you Well, as we come to the ministry of the word and we continue to worship our God this morning, I invite you to take your Bibles and turn in them to the book of Song of Solomon, and we're gonna be in chapter two this morning. Song of Solomon, chapter two. I'm gonna read in your hearing verses eight through 17, but our time is going to be spent mostly in verses 10 through 13 this morning. Song of Solomon, chapter two, verses eight through 17. Listen carefully for this is the word of the living God. The voice of my beloved, behold he comes, leaping over the mountains, bounding over the hills. My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Behold, there he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, looking through the lattice. My beloved speaks and says to me, arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away. For behold, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone, the flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtle dove is heard in our land. The fig tree ripens its figs, and the vines are in blossom, they give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away. O my dove in the clefts of the rock and the crannies of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet and your face is lovely. Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards, for our vineyards are in blossom. My beloved is mine and I am his. He grazes among the lilies until the day breathes and the shadows flee. Turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle or a young stag on the cleft mountains. Thus far the reading of God's word. The grass withers and the flower falls, but the word of our Lord stands forever and we are grateful for it. Would you bow your heads with me and let us ask the Lord for illumination from his spirit as we come to the ministry of his word. Father, open our ears. and help us to listen. Open our eyes, Lord, we wish to see Jesus. If there be hearts of stone in this place, Father, we pray that you would rip them out by the work of your spirit and your word and place within them a new heart of flesh and put your spirit within them and write your law on the tablet of their hearts. Father, make us willing servants for you this morning May Your Word be the shepherding staff that will lead us, Father, and may we submit ourselves to it that You might be glorified. For Your glory and Your renown we pray in Christ's name. Amen. Well, if you're just joining us, we have been working through chapter 2 of the Song of Solomon. And I think that for this morning, in order for us to move forward to verses 10 through 13, I need to just back up a little bit, especially for the visitors among us, and remind us of how we read the book of Solomon. And very simply, there are Two ways in which we as Christians read the book of Solomon, we refer to those two ways as two horizons, the original context and then the context after the person and work of Christ has come. And on that original context, we read the Song of Solomon as a poetic celebration and description of the love between a man and a woman. Love is celebrated here. Love is displayed here. We get instruction for how the man should come to his wife and how the wife should come to her man, how they can cultivate and foster love among themselves. because love is as strong as death unless we let it be something other than that. We must continually work at love, do we not? Love is something that is a perennial challenge that we need to foster and feed and maintenance. But on the second horizon, after the coming of Christ, we can also look back at this book and see the husband as Christ and the wife as the church. And here we see a poetic celebration and description of the love that Christ has for His church and that the church has for Christ. And so as I've been doing in these sermons, I basically have two points. What should we take away from this passage with respect to instruction for husbands and wives, and then what should we take away from this passage with respect to how we should love Christ more, how we can love Christ more, and even more importantly than that, how Christ loves us deeply. We need to constantly be reminded of it. I think that there is a reason why Christ will forever in heaven have the nail prints on His hands and on His feet and on His side, because we will eternally be reminded of His great love for us, His deep love for us. But now in the now time when we have to fight against the world, the flesh, and the devil, we have to fight hard for that love. And so the song of Solomon is here to help us with that. The second thing I want to say by way of introduction this morning is that we have looked at three ways that the woman responds to the man as the man does his duty. Let me say that again, three ways that the woman responds to the man as the man does what he's called to do. The first way is this, the man takes responsibility to catch the little foxes in the marriage. Remember, it's not always the big things that destroy marriages, but it is the little things over time, over time, over time that spoil the vineyard, they spoil the love, they spoil the romance. And so as he takes responsibility to catch the foxes, to blast the foxes, to kill and drown the foxes, so she responds in kind by doing