The Bridegroom's Song Of Songs
Clarence E. Lunden
Table of Contents
The Bridegroom’s Song of Songs
Creation would not be complete without the woman, so while Adam slept, God took a rib out of his side and formed the woman. She became bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh. Her name, Eve, means the mother of all living. Christ in resurrection is the last Adam, the firstborn of the new creation, and the Church becomes His bride. We are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones (Eph. 5). The Christ will not be complete until His bride is in her place at His side, the fullness of Him that fills all in all. She will take the place of the mother of all living, and is seen as the holy and heavenly Jerusalem, having the glory of God.
God has created man with a capacity for the highest joys that can be experienced by a creature. But, because of sin’s entering the world, man now belongs to a lost race. Through His Son, God has provided a way by which fallen man can be restored to God and his lost capacity can be regained. The basis for this restoration is the death of God’s Son, who shed His lifeblood to pay the awful debt of those who believe His Word. The gift of God is the present enjoyment of Christ in heaven. He is the living water.
To each person God now offers a full and free, eternal salvation. “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Rom. 10:9).
Having finished His work on earth, Jesus returns to the Father’s house to present Himself and His work of redemption, so preparing a place there for His bride. It is the Church of God and is composed of all believers who have believed on and confessed Jesus as Lord. It was formed on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was given to dwell in each believer (Acts 2:4). For two thousand years, since Pentecost, God has been gathering together, in one, “the children of God that were scattered abroad” (John 11:52).
Although those who compose the Church have failed completely, God’s Church remains in His eye as first seen on the day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit, dwelling in the believer and in the Church, provides the power to maintain a testimony to the work of Christ, in spite of man’s failure.
God is preparing His people for an eternity of bliss in heaven with Christ. He wants each one to feel at home when they get there. As the decorum of heaven is unlike that of earth, each must experience many trials and lessons to prepare himself. The exercise of soul through which God passes His children produces the liberty to enjoy the Father’s house.
Betrothal
The marriage union of Christ and His bride, the Church, is still in the future. Now is the time of the betrothal, and we, the bride, are the present object and delight of our Bridegroom. “I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ” (2 Cor. 11:2).
The whole Godhead is engaged in the communications with the bride. God the Father communicates by the Holy Spirit between the Bridegroom and the bride. Such are the communications that fill this sweet and precious Song of Solomon. These communications require spiritual intelligence for their interpretations. It is really the Bridegroom’s song of songs as He anticipates the marriage, the most joyous occasion that has ever been, or will be, in heaven or on earth.
Each believer walking in the truth has a measure of this intelligence, which increases through experience and communion. This fellowship with the Bridegroom provides constant joy for the bride in the midst of otherwise trying and sorrowful circumstances.
This song sets before us the mystical language used between the Bridegroom and the bride while the bride is still on earth and the Bridegroom is in heaven. Although no words are spoken literally, the Holy Spirit conveys both the thoughts of the Bridegroom to the bride and her answers to him. The individual believer needs this communion with and companionship of the Bridegroom as he awaits His coming for the whole bride.
While this song speaks of Christ and Israel, the earthly bride, it introduces, in type, the divine mystery of Christ and the Church — not the doctrine of it as found in Ephesians, but the actual experience and communion of it with the Bridegroom, before it is taken to heaven. It is a book of joy, just what we need to cheer our spirits as the shadows at sunset spread, while twilight and darkness close over the earthly scene.
What is your future? Will your end be a time of exceeding joy as you enter heaven, or a place of never-ending sorrow in the lake of fire?
One
“The Song of songs, which is Solomon’s” (Song of Sol. 1:1).
This song begins with the bride in a suitable position and condition to be forever in her Bridegroom’s presence (Col. 1:12-13). Sin is not mentioned. It has gone as far away as the East is from the West, no more to be remembered by God. It no longer affects the bride’s conscience or hinders her joy. Later, we shall read of correction and repentance, but only because of lassitude and coldness —not gross sin. The Bridegroom finds His delight in His people, His bride, whom He has redeemed at the cost of His life.
She loves Him for His love to her and sacrifice for her. She cost Him all that He had as man (Matt. 13:46). She is at His side, mystically, here in the world, and face to face with Him in heaven. He set His love upon her (Prov. 8) and proved His love for her (at the cross), before she ever became His.
