Song of Songs Notes - viii

This is the notes to Mike Bickle teaching on The Song of Songs at IHOP dated 23rd March, 2007.

Session 8 The Bride’s Life Vision (Song 1:4)
I. INTRODUCTION
A. In this session, we will look at Song 1:4, as the Bride describes her spiritual goals and life vision.
4
Draw me away! We will run after You. The King has brought me into His chambers. We will
be glad and rejoice in You. We will remember Your love more than wine. (Song 1:4)
B. Review: Song 1:2-4 sums up the main themes and theology for the Song as the progression of
holy passion. She cries for the kisses of God’s Word knowing that Jesus’ affection is better than
anything this world has to offer. She declares the reality and effectiveness of the good perfumes
of Jesus and then declares her life vision as one who wants to be drawn near to Jesus in intimacy
and to receive grace to run with Him and the Body of Christ in ministry.
C. In Song 1:2-4, the Bride speaks in three different ways
1. In Song 1:2a, she speaks to the Father, “Let Your Son kiss me with His Word.”
2. In Song 1:2b-4, she speaks to Jesus saying, “Your love is better than wine. Because of
Your perfume, Your name will be poured forth and the virgins will love You.” She asks
Jesus to draw her to Himself in intimacy and to receive grace to run with Him in ministry.
3. In Song 1:4c, she speaks to Jesus with others who are diligently running with her.
II. THE EXPRESSION OF HER FERVENCY: 2-FOLD LIFE VISION
A. Her 2-fold life vision expresses her goals in the form of a prayer to God. A life vision is one that
our short and long term goals for our family, vocation and ministry fit into. The NAS translates
this as “draw me after You.” The words “after You” modifies “draw me” in many Bible
translations. In the NKJ the “after You” modifies the verb “running.”
4
Draw me away! We will run after You. (Song 1:4)
B. She prays, “Jesus, draw me away.” She longs to be drawn close to God’s heart in deep intimacy
as an extravagant worshipper who loves God with all her heart.
37
You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul… (Mt. 22:37)
C. She prays, “We will run after You.” The ‘we’ refers to running with Jesus and His people. Being
drawn to God is singular but running with Him is plural. She longs to serve people in ministry
partnership with Jesus and those who love Him. Running represents a life of service motivated
by compassion for people. It involves obedience in action, reaching out to others, and stepping
out in faith. We run behind Jesus who sets the pace and in relationship with other people.
39
The second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' (Mt. 22:39)

D. The balance is to have passion for Jesus and compassion for people. There is a constant tension
throughout our entire spiritual journey between “drawing” and “running.” At the beginning, most
are focused on running in ministry without being drawn in intimacy.
1. Because running brings conflict, rejection, and persecution, many soon burn out even as
the maiden did in Song 1:5-7. Some overreact, determining to focus only on being drawn
without any vision to run in ministry.
2. As Jesus answered her prayer to “be drawn to Him” in intimacy, she temporarily refused
to “run in ministry” (Song 2:8-13). She lost the balance of these 2 tensions. Jesus answers
both parts of her prayer related to her life vision throughout the 8 chapter love Song.
E. We are to both be drawn and run in each season. It is not enough to be only drawn near to God’s
heart in intimacy. Nor is it enough to only run in ministry. The Lord often emphasizes one over
the different spiritual seasons in our lives. We are not to totally neglect either in any session. Do
not be afraid of what others say when the Lord emphasizes one in a specific season in God.
F. The general order of the Kingdom is to first be drawn in intimacy and then to run in ministry in
the overflow of our close relationship with Jesus. The First Commandment focus to love God
with all our heart empowers us to much more effectively walk out the Second Commandment
focus to relate to and serve others. The 2-fold life vision of the Bride speaks of the two Great
commandments (Mt. 22:37-40) and the Great Commission (Mt. 28:19-20). Our life vision should
always contain both aspects of “drawing and running”.
G. I was taught to write out my life vision at about age 18. A life vision is established regardless of
our occupation, family status, economic status, etc. I determined to be an extravagant
worshipper of God and an anointed deliverer of people so as to fulfill the two Great
Commandments in loving God and people (Mt. 22:37-39). I wanted to learn the Scripture and
learn to live in the Spirit as an extravagant worshipper of God and an anointed deliver of people.
18
Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint… (Pro. 29:18)

18
Where there is no vision, the people perish. (Pro. 29:18, KJV)
H. The components of a focused life include having an overall life vision with life goals in each of
the main areas of our life such as our spiritual life (prayer time, fasting days, Bible study, etc.);
relationships (family, friends, etc.); vocation (marketplace calling); ministry (in the church,
outside the church); economic (earning, spending, giving, saving, investing); physical (exercise,
health, diet, etc.); and rest (recreation, vacation, play, entertainment, sports, etc.).
I. We must have an action plan for each long and short-term goal in every area of our life (long-
term goals are over 10 years and short-term goals are from 3 months to 3 years). We must have a
schedule for each action plan to help us focus or prioritize our time.

