1: LOVE AWAKENED (1:1 2:7)

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1 1: LOVE AWAKENED (1:1 2:7) (This section of the exposition is the longest. This is mainly because many of the principal images of The Song nineteen in all - first appear here. I have felt it best to give a fairly extended explanation of them when they first occur. There is, therefore, more space taken up with these explanations in this section than in any of the others.) 1:1 Solomon s Song of Songs 1 Kings 4:32 tells us that Solomon wrote one thousand and five songs. By calling it a song the author does not mean that it has to be sung. It might be better (but less poetic!) to call it a poem. Among these songs written by Solomon could well have been wedding songs, such as Psalm 45. Read that Psalm and you will quickly see parallels in the Song of Songs. Psalm 45:6-7 is quoted at Hebrews 1:8-9 and applied to Christ. It is connections like this that tend to confirm the view that The Song should be given the kind of interpretation that I have suggested in the Introduction. In the light of 1 Kings 4:32, it is possible that Solomon is the author. I do not, however, think that Solomon is to be identified with the lover for the reasons I have given in the Introduction and in Section 3 of the exposition. Even if he were not the author, The Song may have formed part of a collection of songs of which those written by Solomon formed the core rather as the Psalms of David include those written by others. This one is the Song of Songs because it is the best. The New Living Translation captures exactly the meaning by the addition of the words (not in the Hebrew) more wonderful than any other. 1:2a Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth This is where The Song really begins; the first verse was just the title. It is as passionate and abrupt a beginning as anything in Scripture. It is the yearning expression of a deep, unfulfilled desire. That it is unfulfilled is evident from the use of the third person: Let him. The Shulammite is desperate for the Shepherd, but he is not there. It is not so much that she wants to kiss him; rather, she wants him to kiss her. Of course she wants to express her love for him, and to him, in person. But even more she wants to feel the expression of his love for her. Kissing, in Scripture, demonstrates respect as well as affection. Jacob s immediate reaction on first meeting Rachel (a case, if ever there was one, of love at first sight!) was to kiss her (Genesis 29:11); in contrast, the Psalmist urges us to kiss the Son, lest he be angry (Psalm 2:12) as a mark of submission and respect. Some writers have correctly pointed out that one of the New Testament words for worship contains the idea of kissing; but this is more with the sense of respect than of affection, although both should always be present in Christian worship. Here, in The Song (and again at Song of Songs 8:1) the emphasis is entirely on affection. The imagery of kissing is used beautifully in Psalm 85:11-12:

2 Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other. Faithfulness springs forth from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven. God pours his love and righteousness from heaven; earth responds with faithfulness and peace. As a result:- The Lord will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest. In The Song we will find that, as the relationship between Shepherd and Shulammite grows, so her vineyard becomes fruitful so that by the end it will yield its harvest (Song of Songs 8:10-12). Throughout the Bible, God repeatedly shows us that he is looking for people who are truly hungry for real intimacy with him. It is impossible for us to reach him; but where there is genuine spiritual hunger; he will reach out to us. It is the Good Shepherd who will take the initiative in response to the heart-cry of those who love him. 1:2b For your love is more delightful than wine The sudden change from third person to second from his to your is striking. No sooner has the Shulammite given voice to the longing of her heart than the Shepherd is there with her. There is something similar in the well-known 23 rd Psalm. The first three verses of the psalm are full of green pastures and still waters. But verse four brings David to the valley of the shadow of death. Now the need for the manifest presence of the Lord is much more urgent. The first three verses are all in the third person: He makes He leads He restores He guides But at the moment of need David suddenly becomes aware of the presence of the Lord: You are with me His kisses, the Shulammite tells the Shepherd, express his love, which is more delightful than wine. More delightful, because it goes deeper and lasts longer. Nor will it easily run out. At best, the greatest human love can be no more than a reflection of God s love. God s love is poured into our hearts (Romans 5:5). Paul uses the same word for poured as Jesus used at the Last Supper when he spoke of his blood which was to be poured out on the cross. Like the blood of Christ, the love of God touches every part of our lives. Years ago a famous brewery used the slogan, Heineken refreshes the parts that other beers can t reach. In common, I think, with some other churches, we put up a big poster saying, Jesus refreshes the parts that not even Heineken can reach. It was a trivial enough statement, but for all its triviality, the sentiment was the same: God s love is more delightful than wine, not only because it goes deeper, but also because it lasts longer. God loves those who are his with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3). But, most of all, his love will never run out its extent is immeasurable, its depth unfathomable (Ephesians 3:17-19).

