Let us commence our service this
afternoon by singing together hymn number 22. The tune is Meriton
366. 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 22. tune Meriton 366. Eternal, all beauteous in thy
sacred well. Amen. that they may see and love him
too. Thy best beloved keeps this throne,
On hills of night, and in clouds of night. But he hastens and
shows his face, In the young garment of His breast. He may not multiply His hand, ? Baffled from face ? ? In harvest
time ? ? In wintertime ? ? The spikes he bend ? ? And in wintertime
? This hope extends He has engrossed my hopeless heart Now a wealthy child I surrender
I am a mansion in His heart No death nor hell ? Shall make us part ? ? He takes my soul ? ? And I'm
aware ? ? And shall not beware ? His power is on. No chariot slow. The wheel now
digs. Rapture of His Word. O man, thy spirit every rise,
on wings of faith above the skies. To get your way, my lost dreamer,
to dwell on earth Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in the Song of Solomon. We'll read chapters
1 and chapter 5. Solomon's Song, chapter 1 and
chapter 5. in Song of Songs, which is Solomon's. Let him kiss me with the kisses
of his mouth, for thy love is better than wine. And because
of the savour of thy good ointments, thy name is as ointment poured
forth. Therefore do the virgins love
thee. Draw me, we will run after thee. The king hath brought me
into his chambers, we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we
will remember thy love more than wine, the upright love thee. I am black, but comely, O ye
daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains
of Solomon. Look not upon me, because I am
black, because the sun hath looked upon me, My mother's children
were angry with me. They made me the keeper of the
vineyards, but mine own vineyard have I not kept. Tell me, O thou
whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy
flock to rest at noon? For why should I be as one that
turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions? If thou know
not, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps
of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents.
I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh's
chariots. Thy cheeks are comely with rows
of jewels, thy neck with chains of gold. will make thee borders
of gold with studs of silver. While the king sitteth at his
table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof. A bundle of
myrrh is my wild beloved unto me. He shall lie all night betwixt
my breast. My beloved is unto me as a cluster
of campfire in the vineyards of Engidae. Behold, thou art
fair, my love. Behold, thou art fair. Thou hast
dove's eyes. Behold, thou art fair, my beloved.
Yea, pleasant, also our bed is green. The beams of our house
are cedar, and our rafters of fir. Now let us read together
chapter five. I am coming to my garden, my
sister, my spouse. I have 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. 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? And now follows a beautiful description
of our Lord Jesus Christ. 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 lilies, 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
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, 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, an art to come, we desire, O Lord, to worship
thee. We desire to approach thy great
majesty. Thou art the high and lofty one
that inhabits this eternity. Thy name is holy. We are unholy. We are unclean. We are unrighteous
altogether. So we bow as sinners before thee.
We're not worthy of thy notice. We're not worthy of thy care.
For, Lord, we continually sin. Our heart is sinful and corrupt. Our nature is stained and dyed
with sin. We come to confess, O Lord, these
things before Thee, as the prophet himself declared, from the crown
of the head to the sole of the foot, wounds and bruises and
putrefying sores, there is no soundness in my flesh. We come, most gracious Lord,
pleading the precious blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ. We thank thee for those wonderful
words of grace, there is one God and one mediator between
God and man, the man, Christ Jesus, who gave his life of ransom
for all to be testified in due time All we do pray that we may
see yon lovely man today as we gather around the word and 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. May we feel the divine power
and inward teaching, light and life of the Holy Ghost in our
hearts. blessed and divine spirit of
truth, we pray that thou wouldst convince us of our sin and lead
to Jesus' blood and to our wandering eyes reveal the secret love of
God, that we may behold the Lord Jesus as the altogether lovely
one, as the chiefest among ten thousand, that we may touch the
hem of his garment and draw from that fullness that is in him
And we do pray that we may be favoured with that wonderful,
sacred spirit of adoption. My God, my Father, blissful name,
may I call thee mine. For we have known it and pray
