remembering these men as they
come. This evening I would like to, Lord willing, finish the sixth
chapter. There will be two more chapters
after this in the Song of Solomon. We've tried to, verse by verse,
go through this beautiful book of the relationship between the
Lord Jesus Christ and the bride, the Church. Beginning in verse 10, the Scripture
says, Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as
the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners? I went down into the garden of
nuts to see the fruits of the valley, and to see whether the
vine flourished and the pomegranates budded. For ever I was aware
my soul made me like the chariots of Amem-Adib. Return, return,
O Shulamite, return, return, that we may look upon thee. What
will you see in the Shulamite as it were the company of two
armies? Now, the bride is described here
in her beauty, that is, the beauty of the imputed righteousness
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we see the manifestation
of that beauty. We see that which the Lord says
of her in describing her in this. Who is she that looketh forth
as the morning? What He is saying is this. Look
at her. Look at the one that looks forth
as the morning, sunbeams that first comes over the horizon
and springs forth. Look at her. The bride looks. She gazes by faith and perceives
Him. She is like the fresh sun coming
up. The daybreak. I know during The
night, it seems like when times are rough. The night. Things are always worse in the
night. I don't know what it is. Man,
I find myself, you know, Scott, I wish the sun would come up.
I just wish I could just see the sun coming up. It just seems
like it's just better." He said, look at her. God who commanded
the light to shine out of darkness has shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. What a beauty He beholds in her
that He has given. He says, look, she looks forth
as the morning. Blessed, the Lord said, are those
servants whom the Lord, when He cometh, shall find watching.
I'll tell you something, this is what's happening right now.
God's people right now, you that believe, you know what you're
doing? You're looking forth as the morning. Looking forth. Looking
for Him. Knowing. Watching. Waiting. He said in Revelation 16, 15,
Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth and
keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked and may see his shame. She looks forth as the morning
because the bride enjoys present consciousness of His presence. She sees Him. She knows Him.
She looks. Because the Lord's given her
a heart to look. She's free to look. Before, she
was in bondage and she was blind and she just didn't see. But now, she looks for, she's
fair, he says, as the moon. Beautiful. Beautiful as the moon. You look out and you see that
moon. Isn't it amazing how you look
out and you see the moon And you've seen the moon. You've
seen the moon. But still, there's something about the moon. Man,
look at that. Especially like when it's just
coming up, you know, and it just looks that big. Look at that. Isn't that beautiful? Isn't that
a gorgeous object out there? Fair. But you know the fairness
of the moon is but the reflection of the unseen sun. Where does
the moon get its light from the sun? Where do believers get light? From the light Himself. We are
light containers, but we don't produce the light. The Lord said
in Matthew 5, verse 14, He says, You are the light of the world,
but only in the sense that His people are in Him and He in them. He says in John 1-4, in Him was
life, and the life was the life of man. He said, look at her.
We shine, the Scripture says, as lights in the world in the
midst of a crooked and perverse nation. He says, consider her. She's fair as the moon and she's
clear as the sun. That's what He said of her. He
said of her, She looks forth as the morning. She's fair as
the moon. She's clear as the sun. Why? Why does He say of her that she
is clear as the sun? Because, turn with me to Matthew
13. I'll show you something. Matthew
13, verse 41. I'll tell you why He says that.
Because soon, she shall be shown openly. of what she is right
now. Matthew 13, verse 41. The Son of Man shall send forth
His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things
that offend and them which do iniquity, and shall cast them
into a furnace of fire, and there shall be wailing and gnashing
of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine
forth as the sun, in the kingdom of their Father, who hath ears
to hear, let him hear." Who is this? I'll tell you who she is.
