
 
 Sjiwje. O that thou wert as my brother, 
 
 That sucked the breasts of my mother ! 
 
 Should I find thee in the street, 
 
 I would kiss thee, and not be despised. 
 
 I would carry thee, I would bring thee 
 
 Into the houfe of my mother, who would instruct me ; 
 
 I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine, 
 
 Of the new wine of my pomegranates. 
 
 [To the Virgins.'} 
 
 His left hand is under my head, 
 
 And his right hand embraceth me. 
 
 I adjure ye, O daughters of Jerusalem 
 
 Why should ye disturb, or why awake 
 
 The lovely one, until it please [him?] 
 
 This passage I consider as the continuation 
 of the preceding conversation. The spouse 
 had invited the beloved to partake an enter- 
 tainment she had provided for him in an ad- 
 jacent village, where she promises to give every 
 proof of her affection. But here the modesty 
 of her sex seems to check th,e expression of 
 her attachment, and she suggests a wish that 
 her relation to him were rather that of an in- 
 fant brother than a husband ; that she might 
 be at liberty 1 to express her affection in the 
 strongest and most public manner, without in- 
 curring the charge of forwardness, or indeco- 
 rum 1 . 
 
 She then anticipates such a scene, and sup- 
 poses herself in his embraces, as in a former 
 
 1 * I would kiss thee, and not be despised.' Literally, 
 ' and they \l. e. fpectators] would not despise me ;' but for 
 me (6) five MSS. and two editions read (~]b) thec t and two 
 other MSS. (b) him. 
 
section ; on which I would only remark here, 
 the wish that her relation to Solomon were of 
 the nature, I have stated, farther precludes the 
 possibility of any indelicacy in the ideas of the 
 writei\in the chorus, which is here repeated 
 to conclude the section '. 
 
 One expression in this short paragraph is in- 
 deed doubtful from an ambiguity of the origi- 
 nal, which instead of ' who would instruct me 1 
 might be rendered, * thou shouldst instruct 
 
 * me 2 ;' and I confess I have some hesitation 
 
 1 There is a material difference, however, in the expres- 
 sion. Instead of [CDN] * if ye awake,* &c. as in chap. ii. 7. 
 iii. 5. it is here put interrogatively r 6 Why should ye dis- 
 
 * turb ? Why should you awake ?' &c. Five MSS. in- 
 deed add, ' by the antelopes, and by the hinds of the field ;* 
 which words are alfo read in the Arabic and Alexandrian 
 copy of the LXX; but the Vatican LXX adds only, by 
 
 * the hinds of the field, 7 which makes it probable these word's 
 are borrowed from the former passages. About one hundred 
 MSS. prefix a vau to the word heady but I think very un- 
 accountably. 
 
 ' The verb (oiQ^n) being here the future in fiihel (as the 
 Jewish grammarians call ic) may either be the third person 
 feminine, ' she would teach, or as the second masculine, thou 
 6 shouldst teach ;' but Dr. Hodgson and the editor of Calmet 
 render Talmudm as the proper name of the queen's mother, 
 though I conceive without fufficient reafon. 
 
 The LXX. here introduce a claufe from chap. iii. 4, and 
 Mr. Green, who transposes the second verb, reads the pas- 
 sage thus, 
 
 * I would lead thee into the house of my mother, 
 
 ' I would bring thee into the apartment of her that con- 
 ceived rne, 
 
 * That thou mightest be my guide.* 
 
 But I confefs I am jealous of mere conjectural emendations. 
 
329 
 
 which to prefer, as the authorities are pretty 
 equally divided. 
 
 If the teaching here mentioned be referred 
 
 ^j 
 
 to the mother, the question occurs, ' In what 
 4 would she instruct her daughter ?' and the 
 answer is, ' In the duties of her new relation ;' 
 but if the verb be taken in the second person, 
 as I am much inclined to admit, the ex- 
 pression must be understood more generally, 
 
 * thou shouldst instruct me/ i. e. be my pre- 
 ceptor. 
 
 The spiced wine is thought to allude to a 
 custom of the parties drinking wine from the 
 same cup in one part of the marriage cere- 
 mony, and we know that spiced wine was a 
 great delicacy in the east 1 . 
 
 In the allegorical application of these verses 
 we may observe, 
 
 1. That believers wish to enjoy the most 
 intimate relation to, and communion with their 
 Lord. 
 
 1 Spiced wines were not peculiar to the Jews. * Hafiz 
 ' speaks of wine " richly bitter, richly sweet.'* The Romans 
 4 lined their vessels (amphorce) with odorous gums, to give 
 
 * the wine a warm bitter flavour, and it is said the Poles and 
 
 * Spaniards have a similar method to give their wines a fa- 
 ' vourite relish.' Nott's Odes of Hafiz, note, p. 30- 
 
 The word (D>Dy), rendered by our translators juice, is pro- 
 perly * new wine,' or must : and the new wine of pomegra- 
 nates is, ' either new wine acidulated with the juice of pome- 
 ' granates, which the Turks about Aleppo still mix with 
 
 * their dishes for this purpose ; or rather wine made of the 
 
 * juice of pomegranates, of which Sir J. Char din fays they 
 
 * still make considerable quantities in the east.' See Hat'" 
 nier's Observations, vol. I. p. 377, 8. 
 
 [For '30*1 many MSS. read Q'3Q*) or 
 
 Uu 
 
:-o 
 
 * O could I call thee by a. brother's name, 
 4 That tender uiile would indulge my bliss !' 
 
 Happily we may do this: since our gracious 
 Redeemer hath partaken of our flesh and of 
 our blood, i he is not ashamed to call us bre- 
 ' thren,' while he fulfils all the tenderness, and 
 affection implied in the character of a bro- 
 ther. 
 
