house,
That Thou mightest instruct me;
I would cause Thee to drink of spiced wine,
Of the juice of my pomegranate.

I would give Thee my best, and yet would myself seek all my rest and
satisfaction in Thee.

His left hand _should_ be under my head,
And His right hand should embrace me.

And thus the section closes. There is nothing sweeter to the Bridegroom
or to the bride than this hallowed and unhindered communion; and again
He adjures the daughters of Jerusalem, in slightly different form:--

Why should ye stir up, or why awake My love,
Until she[5] please?

Hallowed communion indeed! May we ever enjoy it; and abiding in CHRIST,
we shall sing, in the familiar words of the well-known hymn--

Both Thine arms are clasped around me,
And my head is on Thy breast;
And my weary soul hath found Thee
Such a perfect, perfect rest!
Blessed JESUS,
Now I know that I am blest.

FOOTNOTE:

[5] See note on p. 26.

SECTION VI

UNRESTRAINED COMMUNION

Cant. viii. 5-14

WE have now reached the closing section of this book, which, as we have
seen, is a poem describing the life of a believer on earth. Beginning in
Section I. (Cant. i. 2-ii. 7) with the unsatisfied longings of an
espoused one--longings which could only be met by her unreserved
surrender to the Bridegroom of her soul--we find that when the surrender
was made, instead of the cross she had so much feared she found a King,
the KING of LOVE, who both satisfied her deepest longings, and found His
own satisfaction in her.

The second section (Cant. ii. 8-iii. 5) showed failure on her part; she
was lured back again into the world, and soon found that her Beloved
could not follow her there; then with full purpose of heart going forth
to seek Him, and confessing His name, her search was successful, and her
communion was restored.

The third section (Cant. iii. 6-v. 1.) told of unbroken communion.
Abiding in Christ, she was the sharer of His security and His glory. She
draws the attention, however, of the daughters of Jerusalem from these
outward things to her KING Himself. And, while she is thus occupied with
Him, and would have others so occupied, she finds that her royal
Bridegroom is delighting in her, and inviting her to fellowship of
service, fearless of dens of lions and mountains of leopards.