Bible Commentaries

Song of Solomon 4:16

The offices of the Holy Spirit are manifold.

I. It is He who must convince us of sin (John 16:8).

II. Conversion, in its true and scriptural sense, a turning from wrong to right, is another part of the Holy Spirit's work.

III. Another reason why we should devoutly beseech the Holy Spirit to blow upon the Lord's garden, in which we have been planted, is that He may purify as by His grace.

IV. A fourth reason is that we may evermore rejoice in His holy comfort. Without the Holy Ghost, the garden of the Lord would be the most barren desert. He is our companion, teacher, advocate, friend, comforter.

V. We cannot dispense with the influences of the Spirit, because it is only when these are felt, that the spices in the Lord's garden shed forth their abundant sweetness.

J. N. Norton, Golden Truths, p. 285.

References: Song of Solomon 4:16.—Spurgeon, Morning by Morning, p. 61; J. E. Vaux, Sermon Notes, 1st series, p. 80. 4—Spurgeon, Evening by Evening, p. 7; Clergyman's Magazine, vol. viii., p. 273; J. R. Macduff, Communion Memories, p. 164; J. M. Neale, Sermons on the Song of Songs, p. 195; G. Matheson, Moments on the Mount, p. 262. Song of Solomon 5:1.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xvi., No. 919; Ibid., Evening by Evening, p. 170; J. M. Neale, Sermons on the Song of Songs, p. 205. Song of Solomon 5:2.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxvi., No. 1561; Ibid., Evening by Evening, p. 270; R. M. McCheyne, Additional Remains, p. 230.