I please God to bless us together
this evening as we consider his word. Let's turn to the Song
of Solomon and chapter two and we'll read the third verse. The
second chapter in the Song of Solomon and reading verse three. As the apple tree among the trees
of the wood So is my beloved among the suns. I sat down under his shadow with
great delight and his fruit was sweet to my taste. The Song of Solomon gives us
very many beautiful pictures. And those pictures are there
to direct us, not to the physical view that we see, but to a spiritual
view. But these natural pictures are
given to us so that we can appreciate more easily the spiritual blessings
which they contain. It's really the deep that coucheth
beneath. And so as we read the Song of
Solomon, there are wonderful truths and wonderful blessings
directed to the Church of God and to individually to the Bride
of Christ. And therefore, we should not
ignore the Song of Solomon. Sometimes people think, So difficult
to understand, I'll just pass over it and I won't read it.
Well, it is a book which is worth reading and worth pondering and
worth meditating upon. Well, here this evening in this
third verse, we have such a picture which is really very helpful
to us. And the picture is of an apple
tree among the trees of the wood. And no doubt the choice of an
apple tree here is to show to us the benefits that such a fruitful
tree has. There are many trees of course,
many varieties of trees in the world today, many beautiful trees
to look at and many trees have great assets. But It is of course
obvious that those trees which bear fruit, or should I say bear
edible fruit, are those which are more attractive and which
are more suitable and are more useful to natural people. And so we see here this picture
of an apple tree being selected among the trees of the wood. Now apple trees generally are
not very greatly big trees. Some are bigger than others,
but they're not like cedars, and they are generally smaller
trees. But when they are looked upon,
when they have fruit, they are very attractive. And especially
as one anticipates that as the fruit ripens, then the fruit
can be eaten. And of course, the picture here
is not just of a tree with fruit that can be eaten. It also describes
to us, it is a tree which in hot weather can provide very
suitable shade. And it's described as a shadow. So we have a picture then before
us of a fruitful tree, an apple tree, which provides shadow. and indeed how necessary perhaps
it is sometimes to enjoy the wonderful blessing naturally
of a shadow of an apple tree and also be able to partake of
the fruit. Now then, the illustration then
leads us on to this picture and we're told that, I sat down under
the shadow with great delight and his fruit was sweet to my
taste." Well, we must be directed, I'm sure you appreciate, directly
to who this represents. And of course it represents none
other than the Lord Jesus Christ. The Song of Solomon really speaks
much of Christ and the Bride of Christ. Christ as the Heavenly
Bridegroom and the Church of God as the Bride. Well, here we have this picture
then. I sat down under his shadow with great delight. And the first
thing we notice is that there was that sitting down. And when we do sit down, we're
not then rushing about. A day and age in which we live
is a day of rushing and tearing from one place to another. And
the problem with that is there is often very little time to
really properly think or properly meditate. And it's good therefore
when we can, as it were, sit down. So here was this picture. I sat down. Well, may we be found
sometimes then. in our spiritual journey, as
it were, coming aside and sitting down. And as we sit down, to
realise the benefit of being under the shadow. We have pictures
of the shadow in the Word of God and Isaiah tells us, on at
least two occasions, of the benefit of this shadow and how it can
be a great help. And in the 25th chapter we read,
fourth verse, for thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength
to the needy in this heinous distress, a refuge from the storm,
a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones
is as a storm against the wall. Well, I believe this does give
us, does it not, some description of a Christian journeying through
life, through the wilderness, and it speaks here of Almighty
God, and we're told, thou hast been a strength to the poor,
strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm,
a shadow from the heat when the blast of the terrible ones is
as a storm against the wall. Well, here we have the description
that the Lord is a strength to the poor and to the needy, to
those who are strong in themselves, who don't realise how poor they
are and how needy they are, they won't see, they won't find any
attraction to look out of themselves, to look to the Saviour, the great
and blessed Redeemer. They'll carry on in their own
strength. And then here we have this statement,
a refuge from the storm. God is a refuge and strength. a very present help in trouble. Well, God's people prove that.
