S?s. 1:9 “To me, my darling, you are like
My mare among the chariots of Pharaoh.
10 “Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,
Your neck with strings of beads.
S.S. 4:9 “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.
Jesus wants us to obey Him from a place of passionate love, not passive duty. He passionately gave His all to have us, and He therefore longs for a passionate response. Obedience alone doesn’t make His heart beat faster. Jesus doesn’t want a wife that is simply wed to Him. He wants a Bride who fiercely loves Him. That was the longed for joy set before Him that enabled Him to endure the the suffering of the Cross. In the Song of Solomon the cheeks always speak of emotions, and the neck speaks of the will. The Mares of Pharaoh were the most obedient horses in the world. There wills had been broken, and they lived in lock-step with their master. Jesus celebrates a surrendered life, and broken will that lives in absolute submission to His lordship, but different from a broken will of a horse, He is looking for a broken will that flows from a broken open heart as an alabaster vial in lovesick adoration. One act of obedience for loves sake totally ravishes His heart. Have You ever had something happen that stirred your heart and it made your heart beat faster, not just because it stirred your heart in that moment, but now you’re living in anticipation of what’s to come next? That’s the way Jesus is when we offer Him passionate heartfelt obedience. That one single moment does stir His heart, but maybe even more importantly it causes His heart to beat faster in anticipation of an obedient life that’s emerging, that He can pour out all of His manifest favor on. In that verse in chapter 1 it refers to strings, (plural) of beads. Every time we obey it’s as if we are beautified by Jesus with a new strand of necklace that we wear in the spiritual realm. Even at this early stage in chapter 1 of her emerging experience of union with Christ she has multiple strands to the necklace that she wears in beauty before Him, because of her obedient heart that flows from cheeks (emotions) that have been ornamented with passionate love. Oh to exchange the chains of bondage that so many wear around their necks for the beautiful strands of a lovesick obedient life. This is the glorious liberty of the Sons and Daughters of God.