Let's turn our scriptures to
this remarkable book. They call it the Holy of Holies. And we have, as we've gone through
Solomon, we've just entered into, Lord willing, something of the
intimacy something of the depth and the wonder of the intimacy
of that relationship between the Lord Jesus and His bride. It's been a series of responsive
songs. She, as it were, has sung to
Him, and in remarkable response she has sung back to Him. And here in these last two verses
we have But here's, in verse 13, final words to her. And then in verse 14, she finishes
with words, the words that finish our scriptures remarkably in
a sense, don't they? Make haste, my beloved, and be
thou like a roe or a young heart upon the mountains of spices.
Come, Lord Jesus, But in verse 13, these are his
final words to her. And we know that they are to
her because the pronouns, the feminine pronouns are, unlike
some verses in Song of Solomon, we don't have to guess who is
speaking here. It is he speaking to her. And
listen to these words. These words of description of
where she is. these words of encouragement
to her. Thou that dwellest in the gardens,
the companions hearken to thy voice, cause me to hear it. Thou that dwellest in the gardens,
the companions hearken to thy voice, cause me to hear it. I have one simple task. that
you might find yourselves like the Shulamite or like the Apostle
John at the Last Supper. finding yourself just leaning
upon his breast in sweet communion and fellowship with him, talking
to him. We can talk to the living God
face to face as a friend. What a remarkable thing. What a remarkable privilege.
And he who is a loving husband, knowing that physically he has
to go away from her, has made the best possible provision for
her. He's created a garden for her. He's put her in a garden and
he's given her companions in that garden, companions who respond
in the same way. They respond to Her voice. Let's pray and ask the Lord to
help us as we look through these amazing words of His. Our great God and Heavenly Father,
we do come before You with thankfulness and expectation that You would
take Your words and You would speak to our hearts and Heavenly
Father, we pray that the experience of your saints throughout time
in their pilgrimage in this earth will be something that we can
join in with today. And we praise You, Heavenly Father,
that You place Your people on this earth for good purposes,
for Your glory, and for the proclamation of Your name in this world. And it's for their good as well.
Help us, Heavenly Father, to find ourselves with His flock. finding our rest in the noonday
sun, at rest with Him and at rest with His flock. We pray
that You'd bless our time and our words, the speaking of it
and the hearing of it, Heavenly Father, that we might find ourselves
like the blessed Shulamite, leaning with delight upon the breast
of our great God and Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ. We pray
these things in His name and for His glory. Amen. As I said, these are His words.
He speaks. as one who's going away. And
he's just going away for a little time. He's speaking as one who
is going to another place of abode. And I often think of that
day when he left his disciples outside of Jerusalem. He took
them outside of that city. He took them to that mountain
and there he spoke to them and there he made a promise to them. He said, you shall receive power,
after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you and you shall be
witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria
and unto the uttermost parts of the earth. He's left them
here to be witnesses, but He's left them here to be witnesses
not by their own strength, but when the Holy Spirit comes upon
them. I love what John, what he says
in his farewell discourse, he says, when the Holy Spirit comes,
He will take the things of mine. What things belong to the Lord
Jesus? the things about his person,
the things about his character as God, our great father and
our great God, the things that he's done, the love that he has
for his bride, the love that he has for his father, the Holy
Spirit will take those things and reveal them to you. What a remarkable promise. When the Holy Spirit has come,
you shall be my witnesses." And while they looked steadfast,
he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked, the angel
spoke to them, you men of Galilee, why stand
ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken
up from you into heaven shall come in like manner as you have
seen him go into heaven." He's coming. He's just away physically
from us for a little while. When he finished his work on
the cross he said, it is finished. He's promised that he will be,
he will come and he will dwell with his people, his father and
he will will come." He leaves for an appointed time, he left
to an appointed place and he left for an appointed reason. He says, it's expedient, it's
good for you that I go away. If I go, I'll come again and
gather you to myself. He's gone to reign in heaven
because he can best care for us as he reigns in heaven. He has left us to prepare a place
for us. But he says remarkably that as
he has left us, he hasn't left us at all, has he? He says we will come, John 14,
23, he says we will come. we will come and make our abode
with him. If any man love me, he will keep
my words, and my Father will love him, and we will come unto
him and make our abode with him. What a remarkable thing. We don't
have the physical presence of the Lord Jesus, but we have something
which is much better. Christ in you is the hope of
glory. in a little while, and the world
will see me no more, but you see me. Because I live, you shall
live also, and that day you shall know that I am in my Father,
and ye in me, and I in you." It's good. It's good for us that
he's gone away. And it's good for us that this
is just another sign of his love for his bride. He's gone, but
he hasn't gone. He leaves her a place. He leaves her a place that the
best loving husband could possibly prepare for her. He's left her
as safe and secure, as cared for and as loved as he who is
sovereign over all things can possibly lead us. He's left her
for her good. He's left her for His glory.
