The Word of God reads, I am the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valleys. As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters. As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, 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. Amen. And may the Lord bless the reading of his holy word. Our title for this evening's message is this, The Beauty of the Bridegroom's Love. The Beauty of the Bridegroom's Love. In our modern day, in Christianity, over the last, especially over the last 50 to 100 years, much of what we see in the West is very prone to extremes. We're very cut off from church history. I don't think we realize how much we are. And there are things that were fairly common in certain points in church history that we may look down upon today. In a modern day, for example, we have many churches that are the charismatic movement, and the health, wealth, and happiness, and all these other things. It's how to get rich through the gospel. Among them, there are sincere people who truly love the Lord, but there's very little by way of clarity and very little focus upon the word of God. And because of that, in those movements, you get a chasing after experiences with little grounded comfort in the word of truth. They're chasing experiences. However, In the Reformed world, we've got to be careful that we don't think that we've got it all sorted ourselves. Perhaps we have swung to another extreme when we almost, I think we've run away, especially in preaching, away from experiential preaching and experiential witness. There are exceptions. And there are wonderful exceptions. There's still godly men across this country even who are godly exceptions. But much, by way of the Reformed witnesses, become quite lifeless, if I'm being honest. So we can't dive into either extreme. Our experiences need to be measured by the word of God, but it can't be lifeless and mechanical. And this is why this book is so wonderful. If you look at this book, which describes the love between Christ and the church, between the bridegroom and the bride, it leaves no space for a lukewarm and a mechanical faith at all. It helps in that correction. And I say this because Well, this understanding of Song of Solomon has been challenged by many, that they will just reduce it down to purely human love. And I say, well, it's the Song of Songs that can't possibly be applied to human love. We have to realize that the greatest love is that between Christ and his bride. And even this book has been neglected much in recent years. I've even heard of men, good preachers in their own right, would almost kind of blush reading this in public worship. So I think we need to rediscover the beauty of this book. And the interpretation I'm going to be looking at, and the interpretation I believe is biblical and correct, has been the interpretation for the vast majority of the last 2,000 years, even by the Jews themselves, as they understand this as well. Between Christ and his bride, between God at least, at least for when it comes for the Jews, the greatest of songs, this cannot be human love. Human love is limited, but this is the greatest of loves. And I pray by God's grace, as we come to the next Sabbath day, and as we prepare our hearts for the Lord's table, that we would also have this joy that is spoken of, this banqueting house that is spoken about in verse four, and this banner over me was love. May we enjoy and celebrate this as we come before the Lord. Our first point that we're going to look at here this evening is this, number one, a beauty that is radiant, a beauty that is radiant. And we're speaking, of course, of the beauty of the bridegroom's love. And what do we mean by radiant? Radiant is something that is beaming with brightness, shining, beautiful, glorious, and wonderful. In verse number one, it says this, I am the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valleys. And this is Christ or the bridegroom speaking here at this point. I am the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valleys. How can you describe something or someone who is infinitely beautiful? How can you put into words? Even our language is made up of parts. And we come to worship a God who is not made up of a composition. He is infinite, eternal, incomprehensible, the true and the living God without any creaturely limitation at all. How do you express that? Well, we have such expressions in this book to help us. Not forgetting who God is in the midst of this, but that it would move us to see the loveliness of Christ. Sometimes you'll even read about certain events in history, you might read poetry and things like this, that will move you or see pieces of art that will move you to see the emotional side, you could say. of this, to see the beauty of Christ here. He says, I am the rose of Sharon. She is radiant. And we think of a rose and we think of a lily as beautiful, don't we? Both of these pictures are of beauty. Both of these pictures are of something that grabs your attention. But what does this mean, the rose of Sharon? Well, a rose is beautiful to behold, but also beautiful to smell. It grabs your attention. You go into the flower shop, you look around, and most likely what will grab your attention the most