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Show .. . .~ . Cald. paraph. Jchn 1 6, chrift ta hiJ spoufc, ai. the Appl-etrce He had compared her to the mol\ rxceUent fi~wcr, fhe now c?m"' pareth him to the mol\ exceUent1ree; Che was m hts eyes, a L1by a-, m011etl1bmu he was in her eyes as an Appl•tree aTI1Dn!'}l tl;e 1>ws oft/;, Woad: 1There's none f~ excellent. in Chrifls eyes as the tme Believer none fo excellent tn the Behevcrs eyes as 'fe[U< Chrijl. There i~ no love loll betwixr thefe n' o lovers, her love is not loll upon him, for who hath given :ullo t~c Lord tirll ? who can fay they are on the forehond with hun? htslove ts not loll upon her, for it beget> a love in ber uuto him ; h". indeed hath out-matched his Saints in Love. J.;ut their Souls prds hard after God, they can fay with Pettr, Lord! thou that k.!toweft aU tbi~tgt, k,.uoweft 1 love thee. ~ 2. He had told her !he was a Li/[y among.(! Thorns, in the mid]l •f a gril!v•kl•Jfli{iive W"rld;thar would be no kinder to her, than the 'Ihms t• the LiVy; !he prefenrly fubjoins: As an Appletree among{! the 1rrn of the Wood, fo if my Beloved amo>r£,ff tbe Sons; I {ate under bif Shadow with great delight, and hi< FrHit was plra[ant t•my 1a{le. It is as much as to fay: Lord, though I be amongfi Thorns, yet thou art afofficient rrfre(hing to me, fo long as I can tit under thy Shad•w, I !hall live, yea apd have delight. If I can get JlO meat in the w·orld th~t pleafeth m~, yet fhallt/>yfr<~it be pleafant to my taf/t. I know that in the world I !hall have trouble, but in thu IjhaU have peace; I will lit down under thy jhadow with great dtlight. 3· Thirdly, !he fe~merh here to ha"e a-profpect of an incarnate S•viour~ For mark ir, !he faith not as an Af?letree, bur as an itpplm.- am•Hf.fltbe 1reer of the Wood. I kno~ that Interpreters so much abound in their various Senfes of the term Sonr, in the text. Some nnderlland Angels and Glorified SaiJits, [ tbe glorifi- ' ed Sons ofG.od J others underfland the Saints; I Incline rn their fenfe who Interpret it the Sow of Adam, the S0111 of the World, It is an exprellion faith Bernard, Hon qHa attoUitur maj,flar,fed com· mendatur bHmilitM; by which the humility of Chrifl is more commended than his Majelly exalted ; non hoc loco predicatur mag nUl Domintu1 rt laudabili4 nimi&, fed parvuJ Domini/! &amabili< nimi<. Indeed it is an incarnate Chrifi to whom we are beholden for all our fre!h fprings, for all our refre!hing !hadows, for all the. fruits of Grace and Divine Confolation,with which Qnr poor Souls .are made glad : It is God vzanifefled i>t the firfb, that is the Saviour of the W()r!d. But that I may come clofe to the T.el!t, you have in ir; 1. The t.1he Sp·oufer commend•tion of C/;df/; under the fimilitude of an Appletree among/It he trm of tbe Jf'GCd,. 2, The Spo<~fes applic~tion aesl improvqnent>of /,im,and thlt in two thing<. 1 . l[1te under /;i; fhad.w with great4rlight. 2. Hi< fruit WJS ple.j:.nt HntD lm tajir. The Text fairly falleth intCJ thefe rhree Propofitions. Prop. 1. 'Ih•t .Jifiu Chri}l if totbe believing s,,.z, as the Appletrre am.oltg(l the tr~~stof 1he Tf'ood. · . Prop. 2, 11>•1 • Bditvrr jit! HnJer the fo.•dow of Chrij/with great delight. _ _ • Prop. 3• 'That Chrijls Fruit if rxcrrding pl.-jant to a believ(rt tizf/e. · Prop. 1. 1b,lt• 7rftts Chri{f,;s,to the believing So~tl JS the Applrtret a111ongfl the 1msl4f the Wood. : T his i• no\ the only p!Jce where Chri£t is cornpareol to ;t 1m, Rev. 2. 7· 11e is tha{'ifm of Lifr, in the wid;/ of tbat·p•radife of God, whick be ,that overcomrthfh•U -eat of. :rhat tree of Life which Saint J ohn fa w, Rev.,2 J. 1, 2. on eitbtr fide oft be Rivrr, which b•re tn>e~ue manner of fruits, and yi.-1- drd her f.-nit evrry montth, a ltd tbe liaues of the tree were for the healing oftbe·n•tiont. But here Chrifl is not compared to a 1r~r in the genc1al notion of it, ]?ut, to a particular Species of trees~ M19M.:J. Let me open the fimilitude a littlt. Interpreters do generally agree that it lignifies the fuperlative rxcelfency of Cbrijl: l'hat Chrifi was more to her than all the earth bdides: The world is but a great wood. Tne feveral perfons and thing< therein are the treet oftbi<Wood. Now look as the Applrtru is amongfl the trees of the. Wood, far more excellent than them all, fo is Chrill in the Believers eye; ~:mtum pr£jbt m~lu.r i1tter arbuter, ( faith Mari.md, and indeed all Interpreters do agree in it, ) fo that the fenfe is, Chrifi is more to me, more worth, more excellent than all the World befides. There are Angels in He.ven, they ~re excellent creatures; but Chrifi is more excellent than then there are S•intr upon the earth, they arc excellent roo, but Chrifl is more excellent. than all his Saints ; there are Cedars in Leb•no11, great and gay perfons: The Ki•g of AJ]j,ia, i• likened to a Godar in Lebanon, under whore jhadow dwelt aUgreat N•tiJns. E1ek. 31. 3· 6. And Nebucbadmz"'" i1 lib.! ned to a tru jlrong and high, undrr whicb the Bea{!s of the earth dwelt. BLtt as the Applet ree excelleth all the trees of the wood; fo Chri!l ·(to a Believers Soul) excel!eth all the. perfons and things ofrbe world : T.he Soul cries out none W.t Chri{!, none. butChri{l. 2, But |