An important link in the chain of the Messianic hopes is formed by the
Song of Solomon. It is intimately associated with Ps. lxxii., which was
written by Solomon, and represents the Messiah as the Prince of Peace,
imperfectly prefigured by Solomon as His type. As in this Psalm, so
also in the Song of Solomon, the coming of the Messiah forms the
subject throughout, and He is introduced there under the name of
Solomon, the Peaceful One. His coming shall be preceded by severe
afflictions, represented under the emblems of the scorching heat of the
sun, of winter, of rain, of dark nights, and of the desert. Connected
with this coming is the reception of the heathen nations into His
kingdom, and this, through the medium of the old Covenant-people.
Thus far the first part, down to chap. v. 1. The subjects contained in
the second part are, the sin of the daughter of Zion against the
heavenly Solomon and the judgment; then, repentance and reunion, which
will be accomplished by the co-operation of the daughters of Jerusalem,
_i.e._, of the very heathen nations who had formerly received salvation
through them; the complete re-establishment of the old relation of
love, in consequence of which the daughter of Zion again occupies the
centre of the kingdom of God; and the indissoluble nature of this
covenant of love now anew entered into, in contrast with the
instability of the former.
The Song of Solomon does not, strictly speaking, possess a prophetical
character. It does not communicate any new revelations; like the
Psalms, it only represents, in a poetical form, things already known.
It sufficiently appears from our former statement, that, in the first
part of this book, not one feature occurs which did not form a part of
those Messianic prophecies [Pg 160] which we can prove to have been
known at the time of Solomon. In the second part, however, it is
somewhat different. No corresponding parallel can be adduced from any
former time to the view, that a great part of the people would reject
the salvation offered to them in Christ, and, thereby, draw down
judgment upon themselves. Yet, all that the book under consideration
contains upon this point, is only the application of a general truth,
the knowledge of which the Covenant-people had received at the very
beginning of their history. A consideration of human nature in general,
and more especially of Israel's character, as it had been deeply and
firmly impressed upon the people by the Mosaic law, joined to the ample
experience which history had afforded in this respect, sufficiently
convinced those who were more enlightened, that it could not be by any
means expected--that, indeed, it was even impossible--that, at the
coming of the Messiah, the whole people would sincerely and heartily
receive Him, and do homage to Him. And there existed, on the other
hand, at the time of Solomon also, the foundation for the doctrine of
the final restoration of the people. For, even in the Pentateuch, the
election of Israel by God is represented as irrevocable and absolute,
and which, therefore, must at last triumph over all apostasy and
Covenant-breaking on the part of the people.
The Song of Solomon, then, is no _apocalypsis_, no revelation of
mysteries till then unknown. There is in it no such disclosure as is,
_e.g._, that in 2 Sam. vii., on the descent of the Messiah from David;
or, as is that in Mic. v. 1 (2), on His being born at Bethlehem; or
even as is that in Is. liii. on His office as a High Priest, and His
vicarious satisfaction. But, nevertheless, we must not imagine the case
to have been thus, that the contents of the Song of Solomon could have
originated merely from reflection on the part of Solomon. The truths
hitherto revealed had too much of the character of mere germs to allow
us to suppose that from them, and in such a way, we could account for
the clearness and certainty with which they have been blended into one
whole. Another element, moreover, must be joined to the historical
ground--viz., an elevated condition of the soul, a "being in the
Spirit,"--a breathing of the divine Spirit upon the human. History
bears witness that such prophetic states, in the wider sense, were not
strange to Solomon. It twice [Pg 161] reports about the Lord's having
appeared to him, 1 Kings iii. 5, ix. 2. From such an elevated state of
soul, his dedicatory prayer, in 1 Kings viii., and Ps. lxxii., also
originated.
We must content ourselves with these hints as regards Solomon's Song.
As it moves throughout on Messianic ground, the Author must consider
his commentary on this book (Berlin, 1853) as an appendix to the
Christology.
[Pg 162]