I'd like to ask you to tend with me to the portion of the scripture we're reading today of the Song of Solomon. This neglected passage. Song of Solomon and Chapter 2. Sorry, Chapter 1. Song of Solomon, Chapter 1. I hope you're able to read through it and If you could take out your Matthew-Henry out of the shelf and study it a little bit, you would find so much of Christ in this portion of God's Word, as we find in many other passages. Song of Solomon, Chapter 1. We read, The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's. Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for thy love is better than wine. because of the savour of thy good ointments. Thy name is as ointment poured forth. Therefore do the virgins love thee. 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. I am black, but calmly. O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon, look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me. My mother's children were angry with me. They made me the keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard have I not kept. Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest? where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon. For why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions? If thou know not, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherd's tents. I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in pharaoh's chariots. Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains of gold. We will make thee borders of gold with studs of silver. While the king sitteth at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof. A bundle of myrrh is my well-beloved unto me. He shall lie all night betwixt my breasts. My beloved is unto me as a cluster of campfire in the vineyards of Engidae. Behold, thou art fair, my love. Behold, thou art fair. Thou hast dove's eyes. Behold, thou art fair, my beloved. Yea, pleasant also our bed is green, the beams of our house. our cedar, and our rafters of fire. And may the Lord bless His Word to us. In ancient times, the Jews revered this book known as the Song of Solomon as a uniquely awe-inspiring book. They likened Proverbs, which was also spoken and written by Solomon, They likened it to the outer court of the temple. They likened the book of Ecclesiastes to the holy place. But this book, the Song of Solomon, they likened it to the most holy place. The New Testament book that has the same types, the same thoughts through it, as the Song of Solomon, which is a reflection of the Bridegroom, and the Bride is the epistle to the Ephesians. And if you compare, you will see much parallel in those two books. How Christ is the Bridegroom, and the Church is the Bride. How Christ will come for the Bride. and how he has already bought that bride for himself. To give you a general tone of this book, I would like to give you a quote, a summary, for you just to see the whole survey of this book. How King Solomon, typified as Christ himself, had a vineyard in the hill country of Ephraim, about 50 miles north of Jerusalem. He let it out to keepers, consisting of a mother, two sons, and two daughters. One of them was the Shulamite, which we have read her words in this chapter, and the other was a little girl mentioned in chapter 8. The Shulamite was like the Cinderella, and I'm sure you know of who she was. of this family. Naturally, she was beautiful, but she was neglected and unnoticed. Her brothers made her work very hard, tending the vineyards, and we have read that in this chapter, so that she had little opportunity to take care of her own personal appearance. We read in verse 6, Look not upon me. because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me." She prunes the vines and sets traps for the little foxes. She also kept the flock. Read in verse 8, If thou know not O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents. being out in the open, she became sunburned. But one day, one day a handsome king came in disguise. It was Solomon, and she did not know him. She thought that he was one of the shepherds. And so she asked him a question and he was very general about it. But he showed an interest in her. He spoke to her with loving words. He promised her so much. So much rich gifts for the future and how he would come for her, for her bride. We read that how in chapter 3 she dreams of him, how she sometimes feels so close to him, as if he is next to her. And this is the bride. And we are going to look at verse 2 of this chapter that we have read. Let him kiss me. with the kisses of his mouth, for thy love is better than wine." First of all, we are going to see who is the person that is speaking here at the beginning of this song. The person here, as the footnote of the Geneva Bible, refers to, it says, this is spoken in the person of the church, or of the faithful soul inflamed with the desire of Christ, whom she loves. So the person who is crying these words, let him kiss me, is the church herself. It is the mystical body of Christ. This is also the prayer of the church under the Old Testament, the Old Testament dispensation, who is wanting and longing for a closer communion with the Godhead through the Incarnation, through the Son of God Himself, the Messiah, who was promised. And it should be our prayer and longing too. It was good to see that hour of prayer earlier on, that we could pray and we could cry and long to see the hand of God move. And this is exactly what this woman, this Shulamite lady, is crying. Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth. We are not to suppose that she was first in her love to Christ. It wasn't the Church that loved Christ first, but it was Christ who first loved the Church and gave himself for it. But she wasn't aware of that. He had loved her with everlasting love, and so he had drawn her with those bonds of love that Hosea talks about. It was Christ who came to the Shulamite lady in the form of Solomon. That is why we read in 1 John, we love Him because He first loved us. This is the word on the lips of all God's saints. We love Him because He first loved us. And I wonder here, I wonder if this is your desire. As you sit here listening to my words, as we have read together these words and we see the longing of the Shulamite lady, is this your longing? Are you longing at this present hour to meet your love, your first love? Or are you sitting here cold? These things are so strange to you. It is better for you maybe to sleep. But I wonder if there are those who have had this longing, sitting here. If you have no love for Christ, it is because you don't know His love. That is the simple answer. He has not shown His love towards you in a saving way. That is why you don't love Him. That is why you are cold toward Him. That is why you come to church maybe, and you read God's Word, and there is nothing stirred in your heart. But thank God, God is always open to our prayers and our cries, and He does answer prayers. Here also we can see that She was impatient. You can sense it, how she cries out. She's so impatient and she cries, let him kiss me. Let him kiss me. She didn't want him to delay, and she desired to be in his presence and company. She could not bear his absence any longer. Dear believer, I wonder if you have been far away from the Lord, if you have become cold toward your first love. May your cry also be like this Shulamite woman. Let him kiss me. Desire his close communion, his close fellowship. How long has it been, I wonder, since you cried unto God with that fervent desire to experience His love. Experience, as this lady says, His kisses. Here we see that she is sick of love, as the phrase goes. As Solomon says in Proverbs 13, for hope deferred makes the heart sick. Maybe, maybe she has been waiting for such a long while. Her Lord and Master had said to her that he will come with those gifts. He will come for her and take her as his bride. But he has not yet come. and she is sick of love, she can't bear it any longer. She has become so impatient. That is why she breaks out in this abrupt manner, let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth. She says, oh, that he would kiss me with one of the kisses of his mouth. I cannot be easy until he does so. How sad it is for us, as the children of God, as those who are redeemed by Him, only to spend such a short time daily, such a short hour in prayer, and only given a list of things that we desire. how sad it is, but we have to learn from this Word of God. We have to learn from the words of this Shulamite lady. We shouldn't be content with those short times of prayer. Doesn't the Lord promise us in His Word the blessing that He would give if we cry unto Him? That is why prayer meetings are important. That is why Those who want the blessing of God should cry unto Him, should go to the prayer meetings with the people of God. And the Lord has promised, as in Luke 11 and verse 13, If ye, then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him. So she says, let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for thy love is better than wine. This verse gives us a sense that she has had an experience of his kisses, of her Lord's kisses. She knew it. She had felt the touch. Have you felt the touch of God today? Have you experienced Him today, I wonder? Is it your longing right now to experience it once again? Because she did. She doesn't just want the experience only once. But look, what does she say? She says, let Him kiss me. With what? With only one kiss? No, she says with kisses of His mouth. Many kisses. I don't want just one blessing, but I want more. Can you see how we are to seek Christ? Can you see how we have to plead that precious merits of the blood that He shed at Calvary? How He was the one who came. How heaven was moved first. before we ever moved to anything. This is how those who have experienced the love of God should seek to love Him more. We are to desire with our hearts burning for His blessing to be poured upon us in revival and in salvation. Let us not leave this place with our hearts yet cold. Let us learn truly from these words. Let us see and know the sense of these words. How this woman, she had that experience with the Lord, with her own master, with the one who was her own bridegroom. It is by looking upon Christ, as I said this morning, that all worries of the heart and cares of this world passes away. Where is the cares of this woman? She has so much on her hand, but she is rejoicing in her own Lord and Master. Her heart rejoices. Even though it is Christ who pours out His love upon the church, yes, it is the church that is His spouse. She shows much, the church shows much affection and desire for His company. This is what this Shulamite lady is signifying here. But then now, let us see, what is the actual nature of this request that is made? What is she actually saying? What is she wanting? She says, let him kiss me. First of all, we could see it as the request of the Old Testament saints. who desired and longed for the appearing and the manifestation of Christ, who was prophesied in the Scriptures, that He was the One who was going to come and restore Israel back in its original state, restore back the spiritual blessings, and bless Israel, Christ in the flesh. That is what they were desiring. So we could apply that and with David those Old Testament saints could pray, O that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion. They knew that by the coming of Christ they would be redeemed from all evil and the curse would be removed. They believed by the coming of Christ a new dispensation of grace would be available it would begin. And that is exactly true, because it did. When Messiah came, when He lived that perfect life, when we read this morning how He shed His blood upon that tree, how He paid it all for sinners, that was the time when that dispensation, that time began, the day of grace it is known, It is the time for men to be saved. There is that door open to all. And this is why the gospel is preached from the churches. Those who faithfully preach the gospel have confidence that God would call, because Christ has finished the work. And this is the confidence of the preacher. If the preacher is faithful, to His calling and preaches the Word and the Gospel, if He reveals Christ, He should be confident that Christ Himself will work by His Spirit. There are some who say that these kisses are the words of the law. But I have to disagree, because the words of the law contain sharp and severe rebukes against sin. They pronounce the sinner as being guilty before God. There is no way out for him. When the moral law says, thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor, It is a sharp rebuke. Every man falls by that word. There is no turning. But we thank God that by the work of Christ, how He kept the law perfectly. Now that time is available to us. That short time, before He comes for His church, for men to be saved. It is the doctrine of the Gospel. The kisses does not mean the curse and the condemnation that the law brings, but it means the doctrines of the Gospel, which only comes from Christ. They are like drops of honey from His own mouth. He is the author of them. Also, the kisses carry with them the suggestion of His love to souls to whom they come, with the power of the Spirit. The love of Christ is the great subject of the Gospel. It fills all of its doctrine. Wherever we study the Word of God, wherever we look to study a doctrine, a certain doctrine, it has to end with Christ. If it does not, it means that it is a cold doctrine. It will never move a man to salvation. As kisses are shown as one's love towards a person, They also are motivator, our motivator, the church's motivator to love back. When the truth of the gospel comes with power to the heart of the sinner, when the sinner knows that and experience that prayer of Christ, Father forgive them, when they know the forgiveness of sins, then it is when they truly love God. then it is that the sinner loves his Lord back. turn to it. Psalm 2. I said to you that all gospel duties summed up in our kissing the sun. And Psalm 2 verse 12, what does it say? Kiss the sun. That's the command for all Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. So it is by putting the trust in the Lord that we kiss the Son. It is by looking upon him as the Saviour, acknowledging him as the sin bearer, that we kiss him. And in like manner, so all the blessings and graces that are received by and through the gospel is summed up by Him, Christ, kissing us. That's what it means by kisses. What is she actually asking for, for these kisses? It is the blessings, the spiritual blessings that comes through the gospel, through the work of Christ. That is the good news. It is like the kisses of the prodigal son, how he came and returned to his father as a penitent sinner. We can truly apply this request and prayer to the believer. All, all you who know him, this is your prayer. All who are washed by the blood of Christ, this essentially should be your prayer. Let him kiss me. Let Christ kiss me. Let Him come close to me. Let Him touch me. Let Him come so close with His love, so I may love Him back more and more. Let Him come and kiss me more and more. Let Him bless me more. What love there is in His heart for you and I. for all those who come to Him by faith. There are those blessings that are received, but woe to that man who never comes. Woe to that person who does not see the Master of the world, because he will not see the kisses of Christ. How