An exposition on the whole booke of Solomons song,: commonly called the canticles. Wherein the text is explained and usefull observations raised thereupon. / By John Robotham, preacher of the gospel.

VERS. 16, 17.

My beloved is mine, and I am his; he feedeth among the Lilies.

Ʋntill the day breake, and the shadows flee away; turne my beloved, and be thou like a Roe, or young heart upon the mountaines of Bether.

THe Church having finished Christs speech, shee now concludeth this divine act with a kinde of a triumphant acclamation upon the former passages, for now she begins to feele some comfort from Christs drawing neer unto her, after her soule-sicknes: Hence she breaketh out.

First, With praise, verse 16.

Secondly, With prayer, verse 17.

First, Wee have the praise of Messiahs love, and feeding: his love is laid downe.

First, In the gift of himselfe to his Spouse, expressed in these words, My beloved is mine, &c.

Secondly, In that she was made his: And I am his. He being hers, she therefore became his.

Lastly, She praiseth his feeding, affirming that to be among the Lilies.

In these words, My Beloved is mine, and I am his: there is a mutuall intercourse and vicissitude of clai∣ming interest betwixt Christ and his Church; the Church indeed glorieth in this, but not so much in her

selfe, as in her beloved, according to that of the Apo∣stle, He that glorieth, let him glorie in the Lord, 1 Cor. 1. 31. And observe what it is she glorieth in, namely, in that communion which is betweene her and Christ, and this shee declareth by a passionate expression of comfort, and that from the highest pitch of affection, from a heart enflamed with love, saying, I am my Belo∣veds, and my beloved is mine.

First, Note from these words, My beloved is mine, &c. That there is a union betweene Christ and his Saints, from whence ariseth all sweet communion.

Christ is the head of his Spouse, and she by the Spi∣rit united unto him as his mysticall body: he is Christ the giver of all spirituall influence to his Church: Christ is also the Churches, as by marriage, if the per∣son of the Husbands be the wives, his goods, and titles of honours are hers also, he having passed over the right of his owne body unto her: so is it in the mysti∣call marriage betweene Christ and the Spouse, that u∣nion and conjunction of persons betweene them, doth intitle the Church in the communion of all his graces.

Now from this union of persons, comes a commu∣nion of all good things: so that the Church can say if Christ be mine, all that he hath is mine, what he hath done, and what he hath suffered is mine, and why? because he is mine, for union is the foundation of all blessed communion. And so againe on the other side the Church can say, I am his, my person, my life, and strength, and all is his, to glorifie him: so there is a union and communion mutually betweene Christ and his Church. The originall and spring hereof is Christs uniting and communicating himselfe first to

his Church, for the Spring begins to the streame, what hath the streame, but it first was in the Spring? Now there is an evidence of right and propriety that Christ doth communicate unto his Saints, whereby they have a comfortable interest in him.

First, In all his workes and performances, they are in a peculiar respect for every Saint, his making of the world, setling of policies and governments, rooting up of Kingdomes, executing of judgements in the earth, rewarding some, and punishing others, and the like, all these, and in all other generall providentiall workes of Christ, the Saints have a kinde of interest and proprietie in; next unto his owne glorie, Christ aimed at the good of his Church in all these things, and doth alwayes make them instrumentall for her welfare, in which sense are the words of the Apostle, 1 Cor. 3. 21, 22. All things are yours, (saith he) whether Paul or Apollo, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all is yours.

Secondly, The Saints have a claime also in the dig∣nities and honours of Christ. There is a reciprocation (as it were) betweene him and his people; they are mutually and interchangeably glorified in one ano∣ther: as Christ is glorified in them, Joh. 17. 10. so they are unspeakably dignisied, and graced by him. The glo∣rie of Children (saith Solomon) are their Fathers, Prov. 17. 6. If the father be heroicall, or any way excellent, this is the Sonnes glorie, unlesse he degenerate: now the Saints are called the Seed and the Children of Christ, whatsoever therefore he excels in, it is their dignitie, and their glorie: Besides, Christ doth impart of his glorie and honour to them, making them like himself: Is Christ a sonne, and heire of all? so are thy sonnes,

and heirs, and Co-heirs with Christ; shall he judge the World? So shall they in some sort: Doth he breake in pieces the Nations with a rod of Iron? so doe they: is he ascended into glory? so shall they as∣cend: there is not any whit of his glory, unlesse it be that which is utterly incommunicable, but they have a touch of it, if I may so say; yea, and that which is in∣communicable, redounds to their glory also.

Thirdly, the Saints have interest in the Offices of Christ. Every Saint may say of Christ, he is my Pro∣phet and Teacher, he is my Priest and Reconciler, he is my King and Governour: yea, the Saints have such an interest in these Offices of Christ, that vertue comes out of him to make them even Prophets, and Priests, and Kings also. Prophets in some measure, to teach themselves and others, Priests to offer spiri∣tuall Sacrifices, acceptable to God by Christ; and Kings to rule over their owne lusts and corruptions.

