dition of the church (signified by the bed of Solomon) in society and fellowship with Christ, of whom Solomon was a type, both in his royal person, and state, and marriage, (as appears from Psal, xlv.), whose bed or throne (for the thrones of the eastern kings were in the form of a bed or couch, wherein more persons than one might sit, Rev. iii. 21.) was secured by the most valiant men in the kingdom, who are said to be threescore, a determinate number being named (as the manner is) for an undeterminate. Though some conceive that Solomon doubled the number of that band of mighty men which was in David's time, which consisted of thirty, 2 Sam. xxiii. 13. 23. In the end of which chapter, ver. 39. we read also of thirty and seven persons who were of great note for their valour, To whom if we add the eleven princes mentioned in 1 Kings, iv. beginning, and the twelve great officers which had the care of making provision for his household in the several provinces, ver. 7. they make just the number of sixty. And may be looked upon as a figure of that strong guard which is about the prosperity and happiness of the church, which is defended by angels, who are mighty ones indeed, and very numerous, (Psal. Ixviii. 17.), and all ministering spirits for those that are heirs of salvation, Heb. i. ult.; nay, the most mighty of the heavenly host, it may be easily proved, (if this were a place proper for it), are guardians and protectors of Christianity.

[h] Ver. 8. Because of fear in the night.] And do all of them unanimously oppose the spiritual wickedness, i. e. wicked spirits in high places, who seek to destroy the church, (Eph. vi. 12.), and may be meant by the terror of the night, as the Hebrews expounded Psal. xci. . and being the rulers of the Gentile world, stirred them up to persecute Christianity, as destructive to their kingdom of

darkness.

[i] Ver. 9. Made himself a chariot.] But in spite of all they could do, Christ is here represented under the type of Solomon, as carrying his church triumphantly through the world, (for the word appirjon, which is never elsewhere used, seems to signify an open chariot, in which Solomon, and perhaps his queen, rode, to be exposed to the view of every one in the streets of Jerusalem), who beholding her, and the love of Christ to her, were thereby invited to become members of his church. Most Lexicographers derive this word appirjon from a root which signifies to fructify, and therefore will have to signify a bed. But Avenarius, I think, more probably hath derived it from two words, which give it the signification of something carried on wheels, and therefore must denote at least a chariot having a bed or cushion in it. The wood of Lebanon] is cedar, denoting the perpequity of the gospel, the preaching of which is the chariot here mentioned. So Theodoret, by the popēšev (as the Greek translates it) is 'Aross vor, &c. "Let us understand," saith he, "the holy

apostles, who carried the name of the Lord before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel,” &c. These were literally made and performed by Christ himself, whereas the chariot wherein Solomon rode, he could only command or direct others

to make.

[k] Ver. 10.] The description of the richness of this chariot of Solomon's follows in this verse; in which we are not to seek, I think, for something in the gospel answering to every part of it, but only to look upon it as setting forth the great splendour of it, and the riches of that grace which God vouchsafed to men therein.,

The particular parts of the chariot I have described as well as I could in our language, and inserted in my paraphrase another translation of the last word mibbenoth, which signifies as well from or by, as for the daughters of Jerusalem. The most ingenious of which, it is likely, were employed in working that foot cloth which lay at the bottom of the chariot, with elegant figures of shepherds and shepherdesses perhaps, and all their innocent courtships. So that phrase may be interpreted, paved with love; but I have contented myself in the paraphrase to say only, with lovely figures.

Some think they find in this chariot an imitation of that seat whereon God himself, sat between the cherubims, with which they have compared it; but I cannot be persuaded that Solomon would be so audacious.

[1] Ver. 11.] Nor do I see any foundation for the fancy of the Hebrew in Sedar Olam Rabba, cap. xv. (which the Chaldee Paraphrase touches upon), where they make the day of Solomon's espousals to be the next day after the feast, which he held seven days for the consecration of the temple, 1 Kings, viii. 66. Which was the day of the gladness of his heart indeed, but cannot be called his espousals. Which was not the day of his coronation neither, for then he did not ride in a chariot, but upon his father's mule; and was not crowned by his mother, but anointed by Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, 1 Kings, i. 33. 34.

