“He says himself, "I am a flower of the field, a lily of the valleys, as a lily among brambles." Consider, then, another place in which the Lord likes to reside, and not only one place but many. He says, "I am a flower of the field," because he often visits the open simplicity of a pure mind;"and the lily of the valleys," for Christ is the bloom of lowliness, not of luxury, voluptuousness, of lasciviousness, but the flower of simplicity and lowliness. "A lily among brambles" as the flower of a good odor is sure to grow in the midst of hard labors and heartfelt sorrow (since God is pleased with a contrite heart).”

“But would you like to know what is said to this lady somewhere else, in the Song of Songs? "Like a lily in the midst of thorns, so is my darling in the midst of the daughters." An extraordinary saying—he called the same people both thorns and daughters. And do those thorns do mightily? They do indeed. Can't you see how these heresies too pray, fast, give alms, praise Christ?”

“Thorns. The bridegroom enhances the praise of his spouse. The Church, surrounded by infidels and persecutors, maintains her beauty and station. Heretics, &c., are no better than thorns. (Origen) (Calmet) — The Church excels all other societies. In her communion the innocent are preferred before sinners, and among the former, the blessed Virgin [Mary] surpasses all.”

“The Church, following this ever-flourishing greenness of grace in Christ, says: "In his shadow I desired, and I sat." The Apostles also received this privilege of the evergreen gift, not a leaf of theirs could ever fall, so that even their shadow could heal the sick. For the weaknesses of the body overshadow the faith of the mind, and the flourishing merits of virtues.”

“As an apple tree among the trees of the forest When an apple tree is among trees that do not bear fruit, it is more beloved than them all, for its fruit is good in both taste and fragrance. so is my beloved among the sons among the young men. The allegory is that so is the Holy One, blessed be He, chosen above all the gods. Therefore, in His shade I delighted and sat. The Midrash Aggadah (Song Rabbah), [states]: This apple tree—all flee from it because it has no shade. So did all the nations flee from the Holy One, blessed be He, at the giving of the Torah, but I in His shade I delighted and sat.”

“He didn't abolish love of parents, wife, children, but put them in their right order. He didn't say, "Whoever loves" but "whoever loves above me." That's what the church is saying in the Song of Songs: "He put charity in order for me." Love your father, but not above your Lord; love the one who begot you, but not above the one who created you.”

“Something of this sort too we have in the character of the bride in the Song of Songs, where she says: "Set in order love in me." For this is true love set in order, which, while it hates no one, yet loves some still more by reason of their deserving it, and which, while it loves all in general, singles out for itself some from those, whom it may embrace with a special affection, and again among those, who are the special and chief objects of its love, singles out some who are preferred to others in affection.”

“Cellar. This was not under ground. Homer (Odyssey b. 237.) places the wine near the nuptial bed. (Calmet) — In me. Hebrew, “he brought me to the banquetting-house, and his banner over me was love.” (Protestants) (Haydock) — He has shewn me the greatest tenderness. Only the religion of Christ lays before us our duties to God, to ourselves, and neighbours. (Calmet) (St. Thomas Aquinas, ii. 2. q. 26.) (Haydock) — The holy Spirit came on the assembled disciples, who were deemed to be drunk, and Christ nourishes the pious soul with the wine of his own blood. (Menochius)”

“What reflection is sweeter than the thought of the magnificence of God? What desire of the soul is so poignant and so intolerably keen as that desire implanted by God in a soul purified from all vice and affirming with sincerity, "I languish with love." Totally ineffable and indescribable are the lightning flashes of divine Beauty.”

“Sustain me now as is the manner of the sick, with flagons of grape wine or with cakes of pure white flour. spread my bed Spread my bed around me with apples for a good fragrance, in the manner of the sick, for I am sick for his love, for I thirst for Him here in my exile. רְפִידָה is an expression of a couch, like (Job 41:22): “where he lies (יִרְפַּד) is gold upon the mire.””

“As for the right hand of the Father, it isn't meant in the manner of the structure of the human body, as though he is on the Son's left, if the Son in terms of bodily positions and relationships is placed on his right. But the right hand of God means the inexpressible peak of honor and good fortune, as we read it said about wisdom: "His left hand under my head, and his right hand embraces me." If earthly convenience has been lying underneath, then eternal felicity is embracing from above.”

