Until the day break, and the shadows flee away
Which may be connected with ( Song of Solomon
2:16 ) ; either with the former part, "my beloved is mine" (
Song of Solomon
2:16 ) ; and then the sense is, as long as night and day
continue, and God's covenant with both stands sure; so long union
to Christ, and covenant interest in him, will abide: or with the
latter part, "he feedeth among the lilies until" even until his
second coming: or with the next clause in this verse, turn,
my beloved;
and so is a prayer for Christ's speedy coming to her, and
continued presence with her, until the day should break: which
may be understood either of the Gospel day made by the rising of
Christ, the sun of righteousness, at his first coming in the
flesh; when the shadows of the ceremonial law disappeared,
Christ, the body and substance of them, being come, and the
darkness of the Gentile world was scattered, through the light of
the Gospel being sent into it: the words may be rendered, "until
the day breathe", or "blow" F2; and naturalists observe
F3, that, upon the sun's rising, an air
or wind has been excited, and which ceases before the middle of
the day, and never lasts so long as that; and on Christ's, the
sun of righteousness, arising with healing in his wings, some
cool, gentle, and refreshing breezes of divine grace and
consolation were raised, which were very desirable and grateful:
or this may be understood of Christ's second coming; which will
make the great day of the Lord, so often spoken of in Scripture:
and which suits as well with the Hebrew text, and the philosophy
of it, as the former; for, as the same naturalists F4
observe, the wind often blows fresh, and fine breezes of air
spring up at the setting as well as at the rising of the sun; see
( Genesis
3:8 ) ; and may very well be applied to Christ's second
coming, at the evening of the world; which will be a time of
refreshing to the saints, and very desirable by them; and though
it will be an evening to the world, which will then come to an
end, with them there will be no more night of darkness,
desertion, affliction, and persecution; the shadows of ignorance,
infidelity, doubts, and fears, will be dispersed, and there will
be one pure, clear, unbeclouded, and everlasting day; and till
then the church prays, as follows: turn, my
beloved;
that is, to her; who seemed to be ready to depart from her, or
was gone; and therefore she desires he would turn again, and
continue with her, until the time was come before mentioned: or,
"turn about" F5; surround me with thy favour and
lovingkindness, and secure me from all enemies, until the
glorious and wished for day comes, when I shall be out of fear
and danger; or, "embrace me" F6; as in ( Song of
Solomon 2:6 ) ; during the present dispensation, which was as
a night in comparison of the everlasting day; and be thou
like a roe, or a young hart upon the mountains of
Bether;
the same with Bethel, according to Adrichomius F7; where
were mountains, woody, set with trees, full of grass and aromatic
plants; and so may be the same with the mountains of spices, (
Song of Solomon
8:14 ) ; where the Ethiopic version has Bethel; and so that
and the Septuagint version, in an addition to ( Song of
Solomon 2:9 ) ; here; see ( 2 Kings 2:23
2 Kings
2:24 ) ; unless Bithron is meant, ( 2 Samuel
2:29 ) ; a place in Gilead, beyond Jordan, so called, because
it was parted from Judea by the river Jordan: and the words are
by some rendered, "the mountains of division or separation" {h};
which, if referred to Christ's first coming, may regard the
ceremonial law, the wall of partition between Jew and Gentile,
broke down by Christ, and the two people divided by it, which
were reconciled by him; if to his spiritual coming, the same
things may be intended by them as on ( Song of
Solomon 2:9 ) ; but if to his second coming, the spacious
heavens may be meant, in which Christ will appear, and which now
interpose and separate from his bodily presence; and therefore
the church importunately desires his coming with speed and
swiftness, like a roe or a young hart, and be seen in them; see (
Revelation 22:10 ) .