Over in Song of Solomon, chapter
six, it starts out with the question, who is this that cometh out of
the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and
frankincense, with all powders of the merchant? You know, sometimes
as you read the Song of Solomon, it's rather difficult to understand
exactly who is speaking. Sometimes it's the bridegroom,
Christ himself, speaking to the bride or speaking of the bride.
Sometimes it's the bride herself, the church, responding back,
expressing her love for Christ, her dependence upon Christ, her
bridegroom. Many of the commentators will
say sometimes it's those who are identified in the Song of
Solomon as the daughters of Jerusalem. which would also be sinners saved
by grace, all joining in to praise the Lord. But here, there's no
doubt that I believe that Christ himself is speaking here, making
the point. He's not asking a question here
for information, but he's making a point about his bride, the
church. And so here he says she's coming
out of the wilderness. And in the scripture, that's
always a metaphor, a symbol of the church in the world walking
in this world, which is a wilderness of sin and depravity. And we've
been saved out of the world. by the grace of God, but we're
still in the world. Christ prayed that. In the next
few messages, I'm gonna be going through John 17, where Christ
prays for his people in the world. He says, I pray not that you
take them out of the world. In other words, he still has
reason to have a witness here. But that's what we are. And you
see a type of that in the children of Israel. When they came out
of Egypt and they came to the brink of the promised land and
they disobeyed God, dishonored God, and God made them walk in
the wilderness for 40 years. But he kept them and he fed them.
But that's the way Christ does his church. We're walking in
this wilderness and he keeps us and he feeds us. He saved
us by his grace. So here she is coming out of
the wilderness. Over in the book of Revelation,
There's a picture of this, the church in the last days, talking
about the church as a woman. It says like in verse 7 it says
in Revelation 12 verse 7 there was war in heaven Michael and
his angels fought against the dragon and that's Christ Fighting
it against Satan and the dragon and the dragon fought and his
angels and prevailed not Christ is the victor and he's fighting
for his church and And we see that in his obedience unto death
as our surety, our substitute, our redeemer. He fought a war,
you might say. He fought a war against sin,
and he conquered sin. He made an end of it, made an
end of sin, finished the transgression, brought in everlasting righteousness.
But Satan, the devil, who is called the accuser of the brethren
is still, for the purposes of God's glory ultimately, is allowed
to attack the church. And if you look down, it's Revelation
7 verse 14, it says, and to the woman were given two wings of
a great eagle, this is the church now, that she might fly into
the wilderness. into her place where she is nourished
for a time and times and half a time from the face of the servant. So that's all metaphorical language
that describes the time period between Christ's first coming
and his second coming. The church, his bride over here
in Song of Solomon, coming out of the wilderness, he says here,
like pillars of smoke. She's coming out of the wilderness
in the strength, out of this turmoil. The pillars of smoke
could represent the trouble that we go through, the trials that
we go through. And we know ultimately it's all
from the Lord. Read Hebrews chapter 12, it talks
about the chastisements of God. That evidence is that we're children
of God. And evidence is that God loves
us. Because he brings us through these trials and on the other
side, Hebrews 12, says we settle into the peaceable fruit of righteousness,
which means this. It means Christ keeps us and
when he brings us through, we realize that he's the only power
we have. He's the only righteousness we
have. We don't have any other, so the pillars of smoke, perfumed
with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant,
as again, the pillars of smoke symbolize the sufferings while
in the wilderness, but those sufferings are soothed by the
myrrh and the frankincense, and I believe that's talking about
the work of Christ. Myrrh, you remember he was given
Sour wine mingled with myrrh and he wouldn't take it because
the myrrh would deaden the pain. But myrrh is kind of associated
with his suffering. Frankincense is kind of like
the perfume, the odor that looks to the satisfaction of Christ,
a sweet-smelling savor unto God. So all of this shows the church
in the world being preserved, being protected, being fed, nourished
by the bridegroom, by Christ. And that's what it's talking
about. In this Revelation 12 passage, I love this passage. You might want to mark it in
your Bible in verse nine, where it's talking about Michael and
his archangels, and I believe that's Christ and his archangels.
They fought against the dragon, and he prevailed not. And neither
was there a place found anymore in heaven, but look at verse
nine. It says, and the great dragon was cast out, that old
serpent, called the devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole
world. That's Satan deceiving the world
with his false religion, false gospels, all of that. And he
was cast out into the earth and his angels were cast out with
him. And verse 10 says, and I heard a loud voice saying in heaven,
now is the salvation and strength of the kingdom of our God and
the power of his Christ. For the accuser of our brethren
is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
And look at verse 11. This is especially what I love
about this passage. And they overcame him by the
blood of the lamb. and by the word of their testimony,
and they love not their lives unto death. So we overcome Satan
by the blood of the Lamb. His arrows of accusation cannot
touch us because God will not charge us with sin. We have a
righteousness that answers the demands of God's law and justice.
