Let us commence our service this
evening by singing together hymn number 363. The tune is Merit
on 366. I'll read the first two verses
and we'll commence singing at verse three. We are a garden
walled around, Chosen and made peculiar ground, A little spot
enclosed by grace, Out of the world's wide wilderness. Like
trees of myrrh and spice we stand, Planted by God the Father's hand,
And all his springs in Zion flow, to make the young plantation
grow. Hymn 363, commencing in at verse
three. O God, we have given you heaven's
power, Thou on this garden of the future Spirit divine, be kind and bring
the gracious word of God's beginning. ? Make up their spices by the brook
? ? To entertain a saviour brook ? and joy of heaven, and every
grace reactive be. His flesh on fruit, and His own
flesh on wine. I know my spouse, I know he cries
With love and pleasure in his eyes ? His rock and palm ? ? Well pleased
to share ? ? A stream of youth ? ? And close us to the peace
divine ? I will go by. Eat of the tree of life, My friends,
the blessings that my father sent, your taste shall know. My dainties brew, and drink upon
words of my love. Jesus, we will frequent thy door,
And sing the bounties of the Lord. of the rich fields on which we
live, demand Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in the Song of Solomon, in Chapter 8. Solomon's Song, Chapter 8. O that thou wert as my brother,
that sucked 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 spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate. His
left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should
embrace me. I charge you, O daughters of
Jerusalem, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love until he please. Who is this that cometh up from
the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? I raise thee up
under the apple tree. There thy mother brought thee
forth. There she brought thee forth that bare thee. set me
as a seal upon thine heart as a seal upon thine arm for love
is strong as death jealousy is cruel as the grave the coals
thereof are coals of fire which hath the most vehement flame
many waters cannot quench love neither can the floods drown
it if a man would give all the substance of his house for love,
it would be utterly contempt. We have a little sister, and
she hath no breasts. What shall we do for our sister
in the day when she shall be spoken for? If she be a wall,
we will build upon her a palace of silver, and if she be a door,
were an enclosure with boards of cedar. I am a wall, and my
breasts like towers. Then was I in his eyes as one
that found favour. Solomon hath a vineyard at Baal-harmon. He let out the vineyard unto
keepers. Every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand
pieces of silver My vineyard, which is mine, is before me. Thou, O Solomon, must have a
thousand, and those that keep the fruit thereof, two hundred.
Thou that dwellest in the gardens, the companions hearken to thy
voice, cause me to hear it. Make haste, my beloved, and be
thou light to a row, or a young heart upon the mountains of spices. May the Lord bless that portion
of his own precious word and grant unto us a spirit of real
prayer. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,
which is an art, an art to come, we desire to bow before thy glorious
majesty, thy eternal majesty. Thus saith the high and lofty
one that inhabited eternity, whose name is Holy. O most gracious
Lord, as we bow before thy great majesty, O we come to thee, the
Holy Father, the Holy Son, and the Holy Spirit. We pray for
thy divine influence and power. Blessed divine Spirit of truth,
we pray that thou wouldst breathe thy word into our hearts and
that thou wouldst graciously, truly convince us of our sin
and lead to Jesus' blood and to our wandering eyes reveal
the secret love of God. Blessed Spirit, We do pray for
thy divine work in our hearts, in the pulpit, in the pew, that
it may be a sealing time. We read of thy gospel, whereby
you are sealed unto the day of redemption. We pray, most blessed
spirit, that this night, as we gather around thy word, that
the word may be sealed into our hearts, that we may be led and
taught and guided and directed by thee. And all we pray, most
gracious God, that we may have revealed the wonderful things
of Jesus Christ. We may be favoured to see no
man save Jesus only. That we may be enabled to say,
my beloved is mine and I am his. Lord, what an unspeakable blessing. What a gracious divine favour
that would be to embrace our Lord Jesus in the arms of living
faith, to lay hold of that hope that is set before us in the
gospel, to touch the hem of his garment and draw from that sacred
fullness and virtue that is in him. Oh, we pray, most gracious
Lord, It may be with us as we read in the word, and Jesus came
and stood in the midst, or we pray that it may be so with us.
We think of those precious words where two or three are gathered
in my name, there am I. Lord, may we prove it to be so
tonight, thy sacred presence, and that we may behold thy countenance,
for thy countenance is comely. that we may behold the Lamb of
God, which taketh away the sin of the world. We pray that we
may be favoured, but with those divine drawings of our Eternal
Father, none come except the Father draw, or that we could
know that divine drawing power of our Eternal Father, drawing
us unto his best Beloved. Our Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal
Son of God, manifest in the flesh, the Word that was made flesh,
the man of sorrows. O most gracious Lord, thou hast
said in thy Word, I will draw thee with the cords of a man.
