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Henry Mahan

This Is My Beloved

Song of Solomon 4:15-16
Henry Mahan • April, 1 1992 • Audio
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Message: 1054a
Henry Mahan Tape Ministry
6088 Zebulon Highway
Pikeville, KY 41501
What does the Bible say about the Song of Solomon?

The Song of Solomon expresses the intimate love and union between Christ and His church.

The Song of Solomon is often considered a personal love letter that illustrates the profound union and communion between the Lord Jesus Christ and His church. It reflects on both His unchanging love for His people and their deep, intimate love for Him. The song offers insights into the various circumstances, trials, and conditions the church experiences in this precious relationship, emphasizing that the book is intended for believers who can appreciate its depths of love and devotion.

Song of Solomon 4:15-16

How do we know Christ's love for the church is unchanging?

Christ's love for the church is unchanging because He chose her and purchased her with His own blood.

The unchanging nature of Christ's love for His church is rooted in His choice and His sacrificial act of redemption. The Bible states that we did not choose Him, but He chose us (John 15:16), indicating His initiation of this love relationship. Furthermore, Christ demonstrated His commitment through His blood, which He shed to purchase the church (Acts 20:28). This love is not contingent on our performance or faithfulness but is founded on His character and purpose, securing the church's place as His beloved.

John 15:16, Acts 20:28

Why is the fellowship with Christ essential for Christians?

Fellowship with Christ is essential for Christians because true joy and satisfaction are found in Him alone.

For Christians, fellowship with Christ is paramount, as it is through this relationship that we find our true joy and contentment. The analogy of the Song of Solomon portrays the church as longing for the presence of her beloved, revealing that no true believer can be satisfied apart from Him. Christ desires an intimate relationship with His people, and this fellowship is both a source of strength and an avenue for grace. To be away from His presence results in a distinct sense of lost joy, underscoring the importance of remaining close to Him to nurture this love and commitment.

Song of Solomon 5:1-2, Revelation 3:20

What does it mean to be asleep in our relationship with Christ?

Being asleep in our relationship with Christ refers to a state of spiritual dullness or carelessness, despite still being His.

In the context of the Song of Solomon, being 'asleep' symbolizes a spiritual state of indifference or preoccupation that affects our relationship with Christ. It suggests that even though the believer’s heart remains alive to Him, there can be a dullness that prevents full engagement with His presence. This state is not one of death, but rather one of hesitation and self-absorption that distracts from the vibrancy of faith. The call from Christ to 'open the door' signifies His continual desire for communion, urging believers to awaken and rekindle their love and zeal for Him.

