Turn with me to Song of Solomon
chapter 5. Song of Solomon 5. I'd like to deal with verses
2 through 4. I was thinking, as Brother Scott
read that passage in Jude, and made this statement concerning
to present you faultless before Him, before His glory. Think about this. We are here tonight. Many are here tonight, I am convinced. who have by faith rested their
soul on what this book reveals. This is what this book says. This book sets forth that God
Almighty Before the foundation of the
world, according to His own will and
purpose, He decided, if I can use that word, He chose some that He would show kindness
and mercy to. This book sets forth that all
those that the Father everlastingly loved
gave to the Lord Jesus Christ and that in time the Lord Jesus
Christ came into this world and lived and died for those
that the Father had given Him." All that the Father had given
Him and that He died for, the Scripture says that in time,
the Spirit of God will, by faith, reveal to those elect what God
the Father, Son, and Spirit has done. by giving them a new nature,
they will believe Him. He will give them a new heart,
and He will write His law, His will, His purpose. They will
understand something of it. And by faith, they will be kept
by the power of God through faith until that day that God is pleased
to take them out of this world. Death is the means by which God graciously
removes all of His into His presence. and there be no sting of death
or victory for the grave. This scripture reveals that we
shall behold Him as He is and forever we will live with Him. That just seems so wonderful, almost unbelievably
wonderful. And you know the amazing thing
about that is that I hear it and I believe it, but I think
to myself how pitifully I believe it. I believe it. The bride says in verse 2, ìI
sleep, but my heart waketh.î Those things that I just rehearsed
in my own ear, one would think that the revelation of that divine
mercy and grace to an enlightened sinner would cause that sinner
to never waver. You think, what I just said,
if I were able to grasp hold of that with assurance that never,
never, never wavered, I would think, what difference does it
make? Brother Scott said, I heard him
say many times, after I heard the good news, I never heard
any bad news. What does a believer have to fear? But we do. You'd think that after hearing
that, you'd never feel the coldness of sin's presence. But that's
just not so. The believer finds no joy in
the dull and lifeless frame of the body of sin which is in his
flesh. In fact, he loathes it, hates
it. I'm thinking to myself right
now, I'm thinking back on what I just said just a moment ago,
and I'm thinking, I find myself often compared to the way I ought
to think. I find myself daydreaming. Daydreaming,
sleepy. This afternoon, my mother said
something to me. We were sitting there at the
house. She said, and evidently she detected that I was looking
at her, but I just didn't hear just exactly what she said, because
she said, what did I just say? She caught me daydreaming. A believer loathes the wretchedness
of the body of sin and longs to be delivered from it. He really
does. You that know him, you know what
I'm talking about. We sit, we hear, and we hear,
and we hear, and it's as if we hear it and we think, oh, that's
good. That is good. Oh, that I could remember that.
It just seems to be fleeting. I need to hear it again. But
the believer is honest about his present condition, and he
knows by the imparting of a new nature something about the old
nature. He said, I sleep. Before he ever heard truly by
faith, everything was okay. Everything was fine. There seemed
to be no problem. He had nothing within to compare
the law of sin to. But now he says this, and says
it truthfully, I'm slack. I'm drowsy. Not in the death
sleep. Not like that. Not dead. Not
completely oblivious. He's not that. Daydreaming. He hears and he hears and he
thinks, oh, this wonderful truth, I know what I'm hearing is soul.
I sleep, but my soul, my heart, my will is awake. That's a pitiful truth. An unbeliever says to himself, I don't I don't
ever doubt. I know. I'm just a believer who
knows whom he has believed. He's persuaded that he's able
to keep that which he's committed to him against that day. But
of himself, he says this, I find myself to be drowsy, sleepy,
spiritually lazy. And that may not be so detected
in others as easily as it is within your own self. I look
at others here, and I think to myself, I don't think that person's
ever been spiritually lazy. Ever. Scott, I wouldn't embarrass
you, but I look at Scott and I think, I wish I could be like
him. I'd grow up one of these days.
Maybe I will be. But within himself. A believer
says in myself, I sleep. And the reason for this drowsiness
is not as easily explained as one would think. You say, well,
it's the presence of sin. I know that. I know that. But there's life there too. I
sleep, but my heart wakes. Oh, we might say, I see it, but I don't love it, and I don't
try to explain it away. It's just so. I sleep in gratitude,
neglect, indifference. Oh, what a dreary time. There's
times that I'm dishonest with you now. I'm just talking. There's times I'll come here
and I'll sit down and I'll get behind that desk right there
and I'll... 66 books. I've told you this
before. And I'll look and I'll read.