O the man Christ Jesus, may we behold his glory, the glory as
of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. O favourous
Lord, we pray Thee this night, with Thy sacred presence, with
Thy heavenly power, with Thy divine unction, we do humbly
beseech of Thee, for without Thee we can do nothing, nothing
of any good, nothing of any profit. Everything has to be done by
Thy Spirit. We confess our sins, our wanderings,
our backslidings. We leave undone things that we
should do, and we do things that we should not do. We find a law
within our members that when I would do good, then evil is
present with me. Gracious God, oh, deliver us
from sin and from its power and from its dominion. And though
sin lives in us, may not we live in sin, but may we live to him
that died. that may we be surrendered to
the crucified one. We do humbly pray thee. Lord,
we pray that thou wouldst graciously bless us as a church and as a
congregation. Remember our brethren, the deacons,
in all their responsibilities, and graciously help them and
support them and sustain them and strengthen them. Help us
to bear one another's burden. thereby fulfilling the law of
Christ. Remember each one of our brethren
and sisters in church fellowship. Do graciously bless each one.
Help us to pray for each other. We do humbly pray that you love
each other, serve each other, bear each other's burdens, esteem
in each other to be better than ourselves, willing to take the
lowest place, Let that mind be in us, which was also in Christ
Jesus. O most gracious Lord, we pray
for the mind of Christ, for the spirit of Christ. We pray for
the whole of our congregation, O that thou wouldst bless us
indeed, and work mightily, powerfully, effectually among us, to the
great glory of thy name, that we may see the wonders of redeeming
love, that we may see the prodigals return. Lord, we long for such
a day. Oh, that thou wouldst put forth
thy glorious arm, and cause those prodigals to return, and come
and tell to sinners round what a dear Saviour they have found,
and point to thy redeeming blood, and say, Behold the way to God. Do grant, Lord, that we may see
such a thing Remember this village, and the surrounding villages
and hamlets, that thy work may appear. The word of the Lord
distributed may be richly blessed of thee, that there may be an
abundant harvest in due season, that we may see the fulfilling
of those gospel promises. I will bring thy sons from far,
and thy daughters from the ends of the earth, and they shall
come from the north and from the south and from the east and
from the west. Great God, hear us. We humbly
beseech thee. Remember the little ones and
the children. We're thankful to have them among
us. We love to see them. We love to hear them in the sanctuary. And we pray, O Lord, that thou
wouldst bless them. Bless them with the fear of the Lord, which
is the beginning of wisdom. The dear young friends, graciously
bless them. Bless them with living faith
in Jesus Christ, that faith that worketh by love, that they may
follow thee, that they may serve thee in their day and in their
generation. Be with them, Lord, in their
education and give wisdom and understanding. And be with them,
Lord, in any future employment, cause thy goodness to pass before
them in the way, make crooked things straight and rough places
plain. Remember them regarding a partner
in life's journey, that thou wouldst graciously bring them
together according to thy divine appointments, that great God
that did bring a Ruth to Boaz and a Rebecca to Isaac. O Lord,
we thank thee. that thou art God over all and
blessed for evermore. We pray that it may exercise
our hearts that we might walk in the will of the Lord and in
the footsteps of the flock. We pray to see the fulfilling
of that precious word, instead of thy fathers shall be thy children,
whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth. We pray for
any and any particular trouble or trial or perplexity that thou
wouldst undertake for them. We pray, most gracious Lord,
that thou in thy precious mercy wouldst graciously undertake
and bring us to see that the things that have happened unto
us are for the furtherance of the gospel. To humble us under
thy mighty hand, to bring us to thy footstool, to worship
thee. O gracious God, we do pray that
thou wouldst hear prayer for all in the midst of the journey
of life, support, sustain, strengthen and uphold, give wisdom to parents
in the bringing up of their children, that they may set a good example.
And Lord, we do pray that thou wouldst deliver from temptation
the allurements and temptations in this world, which are pleasing
to our flesh. Oh, most gracious Lord, we pray
to be delivered. We pray to be delivered from
those temptations of Satan, that old serpent, the devil. We pray that whether he comes
as an angel of light to deceive us, or whether he comes as a
roaring lion to devour us, that we pray that thou wouldst grant
that we may have the tender fear of the Lord to discern that which
is right and that which is wrong. We do humbly beseech thee. Lord,
we do pray for the fulfilling of that precious promise that
when the enemy comes in like a flood, the spirit of the Lord
will lift up a standard against him. O grant that it may be so,
that Christ may be lifted up, deliverance may be granted, that
we may look and live. Look unto me, O ye ends of the
earth, and be ye saved, for I am God, and there is none else.
