Song of Solomon 8:9 “If she be a wall…” Let’s take a sanctified flight into imagination and try to picture ourselves as a wall that God is building. I only know of one wall God is building that is pictured for us in Scripture, and it’s the wall around the new Jerusalem. I’m going to imagine that you and I are like that beautiful city. As an apologetic for our imagineering, consider the passage in Revelation 21:9-10 where an angel tells Paul, “I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife,” and then carries Paul away in the spirit and shows him “the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.”
I think it’s fair to imagine ourselves as being a wall and a city that God is building for his glory. Also, he says “we are his workmanship” (Ephesians 2:10), and we “are the temple of the Living God” (2 Corinthians 6:16). In I Peter 2 we are taught that each of us is a “living stone…chosen of God, and precious,” to build up a spiritual house on the cornerstone, which is Christ, as we learn again in Ephesians 2:20-22: “Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.”
So, let’s look at this wall and city. First, what is its foundation? Let’s look at the third chapter of I Corinthians for a minute. “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (3:11). “But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon” (3:10) We should build upon this foundation with spiritual gold, silver, and precious stones, because those things will pass the test of fire (3:12-15).
In Revelation 21 the city is described as unbelievably beautiful. There are twelve foundations of the wall, each made of a precious stone such as sapphire, emerald, and amethyst, and the entire foundation is garnished with a dazzling array of precious stones. The wall itself is made of clear crystal, and it has twelve gates with each door being made from a single immense pearl. The streets are paved with pure, transparent gold, and the entire city is radiant with the light of the glory of God.
Wow! I know Proverbs teaches us that a virtuous wife is worth more than rubies, but how could I ever be as beautiful as the New Jerusalem? Can you imagine a person that magnificent? I was shocked to realize that I think a city made of gold and gems would be more beautiful than a person could ever be. Does that mean at heart I value money above people? Hopefully not, although it definitely means my spiritual vision needs sharpening. I wouldn’t trade Jesus or those I love for any amount of money; they are much too precious to me…but are they more beautiful?
Perhaps it is the yearning for perfection that makes us think of gold and gems as being more perfect in beauty. But, in fact, we will be perfect and without defect when we are united to Christ as His bride! What will we look like in our perfect, glorified bodies? What does Jesus look like? My feeble imagination is too limited to visualize what he truly looks like. My heart echoes the songwriter and pastor, Mark Altrogge:
“You are beautiful beyond description, too marvelous for words,
Too wonderful for comprehension, like nothing ever seen or heard.
Who can grasp Your infinite wisdom? Who can fathom the depths of Your love? You are beautiful beyond description, majesty enthroned above.
And I stand, I stand in awe of You. I stand, I stand in awe of You.
Precious God, to whom all praise is due, I stand in awe of You.”
Although it’s beyond us to comprehend what he truly looks like, like the Apostle John, we can “know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure” (I John 3:2-3). Beloved, may we keep bathing ourselves in the Fountain of Life to find cleansing, healing, and purification so that we will become more perfect in beauty to our beautiful Savior!
Summer Setting 