TAKING A LOOK AT THE SONG

OF SOLOMON
By Irene McGough

Copyright © 2009 Irene McGough Disciples of Jesus Ministry

www.discipleofjesussite.com
May all who read this be blessed and taken into a
deeper relationship with Jesus. This book project
started with a desire n my heart to go deeper with
the Lord, to find more intimacy. The desire of my
heart is to know Him more. I pray it is also yours
dear reader. I don’t claim to have arrived I am on a
journey with the Lord, but you know something I
find He grows sweeter and sweeter as the days go
by. I love the Lord Jesus Christ.

God bless you all

Love from your sister in Christ,

Irene McGough

This book is dedicated to my Pastor

Simon Foster and his wife Jane whose
devotion to Jesus has been an inspiration
to me.
June 2009

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CHAPTER 1

Most of the ladies who read this will be able to relate to being the bride of Christ
but if you men are anything like my husband, although that has been changing
lately, you may find that difficult. Love is the key word here. This wonderful book
of the Bible was included for good reason because it calls us to new levels of
intimacy with our dear bridegroom the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Quote:
The song of songs, which is concerning Solomon, who as the son and successor
of David, on whom the covenant of royalty was entailed, as the founder of the
temple, and as one that excelled in wisdom and wealth, was a type of Christ, in
whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and yet is a greater
than Solomon; this is therefore a song concerning him. It is here fitly placed
after Ecclesiastes; for when by the book we are thoroughly convinced of the
vanity of the creature, and its insufficiency to satisfy us and make a happiness
for us, we shall be quickened to seek for happiness in the love of Christ, and that
true transcendent pleasure which is to be found only in communion with God
through him. The voice in the wilderness, that was to prepare Christ’s way, cried,
All flesh is grass. (Matthew Henry's commentary on the whole Bible )

Son 1:1 Solomon's Song of Songs.

Beloved

Son 1:2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth-
for your love is more delightful than wine.

Can you feel the sweet kisses of the groom, the sweet, sweet passionate kisses of
Jesus? Oh how He loves you and I! Just one kiss from Him and I am undone, for
His kisses are sweeter than any other kiss we could ever experience, and I am a
woman who is in love with her husband of nearly thirty years. But the kisses the
Lord gives to us are life giving, life changing, they breathe life, strength, hope,
faith, joy, healing and peace into us His bride. They are sweeter than the sweetest
wine. He gives us new wine, sweeter than any other.

Psa 34:8 Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!

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My thoughts here also come to the communion wine, we are indeed remembering
the Lord until He comes, but there is more to it than that, He is so very present with
us as we partake of the bread and the wine. As we take the cup can you feel the
Lord’s kisses upon your lips as he breathes life into you, the new life in Him that is
yours because His love took Him all the way to the cross to shed His blood for you
and I.
Because He died you have been reborn, you are a new creation, there is life in
the blood, life in the new wine which he gives, life in Jesus. There is healing in
recognising the sacredness and blessedness of the moment as we participate of the
elements, Jesus is there and He is kissing you and I to life. Communion is only one
of those times when we can be aware of His sweet kisses, when we are hurting, He
kisses us back to life, when we are afraid, He takes the fear away, when we are
discouraged He whispers words of encouragement to us, when we read the Word
He reveals His love, His compassion, His nature to us and blesses us so much with
His Presence and when we spend time talking to Him He communicates with us,
reveals more to us and guides on the way that we should go.

How I love His Kisses!

SWEET COMMUNION

The bread and wine are set before us,

As we gather to worship the Lord Jesus,
This is no ritual without a meaning,
It is even more than merely remembering.

Jesus said “This do in remembrance of me.”

But there is clearly more He wants us to see.
For the one we behold is indeed the bread of life,
And the bread is feeding our souls with health and life.

Then we come to the wine knowing there is life in the blood,

For that blood washed away our sins in a cleansing flood,
And we come with thanksgiving and praise in our hearts,
In deep reverence and awe we come in one accord.

Thanking the One who is the true life giver,

The One who we will throughout eternity live with,
Who shed His blood on a cruel cross that we might be saved,
Through that same blood we are healed, saved and delivered.

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 For there is power in the blood, full resurrection power,
We must never forget the magnitude of that wonderful power,
Words are unable to express the depth of our gratitude,
For while we were dead in our sins Christ came and he died.

And he has given us a hope that is certain and sure,

That when we give our lives to the only one who is pure,
We have a glorious heritage as sons and daughters of the King,
So throughout eternity his praises we with the angels will sing.

And now as we take the bread and the wine let us rightly discern,
Just what we are doing and come humbly seeking new revelation,
Our Lord and Saviour left heaven’s glory, a sacrificial offering to be,
And the wonder of it all was that he done it all for such as you and me.

So we will continue to come together partaking of the bread and wine,

Until that day we with the saints from down through the ages dine,
When we the bride, meet with our dear bridegroom at our wedding feast,
And we look upon the glory of his countenance and fall at his feet.

Even so come Lord Jesus…………….

Do you have an awakened desire for more intimacy with the King of Kings
because of His beauty, His excellence, His love and compassion so clearly seen?
He wants us to reach a place of greater intimacy,
fellowshipping with Him in such a way that no matter what is happening around us
it’s okay for Jesus is here with us. The love of this beautiful splendid and fragrant
king is twice good (the word “good” appears twice in Hebrew in its plural form). I
would say that means His love is good beyond all measure.

The bride here is rather tentative at first as though she sees her groom so far off
but when she experiences his kisses, oh what a difference it makes. Cf v3-4

Son 1:3 Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes;

your name is like perfume poured out.
No wonder the maidens love you!

In Biblical times it was the custom to rub the body with fragrant ointments (oils)
after a bath in preparation for a festive occasion (Ruth 3:3). The Shulamite bride
speaks of her beloved’s reputation a likening it to a lovely aroma; he was an object

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of desire to young women everywhere. Our desire should be like this, we should be
ravished with desire for our dear bridegroom, for Jesus.

Son 1:4 Take me away with you-let us hurry!

Let the king bring me into his chambers.

Can you smell the sweet fragrant essence of the beauty of His presence? His Name
is the Name above all Names and at His feet every knee will one day bow, What a
glorious wonderful name that is the name of Jesus - Yeshua ,the Messiah, our dear
bridegroom, our Lord and our Saviour who is calling us up higher calling us up
closer to be with Him.. We so need to develop a close intimate relationship with
Jesus for He is the bridegroom and we are the bride. The chambers by my
understanding are entering the secret place with Lord and even venturing right into
the holy of holies, for the veil was rent in two that we the royal priesthood, the
bride might enter into the holy of holies and be with Him.

4b.Friends
We rejoice and delight in you;
we will praise your love more than wine.
Beloved
How right they are to adore you!

COME AWAY WITH ME

Come away with me my sister my bride,

A new wave is coming, it’s a changing tide.
Come and see what I am about to do,
For I am about to make all things new.

For this to happen, you need to come up higher,

I long for you my bride, my delight, to come closer,
Then and only then will you see my plans unfold,
Come and fulfil the destiny for which you have been called.

It’s time for you to listen and hear my voice,

For I have so much to say to you, just stop and listen,
Do you know I adore you and want you in me to rejoice?
It’s time for your ears to open wide and your eyes to fully open.

Only then can I reveal to you sweet treasures of my kingdom,

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It is only in the secret place that you can truly learn of me,
You have to enter my chambers to learn real wisdom,
There is so much more my dear bride I want you to see.

So come on up here, come away with me, it’s your time,

The plans I have planned for you were made before time,
Your destiny awaits you, so you just have to come up here,
Can you see the longing in my eyes for you my dear?

So my dear bride come away with me,

Love from Jesus.

Mathew Henry states” A good name is as precious ointment, but Christ’s name is
more fragrant than any other. Wisdom, like oil, makes the face to shine; but the
Redeemer outshines, in beauty, all others.”

THERE IS SOMETHING WONDERFUL ABOUT THAT NAME

Y
esterday, today, and forever Jesus is the same,
There is something wonderful about that Name,
For at the name of Jesus demons have to flee,
He is the Lord Jesus Christ who died for you and me,

He’s the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end,
Our soon coming King who did to heaven ascend,
He’s the Author and Perfecter of our faith,
He is the Word of God so listen to what He says.

He is the eternal one and the way, the truth and the life.
It is only through Him that we can have eternal life,
He is the Lamb without blemish who gave His life for us,
He’s the Good shepherd who cares for sheep such as us.

Forever and forever He is faithful and true,

He is holy and desires us to be holy too,
He is Immanuel, our God who is with us,
And we are so blessed with His Presence with us.

He is the Wonderful Counsellor, the Prince of Peace,

This bridegroom’s love for His bride will never cease.

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He is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings,
So my friends let’s forever His praises sing.

Christian brothers and sisters our desire should be for our friends brothers and
sisters in Christ to draw closer to Jesus, we should encourage them and prayerfully
support them, jealousy should not come into the equation, we should not envy
another’s walk with the Lord, instead we should encourage them and draw closer
ourselves to the Lord, seek intimacy, that’s the most important thing.

Son 1:5 Dark am I, yet lovely,

O daughters of Jerusalem, (NIV used throughout)
dark like the tents of Kedar,
like the tent curtains of Solomon.
Son 1:6 Do not stare at me because I am dark,
because I am darkened by the sun.
My mother's sons were angry with me
and made me take care of the vineyards;
my own vineyard I have neglected.

The Shulamite has spent lots of time in the sun as a vineyard keeper, so she is
tanned and dark, but lovely. Could it be that here she has a sense of feeling
unworthy of her beloved’s attentions, hence the mention here of her colour?
Vinedressers were among the poorer classes in the land of Israel (II Kgs 25:12) Yet
this vinedresser was fit for a king.

What do you see here we who are in and of ourselves unworthy have been made
worthy for our lover the King of Kings, our Lord and Saviour Jesus. How
marvellous is this?
For though we in and of ourselves are unworthy our groom has paid a ransom, for
us. We stood guilty of sin and shame, and He has removed it from us, as far as the
east is from the west, He has removed our transgressions from us. So we who were
once in bondage and slavery to sin and it’s consequences, have been wonderfully
and so gloriously set free.
We who were afar off, we the gentiles have been grafted in and we are now the
redeemed and a bride in love with a bridegroom who loves us so much more than
we the bride can yet conceive. How often do we as believers feel inadequate and
yet in Him we have everything?

Col 1:27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory
of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
NKJV

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Christ within us is the hope of glory. He wants to make His glory known among us
and for that glory to shine through us and touch the hearts of the people. We are to
be such carriers of His presence that people in the world look at us and
immediately see that we are different, and for this to happen it requires us to
become more and more like our Lord and Saviour, to be holy for He is Holy. It of
course requires surrendering everything over to Jesus. That's what we need to do on
a daily basis.

Son 1:7 Tell me, you whom I love, where you graze your flock
and where you rest your sheep at midday.
Why should I be like a veiled woman
beside the flocks of your friends?

The Shulamite did not like the idea of veiling herself, of staying at a distance, she
was a stranger in the land Think of the isolation of a leper who dwells alone,
outside the camp, in contrast to Israel’s shared life of covenant love. Jesus sent the
disciples to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel” with a command to “cleanse the
lepers” who were outside the camp. His love and compassion for those who are
considered to be the unfortunates of our society, those whom society shuns
continues today.

The Shulamite loves her lover so much that she cannot stand being apart from him.
She has to seek him out. Do we seek to be with Jesus every moment of every day?
Do we long for Him so much we cannot stand to feel at all distanced from him? Is
He the object of our affections all day and every day?

Friends

Son 1:8 If you do not know, most beautiful of women,

follow the tracks of the sheep
and graze your young goats
by the tents of the shepherds.

The court ladies, hearing her plea, bid her to depart and search for the shepherd.
Most beautiful of women is probably meant in an ironical sense. They would be

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glad to see this rival depart. Are you ready to encourage others on their walk, to
help them to draw closer to Jesus, to find intimacy? When we find a level of
intimacy ourselves it is not meant to be kept like a guarded secret. What we have
learned we ought to share with and encourage others even if it means they will
surpass us and seem to reach greater heights than we ourselves have, or that which
we will reach.

Lover

Son 1:9 I liken you, my darling, to a mare

harnessed to one of the chariots of Pharaoh.
Son 1:10 Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings,
your neck with strings of jewels.
Son 1:11 We will make you earrings of gold,
studded with silver.

Solomon begins to speak here. He first praises his bride’s beauty and gracefulness
by comparing her to his stately chariot steed. Those steeds were dressed with costly
harnesses and the most elegant of headgear. She is beautiful, but with the expensive
adornments which he will give her she will have a beauty that is unsurpassable. She
will have necklaces of silver and gold and lots of jewels.

Beloved

Son 1:12 While the king was at his table,

my perfume spread its fragrance.
Son 1:13 My lover is to me a sachet of myrrh
resting between my breasts.
Son 1:14 My lover is to me a cluster of henna blossoms
from the vineyards of En Gedi.

King Solomon was at the table with his circle of friends. Clarke says the bundle of
myrrh is a scent bag or sachet worn in the bosom and suspended from the neck on a
silk thread. The Shulamite confesses that her beloved is to her what this delightful
perfume is to others. She felt that he was as close to her as the sachet of myrrh
dangling from her neck that sat between her breasts

. En-gedi is a beautiful oasis below a plateau overlooking the Dead Sea. Her loved
one is like a beautiful flower. Henna flowers are from a privet-like shrub bearing
small, inconspicuous but fragrant white to yellow blossoms.

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Do we express our love for Jesus like this woman did her love for King Solomon?

BURNING DESIRE

I have a burning deep within,

For more of your fire consuming,
Come Lord Jesus I know there is more,
More than I have experienced before.

I have tasted and seen that you are good,

The spirit within me you have renewed,
Holy Spirit keep filling me up to overflowing,
May my zeal for Jesus be forever growing.

Come consume me with your fire,

For I long for you with deep desire,
There is a need deep within my being,
I'm hungry and thirsty, come satisfy my craving.

Lover

Son 1:15 How beautiful you are, my darling!

Oh, how beautiful!
Your eyes are doves.

The language of love ends all hostile and divisive communication, for it speaks out
of a shared life and magnifies oneness, togetherness, union, and intimacy .

Beloved

Son 1:16 How handsome you are, my lover!

Oh, how charming!
And our bed is verdant.

Lover

Son 1:17 The beams of our house are cedars;

our rafters are firs.

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The Lord wants us to constantly seek an intimate personal relationship with Him,
not to view Him from afar off. Jesus looks at us His bride with longing for us to
come closer. I really believe He beckons us like John to come up close, come up
higher.

Rev 4:1 After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in
heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, "Come
up here, and I will show you what must take place after this."

He is our bridegroom, He is our lover but we must not lose sight of the fact that
He is King, We can have such beautiful moments of intimacy but we must exalt
Him and worship Him, magnify His Holy Name.

I’M COMING UP HIGHER

I’m coming up higher, coming up closer to you Lord,

As a deer pants for the water so my soul thirsts for you.
This one thing I seek forever to dwell in your presence Lord,
And I will enter the secret place to be alone with you.

Just one glimpse of your face, is what I long for,

My majestic, wonderful, marvellous glorious King,
Holy, Holy are you Lord and your praises I will sing,
Holy Spirit. reveal more to me as I read your precious Word.

Lord I seek your face and I’m after your heart,

Break me, melt me, mould me and change my heart,
Refiners fire come and purify my entire being,
Help me to increase in knowledge and understanding.

Because He rose, I will rise up as a Mighty Warrior,

The battle is won; the victory is yours my dear Saviour,
I will press on to the heavenly calling, fixing my eyes on you,
And I will listen to your voice and walk with you.

I can no longer walk, except in your righteousness,

For I have beheld something of your glory my King,
So let me die totally to self, my life an offering I bring,
For I am bought with a price, now my life you possess.

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1Pe 2:2 Like newborn babies you should crave (thirst for, earnestly desire)
the pure (unadulterated) spiritual milk, that by it you may be nurtured
and grow unto [completed] salvation,
1Pe 2:3 Since you have [already] tasted the goodness and kindness of the
Lord
1Pe 2:4 Come to Him [then, to that] Living Stone which men tried and
threw away, but which is chosen [and] precious in God's sight.
1Pe 2:5 [Come] and, like living stones, be yourselves built [into] a spiritual
house, for a holy (dedicated, consecrated) priesthood, to offer up [those]
spiritual sacrifices [that are] acceptable and pleasing to God through
Jesus Christ.
1Pe 2:6 For thus it stands in Scripture: Behold, I am laying in Zion a chosen
(honored), precious chief Cornerstone, and he who believes in Him [who
adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Him] shall never be disappointed or
put to shame.
1Pe 2:7 To you then who believe (who adhere to, trust in, and rely on Him)
is the preciousness; but for those who disbelieve [it is true], The [very]
Stone which the builders rejected has become the main Cornerstone,
1Pe 2:8 And, A Stone that will cause stumbling and a Rock that will give
[men] offense; they stumble because they disobey and disbelieve [God's]
Word, as those [who reject Him] were destined (appointed) to do.
1Pe 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation,
[God's] own purchased, special people, that you may set forth the wonderful
deeds and display the virtues and perfections of Him Who called you out of
darkness into His marvelous light. (AMPLIFIED BIBLE)

We who regard Jesus as so precious to us are a chosen race, a royal

priesthood, a people who belong to God, a people set apart that we might be
changed and go forth and do the wonderful deeds that are His and display
the virtue and perfections of the one who first loved us, that His very nature
might be manifest in our lives as we are changed from glory to glory. Our
Lord and Saviour, our bridegroom has called us out of the darkness and
into His marvellous light, into the glory realm of His Kingdom.

SWEET INTIMACY

How he wants me to come closer,

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He says "Come on up a little higher,"
I love each little touch from Him,
Each sweet caress from my King.

Through Him I breathe, and have my being,

And He has called me to spend eternity reigning,
All eternity I will spend at His side,
For now I am part of His Precious bride,

And oh the joy that fills my heart,

Forever I have been set apart,
And I love Him so much more,
Than I thought was possible before.

For He saw that He was my greatest desire,

And He came and baptized me with fire,
And I know there is so much more,
For all He does is on me His love pour.

How simply amazing is that?

That He should love me as He does,
Oh the joy deep down in my heart,
In Him I place my faith and trust.

I love Jesus and I love his sweet caress,

Whatever comes my way I know I can rest,
For He has given me a peace and joy that's unshakable,
And I know that in all things my Lord is totally able.

And He takes me into the secret place,

And I go seeking to see Him face to face,
And He is so beautiful and majestically wonderful to me.
So now the desire of my heart is now to help others see.

He says to me "Go tell others about me,

Tell them that they can come to really know me,
I want them to know that I so love them too,
And I want them to come and embrace me too."

PRAYER: Dear Lord I ask you now to take me deeper unto you. I want to
explore new heights of intimacy with you. I want to come up higher, so Lord I

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pray that I will open my heart and soul fully to you, that I might hear you
more clearly and see you more clearly. I thank you for you love for me, I love
you Lord and may that love cause me to live a life totally devoted to you, in
complete surrender.

In your precious name Lord Jesus, AMEN

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CHAPTER TWO

The bride cannot understand why the Beloved considers her to be so special since
she is a very ordinary person. He continues to reveal lovely thoughts about her
from His heart. He demonstrates to His bride that He is in control and has
conquered all problems she will ever face. The Beloved Bridegroom now asks her
to go with Him but she hesitates; she only wants to have Him all to herself in
private. He pleads with her, but she will not go with Him. This causes a division
between them. This severing of the sweet fellowship with the bridegroom will
cause her great spiritual pain.

Son 2:1 I am a rose of Sharon,

a lily of the valleys.

Lover

Son 2:2 Like a lily among thorns

is my darling among the maidens.

Jesus is the rose of Sharon and a lily of the valleys.

In the New Testament Jesus is never actually referred to as the rose of Sharon.
However, We can see here though how Jesus is symbolically I believe referred
to as the rose of Sharon. For the bride as she grows more like her groom as she
draws closer to Him should reflect something of Him as we the bride of Christ
should. The person saying she is the "rose of Sharon" in the above verse was the
Shulamite woman who apparently was Solomon’s bride.

Sharon is a plain - it is one of the largest valley-plains in all of Palestine. Back

at the time of Solomon, it was considered a wild, fertile plain that had a lot of
beautiful flowers in it. Sharon was supposed to have been known for its beauty
and majesty at that time. Throughout the Song of Solomon we can see that God
is using the "lover" analogy to describe the relationship that He wants us the
bride of Christ to have with the Lord Jesus and Himself.

The rose of Sharon is supposed to be considered the most "perfect" of all

flowers. Jesus is the perfect one, the one without blemish, the one who came as
a man and sinned not for He was and is and always has been God and is so
infinitely perfect.

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“I am … the lily of the valleys.” This may be a reference to the valley of
Esdraelon. This valley has beautiful flowers in it, too. Actually, there is a profusion
of flowers in all the valleys—along the coast south of Joppa, in the Jordan valley,
around the Sea of Galilee. What is the lily of the valleys? There have been
questions as to which flower is meant. Apparently it was the iris. The iris grows
wild over there, and one can still see a great many of them. I am of the opinion that
it does refer to that humble plant, the iris. He is the beautiful, stately rose and the
humble iris. “I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.” (1)

So why is it that the Shulamite woman refers to herself in this way? Not so long
ago in chapter one we saw some confusion as to her standing, some insecurity, but
here surely she is gaining in confidence, she knows she belongs to the King, that
they are man and wife and have become as one. She was I believe being changed,
becoming more like her lover, and desiring to show others who it was she belonged
to.

We need to know who we are in Christ, can people look at us and see the
rose of Sharon, the Christ living in and through us? Oh to be like Him, to
reflect something of His glory to the people around me, that’s my desire.

The bride the Shulamite woman was pleasing to her lover, she was reflecting
a beauty such as that of a lily among thorns. We should reflect the beauty and
character of our dear bridegroom. Jesus is the lily of the valleys - He is pure, He is
lovely, He is beautiful, so His bride is a lily also, should bears the image of His
loveliness and reflect it to men. This is what we as the church are to do today. We
are to reveal to a world that is filled with thorns, briars, and thistles, the beauty of
Christ.

Beloved

Son 2:3 Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest is my
lover among the young men. I delight to sit in his shade, and
his fruit is sweet to my taste.

Like a fruitful tree in the midst of a forest that’s trees bear no fruit is
the bridegroom here, Jesus surely bears pure fruit, when we allow Him
to transform and renew us we will bear healthy fruit, the fruit of the
Spirit for Christ will be reflected in us. When I think of sitting under the
shade I think of sitting under the shadow of His wings where we can find

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 healing of the whole person. There is surely also a lovely sweetness in our
spirits when we start to allow them to engage more fully with the Holy
Spirit, bearing much fruit for the Kingdom of God. It is my desire to do
this. Is it yours?

Son 2:4 He has taken me to the banquet hall,

and his banner over me is love.

