“I Would”

O that thou wert as my brother, that sucked the breasts of my mother! when I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yea, I should not be despised. I should not...: Heb. they should not despise me I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother's house, who would instruct me: I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate. His left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should embrace me. I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, until he please. that...: Heb. why should ye stir up, or, why, etc - Song of Solomon 8:1-4

    “O that thou wert as my brother, that sucked the breasts of my mother! when I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yea, I should not be despised. I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother's house, who would instruct me: I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate. His left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should embrace me. I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, until he please.”

    The request of love

    This last chapter of this inspired Song of Loves begins with an ardent desire expressed by the church, the Bride of Christ. It is the desire of every believing soul. It is the request of every heart in which the love of Christ is revealed. The request is just this, “O Lord, give me constant, intimate communion and freedom with you. Let me always know your presence” (Deut. 5:29; Job 23:2; Ps. 14:7). "O that thou wert as my brother, that sucked the breasts of my mother! when I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yea, I should not be despised" (v. 1). As Martha sat at the Savior’s feet and heard his word, so the believing heart longs ever to live in communion with him who loved us and gave himself for us, that we may learn of him.

    She was already wed to him. He had taken her to be his bride; and she had taken him to be her Lord and husband. Their hearts were already knit together. But the marriage had not yet been publicly solemnized. The marriage feast had not yet been spread. She was obliged, for the sake of decency and respectability, to keep her distance. The Bride and her Beloved, when they met in public, could not be so intimate and affectionate as they might desire. Therefore, she wishes that she might be looked upon as his sister, and that she might have the same chaste and innocent familiarity with him that a sister has with her own brother. A brother and a sister who had nursed at the same breasts might be most affectionate, intimate, and free with one another, without any fear of reproach or shame.

    This is a prophetic prayer of the Old Testament church for the incarnation of Christ. Our Lord, by means of his incarnation, has really and truly become our Brother. He is not ashamed to call us brethren; and he is made to be the Elder Brother, the Firstborn, of the family of God (Heb. 2:11, 14, 17). We have been adopted as the sons of God (1 John 3:1). His Father is our Father (John 20:17). We, and our Lord are of the same nature and disposition. In the incarnation, he assumed our nature. In regeneration, he gave us his nature.

    His love toward us is compared to the love of a brother (Pro. 18:24). Like a brother, he sympathizes with us in all our afflictions. Like a brother, he is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. Like a brother, he helps us in all of our trials. Like a brother, he is tender, compassionate, and caring. The Lord Jesus Christ is a Brother indeed. He is a Brother who is near at hand, ready and willing to help.

    This is truly the desire and prayer of every believing heart. Those who know Christ love him. And all who love him desire uninterrupted, intimate communion with him. In essence, this is what she is saying - “O Lord, when I find you present with me, I will embrace you, kiss you, and show my love to you, as a sister would show her love to her brother. Without shame, I will own you, acknowledge you, and love you, even in the presence of your enemies. I will publicly avow my love to you.”

    “I would kiss thee and continue to kiss thee.” Earlier she cried, “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine” (1:2 cf Luke 15:20). Here she longs to kiss him. Those who have been kissed by him in grace wish to kiss him in gratitude. He gave me a kiss of forgiveness; I will give him a kiss of faith. He gave me a kiss of peace; I will give him a kiss of praise. He gave me a kiss of acceptance; I will give him a kiss of adoration. He gave me a kiss of redeeming love; I will give him a kiss of returning love (1 John 4:19).

    This text will find its ultimate fulfillment in that day when God’s elect shall meet Christ in the clouds. The Bride, the Lamb’s wife, will not be completely ready until the time of his glorious appearance. But then all his redeemed ones shall be admitted to the nearest possible embraces of Immanuel. With unspeakable pleasure, we will embrace our Redeemer and enjoy him eternally!

    “Yea, I should not be despised.” That is to say, “He will not turn his face away from me, when I reach out to embrace him and kiss him. And those who now despise me will despise me no more. They will envy me.” John Gill pointed out that “The whole (verse) expresses her boldness in professing Christ, without fear or shame, in the most public manner.”

    This is the request of love – “Let me embrace thee and kiss thee, as a sister would embrace and kiss her beloved Brother, without shame or fear.”

    The resolve of love

    Here is the desire, determination, and resolve of love. "I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother's house, who would instruct me: I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate" (v. 2). Here, the church, the believing soul, makes a resolution to improve the opportunity she would have for cultivating a more intimate and full knowledge of Christ if she could always enjoy his communion.

