Service tonight by singing together hymn number 21, the first five verses. The tune is Abends, 275.

The wandering world inquires to know why I should love my Jesus so. What are his charms, say they above, the objects of a mortal love. Hymn number 21 singing verses 1 to 5, tune A bends 275.

♪ Now on him bow a pastor now ♪
♪ Why I should love thy Jesus so ♪
♪ Out of his joy and love ♪
Saving a part, The object of a mortal part.

Yes, my beloved, to my sight Shows a sweet picture, red and white The human beauty's holy light, In my being I have made them shine. Light is his sun, the man is free. When in the blood he shed for me. The man is strong, ♪ 10,000 prayers ♪
♪ A song of love's 10,000 songs ♪
is dead the finest golden cell, where wisdom in affection dwells, and glory night ♪ The crown adorns ♪
♪ Those emperors once beset ♪
♪ With thorns ♪
♪ The passion's in ♪
is out of bounds, the final signal of its truth.

The sacred sound Let us read together from the Holy Word of God in the Song of Solomon. Reading chapter five. Solomon's Song, chapter five. We'll commence our reading in verse 16 in chapter four, and we'll read down to verse three in chapter six.

Awake, O north wind, and come thou south. Blow upon my garden. that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden and eat his pleasant fruits. I am coming to my garden, my sister, my spouse. I have gathered my worm with my spice. I've eaten my honeycomb with my honey. I've drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, O friends, drink, Yea, drink abundantly, O Beloved.

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 you, and my locks with thee 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 our bowels were moved for him. I rose up to open to my beloved, and my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers were 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 I opened to my beloved, But my beloved had withdrawn himself and was gone.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 smoked 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 is thy Beloved more than another Beloved, O thou fairest among women? What is thy Beloved more than another Beloved, that thou dost so charge us? My Beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand, His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy and black as a raven. His eyes are as the eyes of doves by rivers of waters washed with milk and fitly set. His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers, his lips like lilies dropping sweet-smelling myrrh. His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl, His belly is a bright ivory overlaid with sapphires. His legs are as pillars of marble set upon sockets of fine gold. His countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars. His mouth is most sweet. Yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.

Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? Whither is thy beloved turned aside, that we may seek him with thee? My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies. I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine. he feedeth among the lilies.

May the Lord bless the reading of his own precious word and grant unto us a spirit of real prayer.

Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which is an art, an art to come, we desire to bow before thy Glorious Majesty, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, we pray that we may be led of the Spirit and guided and directed by Thee at this evening hour and that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God our Father and the sacred fellowship of the Holy Spirit may rest and abide upon us.

Gracious Lord, do incline thine ear, we humbly beseech thee, and show us thy ways, and teach us thy paths. Lord, we pray to be led and taught and guided and directed by thee. Leave us not to ourselves, but grant that we may be given that true spiritual worship we would humble ourselves before thee.

For, Lord, we come as poor sinners to thy glorious and holy majesty, and we desire to confess our sins and our wanderings and our backslidings. Oh, we do pray that thou wouldst graciously receive us in the name of Jesus, our beloved, the altogether lovely one, the chiefest among 10,000.

We pray that we may behold his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, that we may behold his glory as the eternal son of the eternal Father that was manifest in the flesh, that we may behold the glory of that wonderful incarnation of the Son of God, that we may behold the glory of that holy life that he lived as a man here upon earth, and that holy law that he fulfilled and magnified and honored in his holy life.

The law has been fulfilled, everlasting righteousness has been brought in, in his glorious person. So we come, most gracious Lord, in all our felt need unto Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant.

Lord, we pray that we may be favoured, unworthy as we are, to touch the hem of his garment, to draw from that sacred fullness that is in him. For a fullness resides in Jesus our head, and ever abides to answer our need.

For we do pray, most blessed Spirit, that thou wouldst truly convince us of our sin, and lead to Jesus' blood, and to our wandering eyes reveal the secret love of God. For God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit, for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

May it be so tonight, Lord, as we gather around the word of God, that the truth may be opened, not only opened, but sealed into our hearts by the Holy Ghost, that it may be with us as it was with the dear Apostle at Thessalonica. For our gospel came unto you not in word only, but in power in the Holy Ghost and with much assurance.

