Union And Communion - Chapter Six

 I have taken the liberty to change all Scripture references to the King James Bible, instead of the Revised Version which this book quoted.

UNION AND COMMUNION

THOUGHTS ON THE SONG OF SOLOMON

By J. Hudson Taylor

Chapter Six
Unrestrained Communion

Chapter 8:5-14

We have now reached the closing section of this book, which, as we have seen is a poem describing the life of a believer on earth. Beginning in Section I. (Song of Songs 1:2-2:7) with the unsatisfied longings of an espoused one - longings which could only be met by her unreserved surrender to the Bridegroom of her soul - we find that when the surrender was made, instead of the cross she had so much feared she found a King, the KING of LOVE, who both satisfied her deepest longings, and found His own satisfaction in her.

The second section (Song of Songs 2:8-3:5) showed failure on her part; she was lured back again into the world, and soon found that her Beloved could not follow her there; then with full purpose of heart going forth to seek Him, and confessing His name, her search was successful, and her communion was restored.

The third section (Song of Songs 3:6-5:1) told of unbroken communion. Abiding in Christ, she was the sharer of His security and His glory. She draws the attention, however, of the daughters of Jerusalem from these outward things to her KING Himself. And, while she is thus occupied with Him, and would have others so occupied, she finds that her royal Bridegroom is delighting in her, and inviting her to fellowship of service, fearless of dens of lions and mountains of leopards.

The fourth section (Song of Songs 5:2-6:10), however, shows again failure; not as before through worldliness, but rather through spiritual pride and sloth. Restoration now was much more difficult; but again when she went forth diligently to seek her LORD, and so confessed Him as to lead others to long to find Him with her, He revealed Himself and the communion was restored, to be interrupted no more.

The fifth section (Song of Songs 6:11-8:4), as we have seen, describes not only the mutual satisfaction and delight of the bride and Bridegroom in each other, but the recognition of her position and her beauty by the daughters of Jerusalem.

And now in the sixth section (Song of Songs 8:5-14) we come to the closing scene of the book. In it the bride is seen leaning upon her Beloved, asking Him to bind her yet more firmly to Himself, and occupying herself in His vineyard, until He calls her away from earthly service. To this last section we shall now give our attention more particularly.

It opens, as did the third, by an inquiry or exclamation of the daughters of Jerusalem. There they asked, "Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, etc.?" but then their attention was claimed by the pomp and state of the KING, not by His person, nor by that of His bride. Here they are attracted by the happy position of the bride in relation to her Beloved, and not by their surroundings.

Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness,
Leaning upon her Beloved?

It is through the bride that attention is drawn to the Bridegroom; their union and communion are now open and manifest. For the last time the wilderness is mentioned; but sweetly solaced by the presence of the Bridegroom, it is no wilderness to this bride. In all the trustfulness of confiding love she is seen leaning upon her Beloved. He is her strength, her joy, her pride, and her prize; while she is His peculiar treasure, the object of His tenderest care. All His resources of wisdom and might are hers; though journeying she is at rest, though in the wilderness she is satisfied, while leaning upon her Beloved.

Wonderful, however, as are the revelations of grace and love to the heart taught by the HOLY SPIRIT through the relationship of bride and Bridegroom, the CHRIST of GOD is more than Bridegroom to His people. He who when on earth was able to say, "Before Abraham was, I am," here claims His bride from her very birth, and not alone from her espousals. Before she knew Him, He knew her; and of this He reminds her in the words:--

I raised thee up under the apple tree;
There thy mother brought thee forth.

He takes delight in her beauty, but that is not so much the cause as the effect of His love; for He took her up when she had no comeliness. The love that has made her what she is, and now takes delight in her, is not a fickle love, nor need she fear its change.

Gladly does the bride recognize this truth, that she is indeed His own, and she exclaims:

Set me as a seal upon Thine heart, as a seal upon Thine arm:
For love is strong as death;
Jealousy (ardent love) is cruel (retentive) as the grave;
The coals thereof are coals of fire,
Which hath a most vehement flame.

The High Priest bore the names of the twelve tribes upon his heart, each name being engraved as a seal in the costly and imperishable stone chosen by God, each seal or stone being set in the purest gold; he likewise bore the same names upon his shoulders, indicating that both the love and the strength of the High Priest were pledged on behalf of the tribes of Israel. The bride would be thus upborne by Him who is alike her Prophet, Priest, and King, for love is strong as death; and jealousy, or ardent love, retentive as the grave. Not that she doubts the constancy of her Beloved, but that she has learned, alas! the inconstancy of her own heart; and she would be bound to the heart and arm of her Beloved with chains and settings of gold, ever the emblem of divinity. Thus the Psalmist prayed, "Bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar."

It is comparatively easy to lay the sacrifice on the altar that sanctifies the gift, but it requires divine compulsion - the cords of love - to retain it there. So here the bride would be set and fixed on the heart and on the arm of Him who is henceforth to be her all in all, that she may evermore trust only in that love, be sustained only by that power.

Do we not all need to learn a lesson from this? and to pray to be kept from turning to Egypt for help, from trusting in horses and chariots, from putting confidence in princes, or in the son of man, rather than in the living GOD? How the Kings of Israel, who had won great triumphs by faith, sometimes turned aside to heathen nations in their later years! The LORD keep His people from this snare.

The bride continues: "The coals thereof are coals of fire," a very flame of the LORD. [See Jerry's Note]  For love of GOD, and GOD is love.

To her request the Bridegroom replies with reassuring words:

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.

The love which grace has begotten in the heart of the bride is itself divine and persistent; many waters cannot quench it, nor the floods drown it. Suffering and pain, bereavement and loss may test its constancy, but they will not quench it. Its source is not human or natural; like the fire, it is hidden with CHRIST in GOD. What "shall separate us from the love of CHRIST? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?. . .Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in CHRIST JESUS our LORD." Our love to GOD is secured by GOD'S love to us. To the soul really rescued by grace, no bribe to forsake GOD'S love will be finally successful. "If a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned."

Freed from anxiety on her own account, the happy bride next asks guidance, and fellowship in service with her LORD, on behalf of those who have not yet reached her favoured position.

We have a little sister,
And she hath no breasts:
What shall we do for our sister
In the day when she shall be spoken for?

How beautifully her conscious union with the Bridegroom appears in her expressions. "We have a little sister," not I have, etc.; "what shall we do for our sister," etc.? She has now no private relationships nor interests; in all things she is one with Him. And we see a further development of grace in the very question. Towards the close of the last section she recognized the Bridegroom as her Instructor. She will not now make her own plans about her little sister, and ask His acquiescence in them; she will rather learn what his thoughts are, and have fellowship with Him in His plans.

How much anxiety and care the children of God would be spared if they learned to act in this way! Is it not too common to make the best plans that we can, and to carry them out as best we may, feeling all the while a great burden of responsibility, and earnestly asking the LORD to help us? Whereas if we always let Him be our Instructor in service, and left the responsibility with Him, our strength would not be exhausted with worry and anxiety, but would all be at His disposal, and accomplish His ends.

In the little sister, as yet immature, may we not see the elect of GOD, given to CHRIST in God's purpose, but not yet brought into saving relation to Him? And perhaps also those babes in CHRIST who as yet need feeding with milk and not with meat, but who, with such care, will in due time become experienced believers, fitted for the service of the LORD? Then they will be spoken for, and called into that department of service for which He has prepared them.

The Bridegroom replies:--

If she be a wall,
We will build upon her a palace of silver;
And if she be a door,
We will inclose her with boards of cedar.

In this reply the Bridegroom sweetly recognizes His oneness with His bride, in the same way as she has shown her conscious oneness with Him. As she says, "What shall we do for our sister?" so He replies, "We will build . . . we will inclose," etc. He will not carry out His purposes of grace irrespective of His bride, but will work with and through her. What can be done for this sister, however, will depend upon what she becomes. If she be a wall, built upon the true foundation, strong and stable, she shall be adorned and beautiful with battlements of silver; but if unstable and easily moved to and fro like a door, such treatment will be as impossible as unsuitable; she will need to be enclosed with boards of cedar, hedged in with restraints, for her own protection.

The bride rejoicingly responds, "I am a wall"; she knows the foundation on which she is built, there is no "if" in her case; she is conscious of having found favour in the eyes of her Beloved. Naphtali's blessing is hers: she is "satisfied with favour, and full with the blessing of the LORD."

But what is taught by the connection of this happy consciousness with the lines which follow?