Fourthly, the Saints have interest in the graces of Christ: he that hath the field hath also the treasure that is hid in it. It was the greatest consolation and joy of the Spouse that shee could say, My Beloved is mine. So all that is in Christ a Believer may appropri∣ate to himselfe; he may say, his riches, his love, his goodnesse, his greatnesse, his power, and all that is his, is mine; I have interest in all those transcendent graces of his, his mercy, his truth, his promises, they are all mine. Thus the Saints have a peculiarity and right in Christ, which is as the Spring of all mutuall love betweene them.

Now to joine the words together (My Beloved is mine and I am his) they imply,

1. A mutuall interest; as Psal. 73. Whom have I in Heaven but thee, and what is there in Earth in compari∣son of thee? He is mine, yea, and I am his, there is pro∣priety with peculiarity and interest.

2. The words imply a mutuall love; Christ is the object of the Saints best affections, and the Spouse is the very Center of Christs love, his love rests on the Church, and scatters not to other objects. Thus the Apostle applyes the love of Christ, saying, He lo∣ved me, and gave himselfe for me, Gal. 2. 20. And we love him because he loved us first, 1 John 4. 19. So that the Church may say, Christ is mine, and his love is mine, and I am Christs, he hath my soule, my affections, and all that I have, is his, he hath my love to the utter∣most.

3. The words doe also imply mutuall familiari∣ty; Christ is my familiar, my fellow-friend, and Com∣panion; he discovers himselfe unto me in the secrets of his love: So the Saints have a spirit of fellowship and familiarity with God in Christ, so that they can unbosome and let open their hearts to him upon all occasions, as unto a familiar.

4. And lastly, they imploy complacency or rest∣ing one in the other. Christ hath a complacency and resting in his Spouse, he is well pleased in her, taking the greatest satisfaction and content in her that possi∣ble can be thought on. So the Church hath a compla∣cency or well-pleasednesse in her beloved, whereby shee doth approve and like of all that is in him, rest∣ing in his goodnesse, as in the most lovely and desire∣able object in the World. Hence shee saith in Chap. 1. Verse 1, 2. Thy love is better then Wine. Because of the savour of thy good Ointments powred forth, therefore doe

the Virgins love thee. This shews what a pleasing and delightfull object Christ is to a believer: what more acceptable to the tast then fragrant wine? Christ is far more acceptable to a Saint. What more pleasing to the smell then sweet Ointments of an exquisite composition? Christ is the same, and far sweeter to the heart of a believer, so that the Saints, from this complacency and wel-pleasednesse in Christ, doe sweetly acquiesce and rest in him, as in the loveliest object in the world.

Having spoken of the union and communion be∣twixt Christ and his Church, where was set forth the mutuall interest and owning between Christ and the Church. Now it will be necessary that I speake something of the order of this union. Christ is first ours, then we are his, My beloved is mine, and I am his.

Hence Note,

That Christ is first ours, and then we are his because he is ours. For this there are foure grounds.

1. Christ is the well-spring of all grace in us, our grace comes from his grace, and our love from his love, as appears, 1 John 4. 10. 9.

2. Because the lesse is first beloved of the greater; the nature of love is first to discend, the superiour first loves the inferiour; as the love of a Father dis∣cends to his Child first, then the Childs love ascends back to the Father: So Christ first condiscends to love us, then we ascend in our love to him againe.

3. From the attractivenesse of Christs love Magnes a∣moris est amor: love is the attractive loadstone of love: now our nature is such, that we will love onely where we are first loved; as the heat of the Sun-beams reflect from a wall: so Christs love to

us cannot but cause a reflexion of ours upon him; our love is but a sparke of his. We loved him (saith the Apostle) because he loved us first: when he re∣veales his love to us such a fire must needs kindle and melt our affections, without which our hearts will be key-cold and frozen.

4. It must be the same spirit that tells our souls that Christ loves us, that must make us give up our af∣fections to Christ. The spirit of Christ doth sweet∣ly display before the soule, the rich, free, and libe∣rall love of Christ, and also with the discovery of his love, causes the soul to love him againe.

The next thing to be enquired into, is,

• 1. How Christ comes to be ours.
• 2. How we come to be Christ's.

Christ becomes ours by such means as these.

1. Christ is ours by the free donation and gift of the Father, as appears, Joh. 3. 16. God so loved the World that he gave his onely begotten Sonne, &c.

2. Christ freely gave himselfe unto us; so that Christ is ours by his owne consent, he hath, as it were passed over himselfe unto us. The Apostle saith, Christ loved me and gave himselfe for me, Gal. 2. 20. As the Father freely gave his Sonne unto us, so Christ freely and spontaneously gave his consent to be ours.

3. Christ hath passed himselfe over unto his Church by Marriage; although we had nothing to bring to him but poverty and misery, yet he tooke upon him our nature to discharge all, that he might marry us, and so passe over himselfe unto us, as a hus∣band passeth over himselfe unto his wife. Hence it is that the Lord saith, I am married unto you, and I will take you one of a City, and two of a Family, and I will bring

you to Zion, Jeremiah, Chap. 3. Verse 14.