One thing back here in Song of Solomon, he talks about the powders
of the merchant. I believe that symbolizes the
life-giving work of Christ by the Spirit. were justified based
upon his righteousness imputed, and because of that, we are brought
from spiritual death to spiritual life, and it's all in the hands
of Christ. Righteousness demands life. And
when I think about the merchant, I thought about this, I think
about that parable in Matthew 13, the parable of the pearl
of great price. And I've preached it this way,
talking about how The pearl of great price is Christ
himself. And that's how when God convicts
us of sin and of righteousness and of judgment, we see the value
of Christ. But I think there's another,
really the teaching there is that Christ is the merchant and
his bride, his church is the pearl of great price. Because
it says there that he sold everything that he had. to buy that pearl. We don't sell anything to buy
our salvation. But Christ did. He's our Redeemer. He bought us lock, stock, and
barrel. We're bought with a price. We're
redeemed by Christ. And I believe that's really what
that's talking about. In Isaiah 45, it says, in verse
24, I've got this listed in your lesson. Surely shall one say,
in the Lord have I righteousness, and strength, even to him shall
men come, and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed.
In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified and shall
glory." Well, look back at Song of Solomon. Look at chapter three,
verse seven. Now here he brings in Solomon.
Behold his bed. What's a bed? It's a place of
rest. It's a place of sleep. It's a place to be energized. Between a husband and wife, it's
a place of love. Behold his bed, which is Solomon's,
Solomon's bed. Three scores, 60 valiant men
are about it, of the valiant of Israel. And so he brings in
Solomon. You know, Solomon's a really
interesting character in the Bible, if you read about him. Remember, he's David's son. born
of an illicit relationship between David and Bathsheba. He's the
one whom God told David, he's the one that's gonna ascend to
your throne. And later on we're gonna talk, well, no, in this
verse we'll talk about this, how he's the one that's gonna
build God's house. And you remember when God told
Solomon, he said, I'll give you anything you want. And Solomon
prayed for wisdom. And Solomon, who was the human
author of this book, the human author of many of the Proverbs,
the human author of Ecclesiastes, books like that. Solomon's fame
was known throughout the world. His kingdom for his wisdom, his
wealth, his power, all that. Remember the Queen of Sheba came
to visit Solomon because she'd heard tell of all the greatness.
And he answered her questions. And then in the book of Matthew
12 and Luke chapter 11, it's made clear that as great as Solomon
was, and as famous as he was, and as wise and as rich and powerful
as he was, there's one greater than Solomon coming. That's why
I entitled this lesson One Greater Than Solomon. Who is that? That's
Christ, who is our wisdom, our righteousness, our sanctification,
and our redemption. And so we see Solomon as a type
of Christ. But Solomon, as I said, Solomon
as a person, very interesting, starts out well, the wisdom of
God. But then, later on in his life,
he gave in to his wives, multiple wives, and you know, God told,
that was not allowed. I had a person tell me, say,
well, back in the old covenant, you know, God was okay with polygamy. No, he wasn't. That was a sin.
It was a sin. It's like, it's kind of like
people today, they'll say, well, the Bible condones slavery. No, it did not. You know what
the Bible calls slavery? Kidnapping. Going and getting somebody by
force and forcing them into slavery, that's kidnapping. That was an
offense that warranted death. Now, the Bible recognized that
many were slaves and spoke to them like that, you know, servants
and slaves, but it didn't condone it, not even in the Old Testament. But my point is this, here's
Solomon, Here he married many women and from many different
walks of life, many different religions, false religions. And
he gave into them and let them build their idols, built them
for him. And there's a lot of people who
read the Bible and study it and they come out thinking, well,
Solomon wasn't even a believer. Well, I can see where you'd look
at certain passages and you'd say, you know, he strayed from
the Lord. Most gospel commentators believe
that at the end of his life, God brought him to repentance.
