Evening tonight. It's good to
be here. Open your Bibles if you would. The Song of Solomon,
Chapter 3. Song of Solomon, Chapter 3. The name of the message is Desiring
Christ's Presence. Desiring Christ's Presence. Song of Solomon, Chapter 3, verses
1 to 5. We'll read that. By night on
my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth. I sought him, but I found
him not. I will rise now and go about
the city in the streets and in the broad ways. I will seek him
whom my soul loveth. I sought him, but I found him
not. The watchman that go about the
city found me to whom I said, saw ye him whom my soul loveth? It was but a little that I passed
from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth. I held him and
would not let him go until I had bought him into my mother's house
and into the chamber of her that conceived me. I charge you, O
ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the rose and by the hinds of
the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he bleeds. Now last week we looked at the
last four verses of chapter two. And we looked at how we are sheltered
in the Lord Jesus Christ and how the bride longs to hear the
voice of her beloved. We long to hear the voice of
our beloved, of our heavenly bridegroom. And he longs to hear her voice.
He longs to hear her voice. He longs to hear her voice in
prayer and in praise to him, who is the lover of our souls.
We looked at how the Lord calls his bride his dove. He calls his bride his dove. My. And here is something that
I did not bring out last week that Gil brings forth about the
church being called a dove by Christ. The dove is a creature
innocent and harmless, we looked at that last week, beautiful,
cleanly and chaste, sociable and fruitful, weak and timid,
mournful voice and swift and flying, all which is suitable
to the church and the people of People of God, they are harmless
and inoffensive in their lives and conversations. They are beautiful
through the righteousness of Christ on them. That's the only
reason we are beautiful. The only reason we're fair in
the eyes of Christ is because of his righteousness. And the grace of the Spirit in
them. They are clean through the word Christ has spoken and
having their hearts purified by faith. They are as chaste
virgins, espoused to Christ. And their love to Him is single
and true. Single and true. He's everything to us. They cleave to Him. They cleave
to Him. Just as we looked at this morning.
He's our only hope. He's our only hope. They are
fruitful in grace and good works, and they are swift in flying
to Christ for both safety and protection. swift to fly to Christ,
aren't we? Whenever we go through trials
and tribulations, we're swift to fly to Christ in all in all
times of life. Then we considered we need to
guard against the little foxes. This is a charged against a charge. To guard against and suppress
our own sinful nature, we still battle sin, don't we all the
time? All the time we need to guard
against these things. And we looked at verse 16 where
a preacher could spend weeks, literally spend weeks. My beloved
is mine and I am his and he feedeth among the lilies. That's a verse you can't exhaust. His by creation, his by choice,
his by purchase, just a small sampling of what you could look
at. And then we looked at the sweet communion the saint has
with her savior. The bride has with the bridegroom.
And our desire is to what? To have more and more fellowship
with him. More and more communion with him. More and more. We desire to have communion with
he who is the lover of our souls. The Lord Jesus Christ. Now tonight
we start chapter 3 of Song of Solomon. I hope to look at the
first five verses. Well, let's start in verse one.
It says, By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth. I sought
him, but I found him not. At the close of the preceding
chapter, we saw the bride delighting in her beloved. And the bridegroom
delighting in her. She was longing for more communion
with him who is the lover of her soul. This is what the bride of Christ
desires, be it through the listening of the gospel or the reading
of the scriptures or the study of the scriptures or personal
prayer. We desire communion with our great savior. And we we who
love the Lord. Seek his manifest presence, don't
we? We desire that there's nothing more desirable, nothing more
pleasant for the believer than communion with our Lord. And
those who enjoy the spiritual presence and fellowship of Christ
are supremely blessed. And they are favored by God.
Favored by God and supremely blessed. And again, it has nothing
to do with us, does it? We're not deserving of this.
