The notices for the coming week
are, God willing, as follows. Pastoral will preach here next
Lord's Day at 10.30 and two o'clock. Also on Thursday evening at seven
o'clock. There'll be no prayer meeting
here on Tuesday evening, as Dr. Matthew Hyde is preaching at
Mattfield Anniversary Services at 3.30 and 6.30. Gifts and online giving for March
amounted to £3,527.60. Donations to the book fund were
£545. We sincerely thank you for your continued support for
this cause of truth. Let us commence our services
today by singing together hymn 944. The tune is Chester 879. Tell me, Saviour from above,
dearest object of my love, where thy little flocks abide, sheltered
near thy bleeding side? Hymn 944. Tune Chester 879. Tell this, Savior, prophet of
love, Dearest of dear comrade-in-arms,
Never little, no trouble, Sheltered in thy holy sight. ♪ Take no shadow behind ♪ ♪ Where'er
I hither to shine ♪ ♪ Where'er I hither to shine ♪ ♪ Where'er you shall I go ♪ ♪ Thou
alone, O God, will show me this way ♪ ♪ Of thy name ♪ ♪ Never doubting
♪ ♪ In proclaiming ♪ ♪ Name of the Lord ♪ ♪ Touch my heart ♪ Will not obey the present sword. Father, carry me as I am, ♪ Be my portion, Lord at thine
♪ ♪ Make through me a temple strong ♪ Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in the Song of Solomon, and we'll read chapters
1 and 2. Solomon's Song, chapters 1 and
2. The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's. Let him kiss me with the kisses
of his mouth, for thy love is better than wine. Because of
the savour of thy good ointments, thy name is as ointment poured
forth. Therefore do the virgins love
thee. Draw me where we'll run after
thee. The King hath brought me into
his chambers. We will be glad and rejoice in
thee. We will remember thy love more
than wine. The upright love thee. I am black,
but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar,
as the curtains of Solomon. Look not upon me, because I am
black, because the sun hath looked upon me. My mother's children
were angry with me, they made me the keeper of the vineyards,
but mine own vineyard have I not kept. Tell me, O thou whom my
soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to
rest at noon, for why shall I be as one that turneth aside by
the flocks of thy companions? If thou know not, O thou fairest
among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock,
and feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents. I have compared
thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh's chariots. Thy cheeks are comely with rows
of jewels, thy neck with chains of gold. We will make the borders
of gold with studs of silver. While the king sitteth at his
table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof. A bundle of
myrrh is my well-beloved unto me. He shall lie all night betwixt
my breast. My beloved is unto me as a cluster
of campfire in the vineyards of Engidae. Behold, thou art
fair, my love, Behold, thou art fair, thou hast dove's eyes.
Behold, thou art fair, my beloved. Yea, pleasant also, our bed is
green. The beams of our house are cedar,
and our rafters are fir. I am the rose of Sharon, and
the lily of the valleys. As the lily among thorns, so
is my love among the daughters. as the apple tree among the trees
of the woods, so is my beloved among the suns. I sat down under
his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my
taste. He brought me to the banqueting
house, and his banner over me was love. Stay, wee whiz flagons,
comfort me with apples, for I am sick of love. His left hand is
under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me. I charge
you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the rows and by the hinds
of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he
please. The voice of my beloved, behold,
he cometh leaping upon the mountains and skipping upon the hills.
My beloved is like a row or a young harp, Behold, he standeth behind
our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, he showeth himself
through the lattice. My beloved spake and said unto
me, rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For lo, the
winter is past, the rain is over and gone, the flowers appear
on the earth, the time of the singing of birds is come, and
the voice of the turtle is heard in our land, The fig tree put
forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give
a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one,
and come away. O my darling, that art in the
clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me
see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice, for sweet is thy voice
and thy countenance is comely. Take us the foxes, the little
foxes, that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes.
My beloved is mine, and I am his, he feedeth among the lilies. Until the day break and the shadows
flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young
heart upon the mountains of Bitha. May the Lord bless the reading
of his own precious word and grant unto us a spirit of real
prayer. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God almighty,
which is an art, an art to come, we bow before thy glorious majesty,
Jehovah, eternal Lord most high, the high and lofty one that inhabiteth
eternity, whose name is holy. And Lord, as we come to bow before
thee, may there indeed be a real and solemn sense of thy holiness. And Lord, our own sinfulness. We prove, O Lord, the truth of
thy word, The heart of man is deceitful above all things and
desperately wicked. Who can tell? Lord, we daily
prove that, that we have a heart, our old man, which is corrupt
and sinful. And we do desire to come in confession
before thy great majesty of our sins and of our sinfulness, the
iniquities that are in our nature, the corruption that is there.