Solomon had a vineyard at Baalhamon;
He let out the vineyard unto keepers;
Every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand pieces of silver.
My vineyard, which is mine, is before me;
Thou, O Solomon, must have a thousand,
And those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred.

The connection is, we believe, one of great importance, teaching us that what she was (by grace) was more important than what she did; and that she did not work in order to earn favour, but being assured of favour, gave her love free scope to show itself in service. The bride knew her relationship to her LORD, and His love to her; and in her determination that He should have the thousand pieces of silver, her concern was that her vineyard should not produce less for her Solomon than His vineyard at Baal-hamon; her vineyard was herself, and she desired for her LORD much fruit. She would see, too, that the keepers of the vineyard, those who were her companions in its culture, and who ministered in word and doctrine, were well rewarded; she would not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn; a full tithe, nay a double tithe, was to be the portion of those who kept the fruit and laboured with her in the vineyard.

How long this happy service continues, and how soon it is to be terminated, we cannot tell; He who calls His servants to dwell in the gardens, and cultivate them for Him - as Adam of old was placed in the paradise of GOD - alone knows the limit of this service. Sooner or later the rest will come, the burden and heat of the last day will have been borne, the last conflict will be over, and the voice of the Bridegroom will be heard addressing His loved one:--

Thou that dwellest in the gardens,
The companions hearken to thy voice:
Cause Me to hear it.

Thy service among the companions is finished; thou hast fought the good fight, thou hast kept the faith, thou hast finished thy course; henceforth there is laid up for thee the crown of righteousness, and the Bridegroom Himself shall be thine exceeding great reward!

Well may the bride let Him hear her voice, and, springing forth in heart to meet Him, cry:--

Make haste, my Beloved,
And be Thou like to a roe or to a young hart
Upon the mountains of spices!

She no longer asks Him, as in the second section:--

Turn, my Beloved, and be Thou like a roe or a young hart
Upon the mountains of Bether (separation).

She has never again wished Him to turn away from her, for there are no mountains of Bether to those who are abiding in CHRIST; now there are mountains of spices. He who inhabits the praises of Israel, which rise, like the incense of spices, from His people's hearts, is invited by His bride to make haste, to come quickly, and be like a roe or young hart upon the mountains of spices.

Very sweet is the presence of our LORD, as by His SPIRIT He dwells among His people, while they serve Him below; but here there are many thorns in every path which call for watchful care; and it is meet that now we should suffer with our LORD, in order that we may hereafter be glorified together. The day, however, is soon coming in which He will bring us up out of the earthly gardens and associations to the palace of the great KING. There His people "shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the LAMB, which is in the midst of the throne, shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and GOD shall wipe away all tears from their eyes."

The SPIRIT and the bride say, Come!. . .
Surely I come quickly.
Amen; even so, come, LORD JESUS!

APPENDIX

The Daughters of Jerusalem

The question is frequently asked, Who are represented by the daughters of Jerusalem?

They are clearly not the bride, yet they are not far removed from her. They know where the Bridegroom makes His flock to rest at noon; they are charged by the Bridegroom not to stir up nor awaken His love when she rests, abiding in Him; they draw attention to the Bridegroom as with dignity and pomp He comes up from the wilderness; their love-gifts adorn His chariot of state; they are appealed to by the bride for help in finding her Beloved, and, stirred by her impassioned description of His beauty, they desire to seek Him with her; they describe very fully the beauty of the bride, but, on the other hand, we never find them occupied with the person of the Bridegroom; He is not all in all to them; they mind outward and earthly things.

Do they not represent those who, if not actually saved, are very near it; or, if saved, are only half-saved? who are for the present more concerned about the things of this world than the things of GOD? To advance their own interests, to secure their own comfort, concerns them more than to be in all things pleasing to the LORD. They may form part of that great company spoken of in Rev. 7:9-17, who come out of the great tribulation, but they will not form part of the 144,000, the "firstfruits unto GOD and to the LAMB" (Rev. 14:1-5). They have forgotten the warning of our LORD in Luke 21:34-36; and hence they are not "accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the SON of Man." They have not, with Paul, counted "all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of CHRIST JESUS my LORD," and hence they do not "attain unto" that resurrection from among the dead, which Paul felt he might miss, but aimed to attain unto.

We wish to place on record our solemn conviction that not all who are Christians, or think themselves to be such, will attain to that resurrection of which St Paul speaks in Phil. 3:11, or will thus meet the LORD in the air. Unto those who by lives of consecration manifest that they are not of the world, but are looking for Him, He will appear "without sin unto salvation."

[Jerry's Note] Here Hudson Taylor goes on to say: "It is worthy to note that this is the only occurrence of this word "LORD" in this book. But how could it be omitted here?" The word "LORD" is not used at all in the Song of Solomon in the King James Bible. Taylor referred various times to readings in the Revised Version, and must also be referring to another change in that version here as well. Of course, we do not accept any changes or corrections to God's preserved Word, here or elsewhere.

Back to Union And Communion - Introduction

Union And Communion - Chapter Five

I have taken the liberty to change all Scripture references to the King James Bible, instead of the Revised Version which this book quoted.

UNION AND COMMUNION

THOUGHTS ON THE SONG OF SOLOMON

By J. Hudson Taylor

Chapter Five
Fruits Of Recognized Union

Song of Solomon 6:11-8:4

In the second and fourth sections of this book we found the communion of the bride broken; in the former by backsliding into worldliness, and in the latter through slothful ease and self-satisfaction. The present section, like the third, is one of unbroken communion. It is opened by the words of the bride:--

I went down into the garden of nuts
To see the fruits of the valley,
And to see whether the vine flourished,
And the pomegranates budded.
Or ever I was aware, my soul made me
Like the chariots of Amminadib (my willing people).

As in the commencement of Section III., the bride, in unbroken communion with her LORD, was present though unmentioned until she made her presence evident by her address to the daughters of Zion; so in this section the presence of the KING is unnoted until He Himself addresses His bride. But she is one with her LORD as she engages in His service! His promise, "Lo, I am with you alway," is ever fulfilled to her; and He has no more to woo her to arise and come away; to tell her that His "head is filled with dew," His "locks with the drops of the night"; or to urge her if she love Him to feed His sheep and care for His lambs. Herself His garden, she does not forget to tend it, nor keep the vineyards of others while her own is neglected. With Him as well as for Him, she goes to the garden of nuts. So thorough is the union between them that many commentators have felt difficulty in deciding whether the bride or the Bridegroom was the speaker, and really it is a point of little moment; for, as we have said, both were there, and of one mind; yet we believe we are right in attributing these words to the bride, as she is the one addressed by the daughters of Jerusalem, and the one who speaks to them in reply.

The bride and Bridegroom appear to have been discovered by their willing people while thus engaged in the happy fellowship of fruitful service, and the bride, or ever she was aware, found herself seated among the chariots of her people - her people as well as His.

The daughters of Jerusalem would fain call her back:--

Return, return, O Shulamite;
Return, return, that we may look upon thee.

There is no question now as to who she is, nor why her Beloved is more than another beloved; He is recognized as King Solomon, and to her is given the same name, only in its feminine form (Shulamite).

Some have seen in these words, "Return, return," an indication of the rapture of the Church; and explain some parts of the subsequent context, which appear inconsistent with this view, as presumptive rather than progressive. Interesting as is this thought, and well as it would explain the absence of reference to the KING in the preceding verses, we are not inclined to accept it; but look on the whole song as progressive, and its last words as being equivalent to the closing words of the Book of Revelation, "Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, LORD JESUS." We do not therefore look upon the departure of the bride from her garden as being other than temporary.

The bride replies to the daughters of Jerusalem:--

What will ye see in the Shulamite?

In the presence of the KING, she cannot conceive why any attention should be paid to her. As Moses, coming down from the mount, was unconscious that his face shone with a divine glory, so was it here with the bride. But we may learn this very important lesson, that many who do not see the beauty of the LORD, will not fail to admire His reflected beauty in His bride. The eager look of the daughters of Jerusalem surprised the bride, and she says, You might be looking "upon the dance of Mahanaim" - the dance of two companies of Israel's fairest daughters - instead of upon one who has no claim for attention, save that she is the chosen, though unworthy, bride of the glorious KING.

The daughters of Jerusalem have no difficulty in replying to her question, and recognizing her as of royal birth - "O Prince's daughter" - as well as of queenly dignity, they describe in true and Oriental language the tenfold beauties of her person; from her feet to her head they see only beauty and perfection. What a contrast to her state by nature! Once "from the sole of the foot even unto the head" was "but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores"; now her feet are "shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace," and the very hair of the head proclaims her a Nazarite indeed; "the KING" Himself "is held in the galleries."

