Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart. And as the outward state, so the majesty of his person, is above all comparison. Come forth, O ye daughters of Zion, lay aside all private and earthly affections, look upon King Solomon, as he sits solemnly crowned in the day of his greatest royalty and triumph; and compare his highest pomp, with the divine magnificence of my Saviour, in that day when his blessed marriage shall be fully perfected above, to the eternal rejoicing of himself and his Church, and see whether there be any proportion betwixt them. CHRIST. As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of the paths. As for my people, they have brought themselves to that pass, as that even very children trample upon them by proud oppressions, and they lie down willingly under them; and every effeminate usurper domineereth over them at pleasure; and which is worse, those spiritual guides, which should lead them in the way of life, mislead them unto utter perdition. What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor? saith the Lord God of hosts. What mean ye, O ye governors, which should be the only refuge and protection of my people, to offer this cruel violence unto them? How dare ye thus unmercifully oppress the poor? Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks: Neither only are the men thus vicious, but the women also are given over to a proud new-fangleness; even the dames of Jerusalem go in a haughty fashion, &c. Therefore the LORD will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will discover their secret parts. As all the parts of their body are tainted with their disguise, so the Lord will, in his justice, punish them in all parts, from the crown of the head to the sole of their feet; and will lay open this their loathsome and deformed nakedness, to the eyes of the world. Instead of beauty shall be burning. Instead of beauty, which they had wont so curiously to preserve, that they would not so much as look forth into the heat of the sun, shall be a vehement burning and scorching of the skin. Behold, thou art fair, my love: behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves' eyes within thy locks: thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead. Oh how fair thou art and comely, my dear Spouse! How inwardly fair with the gifts of my Spirit! how fair outwardly in thy comely administration and government! Thy spiritual eyes of understanding and judgment are full of purity, chastity, simplicity; not wantonly cast forth, but modestly shining amidst thy locks: all thy gracious profession, and all thy appendances and ornaments of expedient ceremonies, are so comely to behold, as is to see a flock of well-fed goats grazing upon the fruitful hills of Gilead. And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach. Upon that slaughter and vastation, there shall be so few men left, as that seven women shall lay hold and hang upon one man, with importunate suit to yield but to their protection and cohabitation, saying, It shall cost thee nothing; we have food and raiment of our own; only do thou bear the name of our husband, and take from us the reproach of our widowhood and sterility. In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel. In that day, the day of the blessed restoration of the Church, shall the Messiah, as the Branch of the Lord, sprout out gloriously and happily, out of the seemingly-dead stock of Judah; and excellent and pleasant fruits of his appearance shall glad the hearts of those, that are the faithful remainders of Israel. Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely; thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks. Thy speech, especially in the mouth of thy Teachers, is both gracious in itself, and such as administers grace to the hearers; full of zeal and fervent charity, full of gravity and discretion: and that part of thy countenance, which thou wilt have seen, though dimly and sparingly, is full of holy modesty and bashfulness; so blushing, that it seemeth like the colour of a broken piece of pomegranate. And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem. And it shall come to pass, that those, who pertain to the true Church of Christ, shall be holy; even every one, that shall be a lively member of the mystical body of Christ: Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armoury, whereon there hang a thousand buchlers, all shields of mighty men. Those, who, by their holy authority, sustain thy government, which are as some straight and strong neck to bear up the head, are like unto David's high tower of defence, furnished with a rich armoury, which affords infinite ways of safe protection, and infinite monuments of victory. When the LORD shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning. When the Lord shall, by his severe judgments, have washed and wiped away the blemishes and grievous sins of his Church; and shall have delivered his Jerusalem from all the pollutions, wherewith she was tainted, by the power of his Spirit, and the sharpness of his chastisements. Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies. Thy two Testaments, which are thy two full and fair breasts whereby thou nursest all thy faithful children, are as two young roes; twins, for their excellent and perfect agreement one with another, in all resemblances of young roes, that are daintily fed among the sweet flowers, for the pleasant nourishment which they yield to all that suck thereof. And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence. There shall be no corner of his Church, wherein the grace of God shall not marvellously appear; and wherein he will not manifest himself, and his merciful presence and protection, as he did to his ancient people of Israel, by a cloud and smoke by day, and by the shining of a flaming fire by night. Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense. Until the day of my gracious appearance shall shine forth, and until all these shadows of ignorance, infidelity, afflictions, be utterly and suddenly dispersed, O my Spouse, I will retire myself, in regard of my bodily presence, into my delightful and glorious rest of heaven. And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the day time from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain. And whereas the Church shall be still subject to the scorching heats and tempestuous storms of persecution, God shall erect a safe tabernacle for her, to shade her from the heat, and shelter her from those violent tempests. ISALAH, CHAP. IV. V. Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee. Thou art exceeding beautiful, O my Church, in all the parts of thee: for all thy sins are done away, and thine iniquity is covered; and lo, I present thee to my Father without spot, or wrinkle, or any such deformity. Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon: look from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon, from the lions' dens, from the mountains of the leopards. And now, O thou which I profess to have married to myself in truth and righteousness, thou shalt be gathered to me from all parts of the world; not only from the confines of Judea, where I planted and found thee, but from the remotest and most savage places of the nations; out of the company of infidels, of cruel and bloody persecutors, who, like lions and leopards, have tyrannized over thee, and mercilessly torn thee in pieces. Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck. Thou hast utterly ravished me from myself, O my Sister and Spouse; for so thou art, both joined to me in that spiritual union, and coheir with me of the same inheritance and glory: thou hast quite ravished my heart with thy love: even one cast of one of thine eyes of faith, and one of the ornaments of thy sanctification, wherewith thou art decked by my Spirit, have thus stricken me with love; how much more, when I shall have a full sight of thee, and all thy graces, shall I be affected towards thee! How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! how much better is thy love than wine! and the smell of thine ointments than all spices! Oh how excellent, how precious, how delectable are those loves of thine, O my sister, my Spouse! How far surpassing all earthly delicates! And the savour of those divine virtues, wherewith thou art endued, more pleasing to my scent, than all the perfumes in the world! Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb; honey and milk are under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon. The gracious speeches, that proceed from thee, are as so many drops of the honeycomb that fall from thy lips; and whether thou exhort, or confess, or pray, or comfort, thy words are both sweet and nourishing; and the savour of thy good works, and outward conversation, is to me as the smell of the wood of Lebanon to the sense of man. A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed. My sister, my Spouse, is as a garden or orchard full of all variety of the heavenly trees and flowers of grace: not lying carelessly open, either to the love of strangers, or to the rage of enemies, which, like the wild boar out of the wood, might root up and destroy her choice plants; but safely hedged and walled about, by my protection, and reserved for my delight alone: she is a spring and well of wholesome waters, from whom flow forth the pure streams of my word; but, both, inclosed and sealed up: partly, that she may the better, by this closeness, preserve her own natural taste and vigour, from the corruptions of the world; A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon. Thou art so a spring in my garden, that the streams, which are derived from thee, water all the gardens of my particular congregations, all the world over: thou art that fountain, from whose pure head issue all those living waters, which whose drinketh shall never thirst again; even such clear currents, as flow from the hill of Libanus, which, like unto another Jordan, water all the Israel of God. THE CHURCH. 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. If I be a garden, as thou sayest, O my Saviour, then arise, O all ye sovereign winds of the Spirit of God, and breathe upon this garden of my soul, that the sweet odours of these my plants may both be increased, and may also be dispersed afar, and carried into the nostrils of my well-beloved: and so let him come into his own garden, which his own hand hath digged, planted, watered; and accept of the fruit of that service and praise, which he shall enable me to bring forth to his name. CHRIST. I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk; eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved. Behold, according to thy desire, I am come into my garden, O my sister, my Spouse: I have received those fruits of thine obedience, which thou offeredst unto me, with much joy and pleasure. I have accepted, not only of thy good works, but thy endeavours and purposes of holiness, both which are pleasant to me, as the honey and the honeycomb. I have allowed of the cheerfulness of thy service, and the wholesomeness of thy doetrine. And ye, O my friends, whether blessed angels or faithful men, partake with me in this joy arising from the faithfulness of my Church: cheer up and fill yourselves, O my beloved, with the same spiritual dainties wherewith I am refreshed. THE CHURCH. Now will I sing to my well beloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill. I will sing a song to Christ, the dear Bridegroom of his Church, concerning his vineyard of Israel. My God and Saviour had planted his Church of Israel, in a very fruitful soil; with the greatest advantage of place, even in the highest eminence, where he might be likely to receive the most generous fruit of obedience. I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night. When the world had cast me into a secure sleep, or slumber rather, for my heart was not utterly bereaved of a true faith in my Saviour, even in this darkness of my mind, it pleased my gracious Redeemer not to neglect me: he came to me, and knocked oft, and called importunately at the door of my heart, by his word and chastisements, and said, Open the door of thy soul, O my sister, my dear, chaste, comely, unspotted Church; let me come in, and lodge and dwell with thee, in my graces; shut out the world, and receive me with a more lively act and renovation of thy faith; for lo, I have long waited patiently for this effect of thy love, and have endured all the injuries both of the night and weather of thy provocations, that I might at last enjoy thee. And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. He fenced it about, with his gracious protection and good laws: he removed out of it all the apparent impediments of growth and fruitfulness: he furnished it with choice persons, and those persons with excellent graces: he gave to it proofs of his vigilant care over it, and means to express and make use of that sweet fruit, which it should yield: and now, he made account that it should return unto him the pleasant clusters of holy obedience; and behold, it runs forth into miserable disorder, and yields nothing but the sour and distasteful fruits of sin and wickedness. I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them? I answered him again, pleading excuses for my delay; Alas, Lord, I have now, since I left my forward profession of thee, avoided a great number of cares and sorrows; must I take them up again to follow thee? I have lived clean from the soil of these evils, and shall I now thrust myself into the danger of them? And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. And now, O my people, I dare appeal to yourselves, and make you judges of this case betwixt you and me; say whether you can choose but condemn yourselves. My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him. When my Saviour heard this unkind answer of delay, he let his hand fall from the keyhole, which he had thus before without success laboured about; and withdrew himself from soliciting me any more: whereupon my heart and bowels yearned within me for him, and for the remorse of my so long fore-slowing his admittance unto me. I rose up to open to my beloved; and my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh, upon the handles of the lock. And now I roused up my drowsy heart, what I could, that I might, in some cheerful manner, desire to receive so gracious a Saviour; which when I but endeavoured, I found that he had left behind him such a plentiful blessing, as the monument of his late presence, upon the first motions of my heart, as that with the very touch of them I was both exceedingly refreshed, and moved to further indignation at myself for delaying him. I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone; my soul failed when he spoke: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer. I opened to my beloved Saviour, but my Saviour had now, in my feeling, withdrawn himself, and hid his countenance from me, holding me short of those gracious offers and means which I had refused; and now I was almost past myself with despair, to remember that sweet invitation of his, which I neglected: I sought him therefore in my thoughts, in the outward use of his ordinances and of my earnest prayers; but he would not as yet be found of me, or let me find that I was heard of him. The watchmen that went about the city found me, they smote me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me. Those, which should have regarded me, and by their vigilancy have secured me from danger, proved mine adversaries: instead of comforting me, they fell upon me, and wounded me with their false doctrines, drawing me on into further errors, spoiling me of that purity and sincerity of profession, wherewith, as with some rich and modest veil, I was formerly adorned and covered. I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, that I am sick of love. I advise you solemnly, O all ye that wish well to me, for I care not who knows the vehemency of my passion, if you should find my Saviour's presence in yourselves before me, pray for the recovery of his love to me; and, bemoaning my estate to him, tell him how I languish with the impatient desire of his love and presence to be restored unto me. What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women? what is thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us? O thou, which art the most happy, most gracious, and most glorious of creatures, the chosen of the Living God; what is thy well-beloved, whom thou seekest, above all others the sons of men? What such eminency is there in him above all saints and angels, that thou art both so far gone in affection to him, and dost so vehemently adjure us to speak unto him for thee? In mine ears said the LORD of hosts. Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair, without inhabitant. Thus hath God pleased to reveal his will unto me, saying, Whereas these oppressors affect to join house to house, certainly, I will cause their houses to be desolate; and, as they dispeopled towns and houses, their houses, though great and fair, shall be without inhabitants. My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand. My well-beloved, if you know not, is of perfect beauty; in whose face is an exact mixture of the colours of the purest and healthfullest complexion of holiness: for he hath not received the Spirit by measure; and in him the Godhead dwells bodily: he is infinitely fairer than all the sons of men; and, for goodliness of person, may bear the standard of comeliness and grace amongst ten thousand. Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of an homer shall yield an ephah. Yea, so will I curse that ground with barrenness, which they have wrung from the poor owners, as that ten acres of vineyard shall yield but six gallons of wine; and so much ground, as seven bushels is able to sow, shall yield but three parts back again to the owner. His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy, and black as a raven. The Deity, which dwelleth in him, is most pure and glorious; and that fulness of grace, which is communicated to his human nature, is wondrously beautiful, and so sets it forth, as the black curled locks do a fresh and well-favoured countenance. His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of water, washed with milk, and fitly set. His judgment of all things, and his respect to his Church, which are as his eyes, are full of love, and full of piety; shining like unto doves washed in water, yea, in milk, so as there is no spot or blemish to be found in them: and they are withal so fully placed, as is most comely and most expedient for the perfect sight of the estate and necessities of his servants. His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers: his lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh. The manifestation of himself to us in his word, is sweet to our spiritual feeling; as a heap of spice, or those flowers that are used to make the best perfuming ointments, are to the other senses: his heavenly instructions and promises of his Gospel are unspeakably comfortable, and plenteous, in the grace that is wrought by them. His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl: his belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires. His actions and his instruments, which are his hands, are set forth with much port and majesty, as some precious stone beautifies the ring wherein it is set: the secret counsels of his breast, and the mysteries of his will, are most pure and holy, and full of excellent glory. Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure; and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it. Neither shall the wrath of God stay here, and take up with their captivity and famine; but he hath prepared further judgment for these merciless oppressors, for he shall cause the insatiable gulf of hell to devour them, and to swallow up all their pomp and jollity. His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold: his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars. All his proceedings are firm and stable; and withal, as pillars of marble set in sockets of tried gold; so as they are neither subject to wavering, nor to any danger of infirmity and corruption: the shew and carriage of his whole person, whereby he makes himself known to his chosen, is exceeding goodly and upright, like to the straight and lofty cedars of Lebanon. His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem. His mouth, out of which proceed innumerable blessings and comfortable promises, is to my soul even sweetness itself; yea, what speak I of any one part? as you have heard in these particulars, he is all sweets: there is nothing but comfort in him, and there is no comfort but in him: and this, if ye would know, is my well-beloved; of so incomparable glory and worthiness, that ye may easily discern him from all others. FOREIGN CONGREGATIONS.