I'm going to go ahead and get
started. If you'd like to follow along, I'm going to be in the
Song of Solomon. Solomon's Song, or the Song of
Songs, however you want to title it. It comes right after Ecclesiastes. Chapter five, and I'm just going
to read the last verse of chapter five, verse 16. His mouth, His mouth is most
sweet. Yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved and this is
my friend, oh daughters of Jerusalem. Now this is a book, technically
actually it's called a song. a song of the Lord Jesus Christ
and his church. His believers, his brethren he
calls us. He's not ashamed to call us brethren. And this is a song of love. The song of love, the love of
Christ for his church and also the song of the love the church
has for Christ. In it, we hear of his love for
us, and here's one of the really nice things about this. We see,
we are told how Christ sees us, his people. And we get to see
and hear of the church's love of Christ, how we see him, and
how we hear him. And that's what we have here
in this actual chapter Toward the end here, we have how the
church of Christ views the living head of the church. The beloved
one, the beloved one. And this verse starts here, his
mouth is most sweet. Now, I'm basically gonna preach
from verse 16. My title is this, he is altogether
lovely. But in order to get to verse
16 kind of got a look at verses 10 through 15 Because this is
the last part of the description of Jesus Christ given by the
church given by the betrothed Verses 10 through 16 is an answer
to the question in verse nine. It says, what is thy beloved
more than another beloved? O thou fairest among women. What
is thy beloved more than another beloved that thou dost charge
us? What's so great about Jesus Christ? That's the question. That's the
question. Now here's the thing. That's
a good question. However, If you don't know, I
don't know that telling you is gonna help. But tell them you
must. Be ready to give an answer to
any man that asketh thee. And this was the answer. The
question is, what is I beloved more than another? We see the
answer. What is Christ? Well, wait a
minute. Who is Christ to the believer, to the believer? Well,
here in verses 10 through 15, it starts off, my beloved is
white and ruddy, the chiefest, chiefest among 10,000. I like
that. His head is as the most fine
gold, his locks are bushy and black as raven. His eyes are
as the eyes of doves by the rivers of water 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. This woman sounds like she's
in love. It is. His hands are as gold rings set
with the barrel. His belly is as bright as 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. I like that, I do. From his head
to his feet, he's perfect. He's perfect. You understand? Pilate said, I find no fault
with this man. Well, there was a reason for
that. There was no fault with this man. He was perfect from
his head to his feet, top to bottom, and here's the thing
that gets most people, inside and out. Inside and out. Now, he had no beauty that we
should desire in him. But that doesn't mean that inside
and out he wasn't perfect. He was. And he is. He is perfect. And I like where
it says he is chiefest among 10,000. If you look at Young's
literal translation, it says this. He is conspicuous above,
above a myriad. You know what it means? 10 billion. He's chiefest. They just put
in 10,000. Back in those days, that was
a big number. Well, that'll mean nothing now, 10,000. There's
more people than that in Mercer County. More people than that in Raleigh
County. No, he's the chiefest among 10 billion. He's the chiefest
of all. And I did like that. Conspicuous,
what about above a myriad. Then this description ends with
this one comment at the beginning of verse 16. His mouth is most
sweet. So, You have this description,
like I said, from verse 10 to verse 16 at the beginning, is
that what is it about his mouth that is most sweet? It just kind
of popped into my head. Because why did the songwriter,
Solomon, wrote this, stop with this list here as the pinnacle,
as the top? His mouth is most sweet. Well, I got to thinking about
it. His mouth is most sweet because
of the words he speaks to his bride, to his betrothed. His mouth speaks words of love
to his betrothed. You'll find it in the book. His, His most sweet mouth, that's
kind of hard for me to say. His most sweet mouth speaks words
of love, speaks words of comfort, speaks words of hope, speaks
words of majesty. Words of instruction, words of
blessings, and words of kindness. His most sweet mouth speaks.
