Song of Songs Chapter 4

Song of Solomon 4

The Beauty of Consummated Love

A. The Beloved Praises the Appearance and Character of the Maiden

1. Song of Solomon 4:1–5, The Beloved Praises the Appearance of the Maiden

Song of Solomon 4:1, “Behold, thou art fair, my love, behold, thou art fair, thou hast doves’ eyes within thy locks: thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead.”

Song of Solomon 4:2, “Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which came up from the washing, whereof every one bear twins, and none is barren among them.”

Song of Solomon 4:3, “Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely: thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks.”

Song of Solomon 4:4, “Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armoury, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men.”

Song of Solomon 4:5, “Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies.”

Song of Solomon 4 naturally follows the wedding procession and ceremony described at the end of chapter 3. The previous chapter ended with Solomon crowned on the day of his wedding, “the day of the gladness of his heart.” Now the scene moves into the private joy of husband and wife after the public covenant has been established. This section is best understood as the wedding night, when the courtship has ended and the marriage begins in its full covenantal expression.

The first thing the beloved does is speak. This is important. He does not begin with selfishness, force, impatience, or crude desire. He begins with tender words. He praises his bride. He reassures her. He builds confidence. He speaks to her beauty before he enjoys her body. This is not accidental. It shows wisdom, affection, restraint, and care.

The beloved says, “Behold, thou art fair, my love, behold, thou art fair.” The repetition is deliberate. He wants her to hear it. She had previously shown insecurity about her appearance.

Song of Solomon 1:5, “I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.”

Song of Solomon 1:6, “Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me: my mother’s children were angry with me, they made me the keeper of the vineyards, but mine own vineyard have I not kept.”

She had felt the effects of labor, sun, hardship, and neglect. He now speaks directly against her insecurity. He tells her not merely once, but twice, “thou art fair.” A husband should learn from this. A wife should not have to live starving for affection while her husband assumes she already knows he loves her. Affection is due in marriage, not optional.

1 Corinthians 7:3, “Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband.”

The phrase “due benevolence” includes marital affection, kindness, and the physical duties of marriage. Paul teaches that affection belongs within marriage as a rightful obligation. This does not mean coercion or selfish demand. It means that a husband and wife owe one another loving, faithful, and affectionate care. The beloved in Song of Solomon 4 models this by first rendering affection through words that calm, honor, and assure his bride.

The beloved then gives detailed praise. He does not merely say, “You look good.” He has observed her. He has paid attention. He describes her eyes, hair, teeth, lips, speech, temples, neck, and breasts. His praise is specific, poetic, and personal. He uses seven descriptions, and seven often carries the idea of fullness or completeness in Scripture. In this poetic setting, his sevenfold praise communicates that she is complete in beauty to him.

He begins with her eyes, saying, “thou hast doves’ eyes within thy locks.” The phrase may be rendered as eyes behind her veil or within her flowing hair. The image of dove’s eyes suggests beauty, gentleness, purity, tenderness, and sincerity. Eyes reveal much about a person. The beloved sees not only physical beauty, but softness and affection in her gaze.

The veil is important because Jewish women did not ordinarily wear veils at all times, but veils were associated with special occasions such as betrothal or marriage.

Genesis 24:64, “And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel.”

Genesis 24:65, “For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a vail, and covered herself.”

Rebekah’s veil was connected with the moment she approached Isaac, the man who would become her husband. In Song of Solomon 4, the veil fits the wedding setting. The beloved beholds his bride in bridal modesty and beauty.

He then says, “thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead.” This does not mean her hair looks like goat hair in an unflattering sense. In the land, goats commonly had long, dark, flowing hair. A flock moving down Mount Gilead would appear like a dark, living stream across the hillside. The beloved is describing her hair as flowing, dark, full of movement, and beautiful.

He next praises her teeth, saying, “Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which came up from the washing, whereof every one bear twins, and none is barren among them.” The point is that her teeth are clean, white, matched, orderly, and complete. A washed flock of shorn sheep would be bright and uniform. Every one bearing twins and none being barren points to symmetry and fullness. This is poetic praise of her smile and mouth.

