Let us commence our service this
afternoon by singing together hymn number 300, sorry, hymn
number 22, tune number 331. When mourners stand and hear
me tell what beauties in my saviour dwell, where he is gone they
fain would know that they may seek and love him too. Hymn number 22, tune Ernan, 331.
? When he came to Bethlehem ? ?
And he came to Bethlehem ? ? And he came to Bethlehem ? ? That they may see the love in
you too ? ? I can see the love in each one of you ? ? On hills of white with palms
of gold ? ? Hark! The angels sing and the angels
sing along ? ? In the young mountains of his
race ? ? In the young mountains of his
race ? ? Where fruitful trees, filled with water stand ? ? In
kingdoms above the mountains stand ? ? When in Israel the Lamb was crucified
? ? He had ten brothers, five sisters, and
a son ? Ever did not my soul conclude,
I ever mentioned. He takes my soul forever I'm a man and shows me where is no return. Young chariots open in a dream,
? What a heavenly rapture from
His side ? ? How may my spirit, may be wise ? On wings of love,
ever past night, Tell, Ketchum, make my love's dream end. Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in Solomon's Song, chapters 5 and 6. The Song of Solomon, chapters
five and six. I am coming to my garden, my
sister, my spouse. I've 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beloved had withdrawn himself and was gone.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 ye daughters
of Jerusalem, if ye find my Beloved, that 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,
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 lilies dropping sweet smelling myrrh, His hands
are a gold ring set with the beryl. His belly is as bright
ivory overlaid with sapphires. His legs are as pillars of marble
set upon 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, whither is thy beloved
gone, O thou fairest among women? Whither 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 linets. Thou art beautiful, O
my love, as terse art, 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 up from the washing. whereof every one beareth twins,
and there is not one barren among them. As a piece of pomegranate
are thy temples within thy locks. There are threescore queens,
and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number. 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
saw her and blessed her. Yea, the queens and the 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 a Minidu. Return, return,
O Shulamite, return, return, that we may look upon thee. What
will ye 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 to us a spirit of real
prayer. Almighty, most merciful and eternal
God, we do desire to bow before thee. Thou art the only true
God. Thou art the high and lofty One
that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy. And Lord, we are unholy, we are
unclean, we are unrighteous altogether, born in sin, shapen in iniquity. We go forth from the wounds,
speaking lies and hypocrisy. O gracious God, we do pray that
thou wouldst wash us in that precious blood of Jesus Christ,
thine only begotten Son, to cleanse us from all our sin, from all
our unrighteousness, and that thou wouldst cover our nakedness
with that glorious everlasting robe of the righteousness of
Jesus Christ. We pray to be led and taught
and guided and directed by thee We pray that as we gather round
thy word, that our heart and our affections may be lifted
up onto things on high, that we may see, yon lovely man, that
we may see that scene of matchless grace, tis Jesus in the sinner's
place. Gracious God, we do pray for
the eyes of faith in that portion that we've read of Holy Scripture.
We pray that our eyes may be opened to see wondrous things
in thy law, and that thy word may indeed be a living word,
the word of faith in our hearts, that we may truly worship thee.
We do humbly beseech thee. Lord, we cannot understand thy
word unless thou dost send thy Spirit to open our eyes. Lord, we do pray that thy word
may be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path, that we
may be led and guided and directed by thee. We pray that that wonderful
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. The Word declares that as many
as are led by the Spirit of God they are the sons of God. We
pray that we may have that evidence that we are indeed led by the
Spirit of God and that realisation that we are the sons and daughters
of the Lord God Almighty. Pray for that separating work
of thy Spirit in our hearts and in our consciences that we may
walk in the tender fear of the Lord that we may be guided and directed
by thee, and that thy word indeed may be a lamp unto our feet,
and a light unto our path. We do pray that thou wouldst
open the eyes of our understanding, that we may behold your lovely
man, the glorious person of Jesus Christ, and know him, and see
him in thy word, We read, O Lord, in thy word that he shows himself
through the lattice. We pray this afternoon, Lord
Jesus, that thou would show thyself through the lattice of thy word
and reveal thyself unto us, that we may behold the Lamb of God,
which taketh away the sin of the world. We pray, most gracious
Lord, that thou would remember the whole of our congregation.
Have mercy upon them, O Lord, we pray thee. Remember the prodigals
that have wandered from thee, and wandered from thy ways. Stretch
out thy almighty arm. Cause them to be in one. They
may, O Lord, be, as it were, too far away in our estimation.
