SECURITY

                                                                       Security

Security? ‘Safe as houses!’ Shouldn’t Christians celebrate the fact of being the most secure people on earth? For don’t we sing, ‘And in God’s house for evermore my dwelling-place shall be’? (Psa. 23:6b). Then why is it that some Christians lack any sense of security? Could it be because God’s house had been destroyed twice, once in 586 BC and then in 70 AD? Would it help to know that God, for His own purposes, sovereignly had His house destroyed at these times? Or perhaps some Christians lack a sense of security because they are never sure whether they actually are in God’s house or not?

A change of imagery might help the insecure Christian feel secure. God had His house destroyed in 70 AD because His bricks and mortar temple was no longer needed. ‘Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple’ (1 Cor. 3:16-17). Therefore, not only are Christians in God’s house, they are God’s house – a house ‘made without hands’ which cannot be destroyed (Mark 14:58; 2 Cor. 5:1). Security! ‘Safe as houses.’

But wait! How does the Christian know that he or she is good enough or has done enough good stuff to be in or part of God’s house? Well, that’s where a lot of the feelings of insecurity lie. It’s because of their misunderstanding of the gospel. The security of salvation is only for self-confessed sinners, i.e., those who trust in God’s grace alone to save them, and not their own supposed good life and good deeds. Jesus saves sinners not saints! However, you can tell some people this till you’re blue in the face and they still won’t get it. Could it be because they are deluded? Consider the following scary verses, ‘Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness’ (2 Thess. 2:11-12).

A false gospel is any other that does not have Christ alone as Saviour. It’s not Christ plus attempted obedience, or perceived goodness. Our security lies in Christ alone. As Christians we dwell in Him, and He dwells in us. We are the temple of God because Christ is the temple of which Christians are the bricks. ‘As you come to Him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ’ (1 Pet. 2:4-5).

So, security comes with a proper understanding of the gospel. Do you know yourself to be a sinner? Do you know that Jesus is the Saviour only of sinners? Have you asked God to forgive you for all of your sins? Then Christian, what is it about ‘Your sins have been forgiven you’ that you don’t believe? Do you think God would lie to you? Try the following couple of verses, ‘If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness’ (1 John 5:9). ‘And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins’ (1 John 2:1b-2a).

It is true personal assurance of salvation can be a long time coming for the Christian (Mark 9:24; 1 John 5:13). I wonder daily how God could save ‘a wretch like me’! But these are who God saves, i.e., sinful wretches like you and me. Therefore, paradoxically, our sense of security comes through understanding that you are not worthy of salvation (Luke 18:9-14).

COVENANT ETERNAL

                                                                Covenant Eternal

(Excerpted from my up and coming new book The Covenant: Simple yet Profound) 

Get a copy here: THE COVENANT: Simple yet Profound: McKinlay, Neil Cullan: 9798849660288: Amazon.com: Books

The Covenant is eternal because God is eternal. God is the eternally triune God. Therefore, God, Father and Son and Holy Spirit, i.e., the three persons in the Godhead, are in an eternal bond, past, present, and future. Scripture says, “A threefold cord is not quickly broken” (Eccl. 4:12b). The Westminster Larger Catechism asks and answers,

Q. 9. How many persons are there in the Godhead?

A. There be three persons in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one true, eternal God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory; although distinguished in their personal properties.

The word “distinguished” in the last line of the above quote must always be borne in mind when discussing the Trinity. It is very important that we only distinguish the persons but never separate them. Each person in the Godhead owns personal or private property, by which we mean that we are able to see that each person has attributes belonging only to Himself. The Father has the attribute of Fatherhood. Fatherhood does not belong to the Son, but Sonship does. Sonship does not belong to the Father or the Holy Spirit. The Spirit has neither Fatherhood nor Sonship. Therefore, the Spirit also has a distinctive attribute. Thus, the Father is not the Son or the Spirit. The Son is not the Father or the Spirit. And the Spirit is not the Father or the Son. However, though there are distinctions, the three Persons are always one God.

