only himself if he should one day see many to come from the East and West and sit down with Abraham Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of the Father and he himself to be thrust out If he should at the last day for despising of the Gospel be separated from the presence of the Lord in whose presence there is fulness of joy and should be driven to suffer the punishment of loss and the punishment of sense for ever yet I say no man can complain or once open his mouth against the Lord Jesus Christ who is willing to bestow all blessings upon men but they do not value them nor esteem them All men will put a must and necessity upon themselves in other matters to rise early and to go to bed late and to eat the bread of carefulness but scarce any man counts it a necessity to attend at the gates of wisdom to seek after knowledg to call and cry for understanding without which every man must perish for evermore Learn we then before it be too late to put an high price upon the things of the Gospel then shall the Mystery be opened to us which is lock'd up and hid from the wicked despisers thereof Which thing we can never do unless we feel our need of the Gospel and the Infinit worth that there is in it to serve our necessities Let us therefore learn to behold the evil scent that our sins do cast into the nostrils of God that we may be afflicted with the same next we must smell to the Mandrakes which are brought unto us by the first born Then shall we find the blessedness that is at wisdoms gates and begin to tast of the pleasant fruits of Christ death both New and Old which are for all those and only those that do esteem them according as Christ says here which I have laid up for thee O my beloved CHAP. VIII VERSE I. O that thou wert as my brother that sucked the breasts of my Mother when I should find thee without I would kiss thee yet I should not be despised THE Church hearing from Christ the Excellent things that are laid up for her and only her which esteemeth of the same wisheth that all those that live in the same Society with her might partake of the same pleasant Fruits Therefore she says O that thou meaning a visible brother unconverted or the whole company of those that do dissent from her in the true principles of faith and good works We rt as my brother that is my natural brother in the faith That sucked the breasts of my Mother meaning Jerusalem which is above the Free mother and Mother of us all which the Children of the bond-woman pertain not unto These words amount to as much as this there is a difference between thy Mother and my Mother my Mother freely giveth the milk of the Gospel without the works of the Law thy Mother giveth nothing without but for the observance of the Law Now because she gendereth Children by the Law therefore thou art not without but under the Law If I could find thee without that is to say the Law or thine own opinion of Righteousness by the Law then would I kiss thee which meaneth with the comforts of the Gospel but because thou dependest upon the Law thou therefore excludest thy self from the promises of God and despisest me when I offer the kiss but if I could find thee without the Law then would I kiss thee yet I should not be despised This sheweth us that there is a wonderful difference between people that are born under the same Covenant of promise The one she says is my brother that sucked the breasts of my Mother the other is but as Abraham said of his Wife the Daughter of my Father but not the Daughter of my Mother For it cannot be denied but that they are the people of God visibly to whom the Oracles of God are given yet that doth not make them Children of Adoption unless they suck the breasts of the true Mother whereby they learn the true knowledg and sense of the Scriptures Therefore she saith O that thou wert as my brother that suck'd Which sheweth that they never yet tasted of the Teat The same thing must we also desire earnestly and heartily for our brethren that live with us in the same visible Society which yet are averse to the faith of Christ That if it be possible we might find them without that so they being divorced from their opinion of Righteousness by the Law we might freely bestow upon them a kiss by the Gospel without being scorned contemned or despised This also sheweth us clearly what the condition of the Gospel is namely to be without the Law to be found without our own works and righteousness for mark it if I should find thee without then would I kiss thee as much as to say then would I upon this only condition Administer the the comforts of the Gospel unto thee Nothing can be more clear to settle us in the ground of our faith then what is here written Therefore when thou art afflicted for thy sin and comest before God thou must learn to believe in Christ without and against the Law and fully to perswade thy self that the Gospel is thine because thou art without an opinion of the Law Then shalt thou be enabled and encouraged when thou comest before men to live in the use and practise of the Law VERSE II. I would lead thee and bring thee into my Mothers house who would instruct me I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juyce of my Pomegranate THese words set forth the kindness of the Church towards those that are coming on in the faith I would lead thee that is if I could find thee without I would guide thee and become instrumental to bring thee with Honour and Solemnity Into my Mothers house amongst the Spiritual people that belong to the Family of God that are fill'd with Heavenly liquor and are willing freely to bestow it by whose acquaintance thy Conscience should be covered with the voice of joy and gladness for my Mother to whom I would bring thee would instruct me She changeth the person here to shew the unity that faith maketh amongst the Saints I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine I would cause thee by Divine reasons and arguments to receive not only wine without any thing to compound with it meaning the Righteousness of a man only but I would cause thee to drink of spiced Wine Which is made more Excellent by reason of art in mixture even of the Righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ which being spiced and perfumed with the Merit of his Godhead preserveth the Conscience from the wrath of God and the fear of Eternal death This I would cause thee to drink of even by a holy kind of violence and compulsion that thou shouldest not forgo it Which she calleth here the juyce of her
