Sermon
#27 Series: Song Of Solomon
Title: A Choice Prayer
For Saints And Sinners
Text: Song of Solomon 8:6-7
Readings: Merle
Hart - James Jordan
Subject: The Love Of Christ Inspiring
Prayer And Hope
Date: Sunday Evening - December 27, 1998
Tape # V-2b
Introduction:
My
subject tonight is - A Choice Prayer For
Saints And Sinners - “Set me as a
seal upon thine heart, a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death;
jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath
a most vehement flame. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods
drown it.”
This is not
the prayer of a soul that is longing for fellowship. That prayer is - “Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where
thou feedest.” This is not even the prayer of the soul that has some
fellowship, but longs for more. Then the prayer would be - “O that thou wert as my brother!” And this is not the prayer of one
that once enjoyed the fellowship of Christ, but has now lost it - That cry
would be, “Saw ye him whom my soul
loveth?” She would go about the streets of the city, saying, “I will seek him, for I am sick of love.”
This is the
prayer of one who has the present enjoyment of Christ’s fellowship, but is
fearful that her sweet communion might be interrupted. Therefore, she pleads for
something which would be to her a token of the covenant between her and her
Beloved, when his manifest presence might be withdrawn. This is the prayer of
the spouse when she has been coming up out of the wilderness, leaning upon her
Beloved. The thought seems to strike her that he who has sustained her is about
to be taken from her for a season, because it is expedient and more useful for
her. Therefore, she prays that, before he leaves the earth and enters again
into his heavenly kingdom, he might be pleased to enter into a covenant with
her, never to forget her, and that he might give her some sign and pledge of
his love to her. She wanted to know that she would always be near to his heart,
while she waited for his return.
I take this to be the prayer of the
church in this present gospel age. Today Christ is before his Father’s
throne. The Bridegroom is not with us. His bodily presence has been taken from
us. He has, in that sense, left us. He has gone to heaven to prepare a place
for us.
1.
He
told us that he must go away, and that his going away was expedient for us
(John 16:7).
2.
But
he promised us that he would come again, and that when he returns we will be
together with him forever (John 14:1-3).
3.
Today,
we long for his coming.
In the language of the last
verse of this Holy Song of Love, we say, “Make haste, my Beloved, and be thou like to
a roe or to a young hart upon the mountains of spices.” Or, in the language of the Revelation,
we hear him say, “Surely I come quickly.”
And our hearts respond, “Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!”
Yet, before he went, as you read the gospel
narratives, it seemed as though his church was saying, “Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm.” This
is the prayer of God’s church tonight. This is the prayer of my own heart, and
I trust that it is your prayer, too.
Proposition: Though
our Lord’s bodily presence is absent from us, we want to be near him, near his
heart, and we want to have the blessed consciousness of the fact that we are
upon his heart.
I ask my dying
Savior dear
To set me on His heart;
And if my Jesus fix me
there,
Nor life, nor death shall
part.
As Aaron bore upon
his breast
The names of Jacob’s sons,
So bear my name among the
rest
Of Thy dear chosen ones.
But seal me also with Thine
arm,
Or yet I am not right.
I need Thy love to ward off
harm,
And need Thy shoulder’s
might.
This double seal makes all
things sure,
And keeps me safe and well;
Thy heart and shoulder will
secure
From all the host of hell.
Divisions:
1.
The
Prayer
2.
The
Pleas
I.
First, I want us to briefly notice THE
PRAYER which is here uttered by the people of God.
In
our text, this is clearly a prayer which arises from the earnest hearts of
God’s believing children; but it is certainly a prayer which any sinner desiring mercy, grace, and salvation might
make at the throne of grace - “Set
me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm.”
The allusion here is, as I have shown you, to
the high priest in Israel. The prayer
is really twofold. She longs to know that she has an interest in the
love of Christ’s heart, and she longs to experience the power of his arm (Ex.
28:29-30, 36-38; 12).
Exodus 28:29-30 "And Aaron shall bear the names of the
children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth
in unto the holy place, for a
memorial before the LORD continually. 30 And
thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and
they shall be upon Aaron's heart, when he goeth in before the LORD: and Aaron
shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the
LORD continually."
Exodus 28:36-38 "And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it, like the engravings of a signet,
HOLINESS TO THE LORD. 37 And thou
shalt put it on a blue lace, that it may be upon the mitre; upon the forefront
of the mitre it shall be. 38 And it
shall be upon Aaron's forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy
things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts; and
it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the
LORD."
Exodus 28:12 "And thou shalt put the two stones upon
the shoulders of the ephod for stones
of memorial unto the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names
before the LORD upon his two shoulders for a memorial."
All
of you who are God’s children know, by your own experience, the meaning of this
prayer. I hope that some of you who have never yet experienced the love of
Christ’s heart and the power of his gracious arm have come here tonight with
this very prayer upon your hearts. Let me paraphrase the prayer.
A. O Lord, let me know that my name is engraved upon
your heart.
In the language of the psalmist, we say to
the Lord Jesus, “Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation.” I desire an interest in your love; but
I want more. I want to know that I have an interest in your love. Write my name
in your heart, and engrave it as a signet upon your heart, so that I may see it
and know it.
