I Delight In You
Opening Prayer
Lord God, I give You my thanks and praise today for all those I love and who love me.
Read Song of Songs 4:1-5:1
[1]He How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes behind your veil are doves. Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from the hills of Gilead. [2] Your teeth are like a flock of sheep just shorn, coming up from the washing. Each has its twin; not one of them is alone. [3] Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon; your mouth is lovely. Your temples behind your veil are like the halves of a pomegranate. [4] Your neck is like the tower of David, built with courses of stone; on it hang a thousand shields, all of them shields of warriors. [5] Your breasts are like two fawns, like twin fawns of a gazelle that browse among the lilies. [6] Until the day breaks and the shadows flee, I will go to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of incense. [7] You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you. [8] Come with me from Lebanon, my bride, come with me from Lebanon. Descend from the crest of Amana, from the top of Senir, the summit of Hermon, from the lions’ dens and the mountain haunts of leopards. [9] You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride; you have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace. [10] How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much more pleasing is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume more than any spice! [11] Your lips drop sweetness as the honeycomb, my bride; milk and honey are under your tongue. The fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon. [12] You are a garden locked up, my sister, my bride; you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain. [13] Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates with choice fruits, with henna and nard, [14] nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with every kind of incense tree, with myrrh and aloes and all the finest spices. [15] You are a garden fountain, a well of flowing water streaming down from Lebanon. [16]She Awake, north wind, and come, south wind! Blow on my garden, that its fragrance may spread everywhere. Let my beloved come into his garden and taste its choice fruits. [1]He I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice. I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey; I have drunk my wine and my milk. FriendsEat, friends, and drink; drink your fill of love. Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION
Reflect
What change in their relationship is intimated here?The couple is now married (8-12; 5:1). This chapter is full of tender and intimate language. The walled garden which formerly kept the lover out is now open. Love is awakened, and it pleases. In its right place and setting, the gift of human love can be fully enjoyed. Gary Chapman says there are five “love languages,” ways in which people express and receive love (The Five Love Languages, Northfield Press). They include words of affirmation, quality time, gifts, acts of service, and physical touch. In this passage the lover seems to prefer the first love language: it is full of compliments and affirmation. This is what his bride appreciates (and perhaps needs) most, not simply what he finds easiest to give. But look out for hints of the other love languages (e.g. 2:6; 4:8); you may find more! We all like to receive love in our preferred “language,” but we often fail to identify the love languages of our loved ones, and so never give them what they most need. A simple action, or some quality time together, can mean more to some people than any expensive gifts or lavish utterances.
Apply
How do you express your love to those closest to you? How do they need to be shown your love today?
Closing prayer
Lord God, You are so loving to me. Help me love You and others in ways that they can’t mistake.
Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.
© 2024 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.
Discovery is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.