And the evidence of that is the book of Ecclesiastes, because
it was written in Solomon's old age. But I tend to believe he
was a believer, he strayed, and God brought him back. But here's
what we're looking at now in this passage. Solomon is a type
of Christ. This Solomon that's being spoken
of here is not Solomon the king personally, but it's Solomon,
a type of Christ. He's the type of the Lord Jesus
Christ, the one who's greater than Solomon. And the name Solomon
means peace. And let me show you something
that's real interesting here. If you want to, turn back to
1 Chronicles, chapter 28. As you know, King David, he wanted
to build a temple to the Lord. That was his desire. But God,
he forbid King David to do that. And if you look at 1 Chronicles
chapter 28, look at verses two and three. 1 Chronicles 28, verse
two. It says, then David the king
stood up upon his feet and said, hear me my brethren and my people. As for me, I had in mind heart
to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the
Lord. and for the footstool of our
God, and had made ready for the building." Now that's the temple
he wanted to build. But God said unto me, thou shalt not build
an house for my name, because thou hast been a man of war,
and hath shed blood. David was a man of blood. Now
what's the issue there? Well, I believe David was a type
of Christ too. But in his specific life as king,
it was a tumultuous time for Israel. A lot of war, a lot of
rebellion. You remember David's deathbed
words, as for my house, although my house be not so with God,
he's made a covenant with me. And so David was known as a man
of war. He was known as a warrior, one
who shed blood. And he typified Christ in that
warfare that Christ took on with sin and Satan and the world,
which is his obedience unto death on the cross. But look on. Look at verse five of 1 Chronicles
28. David says, and of all my sons,
for the Lord hath given me many sons, he hath chosen Solomon
my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over
Israel. And he said unto me, Solomon thy son, he shall build
my house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be my son, and
I will be his father. So Solomon was the one whom God
chose to build his house. Now what's different about Solomon?
Then David, well, turn over to First Chronicles. Make sure I
got my reference right here. First Chronicles 22. I think it is. I hope I got the
right reference there. And remember it says David was
a man of war. I think I messed up on my reference
here, but I'll find it. Yeah, no, stay in First Chronicles
22. No, I'm sorry. I've got the wrong
reference written down. I'll have to figure it out. Look at First Chronicles 22.9. Let me see what that says. I've
got that listed here. I can't hear you. First Chronicles 22. The reason
I thought I had the wrong reference is because I usually mark these
things so I can get to them quick. So I messed up on that. I didn't
put the, but First Chronicles 22. Okay. And five, he said, all
right, let me read this. And David says, Solomon, my son
is young and tender and the house that is to be built for the Lord
must be exceeding magnificent of fame and of glory throughout
all countries. I will therefore now make preparation
for it. So David prepared abundantly
before his death. Now look over at verse nine.
of First Chronicles 22. I think here's the reference.
Behold, a son shall be born to thee, this is God telling David,
who shall be a man of rest. That's what I was looking for.
I had the right one. Thank you, Lord, for showing
me where it is. So behold, a son shall be born
to thee who shall be a man of rest, and I will give him rest
from all his enemies around about. For his name shall be Solomon,
and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days." See,
Solomon's name means peace. He's a man of rest. David was
a man of war. That typified Christ fighting,
warring against our sin that he conquered on the cross. Afterward,
he's our Sabbath, you see, our rest. He rests in his own finished
work. Well, Solomon represents Christ, the man of rest, the
finished work. And look at verse 10, it says,
he shall build a house for my name, and he shall be my son,
and I will be his father, and I will establish the throne of
his kingdom over Israel forever. So there you have it, now we
finally found it. All right, let's go back to the Song of
Solomon. Anyway, I think that's interesting, you know, how we
talk, Here he is, Solomon, a type of Christ, seeing his bride come out of
the wilderness and The bed here represents the rest, the peace
that Solomon and his bride have because of his work. And these
valiant men of Israel, 60 valiant men it says, three score. The
number has nothing specifically to say other than it symbolizes
that whatever God wants to do, he provides enough. Whatever
it takes to accomplish his will, He provides it, and his valiant
soldiers here, valiant men, are the ministers of the gospel.
They preach the gospel. They overcome Satan by the blood
of the lamb and by the word of their testimony. What is the
word of our testimony? It's the gospel. It's how God
saves sinners. It's God forbid that I should
glory save in the cross of Christ. It says here in verse eight,
look at Song of Solomon three in verse eight, They all hold
swords, being expert in war. The sword is what? Remember the
whole armor of God in Ephesians chapter six? The sword of the
Spirit. And it's the sword of the Spirit,
and it's the word of God. Every man hath his sword upon
his thigh because of fear in the night. That means he's got
it strapped to his side on his thigh, ready to go to battle.