sad it is, so many are ignorant of this fact. And you sit here, and you have never experienced the love of Christ. You have hardened yourself to it. But may you be like this Shulamite lady who saw Christ. Haven't you seen Christ in this passage? And I call you to cry with that Shulamite lady for the kisses which comes through the Gospel. For you to see Christ. as your own Savior. That is the gospel, to obey the call, to repent and believe the gospel. Isn't that what Christ says? Turn with me to Mark 1. Mark 1, and this is the command that goes to all. Christ never separates between anyone. the elect and non-elect. That is why no one is excusable. Or, should I say, no one is excuseless. Mark 1 and verse 15. This is Christ saying, the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. What does He say to you? Repent ye and believe the gospel. Have you repented? Have you seen your own sin? Have you seen your hardened heart? I wonder if there are those here, those young people, those older people, who are so cold to the gospel, but the time is so short, because she tells us of the time. She In this book of Song of Solomon, we know that her Lord is coming. And we read in chapter 3 how He does come for her. But how does He come? He comes as the King. And this is what we see in the book of Revelation. The vision of John. How men miss the whole point of much of this great book. They look to see of a chronology of looking into the future, but the main point is the revelation of Jesus Christ. And this is what John sees as the future vision. of Christ's return. And in verse 12 of chapter 1 of Revelation, who is this man? Who is this man that John sees? Is he only that shepherd that Christ says? Does he come as that lowly man of sorrows that we read in John's Gospel? No. Let us see. Revelation 1.12, And I turned to see the voice that spake with me, and being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks. And in the midst of the seven candlesticks, one like unto the Son of Man, that's the title of Christ, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. These are marks of the king. The golden girdle, the garment down to the foot. Then he says, his head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow. And his eyes were as a flame of fire, and his feet like unto fine brass. as if they burned in a furnace, and his voice as the sand of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars, and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. And then see what John says, And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not. I am the first and the last. I am he that liveth and was dead. And behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And have the keys of hell and of death. So we see Christ there, the Son of Man. And that is what the Shulamite lady saw in Solomon. Solomon, as the type of Christ, came to the Shulamite lady as a humble man. She did not recognize him. He came like a shepherd in disguise. But he does come, as he promised, with his gifts to the church. to take the church as his bride. And I said to you that how these kisses of Christ show us the repeated acts. The blessings of Christ are to be desired not only once, I said, but more and more. But also We see that these cries are like the last cries. They are cries that will have an end. The Lord will come for His people. Even at these times, the time is short. And we have read the Kingdom of God is at hand. And I pray to God that you would believe the Gospel. You would come to Him. Hear those words. Let Him kiss me. May it be your Christ. Let Him kiss me. Why have we gathered here together tonight? Have we gathered to be entertained? Have we gathered to do something, to merit something? First of all, we have gathered here to meet with Christ. Without Christ, none of our prayers are heard. And those who pray in vain, how I used to pray in vain, when I was dead in trespasses and sins. But with Christ, our prayers are heard. The scripture says that we should come boldly to the throne of grace. And that is exactly what this woman does. We wonder how she dares to cry out, let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth. But that is exactly what the church has to do, to cry for the blessings of God. I wonder, and I ask you believers to come to those meetings that are prepared for you, to pray for your families, for your children, for those blessings that you receive in the gospel. And I trust that you who don't know Him at all, you have not received one kiss to come to Him, because He has said that He will receive all those who come to Him by faith. See Christ. See in this passage that this Shulamite lady says that Him, there is Christ Himself. I pray that the Lord would answer us as we wait for His return, for His second coming. He is our Bridegroom and we are the bride. And we wait for Him and long for Him. And may we more and more desire to know His presence because He has entrusted us with His Spirit. May we receive that Pentecost power of the Spirit. May the hearts of His people be revived. Revival should start in the hearts of me and you. I pray that the Lord would answer our prayers. Let us now turn to a hymn.