But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith

Jude 20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith A commentator used this to write against the human nature of impulsiveness. He said that the Spirit of God gives a sense of restraint to impulsiveness, making it look self-consciously foolish. Also impulsiveness is all right in a child but disastrous in an adult. All this is so true. Walking with God requires the practice of patience as oppose to impulsiveness. This is the practice to walk on dry land, in ordinary living, faced with tensions and opposition, being tempted in our moment of weaknesses. Yet we must somehow learn to overcome - only God can help us to this. Yshua - don't let us go.

Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you

Philippians 2:12-13
 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

This passage brings two teachings together, one is to "work out our own salvation" and the other is to align our will with God's will. We more commonly hear about having to learn to align our will with God's will. This also include submission of our own will if they are oppose to God's will. Our Lord Yshua is a good example of one whose will is perfectly in tuned with God's will.

The part about "working out our own salvation" is not about acquiring or gaining salvation. Salvation has already been given by God and received by His followers. Yet they still have to work it out so that in their own lives, in this still sinful world, they would live according to God's ways. That means they would have to constantly check that their desires are not opposed to God's will. As they continue to walk with God, the Holy Spirit is already working to shape their will to align with God's own will.

Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit

2 Corinthians 7:1
Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

A simple exhortation by Paul but most followers of Yshua still had trouble in perfecting. Consider the different parts of the sentence:
i) having these promises - refers to the previous chapter where God promises to be our Father and we become His sons and daughters.
ii) beloved - clearly we are the beloved of God.
iii) cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit - something that we must do
iv) perfecting in holiness in the fear of God - our ultimate goal

The thing for us to do is to cleanse ourselves so that we can move towards holiness. Yet many of us struggle because we still have the carnal nature. However, our closeness to God must increase and our carnal selves must decrease. To achieve this, we must abandon our own will because it mostly aims to satisfy our flesh and spirit. Instead, follow our Lord Yshua, who only follow His Father's will - not our own will - only this kind of submission will we be victorious in our battle to cleanse ourselves.

Yes, brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord

Paul writes to Philemon, first acknowledging him as someone who loves God and has a strong faith. Paul had heard from other believers that Philemon had been refreshing the hearts of the believers. This letter was specifically to ask Philemon to accept Onesimus. Onesimus may have been a slave but was also a believer. Paul urges Philemon to receive him and that he can be useful to the ministry.



Philemon 1
Greeting

1 Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,

To Philemon our beloved friend and fellow laborer, 2 to the beloved[a] Apphia, Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house:

3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Philemon’s Love and Faith

4 I thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers, 5 hearing of your love and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints, 6 that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you[b] in Christ Jesus. 7 For we have[c] great joy[d] and consolation in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother.

The Plea for Onesimus

8 Therefore, though I might be very bold in Christ to command you what is fitting, 9 yet for love’s sake I rather appeal to you—being such a one as Paul, the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ— 10 I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten while in my chains, 11 who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me.

12 I am sending him back.[e] You therefore receive him, that is, my own heart, 13 whom I wished to keep with me, that on your behalf he might minister to me in my chains for the gospel. 14 But without your consent I wanted to do nothing, that your good deed might not be by compulsion, as it were, but voluntary.

15 For perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose, that you might receive him forever, 16 no longer as a slave but more than a slave—a beloved brother, especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.

Philemon’s Obedience Encouraged

17 If then you count me as a partner, receive him as you would me. 18 But if he has wronged you or owes anything, put that on my account. 19 I, Paul, am writing with my own hand. I will repay—not to mention to you that you owe me even your own self besides. 20 Yes, brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in the Lord.

21 Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. 22 But, meanwhile, also prepare a guest room for me, for I trust that through your prayers I shall be granted to you.

Farewell

23 Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, 24 as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow laborers.

25 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

Set Me as a Seal upon Your Heart

The poem now brings in several voices. The Shulamite starts off describing how she wished her Beloved was like her brother. Perhaps she meant being her brother would allow her to know her Beloved over a greater amount of time.

The Shulamite describes how she would like to be set like a seal, permanently into her Beloved's heart and arms. Her brothers were saying how they would protect their sister, if she was a wall, they would build a battlement, if she was a door, they would enclose her. But clearly their sister had different ideas as she was already committed to her Beloved. And she invites her Beloved to quickly come back to her. Solomon was also used in this chapter referring him as the Beloved.



