Tongues - To Speak Or Not To Speak by Dennis Corle

  

TONGUES
TO SPEAK OR NOT TO SPEAK

Study By Dennis A. Corle

There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world,
and none of them is without signification.
Therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice,
I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian,
and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me.
(1 Corinthians 14:10-11).

In chapter fourteen of 1 Corinthians, the term tongues appears fifteen times. We have been programmed and conditioned to assume that this term refers to ecstatic utterances such as those associated with the Charismatic confusion of today. This is a passage of Scripture that is so misunderstood and misused by today's Charismatic movement. Tongues in the New Testament were never ecstatic utterances, nor were they always miraculous, as was true on the day of Pentecost. In most instances the term tongues is used in the same way that we use the term languages. This was a very relevant subject in New Testament times, and especially at this particular church to whom the letter was written.

Corinth was a major trade center which meant there was a constant flow of believers from other countries passing through. Many of these visitors did not speak or understand the native dialect of Corinth, yet they would be invited to speak or pray, even without an interpreter, without regard to the fact that no one was able to understand. This caused great confusion in the church services.

By the same token, some of the believers at Corinth were bilingual or multi-lingual, especially those who were well educated. The gift of tongues, or the ability to speak and understand multiple languages was considered (and is) a special gift. Those who had this ability were set up on a pedestal and admired as great spiritual leaders. Many people in our churches today are considered spiritual super-heroes because they are gifted in music or some other area, even though they may be very carnal and unspiritual people. These carnal church members took advantage of every opportunity to demonstrate their gift and speak in tongues even though it was sometimes unnecessary and chaotic to the services. The entire epistle of 1 Corinthians was a rebuke for carnality and sin, and this chapter dealt with their abuse of tongues and disorderly conduct in the church.

There are several other key words in this chapter that are important in understanding it. Prophesying is mentioned ten times. Edify is mentioned no less than seven times. This word indicates to build up or strengthen. Understanding is mentioned nine times. Order is mentioned once. It was these things that were lacking in the Corinthian church. I wonder why the Charismatics ignore all these other key words and emphasize only the word tongues.

Our text verses occur right in the midst of one of the most misinterpreted passages in the Bible that the Charismatics twist to justify their unscriptural practices. It clearly refers to people speaking in different languages who are unable to communicate and understand one another otherwise. There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification. Therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me (v. 10-11). There are many different languages, and none of them without significant, understandable meaning. Paul said that if he did not know the meaning of what was said it did nothing to help him, even though it may be a very helpful and needed message.

1 Corinthians 14 breaks down into four basic sections:

Tongues and Public Preaching
Tongues and Public Prayer
Tongues and Prophecy
Tongues and Public Worship

*Note: This chapter has nothing to do with a private prayer language. Everything in the chapter deals with a public gathering.

TONGUES AND PUBLIC PREACHING
(1 Corinthians 14:1-13)

Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy (v. 1). There are different kinds of spiritual gifts that the Lord may bestow upon people to be used to serve and glorify Him, and all of them are good, important, and desirable. But God has put a premium on preaching, and He sets it up from the others in importance. It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe (1 Corinthians 1:21).

It is not by tongues-speaking that God has chosen to get the Gospel message to the world, but by the preaching of His word. Paul's exhortation to Timothy was to preach the word, not to speak in tongues. Time after time we see in the scriptures that God has placed a premium on preaching. For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries (v. 2). If a Chinese man praises God in the midst of English-speaking people who are not bilingual, the only one who understands him is God.

Verses 3-6 talk about the purpose of preaching. But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort. He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church. I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying. Now, brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you, except I shall speak to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by doctrine?

Paul told them it would be good if they spoke with tongues, and it would be better if they prophesied or preached. The purpose in preaching is to edify, to build up or strengthen the church. If people do not understand what is said, it matters not how great or needed the truth may be, they leave in the same condition in which they came. The three main purposes of preaching are:

1) edification - to build up or strengthen,
2) exhortation - to instruct or train, and
3) comfort - to encourage or uplift.

None of these purposes can be accomplished if the message is given in a foreign language without an interpreter.

Not only is it important to speak in a language that is understood by the people, it is also vital to use simple, down-to-earth terms. And even things without life giving sound, whether pipe or harp, except they give a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped? For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle? So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air (v. 7-9).

