Ⅳ
We must take, experience, and enjoy Christ as our Husband:
A
The romance in Song of Songs portrays that our relationship with the Lord must be personal—1:4a:
１
We must follow the pattern of Abraham, who was the friend of God for the desire of God (2 Chron. 20:7; Isa. 41:8; James 2:23; Gen. 18:1-33), and the pattern of Moses, who was a companion of God for the interests of God (Exo. 33:11).
２
We must follow the pattern of David and Asaph, who sought the shining face of God in and for the house of God—Psa. 27:4, 8; 80:3, 7, 14-19.
３
We must follow the pattern of the Lord Jesus, who lived in the presence of God without ceasing—Acts 10:38c; John 8:29; 16:32.
４
We must follow the pattern of Peter, whose love for the Lord was restored for him to shepherd the Lord's sheep and follow the Lord unto martyrdom without any confidence in his natural strength—21:15-19; Mark 16:7.
５
We must follow the pattern of Paul, who was constrained by the love of Christ to live in the person of Christ as an ambassador of Christ to be well pleasing to Christ—2 Cor. 2:10; 5:9, 14, 20.
B
The romance in Song of Songs portrays that our relationship with the Lord must be affectionate—1:1-2:
１
The Lord who indwells us is our Father, and grace is our mother—Rom. 8:15-16; Gal. 4:24-26; Isa. 66:12-13.
２
The Lord who indwells us is our Husband (Matt. 9:15; 2 Cor. 11:2-3) and our Brother (John 20:17; Rom. 8:29).
３
The Lord who indwells us is our Friend (Matt. 11:19; John 15:12-17) and our Counselor (Isa. 9:6).
４
The Lord who indwells us is our Advocate (1 John 2:1), our Comforter (John 14:16; 16:7, 13), and our Shepherd (Psa. 23:1; 1 Pet. 2:25).
Morning Nourishment
S. S. 1:2-4 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is better than wine. Your anointing oils have a pleasant fragrance; your name is like ointment poured forth; therefore the virgins love you. Draw me; we will run after you—the king has brought me into his chambers—we will be glad and rejoice in you; we will extol your love more than wine. Rightly do they love you.[In Song of Songs 1] the seeker longs for kisses, not just one kiss [v. 2a]. The most impressive thing about weddings in the Western world is the time of kissing. The bridegroom opens the bride’s veil to kiss her with his own mouth. He does not kiss the ears or the nose of the bride but her mouth. This is the most personal and affectionate thing….This is what it means to pursue Christ.
According to the New Testament, God’s ordained way for man to receive Him in this kind of personal and affectionate way is first to believe in Him. To believe in Him is to receive Him as the divine life into us so that we may have an organic union with God in the divine life.
Now that we have received Christ into us, what does God want us to do?…According to the New Testament, after we believe in Christ, after we receive Him as the divine life into us, we have to love Him [cf. 1 Cor. 2:9]. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 3, “Crystallization-study of Song of Songs,” pp. 255-256)
Today’s Reading
The seeker goes on to say, “Your love is better than wine” (S. S. 1:2b)….No wine can compare with His unrivaled love. Nothing is so cheering as Christ’s love.Verse 3 says, “…Your name is like ointment poured forth; / Therefore the virgins love you.” Christ’s name signifies Christ’s person, His being, and Christ is the compound Spirit signified by the anointing ointment in Exodus 30…(1 Cor. 15:45b). This indicates that Christ’s name as His person is the anointing ointment….Christ is compounded with God, with man, with His death, with the effectiveness of His death, with His resurrection, and with the power of His resurrection. At least these six things are compounded together to be the anointing ointment, signifying Christ in His resurrection as the compound Spirit. If someone says your name, you respond because you are the person of that name. Christ’s charming name, His person, is the all-inclusive compound Spirit. His love is attracting, His name is charming, and His person is captivating. He has drawn and captivated millions of His lovers to pursue after Him and is still doing the same today.
After you have received Christ as your life, you must have a very personal seeking after Christ. No one can represent you or do anything for you in this matter…. Every believer’s relationship with Christ must be personal and affectionate.
The seeker said, “Draw me” [S. S. 1:4]. She did not say, “Draw us.”…We want a drawing from the Lord that is His personal and affectionate doing. We want Him to be with us in a personal and affectionate way. All the religions, including Christianity, …portray God merely as great, almighty, sovereign, majestic, and even unapproachable; no one can or even dares to touch God. To say that God is majestic is not wrong, but that is only one attribute of the Divine Being. Regardless of how great, sovereign, almighty, and majestic God is, when He wanted to build up His relationship with man, He took the personal, affectionate way. He took the way of becoming a man.
We all need to take heed to what the seeker says: “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!”…”Your love is better than wine.”…”Draw me; we will run after you.”…We need this kind of personal and affectionate seeking after Him, and we need to build up such a relationship with Him that is so personal and affectionate. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 3, “Crystallization-study of Song of Songs,” pp. 256-258, 260)
Further Reading: Life-study of Joshua, msg. 9; CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 3, “Crystallization-study of Song of Songs,” chs. 1-2; CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 2, “The Christian Life,” ch. 15