Song 4:6 | KingComments | STEP | It is not clear who is speaking in this verse. It may be that the bride here responds to the description the groom has given of her in the previous verses. It may also be that the groom is still speaking. There is something to be said for both views. We will first look at it from the bride’s perspective. She says as it were that she is overwhelmed by it that she means so much to him. She has to deal with all that. She feels limited in her ability to let it come to her. She cannot comprehend it all. The time she needs to think about everything the groom has said about her lasts “until the cool of the day when the shadows flee away”. That indicates that it is not yet day. There are still shadows present. It indicates that she still sees dimly. Thus it is written of us that we “now see in a mirror, dimly” and that we “know in part” ( ). ‘Dimly’ means ‘in a riddle’. It is not yet all perfectly clear. The perfect knowledge has not yet come. That is why she goes “to mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense”. We have read about myrrh and incense before ( ). Here in Song of Songs 4 we read about a mountain of myrrh and a hill of frankincense, which indicates a large quantity and also a level higher than the ground. Myrrh speaks of the suffering of the Lord Jesus. Frankincense speaks of the sweet scent that the Lord Jesus is for His God. To us it means that we think about the bitterness of Christ’s suffering and the sweetness of His loveliness. He underwent the suffering for us in order to save us from our sins. By this He was able to put his loveliness upon us, and we are taken now into favor before God ( Darby translation; cf. ). It is good to be busy with this when we are impressed by the love the Lord Jesus has for us. We can do this in particular when we, as a church, proclaim His death at His Table. Or should it to be said to us that we are not able to watch only for an hour with Him? We must learn to walk in the light of the cross. That desire will be there and will grow as we hear Him speak about us like here. Are we taking the time to think about how He sees us? We may say to Him full of amazement that He said: ‘This is how I see you.’ If we accept this in all humility and with great gratitude we honor Him with it. It is a false humility that says that the gift is too great to accept. Whoever accepts it because He gives it, will also ask Him to indicate everything in his life that is not in accordance with it. He wants to change that in order to live the way He wants to. As said, it may also be that the words of this verse are still spoken by the groom. The meaning of the cool of the day, the shadows, the mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense remain the same, but are now seen from his perspective. As long as it is not yet day and there is still the shadow of the night, the Lord Jesus is for His own in heaven. He is there because of His suffering – of which the myrrh speaks – on earth and His loveliness before God. That He is on the mountain of myrrh means that He is our High Priest with God. He is a High Priest Who can sympathize with us while we are still in trials on earth ( ; cf. ). The hill of frankincense reminds us of being His pleasure to the Father and that we are made pleasant in Him. On the basis of this He is our Advocate with the Father ( ). He will be there until the full day has come. The full day, without shadows, comes when He comes from heaven to establish righteousness on earth. Then He will shine as “the sun of righteousness” ( ). There is no cloud causing any darkening ( ). This will also be experienced by the faithful remnant of Israel when it enters into the peace of the kingdom of peace after the intense trials of the great tribulation. This is not yet the case, as we see in the following verses, but we do see in faith the full result of Christ’s work, both of His work on the cross and of His work now in heaven.

‏ Song of Solomon 4:6

The Mountain of Myrrh and the Hill of Frankincense

It is not clear who is speaking in this verse. It may be that the bride here responds to the description the groom has given of her in the previous verses. It may also be that the groom is still speaking. There is something to be said for both views. We will first look at it from the bride’s perspective. She says as it were that she is overwhelmed by it that she means so much to him. She has to deal with all that. She feels limited in her ability to let it come to her. She cannot comprehend it all.

The time she needs to think about everything the groom has said about her lasts “until the cool of the day when the shadows flee away”. That indicates that it is not yet day. There are still shadows present. It indicates that she still sees dimly. Thus it is written of us that we “now see in a mirror, dimly” and that we “know in part” (1Cor 13:12). ‘Dimly’ means ‘in a riddle’. It is not yet all perfectly clear. The perfect knowledge has not yet come.

That is why she goes “to mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense”. We have read about myrrh and incense before (Song 3:6). Here in Song of Songs 4 we read about a mountain of myrrh and a hill of frankincense, which indicates a large quantity and also a level higher than the ground. Myrrh speaks of the suffering of the Lord Jesus. Frankincense speaks of the sweet scent that the Lord Jesus is for His God. To us it means that we think about the bitterness of Christ’s suffering and the sweetness of His loveliness. He underwent the suffering for us in order to save us from our sins. By this He was able to put his loveliness upon us, and we are taken now into favor before God (Eph 1:6 Darby translation; cf. Eze 16:14).

It is good to be busy with this when we are impressed by the love the Lord Jesus has for us. We can do this in particular when we, as a church, proclaim His death at His Table. Or should it to be said to us that we are not able to watch only for an hour with Him? We must learn to walk in the light of the cross. That desire will be there and will grow as we hear Him speak about us like here.

Are we taking the time to think about how He sees us? We may say to Him full of amazement that He said: ‘This is how I see you.’ If we accept this in all humility and with great gratitude we honor Him with it. It is a false humility that says that the gift is too great to accept. Whoever accepts it because He gives it, will also ask Him to indicate everything in his life that is not in accordance with it. He wants to change that in order to live the way He wants to.

As said, it may also be that the words of this verse are still spoken by the groom. The meaning of the cool of the day, the shadows, the mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense remain the same, but are now seen from his perspective. As long as it is not yet day and there is still the shadow of the night, the Lord Jesus is for His own in heaven. He is there because of His suffering – of which the myrrh speaks – on earth and His loveliness before God.

That He is on the mountain of myrrh means that He is our High Priest with God. He is a High Priest Who can sympathize with us while we are still in trials on earth (Heb 4:15; cf. Mt 14:23-24). The hill of frankincense reminds us of being His pleasure to the Father and that we are made pleasant in Him. On the basis of this He is our Advocate with the Father (1Jn 2:1).

He will be there until the full day has come. The full day, without shadows, comes when He comes from heaven to establish righteousness on earth. Then He will shine as “the sun of righteousness” (Mal 4:2). There is no cloud causing any darkening (2Sam 23:4). This will also be experienced by the faithful remnant of Israel when it enters into the peace of the kingdom of peace after the intense trials of the great tribulation. This is not yet the case, as we see in the following verses, but we do see in faith the full result of Christ’s work, both of His work on the cross and of His work now in heaven.