He says, “Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely.” Her lips are compared to a scarlet thread, suggesting delicate outline, pleasing color, and beauty. Her speech is comely, meaning her words are lovely, fitting, and pleasant. He does not praise only the appearance of her lips, but the speech that comes from them. This matters because beauty and speech belong together. A beautiful mouth used for foolish, harsh, or ungodly speech becomes unbeautiful in practice.

Proverbs 15:23, “A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!”

Proverbs 16:24, “Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.”

The beloved finds her speech comely. Her voice, words, and tone add to her beauty. A marriage is greatly strengthened when speech is gracious. Many relationships are not destroyed by one great catastrophe, but by years of careless words. Song of Solomon presents speech as part of marital beauty.

He then says, “thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks.” The word translated “temples” can include the cheeks or side of the face. A piece of pomegranate suggests color, freshness, and beauty. He likely sees her face flushed with excitement, emotion, and loveliness. The imagery is modest and poetic, not crude.

Next he says, “Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armoury, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men.” This is not saying that her neck is physically like a tower in shape. Rather, the neck represents dignity, posture, character, and noble bearing. In Scripture, the neck can symbolize either humility or stubbornness, depending on context.

Exodus 32:9, “And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:”

A stiff neck can symbolize rebellion. But here, her neck is like the tower of David, strong, dignified, upright, and honorable. The tower of David, built for an armory, with shields of mighty men hanging upon it, suggests strength, protection, nobility, and respect. The beloved sees not only softness in her eyes and beauty in her face, but strength in her character. She carries herself with dignity.

This is important because biblical femininity is not weakness. The maiden is tender, desirable, modest, and beautiful, but she also has strength and dignity. The beloved honors both her softness and her strength.

He then says, “Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies.” The imagery is intimate, but still poetic and modest. Young roes, or young gazelles, suggest softness, tenderness, delicacy, and beauty. The lilies may suggest whiteness, purity, and a natural setting of beauty. The beloved’s admiration is physical, but it is not vulgar. Scripture allows the beauty of the wife’s body to be honored within marriage.

Proverbs 5:18, “Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.”

Proverbs 5:19, “Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe, let her breasts satisfy thee at all times, and be thou ravished always with her love.”

Proverbs 5 confirms that a husband’s delight in his wife’s body is not sinful when it is covenantal, exclusive, and honorable. The same passage warns against the strange woman and adultery, showing the biblical balance. Marital delight is good. Sexual sin is destructive. The body of the wife is not common property. It belongs within the sacred bond of marriage.

Some interpreters have tried to avoid the plain physical meaning by making the breasts symbolize the Old and New Testaments, the church, or other spiritual realities. Such allegorical readings may sound devotional, but they miss the beauty of the text. The inspired Scripture is praising the bride’s actual beauty in the context of marriage. God is not embarrassed by what He created. The poetry itself provides modesty. It allows the subject to be treated reverently, without vulgarity.

The beloved’s praise teaches a practical principle. A husband should be attentive, affectionate, verbal, and reassuring. He should not be selfishly consumed with his own desire. He should speak in ways that build security. He should know his wife well enough to praise her specifically. The beloved touches her with his words before he touches her with his hands. That is not weakness. That is wisdom.

2. Song of Solomon 4:6, The Beloved Longs to Consummate His Love for the Maiden

Song of Solomon 4:6, “Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense.”

The beloved now speaks of the night before them, saying, “Until the day break, and the shadows flee away.” This is the wedding night. The public wedding has ended, the guests have departed, and husband and wife are now together in covenant privacy. The coming of night is not feared, because this is the proper time for the consummation of their love.

The phrase “mountain of myrrh” and “hill of frankincense” continues the language of fragrance, beauty, and sensual delight. Some interpreters see the mountain and hill imagery as a reference to the bride’s body, possibly her breasts. That is possible in light of the preceding verse, but the reference to myrrh and frankincense also suggests an atmosphere of costly fragrance, seclusion, and pleasure. The language remains poetic and modest.

Myrrh and frankincense were costly and fragrant. They were associated with beauty, honor, and even sacred settings. In this context, they contribute to the dignity of the wedding night. The marital act is not treated as animal appetite. It is surrounded by language of beauty, fragrance, covenant, tenderness, and joy.

This verse again teaches that Scripture does not condemn marital intimacy. It sanctifies it by placing it under covenant. The wedding night is the appropriate setting for the fulfillment of desire that had been restrained until the proper time. The refrain from earlier chapters has now found its answer.

