“Sustain me with cakes of raisins,
Refresh me with apples,
For I am lovesick.
His left hand is under my head,
And his right hand embraces me.”
— Song of Songs 2:5-6
Sixth, she has come to know the church. In the first section the seeker says, “The virgins love you” (SS. 1:2) The virgins are the church. The result of her being in the chambers is, “We will be glad and rejoice in you” (1:4). Reference to the church is made in every stage of her experience. The drawing of the Lord concludes with the church’s pursuing. The fellowship of the chambers concludes in the church’s appreciation. Her testimony, “O daughters of Jerusalem…do not look at me, because I am black, because the sun has scorched me” (1:5-6) also involves the church. When the seeker says, “Our couch is green. The beams of our house are cedars; our rafters are cypresses” (1:16) it refers to the church as God’s building. Even when the Lord’s seeker has the highest enjoyment in the banqueting house, the result is a realization that the saints are needed to maintain this experience—“Sustain me with raisin cakes!” (2:5).
Adapted from The Journey of Life, pages 176.
Tomorrow: “Basic Lessons in Seeking the Lord (5)”