LECTURE XVIII.

SOLOMON'S SONG viu. 5.

Who is th 3 that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved?

THE text is a passage of divine inspiration, which strikes the mind of the hearer or reader with more than ordinary power and force; and is propounded by way of question, as though in the answer we might receive much instruction and useful knowledge. It is truly so; and may the Spirit of God assist us to gather honey from this beautiful flower from the wilderness. We find it in the Songs of Solomon, which are highly figurative and allegorical, and were when composed presented in poems or songs; but by reason of the translation they have come to us in prose.

Some have supposed, that when Solomon composed this Song, or Songs, they were composed for dramatical performances, either as preludes, interludes, or epilogues. But I am of opinion that it was composed for a prophetic song of Christ and his church. But be that as it may, they certainly do represent, in rich and beautiful figures, the character and love of Christ for his church; likewise, her character and love towards her divine Master, her connection to him, and her dependence upon him in this state of trial. That the church has been, and will be, in a state of trial as long as she remains imperfect, cannot be doubted by any man of common reflection, perception, or knowledge.

She has enjoyed her seasons of prosperity; and has been strongly tried in scenes of adversity. In tracing

her history from the patriarch Abraham to the present day, we find her variable as the wind, and changeable as the weather.

To-day, she is coming up out of the wilderness leaning on the arm of her beloved; to-morrow, "like a young roe leaping upon the mountains, and skipping upon the hills."

Now she is seen among the trees of the woods; next in a palace of silver inclosed in boards of cedar.

There we saw her in the clefts of the rock; here we behold her in the broad way, in the streets of the great city.

Again we find her among the foxes of the desert; and anon we perceive her seeking him whom her soul loveth.

She is asleep on her bed by night; and the same night the watch finds her in the city.

Behold her Lord, knocking at the door for admittance, while she is too indolent to arise and let him in. The next moment she is opening to her beloved; but he had withdrawn himself. At one time the voice of her beloved sounding over the hills, and echoing among the mountains like the roar of distant thunder, has no impression; next the soft whisper of love gains all her attention.

Here blows the rough north wind and strong south wind upon her spices; yet they put forth no fragrancy. And there the lightest breeze makes her roses blossom, and all the air is perfume.

See her countenance to-day black as the tents of Kedar; and to-morrow comely as the daughters of Jerusalem, and fair as the purple curtains of Solomon. Today she is "a garden barred, a spring shut up, a fountain sealed;" to-morrow "a garden open, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon." Now she is weak as a babe; a single watchman can "smite, wound, and take away her vail;" and then she is courageous and valiant, "terrible as an army with banners." Today she is made to keep another's vineyard; to-morrow she is realizing a thousand pieces of silver from her own. She is truly a changeable being, carried about by the

sligntest circumstances. This is the description of the church, as given to us in this Song of Solomon's. I shall therefore show in explanation of our subject,

I. What has been the general character of the church in the wilderness;

II. Her character when out of the wilderness; and, then,

III. Make an application of our subject, by showing in what state the church may be considered at the present time.

I. The church in the wilderness.

It appears by the word of God, that for some wise purpose, God has called his people into the wilderness state, time and again. 1st. Abraham was called to go out from the land of his fathers "into a strange land, not knowing whither he went; and he obeyed God, sojourning in the land of promise as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose Builder and Maker is God." By this means, Abraham obtained the name of the Father of all them that believe. We learn by the history of Abraham, that the first seed of the church was called into the wilderness as a place of promise; where God took spe cial care of them, saying to the kings and princes of this world, "Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm." We see them supported and kept through all the trials of life; and, in the midst of idolatrous nations, among whom they sojourned, not one of them lost their faith, or became impure in their worship; but God was with them, preserving them in war, famine, and the heavy judgments of God upon the nations with whom they sojourned.

The next account we have of the church being called into the wilderness was in the days of Moses, when the children of Israel were delivered from Egyptian slavery, and brought out by the mighty and powerful hand of God into the wilderness, where she was fed, clothed, and shod by miracle, and preserved by manna from heaven, and flesh from the desert; where the cloud of his presence overshadowed them by day, and the pillar of fire by night.

The angel of the covenant accompanied them through all the wilderness, "gave them drink as out of the great depths. He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers." "He made his own people to go forth like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock. He led them on safely, so they feared not; but the sea overwhelmed their enemies. He brought them to the border of his sanctuary, even to the mountain his right hand had purchased. He cast out the heathen also before them, divided them an inheritance by line, and made the children of Israel to dwell in tents." Thus sang the sweet psalmist of Israel. And what could God have done more than he did for his people in the wilderness?

The next and last proof we have that God calls his people into the wilderness, you will find in Rev. xii. 6, 14, "And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days."

"And to the woman were given two wings of an eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness into her place, (take notice, the wilderness is here called "her place,") where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent; " that is, away from the power of the Roman beast, or power which is here called the serpent. The prophet Hosea, in his vision of the wilderness state of the church under the gospel dispensation, says, "Therefore, behold, I will allure her and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her; and I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope, and she shall sing there as in the days of her youth, as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt," Hosea ii. 14, &c. We might quote you more of this prophecy, and show you how exactly every word has been literally fulfilled in time and manner, as John has told us in Řevelation; but I have sufficiently proved that God has called his church into the wilderness, for purposes of good to the churches. I will now, 2dly, show what object God had in view, so far as he has revealed his object in his word, in calling his church into the wilderness. Moses

says, Deut. viii. 16, 17, "Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end, lest you should say in your hearts, My power, and the might of mine hand, hath gotten me this wealth."

Surely, my brethren, if we would read this passage and apply it home, we must see, unless we are wilfully blind, that if we are in the wilderness at this time, the object of God is lost upon us. We are not humble enough to believe that God is the Author and Finisher of our faith, or that salvation is of God. Are we not saying, not only in our hearts, but also in doctrine, words, and action, that we can do great things; our might, our wisdom, our hands, have gotten us this great wealth?

Do we not see our benevolence trumpeted forth in every publication of the present day, and our contributions spread far and wide? For what? To feed the hungry and clothe the naked? No, not literally, but mentally. Yes, and do we not see that instead of feeding the public mind with wholesome food, with the sincere milk of the word, we have almost surfeited them with our tarts and spices, until the public mind has become so heated, nothing satisfies unless it has been highly spiced with some agitated question to more inflame the public pulse. More than three quarters of all our contributions are used to bloat each other up in self-righteousnes and pride; or to pull each other down, with our excited questions of right and wrong. The moral code which God gave to man for his happiness here and hereafter is demolished; and Judge Lynch is the order of the day, as well in morals as in our civil affairs. Where in the word of God are we commanded to have our gifts for charitable purposes published, either before or behind us, by a public gazette or a brazen-mouthed trumpet? Yet at the present day, we glory in our pride, and excuse ourselves in the manner of doing it; for the end, say we, justifies the means. Why, then, did not our Savior justify the Pharisees in the same means for the very same object — tc make proselytes?

The wilderness then, under existing circumstances, is