Ralph preached last night on the verse from 1 Peter 2:7 looking at ‘to you who believe, He is precious’. Taking Song of Songs chapter 2 as his text, he examined ways in which Jesus is precious to us. He looked at some of the ‘I am’ names of God before thinking about Jesus being the ‘rose of Sharon and lily of the valley’ – not the biggest flowers, but flowers that have a lovely fragrance, just as Jesus has that aroma which we are to carry. (2 Cor 2:15)
Song of Songs is a passionate love story which also serves as a reminder of the intimate relationship between the church (the Bride) and Christ (the Bridegroom). It talks about the protection of God (Song of Songs 2:3, see also Ps 91:1) and also the provision of God (Song of Songs 2:4-5, see also Ps 23:5). In it, we also see how the Bridegroon is calling us into that deeper relationship with Him (see Matt 11:28) and how the responsibility for telling others about that voice which calls now rests with us.