Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/4_600.lzh/4_682.TXT

Text File | 1994-10-03 | 7KB | 130 lines

the hair of thine head like purple; purple-coloured hair
has been in great esteem. Of this colour was the hair
of King Nysus, according to the fable {e}; and so the
hair of Evadne, and of the Muses {d}, were ofa violet
colour;.the hair of Ulysses is said {e} to be like to the hya-
cinth flower, whictl is of a purple or violet colour; and
Milton {f}calls the first Adam's hair hyacinthine locks;
and here, in a figurative sense, the second Adam's hair
is said to be like pnrple. By which believers that grow
on Christ, the ]lead of the church, ,nay be meant, Who
have their dependence on htm, and their strength and
nourishment from him; see ch. iv. 1. and v. 11. and
these may be said to be like purple, because of their
royal dignity, being made kings unto God by Christ;
and because of their being washed in the purple blood
of Christ; and because of the sufferings they endure
for his sake; and especially such may be so compared,
who have spilt their blood and laid down their lives on
his account. The king is held in the galleries; the same
with the Head of teh church, the King of Zion, and
King of saints, whose kingdom is a spiritual and ever-
lasting one: and by the galleries in which he is held
may be meant the ordinances of the Gospel; where II
Christ and his people walk and converse together;
where he discloses the secrets of his heart to them,
leads them into a further acquaintance with his cove- .
nant, and the blessings and promises of it; and from
whence they have delightful views of his person and
fulness; see the King in his beauty, and behold the
good land which is afar off: the same word as here is
rendered rafters, and by some canals, in ch. i. 17. see
the note there. Now Christ being said to be held in
these galleries may signify- his fixed habitation in his
house and ordinances; where he has promised to
dwell, and delights to be; and where he is as it were
fastened to them, and hotrod in them.
Vet. 6. How fair and how pleasant art thou, 0 love,
for delights !] These are the words of the King in the
galleries, wondering at the church's beauty, it being
incomparable and inexpressible, it could not be said
well how great it was; and expressing the strength of
his love to her, which was invariably the same as ever.
Of the fairness of the church, and of this title, love, see
ch. i. 9, 15. and ii. 7. and here she is said also to be
pleasant to him, as his spouse and bride, in whom he
takes infinite delight and pleasure, loving her with a
Jove of complacency and delight; and therefore adds,
for delights, which he had in her before the world was,
Prov. viii. 3l. She was all delight g to him; her words,
her actions and gestures, her comely countenance, her
sweet and pleasant voice in prayer and praise, her ra-
vishing looks of faith and love, her heavenly airs, and
evangelic walk; in all which she appeared beautiful
and delightful, beyond all human thought and ex-
pression.
Ver. 7. This thy stature is like to a palm-tree, &c.]
Made up of the above parts commended, and others
had in view, as appears from the relative this. The
word for staturc properly signifies height, talness, and
erecthess; anti which were reckoned agreeable in
women, as well as men; see the note on i'Sam. ix..o.
hence methods are often made use of to make them
look taller, as by their head-dresses, their shoes, and
bv stretching out their necks, Isa. iii. 16. and the simile
of a tree is not an improper one: and so Galatea is, for
height and talness, compared to an alder and to a plane-
tree {h}; and Helena, to a cypress-tree in a garden {i}, on
the same account; and here the church to a palm-tree:
the Egyptian palm-tree is said to be the best {k}; and if
Solomon here has any reference to Pharaoh's daughter,.
his wife, he might think of that, which is described
"of body straight, high, round, and sleuder{l}," and
fitly expresses a good shape and stature. The church's
stature is no other than the stature of the fulness of'
Christ; which will be attained unto when all the elect
are gathered in, and every member joined to the body,
and all filled with the gifts and graces of the spirit
designed for them, and are grown up to a just propor-
tion in teh body; and in such a state Christ seems to
view his church, and so commends her by this simile:
saints are oftentimes compared to palm-trees in Scrip-
ture on other accounts; see Psal. xcii. le. And thy
breasts to clusters of grapes; on a vine which might be
planted by and run up upon a palm-tree, as Aben
Ezra suggests: though rather clusters of dates, the
fruit of the palm-tree, are designed, since this fruit, as
Pliny {m} observes, grows in clusters; and to clusters
of the vine the church's breasts are compared in the
next verse. And by these breasts may be meant
either the ministers of the Gospel, who communicate
the sincere milk of the word to souls; and may be
compared to clusters for their numbers, when there is
plenty of them, which is a great mercy to the church;
and for their unity, likeness, and agreement in their
work, in their ministrations, and in the doctrine they
preach, though their gifts may be different; or else
the two Testaments, full of the milk of the word; and
comparable to clusters of grapes or dates, because of
the many excellent doctrines and precious promises
in them; which, when pressed by hearing, reading,
meditation, and prayer, yield both delight and nourish-
ment to the souls of men. Some think the two ordi-
nances of the Gospel, baptism and the Lord's supper,
are intended, which are breasts of consolation; and,
when the presence of Christ, and the manifestations of
his love, are enjoyed in them, they afford much plea-
sure and satisfaction; and as those breasts are full in
themselves, they are beautiful in the eye of Christ,
and as such commended; see the note on oh. iv. 5.
Vet. S. I said, I will go up. to the palm-tree, &c.]
Which is easy of ascent; having, in the bark of the
trunk or body of the tree, rings like steps, whereby
the eastern people climb it with incredible swiftness,
as Pliny * relates: these steps are made by the lower

{c} Ovid. Metamorph. l. 8. Fab. 1. v. 301. De Arte Amandi, l. 1.
& de Remed. Amor. l. 1. v. 68. Hygin. Fab. 195. Pansan. Attica,
p. 33.
{d} Pindar. Olymp. Ode 6. Pyth. Ode 1. v. 2.
{e} Homer. Odyss. 6. v. 231. & 23. v. 158.
{f} Paradise Lost, Book 4.
{g} Meae deliciae, Plauti Stichus, Act. 5. Sc. 5.
{h} Ovid. Metamorph. l. 13. Fab. 8.
{i} Theocrit. Idyll. 18. v. 30.
{k} A. Gellii Noct. Attic. l. 7. c. 16. Vid. Strabo. Geograph. l. 17.
p. 563.
{l} Sandys's Travels, l. 2. p. 79.
{m} Nat. Hist. l. 13. c. 4.
{n} Ibid. So Sandys's Travels, l. 2. p. 79.