"Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant ?" [Song of Solomon 3:6]. 

        In this great song of Solomon's, we find that there are two companies spoken of that come up out of the wilderness, this one given in our text, and the other one is found in the eighth chapter, verse five. "Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved?" This latter company refers to the BRIDE as she comes forth leaning on the arm of her beloved BRIDEGROOM. But we note that before there can be a "bride company," there must first be a "bridegroom company"─ and this company is mentioned first in the Song of Solomon, which also is the company we would consider in this message. God works in perfect order! And while many are trying to get the cart before the horse, so to speak, trying to prepare a bride, God is actually in the process of preparing a full BRIDEGROOM COMPANY, and then He shall finish the preparation of the bride for her bridegroom.
        Let it ever be emphasized, there is no condemnation for others, nor for the message which they possess, for each of us must move in that realm and sphere to which the Lord has called us, and for which He is now preparing us. So if not everyone sees the vision of this message, that does not make it untrue, it just keeps everyone in the place where the Lord has placed them. God does not give you a vision beyond the position He has planned for you to fill. And certainly not everybody else has to fill your vision. Far too long we have tried to make everybody else fit into our particular calling, rather than diligently following the Lord ourselves, and leaving the others to HIM. But, praise the Lord, we are learning that to our own Master we stand or fall, and Paul writes, "Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand." [Romans 14:4].
        Now we have before us this company coming out of the wilderness, a masculine company, for the next verse (3:7) says, "Behold his bed (his resting place), which is Solomon's..." The name "Solomon" means PEACE. The Hebrew root for the word "peace" is the same as for the word "complete," for there cannot be peace in its full and true meaning unless there is completeness. So long as there is one minute part lacking, there is the restlessness of desire seeking for fulfillment. There is a company which God is bringing forth, behold, their resting place is PEACE. You do not learn peace in the time of peace, you learn peace in times of stress and strain and pressure. Ah, is it not true that even in these days of much pressure God is teaching us peace, and we are finding our rest in Him. "He that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God from His." [Hebrews 4:10].
        Before we can ponder the separate phases of this verse which is our text, we need to first consider our going INTO the wilderness, and its purpose for our lives, and then we shall rejoice together in the "COMING OUT." Sure, we are far more interested in the "coming out" than being "in" the wilderness, but it takes a BEING IN before there can ever be a coming out.
        The purpose of going into our wilderness experiences, with all its dry, barren areas; or with its tangled underbrush which hems one in from all sides; or with its wild and unknown expanses filled with wild beasts and terrifying hours, the purpose for all of this is found in Deuteronomy 8:2, 5-6.
        "And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, TO HUMBLE THEE, TO PROVE THEE, TO KNOW WHAT WAS IN THINE HEART, WHETHER THOU WOULDST KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS, or no. Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee. Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, to walk in His ways, and to fear Him."
        Israel was in the wilderness for forty years. "Jesus was led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil... He fasted forty days and forty nights..."[Matthew 4:1-2]. Figuratively speaking, forty is the number of TESTING, be it forty hours, forty days, forty months, forty years, or whatever God limits the time to, and though the journey isn't easy, it has a purpose.
        TO HUMBLE THEE─ ah, flesh doesn't like this process, but the Lord knows how to abase the ego of man, and how to subdue his haughty spirit. TO PROVE THEE─ to reveal what is in thine heart, that all of the inner qualities might be made manifest. True, God knows what is in our heart before we ever go through all these circumstances which reveal what is buried within us, but it takes all of the wilderness experience to reveal TO US what is in our own heart, so that we come to a place of repentance, and seek for the transforming power of God to change us into anew creation.
        Isn't it surprising what the pressures reveal in us? Things we never supposed were buried in our nature, and all of a sudden they rise lip to the fore, and we stand aghast to even think they were within. That is the purpose of the wilderness, to expose ourselves to ourselves, that we might seek for His cleansing and to be filled with His nature. All of our chastening processes are for one reason, and that is to discipline us so that we come into the image of our Lord. It is for our up girding, as corrective measures .to train us and develop us into His mature SONS.
        The journey isn't easy- we all have learned by experience this part, so there is no need to describe it at length. But Jeremiah speaks of it as a "land of deserts, and of pits, a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt." [Jeremiah 2: 6]. How this fits the picture. David, in his wilderness experience said, "There is but a step between me and death." [1 Samuel 20:3] But he also declared, "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me." [Psalm 23:4].
        Yes, as we have often sung during these past years, "My Lord knows the way through the wilderness, and all I have to do is follow. Strength for today is mine all the way, and all that I need for tomorrow..." The flesh doesn't care for such a walk, but God shall lead His people through triumphantly. It is a land that no man passed through─ it isn't a common thoroughfare, and each of our paths is peculiar to us alone, fitted to our needs and testing, but the Lord knows the way, for "He by the grace of God did taste death for every man." [Hebrews 2:9], and thus is able to lead each of us through to certain victory. We walk this way alone with God.
                                            "And what shall it take, O Spirit, I pray,
                                            To make me a true son of God?
                                            Shall walking the path so shaded and lone,
                                            Kept by Thy discipline's rod?"
        "And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face... And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant: and I will purge out from among you the rebels (the rebellious)." [Ezekiel 20:35,37-38].
