Song of Solomon 2

Song of Solomon 2:1-7

“I am sick of love Son 2:1-7"I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys. As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters. As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.) He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love. Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love. His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me. I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please." Have you ever experienced love-sickness? Love-sickness is that sickness you get when someone dear and precious to you, someone you love is absent. It is that sick feeling you get when the one you love is absent from you and worse, there is a wedge between you. That is what is set before us in these verses. Only, the love-sickness before us here is altogether spiritual. It is a love-sickness between the believer’s soul and Christ, our Well-Beloved, a sickness caused by our sin. In this chapter we have another picture of that intimate love which exist between Christ and his church and the blessedness of our fellowship of love with our Redeemer. That which we most highly value and most greatly desire as the church of Christ is the constant fellowship of his manifest love.

When I can say, “My God is mine;” When I can feel Thy glories shine; I tread the world beneath my feet, And all the world calls good or great. Assured security We know and rejoice in the fact that Christ is the omnipresent God (Psalms 139:7-12). We know that Christ is always present with his people (Isaiah 43:1-2; Matthew 28:20; Revelation 1:13; Revelation 1:16; Revelation 1:20). We know that Christ always meets with his people, as often as we gather in his name (Matthew 18:20; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17). We know that Christ is always with each of his people (1 Corinthians 6:19). We know that Christ always loves his people (John 13:1). We know that Christ always does what is best for his people (Ephesians 1:22). And we know that Christ will ultimately bring all of his people to be with him in heaven. He will present us faultless, blameless, unreprovable, and perfect in heavenly glory (Ephesians 5:25-27). Without question, our souls are secure in Christ. All that concerns the eternal welfare of God’s elect is safe. The Lord Jesus Christ will keep his church, which he purchased with his own blood, in perfect safety. Truly, at all times, it is well with my soul.

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows, like sea billows roll, Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul.

All of these things are true. They are a source of comfort and joy to believing hearts at all times. Still, there are times when our Lord withdraws his manifest presence from us. There are times when we are unable to sense and perceive the reality of his presence with us (Son 5:6). This is the thing we greatly fear. We have no fear of Christ ever leaving us entirely. That he will not do. But we do fear losing the manifest presence of our beloved Lord. We do fear losing the blessedness of his fellowship. Sometimes he withdraws himself from us, because of our sin, our unbelief, or our neglect, as we shall see when we get to chapter five. Sometimes he withdraws himself in order to increase in us the awareness that we do truly need him. Whenever he is pleased to withdraw his manifest presence from us, it is for our own good. He intends to awaken us. He intends to draw out our hearts love for him. He intends to return unto us. He promises, “If I go away, I will come again…I will not leave you comfortless.” Yet, for us it is a sad, sad time when Christ withdraws the sweet manifestation of himself. When he does, our worship is empty, our usefulness is diminished, and our joy is gone. We are compelled to sing with Newton, in low, bass tones…

“How tedious and tasteless the hours, When Jesus no longer I see; Sweet prospects, sweet birds, and sweet flowers Have all lost their sweetness to me. The mid-summer sun shines but dim; The fields strive in vain to look gay.”

