Good morning. You know, when a man and a woman
fall in love, they experience this newfound kind of happiness
that in many cases is evident to others around them. And in
describing how they seem to be such a perfect fit for one another,
this cliche is often invoked. Someone will inevitably say that
theirs is a match made in heaven. And that's the title of this
morning's message. The ideal, when they say that,
is to describe that which seems almost ideal or perfect. just as everything pertaining
to God in heaven is indeed perfect. And this morning in the Song
of Solomon, we're going to review some verses that describe a loving
relationship that doesn't just seem perfect, but is in fact,
in reality, perfect in every way, literally a match made in
heaven. And from the onset, I want to
remind you that there really are no degrees of perfection. I know most of you, like me,
you're familiar with the words in the preamble, the opening
words of the preamble to the Constitution. It says, we the
people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect
union. And I believe those words, those
opening words of that grand document, They were chosen to convey the
framers' intent to improve upon the Articles of Confederation
that had previously been adopted. But the truth is we know those
two words, more perfect, they really don't belong together.
Because if something's truly perfect, it can't get any better. It can't get more perfect. Perfect
means unspoiled, flawless, faultless, ideal. Now, the Song of Solomon
is a beautiful love song which depicts such a perfect union. And the credible theologians
that I have confidence in, they agree that this discourse found
there between two lovers is not intended to direct our attention
toward the carnal love that Solomon held for perhaps Pharaoh's daughter
or some other woman, as many speculate. But rather those words
penned by King Solomon provide an intentional, Holy Spirit-inspired
metaphor of the love of Christ, the bridegroom for the church,
his bride. And this love of Jesus to his
church is the subject of the entire book and it's set forth
in a picture or in type, the type of Solomon and his bride
under a perfect state of marriage, a match made in heaven, if you
would. You know, as the Lord called out our sheep to form
the church in gracious condescension, he was pleased to assume the
endearing character of their husband. And this compassionate
designation of Christ as the bridegroom, loving his people,
the church, whom he collectively depicts as his bride, is how
this entire book is to be understood. And our confidence in understanding
this metaphor of the Song of Solomon correctly is derived
by interpreting it in light of other clearer, more explicit
scripture. You may recall how in Paul's
letter to the church at Ephesus, he wrote in chapter five about
how husbands and wives and how they should treat one another.
And if you consider when he gets down toward the end of that,
he concludes in verse 30 saying, for we are members of his body,
of his flesh and of his bones. For this call shall a man leave
his father and mother and shall be joined unto his wife and the
two shall be one, they too shall be one flesh. And then he says
in verse 32 there, this is a great mystery, but I speak concerning
Christ and the church. So we see that this relationship,
this union is not just a parable or a metaphor, but it's a wonderful
reality. The church of Jesus is truly
his body. And each individual that makes
up his church, his people, they're members of his flesh and of his
bones. And I can't fully comprehend all of this, as he called it,
a great mystery. But my limited understanding
of it lets me know it's indeed a glorious truth. And then as
the scripture closes in the book of Revelation, the Holy Spirit
continues to use that same comparison or metaphor to communicate Christ's
affection to all those for whom he lived and died, the church,
those he redeemed. As we read in Revelations chapter
21, he calls them the bride, the lamb's wife. Look with me
or consider it if you don't have time to turn there. In verse
two of that chapter, it reads, and I, John, saw the holy city
New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as
a bride adorned for her husband. And then again we read at the
end of verse 9 of that chapter, come hither I will show thee
the bride, the lamb's wife. Likewise, this entire loving
discourse of the Song of Solomon, it concerns Christ and the church.
And this love song, it's rich with many glorious descriptions
of Christ and his church by virtue of their union with him. But
given our time limitations today, I'm just going to focus on one
glorious description that's found in chapters four, five, and six
of Song of Solomon that was impressed on me in my study. And as you'll
see, I'm speaking of that which Christ and his church, this loving
couple, what they have in common. And the commonality there is
not figurative. I'm speaking literally when I
say there's a sense in which this relationship between Christ
and his church is truly a perfect match made in heaven. And the
aspect of this loving relationship, which I want us to consider today
from the Song of Solomon is this, it's the perfection that is ascribed
to both parties in this perfect union. Now, first we know it's
a perfect union because it is made in heaven in this sense.
