Understanding Song of Solomon 2:7: Do Not Awaken Love Prematurely

Song of Solomon 2:7

7 I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.

Song of Solomon 2:7 is the beautiful scripture that cautions against stirring up or awakening love until the appropriate time. This sacred counsel reminds us that the affections of the heart should be guarded with great care and only shared when the maturity of judgment and divine timing alignTSB 19.3+2.

Guarding the Affections

The heart is the seat of the affections and must be transformed and renewed by grace to ensure that our love is pure and sanctioned by GodST May 6, 1886, par. 8. Love is a powerful force, described as being as strong as death, and it should not be trifled with through flirtation or deceptive practicesBDOC 6.44+1 Song of Sol. 8:6-7. Premature attachments often lead to a "lovesick sentimentalism" that blinds the vision and prevents us from discerning the high claims that God has upon us as ChristiansBDOC 6.44+2.

The Importance of Timing and Maturity

• Maturity of Judgment: Young people are encouraged to wait until they possess a strength of judgment before entertaining thoughts of marriage to avoid grievous indiscretionsTSB 21.1.

• Educational Focus: In places of education, the mania for courtship can be a distraction from the primary goal of obtaining a disciplined character for practical life13MR 145.2+2.

• Divine Counsel: It is essential to take God and God-fearing parents into counsel rather than following blind impulse or passionCCh 117.2+2.

When love is allowed to develop according to exalted Scriptural principles, it is refined, purified, and becomes a blessing that reflects the union between Christ and His peopleMB 64.1+1.

...led yourself in any courtship with Nellie A. In the first place, your anxiety upon this question is premature. Sound judgment and discretion will bid you wait for one or two years. But for you to select one to be in your mind and affections that length of time would not be prude...— TSB 19.3 (1989)

Need of Mature Judgment—Maturity of judgment will give you much better discernment and power of discrimination to know the truth. Your character needs forming, your judgment needs strength before you entertain the thought of marriage. You are not now prepared to judge of another, and do not be betrayed into committing a grievous in...— TSB 21.1 (1989)

... have an eye single to the glory of God, you will move with deliberate caution. You will not suffer love-sick sentimentalism to so blind your vision that you cannot discern the high claims your God has upon you as a Christian— PH159 56.1 (1872)

... 5; Jeremiah 3:14. In the “Song of Songs” we hear the bride's voice saying, “My Beloved is mine, and I am His.” And He who is to her “the chiefest among ten thousand,” speaks to His chosen on...— MB 64.1 (1896)