Okay, Lord willing now, Song
of Solomon, chapter 3. Chapter 3, I'm taking the title
for the message from the words found in verse 4. Song of Solomon,
chapter 3, verse 4. It was but a little that I passed
from them, that is the watchmen, the preachers of the gospel,
but I found him, I found the Lord Jesus Christ, who my soul
loveth, and I held him. I held him, this is not talking
about a physical holding the Lord, this is laying hold of
him by faith. That's how we lay hold of him
by that precious gift of faith and would not let him go until
I brought him into my mother's house, the house of the Lord,
the house of worship, into the chamber of her that conceived
me, begotten of God, born from above. So the title, I'm taking
the title for the message from what is said in verse 4. I found
him whom my soul loveth. Isn't that precious? My beloved
is mine and I am his. We only love him because he first
loved us. Being in love with the Lord Jesus
Christ is the sovereign gift of God. Jacob have I loved. Esau have I hated. Behold what
manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us that we should
be called sons of God, sons of God. Love is the gift of God
to us. He's loved us with an everlasting
love. Being in love with the Lord Jesus
Christ is a gift of His grace. It's the fruit of His Spirit.
You remember when Paul writes about the fruit of the Spirit
in Galatians 5, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
long-suffering, gentleness, meekness, temperance, these things. The
Apostle Paul in Romans 5 said, hope maketh not ashamed. We have
a good hope in Christ because the love of God is shed abroad
in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, come Holy Spirit,
heavenly dove with all thy quickening power, shed abroad in our hearts
the Savior's love. That's what God the Holy Spirit
does. He comforts us with Christ. Our Lord said, when the comforter
has come, the Holy Spirit has come, he'll take the things of
mine and show them to you. Now, we know this, no man naturally
loves the Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing can separate us from
the love of the Lord Jesus Christ, but no man naturally is in love
with Almighty God. Matter of fact, it's just the
opposite. The carnal mind is enmity against God. The carnal
natural man receiveth not the things of God. Men love, what'd
John say? Darkness, not the light. So men don't naturally love the
Lord Jesus Christ. If you're a lover of the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ and a lover of God, it's because
God granted that to you. and manifested that to you by
the power of God, the Holy Spirit. Now, in the last study from chapter
two, the believer in the church, this is the bridegroom and the
bride, the church of Christ was at ease, resting and rejoicing
in a very comfortable state of mind. In verse 16 of chapter
two, he said, my beloved is mine. Oh, he's all mine. And I'm his. And he feeds among his people.
He's a good shepherd who leads us and feeds us, feeds us. But
now we have a change of circumstances, somewhat. We see the church sensing
the Lord's manifest presence with absence, as she diligently,
that is the bride, seeks the Lord, waiting until the daybreak
and the shadows flee away, that the beloved would turn quickly
unto me. As it says there in verse 17
of chapter 2, until the daybreak and the shadows flee away, turn
my beloved and be thou like that young deer and come quickly and
bless me and comfort me and exalt yourself within me. David said
in Psalm 130, my soul waited for the Lord. More than they
that watch for the morning. I say more than they that watch
for the morning. Boy, he's worth waiting on, isn't
it? Wait upon the Lord, and again I say, wait upon the Lord. One
old writer said, when the Lord at times is pleased to hide his
face, it is to make us to know the value of his presence and
to excite us to seek his face. I thought that was good, and
earnestly prize his presence and desire to see him more. We
sing that song often. I can't remember the title of
it, but one line of it says, in thy book revealed, I see the
Lord. I see the Lord. Now, all men
ought to seek the Lord. All men ought to seek the Lord,
believers and unbelievers. We should seek him where he's
found. Where's he found? Not in Jerusalem. Don't go to
Jerusalem. Don't sign up for one of them
cruises to go to Jerusalem and to see if you can find the Lord.
Many, many people are doing that. That's not the holy land. That's
the ungodly land. Seek him in his word. You have his word. He reveals
himself in his word. Seek him in the gospel of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Seek him in the preaching of
the word. Seek him where Christ is worshiped and where Christ
is exalted and worshiped in spirit and in truth. He has promised
that he will be found of those that seek him and diligently
seek him. I think we read this Sunday or
the Sunday before in Jeremiah 29. You shall seek me and find
me when you search for me with all your heart. I'll be found
of you. Boy, I'm going to seek the Lord.
