This morning in the Bible study,
we looked in Psalm of Solomon chapter 5 and verse 9, and the
bride was asked a question. And this was the question that
was asked of her. What is thy beloved more than
another beloved, O thou fairest among women? What is thy beloved
more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us? She was
asked a question that caused her to get right to the heart
of the matter. How lovely, beloved is he? How, how beloved is he? You know, that's a question that
by nature we just We really don't bring ourselves to really consider. We think we do, but we really
don't. I know that we see in part, we
hear in part, we acknowledge in part. But I am so thankful that the
Lord in His infinite wisdom, mercy, and grace would cause
us to come right to the heart of that. This life is so quickly fading. And I realize that we're sitting
here at this moment. And while we sit, we're thinking,
OK, well, we're right here. We're right now. Well, these
scriptures were penned by men at that moment. We're right now,
and now they're gone. You went out on a vacation, and
while you were going on a vacation, you were thinking, boy, I'm glad
we're going on vacation. It's right now. That's what we're
doing. We're enjoying it right now. Well, it's gone. It's over. The bride is brought to consider
that question, how important is he really to you? How important? What is thy beloved more than
another beloved? What does it take to be brought
to that point in which you will really consider that? What does
it really take? You leave it to myself, leave
it to me, and I'll just avoid the question, or I'll excuse
myself. I'll just... What does it take? How does the Lord accomplish
bringing His people to truthfully consider the wonder of who He
is? How does He do that? One would think, that the revelation
of divine mercy, of grace to an enlightened sinner would cause
that believer, that saint, to never waver, never doubt, never
again feel the coldness of the presence of sin that is within. But that's just not the way it
is. Now, you think about how wonderful it is that He has revealed
through the Scriptures by His Spirit. Think of this. Almighty God, before the foundation
of the world, everlastingly set His affection upon a people that
He chose, that He would never, never looked to them to answer
for their guilt. The everlasting surety stood
for them. Never was there a time when the
Spirit of God ever, ever would set forth in Scripture that the
sheep were ever answerable. They were His beloved always,
everlastingly. And Almighty God looked to the
Lord Jesus Christ to answer. You will answer for them. And
He willingly answered. He willingly came into this world. Sent by the Father, willingly
He came into this world. Called them out of darkness and
revealed to them what Almighty God had eternally purposed to
do and told them what He had done, what He had purposed to
do, showed them, taught them, kept them. You'd think if somebody
would ever reveal that to anybody, the Spirit of God would ever
teach them anything, they'll never, never, never waver. The believer, though, finds no
joy in the dull and lifeless frame
of this body, that body of sin which is in his flesh. He knows
it's there, and he doesn't excuse himself and say, Well, I'm just
a sinner. It doesn't matter. It does matter. Obedience matters. Faithfulness
matters. Consistency matters. It matters. Well, I mean, it's no big deal
if I'm not, you know. Yes, it does. It matters. He loathes the wretchedness of
the body of death from which he longs to be delivered. The believer is honest about
his present condition, knows by the imparting of a new nature
something of the old nature. He knows something about it.
And the more that the Lord reveals to a man or a woman concerning
Himself about Himself, who He is and who they are, the more
they grow in grace, the lower they seem to get in their own
eyes. Growing in grace. People think, well, I'm growing
in grace. I'm going this way. Well, I tell you, to yourself
you're going this way. Which really, I guess you are
going this way, but not to yourself. The more they see of Him, and
the more grace given, the more they hate what they see here. And the more they see of their
inconsistency, the more they see of their old wretched man. Paul said, and he meant it. Wretched
man that I am. Someone says, oh, no, you're
not that bad. You say, yes, I am. You don't know. You don't realize. Before they heard of him and
knew of him, everything was OK. There just wasn't any problem.