He's ready. ready warriors for Christ, preaching
the gospel, witnessing, pointing sinners to Christ, fending off
the accusations of the devil by pleading the righteousness
of Christ. That's what it's all about. And all of this, you know, in speaking
of the warfare that we go through, God has enough to do what he
wants to accomplish. He has enough. And so we have
the sword of the spirit. You know, Peter said, be ready
to give an answer to them that ask you for the reason for the
hope. Paul told Timothy, he said, be
instant in season, out of season, be alert, be prepared. And that's
what these soldiers are. Well, look at verse nine. Now
we'll go verse nine and 10 together. It says, King Solomon made himself
a chariot of the wood of Lebanon. He made the pillars thereof of
silver, the bottom thereof of gold, the covering of it of purple,
the midst thereof being paved with love for the daughters of
Jerusalem." What is this chariot? It's salvation. It's all the
blessings and all the, this is the chariot of the Lord by which
he goes to war, defeats the enemies, and carries his bride, his church. Under glory. You know, everybody,
you know, they'll sing that song, Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. Chariots
back then were like, to give you an idea, people back then
thought of horse-drawn chariots like we would think of like the
most powerful tanks in battle today. That's how they thought
of them. So whoever had the biggest and
the best tanks was going to win the battle. And you know there was a reference
earlier to Pharaoh's chariot, teaching that the best, the best
of horses, the best of chariots. Well right here is a chariot
of the wood of Lebanon, the best wood. Normally in the Bible,
the wood related to salvation, the wood is a symbol of the humanity
of Christ. because he was made flesh and
dwelt among us. And that's part of the building
of this chariot of salvation. Why was he made flesh? That he
might as our surety be our substitute and die under the judgment of
God for our sins imputed to him and satisfied justice. He paid
my debt as God in human flesh, perfect man, perfect God. he
paid our debt. And that's what usually the wood
is. So this charity of salvation is built on the person of Christ,
his deity and his humanity, and the pillars of silver. Now, I
know in the temple, you know, when the tabernacle was being
made, the silver, it had silver plates upon which the Each one
of the partitions said the silver was a number symbolizing redemption. The redemption prize, you know,
the children of Israel had to bring silver for their redemption
prize. And what is the redemption prize?
It's the blood of Christ. We're not redeemed with silver
and gold and all the traditions of men, we're redeemed with the
blood of Christ. So here we have his humanity,
here we have his accomplishment of redemption, and the bottom
thereof of gold, gold represents his deity. God, man, dying for
our sins, redeeming us from our sins, bringing forth the righteousness
of God. That's what this chariot is about.
This is a chariot of salvation. The covering of it is purple,
that's his glory and majesty, his royalty. The king dwelling
in his glory. Who is the king of glory? Psalm
24 asks. The Lord mighty in strength.
That's what purple represents. And the midst thereof being paved
with love for the daughters of Jerusalem. Why did Christ come
to this world and take into union with himself that sinless human
nature, humbled himself, lowered himself, hid his glory behind
that veil of human flesh without sin? Because he loved his people. And notice that this love is
built upon the wood and the silver and the gold. It's not love without
justice, you see. It's not love without satisfaction
to the law. Herein is love, not that we love
God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the satisfaction,
the propitiation for our sin. It's love. And we always talk
about the love of God. For God so loved the world that
he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish but have everlasting life. Who's he talking about
there? Talking about his bride. Talking about the elect of God.
Talking about those whom he had given him before the foundation
of the world, talking about those who are justified before God
based on the righteousness of Christ imputed. Those whom he
gives life, those whom he is at peace with, see, behold his
bed, behold the rest and the love, the closeness, the union
that Christ has with his church. And it's all symbolized, the
whole salvation basically is symbolized right here in this
chariot of salvation. That's a great, great symbol,
isn't it? A great time. And then look at
verse 11. Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion. Now Zion is another
name for the church, the elect of God, redeemed by the blood
of Christ. And behold, King Solomon, look to Christ. That's what he's
saying here. King Solomon, earthly speaking,
the actual man, King Solomon, earthly speaking, was famous
and he had a reputation for being wise and for being powerful,
for being rich. You know, I think about the book
of Ecclesiastes. You know what Ecclesiastes is about. It's showing
that life without God, life without Christ, life without grace and
truth is vanity of vanity. no matter how you go through
it. You can be as rich as Solomon, as wise in the world as Solomon. You can be as powerful as Solomon,
have the position of Solomon, but without the Lord God, without
Christ, without salvation, without truth, without grace, what is
it all? Vanity of vanities, saith the
preacher. What is vanity? It means worthless.
means has no eternal value whatsoever. And that's what that's about.
But in Christ, the one greater than Solomon, there is salvation. There is grace, there is love,
there's justice, all the things. So daughters of Zion, you church,
behold the Lamb of God. Behold, one greater than Solomon. Look to Christ, Solomon, with
the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the sense that
he came forth from the church in the day of his espousals.
Whenever God brings us to see the glory of God in Christ, brings
us to the experience of salvation, what do we do? We're espoused
to Christ and we crown Him. We recognize Him to be Lord.
God's already crowned Him, we know that. But we recognize His
crown. We recognize His Lordship. And in the day of gladness, of
the gladness of His heart. The gladness, this is when the
Lord imparts to us the gladness of His heart. So that we can
rejoice in the Lord and be at peace with God. Okay.