Jesus throughout the Scriptures: Wisdom Literature (7)
Pray Psalm 27.4-6.
One thing I have desired of the LORD,
That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the LORD
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the LORD,
And to inquire in His temple.
For in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me;
He shall set me high upon a rock.
And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me;
Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD.
Sing Psalm 27.4-6.
(St. Denio: Immortal, Invisible God Only Wise)
One thing we request but to dwell with You, LORD.
Your beauty to test and to think on Your Word.
In trouble You hide us secure in Your grace;
no foe may o’erride us: We sing of Your praise.
Read Song of Songs 4.1-16; meditate on verse 16.
Preparation
1. How do we know that Solomon loves his beloved?
2. How does she respond to his love?
Meditation
In 1962, Swiss theologian Karl Barth, one of the greatest theological minds of the modern period, visited Princeton Theological Seminary to speak. Few remember anything that Barth said in that formal time of instruction. But in a press meeting afterwards, a journalist asked Barth to summarize the most significant and important theological truth he has come to know. Here is his answer, in full:
“Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”
Solomon’s description of his beloved in our text expresses the depths and strength of his love and desire for his beloved. Her response, in verse 16, shows us just how delighted she was to know of his great love for her.
Solomon saw his bride as “fair”, “fair” (v. 1). She had ravished his heart (v. 9), and he regarded her as beautiful and most desirable. Hearing this pledge of love, the bride calls on the winds from north and south to bring out all her beauty as she prepares to give herself entirely to her king (v. 16). His deep, desiring love for his bride led her to give all her love back to him.
Jesus loves you. Do you know? How will you devote yourself to Him today?
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
How different this beautiful love Song of his youth is from Solomon’s waning years:
“dove’s eyes…hair like a flock…teeth…every one bears twins, and none is barren among them” as compared to “the grinders cease because they are few…those that look through the windows grow dim…and desire fails” (Eccl. 12.3-5). Living “under the sun” and not “under the heavens” takes its toll.
Solomon’s extraordinary love for the Shulamite woman seemed like the love of a lifetime; however, we know from Scripture that Solomon loved many foreign women, even though God warned that they would turn away his heart after their gods. And instead of following God’s wisdom, he eventually had seven hundred wives, three hundred concubines, who sure enough turned his heart away.
“For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods;
and his heart was not loyal to the LORD his God…” (1 Kgs. 11.1-4).
This should serve as a warning for those of us who love the Lord Jesus, as Solomon initially loved the Shulamite woman. Had Solomon done what he warned his children to do: “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life” (Prov. 4.23), and had he guided his heart in the way (Prov. 23.19), he would not have ended up following other gods and leaving the beloved Shulamite to find her way amidst a thousand other women.
Jesus said, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back,
is fit for the kingdom of God” (Lk. 9.62).
We never want to be unfaithful to our beautiful Savior.
We want Him to know of our love every moment of every day.
We know that He has told us how to do this:
“If you love Me, keep My commandments” (Jn. 14.15).
“You are My friends if you do whatever I command you” (Jn. 15.14).
“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,
baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you;
and lo, I AM with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28.18-20).
Jesus loves us faithfully and truly. Always the same—without change.
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb. 13.8).
He has vowed to us: “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb. 13.5).
Nothing will separate us from the love of Christ (Rom. 8.35).
Gloriously wedded to Him,
we pray always that God will find us worthy of this calling,
that we will fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness
and the work of faith with power,
that the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, our beloved,
may be glorified in us, and us in Him,
according to the grace of our God
and the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thess. 1.11, 12).
Who graciously, faithfully, and mercifully loves us.
Reflection
1. How do you experience the love of Jesus throughout the day?
2. How would you explain what it means to love Jesus to an unsaved friend? Why do we love Him? How?
3. Whom will you encourage today to know more of the love of Jesus?
Christ’s heart is upon his church; his treasure is therein; and he delights in the affection she has for him; its working in the heart, and its works in the life. The odors wherewith the spouse is perfumed, are as the gifts and graces of the Spirit. Love and obedience to God are more pleasing to Christ than sacrifice or incense. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Song of Songs 4.8-15
Pray Psalm 27.7-13.
Pray that the Lord will renew and deepen your experience of His love for you, that you may know Him with you always, strengthening, guiding, and transforming you into His beauty.
Sing Psalm 27.7-13.
(St. Denio: Immortal, Invisible God Only Wise)
Hear, LORD, when we cry and be gracious, we pray!
LORD, do not deny us Your favor this day!
Our help, our salvation, though others may fall,
preserve our good station when on You we call.
LORD, teach us; LORD, lead us because of our foes!
Hear, LORD, when we plead for release from their woes.
Had we not believed all Your goodness to see,
our heart sorely grieved and in turmoil would be.
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest this week: Read Moore (from the book, Revived!); from Crosfigell, “He Knows What He’s Doing”, on the work of the Holy Spirit; and “More of Jesus” from our ReVision series, “Pray for Your Church.” And new in our bookstore, Let God Be True and Enjoying God, both free to download and share.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