We'll just do church. We'll do church. We've got to
get the kids in church. We're going to church. It was
just an hour that I tolerated. But now, I understand something
of what Paul says for me to live is Christ. He's my life. Everything. He's everything. And that which
I hate is how I see these other things that enter in so easily. These other things that are beloved. The Lord had revealed to her
in chapter 1. This is a blessing. I mean, verse
1, chapter 5. He said, I am. I'm coming to my garden, my sister,
my spouse. We know this. There is fellowship. We spoke this morning about the
blessedness of fellowship and how that is something that is
not taken lightly by the believer. A believer is this way. And the more, the longer you've
said, the more the Lord's taught you. And I know that time is
not a barometer of how much you understand. He reveals more to
some in a quicker time than He does others, and He knows that
which He's doing. I know that. But a believer that
is more grounded, more taught, they realize more quickly when
there's a break in fellowship. It's almost like you just, you
know, Do you not know it's almost like
an unspoken language? You know when something's wrong.
You know it's just a look or just a lack of a word. You know. And the more that a believer
sits and hears, the more quickly they perceive the lack of communion
and fellowship. And they don't take it lightly.
If you know something, of what it is for Him to withdraw Himself
graciously from your apparent realization, the more fearful
you are. Lord, keep me. Please keep me. As David said, take not thy spirit
from me. Lord, don't leave me. And then if He does leave, He
does so out of graciousness and mercy to cause us to come back. He says, I am coming to my garden,
my sister, my spouse. I've gathered my myrrh with my
spikes. I've eaten my honeycomb with
my honey, drunk my wine with my milk. Just very quickly in
that first verse, the fruit that is produced by the bride, or
in the bride, not by the bride, but it's the fruit of the Spirit
of God. These fruits of which He comes
into His garden and gathers and eats and enjoys, He produces
in her that which He is pleased to gather. That which He gathers,
He did. Without me, He told her, you
can do nothing. You can't produce. What are we
going to produce that God Almighty is going to enjoy and gather
and fellowship? Nothing, nothing. And then the
bride says in this second verse, and here is where she is very
honest, and if you're honest about it, and I think that there's
some here that are honest about it, she says this, here's my
present state. She said, I sleep. but my heart
waking. I sleep. Oh, what a pitiful truth
that must honestly be admitted. I sleep. Now, this is not a sleep
of death. This is not a sleep of a carnally
or spiritually dead person. Not there. But this word, sleep,
right here, is a word that could be interpreted that we'd understand
daydreaming. Daydreaming, you know. I'd just
be sitting here and, you know, Gabe could be saying something
to me and he's talking. I hear him talking. All of a
sudden I say, I say, what did you say? Daydreaming. I heard,
I sleep. I sleep. I'm slack. I'm drowsy. Spiritually lazy. This laziness
is not so easily detected in ourselves. We just, it's just
there and all of a sudden it's just, we're made to realize,
but how are we made to realize? We are this way. She said, I
sleep. Turn with me to Matthew 25. I'll
show you something that is where our Lord, Matthew, where our
Lord taught this very truth. Matthew 25, verse 1. Then shall
the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins which took their
lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them
were wise, and five were foolish. Now, within this parable later,
it was revealed how. The difference was set forth,
but suffice it to say that the kingdom of heaven, based upon
the word of our Lord, is like this. Ten virgins, five wise,
five foolish, tares and wheat, in time we'll know. But he said
this is the way. They all took their lamps. That
lamp there is actually a profession. There's an outward profession.
This is the light. This is the light by which I walk." They
all had a lamp. Scripture says, if the light
that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness. But they
all had a light. They all walked. You know, they
took their lamps and they went forth to meet the bridegroom. Five wives, five wise virgins
went forth to meet the bridegroom in the light of the glorious
revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ. five foolish went to
meet the bridegroom in the light that they had as far as darkness
was concerned. And don't think that people don't
go around today saying, you know, we're waiting for Jesus. We're
looking for Him. We're waiting for the Lord. See
you in the rapture. I'll be there in that great getting
up morning. They're going to meet the God
that they've created. They went to meet the bridegroom. Five wise, five foolish. They
that were foolish took their lamps," look at this, had no
oil in it, no spirit, no grace, no gift, had no oil, and they
took their lamp. They took no oil with them, but
the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. And when the
bridegroom tarried, and here we are right now, period, right
now, we're in this life, he's in heaven. in the person of our
priest interceding, tarrying, as far as we are concerned. His
timing is perfect. But as far as we are concerned,
we wait. While the bridegroom tarried,
they all slumbered and slept. Oh, you mean the five wives and
the five pilgrims? Yes, they all did. That's what
it says. They all slumbered and slept. Some in a sleep of death. Dead. Not in their own opinion. They had a lamp. But there were
five that also slept. And she was in that sleep that
we're talking about now, back in Song of Solomon, Chapter 5. She said, I sleep. I daydream. I see myself. I perceive it.
