Daily Devotions · June 11
Reading for June 11
Read the whole Bible in a year, a few chapters a day.
Song of Solomon 5–8 · Philippians 1
Song of Solomon 5–8 · Philippians 1, Berean Standard Bible
Song of Solomon 5
I have come to my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice. I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, O friends, and drink; drink freely, O beloved. 2 I sleep, but my heart is awake. A sound! My beloved is knocking: “Open to me, my sister, my darling, my dove, my flawless one. My head is drenched with dew, my hair with the dampness of the night.” 3 I have taken off my robe—must I put it back on? I have washed my feet—must I soil them again? 4 My beloved put his hand to the latch; my heart pounded for him. 5 I rose up to open for my beloved. My hands dripped with myrrh, my fingers with flowing myrrh on the handles of the bolt. 6 I opened for my beloved, but he had turned and gone. My heart sank at his departure. I sought him but did not find him. I called, but he did not answer. 7 I encountered the watchmen on their rounds of the city. They beat me and bruised me; they took away my cloak, those guardians of the walls. 8 O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you, if you find my beloved, tell him I am sick with love. 9 How is your beloved better than others, O most beautiful among women? How is your beloved better than another, that you charge us so? 10 My beloved is dazzling and ruddy, outstanding among ten thousand. 11 His head is purest gold; his hair is wavy and black as a raven. 12 His eyes are like doves beside the streams of water, bathed in milk and mounted like jewels. 13 His cheeks are like beds of spice, towers of perfume. His lips are like lilies, dripping with flowing myrrh. 14 His arms are rods of gold set with beryl. His body is polished ivory bedecked with sapphires. 15 His legs are pillars of marble set on bases of pure gold. His appearance is like Lebanon, as majestic as the cedars. 16 His mouth is most sweet; he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.
Song of Solomon 6
Where has your beloved gone, O most beautiful among women? Which way has he turned? We will seek him with you. 2 My beloved has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices, to pasture his flock in the gardens and to gather lilies. 3 I belong to my beloved and he belongs to me; he pastures his flock among the lilies. 4 You are as beautiful, my darling, as Tirzah, as lovely as Jerusalem, as majestic as troops with banners. 5 Turn your eyes away from me, for they have overcome me. Your hair is like a flock of goats streaming down from Gilead. 6 Your teeth are like a flock of sheep coming up from the washing; each has its twin, and not one of them is lost. 7 Your brow behind your veil is like a slice of pomegranate. 8 There are sixty queens and eighty concubines, and maidens without number, 9 but my dove, my perfect one, is unique, the favorite of the mother who bore her. The maidens see her and call her blessed; the queens and concubines sing her praises. 10 Who is this who shines like the dawn, as fair as the moon, as bright as the sun, as majestic as the stars in procession? 11 I went down to the walnut grove to see the blossoms of the valley, to see if the vines were budding or the pomegranates were in bloom. 12 Before I realized it, my desire had set me among the royal chariots of my people. 13 Come back, come back, O Shulammite! Come back, come back, that we may gaze upon you. Why do you look at the Shulammite, as on the dance of Mahanaim?
Song of Solomon 7
How beautiful are your sandaled feet, O daughter of the prince! The curves of your thighs are like jewels, the handiwork of a master. 2 Your navel is a rounded goblet; it never lacks blended wine. Your waist is a mound of wheat encircled by the lilies. 3 Your breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle. 4 Your neck is like a tower made of ivory; your eyes are like the pools of Heshbon by the gate of Bath-rabbim; your nose is like the tower of Lebanon, facing toward Damascus. 5 Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel, the hair of your head like purple threads; the king is captured in your tresses. 6 How fair and pleasant you are, O love, with your delights! 7 Your stature is like a palm tree; your breasts are clusters of fruit. 8 I said, “I will climb the palm tree; I will take hold of its fruit.” May your breasts be like clusters of the vine, the fragrance of your breath like apples, 9 and your mouth like the finest wine. May it flow smoothly to my beloved, gliding gently over lips and teeth. 10 I belong to my beloved, and his desire is for me. 11 Come, my beloved, let us go to the countryside; let us spend the night among the wildflowers. 12 Let us go early to the vineyards to see if the vine has budded, if the blossom has opened, if the pomegranates are in bloom—there I will give you my love. 13 The mandrakes send forth a fragrance, and at our door is every delicacy, new as well as old, that I have treasured up for you, my beloved.
