Song of Solomon

[0:00] Seeking the Lord's help, I direct your attention this evening to the Song of Solomon, chapter 2, reading verses 10 and 11. The Song of Solomon, chapter 2, reading verses 10 and 11.

[0:18] My beloved spake and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone.

[0:35] My beloved spake and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.

[0:49] For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. This Song of Solomon, written in the form of a discourse between the Lord and his church, with intermittent conversation from the daughters of Jerusalem, is a very precious part of God's holy word.

[1:22] It consistently speaks of the communion between Christ and his church.

[1:33] It faithfully portrays the failings of the bride and the consistent love of the bridegroom.

[1:51] And it speaks so clearly of the divine principle at the opening of our text, that the Lord is in the hearts of his people.

[2:12] It is a fundamental principle of the work of God, that he speaks in the precious reality of it to his church.

[2:29] And she knows his voice, and she knows the nature of his words spoken in her heart.

[2:39] She knows the power of them, and the blessedness of them, the sweetness of them, and the reality of them.

[2:54] His voice is to be known in the operations of the Holy Spirit, spoken directly into our hearts.

[3:12] It is to be known in the commandments of God's holy word, the divine call that the scriptures speak of, whom he did predestinate, whom he also called.

[3:28] It is to be known in the fear nots of God's holy word. It is to be known in the promises that he speaks into the heart.

[3:41] Wherever that is known in the power and life and reality of it, a child of God can say before God, my beloved Spain.

[3:56] But to go back one word here, my beloved, and to go back to the beginning, to be able to say, my beloved. I would say this, you know, you may not be able to say, my beloved, yet, yet, has God spoken to you?

[4:23] Has he heard your voice and spoken to you in answers to prayer? Have you got in your heart one answer to prayer?

[4:37] Oh dear friends, trace it back, trace it back, and ask yourself, and ask yourself, these questions. If that is a answer to prayer, and if God has spoken to you in your heart, and you have heard his voice saying, fear not, if you know his word with divine power, what is the origin of that?

[5:08] What is it, the root of it? Is it not, though you may not have felt it in your soul, as you would, is it not the love of Christ to your soul?

[5:23] Remember this, shown to me some years ago, when I was mourning that I did not know and understand the way, and I was at a distance from the truth I'd heard preached, and I did not know the love and blood of Christ as I would, the Lord spoke to me in that hymn, every grace and every favor comes to us through Jesus' blood.

[5:49] I had just heard a sermon and come away and said, I know nothing of the blood of Jesus, and he showed me that every grace and every favor, the origin of it must be the blood of Jesus Christ.

[6:07] We cannot have a single answer to prayer except the intercede in the courts of heaven above. We cannot have a single divine favor or mercy granted to us.

[6:21] And much more, there can be no work of grace in the heart, no drawing, no work of regeneration in the soul unless the love and blood of Christ has been shed for us.

[6:43] Oh, I believe this, that God's dear church do not always see the blessedness of this word, my beloved. They would long, and they're rightly exercised, I believe, that they are unable to say, my beloved, until they are brought to a place where they truly believe the Lord has shown them what he showed to Jeremiah.

[7:11] Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love, and therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee. Yet, I would say this tonight, when the Lord speaks, as he does in the hearts of his dear people, when he spoke on that road to Damascus to his servant, the apostle Paul, it was because he had loved him with an everlasting love.

[7:44] He came to his knees in the street called Straight under condemnation. Little could he say in his soul, my beloved, when the Lord cut him down in his sin, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.

[8:04] But the Lord was to bring his dear servant into a sweet knowledge of his precious blood in that hour of godly sorrow and repentance. And when he came forth, he came forth to preach Christ that he is the Son of God.

[8:27] He came forth to preach one whose love and blood he had known in his heart and conscience. And truly, as he looked back on that day, on the Damascus road, he could say, my beloved, he spoke.

[8:44] And when we come to look at the Lord when he speaks in the hearts of his dear people, what a solemn matter that is and equally, what a remarkable matter that is when the Lord does speak in the hearts of his dear church.

