Song of songs 1:1 - Jesus, lover of my soul

 

What do you think Jesus feels about you?  Do you think that He is disappointed with you?  Do you feel that He is frustrated with you?  Do you think that He is angry with you?  What if you were to be told that His primary feeling todays you is delight?  Does that sound too good to be true?  If you have placed your trust in Him it is true!

In his book on depression Ed Welsh writes, 'Just think what it would be like to be certain that the God of this universe loved you.  That alone would probably change the contours of our depression.'

Your problem is not that you don't love Jesus enough--although none of us love Him as we should--but that you don't know how much Jesus loves you.

The aim of this sermon series on the Song of songs is to show you how wonderful Jesus is and how much He loves us.

The Song of songs

This was a song that may have been sung during the week-long wedding celebrations that took place among God's people of the Old Testament.  It is not primarily given to us for preaching on but for singing.  We know that King Solomon was a famous composer of songs.

The idea of Song of songs is that this was the best of all songs.  Like King of kings is the greatest king or Lord of lords is the Lord of all.  Maybe we are being told that this is the best of Solomon's songs.

It is a love song between a man and a woman.  That is appropriate as when Adam first saw Eve he celebrated.  It is poetic or song form that we read, 'This is now born of my bones and flesh of my flesh.  She shall be called "woman" because she was taken out of man' (Ge. 1:23).

Song of Solomon

Song 'of' Solomon can also be translated 'to', 'for', 'about' or 'by' Solomon.  The problem with thinking that this might be about Solomon is that Solomon was a terrible example for marriage--he had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines.  I like the suggestion made by Douglas O'Donnell that this is Solomon writing about a fictional couple.  Maybe Solomon is looking back in old age and saying, 'don't do as I did, be like these two.'

The audience

There is a specific audience in this song.  Three times the girl in this song says, 'I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem ... Do not arouse or awaken love until is so desires' (2:7, 3:5, 8:3).

There are a number of possible interpretations of what these words mean.  I think it includes the appeal to keep sexual love for marriage.  Again, going back to Genesis 2, we see that God's design for sex is between one man and one woman.  It is because God took a woman from the man that a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh' (Gen. 2:24).  Anything other than sex between one man and one woman in marriage goes against God's design, is sinful and unnatural in His eyes, ends up with personal pain, damages society and can leave people outside the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9-11).  What those who are not claiming to follow Jesus do with their bodies is not really our business.  That is between them and God.  But it is unloving not to confront someone who says they follow Jesus about their sexual behaviour--for what they are doing has temporal and eternal consequences.

Why study this book of the Bible?

We study this book to learn about sex.  Where are we going to learn about God's plan for sex other than the Bible?

We study this book to overcome cheap attitudes to sex--like pornography and dirty talk.  Seeing how beautiful sex is to be between a man and woman in marriage should put us off anything that falls short of that beauty.

We study this Bible because it points to Jesus.   

How does this song point to Jesus?

We know that all of the Old Testament points to the person and work of Jesus (e.g. Luke 24:44).  So, how does the Song of songs point to Jesus?  It points to Jesus in the fact that a love of a man for a woman in the context of marriage points to the greater love of Jesus for His people--the church.  In particular the cross is to be our example of how husbands are to lay down their lives for their wife (Eph. 5:25). 

How does the Song of songs make us wise for salvation?

The apostle Paul wrote to his young friend Timothy, ''But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have been convinced of, because you know those whom you have learned it, because you know that from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which is able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.  All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work ' (2 Tim. 3:15-17).

It makes us wise for salvation because as we see the beauty of how God designed romantic love to be we became aware of our own sin--maybe we have coveted someone else's spouse, maybe we have lusted over their body (in real life or on a screen), and so we turn to the friend of sinners who is willing to forgive all our filth.  We rejoice in the cross, remembering that the blood of Jesus purifies us from all uncleanliness.

How does the Song of songs equip us for good works?

By holding up marital sex as something beautiful it inspires us to honour God with our bodies.  Including how we live out our sexuality.

Finally, remember that whether you are married or single, you are loved.  Sex is not the goal of our existence.  Marriage is not the chief goal of our life.  The most complete person who walked this earth, Jesus Christ, lived and died a virgin.

Conclusion 

We are studying this book of the Bible to see the beauty of Jesus and to realise His love for us.  

There can be many reasons why you might find it hard to believe Jesus loves you,  Maybe you feel that no-ne else love you.  Maybe you don't love yourself.  But one reason we fail to appreciate Jesus' love is simply unbelief.  We are not taking God at His Word.  We do not have to understand all the emotional causes as to why we struggle to accept Christ's love, but we do need to repent of the sin of unbelief and say, 'sorry, Lord Jesus, I have failed to mediate deeply on the cross and seen your love for all who call on your name.  Let me be open to the comforting work of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. '