Christ’s Own Estimate of His Church

Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves' eyes within thy locks: thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead. that...: or, that eat of, etc Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which came up from the washing; whereof every one bear twins, and none is barren among them. Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely: thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks. Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armoury, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men. Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies. Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense. break...: Heb. breathe Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee. Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon: look from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon, from the lions' dens, from the mountains of the leopards. Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck. ravished...: or, taken away How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! how much better is thy love than wine! and the smell of thine ointments than all spices! Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb: honey and milk are under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon. A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed. inclosed...: Heb. barred shut up...: Heb. barred Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard, camphire...: or, cypress Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices: A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon. - Song of Solomon 4:1-15

    “Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves' eyes within thy locks…Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck. ”

    Remember, the Song of Solomon is to be interpreted spiritually, as an allegory. Any attempt to interpret the book in a strictly literal way is a great mistake, and must lead to very great evil. This is a love song, not between a man and a woman, but between Christ and his bride, the church. It speaks of the intimate relationship and loving communion which exists between the Lord Jesus Christ and his believing people. This Song expresses the affection of a believing heart for Christ and the affection of Christ’s heart for his believing people.

    One clear indication that the Song must be interpreted as an allegory is found in verse 9. —"Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck." Here the church is spoken of as both Christ’s sister and his spouse. It would be atrocious to think that Solomon had taken his sister to be his bride! But Christ’s church is to him both a sister, and a spouse, and a mother (Matt. 12:50).

    The church is called his sister, because he took upon himself our nature in the incarnation, and he makes us partakers of his nature in regeneration. He clothed himself with a body (Heb. 2:14), and he clothes the believer with his Spirit (1 Cor. 6:17). Christ owns his church and loves us as his sister, because we are the children of God his Father. Both he that sanctifies and they who are sanctified are all of one (Heb. 2:11).

    There is also a marriage-covenant between the Lord Jesus Christ and every believing soul. All true believers are members of the church, which is his bride. We are the bride; he is the Bridegroom. We are espoused to Christ; and he is espoused to us. We are wed to him; and he is wed to us. We are no more two, but one. We are bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh. We are members of Christ himself.

    Nothing more beautifully describes our relationship to Christ and our love for him than the love of a bride for her husband. And nothing more beautifully describes our Savior’s love for us than the love of a true husband to his bride. In chapter 3, the church, the bride, spoke lovingly and admirably of Christ, expressing the love and esteem of every believing heart for the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, in chapter 4:1-15, the Lord Jesus Christ speaks lovingly and admirably of his church, expressing his love and esteem for every true believer.

    These fifteen verses show us Christ’s own estimate of his church. A loving wife does not find her joy and comfort in what her friends and neighbors may think of her. And she does not find joy and comfort in what she thinks of herself. If she truly loves and reverences her husband, she will always think herself to be an unworthy wife. But she finds all her joy and comfort as a wife in her husband’s high opinion of her. If her husband loves her and honors her above all women, in his thoughts, in his speech, and in his conduct, she is happy. She desires no more than this. Even so, the true believer finds no joy and comfort in the opinions of others about him, or in his own opinions about himself. But if he can be persuaded that the Lord Jesus Christ holds him in the high esteem of love and honor, there he finds all the comfort and joy his heart can crave. In this passage the Lord Jesus declares to every believer that he holds us in the highest possible esteem of perfect love.

    If you are a child of God, a believer, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, here assures you that he holds you in such great esteem and honor that his very heart is ravished by you! He says, “Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck!” What an amazing statement!

    Perfect in beauty

    Here is the first thing to be learned from this chapter. It is a lesson which we are all very reluctant to learn; but once learned, it is most comforting to our hearts. —The Lord Jesus Christ declares that his church is perfect in beauty (vv. 1-7). —"Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves' eyes within thy locks: thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead. Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which came up from the washing; whereof every one bear twins, and none is barren among them. Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely: thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks. Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armoury, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men. Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies. Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense. Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee."

    By nature there is no beauty in us. There is nothing about us to commend us to the love of God. We are all black, unclean, and corrupt by nature. Both at heart and in outward appearance, we are evil. In our own esteem, there is nothing beautiful in us. The more we know Christ, the more we know ourselves. And the more we know ourselves, the more hideous we appear in our own eyes. Who are we that he should look upon us with favor?

    But in the eyes of Christ we are perfect in beauty. Three times he declares—“Behold, thou art fair, my love, behold, thou art fair...Thou art all fair, my love: there is no spot in thee!” In him and in his eyes, we are complete, we are beautiful, and we are perfect. Christ has made us perfect and beautiful in every detail! (Ezek. 16:8-14; Eph. 5:25-27). He has thoroughly removed every spot of sin from us. He has taken away our sins and has implanted a new nature within us (1 John 3:5-9). He will soon present us to himself faultless before his Father’s throne in his own perfection (Col. 1:21-22; Jude 24-25). The Lord Jesus describes his church as having a sevenfold beauty. In his eyes, everything about her is perfect! —"Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair…”

    1. “Thou hast doves' eyes within thy locks:”

    2. “Thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead.”

