Come back to Song of Solomon,
Chapter 2. Look at this last couple of days.
I preached on this some years ago, and I enjoyed looking at
it. It just caught my attention.
The title of the message is Lovesick. Lovesick. You ever been there? You ever been lovesick? That's
what I That's what stood out to me when I was reading this.
And I tell you what, this is a sickness that I would wish
upon every one of us, that we'd all be lovesick for our Lord. We'd fall in love with Him. You
know, our love to one another is in direct proportion to our
love to Him. It's in direct proportion in
our love to the Lord Jesus Christ, the way we love each other. Let's
look at this. He said, now notice here, he
says, I am the great, the only, I am. God Almighty. The sovereign God, the holy God
of heaven and earth is the Rose of Sharon. He said, I am the
Rose of Sharon and the lily of the valley. Sharon was a very
fruitful place in the scriptures. It's where David fed his cattle
in 1 Chronicles 27. It is mentioned as a place of
excellence in Isaiah 35, and as a place of flocks in Isaiah
65. So here our Lord says that he's
a rose of Sharon. Here he compares himself to a
rose. He's like a rose for his sweet
fragrance of grace. It pours, the scripture says,
from his lips to his beloved. He's likened to a rose in that
he's altogether lovely. Isn't a rose? You see a rose,
it's altogether lovely, isn't it? Altogether. And he also calls
himself here the lily of the valley. A lily is a beautiful
white flower that grows in the valleys. That's where it grows.
It grows in the valleys. Christ is pure and holy. He knew no sin, and whatever
valley we find ourselves in, there He is. He's in that same
valley. He's there with us. And note
what Christ compares His church to in verse 2. As the lily among
thorns, so is my love among the daughters. The scriptures tell
us this. As He is, so are we in this world. Is he a lily? He says, so are
you. So are you. We are as a lily,
pure and holy in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are as pure and holy
as he is. Now we are in him. The church
of union and conformity and oneness to Christ is her beauty. That's her beauty. And notice
something else here. When he compares her to the daughters
of this world, they appear as thorns. They stick out as prickly
thorns, that's what they are. And she is a pure white lily. And these thorns are good for
nothing but to be burned. Everything outside of Christ
shall be burned. But her, the one he's speaking
of here, he said, she's a lily among the thorns. You know, the
scripture says this in Hebrews 11, of whom the world is not
worthy. The world is not worthy of the
presence of his bride. This one says in Hebrews 11,
talking about those who died in the faith, of whom the world
is not worthy. And then he says here in verse 3, as the apple
tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the suns. I sat down under his shadow with
great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. Now the
church compares Christ to an apple tree, and rightly so, for
he's good for food and sweet to the taste." Sweet to the taste
of a sinner. And the apple tree stands out
among all the trees of the wood for its fruit. Have you ever
tasted an apple? You can go out in the woods and
you can find an apple tree out there and pick that fruit. It
tastes so sweet. One writer said this, I like
this. Other trees may look statelier, more majestic. They may look
that way for their height, but you can starve to death under
a big oak tree, but you're not going to starve under an apple
tree. You won't starve to death under
an apple tree, but you can starve to death under a big old stately
looking oak, but not under that little apple tree. There are
none that compare to the Lord Jesus Christ. Among all the sons
of men, it says in Psalm 45, Thou art fairer than the sons
of men, or the children of men. Then she says here, I sat down
under his shadow with great delight. Great delight. I'll tell you
this, I think it's a great delight to be here under the sound of
the gospel. I sat down under his shadow with
great delight. Believers find great delight
in sitting at the feet of Christ. That's where we find our delight
at. with Him, protected by His power, enjoying His love and
grace and communion with Him in the cool of His shade. We
find great delight. The curse of the law, the threatening
of Satan cannot come under this shadow. It can't touch us. Listen. Only those who find their
delight here, delight in Christ, can sit down here. No one else
is going to sit down with him. Only those who find him to be
their all in all. And I can assure you this, this
shadow that we sit down under and find great delight will never,
never flee away. It'll never flee away. You know
why? Because the sun who casts the
shadow never changes. You see the sun going over the
sky. And the shadow will be here, then it will be here, then it
will be here, because the sun keeps moving. But the son of God never
changes. That shadow never moves. And
we can always sit down under his shadow with great delight,
great delight. And his fruit, he says, was sweet
to my taste. Those who have tasted Christ
find him to be gracious. That's what Peter says there
in 1 Peter 2, verse 3. If so be ye have tasted that
the Lord is gracious. I've tasted that. You've tasted
that. The Lord's gracious, isn't He? He's gracious. And He brought me to the banqueting
house. And His banner over me was love. Note the generosity here of the
Lord Jesus Christ. He takes her from the shadow
of the apple tree to the banqueting house, or the house of wine.
