Divine Kiss and The Bride’s Life Vision
I. THE THREE DIRECTIONS OF THE BRIDE’S COMMUNICATION (1:2-4)
It is important to acknowledge that the bride is speaking in three directions in this passage. This is necessary to grasp
to best understand the full meaning of the passage.
A. First, she speaks directly to the Father (v2). She asks for the King’s kisses.
B. She speaks directly to Jesus (v2-4). She acknowledge superior pleasures in Jesus.
C. She speaks to all sincere believers (v4). Her strength is related to the King’s chambers.
II. THE SUPERIOR PLEASURES IN THE GRACE OF GOD
A. What is the desired result of the kisses of His word? Why does she so long for them? What is the inevitable
impact? Verse 2 supplies the answer. She gives us her theology. She uses the word “for” to signify the purpose of
the kisses. The word “for” sets forth the reason for the kisses.
“Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth – for Your love “is better than” wine” (Song 1:2)
1. Her primary theological statement explaining her motivation for so desperately wanting the kisses of His word: “Your
love is better than wine”. She sums the whole Song and her entire theology in this one sentence.
2. The revelation of His enjoyment of our lives awakens in us the ability to enjoy Him. We enjoy God when we know
He enjoys us when we are weak. When we enjoy God. we obey God much better.
B. Affection Based Obedience:
1. She directly speaks to Jesus after she just asked the Father to commission Him to give His kisses to her. She
speaks to the Son in the second person; “Your love is better than wine”. She went from asking the Father to “Let Him”
to addressing Him directly. Then she reveals her source of motivation for wanting His kisses. She explains “for Your love
(affection ) is better than wine”. She wants the kisses because His affection is better or more delightful than wine.
2. I often exchange the word “love” in the Song, with words like “affection”, “pleasure”, or “embrace”. For example,
“Your affection is better than wine.”
C. She introduces the reality of the “superior pleasures” experienced in the gospel. These are found in a unique
way in the bridal paradigm of the Kingdom.
“Your love is “more delightful than” wine” (NIV)
D. “Is better than” or “is superior to” or “is more delightful than”. She is referring to the superior pleasures that she
experiences in the revelation of the romance of the gospel. This is her first acknowledgement that superior pleasures
exist. This is merely an introduction to a vast realm of experience in the Holy Spirit.
1. She develops this them further in Song 2:3-4
2. She acknowledges that the “primary” way to experience these “superior pleasures” is through the revelation of
the romance of the gospel.
E. The greatest intensity of the “spiritual pleasures” is found in context to the beauty of the Bridegroom and bridal
paradigm of the Kingdom of God. I think it is best to understand the superior pleasures on two general levels.
1. There is a general pursuit of the kingdom of God that results in introductory experiences of these superior
pleasures. This introduction to spiritual pleasures is a result of a fervent pursuit of the kingdom of God. I acknowledge
that many believers without a bridal paradigm of the Kingdom of God enjoy Jesus in a deep way.
2. However, these superior pleasures are best found in context to the bridal paradigm of the kingdom and the
romance of the gospel. This is the context to experience the greater intensity of these holy pleasures.
F. She uses the wine metaphor because wine “exhilarates” the heart. Wine in this context speaks of the exhilarating
blessings of God that are experienced in our natural lives.
“Your love is “better than wine”” (1:2)
1. In this context, wine is not speaking primarily of sinful things but rather of the blessings that God has given us in
earthly circumstances. It speaks of the best that earthly experience has to offer even under God’s blessing. Wine is not
used here in a negative way.
a. This speaks of the good wine of God’s blessing in natural circumstances.
b. This also implies the bad wine of sin’s inferior pleasures.
2. In this marriage metaphor, wine is “the drink of earthly celebration”. It is the drink of gladness or the drink of
blessing. God’s kindness in this life includes both natural and spiritual blessing. These blessings include financial
increase, favor in relationship, grater spiritual authority and physical health etc.
3. She sees this absolute truth of life: the love of God is more exhilarating and more powerful than the wine of this
world. His love is more exhilarating than anything we can experience in this world. It is more powerful than any pleasure
available to the human makeup. Paul mentions the vast ocean of God’s love. His four-fold love includes the width, length,
depth and height.
