The Beauties of Christ 01 His Head Hair Eyes

Shall we turn in our Bibles to the Song of Solomon, please? Chapter five, and continue the meditation upon the beauty of the Beloved Son of God. It's one of the greatest joys in looking into the Word of God to realize the importance of those words that Paul the Apostle wrote, when in 2nd Corinthians, chapter 3 and verse 18, Paul stated, Beholding us in a mirror, the glory of the Lord, we are changed, we are transformed, we are transfigured into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. We rejoice that in the pages of the Word of God, the greatest subject and the greatest glory that we can behold is the glory of our wonderful and blessed Lord.

And in the Song of Solomon, chapter 5, beginning at verse 9, and reading through verse 16, we have, by the Spirit given, wonderful words of description that come from a raptured heart and a spiritual heart, knowing the Lord Jesus. The words may be given in symbolic language, but they have precious divine and eternal truth. We shall read this section, beginning at verse 9 to the end.

What is thy beloved more than another beloved? O thou fairest among women, what is thy beloved more than another beloved that thou dost no charge on? 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 thickly set. 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 bird. 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 cedars. His mouth is most sweet, yea he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.

May I repeat the statement? It is the loveliness, and it is the beauty of the Lord Jesus that metaphorically is described for us by the Spirit, and the language of every true spiritual heart who knows the Lord Jesus. We quoted a verse at the commencement of our study from Matthew 11 and verse 27, where the Lord Jesus said, all things are delivered unto me of my father, and no man knoweth the son but the father, and no man neither knoweth any man the father but the son, and he to whom the son will reveal him. I say this very firmly, as well as solemnly.

There is no one who knows the Son of God completely as the Father. One well-wrote many years ago word that I've appreciated. There is that pertaining to the life and to the death of the Son of God which only the Father is able to comprehend.

All that we may do is to take our shoes from off our feet with adoring wonder, making no attempt to define what is impenetrable and what is indefinable to human creature minds. And, we repeat the truth, no man knoweth the Son but the Father. But, I'll blessen that in some measure we who have come to know the Son can thus learn to know more of him, and the language of our hearts can be in the words of Paul as he wrote in Philippians 3 10, O that I may know him, to recognize there are depths and heights and lengths and breadths of revelation concerning the excellencies and the virtues of God's beloved Son.

One of the most amazing facts is that God takes, in the language of human terminology, he takes descriptions and places them by the Spirit in human language for you and for me to be able to obtain from it some of the glories and excellencies of his Son that we might grow in the knowledge of our Savior. Today, I would like you to meditate with me on verses 11 and 12, that we might consider the description of his head, the description of his locks, and the description of his eyes. Now, it is all metaphorical language, but behind these words of description there are eternal and precious truths concerning the person of our beloved.

For he is the one whom the world would challenge you and me, what is thy beloved more than any beloved? And thus may it be the answer of our raptured hearts to describe his beauty. Now, you note the expression as we read in verse 11 of his head. She declares the beauty of his head.

His head is as the most fine gold. May I say, as you go through the description, you will find that the symbolical descriptions, they alternate between his deity and his humanity. There are symbolic descriptions that refer to the deity of our Lord Jesus, and there are others that refer to his humanity.

We thank God we see in them his perfect deity, his essential deity, and we see in them also his perfect humanity. Now, in relation to his head, which is of the most fine gold, I'm sure it is the consensus and the undivided opinion of true scholars of the Word of God that this is the emblem of his Godhead. She presents the glory of his Godhead as being the most fine gold, for this is the emblem of deity, that which is superior in the person of Christ, the glory of his Godhead.

May I dwell for just a moment on the words of Paul, as he wrote concerning the glory of his Godhead, and you find the words in Colossians chapter 1 and verse 19. For in him all the fullness of the Godhead was pleased to dwell. Oh may I repeat it, all the fullness in him, all the fullness of the Godhead was pleased to dwell.

And the bright conviction of the beauty of his head is to acknowledge the glory of his Godhead, and the place of that fullness in the Godhead in which the Godhead was pleased to dwell. This was the priceless value she placed upon the glory of his head, the most fine gold. I believe you will agree with me from the beginning to the end of Holy Scripture.

