An Orchard Of Delights

An Orchard Of Delights

In Song of Solomon 4 (please read the whole chapter before reading this devotional), we see the Lord Jesus Christ (pictured in the Song of Songs as Solomon) admiring the beauty of His espoused (engaged) bride (in which the individual believer and the true church collectively is pictured). In Song of Songs 4:1-5, we hear Him praising her beauty, listing seven particulars of her makeup. Matthew Henry does a great job of breaking down the symbolism for us, tracing out each symbol in this whole book and in this passage by showing how they are used elsewhere in the Word of God. There are many spiritual lessons we can glean here in regards to the believer's fellowship with her Saviour, but I am only going to focus on  a few portions of this passage in this devotional.

Notice Jesus' praise of His fiancé, His espoused bride:

Song of Songs 4:1a Behold, thou art fair, My love; behold, thou art fair...

Song of Songs 4:7 Thou art all fair, My love; there is no spot in thee.

We are perfect in the Lord's eyes, without spot or blemish. See Ephesians 1:6; 5:25-27. The seven things He praised her for show her perfection in His eyes - this is how our Heavenly Father views us when we are in Christ (which happens at the moment of our salvation, when we receive the Lord Jesus Christ, trusting in His death, burial, and resurrection, and believing that He paid the full penalty needed to save us from our sins).

Jesus/Solomon goes on to describe how the Shulamite (feminine form of the name Solomon, see Song of Songs 6:13) has captured His attention and taken His breath away:

Song of Songs 4:9-11 Thou hast ravished My heart, My sister, My spouse; thou hast ravished My heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck. How fair is thy love, My sister, My spouse! how much better is thy love than wine! and the smell of thine ointments than all spices! 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.

The Pulpit Commentary says the following about this verse:

"If but a portion of her beauty so overpowers, what will be the effect of the whole blaze of her perfection? As the Church advances in her likeness to her Lord, she becomes more and more the object of his delight, and as the soul receives more and more grace, so is her fellowship with Christ more and more assured and joyful."

Again, a little further in the same commentary:

"So the Lord has said, in Isaiah 62:5, that he rejoiceth over his people as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride."

Truly, this book portrays the love the Saviour has for His people - whether His people in the Old Testament, the nation of Israel, or His people in the New Testament, the church of Christ, and each individual believer that makes up His bride.

Chapter four of this Song goes on to show the lengths our Saviour will go to bring forth fruit in the lives of true believers. He considers their souls or hearts His garden that He fellowships in. We can clearly see this in the following verses:

Song of Solomon 4:12  A garden inclosed is My sister, My spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.

Song of Solomon 4:16  Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon My garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into His garden, and eat His pleasant fruits.

Song of Solomon 5:1  I am come into My garden, My sister, My spouse: I have gathered My myrrh with my spice; I have eaten My honeycomb with My honey; I have drunk My wine with My milk: eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.

Notice that Song of Songs 4:16 and 5:1 goes from Solomon/Jesus speaking to the believer/Shulamite speaking. Every time this Song says "My love," it is Jesus speaking, and every time it says "my (well) Beloved," it is the believer speaking. Each of the two verses above start off with Jesus referring to His bride - "My sister, My spouse" - then ends with her referring to her "Beloved."

The important part I want to emphasize here is that though the believer is considered a garden, it is HIS garden - we are HIS GARDEN. The fruits we produce are produced by the Holy Spirit working in and through us. See John 15:1-5 and Galatians 5:22-23.

Now back to the Lord's garden - our hearts or souls:

Song of Solomon 4:13-15  Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard, 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 streams from Lebanon.

Jesus refers to the believer as an orchard. Strong's Concordance says this about the word "orchard" used here:

Strong’s #h6508, “p̱arḏês; of foreign origin; a park: — forest, orchard.”

In the New Testament, we find a related Greek word that is used only three times - both the Hebrew word and this Greek word come from the same Persian word, "Paradise":

Luke 23:43  And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with Me in paradise.