“…may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height”
(Ephesians 3:18)
4. She is comparing Jesus to the most exhilarating experiences. There are physical pleasures, emotional pleasures,
and mental pleasures. God is the author of all of these. But by far, spiritual pleasures are the most exhilarating of all
pleasures that God created.
5. She is confessing, “Your affection is better than the celebration of other God-given pleasures in this life”. There
are many different categories of pleasures that we are to celebrate under the leadership of Jesus. But there is one
pleasure that is greater than all, it is the vast affection of God. This conviction will settle deep things in our hearts.
G. Affection based obedience is obedience that flows out of experiencing Jesus’ love or affection that is better than
wine. This is the strongest type of obedience.
1. It is not the only type of obedience. I know what it means to grit my teeth to obey God without feeling anything.
Obedience by faith without feelings is required regularly in the Word of God. However, it is not the strongest kind of
obedience.
2. The strongest kind of obedience is based in the understanding and experience of God’s affection. A lovesick
bride embraces and endures anything for love. This is the idea seen at the end of her journey.
“Many waters cannot quench love, nor can the floods drown it” (Song 8:7)
III. HOW MUCH BETTER IS HIS LOVE THAN WINE?
A. Jesus stepped into human history with the humiliation of the incarnation, and then the agony of the crucifixion.
Such a One desires that we might become His eternal companion.
“Your love” is better than wine. (1:2)
1. On the occasion of the Last Supper (John 13-17), Jesus repeatedly spoke of the Father’s loving desire for the
disciples. However, He also told them that they would ALL deny Him that very night (Matthew 26:31). These disciples
were carnal during the time of the Last Supper. For example, they were arguing about who was to be the greatest. It is
in that spiritual condition that He speaks this reality to them.
a. In other words, these affirmations of His love were spoken to weak, yet sincere believers, not mature apostles.
b. At the Last Supper Jesus was preparing His disciples to love God under the pressures of disappointment,
persecution, temptation, service, etc. Jesus knew they would fall away that very night and then feel condemned. He is
speaking to reveal how He feels for them in one of the most precious passages in scripture.
3. At the Last Supper, Jesus emphasized that the measure of God’s loving desire for them was no less than the
measure of love that the Father feels for His Son. God’s love is a powerful passion that includes deep desire, enjoyment,
pleasure and longing etc. It is not just a sterile religious idea devoid of deep passion, as some think.
“As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you …” (John 15:9)
B. The “measure of the Father’s loving affection and enjoyment” of Jesus is the standard that Jesus uses three
times in the upper room discourse (John 14-17).
1. The “measure of the Father’s loving affection and enjoyment” of Jesus is the standard of the Son’s affection for us.
“As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you …” (John 15:9)
This gives every believer the right to view himself or herself as God’s favorite. Present yourself to Jesus as one
of His favorites.
2. The “measure of the Father’s loving affection and enjoyment” of Jesus is equal to the Father’s affection for us.
We can not even begin to comprehend the way the Father loves the eternal uncreated second person of the Trinity.
However, this is the only adequate understanding of the quality of His delight and affection for us. Jesus could have
said, “There is no jealousy. I’ve been with Him since before time was created, and the fact that the Father loves us the
same does not disturb Me at all.” The reality that broken sinful human beings stand on equal ground in the Father’s
affection with the uncreated Son of God is the theme of the Song of Solomon.
“…that the world may know that You have … loved them as You have loved Me’ (John 17:23)
3. The “measure of the Father’s loving affection and enjoyment” of Jesus is the measure of love that is imparted to
the church for Jesus. We become recipients of supernatural love.
“that the love with which You loved Me may be in them …” (John 17:26)
C. In each of these three Divine declarations, Jesus speaks of the highest standard imaginable. All three times He
goes right to the top, the very height of glory. He uses the same standard of measure three times in a row to make three
different declarations and every time the standard is the way the Father loves the Son.
D. This is how God feels about His people, even the ambitious young apostles who were soon to stumble in their faith
as they betrayed Him that very night. How amazing are the feelings in His heart towards them in this condition of pride
and spiritual immaturity.
