"How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince's daughter! The joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman." (S.O.S. 7:1)
"And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." (2 Corinthians 12:9)
Pretty much, that is what we see, in a nut-shell! In a strange sort of way, in this, He shows her beauty being minimized, but magnified by the enhancement of certain articles and features. As we see the feet, with beauty enhanced by the shoes, and the joints of the thighs, being made like jewels, not because they look like jewels, but because the hand of the cunning workman that made them. These are basically the same principles established within the Book of Ephesians, as we are told how we need to abide in Christ, if we are able to walk in Christ; and if we are able to stand, then it will be Christ that will enable us to stand!
This principle is illustrated well in a book called, "Sit, Walk, Stand," by Watchman Nee. Within the book he shows the connection of this by using an illustration of a paraplegic that must sit in their chair in order to be able to walk; but if that same paraplegic is going to stand, when he stands it will be by the power of God, not of his own! As mentioned by Paul, the glory in his infirmities, does not indicated that he will somehow give these things praise or admiration; but rather, that he would look for the power of Christ to overcome and enable him, despite and beyond his infirmities.
We cannot be what we should be without Christ working in us and through us; if we think that we can, then we will set ourselves up for a very big fall and disappointment! As if to say, you are not going to be able to drink from the fountain, and then expect the drink will sustain you until you are thirsty again. If you are going to be empowered in Christ, then the fountain must remain within you!
Back to the point about how important it is that we confess our sins; it is important because we must remain abiding in Christ! Not that unconfessed sin will pull us away from Christ, but that if we are going to walk in Christ, we must stay abiding in Him; when we refuse to confess our sins, the miracle of His sin washing power is being minimized or ignored; not that it could ever be minimized from what it does, but that is what we forfeit within ourselves, peace and the ability to walk in Him!
Why someone that is pastoring a flock of sheep would not teach his flock how to stay within the fold, is totally beyond understanding! When we fail to confess our sins, it enables the enemy to get a hold upon us, as we have slipped away from the flock or wandered off into a place unprotected. This is more about what is taking place within our hearts, then it is about being separated from Christ. I will not accept the notion that a born-again believer can ever be separated from Christ, because we cannot undo something that Christ has done; we cannot change the address have been given by the places that we might visit!
Other than those things, the prince's daughter, as we shall see, does not go into battle or fight in any wars! She is pampered and kept...
"Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of our Jewish nation. What did he discover about being made right with God? If his good deeds had made him acceptable to God, he would have had something to boast about. But that was not God's way. For the Scriptures tell us, "Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith." When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned. But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners." (Romans 4:1-5) NLT
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