May all who read this be blessed and taken into a deeper relationship with Jesus. This book project started with a desire n my heart to go deeper with the Lord, to find more intimacy. The desire of my heart is to know Him more. I pray it is also yours dear reader. I don’t claim to have arrived I am on a journey with the Lord, but you know something I find He grows sweeter and sweeter as the days go by. I love the Lord Jesus Christ.

God bless you all

Love from your sister in Christ,

Irene McGough

  Before reading through this book you will probably wonder as to just who Irene McGough is.  I am just an ordinary Christian on a journey with God.

        I grew up in a Christian home and was saved at the age of seven.  That ofcourse was only the start of my journey with God.  I trained as a nurse and felt that God was calling me into Bible College. So in September 1978, I enrolled as a student of the Bible Training Institute in Glasgow. It was there I met my husband who was a fellow student.

     I met my husband Raymond in September 1978 at Bible College. I had just finished my nursing training in January that year. We were married the following September while still studying at College.

   The journey between then and now has been a learning curve, it is only in the last ten that I have started to learn what true intimacy with the Lord really is. That journey is one I am still on, but one thing for sure, I have a longing deep within for Jesus, to know Him more and to follow Him the rest of my days.

SONG OF SOLOMON CHAPTER 1 

  Most of the ladies who read this will be able to relate to being the bride of Christ but if you men are anything like my husband, although that has been changing lately, you may find that difficult. Love is the key word here. This wonderful book of the Bible was included for good reason because it calls us to new levels of intimacy with our dear bridegroom the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Quote:

The song of songs, which is concerning Solomon, who as the son and successor of David, on whom the covenant of royalty was entailed, as the founder of the temple, and as one that excelled in wisdom and wealth, was a type of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and yet is a greater than Solomon; this is therefore a song concerning him. It is here fitly placed after Ecclesiastes; for when by the book we are thoroughly convinced of the vanity of the creature, and its insufficiency to satisfy us and make a happiness for us, we shall be quickened to seek for happiness in the love of Christ, and that true transcendent pleasure which is to be found only in communion with God through him. The voice in the wilderness, that was to prepare Christ’s way, cried, All flesh is grass. (Matthew Henry's commentary on the whole Bible )

1:1 Solomon's Song of Songs.

Beloved

1:2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth-
for your love is more delightful than wine.

 Can you feel the sweet kisses of the groom, the sweet, sweet passionate kisses of Jesus? Oh how He loves you and I!  Just one kiss from Him and I am undone, for His kisses are sweeter than any other kiss we could ever experience, and I am a woman who is in love with her husband of over thirty years. But the kisses the Lord gives to us are life giving, life changing, they breathe life, strength, hope, faith, joy, healing and peace into us His bride. They are sweeter than the sweetest wine. He gives us new wine, sweeter than any other. Just in case there is any confusion I am not talking about romantic kisses, His love goes beyond that which we as mere human’s can conceive.

Psalm 34:8 Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good;

        Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!

      My thoughts here  also come to the communion wine, we are indeed remembering the Lord until He comes, but there is more to it than that, He is so very present with us as we partake of the bread and the wine. As we take the cup can you feel the Lord’s kisses upon your lips as he breathes life into you, the new life in Him that is yours because His love took Him all the way to the cross to shed His blood for you and I.

     Because He died you have been reborn, you are a new creation, there is life in the blood, life in the new wine which he gives, life in Jesus. There is healing in recognising the sacredness and blessedness of the moment as we participate of the elements, Jesus is there and He is kissing you and I to life.  Communion is only one of those times when we can be aware of His sweet kisses, when we are hurting, He kisses us back to life, when we are afraid, He takes the fear away, when we are discouraged He whispers words of encouragement to us, when we read the Word  He reveals His love, His compassion, His nature to us and blesses us so much with His Presence. When we spend time talking to Him He communicates with us, reveals more to us and guides on the way that we should go.

How I love His Kisses!