The day of his espousals.] Therefore was the day when he took Pharaoh's daughter for wife, at which time it was the manner to crown married persons, and his father being dead, it was done by his mother. Of this custom mention is made by many authors, which the learned reader may find in Bochart, his Geographia Sacra, part ii. 1. 1. c. 25. Where he applies that passage in Ezekiel unto this, xvi. 8. 12. "When I looked upon thee, behold thy time was the time of love, (i. e. thou wast fit for marriage); I entered into a covenant with thee, and thou becamest mine; and I put a jewel in thy forehead, &c. and a beautiful crown upon thy head." For the Misneh informs us, that this nuptial crown was in use among the Jews, as well as other nations

All which I do not see how it is any other way applicable unto Christ than I have expressed in the para

phrase. The church indeed herself may be said to be his crown and joy, in that sense wherein St Paul saith the Thessalonians were his, 1 Thess. ii. 19. But this is not to put a crown upon him; and the church can in no sense be called his mother, especially since she is his bride. And therefore herein interpreters strain too much, who ought, I think, to have ascribed that to God the Father in the mystical sense, which is ascribed unto Bathsheba in the literal.

CHAP. IV.

THE ARGUMENT.-The first seven verses of this chapter I take to belong to the foregoing, and are the words of the bridegroom, who praising the incomparable beauty of his spouse, and assuring her she should still appear more lovely and illustrious, concludes the third scene, as some call it, of this dramatic poem. And then begins a new representation at the eighth verse, which continues to the second verse of the fifth chapter, and composes the 4th part of this song. Wherein the bridegroom expresses his love to his spouse, his esteem of her, and joy in her, in words of greater dearness, and higher kindness, than have been hitherto used. Which she prays may be continued, and he graciously grants, inviting all to partake in their joys

BRIDEGROOM.

all shields of mighty men.] And all this upon a goodly body, of a proper and tall stature, whose round and well-formed neck resembles that lofty structure of the tower of David, which may be a pattern of other neat and elegant buildings; and is not more adorned with the shields and bucklers of his worthies, which hang there in great abundance, than it is with pendants and a necklace of pearl, and other jewels, which have been the treasure of mighty princes. See Annot. [d] Ver. 5. Thy two breasts are like two that young roes are twins, which feed among the lilies. ] Below which thy two breasts rise up, purely white, exactly round, of a just size and equal bigness, which put me in mind of two young kids that, being formed together, and brought forth at the same time, are so perfectly like, that none can know the one from the other; the tops of whose heads I have seen at a distance, appear like the teats of these breasts, as they fed in the same field among the lilies. See Annot. [e]

- Ver. 6. Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the kill of frankincense.] Such as this is the beauty of my church, as will be seen more fully when the night of persecution is gone, which hides it from the eyes of worldly men; though in the mean time she is most lovely in mine, and no less precious than the mountain and the hill from whence are fetched the most excellent perfumes and the richest spices. See Annot. [f]

Ver. Thou art fair, my love, there is no spot in

thou art fair, thou hast doves eyes within thy locks; thy hair is as a flock of goats that appear from Mount Gilead.] Great is thy beauty, O my beloved; admirable is thy beauty, worthy of men's contemplation. Whom I can liken to nothing better than to a pure and chaste virgin, (2 Cor. xi. 2.), whose modest eyes, fixed only on him to whom she is espoused, sparkle within her locks when she is unveiled; and who appears to want none of those comely ornaments which are wont to set off the natural beauty of the face. See Annot. [a]

Ver. 2. Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which came up from the washing: whereof every one bear twins, and none is barren among them.] Part of whose grace lies in the sweetness of thy mouth, full of white and even teeth, none of which stand out, or are longer than the rest, but all closely set both above and below in exact order and equality; being firm and sound also, without any breach or want of any one of them. See Annot. [b]

Ver. 3. Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely: thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks.] To which add fine and delicate lips, of a bright and lively crimson colour, with a sweet and charming voice, and cheeks that appear of as pure a white and red, when the veil is off, as the blossoms of pomegranates. See Annot. [b]

Ver. 4. Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armoury, wherein there hang a thousand bucklers,

perfection of beauty, there being a most admirable harmony between the several orders, estates, and degrees of men in the church, and not the least spot or blemish (Eph. v. 27.) to be found in its constitution. See Annot. [g] BRIDEGROOM.

Ver. 8. Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon: look from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon, from the lions dens, from the mountains of the leopards] ¶ And now that all the world may see I have espoused, nay, married thee unto myself, (Rev. xxi. 2.), come from those horrid mountains whither thou hast fled for safety, (ii. 14. 17.), where, though I was present with thee, yet thou wast not free from danger, but exposed to the rage and cruelty of furious and troublesome men: come, I say, and dwell there no longer, but look down from thence, and behold the goodly heritage and the pleasant state that i have prepared for thee. See Annet. [b]

1

Ver. 9. 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.] Thou hast strongly engaged my affection, thou hast endeared thyself unto me, my tend rly beloved spouse; thou hast entirely possessed thyself of my heart, by that lovely unity which I see between thy pastors, and between the people that live in holy obedience to them. See Alnot. [i]

Ver. 10. How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse!

