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on to know him; they will forget things that are behind, and reach forth unto things that are before. The spouse, although fhe had been brought into the banqueting-house, and allowed to fit under his fhadow with great delight, yet here we find her pleading for further intimacy, renewed manifeftations and difcoveries of him. A believer can never be fatisfied with any degree of nearnefs, till he come to be fwallowed up in the immediate vifion and fruition of him in glory. This request of the spouse the enforces with feveral arguments: the tells him, ver. 2. in the clofe, that the "would cause him to drink of her fpiced wine, and the juice of her pomegranates; that is, fhe would entertain him with the fruits of his own Spirit, the graces of his own operation, which are the only entertainment he is delighted with, and the best that her mother's houfe could afford. Obferve, That a believer thinks nothing too good for the entertainment of his bleffed Lord; if he had ten thousand heavens of glory at his disposal, they should be all at his fervice: they caft their crowns down at his feet. Our bleffed Lord's tender heart will not allow him to restrain or keep up himself long from the foul that is panting after nearness to him; for we find, ver. 3. he grants her fuit, and allows her a renewed discovery of his tender love, infomuch that she is made to own, "His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me." Upon which, ver. 4. the expreffes her care and concern to prevent any further interruption of her fellowship and communion with her Lord, either by herself or others; "I charge. you, O daughters of Jerufalem, that ye ftir not up, nor awake my love until he pleafe." The daughters of Jerufalem, particular believers, being fuppofed to be witneffes of this bleffed intimacy between Chrift and the spouse, and unto the actings of her faith and love upon him, they are introduced in the words of the text, expreffing their wonder and fatisfaction at the bleffed interview between Chrift and his beloved spouse, even here in a militant ftate: Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved ?

In the words we may notice, 1, The defignation given to this world, with reference to the church and people of God; it is but a wilderness, or a weary land, through which they are travelling toward their own home.

2. We have the course they are steering while in the wildernefs; they are not fitting ftill in it, or going further into it, as if it were their home; no, they are coming up from the wilderness: their affections are fet upon things that are above, and not upon things that are below: they have got a tasting of the grapes of Efhcol, they have got a view of the land afar

off,

off, and of the King in his beauty, which makes them difrelish this prefent world, and look and long, not for the things that are seen, but the things that are not seen, and which are eternal.

3. We have the spouse's pofture as he comes up from the wilderness; fhe is leaning. Hebreans obferve, that this is a word not elsewhere ufed in fcripture; the feventy interpreters tranflate it, confirming, or ftrengthening herself. It plainly fuppofes the spouse's weaknefs and impotency in herself to grapple with difficulties in her way through the wilderness, together with her dependence on the grace and furniture that was laid up for her in Chrift; and that the must needs fag and fail in her journey, without new fupplies and communications of light, life, and ftrength, from him in whom all fulness dwells.

4. We have the blessed show and prop on which the leans and refts her weary foul, in coming up from the wilderness ; it is upon her beloved, that is, upon Chrift, whofe love and lovelinefs had ravished her heart, and drawn out her cordial afsent and confent to him as the Bridegroom of fouls, who had betrothed her to himself in mercy, faithfulness and lovingkindness. It is pleasant here to obferve how the heart of God the Father, and the heart of the believer, jump and centre upon Chrift: This is my beloved Son (fays God the Father), in whom I am well pleased;" he is "my fervant whom I uphold, mine elect in whom my foul delighteth." And O! fays the believer, as he is the Father's beloved, fo he is my beloved too; he is just the darling and delight of my foul: "Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none in all the earth that I defire befides thee."

5. We have the influence or impreffion that this pleasant fight has upon the daughters of Jerufalem, expreffed in a way of queftion, Who is this? This is not a question of ignorance, as though they wanted to be informed who the spouse was; but, (1.) It is a queftion of wonder. They are truck with a holy amazement at fuch intimacy and familiarity between parties that are at fuch infinite diftance; that" the high and Tofty One who inhabits eternity," fhould admit duft and ashes, defiled with fin, "the abominable thing that his foul hates," into fuch friendship and fellowship. (2.) it is not a question of contempt, but of cfteem. Although believers, who are the fpoufe of Chrift, be in themselves defpicable and polluted; yet, by virtue of their relation to Chrift, they are worthy of the higheft efteem, being made beautiful through the comelinefs that he puts upon her. (3.) It is a question of approbation and commendation. They hereby exprefs their fatisfaction with her practice, and the exercife of her faith in coming

up

up from the wilderness leaning on her beloved, as the fafeft course the could take for accomplishing her journey to the Canaan that is above, through the dens of lions and moun tains of leopards. Obferve, That it is, and will be, the pleafure and fatisfaction of a gracious foul, to fee others thriving and profpering in the Lord's way, and in acquaintance with Chrift, even though they themselves be outstripped and darkened thereby in the world's view. The words would afford a great variety of doctrines, but I confine myself unto this one.

OBSERV. "That it is the undoubted duty, and the laudable practice of believers, truely betrothed to Chrift, to come up from the wilderness of the world, towards the land of reft and glory that is above staying and leaning their fouls upon him as their beloved." Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved?

The doctrine being clearly founded on the words, I fhall not stand on the confirmation of it; but thall, through divine af. fiftance, endeavour to speak to it in the following method and order.

I. Give you the characters of the foul efpoufed or betrothed

to Christ.