Now here in this verse, though, we have a great change of circumstances. By night on my bed, I sought
him whom my soul loveth. I sought him, but I found him
not. We have a change of circumstances
here. Evidently, Christ had withdrawn himself, not leaving her, right? Not leaving her. He's promised
to never leave his people nor forsake them, but he's withdrawn
himself from her for a time. And think of this, the church
is sensitive when this happens. The bride of Christ is sensitive
when this happens. What instruction is here before
us, we who are the blood-bought children of God? Whenever the
Lord hides his face from the bride, it is to make his people
to value and to esteem him more and more. More and more. To make us earnestly desire his
presence more and more. These times may come to give
us a greater desire for him. Note the church, the bride is
aware of this By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul
loveth. I sought him but I found him not. Now note in our next few verses
too as we go through them, the bride, the church realizing he
has withdrawn, earnestly seeks the bridegroom. Earnestly seeks
him. And let us note that there's
no change in love that the bridegroom has from the bride. There's no
change in his love. He's just withdrawn his presence
from that world. But there's no change in how
he feels about her. Think of this. During these times,
Christ works on the heart of the believer. He works on the
heart of the believer. And maybe even for a church if
they go through that time. He works on the hearts of the
people. Why? For us to seek him. for
us to seek him. And let us take note here that
the church, the bride, is going forth to seek him. This is plain
proof that our Lord will preserve and keep his church. He will
preserve and keep his church during times of trial and tribulation,
during times of heaviness of the soul. And we go through those
things, don't we? We go through some soul agony
sometimes. Sometimes no one else knows about it. But God knows. He knows. And He keeps us. The believer of Christ was still
the one. The believer in Christ is still
the one who He loves. And we see the bride was not
resolved to rest in this condition where he had withdrawn himself,
right? By night, on my bed, I sought him whom my soul loveth. I sought
him, but I found him not. She's not resolved to rest in
this situation. This is a sad condition. And
she proclaims, I will seek him. I will seek him. She would not
rest until she had found him and brought him into her into
her mother's house and she will hold him and not let him go.
We see that in verse 4 later on in our study. Look at verse
2, I will seek him whom my soul loveth. And let's look at all of verse
2 right now. I will rise now and go about
the city and the streets and in the broad ways I will seek
him whom my soul loveth. I sought him but I found him
not. Now note this too, note this. The bride's not driven
off because she did not find him in the first verse. She's
not driven off. She's not driven off at all.
She arises and she diligently seeks him whom her soul loves. Matthew Henry brings this nugget
forth from this text about the bride seeking the bridegroom
in the city, in the streets. We must seek in the city in Jerusalem,
which was a type of the gospel church. The likeliest place to
find Christ is in the temple, in the streets of the gospel
church, where the children of Zion pass and repass at all hours. She seeks him. Notice she continues
to seek him whom her soul loves. But let us always remember, her
love for him was still the same. It's unchanging. It's unchanging. It had not lessened. It was not
abated. One commentator said it was more
likely increased through disappointment. Note she's not discouraged, but
the bride is determined to go on seeking till she find him. John Gill brings forth, When
the scripture proclaims the latter part of this verse, I sought
him, but I found him not. This was to chastise her for
former negligence, to try her faith, love and patience, and
to show that even the best means are not to be depended upon. And that Christ has his own time
and way to make himself known to his people, which depends
all upon his sovereign will. In verse 3, the watchmen that
go about the city found me, to whom I said, Saw ye him whom
my soul loveth? The watchmen are the ministers
of the gospel in the church here called the city. They are called watchmen in the
Old Testament, as it is their duty to watch over themselves
and the gospel they preach and the doctrine we believe. The
preacher proclaims salvation in no other than Christ. No other
than Christ. Warning sinners that they will
perish outside of him. They will perish without Christ. And the preacher proclaims that
lost sinners are on the broad road to destruction. The broad
road to destruction. To the saints, the watchman proclaims
the truth, the truth of the gospel, which is all about Christ. And
the preacher exhorts the saints and comforts God's people by
the preaching of the gospel. And preaching the gospel also
guards against error and heresy, as the saints discern by the
Holy Spirit of God the truth from a lie. And note the watchmen go about
the city. Hawker brings out that this is
the gospel preacher laboring in the preaching of the Word.
