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The works of creation are pictures to the children of God of the secret mysteries of grace. The very seasons of the year find their parallel in the little world of man within. Each particular season has its duty. The husbandman finds that there is a time to plough, a time to sow, a time to reap; there is a season for vintage, and a period for the pruning of the vine; there is a month for the planting of herbs, and for the ingathering of seeds. To everything there is a time and a purpose, and every season has its special labour. It seems from the text, that whenever it is springtime in our hearts, then Christ's voice may be heard saying, "Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away." Whenever we have been delivered from a dreary winter of temptation or affliction, or tribulation, — whenever the fair spring of hope cometh upon us, and our joys begin to multiply, then we should hear the Master bidding us seek after something higher and better, and we should go forth in His strength to love Him more, and serve Him more diligently than aforetime.

I. First, with regard to THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH OF CHRIST. The history of Christ's Church is a varied year of many seasons. She has had her high and noble processions of victory; she has had her sorrowful congregations of mourners during times of disaster and apparent defeat. Commencing with the life of Christ, what a smiling spring it was for the world when the Holy Spirit was poured out in Pentecost. The bride arose, charmed by the heavenly voice of her spouse, she girt on her beautiful garments and for some hundred years or more, she did come away; she came away from her narrowness of spirit, and she preached to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ: she came away from her attachment to the State, and she dared to confess that Christ's kingdom was not of this world: she came away from her earthly hopes and comforts, for "they counted not their lives dear unto them that they might win Christ and be found in Him: " she came away from all ease and rest of body, for they laboured more and more abundantly, making themselves sacrifices for Christ. Alas, alas, that season passed away, the Church grew dull and sleepy; she left her Lord, she turned aside, she leaned upon an arm of flesh, courting the endowments of earthly kingdoms, then there came a long and dreary winter, the dark ages of the world, the darker ages of the Church. At last the time of love returned, when God again visited His people and raised up for them new apostles, new martyrs, new confessors. The time of Luther and Calvin, and Melanchthon, and of Knox was come — heaven's sunny days when once again the frost should give way to approaching summer. Then it was that men could say once again, "The winter is passed," priestcraft has lost its power, the rain is over and gone; false doctrines shall no more be as tempests to the Church; the flowers appear on the earth — little Churches; plants of God's right hand planting, are springing up everywhere. Oh I would to God that the Church could then have heard her Master's voice, "Rise up my love, my fair one, and come away." And now, brethren, in these days we have had another season of refreshing. God has been pleased to pour out His Spirit upon men again. He speaks to each denomination according to its need, but to the same import, "Rise up and come away; leave deadness and coldness and wrong-doing and hardness and harshness, and bitterness of spirit; leave idleness and slothfulness and lukewarmness; rise up and come away. Come away to preach the Gospel amongst the heathen; come away to reform the masses of this wicked city; come away from your little heartedness; from your coldness of spirit, come away: the land is before you; go up and possess it."

II. Methinks the text has a very SPECIAL VOICE TO US AS A CHURCH. We must use the Scripture widely, but yet personally. While we know its reference to the universal Church, we must not forget its special application to ourselves. We, too, have had a season of refreshing from the presence of the Lord. A glad period of abundant increase in which there has been as many converts as we could receive, till every officer of the Church has had his hands full in seeing enquirers, and we have only had time to stop now and then and take breath, and say,. "What hath God wrought?" Well, what ought we to do? I hear the Master saying, "Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away." I hear Jesus speaking to this Church, and saying, "Where much is given, there much shall be required. Serve not the Lord as other Churches, but yet more abundantly."

III. WHEY THE TIME OF THE BRIDAL OF THE SOUL HAS ARRIVED TO EACH CONVINCED SINNER, THEY ALSO THERE ARE SPECIAL DUTIES. Young convert, young believer, in the dawn of thy piety, Jesus says, "Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away." He asks thee to come out from the world and make a profession of thy faith in Him now: put it not off; it is the best time to profess thy faith whilst thou art young, while as yet to thee the days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, "I have no pleasure in them." Make haste and delay not to keep His commandments. Arise, and be baptized, Come ye out from among the world, be ye separate, and touch not the unclean thing; follow Christ in this perverse generation, "that you may hear Him say at the last, Of you I am not ashamed, for you were not ashamed of Me in the day when I was despised and rejected of men." In this your early time, dedicate yourselves to God.

IV. It may be that you and I have had winters of dark trouble, succeeded by soft SPRINGS OF DELIVERANCE. How have we our assurance back again; and Christ is near to us, and we have fellowship with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. Well, then, what are we to do? Why, the Master says to us, "Rise up, and come away." Now is the time when we should mount up to be nearer to Himself. Now that the day dawns and the shadows flee away, let us seek our beloved amid the bed of spices, and by the lilies where he feeds.

( C. H. Spurgeon.)

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KJV: My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.

WEB: My beloved spoke, and said to me, "Rise up, my love, my beautiful one, and come away.