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Show Prop.; .:· .. ' 1. Cant. 2. •·'+· Ltl me fee thy cuuntm•nce, l,t me he" tby voice for [R'ut if thy voiee, and th~y counttnance it comely. ' VVE. have done wi<h our Lor?•· Cot~pellari o n of his Spou(e, aod h~•e taken nonce of hts comparifon of her t.o a Dove, and the notice he rook of her ciroumlh vce, as fhe was Ill thecl~'u•ftbe Rock...tn tbe jecrtt places oft he (la ir~ or ajce,tfr Ah! infinite love] that the Lord fhould humble h1mfdfto fi ,J: low r,i; Dove into rhe clefts ?f. a Rock , (raking Rock a< an ohfcure pnvare place;) bur he IS nor hke the Hawk that follows rhe Dove to make a prey of ir, and leaves it when it is got into irs hid ing-pl•cc; he follows his Dove for orher ends, and therefore fa ithLet me fee <hy countenance, &c. he is not like rhe Bird of prey: that cannot follow the Dove mto the cleft of a Rock, and is therefore. forccd there ro leave her; no, he fees her in her fecret places. l;le ts not only pl~afed wirh her when he feeth her picking !'e.r meat, or rnmm1ng her Feathers i.n the open air; but when fhe IS .'n rhe cltfrs ofrhe Rock, he hath a pleafure in her, and ther efore faHh; let me fee tbycountenance, lrt me beor thy voice. Two things you fee h~ would have,he would fee hrr, he would hear her, feeing ~nd hearmg yE>u know are rhe two Senfes, by which rational bemgs have communi an wirh her. The object of fight is the counte~ ance,letme{ee th) co~tntnwtces (faith he) rhe object ufhearing IS the votce, le( me he.r thy voict, A [weer argument is joined ro each of thefe : Lrt me fee thy countenance, for tby countenance i1 comely. Let me hear thy voice, for---by voice is [weet. I begin with tht firfi of thefe and fball joyn the precept and argument together. • That even while Chrijl! Dove is in the cle[tl ·of the Roc~, her Lord defiru to fee her cotlittenance, and accomtt.I it comely. . For the lirfi words of the Propolirion, defcribing the Spoufes urcunzftanctJ, you know they were the Snbjed of my Jail difco~ rfe.; where amongfi o.rher things (as to ·my prefenr purpofe lmperrmenr;) I took notice to you of the clr[ts of the Rock..; the f~cm pla~e of rhe a[emrs as places of privacy and ob[curity,and {ecu· rny, whuher the Dove fometimes flyerh, being winged only whit her her o;_,n fear, and mifapprehenlions of danger, fometimes briltg purfoed by Birds ofprry. My notion of it here !hall only be extended fo far. So as the meaning is: when the Church nfCbrift, wheM the particular believing Soul, is under irs own affrighrmenrs, or under rhe greatefi violences in the moll obfcure,Iow, dcfpicable ilate and condition, yet even then the Lord Jefus Chrill doth not defpife or contemn her, doth not forfake, nor negket her; but defires to fee her countenance, and even then her countenance is in his eyes very comely: hereis fomerhing applied, r. That foe had bid her face. 2. fomerhing exprelfed, he deftrtd t• (te her face, There is a rime when the Spoufe, the believing Soul, hiderh her face from the Lord Jefus Chrifi; you read in SCiiprure of a four or five-fold hiding the face. . • 1. There is an hiding sf tbe face in anger. Thus God fomerrmes hideth his face from his Spoufe; thus, If. H·8• In a little wrath I hid my face [rom them, your {ins have hid hi1 face from you, II: 5~· 2. Thus Elijah, thus ]oHah,in forne difpleafure hid their faces from God. 2. There is an biding oftbefaceincontempt, Thus fometimes we [corn to look upon a perfon through pride and contempt. In this fenfe the Prophet fpeaks If. S3· 3• and when we faw him, we hid a1 it were our faces (rom him ; which amounterh to what the Evangelifi faith, he cJme among(! his own and tbry received bim not. Thus the Spoufe, the true Spoufe of Chrill,never hideth her face from her Beloved, 1 Pet. ~. 7. TQ thofe wbo believe be i1 precilut. But Thirdly, There is an hiding the fact, arifing from modefly or jhamefactdnefJ. Thus Rebeccab ( when fbe mer Jfaac) too~ .,., a rJail, and covered her fact. Thus the Angels in Heaven hi.de their faces from the glorious God, partly through weaknefs anc! mability to behold his glory, partly from a reverential fenfe o~ rhe lnlicitedifiance betwixt their creator and rhcm: thus the gractous Soul bidttb ill face [rom God, when it draws nigh unto him. Fourthly, There is a hiding the face from guilt. Thus when · 'Adam had eaten of the tree of forbidden fruit, he hid him{t(f [rom God. Thus the PHblican, when he came into the Temple, flood afar off, and the Prodig•l was afbamed to lift open his eyes. There is fo much guilt cleaveth unto the very belt of Gods people, as makerh them f1ide their faces, through fbarne when they draw Y y ncar |