the love better than wine, the
love better than wine. Psalm, the psalm in chapter one,
the song of songs which is Solomon's, let him kiss me with the kisses
of his mouth, for thy love is better than wine, because of
thy, the savor of thy good ointments, thy name is as an ointment poured
forth, therefore do the virgins love thee, draw me and we will
run after thee, King hath brought me into his chambers, and we
will be glad and rejoice in thee. We will remember thy love more
than wine. The upright love thee. I am black,
but calmly, O daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kadar, as the
curtains of Solomon. Look not upon me because I am
black, because the sun hath looked upon me. My mother's children
were angry with me. They made me the keeper of the
vineyards, but mine own vineyard have I not kept. Tell me, O thou
whom my soul lovest, where thou feedest? Where thou makest thy
flock to rest at noon? For why should I be as one that
turn aside by the flocks of thy companions? Now last week we
looked at verse one of this wonderful book. Verse 1, it's actually
a song. Verse 1 of this wonderful song.
And this is the Lord's song. This is His song. It's the song
of songs, the first verse says. It's a song that's not like any
ordinary song. But beloved, it's the song of
songs. And it's a love song. All about Christ and His bride.
And the love that Christ has for His bride, we looked at last
week, is an eternal love. An eternal love. He's always
loved His bride. He's always loved her. Always. And this is why He came to earth.
He came to redeem her, to purchase her, to save her from all her
sins. And praise God, He's accomplished what He set out to do, didn't
He? At Calvary's cross, He redeemed us, He purchased us, He saved
us from our sins. He was God incarnate in the flesh,
fully God and fully man. He's the one who has promised
and prophesied in the Old Testament. And he's the only mediator between
God and man. There's no other. No other. He's
the object of this song. He's the theme of this song.
It's all about him and his bride response in love. We will see
that. In utter love to their beloved. So tonight we'll continue our
study. And now we're entering the passage from verses two to
seven. We'll only cover verse two tonight. But we're entering
into the section between verses two and seven, which is the bride
confessing her love for the bridegroom. The bride confessing her love
for the bridegroom. So let's look at verse two. And
we see the bride singing about her beloved. Let him kiss me
with the kisses of his mouth, for thy love is better than wine.
Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for thy love is
better than wine. Now we know that Christ has loved
us in eternity, right? He loved us from eternity, we
know that, and we looked at that last week. We also know from
scriptures that we love him because he first loved us. And here the church opens the
song singing of her love for the one who has loved her from
eternity. She's singing about his love. Let him kiss me with the kisses
of his mouth, for thy love is better than wine. Think on this. That love is an everlasting love,
right? It's an everlasting love. And
in love, you who are redeemed, in love, Christ sought you out. He sought you out. You weren't
looking for him. I wouldn't look for him. But
he sought us out. He seeks out his people, doesn't
he? He's a shepherd who seeks out his people. And I ask you,
I ask you who are redeemed. Has he not sweetly drawn us to
himself? Has He not lovingly drawn us
to Himself when He revealed Himself to us? Was it not with sweet
cords of love? My! The Holy Spirit draws us
and teaches us the things of Christ. My! And then, through our walk, He
constrains us, doesn't He? He constrains us. The unwilling,
are made willing, and every one of us in this room who are saved
is proof of that. The unwilling are made willing
and flee to Christ. And every believer, every believer
says, amen, that was me. That was me. And what wonders,
think of the wondrous love that Christ has for you who are redeemed. Think of the wondrous love that
Christ has for all his people that the Father gave him. A number
that no man can number. Think of that. Think of that
divine, everlasting love that he has for us. And it will make
you sing out like the bride does here. When you ponder the great
love that God has for his people, when you ponder it, it'll make
you cry out. Thy love is better than mine. And that's the same love that
drew us, the love of Christ, the love of God for his people.