But, Lord, not too far away for thee. For thou art able to reach
them where they are. Thou art able to cause them to
be in one. Thou art able to cause them to
return unto the sanctuary with that desire to worship Thee,
and to follow Thee, and to serve Thee. O Lord, do hear us, we
pray. Have mercy upon us, we beseech
Thee. What rejoicing there would be
to see those prodigal sons and daughters returning to the sanctuary. Oh, we do pray. that the glory,
light and power of gospel truth may shine into this village,
into the surrounding villages and hamlets. That thou wilt bring
our sons from far and our daughters from the ends of the earth, that
we may see them coming, Lord. And thou hast promised in thy
word that thou wilt bring them and their silver and their gold
with them. Gracious God, all we do pray, Let thy work appear
unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children. I have promised
in thy word that instead of thy father shall be thy children,
who in thy mouth make princes in all the earth. Lord, may we
see such a day here, an ingathering, a returning, a building, a renewing,
a reviving. Hear us, O Lord. Humbly pray
thee. Remember that those of us, O
Lord, that are in the evening time of life's journey, and that
we pray to be graciously taught and led by thee and prepared.
And now, my God, prepare my soul for that great day, and wash
me in thy precious blood, take all my sins away. O most gracious
Lord, May it be so. May we know that gracious preparation
for that great change which is coming to each one of us. For
thy word declares unto us, as it is appointed unto man once
to die, so after death the judgment. Oh, prepare us for that day,
Lord. For Lord, we see in thy word
that Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people, but hell
is a prepared place for an unprepared people. O most gracious Lord,
do hear us, we pray, and send out thy light and thy truth among
us. Pray for the little ones and
the children as they're brought into the sanctuary, thy blessing,
thy favour may be granted unto them. They may have the fear
of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom, and that thou wouldst
be gracious unto them. And that we do pray, most gracious
Lord, the young friends, that they may know thy blessing, thy
favour, the inward teaching of thy Spirit, the power of the
Holy Ghost, in their hearts, convincing them of their sin,
and lead into Jesus' blood, and to their wandering eyes reveal
the secret love of God, Hear us, O Lord, we do pray. Have
mercy upon us, we do beseech Thee, and bless us as a church
and as a congregation. We seek Thy blessing upon the
dear young friends. Bring them to living faith in
Jesus Christ and guide them by Thy counsel. Teach them Thy ways,
lead them in Thy paths, bring them to follow Thee and to serve
Thee in their day and in their generation. Awaken them, O Lord,
to their need as a poor sinner before a holy God, their need
of being prepared, of being washed, of being cleansed. May they know
the water of regeneration. We do beseech of them. O Lord,
we do pray that thou would be with them in all the paths of
providence. Guide and direct them unto thy heavenly kingdom. For we do pray that there was
open doors and closed doors, that they may see thy goodness
passing before them in the way, supply all their many needs in
providence, to be with them in their education and give wisdom
and understanding, guidance and direction. Be with them, Lord,
regarding a partner in life journey. one that fears thy great name.
O Lord, do hear us, we pray. Have mercy upon our young friends.
Bless them indeed. Remember our brethren, the deacons,
and give them wisdom, grace, and help in all their responsibilities,
we pray, for our friends away from us at this time, and pray
that they may be given rest and be strengthened and supported.