He's left her for her growth and her sustenance. He's left
her in a place of her protection. A place where His presence is
promised. A place where she communes with
Him. Where two or three or more are
gathered, I am there. See, by faith, we see, by faith
we see. And as he says these words, these
parting words, he's actually, if you read them, he's just declaring
a reality, isn't he? He says, this is where she dwells. Thou that dwellest in the garden. Song of Solomon has been full
of pictures of gardens, this garden enclosed, these gardens
that are fruitful, these gardens that are places of rest, these
gardens that are beautiful and the smells are beautiful, the
flowers are beautiful and the fruit is beautiful, all signs
of his care and provision. You see he's not making a demand
or even a command in a sense, even though the scriptures do
encourage and command people not to forsake the gathering
together. But he says this is where she
dwells. The Shulamite dwells in the gardens. He doesn't say that she used
to dwell there or that she will dwell there. She dwells. He's
making a statement. His bride dwells. His bride lives in the gardens
and the gardens of course are the special congregations. The
congregations scattered throughout this world and scattered throughout
time who make up that one body, that one bride. He's just making a statement
of fact. For those who think that they can get along without
church, that they can survive outside of a Christian fellowship,
that they can grow and they can know and they can honour the
Lord outside of church. Son of Solomon is a powerful,
powerful warning then to them not to be so deceived, not to
be so deceived. He says that she's there. He
says that he's created the garden for her. He's fenced that garden. He's hedged that garden. And
he's put her in that garden. How does she get in that garden?
She gets in that garden because of an eternal decree, an eternal
love covenant between Father, Son and Holy Spirit. She gets
to be put in that garden by regeneration, by regenerating, being born again. She gets to be put in that garden
by being adopted, adopted as a child of God. She gets to be
put in that garden by the special call of God the Father. She's put in that garden by the
very special purchase of Christ's own blood. She's in that garden
by the conquest of the Spirit. She's in that garden, a garden
of delight because of the voluntary surrender. He's won her heart.
hasn't he? Some Solomon draws the Shulamite
and draws us into love relationship with God because he is so appealing
and so attractive to her. She willingly and voluntarily
and delightfully surrenders her heart to him. God's children
are made fit, made qualified by Sovereign Grace. The garden
is his garden, isn't it? He says it's my garden. Again
and again in Song of Solomon he says it's my garden. He said,
I've come into my garden. And when she's lost him and she
finally is brought to a realisation of where he is, she finds him
exactly where she should have found him. My beloved has gone
down to his garden. She knows it's his garden. It's a garden of His planting. Thy people also shall be all
righteous. They shall inherit the land forever,
the branch of my planting, the work of my hands. And the reason Isaiah 60 verse
21 says that, the reason she's put in the garden is for His
glory. That I may be glorified is what
He says. Planted by Him. When she's not in the garden,
she is in a wilderness, a waste, howling wilderness outside. And she's put in the garden because
there are things for her to do. It's interesting, isn't it, that
so much of what goes on here is about her speaking. She dwells
in the garden, the companions hearken to thy voice, and then
he calls to her, he says, cause me to hear your voice. She speaks, she speaks about
him. She has one thing on her heart. I love what Peter says, he says,
you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a peculiar people. That means particular and special
people. And this is the reason we've
put together that you should show forth the praises of Him
who has called you out of darkness and into His marvellous light. This is the place, the church,
the garden is the place where God has promised to get glory
for His Son. This is the place. There's no
other place promised where he meets with his people and where
he gets glory. And here she is as someone who
speaks. She speaks. We are, as a kingdom
of priests, we are those who come into the very holy of holies
and we carry in a sense We carry the burdens of our brothers
and sisters and we speak to God about them. We speak to them
about the Lord, about His sacrifice and His kingdom and His sacred
work, a work that is finished, a work that is that He has achieved
by His life and His death and His burial and His resurrection. We are to proclaim the blessings
brought and bought by His blood. And the place, the garden is
a place of delight, isn't it? It's a place, if you look back
in Song of Solomon, chapter 6, verse 2, it's a place where He
is. My beloved has gone down to His
garden, to the bed of spices, and what is He doing in His garden? He's feeding. in his garden. The Lord Jesus, remarkably according
to the words of this song, is nourished by the church. Isn't that remarkable? He's feeding,
