Introduction…
Sammy Davis Jr. is famous for “The Candy Man Can” song.
“The song is best known through Sammy Davis, Jr.’s cover version, which appears on the Sammy Davis Jr. Now studio album. Though he admittedly hated the song, finding it too saccharine, it became his only number-one hit, spending three weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart starting June 10, 1972 and two weeks at the top of the easy listening chart. Billboard ranked it as the No. 5 song for 1972. The track featured vocals by the Mike Curb Congregation, who had earlier released their own unsuccessful version of the song. It is recognized as one of Davis’s signature songs, and ”The Candy Man“ came to be his moniker later in his career.”
Norman Vincent Peale and his book, “The Power of Positive Thinking.” When he first wrote the book, he did not really like it and did not think it would amount to anything so he threw it in the garbage can. His wife saw it and sent it off to the publisher. It became his moniker.
“Translated into fifteen languages and with more than 7 million copies sold in book and audio formats around the world, THE POWER OF POSITIVE THINKING is unparalleled in its extraordinary capacity for restoring the faltering faith of millions of people in themselves.”
Most people, if not all, have the amazing gift of not seeing the potential in something they are doing. Our perspective on something is never perfect because it changes.
Our perspective when we are 13 years old is quite different from when we are 21. And today, our perspective is quite different than it was 25 years ago. Our perspective changes as we change and is affected by our personal experiences.
When we come to the groom as presented here in this fourth chapter, we get an insight into the bride through the eyes of the groom. This is a most remarkable picture.
Theme…
The basis of my fellowship and the fullness of my joy is to understand who I am in His eyes.
When Christ looks at me, what is it that he sees?
I am sure it is quite different from what we think He sees.
We are all obsessed with outward appearance that we fail to realize that it makes no impression whatsoever on Christ. He sees beyond the exterior and gazes upon the interior beauty of the bride redeemed by the blood of the lamb.
Be assured that Christ penetrates deep into the soul that has been born again. When we become “alive in Christ,” that interior aspect comes alive. It is that which draws the attention and affection of Christ.
Several aspects concerning the groom are brought to light in this passage. If we understand this, we will have a greater appreciation of our relationship and fellowship with God.
I. His Perception of the Bride.
First, we need to contrast his perception with our perception. If we do not understand this, we are not going to understand the basis of our relationship.
Our perceptions are based upon our experiences, education and so forth. These things change with time. Everybody’s perception would be different because everybody has different experiences.
When two people look at one thing, they are looking at it from two different perceptions. What one sees the other does not see. That is because our perceptions are based upon time and therefore limited.
When we come to the groom, we need to see that this is completely different in that his perceptions do not change.
His perception is based upon who he is.
Malachi 3:6 – “For I am the Lord, I change not;”
Hebrews 13:8 – “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”
In other words, the groom is not confined to the time element that we are confined to. He does not change, he cannot change, there is no reason for him to change.
I believe we can honestly say that his perception is based upon “perfect wisdom.” The word “perfect” here indicates that there is nothing lacking in his wisdom and understanding.
So, because this is true, he looks at the bride and sees the bride as she was created to be through the redeeming power of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. He sees her in her true glory. Nobody sees the bride quite like the groom.
II. His Pleasure In the Bride.
This aspect is greatly emphasized especially here in the passage before us. He sees the bride, not as an object but rather as someone to fulfill his personal pleasure.
I know we have taken this in the area of lust and depravity, but we need to understand this in light of the purity that is associated both with the groom and with the bride following her redemption.
The aspect of this pleasure is that he appreciates who the bride really is. Not only that, but he delights to express that appreciation in many ways; blessings, favors. Everything the bride has the groom gave.
He talks about her “beauty.” Nobody can see her beauty quite like the groom. The happiness of the groom is expressing his appreciation of the bride’s beauty.
If we place this in context, we will see that both the bride and the groom are brought together in the fulfillment of true pleasure.
Sometimes as Christians, we pooh-pooh the idea of pleasure. The reason for this is that pleasure has been twisted completely out of context and focused on the wrong perception.
My opinion is that the aspects of “lust” are used by the devil to humiliate the groom. Unfortunately, all of mankind finds itself on the side of the devil in this regard.
If you look at all of creation, starting with the first chapter of Genesis, you will see that only man is created for God’s pleasure. Upon the creation of everything it says, “God saw that it was good.” The creation was not made typically for God’s pleasure.
When it comes to man here is what God says, “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:” (Genesis 1:26a).
God said to Jeremiah, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations” (Jeremiah 1:26).
Very simply put, when God looks at me he sees his image and nothing is more important as far as God is concerned. The block has been sin, but Jesus Christ died on the cross to break the power of sin in our life. What is the purpose of that? So we can all go to heaven when we die?
The purpose of that was so that God can look at us once again and see himself. God’s greatest joy is in seeing his image reflected from our soul.
III. His Pursuit Of the Bride.
The groom’s perception of us and his pleasure in us fuels his pursuit of us. God is pursuing us.
Francis Thompson (1859-1907) emphasizes this in his poem “The Hound of Heaven.”
Christ, as the hound of Heaven, pursues us with all the vigor of heaven. He is determined to find us in order to fellowship with us.
Jesus says, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you” (John 15:16).
This choice was a deliberate choice with a divine intention. He pursues us in order to have fellowship with us. Restore us to our rightful place in his heart.
This pursuit is based upon his desire and not necessarily ours. Once he connects with us and reveals to us his affection for us, it creates within us a desire to know him.
We pursue him because he first pursued us.
The apostle Paul put it this way, “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;” (Philippians 3:10).
What we need to deal with are the many ways we make it hard for God to pursue us. We will see this throughout the book of Song of Solomon, especially the next section. Because of our imperfections, we make many mistakes. But the good news here is, because of his perfection our imperfections do not compromise his pursuit of us.
Conclusion…
The more we see the Lord the more we begin to understand who we are in Christ.
If we focus on the exterior aspects of our life, we will end up in confusion and exhaustion. Many Christians are at this place. An obsession to keep up with the Joneses.
If we are going to escape this and have our lives rooted in our fellowship with Christ, we need to turn our back on the exterior elements of our life. We need to focus on that inner walk with God.
Each of us really needs to celebrate each and every day our union and communion with God. To understand Christ is to understand the fellowship that I can have and that he desires me to have.
To see myself through the groom’s eyes.
Then deceive the fellowship through the groom’s eyes.
