I might just read the first 11
verses even though we're just looking at 6, 7 and 8. By night or night my bed, I sought
him whom my soul loveth. I sought him, but I found him
not. I will rise now and go about
the city in the streets and in the broadways. I will seek him
whom my soul loveth. I sought him, but I found him
not. The watchman that go about the
city found me, to whom I said, saw ye him whom my soul loveth. It was but a little while, little
that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth. I held him and would not let
him go until I brought him into my mother's house, into the chamber
of her that conceived me. I charge you, O ye daughters
of Jerusalem, by the rows and by the hines of the field, that
ye not stir up nor awake my love till he please. Who is this that
cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed
with myrrh and fragrant scents, with all the powders of the merchant? Behold his bed, which is Solomon's. Three score valiant men are about
it, the valiant of Israel. They all hold swords, being expert
in war. Every man hath his sword upon
his thigh because of fear in the night. King Solomon made
himself a chariot of the wood of Lebanon. He made the pillars
thereof of silver, the bottom thereof of gold, the covering
of it of purple, the midst thereof being paved with love for the
daughters of Jerusalem. Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion,
and behold King Solomon, with the crown wherewith his mother
crowned him in the day of his espousals and in the day of the
gladness of his heart. Behold King Solomon, the Lord
Jesus said that one greater than Solomon is here. Much, much greater than Solomon. on our pulpit on each side we
have the verse from John 12 where the Gentiles come to the disciples
and they say, Sir, we would see Jesus. We would see Jesus. We wish to see Jesus. And here in Song of Solomon we
are confronted again and again with so many amazing pictures
of the beauty and the wonder of the Lord Jesus. Not just His
glory, but the glory and the comeliness, the beauty that He
brings to His people. Verse 6 of chapter 3. Who is
this that cometh out of the wilderness,
like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,
with all the powders of the merchant." The commentators and those who
study these things struggle often in Song of Solomon to know who
is speaking and who is being spoken to and who the references
are. I spend lots of time studying
the commentators and so rather than giving you all the options,
I just want to give you what I believe the Lord has shown
me from it. I try, in the words of Jeremiah
6, not to invent new things. I delight in the fact that we
are called upon by God to stand in the ways and see and ask for
the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it. Then you will find rest for your
souls. This Song of Solomon was called
by the Jews the Holy of Holies. When you read the works, the
sermons of those who went before us until this last hundred years,
it's very hard to find a sermon where they don't allude to Song
of Solomon. and they see it over and over
again as this amazing picture of the love, the real love relationship
between the Lord Jesus and His Bride. And so it has glorious
pictures of Jesus and it has glorious pictures of us, the
Church. And I believe in 3.6 Having spoken
to the daughters of Jerusalem, the daughters of Jerusalem turn
now and say, who is this that cometh out of the wilderness? you see they are now seeing her
and they will continue to see her through this song in ever
increasing wonder at who she is and how amazing she is and
how beautifully arrayed she is and the wonders of the splendor
that the Lord Jesus puts upon her. Coming out of the wilderness. What a great description of the
Church of God. What a great description of us
in our state as Adam's children. We've all been born into a wilderness
and God's children will be drawn out of it. They'll be drawn to
see that it is a wilderness. They'll be drawn to see, like
Abraham, that there is a better land that's seen and realised
and enjoyed through the eyes of faith. Which is why the church
says, draw me and we will run after you. And he says to her,
rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. Arise, my love,
my fair one, and come away. Come away from this barren and
unfruitful place. Psalm 107 describes the children
of Israel. They wandered in the wilderness. in a desolate way. Isaiah describes
this world as parched and a thirsty place and a habitation of jackals. And so were our hearts before
conversion. They were hearts of stone, not
hearts of flesh. And everywhere you turn in the
wilderness, it just leads to more wilderness. And as much
as we think that we can enjoy it, and as much as we think that
we can find our home and our rest in it, we will find that
God, as he did to his bride, He will make our bed uncomfortable,
and we will find that when we make our bed, we'll be caused
by His grace to seek Him. Romans 6.21 says, what fruit
did you then have in the things of which you are now ashamed? the things that we did in the
world when we enjoyed the world and we enjoyed its pleasures.
