Enjoying the Altogether Lovely One
The Song of Songs • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Transcript
Introduction:
Introduction:
Connection:
It’s a joy to be with you all again on this beautiful Sabbath evening, as we come together to behold our King in all of his beauty—to gaze upon the royal diadem in the hand of the LORD!
Now, if you missed the last two sermons in this series on the Song of Songs, you’re going to have to go back and listen to the previous messages or ask me for my manuscripts if you are curious as to my defense of the traditional reading of this book as allegorical … which sets forth the union and communion of Christ and His Church, and the ebbs and flows of our experiential walk with him!
For now, let it be noted that we have come to study the Song of Songs, which is the greatest of all inspired Songs b/c it is about the King of kings, whose Name is above every other name.
Previously we noted in the opening of this book the following principle of relationship w/ Christ:
Because of our union to Christ, we can enjoy communion with Christ. Because of our relationship to Christ, we can enjoy fellowship with Christ.
And in the last two sermons… we’ve seen both that we are to fervently desire communion with Christ, but also that we can slothfully neglect our communion with Christ—in which He withdraws his felt-presence from our hearts to try and test us.
We left off last time we were in the Song of Songs, with a sour note. We saw the sorrows that come from neglecting precious communion with Christ—in both private and public worship.
Specifically, we saw the readiness of Jesus to fellowship, we saw the slothfulness of the bride in sin, and we saw the repentance and earnest desire for the bride to find her King again, to delight in Him, and to enjoy His presence in the fullness of joy. She was beaten by the watchmen of the church, who were abusing their powers—and so she went to her brothers and sisters, the daughters of Zion, to petition them to help her find her Beloved. And we left off with her running after him as her only prize!
And this evening we come to see the delightful realities of fellowship with Jesus restored as the Bride beholds the beauty and glory of her Redeemer-King, pursuing him in repentance!
Theme:
Restoring Communion with Christ
Need:
We need to know what to do when we are far from Christ—we need to know how to use the means that God has given to restore us to a felt-embrace and experience of Jesus our Beloved Redeemer.
Purpose:
To encourage the bride of Christ to delight in the beauty and glory of her Beloved, to behold his majesty in meekness, and to restore the bride to the Garden of Love in the Church with Christ as her Treasure and her Shepherd-King who gathers his lilies and feeds his precious flock!
Text:
Song of Songs 5:9-6:3 NKJV
PRAY - PRAY - PRAY - PRAY - PRAY - PRAY - PRAY
Again, as we open our text, we remember that Jesus had previously withdrawn His felt presence from the Bride due to her sloth. He was standing outside of the door knocking, and had left to try and test his Bride. Those whom he loves, he disciplines. Just as the LORD said through the prophet Hosea so long ago to his sinful people:
I will return again to My place
Till they acknowledge their offense.
Then they will seek My face;
In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.”
When Jesus withdraws the sweetness of His presence from us—we must seek Him with all our hearts, until we find Him anew. And in so doing—we will find communion with Christ restored and renewed. The Bride has already commenced her repentance and run after the Lord Jesus—and so she continues this now, and we must follow her example by firstly:
(1) Praising Christ - v. 5:9-16
(1) Praising Christ - v. 5:9-16
Our text ended last time with the Bride calling the church to help her to find her beloved, to seek the presence of Christ. And here the saints respond:
What is your beloved
More than another beloved,
O fairest among women?
What is your beloved
More than another beloved,
That you so charge us?
These saints ask this sorrowful Believer: tell us about your Jesus, remind us why we should help you find him … why should we seek him with you in this trying hour? What’s so special about this one whom you are seeking? What’s so delightful about him that you so charge us? Here the individual believer and the daughters of Zion are locking arms together in the pursuit of their King.
And so the Bride is about to answer their questions—to give her reasons why they should together seek the Lord Jesus Christ. And the images that are chosen by the Holy Spirit are those of transcendent beauty and glory, of stunning majesty and loveliness. They aren’t to be pressed for specifics, but are to be understand metaphorically and spiritually—analogically.
