SONG OF SONGS ‘98 – MIKE BICKLE

SESSION 13: The Ultimate 2–Fold Test Of Maturity (5:2–8)

SONG 5:2-8

2. I sleep, but my heart is awake; it is the voice of my beloved! He knocks, saying, "Open for
me, my sister, my love, my dove, my perfect one; for my head is covered with dew, my locks
with the drops of the night."
3. I have taken off my robe; how can I put it on again? I have washed my feet; how can I
defile them?
4. My beloved put his hand by the latch of the door, and my heart yearned for him.
5. I arose to open for my beloved, and my hands dripped with myrrh, my fingers with liquid
myrrh, on the handles of the lock.
6. I opened for my beloved, but my beloved had turned away and was gone. My heart leaped
up when he spoke. I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no
answer.
7. The watchmen who went about the city found me. They struck me, they wounded me; the
keepers of the walls took my veil away from me.
8. I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved, that you tell him I am
lovesick!

OVERVIEW OF SONG 5:2-8

Jesus reveals Himself as one who suffered alone in the garden of Gethsemane. This sixth
revelation of Jesus begins the second 4 chapters of the 8 chapter SONG. The first 4 chapters
focus on the Bride's inheritance in Jesus. The second 4 chapters emphasize Jesus’ inheritance in
the Bride. The reality that she belongs to Him preoccupies her heart. Our spiritual foundation
includes both emphasizes. What grips her heart is the fact she belongs to Jesus. She begins to
view her life through the lens of the pleasure she brings Him. Her pleasure is enhanced in living
for His pleasure. Her greatest pleasure is found in doing all the will of God.

She is being invited to join Jesus in the fellowship of His sufferings. She responds in instant
obedience (5:3-5). First, Jesus tests her faith by withdrawing His manifest presence from her
heart (5:6). Second, Jesus tests her faith by allowing the spiritual authorities in the church to
wound her unjustly. This results in her place of function and fellowship in the church being
temporarily taken from her (5:7). She responds in love and humility (5:8).

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Verse By Verse Study of SONG 5:2–8

I. JESUS CALLS HER TO THE FELLOWSHIP OF SUFFERING

I sleep, but my heart is awake; it is the voice of my Beloved! He knocks, saying, "Open
for Me, My sister, My love, My dove, My perfect one; For My head is covered with dew,
My locks with the drops of the night" (5:2).

A. Jesus comes to her as One from the garden of Gethsemane.

He knocks, saying, "Open for Me…My perfect one; For My head is covered
with dew, My locks with the drops of the night" (5:2).

1. His head is covered with dew, which speaks of being outside all night. He
comes with His head drenched with the dew of the night. His locks speak
of His hair. His hair is covered with the drops of the night, which speak of
the dewdrops that fall on those who stay outside throughout the night.
Jesus experienced another type of “drops in the night,” He sweat "drops of
blood" due to His anticipation of the cross (Lk. 22:44).

a. How does one get dew on their hair? By staying outside all night as
Jesus did in Gethsemane.

b. He calls her to Himself in the intimacy of the fellowship of suffering.

2. Catholic contemplatives in the Middle Ages spoke of the "dark night of

the soul" referring to times of divine testing in seasons of seeming
spiritual darkness. The “dark night of the soul” is not a Biblical term. It is
a practical term referring to times of spiritual testing when nothing makes
sense. St. John of the Cross originated this phrase in the 16th century. We
make a "covenant of trust" toward God to hold on to in such seasons.

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B. Jesus calls her to open her heart to new depths in the Holy Spirit.

"Open for Me…My love…My perfect one" (5:2d,e)—

1. Jesus' purpose in knocking is to draw our hearts into a new opening for
Him, rather than new opening of circumstances.

a. He wants us to open to Him that our hearts would grow in love. To

endure hardship is a sweet and powerful reality.

b. To open to Him may end up with fewer people responding in a

positive way to us but it is for Him.

