mony. The following is the only instance that we shall produce in the text." For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil," Eccl. xii. 14. "For we must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad," 2 Cor. v. 10. "In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men, by Jesus Christ, according to my Gospel," Rom. ii. 16.* 28. Song of Solomon.] We read of the songs of Solomon in 1 Kings iv. 32. The internal evidence against the canonical authority of this book. has been regarded by many to be so strong, as to outweigh the external testimony which might be adduced in its favour. But, if the discredit grounded on the nature of its contents can be removed, this should restore to their full and proper force the outward credentials-consisting of the exscriptural testimonies; and of all those general arguments that might be founded on the undoubted place, which, along with the other books, it has ever held in the canon of the Old Testament. The great repugnance that is felt towards the acknowledgment of its scriptural rank, arises from the imagery employed in it, which See further Eccl. i. 8.-Rom. viii. 20, 22. v. 15.-1 Tim. vi. 7. Eccl. xi. 1.-Matt. x. 42. xi. 5.-John iii. 8. appears to many incongruous with those mutual regards between Christ and his church, that form, in the apprehension of the orthodox, the great subject of this work. But the very same imagery, it should be recollected, is employed, and for the very same purpose, by the most undoubted of our scriptural writers, and in the first and foremost of our scriptural books. To present one example out of those which occur in the Old Testament, we have the prophet Isaiah saying, "Now will I sing to my well-beloved a song of my beloved, touching his vineyard. My well-beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill," Isaiah v. 1, &c. See further, Isaiah lxi. 10, and lxii. 5. Jer. ii. 2. Ezek. xvi. 8. Hosea ii. 19, 20. Matt. ix. 15; xxii. 2, &c.; xxv. 1, &c. John iii. 29. But even the New Testament, more didactic and less poetical, as it is conceived to be, abundantly exemplifies the style and form of representation that have been so much objected to, in this part of scripture. The affection of Christ for the church, is, doctrinally and without a figure, set forth in Acts xx. 28—where the measure of his love may be estimated by the price which he gave for it, having "purchased it with his own blood." This forms the commencement of a new relation, we are told in Rom. vii. 4, between the sinner who is redeemed and the Saviour who has thus redeemed him. Raised by Him from death, we are married to Christ, "that we should bring forth fruit unto God." The image is repeated by the apostle in his second epistle to the Corinthians, "I have espoused you to one husband, 2. that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." And the preparation for our full enjoyment of Him in heaven, is our investiture here in all the graces of moral and spiritual excellence; and accordingly, the great work of Jesus Christ as the Lord our strength and our sanctifier, is to make us meet for that inheritance, whereof the spirit is said to be the earnest.* This is followed up by a more full development of the image in Eph. v. 25-32-which imagery is not only sustained by Paul throughout the preparation for union with Christ here; but is employed by John, when he sets forth the completion of it in heavenwhere a glorious and immortal festival awaits all those "who are called to the marriage-supper of the Lamb." Our business here is to be diligent, that we may be found without spot and blameless in the great day of reckoning. This we are enabled to prosecute through Christ helping us, who prepares His disciples for Himself, "a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing." When this is accomplished, He may say, in the language of the Canticles, "Thou art fair, there is no spot in thee," Song iv. 7. It is thus that we have scriptural authority, if not for the positive confirmation of the title of this work to a place in the canon, at least for the removal of the objections against it. We admit that it has not much more of affirmative evidence to rest upon, than the historical fact of its reception by the Jewish and Christian churches-coupled, however, with the uniform testimony of Christ and his apostles * Eph. i. 14; iv. 30. Rev. xix. 7-9; xx. 1, 2. appears to many incongruous with those mutual regards between Christ and his church, that form, in the apprehension of the orthodox, the great subject of this work. But the very same imagery, it should be recollected, is employed, and for the very same purpose, by the most undoubted of our scriptural writers, and in the first and foremost of our scriptural books. To present one example out of those which occur in the Old Testament, we have the prophet Isaiah saying, "Now will I sing to my well-beloved a song of my beloved, touching his vineyard. My well-beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill," Isaiah v. 1, &c. See further, Isaiah lxi. 10, and lxii. 5. Jer. ii. 2. Ezek. xvi. 8. Hosea ii. 19, 20. Matt. ix. 15; xxii. 2, &c.; xxv. 1, &c. John iii. 29. But even the New Testament, more didactic and less poetical, as it is conceived to be, abundantly exemplifies the style and form of representation that have been so much objected to, in this part of scripture. The affection of Christ for the church, is, doctrinally and without a figure, set forth in Acts xx. 28-where the measure of his love may be estimated by the price which he gave for it, having "purchased it with his own blood." This forms the commencement of a new relation, we are told in Rom. vii. 4, between the sinner who is redeemed and the Saviour who has thus redeemed him. Raised by Him from death, we are married to Christ, "that we should bring forth fruit unto God." The image is repeated by the apostle in his second epistle to the Corinthians, 2. "I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." And the preparation for our full enjoyment of Him in heaven, is our investiture here in all the graces of moral and spiritual excellence ; and accordingly, the great work of Jesus Christ as the Lord our strength and our sanctifier, is to make us meet for that inheritance, whereof the spirit is said to be the earnest.* This is followed up by a more full development of the image in Eph. v. 25-32—which imagery is not only sus-. tained by Paul throughout the preparation for union with Christ here; but is employed by John, when he sets forth the completion of it in heavenwhere a glorious and immortal festival awaits all those who are called to the marriage-supper of the Lamb." Our business here is to be diligent, that we may be found without spot and blameless in the great day of reckoning. This we are enabled to prosecute through Christ helping us, who prepares His disciples for Himself, "a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing." When this is accomplished, He may say, in the language of the Canticles, "Thou art fair, there is no spot in thee," Song iv. 7. It is thus that we have scriptural authority, if not for the positive confirmation of the title of this work to a place in the canon, at least for the removal of the objections against it. We admit that it has not much more of affirmative evidence to rest upon, than the historical fact of its reception by the Jewish and Christian churches-coupled, however, with the uniform testimony of Christ and his apostles |