Those of us in the evening time of life's journey, we pray, most
gracious Lord, for thy divine support and blessing and help.
And we pray for those in affliction, We pray to be each prepared for
that great day. For even this week, O Lord, we
know of one that has suddenly passed from time into eternity
with no warning. O Lord, we pray to be prepared
for that great day when heart and flesh shall fail. We pray, and now, my God, prepare
my soul for that great day and wash me in his precious blood. Take all my sins away. Lord,
remember each of thy servants as they labour in word and doctrine
upon the walls of Zion. Set them free, set them at liberty
in the preaching of the gospel. Give unto them the tongue of
the learned that they may be enabled to speak a word in season. We pray that the Lord Jesus may
be exalted and that we may be determined to know nothing among
men save Jesus Christ and him crucified. Hear us, Lord, we
humbly beseech thee, but for thy great name's sake. Lord,
we pray for the little hills of Zion, some in their twos and
threes, but oh, we pray that thou would strengthen them, help
them, increase them, build them up, if it could be thy heavenly
mind and will, the fulfilling of that precious word, for I
am returned unto Jerusalem with mercies. Lord, grant that it
may be so, that we may see thy return. We thank thee for the
house of prayer. We thank thee for the supply
of all our many returning needs. We thank thee, O Lord God, for
all thy tender mercies which are new every morning, and great
is thy faithfulness. But above all we thank thee for
that eternal covenant, ordered in all things and sure, sealed
with the blood of Jesus. Oh, we thank thee, most gracious
Lord, for our Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Word that was made
flesh and dwelt among us. We thank thee that he was made
of a woman made under the law that he might redeem them that
are under the law. We thank thee as a man he has
fulfilled and honoured and magnified the holy righteous law of God
to thy great glory and that he has brought in everlasting righteousness. We thank thee that he suffered
and bled and died on Calvary to redeem us from all sin and
from all iniquity, and from the curse of the law, and from the
bondage of sin and corruption, and brought us into the glorious
liberty of the people of God. We thank thee that he died for
our sins and rose again for our justification. Oh, we do thank
thee, most gracious Lord, that he has bodily ascended into heaven,
and that we have a great high priest who is passed into the
heavens, Jesus, the Son of God. Oh, we have an advocate with
the Father. 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. Praise waiteth for
thee, O God, in Zion, and unto thee shall the vow be performed.
We thank thee that through him we have access by one spirit
unto the Father, our heavenly Father. Oh, most gracious Lord,
what an unspeakable privilege to have a heavenly Father, to
be one of the sons and daughters of the Lord God Almighty. Oh,
that we could experience tonight as we gather together, for God
has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba,
Father. Come and touch one's lips with
a live coal from off the heavenly altar. Come and open the word
of truth. Come and open our hearts to receive
it. We ask with the forgiveness of all sin, for Jesus Christ's
sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 268, The tune is Cambridge, number
16. If Jesus, kindly say, and with
a whispering word, arise, my love, and come away, I run to
meet my Lord. Hymn 268. Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum, Aum My soul is defiled, Thy promise,
O God, my God. Thy light, O sweet King, crowned
in thee, ? In the dreams I pray ? ? I will
rise, I will rise, I will rise, I will rise, I will rise, I will rise,
I will rise, I will rise, I will rise, I will rise, I will rise, I will
rise, I will rise, I will rise, I will rise, I will rise, I will
rise, I will rise, I will rise, I will rise, I will rise, I will
rise, I will rise, I will rise, I will rise, I will rise, I will
rise, I will rise, I will rise, I will rise, I will rise, I will
rise, I will rise, I will rise, I will rise, I will rise, I will
rise, I will rise, I will rise, I will rise, I will rise, I will
rise, I will rise, I will rise, I will rise, I will rise, I will
rise, I will rise, I will rise, I will rise, I will rise, I will
? And that through all the long
day's strife ? ? There may still time come to live. ? ? And with your shining eyes ?
? I taste the day ? ? Where joy, deep in my chest, ? ? And wonder
how dear you are to me ? The crown of thorns is your own,
and I will Till at my reach my Saviour's
arms find Him in all my woes. Help me to find rest. I want to lay me down and die,
and my peace to find. Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I would direct your attention to the eighth
chapter of the Solomon's Song, and we will read verse 13 for
our text. Solomon's Song, chapter eight,
Verse 13. Thou that dwellest in the gardens,
the companions hearken to thy voice. Cause me to hear it. Sometimes it's very difficult
in Solomon's Song to know whether Christ or the church is speaking. And this is one of those places.