3 At this stage in The Song the Shulammite is, as it were, standing on a beach, looking out over a vast ocean of love. How wonderful it looks! She dares to paddle in the shallows. How lovely it feels! As The Song progresses, she will be led into depths of the Shepherd s love that speak to us of the ocean of God s love for us. 1:3a Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes Fragrance is a theme that will recur in every chapter of The Song. It includes the fragrance of the Shepherd (1:3, 13-14; 5:13); of the Shulammite (1:12; 4:11, 13-14; 7:8); of the mountains (4:6; 8:14); of the vineyards and gardens (2:13; 7:13); of the Shepherd s garden (5:1; 6:2) which is also the Shulammite s (4:16), and of the royal procession of King Solomon (3:6). The references to fragrance are more frequent and varied in The Song than anywhere else in the Bible. Indeed, in this book, where all five senses have their place, the sense of smell is the most widely and imaginatively used. The Shulammite s first words here to the Shepherd are about fragrance, as will be her last (8:14). The Song is a book of many themes: fragrance is one of the most significant. If the Shepherd is there, the very air that the Shulammite breathes is affected by his presence. Where God is present the whole atmosphere changes, and brings delight and joy to his people. The symbol of fragrance occurs frequently from beginning to end of the Bible. Its use in Scripture is fairly complex. It is that part of a sacrifice that pleases God (Genesis 8:21; Leviticus 1:9 etc.). But it is also used in connection with prayer as an expression of worship (Luke 1:10; cf. Revelation 8:3-4), where the fragrance is that of incense. The anointing oil used in connection with the worship of the Tabernacle and the Temple had to be fragrant (Exodus 25:6). Sacrifice, prayer and anointing together give fragrance its significance as a biblical image. In 2 Corinthians 2:12-14, Paul develops the idea of fragrance in a way that draws heavily on the biblical imagery: But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. There is here the idea of sacrifice. Those who follow in this procession are those who have yielded their lives to him as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1) just as representatives of a defeated army would follow in a victory procession in imperial Rome as a sign of their submission to the Emperor. The giving of our possessions is equally a sacrifice that presents God with a fragrant offering (Philippians 4:18). Therefore those who follow Christ, yielding to him both themselves and the fruit of their lives become the aroma of Christ. They are the aroma of Christ because Christ is in them. It follows that wherever they go, he goes, so that through them he spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him. To those who are perishing it is indeed the smell of death,

4 because in his presence they become aware of their rejection of him, and that they are under judgement. But to those who are being saved, as they welcome him into their lives, Christ in us becomes the fragrance of life. In 2 Corinthians 3 (especially verses 17-18) Paul discusses the place of the Holy Spirit in all of this. Christians welcome the Lord, the Holy Spirit, into their lives, and so manifest the fragrance of the oil of anointing. They are also released into worship, prayer and intercession, all represented by the Altar of Incense. Once the significance of fragrance is grasped, the many references in The Song become full of spiritual meaning and, in turn help us to understand the image of fragrance as it occurs elsewhere in Scripture. 1:3b Your name is like perfume poured out Names are often significant. The names of many of people in the Bible reflect their origins or express a promise or a hope for their lives. But what is the Shepherd s name? We never know, for it is never spoken in The Song. (Song of Songs 8:12 mentions Solomon. But as I have already explained I am certain that Solomon is not the lover). It is, of course, natural to love your lover s name. For the Christian the names of God can be a constant source of spiritual delight. The people of Israel called God by names that particularly reflected what he had done. Meditating on these names refreshes us as we think again of God s provision ( Jehovah Jireh, Genesis 22:14); his triumphs ( Jehovah Nissi, Exodus 17:15); his grace and peace ( Jehovah Shalom, Judges 6:24), and many others besides. Equally we are blessed as we meditate on the names of Jesus:- Jesus, name above all names, Beautiful Saviour, Glorious Lord. Emmanuel, God is with us, Blessed Redeemer, Living Word. In Scripture, prayer and worship is sometimes referred to as calling on the name of the Lord (Genesis 4:26; 12:8; 13:4; 26:25; 1 Kings 18:24; 2 Kings 5:11; 1 Chronicles 16:8; Psalm 99:6; 105:1; 116:14, 17; Isaiah 12:4; Zephaniah 3:9). As we call on his name we enter into his presence and begin to experience all that his name implies. It is for these reasons that the name of the Lord is like perfume poured out. Once we have made worship in the presence of the living God part of our lifestyle, every mention of his name becomes precious to us, because it reminds of him whom we love with all our hearts. When we meet together in the name of Jesus, he is there with us and we experience the fragrance of his presence (cf. Matthew 18:20). 1:3c No wonder the maidens love you The maidens are the daughters of Jerusalem (Song of Songs 1:5) often referred to by commentators as the Shulammite s friends. It will become apparent through the rest of The Song that they love the Shepherd but without experiencing anything of the intimacy for which the Shulammite longs.