There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification (v. 10). Every language in the world is a distinct, significant language: German, French, Chinese, English, Latin, Greek, etc. Tongues in the Bible never referred to ecstatic utterances. Even on the day of Pentecost, when speaking in tongues was a miraculous event, people from all over the world heard the message of the Gospel in their own native tongue. This is speaking ONLY of literal, known languages. Therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me (v. 11). If I am unable to understand the language spoken, there is no communication. When God confounded the languages at the tower of Babel, the result was confusion. (Genesis 11) The result of unlearned or unknown tongues being spoken in the church was confusion, as well.

The overall rule of church procedure is Do All To Edify. If what you are going to say or do is not going to build up and strengthen God's people in the faith, then sit down and be quiet. Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church (v. 12). We are exhorted to EXCEL in everything that we do for the Lord, to be the very best that we can be, to give our all. Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret (v. 13). Let that person of another dialect pray that God will help him to communicate a Bible message to the people in their own language.

This is what took place at Pentecost. As the result of a ten day prayer meeting, the Spirit-filled Galileans spoke to people of 16 different languages, and God caused them to hear and understand in their native tongue. There were no ecstatic babblers there, and I might add, no interpreters, just Spirit-empowered soulwinners sharing the Gospel with those from foreign lands. Throughout this passage, no one is encouraged to speak in tongues, but rather the emphasis is on preaching the Gospel in a known language.

It is a shame that the passages of scripture the Charismatics refer to the most are the ones that they understand the least. The tongues in the Bible had nothing to do with what is going on in these assemblies today.

The carnal Corinthians sought to be recognized and exalted, so they showed off if they had special ability in the area of languages. There were people in the services who understood very little of the preaching and praying because of the disorderly, carnal confusion that reigned. After Paul dealt with Tongues and Public Preaching in verses 1-13, he proceeded to address the Corinthian church concerning Tongues and Public Praying.

TONGUES AND PUBLIC PRAYER
(1 Corinthians 14:14-20)

For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also (v. 14-15). Paul knew several languages because of his extensive education and travels, but he said, Why should I pray in another language? My own spirit speaks to God, but the understanding of my prayer is unfruitful to those around me. They are unable to agree with me in prayer, or to be edified by my communication with the Lord. Therefore, I will pray in the language understood by the people so that my spirit can pray and their understanding can be fruitful as well. In a preaching service, prayer ought to be understandable to the people, and in the Corinthian church foreign visitors were often asked to pray publicly in spite of that fact.

I had a dear friend from Ghana, Africa who roomed with me in college, and because of his difficulty with English he often prayed in his own language. Jonathan knew what he was praying, and the Lord knew what he was praying, but I was left out in the dark!

In verse 15 Paul said he would pray with the spirit AND with understanding. He would communicate with God in a language that was understandable to himself and those around him, too. The Charismatics would have us to believe that ecstatic babbling is a sign of the Holy Spirit, and if you haven't received the gift you're not saved. This passage is clear that it is not the lack of salvation or the lack of the Holy Spirit that is the hindrance from speaking with other tongues, but the lack of training. These are literal languages that are learned.

Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest? For thou verily givest thanks well, but the other is not edified (v. 16-17). Again the explanation is given as a lack of training. He that occupieth the room of the unlearned is someone whose limited education has not given him the opportunity to learn to communicate well in more than one language. Prayer should be understandable because Spirit-empowered prayer will edify those who hear.

A close friend of mine, Joe Hampton, is now in Heaven, but he used to have a prayer meeting at his house every Saturday morning. I have never prayed with Joe about anything that it didn't strengthen me and draw me closer to the Lord. He loved the Lord with all of his heart, and when he prayed that spiritual fervor was communicated to those around him as well as to the Lord.

Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven (Matthew 18:19). It is impossible to agree or symphonize in prayer when one is praying in a language that the others do not understand. Hence, a very important aspect of group prayer is cancelled when one prays in a foreign or unknown tongue.

I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all: Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue (v. 18-19). Paul was an intellectual person and knew many languages but he used only what was necessary to communicate the Gospel. This is well illustrated in Acts 21 and 22. In chapter 21 the soldier said, Canst thou speak Greek? In chapter 22 it says, When they saw that he spake in the Hebrew tongue He said that he would rather speak five words in a known tongue than 10,000 words in an unknown tongue. Perhaps these were the five words he had in mind: Ye must be born again!

It would be useless and vain for even the most oratorical preacher in America to get up and preach his greatest message in English to a church full of Spanish-speaking people. It would be equally foolish for a preacher to speak in English but to use words that his crowd does not understand. God does not give any kind of gift for people to glory in their flesh. Every gift from Him is to be used to minister to others and to bring glory to God.

Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men (v. 20). Spiritual understanding is something that we are to seek, rather than abilities or gifts to be demonstrated before the multitudes. God's power is not a plaything for the immature, carnal church member, but a resource to be used for the glory of God and in communicating the Gospel to a lost world.

TONGUES AND PROPHECY
(1 Corinthians 14:21-22)

In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord. Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe (v. 21-22). God said that tongues were a sign to unbelieving Jews. Men from other nations who spoke other languages would prophesy or preach to the Jews about the Messiah the Jews awaited and the grace of God, but God told us in advance that the nation as a whole would still reject the message.

Isaiah 28:11-12 also prophesies of this. For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear. This text is not speaking of miraculous tongues or ecstatic languages but Gentiles giving testimony of salvation in their native tongue.

Two instances are recorded in Acts which signify the fulfillment of this prophecy. When Peter went to the house of Cornelius, the centurion of the Italian band, they believed on Christ and magnified God in their native language. These were Gentiles, and to the Jews this was a shocking new phenomenon - that God would save a Gentile. While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the words For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God (Acts 10:44, 46). The key here is not the word tongues which means languages but it is the magnifying of God for salvation by the Gentiles.

In Acts 19:1-7 Paul met some men who had repented under the preaching of John the Baptist, but knew nothing of the Holy Spirit or doctrines of the New Testament church. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied (Acts 19:4-6). Again, these men were located in Ephesus, which was Gentile citizenry and they spoke a different tongue than the Jewish missionary team with Paul. The Jewish nation as a whole disregarded this prophecy and fulfillment just as God said they would.

After reasoning with them about Tongues and Public Preaching, and Tongues and Public Prayer, Paul moved on to teach the church at Corinth about Tongues and Public Worship.

TONGUES AND PUBLIC WORSHIP
(1 Corinthians 14:23-40)

Paul had already instructed the Corinthian church that they were not to use multiple languages in the church unless there was an interpreter present to repeat the message in a tongue that was understandable to everyone present. He is giving an explanation for this instruction in verse 23. If therefore the whole church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad?

There is a tongue-speaking church on the corner of the street where I grew up. When I was a kid I would ride my bike down there and sit out on the sidewalk in the summer when they left the windows and doors open. I thought they were all crazy, and whenever one of them would invite me to come inside I would take off as fast as I could pedal my bike. They scared me to death!

How does the Charis-mania Confusion affect lost people in their attitude toward the Gospel? A good friend of mine, Evangelist Stewart Payne, was exposed to the Tongues Movement shortly before he was saved. Here is his reaction:

I knew I was going to hell, but I didn't know what to do about it. I was searching and I felt the answer would be in the Bible, but I wouldn't read it. I was raised in the Lutheran church and in the United Church of Canada, so the Bible was virtually a closed book to me. In my search, never one time did someone witness to me or hand me a gospel tract.

During this time a lady whom I had dated found out that I was thinking of spiritual things, and she suddenly became very religious. She invited me to a Kenneth Copeland meeting. Nothing that was said or done in that service did anything to bring conviction to me or make plain the way of salvation. It was all flesh and emotion and foolishness.

Later she invited me to a Full Gospel Business Men's Association meeting where Demas Shakarian was speaking. Before the meeting even started, I heard a voice off to one side of the crowd saying something over and over, as well as louder and louder, but I was unable to distinguish any understandable words. I thought it must be someone who had escaped the mental hospital or who needed to go to one. I was wondering if I ought to go help the man out of the service when silence came and the man on the platform issued a short prayer. I learned later that this had been my first encounter with the devil's tongues movement and so-called interpretation.

I don't recall any Bible being quoted or used during the service. Shakarian said he went to the hospital to visit someone and God was in it, because the patient was so happy to see him and then he wept for 10 minutes. (When I was a lost man in the hospital with a broken leg ANYBODY could have come to see me day or night, and I would have been glad to see them!)

Then he reminisced about a time when he was in need of money. He opened his mail and there was a check for $10, and then he wept for a while longer. I wasn't a church goer, and I knew that I sometimes received money in the mail. When I did attend a dead church service I could make more sense out of what was being said than all this emotional hype.

The next thing I knew, all the men were getting out of their seats and going to the front. There was no clear invitation or Bible message, no Holy Spirit conviction. I'd had enough of this foolishness, so I just remained in my seat. But when I looked around I was surrounded with women, and it was very evident that I was out of place. So I rose to my feet and followed the men to the front. While I was up there in that line, I experienced the scariest time I had faced in my entire life. I already knew I was on my way to hell, and I didn't know what to do about it. In this huge line of men they were talking, chanting, pulling, even frothing at the mouths. I couldn't think; it seemed to be coming at me from every direction. The closest thing I had ever known to this was the heathen discos where the strobe lights are flashing and the music is loud and it seems to be just a mass of bodies and noise and flashing lights.