that we may know it today. That we indeed will be enabled
to truly say, my Father, and to feel that sacred spirit of
adoption. For God has sent forth the spirit
of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Lord, we do pray
that thou wouldst graciously bless us as a church and as a
congregation. We pray that thou wouldst remember
those who are not able to gather today, And we pray that thou
would be with them at home and graciously where there is sickness
grant healing and restoring. We pray for dear Ina in her old
age and its increasing infirmities, weaknesses. We pray that the
arms of thine everlasting love may surround and support her
and sustain and uphold her. in all that lies before her,
may she find her anchor cast within the veil in Christ. Lord, we pray that thou, in thy
precious mercy, would remember the prodigals. Lord, we earnestly petition thee
that thou would cause them to return, that thou would cause
them to come to the sanctuary, that thou wouldst quicken their
souls, give them an appetite for spiritual things, a desire
for thy rich blessing. Do hear us, Lord, we humbly beseech
thee. And graciously have mercy upon
us in this matter, for there is joy in heaven over one sinner
that repenteth. And Lord, there would be great
joy here to see those prodigals return and thy wonderful power
to be made known. We pray for this village, that
the glory and light of gospel truth may shine from this little
house of prayer into this village and the surrounding villages
and hamlets, and that thou wouldst bring our sons from far and our
daughters from the ends of the earth. Thy word says, and they
shall come, And Lord, we believe thy word, and we believe that
thou wilt cause them to come, and we pray that we may see the
travail of thy soul, Lord Jesus, here in the sanctuary, precious
souls that have been redeemed from all eternity, gathering
together around thy holy word. We do pray for our brethren,
the deacons, needed grace and help may be given to them here
among us as a church and congregation but also Lord in their many responsibilities
elsewhere and I do in thy great love we pray thee remember each
one of our brethren and sisters in church fellowship and grant
thy rich blessing upon us that we may love each other serve
each other bear each other's burdens, thereby fulfilling the
law of Christ. Grant that that spirit of love
may be maintained among us, the spirit of union and communion
in our Lord Jesus Christ. We pray, most gracious Lord,
that we may not be left to do anything that brings a reproach
upon the cause of God and truth. but thou wilt preserve us each
unto thy heavenly kingdom. And at the appointed time, give
us an abundant entrance into thy heavenly kingdom. We pray,
most gracious Lord, that thou wilt bless the little ones and
the children, that the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning
of wisdom, may be granted unto them. Oh, do be gracious, Lord,
and fulfil that wonderful promise instead of thy father shall be
thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth. Hearken, O Lord, we humbly beseech
thee for thy great name's sake. We do pray that the dear young
friends may know thy blessing, may be brought to living faith
in Jesus Christ, and may become true followers of thee and of
those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Hear us,
O God, we humbly pray thee, and be with each one of them in the
journey of life. Be with them in their education
and give wisdom and understanding. Be with them, Lord, regarding
their employment, and make a way where there seems no way. And
be with them, Lord, regarding a partner in life's journey,
And we think of thy wonderful loving kindness revealed in thy
word, when thou didst bring a Rebekah unto Isaac, and thou didst bring
a Ruth unto Boaz. And O Lord, thou art able to
do these things. Indeed, thou art able to do abundantly
more than we can even ask or think. We do pray that thou in
thy great mercy would remember all in the midst of the journey
of life, especially parents who are bringing up their children,
that they may bring them up in the nurture and admonition of
the Lord. Make us more spiritually minded. Deliver us from the temptations
of Satan, whether he comes as a roaring lion or as an angel
of light. Deliver us from his power and
from his influence. We do humbly beseech thee. And
Lord, we do pray that Thou, in Thy great mercy, would remember
each one of us in the evening time of life's journey. Do undertake
for each one. O Lord, we do beseech Thee. We
do thank Thee. We thank Thee for our little
house of prayer. We thank Thee that we often met
Thee here. We thank Thee for Thy sweet presence
from time to time. We thank thee for thy loving
kindness through Jesus Christ unto us, that wonderful reconciling
grace that brings peace into the heart, salvation into the
soul. We do thank thee for the holy
life, the wonderful glory of Jesus Christ, the eternal son
of the eternal father that was manifest in the flesh. O gracious
God, we thank thee for thy word. This is the word by which the
