THE PRINCIPLES OF A LOVING, GODLY RELATIONSHIP – MAN TO WOMAN (PART 2 – CHERISH YOUR LOVE)

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The beams of our house are cedars; our rafters are firs.

Until the day breaks and the shadows flee, I will go to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of incense. You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you.

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. 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. 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! 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. You are a garden locked up, my sister, my bride; you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain. Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates with choice fruits, with henna and nard, nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with every kind of incense tree, with myrrh and aloes and all the finest spices. You are a garden fountain, a well of flowing water streaming down from Lebanon.

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.

I went down into the orchard of nut trees to see the blossoms of the valley, to look for buds on the vines, to see if the pomegranate trees had bloomed. Before I realized it, my desire for you made me feel like a prince in a chariot.

Song of Songs 1:17; 4:6-15; 5:1a; 6:11-12

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Today is the second in the series of devotions on the principles of a loving, Godly relationship in regard to a man’s association with his woman. You’ll recall I did a series on how a woman should relate to her man before, examining the words of Shulammite who was faint with love over her man, Solomon. This current series is drawn from the words of Solomon as he talks about his woman, Shulammite, the one who he called altogether beautiful and flawless in the scriptures we studied yesterday.

Indeed, Solomon didn’t hesitate to proclaim the beauty of his partner and as we’ll see today, he also didn’t hesitate in cherishing the love he found in her. Look again at his words from the Song of Songs:

The beams of our house are cedars; our rafters are firs. 1:17

How strong was the love that Solomon and Shulammite shared?

Solomon likened it to the firs that would be used as rafters because of the sturdiness and durability of the wood. If a fir could withstand the weight of a roof pressing down in it, then the love Solomon and Shulammite shared could bear the weight of any problems that they might encounter. It’s this kind of love that all couples should strive for, a kind of love that is to be cherished when you have it.

Until the day breaks and the shadows flee, I will go to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of incense. You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you. 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. 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. 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! 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. You are a garden locked up, my sister, my bride; you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain. Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates with choice fruits, with henna and nard, nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with every kind of incense tree, with myrrh and aloes and all the finest spices. You are a garden fountain, a well of flowing water streaming down from Lebanon.  4:6-15

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. 5:1a

Perhaps this passage as much as any other fully captures just how much Solomon cherished his love with Shulammite as he openly shares his heart with us. Through his words, we know he:

1. Has had his heart stolen by her.

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.

When we find the woman the Lord has meant for us to share love with, there will be little doubt that all the love you need is found in her and you will want to give her your heart as much as she wants to give you hers.

2. Delights in her,

How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride!

When someone brings us delight, we are filled with joy and happiness and satisfaction. Solomon has found all this in Shulammite and, men, we will have it as well when we have the woman in our life that the Lord gives us as His beautiful, priceless gift to share life with.

3. Finds great pleasure in her.

How much more pleasing is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume more than any spice! 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. You are a garden locked up, my sister, my bride; you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain. Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates with choice fruits, with henna and nard, nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with every kind of incense tree, with myrrh and aloes and all the finest spices. You are a garden fountain, a well of flowing water streaming down from Lebanon.

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.

In these verses, Solomon gets into great detail about all the things that make Shulammite so enjoyable to him, the things that made him cherish her and the pleasing love she brought him.

He loved the fragrance of her perfume and her garments. He loved her lips and the taste of her tongue that was as sweet like honey. He loved everything about her and compared being in her presence to being in a garden or orchard or near a garden fountain or well of flowing water, all beautiful wonderful places to spend time, places where you could adore beauty and find comfort and peace and fulfillment, all things Solomon found when he was with Shulammite.

If you are a man and have been blessed with a woman to love and cherish, what is it about her that makes her so special to you? What do you delight in when you are with her? What is it about her that makes her so pleasing to you? Have you told her lately about how much you cherish her and the love she brings you?

Maybe we would be well served to follow the lead of Solomon and not hesitate to tell others about the wonderful love we have with our woman who God has blessed us with, the love we should ever cherish with all our heart.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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