It's perfect in every way because it is God's work. God who by
definition is perfect, impeccable in every way. But not only is
this union between Christ and his church perfect due to it
being the work of the holy, the triune Godhead, But secondly,
and what we're going to consider today is how both parties to
this marriage are declared to be perfect here in God's word. Both Christ and his bride, the
church, that's made up of all believers, they're described
as spotless and undefiled, without flaw. And that's a wonderful
thing to discover, not only concerning Christ but how the believers
sinners in and of themselves, such as you and I. They are made
one with the perfect God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ, and thereby
they are declared to be perfect in the sight of God. And that's
the only perspective that ultimately matters as it pertains to our
eternal acceptance into his holy presence. So first let's consider
Christ the Bridegroom. And before we look again, I'm
delaying getting into Song of Solomon, I know, but before we
look at how he's pictured by metaphor in the Song of Solomon,
let's again look at some clearer declarations of this perfection,
this flawlessness of Christ, as he's explicitly described
elsewhere in God's Word. In Hebrews 7.26, we read this,
for such an high priest became us who is holy, harmless, undefiled,
separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens. So we
see here what sinners need. They need a priest, a mediator,
who is perfect just as God the Father is perfect. And it took
the incarnate Christ, that is God manifested in the flesh,
Emmanuel, meaning God with us, to be the suitable go-between
to reconcile sinners into a holy God. So Jesus Christ as God is
indeed perfect in every way, first due to his very essence
as deity, but as the go-between, as the substitute for his people,
for his bride. This man who is God, in other
words, the incarnate Christ, the God-man, in his priestly
work, he's described as holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate
from sinners. And again, that's in his priestly
work. So not only do we see perfection
in his person, but secondly, we likewise see it in his work.
1 Peter 1, we read beginning of verse 18, for as much as you
know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver
and gold from your vain conversation received by tradition from your
fathers, but you were redeemed, it says, with the precious blood
of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish, and without spot. Similarly, we read in Hebrews
9.14, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through
the eternal spirit offered himself, how without spot to God. It's how he offered himself up
to purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living
God. So you see, Christ didn't become
contaminated with our sins. He did not contract our sins,
but yet he bore the sins of his people on the tree, you see,
because they were imputed to him. Charged, the demerit was
charged to his account that he might pay the debt due unto a
holy God for their sins. So we see that in his work of
redemption, he remained without spot, he was perfect. Well, consider
now in chapter five of the Song of Solomon, there we see Christ,
the bridegroom, we see him described this way by his bride in picture
here. She, the bride, the church, recognizes
him as he is. A little background, in chapter
five, those outside of the church who are referred to as the daughters
of Jerusalem, they become interested in the bride's loved one. And
so they put forth this question to the bride in chapter five,
beginning in verse nine, saying, 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? Charging there is referring to
the previous verse where she had asked them if they see her
beloved to tell him that she loves him. And they're going,
well, tell us about this one. This would be equivalent to someone
saying, wait a minute, you're talking about another Jesus here.
What's more beloved about him than the Jesus I might hear preached
here or there or everywhere else? What's unique about him? So they're
asking the bride here, tell us about this Christ. And she answers,
my beloved is white and ruddy. the chiefest among 10,000. That's
what he is, and that's what we need. We need one who's described
white and ruddy. So let's examine what's meant
by this description. And granted, this took some study. I don't think it's obvious necessarily,
but it confirmed to me in studying this that there are two ways
in which this might be interpreted. And I believe both to be appropriate,
and I believe both are intended. because they both convey truths,
again, that are confirmed by more explicit scripture elsewhere,
just like those I read from Hebrews. So first, she, the bride, is
describing the person of Christ, who he is, he's both God and
man, he's white, alluding to his purity as deity. That's referring to how he is
spotless, pure, holy, in his very essence as God. and he is
ruddy or red. Ruddy means red or of the earth. That alludes to his human nature.
