The notices for the coming week
are God willing as follows. Pastor 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 a prayer meeting
here on Tuesday evening at seven o'clock. Let us commence our
services today by singing together hymn 570. The tune is Sheffield.
235 the lord on high his love proclaims
and makes his goodness known to men deserving endless pains
he gave his only son him 570 june sheffield 235 I miss my brook-bank, and makes
its bird-nest sound. Amen. Peace. Amen. Amen. Peace. ? In a place of their life to live
? ? To save them from their sin ? ? From death and hell, their
sin ? Ahem. O come ye, O come ye, O come
ye, O come ye to Bethlehem. Our own subjects have not helped
themselves, have cried for help till now. The gates of Zion close to thee,
Thou the temple of peace, is the Son of Israel, Savior
by His grace. Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in the Song of Solomon, part of chapter 4
and chapters 5 and 6. Solomon's Song, chapter 4, we'll
commence reading at verse 8 and we'll read down to the end of
chapter 6. Come with me from Lebanon, my
spouse, with me from Lebanon. Look from the top of Amarna,
from the top of Chenier and Hermon, from the lion's dens, from the
mountains of leopards. Thou hast ravished my heart,
my sister, my spouse. Thou hast ravished my heart with
one of thine eyes, with one chain of thine neck. How fair is thy
love, my sister, my spouse! How much better is thy love than
wine, and the smell of thine ointments and all spices. Thy
lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb. Honey and milk are
under thy tongue, and the smell of thy garments is like the smell
of Lebanon. A garden enclosed is my sister,
my spouse, a spring shut up, a fountain sealed. Thy plants
are an orchard of pomegranates with pleasant fruits, camphire
with spikenard, spikenard with saffron, calamus with cinnamon,
with all trees of frankincense, myrrh and aloes, with all the
chief spices, a fountain of gardens, a well of living waters and streams
from Lebanon. Awake, O north wind, and come
thou south. Blow upon my garden, that the
spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his
garden and eat his pleasant fruits. I am coming to my garden, my
sister, my spouse. I have gathered my myrrh with
my spice. I have eaten my honeycomb with
my honey. I have drunk my wine with my milk. eat, O friends,
drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved. I sleep, but my heart
waketh. It is the voice of my beloved
that knocketh, saying, open to me, my sister, my love, my dove,
my undefiled. For my head is filled with dew,
and my locks with the drops of the night. I have put off my
coat, How shall I put it on? I have washed my feet, how shall
I defile them? My beloved put in his hand by
the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him. I
rose up to open to my beloved, and my hands dropped with myrrh,
and my fingers were sweet-smelling myrrh upon the handles of the
lock. I opened to my beloved, but my
beloved had withdrawn himself and was gone. My soul failed
when he spake. I sought him, but I could not
find him. I called him, but he gave me
no answer. The watchmen that went about
the city found me. They smoked me, they wounded
me. The keepers of the walls took
away my veil from me. I charge you, O daughters of
Jerusalem, If ye find my beloved, let ye tell him that I am sick
of love. What is thy beloved more than
another beloved, O thou fairest among women? What is thy beloved
more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us? My beloved
is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand. His head
is as the most fine gold, His locks are bushy and black as
a raven. His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of
waters, washed with milk and fitly set. His cheeks are as
a bed of spices, as sweet flowers. His lips like linners dropping
sweet-smelling myrrh. His hands are as gold rings set
with the beryl. His belly is as bright ivory
overlaid with sapphires. His legs are as pillars of marble,
sepon, sockets of fine gold. His countenance is as Lebanon,
excellent as the cedars. His mouth is most sweet, yea,
he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this
is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem. With it is thy beloved
gone, O thou fairest of women. With it is thy beloved turned
aside, that we may seek him with thee. My beloved is gone down
into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens,
and to gather lilies. I am my beloved's, and my beloved
is mine. He feedeth among the lilies. Thou art beautiful, O my love,
as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners. Turn away thine eyes from me,
for they have overcome me. Thy hair is as a flock of goats
that appear from Gilead. Thy teeth are as a flock of sheep
which go out from the washing, whereof every one beareth twins.
and there is not one barren among them. As a piece of a pomegranate
are they temples within thy locks. There are threescore queens,
and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number. My dove, my undefiled, is but
one. She's the only one of her mother.