the same thing. finds and catches the foxes in her own life. And as they do that together, they grow closer to God and closer to one another. A second way in which the woman responds to the man is as the man overcomes obstacles in the marriage. He leaps over mountains and bounds over hills. How does he do that? Well, He makes it look easy. He just makes it look easy. He's constantly giving Himself. Giving, giving, giving like our Lord in the incarnation. What did our Lord do? He emptied Himself. He emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant. His was a life of giving and giving and giving. And you know what the Father did after a lifelong giving session? He exalted the Son. That's what He did. He exalted Him. And that is the instruction for us. He who humbles himself will be exalted by the Lord. But we also saw under that point that instead of making it look easy, what we as men tend to do is we tend to gravitate toward that which is easy. We tend to gravitate toward that which is the path of least resistance. We tend to gravitate toward that which pleases us and not our wife and not our children and not our family. But when He makes it look easy, she responds by heaping praise and honor upon Him. And then thirdly, what does the man do? He levels divisions between him and his wife, levels divisions by taking the responsibility to go after reconciliation in the marriage. There's an important verse in Paul, Ephesians, and Paul says, don't let the sun go down on your anger. And when a man and a wife are in bed together and yet they are thousands of miles apart because of some spat, some fight, whether it is the man's fault or whether it is the woman's fault, whether it is 40% the man's fault and 60% the woman's fault. It is the responsibility of the man to go after reconciliation. He turns to his wife. He gently caresses her arm. And he says, my dear, let me confess my pig-headedness to you. And what we've seen, not only in the scriptures, but I think this bears it out in many of our marriages, is that when that heat of repentance comes, her heart begins to melt and she reciprocates in repentance. How does she respond to this leading and reconciliation? She submits to his lead even if he's inconsistent because she's giving him room to grow just as he is giving her room to grow. But this morning what I'd like to do is I'd like to focus on verses 10 through 13. And I want us to consider, listen to me very carefully, this is something that's not often spoken about, I want to consider the need to recognize and respond well to different seasons in the life of the marriage. The need to recognize and respond well to different seasons in the life of the marriage. You'll recall in Ecclesiastes chapter 3, it is that famous table of times or poem of times. I think the birds in the 60s ripped it off and put some music to it and sang it and that's fine. But the author says in chapter 3 verse 1, for everything there is a season. and a time for every matter under the sun. And then he goes on, a time to be born and a time to die, a time to rip up and a time to plant, a time for all kinds of things. And what you should take away from that is this, it is God who sovereignly sets the times. It is God who sovereignly sets the times. It's not just wisdom literature in the sense that he's saying, well you've got to find the right time man. No, no, no, that's not what he's saying. Kohelet believed in the raw sovereignty of our Lord. And he believed that it is God that sets the times. God determines when you will be born. God determines when you will die. God determines when wars will arise. God determines all these things. And what we are called to do as men and women who bear His name is respond well to those times as we recognize them. Now listen to me. What that means is that not every season is the same. And not every season is to be approached, therefore, in the same way. There are different things that are demanded of us in different seasons. And the man who has eyes in his head, the person who is seeking after wisdom, before he or she asks, what shall I do, first asks, what does this season require of me? What does this season require of me? Now, that's what I wanna talk about this morning, and I wanna just throw this out very boldly, and I want you to listen to me. If our responsibility is to recognize the seasons and to respond well to them, what we are looking for is we're looking for wisdom. We're looking for wisdom. When you get home, read Job 28 and you'll see how elusive wisdom can be. But then we just heard this morning in James chapter 1 that if you pray for wisdom, God will give it to you. But it's more than just a prayer, beloved. It's an act of seeking after it, you see. An act of seeking after it. We often hear in the Proverbs. that it is said, fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. But you know in Proverbs chapter 4 it says something else about the beginning of wisdom? It says this, the beginning of wisdom is this, get wisdom. Get wisdom and whatever you get, get insight. Now you say, well that, I mean, that's just so obvious. Is it? How often do we talk about wanting wisdom? How often do we talk about the need to get wisdom? I'm gonna start that diet on Monday. I'm gonna start that project