 2. It becomes the disciples of Jesus to avow 
 their attachment to him in the most decided 
 and public manner. They may kiss him and 
 not be ashamed; because, (1.) There is no 
 treachery in the kiss : they do not say, as Ju- 
 das did, Hail Master!' and betray him. (2.) 
 There is' no unseemliness in the freedom it is 
 4 an holy kiss,' and becomes a saint. The at- 
 tachment of a believer to his Lord must be (like 
 the weapons of his warfare) not carnal, but spi- 
 ritual : not temporal, but divine. 
 
 3. That reverent familiarity which accom- 
 panies true piety, is not only distinct but distant 
 from the pertness and presumption of hypo- 
 crites and enthusiasts : and therefore not to ' be 
 
 * despised.' 
 
 4. When the church is instructed,. the Lord 
 is entertained : his delight is in them that fear 
 him ; and when they frequent his house for 
 instruction, and meet him at his table, it is to 
 him, as well as them, ' a feast of fat things of 
 6 wine on the lees well refined.' ' Behold, I 
 
 * stand at the door and knock! If any man 
 
 * hear my voice, and open the door, , I will 
 4 come in to him, and will sup with hi?n, and he 
 4 with me* 
 
331 
 
 5. It should be our concern, when we go 
 to the Lord's house, not only that we meet him 
 there, but that his "presence go up with us.' 
 
 I bring him to my mothei's home ; 
 Nor does my Lord refuse ro come 
 To Sion's s.acred chambers, 'where 
 My soul first drew the vital air. 
 
 He gives me there his bleeding heart, 
 Pierc'd for my sake with deadly smart ; 
 I give my soul to him, and there 
 Our loves their mutual token share.' 
 
 WATTS. 
 
 Lastly, I would conclude these hints by a quo- 
 tation from the TARGUM on this passage, which 
 is express to our purpose, and too remarkable to 
 be omitted': ' When the King MESSIAH shall 
 ' be revealed unto the congregation of Israel, 
 
 * the, children of Israel shall say unto him, 
 " Be thou with us for a 'brother, and let us go 
 " up to Jerusalem, and let us suck with thee 
 '* the senses of the law, as a sucking child 
 " sucketh the breasts of its mother," &c. And 
 on verse 2. the same paraphrase adds, *'I will 
 4 lead thee, O King Messiah, and bring thee 
 
 * to the house of my sanctuary ; and thou shalt 
 ' teach me to fear the Lord, and to walk in 
 4 his paths, and there will .we keep the feast of 
 ' Leviathan, and drink old wine/ &c. Though 
 some expressions here allude to the dreams of 
 the rabbins, as to the carnal enjoyments of 
 Messiah's kingdom, they are sufficient to shew 
 that their fathers had been accustomed, as be- 
 fore remarked, to refer this book to the Mes- 
 siah, without scruple or hesitation. 
 
332 
 
 SECTION XIII. 
 
 Chap. VIII. Ver. 57. 
 
 Virgins. Who is this that came up from the wilderness, 
 Leaning upon her beloved ? 
 
 Bridegroom. Under the citron tree I courted thee ; 
 
 There thy mother plighted thee unto me, 
 [Even] there she that bear thee plighted thee 
 unto me. 
 
 Spouse. PIac x e me as a signet upon thine heart, 
 As a signet upon thine arm : 
 
 T- 1 11 
 
 r or love is strong as death ; 
 Jealousy is cruel as the grave; 
 The darts thereof a're darts of fire, 
 Which have the fiery flame of J AH. 
 
 Bridegroom. Many waters cannot quench love ; 
 Neither can the floods drown it. 
 If a man would give all the substance of his 
 
 house for love, 
 It would utterly be contemned. 
 
 THIS Section begins with a question from 
 the virgins, alluding, I conceive, to the spouse's 
 coming up from Egypt, which lay beyond the 
 wilderness ; here Solomon probably met her, 
 and they might enter Jerusalem together in the 
 royal palanquin, (see ch. iii. 6\) when she would 
 naturally lean toward, or upon, her beloved '. 
 
 1 The word (npD*)nD) leaning occurs only in this place, 
 and is very differently translated. Many of the rabbins ren- 
 dered it associating, joining, cleaving, from the use of a kin- 
 dred word in Arabic: so the editor of Calmet, ' in sociability 
 ' with her beloved.' 2. Others * rejoicing with her beloved,' 
 to which incline the Vulgate and the Targum. 3. The 
 LXX read (rirrt|p/?OjQtWj) ' strengthening* (/. e. supporting) 
 herself on her beloved. 4. Our version and many others read 
 leaning on her beloved, which appears to be the sense of the 
 word in the Ethiopia. [See Gill in loc.] I confess 1 con- 
 
333 
 
 I conceive also, with Mr. HARMER and others, 
 that the answer of the bridegroom 1 refers to the 
 scene in ch. ii.3. ' I sat' under his shadow 
 4 (comparing the beloved to a citron tree) with 
 * great delight, and his fruit was sweet unto 
 ' my taste.' Here we may suppose her mother 
 to have been present, and some ceremony to 
 have taken place^ which is here alluded to. 
 
 The following lines appear to me to contain 
 the reply of the spouse, desiring a constant 
 memorial on his arm 2 , and in his heart; but 
 for the sake of keeping up the conversation, 
 I have referred the seventh verse to the bride- 
 groom. 
 
 The comparison of the fire of jealousy to the 
 flame of God is commonly referred to light- 
 ning ; but I conceive alludes more directly to 
 the sacrificial flame 3 , which was inextinguish- 
 
 sider this (as many other verbs of three radicals) as a com- 
 pound verb from rn to lean, bend, and pD to stagger ; i. e. to 
 lean for support, like one who staggers. 
 
 1 ' Under the citron tree'. All the Greek fathers, and 
 many of the Latin, attribute these words to the bridegroom, 
 to whom they seem most naturally to belong ; but the Jews 
 having pointed thee masculine, persist in attributing them to 
 the. spouse. The verbs in this verse have been much con- 
 troverted ; the sense I have given appears to me natural and 
 just; but for the sense of the several roots I must refer to the 
 lexicons ; particularly Parkhurst in ten. Nearly one hundred 
 and twenty MSS. and some editions prefix a vau emphatic 
 to the last line of the ^th verse ' Even there, &c. 
 