5 1:4 Take me away with you - let us hurry! The essence of a really intimate relationship with the Lord is that he takes us to where he wants us to be, rather than that we demand that he comes to where we choose to be. We can only enjoy him fully at the time and place of his choosing. He does come to us where we are, but it is always to lift us out of our situations and up into his place. In Christ we are seated with him in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 2:6). This place is the place where our lives are no longer dominated by past experience and present circumstance, but by the gracious presence of the Lord who has triumphed over everything that drags us down. A deep desire to experience the reality of that (rather than being bogged down under the circumstances ) is the starting-point for true intimacy with the Lord. When the desire is genuine we will feel the same sense of urgency ( let us hurry ) to be with him in his place. 1:4b Let the king bring me to his chambers Who is this king? He is a shepherd (Song of Songs 1:7); he leaps across the mountains (Song of Songs 2:8); he browses among the lilies (Song of Songs 2:16). Obviously there is rich imagery here. Perhaps it is irrelevant to ask whether the Shulammite s lover is a real king to her he is. If he is not a real king, then, maybe, his palace is not a real palace and his chambers not real chambers (see Song of Songs 1:17). To be sure, David was both king and shepherd; but he had given up sheep years before he reigned as king. It is hard to imagine Solomon or any other king running alone through the streets of Jerusalem at night in search of his beloved (Song of Songs 2:8-10; 5:2-6), evading the notice of the watchmen (Song of Songs 3:3; 5:6-7). What matters is that he is her king, the one who rules her heart. She wants him to bring her to his chambers, a place of safety and security. This is not where, ultimately, he wants her to be with him. But she is still too insecure to be anywhere else, so this is where, because he really loves her, he is willing to begin. The Lord always starts any new work in our lives exactly where we are. He will take us to the place of his choosing; but he always starts at the place of our choosing. The beginning of his purposes for my life is where I am now, not where I might have been, or where I think I ought to be. 1:4c We rejoice and delight in you: we will praise your love more than wine This comment by the Shulammite s friends is encouraging enough. But it is said, so to speak, from outside. There is something distinctly second-hand about their joy as they simply echo her words, more than wine. For her his love is more delightful than wine ; the most they can do is to praise his love more than wine. Throughout The Song the friends are a group whose primary relationships are among themselves. They share nothing of the Shulammite s intimacy with her lover. They are just admiring onlookers no less, no more.

6 1:4d How right they are to adore you! Such adoration is indeed right. But the Shulammite longs for much more than this. As we continue our study of The Song, the nature and character of the Shulammite s friends will become clearer. But there is one thing that is worth saying at this point. In most churches you will find two groups of people: you could call them the onlookers and the participants. Participants are people who are actively engaged in nurturing their relationship with the Lord. They may or may not be particularly involved in church activities. If they are, it will be the natural outcome of their relationship with the Lord rather than out of a sense of duty. Onlookers may be very involved indeed in church activities but, as far as intimacy with the Lord is concerned, they have very little experience. They may see and envy the relationship that others have with the Lord but, for the present, it eludes them. Their adoration of him (which may well be expressed in genuinely heartfelt worship) remains theoretical rather than real. Perhaps now is the moment to draw attention to a very important distinction between soulish and spiritual activity. The human personality is made up of body, soul and spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23). The soul includes the intellect and the emotions. The spirit is that part of our being that relates to God and which is the source of our life: when Jesus gave up his spirit on the Cross, he died. What is going on at the level of our spirit, finds expression in our soul (in our emotions and in our intellect). But it is very easy to give expression to our faith in ways that are exclusively intellectual or emotional. People, especially those who are more academically inclined may give a very intellectual response to the Bible and Christian teaching; others response may be very emotional they are deeply moved by church music or liturgy or the beauty of the words of Scripture. In other words, the expression of these people s faith doesn t have its origin in the human spirit s response to the Holy Spirit, but is rather a response originating in the area of the soul. They may say that they love Jesus, but their love is emotional, not spiritual and their activities as Christian believers are driven by their feelings rather than being led by the Spirit. Others may say that they have a deep understanding of the truth, but their understanding is intellectual, not spiritual and their activities as Christian believers are driven more by mental conviction and duty than being led by the active Word of God in their spirits. This whole matter was an issue for the church at Corinth and Paul addresses it in 1 Corinthians 2:1-16. By skilful use of biblical imagery, The Song traces the Shulammite s journey from soulish love to spiritual love; in contrast, the love of her friends remains emotional and soulish. For this reason they remain nothing more than onlookers as the Shulammite becomes more and more a participant. 1:5a Dark am I, yet lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem Two important things have already been established in The Song: the desperate yearning of the Shulammite for the Shepherd and a hint (even though he has not yet spoken) of his willingness to reach out to her. So far, there is no real intimacy. Now, in beautiful and very moving terms, she begins to explain why intimacy eludes her.

