======================================================================== WEEK OF MEETINGS 01 S.SOL.5:9-16 by John W. Bramhall ======================================================================== Summary: The sermon explores the beauty and significance of the beloved, who is described as white and ruddy, representing his perfection and sacrificial value. Duration: 43:24 Topics: "Christ's Beauty", "Divine Wisdom" ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DESCRIPTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------ In this sermon, the speaker focuses on the beauty of the beloved, referring to Jesus Christ. The sermon is based on the Song of Solomon, specifically Chapter 5. The speaker begins by discussing the significance of the Word of Christ as a resting place for the conscience, a guide for the past, and the perfect object for the heart. The sermon then delves into the description of the beloved, highlighting his whiteness and redness as distinguishing characteristics. The speaker also references the wisdom of Solomon as a comparison to the wisdom of Christ. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CONTENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I'm sure it's a real delight to my heart to be here again, and most of all to look into the precious and the holy word of God. Will you turn with me in your Bible to the Song of Solomon, chapter five, and read with me, beginning at verse nine to the end of the chapter, by the grace and help of God, we desire to speak through the morning sessions of this week on the beauty of the beloved, the Lord Jesus Christ himself. One well-wrote many years ago, the work of Christ is the perfect resting place for the conscience. The word of Christ is the perfect guide for the path, and the person of Christ is the perfect object for the heart. And it is relating to the person of Christ, and the beauty of the person of Christ, we desire to take up the study of this section in the Song of Solomon, chapter five, in our morning session. I read at verse nine, and read down through to the end of the chapter. What is thy beloved more than another beloved? O thou fairest among women, what is thy beloved more than another beloved that thou dost so charge us? My beloved is white and ruddy, the cheapest among ten thousand. His head is as the most fine gold. His locks are bushy and black as a raven. His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk and simply scent. His cheeks are as a bed of spices as sweet flowers. His lips like lilies dropping sweet-smelling myrrh. His hands are as gold rings set with the pearl. His belly or body is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphire. His legs are as pillars of marble set upon sockets of fine gold. His countenance is as lebanon excellent as the cedar. His mouth is most sweet, yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem. May God bless the reading and hearing of his words. In my humble opinion, I believe to my heart at least, there are two portions of scripture that describe the glories of the Lord Jesus in a very intimate way. One of them is found in the book of Hebrews chapter one, where only God the Father could ever pen such words as you may read concerning the glories of his beloved son, in the opening verses of Hebrews chapter one. The other portion is the one we have just read in the Song of Solomon, where we find the language of a spiritual heart, and the language that should be the expression of the blind of Christ toward the bridegroom, her beloved the Lord Jesus. Solomon is the author of this great book. I believe that we can say, truthfully, according to the scripture at least, that Solomon wrote the book of the Song of Solomon. He wrote the book of Ecclesiastes, and he wrote the Proverbs, many of them. Many Hebrew scholars believe that Solomon wrote this book, the Song of Songs, in the spiritual prime of his life. He wrote the book of Proverbs later in his experience of earthly wisdom and knowledge, and then in the latter days of his life, unfortunate days that declined spiritually for him, he wrote the book of Ecclesiastes. To a believing Jew, a pious Jew, the Song of Solomon was the song of Jehovah's love for Israel. To a New Testament Saint, in this present period of grace, the Song of Solomon is the testimony of the love of the bridegroom for the church, and the church's or the bride's affection for the bridegroom. And, we find the language that can be used of every spiritual heart in relation to the expressions in this chapter. It's more from the human side of the heart that we have these words so descriptive of the beauty of the beloved to those who know him and who love him. And, it would seem that in the terminology of scripture, human terminology, the Lord reaches down and pens by the spiritual Solomon descriptive words out of every realm of human nature that can be used metaphorically to describe the beauty of the beloved. Note with me the opening of the portion in verse nine, please, for in the ninth verse there is a challenge, and the challenge is what is thy beloved more than another beloved? O thou fairest among women, what is thy beloved more than another beloved that thou dost so charge on? There is no question of doubt that to every believer in the Lord Jesus, there is none equal in his or her affection and opinion. There is none equal to the person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and the beloved Son of God should be, if he is not, the preeminent affection and character whom the heart desires and loves. But, there is a challenge from those who perhaps know not our beloved, asking what is thy beloved more than another beloved that thou should so charge us? And, the words that follow