Sermon
#18 The
Song Of Solomon Notes
Title: The Excellence
and
Supremacy of Christ
Text: Song of Solomon 5:10
Readings: Office
Ron Wood Auditorium: Merle Hart
Subject: The Flawless Perfection
of Christ
Date: Sunday Evening - October 4, 1998
Tape # U-87a
Introduction:
Our text tonight is the Song of Solomon 5:10.
Song of
Songs 5:10 My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand.
Let
me begin by showing you something which should be obvious. The glorious,
intimate, loving description of our Lord Jesus Christ given in verses 10-16 is
given in response to the question of the daughters of Jerusalem in verse 9.
Song of
Songs 5:9 What is
thy beloved more than another beloved,
O thou fairest among women? what is thy
beloved more than another beloved,
that thou dost so charge us?
In
his commentary on the Song of Solomon, Pastor Roger Ellsworth makes a
tremendous statement about this. Let me read it to you.
“The
question of the daughters of Jerusalem puts squarely before us a thrilling
possibility – it is possible for God’s children to so love Christ, and as a
result to live in such a way, that they arrest attention and arouse interest.
The reverse side of the coin is somber. It is also possible for God’s children
to live in such a way that they never stimulate in others any thought about
their faith or provoke any consideration of it. The apostle Peter tells his
readers to ‘Always be ready to give a defence to everyone who asks you a reason
for the hope that is in you'’(1 Peter 3:15). He expected them to live in such
an arresting manner that they would frequently have to explain why Christ meant
so much to them.”
May God give us grace to live in such
obvious devotion, love, and consecration to Christ that people are aroused to
asked us about him. But that is not my message tonight. Tonight, I want to
talk about “My Beloved.” I want to
show you THE EXCELLENCE AND SUPREMACY OF
CHRIST.
Song of
Songs 5:10 My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand.
There is a sermon in these first two
words of our text - “My Beloved.” It is of
utmost importance that our hearts’ affection be really and truly set upon
Christ.
Colossians
3:1-3 "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek
those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. (2) Set your affection on things above,
not on things on the earth. (3) For
ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God."
We must trust him; and we must love him. Christ on
the cross saves us when he becomes to us Christ in the heart.
·
It
is of little value for us to know about Christ, if we do not really trust him
and love him.
·
It
is meaningless for us to talk about Christ, unless our hearts are truly welded
and knit to him.
·
The
orthodoxy of our doctrine is but a mockery of Christ, if we do not love Christ.
Therefore, I must ask a
question. It is a question which I ask of myself frequently. It is a question I
asked myself over and over again as I prepared this message. Is the Lord Jesus Christ my Beloved?
Can I call the Lord Jesus Christ, who was crucified on Calvary and who now
reigns at the Father’s right hand my Beloved? Can I truly call him my Beloved?
You will never be asked to consider a more important
question.
It would be far better for you never to have been born than for you to live and
die without true love for Christ (1 Cor. 16:22).
1 Corinthians 16:22 "If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be
Anathema Maranatha."
·
Religious
morality is not enough - Do I love Christ?
·
Religious
zeal and devotion is not enough - Do I love Christ?
·
Religious
works are not enough - Do I love Christ?
Love for Christ
is not the grounds of our salvation. Only the righteousness, and shed
blood, and sovereign power of Christ can save me. Love for Christ is not the means by which we obtain salvation.
Salvation comes by grace through faith. But
true love for Christ is essential to salvation. If there is a heart
here in which there is an absence of true love for Christ, that heart is void
of God’s saving grace.
‘Tis a point I long to know,
Oft it causes anxious
thought -
Do I love the Lord, or no;
Am I His, or am I not?
May God graciously settle
that question in your heart and soul. Do you love Christ, or do you not? His
children do love him. “We love him
because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).
·
His
love for us precedes our love for him.
·
His
love for us causes our love for him.
·
His
love for us infinitely excels our love for him.
·
But
if we know him, we do love him.
1.
There are several things
which give me some comforting assurance that I do truly love the Lord Jesus
Christ.
·
I
trust Christ alone for my souls entire acceptance with God.
·
I
do willfully and joyfully submit myself to his dominion. Jesus Christ is my
Lord.
·
His
commandments are not grievous, but delightful.
·
His
will is not irksome, but satisfying.
·
I
love the gospel of his grace and glory.
·
I
love his people (1 John 3:14; 5:1-3).
1 John 3:14 "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because
we love the brethren. He that loveth not his
brother abideth in death."
1 John
5:1-3 "Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the
Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also
that is begotten of him. (2) By this
we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his
commandments. (3) For this is the
love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not
grievous."
·
I
rejoice in his honor, his glory, and his exaltation.
My Jesus, I love Thee, I
know Thou art mine,
For Thee all the follies of
sin I resign;
My gracious Redeemer, my
Savior art Thou,
If ever I loved Thee, my
Jesus, ‘tis now.
2.
If truly we love the Lord
Jesus Christ, we delight to speak of him.
·
Love
speaks of its object.
·
Love
defends the honor of its object.
·
Love
is never ashamed of its object.
3.
Now, let me give you this
admonition, if you want to grow in the love of Christ, or if you desire to know
the love of Christ, study Christ.
·
Try
to understand the glory of His Person.
·
Seek
to know the purity of His character.
·
Study
Christ in all His sacred offices.
·
Think
and study much about the cross, the blood, and the atonement of Christ.
·
Meditate
upon His resurrection, ascension, exaltation, and intercession.
·
Feed
your soul’s hope by contemplating the Lord’s glorious second coming.
Study
Christ! Study Christ, so that when any ask you, “What is thy Beloved more than another Beloved?”, you may be ready
to answer easily, quickly, and forcibly (1 John 1:1-3).
1 John
1:1-3 "That which was from the beginning,
which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked
upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (2) (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you
that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) (3) That which we have seen and heard
declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our
fellowship is with the Father, and
with his Son Jesus Christ."
Proposition: The better you know the Lord
Jesus Christ the better you will love him, speak of him, and praise him.
Divisions: My purpose in bringing this
message is very simple - I want to inspire our hearts to study Christ, to
praise Christ, and the tell others of Christ. I have just two divisions:
1. The Excellence Of Christ.
2.
The
Supremacy Of Christ.
I. First, I want to talk to you
about THE EXCELLENCE OF CHRIST. “My Beloved is white and ruddy.”
It seems to me that these words call
attention to the two primary characteristics of our Lord’s Person. Solomon had
often seen the snow-white lambs, those emblems of purity, brought to the temple
to be offered in sacrifice to the Lord. So he compares Christ to the white lamb
of sacrifice. “My Beloved is white.” He
had also seen the priest slit the lamb’s throat, and then seen the ruby red
blood of the lamb poured out in sacrifice to God. So he puts the two together
and says, “My Beloved is white and
ruddy.” The white represents his immaculate purity. The red represents his
sacrificial blood.
A. Our Lord is in himself white.
1.
He
is the eternal, immaculate Son of God (1 John 1:5).
1 John 1:5 "This then is the message which we have heard of him, and
declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all."
Jesus
Christ truly is God, the second Person of the Holy Trinity (1 John 5:7).
2.
Whiteness
represents the purity of our Savior’s life as a man (Heb. 7:25-26).
Hebrews
7:25-26 "Wherefore he is able also to save them
to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make
intercession for them. (26) For such
an high priest became us, who is holy,
harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the
heavens;"
Both
perfect Godhood and perfect manhood are essential for him to be our Mediator
and sin-atoning Substitute.
B. Redness refers to the sacrificial character of our
Redeemer.
Let us never be turned aside from the old
gospel message of substitutionary redemption. It is the foundation and the
cornerstone of our faith (Rom. 1:16-17; 1 Cor. 2:1; Gal. 6:14).
Romans
1:16-17 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of
Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth;
to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
(17) For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith:
as it is written, The just shall live by faith."
1
Corinthians 2:1 "And I, brethren, when I
came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto
you the testimony of God."
Galatians
6:14 "But God forbid that I should glory,
save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto
me, and I unto the world."
Explain: Substitution
Imputation
Satisfaction
Redemption
The excellence of Christ is
seen in His Person - His work - And the fullness of grace in him (1 Cor. 1:30).
1
Corinthians 1:30-31 "But of him are ye in
Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and
sanctification, and redemption: (31) That,
according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord."
II. Secondly, I want to say two
or three things about THE SUPREMACY
OF CHRIST - “My Beloved is white
and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand.”
These words suggest a comparison. The Lord
Jesus Christ is higher, lovelier, more excellent, and greater than all others.
·
He
is the greatest Angel. He is the Messenger of the Covenant.
·
He
is the greatest Friend. He is the Friend who sticketh closer than a brother.
·
He
is the greatest Bishop,. He is the Bishop of our souls.
·
He
is the greatest Shepherd. He is the good, chief, great Shepherd.
·
He
is the greatest Physician.
·
He
is the greatest Advocate (1 John 2:1-2).
The
angel said to Mary, He shall be great.” And
I want you to know that he is great. There is none to compare unto him. Christ
alone is Great!
A. To say that he is the chiefest among ten thousand is
to say that Christ is the Head, the Ruler, the Prince, the King, the Lord over
all things (Psa. 2:8; Isa. 53:10-12;
John 17:2; 2 Pet. 2:1; Psa. 69:18; Eph. 4:18). Christ is the king!
He is head of all things.
Ephesians
1:22 "And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things
to the church."
·
The
Universal King.
·
The
King Of His Church.
·
The
King Of Our Hearts.
B. These words might be translated, “He is the chosen
one out of ten thousand (Psa. 89:19).
Psalms 89:19 "Then thou spakest in vision to thy holy one, and saidst, I
have laid help upon one that is mighty;
I have exalted one chosen out of the
people."
·
Chosen
Of God.
·
Chosen
By His People.
C. And our marginal reference
suggest that it should read - “He is the standard bearer among ten
thousand” (Isa. 11:10).
Isaiah
11:10 "And in that day there shall be a root
of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the
Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious."
An
ensign, a standard bearer is one who holds the banner, around whom the
battalions rally. With a valiant heart he leads the army from victory to
victory.
·
Our
Ensign is Christ himself.
·
Our
banner is the cross.
·
Our
weapon is the gospel.
·
Our
triumph is sure.
What more can I say? MY
BELOVED IS FLAWLESSLY PERFECT IN ALL THINGS!
·
In
His Person
·
In
His Works
·
In
His Doctrine
·
In
His Salvation
·
In
His Dominion
Application:
1. We bid all who will to rally
around the banner of the cross.
2.
Now
I speak to you who both trust and love the Lord Jesus Christ.
·
Do
you see his excellence?
·
Do
you see his supremacy?
·
Let
us go out of this place to make him known.