A cabinet of choice jewels, or, A box of precious ointment being a plain…A cabinet of choice jevvels, or, A box of precious ointment being a plain…

The eleventh Proposition is this, viz. When all your signs and evidences of the happiness and blessedness of your condition fails you, and are so clouded, obscured, darkened and blotted, that you can't read them, that you can't take any comfort from them, then it highly concerns you to keep up ⟨p. 353⟩high, and precious, and honourable thoughts of God, of Christ, of his word, and of his ways in your souls.¹ When Christ was withdrawn from his Spouse, and when the watchmen that went about the City had smote her and wounded her, and when the keepers of the walls had took away her veil from her, yet then she keeps up in heart very high, precious and honourable thoughts of Christ, Ver. 10. My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand. Ver. 16. His mouth is most sweet, and he is altogether lovely; or his mouth is sweetnesses, and he is altogether desirablenesses, or all of him is desires, or he is wholly desirable. Here she breaks off her praises in a general Elogy, which no words can express enough. Alas! saith the Spouse, I want words to express how sweet, how lovely, how comely, how desirable, how eminent, and how excellent Christ is in my eye, and to my soul;² he is the desire of all Nations (de jure) and all that is perfect in heaven or earth, is but a dim shadow of his excellency and glory. Where Christ is there is heaven; heaven it self in the Spouse's eyes, without Christ, would be but a low little thing. The Spouse looks upon Christ as the sparkling Diamond in the ring of glory. So David when he was woefully clouded and benighted, when all was dark within him, and dark about him, and dark over him, Psal. 73. Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, ³and washed my hands in innocency. Ver. 21. My heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins. Ver. 22. I was as a beast before thee; or I was as a great beast, or as many beasts in one, as the Hebrew word Behemoth imports. Ver. 26. My flesh and my heart faileth; that is, my outward man and my inward man faileth me. And yet mark, at this very time, when the Psalmist was thus overcast, he keeps up in him very high, precious and honourable thoughts of God, Ver. 1. Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart. Ver. 23. Nevertheless, I am continually with thee, thou hast holden me by my right hand. Ver. 24. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Ver.