7th March 2026

7th March 2026


Pray (ACts) 


Read (Song of Solomon 1v1) 


Message (Scott Woodburn) 


It is taken me nearly twenty years as a preacher to finally open the Song of Solomon in my pulpit. I'm not afraid of the book but I never quite got round to it and there were always much more straight forward books to preach. I once met a man in Larne who believed the Song should not be in the Bible. He had read the Scriptures front to back and he couldn't reconcile the language and eroticism of the Song with the rest of the good book. I didn't agree with that chap, but how are we to understand the Song?


Some have taken an allegorical approach. What is allegory? An allegory is a story, song or poem which when interpreted has a hidden meaning. One of the world's famous allegories is George Orwell's "Animal Farm" wherein the pig Napoleon is supposed to represent Josef Stalin and the farmer Mr Jones is a picture of the Tsar Nicholas II. You've maybe read the Christian allegory "The Pilgrim's Progress" written by John Bunyan where the main character "Christian" goes on a journey to the heavenly city painting a picture of what a real life Christian might experience on their walk with Jesus.


I listened to the great Sinclair Ferguson preaching on the Song of Songs and he made the claim that every single one of his Christian heroes preached the Song in an allegorical manner. That's a list of majorly influential figures and each one of them looked for the hidden meaning in the Song of Songs.


It would be an act of sheer arrogance for me to say that I know better than those who have gone before but humbly I will not be preaching the Song as allegory. I'll not be trying to find a reasonable allegorical explanation of "your rounded thighs are like jewels" (7v1) or "your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate" (4v3). Instead I will preach the Song of Solomon as a song which primarily deals with human love and affection. Like all songs the language used isn't necessarily the language of the day to day - I suspect you don't speak to your other half the way the woman speaks of the man or he of her. With that said I think whilst the song isn't an allegory we would be foolish not to consider the love that Christ the bridegroom has for his bride the church and see glimpses of that greater love in this song.    


Is any of this important? Well yes. The Bible is so important that we need to handle it carefully. We can't read and interpret the Song of Solomon in the same way as we would consider one of the Gospels and tackling one of Paul's letters requires a different approach than launching into Haggai. Even so, all Scripture is God breathed and none of it should be off limits. The Song of Solomon might intimidate us and some of it's language might even make us blush but it is truly worthy of our time and attention because it comes from the mouth of God. I pray that even though it has taken me nearly twenty years to preach it, this would be the perfect and God appointed time for us to consider the greatest of all songs. Pray that your ears will be open to hear it and may our fellowship be marked by greater faithfulness in all that we say and do.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC


Q9 What is the work of creation? The work of creation is, God’s making all things of nothing, by the word of his power, in the space of six days, and all very good.
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