gospel is preached unto us. We thank thee for the death,
resurrection, ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. He has made
a new and living way into the holy place and we do desire a
heart of gratitude, a heart of thanksgiving for all thy wonderful
mercies and thy loving kindness. that has passed before us in
the way. Lord, we pray that thou wouldst
be with us now as we turn to thy holy word and that thou wouldst
come and open thy word to our heart and to our understanding
and that thou wouldst remember all thy servants as they labour
in word and doctrine upon the walls of Zion today. And we pray
that we may see an abundant harvest and in gathering a building of
the wall of Jerusalem, a strengthening of her bulwarks. Lord, we think
of thy servant of old, thy servant Elijah, when he thought that
I, only I am left. And yet, Lord, thou didst show
him that there were 7,000 in Israel that had not bowed the
knee to Baal. And Lord, we pray that it may
be so in our nation. We do humbly beseech them. Remember
all in trouble and trial, perplexity and sorrow, sadness and bereavement. 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 162, and the tune is Russell 763. When on my beloved I gaze, so
dazzling his beauties appear, his charms so transcendently
blaze, the sight is to melt into bear. When from my own varness
I turn, To Jesus exposed on the tree, With shame and with wonder
I burn, To think what he suffered for me. Hymn 162 Tune Russell
763 ? O come all ye faithful ? ? Joyful and triumphant
? ? To preach the truth of faith ? ? We shall set the world on
fire ? ? And to the moon ? ? When from
high above ? ? That shining star ? ? Gave proof through the night ? ? That
our flag was still there ? ? To him God's peace shall follow
me ? ? The Lord stays far and wide ? ? Running, running, running, running,
running, running, running, running, running, running, running, running, running, running,
running, running, running, running, running, running, running, running, running, running,
running, running, running, running, running, running, running, running, running, running, running,
running, running, running, running, running, running, running, running,
running, running, running, running, running, running, running, running, running, running, running, running,
running, running, running, running, running, running, running, running, running, running,
running, running, running, running, running, running, running, running, running, running, running,
running, running, running, running, running, running, running, running,
running, running, running, running, running, running, running, running, running, running,
running, running, running, running, running, running, running, running, running, running,
running, running, running, running, running, running, running And earth will return
and its peace to us again. ? And rose again to glory come
? ? And rose again to glory come ? ? And rose again to glory come
? Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia.
? I love thee and I love thee not
? ? Jesus, I love thee not ? ? I love thee and I love thee not ? My soul will forever remember
thee. Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I direct your attention to the Song of Solomon
and Chapter 1, and we'll read verses 7 and 8 for our text. Solomon's Song, Chapter 1, verses
7 and 8. 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? 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, Shepherd's tents. Tell me. This beautiful book, often by the Puritans, I believe
Dr Gill himself, he calls it the Holy of Holies of the Scriptures. The only entrance that we can
have into these sacred truths that are contained in this Hebrew
poetry is by a personal experience of the love of God in our hearts.
Because this dialogue that is within this poetry is between
Christ and his church. It's between Christ and a poor
sinner. A sinner that by grace loves
Jesus Christ. And as John says in his first
epistle, we love him because he first loved us. The moving cause of our love
to God is from him. It's because he has loved us
with an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness,
Have I drawn them? Do you feel a love to Christ? Do you feel a love to His person? Who that person is, the person
of the Son of God that was manifest in the flesh, that wonderful
and profound mystery of our faith, great is the mystery of God,
and yes, God was manifest in the flesh. As we read in John
chapter 1, in the Word, the term the Word refers to the divine
nature of the Son of God, and the Word was made flesh, and
dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as if the
only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Mark
that. What an attraction to faith.
Full of grace and truth. A fullness resides in Jesus our
Head and ever abides to answer our need. There's an infinite fullness
in Christ. An infinite fullness. And where
His love is shed abroad in our hearts, we partake of that fullness. When His Holy Spirit, the Holy
Spirit is said to proceed forth from the Father and the Son.
