I Am Black But Comely
Contents:
Howbeit the Church is freed from the damning and domineering power of sin. She is looked upon as "black," [ Job Hence the Church may better sing than Sappho did -. As the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon. Let none be despised for his outward meanness; for within that leathern purse may be a pearl.
Definitions for Song-of-solomon 1 :5
John Trapp Complete Commentary. I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon. There is a very great beauty in this verse, considered as to the view the Church had of herself as she really was in herself, and as she really was in Christ, and as beheld in him.
And I think, if the Reader connects these expressions as no doubt he ought with what went before, he will discover a still greater beauty. She had desired the Lord to draw her that she might run after him - this was done. The king had brought her into his very chambers. Overpowered with such condescending grace the Church looks into herself, and sees so much vileness and iniquity that her soul swoons in the view, and cries out "I am black, O ye daughters of Jerusalem: But behold, by the clothing of Jesus's righteousness and the washing in his blood, how comely I am in the comeliness which he hath put upon me?
By the daughters of Jerusalem I should conceive is meant the same as the virgins before noticed: For considering Jerusalem which is above, as the Apostle calls her, the Mother of us all, who belong to the gospel church, and of the general assembly whose names are written in heaven; they are all one in Christ Jesus. The comparison the Church makes of her corruption by nature to the tents of Kedar, and of her loveliness in Jesus to the curtains of Solomon, is uncommonly beautiful.
Kedar was one of the children of Ishmael, whose posterity dwelt in tents, being shepherds. And no doubt those tents being exposed to the weather acquired blackness from variety of seasons, of sun, and storms, and rain. The blackness of those tents became no unapt representation of the dark state of the mind by nature, and the habit of mourning in the soul by reason thereof. And moreover, it might be meant to show also the black estate in which the Church of Jesus appears in the eyes of the world.
The contrast to all this in the curtains of Solomon, which, no doubt, from the riches of Solomon, and the splendour in which he lived, must have been very superb and elegant, is equally striking to represent the loveliness of the Church, who as the king's daughter is all glorious within, when beheld in the garment of Christ's salvation, and made as Zion is said to be, a perfection of beauty, from the comeliness Jesus hath put upon her.
Can you adopt the same language? Do you behold yourself as in yourself, vile and worthless: Can you join issue with the Church; I will greatly rejoice.
Song of Solomon - RSV - I am very dark, but comely,
Before I dismiss this verse, I would call upon the Reader to remark with me what a precious view this state of the Church gives, both of our Lord's unparalleled grace and condescension, and the happy state into which the sinner is brought by his great salvation. I stand amazed, dearest Jesus, notwithstanding all I have heard, and all I have known of thy love to our fallen nature, in the contemplation of such grace as is here displayed. Was it not enough that thou shouldest come down from the realms of light and glory, to seek and save that which was lost; but dost thou go on to such unequalled condescension as to receive sinners, and eat with them?
Nay, more, to unite them to thyself, and to make them one with thyself in the human nature, as thou art one with the Father in the Godhead. Reader, if happily the Lord thy God hath wrought this work of grace on thee, learn why it is the King hath brought thee into his chambers, namely, from his love and mercy; not thy desert.
And in the consciousness of this, however despised and looked upon as black by the world, rejoice in the hidden glory put upon thee by the Lord thy righteousness. This is enough to support thee under all thy afflictions. Bibliography Hawker, Robert, D. The whole volume of spiritual truth lies rolled up in these few words. You might expand them into both the Testaments. Penitence and faith—all the heart knows of itself and all it knows of Jesus—nature and grace—condemnation and peace.
God's great method with man in His everlasting covenant—it is all here, "Black, but comely. It is that which reflects no tint of all the sun's prismatic rays. It is not one of the hues of the rainbow. It is the absence of colour. It is a simple negative. Remember, this is blackness,—a negative life. The absence of love and energy, and work for Christ is the great crime in God's calendar. Nothing more was wanted to place those who were on the left hand on the day of judgment. You are black, because heaven does not reflect itself in you.
It is your colourless life. How can the black be comely? There must be something introduced from without. There must be a new nature.
