“I Will Seek Him.”

By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. The watchmen that go about the city found me: to whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth? It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me. I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please. - Song of Solomon 3:1-5

    “By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. The watchmen that go about the city found me: to whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth? It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me. I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.”

    Those who love the Lord Jesus Christ seek his manifest presence. Nothing in all the world is more pleasant to the believing heart than communion with our Lord Jesus Christ. Those who enjoy the spiritual presence and fellowship of Christ are supremely favored of God.

    Holy Scripture exhausts every earthly figure to express the charms and delights of this blessed fellowship between Christ and his redeemed ones. It is impossible for human language to express the sweetness of his grace, the joy of his communion, and the comfort of his presence.

    Just as it is the sweetest thing in the world to enjoy communion with Christ, it is the saddest thing in the world to a believer to be without the Lord’s manifest presence and fellowship. Yet, that is just the condition that we see the church in at the beginning of this chapter.—“By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.” But she was resolved not to rest in such a sad condition. She said, “I will seek him.” She would not rest until she had found him and brought him into her mother’s house. There she held him and would not let him go.

    Spiritual presence

    The Lord Jesus Christ is no longer physically present with his church. “He is not here, for he is risen.” Our Lord’s physical body is in heaven. There he sits upon the throne of God, making intercession for us according to the will of God and anticipating the day when his enemies shall be made his footstool.

    The papists tell us that our Lord is bodily present with us in the mass. But that cannot be.—“Such persons unwittingly deny the real humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, for if he has indeed assumed our humanity, and is in all points made like unto his brethren, his flesh and blood cannot be in two places at one time.” (Ch. H. Spurgeon) Since our Lord, as a real man, the God-man, is in heaven, his bodily presence is no longer with his church.

    We know that it is best for us that Christ is no longer present with his church in a physical sense, because he said so (John 16:7). As God, Christ is everywhere. He is omnipresent. As man, he is in heaven. His bodily presence is as much limited today to one place as it was when he was upon the earth. But as the God-man in one Person, the Mediator and Head of the church, Christ is present with us by the Holy Spirit, the Divine Comforter, whom the Father has sent in his name.

    It is by the working of God the Holy Spirit that Christ’s presence with his church is manifested. We need not expect or desire anything other than this spiritual presence of Christ. By his Spirit, Christ is everywhere present with his church at all times to guide, to protect, to instruct, and to comfort his people.

    This spiritual presence of Christ is the glory of the church of God; and this is the thing we desire. When Christ is manifestly presence with us in this spiritual sense we have all that we need or desire. When this spiritual presence is absent, our strength and glory is gone.

    I am afraid that the name of the church of the twentieth century might well be called “Ichabod, The glory is departed from Israel!” If a church is without the Spirit of God, she may have a name to live, but it is dead; and, you know, that corruption follows death. Those churches that have turned aside unto error, have not only lost all power to do good, but they have become obnoxious, loathsome, and the causes of great evil in the world.

    The one thing that we need is the spiritual presence of Christ. He said, “Without me ye can do nothing.” But if Christ shall come to us in the Person of his blessed Spirit our power and our glory shall be restored. The return of the Lord’s manifest presence by the Holy Spirit has been the birth of every true revival and spiritual awakening. The manifest presence of Christ in the midst of his people is the Sun of Righteousness arising with healing beneath his wings.

    Seeking the lord

    We ought to constantly seek the Lord’s manifest presence, both individually and for his church. Without question, wherever men and women gather in his name to worship him, the Lord Jesus is present (Matt. 18:20). That gathered band of believers, if only two or three in number, is the temple of God (1 Cor. 3:16-17), “an habitation of God through the Spirit” (Eph. 2:22), and “the house of God—the church of the living God” (1 Tim. 3:15). I am thankful to say, it appears that our God is working among his people all over the country and around the world in our day. But if we are to see better and greater things in the days that lie ahead, we must ever seek the presence of Christ by the Holy Spirit. “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord.” I urge you, my brother, my sister in Christ, to make this determined resolution. Fix it in your heart, and do not be turned aside from it —“I will seek Him!” “I will seek him whom my soul loveth.” You have been chosen of God in eternal election, redeemed by the blood of Christ, and called to life and faith in Christ by God the Holy Spirit.

    If you are yet without Christ, without God, without hope, without life, I would press you into the Kingdom. I urge you, for your soul’s sake, to seek our Lord with all your heart. Seek him in his Word. Seek him by faith. Seek him now. If you seek him, you will find him. He has promised that he will be found by all who seek him. —“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive” (Jer. 29:11-14).

    Those who seek

    Here are seven things revealed in the Book of God about those who seek the Lord.

    Those who seek Christ love Christ.

    In these five verses, the lovesick spouse speaks of Christ as “Him whom my soul loveth.” It may be that you do not now enjoy the manifestation of the Lord’s presence; but your heart clings to him. You may have been idle, slothful, neglectful, and sinful. You may have much to regret and much to weep over. But Christ is truly the One whom your soul loves. A loving wife may not always have her husband in her arms; but she always has him in her heart. Even so, the true believer does not always enjoy the presence of Christ, but he never ceases to love Christ.

    The words are very strong. —“Him whom my soul loveth.” It is as though she said, “Though there are many whom I love, he is the love of my soul. My deepest, fondest, purest, truest, most real love is reserved for him alone. Do you have such a heart for Christ? Is he the Love of your soul? Is he the Object of your heart’s affection? All true believers do sincerely love the Lord Jesus Christ. It is not possible for a person truly to know Christ and not love him. —"We love him because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19). Christ’s love for us precedes our love for him. His love for us causes our love for him. His love for us infinitely exceeds our love for him. But we do love him.