We come and we seek and hope to find a portion for our soul. We come with that desire of one
of old, if I might but touch the hem of his garment, I should
be made whole. And that is our desire, O Lord,
that we might have union and communion with Jesus Christ,
the Lord, the Lamb. for through him we have access
by one spirit unto the Father. We pray that that wonderful grace
and love of our Heavenly Father may be known and felt in our
hearts this day, and that we may have breathed into our hearts
the spirit of adoption, whereby we may cry, Abba, Father. My
God, my Father, blissful name, and may I call thee mine. Oh,
we thank thee for the eternal love of our Father in the sending forth of his best
beloved and all-glorious Son, made of woman, made under the
law, that he might redeem them that are under the law. We do pray that we may be favoured
with thy presence None come except the Father draw. And may that
sacred drawing be known and felt this morning as we gather round
thy word. We've read together in thy word,
draw me. We will run after thee. Oh, to
know then that drawing of our heavenly Father, drawing us unto
his Son, Jesus Christ, the Lord, the Lamb. And that we may behold
the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world, and
that we may hear his voice. We've read of his voice, O Lord,
this morning, the voice of my beloved, behold he coming. Oh,
that thou wouldst indeed come and speak to our hearts and draw
us to thyself and bless us with that rich grace that is in Christ
Jesus. May we feel the divine power
and the heavenly unction of the Holy Ghost in our hearts and
opening our ears and our eyes. Lord, do hear us, we humbly pray
thee. May the eyes of our understanding
be enlightened and may we behold wondrous things in thy law. And
may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God our
Father and the sacred fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Rest and
abide with us each. We do pray that thou would remember
our brethren, the deacons. Remember them with the favour
that thou bearest unto thy people and visit them with thy great
salvation. Sustain them and help them. We
do humbly pray thee, not only with the things that they have
to do here, also Lord the other responsibilities that they have. Bless each one of our brethren
and sisters in church fellowship and graciously unite us together
to truly love each other, serve each other and bear each other's
burdens, thereby fulfilling the law of Christ. We read in thy
word of the church edifying itself in love. And we pray that it
may be so among us here. We pray, O Lord, to be delivered
from the temptations of Satan, whether he comes as a roaring
lion to devour or whether he comes as an angel of light to
deceive. We pray to be delivered from
him. as promised in thy word that
when the enemy comes in like a flood the spirit of the Lord
will lift up a standard against him. Oh do be gracious even this
day and deliver us from the snare of the fowler and from the noisome
pestilence. Oh we do humbly pray thee we
pray to be made more spiritually minded and that our heart and
our affections may be set upon things above. For Lord we prove
and painfully prove the carnal mind is admitted to God, is not
subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. But may we know
that true spiritual mind, may we have the mind of Christ and
the spirit of Christ. Lord we pray then for that grace
to serve thee, to follow them in our day and in our generation. We pray for grace to be humbled
under thy mighty hand. And Lord, we pray that thy rich
blessing upon the whole of our congregation. Do bless us together,
Lord, we pray thee. And work mightily among us, we
beseech thee. and show us thy ways and teach
us thy paths for thy great namesake. And we pray, most gracious Lord,
that thou wouldst bless the little ones and the children as they're
brought into the sanctuary, and graciously bless the young friends,
so knoweth their needs, their concerns. And we pray that they
may be enabled to unburden their heart to thee, and thou knowest
their needs, Lord, not just spiritually but providentially. All is known
to thee. And we pray that thou wouldst
guide them and direct them in that right way, bring them to
living faith in Jesus Christ and make them true followers
of thee and of those who through faith and patience inherit the
promises. Lord, we pray that to see the
fulfilling among us, of that wonderful promise, instead of
thy father shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes
in all the earth. Lord, we pray then thy blessing
upon the young friends. Be with them in all the pathway
of life, in their education, guide them, direct them to future
employment, and graciously undertake for them, grant them a partner
in life's journey, one that fears thy name, we do humbly beseech
of thee. So bless our young friends. And
Lord, we pray that thou wouldst undertake for parents and give
grace, wisdom, and help to bring up their children in the nurture
and admonition of the Lord, and graciously grant thy divine direction
and help at all times. We pray that thou would be with
the families at home as they read the word of God and prayer
is made for all things are sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
Lord, we pray that thou would remember all in the midst of
the journey of life. We think of those at this time
in affliction and some in much pain and we pray that thou would
send relief and grant help, we do humbly beseech thee, and grant
restoring mercy, and above all, grant thy rich grace. And in
all the afflictions that we pass through, we pray that we may
have that realisation of the brevity of life and the solemnity
of death, for in the midst of life we are in death, and we
pray to be prepared And Lord, and sometimes that takes place
immediately without any warning. We pray, oh Lord, to be prepared. Prepare me, gracious God, to
stand before thy face. Thy spirit must the work perform,
for it is all of grace. Lord, we do pray that even today
there was cause us to pause my soul, and ask the question, are
thou ready to meet God? Oh, do hear us, Lord, we humbly
pray thee. Lord, we remember, we pray those
of us that are in the evening time of life's journey, and graciously prepare us for
that great change which must come. Oh, do hear us in heaven,
thy holy dwelling place. Remember this village and the
surrounding villages and hamlets. Grant that many, many precious
souls may yet be gathered unto thee. Bless the word of the Lord as
it's distributed in the district and the scripture calendars.