If we focus on the Father, we will begin to see the Son and the Spirit. Likewise, if we know more about the Son, we will understand the Persons of the Father and the Spirit better. And, of course, the more we know the Person of the Spirit, the more we begin to know the Father and the Son. How so? It is because the three Persons are one God, as revealed in Scripture. Who is the Father the Father of? The Son. Who is the Son the Son of? The Father. Who is the Spirit the Spirit of? The Father and the Son. The Spirit reveals the Son who reveals the Father (John 14:9; 15:26).

There is a Celtic-knot that symbolizes this three and oneness of God. It is called the triquetra, from a Latin word meaning three-cornered. (See book cover picture above.) The symbol is triangular, with three loops, which, if you trace each one, appear to have no beginning and no end. Though each loop is distinct from the others, the three interconnect and interpenetrate each of the others. This is the same with the eternal covenant.

If you were to look at the covenant of redemption, as it is revealed in Scripture, long enough, the covenants of works and grace begin to appear. If you study the covenant of works, the covenants of redemption and grace will begin to appear.[1] And, of course, if you look at the covenant of grace long enough, the covenants of redemption and works will begin to appear. This is because the three distinct covenants are one eternal covenant. It is all trinitarian! Later, we shall see more of this when we consider the threefold division of Old Testament law; viz, moral law, legal law (judicial, civil), and ceremonial law.

Already the astute reader will have noticed that, just as there is an order of sequence in listing the persons of Trinity, i.e., the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, so there is a covenantal order, i.e., redemption, works, and grace. Shouldn’t it be grace, works, and then redemption? Or perhaps works, grace, and redemption? The point being that it doesn’t matter where you begin, like the Celtic-knot, each interconnects and interpenetrates the others. And, as within the Godhead, each reflects certain aspects of the others. However, though, like the Godhead, the covenant is one, the sequence is, covenant of redemption, covenant of works, then covenant of grace, in that order. This is because each covenant reflects each person in the Godhead. In the covenant of redemption, the Father gives the Son His eternal moral law to keep as the covenant of works on behalf of Himself and those He represents, and the Spirit applies the benefits of the Son’s covenant-keeping to those who are represented. Again, it is all trinitarian.   

Yes, it is impossible for finite human beings to comprehend the eternality of the triune God. And, because His triuneness has to do with His eternality, we also, on account of our finitude, have trouble comprehending God’s triuneness.

Thankfully the eternal triune God has condescended to reveal Himself to us by way of His eternal covenant as per the “Book of His Covenant”. As the triune God says to Abraham, the father of all who believe, “I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you” (Gen. 17:7). Note the word “establish”. God had already “cut” His covenant with Abraham (Gen. 15).

It should be kept in mind that in the beginning everything was embryonic and therefore was in need of being delivered, and then developed to maturity, i.e., perfected. Says Abraham Kuyper,

 

Man was not created in the fullness of his power, but in the beginning of his potential, carrying in him the prophecy of what would yet develop in all of its fullness from this foundation. And consequently in the covenant of works man was promised something greater – a richer and more potent life, provided he remained faithful to God’s demand. And thus it is especially from this promise that it also follows that man initially at his creation was less than what he would be, and therefore in a certain way he stood in weakness before God. He was indeed holy, but still had not yet attained to the perseverance of the saints. He was holy and just, but in a way that he could still fall. He was on the way, but on that way he was still at its beginning, and the end of the road was yet far away.[2]

God had written His eternal covenant law (albeit in pre-fall positive terms), on the heart of humanity when He created Adam (and, in time, each one of us in Adam) in His own image (Rom. 2:14-15). Thus God, while giving His blessing, mandated Adam, our pre-fall representative (with his wife Eve and their posterity), to “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Gen. 1:28).

Tied or bonded to the triune God by His eternal covenant, pre-fall humanity (in Adam) had losable eternal life (but had unlosable existence). Adam could maintain his present life and secure unlosable eternal life (with all its blessings) upon condition of perfect obedience to God in all his endeavours. However, by eating the forbidden fruit, Adam broke his covenant-probation with God, while at the same time forming a covenant with the serpent, i.e., Satan, against the eternally triune God.

Yes, Adam (and humanity in him) broke covenant with God. However, being eternally triune, God cannot deny or break covenant with Himself. Therefore, God graciously and immediately after the fall began to reveal His eternal covenant as it applies to fallen humanity. Thus, the covenant of grace or gospel covenant in which the eternal triune God says to the serpent (humanity’s new covenant partner), “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Gen. 3:15).

