into the chamber of her that conceived me.-But why this addition? There is something more in it, I suspect, than bare repetition or ornament. Mother is often mentioned in scripture, not only for the honour of the promise, but likewise for the memory of our original. In sin,' says the Psalmist', 'did my mother conceive me.' Even Job could say, Man that is born of a woman is full of trou'ble,' and then starts the difficulty, Who can

6

bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.' From the mother's conception, we derive pollution, guilt, and defilement, from which we must be purified somehow or other, and cleansed. All mankind have been sensible of this, and felt the effect. The church knew the cause, and longed for the recovery. She knew that he, who was to be her redemption, was to be her sanctification too3, her ayao, her purification, even that without

which no man shall see the Lord.' For this purpose, and in remembrance of her own original unclean state by birth and nature, she here strives, and prays, and struggles, that he would come for sanctification and cleansing, into the chamber of her that conceived her. These were the blessings for which, in imitation of her old representative Jacob, she here wrestles with her Beloved; the blessing of redemption by his incarnation, and the blessing of sanctification by his blood. In the joyful

1 Psalm li.

5.

2 Chap. xiv. r.

31 Cor. i. 30. compared with Heb. xii. 14.

ful faith and hope of all which, she again breaks out into that rapturous exclamation which I have explained already, and which, under that explication, we shall readily discover the propriety of applying to the present occasion, I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, &c.

VER. 6.-Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness, like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant?

This seems to introduce a new description, or, as we would say, to open up a new scene. The LXX. by their feminine rendering, τις η αναβαινέσα, τεθυμια μm, apply this description to the woman, without any necessity from the words, or illustration of the

sense.

Both these evidently shew, that it belongs to the Beloved, and must be received as a representation, picture, or draught, in vision, as it were, of him, in some of his principal attitudes, either in prophetical or real history. Such visions or visionary descriptions are not unusual in scripture. The prophet Ezekiel saw visions of God'. The apocalypse of St John is full of such visions. Isaiah had a vision of God in glory; and in reference, as it were, to the text before us, he seems to have had some particular object in his eye, when he puts the question, Who is this that cometh.from Edom, with

VOL. II.

Tt

* Chap. i. 1.

2 Chap. vi. 1.

dyed

dyed garments from Bozrah'? We are at no loss whom to suppose the speaker here, but readily believe it to be an inspired rapture or unconnected ejaculation from the writer's own mouth. And why not view this question in our Song in the same light? The Beloved, the Messiah, has many various positions to be viewed in-various indeed in their outward appearance, but all tending to the same great end. Isaiah saw him in one: The writer of our Song sees him in another. The prophet's question, in the terms he uses, is not peculiar to him. The Psalmist had spoken the same language before*, • Who

will bring me into the city of strength, (the root the same as in Isaiah), who will lead me into E'dom?' The prophet takes up the subject, and asks, Who is this that cometh from Edom, with

dyed garments from Bozrah (the strong city) ?' Both writers have the same view, and mutually illustrate one another. Edom, in Hebrew in both places, adum, with the passive vau, carries the idea of man, made man, or humanity. Bozrah,

, by usage, signifies vintage, storehouse, or stronghold, so expresses something relative to the Messiah in his humanity-state, as putting it on, acting in it, suffering, conquering, triumphing 3. Does not some idea of this kind present itself in the words before us? Who (or what) is this (or what figure or appearance is this) that cometh out of

2 Psalm cvi. 10.

Chap. lxiii. 1.

3 See Zech. ix. 12.

of the wilderness? Cometh is not expressive enough of the original: the word is y, olah, cometh up, is, ascendeth, and is so used '-' Thou hast, my, olith, 'ascended up on high.' But what is the wilderness? The Hebrew is, midbar, (from the famous root

up of

, dabar, he spoke), and is often used in scripture, but mostly in a typical and allusive sense, to denote the want of what dabar signifies, whence the Greek has rendered it εgn, (as it were agμ, made their alpha privativum, without, and gŋμa, word), and дума, our language has called it wilderness. So said Isaiah*, quoted by the Evangelists The voice of one crying in the wildernes,' bemidbar, in the then desolate wilderness state of the church, as the New Testament application specifies: and so we read in Jeremiah', 'O generation, see ye the word (dabar) of the Lord; have I been a wilderness, (midbar), a dumb, wordless, unspeaking thing to Israel ?' Sometimes this word, literally, but by a difference of grammatical formation peculiar to the Hebrew language, is rendered in the proper radical sense of speaking, as in the text already quoted from Isaiah, Who is this that cometh, &c. ?' He himself answers, I that speak (midbar) in righteousness,' &c. It is certain, that in this sacred language, there is always a connexion of idea between the root and its derivatives, which may be traced in every instance, though in some with more difficulty than

Tt2

I Psalm lxviii. 18.

2 Chap. xl. 3.

3 Chap. ii, 31.

4 Chap. Ixiii. 1,

than in others: And it must be by a comparison of places, which is both an useful and an amusing labour, that any such difficulty can be removed. Thus, in the present case, when we find two prophets applying our word midbar, in some meaning or other, to Jehovah, may we not infer that the speaker here in the Song, (whoever be the speaker), had some such mystical allusion in view, by using the same word, and in a rapturous question too, of parallel construction to that of Isaiah? This coming up, or ascent, out of the midbar, wilderness, is expressed in language that implies or supposes vision, and under a visible similitude, as all vision real or enigmatical must be. This is Jehovah's own account of his way of doing: I have spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and used similitudes by the ministry of the prophets'.' Instances of this in scripture are numerous, and afford noble matter of pious contemplation. Our Song is full of such prophetic similitudes, which add to the beauty of it, and coming from such an author, must be received as exactly descriptive, whether we can see it to be so or not. The

I Hosea xii. 10.

2 We have been accustomed to hear a great deal of the boldness of metaphor,' as it is called, so peculiar to, and ornamental of, the oriental style; and modern philosophy has been busily employed in accounting for, and interpreting the scriptures upon this plan. May not a professional reverence, let it even be called prejudice, for scripture, especially with the acknowledged balance of vastly superior antiquity in

its