May it please Almighty God to
bless us together this evening as we meditate in his word. Let us turn then to the Song
of Solomon, Chapter 2, and we'll read the first two verses. The
Song of Solomon, Chapter 2, and reading the first two verses. I am the rose of Sharon and the
lily of the valleys, As the lily among thorns, so is my love among
the daughters. Well, as I have often said, the
Song of Solomon is not an easy book to actually differentiate
between who is actually speaking. And this first verse is no exception
to that difficulty. And in fact, it would seem that
it can be taken in both ways, either as the Lord Jesus speaking
or as the Church, the Bride of Christ speaking. The second verse
would seem as the lily among the thorns, it would seem that
the Lord is speaking because it goes on to say, so is my love
among the daughters. And so the Lord clearly left
these words on record for our encouragement to be taken in
these two ways. And so we have this statement,
I am the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valleys. Well, two
very different plants, obviously, a rose and a lily. One, it says on Sharon, which
was quite a big area, quite a flattish area, so I understand. And then
of course the lily was down in the valleys. And if we think
of, first of all, perhaps the blessed saviour, the Lord Jesus
Christ, as indeed the Rose of Sharon. And again, the Rose of
Sharon is, I believe, widely spread on these plains, and it
is of a red colour. And then we look at the Lily
of the Valley, and the lily, of course, is a white, pure white
colour really. So we have in these two examples
really set before us something to direct us to the saviour and
in the redness of the rose, which does of course direct us to the
shed blood of the saviour, and then the whiteness and the beauty
of the lily directing us to his righteousness. And of course
both of these conditions and situations are truly attractive
to the Church of God. And if we think of this rose,
perhaps on the plain of being very visible to people as they
pass by, and yet as we come to the lily, it's in the valley,
and not so visible, but nonetheless very necessary So both of these
views are important to the Church of God, that we may be blessed
with those spiritual views of the Lord Jesus Christ as this
rose and as this lily. And of course how important it
was for the Church of God when this was written and all the
years which followed until Lord Jesus Christ came into this world
many years passed by and no doubt the Church of God will often
meditate in those days on what this really meant, what was the
true picture that they were given in such words as this. Well we should be thankful today
that we know that the Saviour has come and we know he did shed
his most precious blood and it was a glorious occasion. The rose here depicted was very
beautiful to look at and of course the Blessed Saviour by faith is also very beautiful to look
at. We use that word carefully because What it directs us to is, of
course, the cross of Christ. When he says, therefore, I am
the rose of Sharon, it directs us then to the suffering saviour. And as by faith we are able to
view the suffering saviour, there is a beauty, there is a glory, There is a wonder in the death
of the Saviour, which of course is centred in His sin-atoning
blood. And therefore, there as the Saviour
was indeed on that cross, for all to view, many passed by,
many didn't believe it was the Saviour, and yet there He was,
visible, to all that pass by. And yet you see, then there was
this situation, the lily of the valleys. And deep down in the
valley, and we know the Lord Jesus Christ walked through many
valleys. He never had an easy path. But in the valleys, people are
not observed very much. And the Saviour wasn't observed
very much. And we can think perhaps of that
valley of Gethsemane. What a deep valley that was for
the Lord Jesus Christ. And yet, what a beauty there
was in that. What a wonder there was in viewing
the Lord Jesus Christ in that time of especial agony as he
viewed what was before him. To see there the Lord Jesus Christ
without sin, spotless, and yet you see carrying the sins of
his church. I am Rose of Sharon and the Lily
of the Valleys. Well, it's a good thing, you
know, if we think of these naturally. A rose is very pleasant, has
a lovely smell, so does a lily. A lily is very white and pure. And if we think then of the very
clear analogy directing us to the Lord Jesus Christ, it is
a wonderful picture for us to meditate upon and to think what
a glory it is to have a saviour. And then perhaps we might then
just change the analogy to his church, his church as the Rose
of Sharon. You might say well I don't see
any comparison really Well, there is a comparison. If we think
of this as the grace of God, this rose, the grace of God,
that's wonderful, isn't it, to view? That's wonderful to observe
and to be able to come and say, by the grace of God, I am the
rose of Sharon. Not because anything I've done,
but because of God's grace. which shines forth in my life. And we should not ignore the
truth and the wonder of it because it does bring honor and glory
to God. To think that we unworthy sinners
of the earth are blessed with this wonderful grace of God and
how pleasant and how good it is to observe just naturally
like a rose The grace of God is wonderful to observe in one
and another and indeed what joy it brings to the soul and what
joy it brings as we go back to the Saviour, what joy it brings
to see the suffering Saviour shedding his precious blood to
atone for our sins. And so I am the Rose of Sharon
and the Lily of the Valleys. And we can imagine this, I'm
sure, of this spotless white, pure white, as none less than
the robe of Christ's righteousness. And the Church of God do walk,
for the most part, in the valleys. There are those times when they
enjoy perhaps walking on the plain, perhaps on the hilltops,