But One, more to her than the daughters of Jerusalem, responded to her unaffected question, "What will ye see in the Shulamite?" The Bridegroom Himself replies to it:--

How fair and how pleasant art thou,
O love, for delights!

He sees in her the beauties and the fruitfulness of the tall and upright palm, of the graceful and clinging vine, of the fragrant and evergreen citron. Grace has made her like the palm-tree, the emblem alike of uprightness and of fruitfulness. The fruit of the date-palm is more valued than bread by the Oriental traveller, so great is its sustaining power; and the fruit-bearing powers of the tree do not pass away; as age increases the fruit becomes more perfect as well as more abundant.

The righteous shall flourish like the palm-tree:
He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
Those that be planted in the house of the LORD
Shall flourish in the courts of our God.
They shall still bring forth fruit in old age;
They shall be fat and flourishing.

But why are the righteous made so upright and flourishing?

To shew that the Lord is upright;
He is my Rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

One with our LORD, it is ours to show forth His graces and virtues, to reflect His beauty, to be His faithful witnesses.

The palm is also the emblem of victory; it raises its beautiful crown towards the heavens, fearless of the heat of the sultry sun, or of the burning hot wind from the desert. From its beauty it was one of the ornaments of Solomon's, as it is to be of Ezekiel's temple. When our SAVIOUR was received at Jerusalem as the KING of Israel the people took branches of palm-trees and went forth to meet Him; and in the glorious day of His espousals, "a great multitude, which no man" can "number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues," shall stand "before the throne, and before the LAMB, clothed with white robes"; and with palms of victory in their hands shall ascribe their "salvation to our GOD which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the LAMB."

But if she resembles the palm she also resembles the vine. Much she needs the culture of the Husbandman, and well does she repay it. Abiding in CHRIST, the true source of fruitfulness, she brings forth clusters of grapes, luscious and refreshing, as well as sustaining, like the fruit of the palm - luscious and refreshing to Himself, the owner of the vineyard, as well as to the weary, thirsty world in which He has placed it.

The vine has its own suggestive lessons: it needs and seeks support; the sharp knife of the pruner often cuts away unsparingly its tender garlands, and mars its appearance, while increasing its fruitfulness. It has been beautifully written:--

The living Vine, Christ chose it for Himself:--
God gave to man for use and sustenance
Corn, wine, and oil, and each of these is good:
And Christ is Bread of life and Light of life.
But yet, He did not choose the summer corn,
That shoots up straight and free in one quick growth,
And has its day, is done, and springs no more;
Nor yet the olive, all whose boughs are spread
In the soft air, and never lose a leaf,
Flowering and fruitful in perpetual peace;
But only this, for Him and His is one,--
That everlasting, ever-quickening Vine,
That gives the heat and passion of the world,
Through its own life-blood, still renewed and shed.

The Vine from every living limb bleeds wine;
Is it the poorer for that spirit shed?
The drunkard and the wanton drink thereof;
Are they the richer for that gift's excess?
Measure thy life by loss instead of gain;
Not by the wine drunk, but the wine poured forth;
For love's strength standeth in love's sacrifice;
And whoso suffers most, hath most to give.

Yet one figure more is used by the Bridegroom: "The smell of thy" breath is "like apples," or rather citrons. In the first section the bride exclaims:--

As the apple tree among the trees of the wood,
So is my Beloved among the sons.
I sat down under His shadow with great delight,
And His fruit was sweet to my taste.

Here we find the outcome of that communion. The citrons on which she had fed perfumed her breath, and imparted to her their delicious odour. The Bridegroom concludes his description:--

Thy... mouth (is) like the best wine,
For my Beloved,
That goeth down sweetly

- interjects the bride,

Causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak.

How wondrous the grace that has made the bride of CHRIST to be all this to her Beloved! Upright as the palm, victorious, and evermore fruitful as she grows heavenward; gentle and tender as the Vine, self-forgetful and self-sacrificing, not merely bearing fruit in spite of adversity, but bearing her richest fruits through it; - feasting on her Beloved, as she rests beneath His shade, and thereby partaking of His fragrance; - what has grace not done for her! And what must be her joy in finding, ever more fully, the satisfaction of the glorious Bridegroom in the lowly wild flower He has made His bride, and beautiful with His own graces and virtues!

I am my Beloved's,
And His desire is toward me,

she gladly exclaims. Now it is none of self or for self, but all of Thee and for Thee. And if such be the sweet fruits of going down to the garden of nuts, and caring for His garden with Him, she will need no constraining to continue in this blessed service.

Come, my Beloved, let us go forth into the field;
Let us lodge in the villages.

She is not ashamed of her lowly origin, for she fears no shame: perfect love has cast out fear. The royal state of the King, with its pomp and grandeur, may be enjoyed by and by: now, more sweet with Him at her side to make the garden fruitful; to give to Him all manner of precious fruits, new and old, which she has laid up in store for Him; and best of all to satisfy Him with her own love. Not only is she contented with this fellowship of service, but she could fain wish that there were no honours and duties to claim His attention, and for the moment to lessen the joy of His presence.

Oh that Thou wert as my brother,
That sucked the breasts of my mother!
When I should find Thee without, I would kiss Thee;
Yea, and I should not be despised.

Would that she could care for Him, and claim His whole attention, as a sister might care for a brother. She is deeply conscious that He has richly endowed her, and that she is as nothing compared with Him; but instead of proudly dwelling upon what she has done through Him, she would fain that it were possible for her to be the giver and Him the receiver. Far removed is this from the grudging thought, that must so grate upon the heart of our LORD, "I do not think that GOD requires this of me"; or, "Must I give up that, if I am to be a Christian?" True devotion will rather ask to be allowed to give, and will count as loss all which may not be given up for the LORD'S sake - "I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of CHRIST JESUS my LORD."

This longing desire to be more to Him does not, however, blind her to the consciousness that she needs His guidance, and that He is her true, her only Instructor.

I would lead Thee, and bring Thee into my mother's house,

That Thou mightest 

instruct me...
I would cause Thee to drink of spiced wine,
Of the juice of my pomegranate.

I would give Thee my best, and yet would myself seek all my rest and satisfaction in Thee.

His left hand should be under my head,
And His right hand should embrace me.

And thus the section closes. There is nothing sweeter to the Bridegroom or to the bride than this hallowed and unhindered communion; and again He adjures the daughters of Jerusalem, in slightly different form:--

That ye stir not up, nor awake My love,
Until He (fn. 5) please.

Hallowed communion indeed! May we ever enjoy it; and abiding in CHRIST, we shall sing, in the familiar words of the well-known hymn--

Both Thine arms are clasped around me,
And my head is on Thy breast;
And my weary soul hath found Thee
Such a perfect, perfect rest!
Blessed Jesus,
Now I know that I am blest.

[Footnote 5] Hudson Taylor’s Footnote (which we disagree with): The pronoun here should not be "he" as A. V., nor "it" as R.V., but "she".

Union And Communion - Chapter Six

Back to Union And Communion - Introduction

Union And Communion - Chapter Four

I have taken the liberty to change all Scripture references to the King James Bible, instead of the Revised Version which this book quoted.

UNION AND COMMUNION

THOUGHTS ON THE SONG OF SOLOMON

by J. Hudson Taylor

Chapter Four
Communion Again Broken - Restoration

Song of Solomon 5:2-6:10

The fourth section commences with an address of the bride to the daughters of Jerusalem, in which she narrates her recent sad experience, and entreats their help in her trouble. The presence and comfort of her Bridegroom are again lost to her; not this time by relapse into worldliness, but by slothful self-indulgence.

We are not told of the steps that led to her failure; of how self again found place in her heart. Perhaps spiritual pride in the achievements which grace enabled her to accomplish was the cause; or, not improbably, a cherished satisfaction in the blessing she had received, instead of in the Blesser Himself, may have led to the separation. She seems to have been largely unconscious of her declination; self-occupied and self-contented, she scarcely noticed His absence; she was resting, resting alone, --never asking where He had gone, or how He was employed. And more than this, the door of her chamber was not only closed, but barred; an evidence that His return was neither eagerly desired nor expected.

Yet her heart was not far from Him; there was a music in His voice that awakened echoes in her soul such as no other voice could have stirred. She was still "a spring shut up, a fountain sealed," so far as the world was concerned. The snare this time was the more dangerous and insidious because it was quite unsuspected. Let us look at her narrative:--

I sleep, but my heart waketh:
It is the voice of my Beloved that knocketh, 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.