2. Because of what He has invested in us, He wants all of us. He wants us to

open to another facet of His life as the Jesus who endured the Garden of
Gethsemane.

C. She experiences the "rest of faith".

"I sleep, but my heart is a I sleep, but my heart is awake; it is the voice of my
Beloved! (5:2a).

1. "I sleep" speaks of being in a place of rest with confidence in the Lord.
She is sleeping in the sense of being completely at peace, because she
believes that Jesus is a safe God. How blessed to be "awake" without
need of being revived from spiritual dullness (Eph. 5:14). Paul exhorts us
to be awake in spiritual things (1 Thes. 5:6; Rom. 13:11). Jesus knew the
"rest of faith" as He slept in the in the storm (Mt. 8:23-27). She has
confidence that includes the negative dimensions of the cost of bearing the
cross in her life.

2. Her heart is fully awake to spiritual things. In 4:6 she prayed, “I will go to
the mountain of myrrh.” In 4:16 she prayed, “Blow O north winds!” In
these prayers she commits herself to a life of embracing the cross. She
says, “The north winds can touch me but I trust Him.” In that sense she is
asleep but her heart is full awake. She is walking in obedience without
any conscious area of compromise.

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D. A sovereign intervention calling her to new depths in the Holy Spirit

"I sleep, but my heart is awake; it is the voice of my Beloved! He knocks,

saying, "Open for Me…(5:2).

1. She is sensitive to the voice of Jesus or the inward promptings of the Holy
Spirit. It is His voice again as in 2:8. The voice of Jesus is drawing her to
come to a new season, a new place in the grace of God.

2. Jesus is to reveal Himself again as her Beloved".

E. The initiative of God

"He knocks, saying" (5:2c)

1. He knocks on the door of her heart in answer to her prayer for the north
winds (4:16). The knock refers to the initiative God takes to bring us
forward in new dimensions of the Spirit. He knocks when He desires to
bring us through a new door in the Spirit.

I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have
a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name (Rev.
3:8).

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and
opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.
(Rev. 3:20)

2. The knock of Rev. 3:20-21 brings us to the communion table. He knocked

that we would come to feast at His table. This is also His knock to send
the bitter north wind.

3. He knocks and we open the door which speaks of entering a new door or a
new sphere in God.

a. God's knock sometimes may be gentle and quiet, yet on other

occasions it is forceful and loud.

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b. However, in the final analysis God's knock is a demonstration of His

care and desire to bring us forward the Spirit. His knock sometimes
brings us into hardship but it is a still a good knock. It ultimately
brings us into deeper communion in the Holy Spirit.

F. The Divine motivation

He knocks, saying, "Open for Me, My sister, My love, My dove, My perfect one;
For My head is covered with dew…" (5:2).

1. The message is “Open for Me,” and then the 4 titles communicate His
Divine affirmation. He wants to empower her with confidence of the love
of God so that she can open to the Jesus of Gethsemane.

2. The greatest motivation He can use to sway us is to make known to us that

it is "for Him." He is taking her for Himself as in 5:1. He asks her, "Will
you embrace the full sufferings of Christ. In other words, will she
embrace the north winds that she prayed for? She is just coming out of an
intense season of prophetic affirmation (4:1-15). In other words, she is not
compromising. He sees her radical obedience. SONG 4 is an intense
affirmation. She rises up in holy abandonment. Jesus called His holy
apostles to bear some of the suffering of the counter attack. The counter
attack of Satan is a part of the work in the Gospel in this evil age.

“That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the
fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, (Phil. 3:10)

3. Jesus uses the pronoun "My" 4 times. He describes her in 4 different

ways. He calls her “My sister, My love, My dove, My perfect one”.

a. Jesus gives her the title of “My sister" to signify His identification
with her humanity (Heb. 2:16-18).

b. "My love" reminds her of His extravagant love for her. ‘Grace
motivation’ is when one is being motivated by love and gratitude,
instead of fear and judgment.

c. My dove" speaks of her gentle, guileless nature. Dove's eyes speak of

singleness of mind that is focused on Him (4:1). In 5:2, He says, "you
are My dove, My perfect one." She is in full submission to God.