Then, our very hearts cry, “I am sick of love.” There is a heavenly love-sickness in our souls for Christ. We want him. There are five things in this passage which will help to show you what I mean when I say - This is one sickness which I hope you will catch. “I am sick of love.” A Loving Comparison It is common with lovers to use poetic comparisons to describe one another. And in the first three verses of this chapter both Christ and his bride use poetic comparisons to describe their love and esteem for one another. Christ, our Beloved Redeemer, speaks first (Son 2:1-2). “I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys. As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.” He describes himself. Then, he describes those people whom he has loved, chosen, redeemed, and called unto himself. Our beloved Savior is to all of his people “The Rose of Sharon and The Lily of the valleys.” “The Rose of Sharon”—This speaks of his redeeming blood. Though in the eyes of the world it is obnoxious, to us it is precious. The Rose of Sharon gives off the sweet smelling nectar of redeeming love, pardoning grace, and complete atonement.“The Lily of the Valleys”—Through the righteousness of Christ, we have been made pure and white as a lily. The word translated “lily” is from a root word that means “whiteness”. The lily is in the shape of an umbrella, and Christ’s righteousness, like an umbrella, covers us. In our many valleys, Christ is our Lily, both to cover and to cheer us. Then the Lord Jesus tells us that we who are united to him by faith and love are “as the lily among thorns.” By the mighty operation of free grace, the righteousness of Christ has been imputed to us in justification and imparted to us in sanctification, so that we bear a likeness to our Lord, even here upon this earth. The church of God in this world is “A lily among thorns.” The cares of this world, unbelieving rebels, and our own vile lusts are thorns, things that contribute nothing but pain. Yet, among these thorns, God’s people stand by his grace in Christ as lilies. In verse three the Bride speaks of her Beloved. Here is a tender comparison of Christ, our beloved Savior, to a fruitful apple tree. He is the Tree of Life in the Paradise of God. “As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.” Christ is a fruitful Tree. He declares, “From me is thy fruit found” (Hosea 14:8). He is a shade Tree.” H“I sat down under his shadow with great delight!is fruit is sweet, oh, how sweet and refreshing to us! The fruit of this tree is eternal life, free forgiveness, complete justification, all the fullness of grace here, and all the fullness of glory hereafter! A loving remembrance “He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love” (Son 2:4). Here the Bride lovingly remembers and gratefully acknowledges that she has all the blessings of the King’s house only because of the King’s grace. She remembers the first time she came to know his love to her. Can you not recall those first revelations of the Savior’s love to your heart? “He brought me into the banqueting house.” “His house of wines,” or “His place of feasting.” Christ’s banqueting house is the church of the living God. The table of feasting is spread with the truths of the gospel:—Covenant Mercy—Unconditional Election—Substitutionary Redemption—Irresistible Grace—Final Perseverance—Everlasting Glory. He took us by the hand and led us into his house. The wine of that house is the fellowship and communion of Christ himself. “His banner over me was love.”—Eternal love!—Special, distinguishing, electing love!—Redeeming love!—Persevering love!—Irresistible love!A loving sickness Remembering that which we have experienced and known of our Savior and his grace, realizing that which is lost when our Lord withdraws himself, knowing something of the bliss and joy of his presence, when he hides his face our souls faint with a heavenly love-sickness. “Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love” (Son 2:5). “I am sick of love!” More than anything in this world, we want him. We long for his presence. We want to know him. Our hearts cry, “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death!” We want to know Christ in the fullness of his love. We want to know him in the fellowship of his suffering. We want to know him in the power of his resurrection. (Ephesians 3:19; Philippians 3:10). We long for his return. We long to be with him, and to know his manifest presence with us. So long as we remain in the body of flesh, so long as we must live here, among all the thorns of this sin-cursed earth, let us ever have the refreshing comfort of his grace. “Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples.” The flagons of wine represent the love of Christ. The apples represent the promises of the gospel. The promises of the gospel are as apples of gold in pictures of silver (Proverbs 25:11).A Loving Comforter “His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me” (Son 2:6). Our beloved Lord knows how to comfort our troubled and distressed hearts. John Gill wrote, “The church, having desired to be stayed, supported, strengthened, and comforted, presently found her beloved with her, who with both hands sustained her.” These words are expressive of many things. Surely, they speak of his tender love and care for us. They reflect the believer’s intimate union and communion with Christ. And they display our safety and security in the arms of Christ. Is this now true? Has our beloved Lord and Redeemer come to us once again? Does he again hold and embrace us? If truly we are made to enjoy the fellowship of Christ, let us heed the admonition of verse seven. A loving admonition “I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.” Having experienced the sweetness of Christ’s communion and the manifestation of his love, we greatly desire that they continue so long as we are upon the earth (Matthew 17:4). Yes, our Lord will come to us and withdraw himself from us according to his own wisdom and pleasure. We recognize those words, “Till he please.” We bow to his will, even here. Yet, we must be careful that we do nothing to provoke him to leave us (Ephesians 4:30). We must not neglect him and his love. We must take care not to grieve him (Ephesians 4:23-32).

