The Beauties of Christ 04 His Legs and Mouth

Shall we turn to the final reading in first, in the fifth chapter of Solomon, the Song of Solomon, beginning to read at verse nine and through the end of the chapter, for our final study upon the beauty of the Beloved. Reading at verse nine we shall reprove. What is thy Beloved more than another Beloved? O thou fairest among women.

What is thy Beloved more than another Beloved that thou dost so charge on? My Beloved is white and ruddy, the cheapest among ten thousand. His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy and black as a raven, his eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of water, washed with milk and thickly set, his cheeks are as a bed of spices and sweet flowers, his lips like lilies dropping sweet-smelling myrrh, his hands are as gold rings set with a bow, his belly or body is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphire, his legs are as pillars of marble set upon sockets of fine gold, his countenance is as Lebanon excellent as the cedars, his mouth is most sweet, yea he is altogether lovely, this is my Beloved and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem. May God bless the reading and hearing of his words, may the Holy Spirit continue to minister to our hearts the loveliness of Christ.

May I repeat what we stated at the commencement of these studies? We thank God that it is true that the work of Christ, his redemptive work upon the cross, is the perfect resting place for the conscience. We thank God that the precious word, the word of Christ, the Bible, is the perfect guide for our path. But we rejoint above what we could put in human language, that the person of Christ, his blessed person, is the perfect object for the heart.

And Beloved, you and I as believers in the Lord Jesus, and much can we do acknowledge, there is no greater and more perfect object for our heart's affection, for our heart's contemplation, and for our heart's devotion, than the person of the Lord Jesus. The description that is given in this portion, though it be symbolical language, has brought before us some of the excellent glories, both in his deities and in his humanity of our Lord Jesus. Today we conclude our study by taking the last two verses, and we find that the fifteenth verse, that the Spirit of God brings the description that his legs are as pillars of marble.

Under the robe that her Beloved wore, she recognized and described the legs of her Beloved as being pillars of marble. The symbol of his legs can be a twofold one. They symbolize his strength, and they also symbolize his steadfastness.

For thank God, the Beloved, by this symbol, presents to us the strength of his legs, as well as the steadfastness of those legs pertaining to his character. Let's meditate upon the strength that they suggest. There is a verse written in the 147th Psalm that tells us that the legs of a man, the Lord taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man.

For all of us are aware of this fact. Humanly speaking, the day comes, as the ecclesiastical writer in the book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 12, Solomon, wrote, someday we feel these legs bending, giving way under the burdens of life. But this is not so of the Lord Jesus.

The legs of the Lord Jesus gave no indication of bending and giving way under the burdens that were his. And may I point out that one of the indications of those untailing legs of strength is revealed to us when he was upon the cross. You remember, they came to break the legs of those who were hanging upon the cross, to hasten their death.

But when they came to the body of the Lord Jesus, they perceived that he was already dead, and they break not his legs. The Lord's legs, a type of his unfailing strength, were not permitted to be broken on the cross as the others were. For the Father would grant some emblem of his eternal and everlasting strength by not permitting, even in the midst of his weakness and of his death, those blessed legs to be broken.

And as John writes in the nineteenth of his gospel, these things were done that the scripture might be fulfilled. A bone of him shall not be broken, and even in his weakness and in the hour of his great death, the Father would not permit the symbol of his everlasting strength to be impaired. But may I point out to you, our redemption rests upon those pillars of marble, your redemption and mine.

For upon him the weight of all of his people's sins was placed when he was hanging upon that tree. The sins of his people, from the beginning to the end of human history, were all placed upon him, and could those legs support the weight of sins that were put upon him? We thank God they did. His legs are as pillars of marble.

But if may I point out another truth. Not only is our redemption upon him resting, and those legs are pillars of marble to support that work, but also the maintenance of his church rests wholly upon him. You know, it needs strong legs to bear a heavy burden, and when the burden may be too heavy, the legs crumble.

And humanly speaking, this is so true of us all. But when we see the maintenance of his church, and beloved may I say, when you try to take the burden of the church upon yourself, you really get crushed down. But Jesus said, as he spoke to Peter, upon his confession, thou art the Christ.

Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah, in Matthew 16. Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah, for faith thou art Peter, and upon this rock himself I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And thank God the maintenance of his church rests upon the pillars of marble.

And I want to confess, when I try to hold the church up, I get pretty low, but thank God the maintenance of his church rests wholly upon those pillars of marble himself. Then may I point out, and this is remarkable, the burdens of all of his followers are placed upon him. As we may have mentioned in preceding messages, casting all your care upon him, for he cares for you.

Cast thy burden upon the Lord, it's Psalm 55, 22 says, cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee. My beloved, I wonder, I know we could not, but I wonder how many believers have brought their burdens, and they have placed them upon him, and his legs never gave way. He is able and has proved his ability to support the burdens of all his followers.

Century after century, year after year, they have come to him with their burdens, and beloved, he has been unfailing. Blessed be his name. Thousands and thousands of saints have brought their burdens and cast them upon him, and he has sustained them by his mighty power, for his legs are pillars of marble.

Thank God for the symbol of his eternal strength. Underneath thee are the everlasting arms, and thank God there is the strength of an everlasting person whose legs are pillars of marble to sustain the weight of his own people. But then those legs speak of steadfastness, and may I point out to you, as the writer of the Wiseman says, the legs of the lame are unequal.

And when you look at the human legs of the human family, they are unequal, they are not steadfast. Sometimes they're halting, sometimes they're limping, sometimes they are broken. But when you see the pillar of strength in those marble legs, they're steadfastness indicated.

For they're upright, they are immovable. Now let me remind you that Satan tried to move those legs, as when we think of the temptation in the wilderness. As the Lord Jesus came out of the wilderness at the end of those forty days, weary, hungry, worn, weak, the devil knew what he needed.

He said, If thou be the Son of God, command these stones to be made bread. And in the weakness of his condition, though weary and faint, those legs would not bend before the adversary, as he answered, and went on his way faithfully. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

What Satan desired was to make those legs bow and bend before him in obeisance. He takes them to the pillar of the temple, to the pinnacle of the temple, and from that pinnacle he commands him, Cast thyself down, for it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee. And on that difficult place, a pinnacle of a temple, he is requested to bow to the request of the adversary.

But whether it be a pinnacle, or whether it be a solid ground, those legs refuse to bow to the adversary, as he answers, Thou shalt not cast the Lord thy God. And then, for a final desperate effort, Satan takes them to a high mountain, and he shows to him in a moment of time the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them. He gives the Lord Jesus a view of all the power and glory of the earthly kingdoms that were under his authority in this scene.

But may I remind you that it is a lovely fact to realize, he'd only took the devil a moment to show all that he had, but it's going to take eternity for the Lord Jesus to show us all that he has. But when he showed him the kingdoms of the world, and said, All these will I give thee, if thou wilt bow down and worship me. And beloved, those legs never bowed.

As he said, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. And my beloved, the devil tested those legs. But do you know what he had to say? They're pillars of marble.

They are pillars of marble. He would not bow to Satan. And yet every one of us, and every other human being is bound.

The legs of every other human being have bent in obeisance to Satan's desires, sometime and another. But may I also state, those legs are still pillars of marble. For yonder in the heavens, Satan still proves that they are pillars of marble.

For when at the throne of God, the accuser of the brethren, thus accuses the saints upon the earth, there is a living intercessor, great I preach, and advocate, those legs still stand in faithful ministry, pleading and advocating for his own, to maintain their relationship, and to present them in his person and way, always acceptable before the Father. And Satan, though he's the accuser of the brethren, finds this one who stands immovable, for his legs are pillars of marble, in the presence of God. And you know one of the glorious facts that lies before us is the precious truth that someday, and perhaps soon, as the Prophet Zechariah writes, his feet shall touch the Mount of Olives, and back to the earth, the blessed person of our Lord Jesus, and his feet and legs will stand upon the Mount of Olives at his return.