And it was manifest at Calvary, right? We've went over that many
times. That love was manifested at Calvary's cross when Christ
died in the place of his people as their surety. It was on full display. And you know, again, Christ will
never lose one of those he died for. And he seeks each one of them
out lovingly. With loving cords have I drawn. With loving cords have I drawn. So we see how the bride, look
what she leaps at once to Christ. She leaps at once to him. Right away she speaks of her
love for him. And these words express how she
is completely taken away by him. She's enamored with him. She's
in absolute love with him. And we see that in the text.
Right away, let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth. Who's
that? The bridegroom. She's speaking of her bridegroom.
For thy love is better than wine. She's fixed upon the bridegroom.
She's fixed upon him. And what a picture we have. We
have a picture right here before us. of how we are to Christ,
how we look to Christ, and how he looks to us, too, because
his love is better than wine. And note that she does not call
him by name. Do you know why? Several commentators
brought this out, that she's so taken by him that there's
no doubt who she's talking about. The people who know her know
who she's talking about. They know. She's so enamored
with him. He's the one she speaks of. She's
in absolute love with him. So it's needless for her to mention
whom she met, because those who knew her would know exactly who
she's speaking of. Turn, if you would, to Psalm 73. We have a,
the psalmist gives us, there's some examples of this in scripture,
and the psalmist gives us an example in Psalm 73.25. Psalm 73, 25, and then put your
finger in John chapter 20. The psalmist writes this. Psalm 73, 25, whom have I in
heaven but thee? Well, he's talking about God. And there's none upon earth that
I desire beside thee. It's evident. He's speaking about
God. And then turn over to John, chapter
20. We see Mary at the tomb. Mary Magdalene, look at John
20, verses 15 and 16. Jesus saith unto her, Woman,
why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou? She supposed
him to be the gardener. She supposed him to be the gardener,
right? saith unto him, Sir, if thou had borne him hence, tell
me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. And
look at her response when he reveals himself. So there, he
hasn't revealed himself to her, right? But look, look at her
response when he reveals himself to her. And all he does is call
her name. This is beautiful. Look at this.
Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself and saith
unto him, Rabboni, which is to say, My, my beloved. And then turn over to 1 Peter,
if you would. And here's Peter's example. Here's
a good example. It's Peter's account of the church.
And we know who he's speaking of. 1 Peter 1, verses 8 and 9. Look at this. Whom, and this is speaking to
the church, whom having not seen ye love. Who do we, who though
we haven't seen we love? Christ. Christ. Christ. In whom though now ye
see him not, yet believe in. Who's the one we have faith in?
Christ. Ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. Receiving
the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. Let's
go back to Song of Solomon. So she's so enamored with him.
And we know who Peter was talking about. He's talking about Christ.
She's so enamored with the bridegroom that there's no one else she'd
be speaking this way of. Let him kiss me with the kisses
of his mouth, for thy love is better than wine. Again, she's fixed upon him.
She's fixed upon him, beloved. Let him kiss me with the kisses
of his mouth. Hawker makes this comment. The object of the church's
request is interesting that Jesus would kiss her with the kisses
of his mouth, meaning the manifestation of his presence. It means the
manifestation of his presence. Is this not what the Old Testament
saints long for? They long for the appearance
of Christ. We look back to the manifestation of the Lord Jesus
Christ, God in the flesh. They look forward to it and beloved
the same Jesus who came and died upon the cross for our sins and
rose again for our justification is coming again and don't we
long for that time? when he will come, whether he
comes, whether we meet him in the air or whether he comes at
our death, do we not long for that? And do we not long daily
for his presence in our lives? As he manifests himself through
the word of God and through the gospel preaching and brings great
comfort to our souls or when we speak to him in prayer? My. Hawker comments this, The acceptance of redemption,
which is redemption in and through Christ alone by us, is in one
part of scripture and summed up in this comprehensive way
as kissing the sun. Turn if you would to Psalm 2.12.
The acceptance of redemption in and through Christ alone by
us is in one part of scripture summed up in this comprehensive
way as kissing the sun. Look at Psalm 2.12. Kiss the Son. Kiss the Son. Lest ye be angry and ye perish
from the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed
are all they that put their trust in Him. Kiss the Son. Oh, let us pray. Gracious Lord,
we who are redeemed, approach Thee with reverence and godly
fear. Do we not desire the kiss of
reconciliation? Do we not desire the kiss of
affection? Do we not desire the kiss of forgiveness? We say with
the rest of the blood-bought saints, let him kiss me with
the kisses of his mouth, for thy love is better than wine.
