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All right, my Bible in 365, 
brothers and sisters, we have 

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arrived at the Song of Solomon 
and folks, I am excited to tell 

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you about this book. 
Now, why is it that I'm excited 

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to tell you about this book? 
I'm excited to tell you about 

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this book because it is 
frequently misunderstood. 

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Now, I want to right off the bat
tell you that if you want to dig

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deeper into this book, please go
to jamescadice.com. 

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I have extended Bible studies on
it. 

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We talked about so many 
beautiful things, including the 

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nuances of Hebrew poetry and why
all that stuff matters. 

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Now let's talk about why this 
book is frequently 

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misunderstood. 
Because it is critical. 

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And yes, it does absolutely 
matter. 1st. 

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The Song of Solomon certainly 
celebrates the love between a 

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bride and her. 
Bridegroom of. 

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Course, however, if we reduce 
the book to some kind of, you 

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know, romance or sexuality, we 
miss the larger biblical 

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picture. 
OK. 

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Let me. 
Explain. 

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Marriage itself was designed by 
God to reveal something beyond 

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marriage. 
Kate, that might sound a little 

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crazy, but I'll explain because 
the apostle Paul sheds beautiful

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light on this. 
He actually makes that 

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unmistakably clear when he 
speaks of a husband and a wife 

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in like the book of Ephesians, 
for example, when he says this 

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is a great mystery, but I speak 
concerning Christ and the 

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church. 
So he's talking about the 

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context of marriage, but it's 
being deeply contextualized or 

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on a more deeper level with 
Christ and the church. 

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Now that means the marital 
language of the Song of Solomon 

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does not prevent us from. 
Seeing. 

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Christ, as a matter of fact. 
It gives us a biblical reason to

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look for him. 
And it's important to understand

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that Solomon writes about a 
bride and her beloved, but 

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throughout the Bible, God uses 
the bridegroom and the bride to 

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reveal the relationship between 
Christ and his church. 

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That that's very, very 
important. 

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Let me read what I would 
consider to be one of the. 

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Central passages. 
Of the Song of Solomon we're 

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going to read in chapter 2, and 
I'm going to read verses 8 

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through 13 because it's 
important. 

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It says this, it says the voice 
of my beloved. 

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Behold, he cometh, leaping upon 
the mountains, skipping upon the

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hills. 
My beloved is like a row or a 

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young heart. 
Behold, he standeth behind our 

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wall, He looking forth at the 
windows, showing himself through

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the lattice. 
My beloved spake and said unto 

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me, Rise up, my love, my fair 
one, and come away. 

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For lo, the winter is past, the 
rain is over and gone, the 

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flowers appear, the earth, the 
time of the singing of birds is 

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come, and the voice of the 
turtle is heard in our land. 

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The fig tree put it forth her 
green figs, and the vines with 

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the tender grape give a good 
smell. 

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Arise, my love, my fair one, and
come away now. 

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There's so much. 
That I would love to tell you 

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about the significance of the 
use of. 

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Poetry both on a functional 
level and on a relational level,

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as it specifically is 
contextualized. 

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In this passage, but I want to 
just explain a couple of these 

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phrases that I think are unique.
Notice the phrase the voice. 

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Of my beloved. 
OK, the bride recognize him. 

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Literally first. 
By his voice. 

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Now that's important. 
OK? 

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She doesn't say I hear a voice. 
She says the voice of my 

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beloved. 
There's a literally recognition,

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there's intimacy in this. 
There's a literally expectation.

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What did Jesus say in John? 
I think it was John chapter 10. 

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He said my sheep. 
Hear my. 

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Voice, and I know them. 
And they follow me. 

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Look, the church doesn't merely 
know facts about Christ. 

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We. 
Actually know him. 

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His voice is different from 
every other voice that is 

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competing for our attention. 
At least I hope that's the case 

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for you. 
I know it is for me. 

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This book presents love as 
personal. 

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The bride knows. 
Who is speaking? 

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To her behold, he cometh. 
You understand that the bride's 

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attention immediately turns 
towards the coming of her 

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beloved. 
I want you to see that he's not 

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stationary. 
He's moving toward her. 

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He's literally going to her. 
The mountains and hills don't 

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prevent him from coming. 
What's the hope of the church, 

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you guys? 
If you think about it, our 

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bridegroom is coming for us. 
Jesus didn't merely save us and 

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then leave us abandoned in this 
crazy, ugly world. 

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He promised to return. 
He said it. 

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He said, I'll come again and 
receive you unto myself and 

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where I am. 
Notice what He said there you 

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may be also. 
He says that in John chapter 14 

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Expectation of the. 
Bride. 

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Is not centered on the world. 
Becoming more comfortable. 

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It's centered on the arrival of 
the bridegroom, I mean. 

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Look at a phrase as simple as 
rise up, my love, my fair one. 

