The SPOUSES Carriage in the Wilderness.  Song of Solomon. Chap. 8. ver. 5. Who is this that cometh up out of the wilderness, leaning upon her well-beloved? 
WE have already taken notice of two Travellers in the Text. Christ is a Traveller: For had he not come up with his Garments died from Bozra, we had been in the wilderness still. And the Spouse is a Traveller; The Text saith, She cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her well-beloved. The Text presents us the Spouse in motion.  
Observe first, From whence she moves, the Terminus à quo, that the Text tells us is the wilderness.  
2. What her motion is, it is ascensive, she cometh up.  
3. Her moving posture, it is leaning upon her beloved.  
The Doctrine that yet remains in the Text, which I promised to handle, is,  
Doct. 3. That the Spouse of the Lord Jesus Christ (being raised by him) cometh out of every wilderness, leaning upon her beloved.  
I must take it in pieces, and handle the parts severally.  
These four things be couched in it:  
1. That the Spouse of Christ hath had, and may sometimes have, her dwelling in the wilderness. That is implied.  
2. Though she hath had, and may sometimes have, her dwelling in the wilderness, yet she rests not there; She comes up from it. Who is this that comes up?  
3. She cannot come up alone; She must come up leaning.  
4. She will lean upon her Beloved, and he will, and only can bear her.  
First, She hath had, and sometimes may have, her dwelling in the wilderness. Here first I must open the term Wilderness. Secondly, I shall show you what Wilderness the Spouse hath had, or may have, her dwelling in.  
I shall open the first in five or six particulars.  
1. The Wilderness is an untilled place, where wild nature is yet seen, that Art hath not yet tamed, no pruning hook hath lopped, the overgrown trees, no plough broke up the soil to make it fruitful; The husbandman hath not tilled the ground there, nor can the reaper fill his hand; It is a place just in its natural state, not yet manured.  
2. The Wilderness is a losing place; no beaten road for the Traveller there to follow, no landmarks, nothing to guide him in his way, he is lost if once in it; he looks on this side, and on the other, forward, backward, every way, still he sees himself lost, knows not whither to go: He is in a Wilderness, and knows not the way out.  
3. The Wilderness is a dangerous place; A man in the Wilderness is a prey to the mouth of every Lion; the Lion is the King of those waste places; and the Bears, Wolves, Cockatrices, and Adders, his lesser subjects: There dwells the young Lion, the Cockatrice and the Adder together, each one searching for his prey. It is a dangerous place.  
4. The Wilderness is a solitary place; where he that walks, as he hath no path, so he hath no company: The paths in the Wilderness are not trodden, no beaten high ways are there; no company but the Owls and the Ostriches, the beasts of the field, and creeping things of the earth. Nothing fit to be a companion for man: No, it is a Wilderness.  
5. The Wilderness is a disconsolate place; no curiosities of nature to refresh his spirits with: Terror is round about him; no pleasure to delight him.  
6. Lastly, the Wilderness is a place void of all provisions; There is neither bread for the hungry, nor water for the thirsty soul; no necessaries, much less superfluities.  
The expression is very apt: such a Wilderness, yea many a such Wilderness the Spouse of Christ hath had, and may have, her dwelling in.  
1. A Wilderness of Sinne. 2. A Wilderness of Sorrow. 3. A Wilderness of Affliction. 4. A Wilderness of Temptation. 5. A Wilderness of Desertion. Nay, lastly, This whole life is but a wilderness to her. She hath been in some of these, and may be in all of them; but out of all She cometh up leaning. Every one of these is the soul's Wilderness: and as they come up to Christ, they come up from some of them; and in their walking with the Lord Christ, they go through some of them; and some go through all of them.  
The first is Eremus peccati, The Wilderness of sin; and every soul is born in this Wilderness. Man at first created dwelled in Paradise; but alas, he threw himself out into the Wilderness, and God locked the Garden gate against him. Sinful man perferr'd the Wilderness before Paradise, and God allots him his dwelling there: There was man thrown, & all mankind born in it. We are all Wilderness brats by nature, Ephes. 2.3. You were children of wrath by nature, even as others. And sin may well be called a Wilderness; it is status naturalis, our natural condition: We are in a Wilderness habit, when we are clothed with the rags of iniquity. Ay and it is a state as dangerous as the Wilderness: The Lion claims him in the Wilderness as his prey; and if he escapes his teeth, it will be hard to escape the Cockatrice, and young Lion, and Adder, the lesser fry of destroyers: If in this sinful natural condition we do escape the mouth of the roaring Lion the Devil, it is greatly to be feared that the Bear, and the Wolf, and the Cockatrice, the lesser judgements of God, will swallow us up: we are children of wrath, as well passively as actively, in a dangerous condition. Lastly, as the Wilderness is a place void of all necessary provisions for the body, so is sin a state void of all necessary provisions for the soul: We are hungry, and naked, and bloody, and filthy in our sins, it is a wilderness dress, Ezek. 16. As for thy nativity, in the day that thou wert born, thy navel was not out: neither wert thou washed in water to supple thee, thou wert cast out in the open field, Verse. 5. Every spouse of the Lord Christ hath been in this Wilderness. Who is this that cometh up? of this I have spoke before, and therefore pass it over.  
The second Wilderness is Eremus contritionis, The wilderness of contrition, or sorrow for sin. Every soul is naturally in the Wilderness; but every one that is in it seethe not that it is there: Every soul is born blind, though most think they see. When God opens the soul's eyes, and shows it the hell that it treads over every hour, and makes the soul apprehensive of its danger, it conceives itself in a worse Wilderness than before; the physic works, the Patient thinks it is nearer death than before it took it. Here it cries out, Oh, I am a lost undone creature! Oh, whither should I go? on one side behold terror! on the other side despair! If it looks up to heaven, there is an angry God; if downward, there is a gaping hell: Oh! whither should it go? Now it cries out (with the jailor) O what shall I do to be saved? I am lost in my sins! I am lost in my own righteousness! I know not what to do: If I stay in my sins I perish; if I go out of the world I perish. Here stands the soul turning itself every way, and seeing comfort no way, till the Lord Christ bows the heavens, and thrusts out his arm of salvation, his shoulder of merits, and takes the soul by the hand, saying, Come (my Beloved) I will tell thee what thou shalt do; I am the way out of this wilderness, come out leaning; lean thy arm of faith upon the shoulder of my merits; Free grace is able to bear thee: I am thy Well-beloved, and thy Well-beloved is thine. And ordinarily the soul when it comes to the Lord Christ, comes through this wilderness, this losing place of conviction and contrition, and weeps herself a path, where she would drown in the waters of Marah, if Christ did not hold her up. Indeed God could have brought the Israelites a shorter Journey, than through the wilderness to Canaan; and sometimes God miraculously draws a soul to himself, only by the cords of mercy: God is not tied always to bring a soul the same road to heaven; Elijah was carried to heaven in a fiery chariot; but the more ordinary way is by jacob's ladder. The common way to heaven is by the gates of hell; the way to life is through the chambers of death, through a wilderness. Who is this that cometh up out of the wilderness?  
The third Wilderness in which Christ's Spouse may sometimes have her dwelling in, is the Wilderness of affliction; bodily afflictions I mean. A Wilderness is a place full of briars and thorns; and through such a wilderness (the holy Ghost tells us) lies the Saint's way to heaven: By much tribulation [much pricking of thrones, thorns in the flesh sometimes] must we enter into the kingdom of God. The Spouse hath a dirty way to go to marrying in; and when she is married, she hath a dirty way home too: A wilderness on either side. The Apostle speaks plain, Heb. 11.37, 38. They wandered about in Sheepskins, and Goat-skines, being destitute, afflicted, tormented, they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens, and in caves of the earth; And who were these that wandered thus in the wilderness? They were such of whom the world was not worthy; the Spouses of the Lord Christ. And truly afflictions may be called a wilderness, for the disconsolacy of them too; they are times of sorrow, no delights please; the spouse in affliction is in a wilderness.  
4. A fourth wilderness that the Spouse sometimes dwells in, is the wilderness of temptations, The Bridegroom himself was in this wilderness; He was led into the wilderness, to be tempted of the Devil; The spirit took him thither, Matth. 4. vers. 1. and Paul was in this wilderness, troubled on every side; this is Satan's wilderness, that he leads many a poor soul into, and it had been a sad wilderness, had not our WAY been their first: If the Devil could have lost our Saviour in it, we should never have found the way out of it. A dangerous, a disconsolate place, well termed a wilderness, as the Saint will tell you that hath been in it.  
5. A fifth Wilderness that the Spouse is sometimes in, is the Wilderness of desertion. Here's a sad wilderness, a desert indeed, Quum Deus deseruit, When God hath forsaken or withdrawn himself from the Soul; this Desert Christ himself was in, Eli, Eli, lamasabachthani? My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? was the voice of the Lord Jesus hollowing in the wilderness: such a wilderness was the Spouse in, when she sought him, but found him not, Cant. 3. v. 2. In this desert the soul is solitary, her God is gone, and she knows not what is become of him; the soul never calls any company her company, if her God be not there. David was in this wilderness too, he is often crying out of the wilderness he was in, when God hide his face from him. The soul that belongs to the Lord Jesus goes through many a wilderness in this world, but scarce any which Christ hath not walked in before it, and hewn a way through it; through every wilderness we may follow the Lamb in his own path.  
6. Nay lastly, The Saints whole life below, is but a wilderness. Earth is a Christians desert; while she lives here, she lives in widowhood; it is a sinful place, a dangerous place, a thorny place, and a place where she finds an abatement of the joys she shall be swallowed up in in glory. Mortality is but Meshech, and her best habitations are but tents of Kedar, nothing to the temple of Glory she shall worship her God in hereafter; and the former deserts are but as several corners of this wilderness; but she cometh up out of every wilderness: That is the next branch of Doctrine I hasten to.  
Branch 2. That though the Saint of God hath had, and may have, her dwelling in the wilderness, she rests not there, but cometh up out of it.  
She cometh up. It seems to argue a propriety in the motion, as if she were not driven nor drawn up, nor made to come, but of herself came, and of her own strength, and yet not of her own strength neither; her own legs would not bear her, for the text tells us she comes up leaning, she had fallen had she not leaned.  
Here is the Question stated; what the soul doth towards its conversion, what power of doing any thing tending towards its conversion before it is sanctified, or after it is sanctified, whether it may merely passive, what she may do, what she cannot do, how far she may come, where she must lean?  
Whether hath the soul any power to come up out of the wilderness of sin to the Lord Christ, to move one step heaven ward of itself? And here I have a narrow path to tread betwixt the Pelagians and Arminians on the one side, that would make the soul have more power than it hath: and the Antinomians and Sectaries on the other side, that are so fare from holding that the soul hath no power to come to Christ, that they would make us believe she hath no power to come to Church neither.  
I shall not know how to determine this Question better than in the words of pious and learned Bishop Davenant, Determ. Q. 9.49. Non potest quodvis opus ex divina promissione, ad impetrandam peccatorum remissionem, aut adeundam possessionem regni coelorum ordinatum, The soul cannot do any thing that is ordained by God, or hath the promise of God, to obtain pardon of sins, or possession of the Kingdom of heaven; she cannot savingly believe, repent, love, etc. for these are the acts of grace, and God is the fountain and donour of all grace.  
1. But first, she may, by God's general restraining grace, without special and saving grace, abstain from gross sins; the heathens did so; the light of nature which God keeps from none, will show her that this is darkness.  