[9:06] All through life's journey from the very beginning to the end, he speaks. When we look back at the psalmist David, the father of Solomon and see how the Lord spake in answer to his prayers as on the hills of Judah as a shepherd boy, he fought against the lion and the bear and had such a sight.

[9:31] The God who delivered me from the lion and the bear. Why in his youth he carried to answers to prayer. And when Samuel was sent to anoint him king, oh how the Lord spake, arise, anoint him, this is he.

[9:51] The Lord spake in the heart of Samuel and he spoke in the life of David and David knew the blessedness of the Lord's hand in his life.

[10:03] The Lord speaks and he speaks also in circumstances. He speaks in solemn dealings.

[10:17] Never did he speak in more awful circumstances than when the child of Bathsheba died. David wrestled in prayer for that child but the Lord spake in this way that he did not answer his prayer.

[10:35] And what a blessed word this is. It encompasses our life from the beginning of that work of God in our hearts to the end of it.

[10:55] All through the journey God is speaking. And oh what a mercy if he is our beloved he will speak in chastening he will indeed he will speak in blessing or how we see him speaking to his dear servant Abraham on Mount Moriah staying his hand for riding the ram caught in the thicket and as he came down all the voice of his God in blessing I will bless thee God spoke I thought you know the remarkable nature of that word of God in blessing all this bitter trial unspeakably bitter not only naturally but spiritually it was a knife raised over him in natural affection and raised over his religion in all the promises that God had given the Lord spoke but you know dear friends in blessing

[12:27] I will bless thee on Mount Raya the Lord spoke in Christ he said Abraham saw my day and was glad oh how the Lord took him there to speak pardon and peace into his soul and show him his redeeming love and blood then gave him that precious promise as he descended from that hill of what to him had been immense tribulation in blessing I will bless thee the Lord blesses his dear people in their crosses meditate on it the trial of your faith he gives a promise and it is bitterly tried the trial of your faith yet it's proved

[13:33] I have promises in my life which the Lord gave me in the most bitter circumstances which it took over twenty years to demonstrate to me in the pathway the reality of it and the fullness of it and the sweetness of it and the blessedness of it I proved him to be faithful to his word my beloved spoke he speaks in the dark clouds of life journey in the bitter sorrows of the pathway he comes and speaks into the hearts of his dear children Job was comforted in his affliction in the depths of it when the

[14:34] Lord brought him to that blessed place where he could truly say I know that my redeemer lives the words were written in his heart he said oh that they were written in a book engraven with lead in the rock forever they were indelibly written into his dear heart they were the sealing of God's spirit in his soul that he could truly say here my beloved my redeemer spay and all search your heart ask yourself tonight what do I know in my soul of the voice of my beloved beautifully described in this lovely book the voice of my beloved be cold he cometh leaping upon the mountains and skipping upon the hills and spoken of in the last verse until the day break and the shadows flee away this is the prayer of the church that is until the day the last day of life's journey breaks and the shadow of death flees away and time is no more with us whilst here below turn my beloved and be there like a row or a young heart upon the mountains of

[16:12] Betha they are as the margin tells us the mountains of separation the church long for her God to speak in her pathway and he does he speaks in the winter in the clouds of darkness this rain that is spoken of here speaks to us of the withholding of the son of righteousness days of darkness and distress and in it as the church is brought to wrestling prayer so she knows her beloved draw near and reveal his love in her heart and draws near and grant sweet communion with her God it is the voice of my beloved he cometh oh how we see here the blessed knowledge that the church has of her

[17:24] God suddenly unexpectedly in the deep waters of sorrow and the furnaces of affliction he comes over the mountains of separation like the row or young heart coming rapidly to her knee coming and speaking into her heart comfort and peace and she can truly say my beloved spay she can look at the blessed words that lie in these chapters his left hand is under my head and his right hand doth embrace me why she knows by the effect of his words in her soul love that his words are accompanied with power and love what do we know of the words of our beloved the voice of our beloved in our hearts have we heard it it is a reality to be known or it is indeed when the

