| Scripture |
Expanded Comments |
| 1 Oh that thou wert as my brother, That sucked the breasts of my mother! Should I find thee without, I would kiss thee; And they would not despise me. |
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| 2 I would lead thee, bring thee into my mother's house; Thou wouldest instruct me: I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine, Of the juice of my pomegranate. |
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 would be under my head, And his right hand embrace me. |
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| 4 I charge you, daughters of Jerusalem, ...Why should ye stir up, why awake my love, till he please? |
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? I awoke thee under the apple-tree: There thy mother brought thee forth; There she brought thee forth that bore thee. |
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, Flames of Jah.
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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 do the floods drown it: Even if a man gave all the substance of his house for love, It would utterly be contemned. |
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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 towers; Then was I in his eyes as one that findeth 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 silver-pieces. |
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| 12 My vineyard, which is mine, is before me: The thousand silver-pieces be to thee, Solomon; And to the keepers of its fruit, two hundred. |
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| 13 Thou that dwellest in the gardens, The companions hearken to thy voice: Let me hear it2. |
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| 14 Haste, my beloved, And be thou like a gazelle or 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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