While she loves Him, there is something lacking in her understanding and enjoyment of His love, something she has not laid hold of. To learn, she must pass through the experiences of the wilderness. First she learns: “My Beloved is mine, and I am His: He feedeth among the lilies” (ch. 2:16). Later she learns: “I am my Beloved’s, and my Beloved is mine: He feedeth among the lilies” (ch. 6:3). Finally she discovers her whole position: “I am my Beloved’s, and His desire is toward me” (ch. 7:10). This growth in spiritual intelligence comes as the Holy Spirit opens to her this blessed truth step by step.
Before the Bridegroom comes, the bride’s soul is at rest, for she has learned the truth practically. When He comes, she is consciously, completely and willingly in His hands. This is what she felt that she lacked, but did not realize it. So she continues to grow, until the Holy Spirit’s work in her is complete and she is one with her Bridegroom.
While the bride has a sense of complacency, yet she desires to have what she feels is still lacking in herself. So she says, “Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth: for Thy love is better than wine.” She is conscious of being in a condition that does not completely satisfy. The kisses of His mouth are not just kisses of affection: they show His deep love for her, but they also bring His Person before her.
The bride loves the Bridegroom. She knows He loves her, and she wants His full affection. (See chapter 8.) She wants to know His love in some more intimate way; it is something she feels but does not yet understand. What she seeks is not the love of pity nor of filial affection (which is always there), but the intimate joy of seeing His love continually on display for her and to her.
She wants the Bridegroom Himself. He is in heaven; she wants to be with Him there. Meanwhile, she learns heavenly joys while still on earth. She adds, “For Thy love is better than wine.” If He is everything to her, she will give up all earthly joys (wine) in order to have Him.
“Thine ointments savor sweetly.” We need spiritual ointments, the holy Word of God supplied to our hearts and consciences daily, to drive away unwanted thoughts and sorrows. “Thy name is as ointment poured forth.” His name answers all things for the believer. What can soothe the heart in a more blessed way than His name, and all that it means? Prayer and communion cause it to be poured forth.
“Therefore do the virgins love Thee.” His name means everything to her, because she has been kept from defilement. “Draw me, we will run after Thee.” No one can run after the Lord Jesus, either for life or for communion, unless the Holy Spirit guides and draws, so she says, “Draw me.”
What rich joys we find while meditating upon the Lord Himself. We find the chamber that He has brought us into is full of the things that adorn the Father’s house. It is filled with joy and with the fragrance of the Bridegroom’s love. In it we enjoy the King’s blessed authority over us. Being separated from all that cannot enter His chamber, the Bridegroom alone is before the heart. It is a time when His love is felt, not just known. There is no pretension there — “they love Thee uprightly.”
“I am black . . . as the tents of Kedar.” Being pitched close together, the roofs of Arab tents look like a sea of black. Not only has the bride been reveling in first love in His chamber, but now she sees what she is naturally — not what she has done in the past, for that is gone forever. Having a new life in Christ, she says, “But comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the . . . curtains of Solomon.” This she learned in his chamber — behind the curtains.
“Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me: . . . they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept” (vs. 6). Had she been so busy doing things for others, like Martha of Luke 10, that she had neglected her own vineyard? (She had not sat at the feet of Jesus.) If the vineyard is not cultured, there will be no grapes, and so no wine. This wine is a picture of heavenly joy. So God gives us lessons and teaches us what is needed to produce fruit for him.
I attended a funeral of a beloved brother, well taught in God’s Word, whose several children had gone off into the world. A close friend of his spoke at the funeral. His text was, “They made me the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept.” He spoke of how one could be helping others with the Scriptures and neglect his own children. Some of us, who were there and reminded of our own failure, were touched.
“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 [one not settled with God’s people]?”
“If thou know not, O thou fairest [most beautiful] among women.” This is something new; she who was black has gained in the sight of the Bridegroom. Let our minds rest on spiritual graces, not natural things. “Go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds’ tents.” What is the flock? The Word of God recognizes only one. What confusion to see so many flocks of men. The one flock is the assembly of those who belong to Christ. It may be scattered, but it is still the flock.
God’s intention is for all to be together, displaying the oneness of the body. In spite of the scattering, there will still be a remnant gathered as God has intended, where Christ can be in the midst of those gathered to His name. It is a place of both joy and discipline. No moral or doctrinal evil is allowed within, where He is in the midst. In the flock each is responsible not to allow evil to go unjudged.
