with him, and he is never pleased with them, Heb. xi 6. And this believers fometimes want, Ifa. lvii. 17. "I hid me, and was wroth;" though they are never caft out of his favour, they may fall to be deprived of the manifeftations of it for a time. Their concern then will be for,

(1.) The turning away of his anger, and removal of any ground of controverfy he has with them, Pf. lxxxv. 4. "Turn us, O God of our falvation, and cause thine anger towards us to ceafe." Herein the church rejoieeth, If. xii. 1. "O Lord, I will praife thee; tho' thou waft angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortest me." They will be concerned, that while the fhades are thick and gloomy about them below, heaven may not be louring on them too; but that it may be clear above, tho' it be dark and fhadowy below.

(2.) The manifeftations of his love, Cant. viii. 6. "Set me as a feal upon thine heart, as a feal upon thine arm, ," and i. 2. "Let him kifs me with the kiffes of his mouth; for thy love is better than wine." The carnal world knows none of these things, and therefore cannot be concerned for them. Proud fcornful finners deride them as vain imaginations of fantaftic fools. But in the experience of the faints, they are more powerful and efficacious, than all the pleasurable enjoyments earth can afford, Pfal. iv. 6, 7. They will carry them thro' the dark and difficult fteps, where all the world's cordials will leave its votaries to faint.

II. I SHALL give the import of this concern of those married to Chrift, that he may turn and come to them, till the day's breaking and the fhadows fleeing away, they get to him in the other world. It imports,

1. That during the night-journey in this world, Christ fometimes turns away and withdraws from his people; fo that feeking him they cannot find him, Cant. ii. 1. "By night on my bed I fought him whom my foul loveth; I fought him, but I found him not." Even as Mofes who brought the Ifraelites out of Egypt,

was

tho'

was withdrawn from them in the wilder efs, and they knew not what was become of him. Chrift feems fometimes to lock up himself from his people, for his own holy ends, that they cannot have that accefs to him as fometime before. So he puts a difference betwixt earth and heaven, the house of their pilgrimage and their home, that they may like home the better. 2. The fravellers to Zion, when Chrift is away, it be night, they readily mifs him, Cant. iii. 3. "The watchmen that go about the city, found me: to whom I faid, Saw ye him whom my foul loveth?" Indeed it may at times be with them as with Samfon, Judg. xvi. 20. who "wift not that the Lord was departed from him." But that is through inadvertency; if they once begin to look about them, they will be fure to mifs him, as the fpoufe did, Cant. v. 6. It is a property of a gracious foul, to be capable to tell Chrift's vifits, his goings and comings. It is not every one can do that: worldly men reign as kings without him, they mifs him not; the blind man cannot tell when the day comes on, or when the night; but the feeing can do both. The wife can readily tell when her husband goes abroad, and when he comes home; tho' the fervants being without about their work, may know neither the one nor the other.

3. A holy diffatisfaction with all things, while he is away. An angel's prefence could not please Mofes in the wilderness, Exod. xxxv. 2,15. nor dry Mary's cheeks in the garden, while fhe knew not where her Lord was, Johnxx 12, 13. The houfe tho' thronged with fervants, is empty to the wife, while her beloved husband is not there. The gracious foul would make ftepping-ftones of all, to carry it to Chrift the best beloved.

4. A holy refolution to give him a welcome reception, if he will turn and come again; then the doors fhould be caft wide open to receive him, Cant. viii. 1, 2. "O that thou wert as my brother that fucked the breafls of my mother!" &c. And this is joined with felf-loathing, for giving him occafion to depart. 'What

a mad

a madman,' fays one in this concern, was I, that! could not keep his prefence when I had it? But O! if I had it again, I should not fo eafily quit it."

5. Earnest outgoings of the heart after him in defires for his return, Ifa. Ixix. 1. "O that thou wouldst rent the heavens, that thou wouldst come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence." Job xxiii. 3. O that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his feat!' While the foal is in this concern, one meffenger will be fent to heaven after another, in folemn prayer, and frequent ejaculations, with that meffage, Cant. v. 8. I charge you, O daughters of Jerufalem, if ye find my Beloved, that ye tell him, that I am fick of love.' And when they can do no more, they will fend greedy looks after him, to the place where his honour dwells, as did David, Pfa. v. 3. and the church, Lam. iii. 49, 50.