And I think, you know, I know there's
truths here that I can't fathom. How many books are there? Which
passage? Which place? Where do I go from
here? This is God's people. These are
the ones that He loved, everlastingly died for, giving me a calling
to come. This is what God has given me
a calling to do, to come and sit and get into these Scriptures
and find, Gary, God's message for God's people. And I think
to myself, I sleep. I look. My heart is awake. But I sleep. Cooper, or Cowper, C-O-W-P-E-R
wrote this. It reminds me a lot of the song
that John Newton wrote. He wrote this song. He said,
The Lord will happiness divine on contrite hearts bestow. Then tell me, gracious God, is
mine a contrite heart or no. I hear, but seem to hear in vain,
insensible as steel. If ought is felt, tis only pain
to find that I cannot feel. I sometimes think myself inclined
to love thee if I could, but often find another mine adverse
to all that's good. My best desires are faint and
few, I fain would strive for more, but when I cry my strength
renew, it seems weaker than before. Thy saints are comforted, I know,
and love thy house of prayer. I sometimes go where others go,
but find no comfort there. Oh, make this heart rejoice or
ache, decide this doubt for me, and if it be not broken, break
and heal it. if it be. That's a common characteristic
of all believers. It's the presence of detecting
sleepiness. I'm sleeping. I sleep. Neglectful. But never is this
an excuse to those that know him or a point of comfort to
avoid consistency. They don't say, well, I have
no reason to be consistent because I know I'm a sinner, I know I'm
sleepy, therefore, no, they're consistent. They're there. They don't quit. But there's
a hopeful sign because she says by divine revelation, but my
heart waketh. She knows it so. The eyes of
my new will, made willing in the day of His power, I know
they're open. He's given me a heart that loves
Him and longs after Him, following Him. I know that's so. There's
a struggle of being awake against that sleepiness. That's the evidence
of a new heart. Sleepy? I sleep, but my heart's
awake. And how do I know that my heart's
awake? Well, she says in that second
verse, it's the voice of my beloved that knocketh. I hear him. There's a struggle that's within. I hear his voice. A believer
hears the voice of God, of the Master, of the Savior, of the
Shepherd, the Great Shepherd. They hear it. By faith, they
hear it. As I said before, the hearing
of the shepherd's voice is this way. When what is set forth in
the Scripture, when it's set forth in that way that honors
Him, gloriously honors Him, sovereignly honors Him, it sets forth salvation,
all of grace, None of works, lest any man should boast." When
the sovereign God of this Bible is set forth, His voice is heard. That's Him. That's Him. He said,
Lo, I come, in the volume of the book, it's written of Me.
And when we hear Him set forth, we say, That's His voice. I hear
Him. My sheep hear My voice. But though there are times of
sleep, and how often they are, mercy will not be withheld. He promised. He said, I'm going
to have mercy. And he has mercy in calling us
out of darkness and has mercy on us right now. He knocks. It's
the voice of my Beloved that knocketh. His voice. says to me, a believer hears
Him, they hear the Master set forth, they hear His voice in
their heart. Pat, in their heart burns. They know it. They'll agree with
you. I have a spirit that sleeps. I sleep. I'm drowsy. But I'm
not dead. My heart is awake. It's the voice
of my Beloved that knocks. This is what he says, ìOpen to
me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled.î Oh, how tenderly
he knocks to our awakened heart. The heart is alive. He knocks by his spirit, by his
word, by his providence, all the while as he knocks how graciously
He speaks. We hear. His words are alive. And every time we hear His message
concerning Him, the believer rejoices in it as he's never
heard it before, just like he's brand new. I knock. Turn with me to Revelation
3.20. Revelation 3.20. This is a verse of Scripture
that is a great gun for the Armenian. But the great God is not speaking
to a dead heart, trying to get a dead heart to open to Him. A man that is dead can do nothing
spiritually. Revelation 3, verse 20, he says, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and
open the door, I will come in to him and will sup with him,
and he with me." Now listen, the Lord here is speaking to
the seven churches. He is speaking to those that
are alive. He is not speaking to one that
is dead. hear the sovereign God, Almighty
God, as a petitioner of strength and His infinite mercy, you say,
well, why would He say that He stands knocking at the door of
the heart of those that are awake? It is because He does so. This is the way He does it. and
that still small voice, one that has been made willing in the