Burrowes: Wishing to set forth to mortal eyes the beauty seen in Christ, the Wisdom of God, the Holy Spirit represents these not in marble that they may be mutilated, and may perish, but in language that can never die; and gathers in this language the most beautiful comparisons and richest expressions possible … Christians of undoubted piety, deep experiences, and great purity of heart, have found these illustrations of the loveliness of Christ, a source of instruction and unspeakable delight … feeding the soul with meditations kindred with those of heaven.
And so the Bride begins to exult in the Person of Christ—in his incomparable excellencies—not so much trying to physically describe him, but communicating spiritual truths using many beautiful and rich metaphors. Remember, this is allegory. So don’t apply these descriptions of the Groom in a literal and wooden fashion—we must see the theological truth communicated behind these symbolic descriptions of our Lord. And so, with Moses of old, hiding in the cleft of the Rock, we cry out: “show us your glory” (Ex. 33:18), as we together are looking unto Jesus who is preeminent in all things (Heb. 12:2; Col. 1).
James Durham: [Boldly says that] there is nothing that may make a Mediator lovely, but it is here [described in the Song of Songs].
And so the Bride begins to exult in Her King, admiring His beauty from head to toe:
My beloved is white and ruddy,
Chief among ten thousand.
She says: Jesus is my beloved, he belongs to me, because he gave himself for me, he knit himself to me, and he sealed my eternal life by his blood.
He is white and radiant in his divinity, shining in purity, dazzling in splendour, as the exact image of the brightness of his Father’s glory! He is the Alpha & the Omega, the only-begotten Son of God, whose glory outshines a thousand suns!
And He is ruddy, reddish, and earthy in his humanity. He left the throne above and took upon himself the form of a servant, of true humanity, to shed his ruddy blood to wash our crimson stains white as snow. Oh is our beloved ever lovely!
He is the chiefest among ten thousand. He is the most handsome of the sons of men. He is unsearchable in the riches of his grace. He is incomparable in His glory and majesty. There is no one like him! Put every other beloved beside him, every other creature, every other idol, and He stands far above them all—supremely blessed over all! He is the fountain of life, the stream of living water. He is fairer than all the sons of men—O how can you not love Him O Daughters of Zion? She continues:
His head is like the finest gold;
His locks are wavy,
And black as a raven.
He is the head of the Church, who rules over all things for our good and for his glory. His Head is the finest gold, pure, precious, and perfect. He is the Lord of all in power, and the Lord of the saints in grace. And His locks are wavy, beautiful, and captivating. His hair is black like a raven, soaring through the skies. With strength and might and glory and honour! Let the children of Zion rejoice in their King! She then adds:
His eyes are like doves
By the rivers of waters,
Washed with milk,
And fitly set.
His eyes are filled with tenderness and love, gentleness and meekness, compassion and pity. He is filled with the Dove-like-fruit-of-the-Spirit beyond measure. His warmth and gracious embrace of the saints leads us beside still waters, which restoring our soul. His eyes are a perfect contrast of the bright whiteness of milk, and the blue ocean of the sea. There is a fullness of gentleness and an overwhelming sense of peace when we gaze into his dove-like eyes! And even more than this:
His cheeks are like a bed of spices,
Banks of scented herbs.
His lips are lilies,
Dripping liquid myrrh.
His face, his cheeks, and his smile ravish the soul with the savor of the sweet-smelling herbs of grace and truth, of superabundant mercy, even for the chief of sinners. When we kiss the Son in faith, and take our refuge in him, he returns the embrace; and the sweetness of his Gospel-kisses are like shining lilies in the field, with the smell of myrrh and the most costly of spices. Those who are near to Christ, are filled with the aroma of his presence, in the annointing oils of the Spirit. Going on, she proclaims that:
His hands are rods of gold
Set with beryl.
His body is carved ivory
Inlaid with sapphires.