[18:45] Lord comes in love and compassion in the deep waters of life's journey and draws near to his dear people then she can come to the place we spoke of in prayer surely he hath borne our grief and carried our sorrow why it is in these deep waters that our God comes and speaks into our hearts his precious promises and puts these blessed arms of love and mercy about us it is not the only time in the word of God that we read of these arms of love and mercy about us Moses speaks of them the eternal God is thy refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms it is love it is compassion it is his presence my beloved spain why his word of power spoken in our tribulation carries us through it is the arm of his strength his presence is all that we need

[20:14] Moses asked and received the same blessings when he spoke of those everlasting arms underneath in his dying hour and when he had the word from God my presence shall go with thee and I will give thee rest oh how blessedly we see they are the identical blessing my beloved spain oh the strength when the Lord comes near as he did to Moses and grants his sweet presence then there's peace my mind goes to Elijah in that cave and to Elijah with the cruise of water and the cake at his head as he asked the

[21:15] Lord to take away his life and the Lord drew near and spake oh how we see the compassion and the tender love of the Lord as he drew near and said to his dear servant arise in he journeys too great for thee thou art swept with the winds of unbelief and adversity compassion all the compassion the Lord had on his dear servant arise in he journeys too great for thee why he had come through those three years at Cherith the widows of Zarephath's home and Carmel the mighty answers to his prayer and in all those circumstances his beloved had spoken in divine provision in grace and strength he had stood before the priests of

[22:27] Baal and he had known the presence of his God but oh we see the dear man of God coming down with the answers to his prayer the fire and the rain and running before the chariot of Ahab oh here we see the blessedness of his God speaking in those circumstances and the strength that was given by equally he spoke arise and eat and equally he spoke what doest thou hear Elijah and beautifully described not in the earthquake or the fire or the wind but the still small voice of God speaking into his heart and soul sending into his soul those words of conviction bringing his dear servant in his affliction into the sweet knowledge of this beautiful word my beloved spoke and I believe there was in that voice of love and mercy that still small voice a precious knowledge of this blessed truth my beloved spoke tis the voice of my beloved and said unto me rise up my love my fair one and come away we can see how in the case of dear

[24:11] Elijah it was the winter of trial and temptation walking the path of faith walking in the fiery furnaces of loneliness walking alone trusting in his God in the great trial of his faith being much more precious than gold that perished oh how in that low place where he felt his work was over and a failure completely that his God stooped down to him in his lowest condition and said rise up rise and eat the journey is too great for thee rise up and what a beautiful word this is I believe there is so much teaching here it was there that his God said to him my love my fair one oh how we see in

[25:17] God's dealings with his dear servant compassion love everlasting loving kindness oh how in these deep waters of affliction the Lord speaks into the hearts of his dear church there is in his dealings as he lifts his dear people up out of their lowest places their deepest darkness their long trials there is his presence felt and known his love is sweetly realized and Elijah went in the strength of that meat to Horeb forty days he knew what it was for the Lord when he spoke not only did he say to him rise up my fair my love my fair one and come away the winter is past all that solemn winter that winter of trial and temptation we can look upon it here

[26:36] I do believe tonight as that winter of unregeneracy when he calls his dear people out of nature's darkness having brought them down as he does into a solemn knowledge of their fallen state before him and he calls them to follow him he called his dear people Israel to leave Egypt and to come out and to be separate all he did they were a solemn people why when the trials came in that journey of leaving Egypt how they wished they never left it when they got out to the Red Sea how they wished when the Egyptians were behind them and the Red Sea in front they never left it how solemnly when they got the other side and the waters of

[27:38] Mara were bitter they wished they never left it and oh how solemn and that's just like God's dear people and yet and yet rise up my love my fair one and come away leave it behind you that is the work of God's spirit to bring his dear people out of Egyptian darkness out of this world and truly to separate them to himself but oh as Philpot says in his lovely sermon winter before harvest the pathway to glory is very much a winter there are many a dark season in the journey many a season of coldness and lukewarmness and temptation and distance from their God or how they need him to come again and again in the bitter winters of the experience of their hearts in guilt freshly contracted unbelief doubt temptation how they need their

