Draw Me into Your Intimate Presence: Commentary on Song of Solomon 1:1-4

This is the tenth prayer in the prayer acrostic,  F.O.L.L.O.W.  C.H.R.I.S.T.

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I: Draw me into your Intimate presence!   

• "¹ The Song of songs, which is Solomon's. ² 'Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth; for your love is better than wine. ³ Your oils have a pleasing fragrance. Your name is oil poured out, therefore the virgins love you. ⁴ Take me away with you. Let's hurry. The king has brought me into his rooms'" (Song of Solomon 1:1-4).

Prayerful Observations:
These are the first four verses of the Song of Solomon. The book calls itself "the Song of Songs". As a historical account, verses two through four are the words of the Shulamite bride to her husband to be, King Solomon. Allegorically, it is the prayer of a saint for intimacy with God in this life ("Let him kiss me... your love is better than wine... Take me away with you").

We know that the request is for intimacy in the present, since the intimacy is granted in verse 4 ("The king has brought me into his rooms.") So, these verses represent a prayer for intimacy in this life, before the greater intimacy of complete union with Christ in the paradise of the New Jerusalem.

The Song of Solomon was written by Solomon. Solomon also wrote the book of Ecclesiastes and most of Proverbs. As a writer of inspired scripture, he was a prophet. Like all prophets, he had shortcomings and failures.

Some say that the book is about sexual desire within human marriage. However, the book could not be called the "Song of songs" in verse 1, if its purpose is only to portray human romance. How could a human love song be greater than all of the songs of praise to God in the book of Psalms?

The issue is resolved in verse 8:6:

• "Set me as a seal on your heart, as a seal on your arm; for love is strong as death. Jealousy is as cruel as Sheol. Its flashes are flashes of fire, a very flame of Yahweh."

Yahweh is the personal name of God. The jealousy portrayed is not the jealousy of Solomon. It is the jealousy of Yahweh, a "very flame of Yahweh". This passage makes it clear that Yahweh was the subject of the Song of Solomon romance all along. Solomon was a type of Christ.  Yahweh wants to be a seal on his bride's heart, as Yahweh is a jealous God (Numbers 25:11, Exodus 34:14-15).  This fact has been hidden in many English versions of the Bible wherein translators have removed God's name, Yahweh, from His book. This is discussed at length in the subchapter titled "Yahweh" in the appendix (A4).

So, as I wrote earlier, these verses in the Song of Solomon represent prayers of saints for intimacy with God in this life, before the greater intimacy of complete union with Christ in the paradise of the New Jerusalem.

I can't help but notice the correlations between the Song of Solomon and the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:1-27). As I wrote earlier, the Song of Solomon portrays an intimate romantic relationship between King Solomon and his Shulammite bride-to-be. Comments from the Daughters of Jerusalem are intertwined to create a three way dialogue (Song of Solomon 1:5, 2:7, 3:5, 3:10, 5:8, 5:16, and 8:4). 

So, the Song of Solomon presents three participants:

• The King
• The Bride
• The Daughters of Jerusalem

The New Testament reveals that the New Jerusalem coming down out of Heaven is the bride of Christ (Revelation 21:2, 9-10). Believers are citizens of the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:27, 1-27). So, the saints are essentially the bride of Christ. Paul wrote to the Corinthian church in 2 Corinthians 11:2 "I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him." 

So, the New Jerusalem also has three participants:

• Christ the Bridegroom King 
• New Jerusalem as the bride 
• Citizens of the New Jerusalem 

(Revelation 21:2, 9-10, 27)

These correlate well with the Song of Solomon's three participants:

• The King

• The Bride

• The Daughters of Jerusalem

The Song of Solomon and the New Jerusalem have:

• King

• Bride

• Daughters (Citizens)

So, the Song of Solomon provides a type for the union of Christ to His bride... the highest form of intimacy.

Summary:

I understand the Song of Solomon to represent the desire of God's people for intimate union with Christ, the King. This view is explained in more depth in the subchapter 6.1 titled "The Eternal State in Paradise: The New Jerusalem". Various commentaries supporting this view are presented there.

I will repeat the scripture on which this Endorsed Prayer is founded and the Endorsed Prayer:

• "1 The Song of songs, which is Solomon's. 2 'Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth; for your love is better than wine. 3 Your oils have a pleasing fragrance. Your name is oil poured out, therefore the virgins love you. 4 Take me away with you. Let's hurry. The king has brought me into his rooms'" (Song of Solomon 1:1-4).

The Endorsed Prayer arising from this scripture is: Draw me into your intimate presence!

To see all twelve prayers in the acrostic FOLLOW CHRIST, click here.