We pray that these things may be down to thy honour and to
thy glory. And O Lord, we do pray that thou
in thy precious mercy Wouldst hear prayer for thy Zion,
for thy people, the little hills of Zion up and down the land,
that the wind of thy Spirit may blow, that wherever thy servants
stand and thy people gather, that the Spirit may be poured
upon us from on high, and that the gathering of the people may
be unto thee, and that there may be that true spiritual worship
and precious souls may be gathered unto Christ. We think of those
wonderful gospel promises, I will bring thy sons from far and thy
daughters from the ends of the earth. Lord, we pray that we
may see such a day and that we may see such power and such grace
pour forth. We do humbly beseech and we pray
that the prodigals may return and thy mighty grace may be seen
in this. Oh, do hear us, Lord, we humbly
beseech thee for thy great namesake. Lord, we do pray that thou, in
thy precious mercy, would hear prayer for all thy servants as
they labour in word and doctrine upon the wars of Zion today,
and grant that they may dip their foot in oil and be made acceptable
unto thee, brethren, and that the word preached may be in power
in the Holy Ghost and with much assurance. We pray Thee, the
great Lord of the harvest, to send true labourers into the
harvest to rebuild, to renew, to revive and to replenish Thy
people. We do humbly pray Thee. May we
see the pulling down of the strongholds of Satan. and the setting up
of the kingdom of the Lord Jesus in the hearts of sinners. Remember
those that labour in word and doctrine among the nations of
the earth. We would especially think of
those that go out from among our churches. We pray that thou
wouldst bless them on better mission and grant good success
to their labours there. We pray, O Lord, that thou wouldst
graciously Remember the Savannah Education Trust and that great
work that they are doing in the Christian schools in Ghana. Supply
all their needs. Remember Ian Sadler and that
great work that he does in so many different nations and the
orphanages that he runs. Lord, we pray that they will
supply all his need and graciously undertake for him. Lord, we pray
for our nation. Remember our government, give
wisdom, guidance and direction. We live in solemn days, O Lord,
and yet thou art a God that still hears and answers prayer. And
we would render thanksgiving unto thee for thy wonderful mercy,
that we have seen thee, answers to prayer, has heard the cries
of thy little remnant. And we would render thanksgiving,
O Lord, unto thee, and pray that thou wouldst bring to naught
the counsels of the ungodly. We pray for our King and the
royal household that thy rich blessing, the rich blessings
of King Jesus may rest upon them we do humbly beseech thee. We pray for truly thankful hearts,
thankful Lord for the freedoms and liberties that we have, thankful
for the wonderful glory of the incarnation of the Son of God,
even our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank Thee for that holy life
He lived and that holy law He fulfilled and the bringing in
of everlasting righteousness. We thank Thee for the holy sacrifice
of Calvary offered by Jesus Christ and accepted by Thee, our Eternal
Father. We thank Thee for that precious
blood that He has shed, that blood that cleanses from all
sin. We thank Thee that He died for our sins and rose again for
our justification and is now ascended up on high and sitteth
at Thy right hand. and he will come again in like
manner as he went into heaven. May we be prepared for that great
day when Jesus returns. We thank thee that thou art God
over all and blessed for evermore, and there is nothing too hard
for thee. Lord, we pray that thou wouldst
come and touch one's lips with a live coal from off the heavenly
altar. Come and speak to our hearts.
