Lily Among Thorns: Christ's Love and Believer's Beauty

{"text": "The Lord of life and Glory the prince of the kings of the Earth has such a loving heart that he must have an object upon which to spend his affection and his people chosen from among men whom he calls his church these are they who are his love the object of his Supreme Delight. Christ loved the church and gave himself for it.", "timestamp": "[00:04:25]

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{"text": "This love is distinguishing love for in its light one special object shines as a Lily and the rest the daughters are his thorns. Love has fixed on its chosen object and compared with the favored one all others are as nothing. There is a love of Jesus which goeth forth to all mankind for the Lord is good to all and his Tender Mercies are over all his works.", "timestamp": "[00:06:29]

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{"text": "The saint is United to Christ by a mystical Union a spiritual marriage bond and above all others Christ loves the souls espoused to him. He said once I pray for them I pray not for the world but for them which thou has given me thus indicating that there is a specialty about his intercession.", "timestamp": "[00:07:16]

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{"text": "He bids his ministers Proclaim it to the world's end that many Waters could not quench his love neither could the floods drown it and that neither life nor death nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other creature be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our lord.", "timestamp": "[00:09:28]

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{"text": "She is comely in his comeliness which he puts upon her. If any Soul hath any such beauty as is described here Christ has dowered that beloved soul with all its wealth of charms for in ourselves we are deformed and defiled. What is the confession of this very spouse in the previous chapter she says I am black that is the opposite of a lily if she adds but calmly it is because her Lord has made her calmly.", "timestamp": "[00:12:12]

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{"text": "Our beloved you know who it was that in gathering your soul and mind lacerated not his hand only but his feet and his head and his side and his heart yea in his inmost soul he spied us out and said Yonder Lily is mine and I will have it but the Thorns were a terrible barrier our sins had gathered round about us and the wrath of God most sharply stopped the way.", "timestamp": "[00:18:45]

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{"text": "Certainly the church is so and she is thereby kept for Christ's own if Thorns made it hard for him to reach us for our Salvation there is another kind of thorn which makes it hard for any enemy to come at us for our hurt our trials and tribulations which we would feign escape from often act as a spiritual protection they hedge us about and ward off many a devouring foe.", "timestamp": "[00:20:09]

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{"text": "Though the church may seem to be little and poor and despised yet is she better than all the princes and kingdoms and glories of the Earth he means that true Christians are infinitely Superior to ungodly men these ungodly men may make a fair show of virtue and they may have much prudence and wit and count themselves wise and great but Jesus calls all unconverted ones Thorns while his own believing ones he compares to lilies.", "timestamp": "[00:25:34]

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{"text": "A True Believer is a blessing a tree whose leaves heal and whose fruit feeds a genuine Christian is a living gospel an embodiment of Good Will towards men did not the old Covenant blessing run in thee and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.", "timestamp": "[00:31:33]

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{"text": "Such holy work among ungodly people is the truest and best flower mission they do well who give flowers to cheer the poor in their dreary habitations but they do better still who are themselves flowers in the places where they live be lilies my dear Brethren preach by your actions preached by your kindness and by your love and I feel quite sure that your influence will be a power for good.", "timestamp": "[00:45:20]

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{"text": "He can make a lily grow among Thorns till the Thorns grow into lilies remember how it is written the Wilderness and the solitary Place shall be glad for them and the desert shall rejoice and Blossom as the rose he considered Christian in a Godless family till first one then another shall feel the divine power and she'll say we will go with you for we perceive that God is with you.", "timestamp": "[00:44:40]

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{"text": "The Lord has a people where you look not for them think not that all his lilies are in his garden there are lilies among thorns and he knows their whereabouts many Saints reside in families where they will never be appreciated any more than the Lily is appreciated by the thorns this is painful for the sympathy of our fellows is a great comfort.", "timestamp": "[00:40:12]

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