O my Soul, canst thou read over all these passages of Love, and dost thou not yet cry out, O stay me, comfort me; for I am sick of Love? Can a man stand by an hot and fiery furnace, and never be warmed? Oh for an heart in some measure answerable to these Loves! Surely even good natures hate to be in debt for love; and is therein thee (O my soul) neither grace, nor yet good nature? O God forbid! awake! awake thy ardent love towards the Lord Jesus Christ! why thou art rock, and not flesh, if thou beest not wounded with these heavenly darts; Christ loves thee, is not that enough? fervent affection is apt to draw love, where is little or no beauty; and excellent beauty is apt to draw the heart where there is no answer of affection at all; but when these two meet together, what breast can hold against them? See, O my soul, here is the sum of all the particulars thou hast heard, Christ loves thee, and Christ is lovely; his heart is set upon thee, who is a thousand times fairer than all the children of men; doth not this double consideration, like a mighty lodestone, snatch thy heart unto it, and almost draw it forth of thy very breast? O sweet Saviour, thou couldst say even of thy poor Church (though labouring under many imperfections) Thou hast ravished my Heart, 1my Sister, my Spouse, thou hast ravished mine heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck; how fair is thy love, my Sister, my Spouse? how much better is thy love than wine, and the smell of thy ointments than all Spices? Couldst thou, O blessed Saviour, be so taken with the incurious and homely features of the Church, and shall not I much more be enamoured with thy absolute and divine Beauty? It pleased thee, my Lord, out of thy sweet ravishments of thy heavenly love, to say to thy poor Church, Turn away thine Eyes from me, for they have overcome me; but Oh let me say to thee, Turn thine eyes to me, that they may overcome me; my Lord, 2I would be thus ravished, I would be overcome; I would be thus out of my self, that I might be all in thee.
O my Soul, canst thou read over all these passages of Love, and dost thou not yet cry out, O stay me, comfort me; for I am sick of Love? Can a man stand by an hot and fiery furnace, and never be warmed? Oh for an heart in some measure answerable to these Loves! Surely even good natures hate to be in debt for love; and is therein thee (O my soul) neither grace, nor yet good nature? O God forbid! awake! awake thy ardent love towards the Lord Jesus Christ! why thou art rock, and not flesh, if thou beest not wounded with these heavenly darts; Christ loves thee, is not that enough? fervent affection is apt to draw love, where is little or no beauty; and excellent beauty is apt to draw the heart where there is no answer of affection at all; but when these two meet together, what breast can hold against them? See, O my soul, here is the sum of all the particulars thou hast heard, Christ loves thee, and Christ is lovely; his heart is set upon thee, who is a thousand times fairer than all the children of men; doth not this double consideration, like a mighty loadstone, snatch thy heart unto it, and almost draw it forth of thy very breast? O sweet Saviour, thou couldst say even of thy poor Church (though labouring under many imperfections) Thou hast ravished my Heart, 1my Sister, my Spouse, thou hast ravished mine heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck; how fair is thy love, my Sister, my Spouse? how much better is thy love than wine, and the smell of thy oyntments than all Spices? Couldst thou, O blessed Saviour, be so taken with the incurious and homely features of the Church, and shall not I much more be enamoured with thy absolute and divine Beauty? It pleased thee, my Lord, out of thy sweet ravishments of thy heavenly love, to say to thy poor Church, Turn away thine Eyes from me, for they have overcome me; but Oh let me say to thee, Turn thine eyes to me, that they may overcome me; my Lord, 2I would be thus ravished, I would be overcome; I would be thus out of my self, that I might be all in thee.
- 1Cant. 4.9, 10.
- 2Cant. 6.5.