by the divine Spirit have been written as the answer of every spiritual heart. Now, let me qualify again. It is the answer of every spiritual heart. I say frankly that it takes a spiritual heart to enjoy and fathom to some degree the depth of appreciation these words express concerning the person of the beloved Saviour. Meditate with me this morning upon the first verse in answer to that question, and that is the tenth verse. For she opens her mouth to say, my beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand. The expression is spontaneous, as to her heart and to her mind the beloved comes, saying, my beloved. And, you know, it's the joy of being able to say he's my beloved. Remember the psalmist wrote, the Lord is my shepherd. He is a shepherd. He is the shepherd. He is the good shepherd that gave his life for the sheep. He is the great shepherd that cares for the sheep. He is the chief shepherd who is coming for the sheep. But, one of the most precious words in that phraseology of Psalm 23, in the opening words, is that little word, mine. The Lord is my shepherd. And, perhaps one of the greatest truths that we find in this precious book for the believer is the expression, my beloved is mine, and I am his. And, may I ask, can you call him your own? Can you say, this is my beloved? Her first description of him is, he is white and he is ruddy. The combination of two colors, the combination of both red and white. For, white and red are the chief colors and characteristics of the human form and of the human countenance. My beloved is white and red, and the bridegroom of the church is recognized and distinguished from all others, and from every other beloved, as the object of affection and regard among the sons of men by these two distinguishing colors, white as well as red. I would like you to think with me of the words that are written of Solomon in the first book of Kings, chapter 8. For, in the portion there, or chapter 4 rather, of the book of Kings, in that section the word of God records that Solomon was wiser than all the men of the earth. The wisdom of Solomon, perhaps humanly speaking, has never been attained to by others. If we can, and which we should, take the word of God for our statement. He was wiser than all men, wrote the Spirit of God. And, when Solomon wrote these words, the great mind of Solomon may have been reflecting, as he wrote my beloved is white and red, upon the red blood of the snowy fleece lambs that were sacrificed daily upon the altars of Israel. He may have been reflecting, as the Scriptures portrayed in their prophetic vein, he may have been reflecting upon the coming of that one who was to be led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as the shearers before her stood down, he opened not his mouth, and reflecting upon the person of the Son of God who was to come, he could write by the divine Spirit of one who is the Lamb of God. For, the colors white and red reveal to us the characteristic features of one who is the Lamb of God. May I point out to you that, in relation to this great book of the Song of Solomon, the Lord Jesus is seen as the blind groom, and, of course, the church is the bride, and, as the blind groom, the Lamb is the blind old name of the Lord Jesus. And, in that coming day which is described in Revelation chapter 21, the bride is called the Lamb's wife. When the marriage takes place in Revelation 21, it is called the marriage of the Lamb, and the wedding feast is called the marriage supper of the Lamb. Therefore, in this allegory of the Song of Solomon, the Lamb is portrayed as seen, and indicated as being the bridegroom's name, intimately associated with his marriage, and the marriage of Christ the Lamb to his bride, the church. But then, on the other hand, the Lamb is not only the bridal name of the Lord Jesus, the Lamb is the sacrificial name of Jesus, as many others well know. John the Baptist stood one day and said, Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world, and he attributed to that blessed person the sacrificial name of the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. God's thoughts of redemption throughout all Scripture are associated with the sacrificial Lamb of God from the beginning to the end of Scripture. It is the Lamb that was foreordained to be slain. It is the Lamb who was slain. It is the blood of Christ without blemish, and without farce, that is the only ground of sacrificial redemption for you and for me. And the Lamb is the sacrificial name of the Lord Jesus. My beloved is white and red, and thus in the two uniform colors, unchanging token, he is to be recognized as being my beloved by the colors of the white and the red. May I point out to you that, as we read in Revelation chapter five, in heaven we shall behold him as the Lamb that was slain. On the earth, the Spirit describes him as the one, the blood of the Lamb by whom we have been delivered, the blood of the Lamb without blemish and without farce, and whether we see him in heaven with the saints gathered there as shall be in the coming day, whether we acknowledge him upon the earth, he is my beloved, the Lamb of God, both white as well as ruddy. But, I'd like you to examine with me both of these colors carefully and separately. My beloved is white. My beloved is white, for the two colors are very important to recognize in their meaning. My beloved is white. First of all, my beloved is white in the perfectness of his humanity, the perfection of his human nature. When we speak of Christ, we exalt him above all others as she is challenged. What is thy beloved more than another beloved that thou dost so charge on? And when the believer speaks of our precious Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, my