THE ALTOGETHER LOVELY CHRIST
by
Dr. Charles L. Feinberg
O NE OF the MOST misunderstood and yet most beautiful portions of the Word of God is the Song of Solomon. There is in it an abundance of Oriental imagery. The natural man sees very little in this portion, while the spiritually perceptive men and women of all ages have delighted in its profound message. Taken literal ly, we have described the beauty of wedded love. From a dispensational viewpoint, we can see the relation ship between the Lord and His people Israel. From the standpoint of re demption, we can find the unbreak able bond between Christ and the Church. There is also pictured the wonderful communion between an in dividual soul and the Lord Himself. One of the most precious sections is Cant. 5:9-16. The demand is stat ed first, “What is thy beloved more than another beloved, 0 thou fairest among women?” The Shulam ite bride is seeking her beloved because He had departed when she was in different to His pleadings. No longer interested in her personal ease and comfort, she asks the daughters of Jerusalem to help in the search. They in turn want to know why He is more outstanding than someone else. This reminds us of how many would simp ly accord Christ a place along with other teachers and leaders of the world. They cannot tolerate the claims made for Him by His own. Those who have never tasted salva tion have been asking these questions through the years. A Hindu of high rank was trou bled in his conscience about the fu ture after death. He’d heard how Christians believe and wanted to con verse with them about who Christ
was. He visited England, where he met with people of outstanding social position. On one of his first days he was invited to a great dinner. Turn ing to the person next to him, he inquired, “Can you tell me something about Christ, the founder of your religion?” His new acquaintance cau tioned him, “We do not speak of such things at dinner parties!” Later he was invited to a large ball. Dancing with a young and fashionable wom an, he again asked, “Can you tell me something about Jesus Christ?” She turned the question aside, for it was not proper in a place like that. He re turned to his homeland disillusioned for no one seemed interested in tell ing him more of the Saviour. If we claim Christ as our Beloved, the world is asking of us, “What is He more than another beloved?” Can you answer that query from your own personal experience? We find next a very descriptive passage. The bride gladly embraces the opportunity to speak about the excellencies of her Beloved (w. 10- 16). As believers, we can see the perfections of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is His holiness which is sym bolized by the whiteness. Who could compare with Him? Here is one of the loveliest paintings of the Re deemer. The head like fine gold in dicates Christ’s divine glory. All He thought and purposed were ultimate ly for the glory of God. In the black locks we see the strength of man hood. His eyes express the love and the sorrow of the Man who was ac quainted with grief. The cheeks like unto a bed of spices denote the fra grance of His character. His lips were like lilies dropped in liquid
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