Turn with me to the book of Song
of Solomon, Chapter 2. Song of Solomon, Chapter 2. It is an amazing thought to the
believer that Almighty God, He who spoke this world into existence, who sustains all things by the
Word of His power, who orders every single solitary thing,
event. Nothing happens except by the
express permission, power, and direction of Almighty God. We cannot possibly perceive power that orders everything,
everything, all things work together for good. I'm talking about every
single solitary thing. We would be lost in the wonder
of that thought if we perceived. Why did that wind blow, that
why did that tree fall, why this, I mean everything. And to imagine
that God Almighty, indescribably holy, just, merciful, that God Himself is pleased to
intimately meet with His people. I do mean that as we meet collectively
here, we are here tonight by God's grace to be able to come
together. There is no way of understanding
the blessing eternity will set forth the blessing of this evening
of being able to meet together to hear His Word and to believe
it by His grace, power to believe it. We meet collectively together,
but every believer this evening meets
with Him individually. There is a fellowship right now
that is taking place between the Lord God Himself and His
people. And He has revealed something
of Himself to His own, and He has revealed something to each
of them concerning themselves. They know something. In the second chapter of Song
of Solomon, the spiritual conversation continues between the Lord and
His bride. And the believer, as they hear
this conversation, they're looking, I understand, they're looking
and they're hearing words that are written on a piece of paper,
but miraculously, These words, blessed by the Spirit of God
concerning him, are life. They're life. They heal. They penetrate their souls. And they fellowship. The honesty of the new heart
settles a believer. They want to hear that which
they know is so. He knows something, the believer
does know something of his weakness and finds joy being free, honestly
free to be able to speak, speak within his heart to the Lord
Himself. As a child of God, there are
some things that he knows that are so. He knows, based on revelation
by the Spirit of God to his heart, he knows that Almighty God has
chosen to set His affection on him. He knows it. He knows that the Lord will never
leave him Never forsake Him. He knows that. He knows that
He orders His steps by providence. He does that for His honor and
glory and He does it for the good of that believer. Therefore, knowing something
of His greatness and my need of Him, the believer calls on
Him in his heart right now, you that believe, Call on Him. They call on Him. You've called
on Him, you call on Him. You've come and you come. You have come and you come. By
His grace, you shall come. By sheep, they hear My voice.
They come to Me. Continually come to Him. And
the believer needs some encouragement. They need to be encouraged. every
time they sit and hear a message concerning their Lord, they are
there for comfort. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,
saith the Lord. Comfort them. In that first verse,
the Scripture says, I am the rose of Sharon and the lily of
the valleys. that this world is not my home. Now you that believe, you know
that. You know. You know that this life is but
a vapor. You know that. You know that
life is fading. You know that. I am the Rose of Sharon. Now as I read that, my immediate
thoughts on that verse of Scripture was this. That's the Lord Jesus
Christ speaking. That's the first thing I thought. That's Him. Without a doubt,
I can see how the Lord is the Rose of Sharon. That phrase, the Rose of Sharon,
literally translated in the Greek, the flower of the field. That's
what it means, the flower of the field. That is, that which
grows without man's labor. That which has heaven as its
father and earth as its mother. Truly, a picture of the Lord
Jesus Christ, the eternal Word, who was made flesh the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, the rose of Sharon, the lily
of the valleys." That means the whiteness of the low places. I can see in that description
right there a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ who came in
the likeness of sinful flesh. who came as a root out of dry
ground. Who came and in Him we saw no
beauty that we would behold Him. But man by nature sees no beauty
in Him. I understand that. And I have
absolutely full assurance that that Scripture, for I know that
all Scripture is concerning Him. I know that. These are they,
He said, that speak of Me." But I'll tell you this, in light
of Him and seeing Him as the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of
the Valleys, I can also see the Bride described as the Rose of
Sharon and the Lily of the Valleys as she cries for encouragement
to Him who alone is her encouragement. That statement right there can
speak of her in just being honest with Him concerning who she is
in herself. Remember the literal translation
of that is the flower of the field, the rose of Sharon, flower
of the field, and the whiteness of the low places, the lily of
the valleys. Here the bride acknowledges herself
in this life as a fading thing, the rose of Sharon, the flower
of the field. Psalms 103, verse 15 says, As
for man, his days are as grass as a flower of the field, so
he flourishes. For the wind passeth over it,
and it is gone, and the place thereof shall know it no more. She said, I am the rose of Sharon.
