all his works, the effects, by the caufe: all his works are glorious, they are all fruits of wisdom, love, and bounty; and his belly is as bright ivory, overlaid with fapphires: the smoothness and brightnefs, of ivory, the precioufnefs, and heavenly colour of the Sapphires, are here called in, to give fome luftre to the excellency of Chrift; to these is his belly or rather his bowels, which takes in the heart alfo, compared. It is the inward bowels, and not the outward bulk that is fignified. Now to fhew, that by bowels in the fcripture ascribed either to God or man, affections are intended, is needlefs. The tender love, unfpeakable affections and kindnefs of Chrift to his church and people is thus fet What a beautiful fight is it to the eye, to fee pure polished ivory fet up and down with heaps of precious fapphires? how much more glorious are the tender affections, mercies, and compaffion of the Lord Jefus unto believers? out. Ver. 15. The strength of his kingdom, the faithfulness and stability of his promises, the height, and glory of his perfon, in his dominion, the fweetnefs and excellency of communion with him is fet forth in these words, His legs are pillars of marble, fet upon fockets of fine gold, his countenance is as Lebangn, excellent as the cedars, his mouth is most fweet. When the spouse hath gone thus far in the defcription of him, fhe concludes all in this general affertion; he is wholly defireable, altogether to be defired, or beloved. As if the fhould have said, I have thus reckoned up fome of the perfections of the creatures, things of most value, price, usefulnefs, beauty, glory, here below, and compared fome of the excellencies of my Beloved unto them. In 2 3 4 5 this way of allegory, I can carry things no higher, I find nothing better, or more defireable to fhadow out, and to present his lovelinefs, and defireablenefs; but alas! all this comes fhort of his perfections, beauty and comeliness, he is all wholly to be defired, to be beloved. Lovely in his perfon, in the glorious all-fufficiency of his Deity, gracious purity, and holiness of his humanity, authority and majesty, love and power. Lovely in his birth and incarnation; when he was rich, for our fakes becoming poor, taking part of flesh and blood, because we partook of the fame; being made of a woman, that for us he might be made under the law, even for our fakes. Lovely in the whole courfe of his life, and the more than angelical holinefs and obedience, which vection in the depth of poverty and percen he exercised therein; doing good, receiving evil, bleffing, and being curfed, reviled, reproached all his days. Lovely in his death, yea therein most lovely to finners; never more glorious and defireable, than when he came broken, dead from the crofs; then had he carried all our fins into a land of forgetfulnefs; then had he made peace and reconciliation for us; then had he procured life and immortality for us. Lovely in his whole employment, in his great undertaking, in his life, death, refurrection, afcenfion, being a Mediator between God and us, to recover the glory of God's juftice, and to fave our fouls; to bring us to an enjoyment of God, who were fet at fuch an infinite diflance from him by fin. 6 Lovely in the glory and majefty wherewith he is crowned, now he is fet down at the right-hand of the Majefty on high: where though he be terrible to his enemies, yet he is full of mercy, love and compaffion towards his beloved ones. 7 Lovely in all thofe fupplies of grace and confolations, in all the difpenfations of his holy Spirit, whereof his faints are made partakers. S Lovely in all the tender care, power and wisdom, 9 Lovely in all his ordinances, and the whole of Lovely in the pardon he hath purchased, and doth difpenfe, in the reconciliation he hath established, in the grace he communicates, in the confolations he doth adminifter, in the peace, and joy he gives his faints, in his affured prefervation of them unto glory. 12 What shall I fay, there is no end of his excellencies, and defireablenefs; He is altogether lovely, this is our Beloved, and this is our Friend, O! daughters of Jerufalem. ८ DIGRESSION. II. All folid wifdom laid up in Christ. True wisdom, wherein it confifts. Knowlege of God, in Chrift only to be obtained. What of God may be known by his works. Some properties of God not difcovered but in Chrift only; love, mercy: others not fully but in him; as vindictive justice, patience, wifdom, all-fufficiency. No property of God favingly known but in Chrift. What is required to a faving knowlege of the properties of God. No true knowlege of ourselves but in Chrift. Knowlege of ourselves wherein it confifteth. Knowlege of fin how to be had in Chrift. Alfo of righteoufnefs, and of judgment. The wisdom of walking with God hid in Chrift. What is required thereunto. Other pretenders to the title of wisdom, examined and rejected. Chrift alone exalted. A Second confideration of the excellencies of Chrift ferving to endear the hearts of them who stand with him in the relation infifted on, arifes from that which in the mistaken apprehenfion of it, is the great darling of men, and in its true notion, the great aim of the faints, which is wifdom and knowlege. Let it be evinced that all true and folid knowlege is laid up in, and is only to be attained from and by the Lord Jefus Chrift, and the hearts of men, if they are but true to themselves, and their most predominate principles, muft needs be engaged to him. This is the great defign of all men taken of from profeffed flavery to the world, and the pursuit of fenfual, licentious courses, that they may : may be wife and what ways the generality of men engage in for the compaffing of that end, fhall be afterwards confidered. To the glory and honour of our dear Lord Jefus Chrift, and the establishment of our hearts in communion with him, the defign of this digreffion, is to evince, that all wifdom is laid up in him, and that from him alone it is to be obtained. 1. Cor. i. 24. The Holy Ghoft tells us, That Chrift is the power of God and the wisdom of God: not the effential wisdom of God, as he is the eternal Son of the Father, upon which account he is called wifdom in the Proverbs, viii. 20, 21, 22, 23. but as he is crucified ver. 23. As he is crucified, fo he is the wisdom of God; that is, all that wisdom which God layeth forth for the discovery, and manifestation of himself, and for the faving of finners, which makes foolish all the wifdom of the world; that is all in Chrift crucified, held out in him, by him, and to be obtained only from him; and thereby in him do we fee the glory of God, 2 Cor. iii. 18. For he is not only faid to be the wifdom of God, but alfo to be made wisdom to us, 1 Cor. i. 30. he is made not by creation but ordination and appointment, wisdom unto us; not only by teaching us wisdom (by a metonymy of the effect for the caufe) as he is the great Prophet of his church, but also because by the knowing of him, we become acquainted with the wisdom of God, which is our wifdom; which is a metony my of the adjunct. This however verily promifed, is thus only to be had. The fum of what is contended for, is afferted in terms, Col. ii. 3. In him dwell all the treasures of wisdom and knowlege. There are two things that might feem to have |