You will agree that when we read of the most fine gold, whether in type and shadow, or in reality, is the emblem of divine glory. And the head of gold, as she describes his loveliness, is the emblem of his divine glory, the greatness of it, the infinite greatness of it. For that glorious head, and in the glory of his deity, indicates he possesses divine power.

All the greatness and the golden character of that divine power belonging to him. It is not only gold in greatness, in power, but even in wisdom. All the divine wisdom that there is in that blessed one, as in no other.

The divine righteousness, as we recognize the symbol of gold declaring the righteousness of that blessed person, and the symbol of divine love for his golden love that is ours to find in him. Not only divine love, divine holiness. May I dwell for a moment with you, digressing perhaps for a moment, to think of the great temple of Solomon when it was built, and the inward glory of that temple, and the inward glory of that holiest of all, and the temple within that was lined with gold, the symbol of divine holiness as being the temple of the dwelling place of the Shekinah glory, and to recognize all that was within with its gold symbolized the divine holiness of the character of the holy god, and divine holiness is found in the glory of him as she describes his head, golden godhead.

Let me contrast for just a minute, by way of comparison. Think with me of what Daniel said of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 2, as Nebuchadnezzar had that great image brought before him in his vision, and the head was of gold. Thou art that head of gold, said Daniel to Nebuchadnezzar.

Think with me of chapter three in the book of Daniel, where Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, and set it up upon the plain to be thus worshipped by all the nations gathered together. But they fade into insignificance. Nebuchadnezzar's head of gold, the very image of gold that he built, fades away in contrast to the eternal character of the divine gold that is in the bridegroom, and the object of the bride's affections.

This is the bride's valuation of him, and then in contrast to her valuation of him, think also of the world's valuation of him. They valued me at thirty pieces of silver, as the prophet Zechariah wrote, and which actually was fulfilled ere they crucified him. But the bride values him as a head of gold.

Now, when you and I came to the Lord Jesus, and we rejoined to remember the moment we came to Christ, we came to him in all the poverty of our sins. We came to him in all the abject condition that was ours mortally and spiritually, and in the darkness of spiritual death, and in all the poverty that we came. And then, as a poor, guilty, undeserving sinner, bankrupt and poverty-stricken, we received him as our blessed Saviour and Lord.

And we exchanged the poverty to obtain the head of gold. Blessed be his name! How rich we are when we realize the valuation of that blessed head of gold which is ours. But notice, she not only describes his head as being of gold, but she goes on to speak of his locks.

His locks are bushy. The first mention of his locks. His locks are bushy.

And, as she describes him, she recognizes the indication that the uncovered head suggests to her. For the uncovered head with bushy locks is the emblem of his humanity. And, as a man, she recognizes the emblem of his locks as perfect humanity with an uncovered head that denotes dominion.

For this is the emblem of his dominion. It is linked to his headship. It is linked to the glory of his headship.

He has dominion, and by the uncovered locks, his dominion is indicated to us. Beloved, think of the dominion. Think of the headship of the Lord Jesus Christ with me for just a moment.

We read in the Apostle Paul's writings in Ephesians 123 that he has been made head over all things to the church which is his body. May I mention briefly some of the ecclesiastical glory that belongs to the Lord Jesus as being head of the church which is his body. And, in passing, may I remark that how meaningful it is today that we realize he still is the head of his church.

In Ephesians chapter 4, let me briefly suggest, in Ephesians chapter 4, as the risen head in dominion over the church, he gives gifts unto men. And, we have read in the Ephesian epistle chapter 4 that he gave gifts. He gave some apostles, he gave some prophets, he gave some evangelists, he gave some pastors or shepherds, and he gave some teachers.

And, as being in dominion the head of the church, head over all things to that church, it is his divine prerogative to bestow those gifts. The apostolic gifts of the early church have been given, their work has been accomplished, and they've laid the foundation that needs never to be repeated. The gift of the apostolic prophets has also been ministered until the completion of the precious word of God, and their gift has disappeared.

But, the remaining gifts, the evangelists, the shepherds or the pastors, and the teachers, they are his gifts unto the church. And, don't may I bring before your heart and mind this fact, there are two things involved in the ministry of him as the head of the church. One is a ministry of expansion, the other is a ministry of edification.