And when the Holy Spirit enters the heart, quickens the soul. And He takes up His residence
there. He dwells in our hearts. He dwells in our hearts. And He takes of the Word. He convinces us of our sin. He
makes us to feel our need. He sheds abroad His love, the
love of God in our hearts, in some little measure, so that
you feel an affection. You feel what you haven't felt
before. You feel a drawing and an affection to Christ. with loving kindness, have I
drawn thee? And the person that draws, it's
clearly stated in Holy Scripture, none come except the Father draw. And how does he draw a poor sinner? He makes Christ attractive. The
Spirit working in the heart, showing us our lost condition,
showing us There is one God and one mediator between God and
man. The man, there's an emphasis
there, the man, Christ Jesus, who gave his life of ransom for
all to be testified in due time. The man, Christ Jesus. And when
you fall in love with the man, Christ Jesus, when you behold
a little of his glory, a little of his humility, a little of
his love, and you feel in your soul a little of the power of
his grace, subduing your heart, subduing your sinful affections,
because you know, friends, we cannot really know true sanctification
without Christ. A sanctification without Christ
is what is called sanctimoniousness. It's a solemn thought and sanctimonious
flows from our flesh. And it's associated with the
Pharisee. Come not near unto me for I am
holier than thou as a sanctimoniousness. As a mock humility. or that the Lord would deliver
us from such a religion. A religion that is separated
from the glorious person, power and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. All real religion, all real experience
centres in the person of Christ. All real true doctrine centres
in the person of Christ. And it's when we are brought
by grace into union with Christ, we then feel the sanctified effect. And how does it work? By love.
By love. There's a drawing in love to
Christ. There may be those sweet times
when you feel drawn in love to your Heavenly Father in Christ.
in His glorious person. What a precious thing when we
are drawn to Christ. You may not be able to speak
of much in religion. You may not be able to speak
of deep experiences. And you may not be able to speak
of deep, great convictions of sin. But this you know. You love him. You're drawn to him in love. And you can understand here the
language of the song. Let him kiss me, in verse 2.
Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth. For thy love is
better than wine. You see, thy love is better,
the love of Christ. The love of Christ is rich and
free, blessed to his own eternally, and a soul that's blessed with
the love of Christ can never be separated. It's an eternal
love. It's a love that began. Or rather,
it's from all eternity. It's without beginning. It's
without end. It's eternal. From everlasting
to everlasting thou art God, and His love is eternal. And
that love shed abroad in your heart will draw you, will draw
you. Maybe there's been a time when
you didn't feel you could approach unto God. You didn't feel worthy to approach
unto God. But there came a time when you
began to pray. there were those desires in your
heart, toward God. And as the Holy Spirit deepens
at work, you desire what we have here. You know, it's the same
with two young people that fall into love with each other, they
desire each other's company. And this song is all about love,
and it's portrayed before us as a husband and wife, as the
bride and the bridegroom. The bride is the Church of Christ,
the bridegroom is Christ himself. And just as in natural love,
because this is, the Holy Spirit comes down to our understanding. We know what natural love is. And that desire for union and
communion, even in natural love, And so the Holy Spirit comes
down to our level of understanding. And here he applies it in this,
what we understand, he applies it. To the church and to Christ.
Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth. For thy love is
better than wine. You know, there are those I know
of a number of people and that their spiritual experience, you
know often ministers lay out and I can be guilty of it myself
and they say you have to have conviction of sin, you have to
have a law work, you have to know darkness and bondage and
then after that you will know the wonderful deliverance that
is in Christ. Now often that is the case Not
always. There are times. And I know of
a number of godly people, the first divine impressions they
ever had in their heart was a love to Christ. My late brother, he was like
that. When he was 18 years old, the
love of Christ was shed abroad in his heart. And he felt such
a love to Christ. And he said to me, years after
that, he said, it used to really trouble me when ministers say,
this is how the work begins. You must have conviction of sin.