2. Secondly, She may by God's exciting grace, without any saving grace, perform many previous actions that are required of men to faith and repentance; she may by virtue of God's general grace, his exciting grace, go to Church, hear the word of God, meditate of God, peccata propria considerare & sensu eorum expavescere, saith Davenant; Ay, and she may beg deliverance from that woeful condition, which she apprehends herself in; but she stirs not one of these steps after a spiritual, but after a natural manner, till the quickening grace of God come: A man may in a wilderness conceive himself lost, look about for the way out, call for help, be willing to be out, yet not be one step in the way that will lead him out; and this the soul must do so far as it can: Negamus etenim hanc gratiam regen●rantem infundi hominibus inertibus, sed animis per verbum Dei erectis, & subact is, & per predict as actiones quodammodo dispositis, viz. We deny that regenerating grace is infused into slothful men, but into souls subdued by God's word and law, and after a manner disposed by the foregoing actions; yet we say, that even these foregoing actions have their first motions from God; and the question is whether God doth not first work a sight and sense of sin, and an humiliation for it by his exciting grace, before he comes with his regenerating, quickening and saving grace into the soul; we say he doth in his ordinary course of his dispensations. Only I must be here safely understood, that I speak according to man's apprehension; for in respect of God, nothing is first or last, he works all in an instant, all graces together in the soul; but the question lies not whether God works the habit of Repentance before the habit of Faith, or no; for without question he works together all his works; but whether God makes humiliation act before faith, which we say he doth; Esau and Jacob may be in their mother's womb together, but Esau may come out and be seen in the world before Jacob; yet not tying up the Almighty to this method, who can and will work any way, even which way it pleaseth him. Nor do we say any such previous action can be performed by the Creature, ut de merito congrui teneatur Gratiam dare, That God is bound for the desert of any such privious action to give his inward and regenerating quickening grace; But yet this we say, 
Dave. ibid.  that in the Church of God, where men are daily stirred up by the word and spirit to repent and believe savingly, God will give (though not for any of these previous or dispository actions, yet) freely, regenerating grace to all such as are capable of it, unless they have resisted the spirit of God in the preceding operations, and rejected his quickening grace; but yet we deny, that any man can perform these actions so but he will offend and resist the Spirit of God in them: Now why, when as all resist. God should reject some, as they have rejected him, and leave them to the hardness of their own hearts, and work irresistibly on others who have resisted their God as much, and break open their hearts, though locked and barred against him, and fill them with quickening grace, and pull a Lot out of Sodom by force, and draw a soul out of the wilderness by head and shoulders, I say, why he should do it, when two are grinding at the same mill, take one and leave the other; when two are in the same field, whythe one should be taken the other left; when two souls are equal in duties, fasting, mourning, in the way that God hath appointed, why he should balk this and take the other, when perhaps that which is taken hath been the least penitent too, I will conclude with Dr. Davenant, is Sacrum Misterium divinae voluntati reliquendum. A sacred and secret mystery to be left to the divine pleasure, and the reason lies in the agents own breast; It is because he will have mercy upon whom he will have mercy, and whom he wills he hardeneth: God is his own reason, and his free grace it's own cause.  
So then we conclude, that the soul cannot move one foot to a spiritual action spiritually, not by any common grace, it must be only by Gods regenerating and saving grace. So that to answer yet more distinctly to the Question.  
In respect of Gods exciting and preventing grace, if we look so fare, we cannot come, but that preventeth us: We are as clay in the hands of the Potter, we are all dead in sins.  
But when the Lord hath changed the soul, than it cometh. The first motion upon the will is from God, before there is any motion of the will unto God; but when the will is healed of God, than the soul cometh, than the soul which was merely passive before, is active, and will endeavour to do something for that God that hath done so much for her. It follows, the drawing of Gods most holy Spirit: Draw me (saith the Spouse) and I will run after thee, First, I must be drawn; but then I will run: In the same moment God makes us to will, and we will; & yet all the efficacy of the Action comes from Gods most holy Spirit.  

Certum est nos velle quum volumus, sed ille facit ut velimus qui operatur in nobis velle.  It is certain (saith Augustine) that we are willing when we are willing; but he makes us willing, that works in us to will and to perform, Phil. 2.13. And so he, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, God draws, but he draws the soul that is willing, Ay, but first, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, he makes it willing. So, I have showed what propriety the soul hath in the Action, how she cometh, and how willing she is to the motion. She is drawn, but she is willing to be drawn to Jesus Christ. But first, she is made willing before she is willing, ay, and in her life, after she is come to Christ, in her walking with Christ, Non suis confidit viribus, she trusts not her own strength, she even then cometh leaning, which is the next Branch of the Doctrine I have to handle.  
Though she comes up from the wilderness, she comes up, not of her own strength, but leaning.  
First, Let us inquire what the expression holds out to us.  
Secondly, What is the soul's hand.  
Thirdly, Who is it she leans upon.  
Fourthly, What in him she hath to trust to, and how in every wilderness she leans, and out of every wilderness comes up leaning.  
I conceive, here are four things hinted in this expression leaning, which I may term the four fingers of the Spouses hand, which she lays upon her Saviour's shoulders.  
First, It doth argue that the soul is weary, otherwise she would not lean.  
Secondly, It is a willing posture; I am not forced to lean, I do it willingly: The soul that comes up with Christ is willing.  
Thirdly, It is a posture of love; Otherwise she would not lean.  
Fourthly, It doth argue a confidence that the soul hath in the Lord, that he is able to bear her; Otherwise she would not trust the weight of her soul upon him.  
First, it doth argue weariness; If she were not weary she would not lean. Humiliation is a preface to faith, and the way to be found is to be lost. It is not a leaning of wantonness, but a leanning of weariness. O Lord, I am sinking into Hell, let me save myself from sinking by thy shoulders; I am falling, Lord let me lean; whiles the soul hath any strength to go, it is too proud to be beholden to lean; Come unto me ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will ease you, Mat. 11.29. First, weary, then come: First, heavy laden; then I will ease you: What shall I do to be saved (saith the Jailor?) O I am lost! undone! I am at a Nonplus! O what shall I do? I am weary! for I am fare readier to believe, that that Voice, What shall I do? is rather the Voice of the soul (at its nil ultra) sadly sensible of its lost and miserable condition, sufficiently humbled in the sense of it, than the voice of a soul, thinking it might do any thing that might be but in the least contributory to the desert of salvation. I cannot be persuaded, to think, that when the Jailor spoke those words, prostrated by humiliation at the Apostles feet, that he had the least thought that he could throw in so much as two mites into the Treasury of free grace. But as it is the ordinary speech of one drowned in the depth of sorrow; O what shall I do? What shall I do? though at that instant they know they can do nothing to help themselves: So the Gaoler, in a true sense of his own lost condition, cries out, O what shall I do? he was weary, it was time for the Apostle to bid him lean, then believe (saith the Apostle) and thou shalt be saved. It is but a wresting of the place, or mocking it rather, to bring it to persuade that duties preparatory were here excluded. Surely, had not the Apostles seen him humbled in some degrees, they would as well have prefixed Repent here, as Peter did to them, Act. 2. Repent, and be baptised. Christ came not to call the Righteous, but sinners to repentance. He is a Saviour, but it is for them that are lost in their own feeling too. And the truth of it is, the soul scorns to lean upon Christ so long as it is able to go alone, when it hath never a crutch of merits or duties to rest upon, than it looks out for some rest for its foot, for some shoulder to bear up, for some staff to stay itself upon. Leaning doth argue weariness, that's the first.  
Secondly, It doth argue a willingness in the soul to come to Jesus Christ; Leaning is not a forced action. Indeed (as I said before) Christ first works this willingness; he it is that gives us power to will, and it is by his power that we are willing, as it is written, 
Psa. 110.3.  They shall be willing in the day of my power; But he doth not let us lean before we are willing. Leaning is an action proceeds from the will, Who is this cometh up leaning?  
Thirdly, leaning doth argue love; who leans upon his enemies? I will not lean upon one whom I cannot trust, I must have some good thoughts of his love. The soul that leans upon the Lord Jesus Christ loves Christ, that Faith, that pretended dependency of any upon Christ, that proceedeth not out of a principle of love, groweth out of a false root; the loving soul is only the truly believing soul. Leaning is a loving posture, that is the third.  
Fourthly, It doth argue fiduciam, a resting, a trusting the soul upon Christ; he that leans upon another reposeth his whole weight, trusteth his whole strength upon him: He doth as much as say, well, I know I cannot go alone, I cannot stand; but I will trust myself, upon thy strength will I lean, if I fall, I fall: So the soul that comes up out of the wilderness of sin to the Lord Jesus Christ, doth repose its whole weight upon the Lord Christ, it says, O Lord, I am a great and grievous sinner, I am not able to stand upon mine own legs, but I trust my soul upon thy arms; thou hast mercies, and great mercies, and free mercies, if I fall, I fall; if be damned, I am damned; here I will lean. And here you have the second thing plain, viz,  
Secondly, The soul's hand with which she leans upon Jesus Christ for salvation, and these 4. things which I have hinted from this expression, leaning, are as the four fingers of the hand of Faith. And we may thus give a description of it.  
Faith is the hand of a soul which God hath humbled, whereby the soul being not able to stand alone, nor daring to trust to any thing else, and being made willing by God, out of a principle of love, lays hold upon Jesus Christ, and trusts, and rests itself upon him for her salvation. And that leads me to the third thing I propounded, the Person upon whom she leans, the text renders it, Her beloved; or as I conceive, the old Translation better, Her well-beloved: The Latin dilectum suum, him that is her conjugally beloved.  
This is the last Branch of the doctrine, That though the believing soul comes up from the wilderness leaning, yet she will only lean upon her beloved, and he only can and will bear her.  
We know, that whosoever leans, must have a person to lean upon. Secondly, There must be a capacity in this arm to bear her, some strength, yea, there had need to be a great deal to hold up the weight of a soul. First, let us inquire who the Person is, rendered in the Text dilectum, Her well-beloved; in plain terms her Husband, one that hath more than an ordinary portion of her love.  
Here are five things hinted in this Expression.  

1. It is one whom she loves. The word signifies a special sort of love; and every greater includes a less.  
2. One that she is married to, he is well-beloved, her dearest love; not charum, but dilectum; one that hath a title to her.  
3. Her Beloved, not another's Beloved.  
4. Her Beloved, He that is her Beloved, not who was her Beloved.  
5. Her Beloved, not her Beloved's.   
First, It is one whom she loves. This I hinted at before; it is a principle of love that draws the Soul to lean upon the Lord Jesus Christ. The hatred of herself, hath bred the love of her Saviour in it. And no Soul loves Christ more than that which loathes itself most. When the soul shall consider what a Brand for Hell it was in its original, how worthless a worm it is, how basely it hath dealt by God, trampling upon his rich offers of Grace, scorning his Invitations. And again consider, that God hath no need at all of it; But if it were burning in hell, could be as glorious as in its Salvation, and yet would be pleased to pour out his precious blood for it, yet so unworthy: To woo the Soul that hath need of him, and yet never prays to him, nor ever was a suitor for mercy; This breeds love in the Soul: And the more the Soul sadomes her own misery, the more yet she loves and admires the Lord's mercy, and loving thus, she leans upon him.  
Secondly, It is one that she pleads some title to, and interest in, she calls him hers. Christ is the Bridegroom of the Soul, and the Soul is Christ's Bride. Beloved, in all this Song is taken for the highest degree of love, and nearest relation, conjugal love, therefore Christ elsewhere calls her his Sister, his Spouse; she hath a title to, and interest in him, possession of him; and in another place, I am my welbeloveds, and my well-beloved is mine. She is his, and he is hers: they have a propriety each in other. But suppose we should put the Spouse to prove her title to him, What is thy Beloved more than another's Beloved? Or, why is he thy Beloved (O believing soul) more than the Beloved of another? show thy title to him: And again, why is she Christ's more than another? Why should the believer monopolise Christ? and how came Christ to be hers? she is his, and he is hers by right of gift, her heavenly Father hath given her unto him; hence is that Phrase of her Saviour's Prayer, John. 17.9. All that the Father hath given me, and I pray for them that thou hast given me. She hath given herself to him, Cant. 1.2. Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for his love is better than wine. She hath said, Draw me, and I will run after thee; ay, and he hath given himself to her; he hath given his grace unher, Gal. 1.6. And his glory unto her. The glory which thou hast given me I have given them. Her Beloved by right of gift. 2. She is his, and he is hers, by right of bargain and sale. The Ancients had three ways to get themselves wives; by gift, purchase, or desert. The Fathers sold their Daughters, and the Bridegroom bought his Bride, he gave a Dowry for her. Hence when Sechem had a mind to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, he says, Ask me what Dowry thou wilt, and I will give it thee. Christ hath bought his Beloved; hence (saith the Apostle) He hath paid a price for us. A bloody price: more than all the world was worth. But he would have her because he delighted in her, and so she is his, and he is hers, by right of purchase.  