We do holy beseech thee and return home in peace and safety at the
appointed time. Remember parents and give them
grace and wisdom to bring up their children in the admonition
of the Lord. O gracious God, we do pray that
thou would bless the families as they gather in the home for
family worship, the reading of the word of God and prayer. for
thy word declares unto us that all things are sanctified by
the word of God and prayer. Do grant that. Spirit of family
worship, Lord, we do humbly beseech thee. We pray that we may be
delivered from the snares of the wicked one. Delivered from
him whether he comes as an angel of light to deceive us or as
a roaring lion to devour us. We need thee to deliver us from
sin and Satan's power. And though 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. And where there is a Lord
and habitual living in sin, we do pray that we send thy spirit
to truly convince of the enormity of living in sin. Hear us, Lord,
we humbly pray thee, for we all have sinned and come short of
the glory of God, and we solemnly feel it, painfully feel it to
be so. And Lord, we do pray that thou,
in thy great mercy, would remember thy servants as they labour in
word and doctrine upon the walls of Zion. Set them free, set them
at liberty, We pray thy richest blessing
to rest upon those that have now accepted pastorates, and
pray that thy blessing may follow the preaching of the word. And
that, Lord, we pray that thou, in thy great mercy, would send
forth yet true labours to stand upon the walls of Zion. We do
humbly beseech thee, hear us. O Lord, we pray thee, in heaven
thy holy and thy blessed dwelling place. And when thou hearest,
O Lord, forgive, we do humbly beseech of thee. We thank thee
for all thy tender mercies. Thy mercies, O Lord, to each
one of us are new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness. We
thank thee for thy mercies. Thy mercy in Jesus, the source
of all our mercies, the source of all our grace, even the grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank thee for those precious
words, my grace is sufficient for thee, my strength is made
perfect in weakness. We do thank thee for the wonderful
glory of the incarnation of the Son of God, the holy life he
lived as a man here upon earth, thereby bringing in everlasting
righteousness for thy children. We thank thee, O gracious God,
for the profound glory of the cross of Christ, of that sacred
sacrifice he offered, that pure, that holy sacrifice that has
redeemed the Church. We thank thee for the blood of
the Lamb which cleanses from all sin. We thank thee Most gracious
Lord for that everlasting robe of the righteousness of Jesus
Christ. We thank thee that he died for
our sins and rose again for our justification and is now set
down at the right hand of the majesty on high. He has ascended
up on high and led captivity captive and received gifts from
men, yea for the rebellious also. We thank thee for Jesus Christ.
We thank thee for the love of our eternal Father, in sending
his only begotten Son to suffer, bleed, and die to deliver thy
church from sin and Satan's power. We thank thee that through him
we receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Gracious God, be with
us now as we turn to thy word. 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 to the tune, Cleaverger, number 20. If Jesus kindly say, and with
a whispering word, arise my love and come away, I run to meet
my Lord. Hymn 268, tune Clivager, number
20. ? This my time is spent ? ? Only
a wish may come true ? I am to thee my God. I saw it in my ear ? My heart
is full of faith ? ? My eyes have seen Him ? ? And in tears
have counted His high praise ? ? I have heard so many cries ?
? But He heard me most plain ? ? And God heard me most plain
? ? Of each kind ? ? In which each
lion sleeps ? ? He eats thee with a kiss ? ? And with a kiss
? ? Hiding place ? ? Hiding place where the living God's in peace
? ? And conqueror's in praise ? ever welcome to its church, by
the young's holy world. ? I give thee all my heart ? ?
There's a way to the sky ? ? There's a way to the
sky ? I want to live in love and joy
and find it in you. rightly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, would direct your attention to the Song of Solomon,
chapter 6, and we will read verse 10 for our text. Solomon's Song, chapter 6, verse
10. Who is she that looketh forth
as the morning, Fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible
as an army with banners. Who is she? We read or sing in one hymn,
this is the spouse of Christ our God, brought with the treasures
of his blood. Who is she? She's that chosen
generation that we spoke of this morning. A chosen generation. A royal priesthood. Made them
kings and priests unto God. This is who is being spoken of.
Who is she? Well, she's a poor sinner. Poor, needy sinner. Poor, helpless
sinner. Poor, hopeless sinner. where she was found. Like that
wretched infant that we read of in the prophecy of Ezekiel. Who is she? And she's chosen. She's precious. Precious to God. Precious to
our Lord Jesus Christ. And she finds Him precious. Who is she that looketh forth
as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible
as an army with banners? This is the spouse of Christ
our God. This is the true believer, the
true follower of our Lord Jesus Christ. who has been led and
taught and guided and directed by the Spirit of God. Their eyes
have been opened to see their lost condition. Their eyes have
been opened to see the way of salvation. You know, it's like the blind
man that we read of in the Holy Scriptures and he was born blind. And the Lord Jesus, he anointed
his eyes and he could see. And it's like blind Bartimaeus
sitting by the wayside and the Lord Jesus eventually stopped
when he kept crying, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy upon
me. And Jesus stood still. The people
that were around him said, be quiet, man. They found it irritating
because he kept saying, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy
upon them. The thing is, they weren't blind.