The bride is learning most precious truths; she learns that she is a part of His flock. What a discovery, for only the sheep of the flock will be with Him in heaven. She is instructed, “Go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock.” Is it not better to remain with the flock than to be a wanderer? We must watch our own footsteps that we not stray from the flock. And how careful we should be lest we stumble one of the flock, causing them to wander.
“Feed thy kids beside the shepherds’ tents.” She learns about the shepherds’ tents — the overseers in the assembly. Thus she learns subjection to authority in the midst of the flock.
The Bridegroom says, “I compare thee, my love, to a steed in Pharaoh’s chariots.” Only a flick of the reins and the steed responds quickly. Should it not be so if we love the Lord? Should we not be ready when He speaks? The soul in communion does not refuse to listen to the tenderest expression of the Bridegroom’s love and wishes. Service to Him becomes happy, even in the midst of self-denial and weakness. Let us remember what He has done for us and that we are bound for heaven.
Every daily duty has its place and must be taken care of. But the bride looks through the lattice, knowing that things here are merely passing. Christ’s things are supreme; all others are secondary. Do we look through the lattice (ch. 2:9)?
“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” (ch. 1:10-11). All these heavenly graces seen in the bride are formed from occupation with the Bridegroom. Shall we not appear in a coming day in His beauty?
“While the King is at His table, my spikenard sendeth forth its fragrance.” In John 12:3, Mary never spoke one word, but the house was filled with the odor of the ointment. Could it be that more praise and worship arises at His table from the sisters who, though being there, are silent? This is worship from the heart, and the Holy Spirit causes it to rise to Christ and the Father.
Do we worship at the King’s table? The word king speaks of authority. Do we dare approach Him at any other table but His? As we remember what our Lord has done for us in giving His body and shedding His blood, the Holy Spirit produces worship in us, a sweet perfume to our Bridegroom. But remember, the Holy Spirit is only free to encourage such worship where there is no unjudged evil.
Spikenard can only be found where there is questionable safety. The seeker must go down over the mountain cliffs on a rope. When he has found the rare spikenard, he retrieves the part containing the fragrance, the nard from between the spikes.
Does it not cost us something to worship the Lord? Naturally the worship meeting is on Lord’s Day. Do we add His day — the Lord’s Day — to our six days? Or do we set His day aside for only one purpose, to be engaged with Himself ? He is sitting at His table on that day, waiting for our spikenard of rich perfume, of which He alone is worthy. This is the greatest honor and privilege we have in His absence, and the least sought. Shall I then ignore my Saviour who suffered so much for me, or shall I bring my spikenard to add to the fragrance at His table? Do we treat His visit on Lord’s Day, or any other assembly meeting, with light esteem, even when we know that He has promised to be in the midst? “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matt. 18:20).
“A bundle of myrrh is my Beloved unto me; He shall pass the night [the long night until daybreak] between my breasts.” The word breast speaks of affection. Through the dark night of this present world, is the Bridegroom the center of our affections? This should be our desire.
The bride says, “My Beloved is unto me a cluster of henna-flowers in the vineyards of Engedi.” When King David was fleeing for his life and hiding from Saul, no doubt he hid in the vineyards of Engedi. The white henna-flowers that grew there, with their outstanding fragrance, remind the bride of her Bridegroom and His love as she passes through one trial after another.
The Bridegroom answers, “Behold, thou art fair, My love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves’ eyes.” The “one pearl” in Matthew 13 reminds us that no two pearls are alike. The bride is a pearl of great price. Her value was not known until Christ died, selling all that He had to buy her. That is why the bride is spoken of as the “fairest,” and his repetition of the fact suggests to us that there is not another like her. She has doves’ eyes, which are turned in the direction in which her mate has gone. Patiently she waits as one who, like the dove, can see afar off, expecting His return.
“Behold, thou art fair, my Beloved, yea, pleasant: also our bed is green.” Not only is the Person of the Bridegroom and His intimacy with His bride before us, but also the rest and green pastures that correspond to our circumstances. His presence makes circumstances just right for us, and pleasant.
The bride makes the precious discovery that what the Bridegroom has is also hers, so she calls His possessions our bed, our house, our galleries. The discovery in the soul that we are brought unto Himself to share in all that He has is such a consoling blessing for our hearts. This is what the bride is beginning to learn.
