the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vineyard, all the little vermin of mischievous deceivers, that steal into, and corrupt, infest, and trouble the church: for our vineyard has tender grapes, the church has her little ones, that are not to be offended', the weak in the faith, who are to be tenderly dealt with 2. And the several vines have their early shoots of devout feelings, blossomings of grace, openings towards a full vintage,

like the new

O let it not be

VER. 16.—My Beloved is mine, and I am his. He feedeth among the lilies, until the day break, and the shadows flee away.

I have here joined the beginning of the 17th verse to the 16th, upon the authority of the Alexandrian LXX. which does so, though both the Hebrew and English Bibles divide them. But division into verses is only a modern invention, not many hundred years old, and therefore not necessarily to be adhered to, where the context directs otherwise, as here I think it does. 'My Beloved is mine.(Heb. to me) and I am his, (Heb. to him), mutually connected to, and possessing one another. It is thus that Jehovah speaks. I will be your God, (Aleim, God to you), and ye shall be my people,' (people

St Matth. xviii. 6.

2 Rom. xiv. 1, &c.

3 Isaiah lxv. 8.

(people to me). And it is this condescension in Jehovah that warrants, it is this only that can warrant, the church's confidential exclamation here. This it is that founds the marriage-relation between Christ and the church, without which, all our knowledge, virtue, or goodness, if we could have any, would stand us in no stead. Thy Maker is thy husband, the Lord of hosts is his name '.' In 'that day, saith the Lord, thou shalt call me my husband,' (Heb. ", ishi, amg us, LXX. my man, as our vulgar express themselves), for I will betroth thee unto me for ever. Among all nations, it has been the custom, and certainly derived from original institution, for the husband, the man, to make offer of himself first, and to choose, seek, court the bride. The practice holds in, because designed for, matters of spiritual concern,

μ8,

• We love The address No marriage

him, because he first loved us. comes, and must come from him. without this, no connexion with, no title to, no claim in him, but by and from his own antecedent obligation. It is his own goodness that obliges him to proffer his love; it is the proffer of his love that obliges us. Hence comes that mutual obligation, which constitutes what we call religion, as implying obligation (on both sides, on God's side primarily, on ours in consequence. So there is no Pp2

natural

Isaiah liv. 5. Jerem. xxxi. 32, &c. applied 2 Cor. xi. 2,

·natural religion, in the common acceptation of that phrase, no inbred notions, or innate ideas, for our direction, no voluntary election on our part, and originally, as meritorious of acceptance, or founding a title. Suppose we should or could say, from natural choice, what the church says here, in the latter part, I am his,' I have a natural knowledge of him, I belong and have given myself up to him, my heart loves him, and all that, what would it all avail us, unless we can join with her in the first part, and say, 'My Beloved is mine? And what ground have we to say this, without his own declaration, his own condescending offer of himself to us? Natural experience points out the analogy of this, so is against natural religion, and for the absolute necessity of revelation. • We love him, because he first loved us,' is an apostolical comment, and I hope a good one, upon our fair one's joyful rapture,My Beloved is mine, and * therefore I am his.'

He feedeth among the lilies.-I have already observed, that the word for lilies has in it the radical idea of delight or rejoicing; so is not peculiarly expressive (as is usually paraphrased with none of the best of views) of purity and innocence and an unspotted fame.' Other flowers, as the rose for instance, might be imaginary emblems of this as much as the lily: but every Hebrew word has its own particular meaning, which fixes the interpretation, and all beyond that is no better than fancy.

We

We have certain Psalms inscribed to something under this word 'To the chief musician, a song of loves, upon shoshannim, the lilies, rejoicers,' &c. Upon shushan eduth, and 3 upon shoshannim eduth, the lilies, &c. of the testimony.' So says the Psalmist elsewhere, In the way of thy testimo' nies (eduth) I have rejoiced, shashti ;' and ' thy (eduth) testimonies are the rejoicing (shushan, lily) of my heart.' The LXX. in all these titles of the Psalms, render our word for lilies, anonooμLEDOV going to be changed,' as if it were from shannah, ' to change;' which may give a good enough construction in doctrine, but has no foundation in grammar, which never doubles the first radical. For both grammar and usage give the meaning to be joy, or delight, So mount Zion is called the meshush, joy of the whole earth";' and ' the daughter of Jerusalem the same. Among those shoshannim, lilies, joyful things, the Beloved feedeth, haroe, LXX. o Toμav, participially feeding as the shepherd; which needs no criticism to direct the application. The author of the 80th Psalm had seen a connexion between shoshannim, lilies, and the Shepherd of Israel: the author of our Song sees the same connexion, and adopts the same language, the Shepherd among the lilies.' And why not believe him to be there himself, however uncouth

ποιμαίνων,

couth this may appear in pastoral style, even feeding himself, rejoicing, delighting, somehow or other, as this same royal bard paints him, under another character', Rejoicing always before Jehovah who 'possessed him, rejoicing in the habitable parts of 'the earth, and his delights with the sons of men.' Another inspired poet tells us what this delight was, 'I delight to do thy will, O my God:' And the beloved himself uses an expression not much dissonant from feeding himself, and in terms similar to those of the Psalmist 3, My meat is to do 'the will of him that sent me, and to finish his 'work.' This is his employment, his delight, his nourishment the lilies he feedeth among

6

Until the day break, and the shadows flee away.The day of his manifestation in flesh, that joyful day, which all the faithful, in all ages, looked forward to, and prayed for, when the Sun of righteousness should arise with healing in his wings when the day-spring, ('avaroλn, the east, the branch) 'from on high should visit us ". This day was to break,' so we read it; but the Hebrew more expressively,, ippuḥ, blow or breathe, of the same root and sense with the tree or fruit called apple, to which the church had likened her Beloved.

We have

I Prov. viii. 30. 31.

2 Psalm xl. 8. interpreted by an apostle, Heb. x. 5—1Q.

3 St John iv. 34.

5 St Luke i. 78.

4 Mal. iv. 2.