provoke him to withdraw; as you fee it was with the fpoufe, ver. 4. "I charge you, O daughters of Jerufalem, that ye ftir not up, nor awake my love until he please." The poor foul that is admitted to nearness to the Lord, is afraid of the leaft fquint look to the world, felf, or any of Chrift's rivals ; afraid of the workings of a remaining body of fin and death, pride, vanity, or any thing elfe that may provoke him to cover himself with a cloud in his anger. The man knows, to his fad experience, that his iniquities feparate between him and his God; and therefore he watches against the leaft appearance of evil. Oh there are but few tender Chriftians in our day: and hence it comes that there is fo little of fenfible communion with the Lord; for communion with God can only be maintained in a way of holiness, and habitual tenderness of walk: Pfal. xxiv. 3. "Who fhall afcend into the hill of the Lord? and who shall ftand in his holy place?" ver. 4. "He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart," &c.

8. The foul efpoused to Chrift is one who is bending his course heavenwards, and has his back turned upon this world, as a howling wildernefs. They " defire a better country, that is, an heavenly;" they are looking for a city that hath foundations, whofe builder and maker is God ;" and therefore they look upon this world, and the things of it, with a holy contempt and difdain; as you fee in the fpouse here, the is coming up from the wilderness toward the promised land of glory.

9. He is one whofe life in this world is a life of faith and dependence on Chrift, as you fee in the spouse here; as the travels through the wilderne fs, fhe leans on her beloved. Here "we walk by faith, not by fight: The life which I live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the fon of God." But of this more afterwards. Thus I have glanced at the character of the foul efpoused to Chrift, as it lies in the preceding context.

II. The fecond thing was, to take a view of the place of the prefent refidence of the fpoufe of Chrift; it is a wilderness, a very unheartfome lodging. For,

I. You know, a wilderness is a folitary place: Pfal. cvii. 4, it is faid there of exiles, or travellers, that" they wandered in the wilderness in a folitary way." Oh what a weary folitary place is this world unto God's people, efpecially when, to their own fenfe and feeling, the Lord is withdrawn from them! The whole world looks toom and empty; all the riches, pleafures, relations, and comforts of time, cannot fill his room; fo that they are in a manner wild, and know not what to do, or whither

whither to turn them, when Chrift is away. Hence is that of Job, chap. xxiii. 8. 9. "Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: on the left hand where he doth work, but I cannot behold him he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot fee him. O that I knew where I might find him!"

2. A wilderness is a mifty and foggy place, where noisome fteams and vapours, arifing out of the earth, darken the sky; which are both prejudicial to health, and ready to lead the traveller out of his way. Such a part is this world to the Lord's people. What hellish steams and vapours are caft up by Satan, the god of this world, to bemift the traveller to glory, whereby he is in danger of lofing his way and fpiritual health at once? Never was there an age wherein fuch peftilential vapours of error, blafphemy, carnal policy, and profanity, did more abound, than in this day wherein we live; the mouth of the bottomlefs pit is as it were opened, and blafphemy and errors caft up, to darken and obfcure the Sun of righteoufnefs, &c.

3. A wilderness is a barren place; it affords little or nothing for the support of human life: hence it is faid of the travel lers in a wilderness, Pfal. cvii. 5. they were hungry and thirsty, and their foul fainted in them." Such a place is this world to God's people; it is a barren land, which yields nothing but fwines husks, vanity and vexation of spirit, which the men of this world make their food, and their all: hence David complains that he was in a “dry and thirsty land, where there was no water." It is true, indeed, the travellers to glory have their wildernefs-meals, to keep in their life in their journey but no thanks to the world for that, for the food they live upon does not come out of the earth, the wilderness of this world cannot afford it; no, but like the manna that fed Israel in the wilderness, it comes from above.

4. A wilderness is a place of danger; thieves and robbers, and beafts of prey, frequent the wilderness, whereby travellers are in danger of being spoiled of their life and substance. Such a place is this world to God's people; it is called a " den of lions," and a "mountain of leopards," Cant. iv. 8. Here it is that the great Abaddon and Apollyon, the deftroyer of mankind, with all his hellish legions, form their camp, watching all opportunities to devour and fwallow up the traveller to glory. Hence the devil is called " the ruler of the darknets of this world," and he "goes about like a roaring lion, feeking whom he may devour:" and though hell and its armies hall never fo far prevail, as to keep the believer out of heaven, yet they will ftudy to wound him, and make him go halting

thither.

thither. And, Sirs, you who have been at a communion-table, had need to take heed to yourfelves when you go out into the wide wilderness; for I affure you, Satan will be seeking to winnow and fift you as wheat. If you be only profeffors, and no more, he will ftudy to trip up your heels, and make you a fcandal to religion; or if you be real believers, and have met with the Lord, the pirate will be upon you to fpoil you of your lading and therefore" be fober, be vigilant;" for you are yet within the devil's territories.

5. A wilderness is an unfettled place; many heights and hollows, turnings and windings, in a wildernefs: fometimes a traveller in a wilderness will be on the top of mountains, fometimes down in the valley; fometimes his fky will be clear, and fometimes cloudy; fometimes a ftorm, and fometimes a calm. Juft fo is it in the cafe of the believer while hereaway: fome. times he is on the mount of communion; at other times down in the valley of desertion: fometimes he is on mount Zion, where he enjoys a pleasant calm; at another time he is brought to mount Sinai, where a ftorm of the thunder of the law ftartles him: fometimes the "candle of the Lord fhines on his head, and through the light of the Lord he walketh through darkness;" at other times he "walks in darkness, and can fee no light;" fo that he is made to cry, "Oh that it were with me as in months paft !" &c.

