Consummation: Praising, Wooing and Loving

Text Song of Songs 4 Date 01/03/20 Place Childs Hill Baptist

We are looking at The Song of Solomon. It is a love poem describing the love between Solomon and his Shulamite, the lover and his beloved. We are saying that it is here to teach us about covenant love both on the horizontal and the vertical levels. That is to say, it is both about human love and marriage and about the covenant relationship between God and his people, between Christ and his church. We need help in both these areas.

So far we have looked at the courtship between the two that is described in 1:1-3:5. The second half of Chapter 3 describes the wedding procession of the bridal couple. All the focus there is on the groom, on Solomon in all his glory. This week I want us to look at Chapter 4 where we come to love’s consummation. The word consummation means climax, completion or culmination. We use it chiefly to refer to marriage. After the wedding, and not before, comes the consummation when there is physical union. In fact, I believe I’m right in saying that still in some cases a marriage can be annulled on the basis of non-consummation. You sometimes hear the phrase ‘The marriage was not consummated’. In this chapter the focus turns to the bride. The wedding ceremony is over. All the commotion of the day is complete and at last the bride and groom are alone and we come to love’s consummation.

The focus switches to the Bride, although, paradoxically, nearly every verse of this section is spoken by the Groom. He is in fact more prominent as a speaker here than anywhere else in the book. The wedding ceremony is over. All the commotion of the day is complete. At last the Bride and Groom are alone together. At this point the door would normally close and what happened next would be entirely unobserved by any third party.

The story is told of the fanatical disciple of a certain Jewish Rabbi so keen to learn everything he could from his teacher, that he even wanted firsthand knowledge of how to conduct himself in the marriage bed. He hid himself in his master’s bedroom at a time when he knew the Rabbi and his wife would be retiring for the night. Thankfully, he was discovered before he could gain any knowledge of his teacher’s bedroom technique and was quite rightly thrown out.

Here, we are allowed to follow this special couple into the bridal suite itself and discover at least something of what happens next. So we come at last to love’s consummation.

1. Consider how the bridegroom praises his bride just before love’s consummation

First, we have a song of unrivalled beauty sung by Solomon to his virgin bride. In it he praises her in ways that we might not always appreciate but that are similar to eastern traditions still around today such as the wasf sung at traditional Syrian weddings. One commentator describes being on an aeroplane discussing this description with a friend. His friend thought he would try complimenting one of the stewardesses in this fashion. "Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from the hills of Gilead" he said. She was not impressed! We need to see then that these metaphors are important for their associations as much as the pictures they evoke.

We should understand it, on the horizontal plane, as a lesson in how a man should appreciate his wife. This whole section also has something to teach us about how to approach wooing and about foreplay within marriage. We can’t go into it here but if you are wise you will see it.

On the vertical level, it speaks of the beauty of the church that is seen already on earth in embryo but that will be fully revealed at the end of time when Christ comes again to take his people to himself.

1. Where he focuses his thoughts. He begins by saying (1a) How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! This is how a man ought to think of his wife. Obviously the attraction will be physical at first but as he gets to know her, if she is what she should be, he will see that she also has inner beauty – the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit. Where he doesn't see that, he'll do what he can to bring it about. He will love his wife until she is radiant and unblemished in his eyes, caring for her as much as for his own body.

Husbands, are you loving your wives like that? Are they growing more beautiful as you grow in your love for them? Not necessarily outwardly, but inwardly certainly.

Sonnet 104 by Shakespeare “To me, fair friend, you never can be old For as you were when first your eye I eyed Such seems your beauty still." Our model should be Christ and his love for his people.

2. How he describes his bride. Looking at her face, Solomon then goes on to list his bride’s attributes one by one, focusing on seven things. It is all very sensuous. We clarify his meaning first

Her eyes. Your eyes behind your veil he says are doves. At this stage she still has a veil over her face which he is about to remove. He is close enough to see her face, however. He likens her eyes to doves as she had done his. This may be a reference to their whiteness around the pupil or how they dart about. These were gentle, innocent eyes, redolent of her character in general.

Her hair. Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from the hills of Gilead. He looks next at her black hair which is long and perhaps this very moment is being untied so that it can cascade down on to her shoulders. It reminds him of a flock of black goats coming down the mountain in Gilead. Probably we should think of it as seen from a distance, across the valley, with the flock running to left and to right.

Her teeth. Your teeth are like a flock of sheep just shorn, coming up from the washing. Each has its twin; not one of them is alone. Someone once asked why missing teeth can look so charming in little children but so ugly on adults. Thanks to modern dentistry we don’t see too many adults with missing teeth. There was a time when it was more common. I believe that is why in early photographs you rarely see people smiling. People weren’t more morose then they just knew that if they smiled it wouldn’t look very nice. This woman has no such problem. She didn’t have crooked teeth either. When she smiled there was perfect symmetry – each tooth on one side is matched by another on the other side. Again using a rustic image he says they are like sheep just shorn and washed clean. The very image is designed to provoke a smile – which on her looked so lovely. It speaks also of the purity and innocence and freshness that characterised her.

Her lips. Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon; your mouth is lovely. Your lips, as some wag put it, are there to stop your mouth fraying. They tend to be redder than the rest of the face and it is generally accepted that their redness and shape can be attractive – hence lipstick, lip gloss, etc. Nobody wants dry, chapped or peeling lips. Their thinning is one of many unwelcome changes that occur as we grow older. Here he says her lips look like a scarlet ribbon. Her mouth looks lovely. It is as red as a scarlet ribbon and as shapely as a beautifully tied bow. No doubt her mouth not only looked lovely but spoke truthfully and honestly too.

The sides of her face Your temples behind your veil are like the halves of a pomegranate. By her temples he probably means her cheeks as well. Like other fruits pomegranates are often associated with romance in ancient literature. Here he thinks of one cut in two to reveal a red interior. She is full of colour. Even through the veil he can see that. She has the blush of innocence, the ruddiness of health and the pink bloom of youth.

Her neck. Your neck is like the tower of David, built with elegance; on it hang a thousand shields, all of them shields of warriors. We don’t know exactly where the Tower of David was but it was clearly a tall, straight elegantly built tower where shields would be hung. He compares her neck to it – also long and slender and elegant and decorated with a necklace of silver or gold discs. A double chin, sagging jowls or a ‘chicken neck’ is unappealing. He is thinking of her deportment, her bearing and the way that points to her upright and noble character.

Her cleavage. Your breasts are like two fawns, like twin fawns of a gazelle that browse among the lilies. Below her neck he can see her cleavage, her chest. This is not something we would normally speak about but the two are alone remember and about to consummate their marriage. The description deliberately stops at this point. He does not mean, of course, that her cleavage looked just like two four legged fawns. Rather he is thinking of the gentleness, the softness of baby deer lying with their legs tucked under.

This is how a man should look at his wife. He should love to look at her face. To him she should be beautiful, as we've said. That's right and proper. It's interesting this is where the focus is – on her face not her body. That is right and noble. Of course, it would be superficial to think Solomon's concern is only for outward beauty. Everything else in the Bible warns against such an assumption.

The passage also teaches us how it will be in the world to come and how it is in part now. Paul speaks (Ephesians 5) of Christ giving himself up for the church to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word in order to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish but holy and blameless. This is the work that is going on now. The beautifying work in order to prepare us for that great day. He is working to sanctify us so that we are those who are pure and innocent, with a single eye for his glory, mouths that declare his glory, upright and solid yet tender and gentle in his service. We are not there yet but we will be one day and not only will we gaze on Christ’s beauty but he will also gaze on ours.

3. Consider what he desires to do

In verses 6 and 7 he says Until the day breaks and the shadows flee, I will go to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of incense. You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you. Now is the time for love’s consummation. He pictures himself entering a garden at evening when its aroma is most intense. He comes in, he sees all her beauty.

That is how a wedding night should be. In to many instances young people have been so impatient that there is no such wedding night. They spoil both the anticipation and the consummation. If you are still unmarried do not make the mistake of forcing your way into the garden too soon. Wait! If such an exhortation is too late then we say turn from sin and find forgiveness and a fresh start in Christ.

But to look higher, see here a picture of the glories of heaven to come, love’s consummation there between Christ and his church. If we are those who truly trust in the Lord Jesus Christ then we will know as we are now known, then we will see him as he is and not only that but he will look on us and he will say All beautiful you are, my darling; there is no flaw in you. Our beauty is often spotted now. There are many flaws. But not then! Look forward to that glorious day.

2. Consider how the bridegroom woos his bride just before love’s consummation

1. Consider how he calls to her

In verses 8-15 we have a second song from the groom. He begins by calling her to come to him. He pictures her as being far from Jerusalem – up in the mountains of the far north, in places of danger. Come with me he says from Lebanon, my bride, come with me from Lebanon. Descend from the crest of Amana, from the top of Senir, the summit of Hermon, from the lions' dens and the mountain haunts of the leopards. @ It reminds us of the trumpet call that will go out on the last day and the way the angels will gather the elect from the four corners of the world. Out of the mountains and caves and holes in the ground they will stream, the saints of God. All wandering and all danger will be over then. There will be no more fear.

