Thank you very much. Let us commence our service this
evening by singing together hymn number 400. The tune is Thanksgiving
946. Lord, afford a spring to me. Let me feel like what I see.
Ah, my winter has been long. Choke my hopes and stop my song. Winter threatens to destroy.
faith and love and every joy if thy life was in the root still
i should not yield thee fruit i could not yield thee fruit
hymn number 400 tuned thanksgiving 946 You hold the spring to me. Let me feel like what I see. Ah, my winter has begun, chilled
my hopes and stopped my song. Winter attempts to destroy, faith
and Love and every joy If thy light was in the moon Still I
could not hear your name Take and hide thy gracious voice. Live thy truth in soul rejoice. Bound in love and saviour appraise. ? Carry all the storms apart
? ? On thy paradise star ? ? Raise up the spirits of soul ? Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God. in the Song of Solomon, chapters
1 and 2. The Song of Solomon, chapters
1 and 2. The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's. Let him kiss me with the kisses
of his mouth, for thy love is better than wine. Because of
the savour of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured
for. Therefore do the virgins love
thee. Draw me, we'll woo and after
thee. The king hath brought me into
his chambers. We'll be glad and rejoice in
thee. We'll remember thy love more than wine. The upright love
thee. I am black but comely. O ye daughters
of Jerusalem, as the tents of Cedar are 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 these shepherds' tents. I have compared
thee are my love to a company of horses in pharaoh's chariots. Thy cheeks are comely with rows
of jewels, thy neck with chains of gold. We will make 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 well-beloved unto me. He shall lie all night betwixt
my breasts. My beloved is unto me as a cluster
of campfire in the vineyards of Engidae. Behold, thou art
fair, my lard. 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 the rafters of fir. I am the rose of Sharon and the
lily of the valleys. As the lily among thorns, so
is my love among the daughters. As the apple tree among the trees
of the wood, so is my beloved among the suns. I sat down under
his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my
taste. He brought me to the banqueting-house, and his banner over me was love.
Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples, for I am sick
of love. His left hand is under my head,
and his right hand doth embrace me. I charge you, O ye daughters
of Jerusalem, by the rows and by the hinds of the field, that
ye stir not up, nor awake, my love, till he please. The voice
of my beloved. Behold, he cometh leaping upon
the mountains, skipping upon the hills. My beloved is like
a roe or a young hawk. Behold, he standeth behind our
wall. He looketh forth at the window,
showing himself through the lattice. My beloved spake. and said unto
me, rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For lo, the
winter is past, the rain is over and gone, the flowers appear
on the earth, the time of the singing of birds is come, and
the voice of the turtle is heard in our land. The fig tree puts
forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give
a good smell, arise, my love, my fair one, and come away. Oh, my darling, the art in the
clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me
see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice, for sweet is thy voice,
and thy countenance is comely. Take us, thee foxes, The little
foxes that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes.
My beloved is mine, and I am his. He feedeth among the lilies,
until the daybreak and the shadows flee away. Turn, my beloved,
and be thou like a roe or a young heart upon the mountains of Bethel. May the Lord bless the reading
of his own precious word of truth and grant unto us a spirit of
real prayer. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,
which is an art, an art to come, we do desire to bow before thy
glorious majesty. which is our to come to Thee,
O Lord, in confession of our sins, our wanderings, our backslidings,
our coldness, our hardness, our waywardness. Lord, we often have
to so often say, O wretched man, that I am who shall deliver me
from the body of this death. We pray to be delivered from
sin, 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 this evening hour, may the
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God our Father,
and the sacred fellowship of the Holy Spirit, rest and abide
upon us. Lord, send thy spirit down to
write upon the fleshy tables of our hearts with the finger
of the living God, that thy word may make a deep impression upon
us and that thy word may live in our hearts. Gracious God,
grant thy word graciously unto us. We pray to be delivered from
the curse of the law and its condemning sentence, and its
solemn power to curse and to condemn forever. Lord, we pray
to be delivered from that curse, and thy word declares unto us
that Jesus is the way to God. So we come to thee in his precious
name, the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, This is the name the
Father loves to hear his children plead. Lord, we come and we offer
our prayers unto thee in his precious name. We pray that most
gracious Lord, that thou in thy precious mercy grant that we
may have union with Jesus Christ. That we may be enabled to say
in union with the Lamb, from condemnation free, the saints
from everlasting work and shall forever be, all to know that
union, communion with Jesus Christ. We do pray that we may be favoured
then with the divine power and the heavenly unction of the Spirit,
that the word may be sealed by the Holy Ghost into our hearts. May we have the presence of our
Lord Jesus Christ, for through him we have access by one spirit
unto the Father. Oh, do grant that sweet access unto our Lord Jesus Christ. And
do grant that we may hear the voice of the beloved, that wonderful
voice that we've read of in thy word, the voice of my beloved. Behold, he cometh. Oh, that thou
wouldst come and that thou wouldst speak to our hearts and that
thou wouldst bless our souls as we gather around thy word.
