The Mystical Marriage, Chapter 9
CAP. IX. A Song of Loves.
THou hast touched my soule with thy spirit, O most beloved, and vertue is gone out of thee into me, and draweth me to thee. Thy spirit is a loadstone of love, and where it toucheth spirits, it leaveth love, and this love makes a soule to move to her beloved, that touched her. So by thee doth she run after thee, O thou fountaine and rest of loves: thy oyntments draw her to the anoynter, her loves begin and end in thee. O let my soule ever runne this circle of love; let her ever be tasting of thy loves, and ever love thee by tasting them. Let the savour of thy oyntments, whose very breath is love, be ever in her nostrills, that she may ever love thee for that savour, and by it. Give me the flagons of the new wine of the kingdome, which may lift up my soule above her selfe in her loves, and give her better loves than her owne, where with to love him that is farre better than her selfe. Yea let her drinke plentifully, that she may be mounted up in a divine extasie above her carnall and earthy station; that she may forget the low and base griefes, and cares, and distractions, of carnall and worldly love, and by an heavenly excesse be transported into an heavenly love, to embrace her beloved, who is the Lord from heaven, with a love that is like him.
O my beloved, thou art most lovely; even when I love thee not, yet then art thou most lovely: and when my soule covered with flesh sees not thy beauty, yet then art thou most beautifull, and most worthy to be beloved. But then thy lovelinesse is lost to me, because love loves not, what it sees not. Therefore ever anoynt mine eyes with thine eye-salve, that my soule may ever see thy lovelinesse, and seeing it to be most lovely, love it with her best loves, and despise a world of beauties in comparison of thine, and a world of loves in comparison of those loves wherewith shee loveth thee.
Let my love rest in nothing short of thee, neither let it be content meerely to rest in thee, but kindle it, enflame it, enlarge it, that it may rest largely in thee. Enlarge the crany which thy spirit hath bored through the flesh into my spirit, that I may largely see thee, and so largely love thee. Enlarge the arteries and conduit pipes by which thou the head and fountaine of loves, flowest into thy members, that being abundantly quickened and watered with the spirit of love, I may abundantly love thee. And doe not onelyonly come much, but often into me, and let my spirit often be one spirit with thee in communicative and fruitive unions. For such often unions with thy spirit will make my spirit more spirituall; and the more spirituall shee is, the more will she love him who is a spirit.
Againe, the more spirituall she is, the more will he who is a spirit love her; and the more he loves her, the more will he visit her with his spirit; and the more he visits her, the more lovely, and beloved shall she be. Wherefore by often visitations, put thy owne image and beauty more and more on my soule, and then love thy owne beauty in my soule, and my soule for thy owne beauty, which thou hast put on her, and let my soule love thee infinitely for being infinitely more beautifull, than that beauty which thou hast put on my soule, and therefore infinitely more lovely than that which thou lovest in my soule. Wilt thou, my Lord, love the image, and shall not the image much more love the patterne? O thou most lovely, my love to thee should be farre greater, than thy love to me, because my object of love in thee, is infinitely greater than thine in me. But I being a poore and narrow creature, have not love enough to love thee sufficiently, an infinite Creatour; and indeed there is no love but thy owne sufficient to love thee, whose love onelyonly is equall to thy lovelinesse. Thy being is lovelinesse it selfe, and thy being is love it selfe, for God is love. Come therefore into me, O thou that art love, and love thy selfe in me. Come into me, and by thy owne most excellent love, fitly love thy owne most excellent lovelinesse. And while thou lovest thy selfe in my soule, let my soule according to her measure, taste and see, and love that love. Let her with all her might (though that might be far too weake for this worke) consent and approve that love of thine, and on the torrent of thy love, let her most active, strongest, and largest affections swimme to thee, O thou Ocean and unbounded fulnesse both of lovelines and love. And thus though shee cannot make her owne love sufficient to love thee, yet let her make thy all-sufficient love her owne by receiving some of it into her, according to her capacity; by assenting to it, by approving & magnifying it, and by a desire to resemble it, as much as a poore, measured creature, may resemble that which is unmeasurable. It is thy owne word, O thou lover of soules, that where there is a willing minde, thou acceptest that which a soule hath, and not that which she hath not.
But Lord, though that love which I have, attaine not to that measure which is unmeasurable, yet Lord let it be a full measure which thou pourest into me, and let there bee nothing void in my heart, and unfilled with thy love. Yea let thy spirit of love come so fully into my soule, that it stretch and enlarge her measure, and make her to grow from the measure in which she is, unto the measure in which shee should be; even to that stature which is appointed her in thy body. And thus by fulnesse in a lesse measure, let her grow to a fulnesse in a greater measure, growing still in measure, and growing still in that which filleth her measure. Yea let the measure sometimes be not onelyonly full, but running over; even running over to a spirituall drunkennesse, but not unto drowning, for these extasies and excesses of love, shall somewhat advance my ability of loving thee. For when my understanding, will and affections are all overflowne, overcome, and amazed, then shall my wonder gaze on thee, and my very faintings shall be enflamed toward thee, and melt me into thee.