2. Consider how enchanted with her he is

Then in verse 9 he says You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride; you have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace. Is there such a thing as love at first sight? It’s an interesting question. Many people believe in it and they will tell you the story of how they met their wife or husband, falling in love with them at first sight. In reality we have to say there is attraction at first sight that can lead very quickly to love – so quickly that we hardly spot the join. For Solomon here it was like that and continued to be like that – one look was enough, even a small thing like a jewel in her necklace meant so much to him.

It’s a good thing for a husband or wife or a potential husband and wife to think about. What affect does my loved one have on me? Am I moved by how they look, what they do? We ought to be affected even by the small things in a way that is not true of anyone else. And if we look we will find it to be so. We ought to encourage such thoughts.

Or to go higher think about this phrase You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride; you have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace. Imagine how the Shulamite felt to hear King Solomon say such things. Why would he be interested in me? How can what I do make such a difference? On the higher plane, think of these words about the bride coming from Christ’s lips! ‘How can it be?’ we think. How can any little thing I do or say make any difference to the King of the Universe? But such a verse shows us that it does make a difference. You know, believer, the Lord can’t take his eyes off you. He loves you. The smallest things mean so much. I’m sure we see that sometimes but too often we forget. We think that our lives are insignificant, unspecial, mundane. But they are not when we know he loves us. Even on the human level, to know someone loves you makes such a difference. Cf Ecclesiastes 4:7-12. How much more is this so when we know that our Creator and God is enthralled by us?

3. Consider how delighted in her he is. 10, 11 How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much more pleasing is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume than any spice! Your lips drop sweetness as the honeycomb, my bride; milk and honey are under your tongue. The fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon. This is in the same vein. He delights in her. He loves everything about her. The joy she gives is better than wine. Her fragrant perfume is superior to any spice. When she speaks it is as sweet to his ears as wild honey would be to his tongue – milk and honey flow. He clothes also are fragrant with the delights of Lebanon.

So a man should think of his wife. So Christ speaks of the church. How unworthy we are. So often we are not delightful. Our lives lack fragrance. We are not a source of joy. Our lips drop bitterness and poison and venom are under our tongues. How can Christ speak like this? He does so because all our sins are covered by his blood shed on the cross. He will make us perfect.

4. Consider how he thinks of her

12-15 You are a garden locked up, my sister, my bride; you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain. Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates with choice fruits, with henna and nard, nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with every kind of incense tree, with myrrh and aloes and all the finest spices. You are a garden fountain, a well of flowing water streaming down from Lebanon. He uses two images to describe here – a garden and a spring or fountain. He finds her a garden locked up and an enclosed or sealed spring or fountain. She is a virgin on her wedding night. The garden has been kept closed, the fountain sealed. It has not been allowed to flow.

The application to all unmarried people is clear. God has given you a lovely garden to look after. Keep it locked until the day of your marriage. The fountain is not to be unsealed until then. As believers we can think in similar terns of our spiritual chastity. We must keep ourselves pure until that day when Christ returns.

He goes on to describe the plants in the garden – all sorts of mellow fruits and aromatic spices. There is no need to try spiritualise these into the various gifts the Spirit gives. We know the various gifts he gives to us. These must all be preserve and kept for Christ’s enjoyment and use. They must not be perverted in any way.

In verses 6 and 7 he says Until the day breaks and the shadows flee, I will go to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of incense. All beautiful you are, my darling; there is no flaw in you. Now is the time for love’s consummation. He pictures himself entering a garden at evening when its aroma is most intense. He comes in, he sees all her beauty.

That is how a wedding night should be. In to many instances young people have been so impatient that there is no such wedding night. They spoil both the anticipation and the consummation. If you are still unmarried do not make the mistake of forcing your way into the garden too soon. Wait! If such an exhortation is too late then we say turn from sin and find forgiveness and a fresh start in Christ.

But to look higher, see here a picture of the glories of heaven to come, love’s consummation there between Christ and his church. If we are those who truly trust in the Lord Jesus Christ then we will know as we are now known, then we will see him as he is and not only that but he will look on us and he will say All beautiful you are, my darling; there is no flaw in you. Our beauty is often spotted now. There are many flaws. But not then! Look forward to that glorious day.

3. Consider the consummation of their love

1. Realise how to respond to praise

Well, how does one respond to praise like that? When it is genuine like that and when it is given at the appropriate time, as this wedding night was, then the way to respond is in the way that the bride does here. 16 Awake, north wind, and come, south wind! she says Blow on my garden, that its fragrance may spread abroad. Let my beloved come into his garden and taste its choice fruits. So taking up the image of the garden she uses two images to beautifully describe the consummation. Wind blowing on the garden and so diffusing its beautiful aroma everywhere and her beloved tasting the choicest fruits of her orchards. The latter image is a common one. People will speak sometimes of adultery as eating forbidden fruit. The other image is very fresh however. Perhaps we lose something of it by having so little experience of the aroma of an eastern garden. I remember a Kazakh Persian lady talking to me about it and saying how poor an English Garden is in contrast. Perhaps it is that we get so little warm breezes here. The image is particularly poignant for Christians when we remember how the Holy Spirit is so often spoken of as a wind (that is what spirit means) – an invisible person affecting us unseen. This is how Christ comes to us in this life. We cannot be fragrant Christians without that work. Of course, the ultimate fulfilment is in heaven in the glory to come. To this we look.

2. Consider love’s consummation

In 5:1 we have the words of the bridegroom again I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice. I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey; I have drunk my wine and my milk. He takes up the image of eating fruit especially and extends it. He enters that garden, locked until now but rightly and willingly opened now, and he picks the flowers as it were and eats and drinks what is there – honey and wine and milk. It is a very sensuous and evocative yet pure and chaste description. We always ought to try and think of such things in these sorts of terms.

He has in mind both the delights of the marriage bed and beyond that the consummation in heaven to come between Christ and his bride the church. What glories lie ahead. As believers pray to the winds to awake and to their lover to come into his garden so one day he will come.

3. Note the encouragement given by others

Finally, hear the words of the friends again Eat, O friends, and drink; drink your fil of love. There is no jealousy here and no interference only encouragement. That is how it should be for those of who look on and see others falling in love and entering on the delights of marriage. In eastern weddings there is a tradition of guests remaining around (elsewhere of course) until the consummation. Perhaps that is why we have this chorus. Although this is not done in the west the attitude is clearly to be commended. It reminds us too of the way the angels delight in everything to do with salvation. How they will rejoice with us when Christ returns at the consummation of all things.

Crisis and Ceremony: A lover lost and found, two lovers married

Text Song of Songs 3 Date23/02/20 Place Childs Hill Baptist

We are looking at Solomon’s Song of Songs on Sunday mornings. It is a poem about the love between King Solomon and the Shulamite, the Lover and his Beloved. There is some debate about this but we are seeking to learn from it by seeing how it relates to us both on the horizontal and vertical levels. We believe it has something to teach us about personal human relationships, especially marriage, but it is also a vivid picture of the relationship between God and his people, Christ and his church, which is very often pictured for us in Scripture in terms of a relationship between a man and his wife.

Most commentators are agreed in seeing a break between 3:5 and 3:6. What we read in 1:1 to 3:5 really deals with the courtship between the Beloved and her Lover, the woman and the man. Up until 3:5 it is all anticipation. From 3:6 we are dealing with the wedding day itself and beyond. The wedding day has an important place in the whole story. It's not the day when love began or necessarily the most important day of the marriage but it is a significant day, a day that is noted and a great fuss made. Many rebel against such ideas, especially in our day. Yet from every point of view marriage between a man and a woman makes sense. Simply slipping into a live-in relationship is not a good idea. It often doesn't work. Though the divorce rate is high in this country there are many, many more failures when people simply live together. There is also evidence to say that when a couple live together before getting married, divorce is more likely. Far better, far wiser to follow the biblical pattern and set a specific day when a public meeting takes place, when formally and pointedly the marriage between a man and a woman begins.

What I want us to do then this morning is to look at the whole of Chapter 3. It divides into two obvious parts, one before the wedding and one after. In verses 1-5 we consider a lover lost, then in verses 6-11 we begin to look at two lovers married. This time I want to put full emphasis on the vertical lessons here – our relationship with the Lord. Here we learn very useful things both about the experience of spiritual desertion and about the wedding procession that is the Christian life.

1. A lover lost – experiences to be aware of

There are three consecutive experiences that come out here.

