When I was a boy, whenever we had an extended family gathering, there were two tables generally set out. One table was for the adults and the other table for the children. I don't know whether that's still a practice that's followed these days, but I can well recall the feeling when invited from the children's table to sit with the grown-ups. A great feeling that now you are with the adults, sitting with the grown-ups. I want to draw from that a spiritual analogy in the introduction this morning. There may be those of you here who are very young Christians, or those here who love the Lord Jesus but have not made much progress over the months or years. So that in biblical terms, in spiritual terms, you are as a child or a youngster. I want to tell you this morning, by God's grace, you're going to sit with the grown-ups. We're going to feast, God being our helper, on the richness of Christ. The Bible has only one subject from beginning to end. It's the Lord Jesus Christ. This book is history, his story. What's included here is included by God's directive and God's control. The Old Testament preparing for the coming of the Lord Jesus in the new showing how he came into this world and began his great new covenant work. Ian Paisley, for those of you who are familiar with that name, has quite a knack and a gift for using alliterations. An alliteration is where you take the first letter and you make the first letter match. And he outlines the Scriptures in this way concerning Christ. In the Pentateuch, that's the first five books the books of Moses, we have the first glimmerings of Christ. In the historical books, we have the foreshadowing of Christ. In the Psalms, we have the feelings of Christ. In the Prophets, we have the foretelling of Christ. In the Gospel, we have the facts of Christ. In the epistles, we have the fullness of Christ. In Revelation, we have the finality of Christ. You'll not remember all those, and I'm certainly not going to preach on them all, because I have omitted one. In the Song of Solomon, we see the face of Christ. It is to the Song of Solomon then we are giving our attention this morning unto verse 5. Verse 5. Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? We'll just take the two parts. Who is this coming up from the wilderness? And then the second part, leaning on her beloved. Coming up. Who is this coming up from the wilderness? Coming up, making progress. Such is the characteristic feature of every true believer in Christ. Coming up from where? from the wilderness. All God's children are born in the wilderness, in a desert place. We were dead through trespasses and sins, walking according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air. That is where he found us, conducting ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind. In Hosea chapter 13 and verse 4 and 5 we read, I am the Lord your God. You shall know no God but me. For there is no Saviour besides me. I knew you in the wilderness, in the land of great drought. We are given many pictures of God's grace and mercy towards us. Many pictures of what the world is like, but this term wilderness is the most striking. In Ezekiel chapter 16, we have a picture given there of a child that has been born, a young baby, a newborn baby. Instead of being treated correctly and appropriately, with the umbilical cord cut and washed and bathed, covered. This child, this baby is thrown out. So we read in that prophecy, God is giving us an illustration of our condition, our spiritual condition, thrown out, discarded, disowned, unwanted, We read in verse 6, No, I pitied you to have compassion on you, but you were thrown out into the open field. And when I passed by you and saw you struggling in your own blood, I said to you in your blood, live. Yes, I said to you in your blood, live. I made you thrive like a plant in the field and you grew, matured and became very beautiful. Yes, I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you and you became mine, says the Lord God. You remember that moment, believer? You have to go back some years, or is it just a few months? Remember that moment When it suddenly dawned, when by God's grace and providence it dawned that you were loved by God. When you were told by some means or other, or read from some scripture or from some literature, you read Jesus Christ had died for sinners. And that He would welcome all who come in sorrow and repentance to Him. Do you remember it? That day when He called you out of the wilderness? God, who is rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. God said to you and me, believer, live and a transformation took place that's never going to be undone. We were quickened, made alive, together with Christ. The Lord well knows and always remembers the true believer's first love. So the Lord records in the prophecy of Jeremiah Chapter 2, verse 2, I remember you. Kindness of your youth, the love of your betrothal when you went after me in the wilderness. Not only that day dawned when we came to realize His love for us, but He records our love for Him. Sinners, lost, hopeless, with nothing to commend us. The love of God touched our lives. We knew we were loved by Heaven. That Jesus Christ the Saviour had died for us. We went after Him in the wilderness and every step of the way since then. He has guided and guarded our faith. For we know from the Psalms, Psalm 37 verse 23, the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord and he delights in his way though he fall. He shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord upholds him with his hand. Isn't that a wonderful word of encouragement when you've been along that road, when you've been walking through the wilderness, when you've been coming through, following the Lord? A wonderful promise. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly set down, cast down. At times, we believers look back with shame. We failed Him, let Him down, dishonoured Him. Oh, it may not have been public, it may not have been in the sight of others, but God knows. God knows well He won't let us be utterly cast down. He knows the obstacles we face and the progress we make. He knows every setback you have had, every hurdle before you, every obstacle along your route. He understands the weariness. He knows the illness, the disappointment, the trials, He's been with you and will be with you every step of the way. Oh, narrow is the way. Narrow is the gate, said Jesus. He wants nobody to misunderstand. He wants no one to think it's all rows strewn, easy way to heaven. It's a narrow gate that leads to heaven and a difficult way There are few who find it. In Deuteronomy 2 verse 7 we read, For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand. He knows your trudging through this great wilderness. Isn't that graphic? He knows your trudging. For our steps are not always light and spree. Sometimes it's hard going. You're lifting, spiritually speaking, you feel like you're lifting one heavy foot after another. Trudging, keeping on going. Keeping on going against all the obstacles and all the difficulties and all the setbacks, externally and internally, outside and inside. keeping on going, trudging through the wilderness. The believer is called to leave all and follow Christ. To come out and be separate from a fallen and polluted world. We are to come out of the wilderness. This world is a wilderness. Spiritually speaking, it is a wilderness. It is no Garden of Eden. No beautiful garden with fragrant flowers and delicious fruit. Its food is poison. Its produce thorns and thistles, stinging nettles and brambles. It is no peaceful meadow free from vicious beasts. This is not a land where every step is happiness, security and peace. It's a desert, a wilderness, wild, depressing, unsatisfying. It is the land of the enemy. We are surrounded by those who would readily do us harm. Who is this coming up from the wilderness? It's as though God is calling upon people to look. Who is this coming up? He knows. He wants attention to be brought. Attention from heaven, attention from earth. Who is this? Every child of God, every disciple of Jesus Christ can know that his attention is upon you. Constantly. And he looks with love and concern and care. Who is this coming up from the wilderness? It is the bride. It is the church. It is the people of God. It is the saints, the true saints. Not such as have to be canonised for 200 years. Not such as have to have false miracles attested to them. These are the people who are trusted in Christ. These are the ones who have turned in repentance, true heartfelt repentance to God and cried out for His mercy and love. These are the ones who have entrusted their whole lives to the Saviour. They come to know the Beloved. Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning upon her Beloved? She moves from the wilderness with total dependence upon her Beloved. She knows Him. She knows Him well. She knows how He loves her. And she knows she loves Him. She's leaning It is the Saviour that is here described, the Beloved. It is her Lord. It is her Master. It is her All in All. The Beloved is the Father's Beloved. It is recorded in the Scriptures that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Beloved One of Heaven. Was it not at His baptism that the cloud came over? And a voice was heard from the cloud This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Did they not have that remarkable miracle again some time later? There on the Mount of Transfiguration with Peter, James and John there witnessing. Did they not hear a voice then yet again? This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Hear him! Here's the beloved God, the Father, loves His Son. Deeply, deeply loves His Son. In Isaiah 42, the prophet speaks out for God. Behold my servant whom I uphold, my elect one in whom my soul delights, I have put my spirit upon. Father saying of His Son, my soul, my very being, the whole of my being delights in Him. He is the Beloved of Heaven. But He is also the Beloved of every child of God. every true Christian can say, he is my beloved. Elsewhere in the song we read, this is my beloved, and this there is no more precious blessing in all the world than to be able to say with absolute sincerity and God testifying, My Beloved and My Friend. This Bride of Christ has heard words similar to those uttered by Christ. May be that even those words come to me. All you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest, take my yoke upon you and learn from me. For I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Take my yoke upon you. My yoke is easy, and my burden Do you know what it means? You who believe, do you know what it means to lean upon your beloved? To lean upon Christ. The true believer may wander alone in this wilderness with no other support than that which is gained by leaning upon the beloved. Tuesday afternoon I had a great blessing. I went to see Eunice Brooks. Now I don't know how many of you can remember Eunice. I'm sure there are quite a number that do. Some of you have visited and visited and visited over the years. It must be almost twenty years ago that Eunice had a stroke in the city centre and she was Unconscious for weeks, I think it was even months. The doctors said that if ever she recovered, she would not be able to swallow, she would not be able to speak. We could only fear the worst as to the state of her mind. I hadn't seen her for a number of years. I walked into the home on Tuesday, And as soon as she saw me, her arm went up in typical fashion and she said with that lovely rich West Indian tone, Oh praise God! I'm not going to imitate the tone. Praise God, she said. And then she proceeded to ask about our children by name. Then she went through the church by name, speaking with such love and interest, her mind crystal clear. Nearly twenty years, crystal clear. And she talked with ease about the Lord Jesus. When I walked in there, they were in a circle and some woman up at the front was reading out the horoscope, would you believe? Well, I apologised for interrupting until I knew what the subject was and then I shouldn't have apologised. But Eunice didn't mind. Last time I went we were taken