7 In the culture of the time, fair skin was an essential feature of feminine beauty. But she is sun-tanned with a darkness which conceals her true beauty. Both the symbolism and the facts contained in this and the next verse explain the reasons for the darkness of her skin, and something of the causes of the insecurity and reticence that will shortly be revealed as her most obvious characteristics. 1:5b Dark like the tents of Kedar Kedar was the second son of Ishmael (Genesis 25:13) who gave his name to a large region of Arabia. Ezekiel uses the name as equivalent to Arabia (Ezekiel 27:21). It is referred to in Psalm 120 where the psalmist regrets that he lives among the tents of Kedar. He is in distress because he is a man of peace, but is living among those who hate peace and are for war. Kedar may have been warlike, but it also became very prosperous. It was one of Tyre s main trading partners. Its wealth and warlike tendencies are both noted in Isaiah s prophecy of Kedar s downfall (Isaiah 21:16). Kedar, like his father, Ishmael, is the descendant of the bondwoman, Hagar (Galatians 4:25). In Galatians, Paul warns Christians of the dangers of falling into legalism. Even Jerusalem, standing for the people of Israel, could fall into the slavery of legalism. The same danger confronts individual Christians, and whole churches. It is all too easy to become works-orientated and to develop values in which Christian living becomes a matter of activities and programmes, rather than of intimacy with the Lord. It is precisely this danger into which the Shulammite has fallen, working hard in the vineyards (Song of Songs 1:6) rather than spending time with the Shepherd and bringing her own vineyard to fruitfulness. It is this that submerges her true beauty and robs her both of her security and of real intimacy with her lover. She represents people who have lost their spiritual vitality to such an extent that, in terms of spiritual experience and intimacy with the Lord, they are little better than unbelievers. 1:5c Like the tent curtains of Solomon. The effect of tent curtains is to conceal the person inside from the gaze of those outside. What the Shulammite is saying is that her condition, her darkness, makes it impossible for her to see the Shepherd and, indeed, conceals her from him. The curtain of the Temple that hung between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies had the same effect. It concealed the divine glory from the gaze of any who entered the Temple. The Shulammite longs to be with the Shepherd, but her darkness has created an impenetrable barrier between them, that is analogous to the veil that covers the unbelieving heart (2 Corinthians 3:15) and to the curtain (the veil) of the Temple (cf. Hebrews 9:1-10). 1.6a Do not stare at me because I am dark, because I am darkened by the sun The daughters of Jerusalem are unable to do more than stare at the Shulammite. They understand her aspirations (in this they are better than the sons mentioned in the next

8 sentence), and are aware of the problem, but because of their position are helpless to do anything about it. All they can do is to stare (cf. Song of Songs 6:13). 1:6b My mother s sons were angry with me and made me take care of the vineyards She now explains the reason for her sunburned skin. She has been forced to work in the vineyards by her mother s sons. They are not her true brothers, but half-brothers, sharing the same mother, but having a different father. For some reason, not explained and perhaps not even understood, they were angry with her. That is why they drove her to work, presumably intending to profit from her labours. The result is that she has the complexion not of a princess but of a slave. We are led here into a rich seam of biblical imagery. God was Israel s true Father, but she committed spiritual adultery, going after other gods and worshipping them. Those who remained faithful to the God of Israel were often persecuted and abused by the others, who shared a spiritual mother the nation of Israel but who could not in any true sense call God their Father. Some, like Elijah and Jeremiah, stood firm; others compromised and did themselves great spiritual damage. Those who did stand firm often found themselves abused and persecuted, even reduced to slavery, by the others who had been disloyal to God. Jeremiah is a classic case in point; Hebrews 11 lists many others. Throughout the history of God s people to this day, one way or another, a similar pattern has persisted. Often we call it nominal Christianity : church members having the form of godliness, but denying its power (2 Timothy 3:5). Such people see the church as a sphere of work and results, not as a place of intimacy with God and of the fruitfulness that is its natural product. Leaders of these churches tend to be domineering and to regard those whose priority is simply to spend time with the Lord as not pulling their weight, as being passengers, not sufficiently involved, not really active members, lacking in real commitment. To the person whose heart is simply to seek the Lord and to enjoy his presence, all this comes over as anger. But to yield to the pressure has disastrous consequences. In most churches we can find mother s sons who may well be inclined to condemn the emphasis on the development of a personal relationship of intimacy with the Lord as self-indulgence and lack of commitment to the church s activities and programmes. There will also be daughters of Jerusalem who approve of personal intimacy with the Lord when they see it in others, but who have decided that it is not for them. What we need to understand is that a fruitful life for God s kingdom flows, not from commitment to the church s activities and programmes, but from an intimate relationship with the Lord (see John 15:1-17). In the first place, the Shulammite has lost her beauty or, at least, although it is still there, it has become hidden. Her beauty is made up of all those characteristics that make her so wonderfully attractive to the Shepherd. Particularly, they represent the fruit of the Spirit, which cannot develop properly in an environment that is all flesh (Galatians 5:16-26).