Song of Solomon 1:5
David expressed it all in those few words, "Blessed is the man whose sin is covered. Jesus lived to make a man's righteousness which He could give to a man. When a man puts it on, it not only hides all that is underneath it, but it decks that man in more than celestial loveliness.
He wears a robe, which is woven of all the tissues of the holiness of Jesus—dipped in the dies of heaven—sparkling in all its splendours. This is the wedding garment which gives to our dull souls their festive sweetness. Look first at the saint's "I am. The more spiritually-minded the Christian is, the more conscious is he of his blackness; and the nearer a man lives to God, the more intense is his abhorrence of himself. Listen next to Christ's response: Although the Lord loves His Church intensely He does not love it unreasonably; His love does not blind His eyes to His people's defects.
And yet He says, "Behold, thou art fair. Lastly, you have the Church's "He is. In Him all the colours of beauty combine—all the harmonies that can be conceived blend in one ravishing strain. There is no one drawback in Him. He is lovely to my mind's judgment; lovely to my heart's affection; lovely to my will's surrender; lovely in my memory's treasure-house. He is all beauty, and beauty all round, and the Church gives this as her united testimony concerning Him. Neale, Sermons on the Song of Songs, p. Bibliography Nicoll, William R. The appellation of fair, which is given to the bride in the sequel, is only meant in the general sense of lovely or beautiful.
Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible. It might be objected, Who art thou, that thou shouldst have or pretend to such a royal Bridegroom, and such honours and favours? To this the church answers, I confess, as to myself and outward appearance in the eyes of the world, I have not that pomp and beauty which men admire, but am black, contemptible and deformed, both for my own infirmities and disorders, and for the scandals of some of my own members, and for the reproaches and persecutions of worldly men.
I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon. Look not upon me, because I am black, because. I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.
But comely; yet I am glorious within, Psalms Daughters of Jerusalem; by which she understands particular believers, whose mother Jerusalem is called, Galatians 4: So these two last clauses answer to the two first, and that in the same order in which they lie. She wants them to know that she is dark skinned, but comely. Her beauty is like the splendid black tents of the chieftains of Kedar as they shine in the noonday sun, like the drapings of the tents of Solomon in all their splendor.
Thus she has the vibrant beauty of the woman of the desert and dresses finely in beautiful garments. In a similar way in Jeremiah 6: But no prophet would have claimed that she was perfect. Similarly in Ephesians 5: Having been made clean His people are to be beautiful in Him with the beauty of holiness Psalms She was seemingly darker skinned than the aristocratic daughters of Jerusalem who had enjoyed protection from the sun from birth, and even possibly also on racial grounds.
But she would not have shared the blackness of the Ethiopian or Sudanese. She recognized, however, that the darkness of her skin would be seen by the delicate daughters of Jerusalem as a fault.
Just as the church is blemished, but comely, to the Lord, Jesus Christ. I am black — I confess, as to myself, I am contemptible and deformed. O ye daughters — By which she understands particular believers, whose mother Jerusalem is called, Galatians 4: Hebrew, "looked upon me," Protestants or "darted his rays at me. Persecutors afterwards strove to tarnish its beauty, but in vain. My face Calmet and person I have not regarded, while I was attentive to serve others.
Haydock Pastors, who are chosen against their will, sometimes pay so much attention to the welfare of their flock, that they neglect their own interior, and fall into small faults, which Christ will know how to excuse and pardon, Ezechiel xxxiii. Bibliography Haydock, George Leo.
The New Revised Standard Version: Haydock Pastors, who are chosen against their will, sometimes pay so much attention to the welfare of their flock, that they neglect their own interior, and fall into small faults, which Christ will know how to excuse and pardon, Ezechiel xxxiii. One, they spiritualize the book and see it as a reference to Christ and the church or as a reference to Christ and the believer. I stand amazed, dearest Jesus, notwithstanding all I have heard, and all I have known of thy love to our fallen nature, in the contemplation of such grace as is here displayed. Treasury of Scripture Knowledge I am black , but comely , O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon. Learning line upon line, and precept upon precept, here a little and there a little Isaiah Verse 1 [1] The song of songs, which is Solomon's.
