" As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place."-Prov. 27:8.

We were all once wanderers, far from God, for whose glory we were made, and in whose presence alone we could be truly happy. Of the misery of that wandering we need but to be reminded-its bitterness and hopelessness. The Shepherd came to seek his lost sheep-traversed the distance between us and God, at infinite cost; and finding us, has brought us home again to God. So that we can now truly say, "Yea, the sparrow has found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O Lord of hosts" (Ps. Ixxxiv. 3). The sparrow seems to be marked in Scripture as the bird of loneliness, and of insignificance. " I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the housetop" (Ps. 102:7). "Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God ?" (Luke 12:6.) The swallow is the bird of complaint and restlessness-the bird of passage" (Isa. 38:14; Jer. 8:7). How fittingly do these birds represent, in a twofold way, the lonely, worthless, restless sinner who finds a home and a nest on God's altars,-atonement and worship; and of the saint too as he looks forward to his nest, with the Lord forever !

But the wanderer has been brought back, the lonely sparrow has found society, the restless swallow has found a nest, through Him who is our altar, the One who has made peace, and by whom we worship. Now we can sing,-

" The wanderer no more will roam." Of the rest, the security, the joy of that "nest," what can we say? Is it not perfect, absolute, eternal ? Is not every longing satisfied ? and does not the heart of the wanderer find itself indeed at home in God's presence ?

The soul has found its " place "-a place of access to God the Father, of nearness – the very holiest itself, into which we have boldness to enter by the blood of Jesus. It is also in a place of relationship, for the believer is born of God, a child of God. The spirit of adoption has been also given him, whereby he cries, "Abba Father." He is also in a new position, as quickened and raised with Christ; and in Him, in the heavenly places, he is a heavenly man, with heavenly associations, heavenly destinies. This is in some sort the place of every child of God. If he wanders from it, he is like a bird that wanders from her nest.

We need not dwell upon the absolute impossibility of a child of God really getting away from the place of salvation. Thanks to infinite grace, we have been "perfected forever" by the one offering of Christ; we have "eternal life," shall "never perish"; "I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord " (Rom. 8:38, 39). What ignorance it shows of the counsels of the Father, the work of the Son for us on the cross, and the work of the Spirit in us, by regeneration, to think that the wondrous fact of eternal security in which they are united, can be by any possibility altered! There is, then, no danger, nor possibility, of wandering, in this sense.

But if it be impossible for the child of God to wander from his place of salvation, it is only too easy to forsake the place of communion. God has not only formed us for glory-to be His companions there- He has made us for Himself now, to enter into His thoughts, to enjoy His love. It is His purpose for us, His desire, that we should enjoy now all that is contained in that word communion:-the Father's love, His plans, His mind; the fullness, the unsearchable riches of Christ, whether in His Person or His work; the all-various display of truth flowing from these-in a word, the Scriptures :these are to be ministered to us by the Holy Spirit, whose delight it is. But the word of God is living and operative, and when rightly received ever produces the fruits of holiness and separation from the world. Where these are lacking, communion is impossible.

Need we say, then, that it is only too easy for the Christian to wander from his place here ? The world and the Word do not agree. Let the things of this time secure our hearts' attention, and how quickly the taste for the word of God is lost! We cannot feed on Egypt's food and manna at the same time. With a taste for the word of God gone, the soul makes no further progress. The love and grace of God, the fellowship of saints, the glad service of self-denial, are forgotten; and nothing remains but the dull routine of what has become almost a meaningless form. "Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness is it! and ye snuffed at it, saith the Lord of hosts; and ye brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick; thus ye brought an offering :should I accept this of your hand? saith the Lord" (Mal. 1:13).

When the link of communion is once broken, the wandering has begun ; and who can tell where it will end ? David's sin, and Peter's, and that of many others, alas, only show us how far declension may go when it once begins. Nothing but the sovereign mercy of God can prevent the wanderer from plunging into that which will be an open shame. Even where such extremes are not reached, there is a barrenness, a dearth, in the soul, which destroys all true happiness. Is the reader of these lines one who has wandered from his place-his place at Jesus' feet ? He is indeed like a bird that has wandered from his nest-no rest, no comfort, no holy associations.

