Turn with me to the book of Song
of Solomon, chapter 8, verse 5. And while you turn him, I'd
like to say, first of all, that Brother Bob Wilson had to be
taken to the hospital. He's in Morgantown, but I don't
know which hospital. some dental work done today and
was having some problems with it. And so he had to go. And so we need to be aware and
prayerful for Bob. He's having some bleeding problems,
I think. And then yesterday morning, I
was talking to Brother Henry Makehan, and I asked him after
to make a relatively long conversation extremely short, I had to ask
him when could he come and preach for us. And he was very gracious
and gave me two dates that he had open, one of them the 19th
of June, one the 26th of June. And I knew and was aware of Brother
Donnie Bell's conference in Crossville the weekend of the 19th, and
so I asked him, I said, How about the 26th?" And he said, oh, I'd
love that. He said, I'd love to be up there
with you all. So I asked him, I said, well,
now that I've got you obligated, I said, how about Friday night,
Saturday night, and Sunday morning? And he said, let's do it. So
we plan to have Brother Henry June 24th, 25th, and 26th. So
I look forward to that. I appreciate the comments, Brother
Carl, concerning being able to meet together. I was thinking
concerning what you said and what you read and then the song
that we just sang, Nearer, My God, to Thee. And, you know,
there's one songwriter wrote just a few more. You know, this
world is just fading so quickly. And just to be able to be here,
just to be able to have a heart to be here, just to have a desire
to be here, a miracle of God's grace that He gives a heart,
we'd rejoice. That's exactly right. That's
right. Song of Solomon. Chapter 8, verse
5, Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning
upon her beloved? I raise thee up under the apple
tree. There thy mother brought thee
forth. There she brought thee forth
that bare thee. A question has been asked. by the daughters of Jerusalem. I can, in a sense, see where
these words could be spoken of, could be spoken by the Lord Jesus
Christ in His merciful admiration of the Bride, the Bride that
He has made to be altogether lovely in Himself. and say, him speaking, Who is
this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her
beloved, speaking of himself? I can definitely see how that
could be. But in light of the verse that
was just right before this particular verse, where the Scripture says,
I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that ye stir not up
nor awake my love until he please, more than likely the insinuation
is that this is actually the daughters of Jerusalem that is
actually speaking here these words. These words are spoken
by one that is not truly familiar with the bride or the Lord's
providential dealings. with the bride in her pilgrimage
through this world. Without a doubt, this world truly
is to a believer a wilderness. This is a wilderness. Now, in
the sense of being that a lot of us are born in a certain place,
this is home to me, I'm not from here. I fool a lot of people
when I speak. They think I'm from here, but
I'm not. But this place is home to me. It's home. I go somewhere. I go to Franklin, and I'm ready
to come home. Katy, West Virginia. But this place concerning the
bride's finding any true rest, is a wilderness. It's a wilderness
to the regenerate soul. But what is it that makes this
world a wilderness? I'll tell you what it is. It's
the world's religion. The religion of this world is
barren, it's dead, and it's disrespectful before Almighty God. There's
no food. in this world's religion. I've
heard some men say that, you know, well, you can glean a little
good out of even false religion. Something that's not true. There's
some good in it. But no, there's not. You know? What does this Scripture say?
A little leaven does what? It leavens the whole lump. It's
all leaven. It's all disrespectful, sinful. There's no nourishment to the
enlightened soul, to that one that has been called out of darkness. Now, I'll tell you the truth,
and you know what I'm saying is so. You that know Him, this
is so. The only nourishment truly to
your soul is when you hear the gospel of Christ preached. He
set forth Him. Now, there's food there. There's
nothing in a false gospel that satisfies the believer. They
hear it and it just, well, it angers them. They hear the disrespect
before their Lord. There's no settled road of safety. In this world, there's just a
wide gate that leads to destruction because to this world, it's religion. Man is the way, and not Christ. The Lord said, I'm the way, and
the world's religion says, man's the way. That's what free will
says. Man's the way. Man's the hope. Man's the peace. There's no true
watchman in this wilderness, the watchman that watches for
the souls of God's people. Really, there's nothing but blind
leaders of the blind. And if the Lord said, and if
the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch. This
world is a dangerous place. It's dangerous. Men and women
are dying without Christ. They die in absolute hopelessness
until the moment they take that last breath and their life is
gone. They don't even know it, brother Scott. And all of a sudden,
it's appointed unto man once to die, and then the judgment.