She is the choice one of her that bear her. The daughters
saw her and blessed her. Yea, the queens and concubines
they praised her. Who is she that looketh forth
as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible
as an army with banners? I went down into the garden of
nuts to see the fruits of the valley, and to see whether the
vine flourished and the pomegranates budded. Wherever I was aware,
my soul made me like the chariots of Eminidib. Return, return,
O Shulamite, return, return, that we may look upon thee. What
will you see in the Shulamite? As it were, the company of two
armies. May the Lord bless the reading
of his own precious word and grant unto us the spirit of real
prayer. Almighty, most merciful and eternal
God of heaven, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, We desire to bow
before thy glorious majesty. We come, Lord, as poor sinners. Thankful to find thee at his
room before the throne of grace. Thankful, O Lord, for those things
we've read in thy word of our beloved, of his everlasting love
in our Lord Jesus Christ. O most gracious God, we pray
that as we gather together around thy word today, though we come
as poor, wretched sinners, unclean and unrighteous altogether, and
yet, Lord, may we have that sacred sense and realisation, my beloved
is mine, our Lord Jesus Christ, mine forever. mine eternally,
Jesus Christ, the same yesterday and today and forever. Oh, we do thank thee for the
sending forth of thine only begotten Son. We do thank thee for the
love of our eternal Father. God so loved the world, he gave
his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should be saved.
or that we might feel the sweetness, the power, and the freshness
of the gospel of Jesus Christ. May we have his wonderful presence
in our sanctuary today, and may we see no man save Jesus only,
for he is all our hope, he is all our desire, his precious
blood washes away all sin, his glorious Righteousness covers
our nakedness and may we know and feel the power of the atonement
in our hearts and may we know and feel the divine power and
the heavenly unction of the Holy Ghost as we gather round thy
word. Oh we we do pray that thou would
be with us and that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and
the love of God our Father and the sacred fellowship of the
Holy Spirit may rest and abide upon us, we do humbly beseech
thee. Remember us as a church and as
a congregation, and remember us with the favour that thou
bearest unto thy people, and visit us with thy great salvation,
we do humbly beseech thee. Lord, we do pray for our brethren,
the deacons, that thou wouldst richly bless them. O Lord, for
that measure of recovery of our dear beloved brother, and we
pray that thou wouldst continue thy gracious help and grant thy
strength in mercies day by day. We do thank thee for thy mercy,
O Lord, in preserving unto us. And we do pray that we may know
thy richest blessing upon us as a church and as a congregation.
that thou hast let thy work appear unto thy servants and thy glory
unto their children, that we may see the work of the mighty
Spirit of God in our midst, that we may see the fulfilling of
those wonderful gospel promises, I will bring thy sons from far
and thy daughters from the ends of the earth, and they shall
come from the north and from the south and from the east and
from the west. Lord, may we see Zion's offspring come. May we
see prodigal's return. And thou wonderful grace in this,
we do humbly beseech of thee. Thou art indeed able to do abundantly
more than we can even ask or think. And thou hast said unto
us in thy word, open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. and that thou hast promised in
thy word that I, the Lord, will hasten in his time. Lord, may
we see a day of real prosperity and in-gathering. May we see
the glory and light of the gospel shine into this village and the
surrounding villages and hamlets and the strongholds of Satan
pulled down and the kingdom of our Lord Jesus set up in the
hearts of sinners. Lord, let thy work appear unto
thy servants and thy glory unto their children. We do humbly
beseech thee. Grant signs to follow the preaching
of the word. O Lord of hosts, O God of Israel,
O thou that dwellest between the cherubim, shine forth. We
do humbly beseech thee for thy great namesake. Lord, we pray
that thou wouldst bless each one of our brethren and sisters
in church fellowship and that thou wouldst indeed bless us
as a church and as a congregation. Thou knowest the individual pathways
of each one, the afflictions, the troubles, the perplexities,
the temptations. Lord, thou knowest all things
and we pray that thou wouldst be gracious and have mercy upon
each one. in all their various concerns. And, O Lord, we do pray that
Thou, in Thy precious mercy, would remember the little ones,
the children. We lovingly commend them to Thee.