Without
question, there are many whose names
are written on our Lord’s heart who do not yet know it. Christ has
loved them from all eternity. His heart has been set upon them from
everlasting. But they have not yet seen the signet with their names written
upon it.
In all of his work, our Great High
Priest, bears the names that are upon his heart.
1.
For
them he makes intercession (John 17:9, 20).
John 17:9 "I pray for them: I pray not for the
world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine."
John 17:20 "Neither pray I for these alone, but
for them also which shall believe on me through their word;"
2.
For
them he bears the judgment.
3.
For
them he makes the sacrifice.
4.
Upon
them he pronounces the blessing (Num. 6:24-27).
Numbers 6:24-27 "The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: 25 The LORD make his face shine upon
thee, and be gracious unto thee: 26 The
LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. 27 And they shall put my name upon the
children of Israel; and I will bless them."
B. Blessed Lord, let me experience the power of your
arm.
“Their prayer is that they may see Christ’s
love visibly, that they may discover it in their experience, that it may be
beyond a question, and no more a matter of doubt, that his hand and his heart
may be eternally engaged for their eternal salvation” (Spurgeon).
It is enough for me, if I can know and
be assured that the Lord Jesus Christ is my High Priest, my Advocate, my
sin-atoning Mediator before God. If I can know that I have a place in his heart
of love and that his arm is set to do me good, I want no more. All is well with
my soul.
1.
His
arm preserves me.
2.
His
arm protects me.
3.
His
arm provides for me.
This
is the prayer which we make. Is there anything you more greatly desire than
this? “Set me as a seal upon thine heart,
as a seal upon thine arm.”
II.
But now, notice THE PLEAS,
or arguments, by which this prayer is urged.
Anytime
you go to God in prayer, it is wise to not only make your request, but also to
offer arguments and reasons by which you may prevail upon him to grant the
thing desired. And be sure that you understand this - The only grounds upon which we can appeal to God for mercy are to be
found in God himself (See Psa. 51:1-5).
Psalms 51:1-5 "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my
transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly
from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou
speakest, and be clear when thou
judgest. 5 Behold, I was shapen
in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me."
Listen
to how the spouse here urges her request. She says, Make me to know your love
for me, because I know this concerning your love - It is as strong as death -
It is as firm as the grave - It is as intense as fire - And it is a
unquenchable as eternity. With these four pleas, she backs up and presses her
suit for mercy.
A. Show me thy love, for thy love is strong as death - “Love is strong as death.”
1.
The
love of Christ is as irresistible as death.
2.
The
love of Christ triumphed over death for us.
3.
As
death refuses to give up its victims, so the love of Christ refuses to give up
its captives.
Nothing
shall ever cause the Son of God to cease loving his people and let them go.
B. Show me your love, for your love is as firm as the
grave.
Luther translates this - “Jealousy is as hard
as hell.” Our Lord is jealous over his people. He will not allow those whom he
loves to be taken from him. You will more likely see the gates of hell opened,
the fires of hell quenched, and the spirits of the damned set free, than see
the Son of God lose one of those who are engraved upon his heart (Rom.
8:28-39).
Romans 8:28-39 "And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according
to his purpose. 29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son,
that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and
whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also
glorified. 31 What shall we then say
to these things? If God be for us,
who can be against us? 32 He that spared not his own Son, but
delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all
things? 33 Who shall lay any thing to
the charge of God's elect? It is God
that justifieth. 34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that
is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh
intercession for us. 35 Who shall
separate us from the love of Christ? shall
tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or
peril, or sword? 36 As it is written,
For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the
slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these
things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38 For I am persuaded, that neither
death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things
present, nor things to come, 39 Nor
height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from
the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
1.
Those
whom God has chosen, he will never refuse.
2.
Those
whom Christ has redeemed, he will never sell.
3.
Those
whom he has justified, he will never condemn.
4.
Those
whom he has found, he will never lose.
5.
Those
whom he has loved, he will never hate.
C. Show me your love, for your love is as intense as
fire - “The coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement
flame.” Literally
- “The coals thereof are the coals of God.”
The
allusion is to that fire which always burned at the altar and never went out.
You remember that there were coals of fire which were always kept burning in
the typical Levitical dispensation. The flame was originally kindled by God. It
was the work of the priests to perpetually feed it with the sacred fuel. The
love of Christ is like the coals of that altar which never went out, and more.
The love of Christ for his own elect is vehement, blazing, intense love that
never diminishes.
·
The
only cause of his love for us is in himself.
·
There
is nothing, no form of love to compare with his love.
The love of
Christ for us is…-
·
Eternal
·
Sovereign
·
Free
·
Sacrificial
·
Saving
·
Immutable
·
Inexhaustible
D. Show me your love, for your love is as unquenchable
as eternity - “Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it” (Rom. 8:37-39).
1.
The
waters of God’s wrath could not quench the love of Christ for his people - “Having loved his own which were in the
world, he loved them to the end” (Psa. 69:1-7).
2.
The
floods of our sins could not quench the love of Christ for us.
·
Before
conversion
·
After
conversion
Application: This is a prayer suitable for us all.
1.
Saints
- “Show me your love. Let me know your
power.”
2.
Sinners
- “Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as
a seal upon thine arm.”
AMEN.