Spurgeon's Song of Song Survey
Song of Songs – The Shulamite’s Choice Prayer
The Shulamite’s Choice Prayer
Song of Solomon 8:6-7
Pastor’s Opening
THIS is the prayer of one who has the present enjoyment of fellowship with Christ, but being apprehensive that this communion is interrupted, she avails herself of an opportunity to plead for something… yes, something that shall be an abiding token of a covenant between her and her beloved when his presence is withdrawn. You will notice that this is not the cry of a soul that is longing for fellowship – no, no…
No, this is the prayer of the spouse when she came up from the wilderness. There she leaned upon his bosom. And there, the thought struck her that the one who sustained her is about to go from her… to depart… leave her for a season.
Scripture Verse(s)
Solomon’s Song 8:6,7
“Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; Jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement name. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it.”
Keys to the Verse
Speaker:
Bride/Believer
Addressed to:
Bridegroom/Jesus Christ
Shulamite Poem
“Stronger his love than death or hell,
Its riches are unsearchable;
The firstborn sons of light
Desire in vain its depths to see,
They cannot reach the mystery,
The length, the breadth, the height.”
Pastor’s Main Theme(s)
I. THE PRAYER, you will notice, is two-fold, although it is so really and essentially one — “Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm.”
II. First, she pleads that he would show her his love because of the strength of it. “Thy love is strong as death.”
III. Let us now turn to the second plea — “Jealousy is cruel as the grave.” Krummacher – in a sermon upon this passage – following the translation of Luther, quotes it as though it read – “Jealousy is firm as hell.”
IV. Even should love abide the same in its purpose, yet may its intensity be diminished. “No,” says the Shulamite, “it is an attribute of Christ’s love that “the coals thereof are coals of fire which have a most vehement flame,’” and
V. We shall now turn to the last argument of this choice prayer, which is equally precious. It is the unquenchable eternity of this love. There is that eternity founded in its very essence – defying any opposite quality to extinguish it.