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d. "My perfect one" – This is a statement of her intentions to perfectly

obey God as completely as she knows. “Perfect” can be translated
“mature”. She has mature obedience. My perfect one could be
translated “the one whose heart response is totally towards Him.”

e. Note that before the test (5:2) and after it (6:9), Jesus refers to her His
perfect one because she is one who obeys, not one who compromises.

II. SHE RESPONDS IN FULL OBEDIENCE (5:3–5)

I have taken off my robe; How can I put it on again? I have washed my feet; How can
I defile them? My Beloved put His hand by the latch of the door, and my heart yearned
for Him. I arose to open for my Beloved, and my hands dripped with myrrh, My
fingers with liquid myrrh, on the handles of the lock. (5:3-5)

A. Her instant obedience.

"I have taken off my robe; how can I put it on again? I have washed my feet;
how can I defile them?" (5:3a).

1. The NIV translates it making it sound like she is compromising by

refusing to get out of bed. Some commentators also think she is
compromising here. However, the context is clear that she is in the place
of maturity and obedience.

2. After this test is over Jesus' first words to her make it abundantly clear that
she is being obedient (6:4-5).

“O My love, you are as beautiful as Tirzah, lovely as Jerusalem,

awesome as an army with banners! Turn your eyes away from Me, for
they have overcome Me.” (SONG 6:4-5).

a. He leaves for a season however, when He eventually speaks He does

not rebuke her. His first words reveal that He is overwhelmed with her
mature obedience.

b. His heart is overwhelmed because she was faithful to Him in the time
of testing.

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3. Her garments or her robe speaks of her deeds or acts

"I have taken off My robe" (5:3a)

a. This is a reference to her deeds as contrasted to His deeds.

b. We are covered with His robe of righteousness whereas our garments

(robe) are as filthy rags (Zech. 3:1-5; Is. 64:6; 61:10).

4. She is saying, "My garments are off and Your garments are on me. I'm
not going to wear my garments again. I've already put on Yours.”

a. She says, “I've taken off my robe. I'm not going to do it my way
again.

b. I'm not standing before You on my own merits.” I've tried to walk
with my own robes of righteousness. I've done it my way. Now, I
want Your robes.”

5. She asks, "How can I go back to the sin and compromise of wearing my
own garments and doing my own thing?" My clothes are defiled. How
can I put on my robes again?

"How can I put it on again" (5:3b)

6. Jesus' daily cleansing of our lives.

"I have washed my feet" (5:3c)

a. Our feet get dirty through our contact with the fallen world in our
endeavors to serve God.

b. Jesus told Peter that he was clean, however he still needed his feet
cleansed (Jn. 13:6-14). Peter said, “Wash all of me!” And He said,
“No, just your feet.” In other words, the washing of the feet means a
fresh cleansing from spiritual defilement.

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7. She refused to defile her feet through compromise.

"How can I defile them?" (5:3d)

a. This was not a statement of her refusal to obey Him but a commitment
to avoid defilement. He called her perfect or undefiled in 5:2.

b. How could she again defile herself with disobedience in light of so

great a love from Jesus? She is saying, "I've done it my own way. My
feet were dirty with my own walk, but now they have been cleansed by
God.”

B. God's grace is released on her heart.

"My Beloved put His hand by the latch of the door" (5:4a)—

1. “His hand” refers to the grace of God. This refers to a release of grace
upon her by the hand of God. The hand of God on the Antioch church
spoke of His great grace (Acts. 11:21-23).

2. The latch of the door speaks of the door of he r heart. The heart is the
everlasting door that opens to the King (Ps. 24:7). The hand of God is
upon the lock of her heart.

