In 4:1-5 we see the beauty of the lover, the bride, as the new creation.
“Oh, you are beautiful, my love! / Oh, you are beautiful! Your eyes are like doves behind your veil; / Your hair is like a flock of goats / That repose on Mount Gilead” (v. 1). In this verse we see the beauty in her singleness and insight by the Spirit, which is invisible to the outsiders, and in her submission and obedience through God’s feeding that subdues her disobedience among the disobedient people.
“Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes / That have come up from the washing, / All of which have borne twins, / And none of them is bereaved of her young” (v. 2). This speaks of the beauty in her receiving the divine food by her power that has been dealt with by the cross, made clean by the Spirit’s washing, and strengthened twofold and balanced, without losing strength.
“Your lips are like a scarlet thread, / And your mouth is lovely; / Your cheeks are like a piece of pomegranate / Behind your veil” (v. 3). This is her beauty in her speaking with Christ’s redemption and His authority by her lovely mouth and in her expression full of life which is hidden.
“Your neck is like the tower of David, / Built for an armory: / A thousand bucklers hang on it, / All the shields of the mighty men” (v. 4). Here we have the beauty in her submissive will to Christ that is rich in the defending power.
“Your two breasts are like two fawns, / Twins of a gazelle, / That feed among the lilies” (v. 5). This speaks of the beauty in her tender faith and love strengthened twofold and nourished in the environment of a pure and trusting life.
Verse 6 speaks of her deeper pursuit: “Until the day dawns and the shadows flee away, / I, for my part, will go to the mountain of myrrh / And to the hill of frankincense.” In her deeper pursuit she would go and remain in Christ’s death and resurrection in their high peaks until Christ comes, when the day dawns and the shadows flee away. Earlier, she was afraid of the clefts of the rock and the covert of the precipice, but now she is willing to be there, remaining in Christ’s death and resurrection.
In verses 7 through 15 the lover is called to live in ascension.
In verses 7 and 8 we have the Beloved’s calling.
“You are altogether beautiful, my love, / And there is no blemish in you” (v. 7). Here He appraises her beauty and perfection.
“Come with me from Lebanon, my bride; / With me from Lebanon come. / Look from the top of Amana, / From the top of Senir and Hermon, / From the lions’ dens, / From the leopards’ mountains” (v. 8). Amana means “truth,” Senir means “soft armor,” and Hermon means “destruction.” In this verse He asks her as His bride to look with Him from His ascension, the highest place of the truth and of Christ’s victory in His fighting, and from the heavenly places of the enemies. Here we have a living in Christ’s ascension.