And we do pray that thou wouldst lead us into those wonderful
sacred precious truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ that we
may enter in and that we may lay hold of that hope that is
set before us in the gospel. Give us grace to lay aside every
weight and the sin that does so easily beset us and that we
might run with patience the race that is set before us looking
unto Jesus. the author and finisher of our
faith. Lord Jesus, thou art our only
hope. Thou art the eternal rock of
ages upon which the church is built. Oh, to be enabled to say,
my beloved is mine and I am his. We do pray, most gracious Lord,
that thy blessing may rest upon us as a church. as a congregation,
and that thou wouldst work mightily, powerfully, and effectually among
us. For that it may be so, Lord,
and that thou wouldst let thy work appear unto thy servants,
that we may see signs following the preaching of the word, the
effect of the preaching of the word. Precious souls brought
forth from darkness into light, from bondage into liberty, from
being at a distance to be made nigh by the precious blood of
Christ. Oh, to know that precious union
and communion here as we gather around thy word at this evening
hour. Do remember, Lord, our brethren,
the deacons. Give them needed grace, wisdom,
and help in their responsibilities among us here and among the churches
of God, gird them with all sufficient grace, and grant, most gracious
Lord, we pray thee, thy blessing upon each one of our brethren
and sisters in church fellowship. We do humbly pray thee. And we
pray, O Lord, that thou, in thy great mercy, I would grant that
we may be favoured with the sweet spirit of adoption, whereby we
may cry, Abba, Father, and that we may have fulfilled what we
read in thy word, for God has sent forth the spirit of his
Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. I ought to grant
that it may be so. that we may know that the Father
himself loveth you, that we may know thee as our Father, that
we may be enabled to say from our heart, our Father which art
in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be
done on earth as it is in heaven. Lord, remember us for good. We
do humbly pray thee. Lord, where there is ignorance,
grant knowledge. Where there is coldness, grant
heat. Where there is a distance, grant to be made nigh. Oh, do
hear us, Lord, we humbly pray, that you make us more spiritually
minded, set our affections on things above and not on things
of the earth. Lord, we pray, that thou in thy
precious mercy would remember the little ones and the children
as they're brought into the sanctuary, that the blessing of the Lord
that maketh rich and addeth no sorrow with it may be their portion,
that instead of our fathers we may see our children, who in
their midst make princes in all the earth. Thou hast said, Suffer
little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for
of such is the kingdom of heaven. Lord, we thank Thee that it is
so. And Lord Jesus, didst Thou not
say, Except ye become as little child, ye shall in no wise enter
the kingdom of heaven? Do grant us, O Lord, a childlike
spirit. We do humbly beseech Thee for
Thy great namesake. to make me, Lord, a little child,
right, simple-hearted, meek and mild, and loving to the end. We pray, O Lord, that thou wouldst
graciously work among us, that we may see thy goings in the
sanctuary, that we may see thy power and thy glory as thou usest
to be in the sanctuary. that we may see signs following
the preaching of the word. Lord, we pray that thou wouldst
gather the lambs into the fold. They may hear thy voice. My sheep,
they know my voice and they follow me, and a stranger will they
not follow. Grant that we may be enabled
to follow thee, Lord Jesus, With us, whoever thou leadest. Guide
us, O thou great Jehovah. We pilgrims in a barren land.
