Song of Solomon 7

We cannot properly understand this first verse where we read of the beauty of the feet of the Bride shod with shoes, without seeing the connection with verse 13 of the previous chapter, "Return, return, O Shulamite that we may look upon thee", and when she returns and is revealed, we behold the Prince's daughter spiritually clad and shod with shoes. The Prince is the Prince of the house of David, the Lord Jesus, and he will bring many sons unto glory. Using another figure and quoting from Hebrews 12.13: "Behold, I and the children (sons and daughters) which God hath given me". And so in figure, He is their father and prince, and so the Bride is his daughter. We also read in this verse 1 that it is the work of a cunning workman or craftsman. Cunning or clever workmen were endowed by the Spirit to build the tabernacle in the days of Moses, and also workmen were endowed by the Spirit in the days of Jesus and afterwards to build up the ecclesias in the first century. They left behind writings which were the instruction of the Spirit in the written Word as to how men could become workmen (cunning workmen) needing not to be ashamed, so all those who will constitute the Bride will be the work of the Divine craftsmen.

"How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince's daughter". We are at once reminded of Romans 10.15: "How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good thmgs". This is a quotation from Isaiah 52.7-10, showing us the connection with the day of salvation and redemption, when the word of the Lord will go forth to the ends of the earth. The Prince's daughter being shod with shoes or sandals, represents the Bride going forth capable of fulfilling and completing the Divine mission and bringing all the earth into submission to God. The kingdoms of men are likened in the prophecy of Daniel to a metallic image, the head of gold, the breasts of silver, the thighs of brass, the legs of iron, the feet and toes of iron and clay. But What a difference in the symbols of the Bride who will constitute the kingdom of Christ! Her figure and form are likened, not to the metals of the earth, but to the beauties and glories of Paradise, the land of Promise, in the day of restoration. The pools of Heshbon, the glories of Lebanon, the wonders of Carmel, the wheat and the fruits of the garden of the Lord are some of the figures used. We can see how the fruits of Paradise are symbolised by the saints and also the saints symbolized by the fruits. Moses, who will be With Christ in the day of glory, pleaded with the Almighty: "I Pray thee, let me go over and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain and Lebanon." The land was then in heathen hands, how much more beautiful will it be in the future!

We would connect this with the gospel of John 7.38. "He that belleveth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water", "The heap of wheat" connects with John 12.24: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit". (See Song of Solomon 4.5)

The eyes of the bride are likened to the two fishpools outside the gate of the city of Heshbon. The meaning of this name is 'stronghold' and the meaning of the name of the gate of this city — Bath-rabbin - is 'the daughter of many'. Her nose is likened to the tower (watchtower) of Lebanon watching toward Damascus. And in verse 5 her head is likened to Carmel and the hair of her head like the purple of a king and is bound by the tresses thereof, or the flowing hair (R.V.) The meaning of the word 'Carmel‘ is 'the vineyard of God', and King Uzziah had a vineyard here for he was an husbandman. The Bride could meditate upon the beauties of her inheritance as she, by faith, looked northward toward Lebanon and Damascus, her inheritance symbolising her spiritual beauty. The long hair or tresses was her glory (I Corinthians 11.15) and the glory of the Bride, as said the prophet (Jeremiah 9.24) is that "they know and understand" God's purpose. The head and hair (her glory) are the knowledge and wisdom of the Bride given to her through the Bridegroom. "The king is held (bound) in the galleries". This is a very similar expression to that found in chapter 2.15—17. The word 'galleries' in the Hebrew is very similar to that used in v.17 'the rafters of fir'. This connects our thoughts with the house of the king (v.17) in which the Bridegroom and the Bride are bound or held.

The king considers the pleasant land mentioned in verses 4 and 5 and the comparison of the Bride to it. "How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights". We read in Zephaniah 3.17: "The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save thee, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing", and in Malachi 3.12: "And all nations shall call you blessed; for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts".

The Bride's stature is likened to the palm tree and to the clusters of grapes, tall and straight and upright, bearing the fruits of the Spirit. In Psalm 92.12-15 we read: "The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age: they shall be fat and flourishing. To shew that the Lord is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him." The fruit of the palm tree can be laid up and stored. Those who are instructed in the Truth are likened to householders exhibiting the treasures of the Truth, the fruits of the Spirit which can be laid up for good account and which will not be forgotten, works of love and obedience, and we connect this with the words found in Hebrews 6.10-12.

While we are thinking of the palm tree and its fruit, we think of Israel when they came out of Egypt. They came to Elim and there were twelve wells of water and three score palm trees for their benefit and sustenance. There is always water where there are palm trees. The trees cannot be sustained without it and so it becomes the water of life to the travellers who behold thepalm trees afar off. We think of its height, its uprightness and its fruits.

"I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof." The boughs and fruit of the palm tree are toward the top of the tree, therefore the Bride realises she must reach upward, always striving to attain higher. In Philippians 3.13 we read: "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended; but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Also in Ephesians 4.13 we read: "Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." Another interesting point is that the palm tree is an evergreen.

"As the cluster of the vine". We pass from the consideration of the palm to the vine and the apple (orange): see chapter 2.3. The perfume from the Bride is like the sweet fruit of the orange.

"And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine for my beloved... causing the lips of the ancient to speak". The roof of the mouth enables one to speak properly, the best wine being the Word of God. The fruit of the vine is that of which Jesus partook just before His death, and this wine - the symbol of the blood of the everlasting covenant - will cause the lips of the ancient to speak once more - the resurrection.

"I am my beloved's and his desire is toward me." In Genesis 3.16 we read in regard to the first marriage: "And thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee." Here we see the Bride looking forward to the perfect spiritual marriage.

As we approach the end of this song, there is manifested the spirit of expectancy. "Let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear and the pomegranates bud forth. The mandrakes give a smell and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old", laid up for the day. We notice also this 12th verse is very similar to the one already mentioned in chapter 6.11. So we are again reminded, for our benefit and comfort, that the Bridegroom‘s attention is always toward His Bride, or to use the figure of speech in the Song, "to see if the vine flourishes or whether the grapes appear". The time is fixed for the Bridegroom’s return and the fruit must be ready for Him, and so we have read in chapter 4.16, the cold winds of adversity from the north are necessary, and the warm winds from the south, before the fruit and the spice can be brought to perfection. When this work is accomplished, the Bridegroom Will arrive. Jesus through the Spirit's words, reminds us of His care for His Bride, that His eye is upon her all the days of His absence and her affliction. We read in I Timothy 6.19: "Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life." This verse suggests the time is very near and that the Bride is almost ready.