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

"Those that are faithful unto death shall have a crown of life." "Hold fast that which thou hast, that no one take
thy crown."
Again, Sharon Houck has blessed us with some insight the Lord has given her. "Father began calling me his
Bride in 1995. I didn’t think I deserved to be called His Bride. Prior to a Festival of Worship which was to begin
with a Bridal March, the Holy Spirit began to drop scripture into my Spirit. First, II Tim. Chap. 3; then He took
me back to verses 2-5. He said these are those who are trying to put on a wedding dress but they have on dirty
underwear! He said that the stench was reaching his nostrils! Father began to show me that the
undergarments of the Bride are the fruits of the Spirit. "
PART THREE
Newsletter No. 176 – August 2001
CHRIST’S TABLE AND PRECIOUSNESS
CHRIST’S TABLE AND PRECIOUSNESS
MUTUAL LOVE: THE ETERNAL HABITATION
PREIMINENCE OF CHRIST AND HIS BRIDE
Song of Sol. 1:12 "While the king sat at His table, my spikenard sent forth its fragrance."
He invites us to come and sit at His table. He does not offer to sit at ours. The first taste that we have of the
Lord’s table is when we have communion with Him through the emblems of bread and wine, which represent
His death and resurrection.
The next taste is when we enter into our secret closet and commune with the Lord. There, we taste the
heavenly manna and drink of the living waters flowing within us. We are not waiting for Him to come down from
heaven to speak from some place in the celestial sphere. We learn to look to the One within us to arise and
speak, to teach, to comfort, and to warn.
What manner of dainty dishes shall we eat at the King's table? Jesus tells us in twelve short words what the
"meat" is that our Father feeds us at His table. "My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me." As we feed
upon Him Who is the Living Bread, we too are filled with an intense desire to do only His will, no matter what
the cost.
Spikenard, that most fragrant and costly perfume, was sealed in an alabaster box which had to be broken
before the fragrance could come forth. It is a figure of humility. As we dine at His table and learn to do His will,
our fleshly man who formerly lived to promote self, begins to be broken and the fragrance of the perfume of His
indwelling presence begins to come forth. In our love for Him, we are prompted to say:
1:13, "My beloved is unto me as a bundle of myrrh, that lieth betwixt my breasts." Women of the East conceal
in their bosoms little bags of aromatic herbs, or a small cruise of oil. This figure of speech refers to the Beloved
who lies in the heart of the Bride.
"Lieth" means "to abide permanently, to remain overnight." "Night" signifies the absence of the Bridegroom (in
His physical form). He is hidden in our hearts and assures us, "And lo! I am with you all the days till the
conclusion of the eon!" (Concordant Literal) The only time we may experience "night" is when we are going
through the fires of testing (to make us more like our Beloved), we may imagine that He is not with us and has
left us to struggle all alone. Ah, never! He is as a bundle of myrrh, fragrant but bitter—a fit emblem of suffering,
abiding in our hearts. Only as myrrh is crushed and pierced does its fragrance go forth. (The servant is not
above the Lord in the respect of "learning obedience through the things that He suffered.")
1:14 "My Beloved is unto me as a cluster of Henna-flowers in the vineyards of Engedi." The Henna-flowers are
heavy with fragrance and hang in creamy white clusters against their bright green leaves. They were used by
oriental women to outwardly adorn themselves. "Henna" in Hebrew means "the ransom price." The fragrance
SONG OF THE BRIDE, Parts 1–34 [Elaine Cook] ~ BIBLE STUDY 6