vineyard of red wine. I, the Lord, do keep it." "The watchmen that go about the city found me," with "I have set watchmen on thy walls, O Jerusalem ?" "Who is this that looketh forth as the morning," with "Then shall thy light break forth as the morning." "Behold, King Solomon with the crown," with "Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty." "Thou hast overcome me with one

of thine eyes," with "Look unto me and be saved!" "Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates with pleasant fruits," with "I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and shittah tree, the myrtle and the oil tree." "Awake,

O north wind," with "Awake, O arm of the Lord." "Eat, O friends, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved," with "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come." 'My breasts are like the towers thereof," with "Ye shall suck and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations." "Thou art beautiful as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem," with "Come hither, and I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. And he shewed me "New Jerusalem coming down from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” Solomon is here, but truly a greater than Solomon is here also. And a beautiful bride is here, and then, typically, Israel also, and the Church adorned as a bride for her husband, and "brought unto the King in raiment of needlework."

This song sets forth in poetic and dramatic form the subject of subjects, in diverse scenes and personages and experiences; and the whole is arranged as in a manysided mirror to reflect the beauty and glory of our King, and tell us of his love that passeth knowledge, the love

of Christ for me. Oh! it is a labyrinth of exquisite and everlasting flowers transplanted from heaven to earth, and wafting the perfumed breath of celestial spring from Paradise around us. It is a maze of sweets, and a lovely obscurity. A heaven-given riddle, attempting to reveal the love of Christ, and his own Spirit alone can expound it. It may be a detailed history of churches, it is of individual Christian experience, a drop of living water from the ocean of love, a spark of fire from the eternal glory.

There are two things necessary for the study of this song. The conviction of sin. Angels may wonder and admire it, but only the redeemed can sing it. And a loving heart. That will explain what otherwise would seem difficult to understand.

"Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine."-SONG i. 2.

The

It is the bride of Christ who is supposed to speak from this verse to the 8th verse. It is a soliloquy. Shulamite's beloved is absent. Her heart is throbbing with the sense of his love. "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth." Spiritually interpreted, it is the believing heart's longing for the presence of Christ, and that secret, hallowed, yet sensible, union and communion with him which is sometimes consciously, but also too

seldom, enjoyed. It is the yearning for a fuller, deeper, and more abiding apprehension of his love, for when the heart begins to taste it, we long to drink more deeply into its fulness.

This was probably the prayer of Old Testament saints for the promised incarnation and coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the anointed Son of God.

"The kisses of his mouth" is a redundancy of expression denoting the vehemency of her desire, and how much she longed and wearied for him, and how her heart was set on him, and how eagerly she desired for communion with him.

"The kisses of his mouth." She valued the kisses of no other, for she speaks as one who had experienced Christ's love. "Thy loves "-it is plural in the original, for there is no end of them-" are better than wine." "Let him kiss me." These words do not imply that she was before him in her love, or that she was more desirous of his presence and communion than he was of hers, for the contrary is the truth. "We love him because he first loved us." But when our Lord has revealed his love to us, we long for fuller manifestations. "O that he would come to me, and reveal himself in love and grace my soul in some ineffable way. O to have him in my very heart, to taste his love, to hear his voice, to have his everlasting arms around me, and the robe of his "Let him kiss me.' righteousness all round about me." Her words are in connection with the thoughts of her heart. No name is mentioned; no need. Her heart is fixed on him, for "The king had brought her into his

to

Whom could she mean but him?

chambers."
Christ is first, all other relationships fall into their
places.

When

proper

We gather from the 5th and 6th verses that the Shulamite was not alone. We have mention made of her friends and companions, "the daughters of Jerusalem," children of the Jerusalem above, but not so well acquainted with Jesus as their companion was, knowing but little, yet longing to learn.

46

Let us remember that the period of time when this song was written was when the people of Israel and the individual believer were waiting for the consolation of Israel, "the promised seed of the woman," "the Shiloh of Jacob," "the prophet like unto Moses," "the captain of the Lord's host," the man who was to be a hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest." Nothing was more passionately longed for, or more earnestly desired, than the child to be born; the son to be given, and the prayer ofttimes was "O that thou wouldst rend the heavens, that thon wouldst come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy preChrist's incarnation was the hope of Israel.

sence."

"Let him kiss me." Let me enjoy the personal and individual tokens of his love. Joseph kissed all his brethren; David kissed Jonathan. When the prodigal was seen "yet a great way off, his Father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him." The thought was familiar to the bride of Christ. Again, we are told in the Psalms, "Kiss the Son, lest he be angry." Kisses are tokens of

reconcilation, of forgiveness, and of heart-felt love. Kisses are incentives to love. It was a bold request, but not more so than welcome, the Holy Ghost inspired it. To kiss the hand or even the robe of a king is a great honour. But to be kissed with the kisses of his mouth! One kiss! Many kisses! "Kisses of his mouth." Angels wonder! Jewish writers understood "the kisses of his mouth" to be the precepts of the law. We have learnt better. But if the precepts of the law represented the kisses of the Messiah's mouth, how much more do the promises of the Gospel express

them!

Listen, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Doth he not seem to be kissing us with the kisses of his mouth? "As the Father hath loved me, so have I also loved you." "I will not leave you comfortless, I will come unto you." "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." "I, even I, am he that comforteth you." Thus he kisses us "with the kisses of his mouth." Is it any wonder that it is written, "Grace is poured into thy lips, therefore God hath blessed thee for ever?" "These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full." Oh! it is the bridegroom kissing the bride with the kisses of his mouth. It is eastern language, but full of meaning. The love that