So we're speaking of the house of wine. He gives her of the
fruit of the tree, and then he gives her of the fruit of the
vine. Takes her to the banquet in heaven. And no one comes here
except the special ones. No one is brought to this place
except that one is special to him. To him, it says in the scriptures,
to him that hath shall more be given. She has the apple tree,
she has the fruit of it, now she has the wine of it. But also here, he takes his church
from the shadows and tides of the gospel to the banqueting
house and reveals himself. That's what's happening this
morning. The gospel being preached, we heard it in the Bible class,
and now we read it. We're in the banqueting house.
We are in the banqueting house. And note, listen, she says, he
brought me. He brought me. He brought me. It does not say,
he invited me to the banqueting house. He brought me to the banqueting
house. That's what he did. By his spirit,
by his word, by his power, he brought me into his church. That's
how you, listen, the scripture says, of him, of God, are you
in Christ Jesus? That's how you wind up in Christ.
God put you there. God brought you in there. It's
like he brought Noah into the ark. He didn't invite no one
to the ark, He brought Him into the ark. He brought us into His
church where His presence is and where His gospel is preached
and where the ordinances are served and where we eat His flesh
and we drink His blood by faith. He brought us to the banqueting
house, took us out of sin, took us out of the gutter of human
depravity and brought us to the banqueting house. And His banner
over me There's a banner that flies over his church. You know
what that banner says? Love. His banner over me is love. And it never changed. It never
changed. He did not slip us into the banqueting
house. No. Listen. He made an open display of his
church. He put a banner over her that
reads love. I mean God's love. We're not
talking about some kind of human love here. We're talking about
God's love. The love that passes all understanding,
flies over her head. Love. And He let everyone know
who He loves. You're not embarrassed of someone
you love, what darling? You're not embarrassed of someone
that you love. You want everyone to know, this
is the one I love. This is mine. This is my bride. You want everyone to know the
one you love. And this is what Christ uses
to conquer His people. Here's what He uses. Love. Scripture
says it's the goodness of God that leads us to repentance.
It's His love that conquers us. Not threatenings. You know, you
don't want a marriage where the husband is threatening the wife.
You want one with love. You want a marriage where there's
where there is love. I tell you this, where there
is love, it's not hard to serve, is it? It is not hard for a wife
who loves her husband to serve. It's hard for a rebel to do that,
but not one who loves. Not one who loves. And she says
here in verse 5, Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples,
for I am sick of love. I'm lovesick. That's what she
says. Give me, and here's what he's saying, and this is what
we want. Give me more of the fruit that
I've tasted. Give me more of that grace that
I have tasted. The believer wants more of His
grace and His mercy and His love. Give us more of this. Enable
us to grow in grace and the knowledge and love of Christ. I would do
God that it would happen to every one of us. Every one of us. This ought to be our state. This
ought to be our continual state before Him. Love sin. Just yearning
after Him. Should be. Overcome with love. Overpowered by it. Overpowered
by it. Now, listen here in verse
6. His left hand, well let me see here. It seems here, in this
next verse, Well, in this verse I just read, it seems that they
are apart at this point. It seems that they're apart. And she has loved six and longs
for his return. And she says here in verse six,
his left hand is under my head and his right hand doth embrace
me. She thought he had withdrawn. While all the time, listen, all
this time he was embracing her. Just like Hosea and Gomorrah.
She thought her lover gave her that corn and her wine, but it
was all the time it was Hosea. Gomer thought that was all the
time, but it was Hosea. And all the time, he's embracing
her. His left hand is under her head,
gently holding it, while his right hand embraces her close
to his heart. All the time. This is spiritual. What he's talking about here
is things that are spiritual. He never lets us go. He's always,
His left hand is always under our head and He's always, His
right hand is embracing us to His heart. Always. He never lets
her go. Though she may not perceive His
touch at all times, it's there. It's always there. He always
supports His people under the most severe trials. His left
hand is under our head and His right hand does embrace us all
the time. Now she said here in verse 7,
I charge you, I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the
rows and by the hinds of the field, that you stir not up,
nor wake my love till he please. She charges those about her to
not disturb her love. She isn't, listen, she is in
awe of She is in awe of Him. As she
looks upon Him, it's like, I can't believe He's mine. I can't believe
He's mine. It's as if she is saying, don't
wake Him up. Just let Him lie here in my arms
and let me look at Him. Don't wake Him up. Just let me
look at Him. Here's her feelings. Here's her
feelings as she looks at Him as He's asleep. as she just stands
there and looks for him. Her feelings is this, I way outmarried
myself. I way outmarried myself. That's her feelings. And note
also what she says here, till he please. Till he please. Her desire is to please her husband. Not herself, not her children,
but her husband. She says, don't wake him up,
don't wake him up, till he pleads. And it says in verse 8, the voice
of my beloved, behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping
upon the hills. His sheep hear his voice, and
a stranger that says, they will not follow me. She knows the
voice of the bridegroom before she even sees him. She knows
his voice. It's the voice, she said, of
my beloved. Although we cannot see him now,
yet we hear his voice in the preaching of the gospel, and
we know it when we hear it. We know it when we hear his voice. She said, behold, he coming.