Turn, if you would, to 2 Timothy chapter 4. This is the gospel
preacher laboring in the preaching of the Word of God. 2 Timothy 4-2 comes alive with
this text. I'll read our text again. The
watchman that go about the city found me, to whom I said, saw
ye him whom my soul loveth? And then look at 2 Timothy, chapter
4, verses 1 to 4. I charge thee before God and
the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead
at his appearing and his kingdom. Preach the word. Oh, preach the
gospel. Preach Christ. Proclaim Christ
and Him crucified. Nothing else. Be instant in season
and out of season. Reprove, rebuke, exhort with
all long-suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they
will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lusts, Shall
they heap to themselves, teachers have an itch in the ears. They're
heaped to themselves false preachers who tell them what they want
to hear. We were talking about that yesterday. Things that won't
offend them. The gospel preacher preaches
the gospel. We hold nothing back. We hold nothing back. And they shall turn away their
ears from the truth. Oh, so many do that. And shall
be turned into fables. Let's go back to Song of Solomon,
chapter 3, verses 4 and 5 we'll read now. It was but a little that I passed
from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth. I held him and
would not let him go until I had brought him into my mother's
house and into the chamber of her that conceived me. I charge
you daughters of Jerusalem by the rows and by the hinds of
the fields that you stir not up nor awake my love till he
pleased. Till he pleased. Now for the
redeemed of the Lord, We desire communion with our God. We desire
communion with our Savior. This is what we desire. And it says, it was but a little
that passed from them. And this presence that we desire
is not a bodily presence because we know that our Lord is in glory. But we know that God, Jesus,
is everywhere. The Catholics say that the Lord's
body is present with them in the Mass. And this is a lie.
Nothing but a lie. Because Spurgeon brings this
forth. Such persons unwittingly deny the humanity of the Lord
Jesus Christ. For if He has indeed assumed
our humanity, and is in all points made like unto His brethren,
His flesh and His blood cannot be in two places at one time.
That's a quote from Spurgeon. Can't be in two places at one
time. Where is the God-man mediator
right now? He's in glory. He's in glory. Right now. As a man, he's only in heaven.
As God and man in one person. And he's the mediator and head
of the church. That's where he is. And since our Lord is a real
man, the God-man is in heaven, His bodily presence is no longer
with the church, is it? But He's present with us in our
services, in our meetings, by the Holy Ghost. By the Holy Ghost,
the Comforter. We looked at that this morning.
He sends the comforter, whom the Father sent in his name,
in his name. And may this be the cry of every
blood-bought, redeemed heart when we meet together to worship.
May this be the cry. Lord, give me fellowship with
thyself through the preaching of thy word. Oh, Lord. Speak to my heart, Lord, please. Speak to my heart. because we
desire fellowship with him, don't we? And how does he speak to
us? Through his word. Through his
word. I ask you who are the blood-bought
saints of God, does not your heart get comforted when you
hear the preaching of the gospel? Does it not make your heart sing?