So my kisses here are the manifold and varied manifestations of
affection by which the believer is made to enjoy the love of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Again, let us ponder the kiss
of reconciliation which we enjoyed at our conversion. Was it not sweet as honey? Let
us ponder the kiss of acceptance which is still warm on our brow. as we know that God has accepted
us in and through Jesus Christ, the Beloved, all through the riches of His
grace. Let us ponder the kiss of daily present communion. And
this is what we desire to be repeated every day. Let us ponder
the kiss of pardon and forgiveness of all our sins by the shedding
of Christ's blood on Calvary's cross. And let us kiss, let us
ponder the kiss of perseverance. Perseverance of his keeping us
forever. And the fact that he will never
leave us nor forsake us. While we pilgrimage through this
world, he will keep all his sheep and none shall be plucked out
of his hand. None. Jeremiah Burroughs wrote
this, permission to kiss the hand of a sovereign is considered
an honor. But for that sovereign to give another The kisses of
his mouth is evidence of the tenderest affection, and it is
the highest possible honor. So we see in our text, the bride
desires some fresh manifestation and discoveries of his love to
her by some precious word of promise
from his mouth applied to her. And we who believe receive this
when we hear the gospel preached. Does it not warm your soul? Does
it not warm your soul? Does it not bless your very soul
to hear the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ preached and proclaimed? Does it not fix our eyes on our
heavenly bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ? When we hear the
gospel of Christ preached and what He did for us, how He died
on Calvary's cross for us, does it not make your heart swell
with joy that He saved you, that He redeemed you? God's people find all their delight
and all their satisfaction in Christ, in Christ. And again the bride is speaking
of her beloved. He who later on we're seeing
this song is the cheapest among 10,000. Her heart and soul is fixed upon
Him. Here in our text we see the bride's
heart and soul fixed upon Him. Is this not the attitude of God's
blood-bought saints? Do you not come here to to hear
messages about the Lord Jesus Christ? You want to hear about Him. We desire the preacher to proclaim
Christ. And we desire more than anything
in our lives the Lord Jesus Christ, don't we? More than anything. Who's the message all about when
you come here? Christ. Who, for you believer,
is your only hope and comfort? Christ. Christ and Him alone. Why is heaven heaven? Because
Christ is there. Because Christ is there. He's
the source of all our joy. He's the source of all our peace. All our peace with God. This
book is all about Him. All about Him. Christ is glory. Christ is heaven. Christ is life
eternal. And sinner friends, salvation
is not in a doctrine. Salvation is in a person. It's
in a person. A glorious person. A very unique
person. And that person is Jesus Christ,
the Lord. God incarnate in the flesh, that's
who salvation is in. And that's who the gospel preacher
gets up every week and preaches and proclaims. Look to him. He's the only one who can save
us. He's the only one. And note that the request is
for kisses. Let him kiss me with the kisses
of his mouth. plural. One kiss, one manifestation
of Christ is not enough for the believer. Not enough. We want more. We want to know
more about Him, don't we? More and more. And they who have
tasted that the Lord is gracious will desire to taste more. They
desire repeated manifestations of His love. And I ask you who
believe, does not your soul hunger and thirst after Christ and Him
alone? Let's look at the latter part
of our verse. It says, let him kiss me with the kisses of his
mouth, for thy love is better than wine. Now note the change of expression
in the song. She was speaking of Him, particularly,
and now she speaks to Him. In the first part of the verse,
she's speaking of him. Now she's speaking to him. Let
him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for thy love is better
than wine. Here before us, beloved, is the
endless subject of the love of Christ. It's an endless subject. A preacher could preach his whole
life just on the love of Christ. to his people and never exhausted. Never. I ask you, can you describe this love? This
is divine love. This is divine love. Remember
he said, my thoughts are not your thoughts, and my ways are
not your ways. And this love spoken of here,
when she says, for thy love is better than wine, this love spoken
of is an eternal love. And it arose out of nothing in
us. Nothing in us. But it flowed out of the free
and sovereign grace of God, in and through Christ Jesus our
Lord. Again, it was manifested at Calvary. And this love which Christ has
for his people, again, is an everlasting love. Scripture says, come buy wine
and milk without money and without price. This love is unpurchasable. You can't buy it. You can't buy
it. No matter how much a workspace
religionist tries to work, he can't buy the love of Christ.