The church is to grow numerically, but the church is to grow not only numerically, but internally. And, the two directions of growth are provided from the head by the gift of the evangelist, the man who goes out to win precious souls, and brings them to a savior. And, then those souls are to be ministered to for edification by the care of the shepherd, and the teaching of the teacher, and to recognize his dominion ecclesiastically over the bride.

How blessed it is to acknowledge! And, may I say once again, the headship of the Lord Jesus we need to acknowledge more than we do in practical dependence. But, he's not only the ecclesiastical head of the church, but if I may also remind you of his creatorial headship. For the head of every man, according to the writing of 1 Corinthians 11 and verse 3, the head of every man is Christ.

We see his creatorial headship over the human race. For, recognize, he is now particularly the head of a new creation. Adam the first failed, the head of the federal race by nature.

He signally failed. This man is now the head of a new creation. If any man be in Christ's new creation, all things are passed away.

Behold, all things have become new, and Christ is the head of a new creation. And, oh thank God, he who is the head of the new creation will never fail, and can never fail, and he will bring the glory of that new creation to its eternal fruition. And, that brings me to the third point about his headship, and that will be in a coming day, when in universal glory the headship of Christ will be manifested throughout God's universe.

Let me quote the words of Paul in Philippians 2, chapter 2, reading perhaps from verse 9 through 11. Wherefore God hath highly exalted him, and given him a name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, of things on earth, of things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Beloved, it's not only a joy to see the man in the glory head over all things of the church, to acknowledge he's the head of a new creation, but to acknowledge too, someday, that same blessed man, the bridegroom of the church, will be the universal acknowledged head in dominion over the universe at large.

The celestial realm, the terrestrial realm, the internal region, will acknowledge his dominion, his lox or bushy, and the dominion of his headship will someday be universally acknowledged, blessed be his name. But, then, you know, as she speaks of his lox as being the emblem of his dominion, note the particular reference that it is bushy lox to which she refers. Bushy, thus bringing before us the emblem of noble manhood.

I don't know how many of you remember. I remember in my younger days, when physical culture seemed to be a development of themes amongst many, that there was one man particularly who was an ardent follower of this physical culture theory, and proposed it, and was a proponent of its message and of its practice, and one of the emblems of his own physical vigor was the fact that he had bushy hair, and which was the result of his physical condition, and fitting of the emblem of his manhood. Well, beloved, may I say there has never been a perfect emblem of noble manhood, except in the person of Jesus Christ? The nobility of his manhood in the perfection of his humanity? May I give you some suggestions? Never a more noble soul and character has existed in perfect humanity as in the life of the Lord Jesus when he was obvious.

Note, for instance, that in the nobility of his human character, no one remembers the generosity of that blessed man. Though he was poor, yet in his generosity he was able to feed five thousand men, be five women and children, give or take. In his generosity, he provided the wine in Cana of Galilee when they ran out.

In his generosity, he was watching the gifts being placed in the temple, as you read in Luke 21, and he watched the Pharisees and all put in their gifts, and he saw the widow come with her two mice. And in the generosity of his character, he acknowledged she had given more than they ought, none as generous as he. Not only his generosity, but his human frankness for that blessed one was indeed frank.

In Luke chapter 7, the woman came into the house of Simon the Pharisee, and she followed the feet of that blessed one, who in grace had met her need, and washed his feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. And Simon, in his heart, thought if this man knew what sort of a woman she is, he would permit that. The Lord Jesus knew his thoughts, and in frankness, Simon, he said, I've got something to say to you.

And he said it. Yet, even in his fearlessness as man, in John 7, he could fearlessly accuse the Jews. Why do you go about to kill me? He knew they were seeking to kill him.

They said to him one day, Lord, Herod is seeking to kill you. He says, you go and tell that old fox. He was not afraid of his enemy.

Oh beloved, you look for whatever is noble in manhood, and you find it in him. Even in his carefulness, oh how we could, if we would, emulate the pattern that is before us in the humanity of the Lord Jesus. His carefulness! One came to him one day, and said, Lord, I want you to decide between me and my brother who should have the inheritance.