day of his power, and he who has the right and the power to
command every gate, no door is closed to him. He is all-powerful,
and he himself has condescended to knock at the door of the heart
of his beloved, Not in weakness, but in majesty and grace. Not at the heart of the unregenerate,
but at the heart of his sister, his dove, his undefiled. That's what he said. It's the
voice of my beloved that's knocking. I hear him. I hear him speak. And he says open to me. And the
believer says, ìLord, I open to you. You gave me a heart to
do that.î He says, ìMy head,î this is what heís saying to her,
ìMy head is filled with you and my locks with the drops of the
night.î His head denotes his majesty. He is the head. Heís the head. He is the majestic
sovereign. The locks of his head denote
his thoughts, his promises, his purpose, his counsel that flow
from his wisdom. He is saying to her, open to
me, my head is filled with dew, my locks with the drops of the
night. The dew and the drops of the night denote his patience. You know, you think about someone,
if you're out in the night, and the dew that would get on you,
you'd be their patient. This is where he is. He's long-suffering
to usward, not willing that any should perish. And the bride
says, I sleep. Lazy, I'm drowsy, I daydream,
I hear, but my soul is awake, and I hear Him. I hear Him knocking. And He says, Open to Me. And
she says, Lord, to You I open. You who has been patient with
me. How patient has He been with me? Those things that I've heard,
the unsearchable riches of His grace, how He has been so patient
and long-suffering with me. I think how impatient I am. I can say this to someone that
I've said something to and spoken to and done so much for. I can
say, didn't you hear what I said? How impatient I am. But He says, My head is filled
with dew and my locks with the drops of the night." But then
in verse 3, here is the amazing thing concerning the inconsistency
of those that he has everlastingly loved. The inconsiderate response
of the bride, how unwillingly we find at times to bring ourselves
to long after him. How slow thought, how unreasonable. He says, open to me, and these
are the words of the bride, I've put off my coat. He says, open
to me. She said, well, I'm just kind
of tired. I've taken my coat off. How shall
I put it on? I've washed my feet. How shall
I defile them? I've taken my coat off, my garment
of daily work, my walk. I'm kind of down for the evening,
if you don't mind. That's what she's saying. That's
exactly what's being said here. Open to me. I've taken my coat
off. I've washed my feet. foolishly
trying to convince ourselves that we're able to keep our walk
while He alone told His disciples that He must wash their feet
daily, or they have no part with Him. I've washed my feet. How
shall I defile them? I've already cleaned myself up
for the evening. I really would rather not put
my feet back down and go to the door and get dirty. You try to
read it. And you're going to find that
that's exactly what it's saying. As if rising from our ease and
hearkening to His voice would be to place us in a position
of trial or trouble or defilement. I feel as though that I've done
all I need to do for the night. I think I've done all I can for
the evening. Oh, let no believer excuse himself
We find ourselves making idle, frivolous, and sinful excuses,
desiring to sleep on while we know it is the voice of Him that
calls moment by moment. We discover the height of our
folly while we should be preferring His company. I find myself, when
I truly go to study, When I go to pray, when I go to do anything,
how I can find myself to come to that point where I think,
I've done enough for the day. What a stupid thought that is
on my part. I know it's wrong. I know it's
wrong. I sleep. Oh, how merciful He
is to His own. While this type of attitude is
worthy of being cast out, it is worthy of being cast out,
forsaken and abandoned and left to judgment. But He does not
leave us to ourselves. Oh, how prone we are to backsliding and how merciful He is. I want
you to turn with me to Hosea. Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea. Hosea 11. Hosea 11, verse 7. Hosea 11, verse 7. And my people
are bent to backsliding from me. Though they called them to
the Most High, none at all would exalt Him." Now, you know that's
true. "'How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? How shall I deliver thee, Israel? How shall I make thee as Admah? How shall I set thee at Zeboam? Mine heart is turned within me,
my repentings are kindled together. I will not execute the fierceness
of mine anger. I will not return to destroy
Ephraim, for I am God and not man, the Holy One in the midst
of thee, and I will not enter into the city." Now, listen. Back in that eighth verse, he
said, ìHow shall I make thee as Admah?î How shall I set thee
as Zoboam?" You say, well, I've never heard of those places.
