1 Behold, you are
beautiful, my love,
behold, you are beautiful!
Your eyes are doves
behind your veil.
Your hair is like a flock of goats
leaping down the slopes of Gilead.
2 Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes
that have come up from the washing,
all of which bear twins,
and not one among them has lost its young.
3 Your lips are like a scarlet thread,
and your mouth is lovely.
Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate
behind your veil.
4 Your neck is like the tower of David,
built in rows of stone;
on it hang a thousand shields,
all of them shields of warriors.
5 Your two breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle,
that graze among the lilies.
6 Until the day breathes
and the shadows flee,
I will go away to the mountain of myrrh
and the hill of frankincense.
7 You are altogether beautiful, my love;
there is no flaw in you.
8 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride;
come with me from Lebanon.
Depart from the peak of Amana,
from the peak of Senir and Hermon,
from the dens of lions,
from the mountains of leopards.
behold, you are beautiful!
Your eyes are doves
behind your veil.
Your hair is like a flock of goats
leaping down the slopes of Gilead.
2 Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes
that have come up from the washing,
all of which bear twins,
and not one among them has lost its young.
3 Your lips are like a scarlet thread,
and your mouth is lovely.
Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate
behind your veil.
4 Your neck is like the tower of David,
built in rows of stone;
on it hang a thousand shields,
all of them shields of warriors.
5 Your two breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle,
that graze among the lilies.
6 Until the day breathes
and the shadows flee,
I will go away to the mountain of myrrh
and the hill of frankincense.
7 You are altogether beautiful, my love;
there is no flaw in you.
8 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride;
come with me from Lebanon.
Depart from the peak of Amana,
from the peak of Senir and Hermon,
from the dens of lions,
from the mountains of leopards.
9 You have captivated my heart,
my sister, my bride;
you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes,
with one jewel of your necklace.
10 How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride!
How much better is your love than wine,
and the fragrance of your oils than any spice!
11 Your lips drip nectar, my bride;
honey and milk are under your tongue;
the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.
12 A garden locked is my sister, my bride,
a spring locked, a fountain sealed.
13 Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates
with all choicest fruits,
henna with nard,
14 nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,
with all trees of frankincense,
myrrh and aloes,
with all choice spices—
15 a garden fountain, a well of living water,
and flowing streams from Lebanon.
you have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes,
with one jewel of your necklace.
10 How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride!
How much better is your love than wine,
and the fragrance of your oils than any spice!
11 Your lips drip nectar, my bride;
honey and milk are under your tongue;
the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.
12 A garden locked is my sister, my bride,
a spring locked, a fountain sealed.
13 Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates
with all choicest fruits,
henna with nard,
14 nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,
with all trees of frankincense,
myrrh and aloes,
with all choice spices—
15 a garden fountain, a well of living water,
and flowing streams from Lebanon.
16 Awake, O north wind,
and come, O south wind!
Blow upon my garden,
let its spices flow.
and come, O south wind!
Blow upon my garden,
let its spices flow.
Together in the Garden
of Love
She
Let my beloved come to his garden,
and eat its choicest fruits.
and eat its choicest fruits.
This section describes the first intimacy of the
maiden and the Beloved after the wedding. The bridegroom is seen here praising
the beauty of his bride. Starting at the top of her body, he expresses how much
he adores each part as he moves downward.
After giving a seven-fold description of his maiden’s
beauty, the Beloved summarizes his observations: “You are altogether
beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you” (4:7). What a compliment! O
what love!
Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in
thee - Women tend to get very much caught up with “physical defects” and
“blemishes.” But the beloved bridegroom assures his bride that she is perfect
from top to bottom. Interestingly, she did have at least one “blemish,” given
that her skin was dark and burned (1:5). But her Beloved wasn’t bothered by
it.
It is true that sometimes what women see as blemishes
a particular man might see as perfect. So sisters, don’t be bothered if you
have a flat nose or without double eyelids. Some men will like it and love you
for just that. If you had gone under the knife to create a false sharp nose or
a double eyelids, you may spoil everything.
I don’t want to go into detail how the bridegroom
describes the beauty of his bride. But one thing is certain: his bride is a
virgin, symbolized by a locked garden, a locked spring, a fountain sealed, and
a well of fresh water (4:12-15).
This is where I want to emphasise: Sex is beautiful
only for the married couple (Hebrews 13:5). A man or a woman who had
experienced multiple sexual experiences before marriage cannot fathom the
intimacy that God has designed for marriage.
Sisters, be not deceived! You don’t have to prove your
love for a guy by giving your body to him before marriage. Let him prove his
love by his willingness to wait for marriage. The desire for sex does not prove
love, even if he is a Christian because Christian men face the same challenges
as non-Christians when it comes to sexual desires and lusts. Not even when you
are engaged to be married to him, because by doing so, you are agreeing that
sex outside of marriage is acceptable. Mary was betrothed to Joseph but they
did not consummate before the wedding (Luke 1:27; Matthew 1:25).
Young men and women: Reserve your body for your spouse:
“Flee youthful lusts” (2 Timothy 2:22).
Jimmy Lau
No comments:
Post a Comment