DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR THURSDAY JULY 18:
WORD OF WISDOM
If money grew on trees, in the Fall you'd really be raking it in!
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DAILY DEVOTION
What Is Holiness?
For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye
shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any
manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Leviticus 11:44
Some people think that to be holy means to be odd-really strange. No, we're
to be different. We have too many Christians doing-sometimes nutty,
sometimes unbiblical-things, who claim to be holy when in reality they are
just odd.
Holiness is not achieved by what we wear, where we sleep and eat, or how
many spiritual things we do. It is not primarily a matter of dress or style
of hair. And we don't become holy if we live in a commune, monastery, or
convent.
God makes us holy by the blood of His Son. And in return for this great
love, we endeavor to live holy lives because we love Him. "Holy" is a state
of being, not doing. It is a God-induced, God-developed character trait that
grows in us as we grow in our love relationship with God.
Instead of trying to think of ways in which you can appear to be holy or
trying to convince God that you are, I recommend this: in humble submission
to the One who loves you more than anyone else, ask Him: "Lord, I'm your
servant. Show me throughout this day how best to honor You and serve You."
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DAILY BIBLE READING
Song of Solomon 1-4 New King James Version (NKJV)
Solomon's Love for a Shulamite Girl
1 The song of songs, which is Solomon's.
The Banquet
The [a]Shulamite
2
Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth-
For [b]your love is better than wine.
3
Because of the fragrance of your good ointments,
Your name is ointment poured forth;
Therefore the virgins love you.
4
Draw me away!
The Daughters of Jerusalem
We will run after [c]you.
The Shulamite
The king has brought me into his chambers.
The Daughters of Jerusalem
We will be glad and rejoice in [d]you.
We will remember your love more than wine.
The Shulamite
Rightly do they love you.
5
I am dark, but lovely,
O daughters of Jerusalem,
Like the tents of Kedar,
Like the curtains of Solomon.
6
Do not look upon me, because I am dark,
Because the sun has [e]tanned me.
My mother's sons were angry with me;
They made me the keeper of the vineyards,
But my own vineyard I have not kept.
(To Her Beloved)
7
Tell me, O you whom I love,
Where you feed your flock,
Where you make it rest at noon.
For why should I be as one who [f]veils herself
By the flocks of your companions?
The Beloved
8
If you do not know, O fairest among women,
[g]Follow in the footsteps of the flock,
And feed your little goats
Beside the shepherds' tents.
9
I have compared you, my love,
To my filly among Pharaoh's chariots.
10
Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,
Your neck with chains of gold.
The Daughters of Jerusalem
11
We will make [h]you ornaments of gold
With studs of silver.
The Shulamite
12
While the king is at his table,
My [i]spikenard sends forth its fragrance.
13
A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me,
That lies all night between my breasts.
14
My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blooms
In the vineyards of En Gedi.
The Beloved
15
Behold, you are fair, [j]my love!
Behold, you are fair!
You have dove's eyes.
The Shulamite
16
Behold, you are handsome, my beloved!
Yes, pleasant!
Also our [k]bed is green.
17
The beams of our houses are cedar,
And our rafters of fir.
A Country Girl in a Palace
2 I am the rose of Sharon,
And the lily of the valleys.
The Beloved
2
Like a lily among thorns,
So is my love among the daughters.
The Shulamite
3
Like an apple tree among the trees of the woods,
So is my beloved among the sons.
I sat down in his shade with great delight,
And his fruit was sweet to my taste.
The Shulamite to the Daughters of Jerusalem
4
He brought me to the [l]banqueting house,
And his banner over me was love.
5
Sustain me with cakes of raisins,
Refresh me with apples,
For I am lovesick.
6
His left hand is under my head,
And his right hand embraces me.
7
I [m]charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
By the gazelles or by the does of the field,
Do not stir up nor awaken love
Until it pleases.
The Beloved's Request
The Shulamite
8
The voice of my beloved!
Behold, he comes
Leaping upon the mountains,
Skipping upon the hills.
9
My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.
Behold, he stands behind our wall;
He is looking through the windows,
Gazing through the lattice.
10
My beloved spoke, and said to me:
"Rise up, my love, my fair one,
And come away.
11
For lo, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone.
12
The flowers appear on the earth;
The time of singing has come,
And the voice of the turtledove
Is heard in our land.
13
The fig tree puts forth her green figs,
And the vines with the tender grapes
Give a good smell.
Rise up, my love, my fair one,
And come away!
14
"O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,
In the secret places of the cliff,
Let me see your [n]face,
Let me hear your voice;
For your voice is sweet,
And your face is lovely."
Her Brothers
15
Catch us the foxes,
The little foxes that spoil the vines,
For our vines have tender grapes.
The Shulamite
16
My beloved is mine, and I am his.
He feeds his flock among the lilies.
