Let us commence our service this
afternoon by singing together hymn number 365. The tune is
Trilo 426. Where shall we go to seek and
find a habitation for our God, a dwelling for the eternal mind
among the sons of flesh and blood? here in three six five two true
row four two six ? The strength and glory ? ? The
foundation of our God ? ? Ever in glory ever more ? ? In Jerusalem I know ? ? How God
sent his Son ? ? For salvation's cause ? ? Let all of me ? ? Purchase
from him ? I am from his ancient rest, and I am his eternal rest.
? Christ the Lord, Lord of all
? ? With the angels and saints ? ? Here am I, here am I, gracious
Lord ? ? The way forever spreads abroad ? ? It shall find love
? ? A loving hand ? ? And mercy true ? ? Here will I be ? ? For all we
know ? ? And till their souls ? ? May live in praise ? ? Spirit
shall take me ? ? Of my God ? ? This heathen nation
? ? He hath made ? ? The living dead ? ? And born
of Christ ? My peace, my heav'nly center, Thine! Thou dear earth,
with its gross weakness, ? May everliving God be with thee
? ? May everliving God be with thee ? ? May everliving
God be with thee ? O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly
streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the
bombs bursting in air, Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in the Song of Solomon, chapters 2 and 3. The second and third chapters
of Solomon's Song. I am the Rose of Sheol. That
of course is the glorious person of Christ. 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 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. He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me
was love. Stay me with flacons, 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 coming, leaping upon the mountains,
skipping upon the hills. My beloved is like a roe or a
young harp. Behold he standing behind our
wall. He looking forth at the window,
showing himself through the lattice. My beloved spake and said unto
me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away, for the winter
is past, the rain is over and gone, the flowers appear on the
earth, the time of the singlet birds is come, and the voice
of the turtle is heard in our land, the fig-tripit has fought
her green figs, and the vines with tender grape give a good
smell. Arise, my love, my fair one,
and come away. O my dove 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 them underneath,
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. By night on my bed I sought him
whom my soul loved, I sought him, but I found him not. I will
rise now and go about the city in the streets and in the broad
ways. I will seek him whom I so love
him. I sought him, but I found him
not. The watchman, that is the ministers,
that go about the city found me, to whom I said, sought ye
him whom my soul loveth. It was but a little that I passed
from them, but I found him whom my soul loved. I held him and
would not let him go until I had 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 hinds
of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, shall
he please. Who is this that cometh out of
the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and
frankincense, with all powders of the merchant? Behold his bed,
which is Solomon's, that's Christ's. 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. 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, and the midst thereof being paved with love
for the daughters of Jerusalem. Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion,
and behold King Solomon, wherewith his mother crowned him, in the
day of his espousals, in the day of the gladness of his heart. May the Lord bless the reading
of his own precious word and grant to us a spirit of real
prayer. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,
which is an art and art to come, we desire to bow before thy great
majesty, Father, Son and Holy Ghost. We do love a spirit of
true worship and we desire, O Lord, to confess our sins and our unworthiness
at the least of Thy tender mercies. Thou art holy and we are unholy
and unrighteous altogether. But we do thank Thee that there
is a way that has been made to breach that great gulf that is
between us. in and through the glorious person
of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is one God and one mediator
between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave his life,
a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. We thank thee for
that glorious Saviour. We thank thee for that door of
hope that is opened wide in Jesus' bleeding hands and side. We thank
thee for the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and for the love
of God our Father, and for the sacred fellowship of the Holy
Spirit. We pray that thou wouldst condescend
to grant us those rich blessings here this afternoon, and that
the word of truth may be open to our heart and to our understanding,
that we might know those divine drawings of our Heavenly Father,
drawing us unto his best beloved and only begotten Son, our Lord
and Saviour, Jesus Christ. For, Lord, thou hast instructed
us in thy Word that none can except thee father draw. And
we think of those wonderful words of grace. Yea, I have loved thee
with an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness
have I drawn thee. Lord come here this afternoon
and draw poor sinners to Jesus Christ and grant that they may
lay hold of that hope that is set before us in the gospel and
that we may indeed take heed to the exhortation go forth ye
daughters of Jerusalem and behold King Solomon with the crown wherewith
his mother crowned him, in the day of his espousals, in the
day of the gladness of his heart. Oh, to behold him, to behold
the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world, to
behold the glory of the incarnation of the Son of God, to behold
him made of a woman made under the law, that he might redeem
them that are under the law. Oh, to behold that glorious saviour,
to behold the man, the man of sorrows and acquainted with grief,
to behold him as he enters death and then rises from the dead.