The bride sings a joyful song for she has been taken into the banqueting
hall, and his banner of protection encompasses her with love. We the
bride of Christ have been promised a wonderful banqueting feast, we
have all been invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb as His bride. He
has set a canopy of His grace, love and mercy over us, He showers love
upon us.

What can our response be to this?

We become so completely in love with the Lord causing us to trust our whole being
to Him including all our circumstances!

Psalm 103:1
"Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name."

Rev 19:7 Let us rejoice and be glad

and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
Rev 19:8 Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear." (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)
Rev 19:9 Then the angel said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are invited to
the wedding supper of the Lamb!' "And he added, "These are the true words of
God."

This message in the following poem has touched the hearts of a number of
people reading this poem, the same message is extended by Jesus to every
reader. You yourself have probably answered His call with an affirmative yes
to His invitation, but right now He desires you to come closer to a deeper
intimacy. So you can freely copy and distribute this poem for non commercial
use to use for outreach purposes.

INVITATION TO A WEDDING (the Wedding Feast of the Lamb)

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My dear friend

Hello there, I want to extend an invitation personally to you,

I am so excited and looking forward to my Wedding Day,
That day is coming soon and I would love for you to be there too,
Come and follow me and throughout eternity with me you will stay.

For I am so longing for you to come running into my arms,

My arms are opened wide and I am calling out your name,
Come to me I want you to be part of the true church, my bride,
Dear one, this world has no answers, come and in me abide.

I loved you so much that I came and died on the cross for you,
And now I’m longing for the day you will say” I love you too,”
This wedding feast will be like no party you have ever seen,
Come to me and you will be happier than you have ever been.

Dear friend I am looking forward with anticipation for your reply,

Repent of your sins and I will remember them no more,
And all heaven will be rejoicing as I will be throwing a party.
I will prepare a mansion just for you as part of the bride I adore.

People from every tribe and nation have answered my call,

They have said yes to me and they have surrendered their all,
I want to pour my love upon you and give you real peace,
This love I have for you my friend will never ever cease.

The Groom –JESUS CHRIST

RSVP

Son 2:5 Strengthen me with raisins,

refresh me with apples,
for I am faint with love.

Raisin cakes were given by David to the people after the joyful return of the Ark of
the Lord. The cry of our hearts should for the Lord to constantly strengthen and
refresh us, as we seek after Him, as we cry out to Him expressing our love and
devotion.

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Son 2:6 His left arm is under my head,
and his right arm embraces me.

The bride asks the bridegroom to sustain her. She doesn't attempt to strengthen
herself. The bride longs to be strengthened by His fruit! This fruit of Jesus will
always uphold and sustain you: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith, meekness and self control. The bride leaves the sustaining and
refreshing entirely to Him! Praise God for the empowering of the Holy Spirit who
makes us strong. We the bride are weak! Jesus is strong! What we need now are
strong arms to support us. The bridegroom the Lord Jesus draws us, His bride, to
Himself into the peacefulness of His embrace.
Son 2:7 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you
by the gazelles and by the does of the field:
Do not arouse or awaken love
until it so desires.

The Bridegroom is teaching us that there must be a time of rest for His bride. We
need time to be led by the Lord beside the still waters in order to have our souls
renewed, refreshed and restored! Don't feel guilty about taking a rest. Remember,
He wants it for us so that we can be spiritually more effective. The Bridegroom
Jesus, tells those who serve her in the court to allow His bride to sleep peacefully.
How gentle He is with her. He knows that there is still much for her to experience.
Pause and praise Him that He knows the exact amount of progress we need at any
given time. There is never a valid reason to become uneasy about the supposed
"unknown" future when He is in control of our lives. He has our future planned.

Jer 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD , "plans to
prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Psa 139:15 My frame was not hidden from you

when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
Psa 139:16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

We need to enjoy His presence and leading in this moment and not be anxious, we
just need to rest in Him, He has it all taken care of, praise His Holy Name!

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COME ENTER MY REST

“My child, come and cast your cares upon me,

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me,
Cast your burdens down at the foot of the cross,
I want to bring you into my rest, no need for toil.

I want you to incline your ear and listen to my voice,

Stop now and listen, learn to recognize my voice,
Child you keep going back to striving, busy doing,
Yet it should be the rest I give, you should be pursuing.

Don’t you see that in your weakness I give you strength?

Child lean on me and you will do all things in my strength,
For it was I, who sent the Holy Spirit to empower you.
Call upon me in your hour of need and I will hearken unto you.

Trust in me, put your faith in me, in all things enter my rest.
It’s time to stop wavering when you are put to the test,
My dear child I see your heart and I see that it’s me you love,
I want you to rest in my presence and let me pour out my love.

Every tear I will wipe away, every hurt will be healed,

Approach my throne of grace in this your hour of need,
Repent and turn away from all that hinders perfect communion,
My arms are open wide and I long for that sweet communion.

Don’t look for the applause of men, rather fix your eyes on me,
Put no confidence in your flesh but rely totally on me,
Give your all to me, walk my way, serve me with your whole being,
And you will know a joy and a rest which you have not yet seen.

I am jealous for your time, I know child that you long after me,
You can be so busy trying to show others my love you lose sight of me,
Yet to show my love you need that precious time with me.
Look to me daily to help you win the race and learn to rest in me.

Because you can run with me from the place of rest that I give,
I will give you my strength to empower you for service,
In my place of rest all your works will have fully ceased
And you will discover what it is from striving to be released.

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So my child it is time for you to enter fully into my rest,
There is liberty and freedom and joy in that place of rest,
And I will direct all your paths and the way that you should go,
And in that place of rest, you in me will really start to grow.”

Love from Jesus

Son 2:8 Listen! My lover!

Look! Here he comes,
leaping across the mountains,
bounding over the hills.
Son 2:9 My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag.
Look! There he stands behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
peering through the lattice.
Son 2:10 My lover spoke and said to me,
"Arise, my darling,
my beautiful one, and come with me.
Son 2:11 See! The winter is past;
the rains are over and gone.
Son 2:12 Flowers appear on the earth;
the season of singing has come,
the cooing of doves
is heard in our land.
Son 2:13 The fig tree forms its early fruit;
the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.
Arise, come, my darling;
my beautiful one, come with me."

Are you aware of the deep longing in His heart for you to know just what the
leaping and skipping mean? Our Bridegroom comes near and He says to us “My
bride, turn your eyes around and Look at me, look into My eyes. Listen to My
voice! No matter what the enemy will bring against you; no matter how intense the
problems and difficulties may be, look darling bride, I have already conquered
them!
Every hill and every mountain, I like a young gazelle have leaped over them all.
My resurrection power is greater than all of your troubles and I have put My Spirit
inside of you to empower you. I have given you precious promises!

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2Co 1:20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in
Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God.

2Co 7:1 Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from
everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence
for God.

2Co 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of
compassion and the God of all comfort,
2Co 1:4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any
trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.

I have given you My Word! I love you with all of My heart and I'll be there with
you when you face the mountains of fear, doubt, depression, failure and loss which
will try to rob you of peace, joy and contentment. Just speak to the mountain in
faith believing and it will be removed in My timing.

Mar 11:23 "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself
into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will
happen, it will be done for him.
Mar 11:24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you
have received it, and it will be yours.

When you speak to that mountain, stand on My promises and see the miracle of I
Corinthians 10:13 fulfilled in you. You will know that I am alive in your heart as
never before!”

1Co 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God
is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when
you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under
it.

Then He says to us His bride “I will be with you when you are depressed, hungry,
mentally tired, having moments of physical weakness, and family problems! I will
be the healer of your sicknesses and diseases. I will meet your needs!”

Psa 103:2 Praise the LORD , O my soul,

and forget not all his benefits-
Psa 103:3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,

Isa 53:5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,

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he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.

Mar 8:4 His disciples answered, "But where in this remote place can anyone get
enough bread to feed them?"
Mar 8:5 "How many loaves do you have?" Jesus asked.
"Seven," they replied.
Mar 8:6 He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he had taken the seven
loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set
before the people, and they did so.
Mar 8:7 They had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told
the disciples to distribute them.
Mar 8:8 The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven
basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

He has broken the power of sin, poverty, disease and lack.

Gal 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us,
for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
Gal 3:14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come
to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the
promise of the Spirit.

Gal 3:26 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus,

Gal 3:29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according
to the promise.
He has given us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms.

Eph 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed
us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

He has given us faith.

Rom 12:3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of
yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober
judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.

He has given us strength

Psa 27:1 The LORD is my light and my salvation-

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whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life-
of whom shall I be afraid?

He has given us wisdom

1Co 1:30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us
wisdom from God--that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.

Col 2:2 My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so
that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they
may know the mystery of God, namely Christ.

Col 2:3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Jas 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all
without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

He gives us everything we need

Php 4:19 And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in
Christ Jesus.

The Lord will bring us out victorious every time. God the Father will always cause
us to triumph in Christ and we will be carriers of the aroma of His Presence.

2Co 2:14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in
Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of
him.
2Co 2:15 For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved
and those who are perishing.

Our Bridegroom’s love will sustain you through the storms in life .He indeed calms
the storm.

Luk 8:25 He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm
subsided, and all was calm. "Where is your faith?" he asked his disciples. In fear
and amazement they asked one another, "Who is this? He commands even the
winds and the water, and they obey him."

A young dear or gazelle moves swiftly abounding in leaps, can you picture the
Lord Jesus coming to you in this way? How simply amazing is this?

25
 Why do you think the bride left the bridegroom to gaze at her through her
window? She was like so many of us, she hesitated. How often do we do this with
the Lord Jesus? How often do we distance ourselves?
Yet he beckons “Come away with me, come closer.” This poem depicts what I
believe He is saying to us.

HOW BEAUTIFUL YOU ARE MY BRIDE

How beautiful you are my bride,

Please do not try to hide,
I have gone before you,
And I have prepared a way for you.

Every promise I will keep,

For I have already made a conquering leap,
No matter what comes against you,
Know that I am with you.

My resurrection power is greater than your problems,

You just need to claim the victory over them.
Speak to your mountains and they will be removed,
For that mountain of fear, grief or debt I have conquered.

There is no temptation that you cannot withstand,

Just come with me as I take you by the hand,
I will lead you in the way that you should go,
Stay by my side and my ways you will get to know.

Oh my darling one, my bride, come away with me,

The beauty of my Kingdom I long for you to see,
Winter is passing, we have the promise of spring,
Come away with me a new song to sing.

I look a leap upon the Mountain of Calvary,

But on the third day I rose victoriously,
And I did it that your sins might be forgiven,
So that you my bride might be with me in heaven.

Do you know that I want to heal your sickness,

I want you to start to your faith release,
For there is no circumstance where I am not in control,

26
I want you healed up totally my bride and made whole.

Do you know I will guide you and equip you always?

You will carry the sweet fragrant aroma of my presence,
I am with you every second of every day,
And I have given you my Spirit to help you be me my witnesses.

Ah, my, sweet lovely bride how beautiful you are,

Please do not try to glimpse at me from afar,
I have so much more to reveal to you, I long for intimacy,
I want to embrace you with my kisses, come out of your complacency.

Come away with me, my sister, my bride, my beloved ones.

It’s time for you to come and enter into my throne room,
Behold my glory and the beauty of my countenance as you gaze upon me,
There is so much more I have to teach you from this place of intimacy.

Lover

Son 2:14 My dove in the clefts of the rock,

in the hiding places on the mountainside,
show me your face,
let me hear your voice;
for your voice is sweet,
and your face is lovely.
Son 2:15 Catch for us the foxes,
the little foxes
that ruin the vineyards,
our vineyards that are in bloom.

A moments hesitation and it is too late, she can no longer experience that sweet
intimacy of the moment, and she starts to feel He is so distant for she did not
respond with an affirmative yes right there and then and now her heart is aching.
Oh how it aches, because the lover of her soul seems so far off!

Where is He going to take her? Her Beloved wants to meet her family. She needs to
forgive her brothers for all that they did to her (1:6). She had retaliated with harsh
words of bitterness and she needs to ask them to forgive her. The Beloved also
longed to take His beautiful bride to fellowship with other surrendered lilies (6:3)!
What joy she will experience there, real joy in that sweet place of fellowship! What
an amazing presence of His will be felt! There are attacks and great spiritual battles

27
coming, especially because of her love and surrender to Jesus. She needs the other
lilies! She needs other members of the body of Christ (Eph.4:15,16). This will only
come through unity with other surrendered believers. Satan will do anything to
keep us divided in heart and from other members of the body of Christ. He doesn't
mind us being faithful to church so long as we are at odds with something,
someone or some group in the body of Christ. THERE IS TREMENDOUS
POWER IN UNITY! [2]

The Holy Spirit teaches us that there is nothing more important than love.

1Co 13:3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but
have not love, I gain nothing.
1Co 13:4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not
proud.
1Co 13:5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no
record of wrongs.
1Co 13:6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
1Co 13:7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
1Co 13:8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where
there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass
away.
1Co 13:9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part,
1Co 13:10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.
1Co 13:11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I
reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.
1Co 13:12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face
to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
1Co 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of
these is love.

PRAYER: "Dear Lord, help me to clearly hear your voice. Open the eyes of
my heart and let them be fixed on you alone. I am replying to you with a yes to
your loving invitation to walk with you all the time, may I walk hand in hand
with you. Help me to move deeper into my relationship with you, fill me up
afresh with your precious Holy Spirit into deeper revelations of who you are,
of your wonder, your beauty, your love, your grace and mercy, that I might
know you, really know you. I ask you to cleanse me, melt me, mould me, rid
me of anything that would stop me from being able to go deeper so I am able
to receive all that you want for me to have!
I love you Lord Jesus, I ask you Lord to help that love to go deeper!

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Dear Lord how I love to hear the sound of your voice, your sweet whispering!
I love your Word and I love your sweet touch! I don’t want to be like the bride
in this passage, who does not initially respond to your voice pleading with her
to go away with you. Don’t let me be distracted by fear of anything or anyone.
I want to stay on course with you. You are wonderful Lord, I see the beauty of
the flowers, so much elegance and beauty in your creation, individuality in
each flower, each insect, each animal and in each of us men and women and
children. I hear the birds singing a beautiful song. I hear the voice of your
precious Holy Spirit and I want to hear it even more clearly, much more
clearly, I want to be in tune with you Holy Spirit ! Take me to be a lily among
your lilies Lord. Thank you for taking me by the hand, I am ready now, I am
coming away with you!
Let me never withhold anything from you again my dear Lord, my Saviour,
my King my bridegroom, the love of my heart.

In your precious name Lord Jesus,

Amen!

Picture the scene here as the Shulamite woman stood with tears in her eyes she was
too afraid to step out with an affirmative yes, to go beyond her comfort zone. She
wanted her groom to meet with her in her place of safety, she was not prepared to
step out of her comfort zone, and yet inside she was so torn, for she was in love
with Her King and she longed to be with Him.

Jesus speaks to us in a similar fashion, "My love, look around and see the abundant
supply of fruit purchased for you by my blood. Look at the fig trees and the vines
with all the grapes. Fruit is already being produced in your life because of initial
surrender but you must allow me to bring others into your life, so the fruit and seed
planted can surely grow. Come away with Me, and have more glorious, spiritual
fruit produced in you my beautiful one, my bride why do you hesitate? What else
do I need to do to woo your heart to me so as to have you walk by My side in
intimate, fruit bearing fellowship?”

PRAYER: Lord I ask you to help me to act upon your promises, to step out in
faith believing, to walk in unity and love and fellowship with my brothers and
sisters, to walk in obedience to you, walking in step with you and Lord keep
me humble.

In your precious name Lord Jesus,

AMEN!

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I was saved at the age of seven but for much of my Christian life, it has been about
doing things for Him rather than seeking this intimacy. In fact, it is only in the past
seven years or so that I have started to learn what that is about. Sadly I had been
through Bible School taught Sunday School, Bible Class, preached the Word, been
a prayer ministry leader, worked with the homeless, been involved in outreach,
been a church secretary, even taught an online small Bible School but lacked the
real intimacy that comes from that place of total surrender, walking hand in hand
daily with my Jesus, thankfully He is now taking me on the most beautiful of
journeys.
Won’t you come along with me or more correctly come along with Jesus Christ,
our sweet Lord and Saviour, our dear bridegroom?
I have still so much more to learn, but the Lord is my teacher on this journey of
discovery.
.
Beloved

Son 2:16 My lover is mine and I am his;

he browses among the lilies.
Son 2:17 Until the day breaks
and the shadows flee,
turn, my lover,
and be like a gazelle
or like a young stag
on the rugged hills

The bride asks her lover, her groom to return, to turn back, for she knows best.
Have you ever done that? Have you ever tried to tell the Lord that you know a
better way than the one He has set before you?
I know I have and I stumbled and fell, because it just doesn’t work.

The bride thought nothing could possibly steal her joy, she was in such a place of
complete euphoria in her love for the groom while she had been at the banquet, but
we se clearly here how quickly this was stolen away. She did not go with Him
when He asked her and that joy that had been hers at the banquet was indeed gone.
The bridegroom never forced the Shulamite’s hand forcing her to go with Him, just
as Jesus never ever forces us to do anything, and indeed He could but He has given
us free will and He wants us to choose to love Him, to seek His face, to love Him
with our whole hearts and to follow Him.

PRAYER: Lord I pray that I will know real joy in you and that nothing can
take way that joy, for I want to know you intimately take me into the secret
place to be with you, nothing more will I withhold, I am coming up higher.
Don’t let me walk away from your sweet presence, I long to fellowship with

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you, to be with you always, keep me free from sin that will interrupt my walk.
Take me deep unto deep, closer and closer to you.

In Your mighty wonderful name I ask this Lord Jesus,

AMEN.

[1]Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGhee

[2] “I Love You With All My Heart!Always, Jesus”A devotional commentary on

the Song of Solomon By Esher Shoshannah

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CHAPTER 3

Son 3:1 All night long on my bed

I looked for the one my heart loves;
I looked for him but did not find him.

Now comes the time of pain and anguish, the Shulamite is alone in her
marriage bed, and how she longs for the love of her life, but when he asked
her to go with him and even promised to move mountains for her, she
stepped back afraid of leaving the safe place which she knew. Can you
imagine how she feels? I have been a Christian for a long time and I
remember a number of occasions where I have done things my way instead
of listening to the voice of God. Even prior to writing this I knew the Lord
wanted me to write down what He was revealing to me, but I started taking
the easy road full of quotations by established Evangelical scholars in my
study of chapter 1, it was not then my intention for this to become a book,
but God said “no” for that this was not what He wanted me to do and I had
to start again at the beginning and ask the Holy Spirit to help me write
down what He wanted to reveal to me and in turn to the body of Christ.
Why oh why don’t we learn? His way is best all of the time.
God does want to take us out of our comfort zones, we may at times even
come up a level in our walk with Him, but we establish for ourselves a new
comfort zone which we don’t go beyond, and He beckons to us “Come away
with me, my sister my bride, I have prepared a path for you, I am even
helping you move mountains, there is no problem you will face that I have
not gone before you and prepared a way for you.”

We need to learn the lesson of faith and simply trust the words of
our Beloved Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus. If we did we could keep our hearts
from so much unnecessary pain. We Christians are so similar to the
Shulamite bride. She dearly loves him and longs for his presence more than
anything else, yet she refuses to deal with the stuff “the little foxes” (see
chap 2:5) that have brought on this separation. The bride loved the private,
personal relationship but was unwilling to step out with her bridegroom
when he asked her to go with him to those beautiful places. He had it in
mind to take her with him too.
Her love was not deep enough yet to move out with him in faith. She had
begun a life of surrender in chapter one. But now she is starting to realize
how much she truly needs him by her side twenty four hours a day for her
to feel whole.

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Son 3:2 I will get up now and go about the city,
through its streets and squares;
I will search for the one my heart loves.
So I looked for him but did not find him.

I can imagine the bride here being afraid that her bridegroom would never
forgive her, I can also see that what she was probably finding hardest of all
was to forgive herself. Oh, the pain she must have felt now that she felt so
distanced from the one she loves. Nothing else could satisfy her. Her
longing for her dear bridegroom was so great. Have you ever got so close to
the Lord and been so conscious of His Presence and then the little foxes
have come along and stolen your joy, and the Lord has started to feel so
distant from you?

That longing was so deep she could not be satisfied with anything else
except for being in the presence of the King. But now He was so far away,
would she ever find that close relationship, that sweet intimacy again?
She must have felt so annoyed with herself, and indeed heartbroken.
This led her to feel she must seek Him out diligently with every fibre of her
being, she could not rest until she found Him. She must find that close
intimate relationship with her King once again.

Does your desire for close intimacy with the Lord have you seeking Him
with every fibre of being? Do you feel you can’t rest until you find that closer
walk? Does the desire for the Lord Jesus consume your whole being?

That is the place the Lord wants us to get to, because only from that
place can we start to walk fully into our destiny. We can go through our
Christian lives and even do Christian work without reaching that place of
real intimacy but we will lack the power. The Psalmist knew what it was to
seek the Lord with all of his mind, and all his heart.

Psa 42:1 AS THE hart pants and longs for the water brooks, so I pant and long for
You, O God.
Psa 42:2 My inner self thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and
behold the face of God?
Psa 42:3 My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day
long, Where is your God?
Psa 42:4 These things I [earnestly] remember and pour myself out within me: how
I went slowly before the throng and led them in procession to the house of God
[like a bandmaster before his band, timing the steps to the sound of music and
the chant of song], with the voice of shouting and praise, a throng keeping
festival.

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Psa 42:5 Why are you cast down, O my inner self? And why should you moan over
me and be disquieted within me? Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him,
for I shall yet praise Him, my Help and my God.
Psa 42:6 O my God, my life is cast down upon me [and I find the burden more than
I can bear]; therefore will I [earnestly] remember You from the land of the
Jordan [River] and the [summits of Mount] Hermon, from the little mountain
Mizar.
Psa 42:7 [Roaring] deep calls to [roaring] deep at the thunder of Your waterspouts;
all Your breakers and Your rolling waves have gone over me.
Psa 42:8 Yet the Lord will command His loving-kindness in the daytime, and in the
night His song shall be with me, a prayer to the God of my life.
Psa 42:9 I will say to God my Rock, Why have You forgotten me? Why go I
mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
Psa 42:10 As with a sword [crushing] in my bones, my enemies taunt and reproach
me, while they say continually to me, Where is your God?
Psa 42:11 Why are you cast down, O my inner self? And why should you moan
over me and be disquieted within me? Hope in God and wait expectantly for
Him, for I shall yet praise Him, Who is the help of my countenance, and my
God. (AMP)

COME THIRSTY

Come thirsty and drink from those living waters,

Drink from them and you will never thirst again,
For the Lord will refresh you with those waters,
And He just longs to pour out his love upon men.

Seek first the Kingdom and walk in righteousness,

And you will not have to worry about life’s necessities,
So give your all over in obedient service of the Lord,
For he has promised to provide for you in the Word.

