The Mystical Marriage, Chapter 8
CAP. VIII. A Corollary of counsailes and directions, to those that are entred into the estate of this blessed Marriage.
LEt it be the maine endeavor of a soule married to Christ, to keepe her selfe still in that point wherein she may keepe him; and so keepe him, that she may still say, and feele what she sayes, My well-beloved is mine, and I am my well-beloveds: To this end, let her still cast, and consider with her selfe, what those things are which hee most loves, and make her most lovely in his eyes: for the spirit of this lover, loves to be there where his love is. Therefore if there be any praise, any vertue, thinke on those things, and set them as pearles, and jewells about thy soule, to make her glorious and amiable in his sight. Let the face of the soule, even the image of the most excellent Deity, shine brightly in his eyes, being anoynted with fresh oyle; and let her be lovely to him by those oyntments which make him lovely to her.
Let her often goe out of the body, yea out of the world by heavenly contemplations; and treading on the top of the earth with the bottome of her feet, stretch her selfe up, to looke over the world, into that upper world, where her treasure, her joy, her beloved dwelleth. Let her stand in this watch-tower, and looke out for her lover, as the watch-man looks out for the morning; and then the day-spring from on high shall visite her. Turne thy face away from the enchantments of this world,Numb. 24 from dreames of earthly profit and preferment, and turne thy face to the wildernesse, even turne this world into a wildernesse, and a nothing before thy face; and the spirit of God shall come upon thee, and thou shalt see the vision of the Almighty. And when this Sunne of the soule shineth upon her, let the eye of the soule, made cleare and piercing by faith, (like the eye of an Eagle) looke on the Sunne; for this Sunne looks on the eye that lookes on him, yea he loves the eye of a faith working unto love, and cries out that he is wounded by this one of her eyes.Cant. 4.9. It is his owne speech to the soule, Seeke my face continually: and it is an answer which he loves to receive from the soule,Psal. 27.8. Thy face, O Lord, will I seeke. And thus beholding Christ Iesus with open face, thou shalt see, and feele things inutterable; thou shalt also bee changed from beauty to beauty,2 Cor. 3.18 from glory to glory by the spirit of this Lord. The more the soule seeth, and is seene of him, the more lovely shall shee grow, and the more lovely she is, the more will hee delight to see and be seene of her.
Againe, if with that hearty lover, whose heart was according to the heart of his well-beloved, thou canst truly say,Psal. 25.15 Mine eyes are alwayes to the Lord; having procured his comming, thou shalt also stay him from going: Thy heart shall watch him, and keepe him, and holde him; for where he is so watched and held from going, he is willing to abide. The story is well knowne, that though hee seemed as though hee would have gone further,Luke 24.28, &c. yet when they constrained him, hee went in to tarry with them. And though he should after some tarrying vanish out of sight, yet if our hearts be thinking and talking of him, hee will eftsoones stand in the midst of them, and bring his peace with him.
And that thou maist keep his love fresh, and fervent to thee, keepe thy owne love fresh and fervent to him. For love draweth love, and fervent love makes love fervent like it selfe. Love is like burning coales, and burning coales will kindle coales that are not burning. Therefore kindle thy love, and make it to flame, by thinking on his beauty, on his sweetnes, on his goodnes. Kindle it by renewing the olde tastes of him, which thou hast formerly tasted. Kindle thy love, by reviving the images of loves past: put thy selfe into the same thoughts wherein thou wast, when thou didst enjoy him. And so if thy minde be fitted, and put into a state of enjoying, it is likely that hee will come into a minde so fitted, and thou shalt enjoy him. And if hee come not yet into thee, stirre up thy spirituall concupiscence, and therewith let the soule lust mightily for him, and let her lusts and desires ascend up to him in strong cryes and invocations,Luk. 11.13 & then by his spirit he will descend unto thee.
