“Come, My Beloved”

I am my beloved's, and his desire is toward me. Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages. Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give thee my loves. appear...: Heb. open The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved. - Song of Solomon 7:10-13

    “I am my beloved's, and his desire is toward me. Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages. Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give thee my loves. The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.”

    Matthew Henry, wrote, “These are the words of the spouse, the church, the believing soul, in answer to the kind expressions of Christ’s love in the preceding verses.”

    The church had been without the fellowship of Christ for some time now. He had not neglected her; but she had neglected him. His heart had not been cold toward her; but her heart had been cold toward him. He had done her no evil; but she had done him much evil. He had not forsaken her; but she had, for a while, forsaken him. He came to reveal himself, to show his love and grace. He knocked at her door, called to her, and tugged at her heart. But, through her coldness of heart, slothfulness, sin, and desire for ease, she refused him. She withdrew her heart from him, so he withdrew from her the sense of his presence. Though he was always with her, and would never forsake her, she was not aware of his presence. The sweet manifestation of his love and grace and power were gone (5:2-3).

    Even when the Lord hid his face from her and caused her to pass through so much trouble, he acted in love. Her best interest was upon his heart. His purpose was her good. He would prove her love. He was proving her faith. He was making himself more and more precious to her. He was showing her herself, her emptiness, her barrenness, her need of him. Blessed trial!

    No sooner had the Lord withdrawn his manifest presence from her, than she realized her shameful neglect and sin. She arose and sought him. Her soul was grieved. Her heart ached with longings for him. She passed through many painful afflictions and trials that were hard to bear. But she continued to love him and to trust him. Her soul was like two armies warring against one another, the one in league with sin, the other in love with Christ. But she continued to seek her Beloved (5:4-8). Is this the condition you are in? How often we bring ourselves into this low condition.

    “My soul through many changes goes.

    His love no variation knows!”

    At last, the Lord graciously revealed himself to her again. He assured her of his love and grace. He assured her that his heart had not changed. And he promised her that he would come to her again. He said, “I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof: now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy nose like apples” (7:8-9). He said, I will come to you again and make myself known unto you. Then, you shall be fruitful. Your soul shall be refreshed. This promise filled her soul with hope. And this is how she responded to him. – “Come, my Beloved.”

    “Enter our hearts, Redeemer blest,

    Enter, Thou ever-honored Guest;

    Enter, and make our hearts Thine own,

    Thy house, Thy temple, and Thy throne.

    And stay, not only for a night,

    To bless us with a transient sight;

    But with us dwell, through time – and then

    In heaven for evermore – Amen.”

    A blessed assurance of love

    Here is a blessed assurance of love. “I am my Beloved’s, and his desire is toward me.” Here we see faith taking Christ at his Word. He told her of his love for and his interest in her. He told her that she belonged to him and only to him. And she believed him. Her heart was made to rejoice in her relation to Christ and her interest in him. In his name she will boast all the day long (Jer. 9:23-24).

    Does your heart enjoy such an assurance of Christ’s love? If you are a sinner trusting Christ alone, you may be sure of this – You are his, and his desire is toward you! If you love Christ, and your desire is toward him, you may be sure of this – He loves you, and his desire is toward you!

    “I am my Beloved’s”

    With these words, the believing soul acknowledges that all she is and all she has belongs to Christ and comes from Christ. And she here makes a voluntary surrender of all to him again. As she received all from him, she devotes all to him. “I am my Beloved’s,” not my own.

    “Ye are not your own, ye are bought with a price”

    The Lord Jesus Christ is our Lord. We belong to him. We are his property. We are his by his own eternal choice (John 15:16). We are his by legal purchase (Tit. 2:14). We are his by divine gift (John 6:37-39). And we are his by voluntary surrender. Faith in Christ is nothing less than a voluntary surrender of myself to his dominion (Lk. 14:25-33). May the Lord graciously give us continual, constant devotion to him. We want more than occasional spasms of devotion. We want continued, unbroken devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ.

    “His desire is toward me.”