There is no veiled language between the Bridegroom and the bride in these conversations. The Holy Spirit leads her redeemed soul step by step into a greater intelligence of the fullness that she has in Christ.
As we meditate upon His love for us, does this not bring special joy to His heart. Christ came to His beloved brethren of Israel, but, like Joseph of old, He was rejected, cast into the pit, suffering shame and humiliation. But God, like Pharaoh did to Joseph, has raised the Lord Jesus to the place of honor and given Him a bride. Joseph’s wife Asenath bears two sons — Manasseh and Ephraim. Their names tell us what we mean to Christ while His earthly people are estranged from Him. “Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house. And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.”
Today in heaven Christ has us in the thoughts and affections of His heart, while the Holy Spirit, the other comforter, is with us on earth. Here our eternal joy of communion begins. Here we make progress in divine things as Solomon’s song shows. In heaven there will be no progress. All there will be full, complete and final.
In heaven will be joy untold for all, but that is not what we have in this song of songs: it is growth in the soul’s intelligence and fellowship with the Bridegroom as new truths are learned day by day, at times through painful lessons and circumstances. Communion must spring from intelligence in the soul in divine things, otherwise it will be just natural fervor, temporarily enjoyed.
Christ and His saints enjoy the love of kindred relationship; she is bone of His bones and flesh of His flesh. The natural affection between them has a glory of its own. It warrants the deepest intimacies, full ease in going out and coming in — not deemed intrusive, but appropriate and comely. The heart may indulge itself without check or shame.
Have we a vision of eternity with Christ and of the joys that this world will never know and could never give? To understand this song and the heart of Christ, we must remember that Christ’s delight is in all of His saints as one bride. It is not limited to a select few.
Awake, dear soul. My prospect is eternity with a God who loves me, who became man to be with me, who has made me eternally His, and who promises our eternal joy together. Forever, O my soul, forever; could I for a moment compare the present with eternity?
Two
“I am the rose [narcissus] of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys” (ch. 2:1).
God sees His people as the lilies of the valley. She revels in His thoughts of her. Her Bridegroom sets her apart: “As the lily among thorns, so is My love among the daughters.” She answers, “As the apple [citron] tree among the trees of the wood, so is my Beloved among the sons.” Unlike the other trees, the apple tree has a glorious color. She sits with rapture and delight in His shadow. His fruit is sweet to her taste.
He brings her to the banquet, the house of wine (joy). The banner spread over her is love. Being overcome with His love, she asks for raisin-cakes and apples. This is still Christ, but in a milder way. She retires from all that is around her, just to enjoy His love in His presence. She is sustained by His left and right hands embracing her.
It is in the chambers of the King, apart from the world, with thoughts of His glory, that we walk by faith. Do we think of our Bridegroom as anyone less than our “Beloved”? God is our exceeding joy; Christ is God. What a dwelling place and, at present, a banqueting house for the soul. How the Holy Spirit seeks to open to us scenes of eternal joy, even before we get there. The innermost place of the temple, the holy of holies, is the smallest place and the most retired. Have we reached it? Do we enjoy the presence of the Lord in the holiest —this private communion between the bride and the Bridegroom?
“The voice of my Beloved! behold, He cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.” The bride views Him as full of delight and liberty. “My Beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, He standeth behind our wall, He looketh forth at the windows, showing Himself through the lattice.” Have we seen Him through the lattice?
“My Beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, My love, My fair one, and come away. For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone.” Is there with us that deep desire to be gone, to be with Him? Soon He will call the last time, and we shall be at home with our Beloved.
“The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle [dove] is heard in our land. The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell.” The green figs suggest the fruit, which comes before the leaves — the glory. Self-judgment comes before glory. She has a sense that the betrothal will soon be over and she will be with her Beloved forever, for He calls: “Arise, My love, My fair [beautiful] one, and come away.”
“O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.” His dove knows where the secret places of safety are in the towering clefts of the rock — the rugged terrain, the steep precipices. By guidance of the Holy Spirit, she knows where the place of safety is — His wounded side.
During the days of deep trial she nestles in safety in His arms of love at His wounded side. The timid, fluttering dove securely rests while the storm passes. Would she lose her hold in her place of safety? No, He holds her, or all around would be lost. These are the everlasting arms. Are we enjoying them? Or are we making our way, leaning on this poor, helpless world, when the Lord asks us to trust Him?