He says, if you seek me, you'll find me. I want to seek Him. Our Lord said on repeatedly,
He said, come unto me all you laboring, heavy laden. I'll give
you rest. I'm the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never
hunger, shall never thirst. Come boldly to the throne of
grace that we may obtain mercy, find grace to help in time of
need. Now we see here good instruction on seeking the Lord. And it's
evident from the text that those who seek the Lord do so because
they're in love with Him. They desire his presence. I sought
him whom my soul loveth. Look at verse 1 of chapter 3. By night, in the night seasons
and all the day long, upon my bed at night, we can seek the
Lord in the privacy of our own bedroom. Upon our own bed, we
can seek the Lord in our heart. By night on my bed, I sought
him by prayer, by calling upon the Lord. I sought him whom my soul loveth. I sought him, but I didn't find
him. I didn't find him. His presence
seemed to be gone. Now, believers seek the Lord
in private because we do love Him. We love Him because He first
loved us. Those who know the Lord Jesus
Christ do love Him. They do seek Him personally in
the quietness of the night or in the quietness of their soul.
They meditate and ponder upon who He is all the time. When we go to bed,
when we wake up, We meditate upon his person, who he is, God
Almighty, God our Savior. We meditate and think and ponder
upon his work, how he's accomplished all of our salvation for us,
how he's obtained eternal redemption for us, how his mercy is everlasting
mercy, how his grace justifies us by his grace. We love to think
upon him and ponder upon all that he is and all that he's
done for us. And yet sometimes, Even in our honest efforts to
seek his presence and seek his face, his grace, we sent that
we have not been blessed to find him and see him by faith. Look what it says in the next
line. I found him not. Now we do seek the Lord, earnestly
seeking the Lord. But sometimes we can say with
David, you remember in the Psalms, David said, is his mercy clean
gone? Is God forgotten to be gracious?
Is he gone? Has he forsaken me? No. His manifest
presence, the Lord may withhold that for a season, but it's only
for our good. It's only for our good. Now look
at verse two. I'll rise now in the night upon
my bed. I sought him, but I didn't find
him. Now the morning's come. I rise now and go about the city,
in the streets, and in the broad way, and I seek him, diligently
seek him, whom my soul loveth. I sought him publicly, openly,
but I found him not. Again, disappointment, disappointment. Believers also seek the Lord
in a public way. We're seeking the Lord this evening,
aren't we, in a public way. when we gather publicly in his
name, his love, and we do so because we love him. The love
of Christ constrains us. Saving faith, the faith of God's
love, faith of God's elect rather, true love to the Lord Jesus Christ
is not deterred, but rather resolved to keep seeking the Lord until
he is found. We just keep seeking the Lord
and seeking the Lord. Lord, bless me like Jacob. Lord,
I will not let you go. I will not let you go till you
bless me. I remember reading a psalm almost 30 years ago now when
I first came here. I never forgot it. Sitting in
my study one day looking at Psalm 27, and I read this statement. When thou saidst, seek ye my
face, my heart said unto me, thy face, Lord, will I seek.
When he says, seek the Lord, our response is, Lord, thy face,
his person, we're seeking him, him, not the things he has, we're
seeking him, him. When in private prayer and private
worship, we seek the Lord, and if we're not satisfied, With
his manifest presence to us, we continue to seek him among
the assembly of faithful believers. That's why we symbol together.
He said, forsake not the assembling of yourselves together as the
manner of some is, but much more as you see the day approaching.
Seek the Lord where others are seeking the Lord. That's what
we're to do. We endeavor in private worship. to seek the Lord, but also in
public worship where the saints of God meet together. And we're
all seeking the Lord. That's part of worshiping the
Lord, is seeking Him, His face, His person. Our Lord has promised
this. He said we're two or three. One,
two, three. One, two, three. He said, there I'll be in the
midst. We're gathered in his name, the
Lord is right here with us. I don't feel his presence. He
didn't ask you to feel his presence, he said, believe my word. He
said, I'm with you, we're two or three together. He said, lo,
I'm with you always, even to the end of the earth, Matthew
28. But even then, sometimes believers
say, I sought the Lord And I didn't find it. I went to the worship
service, and it was just, to me, it was just going through
the motions. It's sad to say, and I confess
sometimes I just preach to be preaching. It just doesn't really,
and I hate it when that happens. But it's just a reality. We have
this treasure in earthen vessels. that the excellency may be of
God and not of us. Again, the believer was not successful
or satisfied even in this public way, going out in the street
seeking him publicly. Sometimes the Lord will try our
faith to make us to know and reveal unto us whether our faith
is real or whether it's phony. True faith will be tried. Now trials don't produce faith,
but trials do reveal faith. Peter calls them, don't turn,
let me read it to you, you're familiar with this. Peter calls
them precious trials. He says, wherein, 1 Peter 1,
6, you greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be,
you aren't having as to manifold temptation, that the trial of
your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth,
though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and
honor, and glory at the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ, whom
having not seen you love and whom though now you seem not
yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable, full of glory,
receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your soul.
