New Life Worship Ministries

Meditations on Solomon's Song of Songs by Char Scott

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The Revelation of Jesus as a Safe Savior

by CharScott

We are continuing our study of the Song of Songs. This study is really meant to awaken your taste for more. There is so much more the Lord wants to impart to us as we make these verses our prayer and meditate on the lessons in His Word. He wants to feed us at even deeper levels as we ask Him for greater revelation and understanding.

Last time we saw the maiden make the decision to leave her place of safety and comfort in order to find His presence again. The Lord removed fear from her heart as she rose up in obedience to be involved in the purposes of God. In this section, the maiden teaches the daughters of Jerusalem her new discoveries of Jesus as a safe savior, hoping to draw them into the bridal paradigm. This is the fourth revelation of Jesus in the Song. When Jesus left His place in heaven, became a man, and died for us He proved for all time that He has our good in mind. He did it all for us, His bride. The fact that He chose us as His bride, died for us, and now plans a wedding for us shows His total love and commitment. We can live totally safe in His loving care and protection.

Let’s read together Song of Songs 3:6-11. “Who is this coming out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all the merchant’s fragrant powders? Behold, it is Solomon’s traveling couch, with sixty valiant men around it, of the mighty men of Israel. They all hold swords, being expert in war. Every man has his sword on his thigh guarding against the terrors of the night. King Solomon has made for himself a palanquin, a sedan chair from the wood of Lebanon. He made its pillars of silver, its support of gold, its seat of purple fabric, its interior paved with love by the daughters of Jerusalem. Go forth, O daughters of Zion, and gaze on King Solomon with the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding, the day of the gladness of his heart.”

Picture the maiden’s village as we consider this passage. It was a quiet little place, surrounded by wilderness. Every day passed much as the day before, with the town’s people going about the business of their simple lives. Suddenly there was a commotion, and everyone rushed to see what was happening! “Who is this coming out of the wilderness!” They have never seen anything like what they see now. The King Himself has come to take His bride home with Him. He left His palace, riding in a palanquin of His own making, and came to her home in order to make her His Bride. Jesus has done the same for us, leaving His home in heaven and coming to live as a man in the wilderness of the fallen world. The host of heaven witnessed Jesus coming out of the wilderness of this fallen world after the resurrection when He took His place on the throne of glory at the Father’s right hand. David asked a similar question in Psalm 24:7 & 8, “Who is this King of glory?” The Holy Spirit wants to draw us into the beauty, drama, and glory of Jesus’ return to heaven. It is a picture of awe and wonder!

The wilderness is a necessary part of God’s plan for the Bridegroom and the Bride. The wilderness can mean a number of things in our lives. It can refer simply to life in the fallen world, filled with sin and oppression. It can mean times of difficulty and intense testing. The wilderness can also speak of seasons of spiritual warfare or times when we wage war with our own flesh. However, the wilderness can also indicate a place of encounter with God. Both Jesus and John the Baptist had life-changing encounters with God while in the wilderness.

Jesus had to experience the wilderness in order to bring His Bride out of it. He spent thirty-three years in the wilderness of the fallen world. He also spent forty days fasting in the wilderness as He encountered the Father. Jesus knew the wilderness of testing in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the Cross.

His victory over this fallen world makes Him a sympathetic high priest who understands our temptations and struggles. He knows what we are going through in our journey to come out of the wilderness victoriously. He does not stand at a distance, requiring us to come up to Him. He comes to us, revealing His understanding heart. The Father’s compassion and mercy is not the same thing as Jesus’ human empathy. He has a unique depth of sympathy because of His experience as a man. He knows how to bring us to a place of safety because He understands the dangers of the journey. Jesus had total victory in the wilderness. Because we face the wilderness with Him, we will conquer it with Him. We do not have to be afraid of Him because he knows what we face.

The only safe place for us to go is with Jesus in every season of our lives. His promise of safety is primarily a promise of spiritual safety that protects our hearts. A secondary promise is of physical protection. He does promise safety to a degree here on earth, but completely in eternity. The gospel does not promise us complete protection physically and in terms of earthly circumstances--that is why there are still martyrs. Jesus promised that though they may kill us, not one hair of our head will perish. In the resurrection, the body is completely safe. He does promise that if we follow Him our hearts will be alive, and we will have power to feel love , to give it in return, and to store up eternal treasure in heaven.

Many of the earthly authorities in our lives have not been safe. The enemy can lie to us about the safety of God as our ultimate authority. It is a significant step to be able to separate the two, and to see the weakness of man apart from the secure love of God. We can only see the Lord as safe from the point of view of eternity. There are many things in life that we do not understand, but God is omniscient. He sees the end from the beginning so He knows how to lead us. We will all be glad when we see the end result of His leadership in our lives. We can truly trust Him to always do that which is good.

“Who is this coming up out of the wilderness?” It is a question asked in awe and wonder. Think of what He left for us and what it must have been like in heaven for Him to return in victory!

