November 21, 2013
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

The Beauty of the Bride

Please see the links to our EXTRA Bible Study notes at the bottom of the page.

Opening Prayer

Loving Lord, to know You is life itself. Grant me freshness of perspective in the difficult situations of my life.

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

“So he (Samuel) sent and had him (David) brought in. He was ruddy with a fine appearance and handsome features” (1Sam. 16:12).

I once had a tenant who complained that her mom had always said of her, “My daughter has inner beauty.” This was all very well, but not the greatest of confidence boosters! So, it never does any harm to extol the loveliness of your family members. There might be the risk of introducing vanity, but lack of self-esteem is not good either. How can we get this right? The problem is not just the pitiless media standards of female beauty, but our own instant assessments of people by their appearance. Christians, particularly within the Protestant tradition, have often been uneasy about beauty in the arts, perhaps because the temptation to sensuality which some find a barrier to true spiritual worship. Passages like this, however, remind us that beauty is part of the Word of God, inspired at many levels. If we take the traditional Christian approach to its interpretation, we have to recognize that this is Christ’s view of us, the church, his people. 

The first part of today’s poem is called a blazon, where the beloved’s good features are enumerated. It got a bit out of hand during the Renaissance, which is why Shakespeare’s “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun” sonnet  (Sonnet 130), which reverses the clichés of the blazon, works so well. The Song’s version is gloriously inventive–hair “like a flock of goats coming down the mountain” is particularly fine, even in translation. Why is it, then, that so many worship songs are so limited in their words? Are we being condescending, and not giving the Spirit enough credit to make it beautiful? As George Herbert wrote in one of his Easter poems, “O let thy blessed Spirit bear a part, and make up our defects with his sweet art.”

Apply

“Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness” (1 Chron. 16:29, KJV). How can you answer that call today?

Closing prayer

Loving Father, I affirm Your intention in creation that sex be seen as good. I also affirm my desire to always express that gift within the commitment of covenant, wedded love.

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.

Encounter with God 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.

View all readings

Get ENCOUNTER:

in your email:

in Print:

Become a Member | Visit our store