how much better is thy love than wine! and the smell of thine ointments than all spices.] Thy love to me and my commandments, O how amiable is it! how doth it endear thee unto me, my beloved spouse! how much more delicious is that love, which thy members have one for another, and for all men, than the best entertainments the world can give! how much more grateful are the rest of thy virtues, than the odours of the richest spices, even of those that are burnt at the altar! See Annot. [k]

Ver. 11. Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb: honey and milk are under thy tongue, and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon.] Nor are thy words less pleasing than thy deeds, the honey that drops of itself from the comb being not more sweet, sincere, and pure, than thy doctrine, O my be loved spouse; which is the delicious foud of young and old, of weak and strong, and most powerfully. recommended to their affections by the famed holiness of thy life, which, like the strong perfumes that come from the aromatic plants of Libanus, fill all places with the delightful scent thereof. See Annot. [1]

a

Ver. 12. A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse: spring shut up, a fountain sealed.] For as a garden well planted, watered, and defended, abounds with all sorts of flowers, and with variety of pleasant fruit, so doth my well-beloved spouse, by the singular care and special providence of God over her, with all the fruits of righteousness, admitting none to her mysteries but those who are pure and holy, and washed from all their defilements. See Annot. [m]

Ver. 13. Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits, camphire, with spikenard.] Which makes the several orders and ranks of thy young novices (such is the exemplary purity of their lives) look like the young sets of pomegranates, and other odoriferous fruit, such as the cyprus and spikenards, which are growing up into a paradise. See Annot. [n]

Ver. 14. Spikenard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense, myrrh, and aloes, with all the chief spices.] Planted only with the like precious herbs, shrubs, and trees, to those now mentioned, as saffron, sweet cane, cinnamon, with those that yield frankincense, myrrh, aloes, and the choicest spices; which are not more serviceable to our health or pleasure than that rare composition of graces which is visible in the church, makes her members acceptable unto God, and useful unto men. See An not. [o]

Ver. 14. A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon.] Whose virtues are preserved in life and vigour by that heavenly doctrine, which flows from me as plentifully and perpetually, as waters do from those springs that break out of the high mountain Libanus, which run conti nually in a large stream, and supplying all the gardens in the neighbouring places, keep them fresh and flourishing. See Annot. [p]

SPOUSE.

south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out: let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.] ¶O let not, then, the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and its manifold gifts, be wanting unto me, but breathe perpetually upon me, as the north and the south wind do upon this garden; and then shall I be a paradise indeed, and not only fill the world with the sweet odour of the knowledge of Christ, but take the boldness to invite him, the beloved of my soul, to come and reap the delightful fruits (ver. 3.) of his own care and labour. See An not. [q]

ANNOTATIONS.

[a] Ver. 1. Behold, thou art fair.] The Lord of the church is here introduced, describing the beautiful estate of it, under the person of a lovely virgin; whose elegant features are particularly represented to raise admiration and love in others, and to give the church the comfort of being so amiable in his eyes, whom no beauty can please but that which is divine. And they are represented by comparisons borrowed from the country, which was most suitable to a Bucolic, or pastoral poem, as I have already

said this is.

Thou hast doves eyes.] And first her eyes are compared to those of a dove, (for such reasons as are suggested in the paraphrase), when they are unvailed, as those words mibbaath letsammatech may be translated, (of which see ver. 3.), unto which I have had respect in my paraphrase, as well as to our translation, where this phrase is rendered, within thy locks.

Thy hair, &c.] Then the hair of this virgin's head is compared unto that of goats, as the next passage is to be translated, by repeating the word hair in this manner: "Thy hair is like the hair of a flock of goats." Thus the people of Israel are said to have brought for the service of the tabernacle, scarlet, and fine linen, and goats, that is, goat's-hair, as we truly translate it, Exod. xxxv. 23. And in the next chapter, ver. 13. he made curtains of goats (where we supply the word bair) for the tent over the tabernacle, according as he had been ordered, xxv. 4. xxvi. 7. Upon which paffages Abarbinal observes, that Moses makes no mention of wool, either of lamb or sheep, because that was vile and contemptible in those countries, in comparison with the hair of goats, which was wont to be shorn, not only there, but in other places; for Aristotle observes the same of the goats of Cilicia. And some of them had a wool, as we may call it, so fine, that it was almost as soft as silk, which was that the women spun for the use of the tabernacle, Exod. xxxv. 26. To this sort of hair, perhaps, there may be an allusion in this place, in regard of its softness, as well as length and thickness, which is a great commendation of hair in men and

women.

is thus most exactly translated; as the "flower of the pomegranate, so are thy cheeks without a veil." So he translates the last words, which we met withal before, ver. 1. mibbaath letsammatech, not "within thy locks," but "without a veil." That is, when thy veil is laid aside, thy cheeks appear of a most lovely colour, for such is that of the pomegranate-flower, the purest white and red, most exactly mixed. V. Orat. in Schola Theolog. p. 37. [d] Ver. 4. Thy neck is like, &c.] The neck being compared to the tower of that goodly fortress which David made upon Mount Sion, which overtopped all the rest of the buildings of the city of Jerusalem, denotes, among other things, the tallness of the whole body.