Song of Solomon 5:2

Sermon Transcript

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All right, open your Bibles again
to the Song of Solomon. Now, this book is not for everybody. This book is for believers. This book is called the Song
of Songs. It expresses the love and the
union and the communion between the Lord Jesus Christ and his
church. It's like a personal, intimate,
private love letter. This song of songs sets forth
his unchanging love for the church. and the love of his people for
him, that deep, intimate, personal love for one another. And it pictures also the different
circumstances and trials and conditions which the church experiences
in this love relationship. Now the reason I began the reading
with chapter 4, verse 16, is because there should never have
been a chapter division here at all, which you will note. Our Lord is speaking in verse
16, chapter 4, when he says, Awake, O north wind! and come thy south, that is south
wind, blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out."
It's his garden, and he's the only one who can command the
wind. It couldn't be the church speaking
there because the church has no authority to command the wind,
and it's our Lord speaking. But then the church speaks. Then
the bride speaks. and the bride, the church, desiring
that the Lord should come to her with his presence to manifest
his love to her and his grace to her, she sets forth this desire
and sets forth this wish. She says, let my beloved come
into his garden Let him come into his garden and let him eat
his pleasant fruits." She wants his presence. She desires his
love. And she says, let him come into
his garden, that is, into his church among his people. They're
his. It's his garden. It's his by
choice. He said, you didn't choose me,
I chose you. It's his garden by choice, and
it's his garden by the Father's gift, for he said, all that my
Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me
I'll in no wise cast out. And he prayed in John 17 five
or six times for those whom the Father had given him. It's his
garden by choice, by gift, it's his garden by purchase. He bought
it. He bought it with His own blood.
You're not your own, Paul said. You're bought with a price. If
you're His church and His people, He bought you. You belong to
Him by, not only by choice and as a gift, but by purchase. And
then it's His garden by the power of the Holy Spirit, for the Holy
Spirit called us to Christ. We're the called of Christ Jesus.
And so the church says, let my beloved come into his garden. It's his. And then she says,
let him eat his pleasant fruits. Now he should have, this is what
she's saying, let him have everything. It's his. The glory, the praise,
the honor, it's his. It's his garden. He should have
all of us and he should have all of ours. For whatever we
are, He made us. No garden grows by itself. Whatever
we have, He gave us. And whatever we know, He taught
us. He said, I'm the true vine. You're the branches. Abide in
me. Except you abide in me, you cannot
bear fruit. The branch bears the fruit of
the vine. So the pleasant fruits which are born are his fruits,
heart to jump. Let my beloved come into his
garden, it's his garden, and let him eat the pleasant fruits
for they're his fruits. Galatians 5 declares that the
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering. gentleness, kindness, meekness,
temperance. That's the fruit. And let him
come into his garden and enjoy that fruit, those pleasant fruits. Well, chapter 5 then begins with
his answer. The Lord says, let the north
wind, the south wind blow on my garden. The north wind the
trials, the south wind the warms. temperate wind, that it may bring
forth spices." And then the church says, well, Lord, come into your
garden, possess it, eat the pleasant fruits. And so he says in verse
1 of chapter 5, I am come into my garden. I am, if it's his
garden, and he planted it, and he prunes it, he cares for it,
and he eats the pleasant fruits. and those fruits are sacrifices
of praise and thanksgiving to him, then he's always there. I'll never leave you. I'll never
forsake you. There's a sense in which the believer is never
without the presence of the Lord. It's an impossibility. If any
man have not the Spirit of Christ, he's none of this. So he's there. He's always present, even when
his presence is not recognized. nor enjoyed to its fullest extent. He's there. I'm his, no matter
the situation. So even when his presence is
not acknowledged nor fully enjoyed, he's there. And he says, I am
coming to my garden, and he calls this by three names, my sister,
four names, my sister, my spouse. My spouse, my bride, that's what
the word spouse is, wife, my sister, my wife. I have gathered
my myrrh with my spice, I have eaten my honeycomb with honey,
I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, O friends, he calls
us friends, reconcile to God by the death of Christ Jesus.
Think about that. My wife, my friends, and then
my beloved. My friends, eat my friends, drink,
yeah, drink abundantly. Your center reference says be
drunken with love, be overwhelmed, be overcome with the love of
Christ. We're urged to sup with him and
to enjoy his table and the feast that he has prepared. So he says, I'm coming to my
garden. The church says, come in. But watch verse 2. This is most interesting. But she says, I'm asleep. I sleep,
but my heart waketh. Now take that all together. She
replies, I sleep, but my heart waketh. She sleeps. carelessness, a form of indifference. But it's not the sleep of death
as an unbeliever. It's not death here, because
her heart's awake. Have you ever slept that way?
Where you really slept and you were dull and out of it, but
not out of it. You knew what was going on. You
ever had a dream when you knew you were dreaming? You knew this
was, this is not happening. It's not so. This is the condition
she's in, the church, this is the church now, the people of
God. Not necessarily a whole church,
but individuals in a church, or in the pulpit. I'm asleep,
but my heart's awake. And I know, listen, it's the
voice of my beloved that knocked him. He's outside the door. I know he's there. I'm asleep. It's not the sleep of death,
it's not the sleep of the unbeliever, it's not the sleep of judicial
blindness, it's the sleep of someone who's conscious of her
beloved's presence, but not occupied with it. Conscious of his reality and
their relationship, but preoccupied with dullness. I'm asleep, but
I'm awake. I'm asleep, but my heart's awake.
And he stands at the door and knocks, saying, listen, open
to me, my sister. Listen to these loving words
