Turn with me to Song of Solomon
chapter 5. I would like to look actually at verse 11 and
12. I was thinking about that song
we just sang in light of a some thoughts that I had this
afternoon as I was going over my notes and preparing myself for this evening. And I was reading what the Bride
had to say concerning the Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus. As I read those words, verse 11 and 12, it says, His
head is as the most fine gold. His locks are bushy and black
as a raven. His eyes are as the eyes of doves
by the rivers of waters washed with milk and fitly set. As I contemplated what the bride
was saying concerning the Lord Jesus, I began to ask myself this. Do I think of
Him like that? Seriously, you know, there have
been times that I just began to really stop and just Ask myself,
I believe that. I believe I do. Mitch, I believe
I do. I long to. I truly do. I want to believe that. Bob,
I do. I want to have a heart after
Him. I want it to be not just a head
knowledge. I can understand doctrine. I
mean, I can understand it. I understand that. I understand
five points of Calvinism. But oh, that He might give me
a heart after Him, truly. And then when you started singing
that song, Father, It'll Be Worth It All, I thought, you know,
these struggles, these wars, fightings within. You that know
Him, you know what I mean. You know the struggles that we
go through Not outwardly, nearly so much. I mean, yeah, to a certain
extent, but oh, the warring within. The bride, having set forth her
Beloved, when asked in verse 9 by the daughters of Jerusalem,
what is our Beloved more than another? They had asked her.
I'm just bringing you back to where we were. The daughters
of Jerusalem had asked the bride, What is he to you that is more
than anything else? Oh my, how we so easily set our
affection on other things. What is it? And she said in verse
10, My beloved is white and ruddy, he is white in His deity and
He is ruddy or red in His humanity. He is a man. He is the God-man. He is the Messiah. Who is He
to you? I will tell you who He is. He
is all my hope. That is who He is. All of my
hope is in Him. I do not have anything to rest
salvation on except Christ's sovereign grace, sovereign grace,
grace. She's speaking from a heart that
has been set aflame by the Spirit of God who has revealed to her
something of her worthlessness and her need of the Lord Jesus. And she sees by faith His qualification. She sees it. That's what I ask
the Lord. Reveal that to me. I want to
see that. Greatest blessing in this life
is that Almighty God would reveal to a man or a woman the glory
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And they'd see that, Gary. Believe
it. Rest in Him. Trust Him. Everything else is going to pass
away. But that's what the Lord asked those disciples. What think ye of Christ? Who
is He? What do they say? And the bride
begins to describe Him. And it's a spiritual description. What is He? Well, she said in
verse 10, as I said a moment ago, He's divine. He's the divine
man. He's the God-man. He's the chiefest
among 10,000. He's the standard bearer. That's Him. Everything is governed
in accordance with Him. And His head is as the most fine
gold. Now she's speaking of Him Spiritually. He speaks of Him. And His head
speaks of His sovereign dominion over all things. Who is He? Who is He to you? Well, I'll
tell you who He is. He's the Lord. That's who He
is. He's the Head. Sovereign. Ephesians 1.22 says, God has
put all things unto His feet. He is the Lord of the living
and of the dead and has sent Him to be the head over all things
to the church. He is the Bridegroom and the
Servant of Almighty God. But let me show you. Turn with
me to 1 Corinthians 11. Who is He? She speaks of Him. Remember,
He is white and ruddy. He is the Messiah. 1 Corinthians 11.3 says this, 1 Corinthians 11.3, But I would
have you know that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is
the man, and the head of Christ is God. Now let me tell you what
Paul said right there. He said, first of all, the daughters
of Jerusalem asked the bride, who is he to you? She said, I'll
tell you who he is. His head. His sovereignty. His
Godhead. He's God Himself in human flesh. The head of every man, Paul said
in 1 Corinthians 11 and 3, Christ, meaning this, He's the Lord of
the living and the dead. That's who He is. He's the Lord. I've heard people say, now, you
need to make Him your Lord. Well, let me tell you something.