Lord, fill our hearts with gratitude, with thanksgiving, with praise
for the wonderful glories of our Lord Jesus Christ. And open
those glories and reveal them unto us. And may we behold him
as he has ascended up on high and led captivity captive. Behold
him at the right hand of the Father, our intercessor, our
mediator, our great high priest. Oh to behold those wonderful
glories of our Lord Jesus Christ. And come Lord and grant that
the love of Christ may be shed abroad in our hearts. Descend from heaven celestial
dove, and mount to bear us far above the reach of these inferior
things, that we may behold the glories of Christ. Blessed Spirit
of truth, only thou canst open the word of God, only thou canst
seal it into our hearts, only thou canst give ears to hear,
eyes to see, and hearts to receive thy word. or do grant that that
may be the case here this afternoon. We do humbly beseech you today. We pray that thou would remember
our dear brethren, the deacons, and knowest the path that they
tread, and knowest each one's needs. We do thank thee for granting
that good measure of restoration to our dear brother. and pray
that thou would go on to strengthen him and uphold him. We do humbly
pray thee, we thank thee for preserving him to us for a season. Lord thou knowest the needs of
the whole of this congregation, thou knowest the afflictions.
We think of our dear sister expecting to have surgery in the coming
weeks and we lovingly commend her to thee and to the word of
thy grace. and pray that there was undertake for them at this
time we do beseech them. We think of our dear brother
and sister in Holland and those things that they are passing
through at this time and we lovingly commend them to thee and to the
word of thy grace which is able to build them up and to grant
them an inheritance among them that are sanctified. We do pray
most gracious Lord that there was hear prayer for the little
ones and the children as they're brought into the sanctuary and
grant that thou hast blessed them in their young and tending
years. Bring them to our Lord Jesus
Christ, who himself has said, suffer little children to come
unto them and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom Pray
for our young friends, O that thou wouldst bless them indeed,
that thou wouldst bring them to live in faith in Jesus Christ,
that thou wouldst make them true followers of thee, and of those
who through faith and patience inherit the promises, that we
may see the fulfilling of that wonderful promise, instead of
thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes
in all the earth. be with them in all the paths
of Providence, guide and direct them, whether it's in their education
or in any future employment, let us graciously go before you.
And those among us that would seek a partner in life journey,
we lovingly commend them to thee and pray that thou wouldst perform
those things and do those things. We think of what thou hast done
and the wonderful in the way that they were set forth in thy
work, in bringing Ruth unto Boaz, and bringing Rebekah unto Isaac.
And Lord, thou art that same God, and able to do these things. Remember, Lord, the prodigals
that have wandered away, and be gracious and bring them to
thy feet. Bring them to worship thee. Bring
them to follow thee. as it was with the prodigal in
Holy Scripture, cause them to be warned and to return unto
their Father's house. Lord, there is nothing, nothing
too hard for thee. Thou art the sovereign ruler
of the skies, ever gracious, ever wise. All my times are in
thy hand, all events at thy command. We thank thee that thou art God
over all and blessed forevermore. and that there is nothing too
hard for them. Remember, Lord, we're all in
the midst of the journey of life. Remember and undertake for us.