“Like pillars of smoke” speaks of the glory and wonder of God. He is the King of Glory! Smoke is a manifestation of God’s holy presence and is associated with the fire of the Holy Spirit. This smoke speaks of the holy fire that burns within Him. The fire of God filled Jesus, and the smoke of His zeal ascended as a sweet fragrance to the Lord. Smoke rose from the sacrifices that revealed the love of God. Jesus is the sacrifice made to God on our behalf. He is clothed in the smoke of the glory of God as He comes up out of the wilderness.

“Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense” refers to his death and intercession for His Bride. Myrrh speaks of Jesus’ suffering and death and the finished work of the Cross. Though it meant death for Him, it is a sweet aroma for us. Jesus died to His own will in order to do the will of the Father, thus His garments are scented with myrrh. When Jesus went to the cross, He chose to place His complete trust in the Father to give Him new life. He laid down all of His own ability and power. He was totally selfless, choosing to lay down His life for His Bride. When He cried, “It is finished,“ He was drenched with myrrh. The Lord’s desire is that our garments, our deeds, be scented with myrrh, which speaks of the sweetness that comes out of dying to ourselves to do the will of God. If Jesus suffered for us, how much more will He protect us?

Frankincense speaks of the fragrance of His intercession for us. He is interceding passionately for us day and night as our High Priest who enters the most Holy Place with a golden censer of frankincense, His prayers for us. He stands eternally in our place, standing in the gap for us.

“With all the merchants’ fragrant powders” refers to His total commitment to us. In Matthew 13:44 & 45, Jesus told the story of the merchant who sold everything to obtain the pearl of great price. Jesus is the merchant who sold everything to have the pearl, His Bride. It cost Him everything to be with us for eternity.

When the merchants handled the fragrant powders they sold in the marketplace, they themselves became fragrant with the scents. Jesus carries this fragrance because He embraced the cost, the Cross. He is totally committed to us, to bringing us home safely. He is not negligent nor does He overlook anything. As believers, we are protected by His work on the cross, signified by the myrrh, and by His continued intercession, the frankincense, as we journey through the wilderness. He is safe to follow because He gave it all up to redeem us.

“Behold, it is the traveling couch of Solomon, with sixty valiant men around it.” Solomon was the king of Israel. He is a type of Jesus throughout the Song of Songs. Solomon loved the Shulammite maiden, and he went in a royal procession to her town to bring her to their marriage. In the Eastern world, a bride on her wedding day was carried on men’s shoulders in a chair, referred to as a couch, or palanquin.

The palanquin the Lord has provided for us is the gospel. We are carried out of the wilderness on the finished work of the Cross. We are not standing, we are seated at rest at His side. This couch is also a wedding chariot for us. Our eternal destination is to sit on Jesus’ wedding couch with Him as His Bride.

The palanquin was surrounded by sixty valiant men. This is a picture of the Holy Spirit’s guarding, keeping, and protecting ministry, able to deal with any enemies that seek to attack. This is extravagant protection for the Bride. Twenty or thirty men was a normal guard even for a king, so this is double protection. The Holy Spirit is a skilled warrior, using many agencies in God’s grace, including intercession, angels, the gifts of the Spirit, the authority of Jesus’ name, the affection of the Father, and the Cross. There are many ways His protection is made manifest.

In the Eastern world, a king would send a royal procession to bring his intended bride from her home or homeland. Enemies would often try to ambush a royal procession to harm the royal family and to steal gold and other valuables. Therefore, the king would have valiant soldiers around the wedding party to protect it from attack. In the same way, the enemy seeks to ambush the saints, but the Lord watches over us, guarding with great care and power.

“Of the mighty men of Israel” means the best of the best. The native-born bodyguards were true and loyal to the king. They would die before they would see the king killed or injured. They could be trusted to protect him, unlike hired mercenaries who would flee if the pressure and danger was too great. The Holy Spirit is fierce in His loyalty to Jesus so His protection is sure.

“They all hold swords, being expert in war.” These valiant men are mature warriors, skilled in spiritual warfare. The Holy Spirit knows all the schemes of the enemy. He has amazing ability to war. He is the most excellent protector there is or could be. The Lord’s protection over us is passionate, loyal, skillful and diligent.

We are protected by Jesus through the Holy Spirit. We are safe.

“Every man has his sword at his side, guarding against the terrors of the night.” Their swords are ready to be drawn at a moment’s notice. They are prepared and ready for action, vigilant in their attitude. The powers of darkness are real, but God is more powerful. The Lord is able to keep us and to make us stand blameless on that day with great joy, according to Jude 1:24. If we hold the Word of God as the confession of our hearts and do not yield to condemnation, He will give us victory over every sin in due time. He will enable us to endure pressure and trials. He has protected us from anything too intense, though it may feel that way at times. He is faithful to bring us through as we reach out to Him and trust in His love for us. He is able to keep our hearts full of love for Him, fascinated and tenderized, empowered to love Him.

“King Solomon has made for himself a palanquin, a sedan chair.” King Solomon built a palanquin, a portable chair, enclosed with curtains and carried on poles by royal attendants. Some Bible versions call this a chariot. This royal couch was used by the queen-to-be on her wedding day. It was very luxurious and comfortable, being long enough to lie down in and rest, like a long limousine would be today.

