CHAPTER 8 of Song of SongsWritten and edited by Glenn Pease

1 If only you were to me like a brother, who was

nursed at my mother's breasts! Then, if I found

you outside, I would kiss you, and no one would

despise me.

1. It would be despised if she kissed her lover outside for all to see. Public display of

affection may be common in our culture, but it was frowned on in that culture, and

so it just was not done. But to kiss a brother outside was perfectly permissible. That

is why she wishes her lover was her brother, so she could grab and kiss him in the

open air before the world and not have to hide her affection for him. She loves the

idea of public affection, but her culture limits her desire, and she has to control her

emotions and kiss him only in private. It seems that people in Solomon's day

frowned upon public displays of affection by women. After all, the woman in

question could be a prostitute -- or an adulteress (cf. Proverbs 7:10-20).

1B. Expositor's Bible, "The shepherd has addressed the Shulammite as his sister ;

2she now reciprocates the title by expressing her longing that he had been as her

brother. 3 This singular mode of courtship between two lovers who are so

passionately devoted to one another that we might call them the Hebrew Romeo and

Juliet, is not without significance. Its recurrence, now on the lips of the bride, helps

to sharpen still more the contrast between what passes for love in the royal harem,

and the true emotion experienced by a pair of innocent young people, unsullied by

the corruptions of the court illustrating, as it does at once, its sweet intimacy and its

perfect purity."

2. Don Fortner, “She was already wed to him. He had taken her to be his bride; and

she had taken him to be her Lord and husband. Their hearts were already knit

together. But the marriage had not yet been publicly solemnized. The marriage

feast had not yet been spread. She was obliged, for the sake of decency and

respectability, to keep her distance. The Bride and her Beloved, when they met in

public, could not be so intimate and affectionate as they might desire. Therefore,

she wishes that she might be looked upon as his sister, and that she might have the

same chaste and innocent familiarity with him that a sister has with her own

brother. A brother and a sister who had nursed at the same breasts might be most

affectionate, intimate and free with one another, without any fear of reproach or

shame.”

3. "The bride, fearing that her fondness for her spouse might be construed into too

great a familiarity, wishes that he were her little brother; and then she might treat

him in the most affectionate manner, and kiss him even in the streets without

suspicion, and without giving offense to any one."

4. Net Bible shows this to be a common way of expressing an unrealistic wish for

something, and gives these examples: “Would that it were evening…Would that it

were morning!” (KJV) or “If only it were evening…If only it were morning!” (NIV)

(Deut 28:67); “Oh that I knew where I might find him” (KJV, NASB, NJPS), “I

wish I had known,” “If only I knew where to find him; if only I could go to his

dwelling!” (NIV) (Job 23:3); “I wish that all the LORD’s people were prophets!”

(NIV), “Would that all the LORD’s people were prophets” (NASB) (Num 11:29).

4B. Net Bible continues, "Song 8:1-2 may be classified as a “a lover’s wish song”

that is similar in content and structure to an ancient Egyptian love song in which the

lover longs for greater intimacy with his beloved: “I wish I were her Negro maid

who follows at her feet; then the skin of all her limbs would be revealed to me. I

wish I were her washerman, if only for a month; then I would be [entranced],

washing out the Moringa oils in her diaphanous garments. I wish I were the seal

ring, the guardian of her [fingers]; then […]” (The Cairo Love Songs, 25-27, in W.

K. Simpson, ed., The Literature of Ancient Egypt, 311). The Egyptian and Hebrew

parallels display a similar structure: (1) introductory expression of the lover’s wish

to be something/someone in a position of physical closeness with the Beloved; (2)

description of the person/thing that is physically close to the Beloved; and (3)

concluding description of the resultant greater degree of intimacy with the Beloved.

In the Egyptian parallel it is the man who longs for greater closeness; in the Hebrew

song it is the woman. The Egyptian love song borders on the sensual; the Hebrew

love song is simply romantic. The Beloved expresses her desire for greater freedom

to display her affection for Solomon. In ancient Near Eastern cultures the public

display of affection between a man and woman was frowned upon – sometimes even

punished. For example, in Assyrian laws the punishment for a man kissing a woman

in public was to cut off his upper lip. On the other hand, public displays of affection

between children and between family members were allowed. Accordingly, the

Beloved hyperbolically wished that she and Solomon were children from the same

family so she could kiss him anytime she wished without fear of punishment or

censure."

5. This sort of thing has been a part of our own history as well. Much has been made

of the fact that in colonial days kissing in public was regarded as abomination, and

that kissing even by husband and wife upon the Sabbath was a criminal offense.

The classic example is that of Captain Kemble, who, returning home after a long

voyage, kissed his wife on the front steps of his house in Boston and was promptly

lodged in the stocks."

6. Scot McKnight wrote, "The constraints of society for a wife and husband not to

be effusively affectionate in public irritate her — O how I wish you were like a

brother to me. For I can be affectionate with a brother [not as with a husband, of

course, but still more publicly affectionate] in public."

7. Robert Alter wrote, "The young woman articulates a blissful dream of perfect,

uninterrupted union with her lover, fantasizing him as a sibling or perhaps even a

twin, a perfect soul-mate. (He, of course, speaks to her in the same vein, though

without the vivid elaboration of the idea she offers, when he addresses her in 4:9 as

“my sister, my bride.”) The implicit opposition in these lines between the maternal

house and the streets is paramount to the thematics of intimacy in the Song. The

public space of the social realm imposes, necessarily and understandably, a decorum

of separation between persons, prohibiting the embraces reserved for bedroom or

sheltered bower. The young woman can scarcely bear the notion of being separated

from her lover’s embrace and so invents the alluring fantasy of the two of them as

brother and sister, free to continue their kisses in the bright light of the public

square.

2 I would lead you and bring you to my mother's

house-- she who has taught me. I would give you

spiced wine to drink, the nectar of my

pomegranates.

1. She wants him to be like a brother, but not a brother, for you don't bring a

brother to your mother's house, for it would also be his house. It is a fantasy

obviously, and she just wants things not to be complicated, so she can enjoy love

without so many restrictions. I want to take you to mom's place because she is the

one who taught me how to deal with the opposite sex. He had his sex education from

his mother and not his dad, and this could be an advantage, for women know more

about romance than men do. They know about sex, but they are weak in romance.

2. Don Fortner wrote, "The allusion here is to a wise mother, who takes her newly

wed daughter aside and teaches her how to behave toward her husband, so that she

may have his affection and live happily with him.

3. She seems to be into enticement by means of drinks, and especially spiced wine

and the nectar of pomegranates. Drinks have always been associated with romance,

for going to have a drink together is often the way romance begins, and drinks are

always an important part of a wedding. Clarke wrote of this drink: "Wine rendered

peculiarly strong and invigorating. The bride and bridegroom on the wedding day

both drank out of the same cup, to show that they were to enjoy and equally bear

together the comforts and adversities of life."

4. The Net Bible finds this verse to be more sensual than many. It says, "The

Beloved wished that Solomon was her little brother still nursing on her mother’s

breast. The Beloved, who had learned from her mother’s example, would bring him

inside their home and she would give him her breast: “I would give you spiced wine

to drink, the nectar of my pomegranates." Another author sees the same meaning

here, and states it like this: "Continuing the little brother/older sister imagery of

8:1, the Beloved suggests that if she had been an older sister and he had been her

little brother, she would have been able to nurse Solomon. This is a euphemism for

her sensual desire to offer her breasts to Solomon in marital lovemaking."

4B "This wordplay draws attention to the unity of her “wish song” in 8:1-2. In 8:1

the Beloved expresses her desire to kiss Solomon on the lips when they are outdoors;

while in 8:2 she expresses her desire for Solomon to kiss her breasts when they are

in the privacy of her home indoors. The phrase “my pomegranates” is a euphemism

for her breasts. Rather than providing milk from her breasts for a nursing baby, the

Beloved’s breasts would provide the sensual delight of “spiced wine” and “nectar”

for her lover."

5. The problem that bothers so many about this beautiful poem is the implicatioin

that it seem to possibly promote premarrital sex. This, however, is a conclusion that

need not be made, for all of the fanciful and fantasy images like these here of

nursing her own brother make it very possible Dr. Richard C. Moulton in A Suite of

Seven Idyls was right. He sees this Song as a poem that reminisces about many

events that happened in the past. It is reflecting back on the history of this loving

relationship, and recording all the fantasies that led up to their final happy

marriage. All the things that seem to be going too far before marriage are the way

they felt about each other, and what they longed to do. This is realistic and fits the

way young lovers really feel.

6. Robert Alter has these very interesting comments: "What is especially noteworthy

is that she concretizes the fraternal bond as an image of her lover suckling her

mother’s breast. The nurturing contact between infant and mother is, of course, our

primal and, as many have argued, psychologically defining experience of physical

closeness. A deep current of related emotion runs between this image of the babe at

the breast and that earlier image of the lover as a sachet of myrrh nestled all night

long between his beloved’s breasts. Although the young woman here entertains a

fleeting notion of being free to kiss her man out in the streets, the next lines make

clear that where she really wants him is in her mother’s house. Elsewhere in biblical

literature, the invariable reference is to the “father’s house” (beit ’av), which is both

a concrete place and a technical name for a fundamental social unit in this

patriarchal society.b In the Song, on the other hand, quite remarkably, there are no

fathers in view. The young woman takes her lover to her mother’s house because

that is the place where the good breast was once proffered, the first model for all

later appetite and love. And if the Masoretic textc is dependable here in reading

telamdeini, “she would teach me,” the mother who once provided physical nurture

can now give her daughter instruction in the arts of love—a practice, as Ariel Bloch

notes, for which there are ancient Near Eastern precedents. Society and even the

extended family are here displaced not merely by the nuclear family but by the most

biologically intimate bond within the nuclear family, the bond between mother and

child.

3 His left arm is under my head and his right arm

embraces me.

1. We have seen this befor, and it clearly pictures a man on top making love to his

mate. It is called the missionary position, and is the most common picture of how

people do make love.

2. Robert Alter wrote," The young woman, having imagined bringing her lover to

the safe enclosure of her mother’s house, announces, in a playful ambiguity

characteristic of the poem, “I would give you spiced wine to drink, / my

pomegranate wine.” Perhaps she is simply offering him delicious and intoxicating

drink as an act of hospitality, but given the metaphorical equivalence between wine

and lovemaking established from the very beginning of the poem, and given the

punning link between ’ashqekha, “I would give you drink,” and ‘eshaqkha, “I would

kiss you,” she is probably proposing to him other delights. Now that she has him, at

least in the wishful mood of the verbs she has been using, in the intimate space of the

inner chamber of her mother’s house, she can turn to an audience in the public

space and present an exulting narrative report, in the third person, of the perfect

closeness she enjoys in her lover’s embrace: “His left hand beneath my head, / his

right arm holding me close.” The identity of those she is addressing is made explicit

in the next verse: “Daughters of Jerusalem, swear to me / that you will never

awaken love / until it is ripe.” This adjuration of the daughters of Jerusalem, which

has already appeared twice in the poem, seems to be an effort to ward off any

exhortations to love until the two young people feel that their moment of readiness

has arrived. But at this juncture—the lover imagined in the mother’s house and the

mother prepared to instruct her daughter—that moment has manifestly come.