2 Corinthians 12:2-4  I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

Revelation 2:7  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

The Strong's definition of the word "Paradise": Strong’s #g3857, “paradeisos; of Oriental origin (compare h6508); a park, i.e. (specially), an Eden (place of future happiness, “paradise”): — paradise.”

We can see from this definition that this word is related in meaning to the same OT word we were looking at from Song of Songs 4:13, "Orchard." The orchard, the believer's garden, and ultimately God's garden, is literally a Paradise to the Lord.

Webster's 1828 Dictionary: “Paradise:

PAR'ADISE, n. Gr. The garden of Eden, in which Adam and Eve were placed immediately after their creation.

1. A place of bliss; a region of supreme felicity or delight.

2. Heaven, the blissful seat of sanctified souls after death.

3. Primarily, in Persia, a pleasure-garden with parks and other appendages.”

The Garden of Eden (which means "delight, pleasure") in Genesis was created to be a garden of delight for man. There He placed man and there He provided for all their needs as they fellowshipped day by day with Him.

Genesis 2:8-9  And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there He put the man whom He had formed. And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. 

Though mankind sinned, God provided a way of redemption through the Lord Jesus Christ - and one day, the new heaven and new earth will basically be a restored Eden, where we will dwell forever in the presence of God (this is what the third heaven is referring to, Paradise, where the presence of God dwells - see Hebrews 9:24).

In eternity, man will dwell in a new Paradise, a new Garden of Eden/Delight, where we will delight forever in the Lord our God, forever worshipping in His presence. See Revelation 21:1-5; 22:1-5.

But now back to the passage that started this blessed train of thought:

Song of Solomon 4:13  Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard,

To recap: "Orchard" here is "Paradise" (to use the NT Greek word and the transliterated English word to emphasize this point). The Lord Jesus Christ's Garden of Delight, His Paradise, is His people! From the moment you came to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, the moment you were born again as His child, adopted into His family, accepted in the Beloved, you became His Garden of Delight, His Paradise - and just as we will forever delight in fellowship with the God who created us, gave us life and new life in Him, even so will our Saviour delight in us and in fellowship with us for eternity.

Now tell me that did not bless your soul today!

May 3rd, 2024
Jerry Bouey

Romans 8 - God Is For Us

Romans 8 - God Is For Us

In Romans 8:28, we see that our Heavenly Father God is working out all things in our lives for our good. (This is a promise only God's children can claim - those who have been born again into God's family through faith in Jesus for salvation.) The good that He is working out is to make us more like His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 8:28-29 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

We can take confidence in the Lord and His will for our lives, and trust Him for all that He allows or brings into our lives - because He has a purpose for everything. One verse that I often think of in relation to the above passage is:

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

I can rejoice and thank the Lord for all He allows into my life because it is all according to His will and purpose!

In light of that above fact, I know that God is for us.

1) The Holy Spirit is for us:

He will lead us and give us the assurance of our adoption as sons.

Romans 8:14-17 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together.

The Holy Spirit will help us to pray according to the will of God for our lives.

Romans 8:26-27 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

2) Our Heavenly Father is for us:

Romans 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

He has already met our greatest need (salvation), and has promised to meet all our other needs.

Romans 8:32 He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

He justifies His children (declares them not guilty in His sight).

Romans 8:33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.

3) The Son of God (The Lord Jesus Christ) is for us:

Jesus is in Heaven as our advocate and Mediator between us and our Heavenly Father; He is standing in the gap for us when we sin against Him - ready to offer forgiveness and cleansing through His shed blood.

Romans 8:34 Who is He that condemneth?* It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

*God is the only one who has the power and authority to condemn us - no one else can, but He is the one who has already justified His children, and He will never go back on His word! We can take full assurance in that!

No one and nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of Christ, nor from our Saviour Himself.

Romans 8:35-39 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Knowing that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all for us, we can trust God fully to carry out His perfect will in our lives. Truly He has made us more than conquerors over all the trials in our lives!

