I LOOKED FOR HIM AND CALLED HIM

Song of Songs 5:2-6:3 / Keywords 6:3

I am my lover's and my lover is mine; he browses among the lilies.

 

She

5:2 I slept but my heart was awake.

    Listen! My beloved is knocking:

“Open to me, my sister, my darling,

    my dove, my flawless one.

My head is drenched with dew,

    my hair with the dampness of the night.”

3 I have taken off my robe—

    must I put it on again?

I have washed my feet—

    must I soil them again?

4 My beloved thrust his hand through the latch-opening;

    my heart began to pound for him.

5 I arose to open for my beloved,

    and my hands dripped with myrrh,

my fingers with flowing myrrh,

    on the handles of the bolt.

6 I opened for my beloved,

    but my beloved had left; he was gone.

    My heart sank at his departure.[a]

I looked for him but did not find him.

    I called him but he did not answer.

7 The watchmen found me

    as they made their rounds in the city.

They beat me, they bruised me;

    they took away my cloak,

    those watchmen of the walls!

8 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you—

    if you find my beloved,

what will you tell him?

    Tell him I am faint with love.

Friends

9 How is your beloved better than others,

    most beautiful of women?

How is your beloved better than others,

    that you so charge us?

She

10 My beloved is radiant and ruddy,

    outstanding among ten thousand.

11 His head is purest gold;

    his hair is wavy

    and black as a raven.

12 His eyes are like doves

    by the water streams,

washed in milk,

    mounted like jewels.

13 His cheeks are like beds of spice

    yielding perfume.

His lips are like lilies

    dripping with myrrh.

14 His arms are rods of gold

    set with topaz.

His body is like polished ivory

    decorated with lapis lazuli.

15 His legs are pillars of marble

    set on bases of pure gold.

His appearance is like Lebanon,

    choice as its cedars.

16 His mouth is sweetness itself;

    he is altogether lovely.

This is my beloved, this is my friend,

    daughters of Jerusalem.

Friends

6:1 Where has your beloved gone,

    most beautiful of women?

Which way did your beloved turn,

    that we may look for him with you?

She

2 My beloved has gone down to his garden,

    to the beds of spices,

to browse in the gardens

    and to gather lilies.

3 I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine;

    he browses among the lilies.

Footnotes

a. Song of Songs 5:6 Or heart had gone out to him when he spoke

1. The Shulamite woman recalls a time (or her dream) when she had lost the king. The king comes back late at night drenched wet. He knocks on her door, but she hesitates to get out of her warm bed to greet him. Her attitude has considerably changed from that of chapter 2. She has lost her first love and prefers a little physical comfort over her beloved king.

 

2. When she comes back to her senses and goes to open the door, she realizes the king is gone, and her heart sinks. She goes out to look for him and is treated like a street woman (5:7). As she is desperately looking for the king, she remembers his great qualities (5:10-16).

 

3. Then she realizes that the king is not gone, but in the garden (4:16). He is waiting for her in their personal sacred garden. This story is a metaphor for our relationship with the Lord. Sometimes our hearts may turn lukewarm, losing our first love for the Lord (Rev 2:4). We may get lost in the burdens of reality, and we may neglect our relationship with the Lord. But you don’t need to search far when your heart becomes weary and desperate. When you remember your love for the Lord, he is already there waiting for you.

 

Prayer Father, thank you for always being faithful. Help me never to lose you but always make you as the priority of my life.

One Word Remain in his love

LET MY BELOVED COME INTO HIS GARDEN

Song of Songs 3:6-5:1 / Keywords 4:16b

that its fragrance may spread abroad. Let my lover come into his garden and taste its choice fruits.

3:6 Who is this coming up from the wilderness

    like a column of smoke,

perfumed with myrrh and incense

    made from all the spices of the merchant?

7 Look! It is Solomon’s carriage,

    escorted by sixty warriors,

    the noblest of Israel,

8 all of them wearing the sword,

    all experienced in battle,

each with his sword at his side,

    prepared for the terrors of the night.

9 King Solomon made for himself the carriage;

    he made it of wood from Lebanon.

10 Its posts he made of silver,

    its base of gold.

Its seat was upholstered with purple,

    its interior inlaid with love.

Daughters of Jerusalem, 11 come out,

    and look, you daughters of Zion.

Look[a] on King Solomon wearing a crown,

    the crown with which his mother crowned him

on the day of his wedding,

    the day his heart rejoiced.

He

4 How beautiful you are, my darling!

    Oh, how beautiful!

    Your eyes behind your veil are doves.

Your hair is like a flock of goats

    descending from the hills of Gilead.

2 Your teeth are like a flock of sheep just shorn,

    coming up from the washing.

Each has its twin;

    not one of them is alone.

3 Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon;

    your mouth is lovely.

