THE BRIDE’S DESIRE
Let my Beloved come into his garden
And eat his pleasant fruits.
The Bride reciprocates the Bridegroom’s love. ‘My love,’ answered with ‘My Beloved.’ Christ’s love to us the ground and occasion of ours to Him. The Bride’s desire one with her Husband’s. He admires and commends her as his garden. She invites him to the enjoyment of it. His desire that its spices should flow forth; here that he should come and eat its pleasant fruits. Believers made such for Christ’s enjoyment: their desire that He should have it. The Bride calls herself: ‘His garden.’ Believers no longer their own, but Christ’s. ‘Ye are bought with a price.’ Christ claims the Church as His garden: believers gladly respond to the claim. ‘One shall say: I am the Lord’s.’ ‘O Lord, I am Thy servant; thou hast loosed my bonds’ (Isaiah 44:5; Psalms 116:16). Christ’s presence in and with His Church the believer’s greatest desire. ‘Let my beloved come into his garden.’ His presence in His Church and with believers, not always alike. Times in the Lord’s earthly ministry when He hid Himself Such times still. ‘Thou art a God that hidest Thyself.’ ‘He hideth His face from the house of Jacob.’ Times when the Bride has to cry to her Husband: ‘Why hidest thou Thyself.’ Israel exhorted to keep their camp holy, lest the Lord who walked in the midst of it should see any unclean thing and turn away from them (Deuteronomy 23:14). Christ’s visit to and continuance with believers connected with their love and obedience. ‘He that hath My commandments and keepeth them,’ &c. (John 14:21) The Bride’s desire that nothing may hinder his presence and stay with her. The Church and the believer who desires Christ’s presence, to be careful to put away whatever is offensive to Him. His words to the lukewarm, self-satisfied, and self-righteous, yet poor, wretched, miserable, and blind, and naked Church at Laodicea: ‘Beloved, I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear My voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me’ (Revelation 3:20). Christ’s condescension and love to His Church, that He finds His sweetest entertainment in it. Finds and eats ‘his pleasant fruits.’ ‘With desire have I desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer.’ Fellowship with loving and lively believers His greatest joy. The desire of such believers that He may find in them that joy. The believer, notwithstanding his own corruption, conscious that through grace there are with him pleasant fruits for Christ to eat. No part of faith to deny the Spirit’s work. ‘Know ye not that Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?’ ‘The care of believers that Christ may have pleasant fruits in them, both in abundance and in good condition, for His own enjoyment. No pleasant fruits in the Church or a believer, out what are His, and the production of His own Spirit. ‘His pleasant fruits.’ The fruits in the garden Christ’s; the weeds and briars our own. The productions of grace in the soul, ‘pleasant fruits;’ those of unsanctified nature, sour crabs. Christ’s ‘pleasant fruits’ found only in His Church. Elsewhere, only ‘wild grapes.’ Pleasant fruit found only on the branches of the True Vine. The smallest service of believers rendered in faith and love, reckoned and enjoyed by Christ as ‘His pleasant fruits.’ Their believing prayers sweet incense to Him. Their thanksgivings and praises a well-pleasing sacrifice. Then gracious words recorded in His Book of remembrance. Their tears of godly sorrow put into His bottle. Observe—
1. Believers to be more concerned about Christ’s enjoyment than their own. Their desire to be rather that Christ may eat His pleasant fruits than that they themselves should.
2. Believers to consider that all that is theirs is His, and that what He accepts at their hands is best bestowed. Their honour and happiness that He can accept of anything they have, and can employ it for His own glory and pleasure.
3. Fruitfulness and love on the part of the Church most likely to secure Christ’s presence in it. To gain the Bridegroom’s presence the Bride must have her ‘pleasant fruits.’
4. The believer’s best time when Christ comes in to him, and eats with him his pleasant fruits. ‘I will sup with him and he with Me.’