Come and work by thy blessed spirit. Come and stand in our
midst. We ask with the forgiveness of
all our many sins for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 1053. The tune is Love Divine, 893. Love divine or love excelling,
joy of heaven to earth come down. Fix in us thy humble dwelling,
all thy faithful mercies crown. Jesus, thou art all compassion,
Pure unbounded love thou art, visit us with thy salvation. Comfort every sinking heart. Hymn 1053, tune Love Divine 893. you ♪ Joy of heav'n, joy of mankind
♪ ♪ Rich in the sight of the living ♪ ♪ All thy faithful blessed child ♪ ♪ Jesus, the Lord, Lord of worship
♪ ♪ Lord of glory, Lord of light ♪ ♪ Visit us in thy sanctification
♪ ♪ Our God and King shall evermore
be ♪ ♪ In the free and in the free and
evermore be ♪ ♪ Into ev'ry home of praise ♪ ♪
Let us to Him be praised ♪ ♪ Yes, I will grow in strength
♪ ♪ Stay the way that you are ♪ Thou art a holy body, and a faithful
district. ♪ And have lost their liberty ♪
♪ Heav'nly Lord, how great You created me ♪ ♪ Love and glory
♪ ♪ May we be ♪ ♪ Let our tree of old ♪ ♪ Shall fashion ♪ ♪
The replacement ♪ ♪ Of our years ♪ ♪ Till earth and heaven rejoice
♪ ♪ Till earth and heaven rejoice ♪ Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I direct your attention to the second chapter
of the Song of Solomon, and we'll read the first seven verses. Solomon's Song, chapter two,
reading the first seven 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. As the apple tree among the trees
of the woods, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under
his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my
taste. He brought me to the banqueting-house,
and his banner over me was love. Stay me with flagons, comfort
me with apples, for I am sick of love. His left hand is under
my head, and his right hand doth embrace me. I charge you, O ye
daughters of Jerusalem, by the rows and by the hinds of the
field, that ye stir not up. nor awake my love till he please. In contemplating this service
and these words that have rested upon my spirit to bring before
you, I felt very much this morning in thinking of these things,
how can a poor sinful man deal with such sacred precious truths
as are found in Solomon's song. Such beautiful, intimate language. Solomon's song is a love song. And as it says in the beginning,
the song of songs, which is Solomon's. It's a sacred dialogue, a spiritual
dialogue that goes on between Christ and the Church. And it's
a bride and a bridegroom. That is the way that it is conveyed
to us. And one reason the Holy Spirit
uses that way to convey these things to us is that we know
what natural love is. And that love that there is between
a husband and wife. It's a very precious thing, even
naturally. But how much more spiritually? That intimate communion between
Christ and the church. We think of the wonderful prayers
that are found in Solomon's psalm. The spouse, who is the bride
of Christ, who is the church, The believer has that desire for the presence. Isn't it so naturally that when
we're in love we want to be with that person that we're in love
with? And when you're not with them you really feel and you
miss their company. And how much more so when it
comes to that intimate love that there is between Christ and the
church. And she says in verse 2 of chapter
1, let him kiss me. That was her desire. Let him
kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for the love is better
than wine. That desire then for intimacy
and the desire also in verse 4 of chapter 1, draw me. The living soul feels that need
for the Lord to draw them into spiritual things. You know, we do not naturally dwell on
spiritual things. It's only as the Father draws
a poor sinner into spiritual things that they can dwell on
spiritual things. And so, the spouse knowing this,
she says, draw me. We will. run after thee, that
desire then. And then in verse seven, tell
me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou
makest thy flock to rest at noon. How many of us here, how many
of us have come up to chapel today and we prayed in a like
manner, Lord, come and speak. Lord, let me hear thy voice.
Let me see thy countenance. Let me know the reality of spiritual
things. But you see there's a bond of
love. Tell me, O thou whom my soul
loveth, where thou feedest? The spouse wanted to be where
her soul would be fed. That's what is meant by this,
where thou feedest. Where thou feedest thy people,
where there is a living ministry. That's the desire of the spouse. and where thou makest thy flock
to rest at noon, the noonday, when the sun is high, where thou
causest her to rest. You see, the desire for the company
of the Lord's people. It's like the hymn writer says,
isn't it? Hear my best friends. Where? the house of God. Hear my best
friends, my kindred dwell. Hear God, my Saviour reigns. That desire then for union and
communion with the Beloved, with Jesus Christ. In the beginning of our text
he says I am the rose of Sharon. Who's speaking? Christ. The Lord
Jesus Christ. The rose of Sharon apparently
was a beautiful vivid red color and it was very fragrant and
the lily of the valleys they were, I mean we have a plant
here isn't there called the lily of the valley but it's nothing
like that. You know the large lilies that
you see that grow really tall and this is what is referred
to here and again they're beautiful white ones but they have a most lovely fragrance. I am the rose of Sharon and the
lily of the valleys, that's Christ. As the lily among thorns. So
is my love among the daughters. You see all these thorns and
briars and in the midst of them a beautiful lily grows up and
that is likened to Christ in his church here upon earth. He's like the rose of Sharon. He's like the lily of the valleys. As the lily among thorns. so
is my love among the daughters, my love. What a beautiful love song this
is, describing that intimate love, communion and union between
Christ and his church, as the apple tree You see, we have the
rose of Sharon, we have the lily of the valley, then we have the
apple tree. And in the third verse, in the
first two verses, it's Christ that is speaking to the church.