No bird of prey can molest His dove. She trusts Him, so safety is sure. Have we learned this? She is in the place of safety, without fear. Could the arms of this world provide us with more safety than the everlasting arms? We only know Him in the measure that we trust Him (1 John 2:3).
“Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.” Here, in our body, we are to live for the glory of God. How clever Satan is to cause us to sleep, while the foxes, the many small things in our lives that rob us of communion, ruin our vine of joy. We must guard the vine (our own heart) lest an intruder damage it. In one night a beautiful vineyard (the heart of the believer) may be devastated by little foxes. “Keep thy heart more than anything that is guarded; for out of it are the issues of life” (Prov. 4:23 JND).
“My Beloved is mine, and I am His” (vs. 16). What a discovery this is for the soul. The bride has arrived at the first milestone in her series of lessons, by the Spirit leading her to learn and grow spiritually. I ask my soul, “Have I come this far?” She now has her Beloved in her possession, and He has her in His possession, so all doubts and fears have passed away.
“He feedeth among the lilies.” He loves to be among His people down here until the day breaks, when all shadows flee away. He encourages her, saying: “Turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether [craggy places in Palestine].” The daybreak of His coming is so near that all here is of little value. So, like the young deer, we must leap over the craggy places that hold us back in spirit. Rising above them, we can anticipate with fervor the precious moment that is coming. At the end of the Revelation, the Bridegroom exclaims: “Surely I come quickly.” The bride responds: “Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”
Three
“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 the 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 watchmen 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” (ch. 3:14).
Laying on a bed of listlessness is no place to find her Beloved. He dropped in her thoughts to one “whom my soul loveth,” instead of “my Beloved.” How quickly we drop out of communion! She lost her spiritual understanding. Would she find Him in the streets of the city? Surely not. He was never there that we know of. What did He have to do with the watchmen? How would they know who He was?
Until she passes through discipline, she will not find her Bridegroom. She will not find Him by lying on the bed thinking of other things, but by meditating on His Word and by rising up to act on those things that affect His glory.
“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.” The bride has lost much by allowing her mind and heart to wander. She must judge the listlessness upon her bed. She still loved her Bridegroom, but not as her Beloved. Distance of heart has come between them. Now she must go back until she can say again, “My Beloved.” She has to go all the way back to her mother’s chamber, where she was conceived. I once spoke to a young man who had gotten into sin, and he said, “It is a long way back.”
This is no time for the daughters of Jerusalem to come and disturb either the Bridegroom or the bride. She needs to be alone in His presence. What caused the condition of solitude, where she again felt alone, not enjoying His presence? Was it not that she had allowed other things to take the place of her Bridegroom in her heart? It makes little difference to Satan what we allow in our lives, just so we get our eye off Christ. Even by preoccupation with preaching or teaching communion can be lost.
Only the Bridegroom Himself, not something about Him, can satisfy the heart of the bride. Christ should be the one object before the mind and heart, or the believer will miss both solid peace and rest as well as joy and affection.
(Verses 6 through 11 have special application to Israel in a coming day.)
Four
“Behold, thou art fair [beautiful], My love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves’ eyes within thy locks: thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead. . . . Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely. . . . Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armory” (ch. 4:14).
Now she is restored and occupied with His thoughts of her. The first five verses give the estimate by the Bridegroom of His bride: verse 1 gives a full sense of His love for His bride, and verses 25 give a sense of His estimate of her beauty.
“Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense.” He goes there to accept her full reconciliation as she worships Him. It is a hill and a mountain of praise and worship. What change has now taken place? First she lay listlessly upon her bed, lazy, not having her spiritual senses in order, until she brings Him, whom she loves, into her mother’s chamber. Then she charges the daughters of Jerusalem that they not disturb her love until He pleases. What went on between them must have been precious.
The Bridegroom concludes His remarks, during this time of praise and worship, by saying, “Thou art all fair, My love; there is no spot in thee.” Do we leave the Lord’s table with a sense of His love for us, telling us “there is no spot in thee”? While in the tops of the mountains, a state which the soul experiences at times, He calls us away —“Come with Me from Lebanon, My spouse, with Me from Lebanon: look from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon, from the lions’ dens, from the mountains of the leopards.” How often Satan attacks on the way home from the breaking of bread! Unless we go with our Bridegroom, we might be drawn away by something far worse than a lion or a leopard.