 2 Here I conceive the masculine point affixed by the Ma- 
 soreths to the pronoun thine is right. 
 
 3 'The fiery flame of JAH.' More than 200 MSS. 
 and many editions, read this in two separate words [n rorte] 
 as I have rendered them ; and as the sacrificial fire never was 
 
334 
 
 able, while the divine presence continued in the 
 temple. 
 
 On this section we may note, 
 
 1. That in the present state the church is 
 coming up out of the wilderness. It is com- 
 mon with the inspired and other writers to 
 represent the present life as a wilderness or 
 desert, i. e. a state of distress and trial, and our 
 passage through life as a journey through, or 
 a coming up out of this wilderness; in allusion 
 to the passage of the Israelites through the wil- 
 derness to the promised land. But here it is 
 said she came up ' leaning on her beloved' 
 which very properly represents the affiance and 
 dependance we should place on the divine pro- 
 vidence and grace all through our mortal pil- 
 grimage. 
 
 C 2. The Lord excites, as well as rewards, the 
 affections of his people : indeed he answers 
 and rewards no affections but those which he 
 excites : 6 Under the citron tree I courted 
 thee/ 
 
 * Look gently down, Almighty grace ; 
 
 * Prison me round in thine embrace ; 
 ' Pity the soul that would be thine, 
 
 * And let thy power my love confine.' 
 
 WATTS. 
 
 to go out, (see Levit. vi. 12.) so the Jews have a tradi- 
 tion, which appears well founded, that no rains ever could 
 extinguish it. Some of the ideas in the Song of Ibraham, 
 repeatedly quoted above, are remarkably similar to those in 
 Solomon. 
 
 < I die I go down to the grave ; 
 
 4 My heart is hot as sulphur.' 
 
335 
 
 3. The church considered as the mother of 
 believers (for 'Jerusalem which is above is the 
 
 * mother of us all') has solemnly pledged her 
 children unto Christ, and dedicated them to 
 his service. This idea is particularly applica- 
 ble to the peculiar ordinances of the gospel, 
 baptism and the Lord's supper, in\ both which 
 we are solemnly dedicated to his service : but 
 should not be confined to them ; for in every 
 circumstance or situation, and by every possi- 
 ble tie, we are the Lord's, and in no respect 
 our own. 
 
 4. The love between Christ and his people 
 is victorious and irresistible as death ; and jea- 
 lousy on the part of the believer is severe and 
 cruel as the grave. Its darts or arrows (allud- 
 ing to the * fiery arrows' of the antients) are 
 darts of fire which have a most vehement and 
 inextinguishable flame. The love of Christ 
 infixed in the heart, enkindles and burns there 
 till it consumes the lusts, and purifies the pas- 
 sions of the human heart. MAXIMUS TYRITS 
 says of a mortal love, ' Wild beasts are not ter- 
 
 * rible to it, nor fire, nor precipices, nor the 
 
 * sword, nor the halter/ &c. But Paul speaks 
 much more sublimely of divine love: * Who 
 4 shall separate us from the love of Christ ' ? 
 
 * shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or 
 ' famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 
 4 Nay, in all these things we are more than 
 
 * conquerors through him that loved us. For I 
 
 1 Rom. viii. 35 39. 
 
336 
 
 ' am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor 
 ' angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor 
 
 * things present, nor things to conle, nor height, 
 ' nor depth, nor any other creature, is able to 
 
 * separate us from the love of God which is in 
 
 * Christ Jesus.' 
 
 5. This love is unmerited and inextinguish- 
 able It is unmerited: ' If a man would give 
 
 * all the substance of his house for love, it 
 
 * would utterly be contemned.' It is inextin- 
 guishable : ' Many waters cannot quench love, 
 6 neither can the floods drown it.' So PHILO- 
 STRATUS, speaking of love, says, ' What new 
 
 * kind of conflagration is this? 1 am ready to call 
 
 * for water, but there is none to bring it ; for a 
 ' quencher, but a quencher for this lire cannot 
 
 * be found. If one bring it from the fountain, 
 
 * or take it out of the river, it is all the same ; 
 
 * the water itself is burnt up by love.' 
 
 6. It is the first and supreme desire of the 
 believer to be remembered by the Lord to 
 enjoy the affections of his heart, and the pro- 
 tection of his hand; and the Lord has gra- 
 ciously assured his church, ' I have engraven 
 ' thee on the palms of my hands : thy walls 
 ' [the walls of Jerusalem] are continually be- 
 
 * fore me.' 
 
337 
 
 SECTION XIV. [Evening.] 
 
 Chap. VIII. Ver. 8 10. 
 
 Spouse. We have a sister who is little, and her breasts 
 
 are not [grown;] 
 
 What shall we do for our sister in the day that 
 she is spoken for? 
 
 Bridegroom. If she be a wall, we will build on her turrets of 
 
 silver ; 
 
 If she be a door, we will enclose her with boards 
 of cedar. 
 
 Sjiouse, I am a wall, and my breasts are like towers : 
 Thence was I in his eyes as one that findeth 
 
 The first verse of this paragraph Mr. HAR- 
 MER considers as the language of Solomon's 
 former Jewish wife, provoked to jealousy by 
 his marriage with Pharaoh's daughter, whom 
 she represents as little, and too young for her 
 station : but this is highly'inconsistent with what 
 is said of her stature, portliness, and corpu- 
 lency, which are repeatedly commended in 
 the course of the poem. I therefore conceive 
 the allusion to be literally to a younger sister of 
 the queen, for whom she wishes Solomon to 
 make some provision, perhaps by recommend- 
 ing her in due time to one of the neighbouring 
 princes, his allies or tributaries : and this is 
 what I suppose him to promise in his reply. 
 4 If she be a wall,' if she be adapted to rear 
 and support a family, we will provide for her 
 in marriage, that she may bear an offspring 
 like turrets of silver; it being usual to erect a 
 number of turrets or little towers upon the 
 walls of cities, for the various purposes of or- 
 
 Xx 
 
338 
 
 rmment, observation, and defence. So the 
 Psalmist, 4 'Walk about Zion, and go round 
 ' about her ; tell the towers thereof. Mark ye 
 
 * well her bulwarks, and consider her pa- 
 
 * laces/ Or ^perhaps here a promise may be 
 intimated of a handsome dowry, which, to be 
 paid in silver, would form a mass like a tower 
 or palace *. 
 
