Jesus was treasured by the church

JESUS WAS TREASURED BY THE CHURCH
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Song of Solomon2:16 16My belovedis mine and I am
his; he browses among the lilies.
THE INTEREST OF CHRIST AND HIS PEOPLE IN EACH OTHER NO.
374
A SERMON DELIVERED ON GOOD FRIDAYEVENING, MARCH 29,
1861, DELIVERED BYREV. C. H. SPURGEON, AT THE
METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
“My Belovedis mine, and I am His.” Song of Solomon2:16.
THE Church says concerning her Lord, “My Belovedis mine, and I am His.”
No “ifs,” no “buts.” The two sentences are solemnassertions. Not, “Ihope, I
trust, I think.” But, “My Belovedis mine, and I am His.” “Yes,” but you will
say, “the Church must then have been gazing upon her husband’s face. It
must have been a seasonofpeculiar enjoyment with Him, when she could
speak thus.” No, brothers and sisters, no! The Church, when she thus spoke,
was in darkness, forin the very next verse she cries— “Until the day breaks,
and the shadows flee away, turn, my Beloved, and be You like a roe or a
young hart upon the mountains of Bether.” I say, brothers and sisters, this
solemn certainty, this double assertionofher interest in Christ, and Christ’s
interest in her, is the utterance of the Church even in her darkness, in the
cheerless seasonofHis absence!So then, you and I, if we believe in Christ,
ought, even when we do not see His face, still to cultivate full assurance of

faith, and never be satisfiedunless we can say, “My Belovedis mine, and I am
His.” When you cannotsay this, my hearer, give no sleep to your eyes, nor
slumber to your eyelids. Be not happy; take no solace;find no comfort as long
as there is any doubt about your union with the Beloved—His possessionof
you and your possessionofHim! We will now, having thus prefacedthe text,
come at once to it. There are two members, you perceive, to the sentence, “My
Belovedis mine, and I am His.” These two things come in a strange order, you
will say, “Surely we are first Christ’s, before Christ is ours.” A right thought
of yours. We shall take the text, then, this evening two ways. We shall first
speak of it as it would be in the order of time. “I am my Beloved’s, and my
Belovedis mine.” We shall afterwards speak in the order of the text, which is
the order of experience. The words as Solomonpenned them are not the order
of fact as far as God is concerned, but the order in which we find out God’s
greatdoings! You know God’s first things are our secondthings, and our
secondthings are God’s first things. “Make your calling and electionsure.”
Calling is your first thing—electionis the second. But electionis God’s first
thing, and calling is the next! You are not electedbecause youare called; and
yet, at the same time, you shall never know your electionuntil first you have
made your calling and electionsure! The order of the text is the order of
experience. We shall take the members of the sentence as they would be if they
spoke in the order of fact. I. To begin, then, I AM MY BELOVED’S, AND
MY BELOVED IS THEREFOREMINE. 1. “I am my Beloved’s.” Glorious
assertion!I am His by His Father’s gift. Long before suns and moons were
made, and stars twinkled in the midnight darkness, Godthe eternalFather
had given the chosento Christ, to be His heritage and marriage dowry. If
God, then, has given my soulto Christ, I am my Beloved’s. Who shall dispute
the right of God to give, or who shall take from Christ that which His Father
has given to be His heritage? Fiends of hell! Legions of the pit! When God
gives, canyou take back the gift? If He puts the souls of the choseninto the
hands of Christ, can you pluck them from Him? If He makes them Christ’s
sheep, can you pluck them out of His fold, and make them your own? God
forbid we should indulge the blasphemous thought, that any candispute the
ownership which Christ has in His people, derived from His Father’s gift! But
I am my Beloved’s, if I am a believer, because ofJesus Christ’s purchase of
me. We were bought not with corruptible things, as with silver and gold, but

with the precious blood of Christ. Christ has an absolute right to all that He
bought with His blood. I do not believe in that dreamy atonement, by which
Christ redeems, and purchases, and yet the purchase is a fiction, and the
redemption a metaphor!
The Interest of Christ and His People in EachOther Sermon #374
Tellsomeone today how much you love Jesus Christ. Volume 7
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All that Christ bought with blood He will have. If a man buys with gold and
silver of an honestman, he gets his own, nor will he be content until he does;
but when Christ ransoms with His blood and buys of God Himself, and
redeems His own people, it is not possible that He should be frustrated of His
purpose or denied the objective of His death! I am my Beloved’s then, because
He has paid the full price for me, counted down the purple drops, and
positively and surely has as much bought me with His money as ever
Abraham of old bought flocks of sheepand oxen, or as ever of old Jacob
served for Racheland for Leah. No title deeds ever made estates more truly
the property of the purchaser;than did the resurrectionguarantee the rights
of Christ in the “purchasedpossession.” “Iam my Beloved’s,”by a double
tie—by the Father’s gift, and by the Son’s divine purchase. These two things
are not easilyreconcilable to some minds. But let it be carriedin your hearts
as a matter of fact, that there is as much grace in the Father’s giving the elect
to Christ as if no price were paid, and secondly, that there was as full and true
a price paid to the Fatheras though the Father had been justice only, and not
love. The grace of God and His justice are, both of them, full-orbed, they are
never eclipsed;they are never made to you with divided luster; He is as
gracious as though He were not just; He is as awfully severe as though there
were no grace in His nature. But, more than this, “I am my Beloved’s,” for, I
am His by conquest. He fought for me, and He wonme, let Him possessme.
He went alone to that greatbattle. He defied all the hosts which had made me
their prey, encounteredfirst my sins, and slew them with His blood, He
encounteredSatan himself next, and bruised the serpent’s head, encountered

death, and slew him by “destroying him that had the powerof death, that is,
the devil.” O Christ! You deserved to have those for whom You did wrestle
and agonize even unto blood, and who by Your strong hand, You brought out
of the land of their captivity! Never could a conqueror claim a subject so
justly as Christ claims His people; they were not only His, eternally His, by
the purchase of His blood, but they are His because He has takenthem by
overwhelming might, having delivered them out of the hand of him who was
strongerthan they! That word which He gird upon His thigh, is both the right
by which He claims, and the might by which He keeps His ransomed. Besides
this, every true believer can add, “I am my Beloved’s,” by a gracious
surrender. “With full consentI give myself to You.” This is your language,
brothers and sisters. It is mine. “I am my Beloved’s.” If I were never His
before, I do desire to give myself up to Him now. His Love shall be the fetters
in which I, a happy captive, will walk at His triumphant chariot wheels. His
grace shallbind me with its golden chains so that I will be free and yet His
bondman forever. The mercies of eachhour shall be fresh links, and the
benefits of eachday and night shall be new rivets to the chain. No Christian
would like to be his own; to be one’s own is to be lost; but to be Christ’s is to
be saved! To be one’s own is to be a wandering sheep; to be Christ’s is to
return to the greatbishop and shepherd of our souls. Do you not remember,
many of you, the night when you first surrendered to Christ? He stoodat the
door and knocked—the doorwas overgrownwith brambles; the hinges had
rusted from long disuse; the keywas lost; the keyhole of the lock was welded
togetherwith filth and rust. Yes, from within the door was bolted fast! He
knocked—atfirst a gentle knock, enoughto let you know who it was. You
laughed. He knockedagain. You heeded not; you heard His voice as he cried,
“Open to Me, open to Me. My hair is wet with dew, and My locks with the
drops of the night.” But you had a thousand frivolous excuses, andyou would
not open to Him! Oh, do you remember when at lastHe put in his hand by the
hole of the lock, and your heart was moved for Him? “Jesus!Savior! I yield, I
yield! I can hold out no longer, my heart melts. My cruel soul relents. Come
in! Come in! Please pardon me that I have kept You out so long; resistedso
long the wooings of Your heavenly love.” Well, you will say tonight, and set
your solemn hand and sealto it, that you are Christ’s because youdo once
again, voluntarily and freely, surrender yourself to Him! I think tonight

would be a very proper occasionfor eachof us to renew our dedication vows.
We are, many of us, believers; let us go to our chamber and saythus—“O
God! You have heard our prayers as a Church. We have entered into Your
house; we have seenit filled to the full. By this, the answerwhich You have
given to our prayers, we rededicate ourselves to You, desiring to say with the
spouse more fully than heretofore, ‘I am my Beloved’s.’” Let us pause here an
instant. We have seenhow we came to be our Beloved’s, letus inquire in what
sense we are so now.
Sermon #374 The Interest of Christ and His People in EachOther
Volume 7 Tell someone todayhow much you love Jesus Christ.
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We are His, first of all, by a near affinity that never can be broken. Christ is
the Head; we are His members. There is nothing which my Head possessesso
truly as my hands, and my heart. Your head could not say that its helmet and
plume are so truly its own as the neck, the sinews, the veins, which are joined
thereunto. The head manifestly has a distinct and peculiar property in every
member. “I am my Beloved’s,” then, even as my hands and feet are mine. “I
am my Beloved’s”—ifHe loses me, I will be mutilated. “I am my Beloved’s,”
if I am cut away, or even wounded, He will feel the pain. The Head must
suffer, when the members are tempted and tried. There is nothing so true and
real, in the sense of property, as this! I would that you who doubt the
perseverance ofthe saints would take these few words to heart. If once Christ
should lose His people, He would be a head without a body. That would be a
ghastly sight! No, if He lostone of His people, He would be the head of a
mutilated body—that would not be a glorious sight. If you imagine the loss of
one mystical member of Christ, you must suppose an imperfect Christ—one
whose fullness is not full, whose glory is not glorious, whose completeness is
not complete!Now I am sure you would rejectthat idea. And it will be joy for
you to say, “As the members belong to the head, so am I my Beloved’s.”
Further than this—we are our Beloved’s by a most affectionate relationship.
He is the Husband, believers are the spouse. There is nothing that a man has

