QT 05/02/2025 Wed. Song of Songs 6. Be Positive. Choose Well. Be Committed. 积极乐观。做出好的选择。坚定不移。
QT 05/02/2025 Wed. Song of Songs 6. Be Positive. Choose Well. Be Committed.
READ http://www.esvbible.org/song6
What is going on in chapter 6 is not easy to layout in a chronological timeline. While the women asked about the location of the male (6:1), the female seemed to know where exactly the male is already, at his garden (6:2). He considers her more superior than all the 60 queens and 80 concubines and other virgins (6:8). Song of Songs 6:4–10 is a small sub-unit that begins and ends with the same Hebrew phrase, "awesome as an army with banners" (verses 4 and 10). We interpret these verses as broad brush strokes of the poetry that the text is trying to paint, not inventory stock-taking numbers.
Nevertheless a few lessons can be gleaned for modern day readers:
(1) The perseverance of the female character to search for her lover reminds readers of the positiveness of her attitude in spite of difficulties, unknowns, distractions and even inconveniences. Her patience contributed to their relationship as being the song of all songs. We do well to be sensitive to the needs of those whom God had placed close to us for our extra care and attention, especially when they might not even know what they really need.
(2) Choose to see the best. Choice is good. But where there is a choice, it would mean that you have the responsibility for the outcome too. Here in chapter 6, the female character is seen as choosing to see the good points of her lover. Your freewill might now cause you to see all the other persons' faults rather than strengths that you first discovered when you met that person. Take control of our thoughts and choose to see that person as superior over the others–isn't that the reason why you chose that person (the best freewill choice exercised) in the first place. We dare say that at the start of the relationship, you did not purposely choose the worse person that you can find, did you?
(3) Commitment is the foundation of this best song of songs. Commitment has less value when things go well and people performed according to your expectations. Commitment is required when the singing partner in this song, sooner or later (inevitably) somehow fall short of your expectations one way or another. Your song would stand out in the modern crowd of today when other songs viewed much, if not all agreements, contracts and relationship commitment as revocable at the slightest discomfort.
REFLECTION: Do you choose your partner because of how that person can perform in life (wealth, salary, talents), or would the choice be the commitment capacity of that person throughout your expect lifespan?
Do you take your own words seriously, e.g., "for better, for worse, richer or poorer, in health or in sickness"? No brainer for "better", "richer" and "health". But regular expressions of commitment in terms of "for worse, for poorer or in sickness" might just move any thin relationship to better pastures. Who knows, if your songs consisted of the above three ingredients, you might be on the way to win the song of the year award?
QT 05/02/2025 星期三. 雅歌 6. 积极乐观。做出好的选择。坚定不移。
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=song6&version=CUVS
第 6 章中发生的事情并不容易按时间顺序排列。女人们询问男主人的所在(6:1),而女主人似乎知道男主人的确切位置,就在他的花园里(6:2)。他认为她比所有的 60 个王后、80 个嫔妃和其他处女都要优越(6:8)。《雅歌》6:4-10 是一个小的子单元,以相同的希伯来短语 “威武如展开旌旗的军队”(第 4 节和第 10 节)开始和结束。我们将这些经文解释为文本试图描绘的诗歌的概括性笔触,而不是盘点数字。
尽管如此,我们还是可以为现代读者总结出一些经验:
(1) 女主人公坚持不懈地寻找她的爱人,这让读者联想到她不畏困难、未知、干扰甚至不便的积极态度。她的耐心促成了他们之间的关系,成为所有歌曲中最美的一首。对于那些上帝安排在我们身边的人,我们应该对他们的需要保持敏感,给予他们额外的关怀和照顾,尤其是当他们可能还不知道自己真正需要什么的时候。
(2) 选择看最好的。选择是好事。但有了选择,就意味着你也要对结果负责。在第 6 章中,女主人公选择看到爱人的优点。现在,你的自由意志可能会让你看到对方所有的缺点,而不是你第一次见到对方时发现的优点。控制我们的思想,选择看到那个人优于其他人的地方--这不正是你当初选择那个人(行使了最佳自由意志选择权)的原因吗?我们敢说,在恋爱之初,你并没有故意选择一个你能找到的最糟糕的人,不是吗?
(3)承诺是这首最好听的歌的基础。当事情进展顺利,人们的表现符合你的期望时,承诺的价值就不看为宝贵。当这首歌中的歌唱伙伴迟早(不可避免地)以某种方式与你的期望相差甚远时,就需要承诺,承诺的价值就提高了。当其他歌曲把大部分(如果不是全部)协议、合同和关系承诺视为稍有不适就可撤销的时候,你那含有承诺的歌曲就会在当今的现代人群中脱颖而出。
反思:你选择伴侣是因为对方在生活中的表现(财富、薪水、才能),还是因为对方在你们的一生中遵守承诺的能力?
你是否认真对待自己说过的话,比如 “无论好坏,无论贫富,无论健康还是疾病”?对于 “更好”、“更富有 ”和 “健康”,这都不难理解。但经常用 “无论好坏、贫富、疾病 ”来表达承诺,可能会让任何单薄的关系走向更好的发展。谁知道呢,如果你的歌曲中包含以上三种成分,你可能就会赢得年度歌曲奖呢?