Is it Christ speaking to the church? Or is it the church speaking
to Christ? I bow to the greater knowledge of Dr. Gill. He said
at one time that he used to think that it was the church speaking
to Christ, asking Christ to come into the garden of the church.
But he said, Look at the original language, where it says dwellest,
thou that dwellest. In the Hebrew, it says the inhabitess,
which refers to a woman. The inhabitess, thou that dwellest. So that makes it Christ speaking
to the church, speaking to believers. Thou that dwellest in the garden.
The garden, of course, is the church. We've just sung in our
opening hymn that we are a garden walled around, chosen and made
peculiar ground, a little spot enclosed by grace. It speaks
of it in the fourth chapter of Solomon's psalm, this garden. And in verse 12, a garden enclosed
is my sister, my spouse, a spring shut up, a fountain sealed. Thy plants are an orchard of
pomegranates with pleasant fruits, camphor with spikenard, spikenard
and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense,
myrrh and aloes, with all the cheese spices, a fountain of
gardens, a well of living waters and streams from Lebanon. What a beautiful, sacred description
that is of the church. A garden enclosed. And of course
the illustration. This is the most beautiful Hebrew
poetry. It's actually a love song. It's
a love song between Christ and the church. Christ is the bridegroom,
the church is his spouse. And there's that constant dialogue
that goes on between Christ and his spouse. And he speaks of
her here. He says in this fourth chapter,
and how fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse. How much better is thy love than
wine and the smell of thine ointments and all spices. Thy lips, O my
spouse, drop as the honeycombs Honey and milk are under thy
tongue, and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of
Lebanon. She was clothed and fed, and
she is clothed, I'm speaking now of the church, she is clothed
and fed by Christ. Christ is set before us in Holy
Scripture as the water of life. He's set before us as the bread
of life. He's set before us as the wine of the kingdom. Everything
that a living soul needs is found in Christ. That which will nourish. And
in this garden, which is the church, which he speaks of here
in chapter four, a garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse, a spring
shut up. What does that mean? Well, in
the actual city of Jerusalem, It says in scripture, doesn't
it, that it was a city compact together. So there wasn't room
for gardens. You tend to think of a city and
we, of course, because we live here, you think of a city of
London and all the houses have gardens. But it wasn't like that
in Jerusalem. It was very compact. It was walled
around and within the city there was very, very few gardens. So,
They used to find a piece of land with outside the walls of
Jerusalem and ideally it had a spring of water and they would build a wall around
so that they had water to water their plants. A garden by its
very nature needs to be tended to. Plants need to be planted
and need to be watered and nurtured, and so it is with the church. And like I've said, we sang together,
we are a garden walled around. That wall, it is the eternal
covenant ordered in all things ensured. The wall around the
people of God. That eternal covenant that has
been sealed with the blood of Christ. Hebrews chapter 13 that we read
that his blood the blood of Jesus Christ is the blood of the everlasting
covenant and that blood cleanses away all the sin of the church
it says here in chapter 4 verse 7 thou are all fair my love there
is no spot in there why because he saw her washed in his blood
he saw her clothed in his righteousness. Christ did. And therefore, just
like it was with Queen Esther when she went in before the king
and if she wasn't called, if the king didn't hold out the
golden scepter of mercy, then the law of the Medes and Persians
was that she should be slain. She would lose her life. But
so desperate was the case that she said, if I perish, I perish,
I must go. For her people, the Jews, their
life was threatened. And so she put on her royal apparel. That means she put on those things
that were pleasing to the king, which she knew that he liked,
that made her look very attractive. That's exactly what that means.
And she went in before the king, and he held out the golden scepter.
He was overcome by her love and by her beauty. But you know that
is a lovely illustration of the bride of Christ, the spouse. She overcomes him with her love.
Now that love that she has to Christ is what's given to her
by the Spirit. It's the love of Christ shed
abroad in our hearts, as it says in the first epistle of John.
We love him because he first loved us. And so when the spouse
comes, and the spirit of faith is given a faith that work is
by love, she feels a love to her saviour, to her redeemer.
