Read
Another Dream
She Speaks:
2I was asleep, but dreaming:
The one I love was at the door,
knocking and saying,
“My darling, my very own,
my flawless dove,
open the door for me!
My head is drenched
with evening dew.”
3But I had already undressed
and bathed my feet.
Should I dress again
and get my feet dirty?
4Then my darling's hand
reached to open the latch,
and my heart stood still.
5When I rose to open the door,
my hands and my fingers
dripped with perfume.
6And I yearned for him
while he spoke to me,
but when I opened the door,
my darling had disappeared.
I searched and shouted,
but I could not find him—
there was no answer.
7Then I was found by the guards
patrolling the town
and guarding the wall.
They beat me up
and stripped off my robe.
8Young women of Jerusalem,
if you find the one I love,
please say to him,
“She is weak with desire.”
Their Friends Speak:
9Most beautiful of women,
why is the one you love
more special than others?
Why do you ask us
to tell him how you feel?
She Speaks:
10He is handsome and healthy,
the most outstanding
among ten thousand.
11His head is purest gold;
his hair is wavy,
black as a raven.
12His eyes are a pair of doves
bathing in a stream
flowing with milk.
13His face is a garden
of sweet-smelling spices;
his lips are lilies
dripping with perfume.
14His arms are branches of gold
covered with jewels;
his body is ivory
decorated with sapphires.
15His legs are columns of marble
on feet of gold.
He stands there majestic
like Mount Lebanon
and its choice cedar trees.
16His kisses are sweet.
I desire him so much!
Young women of Jerusalem,
he is my lover and friend.
Their Friends Speak:
1Most beautiful of women,
tell us where he has gone.
Let us help you find him.
She Speaks:
2My darling has gone down
to his garden of spices,
where he will feed his sheep
and gather lilies.
3I am his, and he is mine,
as he feeds his sheep
among the lilies.
He Speaks:
4My dearest, the cities of Tirzah
and Jerusalem
are not as lovely as you.
Your charms are more powerful
than all of the stars
in the heavens.
5Turn away your eyes—
they make me melt.
Your hair tosses about
as gracefully as goats
coming down from Gilead.
6Your teeth are whiter
than sheep freshly washed;
they match perfectly,
not one is missing.
7Behind your veil are hidden
beautiful rosy cheeks.
8What if I could have
sixty queens, eighty wives,
and thousands of others!
9You would be my only choice,
my flawless dove,
the favorite child
of your mother.
The young women, the queens,
and all the others
tell how excited you are
as they sing your praises:
10“You are as majestic
as the morning sky—
glorious as the moon—
blinding as the sun!
Your charms are more powerful
than all the stars above.”
She Speaks:
11I went down to see if blossoms
were on the walnut trees,
grapevines, and fruit trees.
12But in my imagination
I was suddenly riding
on a glorious chariot.
Their Friends Speak:
13Dance! Dance!
Beautiful woman from Shulam,
let us see you dance!
She Speaks:
Why do you want to see
this woman from Shulam
dancing with the others?
The Wedding Dance
He Speaks:
1You are a princess,
and your feet are graceful
in their sandals.
Your thighs are works of art,
each one a jewel;
2your navel is a wine glass
filled to overflowing.
Your body is full and slender
like a bundle of wheat
bound together by lilies.
3Your breasts are like twins
of a deer.
4Your neck is like ivory,
and your eyes sparkle
like the pools of Heshbon
by the gate of Bath-Rabbim.
Your nose is beautiful
like Mount Lebanon
above the city of Damascus.
5Your head is held high
like Mount Carmel;
your hair is so lovely
it holds a king prisoner.
6You are very beautiful,
so desirable!
7You are tall and slender
like a palm tree,
and your breasts are full.
8I will climb that tree
and cling to its branches.
I will discover that your breasts
are clusters of grapes,
and that your breath
is the aroma of apples.
9Kissing you is more delicious
than drinking the finest wine.
How wonderful and tasty!
She Speaks:
10My darling, I am yours,
and you desire me.
11Let's stroll through the fields
and sleep in the villages.
12At dawn let's slip out and see
if grapevines and fruit trees
are covered with blossoms.
When we are there,
I will give you my love.
13Perfume from the magic flower
fills the air, my darling.
Right at our doorstep
I have stored up for you
all kinds of tasty fruits.
Reflect
One of the main themes of the Song is longing. Even in real life, even when our love is reciprocated, we can have a sense that there is still something missing. We can never fully know another person. There is still a sense of unfulfillment.
Similarly, longing is an essential aspect of our faith. People sometimes think there is something wrong with this and go to great lengths to find fulfillment. The English poet, William Cowper, wrote
Where is the blessedness I knew
When first I saw the Lord?
Where is the soul-refreshing view
Of Jesus and his word?
What peaceful hours I once enjoyed!
How sweet their memory still!
But they have left an aching void,
The world can never fill.
and went on to plead that God would help him tear from his breast “the dearest idol I have known.” (Google “O for a closer walk with God” to find the whole poem.) It’s a beautiful hymn and indeed we should pray that God will help us deal with the sins that grieve him. But to obsess over the sense of his absence is not healthy. William Cowper was afflicted with depression all his life.
It’s fundamentally wrongheaded to try to satisfy all our yearnings. We never can. They are in fact evidence that we belong to Christ, and they point us forward in hope. The whole of creation is confused, wrote Paul. God made it this way until in the end he will set it free from the effects of sin. Meanwhile we are groaning like a woman in childbirth. “We hope for something we have not yet seen, and we patiently wait for it” (Romans 8:20-25).
Today I struggle with my imperfections, yearning for the Christ I know only in part. Only then will I “know as I am known” (1 Corinthians 13:12).
Respond
Father God, thank you for the glimpse you give me of a world “now-and-not-yet,” that I long for. I pray that that foretaste will draw me to live closer to you, daily. Amen.
Annabel Robinson
Annabel was born in Kew, near London, England. She committed her life to Jesus Christ at a Scripture Union camp when she was 16, and immediately found joy and peace. At Oxford she was active in the Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union, where she met her husband, Reid. They emigrated to Canada in 1965, where she taught Classics at the University of Regina until 2007. She has two children, Heather in Oslo and Alasdair in Calgary.