Let me introduce Dr. Paisley before I take the offering. I'm so glad he can be here. I don't know a man who feeds my own soul more, who chastens my pride more, or who picks on me more. It's always a joy to have him around. We've usually had him here at the last of the conference, but I told him we had him here at this time the first of the week so we'd have a few days to smooth things over and end in peace. So we'll see how it works out this time. Dr. Paisley is a member of two parliaments, the Parliament of Europe and the Parliament of Westminster. He would be a member of the Parliament of Northern Ireland if they hadn't prorogued it. He's been involved in the controversies you've read about in the paper, trying to decide on what basis they can re-establish it. He's a man who loves the Lord, who represents the Lord, even in the midst of Caesar's household. It's good to have somebody in political life who doesn't hesitate to stand up and speak out as a Christian. But above all, he's a preacher and a man of God, my friend over many years. It's a joy to have him here. I'd like to say, first of all, how delighted and happy I am to be here and have the great privilege of ministering to you at your annual conference. Grateful to the Chancellor and President for inviting me again to share fellowship with you around the blessed Word of God. I feel highly complimented tonight by what the Chancellor said. for he intimated that even though I did make trouble for three days, he could smooth it out in the remaining days. Well now, no other person ever did that in my ministry. Usually when I make trouble, it goes on and on and on forever. Now I would never think of saying that about the Chancellor. For even if I had him at the end of the week, or at the beginning of the week, there would be trouble anyway. So I never worry. I never worry when I have him preaching. Because, thank God, there'll be trouble for the devil and the Pope as well when the Chancellor preaches. And of course, that warms the cockles of my ulster heart. Amen. Now, I want to read with you some verses from the third chapter of the Song of Songs, Solomon's Song. Chapter 3, verses 1 to 5. I trust you will be especially in prayer this evening. I have a message that has been burning itself in my heart. and high I am straightened until it is accomplished. And I trust tonight that the word may be with power. We're absolutely depending upon the Holy Spirit for that. Third chapter of the Song of Songs. By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth. I sought him, but I found him not. I will rise now and go about this city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth. I sought him, but I found him not. The watchman that go about the city found me. To whom I said, saw ye him whom my soul loveth? It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him. whom my soul loveth. I held him and would not let him go until I had brought him into my mother's house and into the chamber of her that conceived me. I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the rows and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love till he please. And God shall stamp with his own divine seal of approval this reading from the infallible book. Let's stand to our feet for a word of prayer. Gracious Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for the revelation that Thou hast given of Thyself and of Thy Son and of Thy Spirit in the Holy Book. We pray this night that as we turn to Thy Word that we may have that blessed illumination that blessed unveiling of thy wonderful Son and our glorious Savior. May our eyes be turned away from the things of time and the things of sense and the material things of this age. Turn our eyes upon Jesus. Help us to look full in his wonderful face. Then the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace. Give to us strength. Give to us power. Give to us liberty. Give to us utterance in Thy Spirit. To this end I take the promised Holy Ghost, the blessed power of Pentecost to fill me to the uttermost. I take. Thank God He undertakes for me. In Jesus' name, amen. And amen. You may be seated. The third chapter of the Song of Songs, the question of verse three. The watchman that go about the city found me. to whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth? Saw ye him whom my soul loveth? This book is worthy of the careful, prayerful, and reverent study of the people of God. It was Origen who said there are six great songs in the Bible. The first of those songs is the Song of the Red Sea. You'll find that in Exodus chapter 15. The second one is the Song of the Well, Numbers chapter 21. The third one is the Song of Moses, Deuteronomy chapter 32. The fourth one is the Song of Deborah, Judges chapter 5. And the fifth one is the song of David, 2 Samuel chapter 22. And the sixth one is the song of Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 5. Now those six songs, Origen said, deal with the whole of the believer's experience in Christ. Starting with the deliverance from Egypt, for at the Red Sea God gave to Israel a final and complete deliverance from Egypt. And ending in the vineyard of God, because Isaiah chapter 5 deals with the vineyard of God. But Origen said after, you have sung all of those six songs, then you must put the world under your feet. You must mount even higher in spiritual experience. so that with the heavenly bridegroom and in his everlasting embrace you will be able to sing the song of songs. There are three books of the Bible that go together. Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon. Proverbs is written for the youth. It is wisdom for the young. Ecclesiastes has a message for the aged. All is vanity and vexation of spirit. But Solomon's song has an everlasting message for the saints of God. The song of the love of the Lord Jesus Christ in its wonder, in its glory, and in its inexhaustible grace. Now if you read this book you will find that three times the words occur, I charge you And three times the question is asked, who is this or who is she? And those six propositions give us the key to the five divisions of the book. Chapter 1 to chapter 2 verse 7, and in verse 7 of chapter 2, you'll notice you have the charge. I charge you. That's the first division. Mark it carefully. Chapter 1 to chapter 2 verse 7. Second division, chapter two, verse eight, to chapter three, verse five, ending again with the words, I charge you. The third division, chapter three, verse six, beginning with, who is this? And ending in chapter six, verse nine. Fourth division, chapter 6, verse 10, beginning again with the question, who is she? And ending in chapter 8, verse 4, with the words, I charge you. And then the fifth division, chapter 8, verse 5. And that, again, begins with those great words. Chapter 8, verse 5, who is this that cometh up from the wilderness? And ending in the last verse of the book, chapter 8, 14. There are five things about the bride in those five divisions. The first division, you have the meeting. of the bride. The second division you have the musings of the bride. The third division you have the marriage of the bride. In the fourth division you have the majesty of the bride. And in the fifth division you have the motivation of the bride. There are two invitations in the book And those two invitations have built around them the whole story of the book. The first one you will find in chapter 4 and verse 8. The invitation of the king. to the spouse, come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon. Look from the top of Ammanah, from the top of Shinar and Hemrot, Hermon, from the lion's dens, from the mountains of the leopards. The king invites the bride to come to the city of Jerusalem. And in obedience the bride responds. There we have the illustration of the church's obedience to Christ. But when you turn over to chapter 7 and verse 11, the invitation is the invitation of the bride to the heavenly bridegroom. And in verse 11 of chapter 7, she says, come my beloved, let us go forth into the field. Let us lodge in the villages. Verse 2 of chapter 8, I would lead thee and bring thee into my mother's house. And in that invitation and the response of the king, we have the content. condescension of the heavenly bridegroom, the obedience of the bride, the condescension of the bridegroom. I trust that those quick thoughts at the beginning of this message will indeed stir your heart to make a careful study of this unique unparalleled book in the Bible which unveils in a wonderful way our beloved and the relationship of the believer to him and the church to him. Having said that, let me come now to my text. So ye him whom my soul loveth. I want you to take with me now a backward flight into eternity. We see the twenty centuries of the gospel age pass by us in a flash. We see the 400 years that divide the New Testament writings from the Old Testament pass in a moment. We traverse the four millenniums of Old Testament history and we come to the dawning of the first day of time. We break the eternal barrier that divides time from eternity. And we go on out into the eternity that is past to probe it to its very depths. And in the depths of eternity pass We come to the habitation of the Father of eternity himself. There is no watchman at the door of God's habitation. For in the eternity of which I am speaking, God dwelt absolutely alone. This was before angelic beings were created or celestial beings ever were called forth as part of God's creative handiwork. I stand at the door of the habitation of the Father of eternity. And I whisper in reverent awe into the vastness of the great eternal silence the question of my text. Saw ye him whom my soul loveth, and from the depths of that eternity, I hear this still, small voice of Deity. And the Father of eternity says, yes, I have seen Him. He is my Son. He is my only Son. He is my only begotten Son. He is my well-beloved Son. He is my well-pleasing Son. He is in my bosom, and I have laid my right hand upon Him. and anointed Him and appointed Him to be the Savior of a people not yet created and of a world not yet fashioned. So ye Him whom my soul loveth and the Father of eternity has given to me His answer. And as I return from the depths of the vastness of eternal immensity, and as I navigate that great divide between eternity past and newborn time, I am greeted with the shouts of angels and the songs of the celestial created creatures. For when I come to the doors of creation, I find a watchman there, for God has put his sentinel as a watchman at the door of the ages. And I say to the watchman, as the spouse said to the watchman in my text, I say to the watchman of the ages, saw ye him whom my soul loveth? And he answers with a joyous yes. Yes, I have seen him in his great creative work. His voice is like the sound of many waters, but I have heard it lifted up until it was like the mighty thunders of the heavens. And from the bosom of nothingness he commanded heaven and earth to come. And from the swaddling mists of the beginning of history I saw creation born and brought forth. Yes, saw ye him whom my soul loveth. And the watchman of the ages answers, yes. I heard him call for light amidst the darkness. And light followed fast upon the heels of his command. I saw him fashion the sun and Santa bleas the furnace of the skies. I saw him make the moon and appoint her ruler over the night season. I saw him take his hand of omnipotence and throw the millions of stars out into the heavens. They came from his hand like sparkling diamonds from the hand of some wealthy jeweler. Yes, and I saw him people the air with the birds. and the sea with the fish. And I saw him people the earth with the animals. And I saw him stoop down and take the red dust of earth and with his hand fashion the body of man. What a potter! What a moulder! What an engraver he was! And then I saw him kneel down and by an act of divine respiration breathe into that body that he had formed the breath of life and man