While I was in this line, I began to feel angry at God for getting me into this mess, and when I realized what I was thinking a great fear swept over me. I wondered if, perhaps, this kind of carrying on really could be of God. I broke into a sweat and silently prayed, God, if You'll get me through this night, tomorrow I'll go to my friend at work and see if this is really from You. I knew that he would show me the Bible, and I was sure I could trust the Bible. After I'd settled this in my heart, a peace came over me and I was able to watch and listen until the whole mess of confusion was over. The next day I did ask him, and he showed me enough from the Bible to satisfy me that this kind of thing was unscriptural. But still he never showed me how to get saved.

This same lady whom I had met at the dance, who drank and partied, got me to go to one more meeting with her. It was a regular service in a Charismatic church. The service had hardly begun, and they started their wild music. I was accustomed to the beat, since the disco had been a big part of my life. They were chanting and running down the aisles. Again, no Bible, no message, just confusion and madness. I determined that this was my last time to have any connection with churches of this sort. I had been to 3 different services. I had been scared to death. I had been disgusted with the emotional outbursts, the wild mass of confusion and noise, and the senseless gibberish. And the one thing I had come for I never received. No one ever gave me a clear message of how to be saved.

As before stated, this passage in 1 Corinthians is not speaking of ecstatic utterances as Charismatics today insist. They were known languages spoken by travelers and well-educated believers in this busy seaport. The result, however, would be the same among the uneducated if they were to come into a church service where people were standing up preaching or praying in many languages with which they were unfamiliar. They would feel out of place, leave without any spiritual help whatsoever, and probably think that everybody in the place had gone crazy. Paul explained this as support for his teaching that the services of the church should be conducted in the tongue of the common people - only.

But if all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all: And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth (verses 24-25). On the contrary, if the same person were to come in and hear the truth of the scripture in a language he could understand, it would bring conviction upon his heart and help him. For all to prophesy does not necessarily mean that each person gets up to speak publicly. They may prophesy by saying AMEN to the preaching. This will bring conviction to the unbeliever as he realizes that the preacher is not the only one who believes what he is preaching. The more amens he hears, the more conviction it brings, and the more credible the message is to him.

How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying (verse 26). If everyone insists on being before the people in every service, all having something to do publicly, it results in chaos. It also points out the fact that some people must be doing their thing for show and self-exaltation rather than for the edification of others.

If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret. But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God (verses 27-28). Paul left instruction for the exception when it might be necessary for someone to speak in the service who is unskilled in the language of the people. He said there should not be more than two, and at the very most three in a service. They must speak one at a time, with an interpreter to relay the message to the congregation. If there is no one present who is capable of interpreting in that language, the messenger must remain silent, no matter how needed he may consider his message to be.

For example, if a person who speaks only Portuguese comes to a service, he can understand himself and God can understand him, but no one else can. So he is instructed to speak to himself and to God. He is not to speak publicly unless an interpreter can make the message understandable to the assembly.

Paul also gave guidelines for the number of preachers to deliver a message in a service. Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge (v. 29). Let the preachers do the speaking, not the whole congregation. Even the preachers should limit themselves to two or three speaking per service. The statement let the others judge, does not indicate they are to critique, but to come to a conclusion or verdict as would a judge in a courtroom from the evidence and testimony presented to him.

If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace. For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted (verses 30-31). All the preachers may preach one by one, (but only two or three per service) and the result of their preaching will be that all learn and are comforted.

And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints (verses 32-33). This does away with the popular excuse for misconduct in the church I just couldn't help myself. The Spirit took control. The Bible says clearly that the spirits of the preachers are under the control of the preachers, so they can't blame their unscriptural practices on the Lord.

The Holy Spirit is not a seducing Spirit. He does not seize control, but accepts what we yield. When the Holy Spirit is in control of my life, He will bear His fruit in my life; one of which is temperance, or self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23) If a spirit does take over then it is not the Holy Spirit. That does away with getting slain in the spirit, and about 99% of the testimonies of ecstatic tongues. This warm feeling came over me and I had no control. If the Holy Spirit had nothing to do with it, I wonder what kind of a spirit is in control? This is not of God.

Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church (verses 34-35). Paul rebuked the Corinthian church for all sorts of unscriptural practices in the church, and one was female dominance in church services and church government.