The lion, the strongest of beasts, lays in wait in these lofty places. We are no match for a lion. The leopard has a nature to seek revenge upon any who has hurt him, and he will not be satisfied until he destroys him. The fairest scenes of nature may hide enemies more furious than the lion or the leopard. Let us beware and keep our distance. It is now Satan’s world. But fellowship with Christ will lead us away from every danger, so He says, “Come with Me.”
“I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly” (Prov. 5:14). One must guard against seeking solace and comfort in the pleasant things of this world, forgetting that it is seeking its pleasures apart from God.
The Son of man has made us the objects of His eternal love and in us He has displayed the fullness of His love. The Church, His body, is the fullness, because she is brought in last, making His work complete and finished.
As the object of His heart, the Bridegroom says to His bride, “Thou hast ravished My heart, My sister, My spouse.” Of her, He says, “A garden enclosed is My sister, My spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.” Like a garden, she is full with what is pleasant to the Bridegroom. The varied graces of the Holy Spirit in the bride produce an abundance of precious spiritual fruits for the Bridegroom. He may enjoy the scenery and savor of His garden in the midst of this barren world.
“Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard, spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices” (vss. 13-14). Some spices were for Him alone. (See Exodus 30:31-38.) Can we gladden His heart while He waits for the glorious moment to have us with Him? “The Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patience of the Christ” (2 Thess. 3:5 JND). Contentment with Him will fill the soul. Is what we do service for our Bridegroom? The Apostle Paul could say, “For me to live is Christ.” Can we say the same?
“A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon.” The cold, pure streams, which flow southward, water the Lord’s garden. “Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon My garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my Beloved come into His garden, and eat His pleasant fruits.” When our hearts become cold, we are like wilted flowers and spices with no fragrance. We must be stirred by the north wind of adversity. After this, the south wind of comfort and encouragement may have its salutary effect.
In heaven there will be no north wind, only the pure, full fruits of the Spirit — these to satisfy the heart of Christ. No doubt, the tears of chastisement may be more bitter than myrrh. But the results of the north wind are sweeter than honey, and more fragrant to the heart of Christ than all spices.
He takes all varieties of fruits and spices from His garden — the milk from the babe and the wine from the fathers. He is perfect in His care of His garden and says, “A vineyard of red wine. I the Lord do keep it; I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day” (Isa. 27:23).
May there be more fruit and fragrance in our lives to give pleasure to our Bridegroom. Could it be that our thoughts are only on present things? To be able to say, “Let my Beloved come into His garden, and eat His pleasant fruits,” we need the rich and varied fruits of the Spirit wrought in the heart. Then His heart and ours will rejoice at the banquet of love.
Five
“I am come into My garden, My sister, My spouse: I have gathered My myrrh with My spice; I have eaten My honeycomb with My honey; I have drunk My wine with My milk: eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved” (ch. 5:1).
Honey may be eaten immediately and enjoyed, while the honeycomb provides for future needs. It represents the result of meditation, and is much richer. Have I experienced such a banquet of love down here?
There may be tears from past failure —bitter as myrrh. We may have to say, “Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight: that Thou mightest be justified when Thou speakest, and be clear when Thou judgest” (Psa. 51:4). But “where sin abounded, grace did much more abound,” so my soul can sing —
O love divine, Thou vast abyss!
Our sins are swallowed up in Thee;
Covered is our unrighteousness;
From condemnation we are free:
While Jesus’ blood, through earth and skies
Mercy free, boundless mercy, cries.
“Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies” (Psa. 103:14).
God acts so that His holiness and truth are maintained, sins are judged in the light, the conscience is cleared, the heart is made happy, full communion is restored after failure, and the soul is established in grace.
While the bride slept, her heart was awake. She hears the voice of her Beloved. He is knocking, saying, “Open to Me, My sister, My love, My dove, My undefiled: for My head is filled with dew, and My locks with the drops of the night.” She answers, “I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?” All is right outwardly, but the heart is cold.
She says, “My Beloved put in His hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for Him. I rose up to open to my Beloved; and my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh, upon the handles of the lock.” Rising, she opens the door, but He has gone.