I see the drowsiness of a I'd be driving down the road about
2 or 3 o'clock in the afternoon. You start driving early in the
morning, get out on the interstate in the heat of the day and you're
driving and just in bright daylight. I mean, it's just, man, it gets
to where it's just the hardest thing. If I could just sleep,
if I could just close my eyes for 30 minutes, I'd be a new
man. And it's miserable. It's just,
you know, you're awake. But are you as alert as you know
you should be at that point? No. Now, something may happen
that'll wake you up. That's what's getting ready to
happen to her. She's just in that 2 or 3 o'clock afternoon
state, right? I sleep. I'm drowsy. And the reason for this drowsiness
is not as easily explained as one would think. Why? Why am I so? Oh, certainly we
might truly say that the presence of sin that wars against the
law of our minds is the culprit. I know that. Sin that is within. But even the wise seasons of
His withdrawal, His presence, will cause us to detect our slackness
if He, by His Holy Spirit, does not live in us. How easily do
we find ourselves daydreaming? Just, you know, think about now,
while you're sitting here, just be honest to yourself. While
you've sat here, how many, how many of us have thought about,
you know, this afternoon or yesterday or, you remember what she said?
I know what she meant, but daydreaming, in and out, back and forth, dog,
just, I sleep in gratitude, neglect. indifference. Oh, what a dreary
time that really is, a time that always must be recovered from
by the Master. Listen to this song that was
written by a man named Cooper, C-O-W-P-E-R, if I can pronounce
Listen to this psalm, and let me ask you that believe, can
you relate to this? It says, The Lord will happiness
divine on contrite hearts bestow. Then tell me, gracious God, is
mine a contrite heart or no? I hear, but seem to hear in vain,
insensible as steel. If aught is felt, this only pain
to find that I cannot feel. I sometimes think myself inclined
to love thee if I could, but often find another mind at birth
to all that's good. My best desires are faint and
few. I fain would strive for more,
but when I cry, my strength renewed seems weaker than before. Thy
saints are comforted, I know, and love thy house of prayer.
I sometimes go where others go, but find no comfort there. Oh,
make this heart rejoice or ache." this doubt for me, and if it
be not broken, break, and heal it, if it be." Lord, I just get
so tired of myself. I get so outdone. I can see things
that just steal my heart and affection. This is a common characteristic
of all believers in the presence of being sleepy. I sleep neglectfully. As I said a while ago, this is
never an excuse to them or a point of comfort to avoid consistency
toward Him. I'm inconsistent, and I hate
it. But there is a hopeful sign,
she says, by divine revelation. This is the only way she knows
it. She says, but my heart's waking. I'm asleep. I know I
daydream. I know I do. But my heart's awake. I know it is. The eyes of my
will are open. And it says, My heart, my heart
waketh. That word heart right there is
interpreted will. We've got to be given a new will.