3. She is his Beloved, and he is hers, by right of desert, she deserved not him, but he deserved her. This was a third way by which the Ancients got them wives, by some gallant exploit, or great service. Their wives were sometimes given them for wages; Jacob served 14. years for Rachel, Gen. 29.17. David for his Sovereign's daughter, encountered great Goliath; and afterwards rob the Philistines of their foreskins: he paid more for her, than she proved to be worth. By this right, the believing soul is the beloved of Christ, he hath served a long service for her; not fourteen, but above thirty years, he hath vanquished the Goliahs of our souls, and hath conquered our Spiritual Enemies.  
4. He is hers, and she is his, by right of possession, he dwells in her, and she dwells in him. The second person in the Trinity is an inmate with the believing soul, He dwells under the roof of her heart, He hath a chamber in the soul, and hath pitched his tent within her, and she is in him too, united each unto other, this is very plainly expressed, Gal. 2.20. I live, but yet not I, but Christ lives in me. I am the Carcase, Christ the Soul; the soul moveth the body, so Christ moves my soul; I move not from any principle in myself, but from a principle of Grace. The life I live in the flesh, I live by the life of the Son of God who dwelleth in me, who loved me, and gave himself for me. Thus you see she may well call Christ her Beloved, and Christ may well call her his Beloved, He hath a propriety in her, and she hath a propriety in him also; he hath married her, and dwells with her, yea, and in her, dilectum suum, her wellbeloved indeed.  
Thirdly, It is her beloved, not another's beloved. Every soul hath a Beloved; the Drunkard hath his beloved cups; the wanton hath his beloved Queans; the Covetous person his beloved gold; The soul that leans upon Christ, goes not a whoring after other Gods. The Spouse of Christ leans not upon the Papists beloved merits, nor upon the Turks beloved Mahomet, nor upon the Pharisees beloved duties, nor upon the Idolaters beloved Saints; she says, Abraham knows her not, and Israel is ignorant of her, 
Isa. 63.16.  but the Lord is her Father, Christ is her Redeemer, and her Maker, her Redeemer, is her Husband, Creator tuus est sponsus tuus. Her beloved, not another's Beloved.  
Fourthly, He that is her Beloved, not that which was her Beloved. She once loved her sins, and her lusts were the beloved's of her soul. The name of Baalim was in her mouth; her lusts were her Lords, and they ruled over her. But now the name of Baalim is taken out of her mouth: she calls the Lord Ishi, God alone is her beloved. Sin was the dearly beloved of her soul, but now she calls sin no more Naomi, she calls it Marah; that which was once the sweetness, is now the bitterness of her soul, she takes no pleasure in it▪ no, nor doth she account her duties her beloved; she useth them, but she dares not trust her soul upon them; she dares not plead any desert in them though once perhaps she had a Pharisaical conceit, that her duties would be her healing, yet when she comes to the Lord Christ to lean upon his Arm, though she useth duties, and is as full of Prayer and humiliation as ever, she knocks her hand upon her breast, and cries she is a sinner. Oh, but what remedy? the knocking her hand upon her breast she knows cannot save her; no, for that, God be merciful to her, she leans upon Christ, that is her now Beloved, not upon any duties, or any other merits that was before her Beloved.  
Fifthly, Her beloved, not her beloved's, The soul that comes to the Lord Jesus Christ loves him intensely, and as she loves him best, so she loves him only. As nothing shall have her whole heart, so neither will she divide her heart betwixt him and another: he shall have her heart, and he only shall have her heart, and he shall have her whole heart too; she dare trust her strength upon Christ, and upon him alone: she desireth only to be found in the Lord Jesus, who is her Bridegroom; she is a Virgin, not a Whore; she leans not upon Christ with one hand, and her own Merits with another, no, nor dares she lean upon the Merits of another; she durst not trust the weight of her soul upon the wings of an Angel, nor to the Prayers of a Saint; she relies upon God, and upon God only. The Papists lean upon Christ, but not upon him alone: she knows it will be a dishonour both to her and her husband, to take any thing in partem amoris, to share with her husband in his love; she will keep her honour in being the wife of one Husband.  
And so I have showed you how she leans, what is her hand, who it is she leans upon, what title she hath to him, what rules she observeth in her leaning. I have but one thing more, and that is, to show you what strength there is in the Lord Christ's shoulders to bear her; how she leans even in every wilderness, and what fullness of strength there is in her husband's arm to keep her up from falling.  
The first wilderness you may remember was the wilderness of sin: Here the Spouse cannot be said properly to lean upon her beloved, for she wants the hand of faith to lay hold upon Christ, and indeed she is not weary: yet I do not know why in some sense, even in this estate, the elect soul is not beholding to free grace; he is her Christ here, though he hath not yet manifested himself to be her Jesus, her Saviour. The elect soul in sin is elect, and decreed to be saved, though she be not declared to be elect; she is beloved in decree, though God hath not actually manifested his love unto her: he is not her beloved, but the soul is his beloved, not actually but decretally, he hath thoughts of good to her, but his thoughts are kept within himself, till he is pleased to reveal them to her at his best time: she is his beloved, though there be no correlation, she is in his thoughts, his Spouse, aye, and positively, not conditionally. The Arminians falsely dream of God's conditional decrees, because they comprehend not the ways of God: Believing is necessarily required, yet it was not a condition in God's decree: The soul is his beloved, though yet there be no correlation, though she be not his wife yet, yet she is intended for his wife. To speak according to the ways of men, I may intent to make a woman my wife, before I actually declare my intentions to her; she is my wife in my determinations and thoughts before I woo her, though not actually my wife b●fore I have wooed her, and she hath ●●elded too, there lies only this difference, my determination must be but conditionally, if she will accept of my proffered love: There lies a power in her to refuse. We may therefore make the simile a little higher; A great Emperor buyeth a woman that is a slave which he intends to marry, and will, whether she will or no; yet he will woo her, and if it be possible marry her will, as well as her person; yet whether she will or no, he will and may marry her, for she is his purchase, she is his wife in his determination before he hath married her. But yet even this simile is lame. (Every simile, comparing the ways of God, with the ways of man, must at least halt of one foot) for though this Emperor hath power to force the woman's body to the action, yet he hath no power to force her will, to be willing to the action, The will is always independent, sui juris; but God hath power, not only to marry the soul, which he hath bought from being a slave to the Devil, but to make her willing to marry him; yet she is in Christ's decree his Spouse, before he hath actually revealed his decree unto her: so though strictly and properly the soul cannot be said to lean upon Christ in the wilderness of sin, yet she may be said to be beholden unto the Lord Christ, and that thus:  
1. Every soul hath the like principles of corruption, and would act to the full of its depraved operations, were it not for Gods preventing and restraining grace, She is beholding unto God for his preventing and restraining grace, though here she is merely passive.  
Secondly, She is beholden unto God for his exciting grace. The soul hears, and fasts and prays, meditates of her own sad condition though for the substance of the action it is her own, yet it is Gods exciting grace makes her willing to hear, fast, pray, though not his special saving-grace, yet his common grace: But this is not the leaning meant in the Text she leans here upon Christ, but not upon Jesus [a Saviour] upon God, but not as her Beloved. And here the soul is brought into a second wilderness.  
2. The wilderness of Sorrow, Contrition, Repentance, call it what you please, though I know the later term Repentance, be controverted by some.  
Yet I know not why we may not say, That a man may repent without saving-grace. And for that Repentance which they say must be the effect of faith, If I were a School-man, I should rather call it Godly Sorrow, but I desire not to play upon terms: And for their defining Repentance, To be a sorrow for sin out of the sense of the love of God revealed in Jesus Christ, it is a definition they have devised for their own purpose; And give them their premises according as they please, they would be poor Logicians if they made the conclusion to displease them: For from hence they argue, If the love of God be the ground and cause of Repentance [viz. the love of God manifested and sensible to us, we having apprehended it by faith] the special love of God, than faith must go before Repentance, viz. an apprehension of Gods saving love, and reliance upon it. But I answer, the definition which they give us of Repentance is deceitful; it is a definition of a Species in stead of a Genus (as we say in Logic) As some unwary Divines define Faith, to be an assurance of God's love in jesus Christ. This is true, but this is a faith of the highest stamp, and many a precious soul is without this faith to his dying day.  
Faith of adherence is another thing; as if I should go to define a man to be a reasonable creature, skilled in all sorts of Learning, Any man would understand me, that I did not go about to describe a man in general, but this or that particular man. And I say once again, if I were a School-man, I should rather call this A godly sorrow, and define Repentance in general to be A sorrow for sin, there is the genus and differentia: Or if there be required a fuller definition with the ground, though I conceive such a definition would be more proper to give of Repentance in its several kinds, than of Repentance in general; yet we may give it thus, It is a sorrow for sin, arising out of the fear of God's wrath, or apprehensions of God's love. And I know not, why we may not say, That a man may repent without saving grace. Bishop Davenant says, A man by exciting the grace of God, may Peccata propria considerare, ad sensum corundem expavescere, & liberationem ab hoc metu exoptare, tremble for his sins, and mourn for them, and desire deliverance out of them, and if this be not Repentance, I know not what is, (not taking Repentance for the whole work of conversion, as sometimes it is taken in Scripture, but) taking Repentance for a weariness of sin and sorrow for it.  
But those of our Brethren here (that are so afraid of Babylon, that they will run quite beyond Jerusalem, so afraid of being Arminians, or Papists, to ascribe any desert to duties, or tie that God hath to concur with our duties, that they are resolved they will not be sober Protestants; So afraid of being Heterodox, that to avoid it, they will not be Orthodox,) tell us, that this is a legal, not a saving Repentance. It sounds ill to distinguish between a legal and saving Repentance. I will digress a little to rend this Figleaf, being all they have to cover the nakedness of their opinion: I would feign understand that term, saving Repentance, in what sense they take it; the Scripture warrants no such distinction.  
1. If they mean by saving Repentance, such a repentance as merits Salvation, or such a Repentance as God is tied necessarily to concur with, with his saving grace, I say, no Repentance can be saving repentance. No Repentance (saith Learned Davenant) can so dispose the heart, Ut ex merito c●ngrui teneatur Deus gratiam cuiquam infundere.  
2. If they mean by saving Repentance, such a repentance, as of itself without any more ado shall be sufficient to Salvation, I say again, no Repentance can be called a saving Repentance. For, Without Faith, it is impossible to please God.  
3. If they mean by saving Repentance, a repentance that conduceth to Salvation, I say, this kind of Repentance (let them call it legal, or what they please) is a saving Repentance.  
4. If they mean by saving Repentance, such a repentance as is wrought ordinarily in such as shall be saved, I say, in that sense this Repentance is a saving Repentance.  
Now, Whether it ought not to be preached, as Well from law as Gospell-motives, is a question lies not in my way to determine; only I here my Saviour (though he were Gospel itself) preaching it from a Law-motive, Luk. 13.2. Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Let the unprejudiced Reader judge, if damnation be not there preached as a terrible motive to Repentance: Surely I then may learn to preach from the Best of Preachers, and preach, Repent, or you will go to Hell; Repent, or you will be damned, as well as Repent, because God hath loved you: Yea, and John too preached repentance as well because The axe was la●d to the root of the tree, and whatsoever tree brought not forth good fruit, should be hewn down and cast into the fire, as because The Kingdom of Heaven was at hand. I dare not learn contrary to Christ, and the Baptists Copy; I will preach Mercy and Judgement: The Law and the Gospel go well together, let me not be accursed for separating what God hath joined. But  
Lastly, I conceive, We cannot call any Repentance saving Repentance, till the work of conversion be wrought fully in our souls. Nay, I make a question, whether any man (without the grace of Assurance) can properly call his Repentance saving Repentance, till he comes in Heaven. And for my own part, I am full in the Negative. But I have digressed too fare, to convince some (who I fear are not so willing to suffer the word of conviction, as I to speak it.)  