She sought Him, but could not find Him. “I called Him, but He gave me no answer.” While out looking for Him, she was smitten and wounded by the watchmen of the city, and her veil taken by the keepers of the wall. She meets and finds the daughters of Jerusalem who ask her, “What is thy Beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women? what is thy Beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us?” She describes His qualities and His precious love. She says, “He is altogether lovely. This is my Beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.”
Six
“Whither is thy Beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? whither is thy Beloved turned aside?” (ch. 6:1).
This question restores her soul. Now she knows where He has gone. “My Beloved is gone down into His garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.” She says: “I am my Beloved’s, and my Beloved is mine: He feedeth among the lilies.” She has reached the second milestone in her spiritual growth. After she has spoken of Him as altogether lovely, the Bridegroom responds by describing her beauty. Then He goes down to His garden; He finds it full of fruit and spices. Her affections have been touched to respond rapidly and willingly to Him, so she is like “chariots of My willing people” (vs. 12 JND).
Seven
“How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince’s daughter! the joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman” (ch. 7:1).
We witness an outburst of complacency and satisfaction in the first nine verses of chapter 7. We see the bride enjoy the full affection that she wanted in chapter 1, when she said, “Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth” (ch. 1:2).
It is blessed to view the activity of God, who acts by the Holy Spirit, to carry on the communion between the Bridegroom and the bride. The communion and instruction of the first two chapters bring the bride to realize that her Beloved belongs to her, but also that she is His. Blessed truth. She exclaims, “My Beloved is mine, and I am His: He feedeth among the lilies.” Reaching this first milestone in her spiritual growth gives joy to her heart, but it does not completely satisfy her. It takes further experience and spiritual intelligence to draw her soul out further and open to her heart the place of rest that she so desires — in His bosom.
After further communion and lessons learned by experience, she muses, “I am my Beloved’s, and my Beloved is mine: He feedeth among the lilies.” She begins to realize that the Bridegroom’s love for her is more important than her love for Him. Having learned this, she mentions that she is His before stating that He is hers. She has reached a second milestone in her spiritual growth.
Finally she learns that the love of her Bridegroom for her is not only more than hers, it is everything. “I am my Beloved’s, and His desire is toward me.” Now the bride has disappeared into His love. His love is everything. She has reached the third and highest milestone.
As they near the end of the betrothal, He owns everything in her, and His desire is completely upon her (ch. 7:10). In full communion she says, “Let us get up early to the vineyards [the place of joy]; let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates [a picture of the Church] bud forth: there will I give Thee my loves. The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for Thee, O my Beloved” (vss. 12-13). This garden, which she had planted for her Beloved, has now matured.
Eight
“When I should find Thee without, I would kiss Thee; yea, I should not be despised. I would lead Thee, and bring Thee into my mother’s house” (ch. 8:12).
Now she feels free to express her feelings publicly, without restraint or fear of rebuke. This is the richest feast of the heart, for it acts without restraint. The bride has come this far in her experience and intelligence. Heaven will be like this. The love between the bride and the Bridegroom will flow freely without hindrance or restraint. She rests in the embrace of His love, and, in response, she expresses her love without restraint before all who are assembled there.
“Set Me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.” Death is final; it cannot be changed. So the bride has come this far; the lessons are complete. Even death could not change her; her heart is fixed. “Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.”
“I am a wall, and my breasts like towers.” Her affections are great like towers, produced by the Spirit working in her.
The song closes with the appeal, “Make haste, my Beloved, and be Thou like a roe [gazelle] or to a young hart upon the mountains of spices” (vs. 14). The Revelation closes with the Bridegroom saying, “I am . . . the bright and morning star.” The Spirit and the bride join in spirit with Him, for they say, “Come.” And all who hear are invited to say, “Come.” The Bridegroom concludes, “Surely I come quickly,” and the bride responds, “Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”
Heaven is our home. Soon we will be there with our Bridegroom in the Father’s house. Have we, like the bride in the song of songs, been growing with our hearts set to follow our Bridegroom in everything? Is there anything in our lives that hinders our spiritual growth? Are we getting ready for heaven? May the Lord exercise our hearts to be ready in every sense of the word to say with a full heart — “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”
Oh bright and blessed scenes!
Where sin can never come,
Whose sight our longing spirit weans
From earth where yet we roam.
And can we call our home
Our Father’s house on high,
The rest of God our rest to come,
Our place of liberty?
Yes! in that light unstained,
Our stainless souls shall live,
Our heart’s deep longings more than gained,
When God His rest shall give.