as Davids Worthies did hold strongly with him 1 Cron. 11.10 and with all Israel to make him King so do all these mighty men by their Doctrine and faith oppose the world and the whole Kingdom of Satan Therefore seeing faith is so great a Tower hath so many Bucklers and Weapons of defence in it and maketh such mighty men in the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ we that dwell in this mighty fort should wonderfully rejoyce and not easily be overcome but set our selves against our selves the world and the whole Kingdom of Antichrist and learn through the power of this mighty shield to make all our adversaries whatsoever to tremble VERSE V. Thy two breasts are like two young Roes that are twins which feed among the Lillies AS the Lord is the Father of many Children so he also provideth a Mother for them And she hath breasts by which she nourisheth them It is not enough to have a Child if there be nothing to feed it for then for want of nourishment the Child must die Some say that by the breasts are meant the Old and New Testament others say no because in Solomons time the New Testament was not written Others think the Ministers of the word are the breasts because they are termed Nurses but they cannot understand the number why they should be said to be but two Those that by the breasts understand the Old and New Testament or if you will the Law and Gospel seem to be in the right for the New Testament although it was not written in Solomons time as we have it now yet the Covenant of grace was understood then and also pen'd by Solomon most sweetly as in this Canticle of Solomon doth appear The milk that cometh out of these breasts is conveyed into the Conscience by the teats which pertain to the breasts The teats are the Ministers and expounders of the Law and Gospel which are called the teats of virginity Because when they give the sense of the word truly faith is preserved Eze. 23.3 and the Church is presented a Virgin to Christ But if the teats are corrupted then the virginity of the Bride is destroyed and the purity of faith is lost Therefore it is said in the aforesaid Text that when Aholah and Aholiab Jerusalem and Samaria had committed whoredom in Egypt there the breasts were pressed and the teats of their virginity were bruised These breasts are said to be twins because the knowledg of them are brought into the Soul both together And also to be two to shew that they are distinct and also that the true Mother feedeth her Children with both the breasts with equal respect And being likened to Roes feeding among Lillies it sheweth not that Roes do eat Lillies for of all things as some write they eat them not but the goodness of the pasture where they feed For as in our Land we know ground to be good for feeding when we find some certain sort of grass in it so in Jury they knew their ground to be good when there were store of Lillies growing in it So that there is rich feeding where the milk of these breasts is drawn out which filleth all that tast thereof with heavenly and Divine consolations Which sheweth us the cause why the Children of the Church prove so little why they do not learn knowledg nor understand Doctrine but in stead of growing in grace they grow in error the reason is because they are weaned from the Breasts Esa 28.9 they never find the teat The milk of consolation never comes into the Conscience for the nourishment of the Soul because there is a stoppage in the teats that will not suffer the sense of the word to enter Therefore the breasts are pressed begin to quar and grow sore because the teats are bruised and do not perform their Office And hence it comes to pass that although the Gospel be infinitely full of comfort and joy such joy that eye hath not seen nor ear heard nor hath ever entred into the heart of man to conceive yet because the sence is not given that the Conscience which is like a silly Babe may taste and make application thereof the comfort is gone the joy is lost And as the stoppage in the teat is one cause so also the waywarness in the Babe is another that will not come near the breasts to tast of the milk that although the breasts be full and the teat be put into the mouth of it yet it will not suck by any means that can be used Therefore the breasts being forsaken and the teat despised in stead of proving it grows to be a Dwarf it falleth into incurable disseases runneth up and down from one Physician to another and at length falleth down into Everlasting death and condemnation Therefore seeing the pasture is so good and the feeding so excellent as to feed among Lillies it is good for every man so to learn to feed that he may grow thereby The Nurse must learn how to give the teat and also the infant how to receive the teat that both may grow to a manly stature in Christianity Some that are Nurses will suckle but with one breast they give the Gospel but deny the Law to be of any use at all to a believer these are not Children of the true Mother because they lose one of the Breasts Others do earnestly require the works of the Law to be done and give not the Gospel but upon condition of mans obedience to the same these destroy the use of both the Breasts But the true Mother giveth both the breasts and so openeth and defineth both the Law and Gospel that every mean capacity may understand it She considereth the condition of all her Children and when she findeth any in heaviness of heart she suckleth them with the Gospel but those that are hardned and presumptuous and think themselves secure She followeth them with the Law to drive them to Christ Therefore seeing the Breasts are here commended because the Church is nourished by them and the Mother also in that she giveth both the Breasts let every one in his place learn so to give the Breast and so to receive the milk in the natural taste of it that the Conscience having once caught the teat by faith it may suck and be satisfied with Divine consolations VERSE VI. Until the day break and the shadows flee away I will get me to the Mountains of Myrrhe and to the hill of Frankincense THese words seem to be the answer of Christ to the Churches Petition in the last Verse of the second Chapter Wherein Christ promises that which the Church there desireth even to be with her until the day break and the shadows flee away There are two great Mountains in man by reason of the fall The one is the Mountain of presumption which standeth in a false opinion of the Law and is by reason of the loss of mans Spiritual wisdom and