Jesus Christ, Son of God/Son of Man, is the promised Seed of the woman (Gen. 3:15). Thus from eternity past, as witnessed by the eternal Spirit, the eternal Father has given a conditional promise to His eternal Son (as the federal or covenant head of all who are in Him), that if He, as the new Adam, were to keep the covenant of life or works perfectly, if He were to keep the eternal covenant as it applied to pre-fall Adam, then the Father would give to the man Christ Jesus the eternal life blessings that were promised to the pre-fall Adam as humanity’s representative. The man Christ Jesus perfectly kept the covenant of works, and He shares His reward with all believers. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Eph. 1:3).

The eternal life promised by the Father to pre-fall Adam (and the Son of Man in eternity past and in time as the last Adam) is summed up in the eternally triune God’s gracious gift of the Holy Spirit. For, Jesus said to His Church at the time of His ascension, “Wait for the Promise of the Father” (Acts 1:4).

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[1] We mean here, of course, the covenant of works as viewed in light of the whole of Scripture, not as the pre-fall Adam would have seen it.

[2] Abraham Kuyper, God’s Angels: His Ministering Spirits, eBook version, (Translation by Rev. Richard Stienstra)

MUSIC

                                                                        Music

St Giles, Edinburgh

Beauty is to the eye of the beholder as music is to the ear, which is to say that I love all good music! My music tastes are quite eclectic, running from Bach to Bachman Turner Overdrive, Haydn to Hendrix. I like Christian and non-Christian music. And there’s the rub. When is music Christian? Let’s begin by saying that all music that glorifies God is Christian music. By this definition angel, whale, and bird song are Christian music. However, this is not exactly what we mean. If you were to flip through your car’s radio stations, you will probably find a Christian radio station that plays Christian music. You’ll know it when you hear it. I turn my radio up when songs like Norman Greenbaum’s Spirit in the Sky come on! But wait! Isn’t that rock ‘n’ roll? How did Christians end up playing rock ‘n’ roll? Apparently, the father of Christian rock is Larry Norman. He started it when he wrote the rock ‘n’ roll song ‘Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music?’

The question now becomes: Should we sing and play this sort of music at congregational worship of God? And if not, then why not? Well, we’re back to our modified adage, ‘Music is in the ear of the beholder.’ Therefore, the intended audience is the key. Is it God or people? Both is an acceptable answer. And it may help if we ask if you are sitting in your car or on a pew. In the car we are listeners. The music is aimed usward. In church we are performers. Our music is aimed Godward. Both are Christian music, but let’s call the former Kingdom Music and the latter Church Music. We’re in Christ’s Kingdom in all we do in our daily activities. We’re in God’s Church when we are gathered with our fellow saints to worship God.

All Christian music ought to seek to glorify God whether you’re at church or at work, rest, or play. The great reformer of the church, John Calvin, had the following to say about Church Music, ‘Songs composed merely to tickle and delight the ear are unbecoming the majesty of the Church, and cannot but be most displeasing to God.’ Now, because much error can be taught through song, Biblical song lyrics are important. ‘For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires’ (2 Tim. 4:3). The danger for Christians is that church music can switch from seeking to glorify God to trying to attract the world (read non-Christians) to come to fill church pews.

Though usually attributed to CH Spurgeon, in Archibald Brown’s 1889 book ‘The Devil’s Mission of Amusement’ is found an article called ‘Feeding Sheep or Amusing Goats.’ Christian Music on the car radio out there in the Kingdom can get away with a certain amount of amusing non-Christians, but not Church Music. How so? Because it then becomes man-centred instead of God-centred. Christians get fed at church by praising God in song with sound doctrine. If the focus is not on God, then the Church Music becomes mere ear-tickling amusement. Entertainment! Remember, fattened goats find wooden pews more comfortable to sit on than do bony lean sheep.

The psalmist gets it right: ‘Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty heavens! Praise Him for His mighty deeds; praise Him according to His excellent greatness! Praise Him with trumpet sound; praise Him with lute and harp! Praise Him with tambourine and dance; praise Him with strings and pipe! Praise Him with sounding cymbals; praise Him with loud clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!’ (Psa. 150:1-6).