And then in the third verse, it's the church speaking of Christ.
You see, and right the way through Solomon's song, it alternates
between the language of the church of the spouse of Christ, her
love to him, and then the other is his love to her. Love is a
two-sided thing, isn't it? 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. You think of an apple tree and
it spreads its branches wide and you can sit under it as a
shade, as a shadow from the midday sun. I sat down under his shadow.
Whose shadow? The shadow of Jesus Christ. The
shadow of Jesus, the Son of God. shadow of his love, of his mercy,
of his grace. I sat down under his shadow as
the apple tree among the trees of the wood. The other thing
of course with an apple tree, there are many trees that we
could shout under and shade under, but with an apple tree it brings
fruit. His fruit was sweet to my taste. And so the believer sitting under
the shadow of Christ. They partake of his fruit. Now,
what are these fruits? The fruits of the holy life of
Jesus, the Son of God, here upon earth. The fruits of his perfect obedience
to the law. Wonderful fruit, you know. the
perfect obedience, that glorious name that is given to Jesus Christ,
Jehovah Sidkenu, the Lord, our righteousness. What a wonderful
fruit that is. His fruit was sweet to my taste. When you partake of that fruit,
when by faith you lay hold of the righteousness of Christ,
and you see it by faith and you feel it in your heart. Himrider
expresses it beautifully, doesn't he? I'm blessed, I'm blessed,
forever blessed. My rags are gone and I am dressed
in garments white as snow. His fruit was sweet to my taste,
the fruits of his perfect obedience, of his glorious righteousness.
This is what the believer feeds on by faith when the Spirit of
God reveals Christ unto the soul. I sat down. You see, as the apple
tree among the trees said the word, so is my beloved among
the suns. I sat down under his shadow. The sitting down represents resting. You think of the fruits of the
glorious sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. His fruit was sweet to my taste. In the perfect obedience of Christ
is the fulfilling of the holy law of God. That holy law that
you have broken, that I have broken. Christ has fulfilled. It's one of the great purposes
why Christ came here upon earth, while the Son of God was made
flesh. He will magnify the law and make it honourable. That
was one of the wonderful things that he came to do and that he
has done. And these are the fruits of the
glorious person of Jesus, the Son of God, that was manifest
in the flesh. His perfect obedience. The law
honoured, magnified and glorified in the glorious person of Jesus,
the Son of God. It's an essential part of our
most holy faith. And a great comfort it is when
it says here, his fruit was sweet to my taste, But what a great
comfort it is when the Spirit of God reveals unto us that perfect
obedience of Christ, that glorious everlasting robe
of the righteousness of Christ. His fruit was sweet to my taste. And then the gardener of Gethsemane
Think of the fruits of the Garden of Gethsemane. Think of what
happened in the Garden of Gethsemane when our Eternal Father laid
upon Him the iniquity of us all. You think of the, this is the
very centre of the Gospel. Our Eternal Father took our sin,
the sin of His spouse, His church, beloved Bride of Christ. He took our sins. Christ took
our sins. The Father laid upon him the
iniquity of us all. He took our sins. He willingly walked that path. He humbled himself. He became obedient unto death.