We are weak, but thou art mighty. Hold us by thy powerful hand. We do humbly beseech of thee. Deliver us from the temptations
of Satan. Deliver us from the power and
dominion of sin. We do humbly beseech thee for
thy great namesake, strengthen us in the spirit of the inner
man. May we know that strength in body, mind and spirit, given
to us by thee. Lord, we do pray that thou in
thy great mercy, thy wonderful mercy, it may please thee to
come and speak to our hearts, even tonight, to hear the voice
of the beloved, Remember that those in the midst of the journey
of life, especially parents, in the bringing up of their children,
may they be enabled to do so in the nurture and admonition
of the Lord, we do humbly beseech thee, that we pray, O Lord, that
thou, in thy great mercy, wouldst work mightily, deliver us from
the temptations of Satan, Deliver us from the power and dominion
of sin. Deliver us from the illumines of this vain world. We do humbly
beseech of Thee, that for Thy great name's sake, and O Lord
our God, that we do pray that Thou wouldst remember those of
us in the evening time of life's journey and we pray that at evening
time it may be light. It's best to remember our dear
aged sister, Ena, undertake for her, and graciously draw near
to her. We think of the death of our
dear beloved sister in Christ this afternoon, and the Sorin
Church at Hanover, and the family. Lord, we gather them all together.
but we commend them to thee and to the word of thy grace. We
do humbly pray that they may truly feel we sorrow not as others
that are without hope, but there is that good hope through grace. Lord, we do pray that thou would
remember all in the path of bereavement and sorrow and sadness. and that
remember all that walk the path of temptation and affliction
and trouble. We pray that thou would sustain
them, strengthen them, help them. Those that are in soul trouble,
bring them forth, set them free, set them at liberty. We do humbly
beseech of them. Lord, we pray that thou would
remember this, and the glorious light and power of gospel truth
may shine forth. Precious souls may be gathered
in. The strongholds of Satan pulled
down. 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 of thee. And O Lord our God, we do pray
for all thy servants as they labour in word and doctrine upon
the walls of Zion. We pray that thou wouldst grant
that spirit of power and grant signs to follow the preaching
of the word. Hear us, Lord, for Zion is minister
and brought love, and the boar out of the wood doth waste, for
if you come to Zion's solemn feast, Let thy hand be upon the
man of thy right hand, the son of man, whom thou madest strong
for thyself. Help us to follow thee, to serve
thee in our day and in our generation. Remember that, O Lord, all the
little hills of Zion send out thy light and thy truth. And
where there is a commencement of pastorates, we pray that thou
wouldst go before and grant thy blessing and thy favour. O, do
hear us, Lord, grant the fulfilling of thy ancient word, for I am
returned unto Jerusalem with mercy. Lord, bring our sons from
far and our daughters from the ends of the earth, even as thou
hast said, and they shall come. Well, we pray that we may see
Zion's offspring come. We may see a building of the
wall, a strengthen of her bulwarks. Hearken, O Lord, we do humbly
beseech thee. We pray for thy forgiving love
and many wanderings, backslidings, coldness, hardness, sinfulness. Lord, we pray to be delivered
from it. We prove that the heart is deceitful
above all things and desperately wicked. Do come, Lord, we pray. Lift us above all the carking
cares of this life. Grant us clear views of yon lovely
man, that scene of matchless grace. Tis Jesus in the sinner's
place. Oh, to see that and to view that. Oh, most gracious Lord, We thank
Thee for every mercy and every favour so freely given. We thank
Thee that Thou art God over all and blessed for evermore. And
we thank Thee that let us hear the prayer of the destitute and
will not despise their prayer. We thank Thee that it is sinners
can say, and none but they, how precious is the Savior. We thank
Thee for the wonderful glory of the incarnation of the Son
of God. We thank Thee for that holy life
He lived as a man here upon earth, when He was made of a woman and
made under the law. And He has fulfilled and honoured
every precept of Thy holy law. And we do thank Thee that in
Him everlasting righteousness has been brought in. We do thank
thee, most gracious Lord, that he died for our sins and rose
again for our justification. We do thank thee that he has
risen from the dead, justified the church, now has bodily entered
into glory and sitteth at thy right hand. Such an high priest
have we, who is passed into the heavens Jesus, the Son of God,
help us now, as we turn to thy holy word, come and visit us
with thy great salvation. We ask all, with the forgiveness
of all sin, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 22. The tune is Ernan, 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 Erna, 331. O blessed be the beginning and
the end of ages, from beginning to the end, and to the end of
ages. where he is shown the way of
life, where they wish him a happy death. Thine is the kingdom, Thine is
the power, Thine is the might, God be exchanged for his angels,
with the anointing of his dress. ? We've been taught by nature ?
