The Song of Solomon Paraphrased, Title page – To the reader
THE CANTICLES, OR Song of Solomon PARAPHRASED; AND Explained by divers others Texts of Scriptures, very useful.
By the Learned, Reverend, and Faithful Minister of Christ Mr. Arthur Hildersham, of Ashby-Delazouch.
As also the same, together with the two Songs of Moses, and the Song of Deborah, Collected into Meeter.
LONDON.
Printed by T. Milbourn, for Robert Clavel in Cross-key Court in Little Britain. 1672.
READER,
THose Scriptures, 1 Cor. 14, 15. I will sing with the Spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also. Eph. 5. 18, 19. Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to your selves in Psalms, and Hymns and spiritual Songs, singing and making Melody in your hearts to the Lord. Col. 3. 16. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms, and Hymns, and spiritual Songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. James 5. 13. Is any merry, let him sing Psalms; do not only direct and teach us the true manner, and end of singing Psalms, Hymns, and spiritual Songs; but do also, I think, prove the singing of them to be a duty; and warrant the collecting of them into such Meeter and Tunes as is most suitable to us for that purpose. Those which are here presented upon this account, are the Song of Moses, Exod. 15. The Song of Moses, Deut. 32. The Song of Deborah, Iudg. 5. And the Song of Songs which was Solomons, to which (because the Song of Solomon is very mystical, and the Meeter here presented is not intended for a Paraphrase, but a Translation; and that it will be hard, at least for ordinary capacites, in singing, especially the Song of Solomon, to sing with understanding, without some plain exposition of it,) I have made bold to annex a Paraphrase, being one that was composed by that Reverend and Learned Minister of Christ, Mr. Arthur Hildersham, (as I had it transcribed out of his own, by a faithful hand) which is the rather to be recommended, because it is short, plain, exemplified with several quotations of Scripture and accommodated to the present Translation of the Bible.
This excellent Author left also a Paraphrase upon the whole Bible, out of which this was taken: if the publishing of this might provoke, or be an occasion of the publishing of the rest, I should be glad; however, I have commuicated what I had, which hoping it may be much to thy satisfaction and advantage, I leave with thee, and rest.