IV. REVELATION BASED DESIRE FOR GOD
“…because of the fragrance of Your good ointments” (1:3)
“…the fragrance of Your perfumes” (NIV)
A. The source of her fervency is the knowledge of God (1:3)
1. Paul the apostle wrote that the excellency of the knowledge of the Man Christ Jesus was the motivation of His
great zeal. This is a very important theological premise.
“I count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered
the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8)
2. The knowledge of God awakens the heart to fervency. In other words to know Him is to love Him (simply put). To understand
Him is to enjoy Him. More understanding of God’s character causes us to enjoy Him more.
B. She explains that revelation of the splendor of “His fragrance of His beauty” causes her to desire Jesus.
V. THE PERFUME OF GOD
A. Perfume is not an activity or a visible substance. When perfume is in the air you can’t grab a handful of it, but we
can still feel its impact. It can still stir our heart. It is something we feel. This speaks of Jesus’ lovely personality, which
especially includes His passion and pleasure for His people.
1. The presence of fragrance is not speaking of something we do. It speaks of something God is. The sweet
perfume of God’s heart. The fragrance of God speaks of His affection.
2. His Fragrance is not speaking of His actions. We will see His action as His name is poured forth. His fragrance
is speaking of the essence of God’s personality. This speaks of the fragrance of who He is, in the beauty of His being.
The revelation of the sweet perfume of God speaks of God’s thought life and His emotional make-up. Perfume in the
natural world is not an activity.
3. The sweet perfume of God speaks of His emotional beauty.
a. Throughout the Song of Solomon perfume is pictured as thoughts and feelings. It expresses the beauty of what is
on the inside of one’s personality like a rose. The fragrance of the rose comes from the beauty of its internal condition.
b. It is the picture language of expressing internal beauty. The perfumes in the ancient world came from the inside
of a plant being outwardly manifest. And if you crushed the plants, then the fragrance would come out. It was the internal
presence of the beauty of a flower’s fragrance.
4. 2 Corinthians 2:14 talks about the fragrance of Jesus Christ. God literally has fragrance; it is not just a metaphor.
Fragrance is a reflection of the state of God’s heart. It is the result and expression of the essence of His internal splendor
and beauty.
5. She is beginning to understand the emotions of God’s heart, the invisible sweetness of the awesome reality of
God’s emotions. It speaks of Jesus’ lovely personality that is filled with passion and pleasure for His people.
6. The very essence of the affections of God militates against legalism. Most truths at first strike hearts with strength,
but as time passes, these hearts often do not stay fresh, resulting in formalism or legalism.
a. A person cannot enjoy this truth and continue in legalism.
b. It is unique in that it militates against pride. The romance of the gospel tenderizes our spirit with gratitude.
c. The doctrine of the affection of God militates against legalism on one hand and pride on the other hand which
are always the two kind of twin evils of every powerful doctrine.
d. People try to use them without the fresh vitality of spiritual reality. It is not possible to walk in the affection of God
without it bringing you to spiritual reality. The very subject of it woos your heart.
B. She enjoys the sweet perfume of God’s affection. The mental and emotional make up of Jesus appears to her as
fragrant oils. Jesus’ ointments are fragrant. All heaven can smell them forever (Revelation 5:13). Blessed are the
enlightened saints who can understand them now (Ephesians 1:17). The devil’s goal is to make us afraid of being
rejected by God, instead of seeing how fragrant His ointments (emotions) are. Satan wants us to accuse God by
blinding us to His tender cherishing heart. He wants us to run from God instead of to God by deceiving us about His
fragrant ointments.
C. His name is poured forth in a way that reveals His nature and character.
“Your Name is ointment poured forth” (1:3)
1. “His name poured forth” speaks of the unique exaltation of His Name. It also speaks of His attributes being openly
revealed or poured forth. When God’s name is poured forth His name is exalted and openly revealed. His name is
revealed through actions.
