"So, character counts, but so also does chemistry. When looking for the right person to marry we should ask: “Is his/her character commendable?” But we should also ask, “How do I feel about him/her?” When William Smith, a pastor in Alabama, interviews couples wishing to marry, before he addresses their readiness to sustain a lifelong commitment, he first asks, “Do you love each other with Song of Solomon love?” That is, are there “hot emotions, physical desire and rich romance” in your relationship?  That’s what the Bible is asking here in an indirect way."

Read Solomon's Song of Love, by Douglas Sean O'Donnell


1 "How beautiful you are, my darling, How beautiful you are! Your eyes are like doves behind  your veil; Your hair is like a flock of goats That have descended from Mount Gilead.  
2 "Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn ewes Which have come up from their washing, All of which bear twins, And not one among them has lost her young.  
3 "Your lips are like a scarlet thread, And your mouth is lovely. Your temples are like a slice of a pomegranate Behind  your veil.  
4 "Your neck is like the tower of David, Built with rows of stones On which are hung a thousand shields, All the round shields of the mighty men.  
5 "Your two breasts are like two fawns, Twins of a gazelle Which feed among the lilies. 
6 "Until the cool of the day When the shadows flee away, I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh And to the hill of frankincense. 
7 "You are altogether beautiful, my darling, And there is no blemish in you.  
8 "Come with me from Lebanon, my bride, May you come with me from Lebanon. Journey down from the summit of Amana, From the summit of Senir and Hermon, From the dens of lions, From the mountains of leopards.  
9 "You have made my heart beat faster, my sister, my bride; You have made my heart beat faster with a single glance of your eyes, With a single strand 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 all kinds of spices! 
11 "Your lips, my bride, drip honey; Honey and milk are under your tongue, And the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon. 
12 "A garden locked is my sister, my bride, A rock garden locked, a spring sealed up.  
13 "Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates With choice fruits, henna with nard plants,  
14 Nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, With all the trees of frankincense, Myrrh and aloes, along with all the finest spices. 
15 "You are a garden spring, A well of fresh water, And streams flowing from Lebanon." 
16 "Awake, O north wind, And come, wind of the south; Make my garden breathe out fragrance, Let its spices be wafted abroad. May my beloved come into his garden And eat its choice fruits!"

Song of Solomon 4

Desire Is Not Demonic

"The first application is this: desire is not demonic. Or if you’d like: Eros is not evil. Pick whichever alliteration you like better. That is, this desire for sexual intimacy expressed here so obviously is not only natural but can be (should be) naturally good.

"When God created the world he said, “It is good . . . good . . . good . . . good . . . good . . . good” (Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25). And when he created the pinnacle of his creation—human beings made of flesh and bones and with desires for intimacy—he said, “It is very good” (Genesis 1:31). Although we are now fallen creatures and cover our bodies in shame (as we should), and our natural desires can so easily be distorted and debased (contrast 1 Corinthians 7:9 with 7:37), there is still something very good about this natural desire for intimacy."

Read Solomon's Song of Love, by Douglas Sean O'Donnell, at Bible Study Tools


1 "I am the rose of Sharon, The lily of the valleys." 
2 "Like a lily among the thorns, So is my darling among the maidens." 
3 "Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, So is my beloved among the young men. In his shade I took great delight and sat down, And his fruit was sweet to my taste. 
4 "He has brought me to his banquet hall, And his banner over me is love. 
5 "Sustain me with raisin cakes, Refresh me with apples, Because I am lovesick. 
6 "Let his left hand be under my head And his right hand embrace me." 
7 "I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the gazelles or by the hinds of the field, That you do not arouse or awaken my love Until she pleases." 
8 "Listen! My beloved! Behold, he is coming, Climbing on the mountains, Leaping on the hills! 
9 "My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Behold, he is standing behind our wall, He is looking through the windows, He is peering through the lattice. 
10 "My beloved responded and said to me, 'Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, And come along. 
11 'For behold, the winter is past, The rain is over and gone. 
12 'The flowers have already appeared in the land; The time has arrived for pruning the vines, And the voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land. 
13 'The fig tree has ripened its figs, And the vines in blossom have given forth their fragrance. Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, And come along!' " 
14 "O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, In the secret place of the steep pathway, Let me see your form, Let me hear your voice; For your voice is sweet, And your form is lovely." 
15 "Catch the foxes for us, The little foxes that are ruining the vineyards, While our vineyards are in blossom." 
16 "My beloved is mine, and I am his; He pastures his flock among the lilies. 
17 "Until the cool of the day when the shadows flee away, Turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle Or a young stag on the mountains of Bether."