9 But, in the second place: 1:6c My own vineyard I have neglected What her own vineyard is will become clear as The Song unfolds. Basically, it is her own place of fruitfulness. So long as she is forced to work in the sons vineyards, helping them to be productive, she herself becomes unfruitful. 1:7a Tell me, you whom I love, where you graze your flock and where you rest your sheep at midday The image suddenly changes from the vineyard to the flock. The vineyard stands for one s own personal life, one s own heart, the place of personal fruitfulness. The flock stands for those for whom one has responsibility, and for whom one has a loving, caring, relationship (see Acts 20:28). The Shulammite knows that the best place to find the Shepherd is with his flock. They depend upon him for guidance, for nourishment, for peace, rest and security (Psalm 23:1-6). The best place to find the Lord is always among his people when they are truly worshipping him and expressing their dependence upon him and welcoming him among them. 1:7b Why should I be like a veiled woman beside the flocks of your friends? Just as her mother s sons have their own vineyards, so the Shepherd s friends have their own flocks. Just as there is a difference between the sons vineyards and her own vineyard, so there is a difference between the Shepherd s flock and the flocks of his friends. The flock stands for the fellowship of believers. There are two kinds of fellowships. There are those that meet genuinely in the name of Jesus, which he graces with his manifest presence, and where he pours out his love and power. They are led by him, and gladly submit to his leadership. And there are fellowships and churches that, although made up of the right kind of people and outwardly doing all the right things, are led not by the Lord but by the minister, the leader, or even someone who calls himself pastor (cf. Ezekiel 34:1-31). Those who yearn for intimacy with the Lord will only ever find real satisfaction of heart and spirit in the first kind of fellowship. The other kind may be led by those who are true disciples, friends of the Lord (John 15:14-15), but it is they, rather than the Lord, who lead their flocks, and so the people who make up such fellowships tend to focus more on the pastor and the leaders than on the Lord. In such a fellowship the person who truly longs for intimacy with the Lord feels like a veiled woman, inhibited, unable to be herself, standing on the edge of things, beside the flock, not fully participating. The Shulammite cannot relate openly to her lover s friends because they are unable to give her what will really satisfy her deepest needs. This feeling of inhibition affects her relationship with the Shepherd. The day has not yet come (nor will it for a while see Song of Songs 4:1, 3; 6:7) when she can look at her lover with unveiled face (2 Corinthians 3:18). But even here, beside the flocks of his friends, and for very different reasons, she cannot be open as she longs to be. It

10 is the same for many Christian believers who find themselves in churches where the emphasis is on activity rather than intimacy with the Lord, because it is only where the Spirit of the Lord is that there are true freedom and unveiled faces (2 Corinthians 3:17-18). 1:8 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 It is easy to get lost in the mountains of Mediterranean countries. Sheep and goats wander freely leaving a maze of tracks. In the dry ground it is all but impossible to distinguish between those made by people, and those made by animals. I can remember following a promising path, only to find it ending abruptly at a patch of upland pasture. But, if the shepherds were around, that would be where to find them. Follow the sheep and you will find the shepherds, counsel the Shulammite s friends, but don t ask us to take you, because we don t know where your lover is any more than you do. I think that we sometimes undervalue the importance of relating to Christians who do enjoy real intimacy with the Lord in helping us into the kind of relationship with him that they enjoy. If we want to get close to the Good Shepherd, then it is essential that we join with those sheep who know his voice (John 10:4) and are keeping close to him. 1:9 I liken you, my darling, to a mare harnessed to one of the chariots of Pharaoh For the first time in The Song the Shepherd speaks. How quickly she seems to have found him, once she has begun her search! But what he says is deeply significant. There is no doubt about his love for her, she is his darling ; and her beauty, in spite of the darkness of her skin, impresses him. But, at present, no real intimacy is possible. The image he uses explains why. His desire for her is that she should enjoy true freedom. But at present she has no more freedom than a mare harnessed to a chariot. Furthermore, it is to one of Pharaoh s chariots that she is harnessed. In Scripture, Egypt is always a symbol of oppression. Egypt symbolises the slavery out of which the Lord has redeemed his people. To go back to Egypt is to fall back into slavery (Jeremiah 2:13-19; Hosea 8:11-14). Yet this is exactly where the beloved is. It took forty years to get Israel into the Promised Land after their deliverance from Egypt. Having got Israel out of Egypt, God then needed all that time in the desert to get Egypt out of Israel. Their slavery was not just a matter of physical restriction. If anything it was more a matter of the attitudes of their hearts. Pharaoh's mare has no option but to obey her master: she has no freedom. One of the most significant themes of The Song is that true freedom is only ever found in relationship with the living God. This is not a matter of external appearances, but of personal relationship. 1:10 Your cheeks are beautiful with ear-rings, your neck with strings of jewels He loves her. He knows that she has a true beauty that will be revealed when all the barriers are down and the veil is removed; when she is released from slavery, and able

11 to walk with head held high (Leviticus 26:13). But at present all the beauty is artificial, something put on, consisting of her jewellery (see 2 Peter 3:3-4). Pharaoh s chariot-horses were magnificent and impressive, but they were not free. It is all too easy to cover spiritual poverty with an outer layer of jewellery good programmes, church activities and committed involvement in all that a church is doing (it does not have to be gaudy rituals!). The outward show of success can so insidiously become a cover for spiritual poverty and the lack of true intimacy with and freedom in Christ. 1:11 We will make you ear-rings of gold studded with silver These words are spoken by the Shulammite s friends who think that the Shepherd is impressed by her jewels. Throughout The Song the friends consistently fail to understand or to empathise with what is really going on. They cannot grasp that it is all a matter of the heart and not of external appearances so they offer to make more jewellery. God s approach to us is always an approach from the heart, and he longs for us to respond similarly, from the heart. It is notable that at times of revival and of spiritual outpouring, what God is so graciously doing is often stopped in its tracks by churches that respond by creating more organisations, events and programmes which, far from bringing about greater freedom for God s people, actually become a burden. As the fires of revival die down, instead of moving on into spiritual maturity, people tend to fill the vacuum with activities, structures and programmes that do not flow from the heart of God. The Church, far from being the radiant Bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:25-27; Revelation 21:9-27), becomes a work-horse beautiful, perhaps, but with no true freedom. The image of Pharaoh s chariot tells us that the Shulammite is in the wrong place, serving the wrong king and bedecked with the wrong jewels. That the Shepherd meets her there does not condone any of these things. He meets her (just as God meets any of us) where we are because it is only by meeting us when we are in the wrong place that he can release us into the right place. It was by meeting his people in Egypt that he released them from Egypt. To make her into a bejewelled slave would do nothing towards releasing her into the freedom that is the Shepherd s deepest desire for the Shulammite. God is concerned not with the outward appearance that we see, but with the heart that he sees (1 Samuel 16:7). 1:12 While the king was at his table my perfume spread its fragrance It will become clearer as the poem proceeds that the king is neither Solomon nor any other king. She calls him king because he rules over her heart and her affections. The setting of their meeting together is completely rural. They are not in a palace, but on a mountain pasture (1:8), enclosed, not by the walls and roof of a banqueting hall, but by firs and cedar trees (1:17).

