Song of Songs 1:1-

Discovering the Magnitude of the Song of Songs

Listen to the Message

(5-23-04, Nacogdoches Christian Fellowship: Nacogdoches, TX)

 

The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s. -New American Standard Bible	The song of songs, which is Solomon’s. -New King James Version
“Solomon’s Most Excellent Love Song.”   -New English Translation	The Song of songs [the most excellent of them all] which is Solomon’s. -Amplified Bible
This is Solomon’s song of songs, more wonderful than any other. -New Living Translation	The Song—best of all songs—Solomon’s song! -The Message Bible

I.                   The Song of Songs

A.     Solomon begins this song with the title: “The Song of Songs”.

B.     Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Solomon refers to his song as the Song of Songs.

C.    I Kings 4:32 says that Solomon “spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005.” (Italics mine, NASB)

1.     At first glance it might appear that it is just out of the 1,005 songs that Solomon wrote that this is the greatest of them all.

D.    However, a more in depth look reveals a much deeper reality: the song declares itself as the ultimate or “par excellence”[1] of all songs ever written and most likely of every song to be written in this age.

1.     The Hebrew grammatical structure often indicates the superlative. [2]

a)     The Hebrew can be compared with the same grammatical structure employed in Solomon’s other book Ecclesiastes when he says, “completely meaningless” (Eccl. 1:2).[3]

b)     The phrase can be compared with the curse of Noah on his son Ham, the father of Cannan, that he would be a “servant of servants” to his brothers (Genesis 9:25).[4]

c)     It can also be compared with the phrase in Deuteronomy 10:14 stating Jesus’ ownership of the “the heaven of heavens”.[5]

2.     However, the greatest of all its comparison is found in Exodus 26:33 referring to the “Holy of Holies” as the most holy spot on earth.[6]

a)     Long ago Jewish scholars related the three books of Solomon to the temple.

1)     They related Proverbs to the outer courts of Solomon’s temple.

2)     They related Ecclesiastes to the inner court.

3)     They related Song of Songs to the Holy of Holies.[7]

E.     So, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, using the superlative, Solomon referred to this song as the Song of Songs.

F.     It is indeed the song of all songs.

II.                 My Personal Calling to this Song

A.     During the summer of 2003 I decided to begin a verse by verse commentary on the Song of Songs.

1.     Sitting in the prayer room at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City I laughed looking at the shortest verse in the book thinking, “this will be a short time of study!”

2.     However, Holy Spirit ambushed me with revelation on the magnitude of this book for this end time generation.

3.     I began reading Session 2, pages 7-10 of Mike Bickle’s notes on the Songs of Songs.

B.     These notes and Revelation 15 started a progression in my heart of discovering what sustained the Victorious Ones who defeat the beast in life and in death.

III.               The Victorious Ones at the End

A.     In Revelation 15:2 the Victorious Ones stand before the Lamb “victorious over the beast and his image and the number of his name”.

B.     Judging from the events in Revelation up to this point, most of these victorious ones are martyrs, victorious not only in life but also in death.

C.    In triumph they sing the song of Moses and the Song of the Lamb.

D.    Later on in verse three “they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb”.

1.     The question must be asked, “if the Song of Songs is the superlative of all songs how could the Song of the Lamb referred to in this chapter be any less than the greatest song ever composed?”

2.     I believe that the Song of the Lamb referred to in this chapter is the Song of Songs.[8]

3.     Therefore, like the victorious ones pictured in this chapter, we in this end time generation must give ourselves wholeheartedly to the study of the Song of the Lamb, the Song of Songs.

4.     Notice that they sing it before the Lamb. I believe they have meditated on it and sang it so many times that they have memorized it.

5.     The song has become a part of who they are.

 

Revelation 15

¹   Then I saw ⁽¹⁾ another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, ⁽²⁾ seven angels who had ⁽³⁾ seven plagues, which are ⁽⁴⁾ the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished.
²   And I saw something like a ⁽⁵⁾ sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had ⁽⁶⁾ been victorious over the ⁽⁷⁾ beast and ⁽⁸⁾ his image and the ⁽⁹⁾ number of his name, standing on the ⁽¹⁰⁾ sea of glass, holding ⁽¹¹⁾ harps of God.
³   And they sang the ⁽¹²⁾ song of Moses, ⁽¹³⁾ the bond-servant of God, and the ⁽¹⁴⁾ song of the Lamb, saying,
           "⁽¹⁵⁾ Great and marvelous are Your works,
          ⁽¹⁶⁾ O Lord God, the Almighty;
          Righteous and true are Your ways,
          ⁽¹⁷⁾ King of the ^[1] nations!
⁴   
       "⁽¹⁸⁾ Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name?
          For You alone are holy;
          For ⁽¹⁹⁾ ALL THE NATIONS WILL COME AND WORSHIP BEFORE YOU,
          FOR YOUR ⁽²⁰⁾ RIGHTEOUS ACTS HAVE BEEN REVEALED."
⁵   After these things I looked, and ⁽²¹⁾ the temple of the ⁽²²⁾ tabernacle of testimony in heaven was opened,
⁶   and the ⁽²³⁾ seven angels who had the seven plagues ⁽²⁴⁾ came out of the temple, clothed in ^[2] linen, clean and bright, and ⁽²⁵⁾ girded around their chests with golden sashes.
⁷   Then one of the ⁽²⁶⁾ four living creatures gave to the ⁽²⁷⁾ seven angels seven ⁽²⁸⁾ golden bowls full of the ⁽²⁹⁾ wrath of God, who ⁽³⁰⁾ lives forever and ever.
⁸   And the temple was filled with ⁽³¹⁾ smoke from the glory of God and from His power; and no one was able to enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.

-New American Standard Bible

 

The Victorious Ones

As the day of the Lord’s wrath comes to a close (Revelation 15) the victorious ones stand on the sea of glass mixed with fire (v.2). The victorious ones stand in triumph over the Lamb’s enemy, the beast. For the victorious ones chose, in the face of death, to forsake their lives and not follow the rage of the beast. They chose not to worship the image and the beast sealed their triumph as he slew the victorious ones. In victory, they stand before the Lamb prepared to sing.

Oh how the victorious ones echo the passionate cry of eternity  as they sing the song, the song of all songs, of their lovesick Bridegroom. They declare the pursuit of their hearts: that which sustained them, that which gave them the power to give their lives in such a radical way. They sing the song of Moses and the Song of the Lamb, the song of all songs.

 

-Baldwin, 8/17/03

 

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