He can't earn it. It can't be bought and it can't
be earned. It's freely given. It's freely
given. The love of Jesus comes to his
people freely. Freely. And not because we deserve
it, because what we deserve is hell. That's what we deserve. And it's not because of any merits
in us or anything, because again, we only merit hell. But this
love is an unmerited love, and it flows from the heart of Christ
to His people. Christ's love is the freest thing
in the world. One commentator said, free as
the sunbeam, free as the air, and it comes to the child of
God without purchase and without merit. And in this respect it
is better than wine. Beloved, marvel at the love of
God in Christ. Marvel at the love which Christ
has for His bride. And is it any wonder that we
see in this verse that she proclaims her love for Him? We love Him
because He first loved us. This love is unmeasurable by
heights and depths and lengths and breaths. And Christ's love
surpasses knowledge. It surpasses knowledge. And it infinitely surpasses all
creature love. Imagine the person you love the
most in this world, and your love for that person doesn't
even come close to the love that Christ has for his bride. Now we all can say, people, we
just love, right? That love doesn't even come close
to the love that Christ has for us. It makes creature love as a drop
in the bucket, or the small dust of the balance. And think of
this, the blessed effects of Christ's love to his people,
no language can describe. Can you describe? the blessed
effects of the love of Christ in your life? Can you even make
words of it? He died for all my sins. All. I have all spiritual blessings
in Christ. How many? All. I'm complete in Christ. Absolutely
complete in Him. There's not word sufficient to
tell what all that means. I'll spend eternity in glory
with Christ because of what he's done. And every believer can
say this. But are our words even sufficient
to describe the benefits of his love for us? Why? We tell others what we know. But my, I don't think we're ever
plumb the depths. Never. I remember hearing an
old grace preacher preach for 45 years and turned to another
preacher. He said, well, one of these days
I'm gonna learn how to preach because he knew that the topic
that he proclaimed is deathless. And that's Christ. That's Christ. Christ and him alone. Think of this, beloved. All that
we have in time, all that we have in time, all that we look
forward to in eternity, all the mercies of redemption, all the
works of grace, and all the hopes of glory, the whole of it has
its rise in this unparalleled love which Christ has for His
people. The only reason we have what
we have in Christ is because He loved us. That's the only
reason. Because God's love was set upon
us Let him kiss me with the kisses
of his mouth, for thy love is better than wine. Now nothing
gives a believer so much joy as fellowship with Christ. Oh,
we may have some enjoyment and some common mercies of life,
but all the matter together can bring no delight is that which
we find in the matchless person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing
comes close. Nothing even comes close. He has wine which no vineyard
on earth has ever yielded. He has bread which all the cornfields
of Egypt could never bring forth. And where can such sweetness
be found? There's a sweetness that we've
tasted in communion with our beloved, the Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing compares. The believer
esteems the joys of the earth little better than husk for swines
compared with Jesus, who is the heavenly man. Do you not feast
upon him, beloved? Is he not everything to you? We would rather have one mouthful
of Christ's love and a sip of his fellowship than a whole world
full of carnal delights. What is the chaff compared to
the wheat? What is a plain rock compared
to a diamond? What is a dream compared to reality? Spurgeon comments this, if you
know anything of the inner life, you will confess that our highest,
purest, and most endearing joys must be the fruit of the tree
of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. No spring
yields such sweet water as the well of God, which was digged
with the soldier's spear. All earthly bliss is of the earth,
earthly but the comforts of Christ's presence are like himself, heavenly. The joy of the Lord is solid
and enduring because Christ is our only hope. And think on this, for nourishment,
consolation, exhilaration, and refreshment, no wine can rival
the love of Christ. No wine can rival it. Nothing. And He takes those who once hated
Him and turns them to love Him. Turns them to love His ways.
