rs appear on the earth;
The time of the singing of birds is come,
And the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;
The fig-tree ripeneth her green figs,
And the vines are in blossom,
They give forth their fragrance.
Arise, My love, My fair one, and come away.

All nature is responsive to the return of the summer, wilt thou, My
bride, be irresponsive to My love?

Arise, My love, My fair one, and come away.

Can such pleading be in vain? Alas, it can, it was!

In yet more touching words the Bridegroom continues:--

O My dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the
covert of the steep place,
Let Me see thy countenance, let Me hear thy voice:
For sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.

Wonderful thought! that God should desire fellowship with us; and that
He whose love once made Him the Man of Sorrows may now be made the Man
of Joys by the loving devotion of human hearts.

But strong as is His love, and His desire for His bride, He can come no
further. Where she now is He can never come. But surely she will go
forth to Him. Has He not a claim upon her? She feels and enjoys His
love, will she let His desire count for nothing? For, let us notice, it
is not here the bride longing in vain for her LORD, but the Bridegroom
who is seeking for her. Alas that He should seek in vain!

Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the
vineyards;
For our vineyards are in blossom,

He continues. The enemies may be small, but the mischief done great. A
little spray of blossom, so tiny as to be scarcely perceived, is easily
spoiled, but thereby the fruitfulness of a whole branch may be for ever
destroyed. And how numerous the little foxes are! Little compromises
with the world; disobedience to the still small voice in little things;
little indulgences of the flesh to the neglect of duty; little strokes
of policy; doing evil in little things that good may come; and the
beauty and the fruitfulness of the vine are sacrificed!

We have a sad illustration of the deceitfulness of sin in the response
of the bride. Instead of bounding forth to meet Him, she first comforts
her own heart by the remembrance of His faithfulness, and of her union
with Him:--

My Beloved is mine, and I am His:
He feedeth _His flock_ among the lilies.

My position is