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Scripture Reading: S. S. 1:9, 15; 2:2, 14; 3:6-7, 9-11
In the last chapter we saw the Lord’s appraisal of the seeking one in the first three chapters of the Song of Songs.
It is not so easy to understand the Bible. In the last chapter we had a group of words which belong to the same family; I would call it a family of description. The Lord used at least eight figures to describe His seeking one. The Lord’s description of His seeker with different figures illustrated the state the seeker had attained at that time. Therefore, if we consider all eight figures together and compare them with one another, we will see their meaning. They indicate the growth in life and the transformation of life.
First of all, the Lord Jesus used the figure of a mare. Next He spoke of the doves’ eyes. She was not a dove yet, but she had the eyes of a dove. After the doves’ eyes there was the lily. The dove as a complete entity followed the lily. Following the dove were the pillars of smoke, the bed, and the palanquin. Finally, there was the crown. If we pray over these eight figures, I believe that the Holy Spirit will show us something so meaningful. My burden is not to expound the Song of Songs but that we all may know the way to take the Lord’s life. So many Christians talk about Christ as life, but very few know how to experience Him as life.
The way to enjoy and experience Christ as life is found in the Song of Songs. The term life is not used in this book, but there is the way to enjoy Christ as life. The way to enjoy Christ as life is simply to love Him as a wonderful person. The Gospel of John is not a book of doctrines, gifts, or power; it is a presentation of a wonderful person. The Song of Songs is exactly the same. There are not any doctrines in this book or any doctrinal terms. There are no manifestations of gifts or power. These eight chapters reveal to us a lovable person. He is altogether lovely! And this person is not only our life but also our living. In the Song of Songs, this lovely One is just the life and the living of His seeker. The seeking one takes this lovely One as her life within and her living without by loving Him. Oh, we must love such a wonderful person! Then we will take Him as our life and as our living. He will become our talk, our walk, our attitude, our expression, our everything! He will become not only our life within but also our living without. “To me, to live is Christ” (Phil. 1:21). This is the Song of Songs.
This book not only presents a picture of this wonderful, loving person, but it also gives a clear picture of the seeking one who loves Him so much. This is why there is a continual change in her growth in life. We cannot help growing in life and having the transformation of life if we really love the Lord Jesus. If you say that you love the Lord Jesus, yet year after year you remain the same, I do not believe you. If a person really loves the Lord, there will be a continual growth and change in life. It is not by teaching, instruction, correction, or adjustment. I do not have confidence in these things. They can only adjust a little in an outward way, just as the morticians do who work on a corpse. They make some changes, but they are all outward; not one bit comes out of life. There is no growth, no transformation, no improvement, no change, and no living progress.
Consider the seeking one in the Song of Songs. All the time she is growing, changing, and being transformed. What a transformation — from a mare to a dove! From a dove to pillars of smoke! From the pillars of smoke to the bed! From the bed to a palanquin! And from the palanquin to a crown! In all these figures we can see the growth in life of such a seeking one. It is not by teaching, and it is not by gifts. We must realize that no transformation of life can come out of any gifts. In John 2 many people saw the miracles done by the Lord and believed in Him. Yet the Lord would not commit Himself to the miracle appraisers. We should not be miracle appraisers but person appraisers — those who love and seek after the Lord Himself. Then there will be the growth in life and the transformation of life.
We need to look at all eight figures in more detail. A horse in the Bible always signifies strength and speed (Psa. 33:17; 147:10). This mare is used for the Egyptian king. “I compare you, my love, / To a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots” (S. S. 1:9). The mare signifies natural strength in a worldly way. The Lord’s seeker is using her strength to seek the Lord. In verse 7 she prayed, “Tell me, you whom my soul loves, Where do you pasture your flock? / Where do you make it lie down at noon?” She prayed for the Lord’s feeding and for the Lord’s rest. And the Lord answered her in verse 8: “If you yourself do not know, / You fairest among women, / Go forth on the footsteps of the flock, / And pasture your young goats / By the shepherds’ tents.” She followed in such a strong way that the Lord praised her, saying that she was like a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots. This is good but good in a natural, worldly way. You are seeking the Lord, but you drag the world behind you. In your seeking of the Lord, others are impressed not with the Lord but with something of Pharaoh. You are not carrying Solomon but Pharaoh.