Deliver us from the temptations of Satan. Deliver us from the
power and dominion of sin. We do humbly beseech you, for
Lord, sin lives in us, and it is a great burden to us. We pray
to be delivered from its power and from its influence, those
sin lives in us may we not live in sin but may we live to him
that died may we be surrendered to the crucified one oh lord
we do pray to be made more spiritually minded and that our heart and
our affections may be set upon things above and not on things
of the earth And Lord, we pray that Thou in Thy precious mercy
wouldst be with anyone in any particular trouble or trial or
perplexity, perhaps unknown to anyone else, that Thou wouldst
undertake for us. Remember all in the evening time
of life's journey, prepare us for that great change which must
come. For Lord, we are solemnly aware
of the brevity of life, of the solemnity of death, in the tremendous
reality of eternity, and we pray to be prepared. And now, my God,
prepare my soul for that great time, and wash me in thy precious
blood. Take all my sins away. We pray,
most gracious God, for all thy servants as they labour in word
and doctrine upon the walls of Zion. We pray for our little
group of churches, but a part of thy Zion. We pray that thou
wouldst pour forth thy spirit again, that thou wouldst graciously
grant a reviving, a renewing, a replenishing. O Lord, do hear
us, we pray, for thy great namesake, and have mercy upon us. We do
humbly beseech thee. And Lord, we pray that thou wouldst
come here this afternoon and that thou wouldst touch one's
lips with a live column from off the head of the altar, that
thou wouldst meet the needs of thy people. And unstop the deaf
ears and open the blind eyes, we ask with the forgiveness of
all our many sins, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 696. The tune is Harewood 959. Within these walls, dear Lord,
display thy matchless grace, thy constant aid afford, and
show thy smiling face. And may thy blessed family enjoy
salvation, full and free. Hymn 696, tune Harewood 959. And it's not the end of the world
It's not the end of the world It's not the end of the world
It's not the end of the world It's not the end of the world
? And may I bless you forever ?
? In thy salvation, O my Prince ? ? Here in Israel ? ? Here's to our Elves forever ?
? Saddles and tees to the tree ? ? Grape on grape's tree ? ? It's made the world a better
place now ? ? It's made the world a better place now ? ? It's made
the world a better place now ? O say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? And may the heav'nly Father and
the Holy Spirit where he pins and heathen all
his gracious heart to the pain, to let your attention to Solomon's
Song, Chapter 6, reading verses 10 to 13 before our time. Solomon's Song, Chapter 6, verses
10 to 13. Who is she that looketh forth at the moon, there at the
moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an armoured advance. I went
down into the garden of life to see the fruits of the valley,
and to see where the divine flowed, and the pomegranates budded.
Wherever I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of
aminity, Return, return, O Shulamon. Return, return, that we may look
upon it. What will you see in this Shulamon?
As it were, the company of two arms. We mainly looked at the context
this morning in Solomon's Song. And then we spoke a few things
concerning the verse 10, who is she? But we noticed that this is the
spouse of Christ our God, brought with the treasures of his blood.
Who is she? She's the bride of Christ. Christ himself being the King
of kings. Indeed, It speaks here in the
previous verse, the queens and the concubines. And they all follow Him. They all love Him. They all worship
Him. And you know, we have that clear
word in the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ. If ye love
me, keep my commandments. Now we've gone here and we have
the language of the spouse. I went down into the garden house
to see the fruits of the vine and to see whether the vine flourished
and the pomegranate budded. Down into the church of God. And we noticed this morning that
it is of course the vineyard of Christ and the garden of Christ. And we noticed in chapter 4,
a garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse. And this is the valley
where the nuts are, where the fruits come forth, where the
pomegranates where there is the work of the Spirit of God in
the church of God. And Christ says, I am coming
to my God. Notice what he says. I am coming
to my God. It's his God. It's his church. It's his bride. He loves her
with an everlasting love. He came to this sin-cursed world
and suffered and bled and died for her sins. and rose again
for her justification, and has bodily ascended into heaven.
