The Song of Solomon 3

Chapter 3 seems to begin with the young woman's dream. Her soul loves this wonderful man as she thinks about him on her bed at night. She seeks him but she does not seem to find him at first. She is so desperate for her Lover that she is determined to go out into the streets of the city at night and ask the city watchmen if they have seen him. She is bold in proclaiming her love in front of these men. She says, "Have you seen him whom my soul loves?"

Then she finds him, and like a woman who has found a husband risen from the dead, she is afraid to let him go again. She cannot take the chance that he might leave her, even for a moment. She wants to keep him forever. She brings him to her mother's home. Her love for him has been stirred and it is now the central theme of her existence. She must be with him.

The scene shifts abruptly at verse six. The night is gone. A great entourage can be seen in the distance. Not only is the assembly of horsemen impressive to view as they come, but they are somehow covered with a glorious fragrance that fills the air. Here is the great King Solomon, yet someone greater than Solomon in all his glory seems to be here. He has sixty mighty men with him. His carriage of gold and silver and purple is somehow a place of love. All is great to gaze upon. He has a crown for the day of his wedding and his heart is filled with gladness, as he comes in royal splendor to address his beautiful lover.

The daughters of Zion are called upon to come out and witness these beautiful dream scenes as Solomon prepares to speak. Incidentally, a husband wants to believe that his arrival would seem impressive to his bride, and joyous for everyone. (I remember my father's arrival home at the lake house where we lived during the summers. When he was making the trip to be with us for a long weekend, we would look for his car, and when we saw him we would all shout, "Daddy's home!" He had a hard time believing that this was all for real, but I do suspect that this kind of affection and admiration from our families is something that our hearts desire as men.) God calls wives (and children) to have a deep respect for their husbands (and fathers). Some men make this a more difficult task since they are so weak in spirit, in wisdom, and in usefulness. But not the great husband-king in this inspired song. It is a very easy thing to respect him. His arrival is something to be sought after and to be celebrated.

Jesus instructs us to wait for His return. Throughout the ages even eminent saints have felt that somehow He seemed to be far away from them, and they longed for a greater sense of His presence. But one day every eye will see Him. His return will be both glorious and public. He will come on the clouds of heaven. The trumpet shall sound and the dead in Christ shall rise, and we who are alive at the coming of the Lord, we shall be changed. In the twinkling of an eye our Savior will come in a way that will not be missed.

When Jesus first came, He was brought into this world in a low condition. Yet even then His coming was signaled by a heavenly host praising God. How much more glorious will be His return when he brings the resurrection of the dead with Him.!Then the church will praise Her Lord, and wait for His good word of vindication. And the church shall be purified in holiness, and even openly acknowledged and acquitted when the Lord of glory arrives with His heavenly host. Surely we must not lose heart as we watch and wait for Him today. He is coming soon and will not delay. Until that day, the just shall live by faith (Romans 1:17).