Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth— for your love is more delightful than wine. Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes; your name is like perfume poured out. No wonder the young women love you! Take me away with you—let us hurry! Let the king bring me into his chambers. We rejoice and delight in you; we will praise your love more than wine. How right they are to adore you! Dark am I, yet lovely, daughters of Jerusalem, dark like the tents of Kedar, like the tent curtains of Solomon. Do not stare at me because I am dark, because I am darkened by the sun. My mother’s sons were angry with me and made me take care of the vineyards; my own vineyard I had to neglect. Tell me, you whom I love, where you graze your flock and where you rest your sheep at midday. Why should I be like a veiled woman beside the flocks of your friends?
— Song of Songs 1:2-7

~~~~~

From Our Lips
By Jennifer Kane

Kiss me, Lord, with grace untold,
Your mercy soft and true;
The law once cut with wounding lips,
But healing flows from You.

Your name is oil, poured abroad,
A fragrance rich and deep;
The gospel whispers peace to me,
A love my soul will keep.

From our lips confession falls,
Dark stains we can’t disguise;
Yet from Your lips come gentle words,
That make the broken rise.

Draw me near, O King of love,
Into Your dwelling place;
Though scarred and weathered, still I shine,
Adorned with robes of grace.

So let us run, enflamed with joy,
Our voices joined as one;
From our lips eternal praise shall rise,
To Christ, the Risen Son.

~~~~~

Scripture: Song of Songs 1:2-7

The cry of the woman in Song of Songs is raw and intimate: “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth.” This is not a superficial desire. In its deepest spiritual sense, this is the cry of a soul longing for reconciliation. It is the plea of one who has known the distance caused by sin and who yearns for the tangible, forgiving embrace of God.

A kiss signifies peace, acceptance, and restored relationship. It is the opposite of a wound (Proverbs 27:6). We, like her, have been under the schoolmaster of the law, which shows us our blackness (v. 5). But our hearts long for the gospel—the good news that God Himself has come in Christ to reconcile us. We don’t want just rules; we want relationship. We don’t want messages from a distance; we want the “kisses of his mouth”—the very words of grace and peace from the lips of Jesus Himself (Luke 4:22).

Why is His kiss so effective? Because “your name is oil poured out.” In the ancient world, costly oil was sealed in alabaster jars. When it was poured out, its fragrance filled the entire room. For centuries, God’s name and full character were somewhat sealed up, a secret to be wondered at. But in Christ, that jar was broken at the cross. The full, fragrant truth of God’s love, mercy, and grace was poured out for all to experience.

The “mouth” that kisses us speaks a “name”—a revelation of who God is. He is not a distant tyrant but a loving Father, a gracious King, a sacrificial Redeemer. When we use our mouths to speak His name in prayer, in worship, in desperate need, we are connecting with the power of that poured-out fragrance. Our words of faith are our response to the Word of grace He has already spoken.

This divine intimacy is never meant to leave us passive. The encounter leads to action. The prayer, “Draw me after you; let us run,” is the perfect model for our response. We cannot come to Him unless the Father draws us (John 6:44), but once drawn, we are empowered to run.

Our “mouth” is central here. The prayer “Draw me” is the first word of the running. It is the admission of our weakness and the activation of His strength. It is using our breath to ask for His wind in our sails. And notice the corporate effect: it’s not “draw me, and I will run,” but “let US run.” Our personal experience of reconciliation equips us to use our words to call others to run with us.

Perhaps the most profound truth here is the tension we all live in: “I am very dark, but lovely.” We are dark from our own failings (“my own vineyard I have not kept”) and from the hardships of a broken world (“the sun has looked upon me”). We are marked by sin and suffering.

Yet, in Christ, we are lovely. This is not our own loveliness, but the beauty He bestows upon us. We are like weather-beaten tents on the outside, but inside, we are adorned with the rich, beautiful curtains of Solomon’s palace because the King has brought us into His chambers. Our mouths can confess our darkness without despair because they can also proclaim His grace that makes us lovely.

Do you focus more on your “darkness” or your “loveliness” in Christ? How can your words today affirm the truth of your identity as both repentant and redeemed?

~~~~~

Lord Jesus, you are the King who has kissed us with the gospel of peace. Thank you for the reconciliation that comes not from our efforts, but from your mouth, speaking words of forgiveness and love. Forgive us for neglecting our own vineyards and using our words for anything other than worship and grace. Draw us near to you today. Let the fragrance of your name fill our hearts and our homes. Give us words to pray, to praise, and to proclaim your goodness, that we might run after you with the saints, exulting and rejoicing in you alone. Amen.

September 20 2025