I. CHnISTIAN SPEF:OH IS SWEET AS TESTIFYING TO THE CHARACTER OF THE SPEAKER. 1. Sincerity is the first condition of all acceptable speech; it is above all things desimbl~ that thero should be no discordance between the utterance and the heart. The flatterer at court 11nd in general society speaks only to pleaBe; and in the case of those who know his nim nnd his motives, he fails of the very object he has in view. The Church is bound to speak "words of truth and soberness," as remembering the sacredness of the gift of utterance, and the responsibility attaching to its exercise. 'l'o a just mind sincere words are welcome, even though they be less honeyed than the words of the time-server nnd men-pleaser. 2. Love prompts to words which arc a delight to hear. Whilst the tones of hatred are harsh, ar:d the utterances of coldness are repugnant, kindness, sympathy, affection, give a sweetness to every utterance. Welcome as the words which come from the heart of the beloved, telling of the depth of unchangeable affection, are those Christian declarations in which the Church gives expression to her Jove for her Saviour and her pity for the world. II. CamSTIAN SPEECH IS SWEET WHEN I'l' TESTIFIES TO THE LOVE AND FAITHFUL- NESS OF TilE LORD. '!'here is no exercise more congenial to Christ's people, more acceptable to Christ himself, than this. The powers of speech cannot be more holily and honourably employed than in uttering forth the high praises of God, in lauding and magnifying the redeeming Jove of Christ. The hymn which is lisped by the little child, the anthem which rings through the cathedral aisles, the quiet word of witness in which the friend commends the Saviour to him who is dear to his heart,-these are but some of the forms in which language may show forth the greatness, the goodness, the wisdom, of the Eternal. What theme so worthy of the tongue, " the glory of the frame," as this? The voice of praise and thanksgiving is dear to the heart alike of God and man. JII. CHRISTIAN SPEECH IS SWEET WHEN UTTERING TESTIMO:t..--Y TO THE GOilPEL OP Gon's LOVE. Men's hearts have to be reached and to be affected by the tidings of Divine mercy and compassion. It is most condescending and gracious on God's part that he deigns to employ human agency in the service of his own Divine beneficence. If men avail themselves of all the resources of human rhetoric in order to obtain earthly ends-power, wealth, and fame-how much more ready should they be to use all the faculties they possess, all the arts and means they can acquire, to bring before their fellow-men the tidings of heavenly and immortal love ! Well may every preacher and every teacher of Divine truth put up the prayer- " Jesus, confirm my heart's desire, To work, to think, to speak for thee: Still let me guard the holy fire, And still stir up thy gift in me I " T. Ver. 10.-The desire of the beloved. The assurance of mutual possession and affection occurs in an earlier part of the poem; but its repetition here is not without significance. Lorn has not lessened as time has passed; it has rather cleepened, as experience has revealed, to each of the married lover~, the faithfulness and kindness, the purity and devotion, of the other. Ilence the bride aclds to .this later exclamation," I am my beloved's," the statement which is the expression of experience, "His desire is toward me." Transferring the language to the relations and sentiments distinctive of the rriutual attachment of Christ and his people, we observe here a declaration- !. OF THE GOOD WILL AND COMPASSIONATE AFFECTION OF CHRIST FOR HIS CHURCH. 1. The Lord takes a deep satisfaction in his people, and re~ards them with a holy complacency. 2. He desires that they should participate in his character and reflect his imao-e, Spiritual fellowship with him tends to bring about this result, than which nothing°can be more to the mind of the Head of the Church. 3. He desires that they may be qualified witnesses to himself, and agents in promoting his cause and glory upon earth. And this, for his own sake indeed, yet also for the Church's sake, and for the sake of the world for whose salvation he lived and died on earth. !I. OF THE RESPONSE OF THE CHURCH, HER SURRENDER OF HERSELF COMPLETELY 'l'O HER SPOUSE AND LORD. This attitude of heart has been beautifully expresser\ in these words: "I attach myself to God, I give myself ~o him; and he turns to me ~ONQ Of SOLO~QN, H 178 THE SONG OF SOLOMON. [on, vu. 1-13,
immcdintely; his eyos look upon me with fa\•our; his Spirit is attentive lo my goo,!; his great heart bows itself and stoops to my nothingness; he unites his heart to mine• he heaps upon it new graces, to attach it more strongly to him. Devoto thyself, O soul, wholly to I.by God." 1. Spiritunl receptiveness is the jnst response to Divine my desire. If it is the will an<l pleasure of the Saviour to h\ke possession of the whole nature and life of his people, it is cq ually their will and pleasure to abandon nil other aims in life, and to devote themselves to this, with the view of becoming· his only, his 11\t-ogother, and his for ever. 2. Spiritual consecration completes this just response. llume.n nature is not merely pas,b·e; it is energetic. Human lifo is an opportunity, n<;t only for getting, but for giving. The Church must indeed receive from the Divine Head every qualification which can fit for the discharge of duty, for the rendering of serdce. But it is hers to pro\•e her gratitude aud her fidelity to the trust reposed in her, by dcrnting herself to those high ends with a view to which she has been chosen, loved, and redecmed.-T. '