 6 If she be a door,' that is, if she be capable 
 of bearing children, she shall be honoured like 
 the door of a palace ; she shall bring forth a 
 royal offspring, and thus shall she be provided 
 for in a manner suitable to her rank and cir- 
 cumstances: her virtue shall be honoured and 
 respected. 
 
 Christian interpreters have unanimously ap- 
 plied the character of this little sister to the 
 Gentile church, which may be called the sister 
 of the Jewish, with at least as much propriety, 
 as Sodom and Samaria are called sisters of Je- 
 rusalem 2 . And she was a younger sister, 
 because at this time, and even for several ages 
 afterw r ard, she was not arrived to maturity ; 
 though under the gospel they become " fellow 
 " heirs," and are united in the same privileges. 
 Nor is it of any weight that the Gentiles 
 were not at this time a church, since He 
 
 1 Mr. Harmer (p. 358.) explains the terms -wall and door, 
 as implying that the alliance between Solomon and Pharaoh's 
 daughter would be a defence to Judea, and open a more fa- 
 miliar intcrcourfe between that country and Egypt ; and 1 
 would not deny but thefe ideas might be expressed under those 
 metaphors, though I have preferred another iliucidation. 
 
 I Ezek. xvi. 46. 
 
339 
 
 who * seeth the end from the beginning,' 
 
 * calleth the things that are not as if they were/ 
 So he hath said, ' Other sheep have I which are 
 
 * not of this fold,' when as yet those sheep had 
 no existence, at least under the character of 
 sheep. 
 
 The situation of this sister church is, that she 
 was little and immature ; but when the period 
 arrived that she should be spoken for in mar- 
 riage, i. e. when the fulness of time came for 
 the calling of the Gentiles, then was she to be 
 provided for in a manner suitable to her cir- 
 cumstances. The Gentile church is a wall, 
 and hath been adorned with innumerable 
 turrets turrets of silver. It is said of the new 
 Jerusalem, that it hath twelve foundations, 
 bearing the names of the twelve apostles of the 
 Lamb ; and the like may be said of these tur- 
 rets ; they bear the names of evangelists and 
 apostles, and the first preachers of the gospel ; 
 the watchmen upon the walls of this spiritual 
 city. 
 
 The Gentile church may be considered as 
 a dopr an open door a door open night and 
 day, admitting on every side inhabitants to the 
 celestial city. Or if the term imply, as I have 
 supposed, that she was to be a mother, the por- 
 tico of cedar may imply that she was to be the 
 mother of a noble or royal offspring, and to have 
 an establishment suitable to her rank. 
 
 But how will any of these remarks apply to 
 the case of individual believers? or what useful 
 lessons or observations do they suggest? 
 
340 
 
 1. The Lord bestows whatever he requires. 
 When he calls the Gentiles to be a church, he 
 furnishes them with all the requisite gifts and 
 graces ; and when he calls a sinner by his 
 grace, he gives him grace to come. The same 
 voice that says, ' Arise and walk,' gives strength 
 and ability to obey. 
 
 2. Our divine Benefactor suits his blessings 
 to our circumstances. The wall he crowns 
 with towers, and incloses the door with pan- 
 nels. To the weak he gives strength, to the 
 poor wealth, and to the deformed beauty. 
 
 3. The Lord's blessings are worthy of himself. 
 If he erects turrets, they are of silver ; if he 
 cases a door, it is with boards of cedar. But 
 O, what metaphors can describe the dignity and 
 excellence of the blessings of his grace! 
 
 But we must consider the reply of the Jewish 
 church, she was already matured, already 
 married : she was * a wall, and her breasts 
 * like towers :' thence was she acceptable in 
 his eyes, as one that findeth peace, i. e. per- 
 haps, as a peace-maker as one that findeth 
 means of restoring peace and harmony, in the 
 close of a long, expensive, and sanguinary 
 war. 
 
 To this place I have deferred a remark or 
 two on the breasts of the church, which have 
 been often alluded to and described in the 
 course of this poem. 
 
 1. The truths of the gospel are as nouriming 
 to the soul as mothers' milk to their infant 
 offspring, Therefore as new-born babes de- 
 
341 
 
 *'sire the sincere milk of the word that ye may 
 ' grow thereby.' 
 
 C 2. The consolations of God are neither few 
 nor small. ' As a son is comforted of his mo- 
 ' ther, so shall thy God comfort thee.' Behold 
 the helpless babe! what can support him like 
 the bosom of his mother ? Look at him afflicted 
 with disease! What can comfort him like his 
 mother's milk ? And so kind, so tender, so 
 comforting, so nourishing, are the consolations 
 of the gospel ! How appropriate to every case 
 of human misery! How healing and consola- 
 tory to every mortal woe ! 
 
 Ch.VIII. Ver. 1114. 
 
 Spouse, (to the Virgin) 
 
 Solomon hath a vineyard at Baal-hamon : 
 He hath let the vineyard to keepers, 
 Each shall bring for the fruit thereof a thou- 
 . sand silverlings. 
 
 To the Bridegroom, 
 
 My own vineyard is before me; 
 
 A thousand to thee, O Solomon ! 
 
 And two hundred to the keepers of its fruits. 
 
