4thly, A hill and mountain of divine hidings and withdrawings cafts up in the wilderness: and this joins with the former; for it is "our iniquities that feparate between us and our God, that he hides his face from us." And Oh, when the believer is wrestling with this hill, he "walks in darkness, and fees no light;" which makes it exceeding melancholy: hence Job, "I go mourning without the fun" and the church, If. xlix. 14. " Zion faid, The Lord hath forfaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me."

5thly, And while the believer is involved among the dark clouds of defertion, mountains of wrath fometimes caft up in his view; as you fee in the cafe of Job, chap. vi. 4. "The arrows of the Almighty are within me," &c.; and Heman, Pfal. lxxxviii. "While I fuffer thy terrors, I am distracted: Thy terrors have cut me off," &c. Sometimes a hill of strange and cloudy difpenfations caft up in the wilderness, that he knows not what to make of them: God's way to him is many times" in the fea, and his paths in the mighty waters." How was Jacob overfet with dark difpenfations, when he is made. to cry," Jofeph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away alío: me have ye bereaved of my children: all these things are against me." David, the man according to God's heart, when he took a view of that dark difpenfation of the profperity of the wicked, and adverfity of the truly godly, he is fo overfet with it, that he is at the point of giving up with religion altogether as a vain thing, Pfal. Ixxiii. 13. "Verily I have cleanfed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency."

6thly, Sometimes a hill of disappointments faints the believer's heart. Perhaps he was expecting a meeting with God in his ordinances, fome fupply, fome communication of the Spirit, fome influence and watering; but alas! he finds ordinances to be dry breafts, or like the brooks of Tema where no water is: and thereupon the poor and needy foul is ready to faint, and their tongue to fail for thirst. Such a melancholy disappointment the spouse meets with, Song iii. at the beginning, "by night on my bed I fought him whom my foul loveth: I fought him, but I found him not," &c. I might tell you of the dark hills of temptation from hell, and oppreflion from the world, and the workings of remaining corruption; but I do not infift. Only, from what has been faid, you may fee, that religion is an up-the hill way they who expect to win heaven in a way of fin and floth, they will land in hell; for, "If the righteous fcarcely be faved, where fhall the ungodly and the finner appear? The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence," &c.

So

So much for the third thing, what is implied in coming up from the wilderness.

IV. The fourth thing was, to speak to the spouse's posture; the comes up leaning on her beloved. But I fhall wave this at prefent, and only make fome practical improvement of what has been faid in a doctrinal way.

Ufe first of this branch of the doctrine may be of Informa tion, in the few following particulars. Is it the duty and practice of believers to come up from the wilderness of this world, and to afpire after better and greater things than are hereaway? then,

1. See hence the paucity of true believers who are espoused unto Christ. Why, the greatest number, instead of coming up from the wilderness, are going down the wilderness: "Wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to deftruction, and many there be which go in thereat." Oh what fhoals of people are there in the world, "whofe god is their belly, and who mind earthly things?" But how few are they who have their" affections fet upon things above," and who are really pointing heavenwards? "Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." The world perhaps may laugh at them who keep the narrow way of religion; but behold the end of the day," The triumphing of the wicked is fhort, for they fhall lie down in forrow;" but as for the righteous and the upright, mark him, " for the end of that man is peace; his weeping endures but for a night, joy fhall come in the morning."

2. See hence why believers are called men of another spirit than the rest of the world: it is faid of Caleb and Joshua, that they were of another spirit; and the apoftle, fpeaking of him felf, and other believers, fays, "We have not received the fpirit of this world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God." Why, here is the ground of it, other men are of a mean fordid fpirit, and are content with the wilderness, and fill their belly with the hufks that they find in the wilderness; but it is otherwife with the true believer, he comes up from the wildernefs, he feeks and affects "thofe things which are above, where Chrift fitteth on the right hand of God." The world

generally have a mistaken notion of true greatnefs of spirit; they fondly imagine, that it lies in pufhing their refentment against thofe that injure them, or in pushing their fortune, as they call it, in fcrambling up the pinnacles of worldly honour,

2

wisdom,

137

Wilderness of this World to the Heavenly Canaan. wisdom, riches, or preferment; whereas true greatness of fpirit lies in a contempt of all these things, in comparison of things that lie beyond the wilderness; it lies in "looking not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not feen." O Sirs, we fink our fouls below their original make and excellency, when we lie down, with the ferpent, to lick up the duft and vanity of this world: true greatness of spirit is, with the spouse of Chrift, to foar above the world, to mount up with wings like eagles, to things calculate for the foul and its heavenly nature.

3. See hence the excellency of the Chriftian religion, which makes a discovery of things that lie beyond the wilderness of this world, and calls a man to come up from the wilderness in order to his being poffeffed of them. "Life and immortality are brought to light by the gofpel." The Heathen philofo phers had indeed fome foolish gueffes about another world, a life to come; but how ftrangely were they in the dark about it! One of the best of them, when he was dying, told his friends, that he was perfuaded of a future ftate; but whe 'ther he was going to a state of happiness or mifery, he did 'not know.' But now the Chriftian religion brings life and immortality (I fay) to light, and opens a way and paffage to a happy eternity: it is like mount Pifgah, from which one may stand and discover the goodly land that lies on the other fide of Jordan. David, Pfal. xvi. when he wins up to the top of it, and gets a view of the glories of heaven and eternity, he cries out like a man in a tranfport, "My heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth" Why? "Thou wilt fhew me the path of life: in thy prefence is fullness of joy, at thy right hand there are pleafures for evermore."

ed

4. See hence a good reason why the faints express such longings to be away out of the body, "I defire to be diffolved," fays Paul; "In this we groan earnestly, defiring to be cloathupon with our houfe which is from heaven:" why, it is no wonder; for this world is but a wilderness unto them: and how natural is it for a traveller in a wilderness to wish and long to be at home in his own country, and among his own kindred, where their inheritance lies, even 66 an inheritance that is incorruptible, undefiled, and which fadeth not away?"

