Maple Hill Baptist Church

September 20, 2026

Through the Eyes of Love

Song of Solomon 5:8-16

In this message titled 'Through the Eyes of Love,' the preacher turns to Song of Solomon 5:8-16 to explore the sacred, affectionate bond between the believer and the Lord Jesus Christ. Drawing parallels between marital devotion and our walk with Christ, the sermon challenges a prevailing worldly attitude that approaches God only for material benefits or transactional gain. Just as neglect causes a spare tire to go flat, neglect in our devotional life causes our love for God to grow cold. The problem among Christians is not simply loving the world too much, but failing to love the Lord enough.

Examining the bride's passionate portrait of her beloved, the sermon highlights Christ as 'the chiefest among ten thousand' and 'altogether lovely.' Her description reveals an attentive, tender relationship marked by dove-like eyes of compassion, pure motives, and gentle affection. The preacher uses personal reflections on courting his wife, Libby, to illustrate how genuine love naturally reorients our attention, produces reverent respect, and causes us to consider how our choices affect the one we love. In the same way, the church as the bride of Christ must make the Lord the center of all thoughts and actions.

Ultimately, the message calls believers to move beyond half-hearted devotion, spiritual adultery with worldly pursuits, and fence-straddling. True spiritual fulfillment comes not from asking what God can do for us, but from seeking how we can honor Him, deepen personal prayer, and reflect His beauty to a watching world. Believers are urged to come close to the Savior, fix their eyes upon His unmatched worth, and cherish Him not only as Lord, but as their Beloved and Friend.

Key takeaways

The root problem in Christian spiritual decline is not loving the world too much, but failing to love Christ enough.
Approaching God merely for personal benefit turns a sacred relationship into empty consumerism.
Like an unchecked spare tire, our love for the Lord will go flat if we fail to give it regular attention.
Biblical love is an intentional choice and a committed investment, not merely a fleeting emotion.
True devotion to Christ asks whether our worldly choices and compromises will grieve our Beloved.
Song of Solomon portrays Christ as the chiefest among ten thousand and altogether lovely.
Christ looks upon His people with eyes of pure affection, compassion, and tender mercy.
A healthy marriage and a flourishing church both require an individual's private, daily prayer walk with God.
Straddling the fence between Christ and the world robs the believer of true spiritual peace and satisfaction.
Believers are called to stop asking what God can do for them and start pursuing how to honor and reflect Him.