How often the position of the Bridegroom is that of a knocking Suitor outside, as in His epistle to the Laodicean (fn. 4) Church: "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me." It is sad that He should be outside a closed door - that He should need to knock; but still more sad that He should knock, and knock in vain at the door of any heart which has become His own. In this case it is not the position of the bride that is wrong; if it were, His word as before would be, "Arise, and come away"; whereas now His word is, "Open to Me, My sister, My love." It was her condition of self-satisfaction and love of ease that closed the door.

Very touching are His words: "Open to Me, My sister" (He is the first-born among many brethren), "My love" (the object of My heart's devotion), "My dove" (one who has been endued with many of the gifts and graces of the HOLY SPIRIT), "My undefiled" (washed, renewed, and cleansed for Me); and He urges her to open by reference to His own condition:--

For My head is filled with dew,
And My locks with the drops of the night.

Why is it that His head is filled with the dew? Because His heart is a shepherd-heart. There are those whom the FATHER has given to Him who are wandering on the dark mountains of sin: many, oh, how many, have never heard the SHEPHERD'S voice; many, too, who were once in the fold have wandered away - far away from its safe shelter. The heart that never can forget, the love that never can fall, must seek the wandering sheep until the lost one has been found: "My FATHER worketh hitherto, and I work." And will she, who so recently was at His side, who joyfully braved the dens of lions and the mountains of leopards, will she leave Him to seek alone the wandering and the lost?

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.

We do not know a more touching entreaty in the Word of GOD, and sad indeed is the reply of the bride:--

I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on?
I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?

How sadly possible it is to take delight in conferences and conventions, to feast on all the good things that are brought before us, and yet to be unprepared to go out from them to self-denying efforts to rescue the perishing; to delight in the rest of faith while forgetful to fight the good fight of faith; to dwell upon the cleansing and the purity effected by faith, but to have little thought for the poor souls struggling in the mire of sin. If we can put off our coat when He would have us keep it on; if we can wash our feet while He is wandering alone upon the mountains, is there not sad want of fellowship with our LORD?

Meeting with no response from the tardy bride, her

Beloved put in His hand by the hole of the door,
And "her" bowels were moved for Him.

But, alas, the door was not only latched, but barred; and His effort to secure an entrance was in vain.

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.
I opened to my Beloved;
But my Beloved had withdrawn Himself, and was gone.
My soul failed me when He spake;

When, all too late, the bride did arise, she seems to have been more concerned to anoint herself with the liquid myrrh than to speedily welcome her waiting LORD; more occupied with her own graces than with His desire. No words of welcome were uttered, though her heart failed within her; and the grieved One had withdrawn Himself before she was ready to receive Him. Again (as in the third chapter) she had to go forth alone to seek her LORD; and this time her experiences were much more painful than on the former occasion.

I sought Him, but I could not find Him;
I called Him, but He gave me no answer.
The watchmen that went about the city found me,
They smote me, they wounded me;
The keepers of the walls took away my veil from me.

Her first relapse had been one of inexperience; if a second relapse had been brought about by inadvertence she should at least have been ready and prompt when summoned to obey. It is not a little thing to fall into the habit of being tardy in obedience, even in the case of a believer: in the case of the unbeliever the final issue of disobedience is inexpressibly awful:--

Turn you at My reproof:
Behold, I will pour out My Spirit unto you,
I will make known My words unto you.
Because I have called, and ye refused;
I have stretched out My hand, and no man regarded;. . .
I also will laugh at your calamity. . .
Then shall they call upon Me, but will I not answer;
They shall seek Me early, but they shall not find Me.

The backsliding of the bride, though painful, was not final; for it was followed by true repentance. She went forth into the darkness and sought Him; she called, but He responded not, and the watchmen finding her, both smote and wounded her. They appear to have appreciated the gravity of her declination more correctly than she had done. Believers may be blinded to their own inconsistencies; others, however, note them; and the higher the position with regard to our LORD the more surely will any failure be visited with reproach.

Wounded, dishonoured, unsuccessful in her search, and almost in despair, the bride turns to the daughters of Jerusalem; and recounting the story of her sorrows, adjures them to tell her Beloved that she is not unfaithful or unmindful of Him.

I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my Beloved,
That ye tell Him, that I am sick of love.

The reply of the daughters of Jerusalem shows very clearly that the sorrow-stricken bride, wandering in the dark, is not recognized as the bride of the KING, though her personal beauty does not escape notice.

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?

This question, implying that her Beloved was no more than any other, stirs her soul to its deepest depths; and, forgetting herself, she pours out from the fulness of her heart a soul-ravishing description of the glory and beauty of her LORD.

My Beloved is white and ruddy,
The chiefest among ten thousand.

(see verses 10-16, concluding with)

His mouth is most sweet; yea, He is altogether lovely.
This is my Beloved, and this is my Friend,
O daughters of Jerusalem.

It is interesting to compare the bride's description of the Bridegroom with the descriptions of "the Ancient of Days" in Dan. 7:9, 10, and of our risen LORD in Rev. 1:13-16. The differences are very characteristic.

In Dan. 7 we see the Ancient of Days seated on the throne of judgment; His garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like the pure wool; His throne and His wheels were as burning fire, and a fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him. The Son of Man was brought near before Him, and received from Him dominion, and glory, and an everlasting kingdom that shall not be destroyed. In Rev. 1 we see the Son of Man Himself clothed with a garment down to the foot, and His head and His hair were white as wool, white as snow; but the bride sees her Bridegroom in all the vigour of youth, with locks "bushy, and black as a raven." The eyes of the risen SAVIOUR are described as "a flame of fire," but His bride sees them "doves by the rivers of waters." In Revelation "His voice as the sound of many waters. . .and out of His mouth went a sharp twoedged sword." To the bride, His lips are as lilies, dropping liquid myrrh, and His mouth most sweet. The countenance of the risen SAVIOUR was "as the sun shineth in his strength," and the effect of the vision on John - "when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead" - was not unlike the effect of the vision given to Saul as he neared Damascus. But to His bride "His countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars." The LION of the tribe of Judah is to His own bride the KING of love; and, with full heart and beaming face, she so recounts His beauties that the daughters of Jerusalem are seized with strong desire to seek Him with her, that they also may behold His beauty.

Whither is thy Beloved gone,
O thou fairest among women?
Whither is thy Beloved turned aside?
That we may seek Him with thee?

The bride replies:--

My Beloved is gone down into His garden, to the beds of spices,
To feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.
I am my Beloved's, and my Beloved is mine:
He feedeth among the lilies.

Forlorn and desolate as she might appear she still knows herself as the object of His affections, and claims Him as her own. This expression, "I am my Beloved's, and my Beloved is mine," is similar to that found in the second chapter, "My Beloved is mine, and I am His"; and yet with noteworthy difference. Then her first thought of CHRIST was of her claim upon Him: His claim upon her was secondary. Now she thinks first of His claim; and only afterwards mentions her own. We see a still further development of grace in chapter 7:10, where the bride, losing sight of her claim altogether, says:--

I am my Beloved's,
And His desire is toward me.

No sooner has she uttered these words and acknowledged herself as His rightful possession - a claim which she had practically repudiated when she kept Him barred out - than her Bridegroom Himself appears; and with no upbraiding word, but in tenderest love, tells her how beautiful she is in His eyes, and speaks her praise to the daughters of Jerusalem.

To her, He says:--

Thou art beautiful, O My love, as Tirzah,
(the beautiful city of Samaria,)
Comely as Jerusalem,
(the glorious city of the great King,)
Terrible (or rather brilliant) as an army with banners.
Turn away thine eyes from Me,
For they have overcome Me. (See vv. 4-7).

Then, turning to the daughters of Jerusalem, He exclaims:--

There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines,
And virgins without number.
My dove, My undefiled is but one;
She is the only one of her mother;
She is the choice one of her that bare her.
The daughters saw her, and blessed her;
Yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her,

saying,

Who is she that looketh forth as the morning,
Fair as the moon,
Clear as the sun,
And terrible as an army with banners?

Thus the section closes with communion fully restored; the bride reinstated and openly acknowledged by the Bridegroom as His own peerless companion and friend. The painful experience through which the bride has passed has been fraught with lasting good, and we have no further indication of interrupted communion, but in the remaining sections only joy and fruitfulness.

[Footnote 4] The Church of Popular Opinion, as pointed out by the Rev. Charles Fox in an address at Keswick, as the Church of Philadelphia is the Church of Brotherly Love.

