Exposition of Song of Solomon, Chapter 5 · Verse 5
VERS. 5.
I opened to my beloved, but my beloved had withdrawne himſelfe, and was gone: my ſoule failed when he ſpake: I ſought him, but I could not finde him, I called him, but he gave me no anſwer.
HEre wee ſee the troubles and ſorrows which befall the Spouſe, becauſe of her former negligence and ſecuritie, Chriſt will not let her lye aſleep on her bed of eaſe, but will come to awaken her.
In the verſe wee have.
Firſt, The action of the Spouſe, I opened to my beloved.
Secondly, The diſcouragements of the Spouſe, and they are three.
Firſt, Chriſts leaving of her, My beloved had withdrawne himſelfe.
Secondly, Her inward griefe and ſorrow, My ſoule failed, &c.
Thirdly, She had no anſwer, notwithſtanding all her ſeeking: I ſought him but he gave me no anſwer, &c.
I opened, or, I my ſelfe opened to my beloved, as before, this noteth a further degree of grace in the Spouſe, that ſhe did not only riſe up, but opened the doore, giveth up the ſtrength and power of heart and affections unto him, willing that the everlaſting King of glorie ſhould come in, and reigne there.
Hence Obſerve.
That gracious affections, produce gracious actions.
Where there is the truth of affection, it will diſcover it ſelfe in holy action: after her affections were moved, ſhe preſently openeth to her beloved: The will, minde and underſtanding, guide the outward man; therefore if theſe be touched and wrought upon, it will quickly appeare in outward action: as ſoone as her bowels were moved, and that her fingers dropt myrrhe, ſhe ſhews the truth of her affection in opening unto, and making after her beloved.
Thus much for the action of the Spouſe; her diſcouragements follow.
But my beloved had withdrawne himſelfe.
Withdrawne, or, paſſed away, to wit, ſecretly and quietly, foreign Tranſivit.particularly alſo, putting up the great injurie, of refuſall, that ſhee had offered him, paſſed by, to wit, the doores and ſo went away. The doubling of the complaint for his departure, ſheweth her paſſion and griefe, in that ſhe thought he had been at the doore, when ſhe opened, but now he was gone, ſhe could not enjoy his preſence and favour, as formerly ſhe had, to her unſpeakeable comfort. This is ſtrange, that he calleth and knocketh, when ſhe was aſleep and lay in her bed, and now when ſhe is riſen out of her bed, and openeth the doore to let him in, he withdraweth himſelfe, and will not be ſeene; her unkinde dealing did deſerve this.
Hence Obſerve.
That Chriſt doth ſometimes withdraw himſelfe from his Saints, according to their ſenſe and apprehenſion.
So God did withdraw from Chriſt, when he cryed out, My God; my God, why haſt thou forſaken me? but yet at that time, God was neere him, and did uphold him by his power: and ſo for the Saints, ſuch deſertions as theſe, proceed from love from him that doth withdraw himſelfe: he doth it of purpoſe for their good, and that out of a ſingular love: but ſeeing Chriſt doth alwayes dwell in the Saints, how can it be ſaid, that he doth withdraw himſelfe out of their ſight, eſpecially when he hath made their hands to drop with myrrhe? This is out of queſtion, that Chriſt is alwayes preſent in the ſouls of the faithfull, and yet to their thinking and apprehenſion he ſeemeth to be abſent. He doth ſtill ſupport them by his power and ſpirit, and yet they have not the lively and comfortable feeling of his preſence which they deſire, and ſometimes happily did enjoy. Then the heart is troubled, then they mourne, then they ſeeke and call after him, for ſhee ſaith.
My ſoule failed when he ſpake.
My ſoule went forth, or it left me and was gone, it failed, and fainted within me, I was as one without life, even as one dead through feare and griefe. The departure of the ſoule from the body is death, ſhe was now as it were, in a ſwoone, or halfe dead for the time. Alas, now ſhee is afraid that her unkinde dealing ſhould cauſe him to forſake her. Who is able to expreſſe the griefe and ſorrow the godly ſoule hath, when it ſeeketh to feele the conſolation of Chriſt, and he hideth his face. True it is, that the Spouſe could not lament, ſhe could not open the doore, ſeeking and calling after him, unleſſe he were preſent, and did worke theſe things in her; for, all theſe things proceed from his grace, but yet he doth ſeeme to be abſent; which makes her crye out, my ſoule, my ſtrength, my life, my comfort is departed from me.