on Monday. I'm gonna do it. Oh, I need to do it. I need to do it. I need to do this. I need to do that. But when the rubber hits the road and wisdom is right there, whispering in our ear, lady wisdom is there telling us what to do, we say, well, not today. Well, I come back to the very first step. This is kindergarten, beloved. The beginning of wisdom is this, get wisdom. Get wisdom. Do you want wisdom this morning? The Lord has it for us in the song of Solomon. The wise person has eyes in his head that the fool walks in darkness. You know, our needs change over the years. Let me give you an example. In my counseling, I've seen a number of patterns, and not just my counseling, but in my life, and maybe you can resonate with this. A man and a woman get married, bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, ready to take on the world in their marriage. They're very excited, they're very much in love, and they very much want to be married, but at the same time, they don't always act like they're married. You say, what do you mean by that? Well, we had so many years of being single before we gave our vows, right? And then we just kind of, we never say this, but we just kind of magically think that at the altar we're going to give those vows and then we're just going to be completely selfless after that. And the reality is we're not. And the reality is so many of the friction in marriage comes from men and women not thinking as a one flesh union, but thinking only of themselves. They think they're still single. They think that they can still go out with their friends and carry on like they did before, but they can't, you see. They are in a different season of life, a season of marriage, and that season of marriage requires, among other things, cultivating a one-flesh mindset. Here's another example. Christina and I have done this, and we're probably still doing it in different respects. Many of you have done it, but kids come along, right? Kids come along, and I'll never forget A man called his pastor one time, he said, hey, we're not going to make it to our counseling session. He said, why? He's all, this kid is just ruling the roost. And he was just blown away how the kid was just determining all their moves, all the needs that the kid had, and it completely changed the dynamic of the family. And yet, what do foolish parents often do? They still think they could do it all. They still think they could do it all, all the things that they did when they were freshly married, newly married, going out with friends, doing this, volunteering for that, over committing, and then they realize they're not meeting the needs of their children. No, a season of childbearing requires different obligations. So let me, under two heads this morning, very quickly I hope, first try to apply this to our marriages. So let's look at the seasons in marriage on the first horizon. When a change of season comes, it brings different needs and desires. Come to the text now. Notice that when the beloved comes to his beloved, he calls to his wife and he says what? Arise and come away. Come away from what? The winter and the rain. Now, this is a metaphor, of course, but what we see here is a transition from one season of life to another season of life. And look, husbands, it is the man who is calling her out of that season. He is not being dragged by his wife. He is calling her out of that season and he's not demanding it. He's saying it with sweetness in his voice. Dear wife, the wife of my youth, arise beloved. Come away. Come away from the winter and the rain. Come away from the darkness and the gloom. Come away from the season of hardship. Whether it had a good outcome or a bad outcome, yes, we learn things, but now we're coming away. And come with me to this new chapter of life. You see, these are indicative of seasons. The winter and the rain, they are indicative of seasons. And it is an invitation, think of it if you will, to move from the death of winter to the life of spring. Notice that he says, the flowers appear on the earth. Come away from the winter. The flowers appear on the earth. The vines are in blossom. They give forth fragrance. There is newness. This is what we celebrate in the springtime, isn't it? Those little blossoms are popping out and it reminds us of new life, especially that we have in Jesus Christ. But notice, I want you to notice this. Notice that the man, and this is very instructive for us, the man is hyper aware of and sensitive to the multifaceted needs and desires of the particular season of their relationship. I know that it was a mouthful, but I want you to notice something in these short verses. The man, in his invitation, hits every single one of the senses, all five, as he's calling out to his wife. Look at it in the text, verse 12. He gives her an invitation to see the flowers, to see, verse 14, the face of his beloved. We talked about that, right? Do you hear me, do you see me? I invite you, dear wife, to come and look at the flowers with your eyes and see my face and let me gaze upon yours." Secondly, in verse 10, this is implied, but when he says, come away, just picture him putting his hand out. He wants his hand to be put out so it can be filled with the hand of his beloved. He wants her to