Song of Solomon 2:7, “I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.”

Song of Solomon 3:5, “I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.”

Love was not to be awakened prematurely. Now, in marriage, love may rightly awaken. This is the biblical order. Desire is not destroyed by restraint. Desire is preserved by restraint for the covenant place where it can be enjoyed without shame.

3. Song of Solomon 4:7–8, The Beloved Praises the Character of the Maiden and Tells of His Desire to Be with Her

Song of Solomon 4:7, “Thou art all fair, my love, there is no spot in thee.”

Song of Solomon 4:8, “Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon: look from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon, from the lions’ dens, from the mountains of the leopards.”

After giving his sevenfold praise of her beauty, the beloved summarizes his view of her, “Thou art all fair, my love, there is no spot in thee.” This is not merely a compliment of appearance. It is a statement of total delight. To him, she is entirely beautiful. No spot is in her.

The word translated “spot” is often associated with blemish, especially in the language of sacrificial animals. A sacrifice offered to God had to be without blemish.

Leviticus 22:21, “And whosoever offereth a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD to accomplish his vow, or a freewill offering in beeves or sheep, it shall be perfect to be accepted, there shall be no blemish therein.”

The beloved uses language that presents the bride as whole, complete, and beautiful in his sight. She is not merely attractive in pieces. She is all fair. This does not mean she is sinlessly perfect before God. It means that in the covenant love of her husband, she is received, delighted in, and cherished without accusation.

There is a proper spiritual application here concerning Christ and His people. The Lord presents His church as cleansed and without spot through His redeeming work.

Ephesians 5:25, “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it,”

Ephesians 5:26, “That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,”

Ephesians 5:27, “That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish.”

The literal meaning belongs to the husband’s delight in his bride. The spiritual application points to the grace of Christ, who cleanses His bride and presents her without spot.

The beloved then says, “Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon.” This is the first time in this chapter that he explicitly calls her “my spouse.” The term emphasizes her married status. She is no longer merely the maiden or beloved woman. She is his bride. The covenant has been established.

The repeated phrase “with me” is deeply significant. Before he asks her to yield herself fully to him, he pledges shared life with her. He wants her with him. Marriage is not merely physical access. Marriage is life together. The beloved is not simply saying, “Give yourself to me.” He is saying, “Come with me.” He calls her into union, companionship, and shared future.

He calls her away from Lebanon, Amana, Shenir, Hermon, lions’ dens, and mountains of leopards. These northern mountains may represent her former place, her family region, or the fears and dangers associated with leaving one life to enter another. Marriage requires leaving and cleaving.

Genesis 2:24, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”

The beloved calls her from fearful places into life with him. Lions’ dens and mountains of leopards suggest danger, anxiety, and threat. The bride may feel fear at the threshold of marriage and consummation. The beloved does not mock her fear. He calls her gently from it. He wants her thoughts turned from fear to him, from danger to trust, from the old life to the new covenant life.

This is an important pastoral point. A wedding night should not be a place of fear, pressure, or selfishness. It should be a place of safety, tenderness, and trust. The husband’s strength must be used to reassure, not intimidate. The bride is called from fear into his arms.

4. Song of Solomon 4:9–11, The Beloved Expresses the Depth of His Passion for the Maiden

Song of Solomon 4:9, “Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse, thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck.”

Song of Solomon 4:10, “How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! how much better is thy love than wine! and the smell of thine ointments than all spices!”

Song of Solomon 4:11, “Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb: honey and milk are under thy tongue, and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon.”

The beloved now moves beyond describing her beauty and begins describing the effect she has upon him. He says, “Thou hast ravished my heart.” The expression means that she has captured his heart. She has taken hold of him. He is deeply affected by her. One look from her eyes and one chain of her neck have conquered him.

This matters because the beloved is not detached or merely calculating. He is moved. He is emotionally engaged. He is not treating marriage as a transaction. He is captivated by his bride. She has not only received love, she has given love. She has not only been pursued, she has affected him deeply.

He calls her “my sister, my spouse.” To modern ears, the use of “sister” may sound strange, but in the ancient context it functioned as an affectionate term for a wife. It expresses nearness, shared life, tenderness, and familial belonging. The beloved combines two terms because one term alone is not enough to express the relationship. She is “my sister,” one near and dear. She is “my spouse,” one joined to him in covenant union.

