"It
was but a little that I passed from them, but I found Him whom my soul
loveth: I held Him, and would not let Him go, until I had brought Him into
my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me" (Song of Solomon 3:4).
HAVE
you found Him whom your soul loveth? Have you this day seen his beauty,
heard his voice, believed the record concerning Him, sat under his shadow,
found fellowship with Him? Then hold Him, and do not let Him go.
I. Motives.
(1.) Because peace is to be found in Him.
–
Justified by faith, we have peace with God,
– not peace with ourselves, not peace with the world, with
sin, with Satan, but peace with God. True divine peace is to be found only
in believing – only in keeping fast hold of Christ. If you let Him
go, you let go your righteousness; for this is his name. You are then
without righteousness, without a covering from the wrath of God, without a
way to the Father. The law will again condemn you; God's frown will again
overshadow you; you will again have terrors of conscience. Hold Him then,
and do not let Him go. Whatever you let go, let not Christ go; for He
is our peace, not in knowledge, not in feeling, but trust in Him
alone.
(2.) Holiness flows from Him.
– No true holiness in this world, but it
springs from Him. A living Christ is the spring of holiness to all his
members. As long as we hold Him, and do not let Him go, our holiness is
secure. He is engaged to keep us from falling. He loves us too well to let
us fall under the reigning power of sin. His word is engaged: "I will
put my Spirit within you." His honour would be tarnished if any that
cleave to Him were suffered to live in sin. If you let Him go, you
will fall into sin. You have no strength, no store of grace, no power to
resist a thousand enemies, no promises. If Christ be for you, who can be
against you? but if you let go his arms, where are you?
(3.) Hope of glory is in Him.
– We rejoice in hope of the glory of God. If
you have found Jesus this day, you have found a way into glory. A few steps
more, you can say, and I shall be for ever with the Lord. I shall be free
from pain and sorrow, free from sin and weakness, free from enemies. As long
as you hold Christ, you can see your way to the judgment-seat. "Thou
wilt guide me with thy counsel, and receive me to thy glory." This
gives you such joy, such transporting desires after the heavenly world! But
let Christ go, and this will be gone. Let Christ go, and how can you die?
The grave is covered with clouds of threatening. Let Him go, and how can you
go to the judgment – where can you appear?
II. Means.
(1.) Christ promises to keep you holding Him.
–
If you are really holding Christ this day, you
are in a most blessed condition, for Christ engages to keep you cleaving to
Him. "My soul followeth hard after Thee, and thy right hand
upholdeth me." He that is the Creator of the world is the upholder of
it, so He that new creates the soul keeps it in being. This is never to be
forgotten. Not only does the church lean on her beloved, but He puts his
left hand under her head, and his right hand doth embrace her. "I
taught Ephraim how to go, taking them by their arms." It is good for a
child to hold fast by its mother's neck; but ah! that would be a feeble
support, if the maternal arm did not enfold the child, and clasp it to her
bosom. Faith is good; but ah! it is nothing without the grace that gave it.
"I will put my fear in your heart."
(2.) Faith in Christ.
– The only way to hold fast is to believe more
and more. Get a larger acquaintance with Christ, – with his person, work,
and character. Every page of the gospel unfolds a new feature in his
character, – every line of the epistles discloses new depths of his work.
Get more faith, and you will get a firmer hold. A plant that has got a
single root may be easily torn up by the hand, or crushed by the foot of the
wild beast, or blown down by the wind; but a plant that has a thousand roots
struck down into the ground can stand. Faith is like the root. Many believe
a little concerning Christ, – one fact. Every new truth concerning Jesus
is a new root struck downwards. Believe more intensely. A root may be in a
right direction, but, not striking deep, it is easily torn up. Pray for
deep-rooted faith. Pray to be stablished, strengthened, settled. Take a long
intense look at Jesus, – often, often. If you wanted to know a man again,
and he was going away, you would take an intense look at his face. Look then
at Jesus – deeply, intensely – till every feature is graven on your
heart. Thomas Scott overcame the fear of death by looking intensely at his
dead child, who had died in the Lord.
(3.) Prayer.
– Jacob at Bethel. "Take hold of my
strength" (Isaiah 27:5). You must begin and pray after another fashion
than you have done. Let it be real intercourse with God, like Hezekiah,
Jacob, Moses, etc.
(4.) By not offending Him.
– First, By sloth. When the soul turns
sleepy or careless, Christ goes away. Nothing is more offensive to Christ
than sloth. Love is an ever-active thing, and when it is in the heart it
will keep us waking. Many a night his love to us kept Him waking. Now, can
you not watch with Him one hour? Song of Solomon 5:2. Second, By
idols. You cannot hold two objects. If you are holding Christ today, and lay
hold of another object tomorrow, He cannot stay. He is a jealous God. You
cannot keep worldly companions and Christ too. "A companion of fools
shall be destroyed." When the ark came into the house of Dagon, it made
the idol fall flat. Third, By being unwilling to be sanctified. When
Christ chooses us, and draws us to himself, it is that He may sanctify us.
Christ is often grieved away, by our desiring to reserve one sin. Fourth,
By an unholy house. "I brought Him into my mother's house."
Remember to take Christ home with you, and let Him rule in your house. If
you walk with Christ abroad, but never take Him home, you will soon part
company for ever.
