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But here we are in Song of Solomon and this is the romance book of the Bible. This is the romance book, right? I remember going to, I've been a young person, I used to like reading. I still like to read different stories. I like to read adventure stories, I suppose. Action, adventure, that's what the boys like to read. But I always found that the girls like to read the love stories, the romance stories. Or if you were to choose potentially a movie to watch with your wife, you want to watch the action one and the wife wants to watch the rom-com, the romantic comedy or something like that. There's not a lot of good things out there to watch anyway. But generally speaking, look, if you're in that romantic mood, let me encourage you. Song of Solomon is the book that God has given you to satisfy those romantic requirements. And what we see here, I'm not sure if you've got, yes, in verse number one, Song of Solomon chapter one, verse one, it says, the song of songs which is Solomon's, the song of songs which is Solomon's. The title for the sermon tonight is the song of songs, the song of songs. What does that mean for it to be the song of songs? Keep your finger there and come with me to 1 Kings chapter four, 1 Kings chapter four, 1 Kings chapter four. And really the Song of Solomon is a book for marriage. It's for husbands and wives. It's so that we know how to treat our spouse. It's so that we know how to maintain a romantic spark in our relationship. Because we all know, you know, when you're first dating, you're trying to impress one another, you turn on the charm, you look nice, you smell nice, but then once you get married, after a few, you know, it starts to kind of deteriorate, you know, as time goes on. And so this is not the book of dating. This is a book of marriage. And the romance is strong, okay? And, you know, one of the things that we need to take away, especially men, is that our wives like it when we're romantic, okay? And, you know, if you say, pastor, I'm not romantic whatsoever, okay, God's given you the book of Song of Solomon to help you, just like anything else in life. There are so many things that we fail in, don't we? You know, even myself, I have to preach the whole counsel of God, all the counsel of God. Does that mean I'm perfect, myself as a pastor and everything? No. There's areas that I need to work in, okay, work on. And I'm sure there are areas in my marriage that I need to work on. My responsibility as a husband, and I'm sure there are things that I need to work on. And so God has given us this book to give us guidance. But look at 1 Kings chapter 4, verse number 30. Now it's called, remember it said the Song of Songs, which is Solomon. Then it starts here in 1 Kings 4, 30. And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the East country and all the wisdom of Egypt. Solomon's known as the wisest person, you know, in the region. And, you know, part of his wisdom is him writing the Song of Solomon. Like there are going to be times as we go through this chapter by chapter that you're going to giggle, you're going to laugh, you're going to think it's a bit silly. But I want you to remember, even if we do have a bit of a laugh because sometimes, you know, relationships can be a little bit funny from time to time. But at the end of it, look, this is God's wisdom to us. And then it says in verse number 31, For he was wiser than all men, than Ethan, the Ezerahites, and Haman, and Chewkol, and Dada, and the sons of Mayol, and his fame was in all nations round about. Look at verse number 32. And he spake three thousand proverbs, and his songs were a thousand and five. King Solomon wrote a thousand and five songs. Think about that, okay. We know that his father David was gifted. You know, most of the psalms are David's work, isn't it? But what we may not have realized is Solomon was also gifted to be a musician, to be a music writer, to be a singer. And he wrote a thousand and five songs. So when we think about that, and we've been given the Song of Songs, what does that mean? I think what this means is that this is the best song that he's ever written. It's the Song of Songs. Out of the thousand and five songs that he wrote, this is the best one. And of course, being under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost as he wrote this, it's captured for us in the canon of Scripture, it would be the best one because at the end of it, it's not just Solomon's wisdom, it's God's word. It's God's word in our relationship. So if it's the best song in Israel at that time, you know, under King Solomon's reign, that's when Israel was doing the best. That's when it was most, you know, doing best as far as economy, as far as its power, its control, its influence. That's when the nation of Israel was at its highest, when Solomon was in power. And, you know, in the top charts, the top music charts, you know, of Israel's greatest hits was the Song of Songs. You know, that was a song that was playing week in, week out on the radio station. Okay, so this is for us, you know, so we can sing along and learn from it. Let's continue in verse number 33, it says, And he spake of trees from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon, you actually see this in the Song of Solomon, and even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the well, he also spake of beasts, that's animals, and of fowl, that's birds, and of creeping things, and of fishes. So what this is saying is that Solomon's wisdom isn't just in his poetry and his songs, his wisdom is also in the sciences. Okay, he's a very intelligent man. And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon from all the kings of the earth which had heard of his wisdom. And so, brethren, there are kings from other nations that would travel to Israel to hear the wisdom of King Solomon. And I'm glad you're here tonight, because what we're going through is the wisdom of Solomon, the Song of Songs, the greatest hits, the greatest hit of all time, the Song of Songs. Look, if kings across the earth wanted to hear it, then I hope you're ready to hear it tonight, okay? As we go chapter by chapter, and to help us improve our marriage relationship. So come back with me to Song of Solomon chapter one, Song of Solomon chapter one, and verse number two. Song of Solomon chapter one verse number two, the Bible says, Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for thy love is better than wine. So when you read that, okay, I really told you this is about a marriage relationship. This is between a husband and a wife. As you read the Song of Solomon, you have to understand there are times when the husband speaks, and