He said, I used to cut myself off. See, I'm not one of the
Lord's people. My experience does not tally
with that. I knew a man in Canada and he
absolutely insisted on this. He said, if you didn't have conviction
of sin, then you're not a true child of God. And what he meant
was first conviction of sin. He actually laid down, laid down
very emphatically how God would work. I never forget the late
Mr. Windridge, he used to preach
at Westoning when I was a boy, and he used to say, the Lord
will not be dictated to. He said, if you draw a circle
and say the Lord is going to work in that circle, you can
guarantee he'll work outside of it. He will not be dictated. And so it is with the personal
experience of the people of God. Some, they know the love of Christ
so sweetly shed abroad in their heart. My own brother, he said
to me, he said, I knew much conviction of sin afterwards. But he said,
the first thought I ever knew was love. Do you know that love? Has that love in some little
measure been shed abroad in your heart? So that you can come in
with this language, let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth,
for thy love is better than wine. And here in verse four, That
is the first prayer here in the song. Verse two, let him kiss
me, that's the desire and the longing of the living soul. And then in verse four, there's
another prayer. Tell me, draw me, rather. Draw me. Now, what does this mean? It
means that you felt the need for the Lord to exercise your
heart and to be drawn to him in love. you feel the need of
the Lord to draw you, you feel the lack of life. Perhaps your
religion has been like that, it's like the smoking flax, it
just smoulders but you can't see the fire burning. Is that what your religion has
been like? There's that lovely word in Isaiah,
he will not quench The smoking flags. No. That divine life in your heart,
which seems so small, He will not quench it. But the hymn writer
says, but raise it to a flame. You know, if you get a smouldering
bonfire or a fire in your grate, and it just smoulders and it
just smokes, If you get bellows, or you open the draught, and
that will blow, and it will burst into flames. And that's like
that with our souls, with that spiritual life within. When the
Holy Spirit, who's likened in scripture to a wind, when he
blows upon the soul, you see it goes red, then there's flames
that come and that's in this is in your spiritual experience
and when the Holy Spirit doesn't blow then we understand the language
of the hymn writer no longer burns our love our faith and
patience fail why because the wind of the Spirit isn't blowing
but when he blows and the Naturally speaking it's oxygen that makes
the fire burn, so when the wind blows in and the oxygen goes
and it comes into a flame. And how we need that divine wind
of the Spirit. So is there anyone here this
afternoon and that has been the longing of your soul, draw me,
draw me. We will run after this. And then, of course, there's
this prayer which is the beginning of our text. Tell me. Tell me, O thou whom my soul
loveth. Ah, how precious that is. Tell me, O thou whom my soul
loveth, where thou feedest. That means where he feeds his
people, and you desire to know where the Lord would have you
to be, and you want to be where your soul is fed, where there
is a living ministry, a ministry that experimentally comes into
your pathway, a ministry where Christ is exalted because you
love him, and you love to hear of him. 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? See, the church
of God is likened to a flock. What does Christ say? Fear not,
little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give
you a kingdom. Fear not. or that those desires
after Christ, perhaps when you hear Christ exalted, or you read
of Him in His word, you desire, you long to lay hold of Him,
and you long to hear His voice. Hence the language here, tell
me. My sheep, they know my voice. They follow me. Abraham knew
the voice of God. He followed Him. He was obedient,
wasn't He? He followed Him. So it is with
each one of the Lord's living family. 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? You want to be
with those flocks, gathered around Christ, Christ as being the Good
Shepherd. The Good Shepherd. You know,
the other thing is this. Sometimes, you know, because
we've got this poor fall in the human nature, we want something
dramatic. You want something dramatic to
happen so that you can speak of the wonderful dramatic things
the way the Lord stopped me. You know when the Lord met with
Elijah, when he was in the cave in the wilderness on Horeb, there was a great storm, great
wind that break the rocks, thunder and lightning. The Lord wasn't
in that. And then eventually there was
a still, small voice. I shall never forget. It was
something so very gentle when I accepted the pastorate here.
It wasn't anything dramatic. It didn't come with almighty
power so that it shook me. It was a very still, small voice,
so much so that I wondered whether I was right. But this gentle
voice, but what proved it, it remained. It didn't just come
for a moment, it remained. And the word that was spoken
with such a gentle voice, Behold, I have set before thee an open
door, and no man can shut And you know, friends, that just
rested with a measure of sweetness upon my spirit. And because of
that word, I felt able to venture and to accept the pastor, that
still, small voice. So there may be someone here
this afternoon and you're expecting something very dramatic. But it may be just that still,
small voice. My sheep, they know my voice
and it speaks the effect of that voice in the heart. Abraham knew
when he offered Isaac that the Lord had told him to do it. Why?
Because he knew that voice. That was the voice that called
him out of Ur of the Chaldees. And that was the voice that met
with him on a number of occasions in that long journey that he
had before Isaac was born, when he was waiting and watching.
You see, he knew that voice. He knew the sound of that voice. And with somebody you love, you
know their voice. You know their voice. Tell me,
O thou whom my soul loveth where thou feedest. Now, this tell
me. David, he says, doesn't he? I think it's in Psalm 28. Be
not silent unto me, O God, lest if thou be silent unto me, I
become like them that go down into the pit. Be not silent unto
me. You desire to hear his voice.