I'm just the flower of the field. Isaiah 40, verse 6, the voice
said, Cry, and he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass,
and all the goodness thereof is as the flower of the field.
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, because the Spirit of
the Lord bloweth upon it. Surely the people is grass. The bride admits that in herself,
she said, I am just a fading thing. In me, I am black. That is what she said. From the
very beginning, I am black. In myself, I am black, but calmly
in Him. Well, Phibosheth, when brought
to the table of David for the sake of Jonathan, said to David,
Why would you show mercy? to a dead dog as I. Is that not the voice of the
believer? Why, but for Your grace, would
You show mercy to me? Why would You look upon me in
favor? How thankful I am that You saw
fit, that You chose. Lord, You left me to myself And
I would have been just happy as a lark, just going as I go,
not even mattering, thinking myself to be something when I
am nothing. I am the rose of Sharon, just
the flower of the field. Job said, Behold, I am Baal. What shall I answer thee? Who
am I? Who am I? I am here tonight. by God's grace. Standing here
by God's grace, who is sufficient for these things. This is a true description of
the believer, one that sees himself as just a passing thing in this
life. One of the field, ready to be
trodden down, often accounted as sheep, as the Lord Jesus Christ
was, for the slaughter Truly the poor of this world, no doubt,
rose of Sharon, lily of the valleys, just the whiteness of the low
places. But hath God not chosen the poor
of this world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom? He
raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out
of the dunghill, that he may set him with princes. The bride
admits seeing something of her personal unworthiness. I am the rose of Sharon and the
lily of the valleys. But I want you to look at the
second verse. The Lord is here speaking without a doubt. And
that's why I can readily see the bride speaking in the first
verse. Because as the Lord says in the second verse where she
said, I am the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valleys,
the Lord says in the second verse, as the lily among thorns, so
is my love among the daughters. She said, I am the flower of
the field, the flower that is fading. Whiteness by His imputed
righteousness in the valleys. He said, yes. That's true. That's true. The lily. But He said you're the lily among
thorns. Believers are lilies to their beauty of His righteousness
imputed to them. They are beautiful in Him and
Him alone. Matthew 6, 28 and 29 says this,
Consider the lilies of the field. Solomon, in all of his glory,
was not arrayed like one of these. I read that entire passage. It
says, they spend not, neither do they reap. But Solomon, in
all of his glory, was not arrayed. To what would we liken being
arrayed in the beauty of his righteousness? Solomon, the wisest,
wealthiest, was never arrayed like one of these. I'm just a
flower of the field. Just a lily of the valley is
true. The Lord says, you are lily. Lily among thorns. The believer is beautiful in
the Lord Jesus Christ. We worship Him. Psalm 29, verse
2 says we worship Him beautifully in the beauty of holiness. Made
so, made righteous, considered to be righteous. Let me say it
like that. Considered, declared righteous
by His righteousness. The believer is adorned with
the graces of His Spirit, love, joy, and peace. The believer
as a white lily is pure, as He is pure. having purified your
souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love
of the brethren." The believer is considered to be a lily as
to their fragrance. You are a lily. That is what
the Lord says. He said, I am a lily of the field, lily of
the valleys. 2 Corinthians 2 verse 14 says,
For we are unto God a sweet savor of Christ in them that are saved
and in them that perish we are a sweet savor of Christ." What
does that mean? Believers manifest the fragrance
of Christ. He is always a sweet savor to
the Father without a doubt. He is. Whether that savor perceived
by the regenerate unto God's grace and mercy and salvation
Or that saver is under damnation and judgment. God is a just God. Just to those that perish. Christ is a sweet saver. As the