Song of Solomon 2

Douglas Sean O'Donnell has written the most wonderful article, Solomon's Song of Love.  Here are a few excerpts; you can access the entire article at this link.  We are going to study the Song of Solomon with Douglas O'Donnell for this and the next seven posts at the One Saint Blog.  It is so worthy of our attention.  Our God is love exemplified, and The Song of Solomon is something we should read and experience with joy.  We have been created to love just so.


"Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! (1:2a) That’s how it starts! Rupert of Deutz (c. 1075–1129), the medieval Benedictine monk, wrote concerning this verse: “What means this cry, so loud, so startling?” Charles Simeon (1759–1836), the famous vicar of Holy Trinity Church Cambridge, said, “The abruptness with which the poem opens is very remarkable.” Indeed it was so very remarkable that first-century Jewish rabbis warned the young men of their congregations not to read the Song until they turned thirty. And Christian preacher Adam Clarke counseled pastors, saying, “I advise all young preachers to avoid preaching on Solomon’s Song.” This is indeed a delicate and dangerous portion of Scripture. And left to the immature imagination or a godless guide, these inspired words, which were written to make us wise unto salvation—to teach, correct, rebuke, and train us in righteousness (and in love!)—could have the opposite effect.

"Yes, what a way to start! It’s an earthquake of eros. But it’s also a “beginning without a beginning,” as Bernard of Clairvaux put it. That is, we are introduced to this theme of physical love, but we are not told about the love story. Who is speaking? Who is her man? What is their history? Are they married?

"All this is intentional. It’s not that their love story is unimportant; rather it’s that the tone of their love is of primary importance. We will get bits and pieces of their story as the Song unfolds, but here we start with a full-blown flame, a tone that we’re to touch. The earth is shaking. The house is on fire. She wants to be kissed—“Let him kiss me” (v. 2)—and she gets more than just his lips: “The king has brought me into his chambers” (v. 4). And then this short opening scene ends with the choir of virgins rising and singing, “We will exult and rejoice . . . in your love,” or as Hess puts it, “in your lovemaking.” There you have it. Welcome to the Song of Songs. It’s the hottest book in the Bible."


1 The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's.  
2 "May he 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 like purified oil; Therefore  the maidens love you.  
4 "Draw me after you and let us run together! The king has brought me into his chambers." "We will rejoice in you and be glad; We will extol your love more than wine. Rightly do they love you."  
5 "I am black but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, Like the tents of Kedar, Like the curtains of Solomon.  
6 "Do not stare at me because I am swarthy, For the sun has burned me. My mother's sons were angry with me; They made me caretaker of the vineyards, But I have not taken care of my own vineyard. 
7 "Tell me, O you whom my soul loves, Where do you pasture your flock, Where
do you make it lie down at noon? For why should I be like one who veils herself Beside the flocks of your companions ?"   
8 "If you yourself do not know, Most beautiful among women, Go forth on the trail of the flock And pasture your young goats By the tents of the shepherds. 
9 "To me, my darling, you are like My mare among the chariots of Pharaoh. 
10 "Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments, Your neck with strings of beads." 
11 "We will make for you ornaments of gold With beads of silver."  
12 "While the king was at his table, My perfume gave forth its fragrance.  
13 "My beloved is to me a pouch of myrrh Which lies all night between my breasts. 
14 "My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms In the vineyards of Engedi." 15 "How beautiful you are, my darling, How beautiful you are! Your eyes are like doves."  
16 "How handsome you are, my beloved, And so pleasant! Indeed, our couch is luxuriant!  
17 "The beams of our houses are cedars, Our rafters, cypresses.

