Title: Saved from Wintery Mountains
Text: SOS 2: 8-15
Date: May 6, 2012
Place: SGBC, New Jersey
Our winter has not been terribly cold or snowy, not like the winter before. But having had a few warm spring days followed by cold and cloudy days we are all looking forward for spring to arrive and stay.
I came across a passage this week that spoke to my heart. It speaks of the reviving that our Lord Jesus Christ brings with his gracious presence after the long winter of trial and what seems like separation from him.
Song of Solomon is a beautiful song of Christ’s love for his bride, the church, and of his brides love for Christ. But we will look at this as the reviving Christ brings to the believer personally. You will get the picture immediately.
Our trials are often dark, and long, and cold like winter. We feel separated from our Redeemer.
These wintery trials bring us to long for Christ, to call for him, to desire his reviving and communion with him. Then something happens.
I. WE HEAR THE VOICE OF CHRIST!
Song of Solomon 2: 8: The voice of my beloved!
Believer’s long to hear a word from our beloved. When the cold winter trial comes on—we listen more intently, we seek more intently to hear the Voice of Christ. Then through the coldness we hear it! The Holy Spirit pierces through the chill of winter and our heart begins to warm at the sound of Christ’s Voice. It is my beloved! Speaking to me personally!
Notice how the Lord approaches in verse 8:…behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills. 9: My beloved is like a roe or a young hart. The one to whom the Lord comes is HIS beloved! She was given to him to be his bride. He redeemed her by his precious blood. He everlastingly loves her. You have been long in this dreary winter but the Lord has produced exactly what he purposed.
The mountains and hills have been too high for you. They are mountains of division separating you from communion with your Beloved Redeemer: mountains such as our sins and doubts, our temptations and fears. But the Lord Jesus comes leaping upon those mountains of division and skips over them as he approaches—as easily as a young deer!
Dear believer, are you in love with Christ? If so it is because he first loved you; if so it is because Christ did everything necessary to remove every obstacle between you and he; if so it is because Christ came and saved you when you were without strength, an enemy in your mind by wicked works. The winter of trial is as necessary as those first blasts of conversion, but if the Spirit of God has made all your hope to be Christ, don’t despair in the winter.
Romans 5: 10: For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
Romans 8: 35: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Believer, be sure you get this--there is no winter cold enough—as the old song goes “ain’t no mountain high enough”. No winter can chill his love. No mountain of division is tall enough to separate us from the love of God in Christ.
II. SO FIRST WE HEAR HIS VOICE THEN HE REVEALS HIMSELF TO BE VERY NEAR
Song of Solomon 2: 9:..behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice.
Christ Jesus is always near. But at first when he makes his presence known in our hearts we do not see him without something between us—He standeth behind OUR wall— shewing himself through the lattice.
Illustration: Looking through lattice.
You do not see wholly but you do see in part. In providence, we may not see him completely, but we do see him in parts. In his word, we do see him, but we see in part--we see through a glass darkly—as it is here—through the lattice. We are yet in our flesh—the wall is OUR wall—it is the wall we built—it is the wall the trial was sent to tear down
But here is our consolation—HE sees US CLEARLY--he looketh forth at the windows. When he speaks, when he draws near, he makes our hearts long for him…and Christ looks upon the heart into which he has put his love—Peter said, Lord thou knowest. He seeth in secret—he sees and knows and hears the very longings of our hearts for him in the midst of these wintery trials---he put those longings in our hearts by his Spirit. When we grow cold and indifferent—he puts those secrets longings back in our hearts—by removing himself just enough to make us cry out to him.
III. SO HE HAS MADE US HEAR HIS VOICE, HE HAS MADE IT KNOWN HE IS NEAR, THEN AGAIN HE CALLS TO US—BUT THIS TIME HE CALLS US TO HIMSELF
Song of Solomon 2: 10: My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.
Rise up! You’ve been hiding yourself in your own bed trying to warm yourself under carnal blankets. But now its time to awake from that carnal comfort, time to rise up and leave that false security…and come away with me, he says!
