Song 1:16 | KingComments | STEP | Here the bride is speaking. The bride says to the groom, in response to what he said to her in the previous verse, that he is “handsome” and also that he is “so pleasant”. Each time they tell each other what they feel and mean to each other. They speak the language of love. What she says, is an exclamation of admiration. She is impressed by his stature, she finds him “handsome”, engaging. When she sees him, she is deeply impressed by him. He surpasses everyone, he is her “beloved”. But not only his stature enraptures her, he is also “so pleasant” in his dealings with her. In the way he approaches her and pays attention to her, he shows his respect for her. He treats her with love. This brings her to an “indeed” and that in connection with rest. She comes to rest with him and he also with her. She doesn’t speak about ‘my’ or ‘your couch’, but about “our couch”. The place where their couch is located is “the green foliage” (which is a better rendering than ‘luxuriant’). The bride sees herself with the groom in the freedom of the green field. “Green’ speaks of freshness, of life and of peace (green is the color that gives peace to the eyes). ‘Foliage’ speaks of intimacy and seclusion, being alone with the beloved without others seeing them. We can apply this to our love relationship as believers with the Lord Jesus. Before we knew Him, we saw “no [stately] form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him” ( ). But now we like to say to Him that He is beautiful, that He is our Beloved, yes, that He is so pleasant. He is impressive to us when we look at Him, when we read the Scriptures, and see Who He is and what He has done. And are we not also deeply impressed by the way He treats us? In this relationship we have rest, while we know that the Lord Jesus also finds rest in this relationship. However, this is not an empty silence, but a rest that is fresh, in which something grows, in which life develops. It is not the rest of complacency, but of the satisfaction of a living relationship. We see that in the green foliage. When something is green, it grows. That is how it is with our love for the Lord Jesus. There is rest and growth at the same time. We are overwhelmed when we are determined by His unchanging love for us. This is especially true when we are together as a church on Sunday. We want to worship God and the Lord Jesus and have fellowship with both of Them and remember what Christ has done for us as we celebrate the Lord’s Supper. During that meeting there may be quiet moments. Then nothing audible happens. There is no singing, no reading, no thanksgiving expressed. That can mean two things. It may be that the hearts are full of adoration for the Lord. Then nothing is said, but the Holy Spirit has been able to direct the hearts so much to the Lord Jesus and His work that there is general adoration for Him. However, it can also be the case that the hearts are empty. Then we have nothing in our hearts for the Lord Jesus. We are not in the green foliage, but in a barren place. Whether we come with full or empty hearts has to do with our daily life during the week. If our life is truly for the Lord and we are engaged with Him, learning from Him, and spiritually nourishing ourselves with the things He shows us of Himself in His Word, then we will come with full hearts. We also have the command not to come to the meeting ‘empty-handed’, which means for us: with empty hearts ( ; ). We must all have something, not only the brothers, but also the sisters. We come together as a church. The brothers are the ones who express worship. It may be that a brother personally has nothing, but still says something, gives up a song or reads something from Scripture, or gives thanks, in which his heart is not so involved, but still expresses what is alive in the hearts of the sisters. Thus can the Lord work right through our weaknesses what is to His honor.

‏ Song of Solomon 1:16

You Are Handsome, My Beloved

Here the bride is speaking. The bride says to the groom, in response to what he said to her in the previous verse, that he is “handsome” and also that he is “so pleasant”. Each time they tell each other what they feel and mean to each other. They speak the language of love.

What she says, is an exclamation of admiration. She is impressed by his stature, she finds him “handsome”, engaging. When she sees him, she is deeply impressed by him. He surpasses everyone, he is her “beloved”. But not only his stature enraptures her, he is also “so pleasant” in his dealings with her. In the way he approaches her and pays attention to her, he shows his respect for her. He treats her with love.

This brings her to an “indeed” and that in connection with rest. She comes to rest with him and he also with her. She doesn’t speak about ‘my’ or ‘your couch’, but about “our couch”. The place where their couch is located is “the green foliage” (which is a better rendering than ‘luxuriant’). The bride sees herself with the groom in the freedom of the green field. “Green’ speaks of freshness, of life and of peace (green is the color that gives peace to the eyes). ‘Foliage’ speaks of intimacy and seclusion, being alone with the beloved without others seeing them.

We can apply this to our love relationship as believers with the Lord Jesus. Before we knew Him, we saw “no [stately] form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him” (Isa 53:2b). But now we like to say to Him that He is beautiful, that He is our Beloved, yes, that He is so pleasant. He is impressive to us when we look at Him, when we read the Scriptures, and see Who He is and what He has done. And are we not also deeply impressed by the way He treats us?

In this relationship we have rest, while we know that the Lord Jesus also finds rest in this relationship. However, this is not an empty silence, but a rest that is fresh, in which something grows, in which life develops. It is not the rest of complacency, but of the satisfaction of a living relationship. We see that in the green foliage. When something is green, it grows. That is how it is with our love for the Lord Jesus. There is rest and growth at the same time. We are overwhelmed when we are determined by His unchanging love for us.

This is especially true when we are together as a church on Sunday. We want to worship God and the Lord Jesus and have fellowship with both of Them and remember what Christ has done for us as we celebrate the Lord’s Supper. During that meeting there may be quiet moments. Then nothing audible happens. There is no singing, no reading, no thanksgiving expressed. That can mean two things. It may be that the hearts are full of adoration for the Lord. Then nothing is said, but the Holy Spirit has been able to direct the hearts so much to the Lord Jesus and His work that there is general adoration for Him. However, it can also be the case that the hearts are empty. Then we have nothing in our hearts for the Lord Jesus. We are not in the green foliage, but in a barren place.

Whether we come with full or empty hearts has to do with our daily life during the week. If our life is truly for the Lord and we are engaged with Him, learning from Him, and spiritually nourishing ourselves with the things He shows us of Himself in His Word, then we will come with full hearts. We also have the command not to come to the meeting ‘empty-handed’, which means for us: with empty hearts (Exo 23:15 ; Exo 34:20; Deu 16:16).

We must all have something, not only the brothers, but also the sisters. We come together as a church. The brothers are the ones who express worship. It may be that a brother personally has nothing, but still says something, gives up a song or reads something from Scripture, or gives thanks, in which his heart is not so involved, but still expresses what is alive in the hearts of the sisters. Thus can the Lord work right through our weaknesses what is to His honor.