“As a lily among thorns, So is my love among the daughters.”
He now tells her lovingly, that compared with all other women he has known, she is like a lily among thorns, a flowering beauty among the briars. That is how he sees her. She is ‘his pure, true love', in contrast with them.
And in such terms God often pleaded with His people Israel (see Exodus 19:5-6). He wanted them to know the love that He had for them. ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love' (Jeremiah 31:3), which He connected with ‘the virgin Israel' (Jeremiah 31:4). Indeed He would cry, ‘How can I give you up, Oh Ephraim? How shall I hand you over, Oh Israel' (Hosea 11:8). And it is as a similar kind of admirer that our Lord, Jesus Christ comes to us, as He gently whispers, ‘you are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may show forth the excellencies of Him Who has called you out of darkness into His most glorious light' (1 Peter 2:9). That is why we are to be as lights in the world, and like a city which cannot be hidden (Matthew 5:14-16), revealing our spiritual beauty to the world
We have in this reference to her as a lily an indication of the significance of the continual mention of ‘feeding among the lilies' found later (Song of Solomon 2:16; Song of Solomon 4:5; Song of Solomon 6:3). It signifies being in her environment and among her kind of people, that is, among the people of the land, the country folk, and the humble and poor.
The YOUNG MAIDEN replies to his compliment,