Song Of Solomon - Jet Tour (part 2)

The Controversy Over Preaching Song of Solomon Literally

Do something this morning that could get me in a lot of trouble. I'm going to do something this morning that in the 4th century when it was done it was condemned and the Council of Constantinople in 15 in 553 rather condemned this guy even after he was dead for doing what I'm going to do today.

I'm going to do what the Westminster Assembly of Divines said regarding my particular view. They condemned this view as a hot carnal pamphlet formed by some loose Apollo or Cupid. I'm going to teach the Song of Solomon with a grammatical historical literal love poem sense.

After all back in the first century some people knew that it was a love poem. Rabbi Aqaba used to condemn those who would be in the drinking houses and they would get drunk and sing some of the lyrics from the song origin said of the literal view these things in Song of Solomon seem to me to afford no profit to the reader as far as the story goes.

And during that time it was a super popular book. Do you know in the Middle Ages in eight centuries 32 commentaries we have found were written on the Song of Solomon while we found six on Galatians and nine on Romans.

Today what Luther called the best song the Song of Solomon. You turn your Bibles to the Song of Solomon. We are in a three-part jet tour the Song of Solomon a biplane tour. I guess I'll amend the name to.

We are coming to a book in the Bible that in the Hebrew canon follows Proverbs and then Ruth quite logically Proverbs 31 being the last book in the Bible. And then a Proverbs 31 woman Ruth and then now the love poem of a man and a woman.

We need this kind of preaching today. When I think about this kind of preaching I'm mad at myself. I got mad at myself for two reasons this week. One was the phone company guy came over and I used to be a telephone repairman so I was kind of walking around watching him and we're just talking about the old days of Ma Bell and other things.

And we had to go out to this little can and I knew there was going to be wasps in there and hornets and so we popped it off and he sprayed his stuff in there like a good phone company guy and I walked way back and as I walk way back a hornet came zooming right at me landed on my shirt and stung me through the shirt.

It's still red to this day. I thought I'm mad at myself. He's getting paid to do this. I'm the retired telephone repairman. And then I also got mad at myself this week because I almost want to give you an excuse for preaching the Song of Solomon when it is a book inspired by God given to us for our profit for our help and should be proclaimed with straight face with no apologies.

And I thought to myself why am I almost embarrassed to teach this book. And I think the embarrassment comes because as the world has basically said let's take sex which is a good gift from God and soil it and sully it and make it dirty.

Christians instead of being in the God-centered view of sex designed by God good by God ordained by God endorsed by God have gone the other way away from both the Bible and the world to say you know here's our discussion of sex.

We have just one word for you don't do it. It's all negative. It's taboo. I got mad at myself because if this book in the canon is to be proclaimed and it's good why do we like Jerome say don't read it unless you're 30.

If somebody's gonna teach us about the topic of sex shouldn't it be God. Who else do we go to the world magazines TV commentaries. CJ Mahaney in a book you could read and I'd encourage you to read called sex romance in the glory of God said this quote.

We need instruction on sexuality if marriage is immensely important to God and it is. And if sex is a marvelous gift from God to a married couple which it is it's entirely appropriate for God to tell us in scripture how to understand and enjoy it.

Would he give us such a gift without also giving us guidance. Where is a Christian couple supposed to look for a model of God glorifying sexuality if not to scripture. Where and quote. I think song of Solomon is basically an exposition of what Solomon said in Proverbs 30 he said verse 18.

There are three things which are too wonderful for me for which I do not understand. The way of an eagle in the sky the way of a serpent on a rock the way of a ship in the middle of the sea and the way of a man with a maid.

Today the song of Solomon an un blushing poem about God's endorsement of human sexuality for all ages. I always try to tell you as a parent up when your children come up to you after the service and on the way home you should be talking to them about the sermon I Lenny shared with me yesterday I was telling the congregation the 12 words that summarize the gospel to remember those creator judge savior.

We went to the whole list of 12 and I was trying to say as a congregation if your kids can repeat those 12 you should give them a dollar. Well Lenny's very liberal liberal. He gave his children a dollar a word it cost him 12 bucks.

I want your children to talk to you after the sermon. This is not some kind of veiled thing in the Bible where we are not allowed to talk about it. You the parents can then talk appropriate to age. Here's what God says about this word.