Because, says God, the end of those things is death. Genesis 3 describes the death
that God's people, all of Adam's children have. And it says, in
dying you will die. You live in this world which
is a wilderness. It's typified in the scriptures
by Egypt and sometimes by Babylon. It's a place of trials and afflictions
and frustrations and pits and snares and traps. Deuteronomy 8.15 describes this
as a great and terrible wilderness wherein there were fiery serpents
and scorpions. God's children are born into
this world and we are impacted by it, but ultimately we are
not of it. We are called to come away. We find ultimately that its fruit
is barren and it's distasteful spiritually to us. And saints
are often in this world in a state of sorrow and distress. As the Shulamite says, I sought
him but I found him not. I sought him in the broad ways.
I sought him and I found him not. It's a place where we find
ourselves struggling. because God has given us a taste
of a new heaven and a new earth. And he's shown us what this world
is. 1 John 2.15 tells us, doesn't
it? Do not love the world or the
things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the
love of the Father is not in him. All that is in the world,
the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of the
Father but is of the world. The world is passing away and
the lust of it, but he who does the will of God abides forever. At times in India I found myself
in shock because in a land of such poverty and where our dollars
bought so many things, you could go downtown and you could go
to an ATM machine and you could get out $100 worth and it was
3,000 rupees and you had this pile of 100 rupee notes. But what shocked me most was
sometimes I thought, I've got $100 here, but I've got a farm
back in Australia. Isn't that security? Isn't that
nice to have? I was shocked. I was shocked. I'm not shocked enough by my
attachment to this world. I'm thankful to God that He is
the one, by His grace, that continues to work in the lives of His people.
You see, you're coming out of the wilderness like pillars of
smoke, and it could well be a reference to the way God in Exodus 13 and
several other places, became this pillar, this standing column
that gave light by night and shade by day. I think in the case of the Shulamites
and in the case of us, the bruised reed he will not break, and the
smoking flax he will not quench. The pillars of smoke rise up.
The motions of her heart were heavenward toward Christ. She's coming out of the wilderness,
but she's looking up. And before we have fire, there
comes smoke, often large quantities of it. And it's pillars going
straight up, uprightness. The word pillar can also mean
palm trees. They're incredibly upright and
they're remarkably strong when you see those pictures of cyclones
and things and you see these coconut palms and other palms
almost bent to the ground, and yet, when the winds go, they
stand themselves back up straight. Spindly looking, pathetic things. But also, palm trees look like
they're dead on the earth, don't they? The base of them looks
dead. But their life is in the heavens. They're strong against the storms. Like God's children, The Pillars
of Smoke may be a reference to the fact that we are living sacrifices,
according to Romans 12. And maybe also like Pillars of
Smoke, the Church in this world, bearing her crosses and afflictions,
in some sense her glory is hidden and her beauty is not seen by
the world. She's come out of this wilderness
like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh. There are many references in
Song of Solomon to this myrrh, isn't it? She talks of her saviour,
about the savoury's good ointments, thy name, His ointment poured
forth, therefore the virgins love thee. In Psalm 113, she talks about her
beloved. A bundle of myrrh is my will,
beloved, unto me. Christ is a bundle of myrrh. Myrrh, which is an aromatic herb. It's both bitter and it has a
sweet fragrance that is that anointing, that incense, which
comes into the Holy of Holies and rises, as it were, to heaven. You see, it was bitter. His death
was exceedingly bitter to himself. The bitterness that we've looked
at as the Lord Jesus went into that garden of agony, that bitterness
that he suffered as he became sin, that bitterness he suffered
as his father said, awake a sword against my fellow, against the
one who is my equal. It is bitter to him, but it's
a sweet-smelling savour to his father, and it's a delightful
perfume to believers. Perfumed with myrrh. Here she
is, perfumed with myrrh and perfumed with frankincense. in heaven right now in heaven
right now in those glorious pictures in Revelation 4 and 5 of that
throne room of God and all those amazing hymns the songs that
they sing now when he had taken the scroll when the Lord Jesus
had taken that scroll of God's eternal purposes and said, I
am King, I reign. The four living creatures and
the 24 elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp,
and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the
saints. It's a delightful aroma to God. the prayers of his saints. Another angel in chapter 8, having
a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much
incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the
saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
And the smoke of the incense with the prayers of the saints
ascended before God from the angel's hand. Christ is the one
who perfumes his people. He makes intercession for us.