III. THE GROWTH OF FERVENCY: THE CHAMBER EXPERIENCES

4 Draw me away! We will run after You. The King has brought me into His chambers… (Song 1:4)
A. The King’s chamber is a bridal chamber. It refers to the times that she develops her secret life in
God. We all have a secret history in God where Jesus draws us to Himself especially in His
Word. The times in the chamber form and fashion our inner man. It is the times that the Lord
woos and warns us and promises and confronts us so that we grow in the Spirit. The King’s
chamber is a time of preparation that we might love and obey Jesus with all our heart as He
fashions us for future tasks to run with Him in active service.
B. The young Bride asked the Lord to draw her (take the initiative to help her) and Jesus answered
by carrying her into His chambers. He responds by carrying or bringing her into His chambers.
4
He brought me to the banqueting house…. (Song 2:4)
C. Jesus described the good shepherd as carrying the lost sheep on His shoulders of grace.
5
And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. (Luke 15:5)
D. The chamber experiences refer to the times that God carries us to Himself by granting us unusual
experiences in the Spirit (revelations, encounters and impartations). Two examples of my
personal “chamber experiences” surprised me as a new believer. I was filled with the Holy Spirit
in Feb. 1972 without any prior understanding of it and without seeking it. I also experienced a
vision of the Judgment seat of Christ in Oct. 1978 that I did not seek.
IV. THE CERTAINTY OF FERVENCY: THE PROPHETIC ASSURANCE
A. The Bride declares to the daughters of Jerusalem with the bold resolution and the certainty of
faith that together they would, “Be glad and rejoice in God and remember His love through all
the seasons of life.” This was her resolute confession of faith through each season in life.
4
The King has brought me into His chambers. We will be glad and rejoice in You. We will
remember Your love (affection) more than wine. (Song 1:4)
B. We will be glad and rejoice in Jesus and remember His love in three ways. First, we rejoice in
and remember His tender mercy in our weakness as we refuse condemnation. Second, we rejoice
in and remember His excellencies and exhilarating affections that are superior to the wine of sin.
Third, we rejoice in and remember His leadership over our lives in times of difficulty and testing.
11
We also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ… (Rom. 5:11)
C. This faith confession in times of despair and testing is an expression of spiritual warfare as we
declare that God is good and the devil is a liar. This confession of faith foreshadows the
Marriage Supper of the Lamb. We will use these very words on the great Wedding Day.
7
Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and
His wife has made herself ready. (Rev. 19:7)

V. REMEMBERING CAUSES US TO LOVE GOD
A. The goodness of Jesus’ love powerfully causes us to love Him. When the Church remembers
Jesus’ love and goodness it awakens our heart in the 3-fold love of God (love from God, then for
God which overflows to others). The Bride understands how God changes the human heart.
4
We will remember Your love more than wine. Rightly do they love You. (Song 1:4)
B. The Bride is showing the way to maintain the fervency she received in the chamber experiences.
In the chamber experiences we receive personal encouragement and assurances in God. It is not
enough to have these experiences. God holds us accountable to remember them and to act on
them by setting our soul to agree with what God spoke to us in these times.
C. We engage in spiritual warfare by proclaiming God’s Word as darkness assaults our heart. We
must renew our mind as we refuse to lose anything that God gave us in the chamber experiences.
D. There are two dimensions of gladness. First, the gladness that is by faith that requires the setting
of the heart to remain in agreement with the confession of our faith in difficulty. Second, is the
gladness by overflow that automatically rises up in our heart. She refers to both dimensions here.
E. The gladness that is by faith remembers Jesus’ love and refuses to draw back. We must regularly
re-align our soul to God’s Word. There is a place to set our soul to be glad by faith.
1. In difficult circumstances, we actively rejoice in God and confess His loving leadership
instead sinking in anxiety. We declare that we glad in His good leadership. In the
darkness of the midnight hour, we remember the revelation He gave us in His chambers.
4
His banner (leadership) over me was love. (Song 2:4)

28
We know that all things work together for good to those who love God… (Rom. 8:28)
2. In temptation, actively rejoice in God and confess that His affections and promises are
better than the wine of this fallen world.
24
By faith Moses…25 choosing rather to suffer affliction…than to enjoy the passing
pleasures of sin 26…for he looked to the reward. (Heb. 11:20-30)
3. In failure, we confess His love as we believe in His tender mercy instead of wallowing in
condemnation. We will not accept the accusations of the enemy. Satan tells many they
are rejected by God so they run from God instead of to Him in weakness.
F. In difficult circumstances, temptation and failure, we declare that the Lord is good and His
mercy endures forever (1 Chr. 16:34, 41; 2 Chr. 5:13; 7:3, 6; 20:21; Ezra 3:11; Jer. 33:11; Ps.
52:1; 100:5; 106:1; 107:1; 117:2; 118:1-4, 29; 138).
11
They sang responsively…giving thanks to the LORD: "For He is good, for His mercy
endures forever toward Israel." (Ezra 3:11)