Your temples behind your veil

    are like the halves of a pomegranate.

4 Your neck is like the tower of David,

    built with courses of stone[b];

on it hang a thousand shields,

    all of them shields of warriors.

5 Your breasts are like two fawns,

    like twin fawns of a gazelle

    that browse among the lilies.

6 Until the day breaks

    and the shadows flee,

I will go to the mountain of myrrh

    and to the hill of incense.

7 You are altogether beautiful, my darling;

    there is no flaw in you.

8 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,

    come with me from Lebanon.

Descend from the crest of Amana,

    from the top of Senir, the summit of Hermon,

from the lions’ dens

    and the mountain haunts of leopards.

9 You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride;

    you have stolen my heart

with one glance of your eyes,

    with one jewel of your necklace.

10 How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride!

    How much more pleasing is your love than wine,

and the fragrance of your perfume

    more than any spice!

11 Your lips drop sweetness as the honeycomb, my bride;

    milk and honey are under your tongue.

The fragrance of your garments

    is like the fragrance of Lebanon.

12 You are a garden locked up, my sister, my bride;

    you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain.

13 Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates

    with choice fruits,

    with henna and nard,

14     nard and saffron,

    calamus and cinnamon,

    with every kind of incense tree,

    with myrrh and aloes

    and all the finest spices.

15 You are[c] a garden fountain,

    a well of flowing water

    streaming down from Lebanon.

She

16 Awake, north wind,

    and come, south wind!

Blow on my garden,

    that its fragrance may spread everywhere.

Let my beloved come into his garden

    and taste its choice fruits.

He

5:1 I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride;

    I have gathered my myrrh with my spice.

I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey;

    I have drunk my wine and my milk.

Friends

Eat, friends, and drink;

    drink your fill of love.

Footnotes

a. Song of Songs 3:11 Or interior lovingly inlaid / by the daughters of Jerusalem. / 11 Come out, you daughters of Zion, / and look

b. Song of Songs 4:4 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.

c. Song of Songs 4:15 Or I am (spoken by She)

 

1. Today’s passage describes the wedding day of the Shulamite woman and the king. While the woman was in the country town tending the family vineyard and the flock, she saw a procession of the king. The king brought a beautiful carriage carefully adorned to seat his bride. The king himself wore a crown prepared for his wedding day. Can you imagine what this country maiden would have felt to see that?

 

2. Chapter 4 is mostly the song of the king expressing his delight in his beautiful bride at the wedding. The king finds her beautiful and flawless (7). Since the king had possession of anything he ever wanted, the king’s affection for a simple woman from a humble background may be surprising. Yet, this reminds us of the Lord’s delight over each of us as we humbly seek our refuge in him (Zephaniah 3:17).

 

3. In response to the king’s affection, the woman invites him into her garden. She has prepared her garden that only the king can enter, which she considers ‘his garden’. Would you receive the love of the Lord and prepare your heart as a place where only he can enter?

 

Prayer Father, thank you for Jesus, my Lord, and the King. I feel secure in his love. Please come into my heart and guide my soul so I may be one with you and share your heart.

One Word Come into my garden

HE IS MINE AND I AM HIS

Song of Songs 2:8-3:5 / Keywords 2:16

My lover is mine and I am his; he browses among the lilies.

2:8 Listen! My beloved!

    Look! Here he comes,

leaping across the mountains,

    bounding over the hills.

9 My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.

    Look! There he stands behind our wall,

gazing through the windows,

    peering through the lattice.

10 My beloved spoke and said to me,

    “Arise, my darling,

    my beautiful one, come with me.

11 See! The winter is past;

    the rains are over and gone.

12 Flowers appear on the earth;

    the season of singing has come,

the cooing of doves

    is heard in our land.

13 The fig tree forms its early fruit;

    the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.

Arise, come, my darling;

    my beautiful one, come with me.”

He

14 My dove in the clefts of the rock,

    in the hiding places on the mountainside,

show me your face,

    let me hear your voice;

for your voice is sweet,

    and your face is lovely.

15 Catch for us the foxes,

    the little foxes

that ruin the vineyards,

    our vineyards that are in bloom.

She

16 My beloved is mine and I am his;

    he browses among the lilies.

17 Until the day breaks

    and the shadows flee,

turn, my beloved,

    and be like a gazelle

or like a young stag

    on the rugged hills.[d]

Footnotes

d. Song of Songs 2:17 Or the hills of Bether

 

1. The Shulamite woman tells about her time of short separation from the king. After their first meeting in the country vineyard, the king left for the winter, and the woman was waiting in great anxiety. Can you imagine her joy as she sees the king approaching from the other side of the mountain after the long winter (8)?