        There is so much that is rebellious in the heart of God's children, though we haven't always been aware of it. We have rebelled against the circumstances which He ordered for our pathway, we have rebelled against the submissiveness which He required, until He led us through the wilderness, and there taught us to yield all to Him, and find IN HIM our hope, our rest, yes, our complete peace and victory.
        There is an extra little thought which we would insert here. In the dividing of the land for the inheritance of the children of Israel, for Benjamin (son of my right hand) the coast of their lot came forth between Judah and the children of Joseph. "And their border on the north side was from Jordan; and the border went up to the side of Jericho on the north side, and went up through the mountains westward; and the goings out thereof were at the wilderness of Bethaven." [Joshua 18:12].
        Here is the lot for the sons of the right-hand, bordered by the river of Jordan, prefiguring our death process, and then hemmed in by the mountains, and then if you turn from them to go OUT, you face the wilderness. Yes, you never know the GOINGS OUT without first traversing the expanses of the wilderness. The inheritances were so divided that the tribes were given "outgoings," that is, a way to expand their inheritance, but always it meant overcoming some real obstacles. In this case, if you can conquer the wilderness, then it is horizons unlimited. How we long for the unfenced, unlimited pasture of God, and so there is the girding up of our loins and passing through each wilderness experience. Jeremiah 31:2 says, "The people... found grace in the wilderness." Glory be to our God!
        God has plenty of provision for our wilderness path. "For the Lord thy God... knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the Lord thy God hath been with thee; THOU HAST LACKED NOTHING." [Deuteronomy 2:7].
        Once Jesus said to His disciples, "Have you lacked anything ?" And they had to answer Him, "No, Lord." Even the Psalmist knew by many rich experiences, "When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then Thou knewest my path." [Psalm 142:3]. For "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies." [Psalm 23:5]. There was no lack in HIM.
        "The spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field a forest. Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever." [Isaiah 32: 5-17].
        What a chain-reaction of blessing IN THE WILDERNESS. He pours out the Spirit upon us, and the wilderness; becomes a fruitful field, because, He causes all His judgments to dwell there. You say, that sounds fearful. Oh, no! All of the judgments of God are for the purpose Of correction and upbuilding, and their end result is that of His glorious blessing, yielding the peaceable fruit of righteousness, with its effect of quietness and assurance for ever. Righteousness is the fruition of the outworking of judgment. "When Thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness." [Isaiah 26:9].
        "Behold, I will do anew thing; now shall it spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert. I give waters in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to My people, My chosen. THIS PEOPLE HAVE I FORMED OR MYSELF: THEY SHALL SHEW FORTH MY PRAISE." [Isaiah 43:19-21].
        This people─ those who have passed through their wilderness, having been duly proven and tried, now are formed into His image, and become His praise in the earth. They become the living manifestation of His grace. Yes, and they have learned to thank the Lord for every phase of their wilderness rigour and training.
        What victories! What triumphs! What lessons have been gained in the process! Like as of Israel of old, in the account given in 2 Kings 3 :8-25, where we read how Israel went to battle against Moab by the way of the wilderness of Edom, and after seven days journey into this desolate area they ran out of water. Then the leader began to inquire whether or not there was anyone around whereby they could seek the Lord to find out what to do. Isn't it amazing how people will choose their own way, wander off into some wilderness, and then about seven days later they start thinking about praying to find God's will in the matter. Thank God, HE is so merciful, and comes to the rescue, using the experience to teach us more of His love and grace. Furthermore, in the final analysis it will be discerned that it was GOD CONTROLLING OUR PATH ALL THE WAY. We thought we were choosing our way, and wandering about according to our own desires. But He causes us to think in a certain direction, and to suffer from it all, because HE KNOWS THIS IS JUST WHAT WE NEED FOR DISCIPLINE AND TRAINING.
        So the people of Israel found a prophet and went to him for help. Elisha called for a minstrel, and while he played the Spirit of the Lord moved on Elisha, and Elisha told the king, "Make the valley full of ditches, and God will fill them with water." Ah, clear out all the dirt and empty your selves before the Lord, and He hears your cry. After the long dark night of the soul, in the morning, when the meat offering (fellowship offering) was offered, there came water by the way of Edom, right down through the way of the wilderness, God gave them water.
        To God be the glory ─the ditches were filled with water. And when their enemies arose the next morning and saw the water, it looked like blood to them, and they thought in themselves that surely Israel had slain themselves, and so they arose to reap the spoils. But when they came to the Camp of Israel, Moab was smitten before the children of Israel, and God gave them a glorious victory.
        Jesus Christ is our water of life, He is our victory. But remember, "Except ye drink of His blood, ye have no life in you." [John 6:53]. When the world looks at it, it is bloody─ you have become conformed to His death, and your life is poured out and becomes mingled with HIS, but the result is the uprising of HIS MORE ABUNDANT LIFE. Where did all this take place? Out in the wilderness, out in the dry places. Yes, God makes a way in the wilderness and gives water for His people to drink. Our God shall fight and win this battle, and we are fully persuaded that HIS KINGDOM SHALL COME, HIS WILL SHALL BE DONE, RIGHT DOWN HERE ON EARTH, AS IT IS IN HEAVEN. God isn't transporting His chosen to some "Beautiful Isle of Somewhere" and then calling them OVERCOMERS, but He shall bring forth victory right here on earth. And the knowledge of the glory of the Lord shall cover the earth, as the waters cover the sea.
