The Song of Solomon is a common hymn wherein the words “I am my beloved and my beloved is mine” or “I am my lover and my lover is me” can be gleaned depending on the translated version of the text. The English standard version in the Bible will often translate the first sentence, but the meaning of the phrase is often misunderstood, even with the multiple variations in translation.
This famous verse from the Bible goes on to talk about ‘gathering the lilies in the field” and although it makes for great poetry, it is not understood if taken out of context. “I am my beloved and my beloved is mine” speaks of a person’s great love and passion for Christ as the embodiment of the Divine. When Christ picks the lilies of the field, he is giving his loving adoration to mankind, one at a time, choosing them from the many flowers that lie before him. The reference to ‘my beloved’ is not a reference to carnal relationship or to another human being, but a love of Christ himself.
You could argue that a love of mankind is what Christ intended, so when you love another, you are following the dictum, and this may be why many people use the phrase in wedding ceremonies, or quote it at anniversary parties. The phrase is used in an actual song, by Benjamin Britten (canticle I and II), an often-used art songs in the classical repertoire.
Whether you interpret this phrase to be an earthly love story or one of spiritual love, then it speaks of the ‘bride’ of Christ, meaning a woman who gives herself to love of the Incarnate Love. “I am my beloved and my beloved is mine” is a call for many Christians to choose Christ as their redeemer and lets them know that his love is specifically chosen for each individual and showered upon them as well. Being ‘faithful’ to ‘my beloved’ is a spiritual version of being faithful to one’s own husband or wife. It refers to the undying faith that is required of man and woman to overcome death and share in the glories of Christ, those promised to all of mankind should they take love as their spiritual food.
“My Beloved is mine” is an ownership of the Divine. It is meant to call forth the faith that one may sometimes lack — to uphold the feeling that “I am always with you even until the end of the Age.” If one truly believes in this statement, then “I am my beloved and my beloved is mine” makes a complete circle between the Divine and the mundane, the Spiritual and the everyday.