beloved is white in the perfection of his human nature. He is different than all the rest of us. My beloved is described in the words of the Spirit of God in chapter seven of the book of Hebrews as being harmless, as being undefiled, as being separate from sinners. And, in the midst of a world of sinners, in the midst of a world that could be described as black Ethiopians, he shines in his pure whiteness as a Nazarite of purity and perfection, whiter than snow. The mire and the stench of sin was all around him, but he himself was without spot and without blemish. And, when we gaze upon the character of that person who, in his human nature, was without blemish and without spot, we say this is my beloved. The Spirit of God writes through Peter, he did no sin. We cannot say that of any of us. We must say of my beloved, he did no sin. Paul writes of the beloved to say, he knew no sin, and affirms the definite impeccability of the human character of Jesus Christ. He knew no sin. John writes, saying, in him was no sin. My beloved is right, more than any other beloved, and our pleasure to recognize the distinct values of his perfect humanity. Oh, thank God for the perfect purity of that human nature, and impeccability of our failure to know Jesus Christ. But then, he's not only right in the purity of his human nature, he is also right in the infinite purity of his divine nature. There is not only a human purity to that blessed one, but there is also a divine purity that is infinite. For my beloved is not only human, my beloved is also very God. For the beloved, my beloved, is the God-man. He is not only man, he is also God. And, truly, more than any other beloved, he stands to theme as being in the deity of his presence whiter than all others. Ye may I go further this day. The divine glory that was his does not obscure his perfect humanity, and neither does his perfect humanity obscure the divine, or impair the divine in any manner. It was God the Father that wrote those words of him in Hebrews chapter 1 and verse 3. He is the effulgence of God's glory. He is the expression of God's substance. Now, listen carefully. Drink it into your soul. This beloved is more than any beloved because of the whiteness of his divine effulgence, the outshining of the character of God, and all the attributes of the being of God are resonant in him. The effulgence of God's glory, and the expression of his substance. When I see my beloved, I see him in all the perfection of his human nature, but I see him as being also in the perfection of his divine nature. You say, what is God like? My beloved. Whatever God is, my beloved is. You name all the attributes of God. God is love, God is might, God is holy, God is light, God is truth, God is righteous, God is right. Name them all. They're resonant in him, and in that perfect human form, the divine was present, and the human did not impair the divine, and neither did the divine glory obscure the human. The fullness of the Godhead shines brightly and gloriously through the whiteness of his spotless humanity, for the beloved is white as no saint in heaven, as no angel. He is the Lamb that is without spot, this blessed one. You know, it is important to recognize, to acknowledge, as well as to rejoice in the character of this beloved. May I repeat what I stated at the commencement? The person of Christ is the perfect object for the heart, and when he's upon the earth, the father would text him on occasion, this is my beloved son in whom is all my delight, and I'll bless it to recognize this is my beloved. For you and for me, fellow believers, this is our beloved, and thus we can see him in all the whiteness, the perfection of his humanity, the perfection of his being. I think one of the great things we need to know and realize more than we have, and more than we do, is who my beloved is, who he is. But he's not only white, but he said he is also red. My beloved is white and red, red with his own precious blood. The only pure and precious blood that ever flowed through human veins flowed through the veins of my beloved Savior. The only blood that was pure, holy, that was ever shed upon the earth was the blood of the Son of God that was shed upon the cross of Calvary. All mothers possess the hereditary stain of sin in their blood. The only precious blood that ever flowed for sin, and has power to atone and take away our sins, was the blood of our beloved, the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the whiteness of his person that undoubtedly makes the precious blood what it is for you and me. The red within him is just as pure as the white, as it does flowed in his blessed veins. But that red blood that was shed upon the cross, and listen to the joyous message, that red blood that was shed upon the cross by his grace and power can make his whiteness our own. We sang that lovely hymn at the close of our worship meeting, and is it so that I shall be like thy son? Is this the grace which he for me father of glory taught beyond all thought to his own blessed likeness brought? The power of that blood to bring his whiteness, the righteousness of his character, to be thus provided for us to be accepted in the presence of God. Well said the poet. Yes, well wrote the psalmist. Wash me, and I shall be wiser than snow. And, oh the joy of recognizing my beloved is white and red. You cannot separate the colors. He stands out in all the whiteness of his purity, both human and divine. He stands out with all the redness of his precious blood as the one whose blood alone can take away sin, and wash away every sin, and present you with me heartless before a holy God. Then I say, you'll never tell all the truth if you don't say my beloved is