that he uses in reference to her. Open to me, my sister, my
spouse, my love, my dove, my undefiled, my heads filled with
dew, my locks with the drops of the night. I'm out here. You're in there. Have you had trouble with Revelation
chapter 3? Hold this passage right here.
Have you heard preachers always quoting Revelation chapter 3? Behold, I stand at the door knocked. And you've heard them apply it
to the sinner's heart's door? That's the wrong application.
Here's where it's from, right here. I'm asleep in that. My heart's awake. I know who's
out there. I know him. He knows me. We have
a relationship. We have had a love relationship.
But now I'm dull. I'm preoccupied with my sleep
and myself. And my heart's awake. And he's
outside knocking. Something's happened with my
first love. Listen to Revelation 3, look
over there. Verse 14, Under the angel, the
pastor of the church of Laodiceans write, These things saith the
Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation
of God. Who is that? That's Christ. I know your works. You're neither cold nor hot.
And would you were cold or hot. So then because you're lukewarm,
And neither cold nor hot I'll spew you out of my mouth. You
say I'm rich and increased with goods. I have need of nothing,
and you do not know that you're wretched and miserable and poor
and blind and naked. I counsel thee to buy of me gold
tried in the fire, that you may be rich, and white raiment, that
you may be clothed. And the shame of your nakedness
do not appear, and anoint your eyes with eyesave, that you may
see as many as I love. I'm going to rebuke and chasten.
Be zealous therefore and repent, for behold, I stand at the door,
and knock. If any man, O hear my voice,
and open the door, I'll come in, sup with him, and he with
me." Isn't that what he's saying over in the Song of Solomon?
To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne,
even as I also overcame and sat down with my Father in his throne.
You have an ear, let him hear what the Lord says to the church.
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man open, I'll
come in and sup with him." Look back at our text. Chapter 5, Song of Solomon. The
last part of verse 1. My friends drink, yea, drink
abundantly, my beloved, but I sleep. My heart waketh, but it's the
voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me. Behold, I
stand at the door and knock. If any man open, open to me. My sister, my love, my dad, my
undefiled, my head is filled with dew and my locks with the
drops of the night. I'm preoccupied. What were the
disciples when our Lord went into the garden? He said, Tarry
here and watch with me. He went and prayed and came back
and they were asleep. Asleep. Their hearts loved him. And he
said, Your spirit's willing, but your flesh is weak. I know he's there. I know he's
there. So he says, open to me, my sister,
verse 3. But I put off my coat. How shall
I put it back on? I wash my feet as one comes in
from the streets and washes his feet and goes to bed. How shall
I defile them? Now there was a time when she
wouldn't have talked that way. There was a time when she knew
nothing but His presence, that first love. There was a time
when she knew nothing but His love and her duties and their
togetherness. Every word He spoke she heard
and was new and The joy to her heart. Every meeting with him
was looked forward to with anticipation. Let me read you some of this.
Turn back to Psalm of Solomon chapter 2. Now listen to this. There was a time when she wouldn't
lay there asleep when he was trying to get in. 3 of chapter 2. As the apple tree
among the trees of the woods, so is my beloved among the suns.
I sat down under his shadow with great delight. His fruit was
sweet to my taste. He brought me to the banqueting
house, and his banner over me was love. Stay me with plaguens,
comfort me with apples. I am sick of love. That's a wrong
rendition there. What that really says is this.
I am sick with love. for Him. I'm sick from my love
for Him. I long so much to be with Him
that physically made me That's how badly that I want to be with
Him. That's what that's saying. I'm
sick with love. It so possessed me to be with
Him. His left hand is under my head. His right hand doth embrace
me. I charge you, O daughters of
Jerusalem, by the rows, by the hinds of the field, that ye stir
not up, nor wake my love till he please. His wish is my command. Don't even disturb Him. The voice
of my beloved, behold, he comes leaping upon the mountains, skipping
upon the hills. It doesn't sound like somebody
asleep, does it? My beloved is like a rower, young heart. Behold,
he's standing behind our wall. He looketh forth at the windows,
showing himself through the lattice. My beloved spake and said, Rise
up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For though the winter
is past, the rain is over and gone, the flowers are here on
the earth, the time of singing of birds has come, and the voice
of the turtle is heard in our land. Boy, it's a whole lot different
from now, and I'm asleep. He knocks. He says, open to me. But I've taken off my coat, and
I'm in bed. And I wash my feet. There was
a time when every touch was acknowledged, and every blessing was a joy,
and no sacrifice was too much, and no journey was too long,
if he walked with me. Her song was always of his love,
like I've just read to you, of his presence, of his truth, of
his grace, like John Newton, content just with beholding his
face. My awe to his pleasure resigned,
no changes of season or place would make any change in my mind. Content with beholding his face,
while blessed with a sense of his love, a palace, a toy would
appear, and presents would palaces prove if he had dwelled with
me there. Where is it? Where is the joy that once I
knew when first I met the Lord? She's put off her coat and she's
laid down. She's saved. She's all fixed
up. She's married to Christ. She's
free from the curse. Delivered from the law. Delivered
from the penalty of sin. free from trouble and affliction,
at ease in Zion. Let others be involved." She's
asleep. She's earned this time of rest.
She gave him her all, but now she's got to think of herself. I've washed my feet. I've been
to Calvary. I'm washed in the blood of the
Lamb. I've washed my feet and cleanse my soul, so now I'll
just go to bed. I'll rest from spiritual exercises,
from the observance of ordinances and the worship of God and the
duties of preaching the gospel, the involvement in conflict and
warfare. Open to me, my love. Open to
me, I've put off my coat. And if I put it back on and rise
to meet my beloved, I'll be back into the fire and the heat of