 Bridegroom. O thou who inhabitest the gardens, 
 The companions listen to thy voice, 
 Cause me to hear it ! 
 
 Spouse. Haste thee, my beloved, 
 
 And be thou like an antelope, or a young hart, 
 Upon the craggy mountains. 
 
 I can trace no connection between the pre- 
 ceding paragraph and this, but on a supposi- 
 tion that the former has some reference to the 
 dowry of the bride's sister, as above hinted. 
 
342 
 
 Then there is a propriety in mentioning the 
 dowry of the spouse, namely, the city of Gezer, 
 Gaza, or Gazara, and the surrounding country, 
 which was well situated for vineyards, as re- 
 marked in our preliminary dissertations l . For 
 though the dowries were more usually given 
 by the husband, it appears in certain instances, 
 of which this is one, they were received from 
 other quarters. This spot she compares to 
 Baal-hamon 9 where Solomon had a vineyard 
 farmed out to keepers % each of whom, it should 
 seem, paid in a net revenue of a thousand sil- 
 verlings. 
 
 By the expression ' my one vineyard is be- 
 * fore me/ commentators understand that the 
 
 1 Pag. 56. 
 
 2 These silverlings, or pieces of silver, are supposed to be 
 shekels, value about 25. 4^. each. Supposing (as tradition 
 does) the vineyard to have been divided among ten farmers, 
 the whole annual revenue must have been about i,2oo/. 
 sterling. But as the original (UJ'N) is equivocaj, it may be 
 rendered either distributively, each, (* quisque*, Pagmnus) or 
 emphatically * the man* (LXX. #vvjp) i.e. as the editor of 
 Calmet explains it * the tenant)' the principal or head man. 
 I have preferred the fbrmer, becaufe I find it was common to 
 divide these grounds into plantations of a thousand vines, each 
 worth a thousand silverlings ; (Is. vii. 23.) and because I con- 
 ceive one of these would have been too inconsiderable for a 
 royal vineyard. 
 
 The situation of Baal-hamon is very doubtful ; Mr. HAR- 
 MER places it at Balbec ; but most commentators, (I believe 
 without authority) near Jerusalem. The name seems to 
 imply an heathen origin, and some are confident an Egyptian 
 one ; though others think it simply implies the populousness 
 of the city Baal-hamon literally meaning * the Lord of a 
 * multitude.' 
 
343 
 
 spouse paid a personal attention to her vine- 
 yard, (as having been formerly a keeper of the 
 vineyards r ) and delighted in residing there, 
 which the bridegroom appears to allude to, 
 when he calls her ' an inhabitant of the gar- 
 
 * dens,' and expresses a desire for her constant 
 presence : this desire is re-echoed by the cho- 
 rus in the person of the spouse, and concludes 
 the poem. 
 
 In what manner, and how far, this part of the 
 song must be allegorized, is indeed a question 
 of some difficulty. 
 
 The Jewish doctors say, particularly MAI- 
 MONIDES, ' Wherever you meet with the name 
 
 * Solomon in the book of Canticles, it is holy, 
 ' [i. e. belongs to the Messiah] except in that 
 
 * place " a thousand to thee, O Solomon!" 
 which is the text before us. Their idea seems to 
 be, that a comparison is here intended between 
 some vineyard literally understood, and the 
 spiritual vineyard, the church of God. Bp 
 PATRICK draws the parallel between the vine- 
 yard of Solomon in Baal-hamon, and that of 
 the spouse, to the disadvantage of the former ; 
 as if she had said, If Solomon makes so great 
 a profit of a vineyard which he intrusts to 
 keepers, how much more gain shall I reap from 
 mine, under my immediate inspection ? 
 
 But the difficulty is, howshall these vineyards 
 be distinguished in the allegory? Is not the 
 vineyard of the church, the vineyard also of 
 
 \ See chap. i. 6. * John iii. 29. 
 
344- 
 
 the Lord of hosts? To avoid this, Dr. GILL, 
 who admits them to be the same, supposes 
 these words, ' My own vineyard is before me,* 
 to be the language of the mystic Solomon; 
 though he is obliged to refer the latter part of the 
 verse, 4 Thou, O Solomon, must have a thou- 
 ' sand* to the spouse. But this division appears 
 - to me forced and unnatural, and therefore un- 
 justifiable. 
 
 If we must consider these vineyards as dis- 
 tinct, we must, I suppose, with some of the old 
 divines, explain them of the Jewish and Gen- 
 tiles churches; but 1 confess I see no necessity 
 for this. Parables and allegories must be taken 
 up only in their outlines: to be minute is to 
 be ridiculous. ' The vineyard of the Lord of 
 4 Hosts is the house of Israel/ and this may be 
 considered in different points of view. It may 
 be compared to Solomon's vineyard in Baal- 
 hamon, as being let out to keepers; namely, 
 the Jewish princes, magistrates, and prophets : 
 but when the church speaks of herself under 
 this image, she promises diligence and watch- 
 fulness, with a due regard and reward to the 
 attention of her ministers. 
 
 The language of the beloved in addressing 
 bis spouse, 4 O thou who inhabitest the gar- 
 < dens-/ evidently refers to her tatse, repeatedly 
 binted at, for rural occupations and retirement, 
 on which we have before remarked : and the 
 concluding verses, which are nearly a repetition 
 of the chorus in the former parts of the Song, 
 express an ardent wish for the accomplishment 
 
345 
 
 of the objects here prefigured in the incarna- 
 tion of the Son of God. The only idea there- 
 fore on which 1 shall insist, is the allegory of a 
 vineyard, as descriptive of the church, which is 
 beautifully drawn by the prophet ISAIAH l : 
 this I shall quote in the elegant version of 
 Bp. LOWTII. 
 
 Let me now sing a song to my beloved, 
 
 A song of loves concerning his vineyard. 
 
 My beloved had a vineyard 
 
 On a high and fruitful hill. 
 
