The Daily Fountain Daily Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 26 March 2019 – Lily among Thorns
TOPIC: Lily among Thorns
READ: Songs of Solomon 2:1-17 King James Version (KJV)
1 I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.
2 As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.
3 As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.
4 He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.
5 Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love.
6 His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me.
7 I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.
8 The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.
9 My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice.
10 My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.
11 For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;
12 The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;
13 The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
14 O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.
15 Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.
16 My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies.
17 Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.
THE MESSAGE:
The bridegroom first of all reminds the bride that she is a lily among thorns (verse 2). We need to realise that believers are like lily flowers existing in the midst of the thorns of the world. We must be careful to remain beautiful for God and not to be crushed or destroyed by the world. The bridegroom also stresses the need to sit with delight in God’s presence so that we can be sustained (verse 3&5). There is the need to drive away the little foxes of sin that spoil our Christian faith and behaviour (verse 15).
God, like the King in verse 9, is able to look through windows, walls and lattices of our lives and situations. We need to listen to instructions in His word for He sees and knows beyond us.
The King told his bride when to rise or come away because of the change in seasons. Similarly we need to obey God when He calls us to pray, study the bible, have retreats or vigils due to changes in the seasons of life.
Recognise that seasons of cold, heat, etc., exist in life. His instructions will help us to be victorious over each season and if we hold His hand, He will guide us through the rocky mountains (verse 14).
PRAYER: Lord please help me to be an obedient bride so that I can radiate Your beauty as a flower and remain uncrushed among the thorns of this life.