(To Her Beloved)
17
Until the day breaks
And the shadows flee away,
Turn, my beloved,
And be like a gazelle
Or a young stag
Upon the mountains of [o]Bether.
A Troubled Night
The Shulamite
3 By night on my bed I sought the one I love;
I sought him, but I did not find him.
2
"I will rise now," I said,
"And go about the city;
In the streets and in the squares
I will seek the one I love."
I sought him, but I did not find him.
3
The watchmen who go about the city found me;
I said,
"Have you seen the one I love?"
4
Scarcely had I passed by them,
When I found the one I love.
I held him and would not let him go,
Until I had brought him to the house of my mother,
And into the [p]chamber of her who conceived me.
5
I [q]charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
By the gazelles or by the does of the field,
Do not stir up nor awaken love
Until it pleases.
The Coming of Solomon
The Shulamite
6
Who is this coming out of the wilderness
Like pillars of smoke,
Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,
With all the merchant's fragrant powders?
7
Behold, it is Solomon's couch,
With sixty valiant men around it,
Of the valiant of Israel.
8
They all hold swords,
Being expert in war.
Every man has his sword on his thigh
Because of fear in the night.
9
Of the wood of Lebanon
Solomon the King
Made himself a [r]palanquin:
10
He made its pillars of silver,
Its support of gold,
Its seat of purple,
Its interior paved with love
By the daughters of Jerusalem.
11
Go forth, O daughters of Zion,
And see King Solomon with the crown
With which his mother crowned him
On the day of his wedding,
The day of the gladness of his heart.
The Bridegroom Praises the Bride
The Beloved
4 Behold, you are fair, my love!
Behold, you are fair!
You have dove's eyes behind your veil.
Your hair is like a flock of goats,
Going down from Mount Gilead.
2
Your teeth are like a flock of shorn sheep
Which have come up from the washing,
Every one of which bears twins,
And none is [s]barren among them.
3
Your lips are like a strand of scarlet,
And your mouth is lovely.
Your temples behind your veil
Are like a piece of pomegranate.
4
Your neck is like the tower of David,
Built for an armory,
On which hang a thousand [t]bucklers,
All shields of mighty men.
5
Your two breasts are like two fawns,
Twins of a gazelle,
Which feed among the lilies.
6
Until the day breaks
And the shadows flee away,
I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh
And to the hill of frankincense.
7
You are all fair, my love,
And there is no spot in you.
8
Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse,
With me from Lebanon.
Look from the top of Amana,
From the top of Senir and Hermon,
From the lions' dens,
From the mountains of the leopards.
9
You have ravished my heart,
My sister, my spouse;
You have ravished my heart
With one look of your eyes,
With one link of your necklace.
10
How fair is your love,
My sister, my spouse!
How much better than wine is your love,
And the [u]scent of your perfumes
Than all spices!
11
Your lips, O my spouse,
Drip as the honeycomb;
Honey and milk are under your tongue;
And the fragrance of your garments
Is like the fragrance of Lebanon.
12
A garden [v]enclosed
Is my sister, my spouse,
A spring shut up,
A fountain sealed.
13
Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates
With pleasant fruits,
Fragrant henna with spikenard,
14
Spikenard and saffron,
Calamus and cinnamon,
With all trees of frankincense,
Myrrh and aloes,
With all the chief spices-
15
A fountain of gardens,
A well of living waters,
And streams from Lebanon.
The Shulamite
16
Awake, O north wind,
And come, O south!
Blow upon my garden,
That its spices may flow out.
Let my beloved come to his garden
And eat its pleasant fruits.
Footnotes:
a.Song of Solomon 1:2 A young woman from the town of Shulam or Shunem, Song
6:13. The speaker and audience are identified according to the number,
gender, and person of the Hebrew words. Occasionally the identity is not
certain.
b.Song of Solomon 1:2 Masc. sing.: the Beloved
c.Song of Solomon 1:4 Masc. sing.: the Beloved
d.Song of Solomon 1:4 Fem. sing.: the Shulamite
e.Song of Solomon 1:6 Lit. looked upon me
f.Song of Solomon 1:7 LXX, Syr., Vg. wanders
g.Song of Solomon 1:8 Lit. Go out
h.Song of Solomon 1:11 Fem. sing.: the Shulamite
i.Song of Solomon 1:12 perfume
j.Song of Solomon 1:15 my companion, friend
k.Song of Solomon 1:16 couch
l.Song of Solomon 2:4 Lit. house of wine
m.Song of Solomon 2:7 adjure
n.Song of Solomon 2:14 Lit. appearance
o.Song of Solomon 2:17 Lit. Separation
p.Song of Solomon 3:4 room
q.Song of Solomon 3:5 adjure
r.Song of Solomon 3:9 A portable enclosed chair
s.Song of Solomon 4:2 bereaved
t.Song of Solomon 4:4 Small shields
u.Song of Solomon 4:10 fragrance
v.Song of Solomon 4:12 locked or barred
