Turn with me to the Song of Solomon, chapter 2. This book of Solomon's song is
an allegory. Now, an allegory is a story that
has another meaning. It is a story of truth, but it
has a deeper meaning. Galatians 4.24 states that the
birth of Ishmael and Isaac by two women, Hagar and Sarah, concerning
a promise that was given to Abraham about a son from the Lord was
an allegory. Scripture says that that truth
of those two boys was concerning actually two covenants. One from
Mount Sinai, the law, which the Scripture says was concerning
Hagar, at which said, Do and live. was a covenant of grace and promise
apart from any works of the flesh." That's an allegory. It's a story
that's set forth that tells a truth. Now, in Song of Solomon, this
is an allegory. It's setting forth the truth
concerning the relationship between the Lord Jesus Christ, who in
this book right here is spoken of as Solomon, and the bride
who is spoken of as the Shulamite. So here you've got a conversation
going. And within this book, the trials
of the bride are brought out. dealings that she has not only
with false professors who are spoken of throughout this book
as the daughters of Jerusalem, but also the struggles that she
has within herself and the feelings of inadequacy that she has setting
forth her love toward Him and her faithfulness. She struggles. She struggles. She's honest about
it. This evening, I'd like to finish
this first part. This book is broken down. And
just because it says chapter 1, then chapter 2, those chapter
divisions are not inspired. This book was just written. We broke it down. Men broke it
down so we could find it and relate to it. The first part,
really, of the book of Song of Solomon ends in verse 7 of the
second chapter. So this evening I'd like to finish.
We've been talking over the last few weeks about what's happening. And so we want to try, Lord willing,
to finish tonight on this section. And this first section is how
the bride and groom speak to each other. You know, you tell
a lot about someone just listening to them speak to their mate. I think it's the most respectful
thing that a man can do toward his wife. To speak respectfully
to her and of her. To speak with some dignity about
her. It's often said, husbands love
your wife, you love her as Christ loved the church. You speak to
her with some respect. And cover her faults. Speak to
her. in her presence when she's not
there. Don't refer to her with words
of disrespect. Turn with me to Colossians. Colossians chapter 3. Colossians
chapter 3. That's just before 1 Thessalonians,
right after Philippians. Colossians chapter 3, verse 17,
18, and 19. Scripture says, And whatsoever
ye do, in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God in the Father by Him. And then it says, Wives,
submit yourselves unto your own husbands as it is fit in the
Lord. That means adapt yourself. I've said before, it says, Wives,
submit yourselves, adapt yourselves. to your husband. And husbands,
love your wives, and be not bitter against them." Now, it's not
what you say, but it's how you say it. It's not what you do,
it's how you do it. It's an attitude. And the Lord
Jesus Christ is speaking to His bride and His bride back to her. is inspired by the Spirit of
God who moved upon men to write this book. Now, the first section
of this book, as I said, deals with how the bride and the groom
speak to each other. She had said back in that first
verse, we looked at this last week, she said, I am the rose
of Sharon and the lily of the valley. This is what she said
herself to Him. And I dealt with this. I could
see how that could be a picture of Christ, the rose of Sharon. I could see how it would be a
picture of the bride, too. No disrespect either way. She said, I'm the rose of Sharon,
the lily of the valleys, a flower of the field. That's what that
meant. We looked at that. Just a modest flower. Is the Lord Jesus Christ a root? out of dry ground. That's what
Scripture says. But the bride can speak of herself
too. She feels that in herself, she's
no better than any other. But God has chosen the poor of
this world, rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom. But then
in that second verse, the Lord was definitely speaking and He
said, He said, yes, as the lily among thorns, so is My love among
the daughters. Christ Himself answers her with
His appreciation to her and for her. The lily is a symbol of
beauty, purity, symbol of humility, all by His imputed righteousness
to her. She said, I'm just a lily of
the valley, just a common flower. He said, common flower, but a
beautiful common flower, made beautiful by Him. To Him, she's
a lily arrayed in the beauty that's more glorious than that
of Solomon's while she's here on this earth. Among the thorns,
that's what He said of her. He said, lily among the thorns,
so is my love. Among the daughters, among the
tares, the false professors, the wolves in sheep's clothing,
She's among the thorns, but she's not of the thorns. And then in
verse 3, she says, "...as the apple tree among the trees of
the woods, so is my Beloved among the suns." Look at His character. He's the apple tree among the
trees. She's the lily among the thorns.
