Song of Solomon 1:8

Song of Solomon 1:8

I. Keep on familiar ground; do not stray away from the line of footsteps; be near where you can hear the pipe, or the flute, or the trumpet of the camp. Do not detach yourselves from the great company of the church, but wherever you are see that your method of communication is in good working order. This is not the exhortation of fear, it is the precept of sense, it is the dictate of reason, it is the calm, strong, solemn view of history and experience.

II. Loneliness has its perils in the religious life. When the devil gets a man absolutely alone, who will win? Not the man in the vast proportion of cases. There was only one man that won in single fight, and that man was the Lord from heaven. The poor woman in the song had lost her loved one, and she was told that if she wanted to find him she would find him on accustomed beats and familiar paths. God leaves His footprints on the earth, and if we follow His footprints we shall find Himself.

III. Feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents. Then you will have communion. Christianity institutes a fellowship, a community of interest and spirit and purpose. We are the complement of one another. Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together; beware of the independence which is isolation; seek for communion, for music, for protection, for security, for all that comes of organised life, household delight, and trust; thus the enemy will never find you alone and at a disadvantage, but always surrounded by those who can recall the sweetest memories to your recollection, and enrich your hearts by reminders of the infinite promises of God, and thus a commonwealth shall be the basis of victory.

IV. Let us see that our footprints are all shaping towards home, that the foot is always set in the direction of home. Do not let us deceive and mislead anybody who may put their feet into our footprints under the impression that they are going home, when they are really going to their ruin.

Parker, Fountain,June 19th, 1879.