COLD AND HEAT

                                                                        Cold and Heat

I have a confession to make. I think it was me that caused global warming! I used to live in Manitoba where the winters are long and very, very cold. Minus 40 degrees is quite common. So, to combat the cold, I used to pray to God that He would warm the place up. Of course, (I suppose to teach me patience) I would have to wait till spring for God to answer my prayer. Manitoba summers are beautiful. Very short, but very beautiful.

I then discovered the solution to my aversion to the cold. Thank You Lord! Move somewhere warmer! So, I moved from Manitoba to Queensland, the place where many people have the slogan “Endless Summer” on their car’s number plate. My brother-in-law used to say that you could plant an old stick in the ground here, and it would grow! Paradise! And that is exactly what it reminds me of. It was like something out of the Bible when I arrived in Australia. “The mountains shall drip with sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with it” (Amos 9:13b). Australian wines are some of the best in the world. But I digress.

Sometimes it gets a bit too hot here in summer. But I don’t complain about the heat. I simply remember the minus 40-degree winters I left behind and thank God for answering my prayer about warming the place up. But not everyone shares my views. Some people hate the heat that much that they glue themselves to roads and valuable paintings to draw attention to themselves because they think that the world is ending because of global warming. They obviously have a different way of thinking to me. They’re all graphs, charts, and statistics. Me? I’m all Bible. They clearly live in a world without God. Me? I live in God’s world with God. They have an Atheist worldview. Mine is Biblical. This world is all they have. That is why they are so passionate about getting even the vulnerable and the elderly to turn off their heating and cooling appliances. As Hell awaits them, it’s all about the here-and-now, about saving the planet, their planet. But who owns the earth?

“The earth is the LORD’s and all its fulness, the world and those who dwell therein” (Psa. 24:1). So, the mountains dripping with wine are His. But so is everyone who lives here. Therefore, if you can’t see God in and among your graphs, charts, and statistics, you simply sound like the song title, “The Man Who Stole the World.” But God won’t allow you to steal the world. It is His world. And that is the world I live in. Sorry non-Christians. The earth is part of our inheritance as Christians. God is giving it to us (Psa. 37:11; Matt. 5:5; Rom. 4:13).

So, what about all this global warming? Well, as you’ve seen, like the old Marilyn Munroe/Tony Curtis movie, “Some Like it Hot.” However, like the old BBC sitcom series, you may be one who complains, “It Ain’t Half Hot, Mum.” But, and here’s the rub, if you have been neglecting to include God in your weather forecast, then you are part of your perceived problem. If you really believe that the land is being baked to death by human mismanagement, then rather than annoying your fellow humans (e.g., by disrupting their lives by gluing or chaining yourself to things or forcing up the price of petrol and electricity by insisting on taxpayer funded renewables etc.), then tug on the arms of the people of God and ask them to pray. Remember, it’s God’s world not yours.

“When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sins and heal their land” (2 Chron. 7:13-14).

So there you have it. Just as Jonah was the cause and solution of a shipwrecking storm, so God’s people are the cause and solution to any problems with the land, perceived or otherwise. In other words, the planet earth all about God and His people. Therefore, if you do not factor God into your scheme to cure whatever your perceived planet ills are, then you yourself are a major part of the problem. So, I urge you therefore to be part of the solution. Humble yourself, pray and seek God’s face, seek His forgiveness for your sins. Turn from your wicked ways, and, while you're at it, ask Him to heal the land. In other words, repent and believe in the gospel. Trust all the promises of God which are fulfilled in the resurrected and ascended and ruler from heaven, Jesus Christ.

Ponder and be comforted by the following promise of God: “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease” (Gen. 8:22).

NO MORE PAIN

                                                                No More Pain

As one who suffers from chronic pain, I jumped at the opportunity of attending a two days a week for six weeks pain-management course. The course is designed for busted veterans like me. We learned about the physiology and psychology of pain. For example, pain doesn’t necessarily equal physical damage.

I found the course very helpful. I had become pretty much the proverbial couch-potato, sitting in a corner since retirement, reading, writing, drinking green tea and coffee during the day, and watching news programs and movies with a glass of beer at night. Rising from the couch to fetch another drink or whatever only reminded me of my chronic pain as my lower back would jar.

