Sermon
#3 The Song Of Solomon
Notes
Title: The
Footsteps of The Flock
Text: Song of Solomon
1:7-11
Reading:
Subject: The Preserving, Sanctifying Nature Of
Gospel
Truth
Date: Sunday Morning -
May 10, 1998
Tape # U-67a
Introduction:
This
is a message to my own heart. I am going to preach to myself. I will admonish,
exhort, rebuke, and hopefully comfort my own heart. I hope the Lord will allow
you to listen in. If you do, I pray that this message to my own heart will be
profitable to you. Let’s read the Song of Solomon 1:7-11 together.
(Song of
Songs 1:7-11) "Tell me, O
thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why
should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions? {8} If thou know not, O thou fairest
among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids
beside the shepherds' tents. {9} I
have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh's chariots. {10} Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains of gold. {11} We will make thee borders
of gold with studs of silver."
It is my task as a gospel preacher to keep the
vineyards of your souls. By the choice of God’s people and by the good providence of God, this
task has fallen upon my shoulders. I delight in it. I continually give thanks
to God for his grace in putting me into the ministry. But I know something of
my own deficiencies. The work of the gospel ministry is a heavy burden for such
a weak and worthless vessel. With Paul, my heart cries out under the weight of
this burden, “Who is sufficient for these
things?” I cannot tell you what a relief it is for me to know that, “our sufficiency is of God.”
There is one great trial, one great danger, one spiritual
peril which every faithful gospel preacher faces, which is in great measure
unknown to other believers. While ministering to the needs of others,
preachers sometimes fail to diligently guard their own souls. I face the very
real danger of neglecting my own soul. While attending to your vineyards, I am
fearful, lest I should have to confess, “Mine
own vineyard have I not kept.” So, I am preaching this message to myself.
It
is my responsibility to preach at least ten to twelve times every week. I tell
you many precious things about Christ. Sometimes I feel that I am the only one
who enjoys them. Sometimes, when my own spirit is dull, you seem to enjoy them.
And sometimes we enjoy the precious truths of the gospel together. But my daily
fear is that while I open the texts of Holy Scripture to you, they shall be
closed to me. I fear that while I am feeding you, I will starve my own heart. I
fear that while I am proclaiming good things to others, my own soul will not
partake of those good things.
My prayer is that the Lord
Jesus Christ will show me where he feeds his flock, and let me feed with them.
And then I pray that he will allow me to lead you into those green pastures and
beside those still waters. It seems that new doors are opening for us continually
around the world. We dare not refuse any opportunity to preach the gospel of
Christ. But with every new endeavor, my fear increases.
I am made to pray like
Moses, “If thy presence go not with us,
carry us not up hence.” It would be a dreadful thing to be so busy about
other men’s souls while neglecting my own. It is my prayer that Christ himself
will grant to me his fellowship, so that my labor may not be in vain. If he
will graciously and continually refresh my soul, than I will be able to lead
you “By
the footsteps of the flock.”
Divisions: I want to be very practical.
I want to talk to you about The
Footsteps of the Flock.” I will make three divisions in the text.
1.
A
question asked (v. 7).
2.
An
argument urged (v. 7).
3.
An
answer obtained (vv. 8-11).
Proposition: If we would enjoy the
blessings of Christ’s fellowship, we must follow the path he has laid before
us.
I. Notice in the first place in
verse 7 that there is A QUESTION
ASKED.
Here it is the Bride, the
Church, speaking to Christ. Every word, every syllable of this question is
worthy of our careful meditation. It is a question which reflects the burden of
my heart - “Tell me, O Thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou
makest thy flock to rest at noon.”
I hope you share this intense longing
to be in the fellowship of Christ.
A. It is both wise and comforting to God’s people to
flee to Christ in every time of need (Heb. 4:16).
(Hebrews
4:16) "Let us therefore come
boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to
help in time of need."
The ungodly rush to and fro in search of help
and peace. They find no real consolation anywhere. But the believing heart
flies as naturally to Christ as the rabbit does to its den. In him alone can we
find refuge for our souls.
“Other refuge have I none,
Hangs my helpless soul on
Thee:
Leave, oh leave me not
alone,
Still support and comfort
me.”
1.