is the rose. Both the smell and what it looks like. It grabs your attention. And that's what Christ does for the bride. The bride sees her husband, sees his love. and is drawn towards the beauty of him. And what is that beauty? Holiness. A number of times in the scriptures it speaks about the beauty of holiness. Holiness is beautiful. We also marvel at the beauty of his justice, the beauty of his mercy, the beauty of his kindness, and the beauty and the radiant shining of his eternal reign, which is without beginning and without end and without shadow of turning. What do we know about Sharon in the Bible? This is a region in Israel. It's a very fruitful region. And there are examples in the Bible when it's not fruitful. If we look at one example, Isaiah chapter 33 in verse 9. Isaiah chapter 33 and verse number 9. This is an example where it's not fruitful. Verse number 9 of Isaiah 33. The earth mourneth and languisheth. Lebanon is ashamed and hewed down. Sharon is like a wilderness, and Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits. These regions mentioned here typically produce much. is very fruitful. Bation and Carmel, they're known for being very fruitful, and when they're not, when they're desolate, something is deeply wrong. It's a sign of judgment. This is to be the land of milk and Honey. Isaiah 35 and verse 2. Isaiah 35 and verse number 2. And this gives you a picture of the beauty of Sharon. It says, it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice even with joy in singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it. The excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord and the excellency of our God. And in many ways, the land given to the people of God from the days of Joshua onwards is very much a picture, a land of enjoyment, a land of joy, if they stay close to the Lord. And what's it a picture of? In the presence of the Lord, there is joy. In the presence of the Lord, there is beauty. In the presence of the Lord, there is delight. That's what true and saving faith is about. Now, I know in this world, and we'll deal with it in the next verse, there is difficulties. There are the thorns. There are the valleys and all the difficulties that we face in this world. But there's a joy and a beauty at the core of true Christianity. And it's not a beauty that you see in ornate buildings. It's not a beauty that people typically think of as beauty. They want to see statues, they want to see stained glass windows, and all these things. No, friends, the beauty is God himself, who draws us near as his bride, as part of his bride, with his radiant beauty. Song of Solomon five and verse 16 says this. Song of Solomon chapter five and verse 16. His mouth is most sweet. Yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved and this is my friend. Oh, daughters of Jerusalem. Do you see the tenderness? This is not just, well, you know, I'm gonna read a a very difficult systematic theology and I'm going to figure out all these things. No. Yes, these things are important, don't get me wrong. It's important. Our minds are important, but our hearts are important as well. We love not an abstract concept of a person, we love Christ, who is true God and true man, who is altogether lovely. And if we think about lovely things, this is what we're to think of. Philippians chapter 4 and verse 8. Philippians chapter 4 and verse 8, a very well-known verse. Philippians chapter 4 and verse number 8, it says, Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things. And while that may seem like a long list, at the end of the day, it really points toward one person who is true, who is honest, who is just, who is pure, who is lovely, who is good in all that he does, who is filled with all goodness, any virtue. It says, if there be any praise, think on these things. Who are we to think of? Who are we to fill our minds with a lot? Who are we to find delight in a lot? You see, we can think about Christ as merely a means to an end, rather than the end itself, that he is lovely, he is delightful, and it's wonderful to be in his presence. That's what we ought to think about when we come to the Lord's table. What a privilege the Lord has given us when he has put before us the signs and seals of bread and the cup. Why has he given us these things? Why has he shown us these tokens of his nearness, isn't it? He knows how we are, we are frail, We are creatures, but we often need, don't we, help. And we need to remind ourselves of how lovely he is. Now, how is Jesus lovely? Well, if we think about the standard of loveliness, holiness, in every moment, in thought, in word, and in deed, He was a complete delight unto his father, never falling short of that perfect standard. Sometimes we'll be around small children and they seem to be so well behaved. Maybe they're having a good day and they haven't gotten out of the bed, on the wrong side of the bed or something like that. But they do have bad moments. We've never seen, have we? with our eyes, a child who's completely without sin. None of us are without sin. But Christ, for every moment he was upon the face of the earth, completely delightful, wonderful, different, beautiful in fact, the rose of Sharon. And it also says in this verse, and the lily of the valleys. The lily of the valleys, the lily is also beautiful. The lily kind of a picture of purity. Growing in a place where not everything thrives, in the valleys. The lily is beautiful. Matthew chapter six and verses 28 and 29. Matthew chapter six and verses 28 and 29. 28 and 29. Why take ye thought for raiment? This is Christ speaking. 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 arrayed like one of these. Beautiful. Christ beauty. Now where is Christ's beauty? Look at what it says here. I am the rose of Sharon. I am beauty in the midst of the good moments. When there's plenty, but in the valleys, I'm the lily of the valleys. Isn't that interesting? Not just a valley or the valley, valleys. Because as believers in Jesus Christ, we don't just have one low in our Christian walk, most likely, we will have many discouraging and difficult moments. But where is Christ in those moments? He is the lily of the valleys. He's there with us, that radiant beauty with his church, even at the lowest moments, and not just in the lowest moments, in the Sharon moments as well. brings us to our second point. And number two, a beauty that is redeeming. A beauty that is redeeming. Verse number two, it says this, as the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters. As the lily among thorns. And this is The focus really here now is upon the church as the lily among thorns. She's likened unto Lily. Because why? Because the church is to be like her bridegroom. She's to be like her husband, changed and conformed in the image of Christ. But she's also got the righteousness of Christ. And in position and standing before God, she is seen as beautiful, radiant, clothed before God. The lily among thorns. Beautiful, just like Christ. Now marriages, we see this ultimate marriage between Christ and his bride, but marriages, they change people. That's why it's very important who you marry. And if a wife sees that her husband loves her, she's far more likely, isn't she, to follow after him. If she sees that loving kindness in that leadership, that tenderness, that beauty, in fact, it's far more attractive, isn't it? to follow after. It's something we need to realize. When God is changing us, when God is working us, when he first saves us, we're babes in Christ, and as babies, babies make a lot of messes. And then you grow, and you develop, and we're still falling short of the glory of God. But as part of the bride, we must see the bridegroom's love, the beauty of that, because it changes us. It sanctifies us. It changes us to being like Christ. If we turn to Ephesians chapter 5, Ephesians chapter 5. And from verse number 24, therefore, as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands and everything. Husbands, love your own, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of the water by the word. See, with that love, the brigarum has for the bride There's a sanctification, there's a washing. It's a beauty, a beauty that changes us, a beauty that draws us away from our sin, a beauty that sustains us, a beauty among thorns. What does that mean, among thorns? Well, we live in a fallen world, don't we? It's not easy. If you've ever been gardening, and you come and there's a lot of thorns and maybe they've wrapped themselves around the bush. That's gonna take a lot of work to be able to remove that. Thorns cut, thorns cause difficulty. Thorns, when did they come in into the world? They came in through the fall. In Genesis chapter three in verses 17 and 18. Genesis chapter three. And verses 17 and 18. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it. Cursed is the ground for thy sake, and sorrow thou shalt eat of it all the days of thy life. Verse 18. Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee, and thou shalt eat the herb of the field. You also see a lot of references in Isaiah that the fire or the wrath of God is concentrated in these bushes and these thorns and it burns because they're an object of wrath. Thorns are ugly. Thorns, this fallen world makes it very, very unpleasant. Paul even going through a difficulty and we're not entirely sure what the difficulty was in 2 Corinthians 12 and verse 7 describes it as a thorn in the flesh. Now in the midst of thorns, in the midst of difficulty, what do we need to keep in mind? The beauty that will never leave us nor forsake us. the Lord Jesus Christ, that lily among thorns, that beauty among thorns, that light that shineth in a dark place and the darkness comprehendeth it not. And it's also, it says, so is my love, verse two, among the daughters. Now this word among the daughters, you'll see it in Isaiah chapter 47 and verse one, it talks about Babylon as a daughter. And this is among the pagan nations. It's not easy, it's difficult. There's the challenge of being in a world that doesn't love Christ, doesn't respect Christ, doesn't love Christ. And that's why, whereas the lily among thorns is my love among the daughters. But notice how Christ says of the bride, my love, my love. That doesn't change. And it's a beauty, dear friends, as we've said, changes us and transforms us. See, we can all focus on the ugliness. We can all be focused on the thorns. We can all be focused on the challenges and the difficulties, but are we focused on what