Jesus was the king feasting in his garden

JESUS WAS THE KING FEASTING IN HIS GARDEN
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Song of Solomon5:1 1I have come into my garden, my
sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh with my
spice. I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey; I
have drunk my wine and my milk. Friends Eat,
friends, and drink; drink your fill of love.
THE KING FEASTING IN HIS GARDEN NO. 919
A SERMON DELIVERED ON LORD’S-DAYMORNING, MARCH6, 1870,
BY C.H. SPURGEON, AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE,
NEWINGTON.
“I am come to my garden, my sister, my spouse:I have gatheredmy myrrh
with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my
wine with my milk: eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.”
Song of Solomon 5:1.
I BELIEVE this text to be appropriate to the spiritual condition of our
church. If I am not very sadly mistaken, the Lord of hosts is with us in a very
remarkable manner. Our meetings for prayer have been distinguished by an
earnestand fervent spirit, our meetings with inquirers have been remarkably
powerful, in a quiet manner, without any outward outcries, souls have been

smitten down with conviction of sin, and have been comfortedas they have
receivedChrist by Faith. We are not a desertedchurch, we are not left with
broken hedges, with the wild boar of the wood committing devastations, but
the Lord has sent a gracious rain, which has quickened the seed, He has
wateredthe plants of His garden, and made our souls to rejoice in His
presence. Now if the text be appropriate, as I believe it is, the duty to which it
especiallycalls us should have our earnestattention. The workers for Christ
must remember that even if they have to care for the garden, their chief
business must be to commune with the Lord and Masterof that garden, since
He Himself this morning calls them to do so. “EatO friends; drink, yea, drink
abundantly, O beloved.” In happy and auspicious times, when the Spirit of
God is working, it is very natural to say, “We must now work more
abundantly than ever,” and God forbid that we should hinder such zeal, but
more spiritual privilege is not to be put in the secondplace. Let us commune
as well as work, for therein shall we find strength for service, and our service
shall be done the better, and become the more acceptable, andensure the
largerblessing. If while we serve like Martha, we at the same time commune
like Mary, we shall not then become cumbered with much serving, we shall
serve and not be cumbered, and shall feel no fretfulness againstothers whose
only faculty may be that of sitting at the Master’s feet. The text divides itself
readily into three parts. First, we have the presence of the heavenly
Bridegroom—“Iam come into my garden, my sister, my spouse,” we have,
secondly, the satisfactionwhich He finds in His church—“I have gatheredmy
myrrh with my spice, I have eatenmy honeycombwith my honey, I have
drunk my wine with my milk,” and, thirdly, we have the invitation which He
gives to His loving people—“Eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O
beloved.” I. The voice of the MasterHimself calls us to considerHIS
PRESENCE:“I have come.” He tells us He has come. What? Could He come
without our perceiving it? Is it not possible? Maywe be like those whose eyes
were holden so that they knew Him not? Is it possible for us to be like
Magdalene, seeking Christ, while He is standing very near us? Yes, and we
may even be like the disciples who, when they saw Him walking on the water,
were afraid, and they thought it was a spirit, and cried out, and had need for
Him to say, “It is I, be not afraid,” before they knew who it was!Here is our
ignorance, but here is His tenderness. He may come and yet we may not

recognize Him, but here when He comes, He takes care to advertise us of the
blessedfact, and calls us to observe and to consider, and to delight in it. He
would, for our own comfort, prevent its being said of us, “He came unto his
own, and his own receivedhim not.” Let us observe, first, this coming was in
answerto prayer. Our translators, in dividing the Bible into chapters, seemto
have been utterly regardless ofthe connectionor the sense, so that they
brought down
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their guillotine betweentwo verses which must not be divided. The church
had said, “Awake, O north wind; and come, you south; blow upon my
garden,” she had also said, “Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his
pleasantfruits.” In answerto that prayer the Belovedreplies, “I am come into
my garden.” Prayeris always heard, and the prayer of faithful souls finds an
echo in Jesus’heart. How quickly the spouse was heard! Scarce hadthe words
died away, “Let my Belovedcome,” before she heard Him say, “I am come!”
“Before they call, I will answer;and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.”
He is very near unto His people, and hence He very speedily answers their
request. And how fully does He answerit too! You will perhaps say, “But she
had askedfor the Holy Spirit, she had said, ‘Awake, O north wind; and come,
you south,’ and yet there is no mention of the heavenly wind as blowing
through the garden.” The answeris that the Beloved’s coming means all that.
His visit brings both north and south wind, all benign influences are sure to
follow where He leads the way, spices always flow out from the heart when
Christ’s sweetlove flows in, and where He is, Christians have all things in
Him. There was a full answerto her prayer, and there was more than an
answer, for she had but said, “Let him come and eat,” but, lo, He gathers
myrrh and spice, and He drinks of wine and milk, He does exceedingly
abundantly above what she had askedor eventhought, after the right royal
manner of the Sonof God, who does not answerus according to the poverty of

our expressions, andthe leanness ofour desires, but according to His riches in
glory, giving to us grace upon grace out of His own inexhaustible fullness.
Brethren, this church has had a full reward for all her prayers. We have
waited upon God often, all the day long there has been prayer in this house,
and during this last month there has scarcelybeenan hour in which
supplication has been suspended, and the answerhas already come. We are so
apt to overlook the answerto prayer. Let it not be so. Let us praise the Lord
that prayer has not been a vain service. It has brought down His presence, the
chief of all blessings, and that for which we most intercededat His throne. Let
us exalt Him. We canhear Him say now, “I am come into your meetings, I am
blessing you, I am saving souls, I am elevating some of you into nearness of
fellowship with Myself, I am chastening some of your spirits with sadness to
think you have lived in so groveling an estate, I am with you, I have heard
your prayers, I have come to abide with you as a people.” Now, if this be the
case, letus next observe what an unspeakable blessing this is! If the voice had
said, “I have sent my angel,” that would have been a precious boon, but it is
not so spoken, the word is, “I am come.” What, does He before whom angels
adoringly bow their heads, does He before whom perfectspirits casttheir
crowns, does He condescendto come into the church? Ay, it is even so. There
is a personalpresence of Christ in the midst of His people. Where two or three
are met togetherin His name, there is He in the midst of them, His corporeal
presence is in heaven, but His spiritual presence, which is all we want—allit is
expedient for Him as yet to grant—is assuredly in our midst. He is with us
truly and really when we meet togetherin our solemn assemblies,and with us
too when we separate and go our ways in private to fight the battles of the
Lord. Brethren, for us to enjoy His presence as a church is a privilege whose
value is only to be measuredby the melancholy results of His absence. Where
Jesus Christ is not in the garden, the plants wither, and like untimely figs, the
fruits fall from the trees. Blossoms come not, or if they appear, they do but
disappoint when Jesus is not there to knit and fructify them. But when He
comes, eventhe driest boughs in the gardenbecome like Aaron’s rod that
budded. Yes, our older brethren in the church remember times of trouble,
times when the ministry was not with power, when the gatherings on the
Lord’s-Day were joyless, whenthe voice of wailing saddened the courts of
Zion, but now we rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. The contrastbetweenthe past

