We'll continue our study tonight
in Song of Solomon. The name of the message is, Whom
My Soul Loves. Whom My Soul Loves. Song of Solomon. Let's read the context of the
verses. The Song of Songs, which is Solomon. So, this song, this
book is a song. And it's THE song. The song supreme
above every other song. And in here, the next verses
2 to 7, we see the bride confesses her love for the bridegroom.
Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for thy love is
better than wine. Because of the savor of thy good
ointments, thy name is as an ointment poured forth. Therefore
do the virgins love thee. Draw me. We will run after thee. The king hath brought me into
his chambers. We will be glad and rejoice in
thee. We will remember thy love more than wine. The upright love
thee. I am black, but calmly. O ye
daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kadar are the curtains
of Solomon. Look not upon me, because I am
black, because the sun hath looked upon me. My mother's children
were angry with me. They made me the keeper of the
vineyards, but my own vineyards have I not kept. Tell me, O thou
whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest? where thou makest thy
flock to rest at noon, for why should I be as one that turneth
aside by the flocks of thy companions? Now our last study we had in
this wonderful book two weeks ago was in verse four. It was in verse four where it
says, draw me, we will run after thee. The king hath bought me
into his chambers. We will be glad and rejoice in
thee. We will remember thy love more than wine, the upright love
thee. And we considered how we never would have come to Christ
unless he draws us, unless he draws us. We also consider that
the bride continued continues to ask the bridegroom to draw. And it's true, isn't it? We want more of Christ. We want
to learn more of him. We want to draw closer to him. And after the Lord saves us,
we cry out again for him to draw us more in fellowship because
we desire to have communion with him. We also consider that we
who believe the bride of Christ have been bought into the chambers
of the great king. The chambers of the great king,
Jehovah himself, the self-existent one, the Lord. He is our heavenly bridegroom.
Christ himself, God incarnate in the flesh. And what joy this
brings the believer in Christ. It gives us much cause to rejoice. Much cause to rejoice. As the
bride, the church is bought into the King's presence. Think of
that. We're bought into the very presence
of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Into his personal
chambers. And the bride rejoices. Bride
rejoices over this precious truth. We also looked at how the. The
upright scripture said the upright loved the we saw how that the
church, the blood bought saints of God. Who are sinners? Are clothed in the righteousness
of Christ, and that's what makes us upright. Nothing we do. It's all what he's done, all
what he's done makes us blameless. And I just like to marvel on
that fact. It makes us blameless in the
sight of God. The holy God of the universe,
in whom even the angels have to cover themselves in his presence. And the believer in Christ is
blameless before him. What a precious truth for us,
all because, again, of the righteousness of Christ, all because we are
clothed in the imputed righteousness of Christ, all because of what
Christ has done for us, for us. And let us always remember that
this is a this book is a song which brings forth the love which
God Almighty has for his people. And the love which. Which Christ
is, our bridegroom has for his bride and and her love for him. which again is only because he
loved us first. We love him because he first
loved us. So let's consider, we'll look
at three verses, Lord willing, tonight. Let's look at verse
five. Let's consider this first verse.