3. Ron Wallace, "The simple embrace of lovers, so gentle and yet so packed with

emotion and affection. The memory of such affection helped sustain her during her

captivity, as discussed at verse 2:6. Now, in a marriage context, the embrace would

be ever so much more meaningful. It is this embrace, from the shepherd, the one she

loves, that she would welcome, and for whom her love would now desire to be

aroused and awakened. Then, as a final gesture of defiance and caution to the

daughters of Jerusalem still assembled off to the side observing her leave, she calls

back, reminding them of what she has been saying all along - that no one should

force love from or upon anyone else. In so doing, she actually proclaims to them that

her love is now aroused and awakened for the right person - and according to her

own desire."

4 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you: Do not

arouse or awaken love until it so desires.

1. Scot McKnight wrote, "Is she saying that they should hold off love until they are

ready? Or, which seems more likely in this context, is she suggesting that the love

she knows with her lover is so powerful, so overwhelming, that you better know

what you are getting into because is powerful, intoxicating, and ravishing. When it

is ready, when love awakens, it can’t be stopped." I like the idea also that she is

constantly urging these women who are promoting Solomon to lay off and stop

trying to awaken in her a love for him instead of her shepherd. She is saying quit

trying to produce love when it is not there, for you cannot make someone love you.

It has to come spontaneously, and if it does not, there is no point in trying to arouse

it.

2. Another aspect of this phrase so common in the song is that it could refer to the

fact that women know that fast love making is like fast food making, and this is not

the best. Slow cooked meals are often the most delicious, and so it is with slow love

making. Somone wrote, "By nature women tend to know about the need for

preparation to satisfy the senses and appetites of life. They do not just grab raw

food off the shelf to stuff into our hungry mouths, but go through a sometimes

lengthy ritual to prepare what will be a delight to the eye and palate. The whole

book of the Song of Solomon is foreplay."

3. Peter Pindar wrote a poem to Chloe that says something about the need to take it

easy so that the flame of love is not consuming you and leaving you burned out.

People can let passion burn so strong in a relationship that it leaves no fuel for a

lasting relationship. A little alone time to cool off is what he is suggesting, and

absence makes the love grow stronger.

Chloe, we must not always be in heaven,

For ever toying, ogling, kissing, billing;

The joys for which I thousands would have given,

Will presently be scarcely worth a shilling.

Thy neck is fairer than the Alpine snows,

And, sweetly swelling, beats the down of doves;

Thy cheek of health, a rival to the rose;

Thy pouting lips, the throne of all the loves;

Yet, though thus beautiful beyond expression,

That beauty fadeth by too much possession.

Economy in love is peace to nature,

Much like economy in worldly matter;

We should be prudent, never live too fast;

Profusion will not, can not, always last.

Lovers are really spendthrifts--'tis a shame--

Nothing their thoughtless, wild career can tame,

Till penury stares them in the face;

And when they find an empty purse,

Grown calmer, wiser, how the fault they curse,

And, limping, look with such a sneaking grace!

Job's war-horse fierce, his neck with thunder hung,

Sunk to an humble hack that carries dung.

Smell to the queen of flowers, the fragrant rose--

Smell twenty times--and then, my dear, thy nose

Will tell thee (not so much for scent athirst)

The twentieth drank less flavor than the FIRST.

Love, doubtless, is the sweetest of all fellows;

Yet often should the little god retire--

Absence, dear Chloe, is a pair of bellows,

That keeps alive the sacred fire.

5 Who is this coming up from the desert leaning

on her lover? Under the apple tree I roused you;

there your mother conceived you, there she who

was in labor gave you birth.

1. Andy Bannister wrote, "As the scene has shifted from the royal harem at

Jerusalem, this final section of the poem poses an interesting question — who is the

speaker posing the question to in 8:5? The answer comes a few verses down (8:8-9)

where we realise the voice is that of the maiden’s brothers. We saw in the previous

section that the maiden had finally been able to return to her home in the northern

hill country; and now the brothers have seen her in the distance, and are

questioning one another about who it can possibly be they are seeing."

2. What was so clear to Andy was missed by Constable who wrote, "Evidently these

are the words of the daughters of Jerusalem. The Shulammite reminded her

husband (masculine "you" in Hebrew) of the beginning of their love. The apple tree

was a symbol of love in ancient poetry because of its beauty, fragrance, and sweet

fruit. She had given him a type of new birth by awakening him to love. This may

refer to their first meeting; he may have found her sleeping under an apple tree.

This seems to be the place where they first met and passion was aroused in them for

each other. It is as if they were going back to repeat what had happened to her

parents. It was here that her mother made love and conceived her, and now she is

back there ready to do the same." We will find that commentators disagree on who

is speaking all through this song, and since there is no guide that comes with the

song, we have to guess the best we can to fit the themes as we go along, and

sometimes it is just a guess with no authority behind it, and so we need to agree to

disagree.

3. Clarke wrote, "Perhaps the words of the daughters of Jerusalem, who, seeing the

bride returning from the country, leaning on the arm of her beloved, are filled with

admiration at her excellent carriage and beauty." He goes on, "I raised thee up

under the apple tree - The original of this clause is obscure, and has given birth to

various translations. The following is nearly literal: “Under the apple tree I excited

thee (to espouse me): there, thy mother contracted thee; - there, she that brought

thee forth contracted thee (to me). Or it may be understood of the following

circumstance: The bridegroom found her once asleep under an apple tree, and

awoke her; and this happened to be the very place where her mother, taken in

untimely labor, had brought her into the world.” And here the bridegroom, in his

fondness and familiarity, recalls these little adventures to her memory."

4. The term for roused can mean awakened or arroused, and Ron Wallace says in

this context it likely means arroused. He wrote, ".......the force of the poel stem

focuses more on a stirring to action rather than on waking someone from sleep. Of

the 12 other occurrences of this verb in the poel stem, none of them can be viewed as

waking from sleep. Although I would certainly prefer to see this as a rousing from

sleep, it seems best to go with what context and usage dictates, and to see in this

recollection, a time when the Shulamite woman first STIRRED UP the emotions of

love in the shepherd." In other words, he was sexually arroused under that apple

tree. Wallace goes on, "It seems likely then, that the Shulamite and the shepherd

were visiting under the "family" apple tree - where the shepherd had been birthed

so many years earlier - and it is there that the first inklings of romantic love were

stirred in the soul of the shepherd."

5. Expositor's Bible, "Now the bridegroom is seen coming up from the

wilderness with his bride leaning upon him, and telling

how he first made love to her when he found her asleep

under an apple tree in the garden of the cottage where

she was born. As they converse together we reach

the richest gem of the poem, the Shulammite s impas

sioned eulogy of love. She bids her husband set her

as a seal upon his heart in the inner sanctuary of his

being, and as a seal upon his arm always owning her,

always true to her in the outer world. She is to be his

closely, his openly, his for ever. She has proved her

constancy to him ; now she claims his constancy to

her. The foundation of this claim rests on the very

nature of love. The one essential characteristic here

dwelt upon is strength " Love is strong as death."

Who can resist grim death ? who escape its iron

clutches ? Who can resist mighty love, or evade its

power? The illustration is startling in the apparent

incompatibility of the two things drawn together for

comparison. But it is a stern and terrible aspect of

love to which our attention is now directed. This is

apparent as the Shulammite proceeds to speak of

jealousy which is <( hard as the grave." If love is

treated falsely, it can flash out in a flame of wrath ten

times more furious than the raging of hatred " a

most vehement flame of the Lord." This is the only

place in which the name of God appears throughout

the whole poem. It may be said that even here it

only comes in according to a familiar Hebrew idiom,

as metaphor for what is very great. But the Shulam

mite has good reason for claiming God to be on her

side in the protection of her love from cruel wrong and

outrage. Love as she knows it is both unquenchable

and unpurchasable. She has tested and proved these

two attributes in her own experience. At the court

of Solomon every effort was made to destroy her love

for the shepherd, and all possible means were employed

for buying her love for the king. Both utterly failed.

All the floods of scorn which the harem ladies poured

over her love for the country lad could not quench it ;

all the wealth of a kingdom could not buy it for Solomon.

Where true love exists, no opposition can destroy it ;

where it is not, no money can purchase it. As for

the second idea the purchasing of love the Shulam

mite flings it away with the utmost contempt."

6. Spurgeon with his ususal eloquence wrote, "I raised thee up under the apple tree:

there thy mother brought thee forth; there she brought thee forth that bare thee.

Oh! that the believer would never be content with having drops and sips of love,

but long for the full feast. O my soul thirsteth to drink deep of that cup which never

can be drained and to eat of all the dainties of that table which boundless love has

furnished. I am persuaded that you and I are content to live on pence when we

might live on pounds; that we eat dry crusts when we might taste the ambrosial

meat of angels, that we are content to wear rags when we might put on kings' robes;

that we go out with tears upon our faces when we might anoint them with fresh oil.

Satisfied I am that many a believer lives in the cottage of doubt when he might live

in the mansion of faith. We are poor starveling things when we might be fed; we are

weak when we might be mighty, feeble when we might be as the giants before God,

and all because we will not hear the Master say,"Rise up my love, my fair one, and

come away."

6 Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal

on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its

jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like

blazing fire, like a mighty flame.

1. Andrew Jones wrote, "We are to read it as a celebration of and a warning about

the power of sexual love. I think the controlling poem of the Song is found in 8:5-7.

This is the one place in the book where we are given a commentary on the nature of

the love which gives rise to sex. Verse 5 - the desert is the place where their love has

been consummated, the apple tree was an erotic metaphor in the ANE describing a

place of sexual arousal. Verse 6a the woman asks her lover to place like a seal over

his heart, like a seal on his arm. She belongs to him body and soul. It’s an image of

total commitment. Why? Verse 6bff. The kind of love described in the Song of Songs

is fierce. If it is not expressed in an appropriate relationship then it will break you.

Hence the refrain we hear throughout the book - "Do not arouse or awaken love

until it so desires. Can you see the beauty of the Bible’s view of sex? It refuses to be

trapped in a repressed corner where sex is never for recreation or celebration. But,

equally it refuses to be trapped in a liberal corner which sees sex as pure recreation.

Sex is to be celebrated but respected. Sexual love is powerful. It has the capability of

destroying us if not structured properly."

1A. Love is strong as death in that just as death will not give up pursuing its prey, so

love will never surrender and let its lover escape its grasp. The jealousy of love will

not give up holding and possessing its lover anymore than the grave will cease to

hold on to it dead. One days Jesus will command the grave to give up the dead, but

until then it will not do so, but stubbornly hold them in its grip. So love is also

determined to hold on to the one it loves, and in this way love is strong as death.

It was 1912 when the Titanic began to sink. Women and children were put into the

lifeboats, but Mrs. Straus refused to get in. She started to as her husband pleaded

with her, but then pulled her leg back out. She said to her husband that they were

old now and had been together most of their lives, and she wanted to be with him to

the end. They were last seen clinging to one another on the deck as the ship went

down. Love was stronger than the threat of death.

1A2. Ella Wheeler Wilcox wrote a poem that links love with death and birth as the

trio of life, and it fits the Shulamit's experience, for her first love was her only love,

and it was as strong as death. Wheeler's poem is called THE TRIO.