The Lord sends us these trials on purpose, on purpose for our
good. True faith will continue to seek
the Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ, It's not the means of grace we
seek, it's the Lord of grace we seek. We must have Him. Notice several times he said,
I sought Him, I sought Him, I sought Him, I was looking to Him. Salvation
is in Him, H-I-M, Christ. Look at one page over, turn one
page over. Chapter five, look at verse 16.
His mouth is most sweet. Yea, he's altogether lovely. This is my beloved. This is my
friend. Oh, daughters of Jerusalem. And then if you look at chapter
six, this experience is going on again. Where is my beloved
gone? He's gone again. I don't sense his presence. Isn't
that our life? To you who believe he is altogether
lovely, to you who believe he is precious, nothing but the
Lord Jesus Christ himself can satisfy the seeking soul and
meet our need. That's why the Apostle Paul said,
I count everything else lost, dung, and ruined that I may win
Christ and be found in him. He's able to meet all our needs
according to his riches in glory through our blessed Seizure. Now look at verse 3, the watchman,
the watchman that goes about the city found me. To whom I
said, have you seen him? Saw you him? I'm in love with
him. Do you know where I can find
him? Earnest desire of a cry of a believer's heart. The believer
will leave no stone unturned in seeking the love of their
life, even seeking out a true servant of the Lord, the gospel
preacher or the watchman to seek the Lord through the preaching
of the gospel. God has ordained that to be a blessing to the
calling out of his elect. The watchman, the preachers of
the gospel, they're always interested in true seekers of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And they're eager to tell seekers,
true seekers of the Lord who he is, what he has done, what
he's accomplished, and where he can be found. I'm always encouraged
when someone wants to know the gospel. Can you tell me the gospel,
who he is, what he did, and where he is now? He's sitting on the
throne of glory, making intercession for us. Who is he? God manifest
in the flesh. What did he accomplish? All our
salvation, established for us eternal righteousness, Those
sent to preach the gospel of God's free grace in Christ are
servants to his people. Servant to his people. Someone
sent me a note the other day, said, appreciate all your labor
and time and effort in preaching. I said, it's a great honor. It's
a great privilege. We preach not ourselves, but
Christ Jesus the Lord and ourselves, your servant. Servants. You know, that's a high title.
The Lord Jesus Christ is called the servant of the Lord. We have
the charge upon us to preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Public worship and gospel preaching
are not optional in our spiritual life. They are most necessary
to it. God has given his church pastors
and teachers for the purpose of watching over, instructing,
and teaching his people in the way of salvation. These are ministers
by whom we have believed. Now, let me read this to you.
I know you're familiar with this, so you don't need to turn, but
Paul said, who then is Paul? First Corinthians chapter three,
verse five. Who then is Paul? Who is Apollos? But ministers
by whom you believe, even as the Lord gave to every man, I
planted Apollos water, God gave the increase. So then, Neither
is he that planteth anything, neither is he that watereth anything,
but God gives the increase. We are laborers together with
God. You are God's husbandry. You are God's building. He built
the church with his own blood. Isn't that a precious thing? The Lord gives his church ministers
of gospel. Now look at verse four. It was
but a little. This is a little while, maybe
a few moments, maybe a few hours, maybe a day or two. It was but
just a little that I passed from them, that is from the watchman.
Oh, I found him. I found him and would not let
him go until I brought him into my mother's house, into the chamber
of her that conceived me. The Lord in His due time will
bless the Word to those who seek Him. It was just a little while,
and I found Him. I know He first found us, but
this is talking about the experience in the believer's life. We find
Him all the time. We find the Lord to be gracious.