became a living soul. You ask me, saw ye him whom my soul loveth? And I answer, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made. That was made. I have heard the answer of eternity. I have heard the answer from the watchman of creation. But this universe is a planned universe. It is an ordered universe. It is a guided universe. So I approach the operations room of the universe. And I say to the watchman at the great door of providence, saw ye him whom my soul loveth? And he answers, yes, I have seen him in the chart room of the divine purpose. I have seen him plotting the course of the stars, the race of the sun, and the path of the moon. I have seen him set up the times of man and the dynasty of nations. I have seen him plan all history by his power, his foreknowledge and foreordination. I have seen him appoint the birthday of each living soul and the death day of each living soul. I have not only stood in the chart room of the divine purpose, but I have gone into the operation room of divine fulfillment. I have seen him put his hand to the great levers of history and human destiny. I have seen him order all things after the counsel of his own will. You ask me, saw ye him whom thy soul loveth? And I must answer with the words, by him all things consist. He is the consistency of the universe. He holds it all together. It is in His hand. Thank God amidst the storms and the troubles and the battles we can say tonight, God is still on the throne. and our God reigns sovereign and supreme over the nations. But let me turn from the great work of creation and from the great work of providence, let me turn for a moment to the greater work of redemption. I come now to question the watchman that stands at the birthplace of the Savior, at the cattle cave of Bethlehem of Judea. And I say to him, saw ye him whom I so loveth? And he answers, yes. I have seen him born among the cattle. I have seen him brought forth from the virgin's womb. I have seen him wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid among the straw in the manger. Yes, I have seen the invisible made visible. become flesh and the prince of glory, born as a pauper, an outcast, a reject. You asked me the question, saw ye him whom your soul loveth? And I must reply, he who was rich, yet for our sakes became poor. that we through his poverty might be rich. I turn from the watchman of his birthplace to the watchman of his life. And I say to the watchman of the Redeemer's life, saw ye him whom my soul loveth? And he replies, yes. I have seen Him. I have seen the angels burst the bonds of their invisibility and come down from the highest heaven and appear in the fields of Bethlehem and instruct the shepherds in the night season to go and behold the child that was born and lay in a manger. Yes, I have seen a star appear in the east, and it has directed wise men from afar to make a long and difficult journey in order that they might kneel before the Christ child and offer their gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. I have seen his virgin mother wrap him in some clothing and hastily carry him out of their abode. And I have seen Joseph set the virgin mother and the child upon the back of the ass and they have hastened down to Egypt to escape the cruel clutches of the murderer Herod. I have seen him as a boy of twelve sit among the doctors of the law in the temple, both hearing and asking them questions. I have seen him baptized in the river Jordan. I have heard a voice from heaven that proclaimed, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. I have seen a dove come from heaven and light upon his head. I have seen the baptized Christ go into the wilderness and for forty days do without food to eat. or anything to drink. I have seen the devil attack him in that wilderness, but I have seen the devil overthrown by the power of the Word of God from the lips of the Savior. Yes, I have heard him preach. Oh, what preaching! Never man speak like this man. He has taken the lilies of the field. He has made the mighty pulpiteers to trumpet forth the glory of the Creator and the power of God to keep His children. He has taken the tiniest sparrow and He has made that sparrow preach a sermon on the omniscience of heaven that not one can fall to the ground. without the heavenly Father knowing it. I have seen him trample down the storm-tossed billows of Galilee until those storm-tossed billows became like marble beneath his feet. I have seen him cleanse filthy lepers, cure palsied men, touch socketless eyes and suddenly the eye became as if it was always there. With all the vigor of sight, I have seen him stand in the presence of death and call the death from the imprisonment of the tomb into the liberty of life restored. Yes, says the watchman of his life, I have seen him whom thy soul loveth. But I would come a step farther down the pathway and I would stand tonight at the watchman who beheld the betrayal of the Son of God and I say to him, watchman, hast thou seen him whom my soul loveth? And he answers, yes, I have seen him in the upper room. And his heart was heavy, and he was burdened with sorrow. I have seen him look into the faces of his 12 disciples. And with an anguished voice and a broken heart he says, one of you will betray me. I have seen him dip his hand in the dish and give the sop to Judas Iscariot. And I have seen Judas go out and it was night. I have watched him amidst the shade of Gethsemane's trees. And while Peter, James, and John did sleep, I watched him as three times he prayed, If it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but thine, be done. And I have seen him in an agony, as he prayed more earnestly, and sweat as it were, great drops of blood falling down to the ground. Saw ye him whom I so loveth? Yes, I have seen him betrayed. nearer to the darkness of that cross, I approach the hall of Pilate's judgment, and I ask the somber watchman there, saw ye him whom my soul loveth? And he says, yes, I have seen him, stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. I have seen his brows penetrated with a crown of jagged thorns. I have seen him stripped of his raiment, laid over the scourging pole. I have seen the lash come down upon his quivering flesh until his back was like a ploughed field. with furrows deep and crimson with his precious blood. I have seen the hairs plucked from off his cheeks. I have seen the saliva from filthy lips that spat upon him mingled with the blood that flowed freely from his face. Yes, I have seen him Trowned with thorns, cursed of men, despised the rejected one. But I must come farther on my quest this evening. I must leave the old city wall and climb that dark mountainside called Calvary or Golgotha. And as I mount that hill, I say to the watchman at the cross, saw ye him whom my soul loveth? And he answers, yes. I have seen him stripped of his raiment and nailed to the cross. I have seen that cross uplifted. I have seen Him hang there in agony, in passion, and in shame. I have heard His seven cries, three of them in the first three hours of light, when He said, Father, forgive them, they know not what They do. When he said to the dying thief, today thou shalt be with me in paradise. When he said to his mother, woman behold thy son. And to John, behold thy mother. I have seen the darkness fall for three hours, a darkness so deep that human eye could not penetrate it. And when that darkness was almost over at the ninth hour, I have heard him cry, My God! My God! Why hast thou forsaken me? And the light came again, and he cried, I thirst. And I have seen this sponge filled with vinegar and placed against his lips. And after he had received that vinegar he lifted up his voice in a mighty shout that shook the heavens. that rocked the depths of the caverns of the damned in hell, that reverberated around the whole universe, and that tore the veil in the temple from top to bottom. It is finished!" And I saw him for the first time bow his head and say, into thy hands I commit my spirit." And then he died. I have seen the soldiers come with their iron crowbar and swing it against the legs of one dying thief and break his legs that he died, and against the legs of the other And they too were broken, and he expired. But when they came to the Redeemer, he was already dead. And I saw the spear rupture his side. I saw a fountain filled with blood and water flow forth from that riven side. Saw ye him whom my soul loveth? Yes, I have seen him in the passion of his love at Calvary, in the death agony of his sacrificial substitutionary vicarious atoning death for sinners. But I must go now to the tomb. I must take my stand outside that sepulcher of Joseph of Arimathea. I say to the watchman of the tomb, saw ye him whom my soul loveth? And that great sentinel replies, yes, I have seen him. I have seen him carried into this tomb in death, but I have seen him rise out of this tomb in life. I have seen him wound in a shroud, anointed with spices, and laid upon the cold slab in death. But he is no longer there. The great stone was rolled away by a mighty angel. not to let him out, but to let man in to see that he was already gone. For the Savior has risen from the dead. And what is more, as he put his foot on the royal chariot of celestial glory. and was about to be carried into the heaven of heavens to present the merits of his finished work before and on the throne of the triune Jehovah God. He held back those fiery steeds. He stepped off that chariot. to comfort and wipe away the tears of a weeping Magdalene. And he said to her, touch me not, for I have not yet ascended to my father and your father, to my God and your God. And having ascended up to heaven, he returned and showed himself for a day. to his believing people. But I say to the watchman that stands on the brow of Olivet, the watchman of his final ascension, saw ye him whom my soul loveth? And he answers, yes, I have seen him. whom thy soul loveth. He led his disciples out as far as Olivet, and he instructed them in the things of the kingdom of God. And then, having instructed them, he lifted up his hand in blessing and as his hands were lifted up he was taken up from them into the heavens and a cloud received him out of their sight. I saw him ascend beyond the stars, beyond the sun to the third heaven. And I heard the voices of eternity shout the words of Psalm number 24. Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be lifted up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of Glory, the Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle? Lift up your heads, O ye gates, even lift them up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of Glory shall come in. Who is this King of Glory, the Lord of hosts? He is the King of Glory. And I saw Him enter those open doors, those everlasting gates. I saw Him take His place at His Father's right hand. I saw every instrument of the great orchestras of heaven lifted up and I heard the sweetest music that heaven has ever witnessed. And every glorified spirit of every redeemed person already there joined in that chorus of worship and honor and praise and majesty and might to the one whom thy soul loveth. Saw ye him whom my soul loveth, and I saw a lamb. nearly slain in the midst of the throne. And one day, as a poor sinner, ruined, corrupt, and undone, the blessed Holy Ghost put heavenly eyesalve upon my blinded eyes. And those eyes that never saw, they saw. What did they see? They saw the blessed Son of God. His glory broke upon me when I saw Him from afar. He's fairer than the morning. He's brighter than the morning star. He's all my fancied pictured in its fairest dreams and more. And each day he grows still sweeter than he ever was before. And tonight I can say I love him because he first loved me. Can you say that? Is he the one whom you so love? Please God, that love shall be kindled in your heart. 10,000 charms around him shine. But best of all, I know, I know he's mine. May God bless his truth. For Jesus' sake, amen and amen.