"I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or by the hinds of the field, that you will not arouse or awaken my love, until she pleases."
"Listen!  My Beloved!  Behold, he is coming.  Climbing on the mountains, leaping on the hills!  My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.  Behold, he is standing behind our wall, he is looking through the windows, he is peering through the lattice."

The first quote is by the groom, and the second by the bride.

The groom is expressing something he feels is very important in love.  He is telling the chorus, and the general populace, not to awaken his love until she is ready.  He will give this instruction again later in the book.  His desire is for her, but also that she would be ready to receive his love.  There is a time for everything, Solomon would say in another book, and he is warning about working outside of that time.  In other words, true love is accomplished with patience.

What if we applied that to the church?  Do we know people who are ministering, but not in the right time frame?  Some we have allowed to teach before it was time.  Some we have held back from working until they no longer feel a fire for the ministry.  The wise man relies on God's time.

And the response from the bride tells us a lot about how Solomon is waiting.  He has the look of a gazelle - hoping around the countryside - looking in the windows.  He knows the time is near and he is going to be ready.  He is excited.  This is the bride's very elaborate way of saying, "My beloved is paying attention to me - that is how I know he loves me."

And that is our challenge today.  Try telling someone (your love, a best friend, your neighbor) you love them, or care deeply for them, by paying attention to them.  Listen to their story, watch their facial expressions... Go out of your way to hear what is important to them, and see how that changes you.