He becomes so precious to her. She sees a beauty in him, she
sees a loveliness in him, she sees him as the altogether lovely
one, as the chiefest among ten thousand. That's what the spouse
sees in her beloved. Everything that she stands in
need of, for time and for eternity, is in Christ. And as I said, this is a love
song, divinely inspired by the Holy Ghost, where the language
used is that as between a husband and wife, that spirit of love
in a natural sense. And the Lord uses these illustrations
for us because we can understand the love between a husband and
wife. something that we can comprehend and so the Spirit of God uses
this language to set before us that sacred loving bond that
there is between Christ and the Church. Now you see just as I
said they would find a place where there was a spring of water
they would wall it around and And then they would plant the
plants, and it speaks here of the different plants. He said,
an orchard of pomegranates with pleasant fruits, camphor, spikenard,
spikenard, saffron, calamus, cinnamon, all the trees of frankincense,
myrrh and aloes, spices, with all the chief spices. And they
would tend that garden. And apparently the custom was
that they would spend a day out there. The husband would take
a day off his work, And all the family would go out to the garden.
And to look after the garden, to till the garden, and to water
the plants. It was a place where they went
to relax as a family together. It was a safe place. How beautiful
it sets before us, the church. A safe place. A dwelling place
of the church, of the spiritual children of Christ. when the
Lord brings them together in a spirit of love and of union
and the sacred and precious preaching of the gospel and the setting
forth of Christ as being the way, the truth and the life.
And when the minister speaks of the wonderful glories of Christ
and the fullness that is in him, they feed, they feed on Christ. They eat living bread, they drink
living water. That's what the spring sets forth,
living water. My mind was very much drawn to
that beautiful word that we have in the fourth chapter in the
gospel according to John, when the Lord Jesus is speaking to
the woman by Jacob's well. And in the verse 14, John 4 verse
14 but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him
this is Christ speaking shall never thirst but the water that
I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing
up into everlasting life. You know I've always felt I still
do that that springing water, that living water is the Holy
Ghost. Again and again in Holy Scripture,
the Holy Ghost is spoken of as living water. Now he dwells,
if we're a child of God, the Holy Spirit dwells in your heart.
And that Holy Spirit is like a fountain of living water, keeps
bubbling up, it's always there. It keeps bubbling up. And just
like Christ says there, The water that I shall give him shall be
in him a well of water, springing up into everlasting life. So really, as we look at this
picture of the church and the spring in the garden, the wall
around garden and the spring in the midst of it, the Holy
Spirit constantly bubbling up. The plants all being watered.
You know, the Lord's children are likened to plants in Holy
Scripture. They're called trees of righteousness,
plants of the Lord's right hand planting. That's what the church
is called in Holy Scripture. And just on that point of the
Spirit of God being in the true believer, just turn, while we're
in John, just turn to chapter 7 and what the Lord Jesus Christ
says there because it opens and expands on this very point as
the Holy Ghost be in that spring of living water. John 7 verse
37, In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood
and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me
and drink. He that believeth on me, as the
scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living
water. But this spake he of the Spirit,
which they that believe on him should receive. For the Holy
Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified. Now the Holy Spirit, under the
New Testament, he was to dwell in the hearts of the Lord's people
in a very special manner. And that's exactly what Christ
is speaking of there. If any man, Thirst, let him come
unto me and drink. It says in Luke, doesn't it,
that he will give the Holy Spirit to him that asketh him. You know,
my dear friends, the Holy Spirit is essential. He's a divine person,
and we need him in our hearts. One of the hymn writers says,
doesn't he, dwell therefore in our hearts. Isn't that our desire? For the Holy Spirit to dwell
in our hearts. And if he enters our hearts,
as Christ said, he'll be in us, a well of water, springing up,
watering. Of course, in one sense, the
garden can be spoken of as our soul, the garden of our soul, which is watered by the Spirit
of God. sacred spices flow forth, faith,
hope, love, humility. They flow forth from that inward
powerful work of the spirit in the soul. Or that it might be
our desire, our longing, our yearning, that we might indeed
have the divine spirit in our hearts and those living desires. One hymn writer says, doesn't
he, those feeble desires, those wishes so weak, tis Jesus inspires
and bids thee still seek. He does. Seek ye the Lord while
he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near. What does
Christ say? He says, ask and you shall receive,
seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you.
