Psalm of Solomon chapter 5. The title of the message is Spiritual
Sickness and its Remedy. Everyone here knows what it is
to be sick, don't you? We've all been sick at one time
or another. And I know this, I know that everyone of us at
one time or another has been spiritually sick. We've been
spiritually sick just as much as we've been physically sick. Now we have before us a picture
of Christ and his church, his grace, and our sinfulness. Spiritual sickness is too common
in the Lord's church. And I believe the root of the
problem is that we do not hug up to Christ
as often as we can. We do not stay close to Him as we can. You remember when
the disciples, they scattered and said, Peter followed Him
afar off. Following Christ afar off leads
to spiritual sickness. How many times have we asked
the Lord to be with us? And this, I thought of this,
I put this in here about an hour ago because I was praying that
the Lord would meet with us and be with us. And I thought, how
many times have we asked the Lord to be with us and then have
our interest somewhere else? Have our hearts drift off somewhere
else? Now he says in verse 1 here,
the Lord speaks. He said, I am come into my garden. Our Lord is so kind and so gracious. He comes into his garden at the
request of his church. Look back in verse 16 of chapter
4. Awake, O north wind, and come thou south. Blow upon my garden
that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into
his garden and eat his pleasant fruits." The church asked him
to come into his garden, just as I asked tonight in prayer,
Lord be with us. Come into this garden tonight,
your garden, your garden. It's His garden, it's not a garden. She doesn't say come into a garden,
but His garden. He planted it. Every plant in
it belongs to Him. The church is His. We are His
by purchase. He purchased us. He planted us. Our Lord said, every plant which
my heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up. But if he
has planted you, you're not going to be rooted up. I tell you what
he's going to do, he's going to come into the garden, he's
going to water it, and he's going to prune it. Have you ever seen
somebody really prune? Doug probably knows this. When
you prune grapevines, you just cut them things back. Cut them
back to the point it looks like they're going to die. You ever
seen somebody really prune something? It looks like this thing's dead.
I cut some bushes back at home in Ashland. We had some fire
bushes, so burning bushes, what they're called, burning bushes.
I cut those things back so much that I said, didn't they? You're
not going to make it. And they came out beautiful. You ought
to see them now. They're beautiful. He comes into his garden to water
it and to prune it. And he does this so that it will
produce more fruit. He never leaves His garden alone.
He's the husbandman. He's the faithful husbandman.
And He's going to take care of His garden. And He's going to
water it and prune it that it'll produce more fruit. He does not
come empty-handed. Our Lord, when He comes into
His garden, He brings all grace and mercy with Him. He brings
it with Him. He smells He smells of grace
and truth and mercy. And He comes not to be fed by
us, but to feed us, for He says, I have eaten. Christ has eaten
of the glory and success that followed the cross. Where is
He now? He's seated at God's right hand,
right now, in the heavenlies. That's where He's at. And He
will never eat of the wrath of God again. It's the honey. He speaks of honey and wine.
He eats of the honey and wine of His success. That's what He
eats, the honey and wine of His success. He's full and ready
to give to His Beloved. He's ready, I tell you, if we
could just get a hold of it, He's ready to feed us tonight.
He's ready to, the Lord stands ready to bless us. He stands
ready to bless us. ready to share his success and
to make himself known to you. The God of heaven and earth ready
to make himself known to you and me." Now that's something to grasp
hold of. I ought to just end that with Selah. Pause and think
about it. Pause and think about what I
just said. He can drink, and he speaks of
drinking of his wine and milk. He can drink wine with the strong
and milk with the babes. But this here, drink abundantly,
it also has to do, as it said, be drunk with love. His love. His love. And he says, eat, oh
friends, drink abundantly, oh beloved. Eat the gospel of which
he's the bread and drink of which he's the water. And do it in
abundance. Do it in abundance. I assure you, we can never have
too much of Christ. We can never eat and feed too
much of Christ. We can never drink too much of
Christ. It can't be done. It can't be done. And note he says this to his
friends. Eat, oh, friends. Our Lord said in one place, you
are my friends if you do what I say. And then when he closes
this, he closes it by calling us his friend. We are called
his friends. But notice here now the response
of the church. This is sad. She asked him in
verse 16, I read to you, she asked him to come into his garden
and eat his pleasant fruits, and when he comes, When He comes,
it's like tonight we're asking His presence to be here tonight. She says, I sleep. But my heart
waketh, but I sleep. What a sad state to be in, a
spiritual stupor. She confesses her spiritual stupor. She asked Him to come into His
garden, and when He did, she was asleep like the disciples.