3. Her Beloved or the One that she loves is resting His hand on her. She is
not in compromise, but the hand of God is wooing her in that very
moment.

4. The context is her request for the north winds, that her garden to be filled
with spices.

C. God's hand of grace causes her heart to yearn with desire and love for Him.

"My heart yearned for Him" (5:4b)

1. It takes God's help for us to love God.

2. Ps. 110: 3 Teaches us that God's power in manifestation produces the

desire for obedience in God's people.

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D. She instantly responds to open the door to Him.

"I arose to open for my Beloved" (5:5)

1. "I arose" depicts her full obedience. She did n't stay in bed. Her response
is exactly the opposite of compromise. Earlier in the progression, Jesus
gave her the call to arise to come to the mountain (2:10). She didn’t rise
but responded in disobedience in 2:17 until the 3:2 obedience to arise was
finally manifest. She arises immediately in this context.

2. She is obeying Jesus' request in 5:2 to open for Him. She has said yes to
the north winds. She has said yes to Jesus of Gethsemane. She opens her
heart to Him. She does exactly what He asks he r. She calls Him “My
Beloved.” Her motivation is not fear or legalism. She is in love with
Him. She is going to live a life in which He enjoys the sweet fruit of her
life (4:16).

3. God's hand of grace causes a yearning of desire and love. She is not
refusing Jesus but rather, she is yearning for Him. The hand of God's on
her heart. She rises up immediately. She is not in a place of compromise.
She's yearning. The hand of God is on her. She loves Him. She doesn’t
want to be defiled again.

E. God's grace empowers her heart to embrace sacrifice

"And my hands dripped with myrrh, my fingers with liquid myrrh, on the
handles of the lock." (5:5d)

1. "Myrrh" speaks of death as a fragrant burial spice. It speaks of death to

self. She had said yes to the mountain of myrrh (4:6), to the north winds
(4:16), and now she says yes to the Jesus of Gethsemane.

a. Myrrh is dripping all over her. Her hands dripped with myrrh.

b. I long to be able to say with greater reality “Lord, I want the lock of
my heart dripped in myrrh. I want to do whatever you say, regardless
of what it costs me.” That is the heart of the mature Bride.

c. We begin by praying, “Lord we are willing to be made willing. Lord,

Help me! Put Your hand on my heart. Let my heart yearn for You
more, as you unlock the door of my heart by the grace of God. I will
open to You, even the Jesus of Gethsemane.”

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2. She is drenched in dripping myrrh. She is drenched in a commitment to a

life style of death to selfishness (the cross).

3. Liquid myrrh flows abundantly like liquid as the grace to embrace the
cross. There is no such thing as liquid myrrh, but it was flowing
abundantly like liquid. In other words, it takes a lot of the power and the
grace of God upon her. In other words, she fully embraces the sufferings
of Jesus."

4. "My hands dripped with myrrh" – Her hands spoke of her works of
ministry. Everything that she had achieved was touched with dripping
myrrh.

5. My fingers with liquid myrrh speak of the activity of working faith that
embraces the cross in love.

6. My fingers were on the handles of the lock speaks of the analogy of a

locked door being opened is used to speak of her heart being fully opened
to God. The lock on her heart speaks of her thoughts and her works. The
door of her heart was filled with myrrh, a commitment to the death on the
cross of her own life.

7. He said, “Open to Me.” He's asking her to unlock the door and open her
heart. She says, “My heart yearns.” The lock on her heart speaks of her
thoughts and her works. The lock of her heart is open as she faced the fear
of saying "Yes!" to the mountain of myrrh.