when the grace of God shines forth so beautifully. It doesn't
shine in the less when they're in the valleys, but nonetheless
it's good to think that in the valleys what does shine forth
is Christ's righteousness. And that of course is not observed
by many, but it is observed by the true Church of God who observe
and wonder and glorify God for his wonderful favour in bestowing
his righteousness to such unworthy sinners as they trample through
the valley with difficulties, obstructions, stumbling blocks
sometimes, and yet to know they are indeed as this lily which
shines forth. Well, what a wonderful thing
it is if you and I have the evidence then and we're able to say humbly
and yet truthfully that I am saved by grace, the grace of
God, and I am clothed with the great and glorious righteousness
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Very often, of course, we seem,
suppose we could say, afraid to acknowledge the wonder of
these blessings. But we should not, because it
is God-honouring to acknowledge his favour and his blessing toward
us, so that we are able to say, I am. This is a very personal
statement, It's not just a general statement, it is a personal statement,
to be able to say, I am this rose, I am those who do show
forth the grace of God, and then also I am clothed with the righteousness
of Christ. It's not my righteousness. It's a good thing when you know
this, we come to realise that everything that we might think
is good in ourselves is but as filthy rags. It is of no real
value. We have to cast it aside. And
then you see, by the grace of God, we look to Jesus for this
righteousness, for this glorious robe, which the Lord gives freely
and he imputes it to his people. And in return, wonder of wonders,
he imputes our sin to himself. What a wonderful thing that is.
He takes our sin and he covers our nakedness with his righteousness. And so we have set before us
here in this wonderful picture really of the Church of God and
the Lord Jesus Christ. And there are many references
in the Word of God to these truths. And Isaiah, as we know, is a
wonderful example. And in the 35th chapter of Isaiah,
we're seeing it where we can read in the first and second
verses, the wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad
for them And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. You see, it may have been a barren
place. Our lives may have been a barren
place. But then you see, there is that
blossoming. There is the grace of God shining
forth. And then what occurs? There's gladness. Gladness. The wilderness and the solitary
place shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice
and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly and
rejoice even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be
given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the
Lord and the excellency of our God. Now what a mercy it is then
in these situations that we are able to observe the glory of
the Lord and the excellency of our God. The glory of the Lord
in fulfilling that commission that his father gave him to do
and the excellency of our God in that wonderful plan of salvation. Does that not bring forth glory
to our God? Do we not rejoice in it? Can
we not understand what Isaiah says in these words? When he
says the wilderness and the solitary place, we may have been perhaps
feeling very alone, very solitary, perhaps out of sorts, and yet to realise that there will be
this gladness and this rejoicing because of God's grace and because
of his love and because of his mercy and because of the great
and glorious work of the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Well,
I'm sure it is wonderful mercy and it is wonderful love, love
of God which inspired Solomon to write these words so many
years ago and to have some small understanding of what they lead
us into and what they direct us in. And the Apostle Paul speaks
to us about this in a slightly different way when he says in
the 5th of Ephesians in chapter 2 and walk in love as Christ
also hath loved us and has given himself for us an offering and
a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour. As a rose has a sweet
smell, so does the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ have
a sweet-smelling savour. And what a wonderful favour it
is if you and I recognise that and appreciate that, that to
us Christ's death and crucifixion is a sweet-smelling savour because
of what he has done in order to redeem our souls. Well, we have this picture of
a rose and this picture of a lily. And then the second verse goes
on to say, As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the
daughters. Surely the picture we have here
is that the Church of God will not find the journey through
life an easy one. As the lily among thorns, And
we can picture what that is, can't we? A lily growing, and
then thorns, or thorn trees perhaps, all around it. As the lily among
thorns, so is my love among the daughters. And what that really
indicates is his church, his people, are as this lily, and
they are among thorns. as they walk through this world. And of course those thorns can
take different situations. We remember perhaps what the
Apostle Paul had in his life. He tells us in the 2nd Corinthians
and the 12th chapter, I expect you're familiar with it. It was
a thorn in the flesh. not something which he enjoyed,
but something which God had given to him. And he tells us, unless
I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of revelations. The Lord sometimes does bless
his people with wonderful sights of a suffering saviour, insights
into the great and glorious truths of the Gospel. And so left to
ourselves, we might become exalted. And so the Apostle tells us,
unless I should be exalted above measure, it doesn't mean to say
he wasn't exalted, it doesn't mean to say we won't be exalted,
but above measure. You see, God gives us a measure.