Song of Solomon 8

1 Oh, that you were like my brother,
Who nursed at my mother’s breasts!
If I should find you outside,
I would kiss you;
I would not be despised.
2 I would lead you and bring you
Into the house of my mother,
She who used to instruct me.
I would cause you to drink of spiced wine,
Of the juice of my pomegranate.


(To the Daughters of Jerusalem)

3 His left hand is under my head,
And his right hand embraces me.
4 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
Do not stir up nor awaken love
Until it pleases.


Love Renewed in Lebanon

A Relative

5 Who is this coming up from the wilderness,
Leaning upon her beloved?
I awakened you under the apple tree.
There your mother brought you forth;
There she who bore you brought you forth.


The Shulamite to Her Beloved

6 Set me as a seal upon your heart,
As a seal upon your arm;
For love is as strong as death,
Jealousy as cruel as the grave;[a]
Its flames are flames of fire,
A most vehement[b] flame.
7 Many waters cannot quench love,
Nor can the floods drown it.
If a man would give for love
All the wealth of his house,
It would be utterly despised.


The Shulamite’s Brothers

8 We have a little sister,
And she has no breasts.
What shall we do for our sister
In the day when she is spoken for?
9 If she is a wall,
We will build upon her
A battlement of silver;
And if she is a door,
We will enclose her
With boards of cedar.


The Shulamite

10 I am a wall,
And my breasts like towers;
Then I became in his eyes
As one who found peace.
11 Solomon had a vineyard at Baal Hamon;
He leased the vineyard to keepers;
Everyone was to bring for its fruit
A thousand silver coins.


(To Solomon)

12 My own vineyard is before me.
You, O Solomon, may have a thousand,
And those who tend its fruit two hundred.


The Beloved

13 You who dwell in the gardens,
The companions listen for your voice—
Let me hear it!


The Shulamite

14 Make haste, my beloved,
And be like a gazelle
Or a young stag
On the mountains of spices.

How Beautiful are your Feet in Sandals

The poem continues as a conversation between the Beloved and the Shulamite woman. The Beloved first describes her using comparisons with fine items and famous cities. He also compares her with the beauty of nature such as trees, fawns and gazelles. The Shulamite woman looks forward to be with her beloved.



Song of Solomon 7
Expressions of Praise

The Beloved

7 How beautiful are your feet in sandals,
O prince’s daughter!
The curves of your thighs are like jewels,
The work of the hands of a skillful workman.
2 Your navel is a rounded goblet;
It lacks no blended beverage.
Your waist is a heap of wheat
Set about with lilies.
3 Your two breasts are like two fawns,
Twins of a gazelle.
4 Your neck is like an ivory tower,
Your eyes like the pools in Heshbon
By the gate of Bath Rabbim.
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon
Which looks toward Damascus.
5 Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel,
And the hair of your head is like purple;
A king is held captive by your tresses.
6 How fair and how pleasant you are,
O love, with your delights!
7 This stature of yours is like a palm tree,
And your breasts like its clusters.
8 I said, “I will go up to the palm tree,
I will take hold of its branches.”
Let now your breasts be like clusters of the vine,
The fragrance of your breath like apples,
9 And the roof of your mouth like the best wine.


The Shulamite

The wine goes down smoothly for my beloved,
Moving gently the lips of sleepers.[a]
10 I am my beloved’s,
And his desire is toward me.
11 Come, my beloved,
Let us go forth to the field;
Let us lodge in the villages.
12 Let us get up early to the vineyards;
Let us see if the vine has budded,
Whether the grape blossoms are open,
And the pomegranates are in bloom.
There I will give you my love.
13 The mandrakes give off a fragrance,
And at our gates are pleasant fruits,
All manner, new and old,
Which I have laid up for you, my beloved.

Where Has Your Beloved Gone

In this chapter, the Beloved describes the Shulamite's beauty with high praises. The woman appears to have found her Beloved who is now in the garden. Her beloved who must have been working and at the same time, praising the beauty of the woman.

One can see the Beloved is enchanted by the Shulamite. He compares her to the city of Jerusalem and also the beauty of creation seen in animals. He also places her high above any other women.



