1841 William Miller Evidence from Scripture & History - A2Z.org

sliptest circnmstmce~. This is the description of the
chorch, as given to us in this Song of Solomon's I shall
therefore show in explanation of our subject,
I. What has been the general character of the church
in the wilderness ;
11. Her character when out of the wilderness; and,
then,
111. Make an application of our subject, by showing
in what state the church may be considered at the pnsent
time.
I. The church in the wilderness.
It appeam by the word of God, that for some wise purpose,
God has called his people into the wilderness .state,
time and again. 1st Abraham was called to go out froln
the land of his fathers into a strange land, not knowing
whither he went ; and he obeyed God, sojourning in the
land of promise as in a strange country, dwelling in tab
ernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heira with hun of the
name promise ; for he looked for city which imth foundations,
whose Builder and Maker is God." By this
means, Abraham obtained the name of the Father of all
them that believe. We learn by the history of Abrsham,
that the first seed of the church was called into the
wilderness as a place of promise ; where God took spe
cia1 cure of them, saying to the kinp and princea of tllk
world, ''Touch not mine anointed, aud do my prophetn no
harm." \\'e see them supported and kept through all
the trials of life ; and, in the midst of ~dolatroua natiom,
among whom they sojourned, not oue of them lost their
faith, or became in~pure in their worsl~ip ; but Gd w:~
with them, preserving them in war, famine, and the twrvy
judgnleots of God upon the nations with whom they w-
journed.
The next account we have ofthe church being called
into the wilderness was in the days of hfosw, when tlle
children of Israel were delivered from Egyptian slavt*~,
and brought out by the mighty and powerful hand of God
illto the wilderness, where alle was fed, clothed, and slwrl
by ~nimcle, and preserved by lnanna fro111 Ileavrn, am1
flesl~ from the desert ; where the cloud of Ilia gryce
overshadowed them by day, and the pillsr of fire y mgbt.