? When we're born it's with all our strength ? ? We've been taught
by nature ? ? Church of Jesus ? ? Revelation
? ? Resurrection ? ? Be as it was this morning ? When earthly joys arise from
heaven blue, I have a mansion in Israel. ? God is glorious ? ? Shepherds
they watch for us ? ? He takes my soul away ? ? Away, away,
away ? Angels we have list'ned on high tonight. Chains fall
on the early day. ? Heaven and earth ? ? Joyful and
exultant ? ? Heaven and earth ? ? Joyful and exultant ? ? Heaven
and earth ? ? Long winds of rain ? ? That cover the skies ? ?
Till day shall wane ? ? By the river's tide ? Pray be feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help of direct your attention to this second chapter
of the Song of Solomon. and that we will read verse 10
for our text. The Song of Solomon, chapter
2, verse 10. My beloved spake, and said unto
me, rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. My beloved What a mercy if we are truly
in love with Jesus Christ. What a mercy if His love has
been shed abroad in our hearts. What a mercy if we've been humbled
under the mighty hand of God and brought as a poor sinner
to confess our sins. and our wanderings, and our backslidings,
and to lay hold of Christ. The old Puritans used a beautiful
phrase of closing with Christ. Have you, have I, closed with
Christ? Because this is the very essence
of real religion, when we close with Christ. We feel a union. We have communion. We feel love
to our Lord Jesus Christ. And there's a desire to follow
Him, to serve Him. It's that longing desire of the
heart. You see, that language of verse
7 in chapter 1, tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, Where thou
feedest, you see, O thou whom my soul loveth. Where thou feedest. What it really means to say here,
it's not so much where Christ himself feeds, but where he feeds
his people. That's what it means, where thou
feedest. where thou makest thy flock to
rest at noon. What a wonderful thing to be
in that flock, in the fold of Christ, following Christ. You think of the language of
our text and my beloved spake, And then we think of the language
of our Lord Jesus Christ in John chapter 10. And verily, verily,
I say unto you, he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold,
but climbeth up some other way, the same as a thief and a robber,
but he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
To him the porter openeth, and the sheep hear his voice, wonderful
thing, the sheep hear his voice and he called his own sheep by
name and leaded them out, see he led them forth by the right
way, rise up my love my farewell and come away and when he put
his forth his own sheep he goes before them And the sheep follow
him, for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not
follow, but will flee from him, for they know not the voice of
strangers. Oh, my beloved friends, is the
beloved, is Christ himself calling you, speaking to you? As it says in our text, my beloved
spake and said unto me, it's a very personal thing, said unto
me. Maybe one and another have come
here tonight and that is your desire, to hear the voice of
the Lord. And he immediately gives her
an answer. in verse 8 of the first chapter. 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. Go thy way
forth. What are the footsteps of the
flock? They are the footsteps My sheep, they know my voice
and they follow me. They walk in His footsteps. They
follow. They follow on to know the Lord. Great mercy, you know, friends.