“And of this right and left hand Solomon speaks as follows in the Song of Songs, in the person of the bride: "His left hand is under my head, and his right hand shall embrace me." And while this passage shows that both are useful, yet it puts one under the head, because misfortunes ought to be subject to the control of the heart, since they are only useful for this; viz., to train us for a time and discipline us for our salvation and make us perfect in the matter of patience. But the right hand she hopes will ever cling to her to cherish her and hold her fast in the blessed embrace of the Bridegroom, and unite her to him indissolubly. We shall then be ambidextrous, when neither abundance nor want affects us, and when the former does not entice us to the luxury of a dangerous carelessness, while the latter does not draw us to despair, and complaining; but when, giving thanks to God in either case alike, we gain one and the same advantage out of good and bad fortune.”

“His left hand was under my head in the desert. and his right hand would embrace me He traveled a three-days’ journey; to search out a rest for them [as in Num. 10:33], and in the place of the rest, He brought down manna and quails for them. All this I remember now in my exile, and I am sick for His love.”

“These two hands are the two covenants of the old law and the gospel. When it refers to his left hand, it indicates the old covenant, but the right hand is the preaching of the gospel. The old covenant is inferior because it is placed beneath the head of the church, who is Christ, whereas the right hand embraced the church, meaning that old sins were covered by the sacraments of the gospel. Whoever goes forth in faith, therefore, and serves Christ with devotion, leaves the old person beneath himself and embraces anew the body of Christ, which is the church.”

“An oath works in two ways. In the present text, the soul is progressing toward great heights, as we have seen. At the same time she is instructing less advanced souls in the way of perfection. She uses the oath not to assure them of the progress she herself has made but to lead them through their oath to a life of virtue. She adjures them to keep their love alert and watchful until his good will come to fulfillment, that is, until all are saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.”

“I adjure you you nations. by the gazelles or by the hinds that you will be abandoned and preyed upon like gazelles and hinds. that you neither awaken nor arouse the love that is between my beloved and I, to change it and to alter it and beg me to be enticed to follow you. while it is desirous as long as it is thrust in my heart, and he desires me. while it is desirous Heb. עַד, like (1:12): “While (עַד) the king was at his table,” [i.e.,] while (בְּעוֹד) the king was still at his table. that you neither awaken Heb. תָּעִירוּ, if you cause hatred, like (I Sam. 28:16): “and has become your adversary (עָרֶךָ)”; (Dan. 4:16): “and its interpretation for Your foes (לְעָרָךְ).” nor contest Heb. תְּעוֹרְרוּ, like (Keth. 13: 6): “one who contests the ownership (הָעוֹרֵר) of a field,” chalon[j]טr in Old French, to contest, claim. There are many aggadic midrashim but they do not fit the sequence of the topics, for I see that Solomon prophesied and spoke about the Exodus from Egypt and about the giving of the Torah, the Tabernacle, the entry to the Land, the Temple, the Babylonian exile, and the coming of the Second Temple and its destruction.”

“I. Christ permits not his Church to be persecuted, till she be able to bear it. (Worthington) — Roes. Septuagint, “armies and power;” the angels and apostles, who have spread the gospel through the world. It would seem that the Jewish women loved hunting, (Calmet) like those of Phœnicia and Lacedæmon. (Virgil, Æneid i.) They were going to sing, (Calmet) the morning epithalamium, (Theocrit. xviii.) after the first night of the marriage. The second meeting takes place, ver. 8, 17. (Haydock)”

“The voice of the bridegroom was heard when God spoke through the prophets. After the voice the Word came leaping over the mountains that stood in his way, and by bounding over the hills, he made every rebellious power subject to himself, both the inferior powers and those that are greater. The distinction between mountains and hills signifies that both the superior adversary and the inferior one are trampled and destroyed by the same power and authority. The lion and the dragon, superior beasts, are trampled; so too are the serpent and the scorpion, which are inferior.”

“The sound of my beloved The poet returns to earlier topics, like a person who was brief with his words and later said, “I did not tell you the beginning of the matter.” He commenced by saying, “The king brought me into his chambers,” but did not tell how He remembered them in Egypt with an expression of affection, and now he returns and states: This attraction that I told you about, that my beloved drew me and I ran after him, came about as follows: I had despaired of the redemption until the completion of the four hundred years that were foretold [in the Covenant] between the Segments. The sound of my beloved! Behold, he is coming before the end, as one skipping over the mountains and jumping over the hills.”

