“Bed. The Church, finding Christ by his own revelation, and not by philosophy, holds him fast. (Worthington) — He had delayed coming at the usual hour, to give us to understand, that he is not found amid delights, nor in a crowd, but that we must seek him diligently, like Magdalene, John xx. (St. Ambrose, de Isaac.) — The apostles endeavoured to convert the synagogue, but their offers were rejected, and the guards, or princes, persecuted them. (Menochius) (Chap. v. 7.) (Haydock)”

“To what does this bed refer, upon which the church seeks the one whom its soul loves, if not to the bed of its heart in which wisdom rests, where it seeks our Lord and Savior through continuous meditation? If the bed is the secrecy of the heart, then what is the night in which the church sought the Lord but was unable to find him? Surely it means that the God of light was not easily found in darkness.”

“What is signified by the house of your mother and her chamber except the interior, secret place of your nature? Keep this house, and cleanse its inmost parts so that, once it is an immaculate house unstained by any sordidness of an adulterous conscience, a spiritual house held together by the cornerstone may rise into a holy priesthood, and the Holy Spirit may dwell in it. One who thus seeks Christ, who entreats him, is not abandoned by him. Rather, that one is frequently visited, for he is with us until the end of the world.”

“I had just passed them shortly before their separation from me, at the end of the forty years. when I found that He was with me in the days of Joshua to vanquish the thirty-one kings. I held him and would not let him go I did not loosen my grasp from Him until I brought Him to the Tabernacle at Shiloh because of all that He had done for me.”

“Me. She was perhaps dead. Women had separate apartments, to which none but the husband could have access, Genesis xxiv. 28. At the end of the marriage-feast, the bride was conducted to her husband’s house, Matthew xxv. 1. (Calmet) — The Jews shall in the end acknowledge Christ, (Worthington) as the Church desires. (Menochius)”

“"In my mother's house and in the chamber where she conceived me." This is the voice of the church speaking. If the church is a mother to all, we must ask for the identity of the mother of the church, in whose house and in whose chamber she is said to have been conceived. I have already shown above what is the church, namely, the body of Christ that consists of his gathering members. The mother of the church, therefore, is the holy heavenly Jerusalem.”

“What then is their meaning? Perhaps the loveliness of the divine beauty has something fearful about it as characterized by elements contrary to corporeal beauty. What attracts our desire is pleasant to the sight, soft to the touch, and not associated with anything fearful or terrifying. But that incorruptible beauty is fearful, terrifying and not easily frightened. Since our desire for carnal things in the body's members is subject to passion and defilement, like a band of robbers it ambushes the mind, captivates it and carries away the will. Therefore it becomes God's enemy; as the apostle says, the wisdom of the flesh arises from what is inimical to God. It follows that the love of God arises from what is opposed to carnal desire. If carnal desire consists of weakness, laxity and laziness, the love of God is made up of a fearful, terrifying fortitude. An unrelenting anger scares and puts to flight the ambush resulting from pleasure, thus revealing the soul's beauty as pure and no longer sullied by a desire for carnal pleasure. The king's nuptial bed is therefore surrounded by armed men expert in battle. The sword at the thigh terrorizes and causes fear against dark, nocturnal thoughts and against those who lie in ambush to shoot arrows in the darkness at the upright of heart. The weapons of those standing guard around the bed destroy impure desires.”

“Who is this coming up from the desert When I was traveling through the desert and the pillar of fire and cloud were going before me and killing the snakes and scorpions and burning the thorns and thistles to make a straight road, and the cloud and the smoke were ascending, the nations saw them, and were astounded by my greatness, and they said, “Who is this,” i.e., “How great is this one coming up from the desert, etc.!” like columns of smoke Heb. כְּתִימְרוֹת, tall and erect as a palm tree (תָּמָר). perfumed with myrrh the cloud of incense which would rise straight up from the inner altar. the peddler a spice merchant who sells all types of spices. powder Heb. אַבְקַת, since they crush it and pound it as fine as dust (אַבַק).”

“Who. The female companions of the spouse, (Calmet) or the bridegroom’s friends, (Menochius) admire her at a distance, chap. vi. 9., and viii. 5. (Calmet) — The converted Gentiles change the desert of the world into a paradise, by their good works, which ascend like a perfume. (St. Gregory) They admire their own conversion, and proclaim that we must fight for heaven, (Worthington) and adore Christ, the God-man; imitating all his virtues, (Haydock) and preaching his gospel. (Menochius)”

“skilled in warfare the war of Torah, and similarly, the priests who surround it, who camp around the Tabernacle, skilled in the order of their service. each one with his sword his weapons. These are the Masorah and the mnemonics, by which they preserve the correct version [of the Oral Law] and the masorah (the traditional spelling and reading of the Scriptures), lest it be forgotten. because of fear at night lest they forget it, and troubles will befall them, and so Scripture says (Ps. 2:12): “Arm yourselves with the grain [of Torah] lest He become angry and you perish on the way.””

“Every king is proclaimed by soldiers. It was fitting that Jesus also, in figure, be crowned by soldiers. For this reason Scripture says in the Canticles: "Daughters of Jerusalem, come forth and look upon King Solomon in the crown with which his mother has crowned him." But the crown was also a mystery, for it was a remission of sins and release from the sentence of condemnation.”