He that is the Lord of life. Death is the fruit of sin. The
wages of sin is death. The gift of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Eternal life at His request where
every soul is given. When he took our sins and he
then nailed them to his cross, he was led as a lamb to the slaughter
and as a sheep before her, sheer is his done, so he opened not
his mouth. He willingly went to Calvary. You know, that is portrayed to
us in the narrative in the gospel, of how when he came out of Gethsemane
having the sin of the church resting upon him. That is what
happened in Gethsemane. That is the central importance
of the Garden of Gethsemane. He laid upon him. That's what
happened. He laid upon him the iniquity
of us all. when he came out of Gethsemane
with his disciples and Judas Iscariot came and with the elders of the Jews and they took him they bound him and he was led to the judgment
hall but it's recorded there how that Peter, the Apostle Peter,
took a sword and he did smite off the ear of the servant of
the high priest. And the Lord Jesus said to him,
put up thy sword, and it's she. The cup that my father hath given
me, shall I not drink it? Peter, this is the way. You know, the Lord Jesus, he'd
spoken to the disciples, it's all recorded in the Gospels,
on a number of occasions and said that he would suffer, bleed
and die and that he would rise again on the third
day but these things were hidden from them and then You see, these
things are recorded to show us that the Lord Jesus willingly
went to the cross. The cup that my father has given,
in the Garden of Gethsemane, when he prayed before his heavenly
father, when the weight of the sin of the church was resting
on him, and he said, Father, if it be possible, let this cup,
what cup? The cup of suffering. that came
from the sin of the church, his beloved bride being laid upon
him. And he being in an agony. You
know friends, we kind of even begin to enter into the depths
of the agonies and sorrows of our Lord Jesus Christ. when the sin of the whole church, from the day of Adam to the end
of time, the whole church, the sin of the whole church was laid
upon Christ. He laid upon Him the iniquity
of us all. We cannot begin to express or
enter into the depths, the depths of that agony. that sorrow and he being in an
agony sweat as it were great drops of blood falling down to
the ground I sat down you know when when the spouse gets a view
of her beloved in her room place instead when she when she begins to realise,
as the Spirit of God opens to her, that he was wounded for
our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, and the chastisement
of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed,
she begins to realise what it cost her beloved. Now, I sat down When you begin
to realise what Jesus has done, when you begin to realise that
he suffered and bled and died for our sins, he paid the ultimate
price, he loved not his life unto death, he was numbered among
the transgressors. Though he himself did no sin,
and yet he was numbered among the transgressors. a realisation
given to you of this precious truth, there's a rest in place. I sat down under his shadow with
great delight and his fruit was sweet to my taste. He brought
me to the banquet in house and his banner over me was love,
was love. that banner of the eternal love
of God. Yea, I have loved thee with an
everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness
have I drawn thee. And it says in another place
in the prophets that I will draw thee with the cords of a man.
That man is the man Christ Jesus, the beloved. I will draw thee
with the cords of a man. the cause of love, the everlasting
love of God in Christ. And this is the banqueting house. You know, it says here in this
chapter, it says in verse 8, the voice
of my beloved, behold he cometh. She heard him before he arrived. You know, I had a particular
experience of this before I was brought into Gospel
Liberty and it was on a Monday morning, I was on Ashdown Forest
when the Lord brought me into Gospel Liberty. But in the three
Sunday evenings before that deliverance came, we lived in Crowborough and I
was driving across to Pickhill Chapel for the evening service
and those three Sundays running as I drove across to Pickhill
Chapel the love of Christ was so shed abroad in my heart it
was such a wonderful time his love and it was a like as if
the Lord was speaking to me and leading me, guiding me and directing
me. He brought me to the banqueting
house. His banner over me was love.
Oh, the wonderful love of God in Christ. The wonderful love
of the Father in giving the church to His Son. The wonderful love
of the Father in laying upon the Lord Jesus Christ our sins. That eternal love, his banner
over me was love. You know, and we often speak
of the love of the Father and the love of the Son, but let
us consider for a moment the love of the Holy Ghost. We often
consider, and rightly, the deep humiliation of our Lord Jesus
Christ and his sufferings, in his sorrows, in his agonies.
He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, But do you ever think of the
wonderful grace of the Holy Ghost? He dwells in our hearts. It was He, and we read that He
proceeded forth from the Father and the Son. And He enters into the heart
of a poor, filthy, wretched sinner. He does. Think of the wonderful
grace the Holy Ghost and entering the heart of a poor sinner in
quickening their soul into life because that is what happens
when the Holy Spirit enters the heart. You hath he quickened
who were dead in trespasses and in sins. You see that's where we were
by nature and it's the Holy Spirit that
opens our heart and our eyes and our understanding. The apostle
says in the Ephesians, doesn't he, the eyes of your understanding
being enlightened. And we were coming to that point
what we were speaking about how there was a preparation when
one was brought into gospel liberty in those three Sunday evenings
and the love of Christ shed abroad in my heart. But then on that
Monday morning, that those words came with such sweetness and
power. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath begotten us again unto a
lively, that's a living hope, through the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead. He brought me to the banquet
in house and his banner over me And on that day, in the afternoon,
