Turn with me to the Song of Solomon,
chapter 6. Song of Solomon, chapter 6. While
you're turning there, let me remind each and every one of
us here this morning of this one thing. Remember that the
literary backdrop in the Song of Solomon, that is Solomon,
Ashulamite, flora, fauna, places, smells. These things are not
the message of the Song of Solomon. The message of the Song of Solomon
is about Jesus Christ and His church. That's what it's all
about. Now, are you there in Song of
Solomon chapter 6? read let's read verse thirteen listen to
what it says return excuse me return return old shulamite return
return that we may look upon thee what will ye see in the
shulamite as it were the company of two armies title of my message
this morning is this, what will ye see in the Shulamite? Notice first of all two words,
what will ye see? Not what may ye see, not what
we might see, what will ye see? Whoever is a Shulamite, you will
see this in them. The Shulamite is God's people.
The Shulamite is not only the elect, but those who have been
called by the gospel of Jesus Christ. what will ye see, and
then notice, in the Shulamite. This is not simply about the
Shulamite, David Wright. This is what will ye see in the
Shulamite. I know most of us are prone not
to want to look within. But this is not what that says,
is it? Return, return, old Shulamite, that we may look upon thee. What will ye see in the Shulamite? Here's what you're going to see.
No exceptions to this rule, as it were, the company of two armies. Every born-again believer, and
note the order in which I said that. Today's so-called Christianity,
which operates under the spirit of Antichrist, talks about men
and women believing and then being born again. That is not
the truth of Scripture. Men and women must be born from
above or born again to even see. They must be born of God first
before they can see the kingdom of God, let alone even enter
the kingdom of God. So every born again believer
is summoned to return. Return. Why? Why? Isn't that a question that pops
in your mind? Why? We're given the answer here.
So that we, the Shulamites, we who are God's Shulamites, so
that we might be examined inside with unjaundiced eye. Even we
ourselves are prone when we look within ourselves to try to discover
something about ourselves that we think is true. but we are
to discover these things with unjondesty. What am I really
like inside? Every born-again believer has
two motivated, I did not say motivating, every born-again
believer has two motivated principles within. We're not taught what
they are here, they are alluded to, as it were. the company of
two armies. But the Apostle Paul defines
these two things. And they are motivated. Look
at it. Ephesians chapter 4. And listen to this as I read
it. Ephesians chapter 4 verse 22. I won't give any of the context
here, but look at it later. Look at what it says. Verse 22.
That she put off concerning the former conversation the old man. which is corrupt according to
deceitful lust. The old man is not the motivating
factor. The corrupt deceitful lust is
the motivating factor that motivates the old man. And be renewed in
the spirit of your mind and that you put on the new man, which
after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Three things
here, briefly. There is that called old, which
is motivated by corrupt and deceitful lust. Is it not? That's what
this says. See it? That you put off concerning
the former conversation, the old man, which is corrupt according
to. So the motivating principle of
the old is this corrupt, deceitful lust. Nothing but corrupt, deceitful lusts. Secondly, there is that called
new, motivated by God, its creator, right? And that she put on the
new man, which after God is created, we don't create him. which after
God is created in righteousness and true holiness. And isn't
it amazing that the Spirit of God moves Paul to say true holiness
as if we even really needed to say true with holiness. Yet we are so corrupt in the
old that we have to be told that water is even wet when it comes
to the truth of God. Scott Richardson used to say,
we call it sovereign grace. He said, that's redundancy. But
we must do so because we're so corrupt in the old. So remember,
there is that called old, motivated by its corruption. There is that
called new, motivated by God, its creator. Now here's the third
thing, and I'll summarize these two with this. Neither of these
two things is distinct from the person who has them within. Do you hear what I said? Neither
of these two, that's old and new, is distinct from the person
who has them within. In other words, Paul does not
write here the old nature. Now, there's nothing wrong with
talking about the old nature. He does not use the term new
nature, although there's nothing wrong with talking about the
new nature. But religion seems to want to think that the old
man is something that has infested me. Humanity basically is really
a good, he's a good man or a good woman, and there is something
that has infiltrated us, no? It's called the old what? Man. Do you see that one little word?