He's the ever-producing tree of life among the fruitless trees
of this world. The Lord Jesus Christ. Walked
one day, the Scripture says, in the book of Luke, I believe,
and came upon a fruitless tree, and he cursed it. A picture of
all men outside of him had maybe the appearance of fruit, outward
appearance, beautiful leaves, no fruit. He said, the branch
cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine. No more
can ye except ye abide in me. If there be any fruit, it is
His fruit, good fruit. Not only did she speak of His
character, she said He is the apple tree among the trees. She
also spoke of His shadow and His fruit. She said, I sat down
under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was as sweet to
my taste. Turn with me to Isaiah 30. Isaiah chapter 30, verse 1. There's a lot of shadows. She said, I sat under his shadow. Isaiah 30, verse 1. Woe to the
rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but
not of me, and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit,
that they may add sin to sin. They walked to go down into Egypt
and have not asked at my mouth to strengthen themselves in the
strength of Pharaoh to trust in the shadow of Egypt. Therefore
shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust
in the shadow of Egypt is your confusion." Find shadows to take and hide
under. Under the shadow of religion.
Under the shadow of their free will. Under the shadow of their
false profession. Church membership. Shadows. The bride says, as the apple
tree among the trees of the woods, so is my beloved among the stones.
I sat down under his shadow with great delight. His fruit was
sweet to my taste. under the shadow of His love
and power and security, we feast on the fruit of His labor, His
suffering, fruit, that which He has produced. And that fruit of His providing
our pardon, our peace, our hope, our righteousness before God
is sweet to the taste of the believer, that weary, hungry,
a thankful, redeemed sinner. That fruit is sweet. They love
to sit and feast on it. And then we start here. That's
where we left off last Wednesday. And then he says in verse 4,
He brought me to the banqueting house, and His banner over me
was love. He brought me to the place of
His joyful company, provision. He brought me. He brought me. Boy, what a statement
of truth sat here. He brought me. Why? Because I
couldn't bring myself. He brought me because I was ever
His. He brought me because He desired
my company. Now you think about that. He
said, I have loved you with an everlasting life. My sheep, hear
My voice, they come to Me. And him that cometh to Me, what? I will in no wise cast out. Father,
I pray that they that You have given Me may be with Me as I
am with You, and they in Me as I am in You, that we may be one. He desires it. He brought Me. to the banqueting house. He brought
me, and in so doing, brought honor to Himself in the exhibition
of His marvelous grace in glorifying the Father. He said, Father,
glorify Thou me with the glory that I had with You before the
world was in this banqueting house. Where is that? He brought me
to the banqueting house." Well, in a sense, I can see where the
banqueting house is the assembly of believers. He has raised up
a place, as I said, a place that most people outside of the sovereign
grace circle have probably never heard of. Where is Katie, West
Virginia? I don't have any idea. That's what most people would
say. But I'm going to tell you something.
This little community right here, blessed place, a banqueting house. I can see where that could be
that. But I'll tell you this, that
banqueting house is wherever He is and allows me to be. Whether I'm driving in my car,
whether I'm sitting at the house, whether I'm here, whether I'm
there, that I fellowship with Him. I banquet. I feast. There with Him. And His banner over me was love. That word banner is a flag. That's what it means. An ensign.
A flag. His banner over me. I did a little
study. I've done some artwork and a
period that I enjoyed painting in is Civil War. And I found
out that during the battles, during the Civil War, they didn't
have communication like we've got today where you pick up a
cell phone, walkie-talkie, something like that. And the way that they
communicated was with flack. an ensign, a banner. And as I
was studying, I found out that wherever the commander was, there
was a company flag there that was right with him. Wherever
that commander was on the field, that's where the ensign was.
Now the reason for that was because that gave everybody else knowledge
of where the boss was, where the commander is. And that banner
or that flag was the place, the foundation of how the battle
was going to go. Who is in charge here? Well,
find the flag. Find the banner. Wherever that
banner is, that is where the generals are. That is where the
commander is. And here the bride says, his
banner, his ensign. His flag over me was love. That's where His banner upon
me, His banner to me, His love for the church is the reason. He's shown her mercy. Jeremiah
31.3, listen to this. He says, I've loved thee with
an everlasting love, therefore, with lovingkindness I have drawn
you." But this banner of love over the bride, this banner over
her, to her, is the gospel of Christ. Isaiah. Turn back to
Isaiah with me. Isaiah 11. Isaiah 11 verse 10. The scripture says, And in that
day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for
an ensign of the people, a flag, a banner. And it shall the Gentiles
seek, and his rest shall be glorious. And it shall come to pass in
that day that the Lord shall set his hand again the second
time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left
from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, and from Cush, from
Elam, Shinar, Hamath, from the islands of the sea, and 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." He's saying, I'm going to gather my
people. How is He going to do that? The gospel is going to
call them out. Paul said, I'm not ashamed of
this banner. I'm not ashamed of this ensign.
I'm not ashamed of this message. The Lord says, I'm going to set
up. This is going to be the instance. This is going to be the standard.
