Song of Solomon 4:1  Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves’ eyes within thy locks: thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead.
2  Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which came up from the washing; whereof every one bear twins, and none is barren among them.
3  Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely: thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks.
4  Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armoury, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men.
5  Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies.
6  Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense.
7  Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.

Bill C9 is still before us. It is a bill with one goal. That goal is to persecute true people of God/Christians. When a godless system tries to put out a bill that is designed to “protect” people from hate speech we know we are in trouble. As one of the long-winded speakers stated, a Rabbi had told her: none of us has met God yet so it is difficult to know exactly what truth is. That is what the majority of the religious community in this country wants to believe. Yet, we have a book, the King James Bible, which is God’s preserved Word. We do not need to personally meet God. We meet Him when we read His Word and submit to that Word.

Isaiah 42:8  I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

God declares that He hates evil. Our country is in big trouble. Too many people have their heads in the sand and are not even interested in what really matters.
God directed Solomon to write this book to help him and all Old Testament saints look forward to a time yet future to them. Israel had been raised up by God to be a testimony to the nations. During Solomon’s early years as king, he exemplified the wisdom of God. The queen of Sheba heard about it and she came personally to see and hear the wisdom of Solomon. Solomon did not guard his heart and the result was disaster for him and for the nation. God was not finished with Israel then and He is not finished with Israel now.
However, while she is set aside, God graffed in a new thing. The apostle Paul described it as a mystery revealed in his time. That mystery was taught by Jesus in Matthew 16 and further. It is the true church/es.
In our text, Solomon describes his bride. He used language that would be understood in human terms. The people lived close to nature. Solomon did not worship nature, but like his father, he was a hunter. He studied the animals and knew their habits so he knew where to find them and how to hunt them.
He studied the birds as well and he was attracted to the eyes of the doves. He compared his bride’s eyes to those of the dove. His bride’s eyes were surrounded by a full head of hair. The Bible tells us that the long hair of the woman is her glory. It is unnatural for a woman to have short hair like a man. Some women claim they do not like to look after their hair so they cut it short. Being a godly woman is something a woman will learn once she becomes a godly person.
We need to keep in mind that God’s women want to please Him. They are not into fashions. If they please God they will be pleasing to the eyes of godly men as well. They are a picture of the bride of Christ.
In verse 2 Solomon described her teeth. A healthy set of teeth is a good thing. Teeth that are well looked after will help when the woman smiles. A Church that is well run will be a blessing to the society where it is. It will be attractive to those who are listening to God’s drawing. Of course the world wants more. They have their imagination of what is good looking, but that is far from what God says.
In verse 3 her lips are described. She does not need lipstick of different colours. Her natural colour and the natural shape of her lips is all she needs. Her speech is comely, it is pleasing to the ears. The voice coming from the local church needs to be pleasing to Christ first of all. We are not out to please the world.
Next Solomon noted her temples. Solomon is obviously expressing his interest in his bride. He cares about her. A godly man will take note of his bride. She may not be the catch for every man, but she does not need to be that. She needs to be the one for that particular man.
The local church will not fit in with the world’s design. Too many people are wanting their place of “worship” to fit in with the world around them. They have the wild music and the immodesty and the hosts and hostesses and all the stuff that makes it feel like a pub without the beer. I understand some churches even hold beer making classes.
A true church is attractive because it is clean and serving the Lord. This bride’s neck is described as well. She has a strong neck. She is not a push over. She is not being led by the whims and wishes of the world. She is not like Eve. Eve chose to allow the devil to deceive her. This woman is willing to trust in her husband and look to him for protection.
Again, a true church is subject to the Lord Jesus Christ as her Head. This bride also had breasts well suited to the body. She does not need to wear low cut gowns to show off cleavage. She is dressed modestly. Her breasts are for her husband, not for the world.
In verses 6-7 Solomon talked of going back to the mountains of myrrh. Most likely he referred to the mountains of Lebanon. At that time, he spent much time there hunting. He did not hunt because he needed to but because he enjoyed it. God gave him opportunity to enjoy nature in that way. In his enjoyment of nature, he did not neglect his responsibilities to his wife. He saw her as that pure woman that God wants the married man to have.
The true local church is that pure bride that God wants His children to be a part of in this time. This is the “church age”. The church should be the central part of the saved person’s life. They look forward to being together with other believers and to reaching out into the community through the local church.
Years ago, while I was in Bible school, there was a small Baptist church about an hour from our town. The church sat in the country. It was an old building and there were not that many people left in the area. However, they wanted to keep that church going and they had contacted the Bible school I attended and asked if there might be a student who would want to come and minister to them.
I heard about it and asked if I could look after that need. I was granted permission and our family would travel there for their services and we would sing as a family and I would preach to them. The people were very understanding and very hospitable. They wanted to keep that light shining in that part of the country.
Our current church is in the business area of town. After we purchased the building, some of the people did not like it that we had purchased that building. They claimed that was a business section and the building should be used for business. However, God gave us the building for His glory. A business section needs to be reminded that they are accountable to God. We are in fact doing God’s business, which is very needful.

The true church should not be tucked away in an obscure part of a village or town. It needs to be where it is easily found and where its very presence is a reminder of the fact that there is a God in heaven to whom all are accountable. We need to be a light where God puts us. That is our goal.
Today is the Lord’s Day. God has given us another opportunity to come together and worship Him. Why not come and join us for the service today. We would love to have you visit and learn of the goodness of God.

Psalm 122:1  I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.

Pastor Bartel