We love but once. The great gold orb of light

From dawn to even-tide doth cast his ray;

But the full splendor of his perfect might

Is reached but once throughout the livelong day.

We love but once. The waves, with ceaseless motion,

Do day and night plash on the pebbled shore;

But the strong tide of the resistless ocean

Sweeps in but one hour of the twenty-four.

We love but once. A score of times, perchance,

We may be moved in fancy's fleeting fashion—

May treasure up a word, a tone, a glance;

But only once we feel the soul's great passion.

We love but once. Love walks with death and birth

(The saddest, the unkindest of the three);

And only once while we sojourn on earth

Can that strange trio come to you or me.

1B. Ron Wallace wrote, "We know that the Shulamite woman is speaking because

of the 2nd masculine personal pronoun, your. The word for seal is chothAm, and

refers to a seal or inscription that is engraved into an item. Sometimes it refers to

the actual ring that makes the seal, which was carried on a string around the neck.

Both images, then, communicate the closest of intimacy between two objects, for if I

am placed upon the one I love as a seal would be engraved upon them, or like the

signet ring that hangs around their neck, then we would be forever close and

together. She is thus asking him to take her to himself as his wife so that they might

be forever united by their love."

1C. Wallace adds, "love is as strong as death: This refers to love in the context of

strong romantic love that is devoted and faithful in the face of all pressures. Such a

love the Shulamite manifested as she remained faithful to the shepherd and resisted

the very intense and humanly attractive advances of Solomon. To the same degree

that physical death claims an irresistible demand upon the life of man, so also does

romantic love seize the heart and wraps it in unbreakable chains. I think that it is

safe to suggest that the kind of love that is in view here is reciprocal. That is, a

DUAL love, shared by one man and one woman. It should be known by the readers

that romantic love - no matter how intense - can be destroyed if it is not cultivated.

The Shulamite is not talking about a one-sided love, but of love that is equally

shared by both."

1D. Wallace goes on, "Jealousy is not in view as a selfish, constricting ownership,

but as a protective passion that functions as the "energy of love" (Keil and

Delitzsch). Both of these, love and its passionate energy, are seen to be as powerful

and compelling as physical death. None can withstand the grasp of death; none can

escape the clutches of the grave. So also, is true romantic love of such an intensity

when it grabs hold of one's soul, that there is no resistance and no sone escape from

its call. Shulamite's mini discourse continues by referencing the piercing, burning of

love's claim upon the soul. Love is all consuming just as fire consumes its fuel so

completely. This might even be a reference to the intense physical desires awakened

by love, that is called BURNING at 1 Corinthians 7:9."

1E. Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote, "All thoughts, all passions, all delights

Whatever stirs this mortal frame All are but ministers of Love And feed his sacred

flame."

1F. Great Texts of the Bible comments, "LITERATURE furnishes no eulogy of love

more splendid than this. Some of the clauses have passed into proverbs, and are

often upon the lips. Such language as this has been adopted as their own by those

ardent souls with whom piety is a passion, and for whom the love of God consumes

all earthly emotion and desire. Here is love not simply, and not mainly, as it shows

itself in our imperfect affections for each other, but as a universal and Divine

principle, the motive and supreme principle of universal being ; of the love which is

from God, the love which is God and in which He dwells ; the love in which if we

dwell, God dwells in us and we in Him. And, taken in this high sense, the hymn is

surely no unworthy precursor, no mean rival even, of St. Paul s noble and famous

song in praise of charity.

The seal is the signet-ring which was sometimes carried by a string on the breast,

and sometimes worn on the hand. Specially prized possessions in the way of jewels

or ornaments used to be worn by the natives of Palestine, and perhaps are still,

firmly sealed upon the person to prevent their being lost, stolen, or snatched away.

Anything sealed in this way, whether an object of intrinsic value or not, was always

precious in the eyes of the owner above all the other articles constituting the store of

his worldly goods. It might be so regarded for old association's sake as a token of

special favour conferred or of honour gained, just as we to-day might wear an

armlet, a ring, a locket round the neck, or some order or decoration on the breast

denoting the status or exploits of the person thus distinguished. The point of every

such proceeding is, of course, that there is a close individual connexion between the

life of the wearer and that which is indicated by the object worn.

The high priest of old had the names of all the tribes of Israel upon his breastplate,

he also carried them upon his shoulders. He was a type or representative of our

great High Priest, who bears our names upon His breast, the seat of His affections ;

the shoulders indicating His mighty power to save to the uttermost all that come

unto God by Him.

My name is graven on His hands,

My name is written on His heart.

I know that while in Heaven He stands

No tongue can bid me thence depart.

1G. Great Texts goes on to comment, " The meaning of this clause is obscured by

the translation. The word "jealousy" should be "love" love regarded in its ardour

and inexorable force, the love that can neither yield nor share possession of its

object. The word rendered " cruel" indicates the tenacity of this ardent affection,

not its cruelty ; it implies, not that it will torture its object, but that it will never let it

go.......But the poet says truly that love is strong as death, tenacious as the grave.

That which we love in any one is the eternal, and love once manifest can never die or

even diminish, whatever may be its fate on earth through the mutability and

inconstancy of our fleshly nature ; the rapport once established is indestructible ;the

affinity must fulfil itself as surely as the rosy light of the dawn must culminate in the

splendour of the sun s meridian. Did any one ever yet dare to say that they would

love friend, wife, husband, sweetheart, child, for just a certain length of time, and

that then that love should altogether cease to be ?"

1H. Great Texts gives an example of love strong as death: "Dante says, in one of the

finest passages of the Purgatorio, that it is love that evokes individuality and

compels it to its highest and best, and in so doing draws it home to God. The whole

of the Divine Comedy is, in fact, the allegorical story of the poet's own salvation

through the upward reaching power of a great personal love. He shows this love as

greater and stronger than both the lust of the flesh and the gates of hell, triumphing

over every force that would tend to degrade or destroy it.

1I. How strong is love? Lyndon Orr wrote a whole book about the great romances

of history, and he said, "Many men in private life have lost fortune and fame for the

love of woman. Kings have incurred the odium of their people, and have cared

nothing for it in comparison with the joys of sense that come from the lingering

caresses and clinging kisses. Cold-blooded statesmen, such as Parnell, have lost the

leadership of their party and have gone down in history with a clouded name

because of the fascination exercised upon them by some woman, often far from

beautiful, and yet possessing the mysterious power which makes the triumphs of

statesmanship seem slight in comparison with the swiftly flying hours of pleasure."

1J. It was 1912 when the Titanic began to sink. Women and children were put into

the lifeboats, but Mrs. Straus refused to get in. She started to as her husband

pleaded with her, but then pulled her leg back out. She said to her husband that

they were old now and had been together most of their lives, and she wanted to be

with him to the end. They were last seen clinging to one another on the deck as the

ship went down. Love was stronger than the threat of death.

2. An unknown author wrote, "Set me as a seal upon thine heart - It was customary

in the Levant and other places to make impressions of various kinds upon the arms,

the breast, and other parts. I have seen these often: some slight punctures are made,

and the place rubbed over with a sort of blue powder that, getting between the

cuticle and cutis, is never discharged; it continues in all its distinctness throughout

life. The figures of young women are frequently thus impressed on the arms and on

the breasts. If the bride alludes to any thing of this kind, which is very probable, the

interpretation is easy. Let me be thus depicted upon thine arm, which being

constantly before thy eyes, thou wilt never forget me; and let me be thus depicted

upon thy breast, the emblem of the share I have in thy heart and affections. Do this

as a proof of the love I bear to thee, which is such as nothing but death can destroy;

and do it to prevent any jealousy I might feel, which is as cruel as the grave, and as

deadly as fiery arrows or poisoned darts shot into the body."

3. The Net Bible comments, "The Beloved wanted to be as safe and secure as a

cylinder seal worn on the arm or around the neck, hanging down over the heart. She

also wanted to be placed on his heart (emotions), like the impression of a cylinder

seal is written on a document. She wanted to be “written” on his heart like the

impression of a cylinder seal, and kept secure in his love as a signet ring is worn

around his arm/hand to keep it safe......Alternately, “wrist.” In Palestine cylinder

seals were often hung on a bracelet worn around one’s wrist. The cylinder seal was

mounted on a pin hanging from a bracelet. The cylinder seal in view in Song 8:6

could be a stamp seal hung from a bracelet of a type known from excavations in

Israel. "

4. The Net Bible quotes D. W. Thomas, " It was a common practice in the ancient

world to compare intense feelings to death. The point of the expression “love is as

strong as death” means that love is extremely strong. The expression “love is as

cruel as Sheol” may simply mean that love can be profoundly cruel. For example:

“His soul was vexed to death,” means that he could not stand it any longer (Judg

16:16). “I do well to be angry to death,” means that he was extremely angry (Jonah

4:9). “My soul is sorrowful to death,” means that he was exceedingly sorrowful

(Matt 26:38 = Mark 14:34) "

5. Love is like a friendship caught on fire.

In the beginning a flame, very pretty,

Often hot and fierce,

But still only light and flickering.

As love grows older,

Our hearts mature

And our love becomes as coals,

Deep-burning and unquenchable.

~ by Bruce Lee ~

6. The world is filled with studies on love and its burning flame, but what the studies

reveal is that males and females feel the heat in different ways, and when they do

not understand this, they cool off their partner rather than keep them warm with

passion. Brehm is a researcher on this matter, and she is quoted, "Brehm (1985)

believes there are basically only two types of lovers--romantic (passionate) and best

friend (companionate). Most love relationships, she thinks, are a mixture of both

types. Romantic love is intense, sexual, and frantic (e.g. strong efforts to win and

hold on to the affection). In contrast, companionate love is calmer, involves more

relaxed love making and is based on respect, trust, and security as friends.

6B. This love relationship seems to fit more into the kind that Elvis sang about.

Lord Almighty,

I feel my temperature rising

Higher higher

It's burning through to my soul

Girl, girl, girl

You gonna set me on fire

My brain is flaming

I don't know which way to go

Your kisses lift me higher

Like the sweet song of a choir

You light my morning sky

With burning love

Ooh, ooh, ooh,

I feel my temperature rising

Help me, I'm flaming

I must be a hundred and nine

Burning, burning, burning

And nothing can cool me

I just might turn into smoke

But I feel fine

Cause your kisses lift me higher

Like a sweet song of a choir

And you light my morning sky

With burning love.

6C. Such love is wonderful, but it is vital to be able to sing later the song of Amy

Grant, "After The Fire."

(Chorus:)

After the fire is over

After the ashes cool

After the smoke has blown away

I will be here for you

After the stillness finds you

After the winds of change

All that is good and true between us

This will remain the same

7. Brehm's studies continue, "Both males and females score about the same on the

Love Scale and they experience love at first sight about equally often (54% of

women and 63% of men believe in love at first sight). It would seem that men and

women love each other about the same amount but perhaps in different

ways..........Males think positive activities, like washing the dishes, are more

important than positive affection, like kissing. Women think just the opposite. Thus,

when one man was told by a therapist to go home and do something affectionate

towards his wife, he washed her car! His wife considered the car wash helpful but

not at all affectionate. He saw it as a great way to show his love for her. Many

traditional men would sincerely say, "I show her I love her by supporting her."