Union And Communion - Chapter Five

Back to Union And Communion - Introduction

Under His Shadow

Till He Come
Communion Meditations And Addresses
By C. H. Spurgeon
(Not published in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit.)
First Published 1896.

Chapter 2.
Under His Shadow.

A BRIEF SACRAMENTAL DISCOURSE DELIVERED AT MENTONE

TO ABOUT A SCORE BRETHREN.

“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” Psalm 91:1.

I MUST confess of my short discourse, as the man did of the axe which fell into the stream, that it is borrowed. The outline of it is taken from one who will never complain of me, for to the great loss of the Church she has left these lower choirs to sing above. Miss Havergal, last and loveliest of our modern poets, when her tones were most mellow, and her language most sublime, has been caught up to swell the music of heaven. Her last poems are published with the title, “Under His Shadow,” and the preface gives the reason for the name. She said, “I should like the title to be, ‘Under His Shadow.’ I seem to see four pictures suggested by that: under the shadow of a rock, in a weary plain; under the shadow of a tree; closer still, under the shadow of His wing; nearest and closest, in the shadow of His hand. Surely that hand must be the pierced hand, that may oftentimes press us sorely, and yet evermore encircling, upholding, and shadowing.”

“Under His Shadow,” is our afternoon subject, and we will in a few words enlarge on the Scriptural plan which Miss Havergal has bequeathed to us. Our text is, “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” The shadow of God is not the occasional resort, but the constant abiding-place, of the saint. Here we find not only our consolation, but our habitation. We ought never to be out of the shadow of God. It is to dwellers, not to visitors, that the Lord promises His protection. “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty:” and that shadow shall preserve him from nightly terror and ghostly ill, from the arrows of war and of pestilence, from death and from destruction. Guarded by Omnipotence, the chosen of the Lord are always safe; for as they dwell in the holy place, hard by the mercy-seat, where the blood was sprinkled of old, the pillar of fire by night, the pillar of cloud by day, which ever hangs over the sanctuary, covers them also. Is it not written, “In the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion, in the secret of His tabernacle shall He hide me”? What better security can we desire? As the people of God, we are always under the protection of the Most High. Wherever we go, whatever we suffer, whatever may be our difficulties, temptations, trials, or perplexities, we are always “under the shadow of the Almighty.” Over all who maintain their fellowship with God the most tender guardian care is extended. Their heavenly Father Himself interposes between them and their adversaries. The experience of the saints, albeit they are all under the shadow, yet differs as to the form in which that protection has been enjoyed by them, hence the value of the four figures which will now engage our attention.

I. We will begin with the first picture which Miss Havergal mentions, namely, the rock sheltering the weary traveller: “The shadow of a great rock in a weary land” (Isaiah 32:2).

Now, I take it that this is where we begin to know our Lord’s shadow. He was at the first to us a refuge in time of trouble. Weary was the way, and great was the heat; our lips were parched, and our souls were fainting; we sought for shelter, and we found none; for we were in the wilderness of sin and condemnation, and who could bring us deliverance, or even hope? Then we cried unto the Lord in our trouble, and He led us to the Rock of ages, which of old was cleft for us. We saw our interposing Mediator coming between us and the fierce heat of justice, and we hailed the blessed screen. The Lord Jesus was unto us a covering for sin, and so a covert from wrath. The sense of divine displeasure, which had beaten upon our conscience, was removed by the removal of the sin itself, which we saw to be laid on Jesus, who in our place and stead endured its penalty.

The shadow of a rock is remarkably cooling, and so was the Lord Jesus eminently comforting to us. The shadow of a rock is more dense, more complete, and more cool than any other shade; and so the peace which Jesus gives passeth all understanding, there is none like it. No chance beam darts through the rock-shade, nor can the heat penetrate as it will do in a measure through the foliage of a forest. Jesus is a complete shelter, and blessed are they who are “under His shadow.” Let them take care that they abide there, and never venture forth to answer for themselves, or to brave the accusations of Satan.

As with sin, so with sorrow of every sort: the Lord is the Rock of our refuge. No sun shall smite us, nor, any heat, because we are never out of Christ. The saints know where to fly, and they use their privilege.

“When troubles, like a burning sun,

Beat heavy on their head,

To Christ their mighty Rock they run,

And find a pleasing shade.”

There is, however, something of awe about this great shadow. A rock is often so high as to be terrible, and we tremble in presence of its greatness. The idea of littleness hiding behind massive greatness is well set forth; but there is no tender thought of fellowship, or gentleness: even so, at the first, we view the Lord Jesus as our shelter from the consuming heat of well-deserved punishment, and we know little more. It is most pleasant to remember that this is only one panel of the four-fold picture. Inexpressibly dear to my soul is the deep cool rock-shade of my blessed Lord, as I stand in Him a sinner saved; yet is there more.

II. Our second picture, that of the tree, is to be found in the Song of Solomon 2:3: “As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my Beloved among the sons. I sat down under His shadow with great delight, and His fruit was sweet to my taste.”

Here we have not so much refuge from trouble as special rest in times of joy. The spouse is happily wandering through a wood, glancing at many trees, and rejoicing in the music of the birds. One tree specially charms her: the citron with its golden fruit wins her admiration, and she sits under its shadow with great delight; such was her Beloved to her, the best among the good, the fairest of the fair, the joy of her joy, the light of her delight. Such is Jesus to the believing soul.

The sweet influences of Christ are intended to give us a happy rest, and we ought to avail ourselves of them; “I sat down under His shadow.” This was Mary’s better part, which Martha well-nigh missed by being cumbered. That is the good old way wherein we are to walk, the way in which we find rest unto our souls. Papists and papistical persons, whose religion is all ceremonies, or all working, or all groaning, or all feeling, have never come to an end. We may say of their religion as of the law, that it made nothing perfect; but under the gospel there is something finished, and that something is the sum and substance of our salvation, and therefore there is rest for us, and we ought to sing, “I sat down.”

Dear friends, is Christ to each one of us a place of sitting down? I do not mean a rest of idleness and self-content, - God deliver us from that; but there is rest in a conscious grasp of Christ, a rest of contentment with Him as our all in all. God give us to know more of this! This shadow is also meant to yield perpetual solace, for the spouse did not merely come under it, but there she sat down as one who meant to stay. Continuance of repose and joy is purchased for us by our Lord’s perfected work. Under the shadow she found food; she had no need to leave it to find a single needful thing, for the tree which shaded also yielded fruit; nor did she need even to rise from her rest, but sitting still she feasted on the delicious fruit. You who know the Lord Jesus know also what this meaneth.

The spouse never wished to go beyond her Lord. She knew no higher life than that of sitting under the Well-beloved’s shadow. She passed the cedar, and oak, and every other goodly tree, but the apple-tree held her, and there she sat down. “Many there be that say, who will show us any good? But as for us, O Lord, our heart is fixed, our heart is fixed, resting on Thee. We will go no further, for Thou art our dwelling-place, we feel at home with Thee, and sit down beneath Thy shadow.” Some Christians cultivate reverence at the expense of childlike love; they kneel down, but they dare not sit down. Our Divine Friend and Lover wills not that it should be so; He would not have us stand on ceremony with Him, but come boldly unto Him.

“Let us be simple with Him, then,

Not backward, stiff or cold,

As though our Bethlehem could be

What Sinai was of old.”

Let us use His sacred name as a common word, as a household word, and run to Him as to a dear familiar friend. Under His shadow we are to feel that we are at home, and then He will make Himself at home to us by becoming food unto our souls, and giving spiritual refreshment to us while we rest. The spouse does not here say that she reached up to the tree to gather its fruit, but she sat down on the ground in intense delight, and the fruit came to her where she sat. It is wonderful how Christ will come down to souls that sit beneath His shadow; if we can but be at home with Christ, He will sweetly commune with us. Has He not said, “Delight thyself also in the Lord, and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart”?

In this second form of the sacred shadow, the sense of awe gives place to that of restful delight in Christ. Have you ever figured in such a scene as the sitter beneath the grateful shade of the fruitful tree? Have you not only possessed security, but experienced delight in Christ? Have you sung,

“I sat down under His shadow,

Sat down with great delight;

His fruit was sweet unto my taste,

And pleasant to my sight”?

This is as necessary an experience as it is joyful: necessary for many uses. The joy of the Lord is our strength, and it is when we delight ourselves in the Lord that we have assurance of power in prayer. Here faith develops, and hope grows bright, while love sheds abroad all the fragrance of her sweet spices. Oh! get you to the apple-tree, and find out who is the fairest among the fair. Make the Light of heaven the delight of your heart, and then be filled with heart’s-ease, and revel in complete content.