Just let me point out to you, it doesn't say there's no ambiguity
in those Sacred words. It doesn't say he might answer
you. He could answer you. Perhaps he'll answer you. That's
ambiguous He says he Asked and you shall you shall receive all
that it might be an encouragement to you to ask and you shall receive
to seek and you shall Find to knock and it shall be opened
unto you. It's divinely certain that the
Lord would seal those words into our hearts so we may continue
to plead. You know it may be, it may be
there's one and another here you've been in the way for a
long season and you've become cold spiritually, become barren
spiritually, become far off and You wonder where the scene
and end you wonder if you have any spiritual life Because you
feel so dark you feel to be so much bondage You know you need
to come again. Ah, but you so I've sinned come
again Jesus is the friend of sinners This man receiveth sinners
and eateth with them this glorious. Holy God man the man Christ Jesus
Sinners are welcome still to Christ the sinner's friend. I
remember hearing Mr. Warder many years ago now and
he was speaking of sometimes the pride in our hearts stops
us coming to Christ. You may have had some blessings
and you may have fallen and you may have fallen away. You may
be now in a dark and a place of bondage and barrenness. And
you know you've sent him away, you know why you're in bondage,
you know why you're in darkness. But he says, because of the pride
of our heart, keeps us back. The only place of refuge, the
only door of hope, the only place of mercy is Jesus Christ. You must come to him. You must
come to him. you'll perish without him. And
it's he that says those beautiful words, ask and you shall receive,
seek and you shall find. I think it's in one of Gad's
best hymns, isn't it? The vilest sinner outside of
hell that lives to feel his need is welcome to the throne of grace,
the savior's blood to plead. You know, under that deep sense
you have of your own sinfulness and wretchedness and emptiness
and poverty, How that you've sinned against light and mercy
and love and blood and you write many many bitter things against
yourself But he speaks to such a soul as you Come on to me. It's Christ speaking Come on
to me all ye that labor and are heavy laden. I will give you
rest take my yoke upon you and learn of me and For I am meek
and lowly in heart and ye shall find rest for your souls. For
my yoke is easy and my burden is light. To be united to Christ. That's
the place of safety. That's the place of refuge. That's
the place of mercy. That's the place of divine love
in Christ. Oh that the language of your
soul may be give me Christ or else I die. Thou that dwellest
in the gardens, the companions hearken to thy voice. So she
has companions. There's so many different ways
that this could be interpreted. I feel it means the fellow believers
in Zion, her brothers and sisters in Christ, She speaks to them. But Christ is speaking to her.
Thou that dwellest in the gardens, the companions hearken to thy
voice. She speaks to them. And then
he says, cause me to hear it. You think of all the sad complaints
of all your woe and all your trouble that you speak to your
fellows in Zion. You know, the hymn writer, he
puts it in a nutshell. were far more breath thus vainly
spent, to heaven in supplication sent, our cheerful song would
often be, hear what the Lord has done for me. Look unto me,
all ye ends of the earth. Who is speaking? Christ is speaking. Look unto me, all ye ends of
the earth. Maybe that's how you feel in
your souls, feelings at this time, the ends of the earth.
But he says, look unto me. All ye ends of the earth, and
be ye saved, for I am God, and there is none else. Thou that
dwellest in the gardens, the companions hearken to thy voice,
cause me to hear it. You know, these companions, they
can be spoken of several different things. I personally think that
the primary meaning is the fellow believers, your brethren and
sisters in Christ. Those whom you love for the truth's
sake. You feel a union to them. What Christ is saying, the companions
hearken to thy voice. You speak to them. Cause me,
dearie, to come in prayer unto me, to look unto me, casting
all your care upon him, for he careth for you. Oh, my beloved
friends, these things are written for our instruction. There is, of course, a sense
in which the companions hearken to thy voice, Father, Son, and
Holy Ghost. They are indeed the companions
of the living Church of God. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. But then, in another sense, it
can mean angels. You might say, what do you mean
by angel? Well, every child of God is an
angel. It's very clear. Christ says,
is not there angel before my father beholding my father's
face in heaven? He will give his angels charge
over thee. We know the primary meaning of that was Christ, but
it's so with every child of God. He will minister by the ministry
of angels and in that sense they can be called companions to the
people of God. They're there to be with and
to support and to sustain and to deliver by the a divine guidance
of our eternal Father. But I do feel principally it
means her companions are those that are in the way together,
brethren, sisters in Christ. And even though she feels to
be so far off, and yet she still has brethren and sisters in Christ,
Thou that dwellest in the garden." What great mercy to dwell in
the gardens, even though you feel to be so poor, so needy,
so sinful, so wretched. The Apostle, he felt it himself,
didn't he? He said, O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver
me from the body of this death? And though you have so much conflict, you have a sense and a realization
given to you by the spirit of your own sinfulness, your own
corruption that is in your heart, those things that rise up within
your soul. And they come from our flesh.
