Exum notes that for the lovers of the Song “nature in all its glory reflects and participates in their mutual delight. And everything is experienced more intensely, from the thrill of watching a lavishly outfitted palanquin approach from a distance . . . to the pleasure derived from the intimate contemplation of the beloved’s attributes . . . , from the anguish caused by the beloved’s absence, to the joys found in an exotic pleasure garden fit for a king.”
Not just for the lovers of the Song, of course. For those who are in love, everything is tinted by that love. If it doesn’t arouse anticipation at the lover’s presence or melancholy at his or her absence, it still is something to share, its pleasure doubled.
That must be a figure of what it’s like to love Yahweh your God with your whole heart.
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