III. The third view of the one subject is, - the shadow of his wings, - a precious word. I think the best specimen of it, for it occurs several times, is in that blessed Psalm, the sixty-third, verse seven: “Because Thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of Thy wings will I rejoice.”

Does not this set forth our Lord as our trust in hours of depression? In the Psalm now open before us, David was banished from the means of grace to a dry and thirsty land, where no water was. What is much worse, he was in a measure away from all conscious enjoyment of God. He says, “Early will I seek Thee. My soul thirsteth for Thee.” He sings rather of memories than of present communion with God. We also have come into this condition, and have been unable to find any present comfort. “Thou hast been my help,” has been the highest note we could strike, and we have been glad to reach to that. At such times, the light of God’s face has been withdrawn, but our faith has taught us to rejoice under the shadow of His wings. Light there was none; we were altogether in the shade, but it was a warm shade. We felt that God who had been near must be near us still, and therefore we were quieted. Our God cannot change, and therefore as He was our help He must still be our help, our help even though He casts a shadow over us, for it must be the shadow of His own eternal wings. The metaphor is, of course, derived from the nestling of little birds under the shadow of their mother’s wings, and the picture is singularly touching and comforting. The little bird is not yet able to take care of itself, so it cowers down under the mother, and is there happy and safe. Disturb a hen for a moment, and you will see all the little chickens huddling together, and by their chirps making a kind of song. Then they push their heads into her feathers, and seem happy beyond measure in their warm abode. When we are very sick and sore depressed, when we are worried with the care of pining children, and the troubles of a needy household, and the temptations of Satan, how comforting it is to run to our God, - like the little chicks run to the hen, - and hide away near His heart, beneath His Wings. Oh, tried ones, press closely to the loving heart of your Lord, hide yourselves entirely beneath His wings! Here awe has disappeared, and rest itself is enhanced by the idea of loving trust. The little birds are safe in their mother’s love, and we, too, are beyond measure secure and happy in the loving favour of the Lord.

IV. The last form of the shadow is that of the hand, and this, it seems to me, points to power and position in service. Turn to Isaiah 49:2: “And He hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of His hand hath He hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in His quiver hath He hid me.”

This undoubtedly refers to the Saviour, for the passage proceeds: - “And said unto Me, Thou art My servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified. Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent My strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely My judgment is with the Lord, and My work with My God. And now, saith the Lord that formed Me from the womb to be His servant, to bring Jacob again to Him, though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and My God shall be My strength. And He said, It is a light thing that Thou shouldest be My servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give Thee for a light to the Gentiles, that Thou mayest be My salvation unto the end of the earth.” Our Lord Jesus Christ was hidden away in the hand of Jehovah, to be used by Him as a polished shaft for the overthrow of His enemies, and the victory of His people. Yet, inasmuch as it is Christ, it is also all Christ’s servants, since as He is so are we also in this world; and to make quite sure of it, we have the same expression in the sixteenth verse of the fifty-first chapter, where, speaking of His people, He says, “I have covered thee in the shadow of Mine hand.” Is not this an excellent minister’s text? Every one of you who will speak a word for Jesus shall have a share in it. This is where those who are workers for Christ should long to be, - “in the shadow of His hand,” to achieve His eternal purpose. What are any of God’s servants without their Lord but weapons out of the warrior’s hand, having no power to do anything? We ought to be as the arrows of the Lord which He shoots at His enemies; and so great is His hand of power, and so little are we as His instruments, that He hides us away in the hollow of His hand, unseen until He darts us forth. As workers, we are to be hidden away in the hand of God, or to quote the other figure, “in His quiver hath He hid me:” we are to be unseen till He uses us. It is impossible for us not to be known somewhat if the Lord uses us, but we may not aim at being noticed, but, on the contrary, if we be as much used as the very chief of the apostles, we must truthfully add, “though I be nothing.” Our desire should be that Christ should be glorified, and that self should be concealed. Alas! there is a way of always showing self in what we do, and we are all too ready to fall into it. You can visit the poor in such a way that they will feel that his lordship or her ladyship has condescended to call upon poor Betsy; but there is another way of doing the same thing so that the tried child of God shall know that a brother beloved or a dear sister in Christ has shown a fellow-feeling for her, and has talked to her heart. There is a way of preaching, in which a great divine has evidently displayed his vast learning and talent; and there is another way of preaching, in which a faithful servant of Jesus Christ, depending upon his Lord, has spoken in his Master’s name, and left a rich unction behind. Within the hand of God is the place of acceptance, and safety; and for service it is the place of power, as well as of concealment. God only works with those who are in His hand; and the more we lie hidden there, the more surely will He use us ere long. May the Lord do unto us according to His word, “I have put My words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of My hand.” In this case we shall feel all the former emotions combined: awe that the Lord should condescend to take us into His hand, rest and delight that He should deign to use us, trust that out of weakness we shall now be made strong, and to this will be added an absolute assurance that the end of our being must be answered, for that which is urged onward by the Almighty hand cannot miss its mark.

These are mere surface thoughts. The subject deserves a series of discourses. Your best course, my beloved friends, will be to enlarge upon these hints by a long personal experience of abiding under the shadow of the Almighty. May God the Holy Ghost lead you into it, and keep you there, for Jesus’ sake!

For more chapters of this wonderful book:

Chapter Three - Under The Apple Tree

Till He Come - by Charles Spurgeon

A Freed Servant Choosing To Remain With His Master - McGee

The following is from two different passages in J. Vernon McGee's Thru The Bible Commentary, and portrays how the laws concerning a freed servant choosing to stay with his master out of love and devotion for him and for his bride is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ choosing to go to the cross for us, out of love to us, His bride.

A Freed Servant Choosing To Remain With His Master - by J. Vernon McGee

The Law Concerning Master and Servant Relationships (Exodus 21:1-6)

In Exodus 21 we come to social legislation. This part of the Law is an important issue at this time because the Israelites had been slaves in Egypt.

Now these are the judgments which thou shalt set before them.

If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing [Exod. 21:1–2].

These two verses clearly state that the Israelites could never permanently make one of their own brethren a slave.

If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go out with him.

If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself.

And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free:

Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for ever [Exod. 21:3–6].

This remarkable law states that if a man is a slave, after seven years he can go free. If he was married when he became a slave, he can take his wife with him. If he married while a slave, that is, if he married a woman who was already a slave of his master, at the end of seven years he could go free, but his wife would still belong to the master. He would be free but his wife would not. He could, however, if he loved his wife and master, decide to stay of his own free will. If he decides to stay, his master is to bore his ear lobe through with an awl signifying that he will serve his master forever.

This is a beautiful picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. He came to this earth and took upon Himself our humanity. And we were all slaves of sin. He could have gone out free. He could have returned to heaven, to His position in the Godhead, without going through the doorway of death. He did not have to die upon the cross. But He willingly came down to earth and took upon Himself our humanity. “And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:8).

Psalm 40:6–8 goes on to say, “Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required. Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.” This passage refers to Christ, because Hebrews 10:5–9 tells us that it does. It was fulfilled when our Lord came to this earth. “Wherefore when he cometh into the world [speaking of Christ], he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me [it was not only his ear that was “digged,” or bored through with an awl, but God gave Him a body which He will have throughout eternity]: in burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me) to do thy will, O God. Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.” Christ was “made like unto His brethren.” He chose not to go out free without us. He could have left this earth without dying, but He said, “I love My Bride. I love the sinner.” So He became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross so that He could redeem us from the slavery of sin. What a picture this is of Christ — placed right here after the giving of the Ten Commandments.

Theme: A Messianic Psalm Predicting The Crucifixion Of Christ (Psalm 40:6-9)

Now the following is quoted in the Epistle to the Hebrews:

Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.

Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,

I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.

I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O LORD, thou knowest [Ps. 40:6–9].

This is a marvelous psalm that follows the preceding one which reveals the frailty of man.

“Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened.” Now notice how this is quoted in Hebrew. 10:5, “Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me.” Now, wait a minute. Is this misquoted? Critics of the Bible say, “Oh, here is an error, a contradiction in the Bible. In Psalm 40:6 it says, ‘… mine ears hast thou opened …’; and in Hebrews it says, ‘… a body hast thou prepared me.’ ”

The Holy Spirit is the author of the Bible. He wrote the Old Testament and the New Testament. He wrote both Psalms and Hebrews, and He has a perfect right to change His own writing. When He does, there is always a good reason.