he feeds in the garden and this is a place where he gathers the
lilies. And she then says, I am my beloved,
I belong to him, but my beloved is mine. He belongs to me and
He feeds among the lilies." This is a place for His glory, isn't
it? A place where we sound out the
praises of Him and His glory and His grace. And that's what
the promise was, wasn't it, in Acts? You will be witnesses. We will witness what He has done
for us. We will witness what the scriptures
say about Him. We will witness what we have
experienced of His redeeming love and His amazing grace. He's put us in gardens. He's
put us in gardens to care for the gardens, to tend the gardens, Gardening's a beautiful thing,
isn't it? For those of you who play around in gardens, there's
just so much pleasure to be had at odd times in gardens, isn't
there? The wonderful thing about gardens is that so many Christians,
I think, feel sort of hamstrung because they can't do big and
great things. But in gardens, you can plant
a little tiny seed. You can take a little vine and
wrap it around a piece of supporting wire or something. It's little
things of faith that matter. That little servant girl in that
Assyrian kingdom in Naaman's house, she just said a word,
didn't she? There's a God. Our God reigneth. I'm a slave. You guys look like
you're in control. My God has given your king, your
name, I'm sorry, he has leprosy." She just said a word, didn't
she? Just a little word. It's little things of faithfulness. It's little words to him and
little words about him. Don't get caught up and be discouraged
because we haven't been called to do great and public things. Just little acts of faithfulness. You think of how many in the
Gospels are just little acts. He says a cup of water, just
a cup of water, costs nothing, seems insignificant, not in his
garden and not amongst his people. Not where he has put them. And of course, as we've seen
in past times looking at gardens, the garden is a place of separation
from wilderness, isn't it? Gardens were fenced and gardens
were enclosed, and gardens had different environments, just
like we've created a different environment in here this morning,
and it's delightful. But that's what gardens are,
aren't they? I remember Peter Meany talking about the walled
gardens in England and sometimes the walls were 6 metres 20 feet
high and he said there was a whole new microclimate in there and
often they had little creeks running through them and it was
so warm in the corners of those gardens they could grow citrus
trees and other things in these gardens in England that you couldn't
possibly grow on the other side of the wall. So gardens are places
of protection. It's like a strong tower, as
Jenny and I were talking about the other day. A strong tower
that God's people run into and are safe. She's put there for
a purpose. She's put there because He put
her there. It's a place where He has prepared
for her. It's a place where He gets glory
and it's a place where He does her good. And it's an honored
thing. This is her last title in Song
of Solomon. She's had so many titles and
here she is, her last title, is thou that dwellest in the
garden. It's a place as that word implies,
a place of abiding, a place of rest, a place of belonging. And it's not as if she's there
on her own. The companions hearken to Thy
voice. The companions there, it's not
a lonely place. God puts the lonely, I think
it is, into families. He puts them into families. The companions hearken, the companions
give attention to Thy voice. Isn't it remarkable, the one
thing that is a crying need of humanity in so many desperate
situations, personal and public, is I want to be heard. I want
someone to take notice of me, to listen to me, to be empathetic
with me. to feel something of my hurts,
to share my joys, to share my hopes. It's so much, isn't it? So much of the demonstrations
we see around the world and so much of the crying out on television
and all sorts of other things is crying out, will you please
hear me? The Lord makes provision for
those things in His garden, doesn't He? The companions hearken, the
companions listen to Thy voice. The companions of the Shulamite,
the companions of God's people, are people who listen to God's
voice and they listen to God's voice as is declared by His Church. And again, I want to remind you
that the Lord here, in these parting words, is not saying,
I wish they would hearken, or I want them to hearken. What's
he saying? Just read it there. The companions,
those who are your companions, hearken to thy voice. So many of us have had so many
friends. in this world, and we've come to them with the Word of
God. We're saying, will you please
sit and listen and read this book with me? Just will you sit
and listen? Can we just talk about how glorious
our Saviour is? Can we talk about how amazing
the eternal covenant of His love is? Can we talk about what He
did on the cross, how He took all of my sins away and there
are none left, how He's robed His bride with the righteousness
of God, how He's promised to be the sanctifier. We put it
on our bulletins, don't we? 1 Corinthians 1.30, a glorious
description of our Saviour. But of Him are you in Christ