1. Be aware of the distressing experience of a lover lost.

Because the verse begins All night long on my bed (or ‘night after night on my bed’) it is generally agreed that the sequence of verses beginning at 3:1 probably describes a dream or a series of recurring dreams. Our dream life is always a fascinating subject with a certain amount of mystery. For whatever reason, it would seem that whenever we go into a deep sleep, dreaming takes place. Sometimes we remember these dreams, sometimes not. Those who are lighter sleepers tend often to remember their dreams, while heavy sleepers do not. Sometimes we appear to have forgotten a dream when something will happen to trigger the memory and we recall part or all of the dream.

For lovers a great question is often ‘Did you dream about your loved one?’ The idea is that if you are thinking about your loved one every waking hour then it is no surprise that you think about them when you’re asleep too. There are even old wives tales about how you can guarantee that you'll dream about your loved one if you follow certain superstitious procedures. In reality, even the most ardent lovers sometimes find they never dream about their beloved ones or at least they can’t remember the dreams or (perhaps this has happened to you as seems to be the case here at first) they do dream about their beloved one but the dream is rather disturbing and unsatisfying. This can be especially so, as in the case here, where the wedding day is fast approaching and understandably there are nerves and fears. People can have what psychologists call fear-fulfilment dreams – not exactly nightmares but something close to it. Nothing seems to go right. The prospective Bride dreams she turns up in a tatty old dress, the groom dreams of arriving only to be told his bride has not, etc.

Throughout these verses the beloved speaks of the one my heart loves (1, 2 and 3). It is the same as the phrase she uses back in 1:7 translated there you whom I love. She loves to use this potent phrase – the one my heart loves. This raises the question for all of us – who do you love with your heart? Not only on the horizontal level but much more importantly on the vertical level. Does your heart love Jesus? Is your soul devoted to him? That is how it should be if we profess to be Christians. We should have an ardent desire for him. How that affects our dream life is not so important but how it effects our lives when we are awake is very important indeed.

What happens here is that although all night long the Shulamite looks for the one her heart loves she has to say I looked for him but did not find him. Firstly, we note the intensity of her love. She has to find him now. She can't go back to sleep, as it were, and resume her search in the morning. She has to find him immediately. Secondly, her search is fruitless. She longs to see him but she cannot. She searches for him but he is nowhere to be found.

It is probably only a dream but it brings out very vividly what it is to lose one whom you truly love.

On the horizontal level first - we think of broken engagements (never desirable) or worse, families torn apart by divorce or by death. We ought to have the fullest sympathy for anyone in such a position.

But then, on the vertical or spiritual plane, think of what it is like to go through a period of apparent spiritual desertion. Here is a truly converted believer. He reads the Word but it doesn’t seem to come home to him as it once did. He prays but he feels as though his prayers are going no higher than the ceiling. He’s not getting through. Such a person will usually still come to church but there seems to be a deadness on them. It is not like it once was. That sort of experience can come to a believer. It happens for various reasons. It is sometimes referred to as the dark night of the soul. It does not mean that such a person has lost his salvation or is no longer in union with Christ but there is a loss of communion. It produces thoughts such as these.

Where is the blessedness I knew when first I saw the Lord?

Where is the soul refreshing view of Jesus and his word?

What peaceful hours I once enjoyed! How sweet their memory still!

But now I feel an aching void, the world can never fill. William Cowper

It is similar to what the psalmist describes in Psalms 42-44 (see especially 42:9-11a and 44:23, 24 for a corporate experience of this). Do you know something of that distressing experience? It happens to believers just as it happened to this woman. Such a passage is here to show us what to do in such a situation.

2. Be aware of the testing experience of seeking for a lover lost.

Because of this situation the Beloved decides to do something. Throughout she is very practical, very earnest. She decides on a very careful, thorough and methodical search for him. (2) I will get up now and go about the city, through its streets and squares; I will search for the one my heart loves. She is determined. Cf Psalm 42:11.

The same sort of attitude ought to be there when it comes to the loss of a lover for any of us.

Firstly, on the horizontal level. Now obviously where a situation is beyond repair – eg when a partner dies - this verse can't be applied directly, although there is a lot to be said for remarriage in many cases and may be there is an application there. However, there are many other situations where things may be in the balance. You look like losing the one your heart loves. Well, do not sit back and leave it. Be up and doing what you can to win that person back. Where did things start to go wrong? Are there sins to repent of? Where can things be put right?

Vertically, the same can be said. When we feel deserted by Jesus it’s often because we first deserted him. We need to retrace our steps and consider where things began to go wrong. We need to be determined to meet with Christ and find communion with him afresh. It’s a matter for earnestness, thoroughness, great effort from us until the situation’s resolved. This is true individually and corporately. We must do all we can.

She goes on, however, So I looked for him but did not find him. Again we see the immediacy, the impulsiveness. Yet how frustrating, how distressing. She looks everywhere – the open squares, the back streets and sidestreets but he is nowhere to be found. She hunts high and low but he's not there.

We cannot suppose reconciliation is ever easy. There are no guarantees on the horizontal level.

We must not suppose that Christ is always easily found either. There can be times in a believer’s life when Christ seems very distant and far from us. True union with Christ can never be severed but there may be loss of communion.

She tells us in verse 3 that The watchmen found me as they made their rounds in the city. People are not supposed to be out on the streets at this time of night so the watchmen go to challenge her. Before they can say anything she blurts out her question Have you seen the one my heart loves?

Perhaps we can see how anyone who is in real earnestness to find communion with Christ again will inevitably speak to others about it, especially Christian ministers – those whose work is to keep watch over the City of God. It is perhaps not an easy thing to talk about but if we really love the Lord we will want to.

Something similar could be said on the horizontal level. Sometimes married and courting couples do need counselling. We shouldn’t be ashamed if that is thought necessary. By going to counsellors I don't mean Relate or other professionals necessarily but good Christians who can talk things through with a couple where that's necessary. It can be very helpful especially for a younger couple to talk with an older couple.

3. The happy experience of finding a lover lost.

Finally, in verse 4, we have the denouement as she reveals Scarcely had I passed them when I found the one my heart loves. At last she had discovered him. Here he is! I held him she says and would not let him go till I had brought him to my mother’s house, to the room of the one who conceived me. She is rewarded with the presence of her lover back in her childhood home. What distress losing her lover had caused her. Now, having found him again she is determined not to let him go. She hugs him. She holds on to him. She is determined that he should accompany her home.

Reconciliations do occur on the horizontal level. We should not automatically assume all is up when things go wrong. Pray for strong marriages in the church, locally and nationally. Pray against all that would undermine it. Do nothing to undermine anyone’s marriage – yours or those of others.

4. A warning conclusion. What heights and depths she had experienced. Even though it was only a dream she had been very involved emotionally – going down to the depths of sadness at her loss and rising to the heights of joy at finding her lover again. One modern writer says ‘Love not only brings a greater experience of joy but a deeper capacity for pain as well.’ This is probably why in verse 5 she repeats the warning previously found in 2:5 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and by the does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires. Love can be an emotional roller coaster. We need to be prepared for its contrasting highs and lows. That is why, although it often happens, it is not ideal for a young teenager to be pre-occupied with such matters. They are already facing many emotional changes and tests without introducing a further element. If a child can possibly get through those early teen years without awakening or arousing love then that is all to the good. Sadly, many are determined that will not be the case and especially on the Internet and TV are constantly pumping out propaganda to say that if you are not busy falling in love you are not really living the life of a teenager. We can do without such nonsense. A level of emotional maturity is very desirable before we start thinking seriously about love and marriage. That means to say that we will take care both with our own emotions and those of any we consider approaching on this level.

It is good for those who are young Christians or not yet converted to know that there are ups and downs in the Christian walk. It is never perfectly smooth walk to heaven. There are difficulties. We must expect these.

2. Two lovers married - a wedding procession to consider

In 3:6-11 we have a description of the wedding procession into Jerusalem which is followed (in Chapter 4) by festivities at the Royal Palace. Here we need to think of a royal procession rather than a traditional English wedding. It was common in that time and place for brides and grooms together or apart to proceed to the wedding place with great pomp and circumstance. This is unusual anyway. Whereas most often at weddings all eyes are on the bride, here it is quite different. All eyes are on the groom.

1. Consider a wedding procession out of the desert and on to glory.

In 3:6-11 either the woman or a crowd of onlookers speak and describe Solomon and his cortège travelling along the road from the desert (ie open uncultivated country) into Jerusalem. From the walls of the city perhaps we look up and what do we see? 6 Who is this coming up from the desert like a column of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and incense made from all the spices of the merchant? It is not clear at first but it becomes clear that this is the Bride and Groom. A great pillar of smoke is arising at the head of the procession. All sorts of beautiful smelling incense and spices are burning in the air. This was done in processions but this is unique. The pillar of smoke reminds us of the presence of God with his people in the desert. The various perfumes speak of God's glory too. Here we see a picture of Christ bringing his church out of the desert of this world into the glory of heaven and the marriage supper of the Lamb to come. That is how we ought to think of our lives here as Christians, going on from glory to glory in a wedding procession.

