One of the Greatest Love Stories Ever Told

On this Valentines' day, I want to share with you a beautiful love story. The Song of Solomon. Below is chapter one from the New Living Translation:

Song of Solomon 1

 ¹ This is Solomon’s song of songs, more wonderful than any other.

Young Woman

 ² Kiss me and kiss me again,
      for your love is sweeter than wine.
 ³ How fragrant your cologne;
      your name is like its spreading fragrance.
      No wonder all the young women love you!
 ⁴ Take me with you; come, let’s run!
      The king has brought me into his bedroom.

Young Women of Jerusalem

   How happy we are for you, O king.
      We praise your love even more than wine.

Young Woman

   How right they are to adore you.

 ⁵ I am dark but beautiful,
      O women of Jerusalem—
   dark as the tents of Kedar,
      dark as the curtains of Solomon’s tents.
 ⁶ Don’t stare at me because I am dark—
      the sun has darkened my skin.
   My brothers were angry with me;
      they forced me to care for their vineyards,
      so I couldn’t care for myself—my own vineyard.

 ⁷ Tell me, my love, where are you leading your flock today?
      Where will you rest your sheep at noon?
   For why should I wander like a prostitute
      among your friends and their flocks?

Young Man

 ⁸ If you don’t know, O most beautiful woman,
      follow the trail of my flock,
      and graze your young goats by the shepherds’ tents.
 ⁹ You are as exciting, my darling,
      as a mare among Pharaoh’s stallions.
 ¹⁰ How lovely are your cheeks;
      your earrings set them afire!
   How lovely is your neck,
      enhanced by a string of jewels.
 ¹¹ We will make for you earrings of gold
      and beads of silver.

Young Woman

 ¹² The king is lying on his couch,
      enchanted by the fragrance of my perfume.
 ¹³ My lover is like a sachet of myrrh
      lying between my breasts.
 ¹⁴ He is like a bouquet of sweet henna blossoms
      from the vineyards of En-gedi.

Young Man

 ¹⁵ How beautiful you are, my darling,
      how beautiful!
      Your eyes are like doves.

Young Woman

 ¹⁶ You are so handsome, my love,
      pleasing beyond words!
   The soft grass is our bed;
    ¹⁷ fragrant cedar branches are the beams of our house,
      and pleasant smelling firs are the rafters.

Is this sensual? Yes. Is this suggestive? Yes. God is not afraid of this. I thank the Lord that this Book was placed in the Bible. And Yes, there are many parallels between Christ and His bride - but we must also recognize that this is a fantastic love story. 
If you want to read the rest of it - hear is a link - ENJOY !
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Song%20of%20Solomon%201-8&version=NLT