We love to see them and hear them in the sanctuary. And we
pray that Thou would richly bless them, that Thou would put the
fear of the Lord which is the beginning of wisdom into their
hearts in their young and in their tender years. Lord, remember
the young friends and graciously bless them and guide them. O thou great Jehovah, be with
them in their schoolwork and be with them, Lord, as they launch
forth from school into the world of work. And may they see thy
goodness pass before them in the way. and may thy gracious
hand rest upon them in that wonderful way, in the blessing of blessings,
that they may be brought to living faith in Jesus Christ, that they
may be enabled to forsake all and to follow him and to serve
him in their day and in their generation. Arise, arise, O God
of grace, into thy rest descend, Thou in the ark of thy strength,
and let thy priests be clothed with salvation, and thy saints
shall shout aloud for joy. Oh abundantly bless the provision
of thy house, and satisfy her poor with bread. Oh Lord, we
do beseech of thee for thy great namesake. And may those in the
midst of the journey of life, and graciously undertake for
each one, and remember parents and give them grace and wisdom
to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of
the Lord. Deliver us from temptation, whether
it be the temptations in this world, which would draw us aside,
or whether they be the temptations of Satan, 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. We pray that glorious
standard may be lifted up today, that even our Lord Jesus Christ,
his cross, his resurrection, O most gracious God, grant thy
blessing upon us. Remember all in the evening time
of life's journey and guide us safely unto thy heavenly kingdom. Help us to lay aside every weight
and the sin that does so easily beset us, and run with patience
the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus. Remember
all thy servants as they labour in word and doctrine today. Grant
that they may dip their foot in oil, be made acceptable unto
the brethren, and that there might be an outpouring of the
Spirit, and mighty signs and wonders to follow the preaching
of the word. O Lord of hosts, O God of Israel,
shine forth. We do humbly beseech of Thee. And O Lord, we do pray that Thou
wouldst remember those that go out from among us as a group
of churches among the nations of the earth. Remember Thy servant
Ian Sadler and grant, Lord, good success in those labours that
he undertakes in so many different countries in the distribution
and the exposition of thy holy word, I will do crown his labours
with success. Remember the Mombasa mission
and thy servant that labours there. Grant, O Lord, that they
may see thy work and thy power and thy glory in the ingathering
of precious souls. Remember the Savannah Education
Trust and that great work that they're doing in Ghana. Lord,
supply all their many needs, we do humbly beseech thee. Remember
our nation and graciously give wisdom to our leaders, guidance
and direction in all matters. We live in truly solemn days.
Wickedness abounds on every hand. The powers of Antichrist are
so powerful and prevalent. We pray, O Lord, that thou wouldst
hear the cries of thy little remnants, and send out thy light
and thy truth again in the length and breadth of this nation. Wherever
thy servants stand and thy people gather, grant the outpouring
of thy spirit. We do humbly beseech thee. Do
bless the royal household. Do bless our king and graciously
give wisdom and guidance and direction. Grant them thy grace. We do humbly beseech thee. Lord
we thank Thee for every mercy and every favour, we thank Thee
for our house of prayer, we thank Thee for the Word of God, for
the open Bible, we thank Thee for every mercy of Thy kind providence,
but above all we thank Thee for Jesus Christ, we thank Thee for
the incarnation of the Son of God, for the holy life He lived,
for the holy law he fulfilled, for the bringing in of everlasting
righteousness for his people. Oh, thanks be unto God for his
unspeakable gift. We thank thee for that glorious
atonement for sin and for uncleanness. His precious blood has been shed
and the divine justice has been satisfied and God and sinners
are reconciled. We thank thee that he died for
our sins and rose again for our justification and has bodily
ascended into heaven and sitted at thy right hand. We indeed
have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. Fill
our hearts with praise, with thanksgiving, with adoration. We thank thee that in him we
know the love of our eternal Father, and through him we receive
the gift of the Holy Ghost. Come and touch one's lips with
a live coal from off the heavenly altar. We ask for Jesus Christ's
sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 268, The tune is Lorenza 49. If Jesus kindly say, and with
a whispering word, arise my love and come away, I run to meet
my Lord. Hymn 268, tune Lorenza 49. ? When in Israel's glorious city
? ? Thy faithfulness be found ? ? Alas, my love, I'm drawn away
? ? Turn not to thee, I know ? ? My soul is divided ? Alleluiah, alleluia. O'er the ramparts we watched,
were so gallantly streaming? ? O praise Christ, the heav'nly
King! ? O say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave O'er the land of the free ? O'er the ramparts we watched,
were so gallantly streaming? ? ? And the rocket's red glare, the bombs
bursting in air, ? ? I give you my heart ? ? Last
hope and endless night ? ? I give you my prayers ? Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, direct your attention to Solomon's Song and Chapter
6 and we'll read verses 10 to 13
for our text. The Song of Solomon, Chapter