there are times when the wife speaks. So if we have verse number two, Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, who's speaking? It's the wife, obviously, right? It's a wife, okay? She says, for thy love is better than wine. Now, the first thing I want you to understand, again, let's turn to another passage. Keep your finger there, and come with me to First Corinthians chapter seven. First Corinthians chapter seven, okay? The first thing that you see from the very onset is a physical relationship between husband and wife. The husband kisses his wife, okay? And husbands, I don't know, I don't know if you've gone a long time not giving your wife physical attention like that. You know, that is biblical. That is right. That's a proper thing to do. Turn with me to First Corinthians chapter seven, please. First Corinthians chapter seven. First Corinthians chapter seven. You know, one thing that my wife really likes if I'm out with my wife sometimes, and she might see like an elderly couple, like a couple in their seven years, eight years, okay? And they're just walking on the footpath together, holding hands. Maybe his arm is around his wife. Maybe his wife gives him a little kiss on his cheek. My wife loves to see that. Because she says, look, you know, even all these years of marriage, they're still in love, okay? And you know, when you see, again, an elderly couple like that, it's special because there was a time when divorce was not an option. It was not something people readily thought about. And look, every marriage has some issue because we're sinners, you know? There's going to be things your wife does that irritates you, and they're going to be things your husband does that irritates you. Well, that's welcome to the club. I mean, that's what everybody knows. But you know, divorce is not an option. Please never let divorce come out of your mouth. The word's divorce. Let it never come out of your mouth, okay? Because it's extremely harmful in your marriage to let that word, even if it enters your mind, you can't let it come out, okay? And what I want you to notice again is the fact that the husband is definitely kissing his wife, but in 1 Corinthians 7, verse number one, it says, Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote of me, it is good for a man not to touch a woman. So hold on, am I meant to kiss or am I not meant to touch? Well, what the Bible's showing us here is the difference between the dating game, okay, getting to know each other, dating, courtship, or whatever you want to call it, versus marriage. Listen, kissing is perfect and proper in marriage, and if you say, but I want to, I want to kiss my girlfriend, what have you, well, what does it say in verse number two? Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, fornication is sex before marriage. To avoid that, because God knows that's tempting. God knows this is a normal part of life, that a man will want to be with a woman. To avoid this, let every man have his own wife and let every woman have her own husband. So what's God's answer to fornication? Marriage, all right, marriage is a good thing. Marriage is the proper place for physical affection. Okay, so again, as we go through the Song of Solomon, this is not how to date, okay, this is not how to get to know a future wife or future husband, no, this is about marriage. And like I said, one of the saddest things I think is that before we get married, we can be ultra romantic, but then once we get married, we lose the romance. No, God wants to make sure that the romance begins in marriage, okay? So come back with me to Song of Solomon chapter one. Song of Solomon chapter one, let's continue there, verse number three. She says to a better husband, because of the savor of thy good ointments, thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee. So she says about her husband that he's got good ointments. What does that mean? He's got the perfume. He's got the deodorant on. You know what? She says, look, my husband smells pleasant. And men will need to remember that, okay? Because after a while, we're like, well, this is how I smell, honey. This is what you married. You go to work, you labor, you sweat and what have you, you come home, you're all dirty. It's like, well, this is what I am. Look, the best thing to do, husbands, remember, you need to look pleasant for your wife. Oh, this is just manliness. Just smell the odors. You know, just, I was going to say, just past wind and just burp in her face. That's just, that's foul, okay? I don't care how comfortable you are. That's not going to help your marriage. That's not going to help the romance in your marriage, okay? So if you smell a little weird, you know, have a shower, put on the deodorant, put on, if you just say without. All right, let's continue. I was going to say, just smell ice, okay? And not only that, what we see here is she goes, she continues, because he's presentable, okay, because he's, you know, fixes himself up for his wife, he says, thy name is as ointment poured forth. So you've got a good reputation for being presentable to the fact that therefore do the virgins love thee, and these virgins, as we keep going, it's just a reference to either two things, either her handmaids. Now remember Solomon's the king of Israel, so he's speaking to his queen, okay? So she's obviously got servants under her. All these just could be her friends that she has, and of course, when she speaks about her husband to her friends, she speaks highly of him, and we're going to see that as we continue, okay? So, you know, we see that she praises her husband, right? Before the virgins, the other ladies think, hey, you married a good guy. You know, you've got a good husband. You know, so his testimony is not just from his wife, but it's also from the friends of his wife. Verse number four, draw me and we will run after thee. The king have brought me into his chambers. We will be glad and rejoice in thee. We will remember thy love more than wine. The upright love thee. Once again, the upright love thee. You're a good man. You've got a good reputation. Everyone knows I'm married to a good guy, right? She's speaking highly of her husband, but you see here that the king has brought her into his chambers. Of course, the physical, you know, intimacy between husband and wife, and people are rejoicing about their love. You know, one of the great things about marriage is, you know, you often have witnesses to that event, and, you know, usually once the vows are exchanged and all that stuff, you know, the celebrant will say something like, you know, you may kiss your bride, right? Isn't that normal? You may kiss the bride, right? And they kiss. What