Scripture Reading: S.S. 2:8-17; 3:1-5
In Song of Songs 2:8—3:5 the lover of Christ is called by Him to be delivered from the self through her oneness with the cross. This is the second stage in the experience of the lover of Christ. Three critical words help us to interpret this section: cross, self, and introspection.
The cross is signified by the clefts of the rock and the covert of the precipice (2:14). These are places of safety, but they are rugged, and few would be willing to go there. The clefts of the rock and the covert of the precipice surely signify the cross as the place of safety for fallen man. The safest place for us to be is the cross.
Although the self has no figure in Song of Songs, according to Christian experience it is manifested in the second stage. In the first stage, the lover of Christ pursues Him, receives help in the fellowship in the inner chamber, and enters into the church life, where she experiences transformation. She enters into the rest and enjoyment of Christ for her full satisfaction. Then the self rises up, and the lover of Christ begins to care only for being perfect. This is the self.
The self is very subtle. In Matthew 16, after the Lord Jesus unveiled the way of the cross for the accomplishment of God's economy, Peter showed his love for the Lord by saying, "God be merciful to You, Lord! This shall by no means happen to You!" (v. 22). Peter thought that was his own word. Actually, Peter spoke from his self, which had become one with Satan. The Lord Jesus rebuked Peter saying, "Get behind Me, Satan!" (v. 23a). Then the Lord spoke about denying the self (v. 24). This reveals that the self is the satanic humanity; it is man possessed and usurped by Satan. As a result, man in his fallen humanity cares only for himself. Because everyone is for himself, selfishness is seen in all kinds of relationships — between husband and wife, between children and parents, between employers and employees.
We should not think that we can become so spiritual that we no longer have a problem with the self. Even a lover of Christ, one who yearns for Him, seeks Him, and gains Him, is still troubled by the self. We still have a part of us that is fallen and satanic, and this part will remain with us until our physical body is redeemed, that is, until we will have been redeemed to the uttermost from the old creation. This was the situation even with the apostle Paul. He had received so many visions and revelations, yet he realized that he was still in the fallen humanity (2 Cor. 12:7). Although we also are still in the fallen humanity, we should not live in it and we should not live by it. As an elderly believer in Christ, I can testify that the older I become, the more bothered I am by the old creation, by the fallen, satanic humanity.
As we will see when we come to the end of Song of Songs, the lover of Christ eventually sighs because she is still in the old creation. She longs to be fully like Christ, who has absolutely nothing to do with anything of the old creation. She has been remade by God to be a new creation, yet according to God's economy, God has allowed a part of the old creation to remain with her.
We may have some success in pursuing after Christ and may attain a certain amount of satisfaction. But then we may ask, "How can I maintain this? How can I keep myself in this condition?" At this point the self comes in.
Self comes in under the false cloak of introspection. Actually, self is constituted with introspection. Introspection is to examine yourself by looking into yourself. The Bible teaches us to always look away unto Jesus (Heb. 12:2). We should not look at ourselves. Our self is not worthy to look at. Nevertheless, every spiritual person who reaches a situation of satisfaction in Christ eventually falls into introspection, not only examining the self but also analyzing it. When I was a young believer, I looked at myself quite often. I did not like to do anything that would not glorify the Lord. But actually I was not caring for the Lord; I was caring for myself and for what others thought of me. Looking into ourselves in this way is the greatest weakness in the spiritual life and the greatest enemy.
In helping others who are seeking to be spiritual, we may encourage them to pray and to confess their shortcomings to the Lord. Such prayer and confession are normal. However, in some cases we should encourage others to cease from confessing and simply believe that the blood of Jesus cleanses them and that God is faithful and righteous to forgive them (1 John 1:7, 9), reminding them that God is faithful to honor Christ's redemption.
When we are introspective, we may confess the same matter again and again, thinking that the more we confess, the more forgiveness we will receive. This kind of confession comes from the satanic self; it is the result of analyzing ourselves in spiritual things. Only the cross of Christ can deliver us from such a situation caused by introspection. Therefore, we need to be called to be delivered from the self through our oneness with the cross. When we become one with the cross, hiding ourselves in the clefts of the rock and in the covert of the precipice, we will be delivered from the self.
The lover of Christ is called to be delivered from the self through her oneness with the cross by Christ's resurrection power through His fellowship (S.S. 2:8-9).