2. This speaks of Jesus’ lovely and wise acts in redemption and His manifest leadership throughout history. He is the
sovereign leader of history, and she has now finally seen how wise and good His dealings are in her personal life, as well
as in history (Romans 2:5; 8:28)
VI. THE SWEET PERFUME OF GOD’S PERSONALITY – FIVE VERBS
A. We can see an introduction to the sweet perfume of God’s personality in the five verbs in Luke 15:20. This is the
most comprehensive and concise statement of God’s emotional make up in scripture.
“And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion,
and ran and fell on (embraced) his neck and kissed him. (Luke 15:20)
B. We rest in the running, embracing, kissing heart of God. He’s a God that sees and feels and runs and embraces
and kisses. That one verse gives five insights into the fragrance of His good perfumes. The sweet perfumes of the
Father’s affection are manifest through Jesus’ life on earth and in heaven. She begins to see the Christian life as a life
of being loved! She is enjoyed to such a degree that it beautifies her.
1. The father saw him
2. He felt compassion
3. He ran towards his son
4. He embraced his son
5. He kissed his son
C. Being enjoyed by God is more exhilarating than any pleasure, position, or possession that I could have in earth.
The knowledge of His enjoyment of our lives is one practical aspect of the sweet fragrance of His perfumes.
1. God doesn’t just enjoy us after we mature spiritually. He enjoys us during the process. The knowledge of this is
essential to being empowered to mature.
2. In this passage Jesus as the “ultimate psychologist” described how the human heart works. He explained to Simon
that when people experience much forgiveness, they overflow with much love. He wanted Simon the Pharisee to see that
when people understood how Jesus felt towards them, they would respond in extravagant love back toward Him.
“Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven,
the same loves little” (Luke 7:47)
D. A prayer application – “Lord we lay down our accusations against You”
1. The devil puts accusations in us against God. Example: an image of God as a broken sinful earthly father. We
associate the personality of God in a negative sense.
2. We want to repent of ascribing to God that which is entirely different from who He is. We want to ask God to
forgive us and this breaks strongholds of bondage and immorality.
a. Immorality is growing at such an astronomical pace in the world and I believe that it is rooted in wrong emotional
dynamics. It is rooted in rejection rather than rebellion.
b. The revelation of the Father’s love is what breaks the power of immorality more than anything else. There is much
bondage and addiction that is rooted in the feeling of rejection from God or from people. And this message goes right to
the core of it. It doesn’t in itself heal everything, but it is to me a very significant contribution to healing.
VII. THE UNIVERSAL BRIDE IS MATURE IN LOVE
A. She speaks from what she observes through her journey. The bride knows that God’s love will be eventually
worked into all believers referred to as virgins.
“Therefore the virgins love You” (1:3)
B. The virgins speak of the daughters of Jerusalem’s genuine yet immature believers throughout the Song. They
represent the carnal majority in the church that will eventually be won over to become extravagant lovers of Jesus even
if not so until eternity. They are seeking for Him but they are never committed like the bride is.
1. The revelation of God’s love as described in 1:2-3 produces this love back to God even in the weak daughters of
Jerusalem. This is the inevitable result of the Holy Spirit’s revelation of Jesus’ beauty to our hearts. To see Him is to love
Him. The carnal church of this generation will see the excellency of God’s beauty as it produces love and worship in them.
2. The bride saw love in these carnal maidens instead of only seeing their immaturity. The bride sees in others the
positive budding virtues in a similar way that the Lord sees them in her.
3. The kisses of God’s word communicate the perfumes of God’s Person to her. These kisses reveal the beauty of
the Bridegroom King to stun her heart.
VIII. THE EXPRESSION OF HER FERVENCY: TWO-FOLD LIFE VISION
A. Her two-fold life vision expresses her goals in the form of a prayer to God.
“Draw me away! We will run after You” (Song 1:4)
1. A life vision is one that our vocational vision and personal desires conform to. Our short and long term goals for
our family, vocation and ministry etc. are included in our overall life vision.
2. She prays “draw me away”. This is her heart cry for deep intimacy with God. She longs to become an extravagant
worshipper of God. This speaks of passion for Jesus.
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart” (Matthew 22:37)
3. She also prays “we will run after You”. This is her heart cry for partnership in ministry with Jesus. She wants to
serve people. Running represents obedience in action, reaching out to others, and stepping out in faith. Running in
ministry sometimes creates circumstances that bring conflict, correction, rejection, and persecution.