feel his hand, his love, his warmth, and his leadership. And then in verse 13. The figs are ripe on the vine." What does that mean? They're ripe for tasting. They're ripe for eating. And then look at verse 12, we hear the sound of the turtle dove in the land as it's singing its melodious tunes. And in verse 14, he hears the voice of his beloved. And then finally in verse 13, come beloved and smell the fragrance of the figs and the vines. Do you see, listen to me, do you see how, listen, tuned in the man is to his wife? He's tuned in. He's dialed in. He is not like so many of us often fall into the rut of doing, which is, I see work, and then I come home, and I relax, then I get up again, and I see work, and I come home, and maybe at home I'm still thinking about it. I haven't got out of that mode, but I'm just thinking about my little world. I'm not thinking of the other people in my world. No, no, this man, he shifts gears when he comes home, and he focuses on the needs of his wife, the meticulous needs of his wife, and he speaks to those needs when he invites her to come away. into a different season. These things are important to her. These things appeal to her. What He is trying to do, beloved, is evoke love in a plethora of different ways. Now think about that. Husbands, how fresh is your love for your wife? How fresh is it? You may know her love language, and that's great. But even what her love language is, you can think of new and creative ways to speak that love language to her. You can surprise her. That is a beautiful thing. Some wives don't like to be surprised. Don't surprise her, okay? But think of fresh and creative ways. That's one thing I have to do as a minister is I don't just come up here and drone on. I have to think of new and creative ways to put the Word of God before you. Season it. Season your love for your wife. Think of what her needs are and serve her. Now different seasons of marriage call for meeting different needs and desires. I want you to think about the lifespan for a moment. Think of those early years of marriage. What are we most looking for in those early years of marriage? What we're looking for in those early years of marriage is the foundation of that commitment, right? Think about it for a second. What you're looking for whether you realize it or not is, is he going to be faithful? Is she going to be faithful? Is he going to love me more than his work? Is she going to love me more than her whatever? You're laying a foundation of faithfulness and that's why unfaithfulness early on in the marriage is so incredibly destructive. Because what it signals to the other spouse is this is a taste of things to come. This is something of an omen. It doesn't have to be like that. And thank God that we serve a God who can redeem things, who can restore the things that the locusts have eaten. That's the kind of God we serve. But those early years are absolutely crucial and critical for laying down what your wife and what your husband can expect for years and decades to come. But then comes that next season if the Lord is pleased to grant us children. We raise children and then things really change in that season, right? It could be overwhelming at times and there is the constant need for us to be reminded that we have each other's backs. That's important. because kids have a way of playing mom off of dad and dad off of mom. Moms don't feel like ladies oftentimes in this season. They've got baby food on their clothes and they've got stuff in their hair, it's unidentified, they don't even know what it is yet. And they have lunch with a friend and the friend thought, I just thought that you didn't care about how you look. No, it's not that I don't care about how I look. It's that I've got three, four kids and they all have needs and their hands are in my hair and I don't feel pretty. And so in that season, it is very important for the husband to make her feel pretty. By taking her out on a date, by buying her a new dress, by commenting on how beautiful she looks. Very critical in this time. But then that third season of raising teens, then things really change, right? It is an especially difficult time because kids tend to make stupid decisions in these phases. And I've seen it time and time again where those decisions will serve as a wedge between the mom and the dad. The dad who thinks we should do X and the mom who thinks that we should do non-X. And at that point you have to fight to keep that marriage together because the kids will drive you apart. But then comes the empty nest, the empty nest. Kids have moved out. This is actually a very challenging time. You want to know why? For 18 plus years, as many kids as you have, whether you want to admit it or not, Your kids have been your identity, right? Your kids have been your identity. I am a father to such and such. I'm a mother to such and such. I mean, certainly you primarily find your identity in Christ, but let's face it, so much of what you do, so much of what you sacrifice has been poured into those children, and guess what? When they're gone, guess what you have to do? You have to find yourself again. You have to find the romance with your husband and wife again if it has been neglected. The emptiness can be a very challenging time. And