There is also a spiritual analogy here. Christ’s people are near to Him by new birth and joined to Him by covenant grace. Yet the literal meaning remains the husband’s affectionate address to his wife.

Hebrews 2:11, “For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,”

This verse shows that Christ is not ashamed to identify with His people as brethren. In Song of Solomon, the beloved’s phrase “my sister, my spouse” expresses both nearness and union.

He says, “How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! how much better is thy love than wine!” Earlier, the maiden said of him,

Song of Solomon 1:2, “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine.”

Now he says her love is better than wine. This is mutual delight. The love she gives to him is precious to him. She is not passive. She is not merely acted upon. Her affection matters. Her response brings joy to him. The husband delights not merely in possessing a wife, but in being loved by her.

This is essential in marriage. A wife should not be treated as an object, and a husband should not be treated as a tool. Both give and receive love. The beloved praises the quality of her love. He values her affection, her desire, her response, and her nearness.

He says, “the smell of thine ointments than all spices.” Her everyday fragrance is better to him than the finest spices. This is the language of personal preference. Love changes perception. What belongs to the beloved becomes dear because it is hers. He is not merely comparing commercial perfumes. He is saying that she herself is pleasing to him.

He then says, “Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb: honey and milk are under thy tongue.” This describes the sweetness of her kisses and speech in intimate poetic language. Honey and milk are symbols of sweetness, nourishment, and abundance. The promised land itself is often described as a land flowing with milk and honey.

Exodus 3:8, “And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey, unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.”

In Song of Solomon 4, the image of honey and milk under her tongue communicates sweetness and delight. Her kisses and words are satisfying to him.

He adds, “the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon.” The whole scene involves the senses, sight, smell, taste, touch, and speech, but the language remains restrained and beautiful. The garments may refer to outer garments or possibly sleep coverings. The point is that even what is close to her carries a pleasing fragrance to him.

This passage shows that marital intimacy is not merely physical release. It is whole person delight. Words, sight, fragrance, emotion, trust, covenant, and affection all come together. A biblical marriage should not reduce intimacy to mechanics. It is relational, covenantal, and personal.

B. The Consummation of the Love Between the Maiden and the Beloved

1. Song of Solomon 4:12–15, The Beloved Praises the Virginity of the Maiden

Song of Solomon 4:12, “A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse, a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.”

Song of Solomon 4:13, “Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits, camphire, with spikenard,”

Song of Solomon 4:14, “Spikenard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense, myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices:”

Song of Solomon 4:15, “A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon.”

The beloved now describes his bride as “a garden inclosed,” “a spring shut up,” and “a fountain sealed.” These three images praise her preserved sexuality and virginity. Her sexuality has not been made common. It has been guarded. It has not been given to another. It has been protected for the covenant union of marriage.

The image of the garden is rich. A garden is not common ground. It is cultivated, protected, beautiful, fruitful, and designed for pleasure and delight. The maiden’s sexuality is compared to such a garden. This teaches privacy. Her sexuality is not public property. It teaches separation. It belongs uniquely to her husband in covenant. It teaches sacredness. It is not dirty or shameful, but holy within marriage. It teaches security. The garden is enclosed, meaning it is protected from violation.

The image of the shut spring and sealed fountain carries the same idea. The water is not dried up or useless. It is protected for its rightful owner. To seal a spring was to guard its supply. In ancient warfare and city life, water sources were precious and had to be protected.

2 Kings 20:20, “And the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and all his might, and how he made a pool, and a conduit, and brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?”

Hezekiah’s protection of Jerusalem’s water supply illustrates the value of guarded water. In Song of Solomon 4, the spring and fountain represent sexuality that has been guarded, not because it is worthless, but because it is valuable.

This passage gives a strong biblical argument for the value of virginity and sexual purity. Modern culture has tried to make virginity seem childish, embarrassing, or meaningless. Scripture does the opposite. It treats sexual purity as precious. The beloved does not mock the sealed garden. He honors it. He receives it as a gift.

The Bible’s commands against fornication are not arbitrary. They protect something sacred.

