[0:01] Well, friends, would you turn with me, please, to the words that we read in Song of Solomon, chapter 5, Song of Solomon, chapter 5, and reading verses 9 down to 16.
[0:13] Where we read, What is your beloved more than another beloved, O most beautiful among women? What is your beloved more than another beloved that you thus adjure us? My beloved is radiant and ruddy, distinguished among ten thousand. His head is the finest gold, his locks are wavy, black as a raven. His eyes are like doves beside streams of water bathed in milk, sitting beside a full pool. His cheeks are like beds of spices, mounds of sweet-smelling herbs. His lips are lilies, dripping liquid myrrh. His arms are rods of gold set with jewels. His body is polished ivory bedecked with sapphires. His legs are alabaster columns set on bases of gold. His appearance is like Lebanon, choice as the cedars. His mouth is most sweet, and he is altogether desirable.
[1:05] This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem. Now, I know your minister is not the most romantic of characters, and not the most well-read of characters either, but I am both romantic, and I would say well-read. And in her novel, Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen tells the story of two very different sisters, Eleanor and Marianne Dashwood. Eleanor is quiet and reserved, while Marianne is loud and impulsive. And on one occasion, they're speaking about a man, Edward Fetters, who is showing a romantic interest in Eleanor.
[1:51] And as they're speaking, Eleanor, with her usual reserve, says, I do not attempt to deny that I think very highly of him, that I greatly esteem him, that I like him.
[2:05] And Marianne can't quite believe that someone could be so careful and so cautious about expressing their feelings, especially concerning matters of the heart. And she blurts out, esteem him, like him, cold-hearted Eleanor. Oh, worse than cold-hearted, ashamed of being otherwise.
[2:26] Use those words again, and I will leave the room this moment. Well, this morning we're returning to the Song of Solomon, chapter 5, that we began looking at last night. And we're looking at verses 9 through to 16, where the bride very much wears her heart on her sleeve as she begins to speak about her beloved. And we're going to look at this under two headings.
[2:50] We're looking at the request and then the reflection. The request and then the reflection. First, we have the request in verse 9, where the bride highlights her conversation with her friends.
[3:02] As we come to these verses, let's remember the context in verses 2 down to 8. Last night, we noted the king's approach in verses 2 and 3. The bride had heard the king, the beloved, knocking on her door. And as he knocked on her door, he began talking to her. He was requesting to come in. But she had refused his beautiful request with a blunt refusal, telling him that it wasn't a convenient time. We went on to note the absence in verses 4 down to 6.
[3:33] The bride eventually comes to her senses and she rises to open the door. But upon opening the door, she discovers that her beloved has removed himself, that he has turned away. And not simply turned away, he has gone away. She is left seeking him, but she cannot find him. She is left calling out for him, but there is no answer. And finally, we noted the appeal in verses 7 and 8. As the bride goes looking for her beloved, she is found and beaten by the watchman of the city. But her desire to find her beloved remains and she meets with the daughters of Jerusalem, her friends, her contemporaries, her companions, and she asks them to tell her where her beloved is, where she might find him. She asks them to say, tell my beloved that I am sick with love, that I cannot go on without him. We now come to the conversation in verse 9. The daughters of Jerusalem proceed to address the bride. They call her the most beautiful among women. That was what the king had called her back in chapter 1. In chapter 1, she felt very unattractive, very unappealing. She didn't want anyone looking at her. She was embarrassed about her whole appearance. And the king had come up to her and told her that she was the most beautiful among women. There was no one as attractive as she was, no one as appealing as she was, as far as the king was concerned. And now her friends call her the most beautiful among women. They are reminding her that that is how the king saw her, how the king described her. And if the king saw her in this way, and if the king described her in this way, then that was how they also saw her and how they were also to describe her. But the daughters of Jerusalem also asked the bride a question. What is your beloved more than another beloved? What is your beloved more than another beloved that you thus adjure us? The bride has just told them to tell her beloved that she is sick with love, that she is fainting without him, she is failing without him, she is falling apart without him. And now her friends are asking her, what is so special about him?
[5:48] Why are you fainting? Why are you failing? Why are you falling apart without him? Why have you gotten yourself into such a panic-stricken state over his absence? Why are you going on and on about him? Why are you risking everything, your own reputation, by going about at night to look for him?
[6:08] Now friends, as we consider this verse, we're being reminded that fellowship with the Lord's people is important. The woman in this song is speaking to the daughters of Jerusalem, speaking to her contemporaries, speaking to her friends. She has asked them to bring her case to her beloved, verse 8.
[6:26] They have now asked her what is so special about her beloved, verse 9. And she is going to tell them all about her beloved in verses 10 to 16. She is having fellowship. She is having communion. She is having, as your minister loves to say, koionia with her other friends who are living in Jerusalem.
[6:46] And fellowship with the Lord's people, friends, is vital to the life of faith. James Durham writes, spiritual communion amongst professors or believers is not only a duty, but a special means being rightly made use of to further our fellowship with Christ. I'll say that again. Spiritual communion amongst professors or believers is not only a duty, but a special means being rightly made use of to further our fellowship with Christ. Last night I said that when there is a breach, a break in our communion, our fellowship with the Lord, the easiest thing to do is to create a breach, a break in our communion, our fellowship with his people. That when we are not feeling the Lord's closeness, we become disengaged from his people. But our communion, our fellowship with the Lord's people is the Lord's divinely appointed means, his divinely appointed instrument of restoring us to communion and fellowship with himself. Fellowship with other Christians. Brothers and sisters in Christ, partners in the gospel is vital for our spiritual health. And we neglected friends to our peril. I cannot say that enough. I really worry when I see Christians neglecting the means of grace. I really worry when I find Christians saying,
[8:33] I don't need to go out to church twice on a Sunday. I don't need to go to the prayer meeting. I don't need to be at all these communion services. I don't need to have other Christians in my home or be in the home of other Christians. I really worry about it. And if there is anything that has come out of this pandemic that concerns me, it is the fact that people are substituting live stream services for communion and fellowship with the Lord's people. Now, I know I'm probably preaching to the choir here, but you know what I mean. You know what I mean. If you were a Baptist church, you would probably say amen. Well, I hope you would say amen. But as we consider this verse, we're also being reminded about the encouragement that we ought to give and that we ought to receive as we have fellowship with the Lord's people. The woman in this song is encouraged to remember who she is and who her beloved is. The daughters of Jerusalem urge her to remember that the king, her beloved, sees her as being the most beautiful among women, and they urge her to remember and talk to her beloved, about the king. And that is what we are encouraged to do in our times of fellowship and communion with the Lord's people. We ought to be reminding one another about how the Lord sees us.
[9:59] Not how we see ourselves. Not how others might see us. But how the Lord sees us. How Jesus sees us.
[10:09] And even more importantly, we ought to be talking with one another about who our Lord, who our Jesus is. Why he's so special. Why he's so central. Why he's so significant. You know, I don't know how many conversations I have with various people throughout the course of a day and the course of a week, and it seems that there are three main topics of conversation that the people in the Western Isles have at present. They want to talk about COVID. They want to talk about the cost of living. And they want to talk about the climate. You know, you go to the coop and that's all they want to talk about. The wind or the rain or whatever other aspect of the weather is going on. But for the Christian, there ought to be a fourth C. When we meet with one another. When we converse with one another. When we have fellowship with one another. And it's not the church. It's easy to talk about the church. It's not the clergy.
[11:07] It's easy to talk about how bad the minister is, what the ministers are doing, what they're not doing. It's Christ. Who he is. And how he views his people.
[11:24] Is that what you're talking about, friends? Who he is. And how he views his people. That he sees his people, his bride, as being the most beautiful among women.
[11:37] But we move from the request to the reflection. Look at verses 10 to 16. Where the bride now highlights her contemplation of her beloved.
[11:50] The bride begins by giving a description of her beloved's appearance in verses 10 to 16. She starts by making a general statement in verse 10. She claims that her beloved is radiant and ruddy. He is not pale or pasty. His skin has got a healthy glow from being active and from being outdoors. And she claims that her radiant and ruddy beloved is distinguished or chief among 10,000. He stands out in a crowd. There is no one like him in her estimation. No one comes close to him.
[12:19] He is head and shoulders above everyone else. He is in a category of his own. And she goes on to describe his head. Look at verse 11. His head is the finest gold. It's dazzling. It's magnificent.
