“I Sleep, but My Heart Waketh”

I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night. I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them? My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him. for him...: or, (as some read) in me I rose up to open to my beloved; and my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh, upon the handles of the lock. sweet...: Heb. passing, or, running about I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer. The watchmen that went about the city found me, they smote me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me. I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, that I am sick of love. that ye...: Heb. what, etc - Song of Solomon 5:2-8

    “I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night. I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them? My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him. I rose up to open to my beloved; and my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh, upon the handles of the lock. I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer. The watchmen that went about the city found me, they smote me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me. I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, that I am sick of love.”

    What a sad but common story! Here is the church of Christ, his beloved, chosen, and redeemed Bride in her most lamentable condition. She is slothful, negligent, and indifferent. In other places the Bride speaks to Christ, but here she speaks of him, because now he had withdrawn himself.

    Oh, yes, he is always with us. He will never leave us, nor forsake us. How we ought to thank God for that blessed fact. His mercy is everlasting! His love is immutable! His grace is indestructible! But he does sometimes, for our souls’ good, hide himself and appears to have forsaken us altogether. We are, at times, compelled to cry out with David, “My God, my God, Why has thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?”

    When that is the case, when our fellowship and communion with Christ is broken, because of our base ingratitude, neglect, and indifference, the only remedy is that the Lord himself graciously return to us and revive our hearts according to his own sovereign pleasure.

    How often we are compelled to speak as the Church speaks in this place, “I sleep, but my heart waketh!” Sometimes this cold, this deathly indifference steals over only one or two hearts in a congregation. Sometimes it seems to engulf entire assemblies. Sometimes this black plague seems to engulf the whole church of Christ. It is an experience with which I am afraid we are all too familiar. We all know by bitter experience the deep base notes of Newton’s hymn –

    How tedious and tasteless the hours when Jesus no longer I see!

    Sweet prospects, sweet birds, and sweet flowers, have all lost their sweetness to me.

    The mid-summer sun shines but dim; the fields strive in vain to look gay;

    But when I am happy in Him, December’s as pleasant as May.

    His name yields the richest perfume, and sweeter than music His voice;

    His presence disperses my gloom, and makes all within me rejoice:

    I should, were He always thus nigh, have nothing to wish or to fear;

    No mortal so happy as I; my summer would last all the year.

    Content with beholding His face, my all to His pleasure resigned,

    No changes of season or place would make any change in my mind;

    While blest with a sense of His love, a palace a toy would appear;

    And prisons would palaces prove, if Jesus would dwell with me there.

    Dear Lord, if indeed I am Thine, if Thou art my sun and my song,

    Say, why do I languish and pine, and why are my winters so long?

    Oh, drive these dark clouds from my sky, thy soul cheering presence restore;

    Or take me unto Thee on high, where winter and clouds are no more.

    There is within each of us a terrible tendency to become neglectful, indifferent, and lukewarm towards the Lord Jesus Christ. This common, sinful tendency of our nature must be marked, acknowledged and avoided.

    Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love:

    Here’s my heart, Oh, take and seal it, seal it for Thy courts above.

    “I sleep.”

    Here is a very common sin. —“I sleep.” The wise virgins often sleep with the foolish. Far too often this is the bad effect great privileges have upon our sinful hearts. When we indulge ourselves in carnal ease and security, our hearts become cold, neglectful, drowsy, and indifferent. Prayer becomes a burden. Devotion languishes. Worship sinks to nothing more than bodily exercise. Zeal dies.

    “But my heart waketh!”

    Here is a hopeful sign. —“But my heart waketh.” It is a hopeful sign that there is grace in the heart when the heart struggles against that horrid, sinful sluggishness to which we are so prone. Ours is not the sleep of death. There is life within, struggling, struggling hard against sin (Rom. 7:14-22).“It is the voice of my Beloved.”

    Here is a very loving and tender call. —“It is the voice of my Beloved.” All is not gone. Though my heart sleeps so foolishly, yet Christ is my Beloved. Though my love is so fickle, so shameful, and so unworthy of him, I do love him. And what is more, I still hear his voice and know his voice.

    The Lord Jesus Christ tenderly knocks to awaken us to come and open to Him (Rev. 3:20). By his Word, by his providence, and by his Spirit, the Son of God knocks at the heart’s door of his beloved, because he will not be spurned by the object of his love. He will not leave his own. Neither will he let his own leave him. He has betrothed us unto himself forever (Hos. 2:19).

    He not only knocks for entrance. Our beloved Redeemer graciously calls us, wooing us to himself by his grace. Whose voice is it? “It is the voice of my Beloved that knocketh.” Who is he calling? “My Sister!” “My Love!” My Dove!” “My Undefiled!” What does he call for? “Open to me.” Why is he calling? “My head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night” the night of his agony in Gethsemane, in the judgment hall, when he was crowned with thorns, piercing his brow.

    “I have put off my coat!”

    Here is a most ungrateful excuse. —"I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?" (v. 3). Because of her carnal ease, she refused the Lord’s gracious invitation to communion. She did not want to trouble herself, and she did not want to be troubled, not even by him! Her heart was so cold that she preferred her ease to the fellowship of Christ. Let us be honest. We are often so wrapped up in worldly care and carnal ease that we become almost, if not altogether, indifferent to our Lord Jesus Christ!

    “My Beloved put in his hand!”

    But our Lord is gracious still. Our Redeemer’s love cannot be quenched. He is longsuffering, patient, and gracious to his people, even in our most sinful rejection and denial of him. Here is a picture of our Savior’s persevering, effectual grace. —"My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him" (v. 4). It is written, "Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth" (Psa. 110:3). How our hearts rejoice to know that Christ will not leave his people to themselves. As the hymn writer put it, “He will never, never leave us, nor will let us quite leave Him!” His grace is effectual. His grace is persevering. His grace is irresistible. His grace is preserving. Yes, his grace is indestructible! He knocks; but we are so cold, so indifferent, so hard that we would never open to Him.

    “My Beloved had withdrawn himself!”

    Here is a sad picture of the loving chastisement our neglect and indifference brings upon us. — "I rose up to open to my beloved; and my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh, upon the handles of the lock. I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer. The watchmen that went about the city found me, they smote me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me" (vv. 5-7; Isa. 54:9-10). Thank God for faithful watchmen who will not allow us to hide behind any veil, excusing our indifference and sin, but faithfully expose us to ourselves and point us to Christ for mercy and grace!

    “If ye find my Beloved…”

    Here is one last hope. — "I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, that I am sick of love" (v. 8). She could not find Christ for herself, so she employed the help and assistance of the Lord’s people.

    Cherish the precious fellowship of Christ. Let nothing rob you of your rich privilege. Do nothing to drive him away (Eph. 4:30). But when you have grieved the Spirit of God, when the Lord Jesus hides his face from you, do not despair. It is not because he has ceased to cherish you (1 John 2:1-2), but because he cherishes you so much that he is determined to make you pine for him. Are you sick of love? Does your soul long for fresh tokens of Christ’s love to you? When your soul languishes, child of God, when sin robs you of Christ’s manifest presence and sweet communion, as soon as he calls, open to him. “Today, if ye will hear his voice harden not your heart.” Go back to the cross. Confess your sinful negligence. Go on seeking him. Trust Him still (2 Sam. 23:5; Lam. 3:18-33).

    Return, O Son of God return! Come knock again upon my door.

    Dear Savior, my Beloved, return. Possess me and depart no more!