The Lord Jesus Christ, he said in his teachings, didn't he,
how the from the heart the things that proceed from our heart are
the things that defile us the Pharisees looked upon it that
they were holy that they were righteous and that it was things
that went into them that would defile them so there were certain
things they would not eat and there's certain things they would
not do and because they thought that that would defile them but
Christ opens their eyes he opens the eyes of the disciples And
he tells them it's not that which goeth into a man that defiles
a man, it's that which cometh out that defiles. Adulteries,
fornication, all these things come out of our hearts and they
arise from within our souls. I remember years ago reading
a piece by J.C. Philpott and he was speaking
of this inward corruption and sin that is in our hearts. But what I felt, he said, was
very discerning. I've known much of the temptations
of Satan over the years. But he said this, you can't blame
everything onto Satan. He said we have evil hearts,
we have sinful hearts, we have sinful inclinations. But the way he put it was like
this, he said, In my humble opinion, when you have a temptation, if your heart goes with it, and
it's something that is really pleasing to your flesh, and you
get carried away with it, and you go after it, you said that
is your flesh. But he said if you get a temptation
that your heart recoils, and you're horrified by it. He said,
normally, that is a temptation of Satan. And that was the way
he discerned between that which is of the flesh and that which
is of the spirit, or the spirit of Satan. You see, the flesh,
out of our flesh is all manner of evil. You think of the word
of God, you know, the heart is deceitful above all things, Just
think of that. Scriptures do not exaggerate.
Our heart, your heart, my heart, is deceitful above all things. That's a very broad statement,
isn't it? But how true it is, is deceitful above all things
and desperately wicked. It is. And it's from our heart is the
vast amount the evil that it comes from within us and that
is what defiles us. It's that founding of iniquity
that is in us. I remember years ago reading
Stephen Charnock the Puritan and again he was a very learned
man and he was speaking of the different words there are in
scripture for sin. Sin, transgression, iniquity
and all those various words that are used but He made this point,
and it commended itself to me. He said, iniquity refers to our
fallen nature, our original sin. We're born in sin. You listen
to what the Word of God says. We're born in sin. We're shapen
in iniquity. It don't mean to say your parents
sinned in having you. What it means is, is that we
receive our fallen sinful nature by natural generation from our
parents. It's a solemn thought, isn't
it? We're born in sin and shapen
in iniquity. We're corrupt by nature. And
the only thing that would deliver us is the wonderful power and
love and grace of Jesus Christ. it is. 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 and
he it is that is speaking here. Thou that dwellest in the gardens,
the companions hearken to thy voice, cause me to hear it. I
love what Joseph Hart says when he speaks so beautifully of Christ
in heaven, a man there is, a real man, with wounds still gaping
wide, from which rich streams of blood once ran in hands and
feet and side. He says we're not speaking of
any metaphor, but we're speaking of a real, true God-man, the
glorious, holy God-man, Jesus Christ. Speaking of that how that he
reigns in heaven Sitting at the right hand of the father Just
as the apostle says in hebrews chapter 4 for such an high priest
have we? Who is passed into the heavens?
Jesus the son of god. It's him that is speaking here
cause me to hear it cause me to hear thy voice Looking on
to jesus I'm there i'm in heaven I'm at the right hand of the
Father. I still receive poor broken-hearted sinners. I still
receive the lost, the ruined, the wretched, the undone. I still
receive the poor backsliders. How many words there are in Holy
Scriptures that speak of this, of Christ. receiving poor sinners. How many illustrations do we
have in the four Gospels of Christ receiving poor, lost, wretched,
ruined, how deserving sinners. Look at the dying thief. What
a wonderful picture there of the everlasting love and mercy
of God in Christ. How that dear man's eyes were
opened in the very closing hours of his life. He'd lived a life
of wickedness and of evil. But what does it show us? That
salvation is of the Lord. That salvation is all of grace.
It's not of him that willeth nor of him that runneth, but
of God that showeth mercy. And look at that wonderful mercy. Lord, remember me when thou comest
into thy kingdom. What was the answer? Today shalt
thou be with me in paradise. You see, he You see, he caused
his voice to be heard, didn't he? The Divine Spirit put light
and life in his soul, opened his eyes in the closing hours
of his life, and so that he was brought to see Jesus, the Holy
One of Israel. You might say, how do you know
that you saw him as the Holy One of Israel? He said to the
fellow thief on the tree, he said, this man had done nothing
amiss. Speaking of Christ, He saw the
holiness and the purity of Christ. But this man had done nothing
amiss. His eyes were opened. He was
received. He was received. Thou that dwellest
in the gardens, the companions hearken to thy voice. Cause me
to hear it. You think of the calling of Matthew
Levi. Matthew Levi is the writer of
the gospel according to Matthew. He was a disciple of Christ.
