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In this description of the graces of the bride, some of the figures of speech are repeated from the account of her beauty previously set forth. See ch. 4. 2, 3. And the unity and purity of the Church appears to be particularly pointed out, in these words, "My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her." The unity of the Church having been previously insisted on, let us now turn our attention to its purity. What is meant by the bride being undefiled may be well explained by these words of S. Paul to the Corinthians: "I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." 2 Cor. 11. 2, 3. A corruption of doctrine was the chief thing apprehended; such a corruption of doctrine as would be sure to lead to a corruption of practice. For the truth as it is in Christ Jesus is eminently practical. See Eph. 4. 21-32. And it would be to little purpose for the Church to be at unity, if it were at unity in error, if it were agreeing to hold false doctrine, or to uphold faulty practices. It must be undefiled, as well as one. It must be likeminded unto Christ; conformed in all that it believes and does to the pattern set forth in his word.

Nor is this spotless perfection set forth only as a grace suited to the whole Church as a body. It is one of the points, in which we know from other passages of Scripture, that the heavenly Bridegroom enjoins on each member, that which He enjoins on the whole community. "Be ye therefore perfect," He says to his disciples, both collectively and individually, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." Matt. 5. 48. And thus his apostle writes to the Colossians, concerning Christ in them, "the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus." Col. 1. 27, 28. For this, S. Paul adds, that he was labouring. For this every minister of the Gospel ought to labour, and pray, and watch, in behalf of Christ's people committed to his charge. For this therefore undoubtedly each Christian in particular ought to labour, and pray, and watch, in his own behalf. Not that any man should profess to have attained to this perfection; but that every man ought to set himself no less than this to aim at. And we may

justly make this practical application of the words, in which the Bride's beauty is described: Thus, in order to be meet for the Bridegroom's love, thus ought we severally in the graces of our souls, as well as the whole Church in all its members, to be beautiful and comely, one and undefiled, spotless in doctrine, and presenting to those who would beguile us into sin, the unconquerable front of " an army with banners."

The beauty of the Bride is once more commended.

1 How beautiful are thy feet 8 I said, I will go up to the with shoes, O prince's daugh- palm tree, I will take hold of ter! the joints of thy thighs the boughs thereof: now also are like jewels, the work of thy breasts shall be as clusters the hands of a cunning work- of the vine, and the smell of thy nose like apples;

man.

2 Thy navel is like a round goblet, which wanteth not liquor: thy belly is like an heap of wheat set about with lilies. 3 Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins. 4 Thy neck is as a tower of ivory; thine eyes like the fishpools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bath-rabbim: thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus.

5 Thine head upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair of thine head like purple; the king is held in the galleries.

6 How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights! 7 This thy stature is like to a palm tree, and thy breasts to clusters of grapes.

9 And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine for my beloved, that goeth down sweetly, causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak.

10 I am my beloved's, and his desire is toward me.

11 Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages.

12 Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give thee my loves.

13 The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.

LECTURE 1093.

The Church, being justified, must be actually holy. When we consider who the Bridegroom is, and who the Bride, we may feel surprised to find the beauty of the latter dwelt upon so frequently and fully, rather than the glory and excellency of the former. Regarding Him indeed in his state of humiliation, and speaking of Him as He was "despised and rejected of men, the prophet Isaiah might say, "he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him there is no beauty that we should desire him." Is. 53. 2, 3. But another prophet, speaking of Him as He ought to be esteemed, calls Him "the desire of all nations.” Hag. 2. 7. And we know that in becoming man, and dwelling amongst us, He left the glory which He had with the Father before the worlds began; see John 17. 5; a glory to which they who saw but a slight glimpse of it thus bare witness: "we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father." John 1. 14. And we know that since this his humiliation, since He vouchsafed to be made man, and to dwell amongst us, "God

also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Phil. 2. 9—11.

Such being the glory of the Bridegroom, we may feel surprised to find so much stress laid on the beauty of the Bride; when we look upon the Church as actually consisting of frail mortal men, when we look within ourselves, and think of our own manifold transgressions, and when we consider how much reason the best amongst us have to own, each day of their lives, that they are miserable sinners. But so it has seemed good to God that the Church should be described. So it has pleased Him to view with favour and regard his own most marvellous work. True though it be that the Church consists of men taken out of this sinful world, themselves frail and sinful, it is also true that God loved us when we were sinners, see Rom. 5. 8., and that "Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word." Eph. 5. 25, 26. Having thus done, He looks on it as clean from sin. The Lord has pleasure in his people, because whom God "did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called and whom he called, them he also justified and whom he justified, them he also glorified." Rom. 8. 29, 30. He did,

He does, He will. This is the method of God's dealing with his Church. It is by reason of righteousness imputed unto us, and on the ground of merits not our own but his, that we and all Christ's Church can alone find favour in his eyes, and can be fit for Him to long for and to love.