Oh, we do pray, most gracious Lord, that it may be so as we gather around thy word at this evening hour. And oh, Lord, we do pray that thou wouldst remember us as a church and as a congregation, that thou wouldst bless us with those rich spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, and that there may be signs that shall follow the preaching of the word, and that precious souls may be brought in living faith unto Jesus Christ.

And we thank thee for those wonderful words that are spoken in the Gospels, this man, receive his sinners, and eateth with them. And may we prove that to be so at this evening hour.

O Lord, we do beseech thee. We pray, most gracious God, that thou, in thy great mercy, remember our brethren, the deacons. Give them wisdom, grace, and help. Remember each one of our brethren and sisters in church fellowship. Remember the whole of our congregation.

We think of those precious promises, I will work and who shall let it? Lord, let thy work appear. Let thy power be known, let thy grace be manifested. We do humbly beseech thee. Show thyself through the lattice of thy work. May thy word among us be a living word, a powerful word, a word that penetrates into our hearts, a word that is sealed there by the Holy Ghost. Oh, do hear us, Lord, we humbly pray thee.

Thou hast mercifully worked in this chapel for many, many years. Thy work has appeared and thy power has been known and thy grace has been made manifest and we thank thee for the remembrance of those mercies and that thou art still with us and we pray that thou wouldst let thy work appear and let thy power be known. We pray that prodigals may return and thy wonderful grace to be seen in this and that thou wouldst graciously grant thy blessing upon the little ones and the children.

We think of the wonderful promises in thy word. Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for if such is the kingdom of heaven. And instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth. Lord, we plead these precious promises, that thou wouldst fulfil thy word, that thou wouldst arise in thy power, that thou wouldst bear thine holy arm in the gospel.

And as we gather round thy word, week by week, we pray that we may be favoured to feel the divine love and power and grace of our heavenly Father, None come except Thee, Father, draw, and may we know those divine drawings of our Heavenly Father as we gather round Thy Word. And, O Lord, we do pray that Thou, in Thy precious mercy, wouldst draw us.

Think of those precious words of grace. Yea, I have loved Thee with an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness have I drawn Thee, O that we may be drawn, that we may be guided and directed by thee, and that we may feel thy presence and thy power and thy glory in the gospel, that in our midst we do humbly beseech thee, that the light and the power of gospel truth may shine forth, that the strongholds of Satan may be pulled down, that the kingdom of our Lord Jesus may be set up in the hearts of sinners.

Lord, let thy work appear unto thy servants and thy glory unto their children, we do humbly beseech thee for thy great name's sake. Lord, remember any and any particular trouble or trial or perplexity or sorrow or sadness or bereavement Lord, thou knowest each one. Knowest, O Lord, each one that is here in this chapel and what their needs are. And thou knowest the needs of those that are listening online. And we pray that thou would meet their needs, that thou would supply their needs.

We think of that wonderful promise, my God shall supply all your needs. according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. O Lord, we do pray that thou in thy precious mercy would remember the young friends and richly bless them. Bless them with light and understanding in thy word. Grant that the word of the Lord may enter into their hearts and that they may be brought into union and communion with Jesus Christ. and become followers of Him and of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Lord, we pray that Thou wouldst be with them in all the paths of life and all their needs, their concerns in providence. Lord, we lovingly commend them to Thee. We pray, most gracious Lord, that Thou in Thy great mercy Undertake for all in the midst of the journey of life. Give guidance and direction in all matters. Deliver us from the temptations of Satan. Deliver us from the power and dominion of sin. Deliver us, O Lord, from the allurements of this vain world.

How we need thee, O Lord, at all times and in all places. Thou art the sovereign ruler of the skies, ever gracious, ever wise. All my times are in thy hand, all events at thy command. Lord, we thank thee that it is so. Alleluia for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

And O Lord, we see in the day in which we live such wickedness and evil on every hand, We are a nation, O Lord, that has forsaken Thee and forsaken Thy ways and Thy truth. And we pray that Thou wouldst arise and send out Thy light and Thy truth and return in Thy power and in Thy glory as Thou used to be in the sanctuary. Lord, we pray that the light and truth of the gospel may shine the length and breadth of our nation Lord, thou hast done it in days past, we beseech thee that thou wouldst do it again.

Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine. Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, the son of man, whom thou madest strong for thyself. Oh, do hear us, Lord, we humbly beseech thee. Let us see thy goings in the sanctuary. Send out the glory, light, and power of gospel truth into this village, into the surrounding villages and hamlets, and grant that we may see an in-gathering, that we may see a rebuilding, a renewing, a reviving. Hear us, O Lord, we pray for thy great namesake.

And Lord, we pray that thou would remember those of us that are in the evening time of life's journey. And the longest can't be long, O Lord, before we shall soar through tracks unknown and see thee on thy judgment throne. Prepare me, gracious God, to stand before thy face. Thy spirit must the work perform, for it is all of grace.

Lord, we pray that thou wouldst Hear our prayers. Hear our entreaties. Remember the little hills of Zion up and down the nation. Remember all and every one of thy servants that labour in word and doctrine upon the walls of Zion. Grant them that fresh anointing of thy spirit. And we pray thee, the great Lord of the harvest, that thou wouldst yet send more labourers into the harvest, and that we pray that as old shepherds pass on, we may see new shepherds appear, and the settlement of pastors among the churches, and a turning unto thee, and an engathering of precious souls.

Lord, thou art able to do abundantly more than we can even ask or think. Oh, that thou wouldst be gracious unto thy Zion, unto thy people. And O Lord, We pray they remember our nation. We would pray for our King. We do grieve, O Lord, in the solemn events of the past week. When our King went to meet the man of sin, we pray, most gracious God, that thou would open his eyes to the truth and open his eyes to the glorious truth of our great High Priest who is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God.

We pray for the whole of the royal household, that thy rich blessing may be there. We pray for all in authority over us, that thy blessing, O Lord, may be given to us in wisdom given to our leaders who seem to be bereft of wisdom. We pray, most gracious Lord, that thou wouldst hear the cries of thy little remnant, that sigh and cry for the abominations done in the land. O Lord, we do beseech thee to heal us. We think of those nations where the name of Christ is hated and abhorred, and thy people are persecuted and imprisoned, even unto death. send them help from the sanctuary, strengthen them out of Zion, O Lord, we do beseech thee.

Lord, we pray for those that go forth from among us, that labour among the nations of the earth. We think of Ian Sadler and the distribution of thy word and the exposition of it, and we pray that thou wouldst guard him with all sufficient grace and supply his many returning needs.

Remember the Mombasa mission on thy servants that labour there, and bless them indeed, O Lord, we beseech thee. Grant signs to follow the preaching of the word.

And O Lord, we do pray that thou, in thy great mercy, would remember the Savannah Education Trust and that great work that they're doing in Ghana. Do be gracious unto them. do supply all their many returning needs, and do grant that these things may be down to the great honour, glory and praise of thy holy name.

We thank thee for every mercy and every favour, thy mercies to us each are new every morning and great is thy faithfulness. We thank thee above all for Jesus Christ, Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.

We thank thee for the holy life he lived and the holy law he fulfilled and the bringing in of everlasting righteousness for thy people in that holy life. We thank thee for the holy sacrifice he offered and that sin has been put away and divine justice has been satisfied and God and sinners are reconciled and peace is made between God and man.

O Lord, we do thank thee that he died for our sins and rose again for our justification. And as bodily ascended into heaven and sitteth at thy right hand, he has made a new and living way into the holy place.

Be with us now, Lord, as we turn to thy holy word. We come as poor sinners before thee. We pray that thou would pour out, pour into our souls that we may be enabled to pour out. Come and touch one's lips with a live coal from off of the heavenly altar as we ask for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.

Let us now sing the remaining verses of hymn 21, singing verses 6 to 10. The tune is Deep Harmony, 869.

His hands are fairer to behold than diamonds set in rings of gold. Those heavenly hands that are on the tree were nailed and torn and bled for me.

Hymn 21, singing verses 6 to 10, tune Deep Harmony, 869.

♪ This is the day of our journey home ♪
♪ And I am safe in peace of mind ♪
Wünschen die Menschen von der Seele, An den Toden herrlich.
♪ The light she found in the east ♪
♪ The rest is everlasting ♪
Return now, visit my home, bring us to
♪ His righteous majesty command ♪
♪ Give me, O God, the freedom of my soul ♪
♪ When all shall freely soar and fly ♪
♪ Through the clear windows of His show ♪
His health and goodness long convey, That our sons and kids with faith dismay.
♪ All praise to thee ♪
♪ Land of the free ♪
♪ God is here ♪
♪♪♪

Greatly feeling to need the Lord's gracious help, I direct your attention to the fifth chapter of the Song of Solomon and we'll read verse 10 for our text. Solomon's Song, chapter 5, verse 10. My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand.

