Well, we're going to read from the Song of Solomon. And remember that we have been thinking about the Song of Solomon, and after an introductory verse, the first verse, then you move into the song, and the song falls, I believe, into three segments. And the first segment runs through chapter 1 right into chapter 3, and we could call it drawing together. And here are a couple, and they're being drawn together. wonderfully drawn together and they will eventually be married but as they've been going through the stages there was desire you see the maid expressing desire let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth for thy love is better than wine what desires you had and then she experienced or expresses despair because she will say, I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon. Look not upon me because I am black, and so on. And she wonders, why would this one ever be interested in me? And then we discovered that after that, she comes to the place where desire is intensified. There's an increasing desire, as we saw last week at the end of chapter one. Now we come to this, and where she experiences delight. Read from verse one of chapter two. I am the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valleys. As the lily among the thorns, so is my love among the daughters. As the apple tree among the trees of the woods, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight and his fruit was sweet to my taste. He brought me to the banqueting house and his banner over me was love. Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples, for I am sick of love. His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me. I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the rows and by the hinds of the field, that you stir not up nor awake my love, till he please. This wonderful song, the greatest song of all the Song of Songs, It is a song that must be understood in two levels. It is a love song, reflecting the wonderful love that can exist between a human couple. But then it also moves beyond that into the spiritual realm and the love that does exist between Christ and his people. So we look at it in those two levels again. And first of all, we're going to look at this from the physical point of view, the human perspective. And the first thing I want you to notice in the reading that we've had is a note of discouragement. Now that brings us into verse 1 of chapter 2. I am the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valleys. Now a little word of explanation because you who are used with your Bibles and especially used with many hymns You'll probably be accustomed to the idea that this is the male voice speaking here, representing Christ, that he is saying, I'm the rose of Sharon, the lily of the valleys. Now, down through history, opinion has been divided about that. You can go right away back to the very earliest days, and you'll find that there are those who would think that it is the male voice, those who think it's the female who's speaking. For many years, I would have went down the line that it was the male. But as I've been studying this more in depth for many months now, I've come to the conclusion that it's actually the female voice. And in this word, there's a word of discouragement that has come in again. Remember, this is like a courtship. And there's one that she loves and she so desires. But then she has become aware of her own situation, her own condition. I am black but comely, look not upon me because I am black. And so on, in the first chapter. And then she has had those feelings allayed by the one that she loves, but then her devotion and desire increases. But then there returns this sort of discouragement. Isn't this what happens in the ebb and flow of a courtship? Can you remember that, any of you? Whenever you were quite sure and all the rest of the things were fine, but then, oh, will she, won't she? Yes, she will. Will he, won't he? Yes, he will. No, no. And this is, I think, is what occurs. Now, whenever it says, I am the rose of Sharon, that is a bit misleading, because it certainly does not mean the rose as we know it. Roses in that sense weren't into the Canaan and into Israel until well after the Old Testament era. There isn't a word in Hebrew for the English equivalent rose. All right, so it's not talking about a rose as we think of it. but probably is talking about maybe a crocus or something like that, but something that is comparatively insignificant, unimportant, not something that is particularly precious. And the lily of the valleys, likewise. Again, it is emphasizing its commonality, nothing of any great consequence and importance. And you might at this point in time be saying to yourself, well, no, Harry, I'm not sure about that. That goes against a lot of my thoughts. Well, let me remind you what our Lord Jesus Christ talked and said about the lilies. Do you remember what he said about the lilies? And we miss the significance of this sometimes. Matthew 6, 28. Why take your thought for raiment, for clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they toil not, neither do they spin. And yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all his glory was not a red like one of these. Now, you see, if the Lord Jesus was referring to some flower that was stupendously beautiful and rare and wonderful and say, now, Solomon in all his glory was not a red like one of these, well, there mightn't be anything tremendously remarkable about that. But he's talking about just the common lilies of the field that are scattered everywhere. And he says, even the common works of God are more wonderful than man's best. And he