Song of Solomon 2:8-15

“Winter is past” Son 2:8-15“The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills. My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, showing himself through the lattice. My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; 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. O 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 is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely. Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.” Those things that are seen are types of the things that are not seen. The works of creation are pictures to the children of God that represent the secret mysteries of grace. God’s truths are apples of gold; and the visible creatures are baskets of silver. In the verses before us, we have a picture of revival. It is a time of joy, refreshing, and singing. It is like springtime after a long, dreary winter. Here we see the Lord Jesus Christ coming to his church. By his word, by the manifestation of his presence, by his power, and by his grace, he brings a time of refreshing to his own beloved people. I recognize that we are living in perilous times. We are living in the midst of the greatest religious apostasy ever known. It appears that the time has come when God has sent men a strong delusion that they should believe a lie, because they received not the love of the truth. Freewill, works religion is the greatest religious deception this world has ever known. This man centered, man exalting, man pleasing, God debasing, God hating religion seems to engulf the entire world and all religious sects. The world, by-in-large, has accepted the doctrines of antichrist. These are indeed perilous times (2 Thessalonians 2:7-12; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; 2 Timothy 4:3-4). Any religion that is man-centered, any religion that has for its foundation man’s will, man’s works, or man’s rights, any religion that promotes the honor, dignity, and pride of man, any religion that pampers and cultivates self-righteousness, self-esteem, and self-worth is antichrist. Yet, it seems to me that, while we see apostasy all around us, God’s church is also in the midst of great revival. I see more men preaching the true gospel of God’s free and sovereign grace than at any other time we know of in history. I am not talking about religious hirelings who discuss the doctrines of grace over coffee but dare not preach them in their pulpits. I am talking about men who boldly tell out God’s truth. In the midst of wrath, our God does yet remember mercy. He has not forgotten to be gracious. It appears to me that Christ is again working mightily in Zion. I hope that I am not deceived, but so far as the church of Christ, in its universal aspect, is concerned, I can almost hear the Savior’s voice crying, “Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing birds is come, and the voice of the turtle dove is heard in our land.” I do not want to be presumptuous. Yet, I do not want to fail to recognize the hand of God’s providence and his grace upon us. In his wisdom and grace, the Lord sends upon his church some long, cold winters; but he also sends the springtime of revival to his beloved people. Anyone who reads the history of Christ’s church, with half an eye open, will recognize that she has her ebbs and flows, her winter times and her spring times. Often it seemed as if she would be frozen out of the earth. Ungodliness, heresy, and error have prevailed at times. At other times she has been fruitful, triumphant, and majestic under the reviving influences of God the Holy Spirit. Revival is not always a sudden burst of divine power upon the church. It is much more than a temporary emotional stirring. True revival is simply the communion and fellowship of Christ with his people. It often comes by degrees, by the gradual manifestation of Christ himself[1]. Let’s look at these verses and see what steps our Lord takes in coming to his people. In these verses of Inspiration the Spirit of God shows us how it is that God brings revival to his church. [1] I am not impressed by most of that which has been called revival in church history. That which is commonly called revival appears to me to be more demonic than heavenly. Most would call the events recorded in 1 Kings 18:26; 1 Kings 18:28-29 revival, if they were to occur today and the word Jesus were used instead of Baal. But revival came in Song of Solomon 2:39. When God works his wonders in the midst of his people, he does not cause fleshly, charismatic show of emotional frenzy. Rather, he causes sinners to be awed before him in worship, bowing before the throne of his sovereign majesty (Read Isaiah 6, Joel 2 and Acts 2).

