Open your Bibles up, if you would,
to Song of Solomon. Song of Solomon. The name of
the message is Blessed Fellowship, Part 1. Part 1 being the Bride. And in two weeks, when we meet
for Sunday evening, Part 2 will be the Bridegroom. Blessed Fellowship. Blessed Fellowship. Let's read
Song of Solomon, Chapter 1, verses 8 to 17. And our text will be found tonight
in verses 12 to 14. But let's read the context of
our text. If thou know not, O thou fairest
among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock
and feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents. I have compared
thee, O my love, to a company of horses and pharaohs' chariots.
Thy cheeks are calmly with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains
of gold. We will make thee borders of
gold and studs of silver. While the king sitteth at his
table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof. A bundle of
myrrh is my well-beloved unto me. He shall lie all night betwixt
my breasts. My beloved is unto me as a cluster
of campfire in the vineyards of Engedi. Behold, thou art fair,
my love. Behold, thou art fair, thou hast
dove's eyes. Behold, thou art fair, my beloved. Yea, pleasant also, our bed is
to green. The beams of our house are cedar,
and our rafters of fir. So tonight we'll look in Song
of Solomon, and we will see his bride delighting, his bride in
delighting. in Christ, and then we'll see
Christ delighting in his bride. Blessed fellowship that they
have together. Last week we looked at verses
8 to 12. We looked at the bridegroom, which is Christ, proclaiming
his love for the bride. And we looked at how we see ourselves
as black with sin by our natural birth, yet calmly, verse 5 in
Christ which is beautiful in the Hebrew or suitable in the
Hebrew the only way that we sinners are made beautiful or Suitable
to be in the presence of the bridegroom is by his perfect
spotless righteousness That's the only reason we are beautiful
is because of him and it's all in him And Christ sees us, we
looked at how Christ sees us as the fairest among women, literally
beautiful, beautiful, literally or figuratively. He sees us as
beautiful, the fairest among women. That's how Christ views
his bride. Because again, we are clothed
in his perfect spotless righteousness. And he compares us, we saw here
in verse nine, we're compared to a company of royal horses,
Royal horses, choice horses, strong horses, and the members
of the church, the members of the bride, the bride herself,
is God's own choosing. It's all by God's own choosing.
They are gathered from all nations, kindreds, and people, and tongues,
all countries from the east, from the west, from the north,
and from the south. They all contribute to their number out
of every kindred, tribe, tongue, and nation. and they are beautiful
in the eyes of Christ. Now Pharaoh's horses were costly
horses. These horses were of surpassing
value, one commentator said. They would be purchased at a
high cost, and the treasures of Egypt would not be withheld
to purchase them. Oh, beloved, the cost of which
Christ paid for his bride. Do you see how he compares them
to very costly horses? but the cost that Christ paid
for his bride, his own precious blood. Precious blood, what a
price. And Christ presents his own blood
as our purchase. And I ask you, you who believe,
can you tell of its value? Can you tell of the value of
Christ's blood? We can't even come close to.
explaining to people the value of Christ's blood to we who believe. It's what purchased us. It's
what cleanses us. My goodness. And he shed his
blood. He died upon the cross for us,
for us. So the riches of this earth,
the treasure which it contains, gold and silver and countless
heaps, are worthless compared to the precious blood of Christ.
If you could gather all the gold in the world, all the precious
gems in the world, everything of value, it wouldn't even come
close to the precious blood of Christ. Because silver and gold cannot
purchase our souls, can they? No amount of money can purchase
our souls. Our souls are only purchased
by the precious blood of Christ. And when Christ lays down his
life, shedding his blood for the redemption of our souls,
he gives so much more than any earthly treasure or any earthly
wealth in value. So the words portray the beauty,
the excellence, the superiority of the church in Christ's eyes
above others. And the striking image introduces
a company of horses and pharaohs, chariots. These horses were known
for their graceful movements and surpassing strength. They
were choice horses. Choice horses. They would be
selected. Each one would be selected. Think
of this for the chariots of the Egyptian monarch. They can't be ordinary horses.
