N02580:45
The mystical marriage. A brief essay, on, the grace of the Redeemer espousing the…
The mystical marriage. A brief essay, on, the grace of the Redeemer espousing the soul of the believer. / By the late Reverend Dr. Cotton Mather. ; Approved by several pastors of our churches, as a present, proper to be offered unto our young people: and very particularly when the celebration of a marriage affords an agreeable occasion for it.
Boston N.E.: printed for N. Belknap, 1728
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
O Soul Espoused unto thy SAVIOUR, canst thou be more Happy than such an Espousal cannot fail to make thee? The Day of Espousal is called, Can• .III. 2. The Day of the Gladness of the Heart. Be sure, The Day of thy Espousal to thy SAVIOUR may well be the Day of the Gladness of thy Heart. It is the very Spirit of Genuine PIETY, To Rejoice ⟨p. 13⟩in CHRIST JESUS. Verily all the joy that can be wished for, belongs unto thee, if thou art Espoused unto CHRIST JESUS. Thou art now Espoused unto One, who is the Most High Possessor of Heaven and Earth; Espoused unto One, who has unsearchable Riches. O Wealthy Soul! O Happy Soul! The Great GOD now sends this Advice unto thee, Be of good Cheer; thy Sins are forgiven thee! The Spouse of his own SON can't lie under a Sentence of Death. Yea, He has taken all thy Filthy Garments from thee; and being the KINGS Daughter, he makes thee All Glorious within, and thy Covering is of Spangled Robes which are Inlaid with Gold; In Robes of Needle Work, thou shalt be brought in unto the King. He that sits on the Throne of G0D calls thee His Hephzibah, and says, my Delight is in thee. Yea, He will make all the Heavens to know that He has Loved thee. O Happy Soul! Being Espoused unto thy SAVIOUR, His FATHER becomes thy FATHER; His GOD becomes thy GOD. And who can comprehend what is contained in that Ravishing word! Rom. VIII.17. Children; Then Heirs; Heirs of GOD, and Joint Heirs with CHRIST. What a vast Jointure hast thou! That Word has the Deed in it; All things are yours, and ye are CHRIST'S: Of His Fullness thou shalt receive, having a Right now unto it; Receive even Heaps of Grace upon Grace; the Favours of Heaven even heaped upon thee. O Happy Soul! What mayst thou promise to thy self now from such an Espousal! Even all the Good that is laid up in the exceeding great and precious promises of the Gospel: All the Promises that are the portion of the Overcomer, who shall Inherit all things: All the Promises relating to the Life that now is, and the Life that is to come. In the Life that Now is, thy Espoused LORD, will not suffer thee to want any thing that shall be good for thee; will make All things to work together for ⟨p. 14⟩thy Good; will employ His Angels to be thy Guardians, and His Ministers in unknown Good Offices for thee. But, Oh!