Let us turn to God's Word. A text this morning is found
in the Song of Solomon, in chapter 4, and the last verse, verse
16. Song of Solomon, chapter 4, and
verse 16. 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." Here in the first part of this
particular verse we clearly see what is really a prayer, and
a prayer that is being addressed to God, the Holy Spirit. Awake, O north wind, and come
thou south blow upon my garden that the spices thereof may flow
out." In this remarkable book, The Song of Solomon, we're told
in the first book of Kings, in chapter 4, that the songs of
Solomon numbered as many as one thousand and five. One thousand and five songs. But of them all, We're told here
in the opening verse that this is the Song of Songs which is
Solomon's. It's not the only Song of Solomon
that we have recorded here in Holy Scripture because Psalm
45 is also referred to as a Song. there in the title of that particular
psalm to the chief musician upon Shoshanim for the sons of Korah,
Maskel, a song, a song of loves and there are similarities in
some ways between this song of Solomon and that song of loves. There, in Psalm 45, we see the
relationship between the king and his bride. The psalmist says, My heart is
indulging a good matter. I speak of things which I have
made touching the king. My tongue is the pen of a ready
writer. Now I am fairer than the children
of men. grace is poured into thy lips therefore God hath blessed
thee for ever. And then again at verse 9 we
are told King's daughters were among thy honourable women upon
thy right hand did stand the Queen in gold of Ophir Verse
13, the king's daughter is all glorious within. Her clothing
is of wrought gold. She shall be brought unto the
king in raiment and needlework. The virgins, her companions that
follow her, shall be brought unto thee. We have then a description
of the king, that one, and his family and the children of men.
But also we have some description of his bride. and it is the same also when
we come to the Song of Solomon it speaks of Christ and it speaks
also of the Bride of Christ it says before us Him who is the
King of Kings the Lord of Lords but also it speaks to us concerning
that Bride which is His Church We know that Solomon himself
is a remarkable type, of course. He's a type of the Lord Jesus,
he's the son of David. Christ is David's greater son. And the very name that is given
Solomon has that meaning of peace. And one of the titles given to
the Lord Jesus, of course, is that of the Prince of Peace,
the name whereby you shall be called, wonderful, Counselor
of the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of peace this
song of Solomon then it speaks to us concerning Christ and concerning
the the church and again we have the authority of New Testament
scripture to make such an assertions We must always interpret the
Old Testament in the light of those things that we have recorded
in the New Testament. And when the Apostle writes there
at the end of Ephesians chapter 5 concerning the relationship
of the husband and his wife, he goes on to speak of that great
mystery. I speak, he says, concerning
Christ and the Church. Nevertheless, let every one of
you, in particular, so love his wife, even as himself, and the
wife should see that she reverends her husband. This most intimate
of all human relationships, that of a man and his wife, is taken
then to speak of the relationship between Christ and his Church. And so here At the end of this
chapter, wherein we have our text this morning, we find the
Lord Jesus speaking of His Church in a way of commendation. Verse
12, using this figure of a God to describe something of the
character of his church, a garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse,
a spring shut up, a fountain sealed by plants are an orchard
of pomegranates with pleasant fruits, campfire 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. What a description it is, how
rich the figure that is being used and it's not the only occasion
that he uses this figure of a garden to seek to describe something
of the beauty that he beholds in his church. We turn over to
the 6th chapter and there at verse 2, my beloved, he's 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."
Going there at verse 11, I went down into the garden of nuts
to see the fruits of the valley and to see whether the vine flourished
and the pomegranates budded. The language then throughout
the song is full of wonderful imagery in seeking to describe
that love that is between Christ and his church and not only in
the song of course but when we turn to the prophetic scriptures
in Isaiah chapter 58 There is that that is addressed to Israel
as a typical people, a type of the New Testament church. Verse
11, Thou shalt be like a watered garden. Church of the Lord Jesus
Christ spoken of then as a watered garden. And as I've said Here
in the verses immediately previous to what I announced as our text,
we have the Lord Jesus giving this description of the church,
a garden enclosed, is my sister, my spouse, a spring shut up,
a fountain sealed. We have the words of the Lord
Jesus from there in verse 12 through to verse 15 the Lord
speaks and then those words of the Lord are responded to in
our text because now it is the church that speaks Christ's words
are turned as it were to a prayer, Awake O Northwind 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."