Lafly, A holy reftlefinefs in the foul, till he turn and come again, Cant. iii. 1. and downwards. In this concern how restlefs was Job, going backward and forward, looking on the right and left hand? chap. xxii. 8, 9. As the needle in the feaman's compafs touched with a good loaditone, refts not till it turn about to the north; Lo the foul touched by the Spirit of Chrift, presently moves towards him, Cant. v. 4 or as the dove sent out of the ark, could not rest till it was taken in again.

III. Let us next give the reasons of this concern in those married to Chrift, that he may turn and come to them. I offer you the following:

1. Their fuperlative love to Chrift, Cant. i. 3, 4. Because of the favour of thy good ointment, thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee-The upright love thee.' Love natively tends to union and communion; hence the foul is more where it loves than where it lives; it exerts itself in defire after the presence of its object, when at a diftance; and has much ado to bear absence. But alas! Chrift may tell most of us, as Delilah did Samfon, Judg. xvi. 15.

• How

'How canft thou fay, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me?'

2. Their comfort in their night journey depends on it; without it they must go drooping, for nothing will make up the want thereof. It is Chrift's turning to them in it, that makes all they meet with by the way fa. youry to them, and the want of it is a worm at the root of other enjoyments. The dove could find nothing out of the ark, but carrion, that it could not feed on; and therefore returns; but the raven could feed on it very well, and therefore comes not in again. Hypocrites will bestow a few faint wishes on Chrift; but if he answers them not, they are not fore flain therewith; they have more doors than his to go to; if they come not speed at his, they know how to shift for themselves otherwise. But fincere fouls must either be served or die at his door, John vi. 68. "Lord, to whom shall we go? thou haft the words of eternal life."

3. Their experience of the defirableness of his prefence and countenance in their night-journey, Pf. Ixiii. 1,-3. "O God, thou art my God, early will I feek thee; my foul thirfteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; to fee thy power and thy glory, fo as I have feen thee in the fanctuary. Because thy loving kindness is better than life; my lips fhall praise thee." It is natural to be in concern for that which one ftill needs, and remembers himself to have been the better of formerly. They know his prefence has made them fafely pass many a dangerous step, and easily get over many a difficult one; that his countenance has often enlightened the darkness of their night, and made them confi dently pafs many a gloomy fhade.

Laftly, Their felt need of it; they know not how they will ever make out the night-journey without it, Ex. xxxiii. 15. "And he said unto him, if thy prefence go not with me, carry us not up hence." It was in the faith of his prefence and countenance, that ever they ventured

G g

on

on it; and in the faith of the fame, that ever they look to get fair to the journey's end. And felt need of it muft produce a concern for it, Mark vii. 24, 25. rifing from,

(1.) The fenfe of their liableness to mistake their way, that they need him for their direction and guidance, Jer. x. 23. If he fhould leave them, they will reckon themfelves left in a wilderness, and that in the night; no wonder then they be in fuch concern for his prefence and countenance.

(2.) The fenfe of their weakness for the journey, that they need to go leaning on him, as a weak woman on her husband, Cant. viii. 5. Senfe of weaknefs in themselves, and of the fulness of strengthening grace in him, prompts them to this concern.

(3.) The fenfe of the great oppofition and difficulty to be met with in the way, Eph. vi. 12, 13. Chriftian foldiers have no brow for a battle, if Chrift their Captain be not on their head, 2 Cor. iii. 5.. and they will ftick at nothing howfoever hard, if he be, Phil. iv. 13. "I can do all things," fays Paul, "through Chrift which ftrengtheneth me."

IV. WE fhall now confirm this point, That it will be the great concern of those married to Christ, during their night-journey in this world, that he may turn and come to him, till the day breaking and the fhadows fleeing away, they get to him in the other world. To evince this, we offer the following things:

1. Chrift their Lord and Hufband has got their heart above all other, and it refts in him. They have answered the call, Prov. xxiii. 26. "My fon, give me thine heart." They have faid, he is their reft, Heb. iv. 3. as in the ftate of marriage; they clofe their eyes on all others, never thinking to fee an object so defirable, Pf. lxxiii. 25. Now, "where the treasure is, there will the heart be alfo," Mat. vi. 21. Wherefore it cannot mifs to be their concern, that he may turn and come to them; even as when a woman has fixed her heart on and accepted one fo rher husband, it is natural to defire frequent vifits, till he take her home for altogether.

2. They