They have to be the best. They have to be the best. And
they have to be of extreme value. What a picture Christ sees us
is that. My sinners. But he's purchased
us, and he's redeemed us. And so let us remember that it
is this picture, in this picture we are taught to see the church
just as the creator's hand has made and clothed these creatures
with their beautiful appearance and strength. The hand of Christ
enriches his bride. Because it's the hand of the
creator, it's the hand of God that made those creatures beautiful
like that, isn't it? It's all his work. Just as it's
all it's all the work of Christ that makes us beautiful. My. And he enriches his bride with
all the glories of his grace. I ask you this, what in heaven
and earth can surpass the brightness of his righteousness, which he
wrought out for his people? Nothing. We already know the answer. Nothing. Nothing. And think of this. He
clothes his bride with the garments of salvation in every dark spot.
Every sin is completely and forever hidden. Hidden. It's covered under the blood.
It's bought and paid for. And her garb exhibits loveliness,
which is only found in Christ. The robe of righteousness, the
robe of Christ's righteousness exhibits loveliness, which is
only found in him. And though we who are redeemed
by the blood of Christ are yet sinners, yet God sees us as beautiful. Christ sees us as beautiful. Oh, my, it doesn't get any better
than that. It doesn't get any better. Nothing
in the world can compare, nothing. We then looked at how the churches
Richly decorated. Richly decorated. We saw that
in verse 11. We will make the borders of gold
with studs of silver. She's richly decorated. She's
adorned with precious gifts of grace. The gifts of the Spirit
of God. And they are brilliant choice
jewels. Chains of gold sparkle on her neck. And they are all
put on her by Christ. They're all put on her by the
bridegroom. And we know That God gives us grace and more grace
and more grace, doesn't he? He gives us grace for each day
that comes. Grace upon grace. The believer
is daily loaded down with benefits. We looked at that this morning.
Daily. So let's consider our text tonight.
in which the bride is speaking to the bridegroom. Well, the
king sitteth at the table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell
thereof. A bundle of myrrh is my well-beloved unto me. He shall
lie all night betwixt my breasts. My beloved is unto me as a cluster
of campfire in the vineyards of Engedi. Notice in verse 12,
the bride is seated. And where is she seated? At the
king's table. At the king's table. While the
king sitteth at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell
thereof. Here is another picture of instruction for us, beloved.
God the king is seated in his banquet hall. Picture, if you
would, the table. The table of eastern courts,
especially of monarchs. When they had a table, it was
full. There was a bounty. Well, picture
the bounty of God. Our heavenly bridegroom, he has
a table set that is full. Absolutely full. Rich. And the bride in royal
robes, and remember, remember the bride is in royal robes.
Because she's the, she's the wife of the king. And the king would be in royal
robes, right? And whenever we see queens beside a king, they're
always decked in royal robes. How did she get those royal robes?
Oh, the righteousness of Christ. Oh, she's decked with a, my goodness,
decked in royal robes and sweet perfumes. And she's seated with
him at the table. And what a picture of grace.
Remember Mephibosheth in 2 Samuel chapter 9, verse 13? Remember
Mephibosheth? Mephibosheth, remember he was
out in Lodabar and he was, King David says, go and fetch him.
Go and fetch him. And it pictures the Holy Spirit
going and fetching us, drawing us to Christ. And he comes before
the king, and you imagine he's coming before the king and he's
probably trembling. Because back then, if there was an heir left
of the family that you, you killed him. But he looks at Mephibosheth,
picture of God the Father, says, fear not. And that's what that's
what the father says to us in Christ. And he said that because
of a covenant he made with Jonathan. Remember, Jonathan and David
made a covenant. In Second Samuel, 913, it says
this. So most of us. So Mephibosheth
dwelt in Jerusalem, for he did eat continually at the king's
table. He ate continually at the king's
table, and then it says and was lame on both his feet. So here's one who is brought
to him, he's lame, can't do anything. What does that picture, beloved?
It pictures our fallen Adam. We're lame, we can't do anything.
And he's brought before the king, and the king says, fear not.