SWEET COMMUNION

 The bread and wine are set before us,

 As we gather to worship the Lord Jesus,

 This is no ritual without a meaning,

  It is even more than merely remembering.

 Jesus said “This do in remembrance of me.”

 But there is clearly more He wants us to see.

 For the one we behold is indeed the bread of life,

 And the bread is feeding our souls with health and life.

 Then we come to the wine knowing there is life in the blood,

 For that blood washed away our sins in a cleansing flood,

 And we come with thanksgiving and praise in our hearts,

  In deep reverence and awe we come in one accord.

 Thanking the One who is the true life giver,

 The One who we will throughout eternity live with,

 Who shed His blood on a cruel cross that we might be saved,

  Through that same blood we are healed, saved and delivered.

  For there is power in the blood, full resurrection power,

  We must never forget the magnitude of that wonderful power,

   Words are unable to express the depth of our gratitude,

   For while we were dead in our sins Christ came, and he died.

And he has given us a hope that is certain and sure,

 That when we give our lives to the only one who is pure,

 We have a glorious heritage as sons and daughters of the King,

 So throughout eternity his praises we with the angels will sing.

  And now as we take the bread and the wine let us rightly discern,

  Just what we are doing and come humbly seeking new revelation,

   Our Lord and Saviour left heaven’s glory, a sacrificial offering to be,

   And the wonder of it all was that he done it all for such as you and me.

 So we will continue to come together partaking of the bread and wine,

 Until that day we with the saints from down through the ages dine,

  When we the bride, meet with our dear bridegroom at our wedding feast,

  And we look upon the glory of his countenance and fall at his feet.

 Even so come, Lord Jesus…………….

Do you have an awakened desire for more intimacy with the King of Kings because of His beauty, His excellence, His love and compassion so clearly seen?  He wants us to reach a place of greater intimacy, fellowshipping with Him in such a way that no matter what is happening around us it’s okay for Jesus is here with us.  The love of this beautiful splendid and fragrant king is twice good (the word “good” appears twice in Hebrew in its plural form). I would say that means His love is good beyond all measure.

     The bride here is rather tentative at first as though she sees her groom so far off but when she experiences his kisses, oh what a difference it makes. Cf v3-4

1:3 Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes;
your name is like perfume poured out.
No wonder the maidens love you! 

  In Biblical times it was the custom to rub the body with fragrant ointments (oils) after a bath in preparation for a festive occasion (Ruth 3:3). The Shulamite bride speaks of her beloved’s reputation a likening it to a lovely aroma; he was an object of desire to young women everywhere. Our desire should be like this, we should be ravished with desire for our dear bridegroom, for Jesus.

                                                                                                                                           1:4 Take me away with you-let us hurry!
Let the king bring me into his chambers.

Can you smell the sweet fragrant essence of the beauty of His presence?  His Name is the Name above all Names and at His feet every knee will one day bow, What a glorious wonderful name that is the name of Jesus – Yeshua, the Messiah, our dear bridegroom, our Lord and our Saviour who is calling us up higher calling us up closer to be with Him.. We so need to develop a close intimate relationship with Jesus for He is the bridegroom and we are the bride. The chambers by my understanding are entering the secret place with Lord and even venturing right into the holy of holies, for the veil was rent in two that we the royal priesthood, the bride might enter into the holy of holies and be with Him.


1:4b.Friends
We rejoice and delight in you;
we will praise your love more than wine.
Beloved
How right they are to adore you!

COME AWAY WITH ME

Come away with me my sister my bride,

A new wave is coming, it’s a changing tide.

Come and see what I am about to do,

For I am about to make all things new.

For this to happen, you need to come up higher,

I long for you my bride, my delight, to come closer,

Then and only then will you see my plans unfold,

Come and fulfil the destiny for which you have been called.

It’s time for you to listen and hear my voice,

For I have so much to say to you, just stop and listen,

Do you know I adore you and want you in me to rejoice?

It’s time for your ears to open wide and your eyes to fully open.