God is, to them, a wonderful refuge, a place where people
can go and find a hiding place. And then a shadow from the heat,
when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the
wall. Now the picture surely is that
we do find we have to face blasts from the evil one, blasts from
the devil. Sometimes those blasts can be
very hot. They can be very hot against
us and as it were make us almost willing to give up the journey
of life. The path's too hard, it's just
too hot. And the devil tries to turn us
out of the way and tries to stop us from journeying on. And so
this is a very good description, isn't it? A shadow from the heat,
when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the
wall. So, when the devil brings us
into times of trial, times of great temptation. We're not strong
enough ourselves. We're not able really to withstand
the blast of the devil ourselves. And therefore what a mercy when
the Lord comes and directs us to a situation like this where
we can come and sit down under the shadow, under his shadow,
the shadow of the Lord Jesus Christ. And of course in a shadow,
as we know, a shadow from the sun is a great relief. A great relief is it not to find
a shadow when it's a very hot time. Isaiah 32 verse 2 tells
us again a very similar picture. And a man shall be as a hiding
place from the wind, and a cover from the tempest, as rivers of
water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary
land. Well when you and I are tempted
and we have to endure the the onslaught of the devil, sometimes
it gets very hot, sometimes we get very weary of his temptations,
the continual temptations that he brings into our hearts, into
our minds, before our eyes. Perhaps we know what it is, so
we're weary from it. And then, to recognise such a
truth as this, I sat down under his shadow. with great delight. Why? Well, there was a wonderful
relief. And in that place of shadow,
it was that shadow of a great rock. And that great rock was,
of course, the Lord Jesus Christ. What a shadow. What a shadow
the Saviour cast to bring us relief. As we journey on through
life with the burning heat of the day, the burning heat of
our journey. What a wonderful favour it is
to come and to sit down under this shadow. And as we sit down
under this shadow, to view who it is that is providing this
shadow, none less than the Lord Jesus Christ. How wonderful then
to have a picture like this As we journey in physically, we're
not able perhaps to, as it were, come and sit under an apple tree,
but spiritually we can come and we can sit down under the shadow
of the Almighty, the great God, who is there to secure us, to
give us some relief from the onslaught of Satan. It is a place
of safety. It is a place of favour. It is
a place of blessing. Because there we can sit down
and we're sat down. We're not up and running around.
The devil's not chasing us then. There we are sitting down and
we're under his shadow. Surely the description is correct
with great delight. It's a wonderful relief. to be
found near to the Saviour. The shadow of a great rock in
a weary land means that you and I have to keep very close. In
a weary land, the heat of the sun, in the Middle East and other
hot places, you need a great rock to produce any shadow. A
little rock is not much use. My friends, a great rock does
produce a shadow, but nonetheless, there is a need to keep close
to that great rock to enjoy the benefit of the shade that it
gives from the sun. And so, what a benefit it is
for us, if God gives us grace, to keep close to the Saviour. Close under his shadow. You see, when we're close by
the Saviour, then it is that we learn of Him. Then it is that
we learn that the Saviour is instructing us, and the Saviour
is teaching us in the way that we should go. And the Saviour
is showing us something of ourself, something of the evil of sin,
something of the wretchedness of it, something of the terribleness
of it, and how there's no peace as we find ourselves drawn aside,
drawn by the temptation of Satan into some worldly situation,
the blast of the evil one. Oh, the heat there is, and there's
no peace. Why? Because our conscience is
pricked, our conscience is moved, we realise that we're sinning
against Almighty God. What a blessing then, the Lord
comes in and brings us to this place to sit down under his shadow
and then to recognise the great benefit there is of being found
near to the Lord Jesus Christ. and not then be found under the
heat of the devil's blast. Yes, it's a great delight and
it's a great delight when we realise in that position the
amazing mercy of God. It's a delight to know we haven't
been cut off, we haven't been cast away because
his mercy endureth forever. Surely that is a place which
produces a great delight, as we're under his shadow, we're
close to the Lord and he shows us how gracious he is, the amazing
grace that he's bestowed upon us, in enabling us to seek to
this place of refuge, to come to this place of shelter, to
come under this shadow and to be found enjoying that nearness
to the Lord Jesus Christ. Is it not great delight? As we
ponder in that position, remember we're sat down, we're not rushing
around, we're sat down and we can calmly consider his great
grace. For such unworthy sinners, those
who've wandered away, those who've been far off, the Lord's brought
them back. The Lord's brought us back. It
may be that we've come to ourselves, as it were, like the prodigal
son. When he began to be in want,
he came to himself And what did he remember? His father's house. What a mercy that is, for when
you and I are brought to remember our father's house, and to return,
and to be found sitting down under the shadow of the Saviour,
with then great delight. Great delight that the Lord hasn't
dealt with us as our sins deserve. Humbled are we not then under
the mighty hand of God. To be able to sit still, and
like Ruth was told, sit still to see how the matter will fall. In those places then, under this
shadow, it's there that we receive the guidance and the direction
from the good hand of our God. It's not a time when we're rushing
around and we do not hear his voice. You see the bride here,
as we read in these chapters, how she wanted to know and to
hear the voice of her beloved, the voice whom her soul loveth. And isn't it interesting to read
in the third chapter, by night on my bed I sought him whom my
soul loveth. I believe that's a true experience
of the true Church of God. There are those times, those
night seasons perhaps, when we seek unto the Lord and yet we
find. We do not find him. I found him not. Now, it's right
to seek the Lord. But my friend, sometimes We have
to wait patiently for him until he brings us to this place where
we can then sit down under his shadow with great delight. The bride here, she went about
the city in the broad ways. She still couldn't find him.