I was delivering to a house fairly close to Forestfold Chapel, a
farm. And I was so overcome with a
sense of the love of God to me, a poor, wretched, needy sinner. And as I I dropped off with my
little chestnut copse and I went into that little chestnut copse
and I prayed, prayed unto the Lord, I bow in worship. You know I've often thought of
it like Abraham's servant when he went to fetch a wife for Isaac,
how that when the Lord prospered his way, he bowed his head and
worshipped. And it was like that with me
in that little, that little wood. I bowed in worship. under such
a sense of God's love to me. And there, the Lord gave me a
beautiful revelation of the love of my heavenly Father, and a
beautiful revelation of the dying love of my precious Savior, and
a beautiful revelation of the divine and blessed person of
the Holy Ghost. And the overriding sense was
these three are one, one blessed God. He brought me to the banqueting
house and his banner over me was love. What a feast there
is in that banqueting house. It's a spiritual banquet. He brought me to the banqueting
house and his banner over me was love. Stay me with flagon. Comfort me with apples For I
am sick of love You know what she means is she was overwhelmed
with love Overwhelmed with love Even naturally this can happen
and it's a very sacred thing even naturally How much more
spiritually the overwhelming sense of the love of God in Christ overwhelming sense of the eternal
love of your heavenly father who loved you with an everlasting
love and therefore with loving kindness has drawn you. Stay me with flagons, comfort
me with apples, for I am sick of love. And then she says here, his left
hand is under my head and his right hand does embrace me. Now of course we come back and
you can't understand it unless you understand this, we have
two lovers, his left hand is under my head, his right hand
does embrace me. And with the Lord Jesus Christ,
left hand blessings are providential blessings. The things in providence God
worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. We read
in the first chapter of Ezekiel of the Spirit and we have a vision
given to us by Ezekiel of two wheels. There's a great outer
wheel and at right angles to it inside that wheel is another
smaller wheel. and whether the Spirit was to
go, these went. And what we see there is in that
outer wheel we see the everlasting covenant ordered in all things
and sure. The eternal covenant of grace,
the electing love of the Father, the redeeming love of the Son,
the sanctifying love of the Holy Ghost. That's what we see in
that eternal covenant. when the father chose a people
from the ruins of the Adam fall, when he gave them to his son,
Jesus Christ. And his son came to this sin-cursed
world and suffered and bled and died for his church and for his
people. His left hand, in the inner wheel
of that great wheel, It's the wheel of divine providence. God
fulfills the purposes of his eternal grace in providence. Like the Apostle says in Romans
8, all things work together for good to them that love God, to
them that are the called according to his purpose. My beloved friends, nothing happens
by chance or by luck. it's divinely ordered. We sing in that well-known hymn,
parents, native place and time, all appointed were by him. The
decrees of God in salvation are not left to chance or luck, they
are divinely ordered. His left hand, so left hand blessings
are providential blessings, right hand blessings are the spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. His left hand
is under my head supporting me in all the matters of providence.
His right hand, that is those rich spiritual blessings in Christ,
embraces me. His right hand does embrace me. As he discovers to you those
wonderful things of the eternal covenant and the fullness and
preciousness of Jesus Christ who is full of grace and truth
who is the eternal son of the eternal father that was manifest
in the flesh that is able to do abundantly more than we can
even ask or think when he discovers unto you the sweet promises the
promises of eternal life everlasting love, of heaven, of glory. His left hand is under my head
and his right hand doth embrace me. What a wonderful thing then,
when we're brought to rest completely in the love of our Eternal Father,
in the love of His Son Jesus Christ, in the divine power and love
of the Spirit of God. And as the Lord discovers unto
us the wonderful grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, eternal grace. And when the Lord, under the
sense of the dying love of Jesus Christ, enables you to follow
Him, When we're able to follow the
Lord in that sweet sense of the love of Christ, His right hand does embrace me.
If you love me, keep my commandments. I love that, the way that Isaac
Watt puts it in one of his hymns, comparing the Old Testament and
the New Testament. And he says, But we have no such
lengths to go, no wonder far abroad. What does he mean? Well, under
the Levitical despair, three times a year the children of
Israel wanted to travel up to Jerusalem. A long, arduous journey. They walked for miles and miles. And they arrived at Jerusalem
for those three great feasts. And then there was divers washings
and sacrifices and offerings. All manner of things they had
to do. It was quite onerous. But that's the law. But we have no such lengths to
go. No. Wherever there's a house of prayer,
there is a house for God. And we don't have to go to all
those great lengths that the children of Israel did in divers
washings etc. It's very simple what the Lord
asked the New Testament believer to do. Be baptized in my name. If you love me, keep my commandments. You think of what the Lord Jesus
said when he was baptized. He said to John the Baptist,
suffer it to be so now for thus it becometh us to fulfill all
righteousness. Something very precious, friends,
when we go under that sense of divine love to our hearts and
we're baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and
of the Holy Ghost. And the other ordinance, and
there's only these two ordinances in the New Testament church.
And that's what Isaac Watts means when he says we have no such
lengths to go. The other ordinance of course
is the Lord's Supper. And to partake of the Lord's
Supper. What does baptism mean? Jesus
Christ and Him crucified. What does the Lord's Supper mean?
