Commentary on Song of Solomon

Cyril of Jerusalem (313–386)

Every king is proclaimed by soldiers. It was fitting that Jesus also, in figure, be crowned by soldiers. For this reason Scripture says in the Canticles: "Daughters of Jerusalem, come forth and look upon King Solomon in the crown with which his mother has crowned him." But the crown was also a mystery, for it was a remission of sins and release from the sentence of condemnation.

"Your teeth are like a flock of ewes to be shorn." A sincere confession is a spiritual shearing! And further: "all of them big with twins," signifying the twofold grace, either that perfected by water and the Spirit, or that announced in the Old and in the New Testament.

Now who is the "fountain sealed," or who is signified by the "wellspring of living water"? It is the Savior himself, of whom it is written: "For with you is the fountain of life."

See also

• More works by Cyril of Jerusalem

Enable JavaScript to read the full text and search the library.