And a man meets God. I'm serious. I hear of people
that have left this world recently. One heard of one today. And you
know what went through my mind? The first thing that went through
my mind? That man met God. And met God, as far as I know,
based on what I knew. Met God without a substitute.
Can you imagine? Meeting Him without an advocate.
Meeting Him without a representative. Standing before God in Himself. That's a fearful thought. But
this question that's asked, who is this that cometh up from the
wilderness, leaning upon her Beloved? Who is this? Now I truthfully believe, after
looking at it and considering the wording and who had been
speaking, that really this is the daughters of Jerusalem, or
we can say the world's religion, or we can say the Tares, or you
can say false professors. It's all or any that is without
Christ. The world, when she asked, Who
is this? Who is this? It's coming out
of the wilderness. The daughters of Jerusalem knew
what the bride professed concerning her leaning upon her beloved.
And this question is asked because the world has no knowledge of
her, the bride, or her Lord, her beloved. Acts 26 in verse
24. says concerning the world's attitude
before believers. It says that Paul had been speaking,
and it says in verse 24 of Acts 26, ìAnd as he thus spake for
himself, Festus said with a loud voice, ìPaul, thou art beside
thyself. Much learning doth make thee
mad.î He looked at Paul when Paul had been preaching, Setting
forth the Lord Jesus Christ, Hephaestus said, Paul, you're
a crazy man. Who are you? What are these things
that you're saying? Who is this? the daughters asked. This is life eternal that they
might know Thee and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent. Who is this? The Lord said in John 1.10, He
was in the world. Or speaking of the Lord, I'm
sorry. He was in the world and the world was made by Him and
the world knew Him not. Who is this? Who is this? This question is actually one
of resentment, ridicule. And the Spirit of God gives the
reason why this question is asked. In 1 Corinthians chapter 2, Verse
15 and 16, 1 Corinthians 2, 15. This question is asked. It's
a question of ridicule. Who is this? Who are you? 1 Corinthians 2, 15 and 16, But
he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is
judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of
the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of
Christ. These things are spiritually
discerned, spiritually known, understood. The things of God
have to be taught to a man or to a woman for them to understand.
And carnal man can certainly be in a position where he gives
a mental assent to the truth, but has no heart of enjoyment. and no longing for it, no appreciation
for Christ. They hear the gospel of free
grace. I've said this before and I mean
this. I have a brother according to
the flesh, a brother. And I can talk to him and he'll
agree with everything I say, Carl. I know you're a God-sovereign. Oh, I know that's right. That's
right, right there. And has absolutely no heart,
no joyment, no joy, no desire whatsoever. This spirit is remaining
in the unregenerate. And here's the war that wars
within the believer. There's a nature that's still
there, two natures. Paul says, I see in me that is
in my flesh that dwells no good thing. The will is present, but
how to perform that which I would? I find not. Who is this? There are two natures. That which
is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the
Spirit is spirit, and they are contrary one to the other. Where life is void in a person
when there is no life. There is a self-righteous animosity
against those that truly rest and lean upon Christ. Who is
this? Do you believe this or not? And I know some of you do
know this and believe this. For the stand that is taken for
the gospel, for Christ, the cause of Christ, the gospel of Christ,
people look at you like you are some kind of a weird thing. You
are strange. You are unbending. You're insensitive. You don't have any true appreciation
for everybody. We ought to all be embracing
everybody. We need to try to win the world.
And I'm going to tell you something, God's people are not trying to
win the world. They're honoring Christ, preaching the gospel,
and believing that God's going to call His people out. That's
what He's going to do. That's what He's going to do.
Whether or not men believe that or not, that's what He is going
to do. These words, who is this? These words were spoken in Song
of Solomon 5-9. The same words were just about
said, ìWhat is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou
fairest among women?î Let me say it where you can understand
it. Someone in false religion, the religion of this world, hereís
what theyíre saying. Arenít we all working for the
same thing? We are all serving the same God.