Many of the young people in the churches are really seeking the Lord. Yet they pull “the chariots of Pharaoh” with them. Something from Egypt, something from the world, is being pulled behind them. It is not something evil but something of Pharaoh. Sometimes it is quite stately and royal, yet it comes from the world. The young people are attracted by the Lord, and they are loving Him, but they are still the “mare among Pharaoh’s chariots,” pulling something of the world. They are not like Solomon’s palanquin, carrying Christ.
Are we really seeking the Lord? Then whom are we carrying? Are we carrying Pharaoh, or are we carrying Solomon? If we are bearing Pharaoh, we are a mare used to pull his chariot. But if we are bearing Solomon, we are a palanquin, a vessel for Him. Solomon is contained in this vessel. For the mare to carry Pharaoh, there is no need of a vessel. But if we would carry Solomon, we must be a vessel, a container, as His palanquin.
After the Lord’s first appraisal of the seeking one, she enjoyed the Lord more and more, and she appreciated the Lord. Between 1:9 and 1:15, there are several verses showing how the Lord appreciated her and how she appreciated the Lord. She said, “My beloved is to me a bundle of myrrh / That lies at night between my breasts. / My beloved is to me as a cluster of henna flowers / In the vineyards of En-gedi” (vv. 13-14). By these appreciations of the Lord there was the growth in life and the transformation of life. Real appreciation of the Lord always brings the growth in life and the transformation of life.
The next figure used by the Lord to describe her is the doves’ eyes. “Oh, you are beautiful, my love! / Oh, you are beautiful! Your eyes are like doves” (v. 15). She was worldly and natural, but now she begins to have spiritual insight and spiritual concepts. The dove signifies the Spirit (Matt. 3:16). The doves’ eyes signify the insight, the understanding, and the realization of the Spirit.
If I were to speak with some of the young people about their hair, they would be offended, no matter how much they love the Lord. This is because they still hold a natural concept about their hair. But if they were to appreciate the Lord more and more, this appreciation would give them a spiritual concept and the insight of the Spirit. Their mare’s eyes would be transformed into doves’ eyes. Then they would look at their hair, their sideburns, their mustaches, their eyeglasses, and their tee shirts in a different way. I know that today’s young people are fond of all these things. They have their natural concepts, but this is like having the wild mare’s eyes. But the Lord Jesus is so real. He can convert our sight. He can change our mare’s eyes into doves’ eyes. The more we appreciate Him, the more our eyesight will be transformed.
The doves’ eyes are the spiritual insights that come from continually gazing on the Lord and putting our trust in Him. We no longer trust in our natural mare strength, but now we trust in Him. When the seeking one’s eyes have become the eyes of the dove, she has lost her confidence in her natural strength. She has turned away from her natural strength to the Lord and is continually looking unto Him. By her appreciation of Him, she receives the heavenly concept and spiritual insight. Now she has doves’ eyes to see things in a new way. She has not yet become a full dove, but she has the eyes of a dove. At least her concept, her insight, and her looking unto the Lord are like the eyes of the dove.
After having the eyes of the dove, she becomes a lily. “As a lily among thorns, / So is my love among the daughters” (2:2). In the Bible, a lily signifies a life lived wholly by faith. The Lord said in Matthew 6:28-30, “Consider well the lilies of the field, how they grow. They do not toil, neither do they spin thread. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these. And if God so arrays the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is cast into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you, you of little faith?” A lily is one of the Lord’s seeking ones who lives on this earth but not by this earth. She lives by trusting in God; she does not put her trust in this earth. By such a faith she becomes as pure as the white lilies. Such are the pure ones who live by faith in God. Not only does the Lord Himself consider the seeking one in Song of Songs as a lily, but even she herself recognizes that she is a lily. In 2:16 she says, “My beloved is mine, and I am his; / He pastures his flock among the lilies.” She is one of the lilies, and among these lilies the Lord is shepherding His flock.
The turn from the doves’ eyes to the lily indicates a further improvement. Now she not only looks unto the Lord but also has a practical faith in Him. She not only has lost her natural strength and confidence, but she also has real faith in God. She has put away her trust in her mare’s strength, and now she has a living trust in God. She not only has the eyes of a dove but also the pure faith of a lily. Hallelujah! What a picture! After becoming a lily, she becomes a complete dove. “My dove, in the clefts of the rock, / In the covert of the precipice, / Let me see your countenance, / Let me hear your voice; / For your voice is sweet, / And your countenance is lovely” (v. 14).