4. And lastly, Christ is ours by communicating o his owne Spirit to us: for the Spirit is given for thaf end, to shew us all things that are given us of God, whereof Christ is the chiefe: this is that the Apostle tells us, when he saith, No man knoweth the things of God, but the Spirit of God. Now (saith he) we have not the Spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, that we might know the things that are freely given us of God; and thus we have the mind of Christ, 1 Corinth. 2. 11. 12. 16.

Having declared how Christ is ours, and that he is ours in the first place, before we can be his. It follo∣weth that we speak of the reflexion on the other hand, and shew how we become Christs.

The Saints are Christs these fowre wayes.

1. Christ hath propriety in us by the donation of the Father. God hath made him both Lord and Christ, Act. 2. 36. And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the Church, Ephes. 1. 22. And now saith Christ, behold, I and the Children whom thou hast given me, Heb. 2. Thine they were, and thou gavest them to me, John 17. 6. For as in respect of Gods justice we were bought by Christ in our re∣demption, so in regard of his love we were given un∣to Christ in our Election, that he might Redeeme us.

2. We are Christs by Choyse: I have chosen you out of the World, saith Christ, John 15. 19. And the Saints are said to be chosen in Christ, Ephes. 1. 4. And they are called chosen, and faithfull, Revel. 17. 14.

3. The Saints are Christs by Purchase: we were in the hand of our Enemies, and could not free our

selves from the bondage of the Law, therefore Christ redeemed us from under the Law, Gal. 4. 6. And the Apostle saith, we were bought with a price, 1 Cor. 6. 20. He was our surety, and stood in our stead, and was set forth to declare the righteousnesse of God, Rom. 3. 26. So then, we are Christs by right of redemption.

4. And lastly, We are Christs by combination and Covenant. I entred into Covenant with thee, and thou be∣camest mine, Ezek. 16. 8. That is, I did make a solemn Covenant or stipulation with thee, that I would take thee to be my people.

Thus much for the mutuall union and communi∣on, and for that mutuall interest and propriety be∣tweene Christ and his Church. Now it followeth, that the Church commendeth Christs feeding.

He feedeth among the Lilies.

After the Church had extolled Christ for his love, shee praiseth his feeding, affirming that to be among Lilies. These words are diversly Interpreted, be∣cause the Hebrew word may be taken either actively, or passively. If it be taken passively, it may be meant of Christs feeding himselfe. Or, we may take it a∣ctively of Christs feeding, Viz. his Flock, among Li∣lies. Or we may take it for Christs feeding of him∣selfe and his Church: he feeds his Church among Lilies, and delights himselfe to be there, the one fol∣lows the other, but especially it is meant of the Church, those that are his Saints, he feeds them among the Lilies.

Lilies are such kind of flowers as require a great deale of nourishment, and they flourish, and prosper

best in Valleys and low ground, where the soile is most fat, and therefore when shee saith, He feeds among Lilies, the meaning is, he feeds his Church and peo∣ple in sweet, pleasant, soft, and well-smelling pa∣sture, he plentifully and pleasantly intreateth those that are his; for Lilies we know are faire, sweet, soft, and pleasant, and therefore the Church saith, that her beloved seedeth his flock among the Lilies, which is to let us understand that he feedeth her with most excellent things. And it is most sure, that there is nothing under Heaven that can be esteemed as a full shadow and resemblance of the Heavenly Manna, wherewith Christ feedeth the souls of his.

Hence Observe,

That Christ feeds his Church and people fully, sweetly, and comfortably. He feeds among Lilies. Agreeable to this is that in Psal. 23. 1, 2. &c. The Lord is my Shepheard (saith David) or my feeder, my Pastor, and what is the use he maketh of it? I shall not want: How is this made good? why saith he, He maketh me to lye downe in green pastures, or in the budding grasse. That is, in pleasant pastures where greene and tender Herbs doe spring, he makes me to lye downe and refresh my self. And he addeth, He leadeth me beside the still waters, or, he gently leadeth me unto the waters of rest. That is, he doth comfortably guide me, with sustaining my in∣firmity, he nourisheth me by the refreshing waters of his Spirit.

The like place we have, Isa. 40. 11. He shall feed his flock like a Shepheard, he shall gather the Lambs with his Armes, and carry them in his bosome, and shall gently lead those that are with young. So Christ leads his people, as it were among Lilies, and feeds them plentifully,

with sweet and pleasant things: and in his bosome he carries them, softly, and tenderly, that such as are weake may not be wronged.

Another place suitable to this purpose is Ezek. 34. 14. I will feed them in good pastures, upon the high moun∣taines of Israel, there shall their fold be, there shall they lye in a good fold, in a fat pasture will I feed my flocke, and cause them to lye downe, saith the Lord God. I will seeke that which is lost, and bring back that which is driven away. I will bind up that which is broken, and strengthen that which is sicke, and destroy the fat and the strong, and feed them with judgement. Thus the Lord doth plentiful∣ly, comfortably, and sweetly feed his people, as a∣mong Lilies. Thus he feedeth us, and with us, he feedeth us as a Father, but feedeth with us as a bro∣ther also: yea, as an husband and amiable lover. Now followeth the Churches prayer.