Neyther doth my soule desire the pleasure of this louelove, and Ioyes of thy vnion meerly for pleasure: But I desire that the ioy and sap of thy spirit powred into mine, when they two are one spirit may be generatiue and fruitfull. Far be it from my soule to louelove thee like an harlot, and not like a wife; let mee desire vnion with thee because I love thee; and because I love thee let mee desire to bring forth fruite vntounto thee. Yea I will not cease to cry vntounto thee, Give mee children or else I die. Gen. 30.For thou canst not reply vntounto mee; Am I in Gods stead to give the fruit of the wombe. For verily thou art that God who giveth the fruite of the wombe, both spirituall and corporall. Give me therefore children by this vnion with thee euen fruites of thy spirit which may resemble thee,Rom. 7.4. and be pledges to me of thy vnion with me. And when I have brought them forth let me give the praise vntounto thee;Ioh. 15.5. psal. 113.9 For thou onelyonly makest the barren to beare; and to be a fruitfull mother of children.
And when thou hast made mee fruitfull by coming to mee, come more often to mee be cause thou hast made mee fruitfull. It was the voice of a naturall wife long agoe:Gen: 30.20 Now will my husband dwell with me because I have borne him six sons. Let it be said now also by a spiritual wife, Now will my husband dwell with me,Ioh: 14.23 because his dwelling with mee hath made me fruitfull. Make my soule a fruitfull paradise bearing every good fruit of love, divine and humane, and then come often into thy garden, to behold, & gather the fruits of it.Cant: 4.16
And that I may bring forth fruites wholly thine, and not anothers beside thee, burne and consume whatsoeuer would grow one with my soule besides thee. Thou art a burning and consuming fire, and the spirit by which thou art one with my spirit, baptizeth with fire; O let the fire of thy spirit, so wholly turne my soule into spirituall fire, that the drosse of the flesh & the world being wholly consumed, shee may be onelyonly spirituall, and so bring forth fruites onelyonly to thy spirit.
Thus, and thus saith my soule to her beloved, but when she saith thus, her beloved is not farre from her, for by him she speakes to him: when he is neare, his oyntments yeeld their savour, and the savour of his ointments draweth soules to run after him. There hath beene of late a fruitive union, and such fruitive unions doe individuate, and enflame the love of the soule to him, whom she hath enjoied in that union.
But alas the husband of the soule is sometimes like that husband which is not at home, Prov. 7.19but is gone a long journey. He is gone so farre from me, as if hee were not mine, yea so far sometimes, as if he were not at all. The summer is gone from my soule, and the winter is come; and the true olive so draweth in his fatnesse, that my soule though a branch, yet doubteth whether there bee a root that beareth her. The ointments of light and love, are not seene or felt, and how can she love the lovelinesse that she sees not, and if she saw it, how can she love it without love? In such a darknesse, the greatest lovelinesse affects not the eye, and in such a deadnesse there is no love wherewith to love the greatest lovelinesse. The soule doth not now taste how sweete her Lord is, and therefore his sweetnesse is to her as a thing forgotten, or a thing mistaken, or at best, as a thing which was, and is not, and will be no more. The often unions that are passed, are wholly past, and the very images and representations of them, are neare wholly vanished. And now my soule that will ever bee a lover of something, and a seeker of good in one object or other, being left to the flesh by the enchantment of the flesh, runneth to the creature to seeke good in it. For as the spirit runneth to Christ, so doth the flesh to the creature. But alas the dove of Christ thus flowne from the Arke in her thoughts and affections, findeth no rest; for shee is gone from her rest, and how can she finde rest, by going from rest? Put forth thy hand, O thou lover of soules, and take her in unto thee, yea first make her to returne to thee, by finding her when she seeks thee. Seeke her, O Saviour,Psal. 119. 176 when she goes astray from thee like a lost sheepe; for even when shee thus goes astray, she hath not utterly forgotten thee, thy loves, nor thy lawes. One looke of thine will awake her love, and make her weepe bitterly,Luke 22.61,62. that she loved thee so little, whom to love sufficiently, her best and mightiest loves are most insufficient. Prevent her seeking with thy seeking, and be thou present with her in thy providence,1 Cor. 10. 13. and preserving power,1 Pet. 1.5, 6. even when thou seemest to be farre off, in the tasts of thy sweetnesse, and fruition of thy loves. Love her, even when thou doest not give her thy loves; yea love her by not-giving them. Doe her good even by the subtraction of thy goodnesse; shew her that her safety is not in her owne hands, shew her that her goodnesse is not her owne, shew her that she is nothing in her selfe but that which is worse than nothing; and that thou, and thy grace make her wholly to be that which she is. Then shall she be more humble by seeing her owne vilenes in thy absence, and thou shalt bee more lovely and precious to her, whose presence gives her all her worth and excellence. VVhen she hath regained thee, she will hold thee more hardly, and keepe thee more fastly, and love thee more vehemently. Shee will value thy loves above treasures; yet she will love thee more than thy loves, and she will provide a stocke of loves in the summer, against the winters, if they perchāce shal return again.