it's often in this season that couples find themselves estranged from one another. It's a very sad thing. They may live under the same roof, but emotionally and spiritually and even psychologically, they are miles apart. But then finally comes the twilight years, the years of retirement. What do people typically fight in this season, beloved? In those twilight years, many people struggle with anger and bitterness. Anger and bitterness over unfulfilled dreams. Anger and bitterness over relationships that did not work out. And one of the biggest things that we need in those seasons is a fresh reprisal, a fresh reminder of forgiveness and grace and mercy. But another challenge is what to do with the gobs of time that you have. One hint. Taking for yourself will not be as fulfilling as giving to something higher than yourself, like Christ and the church. I'll never forget that story, and if you're a rock collector, I'm not trying to offend you, but John Piper always told the, or maybe it was Shells, he told the famous story of the retired couple All they did is they just traveled around the U.S. and they collected shells. And that was their thing. That's what they lived for is for shells in their twilight years. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with collecting shells. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with traveling around the United States. That's not what I'm saying. But that was it. That was their identity. But they weren't giving, you see. They weren't giving to something or someone higher than themselves. Like in the church, can I just give a gentle exhortation to those of you who find yourself in these twilight years and you're trying to figure out, what do I do now? You know what? Whether you have made good decisions over the years or bad decisions over the years, by God's grace, hopefully from both of them you have learned wisdom. And guess what? Don't be stingy with your wisdom. Give it to people in the church. You come serve people in the church. That's why we have passages like Titus 2, older women serve the younger women, older men disciple the younger men. We've got to pass the torch to the next generation. And we cannot pass the torch to the next generation if we're all out collecting shells. We need to serve one another in the church. Most people at the end of their life, regret not spending as much time and being in the moment with their family. There was a study done. And of all the people that they interviewed and they asked, what are your regrets? Hardly anybody said, I wish I would have worked more. Nobody said that. You know what they all said? I wish I would have seen my wife right in front of my face. There used to be a commercial I used to watch when I was a kid, and it was a man who had lost his wife to lung cancer, and he was a smoker, and he would always rebuff her requests and rebuff her exhortations to stop smoking, you know, please stop, and he wouldn't listen, and he wouldn't listen, and then he was interviewed after she was gone, and he broke down crying. He said, my wife was my life, and I didn't see her for all those years. We don't regret spending time with family, we regret taking time away from family. So in all these seasons, the Lord calls us to be intentional. And husbands, that's my exhortation to you. And wives, that's my exhortation to you as well. We all have our part to play in being intentional and seeing what is right before us. Because once this moment is gone, beloved, it's gone. Okay? The past is gone, there's nothing we can do about it. The future is yet to be, but the present is here. And you know why they call it a present? Because it's a gift. It's for you. It's here. It's now. It's before you. Take advantage of it. Take advantage of it. But now, beloved, let's consider these words and look at the love between Christ and the church. Christ calls us to this this morning. He is the greater Solomon. He is the greater Solomon and He bids us as the church to come away with Him. Listen to the voice of Christ in the preaching of the Word of God. He's calling you as His church to come away with Him. What season are you in this morning? Whatever season you're in, I can tell you this with absolute confidence, God's intention is that you see what He's trying to do in that season. He's trying to tell you something. He's trying to give you steadfastness. He's trying to develop patience. He's trying to speak to you. And the question is, are you listening? Are you listening to what He's saying? Sometimes when He speaks to you, beloved, He speaks to you in the mouths of people in hard conversations. Are you listening? Or are you gonna be like that man who didn't listen, didn't listen, and then he loses his wife, and now he regrets it, and now it's too late. God comes to us in the now time. If you, on the other hand, are in a place of weakness and desperate need, you're in a season that calls out and cries out for the kindness and compassion of the Lord, the Lord will come to you with the tenderness of a gentle shepherd. There is no one more gentle than our Lord. What does he say? A bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench. He will faithfully bring forth justice. Listen, the Lord is tender with you, beloved. I've seen people