Whatever revival is, it is not a spasmodic fit of religion, with only temporary results. Rather, it is Christ seizing the hearts of men and women by his omnipotent grace.Christ comes First, the Lord Jesus Christ comes to his people. “The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills. My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, showing himself through the lattice” (Son 2:8-9). It is our responsibility to seek the Lord and call upon him; but revival comes when he comes to us. The fact is, we will never truly seek him and call upon him, until he first seeks us and calls us. If he turns us, we shall be turned. If he calls us, we will run after him. Here we see the Bride rejoicing in the approach of her Beloved. (Read Psalms 80.) She hears him speak. “It is the voice of my Beloved.” Christ calls to his church to tell us that he is coming. No one but Christ can speak to the heart; and no voice but his can make it burn. We are his sheep. We know his voice. He speaks to us through the preaching of the gospel. He speaks to us by his Spirit. He speaks to us personally. When he speaks, his Bride, who knows his voice, says. “It is the voice of my Beloved!” She sees him coming. “Behold, he cometh.” The eye of faith looks for Christ, anticipating him. This may very well be taken as a prophecy of our Lord’s first coming in the flesh. The incarnation of Christ to suffer and die as our Substitute was the hope and expectation of the Old Testament believers. Abraham rejoiced to see his day, and was glad. The nearer the time came, the more clearly they saw. Those who waited for the consolation of Israel with an eye of faith saw him coming and rejoiced in God’s salvation. They had heard him say, “Lo, I come.’ And faith responded, “Behold, he cometh!” (Psalms 40:7-8). Blessed be his name, the Lord Jesus came to redeem us! He came cheerfully and with great speed, leaping and skipping over the mountains like a deer, as one who was pleased with the work before him. He was not a forced, but a voluntary Surety. Our Lord’s heart was in the work of redemption (Isaiah 50:5-7; Luke 12:50). The Son of God came to remove the difficulties that stood in the way of our salvation and to triumph over our enemies. He came “leaping over the mountains.” The powers of darkness, our own sins, and the terrible curse of God’s law had to be overcome. But before the determination of his love, these mountains were brought low. He came suddenly and soon after the promise was given. God’s people thought that the time between the promise and the fulfillment of the promise was very long. But it was not. One day the promise was given, and four days later the time came. At the appointed time Christ came. The due time was the best time (Romans 5:6; Galatians 4:4-5). This is true regarding our Lord’s gracious visitations with his people today. His time is the best time. He withdraws himself, but for a small moment. At the appointed time, he will return to us in everlasting lovingkindness (Isaiah 54:7-10). This is also true regarding his glorious second advent. He says, “Behold, I come quickly.” Faith responds, “Behold, he cometh!” He has only been gone for two days! Soon, he shall appear in power and in great glory. When the Lord Jesus comes to revive and refresh his people, he graciously reveals himself to our hearts. “He standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, showing himself through the lattice.” This was the condition of the Church in the Old Testament. Christ was with them; but they did not clearly see him. He stood behind the wall of the law. He showed himself through the windows and lattices of their sacrifices and ceremonies. In a sense, this is the condition we are in as long as we are here upon the earth. Now we see him through a glass darkly. This body of flesh is a wall between him and us. But soon we shall see him face to face. Particularly, these words describe our condition as believers when we are under a cloud. Christ is always near; but sometimes he is out of sight; he does not reveal himself to our hearts. The wall between us is a wall we have erected. The wall separating us from Christ is always “our wall,” our sins (Isaiah 59:1-2). Our dear Savior stands behind our wall as One who is waiting to be gracious, ready to be reconciled, willing to forgive (Revelation 3:20, See Hosea 14:1-4). He graciously looks in at the windows and shows himself through the lattices to comfort us, to break us, and to make us open to him. The windows and lattices by which he shows himself are the ordinances he has given us. As we read his Word and seek his face in prayer, the Lord Jesus gives us glimpses of his face. As we hear the gospel preached in the house of God, sing his praise, and remember him in the Supper, eating the bread and drinking the wine, he shows himself. Each time a new born child confesses him in believer’s baptism, symbolically buried in the watery grave and rising again in the newness of life, we see our Savior in the glory of his redemptive accomplishments. Christ calls Second, once Christ has come to us and revealed himself, causing our hearts to burn for him, he lovingly calls us to himself. “My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; 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” (Son 2:10-13). Would to God we were all keenly sensitive to our