that is so much his property as his own wife, except it be his very life. A man’s
wealth may melt by losses;a man’s estate may be sold to pay his debts; but, a
man’s wife, as long as she lives, is his absolute property. She can say, “He is
mine.” He cansay, “She is mine.” Now Christ says of all His people, “You are
mine, I am married to you; I have taken you unto Myself, and betrothed you
unto Me in faithfulness.” What do you say? Will you deny the celestial
marriage bond? God forbid! Will you not sayto your Lord tonight, “Yes, I
am my Beloved’s”? Ah, there is no divorce court in heaven; there is no
division; no separationbill possible, for He “hates divorce.” If chosen, He will
not reject;if once embraced, He will never castout; His she is, and His she
shall be forevermore. In this sense, then, “I am my Beloved’s.” Yetonce
more—“Iam my Beloved’s” by an indissoluble connection, just as a child is
the property of his father. The father calls his child his own. Who denies it?
What law is so inhuman as to allow another to tearawaythe offspring of his
heart from the parent? There is no such law among civilized men! Among the
aboriginal savagesofthe Southern States ofAmerica, such a thing may exist;
but among civilized men there can never be any dispute but that the father’s
right to his child is supreme, and that no master, and no owner canoverride
the rights of the parents to his children. Come, then—even so are we His! “He
shall see His seed.” “He shall see of the travail of His soul.” If He could lose
His glories, if He could be driven from His kingdom, if He could be despoiled
of His crown, if His throne could totter, if all His might could melt awayas the
snow wreath melts before the summer’s sun—yet at leastHis seedwould be
His own! No law, human or divine, could disown the believing child, or
unfather Christ, the Everlasting Father. So then, it is a great joy to know that
eachbeliever may say, in the highest sense—“Iam my Beloved’s. I am His
child, and He is my parent.” I half wish that instead of my preaching now, we
could stand up, eachof us who feel the force of this sweetsentiment, and say,
“‘Tis true, greatGod; by eternal donation, by complete purchase, by a full
surrender, by a mighty conquest, I am my Beloved’s. He is my Head, my
Husband, my Father, and my all.” 2. The secondsentence in order of time is,
“My Belovedis mine.” Ah, you very poor men and women, you who could not
call one foot of land your own, and probably never will till you get the space
where you lie down to sleepthe sleepof death! If you can say, “My Belovedis
mine,” you have greaterwealththan Croesus everknew, or than a miser ever

dreamed! If my soul can claim Christ, the eternalGod and the perfectman, as
being my own personalproperty, then my soul is rich to all the intents of
bliss—evenif the body walks in rags, or should the lips know hunger, or the
mouth be parched with thirst! But how is my Belovedmine? He is mine,
because He gave Himself to me of old. Long before I knew it, or had a being,
He covenantedto bestow Himself on me—on all His chosen. WhenHe said,
“Lo, I come; in the volume of the Book it is written of Me, I delight to do Your
will, O God,” He did in fact become My substitute, giving Himself to do my
work, and bear my sorrow!Mine He is because that covenanthas been
fulfilled in the actualgift. For me (I speak in the first person, because I want
you eachto speak in the first person, too), for you, my soul, He laid aside His
robes of glory to become a man; for
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you He was swaddledin the weaknessofInfancy and lay in the poverty of the
manger; for you, my soul, He bore the infant body, the childish form, and the
human flesh and blood; for you the poverty which made Him cry, “Foxes have
holes and the birds of the air have nests, but I, the Sonof man, have not where
to lay My head.” For you, my soul, for you that shame and spitting, that agony
and bloody sweat, that cross that crown of thorns, those expiring agonies, that
dying groan! “My Beloved,” in all this, “is mine.” Yes, yours the burial; yours
the resurrectionand its mystic meaning; yours the ascensionand its
triumphant shouts; yours the sessionat the right hand of God; yes, and by
holy daring we avow it, He who sits today, “Godover all, blessedforever,” is
ours in the splendor of His majesty, in the invincibility of His might, in the
omnipresence of His power, in all the glory of His future advent! Our Beloved
is ours, because He has given Himself to us, just as He is. But besides that, our
Belovedis not only ours by His owngift, which is the reality of it all, but He is
ours by a graciouslycompleted union. What a wonderful thing is the doctrine
of union with Christ. “We are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His

bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave
unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a greatmystery, but I
speak concerning Christ and the Church.” Christ and His Church are one—
one as the stones are one with the foundation; one, as the branches are one
with the vine; as the wife is one with the husband; one, as the members are
one with the head—as the soul is one with the body—no, if there canbe
conceiveda union closer, and there is but one, we are one with Christ, even as
Christ is one with His Father! “I in them, and You in Me;” for thus the union
stands; now, as soonas ever we are one with Christ, you see at once that
Christ must be ours. There is a common property betweenChrist and His
people. All theirs belongs to Him—His belongs to them. They have not two
stocks,they have but one. He has castin His wealth, they have castin their
poverty—from that day they have common funds. They have but one purse—
they have all things in common. All He is and all He has is theirs, and all they
are or can be belong to Him. I might add, but this is a high point, and needs to
be experienced, rather than preachedupon, Christ is ours by His indwelling.
Ignatius used to call himself the God-bearerand when some wondered at the
title, he said—“Icarry God about within me; our bodies are the temples of the
Holy Spirit.” That is an amazing text, amazing in the splendor of its meaning!
Does the Holy Spirit dwell in a man? Yes, that He does! Notin this temple,
“not in tabernacles made with hands.” That is to say, of man’s building, but
within this soul, and in your soul, and in the souls of all His called ones, He
dwells. “Abide in Me,” He said, “and I in you.” Christ must be in you, the
hope of glory; Christ must be formed in you, as He was in Mary, or you have
not come yet to know to the fullest, the divine meaning of the spouse, whenshe
said—“MyBelovedis mine, and I am His.” Now, tonight, I wish that we could
get practicalgood, to our comfort, out of the thought that Christ is ours, if we
are believers. Hear me, then, a moment or two, while I dilate upon that
thought. Christ is surely yours. It is not a questionable property, a matter to
be put into dispute with heaven’s court; beyond question Christ is the
property—the rightful heritage—ofeveryelectand calledone! Again—Christ
is ours personally. We sometimes speak ofseverallyand jointly. Well then,
Christ is ours jointly; but, blessedbe His name, He is ours severally, too!
Christ is as much yours tonight, howevermean you may be, as though He did
not belong to another man living. The whole of Christ is yours! He is not part

mine, and part yours, and part another man’s. He is all mine, all yours—
personally mine, personally yours! Oh that we could realize this fact! And
then, again, Christ is always ours. He is never more ours at one time, and less
ours at another. The moment we believe in Him, we may know our perfect
and invariable right to Christ; a right which depends not upon the changes of
the hour, or upon the temperature of our frames and feelings, but upon those
two immutable things wherein it is impossible for God to lie. Christ is ours
tonight; and, glory be to His name for it, if we believe, He is ours forever—
“This sacredbond shall never break, Though earth’s old columns bow! The
strong, the feeble and the weak Canclaim their Saviornow!”
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And this they shall do, perhaps with greaterjoy, but not with greaterright,
when they stand before the throne of God! I cannot, tonight, in a place to
which I am so little accustomed, bring all my thoughts togetheras I would.
But, I think if I could but put this truth of God before you, or rather, if the
Spirit of Godwould put it so that you could feelChrist to be yours, it would
make you spring from your pew with ecstasy!Why, it is enough to thrill every
chord in a man; and if a man may be comparedto a harp, make every string
in him pour forth an oceanofmusic! Christ mine—myself Christ’s—there
cannot be a more joyous or more heavenly theme beneath the skies!II. I have
thus completed the first work of this evening—taking the sentences ofthe text
in the order of time. I shall now take the text IN THE ORDER IN WHICH IT
IS GIVEN TO US, WHICH IS THE ORDER OF OUR EXPERIENCE. Do
you not see, that to a man’s experience, God’s order is reversed? We begin
thus—“My Belovedis mine.” I go to Him, take Him up in the arms of my
faith, as Simeon took up the little Child in the Temple, and pressing Him to
my heart, I say—“Jesus, Youare mine. All unholy and unclean, I nevertheless
obey Your command; I believe You, I take You at Your word; I touch the
hem of Your garment; I trust my soul wholly with You; You are mine and my

soul can never part with You.” What next? Why then, the soul afterwards
says—“Now Iam Yours, tell me what You would have me to do. Jesus, letme
abide with You. Lord, I would follow You wherever You go; put me on any
service, dictate to me any commandment; tell me what You would have me do
to glorify You”— “Throughfloods, through flames, if Jesus leads, I’ll follow
where He goes.”ForI am His! Christ is mine—this is faith. I am His—this is
goodworks. Christ is mine—that is the simple way in which the soul is saved!
I am Christ’s—thatis the equally simple method by which salvationdisplays
itself in its practicalfruits. I am afraid some of you have never carried out the
last sentence, “Iam Christ’s.” I know some, for instance, who believe (mark, I
am not speaking to those who do not) who believe it to be the duty of every
Christian to profess his faith in Baptism, but nevertheless are not baptized.
They say they are Baptists in principle. They are Baptists without any
principle at all! They are men who know their Master’s will, and do it not,
and they shall surely be beaten with many stripes. In other men it becomes a
sin of ignorance;but with such men it is willful. They reply, “It is a
nonessential.” Things non-essentialto salvationare nevertheless essentialto
obedience!As I said a few Sabbaths ago, you would not like a servant who
only did what he liked to do, and told you that some of your commands were
non-essential. I am quite certain that if a soldier did not load his gun, or stand
in rank, or shoulder arms at the word of command, the court martial would
never listen for an instant to the plea of non-essential!God’s commands
require obedience, and it is essentialthat every servant be found faithful. I
say, it is exceedinglyessentialto a Christian to do what he is told to do.
WhateverJesus bids us do, if it save us from nothing, at any rate the
fulfillment of it will save us from the sin of being disobedient to Him! Now will
you try, my dear friends, not in the one command only, which lies at the
threshold of the house, but in all others, to feel that you are not your own?
“Ah,” says one man, “I am not my own; I have so much to do for my family.”
Another says, “I am not my own; I belong to a political party.” Another, “I
am not my own; I belong to a firm.” Justso—allthese are ways in which men
are kept from saying, “I am my Beloved’s, and my Belovedis mine.” Oh that
we could, by any means whatever, feel that we were all Christ’s! I, though I
had a drop of blood in my veins that was not His, I would seek to have it let
out; and if there were a single power I have—mental, physical, or spiritual

which could not and would not serve God, though it might impair my
comfort—I would devoutly pray that this Jonah might be thrown into the sea,
this Achan stoned with stones, this Haman hanged on the gallows!This
cankeredthing, it is a deadly thing—this damnable thing must be cut away,
once and for all, for, “Betterto enter into heaven halt and maimed, than
having two eyes and two arms to be castinto hell fire.” We must have eyes
that see Christ! We must feelthat we are all Christ’s, and live as if we were all
Christ’s, for we have no right to say, “My Belovedis mine,” unless we can
add, “And I am His.” Why look, sirs, look at the greatmultitude of professors.
How few there are who live as if they belongedto Christ! They act
independently of Him! They buy, they sellon their own account—thatthey
are stewards neverpene
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trate their thick brains; that all they have is not their own, but His, never
seems to have come into their heart, though they have sung it with their lips—
“And if I might make some reserve, And duty did not call, I love my God with
zeal so great, That I would give Him all.” Many a man has sung that, with his
thumb-nail going round a coin in his purse, to find out whether it was a four
penny or a three penny bit! He says he would give Christ all; but then he
means that the bill is to be drawn at a very long credit, and he will pay when
he dies—he will give up what he cannot take awaywith him—and when he
leaves his rotten carcass, he will leave his rotten wealth. Oh that we could all
feel that we were all Christ’s! Why, the Church of God would not be penned
and shut up within the narrow bounds of England and America for long, if
once we felt we were Christ’s! At this very moment China is open to Christian
enterprise. The leaderof the so-called“rebels” turns out to be, after all, a man
who is exceedinglyenlightened in the things of God. He has said to Mr.
Roberts, the missionary, “I open today 18 chapels in Nanking—write to your
friends and tell them to come overand preach, and we will be glad to hear