[12:32] And his locks, his hair are wavy and black as a raven. He's not going bald like I am. He's not going gray like your minister is. He is youthful with wavy black hair. And she goes further and describes his face. Verses 12 and 13. His eyes are like doves in streams of water bathed in milk sitting beside a full pool. Now at one level she's highlighting the whiteness of his eyes, the health of his eyes. His eyes aren't yellow or jaundiced or bloodshot. His eyes are healthy and white. But she is also highlighting, isn't she, the moisture, the tears, the compassion of his eyes. That whenever he looks at her, his eyes begin to well up and begin to water. His cheeks, she says, are like beds of spices, mounds of sweet smelling herbs. She's speaking about his beard. And she's saying here that that beard just smells like expensive aftershave. His lips are like lilies dripping liquid myrrh. Every word that he speaks is precious. It's like an expensive sap that would fall from the trees. None of his words aren't worth hearing. None of his words can be dismissed. None of his words can be ignored. She goes further still and describes his body. Look at verses 14 and 15. His arms are like rods of gold set with jewels.
[14:02] His chest is like polished ivory covered with sapphires. His legs are like alabaster columns set on bases of gold. Now these are all images of strength, images of stability, images of security.
[14:17] This man is no pushover. If he were alive today, we would say this man is built like a tank. He's a man's man. And when he holds his bride, she feels safe. She feels secure in his embrace.
[14:31] She goes even further, describes his whole appearance. Look at verse 15. His appearance is like Lebanon choice as the cedars. Lebanon was famed for its large aromatic cedar trees, trees that were used in the construction of Solomon's great temple in Jerusalem. And it's almost as if now when the bride is describing her beloved, she finds herself unable to put into words what she wants to say. And she's left saying, you know, if I want to describe him, if I want to say what he's like, all I can say is he's like the temple. That is how splendid he is. That is how magnificent he is. That is how glorious he is.
[15:13] And she closes by describing his mouth. Look at verse 16. His mouth is most sweet. She has already spoken about his lips and the words coming from his lips has been like liquid myrrh. But now she speaks about his mouth, his palate, his kisses being most sweet. All the ways that he shows his love toward her, all the ways that he shows his affection toward her are worthy of praise and admiration.
[15:44] And having focused on her beloved's appearance, the bride gives her assessment of him. Look at verse 16. Every husband, every wife knows that their spouse has faults and flaws. Perhaps no one else knows about them, but they do. It might be something very small. It might be something quite serious. In his book, Dangerous Calling, Paul Tripp speaks about his own marriage. Listen to what he says.
[16:16] I was a very angry man. When Luella would approach me with yet another instance of this anger, I would always do the same thing. I would wrap my robes of righteousness around me, activate my inner lawyer, and remind her once again of what a great husband she had, all the ways I made life easier. What I'm about to share next is both humbling and embarrassing. On one occasion, as Luella was confronting me with yet another instance of my anger, I got on a roll and actually said those deeply humble words.
[16:49] 95% of the women in our church would like to be married to a man like me. Luella very quickly informed me that she was in the 5%.
[17:01] But this bride in this song sees no flaw, no fault in her beloved. She describes him as being altogether lovely. She literally says, all of him is desirable. Everything about him is lovely. There is nothing that she could add that would improve upon him. Nothing that she could subtract that would improve upon him. As far as she is concerned, he is perfect. She is unable to criticize him. She can only compliment him. She is unable to condemn him. She can only commend him. And the woman closes her reflection on her beloved with a word of affirmation. Look at the end of verse 16. Once again, the bride addresses the daughters of Jerusalem, they had asked her this question, what is your beloved more than another beloved? And she had given this great description of his appearance, his character, his qualities. And while she's been speaking, she's become lost in her own thoughts. It's almost as if she's just daydreaming. She's in a world of her own as she's speaking about him. But now she comes back to herself, back to her friends, and she addresses them directly. And she makes this stunning and stirring affirmation as she addresses them. Look at what she says. This is my beloved. And this is my friend.
[18:23] Once again, the bride is making use of covenant language, marriage language, as we noted last night. Her communion, her fellowship with her beloved has been broken. And she will not see him. She will not speak to him until chapter 6. But her union, her relationship with her beloved remains intact.
[18:48] He still belongs to her. She can still say, he is mine. In other words, the marriage isn't over.
[18:59] Now, friends, as we consider these verses, we have been given a description of Jesus. The woman in this song describes the appearance and the qualities of her beloved. She sees him as being radiant and ruddy, chief among 10,000. She comments on his gold-like head and wavy black hair.
[19:19] She comments on his melting eyes, his perfume beard, his precious words. She comments on his strong arms, his strong chest, his strong legs. She claims that his whole appearance puts her in mind of the temple.