He makes our intercession acceptable and sweet to God the Father. It reminds God the Father of
what His Son has done. And the powders of a merchant
Christ's grace gift to His men, to His own. He's full of grace
and truth. Matthew Henry says, the grace
and comfort with which she is perfumed are called the powders
of a merchant, for they are fetched from afar and dearly bought by
our Lord Jesus, that blessed merchant who took a long voyage
and was at great expense, no less than that of his own blood,
to purchase them for us. They are not products of our
own soil, nor the growth of our own country. No, they are imported
from the heavenly Canaan, the better country. This is how she
comes. She comes out of this wilderness
like pillows of smoke, perfumed with all that the Lord Jesus
has put upon her. She's black, But come ye, there
is no spot in you. You are fair, you are all fair,
my love. And then, as so often happens
in the Song of Solomon, when she is told how beautiful she
is, she immediately wants others to say, it's not me. It's about the sovereign grace
of God. It's about my Saviour. Behold
His bed, which is Solomon's. And here we have this picture
of the resting place, this bed which is Solomon. Three score
valiant men are about it, of the valiant of Israel. They all
hold swords, being expert in war. Every man hath his sword
upon his thigh, because of fear in the night. his bed, which is Solomon's. And of course, Solomon is but
a picture and a type of our Lord Jesus Christ. They are both sons
of David, both sons of God, both kings of Israel. Solomon, a king
of a united Israel. They are both preachers in Jerusalem. They're both renowned for their
wisdom. Colossians talks about the wisdom
of our Lord Jesus, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom
and knowledge. The Queen of Sheba came all the
way to see and to hear of the wisdom of Solomon. They're both
famous for their riches, riches in grace and glory. They're both
famous for their peaceable reign. Solomon had peace in his time. Solomon, like the Lord Jesus,
had extensive territories. Solomon received physically all
that God had promised. nation Israel to have all of
that promised land from river to river to sea all promised
all received and all ruled over Solomon was married to Pharaoh's
daughter Christ Jesus was married to a
people who are aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel and strangers
from the covenants of promise. The Lord Jesus married those
who are black. They're both famous for building
the temple. Built on Him, built by Him. It is His work. It is His work
of grace. It is His place to display His
name. And He, according to Zechariah
6, He shall bear the glory. This bed of Solomon, around about
this bed, encompassing this bed, are three score valiant, mighty
men. And as in poetry, there can be
a reference, of course, to the angels of God who are ministering
spirits to the church. They encamp round about them
that fear the Lord. How many angels are here now?
