How to Truly Follow Him Whom I Love ⋆ Effie Darlene Barba

Is that not what we need to know? How am I to truly follow after Jesus, seeking Him whom I love? Perhaps that is the key. Do I truly seek Him as the one whom I love above all else? Do I search for Him, long for Him as the One whom I love above all else? He who is perfect love Himself, do I seek His presence above all else? Do I see Him as my Beloved? Let’s look again at the Song of Songs, with some excerpts from Charles Hadden Spurgeon’s sermons as he so desired to always remember that Jesus as “the one whom I love.

The Banquet With the One Whom I Love

The ^[^a^]Shulamite

²Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth—
For ^[^b^]your love is better than wine.
³Because of the fragrance of your good ointments,
Your name is ointment poured forth;
Therefore the virgins love you.
⁴Draw me away!

When was the last time you asked Jesus to draw you away? Nearer to Him? For we do not need to be saved, for we are already His, but we do need to be drawn. As Charles Spurgeon said regarding this scripture.

“What we want is the gentle influence of the Holy Spirit to attract us nearer to Christ; so each one cries to the Lord, “Draw me.” We are not dead; we are quickened and made alive. Our very pain and anguish, because we are not able to come to Christ as we would, prove that we are alive. I commend this prayer to you, “Lord, draw me; draw me.”

It is the work of Christ to draw. “I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” The work of the Father. “No man can come to me,” said Christ, “except the Father which hath sent me draw him.” It is the work of the Spirit of God to draw a soul towards Christ. I pray this for myself, and I trust that you will pray with me, “Come, Sacred Spirit, and draw us nearer to Christ; enliven our hopes; incline our hearts; arouse our desires; and then help us to yield our whole boing to thy gracious influences!”[1]

The Daughters of Jerusalem concerning the One Whom I Love

We will run after ^[^c^]you.

“Draw me: we will run after thee.” Be quick, my soul, be quick, about heavenly things! Creep, if thou wilt, about thy worldly business; but run after thy Lord. Oh, that we might every one attain the running pace to-night! Oh, that we might speed along towards our Lord with that strong, impetuous desire which will not let us rest till we are close to him: “Draw me, we will run after thee.”[2]

The Shulamite

The king has brought me into his chambers.

“I did but pray that I might come a little nearer to my Lord; but he has brought me into his secret places, into his withdrawing rooms. He has brought me where he brings his bride. He has brought me where he receives his courtiers. The King has brought me into his chambers; and now I see how truly royal he is. The King has done it. The King, not a king; but that King who is King of all kings, the most royal of all monarchs, ‘the Prince of the kings of the earth,’ even my Lord Jesus, hath brought me into his chambers.”[3]

The Daughters of Jerusalem

We will be glad and rejoice in ^[^d^]you.

We will remember your love more than wine.

“Come, take those ashes from thy head, thou that art sighing by reason of affliction! Come, unbind that sackcloth, and throw it aside, thou that hast lost fellowship with God, and art consequently in the dark! Christ is yours if you believe in him. He has given himself to you, and he loves you. Rejoice in that blessed fact. Remember who he is, and what he is; very God of very God, yet perfect man, God in human nature, Immanuel, God with us, glorified now in the highest heavens, though once, for our sakes, he sank down into the very depths of death and the grave. Bless his dear name. Be glad and rejoice in him.”[4]

Do not ever forget the sweetness of His love for you.

“Does not each believer feel that the wonder of wonders must ever be that the Lord Jesus Christ loves him? He was in glory, wanting nothing. He was in his Father’s bosom, enjoying ineffable delight. If he wanted to cast his eyes of love on any of his creatures, there were myriads of bright spirits before the throne.

But, no, he must look down, down, down, to earth’s dunghills, and find out us who were utterly unworthy of his regard. …Oh, the love of Christ! It must ever be the wonder of wonders that Jesus Christ, the darling of the heavens, should have set the eyes of his affection upon me..”[5]

Is that not what this maiden thought? Read the next verse.

The Shulamite

Rightly do they love you. (KJV reads, “the upright love thee”)

⁵I am dark, but lovely,
O daughters of Jerusalem,
Like the tents of Kedar,
Like the curtains of Solomon.
⁶Do not look upon me, because I am dark,
Because the sun has ^[^e^]tanned me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me;
They made me the keeper of the vineyards,
But my own vineyard I have not kept.

“He loved us because he would love us. It was the sovereignty of his love that made him love those whom he chose to love. He loved them freely, without anything in them, or that would ever be done by them, to deserve his love. But he loved fully as well as freely; he loved intensely, divinely, immeasurably.” [6]

Yet, how often, have we failed to keep our own vineyard as His redeemed?

(To Her Beloved)

⁷Tell me, O you whom I love,
Where you feed your flock,
Where you make it rest at noon.
For why should I be as one who ^[^f^]veils herself
By the flocks of your companions?

Can you say to Christ, “O you whom I LOVE” Paul wrote, “I know whom I have believed,” Job said “I know that my Redeemer liveth.” There is no doubt. Neither is there here: “He whom my soul loveth,” Yet, that is the question at hand. Is He whom your soul loveth above all else?

Are you searching to go where He draws you? Do you wish only to be shepherded by Him? Or are you searching for other flocks to follow? Is the world drawing you aside?

The Beloved

⁸If you do not know, O fairest among women,
^[^g^]Follow in the footsteps of the flock,
And feed your little goats
Beside the shepherds’ tents.
⁹I have compared you, my love,
To my filly among Pharaoh’s chariots.
¹⁰Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,
Your neck with chains of gold.

For I am fair only because He has made me fair. He has cloaked me in His righteousness. He has died for me.

The Daughters of Jerusalem

¹¹We will make ^[^h^]you ornaments of gold
With studs of silver.

The Shulamite

¹²While the king is at his table,
My ^[ⁱ^]spikenard sends forth its fragrance.
¹³A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me,
That lies all night between my breasts.
¹⁴My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blooms
In the vineyards of En Gedi.

Oh, that I too might sleep with the “fragrance of Christ” pressed near my heart. To read of Him each night and speak to Him before I sleep, so I might sense His presence.

The Beloved

¹⁵Behold, you are fair, ^[^j^]my love!
Ah, Behold, you are fair!
You have dove’s eyes.

I, too have eyes of a dove, for the Holy Spirit indwelleth me.

The Shulamite

¹⁶Behold, you are handsome, my beloved!
Yes, pleasant!
Also our couch is green.
¹⁷The beams of our houses are cedar,
And our rafters of fir

Is Jesus pleasant to you? Do you want to sit with Him, on the green pasture where you first met? “The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He restoreth my soul.” Psalm 23

Concluding Thoughts

Oh that I might seek Him as the one whom I love above all else. What about you? Do you seek Him? Can you say of Jesus, “He Whom I love”without any doubt? Above all else do you seek to spend time alone with Him? Earnestly do you seek Him as “He whom I Love?” with all your heart, mind, strength and soul?

DO YOU KNOW CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR AND LORD?

If you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord: I urge you to go to my page titled How to Be Saved by clicking on this link. There is nothing more important than this; because He is the way, the truth and the life. Therefore, I urge you to seek Him today.

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Previously

A Song of Songs to My Beloved King of Kings

Disclosures

©Effie Darlene Barba, 2020
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned except for my own books. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.