are naught which sheweth that she hath no small opinion of her self but that she prizeth her own sinful works far beyond the righteousness of Christ else why doth she separate from Church assemblies accounting all men to be Anti-christian if they be wanting only in the works of the Law There is a mixed multitude the Minister is not rightly called and many other things are done or not done which as she supposeth are besides the rule but what of all this Something 's were ever wanting in men and ever will be so long as the Church is on this side perfection Now because she forsaketh the Church only for her blemishes not because faith is not Preached but in that works are wanting therefore she holdeth not the King in the Galleries but preferreth Moses before Christ And what follows all but only this because she prizeth the sinful works of men far beyond the gifts of God and righteousness of Christ therefore she condemneth the Gospel and is condemned by the Gospel According to the saying of our Saviour he that believeth not is condemned already This way must we also walk in in pacifying and quieting the afflicted Consciences even to hold the King in the Galleries For if when the Conscience is in distress the Law be then acknowledged to be the Lord then shall it be shut up fast in prison and bondage then shall it be held under the Law whereby it is accused and condemned this is to hold Moses in the Galleries not the King Therefore Moses the servant must be cast out of the afflicted Conscience by faith in Christ and not suffered to lodge in the Chamber with his Lord. Let us learn therefore to behold by faith Moses with his Sepulchre to be vanish'd away in respect of the Conscience that Christ with his Righteousness may rule and reign Thus must we hold fast Christ our King against all Enemies without and within Now in that the Churches hair is commended it meaneth believers as is shewed elsewhere and by purple their clothing shewing that all those that are fruitful in this Divine and Heavenly Art are clothed in purple even with the Righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ which is a Princely Robe For they are those that do overcome by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of his Testimony VERSE VI. How fair and pleasant art thou O love for delights THis is a pashionate speech of Christ being as it were overcome with the delights of his Church in excercising her self in the points aforesaid Therefore he pronounceth her fair and pleasant with admiration VERSE VII This thy Statute is like unto a Palm-tree and thy breasts like clusters CHrist having before commended his spouse in respect of the parts and features of the body under divers and sundry similitudes here he setteth forth her full growth under the similitude of the Palm-tree concerning which Tree there are divers things written by Historians As first that they grow in Couples Male and Female and are full of seed but the Female is only fruitful yet not except growing by the Male. And also that it is of this nature that although never so huge and pondrous a waight be put upon it yet never to yield to the burden but still to resist the Heaviness thereof and to endeavour the more to lift and raise it self upward Now the Stature of the Bride being likened to the Palm-tree it sheweth what the nature of faith is in all the godly even to lift it self upwards in the midd'st of the greatest fears and perplexities and notwithstanding all burdens and waights yet still to grow through them all Therefore in Rev. 7.9 Those that had gotten the victory over Satan and the world by faith in Christ appeared in white Robes and Palm-branches in their hands as tokens of joy and victory And this is also promised in the Psalms Psal 92.12 that the Righteous shall flourish like a Palm-tree There is no doubt but every Christian shall be put to the tryal by having a heavy weight layed upon him at some time or other in his life which weight according to the flesh and reason shall seem to press him down to the very ground so that in appearance he shall never be able to grow upright again Therefore we find that in the description of the Temple there were round about the House figures of Cherubims and Palm-trees Eze. 41.18 where a Palm-tree was between a Cherub and a Cherub and every Cherubim had two faces the face of a man and the face of a Lion the face of a man was towards the Palm-tree on the one side and the face of a Lion towards the Palm-tree on the other side This face of a Lion is doubtless Satan who hath his face always towards the Palm-tree using all means to crush it down by casting heavy weights and burdens upon it but the face of a man is the loving countenance of our Lord Jesus Christ clothed in our humanity which always looks upon us to comfort and strengthen us against all the assaults and Temptations of the Devil Therefore in such conditions we must live by faith and pray without ceasing for as it is sure and certain that the face of our Lord Jesus Christ is towards us upon the one side by whose loving countenance we shall be sure of the Victory So is it also as certain that the face of the Lion is upon us on the other side even Satan the roaring Lion that waiteth continually to devour us Therefore must we continually watch and pray and look unto Christ by faith for as was said before the Palm-tree groweth not to be fruitful except it grow by the Male therefore let us hold fast our head and Husband the Lord Jesus Christ that we may be fruitful to Eternal life Then shall the breasts of consolation be full like clusters which when we have the true use thereof shall wonderfully comfort and strengthen us against all the heavy weights and burdens that Satan shall cast upon us VERSE VIII I said I will go up to the Palm-tree I will take hold of the boughs thereof now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the Vine and the smell of thy Nose like Apples THe Palm-tree as was said before is the Church and the boughs are the Children of the Church Now here it is shewed how they grow to be so fruitful it is because Christ taketh hold first therefore the breasts are full of the Wine of consolation and the nose smelleth variety of fruit in the word of God The sum of these words is this That the principal means for the Children of the Church to be fill'd with variety of excellent fruits is to suffer the Lord Jesus Christ to take hold of them first To suffer him to begin and to perfect his own work by his own means and in his own way And the reason is because God hath decreed that all men that shall ever be made holy and