Spurgeon Morning and Evening June 18 PM

Biblical Context

The Song of Solomon, sometimes called the Song of Songs, is a unique book in the Bible. It’s often seen as a beautiful poem about love between a man and a woman. Traditionally, it’s attributed to King Solomon, a wise ruler known for his many writings. While it describes human love in vivid detail, many spiritual thinkers throughout history have also understood it as a powerful picture of the deep love between God and His people, or Christ and His church. This book shows a craving for intimacy and closeness, a shared delight that goes beyond just words. It’s not simply a historical account, but a rich allegory that helps you grasp the kind of personal, special relationship Jesus wants to have with each one of us. It calls you to a love that is set apart, faithful, and passionate, just like the love Christ has for you.

Key Word Study

Let’s look at the word garden. In Hebrew, the word is גַּן (gan). It means an enclosed space, a park, or a garden. This isn’t just any patch of land; it’s a place that’s been cultivated, set apart, and cared for with intention. This idea of a ‘gan’ carries with it a strong sense of ownership and special attention. When you hear ‘garden’ in this context, it’s not a wild, open field, chaotic and untamed, but a private, precious spot where specific things are grown and nurtured. It tells you that this place, your heart, is for special purposes, kept separate from the wildness and confusion outside, guarded and made fruitful by its owner.

Christ’s Garden: Bought and Claimed

The message begins with a beautiful picture: ‘I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse.’ What this means for you is that your heart, as a person who believes, is Christ’s own garden. This isn’t just a casual visit. He didn’t just walk into it by chance; He bought it. He paid the ultimate, most painful price with His precious blood to make your heart His own, to claim it as His property. And because He bought it, He enters it, and He claims it as His. He has every right to be there, to tend it, to expect fruit from it. You’re His, completely, and He’s here to stay in the garden He redeemed.

Separation: A Walled-Off Place

A garden isn’t just any patch of land; it means separation. Think about it: it’s not an open common where everyone can wander freely, and it’s not a wild, untamed wilderness. No, it’s walled around, or hedged in. It’s set apart, distinct, purposefully kept from the outside world. You know, you really wish you could see the wall of separation between people in the church and the world made broader and stronger. It’s a sad thing to hear people who say they follow Christ asking, ‘Well, there is no harm in this; there is no harm in that,’ always trying to get as near to the world as you possibly can. You can’t claim to follow Christ and keep asking this. If your spirit is low on God’s grace, you’ll even ask how far you may go in worldly ways. True grace makes you want to get away from the world, not closer to it. You should want that boundary to be clear and strong, protecting what’s inside for Christ alone.

Beauty: More Excellent Than the World

A garden is a place of beauty, isn’t it? It far surpasses the wild, uncultivated lands that grow only thorns and weeds. As a true believer, you must seek to be more excellent in your daily life, in your words, and in your actions, than even the best moral person who doesn’t know Christ. Why? Because Christ’s garden, your heart, ought to produce the best flowers in all the world. This isn’t about pride, but about bringing glory to your Gardener. Even your best efforts feel poor compared with what Christ deserves from you. So, don’t put Him off with withering, half-dead, and dwarf plants that barely show color. The rarest, richest, choicest lilies and roses, full of fragrance and life, ought to bloom in the place Jesus calls His own. He deserves nothing less than your finest, cultivated and cherished for Him.

Growth: Never Stop Developing

Your garden is also a place of growth. As people who follow Christ, you’re not meant to stay undeveloped, always just mere buds and blossoms, never coming into full bloom. You should grow constantly in grace, and in the knowledge of your Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. This means always learning, always becoming more like Him, always deepening your roots. Growth should be rapid in your life when Jesus Himself is the Husbandman, tending to it with skill and love, and the Holy Spirit is the dew from above, watering it constantly, bringing life and freshness. He wants you to keep getting bigger and stronger in your faith, not just in knowledge, but in character and spirit, showing progress in every season.

Retirement: A Private Place for Him

Finally, a garden is a place of retirement. This means the Lord Jesus Christ really wants you to keep your soul reserved as a special, quiet place. It’s a spot where He can show Himself to you, where He can talk to you and you can listen, in ways He doesn’t show Himself to the world. If you don’t keep it reserved, He won’t show Himself to you in those intimate, personal ways He doesn’t show Himself to the world. Oh, how you wish people who follow Christ were more retired, that they kept their hearts more closely shut up just for Christ! We’re often worried and trouble ourselves, like Martha, with much serving and outward activity. Because of this, we don’t have the deep, quiet room for Christ that Mary had. We don’t sit at His feet, simply listening and being with Him, as we should. May the Lord grant you the sweet showers of His grace to water His garden this day, drawing you into that sacred, reserved space with Him.