SONG OF SOLOMON 2.10-17

LORD’S SUPPER

SUNDAY AM MAY 2013

 

Song 2:10 My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. 11 For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; 12 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; 13 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. 14 O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs (shelving rocks, which are climbed like stairs), let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely. 15 Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.16 My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies.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.

 

Last week, we mentioned that one of the mysteries found in the NT was the mystery concerning the relationship that Jesus Christ has with His bride, the church. That mystery of course is most beautifully recorded in Ephesians 5.22-33.

 

As you read the bible, you begin to see an unfolding of the various kinds of relationships that exist between God and man. For example, God is the Creator and we are His creatures made in His image and likeness (Genesis 1). God is the Shepherd and we are His Sheep (Psalm 23). God is the Potter and we are the Clay (Jeremiah 18).

Christ is The Vine and we are the branches (John 15).

 

However, no book in the bible more beautifully portrays the sweetness and intimacy that redeemed man can have with Jesus better than the Song of Solomon.

 

The Bible is far more than a book that only contains theological and academic information about God. The bible is a book that reveals to us God’s plan of salvation. This salvation or good news tells us how, by the grace of Christ, lost man can enter into sweet and meaningful fellowship with God through faith Jesus Christ.

• 1John 1:3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.
• 1Corinthians 1:9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

In this beautiful book, 2 times we hear the bride say the words regarding her bridegroom, My beloved is mine (2.16;6.3).

Can you say Jesus Christ is my beloved this morning? Can you say without any hesitation or a shadow of a doubt that Jesus Christ is my bridegroom and there is no other? We should be able to say that with as much absolute certainty as any my wife should be able to declare that her husband is her bridegroom.

 

Song 2:10 My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away (repeated in verse 14).

• My Beloved here is a picture ofThe Bridegroom of the church, The Lord Jesus. Jesus is the Beloved Son of The Father in Whom He is well pleased. The Lord’s Supper reminds us that we are accepted in The Beloved (Eph 1.6).
• Please take note of the tender terms that The Lord uses to address His church….My love, My fair one (repeated in verse 13).
• The bridegroom Jesus still speaks today. John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them. One day, our Bridegroom Jesus Christ is going to call His bride the church to rise up, and come away.
• This morning, The Lord Jesus may be calling out to some of you here this morning to come unto Him, and receive Him as Lord. Do not hesitate. Do not make excuses. Simply come.

 

11 For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; 12 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; 13 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.

• The winter…the rain. Season of darkness and coldness.

• The flowers appear. The flowers or more accurately, the flowery time, corresponds with a time of singing. As we respond to the grace and love of Jesus Christ, our hearts are filled with spontaneous songs of joy.
• Fig tree and the vines bearing tender, good smelling grapes are symbolic of the fragrance and fruitfulness that takes place in our lives as we abide in Jesus and spend time at His feet.
• 2Co 2:14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.
• John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
• Beloved, our Bridegroom Jesus Christ desires that your life be fruitful and fragrant.

 

14 O my dove (not hawk or carrier pigeon), that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs (shelving rocks, which are climbed like stairs), let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.

• The Lord Jesus compares His bride, to a dove that has taken refuge in the clefts of the rocks. The church is Christ's dove; she returns to him, as her Noah. The dove is an almost defenseless bird that must find its refuge in the rocks. Christ is the Rock. As a dove finds refuge in the Lord Jesus Christ.
• He tells her that He wants to see her and hear her voice. Let Me see you face, for it is beautiful. Let Me hear your voice, for it is sweet. The Lord’s delights in fellowship with His bride because He loves her with an everlasting love. These are things that the devil does not want you to know or remember.
• Sweet is thy voice. Because of the grace and the all satisfying sacrifice of Christ for our sins, the prayers of God’s people are sweet and acceptable to God.  Oh the joy and privilege to be able to take everything to God in prayer.
• Hebrews 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
• We will never pray well if we do not believe that we are welcomed into the Father’s presence.

 

15 Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.

• Through the finished sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the covenant with man has been established. But we are also told to work out (not for!) our salvation with fear and trembling.  Part of working out that salvation is resisting the very thins that we have been redeemed from.
• The little foxes speak of the hindrances to intimacy with The Lord. Those foxes may be the attacks of the enemy that need to be resisted or they may be the lusts of the flesh that need to be crucified. This speaks of our need to guard our hearts with all diligence and take unto you the whole armor of God.

• The first risings of sinful thoughts and desires, the beginnings of trifling pursuits which waste the time, trifling visits, small departures from truth, whatever would admit some conformity to the world; all these, and many more, are little foxes which must be removed. Matthew Henry

 

16 My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies (not cactus plants).

• My beloved is mine and I am His in the sense that they are one, joined together with mutual bonds of affection, and not one partner clinging to another more reluctant partner. The Lord’s Supper is a covenant meal that we are partaking of this morning.

• My beloved is mine and I am His expresses the brides entire self-surrender to The Lord and supreme delight in The Lord. It is no wonder that the church calls Jesus Beloved. What is incredible to me is the fact that Jesus calls the church beloved of God, called to be saints.
• Which is the greater miracle — that He should be mine, or that I should be his?” (Spurgeon)
• He feedeth among the liles- Jesus feedeth among the lilies; this shows Christ's gracious presence among believers. Jesus is in the midst of His people when they are gathered together. Lilies are emblems of purity. The presence of Jesus Christ flows most richly in an atmosphere of holiness and purity.

 

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 the only reference in Scripture to the mountains of Bether and it is not certain where the location is. The bride requests that her Beloved run towards here like the young deer runs on the mountain side.

 

Remarks when servers get communin elements

What if you are not experiencing that intimacy with Jesus this morning? What if you are at a place where you have fallen into the rut of going to church, saying your prayers etc?

Quit pretending. Admit it. That doesn’t mean that you roll over and die or, worse yet, tap out on Christ all together. Take the bread and cup and pour out your soul to The Lord…..position yourself under the waterfall of God’s grace until that flicker of faith returns to a roaring inferno. Look to The Lord, not your failures, your excuses, your circumstances or emotions. Return to your first love.

 

Some of you are here today because you want to get right with God. Know this, you are never going to be clean enough for God on your own apart from Christ. The elements of the bread and the cup make that clear. Beloved, one of these days, you and I are going to stand before The Eternal God, and all of the things we have done will be brought before God at that time, whether good or evil----unless you are a child of God; then, the evil, because of the blood of Jesus Christ is erased.

• Heb 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. 26 For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; 27 Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.
• Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.