The works of George Swinnock, M.A

Hast thou not many a time sighed out to him, O kiss me with the kisses of thy lips, for thy love is better then wine; Lo, he tells thee the place where he will answer thy petition; There will I give thee my loves. Thy bridegroom is bashful, and desirous to satisfy thy longings in secret; Isaac met his bride in the fields, and thou mayst meet thy beloved when thou turnest aside from the world, to entertain thy self in solitude. O how pleasant should solitude be to thee for his sake? What matters it, whether thou art driven, or who be the whips that drive thee, when thou art driven farther from men, to be nearer the Lord Jesus Christ! A loving Husband is instead of all company to a faithful Spouse. Is not Christ dearer to thee then all the world? be not thou dejected, though thou shouldst be turned as he was, into a Wilderness, but expect an Angel, even the Angel of the Covenant, to be sent from Heaven for thy comfort. Lord, it is my support, that wherever I am, thou art continually with me; O that I were able to say, I am continually with thee; I would willingly with Jacob, leave all my company to meet thee alone•, so I might ⟨p. 444⟩but as he did weep in secret, and make supplication, so as to prevail with thee for thy blessing. Though I should find cause to say with David, Lovers and friends stand aloof from me; and with Job, My friends scorn me; yet if thou pleasest, by parting me from them, to draw me nearer to thy self, and to afford me more of thy quickening, cheering presence, I shall account their absence a desirable advantage; The best society without thee, is as a barren desert, and an howling wilderness; the greatest solitariness with thee, is as a fruitful Country and delectable Canaan; How precious are thy thoughts (my thoughts of thee) to me O God; Let me rather dwell alone in a Prison with thy company, then in a Palace without thee.

Hast thou not many a time sighed out to him, O kiss me with the kisses of thy lips, for thy love is better then wine; Lo, he tells thee the place where he will answer thy petition; There will I give thee my loves. Thy bridegroom is bashful, and desirous to satisfie thy longings in secret; Isaac met his bride in the fields, and thou mayst meet thy beloved when thou turnest aside from the world, to entertain thy self in solitude. O how pleasant should solitude be to thee for his sake? What matters it, whether thou art driven, or who be the whips that drive thee, when thou art driven farther from men, to be nearer the Lord Iesus Christ! A loving Husband is instead of all company to a faithful Spouse. Is not Christ dearer to thee then all the world? be not thou dejected, though thou shouldst be turned as he was, into a Wilderness, but expect an Angel, even the Angel of the Covenant, to be sent from Heaven for thy comfort. Lord, it is my support, that wherever I am, thou art continually with me; O that I were able to say, I am continually with thee; I would willingly with Jacob, leave all my company to meet thee alone, so I might