Christ's Beauty and where he is to be found

Text Song of Songs 5:9-6:3 Date 04/09/22 Place Childs Hill Baptist

A little while ago we began a series on the Song of Songs. We got as far as Song of Songs 5:2-8 but then left things. I thought we could look at the last three sections over the next three weeks, beginning tonight with Song of Songs 5:9-6:13.

In the first eight verses of Song of Songs 5 we have a description of a scene that we can probably imagine. It is night. Here is a wife in bed. She is alone. She is half asleep, half awake. Her husband is not there. Then she hears him knocking at the front door and calling her to open up. He is out in the cold and damp night air and the quicker she can open up the better. But instead of going down to open the door she shouts down ‘I’ve gone to bed. I can’t come down and open the door for you. It’s too much bother.’ He then starts to try and open the door some other way. She hears him and decides eventually to go down. However, by the time she gets down to open the door to him he has gone. He has given up trying to get in and gone off somewhere else. Now she is really unhappy. She starts calling after him and looking for him. She wanders away from the house out into the city. The night watchmen spot her and, thinking she is up to no good, manhandle her and pull off the cloak that she has thrown round her shoulders. In desperation she cries out to the women of Jerusalem to tell her where she can find her beloved.

The Song of Songs has things to teach us about the relationship between men and women leading up to and in marriage and then by analogy how it can be and should be between Christ and his people. When we considered Chapter 5:1-8 we saw what it has to teach us about how often as believers our fellowship with the Lord is not what it should be. So often we are deaf to his calls and his pleadings and then when we suddenly decide we want close fellowship with him, it does not happen and we are in despair. This week I want to continue looking at this subject as we come to 5:9-6:13.

First, we have a description from the beloved of her lover, then something about what had gone wrong in their relationship. Then there is another description of the beloved and something more on what had happened. Finally, there is a call to return. As we have said several times in the past, this love story can be understood both on the horizontal and vertical levels. Here we are particularly thinking of how it applies to the vertical level – the relationship between Christ and his church.

1. Consider the beauty of Christ

In 5:9, in response to her plea for help in finding her beloved, the daughters of Jerusalem ask the Shulammite woman How is your beloved better than others, most beautiful of women? How is your beloved better than others, that you charge us so? This leads to a wonderful description of her beloved. It is symbolic language no doubt. It reminds us a little, although there are some differences, of the description of Jesus given by John in Revelation 1. Having lost sight of her beloved the woman remembers just how wonderful he is. In longing to see him again she is taken up with a description of his glory. What she says here can be applied to the Lord Jesus Christ. We ought to be constantly reminding ourselves of his beauty and wonder.

1. His outstanding nature. She begins by saying (10) My beloved is radiant and ruddy, outstanding among ten thousand. He shines out. In human terms he is a picture of health. Even among ten thousand she could easily pick him out. He is outstanding. This of course is the truth about Christ. No-one can begin to compare with him. There then follows a head to toe description.

2. His nobility. 11 His head is purest gold; his hair is wavy and black as a raven. He is not simply a king with a crown. His very head is gold. His hair is not grey with age but black as that of a raven and full of life. How noble is her beloved and how noble is Christ the King of kings. Look always to him.

3. His tenderness. She then says (12) His eyes are like doves by the water streams, washed in milk, mounted like jewels. We have noted in the past how common doves are in this book. The white of the eyes is probably in mind here and streams is no doubt a reference to the tears of love in his eyes. His pupils are perfectly set in his eyes as jewels might be set – not too close together or far apart, not too deep set or protruding. All this conveys a picture of great tenderness and compassion. He looks with kindness upon sinners like us. He looks with love and tenderness, with compassion and pity. How those eyes weep when we sin against him.

4. His redolent look. 13 His cheeks are like beds of spice yielding perfume. Isaiah describes how the Lord’s beard was plucked from his cheeks. By his suffering and death he released fragrant perfume, the perfume of his saving work. His very look is redolent, full, abundant. So much is there.

5. His fragrant words. Verse 13 goes on His lips are like lilies dripping with myrrh. Again a reference to perfume and to myrrh in particular. The lilies are no doubt some red flower not what we think of as lilies today. Again there is a sense of fullness, of abundance and again to Christ’s humanity. You remember that when he spoke people were amazed. They had never heard anyone speak like he spoke. He speaks still today in his Word and what a world there is in it. What wonderful things come from it. Every line drips with fragrance. Listen to his Word and obey.

6. His gracious works. 14 His arms are rods of gold set with chrysolite. It is not entirely clear what jewels are in mind here. Perhaps beryl or topaz. The picture seems to be of arms or hands made up of golden rings or rods – suggesting perhaps ripples of muscle – and then the finger nails are yellow jewels. It speaks of the strength of the lover and the way he is able to protect and to help his beloved. Certainly the Lord Jesus is active for his people. He upholds us and works for us at all times.

7. His strength. The second part of verse 14 says His body is like polished ivory decorated with sapphires. This speaks of symmetry and beauty again but also of strength. We take it with 15a His legs are pillars of marble set on bases of pure gold. Together we get the idea of one who is solid and strong, unmoveable. No-one can stand against him. The victory is always his and if we are under his protection we need fear nothing.

8. His splendid appearance. The rest of verse 15 says His appearance is like Lebanon, choice as its cedars. We are speaking here of his over all appearance, his bearing or stance. There is something about his very look that is striking and commanding. It is a wonderful look, one that demands respect. It is like looking at a forest of tall strong cedars of Lebanon.