You may call Him Jehovah and they may call Him Allah. They
call Him Mohammed. But really, it doesn't matter
what a man calls God, you know, as long as he believes. Believes
what? What is I beloved? The daughters
say, more than another beloved. What is the God you serve? What
makes your God different? David says our God is in the
heavens and He does what He wants to do. He is a sovereign God. Who is this coming up out of
the wilderness? Truly, the Lord of heaven is
despised by the religion of this world because the God of this
world, Satan, is the father of all false religion. This Sunday
we will deal again. There is another reference in
the in the letter to the church at Philadelphia that talks about
the synagogue of Satan. Every place, it doesn't matter
what you call it, there's only two messages being preached.
Two messages. It doesn't matter what you call
the denomination, what's on their sign. It's either works or grace. It's one of the two. That's the
only two things. If it's not setting forth the
Lord Jesus Christ, The Scriptures reveal it is the synagogue of
Satan, whatever you call it, whether it is Southern Baptists
or Methodists or the Roman Catholic Church, it is all the synagogue
of Satan. Amazingly, though, this very thing that the world
hates the bride for doing is what she joyfully does. Who is
this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her
beloved? the world ridicules the church
for trusting Christ. And this is the way it will normally
manifest itself. If you rest and believe and trust
Christ alone, you will be accused of being an antinomian. That
is, one that is lawless. One that has no law to it. One,
you'll be accused. You're not. You see, those that
are antinomians has no law. This is what they believe. Well,
if grace, if we're saved by grace and the Lord is not going to,
you know, condemn us, then what difference does it matter? I
said before, a person that has that attitude knows nothing of
the Lord of glory. the love of Christ constraineth
us." God's people are not lawless. They don't look to the law for
salvation, but they're not lawless people. I said last week, let
me find one that God's truly taught what it is to be a sinner,
a true bona fide sinner. I heard you say years ago, that's
a rare thing, find a sinner. Somebody that knows their need
of Christ and rests on Him and trusts Him and asks Him daily,
Lord, help me, help me. You let man find a sinner. That
is who I enjoy being around. After the way, Paul says that
they called heresy. So worship I the God of my fathers."
That's what Paul said in Acts 24, verse 14. Who is this that
comes up leaning upon her beloved? That's a resentful statement.
But that's what she's doing. The world jeers and snarls and
laughs at the remnant according to the election of grace, but
still, she is coming. Who is this that cometh? That word cometh, that's a word
that is a continual. It's a continual. a continual,
she's always coming, turning her back upon the religion of
this world, seeking a city which has foundations whose builder
and maker is God, leaning on her. She's coming. She's always
coming. She's always leaning. She's always
looking and trusting by faith the Lord Jesus Christ, trusting
Him for help and for comfort and for assurance, laying hold
of Him by faith. clinging to Him by faith. It's
an amazing thing. God's people, they never get
enough of hearing Him. That's all they want to hear.
This evening, this night, right now, this is what you want to
hear. Tell me of Him on whom I must lean, on whom I must trust. The believer rests all her hopes
upon Him for her justification before Almighty God. Leaning
upon Him, she's got a sense of danger because of the presence
of sin. She hates, loathes the sin that
she sees that's present with her. Sin is present with me. She knows that the Lord has taken
her place. died in her stead, made a curse
for her, made sin. She might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. She knows there's no condemnation. Knowing all of that, here's an
amazing thing, she knows those things to be true and she loathes
herself. Hates the very garment stained
with sin. She leans upon Him because she's
been taught by the Spirit of God of her ignorance." I was
talking to a dear friend today, and we were talking about this
very thing, that we're just ignorant people, men arguing over points,
this, that, and the other, that has nothing to do with their
eternal salvation, arguing about things like Gary Shepherd says,
that just out of our league, we're ignorant people. I need
you to teach me of Him who knows." Jeremiah 10.23 says, O Lord,
I know. Now you listen to these words
of this man. Under the inspiration of the
Spirit of God, Jeremiah penned these words. Jeremiah the prophet,
O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself, and it
is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. I'm just an
ignorant man. I don't know what to do. We lean
upon Him because we need some comfort. I need to hear of Him. I need to hear His voice. Have
you ever noticed how comforting it is when it's someone that
you love and appreciate and you just hear their voice? It's just
nice to hear their voice. I just want to talk to you. She
leans upon Him as She's coming continually. She leans on Him
because she knows that she's different. The Scripture refers
to her as a peculiar treasure. Peculiar. But she doesn't glory
in herself because of the difference. She is different. She is peculiar. But she knows who has made her
different. And therefore, she leans on Him. mercifully and compassionately
give her a new heart, a new mind, a new spirit that has written
His law on her heart. So she leans on Him. She trusts
Him. She leans from the moment of
regeneration till the moment of her departure from this life.