Both men and women need to be aware of this difference. Men could say,

"Sweetheart, I washed your car to say 'I love you'." Women could tell themselves

"washing the car is how he shows his love for me." One way or another, both sexes

need to be clearly told "I love you" often."

8. Brehm goes on, "Of course, there are many differences in how males and females

view love and relationships. For women, intimacy means talking; for men, a

relationship means doing things together ("all she wants to do is talk"). Women

value relationships more than men, especially relationships with parents. Women

value most his income potential and fidelity and her ties to family and friends; men

value most her sexuality and nurturance and their shared interests. Women

complain more about the relationship and problems; men think "everything's

fine." Women want to resolve disagreements; men want to avoid them."

9. An unknown author wrote, "Let's review the guidelines for romantic love that

have been identified in the Song of Solomon: First, romantic love should be

exclusive. A man and woman should be committed to an exclusive relationship with

each other. Extramarital affairs destroy the romantic impulses and ruin the

possibility of joy in marriage. Second, romantic love should be spontaneous. Spouses

should be spontaneous in order to avoid becoming part of each other's dull routine.

Third, romantic love should be complimentary. One spouse should delight in

complimenting the other, both to his or her face as well as to others.

Expressions of praise and affection that warmly communicate feelings are

essential to a growing, romantic love. And, fourth, romantic love should be

imaginative. Spouses should make efforts to plan time for each other and should

make that time as special as possible."

10. Spurgeon has his focus on the burning love of our Lord as he wrote, "Whose

love can this be which is as mighty as the conqueror of monarchs, the destroyer of

the human race? Would it not sound like satire if it were applied to my poor, weak,

and scarcely living love to Jesus my Lord? I do love Him, and perhaps by His grace,

I could even die for Him, but as for my love in itself, it can scarcely endure a

scoffing jest, much less a cruel death. Surely it is my Beloved's love which is here

spoken of--the love of Jesus, the matchless lover of souls. His love was indeed

stronger than the most terrible death, for it endured the trial of the cross

triumphantly. It was a lingering death, but love survived the torment; a shameful

death, but love despised the shame; a penal death, but love bore our iniquities; a

forsaken, lonely death, from which the eternal Father hid His face, but love endured

the curse, and gloried over all. Never such love, never such death. It was a desperate

duel, but love bore the palm. What then, my heart? Hast thou no emotions excited

within thee at the contemplation of such heavenly affection? Yes, my Lord, I long, I

pant to feel Thy love flaming like a furnace within me. Come Thou Thyself and

excite the ardour of my spirit."

10B. Charles Wesley wrote:

1 O LOVE divine, how sweet thou art!

When shall I find my willing heart

All taken up by thee?

I thirst, I faint, I die to prove

The greatness of redeeming love,

The love of Christ to me!

2 Stronger his love than death or hell;

Its riches are unsearchable;

The first-born sons of light

Desire in vain its depths to see,

They cannot reach the mystery,

The length, and breadth, and height.

3 God only knows the love of God;

O that it now were shed abroad

In this poor stony heart!

For love I sigh, for love I pine:

This only portion, Lord, be mine,

Be mine this better part!

4 O that I could for ever sit

With Mary at the Master's feet!

Be this my happy choice:

My only care, delight, and bliss,

My joy, my heaven on earth, be this,

To hear the Bridegroom's voice!

5 O that with humbled Peter I

Could weep, believe, and thrice reply

My faithfulness to prove,

"Thou know'st (for all to thee is known),

"Thou know'st, O Lord, and thou alone,

Thou know'st that thee I love!"

6 O that I could with favoured John

Recline my weary head upon

The great Redeemer's breast!

From care, and sin, and sorrow free,

Give me, O Lord, to find in thee

My everlasting rest."

11. The Net Bible comments, "The imagery of v. 6 is romantic: (1) His mother

originally conceived him with his father under the apple tree, (2) his mother gave

birth to him under the apple tree, and (3) the Beloved had now awakened him to

love under the same apple tree. The cycle of life and love had come around full

circle under the apple tree. While his mother had awakened his eyes to life, the

Beloved had awakened him to love. His parents had made love under the apple tree

to conceive him in love, and now Solomon and his Beloved were making love under

the same apple tree of love."

12. The Net Bible, with my editing, adds this on the seal: "In the ancient Near East

(khotam, “seal”) was used to denote ownership and was thus very valuable (Jer

22:24; Hag 2:23; Eccl 17:22). Seals were used to make a stamp impression to

identify the object as the property of the seal’s owner. Seals were made of semi-

precious stone upon which was engraved a unique design and an inscription,

“belonging to king,” The impression could be placed upon wet clay of a jar or on a

writing tablet by rolling the seal across the clay. Because it was a valuable

possession its owner would take careful precautions to not lose it and would keep it

close to him at all times."

13. God's love is strong as death, for it will never die.

"Every human tie may perish;

Friend to friend unfaithful prove;

Mothers cease their own to cherish;

Heaven and earth at last remove;

But no changes attend Jehovah’s love.

Zion’s Friend in nothing alters,

Though all others may and do;

His is love that never falters,

Always to its object true.

Happy Zion! Crowned with mercies ever new."

14. Edgar Allen Poe wrote Annabel Lee to illustrate that love

is stronger than death.

It was many and many a year ago,

In a kingdom by the sea,

That a maiden there lived whom you may know

By the name of Annabel Lee;

And this maiden she lived with no other thought

Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,

In this kingdom by the sea;

But we loved with a love that was more than love--

I and my Annabel Lee;

With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven

Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason, that long ago,

In this kingdom by the sea,

A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling

My beautiful Annabel Lee;

So that her high-born kinsman came

And bore her away from me,

To shut her up in a sepulchre,

In this kingdom by the sea.

The angel, not half so happy in heaven,

Went envying her and me...

Yes!--that was the reason (as all men know,

In this kingdom by the sea)

That the wind came out of the cloud by night,

Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love

Of those who were older than we,

Of many far wiser than we--

And neither the angels in heaven above,

Nor the demons down under the sea,

Can ever dissever my soul from the soul

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee,

For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side

Of my darling--my darling--my life and my bride,

In the sepulchre there by the sea,

In her tomb by the sounding sea.

15. How Do I Love Thee?

by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight

For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.

I love thee to the level of everyday's

Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.

I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;

I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.

I love thee with the passion put to use

In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.

I love thee with a love I seemed to lose

With my lost saints,--I love thee with the breath,

Smiles, tears, of all my life!--and, if God choose,

I shall but love thee better after death.

16. Scot McKnight

The woman, after declaring where it was that their love was first aroused, now

suddenly teaches what love is all about.

1. Love begins with commitment that establishes identity (8:6ab).

2. Love, like death, dissolves one’’’’s identity ———— one finds the other so delightful they

become ““““one.””””

3. Love has its jealousy ———— jealousy referring to protecting what one has (one is

jealous for what one has; one is envious of what another has) ———— and it is a

passionate emotion. It consumes to protect love.

4. Love cannot be ———— and here I think she is thinking of their commitment which

can’’’’t be defeated by Solomon’’’’s wooing charms ———— quenched by waters. Love is so

strong, its heat so potent, that waters cannot stop it.

5. Love is more valuable than anything wealth can offer. And anyone who offered

love at a price would be scorned.

[Comment: the prudish notion that love is calculable and totally controllable is

chased off the stage by these lines.]

17. O LOVE divine, how sweet thou art!

When shall I find my willing heart

All taken up by thee?

I thirst, I faint, I die to prove

The greatness of redeeming love,

The love of Christ to me!

2 Stronger his love than death or hell;

Its riches are unsearchable;

The first-born sons of light

Desire in vain its depths to see,

They cannot reach the mystery,

The length, and breadth, and height.

3 God only knows the love of God;

O that it now were shed abroad

In this poor stony heart!

For love I sigh, for love I pine:

This only portion, Lord, be mine,

Be mine this better part!

4 O that I could for ever sit

With Mary at the Master's feet!

Be this my happy choice:

My only care, delight, and bliss,

My joy, my heaven on earth, be this,

To hear the Bridegroom's voice!

5 O that with humbled Peter I

Could weep, believe, and thrice reply

My faithfulness to prove,

"Thou know'st (for all to thee is known),

"Thou know'st, O Lord, and thou alone,

Thou know'st that thee I love!"

6 O that I could with favoured John

Recline my weary head upon

The great Redeemer's breast!

From care, and sin, and sorrow free,

Give me, O Lord, to find in thee

My everlasting rest.

CHARLES WESLEY

18. An unknown author wrote, "She wants to be Solomon's most prized possession.

This "seal" in his heart marked her as his most cherished possession. This love

would influence his "heart" (thoughts) and "arm" (actions). True love means our

spouse is always at the center of our concern. They are in our daily thoughts. Love

for a lifetime is as irreversible and absolute as "death." We are in this marriage

together for life! True love is exclusively zealous and possessive as "Sheol" (the

grave). Once it has you, it has you. We will make this marriage work! Love's

jealousy properly admits no rivals. It's genuine care seeks only the highest good of

the other. Love's energy shines through like "fire." It isn't easily quenched by the

cold water of life's challenges. "Many waters cannot quench love" because it has an

invincible power to persevere against a flood of problems. Your problems can be an

opportunity to draw you closer together, to depend on each other more. Love is

priceless. Billionaire Aristotle Onassis said he would give all his wealth for one

successful marriage. Love cannot be bought or kept together by material things.

People are more important than things. "Better is a dinner of herbs where love is,

than a fatted calf with hatred" (Prov.15:17). We learn the power of love's enduring

flame from "the Lord." Such will brace us for the storms of life. Marriage is best

practiced by those who love God and one another. He is the author and support of

such love, for He is all love (1 John 4:8)."

19. Rev. Adrian Dieleman has an interesting message based on this text, and I want

to share it because it is a beautiful message for a wedding, and most commentators

agree that this song is ending in a wedding. You can find it in Appendix A.

7 Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot

wash it away. If one were to give all the wealth of

his house for love, it would be utterly scorned.

1. Rain cannot dampen love's flame, and even rivers overflowing in flood waters

cannot wash away this fire. It is waterproof, and can withstand anything that nature

can throw at it. Such is the way people feel who are engulfed in the passions of

romantic love. Such is the poetry of love. It is exaggerated to the highest degree

because that is just how it really feels. We know in reality that romantic love can be

dampened and even have its flame put out by the flood of bad things that life can

bring upon a couple of lovers. That does not change the fact that romantic love feels

this way, and it is a precious feeling, for when this optimism catches hold of a couple

they can ride out all the storms of life and still cling to one another in passionate

love.

2. Another version has it, "If a man were to give all the riches of his house for love,

It would be utterly despised." In other words, you can offer me all the riches of

Solomon for me to give up my love for this shepherd lover of mine, but I would tell

you to take you chariots of gold and leave me to my love, for it is not for sale at any

price. Ron Wallace wrote, "This seems to be a comment concerning the advances of

Solomon. Money and various other material things cannot buy true romantic love.

It can buy companionship and physical pleasure, but it cannot produce what can

only be produced in the soul. Nor can money sustain love, for if the romantic love is

not reciprocal it has no substance - no reality. One-sided romantic love does not

have the power that is described in this discourse. The scene thus ends with this

glorious exaltation of romantic love - the quality of love shared by the Shulamite

and the shepherd, and a subtle rebuke to Solomon for the benefit of the audience.