But though He justifies us freely, this is in order that we should thenceforth serve Him devoutly. That which God is graciously pleased to account us, we must thenceforth actually be. Having been called, and justified, sanctified, and cleansed, let us know that our way to please our Lord ever after, is that we be holy in all manner of conversation. This is true both of the Church, and of each individual believer. Let us endeavour therefore to adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things. Let our feet be swift to walk in the way of righteousness. Let our hands be diligent in doing good to one another. Let our knees be ever ready to bow down in devout adoration before God. Let our lips ever delight in speaking to the edification of each other, and to the glory of our Maker. Let every member, every limb, the head, the heart, the body, and the soul, all unite to work, and feel, to do and think, as Christ has enjoined us in his word. And all will then be comely in the highest sense, and will find favour in the sight of our Redeemer.

The Bride communeth with the Bridegroom.

1 O that thou wert as my brother, that sucked the breasts of my mother! when I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yea, I should not be despised. 2 I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother's house, who would instruct me: I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pome

granate.

3 His left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should embrace me.

41 charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, until he please.

5 Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? I raised thee up under the apple tree: there thy mother brought thee forth there she brought thee forth that bare thee.

6 Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.

7 Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.

8 We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts: what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for?"

9 If she be a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver: and if she be a door, we will inclose her with boards of cedar.

10 I am a wall, and my breasts like towers: then was I in his eyes as one that found favour.

11 Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon; he let out the vineyard unto keepers; every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand pieces of silver.

12 My vineyard, which is mine, is before me: thou, O Solomon, must have a thousand, and those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred.

13 Thou that dwellest in the gardens, the companions hearken to thy voice: cause me to hear it.

LECTURE 1094.

That God has provided for our understanding love divine. In the constitution of man, there is no feeling more powerful than that of which God said at the beginning, "For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife." Matt. 19. 5. Its power is indeed clearly shewn, in its prevailing over filial affection, in its rendering the husband and the wife, though entire strangers beforehand, more near and dear unto each other, than either of them to their own parents. And this is felt to be so natural, and reasonable, and right, that the parents, unless singularly selfish, would not themselves have it otherwise; would not wish their son not to leave them for his wife, or their daughter not to leave them for her husband; to leave them, and though not

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to love them less, yet to love some one else more dearly. powerful is the feeling of conjugal affection! So vehement in its nature, so strange in its effects! So wonderfully combined, in this emotion, are passion, and reason, and imagination, that nothing is more hard to alter than the choice once firmly fixt; nothing is so superior to all other considerations, so little to be influenced by riches or poverty, health or sickness, danger, difficulty, or disaster, as this affection of husband and wife, once truly pledged, and truly requited. So that it is no figure of speech, but a plain statement of a well known truth, to say, that "love is as strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. Many waters cannot quench love; neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned."

Thankful we may be to God, who has implanted so deeply in our hearts a feeling, which when under due controul, constitutes in every rank of life the chief source of domestic happiness, and to which we may justly trace the origin of all civilized society. But we may thank God further, for having made use of this affection, as a means of teaching us in his holy word, the warmth and depth and liveliness of that divine regard, which He is pleased to avow for us, as well as of that devotedness of heart and soul, which we ought in return to cherish towards Him. It seems as if, in implanting this affection in us, besides his other wise and good ends in view, He had purposely been preparing us for better understanding our happiness, in being beloved of God, and in being privileged to love our Maker. And we may readily conceive, that He, who sees the end from the beginning, thus contrived that there never should be wanting upon earth a figure of heavenly love, that should come home to every man's bosom. But alas, in this fallen world, even the hallowed union of wedded life, like every other state of man, is liable to suffer detriment by human frailty; and oftentimes presents a scene of strife instead of peace, of enmity for love. Therefore it is doubtless that God has provided, in this sacred song, an instance of conjugal affection, in the case of a bride and bridegroom; taken at a period when the ardour of love is at its height, and is therefore, when rightly viewed, and reverently applied, most fit to signify how fervently we ought to love Christ, how entirely He loves us. May we learn this lesson from this book! May we better love our Lord! May we more implicitly believe that He regards us with love!

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