SOS 1:8 The Bridegroom's Response
Preached: November 22, 1978 by James R. Reynolds, Sr.
Song of Solomon 1:8 — If thou know not, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents.
INTRODUCTION
She has been calling out to him, seeking after him, and longing for him. She desires to be near him.
Song of Solomon 1:7
Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions?
When God responds and begins to talk back to us, it is not always in the way that we expect to hear. Sometimes He speaks to us in a corrective manner and a rebuke instead of in blessing.
"If Thou Know Not"
John 14:9
Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
The Lord rebukes us to help us. Usually His rebukes are not stinging, but mild. He is rebuking her because she should have known, she has been with her, and spoken with her. She is more thrilled with Him than the wine, but yet she says here, "Where are you? How can I find you?" Here in response to her request he kindly rebukes her.
B. A Loving Rebuke
Hebrews 12:6
For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
He rebukes us because He loves us. He rebukes her here not to hurt her, but to help her.
C. An Informing Rebuke
Sometimes people rebuke us and we don't know why we are getting rebuked. But, he informs her that she should know, but is ignorant of the fact of where He is. She did not know because she had been slothful in her experience, but she should have known.
The Lord's correction gets us in line to receive His blessing! There is some obligation before we get the blessing.
II. A Complimentary Acclamation —
O Thou Fairest Among Women,"
Lest she faint, he has something nice to say to her. He loves her because there is much within her that he is pleased with even though there are things that he is not pleased with. We cannot overlook the finest little area because the Lord does not.
She has said to him, "I am black…like the tents of kedar." Yet, He says to her, "O Thou Fairest Among Women." How can he says this? The Lord can see our failures; is He pleased with our failures?
God sees us in the merits of His Son. The best we can do is not all that God expects.
A. Imputed Righteousness
He can says this because He has done something for her. When the glory of God is upon a person they are beautiful—beautiful character and life.
Imputed: put down to your account
If we are walking in the light according to His Word, He does not see our faults and failures, but He sees His Son in us. He sees us in Him not only as at the beginning, but as the completed product. Because she has accepted of His grace, He has put down to her account of His righteousness.
Matthew 3:17
And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
II Corinthians 5:21
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
B. Imparted Righteousness
Is it enough to have His righteousness imputed to us? Is it enough to have His righteousness put down to our account and then we live any way we want to live?
THIS ACCOUNT IS GOOD ONLY AS I WALK IN THE LIGHT.
I John 1:7
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
There is no problem that you have that Christ can't deliver you from, but you have to want to be delivered from it. We can, but we don't only because we won't. We must appropriate the benefits of Calvary.
Others are not my problem, but my own flesh is my problem. God wants to get us beyond the place that not only is there a daily experience of the impartation of His righteousness, but so that we may arrive at the point of perfection. He sees her in a completed state: ", O thou fairest among women…" (1:8)
III. A Commanding Advertisement —
Go Thy Way Forth by the Footsteps of the Flock"
A. Progression — "Go Thy Way Forth"
B. Obedience — "By the Footsteps of the Flock"
IV. A Conclusive Assignment —
Feed Thy Kids"
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