them. I give you a passportthat no man may touch you, and any man who will
preach Christ’s gospelshallgo unharmed through my dominions.” And he
actually issued, but a few days before the coming of the last mail, a
proclamation by which all idolatry is abolishedthroughout his dominions, and
witchcraft and fortunetelling are made crimes, and he invites, and prays
specificallythat his brothers in England will send over the Word of life, that
they may have it among the people. Now I do honestly avow, if this place had
not been built, and I had had nothing beyond the narrow bounds of the place
in which I have lately preached, I would have felt in my conscience bound to
go to learn the language and preach the Word there! But I now know what to
do. I must here abide, for this is my place;but I would to Godsome were
found in the church, some in London, who have not such a gracious tie as this
to keepthem in their own land, to say, “Here am I, send me. I am Christ’s
man; there is Christ’s field. Let me go and reap it, for the harvest is ripe. Help
me, O God, and I will seek to ingather it for Your honor.” “My Belovedis
mine, and I am His.” That last, “I am His” would make life cheap, and blood
like water, and heroism a common thing, and daring but an everyday duty,
and self-sacrificethe very spirit of the Christian life! Learn well, then, the
meaning of that sentence, “Iam His.” But, will you please notice once again—
(I fear lest I shall wearyyou, and therefore will be brief)— “My Belovedis
mine”—that is my calling. He calls me to Him. He gives Himself to me. He is
mine. I am His—that is my election! I was His before I knew Him to be mine;
but I learnedmy calling first, and my electionafterwards. We have scores of
people who will not come to Christ because theycannot understand election.
Meeta boy in the street, and invite him to go to a two-penny school. “No,”
says the boy, “I don’t feel fit to go to a national schoolto learn to read and
write—for, to tell you the truth, I don’t understand the Hebrew language,”
You would reply, “But, my good lad, you will learn Hebrew afterwards, if you
can—but that is no reason, atany rate, why you should not learn English
first! Come first to the little school;you shall go afterwards to the grammar
school;if you geton, you shall go to the University, take your B.A. degree, and
perhaps come out as a Masterof Arts.” But here we have poor souls that want
to have their M.A. before they have gone to the penny school!They want to
read the volumes before they will read the primer book. They are not content
to spell A, B, C—“Iam a sinner, Christ is a Savior”—butthey long to turn

over the book of decrees, andfind out the deep things of God. You shall find
them out afterwards—youshallgo stepby step, while the Mastershall sayto
you eachtime, “friend, come up higher.” But if you begin with election, you
will have to come down again—forthere will be a more honorable man than
you who will come in, and you will begin with shame to take the lowestplace. I
have seenplenty of high-flying Christians who beganat the top of the tree;
they were the men; wisdom would die with them; the judges, the dictators, the
very consuls, the cardinals, the popes—theyknew everything. And whenever
such men are gracious men, the Lord always puts the lancetinto them, and
makes them grow smaller and smaller, and smaller, till at lastthey say, “Woe
is me, for I am undone.” And they cry, “My soul is even as a weanedchild.”
Beginat the bottom and grow up. But do not begin at the top and come down!
That is hard work—but going up is pleasantwork, joyous
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work!Begin by saying, “My Belovedis mine.” You shall come to know your
election, by-and-by, and say, “I am His.” And now I do not think I will preach
any longerabout my text, but just come down upon my hearers for a few
minutes, with all my might! How many among us can dare to say this tonight?
Hundreds of you can!Thousands of you can! If this were the Dayof
Judgment—if tonight you stood, fresh risen from your graves—ifnow you
heard the trumpet sound—if now you saw the King in His beauty sitting upon
the greatwhite throne, I know that many of you would say, “My Belovedis
mine, and I am His.” If this day the millennial reign of Christ had begun—if
the vials had been opened, the plagues poured out, and if now Christ were
come—thatthe wickedmight be driven out, and that His saints might reign—
I am sure there are many of you who would say, “Welcome, welcome,Sonof
God! My Belovedis mine, and I am His.” And there are many of you, too, who
if the angelof death should pass the pew, and flap his black wings into your
face, and the cold air of death should smite you, would say, “‘Tis well, for my

Belovedis mine, and I am His.” You could shut your eyes and your ears to the
joys, and to the music of earth, and you could open them to the splendors and
melodies of heaven! To be fearless ofdeath should always be the mark of the
Christian. Sometimes a sudden alarm may rob us of our presence ofmind;
but no believer is in a healthy state if he is not ready to meet death at any
hour, and at any moment. To walk bravely into the jaws of the dragon—to go
through the iron gates and to feelno terror—to be ready to shake hands with
the skeletonking;to look on him as a friend, and no more a foe—this should
be the habitual spirit, and the constantpractice of the heir of heaven. Oh, if
this is written on my soul, “My Belovedis mine, and I am His!” Come,
welcome death— “Come, death, and some celestialband, I’ll gladly go with
you.” But—and a solemn “But”—pass the question round these galleries, and
in this area, and how many among you must say, “I never thought of that. I
never thought whether I was Christ’s, or Christ mine.” I will not rebuke you
tonight. I will not thunder at you. God’s grace to me forbids that this should
be a day of thunder. Let it be a day of feasting to everyone, and of sorrow to
none. What shall I say to you, then, but this? O that Christ may be yours!
When He was here on earth, He chose to go among sinners— sinners of the
blackesthue! And now He is in heaven; up yonder He loves sinners as much
as He ever did. He is as willing to receive you tonight as to receive the thief! It
will give as much joy to His heart to hear your cry tonight, as when He
thanked God that these things were revealedunto babes. It is to His honor
that you should be His; it is to His joy that He should be yours. Sinner! If you
will have Christ—if now the Spirit of God makes you willing—there is no bar
on God’s part when the bar is taken awayon your part! If you are willing, by
His grace, He is more willing than you are!If the gate of your heart is on the
latch, the gate of heaven is wide open! If your soul does but yearn after Christ,
His heart has long yearned after you! If you have but a spark of love to Christ,
He has a furnace of love to you; and if you have none at all—no love, no
faith—oh I pray you have it now! “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you
shall be saved.” You! You! YOU! Did you come here out of curiosity?
Zaccheus heard Christ out of curiosity; but he was saved. Did you come for a
worse purpose? God bless you, anyhow, for whatever reasonyou came;and
may He bring you to Himself tonight! Trust Christ now, and you are saved.
My life for yours—if you perish trusting in Christ, I will perish, too! Even

should I have an ear listening to me which belongs to a harlot, to a thief, to a
murderer, yet, “He who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ shall be saved.” And
if you believe in Him, and you are lost, I will be lostwith you; and the whole
Church of Christ must be lost, too; for there is the same way to heavenfor the
best as for the worst—forthe most vile as for the most righteous!“No man
comes unto the Father but by Christ.” Nothing can damn a man but his own
righteousness!Nothing cansave him but the righteousness ofChrist. All your
sin—your pastsin—shall not destroyyou—if you now believe in Jesus!It shall
be castinto the sea forever, and you shall begin again as though you had never
sinned. His grace shallkeepyou for the future, and you shall hold on your
way an honor to Christ’s grace, and a joy to your own soul! But if you are
disobedient and will not eat of the goodof the land, then will I say, as Isaiah
said of old, “I am found of them that soughtMe not, but all day long have I
stretchedout My hands to an ungodly and gain-saying generation.” Godhas
stretchedout His hands! Oh that you were wise and would run into His arms
tonight!
8
8
I know I am speaking to some self-righteous men—some who say, “It is a
shame to tell men they are depraved. I am not.” Well, we think if their lives
were written, it might be proved they were. “It is a shame,” they say, “to tell
men that they cannotget to heaven by their goodworks, because thenthey
will be wicked.” It is an odd thing, that the more this truth is preached, the
better the people are! Preaching goodworks as the way to heaven always
makes drunkards and thieves, but preaching faith in Christ always produces
the besteffects. Dr. Chalmers, who was no fanatic, says, “WhenI preached
mere morality, I preachedsobriety till they were all drunkards; I preached
chastity till it was not knownanywhere; I preachedhonesty till men grew to
be thieves. But,” he says, “as soonas everI preachedChrist, there was sucha
change in the village as never was known!” Well, we believe that self-

righteousness willdestroy you, my friend, and we therefore tell you, honestly
and plainly, that you might as well hope to get to heaven by flying up in a
balloon as to get there by your goodworks!You may as soonsail to India in a
sieve as get to glory by your own goodness;you might as well go to court in
cobwebs as seek to go to heaven in your own righteousness. Awaywith your
rags, your filthy, rotten rags!They are only a harbor for the parasites of
unbelief and pride! Away with your rotten righteousness,your counterfeit
gold, your forgedwealth! It is of no worth whatever in the sight of God! Come
to Him empty, poor, naked! It grates on your proud ears, does it? Better, I
say, to lose your pride than to lose your soul! Why be damned for pride’s
sake? Whycarry your head so high that it must be cut off? Why feed your
pride on your soul’s blood? Surely there is cheaperstuff than that for pride to
drink! Why let it suck the very marrow out of your bones? Be wise! Bow,
stoop, stoopto be saved!And now, in the name of Jesus ofNazareth, the man,
the God, I do command you, as His messengerand His servant—and at your
peril rejectthe command—“Believe,repent and be baptized, every one of
you.” “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved,” “forhe who
believes and is baptized shall be saved; he who believes not shall be damned.”
God add His blessing, for His name’s sake. Amen.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
A Song Among the Lilies
Biblical Illustrator
Songs 2:16