I am black, but calmly, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the
tents of Kadar, as the curtains of Solomon. Here the bride confesses
herself to be black, but calmly. Black, but calmly. as the tents
of Kadar, as the curtains of Solomon. Now the tents of Kadar
are the tents of the Bedouin, which are a people, they led
a nomadic life in Abria. Sorry. They led a nomadic life,
though, and their tents were blackened. The outsides of their
tents were blackened by the sun. And this pictures our natural
state, beloved, before regeneration. We are dead in trespasses and
sins, in complete darkness, blackened by our sins. John Gill says of
the church, she is black and calmly, black by sin and calmly
by grace. Now the bride, and I ask you
if this is true for you, because the bride sees her many spots,
right? We who are redeemed by the precious
blood of Christ, we know what we are. We see all our faults. We see them all. We do. We see them all. We know who
we are. We know even after we've been
saved, we know who we are and what we are. We're sinners. So she sees herself as black
and common. She sees her many spots, she
sees her many blemishes and her infirmities. And this is the cry of the believer,
right? What did Paul say at the end of his life, at the end of
his ministry? I'm the chief of sinners. He saw himself as the greatest
sinner. Now, you talk to a group of believers, we all say we're
the chief, don't we? We all do, because we know what
we are. So she says, I'm black. I'm black. Black with sin. But remember this, the believer
is fair and spotless in Christ. We are black, full of sin, in
ourselves, and sin dwells in us, and sometimes we're overcome
by sin, and sometimes we're carried away captive by our sins. It's
ever-present with us. And it will be until the day
we die, right? We carry this body of sin around with us. It's
a burden. We'll not be rid of it until
we're till we leave this world and are in the presence of the
king. And then we won't sin no more. And every believer is looking
forward to that day, it'll be wonderful. There'll be no more
struggle with sin. And we know from scripture, if
we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, right? And the truth's
not in us. So if a person says they don't
sin, they're lying. John Gill says this about the
church, about the bride. She may be said to be black with
sorrow and mourning. Black color not only being the
habit of mourners, but does also in scripture express grief and
sorrow itself. Over in Jeremiah 8, 21, the scripture
says, for the hurt of the daughter of my people and my hurt, I am
black. Astonishment hath taken hold
on me. And then in Jeremiah 14, 2, it says, Judah mourneth, and
the gates thereof languish. They are black unto the ground.
and unto the cry of Jerusalem is gone up. So it has to do with mourning,
too. Mourning over our sin. Turn, if you would, to Psalm
38, verse 6. Psalm 38, verse 6. And I ask,
is this not true of you? The sins and corruptions of God's
people oftentimes put us in a mourning habit, as David says. when he
was under a sense of his manifold iniquities. Look what David says
in Psalm 38, 6. I am troubled. I am bowed down. I go mourning
all the day long. This is a believer. He says, I'm troubled. He's wearied
with distress. His travail on account of his
sin within him. I'm bowed down greatly. He's
bought very low. grievously weakened and frightfully
depressed. And nothing so pulls a man down
from all loftiness as a sense of sin. That brings us right down low in the sense of the divine wrath
that's deserving of that sin. And he says, I go mourning all
the day long. So the true believer in Christ
acknowledges with the bride here We acknowledge our sin, don't
we? We acknowledge our sin, and we confess our sin. And they say, as part of the
bride, I am black. And the people of God are charged
by both the world and by self-righteous religionists with many evils. But none of our enemies have
such a loathsome view of us as we have of ourselves. I remember
somebody one time saying, well, you think you're holier than
thou? And I said, you don't know me. After the Lord had saved me.
No, I don't think I'm holier than thou, not at all. I'm a
sinner saved by the grace of God and Christ, and I know it's
so for you who are saved too. My, my goodness. Do any charges with evil? Yeah,
that's true. I'm black. The bride says I'm black. My
own vineyard have I not kept. I'm black in myself by nature.
I'm black in the eyes of others. Because of my actions, I'm black
in my own eyes. And true faith does not defend
itself. It does not seek any excuse for sin. True faith acknowledges
and confesses our sin. When we grow in grace, we do
not see ourselves getting better, as religion says. They believe
in what's called progressive sanctification, that they're
becoming more and more that better and better. Well, you know, as
we grow in grace, we see ourselves more and more sinners. Now we're
being conformed to the image of the sun. Yeah, but we see
ourselves as sinners. And by their own pride and self-righteousness,
the. Folks who think they're getting
better and better are getting worse and worse. So let us never forget the rock
that we were hewn from. Let us never forget the rock
we were hewn from. But let us never forget the rock
we were hewn from, and let us remember that we're black, but
let us rejoice. Let us rejoice. All our sins
are forgiven in Christ, washed clean by his precious blood. So the bride admits, yes, I'm
black, and calmly, Rejoice, beloved, you who believe. Divine wrath has been satisfied
in your place by the shedding of the precious blood of our
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Our text continues. It says,
I am black, but calmly. The bride is calmly in the eyes
of the Lord. Do you know what that word calmly
is defined as? Now this is amazing. So she says,
I'm black with sin, right? And then she says, I'm calm.