We left the Spouse in the second wilderness, The wilderness of sorrow, 'tis time we now return to her, and comfort her, and show you how she comes out of that, leaning upon her Beloved.  
Here now the beloved Soul is mourning like a Turtle, and crying, O what shall I do to be saved? I am lost! oh, how shall I find the way out of this wilderness? O my sins pull me back! I cannot set a step forward! Sin trips up my heels. The Devil tells me I am his; and my sins bear witness to his words? Now she that is not the Spouse of Christ, sinks in these mighty wateres, she sinks to hell in despair, is quite lost, if once she comes into them: But he that said not one of those whom his father had given him should perish, seeing the poor soul like Peter, (Mat. 14.30.) that thought to have trodden upon those waters, sinking in them, and crying, Lord save me or else I perish! when he sees such a poor soul's ship in which he is, though he seems to sleep, tossed in these bitter waves, when the tempest ariseth, and hearing the soul in this Agony, crying out, Master save me or else I perish, now he gins to arise, and stretch out his shoulder for the soul to lean upon, speaks, and rebukes the winds, and calms the busy tempests; when the Whale of sorrow hath sallowed up these Jonahs', ●nd they are in the bottom of the Sea in the Whale's belly, they cry, their God hears, and causeth the Whale to vomit them out on the dry land. Me thinks that voice of Jonah, is the voice of every penitent soul, Jonah 2. The soul cries by reason of her affliction unto the Lord, and the Lord hears her; out of the belly of hell she cries, and he hears her voice, for he hath cast her into this deep, into the midst of the Seas, and the floods compass her about, and all the billows, and the waves passed over her. Then the soul saith, I am cast out of the Lords sight, yet I will look again towards his holy Temple: The waters compass her about, even to the soul, the depths closed round about her, the weeds were wrapped about her head; she went down to the bottom of the mountains, the earth with her bars was about her, yet her Lord her God brings up her life from corruption: when her soul faints within her she remembers the Lord, and her prayers come unto him, even into his holy place. And when the soul is in this wilderness, in the deeps of sorrow, than her Beloved doth throw her his shoulder of supporting grace to lean upon: that she saith as David, Psal. 94.17, 18. Unless the Lord had been my help, my soul had almost dwelled in silence, when I said my foot slippeth, thy mercy Lord held me up. When the soul cries, I am drowned! Then the Lords mercy holds her up: No (saith God) thou art not drowned, here is a cord of mercy for thee to lay hold upon, and I will draw thee out by it. Here is my hand, be still O ye waves, this soul is mine. When the soul is burdened with sins, laden with the sense of them; and in the sad apprehension of them, cries out, my burden is too great for me to bear; I sink, I sink under it; then Christ looks out of the heavens, and says, Cast thy burden upon the Lord (man) and he shall sustain thee; 
Psal. 55.22.  or, Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will ease you, Mat. 11.29. The supporting grace of God is the Anchor of the soul, which stays the Ship of the soul when a tempest of sorrow arises & the waves beat upon it.  
Now this Anchor hath two flukes.  
The first, is her Beloved's mercy's and merits.  
The second, is her Beloved's promises. When she is in this sad wilderness of sorrow, her Beloved gives her a staff of merits, and mercy, and free grace to lean upon, and a clue of promises to lead her out of this Labyrinth: and the mercies and merits of her Beloved, have two hooks, both which take fast hold to stay her soul.  
1. The fullness of them.  
2. The freeness of them.  
First, the fullness of them. The soul cries out, O I am damned: Christ suggests to her: But didst thou never hear of one that came to save those which were in their own apprehension damned? I deserve to die everlastingly, saith the soul; oh! but did not he die for thee, that deserved to live everlastingly, (saith Christ?) I deserve infinite torments, (saith the soul) Oh! but are not thy Christ's mercies infinite mercies, (saith God?) Thy mercy held me up. My sins have cried up to heaven, (saith the soul;) O, but my mercies are above the heavens, (saith Christ) Psal 108.5. My sins are more in number than the hairs of my head, (saith the soul,) but my mercies (saith Christ) are more in number than the sand which lies on the Sea shore, Psal. 139.17, 18. My sins have abounded, (saith the soul;) but my grace hath much more abounded, (saith Christ) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Rom. 5.20. O, but my heart is as hard as Iron, and the face of my sins like Brass, (saith the soul;) but that God that made the Leviathan, is as strong as the Leviathan. He esteems Iron as straw, and Brass as rotten wood. My sins are many (saith the soul;) but were their name Legion, (saith Christ) I could cast them out. O, but I am an old sinner, I have a mountain of sins; But my mercies are from everlasting (saith Christ,) so are not thy sins, and I came to level Mountains, Luke 3.4. The more old thou art, the more glory shall my free grace have, all the world shall see, I do not pardon thee for any service thou canst, or wilt do me, thou must ere long lie down in the grave. Thus the soul in this wilderness of sorrow, leans upon the fullness of God's mercies.  
But secondly, there must be freeness, as well as fullness, or else what hath the soul) I know that the least drop of Christ's blood is fully able to wash away all my guilt: But, what have I to do with Christ? I am a poor creature! the fit object for divine charity: what dowry have I for Christ to marry me? Because thou hast nothing, therefore I will do it (saith Christ) If thou hadst any thing that thou thoughtest riches, I would not have married thee (saith Christ.) Thou art mistaken in my thoughts, I do not marry thee because thou art rich, but because I have a delight in thee, and have an intention to make thee rich, Hos. 14.4. I will heal their back-slidings, I will love them freely, Ezek. 16.7, 8▪ 9 Now the soul being fully persuaded of this, that Christ is full of mercy, and able to pardon her, and free in his mercy, therefore willing to forgive her, and desiring nothing for her pardon, but to live like a Spouse in his sight, gins to lean, believing he will pardon her: But yet saith the soul, I could desire to see it under Christ's hand; I think I could take his word now.  
So she leans upon Christ's promises, which are as the other Fluke of this Anchor. Now says the soul, O that I might have it but under Christ's hand, that my sins (which I am scarce able to think can be pardoned) may be pardoned, though I stayed his leisure for the sealing of it. Here she inquires for Promises, and Precedents. Did ever Christ promise (saith the Soul) to pardon such a scarlet, crimson sinner as I am? Yes, I have (saith Christ) look Isa. 1.18. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as snow, though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool: and so Isa. 55.6, 7. I will have mercy upon you, I will abundantly pardon you, Mat. 11.29. O, but where hath Christ promised freely to dispense these mercies (saith the soul?) Christ turns her again to Isa. 51.1, 2, 3. Ho every one that thirsteth, come buy of me without money, or mony-worth: But secondly, where did he ever pardon such a sinner as I am (saith the soul?) Christ puts her in mind of Mary Magdalen, Manasses. O, but where one that was so near hell as I am (saith the soul) an old sinner? the thief upon the Cross (saith Christ.)  
Now it must not be understood, that Christ Jesus should reveal these Promises Audibly to the soul, but  
1. Either sets his Ministers a work to declare his Charters of Grace, and read the soul's pardon.  
2. Or else he suggests into the soul such promises in such a seasonable time, which must be taken as the voice of God to that soul. Thus the soul furnished with precedents, trusting upon promises, wipes her eyes, comes out of the wilderness leaning upon her blessed Saviour, and saying, O my sweet Saviour! thou that hast drawn me from the pit of hell, and hast reached out thy arm for a worthless lost worm, to lean upon thee. I dare believe thee. I now roll my soul upon thee, I am shipwrackt, but thou art my harbour; and now, O, what shall I do for thee? O my God I am sick of love! Thou hast ravished my heart! I am thine, I am thine. Thus have I shown how the soul comes out of the wilderness of sin, and sorrow, leaning upon her Beloved. And here the ship is in harbour, but yet ever and anon she is tossed still, persecuted, though not forsaken: This is the most dangerous wilderness; afterwards she is often in the corner of a Desert. I must show you how even then she leans, and how out of them she comes leaning upon her Beloved. She is always a dependent creature; she leans when ever she is wearied.  
The third Wilderness therefore is the wilderness of afflictions; in this she leans; out of this she comes leaning upon her Well-beloved, [id est,] in afflictions she leans. Christ is her comfort in her saddest troubles; She leans upon him, viz. upon his supporting grace: Thy rod and thy staff comforted me, Psal. 23. The staff held him up, while the rod was upon his back. The rod was a comfort because of the staff; the more he had of the rod, the more he had of the staff also. In afflictions, the believing soul leans upon God, and says, Lam. 2.20. Behold O Lord, for I am in distress: Out of the belly of Hell she cries, as Ionas, chap. 2.  
First, She believes, that she shall suffer no more than she is able to bear, 2 Cor. 12.9. My grace shall be sufficient for thee. For God's strength is made perfect in the Christians weakness.  
Secondly, She believes, that she shall bear no more than shall be for her good, Rom. 8.28. All things shall work together for the good of those that love God. She hath a Promise or two here to lean upon also, Job 5. v. 19 He shall deliver thee in six troubles, yea in seven there shall no evil touch thee: And Isa. 43.2. When thou passest through the waters I will be with thee, and through the Rivers, they shall not over flow thee: when thou walkest through the fire thou shalt not be burnt, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. She comes out also leaning, trusting upon God as before, that he would help her out, if he saw best, or support her in: so when she is come out, she believes that God loves her never the worse; neither doth she love him any whit the worse, she cries, It is good for me that I was afflicted. When she is in, she believes she shall come out; and she cometh out with as much love to her God, and confidence in him, as ever she had before, not being weary of God's service, because he hath smitten her: She sees a smile in a smiting, favour in a frown, love in a lower, and she is resolved though he kills her, yet to trust in him: she comes out of this wilderness leaning.  
A fourth wilderness that the Spouse is in sometimes, is the wilderness of Temptations. Even in this she leans upon the Lord Jesus Christ. They were not the Spouses of Christ, The good ground, Luk. 8.13. Which when they heard, received the Word with joy, but having no root, for a time believed, and in time of Temptation fell away. The true Disciples are those that continue with Christ in tentations, Luke 22.18. First, they believe, that God who is faithful, will not suffer them to be tempted above that which they are able: But will with the temptation also make way to escape, that they may be able to bear it, 1 Cor. 10.13. They believe, in that himself suffered, being tempted, he is able to secure those that are tempted, 2 Heb. 18. The Saints that suffered many things were in many wildernesses, Heb. 11.37. Amongst the rest were in this also; and they all leaned, v. 39 They received a good report through faith. Yea, temptation is so fare from making a child of God let go his hold, that it makes him lay the faster hold, 1 Pet. 1.6, Though now for a season you are in heaviness, through manifold temptations; yet it is that the trial of your faith (being much more precious than of gold which perishes) though it be tried with the fire, might be found unto praise, and honour, and glory. In temptations they lean upon God; and they come out of these temptations leaning, believing upon God too, having found, that he is able, and knoweth how to deliver the godly out of all temptations, 2 Pet. 2.9.  