And that's what the king says to us, we who are clothed in
the righteousness of Christ. He says, fear not. And then we
eat at the king's table continually, continually. So we, by nature,
are lame in both our feet by our fallen Adam. We're crippled
from our mother's womb. And may we ever be astonished
at the grace which we have received and which God, the mercy which
God has had upon us in Christ Jesus, our Lord, because we know
we all know we're unworthy. We all know that we're unworthy
of this grace. And the one whom Mephibosheth received grace from,
think of this too. The one whom Mephibosheth received
grace from is the one whose table Mephibosheth sits on. What a picture of the grace of
God in Christ, beloved. We sit at the table of the king
because we have received grace, grace from our heavenly bridegroom,
the Lord Jesus Christ. My goodness, and he will sup
with us. Remember, behold, I stand at
the door and knock. If any man hears my voice and
opens the door, I will come in to him and will sup with him
and he with me. Now think on this table, think
of this table. On this table would be, on this
table would be on full display the king's provision. Who provides it all? If you're
sitting at the king's table, he's the one providing it all. All the provisions upon that
table is from him. And it's a feast for all those
who are there at the king's choosing. Beloved, the chosen of God, the
elect of God, are those of God's own choosing. Now let that sink
in for us. We who are the elect of God are
the elect of God because of His choosing. My goodness. And where do we
feast at the banqueting table of the Lord? Right here, in His
Word. My goodness. And think of the
bounties which are fixed upon this table, which enrich his
banqueting table. At this table, we feast on the
eternal love of God for his people. We feast on that. My goodness. And we feast upon the precious
truth of the incarnation of Christ. that God became a man. We just
feast on the fact of that. And then we feast upon why he
did that, to redeem his people from their sins. His blood, his drink indeed,
and we receive strength from his precious promises, his flesh,
his food indeed. And all scattered through this
book are the provisions of God. And we draw delight in feasting
upon the king's banqueting table, don't we? Knowing that the only
reason we're there is because of him. And while we feast, while we
feast at the king's table, the tender voice of the king may
be heard saying, eat, oh friends, drink. Yes, drink abundantly,
oh beloved. Feast. And notice the king sits
at his table. It would be unsatisfying table
if the king himself were not there. But the king himself sits
at the table. Well, the king sits at his table. And who is the bride delighting
in? The one who is sitting right there with him. The King of Glory. The Lord Jesus
Christ. Well, the king said at the table,
my spike nerd, send it forth the smell thereof. This is amazing
grace, beloved. We who see ourselves black with
sin. That we should be welcomed to
such a feast. That we should be welcome to
the feast of the king of glory. My goodness. Grace, grace, marvelous
grace. scripture continues my spike
nerd send it forth the smell thereof the graces up up the
Spirit of God conferred upon the brider are drawn forth by
the presence up which is here compared to the
sweet ointments which the master the feast would have poured out
upon the gas now spike nerd is a chief ingredient in ointments
which were used at festivals, turn if you would to Mark chapter
14 and put your finger in Luke chapter 7. Spikenard was a chief
ingredient in ointments which were used at festivals to anoint
guests with. They would anoint the guests
with these precious ointments. They'd have their head and hair
anointed and it would give a fragrant smell. A fragrant smell. And it was, one commentator said,
and therefore to make them acceptable, to be in the presence of whom
they were dining with. Oh my. In Syriac royal banquets,
as was here, it was usual to go around the guests to sprinkle
them with Babylonian ointment. They would just sprinkle them
with Babylonian ointment. Look at Mark 14, verse 3. And then put your finger, as
I said, in Luke 7. Look at this. And being in Bethany
in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came
a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard, very
precious, and she break the box and poured it on his head. Poured
it upon his head. And then turn with, if you would,
to Luke chapter 7. See, remember, Simon the leper, he didn't do
that. And if you further read that
section in Mark, he didn't do that, but this sinner did that. She break the box and poured
it on. Luke 7, verse 37 and 38. And behold, a woman in the city,
which was a sinner. Well, that's we who are blood-bought
saints, isn't it? When she knew that Jesus sat
at meat in the Pharisee's house, bought an alabaster box of ointment,
and stood at his feet, Behind him weeping and began to wash
his feet with tears and did wipe them with the hairs of her head
and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. So spikenard
was a chief ingredient in these ointments. And it would send
forth a beautiful smell. And this pictures in the exercise
in the manifestation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the fruit
of the Spirit. which He works in us, which is
a sweet-smelling Savior in the nostrils of our husband, of our
bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ. We who are born again and have
a new heart, which hungers and thirsts for righteousness and
the things of Christ, have the perfume of a new heart. which we receive when we are
born again by the Holy Spirit of God. And it sends forth a
fragrance. And as scripture proclaims, my
spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof. Let's look at the next two verses
