living waters should go forth of Jerusalem,' alluded to by two former prophets', and exemplified in vision to a subsequent one. Yea, so expressive of good things is this language, that the Beloved, in the days of his flesh, continued to use it; as in that instructively condescending conversation with the poor sinful woman of Samaria 3, ‹ Thou shouldst ' have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water; and again", the water, that I shall give him, shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life? And still more to our purpose, in a public and controversial discourse with the people in the temples, He that 'believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out

of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.' May we not suppose, that in this quotation of scripture, as it certainly is a quotation, he might have had an eye to this comparison, or rather declaration here in our Song, which, of all the passages where living water is spoken of, not excepting the prophecy of Zechariahı, which comes nearest to it, is the most apposite to both his design in, and the words of, this figurative way of expressing himself? He here, from his own mouth, attributes to *believing in him,' the mystical privilege of emitting, sending forth, or making to flow, streams of living water. The same privilege is in the Song as

signed to the church, as subsequent to her look from the top of Amana, the principle of faith: And both of them, in language of parallel sound as well as sense, described as thankful receivers, not as pri mary providers; and receiving too, not for their own private benefit only, but likewise for the public office of faithfully conveying to others, these communicated waters of life, in remembrance and execution of his own command', Freely ye have received, freely give.' If this shall be admitted, as there is great probability, if not proof for it, we have an irrefragable testimony to the divine authority of our Song; and, in any case, the striking similarity of expression gives us an authentic exposition from an infallible pen, of St John's account,This spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe in him were to receive,' applied by himself in these words3, Ye shall receive the power of the Holy Ghost coming upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and to the utter'most parts of the earth'shall become a fountain' of gardens, a well of living waters, going out from Jerusalem, half of them toward the former sea, the patriarchal original church of Israel, and half of them toward the hinder sea, the uttermost parts of 'the earth", the after, succeeding church of the Gentile

2 G 2

VER. 16.-Awake, O north wind, and come, thou south, blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out let my Beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.

Here the spouse, as we may now warrantably call her, takes up the new title of garden, which the Beloved had put into her mouth, and in an extatic rapture of humble joy, invites him into it, after being first prepared properly for his reception. And how is this preparation to be carried on? By herself? No: Awake, O north wind, and come, thou south, blow upon my garden. We had seen in the last verse one of the elements of nature, as they are called, the element of water, beautifully employed to figure out some grand benefit, blessing, or privilege of the church. Here we have another of these elements, the element of air (wind, spirit) brought in with the same view, and to carry on the same figure. So harmoniously uniform, so truly philosophical, is the scripture language every where, through this elegant poem in a particular manner. Awake, y, ouri, not as out of sleep, (for which the Hebrew has another word, iquetz, Psal. lxxviii. 65.) but in the sense of activity or fortitude,

1 Acts xiii. 46, 47.

2 Zech. xiv. 8, 9. Psalm ii. 6, 8, &c.

tude, like suscita, excita;' as, ' Awake, (ouri, our 'word here), awake, Deborah, utter a song;' and still more in point*, ' Awake, (ouri), awake, put on 'strength, O arm of the Lord,' which will shew the pertinency of the present address 3. Awake, O north. Our translation has added wind, and, from the subsequent call to blow, properly enough. The word is

tzephun, which radically signifies to hide, conceal, lay up, (occultare, abscondere, Latin, xgUTTE, naтaxρuт, Greek), and is seldom used in plain historical narration, but frequently in enigmatical speech, as in Job, Psalms, Proverbs, and Prophets, and for the most part in a good sense. In the Psalms we have many comfortable promises under this word: In the time of trouble he shall hide me ' in his pavilion:' O how great is thy goodness ' which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee 5 !' Thou shalt keep them secretly in thy pavilion 'from the strife of tongues':'They have taken counsel together against thy hidden secret

6

' ones.'

I Judges v. 12.

2 Isaiah li. 9.

3 The prophet has an addition here," Art thou not it which hath cut Rahab?' and I mention it, not as any way relative to my subject, but to prevent a mistake which our English pronunciation may occasion, as if the prophet's object of the Divine severity was the same with the Rahab of whom both Old and New Testament speak so favourably: whereas the prophet's Rahab (277, reb), is a different word, signifying pride, vain glory, or haughtiness, and in that bad sense is thought to denote Egypt-Psalm 1xxxvii. 4. and lxxxix. 11.

4 Psalm xxvii. 5,

5 Psalm xxxi. 19.

6 Ver. 20.

"ones '.' We find under this word the name of a place, Baal-zephon, which, from the prefix Baal, Lord, appears to have been dedicated to a satanic idol, clothed with this attribute: And which is more, to show the importance of this word, we have a prophet of Jehovah named from it, , Zephaniah, (occultatus, occultator, the occult one, of Jah, the essence). It is needless to enquire into the natural qualities of the north wind, or what influence it may have on aromatic gardens; these may vary according to the difference of climate, situation, and season. But the influences of the tzephun here applied to for blowing, are at all times, and in all places, the same, and to be discovered from the real meaning of the word in its general use. There was once a system of natural philosophy, indeed for a long time the prevailing one, which dealt much in what is called occult qualities, to account for ef fects, when it could not clearly describe the cause: And, though this ancient system be much exploded now, and attempts made to explain the several phænomena of nature, some by the abstruse terms of gravitation, attraction, cohesion, and the like, others by the settled agency of an original and universal mechanism, it will be allowed, I hope, that there are many wonderful things in nature, which cannot be consistently adjusted to either of these schemes;

1 Psalm lxxxv. iii. where the LXX. have it, XUTα TWY ČZIWY 08, and adversus sanctos tuos-against thy saints.'

Jerom and the Vulgate,

2 Exod. xiv. 2.