Some of the great church fathers contended that the book, “The Song of Solomon” should not be in the Bible. It had a bitter struggle for its place because it’s really an erotic poem, toned down a great deal by the King James translation and American Standard version. The story, of course, has to be understood as an analogy. Though a very beautiful love poem, it tells of Solomon’s courting a common girl, himself disguised as a shepherd so that he would not be recognized as the king. He didn’t want to be loved only because he was king, so he found this way to woo his beloved. One of the parts in the Song of Solomon that I think is the most beautiful is the fifth chapter, and as you read from verse to verse you are aware that it shifts from one person to another; the bride, the bridegroom and the daughters of Jerusalem.
It begins with what some call a dream sequence where the bridegroom comes for the bride, but she does not open the door to him in time, and he goes away. She then goes through the streets of Jerusalem searching for him, and as she goes, the watchmen find her, smite and wound her and the keepers of the walls take away her veil which is the symbol of her purity. She is in a very strait circumstance, but she still keeps searching; and she finally finds the bridegroom and he finds her. The search ends with the bridegroom so entranced with the beauty of the bride; he has never seen anything like the wonder of her beauty, and he comments on it.
As we read this particular portion, picture the church: how the church lost her communion and contact with the Lord back in the early centuries; how the church became wounded and her veil of purity was taken from her; how the church became corrupt and evil. But then the church begins to awaken again and cry out to the Lord and search for Him and the Lord begins to commune with her. The final picture is that church… Fair as the moon, Clear as the sun, Terrible as an army with banners … Song of Solomon 6:10. That comes up out of the wilderness leaning on the arm of her beloved—a picture of the end-time church, the bride of Christ, in all her purity.
I was asleep, but my heart waked. This is the bride, the beloved, speaking. I was asleep, but my heart waked: It is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: For my head is filled with dew, My locks with the drops of the night. 5:2 Both the dew of the morning and the dropping of the night are here together because at the time that this precious one wakens, it’s between day and night—just as it is now. A new day is dawning and the dark is still there; that’s the way God has brought it forth. We come and worship the Lord and the dew of the morning of a new day is with us and yet the rainfall of the night before leaves us cold. Open to me, my sister, my love.… I have put off my garment; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them? My beloved put in His hand by the hole of the door, And my heart was moved for him. I rose up to open to my beloved; and my hands dropped with myrrh, And my fingers with liquid myrrh, Upon the handles of the bolt. I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone. My soul had failed me when he spake: or, as the literal translation puts it: “My soul went forth from me when he spake.” I sought him but I could not find him; I called him but he gave me no answer. Verses 2b–6.
The church has gone through much of this in the past. Almost every time there’s a visitation from God in the history of the church, it’s because some people suddenly realize that they’ve lost the communion and fellowship with the Lord and they start seeking for it. And it always follows that persecution and harassment are their lot. The next verse says, The watchmen that go about the city found me, They smote me, they wounded me; The keepers of the walls took away my mantle (or veil) from me. I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, That ye tell him that I am sick from love. Verses 7, 8. Paul talks about the church being the bride of Christ and how He’s going to present it to Himself a glorious church without spot or wrinkle. The book of Revelation compares Christ and His church to the bridegroom and the bride. It’s always a beautiful illustration.
Here then was the admonition and the daughters of Jerusalem answer back to this cry, “Where has the bridegroom gone?” And they say, What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women? What is thy beloved more than another beloved, That thou dost so adjure us? Verse 9. What is it that you really see? Why are you so set on this walk, on this relationship to the Lord? The bride answers: My beloved is white and ruddy, The chiefest among ten thousand. His head is as the most fine gold; his locks are bushy, and black as a raven. His eyes are like doves beside the water-brooks washed with milk, and fitly set. His cheeks are as the bed of spices, As banks of sweet herbs: His lips are as lilies dropping liquid myrrh. His hands are as rings of gold set with beryl: His body is as ivory work overlaid with sapphires. His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold: they talked a little different then than they do now! But back a few centuries: His aspect is like Lebanon, excellent as the cedars. His mouth is most sweet; Yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem. Verses 10–16. That’s the bride’s answer about her beloved.
