quickening influence of him, who only can keep my soul awake, velvet-shod Morpheus shook his poppies over me; and forgetful of my Saviour; forgetful of myself; I insensibly sunk into the arms of spiritual slumber but Jesus stood by; he beheld me stretched out on the bed of security, and kindly awaked me from that sinful sleep, that lethargic condition in which my soul was plunged. On my bed I sought him; him whom my soul loveth....for Jesus was still the delight of my heart; having drank of his Spirit; having tasted of his love; nothing but the presence of my eternal, unchangable, immortal lover can satisfy the vast desires of my soul, which aspires after the blissful enjoyment of God; even my God forever: I sought him, but I found him not; I looked for him, but I could not see him; I seached my heart, but he was not there; he had withdrawn from that temple where he delighted to dwell: and who shall shew me any good? Lift thou up the light of thy countenance on me; I have slumbered and slept by the way, and my beloved is gone; where shall I find him? where shall I seek him? I will rise from this fatal drowsy state which has grieved my beloved, and caused my Lord to turn away in displeasure. I will rise now; cannot, I must not delay; but while it is called to-day, will seek after him, in whose favor is life, and at whose right hand there are pleasures for evermore: I will arise now, and go about the city; in the streets, and in the broad ways, I will seek him whom my sou] loveth I sought him, but I found him not! Jesus, the only wise God our Saviour, uttereth his voice in the streets; he crieth in the chief places of concourse ;

I

in the openings of the gates in the city, he uttereth his words thither I make my resort, hoping to find my beloved, to hear his well known voice; to behold his august, adorable person, as coming from Bozrah with his garments dyed in blood, travelling in the greatness of his strength; him that speaketh in righteous. ness, mighty to save!....I sought him, but I found him not; his ways and ordinances, though sometimes delightful, are now but dry breasts and barren wombs; because I cannot find my Saviour in them. By the rivers of Babylon, now I sit down; I hang my harp upon the willows and cry out in my haste, "My Lord hath forsaken me; my God hath forgotten to be gracious." The watchmen that go about the city found me; to whom I said, "Saw ye him, whom my soul loveth?" Jesus hath appointed watchmen, who go about his Zion, telling the bulwarks thereof, who, instant in season and out of season, proclaim to the citizens of Jerusalem, "Thy God reigneth!" They saw my distress, they beheld the anxiety of my heart; I enquired of them, "Have ye seen my Lord? saw ye him whom my soul loveth? know ye which way he went, or where he takes up his abode ? tell me, O ye favored ambassadors, ye messengers of peace, that I may fly on the wings of the wind, and fall at his feet again it was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth.”

When Jesus, by the secret influence of his Spirit, convinced me that his servants were not able to help me, could not bring me to him after whom I was seeking, nor afford me that consolation I vainly expected

from them; but gave me to look to the everlasting hills, from whence cometh salvation; and from heartfelt experience to say, "My expectation is from thee,

Lord"....I found him whom my soul loveth. Jesus the Saviour and friend of my soul, again whispered peace to his disconsolate bride; again he returned to his throne in my heart, dispersing my fears, subduing my foes, and giving me to exult in the favor of him, who is the joy of angels, the glory of saints; in whom dwelleth all the fulness of the godhead bodily: I held him, and would not let him go; tasting again the sweet sense of his love, I clung to his arms by the power of faith; thou art my supreme and only good; O bind me, my beloved, by the sweet bands of thy love, to the horns of the altar, the precious wounds of my Saviour; that I may never depart from thy feet; never lose sight of that dear Immanuel, who is exalted as a prince and Saviour, to bless me with the blessings of an everlasting covenant; in whom all my happiness centers; in whom all my treasures are eternally laid up: thou art my beloved, and thou art my friend; whom have I in heaven but thee, there is none upon earth I would desire in comparison of thee. I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please: let nothing disturb the repose of my Lord; he rests in my arms, he abides in my heart. I charge you, Oye indwellers there; I charge you that are round about me, that ye offend not my Saviour; that ye grieve not his Spirit, nor cause him again to depart in displeasure.

"Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness, like pillars of smoak, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant?" Who is this that having been long imprisoned in the dreary confines of an howling wilderness, now abideth no longer in the tents of Kedar, but travelleth towards Zion, the city of the living God, like pillars of smoak perfumed with myrrh? She is black, she is polluted with sin, a smoaking brand plucked out of the fire; yet she is adorned out of the treasures of heaven, with fine linen, white and clean; yea, her garment is of wrought gold; her smell is as the smell of a field well watered by the Spirit from above. Jesus inquires, "Doth he not know?" yes, he declares, she is his spouse, his well-beloved; the very delight of his soul: he says of her, "Behold thou art fair, my love, behold thou art fair; thou hast dove's eyes: I have washed thee, I have cloathed thee, I have sanctified thee: thou hast dove's eyes within thy locks; thy hair is as a flock of goats that appear from mount Gilead; thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which came up from the washing, whereof every one bear twins, and none is barren among them: 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 neck is like the tower of David, built for an armory, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men; thy breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feedeth among the lilies: until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense :

I will come unto thee, my beloved, and abide in thine heart for ever; I will visit thee with the sweet_visitations of my grace and favor, till the bright day of eternity break; till every dark intervening cloud disappear, and the shadows of night are dispersed for ever; for thou art fairer and sweeter in thy Saviour's esteem, than whole mountains of spices, or groves of myrrh; yea, thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee. 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 lion's den, from the mountains of the leop ards. Come my beloved, with thy Saviour and King, who hath loved thee, and betrothed thee to himself, in an everlasting covenant: O come with me, my beloved, from Lebanon; look from the things which are seen and are temporal, to the things which, though unseen, are of eternal duration, and infinite: look from the deceitful pleasures and deluding vanities of time, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the habitation of my holiness, the place where mine honor dwelleth; where flows the water of life, and where that tree, whose leaves are for the healing of the nations, blooms for ever: look from the lions' dens, the mountains of the Jeopards: thy spiritual enemies are numerous and various, they rage and roar, threatening to devour thee; but look not to their power, their strength, or their might, lest thou faint under a sense of thy own weakness, and forget thy Almighty Saviour, who is engaged to deliver thee; whose everlasting arms are underneath thee; who goeth before thee, and is thy rere-ward, and as a wall of fire round about thee: