Myrrh and frankincense in the life of the Lord Jesus

Rook of Song of Solomon, please, chapter 4, verse 6. Song of Solomon, chapter 4, verse 6. Until the daybreak and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of Mer and to the hill of Frankincense. It's lovely to hear our brethren. Delighted my heart with respect to the Lord Jesus Christ.

I would, in worship this morning, one of the brethren mentioned John chapter 12, when Mary put that ointment on the feet of the Lord Jesus, and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment. I was suggesting the other day, and when you come to Leviticus chapter 16, when Moses came, or the Aaron, sorry, came into the holiest of all, and he had the incense, and he had the censer with coals, and he put the incense on the coals, and the holiest of all, the incense filled the house of God that he couldn't see the ark or the mercy seat. There was a fragrance in that whole tabernacle that all spoke of Christ.

As you came in, there was a frankincense on the table of showbread. There was the olive oil burning in the lampstand, and on the golden altar there was the incense, and the fragrance of the incense that was placed there morning and evening. And I want to continue a little with what our brother Murray said from this lovely verse in Songs chapter 4 verse 6. This is the bride speaking.

In verse 5, it's probably the bridegroom. In verse 7, it's the bridegroom. But in verse 6, and Mr. Newbery helps me here, so I believe this is the bride, and I'm very happy with it.

Until the daybreak. When does the day break? Is that Revelation 21, when we come to the bright and morning star? And the shadows flee away. Is that Malachi chapter 4, when the son of righteousness shall rise with healing in his wings? To my mind, what I enjoy is this.

Until that day when the Lord shall come, and he'll take me to be with himself. But further, until that day when he brings me with himself to the scene to establish his kingdom, I want to be occupied with him. I trust we're occupied with him.

I've said before, say it many times. If I'm occupied with him, I won't be occupied with you, and I'll always be at peace with you. Yeah, I've been at trouble with brethren, because I get occupied with myself, and with them, and not with Christ.

But she says, I'm going to be occupied with the mountain of Myrrh, and the hill of frankincense. One of her brethren reminded us this morning, and her brother Murray took us to it in Exodus chapter 30. Now, in Exodus chapter 30, and listen, by the way, young believer, don't be afraid of these Old Testament books.

Don't be afraid of tabernacle teaching. You maybe say, I don't understand it. Well, get there and understand it.

You have to read it. You can't go along and just listen to the little that the brethren tell you. Pick up your Bible.

There it is. It's full of it. It's full of the Christ of God.

We talked yesterday about the Lord in the Old Testament, and there we have two items that are made in Exodus chapter 30. We have the ointment that we were reminded of, and the ointment doesn't have frankincense, but it has myrrh. Now, it's interesting.

When you come to that which is offered and placed, it's actually placed as an ointment, there is 500 shekels of myrrh and 1,000 shekels of the other materials, of the other ointments. When you come to the incense further down the chapter, you will find they are all of a like weight. They're all of a like weight.

But added to the first three, there is frankincense. There is no frankincense in the ointment, but there is frankincense in the incense. Now, let's go back to the ointment.

Let's go back to what we have here. In the life of the Lord Jesus, there was frankincense and there was myrrh. Remember in Matthew chapter 2, those wise men came, and I think about verse 10.

When they saw the star, they were filled with joy. And in verse 11, they come in and worship him, and they offer him gold and frankincense and myrrh. Gold would speak of his deity.

The frankincense would speak of that sweetness that is seen in the life of the Lord Jesus, and the myrrh would speak of that sorrow and that bitterness that he would experience. As we contemplate and meditate on the life of the Lord Jesus, the psalmist says, my meditation of him shall be sweet. And even though we look at the bitternesses in the life of the Lord, or we look at the joys, we find there's a sweetness in our contemplation and our meditation of him.

I was thinking of some things that would bring a sorrow to the Lord Jesus. There are no doubt the disciples many times with their doubtings, with their misunderstandings. I was thinking of him in John chapter 11.

