Song of Solomon is a book with some seriously divergent interpretations. I have just started reading a pamphlet by John Flavel called Christ Altogether Lovely on this verse:
His mouth is sweetness itself; he is altogether lovely. This is my lover, this my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem. (NIV)
If you know anything about Flavel or his theological milieu, it should come as no surprise that he doesn't even spend any time developing this as a reference to Solomon, but in the small, succinct booklet, jumps straight to an exposition of the loveliness of Christ. (Notably, his concerns pastoral, and not purely exegetical.)
"He is altogether lovely." That's a strong statement. It's one of those that poses no difficulty when passed over quickly. It also poses no difficulty for a man like Flavel (full disclosure: I stand with him). How does someone who has a more earthy reading of Song of Solomon—or at least, less of a Messianic emphasis than Flavel—explain this verse? Is it to be taken as hyperbole?