She's fair as the moon. And she's also clear as the sun
because she is in Him. Beloved, John said, now are we
the sons of God. Now. And it doth not yet appear
what we shall be, but we know that when He shall appear, We
shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." Be like Him. Who is this? Well, she's terrible
as an army with banners. Soldiers. We've looked at this
before. Soldiers that are awe-inspiring. They're bannered hosts. They're
a banner over Him. The Scripture says it's love,
and they're led by the Captain. of their salvation, their banner,
their standard is the glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Isaiah 11, 12 says, He shall
set up an ensign for the nations and shall assemble the outcast
of Israel and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the
four corners of the earth. Oh, there's the bride. That's
who she is. as those that fight a good fight,
that keep the faith. Soldiers who have the feet shod
with the preparation of the gospel of peace and the helmet of salvation
and girt about with truth. The Lord has set on them, taught
them His insolence. Paul said, I'm not ashamed of
it. Where do we stand? You know that
song we sing, Here I raise... I've said this before. Here I
raise my nebenezer. This is my banner. This is my
standard. This is where I make my stand
right here. This is it. Paul said, I'm not ashamed of
the gospel. It's the power of God and salvation. Does a man have to believe the
gospel to be saved? Yes. Yes. Does he? Yes. Can he be saved under false
doctrine? No. No. The gospel, the gospel
is the power of God unto salvation. The truth, the Spirit of God
does not bless a lie on God. It's the gospel. Paul says, if
an angel of heaven preaches any other message, any other gospel
than that which is preached unto you, let him be what? Accursed. This is it. Who is this? She's
terrible as an army with banners. And then the Scripture says that
of our Lord, He went down, verse 11, into the garden of nuts to
see the fruits of the valley and see whether the vine flourished
and the pomegranates budded. He went down because of His grace
and mercy, faithfulness and love to her. Went down into the The
garden of that word is actually the nutmegs. And what it means,
it refers to a well-trimmed and pruned garden, a beautiful garden,
a prepared garden. And here, the true vine that
bears up the branches of His people, those that bear fruit
and are constantly in need of pruning, that's where He goes. And He goes there to view them
and to protect them, to be with them, to watch over them. He's
the One that sees the need of every tree. I don't know. I'll be honest with you. I don't
know my own need, Chuck. I don't know, but He does. And
He knows yours, and yours, and yours, and yours. And He walks
in the midst of His garden. And He sees, humanly speaking,
you know what I mean, He sees the blight that's on the branch. He sees the frailty. He knows, and he knows just exactly
how to take care of it and how to prune it. I used to watch
my dad prune and graft. I thought, boy, why do you do
that? Well, it'll grow better. I'd watch him. He'd teach me.
I'd take his little tomato plants He'd go through and he'd pinch
off the little suckers, you know, between there, right there. Why do you do that? He said,
because the tomatoes will produce more. They'll do this, they'll
do that. I thought, man, why does he prune us? Because it's
for our good and His glory. Who is this? He's the one who
goes down and beholds the fruits of the valley, the ripe fruits,
according to Micah 7.11. He sees the fruit of His grace
among those in whom He delights. And after speaking to the bride
of His watch care over her, He reveals to her His willingness
to be with her. Now, you have to understand,
we're finishing up and have been considering for months how the
bride had spoken disrespectfully to him. He had knocked. She gave an excuse. He stuck
his hand in the hole of the door. She came to the door. He was
gone. And she longed for him. And he hid, as it were, himself
from her. And she looked for him and searched
for him. And he graciously withheld himself
from her. He's going to reveal to her how
He wanted to be with her. He said in verse 12, "...or ever
I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of Amimadib."
If you look in your margin, it says it, "...or ever I was aware."
In the margin it says, "...I knew not." And then it also says,
of made me like the chariots, it says, it set me on the chariots
of my willing people. Now let me tell you what he just
said. He said to her, I knew not, or
before I knew, now I read this and read this and the more I
read this, the more I wondered, not doubted it because I know
he said it, but I wondered at it, Carl. before I knew. He said, My soul set Me on the
chariots of My willing people. Having watched her ache for Himself,
He is saying, I shall hide Myself no longer. My love for You moved
Me to draw you to Myself." And he says those that he comes to
are his willing people. He says, before I knew, it's
like that verse that he says, you've ravished me with one of
your eyes. You've stolen my heart. You've
made me heartless for you. Breathless, I think. How can
that be? How can the Lord of glory? I could see if He would give
me a heart to say that for Him, but that He says that to me?
And He speaks to her concerning His will. And He says to her
in verse 13, Return, return, O Shulamite. Return. He's speaking. to his bride. Now here we see
a wonderful revelation. Shulamite, the title Shulamite,
is used two times in the Bible. Both of them in this one verse
right here. This is it. This is it. Right here. Return,
return, O Shulamite. Return, return, that we may look
upon thee, and what will you see in the Shulamite? As it were,
the company of two armies." This is a revelation of who this
bride really is. We see here the bride taking
the name of her husband. Solomon means Peaceful. A masculine name. Solomon here
is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. Shulamite means peaceful. Same word. Feminine. Christ the Solomon had espoused
the bride Shulamite to Himself. Both names mean peaceful, peaceful,
peaceful. Whenever a woman and a man are
going to be married, the woman takes the name of her husband. That's her name. His name is
her name. represents and entails, that's
hers, because of His love for her. All that she needs and desires
and longs for, she looks to her husband. What's your name? What's your name? Your name is
Carl Bourne. You know what her name is? Why? That's your name. Shulamite. Shulamite. Solomon. Peaceful. The father
chose a bride in Christ before the foundation of the world.
And he, as her representative and her substitute, lived and
died for her and established a righteousness before the law
for her, and robed her in His righteousness." Turn with me
while I'm speaking to Jeremiah 23.6. Now, in Song of Solomon,
this is what the Lord has said. Look at her. Look at the one
that looks forth as the morning looking for me is what you say.