first love, and it'll occupy all my time. And I won't have time for myself
in my sleep. And I'll again meet with those
enemies of him, of my beloved. He has enemies, and I'll meet
with him in conflict if I'm with him again. And I'll suffer trials
and troubles and tribulation for his gospel. He said so. If
I rise and put my coat back on and the whole armor of God, I'll
have to endure persecution from others. I'll have to stand for
those great purposes of my God. I'll be called on to help his
children in their troubles and trials. I'll be called on to
care and get involved with those who are preaching the gospel.
I'll disturb my dull frame. I'll be called upon to give of
myself. I'm resting. If I put on my coat, I'll have
to take up this effort again. If I get out of this bed of dullness
and carelessness and taking for granted his love, And I put my
feet back into the path, into the journey of life, onto the
weary road with all the other pilgrims. I'll have to bear the heat and
the fire. But verse 4, she's troubled.
No true believer, no true believer, who's ever known the kisses of
his mouth and the embrace of his arms can ever be content
away from his presence and living as they ought not live and walking
as they ought not walk and being involved as they ought not be
involved. Even with the dullness and the indifference and the
carelessness that the things of this world bring into our
lives. No, sir. Because, listen, he
won't let it. My beloved put his hand, put
in his hand by the hole of the door. The door is her heart. See, it really belongs to him.
Oh, she's asleep. There's nothing, really nothing
and no condition in which even a believer may not find himself
on this old journey. It may come. But nevertheless,
like she said, I'm asleep. I'm where I ought not be, but
my heart's not asleep. That relationship's there. I'm
talking about believers. Like I said, this is not for
everybody. For believers. That hole in the door is that
crevice, that faith and love That love for Christ, that faith
in Christ that's real and genuine, he knows where it is, and that's
where he puts his hand in. It may be shut up, it may be
closed, and no one else may know how to get in, but he knows how
to get in. He knows where to touch you. He knows where to
come in, how and where and when. There's one place there that
he can touch, a place of memory and joy and fellowship. It's like a husband-wife thing.
As they grow old together, they grow like one another. They know
each other. They know the certain word to
say or thing to do or something that's just secret between them.
So he puts his hand in by the hole of the door, touches her
where he knows that she'll respond. And you know what happened? Her
bowels were moved for him. If God had given me that ability
as a preacher to touch, a preacher, oh, you can rant and rave and
use the whip of the law and all these things, it won't do any
good. But if when you preach, if God would give you the Word
that a true believer out there responds to, the Word of Christ, the glory
of Christ, that that believer's secret language that he or she
knows, that's when you reach them. That's when you reach them. That's when he puts his hand
in with a hold of the door. You know, he said his hand was
dripping with myrrh and spice, and he reached through and took
hold of the door on the inside, and she was moved for him. She
was moved by him. Moved by Him. He'll never allow
you to continue if you're His. He won't let it. He won't let
it. So, verse 5, I rose to open to
my Beloved. We're going to settle this thing.
I rose to open to my Beloved, and my hands dropped with myrrh,
and my fingers with sweet-smelling myrrh upon the handles of the
lock. When she touched where He had touched, brought back
all that preciousness, brought it all back. He had left
his mark on her, and when she touched that handle to open the
door, she said, I smell him, I smell him. But you know something? She expected him to be there,
but I opened to my beloved My beloved was gone. I opened to my beloved, but my
beloved had withdrawn himself, and he was gone. And my soul
failed when he spake. I saw him, but I couldn't find
him. I called, but he wouldn't answer. Now listen to me carefully.
She expected him to be there. I don't need to go over all this.
You know who this is who opens and who this is who's been knocked?
Because had he not knocked, had he not said to her, open to me
my sister, had he not reached in by that special, secret, intimate
passage that only the two of them knew and touched her innermost
being and she was moved for him and she rose to open to him,
he was gone. You may find this to be the case. Oh, he'll be found sooner or
later. But he may withdraw his presence
even when you seek him, even when you decide to come back,
even when you decide that you have been careless and you have
been dull and you have been indifferent and you have been wrong. And
you want to come back, you want his presence, you hunger for
it, you cry for it. David said, I wet my pillow with
tears at night. Is he clean gone? Am I cut off
forever? And he may withdraw his presence,
even when you seek him, even when you're sorry, even when
you're repenting. And I'll tell you why. He's going to chasten us for
our indifference. Yes, he will. And then he'll withdraw his presence
to make us more aware of the evil of our way. We've got to become aware of
it. And then he'll withdraw his presence to try the strength
of your love. Will you keep seeking? Have you
learned anything? And he'll withdraw his presence
so that it won't be so easy to get in that shape again. And he'll withdraw his presence
to sharpen our desire for his presence so when he comes, oh,
I missed you. And I'll prize your presence
more than ever, ever before. Don't you imagine that so, John? He knocked. Open to me, my sister,
my darling. He reached in by that crevice
in the door and left his mark on the handle. And I said, this
is not right. I'm not where I'm supposed to
be. I'm supposed to be with him. And I ran to open. I opened the
door and he was gone. So, verse 7 said, She began to
seek Him. I called to Him. I saw Him where
we once met. He was not there. I called to
Him in prayer, but He didn't answer. The heavens were brass.
Well, no wonder. No wonder. He's not going to
share His glory. So verse 7, the watchmen that
went about the city, they found me. And they smoked me, and they
wounded me, and the keepers of the walls took away my veil from
me. What's that mean? Well, the watchmen
are usually true ministers of the gospel. That's why I've made
thee a watchman to the house of Israel. But these aren't true