Jesus Christ and Him crucified. It all points to the same place.
View the right with understanding, Jesus' grave before thee lies,
be interred at his commanding, after his example rise. Precious thing when we can do
so under the sense of the Lord's love. He brought me to the banqueting
house, his banner over me was love, stay me with flagons, comfort
me with apples, for I am sick of love. His left hand is under
my head and His right hand doth embrace me. She rests there in
His arms. The eternal God is thy refuge
and underneath are the everlasting arms. The everlasting arms. The eternal love of God in Christ. The eternal safety and security
of the people of God in Christ. I charge Him. O ye daughters
of Jerusalem, these are the fellow believers, I charge you, O ye
daughters of Jerusalem, by the rows and by the hinds of the
field, that ye stir not up nor awake, my love, till he please. You'll find this elsewhere, this
same expression in the Song of Solomon. She charges them. Why? Because
she was resting in his love. and she didn't want to be disturbed. She wanted to continue in that
sweet frame, in that sacred sense of the love of God in Christ.
I charge you, O you daughters of Jerusalem, by the rows and
by the hinds of the field, that you stir not up. Don't disturb
my Lord. I'm resting in his embrace. stir us up nor awake my love
to leave please. Oh what a precious thing it is
when we have this realization, this experience of the love of
God in Christ and that desire to remain there,
to remain there. You know a One particular Easter
Monday, I used to preach at Allington. I did so for quite a number of
years, their Allington Easter Monday services. And it was a
time when I'd been very sick. I hadn't been too long out of
hospital, and I really wondered whether I should go and preach
on the Monday. having, of course, preached on
the Sunday and then having to drive down to Wiltshire on the
Monday. And I really, it worried me. I thought, am I able to do
this? I was still quite weak. Anyway,
I ventured, drove down to Wiltshire on the Monday morning after preaching
on the Lord's Day. I was very tired. I preached
in the afternoon. And the wonderful thing was,
is in the evening, I felt stronger than I did in the afternoon.
The Lord increased my strength. And when I get overtired, often
it is with many people, you can't sleep. I remember going to the
deacon's house that night on the Monday evening, feeling so
very tired after preaching twice, but having felt much liberty
in preaching. And I thought, I wonder if I'm
going to be able to sleep. And you know, friends, I went
to bed early, an old couple and they'd gone to bed early and
I thought well I might as well go, it's about half past nine
and I lay my head on the pillow and I asked the Lord to give
me a good night's sleep and those words dropped into my heart with
such sweetness and power thus he giveth his beloved sleep and
the old chap, he was a farmer or he used to be a farmer and
he knocked on my bedroom door at 6 30 in the morning I slept
so sweet the whole night and that word thus he giveth his
beloved sleep it was such a sweet occasion you see the lord he
loves his people he reveals himself to his people and when you're
in this sweetness and sense you don't want it to be disturbed
You want to remain in the embrace of your beloved. I charge you,
O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the rows and by the hinds
of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he
please. May the Lord add his blessing. Let us now sing together hymn
171. The tune is Neapolis 378. Join all who love the Saviour's
name to sing his everlasting fame. Great God, prepare each
heart and voice in him forever to rejoice. Hymn 171. to Neapolis 378. O come, O come, all ye faithful
joyful and triumphant O come, O come, all ye faithful joyful
and triumphant ♪ Mary, child of God and Lord ♪
♪ We pray from heaven to rejoice. ♪ ♪ The feeling of wonder seems so
true ♪ ♪ In every one of the glories I belong ♪ ♪ For him I love thee, only thee ♪ ♪ To
him my soul forever be ♪ ♪ In Him my treasure doth contain
♪ ♪ My Saviour, in Him all souls sustain ♪ Come give me my hoping, tell
me to sleep Through day my soul shall never sleep Let me in my day be loved to
you, Come in my soul be nice to you. ♪ The hill I crossed on ev'ry day
♪ ♪ I came for a day of joy and joy alone ♪ ♪ Bless me, my soul ♪ ♪ From day
to day ♪ ♪ Bless me, my soul ♪ ♪ In the aurora red ♪ ♪ Give
thee thy glowing ♪ ♪ Chamber mass ♪ ♪ With heav'nly host ♪
♪ Take me in your arms ♪ ♪ May he forever be with us ♪ ♪
May he forever be with us ♪ Every joy and pain in every day and in all. O make us one in the highest
praise to God. which we do come to heaven with.
And he will see forevermore. Now may the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, the sacred fellowship
of the Holy Spirit, rest and abide with us each. Amen.