You know, Adam the first created human was said to be of the earth.
He was red or ruddy. Some of you may recall when Samuel
was looking for a king to replace King Saul. He went to Jesse,
and after reviewing all of his sons except the youngest, he
asked Jesse if he had seen all his children, and Jesse said,
no, my youngest is out tending the sheep. So Samuel had Jesse
send for David, and in Samuel 16, when young David was brought
in before Samuel, at which time the Lord revealed to Samuel that
David was his choice to be king, It says of David there that now
he was ruddy. In the next chapter, 1 Samuel
17, when David faced Goliath, the giant, the Philistine giant,
it says that Goliath saw that David was ruddy. In other words,
he said, I'm facing off with just a mere man of the earth.
Remember in Luke's gospel, how Christ said to the scribes in
Luke 20, 41, he said, how say they that Christ is David's son? And then he quoted how David
in the Psalms had called him Lord, and so he added in verse
44, David therefore calleth him Lord, how is he then his son? See, Christ's humanity can be
traced to David's ancestral line. So he is David's son, and yet
he is David's Lord. He's man and God. Unto us a child is born. Unto
us a son is given, we read in Isaiah 9. And as we read in 1
Timothy 3.14, and without great controversy, great is the mystery
of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh.
He is the God-man, white and ruddy. But also I believe it's
a reference to Christ as white here. That is referring not just
to his deity, but to the incarnate Christ in his human nature. a
nature he had to take on for the execution of his redemptive
work. That is white. So you see, it's indicative of
the perfection and the purity of his work. of his perfect obedience
under God's revealed will as he was made under the law, the
scripture says, to redeem them that were under the law. He had
to be put under the same jurisdiction, so to speak, to do for them what
they could not do for themselves, to redeem those he came to save
out of fallen humanity. So he's white, see, in this sense,
because God requires perfect obedience. which he alone among
all men rendered, a perfect obedience, even the scripture says, unto
the death of the cross, rendered in their place as a substitute
for all he saves, his bride, the church. And in keeping with
that understanding, the ruddy or red description is said to
be indicative of his bloody sacrifice and death, the shedding of his
red blood payment, before the Father's justice, due unto the
demerit of all the sins that were laid upon him. 2 Corinthians
5.21 teaches that. God hath made him to be sin for
us, him who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. See, God's law and justice had
to be satisfied both, I believe, in precept and penalty. That is, see, perfect obedience
is required for the law's precepts to be complied with. That is,
you must continue in all things according to what is written
in the book of the law we read in the New Testament. But Jesus
Christ rendered that obedience for a bunch of lawbreakers, for
sinners. And God's justice also demands
that a just penalty, due to their sins, be paid. In other words,
he won't pretend that in our persons, in our flesh, in our
body, that he can just overlook those sins because Christ obeyed
for us. No, still, justice had to be satisfied for their sins. And you know, even the, today
we're celebrating Veterans Day, and by the way, Thank all any
of our veterans here for your service and we honor them and
you know and We speak a veteran sometimes and we'll say, you
know Some gave all mean they gave it they gave their life
and we honor that that sacrifice they made for our country but
you know the even the the death the blood of of a sinner, and
in particular, if they're not one of God's children, well then,
even that sinner's eternal banishment from God, it can't pay the penalty,
so as to rectify things for them. Not due to this travesty, see,
of injustice, talking about our sins, against an infinitely holy
God. No, that took the infinitely
valuable blood payment of the God-man. You know, his top lady
wrote, do you see there the double cure, saved from wrath and made
pure, ruddy and white? Well, I want you to notice from
the Song of Solomon the great regard that the bride, the church,
has for the glory of the groom, the glory of their savior. valuing
his redemptive glory. You see, it's in this white and
ruddy work of the white and ruddy savior that this glory is savingly
revealed to the church. How this God, who's holy and
just, who cannot come in with sin, could graciously be reconciled
to a sinner so that they, ungodly sinners in and of themselves,
they might be found holy and acceptable unto him. so as to
even to enter into his very presence in heaven's glory. They had to
be made one with Christ so as to possess by God's grace the
very merit of that perfect obedience unto death. That's his perfect