And the kingdoms of this world will be then ruled by our beloved Saviour, as he shall stand in that day, the conqueror of the nations, and King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. What a day! I was tremendously impressed, and perhaps some of you have been too, at the close of that war between Israel and the Arabs in 1967, those six days of war. I was tremendously impressed, and seeing upon the newscast one day, the visual link of the burial of many of those Israelite soldiers.

When they had conquered the Mount of Olives, they carried many of those soldiers, and buried those bodies on the Mount of Olives. And to witness that sight, that they had the possession of that scene which they had never known for centuries. But my thoughts went immediately, as I viewed in the picture that mount, and the ritual of the great services being carried on, the railing, as well as the attending armies that were there present at the scene.

It was a tremendous thing, thrill one's soul, to realize God's earthly people were in the mount. But I could not help but think, that's the mount my Saviour's coming back, and his feet will touch that mount in the day of his return to the earth, and he will set up his eternal kingdom, and manifest his glory. You know beloved, look, the world needs a man with legs of love.

You cannot put the government of the world on a human being. He can't take it. He could never administrate it.

He cannot glorify God, nor bless man. But thank God for the strength and the steadfastness of the one who's coming. This is my beloved.

This is my friend, she writes. But don't, those legs, if you may note carefully, they are set upon sockets. The feet are feet of fine gold.

From head to the bottom, she says, is fine gold. For his head was of gold, and his feet are of gold, and the golden sandals, they are the sockets for the marble pillars. And she declares, as far as she is concerned, the bride declares, my beloved is gold from head to bottom, and surely he is.

The joy of knowing the value of Christ, he is gold, the most fine gold from head to bottom, and even his blessed feet are thus symbolizing the bride's estimation as being sockets of fine gold. Oh my beloved, let's just meditate for a brief moment or two on the preciousness of those feet. Let me give you this thought, and I think it symbolizes the preciousness of the feet of Jesus to the heart of his bride.

In Luke chapter 7, you remember in the house of Simon the Pharisee, there came a woman, and she washed his feet with her tears. This was the preciousness of the feet of Jesus to her heart. Those blessed feet had come to where she was, and met her deep soul's need, in that which was the solemn and serious need of her simple condition.

And the preciousness of those feet, to her, demanded the washing of them with her own tears. And also, she wiped those feet with the hair of her head. So precious, not even a towel was proper in her estimation, the very hairs of her head she would use to wipe those feet as she washed them with her tears.

She did more than that. She covered those feet with kisses, with adoration, with love, and with the emotion of an appreciated soul that is undervalue of what Christ was for her sole eternity. She did that of which we read no other has done.

She ardently, fervently kissed those feet. Judas betrayed him on the cheek with a kiss, but the bride says, this one is worthy even to kiss his feet. And we think of Mary of Bethany pouring the alabaster box, a precious spikenard, in John 12, and pouring it upon his feet, and the whole house was filled with the odor of the ointment.

Her beloved, great and glorious as he is, the true estimate of a spiritual heart to worship and ardently adore and tell their appreciation of him, is to pour oneself and prostrate oneself. Revelation chapter five. You remember that in that scene, in the midst of the throne, in the midst of the living creatures, in the midst of the elders, there stood a lamb as it had been freshly slain, and John says, as he turned to look, he beheld and he saw that whole congregation of saints, as well as living creatures, they fell down before the lamb to sing their praises of his worthiness.

And beloved, your place and mine belongs at his feet to pour out our ardent adoration and affection for himself. Blessed feet. There's been power and authority in those feet.

On the human side, how precious they are to have brought us the message of Islam, and the love of his father God. On the divine side, those feet with authority, they walk the waves of the Sea of Galilee, as we know. And the deity of the Son of God was acknowledged by the waters of the sea.

Thank God. In Revelation chapter one, you read the glory of his coming person, when as the judicial judge and priestly judge of all the earth, he is described in Revelation one, and his feet are as the burning of brass in a fire. For they are feet that will be inflexible in their judgment when he comes to the earth.

