December 2

Morning

You are altogether beautiful, my darling; in you there is no flaw. — Song 4:7 BSB

The Lord’s admiration for His Church is astonishing, and His description of her beauty is overwhelming. She is not just beautiful, but “absolutely beautiful.” He sees her in Himself, cleansed by His atoning blood and dressed in His perfect righteousness, and He considers her completely lovely and beautiful. It’s no wonder—He is admiring His own perfect excellence, for the holiness, glory, and perfection of His Church are His own glorious garments on His beloved bride.

She isn’t just pure or well-proportioned; she is truly lovely and absolutely beautiful! She has real worth! Her sinful deformities have been removed, but more than that, through her Lord, she has gained a righteousness that grants her a true and lasting beauty. Believers are given this righteousness when they are “accepted in the beloved” (Eph. 1:6).

Not only is the Church lovely, but she is supremely so. Her Lord calls her the “most beautiful of women.” She possesses a worth and excellence unmatched by the world’s nobility and royalty. If Jesus could trade His chosen bride for all the queens and empresses of the earth, or even for the angels in heaven, He would not, for He places her above all, “most beautiful of women.” She shines brighter than the stars!

This is not a private opinion He hides, but one He wants everyone to hear. He prefaces it with a “behold,” calling special attention to it. “Behold! How beautiful you are, my beloved, how beautiful!” (Song of Sol. 4:1). He declares this truth even now, and one day He will proclaim it before the entire universe, saying, “Come, you who are blessed by My Father” (Matt. 25:34), affirming the loveliness of His chosen ones.

Evening

I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the wind. — Eccl 1:14 BSB

Nothing can fully satisfy a person except the Lord’s love and the Lord Himself. Saints have tried other things, but they’ve always been driven back to Him after finding those pursuits empty.

Solomon, the wisest of men, was allowed to experiment for us, doing what we dare not do for ourselves. Here is his testimony: “I became greater than anyone who had lived in Jerusalem before me. I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. Yet when I surveyed all that I had done and all I had achieved, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind. Nothing was gained under the sun!” “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”

What? Is all of it meaningless? O favored king, is there nothing in all your wealth? Nothing in your vast kingdom, from the river to the sea? Nothing in your splendid palaces? Nothing in your music, dancing, wine, and luxury? “Nothing!” he says, “but a chasing after the wind!” This was his final conclusion after indulging in every pleasure.

To embrace our Lord Jesus, to rest in His love, and to be fully confident in our union with Him—this is everything. Dear reader, you don’t need to explore other forms of pleasure to see if they are better than what Christ offers. If you travel the world over, you will find nothing as satisfying as seeing the Savior’s face. If you could have every comfort in life, but lose your Savior, you would be miserable. But if you have Christ, even if you were rotting in a dungeon, it would feel like paradise! Even if you lived in obscurity or died from hunger, you would still be content in the goodness of the Lord!