and friendship, as it is in many refpects the moft lively, ftriking emblem and image of it that can be found in all nature; and is especially calculated to give men the best and most clear idea of it, and to give and keep up in their minds a conviction and fenfe of the reality, nature and happiness of such a union, love and friendship. This feems to be the defign of this fong from which the words of the text are taken. It is indeed a Lovefong, in which the higheft, most noble, pure and honourable love and friendship between Chrift and his people is represented and celebrated under the fimilitude of two lovers whofe hearts are united in the ftrongeft, the moft pure and sweetest love of esteem, benevolence and complac ncy, in the exercife of which they defire and feek the enjoyment of each other in the neareft union and greatest intimacy, in the near relation of hufband and fpoufe. This is therefore called The Song of Songs, i. e. the most excellent fong, efpecially the best and most excellent of all the fongs of Solomon, which we are told were a thousand and five, as the theme, the fubject and matter of it, is by far the most important, entertaining, excellent and fublime; in order to which Solomon was divinely inspired. As the virtuous, pious and pure love between a man and his fpoufe is in many refpects the moft lively and inftructive image of the union and love between Chrift and his church, God, in his wisdom and goodness, faw fit to give fuch a reprefentation of it in a divine fong, as what was greatly needed, and would be exceeding ufeful to his church and people. And though the carnal and inattentive, or those who are ftrangers to this divine love and friendship, may call it all foolishness, and in their boasted wisdom despise and ridicule it, or improve it only to carnal, low and obfcene purposes; yet the children of true wifdom will justify the wisdom of God herein, and adore his goodness, while they find themselves inftructed, quickened and edified hereby. And every true, chafte virgin who is efpoufed to Chrift as as the best friend and spiritual husband, will attend to it, and meditate upon it, with a peculiar relifh, and fweet and holy delight, which unfpeakably furpaffes every thing the unholy foul can enjoy, or even imagine. The words of the text are the conclufion of the answer to a queftion put to the spouse, viz. What is thy beloved, more than another beloved? She readily anfwers, by giving a particular defcription of his charming beauties and fuperlative excellence, by which he is diftinguished from all others, the chief among ten thousands; and then fums up all in one word, by faying, He is altogether lovely. He has the highest beauty, excellence and perfection, and has nothing elfe. Having thus given his character, she says, with reference to the question, This is my beloved, and this is my friend. This is the perfon, this is the character, with which I am fo deeply in love : I am not afhamed to own him to be the beloved of my foul. And this is my best friend, whofe heart is fet on me, and he loves me as much as I can defire. The mutual love and friendship between Chrift and the believer, you will obferve, is expreffed here. The true Chriftian has fet his love on Chrift; he is his beloved; he has given his heart to him, as to one who is the chief among ten thousands, and altogether lovely. And Chrift loves him most tenderly, in the character of a true, faithful and all-fufficient friend and patron, and fo returns love for love. The words do then lead us to attend to Chrift, as he is here pointed out, in the character of the beloved friend of his people, the redeemed from among men. It may be faid in general, that Chrift, the glorious head and hufband of his church, has every thing in him that can poffibly come into the character of the beft friend, and that to an inconceivable and infinite degree; and there is nothing belongs to him but what ferves to complete and perfect this character; yea, he is at an infinite diftance from every thing elfe. And his relation to his people, and all his conduct towards them, are fuch, and fuch are all the circumftances of this friend fhip, as to confpire to make it the most sweet, ravishing, noble and exalted that in the nature of things can be; and render him in the highest poffible degree a defirable, worthy and excellent friend. But, for the better illuftration of this point, the following particulars may be attended to. 1. He is the moft able friend, even an omnipotent and all-fufficient one. He can do whatever he pleafes. He has a fufficiency of power and wisdom in all poffible cafes, and is perfectly able to do for his friends, who love and trust in him, whatever they need, or can poffibly want to have done. All other friends are deficient in this refpect: though they may have fome fufficiency and ability to do fome things for us, yet it is but infinitely little they can do, compared with what we want to have done. We are infinitely needy; and must be eternally moft miferable and wretched, unlefs we have fome friend to help us, who is fully able to go through with the work, and do all we want to have done, even in the most extreme, and, without fuch a friend, a