The Lord answers and says that she is none other than the once-filthy sinner, who was seen by grace, called by grace, and saved by grace. Her mother is God’s grace. The grace of God does not refer just to God’s forbearance. His forbearance is only a small part of His grace. God’s grace also includes His plan and selection before the foundation of the world and His Son’s redemption and the work of the Holy Spirit in time. All these are God’s grace according to the Bible. When God’s grace seeks and finds a chosen sinner, it puts him under the shadow of Christ. There he is fed with life, and there he is brought forth. When he wakes up, he finds himself in the love of Christ.

The “apple” tree is the same bergamot orange in 2:3; it refers to Christ, who is full of affection. Who is this maiden? She is none other than a sinner saved by grace. Thank God that when she first opened her eyes to behold the world, the first thing she saw was the affectionate Christ. The first fact she discovered was that she was under the shadow of such an affectionate Christ. This was her origin. How fitting it is for her to remember this at the time of her spiritual maturity!

Verse 6 says, “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 flame.” When she recalls her original condition, she cannot help but be filled with humility. She cannot help but consider her emptiness, the vanity of her experience, the undependability of her mind, and the futility of her pursuit. Her only hope is the Lord. She realizes that whether she can endure to the end does not depend on her own endurance, but on the Lord’s preservation. No spiritual perfection can sustain a person until the Lord’s return. Everything depends on God and His preserving power. When she realizes this, she cannot help but exclaim, “Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm.” The heart is the place of love, while the arm is the place of strength. “Set me as permanently as a seal upon Your heart, and as indelibly as a seal upon Your arm. Just as the priests bore the Israelites upon their breasts and their shoulders, remember me constantly in Your heart and sustain me with Your arm. I know that I am weak and empty, and I am conscious of my powerlessness. Lord, I am a helpless person. If I try to preserve myself until Your coming, it will only bring shame to Your name and loss to myself. All my hopes are in Your love and power. I loved You before. But I know the undependability of that love. Now I look only to the love You have toward me. I held You once, and it seemed to be a powerful grip. But now I realize that even my strongest grip is just weakness. My trust is not in my holding power, but in Your holding power. I dare not speak of my love to You any longer. I dare not speak of my grasping of You any longer. From this point on, everything depends on Your strength and Your love.

“Your love is as strong as death. Who can shake death? No sighing of parents, no tears of wives, and no sorrow of friends can bring back a man from death. Death holds its captives and keeps them firmly, unrelentingly, and unshakably in its hand. If You love me, I will not be shaken, because Your love cannot possibly be weaker than death.

“If You love me, Your jealousy will follow. Your jealousy will be as cruel as Sheol. You will surely rebuke and surely seek for perfection. You will not allow anything to share my heart. Even if You owned a major part of me, You would not be satisfied. Your eyes cannot stand to see those who are Yours being defiled by the world or usurped by other loves. You are jealous; from the beginning of time You have been a jealous God (Exo. 20:5). Have not Your apostles told us about the jealousy of God (2 Cor. 11:2)? If You are jealous, who can withstand Your jealousy? What can withstand Your jealousy? You will destroy all Your enemies. You will remove all hindrances until You become the unique Lord, the God of all, and the unchallenged King. In this way, I will be protected, and my chastity will be preserved until I see Your face.”