A fifth wilderness, in which the Spouse of Christ leaneth upon her Beloved, and out of which she cometh leaning, is the wilderness of desertion. And this is one of the saddest wildernesses that the Spouse of Christ comes in; and she hath an hard work to lean here, when Christ seemeth to pull away his shoulder: yet even here she leans. Christ himself did so: My God my God why hast thou forsaken me? Mark the phrase, Forsaken, yet not forsaken: the Bridegroom cries out, he was forsaken, yet my God. God's forsaking us is no ground for us to forsake him: If he seems not to own us, it is no warrant, nor policy in us not to own him. It is the duty of a pious soul, when God clouds himself, yet to cry, My God. The bowels of the father must yearn upon the child again, if the child cries, and will not shake him off. It is a remarkable expression of Job, chap. 13. ver. 15. Though he kills me, yet will I trust ïn him. How now? if thou be'st killed (blest Job) how canst thou trust? O immortal faith! that puttest Spirits of confidence in the dust and ashes of Job. Let God hid himself from the soul, and so kill it (For God's separation of himself from the Christians soul, is a worse death than the separation of his soul from his body) Yet the soul must trust in him, it must, it will lean upon him. The Spouse loseth not, but quickens her faith in a fit of desertion. That place of the Prophet is remarkable, Isa. 50. v. 10. Who is amongst you that feareth the Lord? that obeyeth the voice of his servant? that walketh in darkness and hath no light? let him trust in the Name of the Lord, and stay upon his God. They that fear the Lord, though they may walk in a dark wilderness, and see no such light as they were wont to see, have no such comfortable enjoyments of their God as they were wont to have, yet they will trust and rest themselves upon the Lord, and come out of this wilderness leaning.  
In all the wildernesses of this life, the Spouse will lean upon her Beloved, yea, and upon him alone, in all states, in all conditions, upon him for directing grace, upon him for quickening grace, upon him for whatsoever she hath need of, either pardon, or guidance, or direction, or assistance, or comfort, or heaven; at all times she must trust in the covert of his wings, for all blessings. The Spouse of Christ is a most dependent creature. The Babe of grace is never old enough to go alone, it hangs like a child upon the mother's hands, and leans like a Bride upon the Bridegroom's bosom.  
Thus have I done with the Doctrinal part, having showed you, how she hath had, and sometimes hath her dwelling in the wilderness; and how out of every wilderness she cometh up, but leaning, and what strength there is in her Saviour to bear her up leaning upon him, even in every wilderness. Who is this cometh up from the wilderness leaning upon her Beleved? Now let us see what use we may make of it.  
And first here may a word of reproof, and a brand of folly be fastened upon divers erroneous opinions and practices.  
First is it so that the Spouse of the Lord Christ, that comes, and is married to the Lord Christ, comes out of the wilderness of sin? Then this may reprove the error and folly of those that dream of heaven, and flatter themselves with the hopes of glory, but yet never regard coming out of this wilderness. Christ came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. These men dream of Heaven, and yet never think of Repentance. Christ came to seek and to save that which was lost (friend) how lost? what, insensibly lost, as all of us were by Nature? This is an idle construction that giddy headed Sectaries have of late devised to help themselves to heaven with. The Devils are so lost; yet Christ never came to save them. No no friend, it is those that are lost in their own apprehensions, those that know not what to dot o be saved, those that feel themselves even in the jaws of hell: he makes apprehensions of his wrath precede the apprehensions of his love. But woe, and alas! how many think they have a part in Christ, That the Devil hath as great a part in Christ actually as they have? Heaven is grown the common journeys end, and let men ride which way they list. Not the most debauched wretch in a Congregation, but ask him what he thinks shall become of him, if he dies in that condition: why he hopes he shall go to heaven; nay I wish he doth not say, he is sure of it too. All men are sinners: He is lost, but Christ came to seek and save that which was lost. Tell him of mourning for his sins, if he means to be comforted, of humbling himself, if he means to be exalted, of feeling hell, if ever he means to feel heaven: O then, you are a legal Preacher. Hear what the other side saith, what those you call Antinomian Preachers; O these are the only Gospell-preachers to them. This makes them to pass for such honest men: O they show a fine Cushion-way to Heaven! that you shall not need wet a foot or eye in: But let them preach what they will (friend) believe him, who (although he knows but little) yet knows you must go out of the wilderness if ever you come there. The way is, neither the Drunkard's Aleway, nor the Aoulterers' unclean way, nor the Covetous man his dirty way, nor the Ambitious man's high way, nor the Hypocrites hidden way, nor the Carnall-Gospellers formal way, nor the Antinomians easy way. It is a way through a wilderness, not a way in a wilderness: The Spouse is not described by her staying in the wilderness, but by coming out of the wilderness; Who is this cometh out of the wilderness?  
Secondly, Doth the Spouse of the Lord come out of a wilderness of sorrow, leaning upon her Beloved? First, she is in, than she cometh out; then this reproves the folly of those that preach men found before they were lost, and of those that dream of leaning before they are in the wilderness: The Spouse leans, but it is when she is coming out of the wilderness: Is there any that preacheth down a needlessness of duties, that mocks at mourners? that learn people a way to be found before they are lost? Examine the Scriptures before you trust them; under a pretence of exalting Faith, do they not cry down sorrow for sin? and all other duties? Nay, they do cry down the preaching of the Law, to bring men to see they are in the wilderness, that they might lean: Do they make you believe, that preaching the Law is a price of Antichristianism, and no one ought to preach it? And for their part, they will take heed of it, for fear of preaching away their hearers. O beware of this leaven! For my part, I cannot close with this novel Doctrine, when I consider,  
First, that this other way of preaching, hath been that which God hath most blest by his servants labours: Witness our Rogers, our Hooker, our Pious Shepherd; those three, to which many three may be added, though they will scarce come up to the first three. Those three Constellations of Heaven, that have more light to dark Travellers, that wandered in the night of sin while they shined in our Firmament, than all these Ignes fatui; mis-leading poor Travellers. Was ever any of these Leaders so honoured (though they have beat up the Drums almost in every street of the Kingdom for followers) as to gather such Troops of Saints to the Christian warfare, as these before mentioned? Did ever God honour their labours so much as these? who (poor souls!) shone in their days like lights under Bushels too, had only the corner of a Pulpit, or a Pulpit in some blind corner tolerated them. Nay, look upon these that have lately fallen into this Vein, and were Preachers of Gods whole truth before; was not their first fruits better, and more accepted of God than their harvest is now? Hath not God distinguished which way of preaching he will must honour, by making the first ripe grapes sweeter than the whole Vintage? were it only for this, And  
Secondly, For the constant experience of the Saints of God, let them speak their minds freely; hath not this been the way of their conversion? Have not the best Saints in Heaven cried out of the belly of Hell before God heard their voice? Was not Paul strucken down to the earth before he went in the Triumph of Glory? Did not the Jailor come in trembling, and fall at the Apostles feet, and cry, what shall I do to be saved; before they bid him believe, and thou shalt be saved. Neither can they evade it with saying, That trembling was not an humiliation for sin, but occasioned for fear his prisoners were gone. Lest people should wrest in that manner, The Holy Ghost hath cleared it to their hand; for before we read of his trembling, Paul had cried with a loud voice, vers. 28. Do thyself no harm for we are all here. Neither do we read, that he trembled for that at all; but like one struck senseless, and his spirits dead as it were, in a fit of desperate madness, was about with his Sword to let out his own blood. Now I say, were it no more then to hear such Doctrine, contrary to the Doctrine which God hath chief honoured in his Servants lips, by making it efficacious for the salvation of their souls, and contrary to the experience of the generality of God's Servants, if not contrary to the Preachers own former and better thoughts and practice, it would be sufficient to make me suspend my faith, from being too hasty to believe this new way to heaven: But it is enough to confirm me, to hear my Christ calling. Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will ease you. Before you are sensible of an heavy load you will need no ease, and to hear my Text speaking of leaning, but in a wilderness; Nay, it may be noted too, The Text saith, Who is this that cometh? Not who is this that jumpeth up from the wilderness; I cannot fancy this going to Heaven at a running jump, nor can I like this pressing faith without preaching repentance also: Faith is an act of an humble soul. Nor can the soul apprehend the beauty of Christ, and love Christ, before it apprehends it's own miserable conditions. The only harm this Doctrine doth, is to make poor souls presume, instead of believing, for alas! Tell an impenitent soul of believing, it apprehends it easy, because it doth not understand it, and runs upon a supposition, that it hath faith, when, alas, it believeth no more than the Devil believeth: sorrow for sin is better understood by a carnal heart than faith is; for the truth of it is, the humble soul only can tell what faith is: The other sees, neither the want they have of faith, nor yet the nature of that precious grace. Shall I tell you what pious M. Rutherford says concerning this.  
Faith (saith he) is bottomed upon the sense and pain of a lost condition; Poverty is the nearest capacity of believing. This is Faith's method, be condemned, and be saved; be hanged, and be pardoned; be sick, and be healed. Faith is a flower of Christ's only planting, yet it grows out of no soil, but out of the margin and bank of the lake, which burns with fire and brimstone— Antinomians (saith he again) make faith an act of a lofty Pharisee, applying, (immediato contactu) presently, his hot boiling and smoking lusts to Christ's wounds, blood, and merit, without any conscience of a precedent command, that the person thus believing should be humbled, wearied, loaden, grieved for his sins: I confess (saith he) This is hasty, hot work, but it is a wanton, fleshly, presumptuous opinion, that it is an immediate work to lay hold on the promises and be saved. In his Book of the Trial and Triumph of Faith, you hear the opinion of God's Servants, and the Text mentions a coming too; pedetentim, gradatim, little by little, step by step: Those that come, cannot go so fast as these, because they are weary and heavy loaden. Those that learn people to jump, must take away Math. 11.29. the heavy load of sins which the Spouse hath upon her shoulders, keeps her from that hasty motion that Antinomians make. I do not speak to limit the Almighty's power, but to show you his ordinary dispensations; not what he can do, but what he will do, what he hath used to do, and God ordinarily walks in his own paths, not in the paths our fancies make for him: we may look for God in his ordinary ways of Providence and dispensations of the soul; if he comes in a new way, it must be beyond our expectations; though not beyond our faith that he can do it, yet beyond our faith that he will do it. When we have no word to assure us, what shall faith be builded upon? God can turn midnight into midday, ipso facto: But we know in Gods ordinary course of Providence, first comes the dawning of the day, than the morning, than the noonday: God can take a soul and marry it, and never humble it, but where hath he promised it? where hath he done it? or if he hath done it, we say, one Swallow makes not a Summer, one example makes not a Rule, one precedent makes not a law. It is no rule for thee or me to trust in that, no more than the saving of the thief upon the Cross, might be a safe precedent for us to defer repentance till our dying day. Let thee and I learn to be humbled, to get broken hearts, to loathe ourselves, see our own misery. Sorrow is the ordinary door to joy, Humiliation the ordinary step to exaltation, Mourning for sin the only preface to Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, in God's ordinary way of dealing out grace. The Latin is full, Quae est illa quae ascendit, that ascends from the wilderness: Our Translation cometh up, implying an ascensive motion, 'tis her running up an hill. They that run up a mountain, if they run too fast, they may quickly run themselves out of breath: it is bad jumpping over a broad ditch (especially if it be drowning depth) for fear if we jump short we jump our last. It is a great jump from the bottom of Hell to Heaven, to take it at one leap. I wish, those that dare take it, do not fall short and drown themselves eternally. I had rather go up God's steps, then make such a hasty motion, God give me grace to ascend up the Saints stairs to the chambers of glory. Elijah was such a favourite to heaven, that God sent a coach for him; But those that will expect till that fiery Chariot be sent down for them too, I suppose may wait something a longer time than they desire. O beg of God to humble you, to pour out his spirit of mourning, and supplications upon you, this will learn you to believe (friends) It is the humbled soul only that construe that word Faith: it is Hebrew to others, it poseth the impenitent heart, Faith is a riddle to them: Christ finds his Spouse in the wilderness, and there he gives her his shoulder to lean upon: But,  
Thirdly, She cometh up leaning out of the wilderness.  
