Verse 10 says, "My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away." The Lord speaks very clearly here; He wants the maiden to rise up and come away. This does not mean that inward experiences are wrong. If they were wrong, the Lord would not have given them to her. But if she continued in this way, she would not be able to contact the outside; the minute she contacted the outside, she would seem to lose her peace. Therefore, she has to seek for His mountain-leaping, hill-skipping presence. Madame Guyon said, "Once His presence was a question of time and place, but now it is no longer a question of time and place. When we can trust that the Lord's presence is within us wherever we are, we will not be deceived by our inward feelings."
Verse 11 says, "For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone." Since the Lord is calling her to come away with Him, He speaks of His past experiences and the present facts.
"Winter" is a time of dryness, coldness, lack of growth, and testing. During the first part of her experience, the Lord brought her through these things. It seems as if the Lord has clearly brought her out of all the testings, coldness, dryness, and apparent deadness. With His undeniable presence, the Lord has driven winter away without her even being conscious of it.
The rain is not the spring rain, but the winter rain. It is the rain that chills and turns into snow. The winter rain keeps man inside the house and stops him from doing any work. Hence, the rain refers to trials (Gen. 6—7; Matt. 7:25-27). The Lord tells us that many past trials are behind us as a result of His presence. The passing of the winter rain indicates two things: (1) the present crosses, that is, the trials, are over, and (2) the Lord's cross is over, that is, the work of His cross is accomplished, and we should not dwell constantly on His death.
Verses 12 and 13 say, "The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; the fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away." The Lord wants us now to stand on the ground of resurrection. After a time of death, spring, the time of resurrection, is here. These verses tell us that we should understand our position in resurrection. Both verses describe the condition of resurrection; they speak of spring after winter. If spring is mentioned without first mentioning winter, it means that there is only life without resurrection. But when spring is mentioned after winter, it indicates resurrection. The Lord shows her all the things that are in resurrection, so that she will no longer pay attention to the dead, cold, dry, and wilted winter.
"Flowers" signify the adornment of beauty, and "birds" signify the sound of singing. The flowers are manifested on the earth, and the birds sing in the air. Flowers speak of art, and birds speak of music. According to Matthew 6, both flowers and birds are under God's special care. God cares for them so much that they can sing and show forth their beauty.
"The voice of the turtle" may be the sound of praise. It is also the sound of a love-call.
"The fig tree putteth forth..." These figs are winter figs. They signify fruit that still remains after passing through death. This fruit has passed through the cross and has been tested, but it still remains.
"The vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance" (RSV). The vines are just blossoming; this is in the present tense. This means the situation is full of the hope of fruit-bearing and that the fruit-bearing is certain. No one sees vine blossoms; before the flowers have time to exhibit themselves, they have turned into fruit already. Other blossoms may not consummate in fruit. But when the vine blossoms, it will surely bring forth fruit. This is the position of resurrection. Everything that is dead is over, and the future is full of assurance.
The Lord uses the riches of resurrection to persuade the maiden to come forth. She should not care just for the happiness in her feelings; she should experience the power of resurrection. This is not the time to be passive; this is the time to be aggressive, to come forth, and to show forth His life to the world.