promises

We May Take Him for Our Own

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, Sovereignty of God, The Holy Spirit 2 Comments

“I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys”…”My beloved is mine, and I am his…” – Song of Songs 1,16

Love at first sight has been begotten by the vision of a lovely countenance. Men and women, too, are struck with affection through the eye when they perceive some beauty which charms and pleases them; so, the Savior lifts the corner of the veil that conceals His glories, and lets us see some glimpse of His beauty, in order that He may win our hearts. There are some who seem to think that they can bully men to Christ; but that is a great mistake. It is very seldom that sinners can be driven to the Savior; His way is to draw them. He Himself said, “I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me. This He said, signifying what death He should die.” And the drawings of Christ are not, as it were, with a cart rope, but with silken bonds, ay, with invisible chains, for His beauty is of such a character that it creates love, His beauty is so attractive that it draws the heart. So, in infinite wisdom, our Lord Jesus Christ sets forth His own beauties that thereby He may win our hearts…Note, then, the condescension and also the wisdom which are perceptible in this self-commendation on the part of Christ: “I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.”

Does Christ commend Himself to us? Does He say to us, for instance, “I am meek and lowly in heart”? What is His object in speaking thus but that we may take His yoke upon us, and may learn of Him, and that we may find rest unto our souls? And if He says, “I am the rose of Sharon,” what does He mean but that we may pluck Him, and take Him for our own? If He says, “I am the lily of the valleys,” why does He take the trouble to tell us that but because He wants us to take Him, and to have Him for our very own? I think that it is so sweet of Christ to praise Himself in order to show that He longs for us to come to Him. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2472.cfm

This is Stupendous Condescension

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, Sovereignty of God, The Father 2 Comments

I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys. – Song of Songs

Be it always remembered that human self-praise is evil because of the motive which underlies it. We praise ourselves, and, alas! that we should be so foolish as to do so, we do it out of pride; but when Christ praises Himself, He does it out of humility. “Oh!” say you, “how can you prove that to be true?” Why, thus; He praises Himself that He may win our love; but what condescension it is on His part that He should care about the love of such insignificant and undeserving persons as we are! It is a wonderful stoop that the Christ of God should speak about having a bride, and that He should come to seek His bride among the sons of men. If princes were to look for consorts among beggars, that would be after all but a small stoop, for God hath made of one blood all nations of men that dwell upon the face of the earth; but for Christ to forsake the thrones and glories of heaven, and the splendours of His Father’s courts above, to come down to win a well-beloved one here, and for her sake to take upon Himself her nature, and in her nature to bear the shame of death, even the death of the cross, this is stupendous condescension of which only God Himself is capable; and this praising of Himself is a part of that condescension, a necessary means of winning the love of the heart that He has chosen. So that this is a matchless instance, not of pride, but of humility, that those dear lips of the heavenly Bridegroom should have to speak to His own commendation, and that He should say, “I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.” O human lips, why are ye silent, so that Christ must speak about Himself? O human hearts, why are ye so hard that ye will never feel until Christ Himself shall address you? O human eyes, why are ye so blind that ye shall never see till Christ shows Himself in His own superlative light and loveliness? I think I need not defend my Master, though He used these sweet emblems to set forth Himself; for this is an instance, not of His pride, but of His humility. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2472.cfm

The Savior Praising Himself

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, Sovereignty of God Leave a comment

“I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.”-Song of Solomon 2:1.

The time of flowers has come, and as they are in some faint degree emblems of our Lord, it is well, when God thus calls, that we should seek to learn what He desires to teach us by them. If nature now spreads out her roses and her lilies, or prepares to do so, let us try, not only to see them, but to see Christ as He is shadowed forth in them.

“I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.” If these are the words of the Well-beloved -and I have no doubt that they are- then it may be suggested by some that here we have the Savior praising Himself; and it is true; but in no unworthy sense, for well may He praise Himself since no one else can do it as it should be done. There is no human language that can ever set forth His beauties as they deserve to be told. As good John Berridge says:

“Living tongues are dumb at best,
We must die to speak of Christ”

as He should be spoken of. He will never fully be described unless He shall describe Himself. For certain, we should never have known God if He had not revealed Himself; and every good thing that you or I know of Him, He Himself has told us. We make no discoveries of God except as God uncovers Himself to us. If, then, any cavillers were to find fault with the Christ of God because He did commend Himself, I would answer, Does not God commend Himself, and must not His well-beloved Son do the same? Who else is there that can possibly reveal Him to us unless He unveils His own face to our admiring gaze? ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2472.cfm

Our Adorable Lord

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, salvation, Sovereignty of God 3 Comments

“Yea, he is altogether lovely.”- Songs 5:16

No words can ever express the gratitude we owe to Him who loved us even when we were dead in trespasses and sins: the love of Jesus is unutterably precious and worthy of daily praise. No songs can ever fitly celebrate the triumphs of that salvation which He wrought singlehandedly on our behalf: the work of Jesus is glorious beyond compare, and all the harps of angels fall short of its worthy honour. Yet I do believe, and my heart prompts me to say so, that the highest praise of every ransomed soul and of the entire Christian church should be offered to the blessed person of Jesus Christ, our adorable Lord. The love of His heart is excelled by the heart which gave forth that love, and the wonders of His hand are outdone by the hand itself, which wrought those godlike miracles of grace. We ought to bless Him for what He has done for us as Mediator in the place of humble service under the law, and for what He suffered for us as Substitute on the altar of sacrifice from before the foundation of the world; and for what He is doing for us as Advocate in the place of highest honour at the right hand of the Majesty on high: but still the best thing about Christ is Christ Himself. We prize His gifts, but we worship Him. His gifts are valued, but He Himself is adored. While we contemplate, with mingled feelings of awe, admiration, and thankfulness, His atonement, His resurrection, His glory in heaven, and His second coming, still it is Christ Himself, stupendous in His dignity as the Son of God, and superbly beautiful as the Son of man, who sheds an incomparable charm on all those wonderful achievements, wherein His might and His merit, His goodness and His grace appear so conspicuous. For Him let our choicest spices be reserved, and to Him let our sweetest anthems be raised. Our choicest ointment must be poured upon His head, and for His own self alone our most costly alabaster boxes must be broken. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1446.cfm

