Set me as your seal

Set me as your seal

Scripture:- Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.

Song of Songs 8:6

Observation: The bride calls to her lover to set her as a seal upon his heart, as a seal upon his arm. In olden days, as is now, the seal upon a scroll or letter protected it so that it would not be opened except by the intended receiver. In essence, what she is saying is that: let me be the only one that you love. The arm is the symbol of strength of a man, and a wife looks to her husband’s arm to hold her, provide for her and protect her. By asking to be the seal on his arm, the bride is asking her lover to let her be the only one beside him that he will protect and provide for.

The love she has for him is so strong and so zealous, it is like the most fiery fire. That strong, passionate love is the love that our Lord Jesus feels for His church which is His bride, His beloved that He will provide for and protect. And we must learn to reciprocate that intense, passionate love that He feels for us. We love because He first loved us.

We should also note, that not only does Jesus set us as the seal upon His heart. He has also given us His seal which is His Holy Spirit. Ephesians 1:13-14 says . “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” The earnest, or the deposit of the Holy Spirit is given us in our hearts as a promise of our future inheritance and eternal life to come. The gift of the Holy Spirit shows us how God so dearly loves us, and as we walk in the spirit, we will show His fruit, and the first fruit always is love.

Application: Praise our Lord Jesus that He loves us so much, setting us like a seal on His heart and a seal on His arm. He will surely protect us and keep us safe as His chosen beloved people. Thank God for His precious Holy Spirit that He has given us, that helps us walk in His ways, and seek His love and glory.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your great love and compassion to us. Seal us up in Your love and blessing, and let us never fall away. Give us ever more of Your Holy Spirit, and never let Your Spirit depart from us. Praise You, Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ, precious Holy Spirit. In Jesus name, Amen.

There is no spot in thee

There is no spot in thee

Scripture: Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee. Song of Songs 4:4

Observation: In this Scripture, we see how the bridegroom regards his bride, all fair, without spot or blemish. This brings to mind precisely how God sees us who are in Christ Jesus, holy, without spot or blemish.

When Jesus died on the cross, a very important exchange took place. He became sin in our sinfulness that we might be made righteous in His righteousness. In the Old Testament, we saw how God established the pattern of sacrifice for the Israelite who had their sins imputed upon an animal that was without blemish so that they would be forgiven. This pattern was to foreshadow the coming sacrifice of God’s own son that those who believeth in Him would be forgiven forever.

The Word says “If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will purify us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness”. When we are purified by the blood of the lamb, we are completely forgiven, our sins completely washed away. We become just as if we had never sinned. That is the marvelous grace of God to us. There was nothing we did or could do that would make us worthy of this forgiveness, but it was purely God in His mercy who provided a way for us to become pure and holy like Him.

It is important for us to believe that we are forgiven. Faith in simply believing. When we come to Holy Communion, it is common for a man to examine himself, trying to rack up the sins he has committed in the week, and after trying to be sorrowful and repentant, decide whether or not to partake. Many abstain for fear of becoming weak and sick or even falling asleep as Paul warns. However, when we take Holy Communion, we are called to remember the Lord and what He has done for us. Before we take, we should remember our Lord’s sacrifice, thank Him that what He did has forgiven us completely of our sins, and believe it. Faith is not based on how we feel, but based on believing that God’s Word is true, that when we confess, God forgives. Then we should visualize ourselves wearing robes of righteousness for that is what God has given us when we are in Christ.

We do not have try to comprehend or understand how our sinfulness can really be forgiven. God calls us to look at Him and not at our ugly shells. It is the Lord who transforms us and makes us new each day.

Application: Thank God daily for forgiving us of our sins completely in Jesus Christ, removing it as far as the East is from the West. Picture ourselves wearing robes of righteousness given by Jesus.

Prayer: Lord, I thank You that I am forgiven in Christ Jesus, all because of Your great grace and mercy. Help me see myself wearing your robes of righteousness, pure and without blemish. In Jesus name, Amen.

I will seek Him

I will seek Him

Scripture: I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not Song of Songs 3:2

Observation: This Scripture gives us a picture of the bride looking for her betrothed, in the streets, in the broadways, earnestly seeking the one her soul loves. It is in this earnestness, this deep desire that we too would learn to seek God, like David, who was called a man after God’s own heart.

Again, we learn much from looking at the Psalms. “My soul yearns even faints for the courts of the Lord. My flesh and my heart cry out for the living God” David cries out in Psalm 84:2. In another place, we read “The Lord looks down from Heaven upon the sons of man, to see if there are any who understand, any who seek Him” This is the type of relationship that God wants us to have with Him. Always seeking Him, always looking for His presence.

David cried “Oh God, you are my God. Earnestly I seek you. My body longs for you, my soul thirsts for you in a dry and weary land, where there is no water” and “As the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs for you.” It is this deep longing for God that set David apart from anyone throughout history. He was indeed God’s most beloved king, the shepherd boy who really, really loved God.