Samuel, speak. for thy servant here is. He desired
to know that voice. He didn't know it, did he? He
got up to Eli. Eli said to him after the second
time, if he comes again. He said, it's the voice of the
Lord. And he said, you say, speak Lord,
for thy servant here is. Now, when Samuel did answer,
he didn't say Lord. He said, speak for thy servant. that still, small voice that
spoke to him in the middle of the night. Tell me, O thou whom
my soul loveth, where thou feedest? Where I'm going to settle to
feed my soul to be fed? Where thou makest thy flock to
rest at noon, that you might rest with them? For why should
I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions? You know, when we're truly brought
into the church of God and among the people of God, there's a
felt union. Hear my best friends, my kindred
dwell. Hear God, my Saviour reigns.
And the Lord brings in. He constrains. The Apostle says
in the Corinthians, for the love of Christ constraineth us. And
you feel constrained to meet with them. You love them. They're
your best friends. I'd love to meet among them now,
before thy gracious feet to bow, the vilest of them all. Now,
this is the spouse then in verse seven, speaking to Christ, and
then in verse eight, is the answer immediately from Christ to that
prayer of the spouse. If thou know not. Look at what
he calls this poor trembling coming sinner. If thou know not,
O thou fairest among women. In chapter 4 here in the Song
of Solomon And verse 7, Christ speaking to the church, Thou
art all fair, my love, there is no spot in thee. If thou know
not, O thou fairest among women, there is no spot in thee. And you don't feel like that.
You feel that you're defiled. You feel that you're unclean.
You feel that you're unworthy. You feel that you're unrighteous.
Christ he looks at you in himself he sees you as all fair without
sin justified therefore being justified by faith we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ now what I've often explained
to you or tried to explain to you what the term justified means to be declared to be without
sin. That's what justified means. And that's how Christ sees his
church, washed in that precious sin-atoning blood of Jesus, the
Son of God, clothed in that glorious everlasting robe of his righteousness
to cover our nakedness. Hence, he says, thou art all
fair, my love. There is no spot. Tell me, you
see, and if thou know not, O thou fairest among women, go thy way
forth by the footsteps of the flock and feed thy kids beside
the shepherds' tents. What are the footsteps of the
flock? Well, in Eastern countries, the
flock of sheep follow the shepherd. follow the shepherd. They know
his voice. And it says, a stranger will
they not follow? So the footsteps of the flock
are in the footsteps of Christ. He's the good shepherd. They
know his voice. They follow him. And the word
of direction here, if thou know not, that is the way, O thou
fairest among women, go thy way forth in the footsteps of the
flock. In the way that Christ has outlined
for us, these footsteps of the flock, to follow Christ. Christ himself
said, I think it's in John chapter 15, if ye love me. This is the thing, if you love
me, keep my commandments. The way that Christ has laid
out. Now, Christ has two particular ways that Christ has laid out.
There's obviously many other ways too, but there are two very
particular ways that Christ has laid down for his people to follow. and he has done them and he's
laid out that way. There is believers baptism. Christ
himself was baptized and when Christ himself was baptized when
he was speaking to John the Baptist because John the Baptist he felt
very reticent to baptise Christ, and we can
understand that. He's Jesus, the Son of God, and
John knew who he was. He said, I'm not worthy. He said,
whose shoes let you? I'm not worthy to unloose. And Christ said to him, suffer
it to be so now. For thus it becometh us. to fulfill
all righteousness. Suffer it to be so now, for thus
it becometh us. You see, it's a righteous thing. A righteous thing is a right
thing. It is something that Christ has laid down himself. And he
says here, if thou know not, O thou fairest among women, go
thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock. in that way that
Christ has ordained, to be baptised, the commandment
of our Lord Jesus Christ unto the apostles, wasn't it? On that
day when he was to ascend up on high, and it says in Mark
chapter 16, verse 14, after Woody appeared,
unto the eleven as they sat at me, and upbraided them with that
unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them
which had seen him after he was risen." They refused to believe
after he was risen. And he said unto them. It's always
been quite a comfort to me that these were the apostles and they
were unbelieving and that unbelief brings hardness
of heart because they believed not them
which had seen him after he was risen and he said unto them go
ye into all the world preaching and preach the gospel to every
creature he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved but
he that believeth not shall be damned you see This was a divine
command. It says in the same time that