God NEVER calls a woman to pastor a church or to assume authority over the men in any way. As only Joe Boyd could say it, "God never called a rooster to lay an egg, and He never called a hen to crow." Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence (1 Timothy 2:11-12). For a movement that claims to have a special handle on this passage of scripture, the Charismatics have certainly missed the high points of 1 Corinthians 14! The Charismatic movement has scores of women preachers who don't seem to notice that they are in direct opposition to the Word of God.

Women are commanded not to teach the congregation when men are present, and since 1 Corinthians 14 is dealing specifically with the Tongues issue, it is plain that where scriptural tongues are needed (the use of other languages with the help of a qualified interpreter), it is not permitted unto them to speak. Even if they were not so terribly mistaken about what Tongues are in the Bible, they would still be guilty of error because a very high percentage of tongue-speaking episodes are experienced by the women rather than the men. This is not Biblical, and therefore the Holy Spirit could not possibly have anything to do with it.

What? came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only? (verse 36). Paul asked the Corinthians, Do you people think that you have a corner on the Word of God? I have met hundreds of Charismatics at the door while soulwinning, and they all seem to be sure that if you aren't what they are, you aren't anything. They are convinced that they understand the Bible and no one else does. Does your church have the Holy Ghost? they always ask. Yes - we are seeking to follow the leadership of the real One!

If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord (verse 37). Paul is reminding and reaffirming that he has, as an apostle, the God-ordained authority to rebuke the church and set matters straight as he does throughout this entire epistle. He rests his case as having settled the tongues issue scripturally.

Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues. Let all things be done decently and in order (verses 39-40). Paul's final exhortation is to covet to prophesy, since God has placed His premium on preaching. He said not to forbid speaking in foreign languages, provided that it is needed and practiced in accordance with the rules laid out in verses 18, 19, 27, and 28.

The key to the entire chapter is the closing verse, Let all things be done decently and in order. The word decently means "gracefully, becomingly, in a seemly manner." The word order means "an arrangement, to draw up an order, due order which is in direct contrast to confusion."

A missionary from another land was in the United States on deputation, and visited a church whose members had been swept up in the modern tongues craze. While the people thought that they were glorifying God by their practices, he clearly understood at least one of them cursing God profusely in a language that he had learned on the mission field.

To surrender one's self to a seducing spirit that masquerades as the very Spirit of God and yet is clearly in defiance to the truth of scripture is at best unwise and most likely much more dangerous than we could begin to understand.

Tongues - To Speak Or Not To Speak? For anyone that is honest and allows the Bible to decide for him, the answer is clear. Today's ecstatic tongues-speaking movement has nothing in common with the scripturally directed use of foreign languages in the church. May God's Word be made plain to expose the falsehood being propagated in the name of Christ in our day.

Used With Permission
From the book:
How To Explain The Modern Day Tongues Phenomena
By Dennis A. Corle.
Copyright 1992. Used with author's permission.
Dennis Corle Evangelistic Association
This book can be ordered from:
Revival Fires!
RD #1, Box 940
Claysburg, PA 16625
(814) 239-2813.

You might also be interested in reading this study:
1 Corinthians 13:12 - Jerry Bouey

Can Thine Heart Endure

Can Thine Heart Endure

"We know not what we should pray for as we ought" (Rom. 8:26).

Much that perplexes us in our Christian experience is but the answer to our prayers. We pray for patience, and our Father sends those who tax us to the utmost; for "tribulation worketh patience."

We pray for submission, and God sends sufferings; for "we learn obedience by the things we suffer."

We pray for unselfishness, and God gives us opportunities to sacrifice ourselves by thinking on the things of others, and by laying down our lives for the brethren.

We pray for strength and humility, and some messenger of Satan torments us until we lie in the dust crying for its removal.

We pray, "Lord, increase our faith," and money takes wings; or the children are alarmingly ill; or a servant comes who is careless, extravagant, untidy or slow, or some hitherto unknown trial calls for an increase of faith along a line where we have not needed to exercise much faith before.

We pray for the Lamb-life, and are given a portion of lowly service, or we are injured and must seek no redress; for "he was led as a lamb to the slaughter and opened not his mouth."

We pray for gentleness, and there comes a perfect storm of temptation to harshness and irritability. We pray for quietness, and every nerve is strung to the utmost tension, so that looking to Him we may learn that when He giveth quietness, no one can make trouble.