Is it the duty of a soul that is in a wilderness of affliction, or temptation, or desertion, to lean upon the Lord Christ? Then this may reprove those that are in these wildernesses, and yet cannot be persuaded to lean upon the Lord Christ: hence they cry out, O, faith is impossible! is it possible to believe that Christ will save me? me, that have scorned his salvation, and slighted his mercies? And because thou hast slighted mercy, wilt thou therefore still slight mercy? still refuse his offer of grace? Thou sinnest as much now in not believing there is mercy for thee, that hast despised mercy, as thou didst sin in despising that mercy. O why is it harder to rise up, then to cast down a soul? Why wilt thou not believe, O thou of little faith? Is the molehill of thy sins, like the mountain of his mercies? doth the voice of thy sins roar like the voice of his loving kindness? Is there any humbled soul before the Lord? O do not provoke God by thy infidelity now he hath made thee capable of faith: You that are Christians, for shame, in your several wildernesses of afflictions, temptations, and desertions, do not, O do not cast down your heads, and say, who shall show us any good? or if you do, say again with the Saint in the ensuing words, Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us: Believe in your depths of sorrow, believe in your most trying afflictions, most sadding temptations, most kill desertions, believe me, it is the greatest honour you can put upon the Lord Christ: And it is the greatest dishonour you can put upon your God, to have any diffidence in the Lords arms, any distrust in the Lords free grace. It is the property, nay, it is the duty of the Spouse to come out of wildernesses leaning.  
Fourthly, Doth she lean upon God before she can come? must he work the first motion to make her willing, before she can believe in him?  
Then how are those to be here reproved, that would make man's will to be the Author of its first motions unto God. Pelagius was a great defender of it. First he would hold, That the grace of God was not necessary, but by the law of nature we might be saved. 2. That the grace of God (which the Apostle speaks of) was only in giving the law of nature. 3. Driven from this, he would maintain, that the faculties of the soul, and their natural Actions was the grace of God, understood by the Apostle. Yet here is no leaning upon our Beloved. Afterwards he would maintain. 
* Si quaeratur an ex suis Naturalibus viribus anima aliquid afferat ad suam conversione, vel renovationem, vel aliquam facultate, vel actione, quae vel partiat is causa, vel quocunque alio modo appelletur, vere respondetur quod habet se merè passiuè. Chemni. in loc. de lib. Arbitr.  4. That the grace of God was necessary for sins past, but it was in the power of man's freewill, to avoid or commit sins for the time to come, and to resist rebellious corruptions. 5. After this, he would maintain, That some men indeed were weak, and must do all by the grace of God, others that were stronger might act good by their own will. But still only some Spouses lean. Lastly, he would maintain, (and the Arminians still from him:) That grace did indeed help a good work, but it had its first motion from our wills, or at least might have: and the will had a negative voice, and might resist and cross grace which did not work irresistably in the soul, to force the soul to him. 
* Quae de gratia Dei praeveniente, & praeparente, & operante traduntur, hunc babent sensum, quod non nostrae partes priores sunt in conversione, sed quod Deus per afflatum divinum praeveniat, post hunc autem motum, voluntatis divinae factum, voluntas humana, non habet se mere passiuè sed mota & adjuta, à spiritu sancto non repugnat sed assentitur. Ib.   

(a) Cassianus Monachus Pelagii Doctrinam amplexus est. Faustus Hormisda & Ben.  I would not rake up these graves, did not these ghosts walk in these our days, when every grave of Heresy is unboweled, and no one takes care to throw the dirt upon them again. Nay, and the Papists having been tainted with this Leven, the Sententiaries now tell us, 
(b) Hominis est preparare cor. Aqui. in Sum. Theo. Acquiescre & assentiri est nostrûm.  That a man without grace, merely by the strength of his free will, may avoid any mortal sin, and prepare himself for God's free grace, and fulfil the Commandments of God; Quoad substantiam actus, for the substance of the Act, 
(c) Quibus de congruo mereatur gratiam facientem. Scotus.  And another more impudently maintains, That a man without any grace of God (by the mere strength of nature) may do works morally good, yea, even such as God shall be bound to concur with, and give his special grace for. Even thus going back from their own great Rabbis, one of which was pleased to confess, 
(d) Homo sine gratiâ Dei non potest non peccare & mortaliter & venialiter, Lom.  That a man without the grace of God, could not but sin both mortally and venially. What is become here of the Beloved's leaning? but no more of these; only if you hear such Doctrines (as you may hear any thing in these days) believe them not.  

5. Spirities Sactus praevenit, movel & impellit voluntatem in conversione, non otiosam, sed attendentem verbo. Chemnit. Vel per speculationem somniorum, vel per simulationem oration is ill abi efficaciam. Spiritus Sancti. Vid. D. Featly. Dippers dipped.  Doth God move the will attendding him in duties, first? secondly, when the will is thus moved, doth it then come? when it is drawn, doth it run? Then this reproves the Enthusiasts of old, the Anabaptists, Antinomians, Seekers of our days, that hold, first, there is no need of duties. Enthusiasts of old affirmed, That for the receiving of the Spirit of Promise and saving grace, the Spirit of God was either infused to them in a dream, Vel per simulationem orationis: Ay, and the motions of the Spirit, were as sensible in their flesh as the beating of the pulse, so blasphemous were they grown; and thence they would lie, and gape for Revelations, and so indeed they may have a suggestion from the Devil, but scarce a Revelation from God. Oh! How in these days are men tainted with these lazy. Opinions! slighting duties, vilifying Sabbaths, neglecting Ordinances; that if poor people would truly now give account of their growth in grace, and of their learning godliness: many of them might truly. As the child that ye have heard a story, in the learning of its primer, boasted to the father that it had learned past grace. Is not this the miserable learning of our days? that men are grown past grace, past Prayer, past Ordinances, past all duties?  
6. Again what you have heard, that after the soul is drawn, than it comes, may show us the falseness of another Doctrine of Enthusiasm, too brief even in these days also: that the soul is merely passive, even after the work of conversion also, and is even then a mere stone. 
See the Book set out from the Ministers of New-England of the Heretics, etc. Post conversionem concurrit voluntas, non tamen quasi suis viribus adjuvet spirituales actiones. Semper addendum est non esse plenam libertatem, in sancto renato, sed virtutem in infirmitate perfici, Chemnit. Intelligant si filii Dei sint spiritu Dei se agi, ut quod agendum est agant, & cum egerint, ●lli, à quo aguntur gratias agant. Aguntur enim, ut agant, non ut ipsi nihil agant. Aug.  Draw me (saith the Spouse) and then, I will run after thee. Indeed, after our conversion, the will is but in part sanctified, and the Image of God in us will want of his first integrity, after it is renewed: but Christ's strength is perfected in our weakness; we must understand if we be the children of God, that God hath therefore wrought in us, that we might also work something, and when we have wrought it, give thanks to God, who hath made us to work; for God hath wrought in us, that we might work, not that we should be idle. Thus I have laboured to you to divide the Truth from Error; Now you have heard of the leaven of these Pharisees; take heed of it.  
In the next place, what you have heard, that the soul that comes to the Lord Jesus Christ, leans upon a new Beloved, not upon her old beloved's, may serve to reprove those that would feign plead a title to Christ and have a portion in Christ, but they will not take Christ alone: two sorts there are of these; The one cannot leave their old beloved's, and the other cannot trust this Beloved. O the wicked man would have his portion in Christ, if he might but have his lusts too, his pleasures, his profit; but to take Christ, alone, O this is such a hard saying that they cannot bear by any means; If Christ and his lusts would lie both in one bed, Christ at the feet, and his lusts at the head, than Christ should be as welcome as any thing to him; but he is loath to sue a divorce from this Beloved, he is loath to part with his old love for a new, till he seethe how he can love him; but at a venture he will take him in partem amoris. O wretch! flatter not thyself, if Christ be thy Beloved, he will endure no Polygamy; you must leave your sins, or be without Christ. The true Spouse leans upon her Beloved; not upon her Beloved's, upon her now Beloved, she forsakes her old.  
Lastly, this may serve to reproove,  
1. Those that would lean upon Christ, but they dare not trust their souls upon Christ alone. Forsooth he will be the Spouse of Christ, but he must lean upon Christ with one hand, and his good works with the other. The whore of Babylon commits adultery with herself.  
2. Under this lash comes a better rank of people, that when God hath showed them their own sinful, sad condition, they do not only perform duties, pray, and mourn, and repent, and be humbled, all which they ought to do, but they are ready to rest in them, and make them their Beloved: It is natural to the soul, that God hath made to loathe its sins, to love its duties; it finds duties almost as consentaneous to its nature, as sins were before; and it is too ready to think that its saving, or damning, depends upon such a quantity of tears, and humiliation: Hence, you hear souls in this condition, often complaining; Oh! I could believe, if I were humbled enough, if I could but mourn enough. This soul doth well to be sensible of the hardness of its own heart; and it is too true, it can never mourn, it can never be humbled enough. But it doth ill to think that free grace stints its operation, and blessed influence, to such a quantity of tears, if it be humbled enough, to see its want of Christ. The water runs through the river, that is the way to the Sea, but it doth not rest in the river, but with a swift and continued motion, runs betwixt the banks, till it comes, and is swallowed up in the Sea: Even so the soul ought to run through duties, but not to rest betwixt the banks of duties, but to run through, till it come to the Sea of free grace, where it will be swallowed up of infinite mercy; and our imperfections will be drowned in his infinite perfection; we ought to take duties in our way to Christ, but not to make duties our Jesus. God hath ordained that they should sit us for him; but it is written, My glory will I not give to another. The glory of the Lords free grace, is his greatest glory; he will not give that to any other: None shall share with him in his Spouses love, he is a jealous Saviour. The Spouse leans upon her Beloved, not Beloved's: Thus I have done with my use of reproof.  
The next use is for examination, here may every one try himself whether he be the Spouse of the Lord Jesus Christ, or no: Even by what hath been already said; I will reduce it all to three heads:  
First, Examine thyself, whether thou be'st out of the wilderness of sin, yea, or no.  
Secondly, Whether thou wert, or art in any other wilderness, yea, or no.  
Thirdly, What was, or is thy demeanour in these wildernesses thou hast been, or art in, and how hast thou come, or dost thou come out.  
Examine whether thou be'st not in the wilderness of sin, yea, or no: It was given as the Character of the Spouse, to come out of this wilderness. O, but how shall I know that? (will the soul say.) I will name two or three notes, by which thou mayst suspect thyself as from probabilities.  
1. The wilderness, it is an incult place; a place where the soil was never tilled, it is hard almost as a millstone; the overgrown Trees were never pruned, the unruly boughs never lopped, the bushes never cut or stubbed: dost thou find thy heart in such a condition, that it is as hard as ever; neither judgement breaks it, nor mercy melts it, the fallow ground of it is not ploughed, nor the seed of righteousness sown in it? Thy unruly lusts are not tamed, thy life is as much overgrown with sin as ever it was: thy sins were never yet cut off from the body of thy life. O friend! suspect thyself; Thou mayest justly fear, yea, and know too, that thou art not the Spouse of Christ, thou art in the wilderness, in thy natural estate.  
Secondly, The wilderness is a barren place, it brings forth no corn for the sickle, no wholesome fruit, no grapes for man's ; for can a man gather grapes of thistles, or figs of thorns? No pastures wholesome for the beasts. The fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, Joel 1.19. And God complained that Nineveh was dry like a wilderness, Zeph. 2.13. Art thou a barren, and unfruitful creature, that dost nothing for God? thy heart is a barren heart, no seeds of good are sown there; thy tongue is a barren tongue, no good words come out thence; thy whole soul a barren soul; not a good action upon the record of thy life. Indeed, no soul can be barren, the soul is of a working nature; but sinful works are unfruitful works (in the Apostles language.) The unfruitful works of darkness, and what fruits had ye of those things, whereof you are now ashamed? God's Spouse is a fruitful creature, Gal. 5.22. The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, etc. A barren soul is always a wildernesse-soule. Those that are borne of God, bring forth fruits unto God.  
Thirdly, thou mayest know whether thou be'st in the wilderness or no, by the company thou delightest in: It is a known rule, Noscitur ex socio qui non dignoscitur ex se.  