Be carefull that there be a perpetuall consent of thy will unto his will, and a perpetuall issuing of thoughts and actions from this consent and conformity. In the house of this husband there must be but one will, and that is the husbands. The wifes will must be melted into the will of the husband, and her will must not live, but her husbands will must live in her. And then this husband will delight to be much at home, where he may be Master; and he will delight often to give the unity of fruition, where there is an unity of will and affection: but where the wifes will doth crosse the will of the husband, there is he wearied away, and that house is to him as a place of continuall dropping, offensive, and indeed unfit to entertaine that Lord who is the King of glory. A King loves to be in his Kingdome where he commandeth and is obeyed; and therefore if thou wilt have this King to visit and dwell with thee, let him command and reigne in thee: for he hath told thee himselfe, If any man love mee, and keepe my commandements, Ioh. 14.21I will love him, and will appeare plainly to him.
Wherefore if the soule desire to please her selfe by the fruition of his presence, let her especially and mainely strive to please him: for by pleasing him, she shal be pleased by him, whose pleasure is infinitely greater than that which ariseth out of her pleasing of her selfe. Let her give away her owne will for his will, and in so doing shee shall be a double gainer: for she changeth a worse will for a better, and withall gaines him whose the better will is, and who is infinitely better than her selfe. Wherefore strive to please him, and to give him his will, yea strive to give it much and mainly; for the more thou givest it, the more thou receivest into thee a most excellent will, and a most excellent husband. Thus shalt thou please thy selfe most, by pleasing him, and not thy selfe. What husband is there, who seeing his wife to neglect her selfe for him, but hee will love and cherish that wife the more, the more shee neglects her selfe for him? And then by how much his love and cherishing is more advantageable and pleasing than her owne, so much is her gaine advanced, by loving and pleasing him more than her selfe.
And because there is some beauty and good in the creature, (though indeed subject to vanity, and blasted with a curse) and there is a law of the members reigning in the worst, and not wholly rooted out of the best, which loves to looke on the creature, and by looking lusts after it; let the soule married to Christ be very wary how she turnes her eye, and fixeth it on the creature. For if her eye goe much after it, and fettle long upon it, her love is likely to come after her eye. She may looke on it, and behold the goodnesse of it, but in beholding the goodnesse of it, shee must againe look from it, to that transcendent, originall, and infinite goodnesse of her husband, of whom this goodnesse was borrowed. For by him all things were made, Iohn 1.3.that were made. Againe, she may looke on it to see the vanity of it, that by seeing the vanity of it, shee may looke from it to her Lord and Husband, in whom is stability, and perpetuall felicity. And yet againe she may looke on it, to see the curse that is cast upon it, and in the terriblenesse of that curse, shee may see the horrour of sinne, that looking from it againe to her Lord and Saviour, she may see the excellency of his love, and inestimable value of his person, who hath taken away the curse, and the sinne from his beloved Spouse, and gives her a blessed use of the creature, and full blessednesse in the eternall fruition of the Creatour. Thus looking to the creature, by looking to it, shee lookes from it, she rests not in it, but passeth by it to her only true rest. And indeed by these and the like removals the soule should ever bee kept loose from the world. For as when we would not have things to glue and fasten, we doe often touch, and turne, and moove them; so the soule being apt to glue and fasten to the world, wee must by these and the like meditations often touch and remove her, that so she may be kept continually loose from it.
