Brothers and sisters, this is the beginning of an arduous journey. Your Christian life eventually requires you to have a union with the death of the Lord. Every day the cross should work in you as you experience the Lord’s word in Matthew 16:24, “If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.” We need to grow together with Him in the likeness of His death, if we are to be with Him in the likeness of His resurrection (Rom. 6:5).

Adapted from The Journey of Life, page 189.

Monday: “The Covert of the Precipice (1)”

If we compare our experience of Christ here to what is described in chapter one of the Song of Songs, we will see that the experience of chapter one is very shallow in comparison. Here the Lord calls us into union with Him, a union that is far beyond the seeker’s past union with the Lord through merely being in love with Him.

In this union in the clefts of the rock, all of Christ’s experiences become our experiences. We go through what the Lord went through. We weep as He wept. We are struck and misunderstood as He was. The Lord desires to see us in the clefts of the rock, that is, He desires that through the union of the cross we would experience what He experienced.

Adapted from The Journey of Life, page 189.

Tomorrow: “A Long Journey”

The Lord’s desire to see us in the clefts of the rock shows us that all the experiences of the Lord should be ours also. We should experience how He humbled himself, suffered, was despised, and was reproached. Therefore we need to experience being joined with the Lord in the clefts of the rock, which is to be in union with Christ at His cross.

Adapted from The Journey of Life, page 189.

Tomorrow: “Advancing in Our Experience”

The rock is the Lord himself. The clefts of the rock are the place where we can be joined with the Lord.

When we first loved the Lord, the union between us was an affiliation of love, but it was not yet a true union. Here the Lord asks us to enjoy not only His love but also Himself. We need to be joined in union with Him. In this union we not only enjoy the riches of His love; we also experience what He has gone through.

Adapted from The Journey of Life, page 189.

Tomorrow: “The Clefts of the Rock (2)”

The Lord is telling His dove that she needs two things: the clefts of the rock and the covert of the precipice. The clefts of the rock symbolize our union with the Lord in His death on the cross. Our going to the covert of the precipice indicates that we are able to resurrect and ascend with Him to go to a place which cannot be reached by ordinary men. When we attain to the covert of the precipice, we enjoy all of Christ’s riches in resurrection and ascension.

Adapted from The Journey of Life, page 188.

Tomorrow: “The Clefts of the Rock (1)”

In verse 14 the Lord refers to the Shulammite as His “dove.” The Lord once said her eyes were like the eyes of a dove. Now she herself becomes a dove. In the eyes of the Lord, she is truly beautiful now. Not only her eyes but also her whole person is pure. We don’t see as the Lord does; we do not think we are like doves. However, the Lord says, “You are like a dove. I am going to work in you and make you a dove.”

Adapted from The Journey of Life, page 188.

Tomorrow: “The Clefts and the Covert”

Praise the Lord for these five points in verses 11 through 13. First, the winter is past, and the rain is over and gone. Second, flowers appear on the earth. Third, the time of singing has come. Fourth, the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. And fifth, the fig tree has ripened its figs, and the vines are in blossom.

How wonderful are these five points! The Lord repeatedly tells us, “Do not remain with what is past, for what lies ahead is even brighter and more glorious.” We have to go on persistently and labor on into the riches of Christ.

The Lord repeats, “Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, And come away!” (2:13). Since she now has some manifestation in life, the Lord finds her attractive. His desire is that she would go with Him and manifest His life on the earth.

Adapted from The Journey of Life, page 188.

Monday: “My Dove”

There are two words of encouragement here. First, the Lord tells us that the fig tree has ripened its figs. Second, He says that the vines are in blossom (2:13). You are like the fig tree that has ripened its figs. Some further manifestation has taken place in you. It doesn’t mean you have become fully mature in life, but it does indicate that you have achieved ripeness in the experience of this stage. Now you should go on to another experience with the Lord: it is time for you to have fruit now, for your vines are in blossom.

Adapted from The Journey of Life, page 188.

Tomorrow: “Arise, My Darling!”

The voice of the turtledove (2:12) represents love. This love does not only exist between you and the Lord, but also between the Lord and the brothers and sisters. When you hear the voice of the turtledove, you hear the singing and the songs of love. Praise the Lord for the flowers, the singing, and the voice of the turtledove!

Adapted from The Journey of Life, page 187.

Tomorrow: “Two Words of Encouragement”

Although this is a sober time, it is also a time of beauty. The appearing of flowers indicates that the abundant life has become manifested among the saints. God has an eternal purpose, and the purpose is carried out through the saints’ transformation. When you are with the saints, you should have a feeling that flowers are appearing on the earth!

Next we are told, “The time of singing has come” (2:12). At such a time, people praise God, and their praise is real and practical. Such praising is beautiful before the Lord. It is just like music. “The time of singing has come!”

Adapted from The Journey of Life, page 187.

Tomorrow: “The Voice of the Turtledove”