The Song of Solomon 2:10-13, “My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; 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; 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.”
In The Song of Solomon chapter two, specifically in our study verses, we find Solomon coming to his love, the Shulamite, and asks her to come away with him. Solomon declares that the winter is past and gone, the sound of joy is in the air, and after our wait it’s time for us to be together. The joy that must have been in the heart of Solomon’s precious Shulamite could not be measured. After waiting and anticipating the time that she would be near to the one she loved with all her heart, he calls on her to “come away.”
When we meditate on the life of a child of grace, there are four times when our Beloved, the Prince of Peace, the Lord Jesus Christ calls on us to “come away” with Him. Please consider:
(1) The new birth! When the elect child of grace is born again, it is the voice of our Beloved that calls unto them personally. Each of us are conceived in our mother’s womb as sinners, dead in sins. The coldness of nothing but the sinful nature is all we know. At His appointed time, the Lord calls and commands life. John 10:27, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:…” This verse of scripture is not referring to a life of gospel obedience, but the effectual call of the Lord to the heart of the elect child of grace giving them life. John 6:44, “No man can come to me. Except the Father which hath sent me draw him” declares unto us that this work is a work done alone by the power of a sovereign and omnipotent God. How do you know this has happened to you? If you show any fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22, it is evidence that you have been called to life. If you feel guilty for sins and wrong doings, it is evidence that you are born again (see Psalm 73:5).
(2) By the gospel! The gospel truth is a call to the born again to “come away” from the sins of this world and spend time with your Beloved. The gospel calls unto them that have life in Jesus Christ to walk in obedience to him. 1 Corinthians 1:2, “Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints,…” Paul tells these precious brothers and sisters that they are born again by God’s grace (sanctified in Christ Jesus). What a comfort these words must have been to their hearts for Paul to say that he saw the evidence of God’s grace in their lives. He declared unto them that they were going to heaven. And in the same breath, Paul says that the gospel is calling on them to live like children of God (called to be saints.) Come away from the ways of the world and live a life to the glory of your God and Savior. One may ask, “Where does this start?” Baptism and being part of the Lord’s Church is a great place to start this journey.
(3) In death! I do not want anyone to confuse me with one who believes the day of one’s death is fixed. Ecclesiastes 7:17, “…why shouldest thou die before thy time” is enough to teach us that we are able to lengthen or shorten our days on earth. Hezekiah, King of Judah, was a man that was blessed to have “fifteen years” added to his life (Isaiah 38:5). But when we consider the moment when the child of grace departs from this world, it is the Lord Who comes to them and calls their souls and spirit away. Even though we have many examples, Genesis 25:8 is enough to prove this very point. Abraham, when he died, was “gathered to his people.” The man Abraham was “gathered” by the power of God to heaven.
There is a hymn in our hymn books (How Sweet To Die) that tells of this precious experience. In the title of the hymn we read that part of this hymn were the last words of Elder S.A. Payne. The first verse tells the gist of the hymn, “Farewell, vain world, I’m going home, My Savior bids me come, Sweet angels beckon from on high, Then, O how sweet to die.”
(4) The resurrection on the last day! According to 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, there is coming a day like no other day, when the Lord will appear in the clouds, with the souls and spirits of those who have gone on before, and call all of His children home to glory. Jesus said in John 5:28 that all would hear “his voice…” Just as Solomon calls on the Shulamite to “come away,” the Lord will call us all to come away from the sins, trials and tribulations of this world to be with Him soul, body and spirit, in heaven above. Praise God, I’m looking forward to that day. My soul waits in hope and earnest expectation of that glorious day. Until then, may we all be found hearing and heeding to the commands of God to live a life to His praise and glory.