Exposition of Song of Solomon, Chapter 2 · Verse 15
VERS. 15.
Take us the Foxes, the little Foxes that ſpoile the Vines: for our Vines have tender grapes.
HEre the Church repeateth a ſpeech of Chriſt which concerneth his care over the faithfull, that' ſhould walke up in a cloſe communion with himſelfe. The parts are theſe two.
Firſt, A commandement for taking and apprehending the adverſaries, great and ſmall, laid downe under the terme of Foxes, Take us the Foxes, &c.
Secondly, A reaſon thereof, and this is drawne.
Firſt from the nature of the Foxes, which is to devoure, That ſpoile the Vines &c.
Secondly, From the time of the Vines weakneſſe, when it is ſaid, For our Vines have tender grapes, &c.
Take us the Foxes, &c.
Chriſts command is to reſtraine (the foxes, the little foxes) the enemies of the Church, of greater or leſſer power: Hence obſerve, Chriſts care over his Church, he is careful that it be not ſpoiled by devouring beaſts: he keepes his Vineyard in his owne hand, and will ſee that it ſhall not run to utter ruine.
The Foxes, the little Foxes, &c.
By Foxes, wee may underſtand, either ſinnes, or perſons, becauſe both of them are hurtfull unto the Spouſe.
Firſt, Every ſinne may well be compared to a Foxe.
1. As Foxes hide in the holes of the earth, Matth. 8. 20. So are ſinnes hidden in the deceitfull heart of man.
2. As the Foxe is both ſubtile and harmefull: ſo is ſinne.
Secondly, Perſonall adverſaries of the Church may well be compared to foxes, thoſe who labour the ruine of the Church, and theſe are either falſe teachers or bloody Tyrants.
Firſt, Falſe Prophets, and falſe Teachers are ſo compared by the Prophet, Ezek. 13. 4. O Iſrael, thy Prophets are like the Foxes in the Deſarts. And ſuch are by Chriſt likned to Wolves, Matth. 7. 12. ſuch as theſe may well be called Foxes.
Firſt, For craft and ſubtiltie; the Apoſtle tels us, They tuansforme themſelves into the Apoſtles of Chriſt, 2 Cor. 11. 13. Such Apoſtles (ſaith he) are deceitfull workers; that is, who ſeeme to labour in the Vineyard of Chriſt, and ſeeme to be zealous, as if they ſought nothing but Gods glorie, when they ſeek their owne gaine and advantage moſt of all.
Secondly, In reſpect of their crooked and perverſe wayes; for ſo a Fox is noted, for his rolling in and out with turnings and windings; and thus David ſpeakes of the wicked, and thoſe that are enemies of the Church, But theſe (ſaith he) that turne aſide by their crooked wayes, lead them forth with the workers of iniquitic, &c. Pſal. 125. 5. Such as Apoſtate from the truth, or, ſuch as are ignorantly zealous, that thinke they doe God good ſervice, to deſtroy the Saints; Such I ſay turne aſide, and walke in crooked wayes, waſting and deſtroying the Vines of Chriſt.
Secondly, Bloody and cruell Tyrants are compared to a Foxe, as Chriſt called Herod a Foxe, Luke 13. 32. becauſe of his ſubtiltie, and fraudulent diſpoſition. In like manner the Apoſtle tels us, that he was Delivered out of the mouth of the Lion, 2 Tim. 4. 17. Some by the Lion underſtand the Emperour Nero, ſo called for his rage and crueltie, as for the moſt part, Tyrants and powerfull enemies of the Church are called: As the Mother of the Princes of Iſrael is ſaid to be a Lioneſſe: And ſhee lieth downe among Lyons, and ſhe nouriſheth her whelps (to wit, tyrannicall Kings) among young Lyons, Ezek. 19. 2. that is, the mother of the Kings, to wit, the people of the Jewes, and Jeruſalem, which have brought them forth, hath been full of blood and violence, and hath brought forth Kings of the ſame nature. The powerfull enemies of the Church are often called Lyons, as in Pſal. 35. 17. and 91. 13 Pro. 28. Jer. 2. 15. and 4. 7. And Marſyas certifying his Patron at Rome, of the death of Tyberius, uſeth this phraſe, the Li…n is dead; as Joſephus reporteth. Joſeph. aniiq. lib. 18. cap 6.In Rev. 19. 20. we… reade of the Beaſt and the falſe Prophet, by which Beaſt, ſome underſtand to be the perſecuting magiſtrate, as the falſe Prophet to be the perſecuting Prieſt.
The Pope is a kinde of a mixt Foxe, having power civill and eccleſiaſtical, uſurping both ſwords, the temporall ſword over all Princes, and the ſpirituall ſword over all Churches. Beſides all theſe, wee may come neerer home, and ſee many of theſe myſticall foxes, in every Towne and Citty, perſecuting the Saints, and ſpoiling the tender vines of Chriſt.