But because the cyment which joynes the soule to the world is the flesh, and she must adulterate first with this old husband, before she can prostitute her selfe to the world; let the soule take especiall care to watch and resist the approaches of this fly, but deadly enemy, that commeth in the shape of a lover. This is he whom the true husband, whose name is jealous doth perfectly hate,Exod. 34.14. Gal 5.17. for there is a perfect contrariety betweene them. Therefore so much as thou admittest the flesh, so much thou expellest thy Lord and Saviour. But so much as thou banishest the flesh, so much roome doest thou make for Christ to come into thee by his spirit. Therefore bee thou so farre from loosing thy husband, for this old adulterer, that thou gaine him the more, by expelling and killing the other. The flesh is good for nothing but to be slaine, and therein there is this gaine, that the more he dyeth, the more thy love and life loveth thee, and liveth in thee. Therefore whereas the flesh would make it thy pleasure to live after the flesh, doe thou make it thy pleasure to kill the flesh: let the hunting, pursuing, and killing of the lusts of the flesh be thy pastime and pleasure, even the hunting and destroying of these foxes,Gant. 2.18 that would destroy thy vineyard. And then will the Lord of the vineyard get up early to his vineyard, the vine shall flourish, and the tender grape appeare, and there shall he give thee his loves.Cant. 7.12
But if through thy owne remisnesse, or the fleshes importunity, the soule by concupiscence hath conceived sinne, make haste to the fountaines set open for Iudah and Ierusalem to wash, Zach. 13.1and to be cleane. Wash thy selfe in teares and bloud;Psal. 51.7. the spirit of penitence, contrition, and conversion washeth white,Rev. 7.14. Esay 1.16, 1. & the bloud of the Lambe washeth whiter than snow. And by the cleansing spirit is given to thee the cleansing bloud. That false husband whom thou hast pleased, hee hath defiled thee, and thy true husband whō thou hast offended, he it is that must wash thee; therefore hee came by water and bloud, to wash thy guilt with his bloud, and thy filth by his spirit; that thus being washed thou maist be without spot and blemish, and againe lovely in his eyes, and acceptable in the eyes of his Father. And being thus made faire by his washing, he will yet againe embrace thee, and put thy evill out of his remembrance, by his owne overcomming goodnesse. But then let his goodnesse overcomming thy evill, teach thee to overcome thy owne evill with goodnesse. Hate and resist all sinne, and especially that sinne by which thou hast most offended so loving a husband; and hate and resist that false husband who tempted thee to this sin. Love thy true husband the more, the more thou hast offended him, and the more he hath forgiven thee.Luke 7.47 And the more thou lovest him, the more strive not to offend him. And if thus after thy sinne, thou art the farther from sinne, more faire in holinesse, and fuller of love to thy heavenly husband, thou shalt heare from his mouth the voice of ioy and gladnesse,Psal. 51.8. and shalt feele from his mouth a kisse of peace in thy soule. And this spirituall kisse shall drop a spirituall oyntment, the very pledge and seale of pardon and peace;Rom. 5.1. 5.11. even a testimony of his spirit speaking to thy spirit,Hebr. 10. 19,22. Thy sinnes are forgiven thee.
And having regained him, make thy selfe more one with him, and increase thy communion with him. Touch him hard with thy faith, sucke him strongly with thy love, that more vertue may come out of him, to cure that issue of sinne yet abiding in the remnant of the flesh, and to make thee more one and uniforme with him. For as a bough, the more hee suckes from the tree, the larger is his union with the tree, and the more is his likenesse to the tree, so the more a soule draws from Christ, the more is she one with him, and the more is shee like him. And againe, the more shee is like him, the more will hee delight to bee one with her; and thus shall she goe on in an endlesse circle of happines. The highest and happiest, and sweetest harmony is, when the soule is in an unizon with her Saviour and husband: every touch and sound of the soule thus tuned to Christ Iesus, resoundeth in him, toucheth and moveth him. And as with the sound of outward musicke the spirit of God came upon the Prophet;2 King. 3.15. so with the sound of this inward musicke (be it in holy contemplations, ardencies, desires, invocations, resolutions) the spirit of Christ Iesus commeth more powerfully and plentifully into the soule. And when hee comes, doe thou draw from him that spirituall sappe and nourishment,Eph. 4.15, 16. by which thou maist grow up to the stature appointed thee. By the supply of this head grow up to this head in a due proportion, even to the fulnesse of that part which thou holdest in his body. And let not the head be the head of a man, yea of the fairest and goodliest of men, and thou a starved, dwarfish, crooked or mishapen hand or foote, but both in measure and shape strive to be a member proportionable to so comely an Head.
