In the last chapter we saw the Lord’s appraisal of the seeking one in the first three chapters of the Song of Songs.
It is not so easy to understand the Bible. In the last chapter we had a group of words which belong to the same family; I would call it a family of description. The Lord used at least eight figures to describe His seeking one. The Lord’s description of His seeker with different figures illustrated the state the seeker had attained at that time. Therefore, if we consider all eight figures together and compare them with one another, we will see their meaning. They indicate the growth in life and the transformation of life.
First of all, the Lord Jesus used the figure of a horse. Next He spoke of the doves’ eyes. She was not a dove yet, but she had the eyes of a dove. After the doves’ eyes there was the lily. The dove as a complete entity followed the lily. Following the dove were the pillars of smoke, the couch, and the palanquin. Finally, there was the crown. If we pray over these eight figures, I believe the Holy Spirit will show us something so meaningful. My burden is not to expound the Song of Songs, but that we all may know the way to take the Lord’s life. So many Christians talk about Christ as life, but very few know how to experience Him as life.
The way to enjoy and experience Christ as life is found in the Song of Songs. The term “life” is not used in this book, but there is the way to enjoy Christ as life. The way to enjoy Christ as life is simply to love Him as a wonderful Person. The Gospel of John is not a book of doctrines, gifts, or power; it is a presentation of a wonderful Person. The Song of Songs is exactly the same. There are not any doctrines in this book or any doctrinal terms. There are no manifestations of gifts or power. These eight chapters reveal to us a lovable Person. He is altogether lovely! And this Person is not only our life, but also our living. In the Song of Songs, this lovely One is just the life and the living of His seeker. The seeking one takes this lovely One as her life within and her living without by loving Him. Oh, we must love such a wonderful Person! Then we will take Him as our life and as our living. He will become our talk, our walk, our attitude, our expression, our everything! He will become not only our life within, but also our living without. “For to me to live is Christ” (Phil. 1:21). This is the Song of Songs.
This book not only presents a picture of this wonderful, loving Person, but it also gives a clear picture of the seeking one who loves Him so much. This is why there is a continual change in her growth in life. We cannot help growing in life and having the transformation of life if we really love the Lord Jesus. If you say that you love the Lord Jesus, yet year after year you remain the same, I do not believe you. If a person really loves the Lord, there will be a continual growth and change in life. It is not by teaching, instruction, correction, or adjustment. I do not have confidence in these things. They can only adjust a little in an outward way, just as the morticians do who work on a corpse. They make some changes, but they are all outward; not one bit comes out of life. There is no growth, no transformation, no improvement, no change, and no living progress.
Consider the seeking one in the Song of Songs. All the time she is growing, changing, and being transformed. What a transformation-from a horse to a dove! From a dove to pillars of smoke! From the pillars of smoke to the couch! From the couch to a palanquin! And from the palanquin to a crown! In all of these figures we can see the growth in life of such a seeking one. It is not by teaching, and it is not by gifts. We must realize that no transformation of life can come out of any gifts. In John 2 many people saw the miracles done by the Lord and believed in Him. Yet, the Lord would not commit Himself to the miracle appraisers. We should not be miracle appraisers, but Person appraisers-those who love and seek after the Lord Himself. Then there will be the growth in life and the transformation of life.
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