Now let’s consider the background. In Exodus 21 there is a law concerning servants and masters. If a man became a slave to another man, at the end of a certain period of time he could go free. Suppose during that period he met another slave, a woman, they fell in love and married and had children. When it was time for the man to go free, he could leave, but his wife and children could not go with him because she was a slave. What could this man do? He could decide that because he loved his master and his wife he would not leave. “Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for ever” (Exod. 21:6).

The psalmist is referring to this custom when he says, “mine ears hast thou opened.” When the Lord Jesus came to this earth, did He have His ear thrust through with an awl? No, He was given a body. He took upon Himself our humanity. He identified Himself with us and He became a servant. And He became a sacrifice. “Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire” — God did not delight in all the animal offerings in the Old Testament, but they pointed to the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now notice what Isaiah says on this subject. “The Lord GOD hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back” (Isa. 50:5). This verse is prophesying the humiliation of the Servant (Christ) who would come to earth. When the Lord Jesus came down to this earth and went to the cross, His ear wasn’t “opened” or “digged”; He was given a body, and that body was nailed to a cross. My friend, He has taken a glorified body with nail prints in it back to heaven, and He will bear those nail prints and scars throughout eternity that you and I might be presented without spot or blemish before Him. You see, He did more than have His ear bored through with an awl; He gave His body to be crucified because He loved us and would not return to heaven without us.

My friend, this is a marvelous messianic psalm that reveals the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ because He loved us.

In The Interpreter's House

A Dreamer And His Wonderful Dream

The Story of John Bunyan and The Pilgrim's Progress

by Alfred P. Gibbs

Chapter Five - In The Interpreter's House 

After Graceless had recounted his experiences to Goodwill, he was taken a little way along the road in order that the true path might be pointed out to him. When they came to a certain place Goodwill said, "Look before you. Do you see this narrow way? This is the way you must go. It was builded by the patriarchs, prophets, Christ and His apostles, and it is as straight as a rule can make it." Graceless replied, "Are there no turnings, no windings, by which a stranger may lose his way?" To this Goodwill answered, "Yes, there are many ways that butt down upon it, but they are crooked and wide, whereas the true path may always be distinguished by the fact that it is straight and narrow." Then Graceless inquired whether Goodwill would help him off with his burden but Goodwill told him that he must be content to bear it until he should come to a place where it would fall off without any effort on his part. 

As Graceless prepared to continue his journey, Goodwill further informed him that a short distance along the road he would come to a house owned by a person called the Interpreter. He was to knock at the door and tell him who had sent him. He would then be admitted, and shown many excellent things that would teach him things which would stand him in good stead for the remainder of his journey. Thus advised, Graceless made his way along the straight and narrow path, until he came in sight of the Interpreter's house at which he knocked. 

WHO IS THE INTERPRETER? 

Soon someone came to the door and inquired who was there. Graceless replied as Goodwill had directed him and asked for the Master of the house. When at length the Interpreter came, Graceless was welcomed with these words, "Come in; I will show thee that which will be profitable to thee." It may be well before entering with Graceless into the Interpreter's house to explain of whom his is a picture. The Interpreter is a picture of the Holy Spirit, the third Person in the Godhead, whose sole work and delight it is to reveal Christ to the pilgrim. The Lord Jesus, just before He ascended to the right hand of the Father, said to His disciples, "It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment... He shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak; and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you" (John 16:7-14). Ten days after the ascension of Christ this promise was fulfilled, and on the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit came down, and from that time has been in this world to do what Christ said He would do. 

The Holy Spirit's first work with the unsaved sinner is to convince him of his sins, and of his helpless and hopeless state in that condition. He it is that causes the sinner to realize his fearful burden of sin and guilt. If any of my readers are beginning to see their real deep need of the Saviour, it is because the Spirit of God is using the Word of God to produce this conviction of sin. Next, He presents through the Scripture, God's way of salvation through faith in the Lord Jesus and His work of reconciliation. He opens the eyes of the soul to see that, "all that was needed to do and to pay, Jesus has done in His own blessed way;" when the sinner realizes the glorious truth that all his sins were laid by God on Jesus when He hung on Calvary's tree, and that Christ's death has eternally satisfied God on account of his sins; when, as a lost sinner, he receives the Lord Jesus as his own Saviour; that very moment the Holy Spirit enters into him, indwells him, and seals him as God's own child (Ephesians 1:13-14). This is the new birth. This is what is involved in becoming a new creature in Christ Jesus: "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17). Thus the believer is said to be the temple of God because the Spirit of God dwells in him (1 Corinthians 3:16). It has been well put in this way: 

"Soon as my all I ventured on the atoning blood,

The Holy Spirit entered and I was born of God."

The Holy Spirit's work with the believer is to take the Word of God, and through it, lead the child of God into all truth, and especially to glorify the Lord Jesus in all things. How much the Christian needs His divine guidance, His leading and controlling hand! As one has beautifully expressed it, 

"Every virtue we possess, and every conquest won;

And every thought of holiness are His alone."

The Holy Spirit, though unseen to our eyes, is nevertheless just as much a Person as is the Lord Jesus. He is not a mere influence, but a distinct Person who can be grieved, quenched, and resisted (Ephesians 4:30; 1 Thessalonians 5:19; Acts 7:51). Let us see to it that we do not reject or resist His strivings. May it be ours, as we go through the Interpreter's house, to pay good heed to all we see and hear, and take good care that we neither resist nor quench the Holy Spirit as He seeks to impress our hearts with the lessons He would have us learn! 

A CANDLE LIT 

The first act of the Interpreter after Graceless had entered, was to have a candle lighted, and then He asked Graceless to follow Him. "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path" (Psalm 119:105). It is very important to remember that the Spirit of God only interprets to the child of God what He has already caused to be inspired in the Word of God. These are the days of new religions and false cults, all claiming to be revelations from God by the Spirit. How are we to test them? By the light of the inspired Scriptures. The Bible is the complete revelation from God. Nothing can be added to it or taken away from it, and God Himself declares: "To the law and the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them" (Isaiah 8:20). 

THE PORTRAIT OF A TRUE BELIEVER 

The first scene to which Graceless was conducted was the framed picture of a man with a grave countenance. His eyes were lifted up to heaven; the best of books was in his hand; the word of truth was written upon his lips; the world was behind his back; he stood as though he pleaded with men, and a crown of gold was over his head. When Graceless inquired what this picture represented, the Interpreter told him that it was a description of a real Christian who could be recognized by the characteristics seen in this picture. What a searching lesson is this for all who profess to be believers on the Lord Jesus! It is one thing to profess to be a Christian, but another thing to prove by the life lived, the reality of having been regenerated by the Spirit of God. Christ said: "By their fruits ye shall know them," and this applies to Christians as to everyone else. Let us look at the picture a little closer, and test ourselves by it and see whether we are real, or merely imitation Christians. 

You will notice that this man's face was turned heavenward. This teaches us that a true believer in the Lord Jesus will be a heavenly minded person, because he has been born from above (John 3:3), and is going to dwell eternally above. In the meantime, while living in this world, his citizenship, and all he holds dear, is in heaven. Thus the Christian is more interested in heavenly things than in earthly things: "For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself" (Philippians 3:20-21), and, "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth" (Colossians 3:1-2). 

Next notice that the best of books, the Bible, was in his hand. The true child of God will love, revere and study the Word of God and will say like David, "The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver" (Psalm 119:72). And again, "Thy word have I hid in mine heart that I might not sin against thee" (Psalm 119:11). And once more, "O how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day" (Psalm 119:97). We next see that the law of truth was upon his lips, thus indicating that not only did he study God's Word, but that he also sought to tell it to others. 

The world was behind his back. The Christian should be recognized by the fact that though he is in this world, he is not of it; and that he is obedient to the Word which says, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father but of the world" (1 John 2:15-16). He should be able to say like Paul, "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world" (Galatians 6:14). The Christian thus turns his back upon all the vanities of the world and its lusts. 

Next, see what he is doing. He is pleading with men. The really born again person counts it the greatest privilege of his life to present the Person and work of Christ to others. He gladly confesses Christ as his Lord and loves to show forth to sinners far and near the praises and virtues of Him who has brought him out of darkness into His marvelous light. In other words, he obeys the command of his Saviour who said, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15). 

Last, but by no means least, the crown of gold over his head signifies that the fearful Christian is looking forward to the glad day, when, at the coming of his Lord and Saviour, he shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. It will be ample compensation for all the trials and difficulties of life's path to hear Christ's "Well done thou good and faithful servant! ...Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord!"

DOES THIS PORTRAIT MIRROR YOUR LIFE?