B. She prays “draw me away”; the NAS bible translates this as “draw me after You”. The words “after You” modify
“draw me” in many bible translations. IN the NKJV the “after You” modifies the verb “running”. However, most bible
translations use the words “after You” to modify the verb “draw me”.
1. She acknowledges that it take God to love God so she asks Him to “draw her” to Him. The understanding that
we need to be drawn minimizes our spiritual pride. The apostle Paul described a cycle of spiritual reality.
“For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things…” (Romans 11:36)
2. She deeply understands this truth at the end of the Song when she comes out of the wilderness, leaning on her
Beloved (8:5). Understanding this cycle delivers us from pride and legalism. Everything that is of God comes from Him
first. Then it is upheld through Him and then sustained by His power. Our fervency for God is God’s work in us
(Philippians 1:6, 2:13). We discover through stumbling that our real strength is from the Lord who is dedicated to us.
Legalism tells us that our commitment produces God’s commitment back to us. The grace of God teaches us that
God’s commitment to us produces our commitment back to Him. Our commitment flows out of gratitude and revelation.
C. She prays, “we will run after You”, the NAS bible translates this as “let us run together”. She wants partnership in
ministry with Jesus. This speaks of compassion for people in a life of service. It speaks of service, ministry and
community life in the corporate body. Running with Jesus speaks of ministering with Jesus in the midst of other people.
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39)
D. Our life vision should contain both aspects of “drawing and running”. Running in ministry is always in the plural
whereas drawing in intimacy is in the singular.
1. We recognize the inevitable tension between “drawing and running”. This becomes apparent in the lives of all
who seek to be devout and to serve in ministry.
2. After Jesus began to answer her first prayer to “draw her to Him” in intimacy then later in her journey she drew
back in service. She lost the balance of these two tensions. She temporarily refuses to “run in service” for others
(2:8-13). He answers both parts of this request throughout this eight chapter love song.
E. SUMMARY – Suppose somebody asks her, “why do you want the kisses of His mouth?” What is her motivation?
She answers the question of why (1:2-3). She gives two answers in one sentence as she directly speaks to Jesus.
First she answers, “because Your affections are better than any pleasures in life”. Her second motivation in related
to “the fragrance of His good perfumes”.
1. The two-fold life vision of the bride speaks of the two Great commandments and the Great Commission
(Matthew 22:37-40; 28:19-20).
2. Drawing and running are two distinct expressions of her life vision. Drawing in intimacy and running in ministry
are the two expressions of the kisses of His mouth. She wants to be a worshipper of God and a servant of people.
F. Four types of Christians – these are very general categories.
1. Mary of Bethany – in a generalized way, she represents one with a single pursuit of passion for Jesus while lacking
public ministry and servanthood that characterized Martha.
2. Martha – in a generalized way, she represents one with compassionate service, public ministry and servanthood,
while lacking the pursuit of passion for Jesus that characterized Mary.
3. Paul – in a generalized way, he represents one who combines passion (intimacy) with compassion (servanthood).
a. The “Mary’s” are seen as these who do not want to be entangled in the world of service that can distract her from
loving Jesus.
b. The “Martha’s” are seen as those who are very active in service and yet do not take time to sit at Jesus’ feet.
c. The “Paul’s” are seen as those who seek a life that combines passion and compassion. Desiring to walk in both
dimensions of God’s grace without neglecting either passion or compassion (Ecclesiastes 7:18; Philippians 1:22).
4. Laodiceans – in a generalized way, these believers represent selfish “consumer-Christians” that neither pursue
passion (Mary) or compassion (Martha).
IX. THE GROWTH OF FERVENCY: THE CHAMBER EXPERIENCES
A. The chamber experiences describe the ways that God caries us by granting us special experiences in His grace.
The King’s chamber is a bridal chamber. It is her private place in the Lord. The bride speaks of her secret history in God.
She is describing how her fervency for Jesus grows. The bride’s personal testimony with God develops through these
various “chamber experiences”, i.e. personal revelation, personal encounters, special impartations in the Spirit.