Supply the Ellipsis App-6 , "[but comely] as the curtains of Solomon". Required by the Alternation: Bibliography Bullinger, Ethelbert William. Bullinger's Companion bible Notes". She draws the image from the black goat-skins with which the Scenite Arabs "Kedar" was in Arabia Petraea cover their tents contrasted with the splendid state tent in which the King was awaiting His bride, according to Eastern custom ; typifying the darkness of man's natural state. To feel this, and yet also feel one's self in Jesus Christ Curtains - first, the hangings and veil in the temple of Solomon; then, also, the "fine linen which is the righteousness of saints," the white wedding garment provided by Jesus Christ Isaiah Historically, the dark tents of Kedar represent the original state of Israel, a wandering tribe of the desert, until God put His comeliness on her: The beauty of the Lord God is reflected in His Church, and she can with the utmost propriety bear witness to her own excellence, because she is not toiling in the imperfection so patently felt by the individual believer.
Rather does she speak in the full awareness of that dazzling beauty which she bears as the chosen partner of the King of Kings. Her destiny is assured, for against her Beloved there is no power or might which can prevail. All that He is, He bestows upon her. The beauty of the Lord her God is upon her Psalm It remains in her untouchable unity with Christ, and even the gates of hell cannot prevail against her.
Here, if anywhere, we are compelled to recognise that the primary sense in which the Bride of the Song must be regarded is her unity with Christ, as one dedicated to be the partner of His throne for all eternity. For the individual believer to arrogate to himself the right to proclaim his own beauty or comeliness, would be an intolerable liberty.
Song of Solomon 1:5 KJV
Christ looks upon His Bride and as in a mirror sees the reflection of His own beauty and holiness. The whole church is thus being addressed in tones of that love which in Him is the goal of Deity. The address of the heavenly Bridegroom in chapter 4 of the Song is a surpassing description of her beauty in his eyes, as He sees in her the completion and the perfection of His own great purpose in Creation.
The individual believer cannot be properly addressed in such terms. Contemplating that love, begets an answering love in hearts which are given to Him in the full and glad surrender of love. Let it be enlarged till it loses itself in the utter consecration and dedication of the whole being to Him, even as the apostle has written: The love of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: Time and trial alone can produce a true theology. It is not enough that we study the doctrinal works of excellent men who have gone before us, essential though that exercise may be.
True theology can never be divorced from faith and experience, and this is surely borne out in the history of theology from the earliest days. Learning line upon line, and precept upon precept, here a little and there a little Isaiah It is a mistake to suppose that a few years in college however well founded and distinguished furnish a young man with all that is needed for a successful ministry.
Theology may be perfect as to the letter, but it can only be truly used in the experience of it, wrought by suffering, trial, patience, and humble submission. Knowledge is dearly bought, whether by the Church or by the individual. Paul the apostle reminds us that though we may have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries, and have not love, we are nothing.
The Church, like the individual for she is composed of individuals learns her theology by suffering. She is consumed by the burning sun of trial, and scorched by exposure in the shelterless deserts of adversity and persecution, but shines forth with an ever greater beauty as she learns the lessons of faith and trust, and sees the hand of God in all her sufferings. Wherever the Church is, there is also the adversary. We cannot escape the ominous picture - the warning - here drawn before our eyes, the apparition of the persecuting false Church which down the ages has oppressed, hated, and sought to destroy the true Bride of Christ.
Cain slew his brother Abel because the younger brother was accepted and Cain was rejected. The distinction between grace and mercy on the one hand, and human merit on the other, is very plain, and has been recognised from the beginning. This episode of the two brothers has regulated the religious processes right down the ages.
The distinction is between the everlasting mercy of God and the boastful works of man. In essence all religions are divided on this rock. Either Christ is all, in His peerless life and atoning death, or human merit and human invention must prevail. The latter-day apostasy is surely upon us now, when the historic churches have for the most part signed their own death warrant, for sure it is that they have little or no room for the Word of God, while they flaunt themselves in their own righteousness.