lily among thorns. 2 Samuel speaks of this word
thorns as the sons of Belial. Sons of Belial that shall be
thrust away. He said, so is my love. among
the daughters. I am the rose of Sharon, the
flower of the field, fading, just a flower, here. Here today,
gone today. Lily of the valleys, the Lord
says yes, as the lily among the thorns, so is my love among the
daughters. God's lilies are among the thorns. The wheat among the tares, wise
virgins among the foolish virgins, sheep among wolves. We are in
this world, but the Lord Jesus Christ, in praying to His Father,
said they are in it, but they are not of it. Here we are advised
to be wise as serpents, harmless as doves, He said, you lilies,
among the thorns. And to the believer the Lord
Jesus Christ is all. Verse 3 says, As the apple tree
among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with
great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. As the
apple among the trees, I see him. As the apple tree among
the Trees of the woods, so is my beloved among the suns. I
can see him in all things. I was driving down the road one
day. I happened to be going on the Natchez Trace. And it was
just that time of year when the dogwood trees were in full bloom. You know how easy it is to spot
a dogwood tree? I mean, when the dogwood tree
is starting to bloom, I mean, nothing else is. And I mean just
going there and all of a sudden I just looked off and I mean
there it was. Beautiful. Just beautiful dogwood
tree. There it is. There it is. I could see it. Spotted it. Just
like that. No doubt about it. The bride
says there's the apple tree among the trees of the woods. There
he is. I see him. I see Him in all things. Behold, John the Baptist says,
the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. The believer
sees Him, beholds Him in all things. It's the Lord. Let Him do what seemeth good. The believer sees Him in the
midst of all. He knows things come about. And Romans 8.28 comes back to
the believer's mind. All things work together. You
get a phone call. Somebody tells you something.
Something that's not as pleasant to the flesh as you'd think. And the Scripture comes back
to our minds. We hear Him. As the apple tree
among all the trees of the woods. That's what she says. This apple
tree spoken of here was actually a very large tree. It was called
a citron apple tree. This is what I found out about
it. It was a large, beautiful tree. I know that the world sees
no beauty in Him, but let me ask you this. You that believe,
is He not beautiful to you? You that believe, is He not precious
to you? Just begin to think that which
He in covenant mercy and grace has done. This tree always bore
fruit. Citron apple tree always bears
fruit. Does He not? Excellent remedy
this tree is against poison. And here we see the greatness
of His person. The virtue of his blood, which
is God's sovereign covering against the poison of sin, is lacked.
Hosea 14 verse 8 says, For me is thy fruit found. The believer
says, I sat down under his shadow with great delight. I sat down. The reason I sat down is because
he He gave me a heart to do so. Leave me to myself and I wouldn't
do it. By effectual call, He said, if any man thirst, let
him come unto Me in the Spirit of God. He took those words and
said, you're thirsty. And the believer says, I'm thirsty.
I'm thirsty. If any man thirst, let him come
unto Me. I sat down. Psalm 91, 1 and 2,
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall
abide under the shadow of the Almighty. And I will say to the
Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress. I sat down and rested
spiritually. I sat down. A person could be
sitting in this room right now and not rest in Him. But God's
people do. They rest. This is to say, I
trust Him. Trust Him in this life and trust
Him in His guidance, His providence, His mercy, and in that life to
come. I sat down under His shadow. I come under the shadow of Him
for defense. As a sinner, apart from Him,
I know something of my exposure to wrath. A believer knows something
about what it is to not know Him. They know what it is to
know Him because they know something of what it was to not know Him.
