hence called mountains and hills. David saw the mountains of his sins to be great mountains; " for thy name's sake, pardon mine iniquity, for it is great." High aggravated sins are great mountains; and it is a great matter when love comes skipping over them.

2. They are high mountains, in respect that the guilt of sin and the cry of it reaches to the very heavens; and if mercy were not higher than the heavens, it would never come over such high mountains of sin and guilt, heaped up above the clouds.

3. They are some of them lofty mountains; not only high, in respect of sin's heinousness; but lofty, in respect of its haughtiness and pride. The pride of man is as hard to level as a mighty mountain; but when the Lord comes graciously, "The loftiness of man is brought down, and the haughtiness of man laid low, that the Lord alone may be exalted," Isa. ii. 17.

4. Some of them are fiery-burning mountains. Christ had the burning mountains of God's wrath and of the fiery law to come over, which could not be done without quenching that fire with his precious blood, which is the blood of God. He had the burning mountain of the wrath of men and devils to come over, in this conflict; "He came from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah," Isa. lxiii. I. He hath still men's fiery passions and burning lusts in his way to impede him. in his coming; but that that may not hinder him, he brings water in his hand to quench that fire: he opens the fountain of living waters; and, as it were, the fountains of the great deep, to drown a world of burning lusts and corruptions in his way; and he pours water on the thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground; such powerful floods, as to cover or carry down the mountains with them.

5. Some of the mountains are dark mountains, such as we read of, Jer. xiii. 16. "Give glory to the Lord your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble on the dark mountains; and while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness." Our Lord Jesus, in coming over these mountains, to redeem by price, had the dark valley of

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the shadow of death to go through, which may be called a mountain as well as a valley, as it was an impediment in his way; and when he comes to redeem by power, he hath the gross darkness of ignorance to come over, and in this mountain, he hath the face of the covering cast over all people to destroy, and the vail cast over all nations," Isa. xxv. 7. So dark and misty are the mountains at the best, that even his bride cannot see him upon the top of them, till he come very near, so as she may hear his voice, and the sound of his feet upon the mountains; "The voice of my Beloved! behold, he cometh, leaping upon the mountains, and skipping upon the hills.""

6. They are strong, mighty, and unmoveable mountains so as no power of angels or men can move or remove them; they are strong holds that cannnot be cast down with carnal weapons, but by such as are mighty through God. It is only the coming of Christ, the presence of the Lord, the presence of the God of Jacob, that can make these mountains to skip like rams, and the little hills like lambs, Psal. cxiv. 4. Which leads me to the last thing on this head, viz.

4thly, The impassability of these mountains, as insuperable by us, and such as none can overleap but himself, who is like a roe, or a young hart, leaping and skipping upon them. The bride of Christ here admires his grace and love, in coming over these difficulties, that were impossible for her to surmount. And indeed, his discovering them to be such to us, is but a preparing of his way to coming over them. It is with the believer, at a distance from Christ; when brought to a discerning of that distance, as it is with a weak person, that hath a journey before it, and is not only weak, but clogged with impediments, and hath mountains and hills in the way, that it is impossible for it to get over; therefore the poor creature is ready to ly down and give over. Whence, indeed, four things here are to be observed,

1. That all should beware of laying impediments in the way betwixt Christ and them; for, in the time of security, and spiritual sleep, men are ready to think

that but a mote, which, when God reckons with them, in order to recovery, they will see to be a mountain; therefore, there should be no boarding or dallying with that which may provoke him to withdraw and abstract his company. You that know any thing of fellowship with Christ, entertain it tenderly, as you would not raise a mountain betwixt Christ and you; and, as you would not, with Samson, have your eyes put out, and be put to grind in the prison: little do many mind this, till they be brought to lose Christ's company in the crowd, and be put to seek him sorrowing, and to many sad thoughts, whether he and they shall ever meet together again.

2. Whence, likewise, here is a touchstone for shewing your awakened and sensible condition. They that are at a distance from Christ and see many mountains betwixt him and them, if they would know whether there be a token for good in it, let them see.

