Mar 14
29
My Friend!
(James Smith, “The Love of Christ! The Fullness, Freeness, and Immutability of the Savior’s Grace Displayed!”)
“Yes, He is altogether lovely! This is my Beloved, and this is my Friend!” Song of Songs 5:16
Jesus manifests His love — as the Friend of His people. He . . .
fills every relation to them,
performs every kind office for them, and
comforts them with divine consolations.
He invites them to pour their griefs into His bosom — and tell out all their troubles before Him. He holds communion with them — and indulges them to converse with Him as a man with his friend. He encourages them by assurances of His love — and fortifies them by promises of His presence. “Fear not,” He says, “for I am with you! Be not dismayed, I am your God! I will strengthen you, surely I will help you. Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand!”
His power, His riches, His wisdom, and His Spirit — are devoted to their best interests, and employed for their present and everlasting welfare. He watches over them in tender love — and listens to them with compassionate concern.
He is a friend who loves at all times — a brother born for adversity. His love, in its immutability, fullness, and perfection — is the great bulwark of their safety; and His friendship — is the joy of their hearts. He sticks closer than a brother, and never will fail or forsake the soul that trusts in Him.
He performs all the kind offices of friendship . . .
in sickness and health;
in plenty and poverty;
in life and death.
He has Heaven and earth at His command — as the friend of the defenseless soul.
He has all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge — as the companion of the ignorant and fearful.
He calls His people, friends — and presents Himself to them as their friend for their comfort, confidence, and joy.
O how the love of Jesus shines in His friendship! As our friend, He . . .
lived in our world,
suffered in our place,
died in our stead,
rose as our representative, and
ascended to Heaven, where He continually makes intercession for us!
He acknowledges that I am an undeserving vile worm — yet calls me His friend! He knows the worst parts of my character — and yet He says, “You are mine! I have chosen you — and will not cast you away!”
—
A friend whose door is always open!
(John MacDuff, “Brief Thoughts for the Followers of Jesus” 1855)
“Yes, He is altogether lovely! This is my Beloved, and this is my Friend!” Song of Songs 5:16
A Friend! How endearing the title! There is music in the very sound. But if there is something so sweet and precious in having an earthly friend — then what is it to have a Heavenly one! It is of such, that the spouse is here speaking, even of Him who is the chief among ten thousand, and the altogether lovely one! O my soul, let me think of the Lord Jesus as my friend —
my true friend,
my loving friend,
my faithful friend,
my powerful friend,
my seasonable friend,
my unchanging friend,
my friend who sticks closer than a brother,
my friend who loves me at all times, and on all occasions!
In the enjoyment of the Savior’s friendship, there are many precious privileges involved. One is, freedom of access to Him at all seasons, and under all circumstances. In our fellowship with strangers, it is proper that some degree of reserve should be maintained. But it is not so with a well-known and thoroughly tested friend — his heart and home are always open! Just so, Jesus is always ready to receive us, just as we are — guilty, polluted, and wretched!
Christian, the Lord Jesus is a friend whose door is always open! Knock whenever you will — you are sure to be welcome. It is true — He sits upon a throne — but it is the throne of grace; and you are called upon to approach it, not in a spirit of fear and trembling — but with filial confidence, that you may receive from His fullness, and find grace to help in time of need.
O my soul, what a friend have you in Christ!
—
“I have called you friends!” John 15:15
The sinner’s friend
The Pharisees called our Lord “The friend of sinners.” They thought to brand him with shame and hold his name up to ridicule; but what they thought to be his shame is his chief glory. He is indeed “the friend of sinners.” Thank God he is! This is what makes the gospel good news. This is no sham gospel that we preach; but it is real salvation for real sinners. It is real grace for real guilt. We preach no gospel of merit for moralists. We preach the good news of forgiveness for men who are nothing, have nothing and can do nothing! “COME ye sinners, poor and needy, weak and wounded, sick and sore. Jesus ready stands to save you, full of pity, love, and power.” Henry Mahan.
—
“I am my beloved’s, and his desire is towards me.”—Song vii. 10.
