John Gill Commentary Song Of Solomon 4:11

"Thy lips, O [my] bride, drop [as] the honeycomb: Honey and milk are under thy tongue; And the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon." — Song Of Solomon 4:11 (ASV)

Your lips, O [my] spouse, drop [as] the honeycomb. Words, for sweetness, delight, and pleasure, like that; so the speech of persons, flowing from their mouth and tongue, is said to be sweeter than the honeycomb ^F19 ; and lovers are said to be sweeter to one another than the sweet honey ^F20 : so the lips or words of the church in prayer, as the Targum; or in praise of Christ, and thankfulness to him; or in the ministration of the doctrines of the Gospel, which are pleasant words; or in common conversation, are pleasing to Christ; when, like the honey, they drop freely and without constraint; gradually, at proper seasons and opportunities, as prudence directs; and continually, more or less, ever dropping something to the glory of divine grace, and the good of souls;

honey and milk [are] under your tongue; rolled, as a sweet morsel, there: the ancients had a sort of food of this mixture, a cake made of honey and milk, called by the Greeks "meligala" ^F21 , and sometimes "candylos" ^F23 , which was the same composition; Galen ^F24 says, it was not safe to take goats' milk without honey; Jove is said ^F25 to be nursed with such a mixture: and this being very grateful to the taste, the speech of the church for pleasantness is compared unto it; so Pindar ^F26 compares his hymn or ode to honey mixed with milk, as being sweet and grateful; and in Plautus ^F1 , "your words are honey and milk:" and, it may be further observed, that such a mixture of milk and honey, with poppies in it, was given to the newly married bride, and drank when brought home to her husband ^F2 ; which was now the case of the church.

The doctrines of the Gospel may be meant, comparable to honey and milk; to "honey", for their sweetness and acceptableness: for their nourishing nature; and for, their being gathered out of the choice flowers of the Scriptures, by the laborious ministers of the word, who are like to bees; see (Psalms 19:10) (119:103) ; to "milk", for the purity of them and the nourishment had by them; for their being easy of digestion, when mixed with faith; and for their being of a cooling nature, to allay the heat of a fiery law in the conscience; and for the recovery and restoration of souls by them, in a declining condition; see (1 Peter 2:2) ; these may be said to be "under the tongue", when they have a place in the heart, are the subject of constant meditation, a sweetness is tasted in them; and they are had in readiness to speak of them upon all occasions;

and the smell of your garments [is] like the smell of Lebanon; the ancients formerly scented their garments; Calypso gave to Ulysses sweet smelling garments ^F3 : such are Christ's robe of righteousness, and garments of salvation, which are said to "smell of myrrh, aloes, and cassia"; with which the saints being arrayed, the smell of their raiment is as "the smell of a field the Lord has blessed", and so like the smell of Lebanon, a mountain abounding with odoriferous trees and plants; see (Psalms 45:8) (Genesis 27:27) (Hosea 14:6) . Or the outward conversation garments of the saints may be designed, the mention of which fitly follows the lips and tongue; for when works go along with words, and practice with profession; when to lips dropping the doctrines of the Gospel, like the honeycomb, are joined the sweet smelling garments of an agreeable life and conversation; the Christian is very much ornamented, and becomes lovely and amiable.

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FOOTNOTES:

• F19: Vid. Theocrit. Idyll. 21. v. 26, 27. Homer. Iliad. 1. v. 249.
• F20: Plauti Asinaria, Act. 3. Sc. 3. v. 24.
• F21: Vid. Cohen de Lara, Ir David, p. 52. The word is used in T. Hieros. Challah, fol. 57. 4.
• F23: Athenaeus, l. 1. c. 8. p. 9. & l. 14. c. 13. p. 644. Suidas in voce, (kandulov) . Aristoph. Pax, & Florent. Christian. in ibid. p. 633.
• F24: Lib. de Bono Sapore, c. 4.
• F25: Lactant. de Fals. Relig. l. 1. c. 22. See Isa. vii. 15.
• F26: Nemea, Ode 3. d. 10, 11.
• F1: Trucul. Act. 1. Sc. 2. v. 75, 76,
• F2: "Nec pigeat tritum niveo cum lacte papaver sumere, et expressis, mella liquata favis", Ovid. Fasti, l. 4. v. 149, 150.
• F3: (eimata yuwdea) , Homer. Odyss. 5. v. 264. & 21. v. 52.