And this beautiful, sacred portion of God's holy word often called the holy of holies of the scripture. The reason being it's sacred Hebrew poetry and it records the precious intercourse that goes on between Christ and his church, between Christ and the believer.

That is why it's the holy of holies of the scripture. And the only way that you and I can ever understand the truth of it is if we experience the love of God in our hearts. That we experience union and communion with Jesus Christ. There's no other way of being able to understand these this sacred portion of God's holy and precious Word, than by experiencing the truth, the reality of that truth.

In my early spiritual days, in fact, I remember very distinctly when I was under the law, before Christ had been revealed, I was in my office in London and under that deep sense of sinfulness and darkness, I wasn't used to reading my Bible, but because of the way I felt, I had a little Bible, a Sunday School present, a zip Bible that I took with me when I moved to London. And with all this confusion in my mind and a sense of need, I opened that little Bible and I read, I was on my own in my office, and I read the whole of Solomon's Song. And I remember it so distinctly because I remember closing the book and saying to myself, I do not understand a syllable of what I've read. I didn't understand it at all. I didn't understand any of the meaning. It was a sealed book.

But some two years later, when Christ was revealed to me, and when Christ was made precious to me, what a different book it became. As I've often told you, the words that brought me out of that terrible darkness and bondage into the glorious light of the Gospel is in Ephesians chapter 3. And ye shall be rooted and grounded in love, and know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, its height, its depth, its breadth, and all the It was as if the scales fell off my eyes. And instead of darkness, there was light. Instead of bondage, there was liberty. Instead of torment, there was peace. It was such a transformation when Christ was made precious.

And then I opened on Solomon's Song after that. And what a different book it was. I didn't understand, of course, all of it, but what was so precious to me at that time were the prayers in chapter one. They're the prayers of the church, the prayers of the spouse. Oh, what a, how I felt, where it says, let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for thy love is better than wine. How I, How I so went in with that prayer, let him kiss me. Draw me, we will run after thee. How I felt the need to be drawn into spiritual things. Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon. For why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions? And these prayers, They found an answer within my own heart. It was the very desires of my soul. Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest? Where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon? That's where I wanted to be, where Christ was feeding his people.

You know, and the Lord Jesus, he answered her immediately. If thou know not, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock and feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents. Go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock. My beloved friends, what are the footsteps of the flock? They're the footsteps of Jesus Christ. Mighty, they know my voice. and they follow me. That is the footsteps of the flock. It's the footsteps of Jesus Christ. They know my voice. And a stranger, will they not follow? It's in the John chapter 10, where the Lord Jesus speaks there. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.

He calleth his own sheep by name. And when he put it forth his own sheep, he goeth before them. And the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him, for they know not the voice of strangers.

See, my beloved friends, the good shepherd, I am the door. I am the door. Jesus is the way to God. Jesus is the way to bliss. In this way the saints have trod down from Adam's day to this, to walk following the Lord Jesus Christ.

If any man will follow me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. What grace we need to do that. But that's the grace that the Lord gives his people, his faith in Jesus Christ, his faith in his precious blood, his faith in his glorious righteousness, faith in what he has done.

Faith will turn away from all that is of the flesh and we'll look alone to Jesus Christ. That's what faith does. It's what the exhortation is in Hebrews chapter 12 isn't it? Let us lay aside every weight and the sin that does so easily beset us and let us run with patience the race that is set before us looking onto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is now set down at the right hand of the majesty on high.

Are we following Jesus? Are we walking in the footsteps of the flock? Are we forsaken all other for Him and Him alone? Let all fruitless searches go, which perplex and tease us, but desiring not to know but a bleeding Jesus, that glorious person of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

In what we've read here together, we look at the verse 16 of chapter four, where we've commenced our reading. Awake, O north wind, and come thou south. Blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. That's the words of Christ, the words of the beloved. Awake, O north wind, and come thou south.

