I sleep, but my heart waketh
“Like persons that are half awake, half asleep. Christ and the church having feasted together at his invitation, she soon after fell asleep, as the disciples did after a repast with their Lord (Matt.26:40); a frame of spirit unbecoming saints, and displeasing to Christ, though consistent with grace, they are slothful in duty, and backward to it; the phrase is sometimes used to describe a sluggish, slothful man ; they are indifferent and lukewarm about divine things, and without fervency and spirituality in them (no watching unto prayer), but her “heart was awake”. Both clauses are rather to be understood of the same person differently considered, as having two principles, (one of) of grace and (one of) corruption, as the church has, which are represented as two persons; see ( Romans 7:18 , Galatians 5:17 ) ; as the carnal part in her prevailed, she was the “sleeping I”; as the new man, or principle of grace appeared, her “heart [was] awake”; for, notwithstanding her sleepy frame, she had some thoughts of Christ, and stirring of affection to him; Some convictions of her sin, and some desires of being in her duty perhaps, though overpowered by the fleshly part; the spirit was willing, but the flesh weak. Christ’s response to his church in this case follows, that though sleepy she heard him,
[it is] the voice of my beloved:
in the ministration of the Gospel, which is to be distinguished from the voice of a stranger, even when dull and sleepy under hearing it, and little affected with it. Christ was the church’s beloved still (covenant relationship), her affection for him, though not thoroughly awaked by his voice, but sleeps on still; this method failing, he takes another, or repeats the same with an additional circumstance,
that knocketh,
saying, “open to me”: which is to be understood not so much of his knocking by the ministry of the word to awaken her out of sleep, but in a providential way, by taking in his hand the rod of affliction to bring her out of her carnal security; see ( Revelation 3:20 ) ; and he not only knocked but called,

[saying], open to me,
open the door unto me, and let me in; there is an emphasis on the word “me”; me, thy Lord, thy head, thy husband, thy friend, that loves thee so dearly; to whom her heart was shut, her desires towards him languid; wherefore he importunes her to “open” to him, which denotes an enlarging of her affections to him, which yet could not be done without efficacious grace exerted ; the more to win her, he gives her good words, and the most endearing titles, expressive of love and relation,
my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled,
which are all made use of before, excepting the last; see ( Song of Solomon 1:9 Song of Solomon 1:14 ) ( 4:9 ) ; that is, “my undefiled”, which she was, not as a descendant of Adam, nor as in herself, but as washed in the blood of Christ, justified by his righteousness, and sanctified by his Spirit; and as having been enabled by divine grace to preserve her chastity, and keep the “bed undefiled”, ( Hebrews 13:4 ) ; not guilty of spiritual adultery among all her infirmities, even idolatry and superstition; see ( Revelation 14:4 ) ; or “my perfect one”; not in a legal, but in an evangelical sense, being completely redeemed, perfectly justified, fully pardoned, and sanctified in every part, though not to the highest degree; and perfect in Christ, though not in herself: other arguments follow to engage her attention to his request;
for my head is filled with dew, [and] my locks with the drops of the
night;
by which may be meant the sufferings of Christ, either in the persons of his ministers, who are exposed to the rage and reproach of men for ministering in his name to the church; or which he endured in his own person, in his estate of humiliation; and particularly in the night he was betrayed, and during the time of darkness he hung upon the cross, when he bore the sins of his people, and his Father’s wrath; compared to “dew”, and “drops of the night”, because of the multitude of them he endured in soul and body, and because so uncomfortable to human nature; though as dew is useful and fructifying to the earth, so were these the means of many fruits and blessings of grace, and of bringing many souls to glory; now though these arguments were expressed in the most strong, moving, and melting language, yet were ineffectual.” (Gill)
