adversity; black as Job found himself when he said, 'My skin is black upon me ;' even then she would not waver, but would remain unshaken in her confidence that this blackness proceeded likewise from her Bridegroom, from her Sun.

'I am black.' We have already seen the more obvious and general meaning of the Bride in these words. But perhaps this confession may likewise have its origin in a peculiar state of soul. The Christian experiences, in his communion with the Lord, days and hours in which, so to speak, and to all appearance he ceases to be a dark moon, and breaks forth and shines with all the radiance of the rising sun; in which with holy transport he soars as on the wings of a young eagle, and would even seek for the highest walls, in order to leap over them with his God. O happy state! How gladly would he then see himself surrounded by Antichrist, and all the powers of darkness, that he might testify, to their face, of Christ, and of the efficacy of his blood, and with him trample them under his feet; how joyfully would he then proclaim aloud from the house-tops, and in the streets, that Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father! How sweetly the heart is then invigorated to the fulfillment of every command! With what intense love, with what ardent devotion, the soul is then inflamed. Faith is changed into sight; we not merely speak, but we prophesy and sing psalms; and the mouth becomes an inexhaustible spring of evangelical wisdom and consolation. We are ready to say with David, 'Lord, thou hast made my mountain to stand fast; I shall never be moved:" and we already

triumphantly exclaim, "the eternal hills are our possession." But in the midst of all this exultation, our glory becomes suddenly obscured. The daughter of Zion, that had been exalted to heaven, is cast down to the earth again, and her lustre has passed away like a shadow. No sensible supplies of grace are experienced, no blissful emotions are felt, no alacrity of spirit elevates the soul. Prophesying has come to an end; our praises are languid; the law causes us again to labor and to be heavy laden: and, like a tree deprived of its leaves in autumn, all the splendor in which we had for a time been arrayed, to the joy and astonishment of our acquaintance has been stripped off, and not a vestige of its beauty remains. Then, again, we are black; and the daughters of Zion behold it, and compare our blackness and dimness with our former state of life. Those who are but partially enlightened, who are not yet able to estimate these dealings of the Lord, will view it as a melancholy relapse into our former state of nature-as a sudden separation from the Lord, and from his love. But Shulamite may say to them with confidence, Look not upon me because I am black: the Sun has looked upon me.' Do not judge me by the present darkness of my appearance; be not deceived by the sudden barrenness, stupidity, and exhaustion, which have come upon me; as though they were a sign that the union between me and my Sun had been dissolved. It is not the absence of the Sun, but his nearness and the fervidness of his beams, that has tinged me with so dark a shade, and rendered me so sterile and devoid of brightness. My Bridegroom has himself withdrawn from

me that excess of spiritual excitement in which I revelled, that I might not be high-minded, but fear; that I might not forget my former state of sin and misery, and might learn to trust Him for his word alone, without seeing or tasting: therefore look not upon me, because I am black; and do not start and be confounded: believe me the sun has looked upon me, and our union is as firm as ever.'

There is one other way in which the Lord sometimes makes his people black. To promote their salvation, and their humility, he suffers the leprosy of sin still lurking in their breast, to break forth and to display itself outwardly, that they may not remain ignorant of its existence. On this point much might be said; but as there may be some amongst you who cannot yet bear it, and who might be led by it into lamentable errors, we will pass it over in silence, and turn from the contemplation of the Shulamite's blackness, to admire her comeliness.

II.-' I am black,' says the Bride' but comely.' Black and comely at the same time? How contradictory! And yet the Shulamite may say with truth, The blacker I am in my own eyes, the fairer I am before Him. His love to us is in proportion to our self-knowledge, and to the consciousness of our sinfulness. Do we seriously complain to him of the burden of one sin, he welcomes our approach. Do we sigh before him, confessing that our transgressions are more in number than the sands upon the sea-shore, he views us with increas ed satisfaction. But do we reject all that we have and

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are, as vile and accursed, and appear before him stripped of all self-righteousness, then we are most pleasing in his sight. There is but one complaint he cannot bear the complaint, that our sins are too great to be forgiven-for that is the suggestion of Satan, who seeks to close against us the fountain of Christ's blood, and to derogate from its merits. He delights in the pardon of aggravated sins, and finds most pleasure in the cure of the severest wounds, and in the removal of the greatest afflictions; for thus his love and mercy are most conspicuously manifested, and the renewed soul becomes more closely, gratefully, and devotedly united to him. If the cry ascend to him, from a thorough conviction of our misery, that we are nothing, and can do nothing; oh, how willingly does he hear it! His hands are then unbound, the work is his alone-he has room to display his wonders, and opportunity to shew who he is, and of what he is capable. For this reason, the blacker we are in our estimation, the fairer we are before Him.

'I am black, but comely.' In what sense then, is she comely? Comely and beautiful, as the curtains of Solomon. Solomon's curtains may have been costly and magnificent; but there is one curtain that surpasses every other in splendor and beauty. It was not fashioned by the hand of man, nor can it be imitated by man. It is the work of the Eternal King, who wrought it with many cries and tears. This curtain is the only one that is pure in the sight of Him before whom the heavens are not clean, and who chargeth his angels with folly. In it he perceives no stain; and so won

derful is its efficacy, that if it were possible for Satan to wrap himself in it, even his blackness would be concealed from the searching eye of Omnipotence.. It was in this covering, that David, Mary Magdalene, the thief, and every other sinner, received the blessing of the Father, and have been raised above the stars in the firmament. And Abraham pleased God, for no other reason than because he was clothed with this golden mantle. What is this wonderful covering? It is the robe of salvation-the righteousness of our Surety, which is imputed to faith by grace. For if we are in Christ, sin has no more dominion over us, as the Spirit testifies. We are accounted as righteous before God, for Jesus' sake, as fully as though we really were so, because he was so for us-the curse and condemnation are removed, for they have been sustained by us in the person of our Surety and Substitute. And this garment of imputed righteousness is not circumscribed, nor inadequate to cover all our sins; neither is it of so thin and loose a texture, as not to conceal from the glance of the Almighty every stain and spot upon us. Praise and thanks to God! This garment will suffice in the day of judgement, and will as surely bring us to Jerusalem, as if Solomon himself were entering the city in it. Put on, then, this garment, and the blessing of the Father will descend upon you; and it shall be said of you also, Cursed is he that curseth thee! Blessed is he that blesseth thee! Yes, the Shulamite is fair and comely-comely as the curtains of Solomon. She is arrayed in the golden vestments of the king himself— in Solomon's princely apparel, in his robe of righteous-.

ness.