And indeed, in what we read together this afternoon, where it says
in the last verse of chapter three, go forth, O ye daughters
of Zion, and behold him with the crown, wherewith his
mother crowned him, in the day of his espousals, in the day
of the gladness of his heart. Behold! Behold the Lamb of God,
which taketh away the sin of the world. Behold Him as your
prophet, as your priest and your king. That's who He is. He's the prophet, priest and
king of His people. He's able to save to the uttermost
all that come to God by Him. You think of the words of the
Pharisees, this man receiveth sinners and eateth with them.
Hallelujah! He does. They meant it in a derogatory
way. But it's a glorious truth. It's
a blessed truth. That this man, this holy God
man, this glorious and almighty Saviour, this man receiveth sinners
and eateth with them. Who for? Holy daughters of Zion. And behold, he said. You know,
church is hard with none of its hymns. And it's a word that we're
meant to take heed to. Pour not on thyself too long,
else to a simply lower. Look to Jesus, firm and strong. Mercy joined with power. Mercy joined with power. Look to his precious blood. that
cleanses from all sin. Look to His glorious righteousness
that covers our nakedness. Oh, my beloved friends, may the
Lord enable us to look to our Lord Jesus Christ. And you know,
as we read this afternoon, in chapter 2, the rose of Sheba,
the lily of the valley, The apple tree among the trees of the wood
all speaks of Christ. We've often pointed out to you
the apple tree. There's two things that it's
wonderful for. On the one hand, on a hot summer's
day, to sit under the shade of the apple tree. Shaded from the sun. That's one
good use. And then the other one, of course,
it is, it's fruit. It bears fruit. So does Christ. Like the apple tree. And we read
concerning Christ in the prophecy of Isaiah, the shadow of a great
rock in a weary man. That's what Christ is. He's a
shadow. He's a hiding place. That's what
he is. That's what He's made unto His
children. And the Holy Spirit reveals Him as that hiding place,
sheltering for this glorious Savior, this almighty Redeemer,
this One that is able to save in the uttermost all that comes
of God's might. Look unto Him, cast all your
care upon Him. And the spouse says in that third
verse of chapter 2, I sat down under his shadow with great delight,
and his fruit was sweet to my taste. Sitting under the shadow
of Christ, resting on the merits of Christ, casting all your care
upon him, for he cared for you. And the spouse She says in verse
four of chapter two, he brought me to the banquet house and his
banner over me was mine. Christ brings his children into
the banquet house. He spreads the gospel table,
the wonderful glories of his person. He's the bread of life. He's the water of life. He's
the wine of the kingdom. He, the glorious person in Christ,
is that feast of fat things that wine and the bees wow in high. His people feed on him, on his
glorious birth. Let me ask you a question. Do
you have an appetite for Christ? Do you have an appetite for Christ?
Do you long to lay hold of Christ? Can you understand the language
of the dear apostle, though I don't know him, in the power of his
resurrection, the fellowship in his suffering, being made
conformable unto his death? But I, like the dear apostle,
I press toward the mark, to the prize of the high call of God
in Christ Jesus. Is that the language of your
soul? You long to know Christ? You long to lay hold of Christ?
