be fnll.'' As an earthly fe.thar delights to hear the silvery prattle of his little child ~nri no _request from an iD:ran_t's lips goes nnheeded; so ?ur God fiD;ds peculiar ple11sui~ m hearmg our voice of childlike appeal. Before we finish our petition, the answer is on the way. 2. This req'U6St is an outcome ef Okrist''S relationship to us. Since he has entered into intimate and affectionate union with US--'l\Y, made with us a marriage covenant-it follows that communion with us is a thing to be desired. If he had not been willing to live with us on familiar and reciprocal terms, he would not have entered into this mystic and orge.nio union. Having made the greater sacrifice, he will not retrain from the lesser. It is not his fault that his intercourse with us is not more frequent, more close, more sensibly enjoyed. Ha is ever asking us to treat him as our bosom-Friend, and to t111st him for every kind of need. It is as if he said to us, "Y011 tell your troubles unto others; why not tell them unto me? Ca.use me to hear thy voice!" Would e. loyal wife tell her cares and her griefs to one and to another, while refraining from speaking of them to her husband? Would not this be a scandalous folly ? Hence Jesus says to us, " Tell me everything. 'l.'here is nothing that disturbs your peace which is not a care to me." We are charged to'' cast all our care upon him." And our simple duty is," in everythiog ... to make known our wants unto God." 3. This request of Christ will serve as a corrective. To remember that Jesus wanJs to hear our voice, will this not often be a check upon our speech? Those hasty or unk:ind words of ours respecting another, did not Jesus hear them? Or, if W'3 are forming in our minds an ungenerous estimate of a neighbour, does not Jesus· whisper to us, "Cause me to hear thy voice"? Even thoughts are heard by him. The voice that Jesus hears is not always the voice that others hear. They hear the words ,which escape the lips. Jesus hears the intention uppermost in the mind. Jesus hears the " still small voice " of onT motives. Our every feeling, our every_ ambition, has a voice, and Jesus ~ays, "Let me hear it." It is for our good that he should hear it all~ My best Beloved is ever listening. How soCJi,and loving and true should my voice always be! I must "set a watch on the doo.!' of my lips, that I sin not wit};i my tongue." , 1 V. THE CHRISTIAN'S RESPONSE TO ms l;,oBo's REQUE~T. "Make 1:taste, my Beloved, and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart upon the mount~ins of spices." . 1. Note the promptness o/ true obedience. Jesus bad said, " Cause me, to hear thy voice." Forth~ witn the loving soul responds, "Lord, thou shalt hear it. Come,. Lord Jesus; come. quickly!" No word could be more welcome to Jesus than that. lt is as if the spouse had said, "Mayhap my voice may express feelings and inclinations which are very faulty; but do thou, beloved One, come, and thou wilt correct all faultiness. Thy presence will be food and medicine, rest and g~owth, in one. The 'one thing needful ' is thyself. I pass by all the streams of help ; I come to the Fountain-head. ,Thou art the Fount of life. 'All my springs are in thee.' " Love is swift to obey 2. Yet absence is for a time expedient. 'l'he night is as needful to the plant as the day. Wii;iter, is as useful to agriculture as summer. It was expedient. for the first apostles thaj; Christ's visible presence should be withdrawn. They learnt to use ,the wisdom and the courage which he had given them. They gave themselves more to the study of Scripture and to prayer. They showed far more enthusiasm and zeal than when he was among them. We see, as a fact, that great adva,ntage accrued to them from the departure of Jesus. So is it still. We have from him all the help WI:! need, We have his mighty Spirit in our souls. To have the visible presence of Jesus would fill us with a new rapture. But enjoyment is not the main thiµg now. We wan·t personal holiness and personal consecration; these are attained tqrough faith. 3 .. The Christian interprets this command of Christ as a fresh proo/ of his-love. Did he say, " Cause me to hear thy voice"? then this is a love-token. He would not desire to hear my voice unless he loved me. What delicate reminders of his l,O'?{l does our. Jmmanuel give! How he devises to do us good, and plans to give us pleasure I And the more love grows, tbe stronger grows the desire to see him as he is. We long to have near1:1r access to Christ, without a veil between. 4. Love is impatient of all del,ay. We cannot climb to the heavenly heights, or sometimes we would. Hence, if there is to be a meeting between Christ and me, he must come down to me. Where he dwells must be a IDum1tain--a mountain of fragrant spice. As mountains are the eminences of nature, the luftiest parts of this material globe, so they help us to ascend to those Oll. VIII, 1-14.] THE SONG OF SOLOMON. 207
empyreal heights, where true purity resides, where the Highest dwells. Love can conquer every hindrance, Love annihilates distance and time. Already Love dwells in the future. 'fo her eye the final consummation is reached; and hence she sincrs 0 "Come, Lord Jesus; come quickly I "-D. '