clinches it by going on to say this, wherefore, if God so clothed the what? The grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow is cast into the oven as fuel, Shall he not much more clothe you? See, these lilies of the field, they were just common, insignificant, not worth anything. And here is this maid, you see, and her discouragement comes from her estimation of herself, that even at her best, she's so insignificant, worthless, feels she can contribute nothing to this one that she so loves. So there is discouragement and sometimes whenever you're going through this courtship, that can come, you can just feel, why would he ever be interested in me? I have nothing to bring. But then there's encouragement. Her discouragement comes from her estimation of herself. Her encouragement comes from his estimation of her. And he says, as the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters. Now notice he doesn't disabuse her description. Doesn't say, oh no, you're not a lily. You're something that is incredibly more beautiful than that. And he says, oh yes, you might be just a lily. But to me, you're like a lily among thorns. Do you get the point? You know, Martin Luther, he married Catherine von Bora. She had been a nun. And when speaking about her, he said, I did not marry Catherine because she had no faults. I married her because she's less false than the others. And you know, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And beauty can be seen through the eyes of the beholder. And you can see and see that there are, yeah, the flaws are false, but to me, you're like a rose among thorns, or like a lily among thorns. And so here is this encouragement that comes from the one that he does love. And girls, get a man who'll encourage you, not one who will be constantly putting you down. and picking out your faults, and saying what's need to be corrected and made different about you. But one who loves you as you are, and he sees you as beautiful in his sight. There's a modern song, I don't hear listen to pop music, but there's one pop song and I've heard it going about shops and all the rest of it, and the guy sings about all your perfect imperfections. And you know, on a human level, there's something to that, you know. And so here, there's the discouragement that she feels, but then there's the encouragement that is brought. And then, we get into the meat of this, there is the betrothment, because I think this is what is taking place, a betrothment. And what is a betrothment? Well, a betrothment is a bind, to be bound with a promise to marry. And I think this is what is taking place here. What we would commonly call an engagement, but it's much, much more serious and binding. Remember, this is indeed in the Eastern land, Israel and so on. Remember Matthew 1, verse 18, where Joseph found that Mary was with child before they had come together. And he was minded to put her away privily, not willing to make her a public example, and not putting her away, that is the term for divorce. The betrothal was so binding that the marriage was viewed as being an absolute certainty. Used to be like that in our land, you know. Used to be if you entered into an engagement and you broke it, you could be taken to court for breach of promise. Isn't that right? Now, before we were ever born, but that's how it was. It was seen as something incredibly important. And I think that this is what is taking place here. And notice the elements in this. And first of all, there's what I've called her surrender to him, because that's what it is. Look at what she says in verse three. And here is her surrender to him. You see, she's been discouraged, but he has encouraged her, and now she comes to this place where she submits to him. And notice her description of him. She says, he is as the apple tree among the trees of the wind. Now that almost definitely is not the apple that we commonly think of. Again, there isn't a Hebrew term that just carries over as apple. But it is indeed some sort of fruit bearing tree. And it's something that is low where the fruit is within her grasp and so on. And it's interesting to notice that she describes him in these terms and she doesn't say something concerning a tree that is hugely tall, that is immensely strong and powerful. It seems almost mundane. He is as the apple tree because there's going to be something significant that you will bring out. And we have noticed this again, that the physical appearance in this courtship doesn't have a big play either in the man or the woman's estimations of one another. They see other things that are important. Things that go beyond the physical appearance. There's her description of him and then her decision about him because she comes to the point where there is a decision is made and what does she do? As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the suns. I sat down under his shadow. And there she now comes and she sits down beneath him. She is under his shadow. Something has happened here. She has made this decision. And she's going to take up her abode under his shadow. And notice her delight in him. Because she says, I sat under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. What sort of delight did she find as she comes into this place? Very quickly, I'll mention three things. First of all, she found peace. You read chapter one and there's so much activity and you can see the different emotions that are fluctuating there and so on and she's feeding sheep, she's feeding kids, she's being burnt by the sun, there's all sorts of things taking place but then suddenly you come into this oasis of peace and she finds peace in his presence. Isn't it a wonderful thing whenever a couple are drawn together and when they're together they find peace. And one of those presents were preeminently, where there is the girl who finds peace in the presence of the one that she loves and she delights in. Wonderful whenever that peace is known and is experienced. It isn't just peace, but there is also this protection. Because she says, I sat down under his shadow with great delight. And there she is shaded in the shadow. What is this shade protecting her from? Well, surely it's the sun. And what had been her complaint before, in the previous chapter? My, she says, and I repeat it, I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon. Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me. My mother's children were angry with me. They made me the keeper of their vineyards. My own vineyard I have not kept. And she has been out, exposed to the burning rays of the sun, at the behest of her angry brothers. But now she comes to this place of peace and protection. He protects her. You know, this is something that we have lost in this era, and it sounds foreign to our ears, but this is one of the things that should be characteristic within this relationship, that the man is to be the protector. He is to be the guardian of the one that he loves. And girls, listen, whenever you're looking for a man, look for a man who will guard you, who will protect you at all costs. Men, boys, whenever you find that girl, note this responsibility, you are to be her guardian. I'm gonna say this as a little aside, but I heard it on the news recently that our armed forces are now going to lie women who are soldiers to go into conflict, into the arena of battle, that is a tragedy. I heard an American preacher say a number of years ago, the nation whose men will send out their women for their defense is the nation in danger. It's against God's order. contrary to his ways. And we are to be the defenders of our loved ones, men. But it wasn't just that you find peace, wasn't just that you find this protection, there's a provision that is there. And his fruit was sweet to my taste. And He provides the things that she needs and she requires, that which satisfies. Undoubtedly, it's His love and the things that come with that love. But His care, His devotion, His tenderness, my, that means so, so much. And she's delighted, she's satisfied with His provision. You know, I've been talking to those who are maybe thinking of entering into a loving relationship, and this is the thing you look for. I say, men who are like myself, married a number of years, can our wives still look to us as a source of their peace? Can they look to us as their protector, come what may? Can they look to us as the one who will provide for them, even at cost to ourselves? Oh, that this would be so. So there's this surrender of herself to him. Secondly, I want you to notice his statement to her, because he makes a statement to her, not verbally, but as it were, in action. He brought me to the banqueting house and his banner over me was love. And there's a statement that is made to this maiden. And he has made a statement, and here is the content of it. Love is assured. She has been wrestling, struggling. She longs for him. He is her beloved. He has said that she is his love. But now he comes and he makes it clear, unambiguous, and he gives her the assurance, you are my love, I love you. And it isn't just love assured, but it is love declared because it's a public thing as well. His banner over me is love. Banners were important in the Old Testament times. And you find them used in the book of Numbers. And whenever the tribes would have a banner that identified their tribe, and at given times they would be gathered under the banner. and said it was the tribe of Judah. All those gathered under that banner, everybody knew they belonged to Judah. And you see, this is what is being said to this maid, I love you and I'm willing to let the world know that I love you and that you belong to me. I suppose we have got a little bit of that in the tradition that we have developed relatively recently in world terms of the wearing of an engagement ring. And you know that engagement ring speaks. It speaks. And it should speak to the one who wears it and cries to them every time they look at it, there is one who loves me. and who has committed himself to me and I am committed to him and he has declared this love but it also speaks to everyone around because whenever they see that ring in your finger they should be saying ah there's a girl and there's one who loves her he is committed to her she is committed to him and they're going to be together forever And that's, I think, exactly the sort of flavor that is here. And there is this statement that he makes, that's the content of it. Quickly, do you see the effect of it? My, I use this term, she is staggered, because she says in verse 5, stay me with flagons. Now, that's not a good translation. It was probably little cakes of raisins that were pressed down, little nibbles that you could eat. And she says, oh, stay me with those things, comfort me with apples, with tender fruit, for I'm sick of love. Now that's not saying I'm sick and tired of them. What she means is, this love has overwhelmed me, it has left me faint. I can scarcely stand. And you know, it's wonderful whenever you find that experience where there is a love that is so real and so intense, and you know it, and you believe it, and it feels you're utterly overwhelmed with it. You know, I'm going to give you a little bit of romance here. I remember when Christine and I were in Bible college, and I'd