Song
of Solomon 2:8-10 (AMP)
8
“Listen! My beloved!
Behold,
he comes,
Climbing
on the mountains,
Leaping
and running on the hills!
9
“My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.
Behold,
he is standing behind our wall,
He
is looking through the windows,
He
is gazing through the lattice.
10
“My beloved speaks and says to me,
‘Arise,
my love, my fair one,
And
come away.
As I woke up
this morning, I was still groggy and tired as I slowly got up out of bed and made my way
to the shower. My mind was blank and it
seemed that I had nothing to offer anyone, especially the Lord. As I took my shower my thoughts eventually turned
to the Lord, and I prayed “Lord, I have nothing to offer you this morning, no
praise, no thankfulness, nothing but an empty mind and an empty vessel. This is what I present to you this morning,
for even my emptiness belongs to you.”
Immediately the Lord spoke to my mind with the scripture above. He
emphasized the words “My Beloved” to me. I then took those two words and
began to recount the story of the Shulamite bride (from the Song of Solomon) who did not see herself as
worthy of the King’s affection, but because of His love for her she desired it above anything else.
Then even I
began to perceive the desire of the Bridegroom for His Bride.
My Beloved came to me swiftly when I had
nothing to offer Him, climbing even high mountains to reach me, running and
leaping over the foothills to meet me quickly, all for the sake of love.
Song
of Solomon 2:14 (AMP)
14
“O my dove, [here] in the clefts in the rock,
In
the sheltered and secret place of the steep pathway,
Let
me see your face,
Let
me hear your voice;
For
your voice is sweet,
And
your face is lovely.”
Our Father
in Heaven loves us and pursues us with a love which is beyond limits or boundaries; He loves us and sees us through the eyes of His Son Christ Jesus. The Father also draws us to Himself that we may
see Jesus as the perfect representation of the Father’s love demonstrated in
us.
There is amazing
beauty which cannot be described by words alone when a man or woman has been
touched by the love of God. It is a beauty filled with such sweetness and
desire that it can only be described as divine.
It is from that place of love that we are drawn, and it is that place of
love that we must return, for once enlightened our hearts demand nothing less.
It is from
this place of love that the Christian journey begins and ends, not from the
pursuit of knowledge or wisdom which are good pursuits, but only temporary rest
stops for our soul which were originally designed to further our love in Him. The main purpose of Jesus coming to earth is
God’s love for humanity; it is when we lose sight of that main purpose that we
become stuck in the aspects of love rather than growing in love itself.
Song
of Solomon 2:16-17 (AMP)
16
“My beloved is mine and I am his;
He
pastures his flock among the lilies.
17
“Until the cool of the day when the shadows flee away,
Return
quickly, my beloved, and be like a gazelle
Or
a young stag on the mountains of Bether [which separate us].”
I for one
believe in bible study with the intent of seeing God’s true heart in scripture,
if we only focus on the details of history we miss an enthralling love story
which encompasses many generations and many different people groups where God
was calling out people to hear Him and to love Him. When God was reproving His people for their
sin, it was only to get them to turn from actions or attitudes which were not
pursuing love. Many times as God was speaking to errant people He was revealing the brokenness of His heart toward His people.
Jesus is
described as a Groom in search of a Bride.
We are called the Bride of Christ.
Revelation
19:7-9 (AMP)
7
“Let us rejoice and shout for joy! Let us give Him glory and honor, for the
marriage of the Lamb has come [at last] and His bride (the redeemed) has
prepared herself.” 8 She has been permitted to dress in fine linen,
dazzling white and clean—for the fine linen signifies the righteous acts of the
saints [the ethical conduct, personal integrity, moral courage, and godly
character of believers].
9
Then the angel said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the
marriage supper of the Lamb.’” And he said to me [further], “These are the true
and exact words of God.”
As a Christian
people we are called to the great wedding feast, and amazingly we are His Bride, both
individually and corporately. We are
loved by a God who sees unlimited potential in us as we move forward with Him
and in Him to establish a reign of love. He gives us eyes to see the world from
His perspective which in turn causes us to respond as He would.
Song
of Solomon 4:8-11 (AMP)
8
“Come away with me from Lebanon, my [promised] bride,
May
you come with me from Lebanon.
Journey
down from the top of Amana,
From
the summit of Senir and Hermon,
From
the dens of lions,
From
the mountains of leopards.
9
“You have ravished my heart and given me courage, my sister, my [promised]
bride;
You
have ravished my heart and given me courage with a single glance of your eyes,
With
one jewel of your necklace.
10
“How beautiful is your love, my sister, my [promised] bride!
How
much better is your love than wine,
And
the fragrance of your oils
Than
all kinds of balsam and spices.
11
“Your lips, my [promised] bride, drip honey [as the honeycomb];
Honey
and milk are under your tongue,
And
the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.
 |
| Pic of Hannah Hurnard author of Hinds' Feet on High Places |
I am
overwhelmed by the greatness of God’s love for us. We are on the precipice of
great changes about to take place in us and in our world, for God is bringing
us to a place where we will reign with Him in love, mercy and grace. Our world doesn’t realize it yet, but it is
crying out for a Savior. We do have a loving Savior who is not only seeking a
bride, but He is about to return and receive the Kingdoms of this earth. I continue to pray that God’s mercy would be
extended for a bit longer that many more may come to know Him as well.
I pray that
God’s love will fill your heart, bringing you confidence of the awareness that
God is just and merciful. None of us deserve mercy but it is lovingly offered
to us without obligation. May His kindness lead
you to a saving relationship with Jesus, and if you already know Him, may you grow in the depths of His love and in the character of our Lord.
Blessings to
you
Stephen
Barnett
God is good
all the time―all the time God is good!
We
Are Your Bride
(Andy Park)
We are Your bride, You are our bridegroom
We are Your bride, You are our bridegroom
We’re
waiting here for You
Our
hearts are filled with expectation
We’re
waiting here for You
Lord
give us clean garments
The
righteous acts of the saints
Lord
give us fine linen
Bright
and clean to make us ready for You
Copyright © 1996 Mercy/Vineyard Publishing. All rights reserved.
International copyright secured.
The lyrics presented above are copyrighted by the respective
artist(s) and are demonstrated here for educational purposes only and not for
profit.
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