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III. FIRST TEST OF SUFFERING: WITHDRAWN PRESENCE (5:6)

I opened for my Beloved, but my Beloved had turned away and was gone. My heart
leaped up when He spoke. I sought Him, but I could not find Him; I called Him, but
He gave me no answer. (Song 5:6)

A. This is the first of the ultimate two fold test

God will train every mature believer with this test. It is part of the Divine pattern.
It is the progression that all of us go through to holy passion. The application of
this pattern is different in everyone’s lives. Only 2 times in the 8 chapter SONG
does He hide His face (3:1-2 and 5:6-7). This training of 5:6-7 is due to her
obedience, thus it is totally different from the discipline in 3:1-2 which was due to
her disobedience. Here in Song 5, He called her “My perfect one” (5:2) because
she had been totally obedient to Him. She experienced a withdrawal of His
Presence while pursuing full obedience. She has never seen Jesus respond to her
in this way. This is a very surprising experience for her. This is opposite of
Jesus' response to her in 2:3-4.

B. She testifies that she obeys Him.

"I OPENED FOR MY BELOVED, but my Beloved had turned away and was
gone” (5:6)

1. This is the second time she is saying emphatically “I have opened to Him.
I rose to open.” She is telling again how in v.5, she arose to obey Jesus'
request from 5:2 to open the door. She has fully opened her heart to
embrace Him and the north winds.

2. In essence she is saying, “I'm in it for You. I want the north winds. I
know You are wearing the garments of Gethsemane. My hands, like
Yours, are dripping with myrrh. Everything is yours.”

C. Her instant response of obedience

I opened…but my Beloved had turned away…MY HEART LEAPED UP

WHEN HE SPOKE…(Song 5:6)

1. Her heart leaped up in a response of obedience. There was no resistance.

When He invited her to come, she came immediately.

2. Jesus spoke to her in v.2 saying, "open for Me." When He speaks He is
revealing Himself in a fresh way to His people. In this instance, He
revealed Himself, as one whose hair was covered with the drops of night.

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D. Jesus suddenly withdraws His manifest Presence

I opened for my Beloved, BUT MY BELOVED HAD TURNED AWAY AND

WAS GONE. My heart leaped up…I sought Him, but I could not find Him
(Song 5:6)

1. "My Beloved" - The greatest desire of her life in the early stages of love
was to feel the presence of God. This was a very surprising experience for
her. She didn’t anticipate this. In 2:3-6, she only wanted to experience
the presence of God. But now, He hides His face from her. She knows
that Jesus' inheritance is a mature bride. Now she deeply wants to love
Him as bride in mature obedience.

2. My Beloved had turned away and was gone" – This is a sovereign act of
God, He is withdrawing His manifest presence to test her. His manifest
presence is withheld, however He never leaves us. But the discernable
feeling of His presence leaves us. We love to feel the passion of God in
our soul to feel passion for Him and passion from Him. Feeling loved by
God and feeling love for God is the most powerful passion and pleasure
available to the human makeup, but it is now gone. I opened for my
Beloved but my Beloved had turned. This is not a chastisement for sin as
in 3:1-2, nor an attack of the devil. Rather, it is a God-ordained test
because of her desire for full maturity as prayed in 4:16.

a. The Catholics in the Middle Ages spoke of a concept, which St. John
of the Cross called "the dark night of the soul." Protestants often
conclude that if God is hiding His face, you must be in some kind of
sin.

b. The Protestants don't have theology for living in fervency and

obedience with God's presence being hidden. Protestants can
sometimes be more like Job's friends when God hides His face from
some of the most devout ones. We turn and say, “You must be in sin.”
But God hides His face, sometimes from the most devout, to draw
something out of their hearts, that they would be wholly and only the
Lord's.

c. Job was walking in righteousness when he was afflicted. God had a

unique task for him. He wanted to reveal Himself to Job in a most
intimate way.

"I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees
You. (Job 42:5)

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d. God had a desire to bring the most righteous man in the earth, Job, into
a deep intimacy beyond any one of his peers. So the Lord allowed the
testing of his faith. There is a place in God’s economy where He hides
Himself when you're obedient.