Well, let me show you who they are or who they were. Turn with
me to Deuteronomy 29. Deuteronomy 29.23. Deuteronomy
29.23. and that the whole land thereof
is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that is not sown, nor beareth,
nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom,
and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zoboam, which the Lord overthrew in his
anger and in his wrath." I tell you who those two cities, Admah
and Zoboam, I tell you who they were. They were part of those
cities that were in the plain of Sodom and Gomorrah when God
rained down brimstone from heaven and destroyed them. And they
deserved just exactly what they got. And so do we. We deserve it. We have an attitude. He knocks, and we say, ìIíve
put off my coat. How shall I put it on? Iíve washed
my feet. How shall I defile them? And
he says, I'm not going to do to you as I did to Admah and
Zoboam. I'm not going to. I'm going to
have mercy on you. Not that we are not deserving
of it. We deserve punishment just like
they do. But he said, I am going to have
compassion on you. We treat him with disrespect,
and we hate it. We hate the way we are. Romans
3, 9. Romans 3, 9. What then? Are we better than
they? No, in no wise, for we have before
proved, both Jew and Gentiles, that they are all under sin.
As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one. There
is none that understandeth. There is none that seeketh after
God. They are all going out of the way. They are all together
become unprofitable. There is none that doeth good,
no, not one. There is not one ounce of good
in a believer in himself. He deserves punishment. He's got the same attitude in
himself that the unbeliever has. But God Almighty has said, I'm
going to have mercy on a people. I'm not going to treat those
that I've everlastingly loved like Adma and Zoboam. I'm not
going to do it. I can't. I won't. I've chosen
not to. The scripture says back in Song
of Solomon in that fourth verse that we will end with tonight,
she says, ìMy beloved put in his hand by the hold of the door,
and my bowels were moved for him, my heart, my will.î The
Lord, merciful, kind, gracious, comes to the believer, that one
that he has chosen to set his affection on. And he knocks,
and he says to her, open to me, my sister, the one that has admittedly
said, I sleep, but my heart is awake. He speaks to her, calling
her, my dove, my undefiled, with his imputed righteousness, how
patient I am, longsuffering with you, She says to him, I've put
off my coat, how shall I put it on? I've washed my feet, how
shall I defile them? And then he takes his hand by
the hole of the door, that place in our heart where he knows where
to touch. He puts his hand, the hand of
his power, that hand that is not slack, as some men count
slackness, by the whole of the cavity of my heart. Though it
appears that the heart and in itself, the believer is sleepy
and appears as though to be insensitive and closed to him, he knows how
to reach in and touch the cords of life that are there. She speaks disrespectfully to
him and lovingly and kindly He reaches, the Scripture says,
he put his hand by the hole of the door. That door is not closed
to him. He knocks. She hears him. She gives excuses. And he puts
his hand in. Whatever means he uses to stimulate
the bride, whether it be chastisement or trials or tribulation, he
knows where to place his hand. He knows how to get her attention.
Turn with me to Jeremiah 31. I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning
himself thus, Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised as a
bullock, unaccustomed to the yoke, turn thou me, and I shall
be turned for thou art the Lord my God. Surely, after I was turned,
I repented, and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh. I was ashamed, yea, even confounded,
because I did bear the reproach of my youth. Is Ephraim my dear
son? Is he a pleasant child? For since
I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still. Therefore
my bowels are troubled for him. I will surely have mercy upon
him, saith the Lord." Oh, how gracious he is to take his hand
and to place it in the hole of the door. Here the voice is heard. Here the bride is quickened out
of her sleep. Here is the proof of His love. He said, I will not leave you. Did He say, I won't leave you
as long as you stay wide awake? He said, I'll never leave you.
As long as I don't detect any sleepiness about you. No, I'll
never leave you. He speaks to her and she has
in herself. I think to myself, even now,
as sincerely as I can try to set forth the unsearchable riches
of His grace, I know in myself, I detect sleepiness about me. And I think, Lord, don't leave
me to myself. Lord's salvation must be by grace. He said, I'll never leave you
to yourself. And she says, I know because I'm awake, I know He's
put His hand in by the door, the hold of the door. My bowels,
my heart are moved for Him. The passion of her soul, her
grief, her sorrow for sin, her realization of being insensitive,
her fear of being left alone, her love is rekindled daily. moment by moment, hour by hour,
He speaks to her. And she hears. And she knows. It's the voice of Him that loves
me. It's His voice. He's the Master. I need Him. Salvation by grace. Salvations by grace. In myself,
nothing. Oh, the unsearchable riches of
the grace of Almighty God who knocks, who speaks, the bride
who hears, and He will not leave her to herself. He continues
to speak to her. And her bowels, her heart is
moved toward Him. Her heart burns for Him. Let's stand and sing hymn number
112.