And that thou maist thus grow, let not swelling, but growth be the end of thy sucking. Desire the sincere milke, 1 Pet. 2.and hony and wine of the Deity, that thou mayst growe thereby, in solide substance, not in frothy and puffy imaginations. Growe thou in the reall excellence of a divine Nature, and not in the empty swellings of a fleshly pride. For the flesh hath sometimes a desire of spirituall excellencyes, but it is for a fleshly end, even to puffe it selfe up by thē. But seeke not these pearls, to cast it to these Swine, nor this Bread of heaven to give it to such dogs. Rather buffet this flesh and beate it downe, lest a messenger of Satan be sent to buffet thee for not buffeting it, and so when thou lookest for a good spirit to exalt thee, an evill spirit be sent to beate & humble thee. Christ comes into thee, not to feede, but to kill the flesh; wherefore thy end and his are contrary, if thou desire his cō ing to feede that, which he comes to kill. If then thou wouldest have him come indeede into thee, joyne with him in the proposall of one & the same end; even the exaltation of the Spirit, and the death of the flesh: allowe not fleshly swelling to bee an end: no not a subsequent, of thy meeting with Christ; but kill it, if after this meeting it arise in thee. The flesh hath no part nor portion in this service; but to bee slaine by it: therefore let not this left hand of the flesh, know, what the right hand of the spirit doth in thee: but be thou wholly spirituall, in a spirituall, in a spirituall busines, and by it growe more spirituall, and, not more, but, lesse carnall.
Againe, desire not these sweetnesses of spirituall vnion, onelyonly because they are sweete; for in this the flesh also may have his part, both in desire and fruition. Be not like the children of Israell, Num. 11.4in the wildernes, who desired meate for their lusts: for of such a desire there is an il beginning, & an il end may be expected, since lust is both the beginning and end of it. But blessed is the land, Eccl. 10 17when her Princes eate for strength, and not for riot; & blessed is the Church when her Nobles eate this spirituall foode for spirituall strength, and not for lust and luxury. It is a kinde of luxury to make taste, and not strength the maine end of eating: but let the sweetnesse of the taste bee used as an encouragement unto eating for strength. Out of the strong one comes this sweetnesse, that by this sweetnesse thou maist be made partaker of his strength. Wherfore having foūd this honey, eate with Ionathan, that thou maist be strengthened in services to be done, and against enemies to be resisted. Eate that thou maist strengthen thy faith, and that the eyes of the inner man being enlightened, thou maist the more clearely discerne the riches of glory given to thee in Christ Iesus. Strengthen thy faith also, that thou maist more fully, and closely cleave unto him with thy will, whom thou hast seene with thy understanding to bee the treasure of perfect felicity. Yea let not thy faith leave growing from strength to strength, untill it bring thee beyond faith unto vision. Eate that thou maist strengthen thy hope, and that thou maist hope the more perfectly to receive the full fruition of that sweetnesse, and blessednesse, whereof here by this eating thou hast received the foretastes and pledges. Eate that thou maist strengthen thy love, and that thou maist love him with a love above all loves, whom thou hast seene and tasted to be fairer and sweeter than all that can be loved. And by strengthening thy love to him, strengthen also thy love to his will, and to his law the copie of his will. The sweetnesse which thou tastest, must needes love the law, for they are twinnes; this sweetnes being shed into our soules, and the law written in our hearts by one and the same spirit. And as the sweetnesse brings with it a love of the law, making it sweete to us,Psal. 19.10 (even sweeter than hony, and the hony combe,) so doth the law leade us to the fulnes and fountain of this sweetnesse.Gal. 6.16. Rev. 22.14 Be thou also strengthened by this sweetnes, more strongly to resist the enemies of thy soule, and of thy Lord and Saviour. Let the sweetnesse of the spirit turne the sweetnesse of the flesh into bitternesse, and the sweetnesse of the world into contempt: and let it make thee to spit out against the taste of all tentations, which the evill spirit shall offer thee: for how sweete soever the same tentations may now seeme in thy mouth, they shall at last be turned into an everlasting bitternesse and gnashing of teeth. But the sweetnesse of thy husband groweth like a river, untill it come and bring thee to a boundlesse Ocean of perpetuall sweetnesse. Briefly, let this sweetnesse now tasted by thee, fill thy heart and soule, and life with sweetnes. Let thy garments smell of myrrhe,Psal. 45. cassia, and frankincense; let thy conversation yeeld forth the sweete fruites of righteousnes, sweet figges, and sweet grapes,Iudg. 9.11. that cheare God and man. Having received sweetnesse from Christ, sweeten others also; and being strengthened by this sweetnesse strengthen thy brethren.