It is good for you and profitable and right for you to know. Just a few weeks ago they were concerned about my immune system and I'm laying there giving blood. And the doctor has just said 10 minutes before.

Well we're concerned about your immune system drawing blood. Even this week having a cat scan on Monday they're putting the contrast in my veins. I used to sell contrast for the cat scans and I said to the lady is it ionic or non-ionic.

She said well it's non-ionic. I said good cuz the ionic stuff that I used to sell could kill a lot of people. Well I saw the good stuff too but as the time has gone on it's gone to non-ionic. And I said what manufacturer you should.

She said we're using squib. I said 320 ice of you. No she said 370. I said well I don't know if I'm allergic to contrast or not but we will soon find out. Said how many people have died having contrast since Worcester Medical Center has been open.

She said only one. I thought alright good. So she said are you ready. Got my arms above my head. There's the contrast. And I thought here we go just like with the blood test. Here we go. I said tell my wife and kids I love them.

And what all this is done for me. It is confirmed and reaffirmed in my mind that if I live long enough I will teach all the Bible to all the people that God will allow me to teach. I've been on this earth for not many good reasons in terms of I'm not a good gardener.

I'm not a good this. I'm not a good car mechanic. But God has gifted me to preach. And it is the duty it is the solemn charge of God for the pastor to preach all the Bible including the Song of Solomon.

And if God doesn't blush at the Song of Solomon then I have a question for me and for you this morning why do you I'm after your mind today is what I'm after I'm after your mind. So if you think something differently about the topic of what God says about sex that you change your mind we just call that repentance to think differently.

What does God say about it. And last week we talked about why it's not allegorical why it's not typological why we can have forgiveness for past sexual sins all those things. And today we want to just take a look at the first part of the book that talks about courtship and then the wedding.

And the next time after I return from vacation by the way you preach on Song of Solomon. You go on vacation for four weeks. So it's all planned. See I even got mad at myself for thinking that why would I think that way.

Here's the Bible. You know one guy said well you're gonna have a you know a special like junior church for all the junior high people in the senior high people. Because because what there's gonna be Bible teaching.

Certainly it's not obscene. Certainly it's not a medical manual. Certainly it's not a how-to guide but it is God's unblushing endorsement on sex. And if God doesn't blush then I don't want to either a certainly I don't want to go too far.

I pray that God would help me to watch my words. But this is a major aspect of the human life and God thankfully addresses it he tells us. And I have been blessed as I have studied the Song of Songs. If you look at verse 1 it's a superlative out of all the songs this is the best out of 1 ,000 songs that Solomon wrote.

This is the one included in the Latin we call it canicles. But that's wrong. It's not songs. It's the song out of all the songs this is the one that fits in the canon. And there are three major sections of this poem.

And again last week I talked a lot about poetry and parallelism and metaphors and everything else. But this is just a poem and it has a general direction of courtship marriage in the maturation of the couple.

But it takes some little turns here there and it's it's not a narrative it doesn't tell a direct story in terms of this time of the day and then that time of the day. There's a little bit of that. But it's just this poem that celebrates marital love and God gives a stamp of endorsement on it.

And I'm going to read this book like I do every other book in a literal natural plain way understanding that it's poetry. Understanding that it's eastern poetry. Understanding that it's near eastern poetry.

Understanding that it's inspired near eastern love poetry. It's a poem. When I was a kid I hated poems roses are red all that kind of stuff we had to write. You know poems in school and haiku and all these other things.

I have no idea what poems are. Well this is good for me to see how God just puts it in a language to extol human love marriage. It's refreshing the fidelity and purity of these two people. Well last week I basically preached from chapter 1 verse 1 through 2 .7.

Courtship, Longing, and the First Wedding Night

So we're gonna go right to chapter 2 verse 8 and hopefully we'll get to 5 .1 this morning. That's my goal. And basically what we'll see in this part of courtship a very restrained man and woman knowing that their marriage fidelity is important before marriage but their passions are growing.

They have a desire for each other physically emotionally and they praise one another. And here the Solomon responds to the Shulamite in verses 9, 10, and 11 they begin to grow in their love. In chapter 1 verse 12 and following.

And if you go to chapter 2 verse 8 the setting changes a little bit. And now we switch to the Shulamite's home which was evidently in Lebanon. Out in the country their intimacy and their sense for love for one another all premaritally with pure fidelity is increasing.