Yes, dearest Jesus! I am truly thine, by every tie which can make me thine. I am thine by the gift of GOD the FATHER; by thine own betrothing me to thyself; by the HOLY GHOST anointing me in thee, and making me one with thee, and in thee, before the world. And I am thine in the recovery of the church from Adam’s fall and transgression by the sacrifice of thyself: for thou hast bought me with thy blood, and made me thereby the conquest of thine HOLY SPIRIT. And now through thy divine teaching I can and do discover, that from everlasting thy desire was towards thy redeemed ones, and even when dead in trespasses and sins, it was thy desire to quicken them into life, and bring them to thyself. And even now, notwithstanding all my backwardness to thee, thou restest in thy love, and thou art calling me by thy grace, and seeking continual fellowship in ordinances, and by thy word and providences; all which prove that thy desire is towards me. And as to the everlasting enjoyment of all thy church above, thy prayer to thy Father manifested thy desire, when thou saidst, “Father, I will that they whom thou, hast given me be with me to behold my glory!’ Are these then the desires of my God and Saviour, my Husband, my Brother, my friend? And shall my heart be thus cold towards thee? Oh for the reviving influences of thy Spirit, that I may cry out with the Church “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for thy love is better than wine.” Robert Hawker.
—
The friend and Brother
Proverbs 17:17: A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
Now I will confess that this verse indeed speaks of each and every redeemed of the Lord as they are friends one to another and brothers and sister’s one towards another. Yet, we must see Christ as having the ultimate fulfillment in this verse as in every passage of Holy writ! I can not nor can you ‘LOVE’ at all times, but I known one who as the Friend of sinners has and does love at all times! If this is not the case then salvation is only a dream and we are of all men most miserable.
Also, who but our dear and sweet Elder Brother was born to carry our adversities and bare our iniquities? Never was there a brother like this ONE; he by Himself took upon Him our trouble, our tight place as we came into trouble from the womb and because of God’s Holy Law were indeed in a tight place. I remember my brother Scott Richardson telling me often that there are 3 phases in a believer’s life: we are either in trouble, heading into trouble or just coming out of trouble! Yes, yet in our adversity we have a brother who was born for this very issue and He became poor that we might through His poverty become rich.
At all times and in every trial or trouble my soul shall find its peace and rest in MY FRIEND AND IN MY BROTHER, the high, holy and lifted up one we reverently call Jesus The Christ. Drew Dietz
—
“What will you see in the Shulamite? As it were the company of two armies.” Song of Solomon 6:13
Are you not often a mystery to yourself? Warm one moment, cold the next; abasing yourself one hour, exalting yourself the following; loving the world, full of it, steeped up to your lips in it today; crying, groaning, and sighing for a sweet manifestation of the love of God tomorrow; brought down to nothingness, covered with shame and confusion, on your knees before you leave your room; filled with pride and self-importance before you have got down stairs; despising the world, and willing to give it all up for one taste of the love of Jesus when in solitude; trying to grasp it with both hands when in business.
What a mystery are you! Touched by love, and stung with enmity; possessing a little wisdom, and a great deal of folly; earthly-minded, and yet having the affections in heaven; pressing forward, and lagging behind; full of sloth, and yet taking the kingdom with violence!
And thus the Spirit, by a process which we may feel but cannot adequately describe, leads us into the mystery of the two natures, that “company of two armies,” perpetually struggling and striving against each other in the same bosom. So that one man cannot more differ from another than the same man differs from himself.
But do not nature, sense, and reason contradict this? Do not the wise and prudent deny this? “There must be a progressive advance,” they say, “in holiness; there must be a gradual amendment of our nature until at length all sin is rooted out, and we become as perfect as Christ.” But the mystery of the kingdom of heaven is this–that our carnal mind undergoes no alteration, but maintains a perpetual war with grace–and thus, the deeper we sink in self-abasement under a sense of our vileness, the higher we rise in a knowledge of Christ; and the blacker we are in our own view, the more lovely does Jesus appear. Daily portions Joseph Philpot.