Quest. Why did not the church tell Christ herself ?
Ans. So she did as well as she could, but she desired the help of the church this way also. Sometimes it is so with the children of God that they cannot pray so well as they should, and as they would do ; because the waters of the soul are so troubled, that they can do nothing but vitter groans and sighs, especially in a state of desertion, as Hezekiah could but chatter, Isa. xxxviii. 14 ; and Moses could not utter a word at the Red Sea, though he did strive in his spirit, Ex. xiv. 15. In such cases they must be beholden to the help of others.
Sometimes a man is in body sick, as James saith, ' If any man be sick, let him send for the elders, and let them pray,' James v. 14. There may be such distemper of body and soul, that we are unfit to lay open our estate to our own content. It is oft so with the best of God's children ; not that God doth not respect those broken sighs and desires, but they give not con- tent to the soul. The poor palsy man in the gospel, not able to go him- self, was carried on the shoulders of others, and let through the house to Christ, Mark ii. 2, 3. Ofttimes we may be in such a palsy estate, that we cannot bring ourselves to Christ, but we must be content to be borne to him by others.
' I charge you, 0 daughters of Jerusalem, that ye tell my beloved I am sick of love.'
Whence the point that I desire you would observe is,
TJtat at such times as we find not our spirits enlarged from any cause out- ward and inward, to comfort and joy, then is a time to desire the prayers and JieJp of others.
It is good to have a stock going everywhere ; and those thrive the best that have most prayers made for them ; have a stock going in eveiy coim- try. This is the happiness of the saints. To enforce this instruction, to desire the prayers of others, we must discover, that there is a v/ondrous force in the prayers of Christians one for another. It is more than a com- pliment. Would it were so !
The great apostle Paul, see how he desires the Romans, that they would strive and contend with God after a holy \iolence, by their joint prayers for him, Rom. xv. 30 ; so he desires the Thessalonians that they would
Cant. V. 7.] ' i am sick of love.* 125
pray for him, ' that he might be deHvered from unreasonable men, ' 2 Thes. iii. 2. It is usual with him to say, ' Pray, pray,' and for us too ; for such are gracious in the court of heaven. Despise none in this case. A true, downright, experienced Christian's prayers are of much esteem with God. Our blessed Saviour himself, when he was to go into the gar- den, though his poor disciples were sleepy, and very untoward, yet he would have their society and prayers, Mat. xx\a. 38 [k).
' I charge you, 0 daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved, that ye tell him I am sick of love.'
To speak a little of the matter of the charge, * I am sick of love.' I love him, because I have found former comfort, strength, and sweetness from him, that I cannot be without him. To be love-sick, then, in the presence of the church, is to have strong affections to Christ ; from which comes wondrous disquietness of spirit in his absence. Here is somewhat good, and somewhat ill. This is first her virtue, that she did fervently love. This was her infirmity, that she was so much distempei'ed with her present want. These two breed this sicluiess of love. Whence we observe.
Where tlie thiiuf loved is not present, ansiverahle to the desires of the soul that loves, there follows disquiet and distemper of affections. That is here tennined"' sickness of love.
The reason hereof is, natural contentment is in Pinion ivith the thinrf loved. The more excellent the thing is that is loved, the more contentment there is in communion with it ; and where it is in any degree or measure hin- dered, there is disquiet. Answerable to the contentment in enjoying, is the grief, sorrow, and sickness in parting. The happiness of the church con- sisting in society with Christ, therefore it is her misery and sickness to be deprived of him, not to enjoy him whom her soul so dearly loveth. There are few in the world sick of this disease. I would there were more sick of the love of Christ. There are many that surfeit rather of fulness, who think we have too much of this manna, of this preaching, of this gospel. There is too much of this Ivnowledge of the ordinances. These are not sick of love.
Use. Make a use, therefore, of trial, whether we be in the state of the chm'ch or no, bij raluinj and jjri^iit^/ the jjresence of Christ in his ordinances, the word and sacraments.
There are many fondf sicknesses in the world. There is Amnon's sickness, that was sick of love for his sister Tamar, 2 Sam. xiii. 2 ; his countenance discovered it. And Ahab, he is sick in desiring his neigh- bour's vineyard, 1 Kings xxi. 1, seg. You have many strange sicknesses. Many sick with fires kindled from the flesh, from hell, but few sick of this sickness here spoken of.