Chapter one, verse 1 says, "The Song of songs, which is Solomon's." This Song is about Solomon. Hence, the Lord takes the position of a king in this book. He is standing on the ground of resurrection and ascension. David killed Goliath and overcame the enemy. He signifies the Christ who reigns through the cross. Solomon received the benefit of Goliath's defeat and became a king of peace. He signifies the Christ who reigns through resurrection. In this book the Lord stands in the position of Solomon. We are communicating with such a king as Solomon. The battle is over, and He is now the Christ who is crowned with glory and authority. This is what we see at the beginning of this book. In this book, our relationship with the Lord is not like the relationship between Jonathan and David. Rather, it is like the relationship between the Shulamite and King Solomon. Jonathan loved David because David overcame the enemy. The Shulamite loved Solomon because of Solomon himself. Some love the Lord because of His cross. Others love Him not only because of His cross, but also because of His resurrection. The cross speaks of the Lord's reign through His victory, whereas resurrection speaks of the Lord Himself. The queen of Sheba first heard of the acts of Solomon. Later, she beheld Solomon in person. She was attracted by Solomon. Hence, we must not only have a love like that of Jonathan toward David, but a love like that of the Shulamite toward Solomon. This book guides us to an understanding of Him as the King.
The experience of the Shulamite is personal; it is not corporate. Woman in the Bible represents subjective experience. Hence, the maiden's pursuit refers to the individual believer's pursuit of the Lord; it does not refer to the church's corporate pursuit of the Lord. It begins with a person's yearning for the Lord and ends with his satisfaction in fellowship with Him.
The central theme of this book is spiritual fellowship. Although this book is divided into many sections, the record follows a sequence and is a continuous whole. It is not composed of isolated stories or miscellaneous anecdotes. Its emphasis is on the total spiritual experience of those who advance to pursue after the Lord. It describes the stages they go through in their life and the ultimate state they will reach. It is in the same nature as Spiritual Torrents by Madame Guyon and Four Planes of Spiritual Life by Mrs. Penn-Lewis.
This book describes a person's pursuit after he is saved. Therefore, it mentions nothing about the matter of salvation. The emphasis of this book is not sinners, but believers. It is not about those who do not belong to the Lord, but about those who belong to the Lord. It does not tell us how a person seeks for salvation, but how a person desires and seeks to gain the Lord. It is not on faith, but on love. The banner of this book is "love." "His banner over me was love" (2:4). This is our motto.
This book is a poem. It is a description of our spiritual history in poetic expressions, words, and phrases. In many cases, one can only grasp the sense; words alone cannot explain the full meaning.
This book and the Gospel of Matthew describe the two aspects of the believer's relationship with the Lord. As far as our duty is concerned, Matthew shows that we are a minister to the Lord, who is our King. As far as fellowship is concerned, this book shows that we are a wife to the Lord, who is our Husband.
The word that is most frequently used in this book is love. There are many ways to use this word; it can be used in the singular, in the plural, as masculine, as feminine, or in a general way. For example, the word my beloved in the original language denotes a male love, whereas the word my love in the original language denotes a female love. The word "love" in 1:2, 4, 4:10, and 7:12 is plural. The singular form of love in this book is translated "beloved," referring to the person. It is the same word as David, because David means love. "Love" in 2:4 is general. "Love" in 2:7, 3:5, and 8:4 refers to love in the feminine sense. "Friends" in 5:1 and 16 should be translated "beloved"; it refers to love in the masculine sense in contrast to love in the feminine sense.
A few principles for the interpretation of this book:
(1)The interpretation of every passage must match the central theme of this book, which is spiritual experience.
(2)The interpretation of each verse must make sense within the context of the passage, as well as match the central theme of the book.
(3)In interpreting the parables in Matthew 13, the Lord gave detailed commentary on some parts, but made no comment on other parts. We should do the same in interpreting this book.
(4)We should find the meaning of a term partly from the word itself and partly from its historical use in the Bible.
(5)In describing the bride and the bridegroom, this book uses many illustrations. While the characteristics are described in figures of speech, the illustrations involve the use of symbols. The figures of speech are easy to understand. But in order to understand the symbols, there must be mature consideration. Symbols can only be understood in accordance with biblical methods and divine teaching. In some instances, the nature of the figures of speech and the symbols are the same; in other instances, they are different. In many cases, they are quite different. We do not need to worry whether or not they are different; we should only ask what they refer to. A symbol can often convey something that a figure of speech cannot convey. For example, Revelation 1:15 says, "And His feet were like shining bronze, as having been fired in a furnace." Feet are a figure of speech, and we know that they refer to movement. "Shining bronze, as having been fired in a furnace," is a symbol, and it cannot be understood readily.