His Mouth is Most Sweet

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, prayer, promises, salvation, Sovereignty of God, The Holy Spirit 4 Comments

His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem. – Songs 5:16

Oh that I could rise to something better than myself. I often feel like a chick in the egg; I am picking my way out, and I cannot get clear of my prison. Fain would I chip the shell, come forth to freedom, develop wings, and soar heavenward, singing on the road. Would God that were our portion. If anything can help us to get out of the shell, and to begin to rise and sing, it must be a full and clear perception that Jesus is altogether lovely. Come, let us be married to Him afresh. Come, believing hearts, yield again to His charms; again surrender yourselves to the supremacy of His affection. Let us have the love of our espousals renewed. As you come to His table bethink you of the lips of Christ, of which the spouse had been speaking before she uttered my text: “His mouth is most sweet.” There are three things about Christ’s mouth that are very sweet. The first is His Word. The second is His breath. Come, Holy Spirit, make Thy people feel that. And the third is His kiss. May every believing soul have that sweet token of His eternal love.

May some that never knew my Master ask to know Him…Read the Word to find Him. Cry to Him in prayer and He will be found of you. He is so lovely that I should not live without loving Him; and I shall deeply regret if any one of you shall spend another four-and-twenty hours without having had a sight of His divine face by faith. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1446.cfm

I do love Him!

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, The Holy Spirit 8 Comments

Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory… – 1 Peter 1:8

Do not, I pray you, deny Christ your love. It is all you can give Him. It is a poor thing, but He values it. He would sooner have your heart than all the gold in Europe. He would sooner have the heart of a poor servant girl or of a poor humble labourer upon the soil than the queen’s diadem. He loveth love. Love is His gem-His jewel. He delights to win it, and if He be indeed altogether lovely, let Him have it. You have known people, I dare say, whom you could not help loving. they never had to say to you, “Love me,” for you were captivated at once by the very sight of them. In like manner many and many have only received one beam of light from the Holy Spirit, and have thereby seen who Jesus was, and they have at once said of Him, “Thou hast ravished my heart with one look of Thine eyes,” and so it has been that all their life long they have loved their Lord. Now, the praise is suggestive still further. “Is Christ altogether lovely? Then do I love Him? As a child of God, do I love Him as much as I ought? I do love Him. Yes, blessed be His name, I do love Him. But what a poor, cold, chill love it is. How few are the sacrifices I make for Him. How few are the offerings that I present to Him. How little is the fellowship that I maintain with Him.”

I cannot tell you how near a man may live to heaven, but I am persuaded that a very large proportion of the bliss of heaven may be enjoyed before we come there. There is one conduit pipe through which heavenly joy will flow, and if you draw from it you may have as much as you will. “Abide in Me” says Christ; and if you do abide in His love you shall have His joy fulfilled in yourselves that your joy may be full. You will have more capacious vessels in heaven, but even now the little vessel that you have can be filled up to the brim by knowing the inexpressible loveliness of Jesus and surrendering your hearts to it. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1446.cfm

Do you not love Christ?

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, salvation, Sovereignty of God, The Holy Spirit, the unbelieving life 3 Comments

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. – 1 Corinthians 2:14

If you were to go to some remote island where beauty consisted in having one eye and a twisted mouth, and a sea-green complexion, you would say, “Those people are strange beings.” Such are the people of this world; spiritual beauty is not appreciated by them. This world appreciates the man who makes money, however reckless he may be of the welfare of others while scheming to heap up riches for himself. As for the man who slays his fellow-creatures by thousands, they mount him on a bronze horse, put him on an arch, or they pile up a column, and set him as near heaven as they can. He slew his thousands: he died blood-red: he was an emperor, a tyrant, a conqueror; the world feels his power and pays its homage. As for this Jesus, He only gave His life for men; He was only pure and perfect, the mirror of disinterested love. The vain world cannot see in Him a virtue to admire. It is a blind world, a fool world, a world that lieth in the wicked one. Not to discern the beauties of Jesus is an evidence of terrible depravity. Have you, my dear friend, frankly to confess that you were never enamoured of Him who was holy, harmless, and undefiled, and went about doing good? Then let this come home to you-that the question is not as to whether Christ is lovely or not, the mistake is here-that you have not a spiritually enlightened eye, a fine moral perception, nor even a well-regulated conscience, or you would see His loveliness at once. You are dark and blind. God help you to feel this.

Do you not love Christ? Then let me ask you why you do not? There was never a man yet that knew Christ that could give a reason for not loving Him, neither is there such a reason to be discovered. He is altogether lovely. In nothing is He unlovable. Oh I wish that the good Spirit of God would whisper in your heart, and incline you to say, “I will see about this Christ. I will read of Him. I will look at the portraits of Him painted by the evangelists, and if He be indeed thus lovely, no doubt He will win my heart as He appears to have won the hearts of others.” I pray He may. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1446.cfm