And we observe how that the text is made up of two sentences. And I want, as I've said this
morning, to concentrate more especially upon the opening sentence
and then, if the Lord will, we'll consider the second sentence
at the end of the verse this evening. But here, in this first
part of verse 16, clearly it is the Bride of Christ, the Church,
addressing prayer unto God, the Holy Spirit. And so, in the first
place, I want to say something with regards to that name that
is given here to the Holy Spirit. It is addressed in terms of the
wind, awake, O north wind and come thou south blow upon my
garden. It's a prayer. It's an address
given to the wind. The interesting thing is that
the particular word that is used the Hebrew word translated wind
is the word Ruach and On other occasions in the Old Testament
the same word is translated spirit and it is the context that determines
how the word is to be rendered whether it is a reference to
the spirit or a reference to the wind. And the same word of course is
used in that portion that we read in Ezekiel chapter 37 where
we have that vision of the valley of dry bones. And now this is
a representation of the children of Israel as they've been taken
into exile as they are languishing there in captivity in Babylon. But God will yet bring them out
of exile. There were 70 years to be accomplished
in the desolations of Jerusalem. The day would come when they
would be brought again out of captivity. And they would once
more be settled in that land of promise. Those things spoken
of at the end of chapter 36, the portion that we were reading. And how God says He will be inquired
of by the house of Israel to do these things for them, to
restore them. I will increase them, He says,
with men like a flock, as the holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem
in a solemn feast. So shall the way cities be filled
with flocks of men, and they shall know that I am the Lord's. the end of chapter 36 and then
this vision that is given to the prophet in chapter 37 here
is Israel in in captivity and it's a valley that's full of
bones and the bones are very dry but the prophet is to speak
to these bones he is to proclaim the word of God and as he preaches
so bone comes to bone and they are covered with sinews and with
flesh but there is no life in them then he is told verse 9
then said he unto me prophesy unto the wind prophesy son of
man and say to the wind thus saith the Lord God come from
the four winds oh breath and breathe upon these slain that
they may live So I prophesied as he commanded me and the breath
came into them and they lived and stood up upon their feet
and exceeding great armor. He is being commanded there to
speak to the four winds to prophesy but really it is prayer that
is being addressed to the Holy Spirit and it's as the Spirit
comes upon them that they are brought to life. There is there
clearly a reference to praying to the Holy Spirit. He is set
before us in the Old Testament then as the wind or the breath
of God. The reference is clearly to the
Holy Spirit himself and so too in the New Testament in the ministry
of the Lord Jesus. We are familiar with that third
chapter of John's Gospel where Christ speaking to Nicodemus
makes mention of the necessity of the new birth. Remember the words of the Lord
there at verse 8. He says, The wind bloweth where
it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst
not tell whence it cometh, nor whither it goeth. So is every
one that is born of the Spirit. The beginning of the verse he
makes mention of the wind. And he blows where it will. At
the end he speaks of the Spirit. So is everyone that is born of
the Spirit. By the word wind and Spirit,
they are from exactly the same roots there in the Greek of the
New Testament. How the wind, the breath of God
speaks to us of the Holy Spirit after His resurrection from the
dead. How the Lord Jesus speaking to
His disciples as He comes to them, breathes upon them and
says to them, receive ye the Holy Spirit. significance then of the 9 that
is given here in our text as the church addresses the Holy
Spirit, Awake O North Wind and come thou South, blow upon my
God. Well having said something with
regards to the 9 that is given, let us in the second place consider
also the nature of the Spirit's work. And three things I want
to observe with regards to that work that the Spirit of God is
pleased to perform. First of all, His work is that
that is sovereign and it is mysterious. It is clearly sovereign because
He is God. He is God's, the Holy Spirit. In the New Testament we have
set before us that great truth of the doctrine of God, the doctrine
of the Trinity. There are three that bear record
in heaven, the Father, the words, and the Holy Ghost, and these
three are one. I don't want to go into detail
concerning the truth of the deity of the Spirit, the personality
of the Spirit, it is so evident in the way in which He is spoken
of throughout the New Testament Scriptures. And as He is God,
so He is Sovereign. Sovereignty belongs unto God.