His strength is unmatched. He is the arm of the Lord that never grows weary. His arms are rods of gold with jewels all over. Not only is He pure in His strength, but He is rich in His strength. His strength is used for lavishing the saints with the precious rubies of the City of God—where we shall reign with Him forever and ever. His body is like ivory, like the keys of a Piano that play the notes of redeeming love, who gave himself for us at Calvary’s Cross. And in the Spirit we become the Body of Christ. This brings us to share in the sapphires of his Body—of union with Christ—sharing in his grace, his glory, and his reward. We are co-heirs with Christ and his sapphires of splendor! But even more:
His legs are pillars of marble
Set on bases of fine gold.
His countenance is like Lebanon,
Excellent as the cedars.
His legs are like those pillars that lift up the temple of God, alabaster columns laced with golden foundations. If Christ is the temple of God, and we are living stones in Him, that we too are the temple of God in Him—we share in his indestructible life—receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken. His power and glory is like the great cedars of Lebanon—tall and strong and unshakeable. Nothing can snatch us from the hands of his sovereign grace, in his temple not made with hands, but by the Word and Spirit. And knit to this temple—we are not our own—but belong to our Beloved! And…
His mouth is most sweet,
Yes, he is altogether lovely.
The kisses of his love are the words of his mouth—which are Spirit and Life. As we are in the Holy Scriptures that testify of Him, of his sufferings and glory, we experiences the kisses of his mouth which are sweet to our souls. His words are sweeter than honey to our souls. Not only is each separate part of the Lord Jesus sweet, but he is altogether lovely. Take a look at him from any angle, from any perspective, in any moment of any day—and you will conclude: Yes, indeed, He is altogether lovely! His Person is like every sweet smell, like every beautiful sight, like every happy sound, like every battalion of strength, like every gentle breeze of meekness, like every virtue and prize all combined into one Person—in whom dwells the fullness of the Godhead and loveliness!
Flavel: Put the beauty of ten thousand paradises, like the garden of Eden, into one; put all trees, all flowers, all smells, all colours, all tastes, all joys, all sweetness, all loveliness in one; O what a fair and excellent thing would that be? And yet it should be less to that fair and dearest well-beloved Christ, than one drop of rain to the whole seas, rivers, lakes, and fountains of ten thousand earths. Christ is heaven’s wonder, and earth’s wonder.”
Who is our beloved, oh daughters of Zion? Who is our Groom & King? Jesus. Oh precious Jesus.
This is my beloved,
And this is my friend,
O daughters of Jerusalem!
And not only is Jesus altogether lovely in Himself, but as the Groom of the Church, He is altogether lovely for us. If God is for us, who can be against us? This is my beloved, and my friend! He is my Lord and my God!
Do you know this Jesus? Come to Him, and find eternal pleasures, come to Him and find life everlasting, come to Him and find grace upon grace, come to Him and find peace with God, come to Him and find new-life in the Spirit, come to Him and worship the King in all his beauty, come and return to Him, come and seek Him, come and enjoy Him whom our soul loves—of whom the Psalmist says:
One thing have I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire in his temple.
This is the first step to restoring communion with Christ—looking unto Jesus—and glorying in His Person as we are……
(1) Praising Christ - v. 5:9-16
As the Bride has answered the request of the daughters of Zion, we come to see the next step in recovering communion with Christ after a season of slothful slumber. Not only are we to be praising Christ, but we are also to be:
(2) Seeking Christ - v. 6:1
(2) Seeking Christ - v. 6:1
And we see this in the example of the daughters of Jerusalem! After proclaiming the excellencies of the Lord Jesus Christ, the daughters of Zion have been stirred to seek Him with their fellow Believer.
Seeing Him by faith, we pursue Him in Love. Though we have not seen Him, we love Him! Having the glories of his Person unfolded, how could they not turn to seek Him too?
Burrowes: “Such a description of the beloved might well make the daughters of Jerusalem anxious to see him, and inquire where he might be found. A holding forth of the character and loveliness of Christ, has ever been the leading means of drawing sinners to the cross. The salvation of souls is effected by preaching to them Christ crucified”
We hear him calling us by his bloodied Cross and ineffible love, and by his sovereign grace we pick up our cross and follow Him who has captivated our hearts! For where your heart is, there will be your treasure. And even in our spiritual sloth, he who has the seed of God’s Spirit within, cannot but help be revived in heart when the matchless worth of Jesus is proclaimed in the means of grace! And so the Church cries out together:
Where has your beloved gone,
O fairest among women?