 And he fenced it round, and he cleared it from the stones, 
 
 And he planted it with the vine of Sorek ; 
 
 And he built a tower in the midst of it, 
 
 And he hewed out also a lake therein : 
 
 And he expected, that it should bring forth grapes ; 
 
 But it brought forth poisonous berries.' 
 
 The prophet goes on to amplify the allegory, 
 by shewing what pains had been taken with 
 this vineyard, the ill returns which had been 
 made, and the judgments to be expected; and 
 then concludes with the following applica- 
 tion : 
 
 * Verily the vineyard of JEHOVAH, God of hosts, is the 
 
 house of Israel ; 
 
 * And the men of Judah the plant of his delight.' 
 
 As a comment upon this, I might refer to 
 the parable of the labourers in the vineyard % 
 which is too long for transcribing in this place, 
 and too easy to need explanation. 
 
 I would therefore finish the whole with an 
 echo to the concluding chorus ' Make haste, 
 
 J Chap. v. i, fcfr. See also chap, xxvii. 2, &c. 
 2 Matt. xxi. 33, &c. 
 
 Yy 
 
346 
 
 my beloved ;' which in the first instance was a 
 wish for the personal appearance of the Mes- 
 siah, and the introduction of his kingdom ; but 
 may now be adopted with equal propriety, in 
 reference to his second coming, when he shall 
 be admire^! in 'all them that believe;' to this 
 event it is our duty and privilege to look 
 forward with joyful expectation, and to 
 adopt the language of the great prophet of the 
 New Testament, and say ' Even so; come, 
 * Lord Jesus! Amen.' 
 
 THE END. 
 
 C WHITTIVGHAM, Vri/iter, 
 Dean Street, Fetter Lane, London. 
 
LT C 1 HP 
 151 
 
 OF 
 
 SUBSCRIBERS. 
 
 - 
 . - J. 
 - J. 
 
 REV. T. Armstrong, Hoxton 
 
 - - R. P. Allen, Exeter 
 
 . - II. Atkinson, Greenwich 
 \V. Alers, esq. Fenchurch Street 
 Dr. Allen, Southwark 
 Mr. Anderson, Walnut-tree Walk 
 
 Rev. C. Buck, Tabernacle Row 
 . - G. Burder, Coventry, 6 
 
 - S. Burder, St. Albans 
 
 W. Bull, Newport Pagnell 
 . Bicheno, Newbury 
 
 - J. Brooksbank, Winkworth 
 
 Buildings 
 
 - D. Bogue, Gosport 
 
 - J. Bradford, Grub Street 
 J. Bacon, esq. Newman Street 
 Mr. Bently, St. George's Fields 
 
 - - J. Burbank, Homerton 
 
 - Z. Bunnell, New Street 
 
 - Blackbird, Kingsland 
 
 - Blackeney 
 
 - N. Barber, Gravesend. 
 
 - Beams, Baron's Buildings 
 . - J. Buish, Cheshunt Acad. 
 
 - R. Butcher, Spa Fields 
 _ J. Brown, Durham Place 
 
 - R. Body, Skinfield 
 _ W.G. Bates, Hoxton, 
 
 . -- R. Bestland, Titchfield 
 -- Birchett, Doctors Commons 
 -- Bay lie, Stepney 
 
 - W.'Boden, Hull 
 -- J. Boden, ditto 
 
 -- T. Bates, Paradise Street. 
 , __ J. Bland, Fenchurch Street 
 __ loggers, Aldersgate Street 
 
 Mr. T. Bright, Hoxton 
 
 Mrs. Bridge 
 
 Mrs. Bicham 
 
 Mess. Button, Paternoster R. 12 
 
 Book Society, Coventry 
 
 St. Albans 
 
 Newport Pagnell 
 
 Rev. J. Clayton, Highbury Place 
 
 -Mr. Coffin, Linkinhorn 
 
 G. Collison, Hoxton, 2 
 
 J. Cottingham, Mile End 
 
 A. Crole, Islington 
 
 H. Campbell, Romsey. 
 
 C. Cox, esq. Bartlett's Building* 
 R. Cowie, esq. Lime Street 
 Mr. J. Creed, Mile End 
 
 G. Creed, Stoke-house, 
 
 Plymouth 
 
 Cremer, Holborn 
 
 T. Cahusac, Haymarket 
 
 W.' Cahusac, Strand 
 
 Cabell, Newington Place 
 
 Conder, Bucklersbury 
 
 Coles, Lawrence Lane 
 
 Cooper, Rotheriiam 
 
 Clegg 
 
 Collins, Southwark 
 
 Chapman, Fleet Street, 12 
 
 Rev. J. Davis, Westminster 
 
 Dr. Duncan, Pimlico 
 
 W. Davidson, esq. Queen Ann's 
 
 Street, East 
 Mr. R. De Courcy 
 
 Dickie, Bow Lane 
 
 Davis, jun. Lombard Street 
 
 \V. Dartnell 
 
SUBSCRIBERS. 
 
 Mr. Dobbs, Bridge Street 
 Mess. Dunn and Biggs, Notting- 
 ham, \'2 
 Miss Devereaux, Newington 
 
