height of his glory, returning from the conqueft of the kings of the east, that came against the confederate kings of the vale of Sodom, God appears to him with a glorious promife, Gen. xv. 1. Fear not Abraham, I am thy fhield, and thy exceeding great reward. What now could his foul more defire? alas! he cries, as Reuben afterwards upon the lofs of Jofeph, the child is not, and whether fhall I go? ver. 2. Lord God what halt thou give me, feeing I go childlefs? Thou haft promised, that in my feed fhall all the earth be bleffed, if I have not that feed, ah! what will all other things do me good? Thence it is faid that he rejoiced to fee the day of Chrift; he faw it and was glad, John viii. 56. the thoughts of the coming of Christ, which he looked on at the distance of 2000 years, was the joy and delight of his heart. Jacob bleffing his fons, lifted up his fpirit when he comes to Juda, in whom he confidered the Shilo to come, Gen. xlix. 8, 9. and a little after, wearied with the forefight and confideration of the diftreffes of his pofterity, this he diverts to for his relief, as that great delight of his foul, I have waited for thy falvation O God: for him who was to be the falvation of his people. But it would be endless to inftance in particulars; old Simeon fums up the whole: Chrift, is God's falvation, and Ifrael's glory: Luke ii. 30, 31. and whatever was called the glory of old, it was either himself, or a type of him. The glory of man is their delight. Hence Hag. ii. 7. he is called the defire of all nations, him whom their foul loves and delights in, delire, and long after. So is the faints delight in him made a description of him by way of eminence, Mal. iii. 1. The Lord whom ye feek shall fuddenly come to his temple, even the Mejenger of the

covenant

covenant whom ye delight in. He whom ye feek, whom you delight in, is the description of Christ; he is their delight and defireable one, the perfon of their defire. To fix on fomething in particular..

In that pattern of communion with Jefus Chrift, which we have in the Canticles, this is abundantly infifted on. The spouse tells us, that the fits down under his fhadow with great delight, chap. ii. 3. and this delight to be vigorous and active, the manifefts feveral ways, wherein we should labour to find our hearts in like manner towards him.

1. By her exceeding great care to keep his company and fociety, when once fhe had obtained it, chap. ii. 7. I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerufalem, by the roes, and by the binds of the field, that ye ftir not up, nor awake my Beloved until he pleafe. Having obtained fweet communion with Christ, defcribed in the verfes foregoing, of which before, here the expreffeth her delight in it, and defire of the continuance of it: and therefore following on the allusion formerly infifted on, the speaks as one would do to her companion, that had reft with one she loved: I charge you by all that is dear to you, by the things you moft delight in, which among the creatures are moft lovely, all the pleasant and defireable things that you can think of, that you difturb him not. The fum of her aim and defire is, that nothing may fall out, nothing of fin of provo cation happen that may occafion Chrift to depart from her, or to remove, from that difpenfation wherein he feemed to take that reft in her. Oftir him not up until he pleafe. When once the foul of a believer hath obtained fweet and real communion with Chrift, it looks about him, waccheth all temptations, all ways R 2 where

whereby fin might approach, to diflurb him in his enjoyment of his dear Lord and Saviour, his rest and defire. How doth it charge itself, not to omit any thing, not to do any thing, that may interrupt the communion obtained. And becaufe the common entrance of temptations, which tend to the difturbance of that reft and complacency which Chrift takes in the foul, is from delightful diverfions from actual communion with him, therefore is defire ftrong and active, that the companions of fuch a foul, thofe with whom it doth converfe, would not by their proposals or alurements, divert it into any fuch frame. as Chrift cannot delight, nor reft in. A believer that hath gotten Chrift in his arms, is like one that hath found great spoils, or a pearl of . price. He looks about him every way, and fears every thing, that may deprive him of it. Riches make men watchful; and the actual fenfible poffeffion. of him, in whom are all the riches and treasure of God, will make men look about them for the keeping of him. The line of choifeft communion, is a line of the greatest spiritual folicitoufnefs: carelefnefs, in the enjoyment of Chrift pretended, is a manifeft evidence of a falfe heart.

