LIFE AND BUILDING AS REVEALED IN SONG OF SONGS - 2

Message Title: Eight Stages of Growth in Life

God loves life, and God wants something living. It is life, through life and with life, that God can accomplish His purpose. therefore, we need life to grow within us, and we need to mature in life. 

though we all know the Lord's coming is inminent, how is the Lord coming and when is the Lord coming back? the Lord is coming back to marry a bride, and this bride has to be mature. for these two thousand years, the Lord has been waiting for His people to grow in life, so that they can become His matured Bride to match Him. 

I. A family of description with eight figures to describe the seeking one

1. horse among Pharaoh's chariots

Song of Songs 1:9 I compare you, my love, / To a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots.

like this seeking one of the Lord in this book, we are also seeking the Lord, but like the horse of Pharaoh's chariot, we may still be dragging the whole world behind us. we love the Lord in such a strong and natural way like a wild horse. because we love the Lord, we want to do so many things for the Lord. but have we checked with the Lord about this? we may think these things are all good, but does the Lord also think like us ? or the Lord may have different thoughts. 

2. the dove's eyes

Song of Songs 1:15 Oh, you are beautiful, my love! / Oh, you are beautiful! Your eyes are like doves.

3. a lily

Song of Songs 2:2 As a lily among thorns, / So is my love among the daughters.

a lily is weak and fragile, which is a progression from a wild and strong horse. in Matthew chapter 6, the Lord talks about the lily, being not anxious, not spinning, but dressed by God in a beautiful way. the lily signifies a life trusting in God. we, the seeking ones of the Lord, should be like lily, live on the earth, but no by the earth, by trusting in our Lord. 

4. a dove

Song of Songs 2:14 My dove, in the clefts of the rock, / In the covert of the precipice, / Let me see your countenance, / Let me hear your voice; / For your voice is sweet, / And your countenance is lovely.

here, the seeker progresses again, from the dove's eyes, but to a complete, a whole dove. but after this stage, there is a long period of time before the seeker moves on to the next stage, while the seeker is hiding in the cleft of the rock, in the covert of the precipice. this is the way, by the cross and in the Lord's ascension, for us to be transformed and conformed, so that we can progress in the stages of life. so we need to spend time under the cross of Christ and in the ascension of Christ. all these elements, today, are included in the all-inclusive Spirit. Hymn 553 says "in the secret of His presence, how my soul delights to hide!" 

5. pillars of smoke

Song of Songs 3:6 Who is she who comes up from the wilderness / Like pillars of smoke, / Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, / With all the fragrant powders of the merchant?

this is a strong pillar, but a pillar of smoke, which means strong but pliable. we need to be strong to stand for the Lord's interest. the apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 3 says that the church is the pillar of truth. so today, we all need stand strong as such a pillar for God's testimony. 

6. Solomon's bed

Song of Songs 3:7 There is Solomon’s bed; / Sixty mighty men surround it, / Of the mighty men of Israel.

As a bed, Christ’s lover is the victory of the overcoming Christ, full of the power of the overcomers among God’s elect that carries Christ even in times of difficulties. today, the spiritual warfare is much strongers than before. this world is now heading toward corruption and destruction. there is the need much more for some people who will stand firm for the Lord. the world with its value system has changed dramatically in recent 50 years. this is because the satanic forces have been working behind the scene. 

7. a palanquin

Song of Songs 3:9 King Solomon made himself a palanquin / Of the wood of Lebanon.

a palanquin is a carriage in the ancient time, to carry royal people during day time for movement. now the seeker has become a moving vessel to carry the Lord the King. God has a move on the earth, and God is moving within His people, the church. Christ now is the Spirit living in our spirit, which means that we have become the palanquin to carry the Spirit for His move. He moves in our move, and we move for His move. 

8. Solomon's crown 

Song of Songs 3:11 Go forth, O daughters of Zion, / And look at King Solomon with the crown / With which his mother crowned him / On the day of his espousals, / Yes, on the day of the gladness of his heart.

the humanity given to Christ was His crown. and this uplifeted and resurrected humanity was given to us to transform us in our human living, then we become His crown . 

II. When the seeking one was like a horse loving the Lord, she was full of her own opinions. Even as a little dove, she still had a certain kind of personality. However, when she becomes the pillars, the bed, the palanquin, and the crown, she has lost all her personality by being permeated with the myrrh and frankincense, the death and resurrection of Christ

The union of the bed with its sleeper (vv.7-8), the union of the palanquin with its rider (vv. 9-10), and the union of the bride with her bridegroom (v.11) all signify the complete union of the lover with Christ, which has made her God’s new creation in Christ’s resurrection (2 Cor. 5:17). Now she only expresses the personality of Christ in His rest and in His move. The is the way for us to take Christ as our life. It is by loving Him as our Person, enjoying Him as our satisfaction, and experiencing Him in so many ways that we may become His full expression.