12 First of all, she refers to her fragrance. The fragrance that is pleasing to God is that of sacrifice (Genesis 8:21), of prayer, symbolised by incense (Exodus 30:14), and of worship, which is the sacrifice of ourselves (Romans 12:1) and includes our gifts (Philippians 4:18). Paul condenses the whole Biblical imagery of the fragrance that is pleasing to God into a single complex image in 2 Corinthians 2: The fragrance of the Shulammite in her lover s presence is an analogy of the fragrance of believers yielding their whole lives to the Lord. It is a symbol of the living sacrifice of worship, intercession and giving which touches and affects the lives of all who witness it, just as the Shulammite s perfume spreads its fragrance. There are wonderful New Testament parallels in the stories of Mary anointing the feet of Jesus (John 12:1-8) and of the sinful woman similarly anointing Jesus at the Pharisee s house (Luke 7:36-50). 1:13 My lover is to me a sachet of myrrh resting between my breasts There is no special significance attached to myrrh. It was a valuable and beautiful spice, used in the sacred anointing oil of the tabernacle (Exodus 30:23) and was one of the gifts of the wise men to Jesus (Matthew 2:11). The fact that it was later used in embalming led to its being connected with death (see John 19:39). But in Old Testament times myrrh was used in the anointing oil and as a perfume, particularly in preparation for marriage (Esther 2:12; Psalm 45:8; compare Proverbs 7:17). Like other perfumes it brings joy to the heart (Proverbs 27:9). The idea of a sachet of myrrh resting between the Shulammite s breasts suggests great sensual and emotional pleasure. There is a subtle, but significant difference between this verse and the preceding one. The Shulammite s perfume spreads its fragrance (that is, it is separate from her) but the Shepherd is the sachet of myrrh and (in the next verse) the cluster of blossoms. There is a sense in which she gives him her fragrance (which represents the sacrifice of herself), and yet this is not as wholehearted as her lover s giving of himself to her. This difference is something that re-emerges throughout The Song. Indeed, one of its principle themes is the way in which the Shepherd gently brings the Shulammite to the point of unqualified and total surrender to him. But the most striking thing about this image of her lover being to her a sachet of myrrh resting between her breasts is this: as he touches her heart, his fragrance becomes hers. It is as if he were a sachet of myrrh hung from her neck, worn by her. Paul echoes this exactly when he says: We are to God the aroma of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:16). 1:14 My lover is to me a cluster of henna blossoms from the vineyards of En Gedi This is little more than a poetic repetition of the thought of the previous verse. In Old Testament times (but not today) En Gedi was a very fertile region close to the Dead Sea.

13 1:15 How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes are doves The Shepherd is able to see the Shulammite s true beauty beneath her tanned skin. Her eyes, of course, are not affected. Later in the poem the lover speaks extensively about her beauty, and on two of the three occasions begins with her eyes. (Song of Songs 4:1; 6:5). The eye is the light of the body (Luke 11:34), but, conversely, it is also a window of the soul. The effect of the burden of guilt was to remove the light from David s eyes (Psalm 38:10). The physical eyes have a spiritual counterpart, the eyes of the heart (Ephesians 1:18), which can be enlightened. They enable the believer to perceive spiritual realities, and to recognise the hand of God where he is at work: The Lord has done this, and it is marvellous in our eyes (Psalm 118:23). Just as the Shepherd delights in the eyes of the Shulammite, so the Lord rejoices when the eyes (in every sense) of his people are full of his light; when he looks into them and sees himself reflected from them (see 2 Corinthians 3:18). He likens her eyes, both here and at 4:1, to doves. The dove, in Scripture, is frequently used in a symbolical way. In Psalm 74:19 it represents someone loved by God, but vulnerable. In the Gospels it is (drawing, perhaps, on a rabbinical tradition) used as a symbol of the Holy Spirit. These and other symbolical uses may be relevant here, but the other references in The Song must be the key to our interpretation here. In Song of Songs 2:14, the Shulammite is likened to a dove in the clefts of the rock, hiding and inaccessible. In 4:1 her eyes are doves behind her veil, again suggesting hiddenness and inaccessibility. In 5:2, she is likened to a dove, as she stays behind a locked door, hesitant to open it to her lover until it is too late and he is gone. As the Lord looks into our eyes, what does he see? In the eyes of the Shulammite her lover surely does see his own face reflected, but with it fear, insecurity and uncertainty. In any case the veil spoils the clarity of the reflection. She wants to be close to him, but at the same time is afraid to give herself wholly to him. It is as if he were saying to her what the Lord often has to say to us: You are beautiful; I love you, and I rejoice to be in your presence, but I still cannot really reach you! 1:16 How handsome you are, my lover, oh how charming! and our bed is verdant She praises him in words that echo the previous verse, but while he refers to her (her eyes) she speaks not of him, but of their surroundings ( our bed is verdant ). Verdant, may refer to the green grass, or, more likely, the canopy of leaves provided by the trees. He can, and does, look her in the eye. One feels that, having seen that look, she immediately turns away, and fixes her eyes on their surroundings. She is not yet ready to see him face to face. 1:17 The beams of our house are cedars: our rafters are firs In most of The Song it is quite clear whether it is the Shepherd or the Shulammite who is speaking. It is not obvious here. Maybe the Shulammite is just continuing to talk about