That one little word, David Wright, lets me know this old is me. This old is you. It's not something
that's attacked me, it's who I am by nature. The old, it's not the old nature. It's not the new nature. It's
the old man. And it's still, it's even. It's
the new what? Man. Amen. No word in scripture
just happens to be there just to fill in space. The old is
me, the new is me. The old is you, the new is you,
if you have been born of the Spirit of God and converted by
the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The old is all I am,
and that's me in Adam. I am nothing but the old man
in Adam. And let me tell you something,
according to the preponderant testimony of the Word of God,
the old man never repents. The old man never believes. The
old man never trusts. The old man never obeys. It's
only in the new man that we have repentance toward God, that we
can find faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ, that we find ourselves
following him, trusting him, loving him as the Shulamite loves
Solomon in the Song of Solomon. The old is all I am in Adam,
and that's what we call total depravity. They're not a speck
of good in the old man. So that means that in me, in
myself, by nature, they're not a speck of good in me. And I
know this is not news to you all, but they're not a speck
of good in you all either. I love you with all my heart,
but they're not a speck of good in you either. When we look at
what we are with unjaundiced eye, we will see that we still
are what? Old man. Why? Because we're told
we need to put him off. That's right. Now most if he's
not still there, I've got no need to put him off. Exactly. But he's still there. Think about
this. Adam who was upright, that's when he was created by God. Adam
was upright and he fell into old man. I want to give you something
here. I did not fall like Adam fell.
This is what religion teaches. We fall like Adam fell. That's
not so. We fell in Adam. When Adam fell, we fell then. We don't even fall when we're
conceived and born. We're a product of the fall.
Our conception and our birth and our life is in ourselves
old man. We didn't fall. We're born corrupt
with deceitful lusts. In other words, we are products
of the fall and that's why Paul calls it the natural man. You
know why? Because the fall is natural to
us. Adam failed. He experienced what it was to
fall. I've never experienced what it
was to fall after that. I was conceived and born that
way. It's natural to me. And that's
why we in false religion eat up lies like a thirsty man drinks
up water. Because it's natural to us. We're
not all basically decent folks and something has crept in inside.
We are corruption. We are deceitful lusts in Adam. That's what we are. Ah, but secondly,
the new is what God has created me to be in Christ. Second Corinthians
517, you know it. Therefore, if any man be in Christ
Jesus, he is a new creature, and you could even use that word
and say a new creation, created in Christ Jesus, created by God. Now, having stated this, there
are two precedents defining dealing with myself, old and new, because
both will always be there. As long as we're on this side
of this earth, before they stick us in that hole in the ground,
we will always be what? When you look inside, what are
you going to see in the Shulamite? As it were, a company of two
armies. And I will give you these two.
precedents that define how I am to deal with myself. And I mean
it that way. How you should deal and are to
deal with yourself. Do not deal with the old as though
it's something without you. It's what you are by nature.
But remember, do not try to deal with the new man as though it's
something that you can control, because it's created after God. It's created by God, as we will
see in a moment. I'll state the two precedents,
then we'll look at the companion or sister passage to Ephesians
4, 22 through 24, to show its proof. First of all, we do not
mortify, that is, cauterize or deaden the old man. Oh, wouldn't
that be so simple if we could do that? If I could just deaden
the old man, I would go to the source of the problem and I'd
be done with it. But Paul doesn't give us that
divinity. We do not mortify the old man. We are to mortify his members
individually. It can't even mortify the members
in one great big foul swoop. It must be a constant, ongoing
mortification. Why? Because they are so lively
and dead in us at the same time. Secondly, the new man can and
does experience renewal. I do not have time to deal with
that word this morning, but renewal does not demand fault. Just like
a little baby That little baby is just as much a complete human
as a full grown adult. That little baby doesn't have
flaws, it's simply a process that God has ordained through
which we reach maturity. The same thing is true with the
new man. And I said I don't have time to deal with that, and I'm
not going to deal with that. But listen, the new man can and does experience
renewal by gospel instruction. You hear what I said? The new
man can and does experience renewal by gospel instruction. Now, the
proof passage. Turn to Colossians. Colossians
chapter 3 and verse 1. If ye then be risen with Christ. If you're not risen with Christ,
this does not apply to you. If ye then be risen with Christ,
do what? Seek those things which are where?