5. See a good reason why the faints fhould poffefs their fouls in patience under all the trials of a prefent life. Who is it, that, travelling through a wilderness, does not lay his account with inconveniences and difficulties? But befides, believer, thou art coming up from the wildernefs, and ere long thou wilt come out of it, and beyond it altogether. "In the world VOL. II.

S

(days

(lays Chrift) ye fhall have tribulation;" but look beyond the wilderness to thy fellow-travellers, whofe journey is ended. "What are those which are arrayed in white robes and whence came they?" Rev. vii. 13. You have the answer in the verfe following, "Thefe are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and ferve him day and night in his temple." Wait a little, believer, and thou fhalt be there alfo; and then thy prefent "light afflictions, which are but for a moment, fhall" refolve in "a far more and exceeding and eternal weight of glory; and God fhalb wipe away all tears from thine eyes."

Ufe fecond of this doctrine may be of Reproof. Is it the du ty of believers, and their practice, to come up from the wildernefs of this world? then,

1. It reproves those who fit down in the wilderness, and take up with it as their home; like the fool we read of in the gospel, who, when he had amaffed a great deal of worldly fubftance together, he cries, "Soul, take thine ease, thou haft much goods laid up for many years." But, Sirs, read what followed in that parable of the rich fool; perhaps God may come and fay, "Thou fool, this night thy foul fhall be required of thee: then whofe fhall those things be which thou haft provided?" You who are perhaps "cloathed in purple and fine linen, and fare fumptuoufly every day," and have no thoughts of another world, look to it in time, leaft in a little you be weltering among purple flames, crying for a "drop of water to cool the tip of your tongue."

2. It reproves thofe who, inftead of coming up from the wildernefs, are going down the wildernefs. The way of fin is faid to be a downward way, and leads unto hell beneath; and this road all the profane world are taking. You may fee a roll of their names, and where their landing will be, Rev. xxi. 8. "The fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and forcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, fhall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimftone: which is the fecond death."

3. It reproves those who to men would appear to be coming up from the wildernefs, and yet are fteering a quite other course, such as the painted fepulchre, who goes under a mask of religion, and yet is rotten at the root; he is going down the wilderness, inftead of coming up. Chrift has pronounced many heavy woes against you; and thererefore "the finners in Zion fhall be afraid," &c. Again, the moralist, whose outward walk before the world perhaps is "touching the

law

law blameless," and yet never comes to him who is "the end of the law" your morality and civility will be found wanting a true root, not being grounded and graffed in Chrift, of whom only our fruit can be " unto holiness, and the end everlafting life." The fame we may say of the legalift; he is but going down the wilderness, all his righteousness will be found to be as filthy rags; for, " by the works of the law fhall no fleth living be juftified." Again the carnal gofpeller, whofe language is, "Let us fin, becaufe grace doth abound." Sirs, whatever may be your evangelic notions, yet if the grace of God in the gofpel do not "teach you to deny all ungodlinefs and worldly lufts, and to walk foberly, righteoufly, and godly," you are not coming up, but going down the wilderness. Jude 4. They are ranked among the number of the "ungodly, who turn the grace of our God into lascivioufnefs." The fecure, fleepy finner, that was never awakened to fee his danger, but is crying with the fluggard, "Yet a little fleep, a little flumber, a little folding of the hands to fleep;" you are going down the wilderness, for fudden deftruction is pursuing you.

4. This doctrine reproves those who make a feint to come up from the wilderness, but immediately they turn heartless in the journey they cry, "There is a lion in the way, a lion in the ftreets," and therefore turn back, and steer towards another airth. Of this fort are all backfliders, who put their hand to the plough of religion, but look back again. What an awful sentence is it that God hath pronounced against such, when he says, that they "fhall be filled with their own ways, and be led forth with the workers of iniquity!"

5. This doctrine reproves thofe who hinder the spouse of Chiift, or hurt her in her way, as the is coming up from the wilderness. We find the fpoufe frequently complaining of injuries, even from those from whom other things might have been expected; the complains that her "mother's children. were angry with her, chap. i. 6. these who were mother's children but not father's children with her; members of the visible church, but were never born of God; they were angry with her and with them joined the corrupt clergy of that day, and they continually abufed her; hence the complains, chap. V. 7. "The watchmen that went about the city, found me, they fmote me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls took away my vail from me." They were called watchmen, and had got themselves into that office for a piece of bread but instead of watching against the enemy, they opened the gates to the enemy, and fuffered foxes to come in and Spoil the vines; and instead of comforting her, and pouring in oil into her wounds, they themselves fmote and wounded her,

:

by