You may recall that the suggested reason for writing this play is to serve as a public

remonstrance of Solomon's fleshly pursuits and to praise the opposite, which is the

true romantic love and passion of the Shulamite for the shepherd."

3. Clarke wrote, "Neither common nor uncommon adversities, even of the most

ruinous nature, can destroy love when it is pure; and pure love is such that nothing

can procure it. If it be not excited naturally, no money can purchase it, no property

can procure it, no arts can persuade it. How vain is the thought of old rich men

hoping to procure the affections of young women by loading them with presents and

wealth! No woman can command her affections; they are not in her power. Where

they do not rise spontaneously, they can never exist. “If a man would give all the

substance of his house for love, it would be utterly contemned.” Let the old, as well

as the gay and the giddy, think of this."

4. Net bible, "The point is simply that love cannot be purchased; it is infinitely more

valuable than any and all wealth. Love such as this is priceless; no price tag can be

put on love.

5. H. F. Lyte

Yes, he is mine, and naught of earthly things

Not all the charms of pleasure, wealth, or power,

The fame of heroes, or the pomp of kings,

Could tempt me forego his love an hour.

Go, worthless world, I cry, with all that’s thine!

Go! I my Savior’s am, and He is mine.

6. Sohail Rana wrote, "Hours fly Flowers die New days New ways Pass by Love

stays Time brings a lot of changes my dear and that is really true but one thing

never changes that is my love for you."

7. Great Texts, "This represents the Divine principle of love as triumphing by

its inherent might over all the forces that oppose or may oppose

it. Fire is the symbol of love, and therefore its antagonistic

element, water, is used to set forth the powers that are hostile to

love, but which must in the end be overcome by it. You can

extinguish flame with water, if only you can pour on a sufficient

quantity ; but this llame of love no amount of coldness or opposi

tion will cool in the least degree. Let Satan and his legions do

their very utmost to lessen the intensity of this heavenly ilame,

their labour is vain. They only prepare for themselves a bitter

disappointment. Or let the Hoods of human vice and human

antagonism rise as they may, they can never rise as high as this

heavenly flame. The finite can never overmaster the Infinite.

The love of God to men is a sacred principle, an integral part of

the Divine nature. There is nothing outside God to be compared

in potency with what is within Him. As the creature can never

be a match for the Creator, so no kind of opposition can ever

injure or diminish the eternal love of God. Just as nothing

on earth or in hell can diminish God s power or tarnish His

righteousness, so also nothing can lessen or dim the fervent flame

of His eternal pity. "Many waters cannot quench love"; yea,

love turns all human hatred into fresh coals to feed the flame."

8. Spurgeon applies this text to many loves. "That is a general truth, applying to all

forms of real love; you cannot purchase love. If it is true love, it will not run on rails

of gold. Many a marriage would have been a very happy one if there had been a

tenth as much love as there was wealth. Sometimes, love will come in at the cottage

door, and make the home bright and blest, when it refuses to recline on the downy

pillows of the palace. Men may give all the substance of their house, and form a

marriage bond- the bond may be there, but not that which will make it sweet to

wear. "If a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly

be scorned."

Who, for instance, could purchase a mother's love? She loves her own child specially

because it is her own; she watches over it with sedulous care, she denies her eyes the

necessary sleep at night if her babe be sick, and she would be ready to part with her

own life sooner than it should die. Bring her another person's child, and endow her

with wealth to induce her to love it; and you shall find that it is not in her power to

transfer her affection to the son or daughter of a stranger. Her own child is

exceedingly precious to her, and another infant, that to an unprejudiced eye might

be thought to be a far more lovely babe, shall receive tenderness from her, for the

woman is compassionate; but it can never receive the love that belongs to her own

offspring.

Take, again, even the love of friends; I only instance that just to show how true our

text is in relation to all forms of love. Damon loved Pythias; the two friends were so

bound together that their names became household words, and their conduct

towards one another grew into a proverb. Yet Damon never purchased the heart of

Pythias neither did Pythias think to pay a yearly stipend for the love of Damon. The

introduction of the question of cost would have spoiled it all; the very thought of

anything mercenary, anything like payment on the one side or receipt upon the

other, would have been a death-blow to their friendship. No; if a man should give all

the substance of his house even for human love, for the common love that exists

between man and man, it would utterly be scorned.

Rest assured that this is pre-eminently true when we get into higher regions, when

we come to think of the love of Jesus, and when we think of that love which springs

up in the human breast towards Jesus when the Spirit of God has renewed the

heart, and shed abroad the love of God within the soul. Neither Christ's love to us

nor our love to him can be purchased; neither of those could be bartered for gold, or

rubies, or diamonds, or the most precious crystal. If a man should offer to give all

the substance of his house for either of these forms of love, it would utterly be

scorned."

9. "A true lover is more than one who is married to another, and more than one who

just has sex with another. A lover is one who Dr. Barbara DeAngelis says, “...must

commit to and participate in a perpetual dance of intimacy with your partner. You

are a lover when you appreciate the gift that your partner is, and celebrate that gift

every day. You are a lover when you realize that nothing that happens between you

will be insignificant, that everything you say in the relationship has the potential to

cause your beloved joy or sorrow, and everything you do will either strengthen your

connection or weaken it.”

10. Elvis Presley sang,

I have wished for the wealth

Of a great millionaire

I have reached for a bright star above

But the thrill of it all

To me seems so small

When compared to the thrill of your love

I'd rather give everything

That I own in this world

Than to be all alone and unloved

For no earthly price and no sacrifice

Is too much to give

For your love

I'd rather give everything

That I own in this world

Than to be all alone and unloved

For no earthly price and no sacrifice

Is too much to give

For your love

8 We have a young sister, and her breasts are not

yet grown. What shall we do for our sister for the

day she is spoken for?

1. What a sudden shift this is from a beautiful poetic description of mature love to

brothers talking about their young sister who is not mature enough to have

developed breasts. It appears that these brothers are reflecting on the past, and how

they had to care for their little sister, who is now a grown woman fully developed,

and it love.

2. Andy Bannister wrote, "In verses 8:8-9 the maiden’s brothers speak up again,

talking of how they worked hard to protect the virtue of their sister as she grew

from a small girl into a beautiful young woman. However, as the maiden then

explains in 8:10, both their groundwork and her love for the shepherd — which

burned like fire — enabled her to stand like a wall against the advances of Solomon,

until finally he relented and set her free. The imagery in verses 8:11-13 goes back to

the royal courts at Jerusalem; the "vineyard" is Solomon’s harem, and he was free

to do what he wanted with those who were trapped within it. The maiden’s honour

and virtue — her "vineyard" — were, on the other hand, her’s alone to give, and

she had chosen to save it for the shepherd who had won her heart."

3. Ron Wallace, "The reference is to the Shulamite, whom they have been watching

over, since it seems that the parents are not alive. It has been suggested by some that

this is a reference to another sister, and that the brothers here express their concern

for her. This is so far out of the context of the story that it needs little rebuke. The

"little sister" in view is the Shulamite who has come home and is now requesting

from her brothers that she be given adult privileges, responsibility and

accountability. They have thought of her as too young to have romantic interests, or

to make her own romantic decisions. This is probably why they had her sent off to

the palace - obviously unaware of the sexual temptations she would be drawn into.

They see her still as that young adolescent who was barely out of puberty and still

had physical growth before her. But now, she is standing before them with her

beloved requesting approval from them for the marriage. Their question reflects the

situation and indicates that some kind of accounting needs to be given. As we will

see, they will deny her request and express concern only for the family reputation.

9 If she is a wall, we will build towers of silver on

her. If she is a door, we will enclose her with

panels of cedar.

1. An unknown author wrote, "These words by the Shulammite's older brothers (cf.

1:6) reveal their desire to prepare her for a proper marriage. Comparing her to a

wall may mean that she might use self-restraint and exclude all unwarranted

advances against her purity. If she behaved this way, her brothers would honor her

by providing her with various adornments. However if she proved susceptible to

these advances as an open door, they would have to guard her purity for her by

keeping undesirable individuals from her." Another said, "If she firmly withstands

all immoral approaches we will bestow high honor upon her."

2. Barnes takes a view that it is another sister, but most reject this idea. He does

explain the brother's point here, however. He wrote, “A brief dialogue commencing

with a question and answer probably made by brothers of the bride concerning a

younger sister who will soon be old enough to be asked in marriage. The answer is

given in the form of a parable: “If she be a wall,” i. e., stedfast in chastity and virtue,

one on whom no light advances can be made, then let us honor and reward her. This

fortress-wall shall be crowned as it were with a tower or battlement of silver. But “if

she be a door,” light-minded and accessible to seduction Pro_7:11-12, then let us

provide against assailants the protection of a cedar bar or panel."

3. Clarke "All these expressions, says Calmet, show that it was necessary to provide

a husband for this young sister. For a woman without a husband is like a wall

without towers, and without defense; is like a gate or door without bar or lock; and

like a city without walls. They must therefore provide for their sister a rich,

powerful, and illustrious man; qualities here figured by towers or palaces of silver,

and doors of cedar. As it is customary to build towers upon a wall, and to put bolts

and bars upon a door in order to secure it, so the expressions may point out the

defense, protection, and guardianship which they imagined this young woman to

require."

10 I am a wall, and my breasts are like towers.

Thus I have become in his eyes like one bringing

contentment.

1. She flowered into a mature young women with large breasts. The tower on the

city wall was the first thing you saw when approaching a city, and it is often the case

that when you first see a beautiful woman, the first thing you notice is her breasts,

if they are large. She is exaggerating about her breasts being like towers, but we can

assume that she was quite endowed in that department, and that she was proud of it.

She knew that she pleased the man she loved, and he was content with what he saw

in her. She knew because he has been praising her whole body for its beauty, and of

his desire to enjoy the pleasure of playing with her breasts. She is proud of the fact

that she was a wall, and would not let Solomon have her for one of his many sexual

conquests. She shut him out, and remained faithful to her shepherd lover through

all the temptations Solomon threw at her.

2. Scot McKnight "Now this theme of sexual availability that is being offered to one

and only one other is central to the book. Here she says that she has given herself to

her lover, and to him alone. (Solomon can sulk should he wish to have her.)

3. Net Bible, "The Beloved mixes metaphors by describing her breasts with a

comparison of sense and a comparison of sight: (1) Comparison of sense: She

successfully defended her virginity and sexual purity from seduction, as fortress

towers defended the city. (2) Comparison of sight: Just as the fortress towers along a

city wall projected out at the corners of the wall, the Beloved’s breasts finally

developed into beautiful “towers” (see 8:8 when she had no breasts as a young girl).

4. 4. 4. 4. Clarke continues dealing with the younger sister, "I am become marriageable,

and I stood in need of the defense I have now in my beloved; and as soon as I was so,

and became pleasing in the eyes of my beloved, I was given to him in marriage, and

have ever since found favor in his sight. As soon then as my sister is in my state, let a

proper match be sought out for her. These expressions show the solicitude which the

bride felt for her sister, and in her favor she wishes to interest her spouse."

11 Solomon had a vineyard in Baal Hamon; he let

out his vineyard to tenants. Each was to bring for

its fruit a thousand shekels of silver.