Take your eyes off of all this life’s problems,

Instead turn your eyes around and focus on Jesus,
He is looking for lovers among the world of men,
For it was surely the Lord who first loved us.

From that place of refreshment we will run the race,

And surely as we seek Him we will gaze upon his face,
Can’t you feel that longing deep within your heart?
A longing to be now and forever for Him set apart.

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The bride rose up from her state of depression and hopelessness and began to
actively search for her Groom! There was a spark of hope and she acted upon it!
When we have hurt the Lord deeply, we shouldn’t ever entertain the thought the
enemy feeds us of quitting. When we seek the Lord we will be found by Him.

PRAYER: Dear Lord I pray that you will help me to put all depression,
hopelessness, feelings of inadequacy behind me. Forgive me for I have not
always sought you out the way I should, so often I have attempted to do things
in my strength and go my own way I repent of this now and declare that from
this moment on I want to constantly come along with you Lord, for you have a
plan and purpose for my life and I want to fulfil it, for Lord I love you. Thank
you for forgiving me and I ask you to help me to forgive myself for yesterday
is gone and this is a new day with you. Let me live for you alone and teach me
more ways of your Kingdom.

In your precious name Lord Jesus,

AMEN.

Son 3:3 The watchmen found me

as they made their rounds in the city.
"Have you seen the one my heart loves?"

Have you ever went to a pastor or a friend and told them how you were
feeling, that you had lost that moment of real intimacy and had not moved
forward as you should, that in fact at that moment of time you felt there was
a blockage between you and the Lord, maybe you were even finding
difficulty praying and reading your Bible? This is the kind of scenario we
find the Shulamite woman in, we do not know how many lonely nights she
spent without the close intimacy with the one she loved. It could have been
many, many nights.
Her heart is crying out with a plea of desperation for she had to be
restored to the one she loves, she just had to find him.

Why did her bridegroom allow her to suffer so long? Those lonely days and nights
of searching were for her to remember just how awesome her intimate moments
with Him were. Absence is truly making the heart grow fonder and yearn more
deeply for her groom.
I am sure at this point she was thinking, "I will never, ever take my Beloved’s love
for granted again! I didn't realize how important being in fellowship with him is to

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my own well being. I had declared in no uncertain terms that I was in total
surrender to him and my love was so deep, yet I would not go with him when he
pleaded with me." So she cries out from within, "My darling one, lover of my soul,
my dear bridegroom, please let me find you once again. I am searching through the
streets and I don't care what anyone else thinks I have just got to have you.
Whatever it takes, whatever the humiliation, whatever I have to endure, I need you
and you alone, I can’t live my life without you!”

Are you in that place? Do you feel like this that you have just got to have a close
intimate relationship with the Lord?
There is only one thing important to a surrendered believer and that is to fix
our eyes on Jesus alone. Nothing else!

I’ve been there so often, early on in this project the Lord spoke to me through a
dream about keeping my focus on Him, not allowing confusion in, and not filling
this book entirely with thoughts which He has given to others, quoting from every
different source for He is the source of revelation for me.

It was a very strange dream in which someone had a birthday and I had no stamp
for the card, so I could not post it on time. For some reason I needed to travel thirty
miles to give them their card if they were to have it in time and I got distracted by
running about regarding a birthday card. Then someone I barely knew handed me
their baby to take care off and when I went to give the baby back they were not
ready to take him back. I got a call to go for an interview to nurse in a care home,
so had to take this baby with me, the interview went on fairly long and I forgot the
baby was outside the interview room at first and had to go back for the baby, and I
had the baby in my arms when I found there was a search party out for me and this
baby, for I had been away so long, even the police were searching for me and I had
a lot of explaining to do and at this point my thoughts came back to the Lord Jesus
and losing sight of Him, and accomplishing all that He would have me do in my
study of this book and walking hand with Him at all times for the glory of His
Kingdom.
He continues to say to me right now, “Don’t get distracted I want you to come
away with me, let me reveal all that I want to reveal to you, don’t take the easy
route out and just read half a dozen different commentaries and pick and choose
thoughts which the Holy Spirit has given to others, you can use a quotation or two
from others but this has to be mainly my revelation to you my child, and that
means you need to spend time listening to me.”

He is teaching me something new every day and it’s exciting, but I have to
drink from the living waters daily, I have to come away with Him first thing in the
morning, and walk with Him every second throughout the day. I can’t allow the

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little foxes to come along and steal my joy, my close relationship with him, so that
He feels afar off.
Do I fail in my walk? Do I get it wrong?
Oh yes I do, I am a work in progress, but I can’t bear to feel at all distanced
from my Lord and Saviour my groom, He brings me back to the foot of the cross,
and when I remember all He has done for me and continues to do for me, I want to
please Him, I long to have close uninterrupted intimacy with Him, I long to be holy
as He indeed is Holy and I am so thankful that although I have failed Him many
times He loves me and says as He says of you, for child of God He remembers
your sins and my sins no more “Look isn’t she( the bride) [male or female]
beautiful my precious bride, how I love her and long for her to stay close to me.”

Do you like me desire to get there too? Is that the longing of your heart? Do you
want the longing within you to increase?

Here was the poem and prayer of my heart back in 2007.

AWAKEN UP A REAL PASSION FOR JESUS

Awaken up a real passion for Jesus ,

Right from the depths of my heart,
Anointed and on fire for Jesus,
The fire of God consuming my heart.

I raise my hands up in your presence,

I smell your sweet fragrant essence,
My beloved, how I long for you.
I’m so glad you delight in me too.

Reveal more and more of yourself to me.

Spirit pour the love of God into my heart,
I love the way that you love one such as me,
I want to love you with my whole heart.

Control my whole being: free me from sin,

The Word of God going deep within,
Spirit of Elijah, show me your power,
Release your glory, release your power,

I want to dwell in your secret place,

I am longing to see you face to face,
I’m amazed at the wonder of your grace.
Lord, you died for the whole human race.

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Lord give me your heart that I might see.
People around me, just what you see.
Help me to reach out with your compassion,
For You Lord are the object, of my passion.

Have you prayed that as a prayer along with me? If so it’s time for us to go
deeper?

There was repentance in the bride’s heart already. She now puts feet to her
repentance and begins to search for the one whom her soul loves so deeply.

Hear the cry of the Psalmist.

Psa 30:7 LORD, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong;
You hid Your face, and I was troubled.
Psa 30:8 I cried out to You, O LORD;
And to the LORD I made supplication:
Psa 30:9 "What profit is there in my blood,
When I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise You?
Will it declare Your truth?
Psa 30:10 Hear, O LORD, and have mercy on me;
LORD, be my helper!"
Psa 30:11 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,
Psa 30:12 To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever. (NKJV)

He moved from a place of despair from being troubled and down in the pit for he
cried out to the Lord in his hour of despair and the Lord came and rescued him and
now his mourning has been turned into dancing, he is now clothed with gladness
and singing praises to the King of Kings.

I underlined the word cried because we need to conceive that this was a cry from
the depth of his heart, this was cries of desperation and repentance, turning back to
the Lord.

The bride’s heart is absolutely focused on restoring her first love and seeing it grow
even stronger. She must have Him. We must seek the Lord with serious intent.

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Jer 29:13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your
heart.
Jer 29:14a I will be found by you," declares the LORD , "

The promise found in those verses keep coming back to us, if we will keep seeking
He will allow Himself to be found by us.

The Holy Spirit knows just how long it would take to strengthen us the bride in our
spirits and see our stubborn rebellious will defeated. The lesson we need to learn
once and for all, is never to take our eyes off the Lord.

God’s watchmen have a deep, Spirit-filled understanding of the Word of God,

warning us of impending danger. We live in a season on this earth where the Prince
of darkness temporarily rules. No matter how dark it gets we have the light of the
world within us.

Joh 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the
world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of
life."

Col 1:13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into
the kingdom of the Son he loves,

Sometimes we need to seek and hear instructive counsel! How important it is for us
to listen to those who are in spiritual leadership and have been given a charge from
God to watch over us, but check what any man or woman say aligns with God’s
Word.

Heb 13:17 Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over
you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy,
not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.

Pray for your pastors and your leaders as they carry out their God-given gift and
responsibility in the power of the Holy Spirit! Praise the Lord for pastors and
leaders who truly care for, the sheep's welfare!

Heb 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let
us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let
us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
Heb 12:2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for
the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the
right hand of the throne of God.

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Heb 12:3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you
will not grow weary and lose heart.

We need to fix our eyes upon Jesus. You may know the words of this old
chorus I sung as a teenager. It was actually a hymn but by the early
seventies somehow it was only the chorus that was sung.

TURN YOUR EYES UPON JESUS

By Helen Hemmel 1922

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,

Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

Son 3:4 Scarcely had I passed them

when I found the one my heart loves.
I held him and would not let him go
till I had brought him to my mother's house,
to the room of the one who conceived me.

What a gloriously wonderful moment the bride has found the one whom
she loves. She can once again know His sweet embrace and she was going to
hold on to him as though her very life depended on it. She had learned
something from that period when she had felt so lost and alone in the world
and she never ever wanted to lose sight of her bridegroom again.

Can you imagine that first moment when she goes running into His
arms? And she takes him to introduce him to her family, that they might
know the love of her heart, and come to love him too.

Has Jesus made such a significant change in your life that you just have
to introduce others to Him, and you want them to see how happy and
changed you are because you know Him?

MY HEART SINGS WITH LOVE FOR YOU.

Oh Lord, my heart sings with love for you,

How many days and nights has it ached for you?
Yet I lost sight of you darling one, my first love,
You came and brought me home by the power of your dove.

I have found you now and I can never let you go again,

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Without you Lord I cannot find happiness in this world of men,
For many days my heart felt as though it was breaking apart,
For the rest of my days I want to walk with you for you have my heart.

And you found me there and wrapped me in your arms once again,
Joy and happiness are filling every crevice of my heart,
Although I am unworthy I know great joy for I have been forgiven.
Please don’t let me spend another day from you apart.

How I love you, my heart and soul cries out to you,

And I am so thankful that you love me too.
For it’s joy unspeakable to be under the shelter of your loving arms,
And I know that when I am with you I will come to no harm.

My dear bridegroom will you come and introduce yourself to my family,

I want them to see you as I see you, to see you so clearly,
I want them to know the joy of knowing you and loving you,
For you are so beautiful to me and I long for them to know you too.

Son 3:5 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you

by the gazelles and by the does of the field
Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.

See how tenderly the Lord cares for us, He will not force us to go up a
level until that time which we are indeed ready, he will not force us into a
greater level intimacy until we ourselves are ready for it. He wants us to
come with such earnest intent, just seeking Him alone, when nothing else
can satisfy us more than being in His presence, more than being in a close
intimate relationship with Him. He says, my bride come and seek my face,
when you seek me I will be found by you.

Pro 8:17 I love those who love me.

And those who seek me diligently will find me.

AWAKEN IN ME A LOVE SO DEEP

Awaken in me a love so deep,

Let me no longer slumber or sleep,
A deeper level of intimacy with you I seek,
That you become the earnest desire I seek.

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Lord you have searched me and known me,
Cleanse me, create a pure spotless spirit within me,
To behold your face Lord is all I long for,
Help me now above the eagles to soar.

May my love for you deepen day by day.

I cannot live one moment without your presence,
Holy Spirit I ask you to come and have your way,
May I see and hear more clearly in the spiritual realms.

Son 3:6 Who is this coming up from the desert

like a column of smoke,
perfumed with myrrh and incense
made from all the spices of the merchant?

Dear reader, can you smell the fragrance of His sweet perfume as you read
through this passage? Are you getting a picture of how much He loves you as you
read through Songs of Solomon? His love is so beautiful: it is pure and perfect, are
you ready to come to come out of the desert place, if you are still even partially in
it to be with Him? He is longing after us His bride, you and I are the desire of His
heart, how wonderful and marvellous is that?

We are meant to be carriers of His fragrance as I mentioned previously, we

are meant to be so like Him that His reflection and fragrance is seen in us
throughout this world of darkness.

2Co 2:15 For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are
being saved and among those who are perishing.

YOUR LOVE

Dear Lord there is no other love like yours,

A love that is so constant, steadfast and sure,
Love so amazing and so totally pure,
The love that is surely sinful man’s cure,

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You came and you wooed me with that love,
For you saw me hurting and reached down from above,
There is no other love quite like your love,
You endured the cross to make a home for me above.

You came and you healed me and saved my soul,

And now I am rejoicing feeling I am made whole,
Your love touched deep into my heart,
And your love gave me a fresh new start.

Your love alone is pure and righteous,

Your arms stretch out wide for prodigals to come,
They move your way and you run to them with forgiveness,
You welcome them like a son who has wandered far from home.

Your love is love beyond all measure,

Your love is my greatest treasure,
How I love you Lord, I must come closer,
The desire of my heart is to come up higher and higher.

I love to behold the beauty of your countenance,

You are so beautiful to me as I gaze upon you,
As I gaze upon you there is such a sweet radiance,
Then I see your expression knowing how you love me too.

Yet throughout my journey there have been many days,

When I have attempted to do things my way,
Oh, how can I forget that your way is always best?
For it’s only when I walk closely with you I find rest.

So many sleepless, restless nights in my past,

I could have most surely been saved from,
If instead of feeling lonely and forlorn,
My fears and anxieties on you I had cast.

Yet your love saw me there in that place,

And you said “My bride seek my face,
Come away with me now and I will show you the way,
What seems like a mountain can be removed today.”

“I am coming your way, now dear Lord,

And let this be the voice of your bride in one accord,
For you have laid out the best path for us to take,

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That we need not needlessly wrong choices make.

Yet you never ever force us Lord to go your way,

We have a choice to make each and every day,
Will we choose to go with you Lord today?
Or where we are in our comfort zones stay?

Yet you pour out upon us your love,

Salvation’s plan was wrought with your love,
Your love speaks of love poured out for us,
What wonderful amazing love is yours Lord Jesus.

So Lord let us your bride say yes to your call,

And lovingly respond by giving you our all,
Teach us to love the way that you love,
That we in turn might show others your kind of love.”

Son 3:7 Look! It is Solomon's carriage,

escorted by sixty warriors,
the noblest of Israel,

Can you see here how Solomon’s carriage offered such protection for His
bride, they were escorted by sixty warriors, the finest and noblest in Israel.
He had to have the best to protect his bride.

The Lord has sent His angels to watch over us from before we were born,
He sends His warring angels out to watch over you and I.

Psa 91:11 For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways.

Gain confidence now in the knowledge of what the Lord is doing for you.

Psa 103:18 To such as keep His covenant,

And to those who remember His commandments to do them.
Psa 103:19 The LORD has established His throne in heaven,
And His kingdom rules over all.
Psa 103:20 Bless the LORD, you His angels,
Who excel in strength, who do His word,
Heeding the voice of His word.
Psa 103:21 Bless the LORD, all you His hosts,

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 You ministers of His, who do His pleasure.
Psa 103:22 Bless the LORD, all His works,
In all places of His dominion.

And the angels in heaven do rejoice in the Lord, for He indeed has
established His throne in heaven and those angels are obedient to His
command.

Son 3:8 all of them wearing the sword,

all experienced in battle,
each with his sword at his side,
prepared for the terrors of the night.

Child of God, the bride of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, you and I need not
fear, He is protecting us and He has infact, given us a coat of armour ourselves as
weapons of our warfare.

Psa 91:1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
Psa 91:2 I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust."
Psa 91:3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler
And from the perilous pestilence.
Psa 91:4 He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
Psa 91:5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
Psa 91:6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.
Psa 91:7 A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it shall not come near you.

I WANT TO DWELL IN THE SECRET PLACE

I want to dwell in the secret place of the most High,

And I long to live under the shadow of the Almighty.
My Lord is my refuge and my fortress, I trust in Him,
He is my deliverer and my healer, there is none like Him.

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 He protects me under the shadow of His Wings,
Of His truth and His faithfulness I will sing,
I will not be afraid of the terror of the night
Nor any harm by day for I will keep Him in my sight.

I shall not live in fear of sickness, disease or even death,

For though many fall by my side, to my right or my left,
“So I will stay strong in the knowledge that my God protects,
I praise you Lord for you are my refuge and strength.

I will spend my days dwelling in the secret place with you,

No evil will fall on me, nor will calamity come near me.
I can rest in the knowledge that your angels protect me too,
And because of Jesus I can trample all things under my feet.

I long after you with passionate love, thank you for saving me,
Forever I will praise your name, the one who first loved me,
When I call upon you; you answer each and every prayer,
I go through life’s trials with confidence that you are there.

And you will raise me up and take me out of the miry clay,
You are my deliverer and I will serve you all of my days,
With a long fulfilled life, will I be satisfied, living for you,
For you have saved my soul, setting me free to dance with you

The Whole Armour of God

Eph 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the
wiles of the devil.
Eph 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities,
against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age,[3] against spiritual
hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Eph 6:13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to
withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Eph 6:14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the
breastplate of righteousness,
Eph 6:15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Eph 6:16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench
all the fiery darts of the wicked one.

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Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the
word of God;
Eph 6:18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being
watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints--
Eph 6:19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth
boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel,
Eph 6:20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I
ought to speak.

DESIRING TO BE A MIGHTY WARRIOR

Here you are running towards Abba Daddy

Do you see his loving arms outstretched just for you,
So come like a little child with eyes only for Daddy,
For deep down inside you long for him to embrace you .

And he takes you on his knee wiping your tears away,

He calls you his child and speaks with words of love,
He says your sins are forgiven, Jesus washed your sins away,
And now the Holy Spirit has come to you like a dove.

And he is stripping you of the stuff that gets in the way,

All, the pretence, all the pride and the intellectualism must go,
For behind the façade your heart cries “Daddy I need you each day,”
The truth is you can’t manage in your own strength, any more.

It is only when you come like a little child in perfect submission,

So that you can be raised up as a Mighty Warrior of God.
And you say “Strip me of self and raise me up in this generation,
Not by my might, nor my power; but Holy Spirit I need you.

For I need you to come empowering me for battle,

For I want to be a warrior equipped for battle,
Abba Father, Daddy total surrender to you is my intent,
That I as your child may as a warrior slay all my giants.”

Son 3:9 King Solomon made for himself the carriage;

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he made it of wood from Lebanon.
Son 3:10 Its posts he made of silver,
its base of gold.
Its seat was upholstered with purple,
its interior lovingly inlaid
by the daughters of Jerusalem.
Son 3:11 Come out, you daughters of Zion,
and look at King Solomon wearing the crown,
the crown with which his mother crowned him
on the day of his wedding,
the day his heart rejoiced.

King Solomon had made this beautiful carriage and a beautiful couch within for
him and his bride. Even more special, so much more special, our Lord has gone to
prepare beautiful mansions in His Father’s house, beautifully adorned rooms
especially for His bride, where the fullness of His glory will be revealed to us, and
we will behold clearly the beauty of our dear bridegroom, the one who first loved
us.

Can you picture in your mind’s eye what it will be like when on that glorious
wonderful day we behold our Lord and Saviour in full majestic splendour? He is
the glorious one, He is our groom but let us never ever forget He is the King of
Kings, Lord of Lords , the Alpha and Omega, the one who first loved us and gave
His life for u, yet He is the Spotless Holy Lamb of God. Let us never forget that we
need to revere Him as King, and stand back in awe and wonder for He the Lord is
Holy.

When we see Him as He is, even get just a glimpse we cannot but get a
glimpse of who He is and how we must honour Him in all we do. We should have
such a holy reverence and awe for our Lord and our God that we have fear of doing
anything that displeases Him. We need to know that He has truly forgiven us, but
He calls us to walk in obedience, to listen to His voice and follow Him in all that
we do and all that we say. Our desire should be to be like Him, that He might
clearly be seen in us, to all we come in contact with.

Joh 14:1 "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.
Joh 14:2 In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have
told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
Joh 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you
to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
Joh 14:4 And where I go you know, and the way you know."

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Joh 14:5 Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and
how can we know the way?"
Joh 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to
the Father except through Me.

MY LORD AND MY GOD

My Lord and my God, I find it so hard for me to comprehend,

How the Lord of heaven and earth could love me like you do?
Yet you love me without measure, a love that will never end,
The desire of your heart is to have me really love you too.

You long for me to know real intimacy with you,

And you have birthed in me a longing for you too
So here I am once again moving on into the secret place,
Where I might draw ever closer, and come face to face.

With you my dear Saviour the one whom I adore,

For I come thirsty and hungry seeking more and more,
And as I draw closer I am overwhelmed by your presence.
Holy Spirit come, teach me Godly wisdom and revelatory lessons.

So Lord I give you permission to sift through all the dross,

My whole life might be submitted to you, who died on that cross,
And may I live the rest of my life for you and you alone,
Until that glorious marvellous day when you call me home.

PRAYER:

Dear Jesus, lover of our souls, how we love you and we praise you and thank
you for your amazing love for us, we have been at times an unfaithful bride, in
fact we were at one time dead in our sins and you came and rescued us, as only
you could. Now you are preparing beautiful mansions just for us, because we
are the object of your desire. Lord we ask you to increase our desire for you,
make us so hungry we can be satisfied with nothing else but you, we long after
you Lord, take us deeper and purify us, cleanse us deep within.
In your precious Name Lord Jesus,

AMEN.

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I AM NO LONGER SATISFIED

I am no longer satisfied for I know there is more,

And I’ve got to come closer, I want more,
I know that it’s only you who can satisfy me Lord,
So I come hungry, oh so hungry for you Lord,

You came into my life and gave me a new start,

And you dear Lord have captured my heart,
You are beautiful Lord, you take my breath away,
How I long for you, more of you this day.

From the very depth of my being I am crying out,

Lord I long to know you more is my shout,
For I just long to see you face to face, just one glance
And I will worship you forever in song and in dance.

You’ve made a way for me to come up closer,

The veil was rent into two and now I come up higher,
I can enter the Holy Place just to be with you,
Oh Lord, take me away into the Heavenly Places with you.

And you have been waiting for me to come closer,

For you have wooed me, pouring your love upon me,
And you have said to me “Dear one, come up higher,
There are many things that I want you to see.”

So I will come seeking, seeking to draw close to you,

For I am longing after you, I’ve got to have more of you,
And I will not be satisfied until I see you face to face,
How I love your sweet presence poured out by your grace.

I will not stop pursuing you Lord until I am satisfied,

Lord you shed your blood upon that cross and for me you died,
And I have to know you more, feel your very heart beat,
Drawing closer to you caught up into the Heavenlies seated.

So Lord continue to fan the flame, kindle the fire, more fire,
For you are my Lord, my King, are the object of my deepest desire,
Nothing else can satisfy this longing deep within, only you,
And I know without a shadow of a doubt that you love me too.

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 CHAPTER 4

Son 4:1 How beautiful you are, my darling!

Oh, how beautiful!
Your eyes behind your veil are doves.
Your hair is like a flock of goats
descending from Mount Gilead.