3. God sometimes hides His face from the righteous soul to draw out the
yearning of their heart. Sometimes He hides His face to reveal what's in
the deep parts of one's spirit or to reveal the motive of obedience.

4. Can she be fervent to obey Him without feeling His Presence? Is she
seeking God primarily for her spiritual pleasure, or will she obey God for
His sake alone? Can she be faithful to obey regardless of how difficult the
circumstances are? He is saying, "Will you only obey Me if you feel My
Presence?" That is the bottom line for many believers. They will only
obey Him if the feeling of God is on their heart and circumstances are
right. The Lord is looking for a people that stand in obedience regardless
what is happening in their lives. This is the primary issue of being His
inheritance.

5. He wants an equally yoked Bride that says, “Not my will but Thy will.
When I don't feel it, I will obey You.” That is the equal yoke part of
obedience. Jesus did it before Abba and we do it before Abba too, as
equally yoked partners.

E. She ferve ntly seeks the Lord without a spiritual breakthrough

…my Beloved had turned away and was gone. My heart leaped up….
I SOUGHT HIM, BUT I COULD NOT FIND HIM; I CALLED HIM, BUT HE
GAVE ME NO ANSWER. (Song 5:6)

1. "I sought Him...I called Him" - This test could not be cut short by more
urgent seeking. She doubled her prayer life. Prayer and fasting wasn’t
going to remove this difficulty because it was not initiated by the devil but
by God. It wasn’t caused by sin. Seeking didn’t solve the problem as in
Ch. 2 when she arose and sought the Lord and the presence came back.
But here, she arose and sought the Lord, and no presence came. It is
because He wants to bring her, like Job, into a deeper place of equal yoked
intimacy. Her pain is becoming evident as she continues to seek Him and
call on Him yet to no avail.

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2. "But I could not find Him...but He gave no answer" - the "silence of God"
is part of His training to cause our hearts to mature. We must refuse the
Devil's accusations against God's love in such seasons. Our confession
of faith must remain constant, "His banner over me is love" (2:4). In
other words, all of God's dealings with me are to eventually reveal His
love for me and to impart His love to me in a deeper way.

IV. SECOND TEST OF SUFFERING: PERSECUTION AND REJECTION

The watchmen who went about the city found me. They struck me, they wounded me;
the keepers of the walls took my veil away from me. (SONG 5:7)

A. She encounters spiritual authorities in the Body of Christ

The WATCHMEN who went about the city found me…the KEEPERS OF THE
WALLS took my veil away from me. (5:7)

1. The watchmen speak of spiritual authority in the church. They were the
governmental ministries of the Body of Christ. There are two types of
watchmen (leaders) in the Body. There are the helpful, “David-type”
watchmen of 3:3 who help her find deeper intimacy with God. But there
are also the carnal jealous “Saul-type” watchmen who seek to strike and
wound her.

2. "Found me" - they were seeking her out with a pre-determined agenda to
strike her.

3. "Who went about the city" - they would leave no stone unturned in
searching her out. They traveled through out the entire city, which speaks
of the whole corporate church. They were seeking anything from anyone,
anywhere throughout the whole church to discredit her.

4. "The walls" - God's city has walls, to reveal its boundaries and to protect
its inhabitants.

5. "The keepers of the walls" - leaders who have been given a divine
mandate to keep its walls, so as to protect its people. They opened and
shut the gates in the wall determining who could come and go in the city.
They also, stood on top of the wall to see who was approaching the city.
This high position resulted in their prominence because everyone could
see them on the wall. These keepers and the watchman are the same.

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B. The spiritual authorities in the Body of Christ rise up against her.