You long to behold his beauty? You long to feed on him? as the
bread of life. If any man eateth this
bread, what our Lord Jesus Christ said to him, if any man eateth
this bread. And you know in that sixth chapter
of John's Gospel, how beautifully the Lord Jesus Christ opens up
himself as being the bread and the water of life. It says in
verse 32 of John 6, that then Jesus said unto them, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from
heaven, but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which
cometh down from heaven and giveth life unto the world, the glorious
person of Christ. Then said they unto him, Lord
evermore, give us this bread. Jesus said unto them, I am the
bread of life. He that cometh to thee shall
never hunger. He that believeth on thee shall
never thirst. You see, it's wonderful truth. And I said unto you that You
also have seen me, and believe not, all that the Father giveth
me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no
wise cast out. You see this glorious bread of
life. I am the bread of life. Christ is. It says in verse 50 of Psalm
6 that this is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that
a man may eat thereof and not die. I am the living bread which
came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread,
he shall live for ever, and the bread that I will give is my
flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. You see,
this is the wonderful bread. This is the apple tree among
the trees of the woods. And, you know, friends, it says
here, the spouse, I went down into the garden of nuts to see
the fruits of the valley. That's the church of God, the
little hills of Zion, and to see whether the vine flowers
and the pomegranates, rather, the pomegranates are the believers
in the church. They are the believers in the
church. In the latter part of chapter 7 here, of the Solemn
Song, where the language of the spouse, I am my Beloved's, and
his desire is to warn me. That's when you feel the love
of Christ in your heart. I am my Beloved's, and his desire
is to warn me. It's a really precious thing
when you feel that. And then it carries on, come
my beloved. And you know, friends, I was
exercised for some 13 years regarding the ministry of the world. And these words, on many occasions
during those 13 years, were made so precious to me. my mind was looking forward to
going into the ministry of the word, but it was almost as if
these words walked up and down in my soul, sometimes so burdened
concerning the ministry of the word. And this was the language
of my soul, come my beloved, let us go forth into the field,
let us lodge in the villages, let us get up early to the vineyards,
let us see if the vine thrives. the vineyards and the vine, it's
the church of God here on earth. Whether the tender grape of Peer
and the pomegranates, what for? That's what the Lord's servants
are looking for. Is there the work of the Spirit? Has a poor sinner been quickened
in his life? Has a poor sinner been convinced
of their sin? Has a poor sinner been brought
to close with Christ and brought into union with our Lord Jesus
Christ? And you know, that's what we're
looking for. That's what we're waiting for.
That's what we're praying for. Let us get up early to the vineyards. Let us see if the vine flourish.
Whether the tender grape appear and the pomegranate bud fall.
There will I give thee my love. There will I give thee
my love. There, in the church of God. under the ministry of
the Word, in the ordinances of God's health, in the normal means
of grace. Sometimes in the singing of a
hymn, your heart is sweetly touched and moved, and the language of
the hymn is the language of your soul, and you feel so drawn into
it. And sometimes in the reading
of the Word of God, there's such a sweetness in the reading of
the Word of God, and it remains with you, and you take it home
with you. Sometimes your ears are opened
to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and to receive it in your very
soul and you rejoice. There's a sweet rejoicing in
heart. The love of Christ is shed abroad in your heart. It's the most sacred thing, my
beloved friends. When in the house of God, I went
down into the Garden of Nuts to see the fruits of the and
to see whether the vine flourish and the pomegranate is ripe.
Wherever I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of
a military, a military and the chariots going forth in battle. Wherever I was aware, have you
ever come up to the house of God? Maybe, much in prayer, For
ever I was aware, my soul made me. Christ redeemed, Christ made
precious. As I said, it can be in the singing
of a hymn, it can be in the preaching of the Word, but your heart is
lifted and drawn into spiritual things, and Christ is made exceedingly
precious to your soul. He becomes the altogether lovely
one. He becomes the cheapest among
10,000. It becomes the very centre, the sum and the substance of
all that you stand in need of. In Him there dwells a treasure
all divine, and matchless grace has made that treasure mine.
Whatever I was aware, my soul made me, like the chalice in
the room, bright enough You know, that is one reason why I read
that beautiful chapter 2. Because the Lord speaking unto
his church, unto his people, he says, rise up my love. Chapter
2, verse 10. My beloved spake and said unto
me, rise up my love. And come on. Back in 1980. The Lord brought me into gospel
liberty. I could take it at the very place. He actually brought
me into gospel liberty on the Monday as I was about my work
with those words indeed in Peter. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who have begotten us again unto life
as a living hope to the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. and oh
how precious that day was. The wonderful blessing of the
Lord so filled my soul. It did indeed. And that afternoon
I went to deliver to a farm and I stopped on the drive down into
the farm because I was so overcome with the wonderful favour and
blessing of the Lord. I was like knackered to life,
satisfied with labour and full of the blessing of the Lord I
went into the little chestnut cots, and there in that little
chestnut cots, I had such a view of my Heavenly Father, His everlasting
love to me, that He chose me before the foundation of the
world. Gave me to His Son, Jesus Christ, as a precious gift. And
His Son, Jesus Christ, lived and suffered and bled and died
for my sins. Friends, I have such, it was
such a feast. And then having felt that love
of the Father, the love of the Son, and then I had such a clear,
beautiful view of the wonderful person of God, the Holy Ghost.
