Come Away My Love
Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave.
Read Time: 1 minute
A Hymn Based on the Song of Songs
The following Song of Christ and the Bride captures something of the New Testament theme, couched in the language of the Song of Songs. (The second column gives some of the Bible passages which are echoed in the Song.)
This may be sung with arrangements for male (Christ) and female (Bride) voices, to the tune of William Walker’s “New Britain” (common meter, 8.6.8.6). This tune was first associated with the words for John Newton’s “Amazing Grace” in 1835, and has since become the traditional music for that most popular hymn.
Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless (Eph 5:25-27).
Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God (Rev 19:7-9).
Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away. If one were to give all the wealth of his house for love, it would be utterly scorned (Song 8:6, 7).
George Booker,
(Austin Leander Ecclesia, TX)