This is going to be the authority set forth. The glory of Almighty
God. And the bride says, His banner
over me is love. It's set forth. His banner over
me is set forth and proclaimed in the Gospel. How do I know? How do I know? How did they know
where that general was? There's the banner. How does
the bride know? How does she know Him? He set
forth. This is the record. This is the record. Who has believed
our report? Who believed the Gospel? Those
that God is going to call out. This is Him. Stay with me. Or, stay me. I'm sorry, verse
5. Stay me with flagons. Comfort me with apples. For I'm
sick of love. Now the bride speaks of her need
of constant refreshment, of His grace and mercy and love. Stay me with flagons. That word
flagon there means raisins or raisin cakes. It's delicacies. Fine pastries is what it is. Delicate. This is symbolic talk. Stay me with the delicacies that
you produce. Refresh me with apples." She
had just said in verse 3, as the apple tree among the trees
of the wood, that's my beloved. Refresh me with the delicacies
that you produce. The truth that you set forth.
Delicates. Delicate. The insinuation here
is that the bride has a sickness that the world knows nothing
of. She says, stay me, keep me, comfort me, oh, with the delicacies
of your mouth, of your lips. Speak to my heart and refresh
me. That's what she's saying. I am sick of love. Now, there's two insinuations
here, and I'll deal with One in particular, I'll tell you
what they both are. I'll deal with one in particular
because I'm going to deal with the second one in chapter 3. But the first insinuation is
this, when I'm sick of love, I'm love sick, when there's an
absence between two people who are in love, they miss each other. Homesick. Lovesick. Miss him. I want to be with him. Miss seeing
him. Miss seeing her. I'm sick of
love. And I'll deal with that in chapter
3. But the other that I want to
just speak of momentarily here is when she says, I am sick of
love, it's a, I'm about to faint. That's what
she's saying. I'm so taken with you. I am so thankful." Now this is
the words of inspiration by the Spirit of God that set forth,
and this is the way that Almighty God says the bride speaks. She
said, I am sick of love. The bride is overtaken with the
thought of His love for her. Now let me tell you something
that's mysterious here. The bride believers truly think
like this. They truly do. The amazement
of His wondrous grace to the believer is there. But you know what grieves her
more than anything else? The presence of sin that causes
her to also see that presence of sin and to know that in herself,
that is, as Paul says, in my flesh there dwells no good thing.
O wretched man that I am, in my flesh I serve, he said, the
law of sin. In my mind, I serve the law of
God. They're contrary one to the other. Oh, wretched man that I am! The
things that I would, I do not." She struggles. But I'm telling
you, the bride loves Him, and she's amazed with Him. And she
hears of His wondrous love for her, and she longs to hear it
again. Tell me one more time. She never
tires of it. Feed me. Stay me with flagons. Comfort me with apples. I'm sick
of love." She confesses her need of spiritual refreshment because
she's faint with love. I used to have, I saw in my studies,
you know I study this stuff, Fainting couches. Fainting couches. Y'all ever heard of those? Fainting
couches. You know, couches where you get
close to it and then faint. You know, good thing there's
air. You know. Sometimes people say, Anita,
you know, I've got vapors. You know, faint. I'm faint. Listen
to David. Psalm 84, to my soul, longeth,
yea, he said, This is Psalm 84, 2. My soul
longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord. My heart
and my flesh crieth out to the living God." There's times, and
I will admit, I think some of you know what I'm talking about.
There's times it just seems like, but for a moment, just for a
moment, He allows me by His grace to just for a moment just perceive
something, Carl, just almost like a moment of the wonder of
His grace and mercy to me. And there's times that I think,
why can't I feel like that all the time? Why can't I enjoy that? I make myself sick, you know? I think I'm looking at... reading
something here that's so wonderful? Why is it? Why am I like that? But there's times, just for a second, this says something. Sometimes, Gary, I think I hear
it. Sometimes I think I do. Sometimes. She's spiritually
amazed at the thought of His electing grace, redeeming grace,
quickening grace. Bear me up. Stay me. Refresh
me. Comfort me with the fruits that
You produce and reveal through the gospel. I'm sick of love.
I need the fresh revelation of Your presence. And then she says,
His left hand, verse 6, is under my head. His right hand doth
embrace me. His left hand. is as a pillow
that comforts me, keeps me, sustains me. His right hand doth embrace
me. The bride who has a place of
love within his heart surely has a place of security in his
hands of power. His left hand supports and his
right hand protects Deuteronomy 33, verse 27 says, "...the eternal
God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms, and
He shall thrust out the enemy from before thee." John 10, verse
28 says, "...and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall
never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand."
The bride says, "...His left hand unto My head and His right
hand." embraces me, keeps me. I'm in His hands. And then the
last verse that we look at tonight, verse 7, the charge. Now this charge, I believe, and this is one of
those verses that someone could look at and they could say, that's
the bride speaking, that's the Lord speaking. I think that this
seventh verse is the Lord speaking. And He says, I charge you. Now remember, the daughters of
Jerusalem are those false professors. They're within the group. They're there. Tares in the wheat.