defperate cafe. Now Chrift is fuch a friend. He is understanding and wife, perfectly to know what our cafe is, and what we want, and what is the wifeft and best way to afford relief, and fupply all our wants; and he has full power to do whatever his wisdom dictates. And in this refpect he is diftinguished from all other perfons in the univerfe; none but he was able to befriend us in the cafe in which we are. This will more fully appear, before we have done. 2. He has the heart of a friend in all refpects, and to the most perfect degree; or, he is willing and fully engaged to do all he can do for his people; all they can poffibly want to have done in any cafe, and at any time. All other friends fail hers. Though they are able to do but little for their friends comparatively, yet they have not goodness enough to do all they can, in all cafes, and at all times. They have not the heart of a friend to perfection; fo are not friendly to the utmoft of their power at all times, but may be very unfriendly in fome inftances; inftances; therefore cannot be relied upon without caution, and danger of being disappointed. But Chrift has the heart of a friend to infinite perfection, fo that he can be relied upon in all cafes, without any limits or danger. His benevolence to his people is without any bounds, and fufficient to furmount the greatest difficulties in the way of their good, and prompt him to do things infinitely great for them, and beftow on them the beft and the greateft good, however unworthy and ill-deferving they are, and however criminal and vile their conduct has been towards him, in the most aggravated and horrid abufe of his goodness. 3. He is a friend on whom we are dependent, and to whom we are indebted and beholden in the highest poffible degree. This gives great advantage to love and friendship, where the friends and lovers are not equal, but one fuperior to the other, and the other's benefac tor and faviour to fuch a degree as to lay his friend under the greatest obligations to love and gratitude. . And the greater this dependence is, and the more one friend has received from, and is indebted to another, in this way, the more fweet and happy is the love and friendship between them. It is indeed contrary to pride, and an heart that is not formed for true friendhip, to be thus united to fuch a fuperior as a friend, and to be thus dependent upon, and wholly indebted and beholden to him for every thing; but it is not fo, but directly the contrary, with the truly humble finner: that friend will be moft agreeable to fuch an one on whom he is moft dependent, and to whom he is in the highest degree obliged; and we cannot form an idea of any other two friends fo happy as thefe, when this is the cafe to the higheft poffible degree, or conceive of any friendship fo great, advantageous and fweet as this. It feems indeed to belong to the nature of true creature friendship, even to defire and delight in this circumftance, viz. to be greatly indebted and beholden to the friend we esteem and love: the greater obligations we are under to him, the better pleafed we are, and the more fweet sweet is the love and friendship. This feems to be ow ing to two things efpecially; one is, that hereby we have a clear and ftriking evidence of our friend's love to us; which muft give fweetnefs and enjoyment in proportion to our love to him. The other is, that hereby we are led to feel and exercife a love of gratitude, which is peculiarly fweet, in proportion to the love of efteem, benevolence and complacency we have for our friend. In this view, the more we are obliged, the better; and the greater fatisfaction and fweetness we have in the friendíhip. And on the other hand, the more the other has done for the obliged friend, and the greater benefactor he has been to him, the higher enjoyment and happiness he has, in proportion to his benevolence and love to him. Hence it is, that where perfons have undertaken to reprefent the highest and most affecting inftances of true love and friendship, and the greateft degree of enjoyment and happinefs in fuch friendship, and exhibit this to the beft advantage in a feigned ftory or romance, they have formed a hiftory of fome one of a high and excellent character, and of a generous, benevolent fpirit, fetting his heart on one in a mean, low and miferable state and circumftances, to be his fpoufe. She is, for inftance, taken captive by her enemies, and reduced to the greateft poverty and diftrefs, and her life eminently expofed. He, in order to redeem and deliver her, and procure her for his bride and spouse, goes through a long feries of felf-denial and fufferings; is at great expenfe, and does great exploits, and expofes his life to an eminent degree, without which fhe muft have perifhed in the hands of her cruel foes. And thus he delivers her, by rifking all that is dear to him. in her behalf, and, in a fenfe, giving his own life for her; fo that the entirely owes her life, and all fhe has, to him, and is under the greatest imaginable obligations to him. In this way he procures her for his poufe, and brings her into the nearest union to himfelf, and a foundation is laid for the greateft happiness in each other, |