Tremendous mercy, if indeed you know what it is to follow on,
to know the Lord. My beloved slave. and said unto
me, rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. He's calling us away. You think of the things that
he calls us away from. He calls us away from the world,
things of the world, the ways of the world. He calls us away,
rise up my love and come away. He calls us away from those things. Think of the way that the Apostle
Paul puts it in the epistle to the Hebrews, let us lay aside
every weight and the sin that does so easily beset us and let
us run with patience the race that is set before us. 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. Rise up, my love, my fair one,
and come away. You know, in Another sense of
this word, this afternoon, our late dear friend and sister in
Christ, Frieda Holm, passed away. Passed from time into eternity. And what's happened, she was
one of the king's daughters. And he has said to her, rise
up my love, come away. This wilderness of this world,
Come away, come to eternal glory, come to everlasting happiness. You see, rise up my love, my
fair one, and come away. There's a divine call here that
is heard, that is heard in the hearts of the Lord's people. Follow me. Follow me. You see, my beloved friends,
the Lord Jesus said in one place, didn't he? What is that to thee?
Follow thou me. Follow thou me. Oh, that we might
be given that grace to follow him. Rise up, my love, my favor,
and come over. speaks here in the context of
our word before us. It says in verse eight, the voice
of my beloved, behold he cometh. But what do we gain from this?
She heard him from a distance. She heard him from a distance,
the voice of my beloved, behold he cometh. leaping upon the mountains,
skipping upon the hills, and with this anticipation, that
desire, that longing to see his countenance, to hear his voice,
to follow him, to serve him, the voice of my beloved, behold
he coming, leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills, My beloved
is like a roe or a young hare, but behold, he standeth behind
our wall, he looketh forth at the window, showing himself through
the lattice as he showed himself to you. In the lattice of his
word, Christ we made precious to you as you've read the word. That's what the lattice means.
Christ reveals himself in his word. that it could be spoken of in
the ministry of the word. Has he revealed himself to you
in the ministry of the word? In the reading of the word, in
the meditation in the word? You see, it's the voice of my
beloved. When your heart is drawn to Christ,
when you feel a love to Christ, when you feel a longing after
him, You desire to run in the way of his commandments. Your heart is thrilled with a
sense of his love, of his kindness, of his compassion towards you
personally. You see him, he says, rise up
my love. And there's another sense, in
which it could be spoken of. It says in the beginning of chapter
three, by night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loved. I sought
him, but I found him not. She was on a bed of ease. She sought him, but she found
him not. I will rise now and go about
the city, that's the hills of Zion, the church of God. In the streets, in the broad
ways, I will seek him whom my soul loveth. I sought him, but
I found him not. I saw him. Have ye come to know
him? Seek him, the beloved. Seek him
to hear his voice. Longing to see his countenance.
You feel those desires in your heart toward him. He standeth
behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, he showeth himself
through the lattice. You know, he shows himself in
the sacred ordinances of the gospel. Showing himself through
the lattice. The precious ordinances of the
gospel, there's only two real gospel ordinances in the New
Testament church and that is believers baptism and the Lord's
Supper. Now, he shows himself in the
lattice of his word. He shows himself. William Hunt, he did have some
very strange views on church order. He was a most godly man,
but he did not baptize. And a woman went to see him and
she wanted to be baptized. He says, Madam, if you see Christ
in it, go. You see, that's a good answer. If you see Christ in it, go.
And you know the sacred ordinances of the Lord's house, baptism. view the right with understanding,
Jesus' grave before thee lies, be interred at his commanding
after his example rise. Doesn't that hymn so beautifully
tell us the meaning of believers' baptism? The grave of Christ,
that humble belief and trust that he suffered and bled and
died for our sins. and rose again for our justification. When the believer is immersed
under the water, it's likened to the grave of Christ. And they
go down into the water, professing that they humbly hope that Jesus
suffered and bled and died for their sins. That's where their
hope is. And when they come up out of the water, that they are
a profession of risen Christ, that He rose again for our justification. Oh, that wonderful word, justification. Therefore being justified by
faith, we have peace with God. Justification, just as if I had
not sinned. Their sins and their iniquities
will I remember no more. You see the meaning of this sacred
ordinance of believers' baptism? is the death, the sufferings,
to be immersed under the water, just as Christ was immersed in
those awful sufferings, those agonies that he passed through,
and then to rise in newness of life. Why, you know, the Apostle
Paul, he so beautifully opens that in the Epistle to the Romans,
about the Baptism meaning the grave of Christ. We read in Romans
chapter six, verse three, know ye not that so many of us as
were baptized into Jesus Christ, were baptized into his death.
Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death, that
like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of
the Father, even so. we also should walk in newness
of life. For if we have been planted together
in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness
of his resurrection. See, these sacred gospel ordinances,
they speak to us of one thing, Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And then there is the ordinance
of the Lord's Supper and the divine command, this do in remembrance
of me. For as often as you eat this
bread and drink this cup, you do show the Lord's death till
he come. That broken bread represents
the broken body of Christ. It represents the sufferings
of Christ. It represents that he was wounded
for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities and the chastisement
of our peace was upon him and with his stripes we are healed.
That's what it represents. This do in remembrance of me
and that when we drink of the cup, the precious blood of Jesus
Christ, The blood of Jesus Christ, God's son, cleanseth us from
all sin. From all sin. That is what we
see in the cup. It's the blood of Christ. For as much as ye are not redeemed
with corruptible things as silver and gold from your vain conversation,
but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb slain from
before the foundation of the world, All that precious blood
of the Lamb, my beloved, spake and said unto me, rise up, my
love, my fair one, and come away. Rise up, my love, my fair one.
Notice what he calls her, my love. He loves her with an everlasting
love, my love. my fair one. In chapter 4, he
says concerning his church, thou art all fair my love, there is
no spot in thee. Chapter 4 verse 7, thou art all
fair my love, there is no spot in thee. He sees his bride as
redeemed. He sees her washed in his own
precious blood. He sees her clothed in the everlasting
robe of his righteousness. The king's daughter is all glorious
within. Her clothing is of wrought gold. Thou art all fair, my love. There
is no spot in thee. The other thing, of course, which
is Essentially, Solomon's song is a song of love. It's an expression
of his love. His pure, his holy, and his eternal
love to his people. In the way that these words are
couched, rise up, my love, my fair one. She's his. She's his in ties of blood. My
love. My fair one, on the fourth thing, when the
love of Christ takes possession of us, and we in turn, through the love
of Christ, take possession of Him, we love Him because He first
loved us. My beloved spake and said unto
me, rise up, my love, my farewell and come away. My mind was very
much drawn this afternoon to read through the book of Ruth
and there in the book of Ruth, beautiful narrative, Ruth the Moabitess and how she claimed to her mother-in-law
in the land of Moab. And she returned to Bethlehem
with her mother-in-law. And she said, entreat me not
to leave thee, nor to return from following after thee. Where
thou dwellest, I will dwell. Thy God shall be my God. Those
things that Ruth said unto Naomi. and she'd clave unto her. What a wonderful narrative that
is in that, I think Gadsby puts it so beautifully. To Bower's
field he led her straight. That was to glean the ears of
corn. Her and her mother-in-law were destitute. She went to glean
in the field. To Boaz Field he led her straight. He did. And what a wonderful thing. Boaz is a beautiful type of Christ. And he spoke some very lovely
things to Ruth and Arbitus. There's no doubt from what we
read in the context that He was an older man than Ruth. Ruth
was still a very young woman. And Boaz was an older man. But she claimed to him as well
in love. She became his bride. Little
did she know when she came destitute from the land of Moab to Bethlehem
with her mother-in-law, how that the Lord led her to the field
of Boas. It says, ahap, it happened. That was by divine decree and
purpose it happened that she came to the field of Boas. And they fell in love. It's very
clear that they fell in love. What a beautiful spiritual narrative
we have there, with a poor wretched sinner, like Ruth, destitute,
destitute of anything good, destitute of all wealth. And she meets with this mighty
man of wealth, and he spake kindly to her, and he told her to stay
by his maidens and go not to glean in another field, but to
cleave unto his maidens, and she did so. In fact, you read
it right through the book of Ruth, how that she was very steadfast. The Lord, I believe, gave her
that steadfastness when she claimed to Naomi. I believe that she
saw in Naomi the grace of God, and she desired that grace herself. When Naomi advised her to go
gleaning, and she went to glean, You see, she came to the field
of Boaz and that's where she gleaned, the Lord led her there. And then eventually, Boaz being that mighty man of
wealth, he was able to redeem everything that Naomi and Ruth
possessed. They were not able to redeem
it themselves, they were destitute. I went out for, But I came home
again empty was the language of Naomi. But you see, the Lord, he was watching
over. And she was united unto Balazs. The other lovely and most precious
thing in that narrative is that, you know, it was how she was drawn to Boaz. She went and lay at his feet.
