“Lily of the Valley” is a familiar name for Jesus in hymns and Christian devotion. Many believers use it to express their love for His beauty, humility, and nearness to His people. But does the Bible actually give Jesus that title? The phrase comes from Song of Solomon 2:1. Its meaning depends on who is speaking and what the flower describes. I believe Christians may use the image devotionally, but we should explain that use honestly rather than present it as the verse’s direct meaning.
Song of Solomon 2:1 Must Be Read in Its Own Voice
Song of Solomon is inspired love poetry. Its gardens, vineyards, flowers, and fragrances convey the lovers’ affection and delight in one another. Reading the book in its plain marital setting does not require us to strip away that poetry. God gave us this kind of writing, and we understand it by following the conversation and recognizing its figures of speech.
Many printed Bibles include labels identifying the speakers. Those can be helpful, but they are editorial aids rather than part of the inspired text. We still need to follow the words themselves. Chapter 2 opens with the line behind the devotional name:
“I am the rose of Sharon, And the lily of the valleys.”
In verse 2, the man compares his beloved to a lily among thorns and praises her “among the daughters.” He is answering the woman’s description of herself. That is why I understand her to be the speaker in verse 1, as the NET Bible’s speaker heading also indicates. The exchange concerns the woman and the man who loves her. It does not introduce the Messiah or give Him this title.
The Hebrew word translated “lily” is shushan (שושן). The Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon gives its usual meaning as a lily, probably including other lily-like flowers. The exact modern plant is debated, but the comparison does not depend on settling that question. Nor does looking up a Strong’s number reveal some concealed reference to Christ. A dictionary helps us understand a word; the sentence and the conversation explain how that word is being used.
Lilies also appear later in the Song, when the woman expresses the mutual belonging of the lovers. Her beloved is pictured feeding his flock among them:
“My beloved is mine, and I am his. He feeds his flock among the lilies.”
The same affection appears again in chapter 6:
“I am my beloved’s, And my beloved is mine. He feeds his flock among the lilies.”
These repeated images belong to the poem’s world of beauty, longing, and love. Our study of the book of Song of Solomon considers that marital meaning more fully. We should receive what God teaches through the love of a man and woman without requiring every flower, animal, hill, or fragrance to conceal a separate detail about Jesus. Respecting the kind of writing God gave us is part of submitting to Scripture.
A Devotional Title Must Remain an Application
Marriage does have a connection to Christ that Scripture expressly teaches. In Ephesians 5, Paul explains the relationship between Christ and the church through God’s design for husband and wife. Paul bases his instruction to husbands on Christ’s own love:
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word.”
Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her. Wicked men mocked and scourged Him before crucifying and killing Him, yet He willingly offered His innocent body as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. He shed His blood and completed His saving work through His death. He was then buried and rose bodily from the dead. Paul grounds a husband’s obligation to love his wife in that costly act of love, rather than merely in affectionate words.
We can therefore speak about marriage in relation to Christ without inventing a connection the Bible never makes. Yet Paul does not quote Song of Solomon 2:1 or call Jesus a lily. His teaching does not authorize us to assign a hidden meaning to every detail in the Song. We still have to distinguish between interpreting a passage and borrowing one of its images.
Interpretation asks what the passage means in its setting. A devotional application may take an image from that passage and use it to express something we know about Christ from other Scripture. A believer who calls Him the Lily of the Valley may be expressing delight in His beauty and humble coming, the comfort He gives in hardship, or the sweetness of fellowship with Him. I do not think we need to forbid that language. We do need to explain that the comparison is our application, rather than claim that the woman’s words in Song of Solomon are a direct prophecy naming Jesus.
A cherished hymn does not become worthless because we explain its imagery carefully. We can sing with affection while recognizing where a songwriter has borrowed a picture. The responsibility falls on us as teachers when we tell people what a verse means. Our appreciation for the hymn should not overrule the words God actually gave us.
Lilies Point to the Father’s Care, Not a Secret Name
Jesus Himself spoke about lilies in Matthew 6. His disciples faced ordinary concerns about food and clothing, and He directed their attention to the Father’s care for birds and flowers:
“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?”
The flowers did not clothe themselves, yet Solomon’s royal splendor could not rival the beauty God gave them. Even grass destined to be burned received His care. Jesus reasoned from that short-lived beauty to the Father’s provision for His children. He was correcting their anxiety about food and clothing, not giving them a secret name for Himself.
If I use a lily as a reminder of His care in a difficult season, His teaching gives me a reason for that confidence. The Father knows what His children need, so I can seek His kingdom without letting tomorrow’s concerns govern today’s obedience. Trusting His care means listening to the direction He gave, rather than simply enjoying a comforting image.