“No one can adequately grasp the terms pertaining to God. For example, "mother" is mentioned in the Song in place of "father." Both terms mean the same, because there is neither male nor female in God. For how can anything transitory like this be attributed to God? But when we are one in Christ, we are divested of the signs of this difference along with the old person. Therefore every name equally indicates God's ineffable nature; neither can "male" nor "female" defile God's pure nature. Because of this, the father mentioned in the gospel parable prepares a wedding. The prophet says of God, "You have placed on his head a crown of precious stones." Hence the Song says that a crown is placed upon the bridegroom by his mother. Since the nuptials and bride are one, one mother places the crown upon the bridegroom's head. Neither does it make much difference whether one calls the Son of God the only begotten God, or the Son of his love. According to Paul, each name has the capacity to be a bridal escort that leads the bridegroom to dwell in us.”

“its couch of gold His couch and His dwelling were on the Ark cover, which is gold. its curtain of purple Heb. מֶרְכָּבוֹ. This is the dividing curtain, which hangs and “rides” (רוֹכֵב) on poles from pillar to pillar. its interior inlaid arranged with a floor of love—the Ark with an Ark cover, cherubim, and Tablets. from the daughters of Jerusalem Heb. יְרוּשָּׁלָיִם. These are the Israelites, who fear (יְרֵאִים) and are wholehearted (שְּׁלֵמִים) with the Holy One, blessed be He.”

“Going. Protestants, “covering of it of purple.” (Haydock) — Death must be endured, if necessary, for the sake of the faith, as this is the highest degree of charity. (Worthington) — He, &c. Hebrew, “is prepared for the beloved above the,” &c. See Homer, Odyssey v. 660. (Calmet) — Protestants and Pagnin, “the midst thereof being paved (Montanus, set on fire) with love for (Montanus, by) the daughters.” (Haydock) — The most desirable things adorn the litter, or the Church, that all may come to her, who has God to guide her decisions. (Menochius)”

“daughters of Zion Heb. צִיוֹן. [This refers to] the sons, who are distinguished (מְצֻיָנִין) for Him with circumcision, phylacteries, and ritual fringes. upon the crown with which his mother crowned him [This refers to] the Tent of Meeting, which is crowned with hues: blue, purple, and crimson. Rabbi Nehunia said: Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai asked Rabbi Eleazar the son of Rabbi Jose, “Perhaps you heard from your father what the meaning of ‘upon the crown with which his mother crowned him’ is?” He replied: “This is a parable of a king who had an only daughter of whom he was very fond. He could not stop loving her until he called her “my daughter,” as it is said (Ps. 45:11): “Hearken, daughter, and see.” He could not stop loving her until he called her “my sister,” as it is said (below 5: 2): “Open for me, my sister, my beloved.” He could not stop loving her until he called her “my mother,” as it is said (Isa. 51:4): “Hearken to Me, My people, and My nation (וּלְאוּמִי), bend your ears.” It is written: וּלְאֻמִי [which can be read as וּלְאִמִי, and to my mother]. Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai stood up and kissed him on his head, etc. on the day of his nuptials the day of the giving of the Torah, when they crowned Him King for themselves and accepted His yoke. and on the day of the joy of his heart This refers to the eighth day of the inauguration, when the Tabernacle in the desert was dedicated.”

“Go. All are invited to come to Christ, who, in his sacred humanity, which he took of his mother, was crowned in heaven, after his passion. (Worthington) (St. Gregory) (Alcuin) — The synagogue crowned him with thorns, and gave him the hard bed of the cross. (St. Bernard; St. Anselm, &c.) — Bethsabee might live to see the marriage of her son, who owed the crown to her, 3 Kings i. 18., and Proverbs iv. 3. Both the parties were crowned, (Isaias lxi. 10.) and no doubt Solomon would display his usual magnificence. The diadem was a bandage, adorned with embroidery, and precious stones. (Calmet) Bible Text & Cross-references: The spouse seeks Christ. The glory of his humanity. 1 In my bed by night I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, and found him not. 2 I will rise, and will go about the city: in the streets and the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, and I found him not. 3 The watchmen who keep the city found me: Have you seen him, whom my soul loveth? 4 When I had a little passed by them, I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him: and I will not let him go, till I bring him into my mother’s house, and into the chamber of her that bore me. 5 I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes and the harts of the fields, that you stir not up, nor awake my beloved, till she please. 6 Who is she that goeth up by the desert, as a pillar of smoke of aromatical spices, of myrrh, and frankincense, and of all the powders of the perfumer? 7 Behold threescore valiant ones of the most valiant of Israel, surround the bed of Solomon: 8 All holding swords, and most expert in war: every man’s sword upon his thigh, because of fears in the night. 9 King Solomon hath made him a litter of the wood of Libanus: 10 The pillars thereof he made of silver, the seat of gold, the going up of purple: the midst he covered with charity for the daughters of Jerusalem. 11 Go forth, ye daughters of Sion, and see king Solomon in the diadem, wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the joy of his heart. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8”