Song of Solomon 3

the song of solomon

Solomon · c. 965 BC

Chapter the Third

By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.

I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.

The watchmen that go about the city found me: to whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?

It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother’s house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me.

I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.

Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant?

Behold his bed, which is Solomon’s; threescore valiant men are about it, of the valiant of Israel.

They all hold swords, being expert in war: every man hath his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the night.

King Solomon made himself a chariot of the wood of Lebanon.

He made the pillars thereof of silver, the bottom thereof of gold, the covering of it of purple, the midst thereof being paved with love, for the daughters of Jerusalem.

Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart.

Chuck Smith on Song of Solomon 3

Verse by verse, the C2000 series. Permission granted by The Word For Today.

Verses 1-6

By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loves: I sought him, but found him not. I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. The watchmen that go about the city found me: to whom I said, Did you see him whom my soul loves? It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loved: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me. I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please. Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, and with the powders of the merchant? Behold his bed, which is Solomon's; there are three ( Song of Solomon 3:1-7 )

And that would be the marriage chariot that he made, the nuptial bed. "Behold his bed, which is Solomon's; there are,"

sixty valiant men around it, the valiant men of Israel. They all hold their swords, being expert in war: and every man has his sword upon his thigh because of the fear in the night. King Solomon made himself a chariot of the wood of Lebanon. He made the pillars thereof of silver, the bottom thereof of gold, the covering of it of purple, the midst thereof being paved with love, for the daughters of Jerusalem. Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart ( Song of Solomon 3:7-11 ). "

Commentary on Song of Solomon 3

Whosoever Will · the Seven Threads Commentary

Song of Solomon 3:1

The first seeking narrative. The Bride is on her bed at night and she seeks the one her soul loves. She seeks and does not find. She rises, the same qum of the arise-and-come-away invitation now performed by the Bride herself, and goes into the city, through the streets and squares, seeking. Thread 4 is in the seeking: the Beloved is not found by those who wait passively. The Bride must rise and seek. She finds him and holds him and will not let him go until she has brought him into her mother's house. The seeking produces the finding when the seeking is genuine and active. Then the wedding procession of chapter 3: who is this coming from the wilderness like columns of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense? The royal litter of Solomon, surrounded by sixty mighty men. Thread 3 is the royal procession: the Bridegroom who is also King approaching in triumph. The myrrh-fragrance of the cross pervades even his wedding arrival, the Beloved who comes in glory comes still carrying the scent of his suffering.

I sought him whom my soul loveth: the seeking is genuinely the Bride's, genuinely costly, genuinely necessary; and the wedding procession from the wilderness carries the myrrh of the cross into the royal arrival.

בִּקַּשְׁתִּיו וְלֹא מְצָאתִיו (biqqashtiv ve-lo metsa'tiv): I sought him but found him not: biqqashtiv (I sought him, Piel perfect of baqash; the Piel is intensive: earnest, diligent, thorough seeking; the same seeking-verb as Proverbs 8:17's those who seek Wisdom will find her); ve-lo metsa'tiv (and I did not find him, the seeking and not-finding is the pattern of Thread 4's genuine human effort; the Bride does not receive the Beloved while lying in bed; she must rise, go into the city, seek through the streets)

threads t3 · t6 · see Matthew 7:7-8 · Proverbs 8:17 · Revelation 19:7-9

Song of Solomon 3

Chuck Smith on Song of Solomon 3

Commentary on Song of Solomon 3

Song of Solomon 3:1

Song of Solomon 3:2

Song of Solomon 3:3

Song of Solomon 3:4

Song of Solomon 3:5

Song of Solomon 3:6

Song of Solomon 3:7

Song of Solomon 3:8

Song of Solomon 3:9

Song of Solomon 3:10

Song of Solomon 3:11