"The voice of my beloved! Now he comes,/Leaping upon the mountains,/Skipping upon the hills" (v. 8). This leaping and skipping signifies Christ's power to overcome difficulties and barriers. As the One in resurrection, He surely has a way to overcome difficulties and barriers. All the troubles concerning our fellowship with Christ come from our side. Many "hills" and "mountains" frustrate us from coming to Him, but He is never frustrated, for He can "leap" and "skip."
How can we go to the cleft of the rock, to the covert of the precipice? We do not have the strength to do this. The only way that we can go to the cross is by the power of His resurrection (Phil. 3:10). Therefore, Christ comes to the self-satisfied seeker in the power of resurrection.
"My beloved is like a gazelle or a young hart" (S.S. 2:9a). The word hind in the title of Psalm 22, which is concerned with resurrection, signifies Christ in resurrection. Christ's being like a young hart signifies that His power is the power of resurrection.
"Now he stands behind our wall" (v. 9b). His standing behind "our wall" signifies that the lover's introspection as the problem in her self is a separation between her and Him.
"He is looking through the windows,/He is glancing through the lattice" (v. 9c). The windows and the lattice signify the openings set up by God for Him to fellowship, to commune, with her. No matter how much we try to hide ourselves secretly, there is a window that Christ can see through. Because man became fallen, there seemed to be no way for God to touch man or have fellowship with man. But the conscience of man is the window with a lattice, which is open for God to come in to contact fallen man. We should keep this in mind when we go out to preach the gospel. As we are preaching the gospel, we need to learn how to touch others' conscience.
In verses 10 through 13 the lover is entreated to respond and is encouraged with the passing away of the winter and the coming of the spring of resurrection in its flourishing riches. The Beloved entreated His lover to come out from behind the wall.
"My beloved responds and says to me" in verse 10a indicates that the lover of Christ failed to respond to Him in His fellowship. If the lover had given a proper response, it would not have been necessary for the Beloved to speak again.
"Rise up, my love" (v. 10b) indicates that she was down in her situation, so Christ asked her in love to rise up. Whenever we have some attainment in spiritual seeking, the result is a down situation. Such a situation is mainly due to the self and introspection.
The words "My beauty, and come away" (v. 10c) indicate that Christ in His appreciation of her wanted her to come out of her down situation to be with Him. This is a word of encouragement.
"Now the winter is past;/The rain is over and gone" (v. 11). This indicates that the time of dormancy (winter) and trials (rain) is over and that the time of spring (resurrection) is coming.
"Flowers appear on the earth;/The time of singing has come,/And the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. /The fig tree has ripened its figs,/And the vines are in blossom — they give forth their fragrance" (vv. 12-13a). Here "flowers," "singing," "voice of the turtledove," "blossom," and "fragrance" indicate the flourishing riches of Christ's resurrection. All these are signs of resurrection. When we sing, we are in resurrection. Whenever our mouth is closed, we are in winter.
"Rise up, my love,/My beauty, and come away" (v. 13b). This repeated word indicates Christ's eagerness in asking His lover to get away from her introspection of the self to be with Him. However, it is not easy for one to come out of introspection. It is very difficult to help a brother or sister who is introspective. Sometimes it takes a year or more before such a one can be helped to get away from the introspection of the self.
In verses 14 and 15 the lover is called to be in oneness with the cross. Whereas in the New Testament we have a clear word concerning the cross, in Song of Songs the cross is signified by figures of speech.
"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). Here Christ, considering her His simple lover (My dove), wants to see His lover's lovely countenance and hear her sweet voice in her oneness, union, with the cross (the clefts of the rock and the covert of the precipice). Here we see Christ's call for His lover to be in oneness with the cross. This point on the cross is the central stress in this section on deliverance from the self.
If I had been the lover, I might have said, "My beloved, I cannot get to the clefts of the rock. The clefts are too high and the way is too rugged. I do not have enough power to go there." But here Christ was indicating to His lover that she could enter into the experience of the cross by the power of His resurrection.
The objective cross must become our subjective experience. We need to get into the cross and the cross must get into us. In this way we and the cross become one. Our oneness with the cross is our salvation. To be delivered from the self means to be saved from the self through becoming one with the cross. Every day we should be conformed to Christ's death by the power of His resurrection (Phil. 3:10). Without the oneness with the cross, we cannot be delivered from the self. I appreciate the chorus of the hymn which says, "Through the Cross, O Lord, I pray,/Put my soul-life all away;/Make me any price to pay,/Full anointing to receive" (Hymns, #279). We need to be willing to pay the price to enter into the subjective experience of the cross.