Let God be God, let the Spirit of God be seen to be all that
He is and surely in those words that we've already referred to
the words of the Lord Jesus in John chapter 3 and verse 8 indicates
to us something of the the sovereignty as well as the the mystery of
the workings of the Spirit the wind, the wind bloweth where
it's listed there's no controlling the wind in the book of Ecclesiastes
we have mention of those various circuits of the winds in Ecclesiastes
chapter 1 and verse 6 the wind goeth toward the south and turneth
about unto the north it whirleth about continually and the wind
returneth again according to his circuits all the mystery
of the wind Now, it's sovereign in all its movements, the mystery
of its various circuits, and all of this speaking to us of
that great work of the Holy Spirit. There is that that is mysterious.
Why is it that He comes to one and works so mightily and effectually
in the soul of that one and yet He comes not to another but passes
by that one? we cannot control the workings
of the Spirit He is God and we have to bow to that sovereignty
and we have to acknowledge that mystery of all His strange ways
and workings. Again the words of the Lord Jesus,
He says the kingdom of God cometh not with observation neither
shall they say lo here or lo there behold the kingdom of God
is within you says Christ how he comes, he comes into the heart,
he does his work there that great work of conviction, that great
work of conversion and here we see that his workings are so
diverse and so different we have the wind, yes, but we read of
the north wind and we also read of the south wind when the apostle speaks of the
spirits writing to that greatly gifted church at Corinth where
there was so much evidence of the gifts of the spirit and yet
a great abuse of those remarkable gifts that they were favoured
with. And remember how he has to deal with these matters in
those chapters, chapters 12 through to 14 of 1 Corinthians. He's
addressing the confusion but he reminds them of the sovereignty
and the mystery of the Spirit. He says, now there are diversities
of gifts but one Spirit. All these worketh that one and
the selfsame Spirit dividing to every man severally as he
will. he speaks of the sovereignty
of the Spirit in giving a gift to one and not giving a gift
to another here we see something of the nature then of his work
we to recognize that he is at one, he is God and as God he
is sovereign and we cannot always trace those remarkable movements
of the Spirit of God but as he is sovereign so we also with
regards to the nature of his work have to recognize that it
is a searching ministry that he exercises it's a purifying
ministry the wind in a sense serves as nature's fan how necessary
the winds are we know what it's like sometimes in the midst of
summer when there's a stillness and how the air can become so
stale We need the winds, we need those circuits of the winds.
And here we have mention of him as the North Wind. What is the North Wind? Well,
it's a cold wind. Certainly living in this Northern
Hemisphere. And Israel like England is in
the northern hemisphere so when the north wind is spoken of in
scripture it's spoken of in terms of that that cutting, that cold
wind Elihu speaking there in the book of Job's out of the
south cometh the whirlwind he says and cold out of the north away go north wind is the prayer
what is this north wind is it not that reproving that convincing
work that the Spirit must perform in the soul of the sinner. When
the Lord Jesus speaks of the ministry of the Holy Spirit,
He makes it plain that there is a work of conviction. When
He has come, says Christ, He will reprove the world of sin,
and of righteousness, and of judgment. Or there is a convincing
work that He must accomplish of sin he says because they believe
not on me that's the great work that he
does to convince the sinner of his sins to show him the error
of his ways to take the holy righteous and just Lord of God
to apply that law And as he applies the law to it, make the sinner
see how he is a transgressor, how he falls short of that glory
that is revealed in the holy law of God. Think of the ministry
of the Lord Jesus himself, how he would speak and speak plainly
and clearly to sinners. We have a record in the fourth
chapter of John of his dealings with the woman of Samaria. He questions her, and in his
dealings with her, he exposes to her what her sin is, and she
has to confess it. Come, she says to her neighbours,
come see a man which told me all things that ever I did. He
is not this, the Christ. Why was it that Christ was able
to exercise such a ministry? Well, in all that ministry we
are not to lose sight of that gracious unction of the Spirit
that was ever upon Him as a man. God giveth not the Spirit by
measure unto Him. There is a mystery, you see,
when we think of the ministry of the Lord Jesus, because it
is a ministry in which He is willingly dependent upon God
the Holy Spirit, though He Himself is God the Son. It is the Spirit
in Christ that is so evident in his dealings with sinners.