She leans because she has no other place. Turn to Psalm 73.4.
She leans. till she leaves this world. Now,
I'll tell you, I've mentioned this before. I know very little about what
I've heard people talk about as far as dying grace. We were talking about this a
moment ago. Dying grace. Someone told Mr. Spurgeon one
time, they said, I don't believe I have dying grace. And he says,
are you dying? And he said, no, I don't think so. He said, well,
then you don't need it in that day. But there's something about
a believer in that day, in that moment. Some of you know something
I'm talking about. When you watch and behold the indescribable
mercy of Almighty God that gives a person that's leaning on Him
when they cross that Jordan, You know, the children of Israel
were in the wilderness, and they crossed over the Jordan. Jordan
is a picture of death into the promised land. But in that moment,
God's people are leaning on Him. I heard of a man, I may have
told some of you this, Tim James. It was a man in his congregation.
This man was a big, strapping, robust fellow. He had contracted
a disease that was taking his life. And he was down to just
very, very, you know, frail, weak condition. Tim went to see
him, as I remember the story. And Tim asked him, said, you
know, how you doing and stuff like that. And he said, well,
I'm doing fine. He said, you've been the best
friend I've ever had. He said, you preach the gospel to me.
I thought, man, you know, right in that moment, he's leaning,
trusting. Those Scriptures I'm telling
you that we've heard time and time again, those Scriptures
that say, I'll never leave you, I'll never forsake you. In that
day, I wonder what Scriptures will cross your mind that the
Spirit of God will bring back to your mind when you find yourself. Psalm 73 verse 4 says, ìFor there
is no bandsÖî Let me read verse 3. Well, no, letís read verse
1. ìTruly God is good to Israel,
even to such as are of a clean heart. But as for me, my feet
were almost gone, my steps had well nigh slipped, for I was
envious at the foolish when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.î
Verse 4, this is what I wanted to read, ìFor there is no bands,
in their death, but their strength is firm." That passage right
there, there's no bands in their death. What that's saying is
this. There's no bands of fear before God. There's no fear of
leaving this world. You talk to people that don't
know Him, and it's amazing to me how comfortable they seem
to be. They speak of leaving this world as if everything is
okay. There's no fear of God. There's
nothing there. There's no bands in them. No fear of the Lord. The bride
leans upon Him. The posture of the bride is twofold. That's what we've looked at.