Song of Solomon 8
O that you were to me like a brother who nursed at my mother’s breasts! If I found you outdoors, I would kiss you, and no one would despise me. 2 I would lead you and bring you to the house of my mother who taught me. I would give you spiced wine to drink, the nectar of my pomegranates. 3 His left hand is under my head, and his right arm embraces me. 4 O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you: Do not arouse or awaken love until the time is right. 5 Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning on her beloved? I roused you under the apple tree; there your mother conceived you; there she travailed and brought you forth. 6 Set me as a seal over your heart, as a seal upon your arm. For love is as strong as death, its jealousy as unrelenting as Sheol. Its sparks are fiery flames, the fiercest blaze of all. 7 Mighty waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away. If a man were to give all the wealth of his house for love, his offer would be utterly scorned. 8 We have a little sister, and her breasts are not yet grown. What shall we do for our sister on the day she is spoken for? 9 If she is a wall, we will build a tower of silver upon her. If she is a door, we will enclose her with panels of cedar. 10 I am a wall, and my breasts are like towers. So I have become in his eyes like one who brings peace. 11 Solomon had a vineyard in Baal-hamon. He leased it to the tenants. For its fruit, each was to bring a thousand shekels of silver. 12 But my own vineyard is mine to give; the thousand shekels are for you, O Solomon, and two hundred are for those who tend its fruit. 13 You who dwell in the gardens, my companions are listening for your voice. Let me hear it! 14 Come away, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices.
Philippians 1
Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons: 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In every prayer for all of you, I always pray with joy, 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart. For in my chains and in my defense and confirmation of the gospel, you are all partners in grace with me. 8 God is my witness how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to test and prove what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. 12 Now I want you to know, brothers, that my circumstances have actually served to advance the gospel. 13 As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, confident in the Lord by my chains, now dare more greatly to speak the word without fear. 15 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16 The latter do so in love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former, however, preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can add to the distress of my chains. 18 What then is the issue? Just this: that in every way, whether by false motives or true, Christ is preached. And in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19 because I know that through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, my distress will turn out for my deliverance. 20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have complete boldness so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 But if I go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. So what shall I choose? I do not know. 23 I am torn between the two. I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better indeed. 24 But it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that through my coming to you again your exultation in Christ Jesus will resound on account of me. 27 Nevertheless, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending together as one for the faith of the gospel, 28 without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a clear sign of their destruction but of your salvation, and it is from God. 29 For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him, 30 since you are encountering the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.
Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), dedicated to the public domain.
How to SOAP
Grab a journal and a pen. Read the chapters above and watch for the verse that stops you. Then take it through four steps.
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Scripture
Write out the verse that stood out to you.
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Observation
What is it saying? Who is speaking, and to whom?
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Application
What does it mean for your life today? Be specific.
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Prayer
Talk to God about it. Ask Him to help you live it.
Your SOAP journal
Write your SOAP here. Tap any verse in the reading to add it to Scripture. Your journal saves on this device only, so no one else sees it.
Added to your journal. Go to journal
Why daily devotions?
Devotions are time set aside each day to read God's Word and let Him speak. The point isn't checking off chapters. It's meeting with Him.
Ten or fifteen minutes is enough to start. Pick a time and a place and keep the appointment. Mornings work well for a lot of us, before the phone and the day start talking.
Missed a day? Don't start over. Read today's chapters and keep going.