Deuteronomy 22:13, “If any man take a wife, and go in unto her, and hate her,”

Deuteronomy 22:14, “And give occasions of speech against her, and bring up an evil name upon her, and say, I took this woman, and when I came to her, I found her not a maid:”

Deuteronomy 22:15, “Then shall the father of the damsel, and her mother, take and bring forth the tokens of the damsel’s virginity unto the elders of the city in the gate:”

Deuteronomy 22:16, “And the damsel’s father shall say unto the elders, I gave my daughter unto this man to wife, and he hateth her,”

Deuteronomy 22:17, “And, lo, he hath given occasions of speech against her, saying, I found not thy daughter a maid, and yet these are the tokens of my daughter’s virginity. And they shall spread the cloth before the elders of the city.”

Deuteronomy 22:18, “And the elders of that city shall take that man and chastise him,”

Deuteronomy 22:19, “And they shall amerce him in an hundred shekels of silver, and give them unto the father of the damsel, because he hath brought up an evil name upon a virgin of Israel: and she shall be his wife, he may not put her away all his days.”

Deuteronomy 22:20, “But if this thing be true, and the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel:”

Deuteronomy 22:21, “Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die, because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the whore in her father’s house: so shalt thou put evil away from among you.”

Deuteronomy 22:22, “If a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman: so shalt thou put away evil from Israel.”

Deuteronomy 22:23, “If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her,”

Deuteronomy 22:24, “Then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die, the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city, and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbour’s wife: so thou shalt put away evil from among you.”

Deuteronomy 22:25, “But if a man find a betrothed damsel in the field, and the man force her, and lie with her: then the man only that lay with her shall die:”

Deuteronomy 22:26, “But unto the damsel thou shalt do nothing, there is in the damsel no sin worthy of death: for as when a man riseth against his neighbour, and slayeth him, even so is this matter:”

Deuteronomy 22:27, “For he found her in the field, and the betrothed damsel cried, and there was none to save her.”

Deuteronomy 22:28, “If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, which is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found,”

Deuteronomy 22:29, “Then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife, because he hath humbled her, he may not put her away all his days.”

These Old Testament laws show that sexual purity, virginity, consent, betrothal, marriage, and violation were taken seriously in Israel. Some details belong to Israel’s civil law under the Mosaic covenant, but the moral principle remains clear. Sexuality is not casual. It has covenant weight.

The New Testament also condemns fornication, which broadly includes sexual activity outside the marriage covenant.

1 Corinthians 6:13, “Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.”

1 Corinthians 6:18, “Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body, but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.”

Ephesians 5:3, “But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you as becometh saints;”

Ephesians 5:5, “For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.”

1 Thessalonians 4:3, “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:”

The Bible is clear. Sexual purity matters. The garden is to remain enclosed until marriage. The spring is to remain shut until covenant. The fountain is to remain sealed until the rightful time.

Several myths must be rejected. The first myth is that the Bible says nothing against premarital sex. Scripture plainly condemns fornication and honors virginity. The second myth is that sexual desire proves love. Desire alone does not prove love. A man proves love by self control, patience, sacrifice, honor, and willingness to wait. The third myth is that a Christian man or woman is immune from sexual temptation. Christians have the Holy Spirit, but they still must flee fornication. The fourth myth is that engagement makes premarital sex acceptable. It does not. Betrothal and marriage are not the same thing. The fifth myth is that two people can privately declare themselves married before God while avoiding lawful and public marriage. In Scripture, marriage is public, covenantal, recognized, and accountable.

The beloved then describes the garden with abundance, “an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits, camphire, with spikenard, spikenard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense, myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices.” The garden is not empty. It is rich, fragrant, fruitful, and beautiful. Her guarded sexuality is not barren. It is abundant. It has been protected because it is valuable.

The images of pomegranates, fruits, henna, spikenard, saffron, calamus, cinnamon, frankincense, myrrh, aloes, and chief spices communicate fullness and delight. The beloved sees her as a paradise of beauty and fragrance. This is the reward of purity, not in a mechanical or simplistic sense, but in the sense that what has been preserved may now be freely and honorably given.

He then says, “A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon.” The garden becomes a source of living water. Her sexuality, now rightly yielded in marriage, is not portrayed as shameful or defiled. It is life giving, refreshing, and abundant. The very thing that was sealed is now a source of blessing within covenant.