Song of Solomon 1

"We all will face giants at one time or another in our lives. By giants, I am speaking of what seem to be insurmountable problems and issues. We try to fell these giants, but often they seem to only grow stronger with the passing of time.  It could be a giant of fear. Or it might be a giant of some type of personal sin that you fall into again and again. It might be the sin of pride or envy or gluttony or lust or something else.

"In a related way, your giant might be one of addiction, something that has a grip on your life. Then again, it could be a giant of threat that is taunting you today. Someone has slandered you. A lawsuit has been filed against you. Maybe there is even a threat against your very life.

"Or it might be a different kind of giant altogether, like an unbelieving spouse or a prodigal child. You have prayed for them. You have asked the Lord to reach them, yet they seem to become more hardened by sin as the years pass by. You find yourself wondering how you will ever overcome this.

"So how do we deal with giants? We find the answer in the Old Testament account of David and Goliath. Most of us are familiar with the story."

Finish reading this excellent article, Facing Your Giants at One Place.

The Story of David and Goliath, 1 Samuel 17

Never run from your giants.  You cannot hide from them.  Give your giants to the Lord, this is His battle.  Never negotiate with a giant either, for if it is sent by Satan to tempt you, the evil one will win the debate.  Face your giants head on.  Understand you have incredible power standing right beside you in the presence of our Lord, Jesus Christ.  Attack your giants!  Quickly, just as David attacked Goliath.  Force them into the light of day.  They are not going to go away until you turn to face them directly.  Faith.  Calm.  Power in the name of Jesus Christ!

One of my favorite teachers addressed multitasking in his newsletter of January 29th, 2012.  No matter that we are cocreators, with incredible minds and talent.  We have the ability to do many things at once, or so science would tell us.  According to Jack Kelley and Psalm 150, there is only one task that counts:  Praise the Lord!  He knows our purpose here, and when we give Him praise (continually) from our hearts, He leads us to it!  Jack Kelley has much insight to share with us in his usual, no nonsense manner.  You can read this study of Psalm 150 at the link.  Visit Grace Thru Faith as well, for much, much more from Jack Kelley.  Grace Thru Faith is a powerful teaching place!  Sign up for Jack Kelley's daily newsletter, too.  I have and never fail to learn and grow when reading Jack Kelley!  He has a deep and sensible understanding of God's plan, and he knows what you can do to partake of it.


Psalm 150, by Jack Kelley:

"...there have been numerous studies done in an attempt to quantify the creative capability of the human mind...  Finally the UCLA Brain research Institute put an end to things a few years ago by stating that, “For all practical purposes the creative capability of the human mind is infinite.” "

"It’s been said that if we “put our minds to it” we could become fluent in dozens of languages, master countless skills, and memorize for instant recall all the information in the US Library of Congress. (I can’t imagine even wanting to do that one.)

"That said, research has also uncovered one limitation. At the conscious level, we can only think one thought at a time. Some of us think we’re good at doing two things at once, but if we are it means we’ve mastered the ability to switch our focus from one to the other and back again very quickly. Still, at any given instant we’re only thinking about one of them.

"And that explains why Paul advised us to rejoice even in times of trouble, and to concentrate our thinking on praiseworthy things. (Phil 4:4,8) Somehow he knew that if we did this it would prevent us from falling into a state of despair over our problems."

"Let everything that has breath praise the Lord."

1 Praise the LORD! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty expanse. 
2 Praise Him for His mighty deeds; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness.  
3 Praise Him with trumpet sound; Praise Him with harp and lyre.  
4 Praise Him with timbrel and dancing; Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe.  
5 Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with resounding cymbals.  
6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!  (Psalm 150)

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!   (Philippians 4:4)

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.   (Philippians 4:8)

Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.   (James 4:7)