God has promised us “If you seek Me with all your heart, I will be found of you”. As we grow to know God and love Him more and more, we will find greater and greater treasure in the time that we spend with Him.

But how do we start to seek the Lord? Jesus woke up early to go to the mountainside to pray. This time alone with God was precious to Him. It will take some effort, some sacrifice at first to really go to a place to be still and seek God, but there is great reward for those who will go there.

As Pastor Rick Warren said, our first purpose is to bring pleasure to God, to fellowship with Him.

Application: Resolve in your heart to seek God really earnestly. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you a place where you may seek Him and commune with Him and enjoy His presence.

Prayer: Lord, You are so precious to Me. Help me, like David, really learn to seek You and be found of You. Draw me closer, and let me know You like never before. In Jesus name, Amen.

Under the shade of the apple tree

Under the shade of the apple tree

Scripture: As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. Song of Songs 2:3

Observation: In this verse, the bride pictures her bridegroom like an apple tree among the trees of the wood. And the tree does two things, it gives shade to her, and also gives her sweet fruit to eat.

When one thinks of an apple tree, pleasant thoughts come to mind. It is a big, pleasant tree, bearing one of the choicest of all fruits, the apple. In the Psalms, David cried to God “Keep me as the apple of your eye, hide me in the shadow of your wings”. That’s how God sees us in His love, as the apples of His eye. We are highly favored, and as a loving father looks with great pleasure upon his sons or daughters, God looks with great pleasure upon us.

Likewise, as we grow closer to God and to Jesus, we begin to feel the same way, looking at God with great delight, like the apple of our eye. David understood this. He exclaimed “There is one thing I ask, this is what I seek, that I might dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, and gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and seek Him in His temple.”

Now focusing on the tree, the shelter it gives us is shady and comfortable. God led Abraham to pitch his tent under the great trees of Mamre. The shelter given him was just like what God gives those who come under Him. “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty”. The Psalmist writes again! His Shelter protects us and keeps us from harm and trouble. “You are my hiding place, you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance” David says.

Like the apple tree provides beautiful sweet apples, God also provides His children with good, wonderful things. Again from the Psalms, it is written of the man God favors “He has granted him the desire of his heart, and has not withheld the request of his lips” and “You let them feast upon the abundance of your house, you let them drink from your river of delights”. Indeed, God blesses us with far, far more than we can hope for or imagine. We need only to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto us.

Application: Know that we are the apple of God’s eye. Start seeing our Lord Jesus as the apple of our eye. Trust in God as our Shelter and Protector. Thank God and enjoy the many good things He gives us.

Prayer: Oh Lord, I praise thee that You look upon us with great favor. Help me see you the same, learning to love You as You love me. Help me ever trust in You as my great Shelter. Thank You for the abundance of good and pleasant things you ever bless me with. In Jesus name, Amen.

Let us draw near

Let us draw near

Scripture: 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. Song of Songs 1:4

Observation: The Song of Songs is a book of love, between a bride and a bridegroom, a husband and wife.  Yet, inside the Song of Songs there is also a spiritual picture of Christ and His radiant bride, the church. And as we study the songs, we may perhaps find glimpses of the deep love that Christ has for us as His church, that God Almighty has for His people.

This verse gives us a picture of the bride-to-be with her maidens asking of her betrothed, “Draw me, we will run after thee”. This brings to remembrance the verse in James, which says “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw night to you” James 4:8. The king’s chambers signify the most intimate place where a bride may know her husband. The Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle was that intimate place where God Almighty met mortal man and fellowshipped with him there.

In the book of Hebrews Chapter 10, the author speaks of how through the blood of Jesus, we now have access to the Holy of Holies, where God is. He exhorts us “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water” vs.22 From the beginning, God has drawn men, and it is His will that we draw near to Him in faith. And He seeks to have a close, spiritual, intimate relationship with us, really knowing Him as He knows us.

The bride-to-be was glad and rejoiced in her betrothed. On a practical level, husband and wife need to learn to be glad and rejoice in each other, being thankful that God has led us to our destined partner. In Spiritual terms, we need to learn to be glad and rejoice in the Lord always. We can learn from David, who found such joy in the Lord that he danced and danced with great might before Him.

God’s love is precious, and always with us. And we need to remember and cherish that great love He has for us every day of our lives. And as we love God and Jesus more and more, we become upright like He is, loving what He loves, and hating what He hates.

Application: Always make it a point to remember God’s love to us each day. Pray daily “Thank you, Lord, that you love me”. In thanksgiving, we will learn to rejoice in the Lord. Draw near to God. He calls us. Spend time with the Lord, in His holiness. We have been given access through our Lord Jesus Christ. As we know Him more intimately, we will become more like Him, upright and good.

Prayer: Lord, I praise you for your great love for me. I rejoice in your love and kindness. I seek you. I seek to draw near to you. Let me be in your presence, that I may know you more and more. In Jesus name, Amen.