Standing Out Among Many: The Beauty of Faithful Love
There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number. My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her.
- Song of Solomon 6:8-9 (KJV)
In these tender verses from Solomon’s song, we glimpse a profound truth about love that transcends the ages. Here stands a king surrounded by countless women — sixty queens, eighty concubines, and virgins without number. Yet among this multitude, one woman holds his heart completely. She is his “dove,” his “undefiled,” the “only one” who truly matters.
The Heart’s True Choice
Solomon’s position afforded him access to extraordinary beauty and influence. The queens could captivate with their regal bearing and political advantages. The concubines represented the promise of legacy and progeny. The virgins offered the perpetual allure of what might be. Yet none of these could compete with the one who had truly won the king’s heart.
This ancient scene mirrors the challenges marriages face today. In our modern world, the workplace presents its own array of “queens” — professional women who dress with care and carry themselves with confidence. The digital age has multiplied the “virgins without number” through endless images and interactions available at the touch of a screen. The temptations that once required a king’s palace now fit in our pockets.
Cultivating Faithful Love
The wisdom embedded in Solomon’s song reminds us that true love is not maintained by accident, but by intention. Just as Solomon’s beloved stood out among the multitude, married couples today must work to ensure their love remains distinctive and cherished.
Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.
- Proverbs 5:18 (KJV)
This cultivation requires both husband and wife to invest in their bond. It means choosing to see your spouse as Solomon saw his beloved — not as one among many, but as the one who matters most. It means recognising that external attractions, however appealing, pale in comparison to the deep, abiding love shared between committed hearts.
The Power of Praise
Notice how Solomon’s beloved was not only precious to him, but even “the daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her.” Her worth was evident to all who encountered her. This speaks to the importance of expressing appreciation and affection within marriage.
Solomon himself warned of the danger of flattering words from others:
For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword.
- Proverbs 5:3-4 (KJV)
When we fail to offer genuine praise and affection to our spouses, we leave them vulnerable to finding that affirmation elsewhere. But when we consistently honor and cherish each other, we create a fortress of love that external temptations cannot easily breach.
Choosing the One
In a world full of options and distractions, the call to faithful love remains as relevant today as it was in Solomon’s time. The question is not whether attractive alternatives will present themselves — they will. The question is whether we will choose, again and again, to see our spouse as Solomon saw his beloved: as the one who stands out among all others.
Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.
- Song of Solomon 8:6 (KJV)
May we cultivate such love in our marriages—love that burns with “a most vehement flame,” love that makes our spouse the “only one” in our eyes, and love that causes others to look upon our relationship and say, as they did of Solomon’s beloved, that it is truly blessed.
Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the Lord.
- Proverbs 18:22 (KJV)