She's fair as the moon. She reflects me. She's clear
as the sun because she's found in me. And she's terrible as
an army with banners because my banner over her is love. The ensign that she holds is
the gospel of free grace. I went down. I visited her. into
the Garden of Nuts to see the fruits of the valley, to see
the vine flourish and the pomegranates. Oh, before I knew it, my soul
made me like the chariots of Amenadib. I came to her and drew
her to me and said to her, Return, return, O Shulamite! His name. His name. Return, O Peaceful! I want you to look at the name
of God's people in Jeremiah 23.6. In His days, Judah shall be saved,
and Israel shall dwell safely. And this is His name whereby
He shall be called the Lord our righteousness. What is the name
of the bride according to Jeremiah 23.6? This is our name, the Lord our
righteousness. What's your name? He says, return,
Shulamite. That's His name. His name is
Solomon. Peaceful. Her name is Shulamite. Peaceful. What's our name? The
Lord our righteousness. He says to her, return, return,
that we may look upon thee. Here we behold the persons of
the Godhead the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, beholding the
fair apparel of Shulamite, robed in the righteousness of her husband."
That's his bride. He's taken care of her. He's
robed her. He's clothed her. He's provided
for her. She is viewed by the Father,
Son, and Spirit in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, the
Messiah. Oh, come here. Let us look on
you. Let us behold you. And the bride,
convinced of her own unworthiness, confesses before Him. I don't
doubt. I read these things. And I'm going to tell you something.
Let's just get right down. I'm finishing this up right now.
But let's just get right down to tonight. Right now. Tonight. March 16, 2005. Tonight, these words are spoken
to God's Bride, to the Lord's Bride, the Lord Jesus Christ,
His Shulamite. And He speaks to her, and this
is what He says, Come to Me, Shulamite. Return. Return to
Me. And then the Bride hears that
we may look upon thee." You mean to tell me the Father, the Son,
and the Spirit would say, let us look upon thee, let us look
upon you in favor of the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Himself. And
tonight, this night, this is what Shulamite says to him. What will you see in Shulamite?
This is her talking. What will you see in the Shulamite
as it were the company of two armies? Two encampments is what
that means. Two armies here. What will you
see? I hear what you're saying to
me. I behold by faith the righteousness
of the Lord Jesus Christ imputed to me. But what do you see in
me? It's the conflict, she's saying,
of every believer, the battle that's between the flesh and
the spirit. In Romans chapter 7, in verse
22, the Scripture says, Paul speaking, I delight in the law
of God after the inward man, but I see another law in my members,
warring against the law of my mind in bringing me into captivity
to the law of sin. which is in my members, O wretched
man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Come to me, Shulamite." And Shulamite says, what do you see in me?
I see two camps here. I see two armies here. This conflict
that begins at regeneration is never over until we leave this
world. What do you see in me? I see
in me, Paul says, I see a battle going on here. This conflict
finds its basis between an enmity toward God that I possess and
loving and believing God that I possess, and the two don't
mix. The new nature is imparted to
the believer, but the old nature is not removed. The Lord said,
that which is born of the flesh is flesh. And that which is born
of the Spirit is spirit. Paul said in Galatians 5, 18,
For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against
the flesh. And these are contrary one to
the other, that you cannot do the things that you would. It's
a battle. What do you see in me, Shulamite says? I see there's
two camps here. There's two armies here. And
you can look upon me in affection. But I tell you, in closing, these
conflicts, these armies battling, let me tell you this. You know,
the Scripture says, All things. And I have to stop and think
through what I'm about to say. But this is the Scripture. It
says, All things. All things. So I ask you this. How many things does that entail?
All things. Well, you mean the good things
and the bad things? All things. Well, you mean trouble? All things. All things work together for
good to them that love God, to them who are the called according
to His purpose. What about the conflict that
I find within? How about that? Shulamite says, what will you
see in me? There's two armies here. Our
struggles, by the grace of God, humble us. And because of them,
the Lord takes even the battle within and causes us to lean
to and look to and cast ourselves upon the mercy of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Help me. Help me. Because of
these struggles, we are made to behold By the Spirit of God's
revelation, the faithfulness of Christ, He said, I'll never
leave you. Does that mean He'll never leave
me as long as I'm able to? I'll never leave you. I'll never
leave you. But you look at Me as two armies
here. I'll never leave you. Though there's much tribulation,
we shall see by faith and soon by sight that salvation is of
the Lord. We shall see Him. Even in these struggles, there
is good. God's people are taught that
this world is fading, that this flesh is dead. that there's no
good in me. I didn't know that before. I
never knew that. What do you see in me? In Christ
is our hope. I Peter, let me just read this
to you. Just listen to this. I Peter 5, verse 7, casting all
your care upon Him. Why? For He careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant, because
your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about
seeking whom he may devour, whom resist steadfast in the faith,
knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren
that are in the world. But the God of all grace who
hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus after that
ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen,
and settle you. To Him be glory and dominion
for ever and ever. Amen.