2. Consider a wedding procession that focuses on the groom.

Soon it becomes obvious where the focus is. Perhaps it is the Beloved who speaks now. 7, 8 Look! It is Solomon’s carriage, escorted by 60 warriors, the noblest of Israel, all of them wearing the sword, all experienced in battle, each with his sword at his side, prepared for the terrors of the night. It is Solomon the King! He is surrounded by his choicest band of warrior soldiers, 60 in all. They wear their swords in a ceremonial way today but they are experienced fighters and no-one dare attack. This is not an empty display of nobility and prowess. These men are well able to protect the King and his bride from every danger, whether it comes by day or by night. They remind us of the angels that we know are at Christ’s command ready to do his will at any time. This reminds us that God’s people are safe as they travel to the Marriage Supper.

As the procession comes nearer, more can be seen and more details are given. In verses 9, 10 we learn more about the carriage, the litter or palanquin. King Solomon made for himself the carriage; he made it of wood from Lebanon. Its posts he made of silver, its base of gold. Its seat was upholstered with purple, its interior lovingly inlaid by the daughters of Jerusalem. It is made of the best wood – cedar wood from Lebanon. It has silver posts and a gold base. Inside its seat has been lovingly upholstered in purple with careful inlaid work all around – the work of the daughters of Jerusalem. Here is something more of the glory of the Christian life. In splendour and in comfort God provides for his people. He carries them all the way. They respond in love and lovingly adore him as the daughters of Jerusalem.

3. Consider a wedding procession that culminates in a day of crowning and joy. Finally, the procession arrives in Jerusalem and the shout goes up Come out, and look, you daughters of Zion. Look on King Solomon wearing a crown, the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding, the day his heart rejoiced. The Bride is not mentioned. Her description comes later. There are horizontal applications here, of course – male headship is clear. The joy of Christian marriage is also evident. However, let’s concentrate on Christ to close. All eyes are on the king here. He wears the royal crown. There was nothing to compare with it. It is fascinating that it is the King’s mother who puts the crown on his head. In Solomon’s life it was Bathsheba who would have done that. What does the term mother point to when we think of Christ? Not Mary but all those who do his will – the church, his people. The crowning day that’s coming by and by is the day when we will crown him as believers. What a day of unmitigated joy it will be. We ought to think often of it. Meanwhile we ought to be looking forward to that day and seeking to give all glory to him. In regard to splendour and to comfort, God amply provides for us. He carries us all the way. The appropriate response is love and adoration.

We who together form Christ’s Bride must obey him now, knowing we will give him all glory in the world to come. ‘The crowning day is coming by and by’ when believers will ‘crown him with many crowns, the Lamb upon his throne’. What a day of unalloyed delight that will be. We ought to meditate often on it.

Coming together - the nature of true love

Text Song of Songs 2:3-17 Date16/02/20 Place Childs Hill Baptist

We have begun to look at the Song of Solomon and I've suggested to you that the proper way to understand it is on both a horizontal and human level and a vertical and spiritual level. It has a great deal to teach us all about both human relationships, especially between man and wife, and about intimacy with God himself through the Lord Jesus Christ. We've begun looking at it then in these two ways. We have looked at Chapter 1 where we considered

1. What people rightly desire and why. What people rightly desire is intimacy. They desire this because they find objects worthy of their desire – supremely in Jesus Christ.

2. How people should see themselves and what they should desire. There should be a mixture of humility and confidence as we live in a fallen world. It is right to desire intimacy. 

3. The model of kingly courtship here on both the human and spiritual levels.

4. The model of submissive devotion here on both the human and spiritual levels.

5. The model of royal fellowship here noting the interplay of praise and response, fellowship and freedom and realisation and further praise.

This week I want us to look at Chapter 2 on similar lines. Once again the verses are full of sensual imagery. We need not only to see what is described – trees, fruit, gazelles, hills, banqueting halls, rocks, etc but hear and smell them too – foxes, doves, lilies, grapes, etc.

1. Realise that true love is full of desire but must also be patient

1. True love holds its object in high esteem and longs for the benefits of intimacy

In verses 3-13 the woman speaks again. She begins by saying Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest is my beloved among the young men. An apple tree (it may be some other fruit tree) gives delicious fruit and restful shade and so stands out among the trees of a forest. This is the image she chooses to describe her beloved. It is an interesting parallel with what he has just said of her. In true love the lovers must see each other as unique. She adds I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste. To be in the presence of her beloved is pure delight – it is both pleasant and restful and edifying. Do you hold the one you love in high esteem? Is your husband/wife or intended husband/wife someone you esteem? Do you long for intimacy with him? Are you happy to be in his shade, as it were? Are you eager for the fruit he can offer? That is how it should be between man and wife or prospective man and wife. Do you also hold Christ in high esteem? Do you see that he is unique? Do you think of him as being like an apple tree compared with other trees? Do you long for intimacy with him? Do you long to rest in him and enjoy the fruit of the Spirit that he alone can give? He can protect you from harm and feed you like no other. Go to him always.

2. True love looks forward to that intimacy

In verses 4-6 the beloved expresses her longings for intimacy as she looks forward to that coming point in her relationship with her beloved. She looks forward to such intimacy With confidence. 4 Let him lead me to the banquet hall, and let his banner over me be love. This has become a famous verse in more recent years but what does it mean? At Jewish weddings bride and groom are usually married under a canopy and that may be the reference. In days gone by actual banners were used especially in battle. A regiment’s colours, an army’s standard was used as a rallying point for troops, being easy to see form far away. Here she envisages the king taking her into his banquet hall with a banner at the head of the procession proclaiming their love. This is a very public thing then, very open. She is confident that is how it is and how it will be. A love affair should almost always be a public thing. More often than not if it is kept secret then it is because there is something illicit about it or there is a problem on one side or the other. Obviously something may begin secretly and there is need for discretion and decorum but it should not continue like that for any length of time. We can say this about both human love and love to the Lord Jesus Christ. If you love someone you should be confident that they will own up to it too. If there is a fear that he or she would deny it if asked to own it then that relationship is not going anywhere and is better abandoned. Similarly, there ought to be an openness about love to Christ. He certainly shows no shame in owning the names of those who follow him. Though they are nothing but poor country girls, as it were, he welcomes them to his banqueting house. His love for them is evident to all. The banqueting image itself is also very rich, especially when we think of Christ. To become a Christian is to enter Christ’s banqueting house under his banner of love. What rich delights are here. With yearning. In verse 5 she says Strengthen me with raisins, refresh me with apples, for I am faint with love. It is a common enough phenomenon when a person falls in love for them to be unable to eat or to grow faint with love, lovesick as we say – the emotional turmoil has a physical effect on them. The Shulamite cannot take much more and asks for fruit (or food of some sort) to eat to sustain her. Now you may have known something of this on the human level but what about yearnings for Christ? Have you ever longed for him like that? Have you ever been almost ill in your desperation to meet with Christ? Why are our longings and yearnings for him not greater? Think of David in the psalms. 42:1, 2 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. 84:1, 2 How lovely is your dwelling-place, O LORD Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. That is how we should long for God. With longing. In verse 6 she describes lying down with her beloved so that His left arm is under my head, and his right arm embraces me. This is probably before they marry and she is longing for this moment rather than describing what has already happened. She longs for intimacy with her beloved. She longs for his support. On the human level it is right that there is confidence, yearning and longing for intimacy. There is something wrong if those feelings are absent. They need to be handled carefully but they should be there. On the spiritual level, there also ought to be confidence, yearning and longing for intimacy. Do we longer to draw nearer and nearer to Christ? Do we pray Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord to the place where thou hast died Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord to thy precious bleeding side? We ought to.

3. However, true love must always show great patience

But then in verse 7 we have the balance. The beloved turns to the daughters of Jerusalem and she issues a warning note. Daughters of Jerusalem, she says I charge you by the gazelles and by the does of the field: (it is not clear what this oath means although the reference to female deer matches others to male ones and so are appropriate images of patience) Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires. When we talk about such feelings we must always be very careful. We all have these feelings to a greater or lesser extent. We have these desires and needs. Now the world argues that if it feels good you should do it. It urges us to go with our feelings regardless of any other considerations. That is a recipe for disaster. There are great problems with attempting to go down that road. We are sinners and it is the easiest thing in the world for such feelings to become impure and improper and lead us far astray. Further there is the whole matter of timing. In any relationship there are obviously two people and therefore there is a need for co-ordination. Even the simplest thing like walking down a road holding someone’s hand or sharing an umbrella is not as easy as you might think. The whole process of becoming one – living under the same roof, sharing the same bed – is a major undertaking. You cannot assume that any person who happens to take your fancy can become your husband or wife just like that. People who live with that belief are bound to run into trouble and heartbreak. No, it is important that we take care not to arouse or awaken love until it so desires. Love is a very tender plant and needs to be allowed to develop at its own pace. When people try to hurry love it’s a bit like the little boy who decided to help the butterfly out of the chrysalis – it doesn’t work. Even the world has some idea of this. Back in the sixties the Supremes sang a song where a woman bewails her loneliness and longing for love in these terms

How long must I wait, how much more must I take
Before loneliness will cause my heart to break?
No, I cant bear to live my life alone, I grow impatient for a love to call my own, etc.