happens? What happens when the bride and the groom kiss the first time as a married couple? Everyone goes woo-hoo, yeah, right? Clapping woo. And then sometimes you've got a reception and people have glasses and they're like ding-ding-ding-ding-ding. What for? Kiss her again, right? Because people are rejoicing in their love, okay? And I think, you know, it's not a bad thing, you know, especially for your children to see that mum and dad love each other, that they do hug, they do kiss. There is physical affection in their life. I think it's a good thing for people to see and to rejoice in, that there is great love in this marriage. Verse number five. Now, again, she's still speaking. She says, I am black. What does she mean by that? I am black, but comely. Comely means attractive, okay? So, she says, look, I am attractive to my husband, but I'm black. So, what's the issue here? She's speaking here, look at the next phrase, O ye daughters of Jerusalem. She's speaking to other ladies, her girlfriend. She's speaking to her friends, okay? So, she's not talking to her husband in this situation, she's speaking to her friends. And so, she tells her friends, yeah, look, I guess I am attractive, but I'm black. Okay, in what sense? She continues as a tense of Keter, as the curtains of Solomon, I guess these are other black things. And why is she black? Verse number six. She says, look not upon me, because I am black. Look, she's got insecurities about a physical appearance. And men, we have to understand this. Because we don't get it. Like, the reason we married our wife is because we think she's the most beautiful thing we've ever seen. I love her, she's beautiful, I want to be with her. But, and then when your wife expresses insecurities, like, you just don't get it, you don't understand, well, what's wrong with that? Now, what's the issue? And what's the issue for her that she's black? Because she says, because the son have looked upon me, my mother's children were angry with me, they made me the keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard have I not kept. She says the reason she's black is because she's got a tan, right? Because the son have looked upon me. So, I assume she would have had been, you know, fair skinned. But what we see here is that she's been working in her family vineyard and so she's received a tan. Now, again, this is more of a cultural thing, because here in Australia, all the ladies are trying to get tans. Like that, like that. You know, ladies, I don't know, I don't know if that's still the case. But I remember when I was young, when I was, you know, in my teenage years, 20s, girls wanted to get tans. They wanted to go to the sun and look darker, alright? And sometimes it wasn't even the sun, sometimes they tried to get sprays to make themselves look darker. It's just how, you know, but in this situation it's the other way around. You know, she's got a tan, I don't want that tan. She wants to look more fair, you know? And she's speaking this to her girlfriends, so she's got physical insecurities. Now, this is just, and then we just need to somehow, like I don't fully understand it either, you know? We just have to come to realise, and ladies, you tell me later if I'm wrong here, but I feel like, you know, ladies with straight hair want curly hair, and ladies with curly hair want straight hair, and girls with blonde hair want dark hair, and girls with dark hair want lighter hair. And, you know, if you've got a nose, I don't know, that's a bit of a longer nose, I want a bit smaller. You know, and if I've got freckles, I don't want freckles. And those that don't have freckles, I want freckles. And I feel like this is one of the challenges that ladies have, and unfortunately in our society it's not made easy, because in our society they've uplifted celebrities and singers and, you know, so-called beautiful people and, you know, and models and all these kinds of things, and ladies are like, oh, maybe that's what's attractive, maybe that's what my husband wants, and I've got to look a little bit more like that. And ladies, just to encourage you, no, your husband loved you, he finds you beautiful, okay? He finds you pretty, he married you for a reason, okay? And so you need to understand, about men, you need to understand that, you know, your wives are going to have insecurities from time to time, okay? And it's just, she's got that insecurity. She says my mother's children were angry with me, I don't believe for a minute her mother's children were angry with her, but she's venting her frustration because it says they made me the keeper of the vineyards, so I was out there working in the vineyards, right, plucking the grapes and what have you, but mine owned the vineyard, have I not kept? She goes, I've not been able to look after myself, I've not been able to look after my physical appearance, and now I've got a tan, all right? And I feel low about myself, I don't feel like I'm pretty, or things of that nature. And men, you know, sometimes we just, we don't understand it. Again, I'll be honest with you, I don't understand it. If not for God's word, I just, I would think, you know, women are overreacting, okay? But God's word tells us this is something that they struggle with. Keep your finger there and come with me to Psalm 51. Come with me to Psalm 51. Keep your finger there and come with me to Psalm 51. Now as we go through the Song of Solomon, the primary purpose for this book again is for marriage, okay? But I also want to pull out just some other spiritual truths about our relationship, okay? Because we know that in the end times, when God creates a new heaven and new earth, that new Jerusalem will descend from heaven, and it's referred to as the bride of the lamb, okay? And so there are some illustrations that we can see, or some connections with our relationship with Jesus Christ. And in Psalm 51, verse number 7, Psalm 51 is a really interesting psalm. It's a psalm of David when he's just pouring out his heart to God because he committed sin, he committed adultery with Bathsheba, okay? And he's finally, after the baby was born and perished, he's finally owning up to God, he's finally confessing his sins, but he's gone so long in darkness. He's gone so long in darkness against the Lord, okay? And this is the illustration I want to take out of this, is that he needs to be cleaned, okay? Like, you know, in our Lord God, his light, and there is no darkness at all. And in order for us to have fellowship with God, we need to be in the light. And so what does David say in Psalm 51, verse 7? He says, purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean. Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. So if we want to take a spiritual application here, brethren, when we sin against the Lord, we're in darkness, okay? I am black, if you want to put it that way, in order to retain a good walk with our Lord God, we need to remember, like David did, we need to spend time to go and confess our sins with God. He cleans us, he makes us whiter than snow, and we can once again restore our relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ in fellowship. Back to Psalm and Solomon, chapter 1. Psalm and Solomon, chapter 1, verse number 7. Psalm and Solomon, chapter 1, verse number 7. We're going to look later on how Solomon responds to her insecurities. We're going to see that later on, okay? Not yet, not yet though, but we'll see it. Now, I want you to think, men, what would be Solomon's response to her physical insecurities? Honey, just get over it. I don't know. How do you respond? We'll have a look later on how Solomon responds to her insecurities. But not only that, now we see she's talking to her husband again. She says, tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth. She says to her husband, look, husband, I love you. My soul loves you. Tell me. She's going to ask him a question. So what else do we see? Not only physical affection, but we see that, well, from here, wife to husband, and of course husband to wife. You know, it's a good thing to tell our spouse that we love them. Oh, they already know. I told her on my wedding day. Do I still have to tell her today? Of course. You know, it's important that your wife or your husband knows that you love them. Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon. So what we see here is, look, again, her husband is King Solomon. Now, as the king, does he need to look after a flock of sheep? He wouldn't have to. But would he own flocks of sheep? Of course. Because he's powerful, he's rich. And obviously he would have servants under him that would be shepherds of his resources, of his investments and all that kind of stuff. But she's saying to him, look, can you tell me where you're going to eat? Where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon. She says, look, Solomon, look, what we see here is that Solomon, even though he's the king, he's still out working. Like he's still making sure managing his affairs, I've got flocks here, I've got flocks there, I've got shepherds here and there, he's still making sure that everything's running smoothly, he's out working a job and his wife misses him while he's working. Now, wives, can you say that? Or you're like, oh, I'm so glad my husband's gone to work. She says, look, tell me, where do you feed? Like at noon, what happens at noon? Lunchtime. She says, look, can you tell me where you're at at lunchtime? Why? She wants to be with him. Like she can't wait for him to finish the day and come home from work. She says, look, can we meet up at lunch? Are you free at lunch so we can spend time together? And then she says at the end of verse number seven, for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions? She says, look, who is more important to you? Your companions, your co-workers or me? Should I just be like just a random person in your life? She says, I miss you, I want to be with you. I'm not just some random person, okay? I want to spend time with you, all right? And, you know, men, we need to remember, look, our co-workers, I hope you get along with your co-workers. Like I hope you enjoy your job. I hope you enjoy the people that you work with. We do spend a lot of hours with the people that we work with, right? But the most important person in our life is our spouse. She's the most important person. She cannot be compared to your co-workers. And I had to learn this, getting married, all right? Because you work hard, right? You know these people, you spend hours with them. Then what happens on a Friday night after work? You know, come with me to the pub or something like that, right? The invite. Come with me to the pub, come and have a drink. I never went to the pub. But they'll be like, hey, how about we go and play soccer? Yeah, I'll go and play soccer, okay? And I did. I enjoyed, you know, especially when we didn't have many kids. I enjoyed going out after work with the work colleagues and kicking a ball around and we played a competition one year and all that kind of stuff. But then I had to grow up. Like at some point I'd say, you know what? My wife, my children, my family are vastly more important. They need my time more than these co-workers. I've already been with them for eight hours, nine hours, ten hours, whatever it is. It's time for me to go home and be with my wife. And so she's asking a question, aren't I more important? Can we meet up for lunch? And look, if you have the ability, I don't know, it depends, everyone works different hours and what have you, right? If you have a lunch break and you say, well, pastor, I can't go home and catch up with my wife, fine. But you've got a phone, unless you're Brother Callum, but everyone else has a phone. You can call or you can text your wife, I love you. I miss you. I can't wait to see you when I get home today. Wouldn't that be a nice thing to do? Because you can see that's what the wife wants from her husband, okay? I can't wait to see you. Tell me where you're at. Because she wants to catch up with him. And the response that he gives her is this. If thou know not of thou fairest among women. How does he respond to her? What does he call her? That you're the most beautiful woman ever. Oh, thou fairest among... Look, she was complaining about her appearance before, wasn't she? Insecure about her looks. And the husband comes along, you're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. You're the most beautiful woman I've ever laid my eyes upon. Do you like his response? His response isn't, honey, get over it. It's nothing like that, right? Oh, we've gone through this before. I told you I find you attractive. I told you I wanted to marry you. Look, he compliments her. He tells her what she loves about him, right? Thou fairest among women. You're the best woman. According to my eyes anyway. The prettiest woman I've ever laid eyes on. And what's the answer? Go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock and feed thy kids beside the shepherd's tents. What he's saying here is, look, you're not going to find me out at lunchtime. He's probably busy. He's probably here or there. He probably doesn't even know where he's going to be. But he says, look, you go near the shepherd's tents and feed the kids. The kids are the baby goats. Feed there. I'll find you there. I'll find you there, but you probably won't find me because I'm out working. But if you go near the shepherd's tents, that's where I need you to be. Oh, fairest among women. So, again, he's just complimenting her, telling her how beautiful she is, and look, I'll come and find you shortly at the shepherd's tents. Now, again, what we see here, again, just to take a spiritual teaching here, okay? I don't know about you, but I can't wait to see Jesus Christ. You know, I can't wait to see him, okay? But the thing is, at this moment, I can't go where he is, okay? But what we have here is that he's given her instruction, can you feed the baby goats, all right? Now, keep your finger there and come with me to 1 Peter 5. Come with me to 1 Peter 5. 