and she's leaning upon her Beloved. That's what's happening. You
that know the Lord, you're continually coming. And then the last part
of that verse that we read in verse 5, the evidence of her
coming and leaning. How do you know? Well, the Scripture
reveals that she's ever remembering the One to whom she's continually
coming. and upon whom she continually
leans." When you read these last words, I raise thee up under
the apple tree. There thy mother brought thee
forth. There she brought thee forth
that bare thee. There is one thing that relates
who is actually doing the speaking here. One writer I read said
this. This is probably one of the most
obscure of the verses in this whole poem, the book of Song
of Solomon. But when it says, I raised thee,
the word thee there is masculine. And probably, more than likely,
I fearfully make these statements because
I realize the implication of being truthful and honest in
setting forth God's Word. But I truly believe, after looking
and considering these words, this is the bride speaking. At
first, when I first read it, I thought, well, I raised thee
up under the apple tree. I just automatically said, well,
that's the Lord speaking. It's got to be. But truthfully,
with looking at the word ëtheí, ëI raised thee up under the apple
treeí. The word ëtheí is masculine. Therefore, these words are probably
the bride to the Master. ëI raised thee upí, this is the
literal translation of that last phrase, ëunder the citron treeí,
under the citron apple tree. Have I waked thee? There did thy mother pledge thee. There she gave a pledge that
bare thee." Now, back in Song of Solomon 2-3, the Scripture
speaking of the Lord Himself in verse 3, it says, "...as the
apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my Beloved among
the sons." Now, just before that, In verse 2, it said, as the lily
among thorns, so is my love, that is, the bride, among the
daughters. But verse 3 speaks of the apple
tree. As the apple tree among the trees
of the woods, so is my beloved. Of all the trees of the woods,
as the apple tree, the best of it among the trees, so is my
beloved. That's what she's saying among
the sons. The apple tree. This apple tree
speaks of The Lord Jesus Christ is a tree that I found out that
supposedly always bears fruit. Hosea 14.8 says, From me is thy
fruit found. But these amazing words, I raise
thee up under the apple tree. There thy mother brought thee
forth, she that brought thee forth that bare thee. is actually
here saying to raise up or to awaken or to excite him to love
under or in the place where he is known, seen, heard, and proclaimed. Now my question is this, how
is it that the bride can say to him who the Scripture says
sleeps not. Psalm 121 verse 4 says, Behold,
he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. How can she actually be said
to say to him when it says, I raised thee up? That is to awaken. That is what that word means,
I awakened. Actually, what this is, is the
cry of the believer in dire straits. It's the pant of a soul when
he thinks that he is deserted. It's as if he is saying, O blessed
Lord who never sleeps, what can I do if you fail to show yourself
to me and appear to sleep? You remember when the Lord Jesus
Christ was in the back of the boat. The waves were tempestuous
waves The disciples cried out unto Him. Now here He is, the
Lord Jesus Christ. And they cried out to Him. You
know, Lord, don't you care that we perish? The bride is actually
saying while she's coming up out of this wilderness, made
fun of, jeered at, laughed at by the world's religion, by the
daughters, who is this? that cometh up from the wilderness,
leaning upon her beloved." She's saying, I cried to the Lord.
I raised thee up. I lifted up my boy. I raised
thee up. Not that she's lifted him up
because he doesn't need lifting up, but in the sense that she
cried unto him for help. The Lord is being said or spoken
to by the bride. She's saying, in the place of
your honor, I raised thee up under the apple tree. That is
to say, where he's preached, where he's taught, where he's
known. I awakened, I excited you to
love. There, in that place, the church
raised up by Christ Himself that has pledged Himself to His people. That is to say, that sets forth
Himself. He's pledged Himself. to His
elect. I raised thee up. I cried unto
thee. I looked to you under the apple
tree." In that place where you are, there thy mother brought
thee forth. The Lord had said in Matthew
12.50, "...for whosoever shall do the will of My Father which
is in heaven, the same as My brother and My sister and My
mother." The spiritual seed This is a miraculous, a marvelous
passage of Scripture. But the bride is actually saying,
she is raising Him up, crying unto Him, pleading after Him,
who never sleeps, who has told her, I'll never leave you, I'll
never forsake you. But let me ask you this. In dire
straits, where do you cry to Him? You're crying to Him in
the place that He's revealed Himself to you in the Gospel. Lord, hear my cry. Lord, help me. Lord, keep me. He said He'd keep you, but don't
you cry. Don't you lift Him up. There
in that place where the Lord Jesus Christ has been set forth,
He is born forth, pledged, He is right here in this place where
the mother is referred to, the place of His bearing forth. This
is where the believer finds their comfort. Christ is taught, He
is set forth, He is God's pledge to His people, His covenant,
His hope to a people that He has everlastingly loved. Who
is this that cometh up from the wilderness Leaning upon her beloved,
she's made fun of, laughed at. She is coming. She is leaning. And she tells him, I raised thee
up. I sought you. I cried to you. To awake at you. Awake, Lord,
you that sleep not. There, thy mother brought thee
forth. There, she brought thee forth
that bare thee. This place in which the Lord
has been set forth. The bride knows Him, hears of
Him, cries to Him. You know. You've been there. You know what it is to need Him. That's a picture of God's people. They need Him. They lean on Him. Come to Him. Okay, Gary, you
come.