when the Lord was going to go away at a pace and pray, and
he asked them to watch, and when he came back, they were asleep.
He said, could you not watch with me for one hour? But her heart, now listen, her
heart still had life in it. She said, but my heart waketh.
My heart waketh." You know, Paul wrote this, when I would do good,
evil is present with me. How to do that which I would,
I find not. Oh, wretched man that I am. Oh, wretched man that I am. Listen
to John Newton's poem. Listen to this. How tedious and tasteless the
hours when Jesus no longer I see. Sweet prospects, sweet birds,
and sweet flowers have all lost their sweetness to me. The midsummer
sun shines but dim, the fields strive in vain to look gay. But
when I am happy in Him, December is as pleasant as May. His name
yields the richest perfume as sweeter than music is voice.
His presence disperses my gloom and makes all within me rejoice.
I should, were he always thus nigh, have nothing to wish or
fear. No mortal so happy as I, my summer
would last all the year. Content with beholding his face,
my all to his pleasure resigned. No changes of season or place
would make any change in my mind. While blessed with a sense of
his love, a palace, a toy would appear. In prisons would palaces
prove if Jesus would dwell with me there. Dear Lord, if indeed
I am thine, if thou art my sun and my sun, say, why do I languish
in pine, and why are my winters so long? Oh, drive these dark
clouds from my sky, thy soul-cheering presence restore, or take me
unto the old high, where winter and clouds are no more. She said, I sleep. I asked Him to come and He came,
and I sleep." Spiritual stupor. Spiritual stupor. And notice
in verse 2 she said, see, her heart was awake. She was not
dead spiritually, she was asleep. She was in a spiritual stupor.
You know, I was over at the house today, Vicki was fixing supper,
and I sat down in that easy chair, by mistake. I sat down in that
easy chair and I just conked out. And I was trying to get
up. Seriously, I was trying to get up. I couldn't do it. It was like somebody drugged
me. It was me. It was like somebody drugged
me. I could not get up. My body felt like it was just
a lead weight. It was just a stupor that I was
in. I was aware. I could hear Vicky back there
in the back banging around. She says, my heart waketh. I'm
asleep, but my heart waketh. And she said, it is the voice
of my beloved that knocketh. You notice it's not his hand
knocking, it's the voice. I hear His voice. She said, I
hear His voice knocking my sheep. He said, hear my voice, and a
stranger they'll not follow, but they hear my voice. And although
she had fallen into a spiritual stupor, she could still detect,
she could still detect His voice wooing her, drawing her. It was
the voice of her blood. It was the voice of the love
of her life. Oftentimes we get caught up living
and having no time for Christ, don't we? Sometimes we get so
busy in the church, we forget to get alone with Christ. It's like the wife who's constantly
taking care of the kids in the house and all this, and she forgets
the husband. It's like, well, who are you?
Well, I married you, remember? But he will not let her go. He
will not let us go. He'll not let us go. He bought
us, He sought us, and He's not going to let us go. And she says,
It's the voice of my Beloved that knocketh. In verse 2 he
says, Open to me. Open to me. Come to me and I'll
give you rest. Come to me and I'll give you
communion and joy and peace. I'll give these things to you.
