Preached Sermons: 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.

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.