Thy people are made willing. They're willing in the day of
your power. Leave a man or a woman to themselves
by nature, and their will is rebellion against Him. My heart
is awake. I will. I will. My heart, my
will is awake. He's given me a new heart, one
that loves Him, one that He's written His law upon, one that
longs to serve Him, seek after Him. And there's a struggle between
awakenedness and asleep. That's the battle that goes on. You want to know what the war
is, the striving within? The battle, we hear about this,
this battle is two natures, you know, the law of sin, the law
of my mind. They're contrary one against
the other. I sleep. I see it. I'm awake. There's that battle
that's going on. This is the evidence of it, of
a new heart, of a new man, a new woman, warring and striving against
the two laws within. But how do I know that my heart's
awake? She said, I sleep, but my heart
waken. How do you know? How do you know? Well, she says in the next verse,
it's the voice of my beloved. Now, the Lord said this. He said,
my sheep hear my voice. They hear my voice. They're honest
about what they are by nature, and it takes a believer to get
honest about it. I sleep, but my heart wakes. It's the voice of my beloved. Though there be these times of
sleep, daydreams, drowsings, mercy will not be withheld. He said, I will not leave you
to yourself. I won't. I'll not leave you, I'll not
forsake you. He promised mercy. It's the voice of my beloved
that knocketh." He knocks. And the believer knows the voice
of the Master. How do you know that it's the
voice of the Lord Jesus Christ? They say, if my sheep hear my
voice, here's how you know His voice. It's always consistent
with Scripture, always, always. And you can say anything you
want to say. I heard the voice of the Lord. God spoke to me. Well, is it according to these
Scriptures? If it's not according to these Scriptures, it wasn't
His voice. These Scriptures, these are they
that speak of me. What say the Scriptures? It's
the Word of God. How do you know? The voice of
the Master is always consistent. He knocketh. It's the voice of
my Beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love,
my dove, my undefined. Oh, how tenderly He knocks. And you that believe, you hear. Someone says, How do you hear?
I say, I hear. How do you know? I know. He has
spoken to me through His Word. And this written Word, blessed
by the Spirit of God, is a living Word to me. And He's made me
honest. I'm honest about it. I sleep.
I daydream. But my heart's awake. How do
you know? I hear His voice. I hear His
knock. And He's told me. He tenderly knocks to awaken. by His Word, by His providence,
and all the time while He knocks, how graciously He speaks and
He's telling us just exactly this is where you are. I won't
leave you. I won't leave you. Oh, how undeserving
we are in ourselves of mercy such as this. Turn with me to
Revelation 3.20. I know that this is one of the
seemingly great guns of the Armenian. I was in art school, and I saw
this painting. Suddenly, it shows this picture
of this man, supposedly blasphemously painted, supposed to be the Lord
standing at this door, and there's no doorknob on the outside of
the door, and he's supposed to be knocking. supposedly what
they're saying is he's knocking to get an unregenerate to open
the door for him, to get a dead corpse, what they're saying.
Get a dead man to open the door. Well, if he could open the door,
he wasn't dead. But I know what they're saying.
But this is not the great gun of Arminianism, but the great
God speaking to an awakened sinner. The one who is asleep, Revelation
chapter 3 verse 20, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any
man hear my voice and open the door, I will come into him and
will sup with him and he with me. Do you know who he was speaking
to? He was speaking to the churches.
Go back and begin at the beginning there and realize he was speaking
to the seven churches. Same thing being said back in
Song of Solomon 5, I sleep, but my heart waketh. It's the voice
of my beloved that knocketh. Here is the sovereign God Almighty. Here is the amazingness of this
statement. The petitioner in strength. Now, you think, well, this doesn't
make sense. Well, yes, it does. because this is the way he says
he did it. Here is the mighty God at the door knocking at the
heart, one who is made willing in the day of his power. He who
has the right and the power to command every gate to open at
his word, and has condescended to knock at the door of the heart
of his beloved." Not in weakness, but in majesty. He's going to
teach her something. He's teaching her. My children
were coming up. You do what you do to teach them,
to instruct them. And you do it out of kindness.
Often they didn't see the point in that, but that's the duty
and the privilege of a parent to teach them. And here is our
Lord. He is standing by His sister
in dove, His undefiled love. And he says to her, he said,
My head is filled with you and my locks with the drops of the
night. That's what he's saying to her.
I'm asleep, I sleep, a drowsiness, my heart's awake. The voice,
I hear in my beloved, knocking, saying, Open to me, my sister,
my love, my dove, my undefiled. My head is filled. His head denotes
his sovereignty. He's the head, or his body. All of the thoughts of everything
comes from the head. This hand moves because my brain
told it to. I spoke what I've just said because
that's what my brain told me. My head, it's His majesty and
kingdom, His locks denote His thoughts, His promises, that
which comes from Him, His counsel that flows. from his head. You have to understand, these
things are only understood in part as we read the symbolic
nature of this. This is what he's saying. He
says, My head is filled with dew. The dew and the drops of
the night denote his patience to stay at the door and not,
if you stand outside during the night time. Do, collect, get
out there on a, you know what I'm talking about. He's just,
it's just, what it is, he's patient. He stood there, he's long-suffering.