Song of Solomon 6
The Daughters of Jerusalem

1 Where has your beloved gone,
O fairest among women?
Where has your beloved turned aside,
That we may seek him with you?


The Shulamite

2 My beloved has gone to his garden,
To the beds of spices,
To feed his flock in the gardens,
And to gather lilies.
3 I am my beloved’s,
And my beloved is mine.
He feeds his flock among the lilies.


Praise of the Shulamite’s Beauty

The Beloved

4 O my love, you are as beautiful as Tirzah,
Lovely as Jerusalem,
Awesome as an army with banners!
5 Turn your eyes away from me,
For they have overcome me.
Your hair is like a flock of goats
Going down from Gilead.
6 Your teeth are like a flock of sheep
Which have come up from the washing;
Every one bears twins,
And none is barren among them.
7 Like a piece of pomegranate
Are your temples behind your veil.
8 There are sixty queens
And eighty concubines,
And virgins without number.
9 My dove, my perfect one,
Is the only one,
The only one of her mother,
The favorite of the one who bore her.
The daughters saw her
And called her blessed,
The queens and the concubines,
And they praised her.
10 Who is she who looks forth as the morning,
Fair as the moon,
Clear as the sun,
Awesome as an army with banners?


The Shulamite

11 I went down to the garden of nuts
To see the verdure of the valley,
To see whether the vine had budded
And the pomegranates had bloomed.
12 Before I was even aware,
My soul had made me
As the chariots of my noble people.[a]


The Beloved and His Friends

13 Return, return, O Shulamite;
Return, return, that we may look upon you!


The Shulamite

What would you see in the Shulamite—
As it were, the dance of the two camps?[b]

I Sleep, But My Heart Is Awake

The chapter describes basically the Shulamite's woman loss of her Beloved. The Beloved seems to have been celebrating with his friends and did thought about the Shulamite woman.

Turning to the scene of the Shulamite woman, she had fallen asleep, waiting for her Beloved. She heard a knock on the door but there was no one there. So she went out to find him. It also seemed she was attacked while searching for him. When asked, she described to the daughters of Jerusalem, the very fine physical appearance of her beloved.




Song of Solomon 5


The Beloved

1 I have come to my garden, my sister, my spouse;
I have gathered my myrrh with my spice;
I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey;
I have drunk my wine with my milk.


(To His Friends)

Eat, O friends!
Drink, yes, drink deeply,
O beloved ones!


The Shulamite’s Troubled Evening


The Shulamite

2 I sleep, but my heart is awake;
It is the voice of my beloved!
He knocks, saying,
“Open for me, my sister, my love,
My dove, my perfect one;
For my head is covered with dew,
My locks with the drops of the night.”
3 I have taken off my robe;
How can I put it on again?
I have washed my feet;
How can I defile them?
4 My beloved put his hand
By the latch of the door,
And my heart yearned for him.
5 I arose to open for my beloved,
And my hands dripped with myrrh,
My fingers with liquid myrrh,
On the handles of the lock.
6 I opened for my beloved,
But my beloved had turned away and was gone.
My heart leaped up when he spoke.
I sought him, but I could not find him;
I called him, but he gave me no answer.
7 The watchmen who went about the city found me.
They struck me, they wounded me;
The keepers of the walls
Took my veil away from me.
8 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
If you find my beloved,
That you tell him I am lovesick!


The Daughters of Jerusalem

9 What is your beloved
More than another beloved,
O fairest among women?
What is your beloved
More than another beloved,
That you so charge us?


The Shulamite

10 My beloved is white and ruddy,
Chief among ten thousand.
11 His head is like the finest gold;
His locks are wavy,
And black as a raven.
12 His eyes are like doves
By the rivers of waters,
Washed with milk,
And fitly set.
13 His cheeks are like a bed of spices,
Banks of scented herbs.
His lips are lilies,
Dripping liquid myrrh.
14 His hands are rods of gold
Set with beryl.
His body is carved ivory
Inlaid with sapphires.
15 His legs are pillars of marble
Set on bases of fine gold.
His countenance is like Lebanon,
Excellent as the cedars.
16 His mouth is most sweet,
Yes, he is altogether lovely.
This is my beloved,
And this is my friend,
O daughters of Jerusalem!