[28:49] God to come again and lift them out of it bring them out of that solemn winter of coldness and darkness and lukewarmness and come again in the sweetness of what is spoken of here the spring the winter is past the flowers appear on the earth the time of the singing of birds is come the voice of the turtle that is the turtle dove is heard in our land the fig tree put forth her green figs the vines with a tender grape give a good smell arise my love my fair one and come away there there is out of the winter of unbelief and temptation in the trial of the faith of God's dear church there comes from time to time a precious spring of divine warmth of the sacred rising of the son of righteousness in the pathway when the

[29:51] Lord comes and speaks rise when he lifts his dear people up and when he with his own lips says to them my love my fair one and come away oh how they are brought to realize the substance of sovereign grace in the Lord's dealings with them that he is utterly sovereign in the times that he comes into their souls to speak and to grant gracious liberty and look at it sweet joy heavenly peace blessed divine comfort life in their souls access to himself nearness and the communion that is spoken of here in this chapter the entrance into this truth

[31:00] I sat down under his shadow with great delight and his fruit was sweet to my taste and this precious and blessed truth to be able to say my beloved is mine and I am his he feedeth among the lilies oh we see the beauty of these writings here they are exceptionally blessed I I am the rose of Sharon says Christ and the lily of the valley oh his path that he walked here below shedding his precious blood walking in spotless holy innocence offering himself in his sacred humanity and offering for sin for his dear people touched with the feeling of their infirmities he comes in the fruit of his work here below to call them to be a partaker of the benefits of him and to deliver them from the solemn winter of sin and unbelief and temptation and darkness and to bring them into the precious light of his countenance from time to time that they may know those everlasting arms about them those precious arms embracing them and be brought to a place from time to time not all the days of their life but a blessed place of hope and joy and peace when before him who searcheth all hearts they can truly say my beloved is mine and I am his he feedeth among the lilies all have his dear church feed in his presence and know the sweet comfort of his spirit rise up my love my fair one and come away for the winter is past and the rain is over and gone the dark clouds have moved away of his absence the dark clouds of unbelief the dark clouds of carnality and temptation and there is a freedom a liberty an access and there is joy and peace and there is resignation to his will and his dear people are still in his dear hands and they long as the children of

[34:04] Israel did when they came to Elim in their journey to that glorious oasis they long to remain in this place do you know these places have you got some precious Elims that you look back to in the way where you have communed with him where he has helped you hitherto and have you walked in darkness with many a cloud and many a temptation and a heart full of unbelief and wondered what he was doing with you and where he would bring you and have you been deeply tempted has there been a solemn winter of affliction and sorrow and yet rise up my love my fair one and come away winter's past the Lord does from time to time bring his dear people to such a place and remove those clouds and in faith brings them to this blessed time the flowers appear on the earth the time of the singing of birds there is joy peace the warmth of hope the sacred joy of the knowledge of his love felt in the heart they are precious times they are drinking at the waters of the wells of salvation they are the limbs of life's pathway when the Lord opens the rock and the waters gush forth then there is a sweet refreshment and a deliverance from the bondage of sin and darkness and when faith is in blessed exercise to be able truly to say he doeth all things well

[36:11] I leave the subject tonight it is the most precious subject the Lord takes his dear people to glory eventually to hear his voice and meet him face to face but here below in the winter he comforts them and the comfort is blessedly described is the voice of my beloved he cometh all have you known it does your spiritual experience encompass the blessed nature of the truth of God's holy word you know the mountains of beta the mountains of separation but do you equally know what it is for him to come over them and for the mountains to flow down at his presence and for joy and peace to enter your heart in the midst of your darkest hours the trial has not changed the affliction is there still the sorrows are deeply rooted yet he's come over the mountain beautifully described in the 91st psalm he that dwelleth in the secret place that is in the love of the most high shall abide where under the shadow of the almighty glorious shadow spoken of here it is a place of rest and peace and hope and comfort and joy and it is in such ways that the lord takes his dear church through the winter of life's journey until the day comes spoken of so gloriously in this lovely chapter when the day breaks and the shadows flee away and they go to enter into his immediate presence to be with him forever more no more mountains of

[38:35] Bitha but to meet him face to face and to know the fullness of the love which they have but tasted on the shores of time dear otherford says the streams on earth I've tasted more deep I'll drink above there to an ocean fullness Amen more than girls before as yours attend to next spread