His presence there, my soul,
Its rest, its joy untold,
Shall find when endless ages roll,
And time shall ne’er grow old.
Our God the center is,
His presence fills that land,
And countless myriads owned as His,
Round Him adoring stand.
Our God whom we have known,
Well known in Jesus’ love,
Rests in the blessing of His own,
Before Himself above.
Glory supreme is there,
Glory that shines through all,
More precious still that love to share
As those that love did call.
Like Jesus in that place
Of light and love supreme;
Once Man of Sorrows, full of grace,
Heaven’s blest and endless theme.
Like Him! O grace supreme!
Like Him before Thy face,
Like Him to know that glory beam
Unhindered face to face.
O love supreme and bright!
Good to the feeblest heart,
That gives us now, as heavenly light,
What soon shall be our part.
J. N. Darby
The Rapture
“Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1 Cor. 15:51-52).
“For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:16-17).
The Judgment Seat
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10).
After the betrothal and rapture of the bride, we have the judgment seat of Christ, where everything which each has done will be brought to light. One purpose of the review is to reward each believer for what was done for Christ during man’s day; it is the fine linen in which he will be clothed at the marriage.
The Marriage
“Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready” (Rev. 19:7).
Getting ready was finished at the judgment seat of Christ. She is “clothed in fine linen, bright and pure; for the fine linen is the righteousnesses of the saints” (Rev. 19:8 JND). The bride could not be arrayed in such a fashion if the memory of evil deeds had not been removed at the judgment seat. “Bright and pure” supposes that evil will be remembered no more.
The marriage of the Lamb takes place after the false bride, the apostate church on earth, is destroyed. “Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.” Old Testament saints as friends of the Bridegroom will be guests at the marriage (John 3:29).
Blessed will be the day when the marriage of the Lamb takes place. This will be the highest joy ever known in heaven — first for Christ and His Father, then for the bride, His eternal companion. Heaven will never have a fuller joy. It brings us to the mountain peak of our blessings.
“When a man hath taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war, neither shall he be charged with any business: but he shall be free at home one year, and shall cheer up his wife which he hath taken” (Deut. 24:5). This suggests a period of heavenly joy and rest after the marriage and before the Lamb and his armies descend in righteous judgment on the earth.
The Reign of the Bridegroom and Bride
“Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years” (Rev. 20:6).
“And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him” (Dan. 7:27). The bride has come a long way. She will reign with Christ, her Bridegroom, for a thousand years.
The Holy City, New Jerusalem
“I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (Rev. 21:12).
The heavenly city, New Jerusalem, had three gates on the east side, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. Each gate was of one pearl, suggesting the pearl of great price (Matt. 13:46). When the merchantman, seeking goodly pearls, found that one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. This is the bride, the Church that cost Him so much.
Most who are saved enter at the east gate. This is when a person is very young and the heart is tender. The north gate suggests a mature man trying to make a living. If he puts first things first — eternal life — he will enter the north gate, though fewer enter there than at the east gate. The south gate suggests retirement when the things of this life are so important. Few enter this gate. The west gate suggests old age when the mind is not clear and decisions are hard to make. One man I know entered the west gate. Very, very few enter there.
Might this be a warning to you, dear friend? There are twelve gates with plenty of room for you to enter. Why not enter now before it is too late?
“The foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones” (Rev. 21:19). “O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colors, and lay thy foundations with sapphires” (Isa. 54:11). Whether this description refers to the Church only, or to all saints, matters little. A stone is known by its color, not its origin. Each stone reminds us of the individual believer’s being put under heat and pressure until the right color and hue are achieved.
In this glorious city there will be no sun —the Lamb is the light — and there will be no night. We shall see His face. His name will be in our foreheads. The street of the city is pure gold, as it were transparent glass. The Lord God and the Lamb are the temple of the city.
“Behold, I come quickly, and My reward with Me, to render to every one as his work shall be. . . . Blessed are they that wash their robes, that they may have right to the tree of life, and that they should go in by the gates into the city. . . . He that testifies these things says, Yea, I come quickly. Amen; come, Lord Jesus” (Rev. 22:12,14,20 JND).
The bride shall live forever with the Bridegroom, Christ, in His own home, the Father’s house. She will be the joy of the Father and His Son, the Bridegroom. So ends the story of the Bridegroom and His bride, the Church.