And the Shulamite says verse 8. Listen my beloved behold he's coming climbing on the mountains leaping on the hills. She's where she is. And she looks out the window as it were. And she sees her husband-to-be coming to see her.

CJ Mahaney said near eastern idioms. Professional poet. Do not attempt. Climbing on the mountains leaping on the hills. He can't wait to see her. My beloved is like a gazelle. She says our young stag.

Behold he's standing behind our wall. He's looking through the windows. He's peering through the lattice. He is eager to see his beloved. Verse 10. My beloved responded and said to me. Now she is quoting what Solomon said.

Arise my darling my beautiful one. Come along dear friend come let's go for a walk as it were. For behold the winter's past the rains over. It's springtime and you're going to see in springtime. In a budding relationship of romance everything is new.

The birds sound different the wind feels different. Everything in romance and spring is new and romance and spring just go together. Flowers have already appeared in the land. Verse 12. The time has arrived for pruning the vines.

The voice of the turtle love has been heard in our land. Fig tree has ripened its figs and the vines and blossom have given forth their fragrance. Arise my darling my beautiful one and come along. James Russell Lowell said of love.

Quote. True love is a love that shall be new and fresh each hour as is the sun sets. Golden mystery are the sweet coming of the evening. Star alike and yet most unlike every day and seeming ever best and fairest.

Now things used to be in black and white and now they're in Technicolor. Things used to be in 1D and now it's Jordan's IMAX 2D or 3D. Everything just as new and alive. And for those of you who are married and have been there you realize that's exactly what you felt like.

You see things that you didn't see before. Things that you overlook. Now you notice. Oh my dove. Verse 14. In the clefts of the rock in the secret place of the steep pathway. Let me see your form. Let me hear your voice.

For your voice is sweet and your form is lovely. Just want to be with you. Then a verse that's often misinterpreted. Catch the foxes for us the little foxes that are ruining the vineyards. While our vineyards are in blossom most every commentator says foxes get in the vineyard.

This is an illustration of some premarital troubles where there's fights and disagreements because the foxes would ruin things. So too some other arguments have ruined things. I don't think this has anything to do with that.

It's just a game. It's chase. Follow me come after me. Shulamite said in verse 16. My beloved is mine and I am his. He pastures his flock among the lilies. We're together. We're with each other alone monogamous until the cool of the day.

Verse 17. When the shadows flee away. Turn my beloved. There's gotta be restraint. Can't spend the night tonight as it were be like a gazelle or a young stag in the mountains of Bethar. And now in this love poem we go to some of her descriptions and some of the mutual admiration.

And now we go to a dream. So how can there be a dream. Well it's a love poem and we come to a dream. And you might even think it's a nightmare. Here's the here's the fiance. Will we really get married.

Will it really happen. Will something happen before that big day. Like I said a million times before we were engaged for. And I don't. Don't repeat this. Do not try this at home. I was engaged for 30 days to Kim because I had that fear.

What if something happens. What if she says no. When I ask her I said Kim would you marry me. And she said yes. I said just to make sure I got that right. I'm gonna ask you one more time. Would you marry me.

Yes. It was May 6 at the time. And so he said how about September one week later. How about August one week later. How about July one week later. Your dad's a pastor. It's a Tuesday. Tuesday was always the day they used to get married in the old days.

Let's get married today. Good idea. Everything was true except that last little bit was a little hyperbole. I went up to the church that day and I said to Kim that's weird. It's a Tuesday morning at the church.

And what's this. Some kind of stretch limousine there what's going on. Oh yeah. It's for my marriage so far it has been typified in the Song of Solomon chapter 1 and chapter 2. Restraint. Yet a longing.

Now we come to chapter 3 and there's kind of a little crisis. And in her dream shortly before she's married she is concerned that it might not all take place. And she says on my bed night after night I sought him whom my soul loves.

Chapter 3 verse 1 I sought him but did not find him. The one that I love the one that I love the one that I love I I must arise verse 2 and go about the city and in the streets and in the squares I must seek him whom my soul loves.

I sought him but did not find him. And again just in a poem in a dream poem the watchman who make the rounds in the city found me. And I said have you seen him whom my soul loves. Real people. This is just her dream.

Scarcely had I left them when I found him whom my soul loves. I found him. I held on to him. I would not let him go until I brought him to my mother's house and into the room of her who conceived me. I grasped him.