It then adds

But when I feel that I, I can’t go on, Well these precious words keep me hanging on I remember mama said ‘You can’t hurry love No you’ll just have to wait’ She said ‘love don’t come easy It’s a game of give and take.’

She sounds like a wise mother whoever she was. Children must be allowed to be children. Great pressures are on them to grow up too quickly these days. Children, don’t be unduly anxious about who you will marry and similar questions. There will be plenty of time to think about those things. Are you unmarried but you would like to be married? Be patient. Wait. Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desire. You may never marry. Bear that possibility in mind. Are you married? You know that you need to be patient too – in a different way, of course, but if there is no patience, if there is no waiting until the right moment, then that will lead to frustration and pain too. Are you a believer? We all need to be patient too. We are living in the ‘Now and the not yet’ period. Like young unmarried lovers we've already met with Christ. We know him and walk with him. However we are waiting for the wedding day. We await the day of his return – the consummation of all things. Until then we need patience. We need to be quiet and submissive as we long for his return.

2. Recognise that for true lovers there is nothing better than to be with each other

In verses 8-13 the beloved continues to speak. She describes the coming of her lover and how he speaks to her. Again it is full of instruction both on the horizontal and vertical levels.

1. Consider how a true lover comes to his beloved. 8, 9 Listen! My beloved! Look! Here he comes, leaping across the mountains, bounding over the hills. My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Look! There he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, peering through the lattice. She imagines him coming to visit her. It works on two levels. Literally, he bounds across the hills, probably on horse back. He then knocks at her door, eager to gain admittance. Beyond that is an even more intimate picture of him becoming very physically intimate with her. The keynotes here, however, are enthusiasm, eagerness, excitement, interest. Is that how you come to your beloved? From first to last in a relationship that eagerness and keenness should remain. Obviously it shows itself in a more obvious way at first but it should never be lost. This is how the Lord Jesus comes to his people. Too often we come to him sluggish and slow, lacking in motivation. But not him. He bounds over the hills that stand between us. They seem to us to bar the way but he bounds over them and comes to us. He stands at the door and knocks longing to be admitted. He peers into our very souls, so eager is he for intimacy. What a lover he is. How slow we are to appreciate him and desire him. Our views of him are often obscured and distorted but these verses assure us that he is most eager to meet with us.

2. Consider how a true lover speaks to his beloved. Then in verses 10-13 the lover speaks. What beautiful poetry he pours forth. My beloved spoke and said to me, Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come with me. This is the burden of his message. He speaks to his beautiful one. She has been indoors too long. The winter weather has kept her inside. He takes hold of her, lifts her up and takes her outside with him. See! he says The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. The fig-tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me. It’s springtime! Spring has sprung. Look at the flowers. Listen to the birds singing. See the fruit on the trees and feel the warmth of the sunshine. It’s not hard for us to think about such things at the moment as it is all happening around us. In the minds of poets Spring has long had an association with falling in love. Falling in love is sometimes referred to as spring fever. It is the time of year when young men often wake up to realise that there are beautiful young women about. All through the winter they had hardly noticed them but now in the sunshine they seem to be blossoming like the trees. The connection between spring and love is the idea of freshness and beauty, liveliness and colour. When two people are in love, whether it is winter or summer there is spring in the air – everything is alive and bright. Have you heard the voice of Jesus coming to you like that in his Word? Arise, my darling, he says my beautiful one, and come with me. He can banish the dolefulness and drudgery of winter. He can bring life and vigour and hope and joy into your life if you will simply let him take your hand. He does that for the unbeliever when such a person comes to trust in him for the first time. He does it again and again when he renews and refreshes those who are in him. He makes everything new. Oh look to him and be renewed.

3. Consider these four characteristics of true love

The last four verses of Chapter 2 seem to be spoken by the man and then the woman. Their words bring out four basic characteristics of true love.

1. The desire to see and hear your beloved.

In verse 14 the Lover says My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding-places on the mountainside, show me your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely. The image is of a rock pigeon hiding in the clefts of a rock or hill. The Lover imagines his beloved is one of these creatures. He wants to find her. He wants to see her and to hear her. He loves the sound of her voice which is so sweet to his ear and he loves the look of her face which is so lovely. Now this may seem a little obvious but in true love the lovers like both to look at each other and to hear each other’s voices. Sometimes an irrational fear will come over a single Christian – what if the Lord wants me to marry someone I don’t like the look of or whose voice I can’t stand. No, when the Lord calls two people to marry he expects them to like the way they look and sound to each other. These are not the only factors, of course, but they are important. If you are going to spend 40 or 50 years with a person it is best that you find them pleasant to look at and sweet to listen to. God has so made us that we all have different faces and different voices. Some are more obviously beautiful than others but beauty is in the eye of the beholder as we say. Of course, the beauty of a voice or face can be lost. There is a warning in Proverbs 21:9 (25:24) Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife. On a more spiritual level we see here that the Lord loves to see us and hear us. Here is an encouragement to come to him and worship him and especially to pray to him. It's hard to imagine how the Lord can have any delight in hearing us but we know how delightful it is to see and hear a small child asking questions and talking to us and perhaps we should think of it something like that. More appropriately here there is the way ‘sweet nothings’ can be spoken in a lover’s ear and give great joy. I remember my courting days running up huge bills on the 'phone to Aber. What did we talk about for so long? Nothing really. Just to talk was enough. If only we had the same sort of desire for prayer and worship.

2. A determination to deal with anything that would mar the relationship. Then in verse 15 there is a warning note. Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom. The vineyards are the lovers themselves. It is Spring and the vineyards are in bloom. It is a happy time but what if the foxes, especially the little ones, get in to the vineyards and start eating the grapes? They must be dealt with. The lover doesn’t say ‘I’ll catch them’ but he instructs his beloved Catch for us the foxes …. You deal with them for both our sakes. Or perhaps ‘Let us catch …’. These foxes symbolise the various, sometimes quite little things that can get in and play havoc with a fruitful relationship. We can think of the little foxes of jealousy and lack of self-control and selfishness and mistrust and pride and lack of willingness to forgive. Such little foxes need to be caught before they do damage. I was walking through the park late at night recently when I saw a little fox. It’s a bit unnerving. You assume they’ll run away like a cat but you think what if he comes at me? Catching a fox is not easy. They have sharp teeth. We need to be careful. Such foxes need to be dealt with, however. It's no good saying ‘Oh it is only a little one’. Little foxes grow into big ones and even little ones can do much damage. Hunt them down. Kill them before they kill you.

3. Mutual love. Here is another famous verse 16 My beloved is mine and I am his; he browses among the lilies. It is very simple. There is a mutual love here. He loves me and I love him. I belong to him and he belongs to me. In a love which cannot cease, I am his and he is mine. Even when her beloved is away from her he is browsing among lilies. He is strong and manly yet surrounded by beauty. Perhaps we should see him here as a stag or a gazelle again but this time not bounding toward her but grazing. Where there is real love its pace varies – there are times of great passion and times of calm and quiet reflection. Do you have that confident love toward Christ? It is a great prize, one we ought to covet.

4. A longing for even greater intimacy. Finally, she looks forward again to the day of consummation. Until the day breaks and the shadows flee, she says turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or like a young stag on the rugged hills. Here she imagines her beloved as a gazelle or a young stag again and him coming to her. Now he browses among the lilies but soon he'll come for her. She looks forward to it. This is how husband and wife should think of one another when they are apart. This is how young lovers should look forward to their wedding day. This is how believers should look forward to Christ's return. Are we looking forward like that? Are we longing for the glorious day of betrothal?

Models of care, devotion and fellowship for you to consider

Text Song of Songs 1:9-2.2 Date 09/02/20 Place Childs Hill Baptist

We've begun to look at The Song of Solomon. By way of introduction we said that there is something of a controversy over the book’s interpretation. Does it speak chiefly of human love or that between Christ and his church? In the light of the New Testament we suggest that it is really about both - the important matter of human love, especially between man and wife and the mysterious intimacy that exists and needs to be cultivated between believers and the Lord Jesus.

It is for both these reasons that I want us to study the book. Because of the false images of love, sex and marriage that abound, all of us need to be clear on this subject. I also want all of you to see how lovely the Lord is, how attractive. I want you to fall for him and before him. I want us who believe to rekindle our first love for him if it needs rekindling. I want us to see something of the beauty and glory of Christ again and be drawn to him. This book will be an immense help.