turns them to love him, turns them to love his salvation, turns
them to love his gospel, when at one time they wanted absolutely
nothing to do with it, and nothing to do with him. Is it any wonder that the bride
cries out, let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for
thy love is better than wine? One commentator said this, wine
could reach no further into the refreshment of the body. But
the love of Jesus reaches to our soul. It reaches to our soul. And if Jesus gives his precious
love to us, it will heal our souls. And it's done so for me
and for many others. He's quickened our souls. We
were once dead in trespasses and sins, and now we're born
again by the Holy Spirit of God. And every true believer in Christ can say, it's so with me. It's
so with me. So we've looked at tonight the
cry of love the church has for Christ. And this cry of love
is a desire for some manifestation of his love. Let us rejoice, we who believe
on Christ. Let us rejoice. We looked at
today, 153,000 people a day enter into eternity. And if you're redeemed, rejoice. Rejoice, because Christ's love
was set upon you from eternity. It's incredible. And I ask you, Has not your soul
been refreshed by the love of Christ each time you hear the
gospel? Is it not refreshing? We don't come here to hear the
preacher. We come here to hear what the word of God says. Right. What it says in Christ speaks
to us through the word. I guarantee those men who are
coming to preach at the conference are praying that God would give
them word. Would give them the words to speak. from the scriptures
that would speak to your heart. That's what the preacher desires. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people.
How do we do that? I can't comfort you, right? But
God the Holy Spirit can by the word of God. And he takes that
and makes it a comfort to you. It's incredible. So we who believe, let us rejoice.
that we have a knowledge of this love, spoken of in our texts. Christ's love for his bride,
and look at this love again, it says, let him kiss me with
the kisses of his mouth, for thy love is better than wine.
Now Christ's love for his bride, for his people, is a love without
beginning and end. So just think of that, just ponder
that for a little while. That Christ's love for his people
is a love that has no beginning and no end. We were chosen in eternity. It's an eternal love. It's an end without measure.
Can you measure it? Can you measure the love that
Christ has for his people? No. It's boundless. It's depthless. And this love is this. This love
that Christ has for his people, think of this. It's electing
love. God chose a people in eternity.
It's electing love. He chose a people. It's redeeming
love. That's why he came to this earth,
to redeem his people from their sins. It's saving love. And every
child of God can say, yes, yes. It's saving love. He saved my
soul. It's saving love. It's preserving love. Can you
keep yourself? I can't, but God keeps us safe. And one day he'll present us
faultless before his throne. And it's everlasting love. It'll
never change. His love has always been set
upon his people from eternity. And it will always be so. And we who believe long to taste
his love. in our daily lives because it
revives us, it refreshes us as we toil through this world. How
many times have we reflected on something we heard in the
message? After weeks later, months later, sometimes you remember
something that a preacher said and bought out in the scripture
and it just fills your heart with joy because it points you
right to Christ. And it's comforting. I found
that text that I got to preach on this morning. What a privilege.
Stones made ready. My goodness. It's incredible. God knew what stones he had chosen. We don't know. We're just lifeless,
dead rock like that, right? When we come into this world.
But my oh my, he starts to work upon us. Because he loves us. And we who
believe, again, as we toil through this world, we desire to taste
His love. Brings us great joy in times
of trouble and sorrow. Now marvel this week, beloved, that you have had given to you,
you who believe, you who are redeemed, you who have been born
again in the Holy Spirit, marvel this week. that you've been given the knowledge
of Christ. Just think on it. Just ponder it this week. Ponder
the love, the love which is only found in Christ. Ponder it. It'll
set your heart on fire. And let us remember who the bridegroom
is, who the bride's speaking of. And let us remember what a glorious
privilege it is to be joined to Jesus in a blessed bond of
marriage, right? He's our heavenly bridegroom. My, what a privilege, what an
honor. The believer can say about Christ,
he loves me. He loves me. The believer can
say about Christ, he cares for me. Have you not seen that manifested
in your life, you who believe? The believer can say about Christ,
he defends me and he protects me. The believer can say about
Christ, he redeemed me. How? By the shedding of his own
blood. by the given of his life. Believer can say, he saved me
from all my sins. And the believer can say he provides
for every need. Has he not provided for all your
spiritual needs? All of them are in Christ, right?