To us-ward, not willing that any of the us-ward should perish. And then in the graciousness
of our Lord to his bride, here is the answer that she gives.
You that believe know exactly what I'm talking about right
here. She says to him, after he has said, knocking open to
me, and she says, I've put off my coat. How shall I put it on? I've washed my feet. How shall
I defile them? The inconsiderate response of
the bride with the revelation that I was talking about a while
ago, thank Him and praise Him and
say, Lord, thank You that You didn't leave us. But you know
how inconsistent we are. We don't know how to thank Him,
even to the point to where we will excuse. Open to me. And she says, I've already taken
my coat off. The garment of my of my work
day. I've already got comfortable. I've already taken off. I've
already washed my feet." Foolishly trying to convince herself that
she herself is able to keep her walk. Notice the inconsiderate
response. I have put off my coat. How shall
I put it on? I have washed my feet. I've washed
my feet. Turn to John 13.8. John chapter
13. The Lord Jesus had taken and
girded himself. Verse 5 of John 13, poured water
in a basin, began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them
with a towel, wherewith he was girded. Then cometh he to Simon
Peter, and Peter said unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? And Jesus answered and said unto
him, What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter said unto him, Thou shalt
never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash
thee not, thou hast no part with me." Back in Psalm of Solomon
5, you know what the bride told him? I've already washed my feet. I did. I took care of it. Don't worry about it. I'm good. Yeah. You can relax. I've been consistent. I've walked. I've not deviated. She says,
how shall I defile them? As if rising from her ease and
heartening to his voice would place her in a position of trial,
put her out. Oh, I tell you, we are so prone. Somebody says, oh, I don't act
like that. Yes, you do. And I do too. That's exactly
the way we walk. That's exactly the way we think.
Let no believer excuse himself. We find ourselves making idle
and frivolous, sinful excuses, desiring to sleep on while we
know it's the voice of Him that calls. We hear this message,
we hear the message of grace and mercy, and we just absolutely
find every excuse in the world. Moment by moment we discover
the height of our folly while we should be preferring his company.
And we just breeze over it like it was nothing. But oh, how merciful
he is to his own while this type of attitude truly is worthy of
being cast off. forsaken, it's worthy of it.
And you think about it. If someone treated you the way
we treat him, what would your attitude be? I'm talking about,
Stephen, if you did all you do, if you treated them with respect
and you helped them out and bailed them out monetarily and stuff
like that, and called them up and just asked them, could you
come over here and help me? I've got something I've got to
move over to the house. And they said, well, I'll be honest with
you, I've already washed my feet. What? Abandoned. That's what we deserve. Abandoned to His judgment. But
He does not leave us to ourselves. Turn with me to a couple of scriptures
in Hosea. If you find Daniel, Hosea is
right after Daniel, Hosea 11. Hosea 11 and verse 7, Hosea 11, 7, the Lord says, And
my people are bent to backsliding from me, though they call them
to the Most High, none at all would exalt him. How shall I
give thee up, Ephraim? How shall I deliver thee, Israel? How shall I make thee as Adma? How shall I set thee at Zoboam? Mine heart is turned within me,
my repentings are kindled together." I read that. How can I leave
you? How can I do? How can I? And
I read this. How shall I set thee, or how
shall I make thee as Adma in Zoboam? I thought, who is that? Who are they? Well, I looked
it up. Turn back to Deuteronomy twenty
nine. Deuteronomy twenty nine. Verse twenty three. Deuteronomy
twenty nine twenty three. And that the whole land thereof
is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that is not sown, nor buried,
nor any grass groweth thereon, like the overthrow of Sodom,
and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zoboam, which the Lord overthrew in his
anger and in his wrath." I'll tell you who these two cities
were. You know, you read about Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities
of the plain? Adma and Zoboam were two of the
cities in the plain. He said, How can I do this? Back in Psalm of Solomon, chapter
5. He said, I put off my coat, how
shall I put it on? I've washed my feet. How shall
I defile them? And verse 4, in closing, said,