 Jlev. J. Evans, Coventry 
 
 J. Eyre, M.A. Hackney 
 
 R. Elliot, Newport Pa^nell 
 
 Mr. R. Elliot, Bank 
 
 T. Evre, Burley 
 
 W. Elliot, Earfey 
 
 : Emmerson, Whitechapel 
 
 Rev. A. Fuller, Kettcring 
 
 J. Fowler, Sheer ness 
 
 R Freer, Radclirfe 
 
 W. Ford, Blackfriars Road 
 
 Mr. B. Flower, Cambridge 
 
 J. Fesenmeyer, Hackney 
 
 Fulford, Crediton 
 
 MissC.R.F. Hackney 
 
 Rev.W.Goode, M.A. Blackfriars 
 
 r. Golding, Blandford 
 
 S. Gooding, Leiiham 
 
 J. Griffin, Portsea, 7 
 
 J. Geary, Perth 
 
 H. Grimstone, Esq. Pallmall 
 G. Gaviller, esq. St. George in 
 
 the East 
 
 Mr. Gardner, Tower Street, 6 
 Green, St. Paul's Church 
 
 Yard 
 
 Glover, Birmingham 
 
 Golf 
 
 Sir R. Hill. Bt. Nottingham Place 
 Rev. R. Hawker, D.D. Ply- 
 mouth, G 
 
 T. Haweis, M.D. Spafields 
 
 Hamilton, M.D. Artillery 
 
 Place 
 
 R. Hill, M.A. Surry Chapel 
 
 - J. Hughes, M.A. B'attersea 
 
 M. Home, OJney 
 
 T. Harper Newington 
 
 Mr. Hide, Henley 
 
 E. Hodges, Plymouth Dock 
 
 ^ T Herdsman, South Pether- 
 
 ten 
 
 J.Hordle 
 
 Mr. Hopkins, Christ Church 
 
 Mrs. Harper 
 
 Henneway, Esq. 
 
 Jos. Hardcastle, esq. Dticksfoot 
 
 Lane 
 Mr. Hastings, St. George's Fields 
 
 Hubbard, Melksham 
 - 'Hodgson, Snowhill 
 
 Hawson, Bruton Street 
 
 -- Hedder, Blackfriars 
 
 -- Helmsley, Aldersgate Street 
 
 - Hale, SpitaUields 
 
 -- Hick man, Bedford Row 
 -- T. Flail ward, Gray's Inn 
 
 - Higgs, Bloomsbury 
 
 -- Hurst, Paternoster Row, 12 
 -- R. Howard, jun. Shoe Lane 
 
 - -- J. Had win, George Lane 
 -- Harding, Transport Office 
 Hoppus, Leadenhall Street 
 -- Hodson, Pentonville 
 
 Rev. W. Jay, Bath 
 
 J- Jefferson, Basingstoke 
 
 J. Jones, Plymouth 
 
 E. D. Jackson, Warmin- 
 
 ster, 6 
 
 J. James, Chesbunt 
 
 Mr. Illidge, Bartholomew 
 
 Close 
 Mr. Jackson, Tottenham 
 
 Court Road 
 
 Mr. W. Judson, Iloxton 
 James, Bristol 
 
 Rev. W. Kingsbury, Southamp- 
 ton 
 
 J. A. Knight, Iloxton 
 
 Mr. Kellick, Brunswick Street 
 
 Rev. Sir E. Leigh, bart. Little 
 Har borough 
 
 S. Lowell, Bristol 
 
 R. Little, Hanley Green 
 
 G. Lambert, Hull, 6 
 
 J. Lam be 
 
 V. Litchfield, esq. 6 
 Mr. Lepin, Hackney 
 
 G. Lee, Cheshunt 
 
 D. Lawrence, jun. Kings- 
 land Road 
 S. Lloyd, Thames Street 
 
 Lee, Weni, Shrophire 
 
 Rev. J. Moody, Warwick 
 
 W. Mose'ley, Long Buckby 
 
 Mr. Middle-ton, Lewes 
 
SUBSCRIBERS. 
 
 Rev. fylr. Myddleton, Rother- 
 
 hithe" 
 