Only then can I reveal to you sweet treasures of my kingdom,

It is only in the secret place that you can truly learn of me,

You have to enter my chambers to learn real wisdom,

There is so much more my dear bride I want you to see.

So come on up here, come away with me, it’s your time,

The plans I have planned for you were made before time,

Your destiny awaits you, so you just have to come up here,

Can you see the longing in my eyes for you my dear?

 My dear bride come away with me,

Love from Jesus.

Mathew Henry states” A good name is as precious ointment, but Christ’s name is more fragrant than any other. Wisdom, like oil, makes the face to shine; but the Redeemer outshines, in beauty, all others.”

THERE IS SOMETHING WONDERFUL ABOUT THAT NAME

                                                                                                                                   Yesterday, today, and forever Jesus is the same,

There is something wonderful about that Name,

For at the name of Jesus demons have to flee,

He is the Lord Jesus Christ who died for you and me,

He’s the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end,

Our soon coming King who did to heaven ascend,

He’s the Author and Perfecter of our faith,

He is the Word of God so listen to what He says.

He is the Eternal one and the way, the truth and the life.

It is only through Him that we can have eternal life,

He is the Lamb without blemish who gave His life for us,

He’s the Good shepherd who cares for sheep such as us.

Forever and forever He is faithful and true,

He is holy and desires us to be holy too,

He is Immanuel, our God who is with us,

And we are so blessed with His Presence with us.

He is the Wonderful Counsellor, the Prince of Peace,

This bridegroom’s love for His bride will never cease.

He is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings,

So my friends let’s forever His praises sing.

   Christian brothers and sisters our desire should be for our friends and brothers and sisters in Christ to draw closer to Jesus. We should encourage them and prayerfully support them, jealousy should not come into the equation, we should not envy another’s walk with the Lord, instead we should encourage them and draw closer ourselves to the Lord, seeking intimacy, that’s the most important thing.

1:5 Dark am I, yet lovely,
O daughters of Jerusalem, (NIV used throughout)
dark like the tents of Kedar,
like the tent curtains of Solomon.
1:6 Do not stare at me because I am dark,
because I am darkened by the sun.
My mother's sons were angry with me
and made me take care of the vineyards;
my own vineyard I have neglected.


     The Shulamite has spent lots of time in the sun as a vineyard keeper, so she is tanned and dark, but lovely. Could it be that here she has a sense of feeling unworthy of her beloved’s attentions, hence the mention here of her colour? Vinedressers were among the poorer classes in the land of Israel (II Kgs 25:12)  Yet this vinedresser was fit for a king.

   What do you see here we who are in and of ourselves unworthy have been made worthy for our lover the King of Kings, our Lord and Saviour Jesus. How marvellous is this?

   For though we in and of ourselves are unworthy our groom has paid a ransom, for us.  We stood guilty of sin and shame, and He has removed it from us, as far as the east is from the west, He has removed our transgressions from us.  So we who were once in bondage and slavery to sin and it’s consequences, have been wonderfully and so gloriously set free.

     We who were afar off, the gentiles have been grafted in and we are now the redeemed and a bride in love with a bridegroom who loves us so much more than we the bride can yet conceive.  How often do we as believers feel inadequate and yet in Him we have everything?

Collosians 1:27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. NKJV

       Christ within us is the hope of glory. He wants to make His glory known among us and for that glory to shine through us and touch the hearts of the people. We are to be such carriers of His presence that people in the world look at us and immediately see that we are different, and for this to happen it requires us to become more and more like our Lord and Saviour, to be holy for He is Holy. It of course requires surrendering everything over to Jesus. That's what we need to do on a daily basis.

1:7 Tell me, you whom I love, where you graze your flock
and where you rest your sheep at midday.
Why should I be like a veiled woman
beside the flocks of your friends?

     The Shulamite did not like the idea of veiling herself, of staying at a distance, she was a stranger in the land Think of the isolation of a leper who dwells alone, outside the camp, in contrast to Israel’s shared life of covenant love.  Jesus sent the disciples to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel” with a command to “cleanse the lepers” who were outside the camp. His love and compassion for those who are considered to be the unfortunates of our society, those whom society shuns continues today.

