beauty of holiness, is the object of universal admiration; all that saw her praised her; the redeemed, fully perfected are the admiration of the heavenly host. Ver. 8, 9.

And as he sees the estranged soul of his saint hastening towards him, impressed with her beauty and dignity of bearing, he exclaims, Who is this approaching, covered with the blush of beauty and glow of health, more pleasing than the dawn of the morning; beautiful as the moon in her silvery brightness; pure and impressive in loveliness as the brilliancy of the sun; grand and imposing in her demeanour as hosts with streaming banners? Num. xxiii. 21. This is even my ransomed one, new created through the Holy Spirit. Ver. 10.

Receiving the returning saint with this cordiality and love, our Lord proceeds to tell his feelings during his withdrawal. He withdraws not in anger, but in love; he feels, without ceasing, the strongest desire to return to us; he earnestly invites us to return; he continues still to view us with unabated love, with even greater pleasure than he views the angels, the hosts seen by Jacob at Mahanaim. Though leaving the individual soul, he went into other portions of his garden, God's husbandry, 1 Cor. iii. 9, the Church, for exercising over it his care. But the strength of his love towards us, unkind though we had been to him, would not allow him to forget us; his mind, his heart, was on us, even though he was withdrawn, and his countenance hid; and spontaneously, almost before he was aware, his nature being love, he found

himself inclined to us with tender compassion, and returning to meet us, with the rapidity of the chariots of Amminadib. Though we grieve Jesus by our neglect, and compel him to leave us, he departs in sorrow and in love, drawn towards us still by the strongest affection, and not only willing to receive us if we seek him again, but coming with the greatest rapidity to meet us, Song ii. 8; Luke xv. 20. Ver. 11, 12.

With tenderness and emphasis, he encourages us not to hesitate, but to come on, "Return, return, &c.," assuring us that his heart had been with us, and that he is not only willing, but desirous, to look upon us. And does any one ask, What he sees in this sanctified soul, that so captivates? He replies by summing up the whole in one expression-the festive chorus of two hosts. He has as much pleasure in contemplating this redeemed spirit, as we could have, were we permitted to gaze on hosts mingling in the festal dances and rejoicing of a day of triumphsuch hosts as were seen by Jacob at Mahanaim, and exulting in such rejoicings as were seen when, over the first creation, "The morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy." Job Xxxviii. 7. Ver. 13.

CHAPTER VII.

The commendation of the beauty of the pious soul, for the purpose of encouraging it to trust in Jesus, notwithstanding past neglect and estrangement, is

continued without interruption to verse 9. The same principles of interpretation apply here that have been used for interpreting the other similar passages, chap. iv. 1-5; v. 10-16. Having set forth this beauty, he is represented as held enchained by it, ver. 5, "the king is captivated by those locks;" and expresses that his most delicate and pleasing delight is had in the company and contemplation of the new creation going forward in the soul of the saint. Ver. 1-6.

As a consequence, he wishes to gather us in his arms, and carry us in his bosom, Isa. xl. 11, and to. hearken to our voices engaged in thankfulness and praise; the agreeableness of which to our Lord is as great as to ourselves would be such wine as mentioned in verse 9. Ver. 8, 9.

With the 10th verse, begins the third part of the book, which contains a statement of the effects produced on the heart by the manifestations of love, and by the motives before mentioned.

1. The effect is the full assurance of hope, "I am my beloved's, and his desire is towards me." Ver. 10.

2. We wish to be much alone with Jesus in retirement, "Let us go forth into the field, &c." Ver. 11.

3. We engage spontaneously in labours of holiness and love, such as enjoined by our Lord, "Let us get up early to the vineyards, let us see if the vine flourish, &c.," ver. 12. In such ways and duties as these do we give Jesus our love.

4. For him do we lay up, and to him do we consecrate our best gifts, as well as our diligent services,

under the influence of this love: "All manner of pleasant fruits, which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved." Ver. 13.

CHAPTER VIII.

5. The next effect mentioned, is a desire that every thing hindering the full and perfect interchange of affection between Jesus and our soul, might be removed, and that it were possible to enjoy his love to us, and express our love to him, as we shall be able . to do in heaven. Much as we may now long for stronger displays of his love, and to give stronger evidence of our love to him, we acquiesce in the present state of things, because we feel there would be an impropriety, no less than impossibility, in those overpowering exhibitions of love that belong to heaven. But this does not preclude us from feeling that, were it seen best by him, we would rejoice, even now, in those raptures which belong to heaven, where we shall be able to speak of his love in the strongest language, and give expression to it in the most exalted praise, without danger of exposing ourselves to the contempt of the ungodly. Ver. 1. There shall our fellowship and communion with him be far more intimate and endearing than ever on earth. Ver. 2..

6. Yet though this desire, of ver. 1 and 2, cannot be granted, we wish to have as much as can now be enjoyed of Jesus, even such seasons as are here mentioned, and had been enjoyed in chap. ii. 6, 7, and with it, the desire, as there expressed, that nothing be done

to interrupt it. This seems mentioned as though it was viewed by the soul as a blessed and satisfying foretaste of what may be expected hereafter, and as much as is best or possible for us in this world. Ver. 3, 4.

7. But though we cannot now enjoy what we could desire, and what shall be enjoyed in heaven; though the delightful scenes now had must be interrupted, yet we are permitted to go up from this wilderness, leaning on the beloved; we feel that underneath us. are the everlasting arms; in all circumstances he sustains us; and throughout our pilgrimage we are thus upheld by him who first found us, raised us up, and took us into covenant relation "under the appletree," as in chap. ii. 3, under the shadow of Christ. Ver. 5.

8. Another result of this love is the desire to be continually near to the heart of Jesus, to be perpetually in his remembrance, and sustained by his Almighty power; that like the stones engraved with the names of Israel on Aaron's breastplate, and like the stones on the shoulder of the High Priest, we may be set as a seal on his heart, as a seal on his arm. Ver. 6.

9. This love sacrifices every thing that would come between us and Christ. Death cannot arrest us-we love Jesus better than life, "for love is strong as death." Matt. xvi. 24, 25. The delights of it being such as have been represented in the foregoing verses, 1-4, and other parts of this book, we desire to abide on the heart of Jesus, and run to embrace even death, if necessary, sooner than lose his love. As there is