6, verses 10 to 13. Who is she that looketh forth
as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible
as an army with banners. I went down into the Garden of
Nuts to see the fruits of the valley, and to see whether the
vine flourished and the pomegranates budded. Wherever I was aware,
my soul made me like the chariots of a minoted. Return, return,
O Shulamite, return, return, that we may look upon them. What
will you see in the Shulamite? As it were, the company of two
armies. The Puritans and Dr. Gill, they often refer to the Song of Solomon
as being the Holy of Holies of the Scripture. And the reason being is the rich
spiritual teaching that there is found in this sacred portion
of God's Word. It's called the Song of Songs,
which is Solomon's Song of Songs. It's like Christ is called the
King of Kings, the Lord of Lords. And this is the Song of Songs
because there is no other song like it upon earth. And what
it describes is that intimate union and communion that there
is between Christ and the church. It's sacred Hebrew poetry. There's nothing like it. And the only entrance that you
and I can ever really truly have into it is by having experience
of the love of Christ shed abroad in your hearts. I've often told
you that when I was under the law and in deep darkness and bondage. One day, I took my Bible, I wasn't
in the habit of reading it regularly, and I opened it on Solomon's
Song. And I read it right the way through. And I remember closing the book
and thinking and actually saying, I do not understand a syllable
that I've read, just it was a completely closed book. I didn't understand
it, at all. But eventually, when Christ was
revealed to me, as the way, the truth and the life, and Christ
was made precious to me, and the love of Christ was shed abroad
in my heart, What a different book. It came alive. It literally came alive. You
know, in the first chapter of Solomon's Song, and this is what
initially was made so precious to me, is the prayer of the spouse. The spouse, of course, is the
church. A husband is Christ. He's called
the bridegroom in other places in Holy Scripture. And so we
have in Solomon's Song in particular this sacred, intimate, loving
intercourse that there is between the poor sinner and Christ. And if we look at even the first
part of it, let him kiss me. You know, until you've known
that a little bit of that intimate union and communion with Christ,
you cannot understand Solomon's Song. Once Christ has been revealed,
once Christ has been made precious, you can understand this language.
Let him kiss me. With the kisses of his mouth,
this is the spells speaking to Christ, for thy love is better
than wine. There is no love like the love
of Christ. Love is powerful, it is. The love of Christ is rich and
free, blessed to his own eternally. We have those wonderful words
in Jeremiah 31, yea I have loved thee, with an everlasting love. It's a love that is eternal.
It's a love that is from everlasting to everlasting. It has neither
beginning nor end. Here in Solomon's Song we've
read it together. His hands, whose hands? The hands
of Christ. His hands are as gold rings.
You just think of that. It is his fingers, the ring. What does the ring represent?
Well it's gold and in this metaphorical way, in poetry in particular,
they use metaphors, things drawn from this life that we understand
to express spiritual truth here. So gold especially in the context
of Solomon's Song, it represents deity. That Jesus Christ is not
just a man, he's not just a good man, he's not just a righteous
man, he's the Holy God man, he's the Eternal Son, he's the only
begotten Son of the Father, full of grace and truth. And the gold sets forth his divinity. glorious reality that he is the
eternal son of God, as gold rings. Now the other feature that in
a ring it has neither beginning nor
end, it's continuous, has neither beginning or end. How beautiful,
concerning the person and love of our Lord Jesus Christ. has
neither beginning nor end. So these sacred words that we
find here, so the only way that we can really properly understand
Solomon's song is to realize that we have before us two lovers,
two lovers and that is what is being used here to set forth
the eternal love the pure, holy, eternal love of Christ to his
church. It is. And the spouse, his church,
once the Holy Spirit has quickened her soul, once the love of Christ
has been shed abroad in her heart, she's drawn to Christ. Let him
kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for thy love is better
than wine She now has, after being born again of the Spirit,
after having Christ revealed, she has a spiritual appetite
for the love of God in Christ. Let him kiss me. She wants that
intimate union with her beloved. Let him kiss me with the kisses
of his mouth for thy love. is better than wine. And then
in verse four of chapter one, another one of those beautiful
prayers, and it's the prayer of a living soul, draw me, we
will run after thee. I remember my late pastor, Mr.
Jupp, speaking from that on one Lord's day, draw me, we will
run after thee. And he described it like this,
and I absolutely agree with his exposition as well. We, draw
me, singular, we will run after thee. And he said, this is the
Holy Spirit dwelling in the heart of the believer. Draw me is the
desire of the living soul. We, the Holy Spirit and the believer,
we will run after thee. You see, every true believer
has dwelling in them the Holy Ghost. And it's the only way
you can understand this. We will run after them. It's
the language of a living soul. And then in verse 7 again, these
beautiful prayers of the spouse, the desires and longings of the
spouse. Tell me. Tell me. She's praying to her Beloved.
Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest. That's not where he himself feeds,
it's where the church feeds, and he feeds the church. Her
desire was to be among the Lord's people, among accompanied believers. And that is the language of a
living soul. Tell me, O thou whom my soul
loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest
at noon, for why should I be as one that turneth aside by
the flocks of thy companions? And you know, friends, she receives
an immediate answer in verse eight, chapter one. If thou know
not, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth, by the footsteps
of the flock, and feed thy kids beside thee shepherds' tents."
What are the footsteps of the flock? They are the footsteps
of Christ. My sheep know my voice and they
follow me. The footsteps of the flock are
the footsteps of Christ. know my voice and they follow
me. Are you following Jesus? Do you
see a beauty in Jesus? Do you see a loveliness in Jesus? Is there something in Jesus Christ
that so draws your heart, your soul? You know friends this is
real religion. Blessed are they that hunger
and thirst after righteousness. They're hungering and thirsting
after Christ. That's what it is. They hunger and thirst. They
long, they watch, they wait. Precious thing, you know, my
beloved friends, when the Lord so blesses us. You notice in
the beginning of our reading today, verse 8 in chapter 4,
this is the language of Christ unto his spouse come with me
from Lebanon my spouse come with me from Lebanon look from the
top of Amarna from the top of Shaner and Herman from the lion's
dens then these lovely words in verse nine thou has ravished
my heart My sister, my spouse, has ravished my heart. With one
of thine eyes I see I have faith. With a chain of thy neck, the
eternal love of God, known and felt in the heart. You know, friends, one of the
periods when I was very afflicted, was taken into hospital one day,
released, and then had to go back in the following morning.
It was in the early hours of that morning. I couldn't sleep
and I felt so ill. And I went downstairs and I sat
and I was reading here. And these words here, the Lord
breathed them into my very soul. Come with me from Lebanon, my
sister, my spouse. Look, I cannot express to you
what I saw, the glory of Christ. The wonders of redeeming love. It was in 2005. It was inexpressible. The wonderful
glory of Christ. I, in myself, was utterly, completely
finished. Physically weak, mentally weak. But I cannot express to you the
glory I saw. You know, friends, little did
I know That was the beginning of February 2005. Little did I know that I would
not preach until the middle of November that year. I was in hospital eight times.
But the wonder of glory that the Lord gave me, a view of Christ,
of His glory, the wonder of it. ravished my heart. It's an amazing
thing, isn't it? The eternal Son of God, manifest
in the flesh. A poor, wretched sinner looking
to Christ in all their emptiness, filthiness and poverty, looking
in faith, believing, and Christ overcome. The glory, the wonderful
glory of God in Christ, he is overcome by a poor sinner. Overcome with a poor sinner looking
to him, a poor sinner coming to him, a poor sinner trusting
in him, cleaving to him, a poor sinner who come to the ends of
the earth and what does he say? Look unto me all ye ends of the
earth and be ye saved for I am God and there is none else. That's
what he speaks to these poor needy sinners. Come unto me all
ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest
take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly
in heart and ye shall find rest for your souls come with me from
Lebanon my spouse from Lebanon from this he says here from the
top of Amarna, from the top of Shunur and Hermon, from the lion's
dens, from the mountains of leopards. That's this world. We're surrounded
with the enemy, with the world and Satan and his deep-laid snares. And he says, come with me. And
he says, how fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse. How much better is thy love than
wine and the smell of thine ointments and all spices. You know, friends,
wonderful sacred language. He speaks here of the church
as a garden. In chapter four, verse 12, a
garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse, a spring shut up,
a fountain sealed, You know, in Jerusalem, we have gardens,
and if you go to central London, you have lots of houses and flats,
but there's no gardens. Well, it was like that. Jerusalem
was a very compact city, and very, very few gardens within
the city of Jerusalem. But what they used to do was
they would go outside, they would find in the out of the city a
place with a spring and they would wall it around and they
would plant their spices and all their vegetables and the
whole families to go out and spend a day out in the garden
watering and looking after the garden which was without the
city and this is the language of Solomon's song and you've
got to understand what it means in this sense you look at it
spiritually the church a garden enclosed my sister my spouse it's been built she's walled
around she's loved with an everlasting love she's chosen in Christ she's
walled around there's an eternal covenant that God has made. And
within that garden there's a spring of living waters. Spring of living
waters. This is the church of God. A garden enclosed. The electing
love of the Father. The redeeming love of the Son. The sanctifying love of the Holy
Ghost. A garden enclosed is my sister,
my spouse, A spring shut up. This is the church. Christ loves
the church. It speaks of the plants in that
garment, the plants, orchard of pomegranates, pleasant fruits,
camphor, spikenard, saffron, calamus, these wonderful spices. What do these spices represent?
