Hart To Heart Ministries

Mike, Denise, & Michelle Hartmann-Echterling

Song Of Solomon Chapter 5

23/04/09 21:17 FaithBooks

Song of Solomon Ch.5 (page 21) (sample reading)


by Denise Hartmann-Echterling


The Bridegroom speaks….
5: 1 I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse(Bride); I have gathered my myrrh with my spice, I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey. I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, O Friends, drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved. This is His manifest presence, which means, that it becomes localized and is made consciously apparent to one or more of our five physical senses, such as the ‘smelling’ of the fragrance of His presence. Through His manifest presence, the Lord comes to us in such a way that we not only sense His nearness, but are also made consciously aware of Him as a person.

This ‘supping’ is an intimate, personal exchange. Thus, the Lord comes to us, in this intimate and personal way, to share His person and His thoughts with us and to partake of ‘substance’ we have received from Him. Honey and milk are a symbol of the Word of God. There is an ‘exchange’. The Lord will cause others (eat, O friends) to come and partake of all that I have received, as I partake (drink and eat abundantly) of the Lord. The Lord gladly tells others to come and feed upon our spiritual life and experience. This is a profound and marvelous compliment, when the Lord is able to say this about us. For those who are spiritually thirsty and hungry to be a …(4:15), “a fountain of gardens, a well of living waters and streams from Lebanon”. He is telling us to drink to our full, until rivers of living water flow out from our innermost beings to all around.

Canticle Four Chapters 5:2-8:5

With Chapter 5:2 begins the fourth Canticle. Between the last Canticle (5:1) and the beginning of the fourth Canticle, there has been another absence, which is set forth in the second verse of this chapter. The scene is suddenly changed and the time moves on from evening to midnight.

5:2 I sleep, but my heart wakes, it is the voice of my beloved that knocks, saying, open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled, for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night. As she rested upon her bed, she continued to meditate on this blessed time of communion with the Bridegroom, within the ‘garden’ of her being. Suddenly, she faintly heard His voice again desiring her fellowship. The bride has prepared herself to take it easy. She has prepared herself to rest, but her heart is still in a condition where she can hear the voice of her Beloved. The word ‘voice’ means ‘sound’. It is the sound of her beloved that knocketh at the door. The bridegroom knocks, not only once, but He continues to knock. He calls her to arise and shake off the slumber that locks her in its embrace. Open to me – whenever we wander away from our Lord in the least degree, He comes and calls us to open to Him. #5 She heard Him knock, but responded with an excuse….

5:3 I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet’ how shall I defile them? She acknowledged His desire to be with her, but she was not willing to be inconvenienced by responding to Him. She was quite satisfied and comfortable as she rested upon her bed and thought about her past time of fellowship with Him. Content with the memory of their past visit, she desired nothing further from Him. She was willing to live with ‘what had been.” Notice, that she heard His knock and that her spirit was willing to respond – ‘my heart wakes’ – But, her flesh was weak, and she was not inclined to be disturbed: “I sleep”. There was still much that needed to be accomplished within her, in order to bring about the changes which would enable her to become the Bride He desired. This importune knocking of the Lord on the door of our heart seeking a response from us, will reveal what is really important to us. The excuse the bride gave was both legitimate and true. Nevertheless, the bridegroom was grieved due to the delay in her response and He left. The ‘way of the entrance’ (door) that leads to the secret place had been placed in her path but she failed to respond and enter. He made it easy as He could for her to ascend into the place He had prepared for her. In the end, the bride loses what God is offering her and misses the blessing and the revelation that He is waiting to bring her. The best God has for her, she carelessly lets fall from her fingers.


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