The delight in the beloved

Cantares is a beautiful song of love conceived in a relationship of marital purity. Solomon wrote this book to show that love within marriage has the approval of God and should become an emotional and physical expression between a man and a woman.

This book, of poetic nature, leaves a record that illustrates the beauty of an unmixed relationship, where the purest feelings are interwoven, and where the elements of sexuality as instituted by God stand out. The book suffered serious rejections to be accepted as properly inspired Scriptures, for the lack of theological content, and because in none of its parts does the name of God appear.

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However, due to its high didactic content it has applications that can be extracted from this poetic jewel with a new and deeper biblical meaning. I mean, that although the love between a man and a woman are the ones that get the most attention in the book, certain verses can be used to talk about the love that far exceeds, the love that is magnified here.

There are verses that can be collated in allegorical form to refer to the immense love of Christ for his church, although the book itself is not an allegory. The topic we have for today is taken in that direction. Let's see today's text applying it to the delight of the Christian for his Beloved. Can you say today "my beloved is mine and I am his"? What is the greatest delight of your soul?

I. THE SON OF GOD DEARS TO KNOW THAT HIS BELOVED IS HIS

to. A jubilant song. "My beloved is mine."

This is the first musical note that comes from a heart deeply in love. It is an exclusive song, it is a possessive song, it is a song for a loved one. In this note of joy there is no doubt in the soul of the beloved about the passion she feels for the one who is "all covetable". Consider the transcendence of this song.

If the word "Beloved" awakens the most beautiful feelings of admiration and tenderness, the more it will be able to say "my beloved is mine". When I do it, I am filled with the greatest delight. Spurgon said: "Tell me what you think of Jesus and I will tell you what you should think of you. Christ is everything to us, yes, he is more than everything else, when we are entirely sanctified and filled with the Holy Spirit. "

If we refer to the love of Christ, this is simply sublime because I am claiming a property right that I acquired when I surrendered myself to him. In our case, it was the Father who gave it to us and then Christ gave himself for us.

All this makes us call him the "husband of our souls". And if this is so, then nothing and no one can separate us from that love. If it were death we will be with him sooner. There is no possible divorce with Jesus.

b. An imperishable possession.

Notice the forcefulness of the phrase "my beloved is mine." There is no place for anything else. That is the wealth that is never lost, that will never be taken away. What happens when you say: "my husband, my children, my parents, my house, my car, my business" ... and then disappear. My beloved, nothing, absolutely nothing that we have here, we can say that it is ours. Not even his body because "we are dust and we will return to dust".

There is no comparative possession like that of Christ. Let me make you think about this. Who are your loved ones compared to our Beloved? Nothing! Who is that Beloved? He is the Son of God and the Son of Man! Can you think of a beloved better than this one? Do you know how loved he is in heaven? Will it also be on earth? Is it in your life?

He can not be compared to his beloved spouse, nor to his beloved children or his beloved family or his beloved friends. He is so incomparable to the other beloved that there is nothing with whom we can resemble him.

As this poem expresses well, he is "the lily of the valleys and the rose of Sharon"; and it is, in addition, "marked out among ten thousand, and all of it covetable." "My beloved is mine" means that I can not have a beloved who is above Christ. Is there anything in my life that surpasses my love for Christ?

c. The confidence of this confession.

What is it that produces this confession in my life? See it this way. Maybe you do not have the best character that makes you be graceful in front of others, but "my beloved is mine." It may be that you do not have the best gifts and talents like others to be exhibited, but you remember that "my beloved is mine."

Maybe I'm not the kind of believer that should be, because I have a tendency to always fail, but "my beloved is mine." Maybe I feel the smallest of all the brothers, with very little academic or theological knowledge, and even not being well known by others, but "my beloved is mine".

Maybe in this life I do not have any portion of any inheritance, but knowing that "my beloved is mine" I discover that I have everything with him. The psalmist said: "Who do I have in heaven, but you? And outside of you, I desire nothing on earth "(Psalm 73: 5).

Then, if that beloved is mine, I can confide all my sorrows, my fears, my doubts, my sorrows, my weaknesses, my anxieties and even my failures. But also, if that beloved is mine, I must love him, adore him, recognize him and always meet him. And, above all, that beloved is mine to confess before men.

II. THE SON OF GOD DEARS TO KNOW THAT HE IS OF HIS BELOVED

to. We are yours by right of choice.

The confession "my beloved is mine, and I am his" seems to be a binomial. It is as if the one could not exist without the other. It is a phrase full of the greatest sweetness. We could well say that the two parties need each other. It is the prayer that should be given in an authentic relationship of couple who love each other.

But the truth is that in some cases the woman says: "My beloved is mine", but she will be able to say "and I am his"? When we take this to the spiritual field we can say: "Jesus Christ is mine". But am I of Jesus Christ? I mean, do I really belong to him?

Christ is mine, but I must make sure that I am his.