The Shulamite woman had refused to go with Solomon , but he still saw her eyes
as though they were "dove’s eyes". All she wanted was her groom the King to
herself, so she had difficulty responding to King Solomon’s request for her to go
away with Him. Can you see here that even when we have not been in the best
place with the Lord , when we have not responded to His call to come closer
straight away when we seek after Him He sees His Dove - the Holy spirit shining
through our eyes?

He knows we belong to Him and is so happy to have us once again turning to

our first love, in those moments when He sees we are truly the object of His desire.
The bride here like us sometimes did not fully realize that the King wanted to take
her to higher levels of intimacy.

The Saviour though looks deep into our eyes and says “I see the Spirit at work
within you and your eyes are so beautiful when me you are seeking for me with
longing in them, I can see in those moments how you feel that only I can satisfy
that longing deep within you.” How He loves when He sees us ready to surrender
our all to Him.

Solomon loved the Shulamites hair, but have you thought how the Lord has
counted every single hair upon your head and mine.

Mat 10:30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

Son 4:2 Your teeth are like a flock of sheep just shorn,
coming up from the washing.
Each has its twin;
not one of them is alone.

King Solomon describes His bride’s teeth as being like a flock of sheep just
shorn, just coming up from cleansing and each one has it’s twin, none are on their
own.

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Now what does that mean to us the bride of Christ?

The body of Christ the church- the bride- has many members and each is inter-
dependant on one another. We are washed clean by the blood of the Lamb and
follow my way of thinking here we need mature adult teeth to digest the strong
meat, milk teeth won’t do and the Lord wants us the Bride to digest the meat from
His Word with our new cleansed teeth- teeth of righteousness, to move on to full
maturity, and as a body work together for the glory of His Kingdom.

Son 4:3 Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon;

your mouth is lovely.
Your temples behind your veil
are like the halves of a pomegranate.

And Jesus would say to us the Bride “My blood has cleansed you and
changed even the way you talk, you are constantly being renewed and changed
as you seek to spend time with me, I love when you praise my Name in Word
and song, it was I who put that song in your mouth.”

Psa 40:3 He has put a new song in my mouth--

Praise to our God;
Many will see it and fear,
And will trust in the LORD.

What do we find beyond the veil?

The holy of Holies can be entered into because when the body of Jesus was
broken for us. His blood was shed for us and the veil was rent into two giving us
access to press right on in to this sacred Holy Place. We now can tabernacle with
our God, know His presence with us each moment of every day. Pomegranates
produce a red juice, beyond the veil the blood of Jesus paved the way for us His
bride. We are blood washed sinners, made righteous only by our standing in Him,
because He first loved us. Our identity has been changed because we are His, we
belong to Jesus, He is our King and we are His bride.

1Pe 2:5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy
priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus
Christ.
1Pe 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own
special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of
darkness into His marvellous light;

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Heb 10:20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil,
that is, His flesh

MY SOUL DOES MAGNIFY YOU

Oh Lord my God my soul does magnify you.

And my Spirit will rejoice in Christ my Saviour,
Generation after generation have been blessed by you,
You saw my need and gave me a new life to savour.

Lord you are mighty and you have done great things for me,
And Lord Your name is Holy and I want others to see,
That you shower grace and mercy on those who love You.
Generations have known your strong arm upholding them too.

So Lord I cast down my pride and my imagination,

I pray, "Oh Lord, make me humble for I am a new creation."
The desire of my heart is to be a humble servant of Yours,
Yet I long to be Mighty for the Kingdom, so Lord let me loose.

I came to My Lord in my time of hunger and He fed me,

I came With a thirst and he quenched it with living waters,
My Lord has blessed me indeed and met all my needs,
For on days long ago He planted His Word as a precious seed.

And I will rejoice in my merciful King who saved me by grace,

And I love to spend time with Him in the secret place,
All the days of my life I will praise you name, Oh Lord,
Raising a standard proclaiming "You alone are God."

Son 4:4 Your neck is like the tower of David,

built with elegance;
on it hang a thousand shields,
all of them shields of warriors.

When we the Bride submit ourselves to the Lord we become strong in Him like
our maker who is a strong tower, so our necks our stance, our appearance has a new
elegance because He can be seen in us. We can stand tall for we are God’s

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Warrior’s surrounded by angels who are sent to protect us and from this position of
submission we find a new strength for our armour cannot be penetrated.

The problem is for us to have such a neck we need to get to that place of total
submission, we need to submit our whole selves over to the Lord on a daily basis,
holding nothing back.

Why a thousand shields, and not just one? A "thousand" represents blessing
the Lord with multiple sacrifices.

1Ch 29:20 Then David said to all the assembly, "Now bless the LORD your God."
So all the assembly blessed the LORD God of their fathers, and bowed their
heads and prostrated themselves before the LORD and the king.
1Ch 29:21 And they made sacrifices to the LORD and offered burnt offerings to the
LORD on the next day: a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, a thousand lambs,
with their drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel.

When the people of God gather together in unity for the purpose of prayer and
praise we are offering up a multiple sacrifice of prayer and praise when we
come with one mind and heart seeking the Lord with submitted hearts multiple
sacrifices are indeed offered up. We together in unity are all members of the
body, the bride of Christ. Let us offer our hearts in submission to our Lord and
we should not forsake assembling together with our brothers and sisters who are
also part of His bride.

Son 4:5 Your two breasts are like two fawns,

like twin fawns of a gazelle
that browse among the lilies.

Okay it’s time for us to get over any view of this as being purely sexual in
context as regards the two breasts. That is not what we should see here from this
verse. In the verse quoted below we see the two functions of the breastplate
being that of faith and love.

1Th 5:8 But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate
of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.
Tabitha means gazelle and it was Tabitha who was raised from the
dead.
Act 9:40 But Peter put them all out, and knelt down and prayed. And
turning to the body he said, "Tabitha, arise." And she opened her eyes,
and when she saw Peter she sat up.

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 A spiritual gazelle is one who sees a need and quickly and quietly rushes to meet
that need. Here we have mention of the lilies again. When one is truly
surrendered to the Lord they long to fellowship with like minded believers.
When we meet together we can strengthen one another in the faith. We can
encourage one another. We can learn from one another.

PRAYER.

Dear Lord Jesus thank you for your blood shed for me, to wash away
my sins, thank you that the veil is rent in two and because of this I, as part
of your bride can enter right into the ‘Holy of Holies’ to that place of real
intimacy with you. May my life be a living sacrifice unto you, wholly
submitted, to you. Fill me with faith and love, strengthen me and may I
like a young gazelle see needs and quickly run to meet them
In Your Precious Name Lord Jesus I pray,

AMEN.

Son 4:6 Until the day breaks

and the shadows flee,
I will go to the mountain of myrrh
and to the hill of incense.

Myrrh represents the death of our dearly beloved Lord and Saviour Jesus, our
King, upon the cross for us so we shall once again visit Mount Calvary where He
died for us. Do you dream of Jesus in the middle of the night, does He inhabit your
thoughts and dreams twenty- four hours a day, seven days a week?

I do sometimes dream of Him in the midst of the night but I cannot yet say
this is my experience nightly, but this is what I desire, for I want to know Him
more, so much more. The shadows are dispelled by the blood of Jesus, all that can
come against us is overcome by the blood of Jesus.

Rev 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the
word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

TAKE ME BACK TO THE CROSS

Father, take me back to the cross that I might see,

More of what it cost for my Lord to die for me,

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 From heaven’s glory He came to a lowly birth,
Born in Bethlehem as Micah had prophesied this.

One among the twelve betrayed Him with a kiss,

Giving His master up for thirty pieces of silver no less,
What anguish of heart the Lord Jesus must have felt at this?
For Judas saw Him as Master, but He was never His Lord.

In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus sweat drops of blood,

As he contemplated the bitter cup he must drink,
He must go as a lamb to the slaughter as prophesied in the Word,
The mental anguish of this must been horrific I think.

The agonising scourging He took was that I might be healed,

For by His Stripes my sicknesses and diseases are healed,
It was my sins that took my Lord to the cross on that day,
He died that his blood might wash my sins all away
.
And what excruciating pain he bore for one such as me,
The scourging alone would remove layers of skin.
His nerves would be exposed and damaged can’t you see?
Oh the agony, that my Lord endured and He did it all for me.

Pilate asked the crowds who to release, would it be Jesus Son of Man?
But the crowds wanted release of the thief Barabbas the son of a man.
So Pilate gave Jesus up to the crowd, washing his hands of this dreadful deed,
The King of the Jews wearing a crown of thorns, this would be agony indeed.

Beaten, bleeding and in excruciating pain Jesus must go up Mount Calvary,

The cross on His back He must bear so God sent Simon His cross to bear,
And all around the crowds did jeer as Jesus proceeded, their sins to bear.
A bitter cup of gall they offered Him to drink at Golgotha on Mount Calvary.

But the bitterest cup of all was that which He swallowed on the cross,
When He took your sins and mine on His body on the cross,
They nailed Him to the cross piercing His hands and his feet,
And they made His grave with the wicked, He who knew no deceit.

My Saviours words to You Father were “Forgive them for they know not what they
do,”
Then as He was taking the sins of the whole world on Himself, He cried “It is
finished.”
And now I gaze upon that cross and get an inkling of what He suffered for me and

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you,
I’m so thankful that He has forgiven me for it was for me His blood was shed.

The temple veil to the Holy of Holies was rent in two making way for me to enter in,
A once for all sacrifice by the precious Lamb of God, Messiah, had been paid for my
sin
The grave couldn’t hold Him and on the third day the King of Kings rose again,
Now He sits at the Father’s right hand on His heavenly throne, and soon He’s
coming again.

Son 4:7 All beautiful you are, my darling;

there is no flaw in you.

King Solomon no longer sees the faults of the Shulamite woman, his bride and
isn’t it amazing for this is how Jesus sees us for He remembers our sins no more.

2Co 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might
become the righteousness of God.

Heb 8:12 For I will forgive their wickedness

and will remember their sins no more.

Isa 1:18 "Come now, let us reason together,"

says the LORD .
"Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.

It is only through Him that we are made righteous, we cannot boast of

anything in and of ourselves. By the grace of God we are saved, the blood of Jesus
has washed us white as snow. And He looks upon us today and sees us as
something beautiful, for despite the fact that we are as yet in the process of
sanctification He sees us without fault and blemish, for we have been redeemed by
the blood of the Lamb.

Son 4:8 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,

come with me from Lebanon.
Descend from the crest of Amana,
from the top of Senir, the summit of Hermon,
from the lions' dens

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and the mountain haunts of the leopards.

Once again King Solomon beckons His bride to come away with Him, this
time the answer must surely be “Yes, I will come away with you.”

THE BRIDEGROOM

Come see our bridegroom with outstretched arms,

His eyes search deep and piercing into His beloved’s eyes,
He says” My beloved I long for you to come up here,
Rise up my bride, my fair one come away with me,”

Let the bride in unison with the Spirit say “Come.”

Longing for your sweet presence we come,
We come thirsting and drinking from the living waters,
In passionate pursuit of the One who we adore,

Feeling that longing from down deep within,

For our dear Saviour who has freed us from sin,
We enter your courts with thanksgiving in our hearts,
Yielding wholly unto Him we make a new start.

The glory of the Lord transcends from His throne room,

Our beloved Saviour and King, the one coming soon,
We take our place caught up in the heavenlies with Him,
Moving right on into the Throne room with Him.

We gaze in wonderment at that wonderful glow,

Like a glorious rainbow encircling the one we adore,
We see that beautiful compassionate love as He gazes upon us,
His bride, the one He adores, as He pours love out upon us.

Face to face with Christ our Lord, our bridegroom,

The one who has pursued us from the beginning,
Now here we are coming all the way home to Him.
Throughout all eternity His praises we will sing.

Holy, Holy, Holy are you, Lord God Almighty, you call us your own,
Singing with the angels and elders around your throne,
“You’re worthy, oh Lord to receive all glory, honour and power,
Lord there is none like you, how we long for you in this hour.”

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 Avoid the dangers of the lion’s dens. Leopards like to hide among the flowers
and shrubbery. Their spots act as a camouflage but they are dangerous to any
creature who are unaware of them lurking there.

In the same way satan will try to throw things into our path that will stop us
from keeping on course going away with our Lord to those higher places. At
Calvary though that battle was one our dear bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ
defeated every demonic force that can come against us. Satan and his angels are on
their last rampage and they are getting desperate for their time is getting so short.
Our bridegroom is coming sooner than we think.

Eph 1:22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head
over everything for the church,
Eph 1:23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

Because all things are under the feet of Jesus and He is the head of us the
church, the body; we who are in Him, His body have all things under our feet
spiritually.

In this day and in this hour the Holy Spirit is crying out to us the words Jesus
has for us, “Come out, and be set apart for me”

2Co 6:17 "Therefore come out from them

and be separate, says the Lord.
Touch no unclean thing,
and I will receive you."

He is calling us to be wholly set apart for Him, for us to be holy for He is so

Holy.

Lebanon was a beautiful country bordering Israel but it also was a

compromising nation. Let it never be said of us that we have in anyway
compromised our faith. Let us heed the voice of our bridegroom and give a loud
resounding “Yes” to his cry.

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YES LORD

Lord I have to say yes when you call my name,

I can no longer try and hold on to the reigns,
You are asking me to put all aside and follow you,
It is time for me to put aside all compromise too.

I know that where you are taking me is the safest place to be,
And I want to go to new heights and see all you want me to see,
Here I am Lord I’m ready to surrender all to you,
For I can’t live another second apart from your presence now.

Son 4:9 You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride;

you have stolen my heart
with one glance of your eyes,
with one jewel of your necklace.

Can these words really be in God’s Word? Could it be that the Lord would utter
those words from His soul about me?

This is amazing. When we are willing to go with Him to the mountain tops, He
says and I like what the NKJV says here best “You have ravished my heart, My
sister, my spouse.” He loves for us to spiritually walk with Him, hand in hand
throughout our lives.

This is the same heart which was broken and pierced for our sin and now we
as the bride are being told in this scripture that His heart is so ravished by us in
overwhelming love in what He sees in us! It is as if we totally steal His attention so
that He can think of nothing else. We are His new creation! What does Jesus see in
us?

He sees us being changed to become more like Him to show the beauty of
holiness as we are coming to Him as His surrendered blood bought bride.

YOU RAVISH MY HEART

How beautiful you are my sister, my spouse,

Such passion in me you do arouse,
You have ravished my heart,
Now you are a beauty set apart.

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I love to see your eyes dancing,
When joyfully you at me are glancing,
You proudly display the jewels I gave you,
That let the world know you belong to me now.

My heart is filled with joy when you draw close,

How I love to see that longing deep within you,
Before you were even conceived it was you I chose,
For I saw then how you would embrace me too.

I saw you rising up to come away with me,

Becoming more beautiful each and every day,
Transforming into a bride only fit for me,
And now you are letting me guide you along life’s way.

Your Bridegroom,
Jesus
Son 4:10 How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride!
How much more pleasing is your love than wine,
and the fragrance of your perfume than any spice!

What is it the King sees here? He is seeing something in her love, a love that
is deepening, becoming stronger daily, a love that is maturing, more pleasing than
wine, and her perfume is so perfect.

So what does this mean to us as the bride of Christ? He loves to see our
love for Him grow, our devotion, when we cry out to Him with such longing in our
hearts, when we come desirous of knowing Him more, when we are prepared to
surrender our all over to Him, and give Him our all, when He becomes more
important to us than life itself, and He sees this as so pleasing , more pleasing than
new wine, and He loves our sweet fragrance, because the fragrance that we are
wearing is the sweet aroma of His Presence as we draw closer to Him.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, lover of my soul, how I love you, I am so amazed that
you can be ravished by one such as me, let me love you with my whole heart, I
cannot find the right words to express the height, depth, and width of the love
I have for you, but it was you who first loved me, it was you whose heart was
pierced for my sake and it was your blood that washed my sins away. I can no
longer withhold one iota from you, Take me away with you.

In Your Name Lord Jesus I pray,

AMEN

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Son 4:11 Your lips drop sweetness as the honeycomb, my bride;
milk and honey are under your tongue.
The fragrance of your garments is like that of Lebanon.

The Lord just loves it when we praise Him, when we speak His Name with
thanksgiving in our hearts and when we tell others about Him. He loves to hear us
encourage others too. When our tongues are tamed by the work of the Holy Spirit
within us and we speak Words of life and not death, He loves it. He loves to hear us
when we commune with Him in prayer, when we enter the secret place seeking
only Him and we are receptive to His kisses He loves it.

He loves the fact that we have a new set of clothing, we are no longer clothed
in rags but clothed in garments of praise, salvation and righteousness, to the praise
of His glory.

Honey and milk speak of abundance and I believe here the honey relates to
His Word, we the bride need to allow the Holy Spirit to have His sway and eat
manna from heaven, the Word of God.

Psa 9:1 I will praise You, O LORD, with my whole heart;

I will tell of all Your marvelous works.
Psa 9:2 I will be glad and rejoice in You;
I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

Php 1:11 being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to
the glory and praise of God.

1Co 14:3 But one who prophesies is helping others grow in the Lord, encouraging
and comforting them.

Eph 6:14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the
breastplate of righteousness in place,

Isa 61:10 I delight greatly in the LORD ;

my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

Son 4:12 You are a garden locked up, my sister, my bride;

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you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain.

Jesus has created a new spiritual garden for the heart of every believer. The
Holy Spirit has planted it by applying the precious blood of Jesus to our spirit man!
Because He shed His blood for us we have become new creations in Christ Jesus.
This wonderful garden would once again be a place where God could fellowship
with us the bride intimately. There is so much more beauty in us the bride which
Jesus sees, still locked up and yet untapped, He sees springs of living waters from
the Holy Spirit ready to just burst forth from us. He sees such potential in us, He
said we would do greater works than even He had done because He was returning
to His Father. He wants to see those seals totally broken in us and let the springs of
living waters gush forth from us with powerful force.

2Co 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone,
the new has come!

Joh 7:38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living
water will flow from within him."

Joh 14:12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I
have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am
going to the Father.

Son 4:13 Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates

with choice fruits,
with henna and nard,

Do you see the plants within the bride’s heart garden? It is surely not by
accident that we firstly see an orchard of pomegranates, those fruits with blood red
juice. The blood of Jesus has washed us the bride’s hearts clean, we are being
changed because we have Jesus in our lives. How precious is the blood of Jesus?
And we bear fruit because we have become new creations in Him, we are His bride
and people ought to see Him in us.

Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness,

Joh 15:1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.
Joh 15:2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that
does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
Joh 15:3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.
Joh 15:4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself;
it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

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Joh 15:5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him,
he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
Joh 15:6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away
and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.
Joh 15:7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish,
and it will be given you.
Joh 15:8 This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves
to be my disciples.
Joh 15:9 "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my
love.

"Henna" means fullness of resurrection life and the joy that only the Lord can give
us, the life that we as the bride should be experiencing. We the bride need to allow
the Holy Spirit to take off the grave clothes of our old selfish ways. Lazarus came
forth, he was coming to life, alive but he did not have it more abundantly until the
grave clothes came off. When the grave clothes came off the new, abundant,
resurrected life was being fully demonstrated for all to see!

CHURCH ARISE, LIKE LAZARUS RISE UP FOR I AM CALLING YOU

FORTH

“Church arise like Lazarus I am calling you forth and raising you up,
Your past is behind you, can’t you see my dear children, I have forgiven you,
As far as the east is from the west your transgressions are removed from you,
My son’s blood has set you all free to soar and the only way is up.

So come my children and walk with me you are mighty warriors you know,
Yesterday is gone and when you hear my voice you will be ready to go,
Can’t you see my dear children the victory is already fully won.
For you my beloved children will overcome by the blood of Jesus my Son.

You are not only forgiven sinners you are victorious saints,
And you will rise up now and you will walk and not faint,
For I am here with you, to help you to win life’s race.
So step out into the unknown, and I will increase your faith.

I have some wonderful plans ahead for you can’t you see,
From this day forth you will listen to my voice and hear me,
You will walk hand in hand with me for the sake of my Kingdom,
You will step into the miraculous and see many find freedom.”

Love your Heavenly Father

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 Spikenard, or nard, was an expensive spice used to make perfume. This was
the expensive perfume that Mary of Bethany used to anoint the Lord’s feet.
Spikenard was obtained by crushing a root. Only when our own will is crushed and
broken in realization that we cannot live this Christian life without Christ at the
helm can we begin to properly carry the sweet fragrant essence of our King.

Son 4:14 nard and saffron,

calamus and cinnamon,
with every kind of incense tree,
with myrrh and aloes
and all the finest spices.
Saffron is used in cooking for flavouring and colouring. It is obtained by drying
the stigmas and parts of the styles of the autumn crocus. Approximately 4000
flowers yield about one ounce of saffron. So it was a timely process extracting the
saffron.

There are no shortcuts for us to knowing the fullness of God’s Kingdom, we must
persevere and press on with intent to the things of God.

Isa 43:24 You have not bought any fragrant calamus for me,
or lavished on me the fat of your sacrifices.
But you have burdened me with your sins
and wearied me with your offenses.

We see from this passage that calamus has a sweet fragrance. It was actually I
believe a cane. When its leaves are crushed it gives forth a fragrance like that of
ginger. It was used in the making of the holy anointing oil. See Exodus 30- 23-33.
This oil was so sacred that the Lord gives very precise amounts to be adhered to.

Cinnamon is extracted from an evergreen tree and this is accomplished by cutting

away the bark of the lower branches. Calamus represents the power of God. We
the bride need to give Him the right to scrutinize our inner motives as well as our
outward walk. The Holy Spirit begins to mix in the cinnamon and the work of
Calvary concerning the crucifixion of the flesh and applies it to our attitudes and
daily walk. Cut away from us the sin and bondage which has taken hold of us.
Although it hurts to have this process take place we must keep our eyes fixed
firmly on Him, "looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith". With
the cinnamon applied we can walk uprightly in the power of the Holy Spirit. In
turn we will display the glory of God in our lives. Remember again the
frankincense and purity, the bride has to become pure and white, to be holy as our
King is Holy. Frankincense was used in the tabernacle worship and it was one of

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the gifts of the wise men worshiping the child Jesus. Purity must be in the heart for
worship to be fully acceptable to the Lord.

Son 4:15 You are a garden fountain,

a well of flowing water
streaming down from Lebanon.

The Lord looks upon the hearts of His bride as we seek after Him and sees us as
pure and righteous. He loves purity for He is so totally pure.

1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins
and purify us from all unrighteousness.

PRAYER:
Father, we come before and confess that we have sinned because we have
not sought the Lord Jesus as we should have at all times, we confess that we
keep trying to do things our way and we come asking for your forgiveness
now, cleanse us and purify us and take every evil thought and deed away from
us now, make us more like our Saviour and Lord, our King, our dear
bridegroom, our dear Lord Jesus.

