S.S. 4:12, KJV “A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed”
I love the language of the King James version in this verse. Biblically, gardens always speak or a place of fellowship and intimacy with God. Adam and Eve walked with the Lord in the cool of the day in the Garden of Eden. After the fall, the Lord came into the garden and cried out “where are you,” because they were hiding behind the trees. His question was not a geographical one. As a sovereign Lord, he knew exactly where they were physically, but he was crying out with a holy anguish for the intimacy they had withdrawn from because of their sin. They were created for his presence, and their first calling was intimacy with their true beloved, which was God Himself. That verse in Song of Solomon declares that our very identity, and therefore purpose, is a garden enclosed. Let that sink in. You’re very identity is that you are set apart for fellowship and intimacy with Him. That is who you are, and that is your primary purpose in life; and only in pursuing that reality will you find true meaning, and a deep sense of worth, and satisfaction. Truly, “In Him we live, and move, and have our being.” We were created to be God seekers; God experiences; God possesses, and God expressers.