“The. Feeling the protection of Christ, the Church preacheth boldly the truth against pagans and heretics. (Worthington) — She knows the voice of the shepherd, (John viii. 47., and x. 2.) and keeps at a distance the wolves in sheep’s clothing, or pretended reformers, who would scatter the flock. — Hills. She sees him returning in the evening with the utmost speed of a stag, as the Hebrew implies, chap. ii. 9., and viii. 14.”

“The mountains are patriarchs, vast with holiness, robust in faith, founded upon a mass of charity, but the hills are prophets, established for seeing. He is said therefore to be raised higher than every mountain, or patriarch, and to leap over every hill, or prophet, because he is Lord over all, with all things being put under his feet.”

“My beloved resembles a gazelle in the swiftness of his running, for he hastened to come like a gazelle and like a fawn of the hinds. עֹפֶר is a young hind. behold, he is standing, etc. I had expected to remain detained for many more days, and behold, he informed me that he was standing and peering from the windows of heaven at what was being done to me, as it is written (Exod. 3:7): “I have indeed seen the affliction of My people, etc.””

“Hart, (Proverbs v. 18.) which is swifter that the dogs. (Xenophon, Cuneg.) — This animal is said to destroy serpents, as Christ did the power of the devil. (Theodoret) — Wall. Under the old law, Christ was only seen in figure. He manifested himself in the new. Yet our sins separate him from us, Isaias lix. 2. He is concealed in the sacred mysteries, (Calmet) and his humanity keeps from our sight the glory of his divinity, which alone can impart full content. (St. Ambrose; St. Bernard) — He shewed a glimpse of it at his transfiguration, and by his miracles. (Menochius)”

“raised his voice Heb. עָנָה, an expression of answering and [sometimes] an expression of a loud cry, and the following is the precedent for them all (Deut. 27:14): “And the Levites shall raise their voices (וְעָנוּ).” and said to me through Moses. Arise (Exod. 3:17): “I will bring you up from the affliction of Egypt.””

“Arise. He sings under the window, to ver. 16. — My dove, is taken from the Septuagint. (Calmet) — Christ invites his spouse to approach, though he shews not himself as yet; and orders his pastors to root out heresies, ver. 25. (Worthington) — She is ever faithful, and rejoices in him, 2 Corinthians xi. 2., Matthew ix. 15., and Ephesians v. 26. (Calmet)”

“There is thus no doubt that winter has a double meaning, either that harshness and severity belong to it, or that it is a time for sowing with the coming of the rain. When it says winter, therefore, it refers to the present world, where the Word of God is sowed in this age like a seed of righteousness by prophets and apostles, or priests, and is fertilized by assiduous preaching, as though by rains from heaven.…But with the passing of winter, that is, the tribulations of this world, and the cessation of the rains, that is, the preaching of the Word of God, and the subsequent arrival of the joy of Spring (which designates the coming of Christ's vernal kingdom in great peace), then the bodies of the saints everywhere will emerge from the graves of the earth like flowers—lilies or roses—pure white with holiness and red with passion.”

“The blossoms have appeared in the land The days of summer are near, when the trees blossom and the travelers enjoy seeing them. the time of singing has arrived when the birds give forth their song, and the sound is pleasant for travelers. and the voice of the turtledove Heb. הַתּוֹר. According to its apparent meaning, this is a term referring to turtledoves and young pigeons. It is customary for the birds to sing and chirp in the days of Nissan.”

“The fig tree has put forth its green figs [This is to be explained] according to its apparent meaning. and the vines with their tiny grapes When the blossom falls, and the grapes are separated from one another, and each grape is recognizable by itself, it is called סְמָדַר. This entire episode, according to its simple meaning, is an expression of the affection of enticement, i.e., a young man appealing to his betrothed to follow him. So did my beloved do to me. [10] My beloved raised his voice through Moses. and said to me through Aaron. Arise, my beloved Hurry (Exod. 11:2): “and let each man borrow from his neighbor.” [11] For behold, the winter has passed These are the four hundred years. I skipped them by counting them from Isaac’s birth. the rain which is the hardship of winter, is over and has gone away; i.e., eighty-six years of harsh slavery were decreed upon you, and they have gone away. From the time that Miriam was born, the Egyptians intensified the bondage upon Israel; therefore, she was called Miriam, because they made it bitter (מַר) for them. [12] The blossoms have appeared in the land Behold Moses and Aaron are prepared for you to fulfill all your needs. the time of singing has arrived you are destined to recite the Song by the Sea. and the voice of the turtledove Heb. הַתּוֹר, the great guide (תַּיָר). Another explanation: קוֹל הַתּוֹר means the voice [announcing] that the time of your exodus from Egypt has arrived. [תּוֹר is explained to mean time, as in Esther (2:12,15).] [13] The fig tree put forth its green figs The time to bring the first fruits has arrived, for you will enter the Land. and the vines with their tiny grapes The time of the wine libations has drawn near. Another explanation: The pious among you ripened and blossomed good deeds before Me and emitted a pleasant scent. arise Heb. קוּמִי לָכִי. A superfluous “yud” is written. Arise to receive the Ten Commandments. Another explanation: “The fig tree has put forth its green figs”—These are the transgressors of Israel, who perished during the three days of darkness. and the vines with their tiny grapes gave forth their fragrance Those who remained of them repented and were accepted. So it is interpreted in Pesikta (Rabbathi 15:11, 12; Pesikta d’Rav Kahana, p. 50).”

