O may my heart the centre prove Of thy affections keen ; Thy heart the centre of my love, And nought to interveen. -For love is ftrong as death, jealoufy is cruel as the grave: Strong wings of holy love aloft Bear up my foul afresh, Which in fweet raptures dying foft While thus my heart does mounting fly, On this feraphic wing, In love to thee I kindly die To ev'ry mortal thing. As thy ftrong love, O Lord, to me, To ftop my vital breath. -The coals thereof are coals of fire, which have a moft vebement flame. Thefe jealous flames will quite confume My foul, like burning fire; Unless thy loving answer come To fuit my heart's defire My flaming heart does bleed afresh, Mine ardent zeal eats up my flesh, The fparks of fervid love afcend Like mounting flames on high; With veh'ment force they heav'nward bend, O let thy bowels, Lord, be mov'd To grant my heart's defire: I'd rather die than not be lov'd; My heart is all on fire. Verfe 7. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the fubftance of bis boufe for love, it would utterly be contemned. No waves could quench thy love, which fat Of rolling vengeance, vaftly great, And on a fea of blood. Thus nor can many waters drown In vain by flatt'ries, or by fears, Desertion black, nor dev'l, nor man, I caft contempt on fuiters all,, That dare compete with thee; And value thrones no more than thrall, Should they thy rivals be. Verfe 8. We bave a little fifter, and fhe bath no breafts: what shall we do for our fifter, in the day when he fall be spoken for? † Buftle or flir. See Rom. viii. 35,—39• Since now, dear Lord, our mutual love Is thus fo deep impreft; May I this accefs fweet improve, That others may be bleft. Our little fifter, Lord, to wit, When they fhall on the marriage-day CHRIST'S Words. Verfe 9. If he be a wall, we will build upon ber a palace of filver; and if she be a door, we will inclofe ber with boards of cedar. Love, I'll inform thee what we'll do, With this our fifter dear, When by the gospel-call I woo, And fpeak into her ear. If once the good work were begun, As by my grace it shall; And the by faith on me alone Built like a brazen wall: We'll make the wall a work complete, A temple for my holy Sp'rit *Pfalm cxliv. 12. If once I make her heart a door, Wide ope to take me in; We'll as with cedar-boards fecure, The CHURCH's Words. Verse 10. I am a wall, and my breafts like towers i My fweet experience clears thou wilt Thou mak'ft my breafts of graces grow I trust what love to me doft show, Then did my life's department fhew I'm joyful when to mind I do + Dd Verfe 11. Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-bamon; be let out the vineyard unto keepers: every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand pieces of filver. Another object of my care, Befide our fifter dear, Is likewife, Lord, thy vineyard fair, Our Solomon, the Prince of peace, At Baal-hamon, where he plants And fervants with commiffion grants He takes the care in chief, but they He wakes and keeps it night and day, Of praise, for what they have enjoy'd, CHRIST'S Words. Verle 12. My vineyard which is mine, is before me :My vineyard, Love, the object is Of my peculiar care; My heart and eye is fix'd on this More close than any-where. 'Tis mine by fpecial right and grant, The ftate and cafe of ev'ry plant * Ifaiah v. 1,-4. Pfalm cxxvii. I. + Isaiah vii. 23. |