in our text. It says, a bundle of mirth is
my well-beloved unto me. He shall lie all night betwixt
my breasts. My beloved unto me is a cluster
of campfire in the vineyards of Engedi. Mareth may well be
chosen as a type of Jesus on account of its preciousness,
its perfume, its pleasantness, its healing, preserving, disinfecting
qualities, and its connection with sacrifice. Turn, if you
would, to Exodus chapter 30. It's one of the ingredients in
connection with sacrifice. Exodus 30 verses 22 to 25 this
speaks of the anointing oil and incense and the ingredients and
Merit is one of the ingredients Exodus 30 verse 22 to 25 Moreover the Lord spake unto
Moses saying take thou also unto thee three under the principal
spices of pure mirth, 500 shekels and of sweet cinnamon, half so
much and even 250 shekels and of sweet calamus, 250 shekels
and have cast a 500 shekels after the shekel of the sanctuary and
of the and of oil all of on on in and out shall make it an oil
of holy ointment and ointment compound After the art of the
apocryphe, it shall be in holy anointing oil. So this is one
of the ingredients in the holy anointing oil. In notice, the
bridegroom is comparing him to a bundle of merit, not a twig,
not a flower of it, but a whole bundle. A whole bundle. Why is our Lord compared to a
bundle of merit? First, for plenty. In our text,
he's not a drop of it, he's a chestful. He's full. He's not a twig or
a flower, but he's a whole bundle. And let us consider this, there
is enough in Christ for all my necessities. And every believer
can say that. There is enough in Christ to
cover for all my necessities. He's all I need. And he's compared
to a bundle. a bundle of merit. Again, for
variety, for there is in Christ not only one thing needful, but
in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Everything
needful for the believer is in Christ. It's all in Him. Think
of this. He's our prophet. He's our priest.
He's our king. He's our Savior and our Redeemer.
He's our husband. We don't need anything else.
We don't need anyone else. He's our all-in-all. In His life,
He's our all-in-all. In His death, He's our all-in-all.
In His resurrection, He's our all-in-all. While He's right
now interceding for us, He's our all-in-all. And when we get
home to glory, He'll still be our all-in-all. He's everything. He's everything. Oh, my. When you view Him in the different
aspects of who He is, and look at His gentleness with His people,
look at His courage in coming to die for His people, look on
His self-denial doing all that the Father willed, and perfect
obedience and submission to the Father's will. Oh, and we see
manifest His everlasting love towards His people, which was
fully on display in His death, and fully on display in His life. and look at his faithfulness
to his people. And again, and again, and again, we see God's
faithfulness manifested in our lives, don't we? We really do. Look to his perfect spotless
righteousness, which has been imputed to us. And look to how
he now sees us clothed in his righteousness, and how he calls
us the fairest among women. In all these things, he's He's
much more precious than a piece of mirror. He's a bundle. He's
a bundle. He's so precious, beloved. He's
precious before the foundation of the world. He was set apart
for his people, and he gives forth his perfume only to those
who are born again by the Holy Spirit of God. And is it any
wonder, is it any wonder why Why we who are the people who
are blessed of God cry out, he's a bundle of merit,
is my well beloved unto me. Why? When we ponder and consider
that he has allowed us to sit at his banqueting table, that he's allowed us to be there.
That we would have no desire for him unless he made us willing,
and unless we're born again in the Holy Spirit of God. That
we would see no value in him, but now he's so precious. You who are beloved of God, Christ
has set you apart for himself. For himself. I have never known love like
that. That is the greatest love that we will ever know. He has set me apart for himself,
and every believer can say that. My goodness. What a Savior. No wonder he was
continually on her heart. Which is what the latter part
of this verse speaks of. He shall lie all night betwixt
my breast. Between the breasts is the seat
of the heart. The seat of the heart, beloved. The place where
Christ delights to rest. He dwells in the hearts of his
people. Ephesians 317 says this, that
Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that you being rooted
and grounded in love. And that's only in Christ. He shall lie all night betwixt
my breasts. This is an expression of intense
desire. Intense desire and love, which
the bride has for her bridegroom. And and as we read this, we see
the intense love that the bride has from the bridegroom, but
let us never forget we love him because he first loved us. My
goodness. It's stunning. It's absolutely
stunning. These are the words of confident
faith, trusting faith. Resting faith now, now confident
faith, not in anything on us, but confident faith in Christ.
resting faith, trusting faith, which has one object, the Lord
Jesus Christ. And notice her eyes are set upon
him. Set upon him. The bride trusts
the words of the bridegroom. And throughout the long night
of our pilgrimage through this world, which is what our lives
are, right? Because we go to a land where
there's no more night. No more nights. The believer
desires, what's the one thing we desire as we go on through
this? Well, fellowship with our King. Fellowship with, that's
the one constant thing that we desire. We as believers. Oh Lord, you must increase, but
I must decrease. If Christ is ours, although we
do want other things, we should only want him. He's the chiefest
desire of our hearts. Think of this, I need no more.