1. She goes on to tell how her story with the battle between yielding to Solomon and

remaining faithful to her shepherd lover ended. Solomon had his vineyard as a

money making business, and those who rented his property had to pay a thousand

shekels of silver. She had to pay this same rent, for she apparently worked a

vineyard that was also owned by Solomon, and so she was obligated to pay it. She

goes on to say, however, you can have your money Solomon, but you can't have me.

I have my own vineyard, and that is not for sale. She means her own body, of

course. She was keeping that vineyard for the man she loved.

2. Clarke quotes Calmet who paraphrases, "Solomon has a vineyard at Baal-

hamon: he has let it out to keepers, each of whom for the fruit of it was to bring a

thousand pieces of silver. Son_8:12 : As for me, my vineyard is before me; that is, it

is my own; I am its proprietor. Keep thyself, O Solomon, thy thousand pieces of

silver, and let those who dress (thy vineyard) have two hundred for their trouble. I

neither envy thee thy vineyard, nor them their profits. I am satisfied with my own.

My beloved is my vineyard - my heritage; I would not change him for all the riches

of the universe.”

3. She may have been refering to her body, or to her lover, but either way, she was

making it clear to Solomon that money was all he was going to get from her, for all

the rest of who she was belonged to her lover. You can have your riches, and I will

have mine, for my riches are in the only man I have ever loved. You keep your

money, and I'll keep my honey.

12 But my own vineyard is mine to give; the

thousand shekels are for you, O Solomon, and two

hundred are for those who tend its fruit.

1. You are the king, and you can offer me the world of wealth, but my own vineyard

belongs to me, and I can choose to whom I will give it. You could hold my body

captive, but you cannot by force make me love you. I will comply with the rules of

business and pay what I owe, but I do not owe my body or my love to you. I choose

to give those things to another, and so, You keep your money, and I'll keep my

honey.

2. Andy Bannister,"The imagery in verses 8:11-13 goes back to the royal courts at

Jerusalem; the "vineyard" is Solomon’s harem, and he was free to do what he

wanted with those who were trapped within it. The maiden’s honour and virtue —

her "vineyard" — were, on the other hand, her’s alone to give, and she had chosen

to save it for the shepherd who had won her heart.In verses 8:8-9 the maiden’s

brothers speak up again, talking of how they worked hard to protect the virtue of

their sister as she grew from a small girl into a beautiful young woman. However, as

the maiden then explains in 8:10, both their groundwork and her love for the

shepherd — which burned like fire — enabled her to stand like a wall against the

advances of Solomon, until finally he relented and set her free."

3. Ron Wallace gives us these three comments.

1. My very own vineyard is at my disposal: Here the Shulamite returns to the

symbolism used earlier (the garden at verse 4:16) to refer to her body and the

personal control and responsibility she has for it. That is, she determines who

will receive her romantic affections and no matter how great the man or how

great the materialistic bribe, she will not yield and compromise either her

integrity or her love for the shepherd.

2. The thousond {shekels} are for you, Solomon:

This suggests that Solomon had offered to rebate the lease payment in

exchange for the opportunity to woo the Shulamite. But she tells him via her

protest to her brothers, for Solomon is not present, to keep the money because

she never agreed to the plan and of course, did not yield to his advances.

3. And two hundred are for those who take care of its fruit.

This seems to indicate that part of the offer was a payment to the laborers

(perhaps some hired hands). Perhaps Solomon had offered to pay these wages

along with the rebate of the lease payment, but the entire offer from Solomon is

rejected by the Shulamite.

4. Net Bible, "The term (“vineyard”) is used figuratively (Song 1:6; 2:15; 8:12). In

8:12 it is used in reference to either (1) herself, (2) her choice of whom to give herself

to in love, or (3) her physical body. In contrast to Solomon’s physical vineyard,

whose fruit can be bought and sold (8:11), she is not for sale: She will only give

herself freely to the one whom she chooses to love. In contrast to King Solomon, who

owns the vineyard at Baal-Hamon and who can buy and sell anything in the

vineyard that he wishes, she proclaims that her “vineyard” (= herself or her body)

belongs to her alone. In contrast to the vineyard, which can be leased out, and its

fruit, which can be bought or sold, her “vineyard” is not for sale. Her love must and

is to be freely given."

5. Scot McKnight has a very interesting twist here, for he says it could be that the

shepherd lover is the one speaking these words beginning at verse 11. He wrote,

"And now her shepherd lover responds back: “My vineyard,” an erotic allusion to

the woman, the shepherd’s wife/lover, is “my very own” (he is devoted). Now notice

as he spurns Solomon’s lifestyle: “you, O Solomon, may have the thousand, and the

keepers of the fruit two hundred!” I’ll remain with my loving wife, the Shulamite

woman. He speaks again, summoning her: O you who dwell in the gardens, my

companions are listening for your voice."

13 You who dwell in the gardens with friends in

attendance, let me hear your voice!

1. Ron Wallace, "O you who sit in the gardens, {My} companions are listening for

your voice - Let me hear it!"At this point the shepherd speaks and addresses the

Shulamite and asks for her formal reply to his marriage proposal. His friends

(companions) are waiting to hear her acceptance - and of course, he is to hear it

first. We know that this is the shepherd because of the feminine possessive pronoun

(your) with the noun voice, as well as the feminine form of the qal participle of the

verb yAshabh (to sit). The command, "let me hear it," is also the feminine form of

the hiphil stem of the verb shAma."

2. An unknown author has a wild interpretation of this verse based on the use of the

garden in the song to refer to her body. It is creative, and it comes to the end of the

song with a climax, but it does seem to find more here than is visible to the eye.

However, since no commentator seems to be sure of what is being said here, his

guess is as good as any other. He wrote, "This last, "innocent" phrase (as we will

see) has a hidden, yet explictly sexual connotation. In that light, we think the Loved

One refers here to the Dear One's special brand of erotic attractiveness. She is a

"natural woman", yet cultivated, as far above a "veiled woman" as a garden is

above a field of thistles.The Loved One, then, asks to hear the Dear One's voice

privately -- in a context no other man can. This would include intimate

conversation, but we think something more is meant as well. Surely there can be no

sweeter "voice" or "sound" (kol) to a husband's ears than the cries of a beautiful

wife in sexual climax!"

14 Come away, my lover, and be like a gazelle or

like a young stag on the spice-laden mountains.

1. She makes her final choice to leave the palace and run away with her shepherd

lover. It is not diamonds, but love, that is a girls best friend according to this young

lover. Make haste and run like the wind, or like the wild gazelle on the mountains.

They are sure footed and know what they are doing in that precarious setting, and I

know as well what I am doing in my precarious setting. So let us run this race I have

chosen with all of our might and enjoy to the full the beauty of our love.

2. Clarke says, "What these mountains of spices were, we cannot particularly tell;

but they must have been thus named from their producing the trees on which the

spices grew. They might have been the same as the mountains of Bether, Son_2:17,

or the mountains of myrrh, Son_4:6. Thus ends this most singular book; the oldest

pastoral in the world, if it may be ranked among this species of writing. To whatever

species of composition it belongs, it is, beyond all controversy, the finest, the most

sublime for imagery and colouring, that ever came from the pen of man."

3. Clarke's final words are a rejection of all spiritualizing of the Song. He wrote,

"In the preceding notes I have carefully avoided all attempts to spiritualize this

song. My reasons I have already given in the introduction; and in the course of

writing these short notes I have seen no cause to alter my opinion. Any man may

allegorize it; that is an easy matter; for when he once considers it to be an allegory,

his own creed will furnish him with enough to say, write, or preach, upon the

spiritual meanings of every part, which will be an exhibition of his own confession of

faith! But when he has finished his work, the question will recur, By what authority

do you give it these meanings? And till the day of judgment none shall be able to

say, “I have the authority of God for my exposition.”

4. Robert Alter wrote,"The very last words of the Song, spoken by the young

woman, move outdoors again, but with a delicate tracing of the interplay between

distance and closeness that has run through the whole poem. “Hurry my love!” she

urges her lover. “Run away, / my gazelle, my wild stag / on the hills of cinnamon.”

The reiterated image of the lover as gamboling stag propels us from house or garden

(the latter is the locus of the immediately preceding line) to the open landscape. But

that landscape may be just as metaphorical as the stag. Many readers have puzzled

over why the beloved should tell her lover at the very end of the poem to run

away—or even, given the force of the Hebrew verb she uses, berah, to flee from her.

Ariel Bloch proposes, reasonably enough, that she is urging him to flee as dawn

breaks after their night of love, with the clear implication that they will soon be

rejoined. Since, however, fragrant mountains and hills have earlier been invoked as

metaphors for the intimate parts of the woman’s body, the intention of this final

image may be to carry us at once in two opposite directions: On the figurative

surface, the lover is exhorted to go bounding off to the distant mountains; in the

tenor of the metaphor, he is invited to hurry to the body-as-landscape where the

pleasures of the inner chamber await him. That delectable to-and-fro movement

between distance and closeness, between the mountains of the Lebanon range and

the enclosed garden of the beloved, is an imaginative signature that makes the Song

of Songs one of the most abidingly delightful love poems in the Western canon."

5. An unknown author sees in this closing verse more than we would ever dream by

an in depth study of the words. The sexual passion of the song is lost to most because

we do not know the implications of the words, and of how sensuous they are. He

wrote, "We saw the Loved One likened to "a gazelle or a young stag" (litsbi o le'ofer

ha'aYalim) in 2:9, describing his athletic prowess. Here (thanks to "upon the

mountains of spices") it refers to his sexual prowess (cf. Song 4:6, 13-16). The Dear

One is eager, not just for lovemaking, but for the sexual union itself. And her choice

of words is most interesting: barah, which may mean "flee", also means "go

through" (cf. Appendix 1). It is used in this sense to describe the passage of a bar

(beriah) through holes, joining the boards of the Tabernacle together (Exodus

36:33; cf. 26:28). And yet this goes by unremarked in most translations and

commentaries!

5B. He goes on, "The analogy with the Lovers' sexual organs (and their joining as

"one flesh") is so obvious that we wonder why so few have seen it. Yet the melody of

berah Dodi hints at the action: the rise from an unaccented tonic note to an accented

5th on berah, then a suspended tone ending in a melismatic "retreat" on Dodi,

ending the phrase on the 4th degree of "rest" -- all giving the subtle impression

(with the words) of penetration.22 The melodic texture (sequence of intervals) thus

expresses the Dear One's desire for coition -- in the sweetest, most delicate terms

possible. The description of Solomon's virility which follows is drawn out

deliberately, in a sweet, even playful tone (underlined by Haïk-Vantoura's harp

accompaniment). Obviously, the Dear One wants to be joined with her Loved One

as long and lovingly as possible. What a delightful image, described in terms (and in

a "tone of voice") so very, very far from pornographic!

5C. He concludes, "For the Dear One, sex is the ultimate personal intimacy,

something to be enjoyed to the full -- but only in the context of 'et - ha'ahava. She

rejoices in the Loved One's virility and encourages him with her compliments: "Be

like a gazelle or a fawn of the stags upon the mountains of spices..." And with that,

the melody (and Haïk-Vantoura's harp accompaniment) fades away, leaving the

happy couple in their love play. Note that barah (in the sense of "going through") is

used elsewhere only in a holy context: the joining of the boards of the Tabernacle.