Above. And even then, Joe Golosick defines
the above he's talking about. Seek those things which are above,
where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. He's talking about
the things concerning the person and work of our Lord. Set your
affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye
are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ,
who is our life. We don't make Christ a part of
our life. If you've been risen with Christ, He is your life. When Christ who is our life shall
appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory. Mortify therefore
your members. Not the old man. Moose, wouldn't
it be so great if we just mortified the old man? Kill the head. Crush
the head of the serpent. But we don't crush the head of
the serpent. Christ has crushed the head of the serpent. that
is done judiciously, it's done in righteousness, and the law
has been satisfied, and Satan's head has been crushed. We don't
do that. Mortify, mortify, not sanctify. Neither God nor us sanctifies
the old man or its members. You can't sanctify the old man.
It's an impossibility. If you're trying, just stop.
You're fighting a losing battle. I've tried to do that before.
Moose, even after knowing the gospel, I find myself trying
to sanctify the old. You can't do it. It's mortify. So neither God nor me can sanctify
the old man or his members. What are we told to do? Mortify,
therefore, your members which are upon the earth. And then
he starts giving us a list, doesn't he? He starts giving us a list. So in other words, each and every
one has to be dealt with individually. There's no one push all button
that I can just do. All right, now it's fixed up.
Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth, fornication,
uncleanness, ignorant in affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness,
which is idolatry. For which thing's sake the wrath
of God cometh on the children of disobedience, in which ye
also walked some time when ye lived in them." There it shows
both what? It shows the motivating principle
and the motivated principle. Most people think, well, if I
just don't live in them, or if I don't walk in them, then I'm
OK. No, you can't help but walk in them if you're living in them.
But if you've been delivered from them, you've still got a
battle against them. That's what it is. Now look,
but now, ye also put off all these, anger, wrath, malice,
blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one
to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his
deeds, and have put on the new man, now look at it, which is
renewed in knowledge. So in other words, I have to
be instructed. Knowledge comes how? It don't just dawn. You
don't just wake up one morning and know things. God Almighty
has ordained that we have knowledge through instruction. And that
instruction comes through the proclamation of the word of God. But look, which is renewed in
knowledge after the image of him that created him. So in other
words, the only thing that's even going to remain is the message
that declares, here's who God is. Do you see it? It's not just about learning
Bible facts. It's about preaching the person
and work of Jesus Christ Himself. God Almighty manifests in the
flesh. The only place where any fallen
son or daughter of Adam will ever see the glory of God is
going to be in the face of Jesus Christ. And it's when we hear
about Him that is renewed. Because He's not renewed by law.
He looked at it and having put on the new man which was renewed
in knowledge after the image of him that created him. Therefore,
most parts, God must be the message. God must be the message. So again,
what will ye see in the Shulamite? Solomon writes this, the company,
there's one word, of two, there's the second word, armies. There's
the third word. Two armies. Why two armies? Because
they're absolutely distinct. The old man and the new man never
do this. Never do this. You see that on
TV? They never do this. But the old
and new are always doing this. They're distinct. They're doing
it. But why do I say that? Because
it's two armies. They're absolutely distinct.