we need to focus on, which is the beauty of Christ? It doesn't mean we ignore things, but our main focus, our main delight, our source of transforming grace It's not gonna be through our own efforts or strength. It's going to be through us seeing the loveliness of Christ, and it changes us. It changes us. Friends, can you lie down in a bed of thorns? Can you find rest among thorns? No. See, we should not be surprised as believers in Christ that we're not comfortable, are we, in this world, and we look forward to the world to come, but there are no thorns. where there is rest, perfect rest for the believer in Christ. This brings us to our third point, a beauty that is reassuring. A beauty that is reassuring. Friends, I would like to ask you, as we said in verse one, the lily of the valleys, are you in one of those moments? Are you in one of those valleys, difficult? Well, You need reassurance, and we all do. We all have moments of those low valleys. We're not always in Sharon. We're not always in good moments. They come along, of course, and we thank God for them when they do come. But often, much of our Christian walk can be facing difficulty, where we need reassuring that the Lord is there, a place of refuge, a place of shade and protection, from the heat of the sun. If we look at verse number three, as the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the suns. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. Again, this is another picture to try to get us to understand How joyful it is to be in the presence of Christ. How joyful it is to be part of the bride. How joyful it is for the bride to be near her beloved bridegroom. Christ's love, it is described as an apple tree. Now most of us, I'm sure, like apples. Apples are sweet. Apples are satisfying. Especially when, well, that part of the world is a little bit different here, but it's very hot. And food is not as plentiful as we have today. And so such fruit, together, would reassure us, revive our hearts, strengthen us, that we can face whatever work we're in the midst of, and we experience the sweetness And we need that reassurance that Christ is near. Christ hasn't left us. Now, of course, we base everything upon the objective standard of the Word of God. But there are times when we will have seasons, when we will have real difficulties and challenges, and we will need real reassurance. A very keen sense of the Lord's nearness in prayer, especially. Friends, I don't know if you've ever had those moments. You cry out to the Lord. You weep before the Lord. But he's given you a calm. Again, yes, we're speaking of experiences, but our Christian walk is filled with experiences, joys, sadnesses, all sorts of things. Even speaks about in the Psalms. Psalm 34 in verse eight. Psalm 34 in verse number eight. Taste, oh, taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man that trusteth in him. Through your experience, you will see over time, yes you know these things on paper, you learn verses, praise God, but then there are those difficult times which will drive you to the end of yourself when you'll have a more keen understanding of certain parts of the Psalter, certain parts of the book of Ecclesiastes, certain parts that talk about suffering, And maybe at one point of your Christian life, you didn't understand it. And then you go through that valley. You go through that valley of the shadow of death, and you receive refreshment and comfort from the Word of God, from the Spirit of God, and you see by experience the apple tree among the trees of the wood. You see that Christ is sweet, refreshing, and satisfying. And you try the other trees, and there's no fruit there. They're not satisfying. The trees of wood don't have the sweetness. The trees of wood have no wonderful comfort. And as you grow to trust upon the sweetness of Christ, you actually have less and less of a taste, don't you? for the taste of the promises of the world. He changes you. He changes our appetites. He changes what we look out for. In Isaiah chapter four and verse six, Isaiah chapter four. And verse number six, and there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the day from the heat and from a place of refuge and for a covert from storm and from rain. Speaks about the tabernacle as a shadow, as a protection, as a shade. And, you know, sometimes in the heat, the intense heat of the sun, we've had a little bit of a reason, haven't we? And it's intense heat and you want to get under the shade. And the Lord is like that for us. facing that difficult sun beating down on us. It says, so my beloved among the suns, I sat down under his shade with great delight. Relief. We find relief. We find shade. We find refuge. We find comfort. And let's not forget, his fruit is sweet to my taste. The word of God is sweet to your taste. Friends, at the table of the Lord, the Lord is there, and he brings much reassurance there. The table of the Lord is not for the perfect person with no doubts and no lack of assurance. The table of the Lord is for all believers in Christ who need food, need strengthening, and who need to taste and see that the Lord is good. And how do we taste and see? By faith alone. Seeing the beauty of Christ alone. So number four now, a beauty that is revealed. A beauty that is revealed. So a beauty, number one, that is radiant, redeeming, reassuring, and finally number four, revealed. Verse four. He brought me, this is the brigram, he brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love." And that word, banqueting house, literally is house of wine. House of wine. What's the picture here? The picture here is, and you can see it throughout the Song of Solomon, you can see it on the parts of the Bible. Great joy of the heart. Wine, it's where this book is seen as a picture of joy. Verse one of chapter one, or verse two of chapter one. Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for thy love is better than wine. In verse four of the same chapter, draw me, we will run after thee. The king hath brought me into his chambers. We will be glad and rejoice in thee. We will remember thy love more than wine. The upright love thee. In the Bible, excess of wine is seen as judgment, as well as excess of water is also seen as judgment. We have floods, but the right amount of wine and the right amount of water is blessing. The right amount of water washes us clean. The right amount, the moderate amount of wine rejoices the heart. And you see, what do we see here? He brought me. He brought me into a place of joy in the presence of the Lord. Now, again, there's a joy here that's been spoken about, but it's a joy among thorns. It's a beauty in the midst of valleys. It's not all plain sailing, but it is still there. That joy cannot be taken away if we keep our eyes upon Christ. Now, there are times we do. We forget the beauty that we have in Christ. But He never leaves us nor forsakes us. And where is it revealed? It says, His banner over me was love. Friends, believers in Jesus Christ, is God's love for you hidden? Is it concealed? Is it some mysterious thing that we don't know about? No, if you think of a banner, a banner raises something up to proclaim something, to make it known, a rallying point for an army. We say the Lord is my banner. In this banner, His banner over me was love. There's no hiding with this, and it's revealed where? In the gospel message. Whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. For God so loved the world. It's not a hidden love. He's declared it, and whosoever believeth in him is that love directed towards. That banner over me was love. That's the bride. The gospel message. And don't we need reminders of that constantly? The gospel message, that special, well-pleasing love, that delighting love that the Lord has for his people, for his bride. His banner over me was love. And we need to be reminded of that. The Lord's table, of the Lord's nearness, of the Lord's love. for those who have faith in him. If we turn to Psalm 16 and verse 11. Psalm 16 and verse number 11. Thou shalt show me the path of life. In thy presence is fullness of joy. At thy right hand there are pleasures. forevermore. Now we but only taste a small amount of this, but we will experience it in its fullness. When? After we leave this world. After we breathe our last breath. And then to be absent from the body is to be what? Present with the Lord. To live is Christ, Paul writes to the Philippians, but to die is gain. Why? Because we have a greater experience of this banqueting house, this joy in the presence of the Lord. We get to experience this love. Not a hidden love, but a banner over the bride of Christ. But who is it for? It's not for everybody, is it? It's for those who recognize they're sinners. And because you see you're a sinner, you realize that we don't deserve this. We deserve the wrath of God and we find shelter, we find protection in him. Why? Because the Lord Jesus Christ died in the place of sinners. Isaiah 53 and verse six. Isaiah 53 and verse number six, it says this, all we like sheep have gone astray and we have turned everyone to his own way. The Lord had laid on him the iniquity of us all. He has taken that in love. And so because he has taken away the wrath for whosoever believed in the name should not perish, but have everlasting life. Why? Because of love. Christ died in the place of sinners like you and I because of that redeeming, transforming love. As we conclude, friends, with all that we have looked at, do you see, and none of us see fully, that Christ is beautiful, radiant, with a radiance that does not diminish, that is without shadow of turning, and in him is light and no darkness at all. There is none like Christ. There's none we can compare Christ to. Friends, are you part of that bride? That bride who has been welcomed into the banqueting house to enjoy the presence of the Lord forever and his banner over you is love? Do you enjoy that? Isn't that a wonderful thing? Friends, why would you say no to such a thing? Why would you turn away the Lord's mercy? Why would you turn away the Lord's banner of love? Because those outside of Christ, what do they say? And we witness them and we share the gospel with them. Christ is ugly. That's what they'll say in their hearts. They see Christ and they don't want him. that the believer has eyes to see and ears to hear. I pray that you all do hear this evening. Oh, that he is beautiful, worthy of following, worthy of worshiping, worthy, dear friends, of love forever and ever. Amen.