They weren't in need like he was. But Jesus stood still. Jesus,
the Son of God. Jesus, the Almighty Saviour. Stood still. but the voice of
a poor blind beggar. You know, friends, we worship
the same Jesus today. He will hear the cry of the destitute. He will not despise their prayer,
just like he was when he was here upon earth, exactly the
same. Now, We read in the book of Psalms,
Psalm 126, he that goeth forth and weepeth bearing precious
seed shall doubtless come again with rejoicing bringing his sheaves
with him. And of course the primary meaning
of that word is our Lord Jesus Christ. He that goeth forth bearing
precious seed, all that the Father had given him, that was the precious
seed that he was carrying. But then there comes a time when
the Lord begins to work in a sinner's heart. They begin a new journey. He
stops them in their mad career. They begin to see things in a
different light. They begin to feel and know they're
sinners, they're undone. They have need. Do you have a
need? Do you have a longing in your heart? Do you have an aching
void that the world can never fill? What a mercy if that is
the case. Who is she that looketh forth
as the morning? It's the dawning of a day. You
know, when the spirit of God begins to work in the heart,
it's the dawning of a new day in a poor sinner's life. looketh
forth, they begin to see things, they begin to understand things,
begin to realize they're sinners, they begin to realize they're
needy and helpless and hopeless, and as the Holy Ghost leads them
on, they begin to realize that there is a way of salvation,
in and through the glorious person, of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
himself said, I am the way, the truth and the life. Who is she
that looketh forth as the morning? She looks forth. Are you looking forth? Are you
looking forth to see what's in front of you? To see what's coming? Of course, there is a natural
looking forth. And that there is a natural trepidation of death. And as the scriptures declare,
after death, the judgment. And, you know, everybody in one
sense, if they're, some deny it of course, but those that
don't deny it, they know that death is coming. And they know
that the day of judgment follows, as the scriptures teach us. And
therefore there is a measure and a realization of this trepidation
that I've got to die. It's like the wise woman of Tychoa
when she came before David, we must needs die and be as water
spilt upon the ground that cannot be gathered again. We must needs
die. It's divinely appointed by God
that we must needs die and be as water spilt upon the ground.
No return from that. It says in the Ecclesiastes,
doesn't it, there is no discharge in this war. There isn't. As sure as we die, and we know
that that is sure and certain, we know that from Holy Scripture,
we know it from the evidence all around us, everybody dies.
The wages of sin is death. The gift of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord. It's a mercy, you know, friends,
if we're truly convinced of our sin, truly convinced of our emptiness
and our poverty, and we're seeking, we're searching, we want something,
we need something. He that goeth forth and weepeth,
bearing precious seeds, You see, who is she that looketh
forth as the morning? Has the dawning of that day dawned
upon you? Looking forth as the morning. You know, in the morning there's
a sense of expectation. When the sun rises and we go
about our daily business, there's a sense of expectation. It's
a new day. Who is she that goeth forth,
that looketh forth as the morning? Has that day
dawned, so that you are now, you look
beyond this life? You know, especially when we're
young, we have ambitions. We want to
do this, we want to do that, we want to get this qualification,
that qualification, and we look forward, naturally speaking,
to what life holds for us. We have an ambition, a desire
to be successful, whatever it is that we're doing, and that
is naturally speaking. How much more so spiritually,
when our soul has been quickened, There's an expectation. An expectation. Faith is the
substance of things hoped for, yet not seen. It's the evidence
of things not seen. Faith. You're looking by faith. You may not have had any great
deliverances yet, but you're looking by faith. You may have
had a deliverance, Christ may have been made precious to you
and you can go back to that. How Christ was precious and you
desire him to be made precious again. You see, what drew me to read
chapter 5 is the spouse there in chapter 5. She speaks of her
beloved in verse 9. What is thy beloved? more than
another beloved, that thou dost so charge us. It says, O thou
fairest among women, that's the church of Christ. What is thy
beloved more than another beloved that thou dost so charge us?
She wanted to find her beloved. It says in verse five, I rose
up to open to my beloved and my hands dropped with myrrh.
That means love. This is sacred Hebrew poetry.
And metaphors are used. So when it says with myrrh, it
means with love. And my fingers were sweet smelling
myrrh, with sweet smelling love, 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.
Do you know what that is? long to lay hold of the beloved? I sought him but I could not
find him. Have you come to chapel today?
Is there that desire to see Christ, to know Christ? I sought him
but I could not find him. I called him but he gave me no
answer. The watchman, that's the ministers
that went about the city, that's the city of Zion, found me, they
smoked me, they wounded me, the keepers of the walls took away
my vow from me. Say, I charge you, oh daughters
of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved, that you tell him I'm
sick of love. And so, we then have the response
of her fellow believers. 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. I think this first clause here
of this description of Christ is the most beautiful description
of Christ in the Scriptures. White speaks of his holiness,
his righteousness. My beloved is white. Ruddy is
red. It speaks of his precious blood.