We pray for love, and God sends peculiar suffering and puts us with apparently unlovely people, and lets them say things which rasp the nerves and lacerate the heart; for love suffereth long and is kind, love is not impolite, love is not provoked. LOVE BEARETH ALL THINGS, believeth, hopeth and endureth, love never faileth. We pray for likeness to Jesus, and the answer is, "I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction." "Can thine heart endure, or can thine hands be strong?" "Are ye able?"

The way to peace and victory is to accept every circumstance, every trial, straight from the hand of a loving Father; and to live up in the heavenly places, above the clouds, in the very presence of the Throne, and to look down from the Glory upon our environment as lovingly and divinely appointed. --Selected

I prayed for strength, and then I lost awhile
All sense of nearness, human and divine;
The love I leaned on failed and pierced my heart,
The hands I clung to loosed themselves from mine;
But while I swayed, weak, trembling, and alone,
The everlasting arms upheld my own.

I prayed for light; the sun went down in clouds,
The moon was darkened by a misty doubt,
The stars of heaven were dimmed by earthly fears,
And all my little candle flames burned out;
But while I sat in shadow, wrapped in night,
The face of Christ made all the darkness bright.

I prayed for peace, and dreamed of restful ease,
A slumber drugged from pain, a hushed repose;
Above my head the skies were black with storm,
And fiercer grew the onslaught of my foes;
But while the battle raged, and wild winds blew,
I heard His voice and Perfect peace I knew.

I thank Thee, Lord, Thou wert too wise to heed
My feeble prayers, and answer as I sought,
Since these rich gifts Thy bounty has bestowed
Have brought me more than all I asked or thought;
Giver of good, so answer each request
With Thine own giving, better than my best.

--Annie Johnson Flint

(Taken from Streams In The Desert Devotional)

Tried By Fire - Arthur Pink

While I am not a Calvinist, there is so much I have gleaned from several of Arthur W. Pink's writings, such as Comfort For Christians, The Seven Sayings Of The Saviour On The Cross, The Life Of David, and Why Four Gospels? While these particular books are great, please read with discernment and caution.

This short chapter is taken from the book entitled Comfort For Christians, Chapter Six:

Tried by Fire

"But he knoweth the way that I take; when he hath tried me I shall come forth as gold."
Job 23:10

Job here corrects himself. In the beginning of the chapter we find him saying: "Even to day is my complaint bitter: my stroke is heavier than my groaning" (vv. 1, 2). Poor Job felt that his lot was unbearable. But he recovers himself. He checks his hasty outburst and revises his impetuous decision. How often we all have to correct ourselves! Only One has ever walked this earth who never had occasion to do so.

Job here comforts himself. He could not fathom the mysteries of Providence but God knew the way he took. Job had diligently sought the calming presence of God, but, for a time, in vain. Behold I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him. On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him" (vv. 8, 9). But he consoled himself with this blessed fact - though I cannot see God, what is a thousand times better, He can see me - "He knoweth." One above is neither unmindful nor indifferent to our lot. If He notices the fall of a sparrow, if He counts the hairs of our heads, of course "He knows" the way that I take.

Job here enunciates a noble view of life. How splendidly optimistic he was! He did not allow his afflictions to turn him into a skeptic. He did not permit the sore trials and troubles through which he was passing to overwhelm him. He looked at the bright side of the dark cloud - God's side, hidden from sense and reason. He took a long view of life. He looked beyond the immediate " fiery trials" and said that the outcome would be gold refined. "But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me I shall come forth as gold." Three great truths are expressed here: let us briefly consider each separately.

1. The Divine Knowledge of My Life

"He knoweth the way that I take." The omniscience of God is one of the wondrous attributes of Deity. "For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings" (Job 34:21). "The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good (Prov. 15:3). Spurgeon said, "One of the greatest tests of experimental religion is, What is my relationship to God's omniscience?" What is your relationship to it, dear reader? How does it affect you? Does it distress or comfort you? Do you shrink from the thought of God knowing all about your way? perhaps, a lying, selfish, hypocritical way! To the sinner this is a terrible thought. He denies it, or if not, he seeks to forget it. But to the Christian, here is real comfort. How cheering to remember that my Father knows all about my trials, my difficulties, my sorrows, my efforts to glorify Him. Precious truth for those in Christ, harrowing thought for all out of Christ, that the way I am taking is fully known to and observed by God.

"He knoweth the way that I take." Men did not know the way that Job took. He was grievously misunderstood, and for one with a sensitive temperament to be misunderstood, is a sore trial. His very friends thought he was a hypocrite. They believed he was a great sinner and being punished by God. Job knew that he was an unworthy saint, but not a hypocrite. He appealed against their censorious verdict. "He knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me I shall come forth as gold." Here is instruction for us when like circumstanced. Fellow-believer, your fellow-men, yes, and your fellow Christians, may misunderstand you, and misinterpret God's dealings with you: but console yourself with the blessed fact that the omniscient One knows.