I held him tightly. And then the refrain verse 5 I adjure you oh daughters of Jerusalem by the gazelles or the hinds of the field that you will not arouse or awaken my love until she pleases. There's a time for intimacy.

And this isn't the time now let's move to the wedding found in chapter 3 verses 6. And following by the way just to give you a little background on Near Eastern weddings there was kind of several components.

One component was you would go in front of the elders of the community. You wouldn't be getting married in a synagogue or obviously no church buildings at the time. They would have a civil ceremony versus really a religious ceremony.

Then the groom's parents. I mean before that the groom's parents would have selected the bride and all that. Then you have the ceremony. And then there's a big processional to the house of feasting that night they'll be consummation but on their way to the house procession to have a seven-day feast.

After that there's all kinds of things that reminded me of when I was in India. I saw a guy riding a horse and correct me if I'm wrong Pradeep there's a guy riding a horse and a bunch of other people just going wild and and all kinds of stuff happening.

And I said to my driver I said what's going on with this man. He looks so happy and everybody's following him and he was on his way to go get the bride right. It was a Hindu deal. Yes close enough. Pradeep didn't say yes and so he was just kind of be kind.

Just keep going pastor. All that to say. There's the civil and I now pronounce you man and wife. Then there's the procession and then there's the week feast. That was I was trying to say verse 6. What is this coming up from the wilderness.

Like columns of smoke perfumed with myrrh and frankincense with all scented powders of the merchant. It's not really a what. It's a who who's who's. This is coming. All the stuff is so costly. Myrrh the spices.

Here's this big commemoration. God ordained marriage. And it is to be celebrated. And if it is in fact Solomon being a king or a prince it would have done been done in pomp and circumstance galore. If you watched Princess Diana's wedding no big deal.

Behold is a traveling couch of Solomon. He's up there perched on this couch 60 men all around him. How many groomsmen did you have of the mighty men of Israel. His groomsmen were probably the bodyguards all of them wielders of the sword expert in war.

Each man has a sword at his side guarding against the terrors of the night. Impressive. No chance of some kind of thing happening. King Solomon has made for himself a sedan chair from the timbers of Lebanon the best lumber you can get.

He's perched up on that. And he is coming to the bridal procession. He's made its post of silver its back of gold its seats of purple fabric kingly colors interior lovingly fitted by the daughters of Jerusalem.

Nothing is to be spared for my beloved. Go forth oh daughters of Zion. And gaze on King Solomon with the crown with which his mother has crowned him. It's not only just the crown of the country but they have special wedding crowns on the day of his wedding on the day of his.

What a neat way to describe wedding. Gladness of heart. Solomon in all his glory just like every other groom. Just a side note if I can stop for a second. A marriage is God's institution and ought to be celebrated as such.

Yes I was reading in a book quest for character and quoted Carl Zimmerman in his 1947 book family and civilization. And it said there are eight specific patterns in the country that typified downward spirals of cultures.

And when a culture does these things it's going down the tubes. And his first thing on the list was when marriage loses its sacredness. The culture's in trouble. This passage doesn't teach anything about that but this passage just confirms in my mind that marriage is from God ordained by God.

Genesis chapter 2 and is a big deal. It is to be celebrated man and a woman obviously reflecting Christ in the church. Hebrews 13 for says marriage is to be held in what. Among all in all places among all people marriages to be what.

Honored and held in honor of all. Honored because God came up with it. Honored because Christ would confirm the institution at Canaan. Honored because it prevents impurity. Honored because God is the one who's the author.

Well now we come to the wedding night chapter 4 verses 1. And following the formal ceremonies are over. It is now private between Solomon and the Shulamite. Shulamite being a place we don't know her name.

And what we have now is what they call a WASF W A S F. It was an Arabic term and it is a couple talking to one another before they're ready to consummate the marriage. Gone is the restraint. The restraint that was before marriage is gone.

You will see in chapter 4 5 6 7 and 8 there is no restraint. And here he's going to sing a rhapsody as it were about how his wife is so beautiful. Every part of her is wonderful. This is gonna kinda sound weird to us because we are just different people in a different culture and we don't understand these metaphors.

But he basically starts and on his wedding night he begins and he ends in verse 7 by saying to her three times total you are beautiful my darling. You're beautiful. How beautiful you are. And then he has a list of several things starting with their eyes and working down about how beautiful she is.

