Song of Solomon. We have now
come to the final chapter in Song of Solomon, but in some
sense our chapter divisions are wonderfully helpful for finding
passages of scripture and sometimes they break things up. This one
is a good place to break things up, but still it is The Shulamite
speaking to him, and as you remember from the context, she had been
blessed with the most extraordinary privileges of communion, of fellowship,
of being drawn to him, into his garden, to be feasting with him,
and then she finds herself, as he comes, to her room she finds
herself scorning his presence and saying to him, I'm too busy
with my own activities to deal with you at the moment. And then
she's horrified to think that he's left. And she struggles
and searches and is abused and mistreated in many ways as she
goes searching for him. And she's asked that searching
question, what is he to you? What's he matter? What's he mean?
Is he worth all this trouble? And then she gives, in chapter
five, the most remarkable description of the Lord Jesus Christ. From
head to feet, all of his glories, his person, the glories of his
attributes. I wonder as I keep reading this
how much of the scriptures are biographical and in Solomon's
case autobiographical. We actually see ourselves and
our experiences in the scriptures. We also see ourselves in the
light of who the Lord is, and the Lord comes to her and speaks
in the most extraordinary ways, doesn't he? When the Lord is
gathering that lost sheep, he leaves the 99 behind, he gathers
the lost sheep, and he could have, with all sorts of justification,
rebuked the sheep, beaten the sheep, sent the sheep away. But
what does he do? He picks the sheep up, carries
the sheep in his arms, this wandering way with sheep, and brings it
home to the 99 and has a party over it, just like the prodigal
son. We are wandering. We wander and
wander and wander. No wonder the psalmist finishes
the end of that remarkable psalm. He says, I've gone astray like
a lost sheep. Seek thy servant. And he, she
was sought by him and he comes and he mentions nothing of her
sin, but talks of her delight for him. And then in verse 10
of chapter 7, she speaks these remarkable words of assurance. Her first words to him, as it
were, I am my beloved's and his desire is towards me. And she wants him to come with
her. She says, come. And again, she
knows what it's like to be separated. She says, let us go forth. Let
us lodge. Let us get up early. Verse 12,
see if the vine flourish. Let us. And she wants to bring
him to a place of nurturing and a place of comfort and a place
of fellowship, which is what we find in chapter 8, verse 1. She says, Oh, that thou were
as my brother that sucked the breasts of my mother. When I
should find you without, I would kiss you, yea, I should not be
despised. I would lead you and bring you
into my mother's house. Who would instruct me? In fact,
it means you would instruct me. I would cause thee to drink the
spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate. His left hand should
be under my head and his right hand should embrace me. I charge you, O daughters of
Jerusalem, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love till he please. He's come back to a place of
settledness. Don't disturb him. Why don't
we pray and ask the Lord to help us as we look at these words. Heavenly Father, you have written
these words by the hand of your servant Solomon. that by a greater
and far more extraordinary hand, as your Holy Spirit carried him
along. And Father, we come as beggars, hoping and trusting
that you will honour your promise to feed your people from your
word, that it would be you who speak Our Father, speak about
Your Son to us. Speak about His glories and His
achievements, the wonders of His character, that we might
find ourselves like the Shulamite, in His arms, at peace and at
rest in Him. We pray Your blessing on us,
Heavenly Father. Cause us to come. Cause us to seek Him. Cause us to look to Him to honour
the promises that He so richly makes to His people. We pray these things in Jesus'
name. Amen. So much of this, of course, is
in reference to the Church looking toward the incarnation. And the last chapter we saw begins
with the bride's desire for his love, for his fellowship, for
his presence, and for his remaining with her. And then she says these
remarkable words, who will give thee for a brother to me? Who will give? our word has a brother, if it's
really in the Hebrew it can be rendered who will give thee,
he will give you for a brother To me, men can give lots of good
things, but only God alone can give the brotherhood of the Lord
Jesus. Only God Almighty can give the
Lord Jesus as a brother to his people. Only by grace can he
assume that role. Isn't it a remarkable picture
in the scriptures that in the Lord Jesus' condescension, His
humbling becomes her comfort. His humility, His oneness with
us is how He gives Himself to His people. If He was my brother,
if the Lord Jesus is my brother, then we have the same Father. We have the same inheritance. We have the same heritage. We have the same future, don't
we? All that's promised to him is
promised to all that are in his family. If he is my brother,
he will give his family, a heart to love him and to do the will
of God. And what is the will of the Father?