The divine work of the Spirit in the heart of a true believer. These precious spices, faith,
love, humility, contrition. This is the divine
work of the Spirit in the heart, bringing a poor sinner to see
their lost condition, bringing them to the feet of Jesus, to
see him as the way, the truth and the life, to follow him,
to leave everything, And these precious spices in the heart
of the believer, they're a sweet savour unto Christ. A fountain
of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon. The Church of God. The Spirit,
you know, living water, and again and again in Holy Scripture,
the Holy Ghost is likened to water. And this spring, It's
the spring that's always there. And our Lord Jesus Christ, he
speaks of this living spring of living water in the Church
of God. In John chapter 4, when he saw
the woman by the well, and he spoke to her, the woman of Samaria,
and she was quite alarmed. How is it that Thou being a Jew,
askest drink of me, who am a woman of Samaria. You know, it's said
of Jesus Christ by the Pharisees in a derogatory way, this man
receive his sinners and eateth with them. Hallelujah, my beloved
friends. He still receives sinners. He
does. He still receives sinners. Jesus
answered and said, if thou knewest the gift of God and who it Is
that saith to thee, give me to drink? Thou wouldst have asked
of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman
saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the
well is deep. From whence then hast thou that
living water? Art thou greater than our father
Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and
his children, his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto
her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again. But
whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never
thirst. But the water that I shall give
him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting
life. That's the Holy Ghost. It shall
be in him a well of water. The believer has within them
a well of water. bubbles up constantly and continually. It does. The glorious person,
power and grace of God the Holy Ghost. You know, again in the
Gospel according to John in chapter 7, it speaks of this living water
that Christ gives to his people and so clearly and beautifully
sets before us the divine person, power and grace of God the Holy
Ghost. If you turn to John chapter 7
and verse 37, In the last day, that great day of the feast,
Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come
unto me. If any man thirst, let him come
unto me. What wonderful words of grace
and drink! He that believeth on me, as the
Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living
water. But this spake he of the Spirit,
which they that believe on him should receive. For the Holy
Ghost was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorious. that wonderful, glorious person
of God, the Holy Ghost, a fountain of gardens, a well of living
waters and streams from Lebanon. Awake, O north wind, and it's
sometimes very difficult, and here in the last verse of chapter
four, is to know whether it's Christ speaking or the church.
actually believe the first part of this verse is Christ speaking
and again the Holy Ghost is likened to wind in Holy Scripture when
the Lord Jesus speaking to Nicodemus he must be born again except
a man be born of water and of the Spirit he cannot enter the
kingdom of heaven and that and again illustrating the work of
the Spirit he says the wind bloweth where it listeth We know not
whence it cometh, nor whither it goeth. So is every one that
is born of the Spirit. And now Christ, he says, Awake,
O north wind, and come thou south. A north wind is a bitter cold
wind. A south wind is a warm balmy wind. You know, we need
both. And if you look at this in the
spiritual light of it, The North Wind is when the Holy Spirit
brings the law of God in its convicting and convincing power
into our heart and conscience. Awake, O North Wind! But then,
not on alone, and come thou South! That's the warm balmy winds of
the everlasting love of God in Christ. Awake, O North Wind, and come
thou South! and blow upon my garden, it's
his garden, it's not ours, it's Christ's garden, that the spices
thereof may flow out. Those wonderful spices that we've
mentioned in the previous verses of spikenard, saffron, calamus,
cinnamon, and these precious graces of the Spirit, faith and
hope and love, flow out. We have the answer from the spouse
in the garden. Let my beloved come into his
garden and eat his pleasant fruits. And then the beginning of chapter
five, I am coming to my garden. It's Christ answering the spouse.
I am coming. And the lovely, loving language
he uses to his spouse. I am coming to my garden, my
sister. spouse. I've gathered my myrrh
with my spice. I've eaten my honeycomb with
my honey. I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, O friends,
drink, yea, drink abundantly, O Beloved." What wonderful grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ and in a sense we've already now
open to you the first part of our text. Who is she? That looketh
forth as the morning. Who is she? It's a rhetorical
question. Who is she? Well, we have a description of
her in the previous verse. By Christ, in that beautiful
loving language in verse 9 of chapter 6. My dove, My undefiled
is but one. She is the only one of her mother.
She is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters,
that's fellow believers, the daughters saw her and blessed
her. Yea, the queens and the concubines,
they praised her. Who is she that looketh forth? You know, He that goeth forth
and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again
with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. This spouse
is on a journey and she's leaning on her beloved.
