heard in our land. The fig-tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away. O my dove, thou art in the cliffs of the rocks, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice, for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely. Come, my chosen, my fair one, my dove, my spouse, and I will receive thee into my throne, for I have longed for thy beauty. Come and rejoice before me with the angels, to whom I have promised to make thee a companion. Come, after long toils and many dangers, and enter thou into the joy of thy Lord, a joy which no man taketh from thee. Happy, indeed, the soul that hears this blessed summons from the Son of God.

MEDITATION XIX.

Succour in present Trouble.

BLESSED are all thy saints, my God and king, who have travelled over the tempestuous sea of mortality, and have at last made the desired port of peace and felicity; fearless of future hazards, and full of perpetual joy. This sea, thou, my Saviour, didst condescend to try and be tossed upon. O cast a gracious eye upon us who are still in our dangerous voyage. Thou art possessed of never-fading glory, but do not in the midst of thy own happiness, forget those who are beset with vast variety of miseries. Thou hast chosen us to thyself, and what we are or hope to be, is all thy gift: thou hast promised to make us immortal with and by thyself, and to bestow upon us the everlasting felicity of thy presence; Ó remember and succour us in our distress, and think on them who lie exposed to the rough storms of troubles and temptations.

Thou art the beautiful gate of heaven, the door at which the sheep must enter; but we, alas! lie grovelling here below, and our soul cleaveth to the dust. Stretch forth thy hand, and raise us up; strengthen our weakness, that we may do valiantly in this spiritual war, who of ourselves are not able to stand against the mighty force that comes against us. Help us against our enemies' power; help us against our own negligence and cowardice, and defend us from the treachery of our own unfaithful

hearts. We are exceeding frail, exceeding weak and despicable, slaves to intemperance and lust, and indisposed to every virtuous and gallant undertaking. And yet, helpless wretches as we are, when listed under thy banner, and borne up by thy cross, we are buoyed up by thy faith, and commit ourselves boldly to this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts, where is that Leviathan, that serpent ready to devour; wherein are rocks and quicksands, and other dangers without number, on which the careless and the unbelieving run their vessels, and suffer shipwreck daily.

Intercede for me, therefore, most gracious Saviour, that, by thy powerful mediation, and allsufficient merits, I may be able to bring this vessel and its lading safe to shore; and be conducted to the haven where every pious soul would be, the haven of peace and salvation, of uninterrupted rest, and never-ending joy.

MEDITATION XX.

The Heavenly Jerusalem.

O HEAVENLY Jerusalem! Our common mother, the holy city of God, thou beautiful spouse of Christ; my soul hath loved thee exceedingly, and all my faculties are ravished with thy charms. O what graces, what glory, what noble state appears in every part of thee! Most exquisite is thy form, and thou alone art beauty without blemish. Rejoice and dance for joy, O daughter of my King, for thy Lord himself, fairer than all the sons of men, hath pleasure in thy beauty.

But, what is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women? My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand. As the apple-tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.

By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth, I sought him and found him. I hold him fast, and will not let him go, till he bring me into his house, into the secret places of his tabernacles. O glorious metropolis! there shalt thou give thy children everlasting consolation, and so fill me with the plentiful communication of thy pleasures, that I shall never hunger more, neither thirst any more. O how happy will my soul perceive itself when it shall be admitted to see thy glory, thy beauty; to view the gates, the walls, the streets, the stately

buildings, the splendour of thy inhabitants, and the triumphant pomp of thy king enthroned in the midst of thee! For thy walls are of precious stones, and thy gates of pearl, and thy streets of pure gold, continually resounding with loud hallelujahs. Thy houses are founded upon hewn square stone, carried up with sapphire, covered in with gold, and no unclean person can enter into thee, no manner of pollution abide within thy borders.

Sweet and charming are thy delights, O holy mother of us all. Subject to none of those vicissitudes and interruptions which abate our pleasures here below. No successions of night and day, no intervals of darkness, no difference of seasons in their several courses. Nor is the light derived from artificial helps, or natural luminaries, the same with ours; no lamps or candles, no shining of the moon or stars, but God of God, and light of light, even the Sun of Righteousness shines in thee, and the white immaculate Lamb, he it is that enlightens thee with the full lustre of his majesty and beauty. Thy light and glory, and all thy happiness, is the incessant contemplation of this divine king; for this King of kings is in the midst of thee, and all his host are ministering round about him continually.

There are the melodious choirs of angels; there the sweet fellowship and company of the heavenly inhabitants; there the joyful pomp of all those triumphant souls who from their sore trials and travels through this valley of tears, at last return victorious to their native country. There the goodly followship of Prophets, whose eyes God opened to take a prospect of far distant mysteries. There the twelve leaders of the Christian armies, the blessed

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