This also requires pastoral tenderness. Not every person comes to marriage with virginity preserved. Some have sinned sexually. Some have been sinned against through abuse or violation. Scripture never treats sin lightly, but neither does it deny the restoring power of God. A garden that has been trampled cannot become untrampled in history, but it can be restored by grace, repentance, wisdom, healing, and the work of God. The Lord is able to cleanse, restore, and renew.

John 8:10, “When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?”

John 8:11, “She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.”

Jesus does not excuse sin, but He gives mercy and commands a new life. Those who have fallen sexually are not beyond restoration. Those who have been violated are not guilty for the sin committed against them. The garden imagery should lead to honor, purity, and restoration, not despair.

These principles apply to men as well as women. Men are also called to purity. A man who wastes his sexuality outside marriage sins against God and damages himself. Biblical sexual purity is not a rule only for women. It is God’s standard for all.

2. Song of Solomon 4:16, The Maiden Yields Her Virginity to Her Beloved

Song of Solomon 4:16, “Awake, O north wind, and come, thou south, blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.”

For the first time in this immediate section, the maiden speaks. She takes up the garden imagery introduced by the beloved and makes it her own. She says, “Awake, O north wind, and come, thou south, blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out.” The winds are called to blow upon the garden so that its fragrance may be released. The image is poetic, gentle, and beautiful.

She refers to the garden first as “my garden.” It is hers. Her body, sexuality, and personhood have not been erased by marriage. She is not property in a crude or pagan sense. She is a covenant partner who now willingly gives herself. The language matters. The garden is hers to give.

Then she says, “Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.” In one verse, the garden moves from “my garden” to “his garden.” This is the language of covenant union. What was guarded as hers is now freely given to him in marriage. He alone has the right to enter and enjoy this garden. The gift is exclusive.

This is not coercion. It is invitation. She yields willingly. The beloved has praised her, reassured her, honored her, called her from fear, and pledged shared life with her. Now she invites him. The order is beautiful. Love is not taken by force. Love is given within covenant.

This verse is the moment of yielded virginity and consummated marital love. The language is modest because the act is sacred. The poetry protects the mystery while still making the meaning clear. Scripture does not need vulgarity to speak honestly.

The phrase “eat his pleasant fruits” indicates the joy and satisfaction of marital intimacy. It is his garden because she has given herself to him. Yet the broader biblical teaching makes clear that this mutual belonging goes both ways.

1 Corinthians 7:4, “The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife.”

Paul teaches mutual authority within marriage. The wife belongs to the husband, and the husband belongs to the wife. This can never be used to justify abuse, coercion, cruelty, or selfish demand. The point is mutual obligation, mutual giving, mutual affection, and covenant exclusivity. Out of all people on earth, God has appointed one man and one woman to meet one another’s sexual needs in marriage. There is to be no rival, no intruder, and no substitute.

A careful spiritual application may also be made. The believer’s desire should be to bring forth fruit pleasing to the Lord. Yet the literal sense remains the consummation of marital love. The maiden invites her beloved to receive what was preserved for him.

C. Song of Solomon 5:1a, The Beloved Receives the Offered Virginity of the Maiden

Although this line begins chapter 5 in our English Bibles, it completes the scene begun in Song of Solomon 4. The chapter division is not inspired and sometimes interrupts the flow of thought. Song of Solomon 5:1a records the beloved’s response to the maiden’s invitation.

Song of Solomon 5:1, “I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice, I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey, I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends, drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.”

The beloved says, “I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse.” He accepts the invitation. The garden is now open. The sealed fountain is received. The protected spring is enjoyed. The long anticipated desire is now rightly fulfilled in marriage.

He again calls her “my sister, my spouse.” The tenderness and covenant language remain. Even in consummation, she is not reduced to a body. She is his beloved wife. She is near to him, joined to him, and cherished by him.

He says, “I have gathered my myrrh with my spice, I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey, I have drunk my wine with my milk.” These images describe satisfaction, pleasure, sweetness, and abundance. The language is luxurious but restrained. Myrrh, spice, honeycomb, honey, wine, and milk all communicate delight. The beloved receives the gift of his bride with joy.

This is the completion of the proper biblical movement. Desire was awakened but restrained. Love matured. The wedding took place. The husband praised and reassured the bride. The bride willingly yielded herself. The husband received her with delight. This is covenantal, moral, and beautiful.

