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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Song of Solomon 4:8-14

These are still the words of Christ to his church, expressing his great esteem of her and affection to her, the opinion he had of her beauty and excellency, the desire he had of, and the delight he had in, her converse and society. And so ought men to love their wives as Christ loves the church, and takes pleasure in it as if it were spotless and had no fault, when yet it is compassed with infirmity. Now, observe here, I. The endearing names and titles by which he calls her, to express his... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Song of Solomon 4:9

Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse ,.... Here another new title is given to the church, "my sister", with the repetition of the former, my "spouse": for one and the same person, with the Hebrews, might be sister and spouse; see 1 Corinthians 9:5 . And this may be used in a love strain, and so not improper in a love poem, as this was F7 "Sive tibi conjux, sive futura soror", Tibullus. ; see Song of Solomon 8:8 ; likewise the church may be called Christ's sister,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Song of Solomon 4:10

How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse !.... Of these titles; see Gill on Song of Solomon 4:8 ; See Gill on Song of Solomon 4:9 ; and of the love of the church to Christ; see Gill on Song of Solomon 1:3 ; here said to be "fair", lovely and delightful, grateful and acceptable; as it is to Christ, in the several acts and effects of it, and therefore the word is plural, "thy loves" F18 דודיך "amores tui", Pagninus, Montanus, &c.; ; being exceeding beautiful in his eye,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Song of Solomon 4:11

Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb ,.... Words, for sweetness, delight, and pleasure, like that; so the speech of persons, flowing from their mouth and tongue, is said to be sweeter than the honeycomb F19 Vid. Theocrit. Idyll. 21. v. 26, 27. Homer. Iliad. 1. v. 249. ; and lovers are said to be sweeter to one another than the sweet honey F20 Plauti Asinaria, Act. 3. Sc. 3. v. 24. : so the lips or words of the church in prayer, as the Targum; or in praise of Christ,... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Song of Solomon 4:9

Thou hast ravished my heart - לבבתני libbabtini , "Thou hast hearted me," i.e., taken away my heart; as we say, "He has barked the tree," i.e., he has stripped it of its bark; "He has fleeced the flock," i.e., deprived them of their wool. With one of thine eyes - מעיניך באצד beachad meeynayich . This has been thought a harsh expression, and various emendations have been sought. The Masoretes have put באצת beachath , "at once," in the margin; and this is confirmed by twenty of... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Song of Solomon 4:10

How much better is thy love - דדיך dodayich ; Hebrew. mastoi sou ; Septuagint. Ubera tua ; Vulgate. "Thy breasts." And so all the versions, except the Chaldee. Smell of thine ointments - Perfumes. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Song of Solomon 4:11

Thy lips - drop as the honey-comb - Thy words are as delicious to my heart as the first droppings of the honey-comb are to the palate. Honey and milk are under thy tongue - Eloquence and persuasive speech were compared among the ancients to honey and milk. Thus Homer, Iliad, lib. i., ver. 247: - Τοισι δε Νεστωρ<-144 Ηδυεπης ανορουσε, λιγυς Πυλιων αγορητης.Του και απο γλωσσης μελιτος γλυκιων ῥεεν αυδη . Experienced Nestor, in persuasion skill'd, Words sweet as honey from... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Song of Solomon 4:7-16

Further conversation. I. THE WORDS OF THE BRIDEGROOM . 1 . His entire love for the bride. If the view of Song of Solomon 4:6 indicated above gives the true meaning, the bride has left the bridegroom for a time. In the evening they meet again, and the king again expresses his affection: "Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee." Such shall the Church be in the eyes of Christ, when he has sanctified and cleansed her with the washing of water by the Word; when... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Song of Solomon 4:8-11

Heart calls to heart. The richness of imagination for which the Song of Songs is justly renowned is especially remarkable in this passage. All the senses are summoned to deepen the impression. The sight is charmed by visible beauty, by the glances of "eyes darting love," by the necklace lying on the fair white neck. Perfumes and unguents, spices, and cedars of Lebanon, address the sense of smell. The taste is appealed to by the pleasant wine, the honey of exceeding sweetness. And what is... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Song of Solomon 4:9

Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my bride; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck. The bridegroom still continues his address of love, which we must not, of course, press too closely, though it is noticeable that the language becomes somewhat more sober in tone, as though the writer were conscious of the higher application to which it would be put. Some translators take the first clause as though the word "ravished" should be rendered... read more

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