For whosoever shall do the will of the Father which is in heaven,
he is my brother. This is my family, isn't it? My brother. The will of the Father
is to believe on him. And in Christ, my brother. I have loved God and done His
will perfectly. In Christ, my brother, I have
someone who intercedes for me in heaven right now. I have an advocate. I have a
high priest. I have a prophet. I have a king. I have someone who, as Proverbs
says, sticks closer than a brother. He was made in all things like
his brethren. What a remarkable thing the Incarnation
is. It's just extraordinary, isn't
it, that God Almighty would don human flesh. and he would come
into this world as a man, and there is not a single human experience
you have experienced that he doesn't know intimately. Isn't it remarkable that when
I come to God in the Lord Jesus Christ, he understands exactly
what's happened to me. He understands all of the infirmities
that I carry around in this body of flesh. He was without sin,
but he wasn't without the troubles that we go through. He was a
man of sorrows and familiar with suffering. And as a man, he grew. is talking about what sucked
the breast of the mother. He drank from the same source
when he came into this world. He drank from the word of God.
The Jerusalem above, Galatians 4 says, is the mother of us all.
And he delighted in the same things that God's children have
delighted in, in all of history. See how much he honored the ordinances
of God. He went to John the Baptist and
was baptized. He was in the synagogues. He
was at every ordained feast day in Jerusalem. In Luke 4, verse
16, it says, as it was his custom, he was in the synagogue. Remarkably,
Hebrews says that he learned obedience from the things he
experienced. I'll just turn back in Psalm
119 and just listen to these words. Who could they relate
to other than the Lord Jesus? He says, how I love thy law. It is my meditation all day. Thou through thy commandments
has made me wiser than mine enemies, for they are ever with me. Their commandments are ever with
me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for thy
testimonies are my meditations. I understand more than the ancients,
because I keep thy precepts. I have refrained my feet from
every evil way, that I might keep thy word. I have not departed
from thy judgments, for thou hast taught me. how sweet are
thy words unto my taste, yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth. Through thy precepts I get understanding,
therefore I hate every false way. And then these words that
are so familiar, thy word is a lamb unto my feet and a light
unto my path. So the Lord Jesus For the Lord
Jesus, the Word of God was something that was that pure milk that
he drank, drank and delighted in. It was his delight. It was his defence when Satan
came at that time of the greatest vulnerability for him. What was
his defence? He just went to the Word of God.
He just held up the Word of God and says, you say this and God
says this. He didn't have to go to his own
strength or his own other activities. He just went to the Word of God. He was an embodiment, a living
embodiment of this Old Testament, wasn't he? He just lived it.
He fleshed it out and he lived it out. All of his activities,
all of his words, All of what he did is just the fulfilling
of what was written about him. His people suck at that breast. They find this word a delight
and a comfort when God works grace in their lives. And then
she says something remarkably, when I find thee without, when
I should find thee without, I would kiss thee, yea, I should not
be despised. Where does she find him? She's
been searching and searching, where will she find him? She
knows where she'll find him. She'll find him outside, in the
fields, in the streets it means. She'll find him outside of the
camp. outside of the camp of the world's
religion. It's a beautiful picture, isn't
it, in the Gospels, where you have the city of Jerusalem in
those festival times, teeming with hundreds of thousands of
people. Where was the gathering of God's
people? Where did the Lord Jesus meet
during that time? He was over the hill in little
Bethany. in that home of Mary and Martha. He's outside of the camp. You
can't find him inside the camp. But what's remarkable is that
he can be found. The Lord Jesus can be found.
Jeremiah 29 verse 13 says, Seek me and find me when you
shall search for me with all your heart, with your whole heart. You will seek me and you will
find me, those who search. He goes on in the very next verse
to describe What will happen? And I will be found of you, says
the Lord. And I will turn away your captivity. I will gather you from all the
nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says
the Lord. And I will bring you into the place where I have caused
you to be carried away captive. So she finds him. He can be found,
our Lord Jesus. and her desire, this is the request
of love, as it were. She wants to have him and wants
to have him in fellowship. And she says there, that I would
kiss thee. I would kiss thee. Yea, I should not be despised. She's talking about him being
as a brother. The picture is of him With a
marriage that's not yet consummated and solemnized in those days,
it was something of a public embarrassment and disgrace for
men to kiss women in the streets, even their wives. But brothers
and sisters is different altogether. So when I find him, she says,
because you are a brother, She can embrace him, she can kiss
him, she can show him her love as a sister to a brother. And
she can do so publicly, without shame, even in the presence of
enemies. It's the kisses of faith, isn't
it? The kisses of love and repentance. The kisses of the other graces
He plants in the lives of His people. I love that story of
this woman. The pictures of women who come
to the Lord Jesus in travail of any sort are so often pictures
of the church coming to the Lord Jesus. In Luke chapter 7, One
of the Pharisees, verse 36, desired him that he would eat with him.
And he went into the Pharisee's house and he sat down to meet. And behold, a woman in the city,
which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meet at
the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment,
and she stood at his feet behind him, weeping. and began to wash
his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her
head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with ointment.