1 Peter 5. 1 Peter 5. And while you're turning to 1 Peter 5, I'll read to you from Psalm 23 verse 1. You know Psalm 23, one of the most famous psalms. Psalm 23 verse 1 says, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, he leadeth me beside the steel waters. So, Solomon's concerned for the flock, okay? And Jesus Christ is concerned for his flock, okay? Now, here's the thing. You know, I've been given a responsibility as a pastor. I'm an under shepherd. You know, I report to Jesus Christ. But I can't take care of all the sheep that's out in the world. But what I can do, like the instruction that was given to the wife here of Solomon, I can go to the shepherd's tent. You know, God has given me new life after church and this is one place that I can come to feed the kids. Not children, but you know I'm talking about, okay? You know, and so we see this sort of illustration playing out that is making sure all the flocks have been taken care of, but when it comes down to the business end of things, we can only take care of one, a few churches at a time. Okay, for me too. Praise God. But you're there in 1 Peter 5, verse number 2. 1 Peter 5, verse number 2. The instruction to pastors is this. Feed the flock of God which is among you. Among you, okay? I can't take care of every flock, every flock of herds of sheep that's out there, okay? Taking the oversight thereof, that's the overseer of the bishop, not by constraint, but willingly, not for feel for Luca, but of a ready mind, neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensembles to the flock. So I hope I can be a good ensemble or example to the flock. I hope that I can present that as a saved man, as a family man, and I hope I can present that to be a good example. But then verse number 4 says, and when the chief shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. And so again, you know, we can't go and find Christ somewhere. Look, he's in our midst anyway, okay? He will never leave us nor forsake us, but the idea that we're seeing there is that the Solomon is going to come and find his wife, okay? And of course, the illustration there is that, of course, Christ is coming back one day, okay? And all the flocks, okay, are going to be gathered together with Jesus Christ. But come back with me to Song of Solomon chapter 1 and verse number 9. Song of Solomon chapter 1 and verse number 9. He continues to give her compliments, okay, about her appearance. He goes, I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh's chariots. Now, husbands, when's the last time you told your wife that? Honey, you're the fairest among women, and I'm just comparing you like Pharaoh's chariot and horses. You're like that. You're amazing like that. You haven't done it, have you? And not that I expect you to, okay? But the lesson is there. He continues to compliment her, okay? Now, the thought that I have here, if you can keep your finger there, come with me to 1 Kings chapter 3. Come with me to 1 Kings chapter 3. So she's been compared to a company of horses in Pharaoh's chariots, okay? So she's been compared to the horses, all right? Now, obviously, a chariot without the horses doesn't work, all right? The chariot without the horses, it just doesn't work. And I was thinking about this, I'm reminded of Genesis 2.18, when God decided to, of course, make Eve, okay? He says, and the Lord God said in Genesis 2.18, it is not good that a man should be alone. I will make him and help meet for him. God says, it's not good for a man to be alone. Look, it's not good for a chariot to be alone. It needs the horses, okay? And of course, you know, the chariot rider is the one that directs the horses the direction to go. But with the horses, it's not going anywhere. And I'm reminded how important our wives are to our lives, man. You know, I could not be a pastor if not for my wife. By the way, there's no such thing as the pastor's wife. She's Kevin's wife, and I'm glad she's having a little break, okay? But without her, in fact, I wouldn't even be qualified without a wife to be a pastor. And, you know, I've not had her the last few days, and it's hard. I feel like a chariot without horses. I'm not going anywhere, nothing's moving, okay? Everything takes forever. I realise how long it takes to cook a meal now. It takes forever. That's why I'm so excited to send you photos when I'm done. But I think what we learn here, like, it'd be, I think it'd be unusual for just the average woman to understand the appreciation for Pharaoh's horses unless she herself was an Egyptian. And what I want to show you here in 1 Kings chapter 3, did I get you to turn there? 1 Kings chapter 3 verse number 1. Now, I can't confirm this, I'm not going to say 100% sure, okay? But I do believe the wife that he's speaking to in this song is Pharaoh's daughter, okay? Because in 1 Kings chapter 3 verse number 1, it says, And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt and took Pharaoh's daughter and brought her into the city of David until he made an end of building his own house and the house of the Lord and the wall of Jerusalem round about. And so he took Pharaoh's daughter as his wife, okay? And of course we know that, you know, later in Solomon's life he had many wives, 300 wives, 700 concubines, okay? He went on a downward spiral later on in his life. But, you know, I do believe what we see here is potentially, you know, the woman that he's speaking to in this song is Pharaoh's daughter. I think she would appreciate, you know, the power, the prestige of Pharaoh's army, the chariots and the horses. But come back with me to Song of Solomon chapter 1, Song of Solomon chapter 1. But again, the major point, men, here is compliment your wife, okay? Yeah, tell her she's beautiful, she's the most beautiful woman you've ever laid eyes on, she's great. But you need to get into a bit of detail. What about your wife do you like? Even physical appearance, let her know, okay? Because again, ladies, they struggle with insecurities, okay? And men, we just don't get it, but they do. And that's why God's word is here revealing it to you. You know, if you thought your wife was just weird or something, no, no, no, this is standard, okay? She's a standard model if she's insecure about her looks, okay? So it's your job to compliment her looks. He continues in verse number 10. Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains of gold. We will make thee borders of gold and with studs of silver. Now says, look, you look so beautiful. She's got jewelry on, okay? I don't know exactly how you get cheeks with rows of jewels exactly. I don't know how that jewelry works. But look, she's got some chains of gold around her neck. There's nothing wrong in jewelry, by the way. I don't know what it is. I don't know why within some churches people think jewelry is like sinful. Well, if that was sinful, that would be like a contradiction of scriptures for him to be, you know, complimenting his wife for that. Obviously, I'll go to a passage soon which people sometimes take and they take that a little bit too far. But look, what we see here, men, is that he loves his wife so much. He wants to give her nice things, okay? And look, again, men, sometimes we just don't understand, all right? Like, it's our anniversary, what do I get her? Someone says maybe get her a necklace. What for? She's already got one. She's had that one for the past 20 years. It's fine. It's my 20th anniversary is coming up, by the way. I'm starting to come up trying to think of ideas. And, you know, flowers, why are they going to die in a week? What's the point of flowers? I mean, that's kind of, men, we think practically like that. You know, we're trying to save up. You know, why spend $20 on flowers? $50 on flowers, it's going to die in a week, you know? But, you know, if you have the ability, obviously not everybody's in that financial position to buy nice jewellery and nice clothing for your wife. Look, but when there's a special occasion, there's nothing wrong with saving up for that occasion. You know, your anniversary, her birthday, maybe the kids' birthdays. Isn't it strange that we give children gifts on their birthdays, but mum did all the work? Like, she laboured hard. Like, if anyone's going to get a gift, shouldn't it be mum on birthdays? Men, there's a time to just do nice things where you just go, you know what, this doesn't practically make sense. You know, this is not a good financial decision. Yeah, it's not a good financial decision, but it's a good romantic decision. Okay, you'll strengthen your marriage. I'd rather strengthen my marriage than have $200 in my bank account that we didn't spend because we wanted to be frugal. Now, come with me to a passage in the New Testament, 1 Timothy 2. 1 Timothy 2. Obviously, Solomon's the king. He's rich. He's powerful. He can afford the jewellery. He can afford the nice clothes with gold and silver on it. And look, I'm not obviously saying, man, that's it, just forget the finance, forget the budget, just go out there and spend like crazy. Obviously, I'm not giving you that advice. We're all in different positions financially. But there's nothing, what I'm trying to say is there's nothing wrong with it. I don't know why people, I don't know what it is. Okay, well, I don't, you know, I don't like the Amish or the Mennonites in America, if you know what I'm talking about. It's like, oh, we can't wear jewellery. We can't wear nice clothes. We can only wear one blue colour and that's it because we're trying to be so modest. I don't know. They have a problem with the Song of Solomon. Like, they have a problem with a lot of passages in the scriptures, actually. Okay, but with everything that we learn in the Bible in doctrine, there's always a balance. Right? You always have to hit the right balance. Okay? There's nothing wrong with jewellery, but I'm telling you, dressing up like the Amish is not the right either. Okay? There's always a balance of things. And in 1 Timothy chapter 2, verse number 9, in like mind also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel with shamefacedness and sobriety, not with broided hair or gold or pearls or costly array. So, some people will take that passage and say, see, it's wrong to wear gold or jewellery or pearls or things that are costly. But what you want to understand with these passages that we see in the New Testament, it's comparing the bling bling and the nice things to the woman's character. Okay? To a character. In verse number 10, it says, but which becometh women professing godliness with good works. So, what should be more important than the jewellery? Women professing godliness. Godly women who do good works. Okay? So, women, your value is not in your clothing. Your value is not in your jewellery. Not that those things are sinful, but you need to make sure that your character, okay? Your character before God. You know, your good works before men. That these are the things that characterise you. These are the things that you're known for. That's the important part. Okay? And I can prove that in other ways, but I just want to make sure that with anything we learn in the Bible, we always strike that right balance. Okay? Come back with me to Song of Solomon, chapter 1. Song of Solomon, chapter 1, verse number 12. Song of Solomon, chapter 1, verse number 12. It says, while the king siteth at his table, so now the wife is speaking again, my spikenard sendeth forth the smelder of. So, she's also wearing perfume, okay? While he's at his table. She says, a bundle of myrrh is my well beloved unto me. So, she says, look, even he, my well beloved, smells nice toward me. Okay? It says, he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts. Now, look, first of all, let me just say something very quickly before we continue in the Song of Solomon. The Bible says that every word of God is pure. Okay? This is a good and proper book to read, to preach from, to hear from, to learn from. Okay? Obviously, what we see here, once again, is that they're preparing themselves for the physical relationship, the marriage bed, etc. Okay? But again, what's happening? They're making sure they're prepared for each other. They're making sure that they can be attractive to one another. They want to make sure they smell nice to one another because they're going to spend all night together. Okay? And again, it just, I know it's funny, but I'm being serious. Men, we need to just be mindful again of our body odour. And the reason I say that is because men, you've been around other men. And, you know, like I said, the belching, you know, it's almost like a competition. Who can wreak the worst? Like, who can just be the filthiest man? Right? Who's the real manly man here? Well, you know what? That doesn't attract your