Scripture Text: Song of Solomon 6:4-7
Turn away your eyes from me,
for they overwhelm me—
Your hair is like a flock of goats
leaping down the slopes of Gilead.
Song of Solomon 6:5
The everlasting love of God in the Beloved [Christ] is so good to be true for its recipient. That’s why this also must be in the matter of belief or trust in our Christian life. Praises and thanksgiving be unto Him, who has given as the gift of saving faith—For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. The more that we embark ourselves in the privilege of knowing the love of the Beloved, the more that we see how passionate He is in loving us, and the more that it becomes difficult for us to comprehend why we have been given this highest blessedness—to be His beloved. The more that we place every hope in this highest blessedness [recipient of God’s everlasting love], the more that we are being filled with all the fullness of God—for from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. And in the course of Christian life, the love of God in the Lover-Redeemer must be the motivation and goal.
As we carefully look at another glimpse of the love of the Beloved [Christ], in the continuation of the poem, here we see the beauty of the nature of this everlasting love again. Coming in the previous situation, after the Maiden [Church] showed how depraved and undeserving she is (inconsistent devotion and love for the Beloved [Christ]), giving way in her indolence, thus showing her own folly, we see the Beloved [Christ] gathering lilies to show His love for her. Now we move again on how He, the Lover-Redeemer, delights in loving His bride [Church]! As we focus on vv. 4-5, this is a rare and poetic way of how God loves us so much in Christ [the Beloved]: “You are beautiful as Tirzah, my love, lovely as Jerusalem, awesome as an army with banners. Turn away your eyes from me, for they overwhelm me— Your hair is like a flock of goats leaping down the slopes of Gilead (vv. 4-5)”. Here, we see how flattered the beloved is in his bride, and how excited he is in the love of the maiden, and ultimately in loving her. This shows as well the very heart of the Beloved [Christ]—steadfast at its best! So passionate and pure, so holy and glorious! The Lover-Redeemer of our soul loves us so much, that He is excited when we give to Him what is due to Him—to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul! Let it penetrate your heart, dear saint, that every sincere prayer and devotion you give, every intimate acquainting in His every word you do, every act of giving praises to His name, gives so much delight to Him, who has loved you with an everlasting love! And His perfection, namely, Him, being holy and glorious, deserves all the love and affection that we can ever give with our whole being! Having this knowledge produces a heart cry that is so loud—bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!
No wonder why it should really be the highest aim and be counted as our greatest privilege, that you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength! How amazing it is that He, who is infinitely holy and glorious, delights in what our feeble hands can give, where our stumbling feet can take us for Him, what our little minds can comprehend about His truthfulness, and what our broken hearts can offer to Him—a love being learned in Him. Keep in mind, dear saint: we love because he first loved us.
The real believer’s heart is awakened to perceive the wonders of God in the person of our Lover-Redeemer, Jesus Christ! From there, we learn to enthusiastically acclaim, oh taste and see that the LORD is good!
He who does not want know more of Him, knows nothing of Him yet…
Hear this then, dear saint! We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the first fruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.
Desire communion with Him, who has loved us eternally! Thirst and long for Him! Be in awe of Him, the darling of Heaven! He is all yours… He is all-perfect, all-holy, all-glorious and all-happy! Be exceedingly joyous in being His beloved. If you have truly seen Him, then He is your exceeding joy.
Nobody loves you like He does…
Christ is all that we have! Christ is all that we need!
Take heart, dear saint!
Reflect
1. Do you consider as your highest blessedness, to be loved by the Beloved [Christ]?
2. Do you really desire and long to love Him more, as you ought to be?
Remember
Once we refuse to live our lives in intimacy with Christ, everything in Christian life becomes bitter and dull. There will be no enjoyment of the grace that satisfies the weary soul, the mercy that ignites the troubled heart, and the love that makes everything anew. Dwell, therefore, in the very heart of the loveliest Being, the Beloved [Christ]!
Read
1 John 4:9-10
Pray
Father in heaven, I come before You in the Name of Your Son, praising and thanking You for the love that You have loved me in Him. In this same love, Father, I ask You of one thing: that I may behold Him, whom You have given to me as my greatest and only needed portion, more and more. That I may be filled with all Your fullness in Him. Father, fill me with a greater perception of Your glories in Him, and make me apprehend Your excellencies in Him, who has qualified me to share in the coming glory. Father, please take my divided heart, and seal it to His heart, that I may really love Him, as I ought to be. I praise and thank Him, in whose name I pray, Amen.
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