I heard someone say rightly so. God beat you to it a long time
ago. He's the Lord of the living and
the dead, and He has the right to do with them whatsoever He
will. I have the rye. I have the potter, not the rye.
So the head of every man is Christ. And the head of the woman is
the man. Now, I understand that the Lord
has placed the man as the head of the woman. I understand that
in responsibility for that family I've told people before, whenever
I hear a man speaking of his wife disrespectfully, you know,
talking to her like she's some kind of a rug or something like
that, let me tell you something. I would give every man in here
a little bit of advice. If I were you, I would listen
to what my wife had to say. She's got some good advice. You'll
find, by and large, that often the wife has got some better
advice than you give her credit for. Now, when it comes right
down to it, you're going to have to make a decision. If there's
something to be made in the family, the man is going to have to make
a decision. We're talking about this. A decision's
got to be made. Men, it's your responsibility
to make that decision. But you remember this. Whatever
decision you make, you live with it. And if it was the wrong decision,
be a man about it. You made the wrong decision.
But don't treat your wife with disrespect and talk to her like
she's some kind of a second-class citizen, because she's not. Okay? I understand that the head of
the woman is the man in that sense. But in this Scripture
right here, I'll tell you what this Scripture is talking about.
The head of the woman, of the bride, is the man, the Lord Jesus
Christ. So there's two things that's
been said here. Number one, the head of every man is Christ,
the living and the dead. He's the Lord. And He does as
He will. When He told Pharaoh, for this
reason I raised you up, that I might show my power. You know
why He could say that? Because He's the Lord. Because
He is the head of every man. The head of every man is Christ.
The head of the woman, the bride, is the man, the Lord Jesus Christ. And the head of Christ, Paul
said, is God, as He is the man. Now that's an amazing thing. Great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. And the Lord took upon Himself
the form of sinful flesh. Perfect man. But He had a body
prepared for Him. And He willingly took upon Himself
the form of a servant and made Himself of no reputation and
became obedient He learned obedience in that he suffered. That means
he actually experienced it. He came into this world as a
man, the God-man, and he prayed to his Father. He says, the things
that I hear Him do, that's what I say. The things I hear Him
say, that's what I say. That's what I do. I do always
only those things that please Him. He is the servant. The head of Christ is God. He
spoke to Him as, My Father. My Father. Christ, the appointed
surety. Now you talk about who is He? Who is your beloved? I'll tell
you, He's the Lord of the living and the dead. He's the head of
the church and His Father is His head. That's who He is. Great
is this mystery. The God-man. Who is He? He's my husband. That's who He
is. Oh, she speaks of Him with respect. Who is your husband? Who is your
beloved? I'll tell you who He is. He's
Almighty God. He's my representative. He's
the head of the bride. He's my head and He's my husband. He's the obedient servant of
the man. That man right there. John said,
Behold, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.
Who is? I'll tell you who He is. He is
the man that the Father is well pleased with. That's who He is. One man He's ever been pleased
with. One man that God's ever been pleased with. Who is He?
He's my husband. He's my high priest. He answers
for me. He speaks for me. He prays for
me. He intercedes for me. That's
who He is. And everything that He asked the Father for me, God
will give it to Him. That's who He is. He's my Lord. All things were made by Him. He's the potter. That's who He
is. The potter made out of the same lump, some vessels to show
mercy to and some were fitted to destruction. He's the head. As the head of the bride, He
went forth for her and bore her sorrow and her suffering. What
does the bride owe? I'll pay it. He's my substitute. That's who He is. My representative. God Almighty demanded that I
live before Him perfectly obeying the law of God and I could not.
I fell in Adam and I couldn't do it. He represents me. God chose me in Him in everything
that He does. God charges that to me by His
imputed righteousness. Who is He? That's who He is. As her head, He has been the
obedient servant. And she believes Him. Who is
He? She says, well, His head as the
most fine gold. That right there, fine gold,
means gold, gold. Gold's gold. The gold of gold. I look at gold and I say, that's
gold. Who is it? He's gold's gold. What gold looks
like is gold's gold. That's who he is. Needs no purifying. Here we behold. the sight of
the bride toward Him. This is the way she sees Him.