We have much which causes us
to blush with shame before our beloved Savior.
·
We
are black with sin.
·
We
labor too much for the cares of this world.
·
We
are terribly neglectful both of our Lord and our own souls.
2.
Though we are so full of
evil, and so unworthy of his grace, we still must cling to Christ. He is all I
have and all I want.
My
friends, never let your sins keep you from Christ. Under a sense of sin, do not
run from him, but rather run to him. Sin may well drive you away from Moses and
Mt. Sinai, but it ought to draw you to Christ and Mt. Calvary. Christ will not
reject us because of our sin. He will not deal with us harshly when we run into
his arms. He will comfort and protect us.
B. Notice the spirit in which this question is asked.
It is not, “O thou whom my soul believes in.”
That would be true, but she has gone further. It is not, “O thou whom my soul
honors.” That is true too, but she has passed beyond that stage. Nor is it
merely, “O thou whom my soul trusts and obeys.” She is doing that, but she uses
warmer and more tender language than that. Her soul is full of fire and
enthusiasm. She says, “Tell me, O Thou
whom my soul loveth.”
1.
This question arises from a
heart of love for Christ.
Whatever
she may feel herself to be, she knows that she loves him. She is black and
ashamed of herself, but still she loves her Bridegroom. She has not kept her
own vineyard as she should have. She knows that and acknowledges it. But still
she loves him. She loves him as she loves no one else in all the world. Only
Christ could claim such a title as this - “Thou
whom my soul loveth.”
Beloved, no one in all the world can be
compared to Christ. He has no rival. He is the Lord of every believer’s heart.
He is the monarch of our affections.
a.
Our
love, to be sure, is not worthy of him, but we love him supremely and we love
him intensely.
b.
It
is this love for Christ which governs our hearts and motivates our lives (2
Cor. 5:14).
(2
Corinthians 5:14) "For the
love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for
all, then were all dead."
Others
serve by the rigorous rule of the law. The true believer serves Christ from a
heart of love. Settle this matter in your own heart. Do you love the Lord Jesus
Christ? (1 Cor. 16:22).
·
Do
you serve him out of fear?
·
Do
you serve him because of your desire for gain?
·
Or,
do you serve him because you love him?
(1
Corinthians 16:22) "If any
man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha."
2.
This question is addressed
to Christ himself.
“Tell me, O Thou whom my soul loveth, where
thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon.” She goes
directly to him. She desires to have him speak directly to her heart.
NOTE: I love to hear the gospel.
I love to read the gospel message. I love to preach the gospel to you. But the
thing that I desire is to hear it from Christ himself. If he will but speak the
Word directly to our hearts by the power of his Spirit, then our souls shall be
fed and refreshed.
C. Now look
at the question itself.
She desires to know where Christ is and where
he feeds his flock, where he meets with and refreshes his people. “Tell me, O Thou whom my soul loveth, where
thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon.”
·
What
are those truths by which you feed your people’s souls? Gospel Truths!
·
What
are those doctrines which make the weak ones strong? Doctrines Of Grace! (Jer. 6:16)
·
What
are those promises by which you comfort and refresh your people? Covenant Promises!
These
are the things that I want to know for my own soul. And these are the things
that I seek for you.
II. Secondly, we see in this
verse AN ARGUMENT URGED (V.
7).
“For why should I be as one that
turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions?”
John
Gill
suggests that these are not real companions of Christ, “But false friends,
hypocrites and heretics, rivals with him, who set up schemes of worship and
doctrine in opposition to his.”
Satan
is a wise and crafty enemy to our souls. He knows that we are not likely to
turn aside and follow men who openly oppose Christ. Therefore, he makes his
ministers the ministers of righteousness. We are ever being pressed to turn
aside from Christ to pursue this or that.
A. There are many pretended companions of Christ which
allure our souls.
There has always been an abundance of false
teachers and those who follow them. I raise this word of warning, not to create
strife or division among God’s people, but to urge you to cling to Christ
alone.
1. Some have been turned aside
to religious ritualism.
2. Some are turned aside to
Arminianism.
3. Many are turned from Christ
by pressure from husband or wife.
4. There are many who turn
aside from the gospel of Christ to provide religious toys for their children.
5. Many are turned aside to
“Church truth”.