And most of all, most clearly of all, This most sweet mouth
speaks nothing but the truth. The absolute, unvarnished, undiluted
truth. Oh, that makes that mouth most
sweet. You understand, his mouth cannot speak a lie. God cannot
lie. Doesn't want to anyway, but he
cannot. He speaks, it's true, it's true. Thy word is what? Truth, truth. He cannot speak a lie, there's
no guile in his mouth. There's never a word of deception
or deceit come out of that man's mouth, never one, you understand? My beloved doesn't say one thing
and mean another. No, my beloved says what he means
and means what he says. And I'm gonna tell you something,
that is most sweet of all. Oh, I like that, because when
he speaks of love, he means it. When he says he loves his beloved
betrothed bride, his church, his people, he means it. Oh, that's good stuff. His heart
is abundant with love for his bride. And his mouth, the most
sweet, speaks. Because out of the abundance
of the heart, the mouth speaks. Now that's a problem for you
and me. It's not no problem for my beloved. It's not a problem
at all for him. Out of the abundance of his heart,
he speaks. And he speaks words of love,
he speaks words of comfort for his people. And here's the other thing about
my beloved. He never changes. I said it last week, I'll say
it every week. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday
and today and forever. If he's speaking words of love
about you and to you today, he's gonna speak those words of love
to you forever. My beloved never changes. His
love never changes. Well, we sing a song here. I
thought about this since it's Mother's Day, okay? We sing a
song, there's a verse in it. Can a woman's tender care cease
toward the child she bear? Yes, she may forgetful be, and
sometimes not without reason, but yes, she may forgetful be,
but will I remember thee? My beloved is not faint. My beloved
does not forget. My beloved does not change his
mind. My beloved's mouth is most sweet
and he speaks words of comfort and love and joy and majesty
and power to his betrothed. And he means every single word
of them. He rules and he reigns over all
because his word is true. His word is law. And his words
This is the thing about our beloved, his mouth most sweet, his words
will not return unto him void. They shall, they shall accomplish
that for which he sent them. Now you or I may not know what
they were sent forth for. We may not know why he sent them
forth, but coming back to him, they're gonna accomplish exactly
what he wanted them to. Oh, I like that. His mouth is
most sweet. And that's where that description
starts. And then we have this statement.
Yay. I like that. His mouth is most,
going through this whole description, he's white, he's ruddy, he's
got hair, he's got eyes, his cheeks, his hands, his legs,
his mouth is most sweet. Yay. Yay, yes, this is all true. Here's the summation of the church's
description of the beloved. All I've said about him is true
and it adds up to this. Yay, he is altogether lovely. Altogether. Altogether. Altogether. Yes, he's the chiefest
of all. And yes, he's altogether lovely.
I like that. He's not partially lovely, he's
not mostly lovely, he's not 99% lovely, he is altogether lovely. Lovely. You understand, there's
none as good. Scripture tells us that, there's
none good, no not one. He's altogether lovely. There's
none that seeketh after God. He's altogether lovely. He knows
God perfectly. My beloved loves the Lord God
with all his heart, his mind, his soul, and his strength, and
he does it all the time. All the time. He's altogether
lovely. Oh my, there's none as good,
there's none better. Inside and outside, he is altogether
lovely. From the top to the bottom, He
is altogether lovely. Neither is there any shadow of
turning in him. He's altogether lovely. He stands
head and shoulders and feet above all. Above all. Now, there's a reason for that.
My beloved is over all. But in all things, he has the
preeminence. He is the preeminent one. He
is over all. Matter of fact, I was looking
at Gil's commentary and I got tickled at the time. He said,
this is called the Song of Songs. And it's called the Song of Songs
because it's about the Holy of Holies, Jesus Christ. It's about
the King of Kings. It's about the Lord of Lords.
And this is the song of songs of the King of Kings and Lord
of Lords. Oh my. He's altogether lovely. He's
altogether lovely. He has all the preeminence because
the altogether one, the altogether lovely one made this world. In the beginning, he was with God. In the beginning,
he, the altogether lovely one, was God. Oh my. And in the beginning, he made
all things that were made. And he was altogether lovely
then. And he's altogether lovely now.
And he right now is seated at the right hand of the majesty
on high, expecting his enemies to be made his footstool. But
here's the thing about the one, he is altogether lovely. First
John 4 and 16, you don't have to turn there, but here it is. And we have known and believe
the love that God hath to us. Oh, that's good, that's good.
