Christ’s Estimate of His People

If thou know not, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents. I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh's chariots. Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains of gold. We will make thee borders of gold with studs of silver. - Song of Solomon 1:8-11

    “O thou fairest among women, …I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh’s chariots. Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains of gold. We will make thee borders of gold with studs of silver.”

    As we become increasingly aware of our personal sinfulness and corruption, as we are humbled by the depravity of our hearts, nothing is more comforting, cheerful, and reassuring to God’s saints in this world than the knowledge of the fact that in the eyes of Christ we stand perfect in the beauty of his righteousness, the beauty which he has put upon us.

    Indeed, all the spiritual goodness, beauty, and comeliness we have before God is that which Christ puts upon us! We are washed in his blood, robed in his righteousness, and created in his image. How blessed it is, when most keenly and painfully aware of the fact that in us, in our flesh dwelleth no good thing, to hear our Savior say, “Thy beauty is perfect through my comeliness, which I put upon thee” (Ezek. 16:14).

    In its essence, that is what the Song of Solomon is all about. This blessed book is a song of love between Christ and his church. As we read the book, we who belong to Christ, we who are married to the Son of God ought to make it as personal as possible. Whenever the bride speaks, read it in the first person. Her words are the expressions of every believer’s heart.

    Whenever Solomon speaks to the bride, (Pharaoh’s daughter), read the words as the words of Christ speaking to you personally. All that he says to her shows the great love and high estimate Christ has for those who are chosen by him, washed in his blood and saved by his grace.

    Throughout this blessed love song, we see a constant fluctuation in the bride, but not in the bridegroom. She varies greatly. Sometimes her heart burns with love for him. Then it is as cold as ice. Sometimes she delights to have him lie between her breasts. Then she bolts the door of her heart against him. But his love for her never changes! Is that not the way things are with you? Does your heart not ache and pine for a closer walk with Christ? Does not your heart cry out with Cowper…

    “Oh for a closer walk with God,

    A calm and heavenly frame;

    A Light to shine upon the road

    That leads me to the Lamb.

    Where is the blessedness I knew

    When first I saw the Lord?

    Where is the soul-refreshing view

    Of Jesus in His Word?

    What peaceful hours I then enjoyed,

    How sweet their memory still!

    But now I find an aching void

    The world can never fill.

    Return, O holy Dove, return,

    Sweet Messenger of rest!

    I hate the sins that made Thee mourn

    And drove Thee from my breast.

    The record of our constant need

    The Song of Solomon is an inspired record of the constant languishings and revivings we experience in this world, the languishings of our hearts because of sin and the sweet revivings of our souls by our Savior’s unfailing grace.

    Verse 1 -- “The song of songs, which is Solomon’s.”

    What a proper, fitting, appropriate title that is for this book. Solomon means peaceful. He represents Christ, the Prince of Peace, our beloved, all-glorious Savior. This is not just a Song. It is called “The Song Of Songs.” There are many songs recorded in the pages of Holy Scripture. Moses, Aaron and Miriam, Deborah, Hannah and David all sang songs, great and good songs unto the Lord. But this is called “The Song of Songs.” All those other songs were songs of battles fought and victories won, trials endured and triumphs experienced. But this is purely a song of love. It is Solomon’s Song and it is all about Solomon. That is to say, it is Christ’s song and it is all about Christ and his great love for us.

    Verses 2-4 -- “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine. Because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee. Draw me, we will run after thee: the king hath brought me into his chambers: we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than wine: the upright love thee.”

    These verses express the ardent desires of the believer’s languishing heart for fresh discoveries of Christ’s love and fresh sweet tokens of it from the kisses of his mouth.

    Verses 5-6 -- “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.”

    Believers frankly and honestly confess their sin, the blackness of their hearts, their natures, and their lives. Yet, in the teeth of our sin, we look to Christ and claim the beauty that he has given us by grace. In our many trials and afflictions, we are often careless and fail to keep our own vineyards. Every heaven born soul knows and freely confesses his sin (1 John 1:9).

    Verse 7 -- “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 an ardent expression of love for Christ, followed by an earnest prayer for guidance and grace. While we live in this world, we seek to follow Christ and feed at his table. But there are many false prophets and apostate churches, all claiming to be his companions. Therefore, we constantly look to our beloved Lord to direct our steps and keep us in the footsteps of his flock.

    Verses 8-11 -- “If thou know not, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds’ tents. I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh’s chariots. Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains of gold. We will make thee borders of gold with studs of silver.”

    This is our Savior’s response to the confession of his beloved bride, telling us where he feeds his flock and makes them rest. This is what the Lord Jesus Christ thinks of his people.

    A reminder of our ignorance

    The bride asked her beloved where he feeds his flock, where he makes his flock to rest at noon. In our text he replies to his beloved Bride, reminding her of her ignorance. The phrase, “If thou know not,” would be better translated, “Since you do not know.” The question asked in verse seven was an acknowledgment of ignorance. This reminder of the fact of our ignorance in all things spiritual is given not to discourage us, but to remind us that we must never cease looking to him for guidance and direction.