He's come to Bethany. He's not yet at the grave. He's standing in the way.

He's not coming to the village. He's standing outside. And they come to him.

And he's told you, you've been here, Lord. Lazarus wouldn't be dead. He wouldn't be in the grave.

And they're standing around there in unbelief. The Bible says Jesus wept. The Bible tells me that he groaned within himself and he troubled.

He was troubled. Now that word troubled is the verse our brother read in John chapter 14. Let not your hearts be troubled.

Let them not be agitated. And the Lord agitated himself. Why? Well, I'm not going to take away that he was weeping.

By the way, the word weeping there, as you understand, is shedding tears. It was in sympathy with those who were sorrowing, although he knew the joy they would have in a moment when they went to the grave and Lazarus was risen. But their hearts were full of unbelief.

They didn't believe in him, even those who loved him. I was thinking of the garden this morning. The Lord Jesus comes into the garden.

Mark tells us that he began to be so amazed and very heavy as the sorrow in his life. Now is my soul exceeding sorrowful, even unto death. Luke tells us that being in an agony, he prayed again more earnestly, child of God, there's a depth of agony in the garden our souls could never enter into.

The psalmist says, deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy water spouts, all thy waves and billows have gone over me. Oh, the mirror. And we had time we could go over other instances in the life of the Lord Jesus.

There he is in the garden. Do you know what the Bible says? You know, I like to give Peter a rough time. They all forsook him and fled.

They all forsook him and fled. There he is in Anna's house. Remember, only John takes us into Anna's house.

Peter says, I don't know the man. Then there was a cock crowing. There's different times we're told about the cock crowing.

I'm not getting into that. The Bible says that Jesus turned and looked on Peter. Can you see the picture? The Lord is on a raised day, as I understand.

His back would be to the courtyard. Peter was down there by the door at the fire. But the Lord heard him and he turns and he looks on him.

You know, there's different words for Luke. You've got the third of the rich young ruler. Jesus, looking on him, loved him.

That's now I'm looking at you. He looked intently. He singled him out.

His eye entered into his very soul. That's how he looked at Peter. He singled him out from among the crowd around the fire.

Peter knew it was him. But oh, the mirror in the life of the Lord Jesus. But there was frankincense.

Listen to what the Hebrew writer tells us. Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame. Think of the home at Bethany where Jesus loved to go and he found fellowship.

He found sweetness. He found company. He found those who were of a like mind.

Think of the years that he moved across Palestine with his disciples. And as he would sit with them and go into the Old Testament scriptures and he would show them from Genesis through the Psalms and through the prophets, the things concerning himself and the delight that would be in his heart as he would teach them those things. And with joy, he could tell the disciples that when the spirit of God was come, he would bring to the remembrance all those things that they had taught them.

Do you ever wonder how John could write chapters 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17, the details? Because he was at least 40 years old, older than he was when he heard the Lord tell them. The spirit of God brought them to his remembrance. And in the life of the Lord Jesus, there is a sweetness in association with his own.

Can I tell you something? There was a sweetness in the heart of the Lord Jesus this morning. All over this world at different hours as the people of God gathered to remember the Lord Jesus, to tell his father of all his glory, to remember his death, to remember the cross and to look forward with anticipation for that day when the Lord himself shall come. We're looking for that.

I gave myself a 10-year plan, but I have to update it every week or it will be out of date. You know, I'm probably silly. It doesn't matter.

I've got an objective. And if you never have an objective, you won't go anyplace. There was a dear brother in England and as he read his Bible, he would look for two things.

He would look for something to correct in his life. Wouldn't have to go too far for me anyway. And he looked for something, watch the word now, fresh about the Lord Jesus.

Something fresh about the Lord Jesus. And before he went to bed, he would draw the drapes, the curtains we call them. As he drew them, he would say this, it might be tonight.

He's coming. Yeah, mom and dad are gone. Sister and brother are gone.

You know this, in the words of another, I have Christ, but one time or until the day break and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of Mer and to the hill of frankincense.