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Look. 
At that simple phrase, notice 

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how the bridegroom speaks to his
bride. 

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He calls her my love. 
He calls her my fair one. 

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These are terms of endearment. 
This isn't because the church 

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possesses righteousness of her 
own. 

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Christ has actually loved us. 
He's cleansed us. 

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He's clothed us literally in His
righteousness. 

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Ephesians chapter 5 says that 
Christ loved the church and gave

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himself for it. 
I mean, that's so heavy. 

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And by the way, the purpose for 
Him doing that is so that He 

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might present it to himself as a
glorious church. 

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Think about that, guys. 
I'm getting a little excited, 

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but it's heavy. 
The beauty of the bride comes 

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from what the bridegroom has 
actually done for her. 

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The intrinsic value of her 
beauty is fundamentally 

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predicated upon what Christ has 
done. 

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He doesn't simply command or. 
Arise. 

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He reminds her that she 
literally belongs. 

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To him, think about. 
That for a second, and then he 

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says and come away. 
It's an invitation. 

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It's really at the heart of the 
passage. 

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The bridegroom is calling his 
bride away from where she has 

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been. 
Christ does the same thing for 

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us. 
He calls us away from the the 

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dominion and the the slavery of 
sin, what sin is created for us.

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He calls us away from the 
identity of our old life and and

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certainly the crazy values of 
this present world. 

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It's ugly. 
Ultimately, guys, the church is 

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waiting for the moment when 
Christ will call us to His 

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presence. 
We're all looking forward to 

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that day. 
I think there's something 

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especially beautiful about the 
words come away. 

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The bridegroom wants his bride 
to be with him. 

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I mean, can you? 
See that Christianity to me, I 

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hope it's the same way to you. 
It's not merely about escaping 

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judgement that yes, it's a great
benefit, but it's about being 

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united forever with the One who 
loved us so much that he gave 

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his life for us. 
The winter is past. 

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Notice what it says. 
The winter is past. 

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It represents the kind of things
that come with with the winter 

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right barrenness. 
And darkness. 

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No leaves on the trees. 
The bridegroom is announcing 

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that that season has completely 
changed. 

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The bride is not the one who 
ends the winter. 

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It's the literal. 
News that comes. 

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It's the word of the bridegroom 
that actually announces that 

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it's over. 
Think about that for a second. 

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Christ alone brings life. 
He's the one that brings life 

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where there was once death. 
He brings beauty where there 

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were ashes, where there was 
barrenness. 

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He brings hope to a place where 
we literally continue to 

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function within the context of 
full disparity. 

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For the believer, the suffering 
of this present life is 

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temporary. 
Let me say that again. 

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For those who trust in the Lord,
the suffering of this present 

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life is temporary. 
The day is coming and sorrow, 

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separation, corruption, death, 
just all be gone. 

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The bridegroom is coming. 
And when he does? 

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The long. 
Winter of this fallen world will

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finally give way to everlasting 
life in his presence. 

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The message of the Song of 
Solomon is clear. 

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Song of Solomon teaches us that 
the love between a husband and 

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wife is precious, and it was 
created by God. 

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That love points us beyond 
itself. 

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It gives us. 
Something even greater, 

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something so much more 
intrinsic. 

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I said this from the very 
beginning, but I learned so much

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more about the love of God when 
I married my beautiful Nicole. 

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Christ loves this church. 
He purchased. 

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Her with his own blood. 
His people recognize His voice. 

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His bride longs for his 
appearing. 

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He's coming to receive her unto 
himself. 

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Guys, the Song of Solomon is not
merely a celebration of some 

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kind of human romance. 
Not that I want to minimize the 

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beautiful things that God has 
given us on this earth. 

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It's a reminder that every 
faithful love story finds its 

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highest meaning in the love of 
Christ His Church. 

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The question this books leaves 
us with is not merely whether we

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understand marriage or romance 
or, you know, Hebrew poetry. 

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Those things are good. 
The question is whether we know 

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the bridegroom. 
Can we recognize his voice? 

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Here's a great question. 
Do we long for his appearing 

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when it comes to the day? 
And he says, rise up, my love, 

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my fair 1 come away. 
Will you be ready to meet him? 

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I hope you will, because it's a 
glorious future. 

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It's something special that I 
look forward to. 

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Not only will I be united with 
him, but I'll be reunited with 

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my loved ones. 
The hope that we have is 

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remarkable. 
You can find it in this book 

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when you look at the love 
language, when you see the 

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poetry, when you see the choir, 
and when you see the bride and 

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the bridegroom. 
Just know that it speaks so 

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clearly of the relationship that
God wants to have with us and be

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thankful for what He's done 
because He's good. 

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Keep looking to Him for all of 
us. 

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I can promise you when I say 
this, for all of us, the best is

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yet to come. 
God bless you.