Be not discouraged, if he come not so often to thee, nor stay so long with thee as thou desirest. The baites of a traveller are short, and his journey long. The meales of Elijah were but two,1 King. 19 but his journey was forty dayes. This kinde of foode hath in it an eternall nourishment, and therfore it may strengthen long, though but shortly taken. Besides, if thou hadst this meate so long and so fully as thou desirest, it may be thou wouldest not so long and so fully desire and love it, as now thou doest. There is a loathing upon fulnesse, and a restivenesse upon spirituall fatnesse, as upon the bodily. Therfore Iesburun being fat,Deu. 32.25 kicketh against him that made her fat, and Israel being fully and daily fed with Manna, falls to loathing it. But thy husband, who is wisedome in perfection, and knowes thee better than thou knowest thy selfe, prevents this dangerous fulnesse and fatnesse, and carries his kindnesse in so temperate a moderation, betweene glutting and starving, that the soule be neither too fat nor too leane. And indeede as shee is then most comely in the eye of her husband, so is she then most healthy, active, and fit for the services of her husband. Wherefore let her bee content with these turnes of comming and going, with short meales, and long journeyes. If the meales be sufficient to bring us to our journeyes end, even to Gods holy Mountaine, we may well be contented. For these journeyes and labours that here seeme to be long in regard of the rests that come betweene them, shall bring us at last to an eternall rest which hath no interposition of labours. And then it shall be no sorrow of heart to us, that through short rests, and long labours we have arrived to that state of happines, which hath in it no labour, but is all, rest.
Againe bee not discouraged, if hee come not still when thou thinkest that thou hast prepared thy soule, and made the bed of louelove for him. Thou mayest perchance bee short of that fitnes which thou thinkest, for he is a God of pure eyes,1 Cor. 4.4. and thou euen when thou knowest nothing by thy selfe art not free from Impurity. Hee will hauehave thee yet more fitted for his comming, by a narrower search of thy owne blemishes and vnfitnes; yea hee will hauehave thee fitter for his comming, by being composed and decent without his comming. He will hauehave thee fitted and trimmed by faith, as wel as by love, and teach thee to beleeve his love, when thou feelest it not, as well as when thou feelest it. And indeed that is most like faith, which beleeves what it feeles not, but how canst thou shew this vertue, if still thou hast feeling? Hee expects perchance that the old stocke of assurances in visitations and sensible aproches shold have lasted longer with thee, and thou shouldst not so soone have neede of new tokens of love on his part, and new feelings on thine owne. The former tastes and tokens of his love, shold have longer told thee, that he still loves thee, though thou doe not still receive tokens from him and tastes of his love. True it is that he seldome failes to meete a soule, duely trimmed and prepared for him. Neverthelesse he is still free, and perchance will have it somtimes to appeare so. And if he doe thus at somtimes when we are prepared, then at other times, hee comes being unexpected; and so by a compensation gives us that which we asked, though onelyonly with a difference of time. And indeede his dispensations are wiser then our desires, and it is fittest that times and seasons should be in his hands and not ours, especially for his owne gifts. For we indeed do not all waies open our mouthes in due season, but hee alwaies openeth his hand,Psal. 145. 15. and filleth vsus with his blessings in due season: and accordingly though the spouse somtimes seeke him & find him not, yet another time hee is found of her that seekes him not; for when she is sleeping, he comes knocking; and saith, Open to me, my sister, Cant. 5.2.my louelove, my doue, my vndefiled. Wherefore let vsus looke mainely to our owne part; to hauehave our lampes trimmed with faith, and louelove; and let vsus trust him with his owne part; the choise of the times and seasons of his comming.
