When meditating on “Dark am I like the tents of Kedar” Proper and balanced thoughts of God in Christ and self are crucial to holding communion with God in Christ. Use of the proper meditation at the proper time will help to stir up proper religious emotions, balancing ideas to keep emotions holy. This among other things is an idea of Song of Songs 1:5 “Dark am I, yet lovely” You need to start learning how to use this meditation at anytime. When needing to meditate on “Dark am I”. You will be ready to combat what is blinding in and of itself “spiritual pride”.
To combat Spiritual pride you must meditate on the truths in Song 1:5 often thought the hours, days, and weeks. If you think of your sin and what it deserves to the point of barely fearing punishment but still having site of Jesus. Do not stay convinced of sin, punishment, death, the lake of fire, God’s anger or holiness to long because soon guilt, despair, and works righteousness will ensue if the convicted sinner doesn’t look to Christ when convicted of sin. Or close with Christ. Understand the sin you just committed as being sin, disobedience, deserving punishment, I deserve all God’s wrath, apart from Christ I deserve all Gods wrath, but Christ has suffered on my behalf thus bearing the full wrath of God when He made Christ the spotless lamb sin for us. The Father turned His back on His sin bearing Son and it felt like total separation, like the Father had utterly forsaken Him. At the same time feeling utterly forsaken, but God was still His God. God the Father Judge of Heaven punished His Son when our darkness fell on Him. For 3 hours darkness fell on the earth Luke 23:44.
Its the influence that the discovery of the glory and grace of God in the gospel has upon him to make him mourn for sin and forsake it that renders is genuine and truly gracious.
Be ready for the devil, be prepared by understanding how the proper meditation on this verse will always bring you back to holy communion with God! If you are feeling separated, despised, rejected, judged, forsaken or guilty and you want to feel close, accepted, forgiven, loved and holy then this meditation will get you your hearts desire!!
You have some understanding of God, the Bible, heaven and hell, judgment day and you see something about yourself that you abhor and you call it a dark part of yourself. You admit “Dark am I…”
This darkness refers to our sin. Particularly consisting in the knowledge our offending so Great a God and convictions of punishment deserved and God would be Just to send a sinner like I to hell forever. Along with an abhorrence of sin and evil and blessed are those who mourn over their heart sins for they will see God. You mourn for offending the one you love. You caused the separation. He delights to hear your confession.
There is encouragement to move forward obediently all along the way no matter how good or bad something looks there is reason to believe, have hope and faithfully endure temptations otherwise.
“Dark am I….” is the beginning thought of a chain of ideas, convictions and feels that will lead you closer to God.
The first thought is “Dark am I…., like the tents of Kedar”
A right view of ourselves as being “Dark” comes through a right view of God. Or righter/clearer more humble views of ourselves comes when we see God in Christ greater than before. So If I saw the Beauty of Christ, His Holiness consisting in Love to God, then knowing beauty I then compare Him to me and I grievously see “Dark am I” abhorrently see “Dark am I,..”
A feeling of grief for offending Christ, the lover of your soul. And a proper hatred toward the evil as an offense to God ought to accompany the idea of “Dark am I,…” These feelings will vary in degree but can be stirred up with balanced meditation of yourself apart from Christ and yourself now in Christ. He is rightly angry with me for sinning, yes I deserve Hell, but His Blood cleanses me, this I believe and know to be true, or help my unbelief by a clearer view of God in Christ and His love and grace toward me to enflame my love for Him.
Actually the first thought of seeing our darkness must include some view of God or His Holiness prior to a right view of self. The idea of God is presented to the mind, the mind is enlightened. Once enlighten what is the response of the heart to this greater revelation of Truth? Does it result in despair or anger as in the non believer and more fear of Hell therefore they do more works out of fear of Judgement day, thus they try to earn Gods favor by doing good to clear their conscience. This is sanctification by works, rather than sanctification by greater revelations of Christ to our soul with balanced thoughts, feelings, religious emotions and actions.
Beginning in Song 1:5 “Dark am I like the tents of Kedar, yet lovely am I like the tent curtains of Solomon.
The Dark am I meditation is really simple and powerful to help stir up religious affections through meditation.
What do you do if you have no conviction of sin or darkness?
- Ask God to convict you of your sin.
- Read the Bible daily. As you are convicted that you are doing something God forbids. Or you think you are not doing something God requires. This is part of your darkness
Application
When not sensible of or delighting in your holiness.
When convicted of sin and darkness.
As a reminder for continued growth. 2 Peter 1:5-9
For greater convictions of my sin.
Remember this is both a physical and moral illustration. Dark with a sunburn, but lovely physically as well.