Jesus. The work of God the Father is
to put you in Christ Jesus. Who of God? This is God's work. Of God is made unto us wisdom. Can we talk to you about our
wisdom? That's what we do in the garden. If you're going to be our companion,
come and do it with us in the garden. Wisdom is our righteousness,
and I don't have any other righteousness. I don't have any to defend. I
don't have any to attain. I have the righteousness of God
because God has made Him that for us, and He's my sanctification. Holiness. He is all. He is all. and He is in all. And He is my redemption. And what do the companions do,
what does the Shulamite do? And according as it is written,
he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. Quite simply, the
Lord in his parting words is making a statement. It's a simple
statement, isn't it? And it's a clear statement and
it's not very complicated. The companions hearken to thy
voice. It's as simple as that, isn't
it? It's as clear as that. It's as black and as white as
that. Because God is the one who speaks. And God is the one
who teaches. And God is the one who by His
Spirit brings life where there was death. God is the one who
speaks over those dry bones through Ezekiel. Can these dry bones
live? I don't know. God, you know. Can they leave you just speak?
You speak, Ezekiel. Speak." And they come together. Speak. And they have life in
them. Speak. And they stand up as a
great army. She has a speaking ministry and
she has companions. The companions hearken to her
voice. So the encouragement for us again
and again, brothers and sisters, isn't it, is let's just be the
voice. We don't have to win arguments,
we just have to be a voice. We just have to proclaim the
Gospel. What did John the Baptist call
himself? I'm just a voice. Just a voice of one crying in
the wilderness. Will God bring His people out
through the preaching of the Gospel? He's promised. Can we
rest in faith that simply proclaiming the glories of the Lord Jesus
in His glorious Gospel is God's appointed, promised way of gathering
His companions? And when He gathers His companions,
this verse is as clear as it could possibly be, He will put
them in a garden. You put them in a garden. We
have, as children of God, we have many companions, don't we? We have God the Father and God
the Spirit, God the Holy Spirit and God the Son as our companions. And He hearkens, they hearken
to the voice of the Shulamite to the church, don't they? Isaiah
promises remarkably, doesn't he? And it shall come to pass
that before they call, I will answer, and while they are yet
speaking, I will hear. He hears. They hear all the time,
don't they? Never miss a word, never miss
a millisecond. call unto me and I will answer
thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest
not, says Jeremiah 33. Has that happened to you, brothers
and sisters, in the Gospel? As the voice of God is heard,
He hears and He answers and He shows great and mighty things
that we didn't know. We didn't even know they existed.
We had no idea how glorious they are. We opened up this treasure
chest. treasure trove of God's jewels,
don't we? All of them reflect the glory
of our great Redeemer and our great Mediator. We have companions. The angels are our companions,
aren't they? They're here now. by the promise
of God, they are here, 1 Corinthians 11 verse 10. They are here in
church. They are bearing witness. In
fact, Peter says that the things now reported unto you are things
which the angels desire to look into. We can talk about a redeemer. They desire to look into those
things. We can talk about grace. in ways
that they have no idea of. They long to look into these
things and they are present with us, but more than that, they
watch over God's people. They are powerful and they encamp
around us and no harm can befall one of these chosen ones of God
placed in His garden. But of course, I think, in the
context of Song of Solomon, it's talking about our brothers and
sisters in Christ, our fellow believers, the companions that
hearken to Thy voice. See, the word disciple just means
learner, someone who is willing to learn. And isn't it delightful
when you're in conversation with someone and they're willing to
learn, or you're preaching to someone and you see that they're
willing to learn. So many people we have as visitors,
they come, they don't come to learn, they come to show off
what they already know, what they've already done. And they
end up wanting to have discussions and debates about philosophy
and their ideas of things. God's children are made to be
learners. I love that picture of the Gadarene
demoniac in Mark's Gospel. The picture that we long for,
isn't it? There he was, living that desperate,
deceived, life controlled by evil forces and what was the
end result? Those remarkable things. He was
sitting at the Lord's feet and he was clothed and he was in
his right mind and he had one desire for the future, didn't
he? One desire for the future. I just want to be with you. I
just want to be with you. And what did the Lord say to
him? He said, you go. You go. And he bore witness to
him and when the Lord Jesus returned to that area there were dozens
and dozens of people. that had heard Him bear witness." The virgins are her companions. The commentators often talk about
