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Show The Preface. 1\e had his name of Jedidah ) and whofe nam~ lignifying a P'••t· mak,er, fuits the Book which begins wit h a J;ifi, the token of fricnd01ip (as "Btrnord obferves-:) Or the T~tle of the Book, which is the Song of S ongt, lignifying ( acco~dmg to the Hebrew dialect, ) the moftexceUwt Song, ( u ~on whtch account the He_brews were wont to fay, O ther Sonptures were holy, but t? ts l:Jl~1;') 10-,;, 1he holy of holies: ) will fee reafon to concur wtth the juJgmen1t of the univ"f.l Church, in all a!',es in the cafe. Efpecially when they confider, that n~t only ·the fen~e of tt agrees wtth other Scriptures, but fcveral parttcular phrafcs tn 11 are elfe-whe•e alfo ufed in holy Writ, Chap. 1. 2. Draw me, and I wrU rrm ~fter thte, 1oh. 6. 44·. No man cometh to me but he whom the Fat?er drawttb. The Spoufc is here called undefiled, Chap. 5· 2. wl11ch is the fame with S1int Pauls cba~ Virgin, :i. Cor. 11, 2, Belides, that fuppofing the difcourfc to be ( betwixt Ch_ri!l a nd his Church, or tbe believing Soul) there is no part ofSmpture,makes fuch ufe of all the Perfections of.the creature, to fer out the excellency ofChrifl; nor more fweftly anq fully cxprelfeth believers Communi0n and Intercourfes ~lih him. Nor to any underl\anding perf on, c;n the a~atorious e/'pretlions occurrinl? in th~ Book; vr the want of the Name of God,'or J rhov•h,be any ptft pre;~dtct againfi the Divine Authority of it. No! the firl\, for what IS more · nfual than for God and Chritl both in the Old and-Ntw Teftament, to ex'prefs themfelves under ;he Noti~ 9f a Bridegroom and a~ Butbond, and the Church, or the bel!evwg Soul, under the Nollon of a Bride, or a Wife? He is rhe Bridegroom, ihe the Bride, Job,3. 29. fee Eph.s.28, 29, 30,31· 2Cor.11. I am married to you ( faith the Lord, 1"·3· 14.) The Church is ~alled the Lambs 'll'ifo in the Kevelatio11, ~lee. Nor is the latter objedion of any value,for it would be of the fame force ( as to the name 1eho· vab) againl\ Ecclefi•ftes, ("fn all that book It is not founj;l ) ) and again!\ the Boo!< of Eftbtr, as to the name of God. Nor is it true that God is not named, there being_ few verfcs.in it i'n which the Hame ofCh•·i~ is not mentioned, according to that Metaphorical "'"Y of txpref!ion, the ufe of which in this Song, it pleafcd the Holy Ghol\ to dictate to this great Prophet;.nor (as Memr obferved ) was there any rea fun fur any other naming of God; by ane :n>bo A?rote .u in· 11 Spiritual figHre and miftery. Nor is that an invaluable reafon, which Is given by Si;ctu: Senenfis, Delrio, and others why the.na111e~of 'n~. OM'7N tJ'lN ,,lei nm•, &c, are here o: The Pref<~ce. mirted as mol\ly fig~ifying the M•j efl)l. GrW iit{I,Glory ,and Pon>I'F' o~God. Now pla_tnly the dclign of the Holy Gholl here is to d rfcou rfc of a God 1n Chrill recunciled to the Soul and imbracing the Soul in that ltate ofRcc~nciliat ion with the fw~ete!l embraces o f_Love. Thus the Wifdom of the Holy Gho(f teacheth SolomoH in Dtus jtft thlsBook,to_accommodate his rlile and appellations of God, to the Subject ofh1s d1fcourfe, and fuitcth the Attributes or Names-of 1''' tmn,<,.a.wra: God in this Song,both to the flare of a believing .Soul, and alfo to,,.,.,. nonu-• the f weetnefs of Go{ pel-revelations. Ask what God was under the nnr ..• , .• ,,,..,u "' Law and Covenant of wotks; there his name was J rhovah the 110". •. Lcrd, the L~rdGod, tbe M1ghty God : ask what he is under' the ft;;;• G<:fpel ; He rs, a Father, a "Beloved , ·a Bridegroom, a Sbepberd, a bur, q•ibur Fru nd : Domulftm qu.eru,fratrem attdi, (faith Delrio ) do you look comfrthtnfibifor th~ name of Lord, hear the name of "Brotber Friend Bride- lu •Ua Maw groom: and it_is no more than. Gregoriur mag11u1 Jdng fine~ in his ~::un:bf:!j. Prologue to h1s notes upon this Hook obferved. !!(;fando vult ti- nib111 mtrz?dom.zm''~1qHando vult honorari, patrem, qrundo amrJri ,fponfim1 fe {cribi n~mmat Dommus. Our God requiring himfelfto be feared calls "'·~"""'~<·-a hrmfelftbe Lord; requiring to be honou"red calls himfelf a Fa~her · "c'"'·'"'"'·"''.., requirl~g to be l?ve~, he calls himfelf •ur Bridegroom. ' Nor IS the Objearon offome worth any thing, who would diJpute the ~tlthority of this facred Book ; becaufe ( as they prete~ d )_ 1t u HBt quoted in tbe New Teftament: for belides, that the !lung IS falfe, ( as I before hinted ) there being feveral expret1iom m the new Tel\ament plainly borrowed from this Song; if this Argument were of value it were of equal force againltthe Book of 'Jttdges,Ruth,the two Bookf of Sam.uel,the two Books of Cbronicler, th~ ~ook of Eccfefia/iu, and divers of the fmaller Prophet!, ( whofe Dr vrne Authortty were never quefiioned.) . But fuppofing the Book of Divine Authority, and part of the "A~A" ::!:•>-•· facred Ca11on, yet concernin& th<; nat~re of the matter, Divines l'~'r J'i o :r•; are _not agree~. The .alferung It a p1ece of holy Writ, deliver- ~~;1•;•l..,. '7"2 eth It from th~tr notion, who would make the nature of it to be ~.,ipwn@- • meerly an hiftorrcal Love-Song, betwixt Solomon and Pharaohs A<t/lil H<tT.l. Daughter, or Abifog the Slnmamite; for which they have no other ~~P'"- ""~groullds, than thofe ex prellions, Cant. 1. 9· & Chap. 6. where he 1'"9" }i ~ ••. compa•es his Love, to a compa~y of Horfes in Pharaohs Cbarriot, ~r,i:~~ ' ~ and Chap. 6, 13. Rtturn, 0 Shu/amite ; certainly a 'meer Lovt- Jg~•nA ,.,_. Song would never have been left upon facred record for our In- g1M o',, Hom. ftruliion. Another Solomon ( faith Nyffin) is here lignified, who I. inCant. a 2 was |