I am the Rose of Sharon

The poem continues with Solomon probably as The Beloved while his lover is The Shulamite. Among the expressions of love that the Shulamite described were The Beloved providing shelter for her and providing a banquet to sustain her. This is not unlike other parts of Scripture referring to God's shelter such as under His wings or that God provides for all we need.



Song of Solomon 2
1 I am the rose of Sharon,
And the lily of the valleys.


The Beloved

2 Like a lily among thorns,
So is my love among the daughters.


The Shulamite

3 Like an apple tree among the trees of the woods,
So is my beloved among the sons.
I sat down in his shade with great delight,
And his fruit was sweet to my taste.


The Shulamite to the Daughters of Jerusalem

4 He brought me to the banqueting house,
And his banner over me was love.
5 Sustain me with cakes of raisins,
Refresh me with apples,
For I am lovesick.
6 His left hand is under my head,
And his right hand embraces me.
7 I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
By the gazelles or by the does of the field,
Do not stir up nor awaken love
Until it pleases.


The Beloved’s Request
The Shulamite

8 The voice of my beloved!
Behold, he comes
Leaping upon the mountains,
Skipping upon the hills.
9 My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.
Behold, he stands behind our wall;
He is looking through the windows,
Gazing through the lattice.
10 My beloved spoke, and said to me:
“Rise up, my love, my fair one,
And come away.
11 For lo, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone.
12 The flowers appear on the earth;
The time of singing has come,
And the voice of the turtledove
Is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree puts forth her green figs,
And the vines with the tender grapes
Give a good smell.
Rise up, my love, my fair one,
And come away!
14 “O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,
In the secret places of the cliff,
Let me see your face,
Let me hear your voice;
For your voice is sweet,
And your face is lovely.”


Her Brothers

15 Catch us the foxes,
The little foxes that spoil the vines,
For our vines have tender grapes.


The Shulamite

16 My beloved is mine, and I am his.
He feeds his flock among the lilies.


(To Her Beloved)

17 Until the day breaks
And the shadows flee away,
Turn, my beloved,
And be like a gazelle
Or a young stag
Upon the mountains of Bether.[a]

If You Do Not Know, O Fairest Among Women

The Songs of Solomon is renowned as a series of love poems by Solomon. It also has much to teach about God fearing men in their relationship with God fearing women. In this first chapter, a conversation is presented between the Shulamite woman and the Beloved, who would be Solomon.



Song of Solomon 1
Solomon’s Love for a Shulamite Girl

1 The song of songs, which is Solomon’s.

The Banquet
The Shulamite[a]

2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth—
For your[b] love is better than wine.
3 Because of the fragrance of your good ointments,
Your name is ointment poured forth;
Therefore the virgins love you.
4 Draw me away!


The Daughters of Jerusalem

We will run after you.[c]


The Shulamite

The king has brought me into his chambers.



The Daughters of Jerusalem

We will be glad and rejoice in you.[d]
We will remember your[e] love more than wine.


The Shulamite

Rightly do they love you.[f]
5 I am dark, but lovely,
O daughters of Jerusalem,
Like the tents of Kedar,
Like the curtains of Solomon.
6 Do not look upon me, because I am dark,
Because the sun has tanned me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me;
They made me the keeper of the vineyards,
But my own vineyard I have not kept.


(To Her Beloved)

7 Tell me, O you whom I love,
Where you feed your flock,
Where you make it rest at noon.
For why should I be as one who veils herself[g]
By the flocks of your companions?


The Beloved

8 If you do not know, O fairest among women,
Follow in the footsteps of the flock,
And feed your little goats
Beside the shepherds’ tents.
9 I have compared you, my love,
To my filly among Pharaoh’s chariots.
10 Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,
Your neck with chains of gold.


The Daughters of Jerusalem

11 We will make you[h] ornaments of gold
With studs of silver.


The Shulamite

12 While the king is at his table,
My spikenard sends forth its fragrance.
13 A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me,
That lies all night between my breasts.
14 My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blooms
In the vineyards of En Gedi.


The Beloved

15 Behold, you are fair, my love!
Behold, you are fair!
You have dove’s eyes.


The Shulamite

16 Behold, you are handsome, my beloved!
Yes, pleasant!
Also our bed is green.
17 The beams of our houses are cedar,
And our rafters of fir.