in the Gospel of Matthew in chapter 28, it's the same time it's speaking
of. Verse 16 in chapter 28, then
the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain
where Jesus had appointed them, and when they saw him they worshipped
him. But some doubted. And Jesus came
and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in
heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore. Why? Because
all power is given unto me. Go ye therefore and teach all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever
I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even unto
the end of the world. Amen. Amen. You see, it becomes
us to fulfill all righteousness. My beloved friends, it is a righteous
thing to be baptized. for the believer to be baptized
and to follow the Lord Jesus Christ in the way of his holy
ordinances. And of course, the other divine
command in the gospel is to keep the Lord's Supper. And that's
laid out very clearly by our Lord Jesus Christ. For as often
as you eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's
death. It's a profession of the name
of Christ. It's a profession that all your
hope is in the Lord Jesus Christ. This do, as often as you eat
and as often as you drink, in remembrance of me, in remembrance
of the sufferings of Christ, in remembrance of what he has
done to deliver you from sin and Satan's power. You know,
I'm almost quite struck by Isaac Watts in his hymn. You see, the Jews under the Levitical
dispensation, they had divers washings, They had three times
a year to travel wherever they lived. They could have been right
down in Beersheba, but they had to travel to Jerusalem. Three
times a year. Long, dusty, hot journey for
those three feast days. And that was a commandment. They
had to offer sacrifices, et cetera. They had to tithe. And this was
all part of the Levitical dispensation. Isaac Watts, comparing the Old
Testament and the New Testament, he says, but we have no such
lengths to go, nor wander far abroad. No. Is all the Christian
believer does in the New Testament, apart, of course, from the way
that they live, but they are commanded to follow the Lord
Jesus Christ, They are commanded to be baptised in his name. They
are commanded to keep the Lord's Supper. That is a very simple,
sacred ordinance. 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? If thou know
not, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps
of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents. Oh, that the Lord would enable
us. I read, you know, that chapter
5, such a beautiful description of our Lord Jesus Christ. And
it's this glorious person of Jesus Christ that the believer
follows. And here she gives a description
of him. Verse 10, my beloved is white and ruddy. This is what
Christ meant to her. White means the glorious everlasting
robe of his righteousness. Ruddy means the precious blood
that he shed on Calvary's tree. my beloved is white and ruddy,
the chiefest. This is what he is, the chiefest
among 10,000. And it says here, as she comes
toward the end of this description in verse 15, his legs, this is
the legs of Christ, as pillars of marble, solid, stable, upon
this rock, I build my church. Now, his legs are as pillars
of marble, but what does it say as well? Set upon sockets of
fine gold. That represents the divinity
of Christ. He is the eternal Son of the
Eternal Father. He's Jesus Christ, the same yesterday
and today and forever. His legs are as pillars of marble,
set upon sockets of fine gold. He's Jehovah Jireh. We spoke
of Jehovah Jireh this morning. The Lord will provide. And He
is that gracious provision that our Heavenly Father has made
for His people. And in that path that He is drawing
you to walk in, He will supply all your need. My God shall supply
all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. His mouth is most sweet. Yea,
he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this
is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem. 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, If thou know
not, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps
of the flock, feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents. May the
Lord add his blessing. Let us now sing together hymn
number 144 to the tune Angelus, 282. Jesus, my all, to heaven
is gone. He whom I fix my hopes upon,
his track I see, and I'll pursue the narrow way till him I view. hymn 144, tune Angelus, 282.
? In Christ the Lord. ? you. ? Forever be our management ? ?
The kings I make of earth and sky ? All around the world there is such a peace. Is it the way I long have sought? How long ago I have been lost? I gave my heart and all that
was There was I could not cheat or steal ? Christ, Lord, avenge this hour
? ? My sin and sorrow ? ? But the Lord ? ? Till gate I pass ? ? My Savior save me ? ? Come heal
this wound ? ? I am the way ? ? My God ? I come and go, next time
Don't take me to be as I am Nothing of shame I think there
is, Nothing of hope shall I wish to see. I will, I tell to see the shroud. Lord of Israel, I have fled. I'm going to die with Thee in
Heaven. 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
for evermore. Amen.