Where can we find Him? Where is He? You who are the fairest among women—because you are united to the fairest among men—where is this your King, that we might draw near to Him too? They continue to cry out:
Where has your beloved turned aside,
That we may seek him with you?
Where does he dwell? Where is his abode? Where is his temple? Where is his flock? We too will follow Him. Lead us to the Messiah! We would see Jesus! Lead us to communion with this Beloved LORD!
And so, with her heart recoiling within her toward her beloved, with the people of God stirring her onward—together they seek the LORD and follow in the footsteps of the flock, on their way to the garden of love. And we must note, that it is in the communion of the saints, that communion with Christ is truly restored! We do not whip ourselves up into this by ourselves—we are tenderly nurtured by the means of grace within the church.
Durham: These, who desire Christ, would not run out of the Church to seek him … but would seek after him through the ordinary means in his Church!
And so I ask you dear brother or sister, who might be low in the joys of communion with Jesus: How can you experience his blessed presence anew? By faith and repentance, and new obedience—attending unto the means of grace, in the fellowship of the saints, and in the garden of love! Come to the house of God, to feast on His delights.
So together, with eyes toward Christ’s Cross and Crown, we must seek Him in the power of the Spirit—being drawn again to experience the face of God shining up us once again! And is this not our chief desire? To enjoy the light of his face! As we look unto Jesus, and seek Him with the Church, we will at last come again to enjoy His presence, after a season of spiritual sloth. We’ve seen that the Bride and the saints have been:
(2) Seeking Christ - v. 6:1
And after praising Christ, and seeking Christ, she comes now at last to, thirdly, to be:
(3) Enjoying Christ - v. 6:2-3
(3) Enjoying Christ - v. 6:2-3
After her spiritual repentance, after her spiritual seeking, after her spiritual sight of Christ, and after finding help from the Saints; she finds her beloved! And where did she find him?
My beloved has gone to his garden,
To the beds of spices,
To feed his flock in the gardens,
And to gather lilies.
Jesus dwells amongst his churches. Jesus dwells in the hearts of the saints. Jesus dwells in us by His Holy Spirit. Jesus abides among his people. Jesus dwells in his temple. Jesus tends his flock as our Shepherd-King. The church is a garden, a vineyard, where the Lord Jesus comes to plant, to prune, to eat sweet fruits, and to cultivate sweet fellowship with his saints! As Jesus has proclaimed earlier in the Song:
A garden enclosed
Is my sister, my spouse,
A spring shut up,
A fountain sealed.
The church is a garden locked—fenced in by the protection of the Husbandman. Only those who profess faith in Jesus Christ, and repentance from their sins, are given entrance into the visible church along with their children. And for those whose membership abides in this Garden and in this Vineyard, Jesus comes to fellowship, to walk with us, to speak to us through his Word … to produce spiritual fruit in us through his Spirit, to prune us by his power, and to prepare us for glory!
And what grows in gardens? Fruit. And it isn’t without coincidence then, that when we are near to Christ in the Garden of Love, it is then that we shall produce sweet fruit as He prunes us in the Spirit of Holiness and Love:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
The sweetest place we can be is walking with Christ in the Garden of His Beloved Church, in which are the means of grace and the ordinary means of salvation. It is here that we shall meet with Christ in his chamber, rending our hearts as we return unto him, in which we will come to taste and see that he is good, once again. We will be abiding with Him. Resting in Him. Enjoying Him. Delighting in Him. Filled by Him. Strengthened in Him. Comforted by Him. And Satisfied in Him.