And it was He that had entered into my poor, sinful, wretched
heart. He quickened my soul into life.
He convinced me of my sin, and He led me unto Jesus Christ,
the only Saviour of sinners. But you know, the overriding
sense and feeling I had, these three are one. This one blessing,
glorious, almighty, Lord Jehovah. But the next morning, I came
to my first delivery plans, and I stopped my truck, and these
words dropped into my heart, of the power and the saviour
My beloved spake and said unto me, rise up my love, my fair
love, and come away, for now the winter is over and gone. And you know, friends, I was
so overcome with a sense of my worthlessness,
my sinfulness. I bowed my head and I said, Lord, I'm such a poor, wretched sinner.
How is it thou said my love, my fair one? I felt so poor,
so wretched, so worthless. And he spoke again with such
divine power into my heart. Rise up, my love, my fair one,
and come away. And do you know, friends, I rose
up, I came away. Christ was so unspeakably precious
to my soul. And this is, in essence, the
meaning of what we have in our text. I went down into the garden
plants to see the fruits of the valley, and to see whether the
lies flourished, and the pomegranates budded, or ever I was aware, my soul made me, like the chariots
of the moon, to rise up under the sweet power of God the Holy
Ghost, under the sacred influence of the Spirit of Faith, and Christ
become the very center, the very sum, and the very substance of
everything that you stand in need of. Whatever I was aware,
my soul made me like a chariot of a limiting. You know, really,
it's similar to what we expressed this morning in chapter 4. It's so beautiful when the Lord
speaks these words into your heart. And come with me, verse
8 in chapter 4, come with me from Lebanon, my spouse from
Lebanon, look from the top of the mountain. And the power of
those words, come with me. Christ revealed, Christ made
precious. It's like the Apostle Paul He
said that he was taken up into the third heaven. He said, I
saw things that were not lawful to be spoken. What he means is,
I saw things that it wasn't possible to express. So wonderful, so
glorious, in heaven itself, that he wasn't able to express them.
He couldn't speak of the wonderful glories that he saw in heaven. And this really is the essence
of the word. Wherever I was aware, my soul
made me. like the chariots of a minaret,
to be drawn, to be led, to be guided, to come into the presence,
to sit at the feet of Jesus. We've been in Legion, don't we?
That poor man that was, he said, my name is Legion, we are many.
He was filled with devils. He was filled with evil spirits.
And all the tremendous power those spirits had upon him, But
you know the wonderful, wonderful truth is this, that though the
devil appeared to completely control that man, he was preserved. He was preserved. The devil couldn't
destroy him. When he went about cutting himself,
it was the devil trying to destroy him. It couldn't. Why? Because he was a chosen vessel.
all ordained unto eternal life. You know, as far as you can see,
and this is the wonder of it, as far as you can see, that was
the only case that Jesus dealt with. He came across the sea
of Galilee with his disciples, and there was a great storm,
and the disciples were in great fear of their lives, and they
came onto the land, and they come running out of the tombs,
this mad, demented man, running up to Jesus Christ. And the wonderful thing is this,
the devils were speaking in English. And we read in the Epistle of
James, the devils believe and tremble. What did those devils
say in that man as he ran to Jesus Christ? Jesus! Thou Son of the Most High God. See the devil believed in Joseph.
They were speaking in that man to Christ. We have a discourse
between the devil and Christ there. Jesus, Thou Son of the
Most High God, torment me not. For Christ has said, come out
of the man. Come out of the man. And they did come out of the
man. And what did they find? When
those devils, they actually spoke with the Lord Jesus Christ and
they said, cast us not out of the country, let us go into these
swine. And there was a herd of 2,000
swine feeding on the hillside. And we read, and forthwith Jesus
gave them leave. They couldn't do anything until
he met them. My beloved friends, the devil would love you to believe
that he is in control, but he never has been and he never will
be. There's one in control, yet have I set my king upon my holy
hill of Zion. The Lord Jesus Christ is in control.