(1.) If they discern the distance, and the reason of it; and that they be not, like Samson, that know not when the Lord was departed from them: see if they can say, as Isa. lix. 12. " Our iniquities are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify againt us; for our transgressions are with us, and as for our iniquities, we know them," And,

(2.) See whether or not distance be bitter, even as impassable mountains are afflictive to a traveller; and when you cannot possibly recover former proofs of the Lord's kindness, when thy wickedness corrects thee, and thy backslidings reprove thee, then thou art finding it to be an evil and bitter thing, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that his fear was not in thee, Jer. ii. 19.

3. Yet after all, though it is justly humbling when we usually raise mountains between Christ and us, that are impassable and insuperable by us; yet it is also encouraging, and contributes to the reviving of hope, that when he shews the mountains to be insuperable, he is so far on his way to come over them, and preparing us for his coming, and making out that word. Zechariah viii. 6. that which is marvellous in our eyes, should not

be marvellous in his eyes. His discovering and holding out the insurmountable difficulties and impediments that we can never get over, is but to make way for the magnifying of his free grace and mercy in removing them, and remedying what is hopeless as to us, and desperate. Therefore,

4. We would still be encouraged to give him the glory of what he can make out of our hopeless conditions, and to put them in his hand, in expectation of a good issue; when you are so difficulted with a multitude of mountains and impediments, that you have given over hopes of meeting with him, upon your part, the mountains and hills being so many and so high, that you see you will never win over them; yet leave room for what he can do, leave room to him and his power, and pity, and promise; give him this glory that he can get over them to you, though you cannot get over them to him: put the case that is desperate in itself, and as to what you can make of it, over upon him, who can soon come leaping on the mountains and skipping on the hills.-This leads me,

III. To the third general head of method, viz. To speak a little of the manner of his coming, imported in his leaping on the mountains, and skipping on the hills. Much of the beauty and sweetness of the text lies here; and therefore, I shall endeavour to hint at the import of this manner of his coming. And,

1. It seems to import his coming gradually and progressively leaping and skipping are gradual and progressive motions; and, as it were, from mountain to mountain: one leap after another: hence his going forth is said to be prepared as the morning. The Lord's gracious approach to his people is regular and gradual. He first enlightens the understanding, and strikes out a window in that dark dungeon: then, having convinced the conscience, the will is prevailed with to yield to Christ. Herein Christ's saving work differs from Satan's deceitful operations: Christ works upon the understanding and will: and then the rest of the faculties, the heart and affections, follow; but Satan's work is counter to, and the opposite of this; he begins with

the lower faculties, allures the carnal appetites, wins in upon the affections, and either charms or amuses, and so abuses them, and carries them headlong, darkening the judgment that ought to be first well informed; thus Eve first was tempted with the sight of the fruit; and without any more, loved it, and took it; so also Achan did the golden wedge. But the bride of Christ here is first taught by the word. "The voice of my Beloved!" And then she sees him coming, "Behold, he cometh! And observes his gradual approach, “Leaping upon the mountains, and skipping on the hills.”

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2. His coming thus imports his kind, loving, and affectionate approach. Love makes him lift up his feet upon the dark mountains, and come leaping into the embraces of his bride, who here espies him as her Beloved, and as a loving roe, or young hart, upon the mountains. The love of Christ, made him think nothing of all the mountainous difficulties, that were in the way of his coming to seek and save poor sinners; "He loved me, and gave himself for me," says Paul; "He loved us, and washed us in his blood," says the church. A bloody spouse hath she been to him; but his great affection appears, in making all impediments but stepping-stones, so to speak, to advance his way to us. Hence,

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3. It imports his coming, not only with love and affection, but with joy, pleasure, and delight. O how delightfully did he come over the highest mountain, saying, Lo, I come! I delight to do thy will, O my God! What he doth for his Father, and for his Bride, he doth with pleasure," He rejoices over his people to do them good ;" and he does it with his whole soul. O how evident is his delight with the sons of men, that when we cast up mountains and hills, he not only comes over them, but comes leaping and skipping! It is no heavy task to him, but a sweet and joyful service, wherein he sees the travail of his soul, and is satisfied, Isa. liii. 11. 4. His leaping on the mountatins, and skipping on the hills, imports the activity and celerity, the speediness and swiftness of his motion to his bride: he does not come creeping like a snail; but, as it were, in full