And now that ministry that he exercises is that convincing
ministry. It's the ministry of the North
Wind. And yet at the same time we have
to recognize that with the Spirit there's always that balance in
his dealings. His dealings are so measured. Isaiah 27 and verse 8 he stayeth
his wrath wind it says in the day of his east wind or there is that that is so right
and proper so equitable about the workings of the Spirit of
God This is the God that we deal with. He will not have his children
tempted above what they are able with the temptation. He always
makes that way of escape that they may be able to bear it.
And so it is when the spirit comes as the north wind. There is that that is balanced
about his ministry. Yes, it's a ministry of conviction.
But he knows how much that poor convinced sinner can take of
such a ministry. and so there's that third aspect
of his ministry yes he is sovereign and his ministry is very much
a searching ministry but it's also a comforting ministry it's
a soothing ministry and so we see it here in this other line
that he's given Awake O North Wind and come thou South and
come thou south or the south wind so different to the north
wind again the language of Elijah there in Job 37 and verse 17
quieteth the earth it says by the south wind that wind that
comes from the south when we're living in the northern hemisphere
that wind that is coming from the regions of the equator the
warmth of it the soothing nature of it the Lord Jesus says much the
same in the course of his own ministry he says when ye see
the south wind blow ye say there shall be heat and so it is the
south wind it's warming and it's comforting But isn't this one
of the blessed name that's given to the Holy Spirit? The Lord
Jesus speaks of Him as the Comforter. That's how the Word is rendered
in our Authorized Version. What a blessed Word it is! In
those chapters where Christ speaks so clearly concerning His coming
and the nature of His ministry. I will pray the Father, He says,
and He shall give you another Comforter. that He may abide
with you forever, even the Spirit of Truth." Oh, He is the Spirit
of Truth, and yes, He comes to bear testimony to the truth,
and to the truth concerning what we are in our fallen nature.
As we've said, He will convince of sin, and of righteousness,
and of judgment, of sin because they believe not on me, of righteousness
because I go to the Father and you see me no more of judgment
because the prince of this world is judged but as he bears testimony
to the truth it's not only that truth of what the sinner is it's
also that truth that concerns the Lord Jesus who himself is
the why, the truth and the lie how He speaks of the Lord Jesus. Does He not come as that One
who is really the Spirit of Christ? That's the great promise that
we see in the Lord's ministry as He speaks of the Spirit and
of His coming. In John chapter 16, verse 13, O be it when He, the
Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth.
for he shall not speak of himself but whatsoever he shall hear
that shall he speak and he will show you things to come he shall
glorify me for he shall receive of mine and shall show it unto
you what remarkable words here he is he is God he is the Holy
Spirit of God and yet his ministry is so self-effacing he doesn't
come to speak of himself His ministry is to take of the things
of Christ and He delights to glorify the Savior. This is how
we comfort sinners, when He comes as that One who will reveal to
them that grace of God that is laid up in the person and the
work of His only begotten Son. It is remarkable, is it not,
how these things are unfolded to us in the New Testament concerning
the relationship between these divine persons in the Godhead. Our God, the Son, in the state
of His humiliation, in the exercise of His ministry, is pleased to
be dependent upon the Spirit. The Father gives not the Spirit
by measure unto Him, but the Son, having accomplished His
work, and dying upon the cross, rising again from the dead, ascending
on high, then sheds abroad the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit comes,
not to speak of Himself, but to reveal the things of the Lord
Jesus Christ." And how He soothes the troubled conscience of the
sinner when He causes that sinner to see that there is a fullness
of salvation laid up in the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, the nature
then of that blessed ministry that he comes to exercise he
is that one who is sovereign I say and there is a mystery
in all his sovereign dealings but he is that one also who comes
to search the soul of the sinner to convince the sinner of his
sin And yet, having done that, he then soothes that poor sinner
by revealing to him the salvation which is in Christ. That's the
nature of his ministry. And then, thirdly, to say something
with regards to the great necessity of the Spirit's work. We know how essential that ministry
of the Spirit is with regards to salvation. If any man have
not the Spirit of Christ, says Paul, he is none of his. How necessary the Spirit is!
