Online Resource Library
Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Song of Solomon 7:10 - 7:13
(Show All Books | Show All Chapters)
This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
The Bride's Answer to the Lord.
Even at the end of the last paragraph the bride had caught tip the words of the Bridegroom, stating, on her part, that the Word of her message, of the Gospel-truth, was like wine which caused the most pleasant dreams. She now continues, in reciprocating His affectionate speech:
v. 10. I am my Beloved's, and His desire is toward me, a joyful exclamation showing how sure she is of His love, and how safe she feels in its possession. She, therefore, invites the Bridegroom:
v. 11. Come, my Beloved, let us go forth into the field, out into the open country; let us lodge in the villages, the Church lodging not only in one place, but wherever a congregation with the pure 'Word is organized.
v. 12. Let us get up early to the vineyards, figures of rich fruitfulness; let us see if the vine flourish, whether it has sprouted, whether the tender grape appear, that is, whether its blossoms have opened, and the pomegranates bud forth; there will I give Thee my loves, opening her heart without reserve and giving Him the full love of the chaste bride.
v. 13. The mandrakes, whose odor was supposed to stimulate love, give a smell, and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, the reference being to the store-rooms for dried fruits and vegetables over the doors of the houses, new and old, which I have laid up for Thee, O my Beloved, for only the richest products will properly express the fullness of her affection for the King.
While the Church longs for the consummation of the heavenly marriage, she nevertheless does not neglect her work in this world. She wants the Bridegroom to go out with her into the wide world, to visit and observe the growth of the many congregations, to witness the results of her work. For this labor in the vineyard of the Lord is the true evidence of her love. In her mind there is no doubt that there are many sweet-smelling plants throughout the world, the elect of the Lord, whose souls He will gather as noble fruits of the Church's toil. Like excellent fruits these fruits are stored in the home of the Church, to be kept for the day when the work of the bride will be ended and the marriage of the Lamb will be celebrated.