[19:31] And she closes by reflecting on his kisses, his displays of love and affection toward her. And that is who Jesus is. He's the one who's chief among 10,000. The one who stands out from the crowd.
[19:45] The one who has precedence, priority, preeminence in all things, as we see in Colossians chapter 1. No one can compare with him. No one can compete with him. He's the one whose hair is wavy and black.
[19:58] He's in the prime of life. He's not diminished by age or infirmity. He's the one who's the same. The one whose years have no end, as we see in Psalm 102. Over the last week, we've seen pictures of the queen all the way from her birth to her last week on earth. And you can see how she was in the prime of life in the 1960s and 70s. And yet then, there she was, a frail old lady, just the other week with all the wrinkles in her hands that not even the makeup could disguise. But not Jesus.
[20:32] He's the one whose eyes are full of compassion. He doesn't view his people with indifference or insensitivity, though we might view him with indifference and sensitivity. He looks at his people in all their sin and all their suffering, and he is moved, filled with compassion. He's the one whose beard is fragrant. It's a beard that he allowed to be plucked and pulled as he walked the path of suffering, the path of humiliation, the call that he rode for his people. You remember how when men were doing their very worst to him, he was doing his very best for men. He's the one whose words are precious. They are words that we read about in Isaiah 50 that can sustain the weary. And they are the words, as we see in John chapter 6, that are the words of eternal life. And where else can a person go? Who else can a person look to but these words and the crises, the calamities, the catastrophes of life? He's the one who's strong. As Isaiah says, he's able to uphold the entire universe.
[21:35] He rules over all things. The government is on his shoulders. And he's not simply able to bear the whole universe. We read in Isaiah 46, he is able to bear and carry his people. It's a lovely image.
[21:50] Go to Isaiah 46 this afternoon, and you see how he says, I have carried you from birth. I have carried you from the womb, and I will carry you to old age and gray hairs. He's the one who describes himself.
[22:05] As being the temple in John chapter 2. The one whom Solomon's temple made from the cedars of Lebanon pointed to. He is the great meeting place between God and man. Your minister has done a series with you a few years ago on the tabernacle, and how the tabernacle is fulfilled in Jesus. And Jesus is that great fulfillment of both the tabernacle and the temple. And he's the one who displays his love and affection toward his people. The one who's not ashamed to tell them that he has loved them with an everlasting love. The one who shows them the length of that love, the breadth of that love, the height of that love, the depth of that love, as he lays down his life for those whom he calls my friends.
[22:54] This, friends, this, friends, is who Jesus is. Everything that you read about in Song of Solomon, chapter 6, chapter 5, finds its fulfillment in Jesus. But as we consider these verses, we're also seeing the declaration that a person must make concerning this Jesus. The woman in the song makes a very personal declaration. She claims that this king is altogether lovely. And she claims that he is her beloved and her friend. And the pressing question is, friends, can we say the same?
[23:35] Can we say this of Jesus? Can we say that he is altogether lovely? In his commentary, Alexander Moody Stewart writes, Christ is altogether lovely in both his natures, in all his person, in all his character, in all his words, in all his works, and in all his ways. He is lovely in his birth, lovely in his infancy, lovely in his boyhood, lovely in his youth, lovely in his manhood, lovely in his mourning, lovely in his rejoicing, lovely in his feasting, lovely in his fasting, lovely in his speech, lovely in his silence, lovely as a prophet, as a priest, as a king, lovely as a shepherd, as a savior, as a husband, lovely sitting on the throne of grace, lovely seated on the throne of judgment, lovely as a son, lovely as a brother, lovely as a servant. Christ is lovely when without a pillow whereon to lay his head, and lovely in the mansions of his Father, lovely in his rebukes, lovely in his consolations, lovely in his cross, and lovely in his crown. He is lovely in himself, lovely in his ordinances, lovely in his saints, lovely yesterday, lovely today, lovely forever.
[24:41] Yea, he is altogether lovely. And you know, friends, that is what happens at conversion. There was once a time when we saw nothing lovely in Jesus. But in conversion, the Spirit of God opens blind eyes and hard hearts so that they look to Jesus and say, he is altogether lovely.