In Jesus Precious Name we ask it,

AMEN

Beloved
Son 4:16 Awake, north wind,
and come, south wind!
Blow on my garden,
that its fragrance may spread abroad.
Let my lover come into his garden
and taste its choice fruits.

The bride now wants for the "north wind" to blow upon her garden. North winds
in Israel were cold, bitter and harsh but necessary in order to fully develop the taste
of fruit and the fragrances of spices.

Jas 1:2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many
kinds,
Jas 1:3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops
perseverance.

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Jas 1:4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and
complete, not lacking anything.

The Holy Spirit allows difficulties to come into your life and mine, we are not
promised an easy road. Only when most of us have gone through some form of
trials and suffering can we be fully used by God to minister to someone else who is
going through the exact same hurt you experienced. We also need to receive inner
healing from the Lord to help us do this.

Rom 5:3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that
suffering produces perseverance;
Rom 5:4 perseverance, character; and character, hope.

When troubles come your way just snuggle up into "Abba Father's" arms.

Rom 8:15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but
you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father."

Gal 4:6 Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the
Spirit who calls out, "Abba Father."

He takes care of us as the north winds blow.

Heb 4:16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may
receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

While His Spirit enwraps us, at the very same moment the Father’s hands are
continually working in the garden of our heart (How absolutely beautiful all this is!

Joh 15:1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.

We get frightened by the "north winds", yet in them His power and presence will be
felt through those blasts of cold air.

1Co 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God
is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you
are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

Php 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and
petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Php 4:7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your
hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

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 Sometimes we bitterly complain about those times of testing and trials and we
need to confess that sinful attitude.

The bride then asks that the "south winds" be allowed to blow upon her garden.
These are the gentle, warm south winds of special revelation of God Himself!
These are the winds of a true Spirit-filled Christian, receiving revelation of God.

Joh 14:21 Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves
me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and
show myself to him."

Joh 15:15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his
master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I
learned from my Father I have made known to you.

Joh 16:13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.
He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell
you what is yet to come.

The winds of the Spirit comes and ministers to the "household of faith"

Gal 6:10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially
to those who belong to the family of believers.

These south winds are also the winds of His powerful presence falling upon us in
prayer, worship, times of ministry and meditation of His Word. These are the caring
winds which reach out to the Lost.

They are the winds of our heart of worship and adoration for Him in the Holy of
Holies (our private, intimate time with Him)!

Do you see here that the "north winds" come first but, praise God, you will
always end with the "south winds" if you are entirely surrendered to the Holy Spirit
and the Word of God?

She is thrilled that so much has been produced in her garden. Her Beloved is
pleased that she wants Him to come and receive and be filled with joy.

Act 20:35 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must
help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more
blessed to give than to receive.' "

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.
She speaks the desire of her heart..."...Let my beloved come into his garden, and
eat his pleasant fruits."
May we be so sensitive to the Holy Spirit and hear the voice of our Beloved saying,
"It is time for you to come apart and rest for awhile. Let us go where I can sit with
you and feast upon the spiritual delicacies from our heart garden."

Mar 6:31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did
not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to
a quiet place and get some rest."

The Lord always knows what is best. For us at any given time, are we prepared to
trust Him with our whole lives, every detail?

The eternal seeds have been planted and have grown into the wonderful fruit of the
Spirit! With a heart garden filled with the Holy Spirit then you will feel free to
invite the Lord Jesus in for fellowship where He just enjoys you alone. That type of
garden is beautiful and pure. There is nothing then to hide from Him.

Notice that she now calls it his garden! It was the King who created the garden in
the first place. It is the Lord Jesus who has planted in us our heart’s gardens.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Plant in me a beautiful heart garden, a garden of joy,

continually fellowshipping with you and praising you my dear Lord and King.
Holy Spirit come and blow on me, Help me to flourish into a garden even
more beautiful, to be more like you

AMEN

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CHAPTER 5

Son 5:1 I have come to my garden, my sister, my spouse;

I have gathered my myrrh with my spice;
I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey;
I have drunk my wine with my milk.
Eat, O friends!
Drink, yes, drink deeply,
O beloved ones!

So if we are surrendered branches of the Vine, our Bridegroom wants to do the

same thing in our garden. The fruit of the Spirit is produced when we are totally
submitted. The Holy Spirit will lead people over to our branch, those who need a
taste of joy, or to receive some kindness, and still others will need a dose of
patience. God will invite them into your life, giving you Divine appointments for
you to distribute to them His fruitfulness through you. They in turn will continue to
have the Lord do a work in the garden of their heart!
As our Lord and dear Bridegroom perceives it, there is actually only one
garden. It is made up of a myriad smaller gardens (I Cor. 10:17). Praise God her
soul had become a "watered garden" (Jer. 31:12)! The glorious result was the
fruit of faithfulness.

1 Co 10:17 Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we
all partake of the one loaf.

Jer 31:12 They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion;
they will rejoice in the bounty of the LORD -
the grain, the new wine and the oil,
the young of the flocks and herds.
They will be like a well-watered garden,
and they will sorrow no more.

She was faithful to pray, read the word, lovingly obedient, patient and faithful to
care for others. .Solomon enjoyed those times in the garden with his surrendered
bride, her devotion so blessed him. He knew that she no longer had a problem of
going with him for she had gone with him to Amana, Hermon and Shenir for she
had gone with him previously to those places, but now was a testing time when she
was being asked for more, she was being asked like the Lord asks of us, to give
Him her all. He tests our allegiance at the Mount of Myrrh and the Hill of
Frankincense, He wants us to take up our cross and follow Him, yet so often we
become like sleepy heads and do not rise immediately when He calls us.

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CHURCH ARISE, LIKE LAZARUS RISE UP FOR I AM CALLING YOU
FORTH

“Church arise like Lazarus I am calling you forth and raising you up,
Your past is behind you, can’t you see my dear children, I have forgiven you,
As far as the east is from the west your transgressions are removed from you,
My son’s blood has set you all free to soar and the only way is up.

So come my children and walk with me you are mighty warriors you know,
Yesterday is gone and when you hear my voice you will be ready to go,
Can’t you see my dear children, the victory is already fully won.
For you my beloved children will overcome by the blood of Jesus my Son.

You are not only forgiven sinners you are victorious saints,
And you will rise up now and you will walk and not faint,
For I am here with you to help you to win life’s race.
So step out into the unknown, and I will increase your faith.

I have some wonderful plans ahead for you can’t you see,
From this day forth you will listen to my voice and hear me,
You will walk hand in hand with me for the sake of my Kingdom,
You will step into the miraculous and see many find freedom.”

Love your Heavenly Father

The Shulamite

Son 5:2 I sleep, but my heart is awake;

It is the voice of my beloved!
He knocks, saying,
"Open for me, my sister, my love,
My dove, my perfect one;
For my head is covered with dew,
My locks with the drops of the night."

There is some time between being in the garden with her beloved and verse 2
she is still sleeping but her heart is awake to hear his cry. While she had been
sleeping her beloved departed from her and she feels that longing deep within
her heart for him. She longs to hear him calling her name. He is calling out to
her but she has been unable to hear clearly so far.

Son 5:3 I have taken off my robe;

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 How can I put it on again?
I have washed my feet;
How can I defile them?

Although her hear is now truly surrendered to Him and she in no way wants
someone else, the bride falls back into the trap of inconvenience which constantly
pleads, "not now, but later!"
We would never say that to the Lord would we? Or would we dress it up making
it seem more spiritually acceptable. “I’ m not quite prepared, I need to spend some
time just quietly with you in the Secret place where it’s only you and I lord, then
I’ll be ready, I’m not ready yet.” In verses 2 and 3 the little word “I” appears five
times. She is saying something along those lines to her Beloved, "You know how
much I love you but I need to relax now and sleep? I thought You really cared for
me! I want to spend some time reading Your Word before I go to sleep. I absolutely
don’t want to have to run out again now and have to take another bath later!"
She is in control of the use of her coat and her feet, she is not totally submitted to
the bridegroom. I think we can learn from this. Jesus as our example ministered to
the Samaritan woman at a time when He was thirsty for water- an inconvenient
time. Imagine what it would have been like if it had been too inconvenient for our
Lord to come and die for us?
Yet He came for us to die, having left heaven’s glory, I am sure He deserves our
all.

Php 2:5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
Php 2:6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with
God,
Php 2:7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and
coming in the likeness of men.
Php 2:8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became
obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
Php 2:9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which
is above every name,

Son 5:4 My beloved put his hand

By the latch of the door,
And my heart yearned for him.

Do you see the hand of your dear Lord and Bridegroom through the hole in your
heart’s door? Do you see the nail-scarred hand there, desiring your yes in the
affirmative of a loving response for you to go with Him? The Lord wants us to
share in the work which He had already chosen just for us before time began.

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Eph 2:10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Have your emotions ever been moved yet you have not got your body in tune with
what is stirring in your spirit and going on in your soul? Does your heart yearn to
go with the Lord anywhere, yet your feet haven’t got in line yet?

Is your cry “Praise the LORD, O my soul” Yet you linger still to go with Him at
the very moment He instructs you to go? I have been there all too often so I have
been there and worn the Tee shirt. I am better at responding than I used to be but I
am yet a work in progress.

Son 5:5 I arose to open for my beloved,

And my hands dripped with myrrh,
My fingers with liquid myrrh,
On the handles of the lock.

Oh how she loves Him and she touches the handle to the door of her heart and
it is dripping with myrrh from the nailed scarred hands, she sees the cross, and she
smells the myrrh, she longs after Him but alas as we see below He is gone.

I love that close sweet presence of my Lord and I hate those moments when He
seems further away. Then I have to reflect on the cause of this, have I been
disobedient, slow to follow, or have I any unforgiveness in my heart?

Once I deal with whatever is disturbing that beautiful close fellowship and
walk with my Lord I know that wonderful closeness of His presence with me once
more and can be aware of it and be more able to hear His voice throughout the day
at hand. Every day I have to come afresh submitting myself before the Lord of
Glory and revisit the cross and what it cost Him to die for me and then walk in
obedience to Him.

Son 5:6 I opened for my beloved,

But my beloved had turned away and was gone.
My heart leaped up when he spoke.
I sought him, but I could not find him;
I called him, but he gave me no answer.

She moves towards the door but not fast enough. Her heart was pounding with
excitement anticipating the joy of His fellowship. She opens the door calling out to
Him, "Here I am my Beloved!" Can you imagine how here heart was sinking for
He’s gone!

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 The Shulamite woman runs outside shouting, "I am here, don’t leave me! I’ll
go with You! I’m sorry I hesitated, I won’t do it again!" But there is no answer, just
the quiet sounds of the night! Oh the agony she experienced at this point for this
has happened before, but she had now gone with him to many places, there
relationship had deepened and yet here she is again and so she shouts over and
over again, "He’s gone! He’s gone!"

The bride realizes now that she has deeply wounded Him. Her mind starts to allow
doubts to become a stronghold there. Thoughts then rushed through her mind, "He
won’t come back, I have deeply grieved my Love! There is no way He will ever
want me again! It’s too late!" Despair floods through her soul and she cries
out, "O why, why did I hesitate? I’m so sorry, for I have hurt you again."

Weeping and sobbing uncontrollably, she falls asleep. A cold, spiritual distance
begins to creep into her heart. He now seems so far, far away! The hurt is so much
greater than before.

Do you like me recognize those emotions, the times when we have felt distanced
from the Lord? The Lord has to allow us sometimes to go through this terrible
feeling of distance and emptiness so we will never again permit our own selfish
motives, our own will, the ‘me’ and the ‘I’ to detract and divert us from the
blessing, filling and sensitivity of the Holy Spirit.

That enemy brings doubts flooding into our minds. Oh, these terrible, evil lies
which the enemy tries so often to bombard our minds with, to take us into the
opposite direction, away from the direct will of God. In those moments though God
has surrounded us with His angels.

Psa 91:11 For he will command his angels concerning you

to guard you in all your ways;
Psa 91:12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

We cannot just be open to the Lord and His Presence whenever we “feel” like it.
I wish I had learned that many years ago, oh the pain it would have saved me. I
don’t want to see others going through 40 years in the wilderness. I was saved at
the age of seven and it has only been in the last few years that I have started to
realize that more fully.

We need to learn a great lesson here. We all and I mean me too because I am still so
very much on that learning curve need to be sensitive to the voice of the Holy
Spirit warning us of danger.

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The more we fall in love with the Lord, the more responsive we will be to His
voice!

Notice that there is activity in the bride’s walk “I arose to open” and there is correct
action “I opened to my beloved”. She is actively seeking Him, just like we must
actively seek the Lord at all times, and when He seems distant we must go chasing
after Him, actively pursue Him with deep intent, not giving up because the prize at
the end of sweet fellowship and intimacy with our Lord is so, so, worth it.

. Heb 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,
let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and
let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
Heb 12:2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for
the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the
right hand of the throne of God.
Heb 12:3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you
will not grow weary and lose heart.

We need to get our eyes too on what He done for us on the cross. If we have the
cross in view daily we will walk in light of the cross and what our Saviour has done
for us. He gave His all for us, and He deserves our all.

Son 5:7 The watchmen who went about the city found me.
They struck me, they wounded me;
The keepers of the walls
Took my veil away from me.

Here we see the lonely bride who finds the shepherds over her are holding her
in condemnation rather than helping with her restoration, they have made her feel
unclean in the midst of them and yet Christ Himself does not hold us in
condemnation, when we have a heart change and turn away from that place that
was holding us back and press on towards Him He looks on us with love and
compassion and says over us that we are blood washed saints, not sinners under
condemnation , for He remembers our sins no more.

Jer 23:1 "Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of
my pasture!" declares the LORD .

Heb 10:16 "This is the covenant I will make with them

after that time, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds."
Heb 10:17 Then he adds:

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 "Their sins and lawless acts
I will remember no more.”

God would have shepherds bring about restoration to the one who has fallen
by the wayside.

Gal 6:1 Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore
him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.
Gal 6:2 Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of
Christ.

We should not be like Job’s comforters, if someone recognizes their sins

and repents we should help them to be gently restored, but guard against falling
into temptation ourselves. Support and encouragement is what is needed and for us
to show the love of the Father to them, that ‘agape’ love.

Son 5:8 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,

If you find my beloved,
That you tell him I am lovesick!

I know I have asked this before but have you ever felt the Lord seems afar off
from you, after having a time of beautiful close fellowship and hearing so clearly
from Him?
In that state when you have tasted and seen the wonder of a close intimate
relationship with Jesus you can’t bear it to be distanced from Him and you feel
your heart is breaking. Oh, the pain, the agony, of that feeling of separation, I
cannot bear to be in that place, yet I have been there, because of disobedience,
maybe putting other things before listening for the voice of my Lord, and it has
grieved me deeply, and I have just had to find restoration of intimacy and press on
in there, even in writing this I have found myself being distracted and taken of the
course of writing as the Lord has instructed me to do, but I cannot stay there for
long for I have just got to have Jesus and draw closer and closer to Him.

The Daughters of Jerusalem speak

Son 5:9 What is your beloved

More than another beloved,
O fairest among women?
What is your beloved
More than another beloved,
That you so charge us?

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The bride is in terrible condition, she is almost unrecognizable and here the
daughters of Jerusalem to be sure of her identity as the bride ask her to describe her
King. They desire to know what it is in her heart that has her in such a state that
she cannot bear to be apart from him.

How would you answer, how would I answer as to why we cannot bear to be
one more moment out of the close place of fellowship with our Lord? Would we
merely answer – He is my Lord and Saviour or would we talk out of knowledge of
the one whom we love? Would we express a longing that consumes our very being
to draw close, so much closer to our Jesus, would our hearts and our mouths be
singing His praises? Would we be able to give good reason as to why we just have
to be close to Him? Would our enthusiasm and the cry of our hearts draw others to
that place as well, for we have just got to have Him? Would those around you
recognise something in you that just draws them to come to know this Jesus, your
Lord and King, even when you are going through a time of struggling?

2Co 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of
mercies and God of all comfort,
2Co 1:4 who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort
those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are
comforted by God.

Son 5:10 My beloved is white and ruddy,

Chief among ten thousand.

The bride describes her king as white, talking of purity. The word white here
comes from the Hebrew word tsakh, meaning dazzling, that is, sunny, and bright.
When we see the word ruddy here it means rosy expressing health.

Pro 4:20 My son, give attention to my words;

Incline your ear to my sayings.
Pro 4:21 Do not let them depart from your eyes;
Keep them in the midst of your heart;
Pro 4:22 For they are life to those who find them,
And health to all their flesh.

So we see that spending time in God’s Word and obeying it’s precepts
means health to us, much of our stress and health problems
and financial problems would be alleviated if we took this on board.

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Praise God for we can experience spiritual, mind and physical health, all found in
the one who is "ruddy," He who was totally pure yet took our impurities, our sin
upon Himself at the cross. Praise the Lord for the victory of Jesus’ blood over our
sin! He rose in purity so we might possess His glorious, dazzling, clear, eternal
purity in our souls! Hallelujah!
It is an on-going progressive process in this life!
We can as we press in closer become more and more like Jesus, going through
the process of sanctification.

The Shulamite claims that Her King is the chief among ten thousand. I wonder do
we in turn as the bride of Christ consider our Lord and Saviour as our everything,
before anything or anyone?

SEARCH MY HEART TODAY

Lord I ask you to come and search my heart today,

Mould me for you are the potter and I am the clay,
Cleanse me now from all sin,
Do a work in me deep within.

Rid me of all thoughts and deeds that are fleshly,

Cause me to walk along with you uprightly,
I want to be more and more like you,
And I know Lord that you desire this for me too.

So let my heart beat with your heart beat,

In humble submission let me learn at your feet,
Your Word Lord is like a cleansing fountain,
It washes over me and your blood has washed every stain,

Lord you are my everything, let my flesh life disappear,

For now and evermore to you I long to draw near,
Impart to me your wisdom that I might run life’s race,
That I might at all times dear Lord, seek your face.

Transform and renew my heart and my mind,

Lose me of all the values of human kind,
May I look on all things from an eternal perspective,
In all that I do and all that I say may I follow your directive.

Son 5:11 His head is like the finest gold;

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 His locks are wavy,
And black as a raven.

The bride glows as she declares, "His head is like the finest gold.” Gold
symbolizes absolute authority, honour, power and strength and the right to rule.

Gold when put into the hands of unregenerate can man become his god, but
when God is the centre of man's life then it is looked upon as being good, "...the
gold of that land is good." (Gen. 2:12).

Gen 2:12 (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also
there.)

The temple within, where God's presence would reside, was overlaid with gold,
even the floor See I Kings 6:21,22,30.

Rev 21:11 having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a
jasper stone, clear as crystal.
Rev 21:12 Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels
at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve
tribes of the children of Israel:
Rev 21:13 three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south,
and three gates on the west.
Rev 21:14 Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the
names[9] of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
Rev 21:15 And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its
gates, and its wall.
Rev 21:16 The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And
he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length,
breadth, and height are equal.
Rev 21:17 Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according
to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel.
Rev 21:18 The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold,
like clear glass.
Rev 21:19 The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of
precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third
chalcedony, the fourth emerald,
Rev 21:20 the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth
beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the
twelfth amethyst.
Rev 21:21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one
pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

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The heavenly city is described in Revelation. Pure gold represents the manifest
glory of God. It represents God Himself! A transparent life is a life of purity and
transparency before the Lord.
You quickly admit your weaknesses and sins to the Lord. You don’t pretend to be
something you are not. It is the humble life (I Pet. 5:6,7).

PRAYER : Lord, I want you to rule over my whole being. I want you to be
Lord of my life. Let the pure gold of your glory fill my entire soul. I ask you to
come and direct me and lead me each and every day.
Lord, make me pure and righteous!

In your Name Lord Jesus,

AMEN

That black hair surely signifies freshness and youthfulness, the Lord is ageless,
yesterday, today and forever the same and His love for us as His bride is as fresh
today as it has always been, and it always will have that freshness about it.
Praise the name of the Lord!

Son 5:12 His eyes are like doves

By the rivers of waters,
Washed with milk,
And fitly set.

His love and devotion and His nature shine through his dove’s eyes and as the
Lord looks upon you and I and we gaze upon His face we can see His love and
compassion, grace and mercy, sacrificial love poured out for us, as the nature of
His Spirit is revealed to us. And His eyes are streaming with living waters of
emotion for us His bride, which are there to wash over us and refresh our being.
The milk in His eyes is for our nourishment to help us to grow.

So let us in turn set our gaze upon the Lord, fix our eyes upon Him with that
kind of beautiful love and devotion found in the eyes of our Lord, may we like Him
have dove’s eyes as His Precious Holy Spirit shines through our eyes, with His
kind of love and compassion and adoration of our Lord, so we will never again for
one moment lose sight of Him and others might see Christ shining through us.

Son 5:13 His cheeks are like a bed of spices,

Banks of scented herbs.
His lips are lilies,
Dripping liquid myrrh.

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 Now we are once again brought to remembrance of the cross, and what the Lord
has done for us His bride. What else can have such a profound effect on us in
having us hasten back into the arms of Jesus than revisiting the cross? The spices
here are according to the Amplified Bible "Balsam" a plant from which is
extracted balm to be used for healing. Our Lord comes with healing in His wings.

Mal 4:2 But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with
healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the
stall.

1Pe 2:24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to
sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.

How can we possibly lose sight of the one who gave His all for us who suffered,
bled and died for us, enduring the scourging that He did that we might be healed in
our whole person. What love was this? Yet we like the Shulamite woman so often
are too slow to respond to our beloved when He beckons us to come now, to come
away with Him, to do what He is asking of us today.

Healing of the whole Person.

I want you all to know that God is so awesome,

He loves you and beckons you to come home,
He watches over the sparrows in the air,
And he’s numbered every one of your head’s hairs.

I came to Jesus as a young child of seven,

And now I know I have a new home in heaven,
I don’t feel at home in this world any longer,
For my longing to be with him is getting stronger.

The Word says that “By his stripes I am healed,”

The little word “salvation” means so much more,
Than I first understood it to mean when first I was saved,
For he came and he shook me right to the core.

He has been revealing new truths as to His nature,

To help me to grow up as a Christian more mature,
For Jesus wants to meet us right where we are,
He wants us to come up closer, come up higher.

Now I know what it is to be healed of emotional hurts,

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Jesus gave his life for me the just for the unjust,
And he wanted to bring restoration into my life,
That I might walk hand in hand with him throughout life

He came and he wiped away all my tears,

And he came and he rid me of my fears,
He saw me in times of trouble and carried me through,
And he said “ My child I have planned the way for you.”

He saw me sitting sick and afflicted and he met me there,

And he poured out his healing touch for he really cares,
And he looks at you with love and compassion too,
Then he says “ I want to set you totally free for I love you.”

What the Lord has done for me he wants to do for you,

He wants to rain down on you his heavenly dew,
With arms open wide he beckons you to come home,
He wants to restore you totally and make you whole.

So if you have yet to accept this free gift of salvation, freely given,
Why not repent of your sins and you will be on course for heaven?
For today Jesus is looking upon you with love and compassion,
And he wants to birth new life in you making you a new creation.