2. The fpoufe manifefts her delight in him, by her utmost impatience of his abfence, with defires ftill of nearer communion with him, chap. viii. 6. Set me as a feal upon thine heart, as a feal upon thine arm, for love is ftrong as death, jealoufy is cruel as the grave, the coals thereof are coals of fire, which bath a moft vehement flame. The allufion is doubtlefs from the high priest of the Jews, in his fpiritual reprefentation of the church before God. He had a breaft-plate which he is faid to wear on his heart, Exod. xxviii. 29. wherein the names of the

children

children of Ifrael were ingraven after the manner of feals or fignets, and he bare them for a memorial before the Lord. He had the like alfo upon his проп fhoulder, or on his arms, ver. 11, 12. both reprefenting the priest-hood of Chrift, who bears the names of all his, before his Father, in the holiest of holies, Heb, ix. 24. now the feal on the heart, is near, inward, tender, love, and care, which gives an impreffion and image on the heart of the thing fo loved. Set me, faith the fpoufe, as a feal upon thine heart; let me be constantly fixed in thy most. tender and affectionate love; let me always have a place in thine heart, let me have an engraving, a nighty impreffion of love upon thine heart, that fhall never be obliterated. The foul is never fatisfied with thoughts of Christ's love to it. Oh that it were more, that it were more, that I were as a feal on his heart, is its language. The foul knows indeed on ferious thoughts, that the love of Chrift is inconceivable, and cannot be increased, but it would fain work up its felf to an apprehenfion of it; and therefore fhe adds here, fet me as a feal upon thine arm; the heart is the fountain, but close and hidden; the arm is manifeftation and power. Let, faith the fpoufe, thy love be manifefted to me in thy tender and powerful perfuafion of me. Two things are evident in this requeft; the continua} mindfulness of Christ of the foul, as having its condition ftill in his eye, engraven on his arm, Ifa. xlix, 15, 16. with the exalting of his power for the prefervation of it, fuitable to the love of his heart unto it, and the manifeftation of the hidden love and care of the heart of Chrift, unto the foul, being made visible on his arm, or evident by the fruits of it. This is that which fhe would be affured of: R 3

and

and without a fenfe vhereof, there is no reft to be obtained.

The reason fhe gives of this earnestness in her fupplications, is that which principally evinces her delight in him. Love is ftrong as death, jealoufy is cruel as the grave, or hard as hell. This is the intendment of what is fo loftily fet out by fo many metaphors in this and the following verse. I am not able to bear the workings of my love to thee; unless I may always have fociety and fellowship with thee; there is no fatisfying of my love without it, is it as the grave that ftill fays give, give. Death is not fatisfied without its prey, if it have not all, it hath nothing, let what will happen, if death hath not its whole defire it hath nothing at all. Nor can it be withstood in its appointed feafon. No ransom will be taken. So is my love, if I have thee not wholly, I have nothing, nor can all the world bribe it to a diverfion: it will be no more turned afide than death in its time. Alfo I am not able to bear my jealous thoughts; I fear thou doft not love me, that thou haft forfaken me, because 1 know I deferve not to be beloved. These thoughts are hard as hell. They give no reft to my foul. If I find not myfelf on thy heart and arm, I am as one that lyes down in a bed of coals. This also argues an holy greediness of delight.

3. She further manifefts this by her folicitoufnefs, trouble, and perplexity, in his lofs and withdrawings. Men bewail the lofs of that whofe whole enjoyment they delight in. We easily bear the abfence of that, whofe prefence is not delightful. This ftate of the fpoufe is difcovered, chap. iii. 1, 2, 3. By night on my bed I fought him whom my foul loved, I fought him but I found him not. I will rife

now