[25:08] We're talking a little about that on Friday night at the fellowship. You know, people think that if they have all the arguments to prove the existence of God, then you will make believers of people. But no, something more needs to happen. The Spirit of God needs to come, opening eyes, opening hearts, so that a person doesn't simply intellectually believe in the existence of Jesus, the existence of God in the flesh, but might also say, he is altogether lovely. And I ask you today, friend, can you say that? Can you say he is altogether lovely? And can we say of him, he is my beloved and he is my friend? That's what a Christian is. They have seen the attractiveness of Jesus, the loveliness of Jesus, and then they make the affirmation, he is mine. The true and better son of David, the true and better Solomon, the altogether lovely one is mine. We take him, we receive him, the whole Christ, as Sinclair Ferguson says. A few weeks ago, my wife was asked the question, do you take this man, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband? And thankfully, she said yes. And in that moment, everything about me, all that I am, all that I have, suddenly belonged to her. Everything. And in the same way, every Christian has heard the question, will you have this Jesus? Will you take this Jesus? Will you receive this Jesus? And they've said, yes, I do. They have received him and all that he has. They have received him and all the blessings that he offers in the gospel. So let me close now by asking every person who is here today, is this Jesus, is this Jesus, is the altogether lovely one, your beloved and your friend?
[27:29] I'm not asking, is he the beloved and the friend of your husband or wife? I'm not asking, is he the friend and beloved of your spouse, your parents, your children? I'm asking, friends, is he your beloved?
[27:47] Is he your friend? Is he your friend? Do you have that relationship, that union with him?
[28:00] And maybe that's a question that some of you sitting at the back behind the table really need to wrestle with. Is he your beloved? Is he your friend?
[28:14] Well, let's sing to his praise now the words of Psalm 45. It's Psalm 45, and I think as we're singing that, the Sunday school are going to come through.
[28:28] Okay, so Psalm 45, the Sing Psalms version, version A, and singing verses 1 to 3.
[28:43] A noble theme inspires my heart with verses for the king. My tongue's a skillful writer's pen, composing lines to sing. You far excel, the best of men, your lips are full of grace, for God has blessed you evermore. His light shines on your face. O mighty one, take up your sword and bind it on your thigh. With glorious splendor, clothe yourself and with your majesty. This was a royal wedding psalm. It begins by focusing on the splendor of the royal king. It closes by reflecting on the attractiveness and the response of his bride. We're going to sing these verses that celebrate the splendor of the king, knowing that they point us ahead to the altogether lovely one, the greater Solomon, the Lord Jesus. Psalm 45, verses 1 to 3.
[29:34] A noble theme inspires my heart with verses for the king. My tongue's a skillful writer's pen, A noble theme inspires my heart with verses for the king. My tongue's a skillful writer's pen, My tongue's a skillful writer's pen, Composing lines to sing. You far excel, the king's a king. My tongue's a skillful writer's pen, Composing lines to sing. You far excel, the best of men. Your lips are full of grace. For God has
[30:35] His light shines on your face. O mighty won't take out your sword, And bind it on your With glorious thunder, Goal yourself, And with your majesty.
[31:12] Well, friends, Lord's table is a very privileged place to sit, And his supper is a very privileged meal to eat. The Lord's table is a place that is designed to strengthen and refresh the souls of those who sit and those who eat.
[31:55] The Lord's table is a very privileged. The Lord's table is a very privileged place to sit. The Lord's table is a place where those who are sitting and eating are given clearer views of Jesus and his work. That is why it's a privileged place to be.
[32:12] A privileged place to sit. A privileged meal to eat. Because there we are given clearer views of Christ and his work. But the question is, who can sit in this place? Who can eat this meal?
[32:34] Today I want you to eat this meal? Today I want you to hear this loud and clear. The Lord's supper is a meal for every single person who can look to Jesus and say, He's mine. They may be aware of their weaknesses. May be aware of their emptiness. May be aware of their doubts. May be aware of their proneness to wandering.
[33:04] But despite it all, they can still say, Jesus is mine. At one communion service, Robert Murray McShane said, I was once of the world, cold and careless about my soul. God awakened me and made me feel I was lost. I tried to make myself good, to mend my life, but I found it in vain.
[33:33] I sat down more lost than before. I was then told to believe on the Lord Jesus, so I tried to make myself believe. I read books on faith, tried to bend my soul to believe, that so I might get to heaven, but still in vain.
[33:49] Whilst I was thus helpless, Jesus drew near. His garments dipped in blood. He had waited long at my door, though I knew it not. He had five deep wounds, and he said, I died in the stead of sinners, and any sinner may have me for a savior.
