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September 22

Pastor’s Note

In the Old Testament today we read of the romantic fascination of Solomon for his bride. And though the poetic analogies are outdated, may we learn something of the grace of marital love that God has gifted to mankind. As we wrap up our reading of 2 Corinthians we see the concern of Paul for this congregation. Let us learn from these words that concern for our brothers and sisters in Christ has to move beyond pleasantries and trite compliments.

— Pastor Mike

Song of Solomon 4-5

Solomon Admires His Bride’s Beauty

He

4:1 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.
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.
Your lips are like a scarlet thread,
 and your mouth is lovely.
Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate
 behind your veil.
Your neck is like the tower of David,
 built in rows of stone; [1]
on it hang a thousand shields,
 all of them shields of warriors.
Your two breasts are like two fawns,
 twins of a gazelle,
 that graze among the lilies.
Until the day breathes
 and the shadows flee,
I will go away to the mountain of myrrh
 and the hill of frankincense.
You are altogether beautiful, my love;
 there is no flaw in you.
Come with me from Lebanon, my bride;
 come with me from Lebanon.
Depart [2] from the peak of Amana,
 from the peak of Senir and Hermon,
from the dens of lions,
 from the mountains of leopards.

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.

16 Awake, O north wind,
 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.

He

5:1 I came to my garden, my sister, my bride,
 I gathered my myrrh with my spice,
 I ate my honeycomb with my honey,
 I drank my wine with my milk.

Others

Eat, friends, drink,
 and be drunk with love!

The Bride Searches for Her Beloved

She

I slept, but my heart was awake.
A sound! My beloved is knocking.
“Open to me, my sister, my love,
 my dove, my perfect one,
for my head is wet with dew,
 my locks with the drops of the night.”
I had put off my garment;
 how could I put it on?
I had bathed my feet;
 how could I soil them?
My beloved put his hand to the latch,
 and my heart was thrilled within me.
I arose to open to my beloved,
 and my hands dripped with myrrh,
my fingers with liquid myrrh,
 on the handles of the bolt.
I opened to my beloved,
 but my beloved had turned and gone.
My soul failed me when he spoke.
I sought him, but found him not;
 I called him, but he gave no answer.
The watchmen found me
 as they went about in the city;
they beat me, they bruised me,
 they took away my veil,
 those watchmen of the walls.
I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
 if you find my beloved,
that you tell him
 I am sick with love.

Others

What is your beloved more than another beloved,
 O most beautiful among women?
What is your beloved more than another beloved,
 that you thus adjure us?

The Bride Praises Her Beloved

She

10 My beloved is radiant and ruddy,
 distinguished among ten thousand.
11 His head is the finest gold;
 his locks are wavy,
 black as a raven.
12 His eyes are like doves
 beside streams of water,
bathed in milk,
 sitting beside a full pool. [3]
13 His cheeks are like beds of spices,
 mounds of sweet-smelling herbs.
His lips are lilies,
 dripping liquid myrrh.
14 His arms are rods of gold,
 set with jewels.
His body is polished ivory, [4]
 bedecked with sapphires. [5]
15 His legs are alabaster columns,
 set on bases of gold.
His appearance is like Lebanon,
 choice as the cedars.
16 His mouth [6] is most sweet,
 and he is altogether desirable.
This is my beloved and this is my friend,
 O daughters of Jerusalem.

2 Corinthians 13

Final Warnings

13:1 This is the third time I am coming to you. Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. I warned those who sinned before and all the others, and I warn them now while absent, as I did when present on my second visit, that if I come again I will not spare them— since you seek proof that Christ is speaking in me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God.

Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test. But we pray to God that you may not do wrong—not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed. For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. Your restoration is what we pray for. 10 For this reason I write these things while I am away from you, that when I come I may not have to be severe in my use of the authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down.

Final Greetings

11 Finally, brothers, [7] rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, [8] agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. 12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. 13 All the saints greet you.

14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Footnotes

[1] 4:4 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
[2] 4:8 Or Look
[3] 5:12 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
[4] 5:14 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
[5] 5:14 Hebrew lapis lazuli
[6] 5:16 Hebrew palate
[7] 13:11 Or brothers and sisters
[8] 13:11 Or listen to my appeal

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