Revelation 14, 14 says, I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and
upon the cloud one that sat like unto the Son of Man, having on
His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. Who is He? He is the Head, sovereign,
gloriously perfect, and beside that, He thinks on me. Turn with me to Psalm 40. Psalm
40 and verse 5. Who is He? Oh, He thinks of me. Many, O Lord, my God, are thy
wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which
are to us They cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee. If I would
declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered. Who is he? He thinks on me. He looks out for me. He watches
for me. Who is he? His head is as the
most fine gold, and his locks are bushy and black as a raven. The glorious symbolism that we
behold here is obviously divine, but even the Spirit of God-breathed
Word cannot be understood fully as it ought to be in a mortal
man who is a fickle creature. But one thing we can see in this
verse is the glorious shepherd of the sheep, bearing them up
in the everlasting covenant of His grace. Turn over to Isaiah
46. Isaiah 46. I'm going to show you what I'm
talking about. Here we behold Him who bears
us up. Isaiah 46, 3 and 4. Hearken unto Me, O house of Jacob,
and all the remnant of the house of Israel which are born by me
from the belly, which are carried from the womb. Even to your old
age I am He, and even to hoar hairs or gray hairs will I carry
you. I have made, and I will bear,
even I will carry and deliver you." You know what he just said?
I am not going to forsake you. I am not going to leave you.
His locks are bushy. black. Here is truly comfort
to all who have been made to feel their inability to manage
their life, unable to take a step confidently in their own wisdom
or to even think a worthy thought toward Him who is altogether
lovely. His locks. What is it talking
about? I know the Lord carries us, but
what does it mean, the locks? The locks speak of two things. He said that the locks here are
bushy, black as raven. The locks are upon the head. They are born. They protrude. They come from. They get their
life from, their food from the head, the hair. must come from
the head. That's where it comes from. It
speaks of the elect as the branches who are united to the vine, the
Lord Jesus Christ. Joined to Him who is our head,
grafted in, held on. We are His crown of glory. Did you know that? I'll show
you that. Isaiah 62. She said she looks in there,
who is he? He's the head. And look what
he's bearing up. The locks that are on his head. Isaiah 62 verse 1, For Zion's
sake, that's the briar, that's the church, will I not hold my
peace? And for Jerusalem's sake, I will
not rest until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness,
and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. And the
Gentiles shall see thy righteousness in all kings, thy glory, and
thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the
Lord shall name. Thou shalt be called a crown
of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand
of thy God. And thou shalt no more be termed
forsaken, shalt thy land any more be termed desolate, but
thou shalt be called Hephzibah, or that is, my delight is in
her, and thy land Beulah, or that is, married. For the Lord
delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married." As the hairs
of our head, the Scripture says, are numbered. The Lord Jesus
Christ knows the exact numbers of all that He represents. We're
to Him a crown of glory. It is from Him that nourishes
us. That's where our nourishment
flows. His locks are bushy, are curled. That is to say, beautifully set
and united in the way of His providence as an ornament to
Himself. People say, you actually mean
that we are a diadem to the Lord of glory. That's what he said. That's what he said. Not me.
That's what he said. Colossians 2, 5 says, For though
I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the Spirit,
joying, beholding your order and the steadfastness of your
faith in Christ full. His hair, the Scripture says,
His locks are bushy, curled, and black as raven. Now, Revelation
1.14 says concerning the Lord, when John saw Him on the Isle
of Patmos, His head and His hairs were white like wool, as white
as snow, not gray. Gray speaks of weakness, but
white, the Scripture says, speaks of His purity and His eternality. But also here, he says, his locks
are black as raven, which speaks of his everlasting youth, but
it also speaks of the youthfulness of his bride. She's in him. He said, listen, I'll never leave
you. He didn't say, I'll not leave
you until you die. He said, I'll never leave you.