"Catch the foxes for us,/The little foxes,/That ruin the vineyards/While our vineyards are in blossom" (S.S. 2:15). Christ charges His lover to be aware of her peculiarities, habits, and introspections (little foxes) which ruin the resurrection for His lover (our vineyards in blossom).
The little foxes that ruin the vineyards signify our peculiarities, our habits, and our introspections, and the vineyards signify the church life. To be spiritual is good, but it often leads to peculiarity. Nearly every spiritual person is peculiar, having some kind of peculiar streak. When we become peculiar, we are no longer spiritual. Instead, we become a trouble to the church. The deliverance from peculiarity is the cross.
In 2:16—3:1 we see the lover's rejection and failure.
"My beloved is mine, and I am his;/He pastures his flock among the lilies" (v. 16). She realizes that Christ belongs to her and she to Christ according to her feeling, yet He is not with her, but He is away feeding His pure and trusting followers (pastures among the lilies). At this point she and Christ are not one.
"Until the day dawns and the shadows flee away,/Turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young hart/On the mountains of Bether" (v. 17). Here she rejects Him by asking Him to wait until her down situation is over and then to turn to her in His resurrection, like a gazelle or a young hart, at the time of their separation, which could be removed only by Him and not by her (on the mountains of Bether). The word Bether means "separation." The lover seemed to be saying to Him, "Lord, I am not ready. Please do not come now but wait until my situation is over. Be like a gazelle upon the mountain of separation." This separation, this mountain, is a problem, and it can be removed only by Him.
"On my bed night after night/I sought him whom my soul loves;/I sought him, but found him not" (3:1). In her introspection, in her down situation, she seeks her Beloved, but she fails to find Him.
Song of Songs 3:2-4 speaks of the lover's waking up and recovery.
"I will rise now and go about in the city;/In the streets and in the squares/I will seek him whom my soul loves./I sought him, but found him not" (v. 2). She will rise up from her introspection to seek her Beloved in the ways and in the methods of the heavenly Jerusalem (signified by Jerusalem on earth).
"The watchmen who go about in the city found me — /Have you seen him whom my soul loves?" (v. 3). The ones who watch over God's people spiritually (Heb. 13:17) in the ways of the heavenly Jerusalem find her, and she asks them if they have seen the One whom she loves.
"Scarcely had I passed them/When I found him whom my soul loves;/I held him and would not let go/Until I had brought him into my mother's house/And into the chamber of her who conceived me" (S.S. 3:4). Not long after she leaves the ones who watch over God's people, she finds her Beloved, and she holds Him and will not let go until she brings Him into the Spirit of grace, through which she was regenerated (mother's house — chamber — Heb. 10:29; Gal. 4:26; Eph. 2:4-5; Gal. 5:4) for secret fellowship.
The mother's house was the place where she was born, and the mother's chamber was the place where she was conceived. The mother is grace. According to Galatians 4:25-26 the Jerusalem above, which is our mother, represents the principle of grace, which produces free heirs, and the Jerusalem on the earth produces children in bondage. The mother's chamber signifies love, which is of the Father. The Father's love issues in grace. Ephesians 2:4-5 says that God loved us and then saved us by grace. We were conceived in God's love and born by God's grace.
Although the lover of Christ fell into introspection, one day she woke up and realized that she was a sinner saved by grace. Then she could say, "God loved me and Christ saved me by grace." Second Corinthians 13:14 speaks of the grace of Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit brings God's love and carries God's grace to us. Hence, the Spirit is called the Spirit of grace (Heb. 10:29). Once the lover realized that she was a sinner saved by grace, she was revived. Then finding her Beloved, she held him and would not let go. She brought Christ to her mother's house, where she was born by grace, and to the chamber, where she was conceived in love. As the chamber is the inward part of the house, so God's love is the inward part of Christ's grace. As saved ones, we have both the love of God and the grace of Christ.
"I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,/By the gazelles or by the hinds of the fields,/Not to rouse up or awaken my love/Until she pleases" (S.S. 3:5). Here Christ charges the meddling believers (daughters of Jerusalem) not to awaken her from her experience of Christ in her being delivered from the self, secluded in her introspection, into her secret fellowship with Him until she feels pleasant concerning her next experience of Him (she pleases).