It’s almost as though Jesus himself uses this garden and vineyard imagery somewhere else as he speaks about such communion…
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
As we abide in Jesus we find communion with God restored in the means of grace—as we read and mine the Word of God, as we meditate on the Law of God, as we rejoice in the Gospel of God—as we prayerfully apply the Word to our lives, as we plead for our Father’s blessings in our lives, as we praise Him for His goodness and greatness, and wonderful works toward the children of men. Only as we commune with Christ in the Garden of Love, will be bear fruit for His Kingdom of Grace as we are
being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
So Hope, where do we find our Beloved when he seems far from us? When we’ve been neglecting precious fellowship with Jesus? When He’s withdrawn the light of his face from our hearts? We find our souls restored to communion with Him in his garden, in his church, in his temple, and in our hearts—as we seek Him earnestly in the means of grace. It is there that he will feed his flock—shepherd his sheep—and tend his lambs. And praise be to God that he is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, in grace upon grace!
His greatest delight is to gather lilies—to receive your love and service, to enjoy your presence and prayers, to commune with his Bride, his Prize, his Beloved, his Sister, and his Friend. And as we rest here, in His gracious presence, we can cry out with comfort, happiness, and peace:
I am my beloved’s,
And my beloved is mine.
I am His and he is mine. I am His as a gift of electing love from the Father. I am His as a chosen Bride by the Son. I am His as a fruitful branch in the Spirit.
He is mine as my Lord and Saviour. He is mine as my portion and strength. He is mine as my friend and redeemer. He is mine as my hope in life and death.
Oh to know with the full assurance of faith, with true love in the soul, and fruit abounding in the Garden—I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.
His was the sorrow, mine was the joy. His was the pain, mine was the peace. His was the death, mine was the life. His was the atonement, mine was the confession. His was the satisfaction, mine was the justification. His was the resurrection, mine was the reward. Can you say with the bride, by grace and through faith: I am His, and He is mine?
Oh to dwell with Christ, to know Him more! To count everything else as dung in comparison to the all surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord (Phil 3:8). Oh to know the felt-presence of our blessed Jesus. Because in Christ is found superabundant grace, restoring grace, forgiving grace, and renewing grace—he can heal our hearts, heal our backsliding, and heal our apostasy. Because of His new morning mercies, we have hope to come to Him afresh. The Lord promises this of old through the prophet Hosea:
“I will heal their backsliding,
I will love them freely,
For My anger has turned away from him.
I will be like the dew to Israel;
He shall grow like the lily,
And lengthen his roots like Lebanon.
His branches shall spread;
His beauty shall be like an olive tree,
And his fragrance like Lebanon.
Those who dwell under his shadow shall return;
They shall be revived like grain,
And grow like a vine.
Their scent shall be like the wine of Lebanon.
And so Hope, we rest in the arms of our Beloved, who has healed our apostasy, loved us freely, satisfied God’s wrath, made us fruitful, brought us into the sweetness of his shadow, to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever.
“For a mere moment I have forsaken you,
But with great mercies I will gather you.
With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment;
But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,”
Says the Lord, your Redeemer.
So don’t stay in your sloth—come back to this Beloved! This is our beloved, and this is our friend, oh Daughters of Zion, o Members of Hope! Come to Him—and He will never cast you away. Open to him, and he will come and sup with you, so that you can be:
(3) Enjoying Christ - v. 6:2-3
And remember that as we enjoy Christ in worship, we are ascending the heavenly hill of the Lord—where Christ is seated at God’s right hand; and at his right hand are what? Pleasures forevermore! So in conclusion, brethren, in times of spiritual distance and shame let us never forget that:
(C) Gazing Upon our Lovely Lord Restores Spiritual-Communion after a Season of Sinful-Sloth.
(C) Gazing Upon our Lovely Lord Restores Spiritual-Communion after a Season of Sinful-Sloth.
O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free!
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
(C) Gazing Upon our Lovely Lord Restores Spiritual-Communion after a Season of Sinful-Sloth.
(C) Gazing Upon our Lovely Lord Restores Spiritual-Communion after a Season of Sinful-Sloth.
Oh let us taste and see that He is good, and let our hearts rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory! For who is our beloved? Jesus. And next time we will close out the Song of Songs, with the final petition for the Groom to come hastily, as we cry Maranatha, come Lord Jesus! Amen, let’s pray in closing.
