sees the inside of all; and what men are there, that they are to him; he sees not as we see, but ponders the hidden man of the heart, no humble, broken, contrite soul, shall lose one sigh, or groan after him, and communion with him; no pant of love, or desire is hid from him, he sees in secret; no glorious performance of the most glorious hypocrite will avail with him; his eyes look through all, and the filth of their hearts lies naked before him.

4thly. Beauty and glory are here intended also; every thing of Christ is beautiful, for he is altogether lovely ;' ver. 16. but most glorious in his sight and wisdom; he is the wisdom of God's eternal wisdom itself; his understanding is infinite. What spots and stains are in all our knowledge? when it is made perfect, yet it will still be finite and limited; his is without spot of darkness, without foil of limitedness.

Thus then is he beautiful and glorious, his head is of gold, his eyes are dove's eyes, washed in milk and fitly set.'

[3.] The next thing insisted on, is his cheeks, ver. 15. His cheeks are as a bed of spices;' as sweet flowers, or towers of perfumes, or well grown flowers. There are three things evidently pointed at in these words.

1st. A sweet savour as from spices and flowers and towers of perfume.

2dly. Beauty and order, as spices set in rows or beds, as the words import.

3dly. Eminency in that word, as sweet or well grown, great flowers.

These things are in the cheeks of Christ: the Chaldee paraphrast, who applies this whole song to God's dealings with the people of the Jews; makes these cheeks of the church's husband to be the two tables of stone, with the various lines drawn in them, but that allusion is strained; as are most of the conjectures of that scholiast.

The cheeks of a man are the seat of comeliness, and manlike courage. The comeliness of Christ, as hath in part been declared, is from his fulness of grace in himself for us. His manly courage respects the administration of his rule and government, from his fulness of authority, as was before declared. This comeliness and courage, the spouse describing Christ as a beautiful, desirable personage, to shew that spi

ritually he is so, calleth his cheeks; so to make up his parts, and proportion. And to them doth she ascribe,

1st. A sweet savour, order, and eminency; a sweet savour; as God is said to smell a sweet savour from the grace and obedience of his servants (Gen. viii. 2. The Lord smelled a savour of rest from the sacrifice of Noah'); so do the saints smell a sweet savour from his grace laid up in Christ; Cant. i. 3. It is that which they rest in, which they delight in, which they are refreshed with. As the smell of aromatical spices and flowers, please the natural sense, refresh the spirits, and delight the person, so do the graces of Christ to his saints. They please their spiritual sense, they refresh their drooping spirits, and give delight to their souls. If he be nigh them they smell his raiment, as Isaac the raiment of Jacob. They say it is as the smell of a field that the Lord hath blessed;' Gen. xxvii. 27. and their souls are refreshed with it.

2dly. Order and beauty are as spices set in a garden bed. So are the graces of Christ. When spices are set in order, any one may know what is for his use, and take and gather it accordingly. Their answering also one to another makes them beautiful; so are the graces of Christ in the gospel, they are distinctly and in order set forth that sinners by faith may view them, and take from him according to their necessity. They are ordered for the use of saints in the promises of the gospel. There is light in him, and life in him, and power in him, and all consolation in him; a constellation of graces, shining with glory and beauty. Believers take a view of them all; see their glory and excellency, but fix especially on that, which, in the condition wherein they are, is most useful to them. One takes light and joy; another life and power; by faith and prayer do they gather these things, in this bed of spices. Not any that comes to him goes away unrefreshed. What may they not take, what may they not gather? What is it that the poor soul wants? behold, it is here provided, set out in order in the promises of the gospel; which are as the beds wherein these spices are set for our use; and on the account hereof, is the covenant said to be 'ordered in all things;' 2 Sam. xxiii. 5.

3dly. Eminency; his cheeks are a tower of perfumes held up, made conspicuous, visible, eminent; so it is with

the graces of Christ, when held out, and lifted up in the preaching of the gospel. They are a tower of perfumes; a sweet savour to God and man.