Let us rest and repose in Him, who is our heart's desire. The
Bride of Christ desires Him, desires to be in His presence,
desires to be in His communion with Him. When we gather together
under the Word each week, our hearts just soar. Soar, and He
gives us strength and grace. And when you read through the
week, is your heart not sore when you read about Christ? Does
it not bring you comfort and joy? I heard something. I want to I want to bring this
up. I heard this this week. And I thought this was absolutely
marvelous. Fellow wrote, because this this plagues all of us.
Well, I wrote, do I pray enough? Well, none of us pray enough,
right? Do I read my Bible enough? Because these are things that
always plague us, right? None of us read our Bible. As much
as we should. Because we have life. We're going
through. Do I do this? Do I do that enough?
And he said, in religion, that's paramount, right? They're constantly,
constantly looking at that. And what the writer brought out
was the fact that in Christ, All our sins and iniquities are
forgiven. Even when we don't pray enough.
Even when we don't pray enough. They're all forgiven. What joy
and rest and peace we have in Christ. Now remember this. We don't have to read our Bible.
We get to read our Bible. See, religion says, you've got
to do this. Grace says, this is a privilege. I get to read
my Bible. I remember one preacher saying,
you don't have to pray. You get to pray. You see the
difference? It's huge. It's a privilege for
us. We get to hear the word of God
preached. We're privileged people. We are so blessed. We are so
blessed, beloved. And so the bride, when we read
the promises of Christ and the things that are in His Word that
speak to our hearts, we hear His voice speaking to us through
the Scriptures. This is where God speaks to His
people, right here, through the Word. And do we trust Him at
His Word? He says that all who come to
Him shall never perish. Oh my, I can trust His words. He's the God-man. He's my great
God and King. And what does the believer desire?
Fellowship with Him. Let's look at our last verse
here. It says, my beloved is unto me as a cluster of campfire
in the vineyards of Ein Gedi. Now notice how the bride compares
Christ first to Merith and then Campfire here. This shows us
the infinite riches of the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. The
infinite riches of him. The infinite riches of who he
is, his person. The infinite riches of his work,
what he's done for us. Because everything in him is
abundant. Everything in him is abundant and rich. As rich as clusters. This speaks of a cluster of camphor.
It's a cluster of, not just one, a cluster. What a picture we
have here of the Lord's value and beauty to his people. This
is a language of love. This is a language of love, of
intimate love. And it pictures beautifully the
love which the bride has for Christ. He alone is the choice
object of our heart's affections. He alone is our well-beloved.
Now, we love others, don't we? But He alone, He's the cheapest
of 10,000 to us. He's everything to us. You take
Christ from us and we have nothing. And He is chosen and preferred
above all others in the believer's life. And none can rival Him. None can rival Him. None can
be compared to Him. Again, he's the chiefest of 10,000
to my soul. And he's all this to the bride,
the church, his elect. And we know the source. We know
the source from which our graces flow. Don't we? We know. The church knows the
source from which her blessings flow. It is he who is the vine
and we who are the branches. And all the blossoms that appear
on the branches, they all come from the root. All that nourishment
comes from Him. My goodness, He must work in
us the fruit of the Spirit. They all come from Him and all
result of being attached to the vine. And the bride knows that
if fragrance proceeds from her, it's all from Him. It's all from
Him. My goodness. If she is beautiful
in his eyes, it's because he's made her so. It's because he's
made her so. So let us think and meditate
upon him and his work. His great work, which brings
us joy, brings the believer joy, comfort, and rest when we contemplate
his beauty. Just contemplate his beauty.
Contemplate who he is. Contemplate his glory. Just think
of his glory. He's full of glory. Contemplate his work. Just contemplate
what he's done. Not just for you and I who believe,
but for all the elect of all the ages. Just contemplate what
he's done. It'll fill you with joy, beloved.