and the joyous present should increase our gratitude till we praise the Lord on
the high sounding cymbals with jubilant exaltation! Remember, too, that if He
had dealt with us according to our sins, and rewardedus after our iniquities,
we would never have heard the footfall of the Belovedtraversing the garden.
How many have grieved the Holy Spirit by careless living and backsliding!
How have most of us followedHim afar off instead of keeping step with Him
in service and fellowship!Alas! my Lord, if You had regardedonly
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the sins of the pastor of the church, You had long ago left this flock, but You
have not dealt with us severely, but according unto Your love, and to Your
mercy You have blotted out our sins like a cloud, and like a thick cloud our
transgressions, andstill do You condescendto come into Your garden. If you
take eachword of this remarkable sentence, you will find a meaning. “I am
come.” There is the personalpresence of Christ. “I am come.” There is the
certainty that it is so. It is no delusion, no dream, no supposition. “I am truly
come.” Blessedbe the name of the Lord, at this presenttime it is assuredlyso.
Many of His saints canbear testimony that they have seenHis face, and have
felt the kisses ofHis lips, and have proved even this day that His love is better
than wine. Note the next word, “I am come into my garden.” How near is the
approachof Christ to His church! He comes not to the garden door, nor to
look over the wall, nor in at the gate and out again, but into His garden. Down
every walk, midst the greenalleys, among the beds of spices He walks,
watching eachflower, pruning the superfluous foliage of every fruit-bearing
plant, and plucking up by the roots such as His heavenly Fatherhas not
planted. His delights are with the sons of men. His intercourse with His chosen
is most familiar, so that the spouse may sing, “Mybeloved is gone down into
his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.”
Jesus Christ the Lord forgets not His church, but fulfills the promise: “I the
Lord do keepit, I will waterit every moment; lestany hurt it, I will keep it

night and day.” Brethren, this is a solemn as well as a pleasantfact. You who
are members of this church, recollectthat Jesus is come into the church, that
He is now going His rounds among you, and marking your feelings towards
Him, He knows today who is in fellowship with Him, and who is not; He
discerns betweenthe precious and the vile. He never comes without the
winnowing fan when He visits His threshing floor, beware if you bee as chaff.
He has come into His garden. O you that have not enjoyed much of His
gracious company, pray to Him to casta look towards you, and be you like the
sunflower which turns its face to the sun, to refreshitself with His beams. O
pant and long for His presence. If your soul is as dark as the dead of night,
call out to Him, for He hears the faintest sigh of any of His chosen. “I am come
into my garden,” says He. Note here the possessionwhich Christ claims in the
church. If it were not His garden, He would not come into it. A church that is
not Christ’s church shall have none of His presence, and a soul that is not
Christ’s has no fellowship with Him. If He reveals Himself at all, it is unto His
own people, His blood-bought people, the people that are His by purchase and
by power, and by the surrender of themselves to Him. When I think of this
church as committed to my care, I am overawed, andwell may my fellow
officers be castdown under the weight of our responsibility, but after all we
may say, “Master, this gardenis not ours, it is Your garden, we have not
begottenall this people, neither can we carry them in our bosoms, but You,
greatShepherd of the sheep, You will guard the fold.” Since the garden is His
own, He will not suffer even the leastplant to perish. My brethren who work
for Christ, do not be downcastif certainportions of the work should not seem
to succeed, He will attend to it! “The pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in
his hand.” It is more His work than ours, and souls are more under His
responsibility than ours. So let us hope and be confident, for the Masterwill
surely smile upon His “vineyard of red wine.” The next word denotes
cultivation. “I am come into my garden.” The church is a cultivated spot, it
did not spring up by chance, it was arrangedby Himself, it has been tended by
Himself, and the fruits belong to Himself. Thankful are we if we cantruly
know that as a church—
“We are a gardenwalled around, Chosenand made peculiar ground.”

Christ, the GreatCultivator, exercises care andskill in training His people,
and He delights to see His ownhandiwork in them.
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And then there are the two choice words at the close, by which He speaksof
His church, herself, rather than of her work. As if He would draw the
attention of His people to themselves and to Himself, rather than to their
work, He says, “My sister, my spouse.” There is one name for the garden, but
there are two names for herself. The work is His work, the garden is His
garden, but see, He wants communion not so much with the work as with the
worker, He speaks to the church herself. He calls her, “My sister, my spouse.”
“Spouse” has something in it of dearness that is not in the first word, for what
can be dearer to the husband than the bride? But then there was a time when
the spouse was not dear to the Bridegroom, there was a period perhaps when
He did not know her, when there was no relationship betweenthem twain,
though they are made of one flesh by marriage, yet they were of different
families, and for this cause He adds the dear name of “sister,” to show an
ancient relationship to her, a closenessanda nearness by blood, by birth, as
well as by betrothal and wedlock. The two words put togethermake up a
confectionof such inexpressible sweetness, thatinstead of seeking to expound
them to you, I will leave them to your meditations, and may He who calls the
church “Sister” and“Spouse” openup their richness to your souls. Here,
then, is the gist of the whole matter. The Master’s presence is in this church in
a very remarkable manner. Beloved, I pray that none of you may be like
Adam, who fled among the trees to hide himself from God when He walkedin
the garden. May your business not actlike an overshadowing thicketto
concealyou from fellowship. He calls you, O backslider, He calls you as once
He called Adam, “Where are you?” Come, beloved, come and commune with

your Lord, come awayfrom those carking cares and anxieties which, like
gloomy groves of cypress, concealyou from your Lord, or rather your Lord
from you. Hear you not His call, “O my dove that art the clefts of the rock, in
the secretplaces ofthe stairs, let me see your countenance, let me hear your
voice;for sweetis your voice, and your countenance is comely.” Let none of
us be like the disciples in another garden when their Lord was there, and He
was in agony, but they were sleeping. Up, you sleepers, forChrist has come. If
the midnight cry, “Behold, the Bridegroom comes,”awokethe virgins, shall
not “I am come,” awakenyou? It is His own voice, it is not, “He comes,” but
“I am come.” Startup, you slumberers, and now with heart and soul seek
fellowship with Him. It would be a sad thing if while Christ is with us any
should be slumbering, and then should wake up and say, “SurelyGod was in
this place and I knew it not.” Rathermay you invite Him to come into your
souls, and abide with you until the day break and the shadows flee away, and
you behold Him face to face. II. Thus much upon the first point, and now may
His Holy Spirit help us to view OUR LORD’S SATISFACTION IN HIS
CHURCH. The beautiful expressions ofthe text are capable of many holy
meanings, and it is not possible that any expositions of mine could fully unveil
their treasures, but let me observe, first, that Christ is delighted with the
offerings of His people. He says, “I have gatheredmy myrrh with my spice.”
We may considermyrrh and spice—sweetperfumes—offeredby way of
incense to God, as being indicative of the offerings which His people bring to
Him. What if I say that prayer is like sweetsmelling myrrh, and that the
Belovedhas been gathering the myrrh of holy prayer, the bitter myrrh of
repenting sighs and cries, in the midst of this church, lo, these many months!
You perhaps thought that poor wordless prayerof yours was never heard, but
Jesus gatheredit, and calledit spice, and when some brother was praying
aloud, and in silence your tears fell thick and fast for perishing sinners, for
you could not bear that they should die, nor endure that Christ’s name should
be blasphemed, the Belovedgatheredup the precious drops, and counted
them as costly oil of sweetestsmell. Was it not said in Psalm, “Prayeralso
shall be made for Him continually”? And you did pray for Him that His name
might be as ointment poured forth, and that He might gird His swordupon
His thigh, and ride forth prosperously. Jesus observed, and delighted in your

heart’s offering. Others knew not that you prayed, perhaps you thought
yourself that you scarcelyprayed, but He gatheredHis myrrh with His
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spice from you. No faithful prayer is lost. The groanings of His people are not
forgotten, He gathers them as men gatherprecious products from a garden
which they have tilled with much labor and expense. And then, may not spice
representour praises? for these, as well as prayer, come up as incense before
His throne. Last Thursday night, when my brother spoke to you, if you felt as
I did I am sure your heart sent up praise as smoke of incense from the warm
coals ofa censer, as he caston them handfuls of frankincense in the form of
various motives for gratitude and reasons for praise. Oh, it was goodto sing
God’s praises as we then did by the hour together. It was delightful, too, to
come to His table and make that ordinance in very deed a eucharisticalservice
of praise to God. Praise is pleasantand comely, and most of all so because
Jesus accepts it, and says, “Whosoeveroffers praise glorifies me.” When the
Lord in another place speaks ofoffering sweetcane bought with money, does
He not refer to other offerings which His people bring in addition to their
prayers and their praises, whenthey give to Him the first fruits of all their
increase, andpresent thank-offerings to His name? He has said, “None ofyou
shall appear before me empty,” and I hope none of you have been content to
do so! The contributions given for the spreadof His cause, forthe feeding of
His poor, and clothing of His nakedones, are given by true hearts directly to
Him. Though they may be but as two mites that make a farthing, yet offered
in His name are they not also included in this word, “I have gathered my
myrrh with my spice”? The Savior’s satisfactionis found, in the next place, in
His people’s love—“Ihave eatenmy honeycomb with my honey.” Shall I be
wrong if I believe that this sweetness refers to Christian love, for this is the
richest of all the graces,and sweetensallthe rest. Jesus Christ finds delightful
solace in His people’s love, both in the inward love which is like the honey,