 

2. The king calls out to her and shows unchanging affection, reminding her that he has come as he had promised (11). The couple rejoices in their reunion and looks into securing their vineyard from ‘little foxes’ to keep it in bloom (15). The woman also tells about her dream of desperately looking for the king at night in the city (3:1-3). She looked like a madwoman (3), and when she found him, she held onto him and would not let him go (4). The woman says they are one in each other (2:16).

 

3. This woman’s desperation to be with her beloved one reminds us of what a believer would feel apart from Christ. We have been joined with Christ in one spirit (1Co 6:17). Does your heart desire to seek the Lord and be with him as a young lover’s desperate heart?

 

Prayer Father, thank you for the love relationship I share with you through Jesus. Thank you for your unchanging love. Please help me always to be secure, knowing that you are with me.

One Word I desperately seek you

WE WILL PRAISE YOUR LOVE

Song of Songs 1:1-2:7 / Keywords 1:4b

We rejoice and delight in you; we will praise your love more than wine. How right they are to adore you!

1:1 Solomon’s Song of Songs.

She[a]

2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth—

    for your love is more delightful than wine.

3 Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes;

    your name is like perfume poured out.

    No wonder the young women love you!

4 Take me away with you—let us hurry!

    Let the king bring me into his chambers.

Friends

We rejoice and delight in you[b];

    we will praise your love more than wine.

She

How right they are to adore you!

5 Dark am I, yet lovely,

    daughters of Jerusalem,

dark like the tents of Kedar,

    like the tent curtains of Solomon.[c]

6 Do not stare at me because I am dark,

    because I am darkened by the sun.

My mother’s sons were angry with me

    and made me take care of the vineyards;

    my own vineyard I had to neglect.

7 Tell me, you whom I love,

    where you graze your flock

    and where you rest your sheep at midday.

Why should I be like a veiled woman

    beside the flocks of your friends?

Friends

8 If you do not know, most beautiful of women,

    follow the tracks of the sheep

and graze your young goats

    by the tents of the shepherds.

He

9 I liken you, my darling, to a mare

    among Pharaoh’s chariot horses.

10 Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings,

    your neck with strings of jewels.

11 We will make you earrings of gold,

    studded with silver.

She

12 While the king was at his table,

    my perfume spread its fragrance.

13 My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh

    resting between my breasts.

14 My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms

    from the vineyards of En Gedi.

He

15 How beautiful you are, my darling!

    Oh, how beautiful!

    Your eyes are doves.

She

16 How handsome you are, my beloved!

    Oh, how charming!

    And our bed is verdant.

He

17 The beams of our house are cedars;

    our rafters are firs.

She[d]

2:1 I am a rose[e] of Sharon,

    a lily of the valleys.

He

2 Like a lily among thorns

    is my darling among the young women.

She

3 Like an apple[f] tree among the trees of the forest

    is my beloved among the young men.

I delight to sit in his shade,

    and his fruit is sweet to my taste.

4 Let him lead me to the banquet hall,

    and let his banner over me be love.

5 Strengthen me with raisins,

    refresh me with apples,

    for I am faint with love.

6 His left arm is under my head,

    and his right arm embraces me.

7 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you

    by the gazelles and by the does of the field:

Do not arouse or awaken love

    until it so desires.

Footnotes

a. Song of Songs 1:2 The main male and female speakers (identified primarily on the basis of the gender of the relevant Hebrew forms) are indicated by the captions He and She respectively. The words of others are marked Friends. In some instances the divisions and their captions are debatable.

b. Song of Songs 1:4 The Hebrew is masculine singular.

c. Song of Songs 1:5 Or Salma

d. Song of Songs 2:1 Or He

e. Song of Songs 2:1 Probably a member of the crocus family

f. Song of Songs 2:3 Or possibly apricot; here and elsewhere in Song of Songs

 

1. In his love song with the Shulamite maiden (6:13), Solomon describes the feelings between the king and a young woman who have just fallen in love with each other.

 

2. The woman expresses her overwhelming love for the king and desire to be with him (4,7,2:4). She was an outcast in the family and was put to labor under the hot sun. She knows she may seem less qualified as the king’s lover than the women of Jerusalem (1:5,6, 2:1), yet feels secure in the king’s love. Trusting in his love, she longs to be protected (2:4) and provided by him (2:5). In the chorus of blessings from the people around them (1:4,8), the couple feels delighted in each other’s presence.

 

3. Their relationship is in perfect harmony. We can have such a relationship with Christ when we submit to him fully and recognize his almighty power and protection. Do you want to have that relationship with him? What has been distracting you from having perfect harmony with the Lord? Would you come together in prayer to establish and restore the relationship with the Lord?

 

Prayer Father, thank you for Jesus, my true love and shepherd. I long to be in your presence and hear your words. Please come into my heart and help me to delight in you.

One Word Your love is more delightful…