6. Many pricking briers grow in the wilderness, many rough ways, which are uneafy to travellers. Juft fo here, the believer paffing through the world has the rough and thorny paths of affliction to travel: "Through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of heaven :" John xvi. 33. "In the -world ye fhall have tribulation." The cloud of witnesses who are now furrounding the throne, they "came out of much tribulation." See what troubles they endured, Heb. xi. 36-38. Thus you fee in what refpect this world, the present abode of the believer, is called a wilderness.

III. The third thing in the method was, to speak a little of the courfe that the spouse is taking, or the airth toward which he is bending while in the wilderness; fhe is not going down, but coming up from the wildernefs. And this, I conceive, may imply these things following.

1. That believers, or those who have really taken Christ by the hand, they have turned their back on the ways of fin, which "lead down to the chambers of death." The way of the men of this world, it is a down-the-hill way, which is indeed eafy and natural; but, like a rolling ftone upon the precipice, they roll on till they land in the bottomlefs gulf of eternal mifery. But now the foul efpoufed to Chrift has forfaken the down

hill way of this world, and fteers a quite oppofite course; they will not be conformed unto the world, or the course of the world, even though the world fhould account them for figns and wonders, because they will not run with them unto the fame excefs of riot.

2. This coming up from the wildernefs implies, that believers are pilgrims on the earth, and that this world is not their home. This is what David, a great king, frankly owned in the midst of his worldly wealth and grandeur, Pfal. cxix. 19. "I am a ftranger in the earth, hide not thy commandments from me." And this was the confeffion of that cloud of worthies, Heb. xi. 13. of whom the world was not worthy; they "confeffed that they were ftrangers and pilgrims on the earth."

3. It implies a diffatisfaction with, and a difesteem of, this world, and all things in it; and therefore fhe has her back turned upon it, and her face toward a better airth. Like the poor prodigal, he can find nothing in the far country but husks, that are only fit for fwine; or, like Solomon, they see all hereaway, to be but "vanity of vanities, all vanity and vexation of fpirit;" and therefore they look not at the things that are seen, which are temporal and fading. Like the woman clothed with the fun, the tramples upon the moon; or, with Paul, accounts them no better than dung and lofs. O Sirs, whatever bulk this world, and the glaring beauty of it, may have in your eyes now, yet it will appear but a very little thing, yea, worse than nothing, when you are but one moment on the other fide of death. And therefore, O fet not your hearts or eyes on that which is not; put up David's prayer, "Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity."

4. This coming up from the wilderness implies, that though fhe could find no reft nor quiet hereaway, yet the expected a quiet rest on the other fide, or beyond the wilderness. If the had no view of a better country, he would pitch her tent, and, with Peter, build tabernacles in the wilderness, and not come up from it. "There remaineth a reft to the people of God," Heb. iv. 9. "Bleffed are the dead which die in the Lord: they reft from their labours, and their works do follow them." Up thy heart, believer, the day of thy complete redemption. from fin and forrow draweth nigh, thy fighs ere long will end in fongs, thy labour in eternal rest, thy warfare in victory for

evermore.

5. This coming up from the wilderness implies motion, and progrefs in her motion heavenwards. The ransomed of the Lord, they are looking with their faces toward Zion, and they go from ftrength to ftrength, till they appear before God in

Zion. The righteous fhall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands fhall be ftronger and ftronger. The path of the juft is as the fhining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." Whatever length we are come in religion, we must not fit down, " as if we had attained, either were already perfect; no, but we must "forget those things which are behind, and reach forth unto those things which are before.

6. This phrafe of coming up from the wilderness implies, that religion is an up-the-hill work and way; for the fpoufe's way here is reprefented under the notion of an afcent. There are a great many hills and mountains, believer, that lie cross thy way to glory: I only tell you of a few of them.

1, There is a hill of remaining ignorance that the believer has to climb, in coming up from the wildernefs; for "we. know but in part, and now we fee darkly, as through a glass." He has got fome twilight blinks of the glory of the Lord, and of the myfteries of the kingdom; but O they are fo faint and languid, that he is ready to think he knows nothing at all. Hence is that complaint of holy Agur, while wrestling up this hill, Prov. xxx. 2. 3. "Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man. I neither learned wifdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy."

2dly, There is the hill of prevailing unbelief, which stands upon the top of the former; ignorance being the very root and foundation of unbelief. The poor believer is many at time put to a stand while climbing up this hill, as you fee in that holy man, Pfal. lxxvii. What but the prevalency of unbelief made him to cry, "Is his mercy clean gone for ever? hath he forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies?" David gets fuch a backset with this hill of unbelief, that he fometime a-day cried out, "All men are liars," the prophets of God not being excepted. Oh how much need of that caution, Heb. iii. 12. "Take heed, brethren, left there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God!’

3dly, A mountain of guilt cafts up to the believer in his travelling through the wildernefs, which fometimes feems to tumble upon him, and crush him under the weight of it. Hence David cries, "Mine iniquities are gone over mine head, as a burden too heavy for me to bear:" and at another time, Pfal. xl. 12. "Innumerable evils compass me about, mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, fo that I am not able to look up," &c.

4tbly, A