Love Songs for the Church
“I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.” — Song of Songs 6:3
The Song of Songs is an anthology of love poems celebrating the potential of human love and the beauty of marital commitment. But the primary interpretation of these poems or songs throughout much of church history has been that they serve as an allegory for the church (see Augustine and Spurgeon), and even before that as an allegory of God’s love for Israel. They serve as the music of Christ. He is the bell, and in these songs we hear His love ring clear for us—love that “beckons and baffles” and is “as positive as sound.”
This week we are praying through these songs. As the bride of Christ, we have so much to delight in, so much to hope for, so much to be excited about. Should we view the planting of the church as gathering guests for the wedding? That may be somewhat helpful, but we are gathering the bride, not the guests—we are gathering the most honored of attendants! Come to your Lord, your Groom, your Husband… for “Yea, He is altogether lovely!”
These poems give beautiful descriptions of relationships, desire, and the delight of our Savior for us. So often when we look in the mirror—literally or figuratively—it can be difficult to believe that anyone who truly knows us would delight in us. Psalm 139 tells us that God is well acquainted with all our ways! That is a sobering thought, and yet He also desires to draw us to Himself and speak tenderly to us. The Lord says through Hosea:
“And I will betroth you to me forever.
I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice,
in steadfast love and in mercy.
I will betroth you to me in faithfulness.
And you shall know the LORD.”
— Hosea 2:19–20 (ESV)
In Ephesians 5, Paul references the idea of Christ’s love for the church using similar language and metaphor:
“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.”
— Ephesians 5:25–27 (ESV)
Through the Song of Songs, Hosea, and the letters of Paul, we begin to understand God’s great love for His church—His bride!
“You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you.” — Song of Songs 4:7 (ESV)
Pray:
We would understand the love of Christ for His bride
That as we discern the call to plant a church, we would love the church with the heart of Christ
For God’s Spirit to work in our hearts to steward this opportunity for His glory
For Kirsten as she wraps up the fall semester of classes. She has a lot of work to do over the next couple of weeks!
For Adam as he hones in on a few locations for church planting
That in the midst of all the talk about the future, we would be good friends, neighbors, and ministers of the gospel where we are right now!
We had a little scare with Louis recently which put us in the ER for a few hours. He was having trouble breathing and experiencing some pain in his chest. Doctors believe it was a holdover or remnant of a virus he may have had a few weeks before. Please pray that is all it is. It seems to have cleared up! We praise God for that.
Beautiful fall hike! Fun family!
Pokemon for Halloween
Fresh cuts and candy. RIP mullet!
Mo’s learning guitar!
