The time of the singing of the birds is come

* The following is an edited excerpt from a sermon I preached several years ago.

Like the older writers, I believe the Song of Solomon is allegorical. It is ultimately about the “greater than Solomon,” who is Jesus. It gives us a picture of the relationship between the Groom - our Saviour - and the bride, which is His church.  What He - the beloved - says here to His bride He says to His people.

One of my favourite sections is found in chapter two.  There the bride says,  “My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.  For lo the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth the time of the singing of the birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land.”

"Rise up and come away," He says.  Why?  Because the winter is past, the rain is over and gone, and now come the flowers and the singing of birds. 

Everyone can relate to this. Some people despise the winter, but even those who enjoy it grow weary of it in time and begin to long for summer. It’s common knowledge that the long, cold months of winter are some of the hardest of the year. Death rates among seniors peak, depression deepens, and there is a universal restlessness for spring.

The bride also refers to the rain. What do people usually say when you meet them on the street? If the sun is shining, it’s a nice day. If it’s raining, it’s miserable.

The point is, the bride is using this imagery to tell us something. She’s saying that those harder seasons - winter and rain - are gone. They’ve been replaced by spring and sunshine. The dreariness of winter has given way to the cheerful sights of spring. The silence and gloom have been replaced by birdsong. The darkness and death of winter have been replaced by the light, life, and warmth of spring.

And remember - He’s saying this by way of encouragement. The Groom is urging the bride to come away with Him. Why should she? Because the winter is past. The rain is over and gone. "Look!" He seems to say. "Don’t you see? Spring has come! The rain is gone and the sun has come out. Listen! Do you hear the singing of the birds?"

There was a time when the bride, like every one of us, was without Christ - just as Paul described: “being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world.” All was darkness. She was dead in sin. She had no share in God’s promises, no hope, and no God. That was her long night of winter.

What was life to the bride at that point? What was life before you were a Christian? Where did you find joy? Often in good things - but fleeting things. Things that could be taken from you, and when they were, so was your happiness. Your conscience was troubled. You were restless, anxious, depressed. Life held no meaning beyond what you gave it. And try as you might, you couldn’t escape the knowledge that one day you would die - and it frightened you.

All around you are friends and neighbours still in that long winter. They are in bondage to sin. They are slaves to it - miserable in it, yet unable to free themselves. They are in trouble with God, and while they may not hear His voice audibly, they cannot silence the accusations of the conscience. For a time, they distract themselves, but strip away the comforts and the entertainment, and they are suddenly lonely and afraid. Visit people on their deathbeds and you will see the difference between the Christian and the unbeliever. I cannot describe to you the utter hopelessness of those still in that winter - still in their sin, still without hope and without God.

But the Groom says to His bride: It is not so with you. The winter is past. The rain is over and gone. Yes, your struggle with sin is not yet finished. Yes, there are still tears, sadness, and hardship. But even so - and this is why the reminder is needed - even amid all the trials of a fallen world, amid heartaches, disappointments, and your continued battle with sin - the winter is past. The rain is over. You are no longer without hope and without God.

God Himself has covenanted to be your God. He has given His Son for you. Jesus has made full satisfaction for all your sins, so that they can never again be brought against you. There was a time when your heart knew no peace, but that was before you turned from sin and trusted in Jesus. Now all is forgiven. You’ve been washed clean. You have Christ as your elder Brother and the Father of glory as your own Father. You have privileged access to the throne room of the living God - you may approach Him with boldness, calling Him Abba, Father.

Once you stood on sinking sand, hoping your efforts might be good enough. Now, in Jesus, you stand on solid and unshakable ground - the completed work of an infinitely competent and worthy Saviour. That ground is the source of your hope, your peace, and your joy.

Paul says that hope is laid up for you. Jesus says you are already citizens of heaven. Paul also says you are heirs and joint-heirs with Christ. And then he asks that rhetorical question: If God did not spare His own Son, will He not also freely give us all things? Once you were strangers to the covenant - but now, all things are yours in Christ, for all the promises of God in Him are yes. Once you were without God - now He is your Friend, who ever lives to intercede for you, and who will never leave or forsake you.

Lots of things in life are uncertain - but your standing with Him is not. It’s the difference between lying in a hospital bed waiting to die and being told, "You’re well. Tomorrow, you can go home." The Christian awaits death like the patient who already knows he is healed. "I stand justified," he says. "I am already pardoned, and all is well in the world because all is well with God."

Can you see, then, why the Groom says, “The rain is past”? In the midst of a fallen world, in the midst of real troubles, He tells His bride: Spring has come. The sound of singing is in the land. We walk by faith, not sight - and though we do not yet see with our eyes the heavenly city, or the glory of the new earth, God says in Christ it is already ours - because we are already His.

Remember the words of that old hymn I’ve Found a Friend:  “I am His, and He is mine, forever and forever.” That’s our song. No wonder we say, "spring has come."

Physically it may still be raining. You may not be what you want to be. All may not be well in the world - but you know whom you have believed, and you are persuaded that He is able to keep that which you have committed to Him. All is sunshine within. The whole world to me is now the sound of singing birds - because my Saviour has saved me from sin and death, and purchased for me an inheritance incorruptible. This faithful God - who has become my best and truest Friend - is mine. And I am His. Forever.

This, the Groom says to His bride, is what is true of you.

So, Christians, when you see the rain - think of this Song. Remember: for you, the rain is over and gone. How different we ought to be from the world! When they complain about the long, dreary months of winter, we should be able to say: “Do you know - for me, the winter is past. The flowers appear on the earth. The time of singing has come.”

Don’t be among those who complain about the rain or the weather. Let it be to you a happy reminder of what is behind - and what is now yours in the Lord Jesus.

In this passage, the bride speaks specifically of the turtle, or turtle dove. Though it is not the same as the mourning dove, like the mourning dove, its distinctive call is first heard in spring and signals the arrival of a new season. As I was writing these words, I heard the call of the mourning dove. Over the years its song has become very precious to me - it comes as a quiet reminder, as if from heaven, that the long winter of condemnation is past, my sins are forgiven, heaven is coming, and I belong to Jesus.

And so when the Groom speaks and says, "Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away," whether He means to call us away for a sweet hour of prayer, or whether He is calling us home (Song of Solomon 2:17), we may go with joy, remembering as we do, "the time of the singing of the birds is come."