My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feeds among the lilies.
This passagedescribes a high state of grace, and it is worthy of note that the
description is full of Christ. This is instructive, for this is not an exceptional
case, it is only one fulfilment of a generalrule. Our estimate of Christ is the
best gauge ofour spiritual condition; as the thermometer rises in proportion
to the increasedwarmth of the air, so does our estimate of Jesus rise as our
spiritual life increasesin vigour and fervency. Tell me what you think of Jesus
and I will tell you what to think of yourself. Christ is all to us, "yea, more than
all when we are thoroughly sanctifiedand filled with the Holy Ghost.
I. First, here is A DELIGHTING TO HAVE CHRIST. "My Belovedis mine."
The spouse makes this the first of her joy notes, the corner-stone ofher peace,
the fountain of her bliss, the crownof her glory. Observe here that where such
an expressionis truthfully used the existence of the Belovedis matter of fact.
Scepticismand questioning have no place with those who thus sing. Love
cannot, will not doubt; it casts awaythe crutches of argument and flies on the
wings of consciousenjoyment, singing her nuptial hymn, "My Belovedis
mine, and I am His." In the case before us the love of the heavenly-minded
one is perceivedand acknowledgedby herself. "My Beloved," saith she;it is
no latent affection, she knows that she loves Him, and solemnly avows it. She
does not whisper, "I hope I love the peerless One," but she sings, "My
Beloved." There is no doubt in her soul about her passionfor the altogether
lovely One. But the pith of the text lies here, our possessionofHim is proven,
we know it, and we know it on goodevidence — "My Belovedis mine." Jesus
is ours by the promise, the covenant,, and oath of God; a thousand assurances
and pledges, bonds and seals, secure Him to us as our portion and everlasting
heritage. This precious possessionbecomes to the believer his sole treasure.
"My Belovedis mine," saith he, and in that sentence he has summed up all his
wealth. Oh, what would all the treasures of the covenantbe to us if it were
possible to have them without Christ? Their very sap and sweetnesswould be

gone. Having our Belovedto be ours, we have all things in Him, and therefore
our main treasure, yea, our sole treasure, is our Beloved. O ye saints of God,
was there ever possessionlike this?
II. The secondportion of the text deals with DELIGHTING TO BELONG TO
CHRIST. "I am His. This is as sweetas the former sentence. Christis mine,
but if I were not His it would be a sorry case, and if I were His and He were
not mine it would be a wretchedbusiness. These two things are joined
togetherwith diamond rivets — My Belovedis mine, and I am His." Put the
two together, and you have reachedthe summit of delight. That we are His is
a fact that may be proven — yea, it should need no proving, but be manifest to
all that "I am His." Certainly we are His by creation:He who made us should
have us. We are His because His Father gave us to Him, and we are His
because He chose us. Creation, donation, electionare His triple hold upon us.
Now this puts very greathonour upon us. I have knownthe time when I could
say "My Belovedis mine" in a very humble trembling manner, but I did not
dare to add "I am His" because I did not think I was worth His having. I
dared not hope that "I am His" would ever be written in the same book side
by side with "My Belovedis mine." Poorsinner, first lay hold on Jesus, and
then you will discoverthat Jesus values you. This secondpart of the text is
true as absolutely as the first. "I am His" — not my goods only, nor my time,
nor my talents, nor what I can spare, but "I am His." The believer feels that
he belongs to Jesus absolutely;let the Lord employ him as he may, or try him
as he pleases;let him take awayall earthly friends from him or surround him
with comforts. Blessedbe God, this is true evermore — "I am His"; His to-
day, in the house of worship, and His to-morrow in the house of business. This
belonging to the Well-beloved is a matter of factand practice, not a thing to
be talked about only, but really to be actedon. If you are His He will provide
for you. A goodhusband careth for his spouse, and even thus the Lord Jesus
Christ cares forthose who are betrothed unto Him. You will be perfectedtoo,
for whateverChrist has He will make worthy of Himself and bring it to glory.

III. To conclude:the saint feels DELIGHT IN THE VERY THOUGHT OF
CHRIST. "He feedeth among the lilies." When we love any persons, and we
are awayfrom home, we delight to think of them, and to remember what they
are doing. Now, where is Jesus? Whatare these lilies? Do not these lilies
representthe pure in heart, with whom Jesus dwells? Where, then, is my Lord
to-day? He is up and away, among the lilies of Paradise. In imagination I see
those stately rows of milk-white lilies growing no longer among thorns: lilies
which are never soiled with the dust of earth, which for ever glistenwith the
eternal dews of fellowship, while their roots drink in unfading life from the
river of the water of life which waters the garden of the Lord. There is Jesus!
But what is He doing among the lilies? It is said, "He feedeth among the
lilies." He is feeding Himself, not on the lilies, but among them. Our Lord
finds solace among His people. His delights are with the sons of men; He joys
to see the graces ofHis people, to receive their love, and to discern His own
image in their faces. Thenwhat shall I do? Well, I will abide among the lilies.
His saints shall be my companions. Where they flourish I will try to grow. I
will be often in their assemblies. Aye, and I will be a lily too. By faith I will
neither toil nor spin in a legalfashion, but I will live by faith upon the Son of
God, rootedin Him.
( C. H. Spurgeon.)
He Mine; I His
S. Conway
Songs 2:16

This verse is the oft-repeatedand rapturous utterance of her who is the type
of the redeemedsoul concerning her beloved. Of course, we regardit as telling
of the soul's joy in Christ.
I. HE MINE. Let us ask three questions.
1. How?
(1) By his free gift of himself. "He loved me, and gave himself for me."
(2) By believing appropriation. Faith has this marvellous power.
(3) By joyful realization of his love to me.
His love has been shed shed abroad in my heart by the Holy Spirit. "I know
whom I have believed." How unspeakably blessedsuch realizationis! But it is
not universal nor even common. A little child will cry even in its mother's
arms. But the arms are there all the same. And so is Christ's love.
2. What for? "He is mine to look upon, to lean upon, to dwell with; mine to
bear all my burdens, discharge allmy debts; mine to answerall my accusers,
mine to conquer all my foes;mine to deliver me from hell, mine to prepare a
place for me in heaven; mine in absence, mine in presence, mine in life, mine
in death, mine in the grave, mine in the judgment, and mine at the marriage
of the Lamb" (MoodyStuart).

3. What then?
(1) All that is his is mine. His righteousness, acceptableness, worthiness;his
incarnation, atonement, resurrection, and intercession.
(2) I ought to know it if I do not. It is all-important to me if he be mine.
(3) I ought not to be so anxious about other things.
(4) Let me take care not to lose him. It is possible (cf. ch. 5:6).
II. I HIS. We ask the same three questions.
1. How?
(1) By creation. "It is he that hath made us" (Psalm 100).
(2) By the purchase of his blood.
(3) By the conquest of his Spirit.
(4) By my own free choice.

(5) By open avowal.
2. What for? To work and to witness, to suffer and to live, and if needs be to
die, for him. To care for those for whom he cares, andto minister as he
ministered.
3. What then?
(1) All that is mine, a sadinheritance indeed, is his. My sin, my guilt, my
sorrow, my shame. And he has takenthem on himself and away from me
forever.
(2) Others should know it. I may not be a secretdisciple.
(3) He will be sure to take care of me, teach me, perfectme, and bring me to
himself.
(4) I will be his even when I cannot realize that he is mine.
(5) I will try to win others to him. - S.C.
Marriage Jointure
J.D. Davies

Songs 2:16
Marriage is a mutual identification of personalinterests, therefore it fully
represents the mystic union betweenJesus and the believer. We may not have
always the conscious senseofour Friend's nearness to us, still we can always
say, "My Belovedis mine." For this is an establishedfact - a fact revealed-
and this factis ascertainedby faith, and treasured in the memory, whether we
experience it at the moment or not. If dark clouds hide the face of our Sun of
Righteousness, we know still that he is affording us light and heat and life, and
still we say, "My Belovedis mine."
I. THE HEART'S CHOICE. The door has been opened to Christ, and he has
been admitted to the innermost shrine. He has become the soul's Husband and
King by sacredcovenant.
1. This choice is an effect, not a cause. "We love him, because he first loved
us." Said Jesus to his first disciples, "Ye have not chosenme, but I have
chosenyou." His light has shined into our minds. His spirit has given
sensibility to our conscience.He has made us sensible of our need. He has
restrained us from further rebellion. He causedus to walk in the King's
highway. "By the grace of God I am what I am."
2. This choice ofChrist is our supremestwisdom. To have made Jesus our
soul's Portion is an actof pure wisdom. It is the only right thing to do. He has
a right to the chief place, and it would be sacrilege to give our best love to
another. Yet, alas!many do. There are men who make money, or socialrank,
or fame, or pleasure, the best beloved of their heart. The world is their

beloved, or their children occupy the place which should be Christ's. We may
sincerelycongratulate ourselves if we can say, "Jesus is my Portion."
3. Christ has been chosenbecause ofhis excellence. Who, in heaven or on
earth, can be comparedfor worth with Jesus? A person is always more
precious than a thing. A man is "more precious than the gold of Ophir." And
among all persons Jesus is superlatively precious. Who can compare with him
for wisdom? Who has dominion over nature and over the lowerworld like the
Son of God? Who can impart strength like him? Canany one convey life but
Immanuel? Or who has such influence for us in heaven as our gracious
Intercessor?
"Infinite excellence is thine,
Almighty King of grace."
4. Christ has been chosenby virtue of his love. Even if he did not possessso
many excellences, we should have chosenhim for his love. His condescension
is wonderful His sweetcompassionhas captivatedour souls. As soonas we
realized his tender, strong affectionfor us, we felt that we must have his
friendship. As the echo responds to the speaker's voice, ourlove responded to
his love. Or as the flowers respond to the summer sun, so our hearts gave out
the fragrance oftheir love, under the quickening influence of his grace. For
his love is not a vapid sentiment. His love is an everlasting force, ever active,
beneficent in ten thousand ways. His practicallove perseveredwith us,
touched us in a hundred points, and finally melted our ingratitude. Love has
made us subjects, servants, slaves.Suchlove, when known, is irresistible.
II. THIS CHOICE INCLUDES PROPRIETORSHIP. "MyBelovedis mine.
As I say, This coatis mine," or "This land is mine," so I cansay, "Christ is
mine." No one can dispossessme. It is an inalienable possession.

1. Mark the nature of this possession. Ido not possessit simply with my
hands. It is not something outside me, from which I alone can derive
advantage. It is a possessionwithin me. It becomes part and parcelof my
being. It enters into my very life. I am a totally different being, by virtue of
this possession. Jesus is identified with me, and I with him. He is my Life, my
Hope. "Christ liveth in me." We possess him, as the branch possesseththe
root.
2. The extent of the possession. As the bride becomes by marriage participator
of all the lands and estates and honours of the bridegroom, so is it with every
believer. The righteousness ofChrist is mine. All the excellencesofChrist are
mine. The wealthof Christ is mine. "I am joint heir" with him. He has chosen
to share with me all that he has. His friends are my friends. His servants are
my servants. His world is my world. His throne is my throne. "All things are
ours, for we are Christ's."
3. The utility of this possession. Does itnot bring me greatand present
advantages? Does itnot make me rich indeed? "He is mine to bear all my
burdens; mine to discharge allmy debts; mine to answerall my accusers;
mine to conquer all my foes." He is "mine in absence, mine in presence;mine
through life, mine in death; mine in the judgment; mine at the marriage
supper of the Lamb." I am secure and honoured and happy, because "Christ
is mine." "With him I'm rich, though stripped of all beside; Without him
poor, though all the world were mine."
III. THIS CHOICE INCLUDES DEVOTEMENT. "Iam his." As Jesus has
given himself entirely and unreservedly to me, I have given myself wholly and
without reserve to him. It is a realsurrender.