Written October 29th, 2004
Jerry Bouey

See also Romans 8:1 - Now No Condemnation

Romans 8:1 - Now No Condemnation

Romans 8:1 - Now No Condemnation

Romans 7:19-25 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

The great dilemma of the ages: where do I receive victory in my Christian life? In my flesh I cannot please the Lord nor live the way He wants me to live. On my own, I cannot even fulfill the Law's demands. The battle the Apostle Paul describes in Romans 7 seems well-nigh hopeless, futile, vain - but there is hope! The conflict doesn't end there. The same God who inspired Romans 7 also gave us Romans 8, the Victory Chapter. This chapter is what many theologians refer to as the Jewel of the New Testament. And the truths contained within these verses gleam brightly for all with eyes to see, and ears to hear!

Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

The key to daily victory is to abide in Christ. When you came to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation from sin, fully trusting in His death, burial and resurrection, your account was credited with the perfect sinless righteousness of Jesus, the only person who has ever fully fulfilled the Old Testament Law. When our Heavenly Father looks down from Heaven at His children, He sees only the righteousness of the spotless Lamb of God, not our blemishes and sin-stains. Right here and now (not just after we die), all God's children are free from condemnation! From the moment I placed personal faith in Jesus Christ, He delivered me from the wrath of God for my sins (eternity in Hell) - because He has already borne my penalty for them when He died on the cross of Calvary. The lightning of God's wrath will never strike the same person twice - either we accept Jesus' payment for our sins, or we bear the penalty ourselves in Hell. If you are reading this and you don't know Jesus as your personal Saviour, I plead with you to accept His payment for your sin. Come unto Jesus for forgiveness and cleansing, and let Him make you a new creature!

The hymn writer, Philip Bliss, said it best in his song Once For All:

Free from the law - O happy condition!

Jesus hath bled, and there is remission;

Cursed by the law and bruised by the fall,

Grace hath redeemed us once for all.

Now are we free - there's no condemnation!

Jesus provides a perfect salvation;

"Come unto Me" O hear His sweet call!

Come - and He saves us once for all. 

May 2003

Jerry Bouey

See also Romans 8 - God Is For Us

Taken From The Evil To Come

Taken From The Evil To Come

One thing I love about the Word of God is that so many of its principles and promises are actually illustrated or portrayed in the lives of Bible characters themselves.

For example, I was discussing this passage a few days ago with a friend:

Isaiah 57:1-2 The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness.

It is a mercy when a time of trouble or evil is coming upon a city or a nation, and the Lord mercifully takes some of His people home before that time.

This is clearly stated and portrayed in the lives of several of Israel's kings, such as (note, these examples are presented in the order they appear in the Old Testament, not in any order of importance):

Ahab - declared to be the most wicked of the kings of the northern kingdom, yet when God threatened judgement upon him and the nation of Israel, he sincerely repented and I believed got saved.

1 Kings 21:29 Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house.

Hezekiah - he got a bit prideful and made some foolish decisions, like showing Babylon all his riches, but the Lord had mercy upon him and his kingdom and held Babylon back from coming against Israel for several more generations.

2 Kings 20:17-19 Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the LORD. And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, Good is the word of the LORD which thou hast spoken. And he said, Is it not good, if peace and truth be in my days?

2 Chronicles 32:26 Notwithstanding Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD came not upon them in the days of Hezekiah.

We could also add the most wicked king of Judah to that number, Manasseh. Though he was temporarily captured and enslaved by Babylon, he truly repented, and his kingdom did not face further judgement until quite a bit after he was off the scene. (Granted, the Bible does not directly state the reason Manasseh's kingdom was spared for a time, though the history shows it did not come until several generations later.)

2 Chronicles 33:11-13 Wherefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon. And when he was in affliction, he besought the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, And prayed unto him: and he was intreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD he was God.

Josiah - judgement was coming upon the southern kingdom for all their idolatry and rebellion against the Lord, but because king Josiah turned to the Lord with all his heart, the Lord brought revival during his reign. As a result, God waited a little bit longer before bringing Babylon against Israel. 

2 Chronicles 34:28 Behold, I will gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered to thy grave in peace, neither shall thine eyes see all the evil that I will bring upon this place, and upon the inhabitants of the same. So they brought the king word again.