With heaven and earth at his command, he waits to answer. And he will answer. And as we
read, and forthwith he gave them leave. They couldn't go until
he allowed them to go. Now we see what those evil spirits
have been trying to do to that poor man. As soon as they went
into that herd of swine, they ran headline down the hill into
the Sea of Galilee, and they all perished. 2,000 swine, all
killed in a moment. But what do we read of Nietzsche?
They came from the city of Decapolis, where he lived, and they came
out, they heard of this amazing thing, of this man, and then
we read this. He was sitting at the feet of
Jesus, clothed, and it is right now, all the wonderful power
of divine sitting at the feet of Jesus. Wow. And he said, here, doesn't it
read, we've looked at it already in chapter two. The apple tree
among the trees of the woods, so is my government. I sat down
under his shadow with great delight. His fruit was sweet to my taste. What a change. All that we could
see these wonderful things today, the day in which we live. Poor,
wretched sinners, bound down by Satan's power. We read in
the Gospels of those that came to the Lord Jesus that were bound
down by Satan's power. With that poor woman, she had
a spirit of infirmity for 18 years. She spent all her money
on physicians. and she came to the Lord Jesus
Christ, she touched the hem of his garment, she was made whole
immediately. You know my beloved friends, we worship
the same Jesus, the same love, the same power, the same kindness,
the same compassion. He's able to say, and he's able
to do these wonderful things, where to another woman pressed
through the crowd. And her language was, if I might
but touch the hem of his garment, I should be made whole. And she
pressed through and she touched the hem of his garment and she
was made whole. We read of the centurion. We
show one of his servants to the Lord Jesus. He had a servant
of his that was sick. And the Lord Jesus, he said to
him, he said, this is a Roman centurion,
quite a highly honoured position. Lord, I am not worthy that thou
should come under my roof, speak the word only. And the Lord Jesus
said, I have not seen so great faith, no, not in all these Lord,
there's no need for you to come under my roof. On that word,
speak the word only. And he did. And the servant was
healed. What wonderful faith. My beloved friends, we worship
the same Jesus. He's able to do abundantly more
than we can even ask or think. Oh, that the Lord will enable
you, encourage you, to bring all your needs, all your concerns,
all your burdens, unto our Lord Jesus Christ. I went down into the garden once,
to see the fruits of the vine, and to see whether the vine threshed,
and the pomegranate threshed, or ever I was aware, my soul
made me like the chariots for the midnight. Wonderful thing,
my beloved friends. Now, in this verse 13, it speaks,
return, return Oshulamite. Now, Oshulamite is an inhabitant
of Jerusalem. That's what it means. An inhabitant
of Jerusalem. Jerusalem, of course, spiritually,
is the church of the living God. So it is the same truth that
is being said before but there is a divine call in it. A divine call that is doubled
up. It's emphasised. Return, return
O Shulamite. Return, return that we may look
upon you. You know when the Blessed
Spirit that begins that work of grace in the heart of a poor
sinner. What is called regeneration.