in their eyes when I've called them to repent and they don't want to do it because they somehow, in some way, maybe it's because of their perception of their earthly Father who was a monster, they project that upon the heavenly Father and they say, if I confess, He will condemn me. No, no. That's not what the gospel is. The gospel is there is now no condemnation for those who are in Jesus Christ. And when we come to Him, He comes to us as a tender Father. He will not bruise you as a reed. If you were just barely hanging on, He's going to prop you up. If you were just that faintly glowing ember, you know what He's going to do? He's not just going to put some sand on it and just wipe it out. He's going to get down in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ, and He's going to gently blow upon it. He's going to give you His Spirit. That's what He does. On the other hand, you may not be dealing with a guilty conscience as much as you should be. You might be feigning repentance. You know what that means? You might be faking repentance. You might be giving words of repentance. You might be saying, yeah, I know I need to do this. I know I need to do that. The most common thing I hear out of my own sinful mouth, my own sinful heart, and those with whom I work in the counseling office is this, Josh, I know that. I know that. I know that. Listen, I'm not here to put knowledge in you as if you're some knowledge receptacle. You are made in the image of God, and you were recreated when you believed in Jesus Christ to the new image of the new man. And what Jesus told those people is, if you know these things, what? Blessed are you if you do them. Stop telling me, and stop telling God, and stop telling the Spirit, I know, I know. What, are you a Gnostic? You just think that salvation's about acquiring knowledge? No, beloved, that's not what it's about. It's about doing something with the knowledge that you have. What are you doing with the knowledge that you have? The Lord will be faithful to come to you. and discipline you. He says this in Hebrews 12, 5 and 6, listen, my son, my son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves and chastises every son whom he receives. Verse 11 through 13, for the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant. Can I just stop right there? Because so often what we think is, well, I need to be more disciplined. I need to be more sanctified. And then God puts you in the oven and you're like, no, I didn't sign up for this! Take me out! What did you expect? What did you expect? Sanctification's hard. It's hard, and in the moment, as the author says, all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been, that's a perfect past tense, have been trained by it. Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees and make straight paths for your feet so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed. But also, just as the husband tries to stay fresh and new in his love and care for his wife, so Christ's steadfast love, Christ's mercies, Christ's faithfulness, Christ's chesed, his loving kindness, his faithful, loving kindness is new every single morning. God doesn't give you stale grace. God doesn't give you stale mercy. If there's anything stale in that relationship, it's our hearts. If there's anything cold in that transaction, it's our hearts and our minds and our souls. God is not the one who is cold. God comes with the fire of His Word. God comes with the fire of His Spirit and He grants repentance to those who are seeking it. Are you seeking it this morning? This is what Jeremiah says, this I call to mind and therefore I have hope. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness. Now listen to me. If in the midst of God trying to speak to you and train you and sanctify you and even discipline you. The steadfast love of the Lord is not appealing to you if it doesn't give you the necessary motivation you need to walk away from that sin. To turn your back on it and actually really repent. If the message of the gospel that God sent His Son to be slaughtered for your sins, the sins of His elect, and that Christ came and lived a perfect life to transfer it to your account, if that does, listen, if it does nothing for you, beloved, you are in a dangerous place. You're in a dangerous place. I've seen it. I've seen it. I've stared into the eyes of some of my counselees, some of my people, not just here but in other places, and I'm giving them a gospel with everything I got. They've got a wound and I'm putting upon it the balm of Gilead. They have a hole and I'm filling it with the love of Christ. I'm telling them about what Jesus has done and it's not good enough for them. I look in their eyes and it's empty. And I see their ears and it's almost as if I could just see white noise filtering into their ears. They're not hearing anything. They're not seeing anything. Let me tell you something, beloved. If that's you, I want you to know that that is a description of an unregenerate person. It is not the description of a Christian. It is not the description of a Christian. And if you are not listening to the Lord, if the scales are not falling off, if you're not getting tender in your heart and on your knees before the Lord, it may be It may be that you're