Sermons, Articles, and Other Things

This is the final poem in the overall Song. In verse 5, we have a question from observers about a chariot in which two lovers are relaxing. Then in verses 6 and 7, we get to hear what they are saying to one another. It looks to me that the poem is a continuation of the previous one in which the King and the woman went for a tour of the countryside. Now they are returning together. The wilderness describes uncultivated areas round the city to which they are travelling. The first comment that we can make is that the travelling has strengthened the affection of the woman. We can see this is the case from her posture, which the observers can eas1ly see. She has visited several of the King’s properties with him and the effect is that she now enjoys his love. This is a good picture of what happens to believers when they visit the means of grace with Jesus. The outcome for them is greater assurance of his love for them. The conversation The King speaks in verse 5b. He refers to ...

We are still looking at the poem which began in 5:2 and runs until 8:4. As we have seen , the woman had been dilatory in allowing the King into her house, but she recovered her place of nearness to the King in his garden when she went there with her friends, the daughters of Jerusalem. We observed that in the poem two descriptions are given of her return: one is by herself and she mentions the various steps that she took – personal searching, correction from the watchmen and interaction with the daughters of Jerusalem (5:5–6:10); the other is by the King and his earnest desire, spoken with power, that she should return (6:11-13). The obvious question now is, what will she do now that she has returned? That question is answered in the section from 7:1 to 8:4. It is that she dances for the King and then she and the King go away together. Appreciation (7:1-9) The King describes her dancing in 7:1-9. It is common in the Bible for women to dance during occasions of joy. Basically d...

Prior to this address of the King, the woman had engaged in a search for him after losing contact with him because of lethargy. The process of re-finding him had involved personal calling, correction by the watchmen and the wise questions of the daughters of Jerusalem about what she thought of the King and where she thought he was. She and they had gone to his garden of rest to find him. It is not too difficult to find parallels in the way a lethargic believer recovers warmth in his relationship with Jesus. But what does Jesus think of the recovered disciple? We get an insight in the words of the king to his beloved in verses 1-9. Here we can see an example of progress in assurance. The woman had been told she was the fairest among women by the daughters of Jerusalem. They had given this estimation because they observed her as she sought for the King. Similarly, other believers can give encouragement to a returning backslider by commenting on his or her graces. But the restored ...

In the previous poem, the King and his beloved were together in one of his gardens. Now they are separated and she is in her own house again. The differences in the poems depict for us the various experiences of the Christian life. In this new poem, the woman is in bed when the king comes calling and asks to see her. The initial response of the woman is reluctance to get up because she will have to get dressed. Yet she has strong affections for him and even when she heard him touch the handle she was thrilled. Therefore, she arose, put fragrances on her hands, and opened the door. To her great surprise and sorrow, he was gone. This caused her to engage in a process of finding him. It is not too difficult for us to apply this to the Christian life. Jesus can come to visit us at any time. Like the King in the poem, he says many loving things to us and he can mention the effects of the journey he has made in order to get to us. All of his comments are encouraging. Yet we are in a s...

Another poem in the Song begins at 4:1 and runs to 5:1. The King speaks in verses 1-11, and there is an interaction between the King and his beloved in verse 12 onwards. The words of the King in verses 1-11 divide into two obvious sections: verses 1-7 is a description of the woman and verses 8-11 are an invitation from him to her to go to another location. Verse 12 onwards are a discussion based on the invitation. So we have description, invitation and discussion. The Description The King begins by telling his beloved that she is beautiful. Indeed, he says it twice. Why would he say it twice? One reason would be the pleasure he receives from looking at her; another reason would be his awareness that she might have doubted that she was beautiful in his eyes. After all, as the King, he could have the best, and she may not have regarded herself in that way. We know that Jesus has pleasure from observing his people, and we know that he wants to deal graciously with any personal fe...

The link between this poem and the previous one is the role of the watchmen, the individuals who guarded the city and who also were on the lookout for individuals or groups approaching the city. In the previous poem, they gave guidance to the woman as she searched for the King. In this poem, they describe the arrival of a carriage and also encourage the daughters of Zion to go and meet the carriage. This does not mean that they are watchmen in the same place, merely that there are watchmen in both poems. The question arises, who is in the carriage? Obviously, Solomon is in the carriage. Is anyone else in it? We should assume that his bride is in it because he has just come from his wedding. So it looks that we have here is a carriage surrounded by suitable guards making its way to the city of Jerusalem. Inside the carriage are Solomon and the one he loves. That is the picture. Of course, it cannot be a description of a literal wedding because that would suggest that the inhabita...

What do we do when we lose something valuable? Normally we would search for it very carefully and very quickly. Perhaps the story that Jesus told about the woman who lost one of her ten coins comes to mind. The reality often is that seeking for what has been lost becomes the main priority for us. What happens, however, when we don’t start looking for what we have lost? Usually we become content with the circumstances and perhaps even forget what we once had. Is this what happened to the church in Ephesus as described in Revelation 2? They had lost their first love, which was a tragic situation, but what is also tragic is that they had become content without it. No one would have noticed because they kept on doing what churches do. But they were now on a road to spiritual disaster unless they changed. What happened to them as a church could only occur because of what had happened to them as individuals. A new poem begins here and it is a short one of five verses. To begin...