All the improvements and all the stages of the growth in life can only come as we are taking Christ as our person. We must love Him, appreciate Him, and learn more and more to live by Him. Then we will progress from the mare to the doves’ eyes, then to the lily, and eventually to the complete dove. In these stages the seeking one is continually dealing with the Lord. She is learning to take the Lord as her everything, and by this she is growing and improving. There is a continuous transformation from the mare stage to the dove stage.
But this is not the end. A dove is lovely and gentle but not of much use. After the dove stage there is a long period of time between 2:14 and 3:6. The portion between these two verses shows that a lapse of time has occurred. There are the clefts of the rock, the covert of the precipice, and the myrrh and the frankincense, with all kinds of the fragrant powders of the merchant — all poetic figures describing the death, resurrection, and ascension of the Lord.
The clefts of the rock signify the cross. Christ was the cleft rock smitten for us (Exo. 17:6; 1 Cor. 10:4). Hence, the clefts of the rock signify His crucifixion, and His crucifixion is just our cross. We must remain in the clefts of the rock; we must stay in His crucifixion. The apostle Paul was always experiencing the death of Christ. He said, “I am crucified with Christ” (Gal. 2:20). He also shared that he was “always bearing about in the body the putting to death of Jesus...We who are alive are always being delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake...So then death operates in us” (2 Cor. 4:10-12). This is what it means to be the dove in the clefts of the rock. Only a long period of time in this experience can bring us to the next stage.
Here we need a practical illustration. Suppose I am staying with two brothers. To live together is wonderful, but sometimes it is also horrible. They have their personality and natural makeup, and I have mine. We are all different. Suppose my personality offends this brother’s personality. What shall he do? He must say, “O Lord Jesus, keep me in the clefts of the rock; keep me at the cross.” By this the Lord will be able to work something into him. In all our different situations, we must stay in the clefts of the rock. “O Lord Jesus, I am crucified with You.” To be crucified with Christ on the cross is to stay in the clefts of the rock.
We must also stay in the covert of the precipice, where we experience the Lord’s ascension. This is mentioned in Psalm 91:1: “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High / Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.” We all must learn to hide ourselves in the secret place of the Most High. This means to be in the presence of God in the heavenly places, which is to stay in the Lord’s ascension. If I am troubled by a certain person or a particular situation, I must pray, “O Lord Jesus, keep me in the clefts of the rock, and help me to stay in the covert of the precipice. O Lord, may I stay at Your cross, and may I stay in Your presence in the heavenlies.” In this way I am crossed out, and everything is under my feet. Hallelujah!
This is a wonderful working out of the transformation of life. No one will fail to be transformed by such a life. As long as we are staying at the cross and in the heavenly places in the Lord’s presence, there will be a real growth in life and transformation of life.
After a long period of such experiences, we come to Song of Songs 3:6: “Who is she who comes up from the wilderness / Like pillars of smoke, / Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, / With all the fragrant powders of the merchant?” It is better to say “permeated with myrrh and frankincense.” We know that in typology myrrh signifies the fragrance of Jesus’ death, and frankincense signifies the sweet flavor of His resurrection. We all must be permeated by the flavor of the death and resurrection of Christ. Then we will be perfumed with myrrh and frankincense. This is not just a doctrine to learn; it is an experience that takes time. For many months and years we need to be under the permeating fragrance of the death and resurrection of Christ.
In addition to the myrrh and frankincense, there are also the “fragrant powders of the merchant.” Christ is the Merchant, and all His fragrant powders must saturate us. We must be permeated with the death and resurrection of Christ and with all the attributes of the heavenly Christ. This will surely bring about a real transformation.
The seeking one has now become pillars of smoke standing on the earth supporting the expanse. The apostles Paul and John were such persons. They were, and still are today, the pillars of smoke in the whole universe supporting the skies. When we read their writings, we realize that they are real pillars to the skies. When we become such pillars, the Lord can commit His purpose to us and upon us. Then we are pillars that stand fast without shaking. This figure is taken from the ancient mode of construction in which they did not use walls to support the building, but they used pillars or columns. Everything rested upon these pillars. This is why Paul mentions Peter, James, and John as pillars of the church (Gal. 2:9). In 1 Timothy 3:15 the church of the living God is spoken of as the pillar and base of the truth. Now the seeking one has become such a pillar to uphold God’s interests on the earth.