not who you think you are. What do we need in that moment? We need what David asked for. Restore under me the what? The joy of my salvation. The joy of my salvation. Are you lacking joy this morning? Have you been lacking joy for a long time? Maybe it's because you're not listening to the gospel how you should be listening to the gospel. Because let me tell you something friends, if the gospel can't give you joy, nothing in this world can. Nothing. all the drugs, all the alcohol, all the women, all the money, all the fame, all the power, nothing will give you what God and Jesus Christ has given you on the cross. Nothing can draw you to Him like what Jesus has done on the cross. And so what we need is to say with David, restore unto me the joy of my salvation and renew a right spirit within me. But I want you to notice in the text, how does the greater Solomon address the church? Arise, my wretched worm. No, he doesn't say that. What does he say? Arise, my love, my beautiful one. How is it, how is it that Jesus sees you as beautiful? Well, I'll tell you how it's not. It's not because you are in reality beautiful. Forgive me if that offends you. But it's because what He has done is altogether lovely. He came into the world, He stooped to conquer, being sent by the Father. In the fullness of time, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who are under the law. so that that death on the cross covered the sins of His people and simultaneously, not in a two-step process, simultaneously transferred to our account His righteousness. And that's why when the Father sees us, when the Son sees us, when the Spirit sees us, they can say in univocal voice, arise my love, my beautiful one. God sees you as lovely in the beloved. In the Beloved, in Jesus Christ, He sees you as beloved. He does not see you as His enemy. And so it is this voice of this Savior, this Shepherd, this greater Solomon who says, come away with me. Come away to your lover. Though you were an unlovable enemy, Christ loved you even so and is not that an amazing love? But we can also see in this invitation when he says come away, he's not just saying come away from your sin, he's not just saying come away from the season of sin, he's not just saying come away from that season of trial. We can also hear in the voice of the beloved him calling us to come away from the now time and go to the eschaton. He's calling us away from this world and he's saying dear child of God, this world is not all there is. This is my Father's world. And when I come back, Jesus says, I will make it His. And for the glory and renown of His name, every creature under heaven that has breath will give glory to the Lord. And the glory of the Lord will fill the earth as the oceans cover the sea. That's what he's saying. He's saying, come away. Come away from this world. Come away from the flesh. Come away from the devil. Come away from your addiction. Come away from your slothfulness. Come away from your slavery and your fear and your doubt. Come away, beloved, and come to all the riches and all the privileges and all the benefits that are reserved in heaven for you. Now when he gets back, he's gonna give us those, but until then, those privileges and those benefits and those wonderful gifts are meant to now be a motivation for me to come away from my sin and for you to come away from your sin because Jesus has something better. Do you believe that? So go to Jesus. Beloved, listen, let go of the past. Let go of the past. I know that many of you, you've told me your stories. Say that this relationship, this whatever, it's like locusts that have eaten away years of my life and they're gone, they're gone. But our God is a God of redemption. And our God can restore to us the years that have been eaten by the locusts. Our God can restore to us things that we never thought we would ever get back. Do you think Job ever thought he would get back what he got back? But he did because though the Lord takes away, he also gives. Blessed be the name of the Lord. So this morning, go to Jesus. Let go of the past. Let the cleansing blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ clear the obstacles before you and go to him. Listen to his voice as I close this morning. Listen to the voice of Jesus, the most tender man that walked the face of the earth. What does he say? He says, come to me all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. How do you get that? You turn from your sins. I'm not just talking to unbelievers, I'm talking to believers too. You turn from your sins and you come afresh to the foot of cross once again. and you lay it all down and you let it all go and you rip it all up and you give it all to Jesus in faith. May God give us the grace to do that this morning, let's pray. Jesus Christ, you have spoken from Zion this morning through the ministry of your word. And I pray by the mercies of the triune God that that voice was heard, that the triumph of the new heavens and the new earth was perceived, and that the free offer of the gospel was received, not just by non-Christians, but Christians alike, and that you would give us a fresh, invigorating love for the Savior this morning, we pray in Christ's name, amen. I'm gonna stand for the doxology. Praise God from whom.