Spurgeon: January PM
* 01/07/PM
"My sister, my spouse."
--Song of Solomon 4:12
Observe the sweet titles with which the heavenly Solomon
with intense affection addresses His bride the church. " My
sister , one near to me by ties of nature, partaker of the same
sympathies. My spouse , nearest and dearest, united to me by
the tenderest bands of love; my sweet companion, part of my own
self. My sister , by my Incarnation, which makes me bone of thy
bone and flesh of thy flesh; my spouse , by heavenly betrothal,
in which I have espoused thee unto myself in righteousness. My
sister , whom I knew of old, and over whom I watched from her
earliest infancy; my spouse , taken from among the daughters,
embraced by arms of love, and affianced unto me for ever. See
how true it is that our royal Kinsman is not ashamed of us, for
He dwells with manifest delight upon this two-fold relationship.
We have the word "my" twice in our version; as if Christ dwelt
with rapture on His possession of His Church. "His delights were
with the sons of men," because those sons of men were His own
chosen ones. He, the Shepherd, sought the sheep, because they
were His sheep; He has gone about "to seek and to save that
which was lost," because that which was lost was His long
before it was lost to itself or lost to Him. The church is the
exclusive portion of her Lord; none else may claim a
partnership, or pretend to share her love. Jesus, thy church
delights to have it so! Let every believing soul drink solace
out of these wells. Soul! Christ is near to thee in ties of
relationship; Christ is dear to thee in bonds of marriage union,
and thou art dear to Him; behold He grasps both of thy hands
with both His own, saying, " My sister, my spouse." Mark the
two sacred holdfasts by which thy Lord gets such a double hold
of thee that He neither can nor will ever let thee go. Be not, O
beloved, slow to return the hallowed flame of His love.