How many angels does God have to care for and protect this
church? How many legions, thousands of
angels did the Lord Jesus have at His disposal? Just a word
from the King and they are there. Just because we cannot see them
doesn't mean that they don't exist. We have a great story
in 2 Kings of Elisha and his servant And they had caused all
sorts of problems to the king of Syria. God had shown them
the secrets that were happening in Syria's courts. And the servant
of the man of God rose early and went out. There was an army
surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant
said to him, alas, my master, what shall we do? And so Elisha
answered. Do not fear, for those who are
with us are more than those who are with them. And Elisha prayed
and said, Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see. Then the Lord opened the eyes
of the young man and he saw and behold, the mountain was full
of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. these armies,
these enemies, these mountains that stand before us. God is
much bigger than all of that. So when the Syrians came down
to him, Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, strike this people,
I pray, with blindness. And he struck them with blindness
according to the word of Elisha. angels are camping around about
us. It's also a reference to those
who are the valiant of Israel, those who have been charged by
God to minister the gospel, not just in our day, but throughout
all of the days of God's people. They are a numbered group, three
score, 60. God always numbers his people. He numbers the hairs of our heads. He knows everything. He numbers
them to know that they are appointed and they are marked for him. Psalm 134 says, by night stand
in the house of the Lord. There's watchmen who defend,
who proclaim the truths of the gospel. The number of them indicates
the safety, the security, and also the majesty of this bed
of solemnness. He takes special record of them.
And they stand together. They all stand about it, together
as one. How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of Him who brings good news, who proclaims peace,
who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation,
who says to Zion, this is the message of God's servants throughout
time. We say again and again to Zion,
to all of this world, but particularly to God's children in this world,
your God reigns. Your God reigns absolutely, sovereignly,
unchangeably. your watchmen shall lift up their
voices, with their voices they shall sing together, for they
shall see eye to eye. Isn't it remarkable? God says
that he who is the teacher of his people will have watchmen
who stand on the walls of Jerusalem, and they shall see eye to eye. It's remarkable, isn't it, when
we think of the professing church in this
world with such a variety of opinions about just about everything. God says, your watchmen shall
lift their voices, with their voices they shall sing together. They'll sing together because
they see eye to eye. God makes his servants sing the
same tune. And then the question necessarily
must be asked, isn't it? What about all the discordant
voices that we have in this world today? Such a confusion of voices. Can, according to God's word,
they all be speaking for God? God says they will see eye to
eye. God says they will sing together. Let's just look and
see what God says about these valiant men. These valiant men
who stand around this bed to proclaim its majesty and to provide
its protection. There's a beautiful picture In
1 Chronicles, we're so often led in Chronicles, this part
of Chronicles, to go to David and desire. And God says, you
cannot touch the work of the Lord Jesus. It needs no help
from men. But prior to that, in chapter
12, we have an amazing picture of the people of God. the men
of God, the men of God equipped for war. And they came, they
came as one to proclaim and to declare and to make David their
king. from that time for at that time
they came to David by day, day by day to help him until it was
a great army like the army of God. And then they are numbered
again and again. They are numbered. as their soldiers. The sons of
Judah bearing shield and spear, 6,800 armed for war. The sons
of Simeon, mighty men of valor fit for war, 7,100. The sons of Levi,
4,600. And again on and on it goes. And then it keeps talking about
these men, these men like the sons of Issachar who had understanding
of the times, to know what Israel ought to do. The 50,000 of Zebulun
who went out to battle, expert in war, with all the weapons
of war, stout-hearted men who could keep ranks. 1,000 captains of Naphtali, with them
37,000 with shield and spear, of the Danites who could keep
battle formation, 28,600. Of Asher, those who could go out
to war, able to keep battle formation, 40,000. All of these men, verse
38, are described as men of war who could keep
ranks. They could stand together as
one, this whole nation of Israel. Obviously a picture in a sense
of the coronation and the declaration of the Lord Jesus. And they came