II. Speak a little of the world, the place of the believer's refidence, under the notion of a wilderness.

III. What may be the import of the fpoufe's coming up from the wilderness.

IV. Speak a little of her pofture; for fhe comes up, leaning upon her beloved.

V. Inquire into the grounds and reafons of this doctrine, why the fpoufe of Chrift cometh up from the wilderness, and why he comes leaning on her beloved. And then,

VI. Apply the whole.

1. The first thing is, to give you the character of a foul truly fpoufed to Chrift. And I thall endeavour to draw the character from the text and context.

1. then, He is one that is ay breathing to more and more nearness to the Lord, and a more intimate fellowship and acquaintance with him. Hence the fpoufe here, ver. 1. notwithstanding of all the had found, cries out, "O that thou wert as my brother, that fucked the breafts of my mother! Some make this to be a with or a prayer of the Old Teftament church for the actual incarnation of the Son of God. As if the had faid, O that that happy day were come, when thou

fhalt

fhalt actually become the feed of the woman, a child born to us! I think, if thou wert actually incarnace and clothed with my nature, I would not keep at fuch a distance, but would enter with boldnefs into the holieft, through the vail" of thy human nature. Whether that be in it or not, yet it is plain, that the words exprefsa defire after more intimacy and nearness than fhe had yet enjoyed. Sirs, if you be efpoufed unto Chrift, whatever nearness or accefs you have had, you will defire more, and be ready to cry with David, Pfal. xlii. 1." As the hart panteth after the water-brooks, fo panteth my foul after thee, O God." Whenever any cloud overcafts your sky, you will be ready to fay," O that I knew where I might find him."

2. The foul efpoused to. Christ will not be ashamed to own him before the world; as you fee in the clofe of ver. I. "When I fhould find thee without, I would kifs thee, and should not be ashamed." We are commanded to "kifs the Son leaft he be angry," Pfal. ii. 12. And they that are espoused to him, they kifs him with a kifs of affection and love, and with a kiss of fubjection and reverence, and are not ashamed to do it before the profane carnal world, who perhaps may be ready to laugh at them for their religion; no, they will confefs him, and his cause and intereft, whatever be the hazard, knowing that "they who confefs Chrift before men," he will not be behind-hand with them, but "will confefs them before his Father, and before his holy angels." Sirs, beware of suffering yourselves to be bantered or laughed out of your religion in this degenerate day: "For he that is afhamed of me before men, of him will I be afhamed before my Father, and before his angels. Chrift defpifed the fhame and ignominy of the crofs for us, and therefore let us defpife the reproaches or the revilings of the world in owning him..

3. The foul that is really efpoufed to Chrift, is heartily concerned for the good of his mother church, and to have the Lord's gracious and fenfible prefence in his ordinances; that he may be a public good to others, as well as to itself. This difpofition you fee in the spouse here, ver. 2. in the beginning, "I will bring thee into my mother's house." As if the had faid, I would make it my bufinefs to have the Lord brought back unto the affemblies and dwelling-places of Zion, that he might be the glory in the midft of her. Sirs, the Lord is angry with our mother at this day, he is threatening to break up houfe with her; there is little of God to be feen or felt in our judicatories, in our ordinances, in preaching, in hearing, in communicating; an Ichabod may be read in every corner: little of the life and power of religion is to be feen among magiftrates,

to

magiftrates, minifters, or people. Well, if you be espoused to Chrift, you will ftudy to wreftle, and bring him back again your mother's house, especially when you find him in a fenfible way prefent with your own foul; according to the practice of the fpoufe, Cant. iii. 4. "I found him whom my foul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me."

4. The foul ofpoufed to Chrift is one that is fond of the inftructions of his word and Spirit; as you fee in the spouse, in the middle of ver. 2. This is one of her great defigns in bringing Chrift unto her mother's houfe, that fo the and others might have the myfteries of the kingdom, and fecrets of the covenant, and the wonders of his law, more clearly opened and unfolded. Chrift is "the Sun of righteouf, nefs, the light of the world; he is made of God unto us wif dom," the great prophet of the church," the interpreter among a thousand." And when he comes unto a land or place in the power of his Spirit accompanying his word, the oracles of heaven are then opened, and the mysteries of the kingdom are unvailed, the people that fat in darkness are made to fee great light. And O this is the delight and defire of every foul truly efpoufed to the Lord.

5. The foul efpoused to Chrift is one that is defirous to give him the best entertainment that it is capable to afford; as the spouse in the close of ver. 2. "I would cause thee to drink of my fpiced wine, and of the juice of my pomegranates." Chrift entertains his spouse with "fat things full of marrow, wines on the lees well refined;" and they that taste of this food, they are fo ravished with it, that they know not what requital to make him; but they would give him the best entertainment that they can imagine, if they had it.

6. The foul efpoused to Chrift is one that would juft lie and lodge in the arms of a Redeemer : ver. 3. "His left hand fhall be under my head, and his right hand fhall embrace me." To the fame purpose is what we have, ver. 6 "Set me as a feal upon thine arm." As if fhe had faid, Let my life, my foul, be "hid with Chrift in God;" let me be encircled in his everlafting arms, and the eternal God my refuge. As it is the defire of a gracious foul to have Chrift lying as a bundle of myrrh between. its breasts, so it cannot reft till it be in the arras and bosom of him who is in the bofom of the Father; and Oh, when it comes. there, the foul cries, "This is my reft: here will I dwell, for I do like it well."

7. When the foul wins to any nearness to the Lord, it is afraid of every thing that may ftir up his difpleasure, or. VOL. II. R provoke

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