14 the surroundings, or perhaps her lover, seeing where her mind is wandering, goes along with her, knowing that, in a moment, he will be able to say what really needs saying. In the same way, Jesus spoke with the woman at the well (John 4:17-26) using, so to speak, her route to lead her to his destination. The Lord is always gentle and gracious in taking us to the point where we can hear what he really wants to say to us. 2:1 I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys The chapter division is unfortunate. The first scene of this unfolding drama ends not at 1:17 but at 2:7. The image of flowers makes the transition from the Shulammite s surroundings to herself an easy one. But the fact that the transition is not to him but to her reflects a measure of insecurity and self-consciousness that makes it hard for her really to give herself to him. Like most insecure people, she finds it easiest to talk about herself. The precise species of flowers referred to here are unknown, and do not really matter. What is important is that she gives her lover the cue he needs if he is to say what he really wants her to hear. 2:2 Like a lily among thorns is my darling among the maidens There is an obvious comparison being made here. A lily is indisputably more beautiful than thorns. So, in the Shepherd s eyes the Shulammite is more beautiful than her friends. But there is more to this image. The thorns mean that the lily is inaccessible. Until she comes out from among her friends; until she is prepared to make her relationship with him the priority of her life, and until she is willing to leave the protection of other people, she will never know the true freedom and security of his love. The image of the lily among thorns suggests something very similar to those of the veiled woman (1:7), the harnessed mare (1:9) and the eyes like doves (1:15). For many people, one of the hardest spiritual lessons they ever learn has to do with reliance. They need to learn to move away from relying on their friends to relying on the Lord. And yet, until that step is taken, what provides security both restricts freedom and keeps the individual believer from knowing the Lord as he longs to be known. 2:3a Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest is my lover among the young men The Shulammite s response echoes her lover s words but the significance of her image is very different! Nobody knows the exact identification of the fruit translated here, and elsewhere in The Song, as apple. It is found again at 2:5; 7:8 and 8:5. Elsewhere in the Bible it occurs only at Proverbs 25:11 and Joel 1:12. It is, I think, more helpful to understand its significance as an image than to establish the precise species. In Joel 1:12 it is listed among the main crops that had been destroyed by locusts and drought. The Proverbs reference shows that it was used as a design for jewellery. Song of Songs 2:5 tells us that it has a refreshing fruit; Song of Songs 8:5 identifies it as the place where the

15 Shulammite had been conceived, born and first roused by her lover. It would seem that this fruit stands for life, vitality and refreshment. These, indeed, are the very things that her lover brings to her, in a way that none of the trees of the forest (representing the young men ) can match. 2:3b I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste He provides protection from the heat of the day (cf. Psalm 121:5-6) and is a constant source of pleasure. Words are the fruit of the lips (Proverbs 12:14). Pleasant words (Proverbs 16:24), and especially God s words (Psalm 1:10) are sweet to the soul. 2:4a He has taken me to the banquet hall Scripture often refers to feasts and banquets. They were joyful occasions. The most frequent were associated with the main festivals of the Jewish year and occasions of pilgrimage to Jerusalem (Deuteronomy 12:7). Against such a well-established background, it is hardly surprising that Jesus associated the breaking in of the Kingdom of God with feasting. In particular, he likened his presence among his people to a wedding feast, making it impossible for his guests to fast so long as he, the Bridegroom, was with them (Mark 2:19). This all foreshadows its ultimate fulfilment in the wedding feast of the Lamb (Revelation 19:6-9). Every intimate encounter with the Lord is a foretaste of the final glory when we will see him as he is, and feast with him who is himself the bread of life. The exact meaning of the word used for banquet hall throws even more light on the significance of this image. Strictly the word means house of wine : either a place where wine is produced or a vineyard. It is absolutely in keeping with the imagery of the whole Song that the banquet hall should be the vineyard, the place of fruitfulness. The purpose of developing an intimate relationship with the Lord is that our lives become fruitful. 2:4b And his banner over me is love Banners in the Bible were used to identify each tribe of Israel (Numbers 1:52), and they were used by armies on the march (Song of Songs 6:4). In each case their purpose was the same: to identify the tribe or regiment to which they belonged. Banners were (and are to this day) designed to look good, and to give dignity to their groups. For the Shulammite the distinguishing mark, the thing that gives her her identity is love. Primarily this is the Shepherd s love for her; but it is also her love for him. It is this love relationship that is the identifying characteristic of every believer. It is this that identifies the Christian far more than belonging to a church or being engaged in recognised Christian activities. And it is this more than anything else that gives believers a sense of identity, dignity and of belonging. But, in addition to all this, the banner is a symbol of war. After the defeat of the Amalakites, Moses built an altar and named it The Lord is my Banner (Exodus 17:15). God s love does satisfy it satisfies as nothing else can; but it is conquering love. It is