So in this description, we have the blood and righteousness of
Jesus Christ. And this is what he meant to
her. He was everything. It was all her salvation. Everything
she stood in need of. My beloved is white and ruddy,
the chiefest among ten thousand. What a description is here of
the glorious person of the Son of God manifest in the flesh.
His head is as the most fine gold. Gold represents divinity
in this poetical language that is used. His head is as the most
fine gold. He is declared to be the Son
of God with power. He's the Eternal Son of the Eternal
Father. That's what we see here. We see
the divinity of Christ. He's 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 of God that
was manifest in the flesh. You know, we do not see two persons
in Christ. We don't see a divine person
and also a human person. No. We see one person. We see the Son of God who assumed
human nature. He took into union with his divine
nature a holy human nature. Not two persons, one person. The Son of God assumed human
nature. That conception in the womb of
the Virgin Mary, when the Holy Ghost overshadowed the womb of
the Virgin Mary, that holy thing that shall be born of thee shall
be called the Son of God. Notice it says that holy thing,
not things, that holy thing, singular, because it's the eternal
Son of God that assumed human nature. That human nature never
ever had any separate existence to the Son of God. He assumed
a real true human nature and he took it into union with his
divine nature. And he lived here upon earth
as a man, he fulfilled the law, he honoured and magnified the
law, he brought in everlasting righteousness for his people.
He then offered a holy, pure and righteous sacrifice, a sinless
sacrifice, that was acceptable unto God the Father. He offered
his own sacred human nature as a sin atoning sacrifice upon
the order of his divinity. He did. My beloved is white and ruddy,
the chiefest among ten thousand, his head is as the most fine
gold, His locks are bushy, black as a raven, full of strength
and power, an undiminished power. We read in the Word of God, in
him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. We read also in John chapter
1, he is full of grace and truth. This is my beloved. are as the eyes of doves by the
rivers of water washed with milk, those beautiful eyes of Jesus
Christ. When he looks upon a poor sinner,
he looks in love, in compassion, his eyes are as the eyes of doves,
clear, pure, holy, the eyes of doves. by the rivers of water washed
with milk and fitly sat. This is the eyes of Christ. I
think the most beautiful description that we have in scripture of
these eyes of Christ, it is in when Peter denied his Lord and
Master three times. And the Lord Jesus
had warned him before the cock crow, Thou shalt deny me thrice. And he denied his Lord and Master
three times. And we read, Jesus turned. Jesus was in the judgment hall.
Jesus turned and looked upon Peter. His eyes. You know, friends, it wasn't
a look of anger. It wasn't a look of resentment.
It was a look of love. infinite, eternal, unchanging
love. And what effect did that look
have upon Peter? He went out and he wept bitterly. He wept bitterly. Why? He denied
his Lord and Master with oaths and with curses and yet all that
look of love and compassion from his Saviour Jesus Christ, his
eyes or as the eyes of doves by the rivers of water wash with
milk and fitly set. His cheeks, you look into his
face, his cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers.
A bed of spices, sweet flowers. You look, you know, you go to
some of the beautiful country houses and they have gardeners
and the gardens are all laid out and there's beds of flowers.
You walk along the seafront at Eastbourne again, there's beds
of flowers, all beautifully laid out, all separate colours. It
looks so beautiful. And as you stand and look at
it, you think, isn't that beautiful? Well, that's the illustration
here. When you look into the face of Jesus Christ by faith,
his cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers. His lips, his
lips like lilies dropping sweet-smelling myrrh, a laugh of Christ. How soft the words my Saviour
speaks, how kind the promises He makes. His lips are like lilies,
dropping sweet smell in there. Fear not, I am with thee, be
not dismayed, I am thy God, I will help thee, I will uphold thee.
You see, this is Christ. His hands are as gold rings,
again, gold is divinity. A ring has no beginning and no
ending. I have loved thee with an everlasting
love, therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee. The everlasting
love of God in Christ. It's what these gold rings represent.