September 28, 2022

Jerry Bouey

See also Kingly Lessons - None Like These

Sevenfold Promises And Statements In The New Testament - Part Two

Sevenfold Promises And Statements In The New Testament - Part Two

K. Seven aspects of true faith in the church age mentioned, including the Godhead/Trinity.

Ephesians 4:4-6

1) There is one body, 

2) and one Spirit, 

3) even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 

4) One Lord, 

5) one faith, 

6) one baptism, 

7) One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

One Spirit (the Holy Spirit),

One Lord (Jesus Christ, the Son),

One God and Father.

L. Seven components to the whole armour of God.

Ephesians 6:14-18

Stand therefore, 

1) having your loins girt about with truth, 

2) and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 

3) And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 

4) Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 

5) And take the helmet of salvation, 

6) and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 

7) Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

M. Paul’s sevenfold natural advantages counted loss for Christ.

Philippians 3:5-6

1) Circumcised the eighth day, 

2) of the stock of Israel, 

3) of the tribe of Benjamin, 

4) an Hebrew of the Hebrews; 

5) as touching the law, a Pharisee; a Pharisee;

6) Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; 

7) touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

Paul lists seven natural advantages he had, which he rejected in favour of knowing the Lord Jesus Christ and the power of His resurrection.

See Philippians 3:7-10

N. Seven aspects of Paul’s character and beliefs given.

2 Timothy 3:10

But thou hast fully known 

1) my doctrine, 

2) manner of life, 

3) purpose, 

4) faith, 

5) longsuffering, 

6) charity, 

7) patience,

O. Sevenfold assertion of Christ’s deity.

Hebrews 1:2-3

Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, 

1) whom he hath appointed heir of all things, 

2) by whom also he made the worlds; 

3) Who being the brightness of his glory, 

4) and the express image of his person, 

5) and upholding all things by the word of his power, 

6) when he had by himself purged our sins, 

7) sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

P. Seven furnishings in the temple/tabernacle.

Hebrews 9:4-5

Which had 

1) the golden censer, 

2) and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, 

3) wherein was the golden pot that had manna, 

4) and Aaron's rod that budded, 

5) and the tables of the covenant; 

6) And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing 

7) the mercyseat;

of which we cannot now speak particularly.

Q. Sevenfold statements about each covenant, Mount Sinai contrasted with Mount Zion (Sion), the Law compared with grace.

Mount Sinai:

Hebrews 12:18-19

For ye are not come unto the mount 

1) that might be touched, 

2) and that burned with fire, 

3) nor unto blackness, 

4) and darkness,

5) and tempest,

6) And the sound of a trumpet,

7) and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more:

Mount Sion (Zion):

Hebrews 12:22-24

But ye are come unto mount Sion,

1) and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem,

2) and to an innumerable company of angels, 

3) To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven,

4) and to God the Judge of all,

5) and to the spirits of just men made perfect,

6) And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant,

7) and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

R. Heavenly wisdom has seven characteristics.

James 3:17

But the wisdom that is from above is

1) first pure, 

2) then peaceable, 

3) gentle, 

4) and easy to be intreated, 

5) full of mercy and good fruits, 

6) without partiality, 

7) and without hypocrisy.

See also Proverbs 9:1.

S. Seven things about God’s people.

1 Peter 2:9-10

But ye are 

1) a chosen generation, 

2) a royal priesthood, 

3) an holy nation,

4) a peculiar people; 

5) that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 

6) Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: 

7) which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

T. Seven characteristics we are to add to our faith.

2 Peter 1:5-7

And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith 

1) virtue; 

2) and to virtue knowledge; 

3) And to knowledge temperance; 

4) and to temperance patience; 

5) and to patience godliness; 

6) And to godliness brotherly kindness; 

7) and to brotherly kindness charity.

In this devotional, I have chosen not to include anything from the book of Revelation, as I had pointed out all the sevens I had found in two previous studies.

Sevens In Revelation
Old Study On Sevens In Revelation

November 8th, 2023

Jerry Bouey