to Hebron with a loyal heart. to make David king over Israel. And all the rest of Israel were
of one mind to make David king. You see, these mighty men, these
valiant ones, are numbered and they stand as one around this
bed of God, this place of rest and repose, this gospel, this
place where God meets with and rests with and communes with
his own. They're strong in the grace of
God and they are made strong by Him. They have seen Him who
is the truth. They've been appointed by Him
to this service and they have courage to stand, to defend the
gospel against enemies. They have discernment to see
the enemy and they stand as one. In one spirit, says Paul, striving
together for the faith of the gospel. They are true Israelites,
princes with God. They are numbered. They stand. They stand with diligence. and they are careful that nothing
disturbs the rest and the peace of church, the place where God
is at rest and at peace with the one he loves. Psalm 125 says,
as the mountains are around about Jerusalem, so the Lord is around
about his people from henceforth even forever. The Lord sets this guard. And the Lord puts his watchman
on the walls of Jerusalem. And he says to the daughters
of Jerusalem, behold, behold, look what a monument to mercy. What an amazing savior. What a place that she should
be in his bed, that he should grant her intimate communion
with himself. She says to the daughters, behold,
look, see what he's done. See what he's done. This is my
rest, says the Lord. forever. Here I will dwell for
I have desired." This bed is His resting place. This bed is a place where souls
are begotten and born again. And here on this bed He grants
His people nearness of access to Him. She found him on this bed. He brought me to his banqueting
house. His left hand was under my head and his right hand doth
embrace me." Sweet access to him. Sweet, delightful fellowship
with him. It's his bed. The father has
given it to him. He's purchased it with his own
blood. He's made her suitably, perfectly,
perfectly complete, perfectly holy, perfectly spotless, a perfect
companion for him and her. to live in intimacy with her. It's a bed of his own making. And there are, as we saw last
week, there are beds that people make for themselves. There is
a place of rest that people in this world have, a place where
they find a bed for themselves. And it's a bed, according to
Isaiah 28, a bed is shorter than a man can stretch himself on
it, and the covering is narrower than he can wrap himself in it. God's bed is big enough for us
to stretch with perfect ease and the covering of His righteousness
covers us completely and perfectly. These men, these valiant men,
all hold swords. It's fascinating in the Hebrew
that they all hold sword. They all hold one sword, the
same sword. That is their armour. They all
hold swords and they are skilled. They are experts in war and they
are ready. Their swords are strapped on
their thighs. Let's just have a brief look
at them. We live in this wilderness world and according to Ephesians
our warfare is spiritual, and carnal weapons of human wisdom
and human making are of no value whatsoever. For we wrestle not
against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers,
against the rulers of darkness of this world, against the spiritual
wickednesses in high places. You see, these men are armed
with this sword. The Holy Spirit declares that
this word is the sword of the Spirit. God Himself wrote these
words. God Himself takes them and makes
them effectual. In the arms of the valiant men,
both for defence and offence, and for the security of his own. Hebrews talks about this sword,
it's sharper than a two-edged sword, piercing even to dividing
asunder of soul and spirit. It cuts down those who boast
in self-righteousness. I have hewed them by the prophets,
says Hosea. I have slain them by the words
of my mouth. God in the wilderness, our mighty
Saviour, our mighty Solomon, When he was confronted by Satan
in the wilderness, where did he go? Each time Satan brought
these shocking accusations against him, if you are the Son of God. He says, if and you are the Son
of God. He wasn't denying he was the
Son of God. And the Lord Jesus took him and
defeated him with the Word of God. Even when Satan came quoting
scripture to him, the Lord Jesus took that sword of the scriptures. 2 Thessalonians, this lawless one,
will be revealed whom the Lord will consume with just the breath
of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.
It's what John saw when he saw the Lord Jesus in Revelation
1.16. He saw that sword coming out
of the mouth of the Lord Jesus. And this word lives in these
men, these valiant of Israel. They hold that sword. They are
given that sword by God. They are positioned on God's
watchtower by Himself. They are His watchmen. Let the high praises of God be
in their mouth and a two-edged sword in their hand to execute
vengeance on the nations and punishments on the people. They
hold these swords. They are familiar with them.