Come to me, I'll give you rest, my sister, my love, my dove,
my undefiled." Notice how affectionately he speaks to her and how he sees
her. Spotless. Spotless. I don't know if I could find
that verse, but I can't find it. Oh, look in verse 7 of chapter
4. This is him speaking of his bride. In verse 7 of chapter 4, Thou
art all fair my love, there is no spot in thee. That's how he sees her. There's
no spot in thee. And he called her my sister,
my love, my dove, my undefiled. What affectionate names he called
her. And listen here, he says, For
my head is wet with dew, and my locks with the drops of the
night." He's been out there in the night of suffering. His head
is wet with the dew of His own blood from Gethsemane. And the crown that was driven
down on His head, His head is wet with the dew of His own blood. He toiled all night to redeem
her. He's accomplished what He's came
to do and now He's come for the one He did it for. And she says, I sleep. I'm tired.
I'm tired. I don't feel like going tonight. All the things we let get in
our way. And note her response. I have put off my coat. I cannot
put it back on. I'm tired and I'm ready to go
to sleep. I'm ready to retire. Our Lord, now listen, our Lord
was out in the night toiling for His bride, toiling for us,
those who are His redeemed, toiling for His bride's redemption, and
she doesn't have time for Him. I've washed my feet. I don't
want to get them dirty again. He was stripped naked. beaten,
hung on a cross, forsaken by His Father, suffered her hell,
and she can't be inconvenienced for Him? Does that describe us? Isn't that sad? But I see this
in myself so many times. I've seen this so many times.
I've seen this too many times. Too many times. But notice how
gracious he is to her by making her willing. You see, he's not
like, you know, I... Now what would most husbands
do? They'd probably kick a door in. They'd be kicking that door
and yelling, and, to get your, over here and open this door.
That's what he'd be, that's what we'd be saying. I know that's
what we'd be saying. But notice what he says. Or notice
what he does. When she answers him and says,
I've put off my coat, I've washed my feet, I'm ready for bed, I
don't have, I don't have time for you." That's exactly what
she's saying. Can you imagine that? Not having
time for Christ? My beloved put his hand in by
the hole of the door. Here's a real demonstration of
love. He does not let her coldness run him off. He does not force
his way in, even though the house is his. Christ does not dwell
where he's not welcome. He's not going to just kick the
door in. He's not going to do that. But
I tell you what he's not gonna do, he's not gonna let her go.
He just paid a great price for her, and he's gonna have her. And notice what he does. He gently
puts his hand in through the hole of the door, he gets ahold
of the latch, and he lets her see his hand of grace and mercy. He lets her see those hands that's
got the nails prints in them. That's what she sees. And she
realizes whose hand it is, just as, I think, Goldmer finally
realized who had been leaving her corn and her wine, Hosea. And he gives her a glimpse of
himself, and when he does, he melts her heart. That's what
he does. He doesn't get into an argument
with her. He just melts her heart. And here's her response. I rose
up to open to my Beloved. He brought her out of her spiritual
stupor. Converted her again. And the
Lord said to Peter, when thou art converted, strengthen your
brethren. She'd fall into this spiritual stupor. But our Lord
so graciously brought her out of it just as He has us many
times. Many times. And she says, my
hands dripped with myrrh, and my fingers with sweet-smelling
myrrh upon the handles of the lock. Wonder where all that sweet-smelling
myrrh came from. You know where it came from.
It came from Him when He put His hand in by the hole of the
door. And when she put her hand on that handle, she got it all
over herself. When He put His hand of grace
and love and mercy in her heart, she just dripped with it. Oh,
you can tell those who've been with the Lord. You can tell those
who've been with the Lord. She just dripped with it. He
greased it with love. That's what He did. When He reached
in and got a hold of that latch, He greased it with love. That's
what He did. And she got it all over herself.
Then she says in verse six, I opened to my beloved. She flung the
door wide open, but he was gone. He was gone. As I said to Mimi,
he was gone, gone, gone. She kept saying, he's gone, he's
gone. He had withdrawn himself and was gone. Let us never forget
who the beggar is and who the head is. Let's never get that
reversed. I don't have time for you. We
the beggar don't have time for the person who's feeding me.
