To the Christian Reader

God being the immortal soul's chief good, it must needs follow, that what unites the soul to God, must be the soul's chief ornament and grace: and such is love, that Principium uniens, or principle uniting the soul to God: from where it is, that even in good, spiritual and elevated reason, the Apostle prefers love among the soul's three cardinal virtues (1 Corinthians 13:13), 'And now abides faith, hope and love, and the greatest of these is love.' Indeed faith, going out from the sinner to rest upon Jesus Christ the justifier of the ungodly, and there is no sinner nor unclean thing in heaven; and hope, looking to, and after, a country that we are not yet possessors of; and love, indeed, love alone filling heaven to all eternity, it is certain that love is the soul's most adorning ornament, its most heavenly frame.

Now of all books in Holy Scripture, it has pleased the Holy Ghost to entitle the Song of Solomon, or His book of loves, thus, [〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉], the Song of Songs: all songs, all loves, all outgoings of the soul being invaluable to this soul's song, and love, uniting Christ and the soul.

This posthumous work then, of the precious author Mr. Durham, is commendable to the churches (if there be need of [reconstructed: any] additional commendation beyond the naming of his name to it) upon more accounts than one: First, it's done upon the highest, sweetest, deepest subject love, between the soul and its chiefest good, even God in Christ. Secondly, it's done spiritually, yet plainly upon a most spiritual, yet mysterious portion of Holy Scripture. And, thirdly, the churches of Christ are obliged to God in this, that they have had from this bright candle among the Lord's candlesticks, a light shining upon, and discovering those two mysterious books of Scripture, Canticles and Revelation. Fourthly, if a word fitly spoken is as apples of gold in pictures of silver (Proverbs 25:11), sure then, it was highly commending of God's goodness to the author, that he was led on this work of preaching, lecturing, and writing on this song of loves, those sweet concords and begun music of heaven between Christ and souls, and that in time of sad discords and very unmusical jarrings in the church; an argument of an excellent soul-frame in a very evil time: A demonstration of which, and of his healing disposition, O, how apparent is it in that rare piece of his, upon Scandal!

I shall not trouble you any further, save that I cordially wish the Lord may be pleased so to bless your perusal of this present treatise, as it may tend not only to the present, but also to the everlasting well-being of your soul. And so I bid you farewell.