and in the outward manifestationof it, which is like the honeycomb. He
rejoices in the love that drips in all its preciousness from the heart, and in the
honeycomb of organization, in which it is for order’s sake storedup and put
into His hand. Or, what if it should mean that Christ overlooksthe
imperfections of His people? The honeycomb is not goodeating, but He takes
that as well as the honey! “I have eatenmy honeycomb with my honey.” As
He looks upon His people, and sees whatHe has done for them, His loving
heart rejoices in what His grace has accomplished. As a benevolentman who
should have takena child from the streetand educatedit would be pleasedto
see it growing up, prospering, happy, well-informed, talented, so when Jesus
Christ, remembering what His people were, sees in them displays of grace,
desires after holiness, self-denials, communion with God, and the like, this is
to Him like honey. He takes an intense satisfactionin the sweetfruits which
He Himself has causedus to produce, notwithstanding every imperfection, He
accepts ourlove, and says, “I have eatenmy honeycomb with my honey.”
Turning againto our precious text, we observe that our Lord’s satisfactionis
compared to drinking as well as eating, and that drinking is of a twofold
character. “Ihave drunk my wine.” Does He intend by this His joy which is
fulfilled in us when our joy is full? Does He mean that as men go to feasts to
make glad their hearts with wine, so He comes to His people to see their joy,
and is filled with exultation? Means He not so? Surely He does. And the milk,
may not that mean the Christian’s common, ordinary life? As milk contains
all the constituents of nourishment, may He not mean by this the generallife
of the Christian? Our Lord takes delightin the graces ofour lives. One has
said that wine may representthose actions resulting from well-considered
dedication and deep spiritual thought, for wine must be expressedfrom the
grape with labor and preserved with care, there must be skill, and work, and
forethought spent upon it, but milk is a natural production, it flows freely,
plentifully, spontaneously, it is a more common and ordinary, yet precious
thing. So the Lord delights that His people should give to Him those elaborate
works which they have to tend with loving care and watchover with much
anxiety before they are produced. These are the wine, but He would have
them give Him the simple outgushing of their souls, the short sudden
emotional utterances which flow forth without labor, the little deeds of love

which need no forethought, the everyday outgoings of their inner life—these
are milk, and are equally acceptable to Him. Well, if it be
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so, certain it is that Christ finds greatpleasure in His people, and in their
various forms of piety He drinks His wine with His milk. Permit me now to
call your attention to those many greatlittle words, which are yet but one—I
refer to the word “my.” Observe, that eight or nine times it is repeated. Here
is the reasonfor the solace whichthe Bridegroomfinds in His church. Does
He walk in the church as men do in a garden for pleasure? Then He says, “I
am come into my garden.” Does He talk with His beloved? It is because He
calls her, “my sister, my spouse.” Does He love her prayers and praises? It is
because they never would be prayed or praised if He had not createdthese
fruits of the lips. He says not, “I have gathered your myrrh with your spice.”
Oh, no! viewed as ours these are poor things, but viewed as His they are most
acceptable, “I have gatheredmy myrrh with my spice.” So if He finds any
honey in His people, any true love in them, He first put it there. “I have eaten
my honeycomb with my honey.” Yes, and if there be any joy and life in them
to make His heart glad, He calls it, “my wine,” and “my milk.” When I read
these words, and thought of our Lord’s being fed by us, I could almosthave
cried out, “Lord, when saw we You an hungered, and fed You? or thirsty, and
gave You drink? Do You find any satisfactionin us? Surely, our goodness
extends not to You. Whence should we give You aught to eat?” YetHe
declares it, and we may blushingly believe Him, and praise His name, for
surely if He found it so, it is because He made it so. If He has gottenanything
out of us, He must first have put it in us, if He sees ofthe travail of His soul, it
is because the travail came first. Note well, you lovers of Jesus, thatour Lord
in this heavenly verse is fed first. “I have eaten,” says He, and then He turns to
us, and says, “Eat, O friends.” If any of you seek friendship with the
Wellbeloved, you must commence by preparing Him a feast. Remember our

Lord’s own parable, “Which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding
cattle, will sayunto him by and by, when he has come in from the field, Go
and sit down to meat? and will not rather sayunto him, Make ready
wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and
drunken; and afterward you shall eat and drink?” Even if your poverty
compels you to say, “As the Lord lives, I have not a cake, but a handful of
meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse,” listento Him as He answers, “Fear
not, make me thereof a little cake first.” Be assuredthat after you have done
so, your barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail. The
way for believers to be fed by Christ is to seek to feed Him, look to His being
satisfied, and He will assuredlylook to you. “You shall eatneither bread, nor
parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that you have brought an
offering unto your God.” (Lev 23:14). “Bring you all the tithes into the
storehouse, thatthere may be meat in my house, and prove me now herewith,
says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour
you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” See, my
brethren, you must find meat for your Lord, and then, but not till then, there
shall be meat for you. In the feast, it is remarkable how complete the
entertainment is. There is the sweetestfood, and the most nourishing and
exhilarating drink, and then over and above that there is the rarestperfume,
not counted to be needful in ordinary entertainments, but crowning all and
making up a right royal feast. How marvelous that our Belovedshould find
within His church all that His soul wants!Having given over Himself to her,
He delights in her, He rests in His love, and rejoices overher with singing. For
the joy that was setbefore Him, He endured the cross, despising the shame,
and this day He continues to be filled with the same delight. III. I would fain
linger, but time forbids. We must now remember, in the third place, that the
text contains an INVITATION. The Belovedsays, “Eat, O friends; drink, yea,
drink abundantly, O beloved.” In the invitation we see the characterof the
invited guests, they are spokenof as friends. We were once aliens, we are now
brought nigh, we were once enemies, we are made servants, but we have
advancedfrom the grade of service (though servants still) into that of friends,
henceforth He calls us not servants, but friends, for the servant knows not
what his Lord does, but all things that He has seenof His FatherHe has made
known

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unto us. The friendship betweenChrist and His people is not in name only,
but in deed and in truth. Having laid down His life for His friends, having
brought them to know His friendship in times of trial and of difficulty, He at
all times proves His friendship by telling His secrets to them, and exhibiting
an intense sympathy with them in all their secretbitternesses. Davidand
Jonathanwere not more closelyfriends than Christ and the believer, when the
believer lives near to His Lord. Neverseek the friendship of the world, nor
allow your love to the creature to overshadow your friendship with Christ.
He next calls His people belovedas well as friends. He multiplies titles, but all
His words do not express the full love of His heart. “Beloved.”Oh, to have this
word addressedto us by Christ! It is music! There is no music in the rarest
sounds comparedwith these three syllables, which drop from the Redeemer’s
lips like sweetsmelling myrrh. “Beloved!” If He had addressedbut that one
word to any one of us, it might create a heaven within our soul, which neither
sicknessnor death could mar. Let me sound the note again, “BELOVED!”
Does Jesus love me? Does He own His love? Does He sealthe fact by declaring
it with His own lips? Then I will not stipulate for promises, nor make
demands of Him. If He loves He must act towards me with loving-kindness,
He will not smite His beloved unless love dictates the blow, He will not forsake
His chosen, forHe never changes. Oh, the inexpressible, the heaped up
blessednesseswhichbelong to the man who feels in his soul that Christ has
calledhim beloved! Here, then, you have the characterin the text of those who
are invited to commune with Christ, He calls His friends and His beloved. The
provisions presentedto them are of two kinds, they are bidden to eat and to
drink. You, who are spiritual, know what the food is, and what the drink is,
for you eat His flesh and drink His blood. The incarnation of the Son of God,
and the death of Jesus the Saviour, these are the two sacredviands whereon
faith is sustained. To feed upon the very Christ of God is what is needed,