Do you know what calmly means? Commonly means beautiful. Beautiful. Suitable. The Lord sees us. Is beautiful. Suitable made fit for heaven. And the bride can only say this
because she's clothed in the righteousness of Christ. That's
the only reason she can say this. I'm black but calmly. We're black
with sin and everything we do is tainted with sin. Yet Christ
sees us, he looks upon us as a spotless bride. Isn't that
wonderful? Our great King sees us as a spotless
bride. Beautiful and suitable because
we're clothed in his perfect righteousness. It's wonderful. It's absolutely wonderful. We
are calmly in the eyes of Christ. called by Him this, His fair
one. His fair one. He calls us the
fairest among women. His eye is set upon His bride
and she is absolutely beautiful to Him. Isn't that wonderful?
She says, I'm black and calmly. Oh my. Calmly in the eyes of
Christ. All fair. Look at verse 8, if thou knowest,
if thou knew not, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps
of the flock and feed thy kids beside the shepherd's tents.
That's the groom calling the bride, the fairest among women.
We're beautiful in his eyes. She has a perfect spotless righteousness
imputed to her. This should make our hearts fill
with joy. And let us ponder, we who are
redeemed in the Lord. May our souls be filled with
joy. God himself have clothed me with the garments of salvation.
He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness. Turn, if you
would, to Isaiah 61.10. He, as a bridegroom, decketh
himself with ornaments and as a bride adorned herself with
jewels. Isaiah 61.10. Look at this. I will greatly
rejoice in the Lord Jehovah, the self existent one. My soul
shall be joyful in my God. Why? See, see, there's a bunch
of people in religion that are trying to work their way to heaven,
aren't they? Basically, they're trying to weave their own code
of righteousness. But the believer says, no, the
righteousness which I have is of Christ and it's God who has
clothed me with that garment. Look what the scripture declares.
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful
in my God, for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation.
It's him, beloved. So he weaves the coat of righteousness
that we wear, and then he clothes us. This is wonderful. He hath covered me with the robe
of righteousness. Christ's perfect, spotless righteousness. As a bridegroom decketh himself
with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. My. Let's look at verse six now. It says, look not upon me because
I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me. My mother's children
were angry with me. They they made me the keeper
of the vineyards, but my own vineyard have I not kept. She would not have the daughters
of Jerusalem look at her. Because she sees herself as black
and she acknowledges the only calmliness she has, the only
beauty that she has is from Christ and Him alone, from the bridegroom. She's seen her natural state.
Psalm 14, 2 says this, the Lord looked down from heaven upon
the children of man to see if there were any that did understand
and seek God. And we know from Romans there's
none, none that seek God. She was at one time blind to
how sin dominated her and controlled her, but now she sees that all
are sinners by birth, nature, and choice. It says here, because
the Son hath looked upon me. John Gale brings forth this point.
This may be understood of the son of persecution that had beat
upon her and had left such impressions on her and had made her in this
hue in which she bore patiently. Nor was she ashamed of it, nor
should she be uprighted with it, nor slighted on account of
it. Look not upon me, because I am
black, because the Son hath looked upon me. Turn, if you would,
to Matthew 13. Matthew 13. John Gill again sees
this again as the son of persecution of which he brings forth. as
we see in the parable of the sower in verse 6 of Matthew 13.