[34:06] You are a hopeless sinner. Will you have me? How could I resist him? He is all I need. I held him and would not let him go.
[34:18] My beloved is mine. And then McShane goes on to say, Many a time have I said to him in prayer, You are mine.
[34:30] Many a time when the doors were shut and Jesus came in showing his wounds, I said, You are mine. Many a time have I trysted with him in lonely places where there was no eye of man. Many a time have I called to the rocks and trees to witness that I took him to be my savior.
[34:46] Many a time have I gone with some Christian friend, and we poured out our trembling hearts together, consulting with one another as to whether we had liberty to close with Christ or not.
[34:57] And both together we came to this conclusion, that if we were but helpless sinners, we had a right to close with the savior of sinners. We clave to him and call him ours.
[35:09] And now we have come to take him publicly, to call an ungodly world to witness, to call heaven and earth for a record to our soul, that we do close with Christ.
[35:21] See, he gives himself to us in the bread. We accept of him in accepting this bread. Bear witness, men and angels. Bear witness, all the universe. If you are here today, friend, and saying, Jesus is mine, your place is at his table.
[35:46] You may not be where you want to be as a Christian. You may not be what you ought to be as a Christian. You may have even gone backwards in your Christian pilgrimage.
[36:01] But if you are looking at the Lord, if you are looking at Jesus and saying of him, he's mine, then there is nowhere else that you ought to be than at his table where that profession is made public.
[36:18] However, you might be here today and you still can't say Jesus is mine. And if that's you, then your place at present isn't at his table.
[36:30] And today I simply want to counsel you to look and listen very carefully to what is happening at this table. Consider what these things mean.
[36:44] Consider what you're doing by not sitting at his table. And my prayer is that the day would come when you would be at his table. I don't know if I'll be here to see it.
[36:57] Maybe your minister won't be here to see it. Maybe many others in this building won't be here to see it. But our prayer is that you would be at his table saying with his people, Jesus is mine.
[37:15] Well, let's sing to his praise now the words of Psalm 118. Psalm 118. Sing in verses 15 to 23, some page 398 of the Psalter.
[37:32] Psalm 118. In dwellings of the righteous is heard the melody of joy and health. The Lord's right hand doth ever valiantly. The right hand of the mighty Lord exalted is on high.
[37:45] The right hand of the mighty Lord doth ever valiantly. Psalm 118. Verses 15 to 23. To God's praise. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[38:23] The right hand of the mighty Lord exalted is on high.
[38:51] The right hand of the mighty Lord doth ever valiantly.
[39:10] I shall not die, but live as thou the mighty Lord.
[39:21] The Lord doth be just thy steads o'er, but not to death came over.
[39:46] O send ye open unto me the gates of righteousness.
[40:05] Then will I enter into them, and I, the Lord will bless.
[40:26] This is the gate of God's quiet. The judge shall enter in.
[40:45] The with thy grace for thou behest, and hast my safety been.
[41:04] The stone is made a cornerstone, which builders dare despise.
[41:24] This is the doing of the Lord, and wondrous in our eyes.
[41:45] The warrant for what we are doing today hasn't come from the Kirk session of this congregation.
[42:03] Neither has it come from the Presbytery of the Western Isles, nor has it come from the decision of the General Assembly of our denomination. Rather, what we are doing today has come from the Lord Jesus himself.
[42:21] In 1 Corinthians chapter 11, the Apostle Paul writes, For I receive from the Lord what I also deliver to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night when he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.
[42:43] In the same way also, he took the cup after supper, saying, This cup is a new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
[43:02] Let's pray now for the Lord's blessing. Our Heavenly Father, we bow now in your presence, recognizing the state that we were in apart from grace.
[43:20] We are told in your word that we were dead in sin and transgression. Told in your word that we were objects of wrath. Told in your word that we were without hope and without God.
[43:34] Under condemnation. And yet we praise and bless you that you are a God of grace. A God who has intervened in the situation of a sinful people in order to rescue, redeem, restore, and reconcile them to yourself.
[43:51] And that that rescue, that salvation and deliverance is found fully and finally in the Lord Jesus Christ. That you have not given us rules to obey.
[44:04] You have not given us steps to take. You have simply provided a means of salvation. And you have simply invited and called men and women, young and old, to receive it.
[44:22] And we pray now that you would bless us as we sit at this table. We recognize that as we take these elements, the bread and wine, they are simply natural elements.