So choose my friend what you will do with Jesus today?

Be assured there is one way to eternal life, there is no other way,
And Christian are you walking in a life of victory?
Submit all over to Jesus and the place of defeat is history.

Come then friends and know that the Lord wants you to be free,
He wants to take first place it’s not all about you and me,
So come and give your whole self over to him today,
Declaring openly, to all around you, you belong to Jesus today.

Son 5:14 His hands are rods of gold

Set with beryl.
His body is carved ivory
Inlaid with sapphires.

Those Kingly hands were described as rods of gold set with precious
jewels, and his body was as precious ivory inlaid with sapphires. Ivory in Biblical
times was very hard to come by and was a very expensive commodity.

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 So what do we see here the nail pierced hands of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
with His glory shining through in all it’s fullness? His body that was so pure, so
much purer and precious than the purest ivory with jewels, yet it was broken for
our sake, a body spent for our sake.

Son 5:15 His legs are pillars of marble

Set on bases of fine gold.
His countenance is like Lebanon,
Excellent as the cedars.

How precious the King is his awesome splendour, marble speaks of elegance
and strength, exquisite and beautiful and feet of gold. Our King left the glory of
heaven the golden streets to walk upon this earth as a man for our sakes. The bride
speaks of His wonder and majesty.

YOUR BEAUTIFUL FACE

How I long to fully look upon your beautiful face,

A face full of love, compassion and grace,
A perfect Holy face without a single flaw,
Oh how it fills me with wonder and awe.

Yet that face was marred for my sake,

As the Lamb being slaughtered the sacrifice made,
And it pleased the Father to bruise you dear Lord,
Bruised and beaten, thorns piercing your head, Lord.

Drops of blood dripping from your face in the garden,

As the hour of your betrayal was approaching,
And the love and compassion you had for me,
And indeed all mankind as you hung upon that tree.

You said “Father forgive them for they not what they do,”
Then looking into heaven “ I commit my spirit unto you,”
Finally as the bitter cup you took saying “It is finished,”
And upon that cross you breathed your last and died.

Hallelujah, praise you Lord for that was not the end,
Today, you are risen, ascended and glorified,
Some day soon in full resplendent glory your face I’ll see,
What an amazingly wonderful day that is going to be.

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But for now I see as though through a mirror dimly,
And I long for more visions of that, which is heavenly,
You are so beautiful, my Lord, my Saviour my King,
Throughout eternity, forever your praises I will sing.

Son 5:16 His mouth is most sweet,

Yes, he is altogether lovely.
This is my beloved,
And this is my friend,
O daughters of Jerusalem!

Oh how wonderful are the words that proceed from His mouth! God spoke and the
earth came into being and He inspired Solomon to write the book of Proverbs full
of so much wisdom. God used His mouth to breathe life into mankind, and with
His mouth He utters words of love and so many promises to us His children. And
the Lord Jesus speaks words of prayer as He intercedes before the Father for us His
bride. He breathed His Spirit into us in the form of a dove- the Holy Spirit to lead
us into all truth, and with His mouth He beckons us to come closer to come a little
higher, infact to come up here, come up to those Heavenly places to be with Him.

Rev 4:1 After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in
heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said,, “Come
up here and I will show you what must take place after this."

HEAVENLY PLACES

This is where I belong seated up in the Heavenly Places with you Lord,
I’m coming up closer, coming up higher, deeper and deeper to be with you,
For as the deer pants for water, my soul is thirsting after you,
Jesus my bridegroom, my Saviour, my King, my lover, my Lord.

My heart overflows with an all consuming passion for you Lord.

How can it be that you only have eyes for one such as me?
You call me your beloved and you tell me you are pleased with me,
What love, what grace and mercy you have shown to me, dear Lord.

I love when you wrap your arms around me, sweetly caressing my hair,
In all the circumstances of this life I know that you really care,
For you are good all the time and your love is forever and ever,
There is absolutely nothing that will your precious love sever.

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For your love is an everlasting love, sweet and beautiful to me,
You kiss me with your kisses showing such amazing love for me,
You keep welcoming me to come up a little higher and higher,
You desire all of me and want to be the object of my deepest desire.

Now I behold the glory of the Holy lamb, for my sake you were slain,
You are the Lord of Lords and King of Kings and you sit upon the throne,
Yet here you are calling my name and drawing me up closer once again,
My heart is bubbling over with joy when you call me your own.

You’ve taken my mourning and turned it into dancing,

You’ve taken my weeping and turned it into laughing,
You’ve taken my sadness and turned it to joy unspeakable.
Then you call me on up to your banqueting table.

And I cry out more Lord, more Lord, I want more of you.
My heart and soul cry out for you Lord, only you.
I love to be alone with you Lord in the secret place,
Where you give me strength to go on running the race.

If only we could realize how powerful speaking His Word out of our mouth truly is.
The Shulamite here had spoken to her mountain and the mountain of despair had
disappeared. Do you see how her attitude of mind has changed?

Mar 11:23 "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself
into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will
happen, it will be done for him.
Mar 11:24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you
have received it, and it will be yours.

As we speak the Word of God from our mouths we can see that angels will be
activated to minister to us.

Psa 103:20 Praise the LORD , you his angels,

you mighty ones who do his bidding,
who obey his word.

Heb 1:13 To which of the angels did God ever say,

"Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet"?

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Heb 1:14 Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit
salvation?

Psa 91:10 then no harm will befall you,

no disaster will come near your tent.
Psa 91:11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
Psa 91:12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

PSALM 91- the poem

I will dwell in the secret place with you Lord,

Abiding under the shadow and protection of my God,
I declare that you are my refuge and my fortress,
For you are indeed the God in whom I place my trust,
And Lord you will deliver me from disease and pestilence,
From the snare of the fowler you will rescue me as the just.

As a bird protects her young under her wings you will protect me,
I will find refuge in you for you are my armour and protection,
And I will not fear anything that might come against me,
During the night hour though others at either side start falling,
By your grace I will stand strong keeping my gaze fixed upon you,
For you dear Lord are my dwelling place and my refuge too.

No harm shall come my way for you are protecting my home,

I am so thankful that you have sent even your angels for my protection,
The angels will help prevent me from stumbling on my path and falling.
They are sent by you Lord to help keep me walking right into my calling,
With your Spirit’s help I will trample upon all that would try to devour,
Empowered by your Spirit I will trample upon demons during this hour.

I know with a surety that you love me and that you have saved me,
You have a plan and purpose for me and you will lead me into my destiny,
You have heard all of my prayers and have answered them all,
No matter what life throws my way I can walk into your rest,
For you have promised me life in all it’s fullness life at best,
A long fulfilled life you have promised, so I give you my all.

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Because I love Him and the excitement of it all bubbles up inside of me, I must tell
others, I like the Shulamite must tell others about my love. He is the one who has
commissioned us to go tell others and this I must do, hence I share with the people
I meet and in writing, for it’s not about me. It’s all about the one whom I love.

I WANT TO TELL YOU A STORY

I want to tell you a story,

About the King of Glory
From heaven to earth He came
For us the lost He came.

He died to set us free,

The bonds of sin were untied.
When on the cross He died.
From sin's penalty we are set free

He is coming back again,

His people he will take,
With Him forever we will reign,
Our King, Yesterday and forever the same.

Caught up together with Him in the air,

On that morning bright and fair,
Singing praises forever to His name,
We shall stand in the presence of our King.

Hallelujah, hallelujah, sing praises to the Lord,

Worship the Majesty of our God,
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost,
Sing praises to the Lord of Hosts.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, cause us this day to offer up an offering of praise to

you, for you are altogether lovely, Holy and Majestic in Splendour and you
have poured love, grace and mercy upon us your people and you bring
refreshment as you breathe life into us. We give you thanks that you send your
angels to watch over us and we as your bride have the Holy Spirit to indwell
us, so we are never, ever alone. Because we love you may we desire to proclaim
to others the wonder of your love, give us boldness Lord, teach us your ways

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and take us up into those Heavenly places to dwell with you, make us be a true
reflection of your nature, becoming more and more like you.

In your precious glorious name Lord Jesus we ask it,

AMEN

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CHAPTER 6

This chapter starts with the friends conversing with the bride but progresses into
a dialogue between the King and His bride and in this chapter we see something
fresh in the friend’s attitude, an interest in the King.

Son 6:1 Where has your lover gone,

most beautiful of women?
Which way did your lover turn,
that we may look for him with you?

Now we see how the friends have seen the bride witness and proclaim the
depth of her love for her King, and how wonderful He is that they now want to
seek after the King as well.

Just recently my brother told me how a friend from work had seen a change
in him, he was restored to the Lord two and a half years ago and his friend was so
amazed and impressed by the change in my brother Alan that he wanted what Alan
had and so my brother had the privilege of leading his friend to the Lord. The
change in Alan impacted lives around him, this man had seen such a profound
change in peace and new confidence in Alan that he wanted to know more and he
wanted this Jesus who could so radically change lives.

As the holy Spirit reveals more and more of the personality of Jesus to our
hearts, our commitment will deepen, and an ever-increasing number of passionate
believers will result......God is raising up a company of believers whose
impassioned devotion to Him will inspire the rest of the body of Christ and prepare
it for a great incoming harvest of souls.” Mike Bickle, ‘Passion for Jesus’,p33-31.

The Lord is always with us (omnipresent) but we do not always realize that He is
with us so that His presence is manifested through us in a tangible way.

Beloved
Son 6:2 My lover has gone down to his garden,
to the beds of spices,
to browse in the gardens
and to gather lilies.

Revelation knowledge comes to the bride as to just where she will find her King,
her bridegroom that He has gone to gather the lilies. The closer she got to Him the

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more conscious she was of the sweet aroma of His presence. Our Lord’s heart is for
the lost and He desires for us to go with Him to seek to reveal the wonder of what
a wondrous change can be made in the lives of those who come to know Him, other
lilies- the people out there in need of a Saviour need someone to tell them , they
need to know that our Lord and King desires their affections, that He loves them
and has His arms outstretched beckoning them to come home to Him for the love
our bridegroom has is for the whole World, for all who will call upon His Name.

Son 6:3 I am my lover's and my lover is mine;

he browses among the lilies.

Then she sees him and beholds him in all his splendour and she declares “I
belong to my lover and he is mine.”
Lilies are like surrendered believers (cf 2:2) and their hearts are His gardens.
Jesus loves to gather His lilies to Himself and pour His love upon them but those
He loves He also disciplines and surely during this period, this is a learning curve
when the bride has been so lost and aware that she must seek Him out was a
learning process, like we as the bride of the Christ have experienced as part of our
own journey with the Lord.

Heb 12:5 And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you
as sons:
"My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline,
and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
Heb 12:6 because the Lord disciplines those he loves,
and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son

What joy it brings to our Lord’s heart though when we become ready to give and
receive from Him allowing Him to truly do a work in our lives. Like the
bridegroom here sitting in His garden with all the lilies gathered round Him, can’t
we see the joy it must be to Jesus to make His presence known among those who
have forsaken all that is empty, meaningless and unfulfilling in their lives and now
see Jesus as the only reason for living!
He fills them with His presence and His Word. Their adoration and praise from
their hearts because He is their first love from arouses such pleasure in Him that He
wants only good things for His beloved bride, to shower them with blessing This
surely is the true purpose of the church, all of us focusing on Him and Him alone ,
surrendering our all and fulfilling our destinies in Him, for the furtherance of His
Kingdom.

In 2:16 the emphasis was on what the bride saw as belonging to her.

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The primary thought back then was, "I, first and foremost, possess him" and as a
secondary thought, "He possesses me." That thought was similar to a young
believer saying, "Jesus is mine!"

That's salvation! The question is though, and this is one we must ask ourselves
“Does He possess me? Is He Lord of all in my life? Have I given Him all the rights
to my life: to mould me, strengthen me, use me, and change me more into His
image?”

Now His Lordship is proclaimed loud and clear, "First and foremost in my life I
belong to my Beloved, and of less importance now is that "I have Him". This is the
stage we come to when we make Him Lord of our whole lives, fully surrendered
over to Him.

Lover
Son 6:4 You are beautiful, my darling, as Tirzah,
lovely as Jerusalem,
majestic as troops with banners.

His heart towards His bride has not changed, He loves her so much. She is now
always has been the delight of His heart.

From Strongs
tirtsâh--delightsomeness; Tirtsah, a place in Palestine; also an Israelitess: - also an
Israelitess: - Tirzah.

You see here the compliment paid to the bride, she is as lovely as Jerusalem,
where the presence of God resides within the temple for the peace of God has now
enveloped her and the Shulamite woman like us who are Gentiles has been grafted
into Israel as a true Israelitess, inheriting all the promises of blessing the Lord has
made.

Psa 48:1 Great is the LORD , and most worthy of praise,

in the city of our God, his holy mountain.
Psa 48:2 It is beautiful in its loftiness,
the joy of the whole earth.
Like the utmost heights of Zaphon is Mount Zion,
the city of the Great King.
Psa 48:3 God is in her citadels;
he has shown himself to be her fortress.

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Psa 48:8 As we have heard,
so have we seen
in the city of the LORD Almighty,
in the city of our God:
God makes her secure forever.
Selah

The Lord’s heart towards us never changes, oh how He loves us, a love that took
Him all the way to the cross. We who were once afar off have been brought near
we have been grafted into Israel, but we have not replaced Israel, for the nation is
still so dear to His heart.

Rom 11:17 If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild
olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the
nourishing sap from the olive root,
Rom 11:18 do not boast over those branches. If you do, consider this: You do not
support the root, but the root supports you.
Rom 11:19 You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted
in."
Rom 11:20 Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand
by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid.

PRAYER FOR ISRAEL

We who are Gentiles drafted in,

Need to remember God's chosen,
We who were once so far apart,
Have through Jesus been given a new start.

But we must remember to pray for Israel,

The nation right now are going through turmoil,
We who have been brought under the covenant of Abraham,
Must remember our Father promised them the Land.

Our brothers and sisters cry out at the Wailing wall,

For they Long to have access to the Holy of Holies,
The veil was rent in two so we have access to the Holy of Holies,
But they know not that the Messiah has come so they stand at the wall.

Yet here we are now part of God's chosen,

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And His people so often we have forgotten,
To uphold in prayer as we really should,
For this surely is something to which we've been called.

Senseless murders of God's people continue,

Lives cut short in their youth too,
And it's all done in the name of religion,
Persecution of God's chosen nation.

And do we cry out to God for Israel?

A people who are hurting and wailing at the wall,
For most do not know their sins can be forgiven,
And the Lord Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven.

So won't you join me and pray for them today,

For the Lord would not want us in complacency to stay,
He wants us to cry out to Him for Israel,
And He wants to bring restoration to Israel.

So let's pray.

The angel asked John to come and see how we the bride of Christ are described
there Rev. 21:9.

Rev 21:9 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last
plagues came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the
Lamb."

Read on

Rev 21:10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and
showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.
Rev 21:11 It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very
precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.
Rev 21:12 It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the
gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel.
Rev 21:13 There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south
and three on the west.
Rev 21:14 The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the
names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
Rev 21:15 The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure
the city, its gates and its walls.

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Rev 21:16 The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured
the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and
high as it is long.
Rev 21:17 He measured its wall and it was 144 cubits thick, by man's measurement,
which the angel was using.
Rev 21:18 The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass.
Rev 21:19 The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of
precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third
chalcedony, the fourth emerald,
Rev 21:20 the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth
beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the
twelfth amethyst.
Rev 21:21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl.
The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass.
Rev 21:22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and
the Lamb are its temple.
Rev 21:23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory
of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.
Rev 21:24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring
their splendor into it.
Rev 21:25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there.
Rev 21:26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it.
Rev 21:27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is
shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book
of life.

The angel showed John the bride of Christ, and in so doing he showed him the new
Jerusalem!

Son 6:5 Turn your eyes from me;

they overwhelm me.
Your hair is like a flock of goats
descending from Gilead.

Son 6:6 Your teeth are like a flock of sheep

coming up from the washing.
Each has its twin,
not one of them is alone.
Son 6:7 Your temples behind your veil
are like the halves of a pomegranate.

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 See pages 51– 53 the commentary on chapter 4: 1-3 which is identical to this.
Here we see the loving assurance that the fervency of the bridegroom’s love had
not changed in the slightest degree toward us His bride! Praise God our
Bridegroom Jesus never changes!

Jesus, the Bridegroom, looks at us His bride as we surrender and sees a beautiful
smile and gleaming teeth, being made righteous and proudly says, "Look at you
now my bride you will bring life to others with the words which I will put in your
heart. I see the Holy Spirit working within you and you will teach others my ways
and my wisdom. The words you speak will glorify me, being spoken forth in
confidence.”

"Bearing twins" commentators say speaks of balance. The bride now

possesses a healthy balanced spiritual mouth to: study the Word, utter praise,
intercede for others, submit to authority and encourage others.

From this place we will not be "barren" but we will be filled to all the fullness of
God.

Eph 3:19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to
the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now is the time for balanced maturity to be seen in us the bride of Christ.

Son 6:8 Sixty queens there may be,

and eighty concubines,
and virgins beyond number;

You and I may be only a small part of the bride of Christ and as we surrender
individually we may only be one individual or a group among seemingly many
surrendered believers but He loves each one of us with a love so deep. When He
sees your deep love for Him, and mine He will send other surrendered members of
the bride of Christ into your life to share with you the breadth and length and
height and depth of His love.

Wow, what a gift of love to those who are truly intimate and fully in love with
Him. The joy of being with others of like minds is indescribable, and we can
encourage one another.

Son 6:9 but my dove, my perfect one, is unique,

the only daughter of her mother,
the favorite of the one who bore her.
The maidens saw her and called her blessed;

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the queens and concubines praised her.

The marvel of it all is how the Lord sees each of us as special and unique, He
sees us like this as His perfect ones washed clean by His blood, beautiful inside
and His dove indwells us. He sees us as clean and undefiled.

Every one of us is unique in the eyes of God and we are called for a certain
purpose, and to each of us He would say “You are my favorite one.”

Just as the maidens looked upon the bride here and saw a new beauty in her,
people should see in us the bride of Christ the radiant beauty of our King, His
glory shining through us.

Friends
Son 6:10 Who is this that appears like the dawn,
fair as the moon, bright as the sun,
majestic as the stars in procession?

The Bride becomes like her Beloved. He is the bright and morning Star! She had
just returned to Him, and now is being transformed into his image! The glory of the
surrendered life stars to appear like the glow just before sunrise. There is the
freshness of a new day in her appearance, in her eyes, in her actions, for she
appears so vibrant and alive! The dark shadows of self had engulfed the bride, but
those days are in the past and now a new day in her life was dawning!

Is this true in your life and in mine?

Each morning as we give them over to the Lord afresh to have His way with us
there will be a refreshing spiritual newness in our lives.

Psa 118:24 This is the day the LORD has made;

let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Psa 46:5 God is within her, she will not fall;

God will help her at break of day.

Lam 3:22 Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
Lam 3:23 They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
Lam 3:24 I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him."
Lam 3:25 The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,

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to the one who seeks him;
Lam 3:26 it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the LORD .

Pro 4:18 The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn,
shining ever brighter till the full light of day.

As we awaken in the morning we can have a quiet confidence that the Lord has all
things under His control, no matter what comes our way, we can know that He is
directing our paths.

Lover
Son 6:11 I went down to the grove of nut trees
to look at the new growth in the valley,
to see if the vines had budded
or the pomegranates were in bloom.
Son 6:12 Before I realized it,
my desire set me among the royal chariots of my people.

It pleases the Lord to see those of us who possess a willing spirit to do His
perfect will, when we are being fruitful. When we incline our hearts voluntarily
desiring and doing His will this causes the Lord Jesus to see us as His chosen "a
royal priesthood".

Chariots are moved from place to place, they need to be driven by another. Are
we ready to allow someone else to take the driving seat, to direct our paths? Will
we be led by the Spirit instead of going our own way? Will the Lord direct our
paths?

Psa 44:18 Our hearts had not turned back;

our feet had not strayed from your path.

I pray that the above verse will be our testimony. Let us keep our eyes fixed upon
Jesus

Friends
Son 6:13 Come back, come back, O Shulammite;
come back, come back, that we may gaze on you!

The Shulamite woman’s friends had noticed he transformation which had taken
place within her and they were attracted o the new light which shone from her eyes,
to the joy which could be seen within her. They were drawn to her. We should

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reflect our Lord in the same way, that people see Him shining through us. They
should long for what they see in us.

Mat 5:13 "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be
seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled
underfoot by men.
Mat 5:14 "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be
hidden.
Mat 5:15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand,
and it gives light to all who are in the house.
Mat 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works
and glorify your Father in heaven.

Lover
Why would you gaze on the Shulammite
as on the dance of Mahanaim?

David was so excited in the presence of the Lord that he danced before His King,
there was such a joy in him which others could plainly see, he danced in reckless
abandonment not caring what man thought of him, he danced in praise of His God.
He knew how to worship, oh if only we could worship like David did.

2Sa 6:14 And David danced before the Lord with all his might, clad in a linen
ephod [a priest's upper garment].
2Sa 6:15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with
shouting and with the sound of the trumpet.

PRAYER:
Dear Lord,
May we reflect you in all that we do. May people look at us and
see you shining through us I such a way that they long to know you too. We
long to worship as David worshiped, gazing upon you alone.

In your precious name Lord Jesus we ask it.

AMEN.

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CHAPTER 7

Son 7:1 How beautiful your sandaled feet,

O prince's daughter!
Your graceful legs are like jewels,
the work of a craftsman's hands.

The bride is now ready for service, she is ready to go anywhere for her groom.
He describes her here as wearing sandals, this bride who has danced before him.
Like us the bride of Christ when we are ready for service we adorn our gospel
sandals and are ready to walk anywhere with the Lord, the bride has reached that
place.

Eph 6:15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of
peace

Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs flow from the surrendered bride, she knows
how to give thanks and praise at all times.

Eph 5:19 Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and
make music in your heart to the Lord,
Eph 5:20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ.

We need to mediate upon His Word before we are ready to follow in His
footsteps, to walk in His way because it lights up our way.

Psa 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet

and a light for my path.

When we walk with Him we learn to walk in love and unity because we reflect
His nature.

1Jn 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with
one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

2Jn 1:6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have
heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.

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YOUR FEET WERE MADE TO WALK WITH ME.

Come my bride and walk with me,

Pay attention to my Word and see,
How I have lit a path before you,
My desire has always been for you,
Will you let me wash you feet today?
That your feet might on my path stay.

I have said to you come follow me,

For I long for you to be obedient to me,
How beautiful now are your feet,
Shod now with gospel sandals on your feet,
You’re walking in the Spirit and walking by faith,
For you now walk in love and in my ways.

Son 7:2 Your navel is a rounded goblet

that never lacks blended wine.
Your waist is a mound of wheat
encircled by lilies.