Jesus created a royal palanquin in the spiritual sense in His redemptive work on the Cross. He made it Himself. In Genesis 1, Jesus could sit in heaven, speak a word and create the entire universe. But when it came to redemption and providing Himself a Bride, He had to stand and offer Himself. He could not stay at a distance and command it to come into being. He had to involve Himself in a very personal way to accomplish it.

“ Of the wood of Lebanon” speaks of humanity. In the Old Testament, wood often refers to humanity. Jesus had to lay aside the form of God and become a man in order to create this palanquin, this plan of redemption. A God who was willing to become flesh and pay the price Himself made this chair.

The wood of Lebanon was the most expensive wood in the world. It was the strongest and most fragrant. The value of this wood was unsurpassed. This describes the life of Jesus as a man. The glory and marvel are that this couch was made of the most costly and the strongest flesh that ever walked on the earth. Jesus humbled Himself for our sakes and became a man so He might be like us in all things. If He made such a great sacrifice to redeem us, how much more will He protect us?

“He made its pillars of silver” refers to the platform or supporting structure being created of silver. Silver speaks of redemption, Jesus’ redeeming work on the Cross. This is what holds us up on our journey through the wilderness. We can rest our whole weight, our whole life on the fact of what He accomplished for us on the Cross.

“Its support of gold” indicates the railings around the seat are made of gold. These were for safety, so the Bride would not fall out of the palanquin. Gold refers to divinity, so this Bride’s protection is made of divine wisdom and power. God’s grace surrounds us and keeps us safe in the gospel.

“Its seat of purple fabric” speaks of royalty and authority. The gospel on which we rest was planned by God. It carries the Father’s authority, which is above everything else--no one and nothing can successfully challenge it. It was His plan from the beginning. We enter into His authority when we rest on the gospel.

“With its interior paved with love for the daughters of Jerusalem” refers to the fact that the affections of Jesus, His great love for us, is the foundation of redemption. “ For the daughters of Jerusalem” means this gospel of love is for the whole church, not just the mature. All of the tapestry of this palanquin was woven by God’s love for us. God’s plans are always and only carried out through love. Everything He does for us, even His discipline, is paved with love. He will not spare us difficulty if it will enable us to walk in greater love, but the Lord, in His perfect wisdom, trains us in perfect love, not adding one unnecessary burden or trial in our lives. Everything God does in our lives is out of love for us and will result in us loving Him more. His banner over our lives is truly love.

Being able to receive His love and to feel it separates us from all the rest of creation. We are empowered to walk in love as He works in our hearts. As we sit in this seat, we are surrounded by the tapestry of His love for us. We receive His love and give it freely back to Him. The gospel is this divine romance.

Now the Bride exhorts the younger believers, “Go forth, O daughters of Zion.” She calls them forth to maturity just as the Lord called her forth. This time the daughters of Jerusalem are referred to as the daughters of Zion.

“ And see King Solomon with the crown” speaks of Jesus as King of Kings. She is preaching to the daughters to build their faith in a triumphant, sovereign King. To recognize the sovereignty of Jesus is to see His authority over Satan and thus, over all that can harm us. When the power of fear is broken by this revelation, it leads to a new boldness to go forth in partnership with Jesus. She wants the daughters to gaze on Jesus as she has so they can have this revelation of His safety and splendor. The church is exhorted to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. As we see Jesus, the King who loves us passionately, we will feel safe. Fear will no longer rule our lives. We may experience fear from time to time, but it will not rule us or dominate our lives.

“With which His mother crowned Him” refers to the fact that there is a crown that Jesus wants more than any other. “His mother” speaks of the Church. The crown Jesus wants more than any other is the crown of the voluntary love of His Bride. The Church crowns Jesus as king when they respond to His Kingship in a personal way. He is King whether we recognize Him or not, but He desires the crown we offer Him when we acknowledge Him as “Bridegroom King.” He will be crowned with the crown of our voluntary love on the wedding day.

“On the day of His wedding, the day of the gladness of His heart” means that all Jesus has done to provide redemption for us is in anticipation of the joy of this day. We are the inheritance of the Lord. He will only have gladness of heart if His people are His Bride on that final day. As the Bridegroom rejoices over the Bride, so God will rejoice over us. All of heaven will rejoice with great joy because it is the day of gladness in the heart of God. It will also be the day of the gladness of our hearts as we love our eternal Bridegroom forever.

Here we are, living in the wilderness of a fallen world, when the King of Glory Himself sees us and His heart is captured by the sight. He cannot rescue us from this place with a word of command. No, it will take something more. Passion and desire for us, His beloved Bride-to-be, fill His heart as He rises from His seat in heaven, takes the form of a man and comes to earth to create the vehicle of salvation, the palanquin, to carry us safely with Him back to His home in glory. It is our voluntary love for Him that brings Him the greatest gladness, the greatest joy. What a wonderful Bridegroom! What a magnificent plan! Only God Himself could have come up with this, the God of passionate affection for us, His Beloved.

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