Built for an armoury.] This tower is said to be built letalpijoth, (for an armoury, we render it), which the LXX. knew not what to make of, and therefore retain the Hebrew word; and others do but guess at its meaning, having no certain rule from whence to fetch its original. Aquila translates it fortifications, but Symmachus translates it heights; which last I have followed, adding another signification also derived from alaph, to teach or instruct. Thousand bucklers.] This tower, it seems, was adorned with the shields and bucklers of those mighty men mentioned, 1 Sam. xxiii. and such like worthies; with which Grotius ingeniously compares those precious stones, which are wont to be the ornament of the neck. But what answers to this in the body of the church, I know not, unless we admit the opinion of R. Solomon, and others of that nation, who will have this to be the place where the Sanhedrim had a room, called in their language Liskath baggazith, the chamber or parlour of square stones, (which some interpreters have thought to be the meaning of built letalpijoth with square stones), where judgement was administered, and their discipline preserved, which was the strength and support of the nation, as the general council of the apostles and elders, mentioned, Acts, xv. was of the Christian church, who settled all doubts and controversies, as future councils were to do, and thereby maintained the church in order and peace. From which Theodoret doth not much differ, when he saith the church hath many shields whereby it is defended. "For thou art armed with all the weapons of the Spirit, (saith he, paraphrasing upon these words), whereby thou easily woundest thy enemies, &c. and sometimes dost refel them by the prophets, sometimes by the apostles, and layest open their weakness" [a] Ver. 5. Thy two breasts, &c.] The two paps rise upon the breast like lilies from the ground, among which, if we conceive two red kids feeding, that were twins, and perfectly alike, they appeared like the nipples or teats upon the paps to those that beheld them afar off. Thus Bochart explains this comparison, which sets forth the exact proportion, and the pure complexion of the breasts, unto which most think the two Testaments, the Old and the

New, very aptly answer in the Christian church, just as R. Solomon hereby understands the two tables of stone in the Jewish. But they forgot that this is a description of the parts of the church, (not of things belonging to it), and can be applied to nothing, that I can think of, but the, two orders of preachers that were, one among the Jewish Christians, and the other among the Gentiles, as Gregory the Great expounds it. Who think these are called twins because of their perfect agreement and concord in the Christian doctrine, though one of them bent their endeavours most toward the conversion of the Jews, and the other of the Gentiles. And indeed they that taught the first rudiments of Christian doctrine, went forth by pairs, as we read, Luke, x. where Christ is said to send them forth by two and two, to admonish them how necessary their concord was, and that they had need to be assistant all they could one to the other in such a difficult work.

[f] Ver. 6. Mountain of myrrh, &c.] Here now the description stops, and proceeds no farther to the lower members of the church; which are not particularly commended, but it is only intimated, that in conjunction with their guides and directors, they made up a beautiful body, though for the present obscured by the night of persecution, as the first words of this verse may be applied. Which body might be well compared to a "mountain of myrrh, and hill of frankincense," that is, to Mount Moriah and Jerusalem, say the Hebrew, (and so the church is called the New Jerusalem in the Revelation), where the sweet incense made of these and other spices (Exod. xxx. 34.) were continually burnt in the temple.

I

know it is commonly thought, that other mountains (afterwards mentioned, ver. 8.) are here meant; about which I shall not dispute. But only observe, that these two, myrrh and frankincense, were among the most precious spices of those countries, (and therefore here mentioned), as appears by what we read in Athenæus, (1. i. Diepnosoph. c. 3.), who, speaking of the noble entertainments which were made by several persons that overcame in the Olympics, tells us that Empedocles, being a Pythagorean, and eating no flesh, when he won the prize, caused an ox to be made of myrrh and frankincense, and other precious spices, which he divided among the spectators. And (cap. 8.) he puts these two among those things which were accounted reup, delicacy. And Hermippus, relating what places were most famous for several things, saith-anò d'v Zugías barofor, that frankincense came out of Syria, cap. 21. The verses also of Archestratus (1. iii. p. 101.) make mention of Syria, and say these were used for perfumes at feasts. The same I observe in other places of that author, and therefore have made the allusion here only to the preciousness of these things, which were no where so excellent as in those countries. And I have taken this verse to be still in praise of the be