The daughters of Jerusalem then ask, Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? Whither hath thy beloved turned him, That we may seek him with thee? And the bride answers: My beloved is gone down to his garden, To the beds of spices, To feed in the gardens, (to feed the sheep—remember, he is being pictured as a shepherd) and to gather lilies. I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine: he feedeth his flock among the lilies. Song of Solomon 6:1–3.
Then the bridegroom himself comes on the scene and begins to talk to the bride. Now the bride has had her veil torn off, she’s been wounded and beaten and smitten by the watchmen. From the outward appearances the next description might be difficult to understand: Thou art fair, O my love, as Tirzah, Comely as Jerusalem, Terrible as an army with banners. Verse 4. The banners that they carried in those days were the banners of defeated armies, of captured cities. And when they would have an army with banners, that meant they had defeated as many armies as there were individuals. He’s saying that she was victorious, that she’d overcome, that she’d prevailed. The beauty of her was that inner beauty and inner goodness. She had overcome all opposition to her life.
Then he says to her, Turn away thine eyes from me, For they have overcome me. Thy hair is as a flock of goats, That lie along the side of Gilead. Thy teeth are like a flock of ewes, Which are come up from the washing; Whereof everyone has twins, And none is bereaved among them. Thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate Behind thy veil. There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, And virgins without number. My dove, my undefiled, is but one. There are many that walk along as Christians, some very eminent ones; but many are concubines: They appear to walk as Christians but they’re really something else. The real bride of Christ, the dove, the undefiled, is but one. She is the only one of her mother; She is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, and called her blessed; Yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her. Verses 5–9.
It ends with a beautiful picture: Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, Fair as the moon, Clear as the sun, Terrible as an army with banners? Verse 10. This is a picture of the bride of Christ, of this end-time remnant, of what God is going to do as is shown in Revelation 19 and 20. It is self explanatory, so read it slowly and picture now in your mind how it will be as Christ comes to possess His bride. Revelation 19 and 20:1–3 (a) After these things I heard as it were a great voice of a great multitude in heaven saying, Hallelujah; Salvation, and glory, and power, belong to our God: for true and righteous are his judgments; for he hath judged the great harlot, Who or what is the great harlot?—Babylon. her that corrupted the earth with her fornication, and he hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And a second time they say, Hallelujah. And her smoke goeth up for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped God that sitteth upon the throne, saying, Amen; Hallelujah. And a voice came forth from the throne, saying, Give praise to our God, all ye his servants, ye that fear him, the small and the great. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and the voice of mighty thunders, saying, Hallelujah: for the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigneth. Let us rejoice and be exceeding glad, and let us give glory unto him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And it was given unto her that she should array herself in fine linen, bright and pure: for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they that are bidden to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are true words of God. And I fell down before his feet to worship him. And he saith unto me, See thou do it not: I am a fellow-servant with thee and with thy brethren that hold the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. And I saw the heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and he that sat thereon called Faithful and True; and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. And his eyes are a flame of fire, and upon his head are many diadems; and he hath a name written which no one knoweth but he himself. And he is arrayed in a garment sprinkled with blood: and his name is called the Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and pure. And out of his mouth proceedeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of God, the Almighty. And he hath on his garment and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in mid heaven, Come and be gathered together unto the great supper of God; that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses and of them that sit thereon, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, and small and great. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat upon the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought the signs in his sight, wherewith he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast and them that worshipped his image: they two were cast alive into the lake of fire that burneth with brimstone: and the rest were killed with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, even the sword which came forth out of his mouth: and all the birds were filled with their flesh. And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, the old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and cast him into the abyss, and shut it, and sealed it over him, that he should deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years should be finished: Revelation 19; 20:1–3a.
It’s awesome. And though symbolic, it gives a clear, accurate picture. There will be a show-down. The Lord is taking out the bride and He will put an end to the whole satanic realm. God is with us. He loves us, and He wants us to serve Him and walk with Him. Amen.