satisfaction to the justice of God that was made for them. That
is, that's his righteousness made to be theirs. They must
be. And they are found, as we read
in Ephesians chapter one, They accepted in the beloved the Lord
Jesus Christ, the one who was white and ruddy, satisfying God's
justice through that perfect white obedience to the Father's
will and likewise satisfying the strict justice of God by
bearing the ruddy, bloody penalty due unto the sins of those very
ones for whom that obedience was rendered. His righteousness,
that's the merit of His obedience even unto the death of the cross,
white and ruddy. Now you're blessed if you can
behold the beauty of this beloved Savior and the necessity of possessing
the merits of His perfect Word. Why is thy beloved more fair
than another? There's the answer. So we have
here the perfection of the bridegroom of our Savior, but let's consider
now the bride as depicted in the Song of Solomon. What does
Christ the bridegroom have to say about his bride? So look
at some of these descriptions. First, in chapter four, as that
chapter opens, we have Christ the bridegroom saying of his
love the bride, Saying of the bride now, behold thou art fair,
my love. Behold thou art fair. And he
continues then in the verses that follow to describe her beauty
with great affection. And then down in verse seven
he says, thou art all fair, my love. There's no spot in thee. And then if you look at chapter
five, verse two, it begins with the bride typifying the believer
saying, I sleep, but my heart waketh. It is the voice of my
beloved that knocketh, saying, so here we have Christ, her beloved,
the bridegroom, saying to his bride, the church, open to me,
my sister, my love, my dove, look at this, my undefiled. For, big underline that word
for in your mind's eye, or because. My head is filled with dew, and
my locks with the drops of the night. And that needs some explanation,
and again, those that I rely on and have confidence in agreed
on this as well. The Lord's describing his church
here, and who's his church? Romans 3 tells us God justifies,
that is, he declares righteous and not guilty in his sight,
he justifies the ungodly. They're sinners. And yet here
Christ speaks of a reality in his sight of their being undefiled. That phrase, for my head, or
because my head is filled with dew and my locks with the drops
of the night, is an allusion to the agony that Christ experienced
in the Garden of Gethsemane as he sweated drops of blood in
anticipation of the cross work that he was about to endure.
The very redemptive work whereby those for whom he lived and died
are truly made to be undefiled in him. Undefiled, isn't that
the description I read earlier concerning Christ our high priest,
how he was holy, harmless, and undefiled? And yet here Christ
tells us that objects of his everlasting love are likewise
undefiled. That word means perfect one,
guiltless, complete. The word perfect in the New Testament
is often actually a word that means complete, blameless. This is a match made in heaven
and this is something they have in common. There's a lot in common
if we studied the whole book, you'd see, but included in this
commonality is this truth. Both parties are said to be spotless
and undefiled. Christ, and you know that's what
both parties, that's what we must be for acceptance into his
presence. Christ used that same description
in chapter six, verse nine, as he opened the verse with, my
dove, my undefiled. So I want to emphasize the importance
that we see. According to the truth of God's
word, the church is truly undefiled. They're perfect without spot.
This union with Christ is real. It's so real he died for sins
he didn't produce. It's so real they have a righteousness
they had no part in producing. So consider again that passage
in Ephesians 5. Beginning in verse 25, we read,
husbands, love your wives even, as Christ also loved the church
and gave himself for it, that, in order here, he might sanctify
and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that, in
order that he might present it to himself, a glorious church,
not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should
be holy and without blemish. Do you see how this is very white
and ruddy work? It was a work of sanctification,
of setting the people apart so that he could present them to
himself without blame, without blemish. He says even here, holy.
And then in verse 30 of that chapter, we're reminded again,
as I read earlier, that it's due to that union. For we're
members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause
shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined
unto his wife, and they too shall be one flesh. This is a great
mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. You know,
I'm not sure anyone this side of glory can grasp the depth
and the riches of this real union between Christ and his people.