    Particularly, he is reminding us that though we know something of our sinfulness, the corruption and deceitfulness of our hearts, we really have no idea just how corrupt and deceitful our hearts are. We know we are weak; but we do not really have any idea just how weak. We must ever look to him for strength to resist temptation, trust him, obey him, and walk in his way.

    Instructions for where to find him

    Here is his word of instruction for our hearts.—“Go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds’ tents.” Here we are told where to find our Lord, where to find food and rest and refreshment for our souls. If we would find Christ, we will find him in the way of the holy prophets, in the way of the patriarchs, and in the way of the apostles. Only as we follow the footsteps of the flock and feed by the tents of his shepherds, will we find him.

    “The footsteps of the flock” are the paths in which God’s people have always walked. They are the paths of the Lord’s sheep. They are not hard to find. They are plain and clear. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob walked in these paths. These are the paths of David, Isaiah, and Jeremiah. Peter, James, John, and Paul followed these paths. Let us walk in them, too. They are the paths of faith and trust, of submission and obedience, of righteousness and godliness, of love and kindness, and the old paths of doctrinal truth (Jer. 6:16).

    Who are these shepherds, by whose tents we must feed? There are many who set themselves up as shepherds, who would feed their followers in poisonous pastures of free will, works religion. Keep away from them. Find a man who is preaching the gospel of God’s free and sovereign grace in Christ, and feed by his tent. Only that church where the gospel is preached is the shepherds’ tent. Only that man who is preaching the gospel is one of Christ’s shepherds (Jer. 3:15).

    Find a man who is like Paul, “Determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified,” and you can safely feed by his tent. Those who are the true servants of Christ preach Christ, they preach all of Christ, and they preach nothing but Christ. The shepherds spoken of here are faithful gospel preachers, men appointed and called of God to be undershepherds to Christ. The shepherds tents are the churches pastored by God’s faithful servants. As shepherds in ancient times pitched their tents in the wilderness where they led their flocks, so God’s servants establish gospel churches in the wilderness of this world for the feeding of Christ’s flock.

    “Feed thy kids beside the shepherds tents.”—We are here directed to feed our kids by the shepherds’ tents, and nowhere else. The word “kids” does not to refer to our physical children, though there is certainly an application to them. We are responsible to see to it that our children hear the Word of God faithfully preached. If you feed them upon the husks of free will, works religion you will be responsible for their eternal ruin.

    However, the word “kids” is used here in reference to young converts, weak in faith and knowledge. They often think they know much and are strong; but that is not usually the case. Like young lambs, young believers are often a bit wild and rowdy, and have an offensive smell. But it is the “kids” (lambs) of the flock who need our special care and patience.

    Christ’s estimate of his people

    Here is Christ’s estimate of his people. First, our Savior tells us how beautiful his people are in his eyes.—“O thou fairest among women” (vv.8-10). In our own eyes, and in the eyes of others, we are black and scornful. But in his eyes we are fair and comely. I would rather trust his eyes than my eyes. If my eyes tell me that I am black, I will weep. But if he assures me that I am fair in his eyes, I will believe him and rejoice.

    This is our Redeemer’s declaration to every believing sinner.—“I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh’s chariots. Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains of gold.”

    The Son of God, our Mediator, sees us in the beauty of his own imputed righteousness and declares that we are perfectly beautiful. Yes, this is how we shall be when he gets done with us and presents us before the Father’s throne (Eph. 5:25-27); but that is not what is spoken of here. Here our great God and Savior is declaring what we are at this very moment in his eyes. This is no exaggeration, but a statement of fact (Ezek. 16:13-14). We are perfectly beautiful and gloriously complete, so much so that we may confidently exclaim, “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect?”

    “In thy Surety thou art free.

    His dear hands were pierced for thee:

    With his spotless garments on,

    We’re as holy as God’s own Son!”

    In this passage (vv. 9-11), our Lord uses a well-known picture of royal beauty to typify the beauty of his people in him. He compares us to a company of horses in Pharaoh’s chariots (Beautiful, Chosen, Costly, Strong). Then, he shows how he has adorned us by his grace, with rows of jewels (The graces of the Holy Spirit—Gal. 5:22) and chains of gold (The blessings of grace in him—Eph. 1:3-14).

    In verse 11, our beloved Savior tells us what will yet be done for us.—“We” (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit), “We will make thee borders of gold with studs of silver.” This is a symbolic picture of the heavenly Jerusalem and our everlasting glory in heaven (Isa. 54:11-12; Rev. 21:18-21, cf Eph. 5:25-27; Jude 24-25).

    Let us never forget our personal weakness, ignorance, and sin. May God graciously cause us ever to look to Christ alone for strength, grace, and cleansing. Let us resolve, by God’s grace, ever to be found walking in the footsteps of the flock, feeding by the shepherds’tents, as long as we are in this world. Let us always take special care to watch out and care for our younger brothers and sisters in the kingdom of God. Let us now remember what great things the Lord has done for us. Let us ever live in the anticipation of that glory which awaits us.