We thank God for notable exceptions. For the second time the persecuted Church complains of those who, because she bears the marks and the burdens of trial, would add to her sufferings by the impositions they lay upon her. Now who were these who so troubled her and laid even heavier burdens upon her? These were her own kith and kin, those from whom she had the right to expect help and comfort and mercy. What the Bride is saying is that her tribulations came not only from her exposure to the persecutions of those who might be regarded as the enemies of the Church, but from the Church itself.
Here we must recognise that alongside the true Church there is always to be found the false Church. The sufferings of our fathers at the hands of the Papacy need no enlargement here. Down the ages, ever since the days of Cain, Satan has raised up the false Church to trouble and if need be to destroy, the true people of the Lord. In the days of Israel, when the nation was still united under the sceptre of Solomon, there was this distinct ion between the true and the false.
Solomon had the Psalms of David in his hand to remind himself of those days when David was hunted by King Saul. The Bride is now on the brink of the discovery of her Lord. It is the darkest hour before the dawn, but before we can proceed to that delectable meeting of the Bride with her divine lover, there is yet another mystery to be explained - perhaps the greatest of all mysteries, the mystery of the vine, which forms so formidable a part of the original prophecy of Shiloh.
We are in the region of inspired poetry. We are aware of the record which tells us how Christ rode into Jerusalem as the cross loomed ever nearer before Him on a colt, the foal of an ass, upon whom man never sat before. The foal had not been broken in. Normally it would have fought with teeth and hoof at this first attempt to ride him - but the Lord of heaven and earth had need of him.
The wild instinct of the animal was quelled Luke And whither would the obedient animal carry his Lord? Not far perhaps, but far enough for all Jerusalem to know if they would have given heed - that Shiloh was come. Thus He came, not as human loftiness would have chosen, perhaps on a royal charger or in a chariot of gold; but meek, and having salvation see Matthew 21, and Zechariah 9: It is beyond dispute that the original of this prophecy and its fulfillment is found in the Shiloh prophecy of dying Jacob. But there is obviously much more in the circumstance than the entry into Jerusalem.
They would have been confronted by an enigma which their view of prophecy could not have contained. The forty years of probation granted to the Jewish nation after the Crucifixion, ended with the Roman War and the destruction of the Jews as a nation. During those forty years the Jewish people and their leaders persecuted the Church which sprang out of the bosom of the nation.
Stephen was martyred, James the brother of John was slain, Peter was cast into prison, Saul of Tarsus made havoc of the Church still largely Jewish but the sudden and miraculous conversion of Saul brought to an end, for the time being, the Jewish persecutions. From within the Church, after the apostolic era, heresy began to arise and the Church passed through troublous times until the accession of Constantine, when a new and formidable foe gradually emerged - a foe known as the Antichrist, who had been waiting in the wings till the way was prepared through the fall of the Roman empire for the full revelation of himself in accordance with prophecy, though truth to tell he was already active in the concluding days of John, the last of the apostles see 1 John 2: We return to our main theme.
The worst foes of the church have always been those who have arisen from her own bosom, and claimed her name. Hence too, the searing words of Stephen, the first Christian martyr. Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: Good News Translation Women of Jerusalem, I am dark but beautiful, dark as the desert tents of Kedar, but beautiful as the draperies in Solomon's palace.
Miles Coverdale Bible I am black o ye doughters of Ierusale like as the tentes of the Cedarenes, and as the hanginges of Salomon:. Yes, even as the tents of Solomon! New International Version Dark am I, yet lovely, daughters of Jerusalem, dark like the tents of Kedar, like the tent curtains of Solomon. New Century Version I'm dark but lovely, women of Jerusalem, dark like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.
Updated Bible Version 1.
The Message I am weathered but still elegant, oh, dear sisters in Jerusalem, Weather--darkened like Kedar desert tents, time-softened like Solomon's Temple hangings. Contextual Overview 2 O that you would kiss me with the kisses of your mouth! For your love is better than wine, 3 your anointing oils are fragrant, your name is oil poured out; therefore the maidens love you. The king has brought me into his chambers.
We will exult and rejoice in you; we will extol your love more than wine; rightly do they love you. My mother's sons were angry with me, they made me keeper of the vineyards; but, my own vineyard I have not kept!
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