nothing but this can satisfythe hunger of the spirit, but he who feeds on Him
shall know no lack. “Eat,” saysHe, “and drink.” You ask, “Where are the
provisions?” I answer, they are contained in the first words of the text, “I am
come.” If He is come, then eat, if He is come, then drink, there is food, there is
drink for you in Him Note that delightful word, abundantly. Some dainties
satiate, and even nauseate whenwe have too much of them, but no soul ever
had too much of the dear love of Christ, no heart did ever complain that his
sweetness cloyed. Thatcannever be. Some things, if you have too much of
them, may injure you, they are goodto a certain point, beyond that, evil, but
even the smallestchild of grace shallnever over feasthimself with Jesus’love.
No, the more you have the more shall you enjoy, the more blessedshallyou
be, and the more shall you be like the Lord from whom the love proceeds. O
you that stand shivering in the cold shallows ofthe river of life, why tarry you
there? Descendinto the greaterdepths, the warmer waves, and let the mighty
stream lave you breast-high, yea, go farther, plunge where you canfind no
bottom, for it is blessedand safe swimming in the stream of Christ’s
everlasting love, and He invites you to it now. When you are at His banquet
table, pick not here and there a crumb, sip not now and then a drop, He says,
“eat,” and He adds, “drink abundantly,” and the invitation to receive
abundantly applies to both refreshments. Your eating and your drinking may
be without stint. You cannotimpoverish the MostHigh God, possessorof
heaven and earth. When you are satiatedwith His love, His table shall still be
loaded. Your cups may run over, but His flagons will still be brimmed. If you
are straitenedat all, you are not straitened in Him, you are straitened in
yourselves. But now let me sayto my brethren, and especiallyto my fellow
workers in the kingdom of Christ, it is for us just now while our Lord is
walking in His garden, while He is finding satisfactionin His work and in His
people, to beware of taking any satisfactionin the work ourselves, andequally
to beware that we do not neglectthe appropriate duty of the occasion, namely,
that of feasting our souls with our Lord’s gracious provisions. You are caring
for others, it is well, you are rejoicing over others, it is well, still watch well
yourselves, and rejoice in the Lord in your own hearts. What said He to the
twelve when they came back glorying that even the devils were subjectto
them? Did He not reply, “Nevertheless

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rejoice not in this, but rather rejoice that your names are written in heaven”?
It is your personalinterest in Christ, your being yourself saved, Christ being
present with you, that is your main joy. Enjoy the feastfor yourselves, oryou
will not be strong to hand out the living bread to others. See that you are first
partakers of the fruit, or you will not labor aright as God’s husbandmen. The
more of personal enjoyment you allow yourself in connectionwith your Lord,
the more strong will you be for His service, and the more out of an
experimental sense of His preciousness will you be able to saywith true
eloquence, “O taste and see that the Lord is good.” You will tell others what
you have tastedand handled, you will say, “This poor man cried, and the
Lord heard him, and delivered him from all his fears.” I put this before you
with much earnestness,and I pray that none of you may think it safe so to
work as to forgetto commune, or wise to seek the goodof others so as to miss
personalfellowship with the Redeemer. I might now conclude, but it strikes
me that there may be some among us who are, in their own apprehensions,
outside the garden of Christ’s church, and are therefore mourning over this
sermon, and saying, “Alas! that is not for me. Christ is come into His garden,
but I am a piece of waste ground. He is fed and satisfiedin His church, but He
finds nothing in me. Surely I shall perish from the way, when His wrath is
kindled but a little!” I know how apt poor hearts are to write bitter things
againstthemselves, evenwhen God has never written a single word against
them, so let me see if by turning over this text we may not find thoughts of
consolationforthe trembling ones. Who knows? There may be a softbreath
in the text which may fan the smoking flax, a tender hand that may bind up
the bruised reed. I will briefly indicate two or three comfortable thoughts.
Seeking Soul, should it not console youto think that Jesus is near? The
kingdom of God is come nigh unto you, for He is come into His garden. He
was in our lastmeeting for anxious souls, for many found Him there. You are

not, then, living in a region where Christ is absent, maybe when He passes by
He will look on you. Can you not put out your finger and touch the hem of His
garment, for Jesus of Nazarethpasses by? Even if you have not touched Him,
yet it should give you some goodcheerto know that He is within reach, and
within call. Though you are like the poor withered lily in the garden, or worse
still, like a noxious weed, yet if He be in the garden He may observe you and
have pity on you. Notice, too, that although the text speaks ofa garden, it
never was a garden till He made it so. Men do not find gardens in the
wilderness. In the wilds of Australia or the backwoods ofAmerica, men never
stumble on a garden where human foot has never been, it is all forest, or
prairie, or mountain, so, mark you, soul, if the church be a garden, Christ
made it so. Why cannot He make you so? Why not, indeed? Has He not said,
“Insteadof the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall
come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an
everlasting sign that shall not be cut off”? This garden-making gives God a
name, Jesus gets honorby plowing up the wastes,extracting the briers, and
planting firs and myrtles there. See, then, there is hope for you yet, you
barren heart, He may yet come and make your wilderness like Eden, and your
desertlike the gardenof the Lord. Note, too, that the Bridegroomgathered
myrrh, and fed on milk, and wine, and honey. Yes, and I know you thought,
“He will find no honey in me, He will find no milk and wine in me.” Ah! but
then the text did not say He found them in the church, it is said, “I have eaten
my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk.” and if
He put those things into His church, and then took comfort in them, why not
put them into you, and take comfort in you too? Be of goodcheer, arise, He
calls you this morning. Another word perhaps may help you. Did you notice,
poor hungry soul, how Jesus said, “drink abundantly”? “Ah,” say you, “He
did not say that to me.” I know it. He said that to His friends, and to His
beloved, and you dare not put yourselves among those, but do not you see how
generous He is to His friends, and how He stints nothing? He evidently does
not mean to lock anything up in the storeroom, for He tells them to eatand
drink abundantly. Now, surely, where there is such a festival, though you dare
not come and sit at the table with the guests, you might say with the
Syrophenician woman, “Yet the dogs under the table eatof the children’s
crumbs.” It is goodknocking at a door where

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they are keeping open house, and where the feastreveals a lavish hospitality.
Do you knock now and try it. If it were a poor man’s dinner with a dry crust
and a poor herring, or if it were a miser’s meal spreadmost begrudgingly, I
would not advise you to knock, but where there is wine and milk in rivers, and
the goodMan of the house bids His guests eatand drink abundantly, I say
knock, for God says it shall be opened. Another thought. Jesus finds meat and
drink in His church, and you are afraid He would find neither in you—I want
to tell you a truth which, perhaps, you have forgotten. There was a woman
that was a sinner, she had had five husbands, and he with whom she then lived
was not her husband, she was an adulteress and a Samaritan, but Christ said,
after He had conversedwith her, that He had found meat to eatthat His
disciples knew not of. Where did He getit then? If He had drank that day, He
did not get it from Jacob’s well, for He had nothing to draw with, and the well
was deep. He found His refreshment in that poor woman, to whom He said,
“Give me to drink.” The Samaritan harlot refreshed the soul of Jesus, when
she believed in Him and ownedHim as the Christ. Have you ever read that
word of His, “My meat and my drink is to do the will of him that sent me, and
to finish his work”? And what is the will of Him that sent Him? Well, I will
tell you what it is not. “It is not the will of your Father, that is in heaven, that
one of these little ones should perish.” The will of God and the will of Christ
are these, to save sinners, for this purpose was Jesus born and sent into the
world, He came into the world to seek andto save that which was lost. See,
then, poor lostone, in saving you, Christ will find both meat and drink. I
trust, therefore, you will look to Him and cry to Him, and castyourself upon
Him, and you shall never, as long as you live, have any cause for regretting it.
Finally, the text represents the Lord saying, “I am come into my garden.” It
may imply that He is not always in His garden. Sometimes His church grieves
Him, and His manifest presence departs, but hearken, O sinner, there is a