Savior’s voice. Let us be like Abraham, Samuel, and Isaiah, ready to hear his voice, ready to obey him, ready to do his will. In all of our frames and circumstances, Christ’s love and attitude toward us is unchanged. His chastisements are the chastisements of a loving heart. He calls us his “love” and his “fair one.” Our Lord’s love for us is immutable (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8). It is in no way dependent upon us. “My soul through many changes goes; His love no variation knows.” In his eyes, we are always fair and lovely, because he has made us so. Christ calls for us to arise and come away with him (Son 2:10; Son 2:13). “Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light” (Ephesians 5:14). With tenderness and earnestness he urges us to come to him. Arise from your bed of slothful indifference. Come away from your carnal amusement and worldly care. Come to me! We have come to him. Let us ever be coming to our Beloved (1 Peter 2:4) for mercy and grace we need. He bids us do so (Hebrews 4:16) Then the Lord presses our hearts to come to him (Son 2:11-13). He says, “The winter is past.” Our long, hard, bitter winters will not last forever. They will pass away. But spring would not be so pleasant if it did not follow winter. The winter is past for now; but it will come again. So we must make provision for it now. The time of fruitfulness and singing has come. When Christ comes and makes himself known, his people rejoice, and sing, and bring forth fruit. “The rain is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; 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.” Someone said the serpents are driven away by the smell of grapevines. I do not know whether or not that is true. But I do know that the old serpent is driven away when our True Vine puts forth his tender grapes. This picture might easily be applicable to many things. Our Lord’s First Advent, The Dawning Of The Gospel Age.The Conversion Of Sinners.The Revival Of Christ’s Church.The Great Resurrection Day.Christ communes Christ first comes to us, then, he calls us to himself, and, thirdly, our all glorious Christ communes with his believing people. “O 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 is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely” (Son 2:14). In the most gentle and loving tones, Christ speaks to the hearts of his people. God always deals with his children graciously, in love and tenderness. Look at the loving description he gives of those who put their trust in him. The Church of God is compared to a dove. The dove is innocent, beautiful, humble, faithful, and peaceful. That is what God makes his people to be by his grace. The Lord Jesus has taken away our guilt by his blood atonement, putting our sins away. The Lord God has put upon every redeemed sinner the very beauty of Christ’s perfect righteousness. He conquers the heart in conversion, humbling his chosen vessels of mercy in repentance and faith. He has betrothed his Bride to him in faithfulness. And the Prince of Peace makes his people a peaceable people. Christ’s chosen Bride (the Church) is his dove. He owns her and delights in her. She can find no rest except in him. Sooner or later she must return to him, even as Noah’s dove returned to the Ark. The Church of God is a dove, hidden in the clefts of the rock, Christ Jesus. The believing soul may not always be sensible of Christ’s presence. But he is always sensible of his souls need; and he takes refuge in the wounds of that One who was smitten in our stead. “Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee!” Sensing his own need for Christ, every believer finds a closet in the secret places of the stairs to seek the Lord. Our love for and communications of love to Christ are not things about which we make a public spectacle. Public passion is cheap, demeaning, and disgusting. Believers, those who love Christ, pour out their hearts’ passions to him in the secret places of the stairs. As his Church and Bride, we are the objects of Christ’s peculiar love and tender care. All that our Lord does for us, or to us, or allows to be done, he does because he loves us. In his eyes, we are lovely. He delights in us. He wants to see our faces turned toward him. He wants to hear our voices calling upon him. He wants to commune with us and us with him. Oh, great wonder of grace! The Son of God delights to have such worthless worms as we are! He truly loves us! Has Christ come to you? Have you heard his voice? Have you seen the Lord, showing himself through the windows and lattices of your own soul? Has he driven away your long winter and made your soul to sing, rejoicing in his love? Christ admonishes Fourth, our Lord Jesus Christ gives us a loving admonition. “Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes” (Son 2:15). The admonition he gives us is to guard against and suppress those little foxes, which destroy the tender vines and would disturb the peace of his beloved dove. This is a charge to every believer to suppress his own sinful nature. Those evils of our nature, that may seem little in our own eyes (anger, wrath, gossip, slander, peevishness, evil speaking), must be avoided for the good of Christ’s kingdom. There are other “little foxes” that would destroy the peace of God’s Church. They, too, must be taken out of the way.