16 paradoxically a weapon of war. It is God s means of breaking the power of Satan and overthrowing his strongholds. At present the Shulammite cannot see this, but is simply caught up in the pleasure of the moment. There are features here that will be picked up at the end of the Song: the apple tree is not a place for rest and selfindulgence, but the starting-point for something new; the Lord s love is not saccharine, but a blazing fire, a mighty flame (SS 8:6). The Shulammite is not yet ready for this. She needs to know the overwhelming beauty of his love before she can understand its mighty power. Like the Shepherd, the Lord is in no hurry. He will never take us further than we are capable of going. 2:5 Strengthen me with raisins refresh me with apples for I am faint with love 2:6 His left arm is under my head, and his right arm embraces me 2:7 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 The Shulammite is completely relaxed and at rest, simply enjoying his presence and the security of his love. Much must change, but not yet. Indeed, she will only begin to change when she has the security of knowing without any shadow of doubt that the Shepherd accepts her and loves her. At last tentatively perhaps she has come out from among the thorns; she is unharnessed from Pharaoh s chariot, and she is in the embrace of her king. Let no one disturb her! I think that it is best to regard 2:7 as being spoken by the Shepherd. He says almost exactly the same again at 3:5 and at 8:4. On each occasion it comes at a time of intense intimacy, and it is always addressed to the daughters of Jerusalem. To arouse or awaken love could mean to stir up feelings of love, but that would hardly make sense here. It would be strange for either the Shepherd or the Shulammite to charge the daughters of Jerusalem not to stir up their feelings of love since is obvious that these feelings have already been stirred up. In any case the daughters of Jerusalem cannot stir up love in other people: it is only the lovers themselves who can stir up such feelings in and for each other. Nor can this be a piece of general advice to the daughters of Jerusalem about their love relationships. This would be a singularly inappropriate time for such advice! Other people cannot do anything to stir up the couple s love towards each other. But they can all too easily blunder in and disturb the development of the relationship. Surely this is the point of what the Shepherd says: such a precious moment of intimacy is not to be disturbed. His reference to the gazelles and the does of the field is very much to the point. These timid animals are lovely to watch but so easily frightened away. Such moments of intimacy are all too easily disturbed and, once interrupted, so hard to recapture.

17 On the other hand, such moments are not for ever. There comes a time when love itself calls for an end to the reverie. It is only part (although an essential part) of the development of the love relationship into maturity. It is not the Shepherd s purpose for it to remain permanently so self-indulgent. What he wants is something far more vigorous. But it is the relationship itself, as it grows, that will show when the time has come for the reverie to be ended. This verse comes at the conclusion of the first main section of The Song (the chapter divisions are not that helpful!). It is, I think, worth looking back for a moment over the whole section. Throughout, the Shulammite is seen as someone who is longing for intimacy with her lover. But because of the way she has been treated by her halfbrothers, she feels very insecure; and this insecurity makes her hanker after the safety of what is, in all reality, a very self-indulgent relationship. Although she welcomes her lover s caresses, she is too insecure to allow him close to her in the sense of them really beginning to share each other s lives. She likes to think of him as her king. But so long as she remains in many respects unapproachable, he cannot capture her heart so as to make it his. She is still, in many respects, like a mare harnessed to one of the chariots of Pharaoh. He does not try to force her to become what she is not yet ready to be. He acquiesces to her self-indulgence. He charges the daughters of Jerusalem not to rouse her from her dream, because it is in such moments of intimacy that he will capture her heart. The images used in the Song are ones which recur throughout Scripture and which are used to illustrate spiritual principles. I have tried to draw these out as I have explained each verse. It seems to me that there is one overriding lesson to be learned from this opening section of The Song. It is this: The Lord wants his people to have a mature, active, fruitful relationship with him. The development of such a relationship is thwarted when we are pressured into taking care of the vineyards to the neglect of our own personal lives. Often it is the call of church activity, of deadlines to be met, of the need to get on with the next thing and the demands of legitimate and very justifiable needs that stand in the way of people developing the love and intimacy with the Lord that he desires. This intimacy is not the be-all and end-all of the Christian life; but without it, and without quality time being spent in nurturing it, we cannot hope to live lives that are truly fruitful for the Lord.