Naomi advised her to. And he realized there was that
affection. He did. You know, Boaz is such
a lovely type of Christ. He's a mighty man of wealth. A mighty man of wealth. just
as Christ is, with heaven and earth at his command. He waits
to answer prayer. Rise up, my love, this mighty
man of wealth. Rise up, my love, and come away.
You see, for lo, the winter is over and gone. All those times
of trial and perplexity and darkness, they're gone. Rise up, my love.
I've purchased them. I've bought them. You're not
your own, you're bought with a price, with a price. And it came to pass, this is
Ruth chapter three, and it came to pass at midnight that the
man was afraid and turned himself in. Behold, a woman lay at his
feet and he said, who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth,
thine handmaid. Spread therefore thy skirt. over
thine handmaid. What a beautiful, sacred realization
of the righteousness of Christ. Spread thy skirt over thine handmaid,
for thou art a near kinsman, or redeemer, that's what kinsman
means. And he said, blessed be thou
of the Lord, my daughter, for thou showed more kindness in
the latter end than at the beginning, as much thou followest not young
men, whether rich or poor or rich. And now, my daughter, fear
not. I will do to thee all that thou
requirest. And you think of us as a type
of Christ. And now, my daughter, fear not. I will do to thee all that thou
requirest. Lord, with my burden I begin. I will remove this Load of sin,
this load of sin. Fear not my daughter, all that
thou requirest I will do for thee. That's the heavenly ballast,
fear not my daughter. There are often many fears in
the way. My beloved spake and said unto
me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away, come away. Ruth rose up and she followed
Boaz. She became his bride. This is
what Jesus does with a poor sinner. They become his bride. He loves
them with an everlasting love. It's a union made in eternity. Loved of my God, for him again,
with love intense, I'd burn, says in the last two verses here
of the chapter. My beloved is mine, and I am
his. He feedeth among the lilies,
until the day break, and the shadows flee away. Turn, my beloved,
and be thou like a roe, or a young harp, upon the mountains of Bitha. You know, I think we spoke just
recently, didn't we, from here in Solomon's Song, chapter eight. And if we look just at the latter
part of chapter seven first, and this shows the love between
Christ and his bride. I am my beloved's, and his desire
is toward me. Come, my beloved, let us go forth
into the field. This is the language of Christ
to the church. Let us lodge in the villages.
Let us get up early to the vineyards. Let us see if the vines flourish,
whether the tender grape appear and the pomegranate bud fall.
There will I give thee my loves. This is in the church of God.
The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates all manner of pleasant
fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee. and then we have the language
of the spouse. O that thou wert as my brother,
that suck the breasts of my mother, when I should find thee without,
I would kiss thee, yea, I should not be despised, I would lead
thee, and bring thee into my mother's house, who would instruct
me, I would cause thee to drink of the spiced wine of the juice
of my pomegranates, his left hand should be under my head,
and his right hand should embrace me. You see, my beloved friend,
his left hand. Providence, right hand, grace,
his left hand under my head, supporting, sustaining, strengthening
in all things in Providence, his right hand would embrace
me. Those everlasting blessings of
free grace In Jesus Christ, our Lord, that
precious blood that cleanses and takes away all your sin,
that glorious everlasting robe of His righteousness which covers
your nakedness. You see, that's why He can say,
thou art all fair, my love. There is no spot in thee. No, He's calling, He's speaking. The voice of my beloved You see, my sheep, they know
my voice. My beloved spake and said unto
me, write up my love, my fair one, and come away. He wants
you to follow him. He's inviting you to follow him.