Are you kidding me? We don't have time. Christ will teach His people.
Now listen. The Lord Jesus Christ will teach His people that in
this relationship, He is the Lord. He is the Sovereign. He is the Head of the House.
He's the Head of the House. And let's not take His presence
for granted. Because He may be gone, gone,
gone. And she said, My soul, my soul
fell when He spoke. He just melted me. She recalls
to mind His voice and how He had been out all night toiling
for her redemption, and how she was so cold and it broke her
heart. Has God ever broken your heart? Has He ever really broken
my heart over my coldness and my deadness toward Him? He feeds
me every day. Every day my table is full. I
cannot remember in 62 years one day, one day, I've ever gone
hungry. Ever. Now she does the right thing.
She says there in verse 6, I sought Him. I sought. She didn't go back to sleep.
She didn't open the door and say, well, He's gone. He should
have waited on me. I'm going to shut the door back.
She went after Him. She called for Him, but He gave
her no answer. He's teaching her a lesson here. And He'll teach us a lesson.
Individually and as a church. When He calls, answer. And when
we call on Him, wait on Him. Wait on Him. There's a real spiritual
lesson going on here in Him not answering. And in Him not letting
her presence be known. And she says here, the watchman
found her and treated her roughly. She said, they treated me roughly.
Well, that's because the lesson's still going on. I tell you what, a trial will
last until the lesson is learned. The teacher will teach until
you get it. And I get it. A true watchman will not comfort
you in your sins. Let me say it this way, a true
watchman will not comfort us in our sins. Oh, it's all right,
it's all right. No, it's not all right. It's
not all right. There's some things that's just
not all right. And she says, if you see him, tell him I love
him. Tell him I'm lovesick or tell
him I love him. I mean, do you know how crushed she is right
now? That's exactly how crushed we ought to be when we grow so
complacent in worship. Tell him, I'm lovesick. Have
you ever seen anyone lovesick at the pitiful sight? They're
worthless. She said, I'm lovesick. That's
what she's saying. She's saying, I need Him. I want
Him. You know what? He knows that. Peter said, Lord, You know all
things. You know I love You. You know
that. But He makes her express her
love just like He makes us express our love for Him before everyone. There's no doubt who she loves.
And I tell you what, if people can be around us long enough
and they don't know who we love, There's a problem. There's a
problem. Just like the Lord said to that
woman with the issue of blood when she touched him, she started
to slip off and he said, who touched me? The disciple said,
Lord, there's a bunch of people out here touching you. What are
you saying, who touched me? He said, somebody touched me.
For I perceive that virtue has gone out of me. Isn't that amazing?
and he made her confess before that whole crowd why she touched
him. There was no doubt who the love
of her life was, the Lord Jesus Christ. And she's going around and she's
asking everyone if they'd seen her beloved. And in verse 9 they
say, What is thy beloved more than other beloveds? Our witness
of Christ, I thought about this today. Our witness of the Lord
Jesus Christ ought to be such that people ask, What is so special
about Him? What is so special about Him
that you talk about Him like that? That you are so obsessed
with Him? What makes your beloved so special?
There's none like him. There's none like him. Let me
tell you about him. Let me tell you about him. He's
white. He's holy. That's what I'm saying. He's holy. And ruddy. He's a man. Here's why I'm saying
it. He's both God and man in one
person. That's who he is. He's Almighty God who said, Let
there be light, and there was light. The one who spoke creation
is my God." And that's who Jesus Christ is. He's the chiefest
among 10,000. Lord of lords and King of kings.