“Mr Negativity” is my “pain” name! Though my cup ought to runneth over, the half full glass always tends to be half empty. I hadn’t expected any of the five other course attendees to be Christians. Mr Negativity wasn’t disappointed. Though we had a lot of other things in common, the inner loneliness, the glass half-emptiness, remained un-topped up. I began to feel sorry for my classmates. A contradiction? A paradox, you ask? Let me explain.

The course doesn’t promise you “no more pain.” It only helps you to manage your pain. However, the difference between my classmates and me, is that I believe the promises of the Bible, of which “no more pain” is one of the many. Jesus took away all my pain, suffering, and the anguish that goes along with it, when He endured eternal torments as His Father poured His wrath on Him as He hung on that cross, taking the punishment for sinners, such as me, who believe in His promises.

My classmates don’t know this pain-relief. All they have is the here-and-now. I hear it in their speech. They follow another belief system. They have a different worldview to me. They think that death is pain’s escape hatch. They think that they evolved from slime. They talk about lizard parts in our brains, and cavemen running away from sabre tooth tigers. They live in a different world than me. I live in God’s world with God. Clearly, they live in a world without God. Wow! I feel their pain! It’s true! Pain doesn’t necessarily equal physical damage after all.

When I die, it’s “no more pain” forever. When they die, their pain only increases. At the great resurrection on the last day, we’ll all get our bodies back. Mine will be completely renewed and pain free. There’s will be in pain worse than they ever experienced before death.

So, dear reader, don’t feel sorry for me in my present state of chronic pain. Rather, pity those who are facing an eternity of torments because they don’t know Christ as their Saviour!

I have cast out the fisherman’s net a few times as my heart goes out to my classmates. I may have to be content just to sow seeds and pray that the soil is fertile and await God to give the increase. Meanwhile, like Job I believe in God’s promises, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God, Whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart years within me!” (Job 25:27).

“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Rev. 21:4). I feel the pain leaving me already! Do you?

Click on the following link to find out more details for the Pain Management Program; 

Contact | GO2 Health

SILENT RUNNING

                                                                       Silent Running

The (Scottish) Daily Mail, Saturday, July 16, 2022, ran a wee article featuring my cousin Lorri (on my mother’s side), and her husband, Steve, who live in Scotland. I read the article with my morning coffee in the comfort of my home in Queensland. My children and my children’s children live mere streets away in the quiet suburbs.

There’s a war going on. Thank God it’s not here! I can hug my children and my grandchildren. We are safe.

A song began playing in her car, and as she listened to it, my cousin Lorri deeply felt the pain of the families in Ukraine, of those sheltering in and near the bombed-out suburbs.

“The song in question was an unreleased acoustic version of the hit Mike and the Mechanics song Silent Running, performed by the Scottish musician and songwriter BA Robertson, who co-wrote the track. Penned back in 1985. The lyrics are nevertheless hauntingly prescient, evoking a family barricading themselves against a war raging outside, and a country desperately calling out for help.” This version is being released as a charity single. “All proceeds will go to Mail Force’s Ukraine Appeal…”

Isn’t it wonderful that fellow Scot, BA Robertson, (who also resides in Scotland) not only answered his phone when Steve rang him (upon Lorri’s persistent insistence “through tears”), but also their request “to release [the song] for charity.” (BA Robertson, among other hits, wrote Cliff Richards’ Carrie and Wired for Sound, and also co-wrote Mike and the Mechanics’ Living Years.)

Upon hearing this great news, my brother, Stuart, quickly fired off to Lorri the following brief message: "Thank you Lorri and Steve for sharing that. It is difficult to know what to say. Like saying thank you Mr Boccherini for your string quartet: The compliment fails the quality of the work.

“I can only offer a string of thoughts — with apologies for lachrymose effusion:

“Silent Running is disquietingly plain and grows louder in its simplicity. It is the sound of dust falling in broken cellars as missiles wreak destruction above; the fearful voice of children and mothers and the piercing howls of their animals, too, all the things they love, all under murderous attack from Putin’s rancid insanity. 

