Commentary - Song of Solomon 8:13-14

Bird's-eye view

The Song of Solomon concludes not with a final resolution in this life, but with an eager, stretching anticipation of the life to come. These last two verses are a rapid exchange between the Bridegroom and the Bride, between Christ and His Church. He speaks first, calling for her voice, her public testimony and worship, to be heard. She responds immediately, not with a song for the present, but with a plea for His swift return. The entire book, with all its earthy and glorious depictions of marital love, has been leading to this. The love between a man and a woman is a profound mystery, as Paul tells us, because it points to Christ and the Church. And the ultimate end of that love story is not found in the gardens of this world, but in the final consummation, when the King returns for His people. The book ends on a high note of eschatological longing, the cry of the Spirit and the Bride saying, "Come."

This is the proper end to all true love stories. They must all point beyond themselves. The Bridegroom, Christ, is with His Bride in the gardens of this world, the churches. He delights in her and calls for her voice to be heard. The Bride, the Church, having tasted His love, cannot be fully satisfied with His presence mediated through word and sacrament alone. Her final word is a prayer, a desperate and beautiful request for Him to hurry, to come back over the mountains of separation and bring all things to their glorious conclusion.

Outline

Context In Song of Solomon

After the magnificent declarations of love's unconquerable power (Song 8:6-7) and the Bride's confident establishment in her beloved's eyes (Song 8:10), the book moves to its conclusion. The Bride has her own vineyard, her own life and fruitfulness, which she gladly stewards for her King (Song 8:12). The relationship is mature, secure, and fruitful. But that security does not lead to complacency. It leads, instead, to the final, intense dialogue of the last two verses. The entire song has built a picture of a love that is both deeply satisfying in the present and yet yearns for something more. This ending is not an afterthought; it is the pinnacle. It frames the whole book, teaching us that the most profound experience of sanctified, marital love in this life is meant to produce in us a profound hunger for the return of the true Bridegroom.

Key Issues

The Cry of the Spirit and the Bride

It is crucial that we see how this book ends. It does not end with the lovers settling down into a quiet retirement. It ends with a plea for haste, for a rapid, gazelle-like return. This is precisely how the Bible itself ends. "The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come.' And let the one who hears say, 'Come'... He who testifies to these things says, 'Surely I am coming soon.' Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!" (Rev 22:17, 20). The Song of Solomon is the great love song of the Bible, and it teaches us that the ultimate expression of this love is the prayer for the consummation. All our loves, all our marriages, all our joys in this life are but appetizers. This song trains our affections, teaching us how to love God and how to love one another, and the final exam question is this: has this love made you desperate for the return of the King? If it has, then it has done its work.

Verse by Verse Commentary

13 “O you who sit in the gardens, My companions are giving heed to your voice, Let me hear it!”

The Bridegroom, Christ, is the speaker here. He addresses His Bride, the Church, whom He pictures dwelling in "the gardens." These gardens are the local outposts of His kingdom, the churches scattered throughout the world. This is where she dwells, in these pockets of Eden that He has planted. He notes that her "companions," which can mean the individual believers within the church or even the watching world of angels and men, are listening to her voice. Her testimony, her songs, her prayers, her witness, it is a public reality. But though others hear it, the Bridegroom Himself makes a personal request: "Let me hear it." This is a call for direct, personal, and heartfelt communion. Christ desires the worship of His people not as a distant observer, but as an intimate listener. He wants to hear her voice addressed to Him. It is a call to prayer, a call to worship, a call to keep the lines of communication open and personal. He is not an absentee landlord; He is a present husband who delights in the voice of His wife.

14 “Hurry, my beloved, And be like a gazelle or a young stag On the mountains of spices.”

The Bride's response is immediate and breathtaking. She hears his request for her voice, and she uses that voice for one ultimate petition. She does not say, "Listen as I sing a song about my love for you now." Rather, her love is so great that her one desire is for the removal of all distance. "Hurry," she says. The word in Hebrew is an urgent plea to flee, to make haste. She calls him "my beloved," and asks him to be like the swiftest of creatures, a gazelle or a young stag, coming over "the mountains of spices." These are not mountains of separation in a negative sense, but rather mountains that are the source of fragrance and delight, representing the glories of the heavenly realm. It is a poetic way of saying, "Come from heaven to earth. Come in glory. Let the final resurrection day dawn." The spices evoke the anointing for burial, yes, but also the fragrant life of the resurrection. This is the cry of a Church that loves her Lord's appearing. Having walked with Him in the gardens below, her deepest, truest, and final desire is for Him to return and bring her into the final Garden, the new heavens and the new earth, where they will be together, face to face, forever.

Application

This final passage of the Song of Solomon provides two crucial applications for the Christian life. First, from the Bridegroom's call, we must understand that our corporate and private worship matters to God. Christ wants to hear the voice of His church. This is a great encouragement to prayer and to robust, joyful, and vocal worship. We are not just going through motions. We are not singing into a void. The one who loves us is leaning in, wanting to hear our voice. We should therefore be diligent to speak with Him in prayer and to praise Him with gusto alongside our companions, the saints.

Second, from the Bride's response, we learn what the ultimate goal of our Christian life ought to be. It is to cultivate a deep and abiding longing for the return of Jesus Christ. Our love for Christ is authentic when it makes us homesick for a home we have not yet seen. All the blessings of this life, including the profound blessing of a godly marriage which this book so beautifully celebrates, are meant to be pointers to the ultimate blessing of Christ's return. We are to enjoy the gifts, but we must not let them become idols that make us too comfortable here. The gifts are good, but the Giver is better. And so, our final prayer, the one that sums up all our other prayers, should be the prayer that concludes this song and concludes the entire Bible: "Hurry, my beloved." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.