The Old Testament says someone's coming. The gospel says he's
come. The epistles say he's coming
again. And he is, my friend, listen,
he is coming. He's on his way. He's on his
way. He's coming. And he's coming
triumphantly. He's coming cheerfully. And he's
coming to get his bride. He's coming to get her. And listen,
leaping upon the mountains. Leaping. No difficulty too strong
for my beloved. Is there anything too strong
for God? With God, he said, all things are possible. Nothing
too strong. There was the curse of the law
that you and I could not handle. The death of the cross. These
mountains stood between him and his beloved. But listen, they
proved to be no obstacle at all, did they? He conquered all of
them. Leaping, leaping upon the mountains. And note the speed and ease in
which he comes to her. Skipping, skipping upon the mountains. Nothing slows him down in coming
to his love. He's coming to her. He's going
to have her. He's going to get her. And he's
skipping upon the mountains. Not dreading. Not dreading what
he's got to go through to get her. Not dreading the cross. But skipping, it says, upon the
mountains. Surely he comes quickly. And he that shall come will come.
And will not tarry. He will not tarry. He is never
behind his appointed time. Our Lord is never behind the
time of his appointments. Ever. Now listen, verse 9. My beloved is like a roe or a
young harp. Behold, he standeth behind our
wall. He looketh forth at the window,
showing himself through the lattice. She compares Christ now to a
roe or a young harp. Not some broodish animal. that is mean and cruel, but one
that's swift and gentle. That's what she compares him
to. And she says, behold, he standeth behind our wall. In
the Old Testament, there was a wall of partition. There was
a veil. There was a veil that kept a lot of people out. Christ
stood behind that wall of shadows and tithes. And those believers
saw him. They saw him as through the ladder.
He said this, Abraham rejoiced to see my day. He saw it and
was glad. And Christ looks through each
window of time and he shows himself to his church through all generations. And although we still only know
in part and preach in part, yet someday we're going to know even
as we are known. We're not going to look through
the lattice no more. There's not going to be a wall
no more. We're going to see him face to
face. Go look him in the face. And she says in verse 10 there,
my beloved spake and said unto me, here's what he said to me,
rise up my love, my fair one, and come away. Come away. She hears his tender voice saying,
rise up my love, my fair one. What love, what love and compassion
our Lord has to his church. throughout all ages. The world
hates her, but He loves her. And you know what? That's the
love, that's the only love that really matters. It's His love
for me. Because I tell you this, if He
loves me, He's going to have me. He's going to have me. And
He says to her, come away. Come away. Every day. Every day. We are to come away
from that which would keep us from Christ. Every day we are
to come away in meditation, prayer, and the study of these words.
Every day he says, come away. Come away. It says in Colossians
2, set your affection, or 3, set your affection on things
above, where Christ sits at God's right hand. Not on the things
of this earth. Set your affection there. Set it there. Now he says,
come away, for lo, the winter It's past. The reign is over
and it's gone. The harsh, cold deadness of false
religion and self-righteousness is past. It's past. And the time for serving ourself
is past. He says, come away. And this
could be said. It could also be said that the
time of heartache in a particular trial is past. It's time to rejoice. It's time to lift up the voice.
God would not always have his children cry. He'll not always
have them cry. But to rejoice, he says here,
the rain is gone. The rain is gone. And listen,
and the flowers appear on the earth. The time of the singing
of birds has come. And the voice of the turtle is
heard in our land. Where it looked like nothing
would bloom again, it does. It does. The flowers appear right
where God planted them, on the earth. And nothing will make
you appreciate the beauty of spring, this coming spring. Nothing
will make you appreciate it like a hard winter. Like a cold, hard
winter. I look forward to spring, don't
you? I look forward to the flowers coming again. I look forward
to it. But nothing will make you appreciate that like a hard
winter. And he says here, the time of the singing of birds
has come. There is a time to weep. There
is a time to laugh. There is a time to sing and a
time to dance. And no matter how hard the winter
is, no matter how hard the trial is, we will hear the voice of
singing. He says again, the birds will
sing again. Oh, he said, the time of the
singing of the birds has come. And the voice of the turtle,
that is the turtle dove, is heard in our land. The turtle dove
was a seasonal bird. And listen, and she knew her
time. She knew her time and her place.