The Lord said, that's none of my business. I'm not to be the judge over you, and he kept his nose out of the family affairs. He was careful.

My, I wish I were more like him, but this is the pattern, and the joy of seeing it. And then, the nobility of his sacrificial spirit. Oh, that we had more of it.

His sacrificial spirit, regardless of his personal comfort, they wake him early in the morning after all men are seeking thee. Regardless of his hunger, he met the need of the woman that the, he met the need of the soul of the woman that the wealth. Regardless of his thirst, he was always doing things for the blessing of others, and counting what good he did in sacrificial love, that was his meat, and that was his drink.

All that was manly and noble, named an equality of human nobility, you find it in him. There's not something else concerning his locks. They're not only bushy, but she says they're black, black as a raven.

Oh, what a picture. This was the, this was the evidence of his eternal youth. Everlasting youth was his.

I don't see many black heirs around here. I see some other kind, but when she looked at the beauty of her beloved, his youthfulness had never faded. He possessed everlasting youth, perpetual.

Have you ever wondered? He began his ministry at the age of 30 years, and three and a half years at the most, it continues to the end, and he could cry, as he did prophetically, the words of the psalmist, as you have them in Psalm chapter 110. He could, he could cry, 102 rather, Psalm 102, he cried, Oh God, take me not away in the midst of my youth. Let me give you a vivid picture of this, which blesses my soul, and speaks loudly to my heart.

You remember in Gethsemane, and who else can enter into Gethsemane and penetrate the depths of his anguish? As he suffered there, and cried from the depths of his heart, Oh my God, if it be possible, let this cup pass away from me. Nevertheless not mine will but thine be done. And he sweat as it were great drops of blood, falling to the ground in his agony.

Do you ever remember that it is said, and an angel comforted him? When he was tempted by Satan, the devil, in Luke 4 and Matthew 4, it was the angels that brought him food, literal food that he could eat after the temptation, and they ministered unto him. They undoubtedly ministered to his physical comfort, but in Gethsemane's garden, it was not physical comfort he needed, something far greater. Go with me to Psalm 102, please.

I want you to notice something very precious in regard to the weakening of his strength. Read verse 23 with me, please, beginning there, and you have the language of the Lord Jesus. As in Gethsemane he bowed in the agony of soul that was his, and recognized, now please realize, in his perfect humanity he knew he was being caught up.

The perfections of his humanity we emphasize, and we would realize that testing that was his to be caught up in the midst of his years read the words, he weakened my strength in the way he shot in my days. I said, oh my God, take me not away in the midst of my days. And who of us can enter into the thoughts and the feelings of the Son of God when in his humanity he thanked being caught up? For his feelings were perfectly human.

But, I want you to make a decided break at the end of that expression. He took me away, take me not away in the midst of my days. Now, what follows is an entirely different commentary which could not be the language of his own heart and mouth, but could have been, and possibly was, the comfort of the angel.

For the angel could comfort him by this divine declaration that follows. Take me not away in the midst of thy days, and the answer comes, thy years are throughout all generations. Of all hast thou laid the foundation of the earth and the heavens of the work of thy hand.

They shall perish, thou shalt endure, yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment. As a nectar shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed. But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.

The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed shall be established before thee. O Beloved, eternal youth with him. The Lord has said that his body would never see corruption, and it never did, and eternal youth is his.

And, may I point out, not one hair fell from his blessed head. Not one hair was discolored to give the indication of decay and age, and thus, in the beauty of his eternal youthfulness, he still abides. But, when I look at you, and when you look at me, when we see each other, gray hairs and the evidences of decay are here amongst us again and again, but not in him.

But, may I comfort as well as encourage and warm your heart, as well as mine own, to remind you that to all of his followers he has given that eternal youth. Having been born anew, born again, he is bestowed upon his eternal youth. For though the outward man perish, yet the inward is renewed day by day.

As though the body may fail, as though to the dust of the earth it may go, out of the dust of the earth it shall rise with the redemption of a new body, and with the possession of eternal youth. And, you'll never need to go to St. Augustine to find the fountain of ether of eternal youth. If you found him, you found the fountain, and, O beloved, to recognize, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not appear what we shall be, but we know when he shall appear.

We shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Hallelujah! What a joy to realize eternal youth is ours. Blessed be his name.

I just wish I were already in it, in the glory that is to come, but thank God it's in him. He has given to his followers eternal youth. Blessed be his name.

Cheer up! You're not going to be old long, if you ever get old, but we're going to be young eternally when we get into the glory. Oh, thank God for the emblem of his flock being black as a raven, to remind us he possesses eternal youth, and has given it to all of his followers. Now, shall we look at verse 12, please? His eyes, they are the eyes of doves by the rivers and waters washed with milk and titmice, sir, and without going into the metaphorical description that doth suggest something, think with me of his eyes in particular.

The eyes of our beloved and blessed Lord, for the eyes have much to reveal even in the human character, and through the eyes much is expressed regarding the character of the owner, and the eyes of the blessed Lord Jesus. For from the fullness of his eyes we find his character reflected, and from those eyes of doves there is a reflection of one who has tender and infinite compassion and love. First of all, they are the eyes of love.

My beloved fellow believer, when you and I met the Lord Jesus face to face for the first time, we saw the eyes of love. In the language of the prophet Ezekiel, when God wrote through him, and wrote of Israel, I'll say I pass by thee, I looked upon thee, and behold thy time, in all the filth that she was, thy time was the time of love. And God, through the prophet, stated how he loved Israel when she was in such a condition, and yet he goes on to state, but now thou art mine, thou art mine, thou hast become mine.

Though beloved when he found you with me, in tenderness he sought me when I was lost in sin, and by his spirit brought me back to his fold again. And those eyes that he bestowed upon us when he saved us, they were eyes of love, and the joy of being able to look into the face of one whose eyes indicated, John I love you, and I die to save you. And those eyes of love, they melted the soul, and we became his.

Loved with everlasting love, led by grace, this love to know, spirit grieving from above, thou hast taught me it is so. And what a joy to realize we look into his eyes, and they're eyes of love. Second, they are eyes of gentle leading.

Remember the words of the psalmist in Psalm 32, in verse 8? I will instruct thee, and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go, I will guide thee with mine eye, the eyes of gentle leading. May I remind you of the context? I think the following verse there says, be not as the horse, nor as the mule, whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle. My beloved, these are the eyes of gentle leading.

He says, I don't want to drive you like a mule. I don't want to drive you like a horse. I want to lead you gently.

I think of that dear old man. Lead me gently home, father, lead me gently home. They are the eyes of gentle leading.

Oh, that we would keep our hearts fixed upon his face, and see the eyes of gentle leading. As we sang, all the way my savior leads me, what am I to ask beside? Can I doubt his tender mercy? Who through life has been my guide? Heavenly peace, divinest comfort, here my faith with him to dwell. For I know whate'er befall me, Jesus doeth all things well.

They are also eyes of immediate perception. The eyes of the Lord run to and fro through the whole to show himself strong on the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. 2nd Chronicles, 16 and verse 9. I think of the words of Hagar in Genesis 16, verse 13.

Thou, God, seest me, the eyes of immediate perception. Oh, thank God you and I are never out of his sight, walking over me day and night. And they are also eyes of compassionate kindness.

Did you ever notice a lovely expression that's found in Mark, in chapter 10, verse 21, when the rich young ruler came to the Lord Jesus and said, Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And the Lord conversed with him, and as the Lord spoke to his conscience and to his soul, the young man turned away and went from the Saviour sorrowfully, because he had great possessions. But do you remember the words that the writer Mark recalls? Jesus looking upon him, loved him. And the Lord Jesus had a look of compassionate kindness upon that young man, for before even in his human character that which his own heart could rejoice in.

And in compassionate kindness he rested his eyes on what is ever lovely in other beings. Would to God you and I should do the same. Then may I remind you of the well-known Scripture.

In John chapter 11 and verse 35, they were eyes of sympathetic friendship, as he stood at the grave of Lazarus. You remember in John 11, I think, verse 3, it says, Jesus loved Mary and Martha and Lazarus, and there if he stood at the grave of Lazarus, who had been dead four days, Jesus wept. They were eyes of sympathetic friendship.

