And if you would turn in scripture to the Song of Solomon. I invite you now to turn to the Song of Solomon, beginning in chapter six, verse four, page 717 in your pew Bibles this evening. Song of Solomon, chapter six, verse four, we'll read the remainder of chapter six and then also the entirety of chapter seven this evening. Our text Song of Solomon chapter six verse four begins with the bridegroom's words, and indeed, God's words. So hear the word of the Lord now from Song of Solomon chapter six verse four. He says, you are beautiful as Terza, my love, lovely as Jerusalem, awesome as an army with banners. Turn away your eyes from me, for they overwhelm me. Your hair is like a flock of goats leaping down the slopes of Gilead. Your teeth are like a flock of ewes that have come up from the washing. All of them bear twins. Not one among them has lost its young. Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate behind your veil. There are 60 queens and 80 concubines and virgins without number. My dove, my perfect one, is the only one, the only one of her mother. pure to her who bore her. The young woman saw her and called her blessed. The queens and concubines also, and they praised her. Who is this who looks down like the dawn, beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun, awesome as an army with banners? The bride says, I went down to the nut orchard to look at the blossoms of the valley to see whether the vines had budded, whether pomegranates were in bloom. Before I was aware, my desire set me among the chariots of my kinsmen, a prince. The chorus says, return, return, O Shulamite, return, return, that we may look upon you. The husband again, why should you look upon the Shulamite as upon a dance between two armies? How beautiful are your feet and sandals, O noble daughter. Your rounded thighs are like jewels, the work of a master hand. Your navel is a rounded bowl that never lacks mixed wine. Your belly is a heap of wheat encircled with lilies. Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle. Your neck is like an ivory tower. Your eyes are pools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bat-Rabim. Your nose is like a tower of Lebanon, which looks toward Damascus. Your head crowns you like caramel, and your flowing locks are like purple. A king is held captive in the tresses. How beautiful and pleasant you are, oh, loved one, with all your delights. Your stature is like a palm tree, and your breasts are like its clusters. I say I will climb the palm tree and lay hold of its fruit. Oh, may your breasts be like clusters of the vine, and the scent of your breath like apples, and your mouth like the best wine. The wife says, it goes down smoothly for my beloved. Gliding over lips and teeth, I am my beloved's. and his desire is for me. Come, my beloved, let us go out into the fields and lodge in the villages. Let us go out early to the vineyards and see whether the vines have budded, whether the grape blossoms have opened and the pomegranates are in bloom. There I will give you my love. The mandrakes give forth fragrance, and beside our doors are all choice fruits, new as well as old, which I have laid up for you, oh, my beloved. Thus far, the reading of God's holy and air-inspired word. Let us pray and ask him to bless it and its reading and its preaching. Heavenly Father, we thank you that you speak to us, not a new word, but your eternal word that stands firmly fixed in the heavens. Although we are like grass and although the grass withers and the flower fades, oh Lord, your word will stand forever. We know that you have assigned to it a purpose this evening in our hearts and our minds as we turn from idols to serve you, the living God. So may your living word serve that purpose now, even as I preach it. Through Christ, I pray. Amen. Well, the Song of Solomon, chapters 6 and 7, we clearly have two persons, man and wife, exploring their wedded bliss, do we not? As we have seen in this book, as we have gone through it, it's not so much an unbroken narrative, is it, as a collection of songs, a collection of love songs knit together by this theme of this man and this woman in holy matrimony. We've seen it in passages, all sorts of things, haven't we? We've seen conflict. We've seen in most expressions of their love for what it means to be committed one to the other, to enjoy the physical goodness of God's creation that he gave for his people to harness and to enjoy. The very first time together, years ago now, I think, from Song of Solomon chapter one, we saw the ultimate source of love. and that inner Trinitarian love that the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit have one for another. But as we've gone through this book, through this song of songs, this collection of songs of Solomon, I've been reserving, if you will, what we have not yet spoken much about, at least from this book, the fundamental purpose of marriage in the first place. I held it out intentionally because I wanted us to see marriage as marriage. I wanted to see marriage between this man and this woman in its natural state, as God had placed it in this world, for the propagation of mankind as his image bearers, as for the growth of love between man and a woman, for the propagation of healthy families, healthy communities, healthy churches. But once we have this full picture of marriage, we surely must know that it is leading somewhere. God says in his word that he gave marriage for a very specific, ultimate purpose. And that's what I wanna see here this evening. As we're nearing the end of the book, believe it or not, only one more chapter to go. But it's time to take a step back. It's time to see the mountain as a whole. So instead of a main point for you this evening, I have three questions to help us get the main point. These are very simple. We will first consider what this text means. We'll consider what it signifies. And we'll lastly consider what it requires. We'll seek to understand the text that is given to us, what the text means, but also what it signifies. And once we understand that, we can't ignore what it requires of us as God's people. But let's begin by understanding the text. I hope you kept it open that you can refer to these verses as we go through. We see, of course, once again, this man and this woman in rapturous love. The man begins in verse four by comparing his wife to Terza, my love, lovely as Jerusalem, he says. Terza, you may remember, was the short-lived northern capital of the northern kingdom after it split in two after the death of Solomon's son, Rehoboam. before Omri later moved it to Samaria. Perhaps it's a play on words that the name means pleasant. He compares his wife to this pleasant town. He also compares her to Jerusalem. He also compares her to an army with banners. And as other illustrations in the Song of Solomon, this may not be a way in which you whisper sweet nothings to your beloved, comparing her to an army with banners. But why? Why this description? Well, an army of banners was a symbol, a true picture, as it would be marching through the land of awe, of respect, of honor, just as these chief cities of the town had all had respect and honor, so did this army. Same description comes, you may have seen later in chapter six, verse 10, as the concubines and the queens are quoted comparing her to an army with banners. Think of the greatest, grandest scene you could think of in that day. it would likely be the army coming by. Remember, if this is written in the time of Solomon, Solomon had the biggest, most impressive army that Israel ever saw. So if you want to describe something in great splendor and majesty, you would perhaps compare it to an army with banners fluttering in the wind, just describing for your wife. the honor and the splendor and the wonder and amazement that you have for her. If Solomon had the greatest army, he had Jerusalem at its height as well and its riches and its splendor. And so this would be an appropriate way to describe a wonderful wife. She's so awesome. She brings such awe and wonder in him. He says in verse five, I can't even look at you. He says, turn away your eyes from me. They overwhelm me. Your hair is long and lustrous. That's why it's compared to a flock of goats rolling down the hills. You can imagine a hair with gentle curls as it rolls down her neck to her shoulders. Verse six, your teeth are like female sheep. Again, a modern sweet nothing to be whispered, but think of what he means. Well, if they are white and they are bearing twins, he means they're all clean and present. They're all accounted for. You couldn't go to the dentist and get a veneer, a replacement, dentures, to be Strong and healthy and, frankly, wealthy enough to keep your teeth clean was a sign of great honor, again, and privilege. In fact, verses five to seven are a repeat from chapter four. It's like earlier, he described her in all her beauty, says now nothing has changed. You have not waned in your beauty a bit. You are as beautiful as the day I married you, it's as if he's saying. Nothing has diminished. Verse eight, the comparison is even more remarkable. They have noticed this threefold comparison, 60 queens, 80 concubines, virgins without number, They are counted as nothing compared to you. You may recall, when we began looking at this book, we considered what may have been for Solomon to write this book. And some may have wondered, how could a man with 700 wives and 300 concubines write a book like this? And maybe it's because it was a man of 700 wives and 300 concubines. that he realized that that wasn't the answer. Maybe this is an older, more chastened, even more wise Solomon. He says, forget the, in this case, 60 queens and 80 concubines. Forget the virgins without number. He says there was but one, verse nine. You are the only one of my mother. He realizes it's not going and conquering as many women as he can, but it's fidelity to one that is the true picture of marriage as God has given us. This reminds us that as we grow with our spouse, The world wants us to grow tired of our spouse. The world wants us to look for happiness wherever we can find it. Even if it's a newer or younger or better looking model? No, of course not. Impossible. It's in commitment to one man, one woman for life that we see the beauty of marital commitment. Indeed, an older, wiser, chastened Solomon doesn't want us to make the same mistake that he made again and again. You may know, as he says this, the community agrees, does it not? Verse 9, the second half, the young women call her blessed. It's not merely the queens and the concubines, but all together are even quoted in verse 10. looks down like the dawn, beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun, awesome as an army with banners. And as the king, as the husband, as the wives, and the concubines, and the virgins, and the community as a whole remark upon the beloved wife, so she responds, beginning in verse 11. In somewhat enigmatic statement, you may wonder, how is this a proper response? He's describing her in her beauty, and it sounds like she wants to do some gardening. Ah, I'm going to go down to the orchard to look at the blossoms, to look at the vines, to look at the pomegranates. Well, the clue actually comes in verse 12, when she says, before I was aware, my desire set me among the chariots of my kinsmen, a prince. For Solovita, it is symbolic language. She's asking, is the time right for love? Is the time right for lovemaking? The answer is yet. Yes, the desire was upon them. It was the right time. And so they do so. And the chorus in verse 13 wants her to return for the marital chamber so they can record her beauty once again. You see that verse 13, return, return, return, that we may look upon you. But importantly, the husband says no, second half of verse 13. He says, you, as a community, enjoy the beauty that God has given, but this is our time. This is private. He compares it to a dance between armies. You can imagine a field of war, of soldiers out in the field fighting. He says, for you to be around us when we are engaged in love would be as obvious as people out in the field killing each other. He says, this is just the opposite. This is not for you to look upon. This is for the two of us only. Why should you look upon us in this time of private intimacy? So if chapter six brings us to this height of marital intimacy, Chapter seven is perhaps a response, as he admires the beauty of his connubial mate once again. If before he admired her from head to toe, perhaps now you could say he admires her from toe to head, if you notice. Beginning with her feet in chapter seven, verse one. Her thighs, her navel, her belly, her breasts, her neck like an ivory tower, her eyes, her nose, her head crowns her like caramel, verse five. Your flowing locks are like purple, a king held captive. in the tresses. He is a king, fully, literally captivated. He says, held captive by your tresses, there's no place he would rather be. You think about Carmel in the north and the way it was visible from miles all around in its splendor and its grandeur. He says, when I gaze upon you, it is like gazing upon Carmel. verse 5 says. As he describes again his wife, it's like it's like in verse 6, you may notice there arouse and resume their previous activity. And she responds in verse 9 affirmatively, referring to his kisses as wine gliding over her lips and teeth. You see the contentment that she has. You see the satisfaction she finds in her husband. You see the Importantly, you see that the safety and the security that she has. You notice that in verse 10. As as a response to this renewed lovemaking, she can sigh and say, I am my beloved's. At his desire is for me. This is a this is a woman who is seen and loved and treasured by her husband. And on an earthly plane, there is nothing sweeter, nothing more important than for her to know that her husband sees her, respects her, admires her, treasures her, that she is his and he is hers. It's important to let your spouse know that you desire her. It's important to desire her and for her to acknowledge that. So then in light of that beautiful statement, verses 11 to 13 are again that language of seeing if the time is right. Going out to the vineyards and the vines and the grape blossoms and the pomegranates to see if they are bringing forth their fragrance or their bodies are right for lovemaking. And it is. And so they are. And so verse 13, she even mentions the mandrakes are giving forth fragrance. So again, one of these references that might need a little explanation. You may remember mandrakes from earlier in scripture, in the book of Genesis. In fact, Jacob's wives, Rachel and Leah, are in conflict with one another, vying for their husband's affection. In fact, Rachel says, you can have some mandrakes, which are considered an aphrodisiac of that day, if you allow me to go into Jacob. And she does, and it was evidently effective. She conceives and gives birth to Joseph. Here you can imagine the scent of fruit surrounding their door. New as well as old, verse 13 says. The whole gamut running from new to old that she's laid up. through this time with her husband. Of all the songs that we have seen so far in this collection of songs, this might be the most forward, this might be the most plainly spoken of a man and a wife enjoying their conjugal bliss. And this is a lesson for us, it's glorious, but as plain spoken as it is, as sweet as the romance clearly is, It is not the end result of their marriage. It is not the ultimate goal. It is not the final purpose for which God placed man and woman in holy matrimony. This is not simply physical Congress for the sake of that. And the reason we know this is because Scripture makes it clear. Scripture makes clear the ultimate purpose that the most sweet and sensual and intimate aspects of marriage are pointing toward. I know a couple of weeks ago, Pastor Schrock preached from a text in Deuteronomy that allowed him to speak a little bit about marriage. Hope you won't mind getting a little bit more of that from me because in Scripture, we must be clear, but why God has placed marriage before his creatures. I even invite you to turn to Ephesians, chapter 5, where we can see the apostle lay it out for us. We're not going to fully expound this text, but just a couple of things I want us to see as we consider why is marriage, why can marriage be so glorious, so beautiful, so intimate, so fulfilling for a man and a wife. If you're there at Ephesians chapter 5, look at beginning in verse 22, as Paul writes to the Ephesians, to those in Asia Minor, about the marriage in their own church, between the married couples in that place. And to all of us, he says in verse 22, wives, submit to your own husbands as to the Lord, for the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, his body and his himself its savior. Now, as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husband, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies, he who loves his wife loves himself, for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. Therefore, a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is profound, and I'm saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself. Let the wife see that she respects her husband. In this context of Paul teaching about men and women in the marriages of the church, he pulls back the curtain, as it were, does he not? He calls it a mystery in verse 32. Do you remember what a mystery is, especially when Paul uses that term? It's something that was obscure or not clearly understood in the Old Covenant, the Old Testament era, but now has been made plain to the people of God through the coming of Christ. He says what was unclear in the previous era of why the Lord instituted marriage among men and women is now made clear by the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. And you know, as you go through this text, that Paul returns again and again and again to this same illustration. But it's not really an illustration, is it? It's not so much something to find out there to help you understand marriage, but it's actually the underlying reality that marriage is an illustration of. this relationship between Christ and his church. That's what he says in verse 32. I am saying that it refers to Christ and this church, the church. All along, he says, marriage was given for this reason. Long before the first people of God gathered as the people of God, that purpose was still there. to point forward to that Messiah who was coming to win for himself a glorious bride. A bride at great cost to himself, Paul says. That Christ would indeed go to the cross, would give up his own life to purify by the washing of his own blood. A wife, a bride, a people, you and I, to be the beloved, eternal, committed mate of our Savior, the Lord Jesus, the Lord and King of the universe. This was to show Christ's love for us. That's why when we, in our marriage, allow sin to blow hot into our relationship. As we get stuck on our own desires, our own prerogatives, our own wishes, our own stubbornness, our own hard-heartedness, we tell a lie to our spouse and to the watching world. Because Christ's love for us is nothing like that. Christ's love for us is one that empties itself. that humbles himself, that is willing to go to the cross, to the agonies of hell itself, for the good of his beloved bride. To represent Christ and his bride, God gave us this glorious gift of marriage. You notice more of Ephesians 5 is about Christ and the church than it is about man and the woman. He wants to teach them about man and wife, but he can't stop talking about Christ and his church because he knows that's the ultimate underlying empowering reality for godly marriages. So when we read about this amazing man in the Song of Solomon, think of Christ. Later we'll sing Psalm 45, which has always been understood as a psalm about a beautiful bridegroom, but ultimately about the beautiful Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ himself. And when we read about this amazing wife, we should think about Christ. We should actually think about Christ again with this bride, because after all, what does Paul say makes the bride of Christ beautiful? What is it that the church, the bride, that this woman has of her own beauty to offer to Christ? Nothing. He says, Christ is the one who gave himself for her that he might sanctify her, that he might cleanse her by the washing of water with the word, that he might present her, the church, to himself in splendor without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish The beauty of this bride is a picture of the beauty that Christ gives. He says, particularly washed by the water of the word. Have you ever thought of how Christ's word makes his people beautiful? That as he declares to you who you are in him, As he declares to you, what has been accomplished in the foretelling of the work of Christ, in the works of Christ, in the New Testament reflecting on the work of Christ, makes that bride beautiful. It purifies them. It shows us who we truly are. You could almost say it reveals a beauty that was not there before Christ showed it to us because it is his own beauty. that he gives to us. Because, friends, on our own, whether we are male or female, young or old, conventionally or unconventionally good-looking, none of us have that sort of beauty before Christ. If you know the prophet Ezekiel, he gives a picture of what we are more like. In Ezekiel chapter 16, The prophet has this word picture of the people of Israel. He says that, you know, the Lord passed by Israel. She was like a young girl who was not beautiful, that she was dirty and undressed. No, I pitied you. You were cast out on the open field. You were abhorred on the day that you were born. But God chose just that sort of nation to be his people. And today, God chooses people like us and makes us beautiful. That's why that chapter ends. Despite the idolatry of God's people, that he will establish for them an everlasting covenant, that they shall know that I am the Lord, that he will atone for all their sins, that therefore, they will be beautiful. This is what Christ does when he takes us as a bride. He makes what is broken and ugly and stained and dead by sin. It makes us as beautiful as this woman, this bride, this song. The exalted language is, yes, to be understood as a man properly in love with his wife, but it doesn't stop there. It's exalted because it's the sort of beauty that Christ gives you. Do you understand that? Are you aware that when you come to Christ in prayer, that when you come to his word, that when you bow before the throne of grace, you're beautiful in his eyes, that he looks upon you and is delighted because he sees his own holiness having its work in you, given to you once for all in righteousness at the cross, breathed and given to you through the work of his word and sacraments and prayer, the fellowship of the church, the work of those who tend and care for you as your shepherds. He sees you with delight. He sings over you, the text says. He has taken what is ugly and made it beautiful, reversing our sin. reversing the curse. Think of that curse in Genesis 3. The woman's desire there was what? God tells them and says, your desire will be contrary, will be against your husband, who then turns around and lords it over his wife. Likewise, in the next chapter, Genesis 4, sin's desire is for Cain to gobble him up, to snatch him up, to lord over him. You know that that word for desire appears only one other place in scripture? It's right here in our text this evening. In chapter seven, verse 10, when the woman reflects on the love making that has just occurred, she says, I am my beloved and his desire is for me. What was a result of the curse of the fall of man and woman at loggerheads in Genesis 3 and Genesis 4 has now been redeemed, has now been inverted and turned outside in, inside out. That the broken ugliness of that first sin It's just one thing among many, and the Lord is reversing the work of Christ, as now this desire is good and proper and right, only because of the redeeming work of Christ. One other thing about that scene in the garden, did you notice in Ephesians chapter five, that when Paul is showing how the marriage between man and woman points to the relationship between Christ and his church, He actually quotes Genesis, but you'll note that he quotes Genesis chapter 2 when he refers to how a man and wife will leave their homes and be united to one another in one flesh. But Genesis 2 is before the fall. Genesis 2 is before mankind needed saving from their sins. It's before mankind had sinned. So what is Paul saying? He's saying that this plan for us to be one with Christ forever preceded even the entry of sin into this world. That salvation through Christ, that everlasting union being presented to him as a bride without spot is not some sort of plan B of God's. It's not some sort of, oh no, what a mess have they made? How am I going to fix this problem? It's nothing like that. From the beginning, God's plan has been to be with perfect union with his people. Yes, yes, sin was an awful intrusion. Yes, yes, it was a horrible rebellion on the part of mankind. But don't think for a moment that it surprised God. Don't think for a minute that it sent God scrambling, wondering if he could somehow salvage this creation that he made. all along his plan was for you to be united in beautiful, eternal commitment that that marriage can only hint at with his son, that he would give you to him and him to us. That's why if you turn to the end of scripture, as you well know, as Pastor Schrock has been at the end of Revelation, you know that the final state looks a lot like Eden, doesn't it? that that original pre-fall purpose of God for his people hasn't been sullied, hasn't been stopped, hasn't been thwarted, but we will enjoy that fellowship with Christ forever. So if that is true, what does that require of us? I'll lay before you three things, but I'll give you a hint. It's really just three ways of talking about one thing. First thing this requires then is fidelity, exclusive fidelity to Christ. If he has made us his bride, if he has made us as beautiful as this, if he has committed himself to us for all eternity, what choice, What other option can we possibly have or possibly want, truly, than exclusive devotion to Christ? All other things will pass away. Anything that you think will give you temporary and momentary pleasure is only temporary or momentary. It will pass away, but Christ and his love for you will stand forever. We have the immense privilege of responding to that with fidelity. this is truly the response of love, isn't it? I'll say that's the second thing, but love is the proper category for thinking in terms of commitment, is it not? You truly commit to someone when you say that you love him or her forever. If you say you love someone, but I'm not really committed to you, that's not love at all. But because Christ is committed in loving relationship to us, We are in loving relationship to him that is exclusive and faithful. Samuel Rutherford, it was actually the communion sermon that he recorded for posterity, wrote this. Samuel Rutherford, that great Presbyterian forebearer of ours said, God claims kindness to his people and they claim kindness to him. He takes hold of them and they cleave to him. He loves them and they love him. Kindness between God and his people stands never on one side. It is on both sides. However, God must begin. Love is an herb that grows with the root uppermost and the top down. It grows not up, but comes down from God and the beams of it spring up to him again. Rutherford's getting at that exclusive commitment of love that comes from God, but then we reflect it back to him. So if it requires of us that sort of exclusive commitment of love, the last thing I'll say it requires is delight. We have seen this man and this woman delighting in each other. How much more so ought we delight in Christ? Do you come and worship to delight in your Savior? Do you come to this place to be filled with joy? To maybe even smile every once in a while as you worship Him? To have the festive nature of heart that understands what He has done for you and can respond to nothing but delight for your divine lover, delight for your holy bridegroom, delight to the one who gave you absolutely everything that he had, that shared with him the glorious treasures of heaven, as Paul says, elsewhere in Ephesians, that we share even that. Every heavenly blessing Christ has given to us is bright. How could we not respond with delight? You can see now I said it's not really three things that this requires, but it's one. For who doesn't delight in what he loves? Who isn't committed to what he loves? So as we read this man, this woman, in the deepest bliss of matrimonial delight, let us appreciate it for what it is, but also remember to what it points. Christ's love for us eternally in past, eternally in the future. And let us respond with joy, with delight, and eternal love and commitment to him. Shall we pray? Heavenly Father, we thank you indeed for Christ. We thank you that you have arranged this marriage. We thank you that you have, Lord, found us a spouse that far outclasses us, one we could never deserve. One we could never imagine. One we could never even think would love someone like us. But that is precisely what He has done. Taking that love that you poured out into Him through the Spirit for all eternity and showering it upon us. Lord, what a wonder. What amazement. Lord, give us hearts that truly understand it and truly love. that love with which you have first loved us in him, Christ our Savior, our Lord, our King, our Bridegroom. In his name I pray, amen.