    The Shulamite loves her lover so much that she cannot stand being apart from him. She has to seek him out. Do we seek to be with Jesus every moment of every day? Do we long for Him so much we cannot stand to feel at all distanced from him?   Is He the object of our affections all day and every day?

Friends

 
1:8 If you do not know, most beautiful of women,
follow the tracks of the sheep
and graze your young goats
by the tents of the shepherds.

     The court ladies, hearing her plea, bid her to depart and search for the shepherd. Most beautiful of women is probably meant in an ironical sense. They would be glad to see this rival depart. Are you ready to encourage others on their walk, to help them to draw closer to Jesus, to find intimacy? When we find a level of intimacy ourselves it is not meant to be kept like a guarded secret. What we have learned we ought to share with and encourage others even if it means they will surpass us and seem to reach greater heights than we ourselves have, or that which we will reach.


Lover

1:9 I liken you, my darling, to a mare
harnessed to one of the chariots of Pharaoh.
1:10 Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings,
your neck with strings of jewels.
1:11 We will make you earrings of gold,
studded with silver.

    Solomon begins to speak here. He first praises his bride’s beauty and gracefulness by comparing her to his stately chariot steed. Those steeds were dressed with costly harnesses and the most elegant of headgear. She is beautiful, but with the expensive adornments which he will give her she will have a beauty that is unsurpassable. She will have necklaces of silver and gold and lots of jewels.

Beloved

1:12 While the king was at his table,
my perfume spread its fragrance.
1:13 My lover is to me a sachet of myrrh
resting between my breasts.
1:14 My lover is to me a cluster of henna blossoms
from the vineyards of En Gedi.

          King Solomon was at the table with his circle of friends. Clarke says the bundle of myrrh is a scent bag or sachet worn in the bosom and suspended from the neck on a silk thread. The Shulamite confesses that her beloved is to her what this delightful perfume is to others. She felt that he was as close to her as the sachet of myrrh dangling from her neck that sat between her breasts

. En-gedi is a beautiful oasis below a plateau overlooking the Dead Sea. Her loved one is like a beautiful flower. Henna flowers are from a privet-like shrub bearing small, inconspicuous but fragrant white to yellow blossoms.

Do we express our love for Jesus like this woman did her love for King Solomon?

BURNING DESIRE

I have a burning deep within,
For more of your fire consuming,
Come Lord Jesus I know there is more,
More than I have experienced before.

I have tasted and seen that you are good,
The spirit within me you have renewed,
Holy Spirit keep filling me up to overflowing,
May my zeal for Jesus be forever growing.

Come consume me with your fire,
For I long for you with deep desire,
There is a need deep within my being,
I'm hungry and thirsty, come satisfy my craving.
 

Lover

1:15 How beautiful you are, my darling!
Oh, how beautiful!
Your eyes are doves.

      The language of love ends all hostile and divisive communication, for it speaks out of a shared life and magnifies oneness, togetherness, union, and intimacy . 

Beloved

1:16 How handsome you are, my lover!
Oh, how charming!
And our bed is verdant.

Lover

1:17 The beams of our house are cedars;
our rafters are firs.

      The Lord wants us to constantly seek an intimate personal relationship with Him, not to view Him from afar off. Jesus looks at us His bride with longing for us to come closer. I really believe He beckons us like John to come up close, come up higher.

Revelation 4:1 After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this."

     He is our bridegroom, He is our lover but we must not lose sight of the fact that He is King, We can have such beautiful moments of intimacy but we must exalt Him and worship Him, magnify His Holy Name.

I’M COMING UP HIGHER

I’m coming up higher, coming up closer to you Lord,

As a deer pants for the water so my soul thirsts for you.

This one thing I seek forever to dwell in your presence Lord,

And I will enter the secret place to be alone with you.