I have an understanding of God's word and it's come from an adherence
to it. They just simply believe what
God said and that is the end of the matter. And they hold
it fast themselves, and they hold it forth to others. And these men are said to be
expert in war. They have seen many battles. They are hardened by the battles. And in a sense, too, they are
softened by the experiences of war, because they know that the
battle is the Lord's. and they can wait. When I was
in Bahrain a number of years ago, there was one of the guys
in Graham Dunkley's church there was a seal or something, US guy,
and he was about my height and about three times as wide as
I was without any fat on him. He was just the most amazing
guy. What he used to do was go into
Iraq in those days be dropped in there behind enemy lines at
night, and no one knew what he and his mates did. And when I
was with him with his kids around and his wife, he seemed like
a really nice, pleasant guy. He was nice to chat to. But you
could just tell this guy had been hardened by war. And if there was ever any need
for anything to happen, serious and serious instantly, this man
would have been ready for it. God's valiant men, God's church
of valiant men are ready because God has made them ready. He's hardened them through battles. They have seen the Gospel. They have seen the Word of God
expose people. They have seen enemies come as
wolves in sheep's clothing and they have just seen God's Word
expose them. They have seen the Gospel bring
to light what's hidden from men, what's hidden from wise men. And Paul says that the valiant
men fight the good fight of faith. We just proclaim the gospel and
let God, who is the one who will win the victory, let God do his
work. And these swords are on their
thighs. They are just there ready at
all times. They don't have to go searching
for them or looking for them. When a situation arises, whatever
situation has ever been in your life or ever will be in your
life, this word speaks with a shocking clarity about it. with beautiful
comfort about it. And here these men stand around
this church, this meeting place, this place of communion with
God and His people. And they are there, says God,
for fear of the night. See, she lives in a land, as
we do, a land of shadows. She's waiting, verse 17, for
the day to break and the shadows to flee away. She had just been
by night on my bed. See, believers have their nights
in this world. They have their nights as well
as their sunshine. They had their nights of affliction,
their nights of temptation, their nights of desertion. Paul ended his life alone. He said, all have deserted me. What a night that must have been
for him. And then he says in second Timothy
four, he says, but the real valiant one of Israel. But the Lord stood
by my side. We have our nights of sleepiness. We have our nights when it seems
like the things of God are just so weak and ineffective. We have our nights of carnal
security. We have fightings without and
fears within. We have times when we're overwhelmed
by the enemies. We're ready to faint, wondering
if it'll all work out. And here in Song of Solomon,
we see that Christ has provided a guard for his church to support
us in times of discouragement. It's the word of God this guard
holds, to defend us when the enemies arrive upon the walls
of Zion, to see the enemies from a distance and to warn and prepare
us for what will happen and to prepare the church for battles
to come. This guard set about the church
will defend the gospel truths, but also this guard is there
to bring the word of God as a comfort. What a comfort it is, the promises
proclaimed, to remind the church of her security. His love, His
infinite, eternal, unchanging love. His majestic and wonderful
providence. The covenant that God's children
are in. A covenant that's in His blood. To proclaim Him, His character. What a God. What a husband, what
a lover of our souls we have. Sovereign, unchanging. His love is unaffected. She sees her wandering, she sees
her blackness, and the Lord reminds her that you are all fair, my
love. There is no spot in you. Blessed
is the man, says David, for whom the Lord will never impute sin. Blessed are the children of God. Blessed are the children of God
who know the Lord Jesus and what He did on the cross. Psalm 85,
and we'll finish there. We've been to it several times. Psalm 85 says, mercy and truth
have met together. Righteousness and peace have
kissed. Truth shall spring out of the
earth and righteousness shall look down from heaven. Yes, the
Lord will give what is good and our land will yield its increase. Righteousness will go before
him. And this last part of verse 13
is remarkable. He shall make His footsteps our
pathway. I will hear, verse 8, what the
God the Lord will speak. He, for He will speak peace to
His people and to His saints. He will speak peace. He shall
make His footsteps our pathway. Let's pray.