"O that thou wert as my brother, that sucked the breasts of my mother! When I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yea, I should not be despised." (S.O.S. 8:1)
"But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to not things that are: that no flesh should glory in his presence." (1 Corinthians 1:27-29)
I have so many things to say, I just don't know where to begin; except to assure anyone that might have any doubts, God has everything under control! With that, let me say that God has shown me something I believe is incredible and relevant to what Solomon is speaking about. There are basically three parts to this: One is that of association, the other is that of presentation, the final is that of justification; all of which are proof, without a doubt, that Solomon was saved, is a child of God, and is, with all the other saints, in Heaven!
First and foremost, grace has so much more power over sin than mercy! When we are given mercy, we are forgiven of our sins, which humbles us, as it should, to love mercy. But grace, grace gives us the ability to have standing; to stand when we otherwise should not, because we are not worthy to stand and represent the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY! In this case, we shine as light, because we radiate that the Light lives within us; we are light, as He is Light! Matthew Henry illustrates this as the Old Testaments saints longing for and the hastening of Christ's incarnation, that they might be more acquainted with Him.
As I thought about this, I envisioned James, the half-brother of Jesus, having thought of this, and thinking about himself as he nursed the same breasts that the Son of God nursed upon; having grown up with him and longing to be able to do it over again, now that he knew who He really was. As Matthew Henry sums this potion up, he says: "It becomes brethren and sisters, the children of the same parents, that have nursed at the same breast, to be very loving to and tender of one another; such a love the spouse desires might be between her are her beloved, that she might call him brother."
Secondly, is that of presentation; to which is the purpose of each and every single saint: to present Christ Jesus to the world! Yes, that is what we see, as she says, "When I should find thee without, I would kiss thee," she is making clear that there would be nothing holding her back from showing off her affection for him, because they are One! As she is already betrothed to him, yet not married, she would be more embolden to kiss him in public; to this, Matthew Henry associated this to when David danced before the ark, unashamed.
Thirdly, and most critical to the grace that has been bestowed upon us, "yea, I should not be despised." I would think it is very critical to note, this is not based upon the thought of being despised by the ones which might witness the kiss, although they have really no say in the matter; but it is that which is the reaction of her beloved to her forwardness out in public; they her boldness to show her affection will not be anyway rejected or withdrawn from. Yet, he would accept it with appreciation and reward!
In other words, she is completely justified to acknowledge her love; despite what or who she might be in that particular moment. Which brings me to presentation; just in case you might think that was already mentioned. As it is my belief that Solomon will be expected in heaven when I arrive; I also expect to see a thousand wives will be standing with him; as well as a huge multitude of others; kings and queens and servants, the list goes on and on! You see, there is something that is critical to our justification in Christ: We are presented just as if we had never sinned! That is GRACE!
We must present Him and represent Him: but most importantly, we must love Him, knowing that He first loved us...
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." (Romans 1:16)
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