Song of the Bride, Parts 1-34 - Feasting at the King's Table

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The anointing oil is a symbol of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. With the Aaronic priesthood, none could minister before the Lord before the blood and the oil were applied. The holy anointing oil could not be put upon flesh, but only upon the priests, after the blood was applied. We see that it is God’s will for all who have been redeemed by the Blood of Jesus, and desire to serve God in any way, to be filled with the Spirit. Jesus forbade His disciples to depart from Jerusalem until they had received the Holy Spirit. We must be careful not to despise the oil (the Holy Spirit), claiming that if we are saved ad trusting in the Blood of Christ, the baptism in the Holy Spirit is not necessary. This is Christ’s gift to His bride whom He purchased with His own precious Blood. It is the fragrance of His oil upon us that delights Him and fills Him with joy. (He counts it even greater than the fragrance of all manner of spices!) And, as we smell these odors upon one another, we are refreshed and uplifted in spirit by their fragrance. PART TWENTY-SEVEN Newsletter No. 202 – May 2004 Song of Solomon 4:11, “Thy lips, O my spouse, drop (as) the honeycomb: honey and milk are under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon.” Honey stands for that which strengthens weakness, and milk builds up the young and tender. So plentiful is the bride’s store that she is ever ready to distribute to those in need. Her lips do not pour out the honey—they drop it, a little at a time, as a person is able to bear it. Her heart is full and her measure of nourishment is so great that she must guard herself against pouring overmuch into a needy vessel. She needs to observe the law for drinking wine given in Esther 1:8, “And the drinking was according to the law; none did compel… they should do according to every man’s pleasure.” Standing in contrast to the lips of the bride are the lips of the wicked. “Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongue they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips.” We have seen that the only way the lips and tongue can be cleansed is to have the fountain cleansed. When a branch from the tree of Life is cast into this fountain, the heart is made clean and the words are also changed. This was how the bitter waters were healed in the wilderness—by cutting down the branch of a tree and putting it into the water (a type of Christ and His passion). When the Word of God enters the heart, the bitterness is changed to honey, and the poison to milk. Under the bride’s tongue are words of comfort and sweetness that give grace to the hearer. They are hidden away to be brought forth as the occasion demands. “And the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon.” Garments speak of all that has to do with our external appearance, just as clothes are the covering of the body and are easily noticed by others. Our attitudes such as behavior, actions, social pleasures, and good manners are clearly seen by all. The bride’s outward appearance and attitudes indicate that she is walking in the spiritual elevation represented by Lebanon (whiteness). Because she walks with the Lord, she carries the fragrance of His presence. I’m sure you have experienced strangers smiling at you or greeting you because they smell this fragrance, even though they may not understand from whence it comes. 4:12, “A garden shut up, (is) My sister, My bride; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.” In the Hebrew, the word “is” is omitted, making a distinction between the bride and the garden. After God created the universe and man, He planted a Garden. Its purpose was not for mere agricultural use, nor for commercial produce. Its only objective was for flowers and fruitfulness. It was not a public domain, but a private place of growth. In this figurative language we see that the maiden has now come to a place where she is of delight and satisfaction to the Lord. She now realizes that she doesn’t exist simply for her own pleasure, to live her life as she sees fit, but she lives for the pleasure and satisfaction of her Bridegroom. “A garden enclosed”, or fenced in, signifies her high calling. She is not in a public garden; she is “the planting of the Lord, that He might be SONG OF THE BRIDE, Parts 1–34 [Elaine Cook] ~ BIBLE STUDY 38