1. The dignity of self-devotement. The man who devotes his whole selfto his
king or to his country does not degrade himself thereby. He rises in the scale
of being; he rises in honour. Much more does the devoted servantof Jesus
Christ rise to the dignity of true living. Betterbe prime minister of England
than king in Dahomey. And nobler far is it to be a servant in Immanuel's
kingdom than to boast of vain independence, and be in reality a vassalof
Satan. To serve is noble, royal, Divine. Jesus is a King because he stoopedto
be a servant, and the only road to kingliness is hearty service. The heraldic
motto of our Prince of Wales is, "I serve." Devotementto Jesus Christ is
eternal honour.
2. The extent of self-devotement. It embraces our whole nature, our entire life.
The claim of Christ is complete. There is no organof our body, no faculty of
mind, no moment of time, no particle of our wealth, which does not of right
belong to him; therefore we cankeepback nothing. We are "not our own."
On the grounds of creation, sustenance, redemption, Jesus has a triple claim.
And above all, he has our personalconsent. By a sacredcovenant, we have
freely surrendered all we have to his kingly service. The consecrationmust be
complete.
3. This devotement brings supreme satisfaction. There is no joy for the human
soul like the joy of entire consecration. This is our proper place, and we
cannot find our rest elsewhere.On our death bed, will the review of our life
bring us satisfaction, unless that life has been spent, and wholly spent, in the
service of our Redeemer? Canwe dare to appropriate to ourselves all that
belongs to Christ, if at the same time we do not give up all to him? As you
cannot put pure water into a vesselthat is already full of other things, so you
cannot put Christ's treasures into a soul until it is emptied of self. To do my
Master's will I must surrender all to him. To become like Christ I must be
wholly consecratedto his kingdom. Then shall his joy be my joy. Then shall I
discoverthe truth, and shall sing -

"I'm in the noblest sense my own
When most entirely thine." D.
Mutual Possession
J.R. Thomson
Songs 2:16
One-sided affectionis incomplete, unsatisfying, and unhappy; it may be
disastrous. Realfriendship and true marriage imply mutual love, reciprocal
kindnesses. So is it in those personal relations betweenChrist and the
Christian soul, which are the foundations of the spiritual life of mankind. It is
only well when the friend of the Saviour cantruly say, "My Belovedis mine,
and I am his."
I. THE CLAIM MADE BY THE CHRISTIAN TO A SPIRITUAL
PROPERTYIN CHRIST
1. Our Lord and Saviour is ours, to exercise in our favour his mediatorial
offices, as our Prophet, Priest, and King.
2. He is ours, to reveal his intimate affectionto our heart.

"The opening heavens around me shine
With beams of heavenly bliss,
While Jesus says that he is mine,
And whispers I am his!"
3. He is ours, to impart a value and a charm to all our other possessions.
These, whethermaterial or spiritual, are altogetherdifferent from what they
would otherwise be; they are irradiated and dignified by the glory which
shines upon them from our Divine Friend. "All things are ours."
II. THE CLAIM MADE BY CHRIST TO A SPIRITUAL PROPERTYIN
THE CHRISTIAN.
1. The Saviour regards his people with an especialfavourand affection. In a
sense, allmen are Christ's; he assumedthe human nature which is common to
us all, and he died for all. But in a peculiar manner they are his who
acknowledge his mission, receive his gospel, confide in his mediation, obey his
commandments. Towards suchhis regardis one of complacencyand personal
affection.
2. The Saviour regards his people as his to care for, to protect, and to save.
Having loved his own, he loves them unto the end. There are no circumstances
in which he will not remember them, interpose upon their behalf and for their
deliverance.
3. The Saviour possesseshis people in order to exercise overthem a peculiar
authority. As the husband is the head of the wife, and as his affectiondoes not
destroy his authority, but makes it benign and welcome;so our Divine Lord,

who loves his spouse, the Church, which he purchasedwith his precious blood,
directs and governs the objectof his tender interestwith kindness which is yet
authoritative. It is the prerogative and joy of Christ's people to take their
Lord's will as the binding law of their individual and sociallife.
APPLICATION. It is forevery Christian to remember that in this relation the
Lord Jesus is the superior. "We love him, because he first loved us." This fact
should infuse gratitude into our affection, and should urge us to responsive
consecrationand obedience. - T.
My Belovedis Mine
Biblical Illustrator
Songs 2:16
What I have to do is to mention a few things which may help some timid one
to say, "My Belovedis mine," and then to do the same with regardto the
secondsentence in the text, "I am his." Thou askest, perhaps, "MayI say, My
Belovedis mine?" You know who that Belovedis; I have no need to tell you
that. He is the chief among ten thousand, and the altogether lovely. First, hast
thou takenhold of Christ by faith? Faith is the hand with which we graspthe
Lord Jesus Christ. Hast thou believed that Jesus is the Christ, and that God
hath raisedHim from the dead? Dostthou trust thyself wholly to Him? Let
me ask thee another helpful question. Is He truly thy Beloved, the Belovedof
thy soul? I remember well a dear Christian woman, who frequently saidto

me, "I do love Jesus, I know I do; but does He love me?" Her question used to
make me smile. "Well," I said, "that is a question that I never did put to
myself, — 'If I love Him, does He love me?' No, the question that used to
puzzle me was, 'Do I love Him?' When I could once settle that point, I was
never again the victim of your form of doubt." If thou lovestChrist, Christ
loves thee for certain, for thy love to Christ is nothing more nor less than a
beam out of the Went sun of His love; and the grace that has createdthat love
in thy heart towards Him, if thou dost indeed love Him, proves that He loves
thee. Next, I would help thee with a third question. Is Jesus dear to thee above
all thy possessions? Ihope that many of you can say, "O sir, we would give all
that we have, we would suffer all that might be suffered, we would part with
the Very light and our eyes, too, if we could but be sure that we might each
one truly say, 'My Belovedis mine.'" Well, if thou lovestChrist beyond all
earthly things, rest assuredthat He is thine. Further, dost thou love Him
beyond all earthly companions? Couldstthou part with your dearestones for
His sake?Say, art thou sure of this? Oh, then, He is assuredlythine! Dostthou
love Him beyond all earthly objects? Aye, beyond the desire of learning, or
honour, or position, or comfort, — wouldst thou let all go for His dear sake?
Canstthou go that length? If thou canst, then surely He is thine. Let me
further help thee by another question. Is Jesus so fully thy hope and thy trust
that thou hast no other? O poor heart, if thou art cleandivorced from every
confidence but Christ, then I believe that thou art married unto Christ,
notwithstanding that thou tremblest sometimes, and askestwhetherit be so or
not. Let that thought also help thee. I would further help you in this way. If
Christ is yours, your thoughts go after Him. You cannotsay that you love a
person if you never think of him. He to whom Christ belongs often thinks of
Him. Again, do you do more than this? Do you long for Christ's company? If
"my Beloved" is indeed mine, I shall want to see Him; I shall want to speak
with Him; I shall want Him to abide with me. How is it with you? And, once
more, if thy Belovedis thine, thou wilt own it to be so. Holy Bernard was wont
to say, and I believe that he could say it truly, "O my Jesus, I never went from
Thee without Thee!" He meant that he never left his knees, and left Christ
behind him; he never went out of the house of God, and left Christ behind
him; but he went through the outward actof devotion with a consciousness of
the presence ofChrist. Now, i f this be your habit to keepup or to labour to

keepup continued communion with Christ, and if you are longing for more
and more of that communion, then, dear friends, you are His, and He is yours.
Further, let me help you with a still closerquestion. Have you ever enjoyed
that communion with Christ? Didst thou ever speak with Him? Hast thou
ever heard His voice? If thou knowestanything experimentally about this
matter, then thou mayest conclude that thy Belovedis indeed thine. But
supposing that thou art not enjoying Christ's presence, Iam going to put
another question to thee. Art thou castdown when He is away? If thou hast
grieved His Spirit, art thou grieved? If Christ be gone, dost thou feelas if the
sun. itself had ceasedto shine, and the candle of thy existence had been
snuffed out in utter dark ness? Oh, then, He is thine! If thou canstnot bear
His absence, He is thine. Stretchout the hand, of faith, and take Him, and
then say without hesitation, "My Belovedis mine." "Yes, weighing everything
the preacherhas said and judging myself as severely. as I can, yet I dare take
Christ to be mine, and to say, 'My Belovedis mine.'" If that is your case, dear
friend, then you shall getconfirmatory evidence of this fact by the witness of
the Spirit within your soul, which will very likely come to you in the form of
perfect contentment of spirit, perfect restof heart.
( C. H. Spurgeon.)
The ReciprocalInterestof Christ and His People
E. Payson, D. D.
Songs 2:16

I. EVERY REAL CHRISTIAN MAY SAY, "CHRIST IS MINE."
1. There are five different ways in which anything may become ours.
(1) By formation, or production. In this way the articles which we construct,
and the fruits of the earth which our labour produces, become ours.
(2) By purchase, or exchange. In this way we obtain many things which were
previously the property of others.
(3) By inheritance. In this manner we become possessedofthe property of
deceasedrelatives. (.4)By conquest. In this manner many things are acquired,
especiallyby sovereignprinces.
(5) By gift. In this manner whateveris bestowedonus by the generosityof
others, becomes our property.
2. Among all these ways, there is only one in which Christ canbecome ours.
(1) He is given to them by His Father.
(2) Christ gives Himself to His people.
II. CHRIST IS THE PROPERTYOF ALL TRUE CHRISTIANS, SO, ALL
CHRISTIANS ARE HIS.

1. They are His by creation; for by Him and for Him they were created.
2. They are His by inheritance; for we are told that the Father hath appointed
Him heir of all things.
3. They are His by purchase; for He has bought them, bought them with His
own blood.
4. Christians are the property of Christ by right of conquest.
5. They become His by gift.
(1) They are given to Him by His Father (John 17:6).
(2) All true Christians have voluntarily given themselves to
Christ.Conclusion:
1. From this subjectyou may learn something of the worth and interest of the
Christian's portion.
2. We may learn from our subject to whom this incomparable gift belongs;
who it is that without presumption may say, "Christ is mine." Every man may
say this who can with truth repeat the other part of our text, who can truly
say, "Christ is my beloved, and I am His property."