All doctrinal error, all that is contrary to the gospel of God’s free and sovereign grace in Christ, every little fox of freewill, works religion must be kept out of God’s vineyard. Every little fox of schism, strife, and division must also be put away, lest they spoil the vine. For the honor of our Beloved, for the good of our own souls, and for the good of our brethren, we must constantly guard against these little foxes of hell.

Song of Solomon 2:16-17

“My Beloved is mine and I am his” Son 2:16-17“My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies. Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.” Someone said of Son 2:16, “This is the happiest verse in the Bible.” I think I might have to agree — “My Beloved is mine and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies.” Those words reflect a heart full of peace, assurance, contentment, and joy. But the very next verse casts a shadow over the scene. There is a cloud in the sky. “Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my Beloved, and be thou like a roe, or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.” These two verses together reflect a state of mind with which many of God’s saints in this world are very familiar. They are believers. They do not doubt their saving interest in Christ. They are confident that God has saved them by his almighty, free grace. They know that Christ is theirs. Still, they do not always enjoy the light of his countenance. Do these words describe your condition? You know that he is yours; but your soul does not always feed upon that blessed fact. You are, in your heart, assured that you have a vital saving interest in Christ; but you do not sense that his left hand is under your head and that his right hand embraces you. There are times when the believer sings tenor and bass at the same time. We sing with great delight…

“Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine, Oh what a foretaste of glory Divine! Heir of salvation, purchased of God, Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.”

At the same time we sing, with Newton,…

“How tedious and tasteless the hours When Jesus no longer I see; Sweet prospects, sweet birds, and sweet flowers Have all lost their sweetness to me.”

It may be that there are some saints who are always at their best, who never lose the light of the Savior’s face, and whose communion with him is never disturbed. I am not sure that such people exist, though I acknowledge the possibility. But those believers with whom I am most intimate have a different experience. And those people I know who always boast of their constant bliss are not the most reliable people I know. For myself, my own heart’s experience is this. — I have always had a mixture of joy and sorrow. Every year of my life has had a winter as well as a summer. Every day has its night. I have seen the clear shining of the Sun of Righteousness. And I have felt the heavy rains, the bite of frost, and the freeze of winter sleet in my soul. I have walked in the warm breezes of a summer’s evening. And I have made my way through the snowy blizzards of winter’s night. Believers are like the oak tree. The sap is always present; but it is not always flowing freely. We do, at times, lose our leaves. We have our downs, as well as our ups. We have our valleys, as well as our mountaintops. We are not always rejoicing. Sometimes we are in heaviness through our manifold temptations. We are grieved by the fact that our fellowship with Christ is not always full of rapturous delight. At times, we have to seek him, crying, “Oh, that I knew where I might find him!” This appears to me to be the sense of these two verses. They are a song of both joy and sorrow. It is the sweet song of assurance; but it is mingled with an earnest longing for fellowship. Though we may experience times of spiritual trial, when our fellowship and communion with Christ is broken, the assurance of our hearts that we are accepted in the Beloved need not be broken. Assurance is based upon Christ’s finished work for us. Fellowship and communion with Christ vary with our daily experiences. I do not always enjoy the company of my wife, because we are at times separated by many miles; but I always enjoy the assurance of her love. And I do not always enjoy sweet fellowship with Christ; but I do enjoy this blessed assurance, —“My Beloved is mine; and I am his.” Assurance I want every child of God to know that it is possible for us to enjoy the assurance of our personal interest in Christ. I do not suggest that every believer has this assurance. But I do say that every believer should and can have an assurance of his personal, saving interest in Christ. These are the words of confident faith and blessed assurance, “My Beloved is mine, and I am his.” Most people look in the wrong places when they seek assurance. They try to find assurance in their experiences; but no experience will give assurance. Believers are honest. We know that our most spiritual experiences are shot full of pride and sin. Many seek assurance based upon their devotion to Christ; but no amount of devotion will give assurance. Believers know that their devotion to Christ is unmentionable, because our best devotion is horribly untrue. Others, following the counsel they have been given, seek assurance based upon their personal righteousness; but no amount of personal righteousness will give assurance. Believers recognize that all our righteousnesses are filthy rags. If we want assurance, we must stop looking at ourselves and look away to Christ. Look not to your experience, but to his expiation. Look not to your repentance, but to his ransom. Look not to your faith, but to his faithfulness. Look not to your works, but to his worth. Look not to your feelings, but to his fulness. Look not to your prayers, but to his promises. Look not to your righteousness, but to his righteousness! Look to Christ alone. And look to Christ for everything! “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him” (Colossians 2:6). How did you first come to Christ? Did you bring anything with you? No. You came as an empty handed beggar, a naked, wretched sinner, looking to him alone for all your righteousness, all your acceptance with God, all your atonement for sin, all your hope of life.