He's the glorious son of the Father and he's loved his people
and having loved his own, he loved them unto the end. He loved
them completely. His belly is as bright ivory
overlaid with sapphires, his legs as pillars of marble. The
pillars of marble, they represent strength and stability, don't
they? But look at what it says, his
legs are as pillars of marble set upon sockets of fine gold. It's all resting on the divinity
of Christ. He's the eternal son of the eternal
father, therefore he's able to save to the uttermost all that
come unto God by Him, seen He ever liveth. His countenance is as Lebanon,
excellent as the cedars. Those great cedars of Lebanon,
which exude strength and stability. So it is with Christ. His mouth
is most sweet. Yea, He is altogether lovely. It's just as if the spouse here,
she's lost for words. She can't think of anything else
to say to speak of her beloved and the glory of her beloved.
Oh, the glories of Christ, when faith is given and Christ is
revealed, the beauty and the loveliness of Christ. His mouth
is most sweet. Yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this
is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem, this is my beloved.
Now, we're coming to the sixth chapter, and we have the response
of the fellow believers in Zion to this description of Christ.
Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? Whither
is thy beloved turned aside, that we may seek him with thee?
This was the effect of her description of Christ, that we may seek Him
with thee. We want to know this Beloved.
We want to know this glorious Saviour. We want to lay hold
of Him. We want to touch the hem of His
garment. We want to behold the glory and the beauty that there
is in Christ, that we may seek Him with thee. What a wonderful
thing when we're able to testify of the wonders of redeeming love
in a personal way to our own soul and that excites in the
heart of our fellow believers that desire to know him in the
same way and to know the same love and the same power. Who
is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon,
clear as the sun, fair as the moon? You know, The moon does
not have any light of its own. All the light you see in the
moon comes from the sun. It's reflected from the sun.
The moon does not have any light of its own. What a picture of
the church! We have nothing of our own. Any
light we have is reflected from Christ, the Son of Righteousness.
See, my beloved, or rather, she's as fair as the moon, clear as
the sun. She looks to the sun of righteousness. She lays hold on Christ. Fair
as the moon, all the light. The psalmist says, doesn't he,
we see light in thy light. It's only as Christ gives us
light, it's only as the Holy Spirit opens the word of truth. We see light in thy light. What a mercy if we have that
light of Christ shining in our hearts. If we have that light
of Christ shining in our lives, in the way that we live, in the
things that we do, a selfless life, a life lived for others,
a sacrifice, I beseech you therefore,
brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies
a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is
your reasonable service. The Lord Jesus said a man doesn't
put a candle under a bushel, but he puts it in a high place
so it gives light to everybody. And the context of that teaching
is we shouldn't hide our light under a bushel. but that we should
let all men say that we love the Lord Jesus Christ and that
we do not live to ourselves but we live to him that died, we're
surrendered to the crucified one, we live for others. That's what is set before us
in God's word as to the way that we should live, not for ourselves
but for others. Who is she? that looketh forth
as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun. You know, when
the sun of righteousness arises and shines into our hearts, clear
as the sun, when we have that sacred assurance of faith, when
we can say with the spouse here, my beloved is mine and I am his,
my beloved is mine. It's very sacred. It's very precious
when we're given that assurance of faith. My beloved is mine
and I am his. What a mercy when we can say
that, when we really truly feel it. Who is she that looketh forth
as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun. That reflected
light. Let your light, that's the light
that the Lord has given, it's Christ that speaks these words,
let your light so shine before men that they may see your good
works and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Let your
light so shine. If we're following Christ, we
will do what Christ did. He went about doing good. He
did. He went about doing good. Healing
the sick. Helping those that were stricken
with poverty and affliction and sorrow and sadness. He was there. And where he found there was
sadness he gave joy. And where he found there was
that deep sense of loss he restored. He revealed himself as that one
that was able to save to the uttermost. So when Bartimaeus,
sitting by the wayside and saying, Jesus, our son of David, have
mercy on me, he stopped. He stood still in love to one
poor blind beggar. And he gave him his sign. He
gave him his sign. What a rejoicing. rejoicing in
that glorious Saviour. And when the people looked on
and saw these wonderful things that Jesus did, they glorified
God. They did. And many of them said,
surely this is the Messiah. This is the Christ. For man cannot
do these wonderful things. When he found that men and women
possessed were devils, he cast out the devils. He delivered
them from that bondage. of sin and corruption that they
were founded. Look at poor Legion, when he
came running to the Lord Jesus Christ, they'd shackled him,
bound him with chains. Every time he broke loose and
he was found among the tombs cutting himself. The devil was
trying to destroy him. He does that today. He does that
today. And he couldn't. Why couldn't he? Because legion
was a vessel of mercy, a ford aimed at eternal glory. And when
he came running up to the Lord Jesus, we hear the devils speaking in legion. Now we read in James,
even the devils believe and tremble. There's a little piece in the
Gospel Standard this month by J.C. Philpott, and he makes that
distinction between men and devils. He said the devils are not unbelievers.