6. Many turn aside to
“prophetic enlightenment.”
7. Multitudes are turning aside
to legalism. They leave Christ for Moses. They forsake Calvary for Sinai. They
turn from grace to law.
Be
warned, my friends, Satan does not care what you turn to, so long as you turn
from Christ. If he can get you to leave Christ for anything, he has won the
day. Would to God I could get the ear of
every preacher in this world. I would say to him, as I now say to myself, “why should we be as those who turn aside by
the flocks of Christ’s pretended companions, when we can walk with Christ
himself?”
It
grieves me to see so many leaving Christ, turning aside to follow something or
someone other than Christ.
B. But why should we be turned aside from him?
When the multitudes turned and walked no more
with Christ, he turned to his disciples and said, “Will ye also go away?” With Peter we must answer, why should we be
turned aside unto the flocks of thy companions? “Lord, to whom shall we go?” We have found all that we need and
desire in him.
Why
should we turn aside by the flocks of others and miss his fellowship? There may
be reason for others to leave him, but not for us. His rich, free, eternal,
redeeming love has bound me hand and foot, so that I cannot leave him.
I
speak pointedly to you who are members of this church. If it should ever come
to pass that this church turns aside from Christ, you will be wise to turn
aside from this church, but do not turn aside from Christ. Why should any of us
leave him (Lk. 22:35)? Is there anything which your soul needs that you do not
find in him in infinite abundance?
·
Pardon?
·
Righteousness?
·
Comfort?
·
Reproof?
·
Motivation?
C. Let us endeavor to live in fellowship with Christ
himself.
We seek not the blessings of his hand, but
the presence of his person. It is good to have the truth of Christ; but it is
better to have Christ himself. If we miss his fellowship, if we turn aside from
him, his truth will have no aroma. If we lose fellowship with Christ, we will
have the standard, but not the Standard Bearer. We have the candlestick, but
there will be no light upon it. If we miss the fellowship of Christ, will we
not be stripped of our strength, our joy, and our comfort?
Let us take up this prayer -
“Tell me, O Thou whom my soul loveth,
where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should
I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions?”
“Thou, O Christ,
art all I want!
More than all in Thee I
find!”
III. Thirdly, we have AN ANSWER OBTAINED from Christ
himself in verses 8-11.
She
asked him where he fed, where he made his flock to rest at noon. And now he
replies to his beloved Bride. He speaks in love to comfort her heart and assure
her.
A. First the Lord tells us how beautiful his people are
in his eyes - “O thou fairest among women” (vv. 9-11).
In
our own eyes, and in the eyes of others, we are black and scornful. But in his
eyes we are fair and comely. I would rather trust his eyes than my eyes. If my
eyes tell me that I am black, I will weep. But if he assures me that I am fair
in his eyes, I will believe him and rejoice. Listen to the Son of God, my
brother, my sister, as the speaks to you about you…
(Song of
Songs 1:9-11) "I have
compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh's chariots. {10} Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains of gold. {11} We will make thee borders
of gold with studs of silver."
1.
Christ sees us in the beauty
of his own imputed righteousness and declares that we are perfectly beautiful (Ezek. 16:13-14).
(Ezekiel
16:13-14) "Thus wast thou decked
with gold and silver; and thy raiment was
of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and
honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into
a kingdom. {14} And thy renown went
forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith
the Lord GOD."
“In thy Surety thou art
free.
His dear hands were pierced
for thee:
With his spotless garments
on,
We’re as holy as God’s own
Son!”
Christ does not exaggerate the beauty of
his people. We are perfectly beautiful and gloriously complete, so much
so that we may confidently exclaim, “Who
shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect?”
2. Besides
that, our Lord sees us as we shall actually be when he is finished with us
(Eph. 5:25-27).
Illustration: The artist sees the statue
which he will
make in the huge block of marble he has
purchased.
(Ephesians
5:25-27) "Husbands, love your
wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; {26} That he might sanctify and cleanse
it with the washing of water by the word,
{27} That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having
spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without
blemish."
3. In this
passage (vv. 9-11), our Lord
uses a well known picture of royal beauty to typify the beauty of his people in
him.
a.
