"One of the most striking secular poems in the Bible is the Song of Solomon. Many Christians in the past have felt that this poem represents the love of Christ for his church. The poem can in fact be interpreted this way. But we must never reduce it solely to the picture of this relationship. It depicts the relationship between Christ and the church because every proper relationship between a man and a woman is an illustration of the relationship between Christ and the church. ... In the Song of Solomon God takes a poem that expresses in great antiphonal strength the love of a man for a woman and a woman for a man, and places it in the Word of God. ...

"How often do Christians think of sexual matters as something second-rate. Never, never, never should we do so according to the Word of God. The whole man is made to love God; each aspect of man's nature is to be given its proper place. That includes the sexual relationship, that tremendous relationship of one man to one woman. ... A love poem can thus be beautiful. So if you are a young man or a young woman and you love a girl or you love a boy, you may indeed write beautiful love poetry. Don't be afraid. That too can be a praise to God."

--Francis Schaeffer, Art and the Bible