But let's look at Matthew 13 verses 1 to 9. The same day went Jesus out of
the house and sat by the seaside. And great multitudes were gathered
together unto him, so that he went into a ship and sat, and
the whole multitude stood on the shore. And he spake many
things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went
forth to sow, And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the wayside,
and the fowls came and devoured them up. And some fell on stony
places, where they had not much earth, and forwith they sprang
up, because they had no deepness of earth. And when the sun was
up, they were scorched, and because they had no root, they withered
away. Persecution came. They withered away. Now, when
persecution comes for the believer, He's grounded and rooted in Christ,
and it's Christ who keeps us. It's Christ who keeps us, but
these were empty professors. And some fell among thorns, and
the thorns sprang up and choked them. But other fell onto good
ground. Who prepared that good ground?
God himself. and bought forth fruit. And we
know that fruit is the fruit of the Spirit. It's His work.
He made the ground good ground, and He brings forth fruit, some
an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. Who hath ears
to hear, let him hear. So we know from Scripture, too,
that everyone that will look godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer
persecution, right? We suffer persecution from the
tongues, if not from the hands of man. And this persecution
which the church underwent in the past, and which we still
go through today, seems to be very veminent at the time. And
in that, she in her text, the bride, compares it to the scorchings
of the sun. And it must continue some time
upon her to make her, and to leave such visible marks and
impressions upon her. And yet she patiently endures. and bravely bore the heat and
burden of the day, and seems to be no more ashamed of her
sufferings than she was of the person and cause for whom she
suffered. Our text continues, my mother's
children were angry with me, they made me the keeper of the
vineyards, but my own vineyard have I not kept. Now these spoken
of here are empty professors. Sometimes externally, children
of the same mother. They have a fakeness and pretend
to be godly. They profess to be believers,
but they're enemies to Christ and to his gospel. And these
were angry with the church, with the bride, for holding and defending
the pure doctrines of the gospel, for keeping the ordinances as
they were delivered, and for faithful reproofs to them and
others. They make the bride go mourning,
and in black, and more blackened her character and reputation
than anything else. They are carnal, and they descend
from their mother Eve, who is our mother by birth too. And
they are angry with the church. Turn if you would to Galatians
chapter 4. And they're angry with her members, standing firm
in what they believe. And they are violent persecutors
of the bride of Christ. Galatians chapter 4. And we've
all, we who believe, we've all tasted the scorching sun of persecution,
haven't we? Every one of us. Either from
friends or family. Galatians chapter 4 verses 28
to 31. Now we brethren, as Isaac was
of the children of promise. But as then he that was born
after the flesh persecuted him. That was born after the spirit,
even so it is now. We should expect the people of
the world to persecute us. It's been going on for thousands
of years. Nevertheless, what sayeth the
scripture? Cast out the bond woman and her son, for the son
of the bond woman shall not be heir with the son of the free
woman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bond
woman, but of the free. We're free in Christ, beloved.
We're free in Christ. So these false professors and
sometimes false teachers heap chains upon the body of Christ,
making her the keeper of their vengeance. Turn, if you would, to Colossians
chapter 2. Remember our study in Colossians? We looked at that
very thing. The false teachers were trying
to yoke the saints at Colossus. And look what Paul pens at the
latter part of chapter 2. Let no man beguile you of your
reward in a voluntary humility in worshiping of angels, intruding
into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by
his fleshy mind. Verse 19, "...and not holding
the head..." They're false professors. "...and not holding the head,
from which all the body, by joints and bands, having nourishment,
ministered and knit together, increases with the increase of
God." So they beguile people by false humility, trying to
yoke them and chain them into works. Wherefore, if ye be dead with
Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living
in the world, are you subjects to ordinances? Touch not, taste
not, handle not, which are all to perish with the using. They
say, oh, you can't do this and you can't do that. You can't
eat this and you can't eat that. You can't drink this and you
can't drink that. Or you must not be a Christian. And I know
because I was one of them Pharisees. And it was horrible. And it's awful. Look what Paul
writes, so which all the parish with the use and all these things
are to perish. With the using after the commandments
and doctrines of men. When God brings grace to a to
a to someone who come out of that, you realize how wrong you
were. Oh my, yoking people to things,
when I myself was the biggest hypocrite. But yet thinking, oh, that person,
surely they can't be a Christian if they do that. I thank God
for His free grace in Christ. I thank God for the liberty we
have in Christ, beloved. It's absolutely wonderful. It's
absolutely wonderful what freedom we have in Christ. We don't go
out the door and go crazy, but what freedom we have, what liberty
we have, beloved in Christ. Oh, my rejoice, rejoice. So they're yoking these people,
and it's all up to the commandments and doctrines of man. You can't
do this. You can do that. You can't get
married. This person can get married.