after I'd given him all these frivolous excuses, It says, My
beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved, my
heart was moved for him. The Lord knows. He knocked. Just leave us alone, and we'll
just give him all kinds of stupid, frivolous excuses. He just put
his hand in the hole of the door. He knows just exactly. how to
draw us back to himself. He put his hand, and that word
right there, hand, he put his hand, actually it's that particular
word, put his hand, it means an open hand instead of a closed
one, an open hand. The hand of his power, the hand
that's not slack, as some men count slackness, put his By the
hole of the door, by the cavity of the heart, is what it means,
the hole of the door. Here's the door. You know what
I mean. The mind, the heart, the affections. He put his hand, just put it
right inside. By the hole of that place, it
left itself with rebel. He just put it in. And though
it appears as though that the heart is closed toward him, he
knows how to reach in and touch the cords of life that are there. Turn to Jeremiah 31, Jeremiah 31, verse 18, Jeremiah 31, 18, I have surely
heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus, Thou hast chastened me,
or chastised me. And I was chastised as a bullock,
unaccustomed to the yoke, turn thou me, and I shall be turned
for thou art the Lord my God. Surely, after that I was turned,
I repented. After that I was instructed,
I smote upon my thigh, I was ashamed, yea, even confounded,
because I did bear the reproach of my youth." Whatever means
he uses, to stimulate, if that's a good word, his bride. Whether he uses the chastisement,
trials, tribulation, he knows just exactly where to put his
hand. Give him excuses and just put his hand right in the heart
of it, by the hole of the door. Here's the voice heard that bride
is quickened out of her sleep. Here is the proof of his love
that he won't leave her. or forsake her. If he left her
to herself, she would forsake him. She said, he put his hand
right into my heart. She said, my bowels, my heart
was moved for him. The passion of my soul, I see,
it's like just for a moment. He just allows me just for a
moment. It just seems like it's just a fleeting moment, and I
hate this, but it's like just for a moment. He allowed me just
to enjoy, truly enjoy His presence just for a second, and then it
was gone. I hear, and I think, I wish I
could just stay right here, just quiet, and just write, just think. sorrow for sin, the realizations
of being insensitive, and her fear of being left alone, and
her love for Him was rekindled. She longs after Him, longs after
Him. Well, I'm going to stop right
there. She said, well, verse 5, she
said, I rose up to open to my beloved, and my hands dropped
with myrrh. My fingers were sweet and smelling
myrrh upon the handles of the lock. She knew the handle of
the lock where normally you'd lock somebody out. She put her
hand there. She knew where her rebellion
was. She knew something about it. She said, I reached to put
my hands upon the lock. I opened to my beloved. But my
beloved had withdrawn himself and was gone. My soul failed
when he spake. I sought him, but I couldn't
find him. I called him, but he gave me
no answer. I knocked to her. I called to her. She heard him.
She put her hand in by her heart. Her bowels were moved far, and
she opened to him, and he was gone. And you think, that doesn't
even make sense. But I'll tell you this, you read
the next few verses, and you find out that he knows just exactly
how to cause her, how to cause her to come after him, to long
after him. She asked the daughters of Jerusalem,
Have you seen him? Do you know where he is? You
know where my beloved is? And the daughter's asking. I
couldn't bear to look at her this morning. She said, what
is thy beloved more than another beloved? And that's when the
bride will truly admit, I don't realize how beloved he truly
is. One day, by God's grace, I will. Turn to hymn number 163. And
let's stand. Hymn number 163. Open my eyes that I may see,
Glimpses of truth Thou hast for me. Place in my hands a wonderful
key, That shall unclasp and set me free. Silently now I wait
for Thee, Ready, my God, I will to see Open my eyes, illumine
me Spirit divine Open my ears that I may hear Voices of truth
thou sendest clear And while the wave does fall on my ear
Everything false will disappear Silently now I wait for Thee,
ready, my God, I will to see. Open my ears, illumine me, Spirit
divine. Open my mouth and let me bear
Gladly the warm truth everywhere Open my heart and let me prepare
Love with thy children thus to share Silently now I wait for
thee Ready, my God, I will Open my heart, illumine me. Spirit be mine.