Former M.V.C.W.C. - HERALD ARTICLE ARCHIVE
"Rise Up My Love And Come Away With Me
An Old Song Sung Anew
"
by Kelly Purvis
I remember well the day that
The King brought me into His
banqueting chambers ~
and His banner over me was love.
Oh! And His love is better than wine!
Even His name has the fragrance
of a good, good ointment poured forth!
We rejoice in the garden alone
while the dew is still on the roses!
I love You now because You first loved me.
Wherever you lead, I will run after You!
I am lovesick!
Draw me away with You!
Time flies. . . I work long in the noonday sun,
keeping vineyards of man.
My own vineyard lay neglected.
Now I am dark as the sun has looked upon me.
I miss my Beloved.
I am weary.
I hunger and thirst for my First Love.
Tell me, O You whom I love,
where do You feed Your flock,
where do You make it rest at noon?
Why should I be as one who turns aside,
veiling herself by the flocks who follow
behind men of God?
I desire You alone!
Feed me, my Beloved. Shepherd me.
Lead me beside still waters,
make me rest in green pastures,
restore my soul.
I am a common rose of Sharon,
a lowly lily hidden deep in the valley.
Draw me away with You!
The voice of my Beloved!
Behold He comes!
He stands behind the wall ~ our wall.
My Beloved spoke and said to me:
"Like a lily among the thorns of this world,
so you are to Me.
Rise up My love, My fair one,
and come away with Me!
Behold, you are fair, My love.
Oh, My dove in the cleft of the Rock,
let me see your face, let me hear your voice.
Like the eyes of a dove,
your purpose is single.
Oh, My dove in the cleft of the Rock,
let me see your face, let me hear your voice.
Follow in the footprints of the flock,
feed your little ones
beside the Shepherd's tent".
Suddenly I hear my brothers cry out ~
"Back to the vineyards!
Catch us the foxes that spoil the vines,
for our vines have tender grapes."
My heart cries "No!"
I will rise up and come away
with My love alone!
Until the day breaks
and the shadows flee away,
Turn to me, my Beloved,
and be like a gazelle
upon these mountains of separation!
Draw me away with You!
. . . Night falls. I cannot find Him.
I seek Him, but cannot find Him.
Did He say that He feeds His flock
among the lilies?
I will rise now, I say,
and go about the city streets.
But I did not find Him.
Scarcely had I passed by the watchmen
when I found the one I love.
When I sought Him with all of my heart,
He was found by me.
Behold! He comes!
Out of the wilderness,
like pillars of smoke,
perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,
with all the merchant's fragrant spices!
He comes!
Upon the wedding couch,
on the day of His wedding,
this day of the gladness of His heart.
I held Him and would not let Him go.
Draw me away with You!
My Beloved speaks:
"Until the day breaks
and the shadows flee away,
I will go My way to the mountains of myrrh
and to the hill of frankincense.
Come away with me!
From Lebanon, to Amana,
and Senir and Hermon ~
from mountaintop to mountaintop!
You have ravished My heart!
How much better than wine is your love!
A garden enclosed, like Eden, you are to Me ~
perfumed with all of the pleasant fruits,
A well of living water.
Welcome Me in
that I may eat and partake of My garden.
You are My garden.
Welcome My companions also
to eat and drink of you.
They too are My beloved ones
they too are My lilies.
Let them drink deeply of the living waters."
. . . I still dance the dance of two camps...
Night falls again.
I sleep, but my heart is awake.
... I dream of my Beloved and I in the garden,
while the dew was still on the roses.
"Beloved, Come behind our wall!
Leave Your companions outside.
They will trample our garden,
muddying its waters."
I hear Him!
He is knocking at the door!
He has come to draw me away!
How my heart yearns for Him.
I run to the door ... but He is gone.
I am left to search yet again.
I seek Him but I cannot find Him.
I call out to Him, but He answers not.
The watchmen find me.
They strike me. They wound me.
They remove my veil.
The daughters of Jerusalem mock me.
They question me...
"Who is this Beloved of yours? Where is He?"
I lift my voice, my face unveiled. . .
"I know where He is.
My Beloved has gone to His gardens.
That is where He feed His flocks.
He gathers His lilies....
He feeds His flocks among them
in the valley"
My walls come crashing down.
"He bids us to come... that where He is,
there we may be also.
I know where He is."
I say to the daughters of Jerusalem,
"Let us seek Him together now."
In the midst of His people...
where two or more are gathered together ~
We find Him
And Our Beloved speaks to us:
"Who is this who looks forth as the morning,
fair as the moon, clear as the sun,
awesome as an army with banners!?
Behold how good and pleasant it is
when brethren dwell in unity!
It is like the anointing oil,
poured upon the head,
running down the length of the Body ~
this corporate anointing!
There I have commanded the blessing!
Our hearts cry out together,
"we will rise up and come away with You!"
"Come, let us go forth to the field.
Let us lodge in the villages,
let us get up early to the vineyards.
Let us see if the vine has budded,
whether the grape blossoms are open,
and the pomegranates are in bloom!"
We understand.
And we rise up ~ with the Son.
Out of the wilderness we come forth,
leaning upon Our Beloved,
into the Promised Land.
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