 J. II. Michell, King's Col- 
 lege, Cambridge 
 
 . Mr. Morris, Newport' Pag- 
 
 nel 
 
 Z. Macaulay,esq. Birchin Lane 
 Mr. Mackintosh, Bloomsbury 
 
 Mackenzie, Bethnal Green 
 
 Myles, Somer's Town 
 
 J. "Morten, Cheshunt 
 
 Marsh, Heading 
 
 Martin, Tottenham Court 
 
 Road 
 
 J. Major, Tavistock Street 
 
 A. Maxwell, Old Gravel 
 
 Lane 
 
 J. Mathews, Strand, 12 
 
 Mrs. Maynard, Croydon 
 
 Rev. J. Noyes, Pewsey 
 W. Newman, Stratford 
 
 Mr. N 
 
 T. Nicklin, Burwell 
 
 James Niele, esq. St. Paul's 
 
 Church Yard 
 Mrs. Niele, ditto 
 Mr. Neele, Strand, 2 
 
 Mr. J. Neale, Pentonville 
 
 Nobbs, Hoxtou 
 
 J. O. Oldham, esq. Holborn 
 Mr. Ogden, Thames Street 
 Ogle, Edinburgh, 12 
 
 Rev. J. Pratt, Doughty Street 
 
 . Mr. Peers, Thorpe Arche 
 
 J. Parsons, Leeds 
 
 . W. F. Platt, London 
 
 ^ S. Palmer, Hackney 
 
 _^ J. B. Pew tress, Walworth 
 
 Mr. T. Pooley, Borough 
 
 P , Falcon Square 
 
 p . Peck ham 
 
 Padman, Bank 
 
 Phillips, Lombard Street 
 
 Parkinson, Hoxton 
 
 , II. Perkins, ditto 
 
 E. Pullen 
 
 Potts, Newington 
 
 Parkinson, jun. Distaf 
 
 Lane 
 
 Perrin, London Bridge 
 G. Parker, Hackney 
 
 Vlr. Pritchard, Derby, 6 
 
 Rev. VV. Rogers, D.D. Philadel- 
 phia 
 
 J. Ryland, D.D. Bristol 
 
 J.Rippon,D.D.Bermondiey 
 
 W. Roby, Manchester 
 
 . Reyner, esq. Ducksfoot Lane 
 VIr. T. Roe, Blandford 
 J. Rusher, Reading 
 
 - Rothwell, Chelsea 
 
 - Rust, Hull 
 
 Rousseau, Spafields 
 
 J. Raban, Newport Pagnell 
 Mess. Rees and Co. PhiladeU 
 
 phia, 25 
 
 lev. D. Saville, Edinburgh 
 
 Mr. Sowerby, Bartholemew 
 
 Close 
 
 Mr. Sutclifle, Olney 
 
 J. Surman, Chesham 
 
 Simon, Paul's Cray 
 
 T. Scott, Grosvenor Place 
 
 G. Slatterie, Chatham 
 
 J. Smith, Manchester 
 
 J. Sibree, Frome 
 
 D. Simpson, M.A. Hoxton 
 
 R. Spear, esq. Manchester 
 
 Mr. Seeley, Ave Maria Lane, 12 
 
 H. Stokes, Hatton Garden 
 
 D. Smith, Hoxton 
 
 W. Smith, Durham 
 J. S. Sneider, Holborn 
 
 Skene, West Street 
 
 Summeriand 
 Shynn, Hayes 
 
 J. Sainsbury, Bear Street 
 
 Simpson, St. Martin's Lane 
 
 Stevens, Thames Street 
 
 Shoobert, Hackney 
 
 Stevens, Charter House 
 
 B. Sewell, Norwich 
 
 Starey, Poultry 
 
 Miss Smith, Drapers Hall 
 
 Rev. J. Towers, Barbican 
 
 J. Townsend, Rotherhithe 
 
 Is. Taylor, Colchester 
 
 D.Taylor, Mile End 
 
 Vr. \V. Townsend, Holborn 
 _1T. Thompson, Walbrook 
 
 D. Tyermao, 
 
 Travels 
 
SUBSCRIBERS. 
 
 Mr. N.H.Towle, Rank 
 
 , J. Tarn, London Wall 
 
 D. Tyerman, Hoxton 
 
 Thomas, Tromp Street 
 
 Tickner, Brunswick Street 
 
 Rev. Mr. Upton, Brunswick Street 
 Mr. Upjohn, Cfreshunt 
 
 Mr. Vanvoorst, Edmund 
 
 Hall, Oxford 
 Mr. Venn, Castle Street 
 
 Rev. J. Watkins, L.L.D. 
 
 C. Winter, Painswick 
 
 W. Wood 
 
 M. Wilks, Old Street 
 
 E. White, Hertford 
 
 Basil Wooclde, Paddington 
 
 . Williams, D.D. Rothcr- 
 
 ham 
 
 Rev. G. Williams, Lincoln's Ion 
 Fields 
 
 A. Waugh, Marybone 
 
 R. Winter, Bloomsbury 
 
 G. West, Stoke 
 
 Mr. VV . 
 
 T. Weaver, Shrewsbury 
 
 T. Wilson, esq. Artillery Place 
 G.Wright, esq. Tottenham Court 
 
 Road 
 Mr. Warren, Finsbnry Square 
 
 S. Whitwell, Coventry 
 
 Wilmot, Chippenham 
 
 J. Wills, jun. Stationers 
 
 Court 
 Westley, St. Martin's Le 
 
 Grand 
 
 W. Williams, Wai worth 
 
 R. Wilks, Hoxton 
 
 Miss Wilkinson, Clapham 
 
TEXTS INCIDEN'TLY ILLUSTRATED. 
 
 Page 
 
 Gen. . il. 19 5 
 
 xxi. 30 212 
 
 i Kings ix. 1 6, 17 56 
 
 Job . . xx. 9 158 
 
 xxviii. 7 ib. 
 
 xxxvii. 21, 22 276 
 
 xxxix. 19 177 
 
 Psalm xxxvi. 8 207 
 
 ^Iv. i| &c 81 & seq. 
 
 9 289 
 
 Ixiii. i, &c. . 208 
 
 Ixviii. 13 161 
 
 Ixxii. 20 . . 45 
 
 Ixxvi. 4 265 
 
 ex. 3 253 
 
 Prov. v. 15 18 . . 271 
 
 xxv. ii . .176 
 
 Isaiah v. i, &c. , . 345 
 
 xxv. 6 . ......... 207 
 
 xli. 17 19 273 
 
 Ixii. 4, 5 . . 83 
 
 Jer. . xxxi. 22 315 
 
 Ezek. xvi. 10 14 84 
 
 Hosea xiv. 8 . . 203 
 
 Zach. x. 3 , 178 
 
 Rev. . ii. 24 .,,..* 143 
 
The Author will thank the Reader to correct with his Pen the following Er- 
 rata, which have escaped him i the Proofs.- 
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 Page 31, Note, last line but -one,-instead of Psalm xlix. 3, read xlix. 4. 
 
 46, Note, line 1, for Ps. xlii. read Ps. xli. 
 
 53, Note, line 3, for 1 Kings ?. reud 1 Kings iv. 
 
 I. . 60, line 9, for strangely read strongly. 
 
 98, Note, line 4, for Cant. ii. read Cant. i. 
 
 99, ditto,. line.7, dele vii. . 
 
 . 117, line 10, for tliefeld read Sharon 
 
 141, .Note, for-Eph. v. -3I-*33/read-Matf. xxii. 37. 
 
 . 166, transpose Note 1 and 2 
 
 173, line 17, dele ' He' 
 
 195, line 2 from the bottom, read ' Temple of the Messiah' 
 
 , 228, line 14, for grapes read buds 
 
 265, for for read the 
 
 275, the Notes are wrong placed and numbered, No. 1, 2, 3, should 
 
 be 3, 1,2 
 283, line 7 from the bottom, for provoke read provokes 
 
 324, after "line 11, SECTION XII is omitted 
 
 336, line 4, for is read shall be- 
 
 -.343, dele last Note 
 
14 DAY USE 
 
 RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED 
 
 LOAN DEPT. 
 
 This book is due on the last date stamped below, of 
 
 on the date to which renewed. 
 Renewed books are subject to immediate recall. 
 
 nr 
 
 LD 21A-60m-3,'65 
 56slO)476B 
 
 
 General Library 
 
 University of California 
 
 Berkeley 
 
YB 707 
 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
m 
 
 m