3. From this subjectyou may learn the extent of your duty. "I am Christ's"
are words easilysaid, but the engagements whichthey imply are not so easily
fulfilled. If we are His, we are no longerour own. If we are His, then
everything that we possessis His — our time, our possessions, ourstrength,
our influence, our powers of body and faculties of mind, all are His, and must
be consecratedto His service and glory; and if we love Him supremely, they
will he so, for the whole man ever follows the heart.
4. How greatare the privileges which result from an ability to say, "Christ is
mine." If Christ is yours, then all that He possessesis yours. Its power is yours
to defend you, His wisdom and knowledge are yours to guide you, His
righteousness is yours to justify you, His Spirit and grace are yours to sanctify
you, His heaven is yours to receive you.
5. From this subjectyou may learn what is the nature of the ordinance which
you are about to celebrate, and what you are about to do at the Lord's table.
In this ordinance we give ourselves to Christ, and He gives Himself to us.
(E. Payson, D. D.)
An Absent Christ Yet Beloved
John Collinges, D. D.
Songs 2:8-17
The voice of my beloved! behold, he comes leaping on the mountains, skipping
on the hills.…

1. An absent Christ is yet a beloved Christ to His true Church, and to the
truly believing soul.
2. The spouse of Christ will know her Beloved's voice, though He hath a while
been absent.
3. The spouse of Christ will greatlyrejoice to hear her Beloved's voice,
especiallyaftera time of absenting Himself.
4. Though Christ may withdraw, and absent Himself from His Church, and
from the souls of His people, yet He will come.
5. When He comes, He will come skipping upon the mountains and leaping
upon the hills, openly and hastily, and trampling all difficulties and
impediments under His feet.
6. The Church, and the true members of it, will by the eye of faith discern
Christ coming, skipping upon the mountains.
(John Collinges, D. D.)

Christ's Coming to His Spouse to be Beheld
John Collinges, D. D.
Songs 2:8-17
on the hills.…
Believing souls in the time of His withdrawing from them may and ought to
behold Him againreturning to them.
I. Christ's return to His spouse after an absence may be beheld by a believer.
(1) He came by His Incarnation.
(2) He cometh to His people in the influences of His grace, to comfort,
quicken, strengthenthem.
(3) He cometh in the influences of His providence, to protect, save, rescue and
deliver His people.
(4) He cometh to judgment, and His reward is with Him to render to every
one according to his work.

II. A believer may behold Christ's coming, in many sure and faithful
promises.
III. The believer sees Him coming in the sure words of prophecy.
IV. His coming may be beheld in the steps of His providence.
(1) To a particular soul in the influences of His grace.
(2) To the public assemblies ofHis people in the influences of His common
providences.
(3) To the universal judgment. Signs of this are: —
(a) Plenty of seducers (Matthew 24:4).
(b) Greatcommotions in the world, and other judgments of God.
(c) Abounding of iniquity and decayof religion.
(d) Greatsecurity of sinners.
(e) Alterations in the course of nature.

(John Collinges, D. D.)
The Voice of the Beloved
R. M. McCheyne.
Songs 2:8-17
on the hills.…
I. WHEN CHRIST IS AWAY FROM THE SOUL OF THE BELIEVER, HE
SITS ALONE. Whateverhe the mountains of Bether that have come between
his souland Christ — whether he hath been seducedinto his old sins that "his
iniquities have separatedagainbetweenhim and his God, and his sins have
hid his face from Him, that He will not hear "for whether the Saviour hath
withdrawn for a seasonthe comfortable light of His presence for the mere
trial of His servant's faith, to see if, when he "walkethin darkness and hath no
light, he will still trust in the name of the Lord, and stay himself upon his
God" — whateverthe mountains of separationbe, it is the sure mark of the
believer that he sits desolate andalone. He cannotlaugh awayhis heavy care,
as worldly men can do. He cannot drown it in the bowl of intemperance, as
poor blinded men cando. Even the innocent intercourse of human friendship
brings no balm to his wound — nay, even fellowship with the children of God
is now distasteful to his soul.
II. CHRIST'S COMING TO THE DESOLATE BELIEVER IS OFTEN
SUDDEN AND WONDERFUL. Some text of the Word, or some word from a

Christian friend, or some part of a sermon, againreveals Jesus in all His
fulness — the Saviour of sinners, even the chief. Or it may be that He makes
Himself known to the disconsolate soulin the breaking of bread, and when He
speaks the gentle words — "This is My body brokenfor you; this cup is the
New Testamentin My blood shed for the remissionof the sins of many; drink
ye all of it" — then he cannot but cry out, "The voice of my Beloved!behold,
He cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills."
III. CHRIST'S COMING CHANGES ALL THINGS TO THE BELIEVER,
AND HIS LOVE IS MORE TENDERTHAN EVER. The world of nature is
all changed. Instead of the thorn comes up the fir tree, and instead of the brier
comes up the myrtle tree. Every tree and field possessesa new beauty to the
happy soul. The world of grace is all changed. The Bible was all dry and
meaningless before;now, what a flood of light is poured over its pages!how
full, how fresh, how rich in meaning, how its simplest phrases touch the heart!
The house of prayer was all sad and dreary before — its services were dry and
unsatisfactory;but now, when the believer sees the Saviour, as he hath seen
Him heretofore within His holy place, his cry is,-"How amiable are Thy
tabernacles, O Lord of Hosts, etc." The garden of the Lord was all sad and
cheerless before;now tenderness towards the unconverted springs up afresh,
and love to the people of God burns in the bosom — then they that fear the
Lord speak often one to another. The time of singing the praises of Jesus is
come, and the turtle voice of love to Jesus is once more heard in the land; the
Lord's vine flourishes, and the pomegranate buds, and Christ's voice to the
soul is, "Arise, My love, My fair one, and come away."
IV. OBSERVE THE THREEFOLD DISPOSITION OF FEAR, LOVE, AND
HOPE, which this visit of the Saviour stirs up in the believer's bosom. These
three form, as it were, a cord in the restoredbeliever's bosom, and a threefold
cord is not easilybroken.

(R. M. McCheyne.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(16) He feedeth.—Heb., he that is feeding his flock—the pastor.
BensonCommentary
Song of Solomon 2:16. My beloved is mine — These are the words of the
bride, who, having come to him upon his gracious invitation, now maketh her
boastof him. He feedeth among the lilies — Abideth and refresheth himself
among his faithful people, who are comparedto lilies, Song of Solomon 2:2.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
2:14-17 The church is Christ's dove; she returns to him, as her Noah. Christ is
the Rock, in whom alone she can think herselfsafe, and find herselfeasy, as a
dove in the hole of a rock, when struck at by the birds of prey. Christ calls her
to come boldly to the throne of grace, having a greatHigh Priest there, to tell
what her request is. Speak freely, fear not a slight or a repulse. The voice of
prayer is sweetand acceptable to God; those who are sanctified have the best
comeliness. The first risings of sinful thoughts and desires, the beginnings of
trifling pursuits which waste the time, trifling visits, small departures from
truth, whateverwould admit some conformity to the world; all these, and
many more, are little foxes which must be removed. This is a charge to
believers to mortify their sinful appetites and passions, whichare as little
foxes, that destroytheir graces and comforts, and crush goodbeginnings.
Whateverwe find a hinderance to us in that which is good, we must put away.
He feedeth among the lilies; this shows Christ's gracious presenceamong
believers. He is kind to all his people. It becomes them to believe this, when
under desertion and absence,and so to ward off temptations. The shadows of

the Jewishdispensationwere dispelled by the dawning of the gospelday. And
a day of comfort will come after a night of desertion. Come overthe
mountains of Bether, the mountains that divide, looking forward to that day
of light and love. Christ will come over every separating mountain to take us
home to himself.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
Feedethamong the lilies - Pursues his occupationas a shepherd among
congenialscenesand objects of gentlenessand beauty.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
16. mine … his—rather, "is for me … for Him" (Ho 3:3), where, as here,
there is the assurance ofindissoluble union, in spite of temporary absence. So
2:17, entreating Him to return, shows that He has gone, perhaps through her
want of guarding againstthe "little sins" (So 2:15). The order of the clauses is
reversedin So 6:3, when she is riper in faith: there she rests more on her
being His; here, on His being hers; and no doubt her sense of love to Him is a
pledge that she is His (Joh 14:21, 23;1Co 8:3); this is her consolationin His
withdrawal now.
I am his—by creation(Ps 100:3), by redemption (Joh17:10; Ro 14:8; 1Co
6:19).
feedeth—as a "roe," orgazelle (So 2:17); instinct is sure to lead him back to
his feeding ground, where the lilies abound. So Jesus Christ, though now
withdrawn, the bride feels sure will return to His favorite resting-place (So
7:10; Ps 132:14). So hereafter (Re 21:3). Ps 45:1, title, terms his lovely bride's
"lilies" [Hengstenberg]pure and white, though among thorns (So 2:2).
Matthew Poole's Commentary
My Belovedis mine, and I am his: these are the words of the bride, who
having come to him upon his gracious invitation, now makethher boastof
him, and of that intimate union and communion which was betweenthem.

He feedeth among the lilies; either,
1. He feedeth his flock in sweetand lovely pastures, where there is not only
herbage to feed them, but lilies to delight them. Or rather,
2. He feedeth himself, i.e. he abideth and refreshethhimself amongsthis
faithful people, which are compared to lilies, above, Song of Solomon2:2, and
Hosea 14:5, as Christ also is here, Song of Solomon2:1.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
My beloved is mine, and I am his,.... These are the words of the church; who,
having had such evidences of Christ's love to her, and care of her, expresses
her faith of interest in him, and suggests the obligations she lay under to
observe his commands. The words are expressive ofthe mutual interest had
property Christ and his church have in eachother: Christ is the church's, by
the Father's gift of him to her, to be her Head, Husband, and Saviour; and by
the gift of himself unto her, to be her Redeemerand ransom price; and by
marriage, having espousedher to himself, in righteousness and
lovingkindness;and by possession, he living and dwelling in her, by his Spirit
and grace:the church also acknowledgesherselfto be his, as she was, by the
Father's gift of her to Christ, as his spouse and bride, his portion and
inheritance; and by purchase, he having bought her with his precious blood;
and by the conquestof her, by his grace in effectualcalling; and by a
voluntary surrender of herself unto him, under the influence of his grace:
hence all he is, and has, are hers, his person, fulness, blood, and righteousness;
and therefore can want no goodthing. Moreover, these words suggestthe near
union there is betweenChrist and his church; they are one in a conjugal
relation, as husband and wife are one; which union is personal, of the whole
person of Christ to the whole persons of his people; it is a spiritual one, they
having the same Spirit, the one without measure, the other in measure; it is a
vital one, as is betweenthe vine and its branches; and it is a mysterious one,
next to that of the union of the three Persons in the Godhead, and of the two