I know I certainly don't, but you know, we see through a glass
of darkly and I love the glimpse of it that God's been pleased
to reveal. And you know, you ever, you ever
think of something that really means a lot to you, but yet you
can't really quite relate it to others. And that's the kind
of way I feel this morning. I know it's glorious. Consider
these other passages that set forth this truth. In the passage
that Mark read in Colossians 1, if we look down at verse 20,
it says of Christ there, and having made peace through the
blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself,
by him I say whether they be things in earth or things in
heaven, and you that were sometime alienated and enemies in your
mind by wicked works. He's describing how we all start
out We all start out naturally thinking there's something we
do to make the difference in our salvation. He says of these,
you sinners, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his
flesh through death to present you holy and unblameable and
unreprovable in his sight. So if you believe God's word,
you know this is true. All who are saved in his sight
are all fair There's no spot in them. In Hebrews 10, verse
seven, Christ is said to have come to do the will of the Father. And in verse 10, we read, by
the witch will, we are sanctified through the offering of the body
of Jesus Christ once for all. In other words, we're made saints. We're set apart in Christ by
his blood offering. As it continues in verse 14,
by one offering, he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.
So those for whom he made his ruddy and bloody offering, they're
sanctified. And by that offering, all those
he set apart in accordance with the Father's will, he hath perfected. It says so in God's word. And
why is this so important? Well, it's because this perfection
is absolutely necessary for anyone to be accepted before a holy
God. Remember how he is described as the chiefest among 10,000? That means he's the standard
bearer. His perfection is the perfection
I must have. You see, they must be made holy
to be accepted before the Father. They gotta possess the very merit
of the very perfection that Christ rendered for them. Because the
scripture says of us all by nature, there's none righteous, no not
one. So with respect to this necessity,
I want you to consider some verses. In the Sermon on the Mount, our
Lord commanded in Matthew 5.48, be ye therefore perfect, even
as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. Perfect, be complete. Be all that you need to be, see,
in Jesus Christ is what he's saying, because how perfect do
we have to be? He says as perfect as God himself. And then we see the command in
1 Peter 1 verses 15 and 16. But as he which hath called you
is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation. Now he's
encouraging us there to strive to be Christ-like in our conduct,
in our character. But the command is to be holy
as, because it is written, be ye holy for I am holy. You know,
so that means if we're to be accepted into the presence of
a holy God, it's not gonna be how well we do at our striving
to be Christ-like. No, we gotta be found in compliance
with that command. We must be as holy as he is holy.
It's a necessity. But none but those made holy,
two key words, in him, shall enter into his holy presence
and heaven's glory. And as we read in Ephesians 5
is Christ giving of himself for the church, whereby he's able
to present himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle
or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish.
So not only does the command of this perfection, this flawlessness
that must be found in the center reveal its necessity, but this
white and ruddy work of the Savior provides it. provides it for
people who in and of themselves could in no way comply with that
command. I think I misspoke and said that
this command, this flawlessness must be found in the center.
No, this flawlessness must be put upon the center. So the savior
we need, see, he must be white. He must be pure, undefiled, holy,
harmless, and ruddy. He must stand in our place, in
our human nature. and that to render a bloody death
so that his bride might likewise be perfect without spot and undefiled. See, it's absolutely necessary
for any who are saved that they've been made so. That made the work of Jesus on
the cross a necessity in order for God to be just and still
save otherwise ungodly sinners such as we. You see, That should
drive the recognition of that reality, that necessity, should
drive us all to repentance. You see, the idea that we would
approach God, knowing we've got to have that, but we would dare
approach God thinking the real difference making our salvation,
something that proceeds from us, and that's the natural notion
of natural religious notion of all by nature. The natural man
can't discern the things of God. We must be given a new heart,
a new life, and God draws us and uses the very preaching of
this gospel of grace, where we set forth how this bride's beloved,
how is he better than another beloved? Well, look again at
the Song of Solomon. I mentioned in passing that the
church's description of Christ as white and ruddy was prompted
by the question that was posed to her from the daughters of
Jerusalem. That's what they're called there in chapter five,
verse eight, and in the preceding chapter. So in verse nine of
chapter five, I want you to look at this question that was put
to the church by those daughters of Jerusalem, those outside of
the church. And they said, what is thy beloved
again more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women? What
is thy beloved more than another beloved, as I read earlier? Here
they had twice expressed their interests and their earnest desire
to know who this Christ is. Anyway, I'll get to that in a
minute. But she gave the answer there, white and ruddy, the chiefest
among 10,000. But I want you to notice, they
called the church, the bride, they called her the fairest among
women. These folks saw that she had
a beauty, but we can see by what they were asking about, her beloved,
it wasn't an inherent beauty, because they knew her. It was
just like other sinners know true believers. They know them
to be a lot like themselves. If folks look at me and you and
our behavior and our character and conduct, if they judge us
outwardly, they could rightly say, who are you, Randy, to talk
to me about being spotless and holy and undefiled? I know you.