Provided for. Does he not provide for our providential
needs? All the time. We see it in the
church, this is his work. The believer can say this, no
matter what they go through, that Christ Jesus our Lord comforts
us and supports us, and think on this, he cherishes us. He cherishes us. You ever cherish
something? He cherishes us. Again, think
of the person you love the most, the absolute most in this world.
You cherish them, don't you? I know, we all. There's people
we cherish, yeah. Christ cherishes his people far
above what we cherish people, far above. I am my beloved's. and my beloved
is mine. I and my beloveds, I'm Christ. No wonder the bridegroom cries
out, let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for thy
love is better than wine. She knows that she's beloved
of Christ. And she knows that He's hers by God's choosing. Let us close with these wonderful
thoughts of our beloved Lord Jesus Christ. God's elect desire
Him. His people desire Him more than
anything. They desire His person. They desire His love. They desire
His glory. They desire His grace. They desire
His will in their lives. They desire His salvation. They
desire His righteousness. And they desire His way above
all things. All we want is Jesus. He's all
we need. All we need. Think of this. He's better than the treasure
of kings. He's better than all earthly possessions. You could
take every earthly possession. We were driving by some homes
over there and I think it's Lakeview over there. Big ol' huge homes,
right? They're nothing compared to what
we have in Christ. He's better than all earthly
possessions. He's better than the passing pleasures and prestige
of this world. He's better than all earthly
delights combined. And let us think as we leave
here, let us consider the verse we've studied tonight. Let him
kiss me with the kisses of his mouth. But I love is better than
wine. If we don't have Christ, we have
nothing. We don't have Christ, we have
nothing. If we have him, we have everything. Everything. What
is the fruit of his love for the bride? What is the fruit
of his love for the bride? Righteousness. which comes from
Him. Redemption, which comes through
Him. Sanctification, which is only in Him. Peace with God,
which is through Him. Joy in the Holy Ghost. Assurance
of Heaven. All these are found in Christ
in Him alone, for the believer. The love of Christ is a cup overflowing,
beloved. It overflows. And remember, you
are daily loaded down with benefits. Undeserved benefits. The believer is daily loaded
down with benefits. And Christ's love is the delight
to the believer. It gives gladness that wine can
never give us. And truly, his love is better
than wine, better than anything in this world. If his love is
set upon you, rejoice, beloved, because the only reason you love
him is because he loved you first. Rejoice. Rejoice. And the soul who truly loves
Christ can never see enough of him. can never taste enough of
Him, can never feel enough of Him, or ever enjoy enough of
the love of Christ. I ask you that. Are you satisfied
with just a taste? No, we want more, don't we? We
desire more. More, more, more, more about
Jesus. And you who are redeemed by the
Lord, rejoice, for His love is better than wine, better than
anything in this world. And His love has been bestowed
upon you, you who believe. His love has been bestowed upon
you by His free, sovereign mercy. It's better than anything, better
than anything. Heavenly Father, we come before
Thy throne rejoicing, rejoicing in salvation's plan, rejoicing
in Your great love for Your people, which is set upon us from everlasting,
from eternity. And it will continue throughout
eternity. It'll never end. Your love towards
your people will never end. And it's all found in and through
the Lord Jesus Christ. And we who have been purchased
by His precious blood, we rejoice. We rejoice that His love is set
upon us and we cry out with the bridegroom. We cry out, all His
love is better than wine, better than anything in this world.
May we leave here rejoicing and be thankful for your mercy towards
us. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.