No. As James says, they believe and
tremble. And it's the devils that were
speaking in Legion when they ran to the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus, this is the devil speaking. Jesus, thou son of the most high
God, torment me not. For he had said, come out of
the man. And then they pleaded. Those devils pleaded with him,
not to send them out of the country, but into those 2,000 swine on
the hillside. And we read this, and forthwith
he let them go. What do we see in it? They could
only do what Jesus allowed them to do. The devil is a chained
foe, remember that. They could only do what he allowed
them to do. And they went out of that poor
man. And when the people came from
the city, these wonderful things had happened. And what did they
find? That poor man that was full of
devils, ran around naked and cutting himself, was a danger
to everybody. Sitting. at the feet of Jesus,
clothed and in his right mind. What wonderful grace, isn't it?
Who is she that looketh forth? And you know, and we can understand,
absolutely we can understand, he wanted to go with the Lord
Jesus in the ship and return with his disciples. What did
Jesus say to him? Go home to thy friends. and tell
them what great things the Lord hath done to thee. I believe
that was a divine commission of Jesus Christ for legion to
preach. Go home to thy friends and declare
what great things the Lord hath done for thee. And he went home.
Who knows how many there were that were called by divine grace
at the witness of that poor man. and they could see the wonderful
change that had been wrought. Who is she that looketh forth
as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible
as an army with banners? Satan trembles when he sees the
weakest saint upon his knees, terrible as an army Mary Queen of Scots. She was contemporary with John
Knox. She hated him. She was a Roman Catholic and
she confided in one of her aides, I fear the prayers of John Knox
far more than an army of 10,000 men. John Knox was a great man,
valiant for the truth, fearless of any. And there's the Queen. I fear the prayers of that godly
man. She rightly feared it too. She
did. Who is she that looketh forth
as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun? Terrible. As an army with banners. The
hymn writer says, concerning the church, the force of their
united cries, no power can long withstand. Because the Lord is
God over all and blessed forevermore and is able to send deliverance. The church in united prayer is
terrible as an army of banners. There's no power that can stand
before the church in prayer because they're praying unto God most
high. who loves them, they're terrible as an army with banners. Who is she? That looketh forth
as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible
as an army with banners. An army going forward into battle,
and years ago, it's not done now, but they used to have a
standard. So each regiment would have a big standard, a flag,
that the standard bearer would carry in front of the troops
and they would rally around that standard. The Lord has given a banner to
them that fear him. What is that banner? It's Christ.
Moses, when the Amalekites were defeated and he raised an altar
there and he called the name of that altar Jehovah Nisai,
the Lord our banner. And all the time Moses' arms
were stretched out in prayer. The Israelites prevailed against
the Amalekites. You see, terrible as an army
of banners. As soon as Moses' arms dropped
down through weakness and weariness, then the Amalekites prevailed
against the Israelites. And so Aaron and Hur went and
stood either side of Moses and he put his arms on their shoulders
and Israel prevailed against their enemies, the Amalekites.
terrible as an army with banners. Well, my beloved friends, may
the Lord grant that these things may find an abiding place in
our hearts. May He add His blessings. Let us now sing together hymn
number 92. The tune is Alice 279. Who is this fair one in distress
who travels from this wilderness and pressed with sorrows and
with sins on her beloved Lord she leads. Hymn number 92. tune
alice 279 This is the spell of love. Christ hath grown, born with
the virgins of Israel. Memory, question, and complain. Thou that by faith and bravery
stand, Lord of my hope and of my life, ? Still be a cold night, come and
go ? ? And make your love for evermore ? Conquered death, Thine am Israel,
Which Thou, Thou broken, never fail'd, O come, O come, ye faithful mine,
To Bethlehem's town on high. But I have kept the psalm of
the Lord, Blessed shall the strong be they found, Then hath my name been many bread,
And hath been secret all my bread. ? Hail, thou blest Lord, King to
thy people ? ? Where peace and closure never come ? I count them as me, count them
she, and count them as me. 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.