precious thought for you, He is not always in His garden, but He is always on
the throne of grace. He does not always say, “I am come into my garden,” but
He always says, “Come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest.” He never leaves the mercy seat, He never ceasesto
intercede for sinners. Come, and welcome, then. If you have not seenthe
Beloved’s face, come and bow at His feet. Though you have never heard Him
say, “Your sins are forgiven you,” yet come now with a broken and a contrite
heart and seek absolutionat His hands. Come, and welcome!Come, and
welcome!May the sweetBridegroomwith cords of love draw you, and may
this morning be a time of love, and as He passes by, if He sees youweltering in
your blood, may He say unto you, “Live!” May the Lord grant it, and on His
head shall be many crowns. Amen.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Christ's Response
S. Conway
Songs 5:1
I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse:I have gatheredmy myrrh
with my spice;I have eatenmy honeycomb with my honey…
I am come, etc. Here we have for the secondtime the name of "sister"
prefixed to that of "spouse," andit seems to teachthat this song is not to be
understood in any mere dry, literal, earthly sense;but is to be regardedin

such spiritual way as, in fact, most readers have regarded it. How prompt
Christ's answeris! Cf. Isaiah 65:24, "Before theycall I will answer," etc. The
soul hears the knock ofChrist, opens the door, and at once he comes in
(Revelation3.). Cf. Jacob, "Surelythe Lord was in this place, and I knew it
not;" Mary Magdalene at the sepulchre: "She knew not that it was Jesus."In
this verse we learn -
I. SUCH SOUL IS CHRIST'S GARDEN. Forit has been chosen, separated,
watered, cultivated, adorned, made fruitful.
II. IT HAS CHRIST'S PRESENCE AND IS HIS DELIGHT.
1. The aspirations of such soulproves his presence. Theyare his footprints,
though not perceived to be so. Cf. "Their eyes were holden, that they should
not know him" (Luke 24.). He is the unperceived Author of its holy desires
and purposes.
2. And he delights in it. He calls it "my garden" (cf. on Song of Solomon4:9-
15).
III. THE ANGELS ARE SUMMONED TO SHARE IN HIS DELIGHT. "Eat,
O my friends." Not that we say this address to his "friends" proves this truth,
but suggestsit. We know that "there is joy in the presence of the angels of
God over," etc. (Luke 15.); and see Revelation, passim, where the joy of
Christ is ever sharedin by all heaven. They know what transpires here, and
they rejoice in what is joyful. They are the "greatcloud of witnesses"by
which we are surrounded and surveyed. And what gladdens Christ must
gladden them. They "enterinto the joy of their Lord." The goodconduct of
those whom we behold makes us glad. Can it be otherwise with them? What

greatencouragement, therefore, we have in our Christian life in knowing that
we can further the joy of our Lord and of the holy angels!Be it ours so to do. -
S.C.
Hospitality and Festivity
J.R. Thomson
Songs 5:1
This verse is the centralstanza of the Song of Songs. It brings before us the
wedding feast, the crisis of the dramatic interestof the poem. The bride is
welcomedto her regalhome; friends and courtiers are gatheredtogetherto
celebrate the joyful union; and festivity and mirth signalize the realization of
hope and the recompense of constancy. Under such a similitude inspired
writers and Christian teachers have been wont to set forth the happy union
betweenthe Sonof God and the humanity to which, in the person of the
Church, he has joined himself in spiritual and mystical espousals.
I. THE PRESENCEOF THE DIVINE BRIDEGROOM'AND HOST. "I,"
says he, "have come into my garden." It is the presence, first visibly in the
body, and since invisibly in the Spirit, of the Son of God, which is alike the
salvationand the joy of man.
II. THE GREETING OF THE DIVINELY CHOSEN BRIDE. The language
in which this greeting is conveyedis very striking: "My sister-spouse." It is

the language ofaffection, and at the same time of esteemand honour. It
speaks ofcongenialityof disposition as well as of union of heart. Christ loved
the Church, as is evident from the fact of his giving himself for it and to it, and
as is no less evident from his perpetual revelation of his incomparable
kindness and forbearance. "All that I have," says he, "is thine."
III. THE PROVISION OF DIVINE BOUNTY. How often, in both Old and
New TestamentScripture, are the blessings ofa spiritual nature which Divine
goodness has provided for mankind setforth under the similitude of a feast!
Satisfactionfor deep-seatedneeds, gratificationofnoblest appetite, are thus
suggested. The peculiarity in this passageis the union of the two ideas of
marriage and of feasting - a union which we find also in our Lord's parabolic
discourses. We are reminded that the Divine Saviour who calls the Church his
own, and who undertakes to make it worthy of himself, provides for its life
and health, its nourishment and happiness, all that infinite wisdomitself can
design and prepare.
IV. THE INVITATION OF DIVINE HOSPITALITY. "Eat, O friends; drink,
yea, drink abundantly, O beloved!" Thus does the Lord of the feastever, in
the exercise ofhis benevolent disposition, address those whose welfare he
desires to promote. This invitation on the part of the Lord Christ is
(1) sincere and cordial;
(2) considerate and kind;
(3) liberal and generous.

V. THE FELLOWSHIP OF DIVINE JOY. True happiness is to be found in
the spiritual companionship of Christ, and in the intimacy of spiritual
communion with him whom the soul loveth. The aspirationof the heart to
which Christ draws near in his benignant hospitality has been thus well
expressed:"Pourout, Lord, to me, and readily will I drink; then all thirst
after earthly things shall be destroyed;and I shall seek to thirst only for the
pleasures which are at thy right hand forevermore." The spiritual satisfaction
and festivity enjoyed by the Church on earth are the earnestand the pledge of
the purer and endless joy to be experiencedhereafterby those who shall be
calledto "the marriage supper of the Lamb." - T.
Love Joying in Love
Biblical Illustrator
Songs 5:1
1. It is evident that the Lord Jesus is made happy by us. These poetical
sentences mustmean that He values the graces andworks of His people. He
gathers their myrrh and spice because He values them; He eats and drinks the
honey and the milk because they are pleasantto Him. It is a wonderful
thought that the Lord Jesus Christ has joy of us. We costHim anguish, even
unto death, and now He finds a reward in us. This may seema small thing to
an unloving mind, but it may well ravish the heart which adores the Well-
beloved.

2. The Lord Jesus will not and cannot be happy by Himself: He will have us
share with Him. Note how the words run — "I have eaten;" "Eat, O friends!"
"I have drunk;" "Drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved!" His union with
His people is so close thatHis joy is in them, that their joy may be full. He
cannot be alone in His joy. He will not be happy anywhere without us. He will
not eatwithout our eating, and He will not drink without our drinking. Does
He not say this in other words in the Revelation— "If any man hear My
voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he
with Me"? The inter-communion is complete:the enjoyment is for both. To
make our Lord Jesus happy we must be happy also.
3. If we have already enjoyed happy fellowshipwith Him, the Lord Jesus calls
upon us to be still more happy. Though we may say that we have eaten, He
will againsay, "Eat, O friends!" He presses youto renew, repeat, and increase
your participation with Him. It is true we have drunk out of the chalice ofHis
love; but He againinvites us, saying, "Drink, yea, drink abundantly, O
beloved!" Must it not mean that, though we know the Lord Jesus, we should
try to know more of Him, yea, to know all that can be known of that love
which passethknowledge? Ohfor grace to appropriate a whole Christ, and all
the love, the grace, the glory that is laid up in Him! Does it not also mean —
have greaterenjoyment of divine things? Partake ofthem without stint. Do
not restrictyourself as though you could go too far in feeding upon the Lord
Jesus. Do not be afraid of being too happy in the Lord, or of being too sure of
His salvation, or too much devout emotion. Dreadnot the excitements which
come from fellowship with Christ. Do not believe that the love of Jesus canbe
too powerfully felt in the soul. Permit the full sweepand current of holy joy in
the Lord to carry you away:it will be safe to yield to it.
( C. H. Spurgeon.)