So far we have looked at 1:1-8. The title reveals that the book is by or about Solomon. Being a song it is pleasant, joyful and useful for learning. ‘Song of songs’ means best of songs. It’s not only Solomon's best but inspired Scripture worthy of careful, diligent study. It has the best subject: Christ

The song is constructed with two main characters and a sort of chorus. The woman, the Shulamite, and the man, King Solomon, her beloved. From time to time we also have comments from the Friends, the daughters of Jerusalem. There is sometimes doubt but from the way the Hebrew is constructed it is usually easy to tell if the person speaking is male or female. 1:1-8 taught us:

1. What people rightly desire and why - The woman rightly desires intimacy with the man and rightly desires him to take the lead in this. This points us to the one we should all desire – Jesus. Why do people rightly desire intimacy? They rightly desire the delights of love with those whose character is worthy. That's why we should all desire intimacy with Christ. When we see such desires in others we should encourage them.

2. How people should see themselves and what they should desire. We saw the right mixture of humility and confidence in the woman. She is as she is because this is a fallen world. What she desires is intimacy with the man without shame or loss of respect. We should advise those with such desires by encouraging them to seek the one they love.

This week I want us to look at 1:9-2:2. Here we see models of care, devotion and fellowship.

The word 'model' can be defined in at least two ways. Potentially unflattering - ‘imitation of the real thing; a replica, imitation or reproduction’. It can also be defined as ‘a pattern for others to emulate, a prototype or paradigm’. This is the meaning we have in mind. Here we are presented with models, examples, ideals, for emulation and duplication on the horizontal, human plane and the vertical, Godward one.

Initially, in 1:9-11, the Lover, the King, speaks for the first time about the woman, his Beloved. He describes her in very positive terms. Then, in 1:12-14, she responds. She seems to be at the King’s dining table. A banquet is in progress. Perhaps this is the time of their formal betrothal or maybe a less formal, more intimate occasion. Whichever, she has eyes only for him. Finally (1:15-2:2) we have a delightful series of brief exchanges between the two.

Here are three models for us to consider then.

1. Consider this model of kingly care

1:9 the lover, the king, speaks for the first time. He speaks about the woman, the beloved, and describes her in the most positive terms.

1. Praise - My darling he calls her, ‘My love’ or ‘My dearest’, a strong term that occurs here for the first of nine times, always on the King's lips. It is only found in this book. It carries the idea not only of caring for someone but also being delighted to do so. The King loves this woman. She's his Beloved. His attitude to her is quite unlike that of her brothers. 1:9 I liken you, my darling, he says to a mare among Pharaoh's chariot horses. This could mean a horse pulling Pharaoh’s chariot or one bought from Pharaoh to pull Solomon’s own chariot. This may seem an odd way to speak about a woman, likening her to a horse, although men used to speak of women as fine fillies.

Helen of Troy was once described in this way and in 1969 the Byrds had a song ‘Chestnut mare’ ostensibly about a horse but clearly about a woman (I’m gonna catch that horse if I can and give her my brand, and when I do she’ll be mine for life, she’ll be just like my wife). What is the exact point of comparison here? Several possibilities come to mind. They were

high-quality thoroughbreds.

very expensive to obtain or maintain.

of personal interest to the king.

the King’s delight.

wild by nature but had been tamed as in the chestnut mare song.

Some suggest either that mares were not used for chariots or that the lead horse was a mare. This would point to the uniqueness of this woman in the king’s eyes.

Probably the point is the careful way such handsome horses were elaborately decked out with beautiful jewels, feathers, ornaments, coloured leathers and fabrics. This speaks of this girl’s innate beauty, supplemented by finely crafted jewellery and other accessories. The Bible is often positive about women’s adornment (eg Gen 24:22; Ps 45:12, 13; Pro 25:12, 31:12; Eze 16:10-14) but urges caution (Isa 3:16-24; 1 Tim 2:9, 10; 1 Pet 3:3-5). She is beautiful and dignified. As intimated, this poor girl is conscious of how unworthy she is to come into court. She is lovely, yes, but dark like the tents of Kedar. Do not stare at me she pleads because I am dark, because I am darkened by the sun … my own vineyard I have neglected. Here the King heartens her with compliments. Certainly 1:10, 11 go on with him saying Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings, your neck with strings of jewels. And then in 1:11 we have -

2. Promises - We will make you earrings of gold, studded with silver. We could point to the friends but it is probably the king using a royal we for some reason. Whichever, the point is that the woman’s limited resources are not going to be a problem – the king himself has supplied and will supply all the jewellery and ornamentation she needs.

On the human level. On the horizontal level there are lessons regarding courtship here both for men and for women. In any relationship there is often a sense of inadequacy at least on one side or the other. It is right that such feelings should be assuaged with words of encouragement and appropriate gifts. Lovers and husbands should assure their loved ones that they truly are loved and show it both with words and actions. Women, on the other hand, ought to be willing to receive such assurances and such gifts gratefully.

On the spiritual level. Always with this song we want to look higher than just the horizontal and here we are quite justified in hearing the words of Christ to his Bride the church I liken you, my darling, he says to a mare among Pharaoh's chariot horses. Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings, your neck with strings of jewels. We will make you earrings of gold, studded with silver. Christ the King is enthralled with the beauty of his people and gives her many good gifts to honour and beautify her. For the way Christ speaks to his people see 2 Peter 1:3, 4 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. Also remember Ephesians 5:27 which describes how Christ works to present her (his people) to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. If Christ's precious blood has been spilt for us, what will God withhold? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? (Rom 8:32).

2. Consider this model of submissive devotion

In 1:12-14 the beloved speaks again. His my darling is matched by her my beloved, used here for the first of some 31 times. It is a term of affection and intimacy. She seems to be at the king’s dining table. There is a banquet, a feast perhaps, although the setting could be a more intimate one. Whatever the situation, she has eyes only for her beloved. In response to his promises she says While the king was at his table, my perfume spread its fragrance. My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh resting between my breasts. My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms from the vineyards of En Gedi. We move from sights to smells. It was common in that culture for women to wear a little sachet of sweet smelling perfume in solid form around their necks. She refers to three different perfumes.

The perfume she refers to first is literally nard – an expensive perfume from the Himalayas. It is the perfume with which Jesus was anointed at Bethany, you remember. As this woman sat at the King’s table the scent of her perfume was going out into the room in a similar way. His very presence produces a response from her.

Here the perfume represents the thoughts she had of him. The thought of him was like the smell of myrrh or of henna blossoms from the vineyards of En Gedi. The idea of a sachet of myrrh resting between my breasts suggests permanence and intimacy. He was close to her heart always. He is always in her thoughts. En Gedi in the desert west of the Dead Sea was not only well known for its perfumes but also an oasis so the picture is of a bright spot of colour and beauty and life (the flowers are white and yellow), of sweet smelling joy (the aroma is distinct) and hope in the midst of a desert landscape. That’s how she thought of her beloved.

On the human level, that's how a wife/prospective wife should think of a husband/prospective husband. When those strong desires and this hearty devotion is not there something is wrong.

On the spiritual level, think of Christ welcoming his people to his table as at the Last Supper. John laid his head on Jesus’s breast there but we all ought to be endeavouring to draw near to the Saviour. Every thought of him should be as of lovely perfume, beautiful fragrance. He has blessed us all in every way. How good he has been to us. Do you think of Christ in that way? Are you submissive to him? Do you delight in thinking of him and all he's done and does for you? That is how it should be.

3. Consider this model of royal fellowship

In 1:15-2:2 we have a delightful series of brief exchanges between the beloved and his beloved before another longer speech by the beloved in 2:3-13. These verses give us an idea of the intimacy and love between the two as they compliment each other. The relationship is developing. There is dialogue, conversation, banter even. As before, I think there are lessons here both on the horizontal and vertical levels.

1. Regards and response - It begins with the lover’s compliment (15) How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes are doves. She responds in kind (16) How handsome you are, my beloved! Oh, how charming! The darling is repeated from 1:9.

We get a lot of references to doves in this book. The dove symbolises several things. In this book, particularly gentleness, purity and chastity or faithfulness. The whites of the beloved’s eyes are likened to doves then or is it their beauty, their softness or tranquillity? Is it possibly the way her eyes dart about, looking in different directions, or how her eyelashes flutter like doves’ wings? We cannot be sure. She is not only beautiful but gentle, pure and faithful too. Her beloved is moved by this (note the Oh) and declares her to be his darling. She in turn is impressed with his handsomeness and his charm. 15a and 16a are identical in Hebrew but the second is (the only time in the book) in masculine form. She too is moved (Oh) and owns him to be her beloved.

This is how it should be between man and wife and prospective man and wife. There should be mutual praise – praise and response. It needs to be spoken too. It is not enough simply to feel it deep down and say nothing. The opposite danger of merely saying things must be avoided too, of course.

