Five Pictures of the Church

Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners. Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me: thy hair is as a flock of goats that appear from Gilead. overcome...: or, puffed me up Thy teeth are as a flock of sheep which go up from the washing, whereof every one beareth twins, and there is not one barren among them. As a piece of a pomegranate are thy temples within thy locks. There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number. My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her. Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners? - Song of Solomon 6:4-10

    “Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners. Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me: thy hair is as a flock of goats that appear from Gilead. Thy teeth are as a flock of sheep which go up from the washing, whereof every one beareth twins, and there is not one barren among them.) As a piece of a pomegranate are thy temples within thy locks. There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number. My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her. Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners?”

    In these verses our Lord Jesus describes his church as he sees it, and as it truly is. When I use this term, “the church,” I mean the people of God, not a physical building, not a religious denomination, not even a local assembly, but the whole company of God’s elect, in heaven and in earth, all who have been saved, are saved, and shall yet be saved by the grace of God.

    Using this term, “the church,” in this way, I am using it in the way Paul did when he said, “Christ loved the church and gave himself for it” (Eph. 5:25). It is the church universal Paul speaks of when he says that Christ has been made “the Head over all things to the church” (Eph. 1:22). This is “the church of God which he hath purchased with his own blood” (Acts 20:28). It is the church universal our Lord Jesus Christ spoke of when he said, “Upon this Rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18).

    I stress this because many fail to understand that God’s church is one, that the body and bride of Christ is one, and that our Lord’s one body and church is made up of all his elect. All of God’s true people, considered as one, make up the church, the universal body and bride of Christ. All of God’s elect, all true believers of every age and every place make up the church of Christ.

    “Elect from every nation,

    Yet one o’er all the earth:

    Her charter of salvation,

    One Lord, one faith, one birth.”

    The church did not begin with Paul, it did not begin with Peter, and it did not begin with John the Baptist. The church did not begin at Pentecost, or at Calvary. The church of our Lord Jesus Christ began with Adam. The earliest worshippers in the church of our Lord were Adam and Eve, and their Son, Abel. And the church of Christ will be complete when the last of God’s elect has been regenerated and united to Christ by faith. When the last sheep has been brought into the fold, the fold will be complete, and the Shepherd will be satisfied.

    See that you understand what I am saying. The church is the body and bride of Christ; and all who are in Christ are in the church. All who were chosen in Christ are in the church. All who were redeemed in Christ are in the church. All who were justified in Christ are in the church. All who are regenerated in Christ are in the church. All who are preserved in Christ are in the church. All who shall be raised with Christ are in the church. If you and I are in Christ we are in that church which is his body. If we are saved by the grace of God we are members of the Lord’s church; and we are members in good standing.

    Our heavenly Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ gives us five pictures of the church. He describes the church as he sees it. He tells us what his church truly is. And what our Lord here says of the church collectively is true of all believers individually.

    Because of her sinful neglect, the Lord had temporarily withdrawn from his church the sense of his manifest presence (5:2-6). Though she did not have the comforting sense of his presence, she cherished him in her heart and held him by faith (5:9-6:3). She was in great sorrow, because of the Lord’s absence. But she never ceased to love him. And she never ceased to believe him. She rested her soul upon Christ alone, not upon her own feelings and experiences (6:3). Being confident of his love, mercy, grace, and faithfulness, she sings, even in her low condition, "I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth among the lilies." In this passage, our Lord graciously reveals himself again to his church to comfort and assure her again of his mercy, love, and grace. Here he graciously assures us of his love for us, and our acceptance with him by giving us five pictures of his church as he sees us.

    An army

    First, the church of Christ is an army in this world. —“Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners" (v. 4).

    “Tirzah” was a city in the tribe of Manasseh. It means “pleasant and acceptable.” “Jerusalem” is the city of God. It is symbolically a type of the church (Gal. 4:26; Heb. 12:22). Believers in this world are soldiers enlisted in an army (Eph. 6:10-20). We are soldiers in the territory of a hostile enemy. Our banner is the glorious gospel of Christ, Christ crucified, Christ himself (Isa. 11:12).