Do you ever notice the psalmist I think in the 18th Psalm says, he will crush his enemies under his feet? But oh beloved, in that coming day of his return, unbending, inflexible, he will crush the enemies under his feet in the day of his judgment. Beloved, you know my heart aches sometimes, when I begin to realize what the world is facing, when and the many around him rebellious against the person of Christ, the God of glory, and the Word of God. The day of judgment is bringing the return of our Lord, and his feet will touch the earth, and with inflexible, unbending judgment, his enemies will be destroyed by him, and not one will be left.

But you know, hell combined with earth to put those blessed feet upon the cross, and the great murderer, he put those cruel nails through the feet of our blessed, blessed Lord. And though those nails were driven through his blessed feet as they fastened him there, thank God those feet came out of all the power of evil that was arrayed against him, and in victory those feet calmly walked out in the joy and power of his resurrection, to triumph over the bloody nails of the murderer. And may I remind you, when the devil named his feet to that cross, it was the devil's defeat.

For his feet shall bruise thy head. And that was the very first promise in the Word of God, and it was given to the devil. And thou shall bruise his heel.

But his feet shall bruise thy head. And thank God, though with delight they may have seen him nailed to the tree, and the host of evil gleefully joined around them, it was the defeat of Satan's power and of his authority. Yes, beloved, his feet are set upon sockets of fine gold.

But now she goes to a general description at the end of verse 15. She speaks of his general countenance, how he looks in all of his bearing. His countenance is as Lebanon's, as excellent as the sea is.

The only thing we can say briefly concerning Lebanon, that majestic mountain, that goodly mountain Lebanon, as it is recorded in the Word of God, with all of its majesty, standing up amidst the land around. And in the majestic appearance of that wonderful mountain, she says, that describes the general What a majesty! What a majesty! Oh, how we can rejoice that indeed the majesty of Christ resided in his whole person, both human and divine. And thank God that we recognize the majesty that belongs to him, whether humanly and whether divinely.

You remember Peter, James and John were on the Mount of Transfiguration with the Lord Jesus. And in 2 Peter chapter 1, Peter says, we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. There was not only majesty in his bearing on the human side, but Peter, James and John were eyewitnesses of the majesty of the Savior on the divine side.

When his face did shine as the sun, his garment was as white as the light in glistening. And may I say, my beloved, there's no person that is more majestic than the Lord Jesus. His present majesty, he sat down upon the right hand of the majesty on high.

And we say with the poet, majestic sweetness sits enthroned upon the Savior's crown. And what a joy to recognize, if you want to see a majestic person, this is my beloved, and this is your beloved. But not only majestic is Lebanon, but enduring is the Cedars.

And as she speaks of the excellency of the Cedars, she compares their beloved to the Cedars, which were one of the most excellent of all the trees in the land. Now may I note with you, that the Cedar is excellent and sane for its durability. For its durability.

It is a wood that is used because of its durability, and is excellent and sane for its durability. And what shall we say of the Lord Jesus? His name shall endure forever, wrote the psalmist. Blessed be God.

Oh what a name, as we've been singing of it. Jesus, what a lovely name. But throughout all eternity, the name of Jesus will endure forever.

The world would like to stamp out the name of Jesus. It cannot. It will not.

That name shall endure forever. But the Cedar is also excellent for its fragrance. The fragrance of Cedar.

In chapter one of this book of the Song of Solomon, in verse three, thy name is as ointment, precious and precious, purifying as well as fragrant ointment that is poured forth. Thy name is as perfumed ointment, fragrant ointment poured forth. And what a fragrance as we sang this morning to that lovely name.

Jesus, oh what a lovely name. And as the Cedar is fragrant, so the Beloved in his name is fragrant to his bride. You know, I'm sure you realize it.

Doesn't it make your soul shrink and your heart tear when you hear someone blaspheme that name? It seems unbearable that the name you know, the name you love, the name that is dearest, the name that will endure forever, men blaspheme that, and take him in vain. But God has given him a name that is above every name, that is the name of Jesus. Now may I emphasize that? The name of Jesus.

He has many names, but the name of his humiliation, the name of the lowly Jesus, the name of Jesus, that that name every knee shall bow, of things in heaven, of things on earth, of things under the earth, and Beloved in the coming day of eternal glory, the universe, whether it will be the celestial realm and all who shall be in it, whether it be the earthly realm and all who shall be on it, whether it be the eternal region and all who may be banished eternally there, that name is going to be worshipped. It will endure forever. You know, I want to say something.

I'm glad I'm going to lose my old name and get a new name when we get to glory. I will write upon him my name and declare. Isn't it good night to know the worries will be, will have disappeared when you get to heaven, and all your names that you have down here, and there the family will be one.

And the name that is above every name will pregnant every being and be born upon the character and the resemblance of every person. Praise the Lord. I'll tell you one thing, they'll never tell us up there, they'll have to tell us we look like Christ, which we shall.

And his name shall endure forever. You know, I'll tell you, you gotta, you better be careful about what you think of your own name down here. You're in, you have up in Virginia what they call the FFBs, the Famous Families of Virginia.

I remember our dear brother Wilson, Lester Wilson, many many years ago, he had a tent meeting in a certain town in North Carolina, this goes back about, and I recall there was a young man that was saved, and he was not a very bright mental boy, but he was saved. And he was encouraged by brother Wilson to, Lester Wilson, to read his Bible. And he said, when he met him on the street one day in the local town, he said, have you been reading your Bible? Yes brother Wilson, I've been reading your Bible, my Bible.

He said, the FFBs. Well of course he didn't recognize what the word was. Beloved Lord, we lay down all the names that we have here.

There's only one name that's going to endure forever, for it is excellent, as the cedars. And then we think of the perpetual greenness of the cedar tree, when all other trees may be only worth fuel, just good for fuel. The cedar tree bears its greenness, and thank God how true this is of our blessed Lord Jesus.

And thank God that cedar has become a refuge for you and me. It's in Ezekiel, I believe, it's in chapter 17, where God tells the prophet Ezekiel, that he will bring his people to lodge in the valley in a future day of glory. And they will be dwelling safely under his wings.

And the symbol of the cedar tree is given them to be their place of safety and protection. But let's face it now, for we must close. Go down with me to the last verse.

His mouth is most sweet. The last feature that she describes the beloved with is literally his mouth, its sweetnesses. His mouth is most sweet.

And beloved, we've already touched, and we've but briefly referred to it, the sweetness of his mouth and the sweetness of his lips. The pure words and the ministry that fell, the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth. But then there's not only the sweetness of his words.

In chapter one she declares, in verse two, let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth. For there's the, may I put it this way, the sweetness of his mouth. There's the sweetness of his affection.

Oh beloved, is that kiss is a symbol of affection. The sweetness of his affection. Used to be an old hymn we sang, seems like centuries ago.

There's no love to me like the love of Jesus. Never to fade or fail. The sweetness of his mouth.

Oh the precious sweetness of his affection. The sweetness of his friendship. The sweetness of his fellowship.

The sweetness of his grace. All these indicated by the sweetness of his mouth. And may I say, the sweetness of his breath.

My goodness, I don't know how many of you, how often I may have to say, so do you have halitosis? Well he never does. There's nothing, nothing at all that will never, from his blessed mouth, be contrary to the desires of your heart. But the sweetness of his breath.

I love the words in John chapter twenty. You remember when he came into the upper room, and he breathed upon his disciples, and he breathed upon them, saying, Receive ye the Holy Ghost. And may I humbly suggest, it was the breath of his new creation life.

His death, his burial, his resurrection was accomplished. Now he was the head of the new creation, and he breathed on them the breath of the new creation life in the power of the Holy Spirit. You'll admit, there's only three times you read of God breathing in the Bible.

In Genesis two, when he made Adam, and that inanimate form was before him, he breathed into his muscles the breath of life, and he became a living soul. And then we have in second Timothy, chapter three, verse sixteen, all Scripture is given by inspiration by the breath of God, and it's profitable, and so on. The breathing of the divine breath upon the Holy Book.

And then, thank God, our Lord Jesus has breathed into the soul of every one of his own, the breath of the life of the new creation. Praise the Lord. Praise God for that new creation, and its life, which from him has been imparted in the power of the regenerating Spirit to all of his own.

But you know, some day the Lord Jesus is going to destroy his enemies with his breath. With the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. Isaiah 11 and verse 4. O Beloved, with the breath of his lips he shall destroy the wicked.

I am grateful to thee his breath is sweet, and to the Beloved his mouth is moist. But she adds, and this is the summary of all that has preceded, in the conclusion, she speaks of his complete, perfect loveliness. She says he's altogether lovely.

Altogether lovely. There's nothing to be removed from the lovely character of this person. There's nothing to be altered.

There's nothing that can be added. Let me say it again. There's nothing that could be taken away from him, that needs to be taken away from him.

May I say there's a lot of things that would certainly make us better people. There are conditions about you and me that need to be altered. And there are things perhaps that could be added to make us more lovely.

Not he. Not he. There's nothing for him to disguise nor excuse.

He can stand the utmost penetration and analysis of character. The world hates Christ and would remove him if they possibly could from his character, but it cannot. For everything that is lovely is found in him.

All that is lovely of God is found in him. Let me emphasize that word all again. All, everything that is lovely of God, is found in him.

All that is lovely in humanity is found in him. All that is lovely of the earth, it is found in him. All that is lovely in the universe is found in him.

Every part and every feature of Jesus is altogether lovely. And all the ingredients of his character and person, they sum up to one whole. He is altogether lovely.

Whether you're following from his birth, lovely in his birth, lovely in his childhood, lovely in his death and resurrection, lovely in every phase of his life, whether king, whether shepherd, saviour, servant or son. Name it. He's altogether lovely.

You know, the saints share his loveliness, but they're not altogether lovely. The saints are lovely, but they're not altogether lovely. And I want to tell you, you're lovely, but you're not altogether lovely.

We've got only one person who's altogether lovely. And did you ever not know that in the Bible, when you see some of the great heroes of faith, the men of the word of God, such as Noah, such as Abraham, Moses, David, Job, Peter, John, and we glory in the fact of their wonderful faith. I tell you what, you can find something wrong with every one of them.

God says, there's only one person that's altogether lovely, and that's my son. And do you remember when he was on the Mount of Transfiguration, there before Peter, James and John, poor Peter opened his big mouth as he should never have done, and he said, Lord, it's good for us to be here. Let's build three tabernacles.

One for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. And do you know what happened? The cloud came and overshadowed the whole scene. And under that bright cloud, a voice said, this is my beloved son.

Hear ye him. And the Lord God the Father wiped away the sight of James, of the sight of Moses, and the sight of Elijah. Which it must have been wonderful for those disciples to see.

And you know, when they looked up, they saw no man but Jesus only. Beloved, your Saviour and mine is the only altogether lovely one. And don't you start telling me how lovely I am.

You've got the wrong man. The one we know and love is the one whose beauty we have seen this week. The beauty of the beloved, and we say of him, this is my beloved.

Altogether lovely, and we add in closing, as the writer does, this is my beloved, this is my friend. O ye daughters of Jerusalem, hallelujah, what a friend, and what a beloved, shall we pray. Blessed God and Father, it is with joy we lift our hearts to acknowledge where true eternal satisfying beauty, in character and in person, resides in thy lovely son.

How we thank thee for sending him here to us. O Father, what he's done, what he is doing, and what he will yet finish, is beyond our comprehension. But to think that we can have a foretaste, and we can have a present blessing, and a present share in thy son.

Father, we just don't know how you parted with him, to send him from the glory, down to this earth below for us. But we lift our hearts in gratitude and praise, and acknowledge with adoration, he is altogether lovely, and pray fervently, we may see more of his loveliness, day by day, until we look upon him face to face in the glory above. What a day that will be.

We commend ourselves, asking thee to keep us walking in his blessed fellowship throughout the rest of the day, and bring us together in the evening by thy will. May the great and the loveliness of the Lord Jesus be with us all. Amen.

Thank you for coming. The Lord bless you.