Set Me As A Seal Upon Your Heart
(Audio Sample - 884 KB)
Love Song from the Song Of Songs
Set me as a seal upon your heart,
wear me as a shield upon your arm.
Love is strong, is strong as Death itself,
passion as relentless as the grave.
Love is strong, as strong as death itself,
leaping, dancing, glowing spark of God.
Love shall flash as fire, a living flame,
leaping, dancing, glowing spark of God.
Love no flood can quench, nor torrent drown,
love beyond all wealth, beyond all gain.
A Reflection on Song of Songs 8:6-7
Set me as a seal upon your heart,
as a shield upon your arm.
For love is as fierce as death,
passion is as mighty as the grave.
Its flames are a blazing fire,
Vast flames cannot quench love,
nor rivers sweep it away.
Composer's Reflection
This text is an Epilogue to the Song Of Songs. Song of Songs, the greatest of all songs, is a collection of poems about the love between a Lover and the Beloved. The Lover is named as the king (1:4, 12) or Solomon (3:7, 9) while the Beloved is known simply as the girl of Shulam (7:10).
The song neither mentions God nor attempts to define Love. It is only in the Epilogue that any description of Love is provided.
The reference to seal recalls Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and 11:18, where Moses instructs Israel to cherish the word of God. This is repeated in Proverbs 3:3. Jeremiah 31:33 describes the new covenant in similar terms, as one imprinted not in tablets of stone but in hearts of flesh and blood. In Deuteronomy 4:24 there are references to God as a consuming fire, and Psalm 104 describes the flashing fires which emanate from God. Isaiah, before the throne of God to receive the gift of prophecy, observes the courts of heaven as wreathed in smoke, from which the glowing coals were borne to touch his lips. And it was those same flames which spoke to Moses from the fiery bush on Horeb, which were to later enkindle the night skies through the desert of Exodus.
This song is appropriate for weddings, and for celebrating commitment, discipleship or stewardship.
It is well suited for celebrating the Rites of Christian Initiation and during Renew seasons. It may easily br used on any occasion celebrating Reconciliation and may be considered an appropriate song of reflection during Lent.
It is also suitable for any liturgy of the word, especially as a song of preparation for hearing God's word and being receptive to the life which this extends. When God's word is proclaimed, we who listen to it become the living word because of how it touches our hearts.