April 25. 2025-Meditation , Song of Songs 3:1–11, The Long-Awaited Wedding

 Song of Songs 3:1–11

The Long-Awaited Wedding

In the first part of today’s passage, we see the bride desperately searching for her beloved. Verse 1 says:

“All night long on my bed I looked for the one my heart loves; I looked for him but did not find him.”

Here, the phrase “the one my heart loves” appears. A more literal translation would be “the one my soul loves.” It signifies a love that springs not just from the heart, but from the depths of the soul. The bride wanders in search of this beloved, driven by that deep, soulful love. She searches for him on her bed, in the city, and even asks the watchmen who go about the streets. Yet she cannot find him—until at last, she does.

If we understand the bride as representing the Christian, then the beloved she searches for is Jesus Christ. This is the image of a Christian loving and longing for Jesus from the depths of the soul. Proverbs 8:17 says:

“I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.”

There are many other passages that describe the people of God earnestly seeking Him. One verse says, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.”

Ultimately, our lives should be marked by a desperate longing and struggle to meet and find God. But there’s something we must consider carefully here: we may think that God only reveals Himself to those who seek Him fervently, who carry desperate hearts for Him. But that’s not entirely the case. God is already in our lives, already within us. Yet because of our sinfulness, we are often unable to perceive Him or recognize His presence. That’s why we must strive and struggle—through our sinfulness—to encounter the God who is already with us.

Sometimes, we receive grace and rejoice in it, but that joy quickly fades. When we face trials in life or various struggles, the joy we felt from meeting God seems to vanish. But it’s not because God’s grace has left us. God's grace is always with us—we just fail to recognize it.

Each day, we must live with a yearning from deep within our souls for Christ, our Beloved. We must seek Him and long for Him daily.

In the second half of today’s passage, the image of the bridegroom coming to the bride is described. It’s portrayed through the image of King Solomon arriving in his royal carriage, accompanied by mighty warriors. Imagine this scene: the king wears splendid garments and rides a majestic royal carriage—different from ordinary ones, grand and awe-inspiring. Sixty warriors, each skilled in battle and armed with swords, surround and escort the king’s carriage.

This majestic scene evokes two types of responses in people. One is joy and celebration—this is the bride, waiting for her bridegroom. The other is fear—this is the one who opposes the king.

When Christ, our Bridegroom, returns to this earth, His second coming will mean life for some and judgment for others. Each of us must reflect on what that moment will mean to us personally. Will it be a moment of joyful welcome, like a bride greeting her bridegroom? To experience that kind of joy, we must live in anticipation. Like the bride who searched for her beloved with her soul, we must yearn for Christ in our daily lives.

May we become those who find joy in the Word—who do not see the Word as something that cuts or burdens us, but who delight in it. May we experience unspeakable grace through the Word and live as true Christians in these last days.