Navel- shôr {Heb} umbilical cord from Strong’s dictionary

An umbilical chord is the lifeline to the unborn child within the womb. The Lord is
surely the one who has breathed life into us – He gave us His Spirit, and He has
made us now as new creations. In fact, Christ is our life.

Col 3:4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him
in glory.

There is no need to drink strong wine; sustenance comes from His

life giving force from the Holy Spirit filling us.

Eph 5:18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled
with the Spirit.

Interestingly the word used for waist in the NIV and translated belly n the KJV
means something more in the Hebrew.

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beh'-ten
From an unused root probably meaning to be hollow; the belly especially the
womb; also the bosom or body of anything: - belly, body, + as they be born, +
within, womb. (taken from Srong’s)

He satisfies our inward cravings. He gives us spiritual food.

Also remember another part of our armour is the belt of truth.

Eph 6:14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the
breastplate of righteousness in place,

Son 7:3 Your breasts are like two fawns,

twins of a gazelle.

Solomon repeats the words as uttered back in chapter 4 and verse 5. There is
equality and beauty in those breasts for you will remember there is equality to be
seen in equal measures of faith and love.

1Th 5:8 But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith
and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.

I AM A SOLDIER

I am a believer and a soldier in the army of God,

To spread the good news my feet are with gospel shoes shod,
Upon my head I wear my helmet of salvation for all to see,
For I know with assurance that I am saved and set free.

This armour the Lord has given me is thick and battle worn,
But after many years of use it is now mighty and strong,
The enemy may come trying to bring me down,
A defeated foe because Christ has gone before me and already won.

So because Jesus shed his blood I, my breastplate of righteousness adorn,

For holiness and walking in righteousness is my longing,
And I need not worry though I am surrounded on all fronts,
For Satan has already been defeated and Jesus the victory has won.

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 Around my waist I wear this beautiful strong belt of truth,
Not compromising, I will proclaim that Jesus is the way, the life and the truth,
And when I go into battle I am protected by my huge shield of faith,
I will not be beaten by attacks in the spiritual realm or from the human race.

I have the Spirit who empowers me so I need not walk in fear.

I shall walk in might and power protected by heavy armour gear,
I will keep my armour intact and be sure to carry my sword,
The Holy Spirit himself wields this sword which is God’s Word.

So I will pray at all times staying in touch with the battle commander,
For I need to be alert and watchful and in prayer persevere,
Interceding and upholding my brothers and sisters in prayer,
That they with me will keep fully intact their battle gear.

For when the army are fully united in the task in front of them,
Together we will function as the King’s men,
And together every foe, every enemy we will defeat,
For with one purpose we have learned at our Commander’s feet.

So as of now I am staying alert in prayer keeping my armour intact,

For I desire to walk boldly in righteousness and that’s a fact,
I will listen to the voice of my Commander and obey his commands,
I will follow the cloud by day and the fire by night and stay standing.

Son 7:4 Your neck is like an ivory tower.

Your eyes are the pools of Heshbon
by the gate of Bath Rabbim.
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon
looking toward Damascus.

This neck is strong and mighty like a tower and yet it is being transformed, ivory
was fist used depicting the King, here is strength in that place of submission as we
the bride of Christ submit only to Him and start to fully reflect His image.

"...fishpools of Heshbon..."

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Springs of water flowed into these deep pools for the town's water supply. They are
still, quiet waters ready for use. The bride’s eyes have a spiritual depth to them.
These are eyes that are not easily distracted anymore! There is a holy fire of
commitment for the Lord’s plans when our eyes are fixed on Him. From that place
comes a readiness to go out and see fruition in ministry. The mature surrendered
bride has an abundant supply of the water of the Word residing in her to refresh
others.

"Heshbon" is a form of the Hebrew word which means "to plan"; "devise"; "make a
judgment"; "actively meditate"
or "think about something". "Bathrabbim" comes from two Hebrew words meaning
"daughter of abundance".

A nose has a function to smell, here we see an increased awakening for the bride
of spiritual senses. When we are fully awakened in our spiritual senses our
discernment is heightened so we become aware of he enemies tactics and we don’t
allow the ‘little foxes’ to get in and destroy our walk.

2Co 2:11 in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his
schemes.

Our senses are heightened we stay in the Word and stay intimate with Jesus. From
that place revelation knowledge and wisdom come.

Eph 1:17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father,
may give you the Spirit[6] of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him
better.
Eph 1:18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that
you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious
inheritance in the saints,
Eph 1:19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like
the working of his mighty strength,
Eph 1:20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated
him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,

PRAYER:

Dear Lord,
I am seeking the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of
you that the eyes of my understanding being enlightened may know what is
the hope of your calling and may the riches of your glory be seen in me.

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 May I walk in the might, and power of your Spirit . May I walk in faith and
love in equal measure, that I may reflect Christ in me.

In Jesus Name,
AMEN

Son 7:5 Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel.

Your hair is like royal tapestry;
the king is held captive by its tresses.

Mount Carmel was the place where Elijah, in the power of God,
defeated the prophets of Baal I Kings chapter 18.

There is n amazing compliment within the above verse look at the verse below.

Isa 35:2 it will burst into bloom;

it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the LORD,
the splendor of our God.

Imagine having the mind of Christ and all foreign thoughts vanquished!

Php 2:5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

Yet our minds are to be transformed and renewed into the mind of Christ Jesus

Rom 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and
approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.

And the hair of your head is like purple; NKJV

Purple is the royal colour as mentioned in the NIV. How wonderful for even hair to
be described as royal.

Purple was a very high-priced dye that the Phoenicians (and others) manufactured
from a small gland found in the neck of the mollusk marine mulex trunculus. The
shellfish were opened, and the glands were removed and crushed, producing a
liquid that turned purple when exposed to the air. Because of its high cost, purple-

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dyed clothing was worn at first only by the wealthy and rulers. Purple was used
extensively in the Tabernacle.

"Purple" speaks of one who is rich. As an heir of your King do you know just how
rich you are as the bride of Christ?

Let the Holy Spirit, Himself, reveal what true riches you possess.

Jas 2:5 Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to
be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love
Him?

Rom 8:16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of
God,
Rom 8:17 and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if
indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed
us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

Eph 2:7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace
in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Eph 3:16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be
strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,

Php 4:19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory
by Christ Jesus.

Pro 10:22 The blessing of the LORD makes one rich,

And He adds no sorrow with it.

Oh for his riches to be seen in me, for me that His glory might shine through me
that those I come in contact with will see Jesus in me.

Son 7:6 How beautiful you are and how pleasing,

O love, with your delights!

Our Lord wants to bring forth beauty for ashes, He is beautiful and He wants us to
have a deep inner beauty that reflects His beauty, puriiy and holiness.

Isa 61:3 To console those who mourn in Zion,

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 To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified."

Our spirits are already seen as beautiful to the Lord but it is the mind – our soul
which has to be transformed and renewed into the mind of Christ - die to self –die
to the flesh, that His beauty might be truly seen in us.

Psa 37:4 Delight yourself also in the LORD,

And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

I SURRENDER MY ALL IN ALL

Lord, when I behold the glory of your grace;

I fall down at Your feet; I worship You, Oh Lord.
Majestic wonder, my Saviour, Redeemer, my King.
Your praises Lord forever I will sing. I will sing.

I surrender my all in all,

Before Your feet I humbly fall,
You are the Potter and I am the clay,
So Lord have Your way, I pray.

All glory, honour and praise be unto You,

My Lord, my Master , My friend,
And I keep falling in love with You,
You'll be with me beyond life's journey's end.

I surrender my all in all,

Before Your feet I humbly fall,
You are the Potter and I am the clay,
So Lord have Your way, I pray.

Son 7:7 Your stature is like that of the palm,

and your breasts like clusters of fruit.

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The surrendered bride is like a "palm tree" in the desert. Palm trees in the desert
indicate the presence of water, a place of rest and refreshment. Surely then this is a
symbol of: strength, victory, joy, abundant supply, nourishing others, standing firm.

Eph 6:14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the
breastplate of righteousness,

The king had never described his bride in this manner before. The surrendered
bride has now arrived at a place where she bears fruit.

Psa 92:12 The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree,

He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

Son 7:8 I said, "I will climb the palm tree;

I will take hold of its fruit."
May your breasts be like the clusters of the vine,
the fragrance of your breath like apples,

The Lord delights when he looks upon our expressions of faith, love and praise. He
finds pleasure in us.

Jer 9:23 Thus says the LORD:

"Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,
Let not the mighty man glory in his might,
Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;
Jer 9:24 But let him who glories glory in this,
That he understands and knows Me,
That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness
in the earth.
For in these I delight," says the LORD.

Num 14:8 If the LORD delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give
it to us, "a land which flows with milk and honey.'[

Php 2:13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good
pleasure.

Luk 12:32 "Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you
the Kingdom.

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 When we walk in that place of surrender it is the Lord’s pleasure to reward us
with fruitfulness in His Kingdom.

Son 7:9 and your mouth like the best wine.

The best wine is the wine of a Spirit filled believer, who has allowed the Spirit
to control their tongues and what they say. They are new creations – new
wineskins with fresh new wine. They speak words in keeping with God’s Word,
words of life and no death and they know how to walk in Kingdom authority.

Mat 9:17 Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break,
the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into
new wineskins, and both are preserved."

Pro 18:20 A man's stomach shall be satisfied from the fruit of his mouth;
From the produce of his lips he shall be filled.
Pro 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
And those who love it will eat its fruit.

Mat 28:18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been
given to Me in heaven and on earth.
Mat 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Mat 28:20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo,
I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.

BELIEVERS AUTHORITY

Thank you Lord Jesus for the authority I have in you.

For it is Christ in me that is the hope of glory,
I have a wonderful inheritance as a child of yours,
Thank you Lord for revealing to me your riches in glory.

I am seated up in those heavenly places with you.

The fullness of the Godhead indwells me,
The same power that resurrected you indwells me,
All things are under your feet so they are under mine too.

It’s not about who I am, but about who you are,

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So, I will move in the might and power of the Spirit,
Boldly proclaiming to those near and far,
You want to set them free and give them the Holy Spirit.

The full Gospel of the Kingdom I will proclaim ,

Letting people know the power and authority of your name,
I am a believer so when I lay hands on the sick they are healed.
For your Word says “By your stripes we are healed.”

There may be violence against your Kingdom today

You have already won the battle and the enemy is defeated,
So I will courageously and violently take force your Kingdom.
By being a strong warrior for you, for in the heavens I am seated.

Beloved
May the wine go straight to my lover,
flowing gently over lips and teeth.

Do we speak words of praise and adoration to our Lord? Do our hearts burst forth
our song of praise?

WORTHY, WORTHY ARE YOU BELOVED

Worthy, worthy are you beloved, oh Son of the living God,

We come, singing praises unto you in one accord,
And now we your bride are coming out of the wilderness,
As we draw closer smelling your sweet fragrant essence.

We will keep our helmets of salvation firmly on our heads,

To keep us from swallowing Satan’s lies and concentrate on you instead ,
This world has nothing to offer us, only through you we have eternal life,
And you have called us right into your chambers as your precious wife.

So now we are coming up higher to be where you are,

No longer wanting to glimpse upon you from afar,
And we lift our prayers and praises upwards to your throne,
For we are so thankful and joyous to know you call us your own.

Your sweet embrace is so beautiful to us our dear bridegroom,

And we thank that you are preparing mansions with many rooms,
For you have made us beautiful out of ashes, making us fit for a King,

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And eternally we will come with praises honour and glory singing.

And we yearn to spend time with you like Mary seated at your feet,
For the time we have talking with you is so precious and sweet,
And you pour love, grace and mercy constantly upon us your bride,
So we come longing for that day when eternally we will be by your side.

But for now we gaze up to your throne- room our beloved King,
Drawing closer and closer your praises forever we will sing,
And we are seeking like Moses to see you face to face,
For you gave your life for us and saved us by your grace.

You are seated at the Father’s right hand, preparing a place for your wife,
For you through your grace and mercy given us who are undeserving eternal
life,
And you say in your Word that you are ravished by one glimpse from our eyes,
And that each and every one of us will be a special jewel to you in paradise.

You our Lord and Saviour are the object of our love you see,
And we long to know you better, on this at least your people will agree,
For it is you who paid the price for our sins and set us free,
Now you will take us near, far and wide a witness for you to be.

For there are people out there who you desire as part of your bride,
And you have given us a commission from which we cannot hide,
To take the good news of salvation to the hurting and the lost,
We long for your return but you are tarrying for a purpose.

So for now we seek to come closer, coming right into your throne room,
For we long to dwell in your presence our precious, sweet bridegroom,
And we come thirsty and hungry with deep longing for you,
Standing amazed in wonder that you are longing for us too.

Son 7:10 I belong to my lover,

and his desire is for me.

Now the bride has arrived at this place of complete surrender, and we see a new
found confidence for there is no doubt who she belongs to and she knows with a
surety that his desire is for her too. Do we have this kind of confidence? We belong
to our Lord and His desire is for us.

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It should not be so important any longer that we have Jesus as it is for Him to have
us completely- for us to be totally surrendered to His Will. He desires to have us in
that place of total surrender, ready to do His Will.

Most Christians they have two lives, they separate them, their real daily life and
then, what they call, their spiritual life. There should only be one life, the spiritual
life! It includes our personal lives, family lives, married lives, school, college or
work lives, recreation lives, church lives. All of these are aspects of one true life.

Act 17:28 for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your
own poets have said, "For we are also His offspring.'

Php 1:21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Col 3:4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in
glory.

Is Christ your life? Is He my whole life?

Php 3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the
fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

When we come to this place in our surrendered walk, knowing that His desire is
always for our good, we will be able to give thanks in every kind of circumstance.
Why? Because you and I now know that even through he worst of times He is
leading us through them. He gives us strength and during those times builds up our
spiritual character.

1Th 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus
concerning you.

Our new found confidence helps us to realize those truths when we face troubled
times. See below.

1Co 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but
God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but
will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear
it.

2Co 1:3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of
mercies, and the God of all comfort;

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2Co 1:4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort
them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are
comforted of God.

2Co 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord,
are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the
Lord.

Rom 5:3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that
tribulation worketh patience;
Rom 5:4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
Rom 5:5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in
our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

1Pe 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that
perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour
and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

2Pe 1:1 Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have
obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our
Saviour Jesus Christ:
2Pe 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God,
and of Jesus our Lord,
2Pe 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain
unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to
glory and virtue:
2Pe 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by
these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption
that is in the world through lust.
2Pe 1:5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue
knowledge;
2Pe 1:6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to
patience godliness;
2Pe 1:7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
2Pe 1:8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall
neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

STATEMNT TO READ ALOUD

"If my Lord is for me who can be against me? My Lord shall supply all of my
needs according to His riches in glory. I am able to do all things through my Lord
who is strengthening me! I am trusting my Lord and Saviour, my King, with all of
my heart and I will lean not on my own understanding. In all my ways I am

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acknowledging my Beloved and He is directing my paths. Since I am delighting
myself entirely in the Lord, whom I so dearly love with all my mind and soul, He
shall give me the desires of my heart. I have committed my way to Him and trust
my Beloved Lord fully. He will bring everything that is right, good, pure and true
to pass in my life. My Lord is my refuge and He is my strength and I will not be
afraid what man can do to me."

Php 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by
Christ Jesus.

Php 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Pro 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own
understanding.
Pro 3:6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Psa 37:4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of
thine heart.
Psa 37:5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it
to pass.

Psa 27:1 <A Psalm of David.> The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom
shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Now in this place the believer is finally being conformed into the mind of Christ
and realizes without a shadow of a doubt that He wants only good things for him or
her.

Php 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Php 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with
God:
Php 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a
servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
Php 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Php 2:9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which
is above every name:
Php 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven,
and things in earth, and things under the earth;
Php 2:11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the
glory of God the Father.

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Php 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my
presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation
with fear and trembling.
Php 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good
pleasure.

MY SHACKLES ARE GONE (extended version which I have written)

I will praise the Lord ,

Who set me free,
He spoke His Word,
And set me free,
I can dance with Him,
For I found freedom,
My shackles are gone,
My spirit is free!

My shackles are gone

My spirit is free
Oh praise the Lord
He lifted me
My sins are forgiven
And now I am free
Oh praise the Lord
My shackles are gone
My spirit is free!

The blood washed me,

From sin I’m set free,
I’m free to sing praise,
My arms I will raise,
To the King of Kings,
His praises I will sing,
My shackles are gone,
My spirit is free

My shackles are gone

My spirit is free
Oh praise the Lord
He lifted me
My sins are forgiven
And now I am free

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Oh praise the Lord
My shackles are gone
My spirit is free!

Son 7:11 Come, my lover, let us go to the countryside,

let us spend the night in the villages.

So now is the time to move fully into effective ministry to go wherever the Lord
would have us go. We now know who we are in Christ and we are ready to go with
Him.

FINDING IDENTITY

"Some of you have a distorted view of who I am,

Religion has taught you so much that is fallacy,
Come on a journey of discovery, "For I am the great I AM"
Come like a little child, discover my love, grace and mercy.

I am not " Santa Claus" giving you your desired lots of toys,
Getting all you desire is not always good for my girls and boys,
But I have promised that when you walk with me,
Every one of your real needs will be met, just wait and see.

I am jealous for your attentions, jealous for your time,

It is time my children to take your eyes off of self,
Who are you living for, are you truly mine?
I love you and I do not want any of you lost in hell.

You may have said the sinners prayer as a ticket out of hell,
But who are you living for, is it me , or is it self?
Others who are mine, do not realize how much I love them,
They do not know that I want to heal all the hurt in them.

I want you healed up for the harvest so others might find me,
At the moment many of you do not know your true identity,
Yet you have to know that you carry your family stamp upon you,
I have given you an authority that comes with my name too.

In my name I have said you will cast out demons and heal the sick,
But it is my power you will walk in, don't self glorification seek,
I have asked you to lift my name up High that I might be glorified,

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It's not your ministries, your church, it's time for you to self die.

I am a jealous God and I want you to give me all the praise and all the glory,
You will put on your full spiritual armour and tell satan he is history,
And you will listen carefully to my voice a and you will follow me,
I will direct your paths each and every day you will walk with me.

So it's time my dear ones, to know your true identity,

It's time for you to find and walk in your destiny,
You are my beloved ones and I long for you to really know me,
So start now, come sit at my feet and learn of me"

Love from Father

Irene McGough © 2008

And now that we have established our identity we are entering into a new season.

THE SEASON

Everything has it’s time and it’s season,

And this is a season of new beginnings,
Be assured this all has a purpose and reason,
For a new day is being heralded in.

For many years Father God has been wooing us,

Drawing the church closer and closer to Jesus,
But this is now our commissioning time,
He says “I want you to let others know you are mine.”

We are called to be witnesses to this generation,

Taking the message to people of every tribe and nation,
That Jesus wants to save, heal and deliver,
He wants them to know Him as Lord and Saviour.

So it’s time for us to go outside of the church walls,

We will say yes to Jesus answering the call,
Taking the wonderful good news of salvation,
Out to the people of this day and generation.

And the Holy Spirit will come upon us in this hour,

We will walk in boldness, authority and power,
For each one of us have been called with a purpose you see,
That the light of the glorious gospel should shine forth from you and me.

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Php 1:6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it
on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Son 7:12 Let us go early to the vineyards

to see if the vines have budded,
if their blossoms have opened,
and if the pomegranates are in bloom-
there I will give you my love.

No more independent spirit to be seen in the bride now. See how she now says
“LET US”. She is ready to go but only with her King. She has a spirit of
expectancy, believing for to see fruit today and for fruitful days ahead. I found out
some time ago that I cannot do things in my own strength, they just fail. I need to
go in the direction of the Holy Spirit, as He leads me.
Jesus loves to see signs of life in the vine! A flourishing vine is one that produces
fruit. Jesus is after all the perfect Vine.

Joh 15:1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.
Joh 15:2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that
does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
Joh 15:3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.
Joh 15:4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself;
it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
Joh 15:5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him,
he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
Joh 15:6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away
and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.
Joh 15:7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish,
and it will be given you.
Joh 15:8 This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves
to be my disciples.

Jesus longs to see us bear much fruit. The fruit of the Spirit should be seen as
active in us at all times and we should encourage young believes in their walk for
we are called to make disciples – followers of Jesus.
We who are discipling others are not only concerned whether they are
flourishing but that they will continue to flourish!

Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness,
Gal 5:23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

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The ‘there’ mentioned in verse 12 is firstly our times spent alone in His Presence
and secondly when we fellowship with other believers. It is a place for us to
express the depth of our love.

HOLY,HOLY, HOLY

Holy, Holy, Holy,is the Son of Man,

Worthy, Worthy Worthy is the Lamb,
Let's give Him all the glory and all the praise,
For He alone is worthy, let us our hands raise..

For in the presence of the King of Kings,

There is a sweet fragrant essence,
See how the most beautiful glorious cloud of His Presence,
Fills this place, so let us His praises sing.

Holy Holy Holy are you our precious Lord,

Worthy , worthy, worthy are you Lord,
Take us in closer, nearer and nearer to you,
We are entering the Holy of Holies to be with you.

Son 7:13 The mandrakes send out their fragrance,

and at our door is every delicacy,
both new and old,
that I have stored up for you, my lover.

The mandrake was considered a fruit symbolical of love. It was said to have special
properties enhancing love's desire and increase fertility. Praise God, she is so
spiritually fertile that much fruit will be produced through her life in Him. The
fragrance is the presence and glory of the Beloved. His total possession of the bride
(7:10) causes the spiritual
mandrake to grow into maturity.

YOUR BEAUTIFUL FACE (revisited)

I am now starting to gaze upon your beautiful face,

A face full of love, compassion and grace,

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A perfect Holy face without a single flaw,
Oh how it fills me with wonder and awe.

Yet that face was marred for my sake,

As the Lamb being slaughtered the sacrifice made,
And it pleased the Father to bruise you dear Lord,
Bruised and beaten, thorns piercing your head, Lord.

Drops of blood dripping from your face in the garden,

As the hour of your betrayal was approaching,
And the love and compassion you had for me,
And indeed all mankind as you hung upon that tree.

You said “Father forgive them for they not what they do,”
Then looking into heaven “ I commit my spirit unto you,”
Finally as the bitter cup you took saying “It is finished,”
And upon that cross you breathed your last and died.

Hallelujah, praise you Lord for that was not the end,
Today, you are risen, ascended and glorified,
Some day soon in full resplendent glory your face I’ll see,
What an amazingly wonderful day that is going to be.

But now I am starting to see much more clearly,

And I am having more visions of that, which is heavenly,
You are so beautiful, my Lord, my Saviour my King,
Throughout eternity, forever your praises I will sing.

PRAYER:
Dear Lord, my heart is now so overwhelmed with your presence! Thank
You for being so real, so personal, so patient! I love you above all others!
There is none like you! I long to bear fruit for the sake of Your Kingdom.