“This is the agony of peaceful people announced, all justice gone, lost in smouldering rubble: Thanks to Silent Running, we can hear it clearly…and do more than fear and wait… 

“A bit flowery, but… thanks for the evocation. Stuart” 

Then he further wrote:

“A magnificent outcome from a simple chain of events, each a small intuitive step towards who can know what life-saving result: for hope, for breath in the hell of Putin’s insanity. It is as though this sequence of events was following a strong determination on an invisible, destined path towards the deliverance of people from the unfinished wars of decades ago. The stench of Putin is being snuffed out by you, and others with you, whisper by whisper.

“I’m astonished, yes, but maybe I shouldn’t be, given the talent and enterprise of you, Steve, and the palpable force of will backing your resolve. I will read this again, with a sense of gratitude that the dreadful frustration of ordinary people can be answered by a few in such a prescient way.

“I picked up a copy of the Mail only a few minutes ago from a newsagent wrapping up for the night, her second-last copy before locking the doors. I was out walking my cat at the time (yes, Ruaridh likes a stroll) and was fortunate to get the real, tactile version of the story. Extra treats for The Boy as I read it again. Thanks for telling me such uplifting news — and congratulations to all. x”

Link to sample of Silent Running by BA Robertson: BA Robertson - SILENT RUNNING Live - CLIP by Scary Biscuits Promotions (soundcloud.com)

ROMANCE

                                                                    Romance

Romance is a two-way attraction. If the woman is not enamoured by the man or the man by the woman, then it is not proper romance. All wining and dining will come to naught if the affections of the one remains unmoved by the other. Yes, to enter into the realm of romance is to explore the mysterious. When does like turn into love? Is it just a physical thing? Is it spiritual? Perhaps both?

When God made mankind, He made us male and female, and commanded us to multiply (Gen. 1:26-28). Therefore, sexual attraction has been built into us by our Creator. God married the first two human beings by marching Eve down the aisle and presenting her to Adam as a comparable helper (Gen. 2:18). Adam complimented Eve by saying, ‘This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man’ (Gen, 2:23). Of course, Adam’s romantic raptures about his wife were short lived. They soon fell into sin. Adam then began blaming God and Eve for his problems (Gen. 3:12). However, like the great Counsellor He is, God poured the good oil on troubled waters by promising them a Redeemer, One that would come from their own loins (Gen. 3:15).

To me a romantic evening with my wife consists of good food complemented with fine wine and soft music. Am I on the right track?

In the most romantic Book of the Bible, Solomon and the Shulamite show us how to do romance. They pay each other poetic compliments throughout The Song of Solomon. She says of him, ‘He brought me to the banqueting house [the house of wine], and his banner over me was love. Sustain me with cakes of raisins, refresh me with apples, for I am lovesick’ (Song 3:4-5). She says, ‘Behold, you are handsome my beloved!” (Song 1:16), “May the wine go straight to my beloved, flowing gently over lips and teeth. I belong to my beloved, and his desire is for me’ (Song 7:9b-10 NIV). We wonder if this allusion to wine is a good translation, that is, until we remember that Solomon had immediately just said to his wife, ‘the fragrance of your breath [is] like apples, and your mouth like the best wine’ (Song 7:8b-9a). Yes, now we understand why she says, ‘May the wine go straight to my beloved.’ However, let us also remember that God has given us the ‘wine that makes glad the heart of man’ (Psa. 104:15a).

The Shulamite says of her husband, ‘Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth—for your love is better than wine’ (Song 1:2). And Solomon says of his wife, ‘How fair is your love, my sister, my spouse! How much better than wine is your love’ (Song 4:10a). So, what are we to conclude? Love is better than wine! This means that a couple’s desire for each other is much stronger than any desire for wine, and, sadly, we know how addicted to wine some people can be. We must not let anything spoil the romance.

What does it all mean? Romance, as illustrated by Solomon and the Shulamite, is a picture of Christ and His Church. He overtures us, but not because we are beautiful. As the Shulamite had become ‘darkened by the sun’ (Song 1:5), so the fall has affected Christ’s bride. But she says, ‘I am dark, but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon’ (Song 1:6). The Shulamite’s real beauty is in Solomon's love for her. Her beauty is in her praises of him! Likewise, the beauty of Christ’s bride is in her praises of Him. And remember, ‘Do not stir up nor awaken love until it pleases’ (Song 2:7b). If romance is to work properly, it must go both ways, ‘We love Him because He first loved us’ (1 John 4:19 NKJV).