The loving intercourse heticixt Christ and the church one with another.
Now Christ, upon the secm-e estate and condition of the church, desfres her ' to open imto him,' ver 2 ; which desire and waiting of Christ is put off and slighted with poor and slender excuses : ver. 3, ' I have put off my coat ; how shall I put it on ? ' &c.
The success* of which excuses is, that Christ seems to go away fi'om her (and indeed to her sight and sense departs) : ver. 6, ' I opened to my beloved ; but my beloved had withdi-awn himself,' &c. ; whereupon she lays about her, is restless, and inquires after Christ from the watchmen, who misuse, 'wound her, and take away her veil fr'om her,' ver. 7.
Another intercom'se in this chapter here is, that the church for all this gives not over searching after Christ, but asks the daughters of Jerusalem what was become of her beloved, ver. 8 ; and withal, in a few words, but full of large expression, she relates her case unto them, that ' she was sick of love,' and so ' chargeth them to tell her beloved,' ' if they find him.' Whereupon a question moved by them, touching her beloved, ver. 9, * What is thy beloved more than another beloved ? ' she takes occasion, being full of love, which is glad of all occasion to speak of the beloved, to * That is, ' the result.'— G.
Cant. V. 1.] ' i am come into my gaeden.' 17
burst forth into his praises, by many elegant expressions, verses 10, 11, 12, &c.
1. In general, setting him at a large distance, beyond comparison from all others, to be ' the chiefest of ten thousand,' ver. lO.
2. In particulars, ver. 11, &c. : ' his head is as most fine gold,' &c.
The issue whereof was, that the 'daughters of Jerusalem' become like- wise enamoured with him, chap. vi. 1 ; and thereupon inquire also after him, ' Whither is thy beloved gone, 0 thou faii'est among women ? ' &c. Unto which demand the church makes answer, chap. vi. 2 ; and so, ver. 3 of that chapter makes a confident, triumphant close unto all these grand passages forenamed, ' I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine,' &c. ; aU of which wiU better appear in the particulars themselves.
The first thing then which offereth itself to our consideration is Christ's answer to the church's invitation, chap. iv. 16 :
' I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse : I have gathered my mvrrh with my spice ; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey ; I have drunk my wine with my milk : eat, 0 friends ; drink, yea, drink abundantly, 0 beloved.' In which verse we have,
I. Christ's answer to the chm-ch's petition, ' I am come into my garden.'
n. A compellation, or description of the .church, ' My sister, my spouse.'
III. Christ's acceptation of what he had gotten there, ' I have gathered my myrrh with my spice ; I have eaten mv honeycomb with my honey.' There is,
IV. An invitation of all Christ's friends to a magnifique* abundant feast, * Eat, 0 friends ; drink, yea drink abundantly, 0 beloved.*
I. For the first, then, in that Christ makes such a real answer unto the church's invitation, ' I am come into my garden,' &c., we see, that Christ comes into his yarden. 'Tis much that he that hath heaven to delight in, will delight to dwell among the sons of sinful men ; but this he doth for us, and so takes notice of the church's petition.
' Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruit.' The right speech of the church that gives all to Ciu'ist, who, when she hath made such a petition, hears it. The order is this —
First of all, God makes his church lovely, planteth good things therein, and then stirs up in her good desires : both fitness to pray from an inward gracious disposition, and holy desfres ; after which, Christ hearing the voice of his own Spirit in her, and regarding his own preparations, he answers them graciously. Whence, in the first place, we may observe, that,
God makes ns good, stirs up holy desires in us, and then answers the desires of his holy Spirit in us.
A notable place for this we have, Ps. s. 17, which shews how God first prepares the heart to pray, and then hears these desires of the soul stirred up by his o^vn Spirit, ' Lord, thou hast heard the desires of the humble.' None are fit to pray but the humble, such as discern their O'mi wants : ' Thou wilt prepare their hearts, thou wilt make thine ear to hear.' So Rom. viii. 26, it is said, ' Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmi- ties ; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought : but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us, with groanings which cannot be uttered.' Thus the Spirit not only stirs up our heart to pray, but also prepares our hearts unto it. Especially this is necessary for us, when our thoughts are confused with trouble, grief, and passions, not knowing what to pray. In * That is, ' magnificent.' — G.