I'll never forsake you. Never is a long time. I'll never leave you. Never. Eternally. His locks, His head,
His sovereignty bears up His people, His crown, His diadem. Oh, that we might be, Paul says,
in the ages to come, a symbol of His mercy and grace. He never
changes. And the spiritual health of all
those found in Him is secure. Black is raven. The elect were
blessed in the Lord Jesus Christ before they experienced the curse
in Adam. They were preserved from falling
into hell before they fell in the garden. He said, I've always
loved you. I have everlastingly loved you."
There has never been a time chosen from the foundation of the world.
Did they fall in Adam? Yes. Were they preserved in Christ? Yes. How long has He been their
surety? Everlasting surety. Always loved them. Always. These are precious locks. because
their head is precious. Precious to the Father, precious
to the Son, and precious to the Spirit. Carnal minds are blinded
to the beauty that Christ sees in them, because the sheep's
beauty is His imputed righteousness. That's why they're beautiful.
That's why He sees them as beautiful. That's why He sees them as eternally
youthful, because they're grounded in Him. Chosen in Him, secure
in Him. She said, His eyes are as the
eyes of doves by the rivers of water, washed with milk and fitly
set. The eyes of Christ speak of His
perfect knowledge and His omniscience. Psalm 139. Turn back there to
Psalm 139 verse 1-6. O Lord, thou hast searched me
and known me. Thou knowest my down-sitting
and mine up-rising. Thou understandest my thought
afar off. Thou compassest my path and my
lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is
not a word in my tongue, but lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and
before, and laid thy hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful
for me. It is high and I cannot attain
unto it. The eyes of the Lord. He knows
the depths of my weakness and my personal corruption. John
in Revelation 1.14 said, His eyes were as a flame of fire.
His eyes are a flame, first, with love for His people. With
these eyes, the new heart is revived and enlivened and set
aflame like the two that were on the road to Emmaus. With His
eyes, the sheep are watched over and protected. And the Lord said
in Exodus 3, 7 and 8, I have surely seen the affliction of
My people which are in Egypt, and I have heard them cry by
reason of their taskmasters, and I know their sorrows. And
I have come down to deliver them out of the land of the Egyptians
and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and large,
unto a land flowing with milk and honey. Psalm 33.18 says,
Behold, the eyes of the Lord are upon them that fear Him,
upon them that hope in His mercy, those that fear, that reverence
Him. It has been given a heart to
reverence Him, to bow to Him. The eyes of the Lord are upon
the righteous, Psalm 34.15 says, eternally loved elect whom He
has seen righteous in His own righteousness, perfect in His
perfection, those that believe, charged, imputed with His righteousness. His eyes are as the eyes of doves. That is gentle toward them. Peaceful toward them. Affectionate
toward them. His eyes, the Scripture says,
as the eyes of dove by the rivers of waters. Now, you know, I had
to look into that. By the rivers of waters. His
eyes are as the eyes of dove by the rivers of water. Turn
with me to Isaiah 43. I think that this Scripture right
here sheds a lot of light. on that passage of Scripture. He says, Who is she? She's describing Him. Speaking of Him as sovereign
substitute, Lord, One that bears me, keeps me, His hairs of His
head, His eternally young His people, His church. She said
He looks on them with eyes, the Scripture says, as the eyes of
dove, tenderness, affection by the rivers of water. Isaiah 43
verse 1, But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob,
he that formed thee, O Israel, fear not. for I have redeemed
thee, I have called thee by thy name, thou art mine. When thou
passest through the waters, I will be with thee, and through the
rivers they shall not overflow thee. When thou walkest through
the fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle
upon thee, for I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel,
thy Savior. I gave Egypt for thy ransom,
Ethiopia and Sheba for thee." Now listen to what He is saying
to her. You know the Scripture says they that will live godly
in Christ Jesus in this life are going to suffer persecution. And there is without a doubt,
there are wars and fighting within. There are trials. I know and you know you're going
through some tough times. There's folks in here that I
know of personally that are going through some tough times. I know
you are. I know it's tough. But this Scripture right here
in Isaiah 43, he says, when you pass through the waters, I'll
be with you. Go through the rivers. They're
not going to overflow you. You may think they will. You
may think that it's going to get you. You walk through the
fire. You're not going to be burned.