    Those who have experienced the goodness, grace, and love of God in Christ desire others to have the same joyous blessing (Rom. 10:1). “I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother’s house.” The believing heart, enjoying personal fellowship and communion with Christ, says, “I will bring you into the house of God with me. My mother, the church of God, and her children need to be acquainted with and enjoy your presence too.” (Compare Galatians 4:26.) As a young woman wants all her family to know and love her chosen husband, so we want all God’s elect to know and enjoy all the bounty of grace that is ours in Christ. We want the whole family, our mother and all her children, to enjoy sweet, intimate communion with Christ, and to experience the blessed influence of his manifest presence.

    All who know Christ should bring him with them into the house of God, the assembly of his saints (1 Tim. 3:15). When Christ comes, the dead are made alive, the guilty are forgiven, the fallen are lifted up, the heavy-hearted are comforted, the troubled are granted peace, and the fearful are made calm.

    Perhaps you think, “How can I bring the Lord Jesus with me into the house of God? What can I do to secure the Lord’s presence in the midst of his church?” Here the bride speaks of leading him into her mother’s house. Our Savior must be led, like a royal king would be led by one of his subjects into his own home. Would you lead the Lord Jesus Christ into this house? Love him. Reverence him. Rejoice in him. Call upon him in prayer, asking him to come with you. You cannot lead him into the assembly of the saints if you do not come. But do not merely come; come together with God’s saints in the house of worship in his name (Matt. 18:20), trusting him, seeking his will and his glory, and the good of his kingdom. As we thus gather in his name, he promises to meet with us.

    When Christ meets with his people, then the ministry of his church is profitable and effectual – “Who would instruct me.” The allusion here is to a wise mother, who takes her newly wed daughter aside and teaches her how to behave toward her husband, so that she may have his affection and live happily with him. The church, the house of God, is a school of instruction, where souls are taught the ways of Christ, the gospel of Christ, and the will of Christ (Eph. 4:11-16). Believers should always crave such instruction. And that instruction is sure to be profitable and effectual, only when Christ himself is present to teach us by his Spirit (Ps. 45:10-11).

    All true, spiritual instruction is instruction from the Word of God, which is able to make us wise unto salvation. It comes through the ministry of God’s servants, gospel preachers, pastors according to God’s own heart, who feed his people with knowledge and understanding (Jer. 3:15). It is effectually brought to ours hearts by the power of God the Holy Spirit (1 Thess. 1:5).

    When the Lord meets with his people, those who know him will offer the sacrifices of their hearts to him (Heb. 13:15). – “I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate.” The spiced pomegranate wine was a very rich, flavorful wine, which was delightful to the taste, but less inebriating than other wines. It refers to the graces of the Spirit and the exercise of grace in the believing heart. These are the things that give our Lord pleasure; and are preferred by him to the best of wines (Song of Sol. 4:10). “Those that are pleased with Christ,” wrote Matthew Henry, “ must study to be pleasing to him; and they will not find him hard to be pleased.” This is the resolve of love – “I would lead thee and bring thee into my mother’s house, both to be instructed by thee and to make my sacrifices of love to thee.”

    The rest of love

    I hope you can enter into the rest of love described in verse 3. "His left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should embrace me." This is one of those texts of Inspiration that is so full of meaning that its depths can hardly be fathomed. Certainly, it speaks of the blessed rest of faith in Christ, who is our Sabbath. When we come to him and he comes to us, we enter into the blessed rest of love (Heb. 4:9-11). Our Savior’s embrace implies his love of us. Our willingness to be and desire to be embraced by him speaks of our love for him. “We love him because he first loved us.” Being embraced in his omnipotent arms, we are assured of his unfailing support. “Underneath are the everlasting arms.” In those arms of almighty goodness, grace, and love we are safe and secure. No evil shall befall us in his arms. This is our place of confident rest, and it is glorious (Isa. 11:10). When our Lord reveals himself and makes his presence known, our hearts are at peace. We rest in him!

    The responsibility of love

    All privileges bring responsibility. Our Lord has come to us. He has granted to us his presence in this place. “His left hand is under my head; and his right hand doth embrace me.” It is our great joy and privilege in this place to rest in his love. Now, “I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that you stir not up, nor awake my love till he please.” So long as our Lord is pleased to dwell in our midst, let us be careful not to disturb him, grieve him, and drive him away (Eph. 4:30). Remember what it is like to be without him (Song 5:6). Remember the evil which grieved him before (5:1-6). Remember always to remember him, honor him, and embrace him in the arms of faith, gratitude, and love, and kiss him with the lips of prayer.