We find the Lord to be merciful. We find the Lord has reconciled
us unto God. Like the Ethiopian, Remember,
he went all the way to Jerusalem seeking the Lord and he went
away ignorant and uninformed as he was traveling through the
desert and reading Isaiah 53. Of all things to read. What was
he doing? He was seeking the Lord, wasn't
he? He was diligently seeking the Lord. And the Lord sent him
a gospel preacher, Philip. And Philip said, do you understand
what you're reading? He said, how can I? He said, some man
show me. And beginning at the same scripture, he was wounded
for our transgression, bruised for our iniquity, he preached
unto him the Lord Jesus Christ. There's a word, preach. Philip
opened his mouth at the same scripture and preached Christ
unto him. If we are stirred to seek him,
It's only because He has created an interest in our hearts to
see our need of Him and to desire to love Him, to trust Him, to
believe Him, to worship Him. He will in due time bless those
that truly seek the Lord. Now, I'll have you turn to this
one. Can we find Psalm 34? I know you. Psalm 34 is a familiar psalm. I've preached
from it here many times. Psalm 34, I will bless the Lord,
verse 1, at all times. His praise shall continually
be in my mouth. My soul shall make a boast in
the Lord. The humble shall hear the Reverend be glad. Oh, magnify
the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together. I sought
the Lord, and he heard me. and delivered me from all my
fears. I sought the Lord and he heard
our cry. He hears the cry of his people. Those that are blessed to find
him will not let him go, but rather by lively actings of faith
will lay hold of him, lay hold of his blood, by faith for cleansing,
lay hold of his righteousness for justification before God,
and will not let him go." Continually, it's not that we just sought
the Lord one time. We're continually seeking the
Lord. Our walk is a walk of faith,
continually seeking the Lord. We're continually looking unto
the Lord Jesus Christ, who's the author and finisher of our
faith. We're continually, as Peter said, to whom coming, as
into a living stone. This Laudadeed Amendment, precious
unto God. We continue to seek the Lord
Jesus Christ. And then it says there, I would
not let him go until I brought him to my mother's house. I think
this is a picture of the believer in the worship of the Lord in
the house of the Lord, my mother's house, and into the chamber of
her that conceive me. We're conceived with the Word
of Truth, of His own will, beget he us with the Word of Truth,
being born again, not of a corruptible seed, but of an incorruptible
seed. That's how we're conceived. Conceived
of God, born of God, in the house of God, with the Word of God.
I'm not saying that God is limited to work in a certain place, but
usually Souls are converted under the preaching of the gospel of
the Lord Jesus Christ. That's how it usually happens.
That's the way God ordains it. You remember the wild gathering
that the Lord healed and went home and declared how great things
the Lord had done for him when the Lord healed him and put him
in his right mind, that wild, crazy man that was naked and
chained and just a menace to the neighborhood and everybody
else, until he met the Lord. And the Lord healed him, put
him in his right mind. And that Gadarene said, I'm going
to follow you wherever you go. I'm seeking the Lord. And the
Lord said to him, go home to thy friends and tell them how
great things the Lord had done for thee and have compassion
on thee. Go home to your mother's house
and tell them how great things the Lord's done for you. Or like
Matthew the Publican. We're gonna see that in Matthew
chapter nine. Matthew the Publican, when the Lord called him, Matthew
follow me, Matthew was sitting over there on the receipt of
customs. He was a Jew who was taking taxes,
collecting taxes for the Romans. They weren't very popular people.
Notorious crooks is what they were. And the Lord stepped right
in front of the table of Matthew the publican and said, Matthew,
follow me. You know what he did? Followed the Lord. And then he
made a great feast in his own house, invited all of his sinner
friends, invited them to come and seek the Lord with him at
his house. Well, you know what happened? The Pharisees got all
uptight and all upset. Why does your master eat with
publicans and sinners? And the Lord heard them, and
he said, I didn't come to call the righteous. I came to call
sinners to repentance. Go learn what that means. I will
have mercy and not sacrifice. Come to call righteous, folks,
but sinners. Lord Jesus Christ died for the
ungodly. This is a faithful saying, worthy
of all acceptation. The Lord Jesus Christ came to
save sinners. In closing, look at verse 5.
I charge you, O you daughters of Jerusalem, I believe that's
talking about the elect of God, daughters of the heavenly Jerusalem,
sons of God, the elect of God by the road, by the hind of the
field, that you stir not up, you know, wake my love. Tell
you, please, don't disturb this union we have with the Lord Jesus
Christ. Let us jealously guard the fellowship
and worship service unto the Lord. Let us not participate
in anything that would disrupt the preaching of the gospel or
the worshiping of the Lord, seeking to worship Him in spirit and
in truth. Let's guard it carefully. Our Lord said in John 4, the
hour cometh, and now is, when true worshipers shall worship
the Father in spirit and in truth. For the Father seeketh such to
worship Him. He's seeking us, and because
He's seeking us, we seek Him. They that worship Him must worship
Him in spirit and in truth. It was but a little that I passed
from them, and I found Him whom my soul loveth and held Him. I would not let Him go.