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God: If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him."

2dly, Carnal policy and wifdom; for the wifdom of this world is but folly to God. Paul, "whenever it pleafed God to reveal his Son in him, immediately he confults not with flesh and blood." It is faid of Babylon, that her wifdom and underftanding perverted her; efpecially it perverts us in the things of Chrift, and is like to ruin the interefts of Chrift in the land at this day.

3dly, Self-righteoufnefs, let that be kept under your feet; for this ruined the poor Jews, and brought on a sentence of excommunication upon them, whereby they were cast out of the church of God: "They went about to establish their own righteousnefs, and would not fubmit unto the righteousness of God;" and fo Chrift himself became a fumbling-flone, and a rock of offence.

4thly, Keep the luft and corruption of the heart under your feet. This will keep you in continual work; for "the flefh lufteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh." Paul had much ado with a body of fin and death, Rom. vii. We muft "crucify the flesh, with the affections and lufts thereof." If we live after the flesh, we fhall die; but if we through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body,, we fhall live."

5thly, Keep at a distance from the infection of bad company. Say, with Jacob, "O my foul come not thou into their fecret; unto their affembly, mine honour be not thou united ; for evil communications corrupt good manners."

The laft advicice I give is, to follow the example of the fpoufe here in the text, to come up from the wilderness, leaning on the beloved, living a life of faith on the Son of God. But this leads to the fecond branch of the doctrine.

THE SUBSTANCE OF SOME DISCOURSES UPON THE SAME TEXT, AT STIRLING.

Cant. viii. 5.-Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her Beloved?

HE doctrine infifted upon from thefe words at another occafion was, That it is the commendable practice of a foul truly efpoufed unto Chrift, to come up from the wilderness of this world, towards the land of reft and glory above, fraying and refting mfelves upon him as their beloved.

Here

Here I endeavoured,

I. To give the character of a foul truly efpoufed to Christ,

drawn from the context.

II. I fpake of this world, under the notion of a wildernefs.

III. Shewed what is imported in the fpoufe's coming up from the wilderness.

Thefe particulars, I fay, were difcourfed, and this first branch of the doctrine applied in feveral uses; the reasons of this branch of the doctrine being adduced in the application, by way of motive to perfuade fioners to turn their back on the wilderness, and to come up towards the promised Canaan above.

IV. I proceed now to the fecond branch of the text and doctrine, which was the fourth thing in the method, namely, to speak a little of the spouse's posture in coming up from the wilderness; he comes leaning on her beloved. It is the life of faith upon the Son of God that is here intended. And this expreffion of faith it implies these particulars following.

1. The fpoufe's weakness and inability in herself to grapple with the difficulties of her way through the wilderness; that fhe could never furmount them by the ftrength of natural, or yet of any created grace in her. Man in his natural state is wholly without frength; so disabled by the fall, that he has no power for any thing that is fpiritually good: yea, believers themselves, though they have received a new stock of fupernatural grace, yet this inherent grace of theirs is fuch a feeble creature, and the oppofition it meets with from corruption within, and temptation and affliction without, is fo ftrong, it could never bear the believer through his wilderness work and warfare, without continual fupplies of ftrength from the glorious Head, in whom dwells all fulness of grace and truth, of merit and fpirit. Hence Paul, though he had received a very large measure of grace from Chrift, yet declares, that he was not fufficient of himself to think as of himself, but his fufficiency and ability was of the Lord. So, whenever a believer begins to think that his mountain ftands ftrong through the ftrength of any grace he has received, prefently the Lord withdraws the influence, and fuffers him to find his weakness and inability, that he may not trust in himself, but in him who is "the ftrength of Ifrael." And therefore,

2. The expreflion of leaning on her beloved, it implies, that however weak and infufficient he was in herself, yet there was almighty ftrength in her Husband and Head, on whom the

leaned.

leaned. Chrift is the "ftrength of the poor and needy in their diftrefs; he is the glory of their ftrength, the power of God, the man of his right hand, whom he hath made ftrong for" the defigns of his glory in our falvation. "I have laid help (fays the Lord) upon one who is mighty." The arm of JEHOVAH is through him reached forth to help, and strengthen, and uphold the believer in his wilderness difficulties; and therefore he goes in this his might, faying, with Paul, “ I can do all things through Chrift ftrengthening me."

3. This leaning on her beloved implies a bleffed knowledge or acquaintance with the Lord Jefus. She had got a saving difcovery of him by the word and Spirit of the Lord, which induced her to lean upon him; for we do not use to lean upon an utter ftranger, of whom we have no knowledge. The foundation of faith is laid in knowledge, not fimply in a headknowledge attained by external revelation, for there are many learned unbelievers; but in a heart-knowledge. "The light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ," is made to "fhine into the heart;" and this is the very beginning of wisdom; hence Paul describes his first converfion by it, Gal. i." It pleafed God to reveal his Son in me." And the promife of faith, that radical grace, is expreffed by knowledge: "I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the Lord: They fhall know, and follow on to know" him, till they arrive at a mid-day vision and fruition of him in glory.