9. His sweetness. 16 His mouth is sweetness itself. Not just his words but his kisses of affection and in the very way he looks. How kind, how tender, how loving.

10. His loveliness. It is summed up in the phrase he is altogether lovely. No-one can match him.

There is a horizontal application here too, I’m sure. For husbands or prospective husbands, here is the perfect model. This is how we should be. It is rather embarrassing if we take it on the purely physical level. What a challenge, though, if we see beyond that to the spiritual meaning. Are we noble, tender, fragrant, gracious, strong and sweet? Are our looks, words and actions towards our wives what they should be?

The beloved concludes This is my beloved, this my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.

Is he your beloved? Is he your friend? We have every reason to be proud of him. We have every reason to be confident in him. He is perfect. Give thanks for such a perfect Saviour. If you don’t know him I urge you to come to him and put your faith in him.

2. Know where Christ is most likely to be found

As we come into Chapter 6 we remember that this wonderful description has been prompted by a sense of desolation. This magnificent lover is apparently lost. He is nowhere to be found. The woman he loves is full of desire for him but she does not know where he is. The women of Jerusalem say to her (1) Where has your beloved gone, most beautiful of women? Which way did your beloved turn, that we may look for him with you? They are eager to help her to find him again. But it is not the women of Jerusalem who find him. It is not they who answer where he is but her. Now, of course, this is something of a dream sequence and full of symbolism and so it comes out in a slightly strange way but there is a great lesson here.

1. Where is he to be found? She says (2) My beloved has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices …. Where is that? Well, we have already learned that his garden is the beloved herself. Where is Jesus to be found? In his church, with his people. Yes, but the whole problem was that he was not there. When he had come for her, she had brushed him off and he had gone. But then what happened? She went to look for him. Yes, and at first she did not find him. But then, it appears, as she described him she began to remember how wonderful he was and they were reunited. It sounds weird in real terms but believers know the experience in practice. We are backslidden or cold hearted, we are estranged from the Lord. Then we start reading about him or someone speaks about him or we start speaking of him for some reason and our hearts are strangely warmed and we begin to remember his glory and beauty and suddenly somehow he is there again.

2. Why did he come to his garden? He came to the garden to browse in the gardens and to gather lilies. Christ loves nothing better than to enjoy the delights of his people’s presence. He gathers lilies there, as it were, lilies of praise. It astounds us to think of it but we must never forget the delight that God has in his people. How he loves to browse there! How he loves to gather flowers from among us.

3. What is her response? Verse 3 I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine; he browses among the lilies. It is in fellowship with Christ that true love shows itself and expresses itself. We love Christ and he loves us, yes, at all times. Nothing can ever sever that bond.#

It is like marriage. What God has joined together nobody is to put asunder. However, a marriage must be more than a piece of paper. It must be more than sharing the same bed. It must be marked by intimacy and sharing, by closeness and togetherness. This is the fuel that keeps a relationship alive. And in the same way our relationship with Christ must be kept alive. We need to be in his presence. As it has been put - we must practice the presence of God. We must allow him to browse among the lilies.

3. Consider the beauty of the church

This leads on to a description of the beloved. This points us again to the beauty of God’s people, of the church.

1. Her attraction to Christ. He says (4) You are as beautiful, my darling, as Tirzah, as lovely as Jerusalem, majestic as troops with banners. Tirzah means pleasantness or sweetness. It had been a royal city in Israel until Omri built Samaria. The images are meant to convey ideas of beauty, majesty, splendour. This is how Christ sees his people – the noble army of the godly. He says (5) Turn your eyes from me; they overwhelm me. He is amazed at what he sees. He is bashful in her presence.

Now to apply this to Christ and his church seems at first faintly ridiculous. Yet, God delights to use these very human images to describe such things and although we must never forget that all we have is from him this is nevertheless the way that the Bible speaks. Too often our worship is man-centred and we do not think about things from God’s side. This is certainly one element we rarely consider at all.

He then repeats part of the description from Chapter 4.

2. Her hair. Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from Mount 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.

3. 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.

4. Her temples. 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.

This teaches us not only to admire the beauty of a wife but that Christ is full of delight in gazing upon his people.

5. Her unique nature. 8, 9a Sixty queens there may be, and eighty concubines, and virgins beyond number; but my dove, my perfect one, is unique, the only daughter of her mother, the favourite of the one who bore her. She seems to him unique and he sees her in the same way. There is no-one like her. Again, it is hard to think of Christ seeing us like that but we know we are unique and that Christ loves us if we are believers.

6. Her blessed nature

9b, 10 The maidens saw her and called her blessed; the queens and concubines praised her. Who is this that appears like the dawn, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, majestic as the stars in procession?

4. More on where Christ is to be found and a call to come back to him

Verses 11 and 12 provide a little recap.

1. Where is he to be found? I went down to the grove of nut trees he says. Christ s found in the world, where growth is going on.

2. Why is he found there? To look at the new growth in the valley, to see if the vines had budded or the pomegranates were in bloom. Christ is looking for growth in his people and so he is likely to be found where they are.

3. What happened? 12 Before I realised it, my desire set me among the royal chariots of my people. The reality here trumps the picture.

4. A call to come to back to him. 13 Come back, come back, O Shulammite; come back, come back, that we may gaze on you! Say the daughters of Jerusalem. She answers Why would you gaze on the Shulammite as on the dance of Mahanaim? We need to be humble but we need to know that Christ delights in us and so we must always come back to him.