When he ſpake.
When he ſpake, or, while he was ſpeaking, or, rather becauſe of his Speech to me which I had neglected: for, however the Hebrew will beare both, yet I thinke the latter, moſt agreeable with the purpoſe of the Spouſe, which is to agravate her offence, and alſo to ſhew the miſeries that ſhe fell into for ſo great neglect: So the ſence is, My ſoule failed, becauſe of ſpeech, or, for the words, which he had uſed, when he ſo lovingly called unto me, as before in verſe 2. ſaying, Open unto me my ſiſter, my love, my dove, my undefiled, for my head is full of dew, &c. Now when the Spirit had moved upon her heart and affections, then ſhe remembred the words of her beloved.
Hence Obſerve, Firſt.
That Chriſt's words makes after impreſſions in the hearts of the Saints, though they ſeeme to be loſt at the firſt.
Chriſts words are that immortall ſeed, that will never dye, but live and grow, and be effectuall. This word will be effectuall through the Spirit. Chriſt ſpake many things to his Diſciples, which they forgot; but when the Spirit, that comforter was come, it brought thoſe things to their remembrance againe, John. 14. 26. The ſeed that is ſowne in the Saints, perhaps will not grow up preſently; but it ſhall afterwards grow and revive againe, as the Corne.
Secondly, Obſerve.
That Chriſt is ſo much withdrawne in the ſoules apprehenſion, that it even failes becauſe of his abſence.
So it was with the Church in Lam. 3. 1. Thus it was often with David. The ſoule that is ſpirituall will be in a ſwoone, and deliquium, upon Chriſts withdrawing, if God looke with an angrie countenance upon the ſoule, it cauſeth the Spirits to faile: If any any one hath a friend, on whom he had much dependance, to ſee his countenance withdrawne, and not to ſhew his face as before, it will daunt and diſmay ſuch a one: much more will the ſoule be diſmayed, when Chriſt ſhall withdraw his pleaſant face. It followeth.
I ſought him, but I could not finde him, I called him, but he gave me no anſwer.
Now the Spouſe is in great perplexity, and diſtreſſe of minde, becauſe of her former negligence, in that ſhe refuſed to open to her beloved, when he knocked for entrance. This is one of the greateſt temptations, that God ſeemeth not to heare the prayers of his people; when he ſhutteth out their prayer, as it is, Lam. 3. 8. But the Spouſe here receiveth like, for like of Chriſt, becauſe ſhe would not hearken, ſhe alſo calleth, and hath no anſwer.
But this ſeems to contradict other Scriptures, which promiſe, that thoſe that ſeeke ſhall finde. It is true, they that ſeeke ſhall finde, but not preſently, but by degrees: nay in ſome ſort, he is found before he is ſought, for he is in the ſoule, to ſtirre up deſires of ſeeking him; he breathes in deſires into us, and anſwers us before we pray, when he prepares the heart, and heares the prayer, as the Pſalmiſt ſpeaketh: therefore it is a ſpirituall deceit, when wee thinke Chriſt is not in us, and we are neglected of him, when he breathes in deſires after him into our ſoules.
Hence Obſerve.
That when the ſoule earneſtly breathes and ſeekes after Chriſt, and ſeemeth not to finde him, yet Chriſt is in that ſoule.
Chriſt did not enter ſo fully into his Spouſe at once, that ſhe doth perceive it, and yet in the end ſhe findeth, that he is come into his garden: ſhe findeth, that her riſing out of her ſleep, and from her bed, her opening the doore, ſeeking and calling after him, was not in vaine. Jonas, in his greateſt diſtreſſe, when he ſayd, I am caſt out of thy preſence, (yet he ſaith) notwithſtanding I will looke toward thy holy Temple, Jon. 2. And David, in Pſal. 31. 22. I ſaid in my haſt I am caſt out of thy ſight, yet notwithſtanding thou heardeſt the voice of my prayer. And afterwards he ſaith, it was in his haſt, that he thought God had caſt him off, he was ſurpriſed on a ſudden, I ſaid it is my infirmitie, ſaith he, in Pſal. 73. many ſeeke, and becauſe they find not, even according to their deſire at the firſt, they faint and give over; but wee muſt know, that where there is any ſeeking or breathing after him, Chriſt is there, and will make himſelf manifeſt at the laſt. And now to the laſt verſe which I did reade.