Song of Solomon 1–5
The Holy Bible interpreted through Divine Principle insight and the words of True Father.
This study page begins Song of Solomon with chapters 1 through 5. Commentary is given where the text clearly connects with Divine Principle themes such as God’s original ideal of man and woman, covenant love, prepared union, the beauty of the bride and bridegroom, and the difference between pure spouse love and fallen desire. Sanctuary-style diagrams are included where they help show relational order and covenant movement.
1:1 The song of songs, which is Solomon’s. 1:2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine. 1:3 Because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured forth... 1:4 Draw me, we will run after thee...
1:5 I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem... 1:6 Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me... 1:7 Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest...
1:9 I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh’s chariots. 1:10 Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels... 1:12 While the king sitteth at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof. 1:15 Behold, thou art fair, my love... 1:16 Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant...
The chapter opens with desire, but the proper reading is not random passion. It points toward ordered love, mutual recognition, and covenant movement under Heaven.
2:1 I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys. 2:2 As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters. 2:3 As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons...
2:4 He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love. 2:5 Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love. 2:6 His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me.
2:7 I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem... that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please. 2:8 The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains... 2:10 Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away... 2:15 Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines...
2:16 My beloved is mine, and I am his... 2:17 Until the day break, and the shadows flee away...
The poetry of delight and mutual belonging reflects the beauty of love in God’s design. Divine Principle strongly resonates because original man and woman were meant to find joy, rest, and beauty in one another without shame or corruption.
“Stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please” is one of the most important lines in the book. It strongly resonates with Divine Principle, because fallen history began through love awakened in the wrong way and before proper maturity and blessing.
The call to rise up and the warning about little foxes show that love must be protected. True Father often emphasized that small corruptions can ruin the whole field of love and lineage if they are not removed.
3:1 By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. 3:2 I will rise now, and go about the city... I will seek him whom my soul loveth... 3:4 It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go...
3:5 I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem... that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.
3:6 Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke... 3:7 Behold his bed, which is Solomon’s... 3:9 King Solomon made himself a chariot... 3:11 Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals...
The seeking of the beloved in the night reflects the longing of fallen humanity for restored love and true union. Yet again the refrain appears: do not awaken love wrongly. Heaven’s order and timing remain central.
The movement toward the day of espousals is significant. Divine Principle strongly resonates with marriage as a holy and public event, not merely private emotion. The culmination is covenantal, royal, and ceremonial.
4:1 Behold, thou art fair, my love... 4:7 Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee. 4:8 Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse...
4:9 Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse... 4:10 How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse... 4:12 A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed. 4:16 Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden...
The bride is praised in detail, culminating in “there is no spot in thee.” This fits the original ideal of purity before corruption. Divine Principle strongly resonates because the true bride is not to be read through fallen shame, but through Heaven’s joy in prepared beauty.
The repeated word “spouse” matters. The imagery is covenantal. “A garden inclosed... a fountain sealed” strongly resonates with the Principle teaching that love and lineage are holy, protected, and not to be opened in a fallen or careless way.
The garden imagery suggests fruitfulness, fragrance, and blessing. True Father often emphasized that conjugal love in God is not dirty or ashamed, but beautiful, fruitful, and sacred when rightly centered.
5:1 I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse... eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.
5:2 I sleep, but my heart waketh... It is the voice of my beloved that knocketh... 5:3 I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on?... 5:4 My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door... 5:5 I rose up to open to my beloved... 5:6 I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone...
5:7 The watchmen that went about the city found me, they smote me... 5:8 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, that I am sick of love.
5:10 My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand... 5:16 His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend...
The opening verse presents consummated garden imagery in spouse language. Properly read, this is not fallen lust but sanctified union. Divine Principle strongly resonates because God’s original will included blessed conjugal love, not a history of corruption and shame.
The delay, missed moment, and renewed search show that love requires responsiveness. Neglect creates pain. In providential life also, if one delays the right response to Heaven’s call, sorrow and searching follow.
The bride’s testimony about the beloved turns longing into witness. True Father often emphasized that true love is not mute; it testifies, remembers, and praises the one truly loved. The closing line, “This is my beloved, and this is my friend,” beautifully joins love, covenant, and companionship.
Song of Solomon begins with love language that can be misunderstood if cut loose from God’s ideal. Divine Principle strongly resonates when this book is read as a witness to the original beauty of spouse love, not fallen lust. The longing here belongs to prepared union, attraction, and movement toward rightful oneness.
The bride’s self-consciousness and search for the beloved reflect the painful history of humanity yearning for restored love. True Father often emphasized that fallen history wounded the heart, yet the original desire for true love remains.
Mutual praise appears throughout the chapter. This is important. In God’s ideal, man and woman are not enemies or users of one another, but rejoice in each other’s beauty and value under Heaven.