Oh, I must be found cleft of the rock. Keep me, Psalm 17.8
says. as the apple of the eye. Hide
me under the shadow of your wings." The believer said, I sat down
under the shadow, under his shadow, with great delight. And David
said, Keep me as the apple of your eye. I've heard that before. Apple of the eye. I didn't know
what it meant. So I'd look it up. It means the
pupil. The center. What the believer says is, look
on me. Lord, look on me. Look on me
and Your Son. Consider me. View me. Don't leave me. Look at me. Keep me as the apple of Your
eye. Hide me under the shadow of Your
wings. It's shadow. I was walking down
the road one day and I saw a big The shadow of an airplane just
went right, just right there. I just saw it. Big. Then I looked up. Couldn't see
it at first. Then I found it. Then I saw it.
The proof that that airplane was theirs, I saw its shadow.
I saw it. I saw the shadow go by. That
shadow. Oh, the shadow of His wing. His providential dealings with
me. He proves. It's Him. I know it is. And His fruit,
the Scripture says, was sweet to my taste. I sat down under
the shadow with great delight and His fruit was sweet to my
taste. Fruit. His fruit. His fruit. His fruit was sweet
to my taste. That which He produces. That
which He has produced for His people by and through His obedience
and sufferings. His fruit. His fruit was sweet
to my taste. He gave me a palate for it. He
gave me a taste for it. Peace with God Almighty through
Him. Pardon from our iniquities. Redemption
through His blood. Even the forgiveness of sins. His fruit was sweet to me, but
that fruit, for it to be sweet to me, is appropriated to me. For something to taste good to
me, I've got to eat it. I've got to taste it. How can
I taste of it? How do I taste it? How do I taste
of His fruit? This is spiritual language. God
speaks to His people spiritually. Turn with me to Psalms 19. Psalm
19, verse 7. Psalm 19, 7. I taste and eat by faith. As His Word is set forth, I eat
of Him. I taste of Him. The Lord said,
taste, eat of Me. Eat of Me. How does a believer
do that? In His Word, by faith. Psalm
19, 7. of the Lord is perfect, converting
the soul. The testimony of the Lord is
sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are
right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is
pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring forever. The judgments of the Lord are
true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than
gold, yea, than fine gold. sweeter also than honey and the
honeycomb. Moreover, by them is thy servant
warned, and in keeping of them there is great reward." God speaks
to His people through His Word, and they eat. The bride said,
I sat down under the shadow, under His shadow, with great
delight, under His protection, under His wing, under His and
guidance under His providence, under His domain, I sat down
with great delight, and His fruit was sweet to my taste." The taste
of a believer is a result of his regeneration. The impartation
of new life, divine life, they have a taste for Christ. The
Spirit of God creates a taste detests sin and rebellion against
Him. Job said, I loathe myself. I
loathe myself. Paul said, O wretched man that
I am. And he creates the Holy Ghost,
does a desire for the Lord Jesus Christ. And they do taste. And
they see that the Lord is good. There are some things that are
learned by experience. I don't know something that tastes
good unless I taste it. And Almighty God teaches and
reveals and shows through His Word, through His testimonies,
through His speaking to His people. Through His Word, blessed by
the Spirit of God, they taste Him. I sat under the wing, under
His wing, under His shadow and His fruits, sweet to my taste. I tasted of Him. This evening we thank you that
you have been pleased to allow us to come and just behold by
your Word, through your Word, blessed by your Spirit, the language
of love between the Lord Jesus Christ and His bride. and how
she speaks to him respectfully because he has spoken to her
first and revealed himself. Lord, how we thank You for Your
goodness and mercy to us. How we thank You for the revelation
of Yourself. We ask You to teach us. As we
come, as we sit, teach us. We confess before You. We realize
we're just flowers of the field, lilies of the valleys. But Lord, You said, lilies true,
but lilies that are loved by You. For Christ's sake, we thank
You. Amen. Okay, Pat, why don't you
come lead us? Let's stand and sing hymn number
50.