natures in Christ; it is an indissoluble one, the everlasting love of Christ being
the bond of it, which call never be dissolved; and from this union flow a
communication of the names of Christ to his church, conformity to him,
communion with him, and an interest in all he has. Likewise these phrases
express the mutual affliction, complacency, and delight, Christ and his church
have in eachother; he is beloved by his church, and she by him; she seems to
have a full assurance ofinterestin him, and to make her boastof him;
excluding all other beloveds, as unworthy to be mentioned with him: of whom
she further says,
he feedeth among the lilies; which is either an apostrophe to him, "O thou that
feedest", &c. thou only art my beloved; or is descriptive of him to others,
inquiring who he was, and where to be seen:the answeris, he is the person
that is yonder, feeding among the lilies; either recreating and delighting
himself in his gardens, the churches, where his saints are, comparable to lilies;
See Gill on Sol2:1, and See Gill on Sol 2:2; or feeding his sheepin fields where
lilies grow:and it may be observed, it is not said, he feedeth on, or feeds his
flock with lilies, but among them; for it is remarked (y), that sheep will not eat
them: or the sense may be, Christ feeds himself, and feeds his people, and
feeds among them, as if he was crownedwith lilies, and anointed with the oil
of them; as was the custom of the ancients at festivals (z), thought to be here
alluded to by some who read the words, "that feeds";that is, sups in or with
lilies, being anointed and crownedwith them. The lily is a summer flower (a);
the winter was now past, Sol 2:11.
(y) Tuccius in Soto Majorin loc. (z) Vid. Fortunat. Schacc. Eleochrysm. Sacr.
l. 1. c. 28. p. 137. (a)Theophrast. apud Athenaeum in Deipnosoph. l. 15. c. 7. p.
679.
Geneva Study Bible
My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges

16. This verse is addressedby the bride to her companions within the house,
or is spokenin a loving rapture to herself. Some however think that it is sung
to the lover.
he feedeth among the lilies] Rather, as in R.V., He feedeth his flock among the
lilies. It may also be rendered, the shepherd among the lilies, the shepherd
standing in apposition to the ‘him’ involved in ‘his.’
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 16. - My beloved is mine, and I am his; he feedeth (his flock) among the
lilies. These are the words of the bride. The latter clause is repeatedin Song of
Solomon6:2, with the addition, "in the gardens," and it is evident that
Solomonis lovingly regarded as a shepherd, because Shulamith delights to
think of him as fully sympathizing with her simple country life. She idealizes.
The words may be taken as either the response givenat the time by the
maiden to the invitation of her lover to come forth into the vineyards, or as
the breathing of love as she lies in the arms of Solomon. Lilies are the emblem
of purity, lofty elevation above that which is common. Moreover, the lily stalk
is the symbol of the life of regenerationamong the mystical mediaevalists.
Mary the Virgin, the Rosa mystica, in ancient paintings is representedwith a
lily in her hand at the Annunciation. The people of God were called by the
Jewishpriests "a people of lilies." So Mary was the lily of lilies in the lily
community; the sanctissima in the communio sanctorum. There may be an
allusion to the lily forms around Solomon in his palace - the daughters of
Jerusalem;in that ease the words must be takenas spoken, not in
remembrance of the first love, but in presentjoy in Solomon's embrace. Some
would render the words as simply praise of Solomonhimself, "who, wherever
he abides, spreads radiancy and loveliness about him," or "in whose footsteps
roses and lilies ever bloom." At least, they are expressive of entire self-
surrender and delight. She herself is a lily, and the beloved one feeds upon her
beauty, purity, and perfection.
Keil and DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament

When now Shulamith continues:
10a My beloved answeredand said to me,
Arise, my love, my fair one, and go forth!
the words show that this first scene is not immediately dramatic, but only
mediately; for Shulamith speaks in monologue, though in a dramatic manner
narrating an event which occurred betweenthe commencementof their love-
relation and her home-bringing.
(Note:Grtz misinterprets this in order by the supplement of similar ones to
make the whole poem a chain of narrative which Shulamith declaims to the
daughters of Jerusalem. Therebyit certainly ceasesto be dramatic, but so
much more tedious does it become by these interposedexpressions, "Isaid,"
"he said," "the sons of my mother said.")
She does not relate it as a dream, and thus it is not one. Solomonagainonce
more passes, perhaps on a hunting expedition into the northern mountains
after the winter with its rains, which made them inaccessible, is over; and
after long waiting, Shulamith at length againsees him, and he invites her to
enjoy with him the spring season. ‫הנע‬ signifies, like ἀποκρίνεσθαι, notalways
to answerto the words of another, but also to speak onthe occasionofa
person appearing before one; it is different from ‫,ענה‬ the same in sound, which
signifies to sing, properly to sing through the nose, and has the root-meaning
of replying (of the same root as ‫,ןנה‬ clouds, as that which meets us when we
look up toward the heavens);but taking speechin hand in consequence ofan
impression receivedis equivalent to an answer. With ‫ימּוק‬ he calls upon her to
raise herself from her stupor, and with ‫,ךל־קכלו‬ French va-t-en, to follow him.
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES

BRUCE HURT MD
Shulammite (young woman) speaks ...
Song 2:16 "My beloved is mine, and I am his; He pastures his flock among the
lilies.
NET Bible - My lover is mine and I am his; he grazes among the lilies.
NLT- My lover is mine, and I am his. He browses among the lilies.
POSB - What Solomondoes not say at this point is as important as what he
does say. Certainly, something transpired betweenverses fifteen and sixteen,
but it is not recorded. Solomon does not reveal what their problems were,
their discussionof them, or how they resolvedthem. He only reveals that they
were resolved, and that they went on to have a glorious, unforgettable day. As
they spent the beautiful spring day together, the Shulamite made a strong
statementabout their mutual possessionofone another (Song 2:16a).
(Preacher's Outline and SermonBible- Ecclesiastesand Song of Solomon)
Although the prince of preachers C H Spurgeonapproachedthe text
primarily from an allegoricalviewpoint, he clearly loved these two verses
preaching 8 different messagesonthem!
My beloved - This specific phrase is found 24x in 23v in the Song of Solomon -
Song 1:13, 14, 16;2:3, 8, 9, 10, 16, 17;4:16; 5:2, 4, 5, 6 (twice), Song 5:8, 10,
16; 6:2, 3; 7:9, 11, 13; 8:14. (There are only 2 other uses in the OT - Isaiah5:1,
Jeremiah11:15).
Beloved(01730)(dod) means beloved, loved one. 32 of 53 OT uses are found in
the Song of Solomon. Dod conveys three thoughts (1) the name or address
given by one lover to another (Song 5:4, 6:3, 7:9); (2) Love, where it speaks of
the adulteress (Pr 7:18) and in a positive sense ofthe love betweenSolomon
and the Shulammite (Song 1:2, 4:10). Love is used symbolically of Jerusalem
reaching the "age forlove" (Ezek 16:8). Dodspeaks ofthe adultery of

Jerusalemin Ezek 23:17. (3) Dod in some contexts means "uncle" (Lev 10:4,
1Sa 10:14-16, Esther2:15).
Dod - 53v- NAS as beloved(31), beloved's(1), beloved's and my beloved(1),
love(8), lovers(1), uncle(11), uncle's(6), uncles'(1).
Lev 10:4; 20:20;25:49; Num 36:11;1 Sam 10:14ff; 14:50; 2 Kgs 24:17; 1 Chr
27:32;Esther 2:7, 15; Pr 7:18; Song 1:2, 4, 13f, 16;2:3, 8ff, 16f; 4:10, 16;5:1f,
4ff, 8ff, 16; 6:1ff; 7:9ff; 8:5, 14; Isa 5:1; Jer 32:7ff, 12; Ezek 16:8; 23:17;Amos
6:10.
The Lxx uses agapao to translate dod in Song 1:4. In most of the other uses in
the Song of Solomon, the Greek noun adelphidos is used (Song 2:3, et al) and
is a term of endearment meaning beloved one. It can also mean kinsman.
My beloved is mine and I am his (similar declaration also found in Song 6:3,
Song 7:10) - These words are reminiscent of the covenant formula (“I will be
their God, and they will be my people”—see Jer7:23;11:4; Ezek 34:30). In
this contextthis phrase clearlyspeaks ofthe complete giving of the future
marital partners to one another, which in turn speaks ofthe supernatural
oneness ofthe marriage covenant(See The Oneness ofCovenant; Oneness
Notes;Covenant: As It Relates to Marriage). This phrase speaksofmutual
commitment and trust. The relationship of the husband and wife is to be one
of complete giving of eachto the other (Although the context is different, the
following verses re-enforce the principle of selfless giving in marriage rather
than self-centeredtaking - see Php 2:3, 4-notes. Are you listening husbands?
I'm a man so I can pick on our species!I'm afraid we deserve it!). In Proverbs
Solomonemphasizes the vital importance of the husband and wife's
commitment to fidelity and loyalty to eachother "Drink waterfrom your own
cistern, And fresh water from your own well. Should your springs be
dispersedabroad, Streams of waterin the streets? Let them be yours alone,
And not for strangers with you." (Pr 5:15-17-note)
My beloved is mine and I am his is often interpreted allegoricallyas referring
to Christ and His Bride, the church, and there are even some beautiful songs
that conveythis same interpretative sense. However, if one is true to the text,
the speakeris literally the Shulammite and not Christ. Please do not

misunderstand -- The Church is indeed Christ's "beloved" and He is ours.
These are timeless, ineffable truths that surely speak of the oneness ofthe
covenantof creatures (New creatures - 2Cor5:17) with their blessedCreator,
a supernatural bond wrought by the payment of His blood to effectan eternal
redemption and a "re-creation" ofthose creatures who by grace through faith
receive Him as Savior.
John MacArthur comments that the phrase My beloved is mine, and I am his
"clearlyexpresses the sanctity of a monogamous relationship that is built on
mutual love (cf. Song 6:3; 7:10)." (Ibid)
Glickman - Many people think the key to love is finding the perfect person; it
is more a matter of finding the person who belongs to you, and you belong to
them. “You don’t look at the other person as a status symbol who will raise
your prestige … you look at that one as your counterpart, the one who
completes you, the one with whom you can joyfully affirm your
belongingness.”(Solomon's Song ofLove - Let a Song of Songs Inspire Your
Own Romantic Story)
Paige Pattersoncomments on mutual possessionofthe other in marriage -
Mutual ownership [was the theme] of Shulamith’s affirmation that her lover
belongedto her and she to him. This sense of mutual possessionis a critical
feature for any happy marriage. One might have expectedthis oriental
maiden to stress the king’s claim on her exclusively. What is unusual in the
text is that she clearly understood that Solomonalso belongedto her. The
same mutuality was expressedby Paul in 1 Corinthians 7:3-4 where the
husband is told to render ‘due benevolence’unto his wife, and the wife is
instructed to treat her husband similarly. Furthermore, Paul indicated that
the wife does not have authority over her own body; rather the husband
exercises thatauthority—such a state would be thoroughly anticipated in a
first century context. Surprisingly, however, the apostle also declaredthat the
husband does not have authority over his ownbody, but rather the wife
exercises thatauthority…This willingness both to possess andto be possessed,
to enmesh one’s life thoroughly in the life of the spouse, is surely something of
what was intended in God’s original designfor marriage given in Genesis
2:24. (Song of Solomon)