We are his because he predestined us first, then he created us, then he saved us in Christ and now he prepares a place to be with him. We are his because he bought us at the price of blood and because he called us by his sheer grace. Belonging to Christ was not done because he has found something good in us and that is why he will save us.

The marriage with us was not done because he found a better part that he liked the most, like what we chose with our wives. Spouses often rate what they liked most about their girlfriend or boyfriend when they met. But Jesus will say: "When I saw you I did not find anything that I liked about you. You were so dirty and ugly that you did not deserve anything from me. Then, I loved you by pure grace.

b. The scope of confession.

When the beloved says: "and I am his," he is not thinking of some things that are his. The truth is that some of us what we give to the Lord is what is left over. We tell him "and I am his", but I do not give him the best of my time, the best of my gifts and talents. We say "and I am his", but I keep what belongs to him.

The confession of this prayer has to take me to a conscious state that, if I am his, he has all the right over what I consider mine. Have you ever thought that if I am his he could at some point take away my friends, take away my assets, take me down, move from one place to another and even dispose of my life that is also his? And if this happened, I should be happy because "I am his."

There are many believers who do not understand this, nor are they willing to let any of the things mentioned above happen to them. I need to understand that I am his without reservation. When he said: "and I am his," he should not protest if he makes use of what belongs to him. So, if I am his, I am forever and always.

I must be his at home, at work, at school and at university. I am his in the privacy of my devotion. I am his in my thoughts, I am his when I drive, when I eat, when I sleep ... I am his, I belong to him. Nobody else is my owner! He must be my continuous delight.

III. THE SON OF GOD DEARS TO KNOW THAT HIS BELOVED PASTOREA

a. He is the Good Shepherd (verse 16b).

The delight of a Christian leads him to wonder what is of the life of his Beloved while he is away. Have you thought about what Jesus does every day? What does he spend his time on, if there was time for him? Well, the text tells us that he walks in the middle of the lilies.

It is interesting that the word "graze" has the connotation of grazing. And is not this what the Beloved always does? The Lord walks in the midst of his people, always grazing them. But why among the lilies? Who do the lilies represent? According to the Lord Jesus Christ, the lilies are one of the most beautiful plants known.

His "dress" has not been matched even by those who used the very rich and powerful King Solomon. But this is also one of the most fragile plants. Its duration could be one day. This is what Christ said: "And if the grass of the field that is today, and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, God clothes it like this ..." (Matthew 6:30).

If Jesus feeds among the lilies, we should imagine that these "lilies" are the hearts where he shepherds, but that heart is as fragile as the lily. So he is in their midst as the Good Shepherd to guard his fragility against the surprise and accurate attack of the enemy. The believer needs his tender pastorate because he is fragile.

b. The lilies that do not perish.

The beloved question, where is the Beloved? Well, he's gone and now he's feeding among the celestial lilies. I must think that the lilies of the sky are eternal. Their colors will have no comparison even with the beauty of earthly lilies. Can we imagine Jesus in the middle of eternal Paradise, walking in the midst of those unique and spectacular lilies?

Only those lilies are not from one day to the next. They are eternal, beautiful lilies that take their life from the river that comes out of the throne of God. Now our Beloved walks in their midst and waits for us until one day we walk with him in such a heavenly beauty.

So, when we think of this Beloved, our search has to go up, where he lives now. If he feeds in the midst of those lilies, my spiritual life should be nourished by that eternal Shepherd so that he can be as beautiful as they are, but so strong not to wither when attacked by the sun that devours with its warmth.

The promise of Isaiah is that he will always lead us (Isaiah 58:11). It is the same for him to be in heaven and to walk in our midst. John saw him walking in the midst of seven candlesticks, which are the Seven Churches. Seeing the Beloved in the midst of these lilies fills us with deep and exalted delight.

That gives us confidence, security, courage and courage, because we are not alone. If Christ feeds among those "lilies" they will never perish. If Christ is the believer's delight, he should move in the midst of his "lilies" giving his approval to everything we do, and feeling honored and praised.

CONCLUSION:

The song of this text seems to be too sublime to be sung if it is not my truth. The Shunammite said: "My beloved is mine and I am his." I ask and I ask myself, is Jesus Christ my Beloved and I am his beloved?

No one should continue pretending to be a sincere Christian if he does not have a correct answer to this question today. What this means is that, if others love what they like, the believer loves only his savior.

It is possible that, for many, as the prophet said, he has no attractions to be desired, but he is "appointed among ten thousand, and all he is desirable." And if I say with certainty "my beloved is mine," I should also say with all certainty, "and I am his."

Do you know what the result of this confession is? That he "feeds among the lilies." If he is mine and I am his, then he will always guide me. It does not matter that he is as fragile as the lily, if I am his, for always he will be my pastor and the song of Psalm 23 I will also be able to sing it. How much do you love your Beloved?