Now wee paſſe to the reaſons of this command, and firſt from the devouring nature of theſe adverſaries in the words following.
That ſpoile our Vines.
Spoile, or, corrupt our Vine-yards, that is, by devouring the grapes: as Foxes ſpoile and deſtroy the Vines; ſo falſe Prophets, oppreſſours, and Tyrants deſtroy the Church: of the firſt ſort the Apoſtle ſpeakes of, and ſaith, their word eateth as the Canker, 2 Tim. 2. 17. And of ſuch the Lord complaineth, Many Paſtors have corrupted my Vineyard, Jer. 12. 10. In this place Paſtors may be applyed unto falſe Prophets, or unto the tyrannicall Kings and Princes of Babylon.
The laſt reaſon is taken from the fruitfulneſſe of the Vine, in theſe words.
For our Vines have tender grapes.
For, in the Hebrew and, which word is often uſed inſtead of for, as in Pſal. 60. 13. And in Geneſis 12. 19.
Our Vines, or, our Vineyards: By the Vinyard and Vine, is underſtood the Church of Chriſt, and the Goſpel: The Prophet ſaith, I will ſing to my well-beloved, a ſong of my beloved, of his Vine-yard, Iſa. 5. 1. and the Vineyard of the Lord is the houſe of Iſrael, and the men of Judah his pleaſant, &c. chap. 5. 7. But now wee muſt know, that there are two ſorts of Vines, the one of Jeruſalem, the other of sodome, as Moſes ſpeaketh, For their Vine is the Vine of sodome, and of the Vines of Gomorrah, their grapes are grapes of gaule, their cluſters be bitter, their wine is the poyſon of Dragons, and the cruell gaule of Aſpes, &c. Deut. 32. 31. Therefore it muſt not be the Vine of sodome, but the Vine of Jeruſalem, which wee are to underſtand here. This Vine is the Spouſe of Chriſt, and all the faithfull are labourers in the Lords Vineyard.
Tender grapes, which doe but begin to bud, and ſhew themſelves, even in the beginnings of the fruits of religion: Foxes labour to deſtroy theſe, as Herod ſought to deſtroy Chriſt at the beginning of his dayes, and Pharaoh the men. Children of Iſrael at their birth, that ſo Iſrael might be no more a Nation. Theſe Foxes therefore both great and ſmall, muſt therefore be taken and deſtroyed. The words being thus unfolded, let us take notice of theſe obſervations.
Firſt, Obſerve.
That the Spouſe of Chriſt is alwayes troubled with ſome enemies.
There are alwayes thoſe of greater or leſſer power to afflict the Church, there will alway be ſome San-ballat or Tobiah, or ſome ſuch to nible at the Vines of Chriſt of this, the Scripture is full of teſtimonies.
Secondly, Obſerve.
That theſe enemies of the Spouſe, are of a devouring nature.
That ſpoile our Vines, &c. Foxes are hurtfull to the labour of the husband-man. samſon being wrongd by the Philiſtims, tooke three hundred Foxes, and with their tailes ſet on fire, burnt their corne, with their Vineyards and Olives. There have been alwayes falſe Teachers, as in Moſes time, their ſtood up Jannes and Jambres; and how many of Baals Prophets were there in the time of Elias? and when was the Spouſe of Chriſt free from perſecution of tyrannicall Kings and Princes? This is then the Churches portion, and therefore not to be wondred at.
Thirdly, Obſerve.
That Chriſt doth cheriſh the leaſt buddings of grace in his Saints.
For our Vines have tender grapes: When a Vine brings forth wild grapes, Chriſt will take away the hedge of his vineyard, and it ſhall be eaten up, Iſa. 5. 4. But on the contrary, Chriſt tels us, that every branch that beareth fruit, ſhall be purged, that it may bring forth more fruit Joh. 15. 1, 2. ſo that Chriſt hath great care to preſerve young and tender fruit.
Fourthly, Obſerve.
That ſuch as would by ſubtiltie and tyrannie deſtroy the tender plants of Chriſt are to be reſtrained. Take us the Foxes.
Firſt, for falſe Prophets, they are to be diſcovered, and refuſed of their errour, and after all, judg'd, and caſt out of the Church; he that will deny the doctrine of the Goſpell, wee muſt not receive him, neither bid him God-ſpeed, Joh. 2. 10. But in the end, Chriſt himſelfe will reſtraine both the Beaſt and the falſe Prophet, as in Revel. 19. 20. And the Beaſt was taken, and with him the falſe Prophet, that wrought miracles before him, &c. Theſe were both caſt alive into a Lake of fire burning with brimſtone. Therefore let all perſecuting emperours, Kings, and Prieſts know, that the time will come that Chriſt will take them and chaine, them up, or elſe deſtroy them, and in that he ſayes, theſe ſhall be taken alive: it notes out unto us, the great and horrible torments, that they ſhall indure, and that is called the Lake of fire, to wit, an exquiſite torment thereby reſembled.