We need the north wind and the south wind. We need the cold cutting wind of the north as well as the warm balmy wind of the south. Both necessary to make the garden grow. And these things can be spoken of in many different ways. The north wind can be spoken of as when the spirit convicts and convinces us of sin. when the spirit of God shows us what we are and where we are as poor sinners.

And then the south wind, it reveals the precious things of the gospel. It's a warm balmy wind. And the spices are the graces of the spirit. All those precious spices, faith, Love, hope, which hope we have as an anchor for the soul, both sure and steadfast, anchored within the veil. Faith, hope, love, humility. These are the wonderful graces of the Spirit.

And then the spouse, she says, let my beloved come into his garden. The garden is the church of God here on earth. And she says, let my beloved come into his garden and eat his pleasant fruits. That was the desire of the spouse.

Is it our desire tonight, as you've come here tonight, has it been your desire that you might see no man save Jesus only? That the Lord Jesus may come and speak to our souls? That we may be guided and directed into the truth? and that the truth may be sealed into our hearts by the Holy Ghost? Just as it was with the Apostle at Thessalonica when he said, for our gospel came unto you, not in word only, but in power, in the Holy Ghost, and with much assurance, the gospel of Jesus Christ, the sacred sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the holy life of Jesus Christ, which is the righteousness of the people of God, the perfect obedience of Jesus, the Son of God.

Now, in chapter five, he says, I am come into my garden. There's an immediate answer. Let my beloved come into his garden. You get an immediate answer. I am come into my garden. My sister, my spouse. My sister, my spouse, see how lovingly he speaks of his church, of his bride. He loves her with an everlasting love. He speaks to her lovingly and kindly. We love him because he first loved us.

I have gathered my myrrh with my spice. Myrrh, in particular, it speaks of love. I've gathered my myrrh with my spice. I've eaten my honeycomb with my honey. I've drunk my wine with my milk, yea, eat, O friends, drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved. This is the sacred spiritual intercourse that goes on between a living soul and a living Christ. It is.

Now there's another experience here. We go verse two in chapter five, I sleep. This is the voice of the spouse, of the bride of Christ, of the believer, I sleep. But my heart waketh. How many of us spiritually are sleeping? Half asleep? It's a very solemn condition, actually. The Lord Jesus, speaking to the church at Laodicea, and he said, they are neither hot nor cold. I would that they were hot or cold. Therefore, I will spew thee out of my mouth. They were half-hearted. They were neither hot nor cold.

I sleep, but my heart waketh. It is the voice of my beloved that knocketh." Knocking on the heart. I've heard it said, well, the Lord Jesus never knocks the heart. It's exactly what is said in scripture here. 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 you, and my locks with the drops of the night. He was outside, she was inside. He was His dew was wet with the dew. He was outside. And my locks with the drops of the night.

Then we have the response of the spouse. She was on a bed of ease. And she couldn't be bothered to get up. So slovenly was her state and condition. My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door. She said, I've put off my coat, how shall I put it on her? Wash 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.

You know the illustration that is being used and still if you go around some old farmhouses you'll find an outhouse with a hole in the door. And the latch is on the inside of the door, so you have to put your hand through the hole of the door and lift the latch to open it. And this is the illustration in this beautiful Hebrew poetry. My beloved, that's Christ, put in his hand by the hole of the door. My bowels were moved for him.

You know, friends, sometimes we come into great troubles, great trials, great perplexities, great losses, great crosses. And a common saying among us, it's the Lord's hand. It's the Lord's hand. Well, this is what the illustration is here. Something suddenly comes. whom the Lord loveth he chastened and scourges every son whom he has redeemed whom he loves because he loves them he chastises them and what we have here in this beautiful portion of God's word is the Lord Jesus put his hand forward and it stirred her up. The Lord uses many different things to stir us up. Many different trials to stir us up, to bring us into a place of great need, of great trouble, of great trial, and then we feel and know that we need him. And then we seek after him.

It says here, you see, she was in that state, I put off my coat, how shall I put it on? I've 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. My hands dropped with myrrh, that means love. And my fingers were sweet smelling myrrh. 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.

This was a form of chastening. I remember when the Lord first opened this word unto me it was a time of great affliction and it was during that affliction that I believe the Lord opened this word to me. I bet his beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, why to stir us up, to bring us into a state of need to take us off that bed of ease and contentment. Because that's where we get to, when everything's going nice and well and we're not being stirred up.