Would it not be well for each professing Christian to examine himself in the light of this picture, and ask himself the questions, "Am I really what I profess to be? Do unsaved people see by my life that I am a citizen of heaven? Do I really love His Word? Is His Word of truth upon my lips? Have I turned my back upon the world that crucified and rejected my Redeemer, or am I so mixed up with its pleasures and vanities that no one sees any difference in me? Do I desire and love to speak to others of the Saviour, and seek to lead them to Him? Am I looking forward to the coming of the Lord, when at His judgment seat, all my life with its motives and works shall be revealed and rewarded; or shall I be ashamed at His coming?"

The world has no time for half and half Christians, but it does respect the one who backs up by a godly consistent life what he professes by his lips to be. Make sure that you are really a Christian, and then seek to live for Him so that the world will see Jesus in you. Someone has put it thus: 

"You are living a Gospel, a chapter each day; 

By the deeds that you do, by the words that you say. 

Men read what you are, whether faithless or true. 

Say -- what is the Gospel according to -- you?"

THE ROOM FULL OF DUST

The Interpreter next took Graceless by the hand and led him into a large room that was full of dust, for it had never been swept from the day it was built. After they had looked at it awhile, the Interpreter called to a man to come and sweep it clean, so the man began to sweep violently; but all his sweeping did was to cause the dust that was lying thick on the floor to rise in clouds and fill the room, caused Graceless to be almost choked by it. When Graceless had witnessed the uselessness of such means to clean the room, the Interpreter asked a maid that stood by to sprinkle water on the dust; which, when she had so done, the room was then cleaned with pleasure. 

Graceless asked the Interpreter what was the meaning of all this. He was told that the room was an illustration of the heart of man by nature. The dirt, dust and filth was a picture of the sins that had defiled the whole of man with its corruption. The person with the broom was an illustration of the vain attempt to cleanse the heart by the deeds of the law; but the maid with the water was a symbol of the Gospel with its sweet and precious influences, which, when received into the heart by faith, caused the defilement to be put away, and the heart to become a habitation for the King of Glory. 

LAW VERSUS GRACE

How briefly and well has John Bunyan illustrated this great truth of the difference between law and grace. The Law, which utterly condemns the best; and Grace, which fully and freely saves the worst! Let us examine this scene a little closer. What a graphic description this is of the human heart by nature! It may not be a pleasing picture, but it is true; God has declared that "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9) and the Lord Jesus has given to us His analysis of the heart in these words, "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and defile the man" (Mark 7:21-23). This is the heart of each one by nature as seen by God. The heart, of course means that part of our being that is the origin of our thoughts, words and actions. The Scriptures declare that as a man "thinketh in his heart, so is he."

The man with the broom illustrates the effect of God's holy and righteous law upon the heart. When the sinner reads the ten commandments, and sees therein the righteous requirements of God's holiness; there is immediately aroused within him a sense of the sinfulness of his heart. Thus the reading of God's law causes sin to appear exceedingly sinful, and shows him how vile and bad he really is. At the same time it does not, and cannot, cleanse him from his sins. God's Word speaks of this in Romans 7, where Paul says, "I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence . . . when the commandment came, sin revived . . . that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful."

We repeat again that the law was given to show the sinner his need of Christ. The law is thus like a mirror that reveals the defilement, but does not cleanse it. It is like a plumbline that shows the crookedness, but does not, and cannot straighten. It is like a measuring rod or rule by which we may see how far we have come short of God's standard, but it cannot bring us up to this divine requirement. It is like a weight in the balances of God's scales of righteousness, but it only serves to show that we have all been weighed in the balances and found wanting. The law though holy and just and good, cannot justify the sinner before God, but can only condemn him because he has broken it. 

The maid with the water is a splendid picture of the Gospel or the good news concerning the work accomplished through the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, who died for poor, guilty and unclean sinners. His death on the Cross has forever satisfied all the righteous demands of the law against us. His resurrection was God's seal of complete approval of His finished work of reconciliation. The Lord Jesus now ever lives to save all who will open their hearts to the Gospel message; and, ceasing from all self-effort, will trust themselves implicitly to Him as their own personal Saviour. When the Saviour has been thus received, He cleanses the heart from sin and takes up His abode there. Listen to His own word, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20). Seek no longer to cleanse your own heart by attempting the utterly impossible task of keeping the law, but 

"Just now, your doubtings give o'er;

Just now reject Him no more;

Just now, throw open the door --

Let JESUS come into your heart!"

He will then do what the law cannot do; "for the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ" (John 1:17). 

PASSION AND PATIENCE

The next scene to which Graceless was conducted was a very strange one. He was taken into a room where two boys were seated. One was named Passion and the other, Patience. Passion was very restless and discontented, while Patience sat quiet and content. When Graceless inquired why Passion was so discontented, he was informed that the Governor of the house had promised each of the boys the best things at the beginning of next year. Passion did not want to wait until the good pleasure of the Governor, but desired all his good things now, and that was why he was grumbling so much. While Graceless looked on, he saw a man with a great bag of treasure approach Passion and pour at his feet the rich and rare treasures he was carrying. This bag contained gold, silver, precious stones, worldly pleasures and all those things which the natural man imagines will give him satisfaction. When Passion saw this wondrous display at his feet he was greatly delighted and began to play with them. Every now and then he would laugh Patience to scorn for preferring to wait until the next year, but as Graceless watched, a very peculiar thing happened. In a moment, without any warning, all the treasure with which Passion was so gleefully occupying himself, turned into a heap of worthless rags and dust and ashes, so that he had nothing left of all his riches. 

At this Graceless asked the Interpreter to explain the meaning of this scene. He was told that the two boys were figures or pictures of two classes of people in the world. Passion was an illustration of the person who lives for this world alone and for its so-called treasures, pleasures, popularity, pride, and lust. Such a person has no time for God or for Christ; neither does he give any thought to his sinful condition or the judgment that awaits the one who dies in his sins. All he lives for is what he can get out of this present life. He spends all his time, talents, wealth, health, character, and his soul in trying to satisfy himself with the things of the world. Inasmuch as all his treasure turned to worthless rags and ashes, so death will usher the worldly person into an awful eternity, and he will have to leave behind all those things that occupied his heart on earth. 

Patience, however, in contrast to Passion, was a picture of a child of God, a Christian, who having been born from above, and having his citizenship in heaven, was content to wait with paience for that time when the true riches and pleasures that last for ever shall be his eternal portion in the life that is to come. In that glorious Celestial City where the moth and the rust doth not corrupt and where the thief does not break through and steal, the believer will enjoy to the full those eternal riches and pleasures that are the heritage of every born again person. The Bible assures us that "the things which are seen are temporal [or passing away]; but the things which are not seen are eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:18) 

This is a needed lesson for all to learn, for these two classes are still in the world today, and you, my reader, belong to one or the other. If, up to this time, you have been making plans for this life only, you are like Passion. Though you may possess considerable treasure and enjoy the pleasures, popularity, and the fashions of this world; yet remember that the Bible declares that "The world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever" (1 John 2:17). 

WHERE ARE OUR TREASURES?

A fool has been well defined as one whose plans all end in this life. Does the plan of your life end with the grave, or does it go beyond and provide for your eternal blessedness? Will the stroke of death take from you all you have, or will death usher you into that glorious place where in His presence there is fulness of joy, and at His right hand pleasures for evermore? Be wise while you have your health, strength and soundness of mind and, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things [that is, the necessary things of life] shall be added unto you" (Matthew 6:33). Remember that "godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come" (1 Timothy 4:8). The question that the Lord Jesus asked needs to be carefully pondered: "What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" (Mark 8:36). 

How much better off was Patience, who, through he had little of this world's goods, was rich towards God and had great treasure in heaven! How much better it is to know one's sins are all forgiven; to enjoy peace with God; to be satisfied with His fellowship; to be filled with joy unspeakable and full of glory, and to look forward with eagar expectation to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ who shall take all who love Him into His presence! In heaven there shall be no more sorrow, no more pain, no more sickness, and no more death; but unspeakable joy, eternal health and endless glory! 

If you are not yet a Christian, you may become one while you read this. Take your place as a lost sinner and believe the good news of the Gospel, that Christ died for your sins. Accept Him as your own Saviour and confess Him as your Lord. Then like Patience, you will have the peace of God on earth for time, and the glories of heaven for all eternity. Those who live only for this world will have the rags and ashes of a Christless life, the sadness of a Christless death, and the fearfulness of a Christless eternity. 

Chapter Six - More Of The Interpreter's House

TOC For A Dreamer And His Wonderful Dream