Song of Solomon 3:1-11: a reflection

1By night on my bed, I sought him whom my soul loves. I sought him, but I didn’t find him. 2I will get up now, and go about the city; in the streets and in the squares I will seek him whom my soul loves. I sought him, but I didn’t find him. 3The watchmen who go about the city found me; “Have you seen him whom my soul loves?” 4I had scarcely passed from them, when I found him whom my soul loves. I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother’s house, into the room of her who conceived me. 5I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, or by the hinds of the field, that you not stir up nor awaken love, until it so desires. 6Who is this who comes up from the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all spices of the merchant? 7Behold, it is Solomon’s carriage! Sixty mighty men are around it, of the mighty men of Israel. 8They all handle the sword, and are expert in war. Every man has his sword on his thigh, because of fear in the night. 9King Solomon made himself a carriage of the wood of Lebanon. 10He made its pillars of silver, its bottom of gold, its seat of purple, the middle of it being paved with love, from the daughters of Jerusalem. 11Go out, you daughters of Zion, and see King Solomon, with the crown with which his mother has crowned him, in the day of his weddings, in the day of the gladness of his heart.

In the Song of Songs, the bride tells of seeking her beloved. By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loves; I sought him, but did not find him. So she rises and goes out through the city, searching the streets and squares, asking the watchmen, until at last she finds him: I found him whom my soul loves; I held him, and would not let him go. Her seeking is restless, persistent, unwilling to give up until she has found the one she loves, and then unwilling to let him go.

Notice the persistence of her seeking, and the holding fast once she finds him. She does not seek casually, or give up when she does not find him at once; she rises, searches the city, keeps looking until she finds him. And when she finds him, she holds him and will not let him go. Her love drives a persistent seeking and a firm holding: she will not rest until she has found the one her soul loves, and will not release him once found.

Throughout Scripture, such love between two is used as a picture of the love between God and his people; and the bride's seeking pictures our own seeking of God. We are to seek God, the one our soul truly loves, with such persistence, not casually or half-heartedly, but pressing on until we find him, and then holding fast to him, not letting him go. Seek God as the bride sought her beloved: with persistence that does not give up, until you find him; and when you find him, hold fast to him. Do not seek God casually, content to leave off if he is not quickly found; and do not, having found him, hold him loosely. Seek the one your soul loves with all your heart, until you find him, and then hold him and do not let him go.

Lord, in the Song, the bride sought the one her soul loved, rising and searching the city, persistent and unwilling to give up, until she found him, and then she held him and would not let him go. And such love pictures the love between you and your people, and my own seeking of you. Help me seek you, the one my soul truly loves, with such persistence, not casually or half-heartedly, but pressing on until I find you, and then holding fast to you, not letting you go. Keep me from seeking you casually, content to leave off if you are not quickly found; and keep me, having found you, from holding you loosely. Help me seek the one my soul loves with all my heart, until I find you, and then hold you and not let you go. Give me a persistent love for you that seeks until it finds, and a faithful heart that holds fast to you once found. You are the one my soul loves; help me seek you and hold you.