In Your Precious Name Lord Jesus I pray,

AMEN.

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CHAPTER 8

Son 8:1 If only you were to me like a brother,

who was nursed at my mother's breasts!
Then, if I found you outside,
I would kiss you,
and no one would despise me.

The culture of that era frowned upon demonstrations of public affection between
husband and wife. The exception would be where blood relatives were involved
such as, mother and daughter, sister and brother, etc. That is why the bride wanted
to be His blood sister so she could publicly demonstrate her love for Him.

She still had that enthusiasm and excitement of first love. Does Jesus mean so
much to us that we jus have to tell others, are we bursting full of the joy of that
love that we have to share it with others?

JOY IN JESUS
Lord you have planned the path of our lives,
And in your sweet presence is fullness of joy,
We will rejoice in you through the days of our lives,
For knowing you gives us immeasurable joy.

Our hearts leap and our voices cry out with joy,
Did anyone ever know such wonderful joy?
For you have poured out your grace and mercy on us,
What love is this your blood shed for people like us?

Oh Lord, restore to me the full joy of my salvation,

Let it be joy overflowing that impacts people in this nation,
Lord I ask you to clothe me with your righteousness,
In all situations let me know joy and peace and not stress.

The blessings you give me are far beyond compare,

When times are hard yet will I praise your name,
For you, Oh Lord are the Name above all names,
Lord this joy is so great, that with others I might share.

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Lord, the Kingdom of heaven is a treasure field of joy,
My desire for that day is to hear “My faithful servant, well done!”
For on that day of your return I will know such fullness of joy,
But for now I will rejoice in you and reach out for souls must be won.

Your Word says there is joy in heaven over one sinner who repents,
And that joy you have given me is for others around me too,
So Lord, let me share that love and joy with others as one who is sent,
For You Lord long to see others know the joy that only you can give too.

Holy Spirit you bear witness and have my cup overflowing with joy,
Fill me up with all joy and peace in believing, that I may live by Holy Spirit
power,
For I long to share with others something of your Glory this very hour,
And no matter what comes against me, I will rejoice with this wonderful joy.

For in your presence Lord there is fullness of such marvellous joy,

And that joy bubbles up from deep within so that it can’t be contained,
I will dance and I will sing your praises, you give me such joy,
I thank you for the joy and freedom that I have in Jesus my Lord.

We who are God's new creation are so unique. We are not only His bride but also
His family. He is not ashamed to call us "brethren"

Heb 2:11 Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of
the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.

So we have the freedom to express our love for Him publicly because we are not
only His bride but His family. His Father is our Father- Abba Father who has
adopted us as His children. May the love of Christ be demonstrated in our love for
our brothers and sisters!

LET LOVE ABOUND

Let us love one another as Christ loves us!

Lord let us see through your eyes,
Teach us to love like you love,
May we love with a love that comes from above.

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Let our hearts beat with your heart beat,
For you poured out love and grace from your mercy seat,
So Lord we pray make us like you.
And most of all let our love for you increase too.

Let love, grace and mercy abound,

Words of life from our lips resound,
As we bless and do not curse,
Realizing the world does not revolve around us.

Although God is omnipresent something happens when believers meet with the
specific purpose of gathering to His Name. He causes His
anointing, presence and glory to be experienced when He is loved in "one accord".
Jesus made this point very clear in Matt. 18:20, "For where two or three are
gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

We in the West should praise God for His provision of places for us to gather
freely to express our love for Him publicly. A place where we are able to share
what the Holy Spirit is placing upon our hearts. See also Ephesians 5:18-21 and
remember the purpose of our coming together.

1Co 2:9 However, as it is written:

"No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him"
1Co 2:10 but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.

Son 8:2 I would lead you

and bring you to my mother's house-
she who has taught me.
I would give you spiced wine to drink,
the nectar of my pomegranates.

Spiritually, it is a time for the bride to demonstrate gratefulness to those who

have been used to lead and guide the bride in her tender years as a believer. It is
good to contact them (those who were your caring mother or father in the Lord)
and let them know that their efforts were not in vain. The Lord used all of them to
produce a beautifully mature lover of God. What an encouragement this will be for

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those who nurture new believers. Give thanks to the Lord for them too for surely it
was He who placed them in our path in the first place.

Son 8:3 His left arm is under my head

and his right arm embraces me.

The Lord ‘s ams are strong and protective. He holds us in those arms, he embraces
us with those arms. In His left hand He holds forth His Word which has instructed
us and transformed our minds and with His left arm He embraces us through the
Holy Spirit and empowers us.

Deu 33:27 The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms:
and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.

Son 8:4 Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you:

Do not arouse or awaken love
until it so desires.

Time has passed and the bride is in need of rest, and she can peacefully sleep in the
knowledge hat she is resting in the arms of her beloved.

SLEEPING IN THE ARMS OF MY BELOVED

I am my Beloved’s and He is mine,

Now I can rest knowing all is fine,
Oh the beauty of this peaceful place,
Even in my dreams I gaze upon your face.

How I love you my Lord and King,

In my dreams your praises I will sing,
For I know that what ever comes my way,
You will guide and lead me throughout each day.

All fear is gone and oh the wonderful joy,

Resting in you is something I can enjoy,
Sleep brings refreshment to my soul,
And I dream dreams of you the one who is Holy.

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Friends
Son 8:5 Who is this coming up from the desert
leaning on her lover?

Yes dear friends it is time for the bride of Christ to be fully awakened and come
up out of the wilderness. It is time or us who have prayed “Your Kingdom Come”
throughout many years to see he furtherance o His Kingdom.

WHO IS THIS I SEE COMING OUT OF THE WILDERNESS?

“Who is this I see coming out of the wilderness?

They are leaving behind those desert places.”
“It’s my people” says the Lord, “arising in this hour,
Can you see my sons and daughters now moving in power?”

“I see a mighty army of us marching for you, Lord.

And we are walking in unity, in one accord,”
“There is rejoicing in heaven when we see you marching,
What a delight it is to hear you my name proclaiming.

Fear of men is no longer holding my people back today,

As they proclaim to all that Jesus is the only way,
This army of my people have learned to yield their swords,
And they are now boldly speaking forth the Word.

My Word does not return void so many are being saved,

They are laying hands on the sick and seeing people healed,
And substance addictions are becoming a thing of the past,
For those who have lived in captivity have been set free at last.

Like their forefathers they now know what it is to walk by faith,

My people are speaking words of life into others and not death,
They can hear from me so clearly now for their ears are open,
And they can see so much better now their eyes are opened.

I have sent my glory cloud to accompany my people by day,

And by night I have sent a pillar of fire to guide them on their way,
They are walking not by might and power but by my Spirit,
I have given them strength and power of a supernatural kind.

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The young and old are walking together hand in hand,
For I the Lord have drawn a new line in the sand,
What a beautiful sight it is to see my people walking in freedom,
Now moving in the authority I have given them to take my Kingdom.

Every day I see them getting stronger and their numbers increasing,
Even many of those who have been sleeping are now awakening,
I love when I hear them declaring the power of my Name,
With a certainty I know that many of their lives will never be the same.

They are overcoming by the blood of the lamb and their word of testimony,
And satan’s efforts to keep back my sons and my daughters is now history,
For they have formed this mighty army that is a force to be reckoned with,
They now listen to my voice and follow me as I direct their ways.

There is a party of rejoicing going on every second here in heaven,

For so many are seeing the light shine through my people and finding salvation,
This is a new day, a new hour when my people are walking in kingdom authority,
They are strong in the Word and strong in the Spirit, all else is history.

I am so proud of my sons and my daughters for many of them earnestly pursued

me,
They truly came seeking my face and they humbly bent their knees,
And I came and revived their hearts and graced them with my presence,
Now they go in among a world of men carrying my sweet fragrant essence.

I have always loved them and poured out my love, grace and mercy upon them,
But now they are coming to real maturity and affecting the world of men,
They are doing even greater works now than Jesus done on this earth,
He promised that greater works you would do and his kingdom would invade the
earth.

My sons and my daughters are keeping their focus on my Son,

They do not lose sight of the author and finisher of their salvation,
Their great High Priest who went like a lamb to the slaughter,
Through the blood he shed, he made a way for them to become my sons and
daughters.

Now here they are, my children coming to me crying out ‘Abba Father,’
Yet they know my name is Holy and do not lose reverence in the familiar,
And they worship me and my Son with such beautiful adoration,
And because they came humbly before me submissive I am healing their
nations.”

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Love from Father,
Almighty God

Beloved
Under the apple tree I roused you;
there your mother conceived you,
there she who was in labor gave you birth.

Jer 1:5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,

before you were born I set you apart; ….

Before we were even formed in our mother’s wombs He knew us, isn’t that kind of
amazing. He looked upon you and I and said “This one is a bride of my Sons, this
is my son or my daughter and He sent His angels on assignment to watch over us.

Heb 1:14 Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit
salvation?

Gal 1:15 But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace,
was pleased
Gal 1:16 to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I
did not consult any man,

Son 8:6 Place me like a seal over your heart,

like a seal on your arm;
for love is as strong as death,
its jealousy unyielding as the grave.
It burns like blazing fire,
like a mighty flame.

Kings used signet rings to make a royal seal to sign treaties etc. The seal from King
Jesus today is His precious Holy Spirit.

2Co 1:21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He
anointed us,
2Co 1:22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a
deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

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Eph 1:13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a
seal, the promised Holy Spirit,

Eph 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for
the day of redemption.

The Holy Spirit is the seal placed within us which assures us that what God
promises in His Word He will perform! Look at this verse, for he King is asking
her to set Him as a seal upon her heart, He is seeking her undivided love, a love
like no other love, a love that says “No matter what I will go with you throughout
the rest of my days, I long to be with you, I place my trust in you.”
We were sealed on the day of our salvation but the Lord seeks us to take His
seal upon our whole hearts, for He loves us unconditionally, how is it that we keep
trying to hold something back?

The Lord bids us His bride to look once again look at His nail-scarred hands. He
suffered so much for us. His love for us goes beyond all measure. He should be our
greatest treasure.

REJECTION

He who alone was totally righteous,

Knew the dreadful agony of true loneliness,
For His Father could not look upon the sin,
So here He was for my sake the sacrificial offering.

He created the wood, upon which He hung,

Those for whom He was dying jeering insults flung,
He came into this world, knowing what He would endure,
But it called for a sacrifice of the only one who was pure.

My Saviour left behind heaven’s glory for me to die,

And as I look upon that cross floods of tears I cry,
It was to take away my sin and shame that His blood was shed,
The pain He suffered there was excruciating as for me He bled.

It was love, grace and mercy that took Him there,

Nailed to that cross for one such as me, a sinner,
If I had been the only one He would have done it all for me,
His heart was filled with love and compassion for me.

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 The grave could not hold Him and He rose again,
Triumphant over the power of death and the grave,
Yes it was for me that He had suffered rejection,
For me whom He loved so much and came to save.

And because He gave me that free gift of salvation,

Abba Father and I have gone through reconciliation ,
He has called me His child and now I belong to His Family,
And I know that with Him I will spend all eternity.

Oh, what love it was that took Him there for my sake and yours!

I stand amazed in the presence

of Jesus the Nazarene,
and wonder how he could love me,
a sinner, condemned, unclean.
Refrain:
How marvelous! How wonderful!
And my song shall ever be:
How marvelous! How wonderful
is my Savior's love for me!

2. For me it was in the garden

he prayed: "Not my will, but thine."
He had no tears for his own griefs,
but sweat-drops of blood for mine.
(Refrain)

3. In pity angels beheld him,

and came from the world of light
to comfort him in the sorrows
he bore for my soul that night.
(Refrain)

4. He took my sins and my sorrows,

he made them his very own;
he bore the burden to Calvary,
and suffered and died alone.
(Refrain)

5. When with the ransomed in glory

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 his face I at last shall see,
'twill be my joy through the ages
to sing of his love for me.
(Refrain)

Charles H. Gabriel

Our Lord is jealous for our affections.

Deu 4:24 For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

When we walk with Him we walk in victory for He has gone before us and won
every battle. Joh 16:33 …".But take heart! I have overcome the world."

Son 8:7 Many waters cannot quench love;

rivers cannot wash it away.
If one were to give
all the wealth of his house for love,
it would be utterly scorned.

Nothing can quench our Saviour’s love for us.. Hallelujah!

Oh Love That Will Not Let Me Go

Lyrics- George Matheson

O Love that wilt not let me go,

I rest my weary soul in thee,
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.

O light that followest all my way,

I yield my flickering torch to thee,
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.

O Joy that seekest me through pain,

I cannot close my heart to thee,
I trace the rainbow through the rain,

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And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.

O Cross that liftest up my head,

I dare not ask to fly from thee,
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.

BAPTIZE MY HEART WITH YOUR HOLY SPIRIT FIRE

My Lord and my God, I find it so hard for me to comprehend,

How the Lord of heaven and earth could love me like you do?
Yet you love me without measure, a love that will never end,
The desire of your heart is to have me really love you too.

You long for me to know real intimacy with you,

And deep down in my heart I just long for that too,
Keep my eyes focused on you Lord and teach me your wisdom,
That I in turn might play my part in heralding in your Kingdom.

For yours is the Kingdom, the power and the glory,

Who is like you my dear Lord and Saviour, Creator of all?
Holy Spirit come and fill me up afresh, don’t let me fall.
For I need your help to boldly proclaim the gospel story.

So Lord I give you permission to do a work in me deep within,

Rid me of all that is of the flesh, come and free me from sin,
For it can never be me at the centre, help me from self to die,
For it is you Lord Jesus who sets people free, for this cause you died.

Yet praise be to God the story didn’t end there, I serve a risen Saviour,
You are the risen glorified one, the beginning and the end,
You are my redeemer, my beloved, my King and my friend,
And I with the angels will cry Holy, Holy, Holy to my Saviour.

Baptize my heart with your Holy Spirit fire once again,

Help me to be a witness for you in this world of men,
I want to drink deep from the wells of living water,
That out of my belly may flow rivers of living water.

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Rom 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who
love him who have been called according to his purpose.
Rom 8:29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the
likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
Rom 8:30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also
justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
Rom 8:31 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be
against us?
Rom 8:32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will
he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
Rom 8:33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is
God who justifies.
Rom 8:34 Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died – more than that, who
was raised to life – is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.
Rom 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship
or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
Rom 8:36 As it is written:
"For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."
Rom 8:37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who
loved us.
Rom 8:38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor
demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
Rom 8:39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to
separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

PRAYER:
Dear Lord,
I thank you that nothing in all creation can separate me from your
love, I thank you that you are always there for me and that you are at the
Father’s right hand interceding for me. I thank you that I am more than a
conqueror because of your love.

In your precious Name Lord Jesus I pray. AMEN

Friends
Son 8:8 We have a young sister,
and her breasts are not yet grown.
What shall we do for our sister
for the day she is spoken for?

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Now it is time for the bride to start discipling younger believers in the faith who
have yet to develop faith and love at levels of maturity. Faith and love have still to
be developed in this young sister’s heart (I Thess. 5:8) and exercised in her soul
which is so necessary to please God in the walk of surrender (Eph. 5:2). You will
remember looking at those verses.

There are great dangers facing those who are new to the faith, those who are as
yet immature in the faith if they have no-one to disciple them, the little foxes try to
devour. So many voices vie for her absolute attention and affection.

Son 8:9 If she is a wall,

we will build towers of silver on her.
If she is a door,
we will enclose her with panels of cedar.

If ancient cities had only a wall surrounding them, then they were quite vulnerable
to the attack of an enemy and in a short time they would be forced to surrender.
Why? Because without battle towers from which the enemy could be sighted and
fought built on the top of the walls, no action could be taken against the enemy. It
was the battlements on the
top of the walls that allowed the soldiers of the city to fight against the enemy and
keep them from climbing over the walls at will. They would know exactly from
which direction the enemy was attacking.

It would seem to me here that the bride was seeking direction from her husband
the King. When discipling others we need to seek the Lord’s help, discernment and
guidance as to His plans for them, that they might fully develop the gifts within
them.

Beloved
Son 8:10 I am a wall,
and my breasts are like towers.
Thus I have become in his eyes
like one bringing contentment.

The bride is now strong and established in her faith and in the Lord’s eyes He
views her as one who now fully knows what it is to expeience His peace and
contentment. Is that how He views us? If not we need ask ourselves why not?

1Jn 4:18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has
to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

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We know that perfect love casts out fear, we can know that inner peace that no
matter what else travails we can say “It is well with my soul.”

When we ourselves know the love, peace and contentment that Jesus gives we
can share it with others, that they in turn might experience it too.

The Lord Himself is our strong tower a tower above all towers when we are facing
battles.

Psa 61:3 For you have been my refuge,

a strong tower against the foe.

The enemy is defeated every time through your tower of love for Him, His word,
His people, and being firm in your faith by standing on His promises against
attacks.

Son 8:11 Solomon had a vineyard in Baal Hamon;

he let out his vineyard to tenants.

Our Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ, loves us individually and not just as a
corporate body? He makes each of us "tenants or keepers" individually. Each one
has a very special and private place in His great heart. Our Father gives to us a
sphere of responsibility (our own vineyard) to minister to the needs of others. He
has a place for The Lord knows that we will be happiest in serving just as our
Bridegroom did while here on earth and is still doing so in Heaven. Even today He
intercedes for us.

Mar 10:45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to
serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Php 2:5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Php 2:6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
Php 2:7 but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
Php 2:8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death--

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 even death on a cross!

Heb 7:25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through
him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

Each was to bring for its fruit

a thousand shekels of silver.
Son 8:12 But my own vineyard is mine to give;
the thousand shekels are for you, O Solomon,
and two hundred are for those who tend its fruit.

Silver represents redemption. We the redeemed should be bearing fruit.

As those who truly love the Lord we will have concern for His vineyards ‘the
church’ We will have love for our brothers and sisters, and encourage them in the
faith. Each one of us has a call upon our lives a destiny to fulfill to play our part in
establishing our Kingdom purpose.

How does our Bridegroom transform us His bride from being ordinary believer,
who had been filled with the extreme exhaustion which we seen in chapter1:6, to a
blessed, joyful keeper of a vineyard ready to bless her heavenly Bridegroom with a
thousand pieces of silver from a great harvest? Abba Father needs to be allowed to
prune our branches freely

Joh 15:1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.
Joh 15:2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that
does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

Lover
Son 8:13 You who dwell in the gardens
with friends in attendance,
let me hear your voice!

We are coming to the closing verses of this song, we see here that here that there
are a group having intimate fellowship with the Lord. When people who love Jesus
come together it brings to us His glorious presence as no other way can. Jesus loves
to dwell in the garden of our hearts. He loves to talk and share with us through His
word. But He also loves to have us talk and share with Him the desires, distresses
and delights of our heart. He wants us to communicate with Him and He wants us
to listen o His voice. He wants us to have intimacy with Him.

Look at the verses below. Is this the cry of your heart and mine?

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Psa 73:25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
Psa 73:26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.

Psa 42:1 As the deer pants for streams of water,

so my soul pants for you, O God.

Psa 119:10 I seek you with all my heart;

do not let me stray from your commands.

LET US SHOW LOVE ONE TO ANOTHER

He wants us to love like He loves,

He wants us to show compassion and love,
To love one another as he has loved us,
Treating others as we would have them treat us.

So Lord we ask you to change our hearts,

That we, your people making a fresh new start,
Might gather together united, in one accord,
Rather than speaking to others that last hasty word.

So we need to get our focus right, with Jesus first,

For when we truly come and for him thirst,
Everything else starts to fall into it’s God given place,
And we can treat our brothers and sisters with grace.

We will spend eternity together, worshipping our King

And his praises forever together we will sing,
So since the first fruit of the spirit is love,
Let us all start now on a new learning curve.

Learning to show love as he would have us do,

A humble and contrite spirit he would have us pursue,
For when we see others as more important than self,
The desire to prove that we are right will be left.

For our Heavenly Father wants us to first show love,

He does not want us intent our own point to prove,
The Word says we will know them by their fruits,

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So showing love, grace and mercy should be our pursuit.

Teach us your ways our dear Lord and Saviour,

That we might indeed be salt full of savour,
And may our light shine in this world of men,
As we learn to show love to one another and to them.

Beloved
Son 8:14 Come away, my lover,
and be like a gazelle
or like a young stag
on the spice-laden mountains.

Do you find that the more you know Him, the more you love Him? The bride here
had no hesitation. There is such a deep longing within her for her King.
Our King Jesus, our dear bridegroom has retuned to be with His Father but He has
not left us on our own. He has given us His Spirit- the Holy Spirit and He Himself
is busy interceding for us at the Father’s right hand. He has gone to prepare our
eternal mansions.

Joh 14:1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God ; trust also in me.
Joh 14:2 In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told
you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.
Joh 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to
be with me that you also may be where I am.

In His last love letter Jesus says to us."Yes, I am coming soon."

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. Rev 22:20

SHEKINAH GLORY

Shekina glory, Shekinah glory,

When I behold the glory of His face
Shekinah glory, shekinah glory,
When I behold the wonder of His grace.

What a day that's going to be,

When my Saviour I will see,
Shekinah glory, Shekinah glory,
When I behold His Majesty.

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Singing Hallelujah, singing Hallelujah,
And praising Hs Name,
With my Saviour I will be.
Through all the years of eternity.

Shekinah glory, Shekinah glory,

Sing hallelujah and praise to His name.
For me to earth My Saviour came,
T’was for me he died, oh wondrous story.

PRAYER:

Dear Lord,
May reaching the end of the study of this book only be the start
of a deeper relationship with you, reaching new heights of intimacy in my
relationship with you, thank you for loving me, keep filling me up afresh with
your precious Holy Spirit, help me to hearken to your voice and live in
obedience, may I forever sing your praises and may I fellowship with other
like minded believers, encouraging others along the way. Help me also to be a
witness and to heed the whole gospel message, seeing people saved, healed and
delivered in your Name Lord Jesus.
I long for the day when I will behold you fully face to face and
spend eternity with you, but for now my prayer is for the harvest of your
Kingdom, May your Kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in
heaven.

In Your Name Lord Jesus,

AMEN.

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Most Scriptures taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL
VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by
permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Some scriptures taken from the Amplified Bible

Scripture quotations marked "The Amplified Bible are taken from The Amplified
Bible, Old Testament copyright � 1965, 1987 by the Zondervan Corporation.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Some scriptures taken from the NKJV

Scripture quotations marked "NKJV" are taken from The New King James Version
/ Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville : Thomas Nelson Publishers., Copyright �
1982. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Other Sources of reference

1)Wikipedia

2)Strong’s Concordance

3) “I Love You With All My Heart!Always,Jesus”

A devotional commentary on the Song of Solomon
Author: Esher Shoshannah

4) Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible – Song of Solomon

5) The Adam Clarke Commentary

6) Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGhee

7) Mike Bickle,’Passion for Jesus’,p33-31.

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Copyright © 2009 Irene McGough

Disciples of Jesus Ministry

www.discipleofjesussite.com

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