My beloved is mine, and I am His: He feedeth among the lilies (Song of Solomon 2:16).
This verse is the heart and marrow of spiritual affections. Sometimes an elect bride has a great interest in dress, or jewels, or flowers. But nothing is so precious to her as her bridegroom lover. Nothing she can glory in can equal this, that “my beloved is mine and I am His.” This, too, is the language of the Church to the Lord Jesus and of every believer who is numbered in that elect company called the Church.
My Beloved Is Mine
All the redeemed of the Lord can say, “My Beloved is mine.” He is so because He has been given to us by the Father. It was the Father who sent the Son to be our Saviour, who gave His beloved Son to us as an “unspeakable gift.” Had the Father given the whole multitude of angels, it would have been a mighty spectacle, but He gave a far more eminent gift when He gave His only begotten Son. That gift surpasses all other gifts.
He is ours, too, because He has won our hearts and has become ours by way of possession. He has given Himself to us and enriched us with all the benefits of His grace and love. He has come to abide in us and to make Himself at home in us. He finds a place of rest in His people when the world has closed its doors on Him and shut Him out.
This verse of the elect Bride is free from all supposition. There is an actual and blessed possession of the Lord. What could be a greater miracle than that we should possess Heaven’s beloved One? There is a confidence in this word which expresses full assurance and complete freedom from doubt and fear. He may be something abstract to some; a myth to others; a mere fancy to still others; but to His elect Bride He is a living, lovable, lovely, all-glorious Person.
He is ours, also, because He has given Himself to us. “Christ… loved the church, and gave Himself for it” (Ephesians 5:25). It is a most enriching thing that He should thus give Himself to us, that He be joined to us in such a close and intimate union. But it is thus that He has pledged Himself in the dearest union possible and that forever.
And I Am His
We are His, first, by the Father’s gift. He who gives His beloved Son to us, has also given the company of the redeemed to Him as a bride to a Bridegroom. We are His inheritance— His property.
We are His, too, because He bought and purchased us. “Ye are not your own. For ye are bought with a price” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). That price was not a cash transaction. It was no mere silver or gold which could make such a purchase. The price was that of His own precious blood shed on Calvary’s cross.
We are also His because we have responded to His love, have given ourselves to Him, and have taken hold of Him by faith. That surrender has been whole and entire. There is no surer claim to His love than the claim of faith. His love never came to us through any other door than the door of faith.
The marital bond is the most tender known to man. It is the nearest and dearest of all unions. It is conjugal and therefore inseparable. It is a husband-and-wife relationship, even before the actual ceremony; that is, Christ and the Church are espoused and pledged to each other. The union is spiritual and living. “He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.” They have one and the same Spirit. The union is as vital as the branch to the vine with its life-flow from the parent tree to the branch. “It is a great mystery,” says Paul, and we all agree. It is beyond the imagination and comprehension of the natural man. And it is indissoluble. Christ and His Church can never be separated. The union can never be broken.
He Feedeth Among the Lilies
He feedeth among the lilies, that is, in the pure places. It is, I think, a word of warning. We cannot play loose with such a Lover. This is a love union, but a love union based upon absolute holiness. The Lord our God is a jealous God, that is, He has a holy jealousy for the one whom He has loved so dearly and purchased at so great a price. We must feed where He feeds, and beware of allowing our heart’s affections to stray to pastures of worldliness and self-seeking. We must set a watch upon our thoughts, words, and deeds, lest we should grieve Him, who loves us so.
You will always find Him in the pure places—alongside the Father on the throne of glory, among the angels of Heaven, in the Scriptures of truth, in the gathering of His saints. It is summertime in the soul when we are with Him and can feed among the lilies. Let us feed where He feeds and be found only in pure and holy pasture.
O Lord, the Spring of all my joys,
The life of my delights,
The glory of my brightest days,
And comfort of my nights!
The opened heavens round me shine
With beams of sacred bliss,
When Jesus shows His mercy mine,
And whispers I am His.
My soul would leave this mortal clay,
At Thy transporting word,
Caught up with joy the shining way,
To see and praise Thee, Lord.
Isaac Watts