Who is this one? “There is Solomon’s bed; / Sixty mighty men surround it, / Of the mighty men of Israel” (S. S. 3:7). The answer came that she is now the bed of Solomon. The question was about her, but the answer is concerning Solomon. This is because she is now one with Solomon; she is one with Christ. Christ is the content, and she is the container. A bed is a kind of container to hold the content, not for moving but for resting in the night. The mighty men of war surround this bed. This surely means that she has now come into the stage of spiritual warfare. Only the mature ones can fight in the war, and here the war is waged even at night. Yet even during the war in the night, Christ can still have His rest in such a seeking one. Who is this? She is the rest of Christ. She is not only the pillar supporting God’s interests on the earth, but she is also the bed affording the rest to Christ, even during the war at night.
Now she is not for her own satisfaction but for Christ’s satisfaction. In chapter 2 she was under the apple tree for her satisfaction, but now Solomon lies down and has his satisfaction in her. Who is this one? This is Solomon’s bed, his resting place during the war at night.
She is not only the bed for Solomon to rest in at night; she is also the palanquin for him to move in by day. “King Solomon made himself a palanquin / Of the wood of Lebanon. / Its posts he made of silver, / Its bottom, of gold; / Its seat, of purple; / Its midst was inlaid with love / From the daughters of Jerusalem” (vv. 9-10). The seeking one is now a vessel to contain Christ, carrying Him about in His move. A palanquin is a stately, royal car. As a vessel, it contains the person it carries. She is now the moving vessel of Christ. Christ moves by being contained in her. While she is containing Him, He moves in her and with her. Hallelujah! This is the palanquin of Christ.
The palanquin is constructed of wood, silver, and gold. The wood is the cedar of Lebanon, signifying the Lord’s humanity. The posts are silver. Silver always signifies the redemption of Christ. The palanquin is supported by the redemption of Christ. The bottom, the base, is made of gold, which signifies the life and nature of God. God’s divine nature is the base.
When we pray-read all these verses, we see how much the seeking one has been transformed. The humanity of Jesus, the divinity of God, and the redemption of Christ are all wrought into her. Only these things can make us a palanquin to Christ. We must have these three materials wrought into us. Then, as His palanquin, we will be built with the humanity of Jesus, the redemption of Christ, and the divine nature of God. It is all very meaningful.
Its midst was inlaid with love from the daughters of Jerusalem. Our midst must be nothing but our love toward the Lord. As a palanquin to Christ, we are decorated and inlaid within with our love toward the Lord. This is why this whole book is a love story. Even when we are transformed to such a stage, our midst must be inlaid with love. This is the palanquin that carries the Lord. It is made of the humanity of Jesus, the redemption of Christ, and the divinity of God; and its midst is inlaid with love to Jesus.
Eventually, such a person becomes the crown. “Go forth, O daughters of Zion, / And look at King Solomon with the crown / With which his mother crowned him / On the day of his espousals, / Yes, on the day of the gladness of his heart” (v. 11). There was the question, “Who is she?” First, the answer came that this was Solomon’s bed for resting and his palanquin for moving. Then the answer came that this was Solomon with his crown. She is now the crown of Solomon. If we love the Lord, we will become the crown of Solomon. This is not the crown for kingship; it is the crown at the wedding day. That is the crown for Christ’s espousal with us. He is the Bridegroom, and we are the bride. Eventually, the bride becomes the crown to the Groom. Hallelujah!
We must see one more thing. When the seeking one was like a mare loving the Lord, she was full of her own opinions. Even as a little dove, she still had a certain kind of personality. However, when she becomes the pillars, the bed, the palanquin, and the crown, she has lost all her personality by being permeated with the myrrh and frankincense, the death and resurrection of Christ. Now she only expresses the personality of Christ in His rest and in His move. This is the way for us to take Christ as our life. It is by loving Him as our person, enjoying Him as our satisfaction, and experiencing Him in so many ways that we may become His full expression.