white and red. Within the veil of heaven there is no blood recognized, save the blood of the lamb, and by his own blood he entered in once into the holiest place, having obtained eternal redemption. Praise his blessed name, and that's for us. May I suggest, in heaven angels are white. They're never white and red. In heaven saints are white. They are never white and red, for they washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. The blood of martyrs has been shed upon the earth, and the very voice of that blood cries to God above for vengeance. But, the only blood that is acknowledged within the veil of heaven is the blood of the lamb that was slain, and in the midst of that zone, and in the midst of those living creatures, and in the midst of that glory, we shall fall down before the lamb, acknowledging that he was slain, and we shall see him whose blood was shed for us. He will be the only one who can be acknowledged white and red. The sacrificial value of his blood, and the whiteness and the glorious character of his person forevermore. What if you ever noticed this? It's remarkable to me, as well as significant. When you read the book of the Revelation all through, you have enumerated more than any other title that is given to the Lord Jesus, you have the expression the lamb. I believe 28 times referring to the Lamb of God. 28 times, and in the diminutive, in the Greek language it's written in the diminutive, I literally mean the little lamb. And the language expresses this fact. It is the book of Revelation when the unveiling of his glory will be made known to the universe. When God will take him who is the lamb that was slain, will humiliate him more than any of the sons of men, and in that day he will exalt him, and in that eternal day of glory it will be the little lamb that will be magnified and glorified above all others. And the world and the universe will know that in that eternal day of glory, the Lamb, the one with the sacrificial name of the Lamb, the one with the bridal name of the Lamb, both white and red, he will be manifested in glory forever above the universe around. Yea beloved, he's worthy, for he's both white and red. May I meditate with you in the dying thief when he was hanging, as two of them were one on either side of the Lord Jesus when on the cross? The dying thief knew the beloved by these two tokens, white and red. The dying thief looked at the Lord Jesus and said, as you may remember, he recognized the whiteness of the Lamb in his prosperous humanity, for he confessed, this man hath done nothing amiss. You know, beloved, that was the revelation to a man of such character, dying worthily in judgment and in death upon a tree for the crimes he had committed. But, out of his soul, he acknowledges to the one in the center, this man of him he declares he has done nothing amiss. He not only acknowledged him in the whiteness of his humanity, he acknowledged him in the glory of his deity. When he added, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And then, you know, he saw something that you and I can never perhaps literally see, but we have by faith. He saw that pressured blood flowing down the body of that blessed one he acknowledged. I don't know, we sing it in poetry, the dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day, and there have I, though I must see, washed all my sins away. But, may I pause in worship for a moment to realize with you the dying thief saw not only his person, his by faith and divine revelation to it, so he acknowledged him in all the whiteness of his glory, and he saw visibly the outpouring of that precious blood that washed away his stains. But, you know, let me ask, what can give anyone the boldness, the liberty of looking upon such a person as the Son of God? Beloved, there's only one thing that can give to you and me the liberty, the boldness of looking with acknowledgement and adoration upon the person of the Son of God, and that one thing is the power of his precious blood, the power of his precious blood that cleanseth from all sin, and enables that believing, trusting sinner to thus acknowledge the one, the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Let me think with you for a moment of Thomas. Do you remember on the first resurrection day, Thomas was not with the disciples, and he said when they reported to him of the glorious resurrection of their savior, they told him, we've seen the Lord! He's risen! And, as they described the brightness of the risen Lord, Thomas doubted and said, I'll not believe until I could put my finger into his nail print, and my hand into his wounded side. And then, the following week, Thomas was with them when the Lord came into the midst, and the Lord said, Thomas, reach into thy finger, put it into my hand, reach into my thy hand, and thrust it into my side. Be not faithless, but believing. And, Thomas, we do not read that he ever did what he attracted to do, but the moment he saw the whiteness and glory of that blessed one, and recognized the wounds that were his on Calvary, Thomas was convinced, and he said, my Lord and my God, this is my beloved, he's right, he's right, and this is the answer to the question, what is my beloved more than another beloved? First, my beloved is right and right. May I pause for just a moment before closing the text with the expression that follows? To ask the question, my beloved, what is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, to you? I wish you'd forget, relegate to one side what so many speak of as just being the mere historical Jesus. Will you not recognize what the Word of God says, and who He is? Not only what, but who He is, and what every spiritual heart will say that knows Him? My beloved is