    We love the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, because of who he is. This One whom we love is himself the eternal God; and he is perfect man. He is the God-man our Mediator. We love him, because he has revealed himself in our hearts. We love Christ, because of all that he has done for us. His love for us is manifest by his deeds. His love is not dormant and idle. All that he has done and is doing and shall do is motivated by his love for us.

    Because he loved us, the Son of God assumed all responsibility for our souls as our covenant Surety before the world began (Heb. 7:22; Eph. 1:3-6; 2 Tim. 1:9). In the fullness of time, he assumed human flesh and came into the world in our nature to redeem and save us by his obedience to God as our Mediator, Representative, and Substitute (Matt. 1:21). Because he loved us, the Lord Jesus lived in perfect obedience to God’s holy law to bring in everlasting righteousness as our Representative (Rom. 5:18-21). Because of his great love for us, the Darling of Heaven laid down his life as our Substitute that we might live forever through him (Rom. 5:6-11). Our risen Savior rules the universe in love for his people, as the God-man our Mediator King, to give eternal life to the objects of his everlasting love (John 17:2).

    It is Christ himself that we love. Immanuel has won our hearts. We love Him. Many love his doctrine; but we love Him. Many love his throne; but we love Him. Many love his church; but we love Him. Many love his works; but we love Him.

    Those who seek Christ know their need of him.

    The spouse sensed that her beloved Bridegroom was gone; and she seems to be in desperate need of him. Do you know your need of Christ? If a person knows his need of Christ, he will seek him (Phil. 3:7-11). We need his righteousness to cover our shameful nakedness. We need his blood to cleanse us from our sins. We need his grace to save us and keep us. We need his wisdom to direct us. We need his strength to uphold and protect us. We need him! Our Lord told us plainly, “Without me, ye can do nothing.” And we have found, by painful and blessed experience, that it is true. Without Him, we cannot sing his praise. Without Him, we cannot pray with understanding. Without Him, we cannot worship in the Spirit. Without Him, we cannot live in peace. Without Him, we cannot know, do, or enjoy God’s will. Without Him, we cannot understand God’s Word.

    Those who seek Christ seek him diligently.

    Those who ardently love Christ and know their need of him do not cease to seek him, and seek him diligently. In this chapter we see the spouse seeking him upon her bed, seeking him in the streets, seeking him in the broadways, and finally seeking him at the lips of the watchman. She sought him in every place where he was likely to be found she left no stone unturned.

    If you are truly in earnest in knowing Christ, if you are really concerned for your soul, if you truly thirst and pant for fellowship with the Son of God, you will diligently seek him. You will seek him in the closet of your heart in earnest prayer. You will seek him in the Field of Holy Scripture. You will seek him in the assembly of his saints, in his house where he is most likely to be found. You will seek him through the preaching of the Gospel, the means by which he reveals himself to sinners.Those men who preach the gospel of God’s free and sovereign grace in Christ are the watchmen of Zion (Isa. 62:6; Ezek. 33:7; Heb. 13:7, 17). They are the watchmen to whom the spouse went, seeking her Beloved (Song 3:3; 5:7). Public worship and gospel preaching are not optional things in spiritual life. They are vital to it. God has given his church pastors and teachers specifically for the purpose of watching over, instructing, and teaching his people (Eph. 4:11-16).

    Those who diligently seek Christ will find him.

    Neither the brethren, nor the church of God, nor those who preach the gospel can comfort the afflicted conscience, unless Christ himself is apprehended by faith. But as soon as she left the watchmen she found him whom she sought. —"It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me” (v. 4).

    If the Lord Jesus hides himself from his people for a season, he has a reason. If we are stirred to seek him, it is Christ himself who has created in our hearts a need and desire for him. And, where the Lord Jesus Christ has created a desire for himself, he will give satisfaction. He comes to all who seek him. Matthew Henry wrote, “Those that continue seeking the Lord shall find him at last, when perhaps they are almost ready to despair of finding him.” (See Psa. 34:1-6; Isa. 54:7-10; Jer. 29:12-14.)

    Those who seek Christ, when they have found him, will hold him fast.

    They will take care to retain him. They will endeavor to maintain their fellowship and communion with him. Look at verse four again. —“I held him and would not let him go.” Yes, he will go away if we do not hold him; but he is willing to be held by us. More, he is the One who causes us to want to hold him and gives us grace to hold him. In other words, we hold him by faith (faith that he gives and maintains), because he holds us by grace. We hold him in the arms of love, because he holds us in the arms of his love. We hold him by earnest prayer, because he holds us by constant intercession. We hold him by willing submission and obedience, because he makes us willing, submissive servants.

    Those who seek Christ, when they have found him, will bring him into the house of God.

    When believers walk in fellowship with Christ, they bring him with them into the fellowship of the saints. Read verse four once more. —“It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me.” Blessed are those local churches into which men and women bring the Son of God as they come together!

    Those who seek Christ, when they have found him, will jealously guard his blessed presence.

    Our Lord is not indifferent about the conduct of his people. There are many things which will drive him from us and destroy our fellowship with him (Eph. 4:30). Anger, wrath and malice, pride, slander and vengeance, Love of the world, envy and strife are all things that grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom we are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let us take care not to grieve him. Rather, let us walk in the Spirit, as followers of Christ, loving, forgiving, submitting to, and serving one another for the glory of God.