He was a tax collector. Or, as it's called in Bible days,
a publican. A tax collector. He was standing
at the receipt of custom. He was a very rich man. The Lord
Jesus passes by. He looks at Matthew. He says,
follow me. And he followed him. The power
that he spoke to his heart. And the wonderful grace that
was revealed afterward when he took him to his house and he
laid on a feast for him for the Lord Jesus Christ. The spirit
of love and repentance that was there in Matthew by the grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Everything's by the grace of
our Lord Jesus Christ. dwellest in the gardens, the
companions hearken to thy voice, cause me to hear it. You think
of the poor blind man sitting by the wayside. He heard that
Jesus was coming. He was blind from his birth.
Jesus, thou son of David. He hadn't only heard, he believed. This was the son of David. The
son of David It was a term that was used for the Messiah. He
was to be born of the seed of David. So that term among the
Jews, the son of David, meant the Messiah. There was something
that had been revealed to that poor blind man. And he sat by the wayside. He
couldn't go and find him, he couldn't see. But he heard. Faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the word of the Lord. He heard. of this wonderful person,
Jesus Christ, that could make the blind to see, the deaf to
hear, the lame to walk, the dumb to speak. He'd heard of Jesus
Christ. And so he cries out, Jesus, thou
son of David, he believed who he was, the glorious Messiah. Have mercy upon me. That's what
he needed, the Lord's mercy. That was the only ground and
the way that he could come. You see, he was causing his voice
to be heard by the glory. The people around them got fed
up with him. They said, be quiet, man, be
quiet, man. You keep on, Jesus, thou son
of David. And it says he cried the more
vehemently, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy upon me. Something very wonderful happened. And Jesus stood still. And it was the cry of that poor
beggar who was begging by the wayside. Jesus stood still. Jesus the Son of God. Jesus the
Almighty Saviour. Jesus the Creator of the heavens
and the earth. Jesus that said all power is
given unto me in heaven and in earth. He stood still at the
voice of a poor beggar. he did, and they brought him
to him, and he received his sign. What is it that thou wilt have
me do unto thee, Lord, that I might receive my sign? And he touched
him, and he received his sign. Thou that dwellest in the gardens,
the companions hearken to thy voice, cause me to hear it. Just
remember that beautiful word, thou art coming to a king. Large
petitions with thee bring, for his grace and power are such,
none can ever ask too much. He's able to do abundantly more
than we can even ask or think. The smallest thing or the greatest
thing, bring it to Jesus. Bring it to Jesus. take it to
the Lord in prayer for Peter says in his epistle to whom coming
as unto a living stone disallowed indeed of men but chosen of God
and precious to whom coming coming to Jesus what a wonderful thing
that we have all these things recorded in holy scripture of
those that came to Jesus that believed on the Lord Jesus Christ
that were healed of all their diseases because they called upon the
name of the Lord. It says in Joel, whosoever calleth
upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And they experienced
it. The spirit of faith calling on
the name of the Lord, looking unto Jesus, casting all your
care upon him for he careth for you. Thou that dwellest in the gardens. This is the exhortation to us
here tonight. Bring it to Jesus. What do we
read? The cause that is too hard for
thee, bring it unto me. Whatever it is, bring it unto
me. Take it to Jesus. Thou that dwellest in the gardens,
the companions hearken to thy voice, cause me to hear it. Then
that last verse here of Solomon's song, make haste, My beloved,
it's the church praying, and be thou like to a roe or a young
harp upon the mountains of spices. The mountains of spices is eternal
glory. Looking and hasting unto the
coming of the great day of the Lord. Make haste, my beloved. Looking and hasting, longing
for that day when we shall be free from this tenement of sinful,
wretched flesh. and be taken into eternal glory
to be forever with the Lord. Make haste, my beloved, and be
thou like to a roe or a young harp upon the mountains of spices. May the Lord add his blessing. Let us now sing together hymn
number 968 to the tune St. Bea's 494. Hark, my soul, it
is the Lord. Tis thy Saviour, hear his word. Jesus speaks and speaks to thee. Say, poor sinner, lovest thou
me? Hymn 968. ? My sins have sinned to thee ?
? Save the day of your death to me ? ? Life in me, life in
me ? Somewhere over the prairie sky When a woman's tender care Sakes
her mother child she bears, Yes, she may forgetful be, Yet for long we'll never think Why this unchanging
love Higher than the heights above, Deeper than the depths
beneath, Great and faithful, strong, Thou shalt see my glory soon,
When the work of grace is done, The pearl of my throne shall
be, Saint, O sinner, doubts thou me? Lord, it is my chief ombed, ?
That thy love is full and great ? ? Let thy love be evermore
? ? Evermore ? 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.