Rise up, My love, my fair one? Could your Beloved really be talking to you? You’ve felt the cold stormy wind of the law. You’ve been pelted with ice and sleet of your own sin and rebellion. Your own indifference and worldliness and neglect of his means of grace had caused a mountain of division in your cold heart. You think surely Christ is not calling me ‘MY LOVE”.
Have you ever been there? Remember brethren, the seasons change, the weather changes, the climate changes, but the love of Christ for his beloved never changes!
Jeremiah 31:3: The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.
Therefore he not only expresses into your heart that he loves you but he spreads his love in your heart so as to make you know you are “his only one and only!”—“MY love”
You say, “But in the snow and the ice of this bitter winter trial, I’ve lost my footing, I’ve slipped and fallen and I’ve become muddy and filthy, surely he must not be speaking to me?” But you heard him right the first time, he said, “My FAIR one!” For what tongue will condemn you and say otherwise”
Isaiah 54: 17:…[your] righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.
· Christ fulfilled the law for his bride
· Christ satisfied justice for his bride
· Christ clothed you who he has called by his Spirit in his snow white garments of righteousness, he says,
Song of Solomon 4: 7: Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.
IV. THEN HE COMFORTS US SO THAT WE CAN WE DO NOTHING ELSE BUT WILLINGLY ARISE AND FOLLOW HIM
Song of Solomon 2: 11: For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;
The long winter trial has served its purpose.
1 Corinthians 10: 13:…God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
Just as he did when he first began a work of grace in your heart, just as he has done in each trial of since, just at the right time Christ the Way comes with his healing rays, whispering, “Rise, my love, my fair one, come away with me. For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; I’ve brought forth the fruit in you that I purposed to bring forth by the long cold winter.”
Song of Solomon 2: 12: The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle [dove] is heard in our land; 13: The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
And you think to yourself, but all I did was cry like a lonesome, turtle dove because I longed to be in the safe arms of Christ my Beloved Rock! Christ says, “O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock.” (Sos 2: 14)
You say, “But my beloved, all I did was go away to a closet beneath the stairs and mourn for you like a lonesome dove for her mate, night and day, I found no rest, I longed for you like Noah’s dove longed to return to the ark.” And Christ says, “O my dove, that art in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.” (SoS 2: 14)
Brethren, the trial is always to turn us to him. When he brings us to long in our hearts to be hidden in him that is the flower of spring he produces.
When he has brought us to mourn and coo for him in the secret place of the heart, in secret prayer, in all honesty, in spirit and in truth that is the voice of spring, the fragrant fruit, which our Redeemer produces by the winter trial.
That is when we have sweet communion with our Beloved in sweetheart love. That is where the all-wise lover of our souls keeps his dear bride. That’s when we have a communion so real it like he is standing right here with us saying, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.
V. NOW LET US LEARN FROM OUR BELOVED’S LOVING ADMONITION.
Song of Songs 2: 15: Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.
Watch for and guard against the little foxes which destroy the tender vines and this tender fruit he has produced. Let nothing disturb the peace between you and Christ—between Christ and his bride and your fellow brethren. Put off the old man with his deeds: evil, inordinate, unclean, covetous desires—which is all idolatry. Guard against the little foxes of anger, wrath, and malice. Filthy communication of every kind—especially the little fox of speaking anything that would put one of these brethren here in a bad light before another will spoil the tender grapes. Watch for that little fox of neglecting the gospel, the word, and continual prayer for that little fox comes in the form of everything that appeals to the flesh. Watch for that little fox that genders to the big bad wolf of pride. Every little fox can easily spoil the tender fruit and bring on the cold of winter and the mountains of division.
Brethren, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone,…Christ has come like a deer across the mountain of division and made us enjoy sweet communion once again—oh cherish and guard the Springtime of communion and fruitfulness in our Beloved. As long as we await that eternal day here is our song and our desire and our confidence. Here is our rejoicing and our prayer.
Song of Solomon 2: 16: My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies. 17: Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether (division)
Amen!