The principle of mutual bodily belonging from 1 Corinthians 7 helps explain the covenant nature of this act.

1 Corinthians 7:2, “Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.”

1 Corinthians 7:3, “Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband.”

1 Corinthians 7:4, “The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife.”

1 Corinthians 7:5, “Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer, and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.”

Paul’s teaching is consistent with Song of Solomon. Marriage creates a unique covenantal claim. Husband and wife are not to defraud one another. Sexual affection is part of marital duty and blessing. Yet because Paul speaks mutually, the passage excludes selfish domination. The husband’s body belongs to the wife, and the wife’s body belongs to the husband. This is not exploitation. It is covenantal self giving.

The beloved’s words also show that marital consummation should be pleasing and satisfying, not shameful. It is not merely tolerated by God. It is designed by God. Within marriage, intimacy is a gift to be received with gratitude, tenderness, and joy.

Song of Solomon 5:1b, The Comment of Approval

Song of Solomon 5:1, “I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice, I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey, I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends, drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.”

The final words of the verse say, “eat, O friends, drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.” There is disagreement about who speaks these words. Some believe the bridegroom speaks to the wedding guests. Others see the words as a chorus. The best interpretation is that this is a word of divine approval, a heavenly endorsement of the goodness and purity of their covenant love.

The words “eat” and “drink abundantly” are not words of shame. They are words of celebration. The love has been restrained until the proper time. Now it is fulfilled in marriage, and the response is approval. God is not embarrassed by holy marital love. He rejoices in what He designed.

This is crucial. Many people think God is only pleased with restraint and not with marital enjoyment. Song of Solomon corrects that. God is pleased when desire is restrained before marriage, and He is pleased when desire is enjoyed within marriage. The same God who says “flee fornication” also says the marriage bed is undefiled.

Hebrews 13:4, “Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.”

The verse contains both approval and warning. Marriage is honorable. The bed is undefiled. Fornicators and adulterers God will judge. Song of Solomon 4 and Song of Solomon 5:1 show the honorable side of the verse. The garden has been enclosed, the fountain sealed, the love restrained, the wedding completed, and now the covenant union is blessed.

The couple are “beloved.” They are beloved to each other, and they are beloved under God’s good design. A husband and wife who receive marriage according to God’s order should not feel dirty for enjoying one another. They should feel grateful, reverent, joyful, and responsible. This is the beginning of a blessed sexual relationship, not as the world defines sexuality, but as God created it, covenantal, exclusive, affectionate, pure, and fruitful in the broad sense of strengthening the marriage.

Summary and Theological Emphasis

Song of Solomon 4 is one of the clearest biblical celebrations of consummated marital love. It follows the wedding procession of chapter 3 and presents the wedding night in poetic, reverent, and restrained language. The beloved begins by praising the bride with specific and tender words. He reassures her beauty, speaks to her insecurities, and describes her eyes, hair, teeth, lips, speech, temples, neck, and breasts. His praise is affectionate, observant, and unselfish.

The beloved then expresses his desire to consummate their love in the proper covenant setting. He calls her “my spouse” and invites her to come with him, away from fear and danger. He tells her that she is all fair and without spot. He declares that she has ravished his heart. He values not only her beauty, but her love, her voice, her kisses, her fragrance, and her whole person.

The garden imagery in Song of Solomon 4:12 through 15 praises her protected sexuality and virginity. She is a garden enclosed, a spring shut up, and a fountain sealed. This teaches the biblical value of sexual purity. Virginity is not shameful. It is honorable. Sexuality is not common. It is sacred within marriage. The New Testament condemnation of fornication is consistent with this picture. At the same time, the restoring grace of God must be emphasized for those who have sinned sexually or suffered violation. God can cleanse, restore, and renew.

In Song of Solomon 4:16, the maiden willingly gives herself to her beloved. The garden moves from “my garden” to “his garden,” showing covenantal self giving. In Song of Solomon 5:1a, the beloved receives her gift with delight. In Song of Solomon 5:1b, the final word gives approval, calling for eating, drinking, and abundant joy among the beloved. This is not lust without covenant. It is marital love fulfilled in the right time, under the right covenant, with the right honor.