For in these loves shee will behold the pledges of a love eternall; in these joyes of thy presence, she will behold the earnests of eternall joyes in an eternall presence; and for the sure hope of these eternall joyes, she will patiently endure the sorrowes of these temporall absences. Yet let these temporall absences be as thornes in the sides of my soule to stirre her up to the desire of that eternall presence. And be not lacking overlong, O thou life, and love, and guide of my soule, but ever and anon visit her with thy presence, stay her with thy flagons,Gant. 2.5. comfort her with apples, for she is sicke of love, when shee wanteth her beloved. Whē thou wast here on earth,Mat. 15.32 thou hadst compassion on the multitude, that had nothing to eate, and wouldest not send them away fasting, lest they should faint by the way. O sweete Saviour, thou art no lesse mercifull in heaven than thou wert on earth,Heb. 4.15, 16. and an hungry soule is a fitter object of mercy, than an hungry body; and my hungry soule hath a farther way to goe than their bodies, for shee must goe from earth unto heaven. O refresh her, and that right soone with thy mercies, with the joyes of thy presence, with the bread of heaven, and water of life which thy spirit plentifully giveth to my spirit, when thou commest unto her. Be thou her guide even to the life which is beyond death, and grant that through these changes of temporall presences, and absences, she may runne in one even, and unchanged path of love and holinesse, untill she come unto that eternall presence, where is the fulnesse of joy without ebbes, and perpetuity of joy without interruptions. There shall shee see her beloved clearely and plainely, even face to face; and there shall shee enjoy her beloved so fully, as she seeth him clearely; yea she shall enjoy him, with all her might of enjoying. Her being shall be the measure of her enjoying; for as much as she is, so much shall shee enjoy: shee shall be in a perpetuall union with her beloved, and in a perpetuall fruition by union; and so in a perpetuall rack, extent and vttermost of joy. The fountaine of joy shall flow continually into the mouth of the soule; the new wine of the kingdome shall still overcome her, and set her up in a continuall trance, and extasie of joy. Her life shall be rejoycing, and her life shall be eternall, and so shall be her rejoycing. Her life shall be love, and this love shall give an overcōming sweetnesse to the enjoying of him whom she loveth, and the sweetnesse of her enjoying shall enflame her love to him, by whom she enjoyes this sweetnes; and thus shal she run an everlasting course between the pleasure of love, & the sweetnesse of enjoying.
Therefore thus saith my soule to her beloved; Come away my beloved; and be as a Roe on the tops of the mountaines. My life is hid with thee my love; Appeare quickly thou which art my life, that I may quickly appeare with thee in the glorie, and happines of a consummate mariage. Make mee faire with thy spirit, and put the golden vesture and the needleworke of thy manifold graces vponupon mee, and bring me speedily into the presence of the great King. Let the day of gladnes quickly come wherein both soule and body even my whole selfe may eternally enioy thee.Psal: 63.1. Rom. 8.23. For thy spirit being now in both, makes both to thirst for thee; and my flesh fainteth as well as my soule, and ech panteth after thee. Neither will they stil be put off, with these tasts and earnests, but their love and longing is rather enflamed by them to the fruition of thee. The very voice of these earnests is, come; yea they scarse know any other language, but, Come; therefore again & again they say, come; Yea after they have said, come; as if that were not enough, they say, Come quickly. Now thou who knowest the meaning of the spirit, give an answere to the speaking sighes and grones of the spirit. Thou who hast enflamed the heart of thy spouse, to speake vntounto thee in this silent, yet lowde language of ardent desires, speake againe to the hart of thy spouse, and answer the desires, which thou hast made to speak vntounto thee
But harken; for hee speaketh: Those lips speake which are full of grace; and such lips cannot but speake grace, & peace to his spouse, to his beloved. Hearken therefore and heare what he saith; Beholde, I come quickly. Rev. 22.20.O hony, and sweetnesse it selfe to the soule that loveth her beloved comes quickly; her consummate marriage comes quickly, her full joy, and perfect happinesse comes quickly. And now what can the soule say more to her Lord? OnelyOnly as before shee still said, Come, so now will she still say, Amen; and Even so come Lord Iesus, Amen, and Amen.
FINIS.
End of the text · Francis Rous, The Mystical Marriage (1631)