There would be no Christianity at all but for the coming of
the Holy Spirit. No man can say that Jesus is
the Lord but by the Holy Ghost. his ministry is vital yes the
Lord Jesus is that one who has come to accomplish salvation
but that salvation that was accomplished here upon the earth historically
in the fullness of the time must be applied there must be an experience
of it in the soul of the sinner this is the wonder is it not
of that great salvation that is of the Lord. It is that that
the Father Himself had purposed from all eternity when He made
choice of the people and committed them into the hands of His Son.
It is that salvation that was accomplished historically here
upon the earth when God sent forth His Son made of a woman
made under the law. But what was purposed in eternity
and accomplished in time has to be brought into the soul of
the sinner and that is the work of the spirit there must be an
experience of these things and we need the spirits of God and
so this is the prayer that is being made here in our text Awake
O North wind and come thou south blow upon my garden that the
spices thereof may flow out there's a request here Isn't that what
prayer is? Prayer is addressed to God the
Spirit. And what is the prayer? Awake!
Come! Blah! That's the request that
he's being made. It's that longing, that yearning
for the blessed coming of the Spirit. Now, we know that the
Spirit is present. and he is active everywhere he
is omnipresent he is God, he is everywhere but how the believer
desires to know that felt presence of the spirit how the believer
longs for those gracious operations of the spirit in his own soul
that's what he wants And can we not sometimes come and take
up the language of Scripture and plead with the Spirit in
terms of His past dealings, His past works? Look at the language
in Isaiah 51 verse 9. Awake! Awake! Put on strength, O arm of the
Lord! Awake, as in the ancient days,
in the generations of old, Art thou not it that hath caught
Rahab, that is Egypt, and wounded the dragon? Art thou not it which
hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep, that hath
made the depths of the sea a way for the ransom to pass over Israel
passing through the Red Sea? Therefore the redeemed of the
Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion, and everlasting
joy shall be upon their head. They shall obtain gladness and
joy, and sorrow and mourning shall flee away." What is it
that we have here? Again, it's a prayer. It's a
prayer to the Holy Spirit. And it's a prayer that's to be
made for those of Israel who are taken into exile into Babylon. that as God had come and had
redeemed their fathers and brought them out of Egypt, so He would
come and redeem them, that there might be a return from the exile,
that they might come again to Zion. But all these things are
written for us, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures
might have hope. Can we not take up the language
then of Scripture? Awake, awake, put on thy strength,
the arm of the Lord, awake, as in ancient days, we want that
the Spirit should come as He came for Israel there in Babylon,
as previously He had come for Israel there in all the bondage
that was Egypt, or that they would surrender the heavens,
says Isaiah, or that they would surrender the heavens, that they
would come down, that the mountains might flow down, at Thy presence. Can we not pray then to God,
the Holy Spirit, that He would come? Now we need that He should
come into our poor hearts so often, our hearts so hot, so
unfeeling, so cold, so indifferent. Do we not need those fresh anointings
of the Holy Spirit? we see him there as I said in
the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ when he performed his miracles
and they accused him of casting out demons by the Alzhebob remember
what the Lord says in Luke chapter 11 he speaks of the finger of
God in verse 20 If I, through the finger of God, cast out demons. Interestingly, in Matthew's account,
Matthew 12, 28, it's the Spirit of God. If I, by the Spirit of
God, cast out demons. The finger of God, the Spirit
of God, one and the same. It's that imagery that is used
with regards to the working of the Spirit. Here, we see the
work of the Spirit is likened unto the winds, but there in
the Gospels it's likened unto the finger of God. But oh, that
finger! Why, the finger is such a frail
part of our body, and yet that that to us seems to be such A
weak part of the human anatomy is taken and used in reference
to the mighty miracles that the Lord Jesus performed. All the
great works of the Spirit of God. How we need to plead with
Him, to pray to Him. How we need to heed that that
is set before us in the portion
that we were reading, that great opening section of chapter 37
in Ezekiel's prophecy. When the command is given, prophesy
unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind,
Thus saith the Lord God, come from the four winds, O breath,
and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. That was
the command that was given and now the prophet is obedient so
I prophesied he says as he commanded them ought to be obedient you
see to the word of God here he is he obeys he prophesies and
the breath came and they lived and stood up upon their feet
in exceeding great honour let us call upon God the Holy Spirit
then in our prayers I know that the usual way of prayer as it
said before us in scripture is that we come by the mediation
of the Lord Jesus he is that one who is the mediator between
God and men he is that one who is the great high priest by and
through whom we come to God and we come by that gracious ministry
of the Holy Spirit He is the Spirit of grace and of supplications
we know not what to pray for as we ought but the Spirit helps
our infirmities Paul says in Romans chapter 8 so we come by
the mediation of the Lord Jesus we come through the ministry
of the Holy Spirit, and we call upon God. And we call upon God
as our Father. When you pray, says Christ, say,
Our Father, which art in heaven, we desire to meet with Him, to
come to Him by and through Christ's mediation and that ministry of
the Spirit. Through Him, that is through
Christ, we have access by one's Spirit onto the Father. That is the normal way of praying
but let us not think that that's the only way it is not improper
to address prayers not only to the Father but also to God the
Son and to God the Holy Spirit while we read in Matthew 15 of
that Canaanite woman, the woman of Syrophoenicia who is rebuked
by the disciples of the Lord when she comes with her daughter and she wants to see healed.
