September 24th
Song of Solomon 4
1:
Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast
doves' eyes within thy locks: thy hair is as a flock of goats, that
appear from mount Gilead. 2:
Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which came
up from the washing; whereof every one bear twins, and none is barren
among them. 3:
Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely: thy
temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks. 4:
Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armoury, whereon
there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men. 5:
Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed
among the lilies. 6:
Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the
mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense. 7:
Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee. 8:
Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon: look from
the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon, from the lions'
dens, from the mountains of the leopards. 9:
Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished
my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck. 10:
How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! how much better is thy
love than wine! and the smell of thine ointments than all spices! 11:
Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb: honey and milk are
under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of
Lebanon. 12:
A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a
fountain sealed. 13:
Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits;
camphire, with spikenard, 14:
Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of
frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices: 15:
A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from
Lebanon. 16:
Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that
the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden,
and eat his pleasant fruits.
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. 2:
I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that
knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my
undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the
drops of the night. 3:
I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet;
how shall I defile them? 4:
My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels
were moved for him. 5:
I rose up to open to my beloved; and my hands dropped with myrrh, and
my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh, upon the handles of the lock.
6:
I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was
gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not
find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer. 7:
The watchmen that went about the city found me, they smote me, they
wounded me; the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me. 8:
I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that
ye tell him, that I am sick of love. 9:
What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among
women? what is thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost
so charge us? 10:
My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand. 11:
His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy, and black as
a raven. 12:
His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed
with milk, and fitly set. 13:
His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers: his lips like
lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh. 14:
His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl: his belly is as
bright ivory overlaid with sapphires. 15:
His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold: his
countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars. 16:
His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my
beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.
Today we are
reading chapter 4 & 5. We saw yesterday that from 3v6 – 5v1 we
have the procession of Solomon’s court to Jerusalem. In v1-5 of
this chapter the beloved shepherd boy comes to Solomon’s court to
rescue his devoted love. He manages to see her and expresses his
delight in her again. We see a contrast between his modesty and
Solomon’s coarse flattery in 6v4-10 and 7v1-9. He says to her you
are beautiful – he says it twice. You have beautiful eyes within
your black hair. Black hair like the goats of mount Gilead. Your
teeth are like the whiteness of the sheep that have just been shorn
and washed and they are all pregnant with twins. Your lips are like a
scarlet thread and you speak so appropriately. Your forehead is like
a pomegranate. You neck is like the tower David built for his
armoury. Your breasts are like two young roes. She answers, I will
return to you before night-time. I will meet you on the mountains of
myrrh and the hills of frankincense. He speaks again saying, You are
so beautiful there is no blemish in you. Come away with me to the
north to secret places (where they will never be found). You have
conquered my heart with your eyes. I love you more than my daily
drink. Your smell is wonderful. Then he speaks adoringly of her lips,
her clothes, calling her a secret place - sealed up. He describes her
as if she were a secret garden full of fruits. She answers him asking
him to take her away. In ch 5 v1 he says I am coming for you. Some of
the women of Jerusalem encourage her in her love. From v2 the
daughter speaks to the court ladies of a dream she once had. She say
I slept but my mind was awake and she heard in her dream to voice of
her beloved shepherd. He was calling on her to open the door for him
to enter her bedroom. He says I am wet and I have taken off my coat
and don’t want to put it back on. He says I have washed my feet and
don’t want to get them dirty again. He put his hand through the
hole of the door to lift the latch to come in. And her love for him
moved within her. She rose up to open the door and her hands dropped
myrrh onto the handle of the bolt. She says I opened the door to her
shepherd boy but by that time he had slipped away and was gone. She
heart had been touched by his voice but now she could not find him.
She called out his name but there was no answer. As she searched for
him the watchmen pushed her about and hurt her and took off her veil.
(A gross insult) He made the women of the city swear to tell her
where her beloved had gone if they ever found out, she confessed she
was love sick. They ask her what is so special about her shepherd
and she answers. She describes him as white but red. (Typical of a
shepherd exposed to the sun all day – just as David was) His skin
is very white yet sun scorched. She says he is the chief of 10,000
sheep - an outstanding shepherd. His head is like fine gold, his hair
is bushy and jet black. His eyes are like doves eyes deep and black
surrounded with white and beautifully set. His checks are like a bed
of spices, like aromatic flowers. His lips are like lilies which drop
myrrh. His legs are like pillars of marble on sockets of fine gold.
He is tall like a cedar. His mouth is sweet and all together he is
lovely. She says this is what my beloved is like and he is my best
friend.
- How does the bride describe her Love?
- How does the groom describe his bride?
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