He that is a wildernesse-creature, loves wildernesse-company; the Wolves, and Bears, and Foxes: but he that is out, keeps the company of men; dost thou love the wildernesse-company? the swinish drunkard, the politic Fox, the malicious Lion, the venomous liar and slanderer, the lascivious wanton, more than the Children of God? Oh suspect thyself l By this we know (saith John) that we are translated from death to life if we love the Brethren. Lazarus when he was raised from the grave, we do not read he went to keep the dead men company again: those that God hath raised from the death of their sins, live amongst living men, and delight in living men's company. Thus examine whether thou be'st come out of the wilderness of sin, or no.  
Secondly, As coming out of the wilderness is a sign of the child of God: so being in the wilderness, is likewise a note whereby thou mayest know thyself. God's Spouse comes out of one wilderness into another, out of the wilderness of sin into the wilderness of sorrow, and out of that to their Saviour. wouldst thou know whether thou art found, or no; Examine whether thou wert lost or no: Wouldst thou know whether ever thou wert a believer; examine whether ever thou wert a penitent, or not. This is God's ordinary way; thence he complains of his people, that they would not repent, that they might believe in him. Dost thou find God in another manner of working in thy soul? bless God for it; and if thy title be good to heaven, which will be known by thy walking with God, believe me, God hath used thee kindly, heaven hath cost thee cheaper than it costs many a poor soul; and walk humbly before God, because he hath not humbled thee under his mighty hand, as he hath done many another poor creatures: And though I would not condemn those that plead their title to heaven this way, for fear I should condemn the generation of the righteous, yet believe me, I should suspect it in my own cause. They that go out weeping, and carry precious seed, shall return rejoicing, and bring their sheaves with them.  
2. Examine thyself, What other wildernesses thou meetest with? Afflictions, temptations, etc. I would not give this as an infallible mark, yet God says, whom he loves he chasteneth, and scourgeth every child whom he receiveth: and thence the Father drew out his Conclusion, Unicum Deus habuit filium sine peccato, nullum sine flagello; God had one Son without sin, but none without a rod. But I know, even the wicked sometimes begin their hell upon the earth: and though I would suspect myself if I met with no afflictions, yet I would not be glad to have a life full of crosses and afflictions, my best evidence for heaven. I rather named this for a preface to the next note.  
3. Examine how thou carriest thyself in the wilderness; there is a different carriage betwixt the child of God, and the child of the Devil in afflictions: the one sinks into the grave with despair, the other lifts up his head to Zion with hope: the one is pressed to death under crosses, the other above all crosses. Cain cries, my punishment is too heavy for me to bear; Job cries, though he should kill me, yet I will trust in him: The Reprobate cries, Who is the Lord that I should wait for him? The Saint says, I will patiently wait for the Lords Salvation: the wicked man dies, the Saint leans: the eyes of the sinners fail that day; but the Saints look up to Zion, from whence comes their help that day.  
4. Examine How thou hast come out of thy wilderness? of thine own strength or leaning? Canst thou say, That God knew thee in the wilderness, in the land of great drought, Hos. 13.5. If thou thinkest thou camest out alone, thou art there still, What gave thee comfort in the depths of sorrow? what? thy merry company? did thy duties do it? If any thing did it but thy Christ, I fear thou art still in the Wilderness: when thou didst mourn, as one that mourneth for his only begotten son, didst thou look upon him whom thou hadst pierced? there is nothing but the blood of Christ can give a cordial to a fainting soul; nothing but the handkerchief of free grace that can wipe thine eyes; nothing but the blotting out of the hand-writing, which was written in God's Book, and thy own conscience against thee, that can make thy heart leave trembling, and thy knees leave beating together for terror. Thou canst not come out alone, if ever thou camest out, it was leaning.  
5. Examine thyself, How thou hast carried thyself since thou camest out? How hast thou been since thou wert humbled, and lost in the wilderness of sorrow? What effects hath the wilderness of sorrow wrought upon thee? Hath thy sorrow been like the sorrow of Achan, that thou hast been only sorry because thou hast been under an Attachment of wrath? Or like Ahab. renting his , putting on his sackcloth, and going softly? 2 Chron. 22. Or like Pharaoh, saying, I have sinned? Exod. Or like Balaam, saying, I have sinued, I will return back again? when he might have had more thanks for his labour and never have come there, he had checks enough. Art thou worse when thou comest out of the wilderness of affliction, that we may brand thee with Ahaz his Brand, This was that King Ahaz? Or dost thou come out of thy Afflictions leaning, with thy weak faith strengthened, and thy strong faith confirmed? Hast thou lost no grains, but got in the fire? Is thy gold as good weight now as before? it is a good sign it is good then. But I hasten to the next Use, which may be to inform us;  
First, The sad condition that all unbelievers are in.  
Secondly, The joyful condition that all the Children of God are in.  
Thirdly, The great love of God, that he would send Christ to seek us up in the wilderness, and give his hand to poor creatures to lead them out.  
And lastly, If in every wilderness we must lean upon the Lord Jesus Christ, It may inform us, what need we have at all times to walk close with the Lord Christ. First, here see the sad condition that all men and women by nature are in, that have not the Lord Jesus Christ. It consists in two things:  
First, They are in a wilderness: Sin is a wilderness. Now which of you (friends) but would think himself as good as a dead man if he were in the midst of an Arabian desert, that he could not see any possibility of getting out, nor any comfort he could enjoy there: terror on every side, comfort on no side; the Lions and beasts of prey of every hand ready to devour him, and it is well if he can keep his flesh for food for himself, for he can get no provision for his body, nothing, except he would eat the bark of trees, or the parched grass. What man would not tremble, to think of one that should be condemned to such an axile? Do not your hearts pity as oft as you think of those poor men that were left but half a year in Greenland? And yet O Lord! How few pity themselves! O poor creatures! Mutato nomine de te fabula narratur; the Story is thy own, apply it therefore: You that are in your sins are all in a sad wilderness; the judgements of God, like the beasts of prey, are ready to swallow you up on every hand; 'tis a miracle of mercy you are not in hell; there is but a thread betwixt you and death; the Sword of God's wrath hangs over your head, while you are at your Drunken Banquets of sin: Oh! what comfort? what joy can can you have in the wilderness (friends?) that when you lie down at night, you know not but you may wake in the morning past Repentance, even with Hell flames about you; as the Lord lives, there is but a hair's breadth betwixt you and Hell.  
2. Consider, That you have no one to help you out of any wilderness; if Christ be not yours, nothing is yours: what will you do in a stormy day of Affliction, when you shall cry unto God, and he shall say unto you, as he once said to the roaring Isralites, Jud. 10.14. Go, and cry unto the gods which you have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation. Cry unto your Gold now, unto your Lusts now, trust your Riches now, make you a golden Calf! See if it will now save you. O think! You that live in sin, and love and delight in sin, what shall I do in a sad day of sickness, when the fear of the grave shall surround me, and the terrors of Hell shall make me afraid? What shall I lean upon when these comforts shall be no comforts? when I shall l say to all creature-enjoyments, miserable comforters are you all. Where shall I warm me when these flashes will be out? when the sparks of pleasure and profit shall be choked, and killed with the dust and ashes of my grave? Hear ye this all ye, That kin●le a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks; walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that you have kindled; This shall ye have at the Lords hand, you shall lie down in sorrow: Your pleasurable sins are but as sparks (Sirs,) What will you do when your sparks are out? They are (as we say of a short flame) but a Widow's joy for a moment: Take heed, that when your sparks are out, you blow not your nails in hell: Take heed, that your sparks do not kindle everlasting burn for you. What will you do in a wilderness of Affliction? how will you come out? what will you come out? What will ye lean upon?  
Secondly, This may serve to inform us of the happy condition of God's children, and that è contrario, in a just position to the others misery: O lift up your heads ye righteous, and be glad ye upright in heart: Your happiness consists in these two things:  
First, You are out of the wilderness, out of the danger of Hell; and those that can spell in their thoughts but that word hell, will know it to be a mercy to be out of the fear of it. You are out of the wilderness, O bless that God that hath helped you out: 'tis a great happiness to be delivered of fears; believe me! Did the wicked men seriously think what a weight of wrath they lie under, what a cloud of blood hangs over their heads, they would pray till all their knees were melted (though they were all steel) to be delivered from it. Hold up your hands that you have escaped a drowning; that you fear not the wild beasts that belong to the wilderness; Gods dreadful judgements you dare meet, the Lion and the Bear, and they dare not set the print of their teeth upon you. A godly man is like a man under protection, he owes much, but the Bailiff dares not meddle with him; Christ hath undertaken the debt for him, he is under the protection of the Son of God; he can look a Judgement in the face, and never run for it. The wicked man, on the contrary, is like one that hangs upon every bush (as we say) owes more than he is worth; he dares scarce look out of the doors whiles the Bailiffs are about: when the judgements of God are about, the wicked wretch dares not look out, he sinks into his grave in the thoughts of it. This Plague, this Fever, this Ague, may be a Bailiff to arrest me, that God hath sent to carry me bound hand and foot and thrown into Hell, where is weeping and wailing, and gnashing of teeth. And then thinks with himself (O that they did so!) Where is my surety (if it should be so?) who would be bound for the payment of the Debt due for my sins, and to be paid at God's Judgement Seat? The godly man, he likewise saith; This Plague, this Fever, this Sickness, may arrest me: But suppose they should, the Son of God is bound for my Debt; My Judge surely will not demand better Surety than his own Son. I bless God I am out of the wilderness: O happy man! Here's a portion of thy happiness; but here is not all.  
2. Consider, That if thou shouldest fall into the corner of another wilderness: Thou hast one to lean upon, even in every wilderness: If thou shouldst have a rod upon thy back, thou hast a staff to comfort thee. Thou hast one to lead thee out, whensoever thou art in: an arm that thou mayest trust to. Happy is he that hath a friend in the Court, such is thy friend. A friend in adversity, is better than a brother, (saith Solomon) thou hast a friend in adversity, and he is thy brother: Thy brother Christ is thy friend, that will lead thee through, and out of every wilderness. Is the child happy, that in want hath a father to run unto? the wife happy, that hath a husband in time of sickness to comfort her? The servant happy, that hath a Master in adversity to pity him? then I dare pronounce thee in all times happy: Thy husband loves thee, thy father sends his son to lead thee, thy husband is always by to comfort thee, and lead thee by his hand. God hath said, Esay 58.11. That he will guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones. Thou hast always a friend at need, a brother in adversity.  
Thirdly, Is it so that the Spouse comes out of the wilderness leaning upon her Beloved? This may then show us the infinite love of God to the creature; that he would be pleased to look us up in the wilderness, and let us lean upon him: Christ was led into the wilderness because thou wert there, he had a bad journey to fetch thee come: Oh! what should? what could (besides his infinite freegrace) make his bowels of mercy so yearn towards the creature, as to look it up in the wilderness, to  it naked, to wash it polluted, to save it damned? Christ the shepherd had lost his stray sheep, and goes after that which was lost in the wilderness until he findeth it, than he layeth it on his shoulders, and bringeth it home. O, blessed be the name of the Lord for his free grace and mercy! The shepherd followed the sheep, whiles the sheep regarded not the shepherd; we were in a wilderness, he came to find us out. O! was not this infinite love, astonishing mercy?  
Lastly, Is it so? that we must come out of every wilderness leaning upon our Beloved? O then let this inform us what need we have to walk close with the Lord Jesus Christ; what need we have to be fearful of offending, and careful to please him: It is he that must help us in every need, he that must lead us in every wilderness: If he forsakes us we are undone. Have we but one friend? let us keep him then: if we anger him, we lose our best friend. Hath the shiftless child need to keep the love of the Father? the Babe need to keep in the arms of the Nurse? the wife need to keep the love of the husband? the blind man need to keep the love of his guide? O Christian, thou hast much more need to keep the love of thy Christ: It is he that must secure thee at every need; he that must make the rugged ways plain for thee; It is he that must carry the Babe of grace in his arms, lest it should dash its feet against the stones of affliction: It is he that must lead the child of God upon his hand, lest in this world of afflictions it fall, and hurt itself. O keep close in his arms, keep thyself warm in his bosom; fear that which may make thy God go free from thee. God's departing from the creature is a piece of hell: thou knowest not how soon thou mayest need him; yea, thou always needest him, therefore take heed of sinning against him; thou wilt anger thy best friend, I will assure thee.  