Who is this that cometh up out of the wilderness, leaning upon
her beloved? This is the spouse. of Christ
our God, bought with the treasures of His blood. She's a poor, wretched
sinner. She was born in sin, she was
shaped in iniquity, she lived in sin and rebellion until the
Lord, by His infinite love, mercy and grace, sent His Spirit, the
Spirit that precedeth force from the Father and the Son. He sends that Spirit into the
heart of each one of his chosen vessels of mercy. They were chosen
by the Father, they were redeemed by the Son at Calvary, and now
they are to be sanctified by the Holy Ghost. When the Spirit
comes into the heart, when He, the Spirit of Truth, had come,
He will convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of
judgment. Who is she that looketh forth as the morning? She looks forth as the morning. You know when the precious gift
of faith is wrought in the heart by the Holy Ghost, there's a
looking forward. There's a looking onto Jesus.
There's a looking onto Jesus. the author and finisher of our
faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross,
despising the shame thereof, and is now set down at the right
hand of the Majesty on high. And by faith, and it's a faith
that works by love, it unites the soul in love to Christ. They
look to Christ. They cleave to Christ. They love
Christ. They're drawn to Christ. They
see a beauty in Christ. They see a loveliness in Christ. As we read the language here
in the latter part of chapter five of the Beloved's description
of Christ. My Beloved in verse 10, the first
thing she sees in him, my Beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest
among 10,000. Beloved. White and ruddy, that
white representing the purity and the holiness of Jesus Christ,
the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Ruddy is red, it represents the
blood of Christ and the spouse sees in Christ, he sees in her,
all her salvation is in him. He his perfect holy life, his
fulfilling of the holy law, his bringing in of everlasting righteousness,
his precious sinatonic sacrifice on the cross of Calvary. That's
what she sees in her beloved. My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among
10,000. You put him among 10,000 of the
glorious angels of God, and he stands out. You put him among
the most finest specimens of the sons of men and he stands
out, the most glorious, the chiefest among 10,000. He's the eternal
son of the eternal God that was manifest in the flesh. He lived
a life that was holy and pure. He lived a life that was full
of sorrow and sadness and grief. He took our sins He suffered
and bled and died for our sins. My Beloved is white and ruddy.
She sees in Him all her salvation, not in some cold, clinical, intellectual
way, but she loves Him. She loves Him. Her affections,
her desires, are all found in Christ. What is thy Beloved more
than another Beloved? over thou fairest among women. She, and who is she that looketh
forth as the morning? She's looking for. Looking at
the apostle, he puts that in a beautiful way, doesn't he?
Hebrews 12, looking unto Jesus. Are you? Are you? Am I? Looking unto Jesus, the author
and finisher of our faith. who for the joy that was set
before him endured the cross, despising the shame thereof,
and is now set down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. We do not worship a dead Christ. We worship a living Christ, who
has the power of an endless life. He does. A living Christ, who
has the power of an endless life, looking unto Jesus, all our righteousness, His precious sin atoning sacrifice,
looking unto Jesus, His precious blood that He shed on Calvary
to redeem us from the law, from the curse of the law, from the
power of sin. What is that name that speaks
for me? in heaven's high courts above,
and from the curse has set me free, tis Jesus' precious blood. My beloved is white and ruddy. Who is she that looketh forth
as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible
as an army with banners? She sees her beloved here in
chapter five, His head is as the most fine gold, cold again,
representing divinity. My beloved, he's not just a man,
he's not just a good man, he's the eternal Son of God that was
manifest in the flesh. Great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. You know, there's such a glory
and a beauty when we see God manifest in the flesh, the glorious
person of Christ. beloved. His head is as the most
fine gold, his locks are bushy, black as a raven, full of strength,
full of vigor. His eyes as the eyes of doves,
soft, tender, pure, clear, the eyes of Christ. I've often explained
it, you know, like Peter when he denied his Lord and Master
with oaths and curses and Jesus turned and looked in the judgment
hall. And he went out and wept bitterly. You know, friends, that look
of Christ of Peter was a look of infinite love. It was. It broke his heart. It absolutely
broke his heart. His eyes are as the eyes of dust
by rivers of waters washed with milk. His cheek as beds of spices,
as sweet flowers, His lips, the lips of Christ. His lips like
lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh. In this metaphorical way,
myrrh represents love. His lips like lilies. Lilies
are soft and tender and beautiful, aren't they? His lips like lilies,
dropping sweet smelling myrrh. How soft the words my Saviour
speaks. How kind the promises He makes. He does. His hands as gold rings set with
the barrel. His belly as bright ivory overlaid