The Sunday-SchoolGarden
R. Newton, D. D.
Songs 5:1
By the garden, here, Jesus means His Church. But the Sunday-schoolis one of
the most important parts of the Church of Christ.
I. WHY IS THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL LIKE A GARDEN?
1. The Sunday-schoolis like a garden because ofwhat is done for it.
(1) The first thing done for a garden is to fence it. These fences are made out
of the commandments He has given us in the Bible.
(2) When we have fenced our garden, the next thing to do is to weedit. But
you may ask, whatare the weeds that grow in God's garden? Pride is one of
these weeds. It is a tall, strong weed, with a glaring, disagreeable flower.
Anger is anotherof these weeds;impatience is another; selfishness is another;
idleness is another.
(3) The next thing to be done for it is to improve the soil. Some soil is so very
poor that nothing will grow in it. When this is the case, the gardenerhas many
ways of curing it. I will only speak of one. He will have the poor soil taken

away, and some good, rich soil put in its place. And this is just what Jesus does
to His people. He improves the soil of their hearts by changing it and making
it new. Everything that Jesus loves will grow in the soil of the new heart.
(4) Now we are ready to sow the seed, and put in the plants we want to have
growing there.
(5) Now it must be wateredand caredfor. Suppose no rain comes downand
no dew distils upon it, will the seedsownthere ever spring up and grow? And
just in this way Jesus waters andcares for His garden His grace is the rain
and dew that soften the soil of our hearts. His Holy Spirit is like the sun that
shines on and warms them. Jesus has pipes in His garden to carry the waterof
tits grace whereverit is needed. The Bible that we read and have explained to
us is one of these pipes. And then our blessedSaviour watches carefullyover
His gardenall the time to keepanything from hurting the plants, or from
hindering- their growth.
2. But then there is another reason. .whythe Sunday schoolmay be compared
to a garden, because ofwhat grows in It. In a gardenwe expectto find
beautiful flowers and delicious fruit. And so in the Sunday-school, which is the
garden of Christ, many sweetflowers and fruits are found growing. Every
goodfeeling that we cherish in our hearts is a spiritual flower, and every good
deed that we perform in our lives is a spiritual fruit, which Jesus loves to see
blooming and ripening in His garden.
II. WHAT DOES JESUS COME INTO IT FOR?
1. He comes to watchthe growthof the plants.

2. He comes to enjoy the beauty of the flowers. No gardenerever took half as
much delight in the flowers he is raising as Jesus takes in His. Every Christian
child, and every one who is trying to become a Christian, is a flower in the
Saviour's garden, and nobody can tell how much pleasure Jesus takes in
watching them. Oh, who would not wish to be one of the flowers of Jesus?
3. He comes to gatherthe flowers. You know how many dear children die
while they are quite young. But what should we think if we could see them
now, as they are blooming and flourishing in the Saviour's gardenabove?
(R. Newton, D. D.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
V.
(1) I am come into my garden.—This continues the same figure, and under it
describes once more the complete union of the wedded pair. The only
difficulty lies in the invitation, “Eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly,
O beloved” (Marg., and be drunken with loves). Some suppose an invitation to
an actual marriage feast;and if sung as an epithalamium, the song might have
this double intention. But the margin, “be drunken with loves,” suggeststhe
right interpretation. The poet, it has been alreadysaid (Note, Song of Solomon
2:7), loves to invoke the sympathy of others with his joys, and the following
lines of Shelley reproduce the very feeling of this passage.Here, as throughout
the poem, it is the “new strong wine of love,” and not the fruit of the grape,
which is desiredand drunk.

“Thou art the wine, whose drunkenness is all
We candesire, O Love! and happy souls,
Ere from thy vine the leaves ofautumn fall,
Catchthee and feed, from thine o’erflowing bowls,
Thousands who thirst for thy ambrosial dew.”
Prince Athanase.
BensonCommentary
Song of Solomon 5:1. I am come into my garden — This is the bridegroom’s
answer. I have gathered my myrrh, &c. — I have eatenof my pleasantfruits;
I have takennotice of, and delight in, the service and obedience of my people.
Eat, O friends — Believers are here encouragedwith freedom and
cheerfulness to eat and drink their spiritual food.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
5:1 See how ready Christ is to acceptthe invitations of his people. What little
goodthere is in us would be lost, if he did not preserve it to himself. He also
invites his beloved people to eatand drink abundantly. The ordinances in
which they honour him, are means of grace.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
My honeycomb - literally, "my reed" or "my wood," i. e., the substance itself,
or portions of it in which the comb is formed. The bees in Palestine form their
combs not only in the hollows of trees and rocks, but also in reeds by the
river-banks. The king's meaning appears to be: "All pleases me in thee, there
is nothing to despise or castaway."
Eat, O friends - A salutation from the king to his assembled guests, orto the
chorus of young men his companions, bidding them in the gladness of his
heart Sol 3:11 partake of the banquet. So ends this day of outward festivity
and supreme heart-joy. The first half of the Song of Songs is fitly closed. The

secondhalf of the poem commences Sol5:2 with a change of tone and reaction
of feeling similar to that of Sol3:1. It terminates with the sealing Sol8:6-7 of
yet deeperlove.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
CHAPTER 5
So 5:1-16.
1. Answer to her prayer (Isa 65:24;Re 3:20).
am come—already(So 4:16); "come" (Ge 28:16).
sister… spouse—As Adam's was createdof his flesh, out of his opened side,
there being none on earth on a level with him, so the bride out of the pierced
Saviour (Eph 5:30-32).
have gathered… myrrh—His course was alreadycomplete;the myrrh, &c.
(Mt 2:11; 26:7-12;Joh 19:39), emblems of the indwelling of the anointing Holy
Ghost, were already gathered.
spice—literally, "balsam."
have eaten—answering to her "eat" (So 4:16).
honeycomb—distinguished here from liquid "honey" dropping from trees.
The lastsupper, here setforth, is one of espousal, a pledge of the future
marriage (So 8:14; Re 19:9). Feasts oftentook place in gardens. In the absence
of sugar, then unknown, honey was more widely used than with us. His eating
honey with milk indicates His true, yet spotless, human nature from infancy
(Isa 7:15); and after His resurrection(Lu 24:42).
my wine—(Joh18:11)—a cup of wrath to Him, of mercy to us, whereby God's
Word and promises become to us "milk" (Ps 19:10; 1Pe 2:2). "My" answers
to "His" (So 4:16). The myrrh (emblem, by its bitterness, of repentance),
honey, milk (incipient faith), wine (strong faith), in reference to believers,
imply that He accepts alltheir graces,howevervarious in degree.