The next clause of that verse is, 'His lips are like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh.' Two perfections in things natural are here alluded unto. First, the glory of colour in the lilies, and the sweetness of savour in the myrrh. The glory and beauty of the lilies in those countries was such, as that our Saviour tells us, that Solomon in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of them;' Matt. vi. 29. and the savour of myrrh, such as when the Scripture would set forth any thing to be an excellent savour, it compares it thereunto; Psal. xlv. 8. and thereof was the sweet and holy ointment chiefly made; Exod xxx. 26. mention is also made frequently of it in other places to the same purpose. It is said of Christ that grace was poured into his lips;' Psal. xlv. 2. whence men wondered or were amazed, rois λóyous Tñs xáρiros, at the words of grace that proceeded out of his mouth; so that by the lips of Christ, and their dropping sweet smelling myrrh, the word of Christ, its savour, excellency, and usefulness, is intended. Herein is he excellent, and glorious indeed, surpassing the excellencies of those natural things which yet are most precious in their kind; even in the glory, beauty, and usefulness of his word. Hence they that preach his word, to the saving of the souls of men, are said to be a 'sweet savour to God,' 2 Cor. ii. 15. and the savour of the knowledge of God, is said to be manifested by them, ver. 14. I might insist on the several properties of myrrh, whereto the word of Christ is here compared; its bitterness in taste, its efficacy to preserve from putrefaction, its usefulness in perfumes and unctions, and press the allegory in setting out the excellencies of the word in allusions to them. But I only insist on generals; this is that which the Holy Ghost here intends; the word of Christ is sweet, savoury, precious unto believers, and they see him to be excellent, desirable, beautiful, in the precepts, promises, exhortations, and the most bitter threats thereof.

The spouse adds, 'His hands are as gold rings set with. beryl.' The word 'beryl' in the original is 'tarshish,' which the Septuagint have retained, not restraining it to any peculiar

precious stone; the onyx say some, the chrysolite say others; any precious stone shining with a sea-green colour, for the word signifies the sea also. Gold rings set with precious, glittering stones are both valuable, and desirable for profit and ornament; so are the hands of Christ, that is, all his works; the effects, by the cause: all his works are glorious, they are all fruits of wisdom, love, and bounty; 'and his belly is as bright ivory, overlaid with sapphires : the smoothness and brightness of ivory, the preciousness and heavenly colour of the sapphires, are here called in, to give some lustre to the excellency of Christ; to these is his belly, or rather his bowels, which takes in the heart also, compared. It is the inward bowels, and not the outward bulk that is signified. Now to shew that by 'bowels' in the Scripture ascribed either to God or man, affections are intended, is needless. The tender love, unspeakable affections, and kindness of Christ to his church and people, is thus set out. What a beautiful sight is it to the eye, to see pure polished ivory set up and down with heaps of precious sapphires; how much more glorious are the tender affections, mercies, and compassion, of the Lord Jesus unto believers.

Ver. 15. The strength of his kingdom, the faithfulness and stability of his promises, the height and glory of his person in his dominion, the sweetness and excellency of communion with him, is set forth in these words; 'His legs are pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold: his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars: his mouth is most sweet.'

When the spouse hath gone thus far in the description of him, she concludes all in this general assertion; he is wholly desirable, altogether to be desired, or beloved. As if she should have said; I have thus reckoned up some of the perfections of the creatures, things of most value, price, usefulness, beauty, glory, here below, and compared some of the excellencies of my beloved unto them. In this way of allegory I can carry things no higher; I find nothing better, or more desirable to shadow out and to present his loveliness and desirableness; but alas! all this comes short of his perfections, beauty, and comeliness; he is all wholly to be desired, to be beloved.

Lovely in his person, in the glorious all-sufficiency of his Deity, gracious purity, and holiness of his humanity, authority and majesty, love and power.

Lovely in his birth and incarnation; when he was rich, for our sakes becoming poor, taking part of flesh and blood because we partook of the same; being made of a woman, that for us he might be made under the law, even for our sakes.

Lovely in the whole course of his life, and the more than angelical holiness and obedience, which, in the depth of poverty and perfection he exercised therein; doing good, receiving evil; blessing and being cursed; reviled, reproached, all his days.

Lovely in his death; yea, therein most lovely to sinners; never more glorious and desirable, than when he came broken, dead, from the cross; then had he carried all our sins into a land of forgetfulness; then had he made peace and reconciliation for us; then had he procured life and immortality for us.

Lovely in his whole employment, in his great undertaking, in his life, death, resurrection, ascension, being a mediator between God and us, to recover the glory of God's justice, and to save our souls; to bring us to an enjoyment of God, who were set at such an infinite distance from him by sin.

Lovely in the glory and majesty wherewith he is crowned, now he is set down at the right hand of Majesty on high; where though he be terrible to his enemies, yet he is full of mercy, love, and compassion, towards his beloved ones.

Lovely in all those supplies of grace and consolations, in all the dispensations of his Holy Spirit, whereof his saints are made partakers.

Lovely in all the tender care, power, and wisdom, which he exercises in the protection, safe-guarding, and delivery, of his church and people, in the midst of all the oppositions and persecutions whereunto they are exposed.

Lovely in all his ordinances, and the whole of that spiritually glorious worship which he hath appointed to his people, whereby they draw nigh, and have communion with him and his Father.