SHULAMITE’S DESCRIPTION OF HER BELOVED
SHULAMITE
My beloved is white and ruddy,
The chief among ten thousand.
His head is as the most fine gold;
His locks are bushy,
And black as a raven.
His eyes are as the eyes of doves,
By the rivers of waters,
Washed with milk,
And fitly set.
His cheeks are as a bed of spices,
As sweet flowers;
His lips are like lilies,
Dropping sweet-smelling myrrh.
His hands are as gold rings,
Set with the beryl.
His belly (or body) is as bright ivory,
Overlaid with sapphires.
His legs are as pillars of marble,
Set upon sockets of fine gold.
His countenance is as 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 ye daughters of Jerusalem.
In reply to the daughters of Jerusalem, Shulamite gives a full-length portrait of her beloved. The description one of enraptured admiration and affection. ‘Superlatively glorious, and given in brief and comprehensible language.’ Rich specimen of Oriental poetry. Observe from it—
1. Believers able to give a true, if not a full description of Jesus. Living Christians well acquainted with Christ, and able to give a reason of their love as well as their hope.
2. Believers to be ready to make others acquainted with Christ. This their calling and privilege. ‘Ye shall be my witnesses.’
3. The joy of a living believer to testify for Jesus, and to guide inquirers to Him. ‘I will teach transgressors thy ways, and sinners shall be converted unto thee.’ Love must speak of its object.
4. Better to be employed in setting forth Christ’s excellence, than in dwelling on our own defects or troubles.
5. Testimony concerning Jesus to be borne with heartiness and love. The truth to appear not only in the matter but the manner of our testimony.
6. Thoughts of Jesus, and the expression of them, the best anodyne for a troubled spirit. McCheyne’s recipe: ‘For one look at self take ten at Christ.’ Confession of Christ often the shortest way to comfort in Christ. Speaking of Him for others, a precious help to our realizing Him for ourselves.
7. Testimony to Christ’s loveliness and excellence for others, to be accompanied with a personal appropriation of Him for ourselves. ‘This is my beloved,’ &c. Preachers to commend Christ and speak of Him as their own Beloved and Friend.
8. Christ’s excellence and preciousness the best subject for the fellowship of believers with each other. Believers thus to stir up their own love to Christ and that of others.
9. A pre-eminence and perfection of beauty in Jesus. The concentration of all creature loveliness. The union of all the elements of loveliness found in Him. The sum of all conceivable and all possible beauty and sweetness. ‘Thou art fairer than the children of men.’ The chief (conspicuous, or a standard-bearer) among ten thousand. The one Pearl of great price. Natural that the source of all beauty should Himself be the perfection of beauty.
10. The happiness of believers to be made to perceive, appreciate, and enjoy that beauty. Eyes anointed by the Spirit’s eye-salve, and hearts renewed by His grace, required for that perception and appreciation.
11. The beauty and excellence of Christ made up of a variety of particulars. The holy perfume composed of various ingredients (Exodus 30:34-35). His offices, relations, attributes, words and works, make up the one Christ.
12. Everything in Christ excellent and glorious in itself, as well as attractive and precious in the eyes of a believer. ‘Altogether lovely;’ or, ‘all desirable things.’ Christ an unalloyed congeries of excellencies and delights. Every divine and human perfection found in Him, and nothing but what is absolutely perfect.
13. That in Jesus which exceeds all description and all knowledge. The Bride breaks off as unable to describe the beauty and excellence of her beloved. A breadth, and length, and depth, and height in Jesus and His love, never to be fully comprehended. The duty and happiness of believers to grow in the knowledge of Christ. All comparisons fall short of fully exhibiting Him. The most beautiful and excellent things in nature and art employed, but fail.
