Song of Solomon 3:8

3:6-11 A wilderness is an emblem of the world; the believer comes out of it when he is delivered from the love of its sinful pleasures and pursuits, and refuses to comply with its customs and fashions, to seek happiness in communion with the Saviour. A poor soul shall come up, at last, under the conduct of the Comforter; like a cloud of incense ascending from the altar, or the smoke of the burnt-offerings. This signifies pious and devout affections, and the mounting of the soul heaven-ward. The believer is filled with the graces of God's Spirit; his devotions now are very lively. These graces and comforts are from the heavenly Canaan. He, who is the Peace of his people, the King of the heavenly Zion, has provided for the safe conveyance of his redeemed through the wilderness of this world. The bed, or palanquin, was contrived for rest and easy conveyance, but its beauty and magnificence showed the quality of its owner. The church is well guarded; more are with her than are against her: believers, when they repose in Christ, and with him, though they have their fears in the night, are yet safe. The chariot here denotes the covenant of redemption, the way of our salvation. This is that work of Christ, which makes him loved and admired in the eyes of believers. It is framed and contrived, both for the glory of Christ, and for the comfort of believers; it is well ordered in all things and sure.

The blood of the covenant, that rich purple, is the cover of this chariot, by which believers are sheltered from the wind and storms of Divine wrath, and the troubles of this world; but the midst of it is that love of Christ which passes knowledge, this is for believers to repose upon. Christ, in his gospel, manifests himself. Take special notice of his crown. Applying this to Christ, it speaks the honour put upon him, and his power and dominion.

Hath his sword upon his thigh; is prepared and ready to fight, as this phrase notes, Exodus 32:27 Psalm 45:3 . Because of fear in the night ; to prevent those dangers and mischiefs which are most frequent and most dreadful in the night season. The night may note either, 1. The time of tribulation, temptation, or desertion. Or, 2. The whole time of this life, which may well be called night, in respect of that ignorance, and error, and other kinds of darkness wherewith it is attended, as the future life is compared to a day, this life being the only time wherein such a guard is necessary.

8. hold—not actually grasping them, but having them girt on the thigh ready for use, like their Lord (Ps 45:3). So believers too are guarded by angels (Ps 91:11; Heb 1:14), and they themselves need "every man" (Ne 4:18) to be armed (Ps 144:1, 2; 2Co 10:4; Eph 6:12, 17; 1Ti 6:12), and "expert" (2Co 2:11). because of fear in the night—Arab marauders often turn a wedding into mourning by a night attack. So the bridal procession of saints in the night of this wilderness is the chief object of Satan's assault.

8 . They all hold swords ] This is a circumstantial and descriptive clause, and their holding swords is not meant to be explained by expert in war , as the insertion of ‘being’ in the A.V. might suggest. Rather it should be rendered, Threescore valiant men—all of them with swords in their hands, and trained to war, each with his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the night , i.e. to ward off danger that might arise in the night. The mention of ‘night’ here probably suggested the translation of miṭṭâh as ‘bed.’ The Heb. word translated ‘ hold ’ in the A.V. has the form of a passive participle, but must be translated as active. Cp. Ges.-K. Gramm . § 50 f .

Verse 8. - They all handle the sword, and are expert in war: every man hath his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the night. The guard of warriors round the litter secured the bride from any sudden alarm as she travelled through the wilderness, and so gave her quiet rest. The journey from Shunem to Jerusalem would be about fifty miles in a direct course, and it was therefore necessary to pass at least one, if not two, nights on the way; the course being through a wild and solitary region. The Church of God may be often called to pass through dangers and enemies, but he that loveth her will provide against her destruction - she shall have rest in the love cf. her Lord. He will surround her with his strength. "My peace I give unto thee" - provided by me, coming from myself, the fruit of my self-sacrificing love. Song of Solomon 3:8

The description of the palanquin now following, one easily attributes to another voice from the midst of the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 7 Lo! Solomon's palanquin, Threescore heroes are around it, Of the heroes of Israel, 8 All of them armed with the sword, expert in war. Each with his sword on his thigh, Against fear in the nights. Since אפּריון, 9a, is not by itself a word clearly intelligible, so as to lead us fully to determine what is here meant by מטּה as distinguished from it, we must let the connection determine. We have before us a figure of that which is called in the post-bibl. Heb. כּלה הכנסת (the bringing-home of the bride). The bridegroom either betook himself to her parents' house and fetched his bride thence, which appears to be the idea lying at the foundation of Psalm 45, if, as we believe, the ivory-palaces are those of the king of Israel's house; or she was brought to him in festal procession, and he went forth to meet her, 1 Macc. 9:39 - the prevailing custom, on which the parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25) is founded. (Note: Weigand explains the German word Braut (bride) after the Sanscr. prauḍha, "she who is brought in a carriage;" but this particip. signifies nothing more than (aetate) provetca.) Here the bride comes from a great distance; and the difference in rank between the Galilean maid and the king brings this result, that he does not himself go and fetch her, but that she is brought to him.

She comes, not as in old times Rebecca did, riding on a camel, but is carried in a mittā, which is surrounded by an escort for protection and as a mark of honour. Her way certainly led through the wilderness, where it was necessary, by a safe convoy, to provide against the possibility (min in mippahad, cf. Isaiah 4:6; Isaiah 25:4) of being attacked by robbers; whereas it would be more difficult to understand why the marriage-bed in the palace of the king of peace (1 Chronicles 22:9) should be surrounded by such an armed band for protection. That Solomon took care to have his chosen one brought to him with royal honours, is seen in the lavish expenditure of spices, the smoke and fragrance of which signalized from afar the approach of the procession, - the mittā, which is now described, can be no other than that in which, sitting or reclining, or half sitting, half reclining, she is placed, who is brought to him in such a cloud of incense. Thus mittā (from nāthā, to stretch oneself out), which elsewhere is also used of a bier, 2 Samuel 3:21 (like the Talm. ערס equals ערשׂ), will here signify a portable bed, a sitting cushion hung round with curtains after the manner of the Indian palanquin, and such as is found on the Turkish caiques or the Venetian gondolas. The appositional nearer definition שׁלּשׁ, "which belonged to Solomon" (vid., under 6b), shows that it was a royal palanquin, not one belonging to one of the nobles of the people.