Just one glimpse of your face, is what I long for,

My majestic, wonderful, marvellous glorious King,

Holy, Holy are you Lord and your praises I will sing,

Holy Spirit, reveal more to me as I read your precious Word.

Lord I seek your face and I’m after your heart,

Break me, melt me, mould me and change my heart,

Refiners fire come and purify my entire being,

Help me to increase in knowledge and understanding.

Because He rose, I will rise up as a Mighty Warrior,

The battle is won; the victory is yours my dear Saviour,

I will press on to the heavenly calling, fixing my eyes on you,

And I will listen to your voice and walk with you.

I can no longer walk, except in your righteousness,

For I have beheld something of your glory my King,

So let me die totally to self, my life an offering I bring,

For I am bought with a price, now my life you possess.

1Peter 2:2 -9

2.Like newborn babies you should crave (thirst for, earnestly desire) the pure (unadulterated) spiritual milk, that by it you may be nurtured and grow unto [completed] salvation,

3 Since you have [already] tasted the goodness and kindness of the Lord

4 Come to Him [then, to that] Living Stone which men tried and threw away, but which is chosen [and] precious in God's sight.

5 [Come] and, like living stones, be yourselves built [into] a spiritual house, for a holy (dedicated, consecrated) priesthood, to offer up [those] spiritual sacrifices [that are] acceptable and pleasing to God through Jesus Christ.

6 For thus it stands in Scripture: Behold, I am laying in Zion a chosen  (honored), precious chief Cornerstone, and he who believes in Him [who adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Him] shall never be disappointed or put to shame.

7 To you then who believe (who adhere to, trust in, and rely on Him) is the preciousness; but for those who disbelieve [it is true], The [very] Stone which the builders rejected has become the main Cornerstone,

8 And, A Stone that will cause stumbling and a Rock that will give [men] offense; they stumble because they disobey and disbelieve [God's] Word, as those [who reject Him] were destined (appointed) to do.

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation, [God's] own purchased, special people, that you may set forth the wonderful deeds and display the virtues and perfections of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.  (AMPLIFIED BIBLE)

     We who regard Jesus as so precious to us are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a people who belong to God, a people set apart that we might be changed and go forth and do the wonderful deeds that are His and display the virtue and perfections of the one who first loved us, that His very nature might be manifest in our lives as we are changed from glory to glory. Our Lord and Saviour, our bridegroom has called us out of the darkness and into His marvellous light, into the glory realm of His Kingdom.

SWEET INTIMACY

How he wants me to come closer,
He says "Come on up a little higher,"
I love each little touch from Him,
Each sweet caress from my King.

Through Him I breathe, and have my being,
And He has called me to spend eternity reigning,
All eternity I will spend at His side,
For now I am part of His Precious bride,

And oh the joy that fills my heart,
Forever I have been set apart,
And I love Him so much more,
Than I thought was possible before.

For He saw that He was my greatest desire,
And He came and baptized me with fire,
And I know there is so much more,
For all He does is on me His love pour.

How simply amazing is that?
That He should love me as He does,
Oh the joy deep down in my heart,
In Him I place my faith and trust.

I love Jesus and I love his sweet caress,
Whatever comes my way I know I can rest,
For He has given me a peace and joy that's unshakable,
And I know that in all things my Lord is totally able.

And He takes me into the secret place,
And I go seeking to see Him face to face,
And He is so beautiful and majestically wonderful to me.
So now the desire of my heart is now to help others see.

He says to me "Go tell others about me,
Tell them that they can come to really know me,
I want them to know that I so love them too,
And I want them to come and embrace me too."
 

PRAYER:  Dear Lord I ask you now to take me deeper unto you. I want to explore new heights of intimacy with you. I want to come up higher, so Lord I pray that I will open my heart and soul fully to you, that I might hear you more clearly and see you more clearly. I thank you for you love for me, I love you Lord and may that love cause me to live a life totally devoted to you, in complete surrender.

In your precious name Lord Jesus, AMEN