[44:35] Mere bread and mere wine. Mere bread and mere bread and wine. And yet we pray that your spirit might use these elements in a supernatural way to give us a clearer view of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[44:50] A greater understanding and appreciation of who he is and what he has done. That these elements might be used by you in your grace to remind us of the union that we have with Jesus.
[45:09] And in reminding us of that union, that our communion and fellowship with him might become ever sweeter. So bless us and forgive us as we pray in Jesus' name.
[45:25] Amen. Well, friends, according to the command of the Lord Jesus Christ and following his example, we take this bread and we remember his body broken for us.
[45:44] Amen. Amen. And again, friends, according to the command of the Lord Jesus Christ and following his example, we take this wine and we remember his blood shed for us.
[46:16] Well, today we've listened to this bride telling her friends all about her beloved. One whom she sees has been chief among 10,000.
[46:27] One whom she sees has been altogether lovely. And as I was thinking about this, I was reminded of the words of a song by an American singer, Christian singer, Ann Wilson.
[46:42] She has a song, My Jesus. And in a song she sings, he makes a way where there ain't no way, rises up from an early grave.
[46:53] Ain't no sinner that he can't save. Let me tell you about my Jesus. His love is strong and his grace is free. And the good news is he can do for you what he's done for me.
[47:05] Let me tell you about my Jesus. And let my Jesus change your life. Today, those of you who have sat at the Lord's table have made a very public profession.
[47:19] You have said, Jesus is mine. But we are not restricted to making such professions simply on a communion Sunday at the Lord's table.
[47:34] Our calling is to tell people about Jesus. Whenever we can. Wherever we can. Wherever we can.
[47:45] And to whomever we can. That's what we see in Acts chapter 4 where Peter and John are warned by the religious leaders to stop speaking in the name of Jesus and they say we cannot be silent.
[48:00] And I simply want to ask the question. Maybe it's a statement. Wouldn't it be something if Barvis Free Church was known as the church whose members couldn't stop speaking about Jesus?
[48:20] If Barvis Free Church was known as the church made up of people who kept on saying, let me tell you about my Jesus.
[48:35] that would be something. You know I love Barvis. I think Barvis is an amazing place.
[48:48] But I do worry at times when I hear people, and it's maybe not so much Free Church people, but you do hear people speaking on and on about the revivals and days gone by in Barvis.
[49:07] Wouldn't it be something if this congregation was filled with people saying, yes, we praise the Lord for blessings in the past, but let me tell you about my Jesus.
[49:22] Let's pray. Oh, Heavenly Father, we pray now that you would go with us into the rest of today. We pray that you would go with us not only into the rest of today, but in the days that lie ahead.
[49:36] We pray that your goodness and your mercy would indeed follow after us, and that your spirit would be sustaining us. And we pray that your all-sufficient grace might strengthen us.
[49:47] You know that we are leaving this table, and there is one who will be leaving this building and snapping around, trying to discourage, distract, and diminish all that we have considered today.
[50:00] One who is described as being a roaring lion, seeking to devour his prey. Protect us, we pray, from the attacks of the evil one.
[50:11] And may we lean evermore on Jesus, in whose name we pray these things. Amen. Let's conclude then by singing to the Lord's praise, the words of Psalm 72, that celebrate this glorious King whom we've been considering this morning.
[50:30] His name forever shall endure, last like the sun it shall. Men shall be blessed, and heaven blessed, all nations shallim called. Now blessed be the Lord our God, the God of Israel, for he alone doth wondrous works, and glory that excel.
[50:44] And blessed be his glorious name to all eternity. The whole earth let his glory fill. Amen. So let it be. Psalm 72, the Scottish Psalter version, on page 314, sing in verses 17 to the end.
[50:57] To God's praise. His name forever shall endure, not like the sun it shall.
[51:19] Man shall be blessed, in heaven blessed, all nations shall live whole.
[51:39] Now blessed be the Lord our God, the God of Israel.
[51:57] For he alone doth wondrous works, in glory that excel.
[52:15] God of Israel. How blessed be his glorious name, to all eternity.
[52:33] The whole earth let his glory fill.
[52:46] Amen. So let it be. Now may grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God be with each and every one of us, now and to the end of the ages, we pray in Jesus' name.
[53:05] Amen. Amen. Amen.
[53:16] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[53:26] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[53:36] Amen. Amen.服ku office. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Absolutely. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.