What? God is love. He's altogether lovely. God is
love. And he that dwelleth in love
dwelleth in God and God in him. And God in him. You understand? He is altogether lovely. He is love. He is love. Oh my. And then, oh. This, this one that's altogether
lovely, this one is my beloved. This is my beloved. Now she's talking to the, in
this chapter, she's talking to the daughters of Jerusalem. This
may not be their beloved, but this is my beloved. Whether it's
your beloved or not, this is my beloved. I'll not have another. There is no other. There is no
other than the one who is altogether lovely. There is no other because
my beloved is the chiefest of all. My beloved is God himself
manifest in the flesh. My beloved is the son of God.
My beloved is the son of God. And go back to that, his mouth
is the most sweet. What did the father tell us?
Hear ye him. Oh, his mouth is most sweet.
He is altogether lovely, and this is my beloved. This is my beloved. My beloved
is the Redeemer. The Redeemer. My beloved is the Lord of hosts,
the Holy One of Israel, thou shalt call him. What did he say?
The God of the whole earth shall he be called. Spurgeon once said, think about this, because I think
this is good. I didn't ask to be chosen from
before the foundation of the world. I didn't ask for election. I didn't ask Christ to die for
my sins. I did not ask to be redeemed.
All of that was done before I was born. All of it was done before I was
born. And who was it done by? It was
done by the one who is altogether lovely. Oh, I like that. I like that. Why was this done? He is altogether lovely and he
did this in love for his people. Oh, that's altogether lovely. What does it say? And this is
my friend. Greater love hath no man than this. that a man
lay down his life for his friends. That's 1 John 15, excuse me,
that's John 15 and 13. The good shepherd came to give
his life for his sheep. The altogether lovely came to
give his life for his people, for his bride, for his betrothed. Ah, I like that. You understand,
he is the same yesterday, today, and forever. You know what a
betrothal is? It's a promise to marry. It's
the promise of an intimate relationship. It's the promise, I want to marry
you. You don't betroth yourself to
everybody. He betrothed himself to his church. to his people,
and you know what? He loves us. He's altogether
lovely himself, but he's altogether loving of his people. And that never changes, and you
understand, if he's betrothed to you, and you are betrothed
to him, you're gonna get together. You're going to be wed. There's
going to be what? The marriage supper of the Lamb. Why? Not because of you. Because
of Him. Because of Him. He is altogether
lovely. He's gonna make it happen. And
as a matter of fact, He's already promised us bridal wedding garments. The garments of salvation and
the robe of righteousness. He's gonna clothe us and He has
clothed us. in his righteousness. Why? Because he loves his people. And he gave himself for his people,
and he ever liveth to make intercession for his people. He is altogether
lovely. This is my friend. This is my
beloved. And yea, he is altogether lovely. Now somebody wrote this, I don't
know who, so I can't give him any credit. It says this, he came from the
bosom of the father to the bosom of a woman. He became the son
of man that we would become the sons of God. He lived in poverty
and was reared in obscurity. He had no wealth, no influence,
no training, no family of renown. In infancy, he startled a king. In boyhood, he confounded the
doctors. He walked on land, on sea, and
on air. Great men have come and gone,
and he still lives on. Herod couldn't kill him. Satan
couldn't tempt him. Death couldn't destroy him, and
the grave couldn't hold him. I like that. While he was here,
he slept in another man's manger, he rode another man's foal, and
he was buried in another man's tomb. He was cursed that we might be
blessed. He died that we would live. He was forsaken by the Father
so that we would never be forsaken by the Father. Yea, he is altogether
lovely. I like that, I do. What was it Henry used to say
all the time? To write the love of Christ would
drain the oceans dry and though the sky was a scroll, couldn't
hold it. It couldn't hold it. We don't
know what he's done for us. We don't know what he's doing
for us. But you can know this. He loves us. And he gave himself
for us. The godly for the ungodly. You understand, it's not you,
it's not me, it's him. It's always been him, it always
will be him. Thank God for him. Thank God
for him. Heavenly Father, we are thankful
again for this time and this place. Most of all, thankful
for you, our Lord Jesus Christ. You sent him to us. for us. You sent him and he obeyed. He followed your will, your purpose
to save a people, his people from their sins. And he keeps
us and blesses us and makes us walk in his paths. Thank you,
Lord, for all you've done. Be with Paul as he's in Wheelersburg
preaching. Be with Walter as he comes to
preach to us here. Be with all that are sick and
can't be here but would like to be. Lord, take care of your
people. You always do, you always will.
In Christ's name we pray, amen.