Day 1Song of Solomon 5:8-10; Revelation 2:4
Keeping First Love Alive
It is easy in the rush of life to treat our relationship with the Lord like a spare tire in the trunk. We know it is there, but we rarely examine it until something breaks down, only to find our spiritual fervor has gone flat. The bride in the Song of Solomon was unashamedly captivated by her beloved, crying out that she was lovesick for him. The great danger facing believers today is not simply that the world pulls too hard, but that our devotion to Christ has grown lukewarm. True love requires intentional care, time, and focus. God did not set His affection upon us because we were inherently worthy or impressive; He chose to love us by sovereign grace. In response, our affection cannot remain casual or mechanical. When we give Him our quiet attention and center our thoughts on His goodness, the flame of devotion is renewed and we find our joy in Him restored.
Reflect
In what ways has your personal devotion to Christ grown routine or neglected lately?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, rekindle within my soul a tender, fervent love that honors You above all else.
Day 2Matthew 6:31-33; James 4:4
Moving Past Transactional Faith
Many people approach church and the Savior with a consumer mindset, asking only what God can do for them. The culture encourages us to protect number one and chase personal comfort, and false teachers prey on this selfishness by turning the gospel into an engine for personal gain. Yet genuine communion with Christ is never a transaction. A marriage collapses when both partners think only of what they can extract from the other, and our walk with God suffers when we treat Him merely as a provider of emergency aid. The bride of Christ is called to complete devotion, guarding her heart against spiritual adultery with the world. Instead of asking what benefits we can obtain, the redeemed soul pauses and asks how to honor the Lord and keep from grieving His Spirit. When our chief ambition is pleasing Him, we find the peace that worldly ambition can never provide.
Reflect
Are your prayers dominated by personal requests, or by a desire to know and honor Christ?
Prayer
Forgive me, Lord, for using You for my own ends, and teach me to seek Your face rather than just Your hand.
Day 3Song of Solomon 5:12; Luke 22:61-62
Beholding the Eyes of Grace
The bride described the eyes of her beloved as doves beside rivers of waters, conveying softness, purity, and steadfast care. There is neither harsh cruelty nor selfish deceit in the gaze of our Savior. When Peter denied Christ in the courtyard of the high priest, the Lord turned and looked upon him. That look was not one of bitter condemnation, but of piercing, redeeming compassion that broke Peter's self-reliance and brought him to godly sorrow. Christ looks upon His people with perfect understanding and unwavering affection. He knows every hidden weakness, every secret failure, and every burden weighing down our shoulders, yet His gaze remains full of redeeming mercy. We do not have to hide our faces from Him in fear of rejection. When we realize how tenderly He watches over us, our hearts are drawn out of hiding into honest repentance and joyful worship before His throne.
Reflect
How does knowing Christ looks at you with merciful compassion change how you respond to your own failures?
Prayer
Lord, help me rest securely under Your loving gaze and walk before You in honest humility.
Day 4Matthew 6:6; Song of Solomon 5:13
The Secret Place of Communion
Public worship and family prayer are vital blessings, but they can never substitute for the secret closet of personal prayer. Just as healthy earthly relationships require unhurried, intimate communication, our soul desperately needs time alone on our knees before Jesus. Words of love and appreciation must be spoken directly to Him. The bride delighted in the sweet words of her beloved, and we too must linger long enough to hear His voice in the Scriptures and speak our hearts back to Him. When we neglect personal prayer, our marriages, parenting, and church fellowship inevitably show the strain because we are attempting to give what we have not received. You cannot walk in spiritual power on borrowed devotion. Taking the time to withdraw from the noise of the day and whisper our love to the Lord anchors our inner life and sweetens every word we speak to others.
Reflect
Do you have a regular time and place where you meet with the Lord in uninterrupted solitude?
Prayer
Precious Savior, draw me away from the distractions of this world into quiet, solitary fellowship with You.
Day 5Song of Solomon 5:16; 1 Kings 18:21
Off the Fence and All for Him
The bride concluded her description with an emphatic declaration: He is altogether lovely, my beloved, and my friend. When we truly behold the beauty, majesty, and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, straddling the fence between Him and the world becomes unthinkable. Trying to keep one foot in the kingdom and one foot in worldly compromise brings only spiritual exhaustion, misery, and an empty testimony. The devil has attempted to destroy and silence you, yet Christ preserved your life and redeemed you by His own blood on Calvary. He is worthy of total surrender, wholehearted allegiance, and daily reverence. We are called to stand close enough to our Shepherd to hear His heartbeat, allowing His character to shape our thoughts, speech, and conduct. Step off the fence completely today. Nothing on earth compares to the joy of belonging entirely to the One who gave everything to save you.
Reflect
What area of worldly compromise do you need to leave behind to be fully surrendered to Christ?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, You are altogether lovely; I give You my whole heart and resolve to follow You without compromise.

Open together

1.When you first fell in love or began an important relationship, how did that devotion change the way you spent your time and attention?
2.What are some common reasons people treat church or God purely for what they can get out of it rather than out of genuine devotion?

Observation

1.In Song of Solomon 5:8-9, what question do the daughters of Jerusalem ask the bride concerning her beloved?
2.According to Song of Solomon 5:10-16, what specific descriptions does the bride use to depict the appearance and character of her beloved?
3.How does the bride conclude her description of her beloved in verse 16?
4.What comparison did the pastor make between neglecting a spare tire and neglecting our daily love toward the Lord?
5.According to the sermon, why did God choose to love Israel (and us), and how does the preacher connect love to intentional choice?

Interpretation

1.How does the bride's intense, consuming longing in Song of Solomon 5 illustrate the believer's proper relationship with Jesus Christ as the Bridegroom?
2.Why is an attitude of asking 'What can God do for me?' dangerous to true Christian devotion, and how does the gospel overturn that mindset?
3.In verse 12, the beloved's eyes are described as 'eyes of doves.' How does the pastor interpret the symbolism of a dove's gaze regarding Christ's attitude toward His people?
4.What spiritual danger is represented by the pastor's warning about 'straddling the fence' and allowing worldly affections to compete with loyalty to Christ?
5.How does cultivating a supreme love for Christ strengthen and safeguard earthly relationships like marriage and family?

Application

1.What practical habits or distractions currently threaten to let your affection for the Lord 'wax cold' or go flat?
2.Instead of approaching prayer with a list of demands, what would it look like for you to spend time this week simply beholding Christ and telling Him you love Him?
3.In what area of your life might you be tempted to 'straddle the fence' between wholehearted obedience to Christ and pleasing the world?
4.What specific steps can you take in your private prayer life to get alone with the Lord and cultivate deeper intimacy with Him?
5.How can you intentionally express sacrificial love, respect, or gratitude to your spouse or family members this week in light of Christ's love for you?

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