And not only do the disciples want to send her away, but the
Lord ignores her. She will not be denied. And then
we read about how ultimately the Lord does answer her. Why so? Why, she prays to Him. She prays to Him. She worshipped
Him, it says. she worshipped him saying Lord
help me that was her prayer as she bowed down before him in
an attitude of true worship she addressed his prayer unto God
the Son even in the state of his humiliation it's not improper
to pray to God the Son Nor is it improper to pray to God, the
Holy Spirit, and this is what we have here in our text this
morning, is it not? Awake, O north wind, and come
thou south, blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow
out. All we need to come then and
to pray to Him, and how we need, how we need this work of the
Spirit. that the spices thereof may flow out. We read of these
spices in all that the Lord says concerning His church in the imagery that we
have in the previous verses. An orchard of pomegranate with
pleasant fruits, campfire, with spikenard, spikenard and saffron,
thalamus and cinnamon, with all the trees of frankincense, myrrh
and aloes, with all the chief spices. There they are. There
they are. But the spirit who first works
that grace in the soul of the sinner is the one who must quicken
it, is the one who must come and keep all that grace in exercise. And so this is the request, blow
upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out how we need
constantly need that ministry of the Holy Spirit why God says
Hosea 14 verse 8 from me is thy fruit found all our fruits why
it's not in ourselves it's all that that comes from God it's
all that that is ministered by the Holy Spirit it is that fruit
of the Spirit those things that are spoken of by the Apostle
when he writes in Galatians. In Galatians chapter 5 and there
in verses 22 and 23 he makes mention of that fruit of the
Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. Against such there is no law.
says Paul. All this is the fruit of the
Spirit. It's not native to us, not natural in us. It is that
the Spirit Himself must come and work in our hearts how we
need Him. And we can ask for Him. We can
pray to Him, yes, as we've said, but we can also ask God that
He would grant us His blessed gift. How much more shall your
Heavenly Father Give the Holy Spirit, says Christ. You being evil know how to give
good gifts unto your children. You know how to do that at this
season of the year. You give your children gifts.
And you love to give them gifts or gifts to our loved ones. How
much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to
them that ask Him. And how we need that. or says
John writing in his first general epistle if ye being eaten let's
get the words right ye have an unction ye have an unction from
the holy one he says and ye know all things and he goes on later
to speak of the anointing which teaches you of all things and
is truth and is no lie the unction, the anointing, that's the work
of the Spirit and how we need that gracious work time and time
and time and time ago as we live our lives in this world we are
ever always dependent on God the Holy Spirit let us ask God
then that he would grant us that gift of the Spirit Ask and it
shall be given you, says the Lord. How much more shall your
Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him? But let us also pray to the Spirit
Himself and take up the language that we have here in the Song
of Solomon and plead with Him. O Spirit, awake and come and
blow. Awake, O Northwind! 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 fruit." Well, the Lord willing, we'll
consider that last sentence of the verse this evening where
the bride, as it were, turns from talking to God the Holy
Spirit and addresses Him who is the Beloved, even the Lord
Jesus Christ Himself. May the Lord bless to us His
Word.