None compared to Him. He is the standard. Jesus Christ
is the standard. His head is most fine gold. This
is His deity. He's God. In Him dwelleth all
the fullness of the Godhead bodily. His locks are bushy and black
as a raven. This is His eternal youth. He's youthful and strong and
He's always that way. He never ages. Sin has no effect
on Him. He's the same yesterday, today,
and forever. Boy, I tell you what, now, she
knows every detail about him, doesn't she? She didn't say,
well, he's just tall, dark, and handsome. Let me tell you about
my beloved. He's tall, dark, and handsome.
No, she starts in detail. And you know what? If you'll
go back, I think it's chapter four. If you'll go back, he describes
her in detail. He describes her in detail. His eyes are as dove's eyes,
fitly set by the rivers of water, washed with milk. His eyes speak
kindness. His eyes don't speak weakness,
but they do speak kindness. And they are fitly set, they're
full of purpose. Full of purpose. Looking in one direction, the
glory of God and the good of His people. And His cheeks are
as a bed of spices. When our Lord came in the flesh,
it is written in Isaiah 53, there was no beauty that we should
desire Him, but there is now radiant beauty, radiant beauty. And His lips, like the lilies,
drop sweet-smelling myrrh. Grace pours from His lips. Thy sins be forgiven thee. Woman,
doth any man condemn thee? No, neither do I. Grace poured
from His lips. His hands are as gold rings set
with the barrel. Back in those days, rich men,
great men, they would wear gold and expensive stones. There's
none great as Christ. There's none great as our Lord.
None. And His belly, His body, is as
bright ivory overlaid with sapphire. No blemish! She doesn't see a,
there's not a blemish in Him. No spot or blemish in Him anywhere. You know, the more we examine
Christ, the more pure we find Him. The more pure we find Him. And she says, His legs are as
pillars of marble, settable sockets of fine gold. He was able to
stand up under the wrath of God. Brother, we can't even begin
to comprehend. He stood up under the wrath of
God Almighty. He stood up under the anger and
the hatred and the wrath of God. He's able to govern the universe. You know, every time an election
rolls around, we think, who in the world would you vote for
this time? I mean, and you realize, and
I realize this, it wasn't for the Lord, there's nobody, all
of us included, not smart enough to run this thing. But he's able to govern the universe.
Strong, he's the mighty God-man mediator. He's able to do it. He's able to do it. And his counsel
is as Lebanon, excellent as the Cedars, his counsel is as something
to behold. His mouth is most sweet. Yeah,
he's altogether lovely. Although I have described him
in part, he's altogether lovely. Altogether lovely. This is my
beloved. They said, who is your beloved?
What is it about him that you command yourself? Tell us about,
what is it about your beloved that you speak of him like that?
And she described him, she said, this is my beloved. It's evident
she knew him. You can listen to people, and
I will be careful saying this, but you can listen to people
talk about Christ, and you can tell whether they know Him. You
can tell whether somebody knows somebody when they talk about
Him. Or if they just know some things about Him. The difference. The difference. Listen, this is my beloved, and
this is my friend. When your spouse is your best
friend, it doesn't get any better than
that. What a friend, that's all we're
gonna say, what a friend we have in Jesus. Does this sound like
someone you know? Did she describe someone you
know? Have you seen him whom my soul loveth? Let me read to
you just the, look in chapter six. I'm gonna close with these
three verses. Now after she did that, now I
want you to notice what a witness and how effective it was. Whither
is thy beloved gone? They ask her at first, you know,
what is thy beloved more than another beloved? And after she
describes him, they say, where is he? Whither is thy beloved
gone, O thou fairest among women? Whither is thy beloved turned
aside, that we may seek him with thee? My beloved's gone down into his
garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and listen,
and to gather lilies. If you wanna, if you listen,
If you want to know where Christ is, He's in His Word, and He's
with His people, His church. He's going down into His garden.
He's with His church, His people. That's where He is. That's where
He is. And He's going down there to
gather some lilies. He's going to take some of them home. You know, when someone, a believer
dies, the Lord has come to his garden and gathered a lily, and
He's taking it home. That's what He's done. Okay, that's all I got.