“My dove, in the clefts of the rock This is said concerning that time when Pharaoh pursued them and overtook them camping by the sea with no avenue of escape before them because of the sea, and they could not turn because of the wild beasts. What did they resemble at that time? A dove that fled from a hawk and entered the clefts of the rocks, and a snake was hissing at her. Should she enter within, there was the snake. Should she go outside, there was the hawk. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to her, “Show Me your appearance,” the propriety of your deeds, to whom you turn in time of trouble. let me hear your voice (Exod. 14:10): “And the Children of Israel cried out to the Lord.” in the clefts of Heb. בְּחַגְוֵי, in the clefts; this is a term referring to a breach, and similar to this is (Ps. 107:27): “They were frightened (יָחוֹגוּ) and staggered”; (Isa. 19:17): “And the land of Judah will be to Egypt for a dread (לְחָגָא),” and in the plural Scripture calls them חַגְוֵי. Similarly, from קֵץ (end) קַצְוֵי, and so, (II Sam. 10:4): “and he cut off their garments (מַדְוֵיהֶם).” steps Heb. מַדְרֵיגָה, יchelons, in French, steps. When they make a ditch around the towers and pour the earth from above to raise the mound roundabout, they make it [in] many steps, one above the other. in the coverture of the steps There are sometimes holes in them, and reptiles and birds enter therein.”

“Rock. Wild pigeons retire thither. (Varro, iii. 7.) Koilen eiseptato petren . (Il. 20. Ser. xlviii. 28.) (Calmet) — Holy souls seek protection in the wounds of their Saviour. (St. Gregory; St. Bernard, ser. lxi.) — Wall. In the holy Scriptures, which defend the Church. She is brought to light for the edification of all. (Menochius)”

“What does "catch" mean? [This means to] come to grips with them, convince, refute them, so that the vineyards of the church may not be spoiled. What else is catching foxes, but overcoming heretics with the authority of the divine law, and so to say binding and tying them up with the cords provided by the testimonies of the Holy Scriptures? [Samson] catches foxes, ties their tails together and attaches firebrands. What's the meaning of the foxes' tails tied together? What can the foxes' tails be but the backsides of the heretics, whose fronts are smooth and deceptive, their backsides bound, that is condemned, and dragging fire behind them, to consume the crops and works of those who yield to their seductions?”

“Seize for us the foxes The Holy One, blessed be He, heard their voice, commanded the sea, and it inundated them. That is the meaning of “Seize for us” these “foxes,” the little ones with the big ones, for even the little ones were destroying the vineyards, when our vineyards were still with סְמָדַר, when the grapes were tiny. When a Jewish woman gave birth to a male and hid him, the Egyptians entered their houses and searched for the males, but the baby was concealed, and he was a year or two old. So they would bring a baby from an Egyptian home; the Egyptian baby would speak, and the Jewish baby would answer him from his hiding place; and they would seize him and cast him into the Nile. Now why does he call them foxes? Just as the fox looks to turn around to flee, so did the Egyptians look behind them, as it is written (Exod. 14:25): “I shall flee from before Israel.” little foxes Heb. שֻּׁעָלִים. It is written without a “vav”, because He punished them with water, which was measured with the gait (בְּשָּׁעֳלוֹ) of the Omnipresent.”