Yea againe and againe, be not discouraged, though hitherto thou hast not felt the spiritual kisses of Christ Iesus, the extasyes of his wine, nor the rauishments of his vnion. It may be the houre of thy Lord & Sauiour is not yet come, nor the day wherein hee shall say,Luk. 23.43. This day shalt thou bee with me in Paradise. This day was the last day to him, to whom it was first said, and it may be one of thy latter dayes wherin it shall bee said to thee, this day will I be with thee, and make a Paradise within thee. Yet let not these dayes be late dayes, much lesse last dayes by thy delayes, howsoever late they may be his dispensations. Remember him in thy youth,Eccl. 12.1, and first dayes, and be thou as a servant ever ready and hearkening when his Lord will come and knocke,Rev. 3.20. that when he knockes, thou maist open, and he may come in and dwell with thee for ever. It is just that the giver should chuse his owne time for his owne gifts; and it is just that if thou refuse his time, he should refuse thine; and then will he be like one that turnes aside to the flockes of thy companions.
And yet lesse let those be discouraged, who have small, and but small tastes of these spirituall joyes. Hee that made us knowes our frame, and what is the fittest proportion both for our age, and measure. There are babes in Christ, and we seldome give wine to children, because it is too high for them.Mark 4.33 Christ gave his doctrine so as they were able to heare it, and so gives he the joy of his spirit, as we are able to beare it. As by the strength of the same spirit the joy may be converted into into spituall advantage, and not perverted by the flesh into carnall voluptousnesse, security, or swelling: the soule must be faithfull in little, before shee bee an owner of much; and therefore there is commonly some time of tryall and acquaintance between Christ and the soule, before he will trust her with great familiarity, and give her the great and high degrees of his hidden joyes.
Besides, it must be knowne and considered, that Christ Iesus hath some parts, whose measure even at their full growth is so small, as the infancy of other parts. A finger in his full growth is not so bigge as the legge of an infant. And such little parts may have lesse feeling of these joyes, because of their littlenesse: and yet they may be as lively as the greater, for a finger liveth as well as an arme. And indeed let such especially look that their life be sound in them, & that shall they know by the actions of life. If faith and love bee active in them, then are they lively and living. For it is no other but the life of Christ in them which makes faith and love to bee lively and operative in them;Gal. 2.20. & 5.6. 1 Ioh. 3.14 and then let them not feare, for they are passed from death to life. On these fruites therefore let them especially looke, for though they have not here many sweetnesses and joyes, yet if they have many fruites of faith and love, they shall hereafter have a greater measure of joys in heaven, than those who have had here greater joies than they, and have not improved them (as they should have done) to a fruitfulnesse greater than theirs whose joyes were lesser.
Yet farther if this matter be duely weighed, we shall see in Gods dispensations a greate wisdome and equity for commonly those that hauehave the greatest consolations, hauehave also the greatest tribulations. And the one are so ballanced with the other, that the soule is kept in an evennesse, the tribulations not making her to sinke, by reason of the counterpoising consolations, nor the consolations over much weighing her downe into pride, (for pride though seeming to look upward is an infernall thing) because of the counterballancing tribulations. Wherefore if thou envie another mans consolations, why doest thou not also envie his tribulations? If thou wish to be rapt with Paul into the third heaven,1 Cor: 4.11 & 2 Cor. 11.23. wish also to be in labours often, in watchings often, in perills by sea, in perills by land, and under that loade of sufferings which he fulfilled for Christ. But withall take heede what thou wishest, lest thy owne wishes being granted doe sinke thee. If thou know not thine owne strength, God knowes it, and what thy vessell is able to beare both of the one and other. And be thou contented, if with lesse tribulations he give thee lesse consolations, this lesser measure of both being fitted for a lesser vessell, and yet the same proportion betweene both, in the lesser that is in the greater.