His left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should embrace me.
The verse belongs to an Oriental love poem that poetically portrays Christ and His church in the warm, figurative language of the East. The book is a parable of that relationship, setting forth Christ's love for His church together with the church's answering love for Him. The embrace expresses Christ's wonderful love and loving closeness for His church. The answering love it reflects is genuine, though the church is often lacking in faithfulness and constancy toward Christ. Viewed in the time in which it was written, the warm Eastern imagery of the book gives no ground for objection.
The verse belongs to an Oriental love poem that poetically portrays Christ and His church in the warm, figurative language of the East. The book is a parable of that relationship, setting forth Christ's love for His church together with the church's answering love for Him. The embrace expresses Christ's wonderful love and loving closeness for His church. The answering love it reflects is genuine, though the church is often lacking in faithfulness and constancy toward Christ. Viewed in the time in which it was written, the warm Eastern imagery of the book gives no ground for objection.