The Mystical Marriage, Chapter 1
I. The soule seeketh a Husband, and findes him.
I WAS first breathed frō heaven, and I came from God in my Creation; I am divine and heavenly, in my originall, in my essence, in my character, and therfore my happines must be divine and heavenly: For to a divine and heavenly essence, can agree no other but a divine and heavenly happinesse. I am a spirit, though a low one, and God is a Spirit, even the highest one; and God who is a Spirit, is the fountaine of this spirit. Where should a low spirit finde happinesse but in the highest Spirit? and where should a created Spirit seeke happinesse but in the Spirit that created it? Wherefore being a Spirit I will fasten my selfe on a spiritual happinesse, and this spirituall happinesse I will looke for in no other, but in the first, and best Spirit, beyond whom there is neither good, nor being.
Then what hast thou to doe O soule, any longer among these grosse, thicke, and bodily things here below, to cast thy love on them, or to seeke happinesse in them? what are they to thee? or what agreeablenesse is there betweene thy purity, and their grossenesse? The bodie that lives by breathing the thinne element of ayre, may as well live in the bottome of the thicke water, as thou canst live, continue, much lesse better thy Being, by sucking these grosse and bodily Creatures. Thy being is of a higher and purer nature, and therefore thy well-being must bee fetched from something that is higher and purer than they. The maine use of them is to serve the body, which is some kinne to their grossenesse, but remember that the bodie it selfe is to serve the soule, and what base felicity must that be, which she shall find in her servants servant? Much more reasonable were it for the soule to fetch her well-being from some being higher, and better than her selfe, (for such onelyonly can better her,) and withall to lift up the body to the participation of the soules high and spirituall happinesse, (for there is a naturall body, and there is a spirituall body) then that the body should draw downe the soule to the grosse and transitory things that are given to serve the body, in the bodies service of the soule. And thus may man be perfectly happy, the soule a spirit by union with the highest Spirit, and the body by union with the soule, united also to that Spirit.
And now the soule is resolved of her choise, for she hath fixed her love on that Spirit, which is the true object of the love of spirits. But even that excellency, which draweth her love, awaketh her fear, and beholding admirable purity and majesty, together with her owne impurity and lownesse, shee is moved at once both to runne to happinesse, and to fly from it. Shee stands distracted, and in this distraction asketh; Will God indeede dwell with men? and will the highest Spirit who inhabiteth eternity, and cannot abide iniquity, dwell with low spirits that are defiled, and be full of impurity? Who shall dwell with the devouring fire, and who shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
But the Lord himselfe speaketh to her, and saith, Feare not, for thy maker is thine husband, Esay 54.(the Lord of Hosts is his Name) and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel, the God of the whole earth. It is the glory of the greatest spirit to blesse the lesser spirits, as it is the happinesse of the lesser to bee blessed by the greatest. Fulnesse is glorified most by filling the greatest emptinesse, and majesty by succouring greatest infirmity. As for thy impurity, true it is that thou art indeed too uncleane to touch God in an immediate unity; but there is a pure counterpart of thy nature, and that pure humanity is immediatly knit to the purest Deity. And by that immediate union, thou maist come to a mediate union. For the Deity, and that humanity being united, make one Savior, Head and Husband of soules; and thou being married to him who is God, in him art also one with God. He one by a personall union, thou one by a mysticall. And being thus united and married to him, his spirit flowes into thy spirit, and the sappe of the Deity sheds it selfe into the soule. For as man and wife in a corporall marriage, are one flesh, so in this spirituall and mysticall marriage, Christ and his spouse are one spirit. The spirit of Christ entring into our spirits, layes in them an immortal seed, and from thenceforth those whom he found impure, he makes pure; even pure in heart, so that they may see God. The Sonne of God so loved the soules of men, that hee would make them a wife, and marry them. And that hee might make this wife fit to be brought into his Fathers house, hee left his Father to come to his wife, that he might cleanse her frō spots & blemishes, and present her pure & glorious to his Father. By his precious blood he purgeth her from her guilt, & by his spirit he purifieth her from her uncleannesse; and both of these hee bestoweth on her in his marriage with her. And then the soule thus washed, hath boldnesse to approach unto God, through her husband, the Sonne of God, who hath loued her, and giuen himselfe for her, and giuen himselfe unto her. For God beholds her, and she beholds God, as one with his Sonne, euen as his Sonnes wife.
Then draw neere O soule to this husband of soules, the Lord is the spirit that marieth spirits, and makes them one spirit with him in a knot of eternall blessednes. Cleare vp thine eye, and fixe it on him as upon the fairest of men, the perfection of spirituall beauty, the treasure of heauenly joy, the true object of most feruent louelove, and inflamed affections: and accordingly fasten on him, not thine eye only, but thy mightiest louelove, and hottest affections. Looke on him so, that thou maiest lust after him, for here it is a sinne, not to looke that thou maist lust, and not to lust hauing looked. For the spirit hath his lust also;Gal. 5.17. it lusteth against things contrary to it, and it lusteth for things connaturall to it. Accordingly it lusteth against the flesh; but it lusteth after spirituall objects; wherof Christ Iesus is the chiefest. Let thy spirit then looke and long, and lust for this Lord who is the spirit, the chiefest spirit; let it cleaue to him, let it hang about him, and neuer leaue him till hee bee brought into the chambers of the soule. Yea tell him resolutely thou wilt not leaue him untill thou here a voyce in thy soule, saying; My wellbeloved is mine, and I am my wellbeloveds. To this end bee still gazing on him, and still calling on him; Kisse me with the kisses of thy mouth; Yea kisse my soule with such a kisse of thy spirit, that they may be no longer two, but one spirit: say to him whom hauehave I in heauen but thee, and whom hauehave I desired on earth besides thee? My soule thirsteth, and panteth for thee the liuing God. Tell him that thou art sicke of louelove. Vexe him with Importunity, and put him out of hope of ease, (as the widdow did the Iudge) but onelyonly by satisfiing thy desires. It is the right-voyce of the spirit, I found him whom my soule loveth, Cant. 3.4.I held him and would not let him go. If then thou hast found him with thine eye, hold him with thine heart, and winde thy affections round about him. And if he see thee all on flame with louelove, and obstinate in Importunity by louelove, he who is louelove, cannot deny the importunity of louelove. The bowels of louelove in him, melt at the sound of louelove in thee, as one string danceth at the sound of another agreeing with it. Hee was great with louelove before thou louedst him, and hee looked but for a louelove to draw his louelove from him. Hee was great with spirit, and did but looke for spirits, that by louelove would draw some spirit from him. And now when his louelove meeteth with thine,Ioh. 14.21 his louelove joyneth with thine; when his spirit meeteth with thine, his spirit powreth it selfe out into thine; hee is joyned to thee, and thou art one spirit with him, his spirit and thine being united and mingled in a blessed communion.