Psalm 45 having been written by David as if David wrote a
summary or a synopsis and then Solomon took it and wrote this
beautiful book that we have before us. It talks about this daughter. The king's daughter is brought,
is all glorious within. Her clothing is of wrought gold. She shall be brought unto the
king in raiment of needlework. The virgins, her companions that
follow her shall be brought unto thee. Verse 14, Psalm 45. With
gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought, and they shall
enter into the king's palace." They are her companions. The Lord says, He says, I am
a companion of all them that fear Thee, and of all them that
keep Thy precepts. And companions, as I've said,
they heed the voice of the Church. As we read earlier in Psalm 84,
blessed are they that dwell in thy house, they will still be
praising thee. Companions, we are a family. God puts his people together
in a garden and in a family. We have one father. We have one
husband. We are recipients of the same
grace, the same gospel privileges. We are the recipients of the
same joys. We are in large measure bearers
of the same heartaches. What did John say? He says, I,
John, in Revelation 1-9, am also your brother and companion in
tribulation in the kingdom and patience of the Lord Jesus, of
Jesus Christ. We are a people who delight in
the fact that God puts us in families and gives us companions. We need to be mindful again and
again of the privilege it is to be in the family of God and
to know that God has gifted through the work of the Lord Jesus those
ascension gifts. He's gifted all of his people
with gifts that all of us need. We need each other. We need each
other to bear each other's burdens. We need the gifts, the little
things that most people are not aware of that God has brought
into your lives are needful for everyone else here at times of
God's appointing. So nothing painful that has happened
to you has not been purposed by God that you might be a comfort
to others. That's what he says in in 2 Corinthians
chapter 1, doesn't he? That you have been through trials. All of us go through trials. We think about family we love
and we think about friends that are dear to us. And then Paul
says, Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of all mercies, and the God of all comfort, who comforteth
us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them
which are in any trouble. By the comfort wherewith we ourselves
are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ
abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. And whether we be afflicted,
it is for your consolation and salvation. which is effectual
in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer. And whether
we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. And our hope of you is steadfast,
knowing that as you are partakers of the suffering, you shall also
be of the consolation. Those of you who have suffered,
and all of us have, As God's children, we'll bear witness
to the fact that we have suffered and God has come and He's been
a God of comfort. Has He not? That's our witness,
isn't it? As we see our brothers and sisters
struggling, And we stand alongside them. We need to be mindful that
our great God is still absolutely sovereign in all these things
and He's put our struggling and troubled brethren together with
us. that we might comfort them. We might point them to a saviour. We might point them to a God
who is absolutely sovereign. We might point them to the fact
that according to the scriptures this is not some meaningless
action. It's not karma. It's not fatalism. Our God is sovereignly working
these things. And we don't have brothers and
sisters. We don't have brothers and sisters who are not hurting. May God help us to be listeners
and may God cause us to be comforters, to point them to the Lord Jesus
again and again. And that's what he says, doesn't
he? His one request of her in this is cause me to hear." He's
had many requests of her in Song of Solomon. He says, rise up,
my love, my fair one, and come away. He says, let me see thy
countenance, let me hear thy voice, for sweet is thy voice
and thy countenance is comely. He says in verse 8 of chapter
4, come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon. He says, eat, oh friends, drink,
yes, drink abundantly, oh beloved. He says, turn thine eyes away
from me, for they have overcome thee. In chapter 6 he says, return,
return, O Shulamite, return, return, that we may look upon
thee. And here he makes this final
request to her. Cause me to hear it. Cause me to hear thy voice. He delights to hear his people. Do we delight to talk to him? If we knew how much he delighted
just in simple conversation with him, all the time, or when he
says he's praying continuously, I think what he's meaning is
that he takes his thoughts, as 2 Corinthians 10 says, and he
takes his thoughts and he makes them captive of the Lord. So when you're thinking about
friends and you're doing things, he's there, is he not? Does he
know what's happening? I think this is just the most
amazing encouragement, just to talk to him. Talk to him as a
friend. Lay your burdens before Him.
