Loves Intercourse Between the Lamb and His Bride, Treatise · Chapter 2 · Verse 7
Verſ. 7. I charge you (ô ye daughters of Jeruſalem) by the Roes, and by the Hindes of the field, that ye ſtir not up, nor awake my Love, till he pleaſe.
Here is a charge given, but whether by the Church concerning Chriſt, or by Chriſt concerning his Church, Interpreters varie, and it is not ſo eaſily diſcuſſed by the Hebrew Text; where the word, My Love, is of either gender: Some therefore expound it, That the Lord Jeſus charges the falſ members of his Church, not to trouble her peace (compared to a ſleep or reſt, whereinto ſhe is fallen, in his arms, as it were, after her ſwooning) by their ſchiſm, hereſies, or perſecution. Some others again expound it, That the Church, having found ſuch tender care and love ſhown unto her by Chriſt, charges her true members, (called, The davghters of Jeruſalem) that by any unchriſtian behaviour of theirs, or ſinning, they provoke not Chriſt, or grieve his Spirit, and thereby interrupt this ſweet fellowſhip, and cauſe him to depart, and withdraw his comfortable preſence (which lately ſhe found) from her. And to this ſenſe agrees our Engliſh Tranſlation, ſaying, I charge you, that ye stir not up, nor awake my Love, till he pleaſe; that is, not at all, as we ſee by the like ſpeech uſed, 2 Sam. 6. 23. and Matth. 1. 25.
In the words then we have, 1 A charge. 2 To whom it is given. 3 Whereby they are charged. And 4 What to do.
Firſt then, in the words we have a charge given by the Church, to all her true members, which is of greater enforcing, than to exhort or require, which imports both authority in thoſe who do charge, as we ſee, 1. Tim. 6. 17. and the duty of obedience in them who are charged. The Church therefore having authority as a Mother, from Chriſt her Husband, ſhe charges her children, who owe obedience to her, to behave themſelves ſo, as He be not, nor his Spirit, grieved, by their bad behaviour.
Secondly, this charge is given to the daughters of Jeruſalem, where we muſt note, that it was the manner of old, that the Bridegroom had young men to be his companions and friends, which are in this ſong Chriſt's faithfull Paſtors, as John the Baptiſt tearmeth himſelf one of his friends: As alſo the Bride had Virgins to be her companions and followers, with whom in this Song Chriſt's Spouſe is ſaid to be accompanied, and are here called, Daughters of Jeruſalem: Daughters of one father, and one mother, to whom they owe, as children to parents, love, honour, and obedience; and being ſuch daughters, they are ſiſters amongſt themſelves, as they are called, Cant. 8. 8. whi…h imports love; and being daughters of Jeruſalem, that implies peace, the ground whereof is love; as Abraham argued, Gen. 13. 8. to ſhow what ſhould be ſeen amongſt true Chriſtians, even love and peace, as the Pſalmiſt tells us, Pſal. 133. 1. Therefore we ſhould try our ſelves hereby, if we be the true diſciples of Chriſt, and labour to have love in our hearts, and then eaſily we will incline to peace; otherwiſe there will be ſeen nothing but diſcord upon light occaſions; and if we bite and devour one another, we ſhall be conſumed one of another; and if notwithſtanding we ſay that we love God, we ſhall be found lyars, as Saint John witneſſeth, 1 Joh. 4. 20.
Thirdly, They are charged by the Roes and Hindes of the field, which beaſts are mentioned, when love is recommended between man and wife, Prov. 5 19. that as the males and females of theſe beaſts, do delight and dearly love one another, and where ſuch love is, there is a care not to ſtir up to wrath, and to move departure one from another; even ſo the Church adjures her true members by theſe, that they may ſo delight and dearly love Chriſt, who hath ſo loved them, that they ſtir not him up, in anger, to withdraw his comfortable preſence from her, the proof whereof ſhe had ſo lately found. Or they are charged by the Roes and Hinds of the field, not to ſtir up her Beloved, becauſe theſe beaſts are moſt tender, ſcarre, and ſooneſt afraid or ſtirred up, by any noiſe or tumult.
Fourthly, that which they are charged to do, is, that they ſtir not up, nor awake her Love, till he pleaſe, that is, by their ſinning againſt him, or by their unchriſtian carriage, they grieve not his Spirit, (as we are exhorted, Epheſ. 4. 30.) nor ſtir him up to wrath.
Now there are two ſorts of perſons, whom we ſhould be loth to ſtir up to wrath: 1. Great perſons, in regard of the power of doing us evill; and herein the motive is Fear. 2. Good perſons and liberall, in regard of their bounty, and doing us good; and here the motive is Hope: But in this her Beloved, both are conjoyned, for he is of greateſt power both over ſoul and body, as alſo of greateſt bounty in gifts, both ſpirituall and corporall, temporall and eternall; who alſo in all our wayes, muſt be our guide and counſellour, Pſal. 73. 24. in all our dangers and ſtraits, our guard and deliverer; in all our croſſes, our chiefe and onelyonly comforter; and in death it ſelf, and after, our onelyonly conſtant, and beſt friend and rewarder. To ſtir him up then to wrath, whoſe wrath is ſo dreadfull. Heb. 10. 31. and of whoſe favour we ſtand more in need, than the Tyrians did of Herod's, Act. 12. 20. is great madneſſe; and to grieve him, who in all our griefs muſt be our comforter and eaſer, and ſaver from eternall grief and torment, is great ingratitude and folly.
Next, to know how he is ſtirred up or grieved, and whereby; It is, in a word, by ſin, and 1. as Great, which ſort of perſons are ſtirred up and offended, when any indignity is done to them; and thus is God offended, when by hearkning to ſinners, or Satan's temptations, (like our firſt Parents) the treacherous counſell of his or our enemy, is preferred to his wholſome and good counſell. 2. As Good, our offending of him ariſes from that, which has an antipathy unto his Nature of holineſſe; and this is when we ſin, ſpecially in ſuch clear light, and againſt light, cuſtomably and preſumptuouſly, ſtubbornly and impenitently.
Obſervations.
1. In reſpect that the Church here, chargeth ſo her true members, we ſee her authority, that ſhe ſhe has from God, and for God, for which therefore we ſhould reverence her, and obey her; which if any ſtubborn child of hers will not do, by our Saviours commandment, he is to be held as a heathen and a publican.
2. Seeing her true members have their denomination from love and peace, therefore they ſhould bend all their endeavours, to maintain theſe holy vertues among themſelves, eſchewing the contrary; ſeeing God their Father is the God of peace, Chriſt their Redeemer is the Prince of peace, the work of the holy Ghoſt is grace and peace, the Church is Ieruſalem, a viſion of peace; and they, daughters of that mother, and therefore ſhould be children of peace.
3. Seeing this is her charge and chief care, in retribution, as it were, of all the love and kindneſſe that ſhe has found of him, not onelyonly, not to ſtir up her beloved her ſelf, but alſo to exhort and charge others, not to do the ſame; this teaches us in like manner, in retribution of all his love and favours that he has beſtowed on us, either in re, or ſpe, what like care we ſhould have, not onelyonly not to offend and ſtir him up to wrath, by our own ſinfull life and converſation, but likewiſe, as we are exhorted, Epheſ. 5. 11. to reprove ſin in others, and to exhort them ſeriouſly to forbear the practiſe thereof.
4. In that ſhe charges them not to ſtir up her Beloved, we ſee the proneſſe of the beſt by nature, to ſtir up the Lord to anger by ſin, and therefore we ſhould the more warily look to our waies, and watch and pray, that we enter not into temptation.