Did Shulamith (or Solomon as author) intend this implication to be understood?

Certainly the holiness of marital love, throughout the Song, finds its consummation

in this verse, just as the Lovers complete here the relationship which began in Song

1:2-4a. Shulamith, in effect, desires the joining of holy parts to form an even more

holy whole (and the melody, conceived in a sacred musical system, supports this

idea)."

5D. Ron Wallace, "Hurry, my beloved, And be like a gazelle or a young stag On the

mountains of spices. Here the Shulamite tells the shepherd to hurry up and claim

her as his wife. In the same way that these animals are quick and graceful as they

traverse the mountains, so shall the shepherd be in claiming the Shulamite (the

mountain of spices) as his own. The story thus ends with the Shulamite and the

shepherd standing together announcing to the audience and to the whole nation of

Israel, the glories of their love."

6. Ella Wheeler Wilcox wrote the following poem to illustrate that romantic love and

religious love can often be linked, for romantic love can even lead one to be

converted to religious love because it creates a gratitude to God for such a

wonderful gift.

I have lived this life as the skeptic lives it;

I have said the sweetness was less than the gall;

Praising, nor cursing, the Hand that gives it,

I have drifted aimlessly through it all.

I have scoffed at the tale of a so-called heaven;

I have laughed at the thought of a Supreme Friend;

I have said that it only to man was given

To live, to endure; and to die was the end.

But I know that a good God reigneth,

Generous-hearted and kind and true;

Since unto a worm like me he deigneth

To send so royal a gift as you.

Bright as a star you gleam on my bosom,

Sweet as a rose that the wild bee sips;

And I know, my own, my beautiful blossom,

That none but a God could mould such lips.

And I believe, in the fullest measure

That ever a strong man's heart could hold,

In all the tales of heavenly pleasure

By poets sung or by prophets told;

For in the joy of your shy, sweet kisses,

Your pulsing touch and your languid sigh

I am filled and thrilled with better blisses

Than ever were claimed for souls on high.

And now I have faith in all the stories

Told of the beauties of unseen lands;

Of royal splendors and marvellous glories

Of the golden city not made with hands

For the silken beauty of falling tresses,

Of lips all dewy and cheeks aglow,

With—what the mind in a half trance guesses

Of the twin perfection of drifts of snow;

Of limbs like marble, of thigh and shoulder

Carved like a statue in high relief—

These, as the eyes and the thoughts grow bolder,

Leave no room for an unbelief.

So my lady, my queen most royal,

My skepticism has passed away;

If you are true to me, true and loyal,

I will believe till the Judgment-day.

7. An unknown author has, what seems to me, and excellent outline of this great

love story. "This book of Hebrew wisdom, the Song of Songs, can be outlined:

(1) Courtship: Falling in Love -- 1:2-3:5,

(2) Wedding Day: United in Love -- 3:6-11,

(3) Wedding Night: Physical Love -- 4:1-5:1,

(4) Marital Reality: Struggling in Love -- 5:2-6:13,

(5) Marital Delight: Growing in Love -- 7:1-8:7,

(6) Marital Homecoming: Reviewing a Love -- 8:8-14.

8. Rob Harbison gives us a summary of the reasons for this two man theme we have

been following through the song. It produces the kind of happy ending we love to

see in movies and in romance novels. Young love has overcome all obstacles, and is

free to enjoy their love as man and wife. He wrote, "there are three principle

characters in the Song—Solomon, the Shulamite maiden, and her shepherd-lover.

Solomon tries to charm her away from her shepherd with his money, power, and

flattery. She is tempted by those outward trappings, but her heart remains loyal to

the one true love of her life until she returns to him. Thus, the poem is made to

address the triumph of pure love over lust.

“The poem is God’s commendation of true mating love and his condemnation of

Solomon’s polygamy... Three principles lead me to accept this view: 1) The Bible is a

complete book, and as such it must deal with all aspects of human experience.

Mating love is a strong factor in life and unless this poem deals with it, it is omitted

from God’s book. 2) The very structure and evidence of the poem. 3) If such a

virtuous girl’s marriage to Solomon was the theme, then Solomon’s polygamy would

be tacitly endorsed.” (Hailey, p. 24). Praise Of Fidelity—It is sad to consider the

pitiful King Solomon who with 700 wives could not buy real love... and with all he

had, could not induce a young maiden to leave the poor man she really loved (8:7b;

Ecclesiastes 7:28). Rather than being able to experience that kind of love, he had to

learn about it “second hand.”

• “It is the contest between the fidelity which is inspired by true love and the

allurements of flattered vanity that the interest of the drama consists.” (Reville,

p.21).

• “The Song does celebrate the dignity and purity of human love. This is a fact

which has not always been sufficiently stressed... It comes to us in this world of sin,

where lust and passion are on every hand, where fierce temptations assail us and try

to turn us aside from the God-given standard of marriage. And it reminds us, in

particularly beautiful fashion, how pure and noble pure love is.” (Young, p.336).

Censure Against Lust—“In the aftermath of Solomon’s polygamy, this song was

produced as a censure on lust, polygamy, and infidelity. In the context of Solomon’s

political marriages, the Shulamite taught him the beauty of monogamous love.”

(Shelly, p.80). A love he never found for himself! Teachings About Love—This song

teaches us the divine model of human love. Love and marriage are blessings for man

to brighten his gloomy life (Ecclesiastes 9:9). Human and sexual love in marriage,

are pure and beautiful creations of God (Hebrews 13:4). Married couples need to

express their love and appreciation for one another.

• Love Is Spontaneous (2:7; 3:5; 8:4). It cannot be bought or be excited by unnatural

stimuli. It cannot be sparked through flattery, compliments, or gifts. Real love—

without explanation—just happens. Solomon tried to buy her love but could no(8:7).

• Love Is Based On Mutual Satisfaction (2:16; 6:3; 7:10). The love of one

supplements the love of the other, and serves to exclude the love of anyone else.

• Love Is Strong (8:6-7). It is an unconquerable force. Its grip is as strong as the grip

of death and is an unquenchable fire that burns in one’s heart."

9. Richard Davidson adds his perspective from his theology of sexuality article. "If

one interprets the Song according to its plain and literal sense, then it must be

concluded that one whole book of the OT is devoted to celebrating "'the dignity and

purity of human love." A whole book extolling the beauty of human sexual love!

How could Scripture more forcefully proclaim that human sexuality is not cheap,

ugly, and evil, but beautiful, wholesome, and praiseworthy!

The Song of Songs begins andcloses with the woman speaking. The woman carries

the majority of the dialogue (81 verses to 49 for the man)." She initiates most of

the meetings and is just as active in the lovemaking as the man. Likewise, she is just

as eloquent about the beauty of her lover as he is about her. The woman also is

gainfully employed as a shep- herdess and vineyard keeper. In short, throughout the

Song she is "fully the equal of the man."

The Song of Songs also may contain an explicit indication of the divine source of

human love. The climax of the Song is generally recognized to come in the great

paean to love in Cant 8:6-7. A number of scholars have suggested that the best

translation of salhebetyah in v. 6 should be "a flame of Yah(weh)." The whole

verse would then read: For love is as strong as death, ardent love as relentless as

Sheol; the flash of it is a flash of fire, a flame of Yah(weh) himself. If this

interpretation is correct, then true human love is explicitly described as originating

in God as "a spark off the original flame." To put it another way, human love at its

best, as described in the Song, points beyond itself to the Lord of love. In the final

analysis, therefore, the allegorical interpretation of the Song may be correct in its

conclusion that the Song shows God's love for man, but incorrect in the way in

which the conclusion is reached.

The love relationship between Solomon and the Shulamite is not a worthless

"husk," to be stripped away allegorically to find the Song's kernel or the "true"

meaning--the love between God and his people. Rather, the love relationship

between husband and wife, described in the Song, has independent meaning and

value of its own that is affirmed and extolled. At the same time this human love is

given even greater significance as it typologically points beyond itself to the divine

Lover in the Song's climax (8:6). Rather than an allegorical understanding (with its

fanciful, externally-and-arbitrarily-imposed meaning that is alien to the plain and

literal sense), the Song itself calls for a typological approach, which remains faithful

to, and even enhances, the literal sense of the Song by recognizing what the text

indicates--that human love typifies the divine. Thus human sexual love, already

highly esteemed in Scripture, is given its highest acclamation. The Song of Songs,

therefore, becomes the fitting climax and the supreme statement on the nature of

sexuality in the OT. We have indeed reached the "Holy of Holies."

10. Steven Chapman's song Married Lovers is a good way to end this great love

song.

Her heart was poundin'; he called her on the phone.

They made their secret plans to spend the night alone.

She fills his passions,

He fills her dreams,

I know what you may be thinkin'-

But its not what it seems,

'Cause they're...

Married Lovers-

They have a right to this romance.

Married Lovers-

Don't have to worry when they dance.

Married Lovers-

There's no sin in what they do,

'Cause heaven gives its blessing to this holy rendezvous.

Nobody's bein' cheated, nobody cries,

And when they see others,

Won't be nobody tellin' lies.

She fills his passions,

He fills her dreams,

There love is pure as silver inside the "golden ring."

APPENDIX A

In the Ancient World a seal was used much like a signature on a document today.

Seals were used to make letters and commands official. They were used to close

business deals and treaties. They represented power and authority. So, for example,

when Pharaoh's ring was given to Joseph (Gen. 41:42) and when Ahasuerus' ring

was given to Haman and then to Mordecai after Haman was hanged (Est 3:10,12;

8:2), these men were given the authority of the king. Needless to say, seals were

important and valuable. To keep them safe they were either worn on a chain around

the neck or as a ring on the finger.

When a bride and groom say to one another the words of the lover and the beloved

of the Song of Songs they are asking to be treated and guarded as a precious seal:

Place me like a seal over your heart,

like a seal on your arm ...

They want to lie always upon the other's heart and to be always at the other's side.

They want to be united and bound to each other.

There is a reason for these romantic words. The reason is love. But not just any love.

The reason is marital love.

I Marital Love

A In four statements our text describes marital love as the strongest, most

unyielding and invincible force in human experience. Marital love is a strong love,

an enduring love, a never ending love.

A. What is marital love like? First, marital "love is as strong as death, its jealousy

unyielding as the grave." This comparison may surprise you — comparing marital

love to death and the grave. But think about it: death is the end of every man; no

one can escape it; to it everyone must finally yield. Marital love is like this in that it

also seizes upon men and women with irresistible force. Marital love, as it were, kills

the person it afflicts in regards to everything and anyone else. A story is told of a

farm girl who spoke of sparrows that sang like meadow larks and of rainbows that

formed in the soap bubbles when the dishwater was thrown on the road. Then in

bated breath she gave the reason for such fantasy: "My lover kissed my eyes last

night." Marital love means that the one you love has in love chosen you above all

others on the earth.

I take you — from among all others —

to love and cherish — above all others ...

B What is marital love like? Second, marital love "burns like a blazing fire, like a

mighty flame." Think of a red-hot fire. It consumes everything in its flames. Marital

love is like that. The lover and the beloved are inflamed by each other. There is a

spark between them. Lightning flashes when they come together. Today, books,

movies, and soap operas depict sex — not marital love — as a fire that engulfs two

people. But God's will is that this flame of desire be within the context of marital

love.