I hasten to the last Use, which shall be a word of Exhortation: Doth the Spouse of Christ come out of the wilderness leaning upon her Beloved?  
First, O then, you that are yet in the wilderness of sins, come out, come out, get this Spouses Beloved, and then lean upon him.  
2. You that are in the wilderness of sorrow for sin, afflictions, temptations, desertions, lean upon your beloved, live leaning and die leaning: you that say you are sinking, and you cannot believe. Oh lean! and come out of this wilderness leaning upon your Beloved.  
A word to the first: Is there any before the Lord this day that is yet in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity, with what arguments shall I plead with such a soul? Those are not wanting, but with what arguments shall I prevail with such a soul, to come unto the Lord Christ? were any here drowning in the water, a little Rhetoric would persuade them to let me help them out? were any lost in a wood, I should not need much entreat them to give me their hand, and I would show them a way out of that losing place? why should I not as much prevail for heaven this day?  
1 Consider what estate it is that thou takest such pleasure to continue in? first, it is a dangerous place, more dangerous than the sands to the ship: thou art ready to be swallowed up of hell every hour in it. A troop of judgements waits upon thee to destroy it; how canst thou abide consuming fire? or dwell in everlasting burn?  
Secondly, Consider, it is a joyless condition: There is no true joy to the sinner, though he sings sometimes amongst his drunken cups, yet he cannot feed hearty upon a feast of joy, because the Sword hangs over his head, it is but a feigned joy that the sinner hath, a sudden short lived flame, without any coals underneath to preserve it. There is no peace to the wicked (saith God) and if no peace, there can be no joy; when the sinner is serious he cannot rejoice, his rejoicing is like the skipping of mad men that know not what they do.  
Thirdly, Consider, it is a starving condition; The sinner's soul starves whiles he feasts his body like a glutton, his soul dies for thirst, when his body is overslowne with drunkenness. It is impossible the puff-paste of iniquity should nourish a soul: Doth an Angel feed upon the earth? doth a Saint feed upon hell? The soul is of an Angelic substance, it cannot feed upon sin: sin starves it. Dost thou love to be in the midst of thorns? dost thou delight to lie down in sorrow? canst thou endure to see thy better part starved, whiles thou pamperest thy filthy Carcase? O let this deter thee from the wilderness of sin, and persuade thee to come out of it unto Paradise. There,  
First, Thou shalt be in a safe condition: Out of the fear of judgements, out of hell's gunshot: There life or death will be either peace temporal, or else eternal, either grace, or glory unto thee; here thy soul shall be in a harbour, if thousands fall at thy left hand, and ten thousands at thy right: none shall make the afraid, thou shalt laugh at trouble when it comes. Thou shalt be sure to go to heaven either by land, or water: If thou goest through the fire, thou shalt be sure to have Christ with thee. Heaven is a security in all estates, a protection from all Arrests, if the King of glory hath a mind to sue thee, thou shalt not be arrested (like other men) with a writ of wrath, but invited to sup with him in glory, only by a letter of love, and he will send his Ushers of glory to wait upon thy soul to the chambers of glory, Luke, 16.22. The soul of good Lazarus was carried by Angels into Abraham's bosom: you shall not live like other men, haunted with the bloodhounds of wrath, nor die like other wretches, that go out of the world, haled by the Sergeants' of hell to everlasting prison; but quietly sleep, and awake again one day in glory. O who would not desire such a protection for himself? such a security for his soul? who would not throw off his rags of sin, to put on Christ's livery of grace, when Christ's badge upon his shoulder shall free him from all Arrests? That he shall walk up and down, and nothing shall make him afraid?  
Secondly, Consider that Heaven is a place as full of joy, as ever the wilderness was full of sorrow and trouble; of this I spoke before. O think of the joy of the Saints, you children of vain pleasure, you madmen of the earth, that can dance over the hole of the Asp, and put your hands on the Cockatrice's den. Your false and flattering joy is nothing to the real joys of heaven; There is joy like the joy of the harvest, like the joy when men divide the spoil: The yoke of their burden is broken, and the rod of the oppressor. O you that love your drinking meetings, and dancing days, that you would but love heaven, where you might drink new wine with your Lord Christ: where you might dance in glory, and make all your days, days of joy, and every hour, an hour of pleasure.  
Thirdly, consider, that there, and there only, is provision for your soul. Christ's robes is the only clothing that will cover the nakedness of it; his flesh is meat indeed, and his blood is drink indeed; there my friends, Eat and drink, and be merry, there you may have wine and milk, without money, or without price. O, spend not your money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which profits not?  
Here you may eat that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Here is a Feast of fat things; The fatlings are killed: O come to the wedding! Why should your rooms be empty in the day of the Lords Espousals? You shall be welcome to my Master's Table: Now, O now, Behold he stands at the door and knocks: (Lord, break where thou knockest) If any man will hear his voice, and open the door, he will come into him, and sup with him, and he shall sup with him. O let me entreat you, to pity the yerning of your Saviour's bowels toward you; pity the groaning of his tender heart for you; pity yourselves, if not your Christ; and, O come, come out of the wilderness of sin into this wilderness of sorrow; that of a drunken profane creature, thou mayest be a mourning pious soul; of a proud careless sinner, become a poor humbled penitent; that the world may admire, Saul amongst the Prophets, and Paul amongst the Apostles, and thee amongst the Saints of Christ; and say of thee, who art now a profane Swearer and Blasephemer, Behold he Prayeth! Of thee that wert a filthy Wanton, Behold he Mourns! Of thee that wert a filthy Drunkard and Glutton, Behold he fasts! And may in time say of thee, Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness leaning upon her Beloved? But,  
Secondly, Is there any before the Lord this day, that is in any other wilderness of Sorrow, Affliction, Temption, Desertion, & c? O lean! Come out of your wilderness leaning upon your Beloved.  
First, Is there any one here, to whom the Lord hath shown their own sad condition too, and yet hath not revealed the fullness of his free grace to them? O lean upon the Lord Jesus Christ, and leaning come out of thy wilderness; Believe and thou shalt be saved. But here's the hard task, to persuade such a soul to believe.  
Consider but these few things.  
1 That now thou art in a capacity of believing. Poverty of spirit is the nearest capacity of faith; Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after Righteousness. Now thou art weary, Christ hath promised to ease thee; now thou art heavy laden, he hath promised to help thee.  
Secondly, Consider that thou hast ground enough to build thy faith upon; Christ's power and love are two Pillars, able to hold up the weakest faith.  
First, Believe; lean upon Christ, for he is able to pardon thy sins; thou shouldest blaspheme in thy thoughts if thou shouldest not think this. Can infinite mercy be fathomed thinkest thou? Can any one plead his underserving against free grace? Were thy burden fare heavier than it is, cast it upon Christ, for he is able to bear it; Art thou thick darkness? he is infinite light: Art thou all sin? he is all pardon: Art thou altogether lovely? why Christ is altogether lovely.  
Secondly, Believe; because Christ is as much love as he is power: he is not only able, but he is willing to pardon thee; free grace thirsts after thee. Nay, believe me, thou canst give Christ no greater satisfaction then to receive his mercies. Christ is with child of free grace (to speak it with reverence) and he desires nothing more than to be delivered in thine heart. He is a Sea of mercy, and he would rejoice to empty himself by drops into his people's hearts. But why did I say empty? Can the Sun lose any light by communicating his light to others? When the creature speaks of God, he must speak 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, he would fill thee, and yet continue full himself. He is satisfied when thou art full. He shall see of the travel of his soul, and shall be satisfied. Thou art not so willing to receive, as he is to bestow free grace. O then lean upon him.  
Thirdly, Consider, that canst not dishonour thy God; more than when thou art humbled by him for thy sins, and cast down in thine own thoughts, and called to believe in his mercies, and secured upon his word, if thou wilt but trust him. If thou wilt not, then believe in him, Surely than thou art of a little faith, if not an Infidel. Thou couldst not believe when thou wert an impaenitent hardhearted creature. Why? because thou knewest no need thou hadst of faith: Neither couldst thou hear Christ's invitation, because thou wert not weary and heavy loaden; but now that the Lord hath humbled thee, now the promises belong unto thee; what? darest thou not take Christ's word? Suppose a Traitor were condemned to die, and the King should send a Pardon by the hand of h●s own Son to this forlorn wretch, and he should refuse it, saying; The King cannot pardon me; what hath he to do to send me a Pardon? I know he doth but mock me, he means nothing less, etc. Were not this a piece of unworthiness, by which he should dishonour his Prince as much as with his Treason before? O take heed of provoking the Lord still; it is enough that thou hast provoked him once, yet he will pardon thee. And on the contrary, thou canst not honour Christ more than in believing; for thou acknowledgest the unfadomable depth of his free love and mercy; Thou proclamest God, to be a God, gracious, long-suffering, a God that may be trusted by the creature which hath deserved nothing at his hand; that he is so pure an Essence of love, that he will create himself a cause of love where is none. And though he coould find nothing in thee to pardon thee, for thy sake, yet he would pardon thee for his own Name sake.  
So likewise, you that are in any wilderness, or shall be, of Affliction, Desertion, Temptation, etc. O lean! lean! 'tis that which God requires at your hand; 'tis that which will ease you when you are weary; help you when you are heavy laden; Believing will ease you when complaining will not; 'tis that which honours God, and honours Christ; It gives him the glory of his Power, and Providence, & Dominion, and free Grace, and mercy. Christ, believe me, will take it kindly at your hands, that you will try him in need, and trust him even in despair; though he kills you, yet you will trust in him. Those that venture upon Death with such a faith cannot die: Those that have such a Spirit must live eternally. The way to live, is to die believing, and the way to stand, is to lean falling. O come all ye that love the Lord trust in his mercies: I have done, only I conclude with my Text.  
O you that are falling, as you think into the pit of despair, that are lost in the wilderness of sorrow: Believe, believe, and you shall be saved. Come out trusting upon God; resting upon the fullness of his mercy, and the freeness of his grace; come out, come out leaning upon your Beloved.  
O you that are in a wilderness of afflictions, lean upon God's staff, let his rod comfort you; believe that he smileth while he smiteth thee; believe in affliction you shall have no more than you are able to bear; he will let his grace be sufficient for you, and all shall work for your good. And come you out of your wilderness leaning upon your Beloved.  
O you that are in the wilderness of temptation, in the snare of the Devil, believe, and lean, your Christ was tempted, and he knows how to secure those that are tempted: lean upon him to bear you up in, and to give you an happy issue out of your temptations in which you are in, for the trial of your faith; and come you out likewise leaning upon your Beloved.  
You that are in the wilderness of Desertion, cry, My God though you be forsaken, keep your faith, retain your Interest; O lean, lose not your hold you have upon the Almighty, lean in: and come out of this your wilderness leaning upon your Beloved.  
Finally. All you that are in the wilderness of sin; the worst wilderness of all: Let me conclude with you, And once more as the Ambassador of Jesus Christ in my Master's name, as if he himself were here: I beseech you, by the many, and tender mercies of him, whose bowels yearn towards you, by his precious blood, which was poured out upon the Cross for sinners (and who knows whether not for you, as well as others) as you tender the life & happiness of your own souls, the joy of your faithful Pastors: nay, (which is most of all) as you tender the honour of God, come out, O come out of your sad wilderness! be humbled, and mourn, sit down in dust and ashes, that you may rise up, adorned with grace, and be crowned with glory, that you may lean upon your Beloved; and O that my first or last words might prevail with some great sinner this day for whom we might all rejoice, concerning whom we might all say, who is this that comes out of the wilderness leaning upon her beloved.  
FINIS.