"He knoweth the way that I take." In the fullest sense of the word Job himself did not know the way that he took, nor do any of us. Life is profoundly mysterious, and the passing of the years offer no solution. Nor does philosophizing help us. Human volition is a strange enigma. Consciousness bears witness that we are more than automatons. The power of choice is exercised by us in every move we make. And yet it is plain that our freedom is not absolute. There are forces brought to bear upon us, both good and evil, which are beyond our power to resist. Both heredity and environment exercise powerful influences upon us. Our surroundings and circumstances are factors which cannot be ignored. And what of providence which "shapes our destinies"? Ah, how little do we know the way which we "take." Said the prophet, "O LORD I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps (Jer. 10:23). Here we enter the realm of mystery, and it is idle to deny it. Better far to acknowledge with the wise man, "Man's goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way?" (Prov. 20:24).

In the narrower sense of the term Job did know the way which he took. What that "way" was he tells us in the next two verses. "My foot hath held his steps. his way have I kept, and not declined. Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food" (Job 23:11, 12). The way Job chose was the best way, the scriptural way, God's way - "His way." What do you think of that way, dear reader? Was it not a grand selection? Ah, not only "patient," but wise Job! Have you made a similar choice? Can you say, My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined?" (v. 11). If you can, praise Him for His enabling grace. If you cannot, confess with shame your failure to appropriate His all-sufficient grace. Get down on your knees at once, and unbosom yourself to God. Hide and keep back nothing. Remember it is written "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). Does not verse 12 explain your failure, my failure, dear reader? Is it not because we have not trembled before God's commandments, and because we have so lightly esteemed His Word, that we have "declined" from His way! Then let us, even now, and daily, seek grace from on high to heed His commandments and hide His Word in our hearts.

"He knoweth the way that I take." Which way are you taking? - the Narrow Way which leadeth unto life, or - the Broad Road that leadeth to destruction? Make certain on this point, dear friend. Scripture declares, "So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God" (Rom. 14:12). But you need not be deceived or uncertain. The Lord declared, "I am The Way" (John 14:6).

2. Divine Testing

"When he hath tried me." "The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts" (Prov. 17:3). This was God's way with Israel of old, and it is His way with Christians now. Just before Israel entered Canaan, as Moses reviewed their history since leaving Egypt, he said, "And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, and to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldst keep his commandments, or no" (Deut. 8:2). In the same way God tries, tests, proves, humbles us.

"When he hath tried me." If we realized this more, we should bear up better in the hour of affliction and be more patient under suffering. The daily irritations of life, the things which annoy so much - what is their meaning? why are they permitted? Here is the answer: God is "trying" you! That is the explanation (in part, at least) of that disappointment, that crushing of your earthly hopes, that great loss; God was, is,  testing you. God is trying your temper, your courage, your faith, your patience, your love, your fidelity.

"When he hath tried me." How frequently God's saints see only Satan as the cause of their troubles. They regard the great enemy as responsible for much of their sufferings. But there is no comfort for the heart in this. We do not deny that the Devil does bring about much that harasses us. But above Satan is the Lord Almighty! The Devil cannot touch a hair of our heads without God's permission, and when he is allowed to disturb and distract us, even then it is only God using him to "try" us. Let us learn then, to look beyond all secondary causes and instruments to that One who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will (Eph. 1:11). This is what Job did.

In the opening chapter of the book which bears his name we find Satan obtaining permission to afflict God's servant. He used the Sabeans to destroy Job's herds (v. 15): he sent the Chaldeans to slay his servants (v. 17): he caused a great wind to kill his children (v. 19). And what was Job's response? This: he exclaimed "The LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD" (1:21). Job looked beyond the human agents, beyond Satan who employed them, to the Lord who controls all. He realized that it was the Lord trying him. We get the same thing in the New Testament. To the suffering saints at Smyrna John wrote, "Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer; behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried" (Rev. 2:10). Their being cast into prison was simply God trying them.

How much we lose by forgetting this! What a stay for the trouble-tossed heart to know that no matter what form the testing may take, no matter what the agent which annoys, it is God who is "trying" His children. What a perfect example the Saviour sets us. When He was approached in the garden and Peter drew his sword and cut off the ear of Malchus, the Saviour said, "The cup which My Father hath given Me, shall I not drink it?" (John 18:11). Men were about to vent their awful rage upon Him, the Serpent would bruise His heel, but He looks above and beyond them. Dear reader, no matter how bitter its contents, (infinitely less than that which the Saviour drained) let us accept the cup as from the Father's hand.

