![Song of Songs a contemplative guide](http://www.cpcdublin.com/cdn/shop/products/527158_LRG-370x370_{width}x.jpg?v=1606221528)
From its recorded beginning before Christ, this biblical poem was widely, and in fact exclusively, interpreted both by Jews and Christians as a hymn of God's passionate love for his chosen people. The Song of Songs is however a mysterious book, and the more modern reading of it as a celebration of human erotic love has largely displaced this older interpretation. Here, the author presents a contemporary mystical reading, with reference to some later Christian poetry, including John Donne, George Herbert and R. S. Thomas.