The flower can prompt admiration without becoming an object of devotion. Its beauty did not create itself or come about by accident. It displays the Creator’s generosity. Our worship belongs to the eternal Son through whom all things were made, who came among us and revealed the Father. The created image can prompt gratitude, but we learn who Christ is by listening to what Scripture says about Him.
Scripture Reveals the Deeper Beauty of Christ
John speaks directly about the deity of Jesus and His coming in the flesh. The eternal Word entered our humanity, and John testifies to what he and the other witnesses beheld:
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”
Christ’s glory was revealed in His grace and truth. He made the Father known through what He said and did, so we have more to consider than an attractive picture of a flower. When we call Christ lovely, we are praising the Son who actually came to save us. Philippians explains the humility of His coming:
“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.”
Jesus was in the form of God and equal with God before He took the form of a servant. He did not stop being God when He became man. He showed true humility by willingly taking a servant’s lowly place despite His right to divine honor. The one we worship is fully God and fully man. We do Him no honor by praising His gentleness in a way that diminishes His deity.
Neither should we confuse His beauty with an impressive outward appearance. Isaiah describes the Servant’s coming and the rejection He would endure:
“For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.”
Isaiah is not supplying a description of Jesus’ facial features. He tells us that the Servant would not attract people through outward splendor, and that men would despise and reject Him. As the chapter continues, the Servant is wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities, bearing the chastisement for our peace. He suffered to rescue us from sin. People could look upon Him with contempt while failing to recognize the love and obedience He was demonstrating.
That is why the cross gives me more reason to call Christ lovely than any flower could. He obeyed where Adam failed. He loved sinners who hated Him and gave Himself when we could not save ourselves. The Lamb shed His blood for our sins, died, and rose in victory. A pleasant atmosphere could never remove our guilt or take the place of His saving work.
His mercy also includes telling us the truth about sin. The Savior who welcomes the broken is holy, and His love cannot be reduced to making us feel comfortable. If I delight in His compassion while refusing His correction, I am choosing the qualities I prefer instead of receiving Him as He is. Scripture teaches us to love Him as He has revealed Himself: gracious, truthful, righteous, and willing to suffer for those He came to save.
A person can also be scrupulous about the meaning of a verse while neglecting prayer, withholding gratitude, or treating others without love. I have not responded rightly to Christ merely because I can explain where a devotional title comes from. His holiness calls us to reject hidden sin, and His love should move us to worship Him with affection. I need to live by the truth I teach and depend on the Spirit to make Christ known through me.
The Fragrance of Christ Is the Knowledge of the Gospel
Our response to Christ reaches beyond our own worship into our witness to others. In 2 Corinthians 2, Paul uses the image of fragrance to describe how God makes Christ known through His servants:
“Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.”
The fragrance is the knowledge of Christ spreading through their witness. Paul is describing the proclamation of the gospel, rather than a vague religious sweetness. In verses 15–16, he goes on to describe believers as the fragrance of Christ among both those being saved and those perishing. The same gospel is received as life by some and rejected by others, whose refusal leaves them facing death. A faithful witness will not always receive a warm welcome.
We should therefore be careful about measuring our witness only by how agreeable people find us. Being pleasant is no substitute for explaining that Jesus died for sins and rose again, or for calling people to repent and believe in Him. We have a responsibility to make Him known truthfully. God works through His word, and those who hear are responsible for their response.
Our conduct belongs with that testimony. The Spirit teaches us patience, humility, and truthfulness, and leads us to forgive old wrongs instead of nursing resentment. When I speak of Christ’s mercy but remain determined to make someone pay for every offense, I contradict the forgiveness I claim to cherish. When I draw attention to myself through deception or religious pride, I misrepresent the Lord I say I serve. As the Spirit changes how we live, people should see the work of the Savior we proclaim. Our patience and honesty do not save them; Christ is the one they need to know.
My Final Thoughts
I would not present “Lily of the Valley” as a direct biblical title for Jesus in Song of Solomon 2:1. In its setting, the woman is describing herself, and the man answers by praising her. Christians may still borrow the image to express their delight in Christ, provided we acknowledge that we are making a devotional comparison and let clearer passages define what we mean.
Jesus is the eternal Word made flesh, the sinless Savior who willingly shed His blood and died, the risen Lord, and the coming King. Scripture gives us abundant reason to love Him. We can cherish a hymn’s expression of that love while telling the truth about the verse it draws from. Our affection for Him should lead us to trust and obey the Savior we praise.