Oh my. If all you hear is the preacher,
then you haven't heard nothing. Several grace preachers say that
all the time. The preacher's just a mouthpiece. He proclaims
the word of God and the Holy Spirit takes the word and uses it for whatever means he
desires with the believer. And it's incredible. It's absolutely
incredible. So may this be our cry as we
meet every time we meet. Oh Lord, give me fellowship with
thyself through the preaching of thy word, through the preaching
of thy gospel. And may we desire fellowship
with our Lord each time we meet together. And if sin obstructs
our fellowship with God, may we be quick to repent. May we
be quick to repent. We confess our sins, he is faithful
and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Oh my. So this is a spiritual
presence that the believer desires. The presence of the Holy Spirit
of God. Without the presence of the Holy Spirit, we have no
strength, do we? Because we know we have no strength
on our own, we know, we know. Oh, how much we rely on our great
God. He's everything. We rely on Him
for everything. So this is a spiritual presence
spoken of here. It was but a little that I passed
from them, but I found Him whom my soul loveth. I held Him and
would not let Him go until I had brought Him into my mother's
house and into the chamber of her that conceived me. Note in
verse 4, a little bit of time has passed by. After she was
speaking to the watchman, one commentator brought out that
she did not wait for an answer from the watchman, but hurried
off, hurried off. But it was just a little, a little
while after she had passed from him. a small amount of time or a little
distance from the watchman or ministers, and she finds he whom
her soul loves. And note the bride proclaims,
I have found him whom my soul loveth. And she is filled with
joy. She is filled with joy. Her searching
for Him has not proved fruitless. And He's revealed Himself to
her. And her finding Him is proof. Now think of this. Her finding
Him is proof of the greatness of His love for her. Ponder that. her finding Him as proof of the
greatness of His love for her. And it also displays the freeness
and sovereignty of God's love for His people. Turn, if you
would, to Isaiah chapter 65. Isaiah chapter 65. I ask you who are redeemed, did
you seek the Lord? Well, we can Say we were made
willing, right? Because that's what Scripture
says. We were made willing. But did we seek the Lord on our
own? No. We know that no one seeks God,
Scripture declares. Not in their natural state, right?
None. Look at Isaiah 65, verse 1. Is this not our natural state?
And is not this the state when we're made willing to flee to
Christ? I am sought of them that ask
not for me. Why? Would you seek people out
who didn't want to be around you? See how God's ways aren't our
ways? Oh my. And we know from other scriptures
that we're enemies in our minds with God before we're saved.
Would you seek out he who is an enemy of you? I am sought of them that ask
not for me. I am found of them that sought
me not. I said, behold me, behold me
unto a nation that was not called by my name. And in turn, if you
would, over to Isaiah 62. Isaiah 62. The bride seeks the
Lord only because he first sought her out. The bride seeks the
Lord only because he first sought her out. And again, she desires
his presence. She desires communion with him. Isaiah 62, verse 12. And they shall call them the
holy people, the redeemed of the Lord, the holy people, sinners
called the holy people. How can that be? Oh, because
we're sanctified by him. Sanctified by the Spirit, we
looked at that today, sanctified by the Father, Son and the Spirit.
And they shall call them the holy people, the redeemed of
the Lord, that means he purchased them. And look at that, it's
the redeemed of Jehovah. Lord, there is Jehovah. The purchased
of Jehovah, God himself became a man. The Lord Jesus Christ
himself, God incarnate in the flesh, died to redeem these people
spoken of in this text. The redeemed of the Lord, the
purchased of the Lord. Thou shall be called Sodite. If you're a believer, you were
sought out by the Lord. Isn't that wonderful? He sought of them that asked
not for me, found of them that sought me not, remember? And
then it says here, thou shalt be called sought out. A city,
look at this wonderful word. The city not forsaken. The believer will never be forsaken. Let's go back to the Song of
Solomon, chapter 3. It says, It was but a little
that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth.
Oh, she went out and sought him. Thy people shall be made well
in the day of thy power. I held him and would not let
him go until I had barred him into my mother's house and into
the chamber of her that conceived me. So the rest of the verse
says, I held him and would not let him go until I had brought
him into my mother's house and into the chamber of her that
conceived me. Now we see here that the bride
lays hold of him and will not let him go, will not let him
go. This is expressive of the bride,
the bride's faith in Christ, the bride's faith in Christ,
which pictures her as laying a hold of him, laying hold of
him. Have you laid hold of Christ?