What? It's all bondage. It's all bondage. You must do
this, you must do that. My, look what he pens on here. Which indeed have a show of wisdom
in what? In will worship. They're will
worshipers. Oh, it has a big show. Oh, it
has such a big show. Oh, I don't do this. I don't. Remember that Pharisee? I thank God I'm not like that. And there's that. There's one
of us saying, Oh God, be merciful to me. The bride says, I'm black. Remember, I'm black. And we say,
thank God for sovereign grace. We say, thank God for the free
grace of God in Christ that has set us free, set us free. Oh, what freedom we have, which
in things have indeed a show of wisdom and will worship in
humility, in neglecting of the body, not in any honor to the
satisfying of the flesh. There's no end to what they will
make you do. I have good news. Salvation is
complete in Christ, complete in the Savior. And the bride
rejoices in this. She rejoices in this precious
truth. Oh my. Our text continues, but
mine own vineyard have I not kept. Now here we see how beautiful
the grace of God is as it brings forth humility. And we find a
little further on in this song, the Lord Jesus Christ calls his
spouse the fairest among women. Yet in the view she had of herself,
she sees nothing but blackness. Nothing but blackness, as the
tents of Kadar. and the neglect of her own soul.
She sees the neglect of her own soul while engaged in the service
of others. And Hawker comments this, will
ever be the teaching of the Holy Ghost, the soul who lives nearest to
Jesus in sweet fellowship and communion will be led most to
discover his or her own poverty and negligence. We see most dust
in a room where the sun shines most clear. And the believer
never lies lower before the Lord in humbleness of spirit than
when the Lord exalts that soul with brighter views of His glory.
The more we see His glory revealed to us, the more we see of who
He is as we grow in the grace and knowledge and truth of Christ,
oh, the more we see of how glorious He is and how much a sinner we
are. But it makes us rejoice that
He's even had mercy upon us. It brings the believer great
joy Great joy. She rejoices. The bride rejoices
in these precious truths. Now let us consider verse 7.
It says, Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth. We could just
stop there and go on for weeks. Oh, tell me, O thou whom my soul
loveth. Where thou feedest, where thou
makest thy flock to rest at noon. For why should I be as one that
turns aside by the flocks of thy companions? Here again we
have the confession of the bride. She is only one object for her
love. Note that. O thou whom my soul loveth. She
has one object of her love. Just one. Just one. And it's a deep, heartfelt love. It's a deep and heartfelt. Tell
me, O thou whom my soul loveth. Now remember this in verse 2,
at first it was kiss me. Then in verse 4 it was draw me.
Now it's tell me. One commentator brings forth
this indicates progressive experience as the appeal is to him who is
the object of our soul's love. So the bride's growing in grace
and falling deeper and deeper and deeper in love with her bridegroom
as she learns more and more of him. There's no other name, is
there? No other name we want to hear
but Christ and him alone. To the bride of Christ, she has
one object, Christ. O thou whom my soul loveth. Those
who love the Lord must love Him with the whole heart. Although
we are sinners, yet He is the chief. He is the chiefest among
10,000 to us. He's everything. Paul wrote,
Christ is all. He's all to us. And the church
had been speaking in the preceding verses to the daughters of Jerusalem. Now she turns from them to speak
to her bridegroom, to Christ. And the communion of the saints
is sweet. It's sweet when we get together,
but oh, how infinitely sweeter it is when we fellowship with
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 1 John 1.3 says
this, That which we have seen and heard, declare we unto you,
that ye also may have fellowship with us. And truly our fellowship
is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. So what does
the church say to Jesus? She considers him under one of
his most precious characters. As the great shepherd of his
fold. The church. The church. Are the sheep of his fold. In
viewing herself as his property. Look what it says, where thou
feed us, where thou make us, thy flock to rest at noon. She is his by the Father's gift. The Father gave us to Christ,
right? And she is his by purchase. He purchased us by his own precious
blood. And she is his by conquest, too.