Your eyes are like doves behind your veil. They didn't wear veils most the time then. But on their wedding they did. And so the alluring eyes are hidden behind the veil. The veil that would both hide some of her face and heighten some of his desire.

Your hair is like a flock. It just sounds funny to me when I read it. Your hair is like a flock of goats that have descended from Mount Gilead as the goats descend from the hill far away and seem like they have a little movement.

You can't really see it. Maybe this is when she's letting her hair down for him. Always reminds me the story when my sister she's just learning how to read and there's a new shampoo out supposed to make your hair all nice and smell good and everything.

And she read it for the first time and she said gee your hair smells terrific. Just always struck me it's a brand name pop culture. I can't get away from it. He is lavishing his praise to her. Now of course as I look at the text I don't see here oh this is God loving Israel or Christ loving the church.

And as I said last week it is difficult for me to say if seventy-five percent of the discussion is the woman to the man. That strikes me odd in a book that if it's supposed to be about God loving his people it should be God talking and then the woman responding.

But here in some kind of way that predates any kind of feminism. There are two equal people and here the Shulamite is the one who's talking. But of course as I look at this and the reason why we read John chapter 17 today is even though Jesus Christ this is not a messianic song I just keep thinking about if this is the great marriage that's in the Bible then there is a marriage that this points to certainly about Christ loving the church.

I don't want to preach this book and say yeah Jewish rabbi who's an unbeliever preaches the same way I do. Certainly I don't think Jesus is in the Bible but he is Lord over it and it is to be preached.

And as Paul was at Ephesus he was preaching this book to those people for three years and he was certainly pointed them to say if you think this is a great relationship a love relationship between a man and a woman before eternity passed there was Christ dying.

The plan for Christ dying for his people. Marriage between man and a woman wasn't first. This is just a reflection of our God who has died for us has been raised from the dead. No more restraint. Here we continue in chapters 4 verse 2 and following as young Claudio said in Shakespeare's much to do about nothing.

In my eyes she is the sweetest lady that I have ever looked upon. Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn ewes which have come up from their washing. All of which bear twins. And not one among them has lost her young.

Dental hygiene was tough back then. No gaps in her teeth. Everyone matched. That was what he was talking about. They all have twins. The top and bottom they all match. She's got a full set of teeth. Pretty.

It was a big deal back then. Your lips are like a scarlet thread. Some say ribbon. But it's really thread. Perfect. Outline the shape of her lips. They're alone. It's in private. He's talking to his wife about how beautiful she is.

Certainly with the desire to kiss those lips. Your temples are like a slice of pomegranate behind your veil. Maybe the upper cheeks for the temple area in the color. Maybe pomegranates are hyper a hyper aphrodisiac.

Aphrodisiacs. This is hard to preach. I'm telling you Kim and the kids are all in California. What have I done for three weeks. Just stayed at home. And you know study the Song of Solomon. Your neck is like the Tower of David built with rows of stones on which are hung a thousand shields all around.

Shields of the mighty men. Your neck is so rugged it looks like linebacker Teddy Brewskis. No he's not saying that at all. This is stately. It's a mark of beauty. It's about her person. It's not about her.

She's got a long neck. It's big. No. And even if she did that's not the point. The shields were the allegiance to the the commander. And she's just stately. She's magnificent. He just looks at her neck.

And even her neck is beautiful to him. Statuesque. Your two breasts are like fawns. Verse 5. Twins of a gazelle which feed among lilies. The Bible just in language. Inappropriate language. We know what he's saying.

All these metaphors of chasteness and proper modesty. Almost like the veil that's in the Holy of Holies. God uses this kind of language as a veil just so it's not pornographic. Until the cool of the day.

Before it was gonna be the cool of the day and you can't spend the night. And now it's going to be all night long until the cool of the day. We don't have to run from each other when the shadows flee and I will go my way.

Solomon says to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense. Describing what he just was talking about in verse 5. She's graceful and tall. And now there's no sleep this night. Mountains of myrrh.

Something valuable. Mountains of myrrh. Just a little bit of myrrh is expensive. Now there's mountains. Just all love language. You are all together beautiful. Just like he said two times in the earlier verse.

Verse 1 he says. Now there's no blemish in you. Isn't that true. What every husband thinks on his wedding night. There's nothing. No flaw in your spouse. And now he gives his intention verse 8 with his request.