wife, if that's what you think manliness is. Okay? Hey, you're going to work, you're providing for her, you're saying sweet things, telling her that she's beautiful, reinforcing her when she's insecure about herself, you know, buying her little gifts here and there, nice things, smelling nice for her, looking presentable for her. Those are the things that she's going to appreciate the most, men, from you. It's not, look, I hope you can see it. This is not just, this is not me telling you. Because I wouldn't know what to do other men, if not for God's word. I would have no idea. How do I impress my wife? How do I ensure that she wants to spend time with me, even in a physical nature? Do what the Song of Solomon has given you tips and advice for. Be presentable. Be loving toward your wife. Verse number 14. My beloved is unto me as a cluster of campire in the vineyards of An Gedi. I don't know what campire means. If someone knows, let me know. I couldn't understand this verse with that idea. But one thing that we see here is that a cluster in a vineyard, of course, is speaking about a cluster of grapes. And so the description of the spouse here is that, you know, again, they're going to have, you know, physical intimacy. Okay? And what you're saying is, look, our relationship is fruitful. It's sweet, like a cluster of grapes. It's beneficial. Okay? It's profitable. Like, it's enjoyable. I enjoy spending time with my spouse. And then verse number 15. I'm not sure if it's the man or the woman speaking these words here. Husband or wife, doesn't matter. Behold, thou art fair, my love. Behold, thou art fair. Thou hast dub's eyes. Thou are fair means you're beautiful. You know? Or you're handsome. Again, the compliments that they're giving one to another. Thou hast dub's eyes. When's the last time you said that? Well, I don't know. I don't know, again, the meaning behind that. But I guess, you know, he's saying, or she's saying, I don't know who's saying what. But they're complimenting their eyes. I love your eyes. Dub's have black eyes. I love your black eyes, your brown eyes, your dark brown eyes. And then verse number 16. Behold, thou art fair, my beloved. Yea, pleasant. Also, our bed is green. So again, you can see that they're talking about their marriage bed there. Okay? Now when it says the bed is green, I don't believe for a minute she's saying, or he's saying that the bed covers and the pillows are green. I don't think that's the point of that. Okay? In fact, come with me to the next chapter, Song of Solomon chapter 2. I believe the key to understanding the Book of Song of Solomon is this passage I'm going to show you. In Song of Solomon chapter 2, verse number 11. Song of Solomon chapter 2, verse number 11. And again, they're speaking of their relationship here. It says, for lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. So if winter is past, what season are we in? Spring. Spring. Okay? And so I believe this is the key to understanding the Book of Song of Solomon. It's a springtime marriage. It's fruitful. It's flourishing. Okay? There's new life. It's not a winter marriage. It's not a cold relationship. It's not an autumn marriage where the leaves are falling off the trees and there's deterioration. No, it's a springtime marriage. And so if their marriage is experienced in springtime, then we understand when we look at the bed being green, okay, being again, that it's fruitful. Okay? And the Bible says that the fruit of the womb is his reward. The fruit of the womb is the reward of God. Can you keep your finger there and come with me to Psalm 128. Psalm 128, please. Psalm 128. So in a loving marriage, in a fruitful marriage where the bed is green, it's speaking about the fact that it's going to flourish. It's going to be fruitful. It's going to be beneficial. And in Psalm 128, verse number 3, it says, Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house. Okay, so we saw before the vineyard being mentioned. Well, she will be like a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house. Thy children, like olive plants round about thy table, behold that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord. You know how God blesses you, husbands and wives, with children? It's the blessing of the Lord. I mean, a physical relationship is a great thing to have. And one of God's blessings is children, fruitfulness. It's springtime. That's when the birds start to nest. That's when everything starts to flourish. I'm having a hard time keeping up with the garden in my backyard. The grass, it's flourishing. The birds are trying to find a place to nest. You know what? That should be descriptive of our marriages. Look, children are not a burden. Children are not a curse. It's the blessing of the Lord. Forget what this world has to say to you. I've told you before, haven't I, that before marrying my wife, she was told that she would not be able to have any kids. No kids whatsoever. Did it bother me at that time? No. Because I'd been brainwashed by the world. Oh, no kids. Less expenses, less problems, more holidays. That was my mindset. Oh, okay. It bothered my wife, but for me it was like, oh. I just didn't understand the blessing of children. And they are a blessing. They really are a blessing. Can you come with me to Hebrews chapter 13? Hebrews 13. Hebrews 13 and verse number 4. Hebrews 13 and verse number 4. Look, sometimes I've preached for a song of Solomon before and there are things that can make you uncomfortable. There are things that, you know, if I had the choice, I wouldn't preach so much. Okay, but if we're going to preach every word of God, it's all profitable for us. We also have to hit these topics as well. In Hebrews 13 verse number 4. Hebrews 13 verse number 4. It says marriage is honorable in all and the bed undefiled. Look, the marriage bed, it's undefiled. It's good and it's proper. It ought to be green. There ought to be a physical relationship happening between husbands and wives on a regular basis. It shouldn't be, oh, we got married, it's springtime now. Then it's summer, then autumn, then winter. And then like months later down the track, oh, maybe we'll have springtime marriage again. You know what, it should be springtime marriage all the time. That should be the season of your marriage, springtime all the time. And it continues in verse number 4, Hebrews 13 verse 4. But whoremongers and adulterers, God will judge. Okay, if you're out there, sex before marriage or committing adultery, God says God will judge. You will be accountable for the mistakes you make. Look, the marriage bed, sorry, physical intimacy I should say, there's nothing wrong with it. It's proper, it's good. It strengthens your marriage. It