s. It furnishes ideal which, if properly held
up, would cast out of human society all those monstrous practices that
come from unworthy ideals.

The Style. It is part dialogue and part monologue. Their love on both
sides is expressed in that sensuous way common among the oriental
peoples. Many of the allusions give rise to the belief that it was
written to celebrate the nuptials of Solomon and the daughter of
Pharaoh.

Analysis.

I. The King's first attempt to win the Virgin's love. 1:1-2:7.

1. She converses with the ladies of the court, 1:1-8.

2. The King's first attempt fails to win her, 1:9-2:7.

II. The King's second effort to win her love, 2:8-5:8.

1. The virgin recalls her former happiness when with her lover at
home, 2:8-17.

2. In a dream she goes in search of him, 3:1-5.

3. The King shows her his glory and greatness, 3:6-11.

4. She again rejects his love in spite of his praise of her beauty,
4:1-7.

5. She longs for her absent lover, 4:8-5:1.

6. She dreams of seeking in vain for him, 5:2-8.

III. The King's third attempt to win her, 5:9-8:4.

1. The ladies of the court cannot understand her faithfulness to
her old lover. 5:9-6:3.

2. The King's third effort to win her is met with the declaration
of her purpose to remain true to her absent lover, 6:4-8:4.

VI. The Triumph of the Maiden, 8:5-14.
She returns to her home among the hills of the north and is reunited
with her shepherd lover.

For Study and Discussion. (1) Make a list of the passages by which the
woman's beauty is described. (2) Passages that suggest the relation of
the saved soul to Christ. (3) Passages that suggest the glory of the
church. (4) Some of the passages by which the love of the woman and of
the king is expressed. (5) The basis of human love. 2:2-3. (6) The
strength of human lover, 8:6-7. (7) The interpretation of human love
in terms of divine love.

* * * * *

Chapter XV.

Isaiah.

Prophet. In the study of the messages of the prophets we should
understand that the meaning of the term prophets may be: (1) A person
employed in the public utterance of religious discourse, very much as
the preacher of today. This was the most common function of the
prophet. Some were reformers while others were evangelists or
revivalists. (2) One who performed the function of the scribes and
wrote the history and biography and annals of their nations. In this
capacity they compiled or wr