And the watchman, which of course are the preachers, The guy about
the city found me, to whom I said, saw ye him whom my soul loveth."
Well, after a little time, we read, I found him whom my soul
loveth. Yes, my friends, and remember
what the Word tells us, they that seek shall find. They that seek shall find. Do not be discouraged. if you
appear not to be finding. The time will come when the Lord
will come and bless you in this way, so you'll be able to declare,
I found him whom my soul loveth, I held him, I would not let him
go until I brought him into my mother's house and into the chamber
of her that conceived me. Well, surely this would be a
time of blessing, wouldn't it? When you sit down under the shadow
with great delight, great delight that the Lord has heard your
prayers, great delight that the Lord has brought you to this
place, great delight that the Lord has given you a prayer,
given you a desire to pray for the blessing of the Lord, to
pray that he might revealed himself unto you as he does not unto
the world. It's the blessing of God and
surely when you and I are blessed with this understanding that
the Lord has put us in this place under his shadow and we've sat
down and we can then meditate upon his goodness and his favour
and we realise then the truth of those words, he led them forth
by the right way. God does lead us by the right
way, not the wrong way, but the right way so that we then appreciate
His goodness to us, His mercy to us, His favour to us. If things
were just obtained easily without any prayer, they wouldn't be
appreciated, would they? There wouldn't be any great delight.
The great delight surely is, because often these things are
not easy to come by. And we're not told that here
there was an orchard of apple trees. We're just told there
was an apple tree, the apple tree, amongst the trees of the
wood, just a place where the Lord brought us, where the Lord
does bring us, under his shadow. What a blessing it is then to
be found there. And so here we have these words,
I sat down under his shadow with great delight. now having sat
down and having enjoyed the delight of being found near to the Saviour. My friends, it is a delight in
our spiritual life when the Lord does draw us to Him, near to
Himself, and we know what it is then to be found close to
the Saviour, and it is a delight, a delight to our souls. I sat down under his shadow with
great delight, and then we read, and his fruit was sweet to my
taste. And his fruit was sweet to my
taste. Well, where does our fruit come
from? Where does it come from? It only
comes from the Lord Jesus Christ, doesn't it? we can think naturally,
can we not, of being weary and sheltering under an apple tree
and reaching up and taking in the fruit and found how sweet
it is to our taste and how lovely it is. Well, far, far greater
it is to know this in a spiritual sense, that as we may be blessed
to sit down under his shadow and then to partake of the Lord
Jesus Christ. I believe we can think of this
fruit in several ways. Firstly, think of it with regards
to the Saviour himself and to feeding upon Christ. Feeding upon Christ. What does
that mean? It means feeding upon his death. You may say, well, how can I
feed upon the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. What we can do is to meditate
upon the cost of our salvation. Meditate upon the Saviour's life
and death. Meditate upon the great cost
of our salvation. And sometimes it's a wonderful
blessing to be sat down, as it were, quietly under the shadow
and to think upon Christ. Think why the Saviour came into
this world. Why was he born in Bethlehem's
manger? Why did he live a perfect life? Why did he live, why did he die
that sacrificial death? to save our souls, to save your
soul, to save my soul. Now surely our meditation of
him then shall be sweet. His fruit is sweet. The meditation
therefore is sweet, as we meditate upon what Christ has done, on
his great sacrifice And then to think that our hearts or perhaps
our minds are led to think of the glorious picture we have
throughout the Word of God of that sacrifice for sin. The sacrifice
for sin, what did it involve? It involved the shedding of blood. It involved death. Without shedding
of blood, there's no remission. no forgiveness. And to ponder
these things, to go back in our thoughts throughout the Word
of God to the days in the Garden of Eden, when the Lord killed
those animals to produce those skins to cover Adam and Eve.