    3. “Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which came up from the washing; whereof every one bear twins, and none is barren among them.”

    4. “Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely.”

    5. “Thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks.”

    6. “Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armoury, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men.”

    7. “Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies. Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense. Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee."

    The Lord Jesus Christ is so pleased with the beauty of his Church that he has chosen her to be his rest forever (v. 6). —"Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense."—"The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing" (Zeph. 3:17).

    A call to communion

    Second, our blessed Savior calls us to walk with him in sweet fellowship and communion (v. 8).—"Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon: look from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon, from the lions' dens, from the mountains of the leopards." Here he gives us a gracious call to come along with him as a faithful Bride, to come away from our own people and our father’s house, and to cleave only to him.

    This is a precept we must obey. —“Come with Me.” All who have come to Christ by faith must come with Christ in holy communion. Being joined to him, we must walk with him. We must come with Christ away from all the pleasant mountains of this world. Matthew Henry wrote, “This is Christ’s call to his spouse to come off from the world, all its products, all its pleasures, to sit loose all the delights of sense. All those must do so that would come to Christ. They must take this affections off from present things.” Child of God, we who belong to Christ must look beyond this world. We must live above the perishing things of time. We must set our hearts upon Christ (2 Cor. 4:18; Col. 3:1-3). We who belong to the Son of God live above the dangers of this world, let us also live above the cares of this world. But this eighth verse is much more than a precept for us to obey…

    This is also a promise we should enjoy. Christ’s church shall be brought home with him to heaven. We shall be delivered in due time from all the dangers and difficulties of this world. Soon, the lions of hell and the leopards of darkness will torment us no more! —"The God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly" (Rom. 16:20.

    Ravished with love

    Third, we are told that Christ’s very heart is ravished with love for his people (vv. 9-15). —"Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck. How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! how much better is thy love than wine! and the smell of thine ointments than all spices! Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb: honey and milk are under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon. A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed. Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard, Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices: A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon."

    The Lord Jesus Christ has made us so perfectly beautiful in his sight that he is ravished with love for us! The love of Christ for us is the real affection of his heart. The God-man loves us. The Son of God so loves us that he delights in us! The Lord Jesus Christ is ravished with our love for him (1 John 4:19). The love we have for him is a love he has created and given us. Yet, it is truly ours. “We love him because he first loved us.” But we do love him. We did not, would not, and could not love him by nature. But now he has put such a love in our hearts for him that he is ravished by it. His love for us precedes our love for him eternally. His love for us exceeds our love for him infinitely. And his love for us caused our love for him effectually. But we do love him sincerely.

    The Son of God, our all-glorious Christ is ravished by the grace which he has put upon us. —“The smell of thine ointments.” The fruit of the Spirit created in us and the graces of the Spirit wrought in us are a sweet aroma to our Redeemer. They are a sweet smelling ointment to him, because they are his gifts to us, the gifts of his own grace (Gal. 5:22-23; Ezek. 16:9-14).

    Our blessed Savior is ravished by our speech, too, because it is all about him. —“Thy lips”. The most delightful and most constant theme of a loving Bride is her Husband. And the believer’s most joyful speech is about Christ. Those who know Christ love to speak of him. We love to speak of who he is, what he has done, why he did it, where he is now, what he is doing there, and when he shall return.

    Looking into our hearts, the Lord Jesus Christ is ravished by our thoughts of him. —“Honey and milk are under thy tongue.” He hears our thoughts. He knows those precious thoughts we have of him, thought that words can never express.

    Knowing the sincerity of our hearts, the Lord Jesus Christ is ravished by our works performed for him. —“The smell of thy garments.” Without question, these garments are the garments of salvation which he has wrought and bought for us, which he brought to us, and put upon us.

    •Garments of Imputed Righteousness.

    •Garments of Imparted Righteousness.

    •Garments of Grace and Holiness.

    Yet, the church of Christ is a garden flourishing with good works, works done for him, works which he has created in us (vv. 12-15). She is a garden planted by his grace and watered by his Spirit, so thoroughly and effectually watered that she has become herself a fragrant, fruitful fountain of gardens and living waters, with streams flowing out of her into all the world to refresh the earth. That is the picture drawn in verses 12-15. —"A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed. Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard, Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices: A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon."

    Our works, the works of God’s church, those works performed for Christ are never counted by us as being worthy of anything. We know that if we did all things perfectly, we would only have done what we should have done. We constantly repent even of our best, noblest, most righteous works, because “all our righteousnesses are filthy rags” before the holy Lord God. But he whom we love and serve looks upon our puny works as his pleasant fruits. They are rich, sweet fragrances, the smell of which ravishes his heart. They are works of faith and love. They are works produced by him and honored by him (Eph. 2:10). That which is done by faith in Christ, arising from a heart of love for him, are honored and accepted by him. Let us ever rest in his love, walk in communion with him. And let us faithfully serve our Redeemer, who loved us and gave himself for us.