Sharon's Perfect Sweet Rose

“Sharon’s perfect sweet Rose” is a line from a favorite hymn of mine called Paradise Valley. I must confess that when I was little I loved to sing this hymn, but I had no idea who Sharon was, and why her flowers were being mentioned in this song as being in paradise.

Sharon, however, is not a girl in this case, as I once believed, it is a place. It is mentioned once in the Song of Solomon as well as twice in the Book of Isaiah.

“I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys” is what we find in Song of Solomon 2:1.

Isaiah 35:2 and Isaiah 65:10 say,

“It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing; the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon: they shall see the glory of Jehovah, the excellency of our God. And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down in, for My people that have sought Me.”

Sharon is a plain. It is one of the largest valley plains in all of Palestine. During the time of Solomon it was considered a wild, fertile plain that had a lot of beautiful flowers in it. Sharon was known for its beauty and majesty at that time.

Many people believe that “Sharon’s perfect sweet Rose” and “the wonderful Flower we love” are references to Jesus. That may be the case, and there really is nothing wrong with believing that. The rose is considered by most people to be the most perfect of all flowers. Therefore, the rose represents Jesus Christ, Who is perfection. Through Him we are perfected. Additionally, some view the rose as symbolic of Jesus due to its natural color from whence it gets its name. The rose color is very nearly identical to that of the color of blood, so the rose became the symbol of the blood of Jesus as it was shed on the cross for our sins. Also, some traditions claim that it was from a rose bush that the crown of thorns was made that the Roman soldiers placed upon Jesus’ head when they crucified Him, once again tying the rose symbolically to Jesus Christ.

As I said, I do not object to this view as the meaning of the phrase in Paradise Valley, but I think an alternative explanation can be offered, and that is that “Sharon’s perfect sweet Rose” and “the wonderful Flower we love” represent the church, and here is why.

In the passage from the Song of Solomon, the individual speaking who calls herself the “rose of Sharon” is a Shulamite woman who apparently was Solomon’s bride. The Song of Solomon is symbolic of the love Christ has for His bride, which is the church. Paul says in Ephesians 5:25-27, “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself up for it; that He might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word, that He might present the church to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” We also have in John’s revelation the following description given: “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of Heaven of God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And there came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls, who were laden with the seven last plagues; and he spoke with me, saying, ‘Come hither, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.’” (Revelation 21:2; 9) So when we sing “In the midst of it grows Sharon's perfect sweet rose 'tis the wonderful flower we love,” I believe we are singing about the church, the bride of Christ. The Shulamite woman was a bride of King Solomon, and the church is the bride of King Jesus. And as Paul says in Ephesians 5:27, the church is holy and without blemish. It is perfect because it has been washed in the blood of the Lamb. It is the Flower we love, Sharon’s perfect sweet Rose. We should love the church as Christ loved the church. To me, this is a most appropriate and scriptural interpretation of the meaning of this song.