Time for Wine
Opening Prayer
Loving Lord, I want to come into Your holy presence and know Your love and welcome again today.
Read SONG OF SONGS 1:1-11
[1] Solomon’s Song of Songs. [2]Beloved Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth- for your love is more delightful than wine. [3] Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes; your name is like perfume poured out. No wonder the maidens love you! [4] Take me away with you-let us hurry! Let the king bring me into his chambers. FriendsWe rejoice and delight in you; we will praise your love more than wine. BelovedHow right they are to adore you! [5] Dark am I, yet lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, dark like the tents of Kedar, like the tent curtains of Solomon. [6] Do not stare at me because I am dark, because I am darkened by the sun. My mother’s sons were angry with me and made me take care of the vineyards; my own vineyard I have neglected. [7] Tell me, you whom I love, where you graze your flock and where you rest your sheep at midday. Why should I be like a veiled woman beside the flocks of your friends? [8]Friends If you do not know, most beautiful of women, follow the tracks of the sheep and graze your young goats by the tents of the shepherds. [9]Lover 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. [11] We will make you earrings of gold, studded with silver. Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.
Reflect
How do these lovers describe each other?So you’ve arrived at your vacation destination, you’ve unpacked and you’re sitting out on the verandah sipping a cold drink. You’ve left behind your home, your busyness and your worries. You’re definitely ready for a bit of R & R. In the background you can hear a romantic song playing, a girl on lead vocals, backed up by a chorus, and you begin to hum along, “Your love is better than wine.” You begin to unwind. At last, a chance to think straight, to reflect, to have time with God. You wonder who the singer is singing about. You mull over your experience of love, about who loves you most. What is it like to have love like wine, blood-red wine? Then the music changes (5). It’s the same woman singing, but the subject is herself. She’s quite self-confident. The lyrics convey strength, but don’t always make sense. “My own vineyard I had to neglect.” What does she mean? Then a man’s voice responding; the words make you smile, but the music is catchy and it carries you along. You could even sing some of these words to God. After all, there is a fragrance about Christ (2 Cor. 2:14).
Apply
Listen for hints of God in the lyrics of any songs you hear today. When you hear some, praise him.
Closing prayer
Lord God, You are the One who is all love. I am so very grateful for Your unfailing love for me!
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