Read Song of Songs 3:7–11
Questions from the Scripture text: To what does the bride draw attention in Song of Songs 3:7a? Who are around it (verse 7b–c)? What are they like (Song of Songs 3:8)? Who made what, out of what (Song of Songs 3:9)? For whom? Of what did he make is various components (Song of Songs 3:10–c)? For whom does verse 10d–e describe him as upholstering it, with what? Whom does the bride address in Song of Songs 3:11a? Telling them to do what (verse 11a–b)? Whom will they see? With what? Received from whom (verse 11c)? On what occasion (verse 11d)? With what affection (verse 11e)?
How does Christ glorify Himself? Song of Songs 3:7–11 prepares us for the opening portion of the holy assembly on the coming Lord’s Day. In these five verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that Christ glorifies Himself most of all in His bride.
Whenever the church receives praise, she redirects it to Christ. So, here with the Bride (Song of Songs 3:6) and the Bridegroom (Song of Songs 3:7-11).
She praises His comforts and security (Song of Songs 3:7-8). Solomon is a special type of Christ (cf. Psalm 72): the King in His glory, having brought peace, justice, and joy to His subjects. His couch (Song of Songs 3:7a) hearkens back to their bed in Song of Songs 1:16, the place of greatest comfort and intimacy with the King. The emphasis, here, is on the number (Song of Songs 3:7b), strength (verse 7c), equipment (Song of Songs 3:8a), ability (verse 8b), and readiness (verse 8c) of His royal guard.
In the poetry of the song, as the King is Christ, the guard are not only angels, but all of the divine attributes and actions by which He protects His bride. And He protects her especially from herself and the effects of her sin, as the night in Song of Songs 3:8d takes us back to Song of Songs 3:1a. What comfort there is in Christ, to know that He is guarding us (even from ourselves) by His own grace!
She praises His conveyance (Song of Songs 3:9-10). It is a royal chariot, giving the queen a share in the King’s goings forth. In the chariot, she is at His side, sharing in His royal dignity. He has furnished the very best of materials by which to carry her with Him, to their wedding.
Here is a beautiful picture of the ongoing ministry of Christ, by which He is conveying His bride to gory: His Scriptures, His sacraments, His servants, but especially union with Him and its benefits—His own grace administered by His Spirit, and His ministry of intercession. This is how He brings the bride to their wedding.
Christ made it Himself, even adding the pavement/upholstery of the love of the daughters of Jerusalem, indicating that believers’ love to Him is also a work of grace, which He has furnished for carrying the church to the wedding day. The Lord give you such love for Him as will carry you to glory.
She praises His crown (Song of Songs 3:11). There is a progression from Solomon (Song of Songs 3:7), to Solomon the King (Song of Songs 3:9) to King Solomon with the crown (Song of Songs 3:11). In Song of Songs 3:7-9, she had commended beholding what the King had made. Now, she commends beholding the King Himself, indeed going forth to behold Him. And what do they see? They see that, of all the creatures, it is His mother that crowns Him. From the same passage (cf. Revelation 12:17) that helped us understand her mother as the church in Song of Songs 3:4d, we see that the church is also His mother (cf. Revelation 12:13). Christ’s glory is crowned most of all by the church on their wedding day (Song of Songs 3:11b–c; cf. Revelation 19:9, Revelation 21:9–11ff; Ephesians 5:25–27). She adds nothing to Him, but reflects His own glory. And His delight in His beloved bride is the display of that glory. His wedding to her is “the day of the gladness of His heart.”
When do you behold the glory of Christ’s grace to His church? What glory are you looking forward at His wedding?
Sample prayer: Lord Jesus, we adore Your glory in comforting us, drawing us near to Yourself, and bringing us safely and certainly to the wedding supper of the Lamb. Give us to glorify You, and to behold that glory, we ask in Your Name, AMEN!
Suggested songs: ARP45B “Daughter, Incline Your Ear” or TPH471 “The Sands of Time Are Sinking”
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