“These are they concerning whom the Lord declared His mind with bitterness and severity, saying that "they are false Christs and false teachers;" who have blasphemed the Spirit of grace, and done despite to the gift they had from Him after the grace of baptism, "to whom forgiveness shall not be granted, neither in this world nor in that which is to come;" who are both more wicked than the Jews and more atheistical than the Gentiles; who blaspheme the God over all, and tread under foot His Son, and do despite to the doctrine of the Spirit; who deny the words of God, or pretend hypocritically to receive them, to the affronting of God, and the deceiving of those that come among them; who abuse the Holy Scriptures, and as for righteousness, they do not so much as know what it is; who spoil the Church of God, as the "little foxes do the vineyard;" whom we exhort you to avoid, lest you lay traps for your own souls. "For he that walketh with wise men shall be wise, but he that walketh with the foolish shall be known."”

“It calls these foxes "little" because there are also greater ones. Indeed, the ruling powers of the world are greater at raging than the fallacies of the heretics are at seducing. They are both equally evil, but their respective powers to punish are unequal, for the heretic coaxes to destroy, but the Gentile rages to conquer, the former being peacefully deceptive and the latter being cruel in persecution. But the Lord commands that both receive appropriate dispositions from the keepers of the vineyards, that is, from the leaders of the churches.”

“My beloved is mine, and I am his He demanded all His needs from me; He commanded only me: Make a Passover sacrifice, hallow the firstborn, make a Tabernacle, sacrifice burnt offerings, and He did not demand these things of any other nation. and I am his All my needs I demanded of Him, and not of other deities. who grazes his flock among the roses, in a good, pleasant, and beautiful pasture.”

“Since, then, there are in the Old Testament precepts that we who belong to the New Testament are not compelled to observe, why do not the Jews realize that they have remained stationary in useless antiquity rather than hurl charges against us who hold fast to the new promises, because we do not observe the old? Just as it is written in the Canticle of Canticles: "The day has broken, let the shadows retire," the spiritual meaning has already dawned, the natural action has already ceased. "The God of Gods, the Lord has spoken: and he has called the earth from the rising of the sun to the going down thereof."”

“Until the sun spreads This refers back to the preceding verse: “My beloved is mine, and I am his,” until the time that the iniquity caused the sun to darken me in the heat of the day, and the heat to intensify. and the shadows flee We sinned with the Calf; we sinned with the Spies, and the shadows fled, the merits that protected us. We broke off His yoke. go around, liken yourself, my beloved I caused him to leave me on mountains distant from me. distant Heb. בָתֶר, an expression of separation and distancing.”

“Break. Or “yield a refreshing air,” ( aspiret ) in the morning, (Haydock) and evening, when she begs he will return, (Theodoret) as she could not enjoy his company in the day-time, chap. i. 1., and iv. 6. — Bether. Or the lower Bethoron, near Jerusalem. These short visits in the night, shew the vicissitudes of comfort and dryness in the most perfect. Those who are still addicted to their passions, and to the world, can have no pretensions to such favours, which amply repay any passing desolation. (St. Bernard, ser. lxxiv.) (Calmet) Bible Text & Cross-references: Christ caresses his spouse; he invites her to him. 1 I am the flower of the field, and the lily of the vallies. 2 As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters. 3 As the apple-tree among the trees of the woods, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow, whom I desired: and his fruit was sweet to my palate. 4 He brought me into the cellar of wine, he set in order charity in me. 5 Stay me up with flowers, compass me about with apples: because I languish with love. 6 His left hand is under my head, and his right hand shall embrace me. 7 I adjure you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and the harts of the fields, that you stir not up, nor make the beloved to awake, till she please. 8 The voice of my beloved, behold he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping over the hills. 9 My beloved is like a roe, or a young hart. Behold he standeth behind our wall, looking through the windows, looking through the lattices. 10 Behold my beloved speaketh to me: Arise, make haste, my love, my dove, my beautiful one, and come. 11 For winter is now past, the rain is over and gone. 12 The flowers have appeared in our land, the time of pruning is come: the voice of the turtle is heard in our land: 13 The fig-tree hath put forth her green figs: the vines in flower yield their sweet smell. Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come: 14 My dove in the clifts of the rock, in the hollow places of the wall, shew me thy face, let thy voice sound in my ears: for thy voice is sweet, and thy face comely. 15 Catch us the little foxes that destroy the vines: for our vineyard hath flourished. 16 My beloved to me, and I to him who feedeth among the lilies, 17 Till the day break, and the shadows retire. Return: be like, my beloved, to a roe, or to a young hart upon the mountains of Bether. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8”