the God-man, right in the perfection of His humanity, right in the glory of His deity, red in the color of His precious redemptive work that took away my sin. This is my beloved, and this is the one upon whom my soul rests for my eternal salvation. Thank God for Christ. This is my beloved more than any beloved that no other one who could, who had, and who today will take away sin by the blood of His cross. Think again with me of those words of John the Baptist, Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. John says this is God's land, the appointed land, and not only knows who He is, but knows His power to take away sin. And, look the scope of that power! The sin of the world! Hallelujah! I don't care who you are, know what you are. His precious blood can cleanse from all sin. This is my beloved, and I'm sure it's the best place to start to describe the beloved, isn't it? The Lamb, white in all the glory and perfection of His humanity, and the glory of His deity, and the one who shed His blood upon the cross of Calvary. But, in note of the end of the text, he goes on to say He is the chief of ten thousands. He is the one to whom she ascribed preeminence. She did right. He stands out by Himself, alone in His excellence and beauty. No other can share His glory. He must have the preeminence in all things. This is my beloved. Can I ask you a question? To your heart, believe her in my easy preeminence, that in all things ye might have the preeminence. And, standing out cheapest among all others, His preeminence she acknowledges. Do you? Do I? There are three expressions I'd like to bring before your heart that are found in this scripture. The first is in Ecclesiastes chapter 5 and verse 8, where the wise man is written of that same beloved. He is higher than the highest. No matter what takes place upon the earth, and the wise man describes what many things do, many things that do happen in that scripture context, but he says there's one that sees, there's one who regards it, there's one who notices it, and he is higher than the highest. Whether it be man, whether it be angel, whether it be above cherubim, cherubim and seraphim, above Michael the archangel, above Gabriel that great angel, above the highest created angel who is Lucifer, my beloved is higher than the highest. No, you can't go any higher than that, can you? That's where he is, higher than the highest in its preeminence. And, then, may you also remember the expression, the text from which I quoted earlier in Hebrews 7 26. The one who is harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, has become our high priest, and has been made higher than the heavens, the exalted and in the glory. My beloved is higher than the heavens. You know, you can't find my beloved on the earth literally. You cannot find my beloved upon this earthly scene. My beloved was born at Bethlehem. My beloved lived in the land of Israel. My beloved died on the cross of Canterbury. My beloved was buried, and rose again, and my beloved ascended, and is now higher than the heavens. For God hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. For, may I go on to confirm the fact which I quoted in Scripture, and which is repeated in substance in Psalm 89 and verse 27. He is to be higher than the kings of the earth in his future supremacy. Higher than the kings of the earth, higher than the highest in his created glory, higher in the heavens in his present exaltation, and someday he's coming again, and he's going to be higher than the kings of this. You know, I wish he were here. I wish the earth was being reigned by my beloved, for I want to tell you frankly I'm grateful of this. I know the one man who's going to straighten everything out upon the earth, including the amen, and what a joy to realize he's going to be higher than all the kings of the earth. She says, this is my beloved. Oh beloved, to all of his followers he's always the chief. Over the whole universe of creation is the one glorious prince, the chief of ten thousand. Then may I close by reminding you of this tremendous contrast. Though he is the chief of ten thousand, I think in the language of Paul in 1st Timothy chapter 1 and verse 15, the language of the bride would say she knows someone else who is chief, but in an opposite direction. She acknowledges what Paul declares is true. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. And beloved, I don't know anything greater to say in closing that the one who is greater than all others, the chief amongst ten thousand, loved the chief of sinners, you and me, the bringest to himself, the chief of offenders, and this one the chief of deliverers. This is my beloved. I pray that it's yours. Shall we bow in prayer? Our blessed God and Father, thy son declared, no man knoweth the son but the father, and blessed father we are amazed that in the light of holy scripture, and by the divine spirit of God, thou art able to enlighten these hearts and minds of ours to see the beauty of thy son. Who has become to all who believe upon him their eternal beloved. We who are thy people would praise and bless thee for this one who is altogether lovely, our Lord Jesus, and pray that anyone who knows him not will realize this is the one who shed his blood to save sinners, and may they trust him today. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of our Father God, the fellowship or the conviction of the Holy Spirit be upon us. Amen. ======================================================================== Audio: https://sermonindex1.b-cdn.net/9/SID9740.mp3 Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/john-w-bramhall/week-of-meetings-01-ssol59-16/ ========================================================================