glorified.” All her beauty of spiritual feature and comeliness are for no other person’s delight but her heavenly Lover. In order to open the way into the great Garden of the Lord, or the Kingdom of God, our Lord went through two gardens. The first was the garden of Gethsemane where He chose concerning the last garden, which is the cross and the tomb, called the Hill of Frankincense and the Mountain of Myrrh. God was always encouraging the children of Israel to press on to the Promised Land, describing to them its many beauties and blessings. Likewise, with the bride of this dispensation, the Lord continually sets forth the beauty of her spiritual inheritance, here spoken of as a Garden. In this garden is a spring that has been shut up, a fountain that has been sealed. We have thought that spoke of the bride, but when we see that she is distinct from the garden, we can see of whom it truly speaks. Jesus Christ was the spring shut up, the fountain sealed. Though he was the great Fountain of Life, this Fountain was closed toward humanity until He died. It was not opened until He was raised from the dead For three days, the great Fountain of Life was sealed in the tomb by the foreordained plan of God. Now it is open to all to come and drink freely of that living water of which Jesus spoke. “If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, from within him shall flow rivers of living water.” PART TWENTY-EIGHT Newsletter No. 203 – June 2004 Song of Solomon 4:13-15 “Thy shoots are an orchard of pomegranates, with precious fruits; henna with spikenard plants, spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices: A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and flowing streams from Lebanon.” The Kingdom of Heaven on earth is a Garden enclosed; Salvation is the walls thereof and Christ is the door. Only through Him can any one enter this garden that Christ has set up on earth and which He will bring to full fruition. The dominant feature of the Garden is the Fountain that waters it. Without it, this wondrous fruitfulness would not be possible. There is both a well and a fountain from which to irrigate the Garden of the Lord. A well is a storage place for living water, while a fountain bubbles forth, flowing in streams. In John 4:11 the woman at the well declares to Jesus that “the well is deep” when He offered to give her living waters. A well speaks of depth, and a fountain tells of energetic and continuous outflow. In the Garden of Eden we see a river divided into four heads, which watered all the garden. In the New Jerusalem (which we are!) we see “a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb” Rev.22:1. The waters did not originate in the garden, but flowed down from the heights of Lebanon. Lebanon is referred to so often in this “Song” that we really need to understand its meaning. Its basic meaning of “whiteness” comes from the white crown of snow, which it wore all year round. Streams of pure, cold water flowed down its sides to the thirsty valleys below. These mountain streams never failed, and never became stale and tasteless, warm and unrefreshing. From a higher source than any earthly mountain comes the living water, which refreshes us when we are weary; though the channel through which it flowed appeared so lowly when upon earth. Lebanon always speaks of the heavenly source of the waters of life! This Fountain of gardens was so uncomely in His human body, this Well of living water so weak and despised as He hung and died on the cross, that He appeared no greater than any other man as they laid His body in the tomb. In their hearts His followers were thinking: “But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel…” They didn’t know that this Fountain had its source in the Holy Mountain of God; it issued from the very throne of God. It came from the everlasting hills and flowed down to earth, bringing life wherever it flowed, watering the wilderness and making man’s desert places to blossom as a rose. Even death could not SONG OF THE BRIDE, Parts 1–34 [Elaine Cook] ~ BIBLE STUDY 39
Page 1 and 2: SONG OF THE BRIDE BY: ELAINE COOK P
Page 3 and 4: 1:4 "Draw me and we will run after
Page 5 and 6: of the vineyard that she neglects h
Page 7 and 8: of the myrrh is perceptible to othe
Page 9 and 10: trees but they do not bear fruit. T
Page 11 and 12: the Voice of the Lord who promised
Page 13 and 14: who do not accept the Atonement and
Page 15 and 16: This shining way is not an easy one
Page 17 and 18: With the coming of the reality of t
Page 19 and 20: gates of the city where the citizen
Page 21 and 22: PART TWELVE Newsletter No. 185 - Ju
Page 23 and 24: PART FOURTEEN Newsletter No. 187 -
Page 25 and 26: As a cedar must be cut down before
Page 27 and 28: For some years, the Lord has been s
Page 29 and 30: Song of Solomon 4:2, “Thy teeth a
Page 31 and 32: The last time I said that, I asked
Page 33 and 34: eastplate. Only when the bride’s
Page 35 and 36: and frankincense were but small dro
Page 37: This chain about her neck was not o
Page 41 and 42: acknowledges the right of God’s S
Page 43 and 44: In the early part of the Song, the
Page 45 and 46: He had continued knocking at the do
Page 47: of the nails in His hands and feet,

Song of the Bride, Parts 1-34 - Feasting at the King's Table

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