On a higher level the relationship between the believer and his Lord ought to be something like this. God’s Word declares that how ever unworthy we may feel, how ever undeserving if we are true believers then Christ is enthralled with us. When he looks into our eyes, as it were, he sees the Holy Spirt and all his work in us and he is enraptured. In response we ought to confess how wonderful the Lord Jesus is. There is no-one more engaging, no-one more admirable than he.

Have you seen that? Ask God to show you. Ask God to loosen your tongue to be able to say it without embarrassment.

2. Fellowship and freedom - She adds And our bed is verdant. They are walking in the fields and she is describing the open air nature of their love. They lay down in the fields with the grass, symbolic of freshness and life, beneath them. He responds in kind (17) The beams of our house are cedars; our rafters are firs. They are in the woods and the trees around and above form a sort of house for them. This speaks of the fellowship and freedom they enjoy. They are together and they are free to roam. The trees, especially the cedar, probably also speaks of permanence. The repeated word our is also important. The idea of sharing is important.

Perhaps nothing epitomises young love better than the thought of a couple walking through the countryside together sharing the joys of God’s world. It re-enforces both the closeness and the freedom of the relationship. Think of a modern example like the evocative song ‘Fields of gold’. It describes lovers walking through fields of barley. ‘In his arms she fell as her hair came down among the fields of gold’. The man asks ‘Will you stay with me, will you be my love among the fields of barley?’ Love flourishes in the city, of course, and cannot contain it, but poetically and symbolically the countryside brings out the freedom and joy of young love. It is a most good and desirable thing.

It is no accident that the world begins in a garden and will end with a city that sounds more like a garden than a city. Remember how at the beginning, it seems, Adam and Eve would walk with God in the Garden of Eden in the cool of the day. What fellowship there was, what freedom. They were naked but not ashamed for they had nothing to be ashamed of. It was all lost, of course, with that first sin. However, it can be restored in Jesus Christ. All who put their trust in him can know that fellowship with God restored and that freedom regained in him that will last forever in Paradise. Jesus reminds us that the meek will inherit the earth and the believer ought to have a sense upon of his freedom in Christ. Because we walk with him then all things are ours if not yet in fact then at least in principle. It is our Father’s and one day we will inherit it. He wants to share it with us and for us to enjoy it forever.

3. Realisation and more praise - This leads to her description of herself in 2:1 I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys. We often associate this phrase with the Lord Jesus and many commentators take it to be spoken by the lover. The NIV suggests it is probably actually spoken by the beloved. Both would make sense. The Lord Jesus is certainly most beautiful and often spoke of himself with the words I am …. The rose of Sharon is not actually a rose but a beautiful flower from the coastal plain of Sharon south of Mount Carmel. That whole area is marked by its fertility and luscious greenery. Some associate it with the sweet smelling narcissus, others with the crimson anemone. (Iris, crocus, daffodil, etc are all suggested). The lily of the valleys is probably not the flower we refer to in that way but an anemone or lotus. (Amaryllis, woodbine and honeysuckle are also suggested). How the woman’s self-image has improved in the light of her beloved’s encouragement.

There is a simple lesson in itself. What a difference we can make to one another simply by the way we speak about each other. We ought to give thought to this. We don’t need to lie to each other or flatter each other but we ought to be quicker to praise where praise is due. One reason why we become discouraged in the Christian life is our failure to notice how highly the Bible speaks of believers. What wonderful things are said. Don’t you realise believer that you are a flower in God’s garden, planted by him and there to show his glory. Every time you praise him that's what you do. Perhaps a slightly tongue in cheek paraphrasing is apt ‘Why did you pick me?’

Finally, notice the King’s response in 2:2 Like a lily among thorns is my darling among the young women. He not only agrees with his beloved but he adds to her description. Yes, you are a lily he says like a lily among thorns. Compared with the other young women Solomon has eyes only for this one. She stands out. The others are like thorns in comparison.

That’s how it should be between man and wife or prospective man and wife. For the man his intended or his wife should be not just a lily but an outstanding lily. The charms of others should hold no allure for him. He should think of them as mere thorns in comparison. She must always have the highest place in his affections and in his thinking.

That is certainly how it is between the Lord Jesus and his people. In his eyes we are lilies among thorns. There is no question that Jesus loves all people yet there is a special love that he has for his own that pictures them as lilies among thorns. Do you realise that that is how the Lord sees you believer? He says of the ungodly The best of them is like a brier, the most upright worse than a thorn hedge. (Mic 7:4) but those he saves are lilies. They shine like stars in the universe (Phil 2:15). You stand out for him. You are special. You are his chosen one and though you may not feel like that you ought to. I am a rose of Sharon you ought to say a lily of the valley. I have been chosen in him before the foundation of the world. He has passed others by but not me. He has given me the Holy Spirit of Christ and he is working all things together for my good. Even now I am a child of God and what I will be has not yet been made known but it will be something wonderfully glorious. This is not positive thinking but biblical faith – taking God at his word and believing the promises he makes. That is what we must do.

And if you are not a believer, ask him to make you a rose of Sharon. Ask him to make you a lily of the valley. By nature we are all thorns – unproductive, useless; unscented, dull; hard, twisted; sharp and ugly. But he can change us. He can make us attractive, fragrant, kind, luxuriant, straight, tender, useful and vibrant, through what was done on the cross. At that time Christ wore the crown of thorns and suffered and died so that all who believe in him may be beautiful in his sight and live a life of love for his glory.

Psalm 37:7 Memorial Service Michael Toogood

Text Psalm 37:37 Date 15/07/23 Place The Swiss Church, Endell Street, Covent Garden

I would like to preach this afternoon on a text. It is found in Psalm 37 verse 37. It says

Consider the blameless, observe the upright; a future awaits those who seek peace.

In his Lectures on Sacred Rhetoric the Presbyterian R L Dabney gives it as a general rule for preachers not to eulogise people who have died. However, he does say that there are a few of God's servants whose sanctity is so universally approved even by those who are without, and on whom the Redeemer has so manifestly set his divine image, that it may be the pastor's duty to urge their example upon the church.

I think that is the case with Michael Toogood. Hence the text

Consider the blameless, observe the upright; a future awaits those who seek peace.

I thought it might be good first to explain how I came to know Michael and his work. I became pastor at Childs Hill Baptist Church near Golders Green in 1983 around the time when the London Inreach Project was in its infancy. We were then still in the Baptist Union but we soon left and went on to leave the London Baptist Association too. That year the LBA president was inviting churches to give to work in Holloway Road, where there was a woman pastor and Purley, Surrey, in what was always known as the stockbroker belt. I had no enthusiasm for those projects but when I heard about the London Inreach Project I immediately saw that this was a far more worthy work for the church to give to and recommended to the church that we support it and so we did. As it turned out, one of our then deacons, Jeremy Skelton, had been at the very first LIP public meeting representing the church. I was subsequently recruited to the LIP committee, I think originally to edit the newsletter. I was then chairman for some time if I remember rightly.

I am a Welshman and I think it is fair to say that Michael was my idea of a prototypical Englishman. I'm not sure where you stand on nominative determinism, the hypothesis that people tend towards the sort of activity their name would suggest. You know, there's a Scots chef called Tom Kitchin and a Midlands weather presenter called Sara Blizzard. I heard Michael's name before I ever met him and it has to be said that it influenced my expectations. The name Michael can be parsed as “like God” and Toogood speaks for itself. Now the thing is that I was not disappointed.

I will never forget Michael coming to our church for the first time on deputation and particularly that “before and after” set of slides depicting the way he and Pam had transformed that grotty first basement flat that they first lived in. I remember thinking “This is the sort of thing Francis Schaeffer talks about but here it is in practice”.

I never knew Michael personally but I know about how he lived and I have read his short autobiography. In fact I read it again this week to refresh my mind. I don't find myself agreeing with every decision and action he made, of course, but he has been an inspiration. Many years ago, at the end of 1998, when I was the editor of the now defunct Grace Magazine I tried to write an encouraging article. It was called Reasons to be cheerful. It talked about the work of GBM and especially of Keith Underhill, Brian Ellis and Andrew Swanson. And then in a final paragraph I wrote

To take one more example, consider the fact that 20 years ago the Soho area was as bad as ever it was but with no permanent evangelical testimony there. Now, though small and struggling, Immanuel Community Church is there, is known and is maintaining a regular witness to the residents and tourists in that needy area.

I noted that it was a former Grace editor, Keith Davies, who, with others had the vision for the project and that “it is especially through Michael Toogood's valiant efforts that not only was a church planted in Soho but another in Covent Garden, under Mike Mellor.”

Michael and the work was a reason to be cheerful then and it is now too.

