 Wayne Robins from Newsday believed that the song exemplified the "kind of random pop we 'd get if [postmodern author] William Burroughs were the program director of a Top 40 radio station." Burt compared the song and Madonna's delivery of the lyrics with the dialogues spoken by Shakespeare's Juliet, and found similarity in the, "Sweet so would I, Yet I should kill thee with much cherishing" from the play, with the lyrics of "Cherish". Allen Metz, one of the authors of The Madonna Companion, felt that "Cherish" as the opening song of the B-side of Like a Prayer, reaffirmed the sweet and happy romanticism that was missing from the A-side of the album. "As much a child of pop" he says, "as of the church, Madonna is restored by music's healing power, in this case with a mixture of classic sweet soul and L.A. pop moderne." Lucy O 'Brien, author of Madonna: Like an Icon, felt that the song was typical of Madonna's previous musical endeavors, and would have been more suitable for her third studio album, True Blue, whose songs mainly dealt with romance and relationships. Music critic J. D. Considine, while reviewing the Like a Prayer album for Rolling Stone complimented the song for creating an effective balance, contrasting its lighthearted nature with the trauma of "Oh Father", the next song. Considine also found retro-rock references in the song.