In some moods we are apt to question the wisdom and right of God to try us. So often we murmur at His dispensations. Why should God lay such an intolerable burden upon me? Why should others be spared their loved ones, and mine taken? Why should health and strength, perhaps the gift of sight, be denied me? The first answer to all such questions is, "O man, who art thou that repliest against God?"! It is wicked insubordination for any creature to call into question the dealings of the great Creator. "Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?" (Rom. 9:20). How earnestly each of us need to cry unto God, that His grace may silence our rebellious lips and still the tempest within our desperately wicked hearts!

But to the humble soul which bows in submission before the sovereign dispensations of the all-wise God, Scripture affords some light on the problem. This light may not satisfy reason, but it will bring comfort and strength when received in child-like faith and simplicity. In 1 Pet. 1:6 we read; "Wherein (God's salvation) ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations (or trials): That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ." Note three things here. First, there is a needs-be for the trial of faith. Since God says it, let us accept it. Second, this trying of faith is precious, far more so than of gold. It is precious to God (cf. Ps. 116:15) and will yet be so to us. Third, the present trial has in view the future. Where the trial has been meekly endured and bravely borne, there will be a grand reward at the appearing of our Redeemer.

Again, in 1 Peter 4:12, 13 we are told: "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings: that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy." The same thoughts are expressed here as in the previous passage. There is a needs-be for our "trials" and therefore we are to think them not strange - we should expect them. And, too, there is again the blessed outlook of being richly recompensed at Christ's return. Then there is the added word that not only should we meet these trials with faith's fortitude, but we should rejoice in them, inasmuch as we are permitted to have fellowship in "the sufferings of Christ." He, too, suffered: sufficient then, for the disciple to be as his Master.

"When he hath tried me." Dear Christian reader, there are no exceptions. God had only one Son without sin, but never one without sorrow. Sooner or later, in one form or another, trial-sore and heavy will be our lot. "And sent Timotheus, our brother . . . to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith: That no man should be moved by these afflictions; for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto" (1 Thess. 3:2, 3). And again it is written, "We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22). It has been so in every age. Abram was "tried," tried severely. So, too, were Joseph, Jacob. Moses, David, Daniel, the Apostles, etc.

3. The Ultimate Issue

"I shall come forth as gold." Observe the tense here. Job did not imagine that he was pure gold already. "I shall come forth as gold," he declared. He knew full well that there was yet much dross in him. He did not boast that he was already perfect. Far from it. In the final chapter of his book we find him saying, "I abhor myself" (42:6). And well he might: and well may we. As we discover that in our flesh there dwelleth "no good thing," as we examine ourselves and our ways in the light of God's Word and behold our innumerable failures, as we think of our countless sins, both of omission and commission, good reason have we for abhoring ourselves. Ah, Christian reader, there is much dross about us. But it will not ever be thus.

"I shall come forth as gold." Job did not say, "When he hath tried me I may come forth as gold," or "I hope to come forth as gold," but with full confidence and positive assurance he declared, "I shall come forth as gold." But how did he know this? How can we be sure of the happy issue? Because the Divine purpose cannot fail. He which hath begun a good work in us "will finish it" (Phil. 1:6). How can we be sure of the happy issue? Because the Divine promise is sure: "The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me" (Ps. 138:8). Then be of good cheer, tried and troubled one. The process may be unpleasant and painful, but the issue is charming and sure.

"I shall come forth as gold." This was said by one who knew affliction and sorrow as few among the sons of men have known them. Yet despite his fiery trials he was optimistic. Let then this triumphant language be ours. "I shall come forth as gold" is not the language of carnal boasting, but the confidence of one whose mind was stayed upon God. There will be no credit to our account - the glory will all belong to the Divine Refiner (Jas. 1:12).

For the present there remain two things: first, Love is the Divine thermometer while we are in the crucible of testing "And he shall sit (the patience of Divine grace) as a Refiner and Purifier of silver," etc. (Mal. 3:3). Second, the Lord Himself is with us in the fiery furnace, as He was with the three young Hebrews (Dan. 3:25). For the future this is sure: the most wonderful thing in heaven will not be the golden street or the golden harps, but golden souls on which is stamped the image of God "predestinate[d] to be conformed to the image of his Son!" Praise God for such a glorious prospect, such a victorious issue, such a marvelous goal.

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.

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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

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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

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