My lover has gone down to his garden,
to the beds of spices, to browse in the gardens and to gather lilies.
{Song of Solomon 6:2} (NIV1984)
The Song of
Solomon is a beautiful book. The older I get, the more appreciation I have for
it. This little book seems like a book about gardening, but it isn't. No - this
book is full of metaphors of the love and the physical desire between a man
and a woman. Yet the New Testament teaches us that the love and physical desire between a
man and a woman is a metaphor of the Lord Jesus and us, His church (Eph 5:32).
This passage describes the hunger the woman has for her husband, the hunger
that we have for our Lord. It describes her searching for her husband, and not
finding him, until she realizes that he is in the garden with his lilies.
I
will leave you the enjoyment of figuring out all the metaphors in this passage,
but the point that I would like us to remember is that she was hurt by others
while she searched for him. She searched the streets and the city, when she
should have gone to the garden first!
Friend, know this truth. The Lord Jesus
loves His church! He loves the individuals that make up each local church! It
is true that He loves the world, but He loves His bride more! If we truly are
hungry for the Lord Jesus, if we are truly and earnestly seeking His presence,
then we will go to our local church and enter into the worship service.
Parkdale is the Lord's garden, we are His lilies. He promises that when we
gather He will be there in a special way (Mt 18). The manifest presence of the
Lover of our soul! Friend, I will see you at church on Sunday, and we will
enjoy our Lord together!
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