ministers here, Tom, are they? They don't smite the church.
They don't wound the people of God. They don't take away the
veil. The veil, that was her token
of submission to her dear husband. They wouldn't do that. These
are not God's ministers. These are false preachers. These
are false watchmen. These are false prophets. And in her particular state of
anxiety and loneliness and seeking her Lord and in trouble, they
take advantage of her. And they will of you. And if
you're not careful, they'll offer you false comfort which will
wound you. You've got to get back to Him.
They'll offer you false comfort. They'll encourage you. False
religionists will encourage you in your state. Now, you're all
right. They'll cry, peace, peace, when there is no peace. You're
looking for your beloved, and they say, you don't need to be
upset. You don't need to be troubled.
You don't need to seek Him. We're all right, and you're all
right. I'm okay. You're okay. They wound you. And they smite you, and they
take away. Your veil, I'm His. That's what that veil signifies.
It's a veil of modesty and a veil of submission, and they take
it away. But that wouldn't stop her. That wouldn't stop her. She's
true to Him, and she says in verse 8, I charge you, O daughters
of Jerusalem, I charge you, if you find my beloved, you tell
him, that I'm sick to be with him. I'm sick to be with him. I cannot be happy out of fellowship
with him. I can only be happy in him. Will you tell him that? Will
you tell him I'm looking for him? Don't let these false watchmen
give you any comfort in that miserable state when things aren't
right between you and your beloved. Don't let them do it. And they said, well, verse 9,
what is your beloved more than another? Why is it so important for you
to have him and his fellowship? If we walk in darkness and say
we have fellowship with Him, we lie. What's so important about His
fellowship? What's your beloved more than
any beloved? O thou fairest among women. Fairest? Most beautiful? Yeah. He made
me beautiful. My beauty is His beauty. Fairest
Lord Jesus has made His bride fair. What is your beloved more
than any other that you do charge us so?" Well, she said, I'll
tell you. I'll tell you. My beloved is
white, holy, having the whiteness of the lily and the redness of
the rose. My beloved is white and ruddy.
His whiteness of holiness and the redness of the rose which
He suffered for my sins and shed His blood. He's ruddy. He's white
but ruddy. He's the cheapest among ten thousand. As the God-man mediator, He's
been given a name above every name. That's my beloved. His
head is as the most fine gold. He's King of kings and Lord of
lords. His locks are bushy. And black
as a raven, he's everlastingly young, always young. And his eyes are as the eyes
of doves by the rivers of water. His eyes are not fierce and cruel
and unforgiving. His eyes are so gentle like a
dove, washed in milk, washed with milk, washed with milk,
clear and perceptive. He knows me. He knows me. And fitly set, unchanging, looking
into my very soul. His cheeks are as a bed of spices
and sweet flowers. His cheeks are like leaning against
them and being in fellowship with him is like lying down on
a bed of spices and sweet flowers. looking into a blue sky with
its fleecy clouds and a gentle June breeze blowing by. She's
not there now, that's what she said, that's what fellowship
with him is. And his lips are like lilies,
dropping sweet-smelling words, that's his words, they're always
so kind and gentle, so tender and affectionate. And now in verse 14, it talks
about his hands and his belly and his legs. Now, I read Dr. Gill, and I love Dr. Gill, but some of these old Puritans
hesitate to refer to parts of the body citing modesty and indecency
and things like that. But let me tell you something,
my Lord is the perfect man. I'd like to have seen Adam made
in the image of God, wouldn't you? I'd like to have seen Eve.
Don't you know she was beautiful? And Adam, it took 850 years for
sin to kill him. 850, even after his sin. What a specimen of beauty. But
let me tell you something, he wasn't nothing compared to my
Lord, my beloved. Tell you about my beloved. Tell
you about him. Listen, his hands are as gold
rings set with a pearl. His hands are so generous and
rich and helping and holding and caring and touching with
grace. lifting me up, caring for me,
protecting me. You wives love your husband's
hands, don't you? They touch you, caress you, hold
your hand, just holding your hand going across the street,
you know. That hand, that's what she's talking about. She's talking
about the parts of her Lord, these significant parts here
that mean so much to her. His hands mean They just care
for men, protect men, caress men, care for men. His hands, they're like covered
with rich rings and pearls. Listen, and his belly, his bowels
of compassion and of love and of grace, his belly is as bright
ivory overlaid with sapphires, the beauty of his person. His love for me so possesses
Him that He literally gave Himself for me, laid down His life. And then His legs are as sockets
of marble, strong, unmoving. Set upon sockets of gold, beautiful
for grace and strong in purpose, I shall not be moved, because
all the forces of hell can't move that strong tower of strength,
can they? Strong, beautiful legs set upon
sockets of fine gold. His countenance, the countenance
of your love. When he turns and looks at you,
it's just a different look. There's a mellowness and a gentleness
and an affection and a reaching out. His countenance is as Lebanon,
excellent as the cedars. Now, you see, Lebanon was a mountain
of fruitful, fragrant trees. Even the cedars of Lebanon, you've
heard of their fame. And I'll tell you, his appearance
and his countenance is as the mountains with their fruitful
and fragrant trees, when He appears and when He looks upon me, everything's
beautiful. You know, with that relationship,
burdens kind of go away, don't they? Should. How can you be in such a presence
and then be so involved Caring about the dogs barking at you. And the nothingness and nothings
of this world nipping at your heels and making life difficult
when you've got, look, look at him. Lie down in his arms. Verse 16 says his mouth, his
palate is most sweet The kisses of his mouth are most
sweet. He speaks rich and precious promises. All of his sayings are good.
You see, he's altogether lovely. Altogether means he doesn't lack
anything. He's altogether lovely. Nobody
else's beloved can say that. He's altogether lovely. This is my beloved. He's my friend.
Henry Mahan
About Henry Mahan

