“How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince’s daughter! the joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman” (ch. 7:1).
We witness an outburst of complacency and satisfaction in the first nine verses of chapter 7. We see the bride enjoy the full affection that she wanted in chapter 1, when she said, “Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth” (ch. 1:2).
It is blessed to view the activity of God, who acts by the Holy Spirit, to carry on the communion between the Bridegroom and the bride. The communion and instruction of the first two chapters bring the bride to realize that her Beloved belongs to her, but also that she is His. Blessed truth. She exclaims, “My Beloved is mine, and I am His: He feedeth among the lilies.” Reaching this first milestone in her spiritual growth gives joy to her heart, but it does not completely satisfy her. It takes further experience and spiritual intelligence to draw her soul out further and open to her heart the place of rest that she so desires — in His bosom.
After further communion and lessons learned by experience, she muses, “I am my Beloved’s, and my Beloved is mine: He feedeth among the lilies.” She begins to realize that the Bridegroom’s love for her is more important than her love for Him. Having learned this, she mentions that she is His before stating that He is hers. She has reached a second milestone in her spiritual growth.
Finally she learns that the love of her Bridegroom for her is not only more than hers, it is everything. “I am my Beloved’s, and His desire is toward me.” Now the bride has disappeared into His love. His love is everything. She has reached the third and highest milestone.
As they near the end of the betrothal, He owns everything in her, and His desire is completely upon her (ch. 7:10). In full communion she says, “Let us get up early to the vineyards [the place of joy]; let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates [a picture of the Church] bud forth: there will I give Thee my loves. The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for Thee, O my Beloved” (vss. 12-13). This garden, which she had planted for her Beloved, has now matured.