Think of this. The conquest of his grace by
the Holy Spirit regenerating us and drawing. We weren't willing
until he made us willing. My, what a savior we have, beloved. And he doesn't do it, he does
it with cords of love. He draws the bride to himself. Oh my. And then she earnestly
desires that he would tell her where it is that he fed his flock. And where he caused his flock
to rest at noon. So we see in our text that the
Lord has a flock. Where thou feedest, where thou
makest thy flock to rest at noon. We see here in our text, the
Lord has a flock. And he brings them to rest. Where thou feedest, where thou
makest thy flock to rest at noon. Again, he has a flock and he
feeds them too. And we know that His flock was
given to Him by the Father. We know that He redeemed His
flock by His Word, or by His blood. And we know that His flock
are fed by His Word. They're fed by His Word. Turn,
if you would, to John 6, 47. And who is the Word? Christ. Christ Himself. Think of this. He feeds us among the green pastures
of this Word. We come here, we gather together
four times a week to hear the gospel preached, right? And each
time a believer is... And don't forget, I'm in the
study, study and getting fed all week. Because I'm a sheep
too. And we feast in this Word, don't
we? We feast in the preaching of the free and sovereign grace
of God in Christ as the gospel goes forth. We feast in this
Word. The green pastures of his revealed
truth in his word. And he feeds his flock, where
he himself is the bread of life. Look at John 6, starting in verse
47. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
he that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread
of life. Your fathers did eat manna in
the wilderness and are dead. This is the bread which cometh
down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof and not die."
So they ate the manna and they died still. But this bread that
Christ speaks of Himself is living bread. And this is what we feast
upon, Christ. I am the living bread which came
down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread,
he shall live forever. And the bread that I will give
is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. Turn, if you would, to Isaiah
40. Do you know it was prophesied of him before his coming that
he should feed his flock like a shepherd? Isaiah 40, verse 11. He shall feed his flock like
a shepherd. Oh, He does, doesn't He? Oh, He does. We feast on the
clover of His Word. He shall feed His flock like
a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs with His arms. And He does.
He gathers every one of His sheep in. And carry them in His bosom. Oh, that brings us great comfort.
He carries us all the way home. And shall gently lead those that
are with young. Do you know that revelation 7
17 says that he is the lamb in the midst of the throne? And
he feeds his church. It says this for the lamb which
is in the midst of the throne. She'll feed them She'll feed them and She'll lead
them into living fountains of water and God shall wipe away
all tears from their eyes He feeds us so the bride here is
asking is asking for Tell me, O thou whom my soul
loveth. She's asked in the bridegroom,
where thou feedest? Where thou makest thy flock to
rest at noon? It is the office of the shepherd
not only to provide pasture, but also to protect from danger.
But also to protect from, not only to guard the weak, but to
restore wanderers. To restore wanderers. and to
heal the diseased, to search and to seek out those that are
scattered in the dark, those who are lost. And that was all of His people
by birth, right? Our Lord is the Chief Shepherd.