*

Psalm 37 then. It is Of David but there is no detail about when he wrote it or why. It was written at a time when David was very aware of the wickedness all about him. People were advancing wicked schemes and, as he says (12-14) a time when The wicked were plotting against the righteous and gnash(ing) their teeth at them, drawing the sword and bending the bow to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright.

The psalm is a teaching psalm. It teaches us what to do and what not to do at such times and is full of wonderful promises to the faithful as well as warnings for the wicked.

There are four particular places where David exhorts his hearers about what to do.

1-5 Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; ... Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the LORD,... Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him ....

7/8 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret

27a Turn from evil and do good; 34a Hope in the LORD and keep his way

Verse 37 comes then in the final section where David calls on us to (34a) Hope in the LORD and keep his way. The promise, 34b, is He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are destroyed, you will see it.

Verses 35, 36 are the counterpart to verses 25, 26. In 25, 26 he says that he was now old but had never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. In 35, 36 David again speaks from experience. I have seen a wicked and ruthless man flourishing like a luxuriant native tree, but he soon passed away and was no more; though I looked for him, he could not be found. He speaks from experience but this is the truth. The wicked soon pass away.

After the 1662 ejection, many of those persecuted at that time made it a habit to note the providential deaths of some of their most bitter enemies. Michael Watts tells us how a wealthy Lincolnshire man named Radley who attempted to harm a congregation of General Baptists became bankrupt and died in London of the plague,  his widow and orphaned children being forced to cast themselves on the mercy of these very same people.

Philip Henry noted the death of arch persecutor, Montgomeryshire magistrate David Maurice, thrown from his horse and drowned in the River Tanat on the Welsh border. Thomas Robinson, MP for Helston, Cornwall, died after being gored by a bull the very day he planned to prosecute dissenters.

Such occurrences seem to be relatively rare but they are reminders that God is in control and that he will one day judge all who rebel against him. What a fearful judgement awaits sinners.

The contrast is in verses 37, 38 Consider the blameless, observe the upright; a future awaits those who seek peace. But all sinners will be destroyed; there will be no future for the wicked. This consideration must affect how we think and live, relieving anxiety, strengthening faith.

Just focusing on verse 37 today and thinking of Michael I want to say three things

1. Michael Toogood – an example of a man who lived a blameless and upright life

David speaks about the blameless … the upright. He has in mind people like Michael Toogood. Now we all know that no-one is perfect. The better you knew Michael I guess the easier it would be to identify where his sins lay. However, he was a blameless and upright man. That is to say he lived a holy life and it is notable because he lived in a time and place where it was not a common thing.

When people think a person is very good they will sometimes say “he's a saint”. Well, Michael was a saint – not in that generalised way but in truth, he was one of God's holy ones.

What stands out for me is his commitment to the work of God and the sacrifices he made in order to do the work he did. Further, he was obviously a man full of compassion.

He attempts some self-assessment in his autobiography (pp 63, 64)

Given my background it's no surprise that the work ethic is part and parcel of who I am. I suspect its root lies lies in my upbringing and lifestyle within my family home. Work dominated almost everything. It was the source of our income and provision for the family. Since our well being depended on the work being done, day in, day out, my parents just got on with it.

The second influence was the studio where I was employed as a graphic designer and typographer. My working day normally stretched between 9 am and 5.30 p.m. What impressed itself on me from the beginning was that someone had to pay for every minute I was there ....

My work ethic became something of a joke among the Soho team and church members, although I can hardly believe it. Apparently I used to tap my foot when someone was late, kept us waiting or when I felt time was being wasted. Throughout the Soho years I maintained a pattern of working every day Monday to Friday 8:30 am to 5:30 pm, and each evening until 9:00 pm. On Monday evenings I relaxed by walking the streets, peering into shop windows and looking at paintings, mainly in Mayfair.

I kept as much of Saturday free as possible, helping Pam with the family shopping ... then walking around the city, guidebook in hand, in the afternoon ....

Commitment is not something we see enough of these days, perhaps. There is even to some extent a fear of commitment. Michael was committed to the work in central London, devoted might be a more accurate word. It is striking that he did not assume a two week holiday would be appropriate but thought it through and came to see it was necessary. If it hadn't have been he wouldn't have taken it.

Commitment always incurs sacrifice and because Michael spent so many years in Soho, it involved great sacrifices. As most of you will know, he contracted TB at one point, a disease we thought had gone forever. It was all part of the sacrifice that he (and of course Pam too) made.

Of course, commitment and sacrifice alone would not have been enough. There was undoubtedly a compassion that drove Michael to be willing to do some of the less desirable things that he did as he sought to serve God.

So we begin there, Michael Toogood – an example of a man who lived a blameless and upright life. Yes, we live in an age where much wickedness exists but here is a tangible example of uprightness, of blamelessness.

2. Michael Toogood - an invitation to consider and observe his life

What David invites us to do is to Consider the blameless, to observe the upright. Now we were able to do that while Michael was alive to some extent and we are able to do it now to a lesser extent. Obviously, as the years go by less and less people will know about Michael's witness but it is right to continue to consider his blamelessness and to observe his uprightness. I think we can do this in two or three ways.

Firstly, I think the autobiography should be kept in print. More than that, at some point a further biography less subjective ought probably to be produced. It will be a good thing if his life is told for a future generation who never knew him.

Then there is the continuing work in central London. The aim was to establish a church in Soho, in the heart of the city and that has been done. The church is weak and small, however, and we all ought to do what we can to see it strengthened and built up.

More than that, it is important that the spirit and approach that Michael pioneered continue. What he did cannot be replicated and does not need to be. He cannot be cloned either and no-one would want that but it would be good if there were people like Michael in the days to come. Pioneers who can see the need and who will be willing to think through a strategy and then make the commitment and the sacrifices necessary to serve God and to reach out to those who have not yet heard.

The description on page 134 is priceless.

I remember the morning I decided that my visiting should embrace all and anyone living or working in Soho. Practically, this meant taking a street or block of flats and visiting them systematically. This policy should also include the notorious alleys! Immediately opposite our Brewer Street home, Green's Court linked with Peter's Street. It was narrow and grubby but tame compared with Walker's Court which ran parallel to it. An Italian Deli, a shoe repair shop, a coffee bar and a club/brothel were all situated there. The brothel was my first venture into the seedy world of the sex industry.

With a club of sorts trading downstairs, the action seemed to be on the first floor. A highly made-up bleach blonde woman in her 60s sat behind a table at the top of the first flight of stairs. I had seen her bustling around the area before. In the 1950s she would have been known as the 'Madame' who sifted the male customers. Apparently not all male customers were acceptable to the working girls! I explained who I was and why I was visiting all the premises in the Court. She waved me into the waiting room. The room was small and made smaller still by a curtain which separated the waiting customers from those being entertained. The girl was already busy on the other side of the curtain! A few minutes later the customer appeared, embarrassed at finding someone waiting on the other side of the curtain but he went quickly down the stairs and out into the street.

Then the girl appeared, not wearing a great deal. She was actually attractive, in her early 30s, dark haired and probably Italian. I explained who I was and why I was there, showing her the family photograph as evidence. She had probably heard many stories like mine before! With customers arriving, time was short. Why was she doing this? I noticed the gold ring on her wedding finger. She said she was working for the money - about £400 a day, lived a train journey away and was in Soho for about eight hours. Her husband was in agreement with what she was doing. It was time to go. I left some gospel literature behind.

Once again, some would find fault with my visiting such places and people, but Jesus did and counted such rejects among his friends and followers. I soon recognised that my visiting like this was not ideal but it was the best we could do at that time.

3. Michael Toogood - a reminder that those who seek peace have a future in the world to come

Then we must not miss finally the closing part of the verse. Consider the blameless, observe the upright; a future awaits those who seek peace. It could be simply peace awaits such people but probably David is saying that the blameless and upright are also those who seek peace. Of course, peace is one of the things that Michael now has but there is a whole lot more that he has now inherited and there is more to come. Now we know he has received all these good things by the merits of his Saviour, Jesus Christ. However, the trajectory that began here on earth, a blameless and upright life is the one that leads to future glory. There is no reason to believe that there is any future for those who do not seek holiness. Without holiness no-one will see the Lord. We are confident about Michael, however, that now he is in heaven. He has been given the crown of righteousness.

I intended to read from page 139 where he gives all praise to his Saviour and speaks of his conversion but that was read earlier.

We have said goodbye to him in the way that we say goodbye to people who set off on a journey in the car or on a train or plane. We've watched as the vehicle disappeared into the distance but we knew that at the other end of the journey they'd be received by others. And that's what has happened. We've said goodbye but Michael has been received into eternal dwellings by God's holy angels, where he will remain until the Lord Jesus comes again and the great resurrection day is here.

His blameless and upright testimony should be an encouragement to those of us who remain to keep pressing on to the glorious future that lies ahead for all who trust in Christ and live for him.

Consider the blameless, observe the upright; a future awaits those who seek peace.