Matthew Henry Commentary Song Of Solomon 5:2-8

"I was asleep, but my heart waked: It is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, [saying], Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled; For my head is filled with dew, My locks with the drops of the night. I have put off my garment; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them? My beloved put in his hand by the hole [of the door], And my heart was moved for him. I rose up to open to my beloved; And my hands droppeth with myrrh, And my fingers with liquid myrrh, Upon the handles of the bolt. I opened to my beloved; But my beloved had withdrawn himself, [and] was gone. My soul had failed me when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer. The watchmen that go about the city found me, They smote me, they wounded me; The keepers of the walls took away my mantle from me. I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, If ye find my beloved, That ye tell him, that I am sick from love." — Song Of Solomon 5:2-8 (ASV)

Churches and believers, through carelessness and complacency, provoke Christ to withdraw. We ought to take note of our spiritual slumbers and ailments. Christ knocks to awaken us—knocking by His word and Spirit, knocking by afflictions and by our consciences; as in Revelation 3:20. When we are unmindful of Christ, He still thinks of us. Christ's love for us should draw our love to Him, even in the most self-denying instances; and we can only be gainers by it.

Careless souls slight Jesus Christ. No one else could be sent to open the door. Christ calls to us, but we have no inclination, or pretend we have no strength, or claim we have no time, and think we may be excused. Making excuses is making light of Christ. Those show contempt for Christ who cannot find it in their hearts to endure a cold blast or leave a warm bed for Him.

Consider the powerful influences of divine grace. He put in His hand to unbolt the door, as one weary of waiting. This signifies a work of the Spirit upon the soul. The believer's rising above self-indulgence, seeking by prayer for the consolations of Christ, and striving to remove every hindrance to communion with Him—these actions of the soul are represented by the hands dropping sweet-smelling myrrh upon the handles of the locks.

But the Beloved was gone! By absenting Himself, Christ will teach His people to value His gracious visits more highly. Observe, the soul still calls Christ her Beloved. Every desertion is not despair. Lord, I believe, though I must say, Lord, help my unbelief.

His words melted me; yet, wretch that I was, I made excuses. The smothering and stifling of convictions will be very bitter to think of when God opens our eyes. The soul went in pursuit of Him; she not only prayed but also used means, seeking Him in the ways where He used to be found. The watchmen wounded me.

Some refer this to those who misapply the word to awakened consciences. The charge to the daughters of Jerusalem seems to signify the distressed believer's desire for the prayers of the feeblest Christian. Awakened souls are more sensitive to Christ's withdrawals than to any other trouble.