“The King has brought me into His chambers” (1:4)
B. The King’s chamber is a preparation place for the bride’s future task of radical obedience to Jesus. In the Lord’s
chambers, her secret history in God (her hidden life) is being developed as the Lord visits her and draws her forth to
Himself.
1. Our initial experiences of being drawn near to God are His gift to strengthen our faith. The Lord is preparing her
in the chamber to live in deep love for Jesus and to run with Jesus in active service.
2. Two examples of my personal “chamber experiences” were as surprising gifts to me as a new believer.
a. I was filled with the Holy Spirit in February 1972. This was a sovereign experience that I had no prior
understanding of and therefore did not even seek.
b. I experienced a vision of the Judgment seat of Christ in October 1978. This also was a surprising sovereign
experience that I did not seek.
C. The young bride asked the Lord to draw her (take the initiative to help her) and Jesus answered by carrying her
into His chambers.
1. He responds by carrying her into His chambers.
“He “brought” me to the banqueting house…” (Song 2:4)
2. In a parable, Jesus describes Himself as carrying His lost sheep on His shoulders of grace.
“…when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing” (Luke 15:5)
X. THE CERTAINTY OF FERVENCY: THE PROPHETIC ASSURANCE
A. This is a prophetic encouragement given to the virgin daughters of Jerusalem by the young bride. This is a
prophetic encouragement given to the daughters by the bride. She says, “We are going to rejoice in God through all
the seasons. This is a prophetic word about rejoicing in God and remembering His love.”
“We will be glad and rejoice in You. We will remember Your love more than wine.” (1:4)
1. Rejoicing in God is a primary goal of true Christianity. She is describing herself as well as all the virgin daughters
of Jerusalem.
2. This foreshadows the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. These words describe our testimony of love on the great
Wedding Day. We will all be glad and rejoice in His great leadership over our lives on the last Day. She has prophetic
understanding of her heart responses of love on the Day that she stands before Jesus in eternity.
“Let us be glad and rejoice … for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready”
(Revelation 19:7)
3. When we stand before God on the last day, we will say, “we rejoice and are glad in Your Son’s leadership over the
church”. We will all clearly see that He did not neglect us as satan said to us.
4. This confession of assurance that one day we will rejoice as we see Him face to face at the end of time. We
rejoice in the excellence and perfection of God’s personality.
5. The bride’s prophetic revelation in the King’s chamber. She prophesies to the virgin’s daughters that they would
all be enlightened so as to rejoice “in God”. They had not yet attained to it. This understanding was given to help them
in their present resolution to rejoice by faith in Jesus’ leadership in times of pressure and testing. Satan seeks to disturb
this foundational resolution wanting us to be offended at God.
B. She commits to recall His love as a primary source of strength and cleansing to her soul. A powerful aspect of
spiritual warfare is this faith confession of the love of God in times of testing.
“We will remember Your love more than wine” (1:4)
C. She affirms the impact of God’s fragrance, the chamber experiences etc. on other believers who are referred to as
the virgins (1:3). She declares that even when the devil lies to us, we will remember that it is right and just to be lovers of
God.
“Rightly do they love You” (1:4)
1. The wisdom of employing all the necessary dynamics in the grace of God is seen as worth it.
2. One day all believers will see how good it is to love Jesus with a whole heart. The theme and theology of this book,
is that the affection and beauty of God can conquer and capture the human soul. We must earnestly cultivate the
revelation of the love of God in order to awaken a deeper passion in our heart. We must more diligently meditate on the
holy transcript of God’s heart, called the scriptures.
XI. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS OF THE BRIDE’S THEME – THREE APPROACHES
A. The first application of these introductory verses that represent the brides’ theme is in devotional prayer within
her own heart.
B. The second application of these theme verses is in intercessory prayer for the church. We can apply them by
interceding that God would release the necessary sequence to bring the bride into the romance of the gospel. We are
motivated to pray these truths until the bride walks out the two Great Commandments and the Great Commission.
C. The third application of these verses is to use them as a summary of our theology of holy passion. Present in this
passage is a logical theological sequence describing revelation of God and its impact upon our heart. This is useful in
helping us to determine how we will make disciples.