| Scripture |
Expanded Comments |
| 1 Whither hath thy beloved gone, O fair among women Whither hath thy beloved turned, And we seek him with thee |
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| 2 My beloved went down to his garden, To the beds of the spice, To delight himself in the gardens, and to gather lilies. |
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| 3 I [am] my beloved's, and my beloved [is] mine, Who is delighting himself among the lilies. |
I am my beloved's – The Bride rejoices in the Bridegroom's assured love, and her desires and longings are not questionings as to the relationship in which she stands to him, which is to her a settled thing. R303:2*
Only a few will be able to say this. This union with the Beloved (Christ) implies that the step of justification through repentance and faith in the precious blood has first taken place. R4783:5
A positive compact or contract with Christ is implied. R4783:5
There is no possibility for any to get into this elect class without knowing it. R4783:5
My beloved is mine – So long as we continue to be faithful. "He that hath the son hath life"--eternal life. (1 John 5:12) R4784:1
Those who have Christ are really possessors of "all things." (1 Cor. 3:22, 23) R4784:1
The Bridegroom's care, provision, protection and comfort belong to the betrothed even now. R4784:2
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| 4 Fair [art] thou, my friend, as Tirzah, Comely as Jerusalem, Awe-inspiring as bannered hosts. |
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| 5 Turn round thine eyes from before me, Because they have made me proud. Thy hair [is] as a row of the goats, That have shone from Gilead, |
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| 6 Thy teeth as a row of the lambs, That have come up from the washing, Because all of them are forming twins, And a bereaved one is not among them. |
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| 7 As the work of the pomegranate [is] thy temple behind thy veil. |
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| 8 Sixty are queens, and eighty concubines, And virgins without number. |
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| 9 One is my dove, my perfect one, One she [is] of her mother, The choice one she [is] of her that bare her, Daughters saw, and pronounce her happy, Queens and concubines, and they praise her. |
My dove – Symbol of peace and purity. E212
She is the only one – There is but one Bride of Christ. R4655:1
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| 10 'Who [is] this that is looking forth as morning, Fair as the moon clear as the sun, Awe-inspiring as bannered hosts ' |
As the morning – Symbol of the Millennial age. A9; E359
Fair as the moon – Symbol of the Law in Matt. 24 and Rev. 12. R499:4; D590
Clear as the sun – Symbol of the gospel light, the truth, in Matt. 24 and Rev. 12. R499:4; D590
With banners – Symbol of the standard of the truth in Isa. 13:1, 2. D40
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| 11 Unto a garden of nuts I went down, To look on the buds of the valley, To see whither the vine had flourished, The pomegranates had blossomed |
To see the fruits – Symbol of the fruits of the spirit. E206
The pomegranates – Symbol of the fruitage of redemptive work. T30
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| 12 I knew not my soul, It made me chariots of my people Nadib. |
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| 13 Return, return, O Shulammith! Return, return, and we look upon thee. What do ye see in Shulammith |
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