He came to this earth to redeem His people and to seek and to
save that which was lost. and to bring back again that
which was driven away, to bind up that which was broken, to
strengthen that which was sick. Our text continues, where thou
makest thy flock to rest at noon. Either at the noon of temptation,
when Satan's fiery darts fly thick and fast upon us, or when
Christ is a shadow and a shelter in His person. By His grace,
His blood, His righteousness and sacrifice, which the believer,
even though we go through affliction and adversity, we can find rest
in Him. We can find rest in Christ. Isaiah 25, verse 4 says this,
For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the
needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from
the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is a storm against
the wall. I'll read that again. This is
wonderful. For thou hast been a strength to the poor. Are you
poor? We're bankrupt, aren't we? A strength to the needy in
his distress. Do we have any strength on our
own? No. In our weakness he is strong.
A refuge from the storm. And think of what a refuge he
is. He's a refuge for the believer from the law and justice of God.
He's a He's a city of refuge for us.
A shadow from the heat when the blast of the terrible ones is
a storm against the wall when afflictions and trials and tribulations
come. And Christ leads His flock to
cooling shades and gives them rest in Himself. rest in himself
when troubled by others. Now the reference here, where
thou makest thy flock to rest at noon, the reference here is
to shepherds in hot countries leading their flocks to some
shady place. And it gets hot in the desert.
And they find a shady place and they lead the flock there where
they may be sheltered from the scorching heat. And think of
that in trials and tribulations that we go through. Who's the
one who protects us? Christ and Christ alone. And where does he rest us? Under
the shadow of his love and faithfulness. That's where we find rest, isn't
it? Under the shadow of Christ's love and his faithfulness. And
our text finishes with this. For why should I be as one that
turn to the side by the flocks of my companions? Now, these
are not real companions. John Gill brings out, these are
not real companions of Christ. They're false friends, hypocrites, heretics. They become rivals with him,
who set up schemes of worship and doctrine in opposition to
his. Think of the Roman Catholic Church. Think of the Church of
Christ. Seventh-day Adventists, any of
these folks that add stuff, to the finished work of Christ.
Just think of will worship in general. They're false teachers. And they've had their flocks
all through the ages, and many have followed them to their eternal
doom. And these teachers seek the preeminence. They wear collars
so people will recognize how holy they are. Ever think of that? They want the preeminence. And they're teaching the commandments
of man and our master, the Lord Jesus Christ said this, how obeyed
in vain do they worship me teaching for doctrines, the commandments
of man. The bride will have none of this. Sure, have none of this. She's awakened to their craftiness
into their false teaching. by sitting under the preaching
of God's free grace in Christ. The bride can tell the difference. She can tell the difference.
She knows she's being taught of God. And her heart is set
on the one whom she loves, which is Christ. In Christ alone, tell
me, O thou whom my soul loveth. So let others turn aside if they
must, if they can, to the empty cisterns of religious philosophy
and lifeless religion. But we, beloved of God, have
found the refreshing fountain of life in Christ Jesus, our
Lord. And it's in Christ himself. We
have found rich pastures for our souls. And they're in the blessed doctrines
of the gospel, which set our hearts and our minds upon the
Great Shepherd of our souls. Does not the preaching of the
gospel fix your mind upon Christ? He's the only one who can save
us, right? A church can't save anyone. A denomination can't
save anyone. We can't save anyone else. We
can't save ourselves. but Christ can save all who come
to Him. And His people are made willing
in the day of His power that He might receive all the glory
and all the honor and all the praise. Glory to His name. Heavenly Father, Again, we approach
thy throne of grace, mercy, holiness. And we are thankful for what
we've looked at tonight. And we acknowledge our blackness,
the blackness of our sin, but oh, Lord, as we read that, we
are calmly and I say we're in awe. We're in awe. That we are made righteous. By
the righteousness of Christ. that we are beautiful in your
eyes because of the righteousness of our great Savior, the Lord
Jesus Christ. And Lord, we can never be thankful
enough for what you've done for us. May we leave this place rejoicing
in the great salvation that you have brought out for your people. And may you use this message
to draw in your lost sheep as it pleases thee. In Jesus' name
we pray, amen.