Now when the Pharisee, which had bidden him, saw it, he spoke
within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would
have known who and what manner of woman this is that touches
him. For she is a sinner, Jesus answered
and said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto you. And
he says, Master, say on. There was a certain creditor
which had two debtors. One owed 500 pence and the other
50. And when they had nothing to
pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which
of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose
that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said to him, thou hast
judged, rightly judged. And he turned to the woman and
said unto Simon, seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house. Thou gave me no water for my
feet, but she has washed my feet with tears and wiped them with
the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss, but this
woman, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss my
feet. My head with oil Thou didst not
anoint, but this woman has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore,
therefore, I say unto thee, her sins, which are many, forgiven
for she loved much but to whom little is forgiven the same loveth
little and he said unto her thy sins are forgiven I'm often amazed
at the boldness of this lady. Fancy going into the one place
where she knew that she would be an object of scorn and ridicule. She was a public sinner. There
she was going into the house of the most self-righteous people.
So self-righteous that they could stand in judgment of God Almighty. That's mighty fine righteousness,
isn't it? And she goes to this place knowing
what was going to become of her. But she went there because of
Him. She went there in love for Him. She went there seeking something
from Him. What a remarkable picture of
grace. You see, she touched Him. To touch the Lord Jesus is to
be perfectly clean. When you touch holiness, holiness
must be imparted. The Shulamite says she'd be able
to kiss him. She'll find him and she'll kiss
him as a sister can kiss a brother. Yea, I should not be despised. Just like this lady we've just
read about. She wasn't despised. She might
have been despised by the world and the religious world. She
wasn't despised by the Lord Jesus. Really she's saying, I'll kiss
him as a sister can kiss a brother in public and he will not turn
his face away from me. Isn't it remarkable how the Lord
Jesus accepted all of what she did with such extraordinary grace
and taught a lesson. The Lord Jesus does not despise
the day of small things. He doesn't break the bruised
reed and he doesn't quench the smouldering flax. She's not ashamed of him, as
a sister is not ashamed of her brother. As John Gill says, the
whole verse expresses her boldness in professing Christ without
fear or shame in the most public manner. She will own him publicly. She will embrace him publicly
before all, even his enemies. She has a request. of love isn't
it? Oh that he was my brother. And
now that she has him and she can kiss him she desires and
she's resolved that she'll do something. It's a remarkable
verse isn't it? We hear in the scriptures again
and again that the Lord Jesus leads his people and he promised
us, doesn't he? He is the great shepherd and
where the shepherd go, his sheep follow. They follow his voice.
He is the sovereign Lord. He leads his people triumphantly
through this world. Where he is, they will be there
also. But listen to what these words
say. Her resolution is, if I can have him as a brother, I will
lead thee and bring thee into my mother's house." She speaks
it twice, doesn't she? She says, I will lead him and
I will bring him into my mother's house. She actually
is exercising Extraordinarily, she's exercising a sense of authority
over him. What a remarkable condescension
of our Lord, that as a servant, he will be led. It's an example,
isn't it, of the powerful effects of faith. When the Lord gives
faith, He is the friend that sticks closer than the brother.
But he says in John chapter 15, he says, you shall ask what you
will and it shall be done unto you. Ask is what he's saying. Ask and it will be done. It is remarkable, isn't it, how
He is led by the cries and by the desires and by the supplications,
the crying out of His people, He comes. He came to Egypt because
the people cried out. Brothers and sisters, it's a
remarkable promise from God, isn't it? Cry out to Him. Call out to him, call on him
to come. The other sense in which the
Lord Jesus is led, he's led into the house of God like a royal
king is led by his subjects. He always has someone who goes
before him, as it were. We know that he's absolutely
sovereign, but John the Baptist goes before him as a forerunner. And in this way, and in this
world, he has his pastors and teachers who announce his coming. They declare his character. They declare his majesty. They declare his promises to
people. They bear witness to him. And
when he's gathered them, The next words are wonderful, aren't
they? When he's gathered them together, he promises to be the
teacher. Gathered into the mother's house,
gathered into the church, and it says in the Hebrew, thou shalt
instruct me. We need to be taught. All of
us need to be taught. And this is how God teaches his
people. He teaches in the gathering of
them together. That's what she's longing for,
isn't it? She's longing to be gathered with him. She's longing
to be gathered in an assembly with him. And she's longing for
him to be the teacher, to teach them. As the Lord promises in
the New Covenant, He says, they shall all be taught of God. So all true spiritual instruction
must have these elements. It must be according to the Scriptures. Our task is just to say this
is who God is, this is the witness that He's born to Himself in
His Word, thus says the Lord God in His Word. And it comes
through the ministry of God's servants. God has ordained a
way of teaching his people. And it is through the ministry
of his servants in this world and for God to teach. must be
according to the scriptures. It must be according to the character
of God as it's revealed in the scriptures. Whether we find that
character offensive or not, that is just the character that he's
not ashamed of. He publicly declares his character. And it can only be brought to
our hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit. And it's a great
prayer, isn't it? Lord, would you honour us with
your presence Would you come as you have promised? Gather
us together. Will you come and minister to
each one of us individually and powerfully and in ways that you
know best? Would you teach us? Would you
come and would you teach us your word? Teach us your ways? Would you guide us? Would you
lead us? Would you instruct us? He promises
to gather them. He promises to be in the midst. It's remarkable, isn't it, how
this sinner, the Sulamite, comes to the Lord with extraordinary
boldness after all that she has done. Great boldness, isn't it? It's remarkable the boldness
that people had in the presence of the Lord Jesus. His people
came with boldness to Him. We know we have no power over
Him, but here He calls us to ask with boldness for Him to
come and bless us with His presence. for him to come and teach us. And she has a reason for it.