But it's a company of two armies. And when I looked up that word
in the Hebrew for a moment, I was thrown for a loop. You know what
one of the base words of this word company is? To dance. To dance. I thought, boy, don't
that leave me. Why do I say about that? And
then it dawned on me. This is a boxing match, not a
waltz. You ever seen boxers dance? Huh? Yeah. And they're back and
forth and they're pounding one another. It's not a waltz. What's
this? It's a boxing. It's a dance.
All right. But it's a boxing match. It's not a waltz. Thirdly,
it's a company of two armies. Two armies. I'll summarize it before I splantify,
as Art Nguyen Swander used to say. In other words, in this
life, there will be no escape from this. In this life, when
we look inside ourselves, we will never see just one man. Until we awaken his likeness,
whether it be through the resurrection from the ground, from the dead,
or whether it be our transformation and going up to meet him in the
air. In this life, when we look inside ourselves, we will always
see a company of two armies. Why do I know that? Because this
word army means encampment. What's an encampment? It's a
place where people stay. Here is where I am, in Adam and
in Christ. Both are me. at the same time. Both are me at the same time. And there's times when I've lived
as though I could hide that first one from my father. Or as though I could forget that
first one. It won't last long when you try
to forget him. God will allow him to raise his ugly head and
spring up one of those members, and it will shake its fist in
the face of God, and when it does that, you know who's doing
that? Me. Me. But oh, thank God, I can
never escape the new. Why? Because I'm born of God.
It has nothing to do with blood. It has nothing to do with the
will of the flesh. It has nothing to do with the
will of man. It has to do with the sovereign
will and work of God in the person of His Son. Now let me give you
some comforting words. I pray God that they will comfort
us. Turn to Psalm 103. Read this whole chapter sometime.
Look at the context. But think of it. What will you
see in the Shulamite? As it were, the company of two
armies. And when you look inside, and God enables you to do so
with unjaundiced eye, with the eye of believing God's Word about
ourselves, you're going to see, as it were, the company of two
armies. But think of it. Even in light of that truth,
it says in verse 3, who forgiveth all, all, thine iniquities. Joe, when I fail to mortify a
member, oh, thank God, He still forgives me. And I'm not forgiven
because I mortify a member, because if I mortify a member, I don't
need forgiveness for it. Do I? Who forgiveth all thine iniquities.
Look at the last part of verse 4. Who crowneth thee with? And
the flesh says, oh, I'm looking for recognition. I'm looking
for merit. Is that what it says? No. Who
crowns us with what? Loving kindness and tender mercies. Oh, there's something to be crowned
with, is it not? Huh? Tender mercy who satisfies
thy mouth with good things so that thy youth is renewed. You see it? So that thy youth
is renewed like the eagles. Briefly, verse 8, the Lord is
merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy.
He will not always chide, neither will He keep His anger forever.
Aren't you glad? He hath not, look at it, He hath
not dealt with us after our sins, nor rewarded us according to
our iniquities. You know why we know that? Because
I'm not in hell today. He's even given me the blessing
of being able to trust in His blessed Son. Look, for as the
heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward
them that fear Him. As far as the east is from the
west, and so far hath He removed our transgressions from us. You
might see them, but God said, I've taken care of them. You
might see them right upon you, but God said, I've removed them
from you. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth
them that fear Him. For He knoweth our frame. Now
He knows inside too. He knows inside too. For He knoweth
our frame. He remembereth that we are dust. He knows that. He knows that
better than I know that. And He still loves me, David,
right? He still sent His Son to die for me, Mason Lilly. He
still satisfied His holy justice in His Son on my behalf. And if He did that for me while
I was yet in rebellion and unbelief against Him, how much more now
that I fear Him? But He doesn't even do it simply
because I fear Him. He does it to them that fear
Him. Because His mercy and compassion has nothing to do with your good
or your evil. at any time. Father, I pray,
teach us these things that our hearts and minds may be comforted
in Christ, which is His name I ask. Amen.