of bliss, which shall remain undiminished, when the mountain rocks shall melt in the fires of the judgment day. a As on fair Vaga's wave my sail Thus, thus that riven ROCK within, 17 * 米 ROSE, My Saviour condescendingly says of himself, "I am the rose of Sharon.” * Our natural pleasures come to us through the medium of the senses. The exquisite delights which the soul that is betrothed to Christ derives from him, are constantly spoken of in language supplied by those senses. The sight, the hearing, the touch, the taste, and the smell, afford images to set forth the excellency of my Saviour.f Sharon was a region of the Holy Land, proverbial for its richness and fertility; and the luxuriance of its roses was much celebrated. Happy was the enlightened mind, which saw in every rose of that blooming land a visible type of the promised Redeemer ! The flower of loveliest hue and sweetest fra. grance is a most apt emblem of my Saviour. * Cant. ii, 1. + 1 John i. 1. Cant. ii. 13. * Let it always remind me of him, and be dear to me for his sake. The rose has its root in the earth; but its beautiful flower and its rich odor are always aspiring towards heaven; so my Saviour, the “ truth, sprang out of the earth, and, ascending to glory, diffused the fragrance of his merits through heaven and earth. The rose of Sharon, — the flower of the garden, wherever it grew, betokened cultivation and fertility. Wherever Christ comes and abides, “ the wilderness and the solitary place is glad; the desert rejoiceth, and blossoms as the rose. It blossoms abundantly, and rejoices even with joy and singing : the glory of Lebanon is given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon; they see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God." + If I wear a rose in my bosom, it scents my Has the Saviour a place in my breast, — he communicates the fragrance of his merits to my soul, and his spirit fills the atmosphere through which I move, as it were, with the breath of heaven. Even in death the rose is sweet — passing sweet, and sweetens every place where it lies. Thus, the Rose of Sharon has given the fragrance of life to the very chambers of death and the grave, — to that wardrobe of the saints, where their material garments are to be laid up, until the morning of the resurrection, then to be brought forth beautiful and fresh, fit for the court of heaven. whole person. * Ps. lxxxv. 11. + Isa. xxxv. 1, 2, Hast thou not, in the lone wood's shade, Oft seen a lovely flower, Drenched by the thunder-shower ? Transplanted thence, and trained to grow The sunny garden's pride, Diffused on every side! Fair Sharon's Rose thus lonely grew In scorned Galilee, Of dark Gethsemane. Now, by the Lord's right hand removed To his own Paradise, Its fragrance fills the skies. FORTIETH MEDITATION, SANCTIFICATION, * 66 My Saviour is my SANCTIFICATION ; for he “ of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.* One of these four cardinal privileges of my portion, as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ," righteousness," or justification, - is imputed to me; , ; the other three are imparted to me. "Righteousness," being the ground of my present acceptance with the Father, and the title to my future inheritance, is reckoned to my account in the book of God in full. “ Wisdom, sanctification, and redemption,” are bestowed on me progressively and occasionally, in the life that now is; and they will be given in their perfection in the life that is to come. By my Saviour's “ righteousness," I am wholly and forever absolved from the guilt of sin, and made an heir * 1 Cor. i. 30. |