Foolish virgins with the wise virgins. And He says, I charge
you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the rose and by the hinds
of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love till he
please." Someone says, well, why does it say, till he please,
at the end? Well, I'll tell you in a second. The king says, because of the
frailty of the bride. She can be disturbed. She can be disturbed as to her
fellowship with Christ. Her union with Him is not disturbed,
but her communion with Him. The bride had spoken of the dearness
and the closeness of His presence. But the Lord said, remember,
to His disciples in the garden watch and pray, lest you enter
into temptation. And here the Master sets forth
a warning to those that would disturb the resting bride." This
is what it is. This is how He spoke to her,
and she spoke to Him, and now He's speaking. And this is a
warning. A warning. Oh, you daughters
of Jerusalem, this is a warning. You false professors, You that
make these great swelling words of promise and pretended affection
for Christ and for His bride. The Lord says, I charge you,
well, in this spiritual speech here, O you daughters of Jerusalem,
by the rose and by the hinds of the field, the gazelles and
the deer, the does, I charge you by that which is timid and
harmless, comparing his bride to those animals that jump at
the slightest noise. You take a deer or fawn or something
out and you just see it or something and you just clap your hands
and it's gone. It's like he didn't even have
to think. He just leaped. He didn't even
think they could go in that direction. Don't disturb her. Don't disturb
the enjoyment and the rest that she has for me. Do not disturb
her, he said, I charge you by the rows and by the hinds of
the field that you stir not up nor awake my love till he please."
That is to say, till he be pleased. To awaken her to her need of
him by his loving and chastening hand. Now here's what he told
her. He said, Don't disturb her. Touch not mine anointed. Leave
her alone till the Lord be pleased. Let me ask you something. Is
anybody here willing to admit that they have children? I'll
go ahead and tell you. Anybody here willing to admit
that they've got children that needed to be at any time in their
life that needed to be disciplined? Anybody here got any kids that
needed to be? Okay, well, alright. If y'all want, I will. Don't raise your hand. Anybody
ever need them, let me ask you this. Whose kids are they? They were your kids. How much
did you appreciate your next door neighbor coming over there
if one of your children needed discipline? Them coming over
there Whacking them real good. Now, was it that they needed
it? Probably so. But you see, they didn't do it
out of love. Compassion. Tenderness. Whenever I had to spank one of
my kids, I told most of you this. I'd bring them. I'd tell them
why. I said, now I'm going to tell
you why. I'm going to spank you. Now this is the reason I'm going
to spank you. And then I'd spank them. And then I'd love them. While they's crying, sit them
in my lap, love them, tender, and tell them, say, now look,
the reason I did that is because I love you. I'd tell them, say,
now listen, you know adults love to be around children that are
under control. I'll remember that. Adults and
other kids love to be around children when children are under
control, when they are respectful to their parents, when they speak
respectfully to their parents, they are a joy to be around.
But nobody wants to be around kids when they are unruly, when
they are out of control. But if my kids needed to be disciplined,
I'll do it. I'll do it. The Lord is telling
the daughters of Jerusalem I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem,
by the rows and by the hinds of the field, that you stir not
up, nor wake my love, till I am pleased to chasten her." Whom
the Lord loves, He chastens. Turn with me to Matthew. Matthew
18, verse 7. Matthew 18, 7, "...woe unto the
world because of offenses. For it must needs be that offenses
come, but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh." Now
let me tell you what that means. God Almighty has ordained that
His people will suffer in this world. He has ordained that His
people, His elect, His chosen will suffer persecution because
He, being the wise God, knows just exactly how to deal with
us in love, in chastening love, affection. Those that live godly
in this life shall suffer persecution. God has purposed for His glory
and our good trials. The best thing that has ever
happened to any of us is to go through some trouble. Almighty
God has perfectly meted out just exactly what we need. He knows
just exactly how to bring us to Himself. But the Scripture
says these things must come. but woe to that man by whom the
offense comes. The Lord will allow some to persecute
His people and do just exactly what they want to do in accomplishing
His purpose and will, and then He'll deal with them, those that
offended His little ones. He'll deal with them. He'll allow
them. He'll use them. The wrath of
man is going to praise Him now. Almighty God will allow some
to do just exactly what they want to do. And then God's going
to deal with them. Did this not happen in the case
of our Lord? Acts 4.27 says, "...of a truth
against the holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both
Herod Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel
were gathered together for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy
counsel determined before to be done." Offenses must come. Offenses must come. They must.
But woe to that man by whom they come. Almighty God will allow
men to do just exactly what they want to do. He will use them
for His glory and the good of his people, but woe to that man
by whom they come. I charge you, he said, O ye daughters
of Jerusalem, by the rows and the hinds, do not disturb my
love till I am pleased.