The watchmen…they STRUCK ME, they WOUNDED ME (5:7)

1. "They struck me" - She is charged as a heretic. They publish the report
that she is evil, dangerous and false. She is rejected and unjustly
persecuted by church authorities. She is significantly mistreated by the
more prominent members of the Body of Christ, the keepers and the
watchman who should have protected her instead struck and abused her

2. "They wounded me" - she is not only struck unjustly, but they struck so as
to "wound" her. They wound her because there was genuine relationship
before the attack. A stranger can strike by publishing false accusations,
but only a friend can deeply wound.

a. Wounded in the house of friends is part of the divine pattern that Jesus
submitted to. These wounds sometimes come as the unjust attacks
from old friends who become enemies (Ps. 55:12-21). Dejected, she
cries, "The people I've committed myself to have rejected me." She
finds herself being persecuted even in the midst of friendships in the
Body of Christ.

b. Note: Sometimes people are wounded by the “immature David's” who

lack wisdom and tenderness in their relationship to the sheep. They
sincerely love God and the church, yet still occasionally wound the
flock accidentally because of their immaturity in leadership as a
watchman.

C. The Bride’s spiritual covering is taken away.

The watchmen… struck me…the keepers of the walls TOOK MY VEIL AWAY
from me. (5:7)

1. "My veil" - speaks of her spiritual covering. It is a sign of being rightly

related to spiritual authority (1 Cor 11:10).

2. "Took...away from me" - speaks of her spiritual covering being taken

away.

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SESSION 13 – The Ultimate 2-Fold Test Of Maturity Page 16

D. SUMMARY

1. She feels that she is unable to enjoy her inheritance on the earth. This
inheritance is 1:4, "Draw me and let us run together." In other words, to
be able to feel God and then to serve Him. She can't do either. Her
inheritance seems to be lost. All of her promises seem to have vanished
right before her eyes. In reality it is not lost at all. She stands here naked
before God.

2. Her inheritance is to be able to enjoy God, and to minister to people.

Neither of her cries (1:4) are being answered. She can't feel the Lord, and
she has lost her ministry. God's manifest Presence has left her and the
Body of Christ has turned against her. She temporarily lost her place of
function in the Body of Christ.

3. The Lord allows this because He wants to uncover the deep, unperceived
weakness in our spirit, such as pride and being self-absorbed. He said,
"Will you embrace Gethsemane? Will you serve for Me, and Me alone? I
am not a means to an end. I am the end of your life. When everything is
gone will you be Mine?”

4. The test is clear. This is the test of mistreatment by the Body of Christ.
Will she be bitter against the Body? With all those feelings of pain and
hurt, she says, "My God, I'm in it for You. You are my passion and
portion, oh, God." Our faith is exercised like a muscle that is strengthened
by using it over and over. She'll be given every opportunity to be faithful
to Jesus, without feelings and to be committed to the Body, while the
Body is mistreating her.

V. HER RESPONSE OF HUMILITY

I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my Beloved, that you tell Him
that I am lovesick! (5:8)

A. Her humility is seen in her commitment to be faithful to both Jesus and His Body.

1. We can be patient with the Body when we know it is the Lord's glory and
joy. If all we see is imperfect human beings, we'll resist Body life.

2. If we see the Lord as Head of the Body, then we must know that we
disregard the Lord when we disregard Body life.

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SESSION 13 – The Ultimate 2-Fold Test Of Maturity Page 17

B. She asks immature believers for help to find the Lord.

I CHARGE YOU, O DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM, if you find my

Beloved…(5:8)

1. "O daughters of Jerusalem" - These are immature believers.

2. "I charge you" - She asks the daughters (church) for help instead of
retreating in bitter isolation. Her humility is manifest here.

C. She is lovesick for Jesus, rather than offended at Him.

…O daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my Beloved…tell Him that I AM

LOVESICK! (5:8)

1. "I am lovesick!" - She is lovesick for Jesus instead of offended at Him for
withdrawing His presence and allowing her to be so severely mistreated
(Mt. 11:6).

2. "If you find my Beloved" -

3. "My Beloved" -

4. "That you tell Him that I am lovesick!" She is saying, "I'm not offended,
I'm not mad that He withdrew and let it happen.”

Friends of the Bridegroom

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