Henry T. Mahan was born in Birmingham, Alabama in August 1926. He joined the United States Navy in 1944 and served as a signalman on an L.S.T. in the Pacific during World War II. In 1946, he married his wife Doris, and the Lord blessed them with four children.

At the age of 21, he entered the pastoral ministry and gained broad experience as a pastor, teacher, conference speaker, and evangelist. In 1950, through the preaching of evangelist Rolfe Barnard, God was pleased to establish Henry in sovereign free grace teaching. At that time, he was serving as an assistant pastor at Pollard Baptist Church (off of Blackburn ave.) in Ashland, Kentucky.

In 1955, Thirteenth Street Baptist Church was formed in Ashland, Kentucky, and Henry was called to be its pastor. He faithfully served that congregation for more than 50 years, continuing in the same message throughout his ministry. His preaching was centered on the Lord Jesus Christ and Him crucified, in full accord with the Scriptures. He consistently proclaimed God’s sovereign purpose in salvation and the glory of Christ in redeeming sinners through His blood and righteousness.

Henry T. Mahan also traveled widely, preaching in conferences and churches across the United States and beyond. His ministry was marked by a clear and unwavering emphasis on Christ, not the preacher, but the One preached. Those who heard him recognized that his sermons honored the Savior and exalted the name of the Lord Jesus Christ above all.

Henry T. Mahan served as pastor and teacher of Thirteenth Street Baptist Church in Ashland, Kentucky for over half a century. His life and ministry were devoted to proclaiming the sovereign grace of God and directing sinners to the finished work of Christ. He entered into the presence of the Lord in 2019, leaving behind a lasting testimony to the gospel he faithfully preached.

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