This path is a path of love, to follow Christ, to follow him
in his precious commandments, See, it may have been wintertime
in your soul, for lo, the winter is past, and the rain is over
and gone, the flowers appear on the earth, it's springtime.
The time of the singing of birds has come, and the voice of the
turtle, that's Christ, the turtle dove, is heard in our land. The
fig tree, put forth her green figs, and the vines with their
tender grape, give a good smell, arise, my love. my fair one,
and come away. Oh, that the Lord will enable
you to rise up and to follow him. I remember when I was brought
into Gospel Liberty, it was these words that the Lord spoke to
me so powerfully one morning as I was about my work. Arise,
my love, my fair one, and come away. I'd been through a period
of tremendous temptation, of great darkness and trial, feeling so much the inner corruption
and sin of my heart. And then when the Lord came and
spoke these words to me with such divine power, I remember
answering the Lord, me Lord? I'm a poor, wretched, filthy,
helpless sinner. And now I said, my love, my fair
one, how can that be? And he spoke again. With almighty power into my heart,
arise my love, my fair one, and come away. And I entered at that
time into the sacred wonders of gospel liberty. My sins forgiven. My beloved was mine and I was
his. And I walked in that gospel liberty
for pretty well two years. It was the most wonderful, sacred
season, never to be forgotten, when Christ was made so precious. When he became to me the altogether
lovely one, the chiefest among 10,000, You know, I go and think of those
words in Genesis chapter 24. What do they say unto Rebekah? Won't thou go with this man?
He was asking that she should be the wife of Isaac, the son
of Abraham. will they go with this man? You
know, we look at it in a spiritual sense. This man being Christ,
the holy God man, will they go with this man? And she said,
I will go, I will go. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power. And when the gospel comes in
its living power, into our hearts, then we're made willing to let
everything go and to follow our Lord Jesus Christ, whithersoever
he leads. My beloved spake and said unto
me, rise up my love, my fair one, and come away. May the Lord have his blessing. Let us now sing together hymn
number 268. The tune is Ghent, 34. If Jesus kindly say, and with
a whispering word, Arise, my love, and come away, I run to
meet my Lord. Hymn 268, tune Ghent 34. And joyfully sing Hail, hail,
hail, hail the King of Kings The Lord is with thee. The Lord
is with thee. The Lord is with thee. The Lord
is with thee. The Lord is with thee. The Lord is with thee. The Lord
is with thee. The Lord is with thee. The Lord is with thee.
The Lord is with thee. The Lord is with thee. The Lord is with
thee. The Lord is with thee. The Lord is with thee. The Lord is with
thee. The Lord is with thee. The Lord is with thee. The Lord is with thee. The Lord is
with thee. The Lord is with thee. The Lord is with thee. The Lord is with thee.
The Lord is with thee. The Lord is with thee. The Lord is with thee. The Lord is
with thee. The Lord is with thee. The Lord is with thee. The Lord is with
thee. The Lord is with thee. The Lord is with thee. The Lord is
with thee. The Lord is with thee. The Lord is with thee. The Lord
is with thee. The Lord is with thee. The Lord is with thee.
The Lord My heart is all unfair. ? My eyes are sweetly crowned
in tears ? ? And melted with thy praise, O God my God ? Let your soul grow in light And
give it a cheerful swing And enter out your home, fellow patriots,
to visit Zion's King. He pleads me with bitter tears
And with a shining face I taste the day They shall not be erased, and
from the land its grace. The meadow now drops its shower,
My idols all depart. to that I make my strength at
last. I pray, O my God, ? And soft and tenderly smile ?
? Now meet my eyes ? I go home tonight, meet him out
at night, and call him home. 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.