Yes, what a picture we have there of shed blood, but the picture
we have there of the righteousness required, And we can move on,
can we not, as we go through the Word of God. Think of Abraham's
day. Think of the glorious scene up
on Mount Moriah, when he was commanded to offer up his only
son, Isaac. And he was willing to do his
father's will, to the will of Almighty God. he was stopped
in the last moment from killing his son and there was that substitute,
that ram caught by its horns in the thicket. What a beautiful
picture it is, is it not, of substitution? The Lord Jesus
Christ substituted for us, dying that death that we deserve to
die. My friends, but our death would
not have atoned for our sin. That's why the Saviour live that
perfect life to atone for our sin. He was our substitute. His fruit was sweet to my taste. And surely as you and I are able
to meditate upon such a picture, to think of the glory of it and
the great significance and the importance and the relevance
to our case individually, to know that Christ died in my place,
in your place. His fruit, His fruit was sweet
to my taste. His fruit. What a glorious picture,
isn't it? Of the Saviour dying in our place. And then we can think of the
Passover, the institution of Passover on that night at night
to be remembered. Israel were told to remember
it, yes, and to carry out that Passover ceremony every year
so they would remember it. And the great significance was,
when I see the blood, I will pass over you. What a wonderful
blessing to know that when God looks upon us, he sees the blood. of His blessed Son and our Saviour
and passes over us, so that we live, we're blessed with eternal
life. The wonderful picture we have,
and don't forget, there was the lamb roasting the fire, signifying
the Saviour having to endure the wrath of God. He endured,
my friends, the wrath of God, due to you and to me, because
of our sin. The wrath of God upon us, the
wrath of God that was due to us. But the Saviour bore that
wrath. His fruit was sweet to my taste. Of course we can go on, we know
there was the continual burnt sacrifice they had to offer up. every day, every day a reminder
of the terribleness of sin, every day a reminder of the need to
be absolved from that sin, that sin should be taken away, that
sin should be washed away, all directed to the Lord Jesus Christ. And then as we come then to the
fulfilment of all those pictures, we have in the Old Testament,
when we see the wonderful picture that was there, and then the
reality of it being fulfilled in the life and death, resurrection
and ascension of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Well, is this not fruit which
is sweet to our taste? Do we not feed then upon Christ,
Is it not blessed food as we may then by faith drink his blood
and eat his flesh? As the Lord Jesus Christ said,
except ye eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man,
there is no life in you. But as by faith we're able to
behold the Lamb of God and to partake of this blessed fruit,
you see, is there not a comfort to our souls? Is there not a
realisation that we are amongst those who the Lord has saved,
the Lord has died for, because these things are sweet to our
taste. It's really a very discerning
statement, because if these things are not sweet to our taste, then
what it means is there's no reality in our religion. Because here
we have description of the Church of God, and what was made a blessing
to the Church of God. And therefore, today, as we look
at ourselves, to realise that this is what is made a blessing
to us today, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. This fruit, Lord Jesus Christ
gave his life, and think that now he is ascended on high And
there he is interceding for us today as our great and glorious
high priest. There was only that one way into
the holy place, wasn't there? Not without blood. The high priest,
not without blood. He entered into the holy place.
The Lord Jesus Christ has entered into the holy place, heaven itself,
not without blood. He shed his blood once. He gave
his life once, and that was sufficient. And there, through him today,
we have blessed access under God the Father, through the death,
through the shed blood of the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. His fruit was sweet to my taste."
Surely that is sweet fruit, isn't it? To think that we have such
a high priest. who is entered in to that glorious
place. And there he lives forever, sits
on the throne at the Father's right hand, interceding for us
at all times. And therefore, as it were, sat
down under this shadow and able to pray to our God, commit our
way unto him and realise prayers are sent up acceptably through
the Beloved, through the Lord Jesus Christ. I sat down under
his shadow with great delight and his fruit was sweet to my
taste." Well, I believe that is so blessedly true. But also,
I think there's the other scene that we have of fruitfulness. And I believe when the Lord brings
us into these places, there is this rejoicing and this blessing
as we realise the favour of God toward us. Remember in the Galatians
in the fifth chapter we read about the fruit of the Spirit. Surely this is the fruit which
God gives to us. It's his fruit. And how sweet
it is. Sweet to my taste. to realise
that God gives us these blessings. Because they are not something
you and I produce ourselves. It's God's gift to us and as
we are able to realise God has been so gracious to us and given
us these gifts, does it not bring that sweet taste to our mouth?
