He loved, He is loving, and He will yet love.
I Peter 1:8
Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
James 4:8a
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.
## I. As a Fruitful Tree"As the apple tree among the trees of the wood,
so is my beloved among the sons"
Tappawach—fruit bearing trees
The Trees of the Wood
There are many trees in the forest, but there is only one Saviour.
The trees of the woods have no fruit; they're barren.
The Apple Tree
The apple tree not only produces fruit, but it also reproduces itself. The fruit will bare the semblance as the original—unless worms get at it.
He is going to reproduce Himself in a tremendous manifestation of the power of God in the lives of His people by the Word.
The Contrast
1. The trees of the forest are like men's theories
John 5:39
Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
Man is producing something today, but he is not producing the gifts of the spirit.
John 8:32
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
I Corinthians 12:31
But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.
I Corinthians 13:1
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
Job 8:14
Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall be a spider's web.
I Corinthians 3:3
For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
I Corinthians 3:1
And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
God is doing something in our lives as we are exposed to the truth.
John 3:30
He must increase, but I must decrease.
What the teachings of men produce, if they produce anything at all, is going to be wild and bitter.
The devil cannot stop you from hungering and thirsting, so he will try to poison you and kill you. The devil will feed you a little bit of truth to get you on the line to feed you a whole lot of error.
It is the Word that will put life in you and make you like Jesus.
2. The trees of the forest are like the works of the flesh
The works of the flesh will never produce spiritual people.
Matthew 21:19
And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.
II Chronicles 23:19
And he set the porters at the gates of the house of the LORD, that none which was unclean in any thing should enter in.
Matthew 7:13, 14
Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
3. Christ is the apple tree
All the other trees produce nothing, but Christ satisfies the soul—totally. He not only has truth, but He is the Truth. He not only has a way, but He is the Way. He not only has life, but He is Life.
John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
He meets the need, fills the vacuum, and thrills you.
## II. As a Restful Shadow > I sat down under his shadow with great delight…"I Sat Down
Psalms 127:1
Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
There is a place that the little bride is going to enter into that's not by works, but by faith.
II Chronicles 20:17
Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.
It's not going to be a struggling, but a yielding.
Psalms 23:4, 5
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Mark 10:27
And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.
Song of Solomon 1:4
Draw me, we will run after thee: the king hath brought me into his chambers: we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than wine: the upright love thee.
Under His Shadow
Psalms 91:1-7
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
There is a place of shade from the heat of the day. If you step outside of the shadow you'll blister and burn.
Psalms 18:2
The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
Psalms 121:3
He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
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.
He has not promised to protect you when you get out from underneath the blood.
With Great Delight
There is joy in knowing that your sins are washed away. There is not a happier person on all the face of the earth than the saint that is walking in right fellowship with God.
Psalms 16:11
Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
John 15:7
If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
There is joy in knowing that nothing can touch you as long as you're abiding under the shadow.
## III. As a Satisfying Substance > …and his fruit was sweet to my taste."Revelation 10:9, 10
And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.
And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
Revelation 2:7
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
Revelation 22:2
In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
Twelve- A Heavenly perfection
Matthew 4:4
But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
The Fruit is Sweet
The Word of God is very bitter to the natural man, but it's sweet to the real, genuine believer.
I John 5:3
For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Psalms 34:8
O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
The Fruit is Perfect
It is not old and rotten, but it is fresh.
Psalms 19:7
The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
The pure Word of God has life and it will do something for you.
Psalms 1:1-3
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
The Fruit is Ever-Growing
Matthew 16:18
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.