Lay your life before Him. Be like Adam and Eve in that
garden. Be naked, as it were, before Him. and look for him
to clothe you yet again, clothe you with a covering of his making,
a covering of his ordering, a covering for his glory. He says, O my
dove that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places
of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy
voice. Why? For sweet is thy voice,
and thy countenance comely. He finds the simple prayers of
his people delightful. Let me hear it. Sweet is my voice. He says, Thy lips so spout, spout,
drop as the honey can. Honey and milk are under thy
tongue and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon.
He says, The roof of thy mouth is like the best wine for my
beloved that goes down sweetly, causing the lips of those that
are asleep to speak. Just talk to him. That's what he's saying, isn't
it? He says, you will dwell in a garden. You will have companions
who will listen to the voice of the church. He's saying, I'm
physically absent, but I'm here spiritually. I'm here in reality. I'm here with you. Cast all your
cares upon him. Why? Because he careth. You know what that means? It
means that he cares, and then when he's finished that little
bit of caring, what does he then do? He cares, and then he cares again. Does he ever stop caring? What
a husband. What a husband. Speak to him
in praise. Speak to him in prayer. Speak to him in intimate communion. The great book of Hebrews finishes
with that encouragement. By Him therefore let us offer
the sacrifice of praise to God continually. That is the fruit
of our lips giving thanks to His name. The fruit of our lips. He knows what we need before
we ask. As the Lord Jesus said in the
Sermon on the Mount, the Father knows the things that you have
need of and He knows them before you even ask. But He delights
in us asking. The people who feared the Lord
in Malachi 3.16 and 17, remarkable verses. When you think of the
time that they were in and had to wait 400 years 400
years for another word from the Lord. It says, Then they that
feared the Lord spake often one to another, and the Lord hearkened.
The Lord paid attention to and heard it. And a book of a remembrance
was written before him for them that feared the Lord and thought
upon his name. See, this is his house. This
is why this is a garden and a refuge, because here is a place we can
talk about him openly and freely. Most of you are in situations
at work or even with friends, even with people you care deeply
about, and you can't talk about him. This is his house. We can
talk about him all the time here. This is what we gather for, isn't
it? They hearkened, the Lord hearkened and heard it. And how
does He describe them? Verse 17, Malachi 3, They shall
be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my
jewels, I will spare them as a man spareth his own son that
serveth him. and you shall return. Then you
shall return and discern between the righteous and the wicked,
between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not."
I think Song of Solomon has given us some wonderful keys to all
of that. That last clause might also be
rendered in the Hebrew, force them to hear me. Cause the companions to hear
me. cause them by our prayers and
by our praises and by our just talking. When God's people get
together, we can talk about all sorts of things. I don't want
people to be pretending to be overly spiritual. We can talk
about the things of this world, but there is a time in our conversations
when we are drawn to talk about Him. Let's do it with a freedom
and a joy. We sing to each other. We are
singing to Him that according to Colossians 3.16 we are singing
to each other. Let the word of Christ dwell
in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one
another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with
grace in your hearts to the Lord. Singing with grace in our hearts. We are in this garden. We're placed there by our Lord. We have been given our companions. We've been given some extraordinary
privileges, some wonderful things to do. His saying is on the way,
seemingly away from you. Let your voices be filled. Speak much of Him and speak well
of Him. Let our talk of creation honour
our Creator. Let our talk of life honour he
who gives life and sustains it. Let us talk about this world. Gravitate towards him who rules
supremely and rules sovereignly. I don't have a great deal of
interest in politics, but every time I see one of those guys
there I want to think, you can speak and you have been placed
there in a place where we are to honour you because ultimately
you are God's servant. But all of what happens is not
determined by the politicians of this world. It's determined
by our great God and our sovereign King. Let's be reminded of it. When we talk about righteousness,
we talk about He who is our righteousness. We talk about sanctification,
we talk about He who is our sanctifier. We talk about our troubles, we
talk about He who has brought them in love and mercy and has
done it for good and glorious ends. When we talk about our
future, we talk about He who is our hope. In this world, we
will have trouble on every side, but the garden and the companions
in the garden is like an oasis in the wilderness. A precious
oasis, watered and fed and flourishing and nurtured by our great God
and our great gardener, our great redeemer. Let's try.