into a private little room, but not this time. We were there in front of her, she didn't mind. She burst into songs, she sang hymns. She burst into the scriptures and she read and quoted scripture. We read the scriptures together and we rejoiced before the Lord. What is she, 88, 89? Rejoicing in the Lord. What is her secret? How can she be in that environment for 20 years and yet have such a spirit? Because she knows. She knows how to lean on her beloved. Because there's nothing else. Everything else is gone. And that's what's going to happen if the Lord Jesus Christ doesn't return soon. And many of us are going to reach that condition. We're going to reach a situation of infirmity. We're going to reach a situation where everything is gone from us. And there's nothing else and no one else to lean on. Are you ready? Are you leaning? Coming up out of the wilderness. Leaning on your beloved age brings infirmity and frailty and suffering immobility to this physical frame but the spirit presses on and it's leaning on her beloved she understands her limitations, she knows her weakness Yet clinging to the almighty saviour she is as a branch, clinging to that vine for which she gets support and nourishment and strength and encouragement. She clings for her life to the living vine, the true vine. Because there's nothing else will do. When things are particularly hard, and the people of God feel their acute weakness and frailty God whispers in our ear My grace is sufficient for you for my strength is made perfect in weakness Hear what the Apostle Paul concludes then once he's heard that word from God. Once he's heard his grace is sufficient. Once he's been reminded. What does he say? Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities. Have you learned it brother or sister? Have you learned how to boast in your infirmities? Not to be cast down and burdened by those calamities and disasters. To boast in my infirmities, He says, that the power, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure. I repeat it again. He says, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. Why? Because you are leaning on your beloved. a leaning on Christ. He's the only one who can get through the wilderness. He's the only one that can lead you out of the wilderness. He knows and understands every one of our circumstances. Coming up from the wilderness, leaning upon our Beloved. Oh, that the Lord would say to us here today, as He said in the days of Hosea the prophet, Behold, I will draw her will bring her into the wilderness and speak comfort to her. Comfort to us right here in the wilderness as we coming up from the wilderness speak words of comfort. You notice that it says here under the hand of God leaning upon her Beloved. There's a personal thing here. Her, the Saviour, graciously, lovingly, allows us to call Him our own. She's leaning on her Beloved. The Saviour knows when we're drawing close to the borders of the wilderness. He knows when we're nearly through, when we're coming up for the final time from the wilderness. He watches, He loves, He supports, He comforts. But we're able to say, though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we will fear no evil. Why? For leaning on the beloved, you are with me. Thou art with me. My rod and thy staff, they comfort me. There's nothing else that is of any value in this life. Everything else will fall from you. if you're leaning on the beloved. You're growing closer and closer to Him every day of your life, every step of the journey through the wilderness. Ah, it'll be sweet as you contemplate going to Him. Absent from the body, present with the Lord. for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. This man was not morose. This man had no death wish. He was not gloomy. But he knew that there was something far better before. Something more, more wonderful ahead. And he looked forward with great, great excitement and anticipation. He'd come through the wilderness, up through the wilderness, leaning on the beloved and he looks forward to seeing that beloved one face to face. Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? If these words means something to you this morning, thank God. If you can find blessing in these words and comfort and encouragement, thank and praise Him for bringing you into union with the Beloved, with Christ. Are you estranged from Him? Have you known Him? Loved him in the past? Declared your love? Testified to that love? Worked and served for him? But over the years, or months, your heart has grown cool. You no longer have that first love, that delight in the presence of Christ. He will receive you. Come back. Come as the prodigal son. Come to your senses as he came to his senses. Come back and say, Father, I've sinned against heaven and in your sight. I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. Come back with sincerity and He will receive you. He will welcome you. Have you never been Do you not understand anything of this? Do you think that being a Christian is going along to church, singing hymns, being identified with a group of people? Do you have any real love, any warmth in your heart towards Christ? Does it yearn to know Him more and more and more? Do you read the scriptures? Not because it is your duty, not because it is your program, not because you are set out to read it in a whole year or in five years, but because you want to know Him! and knowing better, feed on Him on the Lord Jesus Christ you can know that richness you can know that love you can come to Him because He turns no one away This is the day of grace. This is the time of calling and opportunity and God calls yet. Will you obey? Will you come and get to know this One who is called in other places, the altogether lovely One? The fairest among ten thousand the bright and morning star, the son of righteousness who's risen with healing in his wings, the beloved, the only begotten, the great comforter, wonderful comforter, the prince of peace, the everlasting father, the great God, mighty God. Come to know Him and whatever you face, you can learn the secret of leaning