You're no better than me in your character and conduct, and certainly
not in our self-centered motives. You know, my sinfulness shows
up in the best prayer I pray, because you know what? I pray
for my children more than I do yours. That's self-love, because
they're an extension of me. So they'd be often accurate in
saying that. And yet the beauty that the daughters
of Jerusalem saw in the bride, the church, was that which reflected
the glory of their beloved, their savior. That's why they're asking
about him. Their testimony to them was one, see, the church's
testimony. It's one of everlasting joy and
comfort, peace, all based on the doing and the dying of another,
the righteousness, the beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's,
the church is a light that so shines before men in the gospel
message of God's grace in Christ. And so that others might see
her good works, her goodness, that perfection is actually the
goodness, the impeccable perfection of their savior. That's what's
meant in Matthew 5, 16 when Christ said, let your light so shine
before men that they may see your good works and glorify your
Father which is in heaven. So that can't be speaking of
a light that shines independently on their works, but rather it's
their works that are accompanied with the light of the gospel
message, wherein Christ's righteousness, his perfection is revealed so
that he gets the glory. He's glorified, not the sinner.
Their claim of good works, their very goodness, see, all redounds
to his glory because it is his goodness, the merit of his works
to which they lay claim by God-given faith. Well, hearing the necessity
of possessing such a perfection, does that kindle an interest
in you as it did these daughters of Jerusalem? In chapter five,
verses 10 through 16, the bride continues with her loving description
of Christ, the bridegroom. And the chapter ends then in
verse 16 with the bride saying this, this is my beloved and
this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem. And chapter six
then opens with another earnest inquiry from these daughters
of Jerusalem. And in this question, we see
their sincere, I think we see pictured their sincere seeking
of this Christ. A desire, see, that the church's
beauty might become theirs. That is that Christ's beauty,
his perfection, might likewise belong unto them. In verse one, they ask, whither
is thy beloved gone? O thou fairest among women, whither
is thy beloved turned aside that we may seek him with thee?" So
it would appear the picture here is of God's grace being impressed
upon them. They address the church again
as the fairest among women, and clearly they consider the Lord
Jesus Christ to be the whole cause of her loveliness. And
so, that's what led to their questions.
They desired to be made partakers of the same. Well, does that
interest someone new, hearing of this lovely and glorious and
white and ruddy Savior? Recall back in chapter five,
they had essentially asked, who is this Christ? And the church's
answer, white and ruddy, the chiefest among 10,000, Apparently
seemed to satisfy him, seemed reasonable, logical, but here
I believe we see the inquiry of a soul that's been awakened
by the work of the Holy Spirit. So as to not just mentally understand
and agree with you, but so as to desire this Christ to be their
savior. The question now put forth is
essentially, how shall I find him and join you in enjoying
him to my soul's eternal comfort? And so, as is characteristic
of those so blessed in Christ, the church delights to tell others
of the love of their life, and she does so down in verse two
of that chapter. In answer to these inquiring
souls, she says this, my beloved is gone down into his garden,
to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather
lilies. Now, I want to share with you
what this is believed to represent that I learned from my study.