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4. The expreffion implies, not only knowledge, but intimacy and familiarity; for we use to lean upon them with whom we are intimately acquainted. Truly (fays the apostle John) our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jefus Chrift." The whole book of the Song is defigned to describe this fellowship between Chrift and the believing foul: they who know it in an experimental way, will be ready to fay, with the spouse, "His left hand was under my head, and his right hand did embrace me : he brought me to his banqueting houfe, and his banner over me was love." There is more real pleasure and fatisfaction in one moment of fellowship with the Lord, than in all the pleasures of fin, which are but for a season : hence David, Pfal. lxxxiv. 10. " One day in thy courts is better than a thousand: I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness."

5. This leaning pofture implies Chrift's nearness to the fpoufe; for we cannot well lean upon a person that is at a diftance. True, indeed, Chrift was at a great distance from the fpoufe as to his corporeal prefence, for he was not yet

come in the flesh; and now, under the New Testament difpenfation, he is gone within the vail, and the heavens are to contain him until the time of the reftitution of all things." But yet faith has a way of bringing Chrift near, and of taking him up in the word of promife, and fo leaning on him by virtue of his word. And therefore, "fay not in thine heart, Who shall bring Christ down from above? for the word is nigh thee even in thy mouth, and in thy heart; that is the word of faith which we preach." Sirs, though Christ be afcended as to his human nature far above all heavens, yet he is as much present to faith, as though his body were ftill upon earth; "Lo, I am with you alway even unto the end of the world:" and accordingly, faith eyeing him in the word of faith, leans on him, as one that is not afar off, but near at hand.

6. It implies a trufting, refting, or recumbency of her foul upon him, under all her weights and burdens, which the rolls over on Chrift: Pfal. Iv. 22. " Caft thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee." Matth. xi. 28. "Come unto me, all ye that labour, and are heavy laden, and I will give you reft unto your fouls." Pfal. xxxvii. 7. "Reft in the Lord, and wait patiently for him." As the feeble wife leans on her hufband, or the weak child on its parent, with confidence that he will fupport him; fo the believing foul leans or refts on Christ, with a perfuafion of fupport and through-bearing; that according to his promife, he will frengthen, help, and uphold to the end," with the right-hand of his righteoufnefs."

7. It implies, that there is fomething in Chrift that the hand or arm of faith ftays and leans. upon, as we come up from the wilderness. Sometimes faith ftays itfelf on the person of Chrift, as he is " Emmanuel, God with us ;" fometimes upon his love, which paffeth knowledge, Pfal. xxxvi. 7. "How excellent is thy loving kindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their truft under the shadow of thy wings." Sometimes it stays itself upon his name; for "they that know his name will put their trust in him :" fometimes on his mifGion, as the "fent of God, the great Apoftle of our profeffion;" it takes him up as God's legate, his ambaffador-extraordinary, fent to feek and to fave that which was loft. It leans upon general office as Mediator, for peace and reconciliation with God; upon his prophetical office, for inftruction and illumination in the knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom; upon his priestly office, for reconciliation and acceptance; upon his regal or kingly office, for fanctification and deliverance from the power of fin and Satan. It leans upon his fulness for a fupply of all wants, believing that that fulness of grace that is in him is to be communicated; for "he received gifts VOL. II.

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for men, even for the rebellious, that the Lord God might dwell among us." It fometimes leans upon the relations that Chrift is come under to his people in the word, as a friend, a counsellor, a phyfician, a leader and commander. You fee here, that the spouse comes up from the wilderness leaning on him in the relation of a bridegroom and husband. But of these things I may difcourfe more fully in the application.

I should next give the reasons of this branch of the doctrine, why it is that the believer comes up from the wildernefs leaning on her beloved; but, as I did in the former branch, I fhall improve them as motives to enforce the exhortation which I have in view from this branch of the doctrine.

And the Exhortation is, to follow the commendable practice of the fpoufe, in coming up from the wilderness of this world, towards the land of glory, leaning on him as your beloved: or, which is the fame thing, in other words, Study, while you are travellers on the earth, to live by faith on the Son of God. This was the practice of Paul, the great apoftle of the Gentiles, Gal. ii. 20. "I am crucified with Christ: Nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Chrift liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." This was the practice of that cloud of witneffes who have travelled to glory before us, Heb. xi. 13. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having feen them afar off, and were perfuaded of them, and embraced them, and confeffed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth."

But now, in pursuing this exhortation a little, I fhall,

1. Endeavour to illuftrate and clear it, in anfwering a few questions.

2. Enforce it with a few motives.

3.

Conclude with a few directions.

I. I would illuftrate this exhortation, by anfwering a few queftions. And

The firft queftion which may be offered is this: You exhort us to a life of faith on Chrift; but pray tell us, in the first place, what it is to live upon him by faith, and what influence faith has upon our journey while in the wilderness?

This queftion was in fome measure anfwered already, in giving the import of the expreffion in the text, the spouse's leaning on her beloved. I fhall further add, that this life of faith, it does not lie in one fingle act of believing, but in the continuation of faith or believing through the whole course of your life in the world: "The life I live in the flesh," that is, while I am in the body, "is by faith on the Son of God."

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