"You are all beautiful, My beloved; there is no spot in you." Song of Solomon 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 me!" 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! You are the fount and source of all love; oh, fill me, overwhelm me, plunge me in this sea of mercy and of grace!

-Susannah Spurgeon