In heaven, I pray, Lord, make you willing to lay hold of him. She lays hold of him. The
bride lays hold of the bridegroom. Laying hold of his person. And
think of this, of we who are redeemed. We lay hold of his
person, don't we? Trust in our eternal soul to
him and him alone. Do we rest in His righteousness?
Yes. We rest in the fact that we're clothed in His righteousness. We lay hold of the grace and
strength which He gives us. To those who lay hold upon Christ,
He's a tree of life for them. And we rejoice in Him alone. She has hold of Him. The arms
of faith embrace him and she will not let him go. Fearing that he should withdraw
from her again. Now here's something I want us
to ponder. Here's something I want us to ponder. The fact that he
is willing to be held by her. The fact that he is willing to
be held by her. Who could hold Him if He did
not will it? Think of that. Could we hold
on to Christ, we who believe, if He didn't will it? He keeps us. He keeps us. He keeps us hanging on. It's
all Him. He's the omnipotent Savior. And if he willed the withdrawal,
he could do so and none could stop him. So think of this to ponder this
also, along with this, along with what we just looked at,
ponder this, mark the condescension of the Lord Jesus Christ, the
condescension of our heavenly bridegroom. He desires to be
held by his bride. He desires to have communion
with and to be held by her. Oh, beloved
of God, may we by faith embrace him with arms of mighty affection
towards him. May we set our head upon his
breast and be carried away, be carried away in our hearts by
the love that he has for us. And every believer can say that. Oh, may I just rest upon my Savior. If you get down, because we do, ponder the love of Christ towards
you. You're one of his blood-bought
children. You ponder that. Oh, it'll lift your heart. It'll
lift your heart. He loves me. So the bride lays
a hold upon him. not against his will, but by
his will. She lays a hold upon him, not
against his will, but by his will. She's made willing in the
day of God's power to seek him. And then she's made willing to
continue to seek him. It's wonderful. It's absolutely
wonderful. The text continues, until I had
bought him into my mother's house and in the chamber of her that
conceived me." This is a reference to the tents and apartments that
women had in former times. In biblical times the women had
their own tents. Separate from their husbands. And one commentator brings out,
this may be understood as either the visible church where the
believer is born again by the Holy Spirit of God under the
preaching of the gospel. This is where the saint is bought
up and nourished, and where Christ may be said to be bought, when
his name is professed, where his gospel is embraced, and where
his gospel is proclaimed. The church, the bride, is desirous
of having Christ proclaim that she may magnify Christ with others,
and that they may magnify Him and praise Him for His mercy
and grace which has been given to them in Christ Jesus our Lord. And then verse 5, I charge you,
O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the rows and the hinds of
the field, that ye stir not up nor awake, my love, till He pleases.
We see this same exact verse over in chapter 2, verse 7. I charge ye, O ye daughters of
Jerusalem, by the rose and by the hinds of the field, that
ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please. These are the words of the bride,
who having experienced an absence of Christ, and having been at
much pains, which we saw in our text tonight, in search of Him,
she's now found Him. and was very unwilling to part
with Him. And the church is delighted with
communion. Delighted with her Beloved. Delighted
that she's in the arms of her Bridegroom. And this is all she
desires. And she wants nothing to interrupt
her communion with Him. Nothing. Beloved of God, let us never
doubt our Lord is ever with us. And what joy for the believer
through all turn against them. The Lord is ever with us. He's
ever with us. May God be glorified in the preaching
of His word. Gracious Heavenly Father, we
thank Thee. Oh, we thank Thee for the precious scriptures we've
looked at tonight. O Lord, you have sought us out, purchased
us with your precious blood, we who are redeemed by thy precious
blood. You made us willing to seek thee,
and Lord, now we continue to seek thee. We gather together
to hear thy word preached and proclaimed. O Lord, and we only love thee
because you first loved us. May we leave here in awe, May we leave here in awe of the
great love which you have for your people. In Jesus' name we
pray. Amen.