We don't want to go beyond that, because if we do, it means pride.
And that's surely what the Apostle is speaking of here. And lest
I should be exalted above measure for the abundance of the revelations,
there was given to me a thorn in the flesh. None of us know
what it was, but clearly it was something which wasn't pleasant. A thorn in the flesh. The messenger
of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. He didn't like it. He prayed
to be rid of it. For this thing I besought the
Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. You might think now
surely the Lord will hear Paul's prayer. Well of course he heard
Paul's prayer. No doubt we think well surely
God will answer that prayer. But no, there was Paul as the
lily among thorns. With this thorn he had to endure. He prayed to the Lord three times
and it might depart from me. The Lord answered him, but not
in the way that he expected, but he answered him in a good
way. He told him this, My grace is sufficient for thee, for my
strength is made perfect in weakness. You see, when we're amongst thorns,
we realise we can't get out of the position
we're in very easily. It doesn't just say here, like
it does with Paul, it says here, thorns. It's in the plural. You see, we're not easy to get
out of that situation. We might find that the thorns
keep on pricking us with one thing and another. And because
the Lord knows what thorns you and I need in our life to keep
us in a right way. First of all, you see, in the
life of the Apostle Paul, what did it do? It caused him to cry
unto his God. Surely that's the same situation
with us. We can thank God if he calls
us to cry out unto him. and then to receive such a word
from God. And he tells us, I'm not going
to take it away, I'm not going to bring you out of that position,
but I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to give you
sufficient grace to endure it. He told him, for my strength
is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, will
I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may
rest upon me." That's a great expression, isn't it? And it's
a wonderful submission to the grace of God in the Apostle's
life. And it would be a great mercy.
us today. If we also are blessed with this
voice from the Lord and the Apostle's reaction to that, he says, therefore
I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities,
in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake. There's the secret. There's the
secret. The lily among thorns. There's a secret for Christ's
sake. And if it's for Christ's sake,
it'll be for our eternal good and for his honor and for his
glory. And he goes on to encourage us,
for when I am weak, then am I strong. How is he strong? Strong in the
Lord, not strong in himself. with this thorn. No, but he's
strong in the Lord because Christ is with him. He's receiving this
great benefit of the unmerited favour of God and he's going
in his strength. And then he just carries on to
say, I am become a forwarding glory. You've compelled me for
I ought to have been commended to you. For in nothing am I behind
the very chiefest apostle, though I be nothing. And I often think,
and I do say sometimes, it's good that the characters in the
Word of God, when we hear what they say, they're very honest.
They're not hypocritical in their statements. If God has blessed
them and done something for them and kept them, they say so. They
don't pretend, they don't know. They have the evidence of the
blessed work of God in their hearts. And so, as the lily among
thorns, so is my love among the daughters. In that situation,
the Church of God are together. We're not walking alone. We're
walking with the Church of God. So is my love among the daughters. The Church of God They also walk
this path. It is the common path. It is the true path. It is the
way that leads to eternal life. And the reason it is like this
is quite clear. aren't allowed and do not settle
down in our life on this earth. But by the grace of God we are
looking for our eternal home and therefore the Lord graciously
deals with us in love to our souls So that although we are
indeed those who are bought with a price, we are clothed in the
righteousness of Christ. We might think the path's always
gonna be easy. No, it's not, because as we read
in that 16th chapter of John on the Lord's Day, where the
Lord says it is through much tribulation that we shall enter
the kingdom. but be of good cheer I have overcome
the world and by God's grace as we walk among thorns we shall
be overcomers through him not through what we've done but through
him and as the word of God tells us yes we are more than conquerors
through him what a blessed truth it is and how good it is then
if we are in this path and realising the blessing of it. I am the
Rose of Sharon. We look to Christ and the Lily
of the Valleys. We see his righteousness and
then we recognise we do receive his grace and therefore we are
like the rose showing forth his glory and the lily of the valleys
and we are clothed with his righteousness as we walk among thorns the difficulties
and the trials of this life but we are not alone so is my love
among the daughters there we find Christ's love sustaining
us and that love sustains us because We realise his love was
so great that he was willing to bear that agonising death. And don't forget, the Saviour
himself was crowned with a crown of thorns. And as the lily among
thorns, so is my love. among the daughters. Well, may
these thoughts be an encouragement to us and a blessing to us, that
God may have all the honour and all the glory. Amen.