eat—He desires to make us partakers in His joy (Isa 55:1, 2; Joh 6:53-57;1Jo
1:3).
drink abundantly—so as to be filled (Eph 5:18; as Hag 1:6).
friends—(Joh 15:15).
Canticle IV.—(So 5:2-8:4)—From the Agony of Gethsemane to the
Conversionof Samaria.Christanswereththe church’s invitation, and showeth
her the delight he took in her fruit, Song of Solomon5:1. She acknowledges
her negligence to Christ in not opening the door, Song of Solomon 5:2-6. Of
the harsh usage she met with, Song of Solomon 5:7. She tells the daughters of
Jerusalemshe is sick of love to Christ. Song of Solomon5:8. Their question
concerning him, Song of Solomon5:9. A description of Christ by his graces,
Song of Solomon 5:10-15, in whom she boasteth, Song of Solomon 5:16.
I am come into my garden: this is the Bridegroom’s answerto her request,
delivered in the next foregoing words.
I have eatenmy honey-comb with my honey; I have drunk my wine, with my
milk; I have eatenof my pleasantfruits, as thou didst desire. I have taken
notice of, and delight in, the service and obedience ofmy people.
Friends; the friends of the Bridegroom; whereby he understands either,
1. The holy angels and glorified saints, who in a sublime and spiritual sense
may be said to eat and drink in heaven, the happiness whereofis frequently
representedunder the name and notion of a feast. Or rather,
2. Believers ormembers of the church militant upon earth, who by the
argument of Christ’s gracious presencewith them, and acceptationof their

works signified in the last words, are here invited and encouragedwith great
freedom and cheerfulness to eat and drink their spiritual food, to feed upon
God’s holy word and sacraments, to eat the flesh and drink the blood of the
Son of God, who here gives them a hearty welcome to this feast.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse,.... This verse should rather
have concluded the preceding chapter, being Christ's answerto the church's
request, which was speedily and exactly granted as she desired; which shows it
was according to the will of Christ, and of which he informs her; for
sometimes he is present, when it is not knownhe is: of the titles used, see Sol
4:8; and of Christ's coming into his garden, Sol 4:16. What he did, when come
into it, follows:
I have gatheredmy myrrh with my spice:to make an ointment of, and anoint
his guests with, after invited, as was usual in those times and countries, Luke
7:38; "oil of myrrh" is mentioned, Esther2:12; These may designs, either the
sufferings of Christ; which, though like myrrh, bitter to him, are like spice, of
a sweetsmelling savour, to God and to the saints; the fruits of which, in the
salvationof his people, are delightful to himself, and which he is now reaping
with pleasure:or the graces ofhis Spirit in exercise in them, in which Christ
delights; see Sol4:13; and testifies by his presence;and having gotin his
harvest, or vintage, as the word (q) used signifies, he makes a feastfor himself
and friends, as was the customof former times, and now is;
I have eatenmy honeycomb with my honey: bread with honey, as the
Septuagint version, dipped in honey, or honey put upon it; see Ezekiel16:13;
or the sugarcane with the sugar, as Jarchi, approved by Gussetius (r): the
meaning may be, he plucked up a sugarcane and ate the sugarout of it, which
is calledby Arrianus, , as Cocceius observes;or rather a piece of an
honeycomb, full of honey, just taken out of the hive, had in greatesteemwith
the Jews;see Luke 24:42;the word for "honeycomb" properly signifies wood
honey, of which there was plenty in Judea, 1 Samuel 14:25; though this was in
a garden, where they might have their hives, as we have. By which may be

meant the Gospeland its doctrines, sweeterthan the honey and the
honeycomb; and, being faith fully dispensed, is pleasing to Christ;
I have drunk my wine with my milk; a mixture of wine and milk was usedby
the ancients (s); and which, Clemens Alexandria says (t), is a very profitable
and healthful mixture: by which also may be intended the doctrines of the
Gospel, comparable to wine and milk; to the one, for its reviving and cheering
quality; to the other, for its nourishing and strengthening nature; see Isaiah
55:1; and See Gill on Sol4:11, and See Gill on Sol 7:9. Here is feast, a variety
of sweet, savoury, wholesome foodand drink; and all Christ's own, "my"
myrrh, "my" spice, &c. as both doctrines and graces be:with which Christ
feasts himself, and invites his friends to eat and drink with him:
eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved; the individuals, of
which the church consists, are the "friends" who are reconciledto God by the
death of Christ, and to himself by his Spirit and grace;and whom he treats as
such, by visiting them, and disclosing the secrets ofhis heart to them, John
15:14;and "beloved", belovedof God, and by Christ and by the saints there is
a mutual friendship and love betweenChrist and his people: and these he
invites to eatof the provisions of his house, of all the fruits of his garden, to
which they are welcome;and of his love and grace, and all the blessings ofit,
which exceedthe choicestwine;and of which they may drink freely, and
without danger; "yea, be inebriated with loves" (u), as the words may be
rendered; see Ephesians 5:18. With the easternpeople, it was usual to bid
their guests welcome, andsolicitthem to feed on the provisions before them;
as it is with the Chinese now, the master of the house takes care to go about,
and encourage them to eatand drink (w).
(q) Sept. "messui", V. L. (r) Comment. Ebr. p. 179, 337. (s)"Etnivei lactis
pocula mista mero", Tibullus, l. 3. Eleg. 5. v. 34. (t) Paedagog. l. 1. c. 6. p. 107.
(u) "et inebriamini amoribus", Mercerus, Schmidt, Cocceius, so Ainsworth.
(w) Semedo's History of China, par. c. 1. 13.
Geneva Study Bible
I have come into my {a} garden, my sister, my spouse:I have gathered my
myrrh with my spice;I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have

drank my wine with my milk: eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O
beloved.
(a) The garden signifies the kingdom of Christ, where he prepares the banquet
for his elect.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
Ch. Song of Solomon5:1. The greatquestion regarding this verse is how the
perfect tenses in it are to be understood. Some maintain that they must be
rigorously takenas perfects;others think that they should be understood in
one or other of the modified perfect senses whichthis tense may have in Heb.
Grammatically we may render either, I have come, or I come (cp. Ges. Gr. §
106 i); or lastly I will come, perf. of confidence (Ges. § 106 n). Those who, like
Delitzsch, suppose that the marriage has taken place, take the first; Budde,
who regards the song as one sung after the marriage has been celebrated, but
during the week of festivities, takes the second;those who regard the marriage
as still in the future cannot but take the perfs. in the third sense. In that case
the words indicate that after what the bride has revealedof her love, the
bridegroom feels that the marriage is as goodas accomplished.
I have gatheredmy myrrh with my spice]Rather, I have plucked my myrrh
with my balsam.
eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved] The chief difficulty
here is whether dôdhîm, the word translated ‘friends,’ should not be rendered
‘caresses,’as it has meant hitherto throughout the book, or whether it is to be
takenin the sense of‘beloved friends,’ as its parallelism to rç‘îm would
suggest. Thatdôdhîm may have this latter meaning seems clear, for in many
languages the abstractword, ‘love,’ is used in a concrete signification. On the
whole this rendering belovedfriends seems the best here. Siegfriedseeksto
establisha distinction betweendôdhîm written defectively(‫,)םידר‬ and the

same word written fully (‫דידר‬‫,)םי‬ the former being used, he says, only of
caresses, the latter of friends, quoting König, Lehrgeb. vol. 11. 2, 262 b. He
translates, “Eatye too, O companions, and intoxicate yourselves, O friends,”
and says that the clause would mean in prose, ‘do ye marry also.’But in that
case some wayof emphasising the ye would have been expected. It seems
preferable to understand the words of an invitation to his friends to come to
the marriage feasthe has spokenof as being as goodas made (Ewald).
drink abundantly] That the bridegroom should invite them to drink to satiety
is in accordwith what would appear to have been the custom, viz. to shew
sympathy at such a feastby departing from the habitual abstemiousness ofthe
Eastin regard to wine. Cp. John 2:10, the marriage at Cana of Galilee. That
shâkharmay mean merely to drink to satiety, not to drunkenness, is proved
by Haggai1:6, “Ye eat, but ye have not enough, ye drink, but ye are not filled
with drink”; where lěsŏbhâhis parallelto lěshokhrâh. Some prefer to take the
last clause as an address by the daughters of Jerusalem (Ginsburg), or by the
poet to the young pair (Hitzig).
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 1. - I am come into my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gatheredmy
myrrh with my spice;I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have
drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O
beloved. My myrrh with my balsam (see 1 Kings 10:10). There were
celebratedplantations at Jericho. The Queen of Sheba brought "of spices very
greatstore;" "There came no more such abundance of spices as these which
the Queenof Sheba gave to King Solomon." Is there a reference to the
conversionof the heathen nations in this? The wine and milk are what God
offers to his people (see Isaiah55:1) without money and without price.
Οἰογάλα is what Chloe gives to Daphnis (cf. Psalm 19:6). It would seemas
though the writer intended us to follow the bridal processionto its destination
in the royal palace. The bridal night intervenes. The joy of the king in his
bride is complete. The climax is reached, and the restof the song is an
amplification. The call to the friends is to celebrate the marriage in a banquet