Come with me from Lebanon. My bride. May you come with me from Lebanon. Journey down from the summit of Amana. From the summit of Sinair and Mount Hermon. From the dens of lions from the mountains of leopards.

There's no actual lions or anything else. He just calling her to himself completely concentrate on him. He says in verse 9 as his adoration continues. You have made my heart beat faster. My sister my bride.

You have made my heart beat faster with a single glance of your eyes with a single strand of your necklace. Translation in a modern terminology. My head is spinning. I am dizzy. Is what he's saying. My heart is beating.

Just one look from you and my heart is going wild. You are taking my breath away. I'm hopelessly in love with you. I could stop here and just charge the congregation as I've charged myself this week. Do you know that it is a gift from God to have the romantic love between a man and a woman.

You know it's a gift from God. I did some studying this week and found out some amazing things about the body. Doctor. Me he said God made you with over 200 bones with more than 630 muscles. Your body contains over 30 trillion cells 16 billion nerve endings and 4 million pain sensors.

Your lungs have 750 million air sacs and take 24 ,000 breaths every 24 hours. Your blood flows 168 million miles daily supplied by your heart beats over 100 ,000 times daily. And certainly when God declares we are filled fearfully and wonderfully made.

He is also made us that way and has given us romance to enjoy. It's not some kind of animalistic thing. No. And by the way another note if I step back from this shame on the medieval church and shame on many other scholars and even churches today that says sex is only for marriage.

Regarding procreation sex is only for marriage. But there is nothing to do with procreation in this entire book. High as that might have been on the list a child a male child etc etc. This is just the goodness of God.

Please. Yes he's. Can a man do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too I see is from the hand of God. For without God who can eat and find enjoyment. Contrarily with God you can find enjoyment even here between a man and a woman.

This is amazing. The goodness of God. David says praise the Lord. Give thanks for the Lord for he is good. The goodness of God that he would give us such a gift of romance and love and the emotions that go behind it.

I say to myself this week Mike when was the last time you said. Not only I thank you for my spouse but I thank you for our marriage. I thank you for whom my wife is. And I thank you that I can just enjoy my spouse romantically.

You ever think to praise God for that. That's part of the message here. I try to find songs to say where in the him. No is a song that says like the Song of Solomon. I want to glorify romantic love by saying not glorify romantic love but glorify you God for romantic love.

The closest I could find is a song will sing at the very end for the beauty of the earth for the glory of the skies for the joy of human love. But I don't even say husband wife. It's like brother sister parent child.

How about brother sister parent child man in a woman this book extols love. Well he goes on to say. How beautiful is your love my sister my bride. This is the word for love that is not the equivalent to a copy in the New Testament but eros erotic love.

How beautiful is your love my sister my bride. She's not his sister. It's just a term of endearment. Back then how much better is your love than grape juice. A way second how much better is your love than wine.

And the fragrance of your oils. Then all kinds of spices. Spurgeon said this about wine. Love is better than wine because one it could be enjoyed without question to it would never turn sour. Three it would never produce ill effects and for it produced a sacred exhilaration.

That's exactly what he's talking about. Your love is better than wine and the fragrance of your oils and all kinds of spices intoxicating your lips my bride. Verse 11. Drip honey. Honey and milk are under your tongue.

By the way two different words for honey. The first honey is from honeycomb. The second honey is from fruits. Your lips my drop bride. Drink honey honey and milk under your tongue. Canaan was a land flowing of what flowing with milk and honey.

The blessings and goodness of God source of blessing and joy in the land of Canaan. So to now the blessings of romantic love and the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon. Now the king praises the bride's purity.

Chapter 4. Verse 12. And following you see the words here they are on their wedding night. A garden locked up is my sister my bride. A rock garden locked. A spring sealed up. Locked. Locked. Sealed up.

All great metaphors for inaccessibility praising her virginity. As a garden would be private. Spring would be private. A rock garden would be private. Here he says. Thank you for that gift. Danny Akin said.

I have never known a woman or a man for that matter whoever regretted saving sex for marriage. I have however known many who have regretted not doing so. What a gift. Verse 13. Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates with choice fruits henna and nard plants nard and saffron calamus and cinnamon with all the trees of frankincense myrrh and aloes along with the finest spices.