C What is marital love like? Third, "many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot

wash it away." Floods can cause a horrifying amount of damage. Tidal waves strike

fear into the hearts of those who live along costal regions in Asia. Buildings, cars,

and people are tossed around like so many match sticks. When there is a flood or a

tidal wave a mighty fire can be extinguished just like that. But the fires of marital

love cannot be quenched. No circumstances, no matter how bad they may be, can

snuff out the flame of marital love.

D What is marital love like? Fourth, "If one were to give all the wealth of his house

for love, it would be utterly scorned." Marital love cannot be bought or sold. A

couple of years ago a movie hit the theaters about a newlywed woman who agreed to

go to bed with a stranger for a million bucks. True love, marital love, cannot be

bought like this. In fact, it is not up for sale. There is no price that can be placed

upon it.

Marital love is love that lasts. Or, as Paul puts it in 1 Corinthians 13, it is love that

"never fails."

II Keep the Flame Burning

A. I hope that every married couple has this love, this strong marital love that the

Song of Songs sings about and rejoices in. However, with Valentine's Day

approaching, what I want to explore with you is how to keep the flame of that love

burning, and burning brightly.

It starts off with the Lord Jesus. This is nothing new to anyone here — or it

shouldn't be. We can love each other as husbands and wives with a strong,

unending, enduring marital love only when we know Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

To keep the flame burning Jesus needs to be the Head and Center of our home, the

Lord of our marriage, the Cornerstone upon which our house rests. Only in union

with Jesus can we, as Christian couples, keep the flame burning.

B. How do you keep the flame burning? I have a word for you. It is an old-fashioned

word. It is word that the world smiles about. It is a word that our secular neighbors

don't use and don't care to hear. The word is commitment.

There is a custom in an area of the Netherlands where a newlywed couple

enter their house through a special door. The door is never used again until

one dies and the body is carried out through that same door. God designed

marriage like that house. It has one door that is locked tightly. That lock,

which keeps the marriage bond secure, is loving commitment for life.

Those with the marital love that the Song of Songs talks about make a commitment

to each other. They view marriage as a promise that is made to be kept. They realize

that God keeps His promises to us, and likewise He expects us to keep our promises

to each other.

Commitment. This means that Christian couples give no thought to ending the

marriage. Commitment. This means they keep the marriage bed pure (Heb 13:4).

Commitment. This means they love each other — as the marriage vows put it — for

richer and poorer, in health and in sickness, in joy and in sorrow, as long as they

both shall live.

Our world thinks we are foolish to have commitment. Our world thinks we are just

plain silly to keep our word. Can you imagine a couple saying to each other that no

matter what, they will love, honor, cherish, trust, and protect? The world says this

but adds the little word "until." The man and woman of the world says, "I will love,

honor, cherish, and protect until I find someone better, until I get sick and tired of

you, until I am no longer happy."

To keep the flame burning, we need commitment.

C. How do you keep the flame burning? Together with commitment you need to

have high expectations for your marriage. Or as Proverbs puts it, "rejoice in the

wife of your youth" (Proverbs 5:18). It is possible to have joy and fulfilment in

marriage. Don't ever assume, just because so many marriages are falling apart, that

yours is doomed. Don't ever assume that just because everyone else seems to be

giving up, you must too. Don't ever quit on your marriage. In other words, live

under the assumption that the wife of your youth will also be the wife of your

middle age and the wife of your old age as well. Assume that you will be happy

together. Have high expectations for your marriage if you want to keep the flame

burning.

D. How do you keep the flame burning? To keep the flame burning husbands and

wives need to rediscover romance and the language of romance. Listen, for a

moment, to some of the words of chapter 1:

(The woman) (2) Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth--for your love

is more delightful than wine.

(The man) (9) I liken you, my darling, to a mare harnessed to one of the

chariots of Pharaoh. (10) Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings, your neck

with strings of jewels. (15) How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how

beautiful! Your eyes are doves.

(The woman) (16) How handsome you are, my lover! Oh, how charming!

This may not be the language of our romance; yet, men and women today still do

and even must talk the language of romance if they want to keep the flame burning.

Let me ask: when is the last time you romanced your spouse? I hope this is a daily

occurrence in your home. When is the last time you complimented and praised your

wife or husband? I hope this is a daily occurrence in your home. When is the last

time you expressed your desire and affection for your marriage partner. I hope this

too is a daily occurrence in your home.

A survey was recently done on what wives want to hear from their husbands. The

following list may seem obvious, but men don't say the obvious often enough:

"Put on your best dress. I'm taking you out for the evening."

"Let's take a walk together. Just the two of us."

"You are always so thoughtful (sensitive, caring)."

"I love your eyes (legs, ears)."

"You're the best wife a man could hope for. If I had to do it over again I

would marry you."

"When I think about you I get a warm feeling all over."

"I'm going to town. Is there anything I can get you?"

"It's just a little something I bought to say 'I love you.'"

I can hear it already: the protests of some of the men sitting in front of me this

evening, men who think this is totally unnecessary and dismiss romance as an Emily

Post kind of thing to do. Hold it, men! You're not getting off that easy. Think back

to your wedding day. Remember your promise? You promised to love your wife till

death do you part. The kind of love that a woman needs and God's Word demands

includes romance. You heard me right: God's Word requires husbands to romance

their wives.

Men, do you live up to this? Do you romance your wife? Do you look after her

emotional needs? Do you make her happy? I'm afraid that America is facing a crisis

in the family because too many men renege on their God-given responsibilities. Men,

you are called to care for your wives, to make them happy, to love and to cherish, to

romance. Instead, too many men think only of their own needs, pleasures, and

status. Is it any wonder that low self-esteem is a problem among women today? Is it

at all surprising that many women today complain of loneliness, isolation, and

boredom?

So this message needs to be heard by the man who is a workaholic, the man who

works 6 or 7 days a week, the man who comes home every night absolutely

exhausted. This man doesn't have the time or energy to romance his wife or spend

time with his children. This sort of man deserves the marital conflict and familial

discord that is certainly coming.

This message also needs to be heard by the husband who spends all his non-working

hours on his own pleasures: fishing, golfing, boating, sports, tv, books. Yes,

everyone needs recreation, but when these activities come at the expense of a wife's

emotional well-being and a child's need for attention, then they have gone too far.

This message also needs to be heard by those men who spend all their non-working

time on church and kingdom activities or in community activities. Yes, it is

important work for the Lord you are doing in these areas. But your wife and

children are more important.

Finally, this message also needs to be heard by those men who spend all their free

time with friends and acquaintances. Everyone needs friends and it is important to

be there for friends who need your help, but your wife and children still ought to

come first.

But I don't want to blame all marital and family woes on the husband. For every

complaint women have against men, there is a corresponding bellyache on the other

end of the line. Women can be just as selfish and irresponsible as their men. With

700 wives and 300 concubines, King Solomon saw this more than once. Listen to

what he says in Proverbs about one or two of his Valentines:

(Proverbs 21:9) Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with

a quarrelsome wife.

(Proverbs 21:19) Better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome and ill-

tempered wife.

(Proverbs 27:15) A quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping on a rainy

day;

An old Arab proverb says 3 things makes a house unbearable: tak, nak, and bak. In

the English: the leaking through of rain, a wife's nagging, and bugs. A wife who

nags, quarrels, and complains is as bad as a husband who neglects, ignores, and

forgets. A wife who lets herself go to pot, who looks like she spent the night in a

tornado, is no inducement to romance. It should be obvious that neither the

husband nor the wife has a monopoly on offensive behavior.

Conclusion

Helmut Thielicke, in his book How the World Began, made this observation:

I once knew a very old married couple who radiated a tremendous

happiness. The wife especially, who was almost unable to move because of

old age and illness and in whose kind old face the joys and sufferings of many

years had etched a hundred lines, was filled with such a gratitude for life that

I was touched to the heart. Involuntarily, I asked myself what could possibly

be the source of this kindly person's radiance. In every other respect they

were common people, and their room indicated only the most modest

comfort. But suddenly I knew where it all came from, for I saw those two

speaking to each other, and their eyes hanging upon each other. All at once it

became clear to me that this woman was dearly loved.

It was not because she was a cheerful and pleasant person that she was loved

by her husband all those years. It was the other way around. Because she was

so loved she became the person I saw before me.

When it comes to sex and romance, our society celebrates the young and the

beautiful. Every magazine stand, every commercial, every movie portrays only well-

curved young women and well-muscled young men. Yet, the Bible does not think of

limiting this to the young. Again I think of the words of Proverbs, "rejoice in the

wife of your youth" (5:18).

The point is this: it is possible for any couple — young or old — to keep the flame

burning. It starts with the Lord Jesus. It requires commitment. It calls for high

expectations. And, it involves romance.

APPENDIX B

JAMES PRATT

Oh wert thou as my brother, we could greet

With sweet affection's kiss whene'er we meet ;

No more reproachful glances should be thrown,

When I would lead thee thence with nie alone ;

Then to my parent's dwelling without fear,

I'd bring thee as mine own instructor dear ;

To cheer thee with refreshing wine I'd haste,

And thou of sweet pomegranate juice shouldst taste.

Would his right arm my sinking frame entwined.

And on his left my drooping head reclined.

I charge you, maids of Zion, not to part,

From my beloved my true and constant heart,

E

VII.

The Brothers of the Shulamite.

[Near their residetice in the country?^

Oh who is she that hither seems to bend

Her gentle steps, and from the plain ascend ;

Lo ! she approaches nearer and is seen,

Upon her own beloved one now to lean.

The Shulamite, addressing the Shepherd,

Beneath this tree which quinces ripe adorn,

And in this favour^ spot where thou wast born.

Here first I view our union as begun.

For it was here thy faithful heart I won ;

Oh place me as a seal upon that heart,

Or ring upon thy hand no more to part ;

For constant love is powerful as death.

And as resistless as the shades beneath ;

Love's flames are as the lightning from on high,

Jehovah's^ fires that cleave the darkenM sky.

No floods can quench it in its mighty sway,

No streams can sweep it from its course away ;

That man despised we should most justly hold,

Who thinks to purchase love with all his gold.

The Brothers.

Our sister is still young, she's not of age,

What shall we do, should one her heart engage ?

If as a wall she stood in danger's hour,

We'll ornament her with a silver tower ; *

If as a door she yielded and gave way,

Within our doors of cedar she must stay.

The Shulamite.

Firm as a wall I stood, and now I claim —

As of full age — the promised gift you name.

In the king's presence have I gained the prize,

When I had found such favour in his eyes.

In Belamon he had a vineyard fair,

Of which to tenants he had left the care ;

Each from the profits on the fruits he made

A thousand silver shekels yearly paid.

The humble vineyard I shall keep is mine,

The thousands, O King Solomon, be thine.

And the two hundred theirs that rear the vine.

The Shepherd.

O thou who lov'st to dwell in garden bowers, _

And mark the ripening fruits and opening flowers ;

Listening to thee, behold my friends rejoice.

Oh, let me hear thy sweet and loving voice.

The Shulamite.

Haste then, my own beloved, and come away.

Be like the swift gazeUes or fawns that play,

Upon the verdant hills, where spices grow.

With fragrance filling all the plain below.