So let us this week, let us think upon these things. My beloved is unto me a cluster
of campfire in the vineyards of Engedi. Now Christ is our
only acceptance before God, beloved. It says, my beloved is unto me
as a cluster of campfire in the vineyards of Engedi. The words
translated campfire is most commonly translated ransom eight times
and satisfaction twice. And it can also mean covering
or propitiation. The Hebrew word for this is translated a price of a life,
ransom, asphalt, pitch as a covering. And we know that the ark was
pitched within and without, and that pictured the blood of Christ,
didn't it? That pictured the blood of Christ. Genesis 6 says
this, make thee an ark of gopher wood. Rooms shalt thou make in
the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without. With pitch, that
pitch is the blood of Christ, beloved. And Gail says this about
the word kephir here in the Hebrew. It says, some leave the word
untranslated, kopher, which has the significance, signification
of atonement and propitiation, and so well agrees with Christ,
who is the propitiation for the sins of his people, and he has
made atonement for our sins. Turn, if you would, to Psalm
49. And also put your finger in Isaiah 43. And I'll read Job
33.24. The same word is translated ransom
in Job 33.24. It says this, Then He is gracious
unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit.
I have found a ransom. Same word, same Hebrew word.
And praise God, we who believe have found a ransom in Christ
Jesus our Lord. Psalm 49 verses 6 to 8. Now riches
are spoken of in Psalm 49 as not being able to ransom a man's
soul. Same Hebrew word. They that trust
in their wealth and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches,
none of them, none of the riches that they have, none of the riches
can by any means redeem his brother nor give to God a ransom for
him. Same word. Same Hebrew word. For the redemption
of the soul is precious And it ceases forever. And then turn,
if you would, to Isaiah 43. Isaiah 43, verse 3. It is said
that Egypt is given for a ransom for Israel. Isaiah 43, verse 3. am the Lord
thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Savior. I gave Egypt for
thy ransom, Ethiopia and Sebia for thee. Now, how did he give
Egypt for a ransom of the Israelites? He sacrificed the Egyptians and
had mercy upon the Israelites, upon his people, the people of
his chosen. He destroyed the firstborn of
Egypt and saved the Israeli firstborn. All because of the blood. And
then think of this. He allowed the Israelites to
pass through the Red Sea. And he destroyed Pharaoh and
his chariots and his captains. That's how he gave Egypt for
a ransom. He had mercy upon his people
and he destroyed their enemies. And the Lord Jesus Christ is
our ransom. He's a cluster of merit for his
people. He's a cluster of merit, a cluster
of righteousness for his people, for his bride, and therefore
he's precious to us. Because he is our propitiation,
he is our ransom, he is our righteousness before God. I have found a ransom
We say the same thing as Job says. I found a ransom and that
ransom is Christ Jesus our Lord. Let us ponder this wonderful
fact this week. Let us think upon this. Christ
is our ransom. And he has redeemed us by his
own precious blood. And let us think of this. He's
wonderful to we who believe, isn't he? Is he not wonderful
to you? He's wonderful to his people, but he's not precious to all
people. He's precious to us, but he's not precious to all
people. Countless numbers of people see
nothing in him. They see nothing in him. And
at one time, we saw nothing in him, didn't we? My goodness But now We who have been given
eyes to see and ears to hear He's precious He's precious to
us And no matter what he is or what he isn't to another every
heaven-born every blood-bought saying of God Speaks of how precious
Christ is to us And it's only because we have obtained mercy. What a savior. We speak like
this, my beloved is unto me all that is needful, all that is
lovely, all that is precious, because he loved me and he gave
himself for me. And every believer can say. He gave himself for me. And we cry out that he is our
Lord and our God and unto you, therefore, that believe he is
precious. Ponder this week. The fact. That he has revealed himself
to you and that he is now precious to you. And there was a time
when he was not precious to The bride the church calls him
Christ our her well-beloved He calls he calls the or she
calls the Christ her well-beloved Look at verse 13 my well-beloved
look at verse 14 my beloved He is lovely to her He's lovely
to her. He's lovely. He's lovely to His people. In
what He is to His people, Savior, Redeemer, Lord, God, Bridegroom,
in all aspects, He's absolutely lovely to her. And faith finds a great sweetness
when she can say this, My beloved is mine. We marvel in that. We marvel
in that. My beloved is mine, but let us
marvel in this. And I am his. I am the king's. By his choosing and by his purchase, I'm his. Oh. What sweetness, what sweetness
we can find there. And oh, for grace to know this
and to enjoy it, that while Christ is the only begotten Son and
the well-beloved Son of the Father, He may be truly, He may be our beloved also. My goodness, my beloved is mine. and I am His. May God be glorified
in the preaching of His Word. Heavenly Father, we who believe marvel. Marvel
in the fact that Christ is ours and marvel
more about the fact that we are His. We give You all glory and honor
and praise. O Lord, may You be our heart's
desire. We love Thee and we praise Thee.
In Jesus' name, amen.