    Christ, our Mighty Captain, has given us our marching orders (Matt. 28:18-20). It is our responsibility to march against the very gates of hell, conquering the world for our King by the gospel. It is our responsibility to stand firm in defense of the gospel. Our triumph and ultimate victory is sure (Matt. 16:18).

    Object of love

    Second, the church is the object of Christ’s love. —"Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me: thy hair is as a flock of goats that appear from Gilead" (v. 5).

    Here our Lord assures his troubled and afflicted people that they are the objects of his love. His love toward us has not changed. Though he does, at times, withdraw from us his manifest presence, he never ceases to love us (Isa. 54:7-10). The love of God for his people is without cause, without beginning, without change, and without end.

    “Every human tie may perish;

    Friend to friend unfaithful prove;

    Mothers cease their own to cherish;

    Heaven and earth at last remove;

    But no changes attend Jehovah’s love.

    Zion’s Friend in nothing alters,

    Though all others may and do;

    His is love that never falters,

    Always to its object true.

    Happy Zion! Crowned with mercies ever new.”

    Here is a strange expression of love—“Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me.” Our Savior uses the expressions of a passionate lover to express the tenderness of a compassionate Redeemer. With these words, our Savior seems to say, I cannot resist those eyes that look to me. I will forgive and forget all that is past. The Lord of Glory is overcome by his people when they look unto him!

    We look to him with sorrowful eyes in repentance. We look to him with hopeful eyes in faith. We look to him with sincere eyes in love. And he is overcome! He cannot resist the look of faith! Child of God, even when the Lord hides his face keep on looking to him. The eyes of repentance, love, and faith will soon prevail. He so loves us that he is willing to be overcome by us!

    Perfect

    Third, the church is perfect in the eyes of Christ. — "Thy teeth are as a flock of sheep which go up from the washing, whereof every one beareth twins, and there is not one barren among them. As a piece of a pomegranate are thy temples within thy locks" (vv. 6-7).

    Here our Lord repeats almost word for word the description he had given of his bride’s beauty and perfection earlier (4:1-3), before the sad decline described in chapter five. He is saying, “Nothing has changed between us.” What grace! We are accepted in the Beloved. Our shameful sin, ingratitude, coldness of heart, unfaithfulness, and unbelief will never cause us to be any the less accepted. All our beauty, all our perfection, all our holiness is in him. Nothing can change that. In Christ we are redeemed. In Christ we are righteous. In Christ we are accepted—always accepted—unconditionally accepted. In Christ we are forgiven. The forgiveness of sin in Christ is free, full, final, and forever! The Lord will never impute sin to his people (Ps. 32:1-2; Rom. 4:8). We are forgiven!

    One body

    Fourth, the church is one body in Christ—"There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number. My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her" (vv. 8-9)

    Other kings have queens, their wives and concubines, and mistresses, and virgins, and maidens. But Christ our King makes all of his people one. In the kingdom of grace there is no such thing as rank, and class, and position. The people of God are one (Col. 3:11; 1 Cor. 12:12-27). We all have the same Father. We all have the same Elder Brother. We all have the same indwelling Spirit. We all have the same eternal inheritance. Let us, therefore, live as one body in Christ (Eph. 4:1-6). Let us strive together as one body to glorify the Lord our God.

    The light of the world

    Fifth, the church of Christ is the light of the world. —"Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners?" (v. 10).

    The church of God shines as the light of the sun in this world, giving forth light to them that sit in darkness (Matt. 5:14). In its beginning the church was like the rising of the morning sun, the dawning of light. At its best in this world, the church is like the moon at night, reflecting the light of the Sun of Righteousness. When we are complete in the kingdom of glory, we shall shine forth as the sun (Matt. 13:43). In that day, we shall be clothed with the Sun, with Christ the Sun of Righteousness, and like him we shall display the eternal glory of God (Rev. 12:1; Isa. 30:26).

    All of these pictures were given that we might rest in his love. Why shouldn’t we? He does. —"The Lord hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more. In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: and to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack. 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. 3:15-17).