Richard Challoner — Commentary on Scripture

Song of Solomon 5:1

I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.

Let my beloved come into his garden: Garden, mystically the church of Christ, abounding with fruit, that is, the good works of the elect.

Song of Solomon 5:4

My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him.

My beloved put his hand through the key hole: The spouse of Christ, his church, at times as it were penned up by its persecutors, and in fears, expecting the divine assistance, here signified by his hand: and ver. 6, but he had turned aside and was gone, that is, Christ permitting a further trial of suffering: and again, ver. 7, the keepers, etc., signifying the violent and cruel persecutors of the church taking her veil, despoiling the church of its places of worship and ornaments for the divine service.

Song of Solomon 5:10

My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand.

My beloved: In this and the following verses, the church mystically describes Christ to those who know him not, that is, to infidels in order to convert them to the true faith.

Song of Solomon 6:1

Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? whither is thy beloved turned aside? that we may seek him with thee.

My beloved is gone down into his garden: Christ, pleased with the good works of his holy and devout servants labouring in his garden, is always present with them: but the words is gone down, are to be understood, that after trying his Church by permitting persecution, he comes to her assistance and she rejoices at his coming.

Song of Solomon 6:8

There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number.

One is my dove: That is, my church is one, and she only is perfect and blessed.

Song of Solomon 6:9

My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her.

Who is she: Here is a beautiful metaphor describing the church from the beginning. As, the morning rising, signifying the church before the written law; fair as the moon, showing her under the light of the gospel: and terrible as an army, the power of Christ's church against its enemies.

Song of Solomon 7:1

How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince's daughter! the joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman.

How beautiful are thy steps: By these metaphors are signified the power and mission of the church in propagating the true faith.

Song of Solomon 7:5

Thine head upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair of thine head like purple; the king is held in the galleries.

Thy head is like Carmel: Christ, the invisible head of his church, is here signified.

Song of Solomon 8:3

His left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should embrace me.

His left hand: Words of the church to Christ. His left hand, signifying the Old Testament, and his right hand, the New.

Song of Solomon 8:5

Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? I raised thee up under the apple tree: there thy mother brought thee forth: there she brought thee forth that bare thee.

Who is this: The angels with admiration behold the Gentiles converted to the faith: coming up from the desert, that is, coming from heathenism and false worship: flowing with delights, that is, abounding with good works which are pleasing to God: leaning on her beloved, on the promise of Christ to his Church, that the gates of hell should not prevail against it; and supported by his grace conferred by the sacraments. Under the apple tree I raised thee up; that is, that Christ redeemed the Gentiles at the foot of the cross, where the synagogue of the Jews (the mother church) was corrupted by their denying him, and crucifying him.

Song of Solomon 8:8

We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts: what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for?

Our sister is little: Mystically signifies the Jews, who are to be spoken to: that is, converted towards the end of the world: and then shall become a wall, that is, a part of the building, the church of Christ.

Zechariah 1:1

In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,

ZACHARIAS began to prophesy in the same year as Aggeus, and upon the same occasion. His prophecy is full of mysterious figures and promises of blessings, partly relating to the synagogue, and partly to the church of Christ.

Zechariah 1:8

I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom; and behind him were there red horses, speckled, and white.

A man: An angel in the shape of a man. It was probably Michael, the guardian angel of the church of God.

Zechariah 1:10

And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, These are they whom the LORD hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth.

These are they: The guardian angels of provinces and nations.

Zechariah 1:12

Then the angel of the LORD answered and said, O LORD of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years?

The seventieth year: Viz., from the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem, in the ninth year of king Sedecias, to the second year of king Darius. These seventy years of the desolation of Jerusalem and the cities of Juda, are different from the seventy years of captivity foretold by Jeremias; which began in the fourth year of Joakim, and ended in the first year of king Cyrus.

Zechariah 1:18

Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns.

Four horns: The four horns represent the empires, or kingdoms, that persecute and oppress the kingdom of God.

Zechariah 1:20

And the LORD shewed me four carpenters.

Four smiths: The four smiths, or carpenters (for faber may signify either) represent those whom God makes his instruments in bringing to nothing the power of persecutors.

Zechariah 2:4

And said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein:

Jerusalem shall be inhabited without walls: This must be understood of the spiritual Jerusalem, the church of Christ.

Zechariah 3:1

And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.

Jesus: Alias, Josue, the son of Josedec, the high priest of that time.

Zechariah 3:3

Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.

With filthy garments: Negligences and sins.