The Lord Jesus said to his disciples, did he? Yea, they which have
followed me in the regeneration. That means their soul has been
quickened, regenerated. It's only the Spirit of God can
do that. Often, not always, but often,
the first realization of spiritual life in the soul is a sense of
your sinfulness, a sense of your emptiness, a sense of your poverty,
a sense of your helplessness. You see, when He, the Spirit
of Truth, is come, He will reprove the world of sin and of righteousness. and of judgment. That divine
work of the Spirit in the heart. Return, return, O Shulamite,
return, return that we may look upon that. In a sense, it's the same
with us then, I believe, on Thursday evening, when Return, return,
it's a similar, not the same, but similar word to repent. Repentance
is a wonderful gift and grace of the Holy Ghost, which he works
and gives to the children of God. So, repentance literally
means to turn around and face God. That's the meaning of repentance. turn right now from facing the
world and the things of the world and the ways of the world to
turn right now and face God. That is the literal meaning of
repentance. That's why the Apostle says,
repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. It's
when a poor sinner, but by the divine power of the Holy Ghost
and by the drawing love of our Lord Jesus Christ, he turns to
God. the concession of sin. And repentance
never comes on its own. No. It's always accompanied by
faith. That is what we call evangelical
repentance. There is a repentance that needed
to be repented of, when there is a natural turning to God without
the divine power of the Spirit in the heart. But this is that
which is the work of the Spirit in the heart. Return, return
O Shulamite, return, return that we may look upon you. You know the Church of God is
made up of portions is, drawn from every walk of life, brought
together with one thing in common, to love our Lord Jesus Christ
in sincerity and in truth. A sinner may repent and
sin, rejoice and be afraid. A lot of people mistake repentance
as being crying and weeping You can have crying and weeping without
repentance. Absolutely. But where there is
true evangelical repentance, which is united with faith, looking
alone unto Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ revealed, then that
sinner turns away from the world by the power of divine grace
unto Jesus Christ. That's the way, the truth and
the life. And then there's another sense
of looking at these words. Shulamite, one of the daughters
of Jerusalem, we sometimes get into a backsliding
state of condition. We wander away from the Lord.
We wander away from His ways, His truth, His house, His ordinances. We get ourselves into places
where we should not get. Now this is a divine call. Return,
return O Shulamite. Return, return. That we, that
is the Church, may look upon thee. What would we see in the
Shulamite? As it were, the company of two
arms. The hymn writer says, doesn't
he, in every believer two arms are seen. The new man of grace
and the old man of sin. It's in every believer. There's
the new man of grace and the old man of sin. The apostle speaking of the believer,
he says in Galatians chapter 5, the flesh lusteth against
the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, and the one is the
contrary to the God. That is, that battle that goes
on in the heart of every true believer. What will you see in
the Shulamite? As it were, the company of two
arms, the flesh and the spirit. The Apostle, of course, he speaks
quite extensively in Romans chapter 7 of this particular truth. And he had been in the way many
years. when he wrote Romans, where he says, I find the law within my members,
that when I would be good, then evil is present. And that which
I would, I do not. And that which I would not, I
do not. You see, you have this conflict. Do you know what this
conflict is? Between the flesh and the spirit. contrary to each other. Do you
know what it is to have a battle within your own heart? What will you see in the Shulamite?
As it were, the company of two hearts. Or the Lord by His grace,
by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ will help us to overcome. To overcome, I tell you, in Jesus
Christ. and to know that delivering grace,
and to know what it is to follow Christ, and to seek to live near
him, and to do it with, and to keep his commandments. May the
Lord give us each that grace. Who is she that looketh forth
as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible
as an army with I went down into the Garden of Nuts to see the
fruits of the vine, and to see whether the vine flourished,
and the pomegranate started. Wherever I was aware, my soul
made me like the chariots of divinity. Return, return Eshumai,
return, return, that we may look upon thee. What will ye see in
Eshumai? as it were the company of two
angels. Let us sing together hymn 364 and the tomb is Osset 386. Happy the church, thou sacred
place, the seat of thy creator's grace, thy holy courts are his
abode, thou earthly palace of our God. Hymn 364, tomb Osset
386. God save the Queen! God save
the Queen! Thy holy host, God eternal, everlasting,
ever more. Whose broad stripes and bright
stars through the perilous fight O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
? What shall I keep from day to
day? ? ? It's the only chance I'll
ever get. ? ? May peace I send thee ? ? A peace
this round ? ? In heaven reigns ? Thy prosperous ways we have been
told, Ever shall thy light shine, O say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave O'er the land of the free His arms embrace this happy land.
Thy praises o'er the land Oh, give it a children full of
song. ? In the land of peace, in the
land of love ? ? For God's riches give him no praise ? 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 both now and forevermore. Amen.