    As a faithful husband’s desire is toward his wife, so that in all things he seeks her happiness, comfort, and welfare, so Christ’s desire is toward his church. His desire is toward me only - All that the Lord does, he does for his elect. His desire is toward me from eternity. His desire is toward me at all times. This is why he came into the world. – “His desire is toward me.” Before conversion, after conversion, at all times and forever, “His desire is toward me.” Christ’s desire toward his own elect will never be fully satisfied until he has them all with him in glory. As a tender husband, the desire of the Lord’s heart is toward his people. He sympathizes with us in all our distresses. He protects us in all our dangers. And he provides for us all that we need for time and eternity.

    An earnest desire

    In verses 11-12, the spouse expresses an earnest desire for her Beloved. His desire is toward me; and my desire is toward him. “Come, my Beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages. Let us get up early to the vineyards.”

    Perhaps, you think, “The Lord assures us that we are his and that he will never leave us nor forsake us. That being the case, such an expression is out of order.” Not so. Is it out of order for a wife, assured by the experience of her husband’s faithful love and devotion, to constantly yearn for his approving smile? Of course not. Such yearnings are inspired by the confidence of love rising from its experience.

    Do you long for Christ? Tell him so. “Come, my Beloved.” Let us walk together, that I may receive counsel and instruction from you. Come, comfort my heart, refresh my soul, and revive my spirit. Our Lord walked with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus; and as he talked with them, their hearts burned within them. That experience made them want him all the more. Immediately, they went to the place where they hope to find him, the assembly of his church at Jerusalem (Lk. 24:32-36; Matt. 18:20). There they found him.

    Having received fresh tokens of his love and fresh assurances of her interest in him, the spouse wanted a better acquaintance with him. She pressed towards “the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus.” Oh, that I may know him, was her cry (Phil. 3:10). We want to know our Savior doctrinally, experimentally, growingly in the fellowship of his suffering and in the power of his resurrection, being made conformable to him in his death.

    She wanted to enjoy personal, private communion with Christ. She wanted to get alone with him. “Come, my Beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages.” If we would enjoy the fellowship of Christ, we must lay aside the cares and amusements of this world, avoiding everything that would take our hearts away from him (1 Cor. 7:35; Col. 3:1-3). If we would enjoy fellowship with Christ, if we would know him, we must get alone with him. Did our Lord not say, “When we pray, enter into thy closet, and shut the door”? But, as Matthew Henry put it, “A believer is never less alone than when he is alone with Christ.”

    She was willing to rise early to be with her Lord. She considered it neither trouble nor sacrifice, but a great privilege to do so. She says, “Let us get up early to the vineyards.” C. H. Spurgeon, commenting on this text, wrote, “This is put here as the very type and symbol of an earnest and vigorous service for Christ.” It intimates this – If we would enjoy the fellowship and company of Christ, we must be diligent; we must take advantage of our opportunities to hear from, commune with, and worship him. There is nothing particularly excellent, or noble, or spiritual about rising before dawn, but, if we would spend our days with Christ, we must begin our days with Christ. Seek him early; and seek him diligently.

    She would be content in any place, under any circumstances, if she could enjoy the presence of Christ with her. What does it take to make us happy and content? Here we see one who was content to take her lodging in the villages, in the huts of the poor, if only Christ would be with her.

    “Prisons would palaces prove,

    If Jesus would dwell with me there!”

    Knowing that earthly comfort and luxury had once nearly stolen her heart, she was willing to make any sacrifice to have her Beloved Savior’s presence. Nothing can satisfy a believing soul but Christ. And nothing can destroy the peace, contentment, and satisfaction of a believer who enjoys the presence and fellowship of Christ.

    “All that my soul has tried

    Left but a dismal void;

    Jesus has satisfied,

    Jesus is mine!”

    When we so desire Christ that we desire nothing but Christ, we shall have Christ (Psa. 73:25).

    Examination

    In verse 12, the bride, the believing soul, willingly submits to examination by her Beloved. She says, “Let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth.” One reason she desires the presence of Christ is that she may know the state and condition of her own soul (Psa. 139:23-24). Our souls are our vineyards. It is our responsibility to keep our vineyards, not our neighbors’ vineyards, but our own, to look after them and examine them. Someone has suggested that the vine is faith, the tender grape hope, and the pomegranates love and joy.

    In the examination of our souls, it is always wise to take Christ along. His presence will make the vine to flourish, the tender grape to appear, and the pomegranates to bud forth. As the returning of the sun revives our gardens, the returning of Christ’s manifest presence revives our souls. It is to Christ himself that we must appeal for our comfort and assurance, praying like David, “Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation.”

    If he sees the vine of faith flourishing, the tender grape of hope appearing, and the pomegranates of love and joy budding, if we can appeal to him, like Peter, “Thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee,” if his Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the sons of God, that is enough.

    Promised love

    In verses 12-13, we hear the bride, whose heart has been revived by Christ, making a sincere promise of love to him. “There,” from the depths of my heart and my innermost soul, “will I give thee my loves.” The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee, O my Beloved.”

    Oh, for grace to give the Lord Jesus Christ all the love of our hearts, so that there is no room left, and nothing left, to give to any rival! This is the sure result of our Lord’s reviving presence. When Christ comes and makes himself known to his people, our love and devotion to him is renewed.

    Love for Christ must be our motive and our governing principle in all things. “The love of Christ constraineth us.” He looks beyond our words, and our actions, to the attitude of our hearts. “All through these verses the spouse acts with reference to her Beloved. It is for him that she goes forth into the field, for the sake of his company, and the quiet enjoyment of his love, she would lodge in the villages; and all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old, which are stored within her gates she declares to be laid up for her Beloved. Love, then, is the fittest and most powerful motive to holy service” (C. H. Spurgeon). This love has about it certain evident peculiarities.

    It is a love which realizes the person of the Beloved. The church is strong when the Lord Jesus Christ is real to her. Jesus Christ is not a mere historical person to us, who once lived and died. He is a real person, living today in our midst. He walks among the golden candlesticks, and resides in our souls.

    Our love for Christ arises from an assurance of his love for us (1 John 4:19). It is not possible for us to love Christ unless we are made to know that he loves us. When I know that his desire is toward me, then my desire shall be toward him.

    Love for Christ leads us to hold all things in joint possession with him. Love is the mother of devotion, sacrifice, and self-denial. Love for Christ causes the believer to give himself and all that he has to Christ. Love does not have divided properties. Such is the love of Christ for us that he gave all that he had for us and gives all that he is and has to us. He could not bear to have anything, not even his throne, that should be altogether for himself. He stripped himself naked to clothe us. Then, he gave us his breath to be our life, and his blood to be our health. Every ransomed soul ought to have such love for Christ that he could sing…

    “If I might make some reserve,

    And duty did not call;

    I love my Lord with zeal so great,

    That I would give Him all.”

    Let us more and more have all things in common with our Lord. We are joint-heirs with Christ. All that he has is ours. Let all that we have be his. Our talents, our time, our abilities, our possessions, all are his, rightfully his. Let us constantly live in the awareness that those things we call “ours” are really his. He has only put them into our hands that we might serve him with them, and serve him with the enjoyment of them.

    Love for Christ leads us to go afield in serving him. Love for Christ says, “What more can I do for him?” It is never satisfied with old fruits, it must always bring forth new service for him. Let us bring out everything for him, use it for him, and count it our highest honor that he will accept that which we bring to him.

    This love grows and flourishes in the fellowship and communion of Christ. I am afraid that we are far too cold in our love for our altogether lovely Christ, because we live at a distance from him. Oh, may God enable us to live in constant, habitual fellowship and communion with our Savior. This one thing is needful to promote and sustain revival in our souls. If we have abounding love for Christ, we shall prosper under terrible disadvantages; but if we do not have this love, we have lost the great secret of happiness, peace, and usefulness. Let this be our unceasing prayer and hearts’ desire – “Come, my Beloved!”