I would cause you to drink of the spiced wine of the pomegranate. They took these pomegranates
and they crushed them. There was a town in tribe of
Dan that was called the Pomegranate Wine Press, where they crushed
pomegranates and it made a delightful, flavoursome wine. It was rich
and fragrant and delightful to taste. Often they drank it unfermented."
She's expressing her desire, isn't she? She's saying, I long
to give to you. that which is your due, that
which you are worthy of. I long for you to bear witness
to the fruits of your work in our lives. We read it earlier in Psalm 116. What shall I render? What shall
I give unto the Lord for all his benefits towards me? What
can we give to him? He owns the universe. He sovereignly
rules all things. The simple answer is nothing. But what do we do? I will take
the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord. What do we do? We just say thank
you. We just express our gratitude
to Him. That's the fruit of his work,
isn't it? You just read it in verse 17 of Psalm 116. I'll offer
to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and I will call upon the name
of the Lord. I'll offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving
and I'll acknowledge your presence and I'll call on your presence.
I'll acknowledge who you are. It's the resolution, isn't it,
of her love. She wants to lead him. She wants
to bring him into the mother's house. She wants to be instructed
by him and she wants for those sacrifices of her love, the sacrifices
of his graces in her life, to flow out again, that that breeze,
as it were, that wind might blow upon this garden. And then she
says these remarkable words, It's a declaration of what she
believes is right and proper and what is suitable. His right hand, his left hand
should be under my head and his right hand should embrace me. when he embraces his people.
There is rest, there is peace, there is assurance, and there
is security. She's spoken of these in these
terms before, hasn't she? In 2 verse 6, his left hand is
under my head and his right hand does embrace me. She'd taken
him, he'd brought her into the banqueting house and his banner
over her was love. See, his left hand should be
the right and proper place, she's saying, is for his hand, his
left hand to be under my head and his right hand to embrace
me. The arm of power is that right
hand throughout the scriptures. Embrace Him with both love and
with extraordinary sovereignty and power. It's right. It's an expression of His love
for her and her love for Him. It's an expression of the support,
as Moses said, underneath His people are everlasting arms. And it's a declaration of her
confidence of faith, that rest that we have in His finished
work. He describes that rest in Isaiah
10. He says, His rest shall be glorious. His rest shall be glorious. His peace that He brings shall
be glorious, that rest that He has. We often read those verses
in Zechariah 3, verse 17. The Lord thy God is in the midst
of thee, is mighty, the right harm of his power. He will save. He will rejoice over thee with
joy. He will rest in His love. He will joy over thee with singing. And she finishes this section
by saying, I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that you stir not,
nor awake my love till He please. to stir Him, you who are my companions
in Jerusalem." In fact, she's asking a question. She says,
our daughters of Jerusalem, why will you stir up? Why will you
wake? Why will you wake Him until He
pleases? My understanding is that the
daughters of Jerusalem are the children of that city, that city
that is above, and yet unconverted. And she's saying, I don't want
this situation to be disturbed. He's in my mother's house. His
arms are embracing me. It's right and proper that he
should engage in such a loving fellowship with his bride. It's right and proper. When the times of love come,
when the times of him dealing personally and individually with
his people come, they're times that are precious. And she's
saying, don't let anyone disturb the precious fellowship and the
precious communion that you bring by your presence, that you bring
by your word, that you bring by gathering your people together,
that you bring by revealing yourself and your character. Let's feast
upon the delights of His presence. as long as is possible. We'll see later on in Song of
Solomon that they are separated and longing again for each other.
But there are times in believers' lives where we feel the reality
of the intimacy of His presence. And she's saying, even my companions
don't disturb, don't disturb that. Let's treasure it and nurture
it and cling to him as he has revealed himself. Let's pray.