Sermon
#13 Series: Song of Solomon
Title: CHRIST PRESENT WITH HIS CHURCH
Text: Song of Solomon 5:1
Readings: Office: Rex Bartley Auditorium: Merle Hart
Subject: The manifest presence of
Christ with His church
Date: Sunday Evening - August 9, 1998
Tape # U-80b
Introduction: `
My
subject this evening is one which should be of great interest to all of the
Lord’s people. The title of my message is - CHRIST PRESENT WITH HIS CHURCH.
In the preceding verse we
see the church, the bride of Christ, making a twofold prayer. First,
she asked for the gracious influence of the Holy Spirit. “Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden that
the spices thereof may flow out.” Then,
she asked for the manifest presence of Christ himself. “Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.”
In our text tonight (5:1),
we have the Lord’s gracious answer to that prayer. Here Christ himself speaks
and says, “I am come into my garden, my
sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my
honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends;
drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.”
Here our Lord Jesus speaks
of his manifest presence with his church. We should not be greatly surprised to
hear him speak in such a manner. Did he not say that if any would open to him
he would come in and sup with them? Our all glorious Christ is always as good
as his promise. No sooner did his church throw open the doors of her heart than
he entered and made himself known in sweet communion.
Proposition: Of this one thing you may be
sure - Every heart that is prepared by God to receive Christ, and anxiously
seeks and desires the presence of Christ shall have Christ (Isa. 65:24).
Isaiah
65:24 "And it shall come to pass, that before
they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear."
·
Certainly
this is true with regard to poor, needy sinners (Heb. 4:16).
·
This
is most assuredly true with regard to you who are the Lord’s
George
Burrowes made this
statement - “The fact of the existence of such desires for him, is evidence of
his being with us; as in this passage, in immediate connection with the
request, he adds, ‘I have already come.’ He was present in the heart, though
his presence was not felt.”
The
fact that our hearts truly long for Christ’s presence is evidence that he is
with us already. Sometimes we are like Jacob when he awoke out of his sleep, he
said, “Surely, the Lord is in this place
and I knew it not.” We are often like Mary; on one occasion the Lord was
standing by her side in the garden, and she knew him not.
How I
pray that our God may be pleased to visit his garden. May it please our dear
Savior to grant us once more his manifest presence.
Divisions: There are three things in
this text to which I want to call your attention.
1.
The
Lord Jesus calls for us to take notice of his presence.
2.
Our
blessed Savior here shows us that he finds great satisfaction in his church.
3.
The
Son of God gives a loving invitation to his beloved people.
I.
To begin, I want you to see that - THE
LORD JESUS CHRIST CALLS FOR US TO TAKE NOTICE OF HIS PRESENCE.
Our prayer in the last verse of chapter four
was, “Let my Beloved come into his
garden.” Here he says, “I have come
into my garden,” as if to say, “Look up, my beloved, I am here!” Could it
be that he has come without us perceiving it? Could he be present and us, who
so earnestly long for him, not know it? I am afraid that it is so. Our hearts
are so much taken up with doubt and worldly concern that unless Christ
advertises his coming, as he does here, he might be at our side and us fail to
see him.
A. Our Master promised that where two or three gathered
together in his name, he would be present with them (Matt.
18:20).
Matthew
18:20 "For where two or three are gathered
together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."
·
The
place is not important.
·
The
number is not important.
·
The
denomination is not important.
·
The
only matter of importance is that we gather in his name.
But
what does it mean to gather in his name?
1.
To
gather in his name is to gather believing on his name.
2.
To
gather in his name is to come together to worship him and seek his glory.
3.
To
gather in his name is to come together to seek his righteousness.
4.
To
gather in his name is to come together to seek his will.
5.
To
gather in his name is to come together to seek his mercy.
6.
To
gather in his name is to come together to seek his sheep.
B. Our Lord has promised to be with his people, those
who truly worship him in Spirit and in truth, at all times (Isa.
43:1-3; Matt. 28:18-20).
Isaiah
43:1-3 "But now thus saith the LORD that
created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have
redeemed thee, I have called thee by
thy name; thou art mine. (2) When thou passest through the
waters, I will be with thee; and
through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the
fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. (3) For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave
Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and
Seba for thee."
Matthew
28:18-20 "And Jesus came and spake unto them,
saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. (19) Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: (20) Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have
commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen."
He
said, “I will never leave thee, nor
forsake thee” (Heb. 13:4).
C. And our Lord Jesus Christ has promised his manifest
presence to those who love him (John 14:18-23).
John
14:18-23 "I will not leave you comfortless: I
will come to you. (19) Yet a little
while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall
live also. (20) At that day ye shall
know that I am in my Father, and ye
in me, and I in you. (21) He that
hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that
loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest
myself to him. (22) Judas saith unto
him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and
not unto the world? (23) Jesus
answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my
Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with
him."
This
is the thing I am talking about. We know the doctrine of Christ’s presence. But
we want to know his real, manifest presence with us.
·
Wherever
the door is opened to Christ, he comes in (Rev. 3:20).
·
Wherever
there is a heart broken and contrite before God, Christ takes up his abode in
that heart (Isa. 57:15; 66:1-2).
Isaiah
57:15 "For thus saith the high and lofty One
that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy;
I dwell in the high and holy place, with
him also that is of a contrite and
humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of
the contrite ones."
Isaiah
66:1-2 "Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and
where is the place of my rest? (2) For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit,
and trembleth at my word."
D. This personal, manifest presence of Christ among his
people is an unspeakable blessing of grace.
I am not talking about a fanatical delusion.
I am talking about the real presence of Christ with his people.
1.
When
He is present there is life in our midst.
·
In
Our Prayers.
·
In
Our Singing.
·
In
Our Reading.
·
In
Our Preaching.
·
In
Our Hearing.
When he is absent, all is lifeless and dead.
2.
When
He is present there is joy in our midst.
3.
When
He is present there is peace in our midst.
NOTE: I
cannot tell you that you will always find Christ present with his people here.
But I can tell you this - He will be present with all who come seeking him
(Jer. 29:12-14).
Jeremiah
29:12-14 "Then shall ye call upon me, and ye
shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. (13) And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. (14) And I will be found of you, saith
the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all
the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD;
and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried
away captive."
·
Those
who ask, to them it shall be given.
·
Those
who knock, to them the door shall open.
·
Those
who seek, they shall find.
·
Any who miss Christ, miss
him because they will not seek him.
II. Secondly, it is evident in our text that - OUR
DEAR SAVIOR FINDS GREAT SATISFACTION IN HIS CHURCH.
NOTE: When
I speak of the church, I am talking about all true believers.
This
is what Christ here says to his church - “I
am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my
spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my
milk.”
A. Our Lord claims the church as his own garden, his
rightful possession.
In this one verse he uses the personal
possessive pronoun “my” nine times.
Certainly this is meaningful.
1.
We rightfully belong to the
Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 6:19-20).
a.
We
are his by divine purpose.
b.
We
are his by lawful purchase.
c.
We
are his by sovereign power.
2.
The sweet produce which
Christ finds in his garden is the result of his own cultivation.
·
He
takes pleasure in us just as a farmer takes pleasure in his fruitful field.
·
He
finds satisfaction in us just as a mother finds satisfaction in her living,
healthy baby.
B. The words of our text have
been interpreted many ways by learned scholars. But surely they convey to us
the message that - Christ finds great
satisfaction and delight in his people.
What condescending grace! The Son of God
comes to us! But that is not all; he even looks upon us with complacency,
delight, and satisfaction! Because of his own blood and righteousness, he
accepts the sincere though feeble worship of our hearts (1 Pet. 2:5).
1 Peter 2:5 "Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house,
an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by
Jesus Christ."
1. Our offerings are to him
like the gathering of his myrrh and spice.
2. Our prayers are like
sweet-smelling myrrh to him.
3. Our songs of praise are like
spices and incense before him.
4. Our love toward him is like
honey in the honeycomb to our Redeemer.
5. Our joy before him is like
exhilarating wine.
6. Our daily life is before him
like refreshing milk.
Illustration: Faith’s Dandelions
NOTE: In
this heavenly poetic verse, Christ is fed first, then his children are invited
to eat. It seems to imply that our first concern should be for him. The first
and best of everything must go to him.
III. Thirdly, THE SON OF GOD GIVES A
LOVING INVITATION TO HIS BELOVED PEOPLE.
Here is the invitation which our beloved
Redeemer gives to us - “Eat, O friends;
drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.”
A. Notice the two words by which he tenderly calls us
to the feast.
This is a feast of fellowship, communion, and
life. It is spread not for the world, but for his own peculiar people.
1.
He calls us his friends (John 3:29; 15:13-15; Luke
15:7).
We
were by nature his enemies. And we would have forever remained his enemies. But
he has graciously reconciled us to himself. We are his friends!
John 3:29 "He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of
the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of
the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled."
John
15:13-15 "Greater love hath no man than this,
that a man lay down his life for his friends. (14) Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. (15) Henceforth I call you not
servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called
you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known
unto you."
2.
He calls us his beloved.
We
who are born of God are the peculiar objects of his great love.
·
Electing
Love.
·
Redeeming
Love.
·
Immutable,
Unchanging Love.
·
Saving
Love.
·
Preserving
Love.
Oh,
what blessedness is heaped up in that word as it falls from our Savior’s lips,
“Beloved”!
B. Notice the two provisions for our souls to feast
upon - We are bidden to eat and drink.
You know what the food of faith is, and what
the delightful drink is. The food and the drink are in him. By faith, we eat
his flesh and drink his blood (John 6:50-56).
John
6:50-56 "This is the bread which cometh down
from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. (51) I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man
eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my
flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. (52) The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can
this man give us his flesh to eat? (53) Then Jesus said unto them, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink
his blood, ye have no life in you. (54) Whoso
eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him
up at the last day. (55) For my flesh
is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. (56) He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in
me, and I in him."
C. Notice also this delightful word - “Abundantly”.
Our Lord tells us to feast abundantly upon
him. Let faith eat and drink, feeding upon Christ without end. The more your
hunger and thirst is satisfied, the more you will hunger and thirst - feast on!
This is healthy gluttony.
NOTE: The
marginal translation of this last phrase is - “Be drunken with loves.”
It is as though the Lord was saying, “Come, my friends, my beloved, drink the
rich wine of my love, until your heart is drunk with my love, until you are
totally under the influence of my love” (Eph. 5:18).
Ephesians
5:18 "And be not drunk with wine, wherein is
excess; but be filled with the Spirit."
There
is never any danger of overindulgence when it comes preaching, feeding upon,
and worshipping the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, child of God, gorge yourself on
Christ! Drink of him, O my soul, until you are thoroughly, completely
intoxicated with him, and then drink on!
Application: That which is here spoken
specifically to the Lord’s own beloved friends, I am at liberty to alter
somewhat and present to you who know him not, because in other places he has
done so - I boldly make three sure promises to you, upon the authority of God’s
Word.
1. If you will seek Christ, you
will find him.
2. If you will accept Christ,
you will be accepted of him.
3. If you will believe on
Christ (Eat his flesh and drink his blood) you will have everlasting life.
God
help you now to trust Christ. Oh, hungry, thirsty souls, “Taste and see that the Lord is good!”
AMEN.