        There is victory in the wilderness, where the sun beats down on the barren sand, and where the hot winds wither the strongest of men, even there grace prevails.  All that was needed was for Israel to dig their ditches, get the channels opened up, and GOD supplied the water. Allow God to bring you into complete nothingness, emptied, even of all spiritual gifts and graces wherein you once boasted of your spirituality, and become completely abandoned unto HIM, and in due time His fulness shall swallow up all of your barren, empty, nothingness, and your peace shall flow as a river.
        Now, there is a coming up out of this wilderness, so we must go on. When the Lord led a generation up out of Egypt and through the wilderness, only two men came forth. Joshua and Caleb, one a leader and the other a true warrior of faith. By them God opened the way for the next generation to enter into the promised land.
        When God wanted a duly trained king to sit upon the throne to govern His people, He took David out into the wilderness and prepared him. And it was out there that God brought to him the mighty men of valour to become his army, and they also were disciplined in the wilderness. But in God's time they came out of the wilderness to gather up the reins of the kingdom and rule for God.
        The man Christ Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, and dwelt there for forty days and nights, but we also read that " Jesus returned IN THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT." [Luke 4:14].
        Now─ "Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness ..." A company perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, and all the powders of the merchant. Here we find the word "merchant" comes from the Hebrew word meaning, "to go to and fro, be a merchant", signifying the searching of the buyer to find the goods, and paying the full price for them. Yes, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant, seeking a goodly pearl, and when he finds it, he sells all that he has, yields up completely all former gain, and pays the price for the greatest pearl. So likewise God's BRIDE-GROOM COMPANY is selling all, counting all former gain as loss, that they might gain the excellency of the knowledge of Christ, and BE FOUND IN HIM, clothed upon with His righteousness alone. Yes, we have passed through all kinds of religious groups, etc. but having now found in CHRIST the truth we desire, we forsake all else, sell out all else, to buy that truth in Him.
        In our text scripture, the merchant was buying "powder," which word here means "small crushed powder." Have we not bought a lot of CRUSHING EXPERIENCES! Why? So that the sweet perfume of HIS DIVINE FRAGRANCE might permeate the whole of our life. You don't weep over the crushings which you have bought, but you praise God for the sweetness of His life which ultimately fills the whole. And this is right in line with the "myrrh," which is a very bitter gum resin used for perfume, which we quite understand. But myrrh is also used for part of the "anointing oil," and in the embalming process. Bitter experiences in the wilderness will bring out the sweet fragrance of His nature, and remove the stench of our own self-righteousness, and of our carnal life. And they also become part of the rich anointing upon us. Yes, "Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil." [Psalm 141:5]. Myrrh─ so bitter, and yet used by God to become an excellent oil. And thirdly, for our embalming. Not only is the flesh, with its self-life put to death, it is also embalmed and no one has to endure the offence.
        And frankincense─ for this company also is perfumed with "frankincense." The root meaning of the word is "to be white" because of the pure whiteness of the gum. It also has a bitter taste, and is used for incense, embalming, and for sacrificial fumigation. This latter use we would comment on. Placed on every sacrifice it counteracted the smell of burning flesh. As a living sacrifice on the altar, how we have needed the frankincense, to make us as a sweet savor to the Lord.
        How precious! The Lord leads us through these bitter experiences, and fiery testings which abound to consume the living sacrifice, and with the frankincense applied, we become, "IN UNION WITH CHRIST, diffusing the perfume of the knowledge of Him." [2 Cor. 2:14, Williams]. What is the aroma arising from your testing? Is everyone around conscious of how much you are suffering, or do they savor only the sweet aroma of Christ emanating from your life ?
        Who is this that comes up from the wilderness LIKE PILLARS OF SMOKE? This word "pillars" is only used twice in the Old Testament, and is the Hebrew word "timeroth" meaning "palm trees," or actually, the appearance like unto the palm tree. So they look like smoke in the form and appearance of a palm tree. The other time this word is used is in Joel 2:30. "And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, AND PILLARS OF SMOKE."
        Out of the wilderness comes a mature son coming with the appearance of smoke in the form of a palm tree─ one of God's wonders to be manifested in this end time. Now here is a wonderful parallel. We note from the pictures taken of the exploding of an "atom bomb" that the smoke cloud arises with a long stem and then moves out like the top of a palm tree. Here is a company, positive in God, which is an answer to the negative force of the natural atom bomb.
        Smoke─ from the Hebrew word "ashan," is in the masculine gender. This indeed is God's description of His SON COMPANY which comes forth from their wilderness experience FILLED WITH THE FULLNESS OF HIS SPIRIT, to counter-balance any force the world can produce. I am sure the Spirit will expand this thought to you as you ponder it.
        But there are a few things yet to notice regarding smoke. "And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire." [Exodus 19:18]. Here is a manifestation that the presence of God was upon the mount. As God brings us forth from the wilderness like pillars of smoke, it is a manifestation that the presence of GOD, WHO IS A CONSUMING FIRE, has touched our lives. Our life shall testify to the fact that we have PASSED THROUGH THE FIRE.
        Also, smoke is a sign of conquering. When Israel was in battle against Ai, as we read in Joshua 8:20-21, when they finally got to the city and set it on fire, as the smoke ascended from the city, the men of Ai who had left their city to pursue the Israelites knew that they had been defeated. As a pillar of smoke, our life shall testify that we have been fully subdued and yielded unto our God. And finally, "The Lord will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud AND SMOKE by day...for upon all the glory shall be a defence (covering)." [Isaiah 4:5]. So shall this bridegroom company become the coming protection of the bride, to safely guard her, and lead her out of the wilderness at the appointed time.
 

