Aspects of Covenantal Love
(Song of Solomon 8:5-7)
Preached at Poulner Baptist Chapel 5th July 2009
Both the PDF and MP3 files are available for immediate download...
Schedule
Introduction1. Dependency (Song of Solomon 8v5a)2. Data (Song of Solomon 8v5b)3. Desire (Song of Solomon 8v6)4. Devotion (Song of Solomon 8v7)How can we respond?Introduction
Back in January, we started this journey together at Song of Solomon 2v3-14 and Life under the Apple Tree. We saw together that Jesus, the tremendous lover, wants to hear the voice of His people and to be their king.Then in May, we continued the journey, looking at Song of Solomon 5v9 - 6v9. There we saw together that Jesus is the best of the best and that Jesus is altogether lovely in every aspect - his birth, life, ministry, death, resurrection, ascension, exultation, holiness, glorification, grace, protection, tenderness, power, wisdom, vengeance, judgment, redemption and pardon! Altogether: lovely and glorious.
There are 3 main ways to interpret this book. Firstly as a story about the joys of biblical love between a man and woman. That bit even I can see. Some would say that it was erotic, but as a white Australian male, I just don't see it!
Secondly, the earliest commentators and readers saw it as an allegory about God's love for His people Israel, particularly with their coming Messiah in mind. The third way shows that this Song of Songs speaks not only on a physical level about the importance of human love and intimacy between a man and a woman, but also the intimacy that exists, blossoms and grows between a person and Jesus Christ. Martin Luther called it the "noblest of all songs". Historically this book has been interpreted in 3 ways
We move on tonight, to perhaps, what could be considered the key verses of this book. The couple have now entered a covenantal relationship - a relationship committed to one another. So please do open your bibles and let us read the Song of Solomon 8v5-7.
These three verses are the key verses of the Song of Solomon or the Song of Songs as other people call it. As the couple, the Lover and the Beloved, have now entered into a Covenant of love, we are, tonight, going to look at 4 Dimensions of Covenantal Love. A Covenant is a contract - a promise. Throughout Old Testament history, God had made covenants with people - people such as Adam, Noah, Abraham and Moses. The original readers and commentators would have known that and understood that.
Labels: Covenant, love, mp3, Partake, pdf, sermon, song of solomon, song of songs
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