Do not ever hope to rise above that level. To walk in the Spirit is to walk by faith in Christ, looking to him for everything. All who so trust Christ may with confident assurance and joy declare, “My Beloved is mine, and I am his.”“My Beloved” — Do you not delight to call Christ your Beloved? Certainly, he should be beloved by you. Who has done so much for you as Christ? Who has lavished you with such gifts?

Who has shown you such love? If you do not love him, you are a lost soul, yet under the wrath of God (1 Corinthians 16:22). All who are redeemed by his precious blood and saved by his matchless grace love him (1 John 4:19). If you know him, you love him. I would not have you to be presumptuous. But I would have all of you who know Christ to call him “My Beloved.” He deserves this title in your heart. He redeemed you with his own precious blood. He adopted you into his family. He saved you by his matchless grace.

He loved you with an everlasting love.There was a time when he became the Beloved One of your heart. In “the time of love” he revealed his love to you and created love in you for him. We are bashful about this and prefer never to speak to others of our love for Christ. When we hear others sing, “Oh, how I love Jesus,” our hearts cry, “Oh, how I wish I could love him as I should!” Still, in the teeth of all our sin, in the teeth of all we know we are, we confess with Peter, “Lord, thou knowest all things. Thou knowest that I love thee.” “We love him because he first loved us.” His love for us preceded our love for him eternally. His love for us exceeds our love for him infinitely.

And his love for us is the cause of our love for him. But we do love him. — Not as we want! — Not as we ought! — Not as we shall! But every believer honestly confesses, “We love him because he first loved us.” How our hearts rejoice to look upon the Son of God and say, “My Beloved is mine!” C. H. Spurgeon wrote, “Every heart that has been renewed by sovereign grace takes Jesus Christ to be the chief object of its love. “My Beloved is mine, and I am his!” — We are his by the bands of his eternal love. We are his by the grace of his sovereign, eternal election. We are his by the blood of his special purchase. We are his by the power of his almighty, irresistible grace. We are his by our own willful, deliberate choice. Are you a believer? If so, then Christ is yours, and you are his. You are the sheep of his pasture. You are the object of his love. You are the member of his body. You are the branch of his root. You belong to him. You are Christ’s, totally, unreservedly his. You belong to him. You are not your own. He bought you with his blood. Perhaps you think, “I would do anything to have such assurance.” Would you do nothing? The basis of assurance is not what you do, but what Christ has done for you. The Holy Spirit requires that we “be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in us with meekness and fear” (1 Peter 3:15). What is the basis of this assurance? How can a person be assured that he has a saving interest in Christ? How can I know I am my Beloved’s and that he is mine? I trust him. That’s all. The whole of my assurance is faith in Christ. It is written, “He that believeth on the Son of God hath everlasting life!” His place All who know Christ know where he is, where he reveals himself and makes himself known. The soul, being assured of its personal interest in Christ, longs to be where he is. “He feedeth among the lilies.” The lilies are his people (Son 2:2). In this world they are lilies among thorns. Still the Lord Jesus feeds among them. The lily patch in which the Son of God feeds is the assembly of his saints (the house and temple of God) for public worship (Matthew 18:20; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17). Here he feeds his people upon his grace by the Word of his grace. The church of God has many critics, but no rivals. This is the family of God, the kingdom of heaven, the temple of the Holy One, the place where Christ manifests forth his glory, spreads his table, and meets with his people. Blessed beyond description are those people who are privileged to be a part of this family! Truly, as Paul puts it, this is “a habitation of God through the Spirit!” Our desire It is the desire of every believer to know the conscious presence and fellowship of Christ. This is what is expressed in Son 2:17. — “Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.” This is our nighttime. Soon our day will break. On that great day, all the shadows of darkness and ignorance will be forever gone! When the gospel day broke forth the shadows of the law fled away. The mountains which separate us from our Lord, he can overcome. They are too high for us, but not for him. Our hearts earnestly desire the conscious awareness of his presence, ever crying, “Turn, my Beloved” (See Psalms 42:1; Psalms 84:2).