{"id":19203,"date":"2022-04-30T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-30T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/urc\/urc-daily-devotionsaturday-30-april-2022"},"modified":"2022-05-03T15:53:14","modified_gmt":"2022-05-03T14:53:14","slug":"urc-daily-devotion-saturday-30-april-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/urc-daily-devotion-saturday-30-april-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"URC Daily Devotion\u00a0Saturday 30 April 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"

Song of Songs 6.13 and 7.1-13<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0Return, return, O Shulammite!<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Return, return, that we may look upon you.<\/span>
\nWhy should you look upon the Shulammite,<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0as upon a dance before two armies?<\/span><\/p>\n

How graceful are your feet in sandals,<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0O queenly maiden!<\/span>
\nYour rounded thighs are like jewels,<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0the work of a master hand.<\/span><\/p>\n

Your navel is a rounded bowl<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0that never lacks mixed wine.<\/span>
\nYour belly is a heap of wheat,<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0encircled with lilies.<\/span><\/p>\n

Your two breasts are like two fawns,<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0twins of a gazelle.<\/span><\/p>\n

Your neck is like an ivory tower.<\/span>
\nYour eyes are pools in Heshbon,<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0by the gate of Bath-rabbim.<\/span>
\nYour nose is like a tower of Lebanon,<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0overlooking Damascus.<\/span><\/p>\n

Your head crowns you like Carmel,<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0and your flowing locks are like purple;<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0a king is held captive in the tresses.<\/span><\/p>\n

How fair and pleasant you are,<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0O loved one, delectable maiden!<\/span><\/p>\n

You are stately as a palm tree,<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0and your breasts are like its clusters.<\/span><\/p>\n

I say I will climb the palm tree<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0and lay hold of its branches.<\/span>
\nO may your breasts be like clusters of the vine,<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0and the scent of your breath like apples,<\/span>
\nand your kisses like the best wine<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0that goes down smoothly,<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0gliding over lips and teeth.<\/span><\/p>\n

I am my beloved\u2019s,<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0and his desire is for me.<\/span><\/p>\n

Come, my beloved,<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0let us go forth into the fields,<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0and lodge in the villages;<\/span>
\nlet us go out early to the vineyards,<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0and see whether the vines have budded,<\/span>
\nwhether the grape blossoms have opened<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0and the pomegranates are in bloom.<\/span>
\nThere I will give you my love.<\/span><\/p>\n

The mandrakes give forth fragrance,<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0and over our doors are all choice fruits,<\/span>
\nnew as well as old,<\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0which I have laid up for you, O my beloved.<\/span><\/p>\n

Reflection<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

So many competing voices at the beginning of this passage \u2013 but who is speaking? Perhaps the Shulamite is recalling her lover\u2019s words for the crowd of women, or they are writing a song about her. Could this even be a love song between women?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There are numerous queer readings of the Song of Songs. In places the Song shows women gazing at women, and how a writer of one gender can inhabit the voice of another. Even the most conservative reading of the song must notice that the lovers seem not to be married to one another.<\/span><\/p>\n

Chapter 4\u2019s love song started at the woman\u2019s face and headed downwards. This one starts at the feet and looks upwards \u2013 not the direction such love songs usually explore. We dwell upon the belly, rounded and heaped and adored. From there the gaze moves gradually to her face, and long flowing hair that has captured a king. Like Rapunzel\u2019s suitor, the singer imagines climbing up to claim a kiss. This is not a successful erotic image, the lover is earnest and ungentle in his request to climb the woman as though a tree. It is entirely understandable that some readers think this is a parody love song.<\/span><\/p>\n

A confession: sometimes the praise songs we sing sound foolish too. A metaphor falls flat, an image jars in the mind, the words sound inadequate to the response we need to make to God. And still the same song, flawed as it is, can move us to genuine praise. But to fully respond in worship, we need songs from more voices, from more nations, all genders, drawing on the breadth of human experience of divine revelation to tell the wondrous story of what the Lord has done for us. If most of the songs you have used recently come from one music tradition or nation or gender of writer, try to seek out some others to round out your worship of God.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Prayer<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

As you prepare to pray, reflect on this lyric*:<\/span><\/p>\n

Winter has passed, the rain is over,<\/span>
\nEarth is a-bloom, songs fill the air.<\/span>
\nLinger no more, why must you wait?<\/span>
\nRise up my love, come follow me.<\/span><\/p>\n

Amazing God,<\/span>
\nBefore any word forms on my lips<\/span>
\nyou know it fully.\u00a0<\/span>
\nAnd still –\u00a0<\/span>
\nmay words of praise tumble from my mouth –\u00a0<\/span>
\nuncontrolled and free-associating words<\/span>
\nthat speak of your invitation to me<\/span>
\nand my \u2018yes\u2019 in return.<\/span>
\nAmen.<\/span><\/p>\n

*Winter is past, by Wang Weifan, paraphrased by Ewing W Carroll Jr. \u00a9 China Christian Council.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Song of Songs 6.13 and 7.1-13 \u00a0Return, return, O Shulammite! \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Return, return, that we may look upon you. Why should you look upon the Shulammite, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0as upon a dance before two armies? How graceful are your feet in sandals, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0O queenly maiden! Your rounded thighs are like jewels, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0the work of a master hand. Your … <\/p>\n

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