And thy renown went forth among the Heathen for thy beauty,
&c.] Which consisted of the above things: with this compare ( Deuteronomy 6:4 ) ( Psalms 48:2 ) ( Lamentations 2:15 ) ; the church's beauty lies in the righteousness of Christ imputed, to her; in the holiness of Christ reckoned unto her; in the blood of Christ being upon her, by which she is washed and cleansed, justified and pardoned; and in the graces of the Spirit of Christ implanted in her; and in the salvation of Christ she is interested in; and in the presence of Christ, which is the beauty of the Lord upon her; and in being in Gospel order, and having Gospel ordinances; see ( Psalms 45:11 Psalms 45:13 ) ( 149:4 ) ( 90:17 ) ( Song of Solomon 6:4 Song of Solomon 6:10 ) ; for it [was] perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee,
saith the Lord God;
all the outward happiness and prosperity of the Israelites in the days of David and Solomon, or at other times, was not, as Kimchi observes, of themselves, but of the Lord: and so the comeliness of the saints and people of God is not of themselves; they are by nature black and deformed; they are defiled with original and actual sin; they are as an unclean, thing; they are corrupt, abominable, and loathsome; and as they have not their comeliness by nature, so not by art; as it is not native to them, it is not acquired by them; they do not obtain it by their humiliation, repentance, and services; these cannot remove their natural blackness and uncomeliness, or wash away their sins, and render them beautiful in the sight of God, ( Jeremiah 13:23 ) ( Jeremiah 2:22 ) ( Job 9:30 Job 9:31 ) ; but they have their comeliness from another, from Christ, who is altogether lovely; and from his righteousness, which is put on them; and so they are in him, and, through that, perfectly comely, a perfection of beauty, all fair, and without spot, even the fairest in the whole creation, complete in Christ, and perfect in him, ( Psalms 50:2 ) ( Song of Solomon 1:5 Song of Solomon 1:8 ) ( 4:7 ) .