opens the doors to God's blessings of children. But it's got to be in the right confines. The confine is marriage. That's why God gave us that institutional marriage so we can enjoy one another as husband and wife. Please remember young people, save yourself, keep yourself pure for your marriage bed. Keep yourself pure for your future wife or your future husband. Because God promises you He will judge. He will hold you accountable. He will chastise you. He will bring some issues and problems and difficulties in your life if you don't honor the marriage bed. So, look, people make mistakes. People have made mistakes. Okay, and if mistakes are made, well, get it right. The right place is marriage. And once you're married, that's it. Your wife, man, is the most beautiful woman you've ever laid your eyes on. And I'm not going to look at anyone else. That decision's been made. Okay, she's my wife for life. And come back with me to Song of Solomon if you've moved away. Verse 17, Song of Solomon chapter 1 verse 17. I believe it's the wife speaking. Let's say it is. She says, the beings of our house are Seder. Remember the Seder of Lebanon mentioned in 1 Kings? And our rafters of fur. You know what she's saying here? She's describing her house. She says, look, you know, this house has been built with good quality wood. Seder's from Lebanon. I'm not sure what rafters of fur are exactly. Okay, but what is she saying? We saw that Solomon's out working. He's making sure business is operating. He's making sure that the finances are coming in. He's making sure that his wife has a roof over her head. Look, whether they own the house or they're renting is irrelevant. The fact is he's making sure that she's got a place to live. And she's showing her appreciation. Not just for his appearance. Not just for the nice smell that he's bringing to her. But also for the hard work, the labour, the provisions that he's given her. And wives, you need to remember the reason your husbands go to work is not to get away from you, is not to get away from the kids. It's the best they can to provide your every need. I'm telling you, what gives me my most satisfaction is being able to pay the bills. Pay the groceries. Pay the rent or pay the mortgage. As a man, that gives me the greatest satisfaction to life. Like, before getting married, I just didn't understand the purpose of money. I didn't really appreciate the purpose of working a job. Like, okay, I got this money, what am I going to do with it? I'll buy a new computer or something. Isn't that what we do, men? When we had a wife. I'm not having a go at anybody. I've made that decision. You spend money on stupid things. Because you've got no purpose. And you spend money, you're like, why did I spend that money? It's pointless. There's no point behind it. But once you're married, now you've got purpose. Now there's purpose to work hard. There's purpose to make money. There's purpose. Paying the bills is not a pain. It satisfies. Yeah, I made sure my family were taken care of. We didn't have to go and beg Centrelink. We didn't have to go and beg anybody else. I worked hard, I laboured, and God provided. And so she's complimenting him for her provisions. I've got a nice house. Now, men, wives, let me say wives, your house is not going to be as nice as Solomon's house. Okay, because he's the king. Alright, but whatever you've got, I don't care what the house is made of. If it's not cedars from Lebanon. If it's fibro. If it's... Give me some... a tin roof or... It doesn't matter. When he comes home from work, you thank him for working hard. Thank him for your provisions. That's going to get him excited to go work tomorrow. If you're like, ah, but they've got this, and they've got that, why don't we have that? You're just going to discourage your husband. You're going to say, well, I just spent all these hours working hard, labouring, and I'm not bringing home as much as maybe the next person. But you're just going to discourage your husband if you don't show him appreciation for the labour of his hands. I wasn't going to go with that. I was going to say something else. Yeah, anyway, all I know is, I feel that way. When my wife thanks me, you know, we paid the bills, we paid the groceries, you know, I'm not worried about where the next paycheck is coming, you know, and she says those kind things, you know, thank you for working hard, thank you for always making sure we've got what we need. I know I feel like, yes, I'm complete. Yes, I'm doing what God required of me to do. Please, wives, don't. That's where I was going to go, when I first got married. And I say to young people today, I'll say now, entering the housing market is getting more and more difficult, it's getting more and more challenging, and we live in a generation that thinks, to start life, I need to have the big four bedroom house with the 70 inch flat screen TV and two cars in the garage. Look, you just start with what you've got. You're not going to have much when you're young. Are you going to have much when you're young? Starting to work, starting to save up? You're not going to have much. When I first got married, we lived in a granny flat, and to call it a granny flat is saying too many nice things about it. It was a shed, is what it was. I lived in a shed, which they tried to make some false walls with a bedroom, a tiny living room, a kitchen and a toilet. It wasn't great. And every night, slugs would easily creep in under the door. I hate slugs. And every morning I'm trying to get rid of those slugs that have crept in. I was paying $150 a week of rent because of what I could afford. I didn't have much. You know what, it wasn't much. But my wife didn't complain. When it was hot, it was really hot. And it was cold, it was really cold inside that house. She didn't complain. Okay, and I'm thankful that she never complained because that's all I could afford. And you know what? Yeah, it wasn't Cedars of Lebanon. But we were happy. Because it was a springtime marriage. You know, when you first get married, it's springtime. You know, the challenge today, brethren, is we need to make sure that today it's springtime. If you say, Pastor, no, it's winter, okay? Get over winter. Okay, it's time to enter into the new season of marriage. A fruitful season, alright, physical affection, kind words, remembering the romance, remembering why you fell in love, remembering why you decided to get married together, bring all those things back to remembrance, and look, make sure that your marriage is fruitful, is productive, okay, that it's enjoyable. Because you're gonna spend the rest of your lives together, you might as well make it a springtime marriage, okay? Let's pray.