The description of the bridegroom inclusive of his dress and ornaments, as well as his person. That of a youthful prince eminent for dignity and beauty. Probably such as Solomon himself appeared to the eyes of beholders in the early period of his reign. Corresponds to his father’s appearance at a similar age (1 Samuel 16:12). Not necessary to find in Jesus an exact counterpart in every particular. Yet every part suggestive of something to be found in Him. The application to be made as the Holy Spirit gives understanding. We have in
The Bridegroom’s Portrait,
1. His Complexion. ‘White and ruddy.’ Fair and blooming. The perfection of a beautiful and healthy complexion. Suggests the Saviour’s general loveliness, as well as His purity and spiritual health. ‘Holy, harmless, undefiled.’ ‘Fairer than the children of men.’ Recalls His spotless life and atoning death, as well as the union of the divine and human nature constituting the one God-man Redeemer. His meek and heavenly ‘visage’ not less lovely because, for our sakes, ‘marred more than the sons of men.’ His form not less beautiful because bruised and lacerated with the scourge and the nails, and ‘ruddy with His own precious blood.’
2. His Head. ‘As the most fine gold.’ For excellence, a mass of pure and precious gold. Perhaps including an allusion to the golden crown which at times adorned it. Suggests the kingliness and nobility of Jesus, as well as His ‘excellent wisdom.’ ‘Head over all things to His Church.’ ‘Head over all principality and power.’ ‘In Him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.’
3. His Hair. ‘His locks are bushy (or curled and pendulous), and black as a raven.’ Expressive of youthful and manly vigour. Jesus only known on earth as one in the prime and bloom of life. His death at the age of thirty-three. Jesus ever young. The same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. Appears in heaven ‘as a Lamb that had been slain.’ In another description of his appearance: ‘his hair white as snow’ (Revelation 1:14), as expressive of His eternity—the Ancient of Days. His raven locks perhaps symbolical of His human, and His snow-white hair of His divine, nature.
3. His Eyes. ‘As the eyes of doves (or, as doves), by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, and fitly set’ (or, ‘sitting in fulness’—in full streams). Suggestive of the love, tenderness, and gentleness of Him who was meek and lowly in heart; who, ‘when He beheld the city, wept over it,’ and when He saw the sisters of Lazarus weeping at his grave, and the Jews also weeping, wept along with them.
4. His Cheeks. ‘As beds of spices’ (or, balsams), as sweet flowers,’ (or, ‘towers of perfume’). The loving aspect of Jesus the index of His loving heart. His countenance ordinarily lighted up with gracious smiles that cheered the penitent, invited even publicans and sinners to draw near to Him, and made Him attractive even to little children. His benignant aspect made His presence like a bed of spices to such as, like Mary, ‘sat down at His feet, hearing His words.
5. His Lips. Like lilies, dropping sweet-smelling myrrh.’ Expressive either of the gracious words that proceeded from His mouth, and which, as recorded in the Scriptures, have been the comfort of millions ever since, or the sweetness felt in the communication of His love to the soul—‘the kisses of His mouth’ (chap. Song of Solomon 1:2).
6. His Hands. ‘As gold rings (or cylinders), set with the beryl’ (chrysolite or topaz). The image probably from the rings that usually adorned the hands of Oriental princes. His hands themselves were as the costliest jewels. Suggestive of those works of benevolence and love—‘wonderful and glorious’—wrought by Jesus when on earth, as well as those which, though invisible, He is working still, as the Head and High Priest of His Church.
7. His Body. ‘His belly (or body) is as bright ivory, overlaid with sapphires.’ The tender compassion of Jesus, combined with heavenliest purity. He who said: ‘I have compassion on the multitudes,’ said also: ‘Which of you convinceth me of sin?’ ‘Ye are from beneath; I am from above: Ye are of this world; I am not of this world’ (John 8:23; John 8:46).
8. His Legs. ‘As pillars of marble set upon sockets of fine gold.’ The marble whiteness of His pillar-like legs suggestive of the spotless purity and integrity of His life, as well as His faithfulness and ability to support all who trust in Him. ‘His feet like sockets of fine gold,’ descriptive of Him who went about doing good. ‘Beautiful on the mountains,’ as the feet of Him who brought glad tidings to a perishing world.
