Where then, are all my spots?

(Susannah Spurgeon, "A Basket of Summer Fruit")  LISTEN to Audio!  Download Audio

"You are all beautiful, My beloved; there is no spot in you!" Song of Songs 4:7

"Ah!" I hear some timid, trembling believer say, "Such a text can have nothing to do with me! I am the very opposite of all that is beautiful and spotless. The eyes of my soul have seen hideous sights within, which I can never forget; and I loathe myself and my sin so much, that though I believe God has forgiven me for Christ's sake, I feel it impossible to take those precious words as addressed to one so sinful and imperfect as myself!"

Yet, trembling soul, I would bid you take courage, and look up! Christ's love for His people is marvelously set  forth in this Song of Songs. The same precious blood was poured out to redeem the least lamb of the flock, as for the choicest sheep!

Come, then, timid one—rejoice in the blessed fact that you are indeed precious to the Lord, and He says, "You are all beautiful, My beloved!" Adoringly bow before Him in wonder, at the miracle His love has wrought in you.

It ill becomes the bride of Christ to ignore His loveliness, which He has put upon her—and go about bemoaning the scars and blemishes which His great love overlooks and forgets.

It is quite true that, in themselves, believers are sorrowfully imperfect and sinful. But if the Lord Jesus, in His marvelous mercy, unrobes Himself to cover over their unrighteousness—they may well be content to be thus made "beautiful" in His sight. We cannot comprehend the mystery and sublimity of Divine love; but it is the sole and all-sufficient reason for the dear Lord's estimate of us; and when He uses such endearing language, our hearts melt and are ravished by His wondrous condescension. With reverence we say it, when our dear Master deigns to address us in accents of love and admiration—our souls are thrilled with heavenly bliss, and we are uplifted beyond all the sorrows and vexations of this world, into an atmosphere of unspeakable spiritual joy!

"My beloved!" Oh, say it again, dear Savior! Let the music of Your voice touch and vibrate through the deepest chords of my nature, and awaken sweet responses in my soul! You are the fount and source of all love! Oh, fill me, overwhelm me, plunge me in this sea of mercy and of grace! I would be swallowed up in it, knowing no other joy or bliss comparable to that of being able to say, "My Beloved is mine, and I am His!"

"There is no spot in you!" Can our loving Lord really mean this? He does, indeed! "Where then, are all my spots, dear Lord, for they were legion; and sin must render me vile and loathsome in Your pure sight?"

All the sins, past, present, and future, all the deformity and blackness—are cleansed away by Christ's blood, covered by His righteousness! And so completely is this done, that God Himself can find no remnant or stain of that which would have meant eternal death to an unwashed soul. The poor sinner is lifted from the depths of sin, to the heights of heavenly bliss! "What kind of love is this?" It is so Divine and incomprehensible that, in the contemplation of it, we are lost in wonder and amazement!

Lord Jesus, what a glorious Savior You are! All the sin which made Your bride so black and vile, was laid upon You!

"There is no spot in you!" An old writer says, "Now, if God sees no spot, why should you be prying after one? Poring over your misery, searching after your blackness and depravity—will be no help to you. This only keeps your eyes off Jesus, instead of up unto Jesus. You cannot look two ways at once. How did the poor serpent-bitten Israelites in the wilderness get relief and healing? By looking to their sores, their wounds, their malady? Oh, no! It was by looking to the brazen serpent! And if you would get relief, it must be by looking to Jesus Christ!"

"How beautiful you are, My darling! Oh, how beautiful!" Song of Songs 4:1