Gracious Conviction
Notes
Transcript
16 But to the wicked God says: “What right have you to recite my statutes or take my covenant on your lips? 17 For you hate discipline, and you cast my words behind you. 18 If you see a thief, you are pleased with him, and you keep company with adulterers.
1 “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. 2 They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. 3 And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. 4 But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you. “I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. 5 But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. 12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
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5 I am very dark, but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon. 6 Do not gaze at me because I am dark, because the sun has looked upon me. My mother’s sons were angry with me; they made me keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept! 7 Tell me, you whom my soul loves, where you pasture your flock, where you make it lie down at noon; for why should I be like one who veils herself beside the flocks of your companions?
Introduction
We have been introduced to the Shulamite and her expressions of desire for a particular man. Initially these desires may well have been unconscious but they developed to the point of thinking much of him and wanting to be with him.
Now she is at the point where she is going to reach out to him but does so with much trepidation.
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1. Conflicting Emotions v5
1. Conflicting Emotions v5
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Song of Solomon 1:5 (ESV)
5 I am very dark, but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.
a. Unattractive
a. Unattractive
I am very dark
Like the tents of Kedar
Kedar refers to a nomadic desert tribe descended from one of the sons of Ishmael. Their tents were made from black or dark-hair goatskin, and became blackened further by exposure to the sun. Brooks, R. (1999). Song of Songs(p. 27). Ross-shire, Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications.
b. Attractive
b. Attractive
but lovely
like the curtains of Solomon
In contrast, the curtains of Solomon (precious hangings like those of Exodus 26 and 36, and those which formed the tabernacle before the erection of the temple, 2 Sam. 7 and 1 Chr. 17) speak of richness, colour, value and beauty,.
1 “Moreover, you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen and blue and purple and scarlet yarns; you shall make them with cherubim skillfully worked into them.
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2. Unworthy v6
2. Unworthy v6
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6 Do not gaze at me because I am dark, because the sun has looked upon me. My mother’s sons were angry with me; they made me keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept!
.
a. Dark
a. Dark
Song of Solomon 1:6 (ESV)
6 Do not gaze at me because I am dark, because the sun has looked upon me. My mother’s sons were angry with me; they made me keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept!
b. Spurned
b. Spurned
Song of Solomon 1:6 (ESV)
6 Do not gaze at me because I am dark, because the sun has looked upon me. My mother’s sons were angry with me; they made me keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept!
15 And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive some of the poorest of the people and the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, together with the rest of the artisans. 16 But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen.
c. Conscience
c. Conscience
Song of Solomon 1:6 (ESV)
6 Do not gaze at me because I am dark, because the sun has looked upon me. My mother’s sons were angry with me; they made me keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept!
38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
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3. Entreaty v7
3. Entreaty v7
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7 Tell me, you whom my soul loves, where you pasture your flock, where you make it lie down at noon; for why should I be like one who veils herself beside the flocks of your companions?
a. Love
a. Love
Song of Solomon 1:7 (ESV)
7 Tell me, you whom my soul loves, where you pasture your flock, where you make it lie down at noon; for why should I be like one who veils herself beside the flocks of your companions?
b. Presence
b. Presence
Song of Solomon 1:7 (ESV)
7 Tell me, you whom my soul loves, where you pasture your flock, where you make it lie down at noon; for why should I be like one who veils herself beside the flocks of your companions?
Shepherd – Solomon came as the shepherd. She, perhaps, would not have approached him as King.
c. Acceptance
c. Acceptance
Song of Solomon 1:7 (ESV)
7 Tell me, you whom my soul loves, where you pasture your flock, where you make it lie down at noon; for why should I be like one who veils herself beside the flocks of your companions?
We turn now to what we see of Christ’s love for us
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4. Conflicting Emotions v5
4. Conflicting Emotions v5
5 I am very dark, but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.
365 Days with Spurgeon (Volume 1) 17 February
FOR MEDITATION: We have no more right to complicate the Gospel than we have to water it down. Feelings are good and proper, but Satan can use them not only to give false assurance of salvation, but also to make sinners feel too bad to obey the Gospel and come to Christ.
15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.
8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
a. Unattractive
a. Unattractive
Song of Solomon 1:5 (ESV)
5 I am very dark, but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.
b. Attractive
b. Attractive
Song of Solomon 1:5 (ESV)
5 I am very dark, but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.
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We were created in God’s image, but that image is twisted and marred. While taking sin seriously, we must not become disheartened but must see that, although our blemishes make us ashamed, by God’s grace we can be ‘lovely’ in the eyes of Christ. He does not overlook sin, of course, but he understands why we have the faults and flaws in us that we do. We can be delivered from guilt and shame through him and what he has done on the cross. The image of God in us can be reconstituted through gazing into the face of Christ. Richard Brooks Brooks, R. (1999). Song of Songs(p. 27). Ross-shire, Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications.
7 Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.
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5. Unworthy v6
5. Unworthy v6
6 Do not gaze at me because I am dark, because the sun has looked upon me. My mother’s sons were angry with me; they made me keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept!
a. Dark
a. Dark
Song of Solomon 1:6 (ESV)
6 Do not gaze at me because I am dark, because the sun has looked upon me. My mother’s sons were angry with me; they made me keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept!
9 And Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your kindred, that I may do you good,’ 10 I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps.
7 And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.
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21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
b. Spurned v6
b. Spurned v6
Song of Solomon 1:6 (ESV)
6 Do not gaze at me because I am dark, because the sun has looked upon me. My mother’s sons were angry with me; they made me keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept!
8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
c. Conscience v6
c. Conscience v6
Song of Solomon 1:6 (ESV)
6 Do not gaze at me because I am dark, because the sun has looked upon me. My mother’s sons were angry with me; they made me keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept!
8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:
5 because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.
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For it is when a man sees himself in this unutterable hopelessness that the Holy Spirit reveals unto him the Lord Jesus Christ as his perfect satisfaction. Through the Spirit he sees that Christ has died for his sins and is standing as his advocate in the presence of God. He sees in Him the perfect provision that God has made and immediately he is comforted. That is the outstanding thing about the Christian life. Your great sorrow leads to joy, and without sorrow there is no joy. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.
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7. Entreaty v7
7. Entreaty v7
7 Tell me, you whom my soul loves, where you pasture your flock, where you make it lie down at noon; for why should I be like one who veils herself beside the flocks of your companions?
a. Love
a. Love
Song of Solomon 1:7 (ESV)
7 Tell me, you whom my soul loves, where you pasture your flock, where you make it lie down at noon; for why should I be like one who veils herself beside the flocks of your companions?
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,
10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
b. Presence v7
b. Presence v7
Song of Solomon 1:7 (ESV)
7 Tell me, you whom my soul loves, where you pasture your flock, where you make it lie down at noon; for why should I be like one who veils herself beside the flocks of your companions?
Shepherd – Solomon came as the shepherd. She, perhaps, would not have approached him as King.
6 “ ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ”
14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,
20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
25 but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.
17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
c. Acceptance v7
c. Acceptance v7
Song of Solomon 1:7 (ESV)
7 Tell me, you whom my soul loves, where you pasture your flock, where you make it lie down at noon; for why should I be like one who veils herself beside the flocks of your companions?
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
17 The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.
34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
Conclusion
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If He has set His heart and His affection upon you, they will remain there. Nothing will ever be able to pluck you out of His hand, nothing will ever rob you of that love. Nothing! If hell be let loose, if everything goes against you, nothing will ever cause Him to let you go. Lloyd-Jones, D. M. (1972). The Unsearchable Riches of Christ: An Exposition of Ephesians 3 (p. 224). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.
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1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.