ransom-price; and by marriage, having espoused her
to himself, in righteousness and 1oving-kinttness; and
by possession, he liviug and dwelling in her, by his
spirit and grace: the church also acknowledges herself
to be his, as she was, by the Father's gift of her to
Christ, as his spouse and bride, his portion and inhe-
ritance; and by purchase, he having bought her with
his precious blood; and by the conquest of her, by his
grace in effectual calling; and by a voluntary surrender
of herself unto him, under the influence of his grace:
hence all he is, and has, are her's, his person, fulness,
blood, and righteousness; and therefore can want no
good thing. ,Moreover, these words suggest the near
union there is between Christ and his church; they
are one in a conjugal relation, as husband and wife
are one; which union is personal, of the whole person
of Christ to the whole persons of his people; it is aspi-
ritual one, they having the same spirit, the one without
measure, the other in measure; it is a vital one, as is
between the vine and its branches; and it is a myste-
rious one, next to that of the union of the three Per-
sons in the Godhead, and of the two natures in Christ; i3
is an indissoluble one, the everlasting love of Christ
being ttle bond of it, which call never be dissolved;
and from this union flow a comtnunication of the
names of Christ to his church, conformity to him,
:communion with hitn, and an interest in all he has.
Lil{ewise these phrases express the mutual affliction,
complacency, and delight, Christ and his church have
in each other; he is beloved by his church, and she
by him; she seems to have a full assurance of interest
in him, and to make her boast of him; excluding all
other beloveds, as unworthy to be mentioned with
him: of whom she further says, he fcedeth among the
lilies; which is either au apostrophe to him, O thou
that .feedest, &c. thou only art my beloved; or is
descriptive of him to others, inqu!ring who he was,
and where to be seen: the answer is, he is the person
that is yonder, feeding among the lilies; either recre-
ating and delighting himself in his gardens, the church-
es, where his saints are, comparable to lilies; see the
note on vet. 1, 2. or feeding his sheep in fields where
lilies grow: and it may be observed, it is not said, he
feedeth on, or feeds his flock with lilies, but among
them; for it is remarked r, that sheep will not eat them:
or the sense may be, Christ feeds himself, and feeds
Ills people, and feeds among them, as if he was crowned
with lilies, and. anointed with the oil of them; as
was the custom of the ancients at festivals{z}, thought
to be here alluded to by some who read the words,
that feeds; that is, sups in or with lilies, being anointed
anti crowned with them. The lily is a summer flower {a};
the winter was now past, vet. 11.
Vet. 17. Until the day break, and the shadows flee
away/, &c.] Which may be connected with the pre-
ceding verse; either with the former part, my be-
loced is mine, &c. and then the sense is, as long as night
and day continue, and God's covenant with both stands
sure; so 1oug union to Christ, and covenant-interest
in him, will abide: or with the latter part', he feedeth
among the lilies until, &c. even until his second coming :
or with the next clause in this verse, turn, my beloved;
and so is a prayer for ChrisCs speedy. coming to her,
and continued presence with her, until the day should
break: which may be understood either of the Gospel
day made by the rising of Christ, the sun of righte-
ou..ness, at his tirst coming in the flesh; when the
shadows of the ceremonial law disappeared, Christ,
the body and substance of them, being come, and the
darkness of the Gentile world was scattered, through
the light of the Gospel being sent iuto it: the words
may be rendered, until the day breathe, or blow b; and
naturalists observe {c}, that, upon the sun's rising, an air
or wind has been excited, and which ceases before the
middle of the day, and never lasts so 1ong as that; and
on Christ's, the sun of' righteonsness, arising with heal-
ing in his wings, some cool, gentle, and refreshing
breezes of divine grace and consolation were raised,
which were very desirable anti grateful: or this may
be understood of Christ's second coming; which will
make the great day of the Lord, so often spoken of in
Scripture: and which suits as well with the Hebrew text,
and the philosophy of it, as the former; for, as the
same naturalists a observe, the wind often biows fresh,
ancl fine breezes of' air spring up at the setting as well
as at the rising of the sun; see Gen. iii. 8. and
may very well be applied to Christ's second coming,
at the evening of the world; which will be a time of
refreshing to the saints, and very desirable by them;
aud though it will be an evening to the world, which
will then come to an end, with them there will be no
more night of darkness, desertion, affliction, and per-
secution; the shadows of ignorance, intidelity, doubts,
and fears, will be dispersed, and there will be one
pure, clear, unbeclouded, and everlasting day; and
till then the church prays, as follows: turn, my be-
1ored; that is, to her; who seemed to be ready to depart
from her, or was gone; and therefore she ,tesires he
would turn again, and continue with her, until the
time was come before mentioned: or, turn about {c}; sur-
round me with thy favour and loviug-kindness, and
secure me from all euemies, until the g1orious and
wished-for day comes, when I shall be out of fear and
danger; or, embrace mef; as in ver. 6. during the pre-
sent dispensittion, which was as a night in comparison
of the everlasting day. .And be thou like a roe, or a
young hart upon the mountains of Bether ; the same
with Beth-el, according to Adrichomius g; where were
mountains, woody, set with trees, full of grass and
aromatic plants; and so may be the same with the
mountains of spices, ch. viii. 14. where the Ethiopie
version has Beth-el; and so that and the Septuagint
version, in an addition to vet. 9. here; see c2 Kings if.
23, 24. unless Bithron is meant, 2 Sam. if. c29. a place in
Gilead, beyond Jordan, so called, because it was parted
from Judea by the river Jordan: and the words are by


{y} Tucciuss in Soto Major in loc.
{z} Vid. Fortunat. Schacc. Eleochrysm. Sacr. l. 1. c. 28. p. 137.
{a} Theophrast. apud Athenaeum in Deipnosoph. l. 15. c. 7. p. 679.
{b} \^xwpyv de\^ \~ewv ou diapneush\~, Sept.; donec, vel dum spiret, Mercerus,
Cocceius; aspirat, Marckius; spiraverit, Michaelis.
{c} Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 2. c. 47. Senecae Nat. Quaest. l. 5. c. 8.
{d} Ibid. Aristot. Problem. s. 25. c. 4. Adspirant aurae in noctem,
Virgil. AEneid. 7. v. 8.
{e} \^bo\^ circui, Montanus, Sanctius; circumito, some in Michaelis.
{f} Complectere, Marckius.
{g} Theatrum Terrae Sanctae, p. 16.