Because it shows to us the goodness of the Lord and it shows us the
picture we have here of the Saviour and our desire to be a true follower
of the Lord Jesus Christ and to follow his gracious and blessed
example. And so if we are founded right,
if we are planted in that good ground, if we do have a good
root, a good root which is founded rightly, founded upon that conviction
of sin, founded upon that evidence that we must have Christ, and
we realise that Jesus is the one thing needful. If we have
that foundation, then you see, we shall then realise the favour
we have of the fruit of the Spirit, as the Lord shows to us what
he's done for us. And in doing so much for us,
to give us that desire to follow him, in these ways and the effect
that His Spirit has in our souls, which enables us to do these
things, not for our glory, but for His glory, and to be humbled,
to realise that this is the fruit of the Spirit that the Lord has
given to us. And so we read, the fruit of
the Spirit is love. Well, where do we start? Love to the Saviour. Fruit, His
love to us. Evidence of His work in our soul. Love, His love and our love. It's the fruit of the Spirit.
It delivers us from the hardness of our hearts. It softens us
when we realise His great love toward us. we think of those
words, yea I have loved thee with everlasting love and therefore
with loving kindness have drawn thee. To know yes the Lord has
drawn me, the Lord has loved me and there is therefore the
evidence of that fruit our love to him. Now we may feel it's
very small But I believe this, when the Lord gives us the evidence
of that love in our hearts for the Saviour, it's the fruit of
the Spirit, and the fruit was sweet to our taste. We're thankful
the Lord's granting us love. Joy. Joy. Not a natural joy, but a spiritual
joy. A joy to know that the Lord has
delivered our soul from the wrath to come. Joy to know the Lord
has gone to prepare a place for us in glory. Joy to know that
one day we shall be with him forever in glory. Joy to know
that he's redeemed us with his precious blood. Surely this is
a fruit of the Spirit. Surely this is an evidence of
God's great favour toward us. And his fruit was sweet to my
taste. heavenly joy, it's not earthly
joy, it's a heavenly joy, it's a blessed joy. And then peace,
peace, peace by his cross as Jesus made. And then as the Lord
gives us faith to view the Saviour dying upon that cross and through
his death bringing that peace, peace, long suffering, long-suffering. That's not something you and
I possess, perhaps naturally. But you see, God's grace, God's
favour can make us long-suffering. And I believe there's that secret
of the Lord, which is them that fear him. And that secret of
the Lord is that the Lord shows us that he's leading us and he's
teaching us and he's making us conformable unto his image as
he directs us to himself in his wonderful long-suffering toward
us, and then as he gives us that grace to be long-suffering to
others. I believe such an experience
is sweet to our taste. Again, not for our own gratification,
but because of his great favour toward us. And similarly, gentleness
and goodness. These are the great gifts of
our God. These are the evidences that show the fruit of the spirit.
And these are the things which grant to us this wonderful favor
of knowing something of these words. Yes, his fruit was sweet
to my taste. And then, faith. God gives us
faith. He's brought us here. We're sat
down under his shadow. with great delight, he's given
us faith to believe that all things are working together for
good to those who love God and to those who are called according
to his purpose. He gives us faith to believe
that all things are well. He gives us faith to trust in
him. He gives us faith to cast all
our burdens upon the Lord. He gives us faith to go in his
strength make mention of his righteousness and of his only. It is a wonderful favour then
to have a blessing of this fruitfulness, meekness, temperance, against
such there is no law. Well here we have then, do we
not, in a few words really, this picture that we have with this
apple tree among the trees of the wood. So is my beloved, among
the sons. So is my beloved among the sons."
Now, it's a wonderful favour to realise that we are beloved
of our God. Beloved of our God. When we think
of it, we look at ourselves, we wonder how ever could God
love us. My friends, it's an amazing truth. And as I said, not that we loved
God, but that He loved us. So is my beloved among the sons."
Among the sons. Sons and daughters of the Most
High God adopted into the glorious family and to be part of that
family and there will be no separation. No separation once in Him, in
Him forever. And so tonight, can we not rejoice
in such words? And know something of being softened
and our heart, heart, broken down as it were, as we think
of these great truths, as they may be blessed to us and by the
grace of God applied to our hearts, so we may truly rejoice in them
and be able to say, yes, I sat down, personal evidence, I sat
down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet
to my taste. Amen.