Four Characteristics of True Faith

I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon. Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me: my mother's children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept. Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions? as one...: or, as one that is veiled - Song of Solomon 1:5-7

    “I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon. Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me: my mother’s children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept. Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions?”

    Here is a beautiful picture of true faith. It expresses every believer’s thoughts concerning himself and his Savior. In verses five and six, the Church, the Bride of Christ, speaks about herself to the Daughters of Jerusalem.

    “I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon. Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me: my mother’s children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept.”

    Then, in verse seven, she speaks about herself to her Beloved Lord. “Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions?”

    “Black”

    True faith acknowledges and confesses sin. “I am black.” The people of God are charged by both the world and by self-righteous religionists with many evils. But none of our enemies have such a loathsome view of us as we have of ourselves. Do any charge us with evil? It is true. “I am black…My own vineyard have I not kept.” I am black in myself, by nature. I am black in the eyes of others, because of my actions. I am black in my own eyes. True faith does not defend itself. It does not seek any excuse for sin. True faith acknowledges and confesses sin (Job 40:3-5; 42:5-6; Psa. 51:4-5).

    The believer is a person with two distinct natures, the flesh and the spirit. These two natures are constantly at war with one another so long as we live in this world (Rom. 7:14-24; Gal. 5:17).

    We are sinners by nature. We are sinners by choice. We are sinners by practice. We are sinners at heart. Sin is not to be measured by our actions, but by our attitude. Sin is not to be measured by our deeds, but by our principles. Sin is not so much what we do, but what we are. Sin is mixed with all we do. Old man Adam is still present with us. He is no longer master; but he is still present. That is a fact from which we cannot escape.

    Yes, we do love Christ. He has created in us true love for himself. But before you were converted, did you ever think that you could love God so little as you do? – We do pray. Grace has taught every believing heart to pray. But before God saved you, did you ever think that prayer could be so difficult as it actually is? – We bow to and trust God’s wise, unerring providence. But before God gave you faith in Christ, did you ever think that a believer could grumble so much against the providence of God as you do? Did you ever think that a believer could be so unbelieving? – Thank God, he has set our hearts on things above. But before God revealed himself to you and in you in Christ, did you ever think that a person who knows the Lord could be so thoroughly attached to the toys of this world as you are? – We are his witnesses. We confess Christ before men. But before you knew the Lord, did you ever think that a believer could be so reluctant and timid about holding up the banner of Christ among his enemies as you are?

    Sin is so much a part of us that it is mixed with all we do and all we are. We despise that fact; but we cannot, in honesty, deny it (1 John 1:10). Truly, we confess, “I am black.”

    “Comely”

    True faith acknowledges and confesses sin, while resting upon the merits of Christ alone. In ourselves we are black; but in Christ we are comely (suitable, beautiful, seemly). In our own eyes we are black; but in the eyes of God we are comely (Song of Sol. 4:1; Ezek. 16:9-14).

    The Lord Jesus Christ has made us beautiful in the eyes of God, through his righteousness and shed blood; and we trust his merits alone for our acceptance with God. Be sure you understand this. In Christ every true believer is perfect and complete (Col. 2:10; 1:28). “He was manifest to take away our sin; and in him is no sin!” Though full of sin in ourselves, in him we have no sin (1 John 3:5). Through the merits of his own blood and righteousness, the Lord Jesus Christ will present us before the Father in the perfection of holiness (Eph. 5:25-27).

    All who are born of God trust the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ alone for their entire, complete, absolute, and everlasting acceptance with God. We are nothing. We have nothing. We can do nothing in ourselves and by ourselves that God can or will accept. All our hope before God is in Christ (Lam. 3:22-26; 1 Cor. 1:30). He is our only Wisdom, Righteousness, Sanctification, and Redemption. That means he is our only hope before God.

    Loves

    True faith acknowledges and confesses sin, while looking to Christ alone for acceptance with God. And true faith loves Christ supremely. The Lord Jesus Christ is our Beloved. He is that One who is loved by all who trust him. It is written, “If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha” (1 Cor. 16:22). All believers love the Son of God.

    Notice the title which is here given to our Lord, “Tell me, O Thou whom my soul loveth.” This is every believer’s humble, but honest acknowledgement. – “We love him because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). His love for us precedes our love for him. His love for us is infinitely greater than our love to him. His love for us is the cause of our love to him. But if we know the Lord Jesus Christ, we love him.

    Our love for Christ is something the world can never understand, because they do not know our Lord (1 John 3:1-2). We love him because of all that he has done for us. We love him because of all that he has given us. We love him because of himself, because he is who he is. And we love him supremely (Matt. 10:37-39). Our love for Christ grows as our knowledge of him grows. Our love for Christ is the motive of our actions (2 Cor. 5:14). Our love for Christ is the governing principle of our lives.

    Even Peter, in the teeth of his horrible sin, honestly and truthfully confessed, “Thou knowest that I love thee.” Like Peter, we err greatly, fall often, and act presumptuously. But, like Peter, ever true believer, at the very core of his being, loves Christ.

    Does this seem confusing? It really shouldn’t. If we would learn to quit playing religion and be honest with ourselves and honest with God, we would acknowledge these things. A man who truly loves his wife, a truly faithful husband, often acts as though he does not love her at all. A woman who truly loves her husband, one who is a faithful wife often acts as though she does not love him at all. No one else may perceive it; but ask the man or the woman. They well tell you it is so with weeping eyes and broken heart.

    So it is with God’s saints in this world. We love our Savior. We seek to serve him and honor him in all things. Yet, we often think, and say, and do things that are totally contrary to that love. Yet, with Peter, with weeping eyes and broken hearts, we confess, “Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee.”

    Seeks

    True faith seeks Christ continually. This is what we see in verse seven.—“Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions?”

    True faith is never self-confident and self-sufficient. It continually seeks Christ (Heb. 12:1-4; Phil. 3:7-14). Faith is not an act of life. Faith is a way of life. We seek him, not just what we might hope to get from him. We seek him because we need him, because we know we must have him. We seek him earnestly, continually, in the place where he has promised he will be found, in his Word, in his house, among his people. And we seek him with this confidence: -- All who truly seek him shall find him (Jer. 29:10-13).

    Let us never seek to grow beyond simple, childlike faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.” As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him” (Col. 2:6). This is the only way we can walk with him. We must ever seek him and walk with him as sinners needing to be bathed in his blood, robed in his righteousness, and saved by his grace. May God give us grace to do so.