The flame is not going to kindle. Why? He said, because I'm God.
That's the reason. I'm God. I'm the Holy One of
Israel. I am your Savior. I put down nations for you. I
put down this nation and raised up this one. That's who I am. I'm God. Back here, this is what
she says back in Song of Solomon. or as the eyes of dove by the
rivers of water." These rivers of water. Isaiah said, when you
pass through these waters, the waters of these afflictions and
these trials, when you go through, they're not going to overflow
you. Why? Because I'm gone. His eyes
watch and He sees and He knows. Many are the trials of the sheep.
But the blessed hope and peace that we have is that He said,
My eyes are toward you as eyes of doves. The doves. Peace. And the rivers of water
are divinely sent chastenings that are used to teach and correct,
to mold and instruct. He said, I sent those. I sent
them. Nothing happens outside of the
will and purpose of Almighty God. He does all things well. And these rivers are actually,
though they appear to us at this moment to be bad things, they
are truthfully streams and rivers of love that are for our edification. All things work together for
good to them that love God. They're for good. For good. He
said, I sent that. But when you pass through it,
the flame is not going to burn you. The waters is not going
to overflow you. Why? Because I'm God. Who is
He? I tell you, His eyes are as the
eyes of doves by the rivers of water. He watches. And He's allowing
me to go through exactly what I'm going through for my good
and for His glory. That's exactly why. The rivers
of water. But the Scripture also speaks
of rivers of living water that flow from the belly or the heart
of those that believe. Actually, what's happening is
these rivers of living water, that speaks of the Word itself. We find even in the trials that
we go through, the teaching and the instruction of Almighty God. We're taught by experience. Something happens. Something
is happening. And what happens is, that's when
Romans 8.28 comes back to us. That Scripture is being lived
out as rivers of living water flowing out of your heart. And
that's peace. That's comfort. In the midst
of the rivers and the trials and the tribulation and the fire,
that living water is made real to us. He said, I watch you. I watch you. It's the eyes of
Dove, rivers of water. There's truth in action. This is happening at the determinate
decree of Almighty God from the throne of God. that irresistibly
flows and calls out the sheep while He looks upon them in mercy.
We go through this life in pain. We're frail creatures. And we
look back in due time, in due season, and we'll see it was
for our good and for His glory. with milk." That is to say, His
eyes look upon His bride and He sees her pure as He is pure. He looks on her in her righteousness
that is His righteousness. She believes Him because He has
given her heart to believe Him. He looks upon her with unmixed
holiness, eyes washed with milk. Refer to eyes that are white
in glory. That's what she said. Verse 10,
who is He? My beloved is white. His eyes
are white. They're like washed with milk.
Pure. The milk of the Word is pure. It's holy. Who He is? Washed. He is divine. And He has purer eyes than to
behold evil and can't not look upon iniquity. That is to say,
He cannot look upon iniquity in delight. He looks upon it
in judgment. And the Scripture says in that
last couple of words, they are fitly set. That is who His eyes
are. That is how His eyes are fitly
set, fitly placed. That is to say, they never waver.
They never change. They are sitting in fullness.
He is the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Who is He? She said, Oh, He's the Lord. He's the Lord of the living,
the dead. He's the head of the bride. His
head is God Himself. He looks upon me in absolute
mercy when I'm going through the trials of this life. His
eyes are toward me as doves' eyes. He upholds me. The hairs of His head, His diadem,
He has chosen, redeemed her. They are eternally youthful.
Oh, and when I have trouble, I know this, He is God. And He promised, He promised
me, He promised me, when you go through the trials of this
life, He said, I will look upon you in mercy. You are not going
to be overflowed. You are not going to be burned.
My eyes that look upon you are eyes of purity. They are fully
set upon you.