She knew her time to sing. And we should know our time to
sing. And it's now. Now is our time
to sing. And he said, the fig tree putteth
forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give
a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one,
and come away. Now he speaks of the nearness
of summer, and the smell of fruit is in the air. The spring gives
off a good smell, and then you have the summertime, and you
have the smell of fruit in the air. Listen, it's good to look
for flowers in the springtime. They're pretty, aren't they?
They're pretty. And it's good to hear the birds
sing. But what we need is fruit. What we need is fruit. Here's
what I'm saying. Here's what we need. Love, joy,
peace, long-suffering, kindness, meekness. This is what's needed. This is what's needed. They give
a good smell. They give a good smell. You know,
people, they get up and take a shower and get dressed and
they put on perfume. But if they come in with a bad
attitude, you can't cover that up. They don't make a perfume
that covers that up. They just don't do it. joy, peace, kindness, meekness,
it gives off a good smell, a good smell. Arise, he said, my love,
my fair one, and come away. Take advantage of the season.
Take advantage of this right now. Take advantage of it. Spend
much time with Christ. Come apart from the world, that's
what it says. Oh my dove, that art in the clefts
of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy
countenance, let me hear thy voice, for sweet," he said, listen,
sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is coming. He now calls her his
dove. What endearing names our Lord
gives to his church. What endearing name. He calls
her his dove for her gracious spirit and loveliness that he's
put upon her. That's why he calls her that.
And she is said here to be in the clefts of the rock and in
the secret places of the stairs. Now we know this. We know that
she is in the rock Christ Jesus. We know that. For God put her
there before the world began. And into the secret places of
the stairs, this place is only known by her and him. It's a
special place. And he comes to her, and he calls
her to himself, and he says, let me see thy countenance. Let
me hear thy voice. He tells his church here, listen,
here's what he tells them to pray, to pray, to call upon him. The scripture says this, come
boldly to the throne of grace. and cast all your care for him
for he cares for you. We have a great high priest that
can be touched with the feelings of our heart. And when we call
upon his name, when a child of God, when his church calls upon
his name, listen, to him it is a sweet voice. It is a sweet,
I tell you what, someone you love and they call you That's
a sweet voice, isn't it? And he said, let me hear thy
voice. Pretty sweet. Well, that's what he hears when
his children call upon him. He hears a sweet voice. And he
says, take us to foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines, for
our vines have tender grapes, mortify the deeds of the flesh,
those that are still in us, those sins that would destroy the tender
fruit of the vines, even, now listen, even the so-called Little
sins. There is no little sins. We call
them little sins. If they are left unchecked, those
little foxes, if they are left unchecked, they do great damage.
They do great damage. Verse 16 says, My beloved is
mine and I his. He feedeth among the lilies.
He is her comfort at all times. He is our comfort in times of
trouble. He is mine and I am His, and
she knows where He is. You know where He is? If you
want to find Him, I can tell you where He is. Among the lilies. Among His people. He's always
among His people. If you want to find Christ, you
want to hear from Him, go where His people are. Be among His
people. And then last of all, until the day breaks, and the
shadows flee away. Turn, my beloved, and be thou
like a rose or a young heart upon the mountains of Bethlehem."
Mountains of division. She knows that the shadows and
the types and ceremonies are all going to flee away. They're
all going to go. And the real one is going to
come. And she knows that he's coming and all will be well when
he comes. And her desire is that he would
come quickly. Quickly, like a row over a yellow
heart, skipping on the tops of the mountains. And one day, one
day, He will come. And He will take her. And she won't be back. She will
not be back. And when Vicki and I first started
dating, we dated a year before we were married. I would go up
on Saturday evenings, because I worked evening shifts, she
worked day shifts. I'd go up on Saturday evening, we'd have a dinner and
a movie every weekend, and Sunday, and then we'd not see each other
again until the next weekend, and I would take her out, and
I'd bring her back home, and I'd go home, and then do the
same thing. That went on for a year. Then
one day, one day, I came up and got her, and I didn't take her
back. I didn't take her back home. I took her to our home.
And that's what he's saying. That's what he's saying. I'm
going to come one day. I'm going to come. And we're going to take
you away. And you're not coming back. We're
going to our home. His and ours. Okay, Mike.