Four Weddings and a Funeral
Most Beautiful Bride
Song of Solomon 4 The Message
The Man
4 1-5 You’re so beautiful, my darling,
so beautiful, and your dove eyes are veiled
By your hair as it flows and shimmers,
like a flock of goats in the distance
streaming down a hillside in the sunshine.
Your smile is generous and full—
expressive and strong and clean.
Your lips are jewel red,
your mouth elegant and inviting,
your veiled cheeks soft and radiant.
The smooth, lithe lines of your neck
command notice—all heads turn in awe and admiration!
Your breasts are like fawns,
twins of a gazelle, grazing among the first spring flowers.
so beautiful, and your dove eyes are veiled
By your hair as it flows and shimmers,
like a flock of goats in the distance
streaming down a hillside in the sunshine.
Your smile is generous and full—
expressive and strong and clean.
Your lips are jewel red,
your mouth elegant and inviting,
your veiled cheeks soft and radiant.
The smooth, lithe lines of your neck
command notice—all heads turn in awe and admiration!
Your breasts are like fawns,
twins of a gazelle, grazing among the first spring flowers.
6-7 The sweet, fragrant curves of your body,
the soft, spiced contours of your flesh
Invite me, and I come. I stay
until dawn breathes its light and night slips away.
You’re beautiful from head to toe, my dear love,
beautiful beyond compare, absolutely flawless.
the soft, spiced contours of your flesh
Invite me, and I come. I stay
until dawn breathes its light and night slips away.
You’re beautiful from head to toe, my dear love,
beautiful beyond compare, absolutely flawless.
8-15 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride.
Leave Lebanon behind, and come.
Leave your high mountain hideaway.
Abandon your wilderness seclusion,
Where you keep company with lions
and panthers guard your safety.
You’ve captured my heart, dear friend.
You looked at me, and I fell in love.
One look my way and I was hopelessly in love!
How beautiful your love, dear, dear friend—
far more pleasing than a fine, rare wine,
your fragrance more exotic than select spices.
The kisses of your lips are honey, my love,
every syllable you speak a delicacy to savor.
Your clothes smell like the wild outdoors,
the ozone scent of high mountains.
Dear lover and friend, you’re a secret garden,
a private and pure fountain.
Body and soul, you are paradise,
a whole orchard of succulent fruits—
Ripe apricots and peaches,
oranges and pears;
Nut trees and cinnamon,
and all scented woods;
Mint and lavender,
and all herbs aromatic;
A garden fountain, sparkling and splashing,
fed by spring waters from the Lebanon mountains.
Leave Lebanon behind, and come.
Leave your high mountain hideaway.
Abandon your wilderness seclusion,
Where you keep company with lions
and panthers guard your safety.
You’ve captured my heart, dear friend.
You looked at me, and I fell in love.
One look my way and I was hopelessly in love!
How beautiful your love, dear, dear friend—
far more pleasing than a fine, rare wine,
your fragrance more exotic than select spices.
The kisses of your lips are honey, my love,
every syllable you speak a delicacy to savor.
Your clothes smell like the wild outdoors,
the ozone scent of high mountains.
Dear lover and friend, you’re a secret garden,
a private and pure fountain.
Body and soul, you are paradise,
a whole orchard of succulent fruits—
Ripe apricots and peaches,
oranges and pears;
Nut trees and cinnamon,
and all scented woods;
Mint and lavender,
and all herbs aromatic;
A garden fountain, sparkling and splashing,
fed by spring waters from the Lebanon mountains.
The Woman
16 Wake up, North Wind,
get moving, South Wind!
Breathe on my garden,
fill the air with spice fragrance.
get moving, South Wind!
Breathe on my garden,
fill the air with spice fragrance.
Oh, let my lover enter his garden!
Yes, let him eat the fine, ripe fruits.
Yes, let him eat the fine, ripe fruits.
Is
the Song of Solomon an embarrassment or an honest depiction of one of
the most powerful, wonderful and beautiful gifts from God, human
sexuality? In the 1660's Matthew Henry interpreted the passages to
mean the love Christ has for his people. The Pulpit Commentary suggests
that this "...collection of separate songs, strung together by their
general erotic character, is what we cannot believe. ... There must be a
deep religious meaning in such language." Gills Exposition of the
Entire Bible, suggests that Solomon was God's ghost writer expressing
God's love for the church. Are these passages allegorical as suggested
by an A. R. Faussett commentary?
There is no denying these passages contain expressions of human love and sexuality. Peterson says that the Song makes a connection between conjugal love and sex. Some, he says, eliminate sex when they speak of love. Others speak of sex and never think of love. Peterson writes, "The Song proclaims an integrated wholeness that is the center of Christian teaching on committed wedded love for a world that seems to specialize in loveless sex."
Pray
There is no denying these passages contain expressions of human love and sexuality. Peterson says that the Song makes a connection between conjugal love and sex. Some, he says, eliminate sex when they speak of love. Others speak of sex and never think of love. Peterson writes, "The Song proclaims an integrated wholeness that is the center of Christian teaching on committed wedded love for a world that seems to specialize in loveless sex."
Pray
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