 GOD'S WILDERNESS COMPANY
 
'Mid testings and trials and temptations sore,
Scourgings and mockings that pierced to the core,
Outnumbered by scoffers that plundered their store,
God's chosen pressed onward, new truth to explore.
 
O'er dry, barren deserts they travelled apace,
Climbing the mountains which tested their grace,
As pilgrims and strangers they sought for their place,
These fearless, undaunted of Israel's race.
 
Forsaking the old, how they sought for the new,
Resisting the gains which self would accrue,
They sought for a country- their fatherland true,
While jealously holding its vision in view.
 
By faith motivated, as now the case stands,
Their lives were a witness of higher commands,
Their words a fulfillment of inner demands,
Entwining their all into hope's during strands.
 
And yet it is stated, In faith, they all died,
God having foreseen something better beside,
That He in His mercy would have to provide-
Before all's complete upon victory's side.
 
For this we are longing, to this we aspire,
E'en though it will take the hottest of fire,
Till founded in Him we're perfected, entire,
With "some better things" filling up our desire.
 
And this generation, God's wilderness clan,
Fulfilling the purpose past ages began,
Shall embrace the fulness of redemption's plan,
And share this salvation with every man.

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(1)  Prinzing, Ray and Doris. THE TRIUMPHANT WAY!. (now out of print), Boise, Idaho 83705}

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