with sapphires. His legs. His legs are as pillars
of marble. Strength, stability. Upon this
rock I build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it. It's what we see in Christ. Firm,
immovable. his legs as pillars of marble,
but the secret here, set upon sockets of fine gold. He's the
eternal son of God. The strength and the stability
that there is in Christ. He will not fail. No. He will not fail, nor be discouraged. He gave his life a ransom for
all, to be testified in due time. Who is she that looketh forth
as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible
as an army with banners? You know, in scripture, and let
us look at the sun and the moon, and of course the sun is very
central to our creation, for all the light and heat that this
world has, comes from the sun and of course very beautifully
in the last chapter of the Old Testament in Malachi chapter
4 unto you that fear my name shall the sun, s-u-n shall the
sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings, that's
Christ the sun of righteousness now the moon doesn't have any light of its
own The light you see in the moon
comes from the sun. It's a reflection of the light
of the sun shining on it. It has no light of its own. The
moon in scripture represents the church of God. It has no
light of its own. It's absolutely completely dependent
on the light of the sun. The sun is Christ. The sun is
Christ. And all the light the church
has is in Christ. We see light in thy light. And
Christ is the light of the world. He said himself, didn't he, I
am the light of the world. Who is she that looketh forth
as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun? Terrible. There's an army with banners.
the church. Never forget this, friends. Whoever
weak and helpless the church may look, she's terrible as an
army with banners. An army with all its banners,
all its standards, marching forward to battle. Satan trembles when he sees the
weakest saint upon his knees. He does. living by faith in Jesus
Christ, cleaving to Christ, looking to Christ, in spite of all the
opposition, in spite of all the difficulties, let us lay aside
every weight and the sin that has so easily beset us and let
us run with patience the race that is set before us. How? Looking unto Jesus. There's no
other way. to run this waste, but looking
unto Jesus, cleaving unto Jesus Christ. Who is she that looketh
forth as the morning? That is by faith. She looks forth. She looks forth to the time when
she's finished with all this world of sin and woe. She looks
forth to the time when she bids adieu to everything here below. The Apostle Peter puts it in
that way, doesn't he? Looking and hasting unto the
great day of the Lord. Looking and hasting unto that
great day. A glorious day when the whole
of the redeemed church shall meet the Lord in the air and
so shall they ever be with the Lord. Looking to that glorious
day. Looking to that Final deliverance,
looking to eternal glory. Let not your heart be troubled.
You believe in God, believe also in me, said Jesus. In my Father's
house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have
told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place
for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself. that where I am, there you may
be also. You know, friends, we have to
be weaned away from those things that we get so taken up with. They may be good things, they
may be right things, but we have to be weaned away from them.
Let all fruitless searches go, which perplex and tease us. but
desiring not to know, but a bleeding Jesus. Who is she that looketh
forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun? Her beauty is Christ. Her all
in all is Christ. Fair as the moon, clear as the
sun, and terrible as an army with banners. You know, friends,
With heaven and earth at his command, he waits to answer prayer. The church, in prayer, is terrible
as an army with banners. She's marching forward. She has
no armour for the back. The only armour she has is at
the front. He that looketh back, he thinketh, remember Lot's wife.
She looked back and she was turned into a pillar of salt. There's
no armour for the back. We have to press on and press
forward. This one thing I do, I press
toward the mark to the prize of the high calling of God in
Christ Jesus. Well, friends, I hope this afternoon,
if the Lord will enable us, that we'll look at the following verses
in our text. May the Lord have his blessing. Let us now sing together hymn
number 92, the tune is Hampstead 340. Who is this fair one in distress
that travels from this wilderness and pressed with sorrows and
with sins on her beloved Lord she leans. Hymn number 92, tune
Hampstead 340. Hmm. This is the star-spangled banner
of the free and the home of the brave. It hath the voice of heav'n resounding. O let thy children hear the sound,
World, oh my world, how long I have yearned. Still, dear and
soon, I'll be home and well. ? Heaven and earth are full of
thy glory ? ? I love this land ? ? Which my
soul ? ? For ever grows ? ? Heaven and earth ? ? In vain combine
? ? Children can fall so hard and
take the weight ? ? But I am jealous
of my mother ? Message for all the nations Let there by name
be well impressed as a fascinate on thy breast. Till thou hast called him to
thy home, ? Where peace and love ? ? Were never found ? ? Thy
countenance when in London seen ? ? Heav'n or hell thou shalt
know ? 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.