He
compares us to a company of horses in Pharaoh’s chariots -
·
Beautiful
·
Chosen
·
Costly
·
Strong.
b.
He
shows how he has adorned us by his grace.
·
Rows
of jewels - The graces of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22).
·
Chains
of gold - The blessings of graces in him (Eph. 1:3-14).
c.
He
tells us what will yet be done for us.
“We”
(God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit) “We will make thee borders of gold with studs of silver.” A
symbolic picture of the heavenly Jerusalem (Isa. 54:11-12; Rev. 21:18-21).
(Isaiah
54:11-12) "O thou afflicted,
tossed with tempest, and not
comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy
foundations with sapphires. {12} And
I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy
borders of pleasant stones."
(Revelation
21:18-21) "And the building of the
wall of it was of jasper: and the
city was pure gold, like unto clear
glass. {19} And the foundations of
the wall of the city were garnished
with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the
fourth, an emerald; {20} The fifth,
sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the
ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the
twelfth, an amethyst. {21} And the
twelve gates were twelve pearls:
every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent
glass."
B. Now, look at the Lord’s answer to our question (vv.7-8).
(Song of
Songs 1:7-8) "Tell me, O
thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why
should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions? {8} If thou know not, O thou fairest
among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids
beside the shepherds' tents."
Here is his word of instruction for our
hearts - “Go thy way forth by the
footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds’ tents.”
Here we are told where to find our Lord,
where to find food and rest and refreshment for our souls. If you would find
Christ, you will find him in the way of the holy prophets, in the way of the
patriarchs and in the way of the apostles. Follow the footsteps of the flock,
feed be the tents of his shepherds, and you may find him.
A. What are the footsteps of the flock?
They are simply the paths in which God’s
people have always walked. They are the paths of the Lord’s sheep. They are not
hard to find. They are plain and clear. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob walked in
these paths. These are the paths of David, Isaiah, and Jeremiah. Peter, James,
John, and Paul followed these paths. Let us walk in them too.
1.
They
are the paths of faith and trust.
2.
They
are the paths of submission and obedience.
3.
They
are the paths of righteousness and godliness.
4.
They
are the paths of love and kindness.
5.
They
are the old paths of doctrinal truth (Jer. 6:16).
(Jeremiah 6:16) "Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the
ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your
souls."
B. Who are these shepherds, by whose tents we must feed?
There are many in these days who have set
themselves up as shepherds, who feed their sheep in poisonous pastures. Keep
away from them.
·
Do
not follow a man.
·
Do
not cling to a church.
·
Find
a man who is preaching the gospel of Christ, and feed by his tent. The church
where the gospel is preached is the shepherds’ tent. The man who is preaching
the gospel is one of Christ’s shepherds (Jer. 3:15).
(Jeremiah
3:15) "And I will give you pastors
according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and
understanding."
Find
a man who is like Paul, “Determined not
to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified,” and you
can safely feed by his tent. Those who are the true servants of Christ preach
Christ, they preach all of Christ, and they preach nothing but Christ.
1.
We preach Christ crucified
as he is revealed in Holy Scripture.
·
His
Godhood.
·
His
Manhood.
·
His
atonement.
·
His
righteousness.
·
His
justification.
·
His
exaltation.
2.
We preach the doctrines of
the gospel of the grace of God in Christ.
We
must be very particular that we preach the truth of God, the whole truth of
God, not just a part of it, but all of it. The doctrines of grace are to me
like a field of clover. Religion without the doctrines of grace is a barren
wasteland.
·
Divine
Sovereignty.
·
Unconditional
Election.
·
Total
Depravity.
·
Effectual,
Particular Redemption.
·
Irresistible
Grace.
·
Perseverance
Of The Saints.
Let
others turn aside if they must to the empty cisterns of religious philosophy.
We have found a refreshing fountain of life in Christ himself, and we have
found rich pastures for our souls in these blessed doctrines of the gospel.
Application:
1.
Children
of God, let nothing turn you from Christ.
2.
I
pray that God will now effectually reveal the beauties of Christ to your
hearts.
If
ever the Lord makes himself known to you, you will love him. If any of you want
him, he wants you. If you long for him, he longs for you. If you seek him, he
is seeking you. If you will now call upon him, he is now calling you.
AMEN.