"Come, and let us return unto the Lord:for He hath torn, and He will heal us; He hath smitten, and He will bind us up." " I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely:for mine answer is turned away from him " (Hos. 6:i; 14:4). There is but one way back to the place of communion, and that is to turn to the Lord, with true confession, and a simple apprehension of grace. How the Lord yearns to have His own back again! There is but one place for us, and that is the place of communion.

Closely connected with the subject of our relationship with God, is that to one another. If we are children of God, we are members of one family, and therefore brethren; if we have communion with God, we should also have it with one another. Unless there are grave scriptural reasons to the contrary, the children of God should all be together, forming in each place an expression of that church which is one body, linked in life, and by the Holy Ghost, both to a glorified Head in heaven and to one another on earth. To have such fellowship one with another, there must be therefore subjection to the Head and yielding to the Spirit. The word of God, with its truths upon this most important subject, must be our guide if we are to have righteous fellowship one with mother.

And is there anything more beautiful than a true scriptural order, not only in each local gathering of the Lord's people, but in the whole circle of fellowship ? Here grace and righteousness control; the spirit is ungrieved, and therefore engages us with the things of Christ. Or if sorrow come in, and difficulties arise, they but furnish fresh occasion for the exhibition of the all-sufficiency of the Lord, subjection to Scripture is to be absolute-yea, to one another in the Lord-but all in grace, though with firmness. What a happy place! what a fellowship! It is a nest, not a prison to hold us by its walls and bars, but a nest whose warmth and protection are ever an attraction.

But, alas, the wanderers ! The whole church of Christ should be thus gathered-not one missing, save those who for wickedness in walk or doctrine are not in their place. Instead of this, we see the flock of Christ scattered as sheep having no shepherd, following this or that leader, running here and there in hopeless and helpless confusion. Why is it ? They have wandered from their place. Individual communion with the Lord there may be, but subjection to Him as the head of His Church there is not. Hence this confusion-a confusion which it is utterly impossible for us to change. The nest has been left, the true "place" forsaken-gathering to the Lord alone, according to His word. Had every Christian in the world forsaken this place; had they gathered with one another round various rallying points-of man, or doctrine, or practice,-nay, had every believer in the world linked himself with such an association,-they would all of them have been as birds wandering from their nest. How easily the eye gets blinded by great names, and great numbers! Unless watchful, who is out of danger ?

The remedy for such wandering is the same as for the individual departure from the place of communion. We are not to seek to better the thing with which we are connected, but rather to forsake that which is unscriptural and to return to the Lord and the simplicity of Scripture. If there is joy over the returning sinner, if also there is joy over the saint coming back to communion, we can rest assured that joy is not wanting as one and another of the Lord's people return to the "place" where He is all and for all-where He and His word control by the Spirit.

But when, in great mercy, the Lord has called a number back to Himself, let it not be thought that the admonition suggested in our verse is now needless. There is only too great danger of wandering from the place of separation from the world, of subjection to His word and authority. Many may be the causes which lead to this. The personal state of soul, natural ties of affection, neglect of Scripture,- nay, even the godly desire for a wider unity amongst God's people, if unchecked by the limitations put upon it by the word of God,-any or all of these may lead to a wandering from our place. It may seem to be an easy path and a simple way of getting over many difficulties ; but easy paths are not promised, and there will be difficulties so long as we are here. Let us face them in dependence upon our faithful Lord, and not seek to avoid them by wandering.

Soon, beloved brethren, it will be a blessed impossibility to wander from our place. When we have been gathered home into the Father's house, we will go no more out forever. We will grieve the Lord no more, and give pain to one another no more. How soon that time may be here ! How rapidly the days are slipping by, and we shall hear the voice of our Beloved, " Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away." How He will satisfy every heart then! Will one desire to wander ? Ah no! Then even now let us be satisfied with Him. Let Him fill our heart, till every restless longing is stilled; till desire for change, for more room, for anything but Himself, is gone, and we sit at His feet. The Lord bind His people to Himself, till He come!