Song of Songs Advent Devotion for Couples – Advent 3 Friday
“There’s plenty of fish in the sea, after all…” Is this true also with our Savior and Bridegroom, Christ?
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The third Advent candle (rose/pink) along with two violet candles are lit.
The husband may say, or the couple may say together:
In the name of the Father and of † the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Heavenly Father, who has created man and woman and provided them with the estate of marriage, provide us in our relationship the kind of love that reflects your love for us. For you gave your Son to purchase us by his blood, and you will send him again to bring us to the heavenly wedding feast on the Last Day. Strengthen us by your Word as we expect his Advent. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Together you may confess the Apostles’ Creed and pray the Lord’s Prayer.
Song of Songs 5:9-16
Praise
Both: What is your beloved more than another beloved, O most beautiful among women? What is your beloved more than another beloved, that you thus adjure us?
Wife: My beloved is radiant and ruddy, distinguished among ten thousand. His head is the finest gold; his locks are wavy, black as a raven. His eyes are like doves beside streams of water, bathed in milk, sitting beside a full pool. His cheeks are like beds of spices, mounds of sweet-smelling herbs. His lips are lilies, dripping liquid myrrh. His arms are rods of gold, set with jewels. His body is polished ivory, bedecked with sapphires. His legs are alabaster columns, set on bases of gold. His appearance is like Lebanon, choice as the cedars. His mouth is most sweet, and he is altogether desirable. This is my beloved and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.
Used by permission.
Kelly comments on her artwork, quoting Denis McNamara:
“Similarly, the words the Church uses in liturgy are the words said to Christ, the Bridegroom of the Bride, and this Bride is the Mystical Body, which is itself the People of God united to their Head. So in the words of the Bride, the Church, are the words both inspired and offered to Christ, the Groom.” (McNamara 168)
McNamara, Denis R. “Catholic Church Architecture and the Spirit of the Liturgy”. Hillenbrand Books, 2009.
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Discussion
Radiant: The daughters of Jerusalem ask a loaded question: what makes the Shulammite’s Groom better than any other? There’s plenty of fish in the sea, after all… But that would be wrong, when it comes to such a Bridegroom as this.
The Bridegroom is described with many precious materials. This is also a near-perfect picture of the Temple, which depicts the reality of heaven and the New Jerusalem on the Last Day. Revelation 21:24: “And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.”
Why is it comforting to know that Jesus is our true Temple?
Jewels set into gold may also remind you of the breastplate worn by the high priest, which was partially made of gold, with twelve gemstones in it, one stone for each tribe of Israel.
Why is it comforting to know that Jesus is our true high priest, with our names on his chest before God?
This radiant picture of the Bridegroom is rich in detail that encompasses the whole of Scripture. Gold and other precious materials are found in Eden (Genesis 2:11-12) as well as in the heavenly Jerusalem (Revelation 21:18-24), the high priest’s breastplate (Exodus 28:15-24), and the Tabernacle and Temple. Jesus’ body is the true Temple, which was “rebuilt” on Easter morning (Mark 14:58), making it possible for the Church, his body, as the new Temple in which the Holy Spirit now dwells, to be constructed until the New Jerusalem comes, in which all believers in Christ will dwell in Christ’s radiance for eternity.
Hymn
Hymn verses this week: “The Bridegroom Soon Will Call Us,” v. 4
(Listen to the melody here)
4. Our Father, rich in blessing,
Will give us crowns of gold
And, to His bosom pressing,
Impart a bliss untold,
Will welcome with embraces
Of never-ending love,
And deck us with His graces
In blissful realms above.
Author: Johann Walter; Translator: Matthias Loy
Benediction
The almighty and most merciful Lord, the Father, the † Son, and the Holy Spirit bless and preserve us. Amen.
Devotions by Rev. Michael Lilienthal and Rev. Jeff Hendrix.
Jeffrey Hendrix
I serve as pastor of an Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS) congregation in Oregon, WI. But I never wanted to be a pastor. I wanted to produce media. I went to Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, MN for communication/video production, and while I was there, I began to appreciate historic Lutheran doctrine and practice, recognizing the beauty and teaching in the design of the divine service. Professors encouraged me to consider studying for the pastoral office, and I listened. So now I produce media for churches (See my website LutheranSynodPublishing.com) as a pastor.
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