“Do not stare…” She doesn’t want them to judge her and treat her like someone continuing in sin like a prostitute 1:7 , she is now repentant, and there is a loveliness about her, something beautiful, her holiness consisting in love to and delight in a beautifully holy God. She contrasts her darkness and loveliness with a Dark evil dwelling place and a beautiful holy curtain. “Dark am I yet lovely” Dark the tents of evil Kedar. Yet lovely like the holy curtains of Solomon. The contrast is between evil that she abhors and her moral beauty that is lovely.
Song 1:5 “Dark am I, yet lovely”
The bride of Christ see’s herself as she is. This is her testimony to other born again daughter’s of Jerusalem. The Bride is still sinful and dark in some sense yet holy and lovely in another in Christ. Some people think they are good and God will let them into heaven because of the good they did. Not true, we are dark evil sinners and we are not good. Yes, we do some good but the good we need to do in order to get to heaven by our own righteousness or good deeds we would have to be perfect everyday all day. This is why Matt. 5 says “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” The bride is poor in spirit when she says dark am I. She says this with a hatred for the remaining sin in her life.
Other ways of saying Song 1:5 “Dark am I, yet lovely”
- I am utterly sinful, yet forgiven because of what Jesus did for me.
- I have disobeyed God, yet Christ obeyed God for me.
- I have no good in me, yet Christ’s life is credited to my account as if I lived His perfect life.
- Until sin is bitter Christ will not be sweet, nor will His love be more delightful to experience. See your sin darker and experience His Intense Jealousy for your holiness and Sweet flame of Love to greater heights, depths, breadths and lengthens as you are strengthened to behold His Beauty more glorious than before. “Dark am I, yet Lovely” in Christ.
- Dark and I, yet Christ has earned forgiveness for me. I do not do good to earn His forgiveness,
- He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that the righteousness of Christ can be a gift given to us by God through faith.
- I am sinful and deserve God’s wrath, but get Heaven because Christ died for me.
- I am a sinner in the hands of an angry God apart from Christ.
- I am undone, unholy, evil, no good thing is in me apart from the loveliness of Christ written by God’s Grace upon my heart. “Dark am I, yet lovely”
- In greater view of your darkness and sin see the love of Christ greater at the cross and then as you behold His moral loveliness more beautiful than before it will outshine the darkness thus sanctifying your soul.
- I am not morally attractive but abhorrent, my righteousness is filthy rags, yet Im lovely with Christ’s robe of righteousness credited to my account as if I lived His perfect life, because God treated Christ on the cross as if He lived my life, so Christ could credit me His righteousness so that I could be treated as if I lived His life.
Application
- See His holiness, see your sin, then look to the love of Christ in bearing your sin in His body on the cross for 3 hours God poured out His Wrath on Jesus then He said “It is finished, He drank the bitter cup we deserved! “Dark am I, yet lovely”
- We need this cleansing daily in order to grow! Jesus washing our feet. The gospel cleansing our hearts, purifying them so we can see God. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see the Beauty of the Lord.
What is dark and sinful about me?
What would I fear on judgement day? See all my sin on Christ, remember Him my Substitute.
Sinful am I, yet holy in His eyes!
I do not “even consider myself worthy in and of myself, to come to you.” Luke 7:7
Infinitely unworthy of Love and Grace, but Christ has purchased it.
Utterly sinful am I, and infinitely holy is He.
Worthy of rejection, but chosen to be loved! The Father gave the Son a sinful bride!
Know that a person is not justified by the works of the Law, but by faith in Jesus Christ!
Apart from Christ I am only dark, but chose to reveal His Son in me.
I deserved to be crucified, and I have, I have been crucified with Christ and the Dark I no longer lives but Christ lives in me.
See His awful and terrible greatness, then the sufficiency of Jesus Christ as Mediator.
Justifying faith is the soul’s sense and conviction of the reality, the excellency and sufficiency of Jesus Christ as a Savior, with the soul’s answerable entire inclination, entirely an answerable inclining of the heart towards him, and application of itself to him, entirely inclining and moving the heart to him
having as I hope seen my need of Him h being sensible of my sin & misery as I am in my self the Insufficiency of my own Righteousness & my unworthiness of any mercy and my deserving that God should cast me off forever And also seen the sufficiency of Jesus Christ as a saviour. I now also appear to openly to Renounce all the ways of sin which I hope I have seen the Hatefulness of sin having being made burdensome to me I desire to spend my Life in watching, striving & fighting against it for I am dark.
Other Dark am I yet lovely posts I did
Confess your sins often for closer intimacy with God and husband. Song 1:5
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