“The Holy Ghost is pleased here,” that is, in the book of the Song of Solomon, “to condescend to our infirmities; and, that we might help ourselves in our spiritual estate by our bodies, he speaketh here of heavenly things after an earthly manner, and with a comfortable mystery. As in other places the Holy Ghost sets out the joys of heaven by a sweet banquet, so here he sets out the union that we have with Christ by the union of the husband with his wife; and that we might the better understand what this union is, he condescends to our weakness, that we might see that in a glass which we through our corruptions cannot otherwise discern.
“Are ye so foolish,” asked Paul of the Galatians, “having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect in the flesh?” (Gal. 3:3) Because of our legal bias, we are prone to strive after perfection according to the tenor of the covenant of works, which is nothing but a striving in the flesh. This causes many to be discouraged, and thereby Satan tempts them to give up seeking after holiness at all. However, the way of being sanctified and thus enabled to perform the duties of the law is revealed only in the gospel. Hence, practical godliness is a “gospel mystery” (1 Tim. 3:16). Contrary to fleshly expectations, the reason that sin will not have dominion over the Christian is because he is not under law (namely, not under it as a covenant), but under grace (Rom. 6:14).
The book of Proverbs brings men out in their blacks and whites. It shows the difference between light and darkness, between Christ and Belial. Our text, in few words, sets forth the portrait of two men, and contrasts them with the word “but.” It tells us of the man of understanding, and the fool. The former fixes his attention on something near, the other on things far off. The former fixes his attention on something excellent, the other on anything at all, or, rather, on nothing at all.
“I have always thought that good books (being silent teachers of goodness) are the best part of a man’s furniture in his house, and the choicest goods of a commonwealth,” wrote Andrew Gray. While the term “furniture” may have narrowed in its meaning since those words were written in the 17th century, they remain true, and Gray’s book, A Door Opening Into Everlasting Life, is an excellent piece of furniture for any home.
John Flavel was well-acquainted with the things that most men fear. His first wife died in childbirth, along with their child. He was ejected from his pulpit in Dartmouth, England, in 1662 by the Act of Uniformity. Over the following decade he ministered secretly to his parishioners, under danger of arrest, in the woods and at Salstone Rock, an island in the Salcombe Estuary that is submerged at high tide, where the people would “linger in devout assembly till the rising tide drove them to their boats.”
“Read Durham on the 53rd of Isaiah at my request,” said John Duncan. “He has much repetition and you may be disgusted with that. But it’s repetition of a very fine thing—the eating of Christ’s flesh and drinking of his blood. Well, that’s what we must be repeating, in fact, all our life long.” Those who desire to take “Rabbi” Duncan’s advice can now avail themselves of a meticulously-edited new edition of these sermons.
Before the Lord himself spoke to afflicted Job from the tempest, declaring his own righteousness and majesty, he sent a messenger to prepare the way for himself. This messenger was Elihu, and what he said stood fast. Elihu invited a reply from Job (Job 33:5), but none ever came. Importantly, the Lord had nothing to say by way of rebuking Elihu, as he did with Eliphaz and his two friends (Job 42:7). Rather, Elihu anticipated what the Lord himself was about to say, as may be seen by comparing chapters 37 and 38. Elihu then was a reliable witness who showed sound speech that cannot be condemned (Titus 2:7).
The sixteenth Psalm is a strong ally to a freely-offered gospel for the vilest sinner, and for that reason it should be precious to us. But are there any other riches in the Psalm? Indeed, there are. The Psalm records not only the historical fact of Christ’s resurrection, but it also records the exercise of our Lord’s soul leading up to his suffering and death. In the Psalm, the Lord Jesus speaks in the first person: “I have set the Lord always before me … thou shalt not leave my soul in hell.” Through David, the Spirit beforehand gave words that Christ in the days of his flesh would take upon his own lips as the sincere expression of the exercise of his soul. The sixteenth Psalm shows us how the Father wonderfully supported, upheld, and communed with Christ, as that true man undertook the work of our redemption.