He could weep with those who weep, and in sympathy the tears poured down his precious face, and the Jews confessed, behold how he loved them. For they were eyes of sympathetic friendship. Oh beloved, you know one of the greatest difficulties is to express sympathy, and not always do we feel capable of doing it.

Not always can we ever bring forth the expression of sympathy that may be needed, but you will always find, here is one, who with eyes of doves expresses sympathetic friendship. Do you remember the words of the hymn writer, there's not a friend like the lowly Jesus? No, not one. I found a friend, oh such a friend.

He loved me ere I knew him, and so on. His eyes are the eyes of sympathetic friendship, and if all others will thank you, this friend never will, and you can depend upon his eyes of sympathy and friendship to be yours and to be mine. But, also may I remark, many things could be said.

Those eyes are the eyes of one who is the man of sorrows, and when you read in Luke 23 of the Lord Jesus coming to Jerusalem, and as he looked over the city of Jerusalem from that vantage point, he wept over that city. He wailed, lamenting over the rejection of his people, of himself. And he wept and mourned, for as he beheld the city, he wept.

And in Luke 19, as he not wept, he spoke of the visitation of judgment that was to come upon the city for their rejection. How fitting are the words of Jeremiah in the Lamentations! Jeremiah the weeping prophet, how his eyes wept for the condition of his people, and the judgments of God that were prevailing. For these things I weep, said Jeremiah, mine eye runneth down with water, and the eyes of the man of sorrow weep over the conditions that are among his own.

I know many times one's heart is wrung, and the mind and heart turns with sorrow for comfort to the Lord when we see conditions prevailing that are contrary to the mind of God. So did Jeremiah. He wept over them.

So did Elijah the prophet. He wept as well as prayed over the situation in Israel. The apostate state of things! May I ask, my beloved, do you and I share the sympathy of this blessed man of sorrows in relation to the conditions and even amongst his beloved people? For these things I weep, said Jeremiah, mine eye runneth down with water, mine eyes do fail for tears, said the prophet, my eyes runneth down with rivers of water for the destruction of the daughters of my people.

Oh beloved, may I suggest to you look into those eyes of the Savior and recognize they are the eyes of the man of sorrows, and may you and I have the privilege of sharing his grief and his reproach while we are here in this present scene, and thus share, as the prophet Jeremiah did, the conditions that prevail with sorrow in his heart, and with mourning and tears in his eyes. But then, one more thing in closing, I think of the Savior's words that Jeremiah wrote in Lamentations Once Fell, so fitting of the Savior when he was on the cross, and Jeremiah said, is it nothing to you that pass by? Or, literally, it is nothing to you that pass by? Behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger. And this was the weeping and the mourning and sorrow for a lost world.

Behold and see if there be any sorrow in like unto my sorrow which the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger. O my beloved, were to God that you and I knew something about weeping for this lost world, as we hear his voice from Calvary telling of the depths of his sorrow to redeem those who are constantly passing by his cross and rejecting his love and grace. I think it was our beloved brother Arthur Smith wrote the words of that chorus, Lord crucify, give me a heart like thine, teach me to love the dying souls around.

O keep my heart in constant touch with thee, and give me love, pure Calvary love, to win the loss to thee. O beloved, as we look at his head, as we look at his lungs, as we look at his eyes, may God help you and me to become more like him in our character and in our testimony for his glory. Amen.

Shall we pray? Blessed God and Father, we thank thee for the glimpses, the Spirit of God, gifts of our Savior in this precious word. We bless thee for the glory of the Lord that shines upon every page, and as we have looked upon him in the version of this account, in the song of Solomon, we have to confess there's no other one like him. And we pray that thou would keep us, thy people, looking unto Jesus, and grant that today we may thus keep our eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.

Lord, we say in closing that it may be true of us. Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me, all of his wonderful passion and purity. O thou Spirit divine, all my being refine till the beauty of Jesus be seen in thee.

Lord Jesus, do transform us more and more each day to be conformed to thy likeness while we are here upon the earth, until we see thee face to face in glory. This is our closing prayer as we dismiss and commend each other to thy benediction of blessing, protection, and grace in thy precious, holy, and worthy name. Amen.