on the secondday (see Genesis 29:28;Judges 14:12; Tobit 11:18;and cf.
Revelation19:7 and Revelation19:9). A parallel might be found in Psalm
22:26, where Messiah, atthe close ofhis sufferings, salutes his friends, the
poor, and as they eatat his table gives them his royal blessing, "Vivat cor
vestrum in aeternum!" The perfect state of the Church is representedin
Scripture, both in the Old Testamentand in the New, as celebratedwith
universal joy - all tears wiped awayfrom off all faces, andthe loud harpings
of innumerable harpers. Can we doubt that this wonderful book has tinged
the whole of subsequent inspired Scripture? Can we read the descriptions of
triumphant rejoicing in the Apocalypse and not believe that the apostolic seer
was familiar with this idealized love song?
Keil and DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament
He proceeds still further to praise her attractions.
10 How fair is thy love, my sister-bride!
How much better thy love than wine!
And the fragrance of thy unguents than all spices!
11 Thy lips drop honey, my bride;
Honey and milk are under thy tongue;
And the fragrance of thy garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.
Regarding the connectionof the pluralet. ‫םדידר‬ with the plur. of the pred., vid.,
at Sol 1:2. The pred. ‫דפי‬ praises her love in its manifestations according to its
impression on the sight; ‫,ּובי‬ according to its experience on nearerintercourse.
As in Sol4:9 the same power of impression is attributed to the eyes and to the
necklace, so here is intermingled praise of the beauty of her person with
praise of the fragrance, the odour of the clothing of the bride; for her soul
speaks outnot only by her lips, she breathes forth odours also for him in her
spices, whichhe deems more fragrant than all other odours, because he
inhales, as it were, her soul along with them. ‫,תפנ‬ from ‫,תפנ‬ ebullire (vid.,
under Proverbs 5:3, also Schultens), is virgin honey, ἄκοιτον(acetum, Pliny,
xi. 15), i.e., that which of itself flows from the combs (‫.)םיפדר‬ Honey drops

from the lips which he kisses;milk and honey are under the tongue which
whispers to him words of pure and inward joy; cf. the contrary, Psalm 140:4.
The lastline is an echo of Genesis 27:27. ‫המלׂש‬ is ‫הלמׂש‬ (from ‫,הלמ‬ complicare,
complecti) transposed(cf. ‫המנׂש‬ from ‫ההוׂש‬,‫הדמׂש‬ from ‫.)הבהׂש‬ As Jacob's
raiment had for his old father the fragrance of a field which God had blessed,
so for Solomonthe garments of the faultless and pure one, fresh from the
woods and mountains of the north, gave forth a heart-strengthening savour
like the fragrance of Lebanon (Hosea 4:7), viz., of its fragrant herbs and trees,
chiefly of the balsamic odour of the apples of the cedar.
Why is Feasting So Important to Jesus?
Postedon February 13, 2012 by PastorFoley
Part VII of our series onSharing Your Bread
We concludedour last postby noting the three important themes that come
up in the parable of the wedding feast.
Today, we want to take a look at the parable itself and explore why the
picture of a feastis so important to Jesus. Here’s Jesus in Matthew 22:1-14,
shortly after his final entry into Jerusalem:
1 Jesus spoke to them againin parables, saying: 2 “The kingdom of heavenis
like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his
servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come,
but they refusedto come.

4 “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been
invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have
been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’
5 “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his
business. 6 The restseized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. 7
The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyedthose murderers and
burned their city.
8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I
invited did not deserve to come. 9 So go to the street corners and invite to the
banquet anyone you find.’ 10 So the servants went out into the streets and
gatheredall the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the
wedding hall was filled with guests.
11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who
was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 He asked, ‘How did you get in here
without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.
13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him
outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
14 “Formany are invited, but few are chosen.”
This parable is about a wedding feast. But for Jesus, the wedding feastisn’t
intended to symbolize a church service. Instead, the church service is
supposedto symbolize a wedding feast!
The Scriptures don’t show a single time when Jesus is inviting someone to go
to the synagogue (the Jewish“church meeting” of his day) with him. But the
Scriptures do show that the most common invitation Jesus offers to people is
to share bread with him. God loves to fellowship with his creationaround the
dinner table!
PeterLeithart from New St. Andrews College says,
“Especiallyin Jesus’teaching, the renewedand fulfilled creationthat is the
kingdom of God takes the specific form of a feast. Jesus usedthe image of the

feastmore than any other to describe the reality of his kingdom” (PeterJ.
Leithart, Blessedare the Hungry, Moscow,ID: Canonpress, 2000,p. 162).
Why is feasting so important to Jesus?
As Leithart explains, the book of Revelationshows that,
“In short, this is the way the world ends: with neither bang nor whimper but
with the laughter of the wedding feast” (Leithart, p. 163).
Why a feast? Well, think what happens there:
People who don’t getalong with eachother have to reconcile. Have you ever
tried to eat with someone that you don’t getalong with? Either you won’t be
able to eat togetheror you will begin to overcome your differences.
People find a “true home” (Koenig, p. 43)—somewherewhere they belong, fit
in, have friends. Have you ever had to eat alone, like at schoolor in an airport
restaurant? What would it have been like to have been calledover to someone
else’s table?
People who have nothing become full through a sumptuous meal—one of the
best they’ve everhad—all provided for by the host.
People come to know God as a table companion and other humans as God’s
guests, fellowshipping in his name and for his purpose.
Reconciliation. Belonging. Provision. Fellowshipwith Godand humanity.
What else does the human being need? What could give a better “taste” ofthe
new heavens and the new earth than a feastlike the ones that Jesus provided?
Now, here’s what I want to challenge you with today. Identify one “feast” in
Scripture (other than this one!). Identify who is invited, who attends, and
what happens there. Then comment on this blog by answering this question:
What does God want us to know about himself through this feast?
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About PastorFoley
The ReverendDr. Eric Foleyis CEO and Co-Founder, with his wife Dr. Hyun
Sook Foley, ofVoice of the Martyrs Korea, supporting the work of persecuted
Christians in North Korea and around the world and spreading their
discipleship practices worldwide. He is also the International Ambassadorfor
the International Christian Association, the globalfellowship of Voice of the
Martyrs sisterministries. PastorFoleyis a much soughtafter speaker,
analyst, and project consultant on the North Korean underground church,
North Korean defectors, and underground church discipleship. He and Dr.
Foleyoversee a far-flung staff across Asia that is working to help North
Koreans and Christians everywhere grow to fullness in Christ. He earnedthe
Doctorof Managementat Case WesternReserve University's Weatherhead
Schoolof Managementin Cleveland, Ohio.
View all posts by PastorFoley →
This entry was postedin Uncategorizedand taggedFeast, Fellowship, God,
Jesus, Kingdom of God, Reconciliation, Revelation, Sharing Your Bread.
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Changing the Way We Think About Why We Share Our Bread →
5 Responsesto Why is Feasting So Important to Jesus?
Fred Palmerton says:
February 13, 2012 at 3:59 pm
Jesus is a server at the first and the lastfeastin the NT and intends for us to
follow that model.
Reply
Pingback:Changing the Way We Think About Why We Share Our Bread |
Rev. Eric Foley
james alexander says:
1 samuel 9:14-27,
after samuel tells saulthat he’ll be king, saul & his servant are invited with
about 30 other people to samuel’s feast, and samuel seats saulat the head of
the table. samuel gave saul an entire leg to eat, which had been kept for him
since the feastwas planned.
it seems the God wants to heap honor upon His chosenking (in this case,saul).
He’s generous.
Reply
EFoleysays:
Greatinsight, James–sounds like you’ve been feasting on the Word!

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