See, Christ came down to his garden, to our earthly residence,
and he visits the bed of spices when he visits an individual
soul with the goodness, the spices of his grace. as he's gracious
to reveal himself to them in saving grace through this gospel
message that declares who he is and what he's accomplished.
This white and ruddy savior, the chiefest among 10,000, and
he feeds them with his grace, whereby he feeds himself with
the fruits of grace, his bride. He provided for himself what
he needed. See, it's all about him. It's
all about his glory. his bride which he purchased,
and he now plants himself in their individual hearts in each
generation by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit. And
it's believed that when she says that he gathers the lilies, it's
referring to how he ultimately and most assuredly will bring
them, each and every one of them, these beautifully arrayed lilies,
all fair and without spot, bring them home to himself, to heaven's
glory. So the answer given here to this
question is essentially conveying, oh, if you've been drawn with
the cords of love by the Savior, to desire him, to know him so
as to see the absolute necessity of having the merit of his perfect
obedience unto death made to be yours, put to your account,
so that you might stand accepted in him, and on that basis alone,
Turn inside, repenting from the natural notions that we have
that I've got to do my part. It's something I do that makes
the real difference and would distinguish me from those who
are lost. Now, if you see all your worthiness
wrapped up in Him, this white and ruddy, this worthy Lamb of
God, then you are among those He's visited with His grace.
those blessed in him as objects of his great mercy, love, and
grace. And he says then likewise to
you, my dove, my undefiled. Do y'all rejoice and hear those
endearing words from our Savior toward his church? I love this. I'm sorry. I shouldn't get to
thinking too much about what I'm saying, but I do. You know,
when I studied this, I couldn't help but think of what Christ
said in his Sermon on the Mount about lilies. Granted, in that
context, it was a different subject. He was speaking of our need to
look only to him, to cast aside our material concerns for food
and clothing and instead look on things above. But I found
it interesting that he mentioned in relating that the beauty of
the lilies. He said this in Matthew 6 beginning
in the latter part of verse 28. He said, consider the lilies
of the field, how they grow. They're not like you, busy worrying
about those things. They toil not, neither do they
spend, and yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all his
glory, the richest man perhaps that ever lived, he was not arrayed
like any one of these. And these lilies gathered by
Christ in the Song of Solomon, they're likewise, they're arrayed
in his beauty. They're clothed in the very robe
of his imputed righteousness. All fair, without spot. Christ continues in the Sermon
on the Mount, down in verse 33 of chapter 6, saying, So instead
of that, seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness,
and all these things shall be added unto you. In the very next
chapter, as Christ is continuing his Sermon on the Mount, he says
this in verse 7, he says, Ask, and it shall be given you. Seek,
and ye shall find. Now here's the key, seek what?
Christ and his righteousness. knock and it shall be open unto
you. For everyone that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh
findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be open. You see, many
seek to be blessed of God. We all want to go to heaven if
we believe there's a heaven. We want to be among those who
inherit that heavenly glory, but those who seek the kingdom
of God and his righteousness, you see, they're brought to desire
and see the necessity to be as Paul put it in Philippians 3,
found in him, not having mine own righteousness which is out
of the law. I turn away from that idea. I now count those
things that were gained, I count them lost as Paul had said earlier
in that chapter. not having my own righteousness,
which is of the law, my law keeping, my meeting and condition, but
that which is through the faith or the faithfulness of Christ,
the righteousness which is of God by faith, that is received
by the God-given gift of faith. Well, do the desires expressed
by this bride of Christ His church, do they reflect your own desires?
Have you been brought to have that same heartfelt longings
for Christ and his work of righteousness to be made yours? Is it a vital
necessity for you? If you seek salvation based upon
the person in work, that white and ruddy work of this white
and ruddy God, man, and seek acceptance before God solely
on that basis, at least to the exclusion of all else, then rejoice,
because you see, that describes a people who love God because
he first loved them. They love the true and living
God. It describes this God-glorifying, wonderful love affair between
Christ and his church, a match made in heaven. Thank you.