Song of Songs 2:8-13
Listen! My beloved!
Look! Here he comes,
leaping across the mountains,
bounding over the hills.
My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.
Look! There he stands behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
peering through the lattice.
My beloved spoke and said to me,
‘Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, come with me.
See! The winter is past;
the rains are over and gone.
Flowers appear on the earth;
the season of singing has come,
the cooing of doves
is heard in our land.
The fig tree forms its early fruit;
the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.
Arise, come, my darling;
my beautiful one, come with me.’
Does it feel like there is winter in your soul? Sometimes all our thoughts seem dark and everything we do seems so fruitless. It feels like there is a winter in our soul and we long that there would be spring or summer. Instead of everything feeling cold, barren and lifeless, we long that things would warm up and that there would be beautiful blossom with its fragrance and then fruitfulness.
Do not lose heart!
In these verses, our gracious God and Saviour has words of hope and encouragement for you.
A believer, called ‘the beloved’, is recalling how Christ came to her and what he said. These words are as true for believers today as when they were first spoken because Jesus is the same, yesterday, today and forever.
Christ comes to you
In verses 8-9 we see the steps Christ takes to come to someone. Jesus is not sitting in some cosmic armchair waiting for you and me to come to him. No! He is dynamic and active, and he always, always makes the first move to come into our lives! The beloved tells us to listen and look at what Christ is doing. He is pictured leaping across the mountains and bounding over the hills. He is compared to a gazelle or a young stag: nimble, agile and full of energy. Nothing will stop him and no obstacle is too big to get in his way. He comes right up to the wall and peers in through the window of your soul. Nothing he sees in you or me puts him off, not our sin, not our coldness, not our barrenness nor our fruitlessness! ‘For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost’ (Luke 19:10)
Christ wants to spend time with you
In verse 10 we are shown with whom Christ wants to spend time.
The beloved, a believer, is telling us the words that Christ spoke to her. These are incredible words for any human being to hear from the mouth of Christ. ‘Arise, my darling, my beautiful one and come away with me.’
If we are perfectly honest, we don’t feel very beautiful. Indeed, if the Holy Spirit is working in us, he will be showing us our sin, our inner ugliness! We need to remember that our beauty does not come from ourselves. In Ezekiel 16:4-14, God uses very similar language to speak about the nation of Israel, the Old Testament Church, describing them as his bride. He says:
You became very beautiful and rose to be a queen. And your fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, because the splendour I had given you made your beauty perfect, declares the Sovereign Lord (Ez. 4:13-14).
When we confess our sin and unworthiness to Jesus, when we ask him to forgive us, he does so much more. He justifies us, clothes us with the garments of salvation and he clothes us with his beauty. Even more, he puts his Holy Spirit within us so that he can make us beautiful on the inside. He does all this so that he can say, ‘Arise, my darling, my beautiful one and come away with me.’
New life in your soul
Back to Song of Songs and in verses 11-13 we see that Christ brings an end to the winter in your soul. The language is poetic, but it paints a beautiful word picture of the work that Christ wants to do in your life and my life.
See! The winter is past;
the rains are over and gone.
Flowers appear on the earth;
the season of singing has come,
the cooing of doves
is heard in our land.
The fig tree forms its early fruit;
the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.
What a beautiful picture! What a transformation! Instead of cold, lifeless, barren fruitlessness, suddenly there is life springing up everywhere! My dear friend, this is what the Lord Jesus Christ wants to do in your life. Will you respond to his words?
For a second time, in verse 13, he says: ‘Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me.’
Perhaps you have never responded to his invitation. Now is the time. He has come to you as you read these words. He has spoken to your soul. Will you come away with him and let him make you beautiful?
Perhaps you have been a believer for many years, but your faith in Christ has become cold and fruitless. Listen to his words to you! He is so keen to spend time with you. He comes leaping over every mountain of your sin, every barrier of your coldness and he says to you, ‘Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me.’
One day, when he comes again, he will say this to his whole church. What a glorious day that will be! We will see him as he is and we will be transformed fully and finally into his likeness. He will call us to come away with him and dwell in his new Heavens and new Earth, the home of the righteous. Hallelujah!