Thursday 08 December 2016

Psalm: Psalm 45

Background

The Song of Solomon is a love poem that celebrates the physicaland emotional relationship of human beings. The Song is placed as acontinuation of 'Wisdom literature' and is sometimes attributed toSolomon himself, although if Solomon is the author then clearly thedating has to be very early (10th century BC). But most scholarsopt for a date between the 5th and 3th century BC.

The ancient Church father Origen wrote: "I advise everyone whois not yet rid of the vexations of the flesh and blood and has notceased to feel the passions of this bodily nature, to refrain fromreading this book and the things that will be said about it"! Youhave been warned!

This is a poem about the discovery of love; about a deepeningrelationship that finds its expression in all sorts of emotionaland physical ways. It is a wonderful celebration of human love andsexuality. Falling in love, being in love, discovering a soulmate,developing that relationship is exciting and wonderful andglorious. Sometimes even God's people need to cast off a tendencyto puritan prudishness and take human intimacy out of the shadowsand celebrate it as a gift from God.

Here is just a single thought from these verses. Ponder upon therich imagery this passage offers.

The "rose of Sharon" and "lily of the valley" were flowerscommon to Israel. Perhaps the girl is saying, 'I am nothingspecial; no different from all the others around us'. The responseof 'Solomon' is beautiful, declaring her to be as "a lily amongbrambles": unique, beautiful, refined and delightful. He uses thelanguage of love to encourage, celebrate and appreciate. If we takenothing else from this poem, we take that. Never take another humanbeing for granted; never let them diminish themselves; never shyaway from words that build up and which articulate the value anddelight that we find in others.

To Ponder

• Awkward or awesome? How do you feel about the presence of theSong of Solomon in Scripture?

• Is there a 'lily among brambles' to whom you should expressyour love today?

• Brambles choke and suffocate the life from other plants. Lookout today for an opportunity to cut away life-limiting bramblesfrom another person by your kindness.