asked her if she would marry me. For some reason, she was a bit uncertain about it. And it was, will she, won't she, will she, won't you? And I can still visualize the place where we were standing one night, and it was a very strict Bible college we were in. And, you know, you had a bit of time from about half nine after study time till about a quarter past ten or so. So we didn't have much time to get out and have a chat. And there she told me, yes, she was going to marry me. Do you know what I did? I ran away and left her. But I ran away and left her because I just wanted to find somebody to tell. And this will really seem ridiculous. I couldn't find anybody. And I burst into the door of the bedroom, there was no light on. And there was a little bookcase with books at the foot of the bed, and my bed was right in front of the door. And I jumped over the bookcase in excitement, just flat out. I haven't told anybody, I don't think I've even told Christine. Onto the bed in excitement, you know what? I left my guitar lying on the bed before I went out and I forgot about it. There you are, you haven't heard that before. I'm just making a point. You see here, here is this girl and she's, he loves me. And he's told me and he's willing to let everybody else know. And she's just so overwhelmed. She's staggered by it. He loves her. And notice then, not just that she's staggered, but notice the support. His left hand is under my head, his right hand doth embrace me. And you know, it's amazing some of the things that modern writers read into this. You know, Paul tells us that to the pure all things are pure, but to the impure nothing is pure. And some writers in this, I tell you, they show the impure minds that they've got some of the things they read into this. I don't see it as anything other than this. Here he is cradling this one. whom he loves, his left hand under her head, his right hand round her. And do you know what it's saying? All his strength is engaged in supporting her. And it supports her, all of her. Supports her head, holds her body, and all is being exercised. So you see, discouragement And then there comes encouragement. Then there's the betrothment. And that leads to, I think, a sort of sigh of contentment. As she says in verse 7, I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the rose and by the hinds of the field, that you stir not up love, nor awake my love till it please. And she's saying, oh, this love is a strong force. And because she's, don't try to stir it up too soon. Don't stir it up until it is the right time. Ah, but it's worth waiting for. It's worth waiting for to get this, this wonderful, wonderful relationship. That's the physical. Let me move on to the spiritual understanding of this. And we'll just follow the same thread of thought. And I think that this is dealing with what I would call an awakened sinner. You know, the sinner's been brought to this place where longings after Christ have been produced. But yet they feel a sense of despair. They think that their breast is only dark and muddied with sin. But then, you know, the desires are intensified for them. And now they're being brought to that place where the wooing will be brought to its wonderful place where they're drawn, drawn, drawn into this relationship with him. But there's a discouragement cell where the sinner looks at themselves and they say, what am I? What am I? Let me read the amplified version's rendering of chapter two, verse one. I am only a little rose or autumn crocus of the plain of Sharon, or a humble lily of the valleys. You know, whenever the sinner has really been dealt with, the Lord humbles their pride. And all their vaunted ideas of themselves crumble. And they'll stand and they'll think of Christ and they'll say, what am I that he should ever want me? What can I ever offer to him? The real lies of nothing, nothing, nothing in his sight to make them worthy of his interest. But what about the encouragement? Well, he says, yes, that's what you are. But to me, you're a love lily among thorns and you're my love. And I cannot read this about being among the thorns without thinking of what the thorns represent in Scripture. Remember Genesis 3, 18, where subsequent to Adam's sin, God curses the ground, and what does he say? Thorns and thistles will it bring forth unto thee. The thorns are a symbol of the curse. God's curse that will be visited upon this world. And you know God's elect before Christ draws them to himself. They're like those who are scattered among the thorns in the place of the curse of this world. But whenever I think of the thorns I can't stay in Genesis 3. I must move to John 19 and I see soldiers and they weave together a crown of thorns and they take it and they plant it on the bra of Christ and drive it home with the reed and then it tells us then came Christ forth wearing the crown of thorns. And Harry goes out to Calvary there and the people see him gazing upon him wearing naught but that crown of thorns. And he's enduring the curse for his people. that he might deliver them from the curse. Let me use this metaphor, Christ plunged into the bramble bars that we were immersed in, that he might pluck us out to be lilies for him. And what he suffered to deliver us from the thorns. He gives the encouragement, and then that brings to what I call the betrothment. And again, you see, there is the sinner's surrender. The sinner comes to an end of themselves. They say, I can't understand why Christ would want me, why he would take me, why he would have me, but yet I feel I must come. And they come to him. And as they come to him, they find delight. And what do they find? They find peace. wonderful peace in Christ himself. Remember our Lord Jesus speaks there in John's Gospel, John's Gospel 14, 27, and he says, peace I leave with you, my peace give I unto you, not as the world giveth I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. And he knows that these people would know such fear in this world, and so he speaks, I'm giving you my peace, my peace. Now, what peace did Jesus have? Well, he had peace with God, didn't he? None ever had such peace with God as Jesus had. And yet he provides for us that peace with God. Being justified by faith, we have peace with God. And where we're drawn to Christ, to submit to him, to sit down under his shade, he gives us his peace with God. But he bought it at such a price. Because prior to the Lord Jesus saying, my peace I leave with you, he had said in John 12, now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? Father, deliver me from this hour, but for this cause came I unto this hour. And he contemplates the cross and the anguish and the suffering that he will endure. And you see, he made peace through the blood of his cross. endured the horrors that we might know peace when we come to him. And there's peace with God, and there's the peace of God. And there's a peace of God that passeth all understanding, that will keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. It's mediated through Christ Jesus. The sinner comes, surrenders and sits down, casts themselves at the feet of Christ, and they get peace, and they get protection. Get protection from that which is in the future. The wrath of God that will yet be poured out righteously upon sinners. But yet they're delivered from that and there's shelter in him from that storm that is to come. But they know peace in the here and now. Remember what it says, Psalm 121, that the Lord is our shade at our right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. And oh, oh, what protection we find in Christ and what provision. Every need met. Every longing satisfied. No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. And he meets us with this provision day after day after day. But you know, that is the sinner's surrender. And what about the Savior and His statement to us, you know? Whenever a sinner is brought to that place of surrender to Christ and they go to Him for their peace and for their protection and for their provision, it is then and not till then that they realize that Christ truly loves them and loves them to such a degree. You see, we must get away from this notion that God and Christ loves everybody in the same way He does not. There is a distinction in His love. And whenever Christ went to Calvary's cross On Calvary's cross he went to offer up himself as a loving sacrifice on behalf of those whom the father had given to him on behalf of his own elect. But there is no one knows if they are numbered among the elect as they go on in their sin, but they hear this message that Christ Jesus, he loves sinners and Christ has died for sinners. and you just come to Christ as a sinner and you trust Him for His peace, for His protection, for His probation, and then He makes known to you that you are indeed one of those whom He has loved from eternity and for whom He came into this world to redeem and went to the cross to shed His blood for you. And you come to the realization, what a love He has for me. And you know, it staggers you. overwhelms you. This is why I sing to myself as I told you so regularly, Jesus loves me, this I know. For the Bible tells me so, I fear, I fear losing a sense of wonder and astonishment at the fact that Jesus loves me. Remember Ronnie at the communion table some months ago told us that Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones, his daughter said the thing about him was this, that he could never get over the fact that Jesus had saved It should stagger us, but Jesus has saved us. And then there's the support that comes and we begin to realize that under our head is his left hand, around our waist is his right hand, and all the power of Christ is exerted to care for us and to look after us, to keep us, I don't have time to develop this, but whenever you read through the Bible, you discover there's a lot said about the right hand of God. It speaks of his power. The things that he evidently does are unmistakable. You rarely read of his left hand. But we learn that all things work together for good to them that love God, who are called according to his purpose. His left hand is under our head, the mysterious things, and his right hand embraces us. Oh, the love of Jesus. and what satisfaction we have. Oh, oh, I charge you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the rose in the hinds of the fields, that you stir not, nor awake, my love, till he pleads. Oh, at the right time, Christ has come to our souls. At the right time, he has drawn us to himself, and he has stirred up our love for him and drawn us out after himself. And now he has made known to us the love that he has for us and the wonder of it. Isn't there a wonderful romance in the gospel? I wonder is there anyone here this evening? And in these Lord's days, the Lord has been stirring something in your heart, giving you desires after Christ that you didn't have before. Bringing you to the place where you want them, you want them, you want them all. Get over all of the discouragement, all of the obstacles and just come. and sit down under his shadow with great delight, and you will find that his fruit is sweet to your taste. And you'll bite a lily plucked out of the thorns of the sin of this world and his curse. And you will delight in the love of Christ.