Guzik observes that the young woman clearly is "confident in the bond that
joins her and her beloved. He belongs to her, and she belongs to him. In this
sense they are one, joined together with mutual bonds of affection, and not
one partner clinging to another more reluctant partner. It is also a statement
of exclusivity and preference. Theyare not saying, “My belovedis mine, and I
belong to him and a few other guys,” nor “I am my beloved’s and he is mine
and he also belongs to 999 other women.”
Husbands, does you wife have this verse emblazoned on her heart because of
your fervent love for her?
Guzik writes - These lines have been repeatedly allegoricallyapplied to the
relationship betweenJesus and His people. Charles Spurgeonpreached eight
sermons on Song of Solomon2:16–17, andin one of them titled The Interest of
Christ and His People in EachOther, he meditated on the meaning of each
aspect.
Ways that I belong to Jesus;ways that “I am my beloved’s”:
• I am His by the gift of His Father.
• I am His by purchase, paid for by His own life.
• I am His by conquest, He fought for me and wonme.
• I am His by surrender, because I gave myself to Him.
“Blessedbe God, this is true evermore—‘Iam his,’ his to-day, in the house of
worship, and his to-morrow in the house of business;his as a singer in the
sanctuary, and his as a toiler in the workshop;his when I am preaching, and
equally his when I am walking the streets;his while I live, his when I die; his
when my soul ascends andmy body lies mouldering in the grave; the whole
personality of my manhood is altogetherhis for ever and for ever.”
(Spurgeon)
Ways that Jesus belongs to me; ways that “He is mine”:
• He is mine by connectionin the same body; He is the head and I am part of
His body.

• He is mine by affectionate relationship; He has given me His love.
• He is mine by the connectionof birth; I am born againof Him.
• He is mine by choice;He gave Himself for me.
• He is mine by indwelling; He has decided to live inside me.
• He is mine personally, He is mine eternally.
“It certainly does seema greatthing to call him mine; to think that he should
ever be mine, and that all he is, and all he has, and all he says, and all he does,
and all he everwill be, is all mine. When a wife takes a husband to be hers, he
becomes allhers, and she reckons that she has no divided possessionin him;
and it certainly is so with thee, dear heart, if Christ be thine.....“Whichis the
greatermiracle—thathe should be mine, or that I should be his?” (Spurgeon)
NET Note on pastures his flock among the lilies - This line may be translated
either as “the one who grazes among the lilies” or as “the one who feeds [his
flock]among the lilies.” The latter would picture him as a shepherd pasturing
his flock among a bed of flowers which they were eating, while the former
would be picturing him as a gazelle feeding among a bed of flowers. Because
of the occurrence ofthe gazelle motif in the following verse, it is most likely
that this motif is present in this verse as well. Although it seems likely that he
is therefore being pictured as a gazelle eating these flowers, it is far from clear
as to what this figurative picture denotes. It is possible that it conveys the
peacefulnature of his relationship with her because she was earlierportrayed
as a lily (e.g., Song 2:1).
Guzik has an interesting interpretation on pastures his flock among the lilies -
He feeds his flock among the lilies: Lips are called lilies in Song 5:13; the
maiden probably dreamt of being smothered by kisses allthrough the night
(until the day breaks). i. “She is ready for him to ‘graze’on her lips as sheep
‘browse’on the lush grasses… Perhaps this is to be relatedto the opening
wish of our young lady (Song 1:2).” (Kinlaw) ii. Other commentators see
something far less physically intimate: “She is drawing attention to his
shepherd role wherein he would pasture his flock. And by this she emphasizes
his shepherd-like qualities of strength and gentleness.”(Glickman)

Carr on lilies - Lilies, cf. Song 2:1f. If Song 5:13 can be borrowedhere, the
‘feeding in the lilies’ may be a circumlocution for sharing kissesormore
intimate behaviour. (The Song of Solomon - Tyndale Old Testament
Commentaries - G. Lloyd Carr)
ReformationStudy Bible on pastures his flocks among the lilies - In view of
the context, this is most likely a metaphor for lovemaking. See note on Song
2:15 and Song 6:12.
ALAN CARR
Song Of Solomon5:2-16
A HEART FOR HIM
Intro: The book of the Song of Solomon holds a specialplace in the Word of
God. While much of the Bible deals with history and with doctrine, the Song
of Solomonis a collectionoflove songs. These songsdetailthe love life of King
Solomonand one of his many wives.
There are many people who do not fell that this book has a place in the Bible.
This book is, after all, filled with explicit descriptions of romantic love
betweena husband and his wife. This book is, however, very special. In its
pages, we cansee a clearpicture of the love relationship betweenthe Lord
Jesus Christ and those who are savedby His grace.
In the passagethat is before us this morning, we are given a glimpse inside the
heart of the bride. We are given the opportunity to see just how much she
loves her husband. In these verses, we find that she has a heart for him.
I would like for us to look into these verses for a few minutes this morning and
get a glimpse of how wonderful our Heavenly Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus, is.
Let's see, afreshand anew this morning just how much we love Him and how

a heart for Him beats. Joinme in this passageas we considerA Heart From
Him.
I. V. 2-5 THE BRIDE DOZING
(Ill. All through the first part of the book, the bridegroom has been referring
to this woman as the bride. Here, he does not use that term. It may be that
they have been married for a while when the events describedhere take place.
It may be that the new has worn off their relationship. After all, when this
chapter opens, we find the bride asleep, and the bridegroom outside her
chamber trying to gain access.She is dozing! Ill. We all remember how
exciting it was in those first days. We all remember the thrill of "the first
love", Rev. 2:4. I wonder how many of us would have to saythat we are in the
same condition this morning. We are so secure and satisfiedin what we have
that we have forgotten the One Who gave us all we have. We sleepwhile He
tries to draw near to spend some precious time with His beloved.)
A. V. 2 The Call Of The Beloved - Notice how tender His call is. He uses terms
of endearment designed to remind her of how precious she is to Him. He tells
her that He is outside and wants to come in to her. Ill. He is so tender in his
plea and he wants to be with her so desperately. Notice whathe calls her:
1. My Sister - Speaking ofthe intimacy of their relationship. Te term "sister"
was a term of affectionthat a husband might use for his wife. (Ill. The love of
Jesus for His bride - Eph. 5:25.)
2. My Love - Speaking of the specialplace she holds in his heart. (Ill. How
much Jesus loved us! - Rom. 5:6-8)
3. My Dove - Speaks ofthe specialpeace that permeates their relationship.
They are in a joyous, glorious relationship that has made them as one! (Ill .We
have been brought nigh to God through the blood of the Lord Jesus - Eph.
2:12-13!)
4. My Undefiled - Speaks ofthe purity of their love. There is nothing vulgar or
evil transpiring here! No!There love is pure and she is pure! (Ill. Justification
- Rom. 5:1)

(Ill. This is a picture of the Lord Jesus seeking blessedcommunion with His
blood bought and redeemedpeople. He longs for us to desire to be in His
presence. He wants to fellowship with you and me!)
B. V. 3 The Complaint Of The Bride - Her response is telling of her priorities.
She tells hm that she has already washedher feetand is in the bed. Simply
put, she doesn't want to get up and fool with him.
(Ill. How many of us have experienced something similar in our marriages?
Something you would have done without hesitationwhen you were first
married now seems like pure drudgery. If we were honest, we would all have
to confess that we allow ourselves to become a little chilly in that department
from time to time.
Now, think about your walk with Jesus in that same context! Rememberthe
early days of salvation? Remember when church and the Bible were so
exciting? Remember when prayer was an adventure? Remember when you
couldn't wait for an opportunity to tell someone aboutJesus? Remember
when you couldn't wait to get to church? Remember when the Christian life
was exciting?
Now, how many of us would have to admit that, like the bride in our text, we
have takenoff our marching shoes? Thatwe have traded the armor of the
Spirit for the bedclothes of ease and leisure and we have allowedourselves to
get so comfortable that just being with Jesus isn't as exciting as it used to be?
We getthat way sometimes don't we? We get to the place that church isn't
exciting. Prayerand the Bible just do not thrill us anymore. That is a sad
place to be, but I think that a lot of God's children are there this morning! Are
you?)
C. V. 4 The CompassionOf The Bride - When his tender words failed to arose
her interesttoward him, the bridegroom puts his hand in beside the lock of
the door and tries to open the door himself. He fails to do this, but seeing him
want to be with her so badly stirs her heart and she feels "her heart begin to
beat for him". Now, she too wants to be with him.

(Ill. When it ever dawns in the soul of the believerjust what Jesus Christ has
done for you and me, how much He loves us, how much He desires to be near
us and how sweetlyHe calls us to Himself, it will awakena desire in our hearts
to be near Him also. It think many of us need to hear and heed the Savior's
call this day!
How many of us will be willing to come before him this morning and open the
doors of our hearts to him afreshand anew today? How many will respond
with love to the callof the Savior?)
I. The Bride Dozing
II. V. 6-8 THE BRIDE DESIRING
(Ill. When she finally rises from her bed and goes to the door, she finds that
her beloved has already gone. Then she remembers how she felt when she did
hear his voice. It was so intense that it causedher soul to faint within her.
Now, he is gone. Still, she has been reawakenedto the need to be with him. A
reneweddesire is kindled within her heart for her husband. Now, just has he
desired to be with her, she is filled with the desire to be with him.)
A. V. 6 The Direction Of Her Desire - As she begins her search, notice what
she says she is seeking. "Isought HIM! I calledHIM". She makes no
reference to his wealth, though he is the richest man in the land. She makes no
reference to his position, though there is none more exalted than he. She
makes no reference to his power, though there is none more powerful than he.
No! She is utterly consumed by HIM. She desires him and nothing more.
(Ill. So it is with the child of God who rediscovers how glorious Jesus is. They
aren't thrilled by His power, His possessionsorby His position. They are
thrilled just to be in His presence. Friends, when you and I reacha place
where we are more interestedin being with the Lord than in getting
something from the Lord, we have begun to grow in the Lord. When we come
to the place where He fills our thoughts, then we have come to the place where
He holds first place.
What are you seeking fromthe Lord this morning? Do need some stuff? Do
you need your meal barrel filled? Do you need someone to go with you into a

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