9. His Figure or General Aspect. ‘Like Lebanon, excellent as the cedars.’ The majesty and stateliness of His figure, resembling in its general character and aspect the ‘goodly mountain’ with its noble cedars, expressive of the amiable dignity of Him who is both Son of God and Son of Man, the man that is Jehovah’s fellow, the brightness of the divine glory, while not ashamed to call us brethren.
10. His Mouth. ‘Most sweet.’ Recalling the sweetness of the discourse of Him who ‘spake as never man spake.’ Suggestive also of the divine sweetness of that love which is ‘better than wine.’
The enraptured and magnificent description closes ‘with a holy admiration and amazement which ends in silence.’ ‘Yea, Ile is altogether lovely’ (or, ‘all of Him is lovely and desirable things.’) Winds up with an emphatic
Appropriation of the Beloved.
‘This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O ye daughters of Jerusalem.’
Commendation of Christ to others to be accompanied with conscious choice and personal appropriation of Him by ourselves. That choice and appropriation of Christ by ourselves to be openly avowed while we commend Him to others. Conscious interest in Christ by ourselves, that which gives heart and life to our commendation of Him to others. The Bride’s language expressive of—
1. The believer’s personal apprehension of Christ’s loveliness and excellence. ‘This’—the person I have described to you—‘is my Beloved.’
2. Choice of Him in preference to all other objects of attraction.
3. Appropriation and personal possession of Christ as our own.
4. Consciousness of such choice and appropriation. ‘My Lord and my God.’ ‘I know whom I have believed.’ ‘I know that my Redeemer liveth.’
5. Unchanged and unchanging attachment. ‘My Beloved,’ notwithstanding present appearances. ‘Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him,’ and love Him. ‘I will wait on him who hideth himself.’
6. Full satisfaction with and glorying in Him as our choice and portion, our beloved and friend. ‘My soul shall make her boast in the Lord.’
7. A bold and fearless confession of Him as the object of our choice, and the Saviour in whom we trust. Christ not only to be believed in with the heart, but confessed with the mouth (Romans 10:9-10).
8. Christ at once the believer’s beloved and friend—beloved and lover. The love a mutual one. Christ, as
The Christian’s Beloved,
Is loved—
(1) For what He is in Himself—the ‘chief among ten thousand,’ and ‘altogether lovely.’
(2) For what He is to us, Saviour, Redeemer, husband, brother, and friend.
(3) For what He has done for us—given Himself to humiliation and anguish, a bloody and shameful death, to satisfy, as our sacrifice and substitute, the demands of Divine justice upon us; sought us when we were wanderers; won our hearts, and espoused us to Himself as His own. That Christ is our beloved implies—
(1) Wonderful condescension and love on the part of Christ, that sinners should be able to call Him their beloved.
(2) Precious grace, that so changes the heart and renews the nature that we can thus truly and sincerely speak of Christ.
(3) Blessed condition of believers, that they are able to claim Jesus as their beloved. Christ, as
The Christian’s Friend,
Is—
(1) Loving, generous, and sympathizing.
(2) Faithful and true,—‘sticketh closer than a brother.’
(3) Unchanging—loving ‘to the end.’
(4) Rich and powerful. His hand able to answer the dictates of His heart.
(5) Tried and proved—proved both by suffering for us, and suffering from us. Performs all the offices of a loving and faithful Friend—
1.
Pays our debts.
2.
Redeems our person.
3.
Supplies our wants.
4.
Comforts us in trouble.
5.
Counsels us in difficulty.
6.
Warns us of danger.
7.
Reproves and corrects our faults.
8.
Confides to us His secrets.
9.
Delights in our society.
10.
Entrusts us with His interests.
11.
Defends our name and reputation.
12.
Takes our part against all adversaries.
Christ a friend in need and a friend indeed. Rich and blessed the pauper who has Christ for his friend; poor and wretched the prince who has not. A man’s highest wisdom to make Christ his friend while he may. Happy and only happy the man that can say of Him, ‘this is my beloved, and this is my friend.’ Reader, let this happiness be yours.