Scripture
Scarcely had I passed them when I found him whom my soul loves. I held him, and would not let him go until I had brought him into my mother’s house, and into the chamber of her who conceived me.
— Song of Solomon 3:4 (ESV)
Devotional
Does Christ receive us when we come to him, notwithstanding all our past sinfulness? Does he never chide us for having tried all other refuges first? And is there none on earth like him? Is he the best of all the good, the fairest of all the fair? Oh, then let us praise him! Daughters of Jerusalem, extol him with timbrel and harp! Down with your idols, up with the Lord Jesus. Now let the standards of pomp and pride be trampled under foot, but let the cross of Jesus, which the world frowns and scoffs at, be lifted on high. O for a throne of ivory for our King Solomon! Let him be set on high forever, and let my soul sit at his footstool, and kiss his feet, and wash them with my tears. Oh, how precious is Christ! How can it be that I have thought so little of him? How is it I can go abroad for joy or comfort when he is so full, so rich, so satisfying. Fellow believer, make a covenant with thine heart that thou wilt never depart from him, and ask thy Lord to ratify it. Bid him set thee as a signet upon his finger, and as a bracelet upon his arm. Ask him to bind thee about him, as the bride decketh herself with ornaments, and as the bridegroom putteth on his jewels. I would live in Christ’s heart; in the clefts of that rock my soul would eternally abide. The sparrow hath made a house, and the swallow a nest for herself where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God; and so too would I make my nest, my home, in thee, and never from thee may the soul of thy turtle dove go forth again, but may I nestle close to thee, O Jesus, my true and only rest. “When my precious Lord I find, All my ardent passions glow; Him with cords of love I bind, Hold and will not let him go.”
Reflection
He receives you despite past sinfulness. He does not chide you for trying every other refuge first. None on earth is like Him—best of the good, fairest of the fair. So put the idols down. Lift the cross the world scoffs at. Make a covenant with your heart never to depart, and ask Him to ratify it: signet on His finger, bracelet on His arm, nest in the cleft of the Rock. The gospel is not a brief visit to Jesus. It is finding Him whom your soul loves—and refusing to let Him go.
Goad
What lesser joy are you still roaming abroad for tonight, while Christ stands full, rich, and satisfying?
Tie-In
Morning owned the whole leprosy and was pronounced clean. Evening holds the Beloved and will not release Him. Cleared by blood; then kept by clinging love.
Closing
Spurgeon’s classic text with a brief reflection to help today’s reader.
If these words have stirred something, sit with it.
NewGrapes Ministries. Making disciples, not pew-fillers. Soli Deo Gloria.