“His Banner Over Me Was Love”
Song of Solomon 2:4
By
Dr. Steven G. Cook
I. Introduction
A. Read Text - “He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.”
B. David wrote in Psalm 139:6 - “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.”
C. This is the way in which this particular verse of Scripture affects me! What a wonderful verse!
D. Let us first look at the context in which this verse of Scripture is written - Background of the Song of Solomon
E. Having been wed to King Solomon, we find our text.
F. First, let us consider “The Banqueting House”, then we will consider “His Banner of Love”.
II. The Banqueting House (Song of Solomon 2:4a)
A. The Shulamite is filled with praise that her shepherd/King had brought her to “The Banqueting House”.
B. The Lord promises to bring us to a banqueting house as well - The Lord Jesus Christ Himself spoke of this in Jn. 14:1-3 (Read)
C. Compelling to the Banqueting House (Luke 14:15-24)
1. Read Text
2. Notice that a certain man bade many - supper was prepared and announcement made to COME.
3. However, many made excuses - “Farm, Cow, & Wife”
4. The Master of the House then said, go and compel the poor, maimed, halt (lame), and blind!
5. What a sad testimony of mankind! There is STILL ROOM!
6. Is this not a picture of the Grace of God offered today?
7. Notice vs. 24 - “For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper!”
C. Conditions of the Banqueting House (Luke 14:12-14)
1. What are the Conditions which must be met in order to be able to taste of the Supper?
2. The conditions are simply to Repent & Receive Christ!
3. So many people today want to make entrance to this supper a matter of self; works; merit!
4. Notice that the Lord told them to call the “poor, maimed, lame, and the blind”.
5. The invitation is quite simple - “COME; for all things are now ready!”
6. Does that sound as if there is a surcharge? No! Read Luke 12:14 - “…for they CANNOT Recompense thee!”
7. We are now living in the day in which men, women, boys, and girls are being invited to COME; Soon the invitation will be over and the Banquet Will Begin!
8. Have YOU COME to Jesus? Do YOU realize that Christ came to Seek & Save the Lost?
9. John 14:6; Acts 4:12; John 3:36; Rom. 10:9-10; 13
D. Consummation of the Banqueting House (S of S 2:4a)
1. According to 1 Thess. 4:13-18 and 1 Cor. 15:51-58, there is a day coming in which the Lord Jesus Christ will return for His Bride.
2. Certainly, the Apostle John had this “Banqueting House” in mind when he wrote Revelation 19:6-9 (Read)
3. Every blood washed child of God will be there by the Grace of God! Like the Shulamite, we too shall rejoice in that “He has brought me to the banqueting house!”
4. Will you not join the songwriter, “What a day that will be; When my Jesus I shall see. And I look upon His face, the One who saved me by His grace. And forever I shall with the One who died for me. What a day, glorious day that shall be!”
E. Today, Christ can bring YOU to the “Banqueting Table” - He wants to bring YOU to the “Supper of Salvation”.
F. This is a supper that is “Full; Free; & Forever!”
G. When Christ was first brought to the temple of Jerusalem according to the custom of the Jews, an old man named Simeon said, “Lord, now lettest thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy Salvation…” (Read - Luke 2:25-33).
H. Did YOU see what he said at the end - “He hath FILLED the Hungry with Good Things; and the Rich He Hath SENT EMPTY AWAY!”
III. His Banner Over Me Was Love (Song of Solomon 2:4b)
A. What is a Banner? Is it not an ensign; a standard; a sign?
B. Banners have been used for many different reasons:
1. Armies use banners to “Identify Themselves”
2. Corporations use banners to “Advertise Products”
3. Schools & teams use banners to “Motivate Masses”
C. The Purpose of the Banner
1. Christ’s Banner IS Love! His banner has always been love - He is the same Yesterday, Today, and Forever!
2. Imagine, the Lord “Identifies Himself as LOVE!” He “Advertises Himself as LOVE!” He “Motivates the Masses” because He IS Love!!
D. The Person of the Banner
1. The Shulamite said it was “HIS Banner”
2. It was not some impersonal King that loved her - She said, “My Beloved is mine, and I am his..” (S. of S. 3:16)
3. The love that this banner made known was the object of a person - the King of Solomon.
4. Jesus too said, “Greater Love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for a friend!”
5. Everything that the Lord Jesus Christ did was directed at each and every person here tonight!
6. Christ’s Banner of Love can be Personal to YOU if you will but “Accept His Invitation!”
D. The Placement of the Banner
1. The Shulamite bride said that Solomon’s banner was “Over her” - It was not a sheepish love one might try to conceal!
2. His banner was not hidden, camouflaged, or concealed! It was lifted HIGH where the world might see!
3. So was Christ’s Banner of Love - Calvary’s Cross!
E. The Promise of the Banner
1. What of the Promise of His Love? Notice that the Shulamite bride says, “His banner over me WAS love.”
2. This suggests that he has accomplished something that he said that he would.
3. King Solomon promised to return for his lovely Shulamite shepherdess that he might make her his wife.
4. So also has the Lord Jesus Christ promised to return for them that trust in Him; that obey the Truth of the Gospel; who “accept the invitation to the Supper of Salvation.”
5. Eternal Life is the Promise of Christ’s Banner - “…that Whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (Jn. 3:16)
6. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” (John 10:27)
7. 1 John 5:11-12 - “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”
8. 1 John 5:13 - “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”
IV. Invitation