I opened to my beloved, but my beloved had withdrawn himself and was gone. He drew off that bed of ease. I saw him. Job, he says, doesn't he? He said, I looked for him on the right hand and on the left, but I couldn't find him. Oh, that I knew where I might find him, said Job. Is there one here tonight and that is the experience of your own soul at this time? Oh, that I knew where I might find him. I saw him, but I could not find him. I called him. but he gave me no answer.

The watchman, that is the ministers, the watchman that went about the city found me. That's the city of Zion. They smoked me. They wounded me. The keepers of the walls took away my veil from me. I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that if you find my beloved, that you tell him that I am sick of love.

She wanted to know that love again of her Saviour, that love that she had known, when she could say, my beloved is mine. If you look at the third verse of chapter six that we read together, I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine. He feedeth among the lilies. And that's what the child of God wants to truly feel, I am my beloved's. and my beloved is mine. That sweet assurance of faith, that union and communion with Jesus Christ, the great king and head of the church.

Now, the daughters of Jerusalem, who she had charged, oh daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved, that you tell him that I am sick of love, And the response of the daughters of Jerusalem was, what is thy beloved? More than another beloved. O thou fairest among women. What is thy beloved more than another beloved that thou dost so charge us? And then from verse 10 to the end, we have the most beautiful description of our Lord Jesus Christ. in the whole of scripture.

So I want to, if the Lord will enable me for a little, just to look at this verse 10 in particular. My beloved is white and ruddy. It's a beautiful word. My beloved is white and ruddy. You know, someone said years ago that the word of God is like a diamond and if you lift up the diamond to the light whichever way you turn it the light flashes off of it those facets on the face of the diamond they flash and whichever way you turn it there's another light and it's like that with scripture when you turn it you can see it in this angle you can see it in that angle and you see something different And this is what we find here, my beloved is white and ruddy.

Firstly, I want to look at this in this sense, my beloved is white and ruddy. White, representing the divinity of Christ. That he is the eternal son of the eternal father. My beloved is white. And then, and ruddy. And then we look at his holy human nature. So this whiteness regards his divine nature, this ruddy regards his human nature, that he became bone of our bone.

Because in the person of Christ there is a profound mystery. And that mystery is that God was manifest in the flesh. Great is the mystery of godliness that God was manifest in the flesh. And in the person of our beloved, in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, we see God and man made one.

Think of that lovely word in John chapter 1, and the word. That term, the word, or the name, the word, refers to the divine nature of the Son of God. Then listen carefully to what it says, and the word was made flesh and dwelt amongst and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the father, full of grace and truth.

My beloved is white and ruddy. The Lord Jesus, we read in the epistle to the Romans, He is declared to be the Son of God with power. He's declared to be the Son of God with power. You know in that, there's a number of narratives in Holy Scripture that we could speak of, but I think probably the most prominent one is when the Lord Jesus commanded the disciples to go into the ship. and to go over onto the other side of the Sea of Galilee. And they went into the ship. And we read that Jesus was asleep in the hindmost part of the ship. And what does that show? It shows the reality of his human nature. That it was a real human nature.

He used to spend whole nights in prayer. And so as a man, he became very tired, very weary. He was constantly continually healing the sick. And as a man, he became very weary. And we read when he met the woman of Samaria by Jacob's well in John chapter four. and that he was weary and he sat by the well. You see it shows that Jesus the son of God had a real true human nature. He knew all the sinless infirmities of our nature. He knew what it was to be tempted. Tempted of the devil.

So we read in when he was tempted the devil and when the devil had departed from him we read there appeared an angel from heaven strengthening him it shows the reality of his human nature so he knew what it was to be weary like the apostle says in the hebrews he was tempted in all points like as we are yet without sin tempted in all points like as we are yet without sin. That's the Son of God in union with His human nature.

As the Son of God, He couldn't suffer, bleed or die. He couldn't be tempted of evil. God cannot be tempted of evil, but in that profound mystery of Godliness, of God manifest in the flesh, He suffered temptation. He suffered, he bled, and he died for the sins of his people.

Now, you just think of what we were speaking of, of the Lord Jesus in the ship with the disciples and the great storm. And the disciples came to him because the water was filling the ship. And they said, Master, save us or we perish. And so we read that Jesus arose from being asleep, and he rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm, and the disciples were amazed. So he said, what manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him? What manner of man is this, even the winds and the sea obey him? My beloved is white and ruddy. He's God and man in one person. The Son of God assumed human nature in the womb of the Virgin Mary. It was his own human nature. It was an indissoluble union that was made between the divine and the human in that profound mystery of godliness. And that union was never ever to be broken. The deep mystery is, is not even in death was it broken? In that lifeless body that was placed in the tomb was the Son of God. The Lord of life experienced death. He experienced death. And then on the third day, he rose again, my beloved is white and ruddy.

It's a very sacred doctrine of truth, isn't it? Very soul-supporting.

Now, the other aspect, we already said the word of God is like a diamond, and you turn it, and whichever way you look at it, it flashes the light. And let us just look at this word, my beloved is white and ruddy, in this sense, he's white because he's pure and holy and righteous. He did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. The hymn writer says, doesn't he, spotless, innocent and pure, our great Redeemer stood, while Satan's fiery darts he bore, and did resist the blood, spotless, innocent, and pure. He did no sin. Sin is any transgression of the law of God. He did no sin. He lived a life that was holy. And in that sense, this white represents the righteousness of Jesus, the Son of God. as he lived as a man here upon earth, bringing in everlasting righteousness for his people.

And Ruddy, the Ruddy is red, it represents his precious blood. The white represents his righteousness, the Ruddy represents his precious blood, the blood of Jesus Christ, God's son cleanseth us, from all sin, for as much as ye were not redeemed with corruptible things such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb slain from before the foundation of the world." The precious blood of Christ. Running. My beloved.

So this is what the spouse, she sees in her beloved. She sees the eternal Son of God manifest in the flesh. She sees the Holy One of Israel, who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. She sees that glorious sacrifice of the cross of Calvary, where sin was put away, where divine justice was satisfied, where God and sinners are reconciled, where peace is made between God and man. That's what she sees in her beloved. That's why she says to her fellow believers, I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved, that you tell him I am sick of love.

See, he's the chiefest among 10,000. He's the very substance of all our hopes and all our desires. says here his head is as the most fine gold. Gold in this sense, in this metaphorical language, in this poetry, it represents divinity. His head is as the most fine gold, he's the eternal son of God. It says in verse 14 his hands are as gold rings set with the beryl. Gold again representing divinity. A ring has no beginning and no ending. His hands are as gold rings, set with the beryl. Those gold rings. Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness have I drawn them. Everlasting love. That's what we see in these gold rings.

and his legs are as pillars of marble that represent stability and strength. But then listen, set upon sockets of fine gold. It's his divinity. All the worth of that holy life is it's the son of God. All the worth of that holy sacrifice is the son of God, who offered himself without spot on to God. And this was the preciousness that the spouse sees in her beloved. His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold. Upon this rock I build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. His mouth is most sweet.

" Yeah, it's almost as if she comes to a point where she cannot fully express what she's trying to say And she says, yay, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved. This is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.

And the effect it had on her fellow believers in that first part of chapter six. And they say to her, Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? Whither is thy beloved turned aside, that we may seek him with thee? As she describes her beloved and the daughters of Jerusalem, they see a beauty and a loveliness.

Whither is thy beloved turned aside, that we may seek him with thee? May the Lord add his blessing. Let us now sing together hymn 22. The tune is Meriton, 366.

When mourners stand and hear me tell,
what beauties in my Saviour dwell,
where he is gone they fain would know,
that they may seek and love him too.

Hymn number 22, tune Meriton, 366.

Oh say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

For you should know the wind is blue
From hills of blight, they melt on you

♪ God in His center shall we place ♪
♪ In the young gardens of His grace ♪
♪ In those golden, bright years of old ♪
♪ Where fruitful days in auld lang syne ♪
♪ Gave way to home of old ♪

The sight he bears can give his surest promise true.

♪ We have set out on common stride ♪
♪ Not to be lost but to return home ♪

He takes my soul and I come and go, and choose the way which followeth mine.

♪ O chariots of the millennium ♪
♪ The heav'nly host ♪
♪ The rock and the stone ♪
♪ O may my cheering wave be bright ♪
♪ O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave ♪

Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, the sacred fellowship of the Holy Spirit, rest and abide with us each, both now and forevermore. Amen.