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1 Oh that thou wert as my brother,
That sucked the breasts of my mother!
When I should find thee without, I would kiss thee;
Yes, and none would despise me.
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2 I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother’s house,
Who would instruct me;
I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine,
Of the juice of my pomegranate.
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Of spiced wine – Symbol of doctrine. R5633:2
Of my pomegranate – Symbol of the fruitage of Christ's redemptive work. T30
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3 His left hand should be under my head,
And his right hand should embrace me.
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4 I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
That ye stir not up, nor awake my love,
Until he please.
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Of Jerusalem – Symbol of the Kingdom of God. A296
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5 Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness,
Leaning upon her beloved?
Under the apple-tree I awakened thee:
There thy mother was in travail with thee,
There was she in travail that brought thee forth.
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Who is this – The true Church, the protesting Church of God. R1841:6; SM126:1; C65
That cometh up – Cometh forth into prominence. C65
In God's due time his Church emerged from the wilderness. R5501:2
Shortly to come from the wilderness. SM126:1
From the wilderness – At the end of the 1260 years of wilderness hiding and Papal supremacy, from AD 539 to 1799. C65
The true Church is the Church in the wilderness--separate from the world. R1841:6
Upon her beloved – The arm of her beloved, the Word of God. C65
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6 Set me as a seal upon thy heart, as a seal upon thine arm:
For love is strong as death;
Jealousy is cruel as Sheol;
The flashes thereof are flashes of fire,
A very flame of Jehovah.
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As a seal – Or signet, the emblem of power and authority; symbol of that which was most highly esteemed. R360:4*
Jealousy – Jealousy of another is always an evil quality, a most vicious kind of cruelty, unreasoning and insatiable. Signifies either apprehension of being displaced in the affections of another or of being outdone by a rival. It is closely allied to hatred, malice, envy, strife. R4789:1
To the extent that its presence has defiled the heart a cleansing should be invoked. R4789:2
When the Lord announces himself as a "jealous God" it is not to be considered selfishness, rather he wants all of our affections, confidence and entire trust, for our own good. R4789:2
Jealousy in the Lord's cause is different from jealousy in our own interest. R4789:5
We must be sure that it is not jealousy of another, but jealousy for another. R4789:5
Cruel as the grave – Sheol, oblivion, which engulfs all mankind. E368; R828:5, R2600:2, R4789:1
The Bible plainly states that death is an enemy. SM116:2
It is not only a cruel monster of itself, but its poisonous fangs are almost certain to inflict pain and trouble upon others. R4789:2
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7 Many waters cannot quench love,
Neither can floods drown it:
If a man would give all the substance of his house for love,
He would utterly be despised.
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8 We have a little sister,
And she hath no breasts:
What shall we do for our sister
In the day when she shall be spoken for?
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9 If she be a wall,
We will build upon her a turret of silver:
And if she be a door,
We will enclose her with boards of cedar.
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10 I am a wall, and my breasts like the towers thereof:
Then was I in his eyes as one that found peace.
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11 Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon;
He let out the vineyard unto keepers;
Every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand pieces of silver,
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12 My vineyard, which is mine, is before me:
Thou, O Solomon, shalt have the thousand,
And those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred.
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13 Thou that dwellest in the gardens,
The companions hearken for thy voice:
Cause me to hear it.
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14 Make haste, my beloved,
And be thou like to a roe or to a young hart
Upon the mountains of spices. |
Make haste – The Bride pleads with the Bridegroom not to tarry. R303:2*
Like to a roe – The Bride's eyes "are toward the hills" over which she expects to behold the Bridegroom coming like a roe. R303:2*
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