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A34663 A brief exposition of the whole book of Canticles, or Song of Solomon lively describing the estate of the church in all the ages thereof, both Jewish and Christian, to this day ... / written by that learned and godly divine, John Cotton ... Cotton, John, 1584-1652. 1642 (1642) Wing C6410; ESTC R20552 96,952 268

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deepe waters and calamities as of his greatest deliverances And the holy ghost saith Rejoyce in the Lord alwayes And though singing be chiefly fit and requisite in mirth yet wee should be fit also for a Psalme in our affliction But we commonly in our ill howers are too sullen to sing and in our merry moods our spirits vanish away in carnall mirth and jolity but whatsoever the estate of the Church be we should have our spirits as ready to sing as to pray Use 3 Thirdly is reproved that ancient law and custome of the Synagogue which prohibited young men under thirtie yeares of age the reading and use of this booke but what age fitter for songs then cheerfull youth And further the amorousnesse of the dittie will not stirre up wantonesse in any age if the words be well understood but rather by inflaming with heavenly love will draw out and burne up all earthly and carnall lust and even as fire in the hand is drawne out by holding it to a stronger fire or as the light and heat of the Sunne extinguisheth a kitchin fire so doth heavenly love to Christ extinguish base kitchin lusts A Song of Songs That is a most excellent Song the chiefest of Songs as when they would expresse the holy place they say The holy of holiest The Lord of lords the King of kings the Servant of servants an Hebrew superlative so this is the chiefest Song first of all Solomons other Songs even of his thousand and five Secondly of all Songs without exception for though David was in his time the sweet singer of Israel yet as Solomons throne exceeded his in all other magnificence so did his name exceed his also yet this is no disparagement to the other Songs so neither that some of Davids Psalmes should bee stiled golden Psalmes All purified gold yet some gold wrought more exquisitely then others and finer engraven then others even some portion of the pure and holy word of God more exquisitely penned and polished then other The first Reason why this Song is more excellent then others is because this Song speaketh not onely of the chiefest matter to wit Christ and his Church but also more largely then any of Davids Psalmes and with more store of more sweet and precious exquisite and amiable Resemblances taken from the richest Jewels the sweetest Spices Gardens Orchards Vineyards Wine-cellars and the chiefest beauties of all the workes of God and Man Secondly this Song admitteth more varietie of interpretation then any other and also of singular use some have applied it to expresse the mutuall affection and fellowship betweene Christ and every Christian soule some between Christ and the Catholick Church some to particular Churches from Solomons time to the last judgement And there is an holy and usefull truth in each one of these interpretations but the last doth exceedingly magnifie the wonderfull excellency of this Song making it a divine abridgement of the Acts and Monuments of the Church And that this booke was chiefly penned to bee such an historicall prophecie or propheticall history may appeare First by the Correspondency or sutablenesse of the words of this Song to the events of each age Secondly by the Repetition of the same description and other occurrences in divers parts of this Song which would be a needlesse tautologie if it were spoken of the same persons in the same time as you may see if you compare Chap. 4. 2. with 6. 6. and 2. 7. with 3. 5. and 8. 4. 3. 6. with 8. 5. Reason 3 Thirdly by the diversities of descriptions of some persons which would intimate and imply a contradiction if they were not spoken of severall times and severall persons Reason 4 Fourthly by the sudden admiration of some new persons and occurrences Use 1 First wee may here see the eldest sonne of Wisedome giveth the double portion of excellency to this Song above all others yea since the Holy Ghost giveth it it is not therefore onely Canonicall Scripture but an eminent portion of it It were profane blasphemie to preferre this Song above other Songs of holy Scripture if it were not also given by divine inspiration as well as they to preferre the invention of Man before the wisedome of God were sacrilegious madnesse And although none of Gods ten proper names in Hebrew be once mentioned in this Song yet that impeacheth not the authority of this booke more then it doth of Hester where no name of God is mentioned at all Besides this booke is full of such names of God as sute more with the arguments as Welbeloved Brother Shepheard O thou whom my soule loveth the chiefest of ten thousand Use 2 Secondly this must exhort us to a more studious reading and meditating of this booke as of a most excellent portion of holy Writ Use 3 Thirdly this shewes us that as this Scripture is Canonicall so the Pen-man of it is a Canonicall Saint in Heaven for hee must needs be so according to that not of Peters successor as the Papists would have it but of S. Peter himselfe Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost so that hee must needs be a Saint by S. Peters confession and not he onely but Christ himselfe saith All the Prophets are in the kingdome of God Now all the Prophets came not neere this Prophet and there was no Scripture but it was penned by a Propheticall and Apostolicall spirit and though Solomon did fall yet If he commit Iniquitie I will chasten him with the rod of Men c. verse 15. But my mercy shall not depart from him as I took it from Saul If some say By this it was meant that God would not take away his kingdome to this it is answered he did take it away but hee would not deale with him as he dealt with Saul so then this telleth us Solomon is a Saint in Heaven Which is Solomons Solomon the penner of it but a wiser then Solomon indited it The Holy Ghost maketh choice of his Instruments according to the use he had to put them to to set forth the estate of his Church by the choycest treasures of nature Hee useth Solomons spirit which was as large as the sand of the Sea shore And as God led Moses to the top of mount Pisgah to behold all the places and situations of Israel So he lifted up Solomons spirit to the mountaine of Activitie that I may so speake where onely all times to come are present to behold the estate of the Church throughout the